How was your Christmas people? Good I hope. I cooked. My gfs dad said, ‘great meal, the thing with a big Turkey is they don’t have flavor.’ Don’t have flavor? Are you f*cking kidding me? I massaged that Chicken with sage and orange rind butter like it was a Kobe cow. No flavor? You’d best have covid taste buds right no… wait?
OK, enough of the personal talk… Arsenal today is massive.
If we lose, I struggle to see a way back for Arteta. It’s one humiliation too far and I’m not sure the players will put in the requisite shift to lift us in 5 fairly straightforward games after.
Arteta, a manager flailing in the media, behind the scenes, and on the pitch… needs to find a performance. We need to see the players come out of the traps like they did this time last year when Mikel joined. We need a huge, huge game that convinces everyone the corner can be turned.
I don’t really know how you go back to basics again when you are coach that has overseen such a shocking run.
I’d start by playing those that want to fight. Mikel keeps saying he sees the players give it their all in training. Reality is, they are not doing it on the pitch. That has to be solved for.
Deference to players that have weak character has cost him all his political capital this season. That said, he has to stop being a politician. It’s time to start being the guy that set out guiding principles at the beginning. Show the fans and the players who is boss and make tough decisions. Being bullied by shit players is unbefitting. Those players might have been his choice, but we’re in survival mode now, time to castaway personalities that are toxic, because they have us in 15th.
He needs to pick a side that has runners in it. We’ve looked closer to a system when we’ve had players that think fast, takes risks, and move at speed. It’ll be huge if we have Martinelli in the side today. We have to have AMN and Mo at the base of midfield. Then there’s a big decision to make on the third player in midfield. There’s a video of the City game, Lacazette trudging around when we’re 1-0 down, Gabriel charging people down… give legs today. Take a chance. If Lacazette drops another 4 out of 10, we’re in trouble.
Defence is also going to be problematic. I don’t think anyone is seeing it at the moment, but new signing Gabriel has been bad. His form has dropped over the past few weeks. We need a shift from him and 100% concentration. Same for the rest of them. Where do we go with the defence? Do you opt for Hector with his terrible form? Do you risk Soares? Whatever he puts out there, it has to play a focused game because Chelsea are lethal. Surely we don’t play David Luiz? We all saw him digging out Mo in the last game. That is Luiz, deflecting responsibility in full view of everyone. Behaving like that was part of the non-negotiables, I hope he’s not there today.
Mikel sounds like he’s in bad shape. I’m not surprised. This season has been dreadful and I’m sure he had far higher hopes. He said this.
“When I don’t do things to perfection and just the way I want it in the timing, I feel like I’ve let people down. To live with that feeling is incredibly hard.
“As well, I have to know that what I thought a year ago that it would be, what I wanted to do and what I am right now; that perspective is not far from where we are.”
It’s a little bit sad to read if I’m honest. Like, what is he seeing that we are not? We don’t create. We don’t shoot. We don’t press. We stopped defending. Our xG numbers aren’t telling a positive story. What is he seeing that we are not? It’s the Emperor’s new clothes, except it’s not a sexy outfit, it’s Steve Round telling Mikel the numbers are good. Still, I think he understands the gravity of where we are.
“The next seven to eight days are going to be crucial to see where we’re going to be heading to in the Premier League,”
“We have to stand up and we have to pick up the points. Let’s draw a line and move forward. Whether it’s bad luck or these things that are affecting our results, they have to change dramatically.”
If the next 8 days go badly, it’s hard to see his survival. The players might be shite, but you can’t relegate a club to make a point… and at that point, it’ll be clear we don’t have the person in place to make things happen.
Today is the moment. Beat Chelsea and hope returns. The players will take confidence, the fans will have seen a performance, and the next games look easier.
Lose… well, let’s not consider it, but it’ll certainly feel like the prison doors opening on the green mile.
P.S. Olise is blowing up at Reading. £8m release clause. 19 years old, the exact sort of player we should be taking a risk on.
Pedro-agreed. Let’s hope that he at least keeps Willian in the sick room for a while.
Have to say that apart from the first 15 minutes, Holding was impressive. He really hounds the strikers out to the touchline although I’m worried someone will soon do the trick on him like Cesc did to Savage.
It’s a little infuriating especially in the case of Saliba, seeing Fofana come into the league and be up for the fight, yet we play players who won’t be here next season in Salibas place.
Doesn’t even get a chance to prove himself.
