PL: Huddersfield Town vs Arsenal | February 9th | KO: 15:00 |

[field442]

I'd be very surprised if Marvo doesn't start.

He’s not in the Europa league squad.

 

[OnlyOne]

He’s not in the Europa league squad.

Oh yeah.

 

[NZgunner]

3 points is 3 points, but that performance (particularly the 2nd half) against anyone else other than the worst team in the league by a wide margin, would have been another away defeat.

Yes we still have injuries and the virus that's going round, but it just shows up how weak the squad really is.

Mkhitaryan is coming back from injury but he was peripheral, Iwobi was his normal useless self - but the most disappointing performance for me was AMN, mainly because the more I see of him the less I believe he'll be a top player.

With all the talk of so little money being available for transfers next season is looking more and more like it's just going to be the same as this one - the difference will be that Emery won't be cut any slack.

 

[blaze_of_glory]

Why not just say 'I don't think we've made enough progress', rather than making up false news about the quality of the league / our performances relative to the top 6 though?

I don't think I could ever find watching Arsenal boring tbh, but maybe that's just me. I've enjoyed watching us more this season than I have done for years.

My sense has been that the top teams are dropping fewer points this year, maybe I'm wrong about that. Just has seemed like there's barely been any upsets compared to usual, but maybe that's not been the case. Could be that Liverpool's long unbeaten run and Sp**s being so consistent is making it seem more that way than it is.

And it's not even that I don't think we've made enough progress yet. Coming into the season I wasn't expecting us to be really any better in terms of where we are in the table than where we are now. Our start to the season was so promising though, and then I think some poor decisions caused us to lose the opportunity to be in a better position than we are now, and have made our play progressively worse as the season has gone on.

I just think there is some overstating of where we are really at the moment going on. We've had some great performances in some big games, but the way we scrape by with really ugly football (and sometimes don't) in other games is disheartening. I think our players are good enough to aspire to a better approach than we often see. We are getting results again at the moment thankfully, but we're making hard work of it, and the way we seem to be trying to play doesn't make me all that excited about where it can take us. Hopefully I'm wrong and next year we'll see it all start to come together.

 

[Mo Britain]

1 point behind United, with them still to come to the Emirates. Still right in that race for the top 4, plus the EL doesn't have an Atletico style powerhouse in it this year so winning that could be a route into the CL.

I'm talking in a general sense, not necessarily today's performance. I think the football will be better next season if the club signs a good replacement for Mustafi and a new LB who actually bothers tracking back unlike Kolasinac. Emery has chopped and changed a lot trying to find the right combination and the lack of cohesion is a result of that, but hopefully signing an AM + winger will give the attack a spark. With Xhaka/Torreira/New AM/New Winger/Aubameyang hopefully we'll see a more settled team each week with Emery having more players he's signed (and therefore trusts).

Trouble is today's performance has only been a particularly poor version of what we've been doing for weeks, We haven't really had a good one since the Spuds game, arguably only had four good games in the PL this season.

We did wing a lot of results up to early December playing indifferently but not since then, we've played poorly and dropped plenty of points. We've probably done enough to hold on to 6th but do not look like getting any higher at the moment.

The solutions everyone offers all involve spending money which won't be made available and the team, having started the season looking more like an outfit, is gradually becoming demoralised. There is an air, amongst players and fans alike, of decline and decay as if everyone has been contaminated by the lack of sporting ambition in our ruling hierarchy.

There is no belief amongst Arsenal people that the Arsenal will be stronger when measured against our rivals next season. We are one investment short of dropping out of the "Big Six" and it could well happen next season.

 

[Slartibartfast]

My sense has been that the top teams are dropping fewer points this year, maybe I'm wrong about that. Just has seemed like there's barely been any upsets compared to usual, but maybe that's not been the case. Could be that Liverpool's long unbeaten run and Sp**s being so consistent is making it seem more that way than it is.

And it's not even that I don't think we've made enough progress yet. Coming into the season I wasn't expecting us to be really any better in terms of where we are in the table than where we are now. Our start to the season was so promising though, and then I think some poor decisions caused us to lose the opportunity to be in a better position than we are now, and have made our play progressively worse as the season has gone on.

I just think there is some overstating of where we are really at the moment going on. We've had some great performances in some big games, but the way we scrape by with really ugly football (and sometimes don't) in other games is disheartening. I think our players are good enough to aspire to a better approach than we often see. We are getting results again at the moment thankfully, but we're making hard work of it, and the way we seem to be trying to play doesn't make me all that excited about where it can take us. Hopefully I'm wrong and next year we'll see it all start to come together.

Last year Arsenal dropped 8 points to relegated clubs and 22 to the bottom half. After 26 games this season, Arsenal has dropped 7 points (a pace for about 10 on the season) to teams currently in the bottom half. So certainly Arsenal is not dropping points to the lesser clubs like it did last year. This has been an enormous improvement.

