Manchester United have claimed all three points at Old Trafford today with a 3-1 win over Arsenal.
The home team started the brighter but were struggling to break our backline down, and we looked to have found ourselves the opening goal through a fine counter-attack, with Gabriel Martinelli finding the back of the net, only for VAR to deny us thanks to a soft foul in the build-up.
We used that denial to focus however and began to get on top ourselves, and just as things were looking brighter on our end, we were then hit on the counter. Two intricate passes up front left Antony in behind our defence to place his one-touch effort around Aaron Ramsdale to leave us trailing.
We came out after the break on a mission, and quickly began to show our dominance, and that finally paid off when the ball fell to Bukayo Saka to send it home with the goalkeeper out of position. Unfortunately our dominant spell was once again our undoing as we were hit by yet another counter attack, this time with Bruno Fernandes splitting our defence completely open with a painfully good ball into the path of Marcus Rashford to run up to our box and score.
Some claim Arteta opted to go too attacking after falling behind again, and we were duly punished once more. This time it was Christian Eriksen who met the ball in behind the Arsenal back-line, before laying in his team-mate Rashford to tap it in to make it 3-1, and the writing was on the wall at that point.
You can take this result a number of ways. We can feel dismayed by the early disallowed goal which would no doubt have changed the way the game played out. We can blame Arteta’s decision to throw the kitchen sink in search of a result too early, but overall we should be happy with the performance put in.
Patrick
Beaten by counter-attacks. I guess Old Trafford’s atmosphere is still too suffocating for Arsenal
Yes the counter killed us. Although Saka score he is also becoming a frustrating player. Holding unto the ball far too long. But I see vast improvement from how we played last year.
Saka was one of our best players today. He did extremely well today than Martinelli and terrorized Malacia most of game. Ode, Zinch and Saliba were among our worst players today but most you in here will blame other players.
Saka played well, but Arsenal are still overwhelmed by Man United supporters
The game reminds me of Wenger’s team in the past. Dominant but Man United’s pacey attackers always punished them
Don’t talk such utter garbage. “Arsenal were overwhelmed by Man U supporters “. Geez you come up with nonsense. How did that remind you of Wenger’s team of the past???? Arteta’s management doesn’t even resemble Wenger’s. And that isn’t a slur towards either manager. Arsenal can consider themselves unlucky to have had their first half goal disallowed. Things may have turned out differently had that goal stood. United got us on the counter attack, end of story. That’s life. Prepare for the next match
Yes, GAI, the 8-2 mauling completed its 11th anniversary a few days back, for all those Mikel bashers, we fought hard and lost with respect. Kudos to Mikel for assembling an attacking team, cheers to all the lads for a fighting effort, you win some, you lose some, that’s football, I’m proud of my team and my manager irrespective of the result. Ode & Zini are recovering from their knocks, no complaints for the usual suspect Xhaka and Sambi either. Cheated by the poor quality of refereeing. Next what? Recover, recoup and hammer Lamp’s Everton left ,right, centre 5-0 should be the ideal response.
@gai
I also had flashbacks to matches in the Wenger era, where we had a dominant ball posession, but we got killed on the counters. Hope we learn from it this time.
I don’t remember wenger’s sides being dominant against ferguson’s utd very often. Post 2008, teams like utd and Chelsea would often let us have the ball, without really letting us get close, and hit us on the counter because it was so predictable how we would try to play.
In the old days, arsenal vs utd would be more of a back and forth with both sides trying to dominate the other, and were usually very competitive.
thought Saka was excellent today. Left Malacia for dead several times, knicked a goal. Was the biggest threat on the day.
I said this before the game that Man united knew they cannot hold the ball from arsenal so they will sit back and play on the counter attack. Since Wenger’s era this is how united used to play against arsenal.
Yeah, I remember how Cole, Yorke, Rooney and Ronaldo scored goals against us using their pace
True, they couldn’t deny their counters.
Wonder if Tierney and Tomi would have made a difference? Surprised he didn’t start the 2 better defensive fullbacks away against utd, but maybe he didn’t want to change up a winning squad.
Interesting to debate nonetheless.
One straight ball through the midfield twice for two goals shows Lokonga isn’t ready for this level yet. Sorry but Partey’s boot are too huge to be filled by him.
We’ll be needing a proper midfielder. Yes it’s harsh on Sambi, he’ll bounce back but this is the wake up call he needs to work on his game better.
We looked threatening and very good, but that midfield without Partey like we all knew is too bleak. Hopefully he comes back soon, he’s needed and his fitness is always letting the club down.
First loss, gotta pick up immediately in the next game.
The wolves will be out to jump on the boys, keep your head up and back them up.
Controlling the game and being the better team without getting the result is a huge let down. So we really need to do better.
Vieira looked positive when he came on, nothing he could’ve done.
#COYG
Lokonga was not great but the same with Xhaka. I can’t believe he’s our box to box midfielder and we ignored the signing of a DM because we use Partey there and trust Xhaka as box to box. That is laughable. Lokonga is no DM and even AMN as a DM is better.
Mate leave Xhaka out of this, he played solidly. You don’t expect him to cover all of the midfield against Erikson, Bruno and Mctominay.
Lokonga wasn’t up to it at all and he was extremely poor. He’ll bounce back.
Don’t get on Xhaka’s back now, he wasn’t at fault for anything today
Lokonga was above average but Xhaka was nothing special too. Only difference is Lokonga was the DM and Xhaka box to box. I’m not getting on Xhaka’s back, I don’t expect much from him every game but its annoying that he’s always going to be starting as the box to box. Once he doesn’t make he mistake he passes I guess.
Kev, Lakonga nor xhaka were the reason we lost today. We were controlling the game, it was decisions that were made on and off the pitch that lost us it. Fools scapegoating Lakonga, he did nothing wrong today.
Spot on Reggie. Lokonga neither Xhaka did no fault today, I really don’t know how people saw fault in these players!.
You are right Reggie, we all knew the Man utd would play counter attack football, but our coach decided to play his normal game without considering or plan how to stop manutd counter .
Well its all gone and we move forward, let’s encourage the possible so that they will not lose focus against Everton…. COYG….
I would be quick to knock xhaka and Lakonga but they were good today. It was detail why we lost today, not one player.
It’s high time Ateta develop plan B. He was beaten last season by Tottenham through the same tactics of counter-attacking football. We seems not to have fully departed from Wenga era. Arsenal has been struggling to kill of games this season when they are in control of games. This was what cost us today’s game.
We have no plan b.
Adewale who the hell should be blocking those counters if not your number 6 (Lokonga)?. He didn’t just failed to stop the counter but he was directly responsible for two counter attacks that resulted in a goal. We were in mostly in possession and he should know he can’t misplace passes in those dangerous positions. Blame Arteta or anyone all you want. LOKONGA DIRECTLY COST US THIS GAME! Nothing else’s matters!
