By Walter Broeckx
A lot of changes compared to our last match. Özil returned after missing with injury against WBA. Also no Ramsey and Oxlade-Chamberlain who are out with a calf and a hamstring injury.
Coquelin returned to midfield and partnered Xhaka. Up front we had Welbeck and Alexis and Theo on the flanks.
In goal Ospina replaced the injured Cech.
On the bench we had Elneny back after injury and Maitland-Niles also got a place on the bench.
Arsenal starting team: Ospina, Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Xhaka, Walcott, Ozil, Alexis, Welbeck.
On the beach: Martinez, Gabriel, Gibbs, Elneny, Maitland-Niles, Iwobi and Giroud.
Aguero correctly given offside but Ospina blocked the shot anyway. A slip from a midfielder forces Ospina to come off his line again and the ball bounces away to the side line. Welbeck at the other end working hard to find an opening but the shot goes just wide. Sane escapes at the other end and he goes round Ospina and scores. 0-1 after 5 minutes. Bellerin was on the wrong side and Mustafi had advanced to intercept a ball and Sane was put in space by De Bruyne.
Navas then with a wild challenge on Monreal, studs on the chin… that is red card for Xhaka but only a yellow for anyone else. De Bruyne with a shot from distance against the post and another City player with the rebound but Ospina with a save. Coquelin goes in the book for a foul. Still 0-1 after 15 minutes.
Both teams now giving the ball away a few times rather cheaply so no goal situations for a few minutes. Alexis with a ball to Özil but his right footed shot on the turn too weak to really worry the City keeper. Monreal with a right footed shot after a corner but the ball was rising over the goal. A good tackle on the ball prevents a shot from Alexis from a promising position after a backheel from Özil. Alexis with a curling shot then but just wide from the post. Still 0-1 after 30 minutes.
Xhaka also in the book for a foul on Otamendi. A free kick from Alexis goes well wide. City players making a game of not taking the distance at free kicks with only standing 3 meters away from the ball. As it happens a few times this seems to be a tactic told to them. A new way of time wasting maybe as the ref has to move them back at slow pace. Arsenal take a short corner the ball is cleared but put back in front of the goal by Mustafi and Walcott is onside as Clichy was putting them onside and Theo pushes the ball past the keeper. GOAL! 1-1 after 40 minutes.
De Bruyne has a shot that rebounds off a defender against the post. Arsenal then can’t clear the ball and the ball ends up in front of Aguero who scores for City with a low shot. 1-2 after 42 minutes. Welbeck then on goal but he handled the ball and took it with him so correct from the ref to call him back. Alexis with a cross to Walcott but his placed effort goes just over the crossbar. 1-2 after 45 minutes.
Gabriel at the start of the second half in the place of Koscielny. So that will probably be an injury for the French defender. Just what we needed. Gabriel almost with a shot ball to Ospina who has to rush out to clear the ball. Fernandinho goes in the book after a cynical foul on Alexis who had a bit of an opening in front of him. Arsenal win a corner and Özil takes it and finds Mustafi who heads it in! GOAL!! 2-2 after 53 minutes.
City with a corner that is cleared but Fernandino with a shot from distance but great stop from Ospina who then is fouled in the next phase and needs treatment. Welbeck also with a bit of a problem it seems as he goes checking at the side line with Wenger and a staff member. Mustafi also in the book for a foul on Sane to prevent him from starting a promising attack.2-2 after 60 minutes.
Welbeck not completely sharp enough yet but working hard for the team. Alexis then gives the ball away on the own penalty area but luckily Ospina can stop the header from Aguero. After 66 minutes Arsenal make a second substitution with Giroud coming on for Walcott. This will mean that Welbeck will play on the right flank from now on I think. Monreal flagged offside but the linesman clearly blinded by the sun as it was not correct. The match now more closed with City having most of the ball but not really creating much. After 75 minutes Welbeck goes off and Iwobi comes on with the 2-2 score line still.
Otamendi with a bad control but Özil didn’t count on that and the ball ran out of play. Not much goal mouth action in the last minutes apart from a low shot from Silva that went well wide. Iwobi with a shot at the other end after a good attack but over the goal. Navas with a shot but also well wide.
A nervous final extra minutes but both teams go in at the end with a 2-2 score. A fair result I think but both teams don’t win much with this result.
Sorry a bit of format error at first.
I wonder seeing the second City goal again if Kos didn’t get injured when he tried to block the shot.
Very lucky to take the point. Played with fear and were shambolic defensively as well as not putting in tackles. Not sure how anyone can be happy with that. Team knew they needed to win but showed little after equalizing to suggest this. Looks like the top 4 is now out of reach, not that the team deserves to be there. All we can hope for now till the end of the season is some fight from the players and a managerial change to kick start the squad for next season
2 mins after Walcott had equalized the defence as usual went to sleep.Aquero was totally isolated and had time and space to shoot and score.
