By Walter Broeckx
Arsenal team at the start: Cech, Holding, Mustafi, Monreal, Bellerin, Kolisanac, Ramsey, Xhaka, Iwobi, Alexis and Lacazette.
On the beach: Ospina, Mertesacker, Wilshere, Maitland-Niles, Elneny, Giroud, Walcott.
So no Özil as was said but Iwobi was fit again. At the back Koscielny didn’t pass his late fitness test and Holding took his place.
What a start from Arsenal. The ball came in front of the feet of Lacazette who from around 25 meters out didn’t hesitate one second and unleashed a rocket that almost threw the goalpost in to the stands. Alas… the goalpost bounced the ball back in the field and Alexis couldn’t convert the rebound. That would have been one goal….
Arsenal press Brighton back against their goal for most of the time and trying to create an early goal. But all 11 Brighton players defend as if their lives depend on it. Attack after attack goes in the direction of the Brighton goal but always a leg in the way and if a shot goes past the defenders Ryan stops the shot from Alexis. A bit later Iwobi with a shot but Ryan again stopping the effort. No score after 15 minutes.
A free kick from the right hand side after a foul on Lacazette is delivered by Xhaka. Lacazette heads it back in front of goal to Mustafi who sees his shot blocked by a defender, the ball falls to Bellerin who has a shot that is also blocked but the ball ends up in front of the feet of Monreal who finally puts it over the line. GOAL!!! 1-0 to the Arsenal after 15 minutes.
Arsenal keeps on attacking but Brighton after a while comes a bit more forward. Izquerdo tries a shot but Holding throws himself in to the ball and blocks it. The match more even now but whenever Arsenal have the ball Brighton runs back to their penalty area with all 11 eleven players. Brighton get a free kick and after a clever manoeuvre the shot taken rattles the goalpoast nearly as hard as the Lacazette shot. Also this time the rebound goes wide. Arsenal maybe playing to slow at times to unlock such a concrete wall. Still 1-0 after 30 minutes.
The same game image with Arsenal dominating the match but not quick enough in their passing to unlock the Brighton wall. Lots of attacks end up in the overcrowded Brighton penalty area. In the last minutes of the first half the visitors go forward a bit more and even some pressure on Arsenal but not much danger from their efforts. Duffy gets a well deserved yellow card for a kick on the ankle of Alexis at the halfway line. Still 1-0 after 45 minutes.
Alexis with a good pass but no Arsenal player at the end of it. The pressure mounting again in the Brighton goal but the defenders outnumber the attackers. A shot from distance from Dunk from Brighton forces Cech to make a save. But then at the other end a great attack involving Ramsey, Iwobi and Alexis finds Alexis with the ball under his feet in the Brighton penalty area under pressure from some 3 defenders, a back heel flick from the Chilean finds Iwobi in space and he makes no mistake and finishes the attack. GOAL!!! 2-0 after 56 minutes.
Arsenal now really pushing Brighton back and Alexis has a few good moments to score a third Arsenal goal. But a miss, and a ball cleared off the line keeps the score low. From the resulting corner Kolasinac heads towards the goal with the keeper stranded but a Brighton defender stops the ball on the line. We should have been up much more by now. Lacazette with the next chance after a good pass but his left footed shot is blocked at the last instance by a defender. Still 2-0 after 70 minutes.
Giroud and Walcott come on for Lacazette and Iwobi. Brighton happy to sit deep still and keep the score low. Alexis very busy but not always lucky with his passing to his teammates. Slowly Arsenal take their foot of the throttle and Brighton comes alive a bit. Elneny comes on for Xhaka.
In the last 10 minutes Brighton finally tries to make a match of it and sends in some crosses but can’t really beat Cech. But still Arsenal has to be alert now after having been able to keep them away from the Arsenal goal for most of the time in this match. Some half chances and a few corners for Brighton but no more than that. Arsenal is happy to bring the match to an end without conceding a goal and without risking too much legs going forward.
Arsenal win 2-0 and it probably should have been more than this score but the Brighton goal keeper made some important saves and their defenders did an amazing job one could say by blocking many attacks and clearing a lot of crosses.
