@ReverendGooner provides an antidote to this morning’s sombre mood
Well parishioners as we sit back and pick over the still warm carcass that was 2017 and reflect on our team’s ups and downs we can either be one of two things, we can say hey it’s not all that bad and we are still in with a shout of the top 4 and 2 cups with 16 weeks to go or we can scream ‘Man the Lifeboats’ I’m getting off this tub before it takes me down with it. Now I don’t know about the rest of you enlightened ones but I am definitely the former rather than the abandon ship brigade so I won’t be grabbing my life jacket just yet if you don’t mind. We currently sit in 6th spot as I write this piece 8 points off 2nd place and while this is not ideal its not exactly the end of the world either.
The detractors would have you believe that this is an absolutely catastrophic situation and that the end of the world is nigh. Our manager ‘the old duffer in a sleeping bag’ as some portray him still harbours a large degree of optimism for the season as do many Arsenal fans but hey he’s hardly going to come out and say that we are royally f$#@ed is he so let’s look at where we currently are and more importantly let’s look at our fans expectation and rightly or wrongly where they believe we should be.
Like many of you cyber pilgrims I’m quite active on social media and interact with many fans from both sides of the managerial debate and the biggest commonality is there is no commonality its very simple in that you are either for the manager or very much against him. You can drone on with some justification about match scheduling and referees who cost all teams points with their poor decision making and performances but I don’t think that’s the problem I think its us the fans that are the problem. Fans have expectations and want the club to show ambition to match that expectation but how realistic is that and how realistic are the fans expectations. I say show the same ambition in your own life before demanding it of others then demonstrate that success before holding yourself up as a beacon of hope and enlightenment.
Now some of you will disagree with my opinion and that’s fine that’s your right and one that I am happy to accept as a part time blogger. Over the period of last year, I have had a good look at some of these so called real Arsenal fans and their constant on line rants about the Arsenal Football Club and in particular the owner, the manager, CEO & squad. They offer advice and comment on where it’s all going wrong and how to fix it on everything from owners share allocations, to the corporate structure of the board and of course how to win the PL & CL before the pub closes.
I have had a closer look at the person offering said advice and demanding that Arsenal match their expectation and realise they are just spouting off to paper over the cracks of their own short comings just like the dad at Saturday morning football who was never actually any good at football but continues offering advice to his son’s team demanding perfection and telling everyone how it should be done. We all want Arsenal to do well and we all want to win the PL, CL and every other trophy but there has to be a large slice of reality applied to that expectation. Every other club is trying to do the same thing at the same time and a myriad of factors need to be taken into consideration in order to achieve this. The rise of social media in recent years has only served to amplify this call for ambition from fans 24/7. Now fans can interact with the players, administrators and the media on a one to one basis and while this is a serious step in fan participation and interaction it’s not always been for the best.
The ongoing saga that is the Sanchez/Ozil contract negotiations have further exasperated things which has also served to raise my awareness of the ever-increasing amount of contract and business law experts there are within the Arsenal fanbase. As someone that studied business law at university and works with complex business contracts on a daily basis I would still not deem it appropriate to offer advice or counsel to Arsenal on how best to resolve the issue because I simply do not know the background behind these negotiations or the foundations that the original contracts were based on yet we have Bill the brickie, Steve the Tesco’s manager and numerous bloggers, podcasters and fan tv host’s telling Arsenal’s executive & legal department exactly how it should be done.
Maybe I should shoot a few Investment JV contracts over to these guys for a quick look see on mate’s rates to make sure I’m doing the right thing; the simple truth is we have absolutely no idea what goes on behind closed doors and due to very strict privacy laws we are not about to either. The other great bone of contention is the CL and why Arsenal don’t win it? Today’s CL is nothing more than a UEFA sanction El Classico for Barcelona and Real Madrid (Real3 or Barca1 have won it past 4 years) and on the infrequent occasions other clubs have won the cup its because they have spent an inordinate amount of money to do so and Arsenal Plc are simply not prepared to do that.
