By Walter Broeckx
Arsenal starting with : Ospina, Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal, Xhaka, Wilshere, Ramsey, Welbeck, Özil, Lacazette.
On the Spanish beach: Cech, Chambers, Kolasinac, Maitland-Niles, Iwobi, Mkhitaryan, Nketiah
The message at the start is clear: Arsenal has to score. A draw with more than 1 Arsenal goal will take us to the final. A win surely will. A defeat not. A 1-1 draw after 90 minutes will take us to extra time.
Atletico with most of the ball in the opening minutes but no real dangerous situations. Both teams win a corner but the defenders can clear. Costa winning the ball twice and suddenly in with chance but Ospina spread himself well and his shot went well wide. Koscielny then down on the ground holding his ankle, he just went through his ankle when he tried to start running. Chambers getting ready as Koscielny visibly in pain. He was holding the back of his foot, maybe his troublesome achilles finally gave way. What a terrible loss….this might be the end of his Arsenal career I’m afraid. Chambers on after 12 minutes. And one substitution lost. Arsenal players looking shocked by the loss of their captain and needing a bit of time to get on with the game. Monreal away on the left but his cross can’t find Welbeck or Lacazette. 0-0 after 15 minutes.
Arsenal now attacking a bit more but twice a cross from Bellerin doesn’t find a teammate. Both teams playing rather cautious when they don’t have the ball. Welbeck losing the ball almost leads to a dangerous counter but Chambers with a good interception to win the ball back in the Arsenal penalty area. Meanwhile has a bleeding head wound but the ref doesn’t send him out for getting treatment. Lacazette being put through but a bad control left him with no option but to go out again. He gave it to Özil but his cross was cleared by the defenders. Still 0-0 after 30 minutes.
Monreal almost in some space but his control lets him down and the ball runs to the keeper. A free kick for Atletico that is only half cleared by Arsenal is followed by a half volley that goes wide of the goal for half a meter. And another free kick is delivered to Griezman but his shot goes also wide. Atletico looking dangerous in the last minutes. Gabi with a kick from behind on Lacazette prevents an Arsenal counter but no card is given. Seconds later Wilshere gets a yellow card for a strong challenge with his shoulder on Gabi. Oh well…. that was soft ref. Atletico with a long clearance from the back and suddenly they find Costa in some space and he made no mistake and scored in the second minute of extra time. 1-0 to Atletico. Again the long ball leaving the defenders too much on their own with no cover from midfield. Applying high pressure when it didn’t fit it and too many players just running forward when their keeper has the ball. It doesn’t change much as with one goal from Arsenal we would be completely level and then we have the chance to score another away goal. We need a better second half though and score that goal.
Atletico putting Arsenal under high pressure and we put ourselves in trouble a few times but luckily Atletico can’t capitalise. A kick from behind on the ankle of Wilshere but again no card from the ref. Wilshere looking uncomfortable for a few minutes. Finally a yellow card for Gabi when he stops an Arsenal counter by bringing down Welbeck. The free kick is only half cleared and Wilshere brings it to Ramsey but he can only lift the ball wide of the goal under severe pressure from 3 Atletico defenders. A great interception from Chambers to prevent Costa from an open chance. Monreal gets a yellow card for a push in the back on Griezmann when Atletico can counter after a terrible misunderstanding between Xhaka and Wilshere. Griezmann puts the free kick wide. Still 1-0 down after 60 minutes.
Özil recovers a ball on the edge of the Atletico penalty area but the cross is intercepted. A low shot from Xhaka is saved by Oblak. Mustafi heads the corner over. Chambers with a great block to stop an Atletico shot and Ospina can catch the deflected ball. After 67 minutes Mkhitaryan comes on for Wilshere. Saul gets a yellow card for stopping an Arsenal counter. Arsenal get a corner that is half cleared but the shot from Mkhytarian goes just over the crossbar. A cross finds Monreal but his header in front of the goal can’t find a teammate and Atletico clear. 75 minutes gone and Arsenal still 1-0 down.
