Everton punish lacklustre Arsenal in a game marred by controversy

Everton were the better team on the day in beating Arsenal 2-1, but the game wasn’t untainted by controversy.

Both sides started the game slowly, with neither looking particularly dangerous in attack, and there hadn’t been a single shot on target as we reached the 30-minute mark.

The first strong talking point came as Ben Godfrey was seen to have stamped on the face of Takehiro Tomiyasu, and even after Mike Dean was called to see the incident by VAR, he decided there wasn’t enough to take action. Both Sky Sports pundits Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville agreed at half-time that it was a deliberate action however…

The home side began to grow in confidence as they held us at bay, and they did look to have stolen the lead.

Richarlison leapt high in the box to head Andros Townsend’s free-kick into the net, but VAR moved to rule it our for offside. Almost immediately they was punished as well, when we went from defence to attack to work the ball out to Kieran Tierney out the left who crosses into Martin Odegaard to seal the half-time lead.

There was little change in the game in the second-half either, with neither team initially taking a scruff of the play, although both were getting forward with more urgency.

Richarlison then had the ball in the back of the net a second time after he was played in on the edge of the box before neatly placing his effort to the goalkeeper’s left, but once again the Video Assistant Referee stepped in to call offside.

The Brazilian wasn’t to be denied a third time however, when Demarai Gray’s effort beat Ramsdale onto to come out off the crossbar into the path of the forward who headed it clear of the goalkeeper who was scrambling back to his feet.

Eddie Nketiah should have put us ahead when he was found in the far post, only for his headed effort to come out off the post from close range, before we were duly punished for our lacklustre performance.

Demarai Gray ran at Ben White, before cutting across the defender and firing his shot in off the inside of the post in injury time, but the fun didn’t stop there.

The final kick of the game was to be in attack, with Eddie Nketiah dummying the ball to leave it to fall to Aubameyang inside the box unmarked, only for his effort to go well wide.

This was a match marred by tough fouls, which will mean that both of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli could result in injury, while Tomiyasu will be marked from a stud to the face also.

While it was a tough battle, the performance simply wasn’t good enough today, and there will be little time to work on our issues before our next game.

Patrick

Tags Everton Everton v Arsenal

246 Comments

  1. Ufff. Not pretty. Awful spectacle Ufff. Not pretty at all. An Awful spectacle of football. Well done Everton 😥

    1. There’s seriously something wrong. Either it’s management, or coaching or players themselves. Seems our recruitment strategy is with zero knowledge. I wonder if manager is changed then can we really improve with these sets of player! If opponent is pressing us and if there is no players who can make penetrating run or no player who can give long pass and make counter attack then whoever manager comes issues will remain. We are mess all around and there doesn’t seem one way for solution. Seems it will take ages when thing might get right naturally. Trusting a rookie manager for 6 mths was ok but for 2 yrs and still on and handing him 150mil to spend for unproven players seems even bigger scandal by board members. We are sinking and sinking in never ending process.

      1. I looked like we were playing Liverpool tonight, the way we hoofed it and the way we gave it away under slight pressure. I had to keep checking, we were playing the most out of form team in the prem and SHOCK we were!!!!!

      2. Who says its going to take ages for this sad football to be corrected? I say give good coach a half season and this guys will be playing great football. One thing is Arteta is so clueless trying to be smart..

    2. The perfect time to play Liverpool
      The perfect time to play Man United
      The perfect time to play Everton

      Arsenal is one reliable team that can give hope to struggling oppositions. Under pressure managers probably ask owners to wait till they played Arsenal in hope to turnaround their season

        1. Arteta is the root cause of the defeat. His substitution was glaringly questionable. Why bring in Nkethia and Aubamayang? Why sub Theirney? Am seek and tired of Arsenal with Arteta using us to acquire his coaching cv.

    3. 8 games without a win for Everton with pressure of coach being fired. And arshita gives them a win…please fire him

    1. Nah, far be it from me to say we ain’t a top four team.
      Last season, I made that statement here and said we’re only riding on history and our big name and during the last 5 years we’ve been terrible and not a top four team or even a big club on the pitch anymore, except as a brand.
      I got lashed at, so I stop saying it.
      Good thing you suddenly seem to know so.
      We are Arsenal, we are one the biggest club in England.
      Let’s stick to that narrative

        1. We are not a top 6 team…you are not honest with yourself. You keep talking stuff that are not substantiated, this team is awful…we got a -4 goals and you saying top 6…. Please base on what?.
          Tottenham and Man U will finish above us. West Ham will finish above us…if Leicester city gets their act right before Jan, same with them.
          We can’t press, we can’t tackle, we lose the ball in dangerous positions, our players are weak on the ball. Ben white is not a good defender the crack has started showing.

          1. I predict West Ham and Man United will finish above us, but not Spurs and Leicester. Because Conte just came and Rodgers seems to have lost his dressing room

            I thought I saw White did the ball watching again

            1. Man U will finish 4 as they have a stellar squad and their superstars just need a a kick up the Kyber. Westham will crack with European football. Spurs and Arsenal will get 5th/6th. Villa probably get 7th under Gerrard.

            2. Tutchel just came yet Chelsea won Champions league. Gai, I know you are trying to be optimistic. Conte knows how to stay within Top6 he is an experience EPL manager. Spurs have picked form gradually.

        2. How about aiming for top 4 so when you fall short you end in top 6? You lot think defending mediocrity is being positive.

      1. Arteta is a joke, we had a good CB in Saliba but he splashed 50+ M on White, while it was so clear we need a striker.

        1. We are not a top 4 team, with Arteta not a chance. We are not a top 6 team, there is absolutely no evidence for anyone who knows football to say we are. None at all!!!!!!

        2. Can you stop this crap please…stop!. Been following you for years now, same bulls. We get an experience coach, unless we will regress more. Arteta can handle pressure…putting on Nketiah in a game like this?. Ok they give him more to buy his own striker then what…a guy who lacks in-game management…lol

          1. Thought same when Nketiah came, but surprisingly he was the best player since he came on, he created 3 or 4 chances which we failed to capitalize. He made good run and looked sharp. Based on this letting him go might be another Gnabry situation.

    2. How quick things change in football. Few days back we were in the course to occupy top 4 when westham lost and Tottenham were the team in crisis. Now Spurs will occupy top 4 with win and we are pushed away from top 6. We deserved to lose today, we can’t always rely on luck to win. We have to show courage and class, but sadly we haven’t either.

    3. We are not that far but we are badly managed. Arteta is maybe an ok manager, not a great one. What is that to bring auba at the 85th minute LOL. Bring tierney now ? Bring nketiah, lol… Because he wants to leave? Honestly his team selection is very questionable. Many pundits already mentioned that there is no coaching. He never adapts a game plan. We will stay “good” with him and kroenke millions, we wont get backto better heights. With Man U game that is a good 4 points lost that we shoudk have taken.

