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PL: Chelsea v Arsenal | August 18, 2018 17:30 BST | BT Sport

Match Prediction


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Makingtrax

Worships in the house of Wenger 🙏
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Country: England

Player:Saliba
Wenger's job in his first few years - which were his most successful - was arguably much easier than what Emery faces.

When Arséne joined Arsenal you had a dominant Manu, a competitive Newcastle and not much more.

Unai is faced with four teams that spend way more than Arsenal (and were all ahead of us last season), a team with a good squad which has outgunned us for two seasons and the danger that there are 2/3 other teams who are not that far behind us and could easily overtake us with reinforcements.

5th would be some kind of achievement but I fear dark days ahead. Whenthe Fifth Place Trophy is all you have to look forward to....
Totally agree, Wenger made top 4 from year 1 but things were very different back then. Money is more important today which is why one of the best managers in the league, continually performing above his squad cost, Pochettino, has still won **** all.
 

Makingtrax

Worships in the house of Wenger 🙏
Trusted ⭐

Country: England

Player:Saliba
Still too much handwringing over the results of the first two weekends. Sure, it would have been nice to get a win or at least the draw. But as I've said, beating Manchester City is not the point. Nobody is really expected to do that. When you play away at Chelsea (unless you're City), they're going to be favored. So while finishing ahead of them is a goal for the season, they're really not the point either. The point is not dropping points to teams lower in the table at such an astounding rate as last year.

Arsenal should win it's next eight games (they may drop a few points in there, but they will be favored in every one). If they have a good run in those games, they should be playing with confidence and have a better grasp of the system by the time Liverpool visits on Nov. 3. Then they have Wolves and Bournemouth, two more games they should win. This stretch should give us a better indication of just what sort of season Arsenal is going to have.

Had they lost to City in September and away at Chelsea in October while winning the other games around them, nobody would have thought much about it. So don't think much about it. It's just a quirk of the schedule.

I found it amusing that so many pundits predicted that Arsenal would lose 2-0 or 3-0 to City, then when it happened the same pundits seemed shocked that Arsenal lost. Don't let them get you stirred up over the results of the first two weekends. There were a lot of positives and some progress. There are still things to work on. But now is when the rubber hits the road. We'll see what happens over the next two months and then can have a better idea of how things are going.
Emery already taking a roasting from some posters is crazy talk.

The only worry in the back of my mind is that the unlucky schedule has caused two loses in a row. For an already fragile team reeling from last years ****storm, when the rubber hits the road, another poor result could cause the wheels to fly off big style.
 

Slartibartfast

CIES Loyalist
Emery already taking a roasting from some posters is crazy talk.

The only worry in the back of my mind is that the unlucky schedule has caused two loses in a row. For an already fragile team reeling from last years ****storm, when the rubber hits the road, another poor result could cause the wheels to fly off big style.

I saw where the rabble-rousers formerly known as Arsenal Fan TV were actually using Arsène Wenger to take a pot shot at Emery. :rolleyes:
 

JimmyTheMac

Active Member
how many games more till its reasonable to start judging Emery performance/ability/impact?
Personally I would start thinking it's reasonable to judge stuff like team selection , subs, strategy etc from here on in. But in terms of his overall ability and impact im personally not going to judge him till the end of the season at the earliest. I believe it will take at least a season to get his methods across, probably 2 seasons even. And another busy summer transfer window.
 

cannonade

Established Member
The team looks uncomfortable. They’re trying to play a new system so they’re having to think about too much. They’re getting it wrong a lot of the time and are not in synch. I hope as the season progresses we’ll see them grow into this new style. If not, Emery’s going to have to clear out who’s not able to play his way and bring in new blood.
 