For the moment Arsenal sits now in 5th place level with champions Chelsea and one point behind the leader of the Manchester chasing pack. 4 clean sheets in a row since the Liverpool defeat and 2 wins in the Europa in between and a win in the league cup. I think we had a good period. Now let us hope we can come back to this level after the international break.
Thanks for the report Walter.
Great win and congratulations to the team, it was a stroll in the park performance. Just a small rant, I would have preferred some of the players to give 100% effort for the fans throughout the match, I understand they wanted to reserve energy for their international duties, but the fans who paid to watch them played deserved better.
Pray that none of the Arsenal players get any injuries playing for their country. Let keep this winning momentum going.
WOO HOO, HOO ! Three points and a clean sheet ! Well done.
Up the Gunners !
Great team performance…. Another clean sheet…. Another 3 points.
Congratulations to Arsene – 45th different opposition beaten in PL – longevity is not cheap and such records don’t come cheap in management as well. It’s his 21st year today.
The team accuracy and conversion rate is down compared to last season wherein we were best in the league…
Good defending and great goalkeeping are also factors for the team’s low scores. I believe the gold will improve as the season progresses.
The guys are growing as well – with better decision making they’ll put teams away more quickly. For instance, Lacazette passing to Alexis in min 33 would have been a goal. Alexis is the mature guy in all these aspects (makes the best decision most of the time), so I believe as he gets fitter, things will improve,and the team will score more.
International break – I hope the internationals win with their various teams – and every body comes back healthy.
It’s very difficult to play against a team which plays in its own half defending their penalty area , when they did try to move forward they never committed too many players
Arsenal played a very patient game , one of the Arsenal’s best chances came from a Brighton corner when Ramsey’s attempt was saved by the goalkeepers foot
In such a match a player like Mesut could bring better and quicker passing to the team.
Just back from the game – very heavy traffic all the way along the M1, but mitigated by listening to Everton making fools of the pundits once again.
I though our players did give a full effort throughout, but Brighton kept on trying, right up to the last. Spaces in the stadium once again, although the away section was fully occupied compared with the awful WBA support who only took a fraction of their permitted number.
It wasn’t a game that we’ll remember for a long time except for the ludicrous kick off time. But it was another win, another lock-out, and level with a team that spent £185m in the last transfer window. Not too bad considered the endless doom and gloom thrown at us before.
And no Wenger out banners either. Where do those people go when we have six wins and a draw in the last seven?
And should have said – glad you could see the game Walter.
I agree Walter that Mesut would have made a difference as long as he had movement in front of him , when Arsenal play really it’s always about there movement with and without the ball
Here is the league table (not completely including the Newcastle/Liverpool match), arranged firstly on goals against, and then points.
Goals Against
_1 Man$ 02
_2 ManU 02
_3 Burnley 05
_4 Spuds 05
_5 Newcastle 05
_6 Chel$ea 06
_7 Huddersfield 07
_8 Southampton 07
_9 Arsenal 08
10 WBA 08
11 Swansea 08
12 B&HA 09
13 Liverpool 11
14 Stoke 11
15 Bournemouth 11
16 Watford 12
17 Everton 12
18 Leicester 12
19 StateAid 13
20 CPalace 17
Ninth isn’t the greatest, but half of our goals against is one game. Lots of reason to think good things, as without that game we are nominally third on goals against.
“It wasn’t a game that we’ll remember for a long time except for the ludicrous kick off time.”
Lent a hand with live blogging this morning on another Arsenal site. My kickoff time was 6am (Houston TX)– and the main blogger was up at 4am (San Francisco CA). Was dark outside until the end of the match. Such is the lot of global Gooners!
Wanted to say, though I felt Nacho Monreal was the MOTM in a team of very even performances?
That it was good to see Rob Holding go 90 minutes in an uneventful shift. He needed one of those under his belt.
Though it could have been at least 4 goals today (Lacazette, Ramsey)– 2-0 to the good is a fine way to go to into a break.
