Today, we go to war for 3 points that’ll keep us #Top4 over the international break. Before the season started, I wrote that 9 points would be absolutely ideal from this session of games, and I still believe that. The post-break games are pretty grim, we have City, Leicester, United, and Villa in the league, as well as 3 Europa League games. Going into those games with momentum and positivity is absolutely vital.
We need a performance from the squad today. We’ve been inconsistent this season. Fulham was great, but then we realised they were shite. We didn’t show up against West Ham and scraped a win. Then we were soundly beaten by Liverpool. Our xG is looking a bit Emery like at the moment. 3 games is not a big sample, but we need to be correcting that before it corrects our points tally.
The main problem we’re having is chance creation. We’re fairly comfortable defending these days. We’re solid and tough to break down. Going forward is a different issue. There’s no clean connection from midfield to attack and our offensive playbook routines are getting a little predictable. The thing I worry about is it doesn’t look like we’re trying to solve it, it seems we’re banking on low chance high conversion approach. That’s rarely sustainable.
Sheffield United will be an interesting side to come up against. They’ve been abject so far this season, but we know they are a force on their day. They’ll not play a deep block, but they will aggressively counter us. It’ll be a game that will require creativity, they can defend really well and they will not let up with the pressure.
Our transfer business, on the face of it, looks underwhelming in the extreme. We’ve signed a lesser second keeper, Willian looks good but he’s certainly not the force to unlock our forward play, and Gabriel is 6 months away from being the man.
We basically have the same problem from last year carried over. That can’t be an excuse. We need to find ways of creating more good opportunities in attack, because it’ll be games like this that undo us this season.
If we don’t bring in suitable solves, the fans will look to Guendouzi and Mesut Ozil. It’s obvious. Especially as both are training with the first team. I hope that’s not the cloud of PR noise that a shoddy window brings, but you know it will be. From what I’ve been told, the big issue for Arsenal is that the squad is too bloated. Our wage bill hasn’t really been attacked this summer and we’ve done a very poor job moving on players. As I said yesterday, I don’t think anyone thought we’d struggle to move on players like MG and Lacazette, but here we are.
That is still no excuse for not having an 8 or a 6 at this stage of the summer.
I understand Arteta just wants Champions League level players for the now, but as I’ve whined about for the last 5 years, sometimes you need to build out talent and take a little longer to get back to the top. If our shopping list is Aouar, Jorginho, and Partey… or bust. Then that starts to look like negligence. We finished 8th, improving on our squad is not a precise science or balancing act like it would be a Liverpool or Bayern. We should be able to find an 8 for less than £40m that can do a job. We should be able to find a #6 that has the athletic profile we so desperately need.
I know I am not a scout, but Dominik Szoboszlai plays on the left, he can box to box, and he’s at a franchise that supplied the world with Mane and Werner. He’s 19 years old, he scored 12 goals last season and landed 18 assists. His buy-out is rumoured to be 25m euros. Is he blowing up the league this year? Maybe not. Would he be a better bet than nothing? Yes.
The same with the #6 position. We have no one with athleticism in our midfield. Don’t tell me there isn’t someone in Ligue 1 that we could pick up at less than £45m. Sangare/Sourmare look like talented player, clearly both need coaching, but that’s what clubs with fucked finances have to do.
There has been a real lack of creativity around our transfer business. I really, really hope this isn’t like seasons past where we break a season because our perfect choice wasn’t available. There are always options that can improve the squad, we cannot let the biggest problem of last season go unaddressed again.
That said, I think fans are forgetting that spending a shit tonne of money doesn’t always translate into points. Spurs blowing a load of cash doesn’t mean they’ll be electric. OGS dropping pound notes on Cavani doesn’t mean they’ll close the gap. Leicester are just as capable of bottling the season. What new players does is create excitement for the players, the staff and the fans. It signals progress and it creates good vibes. If we fail this summer, you’ll get the covid-lockdown histrionics and it’ll be a slog.
We will be better this season regardless of where we land with the squad. We have 20 wins out of 34 games under the new regime. The longer the process goes on, the better we’ll get. We are very well-coached, we’ll be tough to beat this season, and hopefully, we’ll find a solve externally before the window shuts, and if not, maybe we’ll have to reach for a ‘like a new signing’ type of pivot.
Let’s enjoy today and pray that we can make some magic happen by Monday.
Villa 2:1 Pool, with two assists from Emi
Sal-
I can’t predict Transfers anymore.. It would be soo Arsenal to do fuck all though.
Just 1 quality midfielder, all I ask for. Surely that can’t be a bridge too far.
