Arsenal have stuttered their way into a 1-1 draw away to Burnley today, but the tie was marred with controversy.
We started the match brightly and were instantly rewarded for their efforts.
Willian plays it over to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the left side of the box, and the Gabon international works his way into the penalty area and crosses past the defender to create space and fires hard and low to the goalkeeper’s right to score in only the sixth minute of play.
We continued to look bright as we piled forwards, causing all sorts of trouble to our rivals, and Bukayo Saka and PEA combined with a delightful one-two to put the youngster in on goal (albeit with some lucky connections off the defence), but he couldn’t get his effort on target from close range.
The youngster wasn’t at his competent best when being put in on goal for a second time shortly after, and the defender eventually dispossesses him as he tries to ready up his shot.
Burnley were doing very little to challenge Bernd Leno, but before you knew it, the nightmare struck.
Our defenders and Leno turned down the chance to clear despite strong pressure on the ball, and the goalkeeper lays it off to Xhaka inside his box before two players close in on the ball. The Swiss midfielder tries to play it to Calum Chambers at RB but fails, and instead his effort cannons off Chris Wood and goes straight into the net.
We went into the break frustrated knowing we could well have found ourselves 4-0 up and coasting, but instead go into the break level.
The Clarets were better in the second-half as they went in search of a winner, but Bernd Leno saved our blushes on a couple of occasions in the opening 20 minutes after the restart, but then we came to life.
I’m a little amazed that none of our clearcut chances were put away. Nicolas Pepe came closest when the defender blocked with his shoulder from near the goal-line, before a late flurry of shots saw Dani Ceballos smash it against the post, and Arsenal will make the trip back to London frustrated knowing that it was two points dropped today.
I’m not entirely sure how the referee and VAR haven’t allowed our penalty when the defender clearly handles the ball inside the box under pressure from Nicolas Pepe, and VAR did step in to overturn a penalty and a red card decision which would have given us the ideal opportunity to close the game out,
but the real issue today was our finishing.
We had 16 shots today but were only able to test the goalkeeper on three occasions, and our confidence will no doubt take a blow after that result.
Patrick
Aubameyang missed one easy chance, Saka missed two sitters and Pepe missed one glorious chance. We should’ve had a penalty, but we can’t miss easy chances so often
@gotanidea, what has the misses got 2 do with a clear penalty appeal deliberately denied. Last season, VAR stole 14 points 4rm us & nobody complained, this year the conspiracy has resurfaced & we are still silent. Shame on English FA, shame on you again.
Had we buried those glorious chances, we wouldn’t have to complain about the handball and our mistake in the back
Calm down. Blame FA, PGMOL, match referees but not gotanidea’s fault.
Okay Xhaka is important and all.
But if Ozil can be replaced, then surely Xhaka is replaceable as well.
No?
Every one of them is expendable.
👍
Xhaka can only be replaced with another left-footed DM. He made a mistake which wasn’t fully his fault, but our attackers should’ve scored more than one goal in the first half
Well said gotanidea.
CB split and Xhaka dropped deep to receive literally calling for the ball….exactly as MA coaches
If Xhaka really didn’t want the pass, why not just clear it??
Could it be because it’s the game plan maybe?
it seems to be the game plan. but this new school defending ain’t working for us. hoof it clear man, kick it wide anything but that.
Since his arrival, he’s been making silly mistakes which cost thr team. But it’s Xhaka, Arsenal fans will protect him and shift the blame to the strikers
Deluded, you know nothing about football . You have been brainwashed to think xhaka can’t be dropped because he is the only left left footed deep lying midfielder . Xavi, iniesta, busquets, kroos, casmiero and modric. Those combination have won six champion s league and lots of league titles and not one of them is left footed.
Totally! And the bugger never gets injured so the manager is never forced to experiment with alternatives. Yes Mikeal Arteta, there is life beyond Granite. Be brave, be resolute.
True 🤣.
But for Xhaka’s position and role, a good alternative unless we bought someone would be Chambers.
Who’d yours be?
👍 Chambers deserves an opportunity as DM, but Xhaka is always the first name on the team sheet.
Burnley unbeaten against us!!! I’m speechless 😖
Lok at how short the comments are Sue – I think we all are… We will play much worse and win by a big margin
Arteta had led usl against Burley 3 times: 1goal for, 2 goals against, 1 loss and 2 draws.. I’m gutted.
Eventhough the team lack creativity, they come up with the most creative ways to frustrate The Fans.
Making four super easy chances in a game showed the creativity of our team
Didn’t it rhyme well? And there is half truth as well right?
We produced more glorious chances from open play in Arteta’s tenure, as compared to Wenger’s and Emery’s
Emery’s maybe but over Wenger’s?? Its hard to believe.
really.
Chances whuch are not converted to goals? Please spare us the lecture. I don’t think you’ve got an idea, which is contrary to your name
Oh Jesus! What a comment.
