Although the scoreline of 2-0 in Arsenal’s game against Everton today makes it look like an easy three points for the Gunners, the facts actually say that Everton had more chances on goal, especially in the first half but Petr Cech managed to keep the Toffees at bay.
Our two goals came in the space of three minutes from Lacazette and Aubameyang, and the Gabonese hitman believes that the only reason we were still at 0-0 before we took our chances. “I think 20 times maybe, Cech kept us in the game,” Aubameyang said after the match. “I think we are improving every day and feeling good and better, so when we win it is better for the team. It is going well and we are enjoying training at the training ground.”
Many Arsenal fans have been clamouring for Leno to be first choice for us, but Cech has proved yet again that he is still one of the best around. And he was very humble afterwards and says he is only doing his job for the team. He said: “Everton created a lot of chances in the first half and we had to stick together and wait for our opportunity to score which made the difference. I’m delighted with the performance and the clean sheet. I had a lot to do today and I had to help the team stay in the game, and as an experienced player, you have to do your part.”
Arsenal finally came good in the second half (why is that now normal?) and we put the game to bed, but Everton still kept plugging away at Cech’s goal. How strange is it that our goalkeeper is the Man Of The Match in an easy win?
Darren N
Cech getting MOTM is okay by me, what surprised me the most was Torreria, after he got the yellow card, man didn’t stop or played with his foot on the brake pad, most players after getting booked would disappear and play with caution, but he still marked and protected the back line well.
Credit where credit is due, Xhaka played well also, Iwobi seems to be improving under Emery, Ramsey apart from the 2 assist was shiit, same as Ozil.. Sokratis looked like a leader at the back before he got off.
Nice match all round. I love the fact that Emery makes changes and is rotating the players, that way everyone stays on their feet
?
It was stupid of Ramsey to flick that pass to Auba who was in an offside position. He had the chance for a one touch finish but instead opted for the pass. Thank goodness the flag stayed down, could easily have been ruled off and put us in an uncomfortable last 15mins. Lucky day
You are right, However, I also applaud him for passing the ball. It may help his confidence of his goal tally keeps going up.
Did you even watch that goal…. Ramsey slipped before taking a shot, hence had to improvise….. And he did it well enough….
Ramsey has to improve , he is not consistent , Ozil pass was also poor , somehow Ramsey managed to pass the ball
HG, Ramsey managed to pass the ball? His ball’s up was the “dummy of the season”. Aubameyang was offside, but so was Calvert-Lewin when he tried a dive over Cech to get a penalty. The refs and officials in this country are without doubt the worst in Western Europe. Cech had another decent game but only saved what was expected of him. Thankfully Everton had no striker, considering all the money they spent, to really test him. Overall, not a good performance but a welcome three points.
Ramsey was terrible, an absolute joke, it was like playing with ten men, in fact worse, he was getting in the way and to play him in the ten roll, forcing Ozil out wide, is mind boggling from Unai. Ozil in the centre where he should be playing and Guendouzi on the right side of midfield, would surely be a better option.
Thank you
He slipped! Stop being so harsh. It was all he could do to salvage that move
Go and rewatch the game again you will notice that Ramsey slipped and lost his footing as he wanted to pull the trigger.
In fact, credit to him for such quick decision of back-flick the ball to Auba. That back-flip confused the keeper and his defenders.
I predicted 2-0 with a clean sheet 🙂
Good thing because 2-0 without a clean sheet would’ve been a real Paradox!
Best game from Cech in a while for Arsenal. He was in command, positioning, reading the game, just a top top performance. Definitely keep team in game while they struggled for traction in the first half.
No question he was MOTM. Have to say sublime curved shot by Lacazette; helped loosen things up.
Continue to struggle in first halves; puzzling considering the talent we have. It’s 3 points, so no need to nit pick.
Happy days Durand! Up the gunners!
Yep yep Sue! Could be we’re getting results while others struggling a bit to get 3 points. Great time with our schedule to try and make a long run and climb up table.
Anyways 3 more in the bag, wonder what Theo thinks now after his comments leading up to match.
Probably feels a right spaz!! He should have zipped it as we’ve beaten Everton more than any other team!