On the one occasion we did manage to get to the final we were robbed by a doggy Barcelona supporting referee appointed by Platini’s equally doggy UEFA. In regards to the PL where do Arsenal fans expect Arsenal to be in the league table? If you take any notice of Twitter OR Facebook then we should be right up along side City which is fanciful. Where in our history have we ever been an English & European powerhouse that some fans speak of? The answer of course is never. We have never been an all dominating force like the Utd & Liverpool sides of the past we have had patches of domination and the closest we came to dominating a decade was in the 30’s under 3 different managers: Chapman. Shaw & Alison winning the title 5 years out of 10 (31,33,34,35 & 38). Bertie Mee put together a good side that won the Fairs cup in 1970 and the double in 1971 but then came the wilderness years (1972-1988) punctuated with a League Cup in 87 and the FA cup win in 1979 against Utd. Then there is that old chestnut we want our Arsenal back which again is fanciful stuff. George Graham our 2nd most successful manager in history won 6 trophies in 8 years (1986-1994) but when he was fired for taking a bung the club was left in an absolute shambolic mess both on the inside and out with Alcohol addiction, drug taking and gambling (The Tuesday Club) prevalent in the squad & the club also beset by financial issues so where is this mythical Arsenal they all speak so fondly of.
Arsenal are the 3rd most successful club in English football history but they are still some way off the success that Utd and Liverpool enjoyed. Arsenal were always a good cup team that could nick the odd premiership until the Frenchman came along and modernised the entire set up and I think the Arsenal the younger fans keep referring to is of course Wenger’s Arsenal of his 1st 10-year tenure. Wenger’s time is drawing to a close and new blood is needed to take us into the future because the man simply cannot go on forever but his achievements should never be sneered at or belittled by fans who are either too young to remember Arsenal before Wenger or the ones who are old enough but have conveniently forgotten or choose to gloss over the real facts to suit their current argument. As for where Arsenal should be as far as fan expectation well how long is a piece of string.
Some football fans go their entire lives without seeing their club win a trophy let alone the PL title and yet they turn up game after game to follow their team come rain or shine. They love their team and follow it with passion, loyalty and commitment accepting the good with the bad. Sure, they might have a moan but they don’t carry on the way some Arsenal fans do. Some Arsenal fans seem to believe that we have some inalienable right to always win and win well with style and panache. You will often here the phrase “a club as big as Arsenal” should be doing a lot better than they are. You will also hear the argument that Arsenal now has a lot more money & should be competing better than they are but doesn’t everyone have more money now and no one has more money & the power of investment equity than City.
So, taking into consideration the fact that the PL is awash with money which has dramatically reduced the gap between a lot of the clubs don’t you think where we currently are fighting for top 4 and 2 cups is about right or do you think we should be spending billions of another people’s money to win the PL & CL just to satisfy fan expectation? You know like Manchester Utd are in the post Fergie era. If some of you really do think 3 trophies in 4 years is a bit meh and the FA Cup is nothing more than a B grade trophy these days then maybe you really are “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” so click your ruby slippers 3 times, say there is no place like home and come back to reality.
Here endeth the lesson parishioners
Positively Arsenal 
Thankfully I’ve hired more door staff.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Yes – it was rather like New Years Eve in A&E last night in the digital Arsenal world last night George. Much calmer this morning, blood and teeth cleaned off the floor, plasters applied, and ambulances back out on the road.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Cheer up, folks. At least we all know now what Arsène meant by “coincidence”.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Was that the match report? Oh well. The match itself was a F’up of of the first order. Let’s forget the embarrassment factor; the injuries; the disillusion of players,fans and management; the absence of a bench that might have done something; even the money that a run may have brought to the coffers but real money that we possibly lost last night.
Unless a price has already been agreed for Wally, his transfer value dropped by about 10 million quid last night. How well he echoed Ox’s last game.
And Iwobi has proved that he just does not have striker’s genes. So two attackers not present and we were really relying on the kids to see us through. Lots for the future there but no real chance for them having to cope with the defensive frailties of which there were many. Only Oosp came out with some credit. keep the faith though…Wed is still a good challenge.
LikeLiked by 3 people
No Ian, I am having a short break from match reports, although if anyone fancies doing the post match for Chelsea and Bournemouth I suspect George could be persuaded. You have carried the spear yourself Ian. By Palace I anticipate I shall be fully fit again and raring to go.
I have to say yesterday would not have been a game to get an easy “Positive” grip on. Even Arsene was fairly cold and critical in his comments about the players and the performance and he was correct. Per’s comments we probably even more downbeat.
