By Walter Broeckx
The injured players didn’t return so no Koscielny and Xhaka in the team. Ramsey got a place on the bench after comming off against Newcastle. Elneny gets a rare start and Guendouzi also comes in the team. Up front Mkhitaryan also starting the match. Aubameyang starts on the bench so we have something in hand if things don’t go as planned.
Arsenal team : Leno, Mustafi, Sokratis, Monreal, Maitland-Niles, Kolasinac, Guendouzi, Elneny, Özil, Mkhitaryan, Lacazette
On the beach: Cech, Lichtsteiner, Jenkinson, Ramsey, Suarez, Aubameyang, Iwobi.
Lacazette send away but he can’t get a shot away but Özil sends it back in front of goal to Mkhitaryan but Everton can clear for a corner. The late tackle on Lacazette inside the penalty area is ignored by the ref. Guendouzi gets an early yellow card for comming in late on an Everton defender. A long throw is not cleared in the penalty area and falls for Jagielka who can tap in from close range. 1-0 after 10 minutes. Nothing happening in the next 5 minutes so we are still at 1-0 after 15 minutes.
Evetong dominating for the moment with Arsenal playing too slow and not getting forward. Sokratis also gets a yellow card for holding an Everton striker at the half way line. A quick Everton attack has to be cleared by Sokratis. Arsenal can’t create anything and comes out second best in the persoal duels. Still 1-0 after 30 minutes.
Maitland-Niles with a cross but straight at the keeper. Arsenal finally in the Everton penalty area. Each decision from ref and assistant is going in favour of Everton. Arsenal showing nothing going forwardin the first half and some very bad passing from the Arsenal player. We will really have to up our game and our speed in the second half if we want to get anything from this match. 2-0 at half time.
Aubameyang and Ramsey come in at half time and Kolasinac and Elneny go off. Ramsey at the end of a cross from Aubameang and Pickford with a pub fist against the ball that falls back to Ramsey but he misses the rebound. Andre Gomes commits his umpteenth foul and finally gets his card. A corner falls to Ramsey but his left footed shot misses the target by some 10 meters. Arsenal dominating the match now but still the build up from behind is happening at a very slow pace. Mkhitaryan in a promising position but his pass to Aubameyang is terrible and the chance goes away. Mustafi with a ball to Lacazette but the header is stopped by Pickford. Maitland-Niles with a back header that is intercepted and a one on one that is won by Leno who stayed well on his feet. Still 1-0 down after 60 minutes.
Maitland-Niles is really having a terrible match a bit later when he throws a ball straight in to a goal kick… come on Ainsley! You can do better. Everton with a few sharp counters but in the end the shots nowhere near the target. Arsenal losing the ball too deep in our part of the field is still something we have to improve on. Sokratis having to stop a few shots now from Everton as a result by doing some great blocking tackles. Mkhitaryan coming inside from the left but not enough curl on his low shot and the ball just wend wide. Sigurdson with a low shot after an Everton counter but Leno with the stop. Arsenal have to take more risks now. Everton now with the better chances but again Sokratis with the block and then the ball goes wide after Richardlison misses the target. Özil goes off and Iwobi comes on after 73 minutes. Arsenal keep on playing the ball deep in their own half and can’t get out of the pressure from Everton. Still 1-0 after 75 minutes.
Iwobi with a good run and pass to Lacazette but his attempted cross is cleared. Walcott comes on for Everton in the place of Richarlison. Walcott gives a ball to Bernard but Leno stops his shot. Mustafi gets a yellow card for stopping Calvert-Lewin. Again after Everton being more determinted to win the ball. Iwobi is held back by the shirt but this escapes the ref. Friend invents a corner for Everton much to the disgust of Monreal go gets a yellow card. Andre Gomes kicks out against Sokratis without the ball but that escapes the ref. Two fouls from Everton players but they escape the ref. A final corner for Arsenal but Everton can clear.
Everton got an early lucky goal and Arsenal never really got over that. Our bad away record continues and to be honest I don’t see us getting in to the top 4 as long as we keep that away form. A bad performance and it doesn’t seem to matter who is our manager when we play away from home. Our slow build up brings us more in trouble than it does the home team when we play away. Why not go for an adventerous way of playing and play like we do at home?
Being outfought right now…:(
By 15m, we have been charged with 2 fouls, Lacazette has needed a treatment and the opposition has scored. Same old PGMO, just let everyone kick us, and the ref will keep us on the handbrake.
COYG!
20m in, and another gunner needs treatment.
COYG!
an absolute dive by the Everton at centre striker brings a yellow against sokratis…this is getting predictable.
Notwithstanding the bizarre refereeing, Everton have been on top since the start. We haven’t created any chances of note and are not handling a virgorous press very well.
Couldn’t see the replay, but was Jagielka’s foot out of bounds before he came back in to tap the ball on before the goal?
