Last season following the opening 2 games Arsenal went on that unbeaten incredible. Yet it always seems as if we were there for the taking as our defense was all over the place, but thankfully Auba and Lacazette were in good nick and truly spared our blushes. This was also the time where Özil and Ramsey were being “used sparingly”.
In the middle part of the season, following a few poor results Özil and Ramsey got drafted back in. We immediately got our season back on track, beating both Valencia and Napoli handsomely in Europa. For a time there we went 7 or 8 games conceding just one goal. Then after we lost Ramsey old habits crept back in with our defense once again having to carry more of the workload.
Now I know it’s fancy to say our defense are poor and that Mustafi is the cause of all that. If you point out his high defensive numbers, they say it’s because he’s “a busy player”.
Now when Özil and Ramsey was together in midfield our defense weren’t that busy. Which brings me to this.
Didn’t the high turnover of possession in midfield contribute to to us constantly playing on the back foot… and there’s only so much our defense can do. I mean, do we really expect Mustafi to put in 10 successful tackles per game, 10 interceptions per game or 10 blocks per game when the likes of VVD, Laporte or English treasure Harry Maguire averages around 6 or 7?
So for me, if we fix the problems in midfield and make possession a priority, jealously protecting the ball to not needlessly giving it away, it will take a lot of the burden off our defense and maybe then we could see what an attack boasting Auba, Lacazette and Pépé can do if we keep them on the front foot.
I know our defense are not the best in the world but I also don’t agree that they are rubbish. Last season they were over burdened and that needs to end.
Positively Arsenal 
There has now been 500 PA blogs.
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Congratulations George. Blogs like PA are a rare minority in the Arsenalsphere. You took the lead and made a success of PA and based on my experience it is far from easy. There is a reason why most so-called Arsenal blogs, tweeters, podcasters and YouTubers simply repeat the same old media narrative, trashing the club, the manager and players whom they are supposed to support. It is an easy way to gain notoriety and fame so they can start leveraging it financially. Patreon anyone. No wonder Arsenal are in the current mess.
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well less than 100 hours of the transfer window left, so not that long to wait to see if Emery is to get some new defenders in
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You know, that was a bit of rant I typed while nodding off. It’s so frustrating on twitter trying to get a point across because people will jump in with their silly sounbites asking “yea but how many errors does Mustafi?”. One dude even said it doesnt matter if he makes 20 blocks or interceptions, if he makes one costly mistake then he got to go. I just ask myself do we really expect a defender to do so much work per game.
Eddie know these things (?), Arsenal conceding shots on goal thereabouts in the PL, in good company with teams that got relegated. Arsenal are also thereabouts with sides having the highest turnover of possession.
It’s really irritating when twitter talks about the symptoms and ignore the greater problem we have in the way we play. Merely signing other CB won’t be the silver bullet.
Overwork VVD as we do our CB’s and he’ll look ordinary. Last season both Liverpool and Mancity’s defenders did the least amount of work of all teams in the PL because the midfielders run games for them.
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The simple truth, i have always talk about possession football that is what we know under wenger. Even barca defense is as terrible like ours but possession is the key to considering less.
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Good stuff.
Where to start on this subject? Lot of my expectations upended recently what with City having a good defensive record despite all the attacking players on field, many of them slight, and only one defensive-minded midfielder, and even he not your typical dm type.
Then Pool almost equally as much food for thought as they do what they do without, to my mind, any top level creators in midfield. Likes of Wijnaldum, Fabinho, Milner and, yes, Henderson, are not mugs, have solid technique and can execute good passes, but all are someway short of true passing maestros.
Occasionally seems it will catch them out, as you would predict it will, when teams sit deep, and they look short on the guile and creativity to move them around and then cut open, but most of the time they overcome it, typically either though work of their full backs, one of the dynamic, high quality front three, or both.
Oh yeah, supposed to be about defence, our defence!