Since Adams and company left,the defence has been a perpetual problem.Until this is addressed,forget about challenging for the epl let alone being a force in the cl.
Imho,its better Arsenal not qualify for the cl. They will be there to make up the nos. No need to waste time.
In the end a good point, both teams had chances to win it so the draw probably the right result. No luck today every bouncing ball or richochet seemed to end with a City player. Some good defensive work from Mesut on occasions when Hector was caught upfield.
The Navas foul on Monreal was a nailed on red and game changer.
Walter, no thoughts on Walcott’s stamp on fernandinho going completely missed/unpunished ….before he scores?
Also have you seen the nacho handball claim it deserves at least a hmmm right?
Kinda difficult to take these referee conspiracies serious when these incidents, especially the walcott one, dont even get a mention in a match report, and things like how slow the ref moves players away from freekicks do.
Wolfgang
Yes the defence has been a perpetual problem since Adams etc left.
I suppose the invincible season was all down to our attack and we went unbeaten despite having a shambolic defence.
Jojo
There is a reason why we do referee reviews, which covers every decision given/not given.
Match reports are done quickly, summarizing what you watch from a possibly hit&miss stream, that is why things are missing.
**what we watch
Ahh ok.. got it.. still seems like it wouldn’t be much effort to note two big incidents that were actually replayed and discussed a few times over the broadcast so even a dodgy stream may have given a few opportunities to see them vs..writing a couple of sentences on something a bit more arbitrary like how fast the ref moves players back from free kicks….especially when the match report is as you say a quick reaction piece…I’d think focusing on bigger/more controversial incidents seems to fit the purpose more ….but maybe that’s just me…
I actually thought the ref was pretty balanced, if poor, in this one. Navas probably should have been sent off. Walcott got very lucky with his stamp. I thought Xhaka was extremely lucky not to get a second yellow when he came over the top of the ball, coquelin was walking the line for a second yellow, and that looked like a handball at the end to me. A Navas early red would have certainly changed the match, but after that incident, we were certainly the side that benefited from the ref.
That said, Arsene (assuming he’s back) really needs to do some serious work in the midfield this summer. We’ve seen tons of options centrally this season, and beyond Santi, who may not be the same, the only one that’s looked even promising is Ox. Xhaka doesn’t look like a guy with elite potential to me, Coquelin is very lacking, and Aaron Ramsey offers some nice skills, but doesn’t really compliment anyone he gets paired with. We looked terrible in the middle all day, and usually do against the big sides.
M City second goal came from a misplaced pass (Xhaka?) going across the pitch which rebounded kindly for DeBruyner , as soon as we have the ball and moving out/up the pitch a mistake like this is punished as our players IMO are looking to move forward and not defend
M City still had a lot to do before they scored but it came from our mistake mid way in our own half
Cut these mistakes out and I think our results will change for the better
Jojo
You are a darling
Point is they scream cheat cheat at refreeeing decisions which go against them but don’t even get to mention the ones which the refs inadvertently favored us. Noticed no one blamed the ref today huh
Funny lot
Stephan feel free to do your own ref review and match report.
Good thing AW still has a pal in Pep.
Arsenal after 28 games:
This season:
Wins: 15
Draws: 6
Defeats: 7
Points: 51
Last season:
Wins: 15
Draws: 6
Defeats: 7
Points: 51
Extremely consistent guys
Posted this on the previous thread but it probably needs an airing on here.
Just got home from the match. I was not disappointed by the officiating. Standard card for a nasty tackle. Then card after card as per the Laws for Arsenal. The offsides need technology to disturb the train of corruption.
The official today (City side 2nd half) was struggling in the sun, yet still chose to give an offside against Arsenal. Same guy did not see a handball from less than ten yards. The time wasting by goalkeepers was unacceptable. Both the City Keeper & Ospina were taking extra time. Both should have been booked in my view (I pay hard earned money for my ticket). I think our players play too much in the back when a long ball is probably more beneficial. The passing to & fro between defenders is a mistake waiting to happen. All in all a good game but not the best result.
There are several incidents that got the referee boos so he must have been fair -according to the Wobs.
I must admit I did not see the alleged Walcott stamp. It must have been in the opposite area to where I sit. I did see some pull backs on Arsenal players that got fouls but no card issued. These are truly select officials.
However, watching the officials on Sky TV with Carragher & G Neville OnSide it is because they are human. Humans communicate but these do not. They seem to have some warmth for some players & total hate for Arsenal. Surprising that they talk about low sunlight but don’t wear hats. The thing that is obvious is there is a room full of people without any obvious ethnic diversity. Select is such an indictment to social……………………………….incorrectness.