I was going to say exactly this. It is funny how Reggie blamed a player who wasn’t ready to fill a first team player’s boots. But refuses to blame Arteta and the club who failed to buy a worthy replacement for the supposed big player whose boots can’t be filled. If his injury happened after the transfer window but “luckily” it happened way before the transfer window was over, yet we did nothing. Nobody should blame Lokonga. He played his best. Can’t play better than your ability. So noone should blame the boy
Eddie I mean. Not Reggie blaming Lokonga
Stop saying nonsense. Xhaka had nothing to do with this. Lokonga cause two goals directly due to wayward passes and we got countered. This loss is on him. Stop looking for things to say. Nobody is forcing you!
Wow!!! Making things upto back up your BS is a bit low. Lakonga was NOT at FAULT for any of the goals. Now that is stooping low!!!!!!!
He was a pointless player .. your endless defence of this guy says everything … he adds nothing to a team seeking to get back in to rio 4 .. nothing .. I have watched alit of midfielders in my time but not one in the epl that lacks the basic touch and control as much as this guy .. panic passing that puts team mates in to trouble .. if we want to progress with this squad which is short in midfield we shoukd drop him and white play Tomi in his natural position push zinchenko to middle play tiernay who again is the natural defender just drop the Swiss clown and the overrated brit .. otherwise we will be back hoping that competitors falter which is possible but has to far been a decades long failed strategy
You’re absolutely right. Hala is still the go to scapegoat for some.
Replacing Partey should be on the to do list come January. He is a financial drain given how injury prone he is.
I said that would cost us big time not signing a proper DM and it certainly did even got the score correct shame I don’t bet!!
Mark, you and everybody else; “prophets crying in the wilderness”.
“even AMN as a DM is better”….God bless you
Arsenal has not learn their lesson. They threw away top 4 last season the very day Partey got injured because there was no DM so closed in quality to him. Yet, we didn’t sign any player in that position. Our priority should be DM and not AM because we have depth in that position. I hope the decision will not come to hurt us later.
I expected much more from him today. It was a letdown. This level might just be too high for him. He needs to step it up. Will turn 23 soon. An age you should be showing signs of progress. Espescially if he wants to be in a competitive side that has Top4 aspirations. White for CDM perhaps, or Xhaka gonna have to drop back.
He’ll bounce back I’m sure.
That’s my hope Eddie. I’m waiting for him to kick on and have that one amazing game for us. I know he’s young but so Is the rest of the team. He needs to demand the ball, be more aggressive and not be afraid to make a stamp on the game. You need to have some arrogance to your game at this level. I don’t see anything from him yet that makes him better than a random youth league player.
Sure we can support him. But trying to shy away from blaming him when he is obviously the culprit is not good enough!
He isn’t at the level. I feel sorry for him being thrown in at the deep end
Lokonga’s pass to Jesus was intercepted but he is the only midfielder who was using the ball effectively today. The second goal goes to Saliba. Why did Saliba turn to chase Rashford instead of intercepting the ball. The ball was lost too far for our defense to be caught out. Xhaka and Odegaard didn’t make mistakes but they didn’t do anything special the whole game. Still wonder how Odegaard is our number 10. He has never dominated a big game. He plays near Saka’s area the whole game instead of occupying the area behind Jesus. We are too reliant on the young players. We need big game players. We have faced the first big test of the season and we have failed the test.
It’s Sambi Lokonga again 😭😭
He was and still is total liability for the club… Does not the trait to be in the first 11😭😭
If you ask me the best team for that day didn’t start the match. Zinchenko and Odegaard didn’t have to be rushed and we should have played with two up top along with Nelli and Saka on the wings. Also Tomiyasu should’ve been starting long ago. This meant that all our best attackers would be playing and we had better defenders in Tierney and Tomiyasu covering them. Then if we had employed a high press I don’t think United survive it. We could’ve outscored before they even adapted to us. It was key for us to score first so this was what we should’ve done. Its a poor loss because all United did was counter and Ten Haag was just exploiting the space Zinchenko was vacating and using Rashford. They won but the scoreline flatters them. On another day with a better selection we outscore them and I feel like we let them have this win.
I expected him t have started with Tomiyasu and White alongside Xhaka.
White’s lack of Pace against Sancho and Rashford was suicide. Also the triple changes he made killed the game.
This was a good game though, like you said, with our best team, that would’ve been a win.
For me its a very annoying loss because with better selection we outscore them. Tomiyasu was supposed to be starting a long time ago and Tierney was supposed to start. These were basic calls because United had two dangerous wingers and we were away. Then Odegaard should’ve been benched and we should’ve brought in Nketiah who has a higher goal threat and can press well too. Gabriel J. had a good game but needed a partner he could tango with. We’ve let off that United defense big time.
Eddie, Tomiyasu and Tierney with Zinchenko in midfield to better match United’s pace up front. If Odegaard was carrying an injury, what has happed to Smith-Rowe that he isnt considered?
I totally agree with Eddie.
More decisiveness in the final third needed, less hesitancy to shoot, and more of those shots on target needed. Midfield, I know this will piss ppl off but I don’t think lokonga is on the level required still. Didn’t see much from him today and cheap giveaway for the 2nd goal. Defense, Gabriel too rash today and needs to be more composed. Take some tips from Saliba. I thought Xhaka was great today and carried too much of the midfield burden. Positives, best game for Saka this season and he’s slowly getting back into form, Jesus as usual fought hard and made a goal happen, Xhaka good game. All about the comeback now. Everton have a lot of desire and we need to get right back to it. Shake it off boys.
Arsenal had possession but by no means they played good game. Not enough clear cut chances, overthrown all players, overconfidence that Manu not going to score. Manu read Arsenal game and won tactical battle. Arsenal so easily exposed as of Wenger days. Things need to change otherwise hope will change quickly into despair.
It was a proper game of football and we competed. Really annoying as that performance should have had a point or 3 from it. Just weird substitutions though so hopefully MA learns from that and the through middle goals we conceded. It wasn’t a 3-1 game and I’m pleased with performance today not the result. Martinelli goal was a goal, stupid decision on VAR
They had the whole summer to sign a mieldfielder, they failed, partey absence cost us alot last season, already soing same already this season. Absolutely gutted
Agree but we didn’t lose today because Partey wasnt there, he would have made any difference for the goals and the way they were scored.
Wouldn’t
Zinchenko was really off today, though it’s understandable. You don’t lose possession like that when you just equalized. Anyways, it’s not the end of the world. One positive from this match is Fabio Viera is promising.
Keep your heads up guys. COYG.
Zinny didn’t give that ball away
He did on few occasions but no blames, we lost that’s it
Can’t fault Sambi, it wasn’t his choice to be the only midfielder fit after the end of transfer window. Seems like MA/Edu took another huge gamble, as they did last January, which then backfired spectacularly.
