2019/20 Rivals - Arsenal

Our performance wasn't great we gave away such cheap goals, you're playing at Anfield which is hard enough but every time we just make things so easy for them.

Pepe & Auba should have taken their chances as well, Auba I was really disappointed in. Pepe is still settling in but showed some real bright sparks. Ceballos looked well off the pace, it will take him time to settle in and get to grips to games of that intensity.
 
Casanova85 said:
Only 3 games out of 38, and Arsenal has already realized they can't even dream of challenging City/Pool for the PL title.
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Pretty sure everyone knew that since the end of May. Baring an unbelievable run of injuries, no team is getting near them. They are excellent.
Luiz really fecked us, i think we could have nicked a draw with a bit of luck and an earlier Torreira+Laca sub. Emery's plan invited a lot of pressure and was very risky but he almost pulled it off. Auba's 2 chances and Pepe's 1 on 1 should be enough to win if you put them in.
Still, i hope he revert to a more traditionnal formation against Spurs and try Auba-Laca-Pepe from the start. I'd go with Willock-Torreira-Ceballos and give Guendouzi a breather.
I don't think he will throw Ozil back in a NLD but who knows...
 
Not happy with Emery today. Tactically a pussy from the start. Emery ball involves a certain way of defending - something Arsenal don’t posses. How does he not realise we are an attacking team? We should have just gone for broke and adapted our play from the first goal. Instead this guy leaves it as it is inviting pressure on us for virtually all the game.

The team was under constant pressure and we didn’t change a thing.


Other factors to mention: the squad still needs to gel together and both our first team fullbacks are out.

Overall I think we still have a top 4 chance, but we are about 2/3 quality signings away from closing the gap on 3rd place. Not happy with Emery tactics and a good manager like Koop would definitely get a lot more out of this youthful Arsenal team.
 
tinfish said:
Not happy with Emery today. Tactically a pussy from the start. Emery ball involves a certain way of defending - something Arsenal don’t posses. How does he not realise we are an attacking team? We should have just gone for broke and adapted our play from the first goal. Instead this guy leaves it as it is inviting pressure on us for virtually all the game.

The team was under constant pressure and we didn’t change a thing.


Other factors to mention: the squad still needs to gel together and both our first team fullbacks are out.

Overall I think we still have a top 4 chance, but we are about 2/3 quality signings away from closing the gap on 3rd place. Not happy with Emery tactics and a good manager like Koop would definitely get a lot more out of this youthful Arsenal team.
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I think you guys are nailed on for 4th. Mostly by default by virtue of being the best of the rest after Liverpool, city and spurs
 
Not in the same league as City and Pool, will be pushing Spurs for 3rd however. There is a chance Eriksen still may go, albeit looking more likely he rides out his contract until he is a free agent and then is free to negotiate with whoever. If he goes I think that takes Spurs down a rung. Lo Celso will take a while to settle and get up to pace, much as Ndombele will. And I feel with Eriksen gone from the Spurs squad they lose some world class quality and that puts them closer to Arsenal.
 
I think arsenal will get top 4 unless their manager screws them. A simple 4-3-3 with pepe laca and auba. Torreira at the base ceballos and guendouzzi/willock in the middle is enough.

But emery is a confusing manager. He loves to constantly change formation, swap players and just make a mess. He is too smart for his own good and overanalyse things
 
tinfish said:
Not happy with Emery today. Tactically a pussy from the start. Emery ball involves a certain way of defending - something Arsenal don’t posses. How does he not realise we are an attacking team? We should have just gone for broke and adapted our play from the first goal. Instead this guy leaves it as it is inviting pressure on us for virtually all the game.
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Tactically he was spot on up until we needed to come forward and attack. He realised last year you can't goto Anfield and expect to play high lines against them. Before the first goal at 40 minutes, they created little from open play and we actually had the better chances with Pepe/Auba. As soon as we came forward and played high lines they took us apart because they are at least a level above us right now.
 
Thought Arsenal played well first half, should've scored at least once with some of their missed chances.

Ultimately when Liverpool score the first goal in a game they turbocharge far away into the distance and that again happened yesterday.
 
