Torreira was excellent until we started playing 3 centre backs

Drop Xhaka and Luiz

Play holding,Chambers, Torreira and Willock instead

Pray to all the gods Tierney and Bellerin are back soon.

Stop playing out from the back. Or with variation

For goodness sake do some training exercises to play balls over the top to utilise Pépé some more. Just seems we are wasting him.

Offer Aubameyang a new contract saying he only gets paid if he scores at least a hat trick.

........




When it was all going to *%^@ I noticed Freddie off the bench screaming at the players. Something about him, has an aura and I’m starting to have doubts about Emery now. Looks like a team and tactics just chucked together and thrown out on the pitch. Today was unacceptable

As you know I've harboured major doubts about Emery for a while now.

This playing out from goal kicks is absolutely insane. That we do it every time just allows the opposition to set up to strangle it knowing we’re likely to cough up a chance.

When the new rule came in about not having to play the ball out of the box you just knew we’d be the first team to concede a comical goal that way.

The risk/reward just isn’t balanced enough. I mean the justification for inviting such a high press is that with some brilliant one touch quick and accurate passing we can get past maybe 5-6 of their team and probably counter attack them with maybe a 5 on 4 or something similar. A good position to be in but hardly worth the risk when you realise when the tactic fails you give your opponents a free shot at goal with just the gk to beat from 15 yards. Utterly baffling.

Maybe once set up as though you are going to do that, bring their players to the edge of the box and then chip a ball in to midfield.

The problem I have is that I don’t think you can judge him on his first season. He had too many problems to be judged on.

This season is different with new players coming in but the performances look very similar so far.

The one thing that I think may not change and there is still time yet. Is it all feels a bit well cobbled together and chucked out on the pitch. I know that doesn’t sound very analytical but it’s hard to explain,

At the end of the day we are joint 3rd on points and it’s important not to get carried away but something feels off.

I think the alarm bells were there in the run-in last season with some shocking teams selections and tactics and this season is just more of the same.

I hear him interviewed and notwithstanding his poor command of english I haven't got a clue the message he is trying to convey.

Did anyone doubt that after that comical giveaway for the first goal we would throw the win away.
So *%^@*** predictable frustrating and infuriating.
Im really starting to doubt emery after first being excited about his appointment. What does he bring to the table??
Does he not learn from this playing out from the back nonsense. Why the *%^@ take unnecessary risks.
Its brainless and arrogant.
Im losing faith in emery quickly.
Id love to see Freddie giving a go.

I can’t get ever the constant lack of professionalism in the team. They literally never learn from mistakes, no one seems accountable for on pitch mistakes, there is no leadership on the pitch and no-one able to manage a game. No matter how bad we’re playing if you’re 2-0 up away from home you see that game out. You certainly don’t do it by giving away the goals we do. At least make the opposition work for their goals!

Once again a team has out run us, out fought us and showed more energy and urgency all over the pitch. Winning first balls, winning second balls etc.

For too long Arsenal teams only seem interested and/or able to play the game when we have the ball and are relatively unchallenged. We collapse and panic under pressure - what is the plan to relieve that? Do we have any player smart enough to manage these situations?

If emery can’t make any improvement without the ball from what we saw for the last 5 years of wenger then he is simply not the coach for us.

I’m adamant that without the ball is far less about talent and skill and far more about concentration, organisation, effort, application, teamwork, workrate, discipline. When we attack that is where you need the individualism, flair, talent, skill. Wenger set the bar so low for our off the ball play and general defence and emery has struggled to improve a thing in that regard.

A great manager Would be able to take some of the average players we have and give them detailed in game instructions. Instructions for every type of play with and without the ball. Look how much klopp has improved some players a lot of people would have described as quite average before he got there or bought them. He has a game plan and every player knows it exactly.

The thing is I do think believe it or not we have improved off the ball under Emery (although we were not good today)

Our main issue is we have a non existent midfield IN posssesion at the moment. There’s no variation in play, no quick ball, nothing.

