Arsenal 1 – 2 Brighton – Another poor performance as the season just got worse

Arsenal 1 – 2 Brighton – Arsenal’s season just got a whole lot worse.

As first halves go, Arsenal had a bad one, a real bad one. Brighton was by far the better team in the first 45 minutes, there is no point denying that. The sad thing, it really is not surprising.

For the first 20 minutes or so the defence was good, there were no errors and truth be told they were very efficient. But then it changed as soon as Bellerin gave away a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area. From that moment onwards, for a reason I simply cannot fathom, they lost all confidence. They went from competent defenders to shivering wrecks.

It really was only a matter of time before Brighton scored and they duly did on the 36th minute and it was thoroughly deserved.

It also has to be said that the forwards and midfielders simply were not helping the defence out, they were early on but as the half went on they just sort of gave up tracking back. They were providing no link-up opportunities for the defenders and their movement was static.

Kolasinac, when he could, was flying down the wing but guess what? No end product. Ozil just slowed the game down almost every time he got the ball, allowing Brighton to get back in numbers. Lacazette was easy to mark and Auba is just being wasted on the wing.

Xhaka went back to his old tricks of hitting the floor at every opportunity, Bellerin offered zero down the right side, Torreira tried but lacked any vision or imagination. Willock was poor, very poor, no other way to put it.

Luiz looked as if he wanted to avoid being seen on camera, as soon as he got the ball he got rid of it, offered no outlet to the midfielders.

The bottom line was, apart from a few minutes here and there, woeful from Arsenal. The fans started showing their frustration and that further unsettled the players.

Then we had the sight of Aubameyang having a real pop at Willock, not something a captain should be doing so publicly to a young player.

The half time whistle could not come soon enough and when it did come, the boos rang out and rightfully so.

The second half started off much better, Pepe was on and the ineffectual Willock was off.

There was more urgency from Arsenal and on the 50th minute, Lacazette flick from Ozil’s corner looped high and went in off the post. It was a just reward for a much brighter start. Whatever Freddie said, it worked.

Luiz did get the ball in the back of the net on the 61st minute but VAR correctly ruled it out for offside.

But you must know what I am going to write now. The intensity from Arsenal dropped off, they never pushed on, they allowed the momentum to drop and slowly Brighton got back into the game.

The longer the game went on the more I feared a goal from Brighton and of course, it came in the 80th minute. The defence got carved open down the left side and a simple cross into the penalty area and Maupay knocked in for the Seagulls.

Dare I say it? Brighton deserved the lead once again. The game sort of just petered out from that point onwards and the end saw boos ring out for the second time in the game.

100 Comments

  1. The short passes in Norwich were good, but they chose to play impatiently with direct balls from Luiz and Xhaka. Should have played more patient and use pacey wide players if they want to use 4-2-3-1, not with Ozil as a winger:

    – Lacazette: Apart from his lucky goal, he made a lot of bad first touches and miscommunications. Martinelli should have started ahead of him

    – Willock: If he needs to play as a no 10, he should have played in cup matches first

    – Ozil: Too limited to be a winger and Ljungberg should have known that. He did nothing special as well after switching to no 10 position

    – Aubameyang: Despite playing good as an RW, his talent was wasted there

    – Xhaka and Torreira: Worked their socks off to defend. Unfortunately the four attackers in front of them were clueless

    – Luiz and Sokratis: Not impressed by their defending at all

    – Kolasinac: The best fullback in this match

    – Bellerin: Too weak to defend. He is still good in attacking, but Chambers is better in defending

    – Leno: Was let down by the defense again

    Since the Gunners can’t even win against the likes of Norwich and Brighton, they had better be ready for relegation

    1. Leno
      Bellerin mustafi holding Tierney
      Chambers willock
      Pepe martenelli auba
      Laca

      Cause why the f#$k not we ars beyond sh$€e

    2. How can you blame all players? Eddie as well, he is not a coach nor Mertazaker to assist! Just as Emery who was appointed with new managmt Edu & co; in order to replace Wenger a coach and manager; not just a coach!

      To combine both roles allowed him to protect team and club as great prof he is! The only one who can save this club is Wenger!

