Arsenal v Man City Review – Spirited Gunners still have a lot to learn from Emery

Unai Emery’s firsrt Arsenal game strted in a positive fashion with Aaron Ramsey getting a look on goal after just a couple of minutes, but then City settled and started to take control with Mahrez getting lots of space on the left. Inevitably, it seems, Raheem Sterling put the visitors ahead after just 14 minutes and City looked like they were going to dominate last last season.

They stayed on the front foot and tried to intimidate the Gunners into conceding again, but Arsenal rode out the storm, despite Cech nearly putting a simple back pass into the net somehow. The Gunners were under the cosh and I don’t remember seeing Aubameyang any time in the first half hour.

Maitland-Niles had been run ragged and needed treatment after a tough foul and after another ten minutes Emery replaced him with Lichtsteiner. City carried on their dominance and it was only after we heard that we had four minutes added time did we see Arsenal go on the offensive and we saw the first chance from Aubameyang.

The first 15 minutes of the second half saw City again on the front foot, and Emery decided to change things around and swapped Lacazette for Ramsey to go all out for an equalizer, and the Frenchman had a chance nearly straight away but couldn’t quite get it on target.

After the hour mark Aguero should have doubled City’s lead after a mistake by the flagging Guendouzi, but Cech was equal to it, but he couldn’t stop Bernardo Silva stunning shot 4 minutes later to give City a 2-0 cushion.

Guendouzi skys one but to be honest the Gunners never really looked like coming back although they had a go right at the death but without success, but it was good to see Torreira brought on at last.

We just have to accept we were playing one of the best teams in Europe, and it will take time for Arsenal to get used to Emery, and Emery to get Arsenal working. At least they didn’t destroy us this time around…

179 Comments

  1. Besides Lichtsteiner, Torreira, Lacazzete and maybe Guendouzi, the rest were Rubbish. Cech was good in training and pre season but was trash today bar the Aguero save. When I saw Xhaka and the new 19year old to control our midfield I had already lot hope. I wanto be positive but can’t after this showing. Too casual, to slow, passing and link up play not good enough, like 5 notches below City. Expected much better defensive tactics. like amateurs playing offside for 90mins.
    Xhaka, Cech, Ramsey, Mkhitaryan, Ozil OUT! & Bellerin too when Monreal is back

    1. Cech and Bellerin were good

      Xhaka, Ramsey and Ozil did not look like top players when they played like that

      I expected better first touches from a so-called world class CAM like Ozil. Ramsey was similar

        1. Because Emery instructed the GK and the defenders to build the attack from the back

          Good intention, but must be supported by good technical skills

          1. I’m sure some1 with half a brain will realize that he didn’t mean do it when 4 city players are within intercepting distance. Nah not good enuf

        2. Czech is not good on the ball. He couldn’t be that 11th man as evidenced by the way he struggled with the many passes he received and also by the way he looked out of options when the city guys press. Leno should start against Chelsea. I do not expect the blues to press like city did but for all its worth, and considering that we will be away, it will be better to start Leno if we were to play ‘The Emery’ way.

    2. Socratis is not as bad as many thought.
      We had some goal scoring chances but the player were hasty. At least an improvement from last season’s score lines.

        1. Noone is saying Cech can’t make world class saves.The question is can he stop making mistakes?Didn’t watch the match but was told he made several laughable passes including a very very laughable almost own goal.
          Is this true??If true then Leno should start the next match.Cant believe we are ok with mistakes just because of saves keeping us in the match.
          Remember there’s gonna be a day when those mistakes will cost us.

          1. Guendouzi made a terrible mistake as well that led to a one on one for aguero, and was saved by cech. Guendouzi however was our best player on the pitch. How do you marry both?

    3. Cech was trash? Ye Gods man , he saved us in the first half several times. What game were you watching? I thouight he was excellent apart from the near own goal.

      1. Just the almost own goal. Then u didn’t watch the game either. See Kevs comment above. Just for u !

    4. r u kidding Guendouzi sucked nd if it was not for cech we would have lost by a big margin nd sell ramsey i hv said this for ages he sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      1. And that is why i keep iterating the fact the ramsey should be no where near arsenal first team. He is the epitome of the arsene Wenger golden boy….

        In the first half when they showed the pitch map on the tv it showed ramsey ahead of auba… He offer what exactly is a puzzle… His first touch is not good…he cannot make defemce splitting passes(atleast ozil makes those passes), he is not quick neither is he good at dribbling and doesnt offer nothing in the defensive side of the game.. All he bas in his positives is a very good stamina and scores(used to score) little more goals than average for a central midfielder.

        You can see how we had a bit more bite in our play once he is off and lacazette is on. And people here want to give him wages of 300k (or whatever he is asking). Absolutely hate is attitude as well…everytime he misses the goal scoring oppurtunity he seems to have a laugh and stick his tongue out instead of being dissapointed.

        If i had to give ratings for this perfornance ..

        Cech: 7(absolutely embarassing with the ball at his feet. But did save a few shot at goal or else it would have been 4 or 5 nil)

        Bellerin : 7(improved defensively than in the last season but needs to learn to cross)

        Sokratis : 7 (surprised to see him do well after hearing a lot of negatives about him being slow and what not)

        Mustafi: 7.5 (did nothing wrong and bailed us out in some tight situations)

        Lich : 6 (loved his grit, but it was his fault that led to the 2nd goal..he should have marked bernado silva)

        Xhaka : 3 (He offered nothing , you can just put a machine that passes the ball sideways and backward in the middle than having xhaka and yet he lost the ball once again)

        Guendozi : 8 (The best of all our players on the picth…if he had marked sterling better and not lost the ball leaving aguero 1 v 1 with cech he would have gotten a 9.5 from me…but still he ticked our midfield starting attacks every time possible and also won many tackles while showing a lot of grit and desperation )

        Ozil : 5(did absolutely nothing from the wing but improved once laca came on)

        Ramsey : 2( He is becoming another walcot…getting too many chances and too many years to put in some consistent performances…occupied auba’s place a lot denying him any space to make any runs. Except for one run down the right flank getting past mendy he did nothing noteworthy for me.)

