What went wrong against Tottenham
After a long battle on Sunday afternoon, Arsenal walks away from this season’s first London Derby sharing the points. Mikel Arteta and his side left disappointed that we dropped two points but after an intense match at The Emirates, some might say we were lucky to get the draw.
Arsenal started the match on the front foot, pressing the Tottenham players hard whenever they had the ball, forcing interceptions and for at least the first half, completely controlled the game. We kept sitting back a bit, letting Tottenham pass the ball around until we forced mistakes and pounced. Arsenal had plenty of chances in the first half but just weren’t clinical enough.
Tottenham kept inviting the press and Arsenal were equal to it. Saka was almost unstoppable in the first half with Arsenal primarily focusing on getting the ball into his feet. After 25 minutes Saka dropped his shoulder and fired the ball into the goal, picking up a deflection on the way from Romero, Arsenal were one to the good.
Just before half time, Son equalized, after two great saves from David Raya, Arsenal couldn’t get the ball clear out of their area, with the ball landing at the feet of James Maddison who played the ball right to the feet of Son and into the net. A disappointing end to a good half and putting us level walking into the tunnels.
Arteta made two changes at half time, Declan Rice and Fabio Vieira came off for Jorginho and Kai Havertz. Rice coming off with complaints of a back problem. It didn’t take long for Arsenal to get back in front when Saka stepped up from the spot and fired the ball down the centre of the goal to put us 2-1 up, after Ben White fired a shot that hit Romero’s hand in the box and VAR awarded a penalty.
Unfortunately, it only took a minute and 38 seconds for Tottenham to get one back and level up the scores, after a horrible mistake from Jorginho in the middle of the pitch, who looked to just switch off for a second and Tottenham instantly replied with another goal from Son.
The game ended 2-2 and points were shared. Arsenal looking tired and out of touch in the second half, continuing both Arsenal and Tottenham’s unbeaten runs this season. After a promising first half, Arsenal looked to be outplayed in the second. With such a quick turn around from the Champions league, I think tiredness definitely played a part in our drop off in quality in the second half.
A tough one to swallow but we are still unbeaten and will now turn our focus to Brentford, who we play in the Carabao Cup this week.
What’s your thoughts on the game Gooners? Could we have done more?
Daisy Mae
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Chelsea have conceded same goals as us but they are bottom half near relegation zone, we are better than them because we have scored more yet I haven’t been happy with our scoring this season compared to last.
I wonder if we are going to be struggling for goals how difficult its going to be.
Havertz should start to get some goals. His performance in the past two games have been acceptable but it is clear his signing have been our downfall so far.
He has stopped more deserving players from starting, he hasn’t been able to fill the shoes of the man he replaced, the manager have changed the winning formation to accommodate him. All these have shown in our performances so far.
HH I have to agree, sadly. But I willgive HAVERTZa deal more time to settle in yet. Though the early the signs do look ominous, I regret to say.
But many stranger things have happened in football and he still may prove MA right and many of we doubters to be far too hasty.
Which is WHY I for just one will not keep slating him.
The other outstanding need is for a specialist central top class striker who we can rely on to score goals regularly.
The neglect to sign a top striker reminds me of Wenger days when he signed everyone except the position we actually needed.
Regarding Havertz it’s why I hope he will just start delivering. The window is already closed and he is the one we have.
Arsenal needs another powerful midfielder more than a striker, that player that can slide in seamlessly with or without Declan Rice or Partey.
That’s where our biggest problem is now.
We could’ve won the game if Jorginho didn’t have a brain fart or if Jesus was more composed after stealing the ball from Maddison, but crying over spilt milk would be useless
The game should be a big lesson for Arteta, the coaches and the players. Nketiah and Vieira seem more suited to be super-subs, instead of starters
As predicted by many people before the season started, Man City would most likely win EPL again. The season is still long, so we’ve still got enough time to finish in top four
GAI, these mistakes happen in football, even in our professional lives too. Constant recurrence of them is an issue (like the bad days we endured with Mustafi, etc).The reasons for dropping points are very simple
1. Hiring Kavs & Fabs – misfits for EPL talent and output wise, same cannot be said about their wages and transfer fees. Maddison 40 M GPB, their combined value is well over 100M GBP with next to nothing displays. MA’s fault
2. Reliance on EN and not hiring a proper CF. GJ played wide at City. MA’s fault.
3. Sanctioning the departure of Xhaka without able replacements and that too for a paltry sum. MA’s fault.
4. No proper back up for Saka, Nelson is not a capable person for a title chasing squad. He is perfect for a mid tier club. MA’s fault.