    4. Gai,
      Not even sure we are a Top6 team. Same old inconsistency. Man U and Tottenham are ahead of us with new coaches better in experience than Arteta. Arsenal getting to top 6 now more difficult for Arteta who doesn’t even know when to bring in a player to change a game when necessary. It is also evident he has issues with his Captain. A winnable match yet lost. And the backline of Gabriel and White are begining to covered goals.

  2. Arsenal come alive for a few minutes here and there. No pressure to perform at all.

    Manager must be blamed.

    1. VAR decision needs to be modified. If the original decision is off by a small number epsilon then it should stand. This is a pretty simple thing to come up with an implement.

  3. We used to wipe the floor with Everton in the past and even when we lost to them which are few since I became a fan it felt like we could’ve won. This team played with zero identity today as they have been doing in the previous weeks. I have told you people that Arteta’s attacking tactics aren’t good enough. We struggle to actually break defensive teams down. I see some people’s favourite in Xhaka has returned. The way Arteta put him straight back makes me laugh. Our fans have allowed mediocrity to the extent that they make it seem like he’s a great midfielder or been great for us. Tactically Arteta is poor and people just have to accept that. You can’t argue that into him. This match was so painful to watch and I wish I could unsee it.

    1. You are being modest with your statement. This team has no identity and has been playing with one. Each time Arteta reverts back to his safe and coward football pattern we play shit and got beaten. What does he want his players to achieve in the match? No purpose, to plan then no achievement. His luck has run out. We can’t have a go at Chelsea in our house, we cant have a go at liverpool in their own home and we can’t have a go with Everton as well in their own home. We are respecting every team and non respect us. They all see us as a team to nick points off. Arteta is making those players look bad. He is the worst Arsenal coach there is in my opinion.

      1. It’s hard to say if Arteta made player look bad or if they are really that bad. Liverpool spent money on proven players from EPL (jota, Vandjik, Mane, Chamberlain, Wijnaldum etc) got some of best players from bundesliga (firmino, keita, matip, konate) and top players from Italy (Alisson, Salah) and integrated some of academy graduates for perfect blending of team. They haven’t spent haphazardly on players who might have potential. We have seen countless no of players supposed to be world beaters getting vanished in vain. How many proven players we have bought from EPL? I think one in Ben White. He looked so good in Brighton becoz of their pressing play which we are not efficient at, so it’s obvious that we overspent on him and most of our players. Even free transfer we made (Soares, Kolasinac) seems to be overspent. Even 5 mil for Elhneny, 8 mil for Mari was overspent. We are team with mediocrity from top to bottom from board to manager to players.

        1. Let me reel out the list of proving players we have at our club before Arteta got his hand on them. Dormund AUBA, Lyon Laca, Lille Pepe, Atletico Party, Real Socidad Ordeegard, Lille Gabriel, Celtic Tierney with exciting young players like Martinelli, Guendouzi, Saliba, Nelson and other academy kids. Give all these players to a serious coach, I don’t want mention any names and see how they will blossom. We have a clueless coach. In those players we have skills finesse, athleticism speed and strength. It unbelievably wrong Arteta is using non of those. He prefers his slow build up and cowardice football

          1. If that’s the case how many of these players will fit in mancity, Liverpool, Chelsea, even in man united team. Fact is that as poor our manager selection has been, as poor our players recruitment is. Let’s not blame everything to one person as since the days of Wenger we are having poor results. Few managers has been changed, many millions has been spent for nothing. Yes, if we want to improve our team, some sort of revolution is required, the first step seems to be the change in management, then recruitment and then so on.

            1. I saw the list quoted above and I wondered. I would like to see the movie of the alternative universe in which these players are being coached “seriously”.
              In the real world most of our senior players are not good enough and the younger players are yet to be consistent. A team like Arsenal should not be overly dependent on 20 year olds for inspiration as seems to be the case.
              The premier league is as strong as it as ever been with four of the strongest squads in world football.
              Our strikers are terrible. The only true top striker we have is Aubameyang and he is out form and short of confidence. I look at a player like Ronaldo and compare Aubameyang. I have to shake my head. The difference is glaring.

  4. Is it a surprise that Xhaka coles back into the squad and we go back to losing against piss poor teams..
    Man conceded the throwing that Tavares and another liability Partey decided to fumble..
    Now we 7th a point adrift Man U, who will surely get a new manager bounce and prolly end the year very strongly.
    We ain’t ready for the cahmpions league.. Look how nervous we are against Everton.. What happens when we find ourselves in Allianz arena against Bayern…
    I shudder at the thought..

  5. Everton were desperate and at home always going to be tough.
    That’s why I said I would take a draw.
    It’s only one point dropped.
    Odegaard scores again.
    All the new boys playing well.
    Our strikers not producing remains perplexing.
    We can win 3 of the next 4 now.
    Top 6 remains our goal
    Trust the process

    1. Come off it fairfan
      Even as a supporter of a new-ish manager even I can not accept that sort of performance. A club in a bit of a fix and a goal down had no right to put the ball in the back of the net 4 times – even if 2 were a gnat’s knacker offside

    2. @fairfan. Trust what process. lay it out for me, let me have a clear idea of what I am suppose to trust in. please, it would be of great help?

  6. This team can’t compete when there is pressure, Arteta has been found out. Slow build up from the back…can’t seem to break the high press.

    1. @gOD
      RealTalk
      Every game we lost was due to teams high pressing us. That’s 6 now and Mikel still hasn’t addressed the problem.

  7. Crazily enough, that’s the worst performance I’ve seen from us this season.
    Not the Chelsea game, not the Brentford game, not the City or Liverpool.
    That’s the worst, I mean worst that I’ve seen us play this season.
    Stringing a couple of passes became even war.
    Right from the moment we were ahead one nil, I said to myself that we deserve nothing from this game actually so I wasn’t surprised by the result. Arteta has a lot to answer for, and that tops the list of it.
    It was a poor first half performance from everyone, and even worst second half performance, aside from Ødegaard who kept trying to make something.
    IMHO, just like Auba was, Partey should be dropped too.
    Why did Tavares come on?
    Why is it Arteta can’t get the boys to play once we are ahead?
    Seriously I hope these young players don’t fall into the limbo of Emery’s team.
    Richarlson has to be the most unlucky player on Earth. Though he got his goal, he deserved more.
    Now with that performance? We deserved nothing, and that’s what we got.
    Can’t expect to walk over teams just because the name of our football club is ARSENAL, I keep saying it.
    Until we start playing like a proper big team should, I won’t buy this crap that we’re a big team.
    Jon Fox and a few others got into an argument with me when I said we are only big by name and culture.
    Football performances? We ain’t a big club when it comes to that, and until we start working hard for the points and win and to show we deserve to be called a big team will I accept it.
    Arteta looked clueless even while we were one nil up and the players were shaking.
    I’d like to listen to his excuse this time around.
    He’s not a rookie, so I’d like to listen to his excuse this time around.

    1. What many won’t admit is that tactically Arteta has a problem. Now people are seeing that the big losses to Liverpool, City and Chelsea is not necessarily just because they had better players but tactically and in other areas the coach is lacking big time. Our attacking play is not good enough.