Auoar starts for Lyon
Maybe a good time to play city and united in the next few weeks. I dont expect us to play like leicester ( 5-2) or Tottenham (6-1) , but we should go into those 2 away games with the confidence to come away with a result. Great to see Pepe come on and make a difference, a special goal from him. Give him the ball in the final third and he will cause damage .. Arsenal are a bit of a strange team at the moment..we look lethargic and lacking in ideas , we look slow and pedestrian with little… Read more »
Have a feeling we will get Soumare and honestly I won’t complain.
Graham that would drive me mad as well if that happened to me with my family with me. I hate spurs the most apart from the obvious one incident made me hate them even more. I took my son to his first ever north London Derby he as five we were walking into the stadium and about 50 spurs supporters stood in front of the family enclosure gate and where swearing at all the kids one of the dad’s asked them to pipe down and they threw bottles at him hitting him and his little girl. Absolute scum We talked… Read more »
What leads you to that thought TR7.
What we predicting for tomorrow you mental bastards?
Honestly 50/50 that we go all out for someone big desperately or get in nothing. No bargain basement dash for me
RSPC
I think he wants to play in the premier league and I can see Arteta thinking of him as a cheaper alternative to Partey.
No way Pool getting past Emi
soumare won’t be a bad signing..very similar to Partey..less.of a finished product but very athletic box to box mid
Two sources contacted by Get French Football News talk of “consternation” and “shock” amongst the Lyon squad when Rudi Garcia announced tonight’s starting XI to them.
But yeah Aouar starting and Depay on the bench is probably a decent indicator imo
And with that in mind I would love a late move for Coutinho because Barcelona are signing Depay
I pray to God this is not one of the deals we’re supposedly finalizing.
https://www.caughtoffside.com/2020/10/04/arsenal-look-set-to-sign-talented-defender-who-wants-to-move-to-england/
My hate order
1} Chelsea
2) Manu
3) Spurs
Yes villa
Adrian masterclass
Starting Auour is a power move by Lyon , nothing more than that.
It”s not a deal killer.
Lewandowski with 4 goals as Bayern wins 4-3 in the dying seconds.
Emi has beaten Liverpool twice inside a few months.
He can beat them again.
Grealish continues to be unplayable
Opportunistic market really no excuses as manager has proved he deserves backing for me.
If it goes the way it looks quite regretful as this moment is a real opportunity had the owner been willing to bridge it out. Very hard to compete for an Aouar in typical summer market w/ current level of club, will suck seeing him playing for Real Madrid, PSG or Juve next season.
Auba will surely be more gutted than us.
Love Grealish just what we need that type of player
Emi what a save
jotas not half the player Mane is…pool will struggle today if Salah doesnt turn up
Oh Emi…
I say it all the time mane and vvd are their cut above players take them out and they are beatable
Sal
Gonna watch him tonight with a tear in the eye.
Let’s not start another EMI debate please
Wow what a goal
2 0 lol
2-0 Villa!!!!
Emi gonna beat Liverpool three times in a few months.
Incredible stuff from Emi
I live this game 😂😂😂
Villa having a go at Liverpool? Unheard of
Villa spent some good money
I love this game 😂😂😂
Ollie Watkins again
Ishola making Watkins goal about EMI lol
Aouar got the captaincy stripped off him.
Lyon manager Rudi Garcia on his XI: “I chose in terms of form and also in terms of what could happen tomorrow (for Memphis). I am having faith in people who I know will be here tomorrow, like Houssem Aouar, which I am very happy about.” (TC)
Sounds like a negotiation tactic to me
Liverpool warning us of the pitfalls of not investing in a good second choice keeper.
Hopefully Villa hold out, and at least somebody other than Spurs challenges Liverpool this season.
Mr Serge
“Ishola making Watkins goal about EMI lol”
lol would be a nice little record though for him wouldn’t it if Villa hang on.
Being in the winning side against the mighty Pool three times in just a few months.
I thought Grealish was the league’s MVP last season- one man wrecking crew , who singlehanded kept them up.
There’s no weakness to his game.
You put KDB on Villa and Grealish on City, and Villa lose out on this exchange.
Jota reminds me of Felipe Anderson…just doesn’t fit the Liverpool profile..now that Ive said that he’ll probably go on to score a hat trick
Ishola I hope you are right I would love villa to win hate the bin dippers
Why on earth is Aston Villa scoring Liverpool? Didn’t they get the memo that this is the best team in the world and there’s no harm in losing to them?
Grealish is a top player.
Barkley has already missed two sisters..should have been 4 – 0
Grealish should’ve had four assists already
*sitters
Barkley misses again..shoukd have scored
Bosh!
Barkley couldn’t score in a brothel.
Hahahahaha another 6-1 incoming
Villa showing Arteta how to compete against pool. Still gutted we lost that game. We played with too much fear and showed too much respect. Arteta needs to lose the fear factor against big teams. Villa could easily have been 4 up, this one
Lol, Champions playing like chumps.
