Arsenal takes all three points against a dogged West Ham United.
It was not the most entertaining game and there was some frustrating moments to be sure but a win is a win and the three points are priceless in the battle to claim an unlikely Champions League spot.
West Ham was tough all game and they never gave up, they fought for every ball and could have easily grabbed a goal, however, while this was certainly not a vintage Arsenal performance it was a sturdy one.
There was a lack of energy in the first half and too often West Ham was allowed to get into some threatening positions and you just knew early on that this would be a battle of attrition.
And so it proved to be and it was Arsenal that came out on top, a goal that was confirmed by VAR after yet another prolonged and unnecessary delay.
Alexandre Lacazette was the beneficiary and his belated celebrations showed how much the goal meant to him.
West Ham kept on pushing forward and a combination of poor finishing and some Bernd Leno shot-stopping kept the visitors at bay.
There is still a lot of work that Mikel Arteta has to do with this squad but when you can claim a win when you are not playing at your best then that in itself is still progress.
There were some disappointing performances and the team could certainly have played better but it really was one of those games where either team could have won and persistence and resilience were going to be the difference and Arsenal had that more than the Hammers today.
As usual, Arsenal didn’t have players who can unlock the opposition’s defense, luckily we scored after 78 minutes. None of today’s starters is good in one-on-one situations and this issue must be rectified in the summer:
– Nketiah: More agile and faster than Lacazette, but still cannot beat Lacazette’s work rate and aggression. He definitely needs more EPL games
– Ozil: Lack of pace and unwilling to get past the opponents as always. Luckily he assisted Lacazette today and hopefully that would bring his confidence back
– Aubameyang: Almost disappeared, apart from his nice dribble/ take-on in the second half. He is wasted on the left side
– Pepe: Lack of football brain as usual. Fortunately he is still fast and has the height to win air duels
– Ceballos: I liked his quick thinking and high risk playing style as a deep-lying playmaker. His passes got intercepted many times, but someone has to take risk
– Xhaka: Nothing special, but we need him like how Liverpool need Henderson in their starting line-up
– Mari: He failed to intercept West Ham’s pass as our last defender, but his height helped a lot. He definitely needs more games
– Luiz and Sokratis: Defended well
– Saka: I missed his surging runs. Hopefully Tierney could break the opposition’s defense better than him
– Leno: His nice reflex kept us in the game
I am starting to understand and agree your take on Pepe.
What right do you think you have to be nasty to someone for no reason. Your one of the reasons I rarely come to read this site anymore.
I want to believe that you don’t too much like Pepe. Did you watch the match? Nketiah threw away Pepe’s assist and you are talking? Well, I don’t need to say any other thing.
Sokratis was carved open several times. Ask yourself why Bellerin had to come in. Where is Pepe’s height? Maybe he left it at Lille. And…Nketia needs less EPL games if we’re serious about making Europe.
He’s right in a way. Nketiah does need more EPL games, just hopefully not with us but on loan with another club. Same with Willock and Nelson. And Mavro if he’s able to stay fit.
You are a football Matimatice
What you wrote here is 100% plus what happens yesterday another thing very important is combination between. Nketia and. Pepe is not flowing well rather it functions well when Lacaz is there
Nketia can make it if he keep playing but is better in a big game he should not start because we need goals and he don’t have that Brian Lacaz still far from him and in Leno on his good day just like yesterday he is good but sometimes he make huge mistake
So in conclission Arteta still have to do more work moreover in massive attack that is what wins in football
The first half was dull.. Players refused to move the ball on time.
Second half was fair.
English referees though, that was pure goal, I saw no reason why they were checking.
Credits to Ozil for dropping the ball, someone else would’ve probably wasted that ball from close range like that.
Special thanks to Leno as usual, doing a solid job.
Ceballos my MOTM.
He’s doing really well.
My guts is saying, he wants to stay. Even though it’s also for Euro Cups, he’s so comfortable in this team.
Super impressed with Pablo Mari, solid defender, never got a foot wrong.
Solid in the air also.
Now we can only dream and hope we win on Wednesday against City.
COYG
Sorry Eddie he gave away the ball far too much today however he worked hard.
