Footaholic
11 years ago
5) I thought Wenger set up his tactics and team right. The only thing I think he did wrong was leave out Gibbs for Monreal. I'm not sure if Gibbs was injured but if he wasn't than it was a bit unfair of him to throw Monreal who hasn't been starting for most of the season and throw him up against the City offense. He was absolutely ripped apart by City as they continuously targeted our left flank.
6) Positives: I found many positives from this match.
a. Most importantly is the mental toughness and desire we showed. Despite being pegged consistently our players always kept fighting and believing we could get back into it. Even when we were behind 5-2 the players worked hard and kept going for it. The old Arsenal would've dropped their heads and given up. This Arsenal has a real steel and resolve about them that we haven't seen for years. As a fan, that's one of the most important things we ask for.
b. It was great to see Theo back. I thought he had a very good match and took his chances well. He does add another dimension to our team.
c. I thought Ramsey and wilshere also had a decent game. I've noticed that some fans were critical of Wilshere afterwards but I actually think he did pretty well.
d. I was happy to finally see Gnabry get some more minutes although I find it strange that Wenger would wait until this match to let him show what he's got. He's definitely an exciting player who isn't afraid to drive at players and is also intelligent. He added some real positivity to our attack when he came one.
e. Whilst I am sad for koscielny I was happy to see Vermalen get his chance after bing so patient and I thought he did pretty decently. Made a few good interceptions and no major errors after being thrown into the middle of a tough match. I think he's a valuable player and I wouldn't want to see him go.
f. Such a good sight to see Sagna back. jenkinson was atrocious against Napoli and Sagna is the man.
7) Negatives:
a.We lost a 6-pointer. It's unfortunate but this means that we absolutely MUST win against Chelsea or things are going to get a bit more tense for us.
b.Also, I'm sad that Kosc got injured but lucky it wasn't anything more than a deep gash on his knee. Mind you, that cut was down to his bone! he'll probably be out for a few weeks I reckon.
c. Giroud didn't have his finest day. I hope there isn't a premature backlash on him but I think that this shows just how important it is that we reinforce our CF position up front. I'm a fan of Giroud but I think we need a small skillfl type to help him out. God forbid he should get injured...
OVERALL IMPRESSION: City are the real deal and were wll worth their victory. Both teams played well but one was clearly better. Our goal now is to win our next match and hope we can get a well earned weeks rest.
Forgive me my indulgence but what are your thoughts?
Hey all:
Sorry I'm a bit behind but I couldn't watch the match yesterday as I was working (and then got screwed with snow... but that's another story entirely). So I was going to leave a comment on the highlights but I read the first dozen or so and realized it would've been a complete waste of my effort. However, I still wanted to discuss it with some people who weren't brain dead so I decided to make this thread.
Very well then; here are a few of my observations/comments:
1) First and foremost, what a cracking match! Absolute end to end non-stop action. Some brilliant goals and interplay. Probably the 2nd -3rd best match of the season. As a neutral, I could imagine it would've been even better. Great advert for the league.
2) Of course I'm sad that we couldn't extend our lead or buck the trend by beating City at home but I am in no way disheartened or dissapointed in the manner of our defeat. Sometimes you just got to hold your hands up and say we lost to the better side and that is exactly what City were. They were well worth their victory and were absolutely devastating in attack. I congratulate them on a fairly won victory.
3) I've read some people claiming that we were unlucky and that we might've won if certain decisions hadn't gone against us. My response to that is "like hell we would've". Is it true we were wrongly ruled offside 3x when our forwards were closing in on goal? Yeah. Did we have 1 less day than City to res and only 48 hours to travel there from Napoli? Yeah. Do I think we should've gotten a penalty in a vital point of the match? My personal opinion would be yes because his arm, although not intentional or in an unnatural position did make him bigger and obstruct the path of the ball to Theo who would've been clear on goal. That said, I can understand why the ref didn't give it. In either case, my point is that despite all of that I'd think you'de have to be delusional to think we only lost because we had poor decisions against us. NO, we lost because City were more ruthless in front of goal than we were. Had Giroud converted some of his chances, things may have been closer but as it is, I don't believe we were ever going to win this match.
4) It also amazed me to find so many people, including our own fans, slagging us off for playing poorly or getting "raped" or some other nonsense, etc. I cannot see how people could justify those views. IMO, Arsenal were playing pretty damn good, sans 2 pretty poor defensive errors. However, I thought we were playing pretty well... it's just that City were that much better. They were too strong. I feel no shame about this result. You all know that I am not afraid of being critical when I feel it is justified but I was happy with the effort, skill, and desire my team showed yesterday. I am just cogniscent that sometimes you just get outplayed. Simple as that.