By Walter Broeckx
With Tony at the Emirates I have not idea what BT will do today so for those who want to inform us you can do so.
With Valencia winning with 3-1 against Benfica they took over the lead from us and we had to at least score a goal to win the Emirates cup. Not that it was a top priority but at the start of the season but it is always nicer to win any competition you take part in.
On paper a stronger starting team than yesterday with Szczesny, Debuchy, Koscielny, Chambers, Monreal, Arteta, Ramsey, Wilshere, Alexis, Cazorla, Giroud.
Ramsey starting again looked a bit odd to me to be honest. Chambers the other player who had started yesterday. Alexis making his first start for Arsenal.
The match just hobbled around a bit in the first half hour. Not many goal chances or dangerous situations. Monaco looked however sharper than Arsenal in the opening stages. Sanchez the only Arsenal player that looked to bring some speed up front for Arsenal. Giroud looking slow and completely not in top form for the moment. Clearly missing some practice with only one week training. Maybe the same could be said of Sanchez who disappeared after a good start.
Monaco pressed a bit more around the half hour with a few corners and then a stupid foul from Wilshere gave Monaco a free kick and him a yellow card. Falcao was left unmarked and he could head the ball in goal for Monaco. Not really what we had hoped after yesterday. Arsenal playing too slow today and Monaco clearly sharper than Benfica yesterday.
A note on the ref: letting a few nasty fouls go early on, on Arsenal players. Atkinson his usual useless himself when Arsenal play a team in blue.
In the second half Oxlade-Chamberlain and Miquel came on and Sanchez move in the centre of the attack. And it almost paid off when after some 4 minutes the Monaco keeper produced a stunning save when Sanchez won the ball back and Santi gave the ball to Wilshere who shot was amazingly stopped.
Arsenal better in the second half but not many chances. Some players clearly not realy up for the start of the league I think. Another chance for Sanchez a bit later on but his shot went wide.
The most important moment in the game was when Akpom was through on goal with only the keeper to beat. He rounded the keeper who hacked him down inside the penalty area. Ref pointed at the spot but his assistant said the foul was outside the penalty area. It was clearly in. The assistant referee robbing Arsenal from a certain penalty there. Ref Atkinson only gave a yellow card to make sure he didn’t mix up the identity of the player to send off maybe?
With all the subs that had been brought on the already not really big fluency went even further away.
In the end it stayed 0-1 for Monaco. I think this match came one week too early for Arsenal. Monaco will start the league next week and for Arsenal it will be one week later. That might have played a part in Monaco being a lot sharper and stronger.
It wasn’t really the best performance, certainly compared with yesterday. But in a way maybe good that it happened. This shows that the young Gunners are banging in the door loudly and it should be a big warning to those who think they are sure to start that they have to up their game.
Positives from the whole weekend are certainly Campbell with a good show. Sanogo who showed he can score goals. Bellerin who can be considered a real possibility for the right back position. Chambers with a good match against Benfica. A bit unlucky with his defending when Monaco scored but this is something you can expect when playing together for the first time with a new pairing.
Negatives is that still a few regular players certainly miss match rhythm but that is the fallout from the world cup and with the players returning every week and not all starting together you could see a big difference between some players.
A quick maths test showed that Valencia won the Emirates cup this time. Arsenal still have some work to do and still a few players are far from top form for the moment. But that is something we need to fix on the training ground in the next two weeks.
I wondered if Giroud was injured early on by a knee in the back from Carvalho the thug.
A very poor game by Atkinson. He let Monaco get away with a lot.
Thanks to the incompetents from the PGMOL we have been denied two penalties in two days.
I thought Ramsey looked tired today and I suspect he would have been rested after 60 mins had the scoreline been favorable.
Overall the Cup has been a good work out with some of the younger players in particular showing up well.
Can only agree with your analysis. As enjoyable as yesterday was, these are essentially practice matches. Did not see the game, but sounds like some need to up their game a bit for the start of the season, and as you say, beware the kids knocking on the door. FFS…the pgmol even do us in practice matches these days, to me, mason denied us a straight forward pen yesterday as well . Why do we employ the likes of Atkinson and Mason for our own tournament!
