Another defensive mistake costs us dearly. by Konstantin Mitov
I am devastated, but it’s a harsh reality. We had a red card in our favour since minute 10, we took the lead and then we made a number of comical defensive mistakes that cost us.
This is the highlight of our season. Individual mistakes have cost us goals since day one and Wenger hasn’t learned his mistakes, which is costing him his job. He keeps faith in players who constantly make mistakes.
The problem is, we haven’t learned from our mistakes for years now. We take them as one offs and nobody is held accountable for things. The new manager will have to address this major issue.
Our captain has Greizmann on his back and he kicks the ball in his own face, then the keeper let’s it through his legs and our second defender, who by the way is a world cup winner slips and we conceded.
And I have to reiterate that this has happened so many times this season! I am so gutted because the athmosphere was great for a change and everything aligned with for us but we bottled it.
Do you think that without Champions League football we’ll be able to address the major holes in defense? Another question here is why didn’t we buy a CB when this has been happening since the start of the season?
I am really fearing that we’ll hire a manager like Arteta and things will hardly improve. We need a major character who will reshape this squad. There are no excuses for not winning being a man up for almost the entire game.
Those players as I said before now need a real hard look at themselves. We’ve got United away which is a 99% defeat with Mourinho there and then we go away needing to score against a team who’s defense is monstrous and ours is leaking more than the roof of abandoned woodshed.
We have a mountain to climb and once again we’ve essentially shot ourselves in the foot. Arsene has to summon the most incredible of European away performances, but I can’t see it. I feel it will be the saddest of endings to his reign, but this is all season. It’s incredible we haven’t addressed it. The new manager cannot come soon enough.
Konstantin
Yes errors, but I look forward to next week. I already said it their defence is what everyone is talking about. We only have one away goal and we can score away. 1-1, 1-2, 2-2, any of the results is possible. We can score away from home and we don’t belong to their league. Teams in the same league are familiar with each other’s playing methods.
Arsenal is 11 points off top 4.
CL qualification through Europa
may see the club retain all the
present squad and thus slow a rebuild.
Might even give Wenger an extension.
Yeah that’s exactly what we need isn’t it?A contract extension for Wenger.Just think we can look forward to more seasons of dominating possession against teams missing chance after chance and then handing out gift goals with comical defending.What a F***ing great idea.I wonder if the Board thought of this before they sacked him last week.
It was just one defensive error. Klopp’s Liverpool made a lot of defensive errors, but their attackers and midfielders excelled at creating clear chances for scoring
Our attackers and midfielders were short of ideas and skills. They were unable to kill Atletico Madrid when they have the big advantage, hence they were more responsible for the boring, cautious and lacklustre performance
Arsenal fans could call their idols a “legend” or “world class” creators. But in reality, they could not even break a ten men team’s defense at the Emirates
You already said Arteta is the man. He will sort everything out. Lol
@gotanidea
I absolutely disagree! The way Atletico was defending I have never seen anything like that in my life. I assure you even Barcelona or Bayern would have had a tough time breaking through. Everytime we had the ball there were 10 men behind it. Everyone played their best and lets be honest, up until the last few minutes of the game when their fluke goal went in we had given them a lot of problems. Had it not been for Oblak’s miraculous saves I am sure we would have won it. The boys did everything they could and this time as we can see there is no one to single out for the balme…unless someone has the guts to blame Koscielny for that one mistake anyone could have made. And if we are going to blame him, lets also blame Mustafi for slipping and falling down just as he was about to close down Griezman’s shot.
They all played very well. Let’s hope for the return leg. Anything can happen in football.
???
they werent short of ideas, they were short of finishing. But too many times Arsenal move the ball too slow and it makes it much easier for Atletico. Oblak was made to look very good when only 1-2 of his saves were actually world class. Everything else was to him, or Aresnal just missed. Wont get a better chance ever again.
Can not say much, Wenger wanted to sell Mustafi even without buying one CB… No bi for Jonny Evans… We are fortunate that Wengerr is leaving.. I hope Enrique will take over the rein …
Yes Complete Overhaul is needed… Need to start from Goal Keeper to Center Back and To midfield…Every one knows that.