Costa throwing the ball away after a free kick gets a yellow card and so does Mustafi for having shoved him a bit to win the ball. The match is now being completely chaotic and Arsenal forgetting to play the ball from feet to feet too much. Throwing people forward but that is playing in the hands of Atletico. Too many misunderstanding on the field between Arsenal players. Atletico running down the clock with taking all the time to take a throw in or a free kick. Again a poor clearance leads to a chance for Atletico but Ospina with the save. 3 minutes of extra time. Arsenal with some late pressure but the ball goes out and Atletico takes 5 minutes to bring it back in to play. Even the ball boys don’t give balls to Arsenal anymore. The ref also not really helpful by giving nothing to Arsenal. And after wasting 6 minutes of extra time on not playing football the ref makes an end after 4 minutes of extra time.
Arsenal go out of the EL. We missed the chance to put the tie to bed in the first leg and couldn’t recover from that terrible goal at the Emirates.
Don’t know who this ref was, but he certainly learned his job from the Riley band ! Costa remains the same asshole he was when in Chelsea and should have been shown at least 3 yellow).
The lads fought hard. Not lucky (Kos injured, a pen forgotten by the ref)but they played a true football. Atletico scored two times (1st and 2d leg) with stolen ball and solitary actions… Not the more beautiful football ever. But they win. Disapointing.
That was not a very good performance from the Arsenal. The ref was bad. And Athletico will never be a team I want to watch, thought they were very annoying. And no I don’t think that should be a part of football. Simeone can stay there.
This tie was a microcosm of the season, no lack of effort, but individual errors , not the best keeping and not always taking chances.
Not a great season, would wish Wenger a lot better, but these things happen, perhaps even difficult for some playing , coaching, or managing their best in the face of such monumental change, who knows.
I would expect the new manager to be told in no uncertain terms to tighten things up a bit, possibly less errors, but perhaps not the real highs of wengerball it its best, though that demands players like Santi Caz or Mikhi playing, we haven’t always had that in the last season or two.
And I don’t get why Arsene didn’t sub Ramsey in stead of Wilshire, he had a stinker of a game.
I think a half-decent defence is good place to start. Hardly rocket-science is it?
Salzburg robbed in the other semi final. Officials gave a corner from which Marseille scored – was clearly a goal kick.
No it isn’t 5th gen, and I am pretty sure that’s what’s coming as a priority, with an ability to also remain an attacking team.
The new manager will have a brief and want to impress, cutting out some of the errors will be a good place to start.
5th Gen Gooner, I don’t think defence was that bad tonight… Chambo did great jobs several times and even Mustafi (who made too much mistakes during the past weeks) was rather good. One goal. That’s what we missed tonight. And that’s up to the attack to put opportunities in the back of the net. One sigle goal could have change the whole game.
Mandy
So why has Wenger been so lazy to fix it?
We only produced one effort on target.
Thanks as ever Walter for your report.
Mandy says a ‘microcosm’ of the season, perhaps. Should that indeed be the case, then the abiding memory, as a permanent reminder of how Mr Wenger was bedeviled, will be the Atletico fans, who were fans, who supported their team.
It’s goddamn awful for poor Kos. You can put everything on the line as a footballer. He’s always struck me as a decent man. I wish him the very best.
Like I said last week (you can check), 3 factors
– The referee that for 80 minutes tried to compensate the correct sending off, and allowed Atletico to get away with everything
– An world class performance from Oblak
– The absence of Elneny and his passes between the lines that were missed a lot. When Xhaka and Wilshere basically never managed to break the first Atletico line, even against 10 men.
Only one of those factors is due to Arsenal, and actually it came from an injury after a challenge from Noble what wasn’t even called as a foul.
I could also add that Griezmann goal, even without mentioning the foul, is the most lucky you will see with two favorable deflection and a slip
Sorry wrong thread
Mandy Dodd – You actually think our defence is good???!!!!!!!!!!!!! ROFL
How many saves (I mean real saves) did Ospina have to make over the two legs? Surely if our defense were as bas as some pretent, a team like Atletico should have had at least a dozen of big chances…
@Walter, yeah the ref is always bad. Next OMG will write an article encouraging ref respect, on a ref bashing site
who knows who will be in charge next season but whoever it is they will reunite the fan base and bring a new era of expectation to the club. Wenger has been a magnificent servant to the club but every dog has it’s day an now it’s time to move on. I cannot wait because we have made too many excuses blaming everything from the standard of refereeing to conspiracies within the FA for our woeful performances for too many years. Next chapter please, this one is finished.
