General Reserves Talk

[MutableEarth]

We're dominating the game but we're very profligate.

Haven't seen the whole game by any means, Villa have had their moments but it does seem that we have been pretty well on top so far during the second half. It's good to see a decent strong backline with good organisation, we need to have more of that from Academy upwards.

We've been on top all game really, we just haven't taken our chances. Akpom could have had at least a hattrick by now, but they outline the need for him to be more composed at times.

I like the shape of the backline aswell. Hayden is a good leader at this level aswell.

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

Akpom finish it off. 2-0.

 

[MutableEarth]

Akpom seals it - good ball from Zelalem. Zelalem MUCH better in the 2nd half. Good display.

 

[Iceman10]

2-0, should be game over. Well done lads. Liked the passing in midfield prior to the goal, we were pinging it around sensibly and breaking Villa's resolve in the process.

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

I think we made no subs yet?

 

[Tir Na Nog]

Who's that young Scottish winger we have? (he's like 15/16), been trying to remember his name for the last few minutes!

 

[MutableEarth]

Who's that young Scottish winger we have? (he's like 15/16), been trying to remember his name for the last few minutes!

Charlie Gilmour.

 

[GunnerBP]

Nice to see Diaby play a full 90 minutes. Hopefully, he'll play against Southampton in the Capitol One Cup.

 

[Taylor Gang Gunners]

I reckon Akpom's time is coming sooner than we think. He's making all kind of noise at youth level and did well on loan last season. He's got a good frame for his age and he genuinely loves scoring goals.

High hopes for the lad, good to see Diaby come through 90 minutes unscathed also.

 

[Tir Na Nog]

Chris Willock! And it turns out he isn't Scottish either...

 

[DontPushMe]

Any game analysis for those of us who couldn't watch?

 

[GunnerBP]

I didn't catch much of the first half but I watched all of the second half.

Overall, we were far and away better than Villa, and we should have won by a much larger scoreline.

In goal Martinez didn't have much to do, but what he did do he did well. His distribution out of the back was pretty good, but considering that Akpom was bullying the Villa defense all Martinez had to do was smash the ball to about midfield and Akpom would win it.

In defense Bellerin and Hayden were the standouts. Hayden controlled the defense without any problem.

Bellerin also is too good to be playing at this level. He should have gotten himself a goal from a nice run, but he took an extra touch in the box.

O'Conner is big, but he needs to improve a lot defensively. Didn't seem sure of himself and made some unnecessary fouls.

Ormonde-Ottwell had a pretty decent second half but nothing really stood out..

Coquelin, I thought, had a pretty bad second half. His passing was a bit off and he didn't dominate the midfield. He ran around a bunch and harassed players, but I think he is poor positionally.

Diaby pretty much ran the midfield, which should be expected since he was playing against kids. He moved around well and had some nice long passes.

Zelalem in the second half basically dictated our offense. He had good movement and some nice passes. He assisted on Akpom's second.

Crowley played okay, but his decision making and set pieces need to improve. All of his corners were poor and he took an extra touch too often. The potential is definitely there, but his decision making needs to improve a bit.

Maitland-Niles played well but it never looked like he was going to score. He is clearly a good player, but he was just a little off today. He had a couple of chances that he should have finished and didn't.

Akpom is too good for this league and he clearly knows it. He attacked the Villa defense every time he got the ball regardless of how many were in front of him. He was untouchable in 1v1 situations and they had to resort to fouling him. He was decent in 2v1 and regularly attempted 3v1. You could hear his teammates screaming for him to pass and he couldn't have cared less. I wouldn't say that he was selfish, but just wanted to see how many players he could get by in this awful Villa defense. He scored both of the goals, and he really wanted a hat trick.

Overall, this team has a lot of talent and players that are already part of the first team (Martinez, Hayden, Bellerin, Coquelin, Diaby, Zelalem and Akpom), so they should have won easily and they did that.

 

[BobP]

Akpom needs to go out on loan, pronto.

 

[Penn_]

Why didn't Akpom go on loan as advised by Jonker or at least have Sanogo's place in the first team? When watching Akpom you can clearly see his a level above the other players. However when you I've seen Sanogo play for U21s and he doesn't really stand out, in fact most of the goals I've seen him score look scuffed/lucky.

 

[error_prone]

Gnabry, Olsson, Akpom, Bellerin, Zelalem, Hayden, Crowley, Maithland-Niles and Martinez, this would be a decent PL team if you add some muscles on them.
Akpom looks like a young Henry from Monaco and early Higbury days, I have high hopes he will develop into something special like Henry did.
Diaby was also good, with years he developed football brain and his game is much simpler now with a bit of his famous runs.
1 negative thing from this game was Zelalem's first half, that boy is so good on the ball but he has to move around and be more agresive to dominate midfield, thats why I rate Olsson higher at the moment (on the positive he was much better in second half just because he moved without the ball).

 

[Jasard]

I'd be fuming if we let Akpom go without giving him a chance after all these chances Sanogo is getting

 

[Iceman10]

Why didn't Akpom go on loan as advised by Jonker or at least have Sanogo's place in the first team? When watching Akpom you can clearly see his a level above the other players. However when you I've seen Sanogo play for U21s and he doesn't really stand out, in fact most of the goals I've seen him score look scuffed/lucky.

Do you have a link/quote associated with Jonker advising on loaning Akpom out?

 

[SiMamu]

Why didn't Akpom go on loan as advised by Jonker or at least have Sanogo's place in the first team? When watching Akpom you can clearly see his a level above the other players. However when you I've seen Sanogo play for U21s and he doesn't really stand out, in fact most of the goals I've seen him score look scuffed/lucky.

There was talk of him joining Feyenoord on loan towards the end of the move, with Arsenal pulling out of the deal after Giroud got injured. But then we signed Welbeck.

 

[Jasard]

I feel like the only hope Akpom has is if he has a stormer on loan at a Prem or equal side. A hope at this club I mean, really want him to get a chance to prove himself somewhere

 

[Inthe blood]

<a class="postlink" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2BTCQ6Q7uQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2BTCQ6Q7uQ</a>

Criminal this guy hasn't been given more of a chance, great ball from Zelalem for the second