Arsenal (A) | PL | Post Match Thread

Shuffs said:
I agree whole heatedly with this.

The result suggests a battering (some degree it was).....but it's easy to forget that we looked the better team for long period.

At the moment, we make too many mistakes and the heads go, leading to a collapse.

Even my Dad (red) said the scoreline wasn't a fair reflection and we were on top. Until the inevitable.
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Initially I was thinking the same, but on balance I perhaps disagree.

Yes, for large periods when we had the ball and were pressing them, we looked the better side. But no team gets 100% possession and we are so utterly woeful at defending when we lose it. 70% possession is fuck all use of you manage to score 1 during that time whilst your opponents score 5 in the few minutes when they have the ball.

If that was a blip then fair enough but there's been elements of that going on ever since Peo arrived. In his first season, it happened just like today, repeatedly. The battering by Leicester being a memorable example.

Then we got our shit together and the rest is history, but we've always been to vulnerable to quality teams who can press us. Our dismal record against Liverpool being a prime example.

Today, teams have sussed us out. Stay compact, let us have the ball for as long as we like, cycling it around passing backwards for half an hour and then hit us in the break when we lose it. Waltz right past our midfield and last dodgy defender. It's obvious why Rodri has been so crucial and his absence is having such a dramatic impact.
 
waspish said:
So pep is going to sit him on our bench for the next two years because no one seems to want to buy him with his wages
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If there has been a fallout - and I suspect there has been, given he can’t get in THIS midfield - then he’ll probably be farmed out on loan in the summer with us paying most of the wages.
 
The blud and fam brigade will be on full on wankfest mode on AFTV. The Ainsley Harriott and Skeletor/Voldemort stunt doubles will have drained themselves dry for sure. Meanwhile, their team has won nothing, nowt, nada. Not a sausage. Let them gloat with the "stay humble, eh" shit they'll be firing back at us. I'd rather stay humble than stay being a bottling Tarquin ****. They can give it the big 'un all they want, it won't remove the fact they are nothing but whining bottlers year in, year out.

Hopefully, we'll remember the shithousery of their performance at the Etihad and the shithousery of Gabriel and Lewis-Skelly (who probably was substituted because either Erling or Bernardo would have stuck one on him at full time) from yesterday and cash that receipt in next season big style.
 
It’s those fine margins and the way we play that have been our undoing, that pass from Phil gets through and we were in a break away with Marmoush, he fucks up we are down 2-1. But again our failings are in midfield and the defenders not putting a foot in. I hate to see it but I hope the dippers win (can’t see Forest doing it) then next year fucking embarrass this lot, they’d already planned those celebrations, you can see we’ve got to them, wpuld t be so bad if it meant they won the league but they’ve won fuck all and Liverpool are miles better than them no way they catch them unless of course we do them a favour by beating the dippers.
 
CC1 said:
Well, we’re still 4th in table (probably 5th tonight) yet we’re the “worst team our fans have seen!”
One game is insignificant or we’d be champions after the Chelsea display
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Roachy said:
Have people actually stated that? Mental unless it's come from an under 16yo maybe.
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Fifth would be our lowest final position since 2010 when we also finished fifth.
Fifth in 1991 and 1992 were our highest final positions prior to the takeover. You have to go back to the 70's to get anything higher.
 
AirbagsOptionalTheReturn said:
For me, Pep needs to change the way we play. His possession football is not working and has not for over a year, we won the league last year out of pure stubbornness to not lose. Every other team has evolved the way they play to counter a possession based team. We have not changed at all. If Pep does change it around then he truly deserves the genius tag as it would be, I think, a dramatic change in the way we play
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And this is the problem, he will never change. He will buy the players he thinks will help his system and until then, He will use his old players that know his system, even if they are long past their best. He won’t adapt to their dwindling skill sets ever or use unproven younger players in his midfield. This season he has said on many occasions “I need my players back” what he means is, the players that know his football, mostly the old guard. However, they can’t apply it anymore. They are either spent, too old and slow for his high press/high line or they are injured. He’ll live and die by his football. he’s very very tunnel visioned.
 
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Bald fraud said:
Maybe we could try playing that lad we paid 100 mil for down the middle. The lad who played down the middle for Villa and was absolutely brilliant for them. The lad we gave the number 10 shirt to normally worn by the lad who plays down the middle. Just a thought
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It is odd, for sure. He has fallen out with Pep, I think.
 
