Saints (A) 16/12 @ 13:30

[rodders999]

Kos was a busted flush before his injury, he’s a complete liability now. His top flight career ended the second that achilles snapped and it was a sad watch today to see him plodding around the pitch completely off the pace of the game.

Our first choice defence is an absolute shambles so sadly it was no surprise to see the stiffs produce an complete cluster fuck of a display when they were asked to step up today. That loss has been coming, we’ve been having to score 2,3 and 4 goals all season to win games, sooner or later you’ll pay the price for that. We scored twice today and still lost which is fucking criminal but no shock.

We have to address the defence in January or the season will go off a cliff. Leno I rate but from crosses he is all over the place. Lard arse Iwobi saps the life out of games for me, it’s fucking soul destroying how shit he is.

That was a throw back to the banter era today, getting rinsed by Danny fucking Ings, the obligatory Charlie Austin goal and if that offside goal from Shane Long had of stood we as a club should have resigned from the football league.

I’m concerned about Wednesday and I’m fucking massively conserned about going to Anfield in a few weeks. Our defense is bottom 6 standard and if it’s not addressed ASAP we will slink down the table.

[Bradywasking]

Horrible performance today.. Where to start with the defence..Conceding three headers in one game is criminal , but to do so against a bottom three club is a disgrace. Kos was awful for two of the goals, Leno had got away with two flaps and was third time unlucky.
Guendouzi is a talented kid but his decision making on the final third today was poor, twice telegraphed his intention to shoot and was immediately blocked down. Iwobi, what can you say about him today or most days?.He is the most pointless footballer I have seen in years. No end product, just predictable surrender of possession time and time again.
At 2-2 I felt we would win but we didn't deserve to. One positive is the "we are a second half team" rubbish might stop. Football is a ninety plus minute game. I'm not saying complacency set in with players expecting it to come good after half time but if you keep relying on a second half performance someday it will catch up with you.
As said above a lot of things caught up with Arsenal today and it was bound to happen..

[augie]

Btw, I didnt see too many standing up criticising leno for the world class save he made from their corner the time on offside shane long stuck away the rebound Without question that was a top class save and showed the type of reactions that helmet head hasnt had for many a year
Like I say, I know that leno was poor for the winning goal, but I find it ridiculous that people are quick to write him off after 9 league games

[bergkamp10]

yeah lots of understandable over reactions. Prob same on other end with win against scum. You can't fix this team in one 1/2 season. We prob were a long shot to finish top 4 anyways. I will be happy with 5th above Manure. Let's give him time to make adjustments, bring in new players.

I almost think, some bad results is a good thing, as it doesn't mask the issues and increases chances we actually fix this sh*t.

Jersey, totally agree. We must all remember that it will take 2-3 transfer windows before we see the real change.

4th would be fantastic finish in my book after the last two seasons dross, but I think 5th is more realistic. I may well being pragmatic but our squad will struggle to play twice a week from now to the end of the season. Our depth just isn't strong enough throughout the season.

[rodders999]

That Shane Long incident was absolutely frightening. The corner came in and the Southampton player had the freedom of the box to get a head on it, there wasn't an Arsenal player within 10 feet of him at any point. Pathetic "defending".

[bergkamp10]

Horrible performance today.. Where to start with the defence..Conceding three headers in one game is criminal , but to do so against a bottom three club is a disgrace. Kos was awful for two of the goals, Leno had got away with two flaps and was third time unlucky.
Guendouzi is a talented kid but his decision making on the final third today was poor, twice telegraphed his intention to shoot and was immediately blocked down. Iwobi, what can you say about him today or most days?.He is the most pointless footballer I have seen in years. No end product, just predictable surrender of possession time and time again.
At 2-2 I felt we would win but we didn't deserve to. One positive is the "we are a second half team" rubbish might stop. Football is a ninety plus minute game. I'm not saying complacency set in with players expecting it to come good after half time but if you keep relying on a second half performance someday it will catch up with you.
As said above a lot of things caught up with Arsenal today and it was bound to happen..

