EPL: Arsenal vs. Southampton - Tuesday 02/02/16 - 19:45

[goonerwarsh]

Last night really was hard to deal with. Couldn't get to sleep for hours I was so wound up. I think it was because of the frustration of knowing exactly what is going to happen to the team since the start of the season but yet not being able to do anything but just watch it happen. Every single poster on this forum when the transfer window shut in the summer and we hadn't got Benzema, we hadn't got the midfielder that we all knew we needed, everyone predicted how this season would play out for us and so far it has been like reading a book you've read a hundred times and know what happens in every chapter. Terrible inept performances followed by a few good performances or runs, the inevitable struggle through the Champions league group followed by a crash out against the first good team we face in the knockouts, the lacklustre defeats and draws at cramp, intimidating away grounds where so many valuable points are dropped, annual shut outs and embarrassing defeats from Chelsea.

It's the hope that kills you with modern day Arsenal. They show you just enough to make you think that just maybe they could pull it together and win this league but when the moments present themselves and it's time to deliver we go into hiding.

I am torn between not knowing if it's a talent or a mentality problem, or a terrible injury record and poor team balance and preparation. Probably a bit of all those things.

 

[Nicenho]

Makes me so sad seeing spu*s above us when we are so far in to the season..cant believe we already beginning to meltdown and i honestly cant see us winning anything this year. Mr Wenger really should be spending a lot of time questioning himself and hes position in this club. The decisions that he made has lead to this.

 

[kopzilla]

Yeah, the league always ends around Nov 1 on A-M.

...Can't blame anyone for the frustration they are feeling...I feel that it is a avoidance mechanism to protect ourselves from hurt...we have seen our team stumble along the way and completely drop out of the title race before...it is the hope that kills you.

 

[Reyes]

I don't get all the overreacting. I think we haven't played well in a long time after Man United. The points were coming because we were lucky most of the time, yet, before this 4 game stretch, you guys were still talking about a championship. We have 14 games left, everyone is a long way from home. We have already had two or three periods this season were nothing went according to plan, we haven't played all that well apart from a few games, but we still have a good chance. Now it's all to hell with the championship talk, and Wenger has to go again. Don't be so influential over the part of a few games. If we fail this season, I'll judge him at the end. Now it's pointless.

 

[kopzilla]

Allow me to say this Froster is top goal keeper, England have 3 top goal keepers in their hands Hart Butland and Froster.

without him today the result could have been 2 or 3 man of the match.

Most of the saves were routine imo...he just made himself big ..the saves from Özil's 2 shots were very good.

 

[kopzilla]

Wenger not the problem at all in this game.

The tactics were spot on. I can't even remember Southampton have a good chance.

Players bottled it in front of the net. Easily.

Mane had 2 good chances but thankfully Cech saved it...Romeu's shot just curled above...

 

[Kroket]

I don't get all the overreacting. I think we haven't played well in a long time after Man United. The points were coming because we were lucky most of the time, yet, before this 4 game stretch, you guys were still talking about a championship. We have 14 games left, everyone is a long way from home. We have already had two or three periods this season were nothing went according to plan, we haven't played all that well apart from a few games, but we still have a good chance. Now it's all to hell with the championship talk, and Wenger has to go again. Don't be so influential over the part of a few games. If we fail this season, I'll judge him at the end. Now it's pointless.

I think the general idea was we just had to hang in there while we waited for Sanchez, Coquelin, Cazorla and Wilshere to return. I agree we've never looked like genuine title contenders this season but fact of the matter is that if we hang on at Anfield and convert just one chance last night we're top of the league with our key players fit and ready to go. We may never have looked like a genuinely good team but we could easily have been in pole position for the title. So I suppose I agree with you, though I find it impossible to shake the feeling we've ruined our chance now.

 

[bingobob]

watching the highlights again and can't believe how the f**k we didn't score yes forster had good game but come on some of these chances were so easy and somehow we manage to f**ked up. our players should learn to be clinical.

Forster is a fantastic keeper. Should be England's number one.

He broke the Scottish record for clean sheets and I think last season he had the best record in the league and so far, after a near career ending injury, another four clean sheets in a row. The guy is a mountain. When Cech goes I'd be all over him. Just the type of keeper you want at the top, can do nothing for 90minutes and then be called into action.

 

[Clrnc]

I appreciate Campbell's work ethics, I really do, but the guy can not finish for ****.... When he won the ball back with that sliding tackle after the cross from Özil he just could finish it quick enough, the guy had space and plenty of time, but skied it before he was even properly balanced and back on his feet.... He lacks composure and finishing qualities... As a winger he has 27 apperances for club and country this season, 3 goals and 1 assist and 8 chances created, that's not good enough for me...

Don't know where you got your stats from, because he already have 4 goals and 4 assists for us this season alone.

 

[General]

I look at it this way. I think it was very logical that Wenger didn't play Coquelin. He played 3! days ago and was out for 2 months before that. The problem was, he had to play Flamini instead becuase we didn't buy an adapt replacement, which is, indeed, a big mistake. Still, with Flamini, we should have won this and were the better side. However, a freak game. The goalkeeper was unreal. We were terribly unlucky. And the referee was freaking horrible. It was a fluke today, not like the bad results of the last few weeks, which I think were much worse than yesterday evening.
.

