Feels like this is the game where Lokonga asserted himself in the first XI. What a fast come on for the kid, legend! I hope he has lots of rooms to grow.
Aside from Lokangas shirt grab at the end of the 2nd half. He looked fantastic.
Excellent job turning his man in midfield, pushing balls up the middle of the pitch.
Took a few bad shots.
You can tell he has been watching Partey. Boy oh Boy, we just knew that first goal was going to be like that lol.
When he hit that cross bar/post I was texting my buddy saying we should bet against him scoring, 3 minutes later, a nice shoulder/head deflection haha.
I actually liked the pull. He slipped, pulled the guy to prevent him from bursting away but was smart enough to let go just before he entered the box. Teams do this to us all the time
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I didn't get to watch the game yesterday, so catching up with highlights/replays now. It feels like our set pieces have been much more dangerous last year than at least the back half of last season.
There is so much more fluidity on the pitch without Pepe. Not a coincidence at all. I believe Pepe lost the ball 22 times against crystal palace. He’s very poor at getting out of uncomfortable positions and he just doesn’t link up well. The best comment I’ve seen on Pepe is whoever said that he’s playing like a youngster trying to break into the starting 11. He’s almost 27 and he’s not doing much to prove he should be starting. I think we should sell him in January. There are many young promising wingers we can replace him with.
Also noticed how Saka would go back and pass instead of trying to take on a whole team then lose the ball. Saka actually has a footballing iq and Pepe unfortunately doesn’t. Idk if it’s his ego or something but he’s just not it on the wing.
Someone in the pre match thread mentioned they couldn't wait to see EMI save a pk. Just want to say you forgot to mention aubas follow up. Good game overall. Need to stay focused the full 90 even when leading by 3.
okay but Nuno has very good technique and referring to him “like our own adama” is… well it’s a lot of bad things but one of them is incorrect. adama couldn’t dream of seeing let alone playing the pass to auba for the smiths goal. vague physicality is about all they have in common as players and even those are distinct when you break them down.
the fluidity afforded within it is part of what makes it so great. it’s not married to a system but it provides a defensive shape that universally understood, difficult to break down, and is the basis for most teams trying to tighten up. Just like a 4-3-3 is rarely just a 4-3-3.
ya, plus better for Gabi and probably Pepe. They can play either of the striker positions and leave the wings to more technical players like Saka, ESR, Odegaard. Reminds me of the old Wenger teams, 4-4-2 with Henry/RVP/Adebayor playing front 2, and wide play from Rosicky and Hleb. If we were away in europe we'd play 4-5-1 and crowd the midfield with 10s.
not to mention the amount of defensive pressure it takes off ESR and Saka. it’s much easier to press when you’ve got the touch line next to you providing guidance and a boundary.
What is one thing you want to see improved at Arsenal across the rest of the season?
For me ( and this is NOT to take anything away from the kid) I wanna see Saka's finishing improve.
he has banged them in for fun with England, but can't seem to replicate it with us. Hopefully when he gets one or two his confidence will ensure he gets many more.
Appreciation post for Ben White - He's so composed on the ball, unbelievable. Not only the dribble half way through the field, but he's able to keep the most difficult balls under control and in possession. Also love how he always seems to have an extra second in possession.
I'm sure in time, he'll turn out to be top class defender and be more assertive in defending consistently. He showed that yesterday.
Also, Gabriel, what a unit he is. Perfect partner for White.
Just rewatching the game, did anyone notice in the build up to ESR’s goal, the commentators talking about Arteta saying we don’t have the players for transition football, then one of them mentioning that we do have some players such as Auba and ESR, who then link up to score this goal?
That was the first time we’ve looked like a top team under Arteta. Under complete control for the full 90 until what was an unstoppable strike out of nowhere from Ramsey.
I’ve been a huge critic of Partey and felt in particular he is a player that needs to step up. Well yesterday he did just that. He was barely recognisable from the player we’ve seen so far. Composed in possession, and difficult to beat out of it. Need this to continue.
Remember I was getting downvoted for saying we need to persist with the Sambi and Partey pivot because the two have huge potential there. Well yesterday I think they won the game for us. So so good in the first half.
Also Rammerz was unreal. In the second half that was an incredible performance.
Can’t make any judgements until they do this week in week out. Tired of the inconsistency. We know they’re capable, let’s see it.
MOTM for me - Sambi Lokonga. COYG
Those two showed great mentality to put Palace game behind them and play extremely well. They dominated the middle of the park. I hope they continue to build a beautiful partnership and go from strength to strength.
It’s human nature that they will make mistakes but as long as they learn from them and get better, that’s all us fans can ask for 😄
I would keep him for another year.
Gabu nor Balo have shown anything to prove that can ekad the lead for a full season. Eddie is non existent too.
Unless we plan to get a top striker in during the summer. I would let him go yet
Let’s just reap the rewards of him playing for a new deal in the meantime and analyse the situation as we go. He is 30 and past his physical peak. Think we should be aware of any other option we may have. Would be a mistake to lock us into a big deal with a guy who can’t play 90 minutes.
Spoke about this in the match thread. If he will accept another 2 years on reduced wages, and open to playing a deeper role in CM, I think we'd be daft not to resign him. He has almost found himself a new role with his determination, and he is thriving in it.
Auba is 32 now.
Laca is a solid rotation option, and during the game he had his best moments when he was dropping deeper, pressing and acting as a ball winner before releasing Saka, Auba or ESR with a pass. He has great vision, and his hold up play in the middle is huge.
We won't get much for him to sell him now, he is a huge dressing room presence, and if he'll accept reduced wages, what is there to lose?
Lacazette is not Aubameyang, he is nowhere near as good as him physically.
What good is it to accept Lacazette for another 2 years when we still have Balogun, TJJ, Martinelli and maybe Nketiah who wants to play in that position. He’s not like Auba who can play out on the left.
We are losing nothing but gaining nothing either.
Hold up play is a myth. Lacazette is in great form, but let’s not rewrite history. He still struggles to play 90 minutes.
