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

not our day

I want to gauge some thoughts on a few players, seeing as i have been absent for a while.

Xhaka, Mustafi, Welbeck, Chamberlain.

It would be annoying if it wasn't all so predictable.

Mustafi: not good enough to run the backline - needs Kos alongside him to bail him out

Xhaka: A complete liability who only has one strength - his long passing. Is that worth keeping him in the team for? Not really, especially when he can't even pick out Laca's runs. Has been at fault for 3 goals this season already.

Welbeck; Decent all round game except for, you know, his ability to shoot a football. He's the Anti-Theo.

Ox: Was our best player against Stoke, Seems to be the only player who doesn't want to pass it sideways until we all fall asleep.

Also, if we are going to persist with this back 3 bullshark (which I am unconvinced has helped us at all), then PLAY BLOODY CB's AND NOT FULL BACKS OUT OF POSITION! Absolute madness. Per on the bench. Was Holding injured? Chambers? Any would've been better.

Kolasinac also showed that he isn't a CB. Again. Was really poor.

In defence of Xhaka he gave the ball away up the field, yes. But Stoke had a 2 v 3, and we got cut open after Mustafi dove in and Monreal didn't cover quickly enough.

The Ox - keep him if he's happy playing wing back, if not get some money and re-invest.

Welbeck - should be selling him ahead of loaning Lucas, for all of our forward players and their talent, he's the one that actually performs the worst. The anti-theo is a great call.

Mustafi - his Arsenal career to date seems to be like Koscielny's, Kosc took a couple of years to really come into his own, suspect that's the same here. Would still love us to force the issue with Van D,

Xhaka - I really rate him, he's a deep lying play maker who can make a tackle. He ran the show against Chelsea and also played really well against Leicester - wasn't at his best today - although I feel we would have been better if we'd kept him on the pitch instead of Walcott as Mustafi was the one trying long balls/play making from deep and he's not that guy.

The "anti theo" hahahaha that is great and so accurate. Brings everything to our game except for finishing, whilst theo brings nothing but finishing. 

I'd be selling Theo asap, he's just not needed and doesn't suit any roles in the current system. I'd look to upgrade on Welbeck but would probably keep him for now, for his versatility as a squad player. He's only starting because Alexis isn't ready, and we haven't yet bought Lemar or Mahrez. 

CB... geez... although I like Monreal as CB he is not the guy to be in the middle there, he goes well as the left CB. I would've had Mertesacker any day of the week. I'm also ready to switch Kolasinac to LWB and drop Bellerin for the Ox right now. 

A big reason why this formation worked so well at the back end of last season was that we sat a LOT deeper than we currently are. We have gone back to our suicidal gung-ho ways it seems, leaving ourselves vulnerable while literally EVERYONE pushes forward. The wingbacks are playing as straight up wingers, Ramsey is living in the box, Xhaka is at the edge of it, we've got CBs dribbling into the final third, it's too crazy. We need to wise the f*ck up and be more mature. I feel Mertesacker might bring that if we were to get him on the pitch right now. We have enough attacking talent up top for Xhaka and the CBs to stay right out of it. And if one fullback is up, the other should be a bit more wary, and tuck in. This stuff was happening a few months ago, now it's not. 

Aside from that, when it comes down to it, we got well ripped off yesterday. One of those days, and they often seem to come at bloody Stoke. 

Has Xhaka made a tackle in the last 2 games? If he has, I don't remember it. He is a very poor tackler and also has a distinct lack of speed - if he gets caught up the field and he is unable to get back in time to defend. He also has the slowest turning circle I've seen since Emile Heskey.

The more I see him, the more I do not rate him. He would be great if we had another midfielder next to him that would mask his deficiencies, but we don't have that luxury with Elneny, Coquelin and Ramsey. I love his long raking passes and balls over the top, but the negatives far outweigh the positives for me.

In saying that, he's still the best/only option we currently have with Cazorla gone.

Anyway, I also rate Wenger 0/10 for this game - he is back to his infuriating best. Saying that he thought the defence didn't play to his expectation etc - well, no shark, you played two full backs at CB away against Stoke of all times. Asking for trouble.

