A goal and a man up. Will definitely take that from the first half. Having said that we still look vulnerable to Watford's attacks. Really do need a second to kill the game off.
(The not-so-temporary quite-official) Gooner Thread (Part 3)
Big 3 points there. Massive.
Bring on Friday.
Huge 3 points but that was as ugly as it gets. Watford were coming at us in waves with only 10 men, that is so bad.
I thought Emery got it all wrong today. From the first eleven selection, to both of the first two substitutions. Bringing Ozil on for Torreira seemed like a good idea to take advantage of the 10 men, but the hole in midfield it left was ridiculous. Then he bought on Guendouzi and went to a back 3 with no fullbacks on the pitch, which was another disaster. The AMN sub righted the situation to some degree but we still leaked chance after chance.
There's a big difference between our first and second 11s at the moment, it's chalk and cheese.
Well we have to replace Ramsey's goals. If they don't come from CM anymore then our wide players need to be scoring more to make up for it.
That's where I look at Mhiki & Ozil and their 200 + 350 PW deals (10.4m and 18.2m a year) and see they've contributed to:
Mhiki - 6 goals & 6 assists in 23 starts & 8 substitute appearances, that's 0.39 contributions per game.
Ozil - 5 goals & 3 assists in 22 starts & 5 substitute appearances, that's 0.29 contributions per game.
Given their contributions this season we're overpaying for their services & could easily replace them with cheaper, younger alternatives.
Ramsey has 7 goals and 7 assists in 23 starts and 17 substitute appearances, so roughly the same.
And it's a fair comparison as Ramsey has mostly played in attacking roles under Emery - the start in midfield against Napoli was a rare thing, and for a reason - he does not have the positional discipline to start there regularly in Emery's systems.
I think the reason he is being let go is because Emery sees him as a 10, but we don't have the finances to carry him AND Ozil for that one single role. Ozil is under contract, so he stays. If the roles were reversed, Ozil would be leaving on a free and Ramsey would be staying.
We don't need to be replacing Ramsey's goals - Ozil has a higher goals to minutes ratio this season anyway.
Sure, but Ozil doesn't press and isn't the man you want for the EPL games where he's starting Ramsey. You can also trust Ramsey to start deeper. This whole thing is an utter mess of our own making, and Ozil and to a lesser extent Mkhitaryan are weights around our neck until we can move them on.
Big 3 points there. Massive.
Bring on Friday.
Agreed, top 4 finish and europa final would be great season
Is it just me, or does Emery shark the bed whenever we are against 10 men? His substitutions make 0 sense.
Anyway, very big 3 points and a first away clean sheet (somehow) to boot. Does not give me any confidence that our away form will improve for the rest of the season, though!
It's good to go into the Napoli game with that kind of confidence.
I'm guessing we'll return to three at the back with Papa coming back into the side. Torreira and Xhaka back in midfield. Mhiki, Ramsey, Laca up front?
Almost the end of season 1 and Emery is still unpredictable with his line ups.
Almost the end of season 1 and Emery is still unpredictable with his line ups.
I don't think he'll ever be predictable, not his style!
Only thing that could have made that result better was if there were few enough games left that the cojones were out of the FA Cup Final too.
Wow, apparently we are in Turin tonight scouting Neres of Ajax (as well as the rest of the world I assume) and he is turning in a stinker of a performance.
But this game is great. Come on Ajax!
Wow, apparently we are in Turin tonight scouting Neres of Ajax (as well as the rest of the world I assume) and he is turning in a stinker of a performance.
But this game is great. Come on Ajax!
Can we have de ligt please while we are there
Only thing that could have made that result better was if there were few enough games left that the cojones were out of the FA Cup Final too.
As much as I hate him I'd rather he helped Watford beat C*ty, hate the thought of all that money buying all those trophies.