One think I want to highlight is no one pointing on Ozil… I am ok to give him one more season to prove, but in big games like this, players like him has to be the difference . Next season if al same then probably need to replace him as well…
Ruthless Manager is needed
I can’t see why Ozil is played wide right.This is not his position.He is a No10 and should have a free role to find space.Its another square pegs in round holes botch by Wenger.I know Mikki would have been there if fit and Wilshere would have dropped out but it’s just pointless putting our best player where he will always struggle to be as effective.Ozil can make the difference but let’s play him where he is able to make that difference
totally agree. But that’s wenger all over. Just as well we’ll have a new coach to handle PEA and Laca next season as I’m pretty confident Wenger would have destroyed one of them by playing them wide all season rather than two up front.
I agree, play Ozil in the centre as a #10, not out wide and on his weaker foot.
I’m sure someone is putting “dopey” substances in the food at the Arsenal canteen!
How can you make the same mistakes time and time again? If they haven’t learned by now how to defend properly they never will! Time to go.
Bellerin has almost lost his bearings and struggle to go forward.
Xhaka is just so average and needs to change position (preferably ball boy) because he spends most of his time giving the ball to someone else. The less said about his shooting opportunities the better!
Mustafi and Kos are a liability at the back and Monreal has dipped this season!
The clinical finishing in attack is in decline. If we had a Mo Salah we would have finish with at least 4 goals last night. As it is, we have Welbeck. Tries hard, bless him but, ultimately hes a Championship player at best!
Wilshire was great once and again, he tries like Welbeck does. He just simply is not at the right level of quality any more.
Ramsey and Ozil tried to but when your attackers are not finding space it’s hard to put the right pass in to them. In all fairness, Athletico’s defence got better as the game went on but, we should have killed the game off after they went down a man and manager!
Overall, it was a shocking result which highlights the need for change. Manager and players alike!
I don’t believe anyone could have put it more accurately than this.Exept probably @lexynal who would tell you that it’s not Wengers fault and you are a naughty boy if you think it is.Also go a support spuds because they spend a lot and win nothing.Then his mummy slapped his legs and sent him to bed.
But you got it right
Right Phil, In the past he played his adopted son, Ramsey in that wide position but because he had no effect out wide he now plays him in the 10 role and pushes Ozil out wide. As you say, square pegs in round holes, he’s made a career of it. Thank goodness we won’t be seeing anymore.
Phil and Kenny, with all due respect to the finishing of Welbeck and the other Arsenal strikes on goal by Lacazette etc, we have to pay tribute to Jan Oblak for “playing out of his skin”.
Also we should give credit to the discipline of the Atletico defense; shows what good coaching delivers.
I am very disappointed in the result, particularly the abysmal defending again, but it is good that matches are played on the pitch, not websites.
All Arsenal fans should stay positive, but also realistic; it will difficult at Atletico, but not impossible.
OG – that was a masterclass in defending from AM.I have on another topic said this. I ask said how well we played but again just one mistake hurts us.But the performance suggests we can get at them in Madrid but it will be a completely different AM next Thursday
Cost us what? You think that 1-0 would have been a perfect result? My friend wait till the end of the match on Thursday. It’s still 50-50. Cheer up the boys. Not time for castigation.
Mustafi and Kos OR Laurel and Hardy?
