We are all Lacazette

Watching Arsenal struggle to create a single shot from the 7th minute on against Albion, it was clear that Arsenal have a creativity problem and that Emery’s “tactics” and changes after half-time exacerbated that problem rather than fixed it.

Arsenal’s top creative player from open play (not counting corners and free kicks) is Lacazette with 18 key passes this season. That’s just under 1 per game. Aubameyang has the same number. Mesut Ozil is second/third and he has 16 key passes from open play and 1 throughball key pass. Aaron Ramsey also has 17 key passes. Granit Xhaka is also in the top players, he has 12 key passes from open play (plus another 8 from corners).

Just to make this a little clearer: Arsenal’s leading creator last season was Mesut Ozil. From open play, he made 2.8 shots per game, 3.0 per90. His numbers are down to 1.7 per90. And he’s not alone. All of Arsenal’s numbers are down in terms of chance creation: key passes are down from 11.7 to 9.6, shots are down from 15.6 to 12.7, big chances are down from 2.5 per game last year to 1.9 per game this year, and the xG per game is down from 2.0 last year to 1.5 this year.

And here’s the thing, there are players who have gotten better under Emery: Kolasinac is up to 1.8 key passes per90 from 0.8 last year. Ramsey is up from 1.4 per90 to 2.2 per90. Leaps and bounds from those two. But those are the only two.

And while those two have grown, some players have stayed the same: Lacazette is basically stayed the same, Aubameyang the same, Xhaka the same, Mkhitaryan the same and so on.

But some players have taken a major beating in terms of chance creation under Emery. Ozil is down from 3.5 per game to 2.1, Iwobi is down from 1.8 to 1.1, and even Bellerin has dropped from 1 key pass per90 last season to 0.4 key passes per90 this season.

I’m not saying that Ozil is going to be able to play at his best for 20 years. There is an inevitability to his career for sure. But the problem is that no one is, as of yet, filling his shoes. Someone on this team needs to step up and take over the creator role and Unai has to allow that to happen, no matter what the contract costs or how he personally feels about that player.

For example, Aaron Ramsey is the closest player to replacing Ozil but for whatever reason, Unai won’t play him. Ramsey has 6 assists, he tackles, and he works hard for the team. He could have wrapped himself in cotton wool this season and basically refused to play or feigned injury all the time while smoking at nightclubs. But he’s played whenever asked, in a position that’s unfamiliar to him, suffered kicks, and still helped the team.

I’m not just talking about this one match that we saw yesterday, that was unique and I’ll get to why in a second, I’m talking about in general, all season. This club has been scoring goals at an unsustainably high rate – and when they don’t fall, because we don’t create enough chances, there are going to be matches like yesterday against Albion where the club can’t create chances and we drop points.

I think Arsenal have several major problems.

First, constant changes. I get that a club needs a backup plan, a plan B. But does a club need a plan B, B.1, B.1.2, B.1.2.4, and B.2.1.7 all in the same match? If it works once or twice then I guess it’s ok, but over the long-haul, constantly chopping and changing the lineup is going to hurt morale. Lacazette is already publicly fed up with the constant changes and I agree with him. Lacazette and Aubameyang are a great strike pair. By themselves, they aren’t quite as good. One wide, while the other plays the middle is OK. But both through the middle is exactly what this team needs. I have no idea why Emery has dropped Lacazette this season – pushing him to the bench sometimes, and taking him off in other matches. But him being dropped is the kind of mistake that ends up costing managers respect in the dressing room.

We are 6 months in to his tenure and I can’t tell is he knows what his best lineup is yet. I get that we all want a plan B and maybe a plan C or D but at some point, I’d like to see a plan A. This is not about injuries. The injuries are almost exclusively to the defense. This is about a plan A in attack.

What is Aubameyang’s position? Who is the #10? Do we play with a 10? Where is Ozil’s best position? Why can’t Ramsey get more time? And in the last few games he’s even starting to chop and change his midfield, yesterday wasn’t the first time we saw a midfield three of Torreira (high up the pitch), Guendouzi (carrying the ball and dictating play), and Xhaka as some sort of pass outlet who only plays sideways balls but also doesn’t DM. Who is his favorite starting midfield duo and why have we needed three player in midfield to control games?

And worse, he made another half-time change. At some point, these half-time changes – which were quaint last month – have to stop. It’s ridiculous to change your players at half time every other game. It makes me wonder if he doesn’t know what he’s doing and again, like above, players will be acutely aware of these changes and will not be happy about this over the long run.

If you don’t like Ozil’s work rate, don’t start him. Why should the sub-player have a half-game because you’re cow-towing to start Ozil? What is going on here? Is he under orders not to play certain guys? Is he being ordered to play certain guys? Or is he just picking players to assuage their ego? It certainly doesn’t look like tactics are driving these choices, if they were, you wouldn’t need to change things at half-time.

And these changes are highly risky. Best case scenario, the player who comes on does a great job, and the guy who goes off just says that he had a bad night. Worst-case scenario, both players are mad because they are both made to look poor.

The other major problem I see here is that the squad has a ton of problems. And this is not Emery’s fault. Nor are the injuries his fault.

The fullbacks have been rocked with a combination of injuries and maybe a little bit the transfer niggle. Despite his good run of form I don’t think Kolasinac is a long-term replacement for Monreal but even if you do, who’s his backup? Monreal’s legs have gone. On the right, The Lich isn’t even remotely a good enough replacement for Bellerin and Maitland-Niles looks more raw than my knee after my first ever skateboarding accident.

Without those wide players playing at peak efficiency, Emery’s system doesn’t work. Midfielders end up drifting left and right looking for someone to pass to and then passing sideways in frustration (happened a lot to Guendouzi yesterday).