Yea he gave the ball away but also his creativity helped a lot in the midfield, and he makes transitioning easier.
In another season, he will definitely improve and might finally be the answer to Cazorla’s replacement.
He’s doing well so far, even tho he loses some balls through his passes.
I’ll keep him in the starting line up with his recent performances, he’ll only get better
he worked hard but i wouldn’t say his creativity holds a candle to Cazorla’s, or any of the better CM’s in the EPL. I’m pretty split at the moment as to whether we should hold onto him. Madrids asking price will be a big factor.
Fair point about his creativity, I know he’s no where near Cazorla’s but he’s been solid and the only thing closer to Cazorla that we’ve had.
Also like you said, his asking price is too much.
Let’s see if he keeps improving
Bless you!!! We keep screaming we want a new Cazorla like he would appear out of nowhere…This Arsenal team is set up to wait for the opponents retreat in their numbers before making real threats at goal, Ceballos tries as much as possible to start what could be a counter attack only for the wrong moves to be made. Imagine if you have 3 midfielders putting in this type of attitude he put up today. In all this team needs every sort of resources it can get to fight for any silverware next season.
So you couldn’t compliment his hardwork, transitioning, recovery and defending??. Apart from Leno, who had a better game than the Spaniard?
Seriously Jah Son if we miss Dani Cebalous we will go down again!!
Dani Cebalious is the key player we have now in Arsenal and don’t forget such player is hard to get now, yes as a holding mildfieder he can gave away balls is he nit human being? He can make mistakes but the good he did is too much to if someone to say he give away ball too much, how could you even say that?
Who no make mistake on that field that yesterday tell me?
Agree with everything here Eddie
Mari always cost us a goal, after his failure to intercept West Ham’s pass as our last defender
Fortunately West Ham’s attackers had a miscommunication, when there was only Leno left to face both of them
Mari almost cost us a goal?
You realized he went for the ball to intercept it but he missed the ball right?
I read what you wrote up there about him, unfair and harsh if we’re being honest.
He didn’t give ball away in sensitive areas of the field, he did his job well but because he missed a ball he tried to intercept, you calling him out as tho he was poor.
You fans will never see improvements even if it’s forced into your eyeballs.
Let’s go back to the pairing of Sokratis-Luiz then since they’ve been doing solid jobs so far.
Mari was probably the best CB out there today.
But let’s give him the Xhaka’s treatment because he missed an interception he went for
Let’s see his performance at the next EPL game
He lacks pace and it showed today. But Arteta obviously got him for his left foot and height
In his first EPL game at home. Eddie you can’t just make some people see things as they are. Mari to me played good football today.
Eddie,
you don’t understand basics.
He could have run with the player or tried to intercept the ball, which is ONLY done if you’re sure you’re getting it because otherwise it’s a goal for the opposition. His missing the ball meant that it was a 90 percent chance for West Ham. That’s a gigantic mistake.
But I agree that overall he’s a pretty good player who just needs more time to adapt to the speed of the league.
Agree, Mari was poor. I would have love to see comments by same supporters if we West Ham scored 3-4 goals. If one team was poor Infront of goal n fail to convert their clear cut chances…does not make other team as a good defensive team. Mari was weak in the air, all over the place in first half, bad position n did not show any signs of world class defender.
IF west ham scored 3-4 goals lol? They didnt score 1 so what is the point in this statement? What if we scored 5 goals today what would YOU say? Its irrelevant because we didnt and they didnt.
Rory stop wasting your time my friend,the ifs,should have,could have,lucky…are comments from people playing too much playstation and not enough football, they are clawing at straws I mean if all they can remember from a game is one player misplaced pass or one missed interception,I wonder why some of them aren’t professional players or managers!😁
Haha well said siamois!! But I will continue to do it for as long as they do, its tarnishing the arsenal fanbase and making us look much worse than we already do, it’s literally like arsenal fans are trolling their own club.
This comment was really really unnecessary tbh. Mari won a lot of duels. Was tidy but what do I know
wHAT A STUPID COMMENT IN YOUR SECOND SENTENCE. “I would have loved to etc”. I “would love to see your comments” if I gave you a million pounds too. BUT THAT is not happening either. DUH!!! What are you; some sort of fortune teller for things that have not happened? PROBABLY THE DAFTEST COMMENT I HAVE EVER SEEN ON HERE!