Athletic Madrid is praised for playing with ten men for 80 mnt’s but we at Arsenal always play with 9 man every game, there are always two or three players are there in body but not in soul
if the board don,t see that we need to change our CD’s add a WC DM, WC GP then they will see the red in Emirates YES they will see the empty red seats in the stadium and no new generation of supporters, this has happened because years of decline in spending thinking we will hold top four make money from the CL without spending, well they were wrong and just about everyone in the footballing world told them and no one listened, AW said Arsenal has great respect and fans overseas FOR HOW LONG AW before they forget the Invincible who we have been hiding behind for the past 14 years, its time for the war chest to come out 200m bare minimum is needed if we are to replace Aaron JW and Cozola we would need more
i’m usually polite towards other Arsenal supporters but for god sake AKB how blind are to reality and you should all take blame for the decline in our great club because of your clinging on to the past and not seeing whats happening in front of your noses, AW and Bould should of parted company at latest four years ago, NO PRESSURE NO CHANGE the board has to be answerable to supporters or be under immense attack by us specially the supporters in UK, there we can truly express our disappointment by empty seats and protests, like i have always said the owners are only custodians of our great club and nothing more and if they make a few bucks from the success then be it
Great article and REALISTIC to it’s core! The match sums up entirely Wenger’s dreadful legacy left behind; cross field passing back and forth around the Madrid defence but never looking really dangerous, even against ten men.Yes we missed some chances but we had no one on ones through the centre with their keeper, BECAUSE, unlike us, they can DEFEND. All Wengers dreadfully shambolic neglect of the defensive side of football was exposed for the world to see in all it’s ghastliness. That the once good but now error strewn Koscielny and the stumbling muppet so called defender Mustafi, should masquerade as two good enough CB’s is no less than a con job pulled on us fans. And the entire reason why we succeeded in forcing the wilfully blind manager out was amply demonstrated. He will get a final and emotional send off at the Burnley game, even from countless thousands – the huge majority, like me, who will feel a tiny tinge of sadness for what once was(a long time since) BUT most of all an almighty relief that the architect of all this total non defence he has inflicted on us for so many recent years , will at last be no more and that a real, PROPER, PROFESSIONAL MANAGER will, at long last be installed, who can begin the huge transformation that Wengers wilful neglect has forced upon him. The irony was that much of our play was entertaining up to their penalty box but ultimately was ineffective. As a realist I know we have not a cat in hells chance in the second leg. I will get shot down now, doubtless for speaking my opinion, which the one eyed ones will take as a personal insult and so they will call me all the names under the sun. Well, try calling me the one that fits; a REALIST! It is only by being in future, totally honest and realistic with ourselves and our club , that we can prevent another debacle like the last decade.
I blame the referee partly for our draw yesterday, after the sending off he basically was on Madrid beck and call. Any slight touch from our players will fall the opposition players and they used it to slow the tempo which the referee allowed all through the night, but he paid no heed to us when they fouled us, and that’s what resulted to the goal we conceded. Welbeck was fouled the referee turned his back to it, next thing they play the long ball. Am not in any way defending koscinely for not standing and clearing the ball but the referee attitude after sending off the Madrid player robbed us some good 3 points
One thing was actually sure after the red card Madrid were going to defend all night, and we were up against the best defence in Europe. They lads did there best yesterday we fans shouldn’t bring back the negativity(what some call having an opinion) we should back them up next week, who knows lady luck will smile on us.. #COYG
@Ray you honestly believe Monreal has dipped this season? That man has been our best defender this season, don’t start saying this that ain’t true cause of a draw.
?
Can’t agree more.But doesn’t that say it all about our defence?
@Aeontisty
Okay, I maybe over doing it with “dipped” but he was playing griezmann onside last night for the goal. His stats may well prove he has not been the same this season as in the past in some of his tackling or crossing. I do except he has scored some good goals this season though 🙂
Also, don’t get me wrong. I like Monreal and he has been a fantastic servant for the club!!
Sell mustafi….
Slip for no reason….
Its comical action…
Mustafi obviously needs longer studs, as he falls over too often!
@Rays cheers mate.. Let’s all believe we can do it.. As a wise man once said “if you don’t believe, then you have no chance at all”
1 quick away goal at the start of the game and it is game on.
1 away goal will match them and if they need to score then we should find more spaces for a 2nd.
On a plus side, how nice was it to see Santi have a kick about!
I have missed that little magician, hope to see him return to football.
Honestly, 1-0 and 1-1 same for arsenal.
We need a perfect game next Thursday either way. I think 2-2 it’s possible , lets go gunners!!
Look Tat, I hope some hopeless Arsenal fans will reason like you.
Konstantin pens yet another load of whining rubbish. Yes we drew the game 1-1, it’s half time, get over it. We didn’t win due to poor finishing and one defensive mistake by Kos but have every chance to get through at their place. Stop the constant whining and support the team.
Pass
Arsenal pass pass pass re-pass and pass side pass pass pass and pass again then pass then lose the ball