And outside of the attack, we have to say that despite the ticker-tape parade for Torreira, the center mids are not shoring up the defense like we had all hoped. And that’s at least partly down to a really poor attitude from some of these players. Guendouzi traipsed back and let Locadia just run right past him for the Albion goal. I’ve been an Arsenal supporter for 20 years and if there is any one thing that I know gets Arsenal supporters in a tissy it is that: play CM and fail to track a man who runs right past you.

Virtually everyone on my twitter feed was calling for him to be subbed off at half-time. It doesn’t matter how good you are as a creative player (his pass for Aubemyang’s shot was one of the best I’ve ever seen from deep in our own half) but it’s irrelevant if you play CM and let attacking players run right past you like he did against Albion. It’s a cardinal sin, sloth. I fully expect him to be called Guendenilson from now on and someone needs to just take him aside and tell him that even Ozil, the second/third* best midfielder I’ve ever seen at Arsenal, gets stick for lax defending. He needs to step up this part of his game, like immediately. Can’t let that happen again.

And for this match against Albion, the changes Unai made were just atrocious. Xhaka and Guendouzi had plenty of the ball – Xhaka made 99/101 passes but they almost never had anyone in a forward position to pass to! That’s because Unai took off Ozil, who is one of the best players in the world at finding space and retaining possession and put on Iwobi, who turns the ball over a lot and requires overlapping fullbacks to help him create. And then Emery compounded that error by taking off Lacazette, who was the only guy up top dropping to collect, and putting on Ramsey – a willing runner and midfielder who just doesn’t know how to play #10/9 quite yet. And in order to provide some width and pace, brought on Maitland-Niles who looks as raw as a bucket of foamy freshly squeezed cow’s milk.

Unai is allowed to make mistakes and especially because he’s been so good at getting the best out of this batch of players up until this latest run of form where he’s taken 4/9 points from Southampton, Burnley, and Brighton. But at some point, and I think we are getting very close, we have to ask whether his half-time subs are a sign of a manager who is brilliant or one who is just flailing around because he doesn’t know what else to do.

Qq

*Obviously Bergkamp is #1 but I can entertain debate

65 comments

  1. First order of business is for someone to sit Guendouzi down and tell him he’s not quite there yet as a player to remonstrate and show his frustration with other players, especially when it is he who fu#ked up on the play as badly if not worse than anyone else.

    Lich gets coaught out and is in no position to make the header but Guendouzi just lets the Albion player run by him at the center circle while he’s ball watching.
    Schoolboy stuff.

    1. Touch Locadia, and Guendouzi’s off. Last man, player barreling towards goal and 1on1 with the keeper. Im glad that the young Frenchman had the good sense to not let us play with 10 men. Leno says on his line, and Locadia still has work to do.

      And yeah, remonstrate away, young Matteo. A football field is a meritocracy. And showing passion is natural and good.

      1. He doesn’t have to foul him, he just needed to run with him. Guendouzi clearly stops at the half-way line, looks over, sees Ozil is nowhere near the attacker and then just lets him run past him. I am a huge Guendouzi fan. I love this player. He’s the future of this club in midfield. He cannot let plays like that happen again. Either he needs to be removed from defensive duties on corners because he’s too slow (which wasn’t really the problem because he starts that play with acres of space between him and the attacker) or he just needs to stay switched on at all times.

      2. I suggest you rewatch the play in question.
        Guendouzi literally stops for a moment while at the center circle while Locadia runs by him,

        We are talking about two different things here you and I.
        If Guen reads the play properly he doesn’t need to make s challenge because Locadia never gets on the ball.

  2. Best description of yesterday’s match! Half time changes are tactical as he often says but I feel/hope it’s also managing minutes. Lets see if it stops after festive period.

    Also a theory (probably obvious), Emery a 4-2-3-1 guy but right now he is not happy with Ozil/Ramsey at #10. No wide players but forced to give minutes to top 2 strikers and hence all these B1, B1.5, B2.5 formations. Not a perfect squad but doing his best. Kudos to that.

    In future… Ozil-creativity; Ramsey-movement/energy; Iwobi-dribbling; Micki-shot taking; Auba-pace running behind; Laca – hold up play; For me these are their unique abilities. We need this 6 combined into 4 players (in 4-2-3-1) by developing the qualities they lack. Except for Iwobi others are not exactly in their ‘mold them’ cycle of their career. Best is to replace a few in installments starting next month.

  3. This is a good summary of some issues that were happening even before we started dropping points. Arsenal have yet to put together a comprehensive performance for 90 minutes and Emery has yet to deploy a calm, consistent system or set of players capable of getting results in different sorts of matches; but his chopping and changing has produced results more often than not. It’s a matter of perspective: if the changes work out, it’s brilliant management and tactical flexibility at its best, and if they don’t, it’s a sign of a manager flailing and struggling to find something that works. We can all agree on the layers at work here: the squad itself is poorly balanced and short of quality in some areas, the squad is not adapted to the manager’s preferred style, and the manager is struggling to put it together to produce the type of consistency required to finish in the CL places. The debate is mostly about which of those layers is most important and which can be addressed this season.

