Notice that the 3rd goal started from Leno playing it out short to holding. Xhaka plays an important part in bringing it out further by knowing that it is actually fairly easy to side step a player rushing directly at you with a high press, the defender finds it difficult to stop and change direction, Anyway from the left back it gets switched centrally and then right, then the final beauty of the dummy, the return and the classic square ball for a tap in.

Emery must have loved it and one in the eye for the dinosaurs of the football punditry world (Allerdyce) who say you shouldn't play like that.

Yes, I was being a bit harsh

Özil as a 10, not out on the right wing. This is where he has to play. If it means Ramsey on the bench or Ramsey being used in cup games only then that is what it has to be, even more so as only 1 of those two is currently committed to the club. We can't break up the 2 holding mid axis (including Guendouzi in that) as I think adding Ramsey there doesn't work because I just don't think he can curb is attacking instincts

Our best 11 changes each game because players keep playing their way in to it. Aubamayang has 4 goals in about 40 minutes of football, how can we get him and lacazette starting? Iwobi has to start games right now.

That goal was all about 3 pieces of brilliance from Özil. The initial flick opened up the space, not Leno playing a short pass to a centreback. You don't need your keeper to play keep ball with his defenders to open up a team's midfield.

Big difference to the "enjoyment" level too.

The celebration after each goal shows the current camaraderie within the squad. I think the team genuinely play for, and with, each other now. Liking the body language, especially from Özil!

Xhaka has improved much this season. Kudos to him.

10 wins out of 10, not an easy feat. Keep pushing on and build up towards the bigger games. This team looks to have a stronger mental fortitude. I think the key difference is their freedom to express. I enjoyed the runs from deep (Bellerin) to up the momentum of the attack. Less of the side and back passes. I am finally enjoying Arsenal games again. Long may it continue.

3 very brilliant goals but the speed of passing & individual responsibility players are taking was very impressive. The players have some belief & even us fans are being swept up. Yep there will be some bad results ahead but if you told me would have 21 points before the end of October I would have bitten your hand off at the beginning of the season.

Never mind the media. Some of our fans need to look at how quickly they get on players' backs and write them off when they are going through a bad patch.

As for our defense, I think it is a work in progress. Tonight's shakiness was hardly surprising considering.

Of course the main reason for the goal are the sublime pieces of play from Özil, but my point is without the play it out from the back policy that doesn’t happen, Leno more likely hoofs the ball downfield, or if he doesn’t holding does

Test Message ...

You are a fine one to talk. On the evidence at hand, I would say that you are the one who might encounter problems in that setting.

You let fly rather too easily.

I wonder. Bellerin's comments definitely suggest we are playing rope a dope. Most of the teams in the top flight have decent attackers and have to be show some respect. In any case it is better to start slow and finish like a runaway locomotive than do the Babu routine.

Arsene who?

There is a difference between playing out from the back and playing triangles with the keeper. You don't need to do that to play through a side. It's very much a Pep thing.

There is an error on the forum which is preventing me from doing updates and accessing the main pages for the site.

It doesn't affect posting, just admin access for me. I am looking into it.

I suspect it may may be related to our 10 game winning streak as this is something which has not been seen in such a long time.

Yes he has. Difficult to gauge how much the of the improvement is down to having a little Rottweiler next to him chasing every ball down

Point still stands though, it was a tight situation and it would’ve been very easy to just hoof it. The team is obviously determined to play the ball out from the back, and this time it lead to one of the best goals any team will score this season. Kudos to Emery for sticking to his conviction even though everyone was one his case from day one.

The big plus is we are winning the games we should be winning hence 10 straight. The test will come with a top 6 club.
I really do wonder if Wenger is happy to see Arsenal winning. I really don't know how petty he is. I hope he isn't but if I heard he was a bit jealous I wouldn't be shocked.
The big thing about Emery is he knows how to make adjustments.

Yeah, some people can get really obsessed with petty grudges.

Booboo III + Oxygen = Thief

Not that difficult, he was playing really well before Torreria began starting games. Overall he’s been excellent in his own right this season. Really like the partnership with him and Torreira.

He must mean the Real Madrid manager-in-waiting. I read he was 69 yesterday (no hilarious nudge nudge, wink wink cracks please). Know how he must feel, he put years on most of us.

If we could keep the score to 0-0 every first half we could be the best team in the league.

