ICC: Atletico Madrid v Arsenal | July 26, 2018 12:35 BST

[MutableEarth]

I didn't get to catch much of the game, how did we look? How was our attack, midfield, and defense? Who stood out, and who looked like they struggled?

Defense was eh. Bellerin probably looked the best, Mavropanos a close 2nd in the 2nd half. Osei-Tutu was alright looking aswell. The strikers weren't really in the game either.

Smith-Rowe, Guendouzi and Nelson were the standouts. Guendouzi was very comfortable in possession. Demanded the ball and moved around a lot, finding pockets of space - but he was very progressive when he looked to pass and seemed more than happy to dribble into space to create a better opening. My only complaint is that he's not great defensively. The application is there, but the wiles aren't. Lost quite a few duels, although this was symptomatic of the team today, quite a few lost duels.

Nelson was encouraging and bright. Looked dangerous when dribbling and played a few clever passes when he needed to. Didn't see enough of the ball for my liking towards the end of the half and he faded. Nonetheless, it was so refreshing to see him revert to his 1v1 game, we need so much more of that.

Smith-Rowe took time to grow into the game but when he did, everything positive in the final 3rd was coming from him.

EDIT: to say I've seen a lot of criticism of Ramsey, and he wasn't good today, but he's likely taking it easy because it's pre-season. Ramsey has never looked amazing at pre-season any time I've seen him - he's had maybe one good game in the Emirates Cup that I can remember (when we battered Lyon recently I think).

 

[Aevi]

Hope someone better informed will answer you

* we tried 4 and 5 at the back.
* we still suck at defending
* Doozy and ESR stood out. Nelson and AMN had decent games.
* Ramsey quite anonymous
* Kola needs to up his defensive game.
* Our play lacked that final pass without Mkhi or Özil.
* Chambers needs to step up and step out.
* Cech is till No. 1

apart from the first few minutes, we dominated first 30 or so. mocement was great, tempo and energy level. there were some really slick moves and chances created. end of the half Madrid started doing more as we begin to play it too confident and relaxed a bit. started well the 2nd half but faded a bit again when we switched to 3 at back, but also cause both teams changed bodies.

think Guendouzi had very interesting game. started so well he barely put a foot wrong but as the game went on he started to make mistakes which imo are to be expected and were the clear result of first game at new club (at such age and difficulty of position).
really liked him and his confidence.

Smith Rowe never stops impressing. his energetic work on both sides of the pitch is refreshing. that turn he has, agility to escape from defenders looks special.
Nelson too was energetic and lively. had a moment in first 10 minutes when he literally left 4 defenders behind him like nothing, and kept trying for the rest of the match. if it was a PL/EL game madrid’s left back would have a yellow by the half time, and a warning for a red

will rewatch the game for more detailed look, but I also thought Kola and Musti did well, while Laca got hom some good opportunities but couldnt score today

Defense was eh. Bellerin probably looked the best, Mavropanos a close 2nd in the 2nd half. Osei-Tutu was alright looking aswell. The strikers weren't really in the game either.

Smith-Rowe, Guendouzi and Nelson were the standouts. Guendouzi was very comfortable in possession. Demanded the ball and moved around a lot, finding pockets of space - but he was very progressive when he looked to pass and seemed more than happy to dribble into space to create a better opening. My only complaint is that he's not great defensively. The application is there, but the wiles aren't. Lost quite a few duels, although this was symptomatic of the team today, quite a few lost duels.

Nelson was encouraging and bright. Looked dangerous when dribbling and played a few clever passes when he needed to. Didn't see enough of the ball for my liking towards the end of the half and he faded. Nonetheless, it was so refreshing to see him revert to his 1v1 game, we need so much more of that.

Smith-Rowe took time to grow into the game but when he did, everything positive in the final 3rd was coming from him.

EDIT: to say I've seen a lot of criticism of Ramsey, and he wasn't good today, but he's likely taking it easy because it's pre-season. Ramsey has never looked amazing at pre-season any time I've seen him - he's had maybe one good game in the Emirates Cup that I can remember (when we battered Lyon recently I think).

Thanks guys, much appreciated.

 

[<<reed>>]

I miss playing against Boreham Wood.

 

[pigge]

@Aevius
Id like to add that Leno could not have done anything for the goal.

Also though our defence first half was Good exceptionell for the goal(lol). Still feels like focus drops at random.

 

[Mo Britain]

Trying to understand what happened in this game from the comments here is like talking to a schizophrenic.

 

[rich 1990]

Imagine posting paragraphs about a friendly. **** that

 

[dashsnow17]

F*ck sake, pretty sure we'll get used to Emery's touchline behaviour after about 5 mins and realise that it doesn't actually make a difference. A lot of fair criticisms levelled against Wenger, but the fact that he didn't run up and down the touchline isn't f*cking one of them.

