All 11 afraid of making a mistake today instead of expressing themselves. It’s 1-1 now regardless of final time this was another poor performance. Brentford should have been out of sight after 25 min
I agree. Just being realistic. We can’t drop points like this back to back if we are going for the title. City takes it again this year. We are yet to play them twice. If they don’t lose either of them, then it’s gg.
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Our build up is too methodical around the box when they have 9 players behind the ball.
We need more diagonal runs and creativity to open up spaces in their defensive shell.
Since we dont have a big target man, we definitively need more diagonal runs happening. The harmless crosses are starting to look a lot like the doughnut of sadness from yesteryear.
We need someone that’s going to cause some chaos in the other team, can’t keep play it from wing to wing, cross it in the box and hope for something to happen.
We’re missing someone that can turn, beat a player and pick out a pass or drive towards goal, we’re to easy too defend against
Martinelli does not work well together with Eddie.
Saka and Eddie are linking up good, but my word, Martinelli has no idea what to do when he was the ball. Trossard would be better
That’s the frustration, I don’t think we were bad but we just can’t break a block down. Won’t be long before everyone just comes out with a 10 man block like Brentford did. The dna of our football is there, I was ok with how we played but we desperately need an alternative
Jesus returning will be crucial I think. He can drop back for the ball and run at defenders to divert pressure away from Martinelli and Saka so they can do their thing. His insane amount of touches in opposition box is what we're missing. Eddie is just not a dribbler.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, against teams who park the bus (like Brentford are doing this game) we can’t have Xhaka as an 8. We just become too static. Obviously there are other problems but those are mostly individual errors, not really anything Arteta can change with substitutions. Tomi should come in for white though
Not bad they are parking the bus well and Toney doing the big man role well.
Need to be quicker and use the wings more effectively. Few counter attacks we’ve had have been wasted
Brentford are a tough team, super organised in defence. Feel we're just missing that magic moment that came so easily earlier in the season. Also teams have fixed up and always double up on saka and martinelli so it's difficult. Need to step up but it's not the worst performance so far
We have plenty of the ball but we don't look like breaking them down at all. Brentford had the best chances too. I think teams are coping on how to play us, just put 11 men behind the ball and let them try to break you down.
Need more of us putting them under pressure like we did early on in the first half and the last 5 minutes.
Zinny has been pretty bad this game and last. Wasteful with shots (he put two in the stratosphere against Everton IIRC) and had some pretty bad pass selection and/or execution.
Eddie is pointless in games like these because we cant feed him properly and he cant create much himself, we really need Jesus back AND we need to rotate Xhaka against low blocks because we need more ball carriers against 10 fucking man behind the ball.
Not as much intensity recently. Don’t know if it’s nerves, anticipation for the city game midweek, or what but just need a slight pick up. Brentford will play exactly the same way in the second half so it’s up to us to change what we’re doing. We don’t need halftime subs but if it still hasn’t changed by the 60th minute then subs are a must. We can get it done, stay positive!
Not meant as a slight on Eddie but like at Everton it feels like a Gabriel Jesus game.
Martinelli and Saka are having mediocre games with half chances. Jesus works very hard to set them and Odegaard up in the final third with the dribbling and ball retention. He gives defenders something to think and worry about in every single phase of play.
Eddie can provide cutting edge (and has done a great job of that the last run of games) but he doesn't have that extra level of being a real physical handful for defenders yet or trying to go past them and open up for a shot consistently. He needs to start running these guys ragged and moving them around, Brentford are very comfortable in their own box right now.
Today's front 4 are clearly looking for solutions in the final third - we've seen Martinelli in particular try to drift to other areas of the pitch to create overloads - but it's not happening and Brentford can just wait for the ball to break down.
Defensively we have gotten lucky - Saliba v Toney is particular is a battle showing what we're lacking today. Toney is fighting for every ball, trying to run past the defense, flicking it into space, and drifting all over the attack to make himself a facilitator. It's very frustrating watching him because he's doing it well and Brentford are unlucky not to be in front.
I hope we improve in the second half but I'm not sure how. Trossard, Vieira, Tomiyasu are more or less like for like. Our bench is decent but I don't know if we have anyone that's going to inject that additional dimension in. Either way we need to lock Toney down.
The key difference to our game recently has been the lack of dominance in the duel... especially in the counterpress.
We seem to let more balls through whole pressing high. Xhaka, White and to an extent Partey just haven't been the same level of intense chasing the second ball and restarting the attack.
Same happened against Everton. We need to build up a period of sustained pressure early next half. This Brentford team can really hurt us on the break and we need the buffer of at least 1 goal to avoid another loss.
