By Walter Broeckx
A few changes to the team. Özil drops to the beach and Iwobi starts in his place. Also Xhaka has a slight groin problem and didn’t travel to Manchester. Arsenal starting with 3 central defenders and with 2 players in defensive midfield positions.
Arsenal: Leno, Lichtsteiner, Koscielny, Mustafi, Monreal, Kolasinac, Torreira, Guendouzi, Iwobi, Aubameyang, Lacazette
On the beach: Cech, Elneny, Ramsey, Ozil, Denis Suarez, Mavropanos, Nketiah
Iwobi losing the ball at the edge of our penalty area and the cross goes to Aguero who scores. 1-0 a-within the first minute. The only thing we can hope is that City does the same as against Newcastle and lose their urge to press for more.
Leno with a good save on a shot from outside the penalty area. Man city score from a free kick that is awarded for an imaginary handball but the goal is correctly ruled out for a clear offside. Arsenal with a first attack Aubameyang tries to find Lacazette but the ball ends up in front of Kolasinac but City can clear for a corner. The ball is given by Torreira, a flick by Monreal at the first post and Koscielny dives it in at the far post. GOAL! 1-1 after 10 minutes.
I have to correct my pre match assumption as we play a back 4 with Kolasinac playing in midfield. 1-1 after 15 minutes.
City pressing Arsenal back. Leno with a good stop on a shot after a corner when we couldn’t clear the ball. Arsenal trying to soak up the pressure and the players working hard to close City down. Arsenal very rarely in the City half. Kolasinac with a shot on a rare attack but he hit the sidenet. Torreira clearing ball but Atkinson got hit and City can attack again but the shot was well over. Still 1-1 after 30 minutes.
A good cross from Lichtsteiner but a defender just in front of Aubameyang who can clear. At the other end Leno with a good catch on a cross. Lacazette with a good deep ball to Aubameyang but the City keeper rushes out his penalty area and can clear the ball. Leno with a hand to divert a dangerous cross and Monreal does the rest to clear. Monreal and Kolasinac combine with the latter having a shot that is pushed out by the keeper. Monreal gives it to Lacazette who could have shot himself but he gives it to Torreira whose shot is blocked. City counter but it only leads to Torreira getting a yellow card for a late foul. Atkinson trying to cut the influence of Torreira a bit? Aubameyang send away by Torreira but his shot is diverted to a corner. Too much room on the right flank for Sterling who sets up a 1-2 and then his cross to Aguero is easily tapped in at the far post. 2-1 after 43 minutes. Just wen Arsenal had a better spell in the match City score.
De Bruyne with a low cross that goes past everyone. 2-1 after 45 minutes.
No changes at half time. City get a free kick but the all ends up in the arms of Leno in the end. City with most of the ball and Leno has to stop a low shot from De Bruyne and is first on the rebound also. A bit later again a good stop on a shot from De Bruyne and then the attacked was stopped for a clear offside after the ball bounced back from Leno. But you can’t let him have that space around the penalty area. A good City attack on our right flank but again Leno stops De Bruyne. A low cross from Kolasinac but the keeper stops it is the only real attack from Arsenal so far. Still 2-1 after 60 minutes.
City with an attack from our right flank and Leno can only push the cross against Aguero who scores his hattrick. 3-1 after 61 minutes.
Gundogan dives to win a penalty throwing himself against a defender and he gets a yellow card for his attempt. After 65 minutes Ramsey comes on for Iwobi and Suarez comes on for Kolasinac. The Spanjard making his debut for Arsenal.
City monopolizing the ball and Arsenal can’t really get an attack starting that goes in to their penalty area. Leno with an excellent stop on a shot from Aguero after a free kick was only half cleared. Mustafi the down after that free kick but he can carry on it seems. But a minute later Mavrapanos comes on for Mustafi after 79 minutes also playing his first minutes this season.
Leno again with an excellent save on a shot. Atkinson not being too bad (didn’t have to ) but still making sure we can’t use our body to create anything. City is allowed to use their body and arms but the shot was straight at Leno. Atkinon continuing to ignore fouls on Arsenal players but the shot from Mahrez goes wide.