 

[krengon]

No way he was man of the match. Looked out of his depth. Which is to be expected. He's not used to the pace of top tier football yet. Got caught while being pressed over and over again just outside our box. It's good that he only did it now and can learn from it.

I wouldn't say out of his depth, but I agree with a lot of this tbh.. Did a lot of nice stuff, but also showed he still has a way to go before he's an option for the first team..

 

[Giroud12]

Auba played on the wing? Thats a bit worrying, even though its only pre season

 

[Mo Britain]

Auba played on the wing? Thats a bit worrying, even though its only pre season

Auba on the wing to accommodate Laca like last season. We'll see if this works but to put a 40 goal a season man on the wing might be wasteful.

 

[Mo Britain]

F*ck sake, pretty sure we'll get used to Emery's touchline behaviour after about 5 mins and realise that it doesn't actually make a difference. A lot of fair criticisms levelled against Wenger, but the fact that he didn't run up and down the touchline isn't f*cking one of them.

End of the day impressive is as impressive does. This was only a friendly so it doesn't count for much but if we'd lost this as a competitive game I wouldn't be happy.

 

[Lakersgooner24]

Most of the action played out with our starters, after they were subbed around the 60th min, the game became a bore.
- Smith-Rowe stood out for me yet again. Always available for a pass and cool in possession along with some nice skills (plus the goal).
- Guendouzi was a mixed bag for me. Played some nice passes and distributed well from the back, but was also caught out in dangerous areas multiple times, dwelling on the ball too long, which led to Atletico chances
- Nelson had some bright moments, but like most youngsters in attacking positions, drifted out of the game quite often
- Impressed with Lacazette's work-rate (harried opponents more than a striker usually does), but didn't have many scoring chances.
- Our defense wasn't tested too much, but I guess they became bored since they did their best to put Atletico in dangerous positions, with our defenders getting caught in possession numerous times trying to play out of danger near our goal. We've got to cut that out or we're going to continue to concede silly goals in the upcoming season

 

[Batman]

Auba on the wing to accommodate Laca like last season. We'll see if this works but to put a 40 goal a season man on the wing might be wasteful.

It didn't affect his scoring at all last season though. He doesn't play as a winger any more than Henry played as a winger. He's just starting from a wider position in the buildup. He still spends a lot of time in the box and when Özil and Mkhi come back he'll be causing havoc with diagonal runs while Laca occupies the CBs. It's not like Emery has him hugging the touch line or anything.

 

[Mo Britain]

It didn't affect his scoring at all last season though. He doesn't play as a winger any more than Henry played as a winger. He's just starting from a wider position in the buildup. He still spends a lot of time in the box and when Özil and Mkhi come back he'll be causing havoc with diagonal runs while Laca occupies the CBs. It's not like Emery has him hugging the touch line or anything.

We don't really know. We know he scored 10/11 goals, but if he'd been leading the attack would he have scored more?

 

[c00lguy]

I dont think Guendozi had as good a game as some here made out to be to be honest.
Some good parts and some bad parts to his game

 

[Song Billong]

No way he was man of the match. Looked out of his depth. Which is to be expected. He's not used to the pace of top tier football yet. Got caught while being pressed over and over again just outside our box. It's good that he only did it now and can learn from it.

Out of his depth? Are you kidding me?

Only criticism I have was his poor timing for headers, but I think that can be changed. Otherwise he was very good, always moving the ball forward, finding small gaps and dribbling through them, playing cross field balls, and making quick decisions.

@Camron FYI

 

[GunnerUK]

I’d imagine PEA would have to play on the wing if we want both him and Lacazette in the same team. Tho I’d really rather Emery tweak the side so they both play upfront even tho a 4-4-2 wouldn’t work with the players we have.

Maybe a 4-1-2-1-2 or something

 

[Camron]

Out of his depth? Are you kidding me?

Only criticism I have was his poor timing for headers, but I think that can be changed. Otherwise he was very good, always moving the ball forward, finding small gaps and dribbling through them, playing cross field balls, and making quick decisions.

@Camron FYI

Havent seen the match unfortunately, but that highlight reel looked very promising, given he’s so young and adjusting to his new surroundings. Very mobile and forward thinking.

 

[every little thing]

Emery Out

 

[Batman]

We don't really know. We know he scored 10/11 goals, but if he'd been leading the attack would he have scored more?

You can play that game with any versatile player though? Would Salah score more goals if he started centrally? Would Neymar? It's not like it's some new position. He was brilliant starting from the left when Lewandowski was up front. What we do know is that both he and Lacazette look better playing together. Both tend to look isolated when played separately. Auba himself, the player in question has said that he prefers to play with Laca. And scored at pretty much the exact same rate in games he played with Laca as games he didn't. The only difference was an increase in assists so his overall influence on the game was better when they played together.