Yesterday’s horror show at Anfield has brought out all the usual media clichés, memes and tropes about Arsenal Football Club. No fight, no leadership, no spirit, no heart, etc.
As readers are familiar, conventional ideas based on feelings and opinions have no appeal to me. There is need to identify the real objective reasons for this sub-standard performance and support real solutions rather than engage in hyperbole and vitriol. That is if we truly care for the club, rather than our own egos.
Arsene Wenger in the post game presser expressed his dissatisfaction with the performance:
“I think from the first to the last minute we were not at the level requested for such a game and not physically, not technically, not mentally were we at the level and we were punished and that’s basically it. You can of course analyse the chances we gave away, but I just think overall that the performance was not at the requested level.”
But he was careful not to offer his opinion as to why it was substandard:
“That’s a question that is very difficult to answer straight away after the game and there are some reasons, but I don’t think I have too much to come out on that now.”
We as fans are entitled to our own opinion. Many have been quick to suggest there was lack of commitment by want-away players prior to the close of the transfer window. Those of us who witnessed a very lackadaisical performance by Samir Nasri in his final game for the club prior to his Manchester City transfer have good reason to believe it is déjà vu all over again.
Outplayed in midfield
While there may be truth about lack of commitment by some team members, I am more concerned about how easily we were outplayed in midfield. Possession statistics are very misleading having Liverpool and Arsenal at 49% and 51% respectively. While Arsenal apparently had superiority, most telling was AFC’s inability to turn possession into goal-scoring opportunities. The data makes horrible reading. Liverpool had 18 shots on goal with 8 on target. In comparison Arsenal had 10 shots on goal, nearly 50% less, but zero on target. Watching the game it was obvious Arsenal’s midfielders were easily pressured and did not have the ability to retain possession or make forward passes into dangerous areas where the forwards could make good shots thus forcing the clearly skittish Kaius to make saves.
Whoscored.com summarized Liverpool’s strengths as the following:
- Created a high number of chances relative to their possession
- Stole the ball often from the opposition
- Were effective at creating goalscoring opportunities from the flanks
- Were effective at creating goalscoring opportunities from counter attacks
- Were strong at finishing
In contrast they concluded Arsenal had “no strengths.” (Brutal.)
Compare this to the similar fixture last year, Sunday, August 14th, at the Emirates when Arsenal lost 3:4 and the same analytics indicated Arsenal’s strengths as:
- Were effective at creating goalscoring opportunities through individual skill
- Were strong at finishing
Those with vibrant memories will recall Arsenal was playing poorly that day. The club was down 1:3 at the 61st minute mark when a certain little Spanish magician entered the fray and from his deep-lying midfield position helped retrieve some honor from a bleak position. It even worsened to 1:4 but Santi helped to stem the tide and bring it to a respectable 3:4 final score.
With Santi starting every game from then onward to October, when he finally succumbed to his current long term injury, Arsenal was an unbeatable force. I have kept banging the point since then. Arsenal’s midfield has a big giant hole, and needs a deep-lying playmaker to make the system work. This is a technically based team that needs technically accomplished players, especially in midfield, to play according to its DNA.
Arsenal’s midfielders are collectively inferior to main rivals
Based on EPL data, the brutal fact is, collectively Arsenal’s current crop of midfielders are arguably of inferior standard when compared to its main EPL rivals. I used data from Whoscored to compare like with like. For midfielders returning to their current teams I compared their 2016-17 data for Goals, Assists and overall Average Rating. By the way Whoscored classifies players like Alexis and Walcott as midfielders when in my opinion they are primarily wide forwards. In these cases and for similar players from other clubs they are excluded from the analysis. Similarly players classified as defenders but who played primarily as defensive midfielders, e.g. Emre Can, I include them in the analysis.
| Club | Goals | Assists | Avg Rating |
| Liverpool | 43 | 30 | 7.27 |
| Manchester City | 24 | 35 | 7.22 |
| Chelsea | 26 | 26 | 7.10 |
| Manchester United | 18 | 16 | 7.09 |
| Tottenham | 34 | 27 | 7.00 |
| Arsenal | 16 | 25 | 6.92 |
The data makes somber reading for all gooners. Among the top-6, of the returning midfielders from 2016-17 Arsenal is dead last in goals-scored and second from last in assists. Top of the list is Liverpool and hopefully the data should shut up the screaming imbeciles who think they are chopped liver.