I hope the club ( Edu/ Mike) get blinded by this win.
We still need to add GK and CAM this winter… no question….
Buendia would make a lot of sense… or another scoring/creating 8.
If Mike wants a 3 man midfield I suggest
New player___TP____AMN
That right side needs more help with creating
I forgot to mention despite Leno still being slow releasing the ball. He caught a few crosses and did well today.
That penalty save was his cherry on top for a good performance!
Guns Just going to leave AMNs stats from the City game here: “As per Sofascore, he lost possession an incredible 20 times over the course of the night, the most of any Arsenal player on the pitch. He also made no successful dribbles, sent no accurate crosses, made just 20 total successful passes, and lost seven of his nine duels too.” This is why he doesn’t play in midfield and barely plays at all, no conspiracy or lack of talent judging in this case, he’s simply not good enough. We need a new CM next to Partey as much as… Read more »
Freddie
Who do you have on your radar for good mids?
DS is sadly gone….
Anyone on your top 5?
The city game was an abomination to be frank…the entire team stunk out the place
He has played much better in other games….
Goobergooner Looks like Huss Fahmy took the hit for the Saliba loan screw-up, which was probably fair. I think we had a perfect storm as we played late into the summer and there were time pressures on us. We probably expected to be able to offload Sokratis and maybe Chambers and neither happened. In fairness, Luiz was a big part of our Cup win and was a big characted (for good or bad) in the dressing room. We had clearly committed to Mari and Gabriel and for some reason Arteta went soft on Mustafi but thankfully got rejected. By that… Read more »
Considering our budget and needs I’d go with Buendia and Soumare. Lille is supposedly willing to let him go for a song because they’re in financial troubles, heard under 20m. Could probably get both for less than Lyon wanted for Aouar in the summer. Buendia is PL proven too without the PL premium. As Weagle has mentioned Rodrigo de Paul would be interesting, but too hard to get right now. Not at all keen on Eriksen or Isco. Not really on Brandt either although better than the other 2. Just want us to go young with high potential and the… Read more »
Guns
He’s had a lot of games like that though, far too sloppy in possession for me, would be a calamity in CM. Does ok on occasion as wingback but would rather we cashed in for someone who at 23 isn’t starting material.
Yeah, Bellerin had a good game and no foul throws!
I think he’s in danger of being underrated by some Arsenal fans. I think he and Saka could combine well. Not sure how often I’ve seen Saka out on the right but he did great there today.
Pretty funny going back and reading all the Negative Nancies on page 1 now. The boys behind Laca made the match.
Bacary,
Hahaha yeah no foul throws is a massive bonus 😂😂
I’m with you on AMN, Freddie. Feels like there’s two levels to our youth prospects: Maybe a little simplistic but the way I see it right now:
Level 1: Saka, Martinelli, ESR and Balogun
Level 2: AMN, Nketiah, Willock and Nelson
Azeez is trending towards Level 1 but he’s not been tested enough yet. Same could be possibly true of Balogun but his balancing and two-footed finishing sets him apart from the less-experienced prospects.
Bellerin is not a wingback.. much better in a back 4. That’s what it boils down to for me. And he can’t partner with Willian and Pepe. As one wants to occupy the same space around the box in Willian and the other Pepe is just not good at link up play. Defensively in a midfield 4 as a wingback he is all over the place positionally.. Was much better today.. Still got beat a few times but Holding mostly covered for him. I think we could do better then Bellerin but why spend the money when for me it’s… Read more »
I still think changing Arteta last week or now would have been the right call .. but I wouldn’t be mad if he proved me wrong either and we go on a long run I’m not expecting that though. It is still 2020 after all and there is a lot to overcome and much of it is self inflicted decisions.
Julian Brandt is a German professional footballer who plays as a left winger or attacking midfielder for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Germany national team. Brandt made over 55 combined appearances for Germany’s youth teams, playing at every level from U15 to U21. Wikipedia
Born: May 2, 1996 (age 24 years), Bremen, Germany
Height: 6′ 1″
Weight: 183 lbs
PedroDecember 26, 2020 20:48:26
Kaz, your takeaway for today is that Gabi didn’t start a year ago?Honestly, some embarrassing carry-on after a win against a team that was about to go second.
—
No Pedro, my takeaway is that your crush doesn’t have a fucking clue and needs to be binned ASAP for the good of the team.
I’m glad we won, still doesn’t mask the uselessness of his decision making.
