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Brilliant. Just fucking brilliant. Alexis Sanchez. He scores when he wants. If I believed in reincarnation I’d want to come back as one of his dogs. To be so close to perfection. I could learn something. That was a Bergkampeque performance today. And the rest of the team was pretty good as well (minus one or two that is). How talented is this guy? How irreplaceable is he? Poor old Giroud. He’s got no shot.

We started so well and finished even better. In-between we were pretty good. As shitty as WH were we totally dominated. Man, that was so much fun. These type of games comes along so rarely you have to savior it.

Where to start? Alexis? Hmm, possibly, Quite a nice day from him. For a period I thought he was only going to pass to Ozil. But as the game wore on he developed a relationship with The Ox.

We had so many chances to score in the first 15 minutes – all down our left hand side. Between Monreal and Ox we could not seem to get that killer pass into the box. But WH, being of generous mind and body, decided to tee one up for us. Though to be fair it all came from our hard Coq intercepting the ball. But thereafter it was all Alexis. Dancing around Reid and laying it up for his friend Ozil. I swear if Theo was there Alexis would have shot himself.

The rest of the half was a little painful. We continued to dominate. We had numerous breaks and chances but could not convert any of them. You began to wonder whether we’d squander the lead at some point. How often when we looked to cross the ball from the left were Theo and Ozil on the far edge of the box and not running into open space? Also, it seemed like Ozil was essentially playing alongside Alexis in that first half.

The second half seemed to be progressing the same way. We would cut open their defense and fail to score. Until Alexis decided to cease passing and starting shooting. Their goalie was pretty good – excellent last week at Manure – but was made to look average by Alexis even though he made some fine saves. How can you not burst out laughing when Alexis turns it on like that? He created his chances out of limited opportunities where no-one else could manufacture a goal. It’s hard to know which was his best goal. The most important was his first but the most beautiful was the last one. That step-over was exquisite; it was perfect. Today Alexis was the king.

It was also interesting to note the development of The Ox. No longer on the bench nor the first substitution to go off. Today, aside from some little passing issues, he was excellent. Dynamic and forward charging. Of course, some of that was because of the acres of room he had to operate in. Theo, who had the same space, did not take advantage. He missed his chances and did not provide the same level of link up play as the Ox. I’m not complaining about anyone today. Not after a score line like this. But let’s at least note that Theo was not at his best. I was also a little surprised that he did not work as hard on defense given that he had BigEars behind him playing an unfamiliar role. Many times he could have worked back but did not. Even when he got his knee injury – and then his head banged – Theo did not seem sufficiently aware that BigEars needed help. Not that BigEars did badly. He’s an improvement on poor Jenkinson. Who would have fitted in perfectly in this West Ham team.

At half-time I was concerned that we’d pull a Man City – they had dominated Chelski but somehow contrived to miss the clearest of chances and then leak 3 goals against the run of play. BTW, Fabergas, while still a defensive liability, picked out a number of worldclass, pinpoint passes. Anyway, ManCity dominated and could not score. I feared that would be our fate once they brought on the BigPonyTail. Instead we tore them apart. Our breakaway movement was breathtaking. And a lot of that emanated from Ozil and The Ox. And, it seems now, that Alexis has found someone else besides Ozil that he trusts enough to pass to – The Ox. You could see when he did set up Theo he was frustrated. But today The Ox made good decisions and played the right forward pass. In the first half he tried a delicate pass beyond their back line with the outside of his right foot. That was a sign of his confidence and of things to come.

How nice was it to see Ramsey on the bench. Our Coq and Xhaka nailed down the defensive protection in front of our defense and still provided sufficient creativity to keep the ball moving forward. This has to be our pairing until either Santi returns or one of them accumulate too many cards (we know which one will happen first). Not that I was happy to see him come on. After Wednesday he should not have been the first guy off the bench. But Theo should have been the first guy off. It’s not clear what Ramseys role is now. But on a day like today I don’t fucking care about him.  I care that our team hummed and cut through their midfield and defense. We were so quick on the counteract. We looked dangerous everytime. Again, poor Giroud. We just can’t play like this with him out there. Nor with Ramsey :).

It could have been 8 but I’m happy to settle for 5. I liked our defense. Not that they tested us much. BigEars was in the wars but did well. Monreal went unchallenged in defense and was effective going forward. So now we seem to have real competition for places between Ox, Theo and Iwobi. This is good for all of them; we can rotate them as needed and you know another injury is just around the corner. Elneny and Ramsey can come off the bench (in that order please) and Giroud can be our super sub. Midweek he should start while we wrap Alexis and his dogs up in cotton wool.

And who would imagine that the Ox would shot and also hit the target. Again, let’s prey this is the rediscovery of his football IQ. It has been missing for a while. But today he was a pleasure to watch. He was aggressive, defended well and creative going forward. Note also that AW switched The Ox to be in front of BigEars in the second half. Because unlike Theo, he did provide defensive cover. And he scored! Amazing. But having Alexis trust him is even more important.

So no complaints or moaning today. That was just so fucking enjoyable. This is why I love football. We murdered them. Can we play them every week? Are we good enough to win the league? I still don’t think so. But we’re good enough to rip apart so many teams and play the most consistently entertaining football in the league. Enough to make you proud to follow the best (see definition in last sentence) in England. In my little mind we’re already champions. I suspect that’s where it will remain though. Ok, I’m off to celebrate…..