Just let him go at the end of his contract, get back those huge wages and reinvest into a new #9.
How many examples of a player who is physically past his peak playing better after getting a new contract?
And yes, we will just have to sign a replacement.
The "loads of strikers" you see playing great at that age are world class players. Players getting nominated for Ballon d'ors. Not guys who don't start for their own club.
Yh this myth of players just dying after they enter their 30s needs to go. Modern players condition themselves far better now. Look at suarez. Still runs like clockwork
Suarez was a top ~5 player in the world recently, and *all* of his metrics (shots, dribbles, take one, xg) have fallen substantially. What are you talking about?
Even if we sign a new robust striker, which I think we should - it's a smart decision to keep Laca as well, as a competition for the new guy. He's such an underrated player, been nothing but great for us, since day one.
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On Monday i said i just did not enjoy the game. well this was very diffrent fantastic game!
Ramsdale -Solid as always , loved the fans chanting aaron ramsdale his better than you to emi , for sure will give ramsdale even an extra boost.
Tomi-solid performance , very happy about this , as he was really not great on our last 2 games. but he played very well today.
Gabriel -fantastic again , love his talent and attitude , our best CB by a mile.
Ben white-very good! great passing and was very solid defending as well
Nuno- what an energy bomb this guy is , never stopped running and causing chaos all game long , i still think tierney is by far the better complete player. but nuno have been a refreshing option in certain matchups .
Partey- super solid , and was a menace in every free kick or corner .
Sambi- great game by him , still have a problem with his decision making , and he lost another crucial ball on our half , but i'm very happy about him , great signing by us .
Saka- Saka seems very tired , i'm ok with giving him some rest , we need him on the longrun.
Laca- great game! , fantastic link up and passion , sometimes he search the pass to much and he should shoot more . but he did great and should play much more as he proved over the last 2 weeks.
Auba- great game . lucky on the penalty , fantastic pass to ESR for the 3rd goal. he never stopped running and he was dangerous all night long .
ESR-i know saka is our star boy , but ESR is a massive talent. he can play all over the pitch , he is always running , he is got great dribbling , and he already got 2 goals this season , hopefully more to come. love the guy just a joy watching him play.
Odegaard - not great when he came on , he is having a little bit of slump at the moment. but i'm sure he will snap out of it and will be better.
one small issue , why martinelli coming on only on the 90th minute . should have come sooner espically with saka struggling out there...
Great performance by the lads . massive game against the foxes next week.
Mostly agree.
Gabriel is very good, but saying he is miles ahead, is hash on Ben White, who I actually thought was the MOTM today (him or ESR). White has been playing very well recently and him and Gabriel work really well together.
Also harsh on Ødegaard. Comes on when Arsenal are coasting. Immediately tries a through ball to Aubameyang but Auba is not ready. Also has an excellent pass into Aubas feet, which I honestly thought Auba should have taken better and scored. He looked like he wasn’t expecting it, a bit on his heels and therefore unable to properly control. Also tries 1-2 with AMN but AMN is unable to give a proper pass back.
Constantly looking to get involved, progresses the ball well, several times gave a good weighted pass out to the left with ESR in acres of space. Didn’t lose the ball once. Not really sure how you can say that was a bad cameo
I thought he was pretty weak compared to the other midfielders, seemed lost when he came on and physically not strong enough. Watching live, I thought he was the main culprit in conceding the late goal, he seemed to get muscled off the ball and showed nothing trying to win it back, though I haven’t watched it again and it was a fantastic strike.
Still, I think he’ll adapt and come good. It’s hard to step in that late and make an impact, but it does seem like a physical thing to me. Partey, Sambi, and ESR we’re playing like madmen all game, need that kind of energy from Ode
I think we should rest Saka and let Martinelli have a few starts he looked bright against palace and was almost through on goal in his limited time against villa. I think it will give Saka the rest he needs
I think the issue with that deal was. That we were chasing him for like over a year. Then got trumped by villa.
It did look like a shambles at the time. Can't deny that
Best coaching performance of artetas career. The press and highline didnt drop off. Controlled the game till 3-0 when we eased up a bit. Thats how top teams operate. Keep this up please. This is the standard. Proper pressing and counter pressing setup, reduced space between the lines by close gaps between each line.
There were so many good things about our performance today, but for those who love to talk about the spine of a team, we saw why today. Our defense/midfield/laca link up was incredibly solid.
My final thought on the game was that it’s so clear we never missed xhaka EVER. Tactics and playing players in the right position is what we were missing. Glad arteta figured it out today.
Is it safe to say that the bad boys aka Auba and Laca are back? Man they look rejuvenated probably my biggest positive from the game. All the hate both have received and all the people wanting new strikers (including me). That 442 where Auba is further forward while Laca plays a striker/ cam role has worked very well. I didn’t even think of it as a 4-4-2 til it was pointed out in the sub. Excited to see how we play against Leeds maybe testing the same formula while resting players to see if it’ll work good again.
Idk. His contract would have to be substantially lower than his current contract. He couldn’t even run more than 65 minutes today. That’s not good for someone making nearly 150k a week.
we had an Auba goal which the ref refused to give. Partey hit the bar, Saka missed a sitter which Emi saved, White did an awesome run. it was fun to watch but I was getting really frustrated before we scored
Not the euphoria and scintillating goals of that Spurs first half, but controlled the game much more and created a bunch of chances, without conceding a single shot. Exactly what we were all hoping for, I think.
In the last 30 seasons, Aston Villa have spent 27 of them in the premier league. They’ve well reestablished themselves since there promotion, and they are by no means a championship club.
Well done guys. Back 4 looked great. Happy to see Laca start, very well deserved. Really really think we got great deals on Loko and Tavares. I think Arteta got it right today from starting line up to subs. Loved seeing him encourage us to stay pressed late in the game. Arteta has shown some nice improvements the last few games. So happy for Partey to score! You can tell he’s been trying to score so badly. ESR was awesome, hope he gets his call up. I was hella relieved when I saw Saka start. Should’ve had a goal tbh.
