Arsenal Post Match Thread.

[balotelli's back pocket]

This is the same defence (ok it's aged) that we had under Mancini or close to it.... he made it work... Pep doesn't make defending a priority and other teams know this... therefore I'd say that Pep and the team under his guidance have been found out....

You can argue Pep doesn't have Vinnie but he does doesn't he?!?

Its the same defence but 5 years older, slower and crocked. Oh and half of them have left. But apart from that, exactly the same.

 

[citymad]

Sadly, yes.

It wouldn't have required moving in to top gear yesterday, but third or fourth would still have been enough to win that game.

Sane was the only guy who maintained any type of willingness to go at them.

I do think our younger guys still feel a little intimidated by the older rank and file in the squad, though?

I shudder to think what will happen on Wednesday if we don't match Chelsea for effort and intensity, never mind competency defending the set-pieces.

We've seen this far too often. Comparing Chelsea they move it much quicker, show urgency and are able to get quality crosses in to create panic in defenses. We give the opposition far too much time to set up and get blocks in.

 

[melons]

This thread is really very pathetic. We played badly, yes, but we still had the chnce to score about 6 or 7. Is that not a positive? Even when we cant pss water, we still could hsve battered them with a bit more luck. Hitting the post, great saves, penalties, red cards... it was bad luck

Agree with this. There will be a defensive clear out in the summer and I genuinely believe that this will be enough if we get the right three or four players in we need. The front line now is exceptional and the truth is that if you take the lead twice at The Emirates, that should be enough to get the win but if your defence lets you down, there's not much the front men can do about it but keep scoring more. We had the lead against Spurs, Chelsea and Arsenal this season and let it slip. What a massive difference just these three games would have made with a total of 7 points dropped and the 6 pointer against Chelsea at home meaning that if we'd held onto the lead in just these three games and everything else this season had stayed the same, we would be just 1 point behind Chelsea now and just about to play them. Those are the margins between a great season and one where we're all bemoaning 'typical City'.
I'm excited about next season and if we can have a bit more luck with injuries - getting Jesus and Gundo back and keeping everybody fit I think we'll do it next season.
Big game on Wednesday for confidence alone and a cup semi to look forward to. Come on guys...Chin up !

 

[blueinsa]

Its the same defence but 5 years older, slower and crocked. Oh and half of them have left. But apart from that, exactly the same.

This. The revisionism and sheer making stuff up to suit on here at times is frightening.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

De Bruyne is the one who pisses me off the most when it comes to this. Shirking challenges all over the pitch, not tracking back at all (2nd goal came from a passage of play where he was just ball watching)

He is in the side for his one or two bits of magic that he has but with a defence as shit as ours, it ain't enough.

The new Robinho, as I keep saying.

 

[Bluenobby]

This thread is really very pathetic. We played badly, yes, but we still had the chnce to score about 6 or 7. Is that not a positive? Even when we cant pss water, we still could hsve battered them with a bit more luck. Hitting the post, great saves, penalties, red cards... it was bad luck

Nail on the head.

 

[blueinsa]

The new Robinho, as I keep saying.

He is so much better than that mate imo.

He is far too deep right now and is best when played centrally in behind the striker.

Currently going through a real poor spell of form granted but there is a real player in there of that ive no doubt.

 

[Charlesfarsbar]

It's a completely unacceptable performance for me at this stage, in terms of "tactics" and a basic lack of bollocks.

Pep is treading water and it is stinking up the place trying to do so.

We are seemingly going backwards beating the press, a goalkeeper who can't pass for shit, long or short, and a left-back who is personally responsible for at least 12 dropped points this season and yet we continue to persist with him.

A KDB who needs a good slap, right now, with a pass completion which must be close to 20 per cent for the last ten games?

A Yaya back to not giving a fuck because he knows he's offski, and poor Fernandinho running around attempting to put fires out all over the place.

We are putting all our eggs in one basket right now and we are nowhere near good enough to be doing that.

You were predicting a draw for yesterday, was that based on your expectation of our performance levels or did you expect Arsenal to play better and for us to match them?

We are in a similar period to end of Pellegrinis reign, this time its not the manager who knows he's going its the players.

Far too many of the performances yesterday were half arsed and phoned in, they were there for the taking in the second half once we started to exert some control on the game yet we didn't create a single chance of note. Otamendi, Clichy , Navas and Yaya were all shocking, all will be out the door , not a coincidence?

De Bruyne isn't a centre midfield player, he's a square peg in a round hole at the moment

Its also infuriating that we concede a lot of goals or chances when we are trying to set up a counter attack, yesterday Otamendi is trying to clear his header to Sane who would be able to carry the ball forward, we were 1-0 up away from home. Surely a bit of game intelligence says that you clear the ball for a throw and then defend that, we never play the percentages , this happens all the time , against the better teams you get punished.

We are going to limp over the fourth place line again I'm afraid, with the promise of a brighter future to come next season....we are again hoping the close season addresses all our current issues, last year we thought the manager could fix them , turns out he's not a miracle worker.

Its also a stretch to say that buying a 4 new players in your back 5 is a good idea over one window, massive scope for errors in hoping that all 4 players bed in and gel straight away. Perhaps we will get a friendly set of fixtures at the start again to give us some breathing space

 

[Blue Hefner]

We by-passed the midfield at home to Barcelona, invited then on and then countered, that kinda worked out okay...

If Pep wants us to share the same footballing principles as his Barca teams, then he also knows the Kryptonite to defeat it, as that result showed.

Problem is, everyone else seems to know the recipe and Pep needs to tweak the ingredients now.

What worked before, doesn't mean you can't improve it.

With all that in mind, you still have to look at the players. They are nowhere near good enough, bar a handful

I was happy with the team selection, I don't think there were many better options. The keeper is average at best and the less said about Clichy & Co the better

I think kit shows how far we have come that a draw to Arsenal is seen, by some, as a bad result. A defeat yesterday, after leading twice, would have been a disaster with Chelsea to play next so I can understand why we did n't go hell for leather towards the end

 

[KS55]

Pep out? Has the movement started?

No, it's a plea for him to adapt a little to our style.....as someone said....go over the top occasionally and surprise the opponents.....Deffo need a top class holder/pivot who is QUICK and again, to back up a previous poster, some proper old fashioned English clear out tackles. Pep's ball retention, passing style etc not compromised by this, but I have a sneaky feeling Pep thinks the English way is a bit unsophisticated and beneath him. Or am I over playing this?