Match Reaction: Arsenal 3-1 Leicester Square

[Master Splinter]

Ozil :bow:.

Auba :bow:.

Torreira :bow:.

Bellerin :bow:.

Leno :bow:.

Emery :bow:.

10 in a row :bow:.

Arsenal :bow:.

[SMatthews]

Best start in 5 years.

Still above Spuds even though it’s their best start ever to the Prem.

And Utd in 10th.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Best winning run since 2007. :bow:

Aubameyang. :bow:

Goal machine.

Mesut. :bow:

Destructive and great to see for the first time in an absolute age.

I feel we play no faster on countering at times than we did under Wenger and by that I mean when we did it felt aimless and nobody really knew where they were going. Under Emery when we're attacking forward, everybody seems to know where they should be running and when.

Another tribute to Mourinho's title victories. :bow:

[LDG]

Super

[Gooner23]

Fair play to Emery, great subs at the right time. Lichsteiner was struggling today so moving Xhaka there worked.

Torreira is class and Bellerin has been brilliant this season.

[Marc Overmars]

We might not win anything this year but if these players continue to absorb Emery's ideas and play with this kind of confidence and vigour then we will be on the path to something good.

That third goal was a thing of beauty.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Bellerin and his bizarre accent on Sky now.

Mic completely covering his mouth. :lol:

[Power n Glory]

Emeryball!

[Master Splinter]

xG would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for those meddling Arsenal forwards!

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

10 in a row!!!

Not many would have thought this could happen so soon post AW.... but just proves you shouldn't be afraid of change.

Emery definitely deserves his moment in the limelight and no one should begrudge him or belittle this.

Now back to the match.... great use of subs by the coach.

Mhiki was poor, and so was Ozil till he scored and later proved that class is indeed permanent.

Iwobi and Torreira kept on with their consistency and are the backbones of all things good in this team.

The defence is still a mess but hey you can't have everything.

On to the next one!!

[selassie]

Excellent second half, really excellent. We should have won that by 5 or 6 goals, our offensive play was a joy to behold. We still have issues in this team, Defence is a mess and I’m still unsure about Midfield. The potential is there though, if we continue to recruit wisely then I can genuinely see us developing like Liverpool did under Klopp.

Top 4 will still be difficult this season but at least we are making a good fist of it!

[Xhaka Can’t]

It could have been a lot different.

We never got out of second gear until Leicester forced us into action with their goal. Also, Ndidi hitting the bar.

However, when we got in our stride, Leicester had no answer. The second half was the best I’ve seen from us in recent memory.

[LDG]

All on Arsene Wengers birthday

[selassie]

Ozil was world class second half, his assist for Auba’s second was mental.

[Letters]

People who said “be careful what you wish for”

:haha:


:ninja:

Loved the goals, really enjoying watching the way we play going forward.
When Wengerball was at its balliest I always felt that trophies were the cherry on the top but even without them I was loving the way we were playing. If it’s going to get like that again then there will be a lot of happy Gooners.

Emery :bow:

[topgun]

It could have been a lot different.

We never got out of second gear until Leicester forced us into action with their goal. Also, Ndidi hitting the bar.

However, when we got in our stride, Leicester had no answer. The second half was the best I’ve seen from us in recent memory.

Imagine if we could turn up for the full ninety minutes

[Marc Overmars]

I don’t know what Emery has done to Iwobi but that guy is a different animal now.

I’m so glad we have Torreira, what a bargain! The way he just effortlessly mops up any danger, it takes so much pressure off the centre backs. It’s absolutley essential he stays fit because I do fear losing him is enough to derail the team such is his quality.

[topgun]

We never got out of second gear until Leicester forced us into action with their goal. Also, Ndidi hitting the bar


Holding lucky not to concede a penalty as well.

[Chippy]

We never got out of second gear until Leicester forced us into action with their goal. Also, Ndidi hitting the bar


Holding lucky not to concede a penalty as well.

Holding will be nowhere near this team once Sokratis and Kos are fit. Emery knows we still have issues at the back. But lets just enjoy another win and be happy that we now have a football Manager.

[topgun]

Holding will be nowhere near this team once Sokratis and Kos are fit. Emery knows we still have issues at the back. But lets just enjoy another win and be happy that we now have a football Manager.


:good::cheers:

[GP]

Wenger :doh:

Should of gone 15 years ago.

[Penguin]

Holding lucky not to concede a penalty as well.