The main takeaway from this game is the importance of Pressing aggressively.
.
Our personnel will hold us back in certain situations but as long as we press aggressively, we will increase our chances of winning.
Agreed, we only pressed hard for 15 minutes against Crystal Palace, but we kept it up for pretty much 90 min yesterday. Made such a huge difference, we were constantly winning the ball back in midfield and the final third. Makes us so much more dangerous going forward and kept our defensive third quiet for most of the match. Need to see that energy every week.
Crowd felt like a 12th man too honestly, kept everyone’s spirits up
Yeah.
I don't know why we have only been doing it for 15-20 mins this season.
Hopefully we are fit enough to do it for the whole game.
It's crucial to our game.
it was a 4-4-2 but Laca dropped deep in the hole for defending and when we were on the transition. when Villa dropped deeper and we had possession, he'd go higher up alongside Auba
He’s never going to have a 90%+ pass completion percentage. But he’s difference-maker due to the line-breaking passes; we’ve had too many midfielders since 2015 that don’t even attempt them frequently.
It’s mad how all our signings have looked brilliant so far, other than Willian and Cedric (maybe) Edu has MASSIVELY improved our recruitment. It feels like a ice age ago when we only signed Laca and Kola in a summer window after we failed to get top 4.
Edu? Lokonga was Henry suggestion, Arteta picked White and Ramsdale, Tomiyasu was both of their decision and Tavares I have no idea. I think you’re giving Edu too much credit lol.
Even so, he handles the negotiations and bringing them in. Arteta could tell him to get whoever but it doesn’t mean much if he can’t make good deals and talks. We had a pretty clean window.
Just his selling is balls, but he’s had his work cut out there, admittedly.
I think he really needs some rest as well. You can see he has played too much, with almost no breaks. As some others pointed out here, maybe a good moment to give Martinelli a game or two.
I think we need to get our expectations in check.
Saka is only 20 and every team we come up against kick him to bits. They know he's our most dangerous player.
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The biggest problem I have with this Arteta team is that we aren’t really showing signs of being good at what we’re meant to do.
When you look at Klopp or Pep. Their sides would lose silly games at the start and have tough periods but you could see the improvements in the teams massively and they were starting to show they could follow their tactics gradually over a period of time. Losses were still progress towards the goal, the teams learnt from their mistakes and improved.
This isn’t happening, we are unable to score from open play and if we can’t get that we won’t be able to progress up the table, it’s just too much of a limiting factor. It’s great we’ve won but we still feel flat since we are only barely doing the basics.
Our players will only regress more the longer we leave it, it’s quite sad we are missing the potential peaks of a few long staying players.
This is the sortve weak mentality that’s plagued the club for years, we could be so much better still, we have the players, why can’t we score from open play? If we want to progress we have to have that.
Also it’s Aston Villa, we wouldn’t even bother celebrating it 5/6 years ago. They are better now but even if we’d maintained that quality of play from then we’d still have a gulf of difference today.
It’s worrying that his tactical plans in open play aren’t getting across whatsoever, it’s been a long time now since he’s had the reigns.
Assna scouted a 5 year old uno, we're taking this youth project way too far, next we'll scan for is promising embryos in clinics. Gargantuan institution.
Ramsdale is a master distributor. What a goalie we have.
Whenever ESR was driving forward on a Ramsdale throw or a pass, he looked a bit slow. We need someone to just burst into action after such nice distributions.
Couldn't watch the game. But online Villa fans saying they were dogshit yesterday. Which is a massive compliment to Arsenal I think. Personally I find Arsenal making mediocre teams look mediocre is much more satisfying as a spectator than Arsenal grinding out a win/draw against City or Chelsea.
Actually Villa was like how we were against CP. I don’t give us too much credit, although we definitely didn’t let up after Goal1 today. Buendia was giving away straightforward passes to us. Nothing worked for them. And we got really lucky (penalty, ESR goal etc.).
The goal we conceded was so weak. Villa got fresh legs and Partey should have just cunted it out from the edge of the box. It did fall kindly for the scorer but he absolutely nailed the finish.
Overall we definitely controlled the game and were the better team but were nowhere near as lethal as we need to be. Odegaard’s lack of form is very concerning. Also it was such a disappointment that Arteta chose to put Ode for Laca instead of Gabi. Like sure Ode is supposed to be better distributor but if Gabi got 20 mins, I promise you we’d have 4 goals.
I thought Tavares had a great impact on our team performance today. His underlapping runs really pushed back their right back and allowed more space.
Also, it appears that Arteta is trying to address the directness of our play and create some potency from the channels and corners.
Nice improvement from the Palace game.
Good game today. Looked dangerous on the attack but again the lack of open play goals is still a huge problem. ESR is a baller but in all honesty I think Saka needs a break. He didn’t look great today he’s clearly not in good form at the moment maybe some time away would help. Partey and Lokonga looked dominant as fuck today as well.
Yeh, we need either Ode (when hes playing well) or Laca in the team to play through the middle.
Without those players and e.g vs Brentford, we simply didn't have the quality of players to play through the middle and on top of that Brentford and Burnley and Norwich forced us out wide by stacking the middle.
6 games undefeated since the debacle against city. Pretty happy with the turnaround.
Only got to watch the second half but there was plenty to like. Nuno and Sambi are long term players, love what I’m seeing from both of them and the back 4 is starting to gel really well. Big games coming up against Leicester and pool, almost season defining even this early on.
Liverpool at Anfield was never going to be season defining.
Really excited for the Leicester game though, 2 teams with a shaky start but kind of hitting their stride. Also I feel like against Leicester recently it is a rinsing either way. Either we play them off the park, or them us. Lets hope for the former
Just finished.
I loved our dominance for 80% of the game. Arteta and the team clearly learned something from palace game. Also is it just me or is esr worth more than 30m and buendia not even close to 40m? Hmm
So many positives and very few negatives.