– LB7

Well, that was fun. Or not. I’m ambivalent. Yes we lost. But the good news is we don’t have to worry about a stupid competition we never seem to win and in which we always seem to pick up impactful injuries.

If we have played for 900 minutes I don’t think we’d have scored. Some players were simply awful (hmm, I wonder who – more on that later).

It’s a good experience for our younger players and gives us a chance to see who has the potential and how flatters to deceive (unfortunately more the latter then the former). It also gives the fringe players time playing time. But, honestly, after tonight’s viewing that are certain players who just don’t deserve any (hmm, I wonder who).

There are some reasons to be happy though (I think). Iwobi looked very sharp. He’s final decision-making is still lacking. But, at least, he brought energy and drive to his play. He tried to create. It was just that certain players (hmm, I wonder who) were static and this provided no options.

Also, Maitley-Niles-whatever does look like a good prospect. Calm on the ball and skillful. There’s no expectation that he’s a full-back but he did OK when he came in. I do like the look of him. He is the beneficiary of this type of competition and now he’s going to get even more reduced playing time.

Chaka can. Elneny can’t. Our momentum changed with this enforced change. Elneny is a steady Eddy but we already had one sideways and backwards passer of the ball in the team (Hmm, I wonder who). So though it’s not good to see him limp off we improved once Xhaka came on. He’s more direct and picks out better forward passes. Yes. Actual passes that move the ball forward. We can’t afford though to see him injured. The balance in midfield was way better with him and the Coq. That should be our base pending Santi’s return.

I was not impressed with Jenkinson today. He was out of position for the first goal and was at fault with his distribution and strength (or lack of) for the second goal. Along, of course, with a certain other player. Jenkinson seems like a player that plays better when he’s got better players around him – he rises to their level but here he sank to the level of BigEars. Either way he can’t be proud of his performance and we need Bellerin to heal more quickly. In fact, we need some Spanish magic potion.

I was not impressed either with our goalie. Maybe he’s good enough to be our number 3, and I know he’s young, but he feels like another Flappyanski. Not that that’s so bad – just not good enough for us.

Overall our first half play though was so turgid. So much sideways movement and no incisive passing. All so slow. We dominated possession without any clear idea as to what we wanted to do with the ball. Lucas was way off his game. He was very poor tonight. But, given his recent return from injury that’s not too surprising. He needs a lot more playing time. There is no doubt that he’ll never be at the Alexis level of play but he’s certainly better than he demonstrated this evening.

It’s quite a feat that I’ve not written this season about what I would have bet anyone I would have by late November. At season start I would have sworn blind that I would be bemoaning the inconsistency of Theo, the inadequacies of the Ox and the incompetence of Ramsey. Tonight I get to correct one of these three.

Who would have guessed that this would be the night for Ramsey to have one of his all time worst performances an Arsenal shirt. This performance harkens back to a few years ago. I really didn’t expect this one today. He was playing in his preferred position. Maybe he thought the competition and the supporting cast was beneath him. On the evidence, today I think the others could feel that way about him.

Where to start? He’s positional play was terrible. In the second half, how many times was he positioned so close to Xhaka that he could not receive the ball and help our movement. He did not move around to be in a position to offer an option. He’s overall passing was predictable, slow and passive. I don’t have the stats (of course) but I don’t need them. He passed the ball sideways and backwards for most of the game. And then when he was on the ball he held on to it for too long. He took any momentum out of our play. He’s passes we’re off and his shooting was pathetic. His movement was limited and his vision was nonexistence. Apart from that he was fantastic.

This was his chance to shine in the Ozil position. Unfortunately, someone forget to plug him in. He was lack-luster and slow. He was the most experienced player we had out there. This was his chance to lead the team and he failed miserably. In fact, he looked lost. He wandered around the pitch but did nothing. The best plays we had in the first half was when Iwobi drifted into the central midfield position. But then again Ramsey would be standing their blocking any progress. And of course, like Jenkinson, he was at fault for the breakdown that lead to their second goal. He has no speed to recover nor did he show any desire to recover. In the second half Xhaka tried to drive us forward but Ramsey was just not linking up the play. We missed a number 10 today (or a number 8). It was though good to see this in a match that does not mean that much. This should put to rest the idea that he can play the Ozil position. The problem is I don’t know what position he can play. Because he can’t play on the wings either. If you consider the experience of Ramsey – captain of his national team, player at important international tournaments – and then objectively try and identify that player on the pitch today, I think you’d have picked 10 others first (and most from Southampton). It’s very worrying that at this stage of his Arsenal career, that he’s not made any progress. Maybe we should have sent him to Bournemouth and kept Jack. Anyway, I pray that against West Ham he’s on the bench.

Did anyone notice whether Adelaide was on the pitch? I barely noticed him. Again, I know he’s a youngster. But this was a rare chance for him to step up and lay claim to more playing time. He also failed. Again, I don’t mind too much. It’s not the end of the world. He was never going to be a mainstay of our team this year. It’s just – on his part – a wasted opportunity.

I was not overly impressed with our central defenders today. I thought Holding could have done better on their second goal. Also, some of his distribution was off. He needs to keep to more simple, short passes and not try that long ball stuff. Beside this he was not too bad. I still like him and think he’s and upgrade of Chambers. BigEars though is a worry. There is so much to like about him. But he just seems off in his judgement (though not as off as Ramsey). He losses the ball in important places and gets caught out of position. But, maybe, for a 3rd or 4th central defender he’s not so bad.