If, if, if we can all say that .
Out of all the good moments he had in the game, you’re hell bent on one missed tackle. I am convinced you’re doing this ill fated criticism on purpose
If my auntie had balls, she would be my uncle.
3 points a clean sheet and three wins on the bounce but arteta is “delusional’ it’s simply not good enough arteta out!!
#impatientplasticfans
Lol… I’m tired, I don’t engage in articles that much anymore.
Fans can be plastic for real.
Complain, complain and complain as though we’re meant to be walking past teams like knife through butter.
Even Liverpool struggled to win lots of games this season.
Let the gullible and delusional fans cont chanting #ArtetaOut
Yeah same mate just come here on matchdays and even that seems too much for me now! Just seems to be a barrage of complaining and insults to our players or manager, people saying nketiah is useless… the kid is 20 its disgraceful, why even watch football when it incites this much anger in you lol and people say aftv is bad just because they use offensive language, the message is exactly the same just with less profanity.
Well said!you beat me to it,I was going to post a very similar comment!anyone who thought this was going to be an easy game haven’t watched West Ham play in the previous 2 games!MA only took over at Christmas,same players,MA has turned losses into draws,draws into wins,not so long ago we would have lost this game,this is real football not video games, lastly people who already judging the manager are sadly clueless I’m sorry!
Thank you siamois!!
If anything, they played like people who read the negetive posts here before the match started.
Even though they had by far the greater possession, it was clear each and everyone of them was weakened.
There is no need to single one player out for lambasting.
How come you want Arteta out after he saved us from relegation?
We have reached 40 points today and it should be enough to keep us in EPL. The team achieved it because of Arteta’s excellent system
I doubt the likes of Ancelotti, Allegri and Enrique could do this with our squad quality
I was being sarcastic mate. As we have just won with a clean sheet, 3 wins on the bounce but all everyone is doing is complaining calling the players like mari trash or arteta delusional like they know better watching their illegal steam from there sofa. Its laughable
I don’t understand why can you not criticize a manager if you see not a convincing display. If you just sit back n be happy about everything then there will be no development n progression. If fans see something poor they have full right to voice their opinion they pay to watch Arsenal play in a way paying for MA salary. I am a supporter of MA and wanted him at the club after Wenger but I don’t understand the logic of giving immortal status or complete amunity to anyone. We were poor today n were lucky to escape with win. Our goal was a lucky deflection n we did not create clear goal scoring through out the match. West ham were just poor with finishing, their chances were better created n more then us. …n sad thing is we were home. I wonder what excuses you guys have stored for next Wednesday??
Moshan, he never said you can’t criticize or question the coach.
What some of us noticed so far is most fans start complaining and naming Arteta poor once the line up gets released.
Why’s Martinelli on the bench?
Why’s Eddie starting?
Why’s Sokratis playing? Arteta doesn’t know his job, he doesn’t get his selections right and all sorts of stuffs.
It’s tiring when you keep reading those craps.
Criticize him when it backfires, after the Olympiacos game, people blamed him questioned why Martinelli was on the bench. It was normal and understandable but not this crap most fans keep spewing on game day before kickoff
so man
Thank you eddie 3 👍
Criticising is one thing, people were calling arteta delusional as soon as the team sheet came out, people were calling mari trash even though he has played two games with two clean sheets, people saying nketiah is awful even though he has three goals in 5 games and is TWENTY!! You think a new manager is going to come in and were going to start winning 5_0 after a dismal 12 months? No it takes time but the defensive improvement is visible and we are on the right track, I’m all for constructive criticism but this is plastic fan nonsense.
Instead of moaning about the team why don’t you moan about the officials, now there is something to moan about
Is Atkinson the worst official? I don’t like Mike Dean but I think Atkinson is my number one choice now (#1 for worst)…
Jon Moss is up there too!
oops forgot about Moss, think maybe I have tried to erase him from my mind. Sadly, there is a pretty long list.
Seems pretty common in a lot of pro sports – where the gap between player quality and referee quality keeps growing.
No Mike Dean is tops but a few are pushing him for Dick of the year.