There were many positives for Arsenal yesterday. Pepe troubled both Robertson, Van Dijk. Good counter attacks and were unlucky not to score first in the match. I would say they are very similar to LFC pre-Jan 2018 (before Van Dijk was signed). Their speed, attacking talent mean they can beat any team on their day. Yet question marks on their leaders, and defensive set-up. Yet, good signs and they should progress well....
 
ariveded said:
There were many positives for Arsenal yesterday. Pepe troubled both Robertson, Van Dijk. Good counter attacks and were unlucky not to score first in the match. I would say they are very similar to LFC pre-Jan 2018 (before Van Dijk was signed). Their speed, attacking talent mean they can beat any team on their day. Yet question marks on their leaders, and defensive set-up. Yet, good signs and they should progress well....
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Liverpool pre Van Djik never played football as negative as Arsenal did yesterday. They played with way more intensity. In fact they were the only side able beat City. This Arsenal side is rank average and that wont change until they get a new coach.
 
Think they're basically around the same as us for the year. Will be a fight for 4th between us 2, dont see anyone else being too seriously involved for 4th.
Their strengths very clearly lie in their front 3, while being pretty shambolic defensively as you'd expect. In midfield think they're a bit overrated and will just be inconsistent. Our strength is a bit more evenly spread out, but we are generally good going forward (but have young players so end product will be inconsistent), have Pogba world class in the middle but inconsistency around him, and then a good back defence/goalkeeper group. I see more room for natural growth with us over the season, while they just need new players in defence (Tierney though might be a big plus).

Last season there was basically nothing between United and Arsenal in almost all statistical measures. Very similar in a lot of ways. United over the summer addressed their 2 biggest issues, but still have some others. Arsenal strengthened their strongest area, while kind of ignoring their issues (don't count David Luiz as addressing that defence, hes shit).
 
NieThePiet said:
Ah, Ceballos isn't good enough after one bad game? Willock and Matteo are young and especially Willock was our best player in midfield today.
Maitland-Niles isn't a natural Fullback, but Bellerin is still injured. Tierney too, Holding too. I would like to know how Liverpool would look without Trent and Robertson.

Liverpools midfield: Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Henderson. Honestly, i would want no one of them for Arsenal. But Klopp is the far better coach and he makes every player so much better, the same he did at Dortmund.
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Ceballos was the worst player on the pitch. Maybe he will be good against lesser teams but couldn't cope with Liverpool at all. Sorry mate, but theres some very average players in your team and before you say it, I know the same can be said for United.
 
bosnian_red said:
Think they're basically around the same as us for the year. Will be a fight for 4th between us 2, dont see anyone else being too seriously involved for 4th.
Their strengths very clearly lie in their front 3, while being pretty shambolic defensively as you'd expect. In midfield think they're a bit overrated and will just be inconsistent. Our strength is a bit more evenly spread out, but we are generally good going forward (but have young players so end product will be inconsistent), have Pogba world class in the middle but inconsistency around him, and then a good back defence/goalkeeper group. I see more room for natural growth with us over the season, while they just need new players in defence (Tierney though might be a big plus).

Last season there was basically nothing between United and Arsenal in almost all statistical measures. Very similar in a lot of ways. United over the summer addressed their 2 biggest issues, but still have some others. Arsenal strengthened their strongest area, while kind of ignoring their issues (don't count David Luiz as addressing that defence, hes shit).
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You did concede 3 goals more than us last season though. Note we will have strengthened by having Bellerin and Holding return and adding Tierney and Luiz. Mustafi not playing improves our backline considerably. So while obviously you have obviously added 2 good defenders, we're actually adding 4. Also the best defensive sides have midfields that protect their defence. So overally I don't think it's a given you'll perform better than us defensively this season. On another note both teams have added ball playing defenders who'll improve

In terms of playing attractive creative football both teams are shadows of their formerselves and I can't see either winning the league for a long time.
 
The signing of David Luiz amazes me. He is a defensive car crash waiting to happen. Guendouzi and Torreira have been good signings. Emery did well to get them to the Europa final last season. With Pepe they will have more about them attacking wise. Defense though will be their undoing I think. Needs to move on Ozil but like Sanchez his wages will prove a stumbling block.
 
Watching them yesterday, can't help but feel like they've properly overtaken us now.

Maybe it's just the doom and gloom getting to me but yeh, they look impressive going forward, and some of the swarming they were doing to win the ball back of Spurs was first rate.

Their defence is still not great, but then we're hardly Fort Knox either.
 
