Mustafi is the bomb

“Disappointed” doesn’t cover this result. I think for the first time since.. uhh.. ok, last year at this time, I’m gutted. I feel like Arsenal punched me in the solar plexus, I’m down, gasping for air, but not fully out.

Unai Emery got the team selection dead wrong from the start as he has done many times this season. Is that a criticism? Maybe. Depends on how you look at it. He also seems to have some kind of genius for getting it wrong and then right at half-time. For me it’s neither a criticism nor a compliment. It’s just a change from the Wenger way.

Jenkinson started at RB and that was a mistake. He played Big Ben(teke) on side for his first goal since Pharaoh Ramses II but worse than that – because you can forgive a guy not being sharp when he never plays – the guy just has nothing in terms of offensive output and defensive understanding. I get that he loves Arsenal, a lot of us love Arsenal, but he’s 27 years, old. And I’m sorry to say this but he’s not at the level needed to be 4th string at Arsenal.

As an aside, remember how we all had a little “argument” with me about Lichtsteiner? And remember how I said “worst case scenario – he plays against Man City, best case scenario he never plays?” I was wrong. Worst case scenario: he’s so bad that we have to play Jenkinson.

And it was like the perfect storm of bad 4th stringers in this lineup today. Jenkinson completed just 78% of his passes (Maitland-Niles 91%) and because Emery started with Elneny and Guendouzi in midfield, there was almost nothing going forward. Ozil was dropping between the center backs to receive possession. Which meant that the first half was frustrating.

Elneny and Guendouzi do not work together. Here’s an image to show what I’m talking about:

In case you missed this moment, Arsenal are 1-0 down and we are in the final moments of the first half. Elneny just ran off like.. like a kid absconding with an apple in some gritty 1920’s gangster film. Meanwhile Captain Charisma (fucking Mustafi) yells at Guendouzi and tells him to fill the hole. Boy oh boy if that doesn’t sum up the first half: two players in midfield who run around a bit too much and who really need talent next to them.

But as frustrating as that was…In the second half, Emery changed things and it worked. Ozil had nearly thrown a jacket at the whole team in the first half, such was his disgust – he literally walked off shaking his head. But then in the second half, he gets the equalizer and we are BACK ON TOP. But then, like a stick of dynamite, Mustafi happens.

There’s a scene in Red Dead Redemption 2 where the lead character (Arthur) blows up a pile of shit. The antagonist takes a shit shower and then there’s a gunfight. Mustafi is the dynamite. We are the guy taking the shit shower. Crystal Palace is Arthur. SPOILER ALERT Arthur wins. Maybe this metaphor doesn’t work. I don’t know. I’m angry.

I think Tim Stillman nailed it today when he said that Mustafi seems to duck out of plays. Like he gives up. And then looks for other people to blame. Today he – honestly, I don’t know what the fuck he was doing. He tried to sort of hold Zaha with his back turned. I guess his plan was to obstruct? Like, actually give away a penalty? I don’t know.

I’m not being negative. Elneny is garbage, Jenkinson isn’t at the level needed, Mustafi is a bomb in a pile of garbage, the sky is blue, my dog eats poop: that’s not negative, it’s just the truth.

After that the team seemed to just give up the game. The whole match had an air of “end of season stroll” but I couldn’t hardly bear to watch the 2nd half because we were so out of sorts.

Now I’m just rambling.

Gah.

4th place seems like a long way off.

Qq

68 comments

  1. I noticed your recent tweet where you mocked the Bundesliga a bit. Nothing about that, but for a German who’s made a tournament squad, I find it a bit weird that Mustafi has actually never played in the Bundesliga.

    And I’m very sorry – it seems the team can do nothing right when I decide it’s a pub day.

    1. Joa involvement in the squad is definitely overstated. Basically the squad was had a full back problem because there were no great options to begin with and Lahm had to move to the middle until Schweinsteiger and Khedira were matchfit. He was virtually unknown as he went to Everton as a teenager and was recommended by the U21 coach since he could fill that position also. He didn’t have a good tournament and was considered a bit of a joke, Germany considerably improved after Lahm moved back into position. He was never on anyone’s radar or rated by anyone really.

  2. Yeah, that was grim. On the whole, I’ve been pretty happy with Emery. And he was a little limited by injuries and a lot of games in his choices today. But he’s had weird selections in the past, and it was a big gamble today, that didn’t pay off at all. With Utd losing, we could have really put a dent in their chances by winning.
    I like Jenks, but he’s not good enough. He, Elneny and Mustafi all need to go this summer, and Guendouzi needs time on loan or as a backup. We’d have been a lot better off if we had not loaned Chambers. He’s not fantastic, but he’s better than Mustafi, and he can play CDM too.