God bless Wenger.
Depends on whether you think arsenal is a big club or not. If were a small club with a bad defense many more athletico Madrid chances would be expected. But if we’re a big club, and yet concede this many chances to the opposition, then we must be a big club with a bad defense
No Vince, the referee knows his job, that’s why he’s the ref and you’re typing on your phone
Vince, who cares how many saves Ospina made, every goal conceded was due to pathetic defending. Not bad luck or poor decisions but by players paid a ridiculous amount every week who struggle with the basic concepts of defending.
Zen,
So does Wenger, and yiu typing as well om your phone.
Please help me ask her, and why should the board make those demands of the new guy suddenly? Couldn’t they have made the same demands from Wenger?
No the ref wasn’t bad Walter. More like you’re a bad loser
Fuck off zam you twat
Vince – Brighton have conceded less goals in the PL than us… Eye opener eh?
That is a ridiculous argument. Every player, no matter how good he is, will occasionally make mistakes, and even sometimes “pathetic” mistakes. And yes sometimes these mistakes will turn into goals.
However a bad defense, over the course of two matchs, will concede a lot more goals opportunities than what Arsenal did, especially against a attacking force with players like Griezmann, Costa, Gameiro, Torres…
Sam you’re probably a Tottenham supporter.
Autocorrect, not Sam, Zam.
” Brighton have conceded less goals in the PL than us” Like I said in the other thread, remove all the goals conceded by Arsenal that were direct consequence of a referee mistake. On the top of my head, I can easily think of around 10 goals…
Yup yassine. I concede Wenger knows more than me about coaching/managing. But probably less than mourinho/Simeon/ klopp/ Ferguson&the other coaches who seem to usually get the better of him in the big ones. At the end of the day its the results that count.
So Wenger > me as a coach
Today’s ref > you as a ref
Agreed!
5th gen, don’t misconstrue my words, ” no it isn’t ” is referring to your point it’s not rocket science. Actually half agreeing with you, for whatever reason, our defending has not been good enough at times this season, and it has been costly.
But it doesn’t matter now, will respect the man for the rest of his games and when done, see what the future brings.
Cry on markyb, u melt
‘Wenger has been a magnificent servant to the club but every dog has it’s day’
Every fan has a gut. Arsenal fans are legendary for emptying theirs over the team, the manager and the world.
Jet, lazy is not something I would nor should anyone associate with Arsene Wenger.
As for your question, I would , as with a lot of things, be very interested to hear what the man himself says, I would guess it would make a lot of sense. But whether he will reveal, or even be allowed to is anyone’s guess, US companies put in certain clauses for payoffs, it may be naive to think Stan has not done the same, assuming Wenger is due a payoff .
But I would imagine defensive issues to be a priority for the new coaching team
True, but not all of us are venting. Some of us have come to actually accept the level of our team under Wenger. We however think its immature to blame the referees for the team’s failings. For like minded persons, we disagree with this invention of red herrings as it doesn’t make for a honest appraisal of where the team stands at the moment
We went out tonight because we didn’t score.
So who’s fault Mesut the creator or the front men not running the channels?
Ramsey? Welbeck? Xhaka? Wilshere? As much as we love these players some are not good enough or the combination is wrong that’s down to our man Wenger. Time will tell.
I’ve been coming to this site for a year now and I love it’s cool headedness and the way it shows support to the club and the manager. What I find funny is the way people pin the blame on the ref every time we lose, all the times we’ve lost its always the fault of the ref(every single time), you do realize this makes us look like cry babies and spoil sports. It’s sad Arsene wouldn’t get the Send off he deserves and the players need to ask themselves if they deserve this great manager.
Last week the stadium was only 2/3 full now rumours are that a ticket fir the last home game are fetching £1800.00. I am trying to work it out the mentality of the support.
Zam – I’m immature. You are super intelligent. How much do you earn? sorry how much benefits do you draw? You are an Arsenal supporter?