We mightve had possession but that means absolutely nothing. United crushed us on their chances.
This was our first proper test against a top 10 opponent and we failed. Looking at the table, all our wins, came against bottom half teams. Fixture list has been extremely kind to us so today I think we saw our true level.
My thoughts exactly. 1st major test against a strong opposition and we failed. Not woefully though, but Ten Hag outsmarted Arteta.
We can make amends by smashing Everton next week, cos the game after that, which is against Brentford away from home, won’t be an easy game.
Who else thinks our squad is too light at the moment? Or am I the only one?
With so many games coming thick and fast, I just hope no one else gets injured.
Arteta and Edu obviously didnt learn from the mistake of January…..
It’s at least 2 players too light. We play in Zurich on Thursday. I wonder what kind of midfield were going to field as we have only 2 available, and we play Everton on Sunday.
yea not sure why we let all our midfielders go on deadline day. Should’ve kept one of Azeez or AMN. Lokonga, Viera, Xhaka likely the ones who are gonna play. Would rather not risk potential starters for a game that is probably gonna be quite straight forward.
No doubt Ten Hag out thought Arteta.
Bottom half teams aren’t easy to beat, just look at Man City the best team in EPL yesterday failing to beat Gerald’s team!
And how is loosing is Sambis fault I don’t get it. Our center backs were awful today both of them for all three goals but no one is talking about that.
We were the better side through out the game, and the score line doesn’t reflect the game. Our center backs need to learn from this loss.
COYGs
When the person that is supposed to be your main DM is not up to the task, he exposes your defense and puts pressure on them. That’s what happened today.
Scum manc ref soft foul ..
Var is a complete load of bollox
Killing the game and fans enjoyment !
I miss how it used to be , man u overated we will smash them at home and revenge this !
Let’s not be too hard on our young team ..
Well said Mac 💪
It was really close game even scoreline suggest something else..
We played really well…
But always loose at Old Trafford…
It’s time to move on and start winning again from Europa League…
VAR decision changed the game completely…
Let’s remain on top of the table next week also..
We were still in the game until the STUPID substitutions. And the fools blaming Lakonga and not mentioning the managers interference is just ludicrous. Lakonga did Nothing wrong. Odergard was invisible and White is not a RB. Very mature performance blighted by immaturity but not all from the players. We did look wide open in defence though.
Please dont scapegoat Lakonga to deflect the real reason we lost today.
Seriously.
Odegaard was immense what did you watch
He hid!!!!
Sorry Reggie but I totally disagree that he hid. It wasn’t his most amazing game but everything we did in final third was based off his positioning and he was part of lots of our plays and did some tracking back( but lost lots of those duels). Okay ish game from him but cannot say he hid.
RSH, defend him all you like but the play up front was all from Jesus, Martinelli and Sakas ability. We didn’t lose this game because of Odergaard at all, it was ultimately down to stupid substitutions and naivety.
Reggie as much as I agree that the substitutions killed the game, the players on the field were looking exhausted at this point. Perhaps they were still going to play better though, who knows. At least Fabio Viera was looking promising.
I didn’t think they looked exhausted and you dont just throw the kitchen sink on, even if they were. You make tactical subs, there was still 20 mins to go, not 5.
Arteta is very predictable with his substitutions. He usually makes them around 70th minute, if we are winning he keeps the formation e.g. Jesus off Nketia on, sometimes making late change attacking player off defender on, and if we are losing he usually makes such dramatic changes in pursuit of disturbing the game status quo. This time it didn’t make sense though, cause we were the better team overall, especially in the attacking department. Too bad the defense was not up to Utd’s counter attacks. Perhaps Nketia, Viera on, Jesus, Odegaard off would have been better.
And also lets not forget that 2 minutes after the subs comes the 3rd goal. So maybe, just maybe, the motivation drop is the real reason why the substitutions didn’t play very well. Too many possibilities we can’t really say. We can say though, that United weren’t looking better than us, and they should be very happy about the 3 points. 🙂
They were only caught on the counter under MA instructions.
They were bossing the game at 1-0 1-1 and even 2-1 just MA lost it.
People will say if its not broken don’t fix it but in football that logic has proven to be flawed time and time again. Why would you keep benching a better player just because the team is winning?? Tomiyasu was supposed to be starting a long time ago but if anyone says it you’d be called a hater of White. Tomiyasu in his short stint even looked better to me. We should’ve gone 4-4-2 and played our best attackers.
There is nothing wrong with dropping Gabriel and playing White there. Gabriel has been putting in shaky performances. Left footed CB blah blah blah, for me you have to make the best decisions and start the right players based on training and match day performances. That way players on the bench will know they are being kept out of the team by better players at the moment in time. What does Gabriel have to do to be dropped. Tomi is on the bench while White while doing okay is not offering everything you get from a RB. This loss opens up the opportunity to shuffle the starting line up as you will not be interfering with a winning team.
White was by far Arsenal’s best defender. Agree with Arteta’s interference as an hindrance though. He should have brought on only Nketiah for Ødegard. And Ødegard wasn’t invisible. He was linking attack and defence together smoothly, in the way that I should be done.
Wellz seems like there’s a bigger fool on here when he’s unable to spell his players name properly, not once but twice. I’m just saying though
Viera, the only positive I took from this game, his really good on the ball and his not afraid to shoot. He should be given more chance now.
@Reggie. I think Oedegard tried to be too cute with his play opting for the mouthwatering pass and a trick every now and then. None of which bore fruit. Against Villa and Fulham he had more intent and made the game his. Today, he shyed away I thought!
LT Dan, i think that is all Odergaard is, a cute little player. I want him to be the orchestrator and everything go around him but he just tootles around up and down the pitch inside the right. I dont think he is a bad player, he just isnt a great player and i think we need a great player in that role. I want more from him.
Odegaard needs to shoot more.
It’s a shame to admit Arsenal was in control of the game and lost by that margin… Arsenal simply played into a trap set by Man Utd, over the the years it’s been the same strategy from Man Utd allowing Arsenal get carried away in possession and they strike
Feels like when arsenal use to play well and loss under wenger. Frustrating
Gotta learn from this. Games like these occur in football…
Play like this and 9 times out of 10 you get something out of the game.
We keep going
The game was lost in the middle of The park ,Eriksen had so much time all through the match something you cannot give him .
Not impressed with white ,not sure why tomi hasn’t been bought back in especially today with Man Utd’s pace on the wings , Odegaard Who takes too much time to try to get a shot off or just completely fluffs it should have been replaced before he was .
Also the same for zinchenko who could have been moved into the middle because after todays game lokonga is nowhere near ready to anchor that middle against the better teams .
Saka and Martinelli best of the bunch for me today .