I also like how when we are actually trying to win the game, we switch to a back 4. Perhaps we should play a back 4 at the start of the game instead of waiting until we go behind.

I really don't think the back 3 is an improvement, even when all players are back. It's a con. The fans have been so desperate for any sort of change after years of staleness, that they see it as the salvation.The reality is that the stats haven't improved. The play hasn't improved. We're still inconsistent. 

Did anyone else notice that Kolasnic was often leaving just Monreal and Mustafi behind him, pushing on to join midfield.

Here is the side he started:

             Cech

   Mustafi Monreal Kolasnic

The Ox Ramsey Xhaka Bellerin

    Ozil  Lacazette Welbeck

Based solely on the bench here is the side he could have started: 

                    Cech

 Mustafi Mertesacker Monreal

The Ox Ramsey Xhaka Kolasnic

      Ozil Giroud Lacazette

Why, for the love of all things holy, do you start a striker who can't finish ahead of one who can, and a left back out of place when your captain is available.

I'm on the fence about Xhaka. I think he's a good player and can bring something to the team, but there are definitely some deficiencies there which leave us exposed at times. He's also made a poor start to this season, but i expect him to improve over the next month or so.

I don't mind us having Welbeck, but ultimately he is a squad player at best and should never be considered for regular starts. Simply not good enough at the basic requirements of a forward/striker. Good work rate though, which is always appreciated.

Have been impressed by the Ox since he moved to wing back. I'm not sure if we should be accommodating him by having to shunt Bellerin out to the opposite wing though, not a fan of that move at all. Would like him to stay and want him to succeed with us, but as has been noted if he can't play wing back i can't see him thriving anywhere else, and would most likely see him sold.

Happy enough with Mustafi. Went through a bad patch last season, but otherwise fairly solid. A hell of a lot better with Kos alongside him, really struggles without him. 

His team selection and subs were awful. Why did he pick two left backs out of position and a right back on the opposite wing? Could not understand it at all. Also taking Lacazette off instead of Welbeck, not to mention Iwobi seemed to take up a central midfield role when he came on. None of it made any sense.

Agree with all this, except I think Xhaka will be the absolute business, provided his confidence comes out of this intact. I feel like it will, he seems like a bit of a leader to me. 

I can understand the reasons behind wenger's backline selections, but think he's got it wrong not starting mertesacker.

Whether we agree or not he must rate bellerin and the ox as our best fullbacks right now and wants to start both of them, perhaps because they are the most attacking options we have in those roles. 

Monreal is a good CB, I feel like that move is near permanent, but to me he's far better on the left of that 3, I do not understand why Mertesacker isn't starting. 

Sure, but then what the fudge did we sign Kolasinac for? To flop around as a poor CB?

Confidence is not Xhaka's issue. The worry for me is that his flaws are difficult to fix. 

He does not look like a guy who has played a season of prem football already.

Yeah i can see why he did it, but would like to see Kolasinac start at wing back soon, as that is his natural position and one where he made Bundesliga team of the year. 

Also completely agree with the Mertesacker call. Starts FA Cup final, has a blinder. Starts Community Shield, looks solid before going off with unforunate head wound. Frozen out for first two league games, concede four including two from set pieces. Weird.

Jenko and Bramall have gone to Birmingham city on loan.Good option for both, as i dont see either feature in the starting squad again. 

I think he's played quite well at CB? Goals have come from set pieces, or down the right hand side, the left has been solid, mostly due to Kolasinac. 

But putting that aside, I agree with you. I want to see him at fullback, with Monreal in the left CB role, and a proper central defender like Mertesacker or Koscielny in the middle. 

Got a few lads off the books overnight. Jenko & Brammell have gone on loan to Birmingham. Toral is on the cusp of a loan move to Hull, and we've sold Bennacer to Empoli.

Jekinson's the only real 'deadwood' on that list that's a massive tick in the right direction.

Wilshere got sent off against U23's - if he's that easily wound up he'll be an easy target in the prem:

http://news.arseblog.com/2017/08/video-wilshere-se...

Watch the goals from that game, Nelson scores 2 and sets one up beautifully.