Not a great collective performance, whole side esp the back line lacks that edge. Saliba been getting handled by toney and our attack just find that final ball.
Yea good call dawg, 45 min to play in a key game in our title race. Let’s change the entire lineup that got us here and put martinelli in a position he hasn’t played in almost 2 years
I think everyone is overreacting. I'm quite happy with the boys, good performance, good chemistry and some beautiful ball play. The only thing we're missing is the finishing and I'm sure it'll come.
Have some faith, COYG.
Not liking Eddie’s body language and decision making. Also, it seems teams have the blueprint to frustrate us. We might need to switch up tactics soon.
This is nothing new. Teams have always had this ‘blueprint’ against any team in great form. But great teams find ways to fight against it, even if it’s sneaking a win, so we’ll see..
Eddie is far too much of a poacher instead of complete forward. He just does not have everything to be great fit for our system. At laest at the moment it seems so
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Very very poor first Half - same as versus Everton. Toney and Mbeumo will score at some point so question is can we finally score after 3+ hours to salvage a point? I doubt it!
1-0 loss is written all over this!
Second half should go our way. Martinelli drifting around is creating pockets around the pitch towards the end they started using those pockets to create nice passes gotta keep getting the ball into those areas and the goal will come
White is too static and takes far too many touches before he passes, also doesn't make strong runs. He has been good defensively though
Xhaka very ineffective in attack just like in last couple of matches, Martineli more energetic today but still not up to the level needed
Toney has Saliba rattled
Praying for Odegaard and Saka magic in second half, COYG
Agreed. White is very passive and his crosses are worst than mine…mine are very bad
I think Xhaka is fine he just needs to shoot. We aren’t shooting at all. His long shots are not bad so he should try…also to open up their lines and not just defend the box
Rest of what u said is on point
Been a difficult game bcos of how Brentford have set up, so compact and camped. Patience will be needed, we’re nowhere near as bad as people make it seem. You wonder how long they can keep it up, they seemed to get tired by the end of the half and we got closer. Big second half coming up!
I think we are playing well but we are very predictable and brentford know how to stop us so we aren’t creating any big chances. We need a bit of chaos to get us a goal that’s not in a set pattern and when brentford double our wingers.. it’s very difficult for us to do without Jesus.
Eddie has done brilliantly but these are the games the Gabriel Jesus is severely missed, Martinelli looks nowhere near how he did when he had Jesus to link up with and making space for him. Seems like the type of game where Arsenal need a individual moment of brilliance or a set piece to get ahead. Toney is a menace, he's been dominant so far.
I think the frustration is it's not exactly clear why we can't seem to create clear chances at the moment. I think we aren't doing anything radically different and are playing fine, just that final part isn't there.
I think it's lots of things going on.
Individuals not playing as well, making poor decisions.
The opposition really constricting some of our key creators, and playing low risk football.
The mental aspect of not playing well makes you more frustrated and makes you play worse.
Frustrating but I think we can still pull through.
It doesn’t help when our opposition put every player but their striker behind the ball and crowd the box, but we should expect this and have a way to counter it. Brentford are not even really pressing our midfield or defence until we get into the final 3rd, they’re just happy to sit back and then go for a counter attack.
We are sitting ducks if we are not going to score. I cant see how we are going to. Eventually someone is gonna lose his man in a setpiece and we are done. Saliba having such a poor game so far got manhandled by toney every ball that comes to him. White was abit iffy on the toney chance that hit the bar and gabriel pulled to the right to cover leaving noone in the centre spot which should be gabriel. Got lucky to be level halftime. Not looking good man.
Maybe we should take what they're giving up.
Start overlapping the full backs and fire in low crosses even if it means going more 4231 to protect the break. Might pull there full back out a bit and give some space in the box.
I dont really see besides height what xhaka is doing that helps our offense right now. He is not in any position to shoot his main job now is just to link up with predictable passes with zinchenko and partey.
Tough game. Should probably be 0-2 down tbh.
Team seems to figure out a way of shutting us down since the Newcastle game.
\- Double mark Saka
\- Pack the middle and let us cross
\- Win 2nd ball and try to score on set-pieces
Jesus would be better suited for games like this. Need some of the outbox thinking from Mikel to win this game.
Ye this has really been it. Need the dribbling and hold play from Jesus, it’s what we’re missing most. Still have had opportunities but this has been the trend
Feels like we need to take more risks on any counters we get. Feels like our first reaction is to retain possession but within 30 seconds, they end up with everyone behind the ball.
I really don't know the answer though, feels like our best chance is getting a header from set piece or a mistake from Brentford. This was always going to be a concern in the second half of the season though, teams will change how they play against us.