yorch44

Commander of the Pelotudo Brigade
Plenty of reasons to be cheerful from that game.
We carved Chelsea up from wide positions at times, I understand criticism of Bellerin for his defence (and I would be totally in agreement on that) but actually he does cause a massive threat from wide and he created and played a part in some good chances.
Having a guy like like this is vital if we want to go around teams instead of straight through the middle like we used to under Wenger and it was refreshing to see this and see this getting results, albeit without the goals to show for it at times. Bellerins defensive positioning is another thing but I hope over time we will see a logical answer to that, either from the player himself or from tactical movement behind him when he is bombing forward. Teams like Chelsea and City are always going to hurt us playing like we did, the key is that he carries on doing that when teams sit back, thats when we will get the benefit of going wide to Bellerin/Monreal in the short term. The premier league is made for that kind of game, not tippy tappy through the middle and its good and pleasing to me that Emery has clearly got this figured out already.
The pressing and ball winning in the middle and the effort (from most players) to do this was impressive even though it mostly isnt coming off YET....
I think the manager is working on figuring out the personnel which is why he is sticking largely with the Wenger teams from last year.
Some of those players wont fit the system or rise to the occasion and my personal hope is that then the axe will fall as it should.
There should be no room for passengers in this team and the Guendouzis, Nelsons, Iwobis and Torreiras will be the ones to benefit.
Two of those have already taken their chances. I expect the other two to get game time if certain players dont sort themselves out.
I dont agree, playing with quality player at mid in premiere can do a los of damage to teams. Santi did it, and I am sure players like Isco or Thiago could. You only need the right player with vision, tempo and control of the game.
 

marting

Active Member
If Wenger was in charge we would have lost both of these games anyway, So for me the season starts now for Emery.

I myself was a little suprised by the lack of changes in the Chelsea game, however his giving these players a fair crack of it, they are not going to master this new way of playing after 1 game. The confidence i have is that Emery will start dropping these players when they let him down week in week out.

I was very happy to see how positive his subs are, after years of waiting til the 70th minute its a welcome change.

The fact Özil was subs was great, Something Wenger would never have done and its not just a statement to Özil, Its a statement to the team. I think Emery needs to get Ramsey involved more, Like it or not his a key player for us we need to get him involved in the thick of the action.

Bellerin still concerns me, I would drop him for litch, Theres nothing wrong with losing a little going forward if we are more stable at the back, Litch was very impressive against City and it seemed like he has a great engine still.

The next 5 games are all winable and its vital that we do so, a win makes football easier. Lets get our season going.
 

vijay

Hates Guendouzi for no reason
The team looks uncomfortable. They’re trying to play a new system so they’re having to think about too much. They’re getting it wrong a lot of the time and are not in synch. I hope as the season progresses we’ll see them grow into this new style. If not, Emery’s going to have to clear out who’s not able to play his way and bring in new blood.
true....i felt they got a little vertigo. They got on top of Chelsea and then didnt know what to do with it and retreated back into their shell. Chelsea meanwhile figured out Alonso needed help and plugged that hole. I think Emery is holding back and trying to build some confidence in the team, before fully letting them rip.
 

yorch44

Commander of the Pelotudo Brigade
The Good:

The Bad:
A lot of that is sorted with a good CB who can read plays, smart enough to cut plays and who can trust himself. Normally CB who gives so much space (dont play the highline where is needed) is because they feel unsecure. We really need a smart leader at CB. Mustafi is not that player, he does not have vision, brain nor security in himself.

Look what one good CB did at Liverpool, he by himself sorted the defense. Even with not the best around him. But he organizes them all. They hoy a quality leader CB
 

CanadianGooner1608

Active Member
Waited until now to post anything about this game simply because I dislike giving my opinion without having had the time to think back.

Objectively we had a terrible first 20 minutes. We conceded possession far too easily, and seemed to be completely overrun by their midfield. Kanté in particular with his new advanced (kinda Ramsey-esque) position caused us a lot of trouble.
Alonso was a nightmare, and as much as I hate him, he is imo everything Bellerin should be by now. Still have high hopes for him, we saw glimpses of his attacking potential. He just needs to refine the defensive part of his game and he'll be a srar.

After those 20 minutes we did extremely well to wreak havoc in Chelsea's box, creating so many clear cut chances. It was actually amazing to watch. Auba needs a goal to get started and he'll be rolling. Got to point out that what we saw was guts on the field. We came back from a 0-2 to a 2-2. That, to me, shows a team that doesn't give up and it's encouraging as hell. As some posters say here, we should have been 4-2 up by halftime with all the chances. That alone tells you something.