        1. Obviously you haven’t got a clue about football,how you dare to criticise AW the man who made this club great and generated millions of new fans around the world and have a look at what we watching now despite spending close to 200 millions since he left
          The club should go back to him and ask him to come back for six months to steady the ship

          1. Oh my gosh, was Wenger fired for doing an outstanding job? Did he retire after steering us into glory and leaving us in good hands? No, by the time he was getting the axe he was out of sorts and duly kicked out. Now you want him to come back and do what exactly? If you take out a flat tyre and put it in the boot for a week, does it magically become a good tyre again?

          2. The man stayed 5 years beyond his sell by date … vain and delusional to the end … but the real problem is the board and it’s endless willingness to sacrifice footballing progress to corporate bottom line

        2. Disgraceful reply! Yes Wenger outstayed his time but to blame him for this mess is really not on. @ Quantic Dream get real!

  2. Well, The spirit and creativity in this squad is dead! The team are hopeless and now the club are in serious danger of sinking! Confidence is getting worse and the hole is getting deeper and darker..

  3. This one is all on Freddie. No excuses and sentiments, Emery got the stick when he deserved it. Freddie deserves whatever stick he get after this game.
    No excuses, he’s been there all season, saw what went wrong under Emery. Yet came out with the same bizzare selection. The only players rgar can hold their heads up tonight are Torreria, Kolasinac, and Xhaka to some extent.
    The rest and Freddie were bang rubbish.
    Look lemme say this right now, I’d rather we stay 7th or lower than getting to the Europa league next season I swear. It’ll save us all a lot of embarrassment and at least we’ll have the salts in our mouth

    1. Eddie

      I thought by now, you would be tired of blaming the manager, while FL certainly failed woefully this night, it is beyond what any manager can salvage imo.

      Yes, the team selection is terrible and should even get a manager sacked!
      This team needs serious investment especially at the back, i mean apart from Tierney everyone of them should be offloaded and lest i forget, David Luiz should not even be allowed in the training ground.

      He is not getting the sticks he deserves, Luiz is easily the worst CB we have ever had in the last 10 years, and when now combine him with Sokratis….nuff said.

      1. Goonerboy, you answered yourself as to why it’s hard to stop blaming the managers.
        I mean everyone, everybody, hell my ex girlfriend who had no interest in football can see our defenders and some of the players are crap. YET THESE MANAGERS KEEP SELECTING THEM!!
        Freddie deserves whatever stick he gets. He’s not blind to the fact that Luiz should never be In the line up, not to mention alongside the wrestler.
        I’m not saying these guys are blameless, I’m saying Freddie, and Unai are part of the problems if they keep selecting the poor scúmbags we have as players

        1. But we have no other defenders, we bloody have NONE Eddie!

          Is it Mustafi, or Holding,Mavropanos??? Who?

          No sane coach would take this job now, it has to be in the summer and with the assurances that there will be massive investments in the team.

          Our problem runs deeper than just replacing the head coach!

          1. Goonerboy I bet you’ll find over ten thousands fans telling you Chambers has been our best defender all season, and yes what does Holding have to do to get his chance back?
            What does Mavropanos has to do to get his chances back?
            Think bro, think!
            Freddie needs to give others the chance and drop those two clowns, they’re not the only defenders we have in the club!

    2. Eddie-if ever we needed proof that Freddie was not yet ready to manage then this evening simply confirmed the point.Very poor team selection, but let’s face facts.He has very little quality in midfield and defence to work with.Why he insists on playing Ozil so wide I will never know.Why are Sokritis and Luiz ever considered ahead of Chambers and Holding? Tierney? The best defensive player at the Club and he cannot get in the team.Xhaka? Words fail me as to why he is continually selected.
      Freddie played in a great side.He knows what Selections makes players play to their strengths.So why is he all of a sudden basing his team and tactics on Emery’s?
      Play Ozil as a No10 or not at all.Play Aubamayang as a striker or not at all.Get did of his preferred CB’s and get Chambers and Holding in the side.Get did of Bellerin who “used” to be half decent going forward but never could defend.
      Until we invest in a Class One Manager who will tell KRONKE who he needs at the Club we will continue to spiral downwards.We are at the time when reality needs to be taken in.We are a Big Club in decline and we need to stop this messing around NOW

      1. Phil he’s out of the race to get the job permanently now. This should prompt the board into acting faster. But do you know the board to ever take decisions on time?

