Arsenal Banter Archive December 16 2018

16 Dec 2018 23:04:30
Kept seeing easy 3-1 to us no problems! We had a makeshift back three! Kos out for 8 months yet again playing when not 100 per cent match fit and not surprising he was not at his best, Lich who is a reserve for us and Xhaka who most people on here think can’t tie his own shoelaces! Southampton away is horrible and added to that Hector got injured and Monreal only just come back! Our back five were right up against it and square pegs in round holes . I am 100 percent behind Emery it was a bad day and no wonder we let in three headers! If I’m honest I would have bitten your hand arm and head off for a 22 game run and a few points off top four as well as whacking them lot 4-2 . And be thankful it’s not Moanio in charge bitching about injuries but still able to put £60-£70 mill worth of centre back in today . Bring on the Spuds with possibly mustafi Sokratis and Kos at the back . No knee jerking here . It was a gamble today playing 3 at the back that failed! Move on and up COYG.

16 Dec 2018 23:45:58
Sussex mate Dick got it wrong today which makes him fallible which makes him human, phew :-)
If Emery were to repeat today's mistake of playing a formation regardless of who he doesn't have available week after week month after month year after year then I would be gutted but today was the first time we have lost a should win game this season and that's simply the way it goes sometimes.
For every against the odds great success there has to be a bad day at the office for the pre match favourites, that's life and that's football, like you say accept and move on.

17 Dec 2018 06:31:55
It’s so easy for some to get carried away when you go unbeaten, but there’s Liverpool unbeaten and there’s us unbeaten.

We are not nearly a finished article and the run, under the circumstances, had been amazing if not really the real deal.

This game had defeat written all over it to me and that’s exactly what happened. They were inspired and our line up was the opposite and how Iwobi makes the starting 11 is still a complete mystery to me, how a player that lazy fits Emery’s supposed pressing game makes it even more of a mystery.

My personal jury is still out, I’m not being duped into believing anything until I see genuine results. The January window will be another marker as will our response to this and Burnley will be a good test.

17 Dec 2018 08:35:21
It's still early days but so far it's an excellent start even if not quite a perfect start under Dick.
No matter what happens in the future The man deserves a statue simply for breaking up and driving out the cosy club culture that was slowly but surely strangling the life out of the club.
We might not be the best and we might not always get it right but we are completely unrecognisable as a club on and off the pitch from the one that was driving fans away by the thousands and was allowing pundits to use the same old scripts year after year to rip us and our lack of passion apart season after season.
Personally I will be highly disappointed if Dick isn't on the new years honours list given that the Queen herself and Harry are both Gooners I think the least they could do is knight Dick in return for what he's already done for Arsenal football club.
Arise Sir Dick sounds good to me:-)

17 Dec 2018 12:21:34
I found it a bit wierd we didn’t play Ramsey or Özil who are better at holding the ball at their half. We were set as a counter attacking team. With guendozie and Torreira as deep lying midfielders and Iwobi and Mikhi as inward forwards. I would rather have Özil or Ramsey behind lacazette and Aubameyang as the top three. it seems to work better against teams that sits deeper.

17 Dec 2018 18:32:43
I have to say, the confidence Dick has in xhaka as a left back, let alone a left sided center back is totally baffling too me. He couldn't tackle a sun crossword let alone tackle a player, for the last goal, his effort to stop the cross was a joke. What on earth does he or anyone see in the waste of space.

17 Dec 2018 20:29:39
If the Xhaka situation isn't sorted one way or the other by the time next season starts I will be very disappointed, either he will have proven himself to the vast majority of fans or he should be gone.
Obviously for some fans the dye is cast regarding Xhaka and nothing he does will be good enough and equally for other fans at the opposite end of the scale his 2 pretty good games he's had in an Arsenal shirt are enough for them to want a Xhaka statue:-) It's the other 80% who aren't at all convinced by him after 2 and half years that Xhaka has to convince and Dick has to justify his inclusion in our 2019/ 20 squad to.

16 Dec 2018 15:34:50
Oh well it had to happen some time, the results is done and dusted, the run has come to an end as it was always going to have to at some point.
Now for our response?

We beat Spurs and they responded with 3 wins and a draw at Barcelona
Chelsea lost their unbeaten run but responded by ending City's unbeaten run.
Top 4 won't be decided by one off bad days at the office but by who responds by picking themselves up afterwards and who has the mentality to simply go again.

16 Dec 2018 15:55:26
You are right G62 it did have to come to an end. It is a pity it did in this manner. Out fought and losing 3 goals to a team who have struggled to score goals this season. Our inability to get ahead in games like this and our overall goals against record is a big concern. I think we have enjoyed our share of fortune so far this season and today it didn’t fall our way. I also think we are approaching a point where, despite Emery’s massive improvement in our competiveness and stamina, our lack of quality in key areas still remains. Defensively, not just today, we are not tight enough. Creatively I hope there is a plan in mind because without a Ramsay or Ozil we are without that creative link between midfield and our excellent strike force.
Frustrating day. But onwards we go and next couple of transfer windows are going to be very interesting.

16 Dec 2018 16:16:19
True but I was never happy with the lack of CB options - it cost us today.

16 Dec 2018 16:43:32
we were poor again at the back kos had a shocker you have to think mustafi or pap would have been tighter to ingsfo both goals the young french kid in midfield was poor and xhaka in defence was wasted we missed him in the middle.

16 Dec 2018 17:14:35
Dreadful poor rubbish defending, the good thing is Emery knows where we are weak.

16 Dec 2018 17:55:51
Yanman - that what happens when you run out of CBs, you play kids or people out of position which then weakens two areas on the pitch. Disappointing but to be fair, results have papered over some big cracks in defence. Lots of work to get done, didn’t think Emery did enough in the Summer plus silly not having CB cover but need to give him time. Hopefully he addresss soon as I don’t want 3 transition seasons.

16 Dec 2018 18:31:36
We have been fortunate on many occasions throughout our unbeaten run but equally we've worked really hard to get results and give ourselves the best possible chance of getting something in every game.
We all know we need to improve the quality of our squad but with what we have it's 9.5/ 10 for us so far points wise this season, yes we could have more points but given the unbelievable consistency of all of the top 5 this season were doing brilliantly to just stay involved given its our new managers first half season and the squad mentality he inherited.

16 Dec 2018 19:52:10
Today was down to suspensions injuries, bad goalkeeping and for once, unusually bad tactics. Another 22 game unbeaten run would be nice.