COYG!!👍👍👍
Mari 2 games, 2 clean sheets!
He’s not spectacular but he’s not making any grave mistakes either. Refreshing among our calamities Luiz, Sokratis and Mustafi.
Ceballos was my MOTM possibly. Worked really hard to gain possession.
One match against league 3 team n other at home to struggling West ham in which they create 3-4 clear cut scoring chances. ..let’s see what he does next match against a good attack with good finishers. I hope you don’t give the old excuses of how old n other good defensive teams have even struggled at Etihad.
Struggling West ham dominated Liverpool for about 80 minutes 2 weeks ago, they were 2 nil up,if it hadn’t been for” Flapianski” blunders they would have won the game but somehow we were supposed to beat them easily, does it seem logical to you??
Bless you Siamois
Thank you!
Liverpool win all the time mate go support them, clearly that’s all your interested in.
Someone said “let’s see what he does next match” after last match. Here comes and goes the match, you are saying the same thing. What are you getting at? Let’s say all you said is true, what do you want to do about it or what you want Arteta to do about it.
McLovin
You are right but is better we no touch Louiz he is doing well now both trying to give long passes even though most time he fail but we need him so much, I think calamities is Musafi and Sometimes Soctatis
Pablo Maris is a good last back who has height and he will be good if he keep playing games
Cebalious has no comparable in Arsenal for now
He is too creative and that what we need now
Good result, rough performance. If we want to finish higher Arteta must change a few things. This didn’t look like a team that can push for 4th/5th. Leno has to be MOTM because that clean sheet was a bit of a miracle. Job done for the time being I suppose.
REST LENO LOL
Very flat again today, similar to the Olympiakos performance. West Ham should have won it. Poor finishing from them, and the woodwork saved us. Nice to see VAR helping us for once, but I do not understand why it took so long when Ozil was clearly onside.
Leno 8 – MOTM. Solid performance, and back to his best
Sokratis 5 – Not too bad considering where he was playing, but no attacking threat
Luiz 5 – Average
Mari 5 – Average
Saka 7 – Always dangerous, and some brilliant crosses. Made some brilliant runs that were often overlooked
Ceballos 6 – Ok performance
Xhaka 3 – Awful! Constantly gave the ball away, took too long on the ball highlighted well at the end when Nelson was clean through, and Xhaka decided to hang onto the ball instead of passing. He destroys our tempo
Pepe 5 – Average
Ozil 6 – Did nothing up until his lovely assist
Aubameyang 5 – Worked hard
Nketiah 5 – Seemed Lathetic today
Subs:
Lacazette 7 – Got us the winner, and worked hard
Nelson 5 – Average
Bellerin 5 – Average
Arteta 5 – Poor lineup really cost us again, but at least the subs were better. I thought he would get into the players at halftime, and although there was a slight improvement, it wasn’t a whole lot better.
ThirdManJW, Please tell me you are joking, you gave Ceballos 6,he was by far our best player today, he’s the only player who take risks in our team.
I still can’t fathom what some people watched today that will make them call out Ceballos for having a poor/avarage game when he was busy working his socks out. Notice he had to go help Xhaka and Saka when he noticed there was so much pressure from their wings. Dude was not scared of making forward passes even though his previous one was intercepted, he was not scared of making tackles and yet just because he didn’t give an assist or score a goal his performance was bad. It is well
In response to yourself and Hokage – I agree with some of what you guys are saying, but Ceballos did give the ball away a lot, and his positional sense was poor. We were wide open in central midfield at times. That’s why I marked him down.
No way can you say he performed better than Saka and Leno. Leno saved us yet again!
I don’t know JW, he was MOTM for me – he broke up a lot of plays, was really active and he really helped cover up for some of the others as their alarm clocks did not go off in time for the game.
Ceballos was MOTM today by a mile out of the outfield.
Point of correction: VAR didn’t save us, rather it tried in vain to disrupt our game.
Ceballos, my MOTM.
Tough game but a win and clean sheet is okay with me. Up to the next one at Etihad.
I trust MA will get a good result. I have said it time and time again that Leno is the best in EPL. Good win lads.
Article heading should have been lucky win instead of hard fought…
Sure wish ol Arsenal could of registered a hard
fought loss to satisfy you there Kedar.