      1. He had last year to make the mistakes.
        The problem comes from the fact that he’s failed to learn from the same set of mistakes he made last season.
        Our attacking play, I can’t even describe it, and I know we shouldn’t be this terrible attacking wise

        1. To add to that, the idea that this team we have is bad is also a lie. If you find strikers missing chances like ours it’s either they were always average or their problem is lack of confidence which is a mental issue. I can tell you that even though I never rated Aubameyang as world class under another another manager it is possible he still scores a lot. A slight decline physically doesn’t mean he should be missing sitters. Vlahovic or those strikers who people mention will not solve our problems due to our tactics. Balogun people call for will fail in this system and no wonder he was non-existent at Brentford.

    2. “The limbo of Emery’s team”? Emery had the players achieve a fifth place finish by one point and a Europa League final, before the Ozil clique downed tools. Arsenal were eighth when he was sacked. How well has Arsenal gone since, not undervaluing Arteta’s FA Cup finals wins?

      1. I’m talking about the state the team was in.
        I don’t care that he got top five, Arteta also won a trophy.
        All of those shit don’t matter if at the end nothing good comes from it.
        When I said I hope they don’t fall into that limbo, I’m saying I hope they don’t lose interest and start playing the way we were.
        Clearly these boys are ready to play, but Arteta isn’t helping himself and the boys.
        You see why you can’t ask for them to go into limbo mode? Now imagine these boys playing with zero interest.
        Can you picture the performance Ozzie ?

        1. Unfortunately, Arsenal has demonstrated poor mentality, lack of leadership and a lack of obvious tactics and style of play, for some time.

    3. Well you and I both, Eddie , who have given our best support to a NEW manager. I have stuck with it knowing the background. I wasn’t prepared to give up on him because that produces too much turmoil, but also to give a bright guy a sporting chance. He isn’t a total disaster but he hasn’t shown enough this season in terms of reliability and that is now beginning to concern me

      1. SueP my biggest concern this season has been the fact that he’s done nothing about how relaxed we get when we are a goal ahead.
        It’s disgraceful how we play each time we are leading.
        That has happened in like more than 8 games, yet he’s clueless and doesn’t seem to learn anything or change anything about that.
        That’s what’s been killing us, that the reason we can’t kill off games, the reason we keep conceding when we are ahead

        1. Truth is Arteta isn’t upto the job required by Arsenal but we will suffer because our owner hasn’t got a clue about premier league football and what is required. He proved that the day he signed Arteta as our manager to get us back into the top 4.

        2. I mentioned at halftime that I hoped we don’t stop playing after leading, we didn’t disappoint.That is on the manager, It’s crazy how we play after leading games

      2. Please SueP, he is a total disaster. Call a spade a spade and not spoon. He broke all the negative records last season and he is on course this season as well. Everton has done attrick of winning against us and I don’t know when did that happen last. We all like him but I believe we love arsenal more. He needs to go. He said the game Everton will be tough. What he did not is he will make it tough for us and make it easy for them.

  8. Once Everton got their first goal, you just feel arsenal were gonna lose. We had our noses in front and then try to time waste. I mentioned a scenario in a post earlier today.. that I wished it won’t be one of those games where the team not in form wins or a player that haven’t scored for a while gets a goal…and it happened.
    Poor game management.
    Poor team
    Eddie and Aub miss.

    Bye bye topfour.
    Back to the process of top 10..

    I m sorry guys. I m totally pissed.
    Yes, Godfrey should have had a red card but we were poooooor.

    And Partey…I aint feeling no party yet. Argh.

    1. When we signed Partey I was delighted.
      He is so off the pace and embarrassling bad.
      Who would buy him now.
      We are stuck with him

          1. Partey is a top player playing some of the worst football of his career. But our manager in his great wisdom thought that Partey and Xhaka could perform after watching them fail together all last season. We got legs into midfield and he reverts to type the first chance he gets. Arteta is clueless!!!!!!!!

            1. I agree he is not good enough for arsenal. Simple as that. At least if we have ambition. He is doing ok but we will stay 7/8 th as last season. Despite total backing from the board, millions spent we did not inprove a lot. No identity, no resilience. Tottanham crashed the top4/6 with pochettino who was innocative, a great manager. Klopp made liverpool great too. All this did not come in a day but they went from strenght to strenght. Dont see that here. But we have a good basis to work on from a new manager. Back 4, Gk, saka and esr

  9. How do we support MA who made all the poor team selection and substitute decisions that makes no sense or logic for this vital game. He literally handed the match to his beloved Everton. Arteta out now

    1. Our target, Ten Hag and Overmars, will only move in the summer. At that time, both Arteta and Ten Hag have only one year left on their contracts

        1. Hi @NY_Gunner, you live in New York?

          Can we watch EPL on Hesgoal or other non-legit websites in the US? And will we be penalized if we use torrent without VPN in the US?

  10. Richarlison scored THREE goals against us. Thought we had a good defense

    Arteta went to Godison park to defend. He won’t take us far

    Aubameyang missing an open goal from 8 yards. He is truly finished

    Pepe nowhere to be found. The coach obviously wants him out

    1. Yes. He wants Pepe Out. Pepe makes a mistake he goes to the bench. why Aubameyang makes mistakes week in week out and still gets to start matches

      1. AMNand guys like AMN. Did a great match and then benched against Liverpool and then frozen out. Awful managing.

        1. 👍 How do you motivate players, if they are dropped after performing well? Can anyone think of a greater demotivator, particularly when some other players appear undroppable?

  11. nice tactics by Rafa to expose our obvious defensive weaknesses and our glaring lack of desire to go forward, especially with the likes of the sloth-like Xhaka and a defender in White, who defends opposing players on their non-shooting side far too often for my liking…Arteta+Xhaka is a match made in footballing HELL

  12. I have never liked Arteta’s tactics, defensive and not creative. Everton haven’t won in 8 games, but up steps Arteta’s Arsenal. The good thing is I don’t have any expectations for Arsenal anymore so I just support, i’m alright if we win or lose, that way, I don’t lose my mind.

  13. Lacazette and Aubamayang are done, even Nketiah did better than both of them. Until the striking situation is sorted we will not move forward.

    1. Thank You, Sir!
      Those 2 are completely Finished! Way too Lazy and Slow and very Wasteful!😏😟
      If I were Arteta, would be playing Nketiah and Martinelli now!..
      In the Summer, Go for Ollie Watkins, Duvan Zapata, Calvert-Lewin, etc!

  14. I have never liked Arteta’s tactics, defensive and not creative. Everton haven’t won in 8 games, but up steps Arteta’s Arsenal. The good thing is I don’t have any expectations for Arsenal anymore so I just support, i’m alright if we win or lose, that way, I don’t lose my mind.