      2. Ozil is not helping himself or his fans. I wonder why you continue to give excuses for his poor performances. He played in two different positions today, yet couldn’t impact the game from any. Xhaka that was even one of the few better players tonight is instead the one to receive the sticks

        1. And Ozil had what service exactly? The big buzz word at the moment seems to be “transition”. What this means ( I take it) is the way the ball is played through from the defence/deeper midfield to the attack.When did we last show signs of this? There are ZERO phases of transition in our play.Dont just join the herd in blaming Ozil for being ineffective.He had forwards in front of him that were either too wide or too deep.He was played out wide when even Stevie Wonder would see he is never and was never a wide player.
          There is simply no direction in the team.Players in the side that shouldn’t be anywhere near it.Those that are playing are not being used to their strengths.
          I thought Freddie would be a stop-gap appointment and this result and performance will now prove this correct.Look at our upcoming fixture list and tell me we are not in serious trouble if the manager situation is not addressed immediately.But no-let’s just getting on Ozil’s back.Its easier.

          1. He played in two different positions. Ozil together with Socratis are the second oldest players in this team behind Luiz. He is one of the longest serving players. Yet you continue to make excuses for his poor performances, why blaming everyone else. For me he as responsible as any other player for our poor performance.

          2. Teams like Arsenal really cannot afford an Ozil when the rest of the team is so unbalanced and lacking in quality. However, given what happened with Emery it is likely that there will be an uproar among a section of Arsenal fans if he is benched.
            I agree he would be better as a 10 but I am not convinced that he gives enough to the team wherever he plays.
            There is a great deal of noise about Holding and Chambers, with people insisting that this our best defensive pairing. If this is the case Arsenal are in real trouble. That is a combination that you use in an emergency not as your first choice.

  4. Depressing times at arsenal. This is relegation team form. Are we gonna ever win any game this season? We won’t even keep any Clean sheet anymore. Brighton played better and even dominated possession at the Emirates.

    Ljunberg ain’t helping himself either with team selections. Can he really help this team?

    Brighton with their first ever away win against Arsenal.

    Things ain’t looking good

    1. Ljungberg has made baffling selections and formations twice

      If Ljungberg and Mertesacker are smart, they should implement a different system than Wenger’s and Emery’s next time

      1. Freddie must just go back to basics
        Man marking instead of zonal marking when we defend
        Players making themselves available when we have the ball going forward
        Put Luiz with Torreia in the middle of the park
        Put Holding and Chambers at centre back
        Ozil in front of Luiz and Torreira
        Pepe on the right hand side with Martinelli on the left and Auba in front nice balance between defence and attack

        1. That’s the best idea I heard for a while. We lack defensive cover in the midfield and we need to play our best players in their best positions!

    2. @Nifty-read what I wrote PAL.Im not saying Ozil was effective am I?What I clearly said was there is zero understanding within the framework of the team and that is most definitely not on Ozil.Who else would you consider to have played well this evening?Who else gave a performance that would be classed as acceptable for a “ Football Club” of our standing? Nobody that’s who.Yet it all seems to fall on Ozil with some simply because they feel hr is responsible.He may well be part of the problem.But not all of it that’s for sure. And that is down to the gross negligence of whoever allowed Wenger to stay at least 3 years longer than he should and the appointment and financial support given to Emery, who most clear headed fans were stating 12 months ago was not capable of taking the Club forward.But that’s Ozils fault as well is it?

    1. Please, we will definitely won’t bounce back. Freddie is certainly not what we thought he could be. We need a top manager to save this team from relegation. I thought by now the team would stop playing from the back. We are in bad shape….

  5. What an absolute shambles of a team. The players the caretaker manager, the board are an utter disgrace. All you silly people talking the likes of Freddie and arteta up need a reality check on you opinions. All we need now is for the board to appoint vierra as manager and henry his assistant. This club is entering the point of being a mid table nobody and the man at the top has got to be pushed out as soon as we can. The whole club has been hijacked by mediocrity and the players are an utter joke.

