Arsenal

[Yiggy]

10 minutes ago, Art Vandelay said:

We were alright. Brentford are no pushovers either so not the end of the world. Feel like their goal was a bit dodgy though and probably stands because of an interpretation of the offside rule I’m not willing to understand.

Exactly this. (I’m Brentford btw)

 

We are a really tough team to break down. That was our first goal conceded in 4 games. 

Unfortunately you didn’t create enough big chances I don’t think. Good goal by Troassard mind. 

[wev]

1 minute ago, Yiggy said:

Exactly this. (I’m Brentford btw)

 

We are a really tough team to break down. That was our first goal conceded in 4 games. 

Unfortunately you didn’t create enough big chances I don’t think. Good goal by Troassard mind. 

Oh I was t suggesting Brentford are a pushover or anything like that, more that Arsenal sounded like they were missing something today

[Gotters]

I watched that and we were lucky to get a draw, Brentford created by far the better chances.

 

I don't think we're bottling anything, it's just playing the same 11 every week is good for consistency but they all look bit knackered. We can't manage those surges the last couple of games. Plus the consistency of selection means there aren't many minutes in the legs of the bench who, Trossard aside, don't seem capable of producing much.

 

A CL spot still looking a good shout though with nobody else wanting to claim one. 

[Petrousgyre]

Yeah, there’s a lack of focus these last few games. Lots of stray balls from the usually reliable Partey and Zinchenko. Martinelli is off the boil, I’d say there’s an argument for starting Trossard against City, we looked better after he came on. Most worryingly Odegaard seems to have lost his way a bit. In many respects it’s remarkable how consistent the performances Arteta’s coaxed out of a young team have been for most of the season. Hopefully we can rekindle a bit of that form again soon. 

[Silent Runner]

Not the end of the world and taking 4 points off them over the season is a decent return - sounds like they had the better chances. 3 really tricky matches coming up now, essential not to lost midweek. 

 

 

[Art Vandelay]

We play better when the opposition tries to go toe-to-toe rather than sitting deep, but that’s not unique to us. I have a feeling we’ll look better against City and would be surprised if we didn’t perform like we have in the other big games this season. 
 

The thing is that we’ve not been amazing the last couple of games, but we’ve only conceded a couple of goals and the results could have been different. It’s really not normal for teams to get 50 points at the halfway stage, we drew 12 games when we went unbeaten! City and Liverpool to an extent have totally warped perceptions. We’re doing alright.

[Petrousgyre]

Oh for sure, we’re doing more than alright. Brentford defended really deep and were always a threat on the break, they’re tough to play against.

 

Not ideal form to face City but then they aren’t exactly in sparkling form either. 

[Art Vandelay]

I’m so annoyed about their goal though, there were was literally no way it should have stood. When you look at the mistakes VAR made yesterday across all the games you do wonder if it’s just incompetence or them having a wind up. The Chelsea handball is like an avant garde comedy. The conclusion of it will be Arteta gets a fine of course.

[The Fox]

This is fine.

[Art Vandelay]

There was an offside at every juncture of the move, amazing really. I don’t understand what they were doing for three minutes if they weren’t even drawing their silly lines. That said, they did go to the trouble of doing that in the Brighton match and still made a bosh of it. It’s almost a level of incompetence whereby you can’t believe it’s incompetence, if that makes sense. Like, you’d have to be trying for it to be this bad every week.

 

Mason was on both this and the Old Trafford robbery is all I’d say.

[The Fox]

I dunno if I buy into the anti-Arsenal conspiracy theories tbh - I think you only have to look at other incidents from yesterday’s fixtures to see that a lot of the officials are just incredibly poor at their jobs.

[Gotters]

They said sorry, if we’ve learnt anything in recent years from politics/news then that expunges one of any further recriminations.

 

I don’t buy conspiracy, the standard of officials is clearly shite and this makes a good case for semi-automated VAR on offsides to remove the potential for this sort of thing.

[Art Vandelay]

I don’t think it’s an anti-Arsenal conspiracy, just that I think the PGMOL didn’t like VAR from the get go and seem hell bent on implementing it in the worst way imaginable. It’s mad an organisation exists like this that can’t be questioned and there’s no recourse if they mess up.

[Stagger Lee]

PGMOL is the problem. I don't buy the conspiracy theory either. I think every team gets bad calls at some point. It just feels more personal when it's your team.

 

Brentford are a legitimately good side. I don't think the wheels have come off just yet but we are in a dip which isn't surprising. Completely replicating what we did in the first half of the season in the second half was always unlikely.

 

I am also not buying the 'we've been found out' narrative on twitter. We played two teams that were extremely well organised and physical. With a bit more luck we end up with 4 points from those two games rather than 1.

 

I do think we need Jesus, RN and ESR back though. Need to be able to freshen up and rotate the attack more often in games. Fuck knows how Saka is still playing feels like he's played every single min of every game forever.

[Art Vandelay]

I think Arteta does need to improve his ability to rotate this team a bit. We have good options all over the pitch but we only seem willing to make changes when they're forced through injury, and I'm a bit surprised he didn't get a taste for it after swapping in Tomiyasu for the Liverpool game to great success. That being said, there was one point not long ago where he was absolutely beyond hope when it came to substitutions and that has improved massively this season, so I think it's probably something he'll work at. 

[The Fox]

I'm confused by Tierney not getting a start or even a significant run out in either of those two games. Zinchenko more suited to our next opponents, obviously, but you'd think a more orthodox full back approach getting support to the LW would be worth trying against organised deep/mid blocks that are doubling up on the wingers all the time.

