PL: Arsenal v Fulham | January 1, 2019 15:00 GMT

[Gunner140]

Attack was very good, as we could have easily hit Fulham for at least 6, if we would take a bit more chances.

Defense is still a problem. Kos just isn't the same after that injury. He made that unnecessary pass to Torreira, which resulted in a goal.

I think that we desperately need a defender in this January transfer window. Defense is like the biggest problem in our game.

 

[LG10]

The fans booing the substitution were pathetic. Its Lacazette not Henry ffs.

 

[TromsoGooner]

Not a bad performance offensively, scored four and had quite a few other good chances which is good even though it was at home to Fulham.
Defensively we were very poor once again and Fulham should have had at least two goals. That`s not just on the defenders, I thought they bypassed our midfield easily.

Positive to have both Aubameyang and Lacazette back among the goals. I thought AMN had a positive game too. Kolasinac very effective once again and even though Iwobi had a mixed performance he got one assist, could have had at least one more, and was generally involved in most of our good moments.

Hopefully we`ll take care of Blackpool and then we`ll have a much needed week of rest that should get us at least Bellerin and Monreal back for the Hammers and Chelski.

 

[Big Poppa]

Watching Sp*rs play Cardiff and it’s notable that nearly everyone in their defence, midfield and attack can;

1) control and pass the ball using either foot
2) release the ball in 3 touches or less
3) play out of the press

Now I’m not saying they are the standard, but their away form is 2nd only to Bayern in Europe’s top 5 leagues and I feel that has a lot to do with how quickly they transition between attacking and defensive phases and I also feel that’s the reason teams get so fewer shots on their goal than ours.

Only City and Liverpool are as impressive in that regard in this league and that’s why we need to, for example recruit defenders who can pass off either foot and midfielders who can do likewise.

I give Xhaka a hard time not because he’s a bad player but because he’s severely exposed in transitions due to his physical limitations. It’s the reason Lucas Leiva and Fernando didn’t survive in Klopp or Guardiola’s systems. He’s very one footed which restricts his passing options and in turn slows down our build up when the opposition close passing lanes. Koscielny in defence is the same. So when people bring up passing stats, it only tells half the story.

These are players who do what they do well but we won’t see the opportunity cost of their limitations until we upgrade our skill set in those traits above.

 

[boyinneedofhumor]

Based on 2nd half :

Play to the whistle, even if aggrieved by refereeing decisions.

Koscielny's days at Arsenal may end earlier if he continues those over-the-top passes/chips.
(Edit : But if compared to Mustafi, it's not bad)

If annoyed at Lacazette's substitution, consider it as withdrawing him early to keep him fresh for next game, than to risk fatigue or injuries to both him/PEA over 90mins.

Thought Torreira might not have positioned himself as deep as he should be during certain moments. That is, if he's designed to be the deepest midfielder.

Result-wise, let's just enjoy it.

 

[Coolin]

Watching Sp*rs play Cardiff and it’s notable that nearly everyone in their defence, midfield and attack can;

1) control and pass the ball using either foot
2) release the ball in 3 touches or less
3) play out of the press

Now I’m not saying they are the standard, but their away form is 2nd only to Bayern in Europe’s top 5 leagues and I feel that has a lot to do with how quickly they transition between attacking and defensive phases and I also feel that’s the reason teams get so fewer shots on their goal than ours.

Only City and Liverpool are as impressive in that regard in this league and that’s why we need to, for example recruit defenders who can pass off either foot and midfielders who can do likewise.

Completely agree with this. Our defenders aren’t technical enough for the modern game. They’re incapable of carrying the ball or timing a pass from deep so they pass it side-to-side with no real purpose, hoping someone else will take responsibility. They make us stagnant in possession and completely go against our philosophy of playing from the back.

We need two new centrebacks that can play with their feet. Sokratis brings passion but he isn’t of the quality needed to challenge.

 

[Fewtch]

Luck is really on our side this season.

 

[ptrcopp]

I have only watched an very extended highlights, but there are several points I think need to be made.

I will begin focusing on the attack because that’s a nice positive.
First, don’t we look better when we play our better players? It allows such much more control of the game. Lacazette is a very good all round forward. He is technical enough to drop in and assist the midfield and general build up but also technical enough to hold the ball up. As well, he’s quick to think so he helps move on our attack quick. Not just with the ball, but his movement too. He’s also clinical. Great for a striker.
We looked so good in parts that it’s amazing why in some games, especially against lower teams, why we didn’t attack like that, even away games. Admittedly some of our chances were because of poor defending, but the attacking on that left side overloaded them. It allowed the better players we had in the game to control play - dictate the game which we seem to have purposely not done.