Arsenal created nothing in the second half so you can’t expect to win anything in the end. It was as if we played to lose with the smalles margin possible. Suarez will quickly learn that the refs in the PL are completely different than those in Spain. Arsenal lose 3-1 and there is not much more to say.
How to go Koscielny! Good work Monreal!
COYG!
Match over in Crawley – a professional performance by our Women ensures a 4 – 0 win. 16 year old Libby Grant with a hat trick! In to the fifth round.
Drat, they scored again. Come on guy, get that goal back!
COYG!
So we have made sure we don’t lead or go equal into the break….😬
Now for our customary second half victory March.
Come on ARSENAL
Arsenal manager should not use No 12 man in any match because he is totally waste player on the field. He doesn’t have any defense talent, rather let us look a younger player to replace him.
Drat, they scored again.
Come on Gunners, we need at least 2 goals now!
Just coming to the party. And it is not looking good. Why is Özil still on the beach, Emery?
Yet another treatment, with no foul or card.
COYG!
Amazing selective blindness just goes on.
You have to hand it to them, $ity looked really very good and we looked less than ordinary, especially in the 2nd half.
Their 3rd goal was dodgy but one feels that they could have scored at any time if they really wanted to.
I thought that Leno should have cut out the cross for the 2nd goal and as for the 1st one, will they ever learn to welly it in those situations.
We are a million miles from, being anywhere near as good as they are and I cannot see us doing so under this manager.
@jjgsol,
I totally agree with you. UE’s team selections at times boggles the mind. He should quit wasting our time with his endless experimentations. We just didn’t try enough or were even ready to challenge Man City. Meanwhile, Kroenke out!!!
3 -1 down and having no penetration on the few occasions when we attack, why bring on Suares, who has not played with any of the team, and not Ozil?
Mystifying?
Kroenke’s 100% ownership of AFC has been a disappointment so far and I can’t wait for Dangote to challenge for a stake in the Club. For Kroenke this is just another investment just like any other. We don’t need that. We want an owner who is emotionally connected with the team not one who only acts when his cash pot is under threat.
Dangote is a Gooner and very rich to boot. It is time to kick out this fella from across the pond who is only fixated on profit and gives nothing back to the millions of supporters around the globe for all their exertions on behalf of AFC. Once again Kroenke out, out, out, out, out, out and go to where we won’t ever hear about you again this side of football. You are a soulless owner who only thinks of safeguarding his investment. Bad news for you, football is different.
I don’t get it.
He doesn’t play Ozil because he cannot/will not defend, but the ones he plays instead are not exactly covering themselves in glory defensively either are they. In fact you could argue that without any sort of an attacking threat as would be provided by Ozil we are actually inviting even more pressure on our defence.
The net result is that without Ozil we are just as fragile at the back, if not more so, than we would be with Ozil and we have lost our main offensive weapon in addition. Not a single shot in the second half proves the utter stupidity of not using Ozil. Our two strikers were starved of any sort of service and they must sometimes wonder what is going on.
Oh well fourth place was good for a few days
I miss Wengerball
I don’t think Dangote is an option.
I would hope that UE is not trying to break Mesut, to demonstrate who is boss.
Adapting something I seen mentioned on Marca, if people go to a home game, and see that Mesut is either not on the game sheet, or on the bench to start a game; what they could do is they could all get up in the 10th minute, and leave Emirates Stadium. Maybe go to a local pub, and talk amongst themselves until the game is over.
@Bobome
Do you understand cardiothorassic surgery? No. That’s because you’re not a highly trained, experienced professional. I’ll just leave that there.
Is it not hypocritical for people here to keep blaming the new manager and criticizing his tactics when the same set of people blamed supporters that behaved the same way to Wenger.I thought the point they were making then was that the manager(Wenger) should be supported unconditionally.Why can’t they follow their own advice and accord Emery the same support?The way you find Emery’s tactics and team selection mind boggling is the same way the anti-Wenger supporters felt about his choices too.Blaming the new manager does not make you different from the anti-Wenger supporters of the past few years.
Final insult –
Husband is surfing the tv channels , and asks his wife ,” Darling , can I watch cricket?”
wife : ” For god’s sake watch porn .You already know how to play cricket ..!”
A famous Guru has predicted that this month , your wife will speak less.
(Yes!)