I want to assume you’re being sarcastic here @gotanidea.
We’ve scored scorpion kick goals, one touch volleys (van persie) etc under Wenger. So what on earth are you talking about???
Please the chances in the first half weren’t super easy … they had the one super easy chance in the match which brought an excellent save from Leno … Pepe should have buried one of his 2 clear chances late in the game … but the problem was a sloppy lackluster team with limited creativity … talk of needing a left footed player to replace xhaka is infantile football thinking .. a club footed player with an iq over 7 would be an improvement over this clown but until we get a serious manager today was our future
Saka and Pepe should’ve buried those sitters
RW1 why are you calling Pepe out? Funny how you are quick to call out Pepe but not Saka, Saka should have been booted out around 58mins, had s very poor game by his standards. Failed to score a glorious chance and next couple of mins or so we concede, typical Arsenal. The whole team today was a let down. 😡
Arsenal such a strange team. The players might have underestimated Burnley.
Why was that not a penalty
Thats clear and obvious😐
EPL officials are inconsistent and have cost us many points this season
Ya and my point is that a point could get the team relegated or into the top4 so that was unacceptable
In the fulham vs spurs game the decision was reversed on a handball but this was way worse than that
Onfield Referees make mistakes but VAR,they better explain themselves and why the hell are these guys not even fined😔
I’m still speechless that we didn’t win the match
How on earth did the referee missed the blatant double handball? The most competitive league in the world deserves more competent referees!
👍 Exactly right! Mike Riley OUT!
Robbed by VAR.
Pepé should have had the pen, Friend cheated!
Pepe’s chances were much easier than saka’s but he should have been removed at half time as he was clearly under par … But until the last 10 minutes the whole team were lackluster … ceballos was penalised for mistakes a couple of weeks ago but xhaka is a serial offender and has a guaranteed place … arteta should have built a partnership between ceballos and partey by now but fortunately his default option is always xhaka which means we can never dominate or run the midfield … this is a management problem for which there is only one solution
pepe had only 20+ minutes and that sitter was mb his second or third touch, saka had 90 mins to waste..
pepe was made a lot more impact in that time
Before the Arteta out brigade start, that draw had ZERO to do with him! Blame the players and VAR.
Saka misses a quality chance
Xhaka gifts Burnley their goal, when we had complete control of the game
Pepe misses an absolute sitter
VAR decides to ignore the most blatant of handballs, but quickly steps in to save Burnley from a red card and penalty
Xhaka worse dreadful today. Slowed the play up at every opportunity, and handed them a goal. Chambers didn’t just play well, man of the match for me. Another that should be ahead of Bellerin!
Finally, VAR is officially the worst thing to ever happen to football. I have come to the conclusion that’s it’s either completely random, or there is bias within games.
Fuming right now!
TMJW, can’t ignore for large portions of this game Arsenal were out of it tho. You’d expect start of 2nd half we’d be dying to rectify the error, but instead it was kind of a scrappy game until Pepe came on and changed things up a bit. The desire isn’t there from this side. And I think Arteta has to take some responsibility for that. He’s been getting a VERY easy ride. Nobody really seems bothered we are midtable because there is this weird belief he is eventually going to be good. I say based on what though? It’s still based on the fact he is Pep’s former assistant. Not really on anything he’s done this season for sure. Arsenal still dont have any consistently positive attributes. I’m still waiting for signs there is potential for Arteta to be a great manager. That includes rallying the team for a 2nd half after a dumb mistake. The majority of 2nd half was a huge huge waste…
Couldn’t disagree more.
Unless you’re Man City, you can’t honestly expect Arsenal, or any other team to control a game throughout an entire 90 mins. There will be moments when you don’t have the ball, and give some chances away, yet despite that, I think Burnley only had one quality chance. Whereas, the players missed so many chances.
We had complete control until Xhaka did what he did. We should have scored 4/5 today if it wasn’t for poor finishing and VAR. Clearly the tactics were spot on today.
Bottom line is that it was arteta’s job to get the players ready for the 2nd half and they didn’t show up until extra time. Wasted 2nd half. Usually it’s a wasted first half. There seems to be a giant pattern of Arsenal wasting entire halves. is only man city capable of playing well for a large portion of a game? Even Wenger’s teams during his later years were consistenly more attentive to matches than Arteta’s side is. TMJW, I cannot ignore the very clear pattern of Arsenal simply cruising for majoirty of games and then being shocked things dont go our way.
Aterta is not growing into the role. Too much attachment to Xhaka. Does not know when to make a change and what change. Willian had a bad game. He suppose not to play second half
TMJW- by your logic we would still have Wenger as manager. Yeah, we missed sitters. Yeah we had bad decisions go against us AGAIN. But this is now a far too familiar theme when dissecting a performance. And there is no hiding from the fact that Burnley were no worst than us over the 90 minutes. They too had good chances. They also looked a far better side than they actually are,
That’s two more points gone and we deserved nothing more.