I know people here seem to love Xhaka but I just don’t get it,

He gets the ball 30 yards out and all our fans yell “shooot” like some deluded morons. You’d have thought he was scoring 15 goals a season like lampard was based on their own expectations

The ball is in the air and dropping onto his left foot in the penalty box in the last few minutes but because he’s so slow he can’t get to it in time and he’s supposed to be the captain.

We may complain about our pressing and tracking down but it has got better the issue is we haven’t been able to control a midfield since Cazorla left and there’s an argument to suggest him alongside coquelin was a better pair than any we have at the moment

I keep hearing these bloody soundbites from Emery and the players about how we must learn from our mistakes and it's just a load of bollocks. Well, talk is *%^@*** cheap and these soundbites have been resonating around the club for far too long.

We appear to have put a lunatic in charge of the asylum.

Bullocks - if we had any ambition we'd have got Allegri not second rate Emery.

After the way we ended last season he should have been shown the door but no, because we don't want to pay him off like a big club would, lets just run his deal down because it's cheaper that way.

And so I hear the cries that we 'spent big in the summer', did we really?, most of it was not spent up front so that will impact on future spending potential, which will be even more limited if we're stuck in the EL again.

All on wiggy c*nt but as usual our fans are like a dog with a treat - easy to distract.

Oh well, sh*t happens, I'm almost past caring these days.

I think the problem we have is finding the right manager. I just don't think Emery is the right fit for us. He keeps playing diamond formations and things which just do not seem to fit the personnel we have available to us either offensively or defensively.

We’re so lucky to have Aubameyang, but he must walk off the pitch of most games thinking “well I did my bloody job”. By the time we sort out a defence and a manager Aubameyang will probably be too old and then we’ve got to find another him.

With Lacazette our injured it was gifted to emery to play two proper wide players Nelson/Pépé and 3 in the middle. I really dislike the diamond. I can’t think of many successful teams. If you play it your midfield have to be supper athletic, quick to recognise danger and cover a lot of ground....and 2 of them need to be comfortable in wide positions. The benefit should be that you have 4 natural central mods so you should boss the centre of the pitch......but dacoure and capoue dominated that today. Our central midfield gets dominated far too often by journeyman mods from mid to lower league sides

Emery is overanalysing and can't coach a defence. He has until Christmas to figure it out. Maybe earlier if results go downhill.

What happens at Christmas? Do you think anyone will sack him?

Arsenal have gifted the most goals since the start of last season.

Two games ago I said Emery out and was shouted down as being deluded. Yeah I had overreacted but oh how the tide has changed on here.

I wonder how long it will be before people realise that the whole season already has been very ordinary bordering on terrible.

Newcastle - we caught them without them having done a proper prep for the season but hardly set the game slight.
Burnley a win but Leno looked like he had never seen a cross before in his life- conceded a sloppy goal and could have conceded more
Liverpool - disaster across the park
Spurs - dropped points at home & some good & bad & really poor defending
Today defensively suspect as in every other game. No cohesion or good points came out of this game.

I wonder how much patience the forwards will have with the defence. They will just start going thru the motions instead of trying if things don’t improve.

To the deluded poster on here who called for Chambers to be put in the team - it must be a wind up. Same with the bloke who rang Robbie Savage & suggested that Howe should be our next manager.

I can hardly wait for Holding & Tierney to start because according to postings on here they are the second coming.

Exactly as I saw it, agree with this 100%. His passes were horrific today.

Well, I happen to dig graves for a living

Emery is only sacked for once when it’s certain we won’t get top 4

There’s no chance he will go before the end of the season. Seriously that just won’t happen anyone suggesting it is bonkers.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on Canal Plus: "I feel like we are literally giving goals to the opposition."

I think Top Gun is absolutely correct on this. I firmly believe Emery will get the full season, and to be frank I think that’s reasonable. Whether he is still here next season is, I reckon, down to whether we’re in next season’s Champions League. If we are, Emery will still be in post. If we’re not, he’ll be getting his P45 next summer. I see it as simply as that.