SMFH at some of the comments from supposed
Arsenal fans.
West Ham got their chances and wasted it, Arsenal got theirs and took it. A neat goal.
How is he supposed to term the winning a lucky one?
Geez! Do you fans ever just for one moment take a break and just appreciate something for once? Even if it’s not perfect?
It was a hard fought win, nothing wrong with the headlines, both team fought for it. One lost, it wasn’t gifted to the other team so I don’t see where the luck is at
What was there to appreciate???
Appreciate the fact that both teams fought for it and your team came out with the three points and your goalkeeper/striker from the bench did solid jobs?
If you see nothing to appreciate then I’m sorry I don’t understand what sorta fan you are
Grinding out a win in a must win game where
we were definitely 2nd best for portions of the
game is simply unacceptable.
If only the mighty Arsenal could play that
breathtaking brand of Wenger ball and score
4 world class goals in an inevitable 90th
minute loss.
Until Arsenals lack of midfield steel and
athleticism is addressed the team will
continue to struggle with any EPL opposition.
If you cant see that and the additional issues
that have been discussed ad naseum on this
board than perhaps AFC isnt the cup of tea
you should be drinking.
👍 Some days you win, other times you draw or lose, depending on who takes their chances.
All we can retain is a 3 points win and look forward. It was indeed scary but we survived and won it.
I’m still not convinced with Arteta choices, we are lucky to not at least draw! Good sign though, things going our way, no matter how doesn’t matter at this stage of season, it is all out!
Saka is playing very well going forward but defensively he’s a suspect. Let’s not waste his talent at LB. He should be moved forward when KT is fit to play.
nice work guys let keep it up man city next
Ceballos MOTM no argument..that guy can really help us with the absence of torreira..This is definitely a much more improved ceballos..And also Auba needs to stop playing on the wings Gush!!! Auba is being wasted down there
I have not been a Ceballos fan but he is really growing on me. MOTM for me too. And I agree that Auba needs to go inside. Maybe we switch it up in last quarter of the game if we need a goal with Lacazette, but Auba should start in the middle.
Regardless, really happy we got the points. Didn’t think it was in the cards today!
west ham had a very good game plan and they stayed disciplined with it.Not a bad game.
Leno was superb.
Sokratis didnt have an attacking threat but he did well defensively.
Lyuz’s positioning has improved very much.He is tge best in terms of defending today.
Mari needs more time.His distribution was good.Had some nervy moments due to positioning.But his aerial clearances are superb.
Ceballos was good today but he needs to be quick with his ideas.
Xhaka was a bit sloppy with his distributiin but an ok performance
Ozil had a lovely assist but please man start shooting.
Auba was silent today.
Pepe grew into the game and the right flank is heavily marked by west ham so a bit ineffective with end product.
Nketiah struggled with the physicality of west ham
Laca is my MOTM.Made a great impact.
Finally thanx VAR
And saka will be world class very soon
Ozil avoids contact, refuses to run on goal and shoot. Arteta needs to take him aside, because he limits attacking options threatening defense.
Spot on ozzie gunner
We were fortunate to get the three points and apart from Leno we lacked quality.The lack of pace at the back and in midfield is a real concern.To continue to play Socratis at right back surprises me to say the least, and young Saka looks tired and clearly needs a rest.Despite losing I’m pretty sure West Ham will not be relegated.
I’m gonna watch one half of Barca sociedad, the other of Dortmund game, in between and after I will check Spurs result, a draw or a lost will be fine for a good day for Arsenal. A perfect one would have been for Sheffield to at least draw but we coming at tnem. They have a game in ahnd as we do, we play at City but Aston Villa is not a better news today as they fight for survival and been showing better face lately…Should beat sheffiled!
Arsenal 5 games: D D W W W 11pts, 10Goals scored, 4Goals Conceded.
Ceballos’ should not miss anymore games..
Tierney’ I think it’s high time to return we need him ASAP..
Lacazette’ should quit been benched..
I believe the next result would be Draw. Then it would look this way :
D W W W D. 11pts
What if we Bang city with our Lucky Charm once more and take all points? Won’t be bad you know.
Winning City.
