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Gunners misfire in PL opener as Brentford earn deserved victory

Arsenal have succumbed to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of newly-promoted side Brentford.

This was the home side’s first match in the top tier of English football since 1947, the first year of football after World War II, and their fans will have plenty to celebrate after beating one of the country’s best teams in recent history.

We started the match brightly, but despite strong spells in possession, we were unable to force much work out of goalkeeper David Raya.

After 15 minutes of play however, play turned on it’s head, and we began to endure an extended run of pressure, and not before long that pressure saw the Bees earn the 1-0 lead.

The goal came from Spaniard Sergi Canos, who turned his man in the box to fire his powerful shot low and hard inside Bernd Leno’s near post.

We tried to push back immediately after the goal but there was little fluidity to our play, and we ended up going into the break at 1-0 down.

After the break, the game was slow and we were struggling to get the likes of Gabi Martinelli and PL debutant Folarin Balogun into the game, and it was no shock to see them both go off, although we didn’t really have any viable attacking players worth considering to turn this game around, apart from Bukayo Saka, who clearly isn’t at 100%.

With just under 20 minutes left to play, the final nail in the coffin came from a long throw-in, with defender Norgaard steaming into the box to thump his header home, and leave us clutching at straws of hope of getting anything out of this match, not that we deserved anything.

There was little worthy action to comment on from the remaining time either, with a couple of long shots, and plenty of passing around the box that didn’t end up opening any gaps in a resilient defence, and Brentford can be proud of their performance, although the same cannot be said for our men.

Has the result moved to highlight just how limited our squad depth really is? How badly did we need some more experience in attack today?

Patrick

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355 Comments

      1. Fans complain about a, a happens fans complain. Hold a consistent opinion or shut up. If Arteta needed to play Balogun and Martinelli over Auba and laca stfu when Balogun provides no link up and Martinelli provides no goal scoring threat. You’ve been screaming for it. Before the game you wrote Arteta off for lucking into the magical formation. If we won luck. We lost Arteta fault. The players you wanted on the pitch were on the pitch. Properly talented players I’ll add but a long way from week in week out.

        1. seriously, please have the decency to collect your thoughts Angus before you try to present an argument, especially a contrarian one…I think you’re trying to suggest that some fans wanted to see Balo & Marts on the pitch, instead of Auba & Laca, who were both unavailable btw, and as such if they failed to secure a victory that those same people should have nothing to complain about…I guess, in theory, albeit not a very sound one, that might make some sense, if it weren’t for the fact that the real underlying issues are the piss-poor, amateur hour, stifling tactics being deployed, once again, by our manager-in-training, and his inability and/or unwillingness to properly address our most pressing needs, first and foremost, especially when it appears as if the funds have finally been made available

          as for your “woe is me” managerial sob story, falsely predicated on the old adage “damned if I do, damned if I don’t”, it just don’t pass muster, in that this manager had his chance to reinvent the wheel, so to speak, in the days following our FA triumph, but instead he chose to put his own self-interests ahead of the greater good…by doing so, he wasted another full season, in that he continually utilized tactics that only suited those who had no realistic future with the club, while simultaneously ostracizing several of our most viable prospects, who should have received some much-needed minutes for developmental purposes and/or to raise their respective market values

          at season’s end, out of sheer desperation, he adopted the “trust the process” moniker, then proceeded to not properly address our most pressing needs during the early days of the window…instead, he doubled-down on the same failed tactics with many of the same ill-suited and ill-equipped personnel, like Xhaka, who after engaging in some rather thirsty flirting with Jose’s new club, was rewarded with the same armband he once threw to the turf, in the not too distant past, then proceeded to flip the fanbase the bird…so you tell me, who’s at fault for this tire fire of a footballing club

    2. Arteta is the perfect example of a problem.. we can blame the players all we want but something to remember.. Brentford does not have a better squad they just had a better coach.

      1. Exactly, same tactics and micromanagement from Arteta same results.

        White had terrible debut, did he even jump for the second goal?

        Club going nowhere under Arteta. 10 players ARTETA HAND-PICKED yet some still blaming players.

        Nearing half a 25 man squad Arteta choose, think about that, and same trash on the pitch.

        Have to blame Arteta for that, clearly out of his depth, CLEARLY out managed this match.

        1. Durand You cannot blame the players with a decent coach the same team would beat them. How many times do we have to say it is the manager’s fault. If he has to go GO NOW please

      2. Thomas Frank is a fantastic coach, no doubt. He is getting the utmost out of his squad. Credit to Frank. However the match did show Arsenal do really have attacking issues. We need a dangerous, fast and tall CF, who can benefit from high crosses.

        1. Websurfer It is not just the CF it is the tactics the players are trying to play the way the manager. Wants thus confusion

      4. Wrong! Brentford have players who are players, not a bunch of imposters and fashion icons masquareding as football players.Leno, Chambers, Xhaka, Pepe as starters and a bench of Bellerin, Kolasinac, Elneny, Nelson, Laca, Eddie will take you to relegation based on their performances. Balogun is untested, Martenelli- I keep saying the lad is overrated, overhyped and has a big fat ego.5 goals in 29 matches for a forward is too poor.
        You need players with a big desire to win matches on the pitch, not players with credentials and wages.
        Waste of cash on Chambers, Xhaka, Pepe and the like.

    3. The key to beating arsenal is to be aggressive.Arsenal’s style of play is not aggressive, they have to change, Brentford were really rough yesterday to be honest. I can’t count how many times smith Rowe was fouled

  2. Balogun and White were inferior aerially. Arsenal had better sell Lacazette/ Nketiah as soon as possible and get a taller CF

    Arteta has to be more pragmatic, otherwise we’ll keep losing aerial duels in set-pieces and in the front line

      1. We’ll keep losing the ball with our current CFs. Conte was also highly reliant on a dominant CF, like Costa at Chelsea and Lukaku at Inter Milan

        1. IF CF do not get the service he cannot do anything no matter who the CF is they need the supply and we did not give it to him

        1. GAI, I know you are someone who is patient enough. U have faith in Arteta I know. But honestly, in football, You cannot sack your 22 players. When things are bot moving well, the coach should be sacked.
          Ranieri once walked away from a job in Italy when he felt he wasn’t making progress. Top teams sack managers who don’t perform. I tell you, nothing has changed in this team. Arteta should be sacked of we are to return to the top. This is bad football.
          I have been consistent on one thing.
          We need 2 more creative midfielders. We need midfielders who are comfortable with the ball. Xhaka and Elneny cant move with the ball.
          Any reason why we have not bought Aouar? 30m pounds should have been done. Aouar should have been done a long time ago. How did we afford 50m for White but can’t pay 30m for Aouar?
          Where is Torrera?
          There is no justification. Arteta deserves the sack.

          1. No worries, I believe Arteta will be sacked if he loses three out of our first five EPL games

            About creative CAM or no 10, please watch this excellent documentary from Deutsche Welle (DW) Kick-off and listen to what Joachim Low/ Jurgen Klopp said about that type of player:

            youtube.com/watch?v=aFW1ecPEjGk

            I agree with them that a hardworking presser like Smith-Rowe is better for the team

          3. Absolutely. Look at the numbers, emery did really better than arteta. Outsmarted him last year. A better coach that arrived where he is through coaching and climbing the ladder. Arteta went to Man c because he was an influential payer and then arsenal without experience because he was cheap. Emery just did not have the backing of club hierarchy compared to arteta. He just lost the dressing room. Instead of being backed he was sacked 🤷🏻‍♂️

        2. Gai
          I have said this before, the problem in today’s March has nothing to do with strikers but creativity in the final third. No doubting the fact that a taller striker would have made Thieney crosses count. But really, the bigger problem remains creativity in the midfield; something wasn’t right there. Secondly, I have said before, Arteta need to be a tactical genius. In the absence of your 2 top strikers, he should have tinker his formation and probably use Cedric Soars who is our best defender at right full back. Elneny could have add some steel beside Xhaka rather than using Lokonga who is a debutant.

          The next two games may leave Arsenal without points in 3games.

          In my opinion Edu and Arteta should pursue Odegard or Auora or Bissuoma vehemently. We need good midfield to make the work easy for our strikers.

          1. The clowns are busy trying to blow half the entire remaining budget on a backup goalkeeper who will play only 5 matches simply because he’s English. Even PSG for all their wasting of money will not do that. Two clowns

    3. The amount of aerial tussles that we lost were getting me p!ssed off.

      Brentford seemed to win every aerial ball, knock down and second ball.

      We were so poor at anticipating the second ball.

    4. Gotanidea, admit 4 once that Arteta’s average, clueless & not good 4 Arsenal. Admit 4 once pls. Arsenal is now a disgrace, admit 2 that also.