I don't know about that. I thought it was a stonewall penalty at first but one of the pundits on NBC explained it at HT - Holding's arms were in a natural position because he was using them to jump, and then Mendy jumped into Holding and pushed his arm onto the ball. It was impossible for Holding to move his arm away and avoid the ball.

Watch the replay again with the ref's view, it wasn't a pen.

[Edinburgh Gooner]

I don't know about that. I thought it was a stonewall penalty at first but one of the pundits on NBC explained it at HT - Holding's arms were in a natural position because he was using them to jump, and then Mendy jumped into Holding and pushed his arm onto the ball. It was impossible for Holding to move his arm away and avoid the ball.

Watch the replay again with the ref's view, it wasn't a pen.

Mark Halsey was on talkshite this afternoon saying a very similar thing about arm movement towards the ball. To me, no pel, for my mate, stonewall.

Always good to see souness choke. What an absolute wanker he is. He tried so hard to give praise but always reverted to belittling the opposition.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Absolutely delighted I went to the game now after only getting a ticket late last week. Gorgeous goals and great to see Mesut run the show. It does seem since he was dropped that he's really knuckled down. Thought he was really trying in the first half too. Great not to see Vardy's rat face wheeling away after scoring and forgot he was playing at times.

Iwobi didn't score tonight but he's fuhking immense. His decision making exceptional at the moment.

And we didn't have to play a 442 minus Mesut to play like we did against Fulham. SHould have been 5-1 / 6-1 too. Thought I'd lost the plot when I saw Xhaka at left back...but it did actually happen and he didn't play too badly there!

[Mac76]

Absolutely delighted I went to the game now after only getting a ticket late last week. Gorgeous goals and great to see Mesut run the show. It does seem since he was dropped that he's really knuckled down. Thought he was really trying in the first half too. Great not to see Vardy's rat face wheeling away after scoring and forgot he was playing at times.

Iwobi didn't score tonight but he's fuhking immense. His decision making exceptional at the moment.

And we didn't have to play a 442 minus Mesut to play like we did against Fulham. SHould have been 5-1 / 6-1 too. Thought I'd lost the plot when I saw Xhaka at left back...but it did actually happen and he didn't play too badly there!

:gp: nice to see Schmeichel let 3 in too :lol:

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

I rate him but they were some proper goals!

[Globalgunner]

On another day Laca could have made it a proper thumping really warming to these fellas now. just need Socrates back to shore up that defence and we are golden

[Xhaka Can’t]

I don't know about that. I thought it was a stonewall penalty at first but one of the pundits on NBC explained it at HT - Holding's arms were in a natural position because he was using them to jump, and then Mendy jumped into Holding and pushed his arm onto the ball. It was impossible for Holding to move his arm away and avoid the ball.

Watch the replay again with the ref's view, it wasn't a pen.

I saw their analysis as well.

How refreshing to have someone who knows their stuff actually objectively analyse football.

[Ralpheroo72]

Sanchez :pal:

[AFC Leveller]

How come Iwobi got MOTM? Ozil shat on everyone out there, no way was he not MOTM.

anyway, great effort in the second half.

[selassie]

Holding will be nowhere near this team once Sokratis and Kos are fit. Emery knows we still have issues at the back. But lets just enjoy another win and be happy that we now have a football Manager.

Yep. To be fair Holding has been doing quite well this season but he was an absolute mess last night and lucky to be on the field. In the long-term I see no real future for him at the club, he is really vulnerable against pace, yesterday wasn't the first time he got the run-around against a pacey attacker.

We need to rebuild Central Defence this summer, we desperately need a top quality mobile young centre back who can partner one of Kos, Mustafi or Sokratis.

[selassie]

I don’t know what Emery has done to Iwobi but that guy is a different animal now.

I’m so glad we have Torreira, what a bargain! The way he just effortlessly mops up any danger, it takes so much pressure off the centre backs. It’s absolutley essential he stays fit because I do fear losing him is enough to derail the team such is his quality.

Yep, Iwobi is a nailed on starter on current form, he has been superb this season, consistent too!

Yep I love Torreira too, really good little player that has massively improved our midfield.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Slightly harsh on Holding I think.... but a top CB is one of the main things I thought we missed in the summer. Having said that, Sokratis has really impressed me.

Holding has played better than Mustafi. Even against Fulham, Adrian Clarke who lest we forget works for the club basically heavily cited Mustafi for the goal we conceded.

[GP]

I like Holding a lot, I think there's a top CB in there.