Next… Brentford COYG
You wonder what Theo thinks? Let me tell you then. It is the same as he thought after every game when he walked, (oops I mean “played”) when with us. It is this: “Well, another lovely £100,000 in my bank account this week and they still haven’t rumbled that I am a weedy coasting coward. I love scamming those dumb fans.” And he was right in that at least some of those fans continued to support him all along They fell for his little boy act, his expertly learned politeness and his shy smile. He wouldn’t hurt a goose they all thought. Ah, the sweet natured boy next door type. Well , SOME of us never fell for this massive twelve year long con and spelled it out loud, clear and OFTEN what a toad he was . A coward, a con man and a collector of serious long term unearned dosh. What a fraud!
Make you right Jon, even his interviews are as weedy as his football, you can see he’s got all worked out so simple. He’s now conning Everton like he conned us for ten years and as you say getting £100K a week on the way. When he was pulled off he never even broke sweat, it didn’t bother him in the least, as long as the money’s in the bank is his only concern.
Kenny, Precisely! I do not like using the word “hate” on mere FOOTBALL matters, but if I did I would use it on him. I STILL feel a deep ,loathing and long standing resentment at how this con man used us fans and our club to line his cowardly nest for twelve years. He is now doing the same to Everton and shame on them for standing for it. If I had my way he, and his sort, would be drummed out of pro football and made to return the unearned millions they “stole” from the club.
Sokratis most noticeably improved in my opinion. Looks to be settling in nicely. Thought Holding was solid sub when he came on also.
That’s probably the quietest 2 assists I’ve ever seen from a player. Showing up when it’s needed was nice I’ll admit. Ozil on wing and Ramsey creating simply doesn’t work; not with Wenger and not with Emery.
I hope his injury isn’t too bad as he’s looking solid
Sokratis, even though clearly far from a really top, top player, is neverethless a huge step up from the dreadful and stumbling Mustafi , who should never be first choice pick again. With both Holding and my own preferred Mavropanos(though currently injured) both far better than Mustafi, to partner Sokratis, we MAY finally be about to find some solidity in central defence again, after all those years without any. I also would not play either Ramsey or Ozil. Iwobi has come in and looked worth keeping in place, so I would start him next week and wait to see if he finally realises the talent he has shown so far but only in short patches. He has earned his place, at least.
Yes, the Greek pairing between Papa (Sokratis) and Mavropanos would be ideal, and not because of their nationality.
1. They’re probably the best 2 individually we have (or at least Mavro can reach there sooner than Holding)
2. One is mature, the other can learn from him
3. Papa is strong and aggressive, Mavro is excellent in jumping (by far the best we have) and quite fast for his height.
Agreed! I give no thought at all to players nationality and care nothing where they come from. I do care that they are good enough and determined enough though. I rate Mavro a lot and see a future real player in him and Sokratis looks a major step up from Mustafi, even though not top class. OUR BEST CHOICE THOUGH FROM THOSE AVAILABLE TO US. We Gooners need to decide if he is going to be called Papa(and the rest of his long name, OR Sokratis. Can’t say though , that I care much which is finally chosen, as long as he plays well.
Definitely Durand, I think Holding and Sokratis is the way forward, at least until Kos is back.
Cech is always good. Is only that arsenal players don’t give him enough cover
Delighted for Cech, he’s received allot of criticism but his goal stopping ability has risen throughout preseason up til now. Some are saying he’s starting to look like the old Cech from Chelsea, so that’s good for sure. Also delighted our two strikers got in on the act, and Ramsey needed those assists hopefully his confidence will grow. Xhaka I’ve only recently realized that his passing is actually one of the best in league from that position. Great three points from the lads, anything else would’ve been a crisis.
I said that Arsenal should remain un defeated till the Liverpool game and things are going just perfect. We are winning games one could say that we might not deserve to win. Our strikers are key to our success and besides the lack of service they still provide us with goals.
What Emery needs to do now is to make a big decision. Choose between Mesut and Ramsey for the number 10 poz and make room for players on the wings who are more suited to play. Iwobi and Welbs are not what most would call promising, but i would have them down the flanks a hundred times over the likes of Mesut and Ramsey.
Xhaka is playing well, and i am happy. But he is also playing to much and he should also be replaced from time to time to give fans a better point of view of his game. Ramsey could play there even though i dont think that he would be an improvement. Niles is the player i hope will come in age and make that poz his own. Wishful thinking*
We are battling Manure and Spurs for the 4th place for sure.