One thing that did stick out for me was the way Man Utd seemed to bully us with ease .
Still top of the league onto the next one .
What a signing Ericson was, we mis a pass master like him.
We never sign the right old players though. As an example I wanted Thiago Silva when he was leaving PSG but we let Lamps get him.
Nah Ericson is spent force, thank Gid we did not buy him. Just because a player got lucky with how open we were does not make him a amazing player. He has been Mr nobody in last 5 games for united. Its just we adopted tge wrong strategy even after seeing Liverpool play at Old Trafford. They played similar to us and lost on break. We should have kept compact but we went for the win. Well onwards and upwards.
Well he did us up like a kipper today, two world class passes that killed us.
Very true. I felt like we were playing with ten men. Its not Lokonga’s fault but i don’t think he is ready /not good enough. He seems scared. I really miss Guendouzi. People didn’t like him but boy he was a fighter. I think we need to play a three at the back when we’re away to the big boys till Partey is back
Erikson is a marvel; almost dying from a heart attack and returning to play at this level with an arterial stent.
Let us be honest with ourselves Arsenal has been poor in converting chances.
Playing good football is great but, if there’s no killer instinct, the opponent will always get the better of us.
No need to blame it on the Midfield, the better team at converting chances won.
Exactly what I’ve been saying. Don’t know why our players lack killer instincts. Especially Odegaard. Scoring seems to frighten him
Pretty good game for the neutrals. I thought we played better football but ManU’s counter-attacking and poor officiating (no conspiracy, they are just poor) killed us.
Since loads of folks are dissing Lokonga, I thought he came into the game in the second half. Defensively he’s a work in progress but games like this will help and I’m looking forward to watching him develop. Hopefully he stays of social media.
Despite Neville bleating on, I liked that Arteta rolled the dice with 20 to go. Nice cameo by Viera.
As always our fans and our attitude was spot on.
Learn from this and move on. Still top of the table.
We played very well today which I will admit but we lost basically because of lack of options in the DM area.Partey should have been involved today but is out injured.If his injuries woes continues, Arsenal should consider selling him.Lokonga is not just good enough.
If Arsenal had no intention of signing a defensive midfielder, why did we have to offload Torreira and AMN?
I’d say because neither are any good . But plainly you don’t see it that way, or you would not ask why.
Good question. We got meassly 5 million for Torreira, so what’s one more season out of him before losing him on free? He couldn’t possibly be worse than no player at all.
We did have an intention of signing one.
COYG!
On to the next one. 🤙🏽
Robbery at one of the usual places again.
We take it in good faith, a little bit disappointing but we’re still top of the league nonetheless.
How we didn’t get at least a penalty for the foul against Nketiah I don’t know.
15 points from 18
Top of the league.
Let’s get some perspective on this.
Zurich then Everton big game next Sunday
Everton need a win. Will we be the old Arsenal and let have it, or is there more to this team now. I’d like to believe it’s the latter.
Taking the longer than merely 90 minute view, which we all know a number of Gooners will, unthinkingly do, I much agree with what Gary Neville said on TV.
He said that after our performance he was now more certain then he was before that we would make top four.
I was actually THRILLED BY MUCH OF THE ALL ROUND FOOTBALL WE PLAYED AND THOUGHT IN MANY RESPECTS WE PLAYED LIKE MAN CITY, so fluid and pacy was our general play. Of couse we foolishly chased the game and found ourselves open at the back, later on.
But that is ONE game and what I SAW WILL STAND US IN GREAT STEAD FOR MANY YEARS TO COME, WHICH IS WHY I AM THRILLED!
I dont think too many of us are negative after that game either. We didn’t do too badly. Things to work on and scoreline a bit harsh on us. I still don’t think everything has entirely clicked in the final third yet either. We get stuck sometimes but you can see what we are trying to do. Can’t let this game get to us and need to rebound quickly for Everton who have been getting some decent draws lately
Why the caps?
jon, 15 points on the board are critical
Agreed, we were the better team for most of the game but lacked defensively with their counter attacks.. But probably we might be short of one or two midfielders short when considering the long season..
Sorry but William Saliba had a poor game today. His defensive awareness was non existent. Way to slow.
We were simply caught on counter, not specifically Saliba’s fault sir
Poor defending, specifically our starting positions, we were wide open.
Yes Dboy, and I don’t get it why people are afraid to say that Saliba was our worst defender today! Like the second goal, it was all his fault. The boy needs to learn from this. And he’s not been good since the Fulham game
White was by far Arsenal’s best defender. Agree with Arteta’s interference as an hindrance though. He should have brought on only Nketiah for Ødegard. And Ødegard wasn’t invisible. He was linking attack and defence together smoothly, in the way that I should be done.
Very correct ffo, bringing only nketiah on , then replacing zinchenko with Tierney would have balanced the game….but we will win alot of games this season, the lads are dominating opposition with ease and creating chances against deep lying defenses
As for man United, the resurgence won’t last long cuz the spaces are so glaring in their defense, just that arsenal were a bit slow with decisions in the final third
Zinchenko needs to play midfield for now, Tierney back to his position ..then nketiah Jesus combo will produce more goals than Jesus up top alone, cuz he battles for every ball , wins it and his only outlet is odegaard who strangely would not shoot …or he passes to martinelli who moves wide or has a tight angle for shots…
We need to re adjust this soon till partey comes back cuz eriksen and Fernandes won d game for them
Naivty!!This team is a bit young to play against experienced oppenents….you cannot be caught like this in counter attacks when You’r drawing away from home!!! The first and the second goal are unforgivabal at this level….But we’r still top of the League….
When your manager is on the touchline telling the keeper to push up to the centre circle, employs a back 2 on the half way line and is urging everyone forward more than that we are obviously going to conceed on the counter. Quite why he was getting so excited at 1-1 i dont know, then at 2-1 he got desperate. That for me shows his inexperience, but worse, after the match he would not take the blame, that concerns me.
👍
Nobody’s dissing any of our players here. It was a great game, and I can’t say when last we lost a game and I could still raise my head high.
We’ll pick-up in the next game.
The scoreline, if anything would only deceive United of progress.
We are looking by far the only team playing the best football in the league.
Starting of tra sfer window, we were singing a Backup for Partey and Saka is needed. Not getting one for Saka could be managed, but not getting one for Partey is criminal.
All in all, excited about this season and excited about this team of ours.
We can’t win every match and definitely not the one at the rival home will be expected to be won easily no matter the form we are in.
Let not overreact while we criticize.
And playing better doesn’t win you games. we all should know better by now.
Wenger team played better than anyone else for years and still ended up losing countless of time.
Let back the guys and hope they bounce back as soon as possible.
Definitely and we are still top of the league. We HAVE TO learn from today or die.