But yes, if we can get a CB in January we can really kick on. Emery is doing good things with what is still essentially a Wenger squad.

[selassie]

Slightly harsh on Holding I think.... but a top CB is one of the main things I thought we missed in the summer. Having said that, Sokratis has really impressed me.

Holding has played better than Mustafi. Even against Fulham, Adrian Clarke who lest we forget works for the club basically heavily cited Mustafi for the goal we conceded.

Maybe I was a little harsh, but I don't see Holding as a genuine long term option, I don't see Mustafi as one either...I shouldn't have listed him as a potential partner to a new CB.

Sokratis has really impressed me too, he looks a very good signing so far, really solid and surprisingly quite mobile.

[selassie]

I like Holding a lot, I think there's a top CB in there.

But yes, if we can get a CB in January we can really kick on. Emery is doing good things with what is still essentially a Wenger squad.

Aye, I agree. He has the offensive part of our game locked. Just needs to work on improving Midfield and Central Defence through either recruitment and / or tactics.

[Özim]

Great 2nd half yesterday but we got lucky again because Leicester dominated us in the 1st half and should have scored more (a familiar story), not sure we'd get away with it against a better side.

No matter another win, Ozil was brilliant and the forward line works (Torreira is a brilliant signing).

I agree with Selassie, Holding isn't good enough, people were just wishing he would be the answer but in truth he's probably another Jenkinson, a player signed from the lower leagues who isn't really good enough, Mustafi isn't good enough either for that matter.

[SMatthews]

Not sure lucky is the right word. They only had two shots on target.

We need to get more control of games from the start, which will alleviate the pressure and mistakes happening in defence. We started to become slow starters at the tail end of Wenger’s reign, but even then with the same personnel we didn’t feel quite as open as frequently as we have done. Will be interesting to see if Koscienly helps improve things when he’s back.

An LB and a CB are priorities in the next 12 months.

[Marc Overmars]

It's weird because it's not like there's one weak link letting the defence down, the threats seem to come from both wide and central areas. The back four seem like they're in sync but for some reason keep finding themselves high up the pitch early doors. I'm sure it's the system and teething issues with whatever it is Emery has asked them to do.

[Özim]

Not sure lucky is the right word. They only had two shots on target.

We need to get more control of games from the start, which will alleviate the pressure and mistakes happening in defence. We started to become slow starters at the tail end of Wenger’s reign, but even then with the same personnel we didn’t feel quite as open as frequently as we have done. Will be interesting to see if Koscienly helps improve things when he’s back.

An LB and a CB are priorities in the next 12 months.

Yes but they were all over us in the 1st half, they were by far the better side, shots on target don't really tell the story if your forwards finish poorly.

Yeah I agree, it seems in the 1st half we struggle a bit, which is fine against weaker teams, but against better teams we might find the game is out of reach by half time, usually our performances are night and day between the 1st half and 2nd half, strange really because clearly we're good enough to dominate as we show in the 2nd half of games.

[Özim]

It's weird because it's not like there's one weak link letting the defence down, the threats seem to come from both wide and central areas. The back four seem like they're in sync but for some reason keep finding themselves high up the pitch early doors. I'm sure it's the system and teething issues with whatever it is Emery has asked them to do.

I just think we need another CB in reality, someone with more pace and who can be consistent, Mustafi/Holding aren't really the answer, yes they might have the odd good game but you're not going to get consistently good performances from them.

[SMatthews]

Yes but they were all over us in the 1st half, they were by far the better side, shots on target don't really tell the story if your forwards finish poorly.

Yeah I agree, it seems in the 1st half we struggle a bit, which is fine against weaker teams, but against better teams we might find the game is out of reach by half time, usually our performances are night and day between the 1st half and 2nd half, strange really because clearly we're good enough to dominate as we show in the 2nd half of games.

Sure, they were dominating us for 30 minutes, but it was more the threat of them turning possession into clear chances more than actual chances that stood out. A combination of one good save from a shot outside the box and a good block from Holding - essentially also doing his job - were the extent of it. The chances from the corners was poor marking rather than not having control of the game. But as you say, a better team will be able to turn that dominance into good chances they’ll put away. As MO said above, it’s something that Emery has to tweak somewhere to get the second half performance there from the start.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Holding has been good this season and is still young enough to learn and improve so no need to castaway yet. Having said that I don't see the point in all of Chambers, Mav and Holding alongside Kos, Sok and Mustafi though clearly Koscielny's days are numbered.

We also had another young CB on the bench yesterday out of nowhere who I had never even heard before.

