Arsenal (H) | Post-Match Thread

Lavinda Past said:
The Arsenal job is like the rags... a poisoned chalice for the next 10 years after the long-serving incumbent leaves.
Click to expand...
Come back and say that in October. 2023 when Pep's got his feet up. (On second thoughts, hope you don't.)
 
What is up with Xhaka by the way? I don't think you could put it down to a passionate tackle. This appear like a common placed thing for him? Disgraceful to be honest. My Mrs turned around and said to me "What on earth is he doing? Why would he do that?" I don't know that answer...
 
Four thoughts from that game:

1) God, We Needed That. Since the UCL Final, there's been a gathering rainstorm of frustrated vibes around the club that was admittedly mitigated somewhat with the arrival of Grealish and beating Norwich. But losing our biggest-ever game, failing in the community shield, our best player injured, missing out on our #1 target, and then finally getting humiliated with the Ronaldo transfer - there was a grey mood building, and the vibes would have been as grim as Arteta's dressing room if we hadn't got a result today. To have such a great performance was the shot we needed.

2) Jesus and Torres On Fire. I have never seen Gabby look so confident in a City shirt. His trademark furrowed brow has been replaced with a beaming grin; the man looks like Daniel Levy probably does after arranging another gentleman's agreement. He's crossing like a menace, cutting in, tracking back, pressing, and then scoring as well! And Torres took a step towards convincing me that he can be City's striker today. I still have question marks, but he's getting there. There is a mental calmness in front of goal that can't be denied, and if he gets stronger, that's a threat.

3) Grealish is a Natural. This is the third time in a row that I've raved about the man after a game, but if he keeps playing this, it's gonna continue. I swear I can hear Beethoven's Ode to Joy every time he just glides past a defender with such smoothness that it doesn't even feel like he's done it. He has that innate tempo to know exactly when to recycle, when to dribble forward, when to draw a foul, when to cross and shoot. I love Raheem, but I already feel a hell of a lot more confident with Super Jack on the left instead of him.

4) I Still Want a Striker. Amid all the fun, I still feel there is a gap of quality here that must be addressed. I can't quite exorcise the ghost of picturing Kane in this team - he'd be slamming goals at an inhuman rate. A top striker like that is still missing. Torres is finding form, but we have the greatest manager in the world here, and if we make him play a third of his time without an out-and-out striker available, then that's a disgrace. I still feel that with Chelsea and the Knobheads strengthening, our lack of a Nine could come home to roost this season. We'll see.
 
An absolute route and zero chance for them after the sending off. Bit of a snooze fest the second half but our ball retention and skill was superb. Our biggest threat was Eddie I think he will still half asleep the first half lol.
 
Amazing performance from the whole team, although Eddie was giving me the shits first half.

Ferran could well be our no 9, hes very cool doesn't panic in front of goal.
 
Decent performance, but against an incredibly weak side. Thought Gundogan and Jesus were the standout performers. Looks like Laporte will be getting a run since he continues to play well. Hopefully we can persuade him to stay because it would hurt to lose a player of his undeniable quality. Bernardo played well also, but it looks like that could be his last game for us. Wish him well for the future. Cancelo had a decent game, but he always does when he can push up the field and stay there.
 
The Pandorica Opened said:
Four thoughts from that game:

1) God, We Needed That. Since the UCL Final, there's been a gathering rainstorm of frustrated vibes around the club that was admittedly mitigated somewhat with the arrival of Grealish and beating Norwich. But losing our biggest-ever game, failing in the community shield, our best player injured, missing out on our #1 target, and then finally getting humiliated with the Ronaldo transfer - there was a grey mood building, and the vibes would have been as grim as Arteta's dressing room if we hadn't got a result today. To have such a great performance was the shot we needed.

2) Jesus and Torres On Fire. I have never seen Gabby look so confident in a City shirt. His trademark furrowed brow has been replaced with a beaming grin; the man looks like Daniel Levy probably does after arranging another gentleman's agreement. He's crossing like a menace, cutting in, tracking back, pressing, and then scoring as well! And Torres took a step towards convincing me that he can be City's striker today. I still have question marks, but he's getting there. There is a mental calmness in front of goal that can't be denied, and if he gets stronger, that's a threat.

3) Grealish is a Natural. This is the third time in a row that I've raved about the man after a game, but if he keeps playing this, it's gonna continue. I swear I can hear Beethoven's Ode to Joy every time he just glides past a defender with such smoothness that it doesn't even feel like he's done it. He has that innate tempo to know exactly when to recycle, when to dribble forward, when to draw a foul, when to cross and shoot. I love Raheem, but I already feel a hell of a lot more confident with Super Jack on the left instead of him.

4) I Still Want a Striker. Amid all the fun, I still feel there is a gap of quality here that must be addressed. I can't quite exorcise the ghost of picturing Kane in this team - he'd be slamming goals at an inhuman rate. A top striker like that is still missing. Torres is finding form, but we have the greatest manager in the world here, and if we make him play a third of his time without an out-and-out striker available, then that's a disgrace. I still feel that with Chelsea and the Knobheads strengthening, our lack of a Nine could come home to roost this season. We'll see.
Click to expand...

1) Completely agree and nothing more to add.

2) I have always been a fan of Jesus. He is not blessed with pace like other forward players but the intelligence of his football is something to behold. I know he gets a lot of criticism for not scoring enough but his movement and positional play for drawing players out of position is something else. As for Torres. I cannot believe he has spent his career playing as a winger. He is a natural striker. His finishing and movement is completely natural. I think he will be our main striker for this season.

3) My criticism about Grealish is that he seems quite happy to show boat. While it is ok when we are winning 5 nil, he needs to cut some of the silly things out of his game for when we start to have the high stakes games. Apart from that, he seems to have naturally adapted into the team and is clearly enjoying himself. I don't think we will see the best out of him for at least a year yet.

4) Sterling cannot finish and Torres is going to be our striker this year in my opinion. But we have a lot of games to play and I don't think Torres will be able to do it all by himself. We must bring in a striker before the end of the window!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Unread Posts

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top