What a penis the ref was today. It seemed like for every mistime tackle he gave a yellow card. He was unquestionably not the reason we lost but he was still very annoying. Watch out for Kevin Friend. He will definitely disrupt some important games in the future – just hopefully not ours.

BTW, it should be said that Southampton were the better team and deserving of their victory. They were far more direct going forward. They had pace and quicker interplay.

So I don’t really care about the result. Honest. I’m not too upset. It was just so boring and predictable to watch (until Xhaka came on) and then slightly depressing to see us waste so many chances. It does tell us though that we really are dependent – squad-wise – on a couple of key players; our superstars. If they had played we would have won. But that’s not good enough. We should have expected more from our senior players. Lucas and, of course, Ramsey.

But I’ll take the reduced fixture list and the optimism that Iwobi, Xhaka and Nileyperson performance generated.

– LB7

A short one today (as the actress said to the bishop). An important win to break the November who-do. Not entirely deserved. As a wise man once said, it’s more important to gain points when you’re playing poorly than when you’re playing well. We will find our grove again (most likely when Santi) returns.

This game was vaguely reminiscent of the Middlesborough one. They had a number of clear cut chances to win and squandered them. Sometimes it’s just the difference in finishing that will separate a bunch of teams.

How depressed are you some mornings when you wake up? How sad a life do you have? Then console yourself you don’t ever wake up knowing your name is Mathew Debuchy. It took me a while to even realize he was starting. He had a couple of nice touches and then after 15 minutes and waiting 18 months he went off injured. This man was not destined to be an Arsenal player.

We are though short in that position. Hopefully our star right-back i.e. Jenkinson will be back for our next (non-EFL) game.

In front of him we again saw the hard-working, tackling version of Theo. It only took him 10 years to figure it out – that boys’ a fast leaner. And he can head the ball as well. There were several times when he actually won a few headers before soaring like an eagle to head in our second goal.

I am starting to worry about Monreal. He was killed by Valencia against Mourinohs’ monsters and he’s yet to recover. He was vulnerable again today. In fact, all their danger came down his side of the pitch. Gibbs must be wondering when he’s going to get his place back. The worst thing for Monreal was getting back into the Spanish team. But Gibbs was the one player who I thought would have started today. Not Dubuchy nor Eleneny or Xhaka. If I was The Coq I would be super pissed off. And he was not brought on to protect the lead. Very interesting that by AW. I figured he’d take of Ox – who did not play too bad. But when he gets tired he makes more and more mistakes and in a tight game he’s the first one off the pitch. But Theo could have stayed on. Having said that, Giroud was very effective when he came on. Shockingly good third goal that he helped set up. I was sure the ball would run out of play before he could cross it to Alexis.

And I’m surprised that Sanchez did not stop the ball on the line and look for Ozil before passing to him. These two seem like a team of two. But what a team. Sanchez was at his best today. So much energy and work-rate. I wish others could follow his example. And he’s passing was pretty amazing (to Ozil at least).

Mustafi recovered from his midweek passing debacle and was pretty solid. And Koscleny was outstanding yet again. But they did not get the usual coverage in front of them. Though Eleney played reasonably well I’d still prefer to see my Coq there playing alongside Xhaka. Others have observed that Xhaka played very well. I’m still not convinced but it’s early days yet. He’s too careless with the ball around our own box. But he also needs more time to settle down. I’m not unhappy with him but I’d like to see him pick up the pace of his game. Let’s see a Coq/Xhaka combination against West Ham please.

Interestingly when Ramsey came on he played in the Ozil position who then switched out to Theos’. And, of course, it did not stop Ozil form crafting goals and opportunities. It really does not matter what position he plays as he’ll glide around the pitch and create for others. But Ramsey looks so much better in the center of the pitch than when he’s put out onto the wings.

And this a happy report solely because of Cech. Again, he saved us. I really should be keeping count of how many points he’s saved us.

Overall then a nice weekend. Thank you Chelski. Thank you West Ham. Please be more generous next week.

– LB7

Some bonus reading 🙂

Apologizes for this detour from all things football. But I could not resist. This has been something I’ve been mulling over for a week or two now. I finally concluded that it was necessary to exorcise this from my mind by committing it to paper. So, apologizes in advance.

Can DT be as dire as he behaved during the campaign?  Surely he was pandering to his constituents to get elected; saying anything and everything. Being as outrageous and inflammatory to get attention. He did not spend that much money. He alienated most of his own party. But, as they say, he tapped into the inner voice within America. And he got elected. He’s now our President.

Yes, he’s a narcissistic megalomaniac. Ever since I can remember DT has been on the front pages – with his books, with his bankruptcy and with his Babes. In many ways we know what he’ll be like – random, inconsistent and inarticulate. But, again, he knew something most of us did not know. And that is, what most of Americans (though not the majority) are feeling (but not thinking).

He has the unenviable task of now trying to satisfy these people and also square the circle that is the Republican party. The same party that (understandably) denounced him during the campaign. The leaders of this party are in for a shock though – as they found our over the last year they won’t be able to control him. As opposed to McCain and Palin, DT is a true maverick.

