Arsenal post match thread

[Manchester33]

Stop being hysterical LOL. your post is totally negative about every aspect of our game. Look at it this way.. We went too our rivals ground and played better, shot more, passed more... we scored less but tbh Arsenal were lucky to get the points. Now they are going to win the league. Everyone is hysterical at the moment haha.

I do agree though about Aguerro going off, it was as if he couldn't wait to get off and left us with ten men, it was a head injury but was it that serious? I might have got it wrong as I was quite merry at the time :)

If you think there was anything positive to take away from that game I'd think you're deluded. It's not just yesterday either. I've been unfortunate enough to travel to Stoke, Villa and Spurs where we've also been terrible. I can't stand how utterly naive we are for a club that has spent hundreds of millions of pounds over the summer and IMO it has to be blamed on the manager.

Off with his head!

 

[Manchester33]

He had to go off as it was a head injury. Everyone knew he was coming off anyway around about then so there was absolutely no point bringing him back on just for a few minutes.

He had to leave the pitch because a physio came on. He didn't have to be substituted.

My point is that any team with guile and the know how to go on and dominate football for a decade keep 11 players on the pitch for as long as possible, if it means going back onto the pitch, running to the far side and going down with a pretend calf strain then so be it. You don't leave yourselves short for the 2 minutes it took Bony to get ready - it's amateur stuff.

 

[Newman Noggs]

So where does that leave us? We're not just 6 points off the top. We've lost 5 games, dropped points in our last 5 away games, our home performances have been atrocious yet Pellegrini is still coming out, as calm as anything. It's almost as if he doesn't give a shit, maybe he's off in the summer, maybe he knows who his replacement will be, perhaps the players do too. Maybe they get a buzz out of seeing how little they can do, whilst still picking up £200,000 per week. I want passion, I want 11 Delphs in my team who will run through brick walls for the entire game. I don't want players who save themselves for the last 10 minutes and offer nothing for the 80 prior to that. I wan't a manager who can change things, throw players in and switch formations mid way through the game to prevent their best players from ripping ours apart. I know a happy clapper will probably say, get a bit of perspective but regardless, from a fans perspective, it's just not good enough.

This is the best chance we will EVER have of winning the league and we're going to piss it away because Pellegrini can't motivate our squad anymore.

Very frustrating but "get a bit of perspective" ;) We could go down this season and the future would still be bright in the long run. I'm not sure that this is the "best chance we will EVER have", the overall trajectory of the club is hugely upwards despite the current blip. As regards Pellegrini, there is merit in a manager who stays calm under pressure. the thought of a Mourinho or a Klopp cavorting around the touchline in anguish is not great. Even Mancini shouting "F*ck you" to each of his players when it looked like the league was falling from our grasp wasn't very motivating. If we hadn't won that game, I'd have been very concerned about that outburst.

I'm not a happy clapper but I think we've still got a decent chance of winning a trophy, possibly the league, if we all stick together and keep our heads.

 

[Steve68]

This wasn't a one off. It's a pattern based on a combination of poor management choices (Yaya in a midfield two) and players who are unmotivated, uninspired and unenergetic.

You don't lose like we've been doing and the way we've been doing it, or scrape wins like Swansea without there being something deeply wrong.

It's not bad luck, it's not referees, it's not injuries and it's not other teams turning into Barca for 90 minutes.

It's the manager, it's his tactics and it's the players.

We can't change the players and at the same time we cannot go on like this, believing that 'next game' things are going to be different. We are well into the 'definition of insanity' territory already.

 

[feedthemike25]

I agree that we were the better team but with Mangala in defence there was always a chance he would make a mistake and we would pay for it... which did happen. I don't understand why he sent Denayer to Gala - its obvious Mangala is not going to improve he is not a footballer... only a brute and doesn't make the correct decisions... surely we have a youngster to blood through... Humphreys is it? YAYA was explosive in the last 20 mins but we need to start managing him better - bringing him on for the last 20-30 mins like we did Lampard last year... to win us games... we need a few signings which prob wont come until the summer... but blooding some youngsters through is important for us now... I thought the Ref was quite poor last night... giving Arsenal a lot of the niggly things but ended up giving them small advantages - but we cant dwell on that... we lost because of concentration, tactics and at times... no will to win it - COME ON CITY!!!!!