What most concerns me is that although Wenger has bought quality players in Lacazette and Kolosinac to improve the forward-line and defense repectively, unlike his main rivals he has been unable to sign a top-top midfielder. Liverpool has brought Salah as an AM and he was rated 7.48 in the Scudetto, United has bought Matic who had a 7.01 overall rating at Chelsea last year, City has bought Silva who had a 7.29 rating in Ligue Une and Chelsea bought Bakayoko who brings a 7.27 overall rating from Monaco.
I am not arguing that any of these new players will suddenly become world class at their new clubs but they are clearly making an effort to strengthen with at least 7/10 players. Apart from Ozil, all other midfielders at Arsenal were less than 7/10 last year. This I would suggest is the root of Arsenal’s current midfield woes.
In my last blog I argued Arsenal will challenge based on the consistency of the club and its manager over the past 21 years and the evident efforts to strengthen the squad this season. The emotional outpouring of wailing and gnashing of teeth after the Liverpool defeat strengthens my contrarian conviction. There was a similar outpouring last year and the margin of defeat was far less. The data leads me to the conclusion that the manager knows where the weakness lie and will use the last days of the transfer window to try find a fix.
PS: I must take a temporary leave of absence from blogging to take care of some pressing issues. Hoping to return after the international break.
Positively Arsenal 
William Carvalho, Jean Michael Seri, and Riyad Mahrez. Carvalho could cure our defense of their illness. Jean Seri could be our little Santi/Kante. Mahrez is totally on another, better footballing planet to Welbeck, Walcott and Chamberlain. Trouble is they should have been with us a month ago. Wenger must be brave for the sake of our wonderful club. Leave and give Thierry a chance.
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Nasri was MOTM in his last game for us.
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Cannot disagree on the MF issue. Xhaka getting a lot of negative press, but quite often, this extremely talented passer of the ball literally has nobody to pass to , and ends up over run, a tactic others will use. Xhaka and Ramsey are not working at the moment, they are usually just too far apart.
I really hope Wenger does deal with this glaring MF hole, but , perhaps for good reasons, he is taking his time. Unless he believes a fit Jack is the answer, Santi will come back, or he needs to wait until next summer, Wenger is a measured and patient man, but none of those options seem that appealing at the very moment, as much as I love Jack, banking on him lasting a season is a gamble.
Then , there is the other possibility, that for whatever reason, the money is not available.
But none of this explains the seemingly baffling selections yesterday, , I still cannot believe how poor they were, guess we just have to put that down to a coaching staff who see them training regularly and see things we don’t
A title challenge would provide some very tempting odds as things stand
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Saw mention on last post of some tweets from GeoffArsenal. He’s only ITK I’ve ever had much trust in.
Can’t check twitter for a bit, so what it is he has said about behind-the-scenes stuff and our finances?
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What is it about August ? Season after season, and I think I am being reasonably accurate here, we lurch into the season like a blind man at an arse kicking contest. Mass injuries, mass exits, or like yesterday a mass switch off among players who to a man are far too experienced to produce as little as they did.
August – the coldest month.
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Rich, basically saying there is not anything like the money most think to be available, also says senior playing staff are a bit baffled by this, take that how you will. He doesn’t really elaborate, but perhaps implying Kroenke has tightened the purse strings, or maybe that if we really are letting contracts run down, there is a cost, this summer. Might explain the seeming offloading I guess.
Going back further, he says blaming everything on Wenger is too simplistic , as he is not given the resources to really compete, he is pretty loyal to Wenger and a bit scathing on Kroenke.
