Arsenal Debate – Surely a point with ten men away from home is a positive thing?

Mikel Arteta was aiming for his third win in a row as Arsenal coach, and after a fast and positive start against Crystal Palace it looked like it was highly likely.

But as usual the wheels came off in the second half and a few seconds of inattentiveness allowed the Eagles to get back into the game, and then when Aubameyang was sent off by VAR it looked like Arsenal were on the ropes and heading for another defeat.

But we rallied and held the Eagles at bay, and even came close to winning the game. Surely it is a positive that we didn’t just roll over and give our opponents the game? As our big Greek defender Sokratis said after the match on Arsenal.com: “In the end, if you play with 10 men then yes. But if we watch the game back again we’re disappointed because I think that we played much better than them. We had lots of chances to win the game.”

He also thought that it was only bad luck that Palace equalised at all. “A little bit of it is us switching off and we were also unlucky because the ball came off David. I think that we fought afterwards and in the end we are not happy. We did much better than the other team but a point is a point.”

And of course he was pleased that we showed we could still battle, even when we had to play the last 20 mins with ten men. “We had the chances and we were unlucky.” he added. “I am very happy that we showed this spirit, especially after the red card. I think that this period has been better with what we’re doing right now, that we’re fighting all together, than how it was two or three months ago. We have to look forward, improve and play better of course, but with this spirit.”

So we can all be negative that it was two points dropped, but considering the way we were playing under Emery, I think that the fact that we have now gone three games without a defeat, and are trying hard to win, is nothing but a positive in my eyes.

What do you think?

Admin Pat

30 Comments

  1. Arteta is doing a good job, it’s the same squad as emery had, but already there a lot better, look no manager would make this squad into a top 4 side, we need to get rid of the championship players we have on board, we need 2 cb..
    1dm…2 cm.. 1 left winger..
    1cf if auba leaves and then we will see our arsenal back…

    1. @Jim Wall
      People keep going on about what we need. I’m sure Arteta and the board /management are all well aware of this. Reality being, this is what we got… We gotta find a way of making do with that… IJS

      1. NY_Gunner, But you overlook, or at least fail to mention the fact, that our owner and to some extent the board are the ONLY ones who can give MA half a chance of success by injecting PROPER, funds into the team. As you say, all, including owner, board, MA and the football world are only too aware of that. BUT the ones who can change it are absent, neglectful and on a different continent. And on a different mindset from us fans,WHO ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO TRULY CARE, too.(MA and the players apart).

          1. NO! They are obviously not. They also live on different continents and the owners are remnote in every way. You obvioulsy do not like facing the plain truth. Just as I am not you either and thank goodness for that. The management runs day to day business, while KROENKE COUNTS HIS WEALTH IN USA AND CARES NOTHING FOR ARSENAL, SAVE WHERE IT AFFECTS HIS POCKET.

  2. Yes. We’re fighting more now then all season.

    Our defence is surprisingly a lot better even without Tierney, Bellerin

    It was Aubameyangs fault for the Red but I don’t really blame anyone for the goal. And Aubameyang is a GOOD guy so I’m not bothered that much. He also scored our goal

    It isn’t the result I wanted but under the circumstances, it was far from a terrible result

    1. Auba went to defend. If somebody had covered his space Auba wouldn’t have been there. He made a mistake because he’s a striker. Not how he’s been covering our LB of recent.

  3. All that is good about our club right now is entirely because of MA. He is being held back every moment of every hour by the appalling owner, the long term damage done by the equally appalling and charletan Gazidis and the sheer lack of quality in defence and midfield. Rather like a commander of an army who is charged with invading a fortress castle set high on a hil, armed only with a few water pistols and childrens catapults! My heart goes out to MA for his courage, beyond all sense of duty and for the sheer emormity of his taskin taking this club to better days. I dream that at a mere 37, he will outlast Kroenke and son, Klopp Guariola and all other managers who have vital help from their owners and boards. OUR OWNER AND BOARD ARE FIT ONLY FOR A SKIP!