The way some of the City players were rolling about was pure theatre, the Coquelin card was only given after the referee was pressured by about half a dozen City players. This is in direct contrast to the guidelines published prior to the start of the season
Dissent towards match officials – Yellow cards will be issued to players who:
Show visibly disrespectful behaviour to any match official
Respond aggressively to decisions
Confront an official face to face
Run towards an official to contest a decision
One law for Arsenal a second for City
Jojo and Stephan…….you aaa cheerleaders know so much about everything but don’t have the cojones to offer an article about the game or a referees review from a different perspective AND never show their whiny faces on here when we win.
We all value honest and fact based opinions on UA but you two are just whining anti=Wenger hypocrites.
As Arsene Wenger said, the team was somewhat lacking in confidence after the unusual bad run – very unusual, I should say! In view of that fact, I believe this draw with another of the top sides in the premier league was a creditable result. I truly hope it will give our players more confidence for the next match and those to follow.
There is still all to play for – Chelsea’s loss shows there can be blips for any team. So I was very happy to hear from Arsene Wenger that our supporters were vocal in support of the team even when we were goals down against Man City. This is what is needed in every match from now on.
Let our supporters be our twelfth man, since the referee is the twelfth man for the opposing team.
Some good, some bad in that game.
But they need to doscover their confidence , and quickly. At the moment,,everything seems against this team, but that can change.
Kos could be a big loss….seems like he has been carrying an injury for a while.
If he is fit, worth bringing Per in for his leadership?
Anyone know what’s up with Elneny? Have always been impressed with him, and at the moment, our mf needs all the help it can get
Mandy,
ElNeny came back from injury 2 weeks back, played 1 full game for Egypt, looks fully match fit. For me, he is the perfect midfield player to play alongside Xhaka. Strange to see of all our midfielders he has made the least starts 6 or 7 I think (even though he missed 6 games through AFCON). Coquelin at the moment has not been playing good and leaving Xhaka on his own in midfield, and Ramsey has injury issues, so in my opinion ElNeny should be starting.
@ omgarenal sorry you feel that way..I’m very happy we won ..Showed great character to come from behind twice..
So separate issue…….
I think with the hyper focus on refs here that angle loses some credibility when big controversial incidents that went in our favour aren’t even mentioned.
At Arsenal.com, Wenger thanks the fans that were at the game. They supported the team.
—
A host of people wander past here, and claim to support Arsenal.
If you support a team, is the first comment you write about a game positive?
If you support a team, are most of the comments you write during a game positive?
If you support a team and the team is not in a winning position near the end of the game, are most of the comments you write positive?
If you can’t answer _YES_ to all of those questions, you are not a supporter of Arsenal if we substitute Arsenal for “team”.
One dork, suggested I had accused him of _hating_ Arsenal. I didn’t say that. I said he wasn’t a supporter. Maybe he followed Arsenal because his parents, grandparents, … did. Maybe he followed Arsenal because a sibling was a supporter. Maybe he followed Arsenal because he was a shareholder (like that idiot Pierce Mrgan).
There is nothing wrong with following a team. Just don’t claim you are a supporter if all you do is follow them.
If you claim to be a supporter of a team (any of them) and find that at the end of the game you have more negative comments than positive ones about your team, there is something you can do. You can become a neutral. You just go to the game (watch on TV, read the commentaries) to follow the beauty of the game. And you have no expectations as to who will win or what the score will be.
Actually it is possible to be a supporter of The Arsenal and just be plain exasperated .
They say we’re young and we don’t know
Watching football is different to supporting . Throughout the game there is a burning desire to see The Arsenal win and play well , but on reflection after having watched the on pitch action , it’s time to evaluate the good and bad. My take is that we are watching talented individuals that in their own ways are trying but as a team are sadly lacking, there is little or no cohesion in their play . They all seem to operate in their own bubble are are not aware of where their team mates are at any given time. We always look good going forward but leave gaps to be exploited . Problem is we have been doing this for quite some time and it is a recurring theme. Players get isolated , Giroud frequently is alone and you would think that midfielders should be getting alongside him but the same midfield leave the defence frequently to be outnumbered , there is no discipline, seemingly no talking , basics like one going forward and someone dropping to cover get ignored . i don’t think it’s the players skillset although they could all be improved upon , it’s more their mindset, they are not a team. Yesterday you came away from the ground knowing that you saw a group that dug in to gain a point but that was yesterday , too frequently over many years now we have seen times when they didn’t.When they have been overwhelmed , when they have not known how to limit damage. it’s a flaw in their game.
But don’t tell me because I have these observations that I do not support The Arsenal because if I didn’t perhaps I would just shrug my shoulders and walk away , like unfortunately some of our players when things go wrong.
Gord
I may suggest:
You are a “supporter”.
Those who answered NO are “fans”.
Balanced people will write what they see, positive or negative.