Don’t know what Geoff does or doesn’t know, but certainly provides some interesting reads, and less hysterical than some
As for others ,
Afcamden can be worth a read ,though he is a bit down on Wenger at the moment. Arsenal Nexus saying there is major infighting at the club. But wouldn’t take any too seriously
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mandy i disagree totally wIith you that xhaka didnt have someone to pass to or that he is an excellent passer. he might be in germany where the game moves more slowly but he is yet to replicate that here. there is always 2 to 3 players he can pass to but the problem is that most of the time he doesnt have the luxury of time and space he once had in germany. the more reason why we should appreciate cazorla and arteta before him more as well as give more credit to coq who has a diffrent skill set and strong point to xhaka. the fans are always quick to highlight every wrong pass by coq while ignoring the tackles he won.
it may be true that we need a central midfielder in the mould of cazorla but at whose expence and who partners him in the middle.
i’ve watched jean seri a few times and i still dont know why many are calling for him. wenger was obviously on the case of lemar before and i really think he is the man. the report that liverpool have tabled 70m for him means he might be available. if they should get him then it will be a shame. he uses both feet excellently which is what you need to get out of tight situation in the middle. xhaka uses only his left.
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Mandy
Thanks. If that financial stuff is true then depending on the degree of it, and how much it represents broken promises, Wenger would have every right to give them the finger, let us all see what the real issues are, and tell them to sort it out themselves.
I believe he’d find that nearly impossible, no matter what has happened and is happening. If only because his calculation would be whether that would help the club or exacerbate any troubles. Also think that even if it was the case that x,y,z players don’t deserve his loyalty, he would be swayed by the fact a,b,c players do.
But still, it seems an intolerable scenario if the club has reneged on any assurances and plans to him at this stage, after all this time and after the uncertainty before the new deal.
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Agree with that Layksite. Xhaka and Ramsey are not doing it for me. I was hoping that he would bring in Coq and Elneny. Maybe since they spend more time with these guys in training they know things we don’t know.
I feel thins team needs energy in the midfield and Elneny can chase whilst Coq can tackle. I also feel we need to sell players who don’t want to be with us. Ozil, Sanchez and Chamberlain must go. Get Julian Draxler for christsake.
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This may not be published – but SG, I know what you think of Xhaka from twitter. I don’t think I’ve liked a regular Arsenal midfielder less in the last 20 years.
There’s something about the way we set up that makes an technical, intelligent and quick-thinking midfielder a must, like Arteta and Cazorla and the rest, going back to Vieira and Petit who above all else were pure footballers.
Xhaka is none of those things. It’s turning into a bit of a fixation for me. For the first time in forever I don’t understand what AW sees in one of his first picks.
Give Xhaka time and 10 yards of space and he can play a telling pass, like a toddler running up to kick a standing ball. That’s the sum of it.
And for that matter, where are the sharp, give-and-go midfielders that AW used to get slaughtered for preferring? We all loved players like Hleb and Rosicky: Heck, I even had time for Benayoun – constantly looking for space, happy to receive the ball under pressure. People talk about wanting Arsenal back. Well that’s the Arsenal I want back, and what’s mad is that I’m sure it’s what Wenger wants too.
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Rich, guess it depends on what the deal was. Wenger is all for self sufficiency, and of any financial restrictions come under that, guess he doesn’t really have a leg to stand on, especially if he is risking losing key players for nothing.it is possible the club are sticking to the EPL version of FFP, I hope this is not holding them back, because if they are sticking to this, ie only increasing wages by a certain level without further sponsorship, that would put Arsenal pretty much on their own.
Also, guess it depends on the deal Stan signed up to, I suspect Stan got quite a lot of what he wanted in the small print from a terminally ill man desperate to keep the club away from Usmanov, perhaps Dein or Lord knows who else. Like or loathe, I suspect Stan is pretty much what he says on the tin, a scan around his other clubs would confirm this, if they sold to him under what we’re probably his terms, then I guess cannot really blame the majority shareholder, any blame would lie elsewhere, of blame is the right word for what is to all appearances a well run club, albeit with a dodgy midfield and a few defensive issues! But yes, if he has suddenly changed the goal posts , for whatever reason, that is something very different, if that is what Geoff meant by people being baffled.