A word on Mkhitarian: true, he was suspect defensively, but the trashing he got on here was kind of disgusting, and it was kinda sweet to see him get a goal and an assist afterward. Some of you admitted you had a rash judgment, but some just stopped posting, think it did well to show who's reacting to the moment compared to those who have an agenda.

Mkhi has mistakes in him, the whole team does, but whoever denying what he brings offensively is deluding themselves. SO FAR, after the switch, Mkhi has been much better for us than Alexis has been for Utd. So far again, I'll be calling it a win for us.

Emery showed he wasn't afraid to sub underperforming players. Again, guts. This was great to see. Xhaka was a mix of pretty good and pretty horrific as usual, but I will not fault him on the yellow card. It showed frustration. There can only be frustration when a player cares, and I love a player who cares about his team. Özil was a passenger, as much as I love him. I want him back on top of his game.

Iwobi was simply amazing to watch. It feels like Emery has targeted the stronger aspects of his game and put him in a place where he can best use them. This was great to see, I'm happy for him.

Monreal overall did really well, was solid all game, but I can't help but think there could be an extra gear in there somewhere.

Mustafi showed character. He was at fault on the Morata goal, but his performance has definitely gone up during those two games.
Him bullying Hazard was also good to see. Kinda sending a message not to mess with him.
Cech was brilliant. He found his new gear. The score doesn't reflect it, but he was a superstar for us.

My regrets from the game were twofold:

- we need to sort out our defending as a collective (not just the CBs and FBs, but the team as a whole).
- the second one is more lighthearted in that I really wanted to see how a player like Lichtsteiner would have handled Hazard. If it was anything like how he handled Neymar at the WC it would have been pure joy.

Overall, we had two very difficult games right off the bat, and still, we showed glimpses of what we will look like once fully settled and it should be great.
Our defense in the second half was a lot better. The third goal was down to an individual mistake which can happen to any team and will happen again.

Again, I'm relaxed this year. I stated my expectations for Emery's first year on another thread. One of them was that top 6 teams would get worried to play us. I think Chelsea definitely shat their pants for a good little while there.

I'm encouraged and hopefully we build on the positives while fixing the negatives.
 

CaseUteinberger

Established Member

Country: Sweden
When Arséne joined Arsenal you had a dominant Manu, a competitive Newcastle and not much more.
Think the PL has improved a lot just over the last say 3-4 years. With Pep and Klopp joining the PL got two of the hottest managers in football worldwide. Both are really good coaches who connect well with today's players. Same goes for Pochettino. The only saving grace for us is that Mourinho seems to have lost his ways but if he finds his winning formula again (God forbid) even breaking top 4 or 5 will be a stretch. Chelsea also have a great squad. Life is definitely tougher now than just a couple of years back.
 

Slartibartfast

CIES Loyalist
Think the PL has improved a lot just over the last say 3-4 years. With Pep and Klopp joining the PL got two of the hottest managers in football worldwide. Both are really good coaches who connect well with today's players. Same goes for Pochettino. The only saving grace for us is that Mourinho seems to have lost his ways but if he finds his winning formula again (God forbid) even breaking top 4 or 5 will be a stretch. Chelsea also have a great squad. Life is definitely tougher now than just a couple of years back.

Even beyond what Pep and Klopp are doing, you have teams such as Everton, West Ham, Leicester, Brighton and even newly promoted clubs such as Wolves and Fulham spending money and targeting players who would have been out of the financial reach of only the top 4 or 5 clubs just 5 years ago.
 

CaseUteinberger

Established Member

Country: Sweden
Even beyond what Pep and Klopp are doing, you have teams such as Everton, West Ham, Leicester, Brighton and even newly promoted clubs such as Wolves and Fulham spending money and targeting players who would have been out of the financial reach of only the top 4 or 5 clubs just 5 years ago.
Agree. The Pl has really taken a step forward. Look at Watford and what they are able to do.

Although this makes it harder for us I still am exited about the league in general. Makes every game all the more interesting.

I'd rather win a great league every 10 years than a s**t league every year like Celtics...
 
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