Premier League goals since the day Aubameyang signed:
Aubameyang 28
Salah 28
Kane 26
Aguero 24
Mane 22
Sterling 21
Hazard 19
Lacazette 18
Lukaku 17
Firmino 16
Sp*rs on for a European semi-final. Hopefully they Sp*rs it up and lose focus on the EPL and manage to miss the final. Heaven forbid they beat us to an CL title.
Squad for Napoli (Emery) possible line up (Me)
Cech
AMN Sokratis Koscielny Monreal Kolasinac
Ramsey Xhaka Torreira
Lacazette Auba
Bench: Leno, Elneny, Mkhitaryan, Ozil, Iwobi, Mustafi, Jenkinson, Guendouzi, Nketiah, Okonkwo
Start with 5 at the back and rely on our wing backs for width. Give Ramsey permission to drive forward on counters. Let Auba & Laca feed off each other on counters. Stay compact and let them have the wide areas, that side is lacking an attacking threat from crosses in the air.
Liverpool-Spurs CL final would be sickening beyond belief, but weirdly probably ideal results for us this morning. Two massive games added to Spurs schedule and Man City will now have total focus on the league with Spurs and United still to play.
My ultimate nightmare would be a Liverpool v Spurs final. My dream is a Barca v Ajax final which I think would be a great footballing spectacle.
Looking forward to the game tomorrow and the weekend ahead of fixtures. A Europa League semi final and third place at the end of it is what I'm expecting. Having Lacazette fresh after the great result (albeit horrible performance)on the weekend is a plus . The y*ds can keep dancing for now as we all know they won't win a thing, as mentioned a few more games to their schedule is really the last thing they need when they are playing for third and fourth in every competition they are still left in.
My ultimate nightmare would be a Liverpool v Spurs final. My dream is a Barca v Ajax final which I think would be a great footballing spectacle.
Barca v Ajax would be a win for the Cruijff romantics, for sure. Hope it happens.
I hate to say it, but I reckon Son is maybe the most underrated player in the league - so, so good and works his ass off every game. Jeez he'd be good at Arsenal. Huge blow for Spurs with him being out first leg - genuinely think he is currently their best player.
Cech
AMN Sokratis Koscielny Monreal Kolasinac
Ramsey Xhaka Torreira
Lacazette Auba
Finally predicted one!
Good, mature, solid performance away from home. Good strike from Laca. Their best opportunity came from Monreals shot! Good to see early rotational subs to give Xhaka and Laca some rest. Hopefully Ramsey's back in time for the final.
Good, mature, solid performance away from home. Good strike from Laca. Their best opportunity came from Monreals shot! Good to see early rotational subs to give Xhaka and Laca some rest. Hopefully Ramsey's back in time for the final.
I hope Koscielny is fit for the two legs of the semi. He was immense this morning. If anyone had told me we would win both games against Napoli without conceding a goal, I would have thought they were bonkers. We shouldn't fear Valencia after that performance.
On a side note, I kind of liked the all red kit we used this morning.
That really surprised me. My abiding memory of when Wenger took over was that he hit the ground running with the squad he inherited and turned them around into a winning team. Obviously not. That stat is probably helped by a lot of wins in the Europa League campaign this season.
Wengers first 50 games would've mainly been EPL and English cup competitions.
seeing that Wenger took over in October he didn’t have the benefit off a full off season to shape the squad like Emery has had.
Great insight though, thanks for sharing Leggy.
That really surprised me. My abiding memory of when Wenger took over was that he hit the ground running with the squad he inherited and turned them around into a winning team. Obviously not. That stat is probably helped by a lot of wins in the Europa League campaign this season.
Wengers first 50 games would've mainly been EPL and English cup competitions.
Yea wenger's first season was a partial one, and was a scrap for a european spot, ironically. We got 3rd that year, but it was a different landscape - ManU won the league with only 75 points (not enough for top 4 in 2016/17, only enough for 4th last season).
Wenger won the double in his first full season.