Layksite, have to stand up for Xhaka here, I have seen many games where he has demonstrated an excellent range of passing, a bit like Arteta, but of course without the Spaniards vast experience. The cup final would be one of them. Where this team have a problem is dealing with certain types of press and countering,and Liverpool and Klopp are rather good at that. These moves isolate Xhaka, he gives the ball away. These type of MFs need more of a partnership than Xhaka Ramsey are showing at the moment, Ramsey is often too far forward, they also need more players with the guile to counter these type of presses, Cazorla.
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Anyway, I should chill out. The following days should almost certainly provide some clarity.
If this talk of major players- ox, Mustafi- leaving without any major comings is true, and actually happens, then there will be no way to avoid providing some explanation for the reasons behind it.
So we should know a fair amount more soon, and that’s something to look forward to I think.
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On the ITK front, AFCamden -Pablo now saying loan deal for Mustaphi to Inter nearly agreed.
Loan deal, WTF? That may suggest there isn’t a replacement coming in if finances are tight as Geoff says.
Losing Gab and Mustafi, playing three at the back, no replacements, yesterday’s horror show, whether defence of MF inspired or both, Per and Kos very susceptible to injury, Holding a rookie, Monreal not a CD, nor is Elneny or Seo, add that up and doesn’t sound good of Pablo is correct.
Will take your advice Rich and chill out and see what coming days bring, and stop checking accounts of ITKs!
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Rich if we sell and don’t buy we will hear Wenger say that the squad was too big and “too much competition is not competition at all”, which is the line he has been using all summer. As long as he lists 25 players over the age of 21 in our BPL squad he can prove that we had too many players, its as simple as that.
Wenger said on Friday that “if we sell enough players we might sign one”, I thought at the time he was just trying to down play expectations, but with the rumors over ox and mustafi, the out of the blue sale of Gabriel, and reports of us halving the price of gibbs, and us loaning jenks just to get him off the wages, it all suggests that the money we bid for Lemar earlier in the summer is somehow not there to be spent anymore.
As I said last night, maybe its being diverted towards mega wages for our better players, maybe the £400K Alexis wants will be offered etc etc etc
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Mandy the reports on Mustafi’s loan deal is that its a loan with an obligation to buy at a set fee. In basic terms its really them buying him but not paying for him till next summer. PSG are said to be doing the same thing with Mbappe. FFP may not work well, but it still has its restrictions and clubs loaning with an obligation to buy is a way round it.
it was funny when Gabriel left and someone said Wenger will now sell another CB so he can say we had to go back to 4 at the back cos we don’t have enough CB to play it, no longer looking funny. Although I still prefer our 4-2-3-1 formation
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Xhaka is a beautiful passer, do not be fooled by the previous 2-3 games we’ve played. What he doesn’t excel at, certainly, is receiving under pressure, or getting out of pressure. That being said – his start to the season has been nothing short of criminal, I’m afraid.
I don’t know how we keep getting stuck with players who are absolutely cutting edge, fantastic in one sense, but just so incredibly limited in other aspects. (Xhaka, Ramsey, Walcott, Coquelin, Giroud, Welbeck etc etc.). I am reluctant to criticize Wenger for fear of being lumped with the “malcontents”, but I think this is, as it were, a “safe space” (if we have to use this stupid term) for rational criticism. I wouldn’t go as far to say that its Wenger’s fault due to obvious transfer obstacles which the arsenal “fans” and the media refuse to accept (and some willfully ignore), but it is Wenger’s responsibility
We have very, very few all-rounders, which is why our balance is so precarious, invariably only 1 injury away from the transformation of the top 3 team in the league to a dysfunctional mess we saw yesterday.
I am absolutely heartbroken, and hope the big man can turn it around once more. Two good games at the Emirates to restore the confidence, followed by a game away at the Bridge – an opponent that suits us a lot more, in my mind at least.
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Ed
So are you thinking Wenger would actually be happy enough in that scenario; or willing to cover any unhappiness, for the team and club’s sake but also very conveniently for those above, with that sort of talk?
