Lack of effort, concentration and luck reasons why Arsenal lost v Monaco. by MV
Arsenal v Monaco was a nightmare to Arsenal Fans around the world. Arsenal played horribly and even when Arsenal got back into the game, the team dug themselves into another huge hole. I was reading a lot of comments after the game and blame was given to a lot of players, but I believe that some criticism is unfair.
First of all, Ospina was not at fault for any goal. Maybe he could have done a bit better in the first goal but it was still very hard to stop that shot. Even if Ospina put a hand to it, the ball would have still touched the back of the net. As for the other two goals, he had no chance.
Arsenal’s defending today was absolutely horrendous. To start off, the gap between Coquelin and our defence was too big, therefore once Monaco passed Coquelin, our defence was played on one v one match ups. Bellerin provided throughout the game energy and good ball movement, I think he had a fantastic game even though his crossing was a little sub par at certain moments of the game.
Mertesacker was absolutely useless. He had very good passing but his lack of pace really caught up to him this time. The big German was actually playing great until he deflected Kongdobia’s shot. Personally, I was very disappointed with Koscielny. JustArsenal Fans say it was only Mertesacker’s fault, and even though the BFG played bad, Kos should also get some stick. Kos defended well though not great, and he could have done a little better on cutting counter attacks. He was not his usual aggressive self. In addition, Koscielny’s passing was horrendous at times. He struggles to pass under pressure and he put us under dangerous situations. Last but not least, Gibbs was horrible. He attacked well and supported the midfield nicely but his crossing was awful. Gibbs was also caught in the counter attack a lot of times and his reaction pace was not good enough. Honestly, Monreal deserved to play this game, and he probably would’ve played better.
Arsenal did indeed struggle in midfield and we were certainly overpowered by Monaco. Coquelin played well until he was substituted though that yellow card really limited him. Plus, Ozil and Cazorla never helped Coquelin out. Next up, Cazorla. What can we say about his performance, at times he looked like he was trying to do too much, and at times he let go of the ball to fast. Cazorla looked nervous throughout the game and he was very inaccurate.
Finally, people say Ozil was useless but I have to disagree. Even though Ozil never did anything amazing, he did open up spaces for Cazorla and Sanchez by dragging Moutinho and Kongdobia out of position. Ozil was also put in very hard positions where he received the ball surrounded by 3 Monaco players. I think that Ozil struggled because there was a lot of moments where Welbeck and Cazorla invaded his space, forcing Ozil out of the play. What really disappointed about Ozil today was that when he lost the ball, he did not have the will to go get the ball back. None the less, Arsenal’s midfield got over-run my Monaco.
The Arsenal forwards today were an absolute disappointment. Welbeck was constantly bullying Monaco but he never got into real rhythm. His first touch also let him down. Sanchez, apart from Bellerin, was a good player today. He did not score but he created a huge amount of chances for players like Walcott, Welbeck and Giroud. Sanchez also defended well, plus he showed effort and hunger (like always) while other players showed they did not care. Walcott was also huge when he came on but he was unlucky not to score. It proves he is still a bit raw. Lastly, Giroud. We all know about Giroud. He may be amazing against small teams but this was his chance to prove he belongs to the Costa, Aguero, Bony, etc. class. Giroud blew that chance and he blew Arsenal’s chances of getting the lead or drawing the game. Even though Arsenal was playing bad, the team should have scored at least once before injury time.
This was a team loss, and Arsenal loss, because they did not want this win enough. Monaco simply wanted it more. An example? When Ox lost the ball at the end which led to Monaco’s 3rd goal, no Arsenal player came to help keep possession of the ball. Meanwhile, Monaco players pressured the Ox into giving the ball away.
All in all a VERY disappointing night….
