If by dynamism you mean energy rather than getting the ball down and playing, which I initially thought you were talking of when you mentioned Mata, I think Guendouzi and Iwobi are both high energy players who don't start every game.

Indeed, I feel Guendouzi combines great skill and energy, certainly to a greater extent than any of our other players.

Got a feeling he might drop Mesut tonight.

Very positive lineup.

Yeah it is. I’m surprised

We’ve still got the 3 at the back thingy that doesn’t usually work so it will be interesting if he can get them playing or we will have to change it at half time

I dont mind three at the back with Monreal with this lineup.

Stating the obvious, sorry, but feel we need a good lead from tonight's game, more than one goal preferably. Napoli away is going to be very difficult.
Come on Arsenal, we need a proper performance.

Ramsey has been excellent so far. Is it me or since he agreed his move he’s been superb.

We should offer them the clock end for koulibaly, exactly what we need

Lovely team goal

Torreira!
If you don't buy a ticket, you don't win the lottery.

A few sloppy moments near the end of an excellent half - got to keep our concentration.
2-0 half time. Well played Arsenal.

Very good football from Arsenal. I like the energy and drive. Get a few more in the 2nd please. Torreira, Özil and Ramsey combining well.

2-0 HT fully deserved
As good as we’ve been at any point this season

Positive line up, fast tempo and crucial high press.
5 attacking players in the line up compared to 3 v Everton, such a difference starting on the front foot and keeping your foot on your opponents throat once you’ve got them.

Torreira has already made 2/3 turnovers from a relentless high press before he got the one for his goal.

Another hugely positive thing has been the crowd, they are up for it, very loud and cheering every Napoli mistake and every arsenal 50/50 win. It really does make a huge difference to the performance of the team, it gives them confidence to play at speed and with risk.

I’d take 2-0 right now, but we really do have a chance to put this tie to bed tonight. 3-0 makes it very difficult for Napoli, 4 would be tie over. But keeping that clean sheet is crucial so I’d take 2-0

I love this attacking line up.
2 out and out strikers
An old fashioned No.10
Both central mids pressing very high, Ramsey with licence to get in the box
Both wing backs starting very high

When you read all that it sounds kamikaze but we’ve Napoli have only got behind us once.

Čech looks and moves like a pensioner these days.

Not that there’s anything wrong with pensioners they just make bad professional footballers

Napoli dangerous at the start of the second half. We're going to have to work hard for the clean sheet - it could easily be the difference between progressing or not. I'd bite your hand off for 2-0.

Ramsey has been sensational tonight.

It’s typical isn’t it?

I slag him off for years because he ignored his defensive duties and just ran headlessly forward and now we decide to sell him he starts putting in complete midfield performances. Life’s a real pisser

A piledriver from Ramsey nearly makes it three. The recruitment team are going to have their work cut out to find an adequate replacement the way he's been playing.

Strange subs so ealy in the game....................

Phew. That was nervy. A good result though - we've got to go looking for a goal over there next week.
Well done Arsenal

Wooo hooooooo great result...............

2-0 FT as good as we could have asked for before the game

Napoli improves a lot in the second half, kept worryingly hitting direct balls over Monreal’s head. Need to fix that in the second leg.

Tie certainly not over. If we’d lost 2-0 away we’d be thinking early goal and they’ll panic.

We must still attack them over there, go with the mindset that an away goal means they need 4.

Ramsey and AMN both excellent amongst some very good team performances all round

I felt it was Emery’s response to Napoli having much more of the game in the first 20 mins of the second half. I think he could see the front players weren’t able to press as hard and fast so wanted to bring on fresh legs to keep up our attacking threat and press

If you had offered me 2-0 at the start of the game I'd have bitten your hand off. However, the way the game panned out we should have scored five.

Rambo's miss was huge and I feel Napoli showed enough in the second half to suggest that the tie is far from over. The tie should have been put to bed tonight given the way we played and the chances we had.

We played really well but Monreal was our one weakness and time and time again the ball was played in behind him.

99 percent of clubs would take a 2-0 lead going into the 2nd leg of a tie but after this match, I'm at a loss to see how we didn't score 4 or 5 goals and make the 2nd leg a non issue?

We are really gonna miss Ramsey. Wish there was a way to keep him. I wish we found a way to have kept Giroud instead of Welbeck. I've always thought he was in an impossible position, being bought to replace RvP. Not ever gonna happen. Chelsea are sure glad they have him.

Anyway, it is what it is. Onward.

On balance though Napoli had a chance as good as Ramsey’s miss and had another chance even better that they spooned over the bar.

Yes we could and maybe should have scored 4, but Napoli should have had 2. I’ll take the 2-0 and be wary that Napoli will play a lot better in front of their fanatical home crowd

I fully agree Rich. Ramsey, who otherwise had a great match, frustratingly missed a sitter. The Napoli keeper otherwise produced a fine save or two, but Ramsey's missed chance was the only one I'd call a sitter. But Napoli missed two that I'd call sitters. Even if we'd scored four let alone three, 4-2 would be a far worse result for us than 2-0 is.

