Arsenal limped to a 2-1 win over Cardiff City tonight in what turned out to be a much tougher match-up than expected.
The visitors came here with little hope of a result, but also with heavy hearts after the recent tragedy surrounding the club. There was plenty of respect shown for the missing (presumed dead) pilot and Cardiff’s recent signing Emiliano Sala.
We started the match in bright style, attacking quickly and smartly and had a number of chances in the opening 25 minutes, but our opponents managed to get themselves into the match, and I have to say were the better team for the rest of the first half.
Once again we go into the break level, but I think we needed the break to reorganise ourselves and get back on track.
We were much more switched on after the interval but continued to struggle to get that final ball to the right man, and thankfully the right decision was made after some more positive play by Sead Kolasinac.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is up to take the spot-kick, and how calmly does he slot that away… It’s now ours to lose.
Cardiff continued to try and get themselves back on level terms, but failed to give Leno any serious challenges, and Lacazette put the game to bed with less than 10 minutes left on the clock thanks to Aubameyang’s lay-off.
When five added minutes were put up on the clock, nobody could have expected a resurgence, but the passionate visiting side managed to grab a goal back through a substitution, but that wasn’t enough for a point.
Cardiff may feel a little hard done by, but overall, the best team won.
Would this display have been punished by a better side?
Pat J
Most players played decently tonight, but the forwards could not penetrate Cardiff’s defense. Luckily Lacazette scored a wonderful striker goal in the end
If there is a new winger coming in January, hopefully he is the type of attacker that can break the deadlock. Guendouzi is one of the players that dares to take high risk and Arsenal need more players like that
Iwobi even though average has highlighted throughout he season what a wingers could do for Arsenal.If only he had end product and was good enough he would be been one of our best players for this team which is seriously lacking in width.It is wishful thinking to think a front lineup of Laca,Auba and Ozil will produce the goods just because they are good.There’s not one player there who bothers to try to run at the opposition’s defenders.All they know is pass,link up or smash it into the net.I don’t know why he hasn’t employed the 4-2-3-1 system throughout the season seeing as that worked relatively better for us as compared to what we have been seeing.
Iwobi has loads of talents and I agree that he is the only one that dares to run at the opponents
4-2-3-1 is vulnerable to quick counter-attacks, as proven in many seasons, but it is quite effective for attacking at home
Iwobi even though average has highlighted throughout he season what a wingers could do for Arsenal.If only he had end product and was good enough he would’ve been one of our best players for this team which is seriously lacking in width.It is wishful thinking to think a front lineup of Laca,Auba and Ozil will produce the goods just because they are good.There’s not one player there who bothers to try to run at the opposition’s defenders.All they know is pass,link up or smash it into the net.I don’t know why he hasn’t employed the 4-2-3-1 system throughout the season seeing as that worked relatively better for us as compared to what we have been seeing.
Iwobi by far our best player tonight for the period he was on the pitch and as expected, he was the difference today. His excellent vision created that opportunity for Kolasinac to win our penalty. I love the understanding those 2 now seem to have and Emery must continue to utilize it.
No Lichtsteiner was our best player tonight
Sue, Lichtsteiner stepped up against Cardiff; let’s hope it continues.
Hmm I’m not so sure Ozzie, I was being a little sarcastic for Th14 ?
Excuse me? “Luckily”? Surely that is incorrect language. Nothing “lucky” about his terrific goal , so it cannot be truthfully described as “luckily”. It cannot be both “wonderful” and “luckily”! Can it!!!
The important pedantry apart, I agree with your Guendouzi comment perhaps even more than most Gooners. I am CERTAIN this talented though inexperienced player will become a major star. The way he changes play and esp at his tender age is exceptional, though he has a way to go yet before becoming the player he is, IMO, certain to become. He always looks to make play, totally unlike the always play safe/ sideways/ backwards and extremely limited Elneny.
One main reason the forwards were so well held, esp in first half was the complete ineffectiveness of OZIL, bizarrely made captain -or supposedly our “leader”- last night. He clearly picked the wrong start eleven again, as he has done many times this season. Both Ramsey and Iwobi should have started, instead of the woefully limited Elneny(who is well out of his depth at our level) and the woefully lacking in character Ozil.
Jon..
