Mikel Arteta was reminded of the lessons he learned in December in the comfort of a safety blanket FA Cup 3rd round against a team that’s really not that good.
The team he rolled out had a few of the problem players we thought might be useful this season. The two most notable were Willian and Pepe. We also saw Reiss Nelson given a crack, along with Joe Willock, who many had high hopes for this season.
Well, if you thought the emergence of the kids was going to spark something, you’d have been very wrong. Pepe and Willian were quite simply not at the level expected of £100k p/w+ talents. Whatever the Arteta system is, you cannot argue those two are built for it. The Ivorian looks so out of his depth, you struggle to see how he’d land minutes at Brentford. Willian doesn’t have pace, he doesn’t have a purpose, and he lacks the drive to show he can change.
Joe Willock and Big Mo just didn’t work at the base of midfield. Joe was particularly anonymous. There’s something there, he shows flashes of ingenuity with some of his passing and he has a stride, but too often it’s the lack of concentration you remember. I really, really struggle to understand what AMN has to do to land game time. The guy who marked City out of a semi and pocketed Traore can’t land time ahead of two players that have lower ceilings. It’s really odd.
The big lesson of the Newcastle game is that we’re a couple of injuries away from utter mediocrity. It was incredibly worrying to see Gabi go off in the warm-up crying. The hope is that he’s a drama queen like David Ospina, I fear that’s not the case though, based mostly on the luck Arsenal has had this season.
Saka and ESR are now the go-to players that rescue games. They have energy, they take chances, and for two young players… they are really efficient. Smith Rowe is now up to 4 assists and 2 goals this season. His finish today was fucking outrageous. It was seasoned. Confident. Decisive.
Saka landed the assist for the assist twice. His first was a looped ball that Lacazette nodded into the path of ESR. The second was finding Auba at the back post. Brilliant stuff. The second half of the season, in a position he likes, is opening up his game and he’s thriving. What a talent.
We also can’t ignore two senior players that have stepped up to the plate. Granit Xhaka changed the game when he came on. Alex Lacazette found another assist. Those two are earning their keep.
Same with Kieran Tierney. He’s been an immense signing and he popped up with another beastly performance and capped it with an assist for Auba. Talking of our captain, it’s great to see him on the score sheet. He might be out of sorts, but you can see the green shoots in his game that tell you he wants to be the main man. He’s not mentally retiring any time soon. That’s great news.
I think we can also stop talking about Emi Martinez now. Bernd Leno is just a really good goalkeeper. His triple save in the second half was decisive. He’s passing is improving, he’s punching less, and he makes decisive contributions in games when he’s not busy.
Also worth noting that Pablo Mari doesn’t look like a bum. Edu has pulled one out of the bag there. He’s calm on the ball, his passing is good and he uses his frame well. Someone compared him to Per Mertesacker the other day and I thought that was apt.
So, we’re through to the next round of the FA Cup. The biggest news we can get is that Gabriel has a minor injury. The hope is that we see Thomas Partey very soon to address the midfield drabness. A huge week ahead as we build towards Top 4 deciders at the end of the month.
Listen to my on the whistle podcast I just made with Matt. HAVE A NICE DAY.
1st
2nd
3rd
Tr4phy
Europa
all the ex Chelsea players need to go asap it’s about the vibrant hard working kids and bringing in players that compliment themIt’s been a while since we have had a bunch of kids come through at onceProbably 30 plus years since Merse,big tone rocky etc
Yes hopefully we don’t have to endure any more Leno/Martinez discussions. It’s been done to death and there’s nothing that can be done to change it, and we still have an excellent goalkeeper as evidenced again this evening.
The club’s treatment of Pepe must now solely revolve around strategies to maximise sale value: he very clearly is nowhere near the level expected at Arsenal.
His contract expires in summer 2024. If there’s a good offer (£35m) this summer, move him on. Otherwise we will have to loan him out to France or elsewhere next season, and hope he does OK so there are offees when his contract is down to 2 years.
A tough win but deserved overall. Happy with the result.