D W W W W. 13pts
Mehn!.
Please we need more LUCKS.
We Ball Nonsense.
Arteta ought to be playing Martinelli.
We finish our game in 9th but spurs losing and we go from 9th back to 10th, bugger🙁
The only team above us that we’ve played twice this season is United…
Oh and Chelsea
I love player ratings. I saw Leno with a 6 and a 9. Mari with 4 and 7. Saka a 5 and 7. I don’t have a point really but just funny that every body watched the same 95 minutes but no one saw the same game.
I enjoyed that! Ceballos was my MOTM, he was brilliant. I hope we buy him!! (Well done, Laca!)
Leno was superb! I also really liked Mari… I’m imagining him with Saliba next season 🤞
West Ham played well, was a little tense towards the end, but we did it.. no thanks to Martin Atkinson!!
Onwards and upwards 😎
And also seeing Mari & Luiz hugging at the final whistle – aww I love a bromance! Nice work!!
Whaaaaat? Positive notes AND optimism!?!? ‘Rubs eyes in disbelief ‘ finally someone with something so say that isnt lambasting the players or manager!!
Thank you sue 👍🙌
😁👍
Did you go to the game Sue ? 😄
I did, Kev.. just got in 😉
Happy days Sue your travel home was a happy one 😄👊 some decent results today Wolves and Brighton, and Spurs Burnley all we need is for a city win tomorrow and Chelsea to drop points then we can feel a little less pressure going into Wednesday 😄👊
Absolutely, Kev! Gonna be interesting tomorrow – Come on City!!
Yeah I will be looking forward to that one Sue 👊 tell your nephew to cheer up, beating Arsenal isn’t for everyone 😂😂
Jeez he’ll be raging right now, better let him cool down for say… a week, before I make contact haha!!
Mike Dean will be the centre of attention in Manchester, urgh… hardly a week goes by when I haven’t got a gripe with the ref!
Yeah well you’ve got good reason Sue look at that tackle that broke Torreiras ankle 🙄🙄 Mike Dean in charge of the Derby 😩 haha well that’s the double done over that lot Id leave it for say… 2 weeks 😂😂😂
Agree with that Sue.
The original post that is but the last reply got posted right at the bottom. Lol
Not bothered about the performance, happy with the 3 points, I’ll settle for average performances any day as long as we pick up 3 points! With this squad and 3rd manager of the season we were never gonna be playing free flowing football.. let’s enjoy the win and pray we catch man city on a bad day 👊
Yep, as long as we win, and foxes, wolves, Spurs all slip or sleep, we perfectly find. Man U looks strong but can slip anytime,. They should also be tired, let’s not be mean for them to lose.
Your Dad would be happy, Kev.. Leeds are top. Luke Ayling scored again today – I like him. I’m looking forward to seeing how they’ll do in the PL… looks like West Brom will be back too – they bore me to tears!
Hahaha 2 weeks it is!
Are Leeds top Sue jeez I thought they were bottling it again 😯 he’s a former player of ours ? yes he would for sure 👍 they’ve been gone a long time and yeah West brom aren’t easy on the eye 😂😂😂 let me know how that goes Sue 😂😂 I’m watching Getafe v Celta almost falling asleep 😂😂
The ref is the Spanish Mike Dean he’s on his 11th yellow card maybe more I’ve lost count 😂😂😂
Only a point in it, but they’ve recovered from their blip!
You’re right, he was.. he’s 28 now, so I can’t see us going back for him 😂
The spanish Mike Dean 😂
Halftime, Spurs down by 1, it is indeed a good day. But let’s be nice though, they did play an overtime losing in penalties few days ago, Tired and not a good day indeed.
In all fareness, they deserve to not win, and not being blamed, tired poor Spurzy Spurs. Let’s all have a thought for them.
We must win it all, beat city and every team in order to take our chances all the way to CL!
VAR Gets an assist today one less then Ozil for the season 😂 man of the match Westham Strikers thanks for that guys 👍
And I thought delusional fans were only to find on Arsenal’s official fb comment page… If you are happy with this performance, having only 2 shots on target and being on 10th place, then we truly deserve what we’re getting. We’ve surely improved defensively, but we’ve deteriorated going forward.