@Phil
Obviously you didn’t watch the game. Burnley had one solid chance…one! We had about 4/5, not to mention 2/3 last ditch blocks from, plus the bs VAR. Burnley’s only goal was given to them by us. How you think the game was level is beyond me!
I’m not a delusional Wenger or Ozil fan boy who would never blame them for anything, and I’ve been critical of Arteta, but today was all about the players and the utter bs that is VAR.
@TMJW- what has today got to do with Wenger or Ozil. Scratching about a bit for an excuse there PAL.
Possession. Burnley had 41%
Attempts Burnley 9 to our 15
On target Burnley 5 to our 3
Not too much difference there PAL. And I did watch the game . I also realised we were playing a team just about floating above the relegation zone and we were not able to beat them. Why? So typical of you to bring Ozil into it PAL.
As always, Managers are culpable. Pepe will not be sacked for missing a sitter. Xhaka/Leno ( both at fault IMO ) will still be in a job despite that howler. Arteta is in charge, and yet again we have some finding excuses to blame anyone but the one person who is responsible. FFS we were playing Burnley and we are having to find reasons as to why we didn’t win. That’s how far and our quickly we are falling but Yeah PAL. Blame Wenger and Ozil
What a mug
Clearly you haven’t the IQ to interpret what I said in regards to Wenger and Ozil, and I am not wasting me time explaining it like to a child…PAL!
Our chances were clear cut, whereas they had one clear chance. Big difference! We’re talking blocked shots from far away, these were right on the six yard box. Plus we hit the woodwork twice! You clearly didn’t watch the game, because you are talking nonsense, but again, I guess that is expected with your low IQ.
But you’re right Phil! It was Arteta’s fault that VAR ignored a blatant pen, and showed bias towards Burnley.
It was Arteta’s fault that our players missed sitters.
It was Arteta’s fault that Xhaka decided to give them a goal!
Hahaha! What a chump you are! Stick to Fifa you child!
TMJW, if only you had viewed games when AW was in charge and used the same criteria to judge him as you are when scrutinising MA – but of course that doesn’t fit your scenario does it?
Apart from the abuse towards Phil, I agree with most of your points in actual fact – what a pity your dislike of AW didn’t allow you the same sensible thoughts when discussing him?
Ken, similarly for others with Emery.
@Ken
Completely different situation with Wenger. He had been there almost 2 decades when I had enough, and every player was his signing.
Arteta’s been in the job 14 months, and he inherited the squad. For someone who claims to be knowledgeable about the game, I am stunned you even made that comment.
Putting our side our usual issues like Xhaka errors(yawn), inexplicable VAR decisions and MA refusing to use Martinelli……i feel like our massive problem is putting away our chances.
Im not talking half chances either, we created some really good chances game after game after game. We could score a goal every game but have 6-10 good chances so we are not clinical.
Agree pj – forget all the other stuff. we need to practice finishing as that remains relegation standard.
👍 👍
TMJW- What was the score PAL. WE DREW TO BURNLEY
Mugs like you feel a£ though you know it all but in reality you clearly understand very little about the game.
Managers are there to MANAGE. It is managers who are responsible for results. Look at our results this season PAL. Tell me you feel we are doing well under Arteta. Tell me we as a football club are making progress. Tell me you see a clear of vision of what he is attempting.
We played very well last week in beating Leicester. Today we reverted to type under Arteta and bombed. To BURNLEY. We could not beat BURNLEY. Understand that PAL and realise this manager is seriously under performing. Until such time you will remain a bigger mug than I thought possible.
Sad commentary that despite the replays showing clearly that Pepe’s shot hit Pieters’ shoulder, I was still hoping the red card wouldn’t be rescinded simply based on the sheer incompetence of VAR.
Less said about the game the better.
Guys , we should not moan abt penalty , unlucky , handballsm red card . pepe had 2 sitters , B**stard he missed those ,that cost us the game
What about Saka”s misses? I was surprised when Arteta left him on after his yellow card, given he was obviously off his game.
That’s why he moved to the left. He had less defensive work there and tackled people less.
gervinho would have scored pepes chance well maybe not LOL
Stunned. No idea how we didnt win despite our profligate wasting of chances. Criticism for MA for not making the changes earlier as Laca and Pepe made things happen. Low mark for Pepe not deserved. Yes he missed but he also woke the game up. Burnley are tough to beat but they gave everything including good pressing today. Too many sub-par performances – Odegaard was timid, Xhaka nervous and negative, Willian negative, Tierney poor, Saka average. For me Leno as guilty as Xhake. Still we should have won. We need to practice finishing – a top team would bury them with those chances. Again ref against us. As obvious hand ball as Ive seen. Typical of our season.