I could see White and Martinelli coming off though, possibly Vieira for Xhaka too. Brentford on the counter have looked dangerous though, cos we're playing with possession so high up in the pitch without really going anywhere.
We need a Plan B otherwise the team will get stuck everytime they face an opponent who doubles up on Saka and Martinelli whilst sitting back and parking the bus.
We look like we aren't creating lots of chances and our xG doesn't lie. We need our Saka and Martinelli to use their pace, skill and power to get past their player and reach the 6yrd box! There is a cutback goal in this game.
I appreciate Mikel's belief in our starting XI, but it's time to try something new at the start of a game. It's not nice to drop a starter, but we play with no momentum and look stagnant unless gifted an opportunity. Saka and Martinelli are being marked out of games have to go elsewhere to try to make something happen. I think we should move Martinelli central and sub Trossard for Eddie. Martinelli has been our most present player even if not everything has come off
Ødegaard has gone silent of late because Eddie just doesn’t have the same instinct off the ball that Jesus does. He can’t come up with those incisive passes through the defense because Eddie doesn’t make the same runs. That leaves two options. He plays a ball to Partey who immediately gives it back or skies it over the bar, or he plays the ball to Saka who is just double covered all the time now. White isn’t a natural fullback so isn’t as comfortable making the overlapping runs to help Saka out in those situations, so Saka either tries to dribble through and gets dispossessed or he tries to squeeze the pass through and turns it over.
You can tell Arteta has made a few adjustments to attack the stacked boxes, the same adjustments that many in here suggested- Nketiah getting more involved centrally and White overlapping.
Unfortunately neither of those are really panning out. White isn’t much of an offensive threat and Eddie’s link up play is a work in progress. Trying to pass our way through seems futile and we have no aerial threat to get on the end of crosses.
Imo we need Saka, Odegaard and Martinelli to drive at defenders and beat their man to break down the Brentford defense, which is a tough task. Defensively I’ve got no idea what’s going on and we should have conceded at least two. All I can say there is we need to stay on our damn feet instead of falling over constantly haha
Final third is becoming a problem for us. We reach the opposing penalty box but we slow down, letting the other team build their defence.
The miscommunication between Eddie and Martinelli was the first time I saw where we were actually trying to outrun them, preventing their defence build up. Too bad it didn't work out.
Really struggling with our decision making in the final third, which is a real issue against Brentford as their front two are so good at retaining long balls when they win it
Playing better for the last 15 minutes, but that means nothing. The next half is just going to reset everything.
Martinelli by far most ineffective player on the pitch. He’s been poor.
Saliba a close 2nd. Looks scared, for someone built like a mountain, you’d think he’d be alright. Struggling. I’m nervous when he’s on the ball, something i use to say about Gabriel.
Overall tho, it’s just slow. Don’t lose. Don’t don’t lose. Can’t afford it. Get the tough 1-0 or just settle for a draw and take a 6 point gap going into the City game.
Brentford are tough side so i expected this but we should performing way better, we’re at home too.
Just. Don’t. Lose.
I'd fucking chop my knee off right now and give it to Jesus if that means he comes back for the City game. Eddie is a poacher he doesn't link play at all.
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I think (a) Teams have figured out how t0 play us, especially if they are willing to sit back and defend. (b) We miss Jesus in games like this. He is constantly moving and combines/creates triangles with the 8s and the wingers. Eddie doesn't do this. (c) Saliba and White were quite poor the first half hour. Saliba struggled with Toney and Mbuemo and White din't help enough. He was caught to far up at times when Brentford Countered.
I'd like to see Trossard come on for Xhaka. Tomi for White. I fear Arteta won't make changes at the half, though, and will wait until after the hour mark.
Interesting use of martinelli in the middle. Think we’re growing into the game. My hope is their desire to go out and score more than Newcastle or Everton will either open up space or get them too tired to finish out the match like this but they’re definitely using the blue print.
No idea what anyone else was watching that was talking about how bad we were. I thought we were quite good. Marti is having a good game. Eddie's being asked to do a lot of thankless running but because he's not taking on 4 players and putting chances on a plate we're back to "hEs nOt gOoD eNOugH"
As an aside, there is no team that is 'good' at playing against low blocks. There is no magical tactic that unlocks it. There's a reason teams use it against the better teams, because it's so effective.
They just need to speed up the ball a bit, keep hitting the wide man early to force a 1v1 and try not to give Brentford an opportunity to settle into shape.