    I do think Emery has a best 11 in mind and it involves excellent play from the wing backs as you pointed out. The common thread in Arsenal’s best offensive performances has been the play of either Kolasinac or Bellerin combined with hot finishing from the strikers. Due to a lack of consistent effort and positional discipline at this point though, this system is necessitating a 3 CB rearguard, therefore leaving the midfield prone to being outnumbered. Opposing managers have figured out that Arsenal’s system can be stymied at the source by pressing the two central midfielders charged with progressing the ball because neither Guendouzi or Torreira have been consistently capable of line breaking passes when pressed. Rather, Arsenal are coached to be very conservative in these positions to avoid the back breaking transition opportunity high up the pitch for the opposition. This is a defensible tactic but it does lead to a lot of stale possession (I believe it was partially to mitigate this issue that Granit Xhaka has found himself starting at CB lately to fill in for Rob Holding’s ability to progress the ball from there). Frustratingly, Arsenal still leave themselves vulnerable to transitions despite this conservatism because they also play a high line which is being consistently exploited by the opposition (even from kickoffs as we saw against Tottenham). Arsenal by contrast haven’t been able to manufacture enough high leverage opportunities in transition of their own (though Aubameyang’s opener this weekend came from outstanding team pressing and persistence) due to a high level of commitment and expert tactical fouling by the opposition and the lack of a genuine ball carrier when Iwobi doesn’t play.

    In short, it’s all a little of all of the above. Arsenal require higher levels of commitment to pressing and defensive positioning throughout the side, they require an attacking midfielder who can break the lines consistently on the dribble, and they require higher individual defensive quality in the defensive positions, including wingback. There is no easy fix for the multitude of issues that face Emery but I would add my voice to those calling for calm and patience. Implementing a new style is bound to work for some players but not others and is bound to come with some growing pains, particularly when it comes on the heels of the retirement of a one man institution like Arsene Wenger.

  4. Yeah, I’m 100% with you on this post. Yesterday had me very concerned about Emery’s choices. The defensive injuries and Welbeck’s injury have certainly limited his options.
    But we got noticeably worse on attack after Ozil was taken off, and not really any better on defense. And unless Laca really can’t go 90 min, you can’t sub him in that situation. These line-up choices are starting to be a real worry. And now it looks like we either need Nketiah or another junior attacker to step up in addition to at least one defender in Jan. Maybe even another creative mid if he doesn’t trust either Ozil or Ramsey to do that for 90.
    With fewer injuries, we’re probably above Chelsea, and I’d be OK with that, given it’s Emery’s first year and the other three teams are playing so well. But if we don’t get some help in Jan, and this puzzling pattern of choices continues, I could easily see ManU catching us, and falling out of the Europa League. Those two things would be a problem.

      1. Agree on Smith Rowe. Had he been available, I would 100% have rather seen him come on than Iwobi yesterday.

      2. Micki injury really opens up that opportunity. I feel Emery first sees the defensive work rate/capability of a player irrespective of the position he is playing before he starts him in a game. This necessity only increases for a PL game or cup games of importance. Probably why Elneny still sitting outside.

        1. Yes. Ernie has earned a shot. We’ll see if he has the pace to make it in the big time, but he has shown enough promise and I don’t see a huge dropoff from Mikhi’s recent form in all honesty.

  5. I have been looking forward to analysing his system, the pros and cons of it, and whether it could stand up to Pep’s tiki taka, Klopp’s full throttle football, Pochetino’s high intensity and physical style and Sarri’s Sarriball.

    I have been really disappointed this whole time by the lack of a clear plan. I do not know whether we are playing to do as much as we can in the short term or whether we are putting the foundations of a style that we will rely on as the template for our club.

    For short term success, he would just play our best players and set a foundation for them to thrive. For a set style of play, he would have consistency in selection and wouldn’t be as prone to changes as much as he is.

    I fear that his lack of a clear style will be a problem when it comes to recruitment. In recruiting players, we have to know where we are lacking and to know that, we have to have a system or style in place. Klopp signed Van Dijk and Allison, but the team’s style didn’t change for them, they came into a side that had a way of playing and their strengths covered the weaknesses in the system.

    People say we need a winger, but does Emery use wingers? He doesn’t even adjust for Ozil at #10, would he adjust for a winger if he doesn’t use one? What will happen to our fullbacks if we got a winger? We got Sokratis in, and we are very bad at keeping opponents at bay, what can a centre back bring that will make the defence function better? We have our fabled defensive midfielder and he is playing very well, yet we are worse defensively than last season. What is a centre back going to really change?

    I was hoping for a semblance of a plan by now, but it’s really disappointing how right now we are nowhere close to creating a clear view of a style of play.

    1. This is a very astute observation made by someone who has clearly been paying attention to Emery’s style very closely. Thanks for that.

    2. “People say we need a winger, but does Emery use wingers? He doesn’t even adjust for Ozil at #10, would he adjust for a winger if he doesn’t use one? ”
      At PSG, Emery used wingers in a traditional 4-3-3 formation, with Mbappe and Neymar as the wingers and Cavani up front.
      “We got Sokratis in, and we are very bad at keeping opponents at bay, what can a centre back bring that will make the defence function better? ”
      Sokratis is an upgrade on Mustafi but he’s not a world-class defender imho. Liverpool’s defense is so much better since they’ve signed Van Dijk (they’ve only conceded 7 goals in 19 PL games this season). Van Dijk is the total package: much more pace than Sokratis, and much stronger in the air than Sokratis, and also perfectly reads the game.
      “We have our fabled defensive midfielder and he is playing very well, yet we are worse defensively than last season. ”
      Blame it on Emery, who’s using Xhaka as a holding midfielder and Torreira as a No. 8, like Sarri is playing Jorginho behind Kante. Also, Torreira can’t be everywhere. You hit a long ball, there’s nothing Torreira can do. You spread the ball wide, then it’s the fullbacks’ job to stop crosses and the centerbacks’ job to clear the ball.