Concur
Said it in the past and will say it again
Ozil does not suit our play. He is a luxury player we can ill afford to carry any longer.
Believe the boss feels the same but afc have to justify playing him every now and then for wages sake.
As I have been saying for several months now Iwobi is average but must still start in the team because he’s the closest to a winger and can also beat his man.When Arsenal get someone decent then they can bench him.I’ve not been impressed with Unai Emery’s tactics so far this season at all.Earlier in the season when he was being called a tactician I felt he always made the expected substitutions because he usually left some of our good players for e.g Torreira on the bench.He keeps going for defensively minded midfield and I don’t get why Ramsey has generally been played out of position this season i.e used as a No. 10.He keeps changing lineup and tweaking things but he never learns evident in him making the same mistakes over and over.
Iwobi has good potential to be a great winger, but he must improve his finishing. I hope the new winger would not be his replacement, but someone that could make a good partnership with him, like Chukwueze
The way Emery set up the formations reminds me of Guardiola’s approach last season. Guardiola used 3-5-2, then 4-1-3-2 and finally 4-3-3. Probably he wanted to make his players understand his concept first
Iwobi needs to improve his decision making at the end of his runs. Too many times he shoots instead of passing to someone in a better position or in fact someone who can hit the target.
Will you ever be satisfied Declan? You complain he doesn’t score enough goals and you still complain when he shoots and tries to score… ah! ah!!
I’ve only complained about his final decision, not about his lack of goals. I’m just trying to make the point that he should pass to someone able to score. I like him but a goal scorer he isn’t. As for being not being satisfied, you’re always on here digging people out… ah! ah!
Iwobi is sh1t
Yes he had 1 of his better games last night but cmon he’s just plain trash ?
Can’t wait till we get a decent winger in the summer hopefully
Spot on Dan.
Iwobi runs around like a headless chicken and loses possession nine out of ten times.
Its time for a reality check because at best we have six good players.
I bet you jumped out from your seat and screamed penalty when Kolasinac went down eh? and after the goal you celebrated like a dog with two tails eh? You’re happy we got 3 points too but honestly it would have been different if Emery didn’t bring on Iwobi runs around like a headless chicken and loses possession nine out of ten times don’t you agree? You better put some respeck on his name dingbat..
??dingbat .why on earth should I have to respect a iwobi ,as he ever earned that respect that I must give him?
You talk some crap FairPlay
Why do you think the manager is looking to sign a winger ?because the ones we have are dogsh1t that’s why .
Yes old flappy arms had one of his better games but if you or any fan think he’s arsenal quality then we are fcked as a team .
Don’t worry Dan, you’re 100% right, Iwobi is shit. I’m so relieved whenever he’s left out. Don’t sell him, no one would buy him, just give him away
I agree with you Declan.
Iwobi plays like young guys in the neighbourhood… running, flying but at the end 90% of the time no result whatsoever.
I hope he will mature asap cos we wont have Auba, Laza and Ozil forever… expecially whene there was finally confirmed by AFTV that Ozil has a back problem thruout this season
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Yes because everyone knows that AFTV is the official source for Arsenal FC, it’s not like Arsenal demanded them to drop the name after there constant berating of Wenger. Ozil said he had a back problem, why would people want to believe AFTV over Ozil.
Why I would believe that he has no
problem with his back and that Emery dsnt want him at the club or his wages are to high for the current money situation at Arsenal?
Will see very soon.
Did you say Ozil? Lmao ?
after 5 years..and heavy spending
Liverfool finally won the title
They almost did it with Rodgers and Suarez, now they finally have the real chance to clinch it with Klopp and Salah
Arsenal used to have that great team with Wenger and Henry, so hopefully they can repeat the same success with Emery and Aubameyang
they are guaranteed to win 99.99% based on past winners history….
we can too with Emery but he needs time to build a team and a few more summer transfer window…..
Aubameyang is 30yo …..hes quality but not sure we can win it with him as hes ageing
John, Your stats are just not true . Nowhere near. We won the title from being ten points behind United. United won it from twelve behing Newcastle and City won it from being eight behind United with only five games left. Claiming wrong stats as truth, dreadfully wrong too, is not helpful. If it had even happened just once from Liverpools current advantage point, it would have needed ten thousand seasons to make your stats even close. ONCE IN TEN THOUSAND SEASONS. Pedantry is also accuracy, though some don’t think accuracy matters. I do!