Pedro agree about Mari solid defender no messing about keeps it tidy gotta love that
Pepe is never gonna work out it’s been 18 months now and he is going backwards cut our losses and run with him
Someone in France will pick him up
Mari is looking a very competent defender. We’ve seen a few games with him now and he’s been consistently solid. Very good to know that we have options in that area. I don’t think Pepe was so bad today. Not great by any means, but he worked hard and made a nuisance of himself – I’d give him a 6.5 probably. Unfortunately for him, he’s just not on the same level as Saka. Willian… oh boy. Oh boy oh boy. “I think we can also stop talking about Emi Martinez now” I don’t. I don’t think I ever will lol.… Read more »
Mari had a monumental performance today. Tackles – 4/4
Dribbles – 3/3
Interceptions – 3
Clearances – 5
Pass Accuracy – 94% (73/78) impressive
Arteta doesn’t fancy Pepe
Make our loan manager earn his crust, make sure we get him to a counter attacking team in a weaker + slower league, and just pray he hits the ground running, and starts looking like a player
Then maybe we can get at least £25-£35mill back for him.
I was hoping he would kick on this season, and was just a late developer, but the writing looks like it’s on the wall.
Hopefully we can then just pay Willian £12mill to f*ck off, and admit our mistake early.
Always rated Mari. Solid, dependable, and with a calming influence. What’s not to like?
Rich.
Couldn’t agree more. Loan for Pepe. Hope he shows some form in a lesser league. Claw back a decent portion of his fee.
That was a fucking waste of 90 minutes of boring ball kicking. When I looked at the starting 11 I said WTF Arteta were you thinking to put this team together. Right, we can see that he needs 5 substitutes to correct his shitty selection of the starting 11.
Nelson, Willock, Willian and Pepe were terrible. When your most creative player is Mo Elneny and Luiz you are in trouble. Arteta needs 5 subs to correct his shit show of a selection.
The guy [AMM] who marked City out of a semi and pocketed Traore can’t land time ahead of two players that have lower ceilings. It’s really odd.
This reeks of vindictiveness from MA. Why else would he not play him, when we all see that AMN has something to bring, unlike Elneny or Willock??
That’s where I agree. It is odd that he is not being played, in particular where rotation is dead critical to ensure that the team survives all the games coming our way.
Pedro,
Good post.
Agree that Xhaka and Laca have stepped up their game. Laca really seems to thrive on the interplay with ESR and Saka.
Really puzzled about Willian. No matter where he plays or what formation we play, no matter who partners him on the right or left, or who is ahead or behind him on the odd occasion when he’s been played as a number 10, he looks utter dross.
As for your hope that Leno’s recent performances are gonna somehow kill of the Leno v. Martinez debate, good luck with that!
Loan for Pepe???
I think we need to make a cross on this player. Like Willian, he brings nothing to the team. I say sell.
The fact that he litterally is a one trick pony, he is never going to be a success in the PL. Everyone has already sussed him out.
He is yet again another expensive flop.
Who knows, maybe Arteta is keeping AMN fresh so that he can come in and do a job on Zaha against Palace?
Willian is going nowhere. Just as it looks like we might finally be getting rid of one massive financial drain, we are now stuck with another. Again, the decision to give Willian that contract on its own should have had serious consequences. I don’t think Arteta has the balls to drop him long term, although I hope I’m wrong because without him and Pepe we look a much better team.
Yo Willian and Pepe get your shit together please
Rich, it’s absurd to suggest a 72m needs to be loaned… but very correct.
If MA still thinks that Willian has an ounce of senior professionalism left in him (which is why MA is still selecting him) then this clearly shows that MA has poor judgement. It has been said that he picks players on how they train. That’s dead easy to make yourself look like you’re doing well when training. It’s a different beast.when you are playing the actual game. Why doesn’t MA focus on who is making an effort during match day? It’s far more revealing who wants it and who doesn’t. He should make his decisions to pick the team on… Read more »
I am really worried about Willan not performing. We do not have a player as his replacement so the right wing is going to be Saka. If the opponents find our new move out – which is cute combinations between Laca – Saka – ESR then our game is meh. We were similarly found out when KT to Auba link was broken and opponents started to push Auba wide making out attack very drab. Reiss Nelson might have been a good option but the more I see him play he comes to life in the first 5-10 mins and then… Read more »
Based on the first half performance – that’s all I managed to see before falling asleep ( literally)- Willian owes the whole team a free, three course dinner at his restaurant.