    1. Only fit for landfill, Jon, they are not even worthy of being recycled !……………….out with the trash!

  4. Lets look at the facts!…………………….we were playing a team above us…………………we were playing away……………..we played a third of the game with ten men…………..we are in a transitional period under a new manager…………..a well earned point.
    Next season we could challenge again for top 4 once the players are upto stratch with Arteta`s philosophy and are also in the physical condition for the application of it!………..as Eddie suggested on a previous post, you cannot turn a team of average atheletes into marathon runners after just a few weeks it takes time and proper training and conditioning and I say this from experience not just the bloody obviousness of it!

  5. The ten-men team played almost as solid as they were in the first half

    I’m glad the board gambled on Arteta, because he brought Guardiola’s advanced tactics to Arsenal

    1. Thank you. For the first time the Board knew what of us did not know. Though I don’t know if the sincerely hired MA because he’s good.
      We’ve gotten a certain Pep G for a cheap.

  6. Anyone else looking forward to seeing who Arteta favours with the armband while Auba’s away?
    Hope it is NOT Xhaka
    And I think Ozil is doing ok without the added burden of captaincy.
    By contrast, the player who for me has been much improved since MA’s arrived and I think would positively relish the job and actually thrive with the honour is… the crazy one – David Luiz.

    1. Probably Luiz by the look of it, he looks to have taken a more active role in speaking to his defenders. Luiz is who I think will get it if Sokratis doesn’t.

    2. Exactly. DL. He has improved a lot. This Arteta is a magician. Don’t say am praising him too early. If you’ve watch our boy under UE and FJ this season you’ll know what am talking about.

  7. It’s good that the players are still working, we should never stop appreciating that, esp the fans who go to the games, it’s great when our team inspires the fans and the fans do the same for the team. We were a little unlucky but some of it was choosing the wrong option in final third, I won’t dig anyone out.

    Their GK saved them the point in the end with that knock onto the post before smothering the rebound, 7 or 8 times from 10 that had goal written all over it.

    No Aubameyang now for a few games, now step up Martinelli. Pepe too has an opportunity here. Saka another option. It’ll be interesting to see how they perform.

    Did anyone say yet that that red card was a real “strikers challenge”

  8. Now lets be honest,MA is doing a very good job but i cant see why we didnt beat crystal palace yesterday.We started well.
    Good goal. great linkup between ozil laca auba.
    We were in control.
    Torreira and niles were a bit under pressure but they did quite well against zaha and co,our whole defence did ok yesterday.
    Pepe had some very bad touches and his pressing and tracking back is questionable but improved than in emery’s period.
    The problem i find is the transition,many people blaming ozil for yesterday’s performance but was he getting the ball.When he got it we saw what he can do(that david luuz pass is superb)but torreira nor xhaka was making that penetrating pass.We targeted the right flank yesterday through long balls and we did a good job but if we are not going to play the link up game why play ozil?Why make him a scapegoat.Torreira and xhaka have to be brave and niles didnt play the inverted role yesterday maybe coz of Zaha.But the way i see it we need ceballos or a good cm in the team,to make those penetrating passes,the passes fernandinho,gundogan and silva are doing in man city.
    KDB would struggle if he wont get the passes and if he has to come deep to get the ball,that has been ozils case.He needs those passes so in my opinion we need a guy like ceballos in our team as soon as possible.

  9. Leno needs to learn to take steps before he dives
    He would have caught that ball since it wasn’t fast enough.

    I think arsenal need a right winger and a defensive midfielder this January to be consistent

  10. When lady luck isn’t on your side, there isn’t much you can do!
    Their goal with that deflection!
    Pepe hitting the post!
    Torreira injured
    Auba red….
    Was disappointing over all, but you have to applaud what Mikel has achieved since he’s been with us!

  11. I’m not happy with the result but the performances are better. Wasn’t the greatest game to watch and although a bit unlucky we still need that extra to put teams away when we are on top as was the case in the first half. Pepe is close to clicking into the team now and we are better defensively. I hope all the talk about relegation has stopped and I for one and starting to look at how high we can reasonably finish in the table. I’m hoping to push hard for top four although expect that to be a job to much this season now.