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our squad for game v Barcelona this evening
Leno
Martinez
Maitland-Niles
Chambers
Sokratis
Mustafi
Monreal
Kolasinac
Thompson
Ceballos
Guendouzi
Torreira
Xhaka
Willock
Mkhitaryan
Nelson
Ozil
Martinelli
Saka
Aubameyang
Nketiah
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Attack is the best form of defense. What better way to sustain attack than keep possession. Bring all the best defenders of this world together in a team without good midfield and attack the team will be relegated. The reason why you have defenders in your team isn’t because you don’t want to lose but because you want to win. And how can you win if you do not attack. We conceded a record 52 goals in consecutive seasons for different reasons. The last season of Arsene because we have the required players but last season, we had better players but we focus more on the negative football which is playing not to lose rather than play to win marches. If that persist this season, i don’t expect a different result. Whether we buy pepe or tomato
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It’s all about the centre of midfield. For me.
How the midfield lines up tonight will be some kind of a guide?
with Pepe missing from the team, given Emery’s patterns or lack of it could be very different to what we see at Newcastle.
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Team to face Barcelona
Leno
Maitland-Niles Chambers Sokratis Monreal
Xhaka (captain) Willock
Mkhitaryan Ozil Nelson
Aubameyang
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1-0 to the Arsenal, an Aubameyang power shot leaves the keeper stranded, it was our first shot on target after 36 minutes
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Actually I think most of the goals concealed last year came from either forward players losing the ball in bad areas or midfield players not tracking back. Defensive mistakes are normally only a small part of goals concealed so to blame one person is idiotic.
Congratulations George and all those who have helped over the years, there have been some brilliant contributers some still going, some drifted away and some we have lost.
At the end of the day this site has been and still is a wonderful haven of positive in a football world where negatively and moaning is popular and the majority.
Thanks again to everyone.
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HT: Barcelona 0-1 Arsenal
Aubameyang with a fine finish after he rolled his man from an Ozil pass.
It was our only shot on target in the first half. Barca have been on top but have not had a really good chance, as we have two banks of 4 every time. Our passing has been off, and in attack its a bit too much individual. Nelson doing some nice things but taking a little too much out of the ball.
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on goals conceded stats are that on average there are six mistakes made per goal.
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Not too many mistakes by the Barca players there on the Arsenal goal.
Ozil’s pass and Auba’s spin taking out five outfield players, an amazing goal.
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Maitland-Niles with an absolute howler, an awful careless backpass goes by leno and into an empty net, his casual play is still his big weakness
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1st shot of the second half.
Twenty mins to go.
Following the blueprint of how they played in games against strong teams last season (save for when Rambo gave AFC the ascendancy).
And there’s an error from the player who isn’t a RB, we had a whole season to work that out, has Emery, and Barca equalise.
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Well. Hopefully if there’s a change there to see from last season it’ll be Willock starting over Guendouzi, but I don’t think that will be the case next weekend.
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fins you are ignoring the mistakes of positioning, the defender allowing himself to be rolled by PEA, and mistakes earlier in the buildup, too many look at the final mistake and blame that player for it, when others are the reason for it getting to that point to start with.
how many mistakes in the Barca goal
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* who isn’t a RB but was still a better RB then SL!
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fins it seems Guendouzi is a cert to be a regular in our starting 11, Emery clearly rates him highly
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Martinelli goes very close with a volley from a Saka ball in
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Eddy,
his teammate stretches for the pass whilst running back, i mean the last man on Auba finds himself off balance and in my opinion it’s harsh to call that an error as opposed to a minor misjudgment.
Conversely there were multiple errors from the non-defensively grounded AMN before that because goal, clear errors with various teammates bailing him out at different moments before that final miscommunication and the Barca goal which was always coming down his side.
Mustafi should be the RB. Because at the moment he is the best RB.
The Barca defender may have gambled but it was an unlucky gamble imo. but I’m sure he’d agree with you too and try to do something different the next time.
