A goal too far for Arsenal but still MUCH to play for!

Suicidal third goal in first game kills us off, but there’s all to play for in England by KM

Well, we’ve seen this movie before. Arsenal chasing the impossible on the return leg after suicidal first leg defeat. There will be lots of reviews of the game so I’ll just go through what I thought was important in the two games we played vs Monaco.

Overall, a poor performing Arsenal was still the better side in both games. We weren’t clinical enough. We missed quite a few chances in the first game, but more worrying is that we scored, got back to to 2:1 and then we destroyed ourselves with that third goal. It’s more painful knowing that against Bayern we did the same thing. We were 2:1 and we conceded an easy third goal.

More painfully it happened right at the end. Scoring 2 away is very hard but 3 is a bit too much. I thought we put too much pressure on ourselves to achieve the glorious, rather than play it simple and take note of the away goal rules. My problem with this defeat is, that’s 5 years in a row we go out at the last 16. We might drop to pot 2 and worse of all I wonder if the players are starting to get a psychological problem like the one we have with playing Man United. Wenger has had 18 attempts at the CL crown now and that’s just at Arsenal and he’s not won it with a team like the Invincibles. It’s not too much of a surprise he failed again.

I thought that yesterday, Ozil was fantastic. He created chances and that ball to Monreal was sublime. That’s exactly why we paid 42 million, to see performances like the one yesterday and the one at Man United, and overall his form since his injury comeback has been good. I also thought Ramsey was very good. He gave us more of an attacking threat and his finish was very good. I just think the subs were a bit too late. I also think that Welbeck had to play the whole game. We started throwing long balls in the box and Welbeck would’ve been a lot more useful than Theo there.

The Champions League is now gone, but in the league it’s very tight at the top and we still have a lot to play for. Chelsea, Liverpool, United and Arsenal are about to play each other and those games will decide the spots. Everyone is targeting City for second place but if Chelsea draw another game, you start to think if those 6-7-8 points at the top are that much to catch after seeing their fixture list.

Not winning the game at Newcastle will be a much bigger disaster than not winning 3:0 yesterday. Man United go to Liverpool and whichever way it ends if we win, we’d get some breathing space which we desperately need. It’ll be a very tough end of the season and I’m not sure that even winning the FA cup (which is far from certain) would be enough for the players to believe that under Wenger we will achieve more.

That’s me done, hope you have a great week to ease our Champions League pain!

Konstantin

Tags Liverpool Man United Newcastle

30 Comments

  1. We will never become a top top team with Wenger !!!!
    We need a new manger no matter what the rest of the season brings

    1. I used to want Wenger out as our start of season was very poor in big fact due to his tactics and formation but I have seen things change around December.
      The intrusion of Ospina ,Belerin AND cOQUELIN TRANFORMED THE TEAM
      the injury of Wilshere and Ramsey forcing wenger to play Cazorla and Ozil in the middle and no more on the wings
      a more defensive-counter attack style toThe return of a in form Giroud
      The aquisition Of Gabriel
      I am sure that if we had been playing this team,we are now and this way,we would be right with Chelsea at the top.
      Now we need two or trhree more good signing in the summer,good tactics applied and Wilshere if keeped not forced over better than him in the middle.

      1. Like you say wenger was forced into playing certain players and not others.

        Not his own decision. A reactive and not active manoeuvre. Another such example being when his players apparently ‘advised’ him into adopting a more defensive strategy.

        As for the signings..don’t hold your breath!

    2. Rest assured we will get one hopefully sooner rather than later. At the very worst we will have to wait til his contract expires because he sure as eggs won’t be getting a new one.

      Pep or Simone please.

  2. Shocking statement from Wenger that we are a Europa League side… Why play for the top 4 then. I’m disgusted. I want a new manager, this is just unacceptable!

    1. he has a point tho!

      when they look back in history to this era what looks better

      arsenal never won the champions league- an barely ever even reached quarter finals
      or
      arsenal won 3 europa league titles

      we are a third tier european side, to me that equates to near top tier in europa league

      1. Trouble is that EL paycheck would be less than half of what we could get while in UCL. That and the fact that consistent finish in the top four gave some other TV money as well.
        I don’t mind see us playing in EL but I have to say it will be much harder than UCL. This is the competition where you should travel to far Russia or close to North Pole. That’s pretty exhausting.

        1. not to mention playing on thursday night, then having to play on saturday in league – would hurt our league campaign i hear u.

          still though we are consistently in competition we have no chance of winning.
          what like to for once go in to european competition fancying our chances

          1. Europe League teams never have to play on a Saturday following a EL match – it’s why Spurs and Everton have been on Sundays virtually all year.

            PLUS Wenger said perhaps it was better to go out in the group stages and then play in the EL whereby you get away from some of the worst travelling and still get a bit of the paycheck from CL.

