Arsenal earned a narrow win against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League this evening.
The Gunners had to respond to losing to Bournemouth at the weekend and did, but their performance was far from impressive.
Not that the Ukrainians were the strongest opponents, but Arsenal simply did not show a clinical advantage in the game despite playing at home.
Mikel Arteta’s side is missing so many key players, but the gaffer would have expected a better showing from his team.
Arsenal fans would also be worried about the flat performance, and Sky Sports’ Paul Gilmour was at the Emirates during the match.
After the fixture, he reported on how Arsenal fans reacted and shared his opinion. He said:
“I’ve just overheard an Arsenal fan walking up the steps towards the exit.
“Dear oh dear that wasn’t great”
“Sums it up well but it’s a win and a clean sheet. Not convincing but job done after disappointment on Saturday.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
This was far from the kind of performance we had expected from the boys after the loss to Bournemouth, but we won and have now won two Champions League matches.
Hopefully, the boys can do better in the next game as we wait for the return of our key players.
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I know I’m going to get slagged off by the resident Ali McCoists, but that shoulder barge on Califiori looked pretty full on, and if it causes him to have sprained his knee, surely it’s dangerous?
Certainly not convincing at all. But we must remember we were missing Saka and Odegaard, 2 of our best players. Also, the Liverpool match will be hanging over the player’s heads and they did not want to take too many risks going forward/pressing. Still, I felt Trossard should have left the penalty taking duties to Havertz. Anyway, bring on Liverpool and hopefully all of our players will come out flying.
Not a good reason for a supposedly big team as Arsenal. Shaktar is a struggling team in a lesser league than the PL.
Even out U21s could defeat this team.
We don’t have a playmaker. The coach has one on the bench and is refusing to use him.
We felt the pinch of not having Saka playing.
Jesus again failed to impress. Unfortunately I think this is his last season for the Gunners, he’s been given ample opportunities.
Well he impressed me.
He wasn’t afraid to take on players down the right, he was linking well with White and was very unlucky not to score.
The contributors to JA Ken seem to have it “in” for Jesus, who ,in reality, was one of our better players last night.Unfortunately his finishing was not on a par with his skill and industry on the right wing which is his natural position.He was also up against a very quick left back, who had Sterling in his pocket during his time on the pitch.Apart from the Brazilian left back, 2/3 other Shakhtar players may be worth pursuing .
Yes, but as the old saying goes, “One swallow doesn’t make a summer”.
He did play better last night – certainly better than he’s done in the EPL this season (he could hardly have done worse though if we’re honest) – but surely that’s what we should expect all the time (or most of it), isn’t it? As to being up against a quick left back, Arsenal may well come up against considerably better sides overall than Shakhtarb so what will happen with Jesus then?
He is also the second highest paid player on Arsenal’s books (behind only Havertz). Another key question is: is he VFM? I don’t see how the answer can possibly be “yes”. Can Arsenal not find a better way to spend around £14m a year in salary?
Finally, despite his efforts yesterday, Jesus – who is supposed to be a striker after all, it’s in his job description – still hasn’t scored a goal since January. In my opinion, that’s just not acceptable, regardless of the occasional better performance like yesterday’s.
* Shakhtar
I think we need to sign a strikers coach, something is wrong the way we miss lots of chances.
I agree. The number of chances missed was too many. “Sloppy” as one commentator put it. The same happened in the EPL recently against Southampton.
Against better sides (like Liverpool, for example) it’s very unlikely Arsenal will get that many chances so being more clinical in their finishing is a must.