    1. I know we can’t force buyers to buy who we want to sell, but I can’t help but think of that summer where all we heard were rumors of Valencia going to Inter and ended up with Gabriel leaving for Valencia. Wrong player, I thought then. Not that Gabriel was a silver bullet – letting himself get played by Diego Costa that one time was unforgivable really – but between the two…

      I can only assume that was Wenger at play – he had a thing where he’d let a player move if it was the best thing for the player, though not necessarily good for the club (Gnabry, though in that case the player insisted on leaving; Giroud to Chelsea too).

      1. Yeah, I like Giroud, he’s a really useful player, and brings something much different than Laca or Auba. It’s going to really suck if he scores against us in the EL final.

  3. I was fuming. Then I slept for a bit and now I feel better. Which means I’m only slightly annoyed.

    Mustafi is done. I was all set to give up on him last season, but I felt he just might come good. Except he’s got a brain with a chronic flatulence problem.

    Elneny was Elneny. Neither good nor bad. I know Guendouzi is a favourite and I admire his talent, but I felt he was worse. He runs about a lot and is always looking forward, but has no interest in the defensive side of things. I like he’s up for some s***housery or a fight but he needs to learn to be subtle about it. The first half was so so dull.

    Ozil’s goal was a thing of beauty and he really was up for this game. Pity the rest of the team weren’t quite there. But I suppose the Moss & Mustafi Double Whammy (TM) couldn’t have helped much. Oh and Iwobi REALLY needs to learn to finish better.

    Agree on Emery. It’s just different. I don’t really mind the starting lineup but the near refusal to play through the middle is really tedious. Watching cross after cross blocked or easily cut out from the left because it’s so predictable. The changes were good, but it probably means that he left himself without a way to affect the game for a final push in the last 15 mins.

    We’re really going to miss Ramsey, and it’s interesting that once again we didn’t use Suarez.

    Not sure what this means for the top 4 or our chances in the EL. It’s all getting exciting in that regard at least if not on the field. Oddly enough, my gut feeling is we’ll get both.

    1. I actually yelled out in the pub late in the first half: “Kolasinac cutbacks is not a tactic!”

      1. I was watching the game with my dad yesterday. He said that this doesn’t seem like Arsenal now, but like any other team.

        I get that Bellerin’s injury affected our right back cutbacks tactic, that we have injuries, suspensions, and were rotating the squad. Fatigue might be an issue. Also, maybe the whole thing makes great tactical sense, I have no idea. All I know is it’s not fun to watch.

        But the two goals we scored today were really very good. That Ozil goal made me shout ‘OH, WHAT A FINISH!’ at the time and that’s the sort of excitement football should bring about. So at least there was that today.

        1. Time warp alert.. the goals were scored yesterday, when I was watching the game with my dad. Not today.

  4. Mate, mate chin up..Cant you see what Unai is doing?.he is “managing” the game, the week and the season. The same guys cant play every game: Everton – Napoli (dispatched at a Canter) – Watford , – Napoli – Crystal Palace – Wolves. Is tough for any one..Didnt quite come off but handball not given..etc..how many home games have we won before that? Mate go easy on Mustafi he was MOTM at Watford and no one said anything ..Makes a mistake and 30 minutes exposés on sports media about how bad thid world cup winner is..

    1. Some stupid and very avoidable and very costly mistakes were made.

      Mate.

    2. Also, “World Cup winner” insofar as he was one of the 23 selected in a World Cup-winning squad. Kleberson bombed at Man. United in Fergie’s heyday, despite the fact that for a 4-week period in 2002 he got to be part of the same 23 man squad as (original) Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho. So miss me with that nonsense. David Odonkor (you WILL have to Google him) would be a World Cup winner too if Germany had a bit more luck in 2006. And as far as aimless wingers go, he makes Shawn Wright-Phillips look like prime Ljungberg.

      1. Mate, just saying people are silent about his good games but sing about his mistakes..not entirely fair..

        1. Follow: he started with a lot of credit in the bank. Arsenal fans wanted A New Defender, Literally Any New Defender (except one called Jonny Evans) and so we were glad enough to have him. His signing/presence on the team sheet coincided with a lengthy unbeaten run and so he had a lot of credit in the bank. This run continued even when he got injured, and ended when he returned, either against Everton or Manchester City. He still had credit in the bank because many assumed any rust was due to the fact he might have been rushed back.

          He fell into a deficit shortly into the new year (2017), though. A pivotal moment was the knockout tie against Bayern, our last salvo so far in the Champions League. For one of the goals, he’s doing a Flamini, pointing and yelling at all and sundry. But here’s the problem: while he’s doing this, eventual scorer Thiago Alcantara is literally tiptoeing past him, getting into position to score. And when he does score, Mustafi turns up the yell volume to 11, blaming everyone else for the concession. He lost a lot of credit that day.