I don’t think you have sufficient intelligence to compete with a punctured ball.
A lack of cohesion, damage done by Kos, then an. Injury to rule him out for 6 months.
For me Kolasinax starts out wide, I push Monreal up one. Mikhi starts wide right. I play Lacazette with Ozil in behind with Ramsey and Niles holding. I need good legs,
I would have partnered Mavrapanos with Kos and relied on Kos. Bellerin has to start, but should have missed United with Callum starting.
Cech and Mustarfi dropped with Xhaka, I’d have probably had Elneny, because he wouldn’t have played @ WHU.
I cite these frailties, along with a failing rhetoric and spontaneous guile as his failings, a shrewd resolve lacking both in the legend and the squad, not something so slight.
I imagine that failing to purchase a LB, DM or even for some time a striker, would be something you could lay at his door. But heavily suspect shouldn’t.
So for all intents and purposes, looks as if we have a 22 yr old CB.
Per our, Koscielny to be omitted from the team sheet until at least the winter
So it’s a Turk, Macrapanos, Holding, Chambers, Mustarfi for me that’s it, he and Xhaka and Jack well, I could survive the hit.
I don’t select any in my strongest 11
So no final for Santi to spark something. No contract I fear.
Same old Arsenal. Except judging on what I hear and see, we won’t be very long
Monreal admirable, but a final ball missing, Bellerin rushing and wasteful. Something the new man must bring, a calm assurity.
The best part, they need to pay £1,800 a ticket to lose to Burnley. We need to stay domestic and ensure top four.
Lacazette has me contemplating his departure: 4-4-2 Asano and Niletiah already has me thinking.
I’m still happy, we got cash, we are near silent in dealings, no not the same old Arsenal at all. Something is a foot.
That performance at United, time to play the best 11, for next season and give players time.
From now on we play:
Macey
Bellerin Chambers, Mavrapanos, Kolasinac
Ramsey, Niles
Ozil Mikhi
Aubameyang Lacazette
Beach
Monreal
Muatarfi
Xhaka
Welbeck
Nelson
Wilshere
Ospina
Play Nketiah for Lacazette this weekend.
Santi and Mo can come in for Xhaka and Jack.
The problem isn’t the manager. The problem is you can sell the whole bench. We got barely 11 more like 5 starters if you pick consistency Andy ability.
Ozil
Ramsey
Mikh
Aubameyang
Niles
That’s not a team.
Wen need a starting LB + RB
A GK
A DM
A WF
A CB
That’s 11
We bought a CB
That way you have FB’s additionally in Sead and Hector.
Jack was aware, but physically poor in most departments, Meyer and Golovin easily replace his current levels.
Mo is a wonderful utility man with no good eye for a ball, he renders Xhaka redundant.
Danny cannot consistently take his chances nd is now naturally a mid table line leader.
Monreal has done himself no injustice and wouldn’t look out of place at even Athletico. He is not what we need, we have to makes £££
Butland v Cech diminishes neither. Ospina has to be the one to go, WC year is handy.
Where Mustarfi is concerned, I feel as if he wanted his movie that badly and if I see you hit a man I won’t trust you myself.
We were not good enough, Koscielny did a Gerard. Well maybe the future is bright.
Let’s get someone’s good in, hey. I think the problems are obvious enough and even if you want to blame Wenger, you don’t have to touch the good players or youth to address them.
Add the loans to the new players mentioned, you got a bit of cash.
IWI
TTGS
FTQW
COYG
Ramsey went band had a bad game trying so hard, Ozil too, let’s see what happens next.
We sell those five, remember what you’all asked for.
”We however think its immature to blame the referees for the team’s failings”
Why bother taking a risk with your body going for a 50:50 ball knowing the ref will not protect you?
You are a professional. You have one body, one career as a footballer. By the age of 34 you may have picked up injuries which cripple you for the rest of your life.
This is the season before the World Cup. By November it is obvious Man City will walk the title. This team has unlimited money. Arsenal fans, who you play in front of, have already said they do not regard the FA Cup as a trophy – you have won it three times in 4 years. They do not regard finishing on the top 4 as a trophy.