I don’t expect Auba to be turning many starting PL CBs (not back ups) that easily.
Ohhh Saka nearly sets up a second for the Gunners, goes wide as Auba and Martinelli both go for the shot.
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5 minutes left and we bring on 3 subs
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89th minute and a ball down the middle sees Suarez unmarked 10 yards out to score what is likely to be the winner, poor defending
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FT: Barcelona 2-1 Arsenal
same issues as we had last season, too many mistakes leading to goals, too many poor passes in midfield area, and not enough commitment to attack.
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ah the Mustafi hate is in full flow in twitter world
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Not studied replay but wouldn’t it have been Chambers more at fault for the goal? Thought he was one with the view of Suarez who reacted too late.
Interesting night anyway. Beauty of a goal. Conservative change at half time when we’d been looking good before it. Youth doing well on the whole. Defensive lapses costing us. Ceballos with glimpses of his quality.
Was so impressed with Ainsley first half, but right from off in second half seemed to have dropped off in performance. Text book clanger for back pass as they are taught to play it outside confines of goal. Hope he responds well. Still at an age where it’s very possible to improve these spells of complacency or whatever it is. So much there of a serious player so fingers crossed he can.
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Maybe I should try being more forgiving of any Ainsley errors at full back. Think I played there twice, having always been on wing or up front, and felt phenomenally alien and uncomfortable with whole field ahead of me and players closing in. Bad times.
Still, though, he could have these very off spells when playing wide or centre mid for youth as well.
Just wanna see him make it, as he’s one of ours and has lots to offer
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rich AMN will be 22 later this month, he made his debut 5 years ago, and its the same AMN that I seen in the youth team, far too bloody casual, its as if he does not want to look like he is trying, the laid back king.
For me his only chance of making it at Arsenal is as a right back, he aint getting near our CM, I’d say even Willock is now ahead of him, and he aint getting wide right, not only the senior players he has ahead of him, especially with Pepe now our record signing, and I’d say Nelson and Saka and it looks like even Martinelli might all be considered ahead of him by Emery. Not forgetting Iwobi.
so if AMN wants a career at AFC he should be busting a gut to nail down the right back spot, with Hector out, but he didn’t do it last season, and I’ve seen nothing in preseason to suggest anything has changed in AMN. Mr Casual.
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so as things stand who do you expect to be our starting 11 v Newcastle, taking into account fitness levels and the formation etc that you expect Emery to use.
I think its safe to say that Leno will be in goal, despite his mistake tonight i would be very surprised if Maitland-Niles is not at fullback.
will it be a 2 or a 3 at CB, if a 2 I’d expect it to be Chambers and Sokratis. If a 3 then Monreal in. That brings us to left back, I think it will be Monreal, unless of course we are going with 3 CB’s, then it would be Kolasinac.
Two in CM is what I expect, so Xhaka and Guendouzi as Torreira not fully fit yet. I don’t see Willock being picked despite his good form in preseason, unless he gets in at the expense of Ozil.
the forward department, I think with the injury to Lacazette, he will not start so Aubameyang up front, so who will the 3 behind him be.
I don’t expect Pepe to start, due to lack of preseason, so Mkhitaryan very likely, with Ozil too, so will it be Nelson, or will Ceballos who did well when he came on tonight get in, or as I said earlier maybe Willock in to give more in CM.
it might be something like this
Leno
AMN Chambers, Sokratis Monreal
Xhaka Guendouzi
Mkhitaryan Ozil Ceballos
Aubameyang
subs: Martinez, Kolasinac, Mustafi, Willock, Torreira, Pepe, Lacazette
of course the 2, 3 or 4 players we sign in the next 4 days could make that selection look foolish, but I doubt it
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so it seems Emery said we will try to sign one player that will improve the team,
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Saw the bulk of the second half. Really impressed with the confidence of the bulk of our team. Chambers stays.