I think what we can say is we got well beaten on the day by a Forest side who probably played as well as they have all season, if you not more than one season, while we were way off the standard required. As Tim pointed out last night though in October we very nearly suffered the same outcome against Norwich at hime, so it was a risk that we all were aware of.
Great thing about supporting a great club that is active in so many competitions, as we are, is that the next game is along soon and no less important than that which has just passed. No time for moping or ‘what ifs’.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you, hard to say I enjoyed that after going out the FA Challenge Cup but the reference to Oz was great fun.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_interpretations_of_The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz
L.F.Baum was a clever soul, and almost as big a legend in his time as Herbert Chapman!
I don’t imagine he’d have approved of Scudamore’s beloved concept of finance. Someone who likes to walk upon yellow brick gold bullion roads (solid foundations?) wouldn’t be mad keen on the practice of printing money out of thin air (methane?) that seems to suit so many of the movers and shakers in the premier league.
Baum must have been a fan of the Bank of England team (The Arsenal).
LikeLiked by 2 people
Baum was clever, but he was not wise!
“The Whites,” Baum wrote, “by law of conquest, by justice of civilization, are masters of the American continent, and the best safety of the frontier settlements will be secured by the total annihilation of the few remaining Indians. Why not annihilation?”
Blimey. He makes officials like Darrell Hair and such like minded souls (could quote Blatter etc and so many more but there is no need!) seem almost civilised.
LikeLiked by 1 person
< that quote from Baum reads like Theresa May describing what she'd like to see happen, what she's dreamed of happening, to the deserving poor in A&E departments (that have been long hollowed out by policy).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ceertainly the knowledge that elderly stroke victims are right now being treated in ambulances in hospital car parks in this cold, well, that puts the bleating of our financial experts at AFC into context
LikeLiked by 1 person
LikeLiked by 3 people
Think someone in the Comments to the last post mentioned that comrade Riley and his commissars will use VAR in Wednesday’s match. Much like Stalin thought of the ballot box. I am sure the PGMOL thinks we are all naive simpletons.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Missed the second half, great second goal for forest but wow I’ve just seen the second pen call forget about the double touch.
That was unpredictable!
>L.O.L.<
LikeLiked by 2 people
Unfortunately A&E is busy having to deal with patients who have injured their finger removing a false nail – not unlike a number of our own glorious fan base Fins
LikeLiked by 1 person
I thought they were using VAR tonight in the Brighton Palace game?
Having been keen on it for years I look forward to its introduction – unlike most I doubt people become referees to deliberately fuck up football and invite the hatred and contempt of the spporting community.
Still – That is just me.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Excellent!
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Unlike most”
That’s a shame. Haven’t seen any stats on that.
I’ve always imagined that most refs ref because they love their sport, or they need to get out of the house on the weekend!
And most refs are based in the south of England the south east to be exact, where most of the population live, where most clubs are, where most of the players come from and yes where most of the refs live. There is data available to help explain the above. Given the huge number of clubs and registered refs and players too that keeps the game going in spite of the lack of investment in grass roots infrastructure and coaching, for anyone to allege that most refs don’t love the game would be inaccurate and not supported by any observational and or empirical evidence: I.e.: nonsense.
Please note that the pgMOB do not represent most refs in England and haven’t done for the better part of twenty years (not an opinion).
LikeLiked by 3 people
But the south is where all the jobs are Fins – what sane man living in Guildford would choose refereeing over setting up their own hedge fund? No – refereeing is one trade in which the London-centric metropolitan liberal elite has not got the field sewn up.
No it is the ex rivetters like Clatternberg, slung out of the shipyard, who burns with ambition to have a career in black. He even had his own whistle I hear.
LikeLiked by 1 person
If most registered clubs are in the SE then I don’t imagine that they’ve been using VARs these past two decades.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Was a fascinating game in no end of ways.
The youngsters with their crisp passing and movement, mobility and technical ability early on had me in ‘what if?’ mode. What if our distinctive brand of football in the youth teams, where the above is often showcased to an impressive degree, could lead to a flood (3-5) of these players in the next couple of years?