      1. of course, because sorting out the defence is what Allardyce did in all those clubs he saved. Plus he was only sacked from two of his six PL jobs 😉

  6. We might be relegated if we keep on playing like this. It’s a real possibility now.
    Its 4am in my country. I was up just thinking we would win and it would bring back some confidence. Boy what did i wait for

  7. I think it’s safe to say that Freddie isn’t the answer. Another horrible starting XI, shocking performance, and why laca came off instead of Ozil is beyond me! Forget Europe next season, will we even be in the Premier League. We’re fast becoming the new Leeds.

    Leno 7 MOTM
    Bellerin 4
    Sokratis 5
    Luiz 4
    Kolasinac 5
    Torriera 5
    Xhaka 4
    Willock 3
    Ozil 4
    Lacazette 6
    Aubameyang 4

    Subs: Pepe 6, Martinelli 5, Tierney 5

    Ljungberg 3
    Only his second game, but clearly he has learnt nothing from Emery’s mistakes, and from his own in his first game. Brighton deserved the win, and we should have lost to Norwich as well. He is definitely not the answer.

    1. Laca 6? What did he do apart from the goal, if Xhaka gets 4,then Ozil gets 2, Bellerin 2. You’re so generous

      1. Laca worked hard at times, which is more than can be said about many others. Bellerin was horrific the 1st half, but I bumped him up a little after his 2nd half showing. I can’t give a 2 unless someone makes lots of mistakes. Ozil didn’t make any big errors, but also didnt do anything hence his 4.

  8. This game just proved one point Ljungberg definitely was emery number 2 i mean look at his subutition Kolasinac for Tierney we need a new coach now

  9. We were dominated by Brighton, no urgency from the team as a whole empty stadium, once again is not mandatory to play Ozil,I can’t play him cos he is useless from my own view whether as a winger or midfider,bellerin should be sold,for the now am short of words….our best player today is Leno….nothing to write home about the team

  10. Is it relegation battle the board is waiting for before they bring a savior? Oh my arsenal…where are you? Where is Arsene? I’ve never experienced this before as an arsenal fan

  11. Let us face the reality and get a real coach before we sink further. Ljunberg just won’t make it yet. He is still too raw. Next Monday it may get worse! Everything of his was wrong today. He benched Chambers instead of putting him in central defence. He started with Willock instead of Pepe and he leaves Guendouzi on the bench. Instead of substituting Lacazette, he should have removed Auba. All in all I don’t expect much from Ljunberg. Let us count this a dead year and just play to avoid relegation and then look for a real coach who can turn things around. A good player is not necessarily a good coach.

    1. As much as we need a new and experienced manager, this team lacks passion and desire to win, they are not ready to play for the shirt, they are only interested in their wages. I can’t wait for January transfer window.

      1. 👍 Exactly Kay, when are the players going to take some responsibility for the abject performances. There are only so many ways you can shuffle the deck with the available players in this squad.
        £70 million (albeit in instalments) for Pepe, when Arsenal is crying out for 2 decent CB’s and a physically powerful DM; the mind boggles!

    1. Ah, what?

      Here you go again NY_Gunner.. Spouting how those who wanted change are to blame!?

      Nobody wanted this. The problem is so far deep rooted now. The damage is done. Emery was wrong and the signings have been bad too. He stay way too long and the rot got worse. Get off your soap box dude and set on with it like the rest of us!

        1. You all were heaping praises on yourselves when the board pushed out AW. Taking credit for it. When Unai was appointed, you even heaped praises on him, with your “anybody but Wenger” chants. You all blamed him for the decline of the club. Now you see it ran much deeper than that… Yeah, this is what you wanted, because this is what was destined to happen. Own it. You did every other step that led to this.

          1. Wenger was never soley blamed. Kroenke was ALWAYS part of the discussion. And I am still more than happy Wenger is gone. The search needed to begin for the future instead of stagnation, so no I have ZERO regrets about him leaving. If you are still wallowing about Wenger, you need to get the heck over it. Try actually talking about Arsenal instead of posting nothing but nonsense about how great and right you are and how everyone else is terrible. We don’t care. We’d rather actually talk about current events instead of whine about a manager who has been gone for two seasons now.

