Smith-Rowe is a gem that must be protected at all cost.... pepe on the other hand na dirty abeg!

Ramsdale was faultless
Full of confidence cs on EPL debut is good
The midfield worked tirelessly for the defence
Mehn that chinko guy is handful

We won relegation battle with a scrappy goal
Goals still missing

We move on the next bottom league match battle against burnley

I will gladly take the 3 points abeg!

#COYG

Roland17:
I will gladly take the 3 points abeg!

#COYG

Yes. And the lads needed to get that pressure off.

iamoyindamola:
Ramsdale was faultless
Full of confidence cs on EPL debut is good
The midfield worked tirelessly for the defence
Mehn that chinko guy is handful

We won relegation battle with a scrappy goal
Goals still missing

We move on the next bottom league match battle against burnley

Defence today ohhhhh especially Chinko and Gabriel choi. Gabriel was available anyday anytime.


Our attack sha, mehn I dont know what to make of Pepe,

johnjunior39:



Defence today ohhhhh especially Chinko and Gabriel choi. Gabriel was available anyday anytime.


Our attack sha, mehn I dont know what to make of Pepe,

Pepe is a fraud nothing more nothing less

Pepe is a fraud talks again?

The biggest attacking threat on the pitch is a fraud?

He won 5/7+ corners and he's a fraud?

Meanwhile....

I enjoyed watching this guy play. I hope he gives more of such performance.

I also like the fact that the fans encouraged him all through the match

daveP:
Pepe is a fraud talks again?

The biggest attacking threat on the pitch is a fraud?

He won 5/7+ corners and he's a fraud?

Pepe actually tried today.....He just needs to work on his ball control like I pointed out yesterday and then his decision making. He takes so much time to make up his mind and EPL players hardly give u that time. We could've scored more goals if he was as sharp as dem Alexis Sanchez.

I hope he gets better tho.

BlueRayDick:
I enjoyed watching this guy play. I hope he gives more of such performance.

I also like the fact that the fans encouraged him all through the match

He was full of energy
Strong and agile
Saka has been just there this season no spark

iamoyindamola:

He was full of energy
Strong and agile
Saka has been just there this season no spark

Which spark u dey find again? That boy needs to rest. He played the whole of last season as a 19 year old, followed that up with playing at the Euros till the final and he no rest again he's back in the EPL....He's just 20.

Even them Alexis that played back to back to back tournaments at their peak later lost steam.... If we no allow the boy to rest, his body will pick a resting period for him.(That is if that is not already heppening)

U guys won today but ur thread is dull. I dey expect mke una don pop champagne na.

There's a big difference when you have both Partey and ESR on the pitch attacking wise.
Saka needs a break. Pepe should be first choice RW for now.
Pepe had a decent game. I don't know why people keep hating on him. We should be trying to isolate him one on one with the opposition full back.
Auba looks washed tbh. We should definitely be looking at a striker next summer.

daveP:
Roland17 I think this solves the line up? Only Mikel no go reason use Auba the right way plus overdependence on TopCrosser.


There was a time i remember (hums)


Memories bring back memories bring back Who?



Patino 87..... Calls for him to hit the gym already increasing from Arsenal fans in London. They can't wait.


Overall, i won't lie, if Wishere got advicers to make him go la Liga,by now....

Baba, I have always advocated for a more aggressive formation that pushes us up and that means exploring a 1 man pivot at the base. These your pics of old memory dey always make me sad..

BlueRayDick:


Which spark u dey find again? That boy needs to rest. He played the whole of last season as a 19 year old, followed that up with playing at the Euros till the final and he no rest again he's back in the EPL....He's just 20.

Even them Alexis that played back to back to back tournaments at their peak later lost steam.... If we no allow the boy to rest, his body will pick a resting period for him.(That is if that is not already heppening)

You know that spark that makes us call him sakadinho
Yes he needs rest

edi287:
There's a big difference when you have both Partey and ESR on the pitch attacking wise.
Saka needs a break. Pepe should be first choice RW for now.
Pepe had a decent game. I don't know why people keep hating on him. We should be trying to isolate him one on one with the opposition full back.
Auba looks washed tbh. We should definitely be looking at a striker next summer.

Who are the people hating on him?

How does pointing out the deficiency in his game equate to "hating on him"?

Somebody made a point here on Friday that Pepe has been unable to get his mojo because he's playing in front of a static and lesser quality RB in the person of chambers; I agreed that is partly true, but that Pepe himself needs to get some things right like ball control, trapping the ball and making fast decisions on the go.

Yesterday game we saw Pepe playing with Tomiyasu who gave a really good performance on his debut, yet those aforementioned deficiencies in Pepe's game were still evident. Even when he was one on one with Norwich players, they quickly closed him them cos he was taking time to take decision which most EPL defenders won't allow u to do.

If Partey didn't come on yesterday as a sub, we would most likely have drawn or lost the match in the late minutes of the match.

The steel he brought into the midfield was all we needed and then he's also more direct in making passes upfront. He was precise and not just recycling possession when he need not to.

As regards Ramsdale stepping up in goal for Leno.....hmmm. I didn't see Ramsdale make muchbdifficukt saves cos White and Gabriel partnered really well at the back, so I can't judge how good he is at making unbelievable saves like Leno. However, truth be told he's a better passer of the ball from the back. He seems comfortable playing from the back compared to Leno; at a time he nearly gave the ball away, but instead he dribbled the oncoming player, relaxed and gave a decent pass afterwards. Hoping he's equally good at making saves and not just a taller Runnerson.

In all Honesty I don't see that sharp striker in Auba again. I mean the first goal Lukaku scored yesterday, Auba got a replica and he played it into the Norwich Keeper's leg. The Auba that played in the FA cup final would've dribbled the defending charging by his side like Lukaku did and comfortably score the goal. We really need to get