Another Sunday, another crunch game for The Arsenal. In fact, this will probably be the shortest preview I ever write as any Gooners not aware of our current situation really need to be paying more attention. Straight to the game then, and we welcome, in the widest sense of the word, Burnley to The Arsenal for a game that must be won if we are to bring at least temporary relief from the endless analyses of why oh why has our team gone wrong. My own opinion on that particular conundrum is reflected in the title of this piece, as despite the bewildering array of possible formations, tactics, strategies, knick-knacks and whatnots I believe football remains a simple game and Billy Ockham and his razor are remembered for good reason. To quote Mikel Arteta:
“at the end of the day we haven’t scored enough goals and without doing that, we cannot win enough football matches. It is as simple as that”.
To summarize my own thoughts: I don’t care how or who lads, just get it done. I realize others may have more thoughtful and equally valid views on the issues that beset us currently but that is my own. Forward we go then for a quick dismissal of the opposition.
Burnley
We could hardly pick better opponents for this game. They have won 1 game in 10 this season, sit 18th in the table and have only scored 5 goals all season. They have a few players out, much like us, but in truth whoever starts won’t change how Burnley play. No doubt they will try hard, defend stoutly, foul in rotation and generally cheat whilst portraying themselves as old school salt of the earth-type honest fellows much like their manager, the absurd Dyche. We know they are nothing of the sort and we must help them on their way out of the PL with the sort of drubbing their hypocrisy, an only child of mendacity and mediocrity, so richly deserves. Harsh some may feel (actually I pulled my punches, you know, think of the kids), but I did say the welcome was in the widest sense of the word.
The Arsenal XI
As you may suspect by now I mostly don’t care which XI Mikel starts given the current situation. If our forwards regain their confidence in front of goal it won’t matter and if they don’t it will be another grim afternoon. I say mostly because, personally, I would certainly keep faith with Auba and Gabriel plus Leno, who now has no serious competitor for his place, but I don’t believe any of the other regular starters could complain if they were dropped after the recent run of weekend results. Of course from a wider perspective I hope MA will continue to develop our youngsters and transition to a more attacking style but this particular game is all about the short-term requirements of simply winning a home game. For what it’s worth, I expect a similar XI to last week’s game. There is an argument to be made for going with three centre-backs to counter Burnley’s set piece threat (except it’s five goals all season folks) but I hope Mikel will continue with a back four and the extra attacking threat it is rumoured to provide. Thomas’s unfortunate thigh will be an enforced change leaving us with the XI below:
Leno
Bellerin, Holding, Gabriel, Tierney
Xhaka, Ceballos
Willian, Lacazette, Saka
Aubameyang
Is it the XI I would pick? No it isn’t. I have varying degrees of sympathy with those who believe AMN, Elneny, Joe W, Eddie, ESR, Cedric or even Mustafi should start, I just don’t think MA will go that way. Joe W or Eddie are perhaps the most likely changes or possibly some tinkering with the CB partnership, anyway we will see as Mikel may surprise us yet.
The Holic Pound
Whilst this preview contains little of the cheerful, very well-thought out optimism that is so resonant with this fine establishment, I simply cannot bring myself to predict anything other than a heartening win for The Arsenal. 4-0 seems well priced to me at 25s, and I look forward to seeing Mr Aubameyang, at a simply ludicrous 10/3, back on the score-sheet.
I hope those lucky enough to be going will enjoy a fine afternoon’s entertainment – and will support the team with their usual enthusiasm, especially during what may be a tense first 15 minutes – and that their, and our, day will culminate in the sweet joy of victory.Good luck to us all and COYGS!!!
For some inexplicable reason, I have a feeling that we’re going to make Dyche feel very unhappy tomorrow. Possibly angry enough that his face matches the colour of his beard.
Thanks for the preview.
Thanks, Matt !
Honest, concise and not unreasonably miserable ! 😆
I would love to see some of our fringe, younger players let loose in this one and that should not be an unreasonable thing to do for the mighty Arsenal against a struggling Burnley. It is, however, fast becoming a triumph of hope over expectation and I suspect your selection is painfully close to the one we will see.