Read an alarming stat. In every game so far this season we have conceded more shots on goal than we have created. In EVERY game. That is immensely damning

Same as last year, and the year before......and the most penalties.

I saw a stat that said since the start of last season if you tally up penalties and errors leading to a goal Arsenal are on 31. The next worst is Bournemouth on 16.

Frustrating draw and definitely sympathize how we all must feel but I try to look it at all in its larger and proper context. We are in a big transitional period. No where near settled as a squad, weak defense, given where we are as a squad, I don't expect 'invincibles' football if I may be a little over the top.

We went up 2-0 at half time at a tough away ground. That's huge given where we are right now. I didn't expect them to write off the game in the 2nd half nor expect us to look as good. Both goals were individual mistakes. We were much better in the 2nd half but we also had more than few counters and opportunities going forward in the 2nd half and never capitalized. They scored from individual mistakes out of central defense. It wasn't from a build up where they took us apart as a team. That's a fact. They were dangerous but the didn't score on us like Liverpool and others did.

So, yes, given where we are it was a decent "team" performance but I definitely see how you (and probably others) may see it differently.

I had a look at the squad that finished wenger’s last season, if we are being ruthless and getting rid of clearly not good enough players, injury prone players and players who are too old to join the revolution I could only make a case for keeping 5 players Bellerin, Holding, ramsey, Lacazette, Aubameyang (and ramsey May have even fallen in to the injury prone group)
So in a squad of 25 you are looking at 20 new players. Assuming you get a 50% success rate in the transfer market then we need to sign 40 players to get a squad good enough.

I think the fans will turn very quickly if they don't see some improvement. Especially after seeing another manager dig his heels in and refuse to change to the detriment of team and club. If top 4 is looking shaky in Dec then who would actually believe that Emery is the guy to get it when he proved exactly the opposite last year. The only delusion I see is people pretending that this is all part of a transition and nothing to do with shite coaching of the team when they don't have the ball.

So were all of Watford’s 30 shots as a result of individual errors from us? We give away far too many shots to the opposition, we’ve been out shot in every game this season. It is because we are too open all over the pitch, too easy to create chances against. Eventually that level of pressure builds and has consequences. Watford our played us especially in the second half. They even had 2-3 good chances to win it at the end.

Also the 3 Liverpool goals were all individual errors.
Not marking at a corner
Stupid penalty
Diving in on the halfway line and a player running unchallenged from that same area

Emery said yesterday “we have a lot of young players, we will learn”

The first part of that statement isn’t true and I don’t believe the second part.
7 of the starting 11 yesterday were in no way at all young players.

This squad has lacked leadership, in game management, mental strength, accountability and a sign they learn from mistakes for some years.

It’s not just us being bad without the ball. Admittedly we were not good yesterday.

We all know he defensive side is shocking however we just aren’t helping them by getting enough men behind the ball. Our midfield isn’t shielding them enough or retaining the ball. I mean yesterday in the second half we could barely even just recycle possession in the middle of the park. A pair of Guendouzi and Xhaka is too slow and with Özil in front of them my goodness your going to get dominated.

This is the area I would have expected to see improvement in games by now. We all know the defence is *%^@ but we still are incapable of winning the midfield battles and controlling games like Watford did in the second half. We just never really look comfortable or in control in any game we play anymore

No team in the entire league has conceded more chances than arsenal in the first 5 games. And we’ve only played 2 good teams. More chances than any of the promoted teams.
Our defence is rubbish, takes risks and is error prone but for me the amount of chances conceded is far more down to the lack of protection from midfield and the overall team shape and understanding off the ball. Worst in the league at that by far

Exactly. Based on what is seen on the pitch it would be hard to believe that Arsenal do any defensive work at all.