        Mkhi :7 (Absolutely nullified in the 1st half like all other arsenal playerz but did improve greatly in the second half)

        Auba : 6 (Did not do anything noteworthy ,though he linked up well with laca,ozil,mkhi well in the 2nd half…but cannot blame him coz he needs service)

        Laca : 7 (Improved the entire play since he came on..though he should have scored atleast one goal and may be should have done something better with that ederson mistake)

        Niles : 6 (Did really well to handle walker in that run but unfortunately injured himself…hope its not something serious)

        Torriera : not enough time to rate

          1. Maybe you looked out of focus? 😉
            Gouendouzi should startevery game but in that case there is no place for Xhaka and Ransey to act like a schoolboys. Wenger is out! Emery, sell them sell!

            1. come on if cech didn’t save that from his mistake you would have slated him one thing i am positive about him is his young he might improve but the others i agree with you!!!!!!!!!!

      2. Seriously…Guendouzi was the only player closing down and trying to make forward passes and movements. He made two big mistakes which is expected when a 19 year old is doing most of the midfield works against big teams like city. The last mistake saved by cech, he was the only arsenal player in our half. Common. The boy tried!

        1. look i agree with u on the young part maybe unai shouldn’t have started with him but on the game i saw a lot of mistakes he committed nd am not doubting his commitment but he looked out of place

      3. Sell Ramsey? Loud it or brother, I really can’t wait for that day. Rabiot anyone? He’s just refused to sign another contract at PSG.

  2. Arsenal should replace the players that consistently underperformed last season, because they seem to be underperforming again this season:

    – Aubameyang: He could not do much, because there was not enough support. He is not a striker that can win take-ons consistently

    – Mkhitaryan and Ozil: Sucked as inverted wingers and I’m still waiting for the perfect through balls from Ozil in a tough match like this. Arsenal should have gotten a pacey inverted wingers like Sterling in the previous transfer window, because they are highly required to break the opponent’s defense

    – Ramsey: Was not creative and effective enough when playing behind the striker, imagine if Seri was there

    – Xhaka: Got robbed once, misplaced one pass and did nothing special as a DM (as usual)

    – Guendouzi: Unlike Mkhitaryan and Ozil, he was very mobile, intercepted many threats and full of energy. He would be a top player under a good guidance, because he is so good on duels (one-on-one situations), like Maitland-Niles. But he made a fatal mistake and he is lacking the final ball, due to inexperience

    – The defenders: They played well, unfortunately the attackers did not press the opponents enough to support them. Emery looked frustated on the bench

    – Cech: He was very good. Leno purchase really affected him

    1. I think you watched the match unlike GunnerUp who thought Cech was trash, we would have lost by a bigger margin if not for his saves just check the free kick in the first half

      1. So he should continue making mistakes??I’ll remind you when his mistakes cost us the next match.As I said excuse after excuse after excuse for some of our players.We bought Leno for £25m and if Cech is starting over him it raises many questions.I wonder if Arsenal had signed Oblak we would have left him on the bench since he hasn’t adapted or for whatever reason.

      1. Where’s the Ramsey fans today. Whatever we offered him we’ve now got to take back the offer before it’s to late. He’s conned us, he’ll be negotiating a move in the next window when he’s allowed to talk to other clubs and he’ll move for nothing at the end of his contract looking to get as much money as possible, he doesn’t care about Arsenal. The only reason he stayed before was because Wenger promised to play him every week. But what decent side is going to sign him, stick him in the reserves for the rest of his term.

  3. Guys didn’t watch the match.Please how were my usual suspects Bellerin,Cech,Sokratis and Xhaka?
    Was it same old same old or today they somehow managed to play well?

    1. Xhaka did nothing special as usual, apart from getting robbed once and misplaced one pass

      The other names you mentioned played well

      1. Why am I not shocked.How he started today’s game is beyond me.I don’t get this logic of putting the better player in Torreira on the bench for him and saying it’s ok because Torreira should adapt.
        No offence but if Arsenal had Craig Eastmond in today’s line up would they bench Torreira for him so he can adapt.What a bogus logic.

        What of Guendouzi how was he?

        1. Very mobile, showed a double-lung stamina, intercepted many threats and very good on one-on-one situations

          But he made a fatal mistake (luckily Cech was brilliant) and his shots are bad

            1. Basically the difference in quality was on full display. Laugh at Sterling if people want, he was better than anyone we had attacking.
              The gap in quality is laughable; Arsenal just lack the quality to challenge for honors. Lack of true wingers hurt bad this game, and will cost us points if not addressed in January, stat.

              Ramsey can go, useless again. Was he playing as a striker today? What exactly does he offer? He can take Xhaka with him, absolutely shocking.

    2. its pretty much okay. a decent performance and overall an improvement from last season. Good things are bound to come from Emery.

      As for your suspects, i would say xhaka is the weak link in today’s match. Guy really need to calm his tots when beating a high pressing team.

    3. Mustafi looked much better, won alot of one on ones, Sokratis is the new clown in the backline ball watched both goals and didn’t put his body on the line either, also almost gave away a penalty. Cech was fantastic just let down by Sokratis and bellerin. Xhaka did what he does best and lost the ball on the counter attack. Torreria looked great in his cameo appearance but was on for a very short time. Lichtsteiner was very good. Ozil/Myhkitarian were the worst players on the pitch by a mile

        1. Sokratis was just fine. Sterling blew past Guendouzi for the first goal and the whole defense was to blame for the second–they were ALL ball watching. For christ’s sake it’s the first game against the best team in the Prem. The team looked promising and need to gel a little, but it’s clear Emery has a plan.