I somehow can't see us going out and spending a load of money on a ready made top CB next summer though.

[selassie]

Yes but they were all over us in the 1st half, they were by far the better side, shots on target don't really tell the story if your forwards finish poorly.

Yeah I agree, it seems in the 1st half we struggle a bit, which is fine against weaker teams, but against better teams we might find the game is out of reach by half time, usually our performances are night and day between the 1st half and 2nd half, strange really because clearly we're good enough to dominate as we show in the 2nd half of games.

Yep, if we start like that in a couple of weeks time against Liverpool the game will be over by half time.

Emery is going to really have to earn his corn for the Liverpool game because we can't afford to be so complacent in Defence. We are really going to need to be in perfect shape for the Liverpool game tactically to get anything out of the game.

[selassie]

Holding has been good this season and is still young enough to learn and improve so no need to castaway yet. Having said that I don't see the point in all of Chambers, Mav and Holding alongside Kos, Sok and Mustafi though clearly Koscielny's days are numbered.

We also had another young CB on the bench yesterday out of nowhere who I had never even heard before.

I somehow can't see us going out and spending a load of money on a ready made top CB next summer though.

Holding should learn and improve outside of our first XI, a loan to a PL club like Chambers has been doing.

Do we really need to be using our First XI as some sort of nursery for developing talents?

Honestly, our First XI should only be a place for exceptional young talents, if you are not consistent enough you shouldn't be getting starts irrespective of your age.

As others have said I think we need to prioritize signing a CB and LB, both should be signed on the basis they are first XI material.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

I've already mentioned that a top CB should have been looked at last summer. We didn't sign one so That has gone now.... it's not about the squad being a nursery and I didn't say he should play solely so he can learn and progress his own career.

What is the value in considering whether Holding (who I happen to think has been worth his place) should be loaned out? We are short on defenders right now and even if we weren't he can't be loaned out till January at which point it would still be daft given Kos's current injury, Mav's injury, Sok's injury worries and the fact Chambers is on loan.

[Power n Glory]

What did Holding do to warrant such scrutiny? Besides the handball, I didn't see much wrong with his performance. Agree with MO on this one. A lot of the defensive errors I'm seeing on the pitch seem more to do with the system. We're cutting down on the comical individual errors. I even thought Mustafi had a good second half performance.

[Marc Overmars]

I keep forgetting Mavropanos even exists. Is he injured or does Emery simply not rate him enough right now?

[selassie]

I've already mentioned that a top CB should have been looked at last summer. We didn't sign one so That has gone now.... it's not about the squad being a nursery and I didn't say he should play solely so he can learn and progress his own career.

What is the value in considering whether Holding (who I happen to think has been worth his place) should be loaned out? We are short on defenders right now and even if we weren't he can't be loaned out till January at which point it would still be daft given Kos's current injury, Mav's injury, Sok's injury worries and the fact Chambers is on loan.

Sure, I am not arguing with you or saying what you are suggesting is wrong. I already stated that Holding has done well this season.

I think Holding should be loaned out to improve his game. I personally don't think he is good enough to be starting for us.

I am not advocating he should be loaned out right now, I think he should be loaned out once we have purchased a top CB and have a full roster of CB's available.

[selassie]

What did Holding do to warrant such scrutiny? Besides the handball, I didn't see much wrong with his performance. Agree with MO on this one. A lot of the defensive errors I'm seeing on the pitch seem more to do with the system. We're cutting down on the comical individual errors. I even thought Mustafi had a good second half performance.

He lacks pace and was exposed for that again the other night. That for me is a big issue given we play a high line system, that requires mobile defenders.

Of course I understand that Holding isn't responsible for keeping our Defence together, and understand and agree that all of our Defenders make mistakes. The issue I have is that if we continue with this high line system, which I believe we will, Holding is going to be targeted against mobile attackers and vulnerable to that.

As I said on one of my earlier posts Holding has done well this season...but I don't see him as a long term option given his lack of mobility.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

I keep forgetting Mavropanos even exists. Is he injured or does Emery simply not rate him enough right now?

Out till November apparently....
On a more encouraging note....he and Holding are 6'3 / 6'4 so we have a few in the ranks of good stature at least.

[Özim]

He lacks pace and was exposed for that again the other night. That for me is a big issue given we play a high line system, that requires mobile defenders.

Of course I understand that Holding isn't responsible for keeping our Defence together, and understand and agree that all of our Defenders make mistakes. The issue I have is that if we continue with this high line system, which I believe we will, Holding is going to be targeted against mobile attackers and vulnerable to that.