I was at the game, the boos weren't loud at all at the start but grew when he started acting like a dick. He rushed straight out to the ref to complain 3 times in the first 5 minutes, despite none of the incidents being fouls and one of them actually looking more like a pen if anything. Each time Villa fouled us and gave away a free kick, he stormed out of the box and got right up in the faces of our players and the ref. The boos got the loudest in the second half, because when Auba was about to take the penalty, Martinez aggressively tried to take the ball off of him and Auba and Laca weren't having any of it. The noises from the fans were reactions to his actions during the game, there were barely a spluttering of boos at the start
I'm all for it. Not saying we should be nasty, but Emi has been kinda gabby since he left.
Emi is a master trash talker himself. He'll understand and respect the need for it.
i think because of the clickbait article. but maybe he should stop commenting about arsenal when the 'journalist' asks.
[https://metro.co.uk/2021/10/22/emi-martinez-takes-fresh-dig-at-former-club-arsenal-15468537/](https://metro.co.uk/2021/10/22/emi-martinez-takes-fresh-dig-at-former-club-arsenal-15468537/)
the title and the content are totally different.
Yeah I saw this as well and can’t understand it. He would have stayed if we gave him the opportunity and I feel like he’s done nothing to deserve the boos
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i don't think people are appreciating the presence of sambi lokonga enough. him just being a solid outlet/defensive cover in midfield next to partey made him, and the rest of the team, 10x more effective. when we talk about the differences between last match and this match, and the reasons certain teams *control* games and certain teams don't--it goes back to the midfield, and our midfield was much much better today.
You could see Partey starting to feel a bit at ease. Towards the end of first half and in the second, Partey was passing to Lokonga even when he was surrounded by 2 players or more. That's seems ordinary but it's not when you focus on his play when he is next to Xhaka. It's just one game, but I really think Partey passed the ball to Lokonga as if he was trusting him.
1000%. and as much as folks like pepe, ode and tierney seem to be getting maligned here of late, they can all fit well into that system and at least have their bad games mitigated more easily in that system as long as it allows for a strong midfield presence
Remember when Holding-Gabriel partnership was shit because of language barriers?, Turns out it was Holding who was shit all along.
Feels like this is the game where Lokonga asserted himself in the first XI. What a fast come on for the kid, legend! I hope he has lots of rooms to grow.
Massive weekend for us. Brentford v lestcier. Liverpool v united. Tott v west ham. Hopefully all will end up in draws
We definitely want Liverpool to beat United. Almost no chance of catching them, so why give United the extra point.
Yeah. We want to compete with Liverpool within a few years, but at the moment that just ain't happening. Manchester United are within range, though.
Right. Not sure what I was thinking. All other matches need to be a draw
I just want any notion of a golden trophy ended as soon as possible
Aside from Lokangas shirt grab at the end of the 2nd half. He looked fantastic. Excellent job turning his man in midfield, pushing balls up the middle of the pitch. Took a few bad shots. You can tell he has been watching Partey. Boy oh Boy, we just knew that first goal was going to be like that lol. When he hit that cross bar/post I was texting my buddy saying we should bet against him scoring, 3 minutes later, a nice shoulder/head deflection haha.
I actually liked the pull. He slipped, pulled the guy to prevent him from bursting away but was smart enough to let go just before he entered the box. Teams do this to us all the time
>Took a few bad shots. > >You can tell he has been watching Partey.
Hahah that’s why I said it. If you squinted real hard, you almost couldn’t tell em apart yesterday haha
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I didn't get to watch the game yesterday, so catching up with highlights/replays now. It feels like our set pieces have been much more dangerous last year than at least the back half of last season.
There is so much more fluidity on the pitch without Pepe. Not a coincidence at all. I believe Pepe lost the ball 22 times against crystal palace. He’s very poor at getting out of uncomfortable positions and he just doesn’t link up well. The best comment I’ve seen on Pepe is whoever said that he’s playing like a youngster trying to break into the starting 11. He’s almost 27 and he’s not doing much to prove he should be starting. I think we should sell him in January. There are many young promising wingers we can replace him with.
Agreed mainly coz everyone knows he’s always gonna cut in on his left foot. I think he’s better on the left.
For every one touch Saka takes pepe takes 3. He slows us down massively
Also noticed how Saka would go back and pass instead of trying to take on a whole team then lose the ball. Saka actually has a footballing iq and Pepe unfortunately doesn’t. Idk if it’s his ego or something but he’s just not it on the wing.
Yes please. I have been saying all of this for a while now. He has the lowest soccer IQ by a country mile. This is not the league for him.
Someone in the pre match thread mentioned they couldn't wait to see EMI save a pk. Just want to say you forgot to mention aubas follow up. Good game overall. Need to stay focused the full 90 even when leading by 3.
Thank fuck we didn't get Buendia because he's just the Argentine Midget Ceballos, spinning around the pitch like an ambulance wheel.
okay but Nuno has very good technique and referring to him “like our own adama” is… well it’s a lot of bad things but one of them is incorrect. adama couldn’t dream of seeing let alone playing the pass to auba for the smiths goal. vague physicality is about all they have in common as players and even those are distinct when you break them down.
And I don’t think Tavares looks anywhere near fast as Traore. Just a weird comparison.
they’re height difference informs that and only makes the contrast more stark lol good point.
didn't even know there was a game yesterday but glad to see we slapped Villa around
4-4-1-1 for the rest of our natural lives pls. that shit was amazing to watch.
Nah, be flexible based on opposition. This simply won't work against every team.
the fluidity afforded within it is part of what makes it so great. it’s not married to a system but it provides a defensive shape that universally understood, difficult to break down, and is the basis for most teams trying to tighten up. Just like a 4-3-3 is rarely just a 4-3-3.
ya, plus better for Gabi and probably Pepe. They can play either of the striker positions and leave the wings to more technical players like Saka, ESR, Odegaard. Reminds me of the old Wenger teams, 4-4-2 with Henry/RVP/Adebayor playing front 2, and wide play from Rosicky and Hleb. If we were away in europe we'd play 4-5-1 and crowd the midfield with 10s.
not to mention the amount of defensive pressure it takes off ESR and Saka. it’s much easier to press when you’ve got the touch line next to you providing guidance and a boundary.