          1. MKEgunner, I agree with your assessment of Socrates and Mustafi; they were decent given the quality of the opposition and the combination in defense with Lichtsteiner and Cech (ball watching for second goal excepted) is a work in progress.
            Why does Bellerin shoot from wide right when he has two players free on his inside? Aubameyang and Lacazette have to start.
            The frightening thing is the players Man City had left on the bench!
            On to Chelsea.

      1. Plus Torreira gave the only true true pass I see in the entire to Auba, unfortunately he was offside. Sometimes one would want to agree with the Germans. What exactly is ozil bringing to the team because I don’t see him spraying those passes (his selling point) when it really matters.

        1. Playing Ozil on the wing like Wenger used to ALWAYS worked? I sometimes wonder why Emery thought that was a good idea? So maybe we should consider playing Ramsey in Ozil’s position because Ramsey was a PEDESTRIAN the whole match. He can’t really dribble, can’t pass. As soon as Emery changed it to 4-3-1-2 and put Ozil in his proper position we start to show more attacking intent. Ozil on the wing was never going to work and most of us already knew that so maybe somebody needs to tell Emery to stop doing that crap. Peter Cech made some great saves but struggles with the ball at his feet. He nearly scored an own goal today thanks to his bad touch. Bernd Leno needs to start next match.

            1. I always said that Ramsey unbalances the midfield. Most of these idiots wanted Ramsey to play in the number 10 position when we have seen him absolutely flop there EVERY GOD DAMN TIME. You remember that match against Stoke in Jan 2017 when Ramsey played in Ozil’s spot? He didn’t even create a single chance and now some of these idiots acting like Ramsey is the best thing since sliced bread just because he played slightly better than everyone else last season barring Monreal. I bet if Mkhitaryan played in Ramsey’s position we would see a dramatic increase in quality in the cm role. Ramsey doesn’t deserve anywhere near what Mkhi is making and he certainly doesn’t deserve more than what Santi used to get. He’s nowhere near the level of either player in terms of technical skill and ability. Ramsey isn’t very good at his defensive responsibilities and his passing is shocking for a so called top class midfielder.

    4. Didn’t watch the game Kev, your kidding, our chief negotiator, what were you doing, shopping?

  4. biggest positive…Torreira. That guy plays with his brain and its amazing how easy it was to notice his football IQ seconds after he came on. Extremely gifted at reading the game.

    I won’t question the ability of other players in the squad. They are quality footballers and the only thing stopping them from blossoming is poor mentality, chemistry and most important of all, football brains.

    Let’s hope Unai make our players smarter.

    1. Agree with this, when I saw him anticipate the ball and slip in between the lines I was blown away – not because it was anything special but because it’s exactly what we want our defensive midfielders doing, rather than getting spun and being seen desperately scrambling back as a goal goes in ??

      1. Torreira must start against Chelsea; even if he is not at peak fitness, he is still a better option than the rest.

    2. I agree with you. Torreira’s influence on the game was not hard to see. Guendouzi did well although he made some errors. I believe he didn’t start because he wasn’t match fit. I also think he will start beside Guendouzi in the next game. I see them running the arsenal midfield for the next couple of years.

      1. I sincerely hope so, watched almost all of his pre-season and was very impressed by Guendozi. He is the player we thought Xhaka was going to be. I liked how him and Torreira linked up, they trusted each other and were looking for each other. I see this partnership dominating games as they mature and giving a base for our attacking players to build from.

  5. Home fans were very poor just like the team today.

    We gave Manc so much space.

    Losing to the best team In the league isn’t the end of the world but we need to improve against Chelsea.

  6. Typical Arsenal
    You can make all the excuses this is city
    We only just have a new manager and all that cra”
    However, same old Ozil
    Same old Xhaka
    Same old Czech
    Same old Bellerin
    Same old Miki

    I predict another 6/7 th place coming up
    With Kronkie as the sole owner I can’t even be bothered anymore
    I’ve gone from not wanting to pay a fortune to watch to not being bothered when they are on TV

  7. Thanks Emery nothings changed the same over aged players unknown kids average midfielders welcome to arsenal retirement club
    Tired and bored no fight no aggression no result
    Merson was right

    1. And you call yourself Red and white. Man, go support Man city, or some other oil club

  8. A lot of work to do. Defensively, I like that we won the ball higher up the pitch at times. But we still look like we can’t keep up with the opposition when we have to defend in our half. And the passing out the back was not very good. Cech is not cut out for this level anymore. And Bellerin continues to look below average. I swear some of these players would fit right in at West Ham like some of our other former players are at right now. Guendouzi, predictably looked out of his depth. Pre-season is over. Ozil… my goodness. Everything he did was just wrong. Nobody can blame the players around him this time because he got into great areas and delivered bad quality balls, and was always offside. Ramsey forgetful performance, Xhaka is still Xhaka. Lacazette reminding me of Cavani unfortunately. Gets in great positions but can’t finish. SHouldve had a goal today. Lichtsteiner my MOTM. Needs to start. and I don’t think Sokratis and Mustafi were all that terrible as I first imagined they’d be. It’s not all despair. I think we can definitely improve. The reality is just that we are a work in progress and Emery was never going to get this team to magically become amazing just over the summer. I imagine the Chelsea lineup will have several changes with Torrieira and Leno starting. This is better than being under Wenger and knowing for sure you are going nowhere fast. Let’s give Emery some time to tinker around with the squad and adjust. COYG!

  9. I think with three cam we missed width, true winger will stretch the city shape and creates space through middle while today we lacked that.

  10. Only the first game. Not too bad. Gouendouzi looks really promising. Our pressing was good, if we keep going we will it right. Will take a couple of games before the players gel and we can peak.

