Win Arsenal 4 - 2 Leicester City | Saturday 13th August 2022 | KO: 15:00 BST

Spirit BOMB to these Foxes. Same team as below:





Post match, Teta needs to make A-M happy and bring out the stash of Snickers & Twix for their boy Youri Michelin as a sweetener:

Got a feeling that Gabby Jesus is going to cook in this one.

I’ll say 3-0 🔴⚪

 

[SA Gunner]

Yeah I can see what you're saying but I think its down to the team to grow a little as well. The age profile is young and they also lack a bit of confidence or experience. I think we just need a few more wins under our belt until we can tell the difference between controlling a match and inviting a team on to us. If we start resorting to brining on Elneny to control a match it could end badly.

I’d argue that Elneny’s ball retention and circulation ability is one of the best in our team. The frustration with him comes in because he doesn’t progress the ball, he keeps it.

That’s why I feel he is still with us. And I think he can play a role when we need to hold onto possession and force the opposition to take risks, instead of us just losing the ball to them and giving them chances.

 

[Riou]

Think we are fine, tbh...in terms of the way we control games.

We aren't City or Liverpool level, we aren't going for the title, we are the level below that...so we will always have periods in games were we are under the cosh, especially when we make errors as our young players (and manager) will.

The more games we win, the better that will get, that will take time though...but if we played the way that tweet wanted us all the time, we would be as good as 2004 Arsenal, which we obviously aren't

We can improve, but sometimes it's good to just praise the lads too...battling when we are under pressure, is as good as outplaying teams, imo.

 

[Monstar-Gunn4r]

I’d argue that Elneny’s ball retention and circulation ability is one of the best in our team. The frustration with him comes in because he doesn’t progress the ball, he keeps it.

That’s why I feel he is still with us. And I think he can play a role when we need to hold onto possession and force the opposition to take risks, instead of us just losing the ball to them and giving them chances.

Yeah, I dont think I've ever seen him lose the ball tbf. If we still cant control a game aftet 19 matches Ill be more concerned. I wouldnt want to go the route of Barca under Pep either though, that was painfully boring to watch with 300 passes sideways until some space opened up.

I think partly its on the coach but partly on the players as well, Im not sure theres any good solution here short term. Im just hoping Arteta is slowly evolving the side in the same way he went very defensive at the beginning of his stint and controlling the games is his long term aim.

 

[Uncle Good-Advice]

What I really like is the halftime reaction here on this forum which probably reflects people's opinion on our team right now. Usually there would be quite a lot of posters who will be picking Vardy's dive as a sign of our potential weakness and wanking how fragile we are. But not now, regardless of some shaky moments, which were inevitable as we still gel as a team, we were fully in control of this match and in my opinion we deserve to be atop. Some of our plays are just scintillating, I know it probably get worse but with World Cup break looming I think it's very, very important to get as much as we can while the summer is on and with our technical quality on full display. Very happy tonight! COYG!

 

[Riou]

 

[grange]

Thought the game was in control and comfortable for us. Yes, we made some individual errors but I'm not concerned about how the two goals came about. Should've scored 3 more, sure, but, I'll take this comfortable win too. It's really nice to look forward to watching Arsenal again.

 

[Regista21]

My take:
(A) Positive
(1) Great link-up between Martinelli and Jesus. It's clear they insert a lot of confidence in each other. This sort of sinergy it's what lead teams to other level. I would like to see Saka having more sinergy with them as well.
(2) Zinchenko feeling really comfortable on the pitch. But I still have my doubts. I need to see how he will perform against top competition.
(3) Ramsdale and the defensive trio have been amazing.

(B) Negative
(1) Xhaka can't really be a starter. It's good how much of a natural leader he is, but Arsenal would be better of with a tempo controller in the midfield. Especially someone who could invert more the game and get Odeegard and Saka more involved in the match.
(2) Left-side is *really* vulnerable. It's exactly the fear I had and was left exposed today. Maddison made a run free on the back of our defense because Xhaka didn't follow him and the left-back (I don't quite remember if Tierney was already on the match) was doing a more advanced role. We need someone that can track back and cover those spaces, because if today was against the Sp**s, with the likes of Kulusevski and Spence, we would have suffered two or more goals in this sort of play. Arteta *really* needs to improve the defensive cohesion of our left side.

 

[EmeryCouldnt]

The main positive for me, despite the conceded goals, is that our recent games have been fun to watch. That’s really all I want.

 

[BergMan]

How on Earth can someone watch that game and conclude Xhaka to have been a negative?
I understand that people have opinions but some opinions can be pretty sh*t, no offence.

 

[1macca1]

Xhaka made a mistake in the first couple of minutes but was good for the rest of the match. I'm starting to think he's good enough in this role for the season but it sounds like Arteta is planning on using Viera there.

 

[CaseUteinberger]

Xhaka who was majestic in his advanced role with some clever runs and pressing.

Case is away and Xhaka plays well. Maybe he cannot cope with my critical stare via the ether? He needs to work on that frail mentality...

 

[CaseUteinberger]

Oh its glorious, I've been blocked by two ManUre fans today just for laughing at the Brentford game.

Holy ****! Missed the ManU result! That is just so fun!

 

[Regista21]

How on Earth can someone watch that game and conclude Xhaka to have been a negative?
I understand that people have opinions but some opinions can be pretty sh*t, no offence.