👍
Unai emery did a decent job with the players available for him and he’s sacked, 2 seasons we were never in touch with the top 6 teams, 1 fa cup is enough for the club then we can soon find our club in bottom half of the table, i didn’t see anyone want to win the game were just happy with the point , trust the process being relegated from the premier league
everyone may crucify xhaka for the equalizer, for me not so much. the blame for me lay at arteta feet for coaching that crap to the players. pass it out from the back and beat the press. when have it ever worked for arsenal. we concede more goals and comical goals this way than we have ever scored. arteta is bar none the worst coach of the so called big six. I’m not too hard on pepe either he came on and had more impact than willian,odegaard and even aba and saka put together today. good part we didn’t lose.
Hi Kori, some data came out recently saying we are one of the best teams at beating the press in Europe. Trouble is, when it doesnt work it looks awful. If you are proposing we go to a “boot it anywhere” long ball apprach I think you’d be in the minority. And lets face it, if that had happened at the other end it would have hit our striker and rebounded over the bar. Youre totally right though – Pepe makes things happen The issue today was atrocius finishing and some poor individual performances
we’re in 10th. congrats on us being top of a random stat but it’s not getting us many goals, and it’s definitely not winning us games. I dont think anyone wants us booting the ball all the time, but you have to admit this Arsenal team needlessly backpasses to a ridiculous degree and puts Leno and defense under needless pressure.
well find the data that showed me when we beat the press that way we actually scored and just not one off. football is so much things more than just data. I watch arsenal I don’t go around watching data. I leave that for the statisticians. one of the biggest thing is game management and if the ball was booted cleared we would start again but not from the centre circle. poor ball management in my opinion.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 hit our striker and rebounded over the bar. I just feel like there is a force working against Arsenal. Look at the number of chances we miss today, on a normal day the scoreline would be 5-1 in favour of arsenal.
I’m in agreement kori. And im not the biggest pepe fan but he’s done more than any other attacker that game. Shouldve won a legit penalty and a shoulder away from scoring. Nothing was happening in 2nd half before that. Nothing at all. And also not being harsh on Xhaka either because this is what they are coached to do. So how can you blame Xhaka? It’s the kind of passing that is being instructed. The excessive backpassing is also part of Arteta’s style. When Leno is the failsafe so often dumb goals like taht are bound to happen.
👍 Leno doesn’t appear to have judgement on when to apply “safety first hack it up field or out.”
Firstly the FA are disgustingly corrupt! How the f is that not a penalty? He literally sticks his arm out and blocks the ball.. I would love to hear why that wasn’t given could do with a laugh right now! Secondly, woeful from Arsenal.. early lead against a team who had a tough game midweek and we had all week to prepare and still managed to screw it up! Thirdly.. 1 point against Burnley this season and none against Villa and Wolves… Pathetic! Dreading Thursday!
we need los pepes el patron
Chelsea didn’t sell the squad they simply changed the manager. Sigh 10 unbeaten.
Chelsea spent £200 million last summer. Not really a comparable situation.
We spend 70 million on one player
Auba,laca,Pepe,partey all cost combined total of above 200m
We make things hard for ourselves in games where we had good control. It should have been game over in the first half but we didn’t convert our chances. Then Xhaka happened. He called for the pass, Leno gave him the ball. In such area, you don’t cross field the ball with your right foot. Just give it back to Leno while he clears his line. Yes, Xhaka have been playing well but that’s yet another error..
With VAR, arsenal won’t just get right call. Ok that was his shoulder so right call there but the first one was a hand ball. I m even sure with some teams they will give the shoulder ball as hand ball but with arsenal it’s different.
Since the start of 2016-17, Granit Xhaka has made more errors leading to goals (8) than any other outfield player in the Premier League…..YES, He has been playing well I must admit but the errors are back again..
I think we will end up around 9th to 12th on the table so let’s just focus on the europa and see what happens. Maybe we must admit we are a building team. Expectations must be reduced..
HOW IN GOD,S NAME WAS THE 1st ONE NOT A PENALTY ?????????
We reinvented the word SLOPPY today, but sometimes you take what you’re given (3 points) and get out of there.
But come on, that IS SIMPLY A PENALTY END OF !
“Proximity” says the bloody idiot at Stockley Park.
HOW FAR DO YOU WHAT THE WINGER OFF THE FULL BACK, THERE WAS AMPLE DAYLIGHT BETWEEN THEM ?????.
The full back raised his hand to the ball, as it was flicked past him.
Farcical by VAR .
Didn’t start today my friend. Referees ended our 49 unbeaten run. And it is my belief that had it not been for the incompetence of Premier League referees which strangely enough forever goes unchecked, we would have few more titles to our name.
Hi HH.
Putting all else aside today (easier said than done),”PROXIMITY” doesn’t even apply here – clear daylight between them.
“Proximity” comes into play when the ball is played against a player who is basically on top of you.
Total cop out by the VAR official.
Fuming mate.
Mike Riley has been a pox on the game for years. Officials not in the clique don’t get promoted. There is a good reason why FA referees do not get to officiate at major tournaments.
We have no friends in officials sadly.