Brady, spot on! We never could keep chasing the game after game, still I think it was better to loose now before the XMAS madhouse begins.

Leno needs some coaching or guidance he is young with time on his side. Iwobi is he our new Walcott, I hope not but with each game he seems to be drifting towards the same conclusion / performance as we use to have to endure from Walcott!!

[GTG]

Was too freezing wet and angry to post yesterday but a few observations from me.

The defence was a complete shambles but what do you expect when you throw someone like Kos in after such a long lay off. You could clearly see Thursday that his pace has completely gone and he doesn't look comfortable running anymore.

Why is it that for as long as I can remember our full backs make no effort to block fucking crosses? You can hammer the centre backs all you like but they're up against it when the opposition wingers get time to measure their crosses like that.

Wingers eh? Theres a novel thing on a football pitch. Previously I said let Rhys Nelson develop in Germany for the rest of the year but if there is any way we can get him back here then do it. We should bring him back and let him start every game for the rest of the season if we aint buying anyone because Iwobi shouldn't even be in the squad.

I've tried to avoid having a pop at the manager because for the most part you can see what he's been trying to do particularly with the pressing etc. but as someone said further up we now look tired with a paper thin squad and some tough games coming up. I can't see Christmas going well tbh.

The two things he absolutely has to start doing is working harder with our centre backs in terms of their organisation. Yes they're shit but a lot can be improved with better organisation. We all hoped that would happen from a new manager and coaching set up and it just isn't. We look no different to the banter era in that regard.

If you had to pick our 3 best players at the current time it would be Auba, Torreira and Lacca yet one of them isn't starting. Thats criminal to me because the rest of the squad is bang average. Find a way to make it work with the two front men because we need as many goals as possible on that pitch.

I worry about Wednesday because the team looks tired and Spurs will be baying for revenge.

[The Arsenal Way]

Kos was a busted flush before his injury, he’s a complete liability now. His top flight career ended the second that achilles snapped and it was a sad watch today to see him plodding around the pitch completely off the pace of the game.

Our first choice defence is an absolute shambles so sadly it was no surprise to see the stiffs produce an complete cluster fuck of a display when they were asked to step up today. That loss has been coming, we’ve been having to score 2,3 and 4 goals all season to win games, sooner or later you’ll pay the price for that. We scored twice today and still lost which is fucking criminal but no shock.

We have to address the defence in January or the season will go off a cliff. Leno I rate but from crosses he is all over the place. Lard arse Iwobi saps the life out of games for me, it’s fucking soul destroying how shit he is.

That was a throw back to the banter era today, getting rinsed by Danny fucking Ings, the obligatory Charlie Austin goal and if that offside goal from Shane Long had of stood we as a club should have resigned from the football league.

I’m concerned about Wednesday and I’m fucking massively conserned about going to Anfield in a few weeks. Our defense is bottom 6 standard and if it’s not addressed ASAP we will slink down the table.

spot on Rodders.

We have been riding our luck for some time now. I'm glad that it took a relegation threatened team to highlight our misgivings.
I was floating on air for days about our scum win but, we needed this loss to show off our fragility in defence and also our lucky streak.
We are not much better than Maureen's lot, but encouraginly, we aren't to far off the Chav's or Scum either

[Ray C]

Not a surprise today. This result has been coming. Now we can start to look at who we might bring in to strengthen the team.

[The Arsenal Way]

Not a surprise today. This result has been coming. Now we can start to look at who we might bring in to strengthen the team.

Oh great. Is Maureen getting rid of some of his stiffs?

[OneBardGooner]

Not a surprise today. This result has been coming. Now we can start to look at who we might bring in to strengthen the team.

AND the deadwood shyte we can get shot of - let them go and hang out with wengercunt at his next failed project.

[DB10GOONER]

If anyone thinks we are bringing in a load of new players in January they are deluding themselves I'm afraid. We'll be lucky to get one or two signings..... and who is going to sell top quality players to us mid season?

[Yankee_Gooner_Dandee]

1) Laca has to start games. Find a way to put both him and Auba in.