  12. Firstly credit to Mikel Arteta. It’s clear he is a committed, intense, skilled manager who gets everybody on board. Because of that the team and squad have had a spotlight shined on them and it’s becoming clear who are not up to his needs, or we the supporters needs. IMHO, Socratis, Luiz and Holding and especially Mustafi are not good enough on their football ability alone and should not be playing for us. Xhaka has a lack of mindfulness and brings recklessness to such a degree he can adversely affect games. Ozil is good enough but not for certain style games. Torreira, Guendouzi and Ceballos are all potentially top players. Aubamayang, Pepe and Lacazette are top players (with the problem that Lacazette is too too emotional on the pitch, but a really good player). Martinelli is top notch, Saka has big potential but as a wing back but is a little boy and not built for defending yet. AMN is learning to be mindful and concentrate, well done AMN. Nelson needs more confidence, bit like Raheem Sterling once did, to take on and take on players, or he could end up being ordinary. Willock needs games but not overexposure and too many games. In essence we need in THIS window what we factually need. A CB desperately. We cannot go on with Mustafi, Holding, Luiz and Socratis. They are not even Championship level. We also need either a box to box, a la Viera/Ramsey, or a top level playmaker who gets stuck in. 2-3 players CB, BB, playmaker. Arteta is great but many in the squad are shit. We need out useless owners to bring them in now. We are in such a low position because that’s our level at the moment and without reinforcements that’s where we will stay.

    1. I’m not sure the quality players that you say the team needs are available right now and even if they were Arsenal aren’t in a position to get them. Money as in lack of it doesn’t help either.

      One regular poster on this site explained to me that over too long a period Arsenal made poor decisions on players, contracts etc to the financial demise of our spending power as we can’t sell on players for a profit or getting nothing when contracts are rundown. Added to that when the salary structure goes through the roof for one player then that doesn’t help either (and I’m not Ozil bashing)
      It’s just the way the club has been managed

      1. SueP
        If that’s true we must accept that we are in a position that this current squad will probably leave us in….bog ordinary. If the owners want to invest that can change, but if you study their American affairs you will discover the owners care not for the supporters or AFC.

        1. Hi Sean
          Someone on here mentioned financial fair play to me and said that the owner could only put in a limited amount over the short term. He said that it was the poor track record of the former hierarchy that caused us to be cash strapped

          All very depressing but the silver lining is MA who I think could be in contention for greatness 🤞🤞

  13. Whether we have invested badly, don’t have the money (but the Kroenke’s do have money), it is more clear than daylight that players like Grealish, Maddison, Boubakary Soumare, would improve our midfield no end. Our club, Emery/Kroenke, in their idiocy, let Aaron Ramsey in his prime go. Lunacy or lunacy??? We need his replacement. So it falls to the multi-billionaire Kroenke’s to put their hands in their pockets. In the long term one of the above mentioned, with with a top CB, makes a better team, and in the long term make the Kroenke’s money. A more valuable club. But long term is not Kroenke language. They look in one direction only…… Los Angeles. Everything else in their Portfolio, decomposes. The Kroenke’s may well suffocate all Mikel Arteta’s talents. Man City did not do that.

    1. Ramsey left for money pure and simple.
      He saw Sanchez get 500k p/w at Man U and thought that’s a bit of me
      and demanded a huge salary increase.
      When he did not get what he wanted he deliberately ran down his contract.
      Kroenke would not be held to ransom and Emery also would not bow down to greed.
      Besides we don’t miss Ramsey Debuchy Jenkinson Chambers Elneny Mkhitarian
      Walcott Chamberlain Sanchez Iwobi Wellbeck just like we won’t miss Ozil
      Mustafi Socritis Luiz and Lacazette.

        1. If Ramsey had really wanted to stay, actions not words, he would have signed the contract in front of him. Instead he ran his contract down and left on a free.

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