The youth teams have changed enormously even since Wilshere’s days of less than ten years ago, with far more of these highly technical players than back then. Wilshere was the unbelievably skilled diamond among a tough team with reasonable skills who covered the basics, including strong defence and the typical fight of the English game, well. Now you can watch the youth teams when on song and feel, ‘bloody hell, he’s skilful as well, and him, and him’, and they have spells, even against Utd, Pool and City’s lot, where they produce dazzling, technical football the opposition can’t cope with.
That was probably the high point. It turned into a lesson about just how hard it is for youngsters to establish themselves, the risks entailed, how brutal the game at the top level can be. Think of a player like Mavididi, who has frequently produced top quality moments in youth games. His promising start at Charlton, his extremely tough spell at Preston, now a great moment in first game back at Charlton.
You look at how tough a day it turned into yesterday and realise the scale of the challenge for him and others to get and take opportunities with us. A fanbase and even a sport who apparently are desperate to see youngsters thrive, but who are scathing and show no support unless you serve up a win each time in the process.
A reminder of why no matter how much City and Chelsea invest in youth, nor how many youth cups they win, they will keep on signing expensive experienced players; and come time for meaningful action, the youngsters will hardly ever be involved.
I suppose that’s enough for now, but after a game I think gave far more than our typical matches to think about, I feel remarkably ok and open to any non-hysterical reaction, after a wild and disappointing cup exit.
LikeLiked by 5 people
For example:
When my work colleagues Women’s team, registered somewhere in inner London I think, when they made the 4th round odd just before December of the Women’s FA cup, the FA referee in their big FA Cup match may well have been flown in from Cardiff (though it is highly highly unlikely), but their league refs do indeed tend hail from the greater London region. We could go into the complexities of why that is but I don’t believe that is required.
LikeLike
The referees for the Ryman’s Bottom South second tier reserve XI for the u18’s are not being shipped down for the benefit of us southern softies in a fleet of limos with blacked out windows and gold plated alloys, and that emanate a strong whiff of vodka (undertandable if you’d have to run about in this cold!)?
LikeLike
By my admittedly limited and stupid understanding it doesn’t aid the defence of anything to pretend that a critique of something in particular is applied to all.
But if that is the best, apparently the only, defence left then I for one wouldn’t want to stop anyone from expressing their Faith.
LikeLike
The logic above didnt compute for me, sorry.
E.g.:
By my understanding London is a centre for sports physios in the U.K.:a former Jamaican sprint teams physio is now the physio at Derby FC or was last I heard.
He’s from London. He doesn’t earn as much as a hedge fund manager.
In demand physios have been known to fly into to London and to give treatements to PL stars from their Mum’s living rooms. Which is kind of cool!
–
However there is a general drain on London going on, by design (policy).
That is true.
But that applies to everybody and not just these poor underpaid pgMOB employees or as so appropriately written above for hedge fund managers. I just spoke to an IT consultant who is moving to Derby – as if he spends another six months living in one room with his young family he might get in some serious trouble with his better half!
However in spite of all that there are still many amateur football clubs in the SE, people love their Football, and I believe that they still manage to get some refs turning out.
LikeLike
Let’s be clear:
The bizarre and remarkable numbers recording the provenance of these plums from the pgMOB proceeds the current housing crisis.
LikeLike
Professional or not I can understand why some of the senior players failed to shine yesterday – it can’t be much fun knowing that you have been dropped or discarded (a very different situation to a regular bench player like Giroud) and I can see why the motivation might not be there (and yes, I see that for some characters it would work opposite to that). And there are those who shine when surrounded by better players, but who lack the ability to impose on their own. But Per was brutal and knowingly or not revealed a lot of behind the scenes behaviour and thinking. One or two of the youngsters did OK, and I hope they get a chance to play in a better and more motivated Arsenal side.
The way I see it Arsene is still very much on course to win the Champions League in 2019 before bowing out in a blaze of glory – and I shall be approaching the Europa League with that very much in mind!
LikeLiked by 5 people
I’ve never met an Ozzie cricket fan who would even attempt to defend some of the brazen cheating from one or two of their officials in the past.
Fair play to the Ozzies they walloped England and then walloped them again and not even a squeak from anyone about the officials: just respect.
