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Southampton v Arsenal review – Depleted Gunners get shot down

This was always going to be a really tough test for Arsenal. Already having to cope with so many key player out of action due to availablility, the last thing Arsene Wenger needed was to lose our only regular central midfielder, but that is exactly what the manager had to do after Mathieu Flamini was ruled out.

So Calum Chambers and Francis Coquelin were given the unenviable task of keeping an in form Southampton from controlling the centre of the pitch. To be fair to the youngsters, they did not do too bad a job and cannot be blamed for the way the home side took the lead around 10 minutes from halftime.

That blame can be shared by Mertesacker, Szczesny and Koscielny, with the keeper most at fault for me. We did have some chances, with Cazorla’s probably the best. You would say that Southampton shaded it but we could easily fgeel a bit unlucky being behind at the break. But the old enemies of not making the most of chances and making mistakes at the back had cost us again.

And although Arsenal gave it a good go after the break, we could not break down a good Saints defence and were punished about 15 minutes into the second half. Wenger gave Walcott a good half an hour to try to retrieve the situation but it had little effect and the injury ravaged Gunners had to take their punishment and hope that some key players come back into play very soon.

I am not going to be too harsh on Wenger and the players because 2014 has been a never ending run of problems. All we can hope for is an end to the problems that have beset us for so long. A not very happy new year to you all.

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206 Comments

  1. haha- serves some of you right for getting arrogant after beating european power houses qpr and west ham

    1. You talk him!
      The man doesn’t understand his job!
      Don’t care what he has won in the past!
      He has no sense!
      We got a PROBLEM!!!

        1. so predictable – a large majority of you will see us beat a relegation team, then act like we’re back- havent been ‘back’ in years.

          2 seasons of consistent poor performances – one decent game in every ten- an u lot act like it isnt happening.

          cant understand the logic

          1. How can you expect to do well when our average attacking height is 5ft 6?

            Only thing you can blame Wenger on is NOT MAKING CORRECT SUBSTITUTIONS! He brought height on, at the 83rd minute! And only used 2 substitutes after being completely outplayed?!

            Apart from substitutions, he picked the optimal starting 11 from the possible players. If you were to point blame, it should be pointed at Kosc (Second game return) Debuchy (exactly the same) Mertesacker (What is wrong with him now?!) and all above Szcesny.

            1. but why is our team so short? because wenger likes the rosickys, cazorla’s, wilshere’s, ramsey’s and arteta’s so he can try and play barca football but this is the pl and we have no height or strength across the pitch and its only become more evident over the years that this is a serious weakness when we play teams like stoke or any half decent side that put a foot in, aside from a new manager we need bigger and stronger players

                1. Arsenal are on track for 3rd or 4th.
                  Our nearest rivals hardly made any
                  ground today and have tougher 2nd
                  half schedules. With many Arsenal
                  players to return and a CB on the way
                  3rd is quite possible.

                2. but you’ve mentioned two players who play the exact same position one of which we only got on deadline day because the other was injured, what about the middle of the park where arguably most of the football is played?

                3. They will be lucky if they get fourth. They need some serious signings and some players to return on top. You could tell at the beginning of the season it was going to be a tough year. Right now the spuds are beating Chelsea. Chelsea, City, United, Southhampton, Tottenham. All playing better than us.

          2. Arsene is a clueless manager I wasn’t too sure I was on the fence but after today I am convinced. He just sat there on the bench looking lost. Which other manager would just make 2 substitution in a match of that importance when we were 2-0 at half time? that match needed podi from start because we knew we wouldn’t have gotten a lot of chances but we played rosicky and I don’t see what he did that podi wouldn’t have done.

            My grandma use to say “you can’t teach a old dog new tricks” I am not by any means calling arsene a dog but clearly he is out of tricks.

            I don’t see us making top four but maybe that’s a blessing in disguise. Because we will loose at least nine points to the big teams this year and am sure Southampton won’t drop a lot of points

            Opinions divided

            2. for me, we played it well but it was a couple of moments of madness – all about chesney/koz today unfortunately. he had no need to go out to kos prior to goal 1. and leading up to goal 2, koz should’ve just kicked it out for a corner. today we didn’t fail bc of wenger’s myriad long-term problems: we could’ve snagged this game. but for our amateurishness. [of course that does not forgive his long term suckiness for omitting cdm/CB and not getting a WC striker]. good news: coq is better than flam and hopefully we wont see flam start again. but wenger is deluded and may think otherwise.

              1. We played it well? I didn’t think so we clearly lack players with character we can scrape out a result of a win or a draw at least

      2. giroud = poor man’s Diego Costa
        Flamini = poor man’s yaya toure
        Mertesacker = poor man’s substitute
        Szeczny: disaster waiting to happen
        Wilshere = deluded man’s David Silva

        Arsenal fans should admit it, Our players are simply not good enough for the level we want to play.
        You can do as much tactics as you want, without the personnel, you are as good as an intermittent loser.

        1. Compare 3 of our non-star players to 3 of the top 7 or 8 players in the league. Great point mate.

    2. BehoLd! WENGER’s dream team…..God! We were crap…..we always have been……. PLs KJ, we do not need your ratings of this match

      1. Worst thing is, Wenger will probably say the referee cost us a comeback to cover up the cracks.

        Wouldn’t surprise me either if we battered Hull and all the Wenger In fans will come out preaching again, while in reality we have massive MASSIVE structural problems.