Man City dropped points, so now 5 of last season's top 6 have dropped points in their first two games.

Not really, Brown Bags is hardly acoach. 

Disagree. At fault for the goal v Leicester and multiple times v Stoke he rushed up and left Monreal/Mustafi to clean up the mess.

Good to see that Jack is still a complete idiot.

Considering he's already played nearly 150 prem games I don't think we need to worry about how he'll cope there. 

If you watch the highlights of his performance this morning he had an excellent game. I would hardly begrudge him for getting angry about that tackle, it was so late, and very reminiscent of the type of tackles that have put him out with long term injuries in the past. Having said that, he should know better considering he was probably the most experienced player on the pitch, and the carry-on as he walked off was not on. 

I was excited watching the highlights of his touches, he looked absolute quality, like he is starting to get back to his best. I would love for him to come back into our squad, particularly as we're light on central mids. There were a couple of great moments in his game this morning where he tracked back and snuffed out danger, certainly something we haven't seen from Ramsey in our first two games. 

Also Nelson, what a player, he looks waaay better than that level, easy to see why he's been bought into the senior squad this season. 

i hope the tackler was given a red as well. that was a savage chop down. Still no reason for an experience pro like jack to be throwing his toys around. 

Tackler only got a yellow, but the other kid that came flying in and had a go at Jack got a red. 

Jack should know better, he's the experienced guy on that pitch.

Reminds me a bit of when Diaby got the red at Newcastle after Barton chopped him and he lost his rag. A sign of a player who's been injured by bad tackles in the past, just about copped another one, and it's really p*ssed him off. 

Part of the problem here was that Kolasnic was bombing forward as well. In theory he should have 3 behind him always, but Kolasnic was often out of position too high - which didn't help.

What is Nelson's position?

I believe Nelson is an attacking midfielder or winger by trade. He can dribble, has bags of pace, and looks like he's a decent finisher too. Wenger had him at wingback in pre-season which was interesting.

Here's the highlights of all Jack's touches from this morn if anyone's interested;

https://twitter.com/Footy_Says/status/899773806599...

Jack has always had an attitude problem and he's never grown out of it. 

At the Stern holding the wheel. 

It's not a great reaction from Jack, but that City player is a right fudgeing cod. It's a reserves match where the game is gone at 4-1 and he's gone in late like that on a player who is trying to get back to full fitness after the latest in a long line of injuries. Not to mention the way he goes down from the softest of shoves. Absolutely pathetic from the City player.

Definitely agree with this. 

Although despite that has he actually had a red for us before? Maybe once or twice but he doesn't have a reputation for it. 

He targeted a player he knew he would get a reaction from and got it. There isn't a single professional player who wouldn't do the same.

Yeah, but when someone targets him he loses his head and gets distracted. That is not a good thing if you want to be a professional player at the highest level.

Not sure I would agree with that. To me it looked like an annoyed midfielder losing 4-1, who had been schooled all day by a better player, so chucked a cheap shot on him in frustration. 

Which still happens in the prem. Ultimately for all the good that comes from seeing the fight back, he'll be a liability if he keeps getting targeted and reacting inappropriately.

God I sound like I'm defending his actions, but I'm not, he was wrong and it was a silly thing to do. 

But again, he's played nearly 150 EPL games, just checked and he has 2 red cards in that time, the last one a good 4 years ago. 

He doesn't have a reputation for this and I'm not worried about it. I'm actually just glad to see some real passion out of the guy, even if it's misguided, because I've not seen that for a while. I feel he'd lost his love of the game to some degree, and oddly this sh*tty incident seems to have revived something in him. If it ended up being the catalyst for him to give himself a kick up the arse and get his career back on track, then great. 

"Arsenal show no passion"

*Arsenal player shows passion*

"What a knob"

"Jumped up little Twit"

"Idiot"

zzzzzzzzz

In other news when da fuq are we gunna sign sum players lol

Sounds like we're working hard to get guys out the door first, but the window has a week to run so we best hurry. 

Ox has been offered a shiny new contract, sounds like we're going all out to keep him, which is great imo. 

Still want us to sell Walcott.