Chelsea 2-2 Arsenal, ten man Arsenal escape with a draw

Ten-man Arsenal with two shots on target draw 2-2 with Chelsea

Well, as first halves go that was an unmitigated disaster for Arsenal. It was as bad as we have seen all season, in fact, if Arsenal had set out to register one of the worse 45 minutes possible then they can say they achieved that feat.

David Luiz and Shkodran Mustafi combined to not only get a man sent off, concede a penalty and go a goal down but also to distract us all from how woeful the whole team was.

There was not a single shot on target and that in itself gives you a picture of how dire they were.

The worse thing was that Chelsea was not that good either, a half-decent performance would have seen them put Arsenal to the sword but they hardly needed to get out of first gear to be leading at the interval.

The blame is not just with the players though, Mikel Arteta has to be held responsible, he picked this team, he is deluding himself if he thinks a partnership of Mustafi and Luiz is ever going to be effective and before anyone says he had lack of options there was Rob Holding on the bench.

It was a relief to hear the half time whistle and one had to hope that the second half had more energy, passion, determination and fighting spirit. I was not going to be holding my breath.

The second half obviously started off with Chelsea on the front foot, they were clearly going to push home their advantage. However, it has to be said that there was a better spirit on show and the substitution of Ozil was a massive positive move from Arteta, but the question was, how long would the improved spirit last?

It would turn a lot longer than we could have possibly hoped for.

That young sensation Gabriel Martinelli produced a moment of sheer magic, a brilliant solo effort and a goal of pure composure to level the score at 1-1 on the 62nd minute. What must his value be now?

Hard to see how the teenager can be dropped when Aubameyang returns, Lacazette or Pepe have to make way for the majestic one.

Chelsea laid siege to the Arsenal goal from that point onwards but the lack of quality on show from Chelsea was a sight to behold. Arsenal also employed some very good spoiling tactics and did look dangerous on the counter. It should also be said that Leno came into his own with some crucial saves as well.

You just knew it was never going to last, a simple low cross with Mustafi, again, losing his man and Cesar Azpilicueta sneaks in to get Chelsea’s second goal on the 83rd minute.

But if you thought it was over think again, Hector Bellerin of all people scored a beauty of goal and ten-man Arsenal were on level terms once again just three minutes later. Phew, it was becoming hard to catch one’s breath.

The question now was, could Arsenal hold on? To the final whistle was the answer.

No doubt the draw will be seen as a huge result and it was under the circumstances but wow, do they need new signings urgently this month.

150 Comments

      1. means nothing to be the best defender at Arsenal. Best of a bad bunch. All are error prone and can cost you matches on different days.

        1. Luiz isn’t good. Arteta’s pressing tactics have saved him a bit. I still think selling Bielio was a huge mistake. He was claimed not to be good enough out of assumption rather than what he actually did

          1. What about Mav and Holding? Luiz is a catastrophy as Mustafi, can’t be trusted at all, same for Sokratis, no one wants them in EPl tells you something but it doesn’t even matter!

            That is where Arteta has to learn, he is good in term of spirit but can’t be right tac tic jf you have wrong formation at center back and middle!

            We were as usual, defending, playing mostly in our own half. Chelsea lack of experience and not putting game away cost them the game. We score on a counter attack, kante slips or Martineli is stopped, had push ball to far, like a pass to kante who just slided, lool. Then of course everything else and spirit makes it fare and deserved for Martineli to score a treat goal.

            Second one. Abraham was on one foot, bellerin just swinged by, effortless, Araham walking, not able to chase. But again, great and deserved & great goal. Some TV journalists think keeper could have stopped it. I disagree, he moved really fast, twisting as he does and confused keeper who thought he will shoot on inside post, he didn’t and was really so kick as he dribbles keeper at distant shoot.