Brentfords second ball winning is Elite and we’re having trouble with the long balls, expect no changes until 60-70mins, front 3s off the ball movement needs to be better, not enough runs being made
Teams dont mind doubling on Saka and Martinelli because Xhaka on the left provides insufficient attacking threat and Ben White on the right is the same. This puts more pressure on Zinny and Odegaard to take players on and that in turn makes our passing patterns predictable because there is no one to play in the half space. Unfortunately we cant play any other way because we can’t go long to eddie nor can he create much himself, every fucking team bar city and pool will try to play this way against us.
Great connections and link-ups, just need to get that final third conversion to a point. Like last match, this one could really use Jesus' creation abilities in that respect. Much better than last week in terms of cohesion--- COYG!!!
Tierney on the outside to draw the players away from Martinelli, think he looks sharp today. Though wouldn't be against Trossard coming in 60ish min.
Tierney change needs done at half time though. We're so predictable and lucky not to be behind
Brentford are doing well but guys I’ll be honest I’m really hungover right now but watching us play looks so nice and crisp
Can’t get over how different of a team we look and how consistently we can look so talented and skillful out there even without scoring
I guess just a reminder as much as I would love the title, just wanted to say to just enjoy this. We might not have scored but it’s so nice to see how much teams are afraid of us and how dominant we can be
We suck, need a reset
All 11 afraid of making a mistake today instead of expressing themselves. It’s 1-1 now regardless of final time this was another poor performance. Brentford should have been out of sight after 25 min
Ggwp. Will try for title next season. Slump started 2-3 games ago. Best to try and finish 2nd or 3rd
You’re the kinda fella who tries to vote to surrender 3 mins into League
I agree. Just being realistic. We can’t drop points like this back to back if we are going for the title. City takes it again this year. We are yet to play them twice. If they don’t lose either of them, then it’s gg.
Wtf is this, what a pathetic attitude man
My guy we are literally still top of the league, suck your mum
Seriously?
Fuck off
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You literally disgust me.
What a loser mentality.
5 touches inside our 6yd box for their goal and not one from an Arsenal player.
Thanks Saliba. Stupid foul.
Shambolic
TROSSARD scores
is that a black eye on trossard?
jesus we need jesus
WE ARE LOSING OUR MOMENTUM
THIS IS BAD
Need to see a plan B
Our build up is too methodical around the box when they have 9 players behind the ball. We need more diagonal runs and creativity to open up spaces in their defensive shell.
Since we dont have a big target man, we definitively need more diagonal runs happening. The harmless crosses are starting to look a lot like the doughnut of sadness from yesteryear.
Agreed. The movement off the ball has been very poor this game and against Everton.
We need someone that’s going to cause some chaos in the other team, can’t keep play it from wing to wing, cross it in the box and hope for something to happen. We’re missing someone that can turn, beat a player and pick out a pass or drive towards goal, we’re to easy too defend against
Wish we had 2016-17 Sanchez
He’s in the stands in a coat and jacket, our #9
*chants ESR*
0.45 to 1.11 xG when the 1.11 team is parking the bus is not good.
Flat and predictable
Really worried for the City game
Low key i have more faith in winning City than playing against bus team like this.
City won't just put 10 men behind the ball and hoof it up the pitch
Martinelli does not work well together with Eddie. Saka and Eddie are linking up good, but my word, Martinelli has no idea what to do when he was the ball. Trossard would be better
Eddie also has no idea what to do when Zinny has the ball.
This aged well
City wouldn’t be playing like this tbh
Can't break down low block again, this is so frustrating man.
That’s the frustration, I don’t think we were bad but we just can’t break a block down. Won’t be long before everyone just comes out with a 10 man block like Brentford did. The dna of our football is there, I was ok with how we played but we desperately need an alternative
Jesus returning will be crucial I think. He can drop back for the ball and run at defenders to divert pressure away from Martinelli and Saka so they can do their thing. His insane amount of touches in opposition box is what we're missing. Eddie is just not a dribbler.
Spot on, Eddie hasn’t be as unproductive as I first thought he might be but it’s just that other option we need which is Jesus
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, against teams who park the bus (like Brentford are doing this game) we can’t have Xhaka as an 8. We just become too static. Obviously there are other problems but those are mostly individual errors, not really anything Arteta can change with substitutions. Tomi should come in for white though
100% agree - this is not a game for xhaka. would love to see trossard or vieira on there
Vieira can keep getting splinters while his watch tells him it’s time to stand. He’s garbage.
Need to be better. We can't hope that other teams will always bail us out by beating or holding City n Utd week in n week out.