Think this sums up where we are as a club absolutely pathetic this is a Burnley side that have been poor most of the season destroyed by the spuds and we make them look a decent outfit how much longer do we have to put up with a novice manager that is clearly out of his depth has no idea on team selection using subs please put us all out of our misery and sack him now before it gets even more embarrassing and end up finishing in bottom half of the table!! ARTETA OUT!!
Burnley have beaten Liverpool and Villa lately, and drawn with Leicester. They have also lost numerous games 1-0. Take out our aberration what do you have? 1-0 to the Arsenal. Add in the penalty? 2-1.
Get some perpective. It was poor individual performances and awful finishing. All Arteta’s fault?
Youre taking rubbish
They are 15th and winless in five matches… please stop lowering standards.
Exactly RSH. It was BURNLEY FFS
When does Emery get his apology from some fans?
Pepe two big chances, Saka one, Aube one, Caballos one. 5 clear chances. One obvious penalty. We gave away a ridiculous goal. So for me, we did enough to win, but some poor decisions and VAR robed us.
👍 “Robing” was self inflicted apart ftom VAR, Arsenal weren’t dressed ie “unrobed”.
Dropping more points against teams we should beat. We were cruising for 39 minutes, then playing from the back cost us. Xhaka should never have asked for the ball, Leno never should have passed it to him.
Martinelli still in the freezer, left in the cold for a game crying out for his intensity and pace.
Chances missed, mistakes playing out from the back continue.
Partey off Xhaka stays? Wrong, just wrong.
Confirmed that FIFA are going to test pilot Wengers offside rule change proposal, that’s fantastic news as it will make football much more entertaining 👌
👌👌👌💯
I believe it will
👍 Some part of player behind last defender?
just look at the fulham handball against the spuds 2days no handball WTF
Correct decision unfortunately as the rule now sits, yet ridiculous.
All we ask is consistency from the referees but we’re never gonna get that.
The number of pointe dropped because of referee errors is ridiculous
Once again Xhaka cost us a possible European place. Remember Brighton under Unai Emery? Xhaka gave Brighton a penalty. How can such a poor undisciplined player play for Arsenal. Ridiculous. To not give a penalty for the first CLEAR penalty decision was pure corrupt VAR refereeing by KEVIN FRIEND.
well last week he was good this week he is poor. he is our enigma now
Typical Arsenal and Arteta type performance. Really slow negative (which again lead to the opposition goal) play and a style of football that is taking this club backwards backwards backwards. Boy how we have slipped!
Trust the process the “Real Arsenal Fans” say…
Even a blind man knows we not hearing anywhere with this manager..It doesn’t matter if he’s given 2yrs or 10yrs…
Burnley beat us at the Emirates for the first time in ages..You’ll be forgiven to think Arteta will rile the boys up for a battle to reclaim some of our dignity..What does he do,but tell them to play 10 thousand back passes…
The whole bunch of them are clowns..
Arteta needs time and support but he is really not helping himself with some of the weird decisions his been making game after game. Replacing Ødegaard with Lacazette? Lacazette playing as a 10? Bringing on Ceballos too late. Saka should have actually gone off instead of Willian, yes Saka should have gone off instead of Willian. With the exception of maybe Mari and Leno, the whole team that started had an off day, including Partey.
Laca and Pepe changed the game when they came on. Ode had been pretty ineffectual. Willian and Saka had both been average so this feels a bit like kindsight bias.
Sean. I thought Arteta would have substituted Saka, when he was on a yellow card and obviously out of sorts.
So predictable Danny.I am beginning to think you are a penny short of a shilling.How can any Manager legislate for a horrendous mistake like that committed by Xhaka and abetted by Leno? As for the penalty claim, the officials should be embarrassed by their incompetence.Someone in authority needs to be accountable for the VAR shambles which is ruining so many games.This is a professional sport which is being governed by a bunch of officials who are clearly not fit for purpose.They are a disgrace.
Totally agree with you Grandad regarding VAR, an absolute disgrace of a decision. I do think Leno was more to blame for their goal than Xhaka though. Even if Arteta dictates we should play out from the back it doesn’t dissolve responsibility from the players to make the right decision when it’s not safe to do it. That’s why I like Luiz, if in doubt bang it up the pitch.
Are you and jon fox brothers Grandad my comments are not based on one performance but the whole season so far and the stats do not lie we are in rapid decline worst results of any Arsenal manager and still somehow kept his job it baffles me why you and fox continue to make excuses for Arteta believing he is the real deal so I can rest easy knowing it’s not me that’s deluded and needs my brain checking!!
Danny, your assessment of Arteta is clearly in line with mine. He alone is culpable, as was Wenger and Emery before him. How some can see him as the future, while he is clearly struggling to achieve consistency at a solid level, is beyond me.
They see him as the future, but what has Arteta done for anyone to have any form of confidence in his ability to run any Football Club, let alone one the size of Arsenal.