            We have the players and spirit back, right coach but if he can’t pick the team, poor results makes him a bad coach. Need to affect spirit, pick right team or tac tic is useless! Of course it easy to out a 2 to Ozil, but if no balls transition to him, as Laca, all he can do is defend as well! Playing wide allows to get more balls, space to do so, cant in center if no transition!

    1. Luiz is not the problem. The problem is Mustafi the last 2 games. Luiz plays well and strong when partnered with Sokratis. He had to make that challenge due to Mustafi’s error. I remember Varane once too a red card as a last man for taking a striker clean out but outside the box, he was red carded but they won that game. Just a risk that had to be taken but unfortunately our Leno is terrible at Penalties.

  1. Disaster individuals at this club, but what can I say, we got a draw out something you’d expect us to get nothing out of. Under Wenger and Emery 99% of the time we would have lost too. So my hope is that something Arteta is saying is clicking. Clearly a lot of these players are simply NOT good enough. No need to go into it because we all know who they are. Martinelli, Saka never gave up. Bellerin, great goal. So well done to the players that tried hard today.

    1. It’s debatable. Maybe under Wenger we might also have drawn this match. This Chelsea team isn’t great at home if you actually watch them. Mind you they lost at Bournemouth who apart from today are on like a seven game losing streak.
      Chelsea don’t play well at home at all

      1. I feel like form of other teams never mattered under Wenger. We always choked against the other big sides. Especially when we lost a man, which was pretty often too. (of course i am referring to the latter half of his tenure)

        1. True but I don’t think this result was above him in his final years simply because Chelsea aren’t good enough to kill games. For Emery I’m 100% confident that we wouldve lost

  2. I really can’t wait to see us upgrade this team
    What a masterclass from Bellerin today.
    Still I’m awaiting people who’ll come on here to abuse Xhaka and deny he had a solid game. Even as a defender!!
    Once PEA is back, Lacazette to the bench please.
    It was an impressive performance

    1. Xhaka was not abused Eddie, it’s not his fault managers keep playing him in a system that leaves him n the team expose n minimises his impact. If he was playing with carzola for example I would have been happy because he is not a DM n neither CM, he is somewhere in middle so he gives us a bit more going forward but when you pair him with another DM he becomes a liability because that forward pass, creating space n getting out if tight situation goes missing.

      1. You will still see three or four people who will come find something to blame him for.
        I said I’m awaiting it, you should wait for it too..
        They’ll show up

        1. Lol! I really like one thing about Xhaka which no one can deny even his worse critics his commitment to the cause n his effort. I actually think dude is captain material in character.

    2. Eddie, have to disagree with your assessment of Lacazette; he works his socks off in most matches, which when he is not scoring goals goes unnoticed by many. He ran himself into the ground in this game and the goal drought will end, given how he took the chance (ruled offside) against Chelsea.

  3. This why I say I want the season to quickly end. Its painful watching. This is easily the worst I’ve ever seen us in a season. I feel sorry for us and even the team that would be buying Mustafi.Even at his age he’s finished! If even he could get his chance why couldn’t a proper defensive prospect like Bielik get his? Shocking sale! If many say Kos over his entire career was just the best of a bad bunch what can we say about David Luiz?? The only light in this season so far has been Arteta and he’s not even in a player. After all this we’d still have many who would still rate Ozil and tell me Pepe is worth €80m. I would give the MOTM to two players, Martinelli and Bellerin for obvious reasons. We could’ve even won today’s game but for shocking decision making.

    1. I thought it was a very entertaining game and wouldn’t want the season to end quickly.

      With a few upgrades in January we would be on track again

      Agree with Ozil but Pepe was fine. Pepe was always surrounded by defenders coz they know he’s a threat

    2. Worst you’ve seen us, yes first half but credit due for second half eh?
      Are you pissed? By that I mean drunk?

      1. Im not taking of the beauty of the match or how we played. I’m referring to how we’ve performed in the season. Something always bad happens to prevent us from winning. This match could have been won if not for bad decisions

    3. We got an early red card. Come on, give it to the lads, am not going to blame any player, not even mustaffi. My big shout out to Xhaka, Toreira, Martinelli, and Saka

    4. Oh Come on KEV are you f***ing high??? The worst youve seen us play you say! Give credit where it’s due man. Im mad at your comment ’cause those 10 men out there just did us proud, fought for the badge and have shut the scum for the rest of the season. When did we last show such a never die attitude away to any team leave alone vs the Chavs at SB?