  15. Arsenal’s biggest problem is not the players, the coach, the club owners. Arsenal’s biggest problem is Arsenal’s fans and supporters, who condone all sorts of mediocrity, rubbish and ineptitudeness. Arsenal has the worst fans in the world of football

    1. Man Utd fans pushed Olè out despite that the owners, board and even fergie still backed him. Arsenal fans unfortunately can’t get united for that. Our fan base is the most split fan base in the world

  16. I said at halftime it was a close call between Dean and Arsenal’s XI on who was worse and I think Arsenal just edged it in the end.

    I also said to my boys at around 70 minutes that a 2-1 Everton victory was more likely than a 1-nil to the Arsenal. Hate being right.

    I’m no Arteta Out supporter but don’t have any argument with anyone who is after the last couple of performances. Arteta has a real problem on his hands to figure out how to motivate this team to play when they take the lead. Time and time we go into a shell with the thinnest of leads. Not much fun to support a team that stops playing when they take the lead.

  17. Pathetic,simple ,one dimensional and easily lead and that’s just the Arteta fan club .
    I would talk about Arteta himself if I could even be bothered but he’s sucked the joy out of my supporting this club so I won’t bore you with same old same old

  18. We all know Arsenal well enough to know a win was not on the cards. Simply because of the circumstances of the OPPOSING team. That’s just how Arsenal functions. Any team with some willpower can beat us.

  19. OMG where do I start??!!

    Where are those people now who were harping on about how poor Benitez is? He did a job on us with a p**s-poor Everton team. Wow…
    Awful performance; the football is so boring. Under UE it was bad, but this is something else!
    All those harping on about Auba being lazy and idle. I was led to believe once he was dropped, everything would be hunky-dory!! Yeah sure…
    Brings on bleedin’ Neketiah who doesn’t even want to be here!!!

    No doubt MA’s fan club will come up with excuses (like always):
    The floodlights were too bright
    It was raining
    The grass was too long…
    Oh well at least he did his former club a favour, hey?!

    FFS he isn’t ‘the one’… Get him out now. I am so embarrassed.. and to think I was moaned at the other day for saying how well West Ham had played against Chelsea – something we can only dream of, hey Jon Fox?

    1. Our target, Ten Hag and Overmars, will only move in the summer. At that time, both Arteta and Ten Hag have only one year left on their contracts

      If we sack Arteta and Edu now, which manager and director of football do you want to replace them?

      1. @gai
        You got it right.
        Ten Haag/ Overmars are who we need to put us back up there where we rightfully belong…👍🏿

      2. If we can give trial to rookie manager like Arteta and fails so miserably then what’s there to lose if we give chance to uprising manager like Graham potter. After all he is doing so good at Brighton. He is carrying one of relegation favorite to top 10 position and with good entertaining football.

        1. Of course potter climbed the latter and proved a good manager time after time. But is he available now ? Should we wait for ten hag / overmars ? Can we sort out this situation now with them and let arteta go at the end of year ?

    2. It’s a travesty how far we’ve fallen. And ppl wanna waste time debating XHAKA still? Why’ we are where we deserve to be. Arteta doesn’t cut it. If he can’t get 4th or 5th this year he’s gotta go. My final judgement is where he finishes this season and even when we were in form I knew there would be a drop off and that we would struggle. He’s not good enough and has no footballing philosophy

      1. Right now, RSH, I hate to think where we’ll end up!!
        Can you imagine us in the CL playing this way?!! Oh sweet Jesus 🙈

    3. I think I was the only one that predicted Everton to win 2-1 and Richarlison to score Sue 👀 we don’t win these type of games

      1. Good for you, Kev! I just checked the scores; check you out!! 17 points!! I thought my 15 was good… well done, Kevin 👏

            1. Haha I’m not in the slightest bit angry Sue this is nothing new and as long as Mr Arteta is cracking the whip there will be many many nights like this 🙄

    4. 🤣🤣🤣 in case you have forgotten let me remind you Sir, we lost against Chelsea without a shot on target, west ham defeated Chelsea, we lost against city with no shot on target, palace defeated city at their ground, we were beating comprehensively against Liverpool but we were told “well it’s Liverpool’ Brighton played draw against Liverpool, wolves hold them to the 95th minutes, west defeated them, I’m not sure but I think Everton haven’t won a premier League game in 5 or 6 matches we all know what happened.
      Some told us when they drop Auba everything will work out well, Lacazette didn’t touch the ball at all in Everton penalty box, let that sink in.

      1. The football Utd played vs Crystal Palace was far better than they did against us yet Palace conceded only one goal and could’ve nicked a goal or draw on another day. Simply pathetic

      2. It’s nothing short of embarrassing, Lenohappy. He hasn’t got a clue! I just want to be entertained – not much to ask, is it??

    5. There is no coming back from this… the writing has been on the wall all season. Hence why I have been quiet before I was accused of Arteta propaganda.

      We have been poor all season but scrapped results.

      But yet as a manager it is always we didn’t do this, we didn’t do that… so be ducking ruthless and say you are out, and you are out… it is pure flannel.

      We are a complete mess🤬

    6. Spot on Sue.Awful football ,terrible to watch.I lost count the amount of times we worked the ball back from an attacking position to Ramsdale.I’m old enough to remember the early to mid eighties sides and the last season of GG and this is worse.At least we saw some goal mouth action then.

      1. Sideways.. backwards.. repeat.. awful, John. We should be doing so much better with the team we have!
        Goal-shy is the new norm…

    7. If Sue can get like this. Everyone should know something is absolutely and fundamentally wrong with our club for real. Take out the rose tinted glasses of bias and see how the mighty Arsenal have fallen. Sue remains undauntedly diplomatic even when she doesn’t agree with the status quo but to get her like this. You know even the blind can tell Arsenal is on a real downward spiral these time and I hope Pro Arteta band wagon will wake up now.

    8. Sue, I can feel your anger and frustration, the truth is we were not up for it and a weaker Everton were. What frustrated me was our negative response after scoring just before half time instead of going for a second goal to kill the match off. We actually started time wasting with over 20 minutes remaining. We just got what we deserved!! You were right about the Hammers though, gutsy performance.

      1. You couldn’t make it up, Andrew!! It was like something from London Colney!!! Unbelievable, unacceptable.

    9. Sue- I got called out my all those sensitive MUGS weeks ago. It was so obvious this novice was never up to the job. And it gives me great satisfaction that posters on this site are now realising just how ridiculously stupid they were. Self titled realists like Jon Fox would never accept him ever being wrong would he? Well Foxy let’s hear from you now. Let hear from you and all the other MUGS if you have any sense of the game and explain how you and them should ever be taken seriously
      And I’m on the M6 being driven back to London with 3 other pretty pissed off supporters who continually laugh at most of the comments from these MUGS. Tonight should be his last game. Just get this incompetent novice out now before he causes us and those MUGS any further embarrassment

      1. I thought of you, Phil. All that way to witness that crap!
        He won’t be going anywhere, Phil. The board are as incompetent as he is -look who we’ve missed out on already. MA’s the one they said – well I hope they’re happy!