The first feels unlikely, and surely amounts to hefty criticism- i.e if you do believe that is absolutely wrong, but he thinks it’s ok; the second seems to cast him firmly in the role of embattled boss, hugely let down by senior management and taking massive hits for them in a way that is extremely unfair.
Neither of them fit well enough with my ideas about Wenger. We’ll see though.
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EMPTY MIDFIELD
well yesterday it surely seemed that way, we had 2 CM’s, Liverpool set up with 3, our two wingbacks were AWOL or MIA, not only in midfield but at the back too. That allied to the fact that every time we got the ball to Alexis he took too much out of it before losing it or giving it away, and every time we got it to Welbeck he was bamby on ice and ball was back with LFC, meant our midfield was overrun. We also had Ramsey joining up with the attack, but the passes that should have come ended at Alexis’s feet.
But I do feel that the third goal showed there is a major problem, either with the tactical set up, or with players not carrying out the set up. Can we really have set up with Bellerin 35 yards from the liverpool goal, being our last man, is that possible, surely not. one indecisive miscontrol and we had not 1, not 2 but 3 liverpool players with a free run on our goal.
so either our defensive set up and those that decided on it are a shambles(george will like that one), or our players didn’t bother their arses taking up the positions they were assigned. Either way heads should role for it.
Ox’s part in the second goal has already been highlighted, but anyone else notice the headless moment in it from Monreal, he charged out to play Frimino offside despite Kos and OX both playing him way onside.
Goal number one had several major mistakes in it too.
Overall there was a giant collective brain fart from the team for the entire game, if it was a one off we could brush it off as one of those days, but sadly its another one of those days, another one of those days that happen several times a season. We know the players have the skills, we know the have ability to focus and carry out a game plan, we have seen it many many times, the FA Cup semi final and final are prime examples, and that makes it all the more galling that we suffer so many days like yesterday where focus, concentration, performance is so utterly lacking, that you would think it was not the same players.
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well Rich I really don’t know, we have to see what happens by 11pm Thursday. then see what Wenger’s response is. If we clear the squad and fail to bring in a signing or two, and AW goes on about how happy he is with the squad and its quality etc etc etc, then we really should be concerned. We could be looking at actually being in transfer profit, in fact if we sell those we are trying to sell, and buy no one, then we will certainly be in profit, and if we actually sell Mustafi and OX, we would be looking at possibly a record transfer profit for us. That does not tally with Wenger’s quotes from ten days ago when he said we have to persuade Alexis and Ozil to sign new deals by giving them what the want on the field of play, namely a great team.
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I would really love to know is Welbeck clinical in training. Is there actually hope that he might stop falling over when shooting and start scoring on a regular basis
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Monaco have signed Jovetic and he has been given Mbappe’s number 10. Looks like PSG are getting their man.
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Eduardo, I don’t think the problem was our setup for the third counterattack goal. Almost every team puts only their fullbacks near the halfway line when taking corners.
Nobody could have matched their runners on the counter.
The issue here not with the setup, but with a player not able to execute absolute basics. A player of Bellerin’s caliber and experience, regardless of age, simply cannot take such an atrocious touch to control, then be sooo tentative with his next one when he knows that he is the last player!
As a manager, you cannot be expected to legislate for such mistakes. Then again, if most of our players (or all?) were subpar yesterday, then surely it has to reflect the manager in some sense? I agree with everything Shotta has written, but a better performance surely was possible, even with the hole in midfield that he is describing.
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santi yes most teams set up with 2 players near the half way line, we had bellerin as near their area as the half way line, and we had no one behind him, one miscontrol seen 3 LFC players behind our last man, that is a fault of set up, be it how we set up or how the players did not carry out the set up. As I said either way heads should role.
as for no one could match their runners, why the hell not, are they super human or something, or did our set up give them a head start, how was there 3 free liverpool players, they were defending a corner, so had everyone back, it was awful set up or awful implementation of the set up.