Gutted ???
Me too. If they win it we will be hearing about it for the next 20 years, lucky for me I won’t be around. But I will definitely wearing sun glasses when they interview Klopp (if they do). Mind you, I am not writing off City quite yet!!!
It’ll be a dark day indeed! Haha I’m with you on the sunglasses Andrew! Imagine Klopp & Firmino being interviewed together… be like a bloody eclipse! ?
Sorry Sue, Just noticed you beat me to the same comment. By contrast my own teeth are far from bright. Both of them!!
Great minds ?
Haha just the two Jon?!
You think I have a great mind Sue? Then would you mind telling my beloved, also called Sue!
No problem ?
Andrew, Imagine the glare when Klopp and Firmano converse!
What amazes me is that if hell freezes over on Sunday and we win at The Etihad we will only be six points behind City. Very strange season.
Now that City has slept a couple of times we fancy a double at the Etihad. No way Hose, not with this defence… We got lucky today like always… A decent team would have converted Cardiff’s chances into goals. Let’s see who we bring in till Friday. I really doubt on Perisic though, he is almost 30 and doesn’t deserve his price tag of 35million pounds.
It’s Jose!!
NOT HOSE!!!! thats what you use on the lawn.
Haha Jose may also be used to cut the lawn after his latest shambles.. Thanks for the correction by the way…
In Portuguese Jose is pronounced Jose , in Spanish Jose is pronounced Hose. So you’re both right.
Apart from his hefty price tag, Sky Sports said Perisic is rumored to have 250,000 per week. Those numbers must be calculated from his contributions in World Cup
I hope they cancel the deal, but it is fine if Inter want a swap with Ozil
I thought that the average wages in Italy were much lower than in the Premier league.. If that’s true there is no way we are going to sign him and I don’t see Özil going the other way having played tonight. It was also reported that Inter wanted to pay only the half of Özils wages what makes the whole deal much more difficult. I wouldn’t mind having him for the rest of the season though..But 35million is way to much for him…
OptaJoe
✔
@OptaJoe
500 – Mesut Özil has just created his 500th goalscoring chance for a teammate in the Premier League. Since his debut in the competition back in September 2013, only Christian Eriksen (510) has created more. Creator. #ARSCAR
It’s not true.Perisic will earn around £105,000-£125,000 a week.Some of the salaries being quoted and making rounds are also before tax too.Dont believe them.If Perisic is not coming it’s because we are not agreeing to Inter’s terms i.e loan + obligation to buy Perisic and not because of wages.
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Please don’t take any notice of what Sky Sports say. Everything they say about our club is negative.
sadly emery has no visible football style and combined with a bog average squad it makes for a pragmatic but boring football which is aimed at desperately trying to grab 4th place on hope other teams will falter … this works for the greedy yank who doesnt give a s*** about what fans want or what was promised with the shiny new stadium and some of highest gate prices in football … sad state of a once great club
For now let’s take the “the greed yanks” out of the equation. Is our team poor enough to lose to the likes of southhampton, west ham etc. I’m not one that usually criticize our team but I’m afraid to say I have not seen much about that gives me hope he can make us great again. However, I’m eagerly wait to see how he performs when he gets his players in.
rkw, how can Emery develop a style of play when chopping and changing players, as they go through the revolving door between the pitch and the treatment room?
It was just as true when we had the unbeaten run and a consistent set of available players … Emery has been unlucky with injuries in recent weeks but to a defence which was already weak … I can see what seri is trying at Chelsea even though it’s not polished and it makes s nose to bring in higuen even though I don’t rate him personally … You can see what solskjar has done at man utd even though I don’t think he will last … But what Emery is trying to do is a mystery to me which I’m happy to be corrected on but the transfer window seems to me to reflect the greed of the yank for sure but also the lack of any clear game plan in Emery
Rkw, don’t you mean Sarri, manager of Chelsea, not Seri the French midfielder?
At least Emery has not criticized his players to the media in public.
Ozzie, how indeed! Be assured though are also some sane fans on here who understand why he has had little chance so far. To be where we are with those “defenders” still left and no proper money to spend is little short of miraculous.