 

 

[Art Vandelay]

Yeah I wondered that. He's great at floating about and swamping a midfield, but there wasn't a battle there to win as they bypassed it completely by launching howitzers up to Toney to great effect. I think you get more out of Martinelli when Tierney is playing too. Changing it about a bit this weekend would have given Pep something to think about for Wednesday too, whereas as it stands I think we'll go avoid any surprises and go in with the same XI. I dunno, maybe Pep knows what Arteta is going to do before he does and it doesn't matter, but it would have been an advantage to be a bit more unpredictable in my opinion.

 

The absolute key is not losing. We've got a decent run coming up now where we could potentially put some big numbers on the board, so you'd rather be doing that with a lead. The hairy handed danger described us as being in crisis after the game and the last thing we need is that narrative. 

[Petrousgyre]

2 hours ago, The Fox said:

I'm confused by Tierney not getting a start or even a significant run out in either of those two games. Zinchenko more suited to our next opponents, obviously, but you'd think a more orthodox full back approach getting support to the LW would be worth trying against organised deep/mid blocks that are doubling up on the wingers all the time.

 

 

So take this with as big a pile of salt as you wish: my dad is a lifelong Celtic supporter, he’s mates with a couple of folk who are quite high up there. Near the start of the season he told me he’d heard that Tierney and Arteta had a row, apparently Tierney had all but been promised Arsenal’s captaincy after Auba was forced out but, at least in part due to Tierneys injury problems, Arteta gave the captaincy to Odegaard instead. This didn’t go down well with Tierney. Not long after Tierney was interviewed on a podcast and talked up his love for Celtic and how he’d love to go back one day which annoyed Arteta further.

 

At the start of this season my Dad was adamant that this was going to affect his position as first team regular. I thought it all nonsense, even though he wasn’t playing much the introduction of Zinchenko and Whites revelatory shift to right back back has meant there’s much more competition for his position - but when Zinchenko got injured and Arteta preferred Tomiyasu I did start to wonder if there was some merit to this purported bust-up. He was all but the first name on the team sheet last season and his fall from grace this season seems a little unusual. 

[Art Vandelay]

I think he might end up as one of those really good players we talk about as having injuries at the worst time and someone came in to unseat them. It happens all the time. I think he's still comfortably played more minutes this season than Zinchenko though, and really if he wants to be at a potential top four team then the reality is you're not going to play every game. The bottom half of the league is full of players who just want to turn out every single week, but they don't win much. 

 

Pity really as he is captain material, but his body hasn't ever seemed capable of delivering 30+ games a season, and that's going back to his Celtic days too where he only did one broadly uninjured 12 months. I love the guy too so it would be a shame if he petered out for us.

[Petrousgyre]

25 minutes ago, Art Vandelay said:

I think he's still comfortably played more minutes this season than Zinchenko though

He’s been injury free this season and managed just 460 minutes in the league this season, nearly all from the bench. Zinchenko’s managed 1088 minutes despite missing 12 games through injury. I agree he shouldn’t be starting every game, ideally every outfield player should get rotated but it’s pretty clear he’s been demoted from 1st choice LB to 2nd if not 3rd choice. 

[Art Vandelay]

Yeah I completely agree. I think across all competitions he's played more – although it might have evened out since I last looked – but no matter how Arteta prepares players they know as well as anyone that league cup and Europa games aren't as prestigious, and if you're getting your minutes there you know where you stand. I guess all I'm saying is there's lots of game time to go around, but he doesn't strike me as someone happy to play the good club man like Holding and fill in when needed. He's not suddenly going to become an in possession left 8 like Arteta wants though, so I don't see where he goes from here.

[Petrousgyre]

To The Foxes point though, I’m not sure we do always want our full backs to come inside to overload midfield - particularly when our opposition are playing as deep as Brentford were. Zinchenko wasn’t much use to us that game, just another midfielder passing the ball in front of their defence. Notable that our goal came from Saka finally getting in behind them and whipping a cross in, that’s the sort of play Tierney excels at. 

[wev]

Agreed, you don't want all your players doing the same job. Sure there needs to be cross over but multiple players in one position who can bring something different gives options. Tierney and Martinelli were/are pretty effective in overlapping each other and it can't be a coincidence that Martinelli has begun to struggle more now the teams play is drifting more and more to the right side of the pitch 

[Stagger Lee]

I'm fine. Didn't wake up this morning after have nightmares about Haaland as a blood thirsty Viking at all.

[Silent Runner]

I know we've waited years for matches like this (biggest match of the Emerites era?) but that doesn't help the nerves. 

[Gotters]

in the same way I had zero expectation at any point this season we may win the league, I have zero expectation of a win tonight.

 

City haven't looked great in recent weeks but this is the point of the season the squad depth and experience will show and they'll stomp us and we won't lead the league again this season. 

[Larsen B]

On the other hand, we kickstart the second half of the season tonight and go unbeaten until May.

[Gotters]

I think they've looked knackered the last couple of games, they haven't been bottling it, problem being that doesn't come back in a week.

 

I'd definitely start Trossard tonight and give Martinelli the chance to impact off the bench. With the thin bench the rest of the starting XI picks itself if fit.

[Gotters]

No Partey tonight, though he's looked off the boil last couple of games (as most of them have).

 

At least in Jorghino we have an experienced big game player to slot in, and aren't going with Sambi (I know we loaned him out, but because we got Jorghino in).

 

[Art Vandelay]

I think we'll really struggle to play on the front foot without him in the team. Jorghino is fine as a shield but the notion of playing a high line with him in the middle makes my vision start to blur and I need to sit down.