          The summer that followed, there was serious talk of shifting him. It speaks to how far his stock had fallen that we were willing to sell our most expensive defender ever after a single year. He eventually wasn’t sold, and the catalog of high-profile, high-impact mistakes continued as we missed out on the Champions League for a second year running.

          A new manager came in, and there was another unbeaten run. This run gave Mustafi enough of a backbone to come out and allude to Wenger being responsible for his difficult spell at Arsenal (blaming someone else yet again – a thread is starting to appear here). And the catalog of errors continued to grow. Penalty at Palace. Penalty at City. Ten thousand sliding tackles into thin air when all he had to do was stand his ground. If fans don’t give him credit for the good he does, it’s because he’s massively in debt with said fans at this point. If you owe me a million, I’m not giving you credit for paying back $10.

          1. You’re too considered and articulate, just switchblade the forearm on this: mistafi is just stupid. Why stop, was he hoping Leno would come and pick up the ball? What a ridiculous error!
            I’m not even bothering to correct the typo in his name in my post. Why should I?

          2. Haha KAFKUSH, fair enough. My idea was that if FAITH is a genuine apologist and not a troll, then perhaps it’s worth laying out the case as fully as possible. I’m trying to get the apologists to see why Mustafi has to go. For his sake, and especially for ours.

            Funny, I was reminded of Gervinho a bit. Remember the miss against Bradford, ball across the box and he completely missed the connection when one touch would have brought us level? In that moment I knew he was done at Arsenal. When we nearly sold Mustafi after one year I thought the Thiago moment I described earlier was it. I think Zaha’s goal is definitely it, though.

          3. Haha Ok mate, totally not trolling …Just saying we see Mustafi differently..I remember his part in great unbeaten runs and his performances against Totts home and away…He can do it just at times doesn’t. The thing is I dont think the problem with Mustafi is ability..I think it is application/concentration Vidic/Ferdinand/Terry masters of maintaining focus..Iron out the mistakes (perfectly possible) and he is on it..No one is saying to me he wasnt MOTM at Watford just listing his mistakes but you can do that against anyone..Not trolling just not hating..

    3. Mate. Your writing is top quality and your insight is incredible but you need to go read and comment on another blog. Mate. Have a mate day, mate, mate, mate.

      1. hahah looolll hahah . Ok mate that made me laugh. So you parody me. I am a bit like that. I use “mate” to much. I don’t know why. Mate, so you don’t think that I appreciate your work. So let me show you about you now. There are two ways you persuade so effectively; either you indisputably conjure some pretty formidable stats and let them do the talking/win the argument e.g. Arsenal’s shots allowed or Leno’s saving ability away vs at home (really impressed with that one) or you shuffle emotion like a pack of cards in your hands. The classic example is “Aaron Ramsey player of the season”. This is “peak Tim”. When I first read this title I thought “110% no way, what’s in the Pizza this guy’s been making”….but by the end I was like “OK”.. until I realised what you did. You didn’t subdue us with the stats, like you would think.. You shuffle emotion. So first you mobilise all Arsenal fans by reminding us how he shut down Totts with “Sit down” and showed he owned Wembley not Totts. Then with Napoli games you show he’s improved in ability, discipline and leadership since Wenger departure – the WOBs are loving and at the same time feeding into/making us re-live all our positive emotions/euphoria from the Totts and Napoli games we were meant to lose – emotionally we are now labile. Then you show he was part of Wenger’s “Project Youth”…now AKBs/all fans are loving (that’s what really pulled me in). No Arsenal fan after reading that blog would disagree and from the comment no one did.
        Okay re the insight you have.. just 3 gems.. Ramsey = Pogba (my favourite-ish). Arsenal away form is due to allowing too many shots and Leno doesn’t save as well away from home.. Who would think to even look at that stat.. Anyway you should hear me talking about football. I chat like these insights are mine… but they are not.. they are yours..I can not see them anywhere else.
        But mate remember with great power comes great responsibility. There’s no point going after the usual suspects: Mourinho, Mustafi, Xhaka (who I love), Ade. Use your powers for good to build up not destroy..

        1. “ No Arsenal fan after reading that blog would disagree and from the comment no one did.”

          Patently, nakedly, readably false. Makes you seem more like a troll than a mate.

    4. Mustafi is the luckiest WC winner there ever was. He was picked pout of nowhere and no one in Germany really knew him at the time, he was picked because there was a shortage of right-backs and Germany considerably improved when Lahm moved from the middle back to his spot. No one considers Mustafi one of the reasons for winning but rather that they won despite him, he’s a bit of a joke.
      You have a strange chip on your shoulder, you rather talk about everything else, the media, the bias, fans not supporting the right way than the games and in this case the mistakes themselves.