He has certainly made selection mistakes – virtually ALL Gooners would accept that truth – and he did again last night with the woeful Elneny and the woefully lacking in grit Ozil (instead of Ramsey and Iwobi). But the massive and regualr improvement in all round grit, fight and refusal to be bullied, which happened so regularly under Wenger, are largely ignored by so many irrational folk on here. Not by me though!
Also jon, in response to Rkw Emery started the season with 2 long term injuries to CB’s Koscielny and Mavropanos and things haven’t improved.
how many times do we have to repeat there are no longer any easy games,I think it is a good night if you look at the other results,man u drew with Burnley,man city lost….now we need both chelsea and spurs to drop points!!
This is a perfect night and I hope Man City’s confidence is dented due to the loss
Hope is the right word especially with our depleted defence. But you never know, if the Geordies can do it so can we!!!
Exactly Andrew… I honestly thought City would stuff them! So yes there is hope…. but does that mean we’ll be wearing that green kit on Sunday?? Enough said ?
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What we learnt…
Awful first half yet again, and we should have been at least 2 down. City may destroy us at the weekend, unless we tighten up. Although they just lost to Newcastle! So maybe some hope for us.
Guendouzi was our star man! He was everywhere! Creating, tackling, heading, tracking back, making forward runs. 2 fantastic passes in the first 2 minutes, one being a defence splitting pass for Kolasinac from him. He was our playmaker, not Ozil.
Yet another poor showing from Ozil. Involved a lot in the build, but again, all risk free, easy short passes, and barely created anything in the final third. Better stamina today, and his hair looked nice…that’s all I can say.
We looked so much better without Xhaka, More mobility in central midfield, and no passes given away in key areas.
Great to see the legend Jenkinson back!
And finally…Utd are still jammy bas*****
If Guendouzi doesn’t suffer a grave injury and keeps playing with the main players, I predict he could play for France national football team in the future
He is very confident and dominant like Pogba. I like his energy and guts, but usually EPL defenders are tough against a high risk player like him
Guendouzi was really great, and Torreira good as always, and I agree that it was very nice to watch a game without Xhaka – a player from 20th century, but for all of you who are still picking up on Ozil, tonight Robby from AFTV confirmed that Ozil has a real problem with his back thruout this season.
As far as I know, on the other hand, Wenger’s golden boy Ramsey has no visible injury but nobody mentioning him when he s shitty on the pitch (as today and 90% of games).
Ramsey has taken a hammering for years from fans, including myself. I’am glad he’s finally leaving.
Do not use Ozil’s back issues to excuse his poor performances. If Ozil’s back was that bad, then surely he wouldn’t even be available? Secondly, how does a bad back affect ones creativity? I can understand it affecting him physically, but he can still manage to pass a ball, yet he never seems to make any risky passes or incisive passes in the final third. This season, Geundouzi has been a much more effective playmaker than Ozil.
Third Man JW, Be reassured , because I am certain Ozil will be gone from us by next August and I can hardly wait for this disaster of a conning coward and damaging player(salary wise) to be out the door. All my life I have counselled against EVER keeping idle players . I was Walcotts implacable enemy for this very reason and KEEPING OZIL IS A FARCE. HE JUST ISN’T BOTHERED, AND CAN’T BE ARSED TO WORK, FRANKLY. HE IS JUST TAKING US FOR FOOLS ON HIS VAST AND IDIOTICALLY AWARDED SALARY , ENJOYING LONDON SOCIAL LIFE AND FEIGNING BOGUS INJURY WHEN IT IS TOO COLD OR WHEN HE WANTS A NIGHT OFF. HE MUST GO. AND HE WILL!!!
Total agreement about Guendouzi, who is a top player in the making and he has balls too. Eh Ozil?
JonFox… you really hate the guy,
I wonder why is that and I hope that mostly you are sad that our poor Kronke has to pay him this big wages…
…I hope it is not something else besides football reasons.
Every player has upsidesdownsides and Ozilis not above that. Future will show where he will play next season and thats it. No need of hate.
Yesterday Auba and Laza have problems controling the ball so it can happen to anyone… even to City bit ManUtd will always put at least one in a bloody “Fergie time”.