They have made it clear the only title that is acceptable as a trophy for them is the EPL Number 1 slot. Man City have already bought this.
You know the referees do not protect you. It is the World Cup at the end of the season. As a professional you are paid to make rational choices.
Why go for a 50:50 ball in a game that has no meaning because the fans have already said there is only one result that matters, and you know, as a player on the pitch, the referee will not protect you?
While disappointed on our loss , it was always incumbent on us to get the first goal , if we were ever to progress . They scored and defended well. And they are probably the favourites to win it. Good luck to them .
Reading the diverse comments above , I am sure that the divided fans will probably never unite , new man or not .
But am sure he (The New Guy )will be ‘advised’ and instructed by those who think they know all the answers to our problems , and on what and how to do it.
Good luck with that .
DId I hear some one say Ramsey had a stinker?? Seriously??
Ramsey opened their defense at will in first half. Some through balls to Monreal were peach. Sad we couldnt score out of it.
Now that Mr Wenger is leaving, I hope our next manager is not one of those with win first mentality. Hope we have a manager who comes in with pure football ethos. Not the shit foolery and thuggery as displayed by Athletico in the two legs we played them.
“Andrew Crawshaw
03/05/2018 at 10:39 pm
Salzburg robbed in the other semi final. Officials gave a corner from which Marseille scored – was clearly a goal kick.”
Andrew, you should have seen full highlights. Salzburg shouldn’t have been there at the first place as their second goal was illegal due to multiple offences and Marseille were denied a penalty. The referee was highly incompetent.
I don’t know what to make of your game last night.
You had plenty of possession, you had some maybe moments but in truth you came up against a team that possibly on a player by player basis weren’t as technically talented as the Arsenal players but there was no doubt as a team they had far more mental strength perhaps the right word is savvy than Arsenal . For me they were the better team but the way they play isn’t to every ones taste.
For me it was summed up in three incidents.
The first was the goal where clearly your midfield and defence were already anticipating half time. It was if they thought the first part of the job had been done when clearly it hadn’t.
The second was early in the second half where you were breaking on them rather than let the break develop it was snuffed out by them committing a foul close to the half way line, a yellow card given but the resulting free kick was 50 m or so from their goal in an area where there was no additional threat
A little while later they broke on you Monreal in effect waited and waited to commit the foul, which he had no choice but to do and as they say when he took one for the team but by the time he committed what the call a professional foul they were just outside your penalty area and the resulting free kick afforded a real goal scoring opportunity.
Having said all that it sort of amuses me that you are blaming the Italian ref for the arguments on here are always that non English refs are the problem, that the PGMOL is the issue when results go against you yet in both semi final games you level exactly the same level of criticism as you do in just about every domestic game. Sort of contradicts your narrative re English refs doesn’t it?
The injury to Koscielny , who I have great sympathy for, at his age could be devastating to his long term future for at his age he will need to be 100% committed to recovery which is hard enough at any time but missing the World Cup and at age 33 in September knowing that If the injury is as bad as feared then he will certainly miss a chunk of next season .
Your challenge now is to finish above Burnley, if you don’t you will be playing EL qualifying games just days after the WC ends and before the season starts here in England
It both amazes and amuses me how everyone becomes a world class expert on football management and coaching when we lose a game.
The standard of officiating in England is excellent consistent & corrupt. The European officials are inconsistent & unfit for purpose.
The game needs a honest FIFA to start with, then a new set of coaches & tests with technology for the officials. VAR would be excellent as would goal line technology across the entire professional game with a new approach as to who would man the VAR screens. The system used in England is totally unacceptable as PGMOL have the monopoly of officiating & therefore wide open to corruption.
I’m disappointed and sad for the team not being able to win, but I do believe they really tried to win but fell short.
Even if the team won it, it’s not a trophy anyway, so let’s enjoy what’s left of the season and ready ourselves for the next.
Zam – Why do you keep changing your username? This moron is clearly an alt-account, can someone just ban him so we don’t have to keep reading his drivel. No doubt he’ll be back underneath a different name, as much as he claims to go against everything this website stands for, he sure does love to come on here literally just to spread negativity and start arguments; it really is pathetic.
