In to the top half!

A good win
Great performance from the 11 who started

I think the subs were told to be more defensive. They were hardly pressing.

A few dodgy moments near the end, but I think we can let that go today. Our best 90 minutes this season, we dominated and fully deserved all three points. Too many good performances to mention, but that's what happens when this type of effort is there; it makes everybody look good. Hats off to Arteta and the team.

Really enjoyed that. Arteta has been criticised (rightly) for people not being able to work out what the pattern of attacking play is. Well if you press high and have such intensity there is no need for any particular pattern - you win the ball high and keep such a pressure on your opponent you swarm them in to mistakes and you capitalise without the need for long passing sequences

Wow, where did that performance come from. Brilliant individually and collectively.

The most complete game under Arteta and shades of the Wenger days with thrilling, fast, technical football.

Great pressing too.

Every player had a top game.

My only gripe would be why Arteta didn't give Martinelli half an hour in place of Saka. He needs the minutes and Saka needs the rest.

Good performance and much better balance with 442. I thought Ødegaard slowed our progress when he came on. But we achieved a result exactly what a team with these players should do against a lesser side. Let’s keep it going and use the press like we did today.

Great to see Emile Smith Rowe add goals and assists to his game. Young players can get plenty of goals in youth football but then struggle in men’s football. If we can get 10 league goals from Emile Smith Rowe and Saka and Pépé we’ll start to push up to 5th/6th

Me too. But there’s probably some stat about your third sub and the 90th minute we don’t know about… is there a league cup game coming up? Maybe think he’ll rest Saka et al for that and five Martinelli a run out then?

Leeds EFL cup Tuesday. Not one to rest too many players for really…

Yeah, the thing is that we have a lot of quality in the team. Only about five teams in the league can match us in terms of actual quality. We spend a lot of time talking about how we should be playing to be a better attacking side, what the best formation is, how we're supposed to create better patterns of play etc. It's all about the intensity and work rate. If the players put this kind of work in, to a large extent it will sort itself out, and the technically excellent players we have will do the rest.

We made 17 fouls tonight. Only two yellows. That’s the right side of high press and tactical fouling. Do those fouls in their half and do it whilst enthusiastically trying to win the ball and you hugely reduce the chances of a yellow card

Dean Smith questioning why Aubameyang was allowed to put the rebound in on the penalty. When it was raised on the forum (I forget who by) I couldn’t see any reason why, but maybe Smith thinks as the half time whistle had gone that the penalty should have been the single last kick of the half. Of course that is nonsense as I’ve no ref would ever blow for time when the ball is in such a dangerous situation. Plus the fact that when the penalty ‘should’ have been given there was plenty of time left in the half so why should Arsenal be punished because the referee team took 90 seconds to make the right decision? Smith is clutching at straws there

Artery’s singled out Tavares in his post match interview. It really was an impressive full debut. There were points last season where our hearts were in our mouths if Tierney went down injured such was the importance and balance he gave us. Tavares is more than we could have hoped for for a back up left back for the price we paid

He plays with zero respect, which I love. A lot of players struggle coming into the PL and need to feel their way into the league, Tavares just plays like he belongs here. Saw the same from Guendouzi when we signed him, and Martinelli too. It's a great quality to have.

Thought Ben White had his best defensive performance for us today, really stepped up with some great blocks and interceptions. He's only 24 too, while Gabriel and Ramsdale are 23. That's a good defensive core to build around.

14 points from our last 6. Certainly would have taken that after our first 3 games!

Aubameyang and Emile Smith Rowe on the same wavelength again. One to watch.

I must say I didn’t notice this part of Lacazette’s performance but lots online saying he effectively man marked David Luiz which stopped the supply line of Villa’s build up play. That’s an interesting tactic and one that I recall Fergie using Ji-Sung Park for in big European games a number of times. A lot of teams now have that deep lying tempo setter, playmaker - control them and it gives you a good grip on the game, especially when the CB aren’t in the same league passing wise - which Villa’s arent

Enjoyable game, like I said before we will win some and lose some but despite the nonsense spoken we are a pretty hard working side whose problems are more about guile than effort.

Wont please the weirdos on the internet talking the club down constantly all the time ...being weird... on the internet

Btw for the match going fans it’s quite enjoyable that the Emi Martinez moaning crowd got completely deaded tonight by Ramsdale and our home fans.

Well needed win to keep the momentum going and erase the low performance versus Palace. Each game will see the Gabriel/White partnership improve. Arteta seemed to have addressed the midfield issue somewhat but not totally. I'd like to see Martinelli get more time on the pitch with quality players so that 1. He improves and 2. Feels he has a future and not look for a move. He will get more playing time in league cup games but the problem is the quality of service usually suffers as well.

Saka needs be rested and used more sparingly. He'll be burnt out by season's end if not sooner. Arteta seems like he needs him at this time (all the time) to keep things going but he may look to sub him off when we are in control.

Without wanting to pour cold water on that performance we need to be prepared that we could put in a couple of stodgy and slow performances next up. The good feeling from last night is similar to how we felt after the Spurs game then we played Brighton and Palace.
Leicester up next, a draw wouldn’t be a bad result to keep the unbeaten run going, and Leicester away needs to be considered as tough as Spurs or Man U away. If we back it up by beating Watford at home I’d be satisfied with 4 points.

Terrific performance to a man last night. Just want to mention Ramsdale’s distribution with his feet, which on more than a few occasions was pretty sensational.