          1. i was watching an old arsenal game: van persie, fabregas, nasri. what we have now is a level below (and worse: they are all playing for our competitors! if you have to sell, dont sell to your rivals wenger! – [in cesc case: buy him back when he’s on your doorstep!])

          1. I agree with you to a point but it is the effort that is most disappointing to me, not the loss. We dialled it in today and there is no excuse for being second to almost every ball, no matter how many attackers were missing.

          2. i dont fault our attack today. they were a bit unlucky: SOT shouldve been red-carded bc of sanchez’ run. caz and ox came close to scoring. our attack is pretty good (altho we miss the world-class striker and thats down to wenger’s cheapness). but today the big story was just defensive amateurishness — totally avoidable. good to see coq starting; he definitely gives us more than flam and flam shouldnt start again. but wenger lacks ruthlessness and when flam is uninjured, he may start flam again. SMH.

      2. Errors here and there……complete shambles

        Chambers at dm…..Hmm

        Coq quite better than flamini

        Mertesacker pure shit

        szcesny cocky

        carzola invisible

        sanchez worn out

        chamberlain back to his old self

        gibbs good going forward, out of position at the back

        Debuchy outpaced at a point

        walcott at 60mins…..very much unlike wenger, he should have waited till the 80th

        debuchy off- akpom on…..Laughable sub

        up Next, Wenger’s press excuses

        the man is an ewe!

        2. Who else would you have chosen to play at DM? Who else would you have played over Mertesacker given current squad? (Would have been Chambers, but then who’d play DM? Certainly not Mertesacker.)

          It’s very easy for fans to point out problems, but y’all never think of any solutions do you? Cazorla was NOT invisible. Just as lively as Sanchez. The reason why we didn’t score is lack of height and a recognised strong striker. But who was available?!

          1. for once, i think wenger chose the best selection at DM: coq, chambers are the best we have from our current squad [whose DM choices suck bc wenger is ineffective in buying CDM in TW bc his bids aren’t competitive]. wenger played our best lineup . all that happened is that our defence made 2 big mistakes. chesney is cocky: needs to be subbed & punished. but wenger’s a soft touch; thats why players love him so much.

        3. Wenger just made Koeman Look like the actual “SUPERMAN” …….while he played the role of a pig eating dirts

    3. If we play Monaco with this kind of mentality and we are going to get egg on our faces. Aside from Coquelin’s first 35 mins, nobody else played half decently. Koscielny & Sszczesney had a horror show. Our wingbacks are non-existent, we let a 19 year old with 3 PL apps run through us like he was Messi or something. We never seem to be able to capitalise on other teams failures.

      1. i disagree. our attackers were good [altho we do miss a world-class striker] we had more shots on goal than did chelsea v SOT. SOT are very good defensively. we will do well vs monaco. our defensive discipline is still lacking (usually in CDM layer, but today it was koz/chesney – why didnt koz just kick it out for a corner prior to goal 2 ? mentally, he’s still not fully back yet!) . SOT also shoudlve been red-carded on sanchez run. it was all about defensive mistakes today.

        1. replacing Per is now a must: he can only be the backup. need 2 MINIMUM buys in TW: 1 for CB to replace Per, another at CDM. [and in summer get a world-class striker]

    4. so many likes but I can’t remember anyone actually getting “arrogant” about those wins; in fact the majority thought we were fairly lucky and that this would be a hard match but all matches are possible to win.

    5. EXACTLY.

      Szczesny: un-droppable for some reason. But he always has that in his locker (Sterling vs Liverpool). He’s just a decent GK. Courtois/Hart/De Gea all wayyyy better.

      Per: No redeeming qualities apart from being tidy. No presence at all, no leadership, no communication, liability.

      Coquelin: decent backup, better than Flamini, but again not a presence. Wanyama showed exactly what we don’t have…and NEED.

      Wenger: No idea what we are as a team anymore. It’s fine to be open at the back if you score a shed load, we don’t. Our famed style is just not even there, useless ineffective possession with no clear tactical plan is the new Arsenal way.

      Scapegoat: Giroud red. Most bash Giroud for not being good enough, but he misses a game and he’s the reason we lost.

      Summary: 2015 starts in typical fashion. Needs still remain and we’re linked with a bench warmer at Atletico….oh the ambition. DM and CB of quality/presence needed. Southampton look a better bet for top4 which is why we won’t get Schneiderlin. Failed summer transfers have cost us again, now we want to band-aid it in Jan. Title-challenging teams don’t do that. Miles off.

      1. Agree with everything apart from the reason we lost is coz of no giroud, the reason we lost was piss poor defending and another howler from szceny

        1. I’m saying some are using his red as a scapegoat for being shit. I know how bad we are.

    6. Sod off muff…serves who right?

      We’re all Arsenal fans – it’s a shite start to the year but not something for any gooner to effing gloat about m8!!

    7. in the match a boy came to wenger to told that u r Sh##T
      sell OX
      and we spent 16 million on calum clueless there are more good young player in the market
      and BFG now you time is over in Arsenal fc.
      i want to wenger out but we need superpower to do that

    8. As we speak……. TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR and their new manager is tearing the almighty CheLski into shreds……… Is wenger watching this?