LikeLike
With sermons like that I might just start believing again…
LikeLiked by 2 people
Foreverheady
I’m not sold at all on the motivation idea. Can’t recall any incidents which made me think Walcott, Welbeck, Mertesacker, Holding, Debuchy, Iwobi weren’t trying, and as for Elneny: I struggle to picture much involvement at all from him but still doubt his attitude was bad or he wasn’t working.
I remember lots of instances of them trying, frantically at times, and looking like they cared plenty about what was happening.
For me it was pretty much a case of the individual strengths of each player having little chance to come to the fore, the game unfolding in a way that brutally exposed and played on weaknesses or limitations of those players, and the system or philosophy itself also having a very bad day at the office, or having its own weaknesses exposed.
Weaknesses and limitations doesn’t mean they didn’t try or they are rubbish to me; doesn’t mean the game was bound to play out that way either; nor that the system and philosophy is no good.
However, it did highlight the tremendous asymmetry I believe exists between our (unusual) game and the more typical approach, as well as the fact our typical approach is one that opposition could prepare for a year in advance, if not for what quality team we will put out.
Facing us, you know in advance we will push on and try to pass through the field; you also know this should provide opportunities for long passes into space or accurate ones to a strikers feet; you know not to leave space behind for runners; and to work your bollocks off hassling and harrying, closing down,etc, all in knowledge a ref will probably give you at least a little more leeway than you’re used to on close calls (not to mention penalty box stuff).
I don’t believe the kid upfront had Holding beat for strength in excess of Giroud against many a defender, but Giroud gets pinged far more often than not in any sort of tussle, and laughed at if he tries winning cheap free kicks; Brereton didn’t once and got the free kick at will.
Forest did it all, and were mightily impressive in doing so. It would be wrong to say no skill was involved as I’m pretty sure plenty was, but I still got that same strong sense that their game was so much more basic than our own : close down, win ball, quick direct pass to space or feet, etc. Many a time when they got one of one with a defender and space aplenty around; whereas those situations are barely possible for our attackers throughout (though it opened up last 15)
In large part that relies on our own approach, and those same players who shone against us will most likely, confidence boost or not, get little opportunity to carry on in same vein in forthcoming championship games, matched up as they are against same basic ideas as their own.
Maybe the truth is simply that any approach has its pro’s and con’s, and therefore whatever approach you choose and stick to will have days when the con’s hit you to full effect. Sometimes you eat the Bear, Sometimes…
That and we were forced to play a risky team, and it didn’t go well.
LikeLiked by 11 people
I was comparing our B Team line up yesterday with that in the opener against Cologne;
Ospina; Debuchy, Mertesacker, Holding; Chambers, Elneny, Coquelin, Maitland-Niles; Wilshere; Welbeck, Giroud.
Subs: Macey, Sheaf, Willock, Nelson, Iwobi, Nketiah, Akpom.
I have no idea where Theo was that night (or for long periods last night to be honest – not his finest hour)
We had three at the back although we were at home rather than two centre backs. It also seem to me that in midfield we had a much stronger B team against the Germans with Jack and Le Coq helping to balance Elneny’s hard work.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Rich, post of the week.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Anicol
Think that’s team from Cologne away. Remembered Kola and Sanchez belting in goals in the opener at home.
Home one had Monreal and Bellerin at back as well. Wilshere on as sub. Theo played
Same point tho in that it was a stronger team than yest, with power on bench. We made clever calculated gamble throughout Europa I thought after that start, by picking risky teams while knowing we could rectify it in next game if it went wrong. There was a net all the way through.
We don’t know truth of Coquelin not playing, but it seems definite possibility he was lined up and there was a late change of plan because of something behind scenes.
I’ve a feeling the tribute piece for Coquelin last week was meant to be a little boost and mark of respect ahead of him getting more gametime, but may have had the unintended consequence of bringing something to a head for him.
I found the tone of it slightly odd or at least surprisingly honest. Can’t find it now but I recall it not providing much of a sense things would change and he could ever reclaim a main starting spot. Would be an extremely odd piece to put out for a player who was likely to leave soon.
Though I may be committing the cardinal sin here of treating Crossy’s transfer rumour as a credible thing…
LikeLiked by 3 people
Quite right Rich – fool that I am – as we agree though a combination of injury and tight game scheduling over Christmas left us fielding a weaker side than we wanted at the City ground.