Arsenal has dropped too many points away this year (19 in 26 games), but last year dropped 41 in 38 games. So there's definite improvement in this area as well.

Emery doesn't have a squad of his players just yet. It's natural that they should struggle at times adapting to the new system, which some of them frankly don't fit. He needs to make more changes and get the players he wants and who fit what he's trying to do. Until then, there will naturally be ups and downs. Injuries to the defense have been catastrophic as well since early December.

So while it's not always exactly what I'd like to be seeing, I'm encouraged by the fact that Arsenal is truly in a battle for 4th place. I realize that right now United looks really good, but they'll hit a rough patch and have some very tough games coming up. It's up for grabs and that's enough for now. There's also the Europa League and Emery has proven he knows how to win that, so maybe he will again. Be not discouraged!

 

[asukru]

Watched the first bit once I got home from work and then I couldn't be bothered to be honest. So I just watched the highlights. The missus wanted to get dinner and to be honest that's more important lol.

 

[Manberg]

Good result, awful performance.
Huddersfield of all teams cut through our midfield and defence like a knife through butter. A team with much more quality in the final third would have scored loads more.
Unless our performances vastly improve we're not getting top 4.

 

[blaze_of_glory]

Last year Arsenal dropped 8 points to relegated clubs and 22 to the bottom half. After 26 games this season, Arsenal has dropped 7 points (a pace for about 10 on the season) to teams currently in the bottom half. So certainly Arsenal is not dropping points to the lesser clubs like it did last year. This has been an enormous improvement.

Arsenal has dropped too many points away this year (19 in 26 games), but last year dropped 41 in 38 games. So there's definite improvement in this area as well.

Emery doesn't have a squad of his players just yet. It's natural that they should struggle at times adapting to the new system, which some of them frankly don't fit. He needs to make more changes and get the players he wants and who fit what he's trying to do. Until then, there will naturally be ups and downs. Injuries to the defense have been catastrophic as well since early December.

So while it's not always exactly what I'd like to be seeing, I'm encouraged by the fact that Arsenal is truly in a battle for 4th place. I realize that right now United looks really good, but they'll hit a rough patch and have some very tough games coming up. It's up for grabs and that's enough for now. There's also the Europa League and Emery has proven he knows how to win that, so maybe he will again. Be not discouraged!

Yeah those are all fair points. There has certainly been improvement over last season in some areas. But we need to remember last season was the worst season this club has had in the past 22 years. So while it's good we are ahead of where we were last year, we shouldn't get too excited at this point. And again, insofar as position in the table were are essentially stagnant as is. But that could (hopefully) change. And of course it is just year one.
But as I've said before, the manner of how we seem to be trying to play is pretty worrying. I'm just far from convinced at this point that it's going to get us to where we want to be.

 

[Slartibartfast]

Yeah those are all fair points. There has certainly been improvement over last season in some areas. But we need to remember last season was the worst season this club has had in the past 22 years. So while it's good we are ahead of where we were last year, we shouldn't get too excited at this point. And again, insofar as position in the table were are essentially stagnant as is. But that could (hopefully) change. And of course it is just year one.
But as I've said before, the manner of how we seem to be trying to play is pretty worrying. I'm just far from convinced at this point that it's going to get us to where we want to be.

Well, I would argue that when you're coming off your worst season in 22 years you can't expect to turn things around overnight. Yes, Arsenal is currently 6th in the league table, which is where they finished last year. But rather than being buried there far behind the top 5, the Gunners are a single point behind 4th and have a decent chance of finishing in the top 4 if they can get some players healthy and incorporated back into the squad. Last year they finished a full 12 points from 4th place and seven from 5th. It's hardly set in stone that Arsenal will finish 6th and even if they do it will be a far more competitive 6th than last year. It already is.

As for how the team is trying to play, they're trying to get along as best they can with players who don't particularly fit into Emery's system. It's pretty obvious that he doesn't have the players he wants or needs. He's trying things he's never tried before because of that. If you look at Emery's teams at Valencia and Sevilla, you'll see what he's trying to get to here in terms of style and philosophy. But it takes time.

I was just looking through the expectations thread from last offseason. There was a poll in which most people said they just wanted to see some improvement or that they were prepared to write this season off altogether and look forward to 2019-20. I was among those who argued that Arsenal should expect to finish in the top 4 because Arsenal should always expect the top 4 (not to do so would become a self-fulfilling prophesy). I still expect Arsenal to finish in the top 4 and I'm encouraged that they're in position to do that. But if they don't, that doesn't mean the season is a failure. Rebuilding is called rebuilding for a reason. You have to lay a foundation first, then the building blocks. The roof doesn't come until later. They need more transfer windows to move players in and out. Then we'll see Emery's team.

 

[celestis]

I am hoping the reason Emery sets us up to play such primitive football is because he knows we have players who are not very good.