Both parties are a mess. The Democrats will now try and find their soul. But if they believe that Bernie was their answer then they will be out of power for many election cycles. In some ways, the need to appease the Bernie supporters caused Hilary to move from the (vacant) middle ground and alienate those future Trump supporters. Bernie’s naïve, simplistic McGovern/Humphreys-like approach will never allow the Democrats to win elections. He was ineffective in the Senate and I wish he was just as ineffective within the Democratic party. But he’s awakened the Occupy-Wall-Street sentiments and it’s not clear how those flames will now be fanned.

And the Republicans are going through a complete overhaul. These leaders have no idea what their constituents want. Nor they do understand what DT wants.

So, we’ll have to buckle up for a period of instability while we see which DT will run this country. Of course, that will change hour by hour. The worst parts will likely come when he represents the country overseas or deals with foreign leaders. He will make it seem like George Bush was a talented, informed and articulate leader. Having to listen to him stumble through his 10 world vocabulary will be excruciating.

He’s ability to select the next Justice for the Supreme Court is one area where he could do long lasting damage. But the Democrats and Obama blew that (not that I know what they could have done). At best we’ll end up with the same 5 – 4 imbalance that existed prior to Justice Scalia passing away. But if other (liberal) Justices retire or die or, unbelievable DT gets a second term (who knows, I’ve been wrong about everything else) then he could oversee a generational shift on the Court.

But, we really don’t know what kind of President he’ll make. I still don’t think he ever thought he’d win the Primary let alone the Presidency. This is going to be a hard, long, pressure-filled job. And he’s not a young (or fit) man. But I also can’t deal with the people protesting on the street against him. Or demanding recounts. What’s the point? The election is done and dusted. He’s our President now. Protesting just makes you look like a cry-baby. If you’re looking to change the outcome then change your own party. But that will come at the grass-roots level and won’t effect this election outcome.

BTW, what was the impact of the third party Independents on this election. It’s not clear from what party they pulled their votes but in a number of the swing states their vote count was larger than the margin between the two main parties. In other words, given that Hilary won the popular vote, these “wasted” votes arguably were the most valuable votes of all – for Donald! These were the votes that in the swing states handed him victory.

And what about the media? How is it possible to get all the predictions to utterly wrong? And that’s after we had the experience of Brexit. And where is the introspection of these outlets? Where is their analysis of their failings? Along with the FBI they let down the country. Instead, we have to put up with the New York Times shouting in bold headlines that the Trump transition is in disarray. How is that? Sure. You don’t like his appointees (who does). But this is the same paper that stood by, seeking balance when Rumsfeld and Cheney were appointed along with all those other neo-cons. That was far more damaging to our country. This is the same paper (along with other outlets) that provided balance via the false equivalency of all DT’s utterances to Hilary and her emails. It’s hard to read the NYT these days and believe there is any balance.

And that’s the real loss here. The loss of the sensible middle ground. Bernie and Elizabeth will never allow the Democrats to regain their electoral power. Yet I understand how this election will energize their constituents. But what if they had not pushed Hilary to the left. What if their supporters had come out en-masse? And what if the polls had been more accurate and Hilary (potential) supporters might have voted through fear of DT? And what if the FBI had not inserted themselves at the last minute?

Long term, I worry way more about the repercussions of Brexit than I do about DT. Even in the worst case (well, assuming he does not impose a dictatorship) he’ll be gone from the Trump House in 8 years. But in 8 years we’ll still be dealing with the fallout from Brexit and the general balkanization of Europe. Who knows what Catalonia, Scotland, Ireland etc will do next. And Europe is not the place where you want to see nationalism and xenophobia on the rise. Other idiots like Farage will emerge and find ways to divide people and incite violence in Europe. Be way more worried about what’s happening other there.

Now I’ll strain to make some tenuous link back to football…..

The original intent of this article had been to point out that Donald was the Jose of the football world. That is, Jose is to football what DT is to politics. However, I then got sidetracked. So, let me quickly consider this idea. No-one in football can stand Jose – he’s a narcissistic ego-manic. Nothing is ever he’s fault. He’s a bully and he hogs the limelight. See, which one are we talking about? He’s cunning and he always seems to come out on top. But no-one respects him and no-one likes him (though both can use charm when it serves their purpose). Jose is a maverick – we’ve never seen a manager like this before. Wherever he goes he is disruptive – trading off short-term gains for the long-term health of the organization; it’s always about him. As for the differences, there is genuine evil with Jose that I’ve not quite seen in Donald (but give him time). Donald needs to be loved whereas Jose needs to win at all costs. Both leave a trail of destruction in their wake. If I had to choose the lesser of the two evils, it would be Donald. I would not be able to sleep at night if I made any peace with Darth Vader; we know, for certain, that we’re at the end of the world if The EvilOne was to become President.

Phew, that’s done with. Now back to important stuff…..

– LB7

Another draw. But this one feels like a loss whereas the previous one had felt like a win. When will we return to winning ways? My bet would be on when we can get Santi back.

PSG are a good team to be fair. In the first half, they dominated. BTW, when are we going to turn up and play for the entire game. i.e. the idea that we can play both halves of the game. Our second half was way better. Up until we took the lead that is. Then they reasserted themselves and we withdrew further and ceeded the initiative. But there was a (small) period in the second half where we found our mo-jo and started to dominate.