  20. Arsenal never fails to disappoint. Arteta is confused, sets team to defend a single goal against an Everton team that we can beat fair and square. Auba is finished, we must just move on from him. Nketia, Martineli all overated. No squad depth whatsoever

  21. At least he started Lacazette like some has been praying for and what did he do🙄.
    I said it after the first half against man utd, Arteta won’t take us anywhere, he’s too limited as a coach and he seem to be too proud, why not introduce Pepe in the 70th minutes when Everton was on us.

    1. he thought it is better to introduce auba at the 85th… Awful. Arteta will get us results here and there. Might be enought to grab a 7th or maybe 6th place at rhe end of season but he wont take us abywhere better than that, so i hooe the club will look at alternatives seriously now, even if it is from next summer.

  22. Arteta the man, the myth, the legend! The only process this man knows is stacking cones! Arteta out! Please someone make an excuse for him after this I need a good laugh 😂

  23. What did Chelsea do as they slipped back under lampaed … the Ffing right thing that’s what they did … coz the club cares about winning and improving .. we have a crooked yank in charge who sees Arsenal as an asset class .. but thanks to his short termist corporate mind set a declining one … and the fans suffer

  24. We were lucky… it could have been more.

    Everything was wrong with the formation and the players. Ffs Nkitieha for Martinelli?

    If we can’t beat Everton in their worst form ever…. then duck the process… # Arteta out, and if you can get rid of Partey as well, ducking bonus.

    The football is rubbish, the results are rubbish, the post match interview is rubbish, basically everything is rubbish but Josh’s beard is well oilled.

    So 8th again this year is it? Or trust this ducking progress… duck me.

    1. Has Pepe been with Artetas Mrs? We need a goal and we bring on Auba and Nketiah, Pepe sat twidling his thumbs. Arteta hasn’t a clue!!!!!!!

  25. No red card for a clear stamp in the face?? If Xhaka had done that, the red card wouldve been shown immediately. Mike Dean is clearly anti Arsenal!!!

    That said, we were useless tonight and what used to be our key strength in scoring goals, in now our biggest handicap!

  26. What a shocking game of football. The football style with the players picked was predictable, slow and totally disjointed. Thats two away games on the trot, playing teams under pressure from their fans and we were the team that looked under pressure and in trouble. Tonights game has been coming and i predicted getting Odergaard (yes i know he scored two games on the trot) and Xhaka in the team would change all the dynamics and make us even more negative. Everton were way under strength and out of form and truth is they battered us. We were poor from start to finish and the negative stale football was back, added to that, the ball was like a hot potato to us. We are in trouble because we are stuck with a manager way way out of his depth and someone who has not got a clue how to set a team up to defend or more obviously attack. He makes poor decision after poor decision and he isnt making the grade. That was an awful performance from the manager and the team but it wasn’t a surprise.

    1. It was poor Reggie- cannot in any way disagree with your post except that I thought Odegaard wasn’t as bad as you thought he was

      1. Leno, he scored and credit for that but he wasn’t our best player, we didn’t have one and he take more away from the team Than he brings, like Xhaka, he is lightweight, negative and cant tackle, just for starters. I predicted the football with those two in and it was so.

      2. Agree Lenohappy, that Reggie is unfair regarding Odegaard. He played his heart out and as well as scoring could have had involvement in two additional goals, if Martinelli and Nketiah had hit the target.

        1. Ozzie, i have said he is technically very good but you need far more than that. He takes away more than he brings. It sounds harsh because he has scored in two games on the trot but look at the way the game is slowed, when he plays for us and look at the way we dont press the ball as much when he plays. We play worse football as a team when he plays. He doesn’t do enough and what he does is too little. But people will have a pop at me because he scored and i will take it because i dont like us when him and xhaka play together and we lose control of the game, when they do.

          1. Reggie, I am not taking a “pop at you”, just disagreeing on this point regarding Odegaard. My disappointment is with the lack of movement up front by Arsenal’s attacking players for play makers like Odegaard and ESR to find and their lack of composure and ruthlessness in front of goal when they do.

            1. No Ozzie i didn’t mean you, i would expect people too because, yes he scored two games on the trot and thats really good. Is it a flash in the pan? Will he bring goals from a false 9? Will he improve the rest of his game? I hope he does but i dont see it.

      3. 100% in agreement. Odegaard was probably our only bright light along with Saka.

        Don’t think you can have both him and Chaka in the starting line up though. Our pace falls off the charts

    2. I agree, Odergaard who constantly slows the pace of the game down needs to be dropped. Not a coincidence that our best form consisted of Auba and Laca as a pair. Since Odergaard has been picked we have struggled. Saying that… Partey hasn’t been much better, if he ever was?

      Jeez… this season; I have never witnessed anything like it… we make pure shite look like gold. I will be gobsmacked if we finish 8th.

    3. @Reggie.
      Odegaard was our best player, and the most dangerous.
      Whereas Saka and Martinelli produced absolutely nothing.
      Anyway, the biggest problem seems to be the tactics and the lack of urgency/desire.

      1. Ok, it wouldn’t have been hard to have been our best player among the shizzle on offer but his game is negative to the team.

  27. Managerial genius by Arteta bringing on the pacey winger Nketiah as a like for like swap for Martinelli, while Auba and Pepe sat on the bench. Apparently all you have to do to get game time nowadays is refuse to sign a new deal.

    I do not know if it is a directive from the manager but this believe that we can score one goal and grind out a win is ludacris. Second game in a row that we are losing because we do not go for the kill after the first goal. Smh

    I m so pissed..I thought we are moving to a new direction. Time to lower my expectation

    1. It’s all about training well now Uzi, show the gaffer you’re a good lad and your chance will come. As a man manager our boss is definitely out of his depth.

  28. Bringing off Tierney with Nuno was a mistake. Bringing on a guy who rejected the contract offer was a bigger mistake!

    I don’t understand why we sit deep everytime we score a goal!

    Honestly to day I got the same feeling I got when we loose last year again Aston Villa 3 – 0. And that feeling is that I don’t trust the process anymore.

    I think this job is too much for Arteta. And from now on I will not watch any matches again, till next year. What’s the point to watch when we can’t get the 4. position?

    Sorry for my bad English

    1. Your English is way better than mine so no worries at the end of the day we are all Arsenal fans and we want the team to do well.

    2. Never trust the process. Those interviews early in the season with Edu and Arteta were just a sham way to silence criticism while delivering the same old, same old.

  29. Arteta’s negative tactics continue to bear fruit. Get tired of players always getting blamed while Arteta gets excuses made for him.

    What is more likely?
    All our attackers struggle are are deemed “finished” during Arteta’s 2 years, or one man’s tactics have killed Our attacking football?

    Arteta should be feeling the heat with YET ANOTHER dull performance and capitulation.

    How much more time needs be wasted on Arteta and his inability to move us forward?

    No answer for teams that press us, and 2 YEARS HE CAN’T SOLVE THE ATTACKING AND SCORING WOES!

    Club before players and managers, and one must question Arteta’s job come end of the season.