      1. Neymar and Mbappe are more inverted wingers that play in the half spaces, just like he is trying with Iwobi and Mkhi. He failed to use Hatem Ben Arfa who is the type of player people say we need, he failed to use Lucas Moura who is another player that is a traditional winger. He turned Draxler into an attacking midfielder and used Di Maria as such too.

        People saw the formation, but that was just on paper. His fullbacks were the players who provided the width, just like at Arsenal. He just had better players in those half spaces, probably the best two players anyone could have in the half spaces in world football right now.

        So I might not have explained as well as I could, but I hope that this provides some context for my statements.

        1. “Neymar and Mbappe are more inverted wingers that play in the half spaces, just like he is trying with Iwobi and Mkhi.”
          I get your point, but very few teams nowadays play with traditional wingers like Giggs. And Mbappe is definitely not an inverted winger since he’s a right-footed player (he’s more a striker playing in a wide position). Of course, the big difference between those PSG players and Iwobi and Mkhitaryan is the end product and the dribbling skills.
          “He failed to use Hatem Ben Arfa who is the type of player people say we need.”
          Ben Arfa was a decent fit for Newcastle or Nice but simply not good enough for a team like PSG.
          “he failed to use Lucas Moura who is another player that is a traditional winger.”
          That’s inaccurate. Moura scored 12 goals and had 5 assists in 37 French league games during the 2016-17 season. So Emery successfully used Moura. It’s when Mbappe joined PSG the following season that Emery sidelined Moura. Good luck trying to compete with Mbappe.
          “He turned Draxler into an attacking midfielder and used Di Maria as such too.”
          For Draxler, that was tactical. Since Neymar often cuts inside, Draxler basically drifted to the left wing, and the 4-3-3 turned into a 4-4-2 or 4-2-4. For Di Maria, Emery used him both as a winger and as an attacking midfielder (Di Maria already played as an attacking midfielder at Real Madrid under Ancelotti). Nothing wrong with exploiting a player’s versatility.

          1. He had wingers but moved them away from the wing. He still hasn’t used wingers though. He altered the way they had to play to suit him, so why would he change now and keep a winger out wide?

          2. “He had wingers but moved them away from the wing. He still hasn’t used wingers though. He altered the way they had to play to suit him, so why would he change now and keep a winger out wide?”
            Not clear what you are referring to. Neymar played under Emery the same way he played at Barcelona. It’s only under Tuchel that Neymar has moved to the No. 10 role. Likewise, Mbappe played under Emery the same way he played at Monaco where Falcao was leading the line. In fact, Emery used Mbappe as a striker in a wide position like Deschamps did with the France team.

      2. On the defenders part, I also look at the individual ratings of players on platforms such as whoscored.com, and our defenders have been doing well as individuals, but not as a unit. That means the system is what is failing us defensively.

        Its not just a defender’s job alone to jeep the opposition out, its not a defensive midfielder’s job alone too. There isn’t an all encompassing defensive strategy that takes the whole side to keep the opposition out. Van Dijk is protected very well by the frontline initially, a midfield devoid of creativity just like ours but setup to dominate and deny opposition a route to the defence, the defence then works as a unit with Van Dijk standing out because of how good he is and last but not least, they have a 70 million goalkeeper in the posts.

        So Van Dijk is good, no doubt about it, but Liverpool have something that we don’t, which allowed him to stand out, a solid defensive strategy that the whole team implements. A good defender will defend well, but a good defence will keep the opposition out.

        There is no defensive Messi. One man can beat 5 players, but one man can’t stop 5 players.

        1. I agree with all of this except the part where you equate good ratings on whoscored with good individual defensive performance. I don’t see it that way. Whoscored rates players based on the number of specific actions they perform. To me a good defender is in the right place at the right time so he doesn’t have to tackle very much at all. A very active central defender is a symptom of poor defending further forward, as you say, but a central defender that makes one crucial error per game could still be very highly rated statistically if he wins a lot of duels in the rest of the game. So I think our defenders’ individual value on whoscored is inflated by the number of actions our poor team defending is forcing them to perform.

          1. “To me a good defender is in the right place at the right time so he doesn’t have to tackle very much at all. A very active central defender is a symptom of poor defending further forward..”

            Exactly, Doc. See Mustafi, S.

            I love watching Raphael Varane, and on his day, Sergio Ramos. For those very reasons.

        2. Liverpool conceded 23 goals after 19 PL games last season. A year later, they’ve only conceded 7 goals from 19 PL games. That’s a massive difference of 16 goals!!! Alisson made some big saves, but give credit to Van Dijk. In several games this season, Van Dijk has made up for mistakes from Robertson and Lovren because he’s so quick and reads the game so well. Yes, Klopp has a defensive strategy, but keep in mind that the front three is the same as last season (Mane, Firmino, Salah), and the midfield is working as hard as last season (Klopp still relies heavily on Wijnaldum and Milner in midfield, while Keita and Fabinho have gained some playing time at the expense of Henderson and the injured Oxlade-Chamberlain). Another way to measure the Van Dijk effect: Liverpool conceded 23 goals in the first 19 PL games of last season and only 15 goals in the last 19 PL games when Van Dijk was part of the team and Alisson not signed yet. You already have a difference of 8 goals for 19 games.

          1. You failed to take the season on season improvement into account. That is what a system does for you, players improve at what you are asking them to do if your demands can be consistent.

            Look at Spurs right now, no signings made in the summer, but an 11 point difference from last season.

          2. “You failed to take the season on season improvement into account. ”
            I didn’t. That’s why I mentioned the 2017-18 season and highlighted the difference between the 1st half of the season without Van Dijk and the second half of the season with Van Dijk. And remember, Van Dijk wasn’t a summer signing, he joined in the middle of the season on Jan. 1.