That’s what make it so frustrating. Not as frustrating as drawing with Sp*rs or losing to Liverpool. After all, you know if we’d come top of our group we’d have drawn Bayern in the next round anyway – as opposed to the inevitable match v Barcelona. We had the game there for the winning. I’d been screaming at AW (and somehow he could not hear me) to take off Iwobi for about 10 minutes. And after his (overall) performance he should be taken out and beheaded. It’s not like he can use his head to head a ball. How pathetic was his reaction? He essentially ducked out of the way but not before deflecting it past Ospina. Not that Jenkinson covered himself in glory by losing track of Lucas and allowing the ball to by-pass him first. But back to Iwobi. He seems to have lost his game. There was a moment in the first half when he cut in from the left and had a chance to shot but took one too many touches. Last year he’d have shot. But now I think he’s overplaying/overthinking it. Either way, I suspect he’ll be on the bench on Saturday. He left Gibbs exposed several times. I can see why AW did not play Iwobi at ManU. Positionally he does not get how to defend. He is erringly familiar to Chamberlain and Theo in that respect. Though Theo seems to have (finally) figured it out.

So, while the result is not the end of the world the performance was worrying. And the form of some players. Clearly not having our Spanish contingent is destabilizing. Though Gibbs covered pretty well for Monreal – who was sub-par against MU. But we miss Bellerin. And as for Santi…..That leads us to midfield. Let’s start on Ramsey. Why not. I always do. Actually, he was not so bad. But he’s two players rolled into one. He started the more defensive of the two midfielder. Often Coq was ahead of him on the pitch when they had the ball. Ramsey’s distribution when we’re in our own half is too conservative – too many square and backward passes. Too many touches. He takes any forward momentum out of our play. He (like Sanchez) needs to play one touch more often. Interestingly though, you put Ramsey in their half and suddenly he comes alive – his runs into the box are aggressive and direct. His movement is more dynamic and his playing forward passes. And, in all areas of the pitch, he’s tackling was so much better. So, maybe, it’s just an issue of playing time for him in order to find his confidence and touch. We’ll see. I’m sure AW will continue to play him. But we have to find a balance in midfield which we clearly lack now. What’s the right combination without Santi? I love my Coq but I wonder whether Santi-Coq allows Santi to cover up for Coq defensive play. And neither Ramsey nor Elneny can compensate for that lack of creativity. Maybe that means he has to try a Xhaka/Ramsey combination. Except I don’t feel that Xhaka has really found his game yet. He needs a little longer to settle in maybe. This weekend it will be interesting to see what team AW puts out. I’d put Theo back in – drop Iwobi and maybe, try Ramsey+Xhaka (sorry Coq).

Anyway, what was up with Mustafi? It was as though someone high-jacked his body and replaced it with a Cygan or Stephanov. He’s distribution yesterday was as poor as anyone I’ve ever seen. So many of his passes put the ball at PSG feet or put our players under immediate pressure. He normally does this once a game – yesterday it was nearly everytime. It was his worst performance in our colours. Hopefully he’s got that out of his system. Overall he’s been a big positive for us this season. Everyone is allowed a poor game (unless you’re Ramsey…) but yesterday was painful to watch. He’s positioning was off (see their first goal) and his mistakes multiplied as the game progressed. Seeing him move forward with the ball at his feet you just knew the ball was going to PSG. Of course if Santi was there he would have been close by to pick the ball up from him and then move forward. Whereas Ramsey is positioned too far away and then just passes it sideways or backwards anyway. It does not help Jenkinson settle down either when Mustafi puts him under pressure with his passing. Hopefully it was just a one game aberration.

So where is Theo? It feels like he’s fallen out of favour slightly. Or maybe he’s nursing an injury. Or maybe AW is rotating his players? Let’s hope it’s the later. For Saturday I figure Chamberlin will figure more prominently. I still don’t’ trust him but he deserves his chance. And I definitely don’t want to see Iwobi out there.

– LB7

Shit, Shit, and shit again. And more shit. And then some pooh. Yet we got a point. You have to laugh (not that’ I’m laughing) because DarVader has to be just so so pissed off. Anyway, for us, we were – what is that is the word I’m looking for? Oh, right. Shit. Just outright shit. In the first half I thought we were poor. But we managed to go in level at half time. We obviously worked on our tactics during the break because we managed to find a way to degrade our game even further and come out and play like absolute shit. Though in this case the verb should not be play but more something like exist, breath or stand.

Where to start? Oh my, any team with Jenkinson and Ramsey will make me nervous. But I thought having Ramsey on the left wing would provide more protection to Monreal. Well that was wrong. Ramsey’s passing, especially around our own box, was suicidal. There was one square pass in the first half that nearly handed them an opportunity. Overall he was just useless. He can’t beat a player one on one – he has no pace. But, to be fair, he did not decided to play on the left – that was AW decision. It just does not work. Having said that, when, in the melee of substitutions, Ramsey ended up in his favored position and he still found ways to lose the ball on the edge of our box or play passes that put other players under even more pressure. The good news is that Jenkinson was not a complete liability but having Ramsey on the pitch was like playing with 10 men. Of course, Jenkinson’s distribution and attacking sense is nothing like Bellerin. We know he’s not as valuable – that’s why he does not start. But he lacks a calm demeanor so we live in fear of a dreadful mistake. But today he did not make a costly one. But you could see that this also impacted Walcott. Yes, I know. He was on the pitch today. But he pulled one of his famous disappearing acts. Actually more of his work was defensive but if Theo wants to be a star he has to find a way to turn up for these big games.