Interestingly of our Caribbo semi final peers Bristol got a hiding having made 7 changes and chucked in a couple of teenagers for their debuts at Watford. Chels nearly messed it up at Nawridge and only Citeh sailed smoothly on, Dyche having made clear that Burnley’s FA Cup ambitions would not extend after 5pm on Saturday.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Weaknesses and limitations doesn’t mean they didn’t try or they are rubbish to me”
Bravo, Rich. You’re my new favorite.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Cheers Alabama
It won’t last long, my favourite status- occasionally frustration gets better of me,etc- but I’ll enjoy the moment!
LikeLiked by 3 people
anicoll
Speaking of Chelsea, thought their game highlighted lot of the cons of ‘their’ approach.
Dour and lacklustre, expensive players who don’t play enough to get form going, no particular playing style to speak of, not even risking one of their plethora of outstanding youth prospects for more than a few minutes. Conservative. Some of the pro of it was on show,too. They didn’t go out. The defence was rarely in danger.
But still, they are significant cons, though crucially they have to be viewed alongside their finances, and the reasonable expectations with those finances. Precisely as same should be done for us.
LikeLiked by 1 person
it was felt by many yesterday that Coquelin was left out of the line up cos he was in line to play v CFC cos Xhaka is injured, but now it seems that he is in talks with five or six clubs over a transfer, West Ham, Valencia and a few in France. That bit on .com might have been a farewell from AW to him.
we should know more in the morning after the presser
LikeLike
some say yesterday’s defeat showed the problem is our style of play, but for me its not actually the style of play, more the implementation of it,
LikeLiked by 1 person
loads of transfer stories today,
Coquelin leaving to any number of clubs, Valencia and West Ham two of those keen, the hammers also interested in Elneny
his replacement might be Steven N’zonzi from Seville
Talks on going for Johnny Evans, with Debuchy possibly part of the deal
Southampton and Everton trying to sign Walcott, possibly on loan
Arsenal and Man City £10M apart in their values for Alexis, £25M – £35M
LikeLike
5 of the starting 11 played in the cup final
LikeLike
afcstuff@afcstuff
5h5 hours ago
Wenger on transfers: “We have not done anything [apart from Mavropanos]. Will we be out there to do something? Yes, we will. [Expecting developments this week?] Yes, because we are in the second week of January. After that, it passes quickly.” #afc
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ed
Don’t you think the ability of an individual to perform varies massively depending on the other players in team? 5 or starting eleven doesn’t tell half the story for me.
Best example is that how Mert did in the three, often deep, with good midfield protection in the final is almost completely irrelevant to in a two, spaces galore, with a dramatically less strong line-up and a weak centre mid; and that, crucially, that has zero to do with his own will, decision-making etc.
The same applies to a fair extent to each of the five. Even a seemingly isolated part of team ,such as how a right back plays or rather how well they ‘can’ play, is tremendously influenced by the other interlocking parts.
I can’t picture how any one of the players can have had a much better game than they did while the game unfolded and team functioned as it did. Even saying ‘but if two or three of the others were on it, maybe a fourth or a fifth would have performed well’ doesn’t convince me much, though it must be mostly true. Theo or Danny might have had a cracking day if we established a lead and Forest pushed people on.
Who could have implemented it better and in what specific ways- i.e Elneny making more tackles or interceptions, Iwobi losing possession less or helping more defensively, Danny holding the ball up, Theo being more of a threat when he gained possession (by dribbling past people? choosing better passes?), or conjuring space behind when there is none?
Nobody struck me as abandoning their basic tasks as players, not trying, not doing what they were meant to do.
I did notice Willock didn’t seem to make any of the interceptions he had previously done in games, and with Elneny not doing so either ,far as I recall, that may well mean centre mid was the area where the plan went wrong, and I’ve always thought if centre mid isn’t functioning, you’re right up against it, and can likely only be saved by individual magic up top.
Doubly or more so for us as we are not defensive and become even more open when behind.
We hoped mid would hold together defensively and we could get a goal through front foot play, and go from there, I think.