I must add Tierney to your list of automatic starters – his effort and commitment has never wavered.
And thanks too to TTG for the Dundalk report. I had to miss the second half on Thursday and a chance to read it earlier.
Great preview OM and you have summed it up very well. We have three games coming up which we can win and I am hoping for at least seven points from them . We have played three good sides on Sunday evenings and are playing another good one in Southampton next week but if we don’t win tomorrow we are in more trouble than I thought .
Some people are intimidated by Sean Dyche but not yours truly . I’ve abused him to his face albeit from seventy yards away !
I’m getting to hate Sunday evenings , I’d rather watch Poldark or Dancing on Ice than our recent efforts but hopefully a lusty two thousand Gooners will inspire us to a fine victory? 2-0? My suggestions on the side I’d like to see I have given yesterday . As for the Holic Pound do they have a price for how many foul throws Hector commits ?
TTG, how about 2,000 lusty Gooners dancing on ice ?
That sounds like a watch to me 😏
Punchy and to the point, OM. Well done.
A 4-0 win would be a rare treat. We’ve beaten Burnley by that score only once since the Woolwich days, in 1954.
Last time we lost at home to Burnley was in 1974-75, during that awful early run of ten league games without a win in the dog days of Bertie Mee. We ended the season 16th.
A fine preview Matt and I think you’ve hit the nail firmly on the head both with our imperatives and MA’s likely starting eleven.
That’s an extremely chilling historical note, Ned @5!
Headline sums it up for me, Matt. Nice job.
Excellent preview Matt.
COYG
Wouldn’t mind if we booted a couple of balls into Burnley bellies either, but the net would be preferable.
Cheers Matt.
I hope Luiz is passed fit in the morning. Not only is he one of the few leaders we have but he is also one our only creative players. I would rather play with 10 than play Xhaka.
This is genuinely a must win game for us. We also need a performance. If we were to do the unthinkable and lose then I fear for Arteta. I hope that isn’t the case.
I can’t see 4-0. I can’t see anything 0? I just don’t see us keeping a clean sheet. I will go for a 4-1 and hope that the tide is turning.
Up the Gunners.
4-1 home wins against Burnley are an even rarer treat than 4-0s. There has been just one, August 1927.
Ned,
I think I was at that game that we lost and I think it was excruciating. I remember Noble scored . I remember some diabolical Arsenal v Burnley games . One just before Christmas around that time was 1-0 to us and I think Raddy scored in injury time . I also remember a terrible game in the first double season , when we were going for the title. We won that 1-0 too with Charlie getting a penalty . In fact racking my memory I can’t think of a good Arsenal v Burnley game although I remember Arshavin pulverising them a few seasons ago and getting a wonderful goal from the touchline .
Only time I’ve seen us play them was at Burnley. Bloody terrible ground to get away from. A visit to the Bronte’s home was some compensation though. Scoreline was also 1-0 in our favour.
What’s missing in our team at the moment. ??
Spontaneity and unpredictability spring to mind, something that seems to have gone missing under the strict rigidity of Arteta’s methodology.
We need a midfield player who doesn’t take a backward step, is always looking to play the ball forward, not backwards and sideways, constantly pops up allover the pitch, gets right up the oppositions nose, argues with the Ref, the Linesman, could start a riot in a telephone box, but all of the above is because has has an unquenchable thirst for winning.
A player who quickly became the apple of Unai’s eye when he was in charge, who was one of the first names on the team sheet, and who suited the chaotic unstructured way the team played.
Along comes a new manager with a strict ethos about how he wants things done at the Club, and suddenly the young midfielder who had put a smile on supporters faces with his non stop energy , was suddenly put in a straight jacket, no more roaming all over the pitch upsetting the opposition and no longer sadly for him, one of the first or even last names on the team sheet.
