Arsenal V Spurs (2-2)

[Chippy]

Now that the dust has settled from yesterday’s NLD, what are your thoughts?

Personally, I thought we made that lot look good on our own patch when they should have been there for the taking.

Our midfield looked pretty much overrun and our defence looked shaky.

Why are we still persevering with Nketiah, Havertz and White (at RB).

We are screaming out for a proper striker. Jesus is not the answer.

We have gone backwards from last season…..cue the “When will Arteta be sacked by” post.

PS
We should have got Maddison instead of rice and saved around £60m.

[HCZ_Reborn]

I lack the mental energy to do a player rating and match summation. But I’ll do it anyway


Raya 6.5 - Made a really good stop first half but overall I’m not really seeing any improvement on Ramsdale


White 6.5 - ok supporting Saka going forward but lacking again defensively


Saliba 7 - not responsible for either goal, he and Gabriel are being hung out to dry by high line and lack of defensive protection


Gabriel 7 - As with Saliba



Zinchenko 4 - what’s the point of him, what does he offer


Rice 5 - Worst game in an Arsenal kit, and I’m sorry to say this but as someone who has stated since the beginning about his lack of pace and technical ability…I don’t get any pleasure out of this coming to bear


Vieira 5 - couldn’t deal with the physical aspect of the game


Odegaard 6 - positionally just shouldn’t be played in this RCM role, he’s not creating enough and he should be playing in the hole


Saka 7.5 - Only one of our attackers who had a decent game, why though was he not taken off when he clearly had an injury


Nketiah 5 - It’s like he’s playing with noise cancelling earphones, not being able to finish chances is one thing constantly being in the wrong place when midfielders are trying to play the ball to him is something else


Jesus 6.5 - Should have buried the chance when he dispossessed Romero high up the pitch but offered far more in attacking sense than Edward did.


Subs


Jorginho 2 - Fuck right off, two is generous given he failed to do the basic thing that his position calls for


Havertz 4 - As slow and ponderous as Jorginho but higher up the pitch where it’s less dangerous


Nelson 6 - Couldn’t really get into the game


Smith-Rowe 5 - I don’t even remember him coming on



Yesterday was a thick lumpy mixture of everything that I dislike about this team and coach. One dimensional tactically in a game where had we soaked up pressure and hit them on the break we’d have gone through them like shrapnel through a child.

Don’t get me wrong it wasn’t entirely wrong to press them high when they insist on playing out, but stone me how we really didn’t capitalise on that.

We still give opponents far too much space in our own half and the middle of the park and it’s costing us big time, because we simply aren’t creating enough to balance that out. The system isn’t working but the players aren’t producing either. Vieira wasn’t up to it at this level, Nketiah is a joke…we absolutely missed the pace of martinelli and the technical trickery of Trossard.

In terms of dominance we deserved to win, in terms of profligacy and openness we were lucky not to lose

Arteta compounded this by taking off Jesus, leaving on Edward and Saka….how he hasn’t suffered a muscle injury by now I simply don’t know.


But the players themselves have to take responsibility and they mostly all played within themselves.

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

Odegaard was pure crap yesterday....but I do agree with you that he would probably be more useful playing from the middle instead of close to Saka.

Its really depressing that after about 6 games now, Arteta still doesn't know his best team or where to play his best players to get performances from them. He just seems to be throwing anything out there hoping it sticks !!

I am seriously depressed about us this season and it seems needless to me seeing as we kept all the players that kept us ticking last season.

The coach's constant confusion is reminding me of Emery's last season with us...really sad to see us going sideways and eventually backward for no logical reason.

IMO there is no doubt that we have the personnel to get performances far better than what we've witnessed this season. Yes we're missing a top or even adequate finisher but its no worse than last season. The PSV game has been the only game I enjoyed and probably if Martinelli hadn't got injured early, it might never have been. TBH when I think of what I saw early last season and compare it to what we've churned out so far, I just want to have a good old cry!

[Marc Overmars]

The game was there to be won but not for the first time we failed to show a lack of killer instinct when on top. Without Kane Spurs still had enough to do damage and they did just that. Injuries didn’t help but we wilted in the second half and that mish mash of a team that finished the game were never going to find a winner.

I’m sick to my stomach of how many goals we continue to give away at home and how many of them can easily be prevented. In the end I was just relieved that Spurs settled for the point too because make no mistake we were there for the taking in the second half.

City will absolutely destroy us in a couple of weeks if we don’t play ourselves into form.

[Marc Overmars]

There is some talk that we could move for Toney in January.

I’d certainly back that.

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

There is some talk that we could move for Toney in January.

I’d certainly back that.

If we'd kept Balogun and even Tierney, we'd have had more natural options. Eddie had a shitfest on Sunday and was lucky not to get a red but their was no option to take him off which was totally self inflicted.

Then we have Havertz coming in as some sort of super sub when clearly he is still battling depression caused by I dont know.... maybe being the 2nd highest paid player in the club ?! There is no logical reason Smith Rowe shouldn't have come in ahead of him and why he's had so few minutes, especially since we are assured of a minimum level of performance from him when he is fit.

I am just tired of Arteta and his"Mad King" behaviour.

[HCZ_Reborn]

If we'd kept Balogun and even Tierney, we'd have had more natural options. Eddie had a shitfest on Sunday and was lucky not to get a red but their was no option to take him off which was totally self inflicted.

Then we have Havertz coming in as some sort of super sub when clearly he is still battling depression caused by I dont know.... maybe being the 2nd best player in the club ?! There is no logical reason Smith Rowe shouldn't have come in ahead of him and why he's had so few minutes, especially since we are assured of a minimum level of performance from him when he is fit.

I am just tired of Arteta and his"Mad King" behaviour.

Balogun missed two penalties for Monaco at the weekend

[Mac76]

Balogun missed two penalties for Monaco at the weekend

Genuine question, missed or saved?

[HCZ_Reborn]

Genuine question, missed or saved?

They were saved but judge for yourself (the match highlights are available on you tube) . My attitude is unless it’s a world class save from the keeper, the forward has fouled up. And yeah Balogun fouled up, first penalty not enough power and straight at the keeper, second penalty more power but again straight at the keeper.

Can’t fault his nerve going back to take a second after he missed the first but still, the commentators said the last time the same player missed two penalties in a game in that league was 2007.

[Letters]

Just had a look. They were not good penalties.

EDIT: One of my football annoyances is when a penalty like that goes in and the commentator says what a great penalty it is. The goalkeeper going the wrong way and a weak penalty going in doesn't make it a good one