This post is short.
For the first time in our Arsenal lives, most of us have only known Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal, we are going to watch a competitive match coached by a manager who isn’t Arsene Wenger. And I know that it’s going to be memorable.
I don’t know what lineup Emery is going to use. I can’t imagine what tactics he’s going to deploy. But I do know that, in this the first match of his tenure at Arsenal and against a manager he’s never beaten, Unai Emery will be itching to win.
I imagine that Arsenal are going to sit, and counter. I imagine that Aubameyang is going to score and that Pep Guardiola will be furious. I imagine that Torreira will tackle and that Arsenal will play out of Man City’s press.
But what I imagine is going to happen is irrelevant.
Come on you Gunners!
Signs are positive, there’s a discernible structure in the team both with and without the ball. We have elite players to counterattack with and have signed a Santi sized player to fill the Santi sized hole in our midfield.
But it’s Guardiola’s City…
Score draw probably.
COYG!
Baby steps is the name of the game when it comes to this Arsenal team.
The last two meetings with City, Arsenal lost so comprehensively that it was painful to watch.
The first time ever conceding 3 first half goals at home in the league after losing 3:0 in the Caribbean caribou cup just days earlier was a real low and anything better than that I’ll take.
Just being competitive against Pep’s City will be an improvement.
A bit too early to be expecting much else right now.
Exactly.
Guendouzi starting!
No joke – we need to send Lorient a cheque for 20m euros.
“For Guendouzi, and for thanks for Koscielny too”
so excited I can’t even typo
Lol
The defense worries me but I’ll be happy if we can play as a team, something we were unable to do many times in the last two seasons. As long as I see us doing the basics better and there are signs of improvement, that’s a step forward in the right direction.
I don’t like the starting line up/ formation. It’s too aggressive and not sure where the width is going to come from. I hope my fears are unfounded but I would have liked us to start 3 in midfield.
Nice of us to give Sterling a free shot. The boy needs some confidence after a disappointing World Cup.
I totally disagree with the NBC commentary blaming Guendouzi for not doing enough on the Sterling goal.
I thought Bellerin should’ve stayed with Sterling moving across the box instead of passing him off to a teammate.
On the replay, I thought both Bellerin and Guendouzi were poor in covering Sterling’s run.
It wouldn’t be a losing game for Arsenal without a bad injury to put the icing on the poo cake. Honestly, at this point, I’d happily take a 1-0 loss so long as there weren’t any more injuries.
Cech playing it out with his feet makes my hart skip a beat
HT: Well, it was 3-0 for City at this time in March. Onwards and upwards!
H/T:
Get Xhaka off. He’s a liability. Gave Sterling an uncontested shot (Sokratis needed to at least attempt a block too). Worst of all, he’s useless on breaking the press, passing back to Cech, with clear outlet options upfield. He’s not even do his day job well, failing to hit wide open players with long passes. Coughed up the ball, on min 26, to give Aguero a clear run at goal.
Im afraid that when everyone is fit, firing and acclimatised, it’s Torreira for Xhaka. Halftime is a great time for Emery to make statement by yanking him, but I reckon he’s going to give him at least an hour.
Not all doom and gloom… I’m loving our pressing and defensive intensity. Granit simply isnt a good fit for Emery’s style. At least not yet. I dont think we’ll see him and Guendouzi playing together that much. Straight up choice, and on the basis of the 1st half of this match, I’m going with the young Frenchman.
H/T
Bellerin and Mustafi, 2 much criticised players defensively, have had sound games. So has Sokratis, apart from the collective failure to block Sterling. Bellerin’s been especially good.
Miki, Ozil and Auba haven’t gotten in the game. Ramsey went for the fancy (outside of his right boot) rather than the routine (hit it with his left) early on, though in truth he wasnt given any time at all to hit it.
One down I’ll take. The thing that Emery has to make us, first and foremost, is hard to beat. From halftime, he’s got to be targeting a draw
Can’t complain too much about the first half. Kinda feels like we are learning on the pitch. Wish we could iron out all the individual errors though. Guendouzi has done well overall. I think I would like to see him paired with Torreira instead of Xhaka.