        1. @gotanidea… arteta is not average??? And we shud give him till December right?? With all we have witnessed till now?? Unbelievable…..did u notice how fluid we became when saka came on….how the pundit still doesn’t know his squad beats me…..still wonder wat he sees in training

        3. I think you are confused Gotanidea, if you not telling us about left footed players you are prote ting the clueless Arteta! I think it’s time you just shut up man…

          1. Lol. Maybe he have to because he is not making point. You sees a shambolic performance and you are still defending the coach.

        4. Gai,
          Too “idealistic for his own good” makes him simply an inexperienced manager at top level😁 I agree he is not average. If you have to lose your opening match, lose narrowly not 2:0. Brendfort don’t have better players but a a coach with a better idea.

        5. Why not… But where did he prove anything as a manager ?! Thats a real question…. How many players must he change before we can start questioning his coaching skills ?!

        6. Why not being “not average”… But where did he prove anything as a manager ?! Thats a real question…. How many players must he change before we can start questioning his coaching skills ?!

    5. How I wish you had your wish so that you can see for yourself our problems is not because we have 11 midgets on the field. Can you remind us how tall is Messi it Aguero. The other day you called fans with different options stupid but the real stupid person here is you who keep banging on about us having 11 Peter Crouch on the pitch while your brother Arteta disagree.

    6. Can you just be silent for once cos you seem to blame everything else but your Arteta…. even laca didn’t get close to the team and you found a way of dragging him into this….how about you talk of replacing the assistant coach we parade as a manager

  3. There’s not a lot to take from that performance.
    Arteta won’t be getting the rookie pass this season. That performance was embarrassing.
    Only bright thing in the game tonight was ESR and Sambi.
    Sambi looks a proper midfielder, but he needs to bulk up.
    He looks to push the ball forward always and that’s a good thing.

    Ben White was really poor though, but the poorest on the pitch today was Leno.
    At fault for both goals.
    Once again, leaving transfer dealings late will be nothing but frustrating.

    Why leave it till matchday to make the bid for Ødegaard?
    At this point, getting a new GK is actually a must. Not an option, and we do need a striker.
    Auba-Laca don’t fill m with confidence anymore.
    Overall poor performance from the defense and attack.
    Only bright thing tonight were the Midfielders.

    The young players didn’t take their chance either.
    So here’s to hoping they bounce back whenever they get the chance again.

    Possibly bottom of the table after 3 games?
    It’s hard to imagine, so the pressure is on Arteta.
    Whatever happens, he has to take the fall.
    It’s a new season, and he hasn’t impressed in his first game.

        1. He was the one marking canos right or was he supposed to clear the throw in,gabriel or Luis would have head that away
          We just spent 50mil on a defender who cant head a ball
          But Leno is the scapegoat because you guys have a Bonner for Martinez

        2. I’m not his biggest fan but he wasn’t at fault for the 2nd goal imo. That was just schoolboy defending. It reminded me of a goal we conceded to Stoke City and the way Brentford even took their throws made me feel like we were playing against Stoke City and our performance defined that

        3. I’m disappointed, embarrassed and very angry right now.
          Chambers, Balogun, Nelson, has no business being in Arsenal. Leno needs a competition too.
          This Team can Play if WE HAD A COACH OR MANAGER.
          Kick ARTETA AWAY.

      2. Bro I’m one of Leno’s biggest fan and morale supporter and I won’t pretend he wasn’t at fault for both goals and wasn’t poor today.
        It’s nothing personal against him

      1. I’ve said a couple of times, the manager won’t get a pass from me this season.
        Either you want to start an agenda or you just want to stay blind to the fact that I laid the overall blame on Arteta.
        This was a poor first game of the season from MA.
        It doesn’t mean I shouldn’t call out Leno’s undoings as well

        1. You are now calling out Leno yet when we said Emi Martinez was the better keeper you would hear none of it? Anyway, am no fan of Leno but he was clearly obstructed for the second goal.

      1. Not really bro I’m not blaming either of them.
        I’ve said for a while now, I’d actually prefer we sell one of them and get a new striker.
        It’s not about this game, I’m sorry I had to mention it tonight.
        I just looked at it overall and thought to myself that we’ll need someone deadlier if our season will continue like this.
        My comment wasn’t blaming them for anything

    4. We didn’t bid for Odegaard because we couldn’t sell our players. He’s not going to help us a lot though, because we’re obviously very weak aerially in set-pieces and in the front line

    5. We can’t expect the young players to take their chance in one game. It takes time.

      Leno as all other players is confused or uncomfortable with the coach tactics. This is going to be coming out as the season progress. Aubameyang lack of form in a way is communicating this issue.

      “Possibly bottom of the table after 3 games?
      It’s hard to imagine” it is not hard to imagine at all. This is what the moaning fans have been saying and expecting since last season.

      1. It’s why I said I hope the kids will take their chances when next they get it again.
        I’d rather see them get more chances than see Willian and Co get the chance.

        Leno’s been out of sort.
        It has nothing to do with Martinez for me, you know I’ve always been a supporter of Leno. I’ll call it as it is, he needs to get better. He needs the competition.
        I hope himself alongside Auba find their feet back.
        We’ll need everyone.

        Regarding your last paragraph.
        Once again, the manager got the rookie pass from me last season.
        This season, he ain’t a rookie anymore, so he won’t be getting the free pass.
        I’m waiting to see how him and his team would respond against Chelsea

        1. 👍👍👍

          “I’d rather see them get more chances than see Willian and Co get the chance”

          I feel the same but they can’t do it on their own yet so they need to play alongside those experienced.

    6. ”At this point, getting a new GK is actually a must. Not an option, and we do need a striker.”

      Its been so for years. We came close to solving it only recently but it wasn’t to be.

      1. Hey kev. I remember you said Leno was always error-prone at Leverkusen, before we signed him

        I wonder whether the decision makers at Arsenal paid more attention to the commercial aspects of a player before signing him, instead of the player’s mistakes

        1. For a club that doesn’t spend very big I don’t know why we never outsmart the market. So are they telling me they can’t get a relatively unknown 2nd choice around the world for less than 30m?? Must it always be the known ones some of which aren’t even good enough?? Look at how Chelsea got Mendy s an example

          2. Unfortunately the overall quality of players has shrunk from the last ten to twenty years. I remember being in awe of certain players, now after Messi who’s left mbappe sure but who else. Add to that the ever inflated prices where do we find them. South America maybe?

    7. Leno was not to be blame for the second goal. No one helped him as one of the Bees players were on him denying him opportunity to go for the ball. Where were our players

        1. laca and auba on the pitch would change nothing. Remembered the first leg against Villarreal in the Europa game, the same goals from similar positions were scored against us. The thing is nothing has changed from last season; same players, same coach, same style of play no improvement.

      2. First goal was more the defender’s fault. Difficult to blame the goalkeeper for that one. It was possible for it to have been saved but no GK would be favourite in that situation.
        Second goal – all round disaster, plenty of blame to share. Leno allowed himself to get fixed by the defender. I also believe that Leno was actually fouled by being held by the Brentford player. Unfortunately, these kind of questionable antics are sometimes being allowed in British football. It was also clear that Brentford came prepared and Arsenal hadn’t done their homework.
        The defenders also were poor in their timing when trying to deal with the high ball and the second ball which led to the second goal

    8. Eddie I would respectfully disagree with your conclusion that only Leno at fault for both goals. First goal I agree he was majorly at fault, but chambers also allowed Canos to shoot without offering enough protection. And for the second it was a failure by our defenders, particularly our great ‘Rolls Royce’ White, who again ball watched and didnot try to clear out the danger as it dropped in front and over him for Norgaard to score.

      1. Sid I actually saw Mari marking that player that held on to Leno.
        I was surprised Leno left his cover like that.
        Also White has to take part of the blame, but experienced goalkeepers won’t make that sort of mistake Leno made by exposing his goal

    10. Eddie, It is non of the players fault. Arteta is to blame 100 percent.
      We shouted here many times that the midfield needs a complete overhaul. We paid 69m pounds for Ben White and are reluctant to pay 25m pounds for Aouar.

      Arteta is to blame fir not selling Xhaka.
      Arteta is to blame for not trusting Saliba enough. How can he say a guy we bought 27m pounds is not ready yet?
      Arteta is to blame for not trusting Torrera enough.
      Arteta Is to blame for offering Willian 3 year offer and not getting the best out of him
      Arteta is to blame for Everything.
      No one else but the manager. The earlier the club sack him, the better.
      We only play with urgency with 10 mins left.
      Arteta and Edu have to go.
      Bring in Conte or Zidane. An Experienced manager is needed to guide these players.