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I see Seri is quoted as saying he is open to a move to Arsenal or Liverpool after a move to Barcelona broke down, he claims Barca offered him a 5 year deal.
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Edu,
When I said nobody could have matched their runners, I meant that in the scenario where 2 fullbacks are the last players behind, the only ones arguably with a chance. Monreal is not fast enough to match Mane and Salah anyway, while Bellerin, given that he was the one who got robbed of the ball, had no chance whatsoever, even if he is fast enough.
But I do agree – heads should roll.
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reports in France say Monaco have told Liverpool that they will only sell Lemar for €100M which is £92M
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but santi if our last two men are in right position even if Bellerin makes a blunder the second defender should still be between the ball and the goal, not behind the liverpool players, that is why the set up or the implementation of the set up was wrong.
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I have said it many times, we have optimistic players, they are always optimistic that mistakes won’t be made, and if they are someone else will cover them. “I’ll just job back here, someone else will cover where I should have been”, or “ah the ball won’t go to that opponent making the run, and if it does someone else will spot the run, after all I have spotted it, oh it did get to him and he scored, ah well its unlikely to happen again”
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“Heads must roll.” Please guys, unlike the mainstream media and most of our colleagues on twitter, blogs and podcasts, let us not over-react. Last year, two weeks prior to this date, at 70 minutes we were 1-4 down to Liverpool at home. They were successfully pressing us and counter-attacking. One substitute in midfield made all the difference. One quality player can make the chain from defence to attack seem unbreakable. By October Wenger was looking like a genius. Players play, managers manage.
The level of calm discussion and analysis on this blog today, with some exceptions, far exceeds everything I have seen elsewhere. Long may it continue.
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i agree with edu on the set up. most of the time we see clubs having their two full backs but we had only bellerIn. again there were no arsenal players outside their box normally anticipating loose ball from clearance. but all our players were inside their box. very strange.
i have my reservation about seri, but even if we are on seri, that deos not explain why we are letting our experienced defenders leave. we are thin at the back but bougous in the midfIield expecially when the injured are back.
xhaka, ramsey, coq, elnenny, ozil, cazorla, wilshere and seri?
i
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shotta its not an over reaction, they players royally fucked up yesterday, it has happened far too often in recent years, If this was a once off then it would be right to give a great big chunk of leeway to them, but its not, the team went down yesterday without a fight, not a whimper, for some of them it was like they couldn’t give a fuck. We’ve seen it all before from them, and seemingly no consequences for them, still here, still likely to do it again, “something must change”, “we must learn the lesson and move on” etc etc etc, as I said before we must have some very slow learners in that side as there is no sign of them learning. What is the likely consequences for the starting 11 yesterday, banished to the reserves for a long stint, not on your nelly, vast majority will not be dropped and they know it, any that will be sold this window would be getting what they want. Will their contract offers decrease, not a chance.
Most likely to be dropped, Holding, already left out of one game, not a first choice yet, after that Welbeck the most likely, what with Alexis back and Lacazette there. After that nearly all certain to start if fit, and still here v Bournemouth, ox if here will be shoehorned in somewhere in the team, after all he won’t sign a new contract unless he is starting every week.
And yes before you say it, at most big clubs its basically the same 11 week in week out, but the difference is, most big clubs don’t put in three or four or five of yesterday type performances each season.
I firmly believe that there is an attitude problem within our squad, and main two ways to remedy it are replace the manger or replace the players with the attitude problem.
Its six years to the day since that infamous 8-2 at old trafford, and what we seen yesterday was every bit as bad, if not in fact worse, after all the team six years ago had several players missing, and had just sold Cesc, Nasri and Clichy.
We started yesterday with 4 players who played in that 8-2, another on the bench. The worrying thing is that in the six years of awful defeats, that the team has changed lots of players, but the problem persists,
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If the rumors about Mustafi and Ox going are true and that at best we will sign one player, then we will have had a very strange transfer window.