    9. Don’t really care bout the defeat if it weren’t for we cud have gone 10 point behind 1st but now were 6th 13 points

  2. Abysmal defending, meaningless possession, our indirect free kicks don’t even make sense and no plan AT ALL! New year, same old arsenal.
    Anyway, happy new year guys!

    1. Everytime the ball got hit long from the back we lost it, how are we meant to keep possesion from aerial balls with 4 attacking midgets??

      2. Now you can see what an important part of the game OG provides us. We win half of the 20 or so balls put up from the back. Without him maybe 1 or 2. Just wished he stopped short an inch and he would’ve been available.

          1. Obviously we have never seen an attack of Theo Sanchez with OG and Ozil in back of them but we will.

      3. when chesney boots it up field, we’re basically relinquishing possession. we should play it out of the back: i think we’re good enough to do that.

    2. maybe chesney should be relegated to FA. and Ospina should become our #1 for PL. OTOH, since we have a chance at FA and none at PL, maybe its better Ospina be our GK for FA ?

  3. It is all injuries that we got hammered and outplayed, this what Wenger will say …. But I don’t know what AKB’s will say ….
    Wenger out

  5. Wenger’s will probably say: “We were mentally nervous,..blah blah,.. tired from hectic schedule,…,our defence is top quality,..blah blah,.., we are only looking for players better than ours in the transfer market.”

  6. All hail great wenger, akbs where are u all, come and defend ur savior, most useless manager ever u were two goal down yet no form urgency at all

  7. This is getting beyond a joke.. The defense is out of it… Attacking wise we looked so off, never looking like creating anything or creating..

    It’s weird, the whole team looked off pace.. My goodness..

  8. dont understand why szczesny is so horrible. He would not make into the starting 11 of the top 10 teams. As it is our defence is poor and our goalkeeper makes it a bigger joke. He is never consistent and can only be a loudmouth .
    As soon as ospina is fit he should be benched immediately. Worst goalkeeper in our history. Even Almunia was better.

    1. The last line is taking it too far 🙂

      After the west ham game..someone commented how Schez was not in the top goalkeepers in the world. I concurred and said he is not what you need if we have any hopes of winning. We need Cech. Both of us got thumbed down by the lots.

      Cech in his worst form is better than Schez. What is disappointing is how the whole team gives up. Apart from Sanchez everyone just gives up. Time to make some strong decisions in the summer. We need people who have fight. People who cannot care less need to leave!

      1. i just mean to say that how can forster outclass szczesny ? Szcz is playing for arsenal , one of the biggest clubs in the world, yet he got beaten by that near post shot that hit the bar, he didnt even move. And on the other end forster is saving everything and looks so confident.
        Lloris saved spuds the other day against manu single handedly.
        Point is when your whole team is down you have to step up. I dont remember szcz ever doing that for us. He makes one two good saves in 3-4 matches and thats it.
        And even i have been saying that szcz is a disgrace many times but i get thumbed down always.

        1. True that is why I keep saying that our players are the reflection of our ambitions. Apart from Sanchez and Ozil and Koscielney may be. Look at every other position- It is a team tailored to scrap for 4th.

          I am not sad because we lost. SOT are a good team but the worry is that they have consistently looked better than us, and somehow we are not improving.

          The scrap for 4th between Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham and Southampton is going to go down to the wire.

          1. And this was all WITHOUT morgan schneiderlin . haha even ward prowse was getting so many shots on goal. anyways no complaints cuz clearly the better team won.
            Honestly i would have been happy with a draw even before the match started cuz there was no chance that arsenal was winning with this squad.
            thank God debuchy was alteast there on the goal line or it would have been a humiliation.

      2. sorry guys bt our GK won d golden gloves for last season I think. and He’s saved us a couple of times this season as well. he had a very bad day at work is what I think and mayb d absense of a leader in d defense is to b blamed too for his lost of concentration sometimes. Koscieny had a very bad game too will you say he’s nt good enough. the moment I saw Sanchez upfront I lost hope. comeone this is the only guy that can make sometin out of nothing and you’re putting him up front to feed from our midfielders who lose balls at whim. I would av put anyone there even if it’s just to make the numbers instead of incapacitating our current saviour

        1. the “positions” , esp when concern sanchez, arent too meaningful. in reality, sanchez wanders everywhere (as he should). we had nobody playing CF today. giroud/welbeck wouldnt have improved us much. we miss a RVP/henry/world-class-striker. but today it was just the back 4 that were shambolic. Per needs replacing. chesney needs punishment. Koz needs a good talking to.

    1. Coquelin and as usual Alexis the only positives. How do our players feel letting Alexis do everything? Its sad to watch.

      1. Ox clearly is not fit. Neither is Walcott. To be honest, Rosicky is past it and the schedule caught up with Cazorla.

        The back 5 have been plain poor! But wait a min ..Southampton has had a similar schedule right. They even played chelsea in their last game. So how come the same southampton players romp over us like we were not even there. So now is the importance of the coach and the back room staff highlighted enough?

        1. i think its too harsh to blame ox/roz. they had good energy & invention. our plan was to sit back and play keep-ball until SOT became desperate (which they didnt bc we gifted them 2 goals). but we do miss a WC striker. we were close: shot by caz was straight at forster. SOT shouldve got a red card for sanchez. but it all came down to 2 catastrophic errors at the back. how will wenger react to chesney?? SOT has a very strong D and we were playing away: keep-ball was a good game-plan. but chesney&koz threw it away.