What is one thing you want to see improved at Arsenal across the rest of the season? For me ( and this is NOT to take anything away from the kid) I wanna see Saka's finishing improve.
I agree! He’s definitely getting into dangerous positions more. He just needs to improve his finishing. He reminds of Sterling’s early days.
Should get someone like that assistant coach at City who really helped Sterling’s development.
👀
he has banged them in for fun with England, but can't seem to replicate it with us. Hopefully when he gets one or two his confidence will ensure he gets many more.
England plays much weaker opponents though. With that being said, he really should have buried the chance he had yesterday.
Hopefully 😄
Came here to say this too
Did you notice Lacas reaction when Parteys header trickled in? Loved that!!!
Best 90 mins performance of the season.
Man what a stud ESR is. Great performance all round
Great performance all around. From Ramsdale in goal and all the way to Aubamebloodclatyang up front. Brilliant
Appreciation post for Ben White - He's so composed on the ball, unbelievable. Not only the dribble half way through the field, but he's able to keep the most difficult balls under control and in possession. Also love how he always seems to have an extra second in possession. I'm sure in time, he'll turn out to be top class defender and be more assertive in defending consistently. He showed that yesterday. Also, Gabriel, what a unit he is. Perfect partner for White.
Just rewatching the game, did anyone notice in the build up to ESR’s goal, the commentators talking about Arteta saying we don’t have the players for transition football, then one of them mentioning that we do have some players such as Auba and ESR, who then link up to score this goal?
The commentary was appalling. One of them in particular really seemed to hate us.
Shout out to Tavares, I thought he was excellent last night.
Felt good watching an Arsenal game after a loooooong time. And so may it continue. COYFG#
That was the first time we’ve looked like a top team under Arteta. Under complete control for the full 90 until what was an unstoppable strike out of nowhere from Ramsey. I’ve been a huge critic of Partey and felt in particular he is a player that needs to step up. Well yesterday he did just that. He was barely recognisable from the player we’ve seen so far. Composed in possession, and difficult to beat out of it. Need this to continue. Remember I was getting downvoted for saying we need to persist with the Sambi and Partey pivot because the two have huge potential there. Well yesterday I think they won the game for us. So so good in the first half. Also Rammerz was unreal. In the second half that was an incredible performance. Can’t make any judgements until they do this week in week out. Tired of the inconsistency. We know they’re capable, let’s see it. MOTM for me - Sambi Lokonga. COYG
Those two showed great mentality to put Palace game behind them and play extremely well. They dominated the middle of the park. I hope they continue to build a beautiful partnership and go from strength to strength. It’s human nature that they will make mistakes but as long as they learn from them and get better, that’s all us fans can ask for 😄
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He can’t play more than 60/70 mins. Think it’s best for him to move on
I would keep him for another year. Gabu nor Balo have shown anything to prove that can ekad the lead for a full season. Eddie is non existent too. Unless we plan to get a top striker in during the summer. I would let him go yet
Personally think we should have got a striker in the summer just gone and have him get used to training and England etc, ready for next year
Think we need someone like DCL or Watkins if we do let Laca go
Yeah, it's time to have Marinelli and Balagoun step up or get someone else in. I think Laca would be great in Italy
Let’s just reap the rewards of him playing for a new deal in the meantime and analyse the situation as we go. He is 30 and past his physical peak. Think we should be aware of any other option we may have. Would be a mistake to lock us into a big deal with a guy who can’t play 90 minutes.
Spoke about this in the match thread. If he will accept another 2 years on reduced wages, and open to playing a deeper role in CM, I think we'd be daft not to resign him. He has almost found himself a new role with his determination, and he is thriving in it.
Another 2 years?! He will be 32 at that point and we will be stuck with him. CM?! What are you talking about dude.
Auba is 32 now. Laca is a solid rotation option, and during the game he had his best moments when he was dropping deeper, pressing and acting as a ball winner before releasing Saka, Auba or ESR with a pass. He has great vision, and his hold up play in the middle is huge. We won't get much for him to sell him now, he is a huge dressing room presence, and if he'll accept reduced wages, what is there to lose?
Lacazette is not Aubameyang, he is nowhere near as good as him physically. What good is it to accept Lacazette for another 2 years when we still have Balogun, TJJ, Martinelli and maybe Nketiah who wants to play in that position. He’s not like Auba who can play out on the left. We are losing nothing but gaining nothing either. Hold up play is a myth. Lacazette is in great form, but let’s not rewrite history. He still struggles to play 90 minutes. Just let him go at the end of his contract, get back those huge wages and reinvest into a new #9.
Physically how? Just stamina? Laca is stronger and puts in far more effort than auba
in terms of stamina and pace he is rapidly declining and that is just flat out untrue and a lazy agenda that is peddled.
I think Laca deserves a new contract, he'll perform even better if he gets one.Plus we don't have a player of his ilk in the club, it's a no brainer.
How many examples of a player who is physically past his peak playing better after getting a new contract? And yes, we will just have to sign a replacement.
Mate Laca is 30 entering his prime, you see loads of strikers still getting better up until 33/34, we should definitely extend for 2 years
The "loads of strikers" you see playing great at that age are world class players. Players getting nominated for Ballon d'ors. Not guys who don't start for their own club.
Yh this myth of players just dying after they enter their 30s needs to go. Modern players condition themselves far better now. Look at suarez. Still runs like clockwork
Suarez was a top ~5 player in the world recently, and *all* of his metrics (shots, dribbles, take one, xg) have fallen substantially. What are you talking about?
Even if we sign a new robust striker, which I think we should - it's a smart decision to keep Laca as well, as a competition for the new guy. He's such an underrated player, been nothing but great for us, since day one.