I hope the board have let Arteta know he is accountable for the results he is producing. I defy anyone to tell me this squad is not capable of being Top 6. That to me is the very minimum we should be achieving yet we are seriously in danger of finishing in the bottom half. How is that progress and why is Arteta tasked with a job that is seemingly far too big for him, judging by the results he is providing
In this arsenal team i don’t see any leadership, no fighting spirit, captain arm band is just an arm band for the player, aubameyang is not a leader he can’t motivate
players on the field even he doesn’t have the time to argue with the referees about some wrong decisions a, he wear it like accessories like gloves ,
Aubamayang is not a leader
He actually went to sleep in the second half. Has become such a frustrating player. Comes good ever so often but then has minimal impact. He should at least be hustling getting in good positions and running decoys to unsettle the opposing defence.
Agree Joe, Aubameyang is not “captain material”. He does not show leadership ability; it is not in his nature or personality.
Auba is a nice guy a professional.
But most of us will agree he’s not a leader type this season.
Problem. Maybe changing him may bring unrest among the players so can place him as vice cap.
If Captain is never appointed properly Arsenal will never see players fighting or playing consistently.
My shortlists for Arsenal captain replacement/future.
1) Kieran 2)Partey 3)Saka 4)Leno
Not artetas fault today but its on the players and their lack off fight in them
Keep in mind Spuds beat them 4 0 last week
Trust the process
Ok then, so what did arteta do wrong
Then why we were on 10th in the point table and who is to blame for that
I wonder if Auba, Saka and Pepe will get as much criticism as Xhaka for all the chances they missed today. If we were ruthless in putting away our good clear cut chances the mistake by Xhaka wouldn’t be talked about.
The emotional immaturity is STAGGERING
Wasnt meant as a reply Marty
I just can’t believe how individual howlers keep manifesting themselves in nearly every game. How many games have we lost or how many points have we dropped lthis season because of individual brain-farts?
It’s absolutely draining me out. You can see so much potential and improvement in our football but these individual brain-farts are becoming a big problem.
😬
Totally with you Goonster. Especially when players generally play well but then do stuff like that. How can you prepare for that? Unlike tactical mishaps or poor players, it’s just hard to know where to direct frustration.
We turned to be a mediocre team that is crying out loud for the opponent to be given a red card and be awarded a penalty. Arsenal should easily cruise past Burnley easily. Lot of people will realise when it’s too late that Arteta has never been the right manager to lead Arsenal
Today wasnt about the manager it was about us not being ruthless enough with our chances
Yeah. Im just not seeing the signs that apparently a lot of other people are seeing in our play. Its a lot of complacency a lot of backpassing, tons of individual errors and lack of discipline resulting in reds… We’ve had teenagers carrying our attack at 2 different points in the season. Where is Arteta improving things exactly? If I saw waht Arteta was trying to do and achieve I’d be more on board, but it’s not happening. And this is not a team that has the same level of quality players as Burnley. It’s simply not.
I agree with on you with the brain fart but if you watched the leicester game you would know what we are aiming for
Fair point, but still, it happens way, way too rarely for me to consider it something we are building towards. Too many games we have no idea what we are going to get from them.
Which Arsenal will turn up?
Funny enough Xhaka’s position is one position we don’t have options, except for Chambers and maybe Luiz. An injury to Xhaka is all we need to realize that.
Chambers played well today? He won Fulham’s player of the season as DM, the season they were last relegated. Why doesn’t he get an opportunity?
He just returned from injury
I get where you are coming from but In all fairnes we lack midfielders who are ready to carry the ball foward as Partey does. Look at man citys midfield, the players are programmed to carry it foward where as ours tend to play safe hence the side ways passin
Brain farts, referees, squandered chances, dropped points! The day in the life of an Arsenal fan 🙄 My head is spinning!!
Don’t get giddy and fall over, Sue.
We will get the normal comments about this player and that player, but the truth is (from my point of view) is the players let themselves, the manager and the fans down today.
We should have won this game with absolutely no problem – the football up and until they scored was perfect in every way… apart from the finishing.
I do smile, however, when those fans who blamed AW for what went happened on the pitch, somehow don’t seem to have the same thoughts when it comes to MA.
On to the refereeing today – and once again we saw how useless and corrupt this bunch really are.
I use the word “corrupt” intentionally, because it was plain to see how two decisions were made, that benefitted one side and not the other.
I am yet to find, see or hear one single fan, pundit or ex referees who didn’t see the clear and obvious intent to handle the ball.
Don’t blame VAR, as that showed how clearly the decision NOT to award the penalty was gross incompetence by a so called “elite” referee… so the question has to be asked WHY?… and it is this corrupt system that allows referees to get away with the most basic mistakes and not having to explain the reasons why.
Neither Friend or today’s ref will have to answer for such an inept display and, as usual, will be awarded with more PL matches to carry on as usual.
So don’t blame this result on MA, because the buck doesn’t stop with him.