          3. No other failed transfer has ever bugged me as much as Steve Rowley’s assessment of VVD.
            I didn’t see him play in the Scotish league but as soon as I saw him in the Southampton line up in 2015-16 season I knew he was a rare talent.
            To think Arsenal paid €6 million more for Calum Chambers than Southampton paid for VVD a year later really grinds my gears.

            If you’re a head scout looking for a CB in the PL and pass up VVD at £12 in 2015 – let’s just say – you better show me a couple of signings you recommended , the likes of Cante or Mahrez before they went to City and Chelsea , or you should hang your head in shame and leave the sport for good.

        3. If we are going to look into Klopp then use his first 2 seasons. van Dijk and Allisson and all the signing he made this season in Shaquiri, Fabinho, Keita are impossible for us and are luxury signings than can only be done through Coutinho type cash (probably when we sell Torriera and Guendouzi). But Klopp did a good job bringing in Salah, Mane, Wijnaldum, Firmino, Lovren, and Matip.
          Devlin made a very good point on having a system before signing players as it gives a clear vision of what we lack and how the player fits into that. If we chop and change then we end up with Kolasinac in back 4 (good player wrong usage) when he clearly can play only as wingback.

    3. I think “the Plan” is just to win each game. He picks the team that he thinks has the best chance to do that while also balancing fitness issues. It’s short termism, yes, but it doesn’t suggest he does not have a larger vision… merely that his priorities are the here and now. I don’t have a problem with the priority being results as long as the CL is within reach but I do agree there needs to be more continuity going forward.

  6. Let me defend the first of Emery’s changes, Iwobi for Ozil. It was logical, and what we needed. I called the Ozil change at halftime. Why? It was clear to me that he wasn’t effective. Even when Arsenal dominated, the game bypassed him. He seemed to be in one of his infamous low-energy, shoulder droop moods. But that’s not even the main reason. The main reason was that even though we were having a lot of the ball, NO ONE on the Arsenal team was carrying it between the lines. It ended up a lot of times with Xhaka… who passed it back, to safety. At f****** Brighton, not the Bernabeau. Our best chances came from balls over the top, because nothing was getting to the forwards through the midfield, or through Mesut. It’s a good argument, saying that the change didn’t have to be made at halftime. I agree with that. But THAT change, to me, was logical.

    The next 2 were just bizarre. The sub was undeserved given Laca’s play to that point. Im not sure that Emery is being smart in the use of the player. Auba started the dead, meaningless last Europa game, and the league cup game. Why? To show that you respect those competitions as you said. With Miki out for 6 weeks, why isnt Ramsey starting in place of one of the 3 holding midfielders? I thought that the one to remove instead of Laca was Guendouzi, or even Xhaka, who was doing diddly squat, and whose corners were atrocious.

    Maitland Niles has shown for 2 games now that he had NO final third end product. He literally runs out of ideas around the box. He is nowhere near an educated footballer as gooners think. Said before, and I’ll say it again… Bellerin has emerged as our second most important player after Torreira. This is a totally different team without the young Spaniard.

    Why do we struggle in the first half. Because we don’t kill games. In that half our of dominance at the start, Spurs would have put 3 past Brighton. It was absolutely maddening to see Xhaka have so much of the ball and pass it back to Koscielny or sideways to Guendouzi. He was one of those out there who mistook the game for a post-lunch Boxing Day stroll.

    Lastly, coach beware. An important player sub becomes a ritual in mini-humiliation if it happens every game. I think that the frequency with which Emery does that to Lacazette (often our best attack even if the goals returns dont show it) is unwarranted. Showing that he’s HMIC (after a spell in Paris when the star players had too much power) is all well and good, but this coach may be taking it too far, and alienating too many players.

    Ease up, Unai. It’s about hearts and minds as well as tactics. Look at how Pogba is playing now that a certain coach is gone.

    1. “Let me defend the first of Emery’s changes, Iwobi for Ozil. It was logical, and what we needed. I called the Ozil change at halftime. Why? It was clear to me that he wasn’t effective.”

      Counter point: with Ozil on the pitch, Arsenal created 6 chances. With Iwobi on the pitch, Arsenal created 1 chance. Iwobi was even less effective. Just having a player of ozil’s stature on the pitch changes the way that teams play. Without him, BHA just choked off space, it looked like a forcefield was erected near the 18. Not sure how you can defend that sub.

      1. Yeah, if Iwobi was an effective ball carrier, like Cazorla or Hazard, or even Wilshere when playing well, maybe you can justify that. But Iwobi is not. Nor can he score very well. Sanchez lost the ball as much as Iwobi, but at least he was a significant scoring threat. While Ozil wasn’t great, this was exactly the sort of game he needed to stay in.
        Agree on the Bellerin front. Though he’s not perfect, he’s very important both offensively and defensively, and we have no good backup.

        1. The coach has got what he’s got. Referencing Santi and Jack is pointless. Emery doesn’t have either, let alone their vintage (not 2018) versions. Iwobi is our only ball carrying attacker, and we clearly needed that option. OK, he didnt turn out to be effective either, but the change was logical. When basmati rice is your staple and all you have left is long grain, do you throw up your hands and say I have nothing to cook? When your main outlet is long balls because your midfield is unable to knit things, it would be an obvious tactical change.

          1. You are correct, he does have limited choices. My point in referencing Santi and Jack was that playing a decent/good ball-carrying mid-fielder would have helped. Iwobi, at present, is not. If we had a 13 year old that liked to dribble, that wouldn’t necessarily make it a good idea to put him in just because he likes to dribble.
            Not having a decent ball carrying mid, we would have been better off hoping Ozil’s movement and passing would open something up. Instead we got Iwobi, and we weren’t equally ineffective, we were even worse.