  11. We’re going to see now how poor some players really are at this club even under a completely different coaching staff. Next transfer window should be interesting.

  12. At the end of the day the team is still a work in progress, but I do see good signs from this game. We are up against the reigning champion and apparently we still need a couple more games before the lads get used to Emery’s tactics.

    Gutted we didn’t get a goal to get the momentum going.

    Hope Mustafi, Papa, Lich, Guendozi, Auba, Miki retain their places in the starting line-up, and Torreira, Leno, Laca, Monreal, and hopefully AMN (as CM) can be given a run next game.

    COYG

  13. We lost buy l am confident we will improve. Let’s not forget City and Liverpool were not as good as they are now in their first season with a new coach. Even Chelsea lost their first game with Conte so let’s be positive and support the team. Better luck next time gooners

  14. Positive begin to the season. Never expected us to get points today but was looking for improvement. Saw a lot. We also had some chances. For me, there is a reason to be optimistic.

    Was happy Emery had no problem taking a poor Ramsey of and taking an equally poor Xhaka of. Perhaps the days that “pet players” get 90 minutes even when they don’t play are over.

    With our playing style, we need Leno. Cech has too many difficulties playing the ball.

    Let’s be optimistic and not put unreasonable pressure on the manager. This was his first game and it was against the best team in the PL and we did not get blown out of the water like last season.

    1. Yes good points. Well done to emery on most fronts. Not with team selection though. But yes his first game in a new league. Our old players and their mentality were the problem. U could clearly see the differen with our new signings compared to them.

    2. His team selection in the next three games will show me if Emery is willing to use the right players to achieve positive results.
      Until we get proper wingers, auba should play left wing, miki right wing and laca as striker. Gendouzi and toreira play as CMs. Both center backs did well today.

      1. ?As did Lichtsteiner play well for his first game at the Emirates. Ozil must start centrally, with Ramsey on the bench.

  15. emery was never going to work miracles guys. but im g i can see changes.No playing favourites anymore. and substitutions made early

  16. Where is Chizaaaaaaaa? We lost.
    City were simply better. They dominated the game and Aubameyang was starved of an sort of supply in the 1st half. Cech was OK. He kept us in the game for a while. I think we can battle Chelsea and do well in other games, but liverpool still look scary.

    1. So are you celebrating because City won? What is your point? Some on this site behave oddly to out it mildly. None of us realistically expected a win against Man City in Emery’s first game. However to the majority of us there were a lot of positives from the game. If we keep this spirit we shall be fine. As for the perpetual pessimists and nay sayers well nothing ever changes. Hence we need not waste our precious time replying their messages. I am convinced the future of Arsenal FC is bright.

  17. challenging again for europa league places if he doesnt bench bellerin ramsey and xhaka .. how any serious manager can play ramsey as a false number 9 when we have a proper one on the bench beggars belief and ozil out of position is hopeless … i just hope emery has a short learning curve coz the gap between us and the big boys is already looking wider

      1. obviously not the one you were … given that he did zero playmaking i was giving him the benefit of the doubt, for large chunks of the game he was our furthest forward dropping back ocassionally to wander aimlessly in middle of park … more or less a false 9 given that we dropped our natural striker … more importantly whatever his position he is championship level and should be a bench player at best had enough of wenger trying to accomodate him independenty of performance so just hopiing emery sees through this nonensense and plays lacazeette with ozil in position

        1. He didn’t play false 9. Its either you didn’t watch the game or your football analysis is abysmal. He played the playmaker role behind the striker. You can argue that he didn’t deliver, that will be fine but, he was no way our furthest player as you have claimed.

          1. He was in front of Auba many times before he was taken off. What was he doing so high up the pitch? Playmaking? For whom?

            It’s really simple, Ramsey should definitely not be relied upon this season, his appearances should be in Europa or off the bench in the league.

            Even though the team is still a work in progress, they played like they were in awe of City.

            Though I believe, if emery drops the useless players, this can only get better.

            1. Emery must start Aubameyang and Lacazette, with Ozil centrally and Ramsey on the bench. If Ramsey doesn’t sign then he plays in the seconds until sold.
              Lee on Arsenal Fan TV provides a very rational response to this game.

          2. look ramsey is not a playmaker and he was too far forward 60 per cent of the time for that role … maybe he is too dumb to understand emery’s calls i dont know but he was basically and knowingly or not in a falsee 9 role … and more to the point he was just as sh@@ there as in every other role he has been given .. i trust emery to work this out

  18. Next game Lichsteiner, Leno, Torreira and Laca has to start. Cech did well but he’s not good enough to play from the back like we did whole game. Bellerin as well not good enough playing from the back. But more importantly our attack needs to find a way to communicate. Too many times we had good chances only to be fluffed away due to miscommunication. It was always going to be a tough game but we had the chances and we didnt take it. WHat a shame. Emery really needs to do something with our attack. Thats our main problem at the moment.

  19. At least for the first time, the underperforming players during the game were substituted, unlike the Wenger years.

  20. Thought we looked a lot better once Lichtsteiner, Torreira and Lacazette all were on the pitch. Guendozi and Torreira midfield looked promising. Few mistakes by Guendozi in the game but he seemed to grow in stature as the game went on and his passing was crisp and always looking forward forward. Xhaka is poor and should not be near the first team, Cech has to have the worst feet in world football. Lichtsteiner showed Bellerin how a full back should play and should take note. Ozil and Mikhi really need to sort themselves out as both look poor and devoid of any ideas.

    Still. This season is a transition, Gary Neville said it a few times that it’ll take 3-4 transfer windows to sort this squad out and he’s right. I’m just going to enjoy the season come what May and trust Emery and his rebuilding process.

    1. well said!!! we have to be patient and cannot expect things to be turned around in one season.