2) Xhaka has to play in midfield along side Lucas. The midfield was lacking with Doozer instead of Xhaka.

3) Ozil cannot play on the road. Sell him, but in the meantime, only home games.

4) Sokratis may be our most important player, no joke.

[northbank123]

I really want to give Leno a chance and desperately hope that he takes it.

I like that we've gone for a younger keeper who could be a solution for a decade, rather than signing somebody like Begovic or god forbid another Cech as a stopgap. He is superb with the ball at his feet - better than even the likes of Alisson and Ederson, and a world away from calamity Cech. He has shown he is a capable shotstopper - his save for Austin's disallowed goal was out of this world and the commentators would have been creaming themselves if it had been de Gea. I think that he's a commanding keeper and the defence seem at ease with him there. I also really like how positive he is - the easiest thing for a keeper to do when he has made a mistake is to hide and stop coming for balls, which he hasn't done.

But this aerial weakness is a massive massive problem. It is happening time and time again. Against Leicester he came marauding out and got nowhere near a corner at 2-1 and they hit the bar. Against Liverpool just before half time he came out for a ball he was never getting to and van Dijk hit the post. Against Palace he was flapping at a corner that went about two yards and led to them winning a penalty and scoring. Again yesterday he has come for a ball that to be honest he should have gotten to and just missed it leaving Austin with an open goal.

I do remember how vulnerable de Gea was under the high ball in his first season at United, and as I said the positive is that Leno doesn't hide and will keep coming for crosses. Once you stop doing that you are finished - it happened to Paul Robinson at Spurs and they were shipping in goals every week because opponents would put crosses into the six yard box knowing he wouldn't come for it. That said he needs to make some radical improvements otherwise it is going to keep costing us and he will find himself dropped.

[augie]

I really want to give Leno a chance and desperately hope that he takes it.

I like that we've gone for a younger keeper who could be a solution for a decade, rather than signing somebody like Begovic or god forbid another Cech as a stopgap. He is superb with the ball at his feet - better than even the likes of Alisson and Ederson, and a world away from calamity Cech. He has shown he is a capable shotstopper - his save for Austin's disallowed goal was out of this world and the commentators would have been creaming themselves if it had been de Gea. I think that he's a commanding keeper and the defence seem at ease with him there. I also really like how positive he is - the easiest thing for a keeper to do when he has made a mistake is to hide and stop coming for balls, which he hasn't done.

But this aerial weakness is a massive massive problem. It is happening time and time again. Against Leicester he came marauding out and got nowhere near a corner at 2-1 and they hit the bar. Against Liverpool just before half time he came out for a ball he was never getting to and van Dijk hit the post. Against Palace he was flapping at a corner that went about two yards and led to them winning a penalty and scoring. Again yesterday he has come for a ball that to be honest he should have gotten to and just missed it leaving Austin with an open goal.

I do remember how vulnerable de Gea was under the high ball in his first season at United, and as I said the positive is that Leno doesn't hide and will keep coming for crosses. Once you stop doing that you are finished - it happened to Paul Robinson at Spurs and they were shipping in goals every week because opponents would put crosses into the six yard box knowing he wouldn't come for it. That said he needs to make some radical improvements otherwise it is going to keep costing us and he will find himself dropped.

More or less what I was trying to say - yes Leno has shown a serious flaw in his game thus far, but it is still early day's so lets not right him off already ffs. I remember having some real arguments about de gea when he joined manure first and all and sundry wanted to write him off cos none had seen him show his ability in spain before he joined the mancs. Keepers in england are expected to do and cope with a lot more than their continental counterparts - for starters english teams still cross high balls into the penalty area far more than most of europe's biggest leagues, and keepers coming into this league know that they are expected to deal with the crosses. Some keepers adapt to it straight away, some take a little more time to adapt, and some never adapt at all and are an unmittigated disaster as a result - leno might turn out to be one of those, or he could just as likely turn out to be the type of keeper that just takes a little longer to adjust.
Personally I want him to be a huge success and am willing to give the guy a decent chance to be a success, instead of throwing the baby out with the bath water