Naturally he railed against the strangling of his natural talent, and the spontaneity and unpredictability of his game being snuffed out.
Of course, being young and impetuous, he spoke his mind and was quickly punished for his insubordination, but again what are the young ?? well nothing if not stubborn, so heels are dug in, and with an intransigent new manager who was equally stubborn,
sadly no middle ground was ever likely to be reached, and so it proved.
I look at our midfield today and see nothing that excites me, that has me on the edge of my seat and the opposition constantly in 2 minds as to what will happen next, as we move the ball around the pitch with a swiftness that defies the eye.
So said young midfielder now plies his trade in the middle reaches of the Bundesliga, wondering where it all went wrong, and i muse sadly about what might have been.
With a bit of judicial parenting, some give and take, a feisty heart on his sleeve young man might have been allowed some freedom on the pitch to use his undoubted ability which we sorely need now, as we wallow uninspiringly in the lower reaches of the League.
Clive@14: Do we know the real story of why Guendouzi and Arteta fell out irreconcilable? AMN managed to work his way back from the naughty step into the manager’s good graces.
Clive,
I feel your pain and see your point but I’ve been told Guendouzi is a very difficult lad indeed , very insubordinate and someone who isn’t very into the values of Arsenal. Now granted this doesn’t mean he can’t be handled but it was telling that no one of any significance came in for him when he was on loan because his reputation is so negative .I thought Guendouzi was one of the few who cared at Brighton last season and said so in my match report at the time. But Arteta was incandescent with him on that day . It will be interesting to see how he does at Hertha and whether there is a road back with us. I personally doubt it which is a pity because he is definitely a talent .
Ned,
They fell out on a training camp in Dubai I think . He disrespected Arteta in front of the group
TTG,
I have some vague memory of a
4 all draw with Burnley in the 70s
but my memory may be playing
tricks on me
Ned
No idea mate, other than as TTG has alluded to, there was a falling out in Dubai, but i suspect that was the beginnings of him realizing that things were clearly changing in methods and structure of how the team was going to play under Arteta, and he could feel the cold winds blowing in from the Sahara.
I suspect training went from being a bit ad hoc and free spirited amongst the playing group, to a clearly more strict formulaic hard working model, that he just couldn’t cop.
TTG
Given Unai’s intransigence re Ozil, i find it hard to believe that he would have had Guen in the first team regularly if he was so difficult a character, because it would have been disruptive to team harmony.
OM
Can’t remember that but Ned may have details .
I recall of course that Arsene’s last match at our place saw us beat them 5-0 .
Sad news that Jennifer Beattie of the ladies team has been diagnosed with breast cancer .
The best wishes of the Goonerverse go out to her
Thanks all, to be honest I did
give a moments thought to
stopping at the headline.
Like Steve T I would probably
start Luiz though he’s a risk
with 2 CBs and on the right.
Trev,
I wouldn’t question KT’s effort,
commitment or ability but I
felt it was a bad mistake for
Wolves first goal. He was closest
to not deserving it😃
Excellent preview Matt! I guess you hit the team spot on but I would have liked to see Reiss and Elneny start in place of Willian and Xhaka.
I also like the optimism in the predicted shoreline. With a few fans back in the stadium and encouraging the players maybe we can find some creativity and verve in our game.
“predicted shoreline” Dr F?
You think we’ll coast home?
😉
Thanks OM for an excellent preview. I think your expected team is pretty close as to whom will grace the pristine turf at the NHOF this evening. Arteta has shown himself to be rather conservative by nature when it comes to team selections for EPL matches and is unlikely to pitch the “boys” against a physical team such as Burnley.
With our paucity of goals at the moment my I can’t see us scoring more than 2 and we rarely keep a clean sheet, so 2-1 win is my favoured scoreline.
COYR
Wave after wave of attacks on Dr F’s predicted shoreline. The only way to hold them back could be to stick a finger in the Dyche – but that’s another story, thank god 😏
The 2,000 Gooners will have a whale of a time.
The good news is Martinelli is back in full training with no after effects of his game in the week.