  10. What the hell is going on in this club? That is the question in everybody’s mind and the man who confronted Wenger infront of the dugout just asked the same question.

  11. Expect more of the same throughout the whole year. Happy 2015 fellow Gooners! Special wish to those AKB’s 🙂

  13. if we had a manager with any balls he would have a go at the players who are not performing instead of stating we have a great squad.
    Wenger blames everyone other than himself and the players, so until we get a manager who lives in 2015 expect more of the same.

    1. hey stay positive. We will get another defender… “only if the right player is available” (another way of saying we’re getting nobody). So if Kos gets injured again we got Monreal back in there. Positives guys!

  15. Another pitiful game against a team above us. Southampton haven’t got better players just a better manager who understands the modern game. If the Saints beat us this easily how will we go against City, Chelsea, spuds, United? Wenger’s time is up.

  16. And why dont our players bulk up in the Gym? Come on, everyone gets pushed out bar maybe the Ox.

  17. a whole overhaul is needed in this team before we can ever dream about winning the title again what a circus show at arsenal.

  20. Shocking how powerless we really were.
    1. Cazorla, Sanchez, Ox get massively overplayed and it definitely showed today. Welbeck injured probably partly because of it
    2. Missing a plan B like usual. Just blank subbing and no real thought behind it.
    3. Using our 2nd sub at the EIGHTY-THIRD MINUTE when trailing.
    4. Podolski really nowhere near a spot again.
    5. Despite Coquelin doing okay, we really need a general because his passing ability is not enough.

    It’s time to bench Szczesny in favor of Ospina or even Martinez who has looked way more secure in his few games. I even think we need to sell Szczesny in the summer.
    Really missed Ozil and Giroud today. Red card really costing us.

    In my opinion it’s really time to sack Wenger after this season, but i doubt the board have the balls to do so.

      1. Because Santi was knackered, with Ozil in the squad Wenger would (hopefully) rest Santi more, but I think one of them will have to settle for the left wing if that’s the case smh.

  23. No depletion here matee. Southampton looked more like the champions league team than us . Assured and confident on the ball, they also defended in packs ; like arsenal use to .
    I look through the list of our injured players and the only person I see who would have made much difference is welbeck for his force multiplying hardwork /sheer graft.
    Even with our full team, I do not see much difference.
    We simply have too many average players for the level we want to challenge .
    If we were playing for UEFA cup , it does not matter but when you are playing for the champion league and league title , I am sorry to say that many of our players,
    ARE SIMPLY NOT GOOD ENOUGH

    1. Oh shut up…

      We don’t need a centre back or a defensive midfielder.

      Whats the point of having either when you have an incompetent idiot choosing the tactics.

      Eight f**king million a year for this.

      We need a NEW MANAGER – a COMPETENT manager but that will never happen…

      The only way that repulsive old whinge bag will leave will be in a coffin.

      Everybody knows that Wenger will never leave and no one will ever fire him at Arsenal so we re stuck with this for years to come..

      Even the fight for fourth now seems to be beyond us…

        2. He was just lucky to have henry,vierra,Dennis and co. Playing for him and I really doubt if wenger contributed much tactically then.

          1. would take someone pretty special to not win with henry bergkamp adams viera pires petit overmars

  27. The moment you realize Alexis is one of your tallest players on the pitch and watching Wanyama lick his lips…

    Not against or for Wenger but I personally couldn’t take getting beat so regularly by managers in their what you would call their rookie year, not after being in the league fir almost 2 decades…

    1. and that is equivalent to losing possession, bc most of the time, when we lump it up, the other team gets it.

  29. What exactly were we playing in that match? It did not look like we had a game plan or pattern.
    Oh Arsene! When will you pick your empty head and leave this Club?
    Kos was not up for this game.
    I still wonder what Arsene tells his players, they dont always look motivated to do their best. Arsene is a poor motivator, so pathetic!

  30. Just shows we need a stronger defense and a top WC striker

    We are letting in too many silly goals and not scoring enough. We need Cavani or Benzema because we aren’t exactly lighting up the PL with goals.

    Also we need a Top Defender and a DM who can support the defenders, break up plays, tackle, start attack, etc.

    Now, I think getting Cech mat not be a bad idea to put pressure on Szczesny

    I know it’s impossible but these 4 would do the job

    Cech
    Hummels
    Kondogbia
    Cavani

  31. Christ that was limp. At least there won’t be any excuse for not strengthening in the window. So when Theo came on, did Carloza really stay out wide despite being our best CAM and did Rociscky really stay at CAM when he was near man of the match in a deeper role against QPR? One last question, where is Campbell headed because he clearly has no future with Arsenal this year? One positive – if Ospina puts in a shift on Sunday in the FA Cup then Szcezney might have a long stint on the sidelines to sort things out.

    1. Bench Schez- play Martinez till end of season. Buy Cech in the summer.

      We need to spend big and throw “silly money” to address our defence. Forget the world class striker for now. Stability at the back means goals will come.

      I suggest a 50 million assault on Southampton for Wanyama and Schneiderlin. Fixes our midfield for the next 5-6 years at the least.

      Sell Wishere. Recuperate half of the cost!

      1. I would put Martinez, Ospina, and any keeper from the reserves ahead of the walking disaster know as Szcesny – he was completely lost today. And he is far too lost far too often to be in the EPL.