Apologies to the Legrove traffic marshals who complained the traffic was slow after a win on the previous thread.
I’ll try harder not to doze off next time Arsenal put in such an exhilarating performance, and then promptly congratulate the team.
Wilko – Willian must be the trainer of the year to keep getting picked lol
What an absolute duffer of a player he is – and yet he was good at Chelski
I don’t get how shit he is.
This is Willian’s Wiki entry for Arsenal:-
On 14 August 2020, Willian signed for Premier League club Arsenal on a three-year contract. On 12 September, Willian made his debut for the club against Fulham, recording two assists, as Arsenal won 3–0.
The end 😉
Wilko
In fact I should have written it as: some players manage to con MA during training and make themselves look good.
But when they play they do fuck all. I am thinking of Willian here.
Sorry, I’ve made it sound like pretending to train will get you selected. Anyone who does sport professionally takes training very seriously. You can’t fake it.
Pedro
Completely agree that we’re a few injuries away from falling back into the pits of hell
Take out Saka, Tierney, Leno
And then Partey continues to struggle with fitness….
And what’s left, is frightening.
The margins between getting into the pack for Europa, and falling into dangerous territory in the bottom half, are small.
Just listened to what Arteta said about Willian:
– He’s showing in training how much he wants it.
– He needs to build those relationships with other players.
It seems that Willian trains very well. The fault lies with his teammates.
It was maddening until the reinforcements were brought on, but here are my thoughts. 1. Willian is utter shit. The failed one-two made me want to strangle him. 2. Pepe’s first touch? Moved to another planet I guess. 3. Huge game for Leno. 4. Smith-Rowe. Wow. .Embarrassing for Willian to watch that. He is always looking to push up the pace and moving after he releases the ball. Well-deserved goal. 5. Xhaka’s pass to Tierney for #2 was excellent and he nearly got one on that volley. Some times I hate him. Sometimes I love him. Cheers and feels good… Read more »
“Arteta still making bad selection calls and a major reason why we struggled”
I honestly don’t get comments like these. Anyone would think we had a Citeh like squad. I would love to see ESR, Saka, Martinelli start every game but it’s not happening. Games are coming thick and fast so you need to rotate, especially young players. I doubt Arteta wanted ESR or Saka playing last night at all. The only selection I would query was Tierney. He needed to be rested, other than that I think the team selected was reasonable.
Bo
I hope Arteta won’t try to play Auba as the lone striker again. He can’t hold up the ball. He can’t pass. The offense sucked for 105 mins until Laca came on. I thought we have already lost three games in a roll playing him as the lone striker.
If he needs to rotate, play Auba on the left.
One more problem. Auba has one of the worst header among all EPL strikers.
Pepe over Willian. If we want to sell him this summer we need to preserve his value… to preserve his value he needs to play. Who knows if he plays he might regain his mojo and confidence!
He is a confidence player and he needs to establish a rhythm.
Jeesus F’n Christ but Pepe is an incredibly weak performer. Cant recall seeing someone so easily moved off a ball since my last dog. Loaning out Pepe requires a serious slap upside the dumbshit who signed him.
As for Willian, you cant make up the shitshow that he’s become, just wow.
Take today’s win be because, quite frankly, Newcastle are really that poor. Plenty to be concerned over, but really no surprise because Arteta still hasn’t a real clue whats going on.
Just Wow!
Let’s not kid ourselves, ESR was forced upon Arteta as he insisted on played the resident stiffs, don’t kid yourself, Arteta is no genius by any stretch of common sense.
“Playing with the handbrake on/off.” I think we can put that meme to bed now (can’t remember who started it.) Last night showed quite dramatically that no “handbrake” exists. It comes down to personnel.
Nelson
I agree. I never wanted Auba playing lone or central striker. He has scored the majority of goals for us from the left. Many here were claiming he was being played out of position until it was shown otherwise.
“Ernest your comments show you don’t really have a clue either.”
I’d love to be smoking what your smoking Roger-Wilco-and-out!
Pepe wasn’t that bad today. He’s been very inconsistent in his time here and could benefit from a run of games. We don’t have a manager that will do it and his performances don’t merit a run of games so far we’re at a point where we may have to cut our losses.