The very bad news is that Thomas Partey’s recurring thigh strain is not so good. He is “unavailable for forthcoming matches” and is “working hard with the medical team to be back in training as soon as possible”. Translated as, injured, not training, no return date as yet. Great.
Luiz to be assessed before today’s game.
Trev,
It would seem a very thing to do to play him last week but perhaps the injury was unrelated to the original one. As it’s a similar injury in the same leg my sense as a layman is that they got it wrong last week. For a man who was scarcely injured in Madrid it hasn’t started well
If we are keen on getting old rejects from Chelski can we buy this guy again?
Speaking of old boys, as I write one Theo Walcott is sitting third in the table with Southampton.
TTG, the club website says Partey’s injury is in “the same area”. Ok, he might have big thighs but that sounds like a recurrence to me.
Heh. Matt and Trev, making puns about the Doc’s typo.
I sea what you did there.
Nice preview Matt. Nailed it completely.
@32, shore you did 😏
OM@18: No record of a 4-4 with Burnley that I can find, but there was a 3-3 at Turf Moor in March 1975.
Clive & TTG: Thanks for your comments on Guendouzi. I am sure you are both right directionally but there is clearly a lot that went on that we do not know. AMN was involved in that bust-up in Dubai, as I understand it. He not only came back to the fold but went on to be an England international. The glass-half full view would be that it is better that Guendouzi ships out than stays and self-destructs with the collateral damage that might cause. The young man might be well advised to examine the career of Mario Balotelli as a case study in wasted talent.
Dr F: Tough crowd, Trev, OM and GSD. This site is a beach.
that 3-3 must be it Ned, thanks.
It was 45 years ago is my excuse
of course👨🦳
Anyway enough of the puns,
today’s the day to turn the tide
on our season
OM
In the late sixties we played Burnley three times in a row . The first two were at Turf Moor and the first game was a League Cup tie which we drew 3-3 in a feisty game . The second game in the League saw two of our team sent off ( I think Radford and Mclintock ) and we lost 1-0 . The League Cup replay was played in a heated atmosphere and we won and went on to the Final . I had forgotten those games until I started thinking about games outside the League matches.
ATG
I’d to see Santi back coaching but I’m not sure of the Chelsea connection?
The ladies let it slip in the last minute of injury time at Man City losing 2-1. They won’t be champions this season .
Cheers Matt! Come on you Arsenal!
Leno, Bellerin, Holding, Gabriel, Tierney, Xhaka, Elneny, Saka, Willian, Lacazette, Aubameyang
Subs: Runarsson, Ceballos, Maitland-Niles, Mustafi, Willock, Nketiah, Smith Rowe
Not happy with that selection. At all. If that dont win Arteta starts to plough a lonely furrow fir me.
Really hope I’m wrong by the way and we’re celebrating a 5-0 later.
No surprises, or adventure, in the starting XI.
Nelson still crocked?
On the face of it, it’s an uninspiring team and it looks like we are playing three at the back. Willian , Xhaka and Bellerin . Rinse and repeat ? Let’s hooe not
Ned
Yes
The fragile Reiss is out injured again but I don’t he would start ahead of Willian.
In @48 my three players that I picked out are NOT the three at the back. At least I hope not!
Those three are the ones that particularly worry me
Very disappointing team selection.
How many chances do the Three Mistakeers get ?
We will be in danger of losing some potentially excellent home grown players if they never get to play.
Hope they all come good today 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻
matt, nicely done with the preview and in reading arteta’s mind.
we’d better win this. if we don’t, that lineup should never be tried again.
What Esso said at 45.
Lose this and he should really lose his job. Take away all thinking about the future because we’re in a relegation scrap is we lose this and he ain’t the man for that fight.
Just saw a fan picture on MSNBC that looked a lot like BtM. Probably wasn’t though.
Agree with almost everything in your fine preview except for the 4-0 score. We can’t seem to be able to buy a goal in the league and to believe that we will belt four goals against a, most likely, defensive Burnley, does appear to be overly optimistic. A 2-0 is my prediction.