Our midfield is the problem. We should have played three at the back and packed the midfield. Lokonga is not ready and he seems to not have the confidence to ask for the ball,and always seemed to lose the ball when we he had it. Not signing a CM will seriously hurt us going foward
We must read the game better, United has made the same kind of goals against us many times. When we have 1-1 we should be more cynical. We played another good game no reason to be too negative, but we must improve and do better next time 🔴⚪️
How many of you remember that those games we lost towards the end of last season were caused by the absence of Thomas Partey!!!
He absence is the common link between those games and today’s game.
Whatever you lot may believe, Thomas Parrtey is currently our ONLY DM.
I hold to my belief that we lost today because we did not have a top class DM in our team.
(and because of VAR, but that is another story)
So, I fear, for much of this season we will all have to “Get used to disappointment” as Westley said in the Princess. Bride
That is my problem with Arsenal. We never seem to learn. After Partey was injured, we lost Champions League football due to Xhaka and Lokongo in midfield. We should have brought in a DM who could play alongside Partey or Xhaka without significantly lowering our quality, but we waited until the very last minute to play games with Luiz. We have a good squad and played well today, but like Arsenal in recent times, we are always a player short of having a great team.
Look i like Partey but last season we beat Chelsea away and utd at home consecutively, without Partey but lost to Brighton Southampton etc. It wasn’t and isn’t down to Partey absence. Look what went on in the game and you will see it was technical issues from the team and bench.
Why use Anthony’s image on a just arsenal page? You could have simple used one of our players looking frustrated. Better than marketing Anthony for the devils
Why can’t we boss?
I’m not boss. This is your site and you have the final say here but I feel using our own players pictures would have better than using Man Utd’s. After all this is an Arsenal fan site not Man Utd.
When you are controlling a game like we were even at old trafford, you should not lose as easy as we did by 3 goals that were basically on the counter. Our shape was ok and we changed it massively all at once and it did not work. Managers win games and they also lose them. The substitutions did not work at all.
He was outcoached yesterday
Only Viera from the subs played well the rest were nothing to write home about. Arteta’s subs cost us this game. As for Sambi I’m sorry but two straight balls through the middle that lead to goals tells the whole story. Sambi might have glimpses of greatness but he is not yet ready for this level of football. Maybe cup games but definitely not this level of football.
Why the blame all to Sambi. Where was Xhaka and Odegaard? The balls where lost up the field where was the defense?
Those two straight balls that led to goals shows exactly why Partey is so important. There were on Lokonga, you can’t turn a blind eye to that. This is not blaming him, it is stating the obvious that he is not ready for this level of football.
I call bullshit. What were the defenders doing instead of marking their opponents. That’s why we have defenders. To track the opposing strikers and pick us such balls. Sambi is a young lad and is bound to have blips please get off his back. Hell even Partey misplaces a fair few passes don’t see why the young lad should be crucified. Hope you noticed that our midfield came close to becoming nonexistent once he was subbed off. Untd were playing through at will.
Chapo, thats rubbish!!!!!!
People should be ashamed of scapegoating a young player when he most definitely was not at fault. The fault was the manager and his tactics. The high line and the substitutions were the reason. Bury your head in the sand to protect Arteta if you like but he made schoolboy errors.
From my observation of Sambi, he plays midfield like a 10. Likes to hang on the ball, likes to carry the ball forward and consequently always out of position. A dm does not need to move forward in a way that leaves his position open should the ball be lost. A dm’s primary responsibility is to start the marking for the defense line when the team is under attack. A dm has to be on the man with the ball while the defense marks the runs from other players.
If you want a player to play a role then you have to instruct him on how you want him to play that role. A dm should be defense conscious while carrying the ball forward. Never moving too forward in a way that means if you loose the ball the defense will be facing a counter. If most of your team mates are ahead of you then a dm should know the implication of carrying the ball to join them up top or losing the ball.
While he is a very good player, he does not have the mentality for the role he is being asked to play. A dm should prefer to sit at the base of the midfield and break up play being naturally defense contious rather than being more likely to willingly carry the ball out. He is never worried about losing the ball or misplacing a pass which is an attribute of an attacking minded player. Attacking minded players take risk in dribbles and passes but a dm choses simple and low risk passes. You can play dm with the skill set of an AM when put under pressure by an opponent but you shouldn’t play dm with the mindset of an AM. He should be either played in the right position or oriented on how to play the role he is being asked to play. I have observed this, the coaches should see it as well. This is the only problem I find in him, otherwise he is a very good player. If you send him on loan and someone points this out to him you’ll see that suddenly you have a world class player in your hands.
I thought we started off sheepishly, not willing to press and allowing United to the majority of the offensive play. We tried to soak up their forward play and sat back too much giving them the momentum and allowing them to gain confidence. I really don’t think we gave them half the battle they deserved and fell for their counter attack routine too often.
I know we can’t take the same approach to United as we did with Fulham, Villa and Bournemouth but we seemed to go into our shells today and were a bit timid. I hope a pattern doesn’t occur when we play other premiership big boys like City, Spurs, Chelsea, Liverpool. Which might cause us to lack the belief we had to then even beat some of the lesser premiership teams.
It’s only one loss. We didn’t get embarrassed or severely spanked and, were still top of the heap. Rather than me making predictions and casting aspersions after one upset…. I’ll let Arsenal show me what they’re about in the many games to come!
This United team is rubbish, and we still lost. That shows how bad we are. It was either going to be counter attack or mistake that cost us the match. Making Rashford look like a top player.
*Not enough shots in target.
*Over passing when we they should be shooting.
*Playing highline even after equalising and going 2-1 behind with lots of time still left.
*Tripple change at 73, concede straightaway at 75.
* wrong changes.
Viera doesn’t play a single minute in league before this game, suddenly he is the player to get us back in a game of this stature.
So bad, still top.
Sorry, United are not “rubbish” and Ten Hag is a very good proven manager!
Sambi was OK we just got beat sometimes it happens
what a great game to watch,i know we were beaten, butits not always about the 3 points. i have not seen a performance like thhis from our team at old traffic in many a year, well done to the team, keep the spirits up.on the one hhand ,i am happy that we were beaten because some folk on here were already crowing about how we were title contenders !!!.and thAt was onlyy after five games , come on guys, cop on ,eh.we are champions league material,at the moment,but things change, a dose of bad injuries to our squad and we are f@@ked.
I am confident team will bounce back from this and this will only make them more stronger. Some times things just don’t go in your favour, first our main DM got injured then a perfectly valid goal was disallowed as referee came under crowd pressure. If it was Emirates he would not changed his original decision.
It was a foul, stop looking for excuses that are not there. In todays football that is a foul, he got the player and not the ball and came from behind. 20 years ago it wouldn’t be but now, it is all day long. Our very own Xhaka does it every game at home to get fouls. We didn’t lose today because of refereeing.