And jammy you think insulting me makes you smart? If you’ve got something remotely reasonable to say why not just go ahead and say it and hope the sense in it shines through?
On starting arguments, is it so painful to see someone challenge your view that every bad result is the ref’s fault? Or you’d rather that point be taken as dogma?
Zam your carer must be asleep. I always knew care in the community wouldn’t work.
Zam…..I’ll always defend the officials right to be free of harassment,external pressures or any form of intimidation, etc. Can you say the same? As far as Arsenal’s season, Wenger and the team, it has been disappointing, particularly their away form but yesterday’s game was a defensive battle that could have gone either way. The ref had little influence over a very tight defensive display……it was incumbent on AFC to score the winning goal and to prevent Atletico from scoring. They couldn’t do it but they were not embarrassed and as a firm supporter of my team, I am proud to say they gave it everything they had. Are you a supporter or just a critique?
Lol @menace
I have nothing against the team, they gave their best, this is the level they are. There’s no shame losing 1-0 to athletico. I however have a problem with those guys that insinuate its the ref’s fault, cooking up situations where the ref screwed us over. I challenge you to show me where I blamed the team.
OMG, you say you’ll defend the ref, can you show me where you’ve done so, while Vince, Walter and the other regular culprits have been bashing him?
Rather your first point of attack is on the man who has been defending the ref from harrasment &intimidation…
I think there was a lot of effort but very little end product.
I watched the game in a stream with American commentators and pundits.
Near the end one of them asked ‘Why do Arsenal never shoot’
Perfectly sums up the last few years.
Zam,
Repudiating your own negative comments show you for the hypocrite you are. You did nothing but put blame on the team for losing a tie against one of the best defensive teams in Europe, when little ref decisions can bend the balance one way or another, whether you like it or not, and when playing the dirty defensive game is easier than playing the attacking game that is Arsenal’s trademark.
I could go on forever with examples, I already posted about the first leg, when the ref was badly placed so he didn’t see the foul on Danny that led to their goal, but didn’t give him the benefit of the doubt either. In this match, Gabi and Costa had both repeated yellow card offenses to their account, yet the ref hardly did anything.
As most of the wobs around, your intelligence is not far from the one of a watermelon, otherwise you would have been able to see the bus parked in front of Oblak’s goal for 180 minutes, which was closing all spaces and angles, so there was no way through. In the rare occasions there was one, Simeone was bringing in a defender promptly to patch things up.
This kind of game is nothing short of evil. When a slight touch or a push is all it takes to deflect the ball or chicane the striker enough so his shot goes astray, you get the measure of the extreme absurdity that is this defensive game, when you compare that to the immense effort it took just to find a way to bring the ball to the striker’s foot in a position good enough so he can have a shot at goal. I bet you never played football in your life, much less as a striker, to be put in that kind of situations and understand them. No, you and the other wobs continue thinking trophies are put on a platter in front of us and we bums are too lazy to get up and grab them. Great, keep it going, I’m sure this mentality did marvels in your life and brought you endless fortune. I’m just keeping hope that one day you’ll understand what the hell I’m talking about. Until then, you and your ilks will keep shade to the Earth for nothing.
@florian, instead of going on this looooooooooooooong boooooooooooring diatribe, why not just show us where I bashed the team, simple, short.
And sorry to disappoint you, I played football, all positions from goalkeeper to striker and I can make my own decisions, thank you. You think the ref won them the game, that’s your business nobody gives a damn. I think they won because they were better, technically and most importantly tactically.
Now can you see how to reply a different opinion without resorting to insults? Try it, might make your comments less sleep inducing
What a truly empty life you must lead, Zam (or whatever the fuck you’re calling yourself these days). I advice everyone to just scroll past his comments, it really does make for much more pleasant viewing.
Sorry, I should have actually said “or whatever name you’re hiding underneath these days”. To cowardly to stick with one username, as he doesn’t want to be held accountable for all of the utter drivel that he spouts on a near daily basis.
@jam or butter, I really don’t have time for people who have nothing else to offer than dull insults. If you’ve got something to say, by all means go ahead, if not, then shut the hell up.