  4. I’m breathless and had given it up. What a second half performance. Everyone stepped up, Xhaka filled in excellently at centrehalf and Martinelli is such a future star, has to play regularly. Bellerin back with a bang and Leno oh Leno, man of the match.

  5. Oh man, what a night! At one point I even thought of turning over to watch City!!
    How good is Martinelli, 67 yards he took that ball!! That goal was worthy of winning any game!! Bloody brilliant!!
    And Captain Bellerin, what a return! What a goal… topped off with MOTM!!
    Well done boys!! (Middle finger to Chelsea!) 😁

    1. Lewis Dunk, Thomas Partey and Rakitic. These are the 3 players we need. Lacazette should be benched for now.

    1. This is how far I had to go down the comments to Read the first true emotional feeling of what the spirit of that game meant for a true fan.

      Everything else above I guess il just have to say are playstation fans. (Sorry GB your comment was cool)
      ‘Bench so and so’
      ‘We need to sign’
      ‘Cant wait for the season to end’
      ‘So and so is finished’

      City were two nil up against Wolves with 10 men and lost 3-2 and got totally outplayed, here we did something we should be celebrating the attitude and what we just saw.
      Flaws, yeh we knew that even before the season but attitude? The biggest element missing for awhile, well we had more of it then Chelsea. We made them look poor. It wasn’t we were lucky, we did that to them.

      Huge shout out to Arteta.

        1. I was going to leave three times as I had to watch on tape. They worked so hard and didn’t quit. And yes Mustafi should be out of chances and his mistakes were awful but how many balls did he head out of the box in the second half – so some credit for his effort to try and make amends.

          If people can’t see this as exciting you are way to bitter…

      1. Spot on Tom yes we all know we need to bring in players but you cannot fault the team or the coach for such a brilliant performance after the red card, i said it before i don’t mind the draw it how we draw.

      2. Completely with you there Tom. I cant remember seeing such fight and spirit from the boys in a long long time.
        The game was exciting, finger nail stuff, We only had 10 men remember.
        Arteta is getting a change in attitude, that’ll do me for now. I have always got time to watch a team that is actually trying, unlike the indifference that’s been on display for the last 3 years.

  6. Not a great result but a brilliant performance. I will first and this is a first since he arrived for me xhaka was brilliant but not in midfield. He actually gets my MOM, thats a first also. Everyone fought against a flattering Chelsea team. Our league has gone but if Arteta has anything in him, he can get us ready for a EL campaign and try and win that. We are lacking creativity, Ozil is everything we dont need in this team, passive and past it, quite frankly. Arteta needsxto bin him pronto and get fighters in. Well done to all tonight but we need to start winning and go on a run.

    1. Well Reggie, we are definitely singing from the same hummmmm sheet!!!
      What a night of emotion and spirit and holding hands in that circle made it happen! Ha ha

      1. Ha ha it was my hummmming while we were holding hands Sue, im convinced. Maybe thats the secret, standing in a circle holding hands humming. To get a win Sue we might have to start chanting, a bit like the Haka.

  7. From you write up, it is obvious you dislike Arteta and you aren’t objective with your analysis. Learn to be objective with your criticism

        1. That is correct and I stand by that opinion and my articles will reflect that going forward. I fully expect you to respond in the opposite Eddie and I welcome that. At the end of the day we all want what is best for Arsenal and I hope I am proven wrong from the bottom of my heart and I mean that.