Everything you have said about Ozil is funny.
Did you ever play football?
When you have a back problem or any kind of problem and when you are not fit 100% it efects your perfomance in a BIG way!
No. 10 footballer is not a painter that he can have a pain and still paint masterworks.
Man u draw and city lost 3 points but ARSENAL won….no complain….
Best comment tonight for me. We won! Ugly? Yes! But we Won.
You may want to ask the Manchester clubs how easy it is to win…
Anyone who didn’t watch the match and reading comment on here would think we lost…
Fantastic points today, we played awful but we got the win and that’s all that matters. It looks like a bad week for the big 6 and to get 3 points is vital
Teams that sit back and mark man for man like Cardiff did or Newcastle did against city means finding openings are so difficult.
This is were width is important or a master assister (is that a word?) Like ozil. Unfortunately ozil started high up close to Laca and ended up dropping deeper and deeper just to get the ball.
In the end personal quality was again the difference for us then team performance.
Beat city on Sunday and we are 6pts behind them. I make that statement to show in our grand scheme of a poor season full of injuries, boardroom drama, transfer budget issues, new manager… we are in a ‘2 game handicap’ of last years league winners.
(*handicap referring to the amount of games we need extra to be on par – like golf. Ideally you want to be on par)
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Iwobi is a good player, he made many key passes today one of them led to our penalty. He is one of the best players arsenal has presently. As per Ozil, pure liability now. Nothing special about him anymore. I don’t know why he’s going down like that
Not the greatest of games but at least we won… a bloody clean sheet would have been nice though…
Mike Dean Is still a massive bell end! As if that was ever going to change ?
I’m absolutely gutted about City losing & United coming back to draw… so Liverpool will win tomorrow and they’ll be on their way to winning the league ?
Glad.to see Jenko back! Will Ozil.be sold??? Lichtsteiner’a highlight of the game was man-handling the linesman ???
Have you thawed out yet Sue ? ? Well I’m sure if you’re still in a block of ice you go home happy with the 3 points ? I had a feeling city would slip up tonight and save their best football against us ? doubt Ozil will be sold Sue there’s no one out there crazy enough to take on those wages of his ?
Just about John!! Reminded me of Lapland ? was a bit gutted tonight Ozil wasn’t very good… when he came off, just made me wonder if something is happening behind the scenes (with him going I mean)
Well if we turn up wearing that green kit then that’s a foregone conclusion!!! ? you should have net on City!!
Alex Manninger was part of the half time entertainment…. bless him!!!
Bet not net!!
Haha there is a nip in the air ? thing is Sue Ozil usually isn’t ? he only bothers turning up every full moon ? if it allows us to bring in 2 players I’ll be happy with that ? if we turn up in that green kit I’m watching the game in black and white! I haven’t seen him in years think he played a few games for lpool a while back before hanging up the old size 13’s ? best game I remember him having was at old Trafford ? Leicester better win tomorrow night ?
They showed clips of that game whilst they were talking to him!! That was when we knew how to win at Old Trafford!!!
Oh Christ yes.. if they don’t imagine having to listen to all the Liverpool fans!!! Christ kill me now ???
Every full moon… Well if that’s the case I’ll know when to book my tickets for ??
Haven’t won there since ? (jokes) well I think they might just do it this year Sue and if they do we’ll never hear the end of it ? they still brag about the European cups and most of them were won when Gone with the wind was in the cinema ? not if big Unai sends him on his way before Thursday night ? ?
Oh god it’s gonna be awful if they do! Some old boy said to me earlier when was the last time you won the league? So I said 2004… he said that’s sh*t ain’t it?? You’re having a laugh when was the last time you did?? Oh you ain’t won the PL… soon shut him up! ??
We’ll just have to hope for a Stevie G slip of some sort ?
Haha gone with the wind!!! Love it!!
Haha less of the praying hands you!! ?? you might be gutted waking up Friday morning to see he’s still on our books ?
Was the old geezer a Liverpool fan or Cardiff ? ? I’m guessing he wasn’t Cardiff because well… They’re Cardiff haha. Gonna need a divine intervention to get rid of Ozil Sue ? haha a Jordan Henderson slip maybe ? And they do host Chelsea on the Horizon could it be ? ? I heard Poch saying Totts are on a par with Real Madrid and they’re a victim of their own success.. 2 things.. the only similarity Totts have with Real Madrid is that they both wear white and what bloody Success dumped out of 2 competitions in 3 days lol I think Poch had a knock on the head after the palace game ?