5. Hiring Jorgihno from CFC for 10M GBP when he had 6 months on his contract. Useless signing. McAlister at Pool or Maddison at TH seem better value. MA’s fault.
6. If Ramsdale can have competition, why not Odegard? Different yardsticks for different players? MA’s fault.
After spending 200M and if top4 is the goal for some fans, then its time for the manager to go. No emotions here as he has scant emotions for Ramsdale. Period!
In my opinion:
1. Havertz is just having his first season. Vieira seems too weak to be a starter, but the season is still long
2. I agree we shouldn’t have relied on diminutive CFs who can get easily brushed off by the opposition’s CBs
3. Havertz hasn’t failed yet as Xhaka’s replacement as the season is still long and maybe Arteta will try Smith-Rowe there
4. Marquinhos should’ve stayed to rotate with Saka, otherwise Cozier-Duberry should’ve been given a chance
5. I agree that Jorginho shouldn’t have been hired due to his age and physical weaknesses, but I bet he’ll leave in the summer
6. Vieira is Odegaard’s competitor. Vieira played awkwardly in Xhaka’s position, but he’d likely play well in Odegaard’s
Arteta shouldn’t leave, because we haven’t lost yet. I guess his fate will depend on whether we’ll win a major trophy or not
GAI, Haverz is not wet behind the ears. He wasn’t bought for potential. He is doing what he has been doing for years with Chelsea. This is Haverz, you embarrass yourself trying to excuse him. He is not going to suddenly burst into life. This is him and this is what he gives.
His presence in the team is costing us.
He has three seasons of EPL experience, but he’s still adapting to Arteta’s tactics
Some players can adapt quickly, but he seems to be a slow learner
He wasn’t the one who kept getting robbed yesterday and he gave us a great physical presence which Vieira and Odegaard lacked
But what is he actually producing?
He is just struggling, nothing to do with Artetas tactics, just ability. He has been like this for years, what do you expect?
He won duels. Similar to Xhaka, we shouldn’t see his contributions from goals and assists only
Dare I say Ramsdale always energizes our whole team with his fearsome attitude ans it spread forward to the whole team from the back to the front? and dare I say it always gives us extra energy when our players legs are all but gone??
Dare I say claiming crosses dont automatically cancel out fearsome leadership qualities in Rambo on a team sorely lacking Xhaka’s imperial leadership
and these all added to wins no matter how many goals we concede?
Dare I hope someone else sees the obvious other than me?
Return Ramsdale to the line up to add some bite and some sorely lacking leadership after Xhaka exit!
Leaderships leads to bite which leads to transferred energy which leads to ability to fight for a win when legs are gone.
Xhaka wont let us be bullied like Spuds did yesterday, and not only that, buy copping several key injuries while at it
Oh, and one more thing, Saka has been found out!
I told someone Saka will shine like a diamond in the Champions League but will look a shadow of himself in the EPL all season long. Sad thing is this isnt about a change anytime soon. At first I thought its because he is being double-teamed, but then I saw now that even beating one man is an herculean task for him now.
They know he is going to feint to his right (a leg they now know he barely uses) and then drop a shoulder and go full burst to his left to curl in. Way easy to mark, and far from the quality of his legendary compere in Arjen Robben.
Before, defenders facing Saka usually look all worn about by the 70th minutes from being dragged around…last night, Udogie barely broke a sweat last night and at full whistle looked like he can still do another solid half
So, MA and Saka needs to figure out how to unlock that mess fast and develop new tools for battle on the right side.
Saka hasn’t been found out at all. If you look at so many of the big moments, assists and goals this season, guess who’s always involved?
Starboy treatment. He is entitled to that for his past performance but really need to step up fast. If I was the coach, I will do special workouts with crossing with the right foot.