*sigh* Now 2 weeks before Watford. Wishing good health on all our travelers.
jw1
jw1
“That it was good to see Rob Holding go 90 minutes in an uneventful shift. He needed one of those under his belt.”
Great point.
A few more, uneventful, solid performances will do him the world of good.
Now up to fifth in the table following the Merseyside’s travails. Everton continuing their terrible run and Liverpool huffing and Puffing to a draw against Newcastle. Looking a lot better than it did a couple of weeks ago.
And Liverpool!!! just delivered the “perfect performance”. Still on Liverpool!!!, I thought the Ox went there for more game time… coming on at the 86th minute or so doesn’t look like more game time to me though…
Sorry you couldn’t manage the trip this time WALTER, good to see that the rest of your crew still brought the usual luck with them. Hope to see you next time!
@Gideone
I’d like to hear Klopp state:
“Ox must feel like he’s still not playing for Liverpool!”
jw1
Arsenal beat Brighton to move level on points with Chelsea and above Liverpool, yet this is the headline we get in the Metro:
“Alexis Sanchez embarrasses Arsenal team-mates with incredible stat”
It seems having a player of Alexis quality in your team is not something to admire but simply something to use to attack his team mates.
Pathetic
Thanks for the report Walter.
Nice to see Monreal score, he has been immense for us last few weeks.
@Nitram
Longtime back, I began ‘hiding publications’ on my NewsNow > Arsenal feed.
To include clickbait-headline peddlers like the Metro.
Anything non-specific and/or sensational? A la ‘swoop’ or ‘boost’ or in this case ’embarrasses’?
Clickclick– ‘hidden’.
I’ve distilled down to the keepers– with actual news most times.
jw1
Thanks Walter. Your reports always bring the match to life again – like watching once more.
We survived three matches in a week including a very long journey, and a ridiculously early kick off. Hope we can keep up the momentum after the break.
I’ve got my ticket for Red Star Belgrade on 2 November by the way. The Cologne match was such good value I’m hungry for more! Hoping for Bate Borisov as well.
Well done to wenger and the squad for turning things around, and negotiating a badly scheduled tricky week.
Sounds like today was more professional than spectacular, my friends who were there were under the impression we could have moved up a gear if need be.
As for the Wob, not the best of weeks for them, from what I have seen on other sites, many seem to be indulging in a Spuds love in, you know, the team who sit a whole point above us, not to mention we are on equal points with another of their favourites.
As for Everton, have been hearing from the likes of Jim White all summer how we should be fearing Everton for their ambition. Almost as if this presenter is on their payroll. Some reports suggest Usmanov will sell out to Kroenke and pitch up to dope Everton, on current evidence, if true, our shareholder has his work cut out, though of course it is early days yet. Seem to recall quite a few wanting Koeman at Arsenal, probably the same lot who wanted Wenger replaced by Owen Coyle.
A good result all things considered. The officiating was biased as usual. Friend was almost Dean like on one occasion when he skipped in midfield as a Brighton player jumped to head a pass that was going out near the middle of the park. Little things like that show these PGMOL cheats up.
The Assistant on the left looking from the North Bank gave a corner when the ball was almost two feet inside the field of play at the right side of the field. It was such a blatant piece of cheating. He called Alexis for a couple of fouls & also gave off side when it wasn’t, because he was 3 yards short of the line of the last defender. It was pathetic but hey! it’s the Arsenal Laws that are applied by these pathetic examples of sporting honesty.
Three blind mice,
Three blind mice,
All dressed in black,
They all get chased by Rileys wife,
She cuts of their d__ks with a carving knife,
Have you ever seen such a thing in your life,
The three blind mice.
The only blind mice ( mouse ) is you and your lot menace . Because of muggy dicks like you we are in a position where beating a 2 bob outfit in a dour boring game pleases syruppy enough to give a well past it manager a new contract . There used to be a football club out There! Mug!
Bloggs you are a moron. Child of Riley. Sibling of Piers Morgan. Go find yourself a club (and knock it on your head!).