Liking it playing safe and then letting rip which we could do earlier against the lower teams but for now I'd love us to keep it tight then run the opposition out of the game.

I'm afraid some rather disturbing footage has emerged of Torreira involved in an altercation with Newcastle's Jonjo Shelvey. Luckily Mesut Özil was on hand to pull him back.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1052912828158537728

Yes it is a very good run for which the management, and more importantly, the players can take credit. Leno's performances are especially encouraging as it is so easy for a keeper to slip up - his athleticism is a plus. The games in Lisbon and Palace will be hard. If we win those then I have to fancy us to overcome Liverpool.

Dear oh dear. Please leave it to the supporters of other clubs to stick the knife into our heroes!

Fixed now.

Yes, you don't know how petty Wenger is. In fact you have no information whatsoever on that point. What passes for you 'imagination' is concocting this driveling and unseemly speculation. There has been absolution nothing objectionable in his conduct since he left. So could you (and Babu and the others) show just a tiny bit of generosity here?

I agree with Hazuki on this. Xhaka was playing well even before Torreira got into the side. For me there are a number of positives about Emery's influence so far, and a general improvement of various players already at the club is one of them. Xhaka is one of a number of quite blatant examples. Others include Bellerin, Iwobi and Čech (I went to a talk and Q&A by Charlie George last week who, speaking as a lifelong fan, feels Čech is arguably our player of the season so far even though Leno has been so good he thinks Čech will face a struggle to get back in the team). Also there's Lacazette and, I have to say, Mustafi who I believe has had a fine season.

Anther factor that I believe reflects well on Emery is the new signings, without exception, look good. Guendouzi, Torreira and Leno have all been outstanding. Sokratis has been very impressive and even Lichtsteiner, perhaps the least exciting of the new arrivals, has done well when he's played. Another change I welcome is a willingness to get the ball forward more quickly. Sure, we look to keep possession but gone are the regular thirty or so pass moves it often appeared to take to get the ball in the opposition half before the ball promptly, as part of the same move, came back to the defenders and keeper.

There are other positives like him not being afraid to make tactical substitutions and to give instructions from the touchline. Furthermore, one of my personal preferences is for Arsenal managers to look smart during matches. Emery wears a suit and tie. Compare him to Chelsea's new boss. He's doing a splendid job but despite earning millions looks like he lives in a cardboard box down the Embankment tube station. In short, to date I'm very happy with Emery.

2 points:

1. Agree with you Decaf

2. Won't matter as AG won't be reading this will he. (Cause he's a bit of a knob, and does absolutely nothing to change my rather blinkered opinion of most Americans as being the most self-unaware, ignorant, arrogant, loud, and frankly thick peoples on earth.)

oh no, the forum will crasssssssh after 12 game streak next weekend

It's probably grossly unfair, and of course we all know some nice yanks, but ...

What a brilliant match. I think that some forget that other teams are also able to do research and play out tactical plans against us. Leiester had done their homework. Unlike recent years, our manager actually changed our tactics to overcome it. Faster in attack, better pressing in defence, switched the front 3 to provide better coverage. Players that wanted it. Watching so many of the same players that Wenger had but a completely different team. Both the 2nd and the 3rd goals just sublime. A joy to watch.

We're doing very well. Who would have ever expected these results at the start of the season?

After the thousandth link post I had to do the block thing for the first time ever so that I don't have to scroll past it. Made a huge difference to my enjoyment of reading the forum. :)

Yawn.

No worries omoh, Wenger is fully deserving of his statue and place in Arsenal history. He was forced out though after 22 years and lesser men have become embittered under similar circumstances. That's all.

I hope the club doesn't fall for this 'are Arsenal title contenders' mindset. It's back page boredom perhaps. We are not. Not right now. It's very possible we could be but its a bridge too far at this stage of the season and our development. We simply don't have the defense to even consider that. The title right now, despite what the table says is between City and Liverpool, and the rest of us going for 3rd and 4th. The aforementioned have shown more title performing form than the others.

That said, the next 3 matches are completely winnable given where we are but I think we can forgive the squad if they draw at Palace simply because of fatigue of having to play too many matches in too few days and traveling.

The big test is Liverpool. Unfortunately it will come from a series of matches being played without a lot of rest. What also kinda irks me is that we have to play sperz and Man Utd very close to each other. We never seem to get much rest before playing Man Utd and forgive me if I think its some great conspiracy.