A lot like last week, many of our players had good games and yet the team played some turgid stuff. We dominated possession and yet made few chances. I’ve long said that scores mask performances and this is yet another example. I can’t think of a single Arsenal player that wasn’t decent, but our team play was laboured and uninspiring.
We eventually won the game when Ceballos stuck our a foot and the ball fell in Aubameyang’s path, he then did his Aubameyang thing and scored a brilliant goal. Just like last week we relied on a moment of individual genius rather than cohesive team play.
Again, I feel mean spirited, given we won and have 6 points from our opening 2 games, but eventually, results will reflect performances.
I thought Ceballos was excellent and Luiz added much. Pepe looked like he could add a lot but ultimately fluffed his best line when he played a really poor ball behind Aubameyang , when a decent ball into his path would have been a tap in.
I have to give Mike Dean a mention as he was at his incompetent worst. He allowed Burnley players free hits after the ball had gone and punished us for the mildest infringement at every opportunity.
Now don’t get me wrong, we have been the better team in both games and deserved the points, but only bod just.
Positively Arsenal 
Eddie Nketiah scored the winner for Leeds on his Championship debut tonight, he scored last week in the CC for them on his debut for them, and scored for their U23’s in between. Nice start to his loan for the lad.
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“Jose Mourinho on the controversy surrounding VAR: “Only thieves can complain about the introduction of security cameras.”
I hated this man with a passion when he was a football manager! Since he has been away from that role, he’s starting to make me see another side to him, which is not a comfortable place for me to be!
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Pass , I feel the same, first glimpse of his non manager persona was with Arsene at the CL finals, I had the same weird feeling that this guy may not be such a bad guy after all…
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Me too, he was very respectful towards Arsene that night.
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It’s worse than that Passenal. In idle moments I have found myself exploring the idea of him replacing our current coach.
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FH, he’s like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde! It seems that when he is managing a football team, the evil one comes out to play, but away from that environment, he is actually a human being! I think for his mental well being he should keep well away from the dugout. He looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown when he was with the mancs, but looks and sounds almost normal now!
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Emery on Liverpool, Guendouzi, Ozil: transcript
Rob Kelly 22 Aug 2019
Emery
With two wins from two, Unai Emery is pleased with our start to the season – but knows we face our first major examination on Saturday.
Our head coach discussed the game against Liverpool, Mesut Ozil’s return, Matteo Guendouzi’s impact and more.
Get your third kit before the boys wear it on Saturday
Read on for a full transcript from his press conference:
on whether this weekend’s game will show where the team is at…
Good afternoon, it’s a big challenge. Each match is a big challenge and each match is for us to prepare best as possible. The idea is to continue creating in our way and style. We need to be strong and also we can recover some players to be fit. I think we are closer to achieving everyone being ready to play, but we need some more time. For Saturday we are in a good spirit and our players are ready to play with big ambition to do something important.
on if his team will need to be more reserved at Anfield…
It’s a big stadium with a big atmosphere and I want to play every match in our amazing stadium with our amazing supporters in our home. But we need to play away and face big teams with big supporters. I think the motivation for us is very big on Saturday. We are going to have some Arsenal supporters helping us and it’s a big challenge. It’s going to be a different game to Burnley because the team is different. They are going to demand different tactical issues, but we want to play and show how we are now. It’s a big test to show their capacity and our capacity.
on Xhaka and Ozil’s availability…
Tomorrow is the last training and we are going to decide tomorrow. Today they trained, but really, I need tomorrow to have the last training, to be really sure how we can be better there. I know some players need to be fit and to improve 100 per cent to be in their best fitness. But tomorrow is the day. Really I am positive with some players for Saturday but I don’t want to decide today or to say to you today how we are because tomorrow can change.
on if Mesut is back from illness…
I think he needs to be fit and also he is training as normal with the team. I think this is the first way to achieve that fitness. After that, to help us with his capacity.
on what we will learn this weekend about the team…
We really are in a very good position but we only played two matches in the Premier League. We are going to play 38 in total, so really to be in this moment with the possibility on Saturday to achieve first position is amazing and a really big possibility. We know it’s only the beginning but we can be positive and optimistic for that match and wishing to show our moment against them, but knowing that it is going to be difficult but it is a very big challenge and a very big opportunity for us to do something.
on how he makes sure what happened last season doesn’t happen again…
Each match, each moment, each season is different. We can use last year, two years ago, three years ago, four years ago. But really it’s about our moment and this moment. Anfield is a big atmosphere with their supporters, they are a very good team and they advantage for us in their progress and in the last years. In Anfield they have one step more in feeling strong, but it’s not for us, it’s for all. We need to take our best performance and to go there with a good feeling and also thinking we can achieve that performance individually and collectively to be strong and to have our chances. We are looking forward to going there and showing that.
on whether Matteo Guendouzi will sign a new deal and how impressed he has been by him…
We have a lot of young players and they can develop a lot. We are going to help them, to push them and also they need to break different levels and achieve individually in their performance. We are here to help them and give them chances. Matteo is very young but he has talent and his talent is also to adapt to what we need or what is needed in the Premier League. It’s also to be physically strong. We are working tactically and individually to improve, we are working with him on the videos and on the pitch and we are speaking to him because it’s a big challenge for me, for our coaches and for him to achieve a big level here. He is in this process. Last year, for me he was very good in his process but he missed a lot to achieve in his career the big performances and big moments for him and to help us. But really I am very, very optimistic with him because he has this talent and I think we can also improve him on other things, like physically we are working with him in the gym, and mentally. He’s a young player with potential who can now help us to achieve the best performances.