Isn’t it about time we’re due a win against Liverpool???
In the 1st half it looked like Everton was the home team and ok Czech did make a few good saves but to be honest that is why he is there. The 2nd half was all ours and I thought 2 nil flattered Everton. I thought Torri deserves his place and I am sorry Ramsey was poor and non existent.
He should play against Brentford as he needs to buck up.
Have just seen an article asking United fans to describe Sanchez in one word…. awful… horrendous… overpaid…. finished….. lost…. just a few that bought a smile to my face! Although my smile didn’t last long as the next article said we’re up for resigning him in January!!! WTH!!!!!
made up by the media
He hates it up north, living in Manchester, Wouldn’t you? He’s missing Arsenal.
we are slowly getting into top 3…
Emery will led us to glory in the new era
he needs time and more spending on quality players
Do you not feel it shows how disjointed we were today that Cech was without doubt our best player?Lets face it-Everton are a mid table side at best (despite what Walcott says) but we gave them far too many scoring opportunities in the first half.
overall i felt it was a decent performance , especially knowing we had only ten men on the pitch for the entire game. once again ozil goes missing,it looks to me like he can only play against minnows.but a win is a win .
GdB, playing Ozil in his correct position as #10 centrally would help. Ramsey should be nowhere near the team until he signs the contract or is sold in January. He appears to be filling in time until he can leave on a free. At least Ozil has committed to Arsenal long term.
Phil Neville on MOTD pointed out that Everton has spent £350 million. He also agreed with some on this site (including me) that Torreira has made Xhaka play better and have provided a solid two in front of the back four. Martin Keown raved about Torreira and explained how the back four, after pressing forward to reduce space are too slow to drop back. Why is Steve Bould not influencing the Arsenal defense, as he comes from the same “school” as Keown?
Cech was superb.
I agree. Ramsey is stringing us along and may well decide to never sign the contract. His position should go to ozil or Mkhitaryan. Mkhitaryan should start over Ramsey, he’s here to stay and is on a whooping £180K a week. Ramsey should not be prioritised over Mkhitaryan until he signs. Besides, other than the 2 assist Ramsey gave (which were quite shady btw) he didn’t orchestrate or dictate play. He was not a commanding CAM and was barely felt in the game.
i totally agree with you on everything you say except the ozil bit. for the best number ten in the world ozil should be able to play where ever he is put , he should be even in ggoal if he is that good . my own opinion that he is not good , he is a total fraud, and when he leaves us the team will be far better. he brings a negativity to the team , ozil is a zombie presently.
I question your statement that Ozil has committed himself to Arsenal long term. True, he has signed a long term contract , committing the club to paying him huge wages for a long time to come. But has he truly committed to Arsenal, rather than the money? I say he has not and I give as evidence for my statement his almost complete absence of work on the pitch. THAT is not what most true great players would call “committment.” I watch the likes of Torreira and I think” yes, THAT is REAL committment”. I trust that you take the difference.
3 + 3+ 3+3+ … hope it goes on till gunners top the chart !!!
It’s all a matter of opinion of course but I thought xhaka was very poor today.Defensively he and Ramsay have no idea and this piled pressure on Torreria in the first half when Everton were able to cut through the left flank of our defence on a number of occasions.Thankfully Czech kept us in the game and after we scored we controlled the game for twenty minutes.Overall this was a far from convincing performance.
Grandad, I am not a fan of Xhaka at all. I find him far too one paced(in other words, slow) both in thought and action. I see no light and shade in his play. He has some strengths, namely a good long shot, power and height and when given time he can spray the ball around. But he rarely makes a key through pass; most of his long passes being crossfield. He is realLy unaware of what is going on around him when we are under attack. His defensive positional play is really bad. He is cumbersome and not quick on his feet(the polar opposite to the sadly missed Cazorla). All in all, and even though I thought him one of our better players against Everton, he has been a poor buy. I think that partnered with Torreira , some of his faults may be less obviously apparent but, frankly , we deserve better than him. He should be moved on when possible and a more all round and quicker, more switched on player, brought in instead. I also agree with your final sentence AND ON RAMSEY, WHOM I WOULD MOVE ON, WHEN POSSIBLE.