Im struggling to think of a more ridiculous arsenal goal conceded in history than that first yesterday. Just the way the ball didn’t leave our penalty area and the stupidity of the attempted pass. Wonder what George Graham would have made of it

Oh Maybe the Lee Dixon own goal. ...but even then that was a mistake not brainlessness and outright stupidity

Absolute shitshow of the highest order

I read that we've had more shots against us this season than any team in any of the major leagues in europe. 96! When you think about some of the poor teams in those leagues that is a really a quite damning stat.

Watford had 31 shots, that's more than any team has had against us since PL records began.

One of Emery's tasks on taking the job was surely to improve our defence and if anything we look even more calamitous than under Wenger.

Man City are the best around at playing out in that way but even they still make fuck-ups. Difference being thay largely control games and anything they concede as a result of risk-taking is usually just a consolation goal.

We are just not good enough at it to justify doing it.

I think doing it 30 to 50 percent of the time could be fine but surely you need to vary your tactics to create the unexpected so the opposition don’t know what’s coming

Been reading stuff online.

Seems yesterday was the straw that broke the camel for many fans. There’s definitely a loss of faith and if we follow this result up with further bad ones it could get nasty.

Even with the Dixon own goal, there was nothing really wrong with him passing it back to Seaman, he just randomly decided to belt it twice as hard as he needed to and put 30 yards of needless loft on it.....but there was no danger even if he executed the pass 50% right. With our passing out from the back there is danger every time. It is such stupid and needless high risk taking, you have to have 3-4 players perfectly positioned and with perfect pass weight and accuracy and likely to have to do all that with a first touch. How many times yesterday did it go wrong and lead to a Watford chance or them taking the ball off us vs how many times it went right and we created even the hint of a dangerous attack from it. It simply isn't working.

Mix it up, play some longer balls and win the bloody 2nd ball, show some fight. Arsenal never, ever do the basics of football right. It is completely unprofessional. Players at Arsenal are on easy-street, have been for years. There is no punishment, accountability or desire to get things right. Certain players make the same mistakes time and time again, for me there are 2 options for those players - learn not to do it or be sold, those are really the only two options any club should have. At Arsenal it is completely tolerated with an arm round the shoulder. Who is giving out rollickings and orders on the pitch, or who is just shrugging their shoulders and saying "argh, it happened again"

The Gooner is being crystal clear. Emery must go

https://www.onlinegooner.com/articles/view/4836

Hey Rich,
I think many of us, possibly yourself included, have way higher expectations of this squad than we should. We are a better side this season compared to how we were the last few months of last season.

I think we all need a dose of reality. We have a LONG way to go. We were/are a couple clubs from a mid table side. Emery will need minimally 3 seasons. And I'm including having decent money to play with in that time. This summer, surprisingly, we had a good transfer season but there are a lot of new faces and its a huge project to get a settled XI playing in his system. Its a huge ask that requires time and that time will include results like what we have.

I like Emery. I think a lot of us have an over inflated view of where Arsenal is. We are living off our name and stature from 15 years ago. We are like a mini version of Milan in Serie A, where they haven't been better than 5th for the last few years. Emery has to do a whole lot with a disinterested owner. I think if we make top 4 this season and that's a big if, it will be because Chelsea, Man Utd and Tottenham have bad seasons.

Liverpool outplayed us with great team football. There was no way we were going to win at Anfield in our present state and I'll even add a 'draw' that. We'd have to play out of our skins and the planets align to get anything out of that game. We didn't lose because of individual errors, we were thoroughly outplayed by a club that no one would be surprised if they beat Barca. The best Liverpool side I've ever seen in my time as a football fan. We got off lucky with 3-1 considering the gulf in class at the moment.

We would have lost this match to Watford last season. We would never have gone up 2-0 within a half hour last season nor any of the previous few seasons. The fact is we were hanging on a thread to Europa football given the progress of the sides below us and how bad we are defensively.

We will need a lot of time. Expecting Emery to get to CL football a year after the job is crazy considering the clubs above us, the state of the squad when he came, the lack of interest and more importantly money from the owner. Emery is doing well considering all these factors.

Arsenal fans can be accused of having unreasonable expectations given the present hurdles.