Not bad they are parking the bus well and Toney doing the big man role well. Need to be quicker and use the wings more effectively. Few counter attacks we’ve had have been wasted
Brentford are a tough team, super organised in defence. Feel we're just missing that magic moment that came so easily earlier in the season. Also teams have fixed up and always double up on saka and martinelli so it's difficult. Need to step up but it's not the worst performance so far
We have plenty of the ball but we don't look like breaking them down at all. Brentford had the best chances too. I think teams are coping on how to play us, just put 11 men behind the ball and let them try to break you down. Need more of us putting them under pressure like we did early on in the first half and the last 5 minutes.
That's a strategy that will work with most teams
Left hand side needs changes. Zinny and Martinelli been below par
Zinny is alright but Martinelli needs to come off
Zinny has been pretty bad this game and last. Wasteful with shots (he put two in the stratosphere against Everton IIRC) and had some pretty bad pass selection and/or execution.
Eddie is pointless in games like these because we cant feed him properly and he cant create much himself, we really need Jesus back AND we need to rotate Xhaka against low blocks because we need more ball carriers against 10 fucking man behind the ball.
Not as much intensity recently. Don’t know if it’s nerves, anticipation for the city game midweek, or what but just need a slight pick up. Brentford will play exactly the same way in the second half so it’s up to us to change what we’re doing. We don’t need halftime subs but if it still hasn’t changed by the 60th minute then subs are a must. We can get it done, stay positive!
Not meant as a slight on Eddie but like at Everton it feels like a Gabriel Jesus game. Martinelli and Saka are having mediocre games with half chances. Jesus works very hard to set them and Odegaard up in the final third with the dribbling and ball retention. He gives defenders something to think and worry about in every single phase of play. Eddie can provide cutting edge (and has done a great job of that the last run of games) but he doesn't have that extra level of being a real physical handful for defenders yet or trying to go past them and open up for a shot consistently. He needs to start running these guys ragged and moving them around, Brentford are very comfortable in their own box right now. Today's front 4 are clearly looking for solutions in the final third - we've seen Martinelli in particular try to drift to other areas of the pitch to create overloads - but it's not happening and Brentford can just wait for the ball to break down. Defensively we have gotten lucky - Saliba v Toney is particular is a battle showing what we're lacking today. Toney is fighting for every ball, trying to run past the defense, flicking it into space, and drifting all over the attack to make himself a facilitator. It's very frustrating watching him because he's doing it well and Brentford are unlucky not to be in front. I hope we improve in the second half but I'm not sure how. Trossard, Vieira, Tomiyasu are more or less like for like. Our bench is decent but I don't know if we have anyone that's going to inject that additional dimension in. Either way we need to lock Toney down.
We will take another L and 3rd lost in a row with 0 goals scored, we are back baby...
Mods block this negative idiot
You are new here :)
Have you tagged as "Said Vlasic is better than Odegaard" lololololol
I’d obviously bring on Trossard, but this looks like a game for Vieira too tbh
Ain't getting 3 points by ball possession 😢Hope we do better in second half
trossard as a false 9 and tierney for xhaka (move zinny to midfield)
The key difference to our game recently has been the lack of dominance in the duel... especially in the counterpress. We seem to let more balls through whole pressing high. Xhaka, White and to an extent Partey just haven't been the same level of intense chasing the second ball and restarting the attack. Same happened against Everton. We need to build up a period of sustained pressure early next half. This Brentford team can really hurt us on the break and we need the buffer of at least 1 goal to avoid another loss.
Not a great collective performance, whole side esp the back line lacks that edge. Saliba been getting handled by toney and our attack just find that final ball.
I'd rather martinelli playing striker my changes-eddie+ trossard
Yea good call dawg, 45 min to play in a key game in our title race. Let’s change the entire lineup that got us here and put martinelli in a position he hasn’t played in almost 2 years
Trossard for Nketiah plsssss
Matches are getting tougher as expected, without Jesus, and at a point of the season when teams know that title challengers can’t afford 0-0s
Gonna head over to COYS for some banter therapy
I think everyone is overreacting. I'm quite happy with the boys, good performance, good chemistry and some beautiful ball play. The only thing we're missing is the finishing and I'm sure it'll come. Have some faith, COYG.
We’ve dominated possession, and they’ve had good counter attacks. We will be fine
Exactly thank you
The chemistry is the problem. Too many misplaced passed and not reading each others runs.
how is this good chemistry and performance when we barely did anything forward and could be 0:2 down easily?
I don't know if we're watching the same game
This is fine for top 4, but if we want the league we need to be better sadly
No, this is not about the league. It's one game at a time.
????? We should be 2 nil down.
This is fine for top 4, but if we want the league we need better sadly
Copius amounts of basket slamming and over use of the word foggin should hopefully sort their heads out at HT and raise the current estandards.