I am of the Arteta Our brigade, but that this time his initial selection was done in view of preserving the current performers: Lacazette, Saka, ESR. Clearly if they get injured, our season is as good as over. The main gripes that I have with his selection and the formations are: + by now Arteta should know that You can’t play Aubameyang, Pepe, Willian and expect to play the same way than previously. None of them have a good interaction with their teammates. Compare Willian attempt at 1-2 with the quick interchange between Saka, Laca and ESR. If it was… Read more »
Left side
Are you prepared to drop Saka in order to give Pepe the game time required?
I don’t see what you see in him. He’s always off balance, his thinking is slower than other players around him, when he tries to take a man on he usually stumbles over the ball and loses possession. Just don’t see a PL player there. For me, sell and accept the financial hit.
What’s this news about Guendouzi coming back so we don’t lose him for free ? I thought he got a new contract last year
Valentin
What you wrote is correct. On the other hand, you want you B team to play the same system as the A team. In case you have to rotate players in the A team, players in the B team are already familiar with the system. It is Arteta’s job to make it works.
“William Saliba left with egg on his face as unconvincing start to loan at Nice continues.”
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/william-saliba-start-loan-nice-23292012
Pepe consistently chooses the wrong option.
Willock gives the ball away and makes silly fouls to redress his mistake, lacks confidence.
Reese Nelson does not look as though he will make it.
Willan, do not know what is wrong with him, confidence is shot.
Lac and Auba are regaining form and be there at the finish.
Pepe is a scatterbrain. He makes poor decisions and occasionally just has no touch. Obviously he has quality so it has to be mental with him. The high fee is too much for him and he’s always stumbling about.
KSE is celebrating tonight. Rams defected Seahawks in the wild Card game 30 to 20 at Seahawks.
Pepe reminds me of moh salah, was very average for a chelsea team but at Liverpool, playing to his strength, he just scores for fun. Not only that, he has bulked up and is very hard to push off. He is definitely not the same player when he was playing at chelsea, physically or mentally.
Pepe needs to get over that hurdle, take extra time to work on his weaknesses, because technically he is a joy to watch. He needs to learn a few things from saka and vice versa.
Well at least we could make 5 subs to change the course of that game.
ESR what a beast he will be for us. Saka don’t really need to say any more there. Love them both.
Auba just needs to keep hitting the net.
We actually have a pretty good first 11. It’s just a lack of depth and dubious team selections and injuries which can screw us. ESR delivering again. What a kid. Arteta needs to manage him very carefully. If he starts the next game he should be taken off after 60 mins imo. But if ESR is off it becomes extra important to keep Saka on. If we don’t have any of Martinelli, Saka or ESR on I think we are in big trouble offensively. All 3 of these are game changers for us and ideally we need 2 on the… Read more »
ESR and Saka >>>>>>>>>>>> Willian and Pepe
Raulishuss,
“Lol. Eddie has been delivering for ARSENAL incase you don’t know moron”
I want this guy to succeed. He’s one of us.
But 12 matches in pl with one goal and one assist is not delivering for Arsenal.
You moron 😂.
My patience with Pepe has run out now. If someone would give us 30m for him I’d take it. Arsenal don’t have the luxury of waiting around for players to find form. Our squad and performances are far too fragile for us to be patient. Saka esr and Martinelli all showed that there are no excuses for being off the pace. They’ve absolutely shit all over Willian and Pepe. I doubt it’s gonna happen but I’d gladly take money for either player right now and reinvest immediately on someone who can do a job on day 1. No more excuses.… Read more »
We all know Pepe has been very poorly managed (that’s a fact and not his fault) but the fact of the matter is he’s been here for 18 months and he’s still looking like he was signed yesterday and that really is on him. Martinelli was out for a year. Comes back and looks a game changer immediately Saka played everywhere apart from his correct position and has still been our player of the season. Put him into the correct position and he’s immediately MOTM contender every game ESR has been treated like crap and under appreciated by arteta. He… Read more »
I would imagine Pepe might be an attractive makeweight in a swap deal to Italy, Spain or France. I doubt anyone would wanna pay good money for him but at least he could significantly sweeten any offer we make for someone else’s player
Actually thinking about it, Pepe + 20m for Aouar could actually be quite a nice prospect for Lyon. Not sure if they want a winger but that move would probably be welcome by Pepe and would certainly work for us
The only lesson Arteta learnt from December is his own life’s lesson. Keep on giving chances to failures like Williams as he Arteta been given chances for improvement and improvements to be seen through a microscope.