Will surely go back to back 3 when Holding and Bellerin are fit again. You need to put more actual defenders around Luiz to cover his walkabouts as Chelsea did in 16/17 with proper defenders like Cahill and Azpilcueta either side of him so you could allow his mistakes.
 
Could be yet another example of a "very strong autumn-early winter, just to feck up in spring" season for them.

Anyway, right now they are strong candidates for Top3-4.
 
Holding, Bellerin and Tierney back in training while we lose Lacazette for 2 to 3 weeks. He will probably miss the OT game.
Aubameyang to have a good run in his favorite position flanked by Pepe and maybe Nelson unless Emery switch up the formation.
 
Lacazette could be a huge miss for Arsenal. As clinical as Auba is, I still think Laca brings more to the table for them. Like someone above said they should finish in top 4 by default unless Emery screws it up for them.
 
Ozil could always get a start...think Watford is actually closer to their training ground than the Emirates so not too long an away trip for him. ;)
 
awop said:
Holding, Bellerin and Tierney back in training while we lose Lacazette for 2 to 3 weeks. He will probably miss the OT game.
Aubameyang to have a good run in his favorite position flanked by Pepe and maybe Nelson unless Emery switch up the formation.
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That will be so important because all of them should be in the starting XI (Maitland-Niles has a very good job but Bellerin is Bellerin).
 
So are the unruly masses at the Emirates placated? Seems every time I see one of those Arse fam tv things someone is complaining about the club(Kroenke) not spending money. Looking over net spend in say the last 5 years Arsenal have spent a lot of money, ok not in the same league as Man City or us but they are third in net spend. Above Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs.
 
Scroto Baggins said:
So are the unruly masses at the Emirates placated? Seems every time I see one of those Arse fam tv things someone is complaining about the club(Kroenke) not spending money. Looking over net spend in say the last 5 years Arsenal have spent a lot of money, ok not in the same league as Man City or us but they are third in net spend. Above Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs.
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The Arse fam TV crowd will find something else to complain about. About how we should be competing for the title or something.
 
Sean_RedDevil said:
That will be so important because all of them should be in the starting XI (Maitland-Niles has a very good job but Bellerin is Bellerin).
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Indeed, they should be 3/4 of our starting backline for the next 5 years. Time will tell who will be the last one to join them. Saliba ? Upamecano ?
 
horsechoker said:
Fewer people tune in when nobody's complaining
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Exactly
RooneyLegend said:
Surely Arsenal has to be competing for titles, isnt that why Wenger left?
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We will.. in time. Football moves in cycles, Wenger had his opportunity in 2016 when Leicester won it, and it was obvious that we were at the end of his cycle in 2018. There was no way Wenger was winning the title in this cycle with Klopp and Guardiola around, and Liverpool/City playing like invincibles. Now that we've come to that conclusion its logical to get someone else in and give him a chance of starting a winning cycle which will peak next season. Last year and even this year our aim is to get back into the top four. Next year should see a title challenge, or at least getting close to City/Liverpool. If either of those two don't happen Emery will get the boot, we don't have any sentimental ties to him.
 
ThatsGreat said:
Exactly

We will.. in time. Football moves in cycles, Wenger had his opportunity in 2016 when Leicester won it, and it was obvious that we were at the end of his cycle in 2018. There was no way Wenger was winning the title in this cycle with Klopp and Guardiola around, and Liverpool/City playing like invincibles. Now that we've come to that conclusion its logical to get someone else in and give him a chance of starting a winning cycle which will peak next season. Last year and even this year our aim is to get back into the top four. Next year should see a title challenge, or at least getting close to City/Liverpool. If either of those two don't happen Emery will get the boot, we don't have any sentimental ties to him.
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You guys simply have the wrong man in charge, this mythical cycle of yours isnt happening anytime soon.
 
Jury is out on Emery amongst the Arsenal faithful. Not very happy with his tactics. Won't be long before Ceballos and Pepe lose their gloss. Gooners were so full of it at the close of the window and it won't be long now before they turn on the Kronks again. There's no excuse for Emery this season. Looking forward to the meltdowns as the season progresses.
 
Classical Mechanic said:
They're the 3rd worst team in the league for xGA with 9.35, only Norwich and Bournemouth are conceding more good chances than them. 13th in the league for xPTS. Some worrying underlying signs for them.
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Pisses me off no end how very few teams take their chances against them
 
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