It stops with players not finishing, but most of all, on this bunch of absolute inept officials, who, even with VAR showing them a clear and unquestionable handball, got it wrong once again.
👍 ken, totally agree about players. These performances have now occurred under Wenger, Emery, Ljundberg and Arteta. As for officials, I’ve had my say; corrupt or incompetent, take your pick.
Good points.
On the bright side. At least we got a point and there are more chances compared to this earlier season.
But what shocked me the most are still the referees and var. Are they having beer n getting high or simply put like most of u blasted “Corruption” easily pointing to “Gamxxxxxxg”.
@Ken1745- sorry mate but I just cannot see how you are able to absolve Arteta from any blame. We played Burnley. We played a team hovering slightly above the relegation places. There is a reason they are where they are in the league Ken and it’s quite simple. They are not very good at all. Their position shows they are one of the poorest sides and we were unable to beat them. Let’s not forget as well that we lost to this mob at the Emirates, unless of course you feel we are able to use the 1-1 draw as a sign of progress.
A game we were coasting before a bad mistake. OK. I can accept these things happen.But what exactly happened in the second half that showed improvement because I didn’t see too much. We were wasteful in possession, allowed them far too many chances, and somehow managed to miss a couple of gilt edge chances. Forget the penalty appeals and VAR. We should not have allowed ourselves to be scrambling at the end desperate for any slice of luck going. Arteta is the manager and the buck stops with him.
We are to keen to offer excuses and settle for mediocrity. I thought we were supposed to be a big club. Dont you feel it’s about time we started acting like one?
Phil, are you now starting to feel you were too harsh on Unai Emery?
Phil, MA selected a starting eleven that, up and until the 40th(?) minute were in complete control…. at least on my TV they were.
We could/should have been leading by at least two goals and that’s why I blamed the players – it got even worse for them, when we saw the farcical behaviour of Leno and Xhaka… so I don’t understand where you can blame MA up and until the half time whistle.
Now there could be an argument that we came out for the second half and were caught napping, so much so, that we didn’t start really playing until the last quarter and one could blame MA for not getting the players hyped up.
What I find so interesting is that fans like TMJW, apply completely different rules for MA, compared to UE and AW.
I have always been of the opinion that the manager is responsible for team selection, style of play, setting up the team for a game and the use of substitutes – what happens on the pitch is down to the players selected and, as I have said, the incompetence of match officials.
I also think the days of thinking “it’s only Burnley, Wolves, WHU etc etc is a thing of the past for ALL clubs, as on any given day, any one PL team can beat another… as Liverpool are proving this season.
No one is Invincible, unless you played in AW’s side of that name, of course!!!!
Ozziegunner, you seem to forget where/what we were when Emery was sacked – the club was in complete turmoil and, apart from some of the fans, MA has sorted the shambles out.
I cannot forgive him for what happened for the first time in decades, we were in a relegation battle.
90 minutes in a game of football.
Ok Ken- let’s break this down.
No doubt we were in complete control up until the utter balls up of both Leno and Xhaka. We could/should have been 3-0 up, but we were not. We gift them an equaliser and then what?
You say it was the last quarter before we woke up. Why was this Ken? From dominating 40 minutes we then performed as a pub team for the first 30 minutes of the second half. Who is responsible for this decline in focus and performance? The players are coached all week by Arteta. They collectively cock up in the first half, but fail to wake up until the game is all but finished.
And Ken, team selection again must be questioned, along with substitutions. Chambers played well defensively, so no complaints there as Arteta obviously intends Bellerin to start Thursday. Willian again? He was not too bad, but Pepe, despite missing that sitter, showed more in his short time on the pitch and offered a far greater threat than both Willian and Saka did. And as for Martinelli, just what does this kid have to do to get a game? I saw a case for Aubamayang to be replaced as he was very ineffective In the second half, but I’m convinced Arteta would still not have introduced GM. Poor decision making yet again I feel
As for player responsibility? Of course they are responsible for performing. But as always it is the manager who is accountable. Wenger would not have been sacked otherwise Ken, and neither would Emery, if the players were deemed responsible. This is a results based business. If a manager fails to get the required results then he is held accountable. If he loses his job, it’s the players who play their part in this, and are likely responsible in part, but I’ve yet to know of a team being sacked and the manager staying.
Match officials and VAR. Yeah that was a disgraceful decision not to award the penalty for the handball. Dis w3 deserve the win based on performance? Not really. A draw was about all we were entitled to, but we have benefitted very little with VAR, and today was another example.
But my point is, Arsenal should never be in a position where we lose points to teams like Burnley, without it being a major shock result, Today was not a totally unexpected result, which shows just how low our expect levels have fallen under Arteta. As Ossie Gooner is implying, quite correctly, Emery would have been slaughtered for this result and performance today, yet many are prepared to overlook this game as part of Arteta’s learning
process. My God. Just how low are we prepared to sink.