      1. EMOB, mate just injecting some objectivity.. After Everton it was the end of the world and Napoli were going to destroy us… Now after Crystal Palace defeat it is the end of the world..Let’s just be a bit more circumspect. Great home run has come to end… but the manager has to manage the game, week and season. So far not too bad…No one not even Mustafi get’s into a free pass into a world cup winning squad… Shows at this age he was one of the best German defenders..That is saying something..Re biases Gylfi s Sigurrson to Everton for £40million …Gabriel Paulista to Valencia £9.9 million Ok.. both great players one is a bargain though..

        1. You’re not after objectivity though, you’re after affirmation. You just want to hear that everything is hunky-doryly fine. That’s okay, but you come off as patronising especially since you’re not very good with arguments or analysis. YSou seem to be much more emotional than most of the other commenters, you seem to be very insecure and with a constant need of affirmation that ever4ything is great all of the time, THAT is being emotional.
          Me personally, I don’t see a lot of fun in just mindless cheerleading, simply because it is facile and not very intellectually engaging. If that’s what you’re after, fine, but don’t tell put down everyone else because they’re being emotional and subjective just because you’re not being affirmed every second.

          1. hahah EMBO very good mate football and pyscho analysis in one post.. pretty impressive…. it is all about perspective. Let me cheer you up.
            What were the objectives at the start of the season..
            The title?? that ship has sailed
            Top four and Trophy would be what most be people were chatting about.. FA cup …been there done that
            UEFA cup would be gravy, as far that is concerned I would say defo hundy doryly fine
            Top four – yes we lost to CP but still on track to make that.
            Is it the end of the world? Really?
            Second thing EMBO mate.. what how many of our new signings have exceeded all expectations
            I would say Leno (defo, defo) Sokratis (defo), Torreira (defo), Gwendouzi (given age Defo) Licht (haters are hating) Denis Suarez (need more time)
            I would say Leno/Sokratis/Torreira/Gwen (4 new guys) have had outstanding first season’s
            but we can all wait for Mustafi and Xhaka (that I love) to make a mistake and then pretend it is the end of world but it really isn’t. Just to push home to you the point.. chews on this.. It is strange that when we WIN we can still find away to be unhappy because XG (imaginary goals) result is not good as actual goals outcome. But when we lose we are not consoled by an impressive XG in our favour…strange that one…objectivity injection..

          2. None of that has anything to do with Mustafi having a horrible game, making horrible msitakes again though. You’re really bad at arguments, all you’re doing is deflecting and avoiding the actual discussion.

        2. And BTW I just explained how and why Mustafi got into the squad. He was never an integral part of the squad in any way and hasn’t been since. He was definately not one of the best german defenders, he was an emergency filler at fullback and as recommended by the U21 coach.
          And what about that strange argument with the transfer fees? Market forces are sometimes strange? That English clubs oftentimes have more sense than money? Offensive players are higher valued than defenders?

          1. mate come on, no one gets a pass into a World cup winning team..no one..
            As for offensive players more than defensive players
            Sigurrson (non-English player) £40million – Walcott (English player – they are worth more aren’t they??) £20million. Same club signed them at similar age. Maybe media/we are just a bit too critical of our own while other clubs recognise no one is perfect but recognise the strengths not just waiting for a mistake and maximising the weaknesses.

          2. So what? What has that got to do with anything? What is the point you’re trying to make here? You’re making a very confused argument mixing some vague analogies of transfer value, performance and your need to react emotionally to cope with criticism.

          3. OK emob mate, fair points. ..maybe I am a bit off track here and perhaps too emotional and not analytical enough by not backing my argument up with stats.. but I think we are way too critical of Mustafi….emotional may be..hahah

          4. So when am I allowed to be critical of him? Maybe when his mistakes are at fault for three goals? Maybe when his mistakes cost a final? When is it allowed to mention that he had a terrible game and a terrible season all in all?

  5. Lay off Mustafi, man. He’s only… 27, which is young for a defender. He’s got a good few years to get this right. Besides, what’s with the negativity? Dont you know that you have to… like… support the team? These negative vibes have a way of becoming reality.

    I jest, but how did I do there?

    Nothing Mustafi did surprised me. Did you see his highlights reel? No, not the one we all looked at when Arsenal were shopping for him… the recent one with his collection of defensive howlers. Totally agree with Tim Stillman’s observation. The most overworked part of Mustafi is his right arm — which he raises a lot. The bredda switches off more than an energy saving room. The “shepherding” back to Leno will be making Christmas video collections for decades to come. Shard is right… it’ll finish him with the fans.