It was a foul, but it wasn’t clear and obvious foul, which means it wasn’t a VAR situation. From my point of view a 50 – 50 decision.
I thought it was plainly obvious Didrik, i called it as soon as. I think the right decision was given. I wouldn’t have liked it given, if it was the other way round.
It was not that obvious , have u seen the astonishing decisions by VAR this weekend then I that sense it was not as clear as yiu are saying. Plus I don’t think Martin’s leg actually touched Ercison, it was body to body contact and as ericson lost his footing.
It was to me logic!!!!
I have been on this site for long but I don’t comment but on this I will want * Reggie to watch the first goal scored by Leciester City against Brighton today which was upheld without VAR intervention.
Yes ours was a foul as well as the other one mentioned above but it does not need a VAR intervention.Ref instinct could have been the judgement.
If I’m remembering correctly, arteta didn’t say whether it was a foul or not, when asked, but said it was frustrating that there’s no consistency, so you can’t really know. I thought he summed it up well – on another day, no one questions if it’s a foul and the goal stands, rightly or wrongly.
I did think it was a foul, and the correct decision, frustrating as that is.
Michybee, no i did not think it was a foul, nothing like Odergaards, just stronger than the Brighton player. Look at the Brighton player, he just got up and ran back, no complaints from him or Brighton. Odergaards was a foul and was chalked of because of.
They are ment to be allowing more contact and I’ve seen bigger shoves then that with no fouls given it was a discrace to disallow the goal the fact you got a referee that lives near Manchester and var idiot the same says it all should both be sacked!
Zenni was good overall, but he made a schoolboy mistake by unnecessarily leaving his position to try to gang up on a MU player who was already covered by Gabi, I think, exposing a wide open space and all the time in ţhe world for Anthony to score.
We climbed out of this hole but had forgotten that we were at Old Trafford, that it was a 6 point game, we continued to attack, leaving our defence at the mercy of counter attacks.
Played well, given the situation.
vaR is $h*te.
Highline with no pressure will most likely lead to scores like this.
Say it again with me, will you?
Until we win at ole toilet, we ain’t winning league, EVER!
Oh, and of course ESR got hurt in the warm down:-(
In the article prior to the match I expressed by surprise that Zinchenko started at the expense of Tierney.I also highlighted the need for our centre backs to be alive to their pace on the counter attack.Well Zinchenko was drawn inside and freed up Anthony for the first goal, and Saliba got his positioning all wrong for the second.We were the better side for a good chunk of the game but we are so naive and suseptible to the counter attack we find it difficult to keep a clean sheet.As for those who have criticised Lokonga and White, they could not have watched the match I saw.Man Utd are not a great side.Like Spurs they are set up to counter attack, so the match between the two next weekend should be as dull as dish water.Before the start of the season,I would have happily taken 5 wins from 6 matches, so to that extent I am not unhappy.However,when he analyses the match, I do hope Arteta and his team recognise the need to play our two best fullbacks against historically tough oposition.
@Grandad
We stated Gooner…
Oh well. Live and learn. On to the next one…
If we fail top four this season, is there any more excuses for arteta? We have spent about 400M with arteta so far, 17 players in. This team is Arteta’s team, so for me there is no more excuses…
we lost one game. don’t overreact.
Although we played well and had a VAR ‘con’ decision against us, our midfield was very soft centred and the decision not to buy means that without Thomas Partey we just don’t have power and strength in the midfield. We were so much the better team, but very naive in our defending for their goals. We were unfortunate though and should have put the game to bed way before they hit us on the break. VAR is used as a con and was used to favor United. Many of us saw it coming though.
It wasnt a goal, come on, it was a foul in the build up. There was no con today at all.
Reggie
They have been letting much worse than that happen this season….all the time. That is the new ruling, to let stuff go.
Ok, i dont agree with that, there has to be a foul given for a foul but regardless, we got back to 1-1 controlling the game and people are looking backwards to blame our defeat. Whatever we think of the decision, it wasn’t VAR that cost us 2 soft goals, when we were in control. Look what happened and you will see, it was naivety and poor decision making from us.
Reggie
The law is the law even when everybody is breaking the law? They let 20 fouls go every game. How do I know…I watch it every game.
Sean, i dont buy it but that doesn’t matter. At 1-1 how did the referee VAR or any other excuse we can come up with affect what went on. The manager has to be accountable for what went on in the final 20 minutes. He showed his hand far too early and it cost us. Naivety and not the first time he has been outmanouvered by a smarter tactition. You cant be in control of a game like we were and just capitulate because we couldn’t cope with the transition.
Positives to take, bossed man united at old Trafford. We need to know or work on how to manage situation leading to counter attacks . Jon I agree on your post above. All around we had a good game and the boys did give a fight
Arsenal was the the best team. No doubt. I am pleased that we do not have to live on counter attacks like Man. United.
When on the pitch Zenchenko and Ødegaard are very dominant in the midfield. At times Man. U were almost outplayed. We made some mistakes though in this match. Arsenal brooded in fine combinations without getting to shooting opportunities, or they didn’t try to shoot when the opportunities were there, When we play against such a counter attacking side as United, we need to be a little more careful about this weapon A lot of teams will analyze on how they can beat such a dominat side as Arsenal.
But despite the defeat, I am very confident that MA has the right process going.
Why isn’t anyway blaming VAR? Our first goal was disallowed which I honestly think shouldn’t have been, then some awful decisions by the ref, like the fowl on Jesus towards the dying minutes that would’ve been a penalty. Overall a very solid performance from the guys.
VAR have been poor this whole match day. So many inconsistencies till one wonders if they are actually helping the game all ruining it. When is it termed a “a referees clear and obvious error?” I’d say they are making more mistakes and big ones
Might have been missed because it was bottomed but my reply to Perry Ames on the game thread was this –
Agreed. Although been plenty of hate for Wenger, Emery or Arteta and for most players to play for us in that time. Arteta was both hated for being captain (when we never missed top 4) and hated by some now when we are top of the league.
Hopefully we are turning a corner that way, seen signs. Loss will bring out the worst in force but I believe the vast majority are not hateful and never have been.
That is all I want to say.
I’m seeing a lot of knee-jerk criticisms of players that I feel are uncalled for. We could easily have won but it was just not our day. Utd played their best game of the season – perhaps the last two seasons. Bad timing for us because playing like that at home they will beat most teams. They were quicker, hungrier and more physical but we still controlled the game. Harsh to disallow the goal but that’s normal for us. At 1-1 it was our game but they were great on the break against the run of play. This result would not have happened at the Emirates. We learned from this. Down but not disheartened – still top!
Ig we don’t buy a proper DM in January then we will again be crying over spilled milk at end of this season like last season when we did not go out and buy a striker. I don’t care if Partey is fit in January, we need to go out their and buy a DM who is not actually party’s second but his replacement. TP is not a reliable player on whom you can bank your season.