But it has nothing to do in relation to astrology ..
It’s just that this month has only 28 days !
@Mikey,
It is spelt – cardiothoracic. So you are a highly trained professional. How very impressive. You don’t agree with me that is your prerogative, but rather than throw abuses at the messenger respond to the message. A highly trained professional indeed!
I don’t see criticism of the manager in the article to be honest?
I don’t think anyone here is going insane like the WOBs demanding UE out every game when Arsenal lose.
UE needs time to put in place the type of players he want and allow him to fully implement his ideas and style of play. I hope the Arsenal board will back him in the next transfer window.
On the Ozil situation, look to me 1. he got burnt by the big name players at PSG so he is stamping his authority at Arsenal and 2. he want Ozil to break the contract and leave as Ozil is not in his plan and getting paid to high, he could use that money on players he wanted.
Lets wait n see. But fanatics of these days want results not stories,i pitty the guy.
Wow, we didn’t break down the most expensive team in PL history (more than once, at least). Guys, this is not as bad as people are making it out to be. The current results reflect spending. Even Souness (SOUNESS!) reminded people that “Man City do this to everyone”. So, what exactly are we analyzing here? This isn’t the West Ham game. People were speculating that MC would go the whole season unbeaten, and that we’d be competing with Everton and Watford for 6th. I don’t think we’ve done too badly this season. There’s a team just climbing out of 6th that has been spending just short of £100million on a single player in recent times. It sucks to lose, but guess what, that’s what most teams do.
Vinnie Losada
Well said.
In the last 5 years Man City have a net spend, or loss if you like, on transfers of £500 Million.
In the last 11 years they have a net spend, or loss, just shy of ONE BILLION pounds. That’s ONE BILLION POUNDS.
This is a crazy amount of money, some might say given the poverty that exists in this world, an obscene amount of money.
Yesterday wasn’t embarrassing, Man City should, and do do this to most teams, especially at home.
But I’ll tell you what is embarrassing, spending that amount of money and only being 2 points clear of a team, in our bitter rivals Spurs, who had a zero net spend last year, a meagre £40 Million net spend over the last 5 years, and an even more meagre net spend of £30 million over the last 10 years.
All that money.
Supposedly the best manager the World has ever seen.
Man City should be pissing the league, the are not. Now THAT is embarrassing.
Cant believe it.
Now we have Kompany going on about poverty in Manchester.
Not once did his interviewer even hint at the hypocrisy of his club spending ONE BILLION on players whilst people have to sleep on the streets.
I’ve no doubt his heart is in the right place, and to his credit he is donating his personal money to the cause, but honestly, can he not see the irony of what he’s saying given his clubs obscene spending on football players ?
I think we all expected to lose, and possibly by more than just 3 1.
What upset me was the fact that we were so toothless going forward, especially in the second half.
It was not so much men v boys, but amateurs v professionals.
Well, with Liverpool dropping 2 points at StateAid, GD 25 is complete.
—-
Liverpool got a little bit of Caution today, but they are still 150 below Chel$ea in second place. Newcastle got a tiny bit of Caution as well. ManU is storming away at the other end of the table, at 1970. Leicester and Huddersfield at 1902 and 1896. Arsenal in 5th highest at 1829.
Someone kicked CPalace, so they are not at 12 treatments on the year. Cardiff and Arsenal have had 40 and 38 treatments, for 81 and 65 minutes short-handed and 9 substitutions each. The spuds lead the substitutions at 11, but have only had 20 treatments for 45 minutes short-handed.
Leicester inflicted a treatment, so they are now at 11. Man$ity in second at 19 and Arsenal 3rd at 20. ManU, spuds and CPalace lead with 32, 31 and 29 inflicted treatments . CPalace lead in requiring opposition to make 11 substitutions from those inflictions. CPalace also lead on being able to play for 66 minutes while their opposition were short-handed.
Minor shuffling in the referee stats.
@ Bobome
There you go, inventing things again. I never claimed I was a professional and I never claimed I could spell. What’s more I didn’t “throw abuses”! What I did do was suggest that because you are not a professional in the field of top class football, you were not qualified to make your somewhat spurious claims. I notice you, conveniently, chose to pick me up on my spelling rather than my point. I rest my case.