      1. No doubt he shoulders the blame for me, I already said in my comment.
        That was embarrassing, and it’s on him.
        My biggest issue is why we can’t seem to sign the players we need.

        1. Exactly.

          Aouar is available for 30m pounds. We were wasting time chasing Maddisson. A player Leicester won’t sell to us. We need Aouar and Pedro Neto.

      2. Slow down man, the price of a player doesn’t depict his quality, Saliba isn’t ready yet,
        Torreira didn’t want to be here
        Roma were not serious about Xhaka
        There are lots of things I agree with about MA but there are few things out of his control like Martinez transfer

          1. Everybody was playing well before MA came in…auba was top scorer,Leno was best,ozil,guendozi,laca… arsenal was in top 6…today all players are bad except the rookie

        3. I understand Adajim. I might have over reacted. Chelsea and Man city next wont be easy.

          But, one thing i know is we need a midfield overall. we need to press as a unit. we should have the same intensity throughout 90 mins. if we have played the way we played in the last 10 mins, we could have scored more.
          let us see as the season progress. Although, it is too early to start dopping points.

        4. this whole ridiculous notion that the Martinez gig was out of his control is straight-up hypocritical bullsh**, in that at least Emi had earned the right to seek assurances, with his performances on the pitch and his longtime dedication to the badge, unlike Willian and Ode, both of whom had no history with the club and at least one had no foreseeable future, who were given the same sort of assurances by the very same manager-in-training

          the fact that we’ve experienced a fairly unsettled Keeper room for the better part of a decade and a half, then we actually discover that oh so elusive “commanding presence” in-house, especially with our years of defensive frailties and the dearth of backline leadership, we should have been over the moon, not looking a gift horse in the mouth…as such, the only person who actually had control of that situation was in fact Arteta and all this chatter about how this doesn’t happen “at our club” is just old school delusional gibberish

    11. Totally agree Eddie – you’ve stolen my post! Two excellent performances – Lokonga and ESR. And Leno frightens the hell out of me – I’d rather have one of the kids between the posts than him. Midfield was not the issue – they went forward and fast. Issues were no ideas or class around the box. White was better second half but the whole defence was awful for most of the game. The kids were mostly poor – Balogun was like a rabbit in the headlights, GM was almost invisible, Saka poor, the kid needs a break. Credit to Brentford who were excellent – men against boys. Tierney really is a poor defender and had bad first half, but much better second. Mari and Chambers just not good enough – would rather see Tavares given a run. Having slagged off the players, Arteta still mostly to blame here. He hasn’t got a good Plan A, and no Plan B at all! Yes plenty of poor performances and absences but this side should still have won. Can’t motivate, cant think on his feet, cant get a balanced squad, cant train them to shoot straight (or even shoot at all), The team is not great but better than he is making them look. If he goes tomorrow I won’t be broken-hearted because he really isn’t getting much right, and I can’t see anything changing in the next few months. Please guys, this is not the time for gloating “I told you so”‘s!

      1. Where are all the keyboard warriors screaming for Martinelli and Balogun? This was their chance to show something. Zero end product. The team needs better players. Most of our players today not any better than the other team, just more expensive and playing for a bigger name club.

    13. Actually instead of any player 1st we need to replace Arteta…
      He doesn’t understand at all.. You don’t have aggressive CF in team then why your team’s only tactic is to go byline and cross
      If one takes the statistics then Arsenal would be on top of the table in putting crosses in box
      He doesn’t know any other creative tactic..
      Wenger had far inferior Squad, yet his football was joy to watch..
      Emery did better job than Arteta… Arteta doesn’t know any tactics from where team will get goal..
      Instead of wasting money on His signing, this money should be made available for new manager

    14. Eddie
      All fair comments
      Arteta was the rookie, I supported him as such, but is no more as he now has the experience. I gave him until Christmas at the latest so a lot needs to happen between now and then. I hope it does because more upheaval will most likely slow us down still further

    15. 1st goal CC got done, plain and simple
      Leno should have done better at his near post imo

      2nd goal, Leno all day long was at fault, you need to command that area and get players out of the way, way to weak and feeble for me.

      Also this meme going around about a BW getting turned, i’d like to point out that Mari was SHITE, he was out of position, he came back to the ball, attempted a tackle and got it wrong which opened the space for the bees player to shoot.

      IMO that instance was more Mari being shit than white being over hyped or overpaid.

      ESR looked GOOD, so did Sambi
      I hope Gabriel comes back soon and get this 10p Mari out of the team.

      Not being funny here but geeze what happened to the defending the team was doing when MA first took over?
      HE HAD MUSTAFI in that team?

      Conclusion: I cant see MA getting the boot this side of xmas in all honesty but if we are on 0 points after 5 games, which could be a possibility then he needs to be made accountable considering the money he has spent and time he has had at the club.

      1. Agreed about Mari, he was awful in pre-season too, so bloody slow… hope to god Gabriel returns ASAP!

    16. Oh, I thought I was the only one who thinks the old Leno would have done better with those goals. For the first, I expected him to have that angle covered and for the second, he should own his space. I know we should move on from him but what I love the most about Martinez wasn’t his saves but by the way he commands his area. You can’t do that to Martinez.
      Even if Leno has gone down at that point, we were more likely to win a free kick. But he just stood there watching

  6. Injuries or not when you are The Arsenal you don’t lose to a Premier League debutant.

    I feel sorry for Arteta but this job is too big for him. It is like expecting a toddler to ride a motorbike.

    I am negative and proud because being positive will not make Arteta a better coach.

    His Arsenal destiny is now on his hands.

    1. Arteta should not have even been here to start the season as manager completely out of his depth absolutely clueless he has to go now otherwise will become a complete laughing stock which has already started to happen board need to act tonight Arteta Out!!

      1. I completely agree but not tonight mate he still has time to make it right however improbable (between us I know what we are expecting). I just hope for his sake this job will not hurt his future prospects and won’t affect his confidence to try again somewhere else perhaps even return after he becomes a proper coach.

  7. bellerin, auba, elneny not in the squad… check.

    martinelli, ESR, balogan, pepe leading the line… check.

    defender worth more than entire Brentford… check.

    ball possession… check.

    Wonder what the problem is? (sarcasm)

        1. so does we have to buy all switzerland NT players and sell all current arsenal players, so xhaka can be look fantastic
          ha ha ha

      2. Typical decisions from the Mighty Arteta. Xhaka and Arteta don’t have a place in this energetic Arsenal

  9. Well done to Thomas Frank and Brentford. What a performance! Everything I’d love to see my team doing!

    I’m stunned that nothing has changed. The same put us under pressure and we buckle from last season. The same we won’t turn up in the first half, we’ll give it a go in the second half.. although we didn’t even look like scoring! I’m so disappointed.. Still the same laughing stock.. going to be a very long season!

    ESR my motm..

        1. yes both were very good, Sambi looks good, i did like watching him receive the ball under pressure, turn or take on a player and move it FORWARD.

          some of the little things ESR was doing were pure class.

        1. As painful as that was as an Arsenal fan, it was great to see the passion and joy in the Brentford fans. Good day for PL, bad day for Arsenal.

    3. I know I said I’d give him until Christmas Sue, but I’m quitting early. Arteta looked totally lost tonight. Can’t see that changing. Fed up with this attrocious football and the man who’s serving it up.

  10. 3 things Arsenal Should do ASAP

    1. Buy Aouar, Pedro Neto and Onana
    2. Sack Arteta
    3. Appoint Conte or Zidane

    It is simple as ABC

    1. Do you suggest that we buy more players because we were beaten by Brentford? Those players were supposed to beat Brentford convincingly, but we play without a Manager

      1. Yes Armoury. I agree with you.

        But My reason is this.

        1. We need another goal keeper to compete with Leno. Onana is the man.

        2. We need a direct winger like Pedro Neto. He is very direct and can run at defenders. He is 21 years old. If we sign Neto, we can move Martinelli to the number 9 position.

        Martinelli and Balogun for the Striker role. Neto can also play as a CF

        3. Aouar signing is a must. 30m pounds will get Aouar.

        Aouar(30m)+Neto(40m)+Onana(15m)=85m pounds.

        Football has evolved. If you want to make progress as a club, you have to invest in the right players.
        Thinking that Arteta would coach these players and make them premier league champions withiut investing is wrong.
        we use to compete with the very best.

        we are drifting into mediocrity. the gulf in quality between us and the top 3 teams is getting wider. that is the truth

        1. Since the departure of Wenger, we’ve spent almost £400million. But the team is going down even further. Arteta is the main problem

        2. We don’t need a keeper to compete with Leno. Leno should be moved on if we keep playing from the back. Like Pep did with the England nr 1 back then. I thought MA was going to be ruthless. This is our 3rd season playing from the back with Leno for god’s sake.