To be fair ArsenalGR we are in the 10th spot because of previous regime, we are slowly getting our confidence back but what Started to annoy me a bit is that we have too many dribblers which kills attacks I would like to see more simple one touch passes and more shots rather that worrying about losing the ball or having 80% possession HAVE A GO HAVE A SHOT And quite often get ready for the rebound confusion
Actual, we are 9th, woohoo 🥳
Arsenal are where they are because of the players, full stop.
MOTM a toss up between ceballos and Leno … ozil was good as was xhaka the rest were poor at best .. sokrates luiz xhaka have to go in the summer they are shockingly bad … nelson and nketiah along with naitland miles and perhaps bellerin can be loaned out or sold … none will make it in top epl teams … mori had a good game for a first epl match … comments above weird … pepe is an enigma he has skill and pace but no brain someone needs to take him under their wing
@rkw-Pepe is really frustrating me now.The boy has amazing pace and can beat his man for fun.But he never seems to make the right decision in the final third. Is he in danger of becoming. a Walcott clone?
He should be an outlet for us with that pace but he rarely made himself avaliable and never drifted into space.MA4 needs to decide whether he can coach some tactical awareness into him of cut his losses.
And for what it’s worth, Danni Ceballos is beginning to look a complete player.When Xhaka is sold in the summer and we can get a CM to compliment Ceballos we could have a very very good player on our books.We should at the very least get his loan extended if RM won’t sell
It’s been a while since I’ve been active on here. It’s a crazy season for so many teams but 3 points count regardless of the display. While it’s not the best use of 90 minutes watching arsenal at times I can’t help but think we are close to clicking as a team and someone will be on the end of a real pasting. Here is hoping
I’m one of Ozil’s biggest critics (and still want him gone in the summer) but even I am happy with his assist.
That’s all I want from him
He doesn’t defend or try to get the ball back but if he can give assists which have been rare the last few seasons, that’s all I want. Last season Bellerin had more assists than Ozil
So happy with Ozil today for the winning assist
A great win but not a great game, mainly due to the regular non committed usuals. In this order, Ceballos, Leno, Luiz, Saka and Pepe were the players i thought were stand outs, especially Ceballos who for me had his best game for us. Ceballos, Pepe, Saka and Auba did try and inject some speed into our attacks, the rest were very laboured. Some strange decisions on playing staff and substitutes but the ultimate aim was the win and that was achieved.
To all those on here criticising the team for winning 1-0 I can’t understand it. I remember during the double year 1970-71 we had some truly awful games at home and kept winning 1-0 but you know what…I loved it !! cos we WON. You can’t play scintillating football every game and Arteta is still trying to find a combination of players that he’s happy with, amongst all the injuries,so let’s give him time.
this arsenal team is always going to be difficult to manage. We the funs have the stick and always have in our minds how the team needs to play or who should be selected to play. Every arsenal supporter who has seen arsenal play for over 30yrs knows the club and playing style with how each player ought to play to be in the team. the invincibles brought in another standard which we want to see being emulated or at least play like them. We have become very impatient these days with almost everyone and you wouldnt blame the funs for waiting for over 10yrs for a serious trophy yet year in and out fans dig their pockets to go and watch the matches and now that the club in not in a good position financially to buy very good players we will need to be more PATIENT with everyone at the club and support our young manager to use what he has and possibly depose what is not good in the new summer window to have a few additions
Leno man of the match and to think there was an article on here saying he should be “rested” after his mistake against Olympiacos! Ozïl played well yesterday too and not just because of his assist so hopefully that will shut up some of the sniping about him. I’ve been critical of Ceballos but he played well yesterday. I thought Mari had a steady game and looks quicker than we thought, wonder if he will play at City Wednesday?
You are a football Matimatician
What you wrote here is 100% plus what happens yesterday another thing very important is combination between. Nketia and. Pepe is not flowing well rather it functions well when Lacaz is there
Nketia can make it if he keep playing but is better in a big game he should not start because we need goals and he don’t have that Brian Lacaz still far from him and in Leno on his good day just like yesterday he is good but sometimes he make huge mistake
So in conclission Arteta still have to do more work moreover in massive attack that is what wins in football