As I said on one of my earlier posts Holding has done well this season...but I don't see him as a long term option given his lack of mobility.

Totally agree, you can't have two slow CBs on top of that as that makes you very vulnerable to pace, what we need is someone quick in there to at least give us an option if we're up against some speedy forwards.

Holding came from a lower league without any kind of real pedigree, he's done OK but what makes him good enough to play for a top PL club, even England haven't given him in a place in the squad (and nobodies seem to get in there) and at 23 he's no longer a kid to be honest.

Just not convinced he's going to be top class and I agree only outstanding young players should feature in the 1st team, like you said we're not a nursery, let's not forget Wenger cherry picked this guy and what he knows about defending can be written on the back of a postage stamp so I don't hold much hope for Holding.

[Power n Glory]

He lacks pace and was exposed for that again the other night. That for me is a big issue given we play a high line system, that requires mobile defenders.

Of course I understand that Holding isn't responsible for keeping our Defence together, and understand and agree that all of our Defenders make mistakes. The issue I have is that if we continue with this high line system, which I believe we will, Holding is going to be targeted against mobile attackers and vulnerable to that.

As I said on one of my earlier posts Holding has done well this season...but I don't see him as a long term option given his lack of mobility.

If you're playing a highline, organisation, pressing and not given the opposition so much space is key. Holding isn't the quickest but he recovered well and kept up the chase when forced into one on one races. A world class CB with recovery pace is ideal but we're forced to work with what we have. If teams are able to target a CB with one ball that forces our defenders to scurry back to avoid a one on one with the keeper, that means something has gone wrong with the system and we're not pressing hard enough in the middle to prevent the pass. Even with pace in the team, we'd be vulnerable because mistakes always happen when defenders are forced into one on one situations. It happened with Bellerin yesterday and we've seen it plenty of times when we've had quick players.

I don't think he was exposed last night. We've had an international break, he's playing with a new LB next him and it was a dodgy first half for most of the players. Emery has to get these slow first halves under control.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

I liked the profile of player Diallo was and have recently found out Dortmund signed in the summer. Looked decent against Atletico last night but there are few quality defenders who won't cost a packet....though it sounds like France has a few relatively unknown gems and the Dutch league has a few that are quickly being hyped.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

And no Sporting thread? The game is less than 6 hours!

[Letters]

And no Sporting thread? The game is less than 6 hours!

Maccy! Sort it out!


How come we played on Monday if we're playing tonight?

[dazthegooner]

Maccy! Sort it out!


How come we played on Monday if we're playing tonight?

Because we can. :sulk:

[Letters]

That remains to be seen. Also, fun fact - other people can start match threads.
Maybe not with the same style and panache as Maccy, but it can be done.

[Marc Overmars]

Maccy will just edit in his style and panache if it’s lacking anyway.

We must respect our glorious leader.

[Letters]

Na na na na, na na na na, na na na na, na na na na
Maccy
Maccy.

[Globalgunner]

Maccy went to an embassy to apply for a visa. Not sure which one

[Letters]

I hope he hasn't signed for those fuckers at Goonersworld :sulk:

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

That remains to be seen. Also, fun fact - other people can start match threads.
Maybe not with the same style and panache as Maccy, but it can be done.

We aren't paying you for nothing....

[selassie]

I liked the profile of player Diallo was and have recently found out Dortmund signed in the summer. Looked decent against Atletico last night but there are few quality defenders who won't cost a packet....though it sounds like France has a few relatively unknown gems and the Dutch league has a few that are quickly being hyped.

There are some gems in the German League too. A couple of young African players who we are apparently strongly looking at. They won't come dirt cheap though, I read 20-30mill price range.

We were strongly linked with Diallo in the summer IIRC.

The one I would like us to buy is Benjamin Pavard (French CB at Stuttgart), he played full back for France in the World Cup, was a regular. I think we have missed the boat with him now though, I think he will go for big money when he does move, like 50mill+

[selassie]

Maccy! Sort it out!


How come we played on Monday if we're playing tonight?

Wenger.....I mean Maccy out!

[Letters]

We aren't paying you
Quite :p

[McNamara That Ghost...]

And no Sporting thread? The game is less than 6 hours!

Fewer.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Merse says we haven't played anyone yet in the league.

Merse says the Premier League is the Best in the World.

How can both things be true?

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Fewer.

Actually in the context, less works.