They actually put the ball in the net in the first half too, though the ref blew early for a foul that shouldn't have been called IMO.Originally Posted by Mac76
They actually put the ball in the net in the first half too, though the ref blew early for a foul that shouldn't have been called IMO.
Fair point, I don't deny on balance of play they were more dangerous
Brentford deserved a result but for it to happen that way is a bit sickening. Isn’t that twice now we’ve had retrospective acknowledgement of a wrong decision against us? The other being Martinelli’s goal at Old Trafford which should have stood.
These are very fine margins with potentially huge consequences. They’ve got to do better.
I’ve always thought that VAR is the right thing to do in principle, but they’re getting too much wrong.
The implementation at tournaments like the Euros and the World Cup is better than the PL, so they can do it. I haven’t seen yesterday’s incident but saying “oh soz, we forgot to draw the line” is nowhere near good enough at this level.
Whatever the current struggles we need to get out of this slump ASAP if we harbour any ambitions to continue this Title Challenge. Wednesday's game is a must not lose, a win given our current form would be a real statement.
Looking at the upcoming fixtures, games that I was very confident about us winning a few weeks back now look like very tricky fixtures. Let's hope we lay down a marker on Wednesday!
I always try to leave it a little while before assessing the game. The VAR fiasco makes a disappointing result even worse. But Saturday worried me for the following reasons.
We looked tired and off our game for the second time in a row - particularly in the first half. This can't be fatigue per se as our schedule has been relatively light, and like at Everton our whole team was below par. We were not crisp or decisive in our passing and our build up play was ponderous much of the time - which plays into the hands of a low block. We end up relying on moments of brilliance from individuals rather than the system and there's a brittleness from our players that for me speaks to confidence being punctured too easily. We saw this with our defence of their goal - no composure - and with snatched shots on their goal blazed high and wide or into the hands of their keeper.
Last year I wondered whether a complex system that requires players to be 'at it' 100% to work really effectively is Arteta's Achilles heel. Confidence seems to drain so quickly from this team - and worryingly the crowd on Saturday was the same - there was a lack of belief in our ability to get the job done that I am sure transmits itself to our players. I am concerned that the increasing pressure that comes with the second half of the season - when other teams have worked us out (Dyche showed the way in this regard) - means that our young team is starting to questin itself and the manager's methods. We don't seem to be able to switch it up effectively to give the opposition something different to think about - and Trossard aside, we don't really have the players to do so off the bench. I think the manager knows this - hence our pursuit of Mudryk and Caicedo - and the fact that we ended up with Jorginho - a player whom we can't really rely on to change a game IMO - seems both prosaic and perhaps a tacit admission that the manager doesn't really believe we can win the league. Our form on Saturday suggests that this belief is shaky all round. The fact that we remain on top of the league but the good feeling of just 2 1/2 weeks ago has dissipated speaks volumes.
I'm hoping that a win against Citeh on Wednesday turns what feels like a bit of a malaise around, but for me this feels currently more hope than expectation and it is disappointing that the narrative of those who said that our incredible first half of the season was an aberration rather than the true level of our current team looks more credible with each dropped point.
Putting the laughter back into manslaughter
This is a story that has many different variants but always the same ending.
After City it’s Villa and Leicester away. We could be in serious trouble soon if we don’t shake off this wobble.
Not saying that you’re even referring to me but I think the word I chose was anomaly rather than abberation. Simply because the amount of points we were getting (we dropped 5 points from a possible 42 before the World Cup)
Whilst it’s disappointing that we didn’t procure our primary targets, I’m not really sure had we signed Mudryk or Caicedo (cannot see how we would have signed both) we would have been better off. Mudryk appeared to be a target for the Long term and it did not appear that we were even targeting a midfielder until it became clear that Elneny was needing surgery.
My opinion is that we do need to be more proactive in the transfer market, last summer it felt like we did our business quickly at first but then panicked. We should have signed a central midfielder regardless of injuries to Partey and Elneny but instead Arteta seems satisfied with what he had. We are led to believe that Vieira can play in the position Xhaka plays in but when actually have we seen this tried (he came on for Xhaka on Saturday but didn’t have enough time to impose himself)
On top of that, Arteta is very strange with team selection, when Zinchenko was injured in autumn he played Tomoyasu for the Liverpool game and I think that was tactically astute as he dealt with Salah well, but then he continued with that in the Leeds and Southampton game and it massively had a detrimental effect on our ability to attack
To be fair we have been near flawless results wise up until now so any losses or dropped points will naturally cause concern because we are not use to it.
I admit I am starting to worry now and I am hoping if anything we put in a great performance on Wednesday. It's all very well dropping points, but we are now dropping them in games we look second best which is a big problem.
TBH mate I wasn't thinking of you, or anyone else on here when I referenced narratives - more the Neville's in the wider punditry world - because plenty of people felt and still feel that Arsenal will 'do an Arsenal' and fail to stay the course. I think you are right of course regarding our unprecedented points accumulation. IIRC where I took issue with you was the implication that Arsenal's form/position was a false one. I felt that there was a lot of evidence to suggest that it was part of a sustained upward trajectory.
Has my view changed? Well I don't think so at this point. I think we both felt that winning the league was unlikely for this team, and I think that the past few games probably underline this. Where I think that doubs creep in regarding the fundamental changes to our team is that now what was then the Newcastle experience, (and Leeds where we got out of jail) seem (post Everton and Brentford) less like isolated off days and more indicators of a strategic weakness. When we are on we are really on, but we don't seem easily to be able to change our approach when game states show us failing to break a low block down....at least while Jesus is absent. Citeh are of course similar, but their overall quality - and therefore their ability to do so as a general rule - is higher than ours.
The manager's tactical nous seems more to be in considering how to set up against certain teams than changing things during games. However, this is tempered by what appears to be absolute faith in his usual starting 11 - to the detriment of back-ups who do not then get the game time that they need to really make a difference when they are subbed on. I just wonder whether the players are starting to lose a little confidence that our system will prevail when we are not demonstrably on top in difficult fixtures.
Putting the laughter back into manslaughter
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