Arsenal - Post match thread

[daztrueblue91]

Firstly, I don't have any complaints about Pellegrini's team selection today. I personally would have started Sterling instead of Iheanacho just to counter Arsenal's width and let KDB play in the middle. However, with Kelechi's recent form he more than deserved his start.

The way we started was excellent. The first 8 minutes they could hardly get the ball out of their half and I thought the atmosphere was brilliant. There was a real positive vibe around the place and it really could have been the game to save our season. We took a deserved lead and looked like the City of old who could have gave them a hammering. Then came a moment that summed up Pellegrini's reign. All of that good work undone by Clichy trying to be too clever and then conceding from a basic set piece. 1-1 and the good start and atmosphere took a proper turn for the worse. There was a sense of foreseeing how the rest of the game would pan out and it's extremely difficult to stay positive when your side is more likely to gift the opposition a goal than score. It was also clear at this point that Arsenal were shell-shocked and decided to settle for a draw. The fact Cech was taking longer to take a goal kick than Tim Howard normally does sums up Arsenal's game plan.

Now to the part where Pellegrini fucked up. It was clear to me, and many sitting around me, that just after Iheanacho wasted a good counter attacking chance Arsenal was starting to overrun our midfield. They were keeping the ball around our box and had a few good chances, most notably the one where Walcott blitzed through our defence. That was the perfect time to introduce some extra legs in midfield. Delph and Toure were options from the bench who could have gave us more energy or control in the middle but for some crazy reason Pellegrini decided to keep it as it was.

I think it there was ever a game that could sum up a managers reign then today was it. We played some very good attacking football and relied on some moments of individual brilliance. We scored a few goals and had a calamitous defence who gifted the opposition goals. To top it off we refused to show any signs of pragmatism in a game which was vital in our quest to finish in the top 4.

If we would have won today then I believe that many of the fans in the stadium would have stayed and wished Pellegrini well. The mood would have been upbeat at we would be able to look back on a season where we have won a trophy, reached a CL semi final and qualified for the CL. However, it became a game where we pretty much gave up the chance, well at least it being in our own hands, of securing CL football for next season. It kind of sums up our entire process in that we finally reach the latter stages of the CL and show we can compete with the likes of PSG and Madrid and then fail to qualify. The phrase "one step forward and two steps back" perfectly sums up Pellegrini's reign here.

 

[East Level 2]

gotta say I feel sorrry for the U18 that so many have gone home

They should have paraded before the game or at half time. Fans have often showed they are only interested in the re-appearance of the first team. - And the result didn't help.

 

[Gray]

Never would boo any player and feel sorry for Bony as I expected him to do well.

I personally thing the performances are down to the cuckoo of a manager.

 

[Dubai Blue]

& as Terry Henry said this would not have happened at Maine road....says it all

Well that bit is definitely bollocks. Maine Road was a truly poisonous place at times for our own players. This bunch of slapped arse millionaires would have got much worse than a few thousand empty seats on their "lap of honour" if they'd played like a bunch of spineless twats for six solid months.

 

[jayblue]

Nope, you're right. I have no authority to tell any City fan what to do, it was just my evaluation of todays support. My integrity and pride is intact though..... good luck with the Guardiola out campaign.

Last statements a gem.#getagrip

 

[Nascent Blues]

How many frauds do you know with league medals? So much nonsense gets spoken by people that couldnt organise a training session, let alone manage a team to a league title.

Are you telling me that when we went 2-1 up he should have done fuck all, especially as they'd made subs and were getting on top in midfield? I may know fuck all about running a training session, but I understood that if we kept things as they were we'd concede - and we did. Fucking loads of managers would have put an extra body in midfield after our equaliser because it made complete fucking sense. Waiting until they scored to change our shape was plain fucking rank management.

 

[Gordyola]

the players and manager got the post-match response they deserved.

If they can't be arsed to achieve the bare minimum required for us then they don't deserve thanks, we've already gone through numerous price increases so we can have the "privilege" of watching the exorbitantly highly-paid so called professionals wear OUR shirt, and play for OUR team.

Today summed it up, fleeting good moments RUINED by a refusal to play properly once we'd scored and a REFUSAL by the manager to change or influence anything once it was clear that Arsenal were going to equalise unless we changed something to stop them.

They deserve what they got today. Hopefully the fallout from this will change the club for the better in the long run, they needed to learn that lesson today, they needed to learn they can't just take advantage of our loyalty and abuse it and expect to get away with it. You want to put the prices up, you want to fuck about with our kit colours, you want to keep a manager and players clearly not up to it just so you can get Pep, you want to throw away a league campaign and miss out on CL football because you took your eye of the ball and were so arrogant that you thought like your Barca days that we couldn't possibly miss out. That's fine, but you for damn sure ain't getting my applause for it.

I was delighted leaving today, because I NEVER, EVER have to watch a Pellegrini City team in the flesh ever again. It's a blessing.

He can look around the mostly empty stadium today, along with the players, and finally realise what he's done. They deserve it, they didn't live up to their side of the bargain and they got their reward today. Hope it kicks the entire club up the arse and in the long-term we fix the issues from this season, and the club starts appreciating the fans a damn site more than they have done. All they had to do was genuinely try, and they failed to do that so many times this season they didn't deserve any adulation.

Agree with ever word and summed up my feelings entirely

 

[ono]

You really think Fernandinho is told to 'hold his position' by that fucking clown ? Not a chance in hell imo.

And if he is told it & doesn't do it, why doesn't he get dropped.

And, he isn't & never should be, a player who holds his position. Imo the worst thing Fern did, was hoofing the ball into the stand when played through. That's his game & before we signed him, he would have done better. Three yeas of the Zomb, in a two, have taken the edge off his attacking game.

I can't even answer properly because like you say, it's impossible to even attempt to figure what the clown of a gaffer is instructing players to do.

My only quibble with Dinho is his awareness of when to press and when to hold and try and bide time. He needs better awareness of what kind of support he has, but he also needs communication from others as well. I agree he has lost his attacking edge because he's had 3 years of total miss-use. I'd like to see him playing as a right back under Pep. He has so many qualities which suit that position, especially in a Pep side.

 

[blueheart84]

I'm kind of willing to let Joe get away with it for this reason. I feel like he is kind of at the 'if I don't laugh I'm going to cry' stage. To me, his performances and things that he has said have shown that he does give a shit and I'm hoping the way he has reacted to some of the defending in recent weeks is more of a gallows humor type reaction than genuinely not caring. Getting pissed off at his defenders clearly hasn't changed a damned thing.

 

[urban genie]

They should have paraded before the game or at half time. Fans have often showed they are only interested in the re-appearance of the first team. - And the result didn't help.

understand everyone going at the end and agree u18 should have been parade before or at half time just felt sorry for them being paraded when everyone had gone.