Your spin doesn’t work either, you deliberate miss the context of points and respond like a tabloid.
Anguissa looks tidy too.
Arsenal xG 1.94
Chelsea xG 2.25
Arteta will never speak about it though. haha
Great result, lots of good performances from everyone. A late Christmas gift for sure I hope arteta was paying attention because I have this nasty feeling he will revert to type as soon as he can and it will be back to scratching our heads at crap team selections etc I’m especially glad for smith Rowe. Martinelli and saka are expected to show up, those two are our golden boys. But ESR has a lot of hype surrounding him but no backing from the manager. Despite believing in him as a player, I’d have expected the occasion to overwhelm him… Read more »
Also makes a change that we got given a ridiculous penalty
Hilarious listening to an ex ref on sky sports trying to defend the decision post var review. Rubbish decision but these usually go against us and I’ll take it all day right now
Didn’t i mention months ago that Ozil should be banned from training with the team and his jersey number given to someone else?
But there was a clown here quoting the Athletic that Arsenal would be financially liable for doing so😃😃😃never heard such nonsense in my life 😃
Good win last night really enjoyable to watch as we actually made Chelsea look ordinary and flat. We thoroughly deserved the win. That said we’ll have to see if that win can be carried forward into further wins. Xhaka had a decent game because he had space and time on the ball. Other teams will rightly close him down into the error prone rash idiot he’s been for most of his time at the club. However, Partey being fit should limit Xhaka’s game time to games that suit his ponderous style. I still want Rangnick to be brought in with… Read more »
The DM is reporting the dressing room is divided with the older players wanting Ozil reinstated in the team.
They just want a fall guy to deflect their poor abilities on the pitch.
ESR showed he is better at his age than Ozil is and can only get better.
Buy on of or both Buendia and Soumare as Freddie posted and leave Ozil to his Twitter trolling.
Just bench the older trouble makers or move them on.
Great result last night, well deserved 3 points. Saka, Tierney and Martinelli all had Stirling games, with special mentions to esr, Laca and Xhaka.
To all those hoping for a Chavs victory pre game and probably during the game, you all need to be fucked with a wire brush.
Brilliant Result, Massive 3 points and hopefully a springboard to a good run off results, Give the young lads there dues and keep playing them..
Tony
Arsenal need to move on from holding onto Ozil. He is not the future of the club and he has become frankly divisive.
Hopefully the club will move on and offload several of the other players in their final two years
of contract. We need to reduce size of squad and freshen it up.
The Godfather
Not sure if it was me you were calling a clown but you might want to read a little more carefully. I said I wasn’t sure if banning him from practice could be seen as constructive termination. I have no idea if there are any rules/labour laws around that.
Bellerin had a good game because Elnemy was covering for him.
Looks like we learnt something from the spurs game after all
bacaryisgod
Ozil is toxic and we have reached the point where it would better for all concerned that
he does not train with first team.
We have constructively terminated his contract, because he is not registered to play in Europe,
EPL or Cup Games. The same applies to Sokratis.
CHina
Spot on with this…
To show up and play really well is a real testament to his mentality. It’s not easy as a kid to sit on the fringes forever and be eternally overlooked then just show up and do one on Chelsea. Like I said I expect this from saka and martinelli but for ESR that’s a major achievement.
Why are we still talking about Ozil?
To apply a more precise definition. He is being paid “not to play” so it is not termination of contract.
I actually think ESR was playing with the handbrake on.
As China said, he finally gets a BIG chance to play and he knows not to play too risky to not incur Mikes wrath or make glaring mistakes.
He was neat and tidy today but kept the ball moving in the final third… what we sorely lacked before…
WIth more time he will find his mojo and can show what he really has got. The coach needs to give more trust to him…without fear of being dropped for millenia if he messes up
We been consistently and worse persistently playing shit and losing . What intelligent posters been pointing out was exactly what forced Arteta hands last game . That Arteta has not changed his spots was apparent when he brought in the subs . Martinelli had to come out to protect him . But the obvious silar substitute Balogun was not even on the bench. The post match interview Arteta downplayed the youngster which indicates which old way the wind will blow. The group of youngsters were interlinking in the way they were familiar at the Academy. The result was the outcome… Read more »
I think its a damn indictment on Ceballos as a player that we never really missed him in the last game . Someone said that we didnt win last night because we played the kids , we won because we played the best players on the pitch , and that is what Mikel Arteta should learn from the game.