    So yeah, Musti didnt surprise me. That’s why I’m more annoyed with Mavropanos for such a pointless, in-you-face-shirt pull, that it said “book me, please”. The Palace player was wide left in Arsenal’s half, closer to the halfway than goal line. Positionally in open play, he wasnt a huge threat where he was… free-kick-wise, though, it was another story. There are are lot of contenders for dumbest play of the day, and although Mustafi and Jenko eclipsed that, Mavro’s is up there.

    Elneny wasnt great, but he wasnt horrible either. He’s just a “bleh” player, neither fish nor fowl. He likes to trot alongside the opposition player on the ball, as if he never heard of that thing called a tackle. And he actually did play some forward balls. On the whole, though, he has no presence or impact. That said, I thought that the way the crowd got on his back was terrible.

    The one group of people who did not deserve an Arsenal win were the Arsenal fans in the stadium. Their only job once there is to lift the team, not offer a running commentary on the game with groans and sighs. John Moss isnt a good ref, and he proved it today. The assistant, though had to have picked up Wan Bissaka’s handball. How did he miss such a blatant one? VAR, please hurry.

    1. Claude –

      This is where VAR really DOES make a difference. Despite Tim’s rants, VAR can really change a game for the better when it picks out a big miss by the referee. That match swings in the opposite direction if we take the penalty and a 1-0 lead. It’s that sort of mistake we need to clean up. Mind you, it will penalize us as often as it will reward us, but it will get us closer to the right result, and that should be the goal.

      1. I bet you can’t remember the number of times we got away with this exact sort of handball. There was one by Torreira last week that will be a penalty next season.

        Trust me, VAR isn’t going to make things “more fair” for Arsenal. We are going to continue to be penalized for our poor play, probably more than other teams.

        1. Noboday said “more fair” It bothers me when we get away with a handball almost as much as when the opponents do. We need to clean up our game, and the league needs to clean up the diving that’s so rampant. VAR will help this. But when there’s a clear mistake like yesterday’s, it doesn’t help anyone to let it stand.

          VAR will not be a cure all, but big, bad decisions will get fixed – and that’s a step forward imo.

  6. Hey- my dog eats poop too. That’s the most positive thing I can say after today’s performance.

  7. Lol, I don’t think we will win the race to the bottom.

    United and Chelsea are equally determined to win the 5th place trophy.

  8. The 3 different sorts of responses to Faith’s arguments made me lol. All of them. Switchblade with such a considered, articulate comment was funny (cute). Kafkush with his response to that was hilarious and accurate. And Tim. Ouch! The caustic Tim is back and we should all be afraid for our blogging lives. Mate. (ducks for cover)

  9. I think I’ve been slower than most to criticize Emery for his line up experiments but after their performance against Everton I’d be damned if I knew why he thought Elneny and Guen could do the job against Palace.

    Jenkinson shouldn’t be near Arsenal roster but I can kinda see why Emery would risk him in hope he might be able to perform a simple defensive action like holding the line from a dead ball when you see everyone in front of you.

    Mustafi should be a verb by now – as in “ don’t you go and mustafi this up again”, but you just know that he will. Probably against the Wolves on Wednesday.

    Btw, Is there anything more comical than a player waving his arms in disappointment at his teammates after his own blunder.
    As if to say “ why didn’t you know I would mustafi this up and come and bail me out?”

    1. Tom, you didn’t “Mustafi up” that comment. You “Bergkamped it”. Well done. Meanwhile, Arsenal may well have “Spursed up” a Champions League place for next season. Go Raptors!

  10. Re mustafi google/youtube chrissy white(a pal of mine) gus ceaser, willie young of jeff blockley..s’all im saying. Happy holiday my bros from across the ocean

    1. Jeff Blockley?!? Gawd, I’d forgotten about him. Sometimes a bad memory is a blessing…

  11. Mustafi was at fault for two of the three goals and symbolic of a bigger trend I see with the team.

    Jenkinson played Benteke on side, but he was Mustafi’s man to mark and rather than track his man he stopped, held up his hand for offside and then got upset when the call failed to materialize. Same story again with Zaha’s goal (plus, as a former CB/DM, you NEVER expect anything from your goalkeeper – if he wants the ball, or is going to come for the ball, the onus is on the goalkeeper to call off the defender not the defender calling for the goalkeeper to come get a ball or expecting him to. Defending 101).

    I noticed many times the defense expecting an offside call and they just STOP in their tracks and hold their hands up. WTF. You can hold your hand up, insist it’s an off-side but you should still play as though the play in alive. This is endemic to the whole team and perhaps is an Emery failing or a sign of character weakness. I have never seen van Dijk expect an offside call and simultaneously give up on the play, he would still rub that attacker out. I tell the kids I coach to “play the whistle”, never expect a call to be made. There’s an expression that leftists get mad when government doesn’t work and conservatives are surprised when it does. We should be conservative in that we should play as though a referee’s call in our favour is a welcome surprise, not something we’re entitled to.