He was Liverpool ? any of them to slip will do nicely!! That’s the only thing I like when they play Chelsea…. that Stevie G chant… I sing along to it!! ?
What on earth is Poch on??? Although Real haven’t been very good since Cristiano left…. so he may have a point ?? and how beautiful those 3 days were… get in there ???
Haha success my arse!!!
I don’t know Sue some sort of hallucinogenic or maybe he was on the hippie crack with Aubameyang and Guendouzi ? haha making sure they don’t live it down ? he was probably on a tricycle when Liverpool were winning league’s ? apparently success is finishing in the top 4 and getting dumped out of semi finals by Chelsea and of course drawing with the Barcelona C team at the nou camp ?
I think you’re right.. or he was paid to say it!!
A tricycle ???
What exactly have they got in their trophy cabinet besides dust??
Haha with that new stadium Sue ? Poch is probably being paid IOU’s they’re gonna be skint for the next 10 years ? haha yeah with cob webs over the last trophy they won ? well Sue I hope you got home safely and when I come back on here I hope we have a few more signings and Ozil is modelling the Inter Milan shirt ? I know you’re a fan of his so I’ll say no more on that ?
Inter Milan ??? in your dreams hey?!!
I get enough grief for being an Ozil fan…??
Yes let’s hope we do… keep seeing Suarez is done & dusted!
Have a good rest of the week & don’t work too hard ??
Yeah Sue Suarez is as good as done apparently ? not sure how that will pan out as I don’t know much about him but we’re desperate for signings so I’ll take that all day long ? haha well at least he has one supporter ? I’ll just have to keep tuned into Inter Milan transfer news for next 2 days ?. God I don’t know that depends on the weather Sue the joys of the great outdoors ?
Yep I’ll take that too – he can’t be that bad if he’s on Barca’s books!! He might do well for us, here’s hoping hey!!
Haha one supporter… I know of at least 5 on here ? other fans took to Twitter & said the same as I did about when he was subbed, it looked weird…. Well don’t over do it with Inter Milan’s news just in case you know ?
Ice fishing anyone?! ?
So cold yesterday, that when getting home, I got in the fridge; to warm up!
Tonight Robby from AFTV confirmed that Ozil has a real problem with his back thruout this season.
Robby! The oracle????
He had a bigger problem with his character- or in trying to even find it! And he has had this problem all his Arsenal career. Sublime talent without guts is useless. MANY ARE NOW SEEING THIS FOR THE FIRST, TIME THOUGH IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN PLAIN HE IS BONE IDLE.
I actually hope Liverpool, rather than City win the title, even though City losing last night cost me a packet. Simply because Liverpool are a properly run club and team using money they earned through good boardroom and strong management , rather than corruptly awarded oil money like the Sheik Mansoor at City. Give me honest money every time over corrupt scumbags like the Sheik and Abramovitch. Prior to the Sheik though, I would have agreed with you. The new regime has changed everything. I used to quite like City. Never again!
Also glad to see Jenko back and hope that means LICHT WILL SOON BE DROPPED FOR GOOD. HIS LEGS HAVE GONE, even though he has a welcome dose of attitude.
That Ozil Guy is not needed anymore
Guendouzi manned-up to fill-Up the no. 10 role
So what is he in the team for
Not that he’s not talented, love is flair – but in this present team he’s a huge liability
I listed Cardiff & Huddersfield as the games where we can start Ozil – looks like Unai has same sentiments
Bring in the best Winger in the world, Iwobi ain’t going to the bench NOT THIS SEASON
Our left side creates 70% of our goals
Iwobi makes goal opportunity creation easy for the team
His issue is, though he creates the opportunity, he’s not fine tuned his game to actually finish them off with assists or goals
He and Ozil together are supposed to be one player, as one has what the other doesn’t
If Emery can teach Iwobi how to cross a ball and make the right final pass we will have some player on our hands. Emery has a reputation as a great coach so hopefully he will eventually succeed with him.