That way, defenders wont know if he is dashing to the bylines to arrow in a cross, or he is feinting and cutting in, to curl in a goalazo. This changes needs to happen very fast! Unless he wants to confine his talents to the CL where average defenders haven’t figured him out yet
An odd and very minority view And a minority throughout the whole football world too, non Arsenal fans very much included, as I have not heard ONE serious public football figure give anything but well deserved praise to SAKA.
As the saying goes”there is always one”!
From your comments on the site, I assume you watch most of our important matches, so I will spare you the advise to go watch last night’s properly.
And to that end, I say leave your head in the sand where its currently at, jon.
No matter how hard you wriggle and try to get off that hook LN, you cannot escape the FACT that you are in a very tiny minority who thinks as you do .
I by contrast am among the 99% who think you are talking through your hat
Seems you are under the illusion that 99% of us have our heads in the sands , rather than the normal, in all debates, 1%.
Sad that the JA site doesn’t allow screenshots to be posted. Let’s see how you think in a few weeks when your scales fall off.
Also, nice try attempting to wriggle yourself into an illusory 99% population that you just pulled out of your nether region. When was this poll conducted?
Saka has scored quite regularly with his right foot. It may not be a good as his left, but it’s far better than some right footed players.
I think the second half against Spurs demonstrated just how much we are dependant on Rice and the injured Partey.Without them we lacked presence and drive in midfield and like one of two others on JA, I feel our priority must be to acquire asap, a quality,athletic midfielder who is a cut above the likes of Jorginho and Elneny.If we control the match, the goals will come but we need more pace and strength in the engine room ,that’s for sure.I have to acknowledge that under Posticoglu, Spurs have improved substantially .They have a number of quick skilful players who fit the traditional 4-3-3 set up which is always deployed by their very able Manager.Most pundits had reservations concerning his ability to reproduce what he achieved with Celtic , and while it’s too soon to make assertions after only a few league matches, I can understand the air of optimism coming from the Spurs camp.The injuries to Timber and Partey have undoubtedly weakened us, particularly as the young Dutchman could well have been used as a DM to back up Rice and Partey.
This game just showed us what we already know, that we need a goalscorer. Eddie just isn’t prolific enough and Jesus while he is a nuisance to defences is not calm enough in front of goal to be called a goalscorer. The chance he missed which would have put us 2 up would of probably settled the team down and gone on to win.
If our players are tired now I dread to think what they will be like in 6 more games .
The reason we are struggling are bad choices in the transfer market IMO
Can’t be any worse than Kallstrom, Cech, Squillachi! Hahaha
Runaarson, Willian and Mari. Ha ha !!!!!!
Jen, Ha,ha, ha? Surely you should have written sob , sob, sob!
It was NO joke having to have sufffered all the regular dross inflicted on our team and on we Gooners too, way back then!
😂Thirdman
Not tired at all, just a laid out plan.
We had a choice. Buy Kai Havertz or James Maddison in midfield. We paid £65 million for Havertz and Tottenham paid £40 million for Maddison, biggest blunder by Arteta ever. No way can we challenge City for the EPL title. Just cold hard facts. Arteta made a massive f*** up. Reality check! EPL title down the proverbial drain.
He had his reasons for buying Havertz. Maybe his height. Going forward, Havertz should Play as a CF. Our midfielders should be flexible and play more long balls to the box for Havertz to attack. The guy would get goals with time. He needs to work on his shooting as well.
I watch Havertz every week he plays. My eyes tell me he is not good enough. Most others seem to think so too. Havertz is a big mistake. Our eyes are not stupid, just factual. Imagine we signed Maddison for £40 million.
Arteta better humble himself. He was foolish at the beginning of the season. He was seemingly arrogant at some point. He is being humbled. Arteta is being made to look better than he is by our players.
Arteta should consider playing Havertz as a CF. ESR should play at the left side of
Midfield. He holds the ball better than Havertz. And he has the pace to run with the ball. This combo works fine with Declan Rice as the DM.
I criticised Arteta after the PSV match due to lack of rotation. I felt he should have rested Rice and Saka in that game ahead if the north London Derby. Anyways, I still have hopes for this season. We are still favourites alongside Mancity and Liverpool for the EPL.
Given the injuries we now have and the majority view that HAVERTZ was, to say thr least,anunexpected and unneeded buy for far too much money, the fit players we currently have available is far weaker than last seasons squad. Timber, probably out for the season or nearly all. Tierney, on loan. Rice, Partey, Martinelli all,unfit. Also SAKA limping badly, Trossard out too.