          2. This is actually why signing Ever Banega would make sense although I agree he’s too old. We do need a player like him who can dribble in tight spaces.

          3. The game was lost in the first half hour, when we had 70% possession, 3 or 4 chances and 1 goal to nil.

      2. Fair points. Iwobi for one of the midfield 3 I’d have been ok with. But the midfielder most people wanted to see removed created one of the best chances of the match with a long ball over the top to Aubameyang. Xhaka was creating nothing, but was important for dead ball situations and CB duties. Yes, we were creating chances with Ozil on the field, but the game was bypassing him.

  7. I think Laca is already there.
    We have three big name players who aren’t happy with their situation.
    Ozil, Ramsey and now Laca , all for different reasons.
    Not a sustainable situation from a chemistry and optimal output stand point.

      1. It’s coming… Cech, Monreal, Koscienly, Elneny, Ramsey, Welbeck, Chambers, Martinez, Jenkinson, Ospina, for a start. I see that substantial for one window even though some of it should have been a season or two ago.

  8. Agree with all of this.

    I’m all for Emery being given time. I think next season’s summer transfer window ought to be the start of the real Emery team, and till then he deserves some leeway.

    But, I have no idea what we’re trying right now. What our identity is. With Wenger at least we knew what he was aiming for. With Emery I don’t know. For all his talk about being ‘protagonists’ he seems much more conservative. Not in itself a bad thing but it’s not like we’re solid defensively. Torreira is a good addition, I like Guendouzi, what a precocious talent. But still no midfield control. Reverting to the 3 at the back after making a whole show about 4231/442. Injuries and needs must, but what is the goal? How are we supposed to be playing?

    Besides, what are we doing as a club? We’ve got two hot strikers, a world class creative midfielder, and one Aaron Ramsey being pushed out. The defense was always going to be a problem, but we had our attack ready to go. Doesn’t appear to be the case. The main cast is not being used well enough, or just enough. The support cast seems to have regressed. I get that we’re missing a few pieces Emery might want and need, that there’s some financial/political stuff involved, but this is also this squad’s window. This one or two years, and without getting it right quickly, we risk falling behind for a longer time. How will we replace Ramsey, and a couple of years later Ozil and Auba?

    The strategic side of the club has me worried. Reneging on Ramsey’s contract has me questioning the club’s judgment and priorities. Raul underplayed the Jan transfer window, though I expect we’ll sign a player or two.

    Can’t help but feel weird about this team. Does this happen every time there’s a new manager at a club?

    Oh well, onwards. The results aren’t too bad at this point and I still think we should get top 4.

    1. I have a “7am feeling” that we aren’t signing anyone in January. Unless it’s a special deal.

  9. Spot-on analysis. It strengthened my belief that Emery is a transition manager. He will help clear the dead wood. But he’s not the one who will make Arsenal really competitive.
    For the Brighton goal, I would blame Emery for the defensive setup. Most managers defend their own corners with the two fullbacks and a defensive midfielder. It should have been Kolasinac instead of Guendouzi protecting the left side of the pitch.

    1. Or given we were leading at that point, leave Sokratis back instead of Lich. Just not Lich and Guendouzi. Not sure if that was the players choice at that point or Emery’s, but it was a terrible one.

    2. I some how see your analysis here. When was the last time Arsenal scored from a corner especially by the defender except Mustafi who is now injured?
      To always leave Matteo( who is slow, weak and young capable of getting red card at any time as a last man) as a defender when playing set pieces plus the old Stephen who also has no pace doesn’t make sense for me.

      There are other ways of taking a set piece other than those long traditional balls to whom it may concern especially when good attacking headers are not there. In the previous year we had Giroud, Kos, Mustafi and Monreal who had chances but now none in the squad can do it.

      Tactically, Emery has been very average in his team selection it is as if he doesn’t do his homework (watching his games, opponents games and general assessment of his opponents). There is no comprehensive performance by the team all the past games (no consistency of fun for 90 mins). Almost every game won has been a gamble to get the results. Arsenal was well known for tik tak but there is nothing of that kind, no pace, no defensive, no counter attack etc. The games are just flat

      Bellerin and Kolsnaic are good going forward but they tend to forget totally their defensive roles or they are very poor in defending. Watch out for chances Salah and Mane will have from wings. The latter has no engine to return after the attack while the former is very good in running but final ball very very poor. He will get 1 lucky cross/final pass after several chances and the chances of scoring even if you leave him with a keeper are so minimal. Its partly why Chamberlane had taken his number and if he had stayed, Bellerin would be out of Arsenal or would be always second best in that position.

      We can’t keep on complaining or covering Emery for ever, He signed 5 players in defensive position and all of them have been playing and still conceiving those school ball goals. He signed Stephen L, Matteo G, Sokratis, Torraira and Leno. All of them are fit and in the team, How can he fail to add in 2 or 3 players from the existing or reserve to defend? He should be building more of the reserve defenders who can learn his kick and chase style of game other than looking out for old players who come with their style of play or defending style of 4:2…

      There are teams that need reserve and junior fresh energetic player like Brighton other than using worrying Torreira(fearing to get a yellow card, playing with a hand brake on) Matteo very tired, Xhaka, very tired and lazy, played out of his usual place where he can tackle for yellows and make errors other behind him can correct etc, he has been hardening on Mit for about 6-8 matches when the guy is below average but he will be on a starting line up.

      But why always kill the spirit of fighting players like lac, Miles, Jenkins, Nkeita and elneny?