      1. And so according to you the first thing you do is sack the manager after the first game of the season.
        What are your next three steps?

        1. It’s not like it’s MA’s first game as Arsenal coach.
          It’s his first of the season and he has already shown us that nothing much has, and will change with him as coach!
          Why wait until it’s too late to turn our season around?
          We can’t blame Leno for playing according to the coach’s instructions.

  12. Pathetic display from the team. Unfortunately there are some players who fans will still defend regardless like that guy in midfield, the one at at the back and the guy on the wings. You can’t argue quality into a player. I’m not shocked at the result because from lasts season it was clear Brentford are a good team and Arsenal have just picked off right where they left. Brentford like Leeds are going to be causing more upsets and they even have some injuries. I won’t be shocked if these team beats Chelsea though. Over the decade we seem to pull off victories that don’t make sense. I’m not saying it will happen but you get the gist.

    1. “You can’t argue quality into a player.”

      YOU CAN’T ARGUE QUALITY INTO A MANAGER EITHER!!!!

    2. I didn’t see anything special from Brentford, but their supporters seemed to have made our players nervous

      1. They’re a good team. I’m not saying this because we lost to them but on account of their showing in the Championship and Carabao Cup its evident they are. That was the same I thought about Leeds who impressed last season. They are going to cause a lot of problems for the small teams and actually cause some upsets against the bigger teams

          1. You don’t get me. The yare probably going to be like Leeds of this season and they actually have a striker who can score lots of goals. They are going to be a problem especially at home. Its not fact but an opinion based on what I have seen from them last season and even in this match where their 3-5-2 worked well. Don’t worry you’ll get it as the season goes on.

          3. You don’t have to. I’m just stating that they are a good team so the result doesn’t shock me because we have picked right off from where we left last season. Its not about them but us.

          1. I am not sure i understand Arsenal any more. These kind of experiments to see if we need additions will cost us big time. Xhaka error prone, lost pace. Arteta stupid, Saka brings the game out of ESR, Should have started, Tavares left back and Tierney infront of him,
            We seriously need Aouar not Maddison. Xhaka will be the player that sacks Arteta. Chelsea and citeh will reveal things much better.

          1. Lol before was that he hasn’t had a pre season with the team,now you saying he has four or five games.
            Just give up please, I beg you for your sake give up on Arteta

          2. So you are giving him til end September .. I can wait as I called for his exit in December last year when it was obvious he was clueless and out of his depth … but why bother anyone with a passing knowledge of the game can see his limits … and all we will get then is big Sam … oh how the mighty Arsenal have fallen

  14. We were bullied. Long balls did it, they were all over us like the then stoke city.
    I see a lot of positive though but it is what it is

    1. Sorry Ada I run out of patience tonight. Not sure where yo see a lot of positives though? For me only Lokonga and ESR. I saw Leno and Pepe regressing, Balogun showing he’s nowhere near ready, I didnt see GM at all (did he play?), I saw Chambers showing he’s mediocre at best. Mari proving how poor he is,. Our midfield was solid and progressive, but with that defence and attack it doesnt really matter.

        1. The majority of you treated the best manager we ever had like dirt. You deserve everything. The two changes the Arteta out lot wanted were on the pitch and were the worst. Reap what you sow. Glad I stopped going Emirates when you were arguing with me over eboue. Plastic fanbase moreso than city/chelsea these days. Reap it. Hate woke culture too but I was the only one standing up for eboue in that entire stand before it became popular again, scored 2 goals that day and I swore off the Emirates.. his name rang out, mouthy argued and most disagreed prior to him. Done with you entitled fill in the blank. Enjoy being miserable.

  15. Arsenal is too big for Arteta. His understanding of the game is minimal. We gonna face Chelsea and Man City in the next coming weeks

    1. “but then my heart took over”

      That is a good thing Sue. Not big loss as nearly everyone called Arsenal win. I feel if we had Aubameyang and Lacazette as we expected we would have won.

      2. I doubt. Not enough debt in squad. You should alway have a option on the bench, who could come in and do it better. IMO Arsenal had noone.

    2. I feel sorry for Dan, Sue. He also went with a bit of heart when he predicted one away goal for us else he would have had complete 3 points. Regarding the match, I feel it is best if we dont discuss it😅😅

    3. Lol, Sue you better relax your nerves.
      If you feel this way, how do you expect to scale through the Chelsea and City game? 🤣

      It’s scary when I think of it, but then I don’t dwell too much on these things anymore.
      We’ve known better for years, and until we see massive changes to the club.
      It’ll remain this way for me.
      I’ll just stay numb to their performances

      1. Eddie, I’m nowhere near as bad as I used to be! What’s the point in raging over a result, It won’t change a thing..

        Those upcoming games – we’ll be lucky to have one shot on target 😂

        1. Well I’m glad you ain’t as bad as you used to be.
          You Know I’ve seen reacted much more worse than this before 😂😂
          It’s good you learned to control it.
          Well I wish us luck for the next couple of games

          2. Sorry you two – as I get older I rage more not less! I can’t wait to get a walking stick so I can start wacking a few ankles!

    4. Went with my heart as well sue, disappointing result and game. What happened to us and creating of chances? Free flowing football , a beauty to watch..….

      1. Hi Kenya.. that, I’m afraid, is a thing of the past!
        I think we’ll have more enjoyment [on that front] from watching other teams – Newcastle and Willock perhaps?! 😂

          1. I hate to think what will happen during these next couple of weeks, Phenom (on and off the pitch)…
            Our board aren’t very adventurous, so I imagine we’ll be stuck with him, told to be excited, that better days are just around the corner (20 months and counting….) 😫

  17. What a joke.
    Arteta seems to be so clueless and out of this depth.

    What the fck did I just watch?
    🤦‍♂️

  18. Arteta’s tactics since he came to arsenal is “find a way to get tierny into space on the wings so he can cross for strikers that are not good aerially” I’m i the only one that thinks tierny wouldn’t last the whole season playing like this, the guy is overworked.

    Arteta is very poor tactically which is a shame for a guy who worked under pep. How come arsenal still don’t know how to work the ball in the middle of the pitch to open up the wings and to get the strikers through balls?

    Anyways, it’s only preseason.

  19. Arsenal need a manager like Conte. That might be the best piece of business we do all summer. Also have to love Emile Smith Rove…the only one of the young guns tonight who justified the club’s faith.

    1. Conte would likely face similar issues, if he doesn’t have a dominant CF like Costa and Lukaku. He was highly dependant on those CFs at Chelsea and Inter

      1. We don’t need a manager like Conte, who is only successful when he has a lot of money to spend. Conte will therefore never be successful as Arsenal manager.

      2. Lukaku has been around for a while. Did he ever play this well for any other manager? Also with Costa, what happened when he moved away from Chelsea. I’m not saying Conte doesn’t demand or need big money transfers but other aspects of his coaching that we are sadly missing are getting the best out of players and highly organized teams both offensively and defensively.

    2. We don’t need a manager like Conte, who is one successful when he has a lot of money to spend. Conte will never be successful as Arsenal manager.

  20. We could have been playing until next Friday and still wouldn’t have scored or looked likely too! I think we’ve all got the lay of the land under Arteta! Nothing can be said that wasn’t said already. Embarrassing and we are a laughing stock and nothing will change under this manager. Chelsea and Man City next how exciting!

      1. No your right there Sue one game in and I want the season done. Arteta won’t be sacked which is a very depressing thought 😣

    2. Quite depressing how things are right now. Why did we stop kroenke out protest ? He is just bad luck

      1. Dont blame the owner he sunctioned a 50mils signing. Blame goes to the tactical team, lack of priorities, we needed an attacking midfielder and a goal keeper first. A centerback last because we have saliba just in case.

  21. I feel sorry for all the Arsenal fans worldwide especially those of us who had been called many names among juvenile, impatient, fools and not a proper fans because we saw Arteta for who he is, a rookie who has nothing to offer. I hope and pray we will be able to endure till May 2022

    1. I just dont see how anyone can still be behind him. How much more evidence do people need that the man is totally and completely 100% out of his depth?

      1. And I’ll never understand why our club just lets a circus go on for FAR longer than it needs to. Wenger stayed passed his expiration date, Emery stayed a couple months too long, and Arteta should’ve been gone end of last season, but will probably last till end of the year. Oh, and lets not jump over the fact in every one of these situations the club had absolutely no clue what their next move should be. How they got convinced that Emery would be a good sucessor to AW is just completely stupid. Dumb Kroenke’s killing this club day by day.

        1. RSH, Emery should have been supported by the Board with discipline and transfers, like Arteta has been, rather than being hung out to dry.