A tactical substitution on 54 minutes and not 75 minutes…..,whaaaaat?
63′ revision: Ok, I’ll take 2-0 and no more injuries.
YES!
Woohoo just the one injury *lights up a fat Cuban*
By bringing off Rambo on 60mins, Emery has already learnt something very valuable – unless he’s properly fit, his standard of play drops to a level that can hurt the team.
I’m not even worried about Torreira, Guendouzi and AMN, it’s Xhaka, Ramsey, Mkhitaryan who have the most improving to do this season.
Agreed.
Yes. I would also like to see some improvement from Laca and Ozil as well.
I’m wiling to bet that the substitution was planned before the game given the fitness concern and the availability of the excellent Lacazette, but I saw absolutely no sign of a player performing at less than 100% energy levels while he was out there. Ramsey was played in that role from the start precisely because he is such an energetic presser of the ball and was tasked with man marking Fernandinho and Stones. Guardiola countered by moving Mendy inside to create an overload against Guendouzi and Xhaka centrally and tried to pick on Ozil by building attacks through his overlaps once he saw Mesut was part of a midfield 3. I thought the midfield was an odd selection by Emery and I bet we’ll see Torreira starting in the next game.
Next game, Leno, Torriera, Guendouzi, Litch, Laca, and AMN if fit. Xhaka, Miki, Ramsey and Cech need to be watching from the sidelines.
We’ll be the only team with 5 captains and none on the pitch…
Fans have a tendency to hope for more than the facts on the ground might support because that’s what fans do especially at the seasons start, but I find it quite amusing to see ex players turned pundits voice their surprise that this Arsenal might need more time to click as a team.
Guardiola was a fraud after his first City season and Klopp was was a bust finishing on fewer points than Rodgers the season before.
That’s exactly right. We have short memories, but many reactionaries thought Klopp and Guardiola were frauds in their first year. I’m not stressing about this season. But less than 6th would be hard to take.
Emery had a tough first season at PSG too. Jardim taught him a lesson that year but the next season (granted they added Neymar and Mbappe) the team was all-around much more organised, clever and efficient in transitions, and solid at the back.
However bad we are this season, I trust we’ll be a totally different proposition in a year’s time.
Liked…
(surprisingly) the newfound defensive solidity of Musatfi and Bellerin. They looked hugely improved and switched-on defensively. Sokratis B+. We need ballsy central defenders who throw themselves into blocks
Cech. Apart from a bad kick caused by poor playing out from the back, looked very solid in goal.
Emery yanking Ramsey early. No sacred cows here. In truth, he could have subbed any one of Ozil, Miki or Ramsey. Miki was lucky to see 90 minutes and on the basis of an unremarkable pre-season, lucky to start. But if the Ramsey sub is anything to go by, Emery is going to sub big-name players who don’t perform.
Our pressing. Might have got a goal our two with better decision-making after winning the ball back from pressing.
Guendouzi. He’s allowed to make mistakes (slipping against Aguero) against the best team in England and one of the best in Europe. But, when he was allowed to be, was very good on the ball. Grew into the game. Already a better player than Xhaka.
Torreira. Calmed things down, but didnt have any time to affect the game.
Lisctsteiner. We just feel more secure with him on the pitch.
Didn’t like…
As I’ve noted several times during the pre-season, our passing out from the back. When the man at the base of your midfield (Xhaka) is slow of thought and slow of foot, you’re inviting pressure on the press. It was immediately evident when Torreira came on that (1) he can provide security in receiving the ball under pressure in from of our box (2) he can use it well offensively
Xhaka. Im done with him as a first XI player. Several times when he received the ball, under no press pressure, he passed it back to Cech when he had vertical outlet options upfield. I think I know what Granit’s problem is. He thinks he’s in Italy or playing an international for Switzerland, where players give you years on the ball. For the pass from the flanks for Bernardo Silva’s goal, he’s f****** strolling in our box. Watch it again.