The energy and belief with which even lowly Fulham played against Liverpool is in stark contrast to our slow, lack lustre football and I can see why we are where we are. We have a lot to catch up and I don’t see us doing it without some addition to the squad and without integrating our youngsters in and giving them adequate chances Going in with Willian and Xhaka week after week won’t get the job done. Today we have to win and hope Auba gets a goal.
Team selection doesn’t give me much hope same old, Nelson not even on the bench!
Elneny for Partey the one change from the Totts game.
KSN,
I would rather have Ceballos in there in partnership with Elneny, at least that would give us better attacking options.
Hi guys, any good streams out there for the game?. Thank you
Come on Arsenal!
moran, there are some interesting flowing bodies of water on footybite…
@ ATG. Nelson not fit. Apparently.
Yes I’ll try footybite, thank you
ATG @59
Agree as we don’t need two defensive midfielders against Burnley. So, Ceballos would be a better fit.
I am afraid that Groundhog Day selections are likely to deliver GD perdormances and GD results. Placing your faith in serial underperformers is a big gamble. If we don’t win this MA8 is on a slippery slope. I wish him all the luck in the world.
COYG
Willian is so marginalised in that position. He always get squeezed on the touchline and scarcely gets in the game
Got away with it
What a chance for Burnley. Our defensive ineptitude continues. Living dangerously here.
First counter attack and they almost score. Shit defending as usual by us.
Awful mistake between Gabriel and Bellerin , should have been punished
we play like we are afraid.
god, hector.
we can’t get it out of the back against burnley? ffs.
What a chance missed by Laca!
great move, even better save.
Giroud would be a perfect player when the ball is being floated into the box. But we only have Laca.
Fucking fouling Burnley. Just what we expected.
If your only attacking ploy is to cross you might as well resign Giroud .
We could cross all day with our forwards and never score
Giroud?
I vote for Fellaini. Cheaper, and can chip in midfield when needed.
we keep putting in crosses because we have, seemingly, no one who can bring the ball through midfield. astonishing.
Its football by numbers going forward. No spontaneity
I wish we’d drop this playing out from the back shit, we’re not good enough to do it nine times out of ten and when all it does is drag the two central midfielders into or onto the edge of, their own box, as it has been doing in this game, where’s the link play to the forwards coming from?
Tactics? We got none.
laca needs to run into different spaces from auba there. gave saka no choice but to cross.
Game is crying out for ESR with his clever movement
If this goes on and Mikel keeps on picking Willian and insists on random crosses he should get fired. Sorry.
laca clearly not the answer as #10.
Effort sumps us our league position
The most unimaginative footballing Arsenal in the last twenty five years.
ttg@85, *anyone* with clever movement. do we have anyone other than esr?
get xhaka willian hector out and put in dani, cedric, and esr. more pace, hopefully more guile, certainly more running.
Possibly the best cure for insomnia around
lol steve; i could have used it at 1am.
A very pedestrian half from Arsenal. Less handbrake, more ball and chain. Practically no passes into space for a runner so it’s balls to feet between statues, back and forward and back. Dead slow and stop. Laca unlucky with his shot but if he could have placed it to the far side of the keeper, he would have scored. We are bloody lucky that Woods’ radar was off.
I dread to think what it will be like if we lose this. It’ll be dire if we don’t win it. Burnley are extremely poor but we are almost as bad.
We can only now appreciate how spoilt we were during the Bergkamp, Henry, Fabregas period under Wenger. Now we are an ineffective Burnley. The match looks like Burnley A vs Burnley B.
Arteta’s Arsenal is not creative and is sooo predictable especially on the right. Cynic is spot on about the time taken to play out from the back and the way this draws back the midfield who need to be creating ( not that these two can necessarily do this !)
this is why i say take a chance with the kids. they could hardly do worse.
leicester slamming brighton.