Defensively, I disagree with some who have said our injuries have meant we would have done better. Only, really, Bellerin is out. He would improve us massively, yes, but would not have stopped the two goals Sessegnon would have scored had he been more experienced/ right footed. They should have been up in the first 15 min.

While we need added personnel, the biggest problem is what we all have been saying for ages - we need a better defensive set up. We seemed to have that at the beginning of the season, with Torreira and Xhaka sitting deep in a 4-2-3-1, but that has been messed with so much it’s disappeared. Similar to Wenger went more defensive... it soon goes because everything is tampered with. Injuries haven’t helped, of course, but a consistent approach surely would.

Because I’ve mentioned Bellerin I want to mention what I think he brings. If he was playing today I think we would have had a more balanced attack. I also don’t think there’s a need for him or Kola to be focused too much on defending, even in a back 4, because they can both be so effective in attack.
But what the last three game season have shown is that Bellerin, while his pace definitely helps defensively, his defensive position is very good and so is his defending in wide areas. We miss both these things, in varying amounts, when we have 3 at the back.

But a positive result, bring on the future!

 

[Big Poppa]

Completely agree with this. Our defenders aren’t technical enough for the modern game. They’re incapable of carrying the ball or timing a pass from deep so they pass it side-to-side with no real purpose, hoping someone else will take responsibility. They make us stagnant in possession and completely go against our philosophy of playing from the back.

We need two new centrebacks that can play with their feet. Sokratis brings passion but he isn’t of the quality needed to challenge.

I could not agree more. There’s absolutely no need for 3 centre backs if 2 of them are comfortable on the ball and good passers. Distribution from the back is the basis of controlling the opposition. It’s obviously key they can defend too but, CBs who are composed on the ball and great passers actually contributes to nullifying the opposition threat as well as allowing the team to play further up the pitch with more confidence.

 

[Wryer]

Agree on the ball playing defenders helping our defensive AND offensive areas.

Knowing your back line can take care of themselves and find THE pass means your midfield can confidently take up dangerous positions, and also means your forwards are willing to make runs. Without that, they will forever be on the back foot, getting ready to get into defensive modes. That split second is all it takes to kill offensive momentum and invite the opposition to pounce and squeeze the life out of the defense.

It's scary to think that our best CB passer is Rob Holding, and he's done for the season. Next in the line is probably Monreal. Even Leno is probably a better passer than Mustafi, Kos and to a lower extent Sokratis.

No, I refuse to count Xhaka as an option in defense.

Mat Hummels?

 

[Ceballinhos]

He’s probably berating Xhaka for going into the box so much right now.

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

We gonna get f**ked on counters then.

 

[CJJ]

We gonna get f**ked on counters then.

We're ****ed on counters regardless at the moment

 

[Jasard]

I could not agree more. There’s absolutely no need for 3 centre backs if 2 of them are comfortable on the ball and good passers. Distribution from the back is the basis of controlling the opposition. It’s obviously key they can defend too but, CBs who are composed on the ball and great passers actually contributes to nullifying the opposition threat as well as allowing the team to play further up the pitch with more confidence.

Its not really changed with Emery either so you'd have to assume we will need a few very smart transfer windows to clear up the squad.

There seems to still be a lot of confusion and panic which I thought someone like Emery might drill out of them, lots of systems and scenarios with and without the ball practiced over and over but its not happened. This is what concerns me the most but it at least took Klopp and Guardiola a while to get things right, I dont really see what Emery is trying to achieve though - I think he's literally just trying to find something that works with these players rather than implement his ideal system.

 

[A_G]

That's the kind of xG you'd expect at home against this kind of team, hopefully we see that more often in the 2nd half of the season. Just need to be more clinical to be able to coast through more games like the top 3.

 

[Makingtrax]

Missed the game flying back from the US. Just watched match of the day highlights.

Nothing’s changed. Great attacking players, poor defenders. Sokratis looking more and more a liability every game. And Kola looks great up front but completely unaware at the back. Mustafi, enough’s been said on here.

A win’s a win though,

 

[Makingtrax]

United are flying high now. Unless we can solve the defensive crisis in January we’ll end up 6th. Maybe use the money from Ramsey to buy a class CB