Overall we allowed ourselves to be entirely bullied today – especially in the second half where it was totally one way traffic. If it was not for Cech we would have been out of this game in the first half alone. Whereas in the first half we had periods of possession – with which we did little. In the second half it was all one way traffic. We were giving the ball away too easily and then not tracking their movement. Sanchez was isolated and Ozil was non-existent – a worrying performance from him today; reminiscent of his disappearing acts against strong teams where we get out muscled. Again, without Santi we miss the fluency and link up play. There were too many times when Mustafi launched long balls whereas a midfielder should have been dropping short to pick up the ball. But this was symptomatic of disjointed play today. Which, to be fair, is an understatement.

That second half was as weak as I’ve seen us for a long time. I could not believe it took MU so long to score. They had so many chances. Also, BTW, that was a penalty in the first half. Monreal also had one of his worst games today. He was run ragged by Valencia all day long. Of course, the fact that his left midfield play who’s supposed to provide cover was Ramsey did not help. But all day long Monreal was schooled by Valencia. And, when Valencia nutmegged him in the box I was convinced Mariner would call a penalty. So in addition to being shit shit shit all day we were lucky lucky lucky. If that penalty had been given we would not have been able to complain. Compared to the one that was given against us v Sp*urs this was clear.

So you need luck. These decisions usually average out across the season. And it could not have happened to a nicer manager. I’ve not heard his post-match comments but you can be sure he moans and bleats about this. Te Fucking He.

Back to us. We just seemed careless today – off the pace. Some of it was due to the enforced team changes but part of it – particularly in the second half – was that we seemed to lack a leader; someone to organize us and help us keep our shape. But we were out harried when we had possession and there was therefore no fluency to our game especially in the second half. I don’t think we put more than 3 passes together. Even our goal came from just a few passes.

Of course, in the first half (20 minutes in I think) Sanchez had an opportunity to head us into the lead – it was not such an easy chance – but at that stage the teams were more evenly matched. That would have changed the game. Maybe we have an inferiority complex against MU. I find it hard to understand how we came out to weakly in the second half.

So, aside from complaining and moaning, let’s again acknowledge that AW’s substitutions were ideal (well the first two anyway). Chamberlin skinned Rashford and put in a perfect cross for Giroud to crush into the net. Our only attempt on goal the entire game. If Burnley or Bolton had pulled this off against us we would have bemoaned the injustice of it all. It also highlighted how invisible TH14 was all game. Once Darmeon picked up a yellow card I had, wrongly, assume that Theo would run at him thereafter and force him to commit to more tackles with a view to picking up his second yellow. But not once did this happen. And then the first time Chamberlin gets down the outside and puts in a cross we score. Not that I’m a fan of the Ox, but he’s got to be close to starting soon. And, back to my favorite subject, this is what we were lacking on the left side where Ramsey can’t beat his man nor put in a cross. We were so narrow and had no counter-attack.

My Coq was very hard today – he stood up to Pogba and yet did not pick up a yellow. Along with Koscelny he was our best outfield player. Elneny was solid but his a little slow on the ball and does not have the creativity of Santi (but then who does). I can see why he came off. I like AW shuffling of the team with all the changes. But I was disappointed in Xhaka. After we tied the score I thought he was careless with the ball around our own box in the left hand corner. He gave up free-kicks and lost possession too easily. Someone of his experience should have been more conscious of the game situation and been defensive in his outlook. He unnecessarily put us at risk right after getting back into the game. And then, of course, right at the end Ramsey, in our own box, looks to shepard the ball out even when it’s clear it’s not going and he losses possession to Pogba – but Mariner bailed him out. More bad judgement.

Lucky, luck, lucky Arsenal. Lucky to have Mariner as the ref, Lucky to have Cech in goal. Lucky to have one attempt on goal and one goal. Lucky to have Giroud. And lucky to come up against a toothless MU attack. So think about how angry DarVader must be. Oh, it warms your heart. They deserved to win today – by a country mile. But tough titties – they were at home and it was up to them to take their chances and they didn’t. They brought on Schneiderlin to protect their 1-0 lead; how did that work out for them?

For PSG I’d definitely bring in Gibbs. Monreal needs a few days off to find his game again. Today he and Ramsey were our two weakest players. They had one guy down their right hand side and yet nearly all the danger MU created was from that side of the pitch – including their goal. Even Iwobi provides mores protection to Monreal that Ramsey. This formation just does not work. If you’re going to play Ramsey put him in the middle. Let’s retain our speedsters and width on the outside. And let’s find out where Theo’s mo-jo went.

And lastly, this was not as unenjoyable as our home game to Sp*rs where we were expected (and should have) won. But it was worrying. We were under the cosh and vulnerable. We lacked cohesion – we did not look like a functioning team; the second half performance was as non-existent as I’ve seen for a long time. How we came away with a point I’ll never know. We were, what’s that word? Oh, right. Shit Shit Shit.

I’ll take that point though. And can we have an early ending to November?

– LB7

And he’s back. By popular demand. Possibly. Maybe. Well not quite. By fuck it. I’m back.

So it’s been a while and while there’s a lot to cover I might defer some of that to a latter post (just like I delayed the part II of last season to infinity – and beyond).