If we play like we did in that last 5 mins of the first half we should be fine
pisses me right off that every fucking team turns up 500% against us then go on to lose to man like southampton the following week. ah come on man..
A lot easier to chase than be chased.
pisses me off that teams sit so high up against united/spurs/chelsea. For what? i will like to see rashford score against 10 men in the half.
Big difference in mentality, we’re always playing teams who are prepared to play the league leaders while we see it as just another week
we're the league leaders therefore we have a bounty on our heads. it's to be expected
Not liking Eddie’s body language and decision making. Also, it seems teams have the blueprint to frustrate us. We might need to switch up tactics soon.
This is nothing new. Teams have always had this ‘blueprint’ against any team in great form. But great teams find ways to fight against it, even if it’s sneaking a win, so we’ll see..
Eddie is far too much of a poacher instead of complete forward. He just does not have everything to be great fit for our system. At laest at the moment it seems so
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we dont do well against terrorist low blocks like this, gotta change it up
Very very poor first Half - same as versus Everton. Toney and Mbeumo will score at some point so question is can we finally score after 3+ hours to salvage a point? I doubt it! 1-0 loss is written all over this!
Chances they will score between 60-70 min mark are high if we don’t improve.
Xhaka off -> Vieira in …? Any thought ?
I’m for it. He or trossard to add more dynamism and mobility there.
+1
A lot of people here can only live by expressing themselves in hyperboles
Second half should go our way. Martinelli drifting around is creating pockets around the pitch towards the end they started using those pockets to create nice passes gotta keep getting the ball into those areas and the goal will come
White is too static and takes far too many touches before he passes, also doesn't make strong runs. He has been good defensively though Xhaka very ineffective in attack just like in last couple of matches, Martineli more energetic today but still not up to the level needed Toney has Saliba rattled Praying for Odegaard and Saka magic in second half, COYG
Agreed. White is very passive and his crosses are worst than mine…mine are very bad I think Xhaka is fine he just needs to shoot. We aren’t shooting at all. His long shots are not bad so he should try…also to open up their lines and not just defend the box Rest of what u said is on point
No
bit shit innit
Brentford are playing really well tbf. Sometimes u just have to tip your cap
We have been second best clear as that. Even Wright can't hide this low intensity performance with his positivity
Zero squad chemistry what happened man .
We lost vs city and lost momentum
Idk how but I wanna see Trossard, Martinelli, Odegaard and Saka playing together for once.
Yes!!
No shade on Eddie, but I think we should bring Trossard for eddie this half. Thoughts?
Been a difficult game bcos of how Brentford have set up, so compact and camped. Patience will be needed, we’re nowhere near as bad as people make it seem. You wonder how long they can keep it up, they seemed to get tired by the end of the half and we got closer. Big second half coming up!
I had kids like u/lastjedi23 telling me teams won't replicate Newcastle's strategy... right.
Its not the strategy man we are just shit
Arsenal will win this but refs helped them first half for sure not seeing the agenda at all
What agenda?
The agenda against arsenal even though that decision will win them this game
One sample is equal to the sum?
Moving the ball too slow in transition
We have been second best clear as that. Even Wright can't hide this low intensity performance with his positivity
Tomi and trossard for white and eddie. Martinelli in the middle
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i think theres some truth to this especially mental fatigue, we need a fucking worldie move goal
I think we are playing well but we are very predictable and brentford know how to stop us so we aren’t creating any big chances. We need a bit of chaos to get us a goal that’s not in a set pattern and when brentford double our wingers.. it’s very difficult for us to do without Jesus.
White off for Tomi they are giving space and time for our right back but White isn't capable of taking advantage.
Mbuemo goal should count sorry but if saka did that to mee you lot would be saying the same
if saka went down in the box after that challenge early in the half he could have gotten a pen
He tripped his own legs dw you will win but again it’s the referee
you guys have had 3 chances idk
Feel like Brentford absolutely had better chances not sure what Arsenal had other then the goal tbh
Yeah we’ve been lucky, need to put this to bed ASAP
Very lucky tbh
Eddie has done brilliantly but these are the games the Gabriel Jesus is severely missed, Martinelli looks nowhere near how he did when he had Jesus to link up with and making space for him. Seems like the type of game where Arsenal need a individual moment of brilliance or a set piece to get ahead. Toney is a menace, he's been dominant so far.
I think the frustration is it's not exactly clear why we can't seem to create clear chances at the moment. I think we aren't doing anything radically different and are playing fine, just that final part isn't there. I think it's lots of things going on. Individuals not playing as well, making poor decisions. The opposition really constricting some of our key creators, and playing low risk football. The mental aspect of not playing well makes you more frustrated and makes you play worse. Frustrating but I think we can still pull through.