          1. There’s nothing wrong if you didn’t want him as our manager. The only thing you should do is give credit where due that’s all. For me Arteta is a bit inexperienced even if he was an assistant to Pep. He will learn somethings the hard way as can be seen when he paired Luiz with Mustafi

            1. Do a search on previous arsenal games with player ratings on here and see my opinion on Arteta, I clearly give him credit when it is due. But I will not fall for the hype when he makes bad calls.

          2. Oh AdMartin you bet your āss I will be opposing you… and yea we all want what’s best for club no doubt

          3. Then if you actually understood what I said then you don’t have any case. Im not pointing out that you give him no credit. Im simply saying regardless of if you didn’t want him there’s no problem as long as you give him credit where due. That’s my point

      1. I thought the rule was meant to be yellow for David Luiz ?it was not a violent tackle, how then was that a straight red?

    1. He’s right on this account though he shouldn’t be taken seriously if he doesn’t give credit where due. A partnership of Luiz and Mustafi is a terrible combination. Im always scared anytime Mustafi has a decision to make or has to defend

        1. AdMart, I’m saying if you don’t give credit where due then you ought not to be taken seriously. I don’t know why you hold on to the past for so long even when the truth is proven to you. I proved last season to you that almost everything is leaked

          1. How didn’t I? In the end Tierney and Saliba actually came to Arsenal. It was only my poor wording which made it look like I was inaccurate. The fact is you don’t want to accept the truth because you still want to believe only the club knows what is happening but when you’re dealing with people that’s not how it works. I get most of all the info before it’s in the media

            1. Mate, everyone, including aliens at the other end of the universe knew they were coming to Arsenal, you got everything else wrong but you add value on here and so I will not hold it against you. Same with your wording, you manned up and accepted your error in your wording and I will give you credit for that but your constant desire to be held up as some sort of sage does you no credit. But take it on the chin Kev, swap with me for one day and you will know what true criticism looks like.

    2. I have been here for a while.. But decided to come on here this morning I was shocked, by the headlines “arsenal escape with a draw”

      What?
      What a bulky drum of negativity… It’s these negative energy that’s drawing arsenal back…

  8. Martinelli is the bargain of the season.

    A draw was written all over this game before the kick off but it felt like a win for us considering the fact that we played with a man down. Arteta seem to know how to play with a man down.

    Gutted with the first goal. Same repeated mistakes from intl players is worrying.

    Decent performance with 10 men… Arteta is making use of what he has. Hopefully during the summer, we Will have better players

    Southampton were struggling but are now above us. What a turn around for them…

    1. Uzi, Edu is really batting well to have brought Martinelli to The Arsenal; hard to believe his age and experience level on how well and composed he took that goal.
      Hopefully Edu can find some other gems in midfield and defense.

  9. It’s been a long time since arsenal played with a man down and escaped with a draw. Kudos to the team and coach. I was so attached, I couldnt watch the last few minutes after Bellerin goal, as I could not stand us losing the match after the fight

  10. Had we lost, I would still be proud of the team and the attitude we showed in the second half. This passion is what we’ve been missing so long. The gap to 4th place is still 10 points. If we want to qualify for CL next season we need some signing ASAP. It’s really difficult though in this transfer window…

  11. Auba should come back in the team in place of Laca not Martenlli. Keep the kid in the team, his confidence is high n he is playing brilliant. If we just bench him again that will have negative effect. Kid is enjoying his football n has the hunger …keep it burning. Plus I think benching Laca for next few matches will give him a breather n protect him from stick coming from fans at the moment.

      1. I still keep martinelli on the bench as a supersub …..from the way teams double or triple team Pepe…
        I prefer he comes when they are a bit tired and is not double teamed every time he touched the ball….that’s a well deserved draw…..I think mustafi should be looking for a new team or see a sports psychologist…his confidence is pretty low…..close to stadium fright…..we need defenders badly ….