We know AFC are trying to sell Debuchy, Gibbs, Lucas, Campbell and Akpom, and we all understand why, in fact I see very few who would be against all their sales. But after the sale of Gabriel, and the fact Chambers held transfer talks with Crystal Palace, to now see talk of Mustafi going to Inter, it just feels very strange. Kos, Per, Rob, Naco and CC would still be here. But one is only a CB for less than 20 games, another was loaned out all last season, and another missed all last season with injury and is retiring at end of this one.
Of course Virgil Van Dijk or such like might rock up by Thursday evening and it will all make sense.
I am totally non plus over Ox, if he stays fine, if he goes fine, but if he does stay a decision on position needs to be made, him or hector at RWB, stop this shuffling players around just to fit both in.
3 games played and we have used both at RWB, LWB, RB and LB. We have also used Kolasinac as LWB, and we have used Kos, Rob, SK, Nacho, Mustafi at CB. That is far too many players in secondary positions.
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Eddie: I know it is very difficult but we must avoid our inherent tendency to over react to negative events. I had a major life threatening injury years ago and if I had over reacted I would be 6 ft deep today and erased from your memories. Last year this time we went down 3-4 to Liverpool after going behind 1-4 and many gooners elsewhere and even on PA wanted to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Arsenal then went on an unbeaten run until Nov-Dec. Nothing has changed. We are one player short of where we want to be.
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some chelsea sites reporting that Arsenal last week turned down flat CFC’s bid for OX, he was not for sale, but that now we are in negotiation with them for his sale. What ever happened over the weekend has changed our stance on the player. Of course till something official, its only rumor and not too much stock should be put in it.
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shotta a big difference in last years opening game and yesterday was that for 44 minutes of the first half we totally dominated the game, even took the lead, and should have had another one or two, even when lfc went 3-1 up, we had missed chances in between. yes when santi came on we got another couple of goals. but yesterday’s performance was just so subpar you really can’t say the two events were the same.
We have to stop using the loss of Santi as an excuse for these results and non performances, we started with 9 full internationals yesterday, six more on the bench, and put in a performance lacking everything. Santi being there is not going to suddenly cure all ills. When the team switched to a 3 at the back we went on a run as good as any we did at start of the season with santi in the side.
I have said it many times, the team are clearly able to put in the performances they just don’t seem able to maintain the required level of focus week in week out. And when things start to go wrong far too often they fold. Yes often when playing well we manage to cope with a setback, but far too often, like yesterday, we sink without even a sign of a fight. That has happened with and without santi cazorla.
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It may be 6 years since the hammering at OT but it is just three months since we flattened Chelsea at Wembley, having defeated Citeh in the SF and stuffed ManYoo between the two Cup games.
Same players same manager same tactics. And with Laca and Sead now available stronger than in May.
So no – I’ll stick
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Shotta: it is just that yesterday’s result felt particularly scarring, for me anyway, so its really hard to take distance and stay rational. My gut feeling yesterday was just as bad as they media have been trying to portray it for the past 10 years, even though my mind tells me it is not and cannot be so.
Today, things are a little clearer, and I do agree with your assessment of Arsenal’s issues, the crux of it being that basically, without Santi, our MF is not as good as our competitors’.
What I am afraid of is that we do not have the internal solution to this problem, and I am not overly confident that we will sign that 1 player we need before the window shuts either.
Could our internal solution be Iwobi to offset the lack of technical security? Or do you think it is strictly output from MF that we need rather than technical ability, which makes Iwobi an ineffective answer to the problem?
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anicol that is the point, the players are capable of great performances, but sadly also capable of what we saw yesterday, and far too often do we see that. And not only against big teams, but we have seen it against the lesser teams a fair number of times too.
We know that they have the ability, but something is missing when they just can’t do it over a prolonged period.
That we are more likely to concede a second, third or fourth goal than keep it at just 1 is surely a sign that there is a major problem with either the players or the formation/tactics/set up.
Yesterdays kind of defeat have come regardless of our form or run of results. they can come even when on a great run.
Wenger normally puts it down to a lack of focus. It might just be a throw away soundbite from him, but I don’t think it is. As he is also quick to praise the focus when they put in a good performance.