            Also – he said it was perhaps better to go out and play in a competition you have more chance of winning – he never actually says that is what he wants to do.

          2. He didnt say we are a Europa team or better suited, he said it would be maybe better going out of the cl and into the Europa rather than falling at this hurdle.

            1. Dont no what to say.. other than it still hurts even though we knew three goals a tall ask for just about any team and against a well organized unit. We not only dreamed but we were actually confident and almost expectant.. strange. We could of done it all the same so as much as the lads deserve ridicule for their first leg performance they also deserve due respect for the second legs efforts.

              Recently i have seen a change in this team as someone earlier eluded to. We have upped our game before when our top for push came under threat but this time its different, this time we are taking big scalps and we are doing it with a battling quality.. something i havent seen in quite a while. There are some players being played in certain areas due to injuries but as well as they are performing it is the team as a whole i have been impressed by. The per argument is there and is valid but i really can see signs for optimism. The more time these players spend with one another the better we get, seeing Ozil and Ramsey think alike while playing off one another is a beautiful thing.. watching Cazorla of all players hurrying and challenging players two/three times his size is a character assessment if ever i saw one, and then his feet.. wow. Ramsey again, great understanding with Giroud. Monreal Bellerin Coquelin adding to the pluses and giving our team that much needed balance. The players have picked up some very necessary traits and i dont see them abandoning these traits over the long haul. Optimistic Gooner with good reason.

  3. It hurts doubly for me. I was 1 goal away from making £250 of a £50 bet.

    he overall result (aggregate) was bad. We should have gone through over Monaco. The first leg was a disaster. That’s why it hurts so much because we were given a golden opportunity with a great draw. Chelsea would have gone through If they played Monaco imo.

    In the summer, Wenger needs to spend big to make amends for this.

    But Arsenal gained my respect in second leg. They played hard and won 2-0 away. Very respectable result. Lads played well.

    We can now concentrate on PL and FA Cup on the back of a win. An FA Cup win and strong finish in PL can make our season successful. Trophy = Success.

    Since we lost to Monaco we have played excellent football. Arguably the best football in the league. We MUST keep This up ans finish strong.

  4. I think if we want to be the best team in the world, we need to be better than the other teams.

    If we are okay with being second best then we can be worse than Barcelona.

  5. We played well because we were not confused about our approach. We knew that we had to go for it. Thats it! That is why we frequently fail in big games because tactically and mentally we are always confused in such type of games. An area where manager is needed.

    Manager Wenger was not even needed for the 2nd leg. The players were motivated automatically and they knew what to do. His managerial skills were needed in the 1st leg when our team was asleep for most of the time. To whip them. To change the tactics. To make right subs. And on the occassion which was the real test, he failed. Failed BIG TIME. Now he says” we are better off in Europa league”. Srsly Wenger. You think EL will be a walk in the park for you?? You deluded fool! Just get the fu*k out of this great club and put a stop to this maddening embarrassment.

    1. Was expecting talksh!t’s Dikhead Durham to really put the boot in today and among other things brand us as nothing but a Europa League team but Arsene has already beaten him to it!

  6. In what world is it mediocre to be among the top 16 in Europe? We play in a league where the homegrown talent is not as good as other leagues (German/Spanish), where there are 4 of the top 10 highest spending clubs of the last decade (Liverpool, United, City, Chelsea) and where we do not have a winter break. We must be realistic with expectations and not talk BS of winning the CL because we are not on that top tier of European Elite – we’re just not. We do not have the consistency to be called that.

    This match is hard to stomach because we SHOULD have won. We didn’t because the players let us down in the first leg. It is BULLSHIT to say that we should be blaming our manager for that though. It was 1 game and even then, we weren’t dominated or beaten justly 3-1 – we frigging gave them 2 goals because of COMPLETE capitulation by our Captain. The fact we managed to get ourselves back to 3-3 is an achievement in itself and shouldn’t be ignored.

    There is a possible explanation for our failing in the first leg, succeeding in the second btw. The first leg comes shortly after the winter period for most European clubs. February is literally the perfect time for most European teams, while for English teams it is when we are just recovering from the Xmas period’s busy schedule. We had injuries and fatigue and were due a sloppy game. This is NOT an excuse for PL games but it sure as hell is with European games. As a team who always are effected by injuries, it seems funny how we always fold at this point, and a month later we come back fighting and usually best the opposition on their turf.

    What I am getting at is this – we are not a super elite team. We’re a frigging good team knocking on the door of re-finding that elite status. The fact we haven’t won the CL is irrelevant. Only 1 Arsenal manager has ever taken us to a top honours European Cup Final – Wenger. Why anyone believes we have some right to be winning the CL is beyond me. The most important thing is we retain this awesome form we’ve now found and improve upon it going into next season. THEN we can talk about elite status and CL. Honestly ask yourself if we’re the best team in Europe and you’ll know where we sit.