We were not at our best today. But, then, I don’t think we’ve been at our best for a number of games this year. Sometimes the results have made us look better than we really are. I have no doubt that we are a better team than last year. I like the impact of Alexis in the Giroud position. It makes us less predictable.  But we weren’t that much better than Hull nor Sunderland. No complaints with those scores but it does falsely set expectations. And then we have to adapt to results such as today. And performances.

We still have a number of issues to figure out. The balance/mix is just slightly off.  And at this level with the competition at the top of the table, a 1% difference will have a disproportionate impact.

It’s hard to be too upset with this score. We were not dominant enough. Not incisive enough. And there were long periods were we did not assert ourselves. They were fielding a weakened tea and we should have taken advantage of that You can be sure at there places we will be under much more pressure.

I like we way we started with a high press game. But I don’t think we adjusted to their 3 at the back. It allowed them to flood midfield with Rose and Walker playing more like wingers. Whereas our “winger” aside from a thunderous shot that hit the post and was easily worthy of a goal we fairly restrained. Our game seems more suited now to a counter-attacking  one. We looked at our best when we broke from our own half after defending. Creating chances around a packed box remains frustrating. Ironically, it’s only when Giroud is on the field do we look like scoring in those situations because of his aerial strength and touch. Ironically, it’s his presence though that slows up the entire team and causes us to play tippy-tappy around the box though.

Conversely, their quick breaks in the first half looked quite dangerous. Maybe it’s a German thing but Mustafi jumping into challenges at the half way life – just like the BFG at Liverpool – exposed us and they really should have scored from some of these chances. It does not feel like the two center-backs have quite figured out their relative positioning. It’s always nerve-racking when Bellerin/Walcott lost the ball to see them counterattack down the right hand side. Without our pacy right-back to provide cover we are always exposed. Whereas in the second half when they broker down the left hand side he was able to jump over to the other side of the box an intercept. In fact both full-backs saved us today with great interceptions It’s the 2 CB that seem to loose men between them and expose us to chances. As with Middlesborough though Cech was there to save us. How invaluable is this guy?

Some random thoughts now on players:

• How pissed was our Coq when he was substituted? I was not happy either but it worked out. I hated seeing Ramsey coming in – he worries me. But, he actually played quite well. I would have taken off Xhaka he played well but I’d prefer to keep my Coq about me.
• How sucky was Chamberlain again? Some of his decisions and passing was just crap. He needs to grab his chances when they come along – not just against second string teams.
• Ramsey was really not too bad. There I said it.
• Iwobi. I fear he’s going to become my new Ramsey it’s been a a couple of games now where I’ve been thoroughly underwhelmed. Against Sunderland. And again today. He is a liability defending. In the first half his covering to Monreal was non-existence. There was a point where he over chased the ball to go after the same man as Monreal and left Ericksson wide open on the corner of the box for him to send in a cross for Kant to head wide.  A number of times his passing resulted in turnovers and breakaways. Most of the counterattacks started down his side and he just does not cover back enough. And then there was his miss in the first half from the perfect breakaway play. He demonstrated a complete lack of confidence Compare that shot to the breakaway again Everton last season. He is overthinking it. And that shows when he slows the game down on the counterattack. I fear he’s going to be our Walcott/Chamberlain of previous years (though he’s younger and more talented) but is so frustrating.
• We missed Santi again today. He is the glue of this team. He keeps the game flowing and can pivot out of tight positions. I like Xhaka but Santi operates at a different level.  We are like a finely tuned machine and Santi is that 1% that will separate us from the crowd We missed him this time last year after his injury against Norwich. Let’s hope this insanely unnecessary and stupid international break gives him sufficient time to recover. We will need him against MU on resumption of play.
• Giroud misses the one chance that could have gotten us the 3 points. He was largely anonymous when he came on. But he had one golden chance and he headed right at Lloris. This is why people go made at him. That infamous world-class striker would have buried it. This is why Giroud is an A- kinda guy. I’ll take his goals against Sunderland. He’ll aways score but this was one we really needed him to place on either side of Lloris. These are those gaming defining moments. And, unfortunately, it defined him in the wrong way.
• Formation wise we seem a little rigged now. Most teams are now into this fancy smancy oh so fashionable 3 at the back. I don’t care for that. But I think the 2 holding midfield players were getting overrun today. Their fullbacks pushed on more than ours. But I felt nervous when they broke because we did not seem to know who to pick up. I think they are a better team when Kant is not playing up front – he slows them down. When they have Ali and KimJanypoohSong together they are much quicker and inventive.
• Back to our center-backs. Koschelny should never have jumped into Dembele. He was going nowhere and was surrounded. Of course it started down our left again (Obe-1 reference). But he has to do better there. Too many time Mustafi had to make desperation interceptions.

So I’l take the point. For Sp*rs that point will help them in their relegation battle. For us, even if we had lost I would not freaked out (spot the lie) – it’s a long long season and we’re surrounded by some exceptional and inconsistent teams. There will be plenty of times to pick up points. But only if we fix the balance in our team. We are just a player or two away from striking the right balance. If Chamberlain could step up and grow into the player we had hoped that could be it. He should be furious that he’s essentially lost his starting place to Obe1. It just does not seem like he feels that way. We need someone on the left hand side who has the Alexis work ethic and speed inconjunction with the talent. TW14 this year is working harder and trying to be more physical – we need the same on the other side. And we need our CBs to work better together. Still, as we have in the past with Manu, they were there for the taking – I’m guessing they expected to lose given the run they were on. And therefore we missed a chance to plunge the knife in. Having said that I hate these debris because I can’t bear the thought of losing to them and therefore I’m too excepting of a draw – the lesser of two evils.

