Nuggets wrote:Mesut Özil's game by numbers vs. Man City:
1 chance created
0 crosses completed
0 take-ons completed
0 shots
Says it all really Ozil just fook off if you don't want to play for us.
by BS221B » Sun Dec 18, 2016 6:34 pm
Nuggets wrote:Mesut Özil's game by numbers vs. Man City:
1 chance created
0 crosses completed
0 take-ons completed
0 shots
Says it all really Ozil just fook off if you don't want to play for us.
by immsun » Sun Dec 18, 2016 6:38 pm
by docwelsh » Sun Dec 18, 2016 6:49 pm
by Zenith » Sun Dec 18, 2016 6:50 pm
docwelsh wrote:Away from home us scoring the early goal seems to kill us tactically! With the forced change at the back for arsenal it was never going to be an option to sit back and defend a 1-0 lead. It would appear that Sanchez was on a different game plan to the rest of the team. He was the only one to want to press and get a second goal and kill the game.
Pressing high up the pitch would had put the shaky city defense in the back foot and we could have exploited that with the crisp passing of the first half. But if that was a tactical decision to play only on the counter it was shocking as it failed at Everton just a few days ago.
by realtalk » Sun Dec 18, 2016 7:24 pm
by Yago » Sun Dec 18, 2016 8:00 pm
by hs6bx » Sun Dec 18, 2016 8:01 pm
by Myrmedus » Sun Dec 18, 2016 8:51 pm
hs6bx wrote:For me, as a football fan, regardless of the club I support, I would be berating my teams manager for the decisions that Wenger made today. What's worse is that it's all too familiar... We have to remember that Wenger is a human and not some god, and just because he is manager and we aren't it doesn't give our opinions less weight or relevance.
Firstly, playing away from home against a team who are likely to have a large chunk of possession suggests that the work your team does off the ball becomes more important. Now as you all know, over the years, we have dominated possession against 90% of the teams in the league, but today was one of the games where we were always going to concede a lot of the ball, so then why do we have a totally uninterested Ozil playing with his hands on hips with no intent to even make an effort to win back possession? One assist or a couple of key passes per game is not enough to constitute being called a world class player. Football has gone stats-crazy in recent years, but we forget that there is nothing objective about football except for the scoreline. The game is about an overall contribution which includes with the ball and without the ball. I am also very frustrated with the lack of defensive awareness of Walcott and Iwobi - it seems they feel like they are exempt from defensive duties because we are trying to play them in behind of the counter attack... But forgetting, of you don't win back possession, you can't counter! Again, I don't blame the players so much, more Wenger - his team / his tactics.
Xhaka for me has got an awful lot to do before he proves why we paid 35m for his services. He looks lethargic, flat footed, and unbelievably casual in possession with no urgency whatsoever. I'm stunned at the amount of times he has underhit passes and lost possession in his own half. Yet with City battering us and Coquelin looking like the only midfielder on the pitch ready to stand up and be counted, it's him that gets sacrificed instead of Xhaka. Coquelin for me is one of the most important Arsenal players and should be one of the first names on the team sheet. Not only is he excellent defensively, he gets about the pitch so well and rushes opposition into passes, forces them into mistakes. Yet, I'd bet my house on a pairing of Cazorla and Xhaka when everyone is fit. It's very predictable.
Those that watched the game saw that second City goal coming a mile off! Yet, the ever reactive Wenger waits... and waits... then hey presto - City score and he reacts by making a sub, which in fairness was a couple mins before his '70 minute substitution law' (which, by the way, is insanely annoying!). Wenger does not adapt his team's game for different opposition, and he is too stubborn to change his philosophies and 'rules'. In the two tough away fixtures this week why are we not going with Giroud up top and just move Sanchez out wide? You've then got someone to hit if you do need to go long who will more than likely win the flick on or hold the ball up so that the midfielders can go and join in.