If u want a sleek-passing-up-and-down-beautifully game
(Without occasional threats on opposition defence and a not-so-physical but flair-filled midfield)
THEN START OZIL
If want a trouble-the-opposition-defence-every-3-minutes game
(Without the certainty of assist or goals from the troublemaker)
THEN START IWOBI
The latter is better, means opposition defence will eventually give-in and as along as the other players are tuned-in, assists will come from anywhere and anybody – MEANING: there shall be Goals
this is exactly what we saw today. And it’s easy to see how Ozil gets his chances created stats so high. People overrate that stat. There was no clear cut chance he created in 1st half yet his stats will still get boost because he finds Lacazette’s run, whose cross is easily blocked, and that counts as a chance created. I would also Arsenal rather go in the latter direction, because the sleek passing is nice to look at but majority of the time it just leads to corners against smaller teams.
and attempting the same through balls throughout the match hoping you catch a defender off guard one of the time.
Ozil is too careful, he doesn’t take enough risks. He hates losing possession, his accuracy must have one of the highest percentage stats for final third play that there is. I would rather he attempted more, and more over the top balls (just a lob) too because even if a defender gets there first, a defender doesn’t want to be on the ball in his own area with players running in. His accuracy stats would suffer, but I’d imagine that his creation stats would yield more results.
Happy with the win disappointed with the performance but the 3 points is more important than anything! Would have been nice if Burnley hung on but unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be! At least we got an easy game on Sunday should be a 3-0 away win ?
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Frustrating performance. Cardiff at Emirates should be easy pickings yet we struggled. I’m always happy for the 3 points but no chance these kinds of performances will get us back in UCL. I know it’s a negative thing to say but it just feels like United leapfrogging us has been delayed. Unless we get in two players that can help change our fortunes. Iwobi game changer, but hes one of the playesr that doesnt do it consistently enough to be a certified starter.
I hope you enjoyed the first 45 mins , that’s what you get when Iwobi isn’t playing.
TH14 I said earlier to someone we lack width and I actually would have Iwobi in there! And ultimately I was right we were much better with him playing ?
I watched the game from start to finish on tv and there was a lot of in play replays (USA feed) and if the team put in the effort Iwobi and Guendouzi puts in we would be in a much better position. Iwobi just needs to look up more when he’s beat a couple of the opposition and pass rather than take on one too many players. Some of Guendouzi’s passes were sublime.
What a gem Guendouzi is ?
Yes makes the odd mistake but will be a starter for us for hopefully many years. I really like him
wev’e had 45 minutes just as bad when he was playing. You can’t seriously consider him a consistent player. He’s pants some games, and useful in others.
A win is a win
A win is 3 points
That’s all I care about
My favourite players tonight were Guendouzi (he is my fourth favourite Arsenal player behind Torreia, Lacazette and Aubameyang) Lacazette, Lichtsteiner, and Iwobi
COYG
I liked when Litch reminded Mustafi that the clock was ticking and he seemed to tell him to get his ass on the sideline.
I thought the best three were Laca, Guendouzi, and Iwobi too.
I have to ask the question again; what does Alexander Lacazette have to have done to him to win a penalty? He is fouled, but tries to stay on his feet, but again no penalty! Someone needs to tell him to start falling over.
Lindelof for Manchester United gets a slight push and goes down like he is pole axed; penalty. At Old Trafford there is 5 minutes extra time, without a physio going onto the field the whole second half. Sean Dych had good reason to feel agrieved. Even though Ferguson is gone, Manchester United still gets more than just the “rub of the green”, and still “Fergie Time” influences games.
Given the other results a win against Cardiff was crucial. With the injury crisis Mustafi, Lichtsteiner and Jenkinson played better than expected. Unfortunately the weather conditions didn’t help good flowing football or encourage attendence to support the team.
Agree 100% about Lacazette… amount of times he’s been fouled is unbelievable!
Everything always goes United’s way…. we shouldn’t be surprised!
Yes I was glad to see Jenko back… I also liked the reception Mike Dean received at the start of the game & throughout! Jeez I can’t stand that man!!