Beggars to see what a management mess AFC is
China
“us.ESR delivering again. What a kid. Arteta needs to manage him very carefully. If he starts the next game he should be taken off after 60 mins imo.”
It’s for that very reason we need another am. The fixture list is to crowded, ESR cannot be expected to play every game. You could see the difference today without a dedicated am compared to when ESR came on.
Naturally happy for the win, but not in the boring manner of the win or the starting selection. Azeez, AMN, Bolagun could have been in the starting line up instead of Pepe/Willian and Nelson/Auba and Willock. Why didn’t Arteta change tactics (442) and start Eddie and Bolagun up top as a trial? Obviously, it didn’t help with Martinelli’s warm up injury who would have played. When we are bare skin to the bone with essential players, such as Saka, ESR etc we need to be testing more youth players with game time. I still say the Willian Dubai trip was… Read more »
Yesterday someone posted about Ballogan whom nobody sees playing turning out ito be Chuba Apkom . If at all all he does not turn out to be Serge Gnabry might have to do with Arteta prejudice banning him out of the bench even in a FA Cup ,when Ballogan would have been an obvious one to one substitute when Martinelli was injured. Our perverse sauce seems to have insight to work out moves to serve his Agenda ,but no nous to set up a winning combination unless he falls on it on his trajectory fall down the stairs. When Rangnick… Read more »
Balogun seems to be off. Despite Mikes BS as per usual in the media, he literally wants to keep every player he has, even Eddie N! I know you have to be diplomatic in the media but still, to come out with such determined responses makes you look stupid when you end up doing the opposite. learn to play the game Mike! However, if he really rates Eddie, ( we know he is a terrible judge of players) then it says it all…. Eddie N is not at our level at all. The world has an abundance of strikers. Why… Read more »
Funny enough, TalkSport’s computer generated final table prediction is pretty close to Bamford’s power rankings.
City to win, followed by Liverpool, United , Spurs, Chelsea, Leicester, then us.
https://talksport.com/football/814043/title-liverpool-manchester-united-chelsea-arsenal-champions-league-talksport-super-computer-predicts-premier-league-table/
I must have been watching a different game than most of you. Sure, Willian was abysmal but Pepe was fine. He worked hard and looked quite dangerous. He’s a little short on confidence but he came to play today. I have no time for Willian but I can see things clicking fairly soon for Nicolas. No doubt he should be relegated to the bench in favor of Sake, Martinelli or Auba on the flanks but I still have hope for him. The key move we need to make is finding a new home on loan or permanently for WIllian.
I don’t see city winning the league this year. They will come top 3 but I personally wouldn’t put money on them for first. Liverpool are a safer bet imo
Bacary Pepe has been here 18 months and is in no stronger a position now than he was on the day he arrived
There comes a point where we have to accept he’s not doing enough and is not hungry enough to really take this chance
In 18 months with all that talent Pepe should’ve been able to force the managers hand and force his way into the team ESR, Martinelli and Saka all did so through brute force by showing up really well every time they got a chance. If Pepe really needs to have his hand held to get into a team which has been so shockingly bad these last couple of years then you have to admit the problem is just as much his as the managers. If he’s so prone to losing confidence then ok say we play him 5 games in… Read more »
Lacazette has entered the final 18 months of his contract and is finding form again.
Coincidence? I think not
We have seen this with many players before. Ozil and Auba come to mind.
Players usually up their game when playing for a new contract. I just hope Arteta doesn’t take the bait and offer him 300k p/w for 4 more years. Instead we should take advantage of the situation. Play Laca and get consistent performances out of him then sell him in the summer. He is declining physically and is very much a confidence player.