      2. Martinelli should play, but Lacazette should be played instead of Ozil. Many fans don’t seem to notice how much work Lacazette puts in on and off the ball. The goals will come.

  12. Going into next season with these defenders will be suicidal.
    Bellerin did well defensively, but we need another RB to rival him but since we need to sort other positions.
    We need to ship out at least Two of our Center backs and bring in a proper one alongside Saliva next season.
    Arteta did well taking Ozil off early, Guendouzi added more cover to the defense.
    Pepe needs someone to compete with him, unfortunately we don’t have any proper play there.
    Xhaka under Arteta has been good so far, I won’t mind having him as backup as long as we get someone better in his position.
    Lacazette, I don’t even know what to say about him.
    Mustafi had to put Luiz in the position to bomb it.
    Luiz has been our best defender during the last few games, now he will miss three games, and we’re stuck with bloody Mustafi… Jesus Christ come save us now please

    1. Pepe is supposed to be like our Sanchez. When you compare him to 08/09 Arshavin you’d clearly be able to see that he’s massively underperforming.
      Xhaka needs to be sold. We can’t pass up the chance to sell him. We will not win major trophies with players like him. His skillset isn’t needed for this team if he’s not defensively good. Mustafi is finished and Luis has only been decent I’m his past few games nd not that good. Kos in his final season was still far better

      1. Pepe has underperformed no doubt, but he gets a pass from me.. It’s his first season, I hate judging players cuz of their financial tags.. The same way I know Ozil needs to move but I’ve never for once said anything because of, or pointed to his salary. it’s the same way I won’t pile a lot of pressure on Pepe because of his price tag.
        I’ll come for his head next season if he doesn’t step up, but for now just like Emery did, shouldn’t he be getting his free pass?

        You’re right regarding Luiz being only decent, but every other defenders have been worse, so really again would you rather we have Mustafi and Sokratis?
        The same way I’d have preferred Kos over any of these wackjobs, is the same way I prefer Luiz for now because so far he’s been the best out of the bunch

        1. Pepe should come under some criticism because he was paid to produce and hasn’t. If he gets a pass then every single player who comes from a foreign league should get a pass no matter how poor they are. You are mostly responsible for your performance. David Luiz only looks decent because of Sokratis and Mustafi. I don’t understand the credit he gets. He hasn’t turned a corner or anything. In fact you could predict given three matches he will make a big error that would cost us victory and be right. He is also paid well for a player of his age and quality

    2. Of course we aren’t going into next season with them. Hopefully Holding will be back to his former self, and Saliba will come over energized. We need a marque cb specialist. And Tierney?

    3. Eddie, I hope you meant “Saliba”, not spit? Also, don’t you notice how hard Lacazette works for the team, on and off the ball?

  13. World class lacazett will never run that distance with the ball and score
    The more we keep hyping this guys the more they disappoint you
    Laca is nothing above average
    Make excuses you can keep comparing him to farmino the bottom line is he is a striker and he can’t do the works of a striker
    ThankGod for martineli

    1. So I guess Laca is the new guy to be abused. The dude has scored some brilliant goals for us. Every striker goes through a bad patch. Guy is an international striker of a world champion team who have been dominating international stage for some time. Has proven gaol record where ever he played. Stop abusing n going after the players when they go through bad phase …when he will start scoring guys like you will start praising him like he is your best mate.

      1. International striker of a world champion team I think you are talking about giroud while I am referring to Laca.
        Laca has never been great that was why Wenger brought another striker in the first place (auba)
        He away goals is pethetic in no. All facts points that he is an average striker I want to be proved wrong

        1. Just stop the hatsh criticism of the players….. Arsenal is rebuilding….the guys screwed up but they worked hard not to lose..to me it shows growth..
          .they worked hard and deserve the credit….