Ozzie , you raise an important point about how obviously honest players are constantly penalised by incompetent and cowardly refs. No wonder so many choose to dive, even though that is cheating, as refs are so hopeless and also chinless. I do not accuse refs of actual cheating but there is a grey area , frankly, where many refs know that to award a penalty wil cause them problems, so that almost all constantly avoid giving obvious pens. In every match there are several pens not given , usually at corners and wide free kicks. Almost EVERY corner is full of fouls by both defenders and forwards. Everyone knows this but there is an unhealthy and plain wrong conspiracy of silence. There is a straightforward way to prevent this by realistically strong bans for cheating and also for refs who do not apply the rules but the football authorities refuse to back refs, whose careers are at stake -and it is a career to professional refs who have families to feed – so the real and original blame lies with the spineless and toothless authorities. Shame on them!!!
In addition, we all know the problems Arsenal have at the back due to injuries; however what is the Arsenal midfield doing defensively to allow Cardiff with 30% possession have 17 shots?
Arsenal have to defend as a team.
One thing that did amaze me last night – but not in a good way… there was this guy sat behind me a few rows back who kept calling the whole team the C word if the ball went out of play.. or of they didn’t score etc… bearing in mind we were sat in the family section… family meaning children!! My son is 12 so wasn’t the youngest there, but to keep hearing that word… Well I thought you went to the game to get behind your team & support them, not continually hurl abuse at them! Some supporter that is
Sue, unfortunately some people have grown up in pig styes. I have worked in construction with tough hard men, who couldnt say three words without two of them being expletives. Yet outside of work at the local pub or club in mixed company, no swear words would leave their mouths. Woe betide anyone who dared to swear in front of their wives, girlfriends or sisters.
Unfortunately such self control is lacking today, particularly in the young, and sometimes not so young. I have heard schoolgirls use words that, as we say in Australia, “would make a bullocky blush”!
I can’t understand how the Arsenal stewards allow such behaviour in front of women and children?
Sue, you and your son do NOT have suffer through the idiocy of one moron. Why not approach a steward with his row number and seat number, if possible. Isn’t there now a phone hotline to help prevent this sort of scum from inflicting their spite on proper humans?
Decent people should always stand up against hateful moronic sub humans -though I well understand not by personal confrontation – and clear our grounds of these reptilian imbeciles.
Ozzie & Jon… I did say do you mind there are children here.. but it fell on deaf ears. In all the times I’ve been I’ve never known it like that. Yes I know emotions run high and I don’t expect people to sit there in silence… but when there are children about just think before you open your mouth!!
Thank you both for your comments ?
Yet another unconvincing performance where the visitors had opportunities to score on an number of occasions and failed to do so until late on.Basically our defenders are sub standard with Monreal particularly weak last night.Until quality defenders are brought in we will continue to splutter along regardless of any attacking midfielders we might bring in on loan this week.On a brighter note Guendouzi and Lacazette were very impressive and Iwobi made a difference when he came on.As for Ozil, he continues to contribute precious little and I cannot see him playing against Man City who will out to show their loss to Newcastle was a blip.
I wonder how Suarez will be, really hope he hits the ground running because we do need some more creativity. We’re relying heavily on Auba and Laca and you need more players to pitch in because they aren’t always gonna manage to create and or score.
Iwobi done well yesterday. He kept coming back to midfield to bring a marker with him, he was hard to pick up, he’d dribble a little, lay it off and create space. He also was unlucky to not score that chance, and he put the ball through for the penalty, which it looked like we needed badly.
Lacazette’s determination is brilliant. I liked seeing him getting frustrated and sticking up for Guendouzi, he showed passion. The determination paid off when he just burst towards goal and drove it home.
Guendouzi looked good, but he’s starting to get targeted by teams because he’s usually involved with allot of the play. He just shrugs it off though, which is great to see, amazing to think that he is 19 years of age.
Honestly I see Guendouzi being better than Torriero.
The kid has a future more than Torriero
Torriero is overhyped.
My personal opinion
Finally chel. lost we are 4th
Headline: “Arsenal beat Cardiff but scoreline is flattering once again”
Penultimate sentence: “Cardiff may feel a little hard done by, but overall, the best team won.”
Which is it?
2-1 is as close as you can come to NOT winning a game. If we’d won 4-0, then maybe I’d agree that the scoreline was flattering. But the best team won by a flattering scoreline of 2-1???
Who actually proof reads these articles?