Mauricio
Was this analysis written by a child?
wenger needs to get help to motivate his players before such games. eg vs spuds. if u’re not up for that , when will u be up? OTOH i believe he does not punish his players. i read an article today about how he loves his players like sons. well, thats not going to get it done. they need the stick as well as the carrot. they get paid huge money and to see their level of unprofessionalism to day was unforgiveable. mert needs to be benched and earn his spot back. gabriel: u’r up. all the others looked disinterested too. maybe they threw it knowing they cant win CL and it will tire them out and they need to focus on FA ? but what kind of arsenal will show up for MU ? will they be up for that one or r MU going to say “we wanted it more” (same as what spuds said).
i swear to god , if i see mert over the halfway line again….
and then seeing his ambling legs trying to catch up. very very unprofessional.
i watched barcelona v MANC yesterday: suarez is clinical. he sees some space and often he gets it in. welbeck/giroud : i’m sorry, ur not at the level arsenal expect. having a WC CF can cover a myriad of other sins. a suarez can score for u out of nothing and suddenly u’r ahead or drawn or not losing. we have to get one in the summer. but i’m more worried about wenger: there’s something very wrong when the entire team just disappears for a game. cant be the players: it’s systemic. lets get a new energetic manager who doesnt just sit on the bench holding his head. AW: thanks for all u’ve done: if u win FA this year, PLEASE RETIRE.
I do not know which match you were watching.
Welbeck, cazorla and coqueliin happened to be the only one who got it and tried to make things happen.
Ozil was the main culprit. He consistently drifted into the CF Position and leaving a big gap between coquelin in DM, cazorla in the CM and the forward positions.
The line up was even flawed from the start.
Playing Giroud, welbeck, ozil,cazorla(all Divas) who are not good at winning back the ball, with 2 attacking wing backs in Gibbs and bellerin means that we would have a difficult time winning back the ball
Me.Slept like a top. Had light breakfast.Won’t now read the football news till end of week.Watch us beat Everton sunday with a pint. Back to normal as usual. No nightmares In this household.
I’m a gooner for ever and a day. COYG.
Analysis:
tactics were questionable
discipline implementing them laughable
Coquelin was found out
Per showed why he’s a Germany squad player
Giroud had a mare, but bigger issue is we had no alternative
Summation:
It followed the same pattern most games vs decent opposition does. Our weakness is clear, and our management dated.
Coquelin was never found out. It is a thankless job When you have to cover up the childish mistakes of all the players in your team.
Kondogbia shot 25 yards out in the centre and Coquelin was nowhere near him, that’s his area of the pitch. He was a lucky not to be sent off, and offers little more than a busy midfielder. Was subbed early.
Well and truly found out actually mate. Was always on the cards, he’s better than Flamini and has room for improvement, but he’s not close to the level of DM Arsenal require for their first 11 at this point. Good squad player.
I demand blood! Teach the lazy slugs in the team a lesson.
1. Make Ozil sit on the bench and make him earn his place with the performance rather than the price tag. Though the whole team was poor, i was especially pissed of at his attitude. No Zeal, no strength, no hard work.. just puting the hands in the air after losing the ball every time and trying to blame someone else on the filed.
2. The so called next Pele “Welback” is another mediocre English “talent” who is already playing at his best and would not improve any further. He is such a waste of money.
3. Mert : Oh boy!! No words for this lazy, useless camel. Just no words.
4. Wenger, you will always be a coward!! A COWARD!! The whole world knows that Ox,Walccott and Rosicky can do a faaaaarr better job than Ozil and Welback. But nooooo. you have to select the most the unbalanced and fu*ked up team in big matches. Generally when managers are not able to select the best 11 out of the squad due to injuries/shoratge etc. i can understand. But when almost all the squad is available and even then you put your 2nd/3rd best team in such a huge match, what the fu*k you are being payed for ??
We are truly an embarrassment on the European stage!!
I used to think dat we always get unlucky in big matches but no. Its not bad luck if fail to close down a player and let him hav a good shot at goal, its not bad luck if a defender leaves his man on d halfway Line and exposing teams defence, its not bad luck if we lose d ball in d centre nd no one tackles while player sprints 60-70 metres. I don’t see us winning big matches anytime soon, dat man city match was an exception
The curse of February!!!!
For the past 10 years now the wheels seem to come off our team during this month, we drop out of most competitions and start preparing for our “4 place trophy” as consolation. Season in, season out same old bullsh!t.
I see Wenger as a kind of coach who raps his arms around his players after such a performance rather than making them realize how big this club is and that no one including him should be allowed not to turn up for games.
We didn’t play more than 5mins with the same formation or positioning, some players were all over the place, Welbz at ST, Coq at LB at times, Ozil in no man’s land, Mert still at home, Wenger still dreaming about the invincibles, etc. He can’t motivate his players even 2 nil down he would rather seat on the bench looking clueless.