      I saw much improvement.

      1. Exactly. We have a new manager, new personnel and are playing against the defending champions who are still very much the same team/squad as last season.

        Let’s jusge after 10-15 games.

  21. Disappointing performance! If you didn’t see Emery you could swear Wenger was still in charge.. it was a training session for City! Torreira done more in first 5 minutes than Xhaka did in the whole game! Ozil was awful! Strikers were off the boil and defence is still crap, completely disheartened it’s gonna take a long time and millions spent to fix us, sad but true anyway on to the next game not holding much hope for that game after that display

    1. Wenger would have never taken Ramsey and Xhaka of. Wenger would have lost this game 4-0.

      It was always going to take a long time to fix the mess he left.

      1. I like Emery he’s a proper coach, I don’t blame him for the performance! Wenger has left a sickness at this club and it’s gonna take some time for that to be mended. Xhaka Mustafi ozil etc need to go we need warriors like Torreira even guandouzi!

  22. a new system/formation needs time…..during pre season the best 11 had to play together…i can see except peter,lacazate,goundouze and torriera, the rest players were not ready…let’s look forward when the players adapt the system and integrated well…we will expect results

  23. So guendozi has good aaaa….men how the hell was good when he makes 10 errors al least some of them biggggggg like his head …..but ok not his fault all the team played bad to be honest …at least cech saved some goals

  24. All our attacking players today didn’t do well, no communication, we lost many chances. especially ozil. Well there is hope

  25. Ramsey and Xhaka are big flops… Before the match I kept questioning why every possible line ups has Ramsey in it.
    Guendozi is the only midfielder who impressed and stood up to City today.
    Next week I hope to see 4-3-3 please
    ……………..Leno(Perfect sweeper Keeper who can play the bal from the back)
    Mitch……Mustafi…..Sokratis…..Monreal
    ……Torerria…..Guendozi….Mhiki
    …………………Ozil…………………….
    …Aubameyang….. Lacazette…..

      1. Xhaka deserves a one way ticket back to Albania
        Two seasons of justifying his poor performances .

        I want to.kick his testicles wearing adidas predators

    1. Leno has to play. This is not saying Cech is no good but Emery’s system requires building from the back (not unlike Pep). Cech doesn’t have the ball control to do that.

      Hope Ramsey and Xhaka will be benched for Chelsea and hope fans will give the manager a few seasons to turn things around.

    2. That makes twonof us cos you’re not the only one that’s been wondering why Ramsey had to be in every possible lineup before the game, bro.
      I’m just happy that he and Xhaka didn’t finish the game cos Wenger wouldn’t have subbed them off. Emery might have picked the wrong starting 11 but he didnt stick with them when he saw that they didn’t do well. But leno, lacazette and torreira have to start against Chelsea, even if he might want to stick with cech, torreira and lacazette stated their cases

  26. Half empty stadium towards end of game said it all!! We would be better off with dick emery!! Bring back Wenger quick!!

  27. We lost to the champions, I think most teams will. It was a much better performance, I just wonder how different it would have been if Lichtsteiner, Torreira & Laca all started, they were good. Lichtsteiner doesn’t take any crap – loved it!
    Loved Ramsey & Xhaka being subbed… play crap you get subbed boys ?
    Bring on Chelsea. . Will absolutely love it if we do them!!! COYG

    1. Happy to see some intelligent comments with reasonable expectations. This is going to be an up and down season but if you couldn’t see the improvement today I am not sure what you have been watching.

      Would be great if we could do Chelsea but will be another difficult game.

  28. And you guys wonder why we are the butt of every jokes as fans…well it’s obvious…cus we are the worst out there….first game and this mentality would havesl stopped Jesus from walking on the sea….what were you guys actually expecting…
    I see some of you criticizing cech..goundezi(definitely the wrong spelling) but this guys were good….cus I could equally count how many times elderson misplaced his passes….but hey the years of being negative has left us all bitter …

  29. City is d best team in d land,but Emery threw this one away by playing Xhaka and Dozi against d best team in d land.u had Torriera and u decided to bench him telling me he is not fit after training for two weeks, players that trained for 4days played for their clubs.
    if Torriera started this match with Dozi Arsenal would not hv lost this match for Sure. Torriera is our best DM why bench him against City. I don’t buy that idea of he is not fit that is rubbish, Pogba,Kente,Stirling and many others trained for 4 and5 days and they all played. not happy with Emery.

    1. Playing the old players and making them see that they can’t fit with his plans is the best way to gradually weed them out Of the team. You just don’t get into a new team and bench the previous first team players, they’ll revolt and find ways to get you out. Game after game, the players that aren’t fit for his style will start showing.

  30. I don’t know what’s the upgrade with Miki’s inclusion in this team. Same old Ozil, always wanting to do things in his own time at his own pace, thereby stifling our strikers. Xhaka should just embrace the bench and let Arsenal move forward. Cech was good but it’s obvious he’s not a ball playing GK, Emery should find a way round this if we’re to always start play from the back. Maybe next week will be better…

  31. @Eddy Hoyte,if we played ur lineup we would not hv lost this match.
    this is our best lineup, that is what I was expecting minus Monreal..
    Emery threw this match away,don’t tell me about players not been fit after two weeks training that is rubbish.

    1. So you on the training pitch with emery? You know if they have knocks or not and are ready to complete 90 minutes? Tell us more

    2. Chuks We I thought so too, Guendozi is 19 but playing like an expert while Xhaka just looks useless… Ramsey as rightly said no discipline, fvcking twat, I always said I prefer Keeping Wilshere over Ramsey. Good thing they got subbed off. Hopefully they’re both on the bench against Chelsea and Leno starts also between the sticks. plus Lacazette can never be on the bench please, he just can’t. play Aubameyang out wide please until we get a winger

  32. I know this is the beginning of a work in progress, but there is something that bothers me about losing another season opener at home again. Without even scoring a goal in front of the home crowd. Still hard to swallow.