Saka and Tierney are at least trying to be creative and add drive and movement. On the right Hector and Willian have been abysmal. Willian has clocked so many minutes for us already and don’t remember him ever beating defenders to get in the penalty box or provide a cut-back or actually press meaningfully. Absolutely disgraceful for our most experienced PL forward.
I suggest we take a leaf out of Rangers’ strategy book circa 1978 and play Holding as CF in the Derek Johnstone target man role. He’s bound to get on the end of one of the 44 crosses we will loft into the Burnley box in the second half – no-one else will.
bang.
I’m so bored. It’s all do lacklustre and boring.
The playing out from the back bollocks is so over used. It just let me awful.
For those who lost out in the ballot, well done.
lol, baff.
agreed, faustus. our right side is atrocious up front.
COYG
FFS
🤬
Keep me posted people. I’m off to paint a wall and then watch it dry.
better. nice ball off the bounce by kt3.
auba header. that’s two in a row straight to the keeper.
great break and snap shot by saka. straight at the keeper.
more and more pressure, at least.
stupid stupid stupid.
Xhaka stupid as ever , How does he get picked . He should never play for us again
Xhaka is stupid!
Xhaka might get sent off
fucking xhaka will be sent off for 2nd yellow if not straight red.
That’s it. Mikel, you deserve this. You are choosing the wrong players.
Many incidents are ignored by VAR but when it is. arsenal they make sure we get punished.
Fucking muppet that’s on Arteta for playing such an incompetent player.
straight red. eases the pressure to choose him for three games, at least.
bring on the runners, mikel.
Is there a player genuinely more thick than Granit Xhaka??
A player depriving a village of its idiot.
Genuinely lost for words.
People on here may think I’ve got a grudge against Xhaka but the man is frankly awful – as a player and a character . Xhaka for Eriksen ? Like a shot
We are so easy to provoke, Pepe last and Xhaka now. Players from other teams are so clever and we have all the simpleton in our team.
I have had enough of Artera’s conservative, frightened, safe approach.
dani for laca. now get esr or willock for willian.
Arsenal insults the fans by expecting us to watch Xhaka give us this shit.
simpletons
and it broke what was our best period, three or four shots, we had them under pressure. dire stupidity by xhaka.
fans sitting there, just shaking their heads, astonished.
auba offside, but pope with a strong hand.
burnley playing for foul after foul. ref doing well not to give them.
Bellerin was late silly
then hector gives them. where’s cedric?
oh, look, hector suspended next game, too many yellows thus far.
so that’s two down. what will willian do? injured in training, i bet.
What is Elneny doing?
now mo gonna be sent off, and a penalty. a farce, this.
It was coming
Elneny now taking over from Xhaka and they have also scored.
I’m fucking lost for words
oh, a goal for burnley. shocking.
Bellerin and Xhaka out on Wednesday . What will we do!
Elneny …..What luck . Was it not a pen ?
And we are in huge shit now . Arteta is under massive pressure . We could be down to 9
an own goal at that: yikes.
Auba own goal well he did score one but in wrong end
Auba trying to get his scoring form back!
how bad do we have to show we are before things change?
Absolutely disgraceful
paint dry yet, steve?
Shambles all around
We are in relegation form.
This is genuinely embarrassing
Those playing can count themselves lucky that it isn’t a full house.
It is painful watching Burnley boss us over and the commentators are enjoying it.
1974 was the last tine we lost to this lot shocking 🤯
Relegation is something we have to contend with now .
We aren’t good enough to beat anybody in this league at the moment. Southampton are a very good side and will pummel this team on Wednesday . The owners will then have to take a decision on Arteta . I hate Sunday night football
“I look forward to seeing Mr Aubameyang, at a simply ludicrous 10/3, back on the score-sheet. ”
Good shout.
And from a header nonetheless.
and off with willian. 80 minutes late.
Told you we should have stuck with Emery 😉
Seriously though, all Arteta’s got on his side is talk. He talks a good game but tactically he’s a child. Cross. cross. cross, tippy tap from the back, no discipline. But he will say all the right things.