This current team and management is not capable of winning major trophies and the sooner the board see’s this the better! Wouldn’t blame Sanchez and Carzola if they left to be honest.
Sad to say our manager really is the biggest loser in Europe, I mean what does he have to show for it, Paris? Not enough!!!!
I’ve been seeing some comments that were saying coquelin played poorly and I’m wondering what game they were watching cause he was the best arsenal player for me.
He was playing dm and the b2b role cause cazorla didn’t have the legs (he Is 30 and has played non stop) AND he was cover both full backs as they both went up the pitch!
Coquelin isn’t superman I don’t know what more you wanted from him he did his job but he is 1 player and didn’t get any help from the others
Just from reading Wenger’s post match interview on Arsenal.com
on the defeat…
Congratulations to Monaco, they had a perfect result and played the game they wanted to play. On our side, I believe that we missed the chances and we were a bit suicidal defensively. We were not at the level defensively and we were a bit unlucky as well because the first goal is deflected. On the second and the third goal we were suicidal. We had the luck to come back to 2-1 but not the right to give away a goal the way we did because that makes our task extremely difficult in the second leg. It looks like we have lost our nerve and our rationality on the pitch. The heart took over the head and at that level it doesn’t work.
on making progress before the defeat…
Mentally we were not ready or sharp enough to get into this game. We paid for it. In the first 20 minutes there was enough room to win the game. Monaco are a team who are strong physically with a good physical density and we missed the chances. If you look at the number of chances we missed, at that level you cannot afford that.
on whether Arsenal were complacent…
I hope not. I hope not. It looks like that when you don’t have that kind of sharpness. Anything is possible – it’s very difficult to say that straight after the game.
on how frustrating it is…
Football is not down to paper, football is down to performance and on the night Monaco produced a performance and we didn’t.
on Olivier Giroud…
I felt he had an off night tonight. He missed easy chances and it looked like it was not one of his best days.
on preparing differently in European football…
We had a lot of possession tonight and I just believe that defensively we were not at the level. Our weakness was more down to mentality. We rushed our game, we knew coming back at half-time it was important not to concede a second goal and we were too impatient. This is a game of 180 minutes and if you look at the second and third goal, it’s difficult to explain how we conceded these goals. You cannot afford that.
on Oxlade-Chamberlain’s reaction…
He’s very disappointed but it can happen that you lose the ball 70 metres from goal. It doesn’t mean you have to concede a goal, you have defenders behind you.
on the team’s balance…
It wasn’t right because we always had to attack and when we lost the ball we were exposed. Physically we dropped in the second half in midfield and we were more exposed. At the back it wasn’t one of our best night.
on the back four’s protection…
You can say that but I still believe we were a bit unlucky. You are right, he [Kondogbia] was free. The ball deflected off Per [Mertesacker] He turned a little bit and that’s when you are most in danger with deflections – if you don’t face the ball.
on a lack of communication with the goals…
Maybe, as I told you, we used our hearts more than our brains.
on over committing…
The players wanted to do well and come back when it was 2-1. They wanted to come back to 2-2 and forgot their elementary cautiousness.
on how he assesses the tie…
We have a smaller chance but no matter how big the chance is we will go for it. We need to recover from this disappointment and prepare for the next game.
Sorry I had to post the whole thing for those who are yet to read this.
I cant believe how Wenger thinks and reacts honestly. His not in touch with reality and his just too comfortable in his job (sadly Mou was right). No pressure from the board, no real pressure from the fans (the clients), and an invisible boss. Uhhhh how I would love to have such a job.
I was really clambering for Rosicky and Walcott to be introduced but to be honest they were equally useless when they came on! This was a pathetic performance. I am more angry with our BFG, he is the one to organize the defense but he up there in the field yet he know that he cant even jog! at 2-1 it was a better scoreline and there was no need to take the risk.
Recipe for success
1 Close down the arsenal reserve.
2 sack the scouts and scouting system
3 get rid of all the injury prone players in the team apart Walcott and oxlade
4 Recruit fit, experienced, disciplined and powerful world class players.
5 if they refuse, the manager has got to go.