Beaten by a better team away from home, no shame in that We all know where we have to improve, it's discussed here ad infinitum: back 4 isn't good enough for top half prem, prodl is too slow and poor with the ball, mapps being our best cb says more about how poor the rest are rather than how good he is or isn't, we are incapable of marking set pieces, we don't have a striker able to play the lone role and its questionable any of them are good enough for top half prem regardless of formation anyway, 442 leaves us overloaded in midfield, pereyra and richarlison flatter to deceive... Score the pen and they might have been rocked We'll get stuffed by Liverpool away
Disagree. I think they were far from impressive. The only difference between the two sides was one took their chances the other didn't. If we had been dominated you would have a point imo.
Deulofeu, Chalobah and Cleverley would improve Watford no end, but apart from those three, I can't think of any other injured player who would make any real difference if fit. So, we're only really missing three players, and one of those isn't even ours. We need quite an influx of talent in the summer. Far too often our players go missing in games throughout the season. Wing backs, central defence and a striker all required. If Doucoure does go, then we need a replacement for him also. I'm not too bothered if Richarlison goes, but I think his form has been so unimpressive for a long time now, that any club previously wanting him would be now put off.
To be fair it was not a terrible performance. We cant put in 90 minutes, conceded some poor goals and missed some chances. Pereyra should have scored and the penalty makes it a game.
Wasn't as bad as people here are saying, this place always goes into an emotional melt down depending in whether we win or lose. TD was a large part of the reason we got 6 points from the last 2 games, yet a penalty miss later & he needs to go in the summer. We try to make the best of what we've got, which is a mid to lower PL squad...& sorry to tell you that it will be the same next season, still better than being in the Championship.
Oh well. Thought we did ok actually but so predictable Deeney would miss!! Arsenal quality told but we certainty played our part in an open game.
Kabasele would have improved us today. Prodls' lack of mobility is often a problem against pace! A center-back, left-back and striker (all need to be a notable improvement on what we have) would be sufficient to push the team forward, I think. I reckon Karnezis will join permanently.
I though it was a racking game of football 2 teams going for the win we should have gone in level at half time and been in front before their second got hit by 2 sucker punches while pressing for the equaliser 3-0 a very flattering score line
Sums my thoughts up perfectly! One other thing - I know Arse have been going through a rough patch but there must have been nearly 20,000 empty seats at the ground today. Loved the 'your ground's too big for you' chant!
Every season the pack is shuffled, to stay up next season we will probably have to improve on what we have at the moment we had a blistering start away this season which is unlikely to be repeated next! I don't understand as to why they gave Prodl a 5 year contract last September, by his current form he is unlikely to see out at end of next season let alone another three after that!
I think that the criticism of the team today is a little unfair. We've had a good run of form. I think Arsenal had a good game and something to prove, and they proved it today. Deeney missing the penalty was hardly predictable, as he's put them away this season. I think the lack of finishing separated the two sides, with two clear chances we could have drawn or even won that match. The subs were the right choice but considering the setting we should have played that team from the outset and put a goal away first rather than letting them come on to us. Not a bad performance from us but we have to look to the next game. We've beaten giants before and I'm sure we can do it again.
My feeling is that we'll drop off and clubs like Bournemouth will go past us, with the likes of Burnley, Leicester, and even Everton a good few points beyond us. Though, I hope I'm wrong.
Most annoying thing is that I watched that in a pub in North London with about 50 Arsenal fans. They really are a bunch of ****s. After going from winning trophies, to the imaginary fourth place trophy they used to celebrate, they now have the pretend Cojones Trophy to go crazy about. This genuinely seems to be the highlight of their season.
I didn't think that was too bad really. As has been said by UEA, in a parallel universe, we could have won it. As we could equally have lost 1-2 against the Chelski. As also indicated earlier, I watched the game in the Fox & Hounds in Croxley about 2m as the 'Orn flies S.W. from the Vic. UEA's and Mr Paul Nanson's (also an ex. Vic Roadie's) previous home-turf I believe. Full of no-colours Gooners (and one Chelski colour) who have moved out from the smoke 'cause they could buy a small semi-detached bungalow on the edge of the greenbelt in S.W. Herts. Plus one who claimed to have lived locally all his life. When I suggested that he might have perked up a bit earlier then he didn't like it. Bless. Back in the day it was the same for different reasons. All glory boys at the school. No matter. I'll continue to give it large on home territory. If some don't like it then I couldn't really give a flying f.ck. But it might be nice to have a bit of moral support on occasion.
As for our overall performance I think a lot of people on here are being a overly harsh on the boys, as although we did not play well I don't think we played that bad either. For instance:- Richarlson: was unlucky not to score today on at least two occasions, and I thought it was his best performance for a while. Holebas: showed a lot of fight in open play, but his set peices were not so good today. Karnezis: Was our MOTM, with some great saves. Janmatt, Prodl and Mariappa: Did not have good games. Femina: A few people have praised him, but his set peices were not that good, and neither was his open play. Doucoure: Did OK, but he has played a lot better. Capoue: Not bad, but not good. Hughes: Did OK when he came on but nothing special by his standards. Pereyra: Showed some nice touches, but what a sitter he missed. Okaka: Hustled and bustled, but was not as good as he has been recently. Deeney: Did not play well, and what a terrible penalty miss. It's about what I expected from today, we were just beaten by a better team. In fact I think the scoreline should have been more like 6-3 to Arsenal, as Karnezis made some great saves, but so did Cech for the Gooners, furthermore Arsenal should have had a penalty, and we should have a 2nd one as well. All in all I'm not happy with the result, but I'm not to disappointed either, it's about what I expected.