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According to Pep the players abandoned the tactical plan in the last thirty minutes which is why we collapsed.

"You can lose by two or three or four but the last 30 minutes we have to do it and we don't have a defence," he said. "We had a plan and we didn't do it because they have pride and want to solve it but that's not the way."
"At that level, you have to stick to what we did. Unfortunately what happened, happened and hopefully we can learn the lesson for the future."

"You can have setbacks but this season it doesn't matter what happens. We can lose but we have to continue to do what we do. That is how you are stable. We cannot think we are going to solve it in another way. We are not used to that.
They can be fragile but they have a duty to do what they have to do and they didn't do it. We can learn and always there is a margin tot get better."
 
I was pleasantly surprised we got ourselves back to 1-1, I thought that was a reflection of both teams having good chances - ours made by us and there's made by us - so the subsequent collapse came as something of a further, more unpleasant surprise.

We did make it a competitive 1-1, despite a whole host of mediocre performances, which is a crumb of comfort? maybe? From Partey's goal on we were a car crash.

there's something seriously amiss.
 
Rammy Blue said:
God help us against the scousers, it’ll be like the fucking Alamo.
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citymad said:
Agreed, their midfield energy and press will be a nightmare for us. Last thing we need straight after MBappe and Vinicius Jr.
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Thank you both for that cheery thought. I have just woken up and thought I'd have a quick gander and see if there are positive vibes to raise my mood! I'd actually forgotten about bloody Madrid.
 
paulchapo said:
According to Pep the players abandoned the tactical plan in the last thirty minutes which is why we collapsed.

"You can lose by two or three or four but the last 30 minutes we have to do it and we don't have a defence," he said. "We had a plan and we didn't do it because they have pride and want to solve it but that's not the way."
"At that level, you have to stick to what we did. Unfortunately what happened, happened and hopefully we can learn the lesson for the future."

"You can have setbacks but this season it doesn't matter what happens. We can lose but we have to continue to do what we do. That is how you are stable. We cannot think we are going to solve it in another way. We are not used to that.
They can be fragile but they have a duty to do what they have to do and they didn't do it. We can learn and always there is a margin tot get better."
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So he’s saying the players decided to do something different to what he told them? They took it upon themselves to deviate from his game plan/tactics?

This has shades of Munich, if the players are not listening to him and doing things themselves, against his say so then there is huge problems. Sounds like Hes on the verge of losing the dressing room.
 
eastmanc said:
We're not, calm down. We'd have given anything to be fourth in the fist division as it was then. So stay calm blue and let Pep rebuild this team. He has earned the right to do that.
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You need to knuckle down to do well in the FIST division.
 
theres only one carlito said:
So he’s saying the players decided to do something different to what he told them? They took it upon themselves to deviate from his game plan/tactics?

This has shades of Munich, if the players are not listening to him and doing things themselves, against his say so then there is huge problems. Sounds like Hes on the verge of losing the dressing room.
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He's got a breather to get our shit sorted - we can't be getting shredded like yesterday another 3/4 times this month. Even Orient'll fancy their chances!
 
There isn’t many times over the years I’d call this team lazy but that last 30 mins was a disgrace. Talk is cheap. They need to respond
 
East Level 2 said:
Fifth would be our lowest final position since 2010 when we also finished fifth.
Fifth in 1991 and 1992 were our highest final positions prior to the takeover. You have to go back to the 70's to get anything higher.
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Exactly but social media fans (who probably don’t go to games) have slated every aspect of the club. They make me sick
 
The team show 9bviuos signs of being not physically knackered but mentally drained so that sharpness of thought , essential in this league is lacking - so stray passes , lumbering movements etc occur and why? Because those fellas have worked their socks off for the past few years with little rest due to premier league , Eufa and euros - you cannot expect them to perform at this level with a cascade of injuries caused by overwork and a small squad
We do need two full ‘teams’ at least to manage this but I’m sure this will be resolved
Get top 4, win the club World Cup ( another unnecessary distraction) and it’s a reasonable season - get new recruits and this bollocks about 115 out of the way and give it plenty next year - keep the faith
Quality does not disappear overnight ! They are still quality but knackered - think we all are!!,
 
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