  23. Its gonna be a very long season. I m not looking forward to the season already….

    Arsenal…. a sinking ship.

    Lower your expectations guys… we are no longer a top team.

    1. Cmon Uzi – we all know all of us here will still watch every game, looking for the tiniest sign that we can interpret as us turning the corner. We have to – we are Arsenal fans!

  24. First match and arteta is already out of his depth. play is passive. passes not sharp. can already see the way the season finishes already if arteta is here for another 10 match.

  25. Not much to say ,it does not take a genius to realise that this season would not be any different from last ,same old repetitive tactics that a Sunday league coach could get better results with .
    TIerney crossed the ball in 11 times without anyone getting on the end of it ,I’ll leave it there as I’ll get called winey .

    Tierney MOTM for me and Tavares looked solid when he got on .

    Nothing Leno could do with both goals ,unsighted for the first and sticker had is arm around him for second .

    Not all doom and gloom though as soon we will have Odegaard and Abraham here to push us up the table .

      1. Didn’t happen sue as I was feeling abit rough this Morning ,especially these days can’t take a chance so canceled ,glad i did TBH 😂
        Doing it Sunday now instead .

      2. Didn’t happen sue as I was feeling abit rough this Morning ,especially these days can’t take a chance so canceled ,glad i did TBH 😂
        Doing it Sunday now instead .

        1. I bet you are 😅 No chance they’ll let you off the hook though, hope none of them are Brentford fans!!
          Hope you’re feeling better in the morning (and don’t have an Arsenal hangover!)

  26. Just for putting Xhaka
    As
    A captain he should be sacked

    I would say “I Told you so” however I didn’t think we are this bad

    1. Conte would likely face similar issues, if he doesn’t have a dominant CF like Costa and Lukaku. He was highly reliant on those CFs at Chelsea and Inter Milan

          1. Yes, he really helped the cause while he was at Arsenal; Ozil’s performance in the Europa League final in Baku is etched in my memory.

      2. @gotanidea
        I really like your comments but you have got to stop being very repetitive.
        You always go on about Left footed / Right footed players.

        Now you are stuck in repeat mode with “a dominant CB” catchphrase.

        You are stating it in every reply right now.

          4. @Dan, 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

        2. I like you GAI and you are correct in dominant CF but I can’t stop laughing from this comment 😂

          1. the dominant CF is a loser move too, unless the player in question has some pace and passing abilities…if not, we’re simply doubling-down on another dumbed-down tactical philosophy that rarely works unless your a middling team, in this day and age

          2. TVRL as of now our attack revolves around a phantom dominant CF we better have one already.

            Tierney is a wonderful crosser but his crosses are useless without someone to finish them.

          3. I get that HH, but that’s all down to our inability or unwillingness to properly address our midfield woes, which means everything we do comes from the wings…so much easier to defend, which is why our wide side players constantly face multiple defenders whenever their on the ball…just think about it, no one, except a settling or relegation-fearful team uses this formation without a countering-at-pace option, as the defence always has time to regroup…getting a tall CF, unless they have the requisite skills, will not change the speed issue, as we saw with Giroud

  28. Lacked grit work rate and strength typical of us early season and always actually.
    We struggle when we meet the old championship sides as they mix it up physically and tactically like standing on leno s feet.
    I do sometimes wonder if we’d survive if we were in the xhampionship?

    Only good thing is lots of players to come back in.

    If I was mikel I’d ask myself why are our ex players better players and happier players when they move on from us? Willock last year for one, is it the badge and years of fan pressure and negativity due to expectation that’s slowly built up over time?
    Having been in the Emirates you can sometimes snell the toxic atmosphere in the air! If not like that it’s silent ie the library.

    1. yup. was always confused when ppl said Chambers is good enoguh to start. he’s not at all. And nor is Mari, who i’ve never been convinced by for a second. White did not seem up to speed as well, those two didn’t make a good partnership.

      1. A lot of times when Pepe get the ball 3 opposition defenders are around him we hardly see chambers running behind to give him options until they get the ball from him whereas on the opposite side Tierny would have made a run into space.
        I think MA himself saw it all that’s why he brought in a left back to cover

        1. Three players pressing Pepe isnt a bad thing if he didnt insist on slowing play down. Three on him means two free elsewhere but he never uses it.

    2. While we don’t have that kind of striker, wouldn’t you agree MA’s tactics of 18 months of crossing is ridiculous?

      1. PJ, there should be dynamism in football, we aren’t able to get the goals from tap in, crosses are part of attacking tactics and besides there were good crosses tonight, low cross to Balogun and low cross to Pepe among others.

        Brentford didn’t allow us play possession game so we need to improvise, that’s why am much delighted with various outside shots taken by our midfielder and KT tonight, though coming late and Xhaka shit was travelling, I think we were a bit unlucky but overall MA has to take the blame

  32. An absolute shambles tonight, Artetas tactics ripped apart by the Brentford manager. What a poor poor effort, worse than i expected, we have gone backwards from last season and the football we are playing is even more readable that last. I am not surprised but i am shocked by what i saw tonight, especially giving a player we were trying to sell a month ago and couldn’t get a bid of more than 13mil euros, the captains armband. It sends all the wrong messages and rubber stamps our demise. We are an utter shambles and we are in for a bloody long hard season. RIP ARSENAL

      1. I wanted it to be so different tonight, i really did but deep down, its exactly what i expected. Arteta is utterly and completely out of his depth, Arsenal is to big for him, he lacks the ability to correct wrongs.

        1. Agree again Reggie – I never wanted to admit it until now, but tonight it was blatently obvious and quite frankly impossible to deny – it was a lightbulb moment for many like me I think. You just looked at him on the bench and thought “he hasn’t got a clue how to put this right”. And I mean either on the pitch or off it. His master plan is not working. I think he is starting to understand that now. But he doesn’t have another. It was as depressing watching him as it was the team.
          I visit several other fansites, whose fans and writers are much more supportive of Arteta. Not tonight. Their comments are every bit as damning as ours.

  33. Well done Brentford firstly. Deserved win!

    Clear issues with Arsenal:

    -trying to play from deep when we are pressed high

    -over 18 months of crossing when we don’t have a target man in the squad even

    -unfit

    -squad full of cowards, no fight

    -players played in wrong position e.g Pepe RW instead of LW

    -CAM position always vacant, ESR always drifting wide

    -slow players, slow passing

    2. You could quaduple that list PJSA. I stopped writing mine when I could no longer see through the tears.
      And if you subdivide that list into two columns,- one for its the players’ fault, the other for Arteta’s responsibility, I think one column will be rather full…

  34. I blame the fans in London.They should keep watching until once a great club like Arsenal is ruined by Kroenke.

    The London fans should force Kroenke out

    1. I think that’s a little unfair James. If you are going to blame the fans for the team’s decline, why not go all the way and criticise the global fanbase. After all, we all bought Kroenke’s shares for him, hired Arteta, chose all the players and chose the tactics. Or perhaps blame the American fans, as Kroenke lives there.
      What a lot of twaddle.

    1. “Haha panic buy button” 😂 Arsenal always being Arsenal. Instead of getting all required targets no they will wait till we lose then panic buy rejects and loan in players. Leno hmm just look at the difference between Brentford keeper and him. The guy was commanding his box yelling and encouraging the players (Martinez) my question is can’t Leno learn and upgrade himself??? As a human u need to study urself and address ur weaknesses.

  37. Watched the match and the only thing I can say is chambers time in the club is over, and Leno(who can’t command his penalty box) is not an EPL keeper. Arteta is also not a prem standard manager. I think I have to stop supporting Arsenal for my sanity sake…

    1. I have taken a break since last year… for over 15yrs the same old stories. I can only blame those gullible fans who go and buy tickets to watch rubbish. Is time you people make a statement bycot this season match and see things happen common no club fan can tolerate this arsenal nonsense. Here in Nigeria we have become a laughing stock we cannot talk football in presence of other fans. Is annoying there saving Grace is that arsenal football club is not in Nigeria we would thought them the language they will understand

  38. One thing is now certain, Arsenal will not make top 4 again this season. Though, l am not surprise that we were beaten by Brentford- a debutant. Statistic shows that for 17 games under Artetar in loosing position at half time, he was able to draw 4 and lost 13 now. This is not a good credential of an Arsenal coach. I will still watch next match, lose or win.

  39. I miss the Invincible and Fabregas era kind of football where we could pass the ball so fast and slick. One touch football etc.

    It all went pear shaped after 2010..

    We look seem so clueless. This brand of football reminds me of the same old we played under wenger from 2011-2017.

    Also reminds me of Emery’s dead end football too.