Thought this would be the worse season because of the pandemic but most of the teams have done some really good business
VVD isn’t playing like he’s world class. That imperious.defender is no more.
“Arteta needs to lose the fear factor against big teams”
If he sorts that midfield out to some extent and it could even improve by doing some inhouse shuffling around then we won’t have that notion of fear in the play.
Unbelievable
4-1 unbelievable stuff
I like that Douglas Luiz fella. Something about him
Villa got relegated and still managed to keep a player like Grealish, is a mystery. He walks into all the top 6 starting 11.
Fuck me 4 – 1
Indecently if they win Villa push us down to 5th..
And it’s 5-1 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lol
Fucking hell, Villa on a rampage
offside
Getting ahead of myself – 4-1.
The elite power rankings suffering the final humiliation of the weekend.
🤣🤣 the power wankings
Good goal that
Marko
Fuck off, I was on Douglas Costa last season.
And Grealish……..whom you need to eat your crow over.
Watkins showing that there’s value in the Championship if you look hard enough.
Come on Villa.
Lets get this potential undefeated season out of the way nice and early for Liverpool.
Wtf is going on???
Imagine you can destroy Pool with actual proactive football unlike Arteta’s park the bus tactics. I guess Aston Villa have a better team too. Like Leeds, Leicester, Wolves.
Villa have spent 85 mil.
We have spent 3p.
Rich club heh!
Clearly Emi Martinez will be storming Mars next.
Didn’t Valentin tell us the other day that Villa would realise the error of their ways and have to loan Watkins out?
Liverpool has a lot os close wins at the beginning of last season too. Games that were decided by marginal penalties called for mane.
Mane dived a lot to get them some dodgy wins last season.,
Marko they got luiz from city last season as city had fernandinho they have a buy back clause unfortunately
Liverpool aren’t playing 3 games in a week the way they play. Villa are shagging them because they’ve got the craft to move through the lines.
Arguably a ‘best in league’ at it in Grealish, but Barkley and Douglas Costa are equally rabid in there.
The thing is, Villa should be 6 up already! Ross Barkley has missed two sitters!
Emi said Villa was a ‘step up’ from Arsenal.
See what he means now.
Villa first X1 pretty good and mobile. Ours is so static.
This season is going to be very weird and entertaining.
Charlie I never said that I didn’t rate Graelish just not as highly as others and not at the expectant price. Douglas Luiz I’ll be honest with you I’ve been keeping an eye on cause I remember seeing him and Pablo Maffeo on loan at Girona and thinking that Man City had some very good players that they’ll likely sell and not use in the next few years and sure enough. He reminds me of someone that I can’t put my finger on who
Martinez is class. What a steal for Villa
“Didn’t Valentin tell us the other day that Villa would realise the error of their ways and have to loan Watkins out?“
One of his sources? 😭
Great save from Emi – similar to the Salah situation last Monday but pushed the ball up onto the bar not out into the six yard box. Good technique.
I was going to say that is the effect a positive mindset by a manager can produce.
And a good goalkeeper who calm everybody in the defense.
But I think that Mane’s absence is the main difference. Liverpool do not look hungry and angry like they were against us.
“Emi said Villa was a ‘step up’ from Arsenal.
See what he means now.”
Keep it in the archive till the end of the season.
Liverpool and United getting beat 6-1 on the same weekend would be beautiful 🚮😂😂😂
Marko
I never heard of him until last season keeping tabs on Grealish, he was immense after the break and better than Grealish imo. He’s the Brazilian Yann M’vila without the attitude.
But Grealish is worth the 60 mil for me, steep price but what he does is so fucking hard to defend against and he’s bullet proof compared to a lot of the powder puff progression merchants. He’s brilliant, but he’s sold his soul there now like Zaha with that new deal.
““Emi said Villa was a ‘step up’ from Arsenal.
See what he means now.””:
Of course it’s a step-up for him.
He’s gone from warming the bench to starting in goal.
It’s mane missing that’s the major difference here
We would not have lost had he not played
What Emi meant was being the no 1 at Villa was a step up from being a back up GK at Arsenal.
Exactly tr7
Price is what you pay And value is what you get United have spent £90million on 2 attacking midfielders in the last 2 windows, and they’re still crying that they need more. They spent £130mill on a right back and a centre half from within the PL last summer, at what point do you demand that those players be better this season, than they were last season. A fool and his money are easily parted, Sancho for £110mill wouldn’t have changed that result today, United need to look at why their return on investment is so poor, before they go… Read more »
I might be thinking Brazilian Essien or Diarra. Mamadou Diarra btw