PLUS , unlike last season, when we were points in front of City at this stage , NOW we are already four points behind them andthey look even better this year.
I see NO serious title chance at all therefore this season so we are playing for a top four finish and hopefully a cup or two.
But forget the title this year is the reality.
ITS ALREADY EFFECTIVELY OVER.
Yet another moaning, plasticine fan, just 6 matches into a long league campaign. No Arsenal players will want the likes of you in the bleachers in their ears during a match. I could earn a coin or two if I set up a MoaningArsenal.com just simply from the unending traffic of naysayers in your mould.
As someone said here earlier on this site, for context:
4 Wins
2 Draws
0 Loss
One of those loss against a team who recently bullied Man Utd
No one moans on just Arsenal 😂
That “plasticine fan” may be a bit of a misery sometimes, but he has been known to actually attend games. Can you say the same?
Yes to both misery and game attendance and merch purchase.
What about you?
https://www.justarsenal.com/justarsenal-comments-rules-for-subscribers/313188
Arteta’s first half setup was brilliant and suppose to finish off Totties by halftime at 4-0. But the boys missed open chances and paid dearly in the second half. Jesus and Nketiah were equally guilty as Jorginho. Totties might looked a better side but we created more open chances and we had an immovable defence. For me, Arsenal gave Totties that one point. But we must move on and concentrate on the next game. Misery is contagious.
DK…see the bottler-commenter above me.
6 games! Just 6 games Jesus Christ!
Wonder that what darkness the future holds for us in this comment forum in the next 9months!
I hope @Jen & @HH sort their stupid little dispute out soon, it’s becoming so boring, and making this comments section quite toxic.
They have been warned again – for the last time I might add……
That is a lie from Admin.
I am getting my comments removed, or censored,
ADMIN COMMENT – Jeez Jen
Will you ever give it a rest!
Talk about football or you will be removed. EVERYONE who insults any other Arsenal fan on here gets deleted. Stop with the persecution complex, or say GoodBye…..
ADMIN COMMENT –
You are now going in moderation. I need to sleep and I can’t keep coming on here to delete your comments.
You are becoming a pain and if you don’t start talking about football you will never return to JA…
Best of luck with that!🥱
Right on queue…as always!
Not sure how much more evidence admin needs?
I have eyes and I read EVERY SINGLE comment. You two just need to ignore each other. HH has said he will, now you agree or it ends here.
Daisy May. I don’t think Arsenal looked that tired TBH. It’s true Spurs had no midweek game and were fresher than us, but it wasn’t tiredness that let us down, but basic errors which you just can’t make at this level.
This is my first look at Spurs this season and I’m really impressed, and take back what I recently said about Bissouma (if you’re reading this Ozziegooner).
What went wrong is the substitution decision fail to inspire anything.
Nketiah should have leave the pitch at halftime with the German replacing him.
I believe we would have won the game if Arteta started with this line up –
Jesus.
Nelson. Odegaard. Saka.
Smith-Rowe. Rice.
Zinchenko. Gabriel. Saliba. White.
Raya.
Guys, we should reduce the insults and attacks.
What binds us together is the support for the club. Many of us have been on this platform for a long while. Let us maintain the positive energy and vibes..
Love and peace. Thanks everyone.
Cheers
Tired? Just a start of the season. No domestic cups. If one midweek game made them tired, the fitness coaches should be sacked.
Tiredness?.. that’s just an easy excuse. It’s obvious we didn’t do enough over the summer, started off well then couldn’t get the additional 2-3 signings done that’s if we really ever needed a poacher. In my opinion I feel we don’t, goals came in from almost every first team player last season, Arteta would have built on that and made sure he got extra quality into that CDM role, i wanted Lavia cus Partey just doesn’t have the legs to go an entire season without being injured and the Afcon . Likewise a deputy for Saka, he’s strong and great lad but he certainly needs to rest in certain games Diaby and Doku my evident choice and we couldn’t get them in. We need to have a 10/10 window to be able to compete, it’s not gonna get any easier cause with ucl football comes effective squad rotation and Arteta has to make do and give ESR minutes he isn’t as explosive as Martinelli but can beat his man since Trossard was already out.