The offense. Especially disappointed in Ozil, who had some points to prove. Typical was passing up a chance to shoot first time in 88th min, when set up from wide left by Licht. On that chance with Laca late in the game, Laca couldnt touch it or he’d be offside. Ozil elected to pass rather than drive himself. Mesut is now a leader on this team, and needs to take more goalscoring responsibility, especially in big games.
See prev comment on Miki. Ineffective as Ramsey was, he created chances. Miki provided no width, and when he had the ball on counters, absolutely no guile.
Laca would not have been offside. At least I don’t think. Besides, I’m not sure Ozil passed as much as did all he could to win the ball. Also, on Licht’s cross Ozil tried to shoot first time, but just messed it up. It was a bad day for him, but it was a bad day in terms of overall team play.
It was just a poor touch by Mesut. I think it surprised him so much to receive it in that position that he just didn’t control it properly. The whole team looked jittery in possession all game and there was this weird back and forth anxiety between the crowd audibly humming every time they players actually tried to break the City press that got worse every time they made a mistake. Eventually the players gave up and just started hoofing it. It’s hard enough to navigate the Pep press with a brand new model of deep based possession but when you have 60 thousand odd murmuring at you because they think you’re about to screw the pooch with every pass, well, good luck.
I don’t know how much of an effect it had on the players, but the crowd was bad, man. Though to be fair, some tried to rally the team after the first goal, and were loud when Lacazette came on and provided some energy. But for the rest, it was disappointing, including leaving early. This is the first match under a new coach, playing against the Champions. A fresh start, and you can’t even stay till the end? Not a good look.
I think we would benefit more than most clubs from safe standing zones given the gentrified, polite, cosmopolitan fan base we have for the most part. Hey, at least we’re not Chelsea.
Welcome to the No Hope For Xhaka club. I’ve been paying dues for 6 months now.
Wake up! It was all a dream!
What the coach working on?? if he didnt work on coordination?!
I see a change in ozil… Greed!
Very disappointed by the lack of coordination in passing in the attacking phase. But I suppose we can chalk this up to being early in the season, and the fixture computer throwing us a doozy..
Speaking of which. I was happy with the Young Guen. Good on the ball, always moving about. Despite his error, I think he was our best player.We looked more stable in defense. Bellerin and Mustafi looked solid, even Sokratis was quite good, and had the know-how to bring Aguero down when needed. I love Licht already. Hopefully AMN isn’t badly hurt though. When’s Monreal back?
Xhaka had a bad game. Giving up the ball, not closing down, not creating anything. Torreria came on and was immediately better in all aspects. Crazy but our youngest two midfielders might be our current best midfield.
If we’re playing out from the back, Cech is risky. He gives me the jitters every time he has the ball at his feet. And I’m sure that will eventually transmit itself to the players via the fans, if it hasn’t already. That would have been an own goal for the ages. But then he comes up with some good saves, and a great one on one, so it’s not entirely straightforward. I’d still start with Leno if we’re going to keep playing out like that. (Presuming he will be better)
Both goals were disappointing to concede. Hopefully we’ll be able to fix those little moments, while retaining/improving on the automatisms that we had under Wenger in the attacking 3rd. Today was bad in that regard, but then we had a weird formation. No width, Ramsey as CF.
Oh well, we move on.
I thought we also lacked belief in attack. All of the new outfield players were on the pitch today and they seemed less jaded than the older players – though Mustafi and Bellerin seems to have benefited from a full preseason.
Leno, Torreira and Guendouzi should be starting because we are not going to beat the press with Cech on goal or with Xhaka in CM. It will be interesting to see how quickly Emery pulls the trigger.
Yes. We tend to ignore that it is a bit of a political problem too. Dealing with people and egos. Conte didn’t change to his preferred 3 at the back until after the Arsenal loss gave him the excuse to. Wenger needed to get Adams onside for being successful etc.
So I wonder how quickly Emery will feel he can change without negative repercussions on the squad spirit and excitement for the new season.
Thanks for this comment. A lot of people forget how difficult a coach’s job is. I think we all know what we need and the coaches also know.