Guendouzi’s looked really good. As did Willock & Saka. We have the makings of a really good team as long as impatience and an exaggerated sense of entitlement from fandom does not derail us.
Noting his body language…As long as he’s a gooner, we need to accept and big up Mustafi as much as possible. I look at what’s transpired with Mangala and I think, “what a waste, we better not let a similar fate befall Mustafi”. He’s not that bad a player. I pray we keep him and he delivers big time !
Carmon Shkodran, carmon!!!
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Unai Emery: “Philippe Coutinho is a splendid player, but we have not discussed him at any time.”
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Guendouzi and xhaka? Well I know what to expect
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Morning all. Really good analysis.
https://www.gunnerstown.com/arsenal/2019/08/05/arsenal-it-seems-left-their-inferiority-complex-in-baku-barcelona-2-arsenal-1-in-final-pre-season-run-out/
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ian at 7.50pm-click like from me.
These warm up games are tough to see how things might be. Felt a bit sorry for AMN, he did many great things in the game, not sure he would have done that in a PL game.
Our defence just needs a bit of direction, ( I know its cheesy, but I would like to see Dixon and Nigel W get in there and do a bit of coaching with them) and a massive amount of support. They seem to aware of themselves and the frothing mob who want their necks- if youre aware (conscious)of the fans or what youre doing in a game its a nightmare to be able to play with confidence and concentration.
If a goal goes in, it cant ever be just the fault of the defence, its 11 blokes all playing as a unit. In a game, where does a play start and when does it stop? We can say, well when the whistle blows to start the game, but what about the memory, emotions and thoughts left over from the game before and the game before that? When we look there is no start, nor and end, just a big stream of events. Thats why tinkering often yields better results than all out revolution..?
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“Never A Friendly Between AFC and FCB”: Rich does a match report for Uncensored.
https://uncensoredarsenal.com/index.php/never-friendly-between-afc-and-fcb/
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As for Guendouzi as our 1st choice CM, we saw how that worked out last season.
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Mills on what would you base your wish that Dixon and Winterburn would be brought in to coach the defense, one wouldn’t even try his hand at coaching and the other actually got dumped by a couple of clubs who brought him in as a defensive coach. The game has changed big time since either of them played, there is a completely new offside rule for a start, and there is no tackle from behind, let alone there favorite going through the back of a forward.
Your idea stinks of the old soundbite “what does steve bould actually do”
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but but but Shotta “he is great for a 19 year old”, oh make that “he is great for a 20 year old”, can’t wait till its “he is great for a 21 year old”, all I will say is he is no Cesc Fabregas, now that was a lad that was truly great “for a 19, 20 and 21 year old”
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The Spain u21 coach Luis de la Fuente said over the weekend that Dani Ceballos could – to translate loosely and paraphrase – play in any team in the world and is going to usher in a new era for Spanish football.
We’ll see if he lives up to that, but for now I wish Real Madrid had been dysfunctional enough to let him go for good.
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a whole host of clubs are in for Eddie Nketiah, for a season loan, Bristol City, Cardiff and Swansea the front runners, some BPL sides have inquired too, but not with the gurantee of game time. Its not clear yet if Emery wants Eddie to stay or not, I think he will be allowed leave, even if its on an initial 6 month deal, and we will do with Nelson and Martinelli as back up options to Lacca and PEA. I would say the signing of Pepe will mean only one of Lacca and PEA will start in most games, with the other on the bench. So no need for Nketiah to stay as he will not be in the match day 18 much. If lacca is fit for Sunday then Eddie will not even be in our 18 man squad, so does it make sense to keep him to play the odd league up and EL game
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by the end of this week, or end of the month at the latest we might see Koscielny, Mustafi, Jenkinson having left AFC
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Thanks Eddie.
Some fotze has got to steady the back line though, new rules or not. Ive said before we have good players but its at sixes and sevens.
I dont understand why Dixon or Winterburn would be too dumb to understand the new rules despite what you argue.