      2. I believe that’s an overstatement……. aimlessly passing the ball around started while Wenger was still in charge, I would have loved for him to be replaced by Conte then, but well… back to today’s game though, I feel Arteta’s tactics stifle the players, and what’s with standing at the touchline and passing instructions for the entire 90?!…. and what’s worse, he comes off with nothing, he needs to allow the players some freedom. It won’t matter who’s playing 9 under Arteta, he’s odds on to go on lengthy goal droughts. Anyways…… I believe Arsenal needs a revamp….. ownership, recruitment team, coach etc…. otherwise, we might have to get used to being a bottom half team…. good luck against Chelsea, we’re going to need it…… badly!….

    2. we wont nothing in fabregas era
      wenger fall is when he change from direct and counter to possession with fabregas as core.

    3. @goonster..arsenal of 2011 to 2019 can’t be compared to the current rubbish. Come to think of the 8:2 game and the brendford game or the two against Villarreal..I think arsenal played better in the former than in the latter two.
      Would Wenger lose a game playing ugly! Listen, even that 1:3 at nou camp needed an unfair red…bayern’s 5:1 had a bit of commitment from players on the day. Wenger always had a valid-like excuse no matter how lame… what’s artetas excuse for losing!
      Earlier issue was.. inherited emery’s thickheaded thinkers. Needed his own.
      Then corona and lack of preseason.
      Then further investment…as of now I guess almost the entirety of the squad is his..
      Sold EM retained his preference
      Humiliated Salina purchased White who is undoubtedly not better than Artetas mustafi
      Offloaded ozil(ask Germany national team the effect of that), torreira, guendouzi (anarchical but our best midfielder by time of leaving)
      Retained xhaka twice… Kept faith with chambers, elneny, belerin (wanted by psg last summer),
      Bought Mari, runnarson, Gabriel meg, Cedric, Willian, White for Abt 60 pounds, convinced auba to stay (based on hope), extended holding’s stay…etc these dealings are far worse than those ever carried out by the previous financially starved managers

  40. Just to think we spent £50m on white who cant head a ball and is bullied very easily to loan ot the tall, strong, Quick Saliba who hasnt been given a chance.

    Lokonga looks a decent buy to replace Matteo, who should of stayed but we still have Xhaka (as captain 🤦‍♂️) who wants to go, Elneny who’s not good enough and Partey who, well… never shows up to the Party!!

    SmithRowe, Saka, Teirney are the only positives tonight if I’m honest. Martinelli didnt so himself any favours as did Mari, Chambers, Leno or White. Bologuns 1st game so be gentle with him!

    We need a new GK, RB, AM plus Auba, Laca, Gabriel, Partey & Holding to come back.

    Mikel needs to leave before this season becomes a flood after 1st 5games!! No European football and will maybe stay that way for a few years until Stan sells up and let’s someone who cares about the club take care of it properly and personally.

    Boy o boy what a long season it is going to be again.

    1. We should give Ben time I think he is going to turn into a at least good signing but I am sure it he is great signing.

      Still that fee they got a better deal.

      1. I disagree I don’t think he will turn out into a big player I’m future. His signing is only accpetable and celebrated by fans because he is British. If it was some one from any other nation I am pretty sure people would be saying how can we spend £50 million on a one year experience Brighton player who is not tall and strong. I am amazed where has that obsession of strong and tall player gone which was the an absolute requirement for signing players in CB and middle of park.

        1. Got to agree with HH on this Logic. I’m disregarding price because what’s done id done, but he’s been put in alongside 3 very poor defenders (sorry Tierney is a great WB but a poor defender) and an attrocious GK. Poor lad must wonder what he’s got himself into. He’s a good player. – would you fancy playing between Mari and Chambers?

          1. Quite correct Guy and sorry Logic I am not with you on this one. New team, new formation certainly we cannot judge him after just one game.

        2. I will give Ben time. for me I just dont like arteta as a manager. he just dont command that aura of someone who is in charge and confident. You could see that after Brentford scored their first goal it seem he took a wicked punch that he knew he wouldn’t recover from. I wish him luck next match. he needs it badly after todays garbage.

  41. There are two points that I take from this match.
    First point- Happy with MA playing a young team, but the problem was again the tactics IMO. We are not yet able to play freely like a possesion based side, and get devastated on the counters sometimes. This game we got scored upon due to 2 errors, not their ability IMO. Still, well done to Brentford. My hope is we return to the counter attacking based setup which we used the back end of the lmseason before last against Chelsea, and introduce Holding to hopefully marshall Big Rom.
    My second point is regarding Ben White. I know it is immature to conclude based on only one viewing, but the guy is a serious ball watcher who does not clear the danger. I counted two occasions where he just watched the ball infront of him without doing anything. We got scored on in one of those occasions. Was Saliba really not a valuable addition to our existing defenders yet?
    Sad by the results but I still feel we have a chance to bounce back. Need tactical masterclasses from MA every game now. I will take a definite stance after the first 10 games.
    Please do well team. COYG!

    1. I said the same in the game against spuds last week ,twice got caught ball watching Sid and said the same then and like you noticed the same to night ,hopefully just getting used the the team and Artetas fantastic tactics .
      Would be scary to think that we wasted 50 million on a player .
      Looks good with the ball at his feet though .

      1. Yeah Dan. Remember your point last week against Spurs. Thats why I was watching him to see if he is a good buy. As a defender seems lacking and hopefully as you say he is just acclimatizing. Regarding MA I just dont know what to think. Maybe he can plan for counter attacking tactics only😅 his dominant tactic has not evolved yet I think and we are suffering because of it.

    2. If you ask any one or look at 99.99 goals it is scored because of an error. whether it is arsenal who scored the goal or another team. goals are scored because someone or two made an error. poor excuse saying we lost because we made two errors. two errors in every match can be two goals conceded. if we played 100 games and dominate and the opposition score because of one error we get zero points for domimating. We lost because we played rubbish and Brentford was way better in getting the results that matters. and that result is 3 points on the board. so Sid spare me the results that dont matter.

      1. Yeah, Kori. I guess I did not word my thoughts properly. All I wanted to say was that our defensive performance was shambles and a better-organized team would smoke that bees team, however inspirational their return to prem might be. And Mari and White were bad as a pair which was evident since the spurs game. We need Gabriel fast…

  42. I must say that arsenal as a team is good enough for the top 4 with the players we have on paper. But we need a proper coach to kick these players in the butt to get the performance outta them. They have It inside them.

    Winning football games is more that kickingnthe ball to different ends of the pitch. There must be a laid down plan to score but in our case we just kick – and – follow to see if a chance will open up.

    The only game we hoped to win is a flat loss. Get a proper coach nowbbeforwbits too late please.

  43. I lot of our players are below average, I can see why no one wants to pay any decent fee for them .
    I can’t see any reasonable collecting Leno or chambers.
    Zero creativity up top .
    What are the odds that laca and auba will get ill at the same time . Don’t they practice social distancing.

  45. This night I am more than convinced that the way forward for this club is to sack the manager. It’s obvious that he can’t get the best out of this team. Sometimes, it’s not about buying players but players management is very key. This Arsenal team is not that worst to be losing a game to a new comer in that manner if nothing is wrong from the technical team led by Arteta. Give this team a decent coach, highly tactical with good man management and see the results.
    I am not saying we have the best team but this team is not that bad. They just need a manager with a clear direction.

    1. if we had grabbed someone like tuchel just imagine. I dont fault the club for trying out arteta, but it’s clearly NOT workign and this experiment shouldve ended last season. It is so obvious to 90% of the fanbase this job is too much for him

      1. Bentitez was free ,could have done a lot worse than grabbing him to steady the ship even for 12 months .

        1. I know what you’re thinking DK, but that would have been another half-measure that included a whole heaping of unwatchable football…we needed someone who has a clear ideology that could actually work with our current personnel, or at least the vast majority of them, like Gasperini or ten Hag

      2. Any one who is realistic here is called negative and anti Arsenal. We are just expected to live with this mediocrity and praise it weekend after weekend.

        1. I think you will find that is no longer the case Logic. Criticise away to your heart’s content – I think not many will argue any more. We are not a great team but we have hald a dozen very good players, and should be performing way better than we are.

  46. You guys know where you can find me in the next two weeks – at the bookies, investing all I have in Chelsea and Man City victories.

    This was relegation-form football and if KSE doesn’t realise that soon, they’ll own a Championship club in 2022/2023.

    Arteta MUST go, not by Christmas but by the end of the transfer window.

    I’ve seen what I needed to see. This will only get worse if he stays.

