(The not-so-temporary quite-official) Gooner Thread (Part 3)

Well, that was a great win. Mustafi really had a meltdown there, but I guess it was a gamble to take. If that was any of the big teams we'd have seen that free kick go in, but we got away it. I felt Mhikitaryan left a lot to be desired today, his work rate on defence was poor and I really thought it was a game for him to take ownership. Nice to see Torreira taking some shots, that one that hit the post...oooooof. We did get lucky though, only Auba's goal was a clear cut chance - rest was pretty 50:50.

Kolasinac looks better as a wing back, suits his game more. It does seem like Emery is setting us up game by game which is much better to see. As Arseblog said; credit to him for keeping Ozil fresh for our crunch away European tie mid-week!

Weird line-up, unexpected formation, weird game. 

Would've thought we would look more solid with 3 at the back but it was really same-same in terms of the opportunities we gave up. 

In the end I thought we dominated the match and deserved to win on possession and chances created, but we easily could've lost. 

Mkhitaryan popped up in all the right places but screwed up just about everything he tried! He can be very frustrating, especially when you know what he can do in those positions. Needs to bring some consistency to his final touches. 

Aubameyang was same-same again, disappears for patches, bit hit and miss, but then scores the vital goal, it's just what he does. Hard to believe he's equal-top scorer for the league when it feels like he hasn't really got going at all. I thought we missed Lacazette, he brings more to our all round game. 

Torreira was a beast again, this guy is a star. 

Really liking how Leno is coming along. I reckon he's been better than both Allison and Kepa so far. A steal for that fee. Hopefully the form continues. 

I thought Leno had an absolutely shocking game with his distribution tbh. A lot of it was rushed, or went out of play on the full. Really bad; and good distribution from the back is important to our build up play. Bournemouth did pressure well and marked high up though.

Mkhi was another absolute shocker. I can never work the bloke out.

Could've gone either way that game - pretty lucky to win imo, with all of the calls going our way. 

Yea wasn't actually thinking of Leno's distribution with that comment, more his saves etc. Just feels quite assured with him there, when they get a big chance it feels like he's gonna come up big most of the time. 

I recall Leno pumping one ball out, were there any more? The rest of his distribution seems in line with what Emery wants: fast, to the feet of defenders. I was actually impressed by how two footed he was and was struggling to recall which was his preferred foot. There were plenty of moments when under the pump he went long, but I'd rather he do that than what Cech did a couple of times this season.

I counted about ~5 really poor long balls, destroying any chance of a quick counter

Yeah, those are real low % balls anyway, especially with no one up top to bring them down and compete like Giroud used to. I'd much rather have Leno in there who is playing short balls confidently and accurately and seems to have a better sense than Cech when to hoof it. 

Even with martial law in place in parts of Ukraine the game is still going ahead, but it's been moved to Kiev. Good outcome for us as I'm pretty sure there was a long ass bus ride involved to Vorskla's home ground after the flight. I can't find any info on the team that's travelled but I'm guessing we'll probably delay our travel until as late as possible given the unsettled environment we're heading into.

Interestingly I found this article in my research; looks like we have some great big AA's power the stadium now:

https://www.arsenal.com/news/3mw-battery-power-emi...

Fascinating video here with Szy and Fab discussing goal keeping coach at Arsenal:

https://arseblog.news/2018/11/video-szczesny-and-f...

Based on their comments no wonder they both left, such a shame really.

Did anyone else watch the game yesterday? I actually found it enjoyable seeing so many of our youngsters out in a competitive match. I still can't see us hanging onto Jenkinson but fair play to the lad, he's been useful for some of these matches even out of position. I really hope he gets noticed by someone in the Championship, could still have a good career after us.

Looking ahead to this weekend I'm going to be fascinated to see how Emery makes it tick. After benching Ozil and reverting to a back 3 away to Bournemouth he's been very unpredictable - which is refreshing.

I'm guessing we'll have Auba start with Laca maybe making the bench if he's fit enough. Given Mhiki's form I'd like to see Iwobi and Ramsey on the flanks, and ideally Ozil back through the middle behind Auba. That all relies on a back 4 though, which isn't gauranteed.

what is peoples general mood for this game? I'm more worried and nervous than i have been in years. I know we all picked us to win in our comp, but how many believe that hand on heart we will?

well that was hard fought! fudge yea!!!!