I understand Wenger's genius status, and I take my hat off to the man for what he's achieved at the club - that is never in question, but how long can you live off previous success. We haven't even challenged for a title in 10 years. The stadium repayment was used as an excuse before, but what now? What is stopping us from at least challenging for the league? In my opinion it's Wenger.
An early prediction of this seasons outcome - Top 4, out of the title race by March or April, no silverware, and a load of old excuses. I hope I am wrong and am left with egg on my face.
by gooney » Sun Dec 18, 2016 8:56 pm
hs6bx wrote:For me, as a football fan, regardless of the club I support, I would be berating my teams manager for the decisions that Wenger made today. What's worse is that it's all too familiar... We have to remember that Wenger is a human and not some god, and just because he is manager and we aren't it doesn't give our opinions less weight or relevance.
Firstly, playing away from home against a team who are likely to have a large chunk of possession suggests that the work your team does off the ball becomes more important. Now as you all know, over the years, we have dominated possession against 90% of the teams in the league, but today was one of the games where we were always going to concede a lot of the ball, so then why do we have a totally uninterested Ozil playing with his hands on hips with no intent to even make an effort to win back possession? One assist or a couple of key passes per game is not enough to constitute being called a world class player. Football has gone stats-crazy in recent years, but we forget that there is nothing objective about football except for the scoreline. The game is about an overall contribution which includes with the ball and without the ball. I am also very frustrated with the lack of defensive awareness of Walcott and Iwobi - it seems they feel like they are exempt from defensive duties because we are trying to play them in behind of the counter attack... But forgetting, of you don't win back possession, you can't counter! Again, I don't blame the players so much, more Wenger - his team / his tactics.
Xhaka for me has got an awful lot to do before he proves why we paid 35m for his services. He looks lethargic, flat footed, and unbelievably casual in possession with no urgency whatsoever. I'm stunned at the amount of times he has underhit passes and lost possession in his own half. Yet with City battering us and Coquelin looking like the only midfielder on the pitch ready to stand up and be counted, it's him that gets sacrificed instead of Xhaka. Coquelin for me is one of the most important Arsenal players and should be one of the first names on the team sheet. Not only is he excellent defensively, he gets about the pitch so well and rushes opposition into passes, forces them into mistakes. Yet, I'd bet my house on a pairing of Cazorla and Xhaka when everyone is fit. It's very predictable.
Those that watched the game saw that second City goal coming a mile off! Yet, the ever reactive Wenger waits... and waits... then hey presto - City score and he reacts by making a sub, which in fairness was a couple mins before his '70 minute substitution law' (which, by the way, is insanely annoying!). Wenger does not adapt his team's game for different opposition, and he is too stubborn to change his philosophies and 'rules'. In the two tough away fixtures this week why are we not going with Giroud up top and just move Sanchez out wide? You've then got someone to hit if you do need to go long who will more than likely win the flick on or hold the ball up so that the midfielders can go and join in.
I understand Wenger's genius status, and I take my hat off to the man for what he's achieved at the club - that is never in question, but how long can you live off previous success. We haven't even challenged for a title in 10 years. The stadium repayment was used as an excuse before, but what now? What is stopping us from at least challenging for the league? In my opinion it's Wenger.
An early prediction of this seasons outcome - Top 4, out of the title race by March or April, no silverware, and a load of old excuses. I hope I am wrong and am left with egg on my face.
by Sims » Sun Dec 18, 2016 9:00 pm
by Zenith » Sun Dec 18, 2016 9:01 pm
Sims wrote:Coquelin had 58% pass completion today, absolutely terrible in such a big game where we're on the backfoot all game
by Sims » Sun Dec 18, 2016 9:02 pm
by gooney » Sun Dec 18, 2016 9:03 pm
Sims wrote:Coquelin had 58% pass completion today, absolutely terrible in such a big game where we're on the backfoot all game
Also didn't we win all our games when we played Santi-Xhaka in midfield?
by Callum » Sun Dec 18, 2016 9:58 pm
by hs6bx » Sun Dec 18, 2016 10:30 pm