  32. To be fair, none of us can be surprised or even upset with the defeat. The result and performance was extremely predictable. I actually feel bad for Southampton, should have been a lot more goals for them.

    1. You are right. S.H. was the far better team and still they did not put away most of their many good chances. Thankfully they had Szcesny on their side today to cover for their missed opportunities.

  33. I hate to be positive after a game like that but hopefully that makes wenger or whoever get off there arse and sign world class defensive players

    1. You claim to follow Arsenal ?

      If you observed Wenger over the last god knows how many years then you would bloody well know that Wenger does NOT sign world class defenders thats why we have the f**king shambles we have today because he DOES NOT sign world class defenders.

      I think the “Wenger should sign world class players” brigade is even more annoying that the Arsene Knows Best brigade.

      Whats the point, really ???

    2. I would settle for reasonably competent defending at this point.

      But no matter who does or does not arrive at Arsenal, they will still be managed by Wenger – and just now that is the main obstacle to overcome.

      The entire defense is lost – and that is a MANAGEMENT problem.

  34. Now Chambers has proven that he is not a RB, not a DM and not a CB…. What is he?

    Szny is a long way off, his counterparts (Courtois, De Gea and Lloris) are so ahead of him it’s unbelievable.. He always has to have 2 blunders each games..

    Mertesacker is a joke..

    Debuchy too is looking average, he keeps getting skinned by everyone, he is easily beaten, he can’t tackle properly..

    Kossy had a stinker today..

    Gibbs, he just can’t cross even if he has all the time and space, he should be having more assists and crosses but he id so poor at crossing..

    The only positive from this game was Coquelin as he was in the West Ham game, he should be our first choice DM from now until we can get another one in January or summer..

    Why can’t we defend?

    For crying out loud. smh

  35. To be frank most of u wr expecting us to beat soton n i askd on the previous post CAN WE BEAT SOTON? guys wc to gambling am makin alot of money coz ol our games are predictable!

    1. I said i reckon we should win today.
      Our best back 4 was playing :/ or was it?
      No schneiderlin. But they managed just fine without him.
      Szchezny needs to be dropped. Far to inconsistent.

  36. This looks more like the Arsenal we are getting used to nowadays. You know Szczsney may be okay one game, but always finds a way to erase his good deeds in the next one. Too many inconsistent performers all around. While this performance may perhaps be symbolic of the re-occurring problems we have, it might also have given us a hint of the trend we have to get used to for the rest of the season. Understandably, games come thick and fast at this time of the year, we have injuries, and there’s little time to recover. However, this is when you get a taste of how tough teams are. Top teams can afford a bad performance, but not a loss in which the team looks so far out of tune. When Chelsea lost to Newcastle for instance, they still managed to make it a close game. Similarly, United and City seem to find a way to steady the ship when things go awry. We just don’t seem to have that type of wherewithal after all these years! I still put it down to Wenger himself! When is he going to get the defense of the team right?

  37. What do you mean depleted? The entire first team defence played today except Monreal and we still made mistakes.

    Wenger will keep saying we were naive, not cautious, making mistake again and again and then when pressed on transfer will say we will not buy for the sake of buying, as if it is difficult to improve on this defence already. Did anyone notice how he slyly got Scszesny back into the team after Martinez kept 3 clean sheets out of 4 games. Scszesny hasn’t kept a cleansheet since he returned ‘by default’ in to the first team. But that doesn’t explain why almost the whole team needs to go mental just because one player makes the mistakes.

    1. Exactly right. To rationalize this performance using the “depleted” squad excuse is insulting.

      This performance was embarrassing top to bottom. Pick any squad from the 2nd division and you would have a better performance.

  39. I’m going to point out the positives first 😉

    Coquelin was really solid and should definitely be given a chance as DM. Chambers was not as bad as some people are making out, we were even with Southampton first half (50/50 chances). Gibbs looks stronger and stronger the more I see him but had no one to cross to because we completely lacked height and the rest of the defence was shit. Walcott is back! (ok grasping at straws because he was non-existent for 30 minutes.)

    Ok… now… Kos and Szcz were horrendous, Merte and Debuchy were ever so slightly better; those four by themselves lost us the match. Our passing was alright first half but terrible second half, no professionalism whatsoever, you must surely realise that you can’t make chances if can’t hold on to the ball for more than 3 passes. No one was ever in the box. Ox needs to learn when to pass the ball and stop running and he needs to learn how to be cool because he was a little too desperate second half (Sanchez also did this to a degree but I think that was because he stopped trusting everyone else). The biggest two things for me was simply that our players weren’t running into space off the ball enough, we didn’t seem to ever have many options for the man on the ball to pass. The second thing was that the marking was terrible for most of the second half; whenever I looked I could see Southampton players free and whenever we pressed we left players unmarked which meant they just passed through us.

    Overall, terrible when it was shaping up to be a brilliant, even game.

    1. Compare that to Southampton’s marking. Everytime Sanchez had the ball there were 2-3 players surrounding him. I am slowly starting to resign to the point that the commentator made in extra team- “Arsenal is Arsenal- very good to watch but also very easy to play against. Because you know what you will get from them”. Has been our story since the last 7 years.

    2. Walcott was played out of position, what do you expect him to do? OX should have moved left, Walcott right. Akpom should have come on much earlier as we had no one in the box.