Xhaka looks to have a niggle on top of Ramseys injury. I'm guessing we'll see the following at home on Saturday:
Leno
Jenkinson Mustafi Koscielny Kolasinac
Guenoudzi Torreira
Mhikitaryan Ozil Iwobi
Lacazette
I think Jenkinson's due a run given AMN has been backing up a lot lately, and Lacazette's early withdrawl should earn him a start and Auba a bit of a rest. You'd expect that's a side that can keep it relatively tight at the back with a front 4 skilled enough to pull apart most defences.
fudgeing mustafi man, he is mud. big loss this morning.
Mustafi has to be gone. He's at fault for 2 if not 3 of their goals there. Just madness as to how he's still a CB. I truly wonder if Holding's injury is the only thing that kept him here in January.
We were just awful. While I lobbied for Jenkinson to start I think going a back 5 at home was madness. Look what happened when our full backs had some support from Iwobi? Great goals from Ozil & Aubamayang, sadly wasn't enough on a day when we conceded 3 shark goals by a defence that was absolutely asleep/irresponsible.
Thankfully after 34 rounds we're still in 4th, 1 point behind 3rd, and having some breathing room behind United. Chelsea's making a late resurgence. I still think we're on for a 4th/5th Arsenal/Chelsea finish + Europa League final.
I wouldn't bet on an all-English final tbh, we've made hard work of some rather mediocre opposition and haven't come across anyone remotely as good as Frankfurt.
Aubamayang is now level with Salah & Aguero on 19 goals. 4 matches left, an enjoyable side plot for the run in.
Strangely low tally to win it this season.
Anyone else think right back might be worth a look? 21 years old and English apparently, looked good going forward and solid at the back. Could be a solid backup for Hector and for AMN to move into his desired central birth.
Typical Arsenal. All the other results went for us and we still contrive to put it out of our own hands again.
Well it is in our hands still... the top 4 that is, but not 3rd.
Not confident at all though. We are putting in jekyll and hyde performances right now. Our "first" team seem to do the business, but the "second" team are all over the shop.
We're in trouble at CB, with Mustafi constantly sh*tting the bed, and Mavropanos getting yanked at HT twice in a week.
We are really missing Holding but I wonder if our best bet right now might be to just start Sokratis/Koscielny/Monreal in a back 3 in every game until they break... and only resort to the chaff if we absolutely have to... can't trust them enough to rotate right now...
Its "back on" after Chelsea's result haha.
In terms of cost, longevity, costliness of errors and virtually any factor you can think of I'd go as far as calling Mustafi the worst signing under Wenger. Certainly the worst defender. People will mention Squilachi, Silvestre, Stepanovs etc but he's been a fixture in the first 11 for several seasons and played 4 times as many games as any of them and came in his prime with huge expectation whereas they were only ever desperate bargain bin stopgaps. Maybe Cygan comes close but again was never first choice. Finding someone to take on Mustafi has to be the top priority for the summer
We are really missing Holding but I wonder if our best bet right now might be to just start Sokratis/Koscielny/Monreal in a back 3 in every game until they break... and only resort to the chaff if we absolutely have to... can't trust them enough to rotate right now...
Final run in schedule (NZT)
25/4 - away to Wolves
2 day break
28/4 - away to Leicester
5 day break
3/5 - home to Valencia
2 day break
6/5 - home to Brighton
3 day break
10/5 - away to Valencia
2 day break
13/5 - away to Burnley
4 away games, 2 home games, average rest time 2.8 days.
Can't see that back 3 surviving all of them. Perhaps you gamble it on Brighton at home, and away to Burnley. Hoping the other 4 results go your way. Thankfully Europa League final is 29/5, which gives us nearly 2 full weeks to rest and prepare - should we make it in.
Spurs with an 88th minute winner this morn, gutted, Brighton nearly had a point there which could've put 3rd back in our hands.
All 4 teams chasing these spots have massive vulnerabilities right now.
It's a total lottery.
Lies, damn lies, and statistics.
Saw this doing the rounds on Facebook and was shocked he's ahead on tackles and interceptions.