LikeLiked by 2 people
rich, you mention exactly how we implement it better, the ball sticks with danny, iwobi made his passes or had end product, theo had a more energetic game, our CM winning the battle would have been a great boost to implementing it. our forwards getting shots on target, we had roughly 1/3 of our shots on target, forrest had 3/4 of theirs, taking correct options is implementing the plan, we so often did not.
we can question if the style of play is too reliant on needing most of our players to get it right, but that is a different argument
and Rich I do wonder why with Per in the side we did not go with 3 at the back, one of Bielik, Pleggy or the Greek Harry Maguire could have been put in there, or even play Chambers, he was sub anyway. Or even put Osei-tutu at wing back and play Debuchy CB. But regardless of it being a 2 or a 3, (would point out that Per has played most of his football in a 2, well certainly his AFC career), it does not excuse him for some of the poor decisions he made, look at the lead up to the 2nd penalty, firstly a poor pass from him to Walcott, under hit, when he had Debuchy looking for it closer to him and completely free, TW had man on him, then Per made what could only be described as a token effort at a tackle on Traore, leaving us exposed, that was the position when an experienced player should have “took one for the team”, bring the attacker down and get the yellow, holding was back there too. But per has never been one for fouling, he has been booked very few times in his career, and I think only sent off the once, which is amazing for a CB.
LikeLiked by 1 person
interesting little note on VAR by commentator then. Swarbrick is using facilities of Premier League Productions.
I’ve heard of them before but not paid too much attention. Overseas prem viewers will be very familiar with their product. Now they’ll have a role with us,too, sounds like.
Interesting stuff. Sounds like they are a powerful new entity.
https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/footballs-best-kept-secret/5118656.article
LikeLiked by 2 people
Ed
Stand corrected if there were number of big avoidable errors or whatnot. Haven’t re-watched it so all based on my impressions during game, when emotions can interfere as can beers.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nice one Rich. Can only agree, no,evidence those players were not trying, would apply on what I have seen to the similarly accused amongst the more regular first teamers.
Our players know that some who play a more basic game get away with certain things, they know if they go near someone in the area, a penalty against them is the likely result, stats for this year and last show this is in start contrast to what happens when ours are impeded in the area. Four pens against us in three games, most of them soft at best, a couple were travesties is a joke.
These were players not match familiar, some out of form, some lacking games or confidence. Some may even be on their way , not because they are crap, but maybe the manager has deemed they are at a stage of their careers whereby they need more game time than they are getting
Yes, the performance was poor. Yes, there is a naivety to our play, they saw what Chelsea did to our high defence line, and ran in behind us time after time. I suspect this naive play comes from our purist manager who wants to play, to,attack and entertain. Sometimes it doesn’t come off, and for those who want a more pragmatic approach, I suspect it is coming, perhaps sooner rather than later. For those who want us to – if you can’t beat them , join them, I suspect will also be rewarded in the next year or two. After Wenger goes, I am sure some core principles will remain, but an ex Barca man who I strongly suspect will become very powerful within the club will know a thing or two about the power of influence and some of the more dark arts, on and off the pitch.
But for now, going to going to back those who wear the shirt and a manager who u derstands what should be the true spirit of the game, even if that is becoming impossible to hold on to
LikeLiked by 1 person
mandy I’ve see this notion that once wenger goes the PGMOL will change their stance on us, as an AFC fan for nearly 50 years, I can tell you we were never anyones darlings in any of it no matter who the manager was. Mee, Neill, Howe, Graham, Rioch or Wenger, the problem is not with the manager, its with The Arsenal,
LikeLiked by 2 people
I see that rag s*n is doing a hatchet job on Iwobi, it high time Arsenal banned those scum cunts and all who work for it, from all our pressers and games. The biggest complaint I can level at Arsenal Football Club is that they do not stand up to fucking rags and their journos. Grow a fucking pair AFC and band the cunts.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Not saying the PGMOL will change Eduardo, just speculating the club might, as may the next manager.
LikeLike
the club or should I say its CEO, and Wenger have both said many times that the one thing that will not change when a new manager comes in is how we view the game, how it should be played, and how we operate as a club(being self sustaining), plain and simple they make no bones about it, they see Arsenal as a brand, and the biggest part of that brand is for us to be an attacking team, entertainers if you like. there will be no Mourinho’s
LikeLiked by 1 person
You can be an attacking team, but a bit more cynical with , we were once
LikeLike