  40. “I WILL ONLY BUY IF A PLAYER IS AVAILABLE IS AVAILABLE AVAILABLE AVAILABLE AVAILABLE….
    I WILL ONLY BUY IF I FIND PLAYER BETTER THAN WHAT WE GOT WHAT WE GOT GOT GOT GOT…
    DIABY IS COMING BACK COMING BACK DIABY DIABY DIABY DIABY…COMING BACK COMING BACK BACK BACK …..
    PLAYERS ARE BETTER OUT OF POSITION OUT OF POSITION POSITION POSITION POSITION……..
    AND MANY MORE MANY MORE MORE MORE”

  41. Shamefully,disgusting,embarrassing….let’s face the truth-we are just a mid table,mediocre team,pretending to be called “a big team”.

    1. Arsenal are a top 5 club with a petulant manager not fit to coach a weekend team of young schoolboys.

  42. If we’re not going to buy new players then at least we need to give others a chance, starting with swapping #13 in for #1…

  43. Before changing players, Manager should be changed.
    I will stop planning my days around ars matches as it has become really a big joke. Does Wenger realize that he is hurting arsenal now big time, he helped build the club but it is time to pass on the baton and take new responsibilities… Get a 2/3 match winning streak against the lower sides and retire gracefully.

  44. F*%k you Arsene #WengerOut

    Whoever defends a loss against Southampton, please leave this club and start supporting a club like Spuds!!

    Inexcusable performance, absolute sh!t of a team!!

  45. Goes to show a great manager is a great manager regardless of what league he’s in. Hate to see others come to the league and figure ours out so quickly it’s frightning…

  46. Szczhesney
    The clown
    Keystone cop defending again
    He never learns his lesson
    2nd rate keeper totally arrogant
    We won the F.A cup
    Without him
    Time to get rid of him & mert!!!!

  47. Our biggest problem comes from the fans. Wenger has been at the club for so long that most gooners are afraid we will close shop if he leaves.
    They dont know what its like to stand in the north bank and feel the ground tremble when we score. They dont know what its like to take the trip to three consecutive FA cup finals and turn wembly red and white.
    They dont know what its like to score at the clock end and wind up the opposition next to us.
    Arsenal should always come first but Arsenes ego is as bad as the AKB’s.
    KROENKE, GAZIDIS, WENGER OUT

  48. You try to drop SZNY and his dad will be back complaining and saying SZNY should start every games.. Remember last season when his dad came out firing saying SZNy should never be dropped blah blah..

    Hahahaha

    1. Q: should ches continue as PL keeper & Ospina (our best GK) for FA ? or should we put our best GK for PL and put chesney at FA ? (or should we put ospina for PL, martinez for FA and chesney for bench?)

  49. Received a text from a friend ‘ Arsenal are so up and down like a fiddlers elbow that they are going to rename the club yoyo fc’.

  50. The title of this article is misleading. The “depleted” squad did not cause this performance.

    Szesny, Gibbs, Debuchy are all starters and all played terribly (along with others). In the 2nd half Mert was out playing the far left defense half the time!! That should never happen.

    The fact is this club is in disarray – it is that simple. And it is the job of the manager to make sure the club is NOT in disarray.

  51. If arsene doesn’t fix the problem by dipping into this transfer window, I would seriously think that there is something wrong with him.

    1. why? its the same every year, the one window after we were bummed by man u 8-2.
      wenger in january went nuts and brought in…
      per mertesacker- woo hoo
      arteta- double woo hoo, i cant take anymore
      andre santos- found the rainbow, punched a leprachaun in the process

      1. i’ve already concluded there is something seriously wrong w wenger. he’s deluded he has a team much better than he has, he’s deluded that money does not correlate with quality (ie he can buy cheap and still compete for titles), he’s oppositional, slow to change & become drunk with his own power.

  55. Last game we gained points on the top 4
    (We won, United, City, Southampton and Chelski drew)
    Today we lose points on the top 4
    (We lost, United drew, Southampton and City won, I doubt Spuds will beat Chelski)

    Stoke will be tough even at home
    then we play Man away

    i was hoping for at least 5 points from Southampton, Stoke and Manchester. Now I’m hoping for at least 4 points

    Very sad start to New Year

  57. Hopefully, this game makes us active in the transfer window. How about a cheeky bid for Victor Wanyama? 😉

    He never looked in danger of being dispossessed – not even once.

  58. My specific ramblings…. everyone was off today. For me Coquelin was MOTM for Arsenal.

    Debuchy: Awful… touch was off all day.
    Mert: I have never seen another player 6’6 be that scared/terrible in the air.
    Coquelin: Another strong performance… tidy… didn’t lose the ball too much.
    Sanchez: He can’t do everything… just wasn’t there today.

    Overall, we were outplayed and outclassed by a team with inferior talent. SMH. We apparently “will be fine” according to AW. Spend some F’N money!!!! DM and CB!