      2. How many caps does he have for France? One mate didn’t even go the world cup. Was behind Giroux in the pecking order.

  14. The boyos showed some fight tonight, well done to them is all I can say. They didn’t drop.their heads after the second goal, which could have been a killer psychologically.

  15. Bellerin Confirms Pepe’s Uselessness, He Would’ve Still Wanted To Dribble In That Situation

    Asides His Dribbling,everything else he does is so so poor – starting with his decision making

    Including the fact that his dribblings have no product – nothing positive from them & a lot of times they’re the wrong decisions – in places where all that was needed is a simple pass

    WOW! for Saka & Martinelli tonight
    Right from the first half I was telling the person beside me : “Watch How Bellerin Looks More Dangerous With The Ball When In Attacking Positions Than Pepe”

    Pepe is not a team player

    Have to continue saying it – The Beast Torreira is the only person who’s irreplaceable in this team

    I don’t blame Luiz – Mustafi OH! NO!

  16. You can’t fault Arteta. That team worked there socks off. Errors, errors and more errors cost us again,which you can’t blame the manager. Improvement in performance and work rate has improved dramatically under MA. Give him the same time as klopp, 4 years and see what he can do with a better squad.

  17. Admin,your write up is so dejecting after that fight,we should all know its not going to be easy at Stamford,kudos to the boys for the fight.

    Mustafi should go and look for another sport. He is just so poor and painful to watch him play.

    1. I thought it was fair, the first half was dire and I said so and the second half we showed spirit and I said so. It is easy to get caught up in the emotion when you are down to ten men and squeeze a draw but Chelsea was woeful and we got let off the hook big time. But of course, I am proud of the lads in the second half, they showed great character.

      1. Admin, what’s with this your ‘Chelsea was woeful and we got let off the hook big time’? On recent form, are we better? Fact is, both teams are on a bad run of form, we just got beaten by them recently, and still with a man down.
        Phew!!! Fact is, we had a game plan for chelsea threat and nullify them. Thats the fact, it’s not about Chelsea been bad or something, we almost lost and even we say MA changing tactic, based on Lampard changes

        1. I thought Chelsea was rank poor tonight, most other teams would have put this game to bed in the first half under the circumstances. They conceded two shots and that resulted in two goals, says everything

    1. Totally agree. He was woeful against Leeds. Hopefully a good outing against Bournmouth in FA Cup gets him one step closer to his form last year.

      Great character shown tonight.

  18. So proud tonight of this team not so much the quality but never say sue or quit attitude!
    Worthless the look on azpilequettas face when he scores and then 3 minutes later like a sulking child, beautiful!! Things are bright for the future.

    1. Haha I loved it too, don’t like him, so that made it even sweeter!! And we shut their fans up! What a sweet, sweet night 👊

    1. Alot of deadwoods in the team, Mustafi should be offloaded, better to even have Xhaka playing DC than to be watching error prone Mustafi committing his blunder game after game, Calamity mustafi

      1. Xhaka and Mustafi are botu rash and error prone, the fact that Xhaka did well today does not change that. Remember they both cost us top four last season

        1. Agree. Too many times we get carried away by a player putting 1-2 games together, and then they inevitably go back to what we expect of them. Xhaka, mustafi have been around long enough that we should know what to expect, and that is not good enough.

    1. Just reminds me, every time he’s been asked to play CB he has performed massively, he did under Emery too…Rather have Xhaka as CB over Mustafi…you thinking what I’m thinking?😏😏

      1. Xhaka as CB? Nooo! You will encourage GotanIdea to say his magic word “Inverted”!! I don’t want to see Xhaka turn into “Inverted CB” or inverted this or that! Xhaka being Xhaka is enough! 😆

  19. Was interesting to see how in the first 10 minutes Odoi seem to be on his way to run Saka ragged

    But Saka really manned up & Martinelli was very eager to help him out at the back

  20. If we buy one really good CB, one decent RB n a proper CM in carzola or Silva or Xavi mold. Jack grealish as Ozil replacement. We will do really well next season. We can fund all this by selling most of the current squad.