on issues of abuse on social media…
I have them because it’s important to be closer to the supporters and the people, to give them information, individual and collective, from me and from the club, to be closer to them. The [social media] is you – [if you can’t] control it if you don’t use it positively, it can be negative. I only use it when I think it can give me some good information or help me in some opinion. But really, when people cannot control the social media, it’s not positive for us.
on VAR…
For me, VAR is positive. It’s coming to help us, to help the referees and to be fair in different circumstances in one game. After this, I think it’s also right to think to not stop the intensity and the rhythm in the matches and not to stop for a lot of minutes. At the moment, sometimes it’s going to be positive for us, sometimes it’s going to be negative. But really, now, in my mind, it’s positive for everybody, for every team and for the Premier League to help them. Sometimes it’s helping us, sometimes it’s not helping us, but it’s fair.
on Nicolas Pepe…
The most important thing is, like a person, to help him and his family to feel comfortable here. Now he is three weeks into working here with us. He didn’t do the pre-season here but he’s progressively feeling better. For example, in the first match, he played 15 minutes in Newcastle, then he played 45 minutes against Burnley. I think his individual performances are progressively getting better. For Saturday, he is maybe ready to have more minutes. I am going to decide tomorrow, but really his progress has been positive and has been good for the team and for him. The most important piece of the adaptation is to help him to feel easy and be comfortable with us.
Copyright 2019 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to http://www.arsenal.com as the source.
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Dan Critchlow
@afcDW
·
8h
Rob Holding is set to play the full 90 minutes for Arsenal’s u23s on Friday, as the final step in his injury comeback.
If you weren’t aware, the u23s play Everton at the Emirates Stadium on Friday at 19:00. Tickets are still available so come along!
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Passenal
I remember an interview with Crespo at the height of first and best of Roman’s Chelsea sqauds and he said Mourinho was a different person away from the cameras when a coach. A nice person.
He certainly hammed it up when on the touchline or in front of the cameras as a coach. That’s an understatement!
Interesting that he gradually lost the Madrid dressing room in the period after Ozil left them. Perhaps his good use of the player was a big plus in his favour in that dressing room amongst the other players? Likewise falling out with Hazard had the opposite effect during his second spell at Chelsea? Maybe.
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Eddie
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Emery has confirmed that he has told Mustafi and Eleney that they should leave Arsenal before the European Transfer window closes on Sept 2nd, as neither will get enough game time at Arsenal this season to keep them happy.
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isn’t it odd that a blogger that sells Arsenal gear with the old crest on it, you remember the one, it could not be trademarked by the club, so they could not stop fuckers selling gear with it on it, wants Arsenal to change our crest back to that old one he makes money off.
By the way, the old crest was first used in 1949, but was not on the team kit till 1990, but was replaced 16 years ago by the current crest, meaning the current crest has been used on kit longer than the old crest so many hanker back to.
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“Hoping For A Tactical Revolution By Emery” from @shardgooner.
Join the great debate at Uncensored Arsenal where even close friends disagree.
https://uncensoredarsenal.com/index.php/hoping-for-a-tactical-revolution-by-emery/
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Anyone know any decent coaches out there for Englands test match openers?
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And middle order.
On the question of Maureen, the bloke was a snake, the bloke is a snake and the bloke will always be a snake. Don’t get pulled in by his nice persona.
Anybody who can creep up behind someone to stab them in the eye in dirt of the highest order.
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I don’t know regarding Mourihino, I used to dislike him very much but I try see it from his eyes. A lot of people blew smoke up his arse and it went to his head, add to that the achievements he had, its enough to give most people a serious ego.
not really the same but anyone who has been on a Fifa session and one of your mates goes on a mad win streak, they can get pretty insufferable after that esp if they counter you all night.
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Arsenal U23’s v Everton U23’s
Hein
Swanson Holding Clarke Bola
Burton Smith-Rowe
John-Jules Coyle Saka
Balogun
SUBS: Hillson, Olowu, McEneff, Olayinka, Tormey
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Arsenal Academy
@ArsenalAcademy
·
12m
HALF-TIME: #AFCU23 2-1 #EFCU23
We lead at the break thanks to goals from @TyreeceJJ9
and @RBurton26
🔥
#PL2
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Mandy
A.Cook.
The English “phenomenon” (Ronaldo the great was the original).
Coached and trained by one G. Gooch also known affectionately as Goochy.
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Mandy
A.Cook.
The English “phenomenon” (Ronaldo the great was the original).
Coached and trained by one G. Gooch also known affectionately as Goochy.
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‘Scuse the double post!
Great players don’t pop out of a genie’s bottle hey are trained and apprentice to Master Craftsmen. Especially in specialist positions demanding an amazing temperament. Like CBs or opening batsmen. Sure sometimes they can grow and develop by themselves.
But that is not so frequent.
I wish someone would show Matteo how to pass and move! He’ll improve no doubt. In the future.
On the other hand there’s a healthy group of healthy CBs now at the club which is great news. For the current and next manager hehe.
Wish they’d invested previously but as per Ornstein’s tweet we’ve all here known what was going on these past few seasons.
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Arsenal Academy
@ArsenalAcademy
·
55s
The visitors have an equaliser. Gordon latches onto a loose ball and taps into an empty net
😤
🔴
2-2
🔵
(84) | #PL2
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Arsenal Academy
@ArsenalAcademy
·
2m
Despite a dominant performance, #AFCU23 are pegged back late on at Emirates Stadium…
Unlucky boys
👏
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Cook, yes he was special, very special. Different mentality to the shorter game influenced batsmen of today
Bring back Chris Tavare!
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New post is up
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