    1. in TW: need to get replacement for Per more urgently than CDM now. COq is better than flam: flam & arteta: those 2 should not start. we need a WC CDM to be our #1 CDM. Coq should be #2 (arteta,flam are 3rd and 4th). Petr Cech would be a statement of ambition (but go-easily wenger doesnt have enuf balls to do that)

  59. fabregas is laughing at wenger rejecting him.

    literally paella falling out of his mouth laugh out loud

  61. delighted with the result . when are those wengerites going to cop on that their master has lost the plot . another few bad defeats like his one and maybe some of them might start acyually thinking for themselves . in wenger we bust !!!. laughing all the way here , and the only comeback wenger fans will have for me is to call me a plastic fan hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

  62. I can honestly see this being the Top 5 at the end of the season

    1. Chelski
    2. City
    3. United
    4. Southampton
    5. Arsenal

    I’m not saying it will happen, but Southampton are a good side and United are improving with Falcao started to score.

    After getting Sanchez I was so happy but went downhill from their because of Wenger’s supreme arrogance and incompetence

    1. After what I saw today, that 5th place is being optimistic, squeeze the SPUDS in those Top 5 they just beat the Chelskis’ merciless. Is beyond me how teams such as the SPUDS and Magpies can beat MAUREEN and his VINCIBLES, while we go to every game just hoping not to get an a..ss wh…oping a 2 -0 defeat was honorable….you really need brass balls to be an AKB, if their argument was 16 years going to the CL I am really afraid that the buck stopped this time, it will be an uphill race to reach our beloved 4th this year….maybe it is what is needed to wish good riddance to Le Fraud???

  65. Pochettino is about to have more wins over Mourinho than Wenger does in about 4x less attempts -____-

  67. Interesting how Southampton are doing so well, even though they lost a lot of players in the Summer 2014 transfer window, but still managed to rebuild and seem to be stronger for it. It makes me wonder if some of those player who left wished they had stayed now.

  68. Should we not get good players during the Jan window, I would really hope we get knocked off 4th spot so that the whole 18yrs CL qualification bullshit can stop. Wenger needs to go for us to do well again. I am very embarrassed to be an Arsenal fan at the moment. Spurs topping us on the league and looking strong and determined.

  69. Spuds 3-1 Chelski at half-time

    Makes today’s result even worse
    A win today and loss for Chelski would at least have made the PL a possibility.
    But that’s hindsight now

    Very depressing day.

  70. Guys calm down, yes we lost the game but look how many players we’re missing as usual: Giroud-Ozil-Welbeck-Arteta-wilshere and Ramsay, which are all first team players. That’s more than half of your first team out with injuries :S so let’s be patient and only judge until we have a healthy 11 hopefully we get one df player coming in january.

    1. Familiar excuse.
      Get a squad that is suffecient and capable for the season..Basic stuff really.

  71. Harry Kane. A star in the making. Really sore he is a Spurs player. This could go on to become very embarrassing for Mourinho. Who will he blame after the defeat today?

    1. Whatever anyone might say, I thoroughly enjoyed the game… Mourinho’s look was quite entertaining!

  76. Quit complaining or blaming wenger for this game.Clearly,this was a freak game for the defense department….and WS1 too.Am sure he’s still stunned from the game.

    1. Don’t blame him ‘alone’ for this game alone.

      I blame him and a number of his back room staff and players..

      What for you ask?:
      Bad decisions (tactical/selection/transfer), insufficient and inadequate cover,. Basically inept management!

      This is one of all but too frequently occurring ‘freak shows’.

      Go hide your head in the sand.

  78. Although we’re ravaged by injuries this Arsenal side need a session or ten with a sports physiologist. They then need a fire lighting under them. So weak and no plan B, wenger how did you let this happen? So many favourites just not good enough, not even close to being good enough!

    1. i bet in the dressing room, wenger is too soft to pump up his players. the more i think about this, the more upset i’m getting w chesney. ospina for FA (now our #1 competition ), martinez for PL (chesney on bench).

  80. Spuds beating the chavs and will go above us in the league,wake up Wenger and start to earn your 8m a year or f#ck off

  81. 5-2 wtf!? All pl teams will be loving this game and playing it to their sqaud as a how to beat Chelsea video! More bragging rights for spurs over arsenal 🙁

  83. 5-2 Spuds

    Even a draw against S’Hampton would have helped us get closer to Chelski

    Arrrrrgh
    it’s not easy being an Arsenal suppoter
    I feel like being an Arsenic supporter

    1. Rightly so. Welbeck is a lower-table footballer, yet, he has a guaranteed starting spot at Arsenal.

  85. Wenger said after the match we cannot afford to keep on making silly mistakes like this in defence.
    Mr wenger this is not something that has only just started happening it’s been going on years FFS wenger

  87. As many of you are aware, I am neither an Arsene in nor Arsene out fan. For me, Arsene is still the best managerial option, and I am able to give him the benefit of the doubt due to the transfer budget restrictions of the past few years. Additionally, I do not wish for Arsenal to lose, or for injuries to hit us.

    With that being said, today’s loss and Flamini’s injuries could not have come at a better time. I do not hope that Flamini is injured for long, however I am hopeful that this forces Wenger to buy another DM. We all know that we need one, even more so with Arteta and Flamini out injured. At this point, we must buy, everybody knows that. The question is, what and who.

    If we plan to push for CL, FA Cup and 3rd place this season, we must buy a strong DM. My picks are Wanyama (I’m from Belfast, so I’ve followed him since his Celtic days), Schneiderlin, or Gustavo. With Schneiderlin injured, and Gustavo playing in the Bundesliga, Wanyama is my DM of choice. Flamini is out of contract at the end of this year, and Arteta is too old to start. This leaves Wanyama and Coquelin as our DMs of the future, with Ox, Ramsey and Chambers as well. Arteta can then come on for 15-20 minutes and help us keep the lead when necessary.

