PL | Arsenal v Manchester United| December 2, 2017 | 17:30 GMT | BT Sport

[<<reed>>]

Dont understand why I still feel pretty **** about the game as I usually get over losses in 1hr these days

because Jesse Lingard scored a brace.

 

[Makingtrax]

Xg, possession, territory, control, all these words are just there to make people feel better. We got beat at home by United shipping three goals in the process.

Are there positives? At a stretch. If your an uber positive person. I've taken from it our strikers need shooting practice. Our defence need a kick in the arsenal. One mistake is forgivable but for two of them to do it, especially Mustafi, after witnessing a mistake costing a goal shows an alarming lack of awareness.

There's a million positives. Don't think I've see any side cut Mourinho's team open so many times. The Wengerball was spectacular.

If Kos and Mustafi hadn't made those two passes and the penalty had been given, this forum would have been on cloud 9 today.

It's a very fine line between massive highs and massive lows in football. Everybody knows that. That's what makes football so exciting.

The secret is not to go overboard at any of those two imposters . . . and that's what happens on here.

 

[say yes]

Only Arsenal.

 

[bingobob]

There's a million positives. Don't think I've see any side cut Mourinho's team open so many times. The Wengerball was spectacular.

If Kos and Mustafi hadn't made those two passes and the penalty had been given, this forum would have been on cloud 9 today.

It's a very fine line between massive highs and massive lows in football. Everybody knows that. That's what makes football so exciting.

The secret is not to go overboard at any of those two imposters . . . and that's what happens on here.

The game becomes that open because we've made the two mistakes and United are content on sitting on a two nil lead away from home. After those goals their pressing stopped.

We took off Mustafi for Iwobi and end up with Lacazette, Alexis, Özil, Iwobi and Ramsey all attacking. Those guys attacking against a team content on defending and breaking resulted in what we seen yesterday.

The match unfolded the way it did because of the mistakes. For all the specular football it only happened because of the mistakes and even then all our spectular football resulted in one goal.

I posted earlier that I don't think De Gea done anything other than expected. All the chances were save able and that's what he done. Lacazette should have bagged a hat trick, Xhaka should have scored there were other chances as well but our finishing on the day was as bad as our play from defence for the first two goals. We are lucky the ref didn't show Kos a red card which would have compounded the problem we face with Mustafi being out injured.

It'll raise the questions over our lack of acquisitions over the summer. Koscielny looks like a man who struggled with the pace of the game, responsible for two goals and looks like he cannot play as many games as he has in such a short period. With the festive season coming up that's a huge concern.

So yeah. I'm struggling for positives to take. Even if we accept we cut them open our finishing was terrible. Our defending was terrible. Our start to a big game was poor and not for the first time. We have now lost three games against the top 6, won 1 and drew another. We are outside the top four. We've picked up an injury in a key area. O well. Onto the next game where we hopefully make up ground and others drop points

 

[Lady_Gooner]

because Jesse Lingard scored a brace.

Yh that celebration made me want to commit.
Think I’m jusr gutted the team didn’t get the reward our attacking display deserved. 14 saves De Gea... ughhhgggghhh

 

[Makingtrax]

We're so lucky in this league. 3 of the most exciting and attacking managers in the world today with Pep, Wenger and Klopp.

If you're a fan of fast, frantic, intricate and exciting football those are the teams to watch.

The only difference between those three teams is money, quality and depth.

Mourinho may have an expensive squad but he's nowhere near in their league. Yesterday showed us that if nothing else. United were lost 90% of that match.

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

Only Arsenal.

It look like a football manager game when you have 20 shot on target and end up losing

 

[Makingtrax]

The game becomes that open because we've made the two mistakes and United are content on sitting on a two nil lead away from home. After those goals their pressing stopped.

We took off Mustafi for Iwobi and end up with Lacazette, Alexis, Özil, Iwobi and Ramsey all attacking. Those guys attacking against a team content on defending and breaking resulted in what we seen yesterday.

The match unfolded the way it did because of the mistakes. For all the specular football it only happened because of the mistakes and even then all our spectular football resulted in one goal.