I’m not gonna lose my shit over this game because I never creamed myself over the first five games. Hence why I have deliberately not said anything, but the writing was on the wall from the Palace game because we still haven’t addressed the fundamental issues in this team.
But, I will give them their due. Football is much better. I IS ENTERTAINED!!
So my coffee in Birmingham isn’t as bitter as it it was last season😇
Never been to Zurich before and as long as we don’t lose to Everton I’m just clasing this as a bad day at the office.
Didn’t get to see the game but gutted at the result.
I mean from reading sky and what Gary Neville said about us we must be doing something right.
Can’t beat everyone.
Let’s beat Zurich give some of our fringe players decent game time like viera then give Everton it.
I didn’t see the game either
Relied on all the JA posters to give me some idea about what happened
What I gleaned was:
That overall it was a good game that we ‘should’ have won and would win at the Emirates
Apart from a tiny handful, the remarks have not been unduly critical and generally positive which bodes well
3-1 to them was flattering
Partey is missed
Thanks for being my eyes and ears. I’ll be relying on you until later this month
Told myself wouldn’t comment anymore tonight but as you missed it… Neville is saying we were better so you know we were. He is also saying Arteta made a mistake making 3 subs but I suspect he’d of said the opposite if we made none and lost anyway. That was his only route to attack someone he views as major rivals to United not just this year but in the coming years. So all round positive that way but also terribly disappointing today. Add in the disallowed goal and a great De Gea save at 0-0 🙁
Will add do target Neville a lot in my comments because he does use his position to support his team and degrade rivals even if it is subtle most the time. Don’t have a problem with him doing that per say he was a childhood fan that played his career for them of course he will. With my Arsenal hat on I can’t stand it. If I ever had the same position as him I wouldn’t be far different towards Arsenal instead of United, it’s natural bias.
👍
Me too. Hopefully it’s just a little step back. And we pick up against Zurich and Everton.
No need for negativity we are top of the league.
Yeah partey is definitely missed but we are hopefully looking at a replacement him as he cannot be relied on. October will be a massive month for our season
That’s gone now…..we lead with just a point, next up …Zurich, we must rotate our squad and come Sunday, we unleash our anger on everton, we must not loose optimism
We need 2 signings in January.
Ruben Neves and Gakpo.
Partey shouldnt be rushed back to the squad. His fitness has to be properly managed.
I like the look of Viera. The guy has that composure…
We move.
@ Sean Williams
Right on!
Can’t believe the negativity! We are still top and yes we lost, but no shame in that, even though we were the better team. Onwards and upwards! By the way, are Brighton the new Leicester?
Apparently ESR managed to get injured in the post-match warm-down :/
Endless bad luck with injuries 🙁
I thought i saw him taken off, during the pundits bullshit. But warming down after what? I broke more sweat making the sunday roast.
PGMOL (refs’ body) has accepted that bad VAR decisions were made this weekend (WHU and Newc, possibly us as well) – but they never change the results, they’ll just “co-operate with a review” by the PL.
Nonetheless, this is what Scholes made of that Martinelli incident and how the Gunners were ‘unlucky’.
“I think it’s very soft,” said Scholes. “It’s his interpretation of the foul. He is ten yards away. He doesn’t think it’s a foul. Go to somebody else and he has a different opinion.
“It’s ridiculous, it should never have come back. I think they are a little unlucky there Arsenal.”
That is Scholes, I don’t really need to add to that.
Will add it’s not VAR that could be a fantastic tool, it’s the PGMOL running it.
Scholes would have gone right through the player, leaving no doubt of the foul.
Yes it’s certainly not VAR, it works perfectly in every other sport that uses it – VAR just makes sure people see what actually happened so that they can make informed decisions.
The problem is that the refs’ decisions are rubbish. The refereeing standard is so poor in this country.
Why can’t Ben White slot in for Partey? Without Partey we concede awful goals.
Our backyard was open today and led to all 3 goals on counter attack. That’s weird
Really really disappointed how the team was set up today didn’t we learn from the Tottenham game last season. We all knew United was going to counter in this game except the coaching staff it seems cause we went with the same formation as if we had a fit Partey. Regardless how we would like to spin this but the game plan employed today relies on a strong dominant defensive midfielder which we didn’t have. If I look at how we started it looked like we were cautious or aware of their counter attack but then we weren’t set up to nullify their counter we would have been better served with Zinchenco or white in the middle and playing either Tierney or Tomiyasu. This is not going to be the last time we without Partey so we need to adapt our formation and the way we set up to still win games.
Problem was not the players but wrong tactics by Arteta who tried to play high line against a team who has pace upfront and no longer play same football as before, United play more like underdogs against top 5 other teams and try to hit them on break. They know they don’t have the quality to play possession football or dominate games so they bank on pace of their forwards to provide them with goals so they can sit deep and defend which gives them more opportunities to do those counters. Arteta fell into the trap, he should have learnt from Liverpool match.
The high line killed us.
Only 1 man to blame today and that is Arteta, the worrying thing is not that we lost, but he could not take responsibility.
An opinion.
For sure. He was outcoached yesterday fare and square. Naivete on his part. His lineup is always predictable and the substitutions lost the team it’s shape. Not to mention lokonga in midfield
Yiu can’t say mistake but we tried to be more brave and lost the gamble. Why I say that is because we tried to won the game at 1-1 where as united were more content on not loosing. Sometimes you have to pay for being brave and we did. I guess we should have not pushed for the victory and let united do the majority of work under their fan pressure. Should be us as away side hitting them on break.
We played well in large parts whilst being toothless on the whole. Though Lokonga (tbf) before letting the passes through had one of his better gamesI thought.
Naive and rushed From MA on the subs and the team lost shape quickly and never recovered after there first breakaway goal. We had to do better especially since knowing they are a counter attacking team! But hey. It’s one game.
We go forward and hopefully we learn from this most recent of defeats at old Trafford.!
Ignored Lokonga comments because I would tear everyone a new one on that particular subject given how we conceded and how the game played in general.
Outside that think everyone accepts it was one of those days. Decisions went against us. We played good football and we lost away. Still top, still 3 better off than last year. No worries particularly because this thread wasn’t nearly as negative as it could of been. There is a belief building, it didn’t end at Old Trafford… perhaps it just begun!
Everton at home next, take the 3 then we are still top.
Will add 2nd/3rd play each other then so points are being lost somewhere.
Did we learn anything new from our loss today? Absolutely not. It’s the same old story: without a solid midfield core, we will struggle to both score goals and defend against them.
The balance of the game tipped into our opponent’s favor right after the substitutions. An expected outcome because of their superior and deeper bench.
We need to convert Ben White to DM asap. He has the passing range, composure and natural defensive instincts to shield our back 4 from counter attacks.