    The other need is a CB, or 2. To me, we need 2 CBs. We need an experienced CB that can slot in immediately. We’re looking at most likely Reid, or Hummels, with Hummels obviously being the best choice. The second CB that we need is somebody young and promising. For me, Varan or Van Djik from Celtic. With Mertesacker older, even more slower, and generally just below par, we have to wonder about Kos. While he has played well this season, he’s already 29 and has been out with a recurring injury much of this season. It is vital that we buy a replacement for his as well, however one that is young and doesnt expect to start every match. This will allow us to cope with Kos being injured, as well as it will allow us to rest him against some of the less threatening teams, and keep him healthy for when we truly need him.

    While we could use a striker, I believe this would be our 4th priority, unless somebody world class comes available for a decent wage. Giroud, when healthy, does produce goals and chances for us, as well as he works hard to defend set pieces and win back possession. Welbeck, while not the ideal striker, has indeed played much of his career on the wing and not as a central striker. If there is 1 thing that Arsene can always be counted on doing, it’s working on somebodies finishing. Most specifically, look at Henry, Walcott and Ramsey. Give him a summer to work on Welbeck, and he will do just fine.

    While I realize that not all of these signings will come in January, my ideal yet realistic January would end as such:

    Wanyama(6’2) or Gustavo(6’2) signed immediately. With Schneiderlin already injury, it may be difficult to get Wanyama.
    Winston Reid(6’3), signed early in the transfer window to replace Mertesacker.
    Van Dijk(6’4) signed during January however let him remain at Celtic until the summer. This will get his playing time and experience, while Celtic will be more willing to sell since they will have quite a bit more time to find a suitable replacement.

    With Reid available for 6-10 million, Van Dijk available for 8-10 million, and Gustavo available for 20-25 million or Wanyama between 15-20 million, we’re looking at a maximum of 45 million for 2 CBs and a DM. This would add size, as well as quality depth with the right mix of youth and experience, and only Van Dijk would be cup tied and unable to play in the Champion’s League this season.

    What do you guys think?

  88. Change is needed, there is no debating, you either want to get back in the Champs League or you want to be replaced by Spuds/Poo/Saints??

    Well heres the remedy from Monday:

    Petr Cech – make a £10m bid so Chelsea are forced to sell, he has 5 years left to offer. May improve Sczeney or force him to go (either way not bothered which way he turns out)

    Ron Vlaar – £5m plus Sanogo on loan the other way. This will free up Mertesacker to move back to some club in Germany (God willing).

    Winston Reid – £6m or straight swap with Jenkinson whose on loan at WHU already.

    Matija Nastatic – £8m for a classy defender who can play centre defence and left back. Pacey and strong in air. This will free up Monreal sale back to Spain (God Willing)

    Morgan Schneiderlin – £20m bid will secure his services as he is desperate to play in Champs League. This will free up sales of Flamini, Diaby (cancel contract) and Coquelin.

    Moussa Sissoko – £15m bid will secure an immense and powerful midfielder of Yaya Toure mould. this guy is a beast and will fit perfectly alongside Schneiderlin. This will free up sales of Arteta and Rosicky who are too old and not fit enough for prem league.

    Marcelo Brozovic – £6m bid will secupre this talented and versatile midfielder, has played as defensive, CAM and playmaker for club and country. Young and good squad back up player with international experience.

    Dennis Praet – £10m for a player who can emulate success of fellow belgian Eden Hazard. Excellent passing skills and great back up to Ozil/Cazorla/Sanchez.

    Yehven Konoplyanka – £5m will seal for this out of contract star, natural winger with lots of experience, who annihalated England at Wembley. The Ox cant cut it (at best he is a squad player), walcott is always injured, gnabry refuses to stroke wengers balls so he cant play.

    Alexandre Lacazette – £16m bid for the second highest scorer in Europe behind Ronaldo. Lyon need to balance the books and we need to balance our goal difference, wont happen with Welbeck or Giroud.

    People can try shot me down saying its Jan transfer and clubs dont trade well heres how im going to shoot u guys down:
    Cech wants to move on as he wont play regular again at Chelsea.
    Same as above for Nastatic.
    Reid/Vlaar/Konoplyanka all 3 out of contract in summer.
    Sissoko – Newcastle cud be in turmoil after Pardews departure and certainly wont get into Europe this season.

    Hardest acquisition from that list is Schneiderlin due to Southampton currently above us but a big bid will secure this.

    1. Could not agree more! In the RW we need to blood Bellerin/Get someone else. FFS stop playing Chambers as right back. He is a CB. Period !

  89. Oh we would sell the following to balance the financial books:

    Jenkinson
    Mertesacker
    Monreal
    Flamini
    Coquelin
    Diaby
    Arteta
    Rosicky
    Podolski
    Campbell

  91. It`s an embarrassing shame when your nursery club beats you. No point in elaborating we need new defenders and a new manager.

    1. Exactly!

      We can take as many as their players as we want (ox/Walcott/chambers and as some would like Wanayama) but whilst the management remains we will look and be like a headless chicken with no system, organisation nor defensive nouse.

      Too many average players, under performing and bloating the squad helped and supported by inept management.

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