Southampton had 14shots and 3 on target. I don't think this game was the commanding display some are suggesting. We flattered to deceive and never truly exerted our authority on the game. As expected the midfield created havoc and never truly gave us an outlet from the back. Our offensive players dropped back, Southampton pushed up, got confident and it set the tone for the rest of the game. Half chances here and there and spectacular goal keeping saves thrown in for good measure. We've seen this all before. It was nothing new and far from a fluke.

Wenger made the first sub on 62mins followed by Coq coming on 85. It was hardly kitchen sink stuff and Southampton were fairly comfortable. In fact without Coq coming on to arrest the leak in midfield, it could've been a disaster for us, especially that loose ball from Flamini which Shane Long caught under his heels. There was also a dodgy tackle from Gabriel on Mane which would've been a certain penalty had he gone down.

 

[MoHaMed14]

I promised myself not to watch the match if the midfield pairing is Ramsey - Flamini even against 3rd tier.

When is Cazorla back? If he or Wilshere aren't back by March, just forget everything this season. Even the FA Cup.

 

[General]

Makes me so sad seeing spu*s above us when we are so far in to the season..cant believe we already beginning to meltdown and i honestly cant see us winning anything this year. Mr Wenger really should be spending a lot of time questioning himself and hes position in this club. The decisions that he made has lead to this.

We are not in meltdown. Far from it. The results reflect the quality we are fielding. Sooner or later our best balanced team will start picking itself and do Wenger's job for him.

 

[Kroket]

I promised myself not to watch the match if the midfield pairing is Ramsey - Flamini even against 3rd tier.

When is Cazorla back? If he or Wilshere aren't back by March, just forget everything this season. Even the FA Cup.

Don't think we'll have either of them when we play Leicester, Barcelona, Man Utd or Sp**s. The only hope we have is that Ramsey explodes back into form now that he won't have to babysit Flamini any longer.

 

[goonerwarsh]

Southampton had 14shots and 3 on target. I don't think this game was the commanding display some are suggesting. We flattered to deceive and never truly exerted our authority on the game. As expected the midfield created havoc and never truly gave us an outlet from the back. Our offensive players dropped back, Southampton pushed up, got confident and it set the tone for the rest of the game. Half chances here and there and spectacular goal keeping saves thrown in for good measure. We've seen this all before. It was nothing new and far from a fluke.

Wenger made the first sub on 62mins followed by Coq coming on 85. It was hardly kitchen sink stuff and Southampton were fairly comfortable. In fact without Coq coming on to arrest the leak in midfield, it could've been a disaster for us, especially that loose ball from Flamini which Shane Long caught under his heels. There was also a dodgy tackle from Gabriel on Mane which would've been a certain penalty had he gone down.

That's what I felt, it never looked at any point like they were at breaking point and we were tearing them apart. Apart from the chance Walcott sidefooted instead of blasting and maybe Koscielny's header. They were all half snatched chances really. Southampton defended resolutely it must be said, looked very strong.

 

[Batman]

Forster is a fantastic keeper. Should be England's number one.

He broke the Scottish record for clean sheets and I think last season he had the best record in the league and so far, after a near career ending injury, another four clean sheets in a row. The guy is a mountain. When Cech goes I'd be all over him. Just the type of keeper you want at the top, can do nothing for 90minutes and then be called into action.

Agreed. He and Butland are both considerably better than Hart IMO. Before we signed Cech last year and before his injury I was thinking how I wished we had him instead of the 2 clowns we had. At times he looks like Schmeichel or Kahn in how calmly but almost defiantly he makes great saves. It's almost like "How dare you take that shot, did you really think it was going in?"Plus he's a burly sod like those 2 so that's probably part of it. He made one save yesterday where he tipped the ball over after seeing it late without leaving his feet and it was like he was playing in a kid's goal or something. If I were a player I'd wonder how the hell I was going to get one past him. It would be lovely to have that kind of player at the club for a decade after Cech declines.

 

[Frenchy_Gooner]

Most frustrating result of the season so far. Quite unbelievable we didn't win. We had a poor first half despite some very good chances. Second half we finally got going, but poor finishing combined with excellent goalkeeping saw us failing to score. Atrocious ref also, Wenger was right to have a word with him at the end.

9 times out of 10 we win this game 3-0. But since the Liverpool game, feel like we're lacking this lucky touch of champions, that kind of aura that take us over the line to grab results.

Ramsey was useless, couldn't dictate any tempo of the game, couldn't pass the ball well to our attack. Flamini was also useless but we all knew it before. This midfield is destroying our play, we can't recognize Arsenal really.

We're nearly done in the title race. We need to get some big wins quickly, we're in a very bad position.

 

[SA Gunner]

We are not in meltdown. Far from it. The results reflect the quality we are fielding. Sooner or later our best balanced team will start picking itself and do Wenger's job for him.

You are a good poster dude, enjoy reading your sobering analysis on our performances.

Keep it up man.

 

[bingobob]

@Batman if you can find the highlights of him vs Barcelona the saves he made were incredible. Just makes it look so easy at times. The Barcelona media called him the yellow wall and it's justified.

 

[emilursin]

Don't know where you got your stats from, because he already have 4 goals and 4 assists for us this season alone.

Don't know where you get your stats from but, he has only score 3 goals total this season, according to arsenal.com he has only scored 3 goals total for us ever.

http://www.arsenal.com/first-team/players/joel-campbell

 

[redwhiteAustrian]

Neither Spu*s nor Leicester will keep their current level, whilst we have more than enough upside - that's the only encouraging point in regards to our League form.