If we get a draw out of this it will be like winning the lottery.
We are embarrassingly poor. We are not a good passing team, we are not strong and fast, we don’t have creativity and guile and it is difficult to see how we have 13 points on the table.
Max Allegri, the man we should have got before Wenger signed his extension what feels like a lifetime ago, is still available.
But would he want it?
even with 10, when we play quickly, we look good. better than burnley. but we play so sloooooow.
Auba lost that extra sharpness and pace.
so close. we just can’t finish.
man with a mask over his eyes to keep from being infected by this.
Desperate times. And Mikel now needs to take chances with young players.
one last corner.
Looks like Arteta’s time is coming to an end though his players are to blame just as much. Xhaka, Mustafi, Elneny, Bellerin can be moved on and may be even Laca. We have given Willian a three year contract and even Auba looks a spent force. I don’t know how many players we will need but it will at least be six new decent players all over the pitch and we have no money. Time Kroenke decides to sell off Arsenal while he will still get good money and maybe that Nigerian billionaire will buy it off him.
poor, so poor. time to shake it up. mikel you’ve got through the first of the year.
Mikel, this is not acceptable. No excuses.
MA will say again after the game we dominatwd and created chances and should have won this game.
We did create few and should have taken them but other than that we are where we belong.
Well, that was absolutely diabolical.
Surely that was Xhaka’s last game for the Arsenal?
Select a daft cunt, get daft cuntery.
if we can’t score we can’t win. and we can’t keep a clean sheet. we are where we’ve earned to be.
Absolutely dreadful.
It pains me to say it but I think that’s it for Arteta. The experiment has not worked and we need a change. He looked as clueless at the end as the players did.
Allegri wouldn’t fancy a stint with us as we are but he is a good shout as is Pocchettino but that is a pipe dream . Arteta is too stubborn . We were all saying why play Willian, Xhaka and Bellerin and two came off tonight playing poorly and Xhaka let the club down .
I think we are in a terrible situation, a genuine crisis with a lot of poor characters at the club .
I thought Holding, Gabriel , Tierney and Saka could look themselves in the mirror and Ceballos did much more than Xhaka but we will need strong characters now . We also need a manager they believe in. Not sure we are seeing that
I like Mikel but this is not acceptable. It’s not acceptable he keeps on playing Xhaka and Willian. And fails to bring in more direct players when necessary.
Couldn’t agree more Bath. How hope he never pulls on an Arsenal shirt again.
How lucky was Elneny to stay on the pitch? How was that not a red??
I’m not one for hitting the panic button but enough is enough.
Arteta is to blame totally. Completely out of his depth.
I know that ship has sailed but I would till have Wenger back in a heartbeat. Even his poorest side could play attractive football.
We have now lost four consecutive league games at home for the first time since 1959. Clearly, this situation exposes the incalculable harm done to this club by the so-called ‘Arsene Wenger’.
I can only wonder what could have been, had we ruthlessly hounded him out of the club earlier than we actually did.
Mo was a very lucky boy. Most refs would have given him a red for that.
Scott clearly took pity on Arsenal tonight.
It’s not looking good for Arteta.
I don’t think there is a desire to fire Arteta by the owners/ Vinai not simply because he has three years to run on his contract but because they genuinely believe in him. I think we would have won that game but Xhaka ruined things. But that doesn’t mean it was a good performance and Arteta can’t coach a side to play creatively or incisively. We won our big games last season because Auba was brilliant but we never outplayed sides. I think he will get to Christmas .
Re Cynic’s aside I think Arteta looked as hapless at the end as Emery did when we fired him. I came down hard on Emery but we are in as bad a position now
The whole point of a TD is to have these conversations about team and if any changes needed. Mikel got the “manager” role too early and without proving himself.
Today we didn’t need two holding midfielders. And we needed someone to be more aggressive on the right flank. This faith in Willian is mystifying. We were doing okay on the right wing with Pepe and Reiss towards the end of last season and Willian has us regressed in that side significantly.