Lacazette seems to think the rules as applied here, are different.
http://metro.co.uk/2017/10/01/alexandre-lacazette-keeps-telling-himself-dangerous-refereeing-in-england-is-normal-6969739/
He thinks it is a matter of adapting. Or rather, that is what he is saying. That he needs to adapt.
The problem is not that he needs to adapt, but rather that 😈 Mike Riley’s employees need to stop using definitions of laws different from laid out by the IFAB.
@ Menace – BULLSEYE !
I think we should all now get united behind AW to ensure that he gets another 3 more years so as to see all his hard work and noble efforts come to fruition .
We will have a formidable team of youth and experience to rule the roost .
Am sure there will be a million or more agreeing with me ?
Gord,
I think Lacazette is implicating that refereeing here is like the law of the jungle. 🙂
Menace
you’re slightly exaggerating the corner wrongly given. The ball was not in any way completely inside the goal line (as you suggest), but it was also not completely out (by a few inches), so yes wrong decision. Also you’ve missed one at the opposite end when we should have been given a corner ourselves due to the ball being completely over the goal line. Are you sure you’re not getting these two confused?
The one they did get right was at the first goal, when Lacazette kept the ball in despite Brighton’t claiming it was out.
Bloggs
“Because of muggy dicks like you we are in a position where beating a 2 bob outfit in a dour boring game pleases…..”
Now we’re not allowed to be ‘pleased’ when we win a football match.
You really are one sad individual.
Tony with cheap advance tickets available , a 1hr journey time , frequent trains . Why not give them a try
@Bloggs,
I think you ought to learn some grammar before posting another comment.
You see, this site has certain standards to maintain and so far you have fallen well below that level. 😉
Menace
Love the new poem!
Gord
Thanks for the link. Lacazette tells it like it is. I’ve shared it on Facebook.
Gord/Pat
And again it stems from the media who pretty much TELL the referees how they want matches refereed. Even more than that, how they want certain teams refereed.
Yet again I heard the commentator during the Liverpool match telling me how ‘harshly’ Mane had been treated for attempting to decapitate an opponent. Even worse, he expanded on that by saying how hoped the rules would be changed so the punishment for nearly decapitating an opponent would in future not be so harsh.
Absolutely astonishing.
There was yet another head high boot from a Liverpool player yesterday (so they haven’t learnt) that only warranted a yellow, “because he didn’t make contact” the same commentator informed me.
So that’s alright then?
Again, he had no issue with the head high boot because “he had his eye on the ball” and “he didn’t intend to hurt anyone”.
I find this attitude shameful enough from commentators, but when I hear ex players defending these head high boots it really beggars belief.
These people just wont be happy until somebody is killed, and even then it still wont matter, as long as ‘he didn’t mean it’ !!
This countries attitude, an attitude set by the media, is still in the stone age in footballing terms.
We have so very few players with the skill and vision of Wilshere, with talent and potential to match our continental counterparts, yet we have been happy to see him systematically kicked of the park, year after year, without a word of condemnation. But worse, they actually have the audacity to lay the blame at his own door step.
Welcome to the PL Lacazette.
An alternative Universe where the Shawcrosses and Taylors of this World are hailed as heroes, whilst the Ozils and Wisheres of this world are endlessly ridiculed and criticised.
Good luck.
Jax the Lino was one side of the goal & the incident was the other. He couldn’t see naff all yet he called it in Brighton’s favour.
There were several incidents where he was in the wrong position to make a call yet he did, always against Arsenal. It is not an issue in this scenario but these accumulate & end up with teams feeling gung ho when tackling.
Why is it that after literally every Arsenal game, there’s always an article stating how poor Xhaka was? I missed this game, was he really that poor? Or do these pathetic arseholes just need something negative to latch on to, even after a victory? Bear in mind that these are supposed Arsenal “fans” that are coming out with these comments slating Xhaka.
Jammy J
I know it’s pathetic.
We win and certain posters deride us for having the temerity to be ‘pleased’.
Sanchez has a blinder and rather than just enjoy and praise him, his brilliance is used to mock the other players.
Beyond insane.
And people STILL deny we are treated any different to the rest.