I posted earlier that I don't think De Gea done anything other than expected. All the chances were save able and that's what he done. Lacazette should have bagged a hat trick, Xhaka should have scored there were other chances as well but our finishing on the day was as bad as our play from defence for the first two goals. We are lucky the ref didn't show Kos a red card which would have compounded the problem we face with Mustafi being out injured.

It'll raise the questions over our lack of acquisitions over the summer. Koscielny looks like a man who struggled with the pace of the game, responsible for two goals and looks like he cannot play as many games as he has in such a short period. With the festive season coming up that's a huge concern.

So yeah. I'm struggling for positives to take. Even if we accept we cut them open our finishing was terrible. Our defending was terrible. Our start to a big game was poor and not for the first time. We have now lost three games against the top 6, won 1 and drew another. We are outside the top four. We've picked up an injury in a key area. O well. Onto the next game where we hopefully make up ground and others drop points

You've got to be joking . . . that double save from De Gea was just sublime. Quality and instincts in perfect balance.

Yesterday's game was one for football aficionados.

***** the result.

 

[tap-in]

The morning after the night before, and I'm not even angry. We played so well and that's all we can ask each game. Ok, we made a few bad errors in defense but could still have won the game comfortably if it were not for one of the best keepers in the world having the game of his life. He wont do that again, it was unbelievable, something like double the saves he's ever made in a game. Onto the next game with confidence!

 

[bingobob]

You've got to be joking . . . that double save from De Gea was just sublime. Quality and instincts in perfect balance.

Yesterday's game was one for football aficionados.

***** the result.

The save was good. The shot was within his reach and then the second save was a tackle. I'd expect a keeper of his quality to save both. Also the follow up by Alexis was very poor. Cechs save from Lindergard was the best save of the day.

The game was fascinating I loved it but then the match finished and you have to analyse what happened. We lost the game because of poor finishing and poor defending. If our finishing was half decent we win yesterday by an embarrassing scoreline.

 

[Makingtrax]

The morning after the night before, and I'm not even angry. We played so well and that's all we can ask each game. Ok, we made a few bad errors in defense but could still have won the game comfortably if it were not for one of the best keepers in the world having the game of his life. He wont do that again, it was unbelievable, something like double the saves he's ever made in a game. Onto the next game with confidence!

The big problem for Wenger is that there's two guys that let down what would have been a team performance of immense proportions. And they know it.

Recovering the boys from that won't be easy. There's a huge amount of psychology in football. So confidence?

 

[Makingtrax]

The save was good. The shot was within his reach and then the second save was a tackle. I'd expect a keeper of his quality to save both. Also the follow up by Alexis was very poor. Cechs save from Lindergard was the best save of the day.

The game was fascinating I loved it but then the match finished and you have to analyse what happened. We lost the game because of poor finishing and poor defending. If our finishing was half decent we win yesterday by an embarrassing scoreline.

You can't deny there's a huge amount of luck in football.

Their first goal was shot straight at our defender and it went through two sets of legs. That wasn't the result of good finishing. We had dozens of shots into their box after we carved them open and none of them ricocheted into the net or went through legs.

You can only play the odds in football, that's all Wenger can do. With xG of 4.6 and 33 shots to 4 and 75% possession, he's doing everything right. And that's supposedly against one of the best teams in the league.

Anything else said about the game is just people releasing frustration.

 

[Penn_]

How did we not get at least one penalty in this game. Especially Welbeck’s which was such a clear foul.

 

[tap-in]

The big problem for Wenger is that there's two guys that let down what would have been a team performance of immense proportions. And they know it.

Recovering the boys from that won't be easy. There's a huge amount of psychology in football. So confidence?