 

[spud100]

Otamendi was just as bad as Mangala. Totally out muscled by fucking giroud. Who the fuck thought a 5ft 11" centre half would be a success in the premier league?

He also let Giroud run off him for the second goal. People say "oh, he was class at the swamp!" Yeah he was good against a very shit Rooney!! Hopefully he grows (no pun intended) into the league, first season and all that. Worry about his size though, got beasted off Mandzucic in Champions League and Giroud last night. Ironic we have £70M worth of CB but we rely heavily on one we paid £5M for in Vinny! Please don't get me started on Mangala! When the ball bounced over his head!! Still think we will win the league when Vinny Kompany comes back in and Kun has games under his belt. Also, Navas bottle job for not shooting.

 

[Burtonblue]

Good

I think we might have kidded ourselves that we are better than we are. My personal view:

Hart - in an elite group of keepers and as good as any.
Sagna- solid if unspectacular.
Otamendi - CBs need 12 months to settle in so the jury is out for me.
Mangala - accident prone. We were sold a pup.
Kolarov- gives us lots going forward but undeniably suspect at the back.
Delph - looks useful.
Yaya - past his best and pacing himself now.
De Bruyne - not perfect but what a player.
Silva - I would always pay to watch him but obviously rusty.
Aguero - obviously world class but takes time to click after being injured - and he is so often injured.
Fernandinho - lively and driven with great energy levels and decent skill and vision.

The rest:

Kompany- fantastic but not much good to us in the stands.
Bony - good player, wrong team.
Nacho - great prospect but won't win us the league.
Zabs- where are you Zabs?
MDM - legs have gone.
Nasri-who cares? Too often he seems not to.
Sterling - good already and may be great in the future.
Fernando - poor.

Summary: a really good squad but not a dominant one and needs a top manager to get the most out of them. We don't have one at the moment. Biggest fault is not pressing the ball enough and disorganised defence. Fell free to disagree. Based on 50 years of watching football but not suggesting that I know it all.

Merry Christmas to all Blues.

Good post!
Agree with almost all of it.
I would suggest that if Hart was to be truly amongst the best keepers in the world he should be able to command his area. He is unquestionably right up there as a shot stopper but his complete reluctance to come off his line and catch a ball (thereby taking pressure off his defence) is a definite weakness in his game.

 

[Scouse Blue]

We all love our club and can debate for an eternity. One thing that is clear though is that supporting our wonderful club is very time consuming. Out of the house 18 hours to attend yesterday and just watched MNF twice... No Xmas shopping done yet!

 

[mancity1]

Its good enough to compete for the premiership if the attitude is right and most things go there way and that's about it.

It's not nearly as good as some may make out.

Having Silva and Kev in the same line up and similar roles is something that needs sorting out to get the best of both.

 

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

He also let Giroud run off him for the second goal. People say "oh, he was class at the swamp!" Yeah he was good against a very shit Rooney!! Hopefully he grows (no pun intended) into the league, first season and all that. Worry about his size though, got beasted off Mandzucic in Champions League and Giroud last night. Ironic we have £70M worth of CB but we rely heavily on one we paid £5M for in Vinny! Please don't get me started on Mangala! When the ball bounced over his head!! Still think we will win the league when Vinny Kompany comes back in and Kun has games under his belt. Also, Navas bottle job for not shooting.

Having a chance of winning the league is totally and utterly dependent on VK coming back and Kun staying fit. Without the first we are a shambles at the back and I can only see that continuing. Without the latter we carry little threat with the lazy Bony up front. If VK isn't back soon we will get too far behind as I cant see us winning many away games currently. If we don't change the manager and have the same set of players then what is going to change?