  21. Under Arteta Arsenal are showing real resilience which has been missing for some time.Leno and Xhaka as a left CB did really well and in Martnelli we may have unearthed a real gem.With Luis out I hope Arteta plays Holding and Xhaka at CB.The less said about Mustafi the better.

  22. Wow! Heroic, manly, brave, determined! What a performance with 10 men. Unbelievable!

    Arteta is proving yet again that he’s got what it takes. As a unit, he’s got them all playing so well together, but it’s still individual mistakes that’s letting us down. That’s 4 goals we’ve recently gifted to Chelsea. Dumb and dumber at the back, and then Laca deciding to pull out of blocking a cross!

    Martinelli was brilliant! I pray Arteta benches Laca for Auba when he’s back, to keep Martinelli in the team. Big shout out to Saka as well. Laca, Ozil, Mustafi, Luiz, were all terrible, Pepe average, not long enough to rate Willock, but everyone else excellent! Thank you Bellerin!

  23. official: I am Martinelli’s #1 Fan!

    I am not a Xhaka fan but what a blinder of a performance from him. But far the man of the match for me.

  24. Facts are we twice came from behind with ten men for an hour. That has to be good. We worked hard, took our few chances, brilliantly, and deserved the draw, which feels more like a win. Yes a shaky first half and our defence is a long standing, or sliding, joke but we have heart spirit and a great motivator in MA. Tonight I look only on the positives in this fine performance, esp by the youngsters. Whatever is MARTINELLI worth now, were we so stupid as to sell him, which of course we will not! Double figures for goals in an 18 yer old and Saka also starring, so good on the youngsters, who are showing the old has beens what passion and fight means. As for Ozil,, well you can fill in the rest….. ! And “rest ” is a very apt word for him, I’d suggest!

        1. Good evening chaps
          Would like to ask a question about Mustafi….but before I ask I will say..like many others here it has been said a million times before …he needs to be sold asap and take ozil with him..xhaka has stepped up recently but theres always a mistake in him and he still needs to go…he did have a really good game tonight
          Back to Mustafi..did he get the assist for martinelli goal tonight 😁

  25. One thing I have notice is Saka’s attitude has changed completely under MA, from don’t care to playing as a responsible experienced player. I was first to criticize him in UE days so he deserves the praise now. I think kid is only talent who has come out of our Academy who can become world-class. He should be given chance as left winger, he has too much skill n talent to be playing LB. With Martenlli through middle n Guendozi in middle we have really good 3 youngsters on our hand. MA will make them way better.

  26. What spirit from Martinelli. Guts…he’s got guts. Gives his heart and soul. Respect. We have 10 days or so of the Window to get a quality Mustafi replacement. It is so, so important.

    1. No quality CB is available n i hope we don’t buy another old, over the hill n error prone CB again. Aprently we have a very good record when it comes to buying these sort of CBs. Should play holding he is rough n not that great but he does not make these stupid mistakes on constant basis like mustafi.

  27. Saka and martinelli played well.
    I think arteta bas to play a 4-3-3 system with torreira granit whaka and Maitland Niles or guendouzi or ceballos in midfield.
    The front three of aubameyang martinelli And Pepe will be lethal. Only speeder.
    Martinelli what a player.

  28. I know most people seen Pepe as a botched transfer but we should all be patient. Why? Because even a certain Mr Henry needed 18 months to settle to the pace of the premier league. Here you have less time to make a decision or pull the trigger. Give him time to adapt to this.

  29. does anyone else want to talk about the game?

    Why am I not hearing ,ore about Martnelli? Xhaka (considering he switched position), bellerin was like he leave left that role (DanSmith was that sell Bellerin was it?), Saka again is growing as a man. Leno was solid with a few exceptional saves.