The media is unbalanced, they do not write what they see, they are always negative about Arsenal, even in wins.
Then there are those who are positive even when we lose.
There appears to be a “Supporters For Dummies” book out there somewhere.
Did you ever read such BS?
@omgarsenal really shocked at your comment, but you are an Arsene Fc supporter and not an Arsenal fc supporter.
We are here always talking about refs every single time when a single decision goes against us and we lose the match. But yesterday we had refereeing decisions go our way and no one here could even acknowledge it. That was my issue.
As for the game,many big players failed to show up
Ozil was absent, Sanchez…don’t even know what to say, Walcott aside from his goal did absolutely nothing.
Ospina kept us in the game,Montreal showed heart,the other players were just average imo.
We really have a lot of work to do
Thank God we didn’t lose at least
Thanks Usama……was wondering if Elneny was out of favour, but would like to see him given a start. Think Xhaka is showing some promise, despite the headlines and will be a seriously good player, but they all need to really tighten things up a bit…..not sure if it is confidence, some coaching issue , or just trying too hard…..
Lots of reports of big changes this summer., if they are to be believed….not necessecarily change in manager, but maybe backroom staff, structures, players, infra structure. Guess the right changes managed properly are usually a good thing….but not sure how Mr Wenger will take his backroom staff being removed…..should such events occur….
@mandy Dodd
Why are you so scared to say it….we have had changes to this team over and over again
Infact Wenger called this the best team he has ever had
So what does that tell you?
He has been a constant all this years, it’s time to let that constant go and try something else.
Doing the same thing over and over again is just….smh
You can’t have a child and not scold the child when he is at fault the same way you praise him when he is doing well
Arsenal is just like that child,you can’t blind your eyes to its faults just because you love it
I’m interested in their 2nd goal. It appeared to me that Sky’s MOM, Leroy Sane, was offside (walking back from an offside position), and got between Monreal and the first ball in before it ricocheted to Aguero. Similar to Siva being offside, in front of Cech for their winner at Etihad.
Another thing – everybody is going on about Mesut Ozil, yet even though critisized on Sky, they still gave him a 7/10 – the same as they gave Sane who got MOM.
For as many times as we gave the ball away, we nicked it off them – both midfield’s were quite sluggish in that respect.
Hopefully, we will show a bit more confidence and aggression against West Ham.
@Stephan..
Have you ever thought of reading a WHOLE post, before making you comments? Your reply to Mandy’s post is irrelevant, because you only bothered to read one line.
If you are going to come on here and disagree with everybody else, at least get your facts sorted!
Stephan………….you wouldn’t know an AFC supporter if one hit you in the face…….but hopefully that won’t happen. Don’t try and demean others support, unless you still don’t get what the main title of UA means;¨supporting the club,the players and the manager.¨ I support all three, despite bad patches and poor performances.
Everyone on here is basing their arguments on rumours, opinions and hearsay- and that is ALL we can usually get since Arsenal rarely let the cat out of the bag, so we have to accept that most things posted on UA are guesswork. Anyone pretending to know what the inner workings of the Arsenal are is comical at best and deluded at worst.
Good result overall. The team played really hard.
Some mistakes but the boys played hard and it seemed the support at the Ems was in full voice. A draw seemed like a likely and appropriate result.
The team did indeed play really hard in this match & kudos to them for equalising twice – not always easy to do.
But, what I didn’t like was the ease with which we gave away the early goal, a real sucker punch; memory is always dangerous, but we seem to have done that far too often in recent matches.
While a draw is not the result we needed, the team showed great spirit in chasing a result – while the Oilers gave me the impression they were happy to settle for a draw, with the outside chance of another breakaway.
Saw the ‘stamp’ by Walcott. It was accidental & rightly ignored by all. The sliding tackle by Coquelin was just that with no contact on the cheating City player. The players that surrounded the referee need to be punished & City failed to control their players.
The sliding tackle that brought Alexis down in the penalty box was a penalty as it was ‘studs first contact that brought a player down’. The ball becomes secondary when contact with an opponent is so clear. There were many sliding tackles worse than Coquelins that were ignored by the referee. The claim by City for a second yellow to Coquelin was another stop & fall cheat to fool the officials. The ‘handball’ by Monreal was unintentional but the high foot to his elbow was a bookable foul. The foul on Ospina was also a booking (knee in the ribs).
The stop, wait for contact, then fall, is cheating. The officials seem to be taken in by it because they haven’t sufficient appreciation of sport. Going down with the slightest contact is unsporting & cheating. It should not be tolerated. All the nonsense about it being a man’s game with such primadonnas being given the benefit.
Lol..walcots stamp was accidental?…that was an unbiased performance from the ref and it won’t bite anybody to just share the truth. I thought the ref favored us in the end.
@menace. When has the officials ever had an unbiased game from your perspective?