I was excited and nervous about this match. Previously, even when we didn’t play so well, our home form against City was always good. That all changed last year after the 3-0 thrashing. It seems the players just don’t believe in their own abilities. Pep has given an air of invincibility to City players. Only Liverpool have figured out how to unravel them.
My biggest disappointment was this team looked very much like late Wenger team. There were no miracles from Unai’s touch. Some simple tactical changes but largely an ineffectual performance with our attack being pretty pedestrian. City could have easily smashed 5-6 if they wanted. I hope Unai can figure out his best XI soon. Most importantly, I hope he can get these players out of their moribund state.
I never thought I’d be so sanguine about 2-0 loss but despite being less than tidy in possession this is the best we’ve looked in a loss in a while. Especially to the champions who are by far the best team in England and one of the top 5 in Europe.
Sterling was probably MOTM, but Cech kept it respectable and Guen? He looks to be something really special. Keep your head on kid, watch those errant passes and you will soon get your own song from the supporters.
19 years old and he gets his big league debut against one of the most fearsome teams on the planet. Made some big mistakes but did far better than some of our past seasoned players who would have rolled over and played dead.
OK – I admit to being wrong about Xhaka. I should give up. After seeing Gwen and Torreira I’m willing to let go of my hopes that Xhaka will improve. We can do better with the other two. And we will. But could someone plese help our attack look like they’ve played together more than once this decade. Never seen us looked so disjointed going forward. It was almost as if they were so focused on regaining possession from City they panicked when they actually did. No one had any idea where anyone else woudl be. I think that will pass (did I really just write that?).
LAGunner, welcome aboard the “Granit Xhaka might not be as good as we need him to be” train.
One of the things we’re going to found out this season is that our best midfield combination doesn’t have either Ramsey or Xhaka in it. Both individually very good players but they can’t be the foundation of a modern technical midfield unit. Last season was more than enough evidence.
The best football we’ve played in the last 5 years was with Coqzorla and where was Ramsey playing then? Wide on the right.
In fact, you present the best case against your argument within this very post: That Coquelin could be part of our best midfield in 5 years was not because he’s some great player who can be the foundation for anything. A great midfield is all about balance first, discipline second, and individual ability last. Coquelin worked because he counter-balanced Cazorla’s defensive shortcomings so well. Xhaka would look a lot better next to a player who counter-balances his own weaknesses that well. He has not yet had that luxury during his Arsenal career. As for Ramsey, I don’t think he has much left to prove.
Like I said, Xhaka and Ramsey are “both individually very good players” so that part of your argument is moot. It’s
Saying Coquelin worked because he counter-balanced Cazorla’s defensive short-comings and that means we just the need the right partner for Xhaka implies that Xhaka can get close to Cazorla’s level.
The same Xhaka that was subbed off yesterday while Guendouzi stayed on the pitch.
Its a very stupid thing to say that this is the same old arsenal.. I really don’t support that point of view.. I saw lots of improvements in this team.. if ozil had played in same place as Ramsey, I bet it would have been a different story.. my observations from this match 1) we lack a true winger.. if we had one on this same team, I’d bet on a different result.. 2) I don’t think ozil should start on the wing against stronger opponents.. like i once said, torreira-guendouzi combo will always be our best.. I think emery has learned a lot from the game and improvements will be visible against Chelsea.. COYSG!!
So much to say about that.
With the ball:
The theme of playing out through the GK continues, but was increasingly abandoned as Guardiola’s tweaks to his press meant that the system wasn’t producing the daylight necessary to find the gaps after the first 10 minutes. Cech’s gaffe and the crowd’s audible nerves didn’t help matters, nor did the fact that we are unlikely to encounter an opponent better at this particular tactic all season until the reverse fixture. I also didn’t like several of Emery’s personnel choices in hindsight; as much as I love AMN’s physical tools, he seemed out of his depth at this level technically and tactically and was abused by the Mahrez/Walker combination, Cech is not used to playing with his feet and with Ramsey and Mkhtaryan as two parts of the forward trio, there wasn’t enough of a threat behind their lines and that allowed them to really squeeze up high. Emery did adjust things in the second half with the early introduction of Lacazette and encouraging Ozil to play behind Kyle Walker, and Arsenal looked threatening before the City counter punch ended the contest. The forwards, even very experienced players, mishit easy passes or shots when well placed and it was obvious they were still learning how to play with the kind of spacing Emery wants. It was quite common to see accomplished players hitting passes to phantom teammates.