Credit to Rambo, many players winding down their careers at a club with the prospect of a big pay day on the horizon would be going through the motions but if anything he seems even more determined.

The club are going to get pelters for letting Ramsey leave on a free but I think it’s a legacy of the Wenger era that was always due to happen.

He saw other team mates leaving to do better and his 200k a week contract offer just sat there doing nothing as he and his agent procrastinated trying to get more money. The club had enough and paying him more than 220k would have been madness.

It shouldn’t have reached this summer as he was always going to run his contract down and the club should have said sign or be sold 18 months ago when Arsene was running things.

I have mixed feelings about his departure and he leaves an arsenal legend of sorts having scored 2 cup final winners. However for me he was the most “wengerised” player of the last 20 years with an obvious talent but Arsene unable to build a side around him or get him to fulfill a role that provided his darting runs but also covered the necessary midfield groundwork that he always missed.

Incredibly over the last 10 games he has been providing the role we always hoped he would apart from that half season.

If somehow we got to the Europa final and he scored the winner it wouldn’t surprise me one bit and would be a fitting way to bow out.

The one Čech saved would have been a goal any other time. At 2-0 down I gotta think they thought if we can pull one back we have a shot, had we scored a 3rd psychologically it may have taken the fight out of them to keep pressing forward. Maybe..but an away goal is precious in these ties.

It's a great.

How can we play Watford on a Monday and a European quarter final on the Thursday. That’s just ridiculous.

The pack will have to be shuffled and I’d be surprised if we get results in both matches.

Napoli will be horrendous as the team will be low on energy and have to dig in.

Id have bitten your hand off had you offered me 2 0 before the game.
But with the chance to kill off the tie we could and should have scored definitely 3 and maybe 4.
Im worried that 2 goals wont be enough.
Napoli are twice the side rennes are and they scored 3.
We really need to get an away goal which means napoli will need 4.
One thing is for sure we need to overcome the mental barrier we have away from home if we are to go through.

I think you need to contextualise what actually happened before using the word "hasty"
This was a hangover from the previous regime (not just the manager), where agents literally took the piss out of the club and were able to extract more money, simply by leaving deals that had been verbally agreed unsigned for a period of time. The new set up had to make a statement that showed this wouldn't be allowed to continue; His agent was told that if the agreed contract remained unsigned for more than a certain period, it would cease to be valid; unfortunately he thought this wouldn't be the case and tried to use the method that had worked previously.

Unfortunate that it was Rambo, but it had to be done tp put the club and contracts back in a reasonable place.


Ironic that many people were staunch critics of Ramsey, but now level this as another reason to get at the club (not saying you are one of those btw)

and make sure we don't get a man sent off!

Away goal is crucial, I think we have no choice but to rotate v Watford and also I see no choice but to attack Napoli over there.

Or at least provide a credible counter-attacking threat. We can't afford another one of those toothless away performance, in either game, and certainly not in the Napoli game, where they are going to come at us with a will, and our best chance is to try to keep them honest. In the days of Pires and Henry one would have looked forward to defending 2-0 away in Europe with a certain relish (granted Arsenal always found some other way to *&$^ things up). But with the current lot one one wonders ... I suspect it will be squeaky at best.

Its a tough one for Emery, albeit he has dug this hole for himself by failing to address our appalling away form.

Indeed. But he can't play every minute. Is Xhaka fit?

Liverpool will take points off Chelsea and should win but you never know. If Liverpool wins it, we win, we are back to the advantage over Chelsea at least. I expect Man Utd and Tottenham to win their games.

This article about possible racial abusing of the Napoli defender is very disconcerting. I've never known Arsenal fans to have that kind of reputation. We have such a diverse fan base in London. Whenever I see shots of the crowd its always extremely diverse. I hope the allegations are not true but if they are, certainly have the offending party/parties rooted out and banned. No place for it at all today. Not in this day and age.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/47909511

Don’t get this Assange stuff. Why on earth would anyone jump to defend him.

Corbyn and Abbot are as thick as mince

As bad as our away form is, other than Tottenham, I think Man Utd and Chelsea have just as tough or tougher and I still think we will get top 4. Barely maybe but we'll get in there. Maybe I'm too much of a fan and have Arsenal tinted lenses on (not a bad thing..lol) but I think we'll just shade 4th and get in either by a point or two over one of them and goal difference over the other. I remain cautiously optimistic. Mind you, we end up 6th, I wouldn't be shocked but I am hoping the Everton match was a wake up call and the players will show a better effort in away matches. It will be hard fought and likely 2-1 and 1-0 matches and some lucky breaks but I just have a feeling we'll shade it. As far as Europa cup, a final would be nice. Hoping we don't see Chelsea but wouldn't surprise me if Chelsea get in via Europa and we get in, via the league and Man Utd are left out and of course the nightmare scenario of Man Utd getting in the league and Chelsea winning and we are out.

But I want to be positive.