    1. Stuff it in your throat bro, its wasn’t a woeful performance that we would have had under Wenger, emery has promised that we would work hard, I expect that working hard to be improving on mistakes, we lost to the defending champions, I’m not trying to justify a defeat but like I said, it wasn’t a woeful performance, this is where the difference between Wenger and emery should come in, he shouldn’t do the same things to expect different results

  33. anyone think nzonzi rather than guendouzi could have made a difference today? and monreal at LB although i applaud litchy for helping reduce the damage here.

  34. Why are people saying Cech was good? An error prone keeper is NEVER good. This just happened to be the day his mistakes didn’t lead to goals. Next time he won’t be so lucky. It’s funny cause Leno was the one getting questioned for his errors when we bought him, now ppl are okay with GK errors??

  35. Welcome to the new EPL season. My first posting here in several weeks. Not surprised to see the display today. I believe the new coach will surely come good as he understands the players better and gets more opportunities to change players down the road. I know some of the old players still either need to come to the party or be sold. However, one point I have made severallly in the past is that, what needs to change FIRST is the “club philosophy” on spending – the quality of players. The EPL is growing in quality and you need to rise up to that accordingly, Not every coach can work, leave and achieve some things with certain caliber of players. Anyways, we are in it…let’s see how Emery responds in the next couple of matches and perhaps seasons to come. COYG!

  36. I thought all the new boys who played did well or at least quite well. Most of the awful players are the same old ones who Wenger constantly played even though not good enough. Bellerin, Xhaka, Mustafi. Lacazette should have started in place of Ramsey and Lichtsteiner is miles better than BELLERIN who would never wear our shirt again , were I in charge. Torreira looks the real deal, Lichtsteiner too and I thought we gave City a good game in the second half. Much still to do for Emery but WENGERS DEADWOOD NEEDS TO GO, ASAP.

    1. I absolutely agree with you Jon. Bellerin & Xhaka need to sit on the bench & watch how football should be played. I, however, thought Mustafi wasn’t that bad.. Any CB would struggle with Bellerin as a Right Back & Xhaka as a CM. Mhkitaryan hasn’t also been impressive at all to me ever since he arrived at the Emirates.

      1. You guys are just looking for all kinds of excuses to slate Wenger. If Emery had won or played a draw with the same players in same game you would have been singing a different songs e.g. Emery got the best out of the players using better tactics. I have absolutely no issues with new coach but with grossly biased fans. Let’s just say new coach is settling and will get his tactics right as he also change players. And where the new coach needs constructive criticism be bold to point it out ….not hiding everything under Wenger. I am sure another coach could have pulled a draw given the knowledge of the players during preseason and the strength of ManCity which I believe no coach in Europe can deny knowledge of.

        1. Wenger was HUMILIATED by our performances against Citeh last season.We were beaten today by probably the best side in the Premiership since the Invincibles.At least we had a Manager that showed a tactical mind that showed improvement over lasts seasons debacles.Emery needs time to fix the rot Wenger left behind when he was rightly SACKED.The problem Wengers dismissal was a decade later than it should have been.
          We will not come up against ANY team better than who we played today.It was a tough game for Emery to start with and next week will be no easier.But there was encouragement to be taken from today.Cech looked better.Mustafi played better than most games last season and Bellerin wasn’t as bad as he had been either.We had a system that never worked out simply because we played an outstanding Football Team who will win the Premiership by a canter.There is not a better team in Europe and they will go on to prove that this season.
          But this isn’t about Citeh.Its about Arsenal and I was encouraged that at least we had a plan.The fact it didn’t work was more to do with Citeh’s performance.
          Honestly pal-get over Wenger.He FAILED and was SACKED.

          1. As if we didn’t see Cech, Bellerin, Mustafi “played better” at some point during the last season. Surprised no comment on Xhaka. The whole world knew Xhaka was our biggest problem last season ; the new coach probably saw enough on videos and saw enough In training /pre-season. Not only hasn’t he been sold, he is in the 1st 11. Who should be the first player out under a new supposedly “disciplined”regime? The new coach will come good but a lot of you are wasting time living in the past and still unnecessarily bitter about Wemger. Unfortunately, you can’t change AW fantastic record. Until a new coach achieves MORE under same circumstances that AW operated…nothing is going to impress the right thinking football followers. By the way, you don’t advise others to forget the past when you have just written a full page dwelling and meaning on the past

    2. Two thumbs up Jon ?? the sooner the better Wenger’s crap and his loser mentality he left at our club is extinguished the better!

    3. I respect your opinion but I do not think bellerin and mustaphi were really awful. Maybe you can kindly remind me the errors mustaphi made. Bellerin too was up and down the right flank. Not his best game though, but not really bad. The weak links in the team today were Xhaka and Ramsey. They were horrible especially xhaka who was more or less a lamp post, leaving the whole marking and distribution for Guendouzi. These two players should be replaced with Lacazette and Torreira. Cexh had a good game from a goal keeping point of view but was bad as the 11th man. He kept us on the game in the first half but always looked like he was going to misplace a pass and cause a goal each time we try to build the attack from the back (of course he nearly did). I think Leno should replace him for this reason. Auba was poorly supplied, Ozil can’t play his best game from the flanks, the center back pairing did a good job and I know their understanding can only get better as they play more games together. Onwards and upwards, YaGunnersYa, COYG.