As the euphoria of last night’s win fades, I’m starting to worry about the Brighton game.
When was the last time we beat them?
ES
Agree with you re Ozil and props for calling for ESR some time ago you were right about him as well.
Must be Xmas with you and I agreeing ES.
We will batter Brighton
There is too much bad blood from the last meeting and I think we are fired up now
Groovey.. I know right.. Last time we beat Brighton… Petr Cech was in goal and Nacho Monreal scored a goal.
If you can imagine that.
We will batter Brighton
Not too sure about that!
I expect some players to play with that extra Guen motivation…. seeing what happened last time…
I can see Martin scoring against them. Seems like the time is any minute now.
Don’t know if anyone noticed first half ESR went everywhere Kante went preventing Kante from making those passes to the attacking midfielders. He also reminded me ala Ozil some of his passes, creativty movement.
Brighton are one of those teams.that can beat us on any given day. I’ll think this game will be harder than the Chelsea one.
Guns
If Arteta is smart he will play with the same team. If he changes it up it will upset the balance.
ESR looks like a good mix of Ramsey and Fabregas. Once he gets comfortable in the team like Saka , he’ll win matches for us single handedly.
Middy
You might appreciate this….
Rudy Glenn came to my junior high and ran a 3 day soccer clinic after school.
I just want to know how we lose to Burnley but batter Chelsea?
Da fuck is going on this season
Brighton will be a much tougher game than yesterday’s with Chelsea.
Diet pep will mess things up sooner or later, its in his DNA
you can take this to the bank!
Tony we will get them…
I think the bad blood still exists….
We have Martin and ESR too!
The team looked much better today and there is no way that Chelsea played that bad. I think we win at Brighton 2 nil or 2 -1
Leno was hurt there and the Guen thing… I think the boys will need no reminding
Couldn’t catch the game last night but nice to stop the bleeding.
Predicted the win considering Chelsea without Ziyech have been inconsistent to say the least, an indictment on lampard.
But let’s not do the whole this is the lineup going forward thing, did it after united.
Middy -You might appreciate this….Rudy Glenn came to my junior high and ran a 3 day soccer clinic after school.
________
No kidding? Small world.. He is a little bit older then me.. But he went to University near where I did.. and I basically wanted to be him at one point.. Always wanted to play for the Sting. Unfortunately the League folded before I had a chance by the time I graduated University. Loved those Sting Kits though Black and Yellow with the Bees. haha
Got to say Xhaka was fantastic against Chelsea, I don’t think we have seen him play better for Arsenal.
Great win but the real test for Arteta is the next four games. Does he understand why we won last night?
3 defeats in 4 games could Lampard get fired before Arteta.
This was a typical late Wenger performance. Just as you thought it couldn’t get any worse and the sack was imminent…a result is pulled out the bag. Magic? No. I’d say there’s a 85-90% chance of us tanking the next game, just as we used to. You lot will now say “amazing, we’re back…top four”. Bollocks. Also worth noting that even though he didn’t totally stink…Xhaka was straight back in the team. Goal or not, once again a player who has made David Batty look dynamic for the past few years is once again, back in the team and being… Read more »
Martinelli has simply been a breath of fresh air since he returned, and you can see his enthusiasm is infectious and rubbing off on some of the other players. He has reminded me a bit of Alexis with his tenacity and hassling of defenders, but he has to r technical prowess to make a difference. He was slightly unlucky not to score last night with his big chance and what’s good is you could see the frustration his face when he came off having not scored. He is going to be a big player for us for several years hopefully,… Read more »
I wish we’d picked up Cavani instead of Willian. Would have been a much better asset to our game.
One win against a good team like Chelsea and it is amazing how the perspective can change. It only takes a little bit of good fortune, bang a few goals in, win and the players can have their confidence back, and suddenly the next few fixtures look entirely winnable.
Jesus. See what I mean. The comments are full of deluded motherfuckers who thought Santa delivered their gifts and not some bastard from Amazon.
Emil had a banger of a game yesterday, nullified Kante completely, picked up great positions in attack and Martinelli has that Alexis like spark in him which sets a great tempo, and hopefully he channels that energy right in the future.