I believe his box-to-box role forces Zinchenko and Martinelli to focus too much in creating through the left, especially because both play closer to the line. I believe this limit this focus on creating through the fullbacks/wingers makes it harder for the team to connect with Odeegard on the right.
As a consequence, I think playing Xhaka in this 8 type of role limit the action for the entire right side of the Arsenal build-up (Basically, Ode and Saka).

As a defender, Xhaka was regular, but in the few times he was tried in the match, I spot some significant weaknesses. In the Maddison second goal, for example, he completely lost Maddison movement, didn't try to recover and eventually the Leicester player was able to overload the left flank and finish. Goal for Leicester. If not for Martinelli goal just a little bit later, there was a realistic chance Leicester could have fought for a draw.

Now, against Leicester that's not really problematic. The problem starts when Arsenal starts to face teams that can actually exploit these openings, like Tottenham. What happens if Xhaka doesn't track the movement of Kulusevski and Spence?

In my opinion, Arsenal should bring Tielemans and move Partey to left. 3-2-5 formation on the ball, Partey and Tielemans as a double 6 in front of the defense. Partey covers for Zinchenko moving out wide, Martinelli can play more centralized, exploiting spaces left by Jesus movements and Tielemans would create a direct link-up with Odeegard, while also providing primary cover to the zone in front of the defense during counterattacks, while Partey would be the one responsible for tracking the movement of the RW/RB/RM adversary.

 

[dashsnow17]

Willian

 

[BergMan]

I believe his box-to-box role forces Zinchenko and Martinelli to focus too much in creating through the left, especially because both play closer to the line. I believe this limit this focus on creating through the fullbacks/wingers makes it harder for the team to connect with Odeegard on the right.
As a consequence, I think playing Xhaka in this 8 type of role limit the action for the entire right side of the Arsenal build-up (Basically, Ode and Saka).

As a defender, Xhaka was regular, but in the few times he was tried in the match, I spot some significant weaknesses. In the Maddison second goal, for example, he completely lost Maddison movement, didn't try to recover and eventually the Leicester player was able to overload the left flank and finish. Goal for Leicester. If not for Martinelli goal just a little bit later, there was a realistic chance Leicester could have fought for a draw.

Now, against Leicester that's not really problematic. The problem starts when Arsenal starts to face teams that can actually exploit these openings, like Tottenham. What happens if Xhaka doesn't track the movement of Kulusevski and Spence?

In my opinion, Arsenal should bring Tielemans and move Partey to left. 3-2-5 formation on the ball, Partey and Tielemans as a double 6 in front of the defense. Partey covers for Zinchenko moving out wide, Martinelli can play more centralized, exploiting spaces left by Jesus movements and Tielemans would create a direct link-up with Odeegard, while also providing primary cover to the zone in front of the defense during counterattacks, while Partey would be the one responsible for tracking the movement of the RW/RB/RM adversary.

The main reason the right side’s been a bit more limited is because Ben White as a right back doesn’t provide overlaps therefore Saka and Ødegaard have more work to do.
There was nothing wrong with Xhaka’s defending. It’s not his job to track Maddison all the way to the byline. Midfielders have to mark the space at the edge of the box zonally. It was Zinchenko and Gabriel not going over to close down quick enough. Mostly Ramsdale’s fault though because Maddison shouldn’t be scoring from that angle.

 

[celestis]

Willian

Freudian 😁

 

[Regista21]

The main reason the right side’s been a bit more limited is because Ben White as a right back doesn’t provide overlaps therefore Saka and Ødegaard have more work to do.
There was nothing wrong with Xhaka’s defending. It’s not his job to track Maddison all the way to the byline. Midfielders have to mark the space at the edge of the box zonally. It was Zinchenko and Gabriel not going over to close down quick enough. Mostly Ramsdale’s fault though because Maddison shouldn’t be scoring from that angle.

Exactly. Man City has the exact same problems as Arsenal, as they're playing in somewhat similar fashion. In their case, Gundogan does the box-to-box role in the left. And the end result was an unidimensional team with the action happening only on the left side... Until Guardiola inverted both his fullbacks, allowing Walker to have a more creative role in the midfield. It helps Rodri is a better organizer than Partey.
BUT Arsenal can't do that, because one of the bases of our defense is working with 3 centerbacks when in possession. And it has been working wonders, actually. So you need to solve that problem in other ways. Right now, there's pretty much nothing that can be done. But if Tielemans arrive, you could make that change I just said and allow more distribution on the right, while Zinchenko and Martinelli have more space to work on the left, allowing Arsenal to be more multidimensional on the buildup.

Now, about Xhaka's defending. It is his job to track Maddison all the way there, because the way we play forces Zinchenko to play way up field. So whoever is on the LCM role needs to cover for him. When Xhaka's playing 8, Zinchenko himself is responsible to cover, but when Zinchenko is operating high on the wing and Xhaka drops to the LCM, he has to make that move like a fullback in order to not allow the other team to overload our left flank. He failed in doing so and this was one of the reasons the 2nd Leicester goal happened.

 

[razörist]

Form The Foxes Talk

Everyone knew Brentford would beat United too, that’s what gets me

 

[Oxeki]

Freudian 😁

Or deliberate 🤔

 

[Heavy Duty Rom]

Who invented this slapping eachother on the head when you score a goal. They are going to end up with concussion or something, bozos.