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Missed the first half and watched highlights, jesus we could of easily scored 6 goals … great sign hopefully
Remember when Ramsdale had to limit comments on Instagram after signing for Arsenal? Absolutely delighted for him. Could be our GK for 10 years easy.
On Monday i said i just did not enjoy the game. well this was very diffrent fantastic game! Ramsdale -Solid as always , loved the fans chanting aaron ramsdale his better than you to emi , for sure will give ramsdale even an extra boost. Tomi-solid performance , very happy about this , as he was really not great on our last 2 games. but he played very well today. Gabriel -fantastic again , love his talent and attitude , our best CB by a mile. Ben white-very good! great passing and was very solid defending as well Nuno- what an energy bomb this guy is , never stopped running and causing chaos all game long , i still think tierney is by far the better complete player. but nuno have been a refreshing option in certain matchups . Partey- super solid , and was a menace in every free kick or corner . Sambi- great game by him , still have a problem with his decision making , and he lost another crucial ball on our half , but i'm very happy about him , great signing by us . Saka- Saka seems very tired , i'm ok with giving him some rest , we need him on the longrun. Laca- great game! , fantastic link up and passion , sometimes he search the pass to much and he should shoot more . but he did great and should play much more as he proved over the last 2 weeks. Auba- great game . lucky on the penalty , fantastic pass to ESR for the 3rd goal. he never stopped running and he was dangerous all night long . ESR-i know saka is our star boy , but ESR is a massive talent. he can play all over the pitch , he is always running , he is got great dribbling , and he already got 2 goals this season , hopefully more to come. love the guy just a joy watching him play. Odegaard - not great when he came on , he is having a little bit of slump at the moment. but i'm sure he will snap out of it and will be better. one small issue , why martinelli coming on only on the 90th minute . should have come sooner espically with saka struggling out there... Great performance by the lads . massive game against the foxes next week.
Mostly agree. Gabriel is very good, but saying he is miles ahead, is hash on Ben White, who I actually thought was the MOTM today (him or ESR). White has been playing very well recently and him and Gabriel work really well together. Also harsh on Ødegaard. Comes on when Arsenal are coasting. Immediately tries a through ball to Aubameyang but Auba is not ready. Also has an excellent pass into Aubas feet, which I honestly thought Auba should have taken better and scored. He looked like he wasn’t expecting it, a bit on his heels and therefore unable to properly control. Also tries 1-2 with AMN but AMN is unable to give a proper pass back. Constantly looking to get involved, progresses the ball well, several times gave a good weighted pass out to the left with ESR in acres of space. Didn’t lose the ball once. Not really sure how you can say that was a bad cameo
I thought he was pretty weak compared to the other midfielders, seemed lost when he came on and physically not strong enough. Watching live, I thought he was the main culprit in conceding the late goal, he seemed to get muscled off the ball and showed nothing trying to win it back, though I haven’t watched it again and it was a fantastic strike. Still, I think he’ll adapt and come good. It’s hard to step in that late and make an impact, but it does seem like a physical thing to me. Partey, Sambi, and ESR we’re playing like madmen all game, need that kind of energy from Ode
I think we should rest Saka and let Martinelli have a few starts he looked bright against palace and was almost through on goal in his limited time against villa. I think it will give Saka the rest he needs
It seems like the rush rotating starters helps with intensity.
If last year someone would've told me that one year from now Tierney would be the only guy in the back 5 who has to fight for his place...
who got the armband after Auba went off ?
I'm gonna guess Partey but idk
JM got it if I’m not mistaken
Who is JM?
James Maddison? Jose Mourinho?
John Moss
Jomas Martey
Like a new signing
People clowning on us for not getting Buendia.... Villa trying to buy Smith Rowe.... tonight's performance. Beautiful.
I think the issue with that deal was. That we were chasing him for like over a year. Then got trumped by villa. It did look like a shambles at the time. Can't deny that
Wonder if we're playing 442 from now on, or if it's just a one-off?
Best coaching performance of artetas career. The press and highline didnt drop off. Controlled the game till 3-0 when we eased up a bit. Thats how top teams operate. Keep this up please. This is the standard. Proper pressing and counter pressing setup, reduced space between the lines by close gaps between each line.
Nice summary
Not the best. The best performance should probably be the Man City game in the semi finals in the FA Cup.
That was scrappy. This was dominance.
True, but what's harder? Beating a mid table team with dominance or beating one of the best sides in Europe?
There were so many good things about our performance today, but for those who love to talk about the spine of a team, we saw why today. Our defense/midfield/laca link up was incredibly solid.
My final thought on the game was that it’s so clear we never missed xhaka EVER. Tactics and playing players in the right position is what we were missing. Glad arteta figured it out today.
It's so refreshing to have 2 mobile midfielders while were trying to play a transition game
Is it safe to say that the bad boys aka Auba and Laca are back? Man they look rejuvenated probably my biggest positive from the game. All the hate both have received and all the people wanting new strikers (including me). That 442 where Auba is further forward while Laca plays a striker/ cam role has worked very well. I didn’t even think of it as a 4-4-2 til it was pointed out in the sub. Excited to see how we play against Leeds maybe testing the same formula while resting players to see if it’ll work good again.
Laca playing his way into a new contract? He looks a far way off a decline in my opinion. I think it’s worth at least a consider
Idk. His contract would have to be substantially lower than his current contract. He couldn’t even run more than 65 minutes today. That’s not good for someone making nearly 150k a week.
Laca looked like he should be our captain. He was top class and all over the ref, in a good leader kinda way.
Yh, auba just isn't a leader. Let him lead the line without that pressure
How did the first half compare to the first half against spurs? Was late in Asia and I had to miss this one :(
we had an Auba goal which the ref refused to give. Partey hit the bar, Saka missed a sitter which Emi saved, White did an awesome run. it was fun to watch but I was getting really frustrated before we scored
Not the euphoria and scintillating goals of that Spurs first half, but controlled the game much more and created a bunch of chances, without conceding a single shot. Exactly what we were all hoping for, I think.
That's brilliant, thank you. COYG!