That was awesome. What a roller coaster. Know we've been setting in the 2nd half but did not expect us to score 3 goals like that. Love that Dier deflected the Lacazette one in and made the mistake for the next one. Hope those fans leaving early shusshed on the way out too.

Ohhhhhhhhhh yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Love that the subs made the difference too. Two half time subs like that is something Wenger would have been unlikely to do in a game like that.

Yep, sokratis actually posted that picture to his instagram.

I am loving this team.

As much as individual players had cracking games, that was a tactical masterclass from Emery. 2 ballsy half time changes, and at 3-2 with Sp*rs still in with a sniff another tactical change to see the game out. F*cking top start to the day. COYG.

Torreira, Ramsey and Auba are getting the deserved credit this morn, but a few others I think deserve it too;

Bellerin: Back to his best? Having a fantastic season. Can't believe I doubted him early on. 

Kolasinac: I thought he was done a month ago, seriously. But he has grown big time in Monreal's absence, and this morning was probably his best performance for Arsenal in my opinion. This has been his chance to prove himself and he's starting to do so. Still lots of work to do defensively, but that is nicely hidden when we play 3 CBs. 

Xhaka: Quietly went about his business this morn. In a tie with Iwobi as the most improved player under Emery at this point. 

Mustafi: Still don't think he's good enough but huge credit for his performances under pressure the last few weeks. 

Sokratis: I love this guy. Showed up Kane for pace late on too.  

Holding: Looks very accomplished these days. I love his little touches too, the man can actually play. Got attitude as well. 

Lacazette: Lucky touch off Dire but this man is a big game player, no doubt about that. 

Awesome win, is it too much to ask that we smash Man u on Thursday as well?

How good is that, nothing beats a win against the yids and especially when you're a goal down. That performance almost brought a tear to the eye, all I've been wanting to see for years and in the NLD - passion, structure and commitment from the players and coaches.

Torreira incredible again and Xhaka looks ten times the player under Emery showing the ability we probably bought him for originally. Aubameyang top scorer in the league is another great sign of where we are going.

Michael Cox (excellent football analyst, very technical), did a good write-up for ESPNFC;

https://global.espn.com/soccer/english-premier-leag...

Loved this bit;

"Arsenal were always in control of this tactical battle: their early 3-4-2-1 caused Spurs' 4-3-1-2 problems down the flanks, forcing Mauricio Pochettino to re-shape in a 4-2-3-1. Then, when Arsenal moved to 3-4-1-2, Pochettino felt threatened by Arsenal's second striker, as he confirmed in his post-game press conference, and moved to a 3-4-1-2 of his own.

Later, Arsenal centre-back Shkodran Mustafi limped off injured and Arsenal didn't have a spare centre-back on the bench, so Matteo Guendouzi came on, and Arsenal went to 4-3-1-2. Both sides used three systems: this was the most tactical derby you'll ever witness. And Arsenal, usually the ideologues who play one way and one way only, came out on top. Tottenham, regarded as the Premier League's most flexible side, were outwitted."

Also hardly any mention of Ozil either

Agree with most of your comments Paulm. I thought Mhiki looked better than against Bournemouth but Ramsey should have started ahead of him. Iwobi had an OK first half, he just doesn't seem to find the final ball at the moment with a lot of his crosses and shots being blocked, I think this is down to speed of decision making. He seems to beat a man only to not know what he'll do next. He'd likely be more dangerous if his started instinctively hitting the back post or penalty spot with his crosses rather than validating someones there in the first place.

Since the international break the Ozil situation has gotten very interesting. He didn't travel during international duties so was fresh, but only made the bench for Bournemouth, wasn't take to Ukraine (which was a good call), and only made the bench today.

Given we've made him the highest wage earner, the fact that we can't seem to use him for a variety of matches seems a huge waste. When you then realise the money Mhikitaryan must be on too, yet Ramsey should be starting ahead of them both makes it even more frustrating. While I realise we're going to lie in the bed we've made for ourself. The fact that Ozil and Mhiki's place in the squad and their wages are key reasons why we don't have room in the budget nor in the squad for a player like Ramsey is un-fudgeing-believable.

Ramsey's not starting but is currently on 6 assists and 2 goals in 19 appearances. Ozil's on 1 assist and 4 goals in 12 appearances. Mhikitaryan's 3 assists and 2 goals in 16 appearances.