    1. Exactly. Trouble is that we are always 3 players away from being an amazing team. Wenger and everyone in the whole world knew we needed a DM and CB and a class Striker before this season kicked off and we ended up with just Welbeck. We’re now linked with Schneiderlin again and Arteta has signed a new deal. Oh lord!! Bet we start next season with Arteta and Mert in the team.

      1. I wouldn’t say 3 players. I’d say we’re consistency away from an amazing team. That is – last night we’d have beaten anyone. We need that level of performance every week. That is unlikely to happen because everyone has off days – so you do counter that with players who can “get the job done”. We could use a special talent up front and that would greatly help. The DM and CB issue is ongoing and it’s more about finding the right player to fix the issue.

        Mert and Arteta are done. Arteta won’t replace Coq because Coq is playing too well. Arteta is a good squad member though. Mert is on his way down and Gabriel will probably replace him by the end of the season. We still need to sign a DM and a CB as cover though. Schneiderlin would be my preferred DM signing or Kondogbia. CB…I have no clue. BUT we are certainly good enough to start challenging if we decide to bloody play football like we have been throughout a whole season instead of in patches.

    2. Stopped reading after first sentence.

      Yes yes yes we should all be ecstatic about receiving a pat on the back for having also taken part.

      Wengers 1st decade legacy: accept nothing but a win..

      And the second: accept mediocrity

      1. Mediocrity is finishing middle of the PL. Mediocrity is never challenging for anything.

        We haven’t been great the last few years but we’re not far off. Yes, that’s not good enough when we have the capacity to do that little bit better BUT I see it said that we’re mediocre when we’re not. You want to be part of the elite again? Well then tell me which manager changes that situation?

        1. FFF I agree we have a very good team. With the influx of TV money that is coming the best players will want to come to the premiership. We are due some of those and I feel that CL and the EPL title might be around the corner.

        2. PEP GUARDIOLA OR DIEGO SIMONE

          the top two coaches who could potentially be available and could deliver TOP prizes.

          Other coaches who have done less with less: Koeman, Di Mateo, unai Emery etc

        3. PEP GUARDIOLA OR DIEGO SIMONE

          Potentially would be available and capable of taking us to another level.

  7. We missed the OX badly yesterday. Anyway, let’s take it on the chin. We’ve got a difficult one on Saturday…

    1. Yeah Away @ Newcastle is always tough

      Remember 2011, we were up 0-4 and they scored 4 goals. The draw was worse than a loss. Honestly, if we had lost 3-0 it would have been better because draw just ruined the players confidence and season. It was same season of our 8-2 loss to United (if I remember correctly)

      Anyway, the good thing is that since our loss to Monaco and even before it, we have been playing quality football.

      I still predict a win as long as we play like we did last night.

      I want to go into International week with a win. Also we have a chance of breaking away from United because Liverpool host them.

  8. Konstantin, I think you got it spot on as you said we were not clinical enough. It is not only to be clinical with goals scoring alone that can get qualification such a UCL knock out game. But d boss has to be clinical with his starts. It is when d starts of d boss are done clinically, then will d boss start become clinical. There is no gain saying that d boss started a conservative Gunners Starts for our yesterday UCL game at Monaco. Why did d boss start a dip Alexis? That was a prolific conservative Gunners starts that was based on status selection starts rather than a contemporary Gunners Starts based on current form and fitness. I think the boss has to adhere to a contemporary Gunners starts for his remainig max 11 games he will do a starts for this season. A contemporary Gunners starts could be of a status depending on d complexion of a particular game. The Gooners should note that the boss is hot with anger and disappointment over the Gunners exit yesterday from the UCL. And shld soft pedal criticsm.

    1. Alexis played because Alexis can create moments of brilliance at a greater rate then most of our other players. He also drives the team forward and forces a high press, high tension game. He s a lot of effect on the team ethos even when playing badly.

      Form should dictate over status though – I just think Wenger probably got it just about right. The only thing I wanted different was Ramsey playing from the start – but I wouldn’t have dropped Coq (or Alexis) for him because we needed to get a grip on the game before we went full on gung-ho. I don’t feel like Wenger made a tactical error yesterday – his error was in the first game…but that had more to do with players then manager on the day.

  9. I think we could still win the FA Cup this season, but I think the Champions League now looks a little unlikely.

  10. Wenger saying now were an europa league team, two seasons ago he said top 4 was our trophy…and now many arsenal fans are going with this even cool and happy..this is stolkholm syndrome..were bin made fools n we just dont want 2 believe it

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