Well Mustafi is injured, so we only have to worry about Kos. He'll be fine once the guys have bootlaced him in the showers

 

[IslingtonBornandbred]

Seems like amongst all this talk about expected goals and shots, the elephant in the room is conveniently being avoided. What a heroic loss as usual. Exactly the mentality which has stopped us winning the league. Errors are errors regardless of who's at fault. They all point to the same thing, and it's not transfers or the signing of the players who made the errors. Player's misplace passess all the time, but there is a culture at our club where the errors often come down to concentration, naivety and similar. Koscielny plays a stupid cross field ball, Mustafi tries a stupid short reverse pass whilst being pressed and Kos get's bullied by Pogba and Xhaka is day dreaming in his own six yard box. That's basic from Mustafi, can't believe people are blaming Xhaka or Monreal. If the pass isn't on, just hit an area. It's game management and intelligence. Risk/Reward. There is a big difference between hitting the stand or knocking it long and giving it away rather than giving it to them near your goal. Why are we always the naive ones that don't know how to grind out a result when it really matters? We might get the odd result like against Chelsea away, but you know when it really matters, when it really comes down to it, we will always be the creators of our own downfall with Wenger in recent times.

Yesterday, Mourinho's team knew how to kill and how to win. I'm sure he didn't plan or want to concede so many chances, but he set his team up to kill on the counter attack with Martial, Lukaku and Lingard. When we went to 2-1, we still had virtually 40 minutes. Don't concede. Stay in the game. We recklessly went forward. Xhaka was finding himself on the left/right wing, with Ramsey forward as well. From the first couple of minutes of the game, United were at our back 3 after one or two passess, it was too easy. When the third goal when it around 60 mins, that way it game over.

As usual, we lose beautifully and in a dramatic fashion but that doesn't win you the league. 2-0 down against United after 15 mins but the performance was a positive? You can spin it whatever way you want, but Mourinho set his team up yesterday to defend and counter, and after 12 minutes they were 2-0 up. Arsenal would then need to attack and would do so recklessly and United would expose us on the counter even more. End result, United 3-1.

Not a heroic performance. Not a positive. Not an overreaction. It's the same old, same old. Stupid errors and then getting bitten by a team and manager that knows how to win. Mourinho will be sitting there laughing at Wenger. Pretty much sums us up. He's gone away with the three points and we are sitting here talking about expected goals and chances created.

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

How did we not get at least one penalty in this game. Especially Welbeck’s which was such a clear foul.

I have no idea how the linesmen didn't see that it was clear penalty

 

[BobP]

It’s one of the few issues we have left in the setup. Yes it’s being exploited by the opposition, but there isn’t much else as far as I can see.

Wenger knows we are short there at the moment. I expect to see some work done to that effect. Especially when it’s cost us so many points already in a tight season

It's a bigger issue than you'd think.

If you can't play out the back with any semblance of stability, you've got serious problems.

Wenger has been pretty clear about it being his approach, that is the midfielders pushing up and the CBs being tasked with the role of constructing play from deep. He said explicitly that it was to cope with deep sitting opposition and yet we play the same against teams who are more willing to push higher up.

 

[Makingtrax]

I have no idea how the linesmen didn't see that it was clear penalty

Just read the Telegraph saying there was a penalty on Welbeck and Lacazette.

'Jose Mourinho was so incensed that Marriner may have had that in his mind when he overlooked fouls by substitute Matteo Darmian and Chris Smalling on substitute Danny Welbeck and Lacazette respectively, both of which were penalties.'

 

[bingobob]

You can't deny there's a huge amount of luck in football.

Their first goal was shot straight at our defender and it went through two sets of legs. That wasn't the result of good finishing. We had dozens of shots into their box after we carved them open and none of them ricocheted into the net or went through legs.

You can only play the odds in football, that's all Wenger can do. With xG of 4.6 and 33 shots to 4 and 75% possession, he's doing everything right. And that's supposedly against one of the best teams in the league.

Anything else said about the game is just people releasing frustration.

I'm not blaming Wenger. For a change. He actually done the right thing yesterday. Especially when Mustafi got injured. Big call but the right one (although I would have picked Wilshere instead but hey ho I'll not grumble)

The players let him down massively. Poor judgement equally bad finishing.

 

[kopzilla]

Yeah but they got bodies in the way, their keeper made saves, they got heads on the ball - if we were so ****ing good why did we only score ONE. You can have the attitude to defend & unfortunately that is not in our DNA

It was backs to the wall defending..similar to how Almunia kept out attack after attack from the home match Vs Barcelona couple of seasons ago...

However both defences were poor...on another day it would have been 3-3 ...we were denied a penalty too...