          2. What can you say karma is a bitch, what goes around comes around. Fans treated Wenger n some of ex Arsenal players badly throwing abuse n what not at them. This is the reward they are reaping. I use to think we have one of the best fan base in world interns of culture n respect but what I have noticed in past decade is…nope that’s not the case…majority of our fan base behave like thugs n have no class. People who are saying they would have still wanted Wenger out n put all the recent blame on him as well are just delusional n in denial that they are proving wrong.

  12. Couldn’t make it up due to train strike.

    Watched on Amazon Prime on offer for 99p.

    I’m putting in for a refund !

    Really, really depressed.

  13. What irritates me the most is the lack of urgency in transition. The team is slower than a slug. Same pitfalls with not sticking with a basic starting 11. Again Lundberg changed the defence thereby inheriting Emery’s malaise of chop and change every game. I will bet straight win for westham next. Take it to the bank

  14. Bad yet again. Lacazette needs to be sold. I know hes the one who scored today but his overall play is just terrible. May as well sell and make money off of him. Ozil is just too non-chalant for the EPL. Always has been and when the team is in crisis it just looks even worse. Luiz and Sokratis, bad defenders. Why has this partnership been revived? The starting lineup in general shows Freddie is not ready and we need to hire somebody else fast. Pepe, finally starting to show something. More energetic and changed the game for us offensively. Midfield, slow passing as ALWAYS. Still, we are more watchable now than under Emery so technically we have improved, we are just still very terrible.

  15. Some of us learn the truth the bitter way. The squad was useless even before Wenger left. Emery took over and we expected him to perform magic without a major overhaul in the team. It doesn’t work like that. I look into our team I can’t clear pick a midfield trio who can dominate a match. You may dislike Xhaka but he remains the best midfielder in our current squad and it will be difficult for any coach with this squad to bench him. I don’t know why people think Ljunberg is a better coach than Emery.

    1. I still have hope in Ljungberg, because he has seen Emery’s mistakes

      However, he should be replaced ASAP if he can’t win the West Ham game

  16. A complete clean out required. Arsenal should look at getting some home grown players all these guy’s with their Fancy names that Arsenal have don’t put in a full shift. There are plenty of guys in the Premiership and Championship who will run their Heart’s out for a chance to play for Arsenal.

    1. nah they see us as a stepping stone to greater things, OR they know they’ll get injured within weeks of training with us, OR pretend to be proud to play for us then sabotage us inside out, look at the Many players that leave us then do much much better for their new club

  17. Luiz should never wear an Arsenal shirt ever again, absolutely awful!

    Anyone else starting to worry about relegation? I can’t actually see where are next win is coming from

  18. Well that was woeful and hard for me to find any positives in it – Leno was playing well again, whilst the starting lineup was wrong the substitutions were right, and all 3 subs looked lively.

    Im not going to blame Freddie too much as the players were just poor tonight, Yes he did get the lineup wrong but it’s too soon to tell if he will learn from it and adapt, he certainly managed to fire the team up at half time until it faded away again.
    As I was saying when Emery was the one under fire – this is a bigger problem than any manager, the team has some major character flaws 🤷‍♂️

    All we can do is hope somehow Freddie, or whoever comes in as full time coach in his place, manage to work out what the problem is and get it sorted before it gets any worse.

    Fair play to Brighton too, they came and played well tonight – helped by the atrocious referee calls (at least 5 penalty calls that didn’t even make it to VAR 🤔) but ultimately they played better than we did on the night and deserved the win.

    1. You are right my friend but another point I keep raising is our problem run beyond the first team. We have not been able to produce good talent from Academy for some time now. If we think Wilock, Saka, Nelson and AMN are talented n will be future stars then we fans are delusional. So Arsenal needs a restructuring from top to bottom. First get footballing people to run the club n kick out these business men who have no clue it interest in football. Second restructure your Academy look at ajiax or Barcelona academy n try to mirror them. Introduce pay structure which are based on achievement based rewards or bonuses for players let them earn their wages for once. Bring in some ex Arsenal players into roles in the club even if the roles are small. These guys have a winning mentallity, they have strong psychology n they will bring that old champion vibe with them. They will bring that toughness, playing for badge n that never give up attitude. Spend and sign the right players which are required by the team…identify the weakness n buy the players who can help over come those weakness, for that we will have to spend big n we should be able to as we are a big club. Sell the old, not improving n useless players.