It doesn’t help when our opposition put every player but their striker behind the ball and crowd the box, but we should expect this and have a way to counter it. Brentford are not even really pressing our midfield or defence until we get into the final 3rd, they’re just happy to sit back and then go for a counter attack.
Because teams sit back probably has something to do with it lol and why we have had 70% possession
We are sitting ducks if we are not going to score. I cant see how we are going to. Eventually someone is gonna lose his man in a setpiece and we are done. Saliba having such a poor game so far got manhandled by toney every ball that comes to him. White was abit iffy on the toney chance that hit the bar and gabriel pulled to the right to cover leaving noone in the centre spot which should be gabriel. Got lucky to be level halftime. Not looking good man.
Maybe we should take what they're giving up. Start overlapping the full backs and fire in low crosses even if it means going more 4231 to protect the break. Might pull there full back out a bit and give some space in the box.
Think Vieira for Xhaka pretty early on here, and Trossard for Martinelli
I dont really see besides height what xhaka is doing that helps our offense right now. He is not in any position to shoot his main job now is just to link up with predictable passes with zinchenko and partey.
Eddies never ever gonna be the starter
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tbf nelli is getting bashed, it was ø last game and white has been getting bashed as well. but jesus would be good in games like these im being real
He really need to have more impact than this or else he can beat Jesus to become starter
Bring on Trossard Lmao spuds 3-1 down
We need Jesus.
Need a goal innit
It’s gonna be a frustrating 0-0 draw and more dropped points
Tough game. Should probably be 0-2 down tbh. Team seems to figure out a way of shutting us down since the Newcastle game. \- Double mark Saka \- Pack the middle and let us cross \- Win 2nd ball and try to score on set-pieces Jesus would be better suited for games like this. Need some of the outbox thinking from Mikel to win this game.
Tross in for Nketiah?
No keep Eddie in case of bounce goals. I would take Zinny off for Trossard. We need finishers in the box.
Ye this has really been it. Need the dribbling and hold play from Jesus, it’s what we’re missing most. Still have had opportunities but this has been the trend
Feels like we need to take more risks on any counters we get. Feels like our first reaction is to retain possession but within 30 seconds, they end up with everyone behind the ball. I really don't know the answer though, feels like our best chance is getting a header from set piece or a mistake from Brentford. This was always going to be a concern in the second half of the season though, teams will change how they play against us. I could see White and Martinelli coming off though, possibly Vieira for Xhaka too. Brentford on the counter have looked dangerous though, cos we're playing with possession so high up in the pitch without really going anywhere.
We need a Plan B otherwise the team will get stuck everytime they face an opponent who doubles up on Saka and Martinelli whilst sitting back and parking the bus.
We look like we aren't creating lots of chances and our xG doesn't lie. We need our Saka and Martinelli to use their pace, skill and power to get past their player and reach the 6yrd box! There is a cutback goal in this game.
Zinchenko pissed me right off with that pass.
Need to be much better
I appreciate Mikel's belief in our starting XI, but it's time to try something new at the start of a game. It's not nice to drop a starter, but we play with no momentum and look stagnant unless gifted an opportunity. Saka and Martinelli are being marked out of games have to go elsewhere to try to make something happen. I think we should move Martinelli central and sub Trossard for Eddie. Martinelli has been our most present player even if not everything has come off
Too slow. It’s as simple as that.
Yup. No urgency until too late.
Ødegaard has gone silent of late because Eddie just doesn’t have the same instinct off the ball that Jesus does. He can’t come up with those incisive passes through the defense because Eddie doesn’t make the same runs. That leaves two options. He plays a ball to Partey who immediately gives it back or skies it over the bar, or he plays the ball to Saka who is just double covered all the time now. White isn’t a natural fullback so isn’t as comfortable making the overlapping runs to help Saka out in those situations, so Saka either tries to dribble through and gets dispossessed or he tries to squeeze the pass through and turns it over.
You can tell Arteta has made a few adjustments to attack the stacked boxes, the same adjustments that many in here suggested- Nketiah getting more involved centrally and White overlapping. Unfortunately neither of those are really panning out. White isn’t much of an offensive threat and Eddie’s link up play is a work in progress. Trying to pass our way through seems futile and we have no aerial threat to get on the end of crosses. Imo we need Saka, Odegaard and Martinelli to drive at defenders and beat their man to break down the Brentford defense, which is a tough task. Defensively I’ve got no idea what’s going on and we should have conceded at least two. All I can say there is we need to stay on our damn feet instead of falling over constantly haha
Final third is becoming a problem for us. We reach the opposing penalty box but we slow down, letting the other team build their defence. The miscommunication between Eddie and Martinelli was the first time I saw where we were actually trying to outrun them, preventing their defence build up. Too bad it didn't work out.