Not losing against the top sides and winning most of the games of the teams around us is all I ask right now.

Hi Darren,

Its early days and things can still go horribly wrong as we have seen before with many young players but Ramsdale reminds me a bit of Manuel Neuer.

He has that commanding presence and can start attacks with his ability to thread passes into players.

Tavares is an incredible athlete.

I think he is still growing into his body but the talent is there and he could be some player in a year or two.

It's a sight to behold when Lokonga strides through the midfield with the ball at his feet. He's young and still learning the game but the tools are there and he's a very exciting prospect.

I like the White/Gabriel partnership. Both are quick and athletic and good on the ball. Gabi is a bit more powerful whilst White has that great ability to bring the ball out from the back. It's a nice combination.

Honestly think back to the furore when we signed white and Ramsdale. Totally ridiculous

Can anyone question those signings now. very very shrewd buys

Ramsdale can pass the ball better than Xhaka and AMN.

Look at this

https://twitter.com/sxmafc/status/14516 ... 22667?s=21

And this one
..

https://twitter.com/bristiancurgess/sta ... 33508?s=21

I think you’ve made more than an important point in that post Rich. It is vital the point you make. I think there’s a tendency to react both too positively and over negatively to individual performances, by which I mean single games by the team and players. It definitely happens here, and probably even more so on other Arsenal chat rooms.

Last night’s game doesn’t make us world beaters. Nor do both the games against Aston Villa and Tottenham. Just as the performance last Monday doesn’t make us a bad outfit, like the displays against both Crystal Palace and Brighton make us poor.

I think I’ve mentioned before we’re into fine dining. A similar analogy is to say that a restaurant doesn’t get a Michelin Star for one brilliant meal served up to a single anonymous Michelin judge. Their referees do reports on their own visit, but to get a Michelin Star other assessors go back to the place and make their own views known on the place. In short, a restaurant has to provide excellent meals time and time again to different Michelin evaluators before it gets, or indeed loses for ordinary food, a Star.

I’ve said before that in my opinion Arsenal has a good enough squad to get a Europa League place, if not walk into it. As the squad stands we have Ramsdale and Leno as keepers; Tomiyasu and either AMN or Cédric as right backs; Tierney, Tavares and Kolasinac as left backs; White, Gabriel, Mari, Holding and Chambers as central defenders; Partey, Xhaka, Lokonga, AMN and Elneny as deeper midfielders; Saka, Smith Rowe and Ødegaard as attacking midfielders; then Aubameyang, Lacazette, Pépé, Martinelli, Balogun and Nketiah as forwards.

I expect us to get into the Europa League with that mob. If Arteta can’t get us high enough to achieve that, I reckon it should reflect badly on him. If we get a top four place, even if it’s via Manchester United doing poorly, it will reflect outstandingly well on him.

Surprised you decided to mention Xhaka there, who has many times shown himself to be a fine passer of the ball. Well, maybe I’m not surprised.

This is a decent summary really. If you don’t finish in the top 7 places with that squad I think you have to ask questions especially with no week games in europe.

The observation you made is correct, this is a young side and will win convincingly then follow it up with something underwhelming because of its inexperience. Our fans will likely veer from one extreme to another when critiquing the outcomes.

He is a pile of *%^@ ,

Has one pass in his locker that 25 yard pass with his instep sideways to his fullback. He is the architect of the horseshoe of frustration

I actually forgot to take my season ticket last night for the first time since I’ve had use of one which was the 1968/69 season. Okay I was barely at primary school then so it was my dad who took them (his and mine). I can’t recall the season when I started taking responsibility for taking it. My dad died in October 1975 when I was at secondary school so it was presumably after that.

For the first time since moving grounds they gave out new season ticket cards for this season. They advised people to throw away their old one. The new and old one were in similar looking card holders, and I don’t have it on my phone like some. Anyway I didn’t throw the old one away and picked up the wrong card holder on my way out the house. I only realised when I tried to get in at the stadium.

So I had to go to the box office next to the Armoury Store where they, after giving them my membership number and providing ID that I was who I claimed to be, printed a paper ticket for my seat. I’ll be checking I picked up the right card holder in future.

Thought I lost mine after I got in the ground found it tucked in a tenner. Had a panic

Seperate subject

I sampled one of the “pies” we sell at the ground and had a Camden hells as I went without dinner yesterday. *%^@*** dreadful inedible and undrinkable filth. How hard is it to get decent grub and beer on sale seriously.

I would take a slightly more optimistic perspective.

I would say that our 'mob' is actually rather promising. We basically have a new team, with, as your list suggests, no major weaknesses. It is really down to luck with injuries, and the manager and coaching staff. And it is going to take time. We are going to have games like the Palace one, but, on this season's evidence, with decreasing frequency as the team gradually finds an identity and style.

So, in conclusion, I would be disappointed if we finished lower than 5th this season. Breaking into the top 4 remains unlikely (your points about people's opinions being up and down applies to United too--my own view is that they are still pretty formidable.)

It may be too early for some to say, but for me, Chelsea are back. Sadly.

Oddly, one can get excellent pies at any number of places in this neck of the woods. It really is a feature of the place, along with the pot-holes, endemic inequality, and abundant wild-life.

On the other hand, our local butchers, even the ones who are magicians with boerewors, are clueless at pork sausages.

Given that they are the current Champions of Europe one might even venture to say that it is not too early to float that view.

https://twitter.com/coyg_ars/status/145 ... 59042?s=21
Here’s Ben White’s barnstorming 70 yard run