Without the ball:
You could see that this phase was why Ramsey was chosen to play as part of the forward line. His energy and stamina marking Fernandinho or harassing the CB’s trying to pass out was very visible. His coordination with Auba and Mkhi was mostly good but City are just too accomplished and they were outfoxed more often then not. Still, I liked what I saw. Behind them, I felt there was something missing in the midfield trio of Xhaka, Guendouzi and Ozil, as this threesome is all about being good ON the ball, not without it; this was a headscratcher given his apparent opposite priorities further forward. Clearly Emery wanted lots of excellent outlet passing but too much was sacrificed in the ball winning department and I felt the team missed a player with some bite in this area; this was most obvious in the Silva goal when both Guendouzi and Ozil were ball-watching and conceding too much space in front of the defense. The defensive line was mostly very good and I was impressed with Sokratis in particular who could’ve hardly been handed a sterner test in his first competitive match for the club. Bellerin looked like a top player as well and Lichsteiner showed why he should’ve probably started over Ainsley even in an unfamiliar left back role. Though Cech didn’t look great on the Sterling goal, he made a save 1v1 vs Aguero after a huge error left him completely exposed.
Overall:
The result was not unexpected and the green shoots of something better around the corner are there. Obviously the caliber of the opponent was the most important factor and the squad has important limitations, but I did think Emery kind of out-thought himself a bit there, trying to be a little too fancy with some of his choices perhaps. I also felt the nerves all around were palpable and I hope the team can be a bit more relaxed against Chelsea. That will improve, as will the quality of the opposition from an Arsenal perspective, as the weeks progress. I’m looking forward to chapter two.
Realistically, Emery needs to be given a free pass this year. He won’t get one, but he should. Neither Liverpool nor Man City looked particularly good in Klopp’s and Pep’s first seasons and now their favorites for first and second in the league. I get Emery’s thinking in playing Ramsey instead of Özil behind Auba. He wants pressing and that’s initiated by the forwards. It illustrates the most frustrating aspect of Özil. Attack wise, we’ll do better with Mesut playing centrally but press wise, how will we do? Publicly, Emery has been very supportive of Özil and certainly hinted he’d play him centrally but then in the opening game, he plays him out on the wing. It makes me wonder how well our established players will adapt to Emery’s system having played under less a less organized coach for so long. A reason that Guendouzi looked so comfortable might be that he’s not had long term habits ingrained into his playing style and is getting inculcated into Emery’s system without having to change those ingrained habits. Certainly it will take some time.
Ya I thought it was weird that the front 3 (Ramsey, Auba, Mkh) were all geared toward energetic pressing but the midfield 3 (Xhaka, Guen, Ozil) were all passers first. Ozil did fine tracking Mendy’s runs for the most part, I thought, but then when he was moved into the forward line in the 2nd half he had a series of really disappointing touches, including one where Ederson literally gifted it to him at the edge of his own box. Ozil took an awful touch and nothing came of it. I thought it was emblematic of a whole team that looked incredibly nervy on the ball in all phases and there were passes going astray to phantom players all the time. Didn’t think anyone really looked comfortable but Guendouzi did look like he belonged at this level which is a massive badge at this point in his career.
Yep, ingrained habits. Tim wrote a nice article about muscle memory and all that. It wasn’t just Guendouzi. I thought all four new recruits showed less fear than the ones that’s been on the team for a while. Socrates was a bit more inhibited than what I’ve seen from him at BVB but it could just be that he was under instructions to be more conservative. One question I keep asking myself: how on earth is Ozil going to pick up Emery’s tactics? His style seems so far removed from what Emery is trying to do.
I wrote a long post that disappeared.. No profanity in it at all. Not motivated to recap as cliff’s notes. Frustrating. I’m sure you all feel a great sense of loss as I do 🙂 I’m sure all the points I tried to make have already been made by others anyways.