    If not top 5 Arteta must be sacked; he has shown in 2 years he isn’t moving us forward. All the Arteta hype, and right back to 7th and 8th place.

  30. Thisis the sort of debacle and unexcusably timid and cowardly perf that can get managers sacked.

    I, who have regularly defended MA from his regular rottweilers on JA, can tonight only say how ashamed I feel to be a Gooner tonight after this disgraceful and above all TIMID non performance.

    When a team is one up, albeit undeservedly and playing against one of the worst ever Everton teams for many years, but is also openly wasting time merely half way through the second half and when the opponent is there to be beaten, then there are NO excuses.

    If MA was sacked tomorrow morning, I could only say after this “well he deserved to be”!

    He will not be of course but this disgrace will have turned many like me, who were formerly on his side, albeit with reservations, into either serious doubters OR outright “he should resign” fans.

    I will decide which one of those two I am when I calm down. But I can no longer openly defend him from his army of attack dogs who will certainly grow fast in number now.

    Either way he is fast running out of time to keep any of those onboard, who have til now retained faith, even if with reservations, like mine, in him.

  31. I think the reason he plays Lacazette and Nketiah is to keep them in the shop window do we can get a few Bob for them in the January transfer window. I don’t think that’s working as I wouldn’t pay tuppence for either of them.

  32. Any controversy must not hide facts that Arteta is a shit manager. He has removed all creativity, spontaneity and postive instincts from the players. Endless sideways and back passing and superior possession % are meaningless if you dont get on the front foot. He has spent enough time and money now and come up way way short. Club must take action. I will certainly not be making 7 hour round trips and using my 3 season tickets whilst this poisonous football
    Is being dished up

  33. I keep saying it, playing an unbalanced team would not yield positive results no matter the quality of the players involved…

    when a spine is developed, it has to be groomed over time of consistent playtime to morph into an unbeatable core of superstars…

    Early season, we lost games playing disjointed, boring and fearful style of football….due to injuries, we stumbled on a winning team that played some good football and dominated opponents to the extent that clean sheets was a norm…

    Even difficult games were drawn eg the palace, Brighton games…we looked a solid unit defensively though lacked a sharp attack but managed a few goals here and there…

    We hardly gave leads away…

    Yes we lost to Liverpool, a superior team but put up a fine display…then our manager decides to change things up for reasons best known to him

    Odegaard came in, we lost the usual support from lacazette to the midfield when he drops deep… Sambi is dropped, we lost the fluidity of passes, easy quick transition and progressive football we once played….. Tavares is dropped, Gabriel becomes exposed and the unpredictable left wing attack becomes one-dimensional and easy for opposition fullbacks…

    ESR was duly missed, as the two clear cut odegaard chances would have been buried…

    The earlier we revert back to the winning team the better…

  34. I have seen enough of Arteta, arrogant, too proud, thinks its his birthright to be at Arsenal. ITS TIME TO DO TO ARTETA WHAT CHELSEA DID TO LAMPARD, BUT ALAS SPINELESS ARSENAL SUPPORTERS, ALWAYS CONTENT WITH MEDIOCRITY

  35. Mikel is out of his depth and has been since the beginning. He put together a good cup run, and he’ll always get credit for that. But he’s shown us nothing since. I don’t know his philosophy after all this time. My same problem with emery. I don’t know what either of these managers were trying to accomplish. I like the youth policy of transfers this summer, but we also have to make it work as an advantage. How are we so slow and sluggish with such a young squad.

    1. If I’d had my way, RSH, he’d have been shown the door after that embarrassment in europe against his predecessor

  36. Arteta needs to sort it out and change from his crab like tactics to killer shark tactics. I’d rather we lose going for it than lose because we’re scared to move the ball forwards.

  37. Last game he draged in Elneny
    This one he draged in Xhaka
    Bringing on Nketiah (who wouldn’t be here) instead of Pepe
    Arteta should top the list of the most confused coach in Europe

    Yet still some people are still seeing improvements..

    It’s quite a pity how our supporters have accepted mediocrity of this order.. The man is not even deserving of coaching our under 18s

    1. At least freddie ljubgberg had coach youngers. He did not have the hype of having worked with Pep. Now we all saw that MA is not good enough. So offer him to manage youngsters as he loves this football club (what he says always) and bring some proven coaching guy, at last next summer.

  38. The second goal half way line 93 minutes gone.
    Xhaka hands up and let’s him go.
    Know it would have been a second yellow but take him out.

      1. Keeping Xhaka on the pitch after his yellow card and not having played for so long was the glaring tacticle mistake by Arteta last night.

  39. Besides our unattractive and unyielding style of play (something Arteta seems proud of), what baffles me more is how 99.9% of these players completely loose their mojo after playing under Arteta for few months. Tierney? Auba? Laca? Partey? Martineli? Saka?(of course, some would argue he’s been stressed from his euro exploits) What has happened to these players under Arteta? I’m beginning to think the old gengs (not age wise now but in terms of longevity at the club) want Arteta out. I mean, how worse can a striker gets that he misses an empty net and still smile it off?
    Call me delusional but I believe this squad is capable enough for top 4. The board can’t be blamed anymore, not even the fans or the players as they (the players) seem disoriented. Even Lampard would do a better job than what Arteta is doing.

  40. Any fan that still believes arterta should still retain his job as coach after dis abysymal performance is brainwashed and must undergo brain reset.
    De earlier dis lych is sacked d better b4 it’s turns out ugly like OGS manUtd
    #artertaout

  41. Over 100 comments by Gooners seem to be missing!! When I post this they should return, it seems. God knows why it works that way but it does!

  42. Arteta has not improved 1 single player since he came in. The younger players lack tactical understanding and the senior players underperform week in/week out.
    Yet he persists with an unrecognisable game plan and no cohesive idea as to how to manage games.
    As ugly as it was it was up to the manager to try and win this and it was winnnable.
    He took credit for stabilizing the D but look at the last few games alone. 4 against Pool/3 againd MU and 4 tonight (lucky 2 were marginally off)
    Can any one tell us to trust the process?

    1. Can we stop all this Everton scored 4 goals, they scored 2 goals. It doesn’t matter whether you are 10 yards offside or marginally offside the rule as it stands now you are offside. Var actually got those right , what Var didn’t get right was that the Everton player should have got a red for the stamp on our player and that was a disgrace.
      These last few games have just highlighted the problem we have, scoring goals. The forwards we have, bar Martinelli, are useless. Not sure how to fix it because the players we want who are exceptional goalscorers either wouldn’t come to us or be too expensive.

  43. People keep blaming the Manager. They say Aubamayeng is not getting opportunities. There you go! These players are sabotaging our club. I’m tired of seeing Managers getting fired because of players who have no discipline. Aubamayeng’s escapade started when he was benched for coming late, since than he has been deliberately missing goals. Nketia needs to go! We need to free up space for players who are serious about playing for Arsenal. Xhaka needs to be sold, Partey need to pull up his socks or Ship out!! These damn rotten apples keep doing the same thing, season in and season out. We still need to get rid of the rotten apples in this squad. #Auba out! Lacazette out! Nketia out! Kolasinac out! Trust the Process get them out!