Still we have our Germans to return, Sanchez and others to gain full fitness. And theo. On the Germans, shame they selfishly chose to win a meaningless international tournament when they could have won us the Ems cup!
Akpom impressed (me) in the brief spells he had alongside all the others.
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Plunditry was ok save for Owen. That had Martin Keown so that helped. Keown spoke enthusiastically about playing Alexis at CF but I think we all have guessed that he’ll be eased in on that right hand side at the start of the season, with Walcott out etc. Özil, Podolski back late…having written that I would be interested if I saw a front three of Akpom, Alexis and Chamberlain starting a game.
Badly need a solid defensive midfielder. Like to see YaYa getting the nod over Giroud who simply is not good enough to play as a lone striker.
The emirates Cup has always served to prepare an unprepared AFC for integrating in new players, trying out different players in different positions, discovering some unsuspected talent or confirming some real potential, and generally letting the boys have a run out without too much risk of injury or disappointment. I believe Wenger saw what he wanted and will align his best 11 that are available, for the charity Shield next Saturday. Win or lose, it will give us a real feel for how his tactical and team setup will be against QPR. Here is who I think will stay with the team:
1)Sanchez, Campbell, Sanogo, Chambers,Bellerin,Szczesny,Gibbs, Debuchy,Kos,Per,Ramsey, Arteta,Sanchez,Giroud, Ozil,Ospina, Rosicky,Walcott,The Ox,Wilshere
Those who still need a spell on loan or at the Youth/Academy level:
2)Akpom, Gnabry,Zelalem, Miguel, Martinez
Those whose careers at AFC are under scrutiny:
3)Monreal, Vermaelen,Cazorla, Podolski, Diaby, Flamini, Coquelin
Those whose careers are more or less over:
4)Djourou,Miyachi
I am hoping that from those under scrutiny at least Cazorla,Vermaelen and Podolski will make the grade but even better if Flamini,and Coquelin have a resurgence. I think we need a better substitute for Gibbs than Monreal and unless Diaby stays fit, a better substitute than Arteta and Flamini for Ramsey and wilshere.
I wouldn’t make a big fuss over today’s defeat. It was clearly visible that Monaco have been at least one week ahead of us in terms of team preparation, probably because their championship starts next week. They were also ahead of us in terms of team cohesion which is another logical thing to happen – I don’t know if they had any signings over the summer (aside from losing Rodriguez to Real Mad) so their team remained pretty much the same. And, it’s always a good thing to lose Claudio Ranieri and to appoint someone who knows his job.
We were also without three important members of the first eleven: a commander of our defence (Mertesacker), our best left full-back (Gibbs) and the best No. 10 in the world (Özil). I didn’t just write their names but also pointed at their roles in our team given that we conceded a goal that came after a set-piece (Mertesacker) that happened after a foul on our left side of the defence (Gibbs) while our attacking department didn’t offer enough quality passes in the final third (Özil).
Chambers was at fault for the goal but it was his first game in today’s defensive set-up. He is going to be a huge asset in years to come.
Debuchy kept his side of defence tight and offered runs forward to our attacking game.
Alexis has a heart of a lion. He is not afraid to dive into tackles or to go for the ball with his head where other players would fear to put their foot. Still needs to gel with the rest of the team but once it happens, he is going to burn the league down.
Akpom is one to watch. He deserved a penalty if only Japanese referees weren’t worse than English ones.
Ramsey is becoming the real leader of our team.
Josif-> Koscielny was guity letting Falcao run. Chambers and one other player run to mark his man. Koscielny did not.
That was their first match together, some misuderstaning was going to happen.
omgarsenal-> I think Arteta is going to warm the bench at the best. He simply could not cope with the tempo in the first half. He was magnifitient in 11/12, great in 12/13, still good in 13/14 but now is average.
Why is M.Owen allowed to commentate on Arsenal games. He is to anti-Arsenal to give an impartial commentry
I watched on a Dutch stream again where they use the one commentator system. This is much better than the two commentators all our channels use as it cuts out all the silly banter, and you get to hear the players names used more frequently.