  37. we played against one of the best teams in the world. at times we played well, maybe if lacazette had scored we might have had a different story. lechsteiner, torreira should start and pls ramsey and ozil on the bench. cech made errors but saved us from a big defeat. gooner = forever

  38. We can’t play both Ozil & Mhkitaryan together especially in a 4-3-3 formation. Both don’t track back much & are not good at pressing. Xhaka should just stay on the bench. Bellerin needs to learn how to defend, especially against crosses. We gave ManCity too much space & I hope Emery has picked up a few notes. Lichtsteiner was great, Matteo is a very great prospect and I would like Emery to keep him in the starting line up alongside Torreira. All hope is not lost, onwards & upwards.

  39. Losing to reigning champions by a 0-2 margin doesn’t mean we are doomed in anyway way, let’s stop this negativity and hope to beat Chelsea at the Standford bridge so as to boost our confidence.and by the way that Gouendouzi lad really impressed me

  40. Good run out, we will be far better against Chelsea.

    Points
    – Cech was good some errors, but stop the goal score from being higher.

    – Guendouzi was lost in the first half, but second half he looked a far better player

    -Pressing game was good

    – Final pass and finishing was a let down, going forward everything went wrong.

    – Need someone more mobile in the DM role to partner with Guendouzi. Xhaka can not play at pace in the midfield too slow for our midfield. Torreira showed glimpses of the player he could be.

    – Ramsay, Mik and Ramsay must not play in the team at the same time an Iwobi or Welbeck would had offered more pace and also help to AMN

    Emery must put in midfielders more suited to his pressing game, Elneny, Iwobi, Welbeck or Campbell must be used especially when we are playing the top 2 teams from what i have seen so far only liverpool and mancity have a better team than ours and we will start proving it next Saturday

  41. Any disappointment I have after this kind of display from our players is 100% down to our own expectations that 2 months would make us awesome

  42. according to many people on here ozil is the best number ten in the world !. if that is the case , then i would hate to see a bad number ten at play.he offers nothing, he looks and acts frightened and frail.he is nervous as anything when he gets the ball and then he does nothing with it . how many more games will this fraud be given before he is called out . the sooner the better, he looks like a chap who is actually afraid of his own shadow. please retire little man, you are only half the player you were, you are a passanger.

  43. what have been changed from the wenger era? if not mistaken we played with eight players from the old guard? why did leichsteiner, torreira and the german goalkeeper not started? gooner = for ever

  44. Is it Ramsey himself who was trying to play in front of aubameyang or emery asking him to play that way.Ramsey for me is a nutcase who thinks he’s in a circus to show off what he’s got which he’s got none perfect clueless as*****

    1. My honest thinking of Ramsey from the 1st time a didi see him: moron! he did not change his game and mind a bit after daddy left. plqying again like anheadless chicken and in a way of Auba s lines of movement.
      Obviously Welsh Football Asc have a contract with Arsenal that ramsey has to play in every lineup and every manager.
      Although he was in shoping window today cos ge us going to Inter Milan.

  45. somebody called Xhaka a “pretender” or was it a dud? i think it was one of the neville brothers – the thing is Xhaka appears to be doing nothing to prove his detractors wrong. could be we need to ship him back to basle which would have the effect of waking elneny up and playing a lot better. iv never quite understood why we purchased Xhaka for several times more than we brought elneny, when in terms of quality there’s little between the two. i wasn’t at all pleased with his display today

    there’s a gulf in class between the favourites approach to play this season and where we’re at.

  46. What a game, although disappointed but there are a lot of positives. First, I believe if the coach can stick to his guns and axe any under performing player without favour of fear we’ll go places. Secondly, some players are not ready to flow with the new tide, hence should be left behind. Players like Ozil, Miki, Xhaka, and Ramsey.
    However, seeing Gounedozi, Laca, Lichi, Mustafi, Torreria, Papa, and Bellerin(to an extent) performance I know all hope is not lost.

  47. Someone tell Emery that there are 3players that cost Wenger his job namely Ramsey,Ozil and Xhaka.If he continues having this Lazy overrated average guys in his starting 11then he should know he won’t last long at arsenal.

  48. I am criticizing players who I feel have been under performing & not showing any improvements. If criticizing players for their awful performance is being biased then I am afraid we both have a very different definition of criticism.

  49. Ozil and cech move like 100 year old I mean their reflexes are gone they should give up playing the game if they want to play they need show up right now they are not even present in the field

  50. we lost the game because our attacking players rushed decisions, and their finishing was not good, guendouzi will be a star..

    By match day 5 alot improvement will be noted.
    work in progress.
    Get behind the team.
    We lost to the best team in England and they weren’t as comfortable as last season.

  51. I think if you are a true fan you would of seen that we had more fight today we was winning a lot and could have had a few goals. We lost but what I saw was a positive! The new kid in midfield made some mistakes but also done some fantastic stuff shutting attacks down and winning the ball for the team we looked stronger and were not bullied by city like we have been in the past by other teams and I think the future is looking bright. Like others had mentioned earlier we are playing against the champs, one of the best teams in Europe and I think we done well. We had our chances. I think Xhaka, Bellerin and Ramsey should take a break from the first team to see if they have the fight to improve and get back into the team and if you look at Liverpool three strikers up front we need to play that way also Lacazette abam miki. We lost but I saw a promising Arsenal that will only get better from here. We beat Chelsea next week!!!
    L

      1. John Doe, I’m glad I don’t play competetive sport in a team with you; beaten before you take the field. This type of weak mentality holds Arsenal back.

  52. My instincts are telling me that we are going to beat Chelsea by a big margin, stop this whining mentality please

  53. Whatever people say Ramsey does not know how to play in a position where he was supposed to play he is always caught out of position when team needs to defend we can see he is always in a position to score when there are other players played in a position to score a goal

  54. Work in progress guys. This was Emery first premiership game so he had to use the experienced players n blend the newcomers in. Goundenzi was good for a new young lad, yes he made errors but he was our best player today. Even if we lose at Chelsea, the important thing is that there must be improvements from today, going forward. Even Sokratis surprised me, he did ok for his first game. Mustafi had good game too. Worst players today Ramsay n Xhaka.