  44. First off, we should have been playing against ten men… no question about it, Mike Dean is a disgrace.

    Secondly, we have a decent, honest, likeable manager…. who is completely out of his depth both tactically and with his man management and selection skills.
    We have players who are under performing at a level never seen or imagined before.
    We have players out on loan, who would improve our squad.

    Let’s just remember that MA won the FA cup with the players he inherited from UE and AW – players deemed dross and useless by some of the fan base.
    MA has decided to let the majority of those players leave OR awarded them with new and lucrative contracts…. while bringing in, I believe, twelve new players at a cost of over £240,000,000.

    The results of these decisions is that we are further behind than we were in AW’s last season and despite the fact that players such as Saka, ESR and Martinelli have been available to play.

    I don’t know how much longer the club can continue to fall further down the ladder, but anyone who thinks MA is the only problem is deluded…. the biggest problem I agree… but I believe that senior players are downing tools once again and Edu is out of his depth.

    Have been reading that Dangote has just been reported to be about £3 billion richer this last year and is still adament that he wants to buy the club.

    1. But MA picks the senior players that let him down and drops or loans out the young ones who dont but get punished for ONE mistake. While others get away with murder.

        1. But not the ONLY problem Reggie – you advocated Benitez and look what he’s done at Everton (not just tonight’s game).
          Watching MA’s interview after the game, he looked beaten and tired and I wouldn’t be surprised if he stands down before getting sacked!!

          1. Whenever the team loses the manager will get hammered which is expected and to some extent appropriate. There were certainly issues to be concerned about with Arsenal’s performance.
            There are a number of issues that are not easily fixed. Arsenal have not have a reliable striker since Aubameyang lost form. The wide players are also inconsistent.
            The main area where Arteta could have made significant adjustments is in midfield where there are real options.
            The rest is just noise.
            I see that much is being made of players who have been loaned out which is just laughable.

          2. A bit unfair on Benitez ken, he has spent a couple of mil, been in the job 14 games, lost most of his top players to injury and has been given very little to work with. He still put our man firmly in his place.

  45. It’s amazing that when players are dropped, fans are asking why is so and so not playing. When they do play it’s the Manager’s fault. Nothing said about the poor performances of players. We need to put pressure on the players. Especially Aubamayeng. He’s a rotten apple in that squad. And because he still has a few years on his contract he will continue to cause trouble. You could see when the game started that the players didn’t look up for it. People are now calling for Pepe to play, really? How many years does he need to prove himself?
    We need to turn our attention to the players. At the end of the day. You cannot be missing opportunities like that.

  46. The players are not the problem. Partey is not the problem and even Auba is not the problem….it’s Arteta…….he is just not a good enough coach/manager. Tonight was not just a poor performance, it was a disgrace.

      1. Sean, i think it is as plain as the nose on your face that Arsenal was/is too big a job for him. He could probably have made a living in the championship or lower leagues but his ability level doesn’t stretch to premier league football yet. Spending the money he has just spent would make half decent managers salivate at the chance to inprove their team. We arguably (because i now some would) have not improved just “replaced” players. At this moment in time 2 years down the line we have just wasted 240 million on treading water!!!!!!

    1. Partey is definitely a problem. He can’t pull off simple passes. He’s a senior member of this squad. He’s go to be doing better and doesn’t need any manager telling him that.

      1. Lol reggie. I agree ! Funny comment, thanks for naking us smile after this awful perf. And if it was not for a few inches, we conceded 4 there today. They were disallowed for inches but we conceded them, it was not crazy offsides.

  47. Going back to my comments from the start of the season I always said I expect us to be finishing 5th, 6th but pushing the top 4 (as in not a whole points gulf with 4th).

    Admittedly seeing reason results had lead me to feel we can maybe push closely for top 4. In reality it’s still going to be 5th or 6th.

    After anfield I wasn’t disappointed, I said we have a better first 11 now but we need a squad. Arteta works by trusting in his squad, like any top manager would but come the next transfer window, arsenal must continue to sell.

    The last 2 games would have been different if Gabriel header vs Man U was in, or Auba scored his clear change (and leave it to VAR) or today with Auba last minute chance or Eddie’s 5 Yard miss..
    Would we be 2 points better off?

    Footy is fine margins. One fact I remain by is we have improved our squad Yes but we need to still do so much more to get it better.
    Pepe looks to be done, lack isn’t signing a new contract and Auba has the golden boy curse. How different would we look with these 3 out and 3 players in.

    Also for Partey, how long will fan’s give him until they start to question if that signing was right for us!?!?!

    I spent 4hrs in A&E and missed the game, but the pain would of been 2fold if I watched the game today!

    Disappointed but also not losing perspective of where we are (if if the last few months have given renewed hope)

  48. Said this on another.

    Needed a win, would have settled for a draw, got what we deserved.

    1 chance in first half and we scored.

    VAR was correct in the letter of the law, but me thinks VAR is $h*tE for the spirit of the game.

    They scored two in the second half to take the match, 2-1, could have ended up 4-2, so ball don’t lie.

    Arteta has the team passing backards trying to move teams out of shape to make time and space available for anyone to take a shot, but we do not have a lot of shooters in the box right now.

    Took unit over 60 minutes for AFC to wake up, and not really until 80 minutes did I feel some real energy and drive to tie the game up.

    Stated before if we lost this game it is not a good one to lose.
    Goal difference is going the wrong direction, and we are where we are supposed to be, maybe even overachieving at the moment:-0

    Going to be 3 really tough games in a row, thank goodness we do not have Europa to deal with as our squad is not deep enough for 2 matches a week.

    Arteta needs to start the engine, brakes be damned.

  49. Being dog tired from work, I tried to time my sleep in order to be awake at the time of the match. Got late by 15 mins, saw the entire first half, was happy for the goal because maybe I missed Richarlison’s chance. But one thing which bugged me a lot was that I couldn’t match our playstyle with our earlier performances, it was reverting to that slow snoozefest we dished out last season. I am glad I went back to sleep from confusion… MA needs to know that he has players to develop a fast-paced style, with other players available for a slower set-up and so there is both a potential for a horses-for-courses approach as well as a concrete identity to develop. I doubt whether he will be able to develop it though, considering his consistent mistakes and how the team now seems too clueless to do anything. Should we still trust the process? Can we poach Zidane? Or should we wait for the Ajax pair? So many questions might as well go back to work….