Bojangles “. You could see the difference today without a dedicated am compared to when ESR came on.” I made a comment yesterday morning highlighting the importance of the CAM /No.10/ playmaker and last night’s game was a perfect case in point. Some seem to think you can put any competant player into that role and they will succeed , but they are wrong , it is a specialised position that requires a special mindset to play that role. Over the years we’ve tried different players in that role, Ramsey , Willock , Saka, Willian, Torreira to name but few,… Read more »
Tierney I don’t think laca is playing for a new contract per say as I don’t think his effort and work rate ever really dropped The issue is that (a bit like Giroud) laca is very much a form player. He’ll be unplayable for several games then be very poor for the several following. He’s often been like this since his arrival It’s a bit like with giroud where people are crediting him for being a good goal scorer because he’s got 8 in his last 8 games or something – but he scored 1 in his previous 16 appearances… Read more »
Mersons goal
https://youtu.be/BxIi-7rPdNY
No one would question the need for squad rotation – that’s a given with fixtures comming thick and fast. But surely we should be testing the academy players in such circumstances? We all know how Luiz, Willian, Xhaka, Elneny et al are going to perform but how about Balogun, Azeez, Moller, Cottrill, Cirjan – how are they going? That’s right – no body knows because they don’t get a look in! Without the energy of Teirney, Saka, ESR and Martinelli (when fit) where would we be? Fighting in the relegation zone! We all know that big signings are not comming… Read more »
China Agreed that Laca is a form player and his work rate is always there. But if you notice, many players usually play their best football when nearing the end of their contract. We saw it with Ozil who was consistently very good for 2 months before signing his mega deal, Auba who carried us to the FA cup, Ramsey who proved to be the difference between us getting top 4 under Emery, Willian whose best year at Chelsea was his final year, etc. This is just off the top of my head in recent times. Its a psychological thing.… Read more »
Outgoing Trump Administration gives Biggest Jolt to China by removing decades long acceptance to ‘One-China’ Status quo . US Sec Pompeo Orders lifting of all self-imposed restrictions with Taiwan by US Govt giving it Free Country status
Thank you Mr. Trump !! If only Trump didn’t have numerous personality related issues, he would have been widely celebrated for what he has achieved in last 4 years.
Mari has done a respectable job in the last few games. I’d like to seethe same or better him against teams that play counterattack well and/or with have pacy forwards. He’s kinda lacking agility a bit or may be that’s just match fitness….
*from* him
Aussie gooner ” But surely we should be testing the academy players in such circumstances” Exactly. I’m not sure why Arteta reverts back to experience when he knows what they can (or can’t ) do. To not give Balogun game time yesterday was criminal. I hated the bullshit in the summer and after a few victories lately, I hope Arteta isn’t returning to his bullshit .ways. To tell the world how much he wants to keep Balogun and then to not select him in the SQUAD for a 3rd round FA cup tie, makes Arteta look stupid or vindictive (or… Read more »
Watching the painfull first half I also thought AMN would have been a better replacement for Gabi than Reiss with Joe then moving forward. Having Reiss and Willian playing in same area together just did not work as both are too tippy tappy and lightweight whilst Joe at least may have provided a bit of forward thrust. Also AMN is much better defensively than Joe who often looks a bit lost positionally and is not a good ball winner.
“I’m not sure why Arteta reverts back to experience when he knows what they can (or can’t ) do.”
Perhaps because he simply cant help himself, Pierre?
Our shooting and heading yesterday was awfull. Even Pepe could not hit the target with his left foot despite getting into good positions for a change. I won’t even start on Willian.. Hate to say it but we need a Fellaini type impact sub.if not a starter.
Willock had a decent first half but became loose in possession of the ball in the 2nd half as did a few Arsenal players.. I don’t think Willock has the trust of Arteta as he is often withdrawn after a a couple of mistakes , unlike other players who’s mistakes are overlooked.. Xhaka did well when he came on , though it has to be said that we became more open defensively when Willock went off and were fortunate not to lose the game in the last 10/15 minutes of the 90.. Prior to going off, Willock nearly gave us… Read more »
There is surely a very good player in Willock he just needs a couple of seasons playing every week in a set position for a lower level team under a good coach. Perhaps in Germany.
If Willock didn’t have the trust of Arteta, ESR would have become the First choice #10 two or three months ago and AMN would be getting chances in midfield ahead of Joe.