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I haven’t the stats at hand, but from memory we have only lost 4 games 1-0 in the last 3 seasons. We lost more games than that letting 3 or more goals last season alone, and have let in 3 & 4 in two of our 3 games so far.
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santi_caroler: One thing I learnt from observing the financial markets is every time there is a major downturn in prices, the public is scared into believing “it is different this time”. The majority of punter sell low, losing their shirts. I speak from personal experience. Yet after the 2007-08 crash the market has not only recovered but it is higher than ever. Btw: My investment advisor is bearish, feeling the market is currently setup for a major correction.
In football it is about the same. Punters are generally as if not more emotional than investors who have to risk their own money. The similarities are striking, every time there is a bad defeat the media and the fearmongers in social media try to convince us it is different this time; Arsenal will never recover. The data indicates it is a repetitive cycle which is predictable as night.
I agree there seems to be no internal solution to AFC’s MF issues. We tried 3-4-2-1 but it is evident it only papered over the cracks as we are still vulnerable to really good pressing, counter-attacking teams like Liverpool. Iwobi is an AM learning the game. Xhaka is a great passer but is slow and cannot dribble his way out of or into dangerous positions, Ramsey is box-to-box, Ozil is a pure AM. A facsmile of Santi is not easy to find. Modric at Madrid comes to mind but he is going nowhere. There is a reason why big clubs are paying big money for talented MFs. I leave the solution to Mr Wenger. he is far more experienced, far more knowledgeable and has access to infinite more information about who is available and affordable to the club.
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Last time we put in a performance like that was at Palace, and that setback was followed by an excellent run in both PL and in the FA Cup. So I am not so sure the “it happens too often” is right. It happens, but it happens to every PL team. It is not the intermittent catastrophe that determines the quality of a team or its manager but how they react to defeat.
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last season we kept 13 clean sheets in our 38 BPL games, and in 12 games we let in 2 or more goals. So we are almost as likely to let in 2 or more goals as keep a clean sheet.
And we have started this season by conceding 2 or more goals in 2 out of 3 games
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we were very poor in the spurs games last season too, 2-0 loss.
Anicol I have put up the stats above, 12 times in 38 league games, now 14 in 41 league games we have conceded 2 or more goals, there is a frailty, there is a problem when you are as likely to let in 2 or more goals as you are to keep a clean sheet.
and again the end of season run, seen the team more focused, the battle was on for a top 4 finish. Something amiss when levels of focus are switched on and off as it seems happens with out team – Wenger’s stated view by the way, not just mine. We’ve also had several players admit focus of team not been right too often.
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we also let in 2 or more 5 times in the cups last season.
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I don’t really care if we concede goals – we have always conceded goals – the difference is now we don’t bang them in at the other end.
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young Arsenal forward Nathan Tormey has suffered another long term injury, he has torn his hamstring and is likely to be out for six months. He only played one game for our u18’s last season due to injury, and now just as he was coming back to fitness this major setback.
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we only failed to score in 4 of our 38 league games last season, and we failed to win 2 games we scored 3 goals in.
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anicol its a problem when you have to score 3 or more goals to get something out of the game,
as stated above we very seldom lose 1-0. So team normally score. But when you are as likely to concede two or more goals as you are to have a clean sheet, it means the forwards have to score 2 or more goals a bit too often to have a chance of the 3pts
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Against Stoke we never really forced a save from their keeper, and the devastating statistic for me was not the 4 conceded yesterday but the zero shots or headers on target in 94 minutes – This against a Liverpool defence that are basically crap with
a keeper who was more jittery than Savile at a Girl Guides’ jamboree
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But as shotta likes to say, the bigger the sample pot the more accurate the result, and the stats I’ve mentioned are for a full season and the start of this one, and the 2 or more goals conceded is an awful stat, the fact we are as likely to let in 2 or more as keep a clean sheet is awful too.
It points that we have to score 2 or more goals a bit too often to get anything from a game, and it even happened a couple of times last season that we scored 3 and did not win the game. Same the season before and the season before etc etc.
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