  50. It’s really not that difficult to figure out what went wrong today, our totally risk-adverse manager thought he could reintroduce the always game-numbing stylings of Xhaka, with his sloth-like doppelganger, Ode, on the opposing side of the pitch, and hopefully squeak out an uninspiring nail-biter against a struggling foe by playing keep-away for 90 minutes

    unfortunately for us, we actually went into halftime with a largely undeserved 1 goal lead…as such, our manager-in-training chose to double-down on his overtly negative approach by sitting even deeper and deploying a myriad of time wasting tactics well before the 3/4 mark of the game…realizing that our plan B looked eerily similar to our ineffective plan A, Rafa finally woke up from his slumber and released the hounds, who then ran roughshod over our defensively-stunted midfield partnership of Partey and our 3-wheeled shopping cart of a pivot…once they cruised past our midfield pylons they set their sights on our RCB, who’s propensity to both back away from onrushing players and to defend everyone’s less dominant leg is always a welcomed sight for opposing forwards…tbh the final score should have been even more unflattering

  51. Anyone saying MA needs time seems to have never watched Conte and to my frustration as a fan he went to bloody Sp*rs.
    I hope we finish top six otherwise Arteta should go.
    I have never liked MA not even as a player, and some stuff keeps repeating without solution but he cannot go now. There is no time, he should be given the chance until (close to) 22nd of Jan or even near the end of the season, unless things keeps deteriorating results wise.
    For now, we need to bounce back and react.

  52. The players and coach are uselessly useless if there’s any word like that, we had the chance to keep top 4 hopes alive, what did we do, we blew it, now we have to hope Man United, spurs, west ham loose and we win,

    I’m so so pained, no form of urgency, yesterday’s game was the height of their rubbish,
    It was more like Arsenal had agreed to help Everton, so disgusting.

    😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

  53. I have repeatedly said this: Players are not our problem. Arsenal problem is the coach. Give this set of Arsenal to an EPL experienced, technical and pragmatic coach and he turn to some of these players to superstars. Arteta’s player – management is poor. He doesn’t have the aural to make players play for him. Unlike Wenger whose young rookie players can do everything to win games for him. Another 8th position except something is done. Why on earth should a player work back to a team after a long lay off as if the team is in short of players in his position. It is no coincidence that Xhaka played and we lost to the most unform team in EPL.

  54. Collectively the midfield was bloody awful. Once again Partey didn’t show up. Xhaka is back and did what Xhaka does, not a lot! Odegaard put a shift in but when the rest of the midfield isn’t performing? Their passing was too slow, more backwards than forwards. I was thinking we were showing signs of improvement but these results against poor United and Everton sides is disappointing.

  55. The most painful part of the story is that Richardson was threaten to score a legitimate goal all day long but none of our defenders took notice .
    Arteta as the arrow head would have drew the attention of our defenders to the threat yet no special attention was added against him until the damage was truly done .
    Arteta match reading is questionable

  56. Richarlison has always been Everton’s most dangerous player,how many warnings does Arteta need before a player of his class undoes your defence, and what the **** is he doing with the midfield, Sambi and Partey have been the best pairing in the middle by far and what does he do!!! he randomly drops Sambi for that useless twat elneny and even worse the other useless twat Xhaka who I suppose now will be the first name on the teamsheet for the rest of the season, I am totally gutted that we have not carried on the momentum we had a few weeks ago, and from what I can see team selection has been a big part of why we did not do that,Arteta has completely undone any improvement we achieved and it’s now time to go.

  57. I backed Arteta after his appointment but have frequently made it clear that appointing him was not a brilliant idea. It was a terrible idea, but the board believed in him on the basis of an interview and previous coaching experience under Pep.

    Unlike the majority, I do not think he is all bad but I do think his time is running out. On the brink of 2 years in the job and the last 2 performances have been dire. I was expecting improvement after allowing Arteta time to bed in to this very high profile job but last night was the pits. The honeymoon period is over as far as I am concerned.

  58. The word, garbage, readily comes to mind but disgraceful is really more appropriate to describe my feelings.Before the match I suggested playing Holding at CB and moving the gifted but not physically imposing White to a DM role.On a cold wet night in Liverpool ,we needed some height and strength to cope with set pieces etc, and, more importantly to move Partey forward in a box to box role along with Lokonga or Tavares.In his wisdom, our Manager decided to bring back, Xaka and to keep him on for the full 90 mins when he could barely walk, never mind run, for the last half hour.Partey will never be the DM we desperately need but White could be.Why Arteta took off Tierney who was starting to make inroads on the left, but kept on Xhaka is simply beyond me and no doubt thousands of others.The fact that he played Martinelli on the left when Saka and Tierney are clearly on the same wave length is another selection I cannot fathom.White and Gabriel have done ok this season but both have to learn to engage with their opposition further up the pitch, rather than to back off and invite shooting chances one of which was the winner last night.To me the admirable Tomi was our best player and the way he did not over react to the shocking”accident” did in fact make life easier for that excuse of a referee who’s name escaped me.Calling for the head of our Manager in mid season is pointless imo, but unless we finish in the top four, which is clearly beyond us, I shall be shouting as loudly as others for a change at the top.Apart from the Dutch pair advocated by many I would be happy with Mr Potter at Brighton who I mentioned in despatches when AW left.Finally,a lot of nastiness has been aimed at Eddie Nketiah because of his desire to move on, but he looked more dangerous in his brief cameo than any other Arsenal forward and was unlucky with his header.His dummy to set up Auba with the last kick of the match was sublime or would have been had we equalised.

  59. Arteta’s team selections and tactical set up, followed by his in-game management and substitutions are 90% of the reason we not only lost but looked so pathetic and clueless.
    That’s before you even consider how he can’t motivate teams to show passion and lack of fear both before and during games. Before you ask why he can’t coach his teams to combat the high press. Before you ask why so many players are deteriorating rather than developing.
    All of our senior players – Auba, Laca, Partey, Pepe and Xhaka – are now disinterested, off form or simply not good enough. Why? A huge coincidence or the inability of Arteta to get the best from them?
    I have serious concerns that he will ruin his good work in bringing in some great players by undermining their evolution and confidence.
    Individually – Auba should not play, Odegaard is as slow and now as negative as Xhaka. None of Xhaka, Pepe or Xhaka’s styles suit this team as they cannot play at pace and their first thought is to pass backwards. Lokonga MUST start. if necessary ahead of Partey, and Martinelli is not as good as some fans seem to think he is. Players who are leaving don’t play. If necessary promote more kids. Passion for the club and enthusiasm are to me more important now than experience. Drop Partey and let’s see if he can get his mojo back because he’s dire atm.
    Ramsdale, White, Gabriel, Tomi, Tierney, Tavares, Lokonga, ESR, Sakha, Saliba – the only 9 players I totally trust to carry this club forward. Possibles are Martinelli, Partey, AMN, Balogun and Ode if they can get their acts together.
    Target fourth but realistically the best we will get with Arteta is top 6. And he won’t leave this season so it is what it is.

    1. Guy I will agree on 99% of what you say but a couple things to consider:
      1. Martinelli is better that we think he just needs game time
      2. Even 6 th is a stretch.
      I was happy with a 10 game unbeaten run but also
      knew the quality of teams we played was below par. As soon as we hit a stretch of tougher opponents it went downhill fast. Arteta is a passenger and not driving the bus .

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