I think Torreira is our best Midfielder together with Guendouzi. But what I have noticed about Torreira is that when defending in the edge of our box he switches off and lets opponents run past him. It has happened about 4 times in 3 games. And on 2 occasions in the previous games we conceded. The second Walcott chance in yesterday’s game. I think the same things happened but Cech saved us.
I think all our CMs have this flaw. Xhaka is the worse followed by Ramsey. Need to sort it out.
I am cautiously optimistic that we are moving in the right direction but we were a shambles in the first half and against a better team could have gone in 3 or 4 goals down, even with Cech’s excellent saves. Much better second half but had to rely on an offside goal to feel comfortable. I think Ramsey needs to play further back with Torreira and it was noticeable when Ozil was switched from the wing to the middle that we improved our movement going forward but we seem to have lost our style and everything’s a bit slowed down. I’m confident Emery is getting it right but feel he needs to bench a player or two to both tighten up the midfield defensively and to make us more incisive when moving forward.
Declan-Why has Emery decided Ramsey is a playmaker.He is not and never will be.He is a central midfielder who joins the attack.He has never been anything more.The problem with playing Ramsey as a No10 is that Ozil is forced to play wider than he is comfortable with.If Ramsey was played wide he too would struggle to influence the game.It must come down to a straight choice between the two.For me you either play Ozil at 10 in a free role or don’t play him-simple as that
Phil , as you know, we are now in different camps on Ozil. BUT, I still know he has sublime talent and still hope he can regain his once sublime standard. It is a long time since he had a great game; I cannot even remember his last special game. IF he is to play at all though, I am with you that it MUST be as a central NO 10 and NO RAMSEY. Whether or not Ozil plays , I do not want Ramsey in the team. Nor the club, even. Put simply, Ramsey is NOT a team player at all.
Yes Phil you have reiterated my thoughts more or less exactly. Ramsey is not a number 10, but I believe played further back, once the opponents forward play gets broken up, he can maraud forward with Torreira watching his arse, as he used to a few years ago. But he has to be disciplined. The only position Ozil can play is as you say, number 10 with a free role as he does (did) for Germany and as he did for us when he first joined. I think they can play together but only in a 4-2-3-1 but Ramsey has be disciplined in his positioning. Having said all that, with the way he is pissing us about regarding his contract it would easier to balance the team out if he is benched or sold.
Strange headline wording in the article. Firstly, there is no need WHATEVER for a question mark. We ALL know that Cech was MotM and by a huge distance. I really dislike articles that include premises( the possibility that Cech was NOT MotM, by using a ?) which most of us firmly disagree with. When you actually read the entire article, much of it is sensible and well argued . So why the silly headline and why the use of a question mark? Anyone who watched that game and did not make Cech the massive reason why we kept a clean sheet and why we won the game is living in cloud cuckoo land. It is a cheap journalistic trick to use misleading headlines and for a young man(DaN) who is not himself a journalist but who may well aspire to be one day, I say cut the cheap tricks out. You would get more respect by being honest with your readers. YOUR ARTICLE WAS FINE AS IT WAS and was only cheapened and let down by the way you wrote your headline. Many on here will say” so what” but they miss the point, which is that by learning how to do things better you get a better product. If only it were that easy for such as BELLERIN AND MUSTAFI. But at PREM level you need real talent(inate ability) as well and not just knowledge.
I should have course referred to Darren and not Dan. Apols to Dan.
Phil you are spot on regarding Ramsay who is only effective when making runs from a central midfield position.He will never make a number 10 where Ozil should be played.I do not be lieve we can accommodate Ramsay and Ozil in the same team particularly when the slow and ponderous Xhaka seems to be a permanent fixture in the side.I’m sorry to say this but I would have thought Emery would have recognised the weaknesses that are Xhaka and Mustafi ere now but perhaps he is influenced by the fact that the Club spent £70m on this duo?.
Czech
Bellerin. Mustafi. Sokratis. Monreal
Guendu
Toriera. Xhaka/Ramsy
Ozil/Micky
Lacazette. Aubumayang
Until we line up like this, there won’t be balance in arsenal matches…. Emery needs to use each player in there best position…..