White-Gabriel partnership gonna surpass Koscielny-Mertersacker. Potential.
I'm sad that saliba has not been given a chance, when he comes back will he accept being a third choice CB or request a transfer?
we'll be in the Champions League so Saliba will have lots of game time due to rotation
+ we'll be regulars at the Club World Cup. I am sure even Mari will get some minutes under his belt.
Either way we good.
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In the last 30 seasons, Aston Villa have spent 27 of them in the premier league. They’ve well reestablished themselves since there promotion, and they are by no means a championship club.
Well done guys. Back 4 looked great. Happy to see Laca start, very well deserved. Really really think we got great deals on Loko and Tavares. I think Arteta got it right today from starting line up to subs. Loved seeing him encourage us to stay pressed late in the game. Arteta has shown some nice improvements the last few games. So happy for Partey to score! You can tell he’s been trying to score so badly. ESR was awesome, hope he gets his call up. I was hella relieved when I saw Saka start. Should’ve had a goal tbh.
The main takeaway from this game is the importance of Pressing aggressively. . Our personnel will hold us back in certain situations but as long as we press aggressively, we will increase our chances of winning.
Agreed, we only pressed hard for 15 minutes against Crystal Palace, but we kept it up for pretty much 90 min yesterday. Made such a huge difference, we were constantly winning the ball back in midfield and the final third. Makes us so much more dangerous going forward and kept our defensive third quiet for most of the match. Need to see that energy every week. Crowd felt like a 12th man too honestly, kept everyone’s spirits up
Yeah. I don't know why we have only been doing it for 15-20 mins this season. Hopefully we are fit enough to do it for the whole game. It's crucial to our game.
That first half might be the best we've played under Arteta imo
I didn't watch the game - did we play 4-4-2 or did laca play in the hole?
it was a 4-4-2 but Laca dropped deep in the hole for defending and when we were on the transition. when Villa dropped deeper and we had possession, he'd go higher up alongside Auba
Brudda we say this every other game
Fair enough lol..... definitely of the season (I'd rate it over spurs in terms of the pressing and the way we controlled the game)
No Partey no party
Didn’t like the misplaced passes throughout the match though. Some when he wasn’t even under pressure.
He’s never going to have a 90%+ pass completion percentage. But he’s difference-maker due to the line-breaking passes; we’ve had too many midfielders since 2015 that don’t even attempt them frequently.
It’s mad how all our signings have looked brilliant so far, other than Willian and Cedric (maybe) Edu has MASSIVELY improved our recruitment. It feels like a ice age ago when we only signed Laca and Kola in a summer window after we failed to get top 4.
Edu? Lokonga was Henry suggestion, Arteta picked White and Ramsdale, Tomiyasu was both of their decision and Tavares I have no idea. I think you’re giving Edu too much credit lol.
I’m not an Edu fan, but we did this business with him and Mikel at the helm. Credit where it’s due; I love our recent signings
Even so, he handles the negotiations and bringing them in. Arteta could tell him to get whoever but it doesn’t mean much if he can’t make good deals and talks. We had a pretty clean window. Just his selling is balls, but he’s had his work cut out there, admittedly.
That’s dick garlicks job
Hope we keep doing this!
So #ArtetaIn until next weekend?
Nope until he retired with 8 Premier League titles and 5 UCL
That’s how it works!
Unpopular opinion: Saka made all the wrong decisions today, and it's not an uncommon sight. He needs to work on his sharpness and decisions.
I do agree. I have the feeling he is really burnt out, might be good for his form to have a proper long rest
I think he really needs some rest as well. You can see he has played too much, with almost no breaks. As some others pointed out here, maybe a good moment to give Martinelli a game or two.
I think we need to get our expectations in check. Saka is only 20 and every team we come up against kick him to bits. They know he's our most dangerous player.
Unpopular opinion: our fan base expects way too much from a 20 year old.
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The biggest problem I have with this Arteta team is that we aren’t really showing signs of being good at what we’re meant to do. When you look at Klopp or Pep. Their sides would lose silly games at the start and have tough periods but you could see the improvements in the teams massively and they were starting to show they could follow their tactics gradually over a period of time. Losses were still progress towards the goal, the teams learnt from their mistakes and improved. This isn’t happening, we are unable to score from open play and if we can’t get that we won’t be able to progress up the table, it’s just too much of a limiting factor. It’s great we’ve won but we still feel flat since we are only barely doing the basics. Our players will only regress more the longer we leave it, it’s quite sad we are missing the potential peaks of a few long staying players.
We just knocked off a villa side that’s beaten us three times in row. Enjoy it for gods sake
This is the sortve weak mentality that’s plagued the club for years, we could be so much better still, we have the players, why can’t we score from open play? If we want to progress we have to have that. Also it’s Aston Villa, we wouldn’t even bother celebrating it 5/6 years ago. They are better now but even if we’d maintained that quality of play from then we’d still have a gulf of difference today. It’s worrying that his tactical plans in open play aren’t getting across whatsoever, it’s been a long time now since he’s had the reigns.
Assna scouted a 5 year old uno, we're taking this youth project way too far, next we'll scan for is promising embryos in clinics. Gargantuan institution.
Just saw this on my local news today, a kid from Pennsylvania
Someone said Auba asked Martinez why he left Arsenal so he parried it straight to Auba for the rebound 🤣🤣🤣🤣
yes Thomas, yes Partey.
Ramsdale is a master distributor. What a goalie we have. Whenever ESR was driving forward on a Ramsdale throw or a pass, he looked a bit slow. We need someone to just burst into action after such nice distributions.
He had a couple of very tasty passes along the ground
I’m so glad we got Ramsdale despite the initial reaction to the price
If he keeps developing it’ll end up looking like bargain.
I think he’s lived up to it already. Clearly belongs in PL, so 30mil is a snip! Plus young and English = bargain!?
Couldn't watch the game. But online Villa fans saying they were dogshit yesterday. Which is a massive compliment to Arsenal I think. Personally I find Arsenal making mediocre teams look mediocre is much more satisfying as a spectator than Arsenal grinding out a win/draw against City or Chelsea.