      Doesn’t mean a tired Matteo, Torreira, Xhaka like in Brighton who had played for over 60mins when he failed to take them off are better than a fresh Elneny?
      Elneny last season had lifted us in Europa not when he got injured that we became average

  10. Steve, this is one of those things we only notice because a goal came of it. Everyone puts their CB’s forward for corners because that’s the best way to score from them.

    1. Totally agree. Everyone does it, but usually they leave a fast fullback or midfielder. Bellerin normally does this when he’s playing. Leaving someone as slow as Lich was asking for trouble on the counter. Plus he’s tall and experienced, so probably would have been just as effective in the box if we left Sokratis back. While scoring from the corner would have been nice, it wasn’t necessary like it would have been if we were tied or trailing. OTOH, giving up a stupid goal like that was relatively disastrous for the momentum.

      1. Plus Sokratis is one of Arsenal’s fastest players and he can’t win a header for love nor money. It’s pointless putting him in the box on corners.

        1. He wins 2 aerials per game on average. Plus he’s not afraid to put his head in where it hurts or to throw some snide elbows. Not that we condone that type of thing at Arsenal . 😇

  11. How can we debate about a single goal. Every player in every team make mistakes. Unai Emery is not a transition manager. This season is a transition. The main problem with Arsenal performance the last 3/5 games is Xhaka positioning. We don’t seem to realise the importance of Xhaka in the team. The 1st time we began to drop point in games we should’ve won is against Crystal Palace. Xhaka played left back (and scored a beautiful goal from free kick). Then came the injuries. Mustafi, Socratis, Monreal, Kolasinac… And Xhaka had to play CB. Again In this game against Brighton, Xhaka drop to CB when Kos was sub. In Xhaka absence we don’t have this player who can dictate the game with the knowledge of English football. When I saw the starting 11 with Xhaka in midfield I thought we would win game easily. And the first 30 min prove that. We need our CB back from injuries and Xhaka play midfield. Arsenal are better with Xhaka in midfield.

  12. Here’s my take, at least on the players:
    – Guendouzi as a starter baffles me. We all know he’s young and come out of nowhere, but if he’s good enough to start in this midfield, what does that say about this midfield? It needs more quality. Right now he’s a perfectly average MF, which is great at 19. But he has big flaws: he holds on to the ball far too long, he gets caught on the wrong side of his man like all the time, and he switches off occasionally. Wenger used to burn out young players by overplaying them and undercoaching them. I assume Emery will not undercoach him, but he shouldn’t be starting every game.

    – Lots of unwarranted hype around Torreira. I want a DM who kills it defensively. He does okay, but the fact is we’re still conceding far too many goals. He’s not going to do it all by himself, but I’m not sure the hype is warranted.

    – Tim: I was wrong about Lich and you were right. I said trust the scouts; you said he was too old. At best, his benefits are indirect: his attitude, his experience, and an extra body during meaningless cup games. Well, those cup games are over. He’s too far past it to play as regularly as he’s been forced to.

    AMN: baffles me. I know he’s a DM playing LB and RB, but he has zero attacking instinct or ability. Zero. And he’s so damn quick off the ball, but a mediocre-paced dribbler. This all makes for a good DM, but unfortunately he’s not getting the minutes there. Maybe he should get an opportunity instead of Guendouzi? But then if you play Torreira too, that’s not enough creativity, and it’s clear we have problems in attack.

    – I’m happy for Ozil to leave, and if we can get a bit of money all the better.

    – I suspect Ramsey is off to PSG, and so the coach doesn’t want to risk him. He tends to be relatively injury prone. Also can’t see where he fits in to the team, still.

    – Agree that the issue is that we’re not getting good service to the forwards. Laca looks good when he plays, but never gets the ball in good positions. Auba is frustrating, but top of the scoring charts so you can’t complain. This leaves the creative onus on Miki, Ozil, and Iwobi, who have all underperformed.

    – Iwobi. For all the good, he still just shuffles around the pitch without the ball. Maddening.

    – 4/9 points against Soton, Burnley and Brighton is absolutely not good enough. An Emery is right: the defense isn’t the issue so much (I mean, injuries – can’t castigate the players). The attack isn’t doing well enough. Specifically, those three creative players. But as you say, it’s surely made worse by the system.

    Onwards to Liverpool, and I’m concerned. We’ll get beat for sure, but let’s not get humiliated. Assuming no returnees from injury, a back five? Pool aren’t a massive aerial threat so you could probably put Lich at CB with AMN to the right and Kola to the left, with the 3 midfielders, and Laca and Auba to run onto long balls. Who knows.

    1. Great analysis, Zed. Second every motion, except related to Torreira.

      He IS worth the accolades he’s been getting. He alone can’t be responsible for the high number of goals we’re conceding. We’re all — with justification — awaiting Liverpool with dread. But he and Van Dijk were the best players on the field the last time we played them (a game we should have won). We were the toughest opponents Liverpool faced this season, and Torreira was the main reason why.

      He’s tenacious, he can harry, he can tackle, he can read, he has dead-ball ability, and he brings some goal threat. But he cant do it by himself. Imagine if his partner Xhaka brought half of his fight and defensive toughness. Imagine if Ozil, Guendouzi and Iwobi were regularly defensively switched on.

      He’s 22, he cost 25m, he’ll be worth double that in a year, and he’ll be a Barcelona player in three or four. He s surrounded by players who are not as bloody-minded, and who switch off all the time. What on earth were Guendouzi and Iwobi doing on Southampton’s third goal?

      Im not saying that eh plays well 100% of the time and doesn’t have bad games. He’s the best central defensive midfielder Arsenal have had in ages.

      1. Maybe you’re right – I hesitate to be too tough on him because (a) I like the kid, and (b) I can’t think of anything he’s done wrong. I just struggle with the hype machine. I hope there is no backlash.

