Elneny and Mustafi on for Liverpool.

Thanks Unai but too late.

At least Ceballos transfer fee has gone back down again.

That might just do it

Kroenke OUT. (and Emery)

Game plan working ok, getting the best chances on the counter but fail to take them. Then concede from a corner, the sort of goal a non league side can score against you is particularly annoying as we’d done the hard bit of defending.
Then a classic arsenal moment of madness and of course we crumble.

We may be better than last season but it feels like baby steps when you see this sort of thing. So few other teams just lay down and for once the first goal goes against them. Norwich put up more of a fight, and we’re bravef than us

On the Horror Channel.

We’re too good at accepting that we’re not good enough though Ash. You expect a bit more from top flight players than this seemingly habitual cave in at all the top clubs, not to mention lesser teams.

It’s just not good enough if we’re ever going to be taken seriously again.

Then we take off Ceballos, and bring on Torreira. So a defensive sub when we’re 3 down. Doesn’t make sense.

Or let's not settle for looking bad after spending over 120 million.

We do seem to have a long-standing habit of imploding don’t we?

The test now is to see if this team has any cojones and to see if it still fights and tries to win the game.

We’ve had nothing in midfield all game, I think it makes sense. I think we have to be accepting of it when when we’re very much in transition and we play Liverpool way third game of the season. Whilst there is a limit, I’m happy to basically ignore this result and carry on improving.

If it avoids a 8-2 then it makes sense.

I think that is the thinking.

Fair enough. I wasn’t expecting a lot from this one anyway.

2! Dreamland...

Disappointing that we never got any sort of a grip in this game though.

Early season optimism draining away....
This will happen season after season at anfield.
We are no match for them on their own patch.
Was faintly hoping things would be different today but deep down you knew it would be another sound beating.

Why did they choose the granite tile?

Absolutely. I think Torreria being off the pace is a factor. I think we’ve looked a bit more secure since he’s come on.

Some thinking to do for emery and Edu for sure but it’s a stern lesson they’ve got to learn from. Guendouzi want too much time but then we knew that.

I don’t understand that. What’s a granite tile?

Unlikely to make any difference to the result but missing the first choice full backs is hurting us. The difference between Bellerin/Tierney and AMN/Monreal is quite big. I wouldn’t have minded facing Liverpool minus their two full backs and with ours.

Liverpool have 11 players who know the exact plan inside out, they know exactly where they should be and where they should run and who they should pass to. They are also built as a team with attributes to perfectly suit their managers game plan, fast, athletic, high tempo, and relentless fitness.

We’re taking baby steps in trying to catch them up. We have some forward players who wouldn’t look out of place in Liverpool’s team but our midfield is incredibly pedestrian compared to Liverpool. On pure talent I don’t think there is a massive difference but it is the mobility, energy and know how that kills us

Hmm, maybe.

Positives today: a few cameos from Pépé. Otherwise, it's as you were since last year. And Mustafi isn't even on the pitch! That summariser on Sky is describing a different Arsenal.

Couldn’t agree more. I fancy us to beat them at home later in the season which sounds crazy after this. But it make sense when you think about players bedding in and players coming back.

Could really do without a NLD to follow this.

Yay! A goal.

Thanks I feel better now.

At least it’s at home.

And there’s my man Torreria. Have that.

Two more now and I might still have time to delete my last few posts...

Game on!!!!

I think Monreal has played well

Fair. His lack of pace has been exposed, which was always very likely.

Guendouzi and Ceballos below average and bad respectively.

Pépé class touches if lacking a bit of fight and end product.

Torreria looks out best player since coming on.

Luiz again lack of pace more than anything which you’d expect at 32.

Most everyone else ok. Liverpool - ruthless.

Disappointed not to play Lacazette from the start. I’d be interested to see how many other teams decide to not play one of their first choice strikers at Anfield.

With the best teams you can name their best 11 and the formation they’ll play. I think arsenal have played 3 different formations so far this season

Your posts are safe. Not too much of an unexpected result though ...

Yeah didn’t really understand that. Not fully fit??

AMN is our worst player today. The number of wrong passes and mistakes were far too many for a premier league player.

Willock couldn't do anything, as was Ceballos. That made our midfield totally non existent. Guendozi is again all huff and puff but no end result. He is becoming Elneny II. Xhaka is his usual slow-mo style.

The playing out from our penalty area is a disaster, or two, waiting to happen. But to what end? We hardly launch a quick attack from those passes. It goes a full circle back to the penalty area. And by that time, opposing players have already retreated back. All attempted initiative to get past them quickly gone. And minutes wasted while chasing for goals. This is the most frustrating of Emery's tactics. What exactly is he playing for?

Oh well, hope he learns from this and get that victory next week. Between the 2, next week is much more significant.

I thought the consolation goal and last 15 mins glossed over what was a pretty inept performance from both team and manager. This game was a spectacle being watched all around the world and people could have been forgiven for thinking they were watching Liverpool playing a relegation candidate.

I thought Emery was supposed to be the tactical genius that Wenger was not. He didn't do bugger all to change things until it was too late.

Overall I'm just sad because the gulf in class was enormous, embarassingly so and it's not like we didn't have some talented players out there who should have been able to compete. We just never had the belief or the tactical set-up to do so.

Sadly, after a promising start Luiz provided the defensive horror show that every one warned us about.