I have been saying that Saka should be playing with his contemporaries as he feels more confident and has a better on field relationship with the players he grew up with and also Martinelli. In typical Le Grove fashion , we have posters talking about letting 2 academy players go who are top this season in goal contributions for Arsenal …Eddie and Willock.(from midfield)…6 goal contributions each. They are being written off despite the fact that between them they have only started 5 league games this season 2 starts for willock and 3 for Nketiah in the league is not… Read more »
Well none of us expected that but then again Chelsea did put in an even worse performance than our previous 5 games in the PL so it stands to reason that sooner or later an accident like this will happen. Last night’s game wasn’t something to be hopeful about. It was a fluke. A concatenation of events that led to a win. The penalty was fortunate, Saka’s goal was accidental where a cross ends up being a goal. The set piece from Xhaka was excellent and we know he does do that from time to time but not nearly enough… Read more »
Jeff
We won because we were the better team on the night..
It was a penalty
Xhaka’s goal was magnificent
Saka’s goal was a thing of beauty .
Yes Pierre. If you say so.
The argument that somehow our three goals owed a lot to luck ignores the fact that we created 3/4 excellent opportunities that could easily have resulted in more goals. Brighton playing today so that should give us an advantage over them; we will have had an extra day’s rest during a busy schedule. An unchanged line up will take the game to them and I would predict a goal from a ‘super sub’ PEA. Only concern I would have is Martinelli’s exposure to too much game time after such a long lay off. The pressure to keep picking him will… Read more »
I agree with you Pierre on Willock, though would like to see balogun see some of Eddie’s game time. They would push themselves even harder if they were both fighting for the same spot without the favouritism. Joe has quite a bit to his game that both elneny and xhaka lack. The main two being that he does get into good areas, and isn’t as scared to receive the ball with an opponent close by. Elneny did very well against the Chelsea press on multiple occasions though. Was quite surprised actually. There was actually one point he managed to beat… Read more »
Also I’m with guns of Hackney on this one.
This one result in isolation is good. But in the grand scheme of the season we are still shit.
If this match is the catalyst for change we need then brilliant. But it really is what comes next that matters most.
You saw how wounded Gabby looked with each missed chance and when he was subbed because he didn’t register a goal. Love to see it
“Well none of us expected that but then again Chelsea did put in an even worse performance than our previous 5 games in the PL ”
Maybe, just maybe, we didn’t allow them to perform any better than they did. Chelsea came into the game later as we began to tire.
ESR was rated two seasons ago the best prospect at club. He is an intelligent and technically gifted player. The one concern that I and others have got was that he seems to be injury prone. In the current situation that Arsenal find themselves in we need to play both Martinelli and Saka ahead of the fullbacks, not just because of what they offer in attack, but also that they are tracking back when required to do so. Arsenal have been struggling in far too many games particularly on right side of pitch with lack of support from Willian and… Read more »
I agree that is strange to see Willock being overly criticised, at the very least he can contribute to being a good squad player but at the same time I think there is more to come from him. There is nothing wrong with a bit of positivity, after a long run of winless games. Sad to see so many playing it down. Sometimes a confidence boost is all some players need to get back to the level they should be. Also agree that we need to be careful with Martinelli regarding his fitness., which is a slight quandary as he… Read more »
Morning Jeff I’ve been scathing of Arsenal and Arteta these past few months but yesterday’s display was a breath of fresh air. It was the first time for long time that we’ve actually looked threatening, The youngsters stole the show and before all those late nerves, we had chances to get a forth and more. Chelski were below par but the pace and enthusiasm of Martinelli, Tierney, Saka and ESR was a joy to behold. Whether Arteta was forced into the changes because of protocol doesn’t concern me, because I don’t rate him anyway. It’s up to him to act… Read more »
Pierre
Sorry but you’re wrong on Willock. ESR is easy on the eye and rarely looks like he is going to give the ball away or a pass. Willock on the other hand is erratic with the ball and in his passing and his overall game is weak.
If that makes me a no nothing I’ll gladly hold that title and say Willock is average.
Willock, Nketiah and Nelson are not on a par with Saka, ESR and Martinelli.
However, to have a core of good youngsters is essential if we are going to move forward.
Add Tierney and Gabriel to the list and things are not as gloomy as we all think.
Willock and Eddie are both prospects but they both have a way to go to make the grade as first 11 players. ESR is an unknown quantity as he looks the real deal but the sample of games is so small that we can’t pass a serious judgment yet. But he’s at worst a big prospect akin to Eddie and Willock and at best a huge talent like Saka and martinelli. We’ll have to wait and see how he does for the rest of the season Saka and martinelli are known quantities and awesome talents As far as I’m concerned,… Read more »