Lacazette down for treatment again at 34m, and apparently no foul or cards.
COYG!
we’re settling down a bit now. Getting some 1/4 chances on the left wing.
So far only one shot from
Arsenal.Is the Napoli game in
the mind.
The build up is too slow giving
Evertoon to regrup and space and time are denied.
Expect our Gabon man to add pace
and hopfully score asap
Lacazette has been kicked all over the place.Whats the ref doing?
Nothing.
Everton are getting away with
murder.
Friend is no friend…we’re getting nothing from him.
Time to take it up a notch. Everton outplayed us that half. Guendouzi has been energetic but has given the ball away too many times with misplaced passes. Generally, with the exception of the Delapish thrown in from Digne, our defence has been solid. Got to think that we have to use some of our pace down the flanks to get crosses in.
Watch the replay. The player taking the throw has one foot on the pitch. The linesman only has one thing to watch ffs
I don’t think I have said thatFriendis a fror die to us – meererlyless Bad than the rest. Sokratis. Yellow card was a given, Guendouzi’s was warranted and the likes of Dean would have been considering a red. Oh yes Dean is Fourth Official today, no doubt whispering in Friend’s ear over most of th e decisions. Expect nothing from him today.
Come on Arsenal need to fight harder or we will be going home pointless.
I will have to disagree with the yellow on Sokratis’ yellow. Yes, there was a push but that happens 20 times a game and is not called.
Ramsey and Aubemayang on…
We have been awful so far..Second best to everything.Niles ,elneny and makatarian especially.Niles has been awful
I’m a firm believer that You get out what you put in and today we got what we deserved.Second to every ball, outfought and weak all over the pitch.Mickatarian ,Niles,Elneny the 2 centre backs and Gendouzi were absolutely woeful and its a sad indictment of how far Arsenal have gone backwards as a team that those 5 get a game for us.They wouldnt have made the subs bench 15 yeras ago.
Luckily our U18 won …. https://www.arsenal.com/fixture/under-18/2019-Apr-06/reading-u18-under-18-match-report
Absolutely terrible performance… Ramsey did ok when he came on, but tbh we didn’t look like scoring at any point.
At this time in the season, the last thing you want to see is a lacklustre performance & that is exactly what we got!
I can’t believe I was actually thinking about being back in the CL!!! The team obviously want to stay in the EL 🙄
Gutted.. absolutely gutted 😔
One more win and we secure the Southern division U18s title and we will then have a playoff against either Derby or Liverpool. Derby are two points ahead of Liverpool with three to play one of which is a game in hand so must be favourites.
Here we go again, the knives are coming out now that the elephant is down. Were we really that bad? True, not good enough, but certainly not as bad as the comments I have read thus far make out.
Disappointing performance from the team but expected officiating from the PGMOL selectively visioned blind mice.
Cannot believe the difference from the team that played earlier this year. I hope they realise how poor their display was.
Too many doorknobs coming to Untold to cause problems.
It is too bad to have lost. Hopefully we will do better next game. Is Sokratis now banned for yellow cards?
Anyway, running the 4 teams against my updates.
Arsenal 75
Chelsea 74
ManU 72
Spuds 75
This result wasn’t desired, but it isn’t a disaster. Football has too many random factors contributing to how games are played. That we seem to have PGMO factors on top of this compounds things. It is possible that other teams in this group, could also have problems. Or, maybe they don’t?
What would be nice, is if the doorknobs would go away. But, I suppose pigs will fly before happens. Too many people derive pleasure from the misfortunes of others.
Lafayette was obviously targeted to be repeatedly fouled. Ref ignored the first incident when he was clobbered by two defenders in the penalty area and that set the tone for what followed.
Obvious bias also in the issuing of yellow cards
I watched the game with a Newcastle supporter, who commented that Everton were being allowed to kick our players.
Can’t add, sorry. The spuds are still on for 77. What isn’t a disaster is that we are not in line for 6th.
If going by the inability of the Gunners to deal with Everton to at least get a point in the match is an indication to what could happen to them in their remaining 4 away PL matches this season is taking as a pointer, the point is? Can us Gooners trust Arsenal to make the top four finish this season?
John L…………it’s Lacazette, Lafayette was a French supporter of the American War of Independence. Not a great game Nick but nowhere near as bad as your gloom and doom whining maintains….have a little faith, they’ll end the season strongly.
If any of you moaners want to have an unbiased and professional assessment of the game, Arsenal.com have Adrian Clarke doing a superb game by game evaluation and breakdown and the difference between you lot and him is that he knows what he’s talking about!
Adrian Clarke’s assessments are excellent but he has to avoid any comment about officiating. That is unfortunate as it seems to be a major part of what impacts our game since the establishment of a monopoly PGMOL controlling play.
Despite the poor showing against Everton, I still have faith in Arsenal.
COYG