    That game yesterday was a disaster. At least ManUre are a tire fire and Spurs and Chelsea aren’t interested in the top 4 either.

    1. Jack –

      Excellent point about the team’s mentality. We constantly look to the refs to bail us out. That has been part of the culture with several players in the past (Musti chief among them), and it’s been exacerbated by Guendouzi, who may even exceed Ozil in this respect. It needs to be yanked out by the roots.

      I might even go a step further and say this is a team that looks for any reason or opportunity to ease up or take its foot off the gas. Playing against Bate away? Let’s go easy. Rennes away? We’re better than them, we can just show up and win. Watford down to 10 men? Let’s conserve our energy. Palace at home? Let’s rotate as much as possible and recover from this busy stretch. We are the team that tries to do the minimum whenever possible. We have no killer instinct.

      Conversely, when we take on top 6 teams, we fight hard, play with intensity and give our best effort (Anfield performance excluded)

      I haven’t seen much mention of it since yesterday, but Sokratis’ absence was strongly felt. He’s the one guy who’s not slowing down when we are ahead, who has steely resolve and a nasty demeanor, and who doesn’t let players like Musti shirk responsibility. Think of the contrast between Musti and Papa. What a swing in mentality from a single player! Yesterday, we were weak in the spine in many respects, and it showed.

      Now, given the above, I think it just might be in the personality of this team to turn around on Wednesday and take 3 points at Wolves, where we expect to have a battle, and our backs are against the wall. A stronger side anchored by Papa, (no Musti!) and perhaps Xhaka back in midfield makes me think we will bounce back, oddly.

      1. I’m with you, the waiting for refs to bail them out, the inability to put their foot on the other team’s throats and kill them off, the poor road record – all symptomatic of a general mental weakness. The discussion unfortunately gives me nauseous waves of deja vu because it comes up every few years. I thought we’d turned a corner the first half of the season with all the come from behind wins and the better record against big-6 teams, but it’s still there. I would spend 150m on van Dijk at this point, just to bring in someone to partner with Sokratis and lay the wood down on teammates in the locker room. Mustafi is an buffoon that no one (should) respect; Koscielny, Monreal, Bellerin, Leno seem like good guys and nice teammates but not leaders; and Torreira, Guendouzi, Xhaka, Iwobi, Ozil and Kolasinac are the guys that need to be yelled at, not asked to do any leading.

    2. Gah.

      Just as I was about to rail against right-wing smugness, you go and say something smart like, “play [to] the whistle.”

      Conservatives. They continually find a way to surprise…

    3. Jack, I wouldn’t blame Mustafi for the Bentdke goal.
      He had every right to expect Jenko to hold the line.
      Had he, Benteke would’ve been two yards off.
      Mustafi had a clear view of him.

  12. Mustafi has a good game in him, but the errors are too frequent and too costly. Further compounding my frustration with him is that he always ALWAYS blames someone else for his mistakes. This could in fact be the reason he has never developed into a consistent performer!

    I’m sure it’s about saving face in front of the cameras / spectators, but honestly it’s doing the opposite. He looked an utter fool yesterday when he threw his arms up at Leno.

  13. Mustafi is a living legend and in the cream of the crop league of Silvestre, Cygan, Senderos and Stephanvos.

    I find it amazing how his teammates haven’t “retired” him in training with some accidental tackles already. Perhaps Mr Arsenal Jenko can do us this favour.

      1. I prefer to only remember him for his two goals against Fulham in our 05/06 season.

        His legacy of “slick” defending and own goals torments me to bits.

  14. To Jayke man ive been around watching this beloved team of mine since jesus wore shorts. I love the writing of Tim (although i am anti hunting with a passion but thats for another day) and all the contributors on this amazing site. But for all mustafis faults and they roll into double figures, he is not the worst. Mind u him paiired with blockley (Coventry star c/b) or Willie young (came from speerz, 1st song “6”2 eyes of blue, willie young a f****ng jew) and 1st game 1- 4 v Ipswich at home, and gave away a pen. You can imagine the pelters he received. Him an mustafi paired now, doesnt bare thinking about. I will post more afc stuff pre premier league if u guys would like to hear n know what it was like to be a gooner in the 60’s,70’s n 80’s.. if not RESPECT to y all

