Arsenal FA Cup SF Post-Match Thread

[Saddleworth2]

Never said they weren’t but there are, as usual, a lot of people who need to give their heads a wobble. I can’t remember the last time KDB played so badly but he is still world class. Couple of weeks ago when we beat the dippers with the exact same starting 11 everyone was saying how wonderful we were. It’s just unfortunate that instead of one or two players having a bad game pretty much the whole side did, Emerson and David apart. Second in the league, one trophy won, semi final and still in CL is something most fans would say is a decent season. We have no divine right to win every game and if we think like that as fans we become like the rags or dippers

Kev has been brilliant and off in equal measure this season.

 

[Marvin]

After watching that turgid team performance and inept management performance, I am at a loss as to where the current team and Pep can take City.
A major rebuild is required.
There isn't a cat in hells chance of the current team winning the CL this season.
Pep has never hung around to attempt such a thing. I'd love to see him try with us, but I'm not sure he will.

I'd say it's 50-50 we get through against Real Madrid and then there are 3 one off games. I think it's unlikely we win the Champions league because the squad is flawed but flawed sides can win stuff.

 

[jaiguruKun]

That’s not true. Accidental handball is only given as a foul if it leads to a goal. It’s a rule that treats attackers and defenders entirely differently, which is the most absurd thing in any rules for any sport ever.

I agree with your second point but I thought it's not now a simple case of whether it's deliberate when deciding whether it's a pen. It's also whether the arm is in a natural position. The pen in the CL final last season would not have been given under the old law but because the arm was deemed to be in an unnatural position it was given by the VAR.

 

[red 2 hats]

Within the first 10 minutes you could see the pattern of play yet we continued to bang our head against the wall.

The shortcomings in this game for me sum up our season.

1. Left footer on the right wing and right footer on the left wing, not for me. I don't mind switching to that to try something different but this is the approach 90% of the time.
2. Despite his legendary status and what he might have done in the last couple of games Silva is one season too many this year.
3. Gundo and Mendy, simply not good enough. Arsenal, like several other sides, worked out they can effectively leave Mendy out wide as all he does is smash crosses into, and mainly over, the penalty area. Teams double up on us on the right side as our attack has more finesse on that side. I think we see it as having more space on the left so target more of our attacks down that route. Gundo lacks any pace and his positional sense is baffling which are two problems you can't afford with our style of play.
4. Rhodri, jury still out on that one. Same with Cancello - not sure why we signed him. Plenty of talk on here initially that he could play either side but have we tried him on the left.
5. Foden needs a run in the team in one position rather than throwing him on to cover whoever has been taken off.
6. The centre half problem, I'll leave it at that.
7. What's gone wrong with Bernardo?
8. I understand rotation but for me it's too many too often.

This may sound like a knee jerk reaction to a couple of bad games but it sums the season up. As has been said many times on here you strengthen when at the top as it's a lot harder to do when the problems start arising.

Absolutely nail on the head with these comments.

 

[Marvin]

Looked liked the Mancini Wigan game where the team just didnt want to play for him.

If you put 8 random footballers in a 100m and line them up against Silva and Gundogan you and I know where Silva and the Gundog will finish.

 

[stan bowles]

Proof, as if it were needed, that this team is in decline and needs major surgery to restore it to its former heights. Next season will be one of transition and we will do well to finish Top 4. 2-3 signings in the next window and then another 2-3 in the 2021 summer and hopefully we will be the team to beat again. Speed, energy, physicality and mental toughness are all upgrade characteristics needed for this squad.

 

[Marvin]

Within the first 10 minutes you could see the pattern of play yet we continued to bang our head against the wall.

The shortcomings in this game for me sum up our season.

1. Left footer on the right wing and right footer on the left wing, not for me. I don't mind switching to that to try something different but this is the approach 90% of the time.
2. Despite his legendary status and what he might have done in the last couple of games Silva is one season too many this year.
3. Gundo and Mendy, simply not good enough. Arsenal, like several other sides, worked out they can effectively leave Mendy out wide as all he does is smash crosses into, and mainly over, the penalty area. Teams double up on us on the right side as our attack has more finesse on that side. I think we see it as having more space on the left so target more of our attacks down that route. Gundo lacks any pace and his positional sense is baffling which are two problems you can't afford with our style of play.
4. Rhodri, jury still out on that one. Same with Cancello - not sure why we signed him. Plenty of talk on here initially that he could play either side but have we tried him on the left.
5. Foden needs a run in the team in one position rather than throwing him on to cover whoever has been taken off.
6. The centre half problem, I'll leave it at that.
7. What's gone wrong with Bernardo?
8. I understand rotation but for me it's too many too often.

This may sound like a knee jerk reaction to a couple of bad games but it sums the season up. As has been said many times on here you strengthen when at the top as it's a lot harder to do when the problems start arising.

The squad is weak defensively. Why used 500 words when you can do it in 5?

 

[Craig]

Kev has been brilliant and off in equal measure this season.

Yeah always has been a hot and cold player. You’d always take it because of the brilliance and assists he’s capable of. Makes me laugh when he needlessly gives the ball away though and the commentators start going on how that’s a collector’s item. He has loads of games where he gives the ball away because he so often tries the most difficult passes.

 

[HelloCity]

The fact that Rodri isn’t playing in a semi final tells me that Pep shares your concerns.

I think the reason Rodri hasn’t started vs Arsenal is because Arteta did a lot of his positional work. Pep probably thinks Arteta will be able to exploit him since it was Arteta who basically told him where and when he needed to be.

 

[tonea2003]

Thing is mate, I don’t think with Pep we will ever be dominated. We will always have a fair share of the ball whoever we play. We are increasingly getting out thought though. Maybe I misread your post but I got the impression you thought the defeats were all down to us.

think there is an argument in the elite games to slightly shift our tactics to the real madrid away model, where we concede a little more possession than normal but are more compact to protect our obvious fragile high line and in turn offer us more space in the attacking third.

at times last night arsenal it seemed had 6 to 8 men in their own box, we needed to draw them out