We learnt we were the better team and lost for the 16th time in the last 17 years away to United.
sorry didn’t win for the 16th time although not that far off anyway.
Won the most important one though, Wiltooooord. Not quite as good as winning the league at Anfield or WHL (twice) but still one of the best nights of my life
A good 21 years ago but yes Wiltord sowed up the double that day. He also scored the goal to that took France to extra time in the Euros (they won, Trezeguez, anyone remember him and the times we were linked?) Remarkable record for a player often forgotten he had massive impacts on two of the biggest stages.
Yesterday’s game was about taking your chances on the field and failure to provide
effective cover against the counter. First, in attack Xhaka and White give us very little. The Granite does not have the skills to provide any sort of support in and around the box and as a result Arsenal require Martinellii, Jesus and Saka to continuosly take on and beat their man to create space. This is becoming very predictable for the opposition to set up against. When they manage to beat their marker there is no one around with the striker’s instinct or abilities to capitalise. Let’s face it Subs would have thrived yesterday playing alongside those three. Xhaka is not the man there. His role is defensive midfielder, ball winner, breaker up of opposition counter attacks but he was none of the above.. Similarly Ben White tried and tried but he was too slow to arrive to the rescue. At the same time he provides nothing as an attacking wing back. Poor Saka is alone in taking on their defenders and often taking all the physical punishment.He has to do part of Whites job as well as his own. Poor Lakonga, I guess his physical presence raises expectations, some even believe he is the new Ya Ya Toure. I haven’t seen anything from him yet and the fact that we missed Elneny says just about everything. It’s too late now to cry over these glaring weaknesses in the team’s make up. We were too slow to act this past window and many possible alternatives have since gone elsewhere. The Xhaka issue however can be fixed. Be brave Arteta. You have Smith Rowe waiting in the wings. The defensive issues on the other hand are going to be a headache. It’s no use saying, ” wait till Partey returns” because physically his body does not seem up to being someone who can boss the midfield consistently. I doubt we can get anyone in January but the search should start now.for next season. Arsenal are still three players away from being a champion contender.
See below.
Auba not Subs.
Subs happened to me a lot when typing Subs too.
We were the better team even Neville or any United backer is not delusional enough to claim otherwise yet your write up does. Are you even fan? When the most die hard public rivals are given us credit where credit is due and you are not…. what is going on? You want to be right, guess what I have no problem being wrong and will happily admit it when it happens (that is how you learn) your so obsessed with being right you forgot to support the team. Shame.
Shame.
@Joe. S
Having 90% possession doesnt win games. Its goals that count. I am afraid MA is falling into Wenger obssession with pass and apass when 2/3/4 passes can let u score.
Hopefully Arsenal will reflect on the hdl.* Goals win games not pass and pass
I would tprefer the gunners had someone run at the defenders.This could open up spac e for the others.
This loss is not fatal but MA better better take note.
Take note of being the better team? Or the disallowed goal? He better take note and carry on the same because we win most games playing that way.
Doesn’t matter if we were the better team. The coach is/was naive and the only thing that matters is the three points. Noone remembers who played better at the end of the day. I’d rather in such a game we play shite but win
Why didint the ref blow for a foul after Marrtineeli had scored?
Why nullify the goal? He shd have blown for the foul.
Angus. We did play well, but we lost. The team is not the complete deal. Don’t just hero worship. Xhaka, Gabriel, White and Lakonga all played a part, or didn’t? Now it’s time for you to go to bed and stop making excuses. Me, I off for a swim.
Some of the opinion here baffles me really. We have made it mandatory to scapegoat some certain players wether they played good or not. I thought in that mf xhaka was good. The biggest let down today will be saliba but y”all are not ready for that discussion. Man was a bag of nerves. Letting balls bounce and that rashford’s second goal, that was high school defending. Lokonga lost balls and refused to show up most times for the ball. Ben white was far better than zinchenko. Why couldn’t Arteta play tierny and zinchenko in the middle to leave lokonga out? We have a player in G.J man terrorized their defence all day. From varane to Martinez to Maguire. Shame martinelli didn’t turn up today. Saka had his best game for us this season. I can’t remember malacia overlapping. We played them hands down but individual error and some of the coaches decision costed us. But heads up, I haven’t been this proud of this team for a long time. I thought they were brilliant. Viera is some player, now odegaard can see out some games. It seems esr is injured again…we need to get rid of these injury prone players starting from partey.
I totally agree when Arteta made the subs immediately after conceding the second goal. A bit chaos in Arteta’s order. Yes, we conceded again. But the level of performance was consistent until the end. I think it’s more physiological for the team than anything else. I saw some players falling behind maybe perhaps of fatigue or mental shock and replaced them with players who are itching to continue the fight. The performance was really good and didn’t merit the lost. All the best for the next match.
Arsenal have been beaten many time by teams palying anti soccer. Why not play the same game
The hdl is to be blamed MC also play ahdl but they have the players nip back.
Its back to the drawing board.
It felt like the same old Arsenal. Play well, dominate possession but still lose against well drilled teams.
We have got to sort it out. This is the penultimate for Arteta to show that he can out manoeuvre the so called seasoned / Top managers.
We can’t be having the same old conversation “We really played well but but…”
We never bought last January and handed 4th place to Conte and that N17 team. We didn’t buy a midfielder during the end of this window….even when we were light and had injuries. The team is good but it seems that Edu/Arteta are never going to go the Full Monty. They seem to have a kind of death wish to not quite be what we can be. To not buy a quality midfielder was, sorry, mismanagement. The whole of JA and all supporters were willing Edu to sign a midfield player….he let Arsenal down.
I am happy with the improvement of our players. Having said that, I must point out that, arteta made a mistake by allowing our two central defenders to join attack. We conceded the three goals through counter attacks. Again, our coaches should train our players to be more clinical in front of the goal area. The passes are one too many. Our players are guilty of not knowing when to shoot and make passes. Ode was the chief culprit. All the same, they should should learn and move on. The season is still young to make amends. We are not expected to win all matches. Are we?
We did played well, well enough to beat MU, well enough to feel good about the road ahead. However, criticising the team or even against individual players is not being negative. We need post-game evaluate and to on what needs to improve.
Blindly singling accolades or not facing up to problems is only the practice of some out of touch nations. (I need to be careful with what I say in Hing Kong these days!)
G. Jesus is a good attacker. He frightens ball out of defenders. I like his bravery and I pray we don’t frustrate him. I suggest we play a good goal scorer along side with him. I also suggest we allow Tierney and Tommy back to thier positions while moving White & Zinchenko into the midfield to help out in that department. Sambi way behind that position. I just hope arteta gets some of the suggestions on JA.
Talking about Guendozi, you will see the best of him in such a manu match. Like him or hate him, arsenal lost a rare gem in that boy. I missed him too no
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