Our new players all look really good, and I’ve been particularly impressed by Chambers, although has to accept partial blame (with Kos) for allowing Falcao to get in front of them to score. He is a world class striker though isn’t he? Good to see him back & fit, and it’s a big shame he couldn’t have played in the WC in that terrific Colombian team.
No big deal over this loss, after all it was just a friendly. Sluggish performances were always going to be expected. Hope all the untolders that were at the stadium had a lovely time, on such a beautiful day. Would have loved to be there myself but other engagements meant it was not to be.
Even the Mail criticised Atkinson over the “penalty”. Whatever next?
Josif
Agree about Alexis; his tracking back and defensive workrate once had Guardiola showering him with praise saying that he’d stolen his heart. He fights and fights and never stops, guess it’s in the Chilean DNA as we all saw at the WC.
As the Transfer Window slowly approaches closure, I hope that all true Supporters of our great Club will exercise caution and patience as our team obtains 100% fitness and gradually bonds in as a cohesive fighting unit.
I say “gradually” because this will take time, perhaps most of next season.
We now have more new blood in the first team squad than for many a decade and there may be more to come.
For some it will mean a new country, city, home, language and colleagues.
Those particularly fortunate folk who are able to regularly attend at the
Emirates can play a vital role in welcoming the new boys, by giving 100% support to them and the team at all times. 😉
There were lessons one observant manager can learn from men at his disposal. Giroud lacks speed and him alone upfront is pretty useless. Campbell use his skills to mug defenders in a way Giroud is not Capable while Sanogo industry and sheer will power sees him through. The need for a fast forward to meet all those through-balls that go begging has never been bigger. We may regret spinning Remy as it will soon become clear.
AL,
On the train on the way home with my ladies. We had a wonderful time with my twins chanting ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL!!! even when nothing much was happening on the pitch. It’s what we do when watching on TV at home.
On the match: I was super impressed by Alexis. Money well spent! A good effort by the team save for that unfortunate goal conceded. This is going to be a good season for us.
Oh, lest I forget, I don’t wear sunglasses or any glasses for that matter 🙂
I am not in the habit of defending Atkinson but he did initially give the penalty. He then appeared to get advice from the linesman who thought the offence was just outside the box and so reversed his decision. Atkinson deferred to the linesman because I assume he thought the lino had the better view, albeit wrong.
Of course we could have had the correct decision in a matter of seconds with the use of technology!!
A good debut from Debuchy I thought and Chambers looked assured and not at all overawed. Both look good additions. Everyone else looked short of match fitness and sharpness, especially Giroud and Cazorla. Not surprising of course given that most have only been back a few days. Jack needs to cut out those pointless, reckless challenges when he has no chance of getting the ball or he will miss a lot of games through suspension. Things should be better next weekend with a few more days training under their belts.
@Goonerbeall
Giroud is so useless he scored 22 goals last season on his own upfront.
Goonerbeal, one name: Walcott
Ah well, thought I’d spotted you in the crowd Bootoomee 🙂 Glad you all had fun, and you seem to be raising some die-hard AKBs! 🙂 And yes, like you I’m very optimistic about this team.
Hmmm… it looks to me as if a certain Asian linesman may have made a few quid from the Asian betting syndicates… can’t really see any other reason for the blatant decision not to award the penalty to Arsenal. I can’t really understand why the ref listened to him AND failed to give a red card. I suspect this is the sign of things to some for Arsenal this year. Anything and everything to destroy momentum. Its going to be an uphill battle.
Overall today though, officials aside, i thought the team was poor. No good performances and seemed to be going through the motions somewhat. Maybe they though they were better than they really are and relaxed a bit. Monaco certainly looked as if they could easily fend us off and step up a gear if needed. Work to do on fitness. Wilshere looked awful again and a few look slightly overweight and needing games (Cazorla – I mean YOU especially!)
Shocking that Carvalho’s flying knee into Giroud’s back wasn’t even called especially since one of the worlds most recognizable players in the world had his broken on a similar play. That dirty trick needs to be removed from the game. Did anyone else watch the espn broadcast in the states? Cristian Moreno was gushing about Falcao, didn’t have a positive thing to say The Arsenal, and was harping on about the “overly complicated” scoring system the whole match. Really annoying. The other announcer (can’t recall his name) sounded embarrassed at times.