  15. I will add that Tim. Although we are well into the 21st century i will gladly take a trip down memory lane and re live my boyhood memories (74 super Mac, Malcolm McDonald signs for the gunners for a record 3,333, 333 99p the biggest transfer in our history) and we lose 0 1 to Bristol city (Gerry Gow capt of newly promoted city) or the boxing day massacre of speez when we had 6 shots, 5 went in, Sunderland H/T and Frankie Stapleton hit the bar with the 6th effort on goal. Or Rix’ys debut 3 1 v Ipswich, O’Leary scores 2 and Rix bangs in the 3rd on his debut. Or how about afc v Sunderland. We were going for Europe. The Mc kams(sp) were about to be relegated and played their 3rd choice goalie ‘Barry Sidall’ we needed to win to get euro qualification, he played a blinder in a 0 0 , or the memorable time we played wba at Highbury and jimmy rimmer did the mother of all mistakes but we gooner fans stood behind and beside him, reducing him to tears whilst he was still playing the game. Seriously, love my family on this site but quite a few really dont understand or know what it means to be a Gooner. Ps my email is mkpscott62@yahoo.co.uk. love to u all x

  16. Absolutely no disrespecf to my afc chums on this brilliant site. Please do not confuse my passion with arrogance

  17. Tottenham could not get a point out of Man city. So they remained on 67 points.

    You would think that would push man united to defeat Everton, and go level on points with Tottenham, who are 3rd on the table. But no, Man united lost 4-0. And like all Arsenal fans, i laughed and was joyful.

    Arsenal and Chelsea had the easier ties. Arsenal was going to face Crystal palace at home, knowing fully well that an Arsenal win, will take them 2 points clear of Tottenham, and we will move into 3rd place.

    First of all, Emery choked once again, with the line-up and formation. And like he normally does, he gets it right in the 2nd half by switching things in terms of formation and then with some of the subs. But by that time, Mustafi had made his first mistake, and he went on to make 2 more mistakes that gave Crystal palace an unlikely win at the Emirates.

    I will like to talk a bit more about Emery. I guess some people like him. By now some people hate him. I am indifferent. Judging him objectively, it is hard to see the changes he has brought to Arsenal. He has now been in charge for 50 matches plus one. More than half the time, he gets the tactics, formation and line-ups wrong. When he makes early subs in the 2nd half, and Arsenal are able to get a win or a draw, some people praise him for his tactical nous. I don’t.

    The top drawer coaches i know, have a strategy and philosophy. They wire their team to play to that philosophy, and make slight tactical changes in the big matches, when the opposition’s personnel matches theirs in terms of quality.

    Emery tinkers too much. The team hardly has a solidarity that they take from one game to another, in terms of how they play and how they win.

    The players all claim they do more work on tactics and stuff. But the defence is still shipping in goals, worse than Wenger’s worst seasons. Aubameyang scored 10 goals in 15 premier league games last season, and Lacazette scored 17 in total. This season, despite being available for more time than he did under Wenger, Lacazette has only scored 15 goals all season long.

    Simply put, between defence and attack, Emery has not gotten Arsenal better.

    Arsenal did not do so well in away games last season, but Emery has not done better. He only got his first away game clean sheet in his 15th away game.

    We may still do well in the Europa league, and maybe win it. We may still do well and finish 4th this season., especially now that it seems United, Chelsea and ourselves will carry our inconsistency to the end of the season, but the manager needs to set this team on a playing style that brings the best out of his team.

    And he needs to be less stubborn. There is no Arsenal fan that doubted Ramsey’s loyalty to the club. Emery started benching Ramsey from the beginning of the season. He only started giving him starts in february. Ramsey did not lose anything from that. The club withdrew a gentleman’s agreement from their longest serving player but Juventus pounced and gave him a better deal than we agreed with him. Financially, Ramsey got a better reward from this than Arsenal. Arsenal will pay more than they offered Ramsey, to get a replacement of similar quality. And yet, in the months when the club refused to play him, it was the club that was missing his quality, and not the other way round.

    If we lost some points to the time when Emery decided to bench Ramsey. What about the period when Ozil did not play at all. Those absences could have been worth as many as an additional 10 points. Ask Chelsea how many points they would lose, if Hazard and Kante do not play for 2 months, at the same time.

    So now we are in a position where, if we win our last 4 matches, we will qualify for the champions league again. Who remembers when Arsenal needed to win our last 10 matches to stand a chance of champions league qualification in 12/13 season? Arsenal won them all, as memory recollects. Can anyone compare our squad now to that season? did we have 2 elite strikers in the team like we have right now in Auba and Laca? Ozil was not yet in the team at this time also. Yet we did it. It all looked like nothing then. Wenger was even expected to win the league, still. And so he was blamed for another trophyless season.

    Today, top 4 place is seen as an achievement for Emery. The bar has been set lower for him. All he needed to do achieve it, was win the last 7 matches of the season, none of them coming against a top 6 side. He has lost 2 out of the first 3. The one he won, was against a team that played a man down for 78 minutes, and the winning goal was a goalkeeping mistake that happened before the opposition went a man down.