Still a way to go this season Ken- time will tell
Ken, yes I remember 8th place, had lost 3 games in 8 and still in the Europa League. Arteta comes in we are out of the Europa League and finally finish 8th. Second season Arsenal sit 10th.
The table doesn’t lie and all I want is fairness and equity. Instead different standards are applied to different managers. Explain to me where Emery as head coach, was supported as Arteta has as manager, particularly in response to player power, discipline, transfers etc.
Well OG- that’s a fair question, especially as I was very vocal about the results and performances under Emery. I still believe Emery was the wrong choice to follow Wenger, and I was pleased the board replaced him when they did. We were not going forward under him, and the reports of the players not having confidence in him ultimately proved his downfall. So the board were very clear that he was not the answer and acted quickly. Bearing in mind Arteta’s results and performances are even worst than Emery’s, then Arteta should be very aware that failure is not an option. At the moment Arteta is clearly failing, clearly identified and proven by both the inconsistencies in our performances and the results.
So5Phil, you are admitting that the side MA put out was in complete control and but for the chances missed (which of course MA didn’t) we would have had the game sewn up.
I agree that we were poor in the second half for 30 minutes, so why are you not questioning the players – especially as you say how well they controlled the first half?
As we, the fans, didn’t see this happening, why do you expect MA to have?
The substitutions he made certainly made a difference, so he DID react to this and, if not for the awful refereeing, sub Pepe would have given us a penalty.
You keep emphasising it was BURNLEY, as if that means we have a divine right to the three points, but that is why we as a club and a section of fans, are deemed to be arrogant – nothing is certain in today’s PL and history means nothing on a match day and that is why I mentioned the current champions Liverpool – it was this arrogance that saw the same fans diss our most successful manager ever and why he resigned.
Just like AW, MA has/is making mistakes, but to believe that, because it’s only BURNLEY, we should somehow view today’s result as a major difference is complelety wrong… and arrogant in my opinion.
Ken, we played Burnley. You are happy to accept a draw there are you? I’m not.
Arteta selects the tactics, players and coaches them. We have far superior players than Burnley yet you cannot honestly sat we deserved to win that game today can you? Is this how far our expectations are these days ?
I’m annoyed that Arteta is being given a free license and not being made more accountable. Wenger and Emery were, which cost them their jobs. Surely a few more results and performances such as this one will do for Arteta, or is he untouchable ? And if so why exactly?
No Phil, I’m not happy with the result, just as I’m not happy when we don’t get three points or a cup win against any team – be it City, Burnley or Olympiacos!!!
No, we shouldn’t be out of both domestic cups and halfway down the league table, especially with the players we have got. and MA is responsible for all of that.
What I am defending him for, is the typically normal hysteria when we don’t get the result we want.
He selected a team today, that you agree should have had the game sewn up long before the calamitous goal that some fans are blaming him for and that is nonsense.
I gave my views on what MA has got wrong in a previous article, when the question was asked “what do we expect from MA?” and I said we should use the same criteria that both AW and UE were and, as you know, I never blame the manager for what the players produce on the pitch… IF… and it is a big IF… the manager has selected the best team for a game – as was proved in the first 40 odd minutes.
I am, by no stretch of the imagination, giving MA a free ride, but neither am I going to blame him for the player’s rank bad decision making.
Today was down to the players and incompetent officials and that is what this article is about… today’s performance.
Ken, I have consistently blame the players, apart from specific instances when managers get tactics, selections and substitutions wrong (in my humble opinion).
You and others have judged different managers by different criteria, when I believe in fairness and equity.
Well said Ken.
😴😴
On reflection I think today sums up the season so far. Complete control until they scored, should have been 3-0 by then. They score and 2nd half – we’re clueless, back to the slow, slow, tappy, tappy; Auba goes missing again, Willian back to taking the easy option, Partey has the ball but no one forward to pass it too. Odegaard struggling still to get involved and influence. Laca comes on and still no forward available to receive passes from midfield and certainly no-one making forward runs. Yes OK Pepe should’ve done better with his chances..
And for the first time this season I have to say ‘OK MA, what was the starting plan today and what was the plan for the last 25 minutes?’
I think today showed why we’re mid-table, it’s just about the correct place for us. If Burnley go down, we should sign Tarkowski.
Arsenal players are not seeious,bury your chances b4 begging for penalties and red card😏
Obvious penalty.
First Pieters handball.
Poor display by us.
Partey looks way off the pace.
Thought Xhaka was getting somewhere.
Then this. Leno too why pass it to him?
Mr Arteta, what do you have against Martinelli? Are you bent on destroying his career?
Arteta, Leno and Xhaka have equal share of the blame on the goal conceded.
– Arteta for instructing them to play negative, timid, sideways, backwards and building from the back.
– Leno for trusting Xhaka despite having a clear view of the pitch and seeing Burnley players closing down.
– Xhaka for his slow thinking, sluggish, poor decision and timid attempt to pass the ball over to Chambers.
👍