Im surprised by some of the comments, Arsenal werent "impressive" or even that good. Both sides defended poorly and the only difference between the two teams was that they took their chances. The scoreline flatters them for sure and while I dont begrudge Arsenal the win but we really should have got something from the game - it wasnt hard to see why they lost 4 of the last 5. Disappointing result and disappointing manor in which we lost the game. From an attacking point of view I thought it was actually a much improved performance from our last couple of away games even if the finishing was lacking. I think the criticism that Richie is getting is unfair, he was better than RP or Deeney and should have been awarded a a fk/pen at the end for a deliberate bodycheck by the arsenal defender. The miss by RP just about summed the game up for us, he had all the time in the world to take a touch and he didnt even have to shoot - Mapps was square with the easiest of tap ins. We waste so many opportunities from set pieces its a joke. Surely we have someone at the club who can take a half decent corner? Defensively we definitely regressed, not just the back four but as a team. Players being caught out of position (Jan Maat especially), not picking up markers or runners, slow leisurely jogging to get back (really evident in the 2nd and 3rd goals - capoue & Jan Maat stick in my mind), poor distribution, Capoue and Decoure sat so deep in the first half it was like playing with a back 6. I have some sympathy for Prodl & Mariappa, they had no protection at all. Arsenal fans really are the most pathetic self entitled bunch of tourists. As another poster put it they make more noise on Arsenal tv then they do inside the ground and I dont think ive watched a game where so many in the ground were trying to film it on their iphones.
I'm hoping that as Gracia is almost certain to be in charge next season, there's an incentive for players to perform, unlike previous years where QSF and Wally were pretty much packed and ready to go by this time. There's a definite split in the squad between the deadwood and those that are hungry to play.
It is literally true as well. I spotted an Australian Arsenal supporters banner hanging up on the Sky coverage.
On the back of last weeks chatter that people like myself who like Deeney and think he’s our best striker don’t criticise him - here it is. Awful today and an extremely lazy penalty which was more important than just being a goal - it was our ticket back into the game. You get many chances to do that at any of the big clubs in the PL and he needed to make sure. His comments came back to haunt him today which was always likely to happen. Richarlison so so desperately needs to sit out for a bit. Doucoure is only the player that we and the media know he can be when he plays alongside Cleverley, who gives him license to roam a bit. He’s wasted and looks average or worse next to Capoue. Seems Gomes is being forced out if his contradiction on Twitter is anything to go by. Femenia best of a bad bunch today. Pereyra needs to seriously toughen up or shipped out. He’s been a passenger all season save for a few minutes.
We dominated most of the play, dominated possession at the Emirates. Quality of finishing was the difference. So it goes. Arsenal are such a nothing entity, I can't even dislike them as much as I want to. The half empty stadium, the fans who do show up sit in silence. Days like this make my proud to support a real football club.
The highlight of my afternoon was resident brainbox GoingDown telling us all that Deeney has been putting in man of the match performances recently. This confirms my suspicion that he is in fact a modern day Sky Sports football fan melt who thinks man of the match should go to people like big Troy who scores a goal, therefore, GoingDown can conveniently forget that he has been ***** for the whole game.
There's certainly a divide between squad and first team regulars. I think Gracia will insist on getting some Premier League defenders to the club. We cannot have another season like this one. Watford are a soft touch defensively. We've tightened up recently, but all the bad habits were back today. Useless marking for the first Arsenal goal, with Holebas acting like a fairy. Players jogging back without any real conviction. The determined resolution of the last couple of weeks was not there from the first whistle. We have too many "squad" players, who can play the odd game here and there, but they shouldn't be relied upon for as much as they have. Of course we need certain players who are happy to make up the numbers, but we have far too many like this. As long as we have players like Holebas, Zeegelaar, Janmaat, Britos, Prodl & Mapps playing as often as they do, then we will always be easy to score against. It's at odds with some of the quality we have in the side. Deulofeu, Chalobah, Doucoure, Cleverley, Hughes and possibly Richarlison. These are the players that can take us to the next level. A team that will sit comfortably in mid-table. The league is a little strange in that outside of the top 6 or 7, every team could still get relegated. I think that trend will stop over the next couple of years though, and the league will tighten up in quality. There will be a bigger gap between the strugglers and mid-table than it is now. We need to be on the right side of this. I'm a bit surprised why we have extended contracts of so many players that struggle to perform consistently. Players like Holebas, Prodl and Capoue have all been given contract extensions. Zeegelaar was given a 4 year deal. It looks like it's our plan to keep these guys around for some time, when I find it hard to justify keeping them.
Yeah but it’s an easier and much funnier chant than: “ your ground that will record a 55,000 gate but we all know that’s bulls£it you’ve only got 30,000 and what is more appears to have a significant number of tourists in attendance” chant.