    2. Read my comments earlier this week.I was at Anfield on Saturday and they lost to two VVD set pieces and at times were the dominant side.I said then they were a well organised outfit and had a feeling this ga
      me would be a lot tougher than many thought.
      It’s called COACHING.You just never know-it’s something we might try at Arsenal one day

      1. Hahaha…Phil…you keep a look out as I do as well, let me know if spot some one at arsenal trying to do this thing called “COACHING”

  19. The proof how brilliant Wenger n fergie was ….is pretty evident from the way Arsenal n United have been struggling after them. I would love to have that russian Chelsea owner dude as our owner we would not have been in same position he would have fired UE last season or start of this season. arsenal board n owner were too late with the decision just so they could pinch some more money. I am afraid the disease has spread through the club now it will take some time, patience, determination and right treatment to cure us.

    1. Not sure what you have been watching for the last 10/15 years, but we were struggling badly under Wenger, and he left massively contributed to the mess we now see before us. Emery inherited the worst Arsenal squad in over 30 years, that had no clue how to defend.

      1. We constantly achieved top 4 n only in last two season dropped out of top 4 in Wenger era, not to mention won few fa cups in the doom gloom era you are suggesting. Wenger was the one thing holding this club together without the right investment n right footballing decision it was only his genious that was keeping us up…proof is Infront of you. You must be joking right?? When you say UE inherited the worst Arsenal team in 30 years..first most of the players in the team were bought in UE reign. Luiz and sukratus are UE signing not Wenger. This is squad on paper is one of the strongest in the league so you can not complain, if the manger can not get the tactics right n can optimise the players efficiency then it’s his fault.

  20. It had to be this way, that in third cetenery year of staying in the top flight they were bound to flop.

    I am sure Kronke picks the team, after all, why else would the same players who are not good enough still be first choices. It seems the award for letting the team and club down is to be picked for the next game.

  21. Well I saw a lot of positives although we lost unfortunately. If you didn’t see any positive, I honestly feel sorry.

    The game was actually won and lost in the first half from that nonsense officiating. PGMO must be very proud now. Arsenal committed 10 fouls against Brighton’s 11. That Arsenal collected 3 yellows against their 1 says it all.

    On the other hand, somebody should tell Aubameyang to learn how to guard and protect his ball and all meant for him (I meant football).

    And can we now play only the under 23? I know that even if they don’t win the match, they definitely will run you jagged.

    1. But even with the gang up, Wenger held on to principles, gave us beautiful entertaining football, and won us games – a lot of games and cups.

    2. What were the positives exactly? We just got outplayed at home by Brighton! They fully deserved the win.

      If you think we lost the game because of the officials, I can only imagine you didn’t watch the game, or you have a bias against the officials?

    3. Gily, Somebody should tell you to cease fooling yourself and making lame excuses for that shambles. It falls to me to tell you! The ref was poor but we lost to a far better and more organised and spirited team. As you refuse to see that, then you are deluding yourself. Why do so?

  22. Lessons learnt

    First: stop playing Lacazette and Aubameyang together. Aubameyang is a waste on the wings.
    Second: We need to teach the defence how to man mark when it comes to defending set piece. Zonal marking makes no sense
    Third: Who ever advised the club to take off the Ramsey offer deserves a sack. We miss Aaron Ramsey
    Fourth:Socratis and Luiz partnership is disaster. Chambers should be a starter in central defence.
    Fifth: Get in either Nuno Espirito Santo or Pochetino asap

  23. Reality! WE ARE PLAYING LIKE A RELEGATION TEAM , DROPPING LIKE A STONE AND STAND JUST 5 POINTS CLEAR OF BOTTOM THREE and can’t see where our next point is coming from . WE SOON HAVE A FAR HARDER RUN OF OPPONENTS TOO. Far worse teams than how we are playing this whole season have gone down. Forget the self deluding lunacy of top four and top six. Be relieved if we are top 17. It is as serious as that. We could well be relegated unless we get far more serious about our plight and get more serious right now. WE HAVE to bring in two top central defenders in Jan or else face the consequences.