The “first team” players are playing worse than the youngsters.
Reasons
1) tired ( world cup)
2) rusty ( no training)
3) disjointed ( new signings Sanchez and lack of time together after World Cup)
The “kids” are rest, well drilled and hungry.
The only concern is conceeding two goals in set pieces. Both are from direct high balls into the middle of 6 yard box and with very soft defending.
I hope that does not mean problem with Arsenal tactics. They can’t rely solely on BFG or Koz to deal with those.
The players are capable to handle very good attacking play but they can’t giving out goals like those anymore.
Very tricky decision for Wenger in the coming weeks. Will he rely more on the young team at the beginning of the season or he plays with un performing first team players.
Everyone has seen it and AW commented:
“as much as our performance was sharp, creative, dynamic and mobile [on Saturday], today it was static, lethargic and not convincing at all. I feel that many players had not recovered completely physically and that we were not completely ready. ”
So the youth are knocking on the door.
This is exactly what we needed, the youth pushing the 1st team to do better.
So i guess a mix of youth and 1st team will probably start the season if it takes longer for the returnees to be fit. (Damm the stupid World Cup, needs to be abandoned).
Anyway the Shield is next Sunday. I hate to play ManC twice in such short time. We may lose the Shield, but i want a win for the league game, and hope we do.
Ya, ESPN seemed to be their usual anti-Arsenal self. The commentary was decent at times, as much as I paid attention to it (I had better things to do while watching the game;) but the few moments I remember, the commentators seemed to repeat themselves over about the points scoring system, the fact that Arsenal needs a defensive midfielder, and at the lack of marking when Falcao scored. Also, they were completely oblivious at the Monaco’s thuggery, starting with Carvalho, which they left behind very quickly. I remember Kos was a victim of a similar kick by Carroll a few years back, and a seemingly innocuous challenge resulted in Kos missing a few weeks of action. Giroud is more solidly built, so he’ll be ok, but I can’t help noticing the knives being sharpened even before the season has begun, from officials, opponents and pundits alike.
I would add that in the prelims to the unbeaten season we lost 1-0 to Peterborough, while playing our first team squad.
Bellerin, Akpom, Chambers were real positives from the Emirates Cup. I hope they are given more game time in the season.
Blaisehayest,
indeed I was baffled by the non-decision from Atkinson about that foul. It looks that he learned nothing from the Neymar incident at all.
Hello Mike R, still on summer holidays? Time to wake up and instruct your referees to protect the players. Oh well, I can dream. Can I?
With regards to their goal kos was shouting and signalling to chambers behind to stay there for if monreal got beat.
We might have lost bit had an epic time @ the clock end .
@Ollie
I watched a recording of the match again last night & Kos was certainly trying to play Falcao offside. It was difficult to see clearly given the camera angle but Falcao could indeed have been offside – not that such trivialities matter to the officials!
I was at the game – clock end. My season ticket is north bank. I enjoyed the game but was upset with the officials that were appointed. I just could not see Atkinson being honest. I was disappointed that we didn’t go all out to win the match.
Alexis is brilliant as are Chambers & Debuchy. They will add quality to our season.
There were red card offences, particularly the knee in Girouds back. The goalkeeper should also have had a red as last man in the second half. Don’t know if it was in the area because of the distance but the initial pointing to the spot was decisive.
The wing play was not as good as on the Saturday. There were hardly any forays close to goal as Monaco played a high defense line. There was a lot more pace in the Saturday team than in Sundays. It is the Giroud effect. He does not create an environment for pace.
I hope the Community Shield will be more honest and we play with a bit more pace up front.
@struss must say you hit the nail on the head Arteta is not what we need as a DM because as you see in most games with the ball he’s the one that sits, but if the ball is knocked past him or they go round him that’s it and both are far to easy to do. I went both days and thought out of all the DM’s we played Couqelin was by far the best he was stronger, more mobile and quicker than Arteta but more controlled than Flamini who you feel could get sent off at anytime. I say keep him and play him when we need to be more defensive overall I think we saw the bulk of late comers to preseason and you could tell the fitness levels were to low.