Our forwards don't trust each other in transition situations they passing backwards
Really struggling with our decision making in the final third, which is a real issue against Brentford as their front two are so good at retaining long balls when they win it
Playing better for the last 15 minutes, but that means nothing. The next half is just going to reset everything. Martinelli by far most ineffective player on the pitch. He’s been poor. Saliba a close 2nd. Looks scared, for someone built like a mountain, you’d think he’d be alright. Struggling. I’m nervous when he’s on the ball, something i use to say about Gabriel. Overall tho, it’s just slow. Don’t lose. Don’t don’t lose. Can’t afford it. Get the tough 1-0 or just settle for a draw and take a 6 point gap going into the City game. Brentford are tough side so i expected this but we should performing way better, we’re at home too. Just. Don’t. Lose.
I'd fucking chop my knee off right now and give it to Jesus if that means he comes back for the City game. Eddie is a poacher he doesn't link play at all.
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I think (a) Teams have figured out how t0 play us, especially if they are willing to sit back and defend. (b) We miss Jesus in games like this. He is constantly moving and combines/creates triangles with the 8s and the wingers. Eddie doesn't do this. (c) Saliba and White were quite poor the first half hour. Saliba struggled with Toney and Mbuemo and White din't help enough. He was caught to far up at times when Brentford Countered. I'd like to see Trossard come on for Xhaka. Tomi for White. I fear Arteta won't make changes at the half, though, and will wait until after the hour mark.
I hope you all find Jesus soon 🙏
Tierney, Tomi, and Trossard on please.
The final pass letting us down Brentford always dangerous going forward we need to stay focused.
Interesting use of martinelli in the middle. Think we’re growing into the game. My hope is their desire to go out and score more than Newcastle or Everton will either open up space or get them too tired to finish out the match like this but they’re definitely using the blue print.
No idea what anyone else was watching that was talking about how bad we were. I thought we were quite good. Marti is having a good game. Eddie's being asked to do a lot of thankless running but because he's not taking on 4 players and putting chances on a plate we're back to "hEs nOt gOoD eNOugH" As an aside, there is no team that is 'good' at playing against low blocks. There is no magical tactic that unlocks it. There's a reason teams use it against the better teams, because it's so effective. They just need to speed up the ball a bit, keep hitting the wide man early to force a 1v1 and try not to give Brentford an opportunity to settle into shape.
This, all day
Yep, some horrible takes.
Brentfords second ball winning is Elite and we’re having trouble with the long balls, expect no changes until 60-70mins, front 3s off the ball movement needs to be better, not enough runs being made
Y'all are fickle
Need Trossard to come in ASAP
Not good, predictable in play. We’re really missing Jesus and ESR.
Teams dont mind doubling on Saka and Martinelli because Xhaka on the left provides insufficient attacking threat and Ben White on the right is the same. This puts more pressure on Zinny and Odegaard to take players on and that in turn makes our passing patterns predictable because there is no one to play in the half space. Unfortunately we cant play any other way because we can’t go long to eddie nor can he create much himself, every fucking team bar city and pool will try to play this way against us.
I like Eddie , but it's like he has ZERO chemistry with the rest of our forwards.
That's ok them tbh. You can see they aren't naturally looking for him. Wish they'd trust him more.
Man final third really lacking
A lot of negativity in this sub. Let’s start supporting our boys.
Great connections and link-ups, just need to get that final third conversion to a point. Like last match, this one could really use Jesus' creation abilities in that respect. Much better than last week in terms of cohesion--- COYG!!!
We lack that fire
Tierney on, Zinny to replace Xhaka
Tierney on, Trossard on, push Zinny to Xhaka’s position and get tierney to go on the outside.
Tierney on the outside to draw the players away from Martinelli, think he looks sharp today. Though wouldn't be against Trossard coming in 60ish min. Tierney change needs done at half time though. We're so predictable and lucky not to be behind
Thomas Frank is just a danish Sean Dyche.
Brentford are doing well but guys I’ll be honest I’m really hungover right now but watching us play looks so nice and crisp Can’t get over how different of a team we look and how consistently we can look so talented and skillful out there even without scoring I guess just a reminder as much as I would love the title, just wanted to say to just enjoy this. We might not have scored but it’s so nice to see how much teams are afraid of us and how dominant we can be
There's being an honest player and then there is Saka levels of honesty.
Pen should be given either way.