    1. Quite right, the way we are playing a relegation fight is a possibility. Although I have to say some of the team selection is baffling. Unless he is still getting over his injury why is Tierney not starting. We have a lethal striker but he is played on the wing. Sokratis and Luis should be nowhere near the first eleven.

  24. I don’ think Wenger or Fergie would do any better with the present Squad that Arsenal have at the moment.Anyway Football has moved on we need a young manager with new ideas like Poch or Rodgers.But we will end up with a Cheap fix.Arsenal are no longer a force under the persent Ownership.

  25. The more I watch ozil the more angry I get. I haven’t seen what he has done in these matches he has played. The guy is very poor is simple like that. And why take off your best player (kolasinac) and put tierny whom I think has had a bad start to his pl carer.the less I say about lacazette the better. It’s better we cash in on him now his value is still up.and what had willock done to deserve a place in the first 11? Someone needs to tell ljgunberg that this is not arsenal u23, this loss is on him because the line up was terrible just like Emery’s. I would bench the entire back four minus kolasinac,I’m afraid bellerin is finished man can’t defend to save his life.no single player out there shows any passion.terrible set of players and over paid machineries.

  26. Okay so most of the people here understand football well enough but in a nutshell the modern game requires front foot press which was first introduced successfully by Pep at Man City.

    •We cant get the ball out of our own ball.
    It was this that lead the ‘smaller teams’ to do what they had to do well and defend…but from a front line. This if anything encouraged them to feel more involved in the game by being more involved higher up the pitch then in front of their box.

    Keeping to the topic of arsenal, we have not been able to deal with the front press. Our defence have the ball but no outlet, our midfield dont have the belief or ability to be comfortable on the ball to control and move and pass.

    It was for Wenger it was critical to have Fabregas or Carzola. It was important to have players who have a vision set in their mind before even receiving the ball.
    Arguable the best central midfield passer we have is Xhaka, but he is a far short of the pass master of Cities Silva, Chelsea’s Jorginho, Liverpool’s Fabino. But the issue isnt on Xhaka, it is partly on the recruitment but it is also on sacking AW and focusing on that more then what will actually come of after. Maybe removing AW was such a large obstacle it took all of the time and energy. Or maybe everything is all just too new and without AW it’s just a name (Arsenal) with a load of men in charge with good CV’s!!

    When we loss the ball from the high press we cant win the ball back. If we haven’t got passes in the middle, surely then we have defenders in there? But Xhaka and Torierra just are not doing it. Again the issue isnt them, it’s the lack of capability to execute plans and everything is currently unfolding.

    We loss balls from high press (which once we didnt worry about as it was a luxury to pass our way out), we then cant win the ball back because we are exposed and so running to occupy spaces. In attack, when it does build up, there is no clear identity to our approach. Teams still sit in against us (god knows why when we cant even hit a barn door) and in transition we loss. We loss the challenges, we loss the ball, we loss the flow of dictating the play, we loss territory and we loss out in the end because we are conceding way too many shots on goal.

    Auba out wide is not working at all and it will never work. The short term solution to get ourselves out of this rut is 4 4 2 with Laca and Auba up top. In build up and defensive line we formulate as a 4 4 1 1. Feed the ball to Auba and Laca with directness and work with pace. Right now none of the players believe in themselves and this is telling.

    Finally, the 2nd half today our start was a sign that they came out like that to fight for Pride and not for the fact they should be privileged to be wearing the shirt at the Emirates. The indication was clear because as soon as it went 1-1 they got some of their pride back and dropped off..god for the life of me I dont get it.

    This leads me to why FL is not the man for the job – just to rid of any potential love story like United and Oli.
    The point is, what does Roger’s Klopp Pep all have in common? They give their players the confidence to go and play football and believe in themselves and others and what they are doing.

    Wenger was the master of this. For some reason our new board felt we needed a kick up the backside and a school teacher as a manager with 100% dictatorship (apparently wenger was a dictator.lol) even during matches. It made unai on paper a good choice. But the wrong outcome was evident in the end.

    We need a manager who will give us the confidence again, because we do have some very talented players. Unfortunately the current levels is likely to scare off Roger’s and Poch and co.

    Meaning we might well need to settle for a 2nd rate manager for a few seasons. FL is not giving the players the confidence they have lost in the space of a season.