  47. 2nd ranked team since December , 5th best defence in EPL last season, finished 8th because of red card, trust the process, Manager had dead wood to clear, not supported in transfer window etc 😂😂. What can I say about the stupidity level of this club when some one finished 8th twice and had an ego issue with half the club players some still believed we are going to go places this season. Ppl were not prepared to give wenger more time but they are very patient and some even go to great extend to not only justify but defend if current pathetic situation. So now what Wenger is to blame for today’s defeat as well? This is what happens when you have inexperience manager and two other clowns allowed to run the club without any accountability. We again failed to recognise and sign the required players for right position. Then we sent a young promising strong built hulk size defender on loan just so we can buy a £50 million less heighted and 1 year EPL experience CB. His price tag is justified and he is appropriate just because he is British. Some even here said he is better signing then Varane 🤣😂. This trio has mismanaged the transfer funds, mid handled the youbg players and club has no direction at all.

      1. 😂😂😂 …I am absolutely gutted though my weekend is ruined. This club just makes me crazy and pull out all my hairs specially when ppl don’t see what has been on the wall since last season.

          1. I have gone through hundred of wigs also Sue. I think I will go for hair transplant and stay away from football for a while 😂🤣😂

          2. Just been on Arsenals FB page and the after game post as 34 k comments and literally every comment I’ve read makes some of us on here look like saints when talking about Arteta .

          3. Transplant is your best bet, then I can call you Rooney 😂
            Staying away from football would do us all a world of good health wise!! Only trouble is we’re a glutton for punishment!! Still go back for more thinking the next game will be better… I’m still waiting!!

  48. So embarrassed to watch Arsenal tonight. The only way to get out of this mess is for Kroenke to sell, so we can bring in someone who knows what they are doing. Yes we were down our two most experienced strikers, but seriously??? Stan Kroenke get out of our club. Joe Willock could’ve helped us out tonight, but we’ve sold a home grown 21 yr old English player who kept another club up single handed for 22m??? No other club would’ve sold him for that little – total madness. We have no replacement for the start of the season – are we crazy or what??

    1. Lukaku will eat Ben White raw. Lukaku is in university of football while Ben White is still in primary. Chelsea 3-0

  50. Teams and their fans always talk about aerial ability and putting in crosses when they are terrible because crosses are the easiest ways to get the ball in the box, and provide an illusion of creativity and offense; but it is only an illusion. Crosses are very low percentage attacking moves.

    A ball into the box is a less than 50/50 ball because the defenders have the advantage, for three reasons.

    First, the goalkeeper can use his hands, so any ball crossed into the space between the end line and the penalty spot should belong to the keeper because he can see it coming in and attack it higher.

    Second, the defenders only have to defend a relatively small amount of space, and are facing the ball, where offensive players need more room to move and get off shots.

    Finally, defenders have more options for playing the ball to successfully stop an attack, while offensive players have only the goal, defended by the keeper, to aim for.

    Even corner kicks, where as a set piece, the offensive team should have a huge advantage because it puts more players in the box, rarely produces goals, for exactly the reasons listed above.

    Arsenal were reduced to pinging in crosses, and depending on headers, because the midfield lacks the creative quality to play through or over other teams. The best passer remains Xhaka, who is good for a holding player, but has never been and never will be someone who provides goals and assists.

    Since the loss of Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey, Arsenal have had virtually zero goal and assist output from midfield and the team has done nothing to address the lack in the transfer window.

    James Maddison, a seemingly unlikely prospect at this point in the window, would address a huge hole in the squad, but will Leicester sell him now that the season is started? In Brendan Rogers place, would you?

    Martin Odegaard, the other option prominently put forth, produced 2 goals and zero assists in half a season; not the output needed for dramatic improvement.

  51. We wasted golden chance at the end days of last season when we knew two great managers will be available Zizu and Conte. We should have agreed terms with one of them and then given them the transfer funds along with decesion to keep which players from current squad. Instead of wasting time and money on this failed project. I blame the owner for sitting on fence and taking no decision, waiting for things to play out themselves. We are reactive rather then proactive. We need to do damage limitation now and don’t go out blowing money on Arteta’s new signings because no point putting more money in a failed project

  52. Is VAR not in use tonight? I looked at the 2nd goal again and looks like a fowl on Leno because he was definitely held back by the Brentford player

      1. 👍 👍 Still makes it 1-0. Bad luck about that great save from the Brentford goalkeeper. Wasn’t he once of interest to Arsenal, when Brentford were in the Championship?

  55. I think privately the players want Arteta out, the cannot play for him. The players are not being coached properly. Arteta haunts the touchline trying to control every movement, he is totally lost and Arsenal FC are suffering because of that.

    1. Whatever it is get rid of arteta and at least give Thierry Henry a chance. as silly as it sounds at least Henry is a proven winner from his playing days. arteta not so much.

    1. Now is not the time to gloat Joe. You have I reckon overwhelming agreement now. And in any case, it’s not our decision.

      1. Writing from a weird place Guy. Been in transit at Hong Kong airport for 20 hours. Didn’t see the game, I woke up sleeping rough on a bench Went immediately to JA, saw the result and shrugged my shoulders. It ain’t the end of the world, but this has probably been one of the worst of many bad summer preparations I can r can remember over the past ten years.

        1. Reckon you got the better deal Joe. Honestly wish I’d missed it too. But just watch a reply of any pre-Christmas game last season and you wouldn’t see the difference.

      1. Makes two of us when midfield is the priority issue. Arsenal is still dreaming about James Maddison and Martin Odegaard, when Aouar, Guimaraes, Sanchez, Bissouma are available, let alone Marcel Sabitzer, the Austrian international from RB Leipzig, who Bayern Munchen are interested in for €15 million. Unfortunately Arsenal can’t offer Champions League and the downward spiral continues.

    2. God bless you Sean, I have said it several times here that I don’t see anything special about this guy called White when we have some defenders that are better than him in terms of many things( more physical, taller, defend, love arsenal more, and receive lower wages than him) interns of Saliba and Mavro but what did arteta do, he keep on loaning them and saying a 23 yr old mav is not in his plan and a 20 year old saliba is not ready enough( don’t forget he helped his first club to reach final, won the best defender in his second half of last season in nice and was nominated as one of the best defenders in ligeu1) but according to arteta, he was not ready and inexperienced for a cb but his inferior partner in his formal club who is younger than him became the mainstay and one of the best defenders in Leicester but our own is not ready yet ….
      What a coach, we were supposed to buy AM and DM but he wasted 50m on a defender we did not need or want…..
      Please you guys should stop blaming Edu because its what the coach wanted or asked for they they got for him..
      Arteta out before its too late….

  58. Why do we as fans have to put up with this shit.

    One of the top 10/15 richest clubs in the world.

    I have wanted arteta to do well. But it is hard to stand up for him anymore.

    He is a pep wannabe. Where is the high press that he did for about 3 weeks when he took over. All looked rosy.

    I believe aubamayeng and co are doing all they can to get him out of the club.

    There is no chance a world class striker drops off like that over 6 months.

    From having the best goals to minutes ratio of any player in the the league got the first year and a half.

    Now I done think he cld score in a brothel with all his money.

    Arteta leaves aubamayeng will be back to his best

  59. this is exactly the correct result for us when we have a clueless captain on the pitchh. he is the slowest , most boring player ever. he does not have 2 brain cells to rub together. i blame arteta for making him captain again. i now do not care what happens arteta.he is walking a tightrope right now, and his buddy xhaka will only compound this issue.

      1. no doubt Reggie…imagine if he’s backed further and we end up with Ramshands, Ode and Xhaka as our captain, in the very year the old Gazidis war chest was actually in play(150M)

    2. Did we or did we not dominate the second half (not a question)? Bear in mind all of you armchair nonsense talkers wanted Martinelli and Balogun to start in the 1st place. So apologies for that wrong step????? Balogun was terrible and Martinelli did nothing all game. Matinelli has been your main argument forever we missed Auba. If you guys were in charge we’d be relegated, real talk.

      1. Armchair negative nonsense talkers, patting yourselves on the back because we lost because the players you wanted to play player. Congrats!

          1. easy little guy…maybe it would be best to just call it a night…it’s not all bad, at least we got our captain back

          2. No Angus, we didn’t dominate anything, stop being silly. We were out thought and out maneuvered both halves. Stop trying to gloss it over and making out that it is something it isn’t. We were abject in our approach and the football we play is utter garbage.

  61. An honest assessment. We played a team tonight that were promoted to the top tier in football for the first time in over 70 years. Therefore not unexpectedly the stadium was lively however not a cauldron. Brentford played tactically as expected, the same basically as the whole of last season so with no surprises and therefore any game plan should have worked out thoroughly but again we look clueless.

    Let’s look at the goals. First goal – weak clearance to start which Brentford broke down too easily. Callum Chambers for all his heart and spirit is a natural centre back and will get caught out playing right back. The Brentford winger instead of being shown the line cut inside too easily which a natural right back would not allow. However, the keeper should not be beaten that easy at his near post. shot stopper……Only when at him.

