CL: Arsenal v Barcelona - 23/02/16, 19:45

[General]

And the way to fix that is bringing on Flamini...

I stopped watching when he came on. AC Milan must look at us and think this club has lost the plot. Coq tired from being paired with a player who couldn't exert his technical authority on the game and the response was to bring on this joke of a footballer.

 

[rednwhitearmy]

I was going to post straight after the final whistle, but decided to reflect instead.

I think the whole team is a bit blunt, from the edges to the tip.

We have a few players who are best suited as squad players, mainly: Mertesacker, Walcott, Ox and Ramsey.

Ramsey's form is worrying - and it hurt watching that game knowing that smiling Santi would've thrived.

I thought Coquelin had a good game considering he was facing the the best front-3 EVER. Koscielny was reliable sometimes, but Mertesacker really let us down on both goals. The first goal, was almost a replica of the Monaco goal, where Mertesacker went for a silly challenge on the half way line.

I think a real applause is deserved towards Giroud - he fought tirelessly the whole game, and made some crucial tackles at the other end of the pitch.

Having said that, and whilst I think Giroud is a great player and better for our all-round game, a striker with a little more pace may have been more beneficial. With Danny on, we had a lot of chances.

I'm annoyed, but I'm not devastated like seasons past. If it were me, I'd send in my B team for the 2nd leg, and focus on the league.

The more important game is United on Sunday.

 

[Bould14]

Having Messi, Neymar and Suarez in your team is cheating, is just too much for the defenders to handle. UEFA should do something about it and block future transfers which could result into creating a virtually unstoppable attacking trio.

Aston Villa would be running away with the league if they had them. You can get away with an average defense and an average midfield.

The rest of the team mainly just functions for them. Rakitic said so himself in a Marca interview. His job is to pick up the defensive duty and get the ball at their feet. He said it took him a while to adjust he was use to being the guy at Sevilla. I think this is why a lot of players fail at Barca (Alexis,Zlatan, Fabregas) They basically have to play 2nd fiddle to Messi

 

[ScotVieira]

Also, Ramsey was great today but remember the conversations about playing a limited ball winner (Coquelin) in Europe. We were basically a man down there.

Everyone wants Ramsey to be a controller now but some of the great CM's aren't. It's not his game.

Unfortunately Wenger's transfer business has let us down. You could see today that with a bit of luck and two/three good signings that we can consistently give Barca a good game.

If you blame Coq for poor distribution (it was actually poor), what exactly does Rambo bring to the table?

 

[A_G]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cb7npZKWwAAP4j-.jpg

Wonder who the prick was supporting, surprised the club even let him in tbh.

 

[qwerty99]

You realise getting tickets is easier said than done

I know I've been a red member for God knows how long and am still waiting for the Silver membership.

 

[Hunta]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cb7npZKWwAAP4j-.jpg

Wonder who the prick was supporting, surprised the club even let him in tbh.

Sums us up, too nice.

 

[RUS arsenal]

Well we did try, he only won 2/5 headers.

There was only 1 decent cross into the box and he almost pulled a rabbit out of a hat when he was able to put that much power and direction on a ball that was going away from him with a defender on his shoulder.

 

[AVENTUS]

Having Messi, Neymar and Suarez in your team is cheating, is just too much for the defenders to handle. UEFA should do something about it and block future transfers which could result into creating a virtually unstoppable attacking trio.

Aston Villa would be running away with the league if they had them. You can get away with an average defense and an average midfield.

Arsenal could of had Saurez if Wenger wasn't such a tight Arsenal and Just offered them £50.000.000.

Instead we signed Özil.

 

[ScotVieira]

Coquelin had a decent game, not a great game. He was trying to force the game forward earlier on but his passes were mainly wayward.

 

[easy Z]

Also, Ramsey was great today but remember the conversations about playing a limited ball winner (Coquelin) in Europe. We were basically a man down there.

Everyone wants Ramsey to be a controller now but some of the great CM's aren't. It's not his game.

Unfortunately Wenger's transfer business has let us down. You could see today that with a bit of luck and two/three good signings that we can consistently give Barca a good game.

What on earth were you watching?!!!

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

Arsenal could of had Saurez if Wenger wasn't such a tight Arsenal and Just offered them £50.000.000.

People keep banging on this 50 million number, but is there any evidence?

You know he went later to Barcelona for 75 million, and that was out of the league. Sure it would have been 100 million within the league.

 

[Bould14]

Wenger never disciplines Ramsey. Another manager would have him benched asap

 

[HollandGooner]

I hope people realize how important Cazorla is from dlp not only about this game but he is vital for our build up and tempo of the game. Hè clicks with Özil and alexis. I am desperate for his Come back.

 

[AVENTUS]

People keep banging on this 50 million number, but is there any evidence?

You know he went later to Barcelona for 75 million, and that was out of the league. Sure it would have been 100 million within the league.

He renewed his contract that summer which is why he went for £75Mil

We offered Liverpool £40.000.001 which was deemed offensive with an offer of £50.000.000 Liverpool would of let him leave.

You do know Saurez wanted to come to Arsenal don't you he was pushing for the transfer

 

[say yes]

Pleased with the performance, we played very well and lost to a good side. Great game of football.

Pity Barca have got to throw in the diving/cynicism with their brilliance but that didn't have much of an impact on the result.

Fwiw this Barca team (though brilliant) ain't a patch on their 09-11 variant. Front 3 are deadly but midfield and defence are average for a top side.

 

[Trilly]

If you blame Coq for poor distribution (it was actually poor), what exactly does Rambo bring to the table?

I see midfield pairings/triples as a list of attributes which need to be provided by the players.

You need

• Workrate
• Goal scoring
• Tackling
• Movement
• Link up with the forward players
• Intelligent Positioning
• Distribution

etc etc

A two man midfield places even more pressure on the midfielders as two men rather than three have to bring these qualities to the table.

Ramsey has never been a controller even when he was in excellent form but him and Arteta were a perfect match as they pretty much checked off the list above.

Coquelin brings two things to the table at the most. Of all our CM options he's the most limited. That's why even the Santi - Coq midfield while better isn't perfect.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

We offered Liverpool £40.000.001 which was deemed offensive with an offer of £50.000.000 Liverpool would of let him leave.

Evidence please!!!

 

[Hunta]

Bar Busquets and the front three, they are nowhere near as good as their other sides by the way, **** defence.

 

[RUS arsenal]

Also, Ramsey was great today but remember the conversations about playing a limited ball winner (Coquelin) in Europe. We were basically a man down there.

Everyone wants Ramsey to be a controller now but some of the great CM's aren't. It's not his game.

Unfortunately Wenger's transfer business has let us down. You could see today that with a bit of luck and two/three good signings that we can consistently give Barca a good game.

Coquelin is usually a better passer than he was today. I'm not sure if I call it nerves or not being 100% sharp yet coming back from injury but he can definitely do better.

Problem is, even though Coq is not a bad passer of the ball, you can't have two average passers in the middle (Ramsey + Coq). At least one of them has to be able to make that quick incisive pass to exploit the gaps in the opposition.

Basically I'm trying to say that I think Coq is good enough to start for us but needs to be paired with a DLP. Our lack of depth in this aspect is costing us a lot this season.