    He still has 4 matches to redeem himself. He has the advantage of united still having to play City in a derby. And also the good fortune of Chelsea, still having to play United. Mr Emery needs to get his acts together and win the 4th place trophy.

    If he had won against Crystal palace, the team would have a chance to get the 3rd position. Finishing top 3 would have been a good thing for the team mentally. Heading into next season, and qualifying directly for the group stages of the champions league, ahead of Tottenham, United and Chelsea, would have given the players confidence and next season would have been a season to consolidate. Now, we may have lost the chance to finish ahead of Tottenham, but we must not lose the chance to finish top 4.

    Being in the top 4 is more important than winning the Europa league, but achieving both will not be a bad thing. Mr Emery needs to get his acts together, and know his best team, his best formation for the next 4 premier league matches and maybe 3 more in the Europa league.

    For now, he can congratulate himself that Chelsea could not defeat Burnley, and also for the fixtures list, that gives Arsenal an advantage.

    1. “Arsenal will pay more than they offered Ramsey, to get a replacement of similar quality. ”

      It’s cute that you think we’re getting anyone of similar quality. This club is going to cut costs, and I’m not sure we’re getting a top class player in. In fact, I’m not sure Emery wants a Ramsey type of player in midfield anyway.

      As far as I can tell, he would rather have a dribbly, goal threat from an inside forward and width from the fullbacks than play through the centre. The CMs are there just to get the ball wide and act as a shield in transition.

      And this, frustrating as it is, also means judgment on Emery needs to be provisional until next season when he can add the sort of players he wants. Despite Arsenal cutting costs, we’re going to have enough room to get in good players because we’ll be shedding a lot of wages.

      But for now, CL is important, and I think we’ll get there. My gut feel says from both the league and the EL route.

    2. Nice comment Akeem, but on the whole, I would take the 2012/13 team Wenger had, and give them to Emery, if it were possible and we probably would still be in the title race at this stage, with the 12/13′ squad rather than this set of players.

      We need to realize that we were sliding downhill in the previous 2 seasons. It is obviously difficult to expect a new coach to halt the decline and make the team title challengers in just one season.

      Last season there was mental fatigue and a mentality crisis, this season we are dealing with individual failings and we could yet make our destiny, by qualifying for the Champions League. Also glaring is our need for quality.

      We need a clear out of poor players and an influx of better players. Only then can we dream of competing.

      For instance, would you rather have a cut back coming to Iwobi, when you could have Podolski?

      1. “We need to realize that we were sliding downhill in the previous 2 seasons. It is obviously difficult to expect a new coach to halt the decline and make the team title challengers in just one season.“

        How bad was the decline?
        Arsenal lost their last 8 away games of the season.
        I think people underestimate the size of the job needed to turn this sort of mentality around.
        I don’t care if you have ever played ball any level but losing 8 in a row at anything almost requires therapy to get you out of that funk.

  18. first, akeem, i agree with all that you said.
    second, i also agree that cyan was better than he got credit for being. he simply didn’t fit well with arsenal’s high line; he was too slow.
    third, faith is a bit of an introvert but not an a-hole so i have no problem with him.

    the game was tough to watch. mustafi takes a bunch of the blame. on the benteke goal, i don’t know what arsenal were trying to do, strategically, so i can’t, categorically, blame mustafi. you don’t have to tell mustafi he screwed up the zaha goal. like jack said, if the keeper doesn’t call for the ball, assume he’s not coming and play the game. zaha is way too slick to be messing around. in fact, if he weren’t such a drama queen, i’d want zaha at arsenal. back to mustafi, i’ve never been a fan of him coming to arsenal but that was more down to how much arsenal paid for him. he’s had a very good season since christmas. yesterday was simply a bad day as he made a huge mistake on the zaha goal.

    as for emery, you can’t make that many changes simply because of arsenal’s form at home. if there are that many players unavailable (ramsey, xhaka, torreira, sokratis), and you have to play guendouzi/elneny again, considering the everton performance, you can’t rotate jenkinson and mavropanos in. too many substitutions were already forced due to player availability. i understand if monreal can’t play a third game in a week but if he can play, arsenal needed to win that game, meaning he needed to play. i think emery was arrogant because arsenal have been so strong at home.

  19. Man!
    7 changes after Napoli,and before Wolves. It was still good enough to win but
    3 blatant goal gifts (Jenkinson, Mustafi, who else for 3rd?) +shit referee.
    All others: Tottenham, United, Chelsea lost points this weekend. Seems no one want to play CL, or want to play there too badly?
    Arsenal is still on the route to achieve 4th place in euroclubindex and fivethirtyeight.
    If only Chelsea will not win EL it will be enough for CL next season
    Next is Wolves – they play good football all season, but many times the not got what they deserved.
    Expect Emery put near the same eleven that beat Napoli.

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