        Tim suggests a backlash against Guen, for instance, and I think it’s unfair. He has flaws and needs time and coaching to iron them out.

    2. Went on a rant there… We like or not, have to persist with Ozil, Laca, Auba, Micki, AMN, Torriera, Guendouzi, Iwobi. They are not our first concerns. Agree on Lichtsteiner. Should be cleared with a lot of dead wood and free agents leaving this summer.

  13. wow, did i not hear these same criticism of a certain frenchman whom emery replaced ? Maybe arsene should be involved again ?

  14. Injuries in the backline have forced a rejig of the attack and the midfield. Fewer injuries and a deeper squad at the defensive end might have lessened the half time subs and constant change of tactics.

  15. I agree there have been some questionable subs. I think Ozil’s absence hurt, as Tim’s stats pointed out. And Laca needs to be on the pitch late – his scoring threat takes pressure off Auba and gives defenses something to rekon with. AMN and Iwobi provided zero offensive push, and made it easy for Brighton to sit back.
    Before we begin with the questioning of Emery’s coaching on a wholesale basis, it’s important to keep in mind just how devastating the injuries have been. Holding had become a powerful defender, who was strong in the air and showed strength on the ball. Bellerin proivded speed and critical width on the offensive end, with the ability to track back. Both were a huge part of playing out of the back, which was central to our identity. Now (and I’m shocked that I am about to say this) compound this with the absence of Mustafi. Yes, the much maligned defender was pretty damn good on the ball. When not making his occasional catstrophic error, he was generally good at progressing the ball and building out. Take all three away, and suddenly we lose the ability to play out with consistency. What happens? The midfield is regularly pressured in less than ideal positions. The ball from the back isn’t in the right spot, not crisp enough, slightly behind or in front. And the midfielder doesn’t have the extra second to make the line breaking pass that moves us forward with the opponent running back tward its goal. We are then passing back to the defense, and trying again, or often ending with Leno kicking long. When we do progress out, it’s slow and deliberate, with the sterile possession. The upshot is fewer good chances.
    Not to mention the instability that results from shuffling the deck with each game at the back. Harder to defend as a team with that situation.
    That creates makeshift lineups and players playing out of position with a very thin squad. He doesn’t have the luxury of an “identity” or playing style. He’s just trying to muddle through right now.
    Yes, injuries are part of the game, but injuries to an aging and thin defense are even more pernicious. Emery hasn’t been perfect, to be sure, but without a solid defense, we are both more vulernable at the back and less dangerous going forward.
    Clearly Torreira was playing with both hands tied behind his back on Wednesday. Not aggressive at all. I expect him to be a tiger Saturday.
    Guen is getting quite a bit of stick, but he was left without options going forward. At one point, he gestured at Lich out of frustration to make a run. Yes he needs to be better tracking back, but I still believe that will come.
    On the other hand, I am disappointed with AMN and his lack of offensive contribution. He gets the ball on the edge of the box with one defender to beat, space and an angle to shoot with a simple touch. And he stops cold and loses the ball. That’s a player lacking in cofidence. He won’t get many more chances to stick with the first team. If he doesn’t show up soon, he’s going out on loan or worse.
    The process will have starts and stops. To succeed, it will require some big roster changes. We must be deeper to survive these injury clusters.
    I have a suspicion we’ll be better than many believe at Anfield. We are angry and frustrated, and we may get one or two players back to help. We will learn a lot about Emery by the way our weakened team responds this weekend. Do they still believe?

  16. I totally agree that people underestimate the impact our injuries have had on results and style of play.
    City lost their last two games to Crystal Palace and Leicester because their two most important players ( in my opinion) were out injured.
    You take David Silva and Fernandinho out of their line up and they’re a different team.

    As for the Emery/Pep / Klopp comparison up thread – and I don’t even know that Emery has a distinctive style of play the way the other two do – but I do know this much , when his name was announced as Arsenal next coach it didn’t even cross my mind for a second that Arsenal might now be in a position to win the league in the next 2 to 4 years.

    Klopp was clearly hired to bring the league title to Liverpool and he even gave himself a four year window to do so.
    Pep’s window was even smaller but you knew both clubs were gonna put their financial muscle behind them to make it happen.

    The fact that the guy who hired Emery quit the club soon after should help paint the picture as to what his mandate might be.

  17. Dennis Bergkamp is not our greatest ever midfielder because he wasn’t a midfielder.

    Patrick Vieira is our greatest ever. I don’t think Ozil gets into the top 5, and I quite like Ozil.

    As for the team and recent performances, I’m concerned about the intense training in the summer and our running output in the first 10 games or so now coming back to haunt us. Emery is not used to playing straight through the winter and we are looking “little bit jaded”.

    AMN yes is raw but the only option and Lich was ineffective and probably the only change left that could have been made to create more attacking options.

    Agree that Laca should never have come off, that should have been Guendouzi. And I don’t like the recent trend of having Torreira higher up the pitch.

    We were just getting into a groove qith Xhaka and LT as our base when our CB injury crisis struck so we are off balance.

    I do agree that the constant tweaks and and/or outright changes are losing their luster but feels almost neceasary with injuries at the moment, which aren’t strictly defensive. Welbeck, Miki, Smith Rowe. We need signings for sure, but I’m more or less OK with what Emery is doing.

  18. Afternoon from cloudy London chaps. Seasons greetings to you all. Do not know if anyone saw the tweet a gooner posted ( I’ll try and find the link) when iwobi came on? It shows him turning to saed and asking whats the formation only to be told just “kick it forward”.. i kid you not

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