    The players have let themselves down, but equally the board have let the fans down. Getting rid of AW seemed to answer all the questions, but just like a divorce, after 20yr and waking up to a stranger the next day, it all just doesnt make enough sense.

    Especially when the plan wasn’t clear enough or smart enough. I do preach patience, but.some self observation must be critical to Raul and co in times like this.

    Arsenal missed a trick, any it might be awhile before they pull a magic trick over our eyes and turn this s*¥t around!!

    But I will remain a loyal fan. Because I have seen how football comes around. And it will come around again for us.

    But fittingly right now it is best to end with the fact I am bitterly disappointed how this talented squad of players have performances since the end of last season. I refuse to believe in all of the weak mind set BS. You have world cup winners, German league winners, premier league winners, champions league players, FA Cup winners and International’s. A new core needs to be brought in and the elements of this attempt needs to be split apart.

    This squad is not good enough to even maintain the disappointing level of being the 4th best team in the league. The Araenal we knew is long gone. Wenger’s blueprint has crumbled in 1 and a half years. It’s a sad day.

      1. Clearly you stop at the name on the back of the shirt too?!!!!

        Is Torriera or Gendouzi a better passer in the same position??????????????????????????????????????

  27. Embarrassing. AW left a poor team which has now got even worse, a wasted 18 months a team drifting with no direction or purpose. The much vaunted Academy players are not good enough for this level of football. If the board are actively looking for a top manager/head coach they should keep the supporters informed of any progress not hide behind their desks and let Freddie take the flak.

    The Kroenke’s should be looking to make changes at the top if they want to protect their investment which is being eroded rapidly. Sitting on hands time is over AFC have just been outplayed by Brighton at the Emirates!!

    1. Which channels show champion ship matches? Is it sky or Bt sports? I will buy subscription for that one next season. …bye bye primer league, hello championship.

  28. This team is now in a real crisis. I have said it before this is a poor squad. The squad needs a major overhaul especially in defence and midfield.
    In addition, the team needs much better organisation. The team balance is not better under Freddie. There is a persistent lack of awareness, tactical nous and focus through the squad.
    Look at what happens when the ball is turned over or someone is out of position. Far too often I see players complaining, putting their hands up etc. instead of getting back into position, filling in gaps etc.

    1. I disagree …our squad is not that bad. It’s the wrong selection, wrong tactics n wrong approach to a game that has led us here. Like any other sports the team/players feed on confidence n they show case their best abilities when they are given that confidence. Bad management n bad decision have completely destroyed our team confidence that’s why our players look like garbage apart from few of them who are garbage….we need a big name manager, so that his name n mantality can restore that confidence back into the players which UE destroyed.

  29. Forgive me but I cannot trust any defensive player in this team anymore, the team lacks it all, from defense to creativity, guts, passion and all. Do you notice how even Emery lost his passion since the season began???

    He wanted Zaha, he got Pepe (though i believe he will still come good)

    He wanted Upamecano, he got Liuz, in his first summer he wanted Nzozi, he got Torreira etc
    My point is, if the club do not COMPLETELY support the manager with quality
    signings, well, God help us, except we stumble on an exceptionally good manager

    It is so bad i always find a way to blame Wenger for all these, cos if had gone early, we would have gotten Klopp and the rest might have been history…

  30. What can I say, Newcastle win away while we go down home. The only two away wins this week, actually away wins are three, but we cannot count City away win because it’s normal work day at office.

    I support Juventus in Italy beside Arsenal in Europe, my home country team wears black and white, I always has soft spot for Newcastle for obvious reasons. Why this comparisons.

    I am going to support Newcastle on loan untill the end of season…. Every time Arsenal lose I go without food for two day only go for water now I am a walking skeleton, that’s the vow I made.

  31. These players are stealing their wages. When you get paid very big wages but give nothing in return………that’s called stealing.

  32. Stop the rot and forget about attacking football. Bring in chambers and holding as central defenders and have torreira and guendouzi hold there position in front of them. How many times over the last month have teams just strolled through our midfield because they are out of position to high up on the pitch. Have Auba, pepe and martinelli as a front three and play the long ball. Get Adams to assist and bring back boring boring Arsenal or watch us get relegated.

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