It’s a long season. It’s a long winter. It won’t take much for us to get it right or wrong. The margins are thin. And we need the team to evolve. One thing I saw today that I liked was when TW14 got an elbow from Wanpyjamas that – like in the old days with Veira and Adams – Xhaka and others stepped up to push back the Sp*rs players. That’s the spirit we could never have when we had Fabregas and VanDickHead.

So, I remain positive. This is a better team than last year. But we have better competition. And, did I mention, it’s a long season. How some of these younger players evolve will determine whether we progress – which does not have to mean we win the league – but it does mean we have to be genuinely competitive in challenging for the title right up until the end.

Up next that utter fuck-head Darth-Vader. Let’s hope his political equivalent does not win on Tuesday either.

Ah, it’s good to be back.

– LB7

[Editor’s note: A welcome return for DB10; an early transfer window addition as DB10’s loan move completes]

I know what you’re thinking. Chelsea win the league, Arsenal barely scrap 4th place and Sunderland somehow don’t get relegated. There are certain norms that have taken shape over the last decade or so in the premier league but I think we would be foolish to hold faith in them. Yes, I am disappointed with Arsenal’s overall standing so far in the league and I am quite dumbfounded by how poorly we’ve been playing for a few weeks. That being said, Arsenal are only 8 points back of Chelsea and 1 point out of the top four. Therefore, don’t rule Arsenal out of the top 4 or hand Chelsea the title just yet, things change.

However, this season is so frustrating for Arsenal supporters because this was finally the year we were going to overflow with talent. The training ground would be littered with quality players fighting for places, our starting 11 wouldn’t be a guarantee and our issue of mental strength would be one step closer to finally being fixed. Well, I must say that the reason I am writing this is to highlight exactly where Arsenal have went wrong this season and it has nothing to do with talent, but rather leadership and communication.

I think due to the past 2 seasons of constant improvement Arsenal fan’s assumed that we would naturally continue to get better on the pitch simply as a result of good form; but it is the lack of the right personalities hindering Arsenal.

Now obviously I am not in the dressing room with the players nor on the pitch, but it is easy to gather that few players open their mouths during games. The only Arsenal players to give constant communication to others (excluding goalies) are Kos, Cazorla, Coq, Alexis and Ozil. Giroud has shown over the past few weeks that regardless of his quality he has developed a mental toughness to his game. More importantly he has shown a higher respect for the club where his performances are really dedicated to the team and his work rate is much higher.

Yes, Kos, Cazorla,Coq, Alexis and Ozil talk. Kos has been masterful defensively this year and really deserves recognition. He’s definitely up there now as a top 3 center half in the prem. You guys can decide the other two. The bigger problem is that Kos is a lead by example type of player. He rarely makes mistakes and is incredibly swift on the pitch, but he is not the type of player who will scream at his teammates to stay focused. This is where Coq and Alexis come in, they are the team’s emotional leaders. They get animated and bring passion to the starting 11. A sense of responsibility that comes with playing for a club of this standard and such rich history. Alexis also leads by example but the technical leader, the one who creates for the team is Ozil’s title as well.

The key here is that Cazorla is missing…well because he’s been missing for months. He was our technical leader and emotional leader in the heart of the park. Without his experience, drive and absolute class ability to go right through a defense is not shared by Xhaka and Ramsey. The two players mentioned have great talent in different areas but are currently more focused on using Arsenal and the game of football to raise their status, help their names grow. They are still finding themselves as players and it is clear are more focused for some games and not others. How content are two players like this to develop their games this season, get more comfortable in the first 11 and challenge for the title next year? How content is a player like Ox or Iwobi.

Ox is genuinely the most inconsistent top talent I’ve ever watched. One game he can dominate a mid level Prem side and this past weekend we watched him get dominated by preston. He doesn’t seem to have that passion and drive to be the best. The idea that Arsenal should be wining the league with this team should be reinforced all throughout the club, but Im not sure if it is. Iwobi? he’s an amazing talent but he’s only a kid still, he’s not thinking this is my last chance to win a title, he’s just trying to get good game time and develop at a steady pace.

On their day, this season’s Arsenal team have given us performances that breed a lifetime of happiness. 3-0 over chelsea, 5-1 west ham, 4-1 sunderland. Dominant displays with the ball zipping around but more importantly the players were electric and refused to accept anything but a win.

But the reason why we are in 5th? why this season has fallen short and looks like it will continue to? A lack of leadership and accountability from the team as a whole. On team’s you have your captain and vice-captain, but you also have a technical leader, someone who leads the line, and other’s who dominate certain areas of the pitch. I don’t know who’s Arsenal leader are besides the 5 players mention. One of them has been hurt for ages and it is clear we fucking struggle without him. We need our supporting players to hold themselves to a higher standard, to play with more confidence and passion. If Arsenal want to get second this year, which I think is a realistic goal, they must organize the team off the pitch first. Sometimes it seems like the team doesn’t even know each other that well they’re so silent and distant from one another during matches. And for fuck’s sake, how can you loose the first half to Preston 1-0.

-DB10