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

[celestis]

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.

He hasn't baby sat him at all. Flamini been floundering all by himself.

 

[Clrnc]

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

My bad, 3 goals and 4 assists in 16 starts this year. At least that is so much better than 3 league goals for Ox since 2013.

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

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.

when the last time Sp**s played a decent team in the league? all the time i watch them they playing crap teams like Sunderland Norwich etc..

 

[WhatAFC]

It's games like this that shows how important coq is not only to the defensive side of our play, but also the attacking. He gives people freedom to play.

The Leicester game is way more important than it should be, however, we are 2 points behind city. If anyone had said that would be he case at this stage of the season I think pretty much every fan would take it.

I just can't see Leicester being able to keep this level for the whole season. They must have a dip in form.

 

[emilursin]

My bad, 3 goals and 4 assists in 16 starts this year. At least that is so much better than 3 league goals for Ox since 2013.

Yeah, neither good enough atm, 22 (16+6) appearances and 3 goals from a winger at Arsenal FC aint good enough, that's like 5-7 goals a season.

 

[Reyes]

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.

While I agree it wasn't a clear cut dominating performance, it was clear we were the better side. We weren't at Stoke, for instance, and also not against Liverpool and Chelsea in my opinion. That's why I think we are overreacting to this game while you could argue all three PL games in front of this one were much, much worse. Especially in play, not especially in result. We had the clear cut chances, Southampton maybe had one. 14 shots doesn't always say everything.

EDIT: I'd even argue, as much as was wrong with this performance, that we didn't play terrible at all. If you go back to the win against Man City at home and the games since that game, we've played a lot worse. A lot.

 

[Reyes]

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.

I think the feeling everyone has is described well in your last sentence. Realistically, nothing is lost, but we've had a lot of terrible years and the biggest real chance is on the horizon. We want it so, so bad, that we can't cope with the pressure, even as fans. I have a feeling like you in the back of my head, but I refuse to give up, and wish everyone else would do that. Now is not the time to stop supporting and start complaining. That comes later.

Of course, I mean complaining in a way so negative that it seems everything is wrong. There is a lot wrong, but be realistic.

 

[redwhiteAustrian]

when the last time Sp**s played a decent team in the league? all the time i watch them they playing crap teams like Sunderland Norwich etc..

They might say the same about us, yet we equally struggled against mediocre opposition and against decent ones .

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

They might say the same about us, yet we equally struggled against mediocre opposition and against decent ones .

What hurt me more that we dropped points against Norwich and Westbrom away we should have won these games.

 

[Reyes]

What hurt me more that we dropped points against Norwich and Westbrom away we should have won these games.

Norwich away is the worst result of this season. Even worse than Southampton away.

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

Norwich away is the worst result of this season. Even worse than Southampton away.

Agree S**t result Cazorla Alexis got bad injures and to make it worse a player called crap scored against us.

 

[Nicenho]

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.

Hoping that u are right mate, just preparing for the worst...again

 

[Kroket]

He hasn't baby sat him at all. Flamini been floundering all by himself.

Fair point

In any case I hope the defensive stability Coq brings to the team gets Ramsey to start playing to his strengths again.

 

[tap-in]

when the last time Sp**s played a decent team in the league? all the time i watch them they playing crap teams like Sunderland Norwich etc..

Would that be the same crap Norwich that held us to a draw

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

Would that be the same crap Norwich that held us to a draw

Well they are crap and will get relegated but that night we were more crap than them honestly

 

[SuperGoon]

All Arsenal fans have PTSD. It is known.


We have endured worse than this with far worse players. Here's what's going to happen, we'll win against Leicester, we'll win against Sp**s, we'll win against City.


In the big, BIG, BIG pressure games we turn up. Look at Bayern at home. 2-0 to one of the top sides in Europe. Sp**s will choke, they always do. Man City go bang out of form without notice. Leicester are finally being taken seriously, there's pressure on them from the media now. They're new to that.

It's tough having hope. But when we're still 5 points away from top with 14 or so games to go it is still well within our grasp. We can do it. Arsenal are most dangerous when you count them out.

 

[tap-in]

All Arsenal fans have PTSD. It is known.


We have endured worse than this with far worse players. Here's what's going to happen, we'll win against Leicester, we'll win against Sp**s, we'll win against City.


In the big, BIG, BIG pressure games we turn up. Look at Bayern at home. 2-0 to one of the top sides in Europe. Sp**s will choke, they always do. Man City go bang out of form without notice. Leicester are finally being taken seriously, there's pressure on them from the media now. They're new to that.

It's tough having hope. But when we're still 5 points away from top with 14 or so games to go it is still well within our grasp. We can do it. Arsenal are most dangerous when you count them out.

I like your logic, that means we will be knocking Barca out of the CL and going on to win the treble.

 

[SuperGoon]

See, now we're getting somewhere.

 

[Tourbillion]

Ain't winning **** but the FA Cup.

 

[Batman]

@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.

Thanks, just watched them. Wow. I didn't follow him at Celtic so I hadn't seen any footage of him there. The look of bewilderment on Messi's face said it all. Alexis had a similar one as well, must have been like deja vu for the poor bugger yesterday lol. I definitely want him to wear our shirt one day. I get that Sczcesny still looked to have some potential last season but you wonder how a club like Southampton can identify and sign a talent like that and we sign Ospina. Anyway it would be nice to have a top quality English keeper in the net again. I always take a bit of extra pride in rooting for our English lads.