    Chelsea will moan about not taking care of 10 men but Arsenal and Arteta need to be given credit. Our compact and tight defending meant they wasn’t allowed to do enough with the ball.

    I felt as the game grew our self belief grew, funny enough the circumstances of ten men helped change our mentality and this could be that turning point, of some call it in life the tipping point where the belief is not just given to them in words by the coaching team, it’s felt deep within. A belief in the new ideas.

    The pundits are staying it, you will read it in the papers tomorrow. Something is happening at arsenal. Something new, something big.
    In a way, the criticism, the league position suits Arteta.
    Ppl will say arsenal are crap, lack hunger… that suits Arteta, it suits his message, his demands.

    Youngest squad in the league, youngest manager. Its coming… something is happening and that ‘crap’ performance today will be the tipping point. A moment in history.
    A long way away, but amongst the coming highs and lows enjoy the journey because when we get to where we want to go, it will be the travelling road that will mark the achievements we have made for all to see.

    Be a part of it. Even that day when we see who we have, from the likes of who we had (mustafi, eleny, mkhit…) the journey will mark its story of how we got where we wanted.

    I said it when we won the last 2 FA Cups, and il say it after this game, today is something we won’t appreciate until the future is here and it was because of what was achieved today that makes tomorrow possible.

    My only negative (being negative seems to wake ppl up on here) is that we started 11 vs 11 without belief. But fate had it we played with 10 and this shifted the mindset, maybe not just for the remaining 60mims today, but for the future of AFC under Arteta.

    1. that is fair Tom, they had one brief run at the start and then they were really poor – bad passes, they looked really nervous and Chelsea was all over them. Then Luiz gets the red (deserved) and I really thought 6-0 was coming again. Our track record when we have gone down has not been very good for quite a while – we often have been pounded.

      Then they settled enough to get to the break 0-1 and they worked their asses off in the second half. There were still mistakes but considering that was awesome.

      Criticism of Arteta for this game is off the mark. He was smart enough to leave them alone when they started to play better after Luiz was sent off. He made the right decisions at the right time to give us a chance. Considering what we have, you can’t argue with the starting line-up.

      Sometimes I really wonder about the fanbase, it seems we can’t take ANY enjoyment from games – the focus is always on what is wrong, and I fall into that category as well.

      But things are happening now, the attitude is changing in the club. People are working – Ozil haters, he is doing what a lot of you were so angry about for the last few years – last few games he has been working and tracking back (no argument on value and such but the performances are better). The hate on Laca – he has been working his ass off and it makes a difference. Leno haters – really?? Do you think that Arteta is starting people to be nice? He wants to win and he is putting out the best lineup that he thinks he has with all of our injuries and holes. He deserves benefit of doubt in spades…

      1. After this game,,no one has the right to ever ask if Leno is top draw,,,look how flat footed kepa was for bellerin goal and he’s the most expensive gk….imagine kepa as our gk….would be suicide

  30. “Arsenal escape with a draw” is not a correct statement. We fought well worked our socks off and Martinelli was tremendous. Klopp has described him as the find of the Century and he was super. Arsenal played exceptional inspite of being down to 10 ment for 70 minutes. This is my Arsenal and I am proud. Keep it up Gunners!

  31. Admin pls now don’t start looking for faults in Arteta where there is none. Holding is just returning FFS and not like he’s been outstanding at any point this season. Your majestic Holding even came in and the ball that scored passed right beside him. Stop acting like Holding has been spectacular and just free Arteta unless you want to turn your website to another AFTV for promoting hatred towards the manager

    1. Oh ok, so you want everyone to agree and this to become a boring sycophant site without a variety of conflicting views. Not sure that would be welcomed, to be honest.

  32. If Arteta had started the season with this team, we will definitely be higher up the table. Other teams are already up and running while Arteta is in the surgical room working wonders in trying to reconstruct this arsenal team. A proper preseason with the lads with a few additions, mainly midfielders and defenders, this team will go far for sure.

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