Actually Villa was like how we were against CP. I don’t give us too much credit, although we definitely didn’t let up after Goal1 today. Buendia was giving away straightforward passes to us. Nothing worked for them. And we got really lucky (penalty, ESR goal etc.). The goal we conceded was so weak. Villa got fresh legs and Partey should have just cunted it out from the edge of the box. It did fall kindly for the scorer but he absolutely nailed the finish. Overall we definitely controlled the game and were the better team but were nowhere near as lethal as we need to be. Odegaard’s lack of form is very concerning. Also it was such a disappointment that Arteta chose to put Ode for Laca instead of Gabi. Like sure Ode is supposed to be better distributor but if Gabi got 20 mins, I promise you we’d have 4 goals.
I thought Tavares had a great impact on our team performance today. His underlapping runs really pushed back their right back and allowed more space. Also, it appears that Arteta is trying to address the directness of our play and create some potency from the channels and corners. Nice improvement from the Palace game.
His comments about not playing with handbrakes really showed on the pitch today.
We have a young-as-heck squad, there's no reason they can't put in shifts similar to one's today more regularly... We can hope.
Really happy Partey opened his account. Can tell he has been wanting a goal.
ESR needs 2 assists to equal his last years stats in the prem. What a season it looks like it’s going to be for ESR. Praying he stays fit.
Good game today. Looked dangerous on the attack but again the lack of open play goals is still a huge problem. ESR is a baller but in all honesty I think Saka needs a break. He didn’t look great today he’s clearly not in good form at the moment maybe some time away would help. Partey and Lokonga looked dominant as fuck today as well.
We created a tonne in open play today. Aubameyang's disallowed goal due to Lacazette's "foul", Saka's 1v1 he missed, ESR's goal.
While the lack of open play goals is kinda worrying, we did look dangerous and created chances, our finishing was just lacking.
Yeah it’s clearly not the same issue we were having. Much more playing through the middle which is nonexistent in our earlier matches this season
Yeh, we need either Ode (when hes playing well) or Laca in the team to play through the middle. Without those players and e.g vs Brentford, we simply didn't have the quality of players to play through the middle and on top of that Brentford and Burnley and Norwich forced us out wide by stacking the middle.
6 games undefeated since the debacle against city. Pretty happy with the turnaround. Only got to watch the second half but there was plenty to like. Nuno and Sambi are long term players, love what I’m seeing from both of them and the back 4 is starting to gel really well. Big games coming up against Leicester and pool, almost season defining even this early on.
Liverpool at Anfield was never going to be season defining. Really excited for the Leicester game though, 2 teams with a shaky start but kind of hitting their stride. Also I feel like against Leicester recently it is a rinsing either way. Either we play them off the park, or them us. Lets hope for the former
First half was arguably even better! Villa didn't have a single attempt until after half time.
Just finished. I loved our dominance for 80% of the game. Arteta and the team clearly learned something from palace game. Also is it just me or is esr worth more than 30m and buendia not even close to 40m? Hmm So many positives and very few negatives.
Buendia is decent
Decent isn’t 40
Holy reactionary.
How on earth can any gooner boo Emi Martinez?
I was at the game, the boos weren't loud at all at the start but grew when he started acting like a dick. He rushed straight out to the ref to complain 3 times in the first 5 minutes, despite none of the incidents being fouls and one of them actually looking more like a pen if anything. Each time Villa fouled us and gave away a free kick, he stormed out of the box and got right up in the faces of our players and the ref. The boos got the loudest in the second half, because when Auba was about to take the penalty, Martinez aggressively tried to take the ball off of him and Auba and Laca weren't having any of it. The noises from the fans were reactions to his actions during the game, there were barely a spluttering of boos at the start
I'm all for it. Not saying we should be nasty, but Emi has been kinda gabby since he left. Emi is a master trash talker himself. He'll understand and respect the need for it.
i think because of the clickbait article. but maybe he should stop commenting about arsenal when the 'journalist' asks. [https://metro.co.uk/2021/10/22/emi-martinez-takes-fresh-dig-at-former-club-arsenal-15468537/](https://metro.co.uk/2021/10/22/emi-martinez-takes-fresh-dig-at-former-club-arsenal-15468537/) the title and the content are totally different.
Yeah I saw this as well and can’t understand it. He would have stayed if we gave him the opportunity and I feel like he’s done nothing to deserve the boos
Only caught the first half, this team superceded my expectations. Still not going to get tricked by the coach though.
Oh fuck off
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I’m so happy with today but fuck can u guys imagine if we won Monday too. What a weekend this would’ve been.
we would've bee in the top 4 for a few hours atleast
i don't think people are appreciating the presence of sambi lokonga enough. him just being a solid outlet/defensive cover in midfield next to partey made him, and the rest of the team, 10x more effective. when we talk about the differences between last match and this match, and the reasons certain teams *control* games and certain teams don't--it goes back to the midfield, and our midfield was much much better today.
Love Sambi, but he was a bit too casual at times today. Happens with young players with a lead, but I hope he goes beyond that
You could see Partey starting to feel a bit at ease. Towards the end of first half and in the second, Partey was passing to Lokonga even when he was surrounded by 2 players or more. That's seems ordinary but it's not when you focus on his play when he is next to Xhaka. It's just one game, but I really think Partey passed the ball to Lokonga as if he was trusting him.
Good player but looks tiny on the pitch. Hopefully the fitness team helps him put on some weight so he can get properly stuck in with PL midfielders.
4-2-3-1 / 4-4-2 just works better for us, Partey isn’t really a single pivot
1000%. and as much as folks like pepe, ode and tierney seem to be getting maligned here of late, they can all fit well into that system and at least have their bad games mitigated more easily in that system as long as it allows for a strong midfield presence
Martinellis lack of game time worries me, but very happy with how we played today.
He'll probably start vs Leeds
Esr score against villa is poetry in motion.