The Amy Lawrence piece over on the Guardian is uncharacteristically lazy and underwhelming. If it’s the same old Arsenal then why was everything about the tactical setup different? Is there any way to concede a goal that isn’t going to be labeled “soft” when it’s Arsenal conceding it? It’s this outcome driven analysis that baffles me, but people seem to lap it up. At the time Sterling takes the shot, it’s a good opportunity but City had better looks. That one goes in, so it’s the one we’re talking about but it was a shooting opportunity like any other. There were a myriad factors that went into creating the look, so many angles to dissect from both perspectives like the diagonal overlap from Mendy and the positioning of the Arsenal midfield being too square. A good analyst would break it down in those terms, not recycle these tired old tropes plucked from the ghosts of Arsenal seasons past. Really Amy, what did you EXPECT Emery to do in two months of preseason work with largely the same players as last season? As her piece ultimately concedes at the end of 500 odd grueling words, change takes time (sage insight!) and good god I hope the same is not true for her columns this season.
PS: Kyle Martino was actually pretty good on the NBC stream here in the US. Refreshing after the usual dross from British ex-players.
I saw the headline on the Guardian and couldn’t be arsed to read it. This isn’t the first time Ms.Lawrence is off the mark btw – though I would say that she does a pretty good job most of the time.
Shard brings up a good point about the stadium being half empty in the dying minutes of the match while Arsenal players were still trying to make a real difference.
I watched all City and Liverpool games when Pep and Klopp took over their respective clubs and I don’t recall this being the case when they were struggling, especially Klopp and Liverpool who finished in eighth, two places down from the Rodgers’ last season in charge.
What was that about how obnoxious the Liverpool fans are I keep hearing from good folks on here?
Be that as it may but they do stay in their seats till the end win lose or draw, don’t they.
I wonder how long before the Emery out, or bring Wenger back banners start flying over the Ems.
Unless it’s the last match of the season, there isn’t a stadium in England in which everyone remains in their seat if a game looks lost. Or even if they’re leathering the opposition. This is not unique to Arsenal. Whoever tells you that Liverpool fans do that is peddling a myth (I don’t think that anyone said Liverpool fans are obnoxious. A few of them said that they act entitled, with all that self-reverential YNWA bollocks).
A good 20% of spectators will have hoofed it by the final whistle. There’s traffic to beat and trains to catch, far as theyre concerned
It irks me, sure. Im at a game in the 85th minute, and a family of 5 shuffles past, blocking my view and causing me to have to stand up to let them pass (legroom is tight). And if a goal happens to be scored, they stop right there and turn and look. But that is very common at football grounds everywhere. Commentators frequently refer to fans missing late goals.
And yes, fans react in real time to bloopers. That’s involuntary. When 10,000 people do it, it is clearly transmitted to the players. That’s fine by me. Football is an emotions game. I cuss and shout like a pirate in the privacy of my living room. Arsenal fans do break into song though, when they think a player, or the team needs lifting.
Some people do have an atrocious attitude and social media ensures they have a louder voice than would otherwise be normal/tolerable but for the most part I don’t blame the home support for thinking about their dinner plans and London traffic 2-0 down to the champs for 15 minutes to go. The atmosphere overall, though I wasn’t there, didn’t feel toxic, more of a nervous anticipation followed by resignation of the inevitability of defeat in the short term and the scale of the rebuilding project in the longer term. I do think Emery will be given good will from most quarters this season.
Couldnt have said it better.
You know what the other thing is? Early Arsene spoilt Arsenal fans. I sometimes get the feeling that fans at games expect technical excellence, tactical perfection and high goal productivity. So there’s a mass groan when a pass fails to reach its man.
But what it simply is, is fans kicking every ball. It’s purely involuntary.
Good point but the Liverpool fans up and left before full time quite often under Woy Hodgson’s short reign at their helm.
surely we’ll get better. one thing I don’t like is sitting down and get beaten. we don’t have a team yet and the performance isn’t all that bad