Edit: Ramsey's 6 assists have him tied with Sterling and Fraser (Bournemouth) for EPL assists.

gee Auba scores some screamers, but he also fluffys it as well sometimes 

also love how Laca ends up on his arse as he is shootting! 

I liked this from Football365's "16 conclusions" piece on the game;

"Wenger’s work in his final years at the Emirates Stadium may never be respected for what it was. He was largely to blame for a gradual depreciation in results and performances, but he also oversaw their first steps into life without him. He rid the club of most of its deadwood, helped put in place a more secure body of power, and bequeathed upon his successor an excellent squad that could be moulded in their image. Emery deserves immense credit for taking Arsenal back to their seat at the top table in record time, but Wenger pulled the chair out for him."

Article here:

https://www.football365.com/news/arsenal-4-2-totte...

Just watched the highlights again. I love that Dyer's contribution was an offside goal, a celebration likely to be reviewed by the FA for inciting the fans, a deflection which put Lacazettes shot in the bottom corner, and falling on his arse when Torreira went past him. What a knob.

Still on a high after that game.

Build Torreira a damn statue already, he isn't very tall, so it won't cost much.

Also, everyone was good so I won't go into that; but a special shoutout to Kolasinac. I don't rate him, and I don't think he can put these performances together consistently - but he was very, very good today.

One of the best derbies i have seen. Brilliant effort to come from behind and send that lot packing.

Weird that we conceded twice and yet it was just about our best defensive performance of the season?

Tbf first goal was a keeper error and second was a dive for a pen.

This is valeo's comment from the ManU thread, thought I'd use it to start some discussion on the ManU match;

"Doesn't matter how well we are playing and how bad Man Utd are playing - I always think we'll lose at Old Trafford.

The fact we're coming off a huge high v Spuds and exerted ourselves to the extreme (and only have a 3 day break) means this will be closer than people think."

I totally agree with that. Despite them not looking great right now I'm always fearful of ManU, chiefly because we've had some poor results against them in recent seasons, at times when we were expected to win. The loss at OT in 2016 right after we beat Leicester City, when we should've been pushing on for the title, the loss to Moyes' ManU side when van Persie scored - ManU were woeful at that time, we really dropped the ball that day. And last season at the Emirates was pretty chastening, as we dominated the match but were terrible defensively, letting them go wild on the counter. 

Mourinho hates us, even if Wenger has gone, so he'll be trying to rark them up, and you know they will have that bus parked up good. 

This will either be a great week, or our spurs bubble will be popped horribly.

I'm expecting a high scoring counter. Players like Pogba, Lukaku, Sanchez (injured), Martial, Rashford, Mata can and will exploit Kolasinac and Mustafi - unless they both produce Sp*rsesque performances. However given their defensive injuries to Shaw, Valencia, Smalling, Bailly, Lindelof etc Auba and co could equally run rampant.

I'm also hopeful because it's no lounger C*ntface vs Wenger. It's C*ntfact vs Emery which doesn't have the history. Will be interested to see how C*ntface comments pre-match and if it's different post-Wenger.

Saw this posted on another forum so haven't verified it but apparently after yesterday's game, Spurs have now officially conceded the most goals in Premier Legaue history.

HAHAHAHAHA that is such a spursy record, LOVE IT

Old Trafford and Mourinho don't tend to end well for us, but unlike in the later Wenger years against the big teams I am at least somewhat confident we will turn up for the game, and have some sort of plan that at least considers the bus parking we'll likely face.

https://www.premierleague.com/stats/top/clubs/goal...

Seems legit!

My biggest concern is our midfield without Xhaka. Say what you want about Xhaka, he is a presence physically - even if he hasn't used it well in the past.

With (likely) Torreira and Guendouzi in there, I think that they will target Douzi and try and bully him. That's what I would do if I was Mourinho. (thank fudge I am not).

I like Douzi but he's prone to at least one big mistake a game, especially under pressure.

Ramsey rewarded with a start after his Spurs performance, Lacazette remains on the bench. Guendouzi predictably comes in for Xhaka, and I agree Valeo, Xhaka will be missed. He's a much different prospect in this team under Emery. Keeps things ticking for us, we're seeing a Xhaka much more like the one we see for Switzerland now - a metronome, and a leader.