    The keeper. The weak link. As a defender, you want presence behind you. You want command. Direction. A voice. Bravery. However, the second goal conceded from a throw on and there he is once more behind his goal line out muscled clueless in the back of his own net like the preverbal salmon. Same story and another three points gone. Far too weak and it’s too easy to mention last year’s departure to Villa where we had composure and someone who could play out from the back and not call blind panic every time. A presence and a command in his box. Came for crosses and took them.

    Solution:-

    Goalkeeper
    Right back
    Creative Midfielder
    And a captain.

    Xhaka a brilliant international but unfortunately a half second too slow for the premier league. Cannot tackle and unfortunately a liability.

    All fairly blatant this so captain scarlet and Edu need to fix or their time is over.

    For all the noise it is groundhog day.

  62. By watching the results from our preseason matches, I can’t say I didn’t see this coming.

    So relegation battle?

  64. Based on what we’ve seen in the pre-season games and our first game today, we need to nix the idea of a new creative midfielder and instead sign a defensive midfielder to shield our new CB from aerial balls. Our opponents have finally figured out that the best way to beat us is to attack the center of our defense with high balls. And this in a fact.

  65. Just saw the replay……..nothing more need to be said about our novice coach. Cant wait till December. Some were off…..leno-no competition breeds complacency, pepe-back to his lazy self, xhaka-those who were happy at his new contract, did you see the dic.head run the opposite way at the 2nd goal? Balogun-only 5% better than nketiah and he demands a start? Chambers was off, White and Mari- needs to develop but surprisingly the rest did ok in their positions. Lakonga is a positive. But the novice was outmanouvered by a newbie
    Its the tactics, against a parked bus, you go down the wing and cross? With no high players? I’d rather Tierney drive a low ball into the box
    It had to be Arsenal….74 yrs out of the top flihht, Brentfords 1st epl goal so might as well do 2

    it doesnt deserve a name OUT now

  66. Boycott this rotten, miserable club. F Stan, edu and arteta. This club is a disgrace. Why can’t we start the season with our transfers done? Well be 0 points from 3 games by the time the window closes, to save a few pounds. Don’t spend a cent on these clowns and make this scum bag of an owner sell. I’m so sick and tired of the same shit. It’s time for radical change and that won’t happen without bold action. Protest, stop spending and stop accepting this shit. Enough is enough

  67. Nothing more to add really, it’s mostly all been said. What we saw was a team newly promoted from the Championship (through the play-offs), expertly coached by a manager, who played to the strengths of his players, had a plan and whose players followed the script. Arsenal on the other hand has a manager, who has a “process” he is following and “system” of play, which no one can discern, which obviously does not suit the players he has at his disposal. That is considering that he has so far replaced 10 round pegs and still can’t fit them in 11 square holes. He obviously doesn’t have a Plan B or C, when Plan A is obviously failing.
    As for me, this weekend I will be following a potentially great manager, Ange Postecoglou, as he continues the rebuilding job at Glasgow Celtic. Like Arsene Wenger, many of the UK pundits had never heard of him, before he came to Celtic. They took notice, when Brendan Rodgers gave Ange a glowing endorsement after taking a job that scared off Eddie Howe. He has already improved some players and the style of play, has bought well and the results are improving. There will be ups and downs, but so far he appears to have the discerning Celtic supporters on side.
    Although not a Celtic supporter, Ange’s journey has this compatriot “excited”, like I was supposed to be at Arsenal.

  68. You can’t just blame Arteta for this fiasco, Edu must take as much blame for his scouting.

    They must have bought Ben White for his ball distribution skills only, because on today’s performance it certainly wasn’t for his defensive capabilities. He is short for a CB in a league that takes no prisoners. He hit a nice 40 yard “Hollywood” pass to Pepe in the game. The trouble was, it went to Pepe. ESR was wide open 10 yards behind Pepe, and the pass should have gone to him, but that would not have been a pass the commentators would have drooled over. Pepe of course quickly lost the ball and Brentford went on the attack. I hope this is not what we have to expect from White in the future.

    I thought Lakonga played okay. He played some simple effective passes. But, when Brentford were on he attack he was not “putting it about a Bit” with his tackles. Brentford were a much stronger team.
    Xhaka did not play very well defensively and should really be in Rome, not in London, but the “brains Trust” gave him a new contract, so he has become another albatross around Arsenal’s neck!

    I won’t rant on about the other bad performances, but I would wonder if both Tierney and ESR are having second thoughts about the contracts they signed recently.

    PS we are just as likely to draw with either Man City or Chelsea, a result that would unfortunately serve to minimise the problems this loss highlighted so clearly!!

    However, don’t forget we have Odegaard, Abahams and Ramsdale to look forward to before the transfer deadline.
    With that trio on board, we should be able to bounce straight back up to the EPL after getting relegated this season (could we actually get relegated, hey with a good luck charm like Ramsdale we are almost assured of it).

    1. I talked about White’s aerial ability before we sign him. Arsenal knew about that but was hoping that partner CB would compliment him. My opinion he should be moved to DM (or RB).

  69. Done with this fanbase should of been done when I had to argue in the actual stadium about Eboue (after he was booed) that should of been my lesson, awful fan base (worst in the league.) You deserve everything you get at this point really.

    1. Thanks Angus. Come back soon and tar everyone with the same brush, why don’t you.
      Don’t forget to mention Eboue in every comment then as well.

    2. Angus byebye, please don’t come back again to this site if you can see or pity us with the kind of football we are playing, then you are not a good fan….. Please sack arteta now before it will be too late….

  71. Clown manager, poor display.
    We Chelsea and City next, and it does not seem that we will be able to collect reqsonable points in the first 10 matches.

    It is early in the season but I think we should sach MA already.

  74. Adajim thank you. It was clearly a fowl on Leno as he was held back in the box by a bees player. So he couldn’t make move to save the ball.

  75. This is not a misfiring problem … it is how we fire under arteta … fans need to wake up to the mess the club is in …. No fan reaction against Chelsea will allow the rot to set in even deeper

  76. We should all know and agree by now that it won’t matter which players are brought in. The problem is the manager. He is not able to motivate or set the players up in the right way. Keeping MA longer is only going to worsen the situation. The club have made a mistake and are wasting time and money. This is going nowhere fast under MA!

  77. I would love to hear what the consensus is on fixing the Arteta problem. As I said last season, once we start this season with Arteta and need to fire him, who will replace him? I am talking about managers that are likely to come to Arsenal after the season starts.

    A Brendan Rogers or other reputable managers won’t give uo their existing job at after the season has just begun to come to a sinking ship. The next manager will likely be an other experiment of a manager who never managed a big club. Unless we can convince Zidan 😉

    1. This has been my point for months and months and is a reason that I haven’t come down hard on Arteta.
      The hierarchy having dispensed with a long term proven manager took on another one with European pedigree. Gawd knows what was going on behind the scenes but it was a disaster in the end.
      Enter Arteta and it started so well, but since then it’s been a rollercoaster ride.
      The reaction last night wasn’t unexpected – but with a makeshift team of youngsters and new team mates it wasn’t the best preparation for a Brentford team and crowd who were going to be buzzing. Coupled with other starters such as Mari, Xhaka and Chambers who are not on many people’s wish list , the team wasn’t exactly a first choice line up
      There seems to be serious talk of more essential incomings and the eventual return from injury to GM and TP. If by Christmas there isn’t a tangible improvement then Arteta’s position is untenable but I really fear for the future. The board made the decision to sign him and to that end theirs is the responsibility. I hate to think of the worst case scenario of more upheaval and the wrong appointment

    2. Is Arteta THE problem at Arsenal? No. Arteta is just A problem. Edu is THE problem at Arsenal. It was Edu who brought Arteta here. Edu needed someone to act merely as his puppet and not override his command which clearly is what Arteta has been doing so far.

      Without dispensing with the services of Edu at Arsenal, just replacing the manager or the players won’t do any good to the club.

    3. No JanV, the process should have been to engage a new manager in the last part of season when everyone knew there was nothing to play for. Then sack the manager end of season bring the new one in. Give him the budget and decision to keep or sell which ever player he wanted. We had so many opportunities during last season to get one of the great managers like Conte, Zizu and even tuchel but we missed them all just because like some fans our club just can not accept we made an error in judgment and should try to find a new solution. Instead if realising this we are throwing more money in to make this project work. Along with Arteta Edu and Venkat needs to be sacked as well. This is a failure of all three of them and their subordinates.

      1. There’s nothing wrong with your logic except that none of the top managers would come without massive investment. Ancelotti did what the others would do. Saw that the glittering prizes weren’t happening quickly enough and jumped ship

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