Arsenal will have to prove the pundits wrong to take Top Four place

It didn’t take long but as expected the so-called pundits are predicting that Arsenal will fail to make the top four. Sky pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher reckon that Tottenham will take third place with Man Utd the most likely to grab the final fourth spot at the expense of both us and Chelsea.

Both had a lot to say about our away form, the respective run ins, Chelsea’s tough away games against Liverpool and United and Tottenham playing in their new stadium.

They also predict that because Tottenham have four home games in their run in that they have the advantage.

Their most damning verdict was saved for us, especially from Carragher who only sees us winning one of our four away games.

The thing is this, I am ok with their opinions, I do not agree at all, but the more the pundits, former players, and so called experts put us down, underestimate us and disregard us, the more I am convinced that it will provide an incentive to the players.

If you think the players and Unai Emery do not listen and read what these people say you would be mistaken, of course they do and it will drive them on, in fact, I would urge the manager to pin up on the dressing room wall what they have to say.

Yes, our away form is poor, yes, we did badly against Everton, but come on, we are right in the middle of the pack, we are in the Europa League quarter finals and you do not get to that stage without having something about you.

So, I say, carry on, put us down, we will prove you wrong.

COYG!

12 Comments

  1. I like Carragher’s bluntness, but I predict Arsenal would only lose against Leicester. Unless the players feel their salaries are too small to fight in away matches

    Emery shouldn’t use 3-4-2-1 again at away as it has become too predictable. If he wants to use a three-CB formation, he had better use 3-4-1-2 with two wide forwards

    One striker alone is not enough to force the opposition’s GK and defenders to use long distributions. The lack of pressure in the front made Everton able to build their attack from the back and usually the other top teams will not allow this to happen

    1. Emery is too defensive playing away games. He should have gone for a 433 against everton. Front 3 of Lacazette Aubameyang and Ozil. Midfield 3 of Mhkhitaryan, Ramsey and Guendouzi. He needs to be very bold in his team selection. Playing 7 defensive minded players away does not help.

      1. I agree, though the weird part is that he did go like that in our first half of season but when it began swinging in other teams favor, he then switched to a more defensive look, I think but can’t be sure. Because, he wants them to attack as a team and defend as a team, but it’s mostly at home when it works. Even the home games people were saying it looks too defensive, so that is not what he’s aiming to do, he’s aiming for team performance.

        Xhaka and Torriera missing were big blows, on top of some casualties, so away from home, us then not choosing our best players for away set-up, it just added to it. I still think our team had enough quality to beat Eve, they lacked the correct desire, or any real desire which should be evident as soon as whistle first blows.

  2. I like your optimism but the current bunch we have playing are not really a group who get any other incentive than a paycheck.

    1. Wholeheartedly agree, reddb10. I have given up on trying to determine what motivates some of the current Arsenal squad. One would think that performing at 100%, following Emery’s instructions and trying to win the remaining games to make top four would be sufficient; however Lacazette admits at the recent press conference that the players failed to follow instructions against Everton.

  3. I don’t expect them to say anything different! We were doing well… there was talk of us even finishing 3rd… now that’s vanished & we can, if we’re lucky “nick 4th”
    In a way you can’t blame them for what they’ve said.. if we’d beaten Everton we would have leapfrogged the spuds into 3rd.. but oh no even that wasn’t enough to spur us on! Another away loss, another 3 points dropped, another poor performance… and we still have 4 more away games, which I am dreading!! Spuds have all those home games, now I’m not saying they’re going to win them all.. but beating City there last night will certainly have given them a boost!
    So come on Arsenal stop giving all these pundits their ammunition… it would be lush to prove them all wrong & shut them up..with all the injuries, suspensions & away games though, I’m not 100% sure we will ?

  4. I am sure none of them gave us any chance of being where we are now, before the season started. So they were wrong then. Maybe they are also wrong now?

  5. To me, it seems like we bring a different intensity when we play at home or against big 6 teams.

    I didn’t mind losing to Everton as much as being outworked and outhustled.

    Why can’t we treat these last PL away games as if we play a big 6 team and work our socks off for the whole game? These games should truly be treated as finals. If we win our last remaining games we will be back in the CL and back where we belong. We should act like it and not as if it is a September game.

    IMO we have more chance of winning our remaining PL games than winning the Europa League.

  6. why is mavropanos not playing,dude is better than mustafiband given the fact that mustafi kept failing in every match.

    1. I agree with Mas. That kid Mavropanos looks so strong and committed every time we see him. definitely one for the future.

      1. Also he and Sokratis would communicate better with one another, I would rather see him come in for Monreal though. Mustafi as bad as he can be on occasion is more consistent and better suited than Monreal. Monreal doesn’t really know that position well enough, he’s like two different players at times, caught between a fullback and a CB, also he needs to be more demanding/commanding of Kolasinac. When Kolasinac knee jerked that ball into a players path, that was very close to the position that Monreal should’ve been in, Kolasinac should not be the last man either. I just feel that Monreals positioning can be strange at times, Mustafi knows his position better at certain moments whereas Monreal’s first instincts are not a natural CB’s thinking.

  7. I don’t think we need to be unduly concerned about the pundits and other critics. Instead our concern should be directed at Emery”s tactics and team selection for away games. I have said it before and I will reiterate it that there is no reason why Emery puts himself under intense pressure in away games. He needs to relax and treat away games the same way he treats home games. There is no reason why he should be over cautious in attack. I am not advocating for recklessness. Rather I am calling for a balance between attack and defence, agility in both defence and attack. The opposition should not be allowed free rein on the pitch. Even when we don’t have the ball we should make it difficult for the opposition to operate in similar fashion to how we dealt with Spurs away from home. Similarly we should defend and attack as a team. There should be no relenting because when we do the opposition attacks us incessantly causing us to panic and make some mistakes. Emery should desist from playing Elneny because he has become a total liability. He would rather play Maitland Niles in midfield and Jenkinson as a right back. Playing Mkhitaryan and Ozil at the same time also deprives the team of speed and spine. Hopefully both Xhaka and Torreira will play the next game. Otherwise I don’t believe in such meaningless phrases as away hoodoo and curses. They are only in the minds of those who believe in them. Games are won and lost on the pitch not in historical precedents, antecedents or pundits views and predictions. Let Emery and the boys make adequate preparations, go to fight as a team, have confidence and we shall finish third and even win Europa. No task is impossible!

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