  55. The game was lost in the transition from the back to the front as Emery asked for the ball to be played through rather than Czech’s long balls on occasion. It meant the back four had a lot to do, and they suffered by playing into City’s press, and it was embarrassing. The game was lost right there strategically with Arsenal unable to really generate attacks starving the forwards of the ball.

    Emery 0 – 1 Pep.

    Besides being out coached, Emery used the wrong formation to counter City. City’s biggest fear is counter attacking with speed, and with City out pacing us, we were the team that looked out of shape. Emery tried the 433 clog with Ozil not out of place and Ramsay not sure where he was.

    Xhaka is too slow to play against City, use him to play against physical teams. Torreira or Elneny would have done better not allowing space on top of the for the goals.

    The use of Xhaka with Guendo won’t work, as neither knows who stays behind to protect the back line. That is basically how the goals were conceded as both these players have to control the top of the box to prevent the goals that were conceded and the number of shots taken.

    Emery was poor. You can see why he did not make it to the next level, but moved to Arsenal.

    That said, we are stuck with him. So, I hope he has the wisdom to adjust and we see some mid-field changes. Ozil has to be use as a number 10, or there is no point in having him in the team. Do not try to punish player like Ramsay after not having a proper game plan. Try to reward players like Welbeck, that is good thinking, as he will play the pressing game well. Do not use Mkhi and Ozil together, it makes no sense.

    Next game against Chelsea:

    4231
    ……….…….….…….Cech…….…….……………
    Lech……Sokratis……Mustafi………Monreal
    …………..…Guend……………Tor…………….
    Ramsay………..…Ozil……………..…….Auba
    …….………………….Laca……………………….

    OR
    I prefer 3-4-1-2
    ……….…….….…….Cech…….…….……….……
    ……..Lech…………Sokratis……Mustafi…….
    Ramsay….…Guend……….Tor…….Welbeck
    ………………..…..…Ozil………………….…….
    ……..………….Laca……Auba………………….

    Emery has to use the players he has. Czech should be asked to use his judgement on when to go long ball and when to start the attack from the back. If Emery persists with starting all attack from the back all day, we will lose to mid-table teams.

      1. Emery is poor after 3 months with Kroenke and the board providing minimal support in the transfer window? You must be joking?
        By the way, what was the next level for Emery after coaching PSG? Who was Arsenal going to attract who has a better record, with no Champions League and a tight fisted owner?

          1. They had coaches/managers already. Who could Arsenal get, who was available, better than Emery?

  56. All those who we call captains on the pitch ruined the match. Cech, Ozil, Ramsey. Xhaka.. .. Xhaka made the midfield difficult for Guendouzi.

  57. Few things to note
    1. Arsenal has a defensive midfielder in torreira, yet we played a man city without a proper dm

    2. Arsenal fans are yet to realize that it takes much more than two months to reprogram players mentality from the “Wenger football” to “modern football”. Today, arsenal played Wenger football (allbeit with new set of players) I wasn’t surprised they lost)

    3. Ramsey is not needed in the team…I know some Ramsey fans will object to this but he’s not needed. Take it or leave it.

    4. Arsenal do not have wingers… Therefore, we should stop playing like we do. Ozil and mkhi cannot terrorize anybody playing from the wings. I’ve said this, we need someone like Sanchez in our team. I don’t mind if we get Sanchez himself.

    5. For now that arsenal has no real wingers, our best formation will be 4-3-1-2 or 4-1-3-2 (with playmakers in attacking midfield)

    6. Until wenger football is removed from the mind of the players, we won’t notice any real changes because the players will continue to feel inferior in the face of big teams. This inferior mentality, makes them unable to hold onto the ball with confidence.

    7. I’m not sure unai Emery know what he’s doing with his selection of players for this kind of match. Well, time will tell.

    During pre season matches, I dint give much importance to the results because in my mind, I imagined how arsenal will play when the real test comes…and I wasn’t too hopeful. It’s still too early to conclude…only time will tell.

  58. Guendozi was my motm.. He should start every match
    Leno, laca and Tor should start next game.
    mustafi and socratis had a good game.
    Auba should be played on the wing.
    Ozil should also be signed. He seriously needs competition..
    I believe we would get better as the season progresses.

  59. LOST …. Yes but not so bad, Guendo obvious best player for the day considering his lack of EPL experience, the boy has guts and with good guide around him, he could be the cog we need in the long run, what about Litch as captain for the season? let us start our next game with the team we ended with, with Welbeck on the bench.

  60. Well, there are several things to learn from yesterday’s game against City.

    1: Mistakes show you what you’re doing wrong… Who else to really expose what emery needs to fix than Man City…
    A person who isn’t making mistakes doesn’t know where he ought to improve, especially in football.

    2: It’s just the first game of the season… And don’t forget that arsenal are still in transition period… I expect more games like today’s game until around November or December… By then, they should have really learnt to play Emery’s way…

    3: Emery has to demolish this team first before he can build anything meaningful…

    I’m talking Ramsey, ozil, cech and Mkhitaryan on the bench for a looong time.
    Why? You might ask…
    ¶. ozil doesn’t play with the required level of urgency needed, he likes to slow down our attack unnecessarily…
    ¶. Miki just lacked any real intent to even play decent football today.
    ¶. Ramsey is just in the team to occupy valuable space, he should be sold outrightly or loaned to a difficult league to play in (like coquelin was before he became a disciplined DM).

    Emery needs to stamp his authority on this team, make them realize that even the slightest mistake or complacency won’t be tolerated.

  61. Torreira needs to come in!
    Ozil need to play in the middle!
    Ramsey is better further up the ground.
    Auba & Laca both need to play.

    Dont care if Xhaka is dropped for Guendozi

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