It makes sense - Wenger's team was diabolical to watch in the latter years (actually, from the 12/13 season onwards) and all he knew was "sexy possession football" yet it still didn't work despite that being all he knew.

Due to that, I'm optimistic we will play better football with better players in.

Can remember us being a bit diabolical to watch in 12/13 but even the season Nasri and Fab had left we still played awesome football in the 2nd hafl of the season . Nothing like what we are playing now .

What you describe as sexy football requires a fair bit of structure and technical know how and it was successful . If anything our attack looks completely off the cuff now .

Think to completely get dominated in midfield like we did at Huddersfield is a worry only thing that stopped them from popping two or three past us was the fact they hadn't scored for 8 hours at home . We had Guendouzi , Torreira ,Iwobi and Mkhi they are technically better than their counterparts yet we were easily pinned .

 

[Jury]

Eriksen 193 league games, 56 assists, 45 goals
Özil 156 league games, 51 assists, 30 goals

If Eriksen is your standard bearer then we already have one of those creative dudes who doesn't hide.

To say Eriksen hides is just ridiculous. You're brave putting those stats up tbh. I remember the days when people laughed at those who compared the two players... There's nothing between them stats wise.

Anyone give Özil to Sp**s in exchange for Eriksen plus £30m now?

 

[Jury]

What you describe as sexy football requires a fair bit of structure and technical know how and it was successful . If anything our attack looks completely off the cuff now .
.

Well nothing's changed on that front then. It's looked off the cuff for about the last 4 years tbh. It's been said many times too.

 

[Slartibartfast]

If anything our attack looks completely off the cuff now .

Think to completely get dominated in midfield like we did at Huddersfield is a worry only thing that stopped them from popping two or three past us was the fact they hadn't scored for 8 hours at home . We had Guendouzi , Torreira ,Iwobi and Mkhi they are technically better than their counterparts yet we were easily pinned .

I think this is largely due to Emery going with a back 3 because he doesn't trust any of the defenders he currently has, aside from Koscielny. Arsenal was a midfielder short. Things were starting to look halfway decent with the back 4 until Holding went down and then Bellerin. As far as I know Emery had never used a back 3 in the past. He's always been a flexible 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 guy.

Maybe once Sokratis is back and Emery can pair him with Koscielny they can use an extra midfielder again. I think it would have been completely different today with either Xhaka or Elneny or Suarez along with Torreira and Guendouzi.

In any case, I'll be glad when summer comes and they can get busy addressing their defensive issues.

 

[celestis]

Well nothing's changed on that front then. It's looked off the cuff for about the last 4 years tbh. It's been said many times too.

Indeed which is why I bring it up because now it completely looks hit and miss .

 

[Jury]

Indeed which is why I bring it up because now it completely looks hit and miss .

It looked like that when we had Alexis and Özil playing well together as well though. We're talking slight variations of consistently disjointed. The attack hasn't looked structured since RvP left tbh.

 

[celestis]

I think this is largely due to Emery going with a back 3 because he doesn't trust any of the defenders he currently has, aside from Koscielny. Arsenal was a midfielder short. Things were starting to look halfway decent with the back 4 until Holding went down and then Bellerin. As far as I know Emery had never used a back 3 in the past. He's always been a flexible 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 guy.

Maybe once Sokratis is back and Emery can pair him with Koscielny they can use an extra midfielder again. I think it would have been completely different today with either Xhaka or Elneny or Suarez along with Torreira and Guendouzi.

In any case, I'll be glad when summer comes and they can get busy addressing their defensive issues.

We have defensive issues but a lot of of it is down to the lack of protection and lack of ability to hold on to the ball .

I hope you are right though .

 

[Slartibartfast]

We have defensive issues but a lot of of it is down to the lack of protection and lack of ability to hold on to the ball .

I hope you are right though .

I think a lot of the inability to hold onto the ball today came from Mustafi and Maitland-Niles. Torreira and Guendouzi weren't in great form today, but they were under a lot of pressure because of the team's inability to play the ball out from the back. They were too slow and took too many touches.

 

[celestis]

It looked like that when we had Alexis and Özil playing well together as well though. We're talking slight variations of consistently disjointed. The attack hasn't looked structured since RvP left tbh.

They were allowed because let's face they were elite and they knew how to stretch and open up defences .

 

[TorontoGooner76]

I think a lot of the inability to hold onto the ball today came from Mustafi and Maitland-Niles. Torreira and Guendouzi weren't in great form today, but they were under a lot of pressure because of the team's inability to play the ball out from the back. They were too slow and took too many touches.

I agree. At one point I noticed that when we were playing out from the back and Leno had the ball, Huddersfield were pressing in such a way that he had to pass to Mustafi to play it out. And most often then not, it resulted in a poor pass to Maitland-Niles, or a long ball towards Lacazette. The latter option completely killed our short spell of possession very quickly on several occasions. It is so obvious how much Bellerin is missed at right back.