We were having our best spell in the game when Xhaka decided to lose his marbles. On top of that the own goal was like when it rains, it pours! Apart from that early mix up between Bellerin and Gabriel, we had done well defensively and they never looked like scoring unless it was from a lucky set piece. In the second half it was all about turning the screw, stay sensible and get that crucial goal. But alas the stupid stupid Xhaka!
I feel for Arteta because twice now his players have done daft things in crucial games and his marquee midfield signing has been crocked immediately after signing. What I don’t have sympathy for is his persisting with Willian and Xhaka game after game when they have consistently under performed. In theory(one which Arteta has espoused since day one) youngsters have to be surrounded with experienced players but not when the experienced players are letting the team down. In a way it’s good that Xhaka has been ruled out for three games and hopefully Pepe walks straight into the team in place of Willian. Let’s just eke out a win somehow. Let’s stop pretending about Europe or anything – let’s focus on being solid and as fans all I can say is let us stay united and back the team and young manager to the fullest in what has quickly become a time of crisis. COYG
Spot on, Desi. Yet I fear we are in for a relegation scrap and having a rookie coach is the very last thing you want in that battle.
Good post desi. Mikel should also learn to be a less control freak and encourage his attackers to take more shots from relatively difficult angles etc. Auba should shoot more to find his groove back … couple of times today he could have tried a curler.
“ I think we would have won that game but Xhaka ruined things.”
Couldn’t disagree more TTG. We upped the tempo in the first period of the second half but the majority was so lacking in skill or urgency. We could carry on playing until this time tomorrow and we still wouldn’t have scored.
Elneny should have been a red. How he got away with that I really don’t know. Arteta being interviewed after just sounded punch drunk. A msn who was totally devoid of all ideas.
Steve
I’m with Desi. I think our pressure would have told and we were playing ok in the second half . The side is mega lacking in confidence and this has particularly affected Aubameyang .
Re the Elneny incident , surely that was a penalty?
The ball wasn’t plated when it happened he could have gotten a red for it…
We will never know what would have happened if Xhaka hadn’t been a fool.
We had started the second half well, had several near things and corners and for the first time Burnley appeared to be rocking. Then Xhaka decided to become a wrestler. He showed a surprising amount of pace in his moves there. Maybe he should switch sports. I certainly think he should switch clubs.
We are in serious trouble now.
TTG – If Arteta is the man for the future I think we have to ask serious questions about whether or not he’s signing the players. If he is, and he really did sanction Cedric, Willian and others, AND if he offered Mustafi a new contract this summer, then I can’t see he has any judgement at all. You already know my opinion of his opinion when it comes to goalkeepers.
If he fancies Cedric enough to give him a four year deal, pick him. Don’t pick Bellerin. Although some may ask, if AMN played out his skin in the two biggest games of our season last season, why is he not being given a chance after not joining Wolves?
There are so many questions about Arteta and on top of those we already know that most of this squad, some of whom have been hanging about since Wenger, are not good enough and are weak characters. We all know it.
Does Arteta?
Faraday @ 173: “You will miss me when I am not at the club.”
You are spot on.
Interesting comments From Evra in the Sky studios about TH14 and his impression of Xhaka.
Honestly, there is chatter of Guendouzi being a hot head and having attitude problems, so we loaned him out and kept Xhaka who to me had always under performed, got loads of reds and threw his shirt off in front of the fans, how he managed to survive this is beyond belief. Whoever is making decisions at this club needs to wake up and smell the coffee!
Interesting comments From Evra in the Sky studios about TH14 and his impression of Xhaka.
Best bit about that was Dave Jones giving it the defensive “Thierry Henry isn’t here” bullshit and Evra going “You can trust me, I’m not a liar”
We haven’t scored a first half PL goal in ages. In a match we absolutely needed to score we started with two holding midfielders paying in each other’s space. Mikel needs to show courage, and rebuild self-belief in attacking players.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>