“ I still say the Willian Dubai trip was the perfect reason to reduce Willian’s contract to 1 year or just simply have terminated Willian’s contract on His return to the UK.”
Completely agree, Tony. He’s a busted flush and we should have taken the opportunity he presented to try to mitigate the huge loss his contract presents.
Foxy I’m not so sure. Both Willock and Nelson, imo, do not have the one key ingredient, at this level, that would enable them to push for more regular starts.. Visible hunger. I look at Saka, Tierney, Martinelli, ESR and they all want the ball. They demand it. With Willock and Nelson I don’t really see this. Having reached this level you would expect them to be far more passionate and committed to not only improve their skills and footballing abilities but their game in general. Their body language shows these flaws. ESR has done more in two games than… Read more »
I am disappointed with pepe. Since Arteta has benched him, Rightly so because of saka, He has lost his zip. He always holds the ball too long but he had a lot of moments previously. I also remember him skinning Robertson again and again when he started at anfield last season. I haven’t seen that level of performance this season yet. Honestly we bought a 35 mil at best player for 72 mil. If we find a buyer we should sell for 35 mil+. It is a loss but if we can get someone like Manor Solomon for the same… Read more »
I don’t even want to start on Willian.
The Balogun situation is also farcical.
One thing I have been impressed with ESR is the half spaces he takes to receive the ball. He is always available. That is an impressive feat for a 20 year old. Right now he is playing like a seasoned number 10. But his form will drop at some point and we need some help there. It was obvious Willian can’t do it last night. Saka is needed on the wings. If it was me I would sign another CAM and play them together with Partey behind them. We need all the offensive help we can get.
And credit to Andy Carroll for the two misses.
Newcastle deserved to win within 90mins
Willock and Nelson aren’t good enough for us.
The emergence of Saka and ESR is a feather in the cap for our youth system of course, but equally very damning for our transfer system. We have players in their early 20s displacing those we brought in for tens of millions, despite the manager’s obvious preference for the old and infirm.
I can’t believe that some on here are demanding we sell Lacazette.
This guy is genuinely committed to the club and gives it 100% every game. Once again yesterday he helped to change the game in our favour.
There are far more pressing matters to deal with than making money on Laca.
I agree that we got better throughout the game by replacing Nelson, Willian, Pepe and Willock with Xhaka, Saka, ESR and Laca, but the best substition that helped us win was Carroll going off. Their best attacker AND defender.
At the end of the day we have seen enough of these players over the last five years and we know a lot of these players will always revert back to type that is why it is so important in my opinion that we try get the value out of them while they are having a green period. For example, Hopefully Laca does have a strong end of the season so it can can raise his price for sale. The idea of a contract extension should not even be an option for a number of reasons (losing his pace, struggles… Read more »
The kids are keeping us afloat. Some people on here are too one dimensional in their thinking. Everyone of the senior players who aren’t performing get slammed as wasters. They aren’t all Ozilites, taking the wages and dont care. Something is wrong with Willian. I have no idea what it is but there may be a lot things going on behind the scenes that are affecting his form. He was an excellent performer at Chelsea but has been a shadow of the player since he arrived. Pepe look like he has lost all confidence. But confidence comes and goes. Lets… Read more »
A win is a win of that there can be no debate but other than extra time I found nothing to get excited about. Let’s be honest the two clear cut chances that Newcastle created really should have put the game to bed in normal time. Newcastle were piss poor and when you are relying on Andy Carrol and a hugely rotated team from the Liverpool game I really thought this game would have been put to bed in 90 minutes. It wasn’t and with another tranche of PL games midweek the extra game time really won’t have helped the… Read more »
Graham
He is 30 by the end of the season with a year left on his contract. We either renew or sell. For me he needs to be sold. His form has been good this past few weeks but I don’t think we should give him a new contract. We need to move away from old players who are apparently motivated when their contracts are about to expire.
HG
Not to mention that he’s already on 180k a week. We don’t need another 30+ player on 200k+, we have too many of them as it is. Plenty of good young strikers available right now.
As good as Leno was,he almost cost us the match by not communicating to defenders to leave the ball to go out which Luiz poor headed and Tierney passed to Newcastle for the big chance in the 1st half