Thats why I wouldnt mind them just talking about their experiences and being able to pass on a few tips. They both sound pretty knowledgeable when they talk thats all. If it stinks of some sound bite then that your assumption, and not my intention.
Its not about playing how they did completely, just asking someone to steady the line or take one or two things that made that backline strong as fuck. Perhaps that was just a fluke though?
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my point on them Mills is that one, Dixon, chose not to go into coaching, and the other Winterburn, has actually failed as a defensive coach at a couple of clubs, so much so that he has had to turn to pundit work. but somehow they can fix our backline. What could they tell the players than Bould didn’t, what could they coach them that Wenger, Emery and all his large coaching staff can’t or haven’t. We’ve even tried psychologist’s on them.
Its become a self fulfilling prophecy, its got in the players heads, they are so worried about making a mistake, its causing them to make mistakes. We let in one goal, they are so worried about letting in a second it causes panic and we let in a second, or like last season, we kept letting in goals just before half time and just at the end of games, it seen players who were having fine games till the 40th minute just do the most silly of things, to play well players have to be free of mind, even the notion that they will fuck it up can not enter their heads, but its been going on that long at AFC, magnified, even extorted, by media coverage, it has got in on the players. I really don’t know how it gets rectified. Only a run of clean sheets will do it, but that is a catch 22 situation, we need the clean sheets to get the confidence and get it out of their heads, but we need the confidence and it out of their heads to get the clean sheets.
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With all due respect to guendouzi, I think believe we have some in our youth team of same quality if not better. Willock for example gives more going forward, at least in goal scoring and shots. He is similar to Aaron. But guen played 40 odd games last season but how many shots let alone goals?
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Personally I still think that D +W have something to give, but thats just my opinion. In all honesty I have no idea how good or bad Steve was /is as a coach. Im the twat that would have had everyone I possible could to come in and talk to them. But thats me, doesnt mean Im right.
The second paragraph I agree 100%. We’ve become easy targets and I hate that shit. Its basically bullying even if the mob-media deny it and call me a bubi. Its a turd if the crowd are on your ass but how it must be in this age of social media I have no idea? I dont know how they do it. The bullies would shit their cunty little pants if it was the other way around though.Perhaps they could ignore the idea that a clean sheet will give you confidence? And select one of the centre backs to be like a captain for the defence? I dunno.
It saddened me to see a guy like Chambers, who was excellent for Fulham last year seem a bit bewildered yesterday evening. Im not advocating going backwards to the GG days and be in the past, but just taking some elements, sort of basic evolution could help?
Better I leave it to the pros.
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Layksite, that’s a bit much to me. I don’t think you can judge any deep midfielder by goals. But especially while they’re still developing. Wilshere’s best season by far, before the year out when it looked like he was destined for great things, only yielded a single league goal.
Preseason isn’t a reliable gauge either. Every year there’s a new kid from our youth system turning heads in July, from Henderson to Aneke to Zelalem to Reine-Adelaide (Smith-Rowe and Nelson too, though there’s still time), but then struggling to make a mark on the first team.
We haven’t seen Joe Willock playing regular football yet, apart from in the reserves, which might as well be a different ballgame. On the basis of the last few weeks, I’m keen to see more of him, but having watched Guendouzi last season, I don’t think it’s a mystery why he got the minutes he did. Passing range, composure and physique are all there at a young age.
If nothing else we know that Emery prizes hard work, so if Guendouzi is getting on the pitch it tells us he’s a committed guy. The rationale must be that he and the team will be better for it in the long run, as it was with all the young players we’ve given proper time to down the years.
Sorry, that came off like a rant but it isn’t! Although there’s pent up frustration at seeing flashes in the pan every summer!
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Chris Willock too, who looked extremely promising. Two years later and he’s yet to make his Benfica debut. No comment on any of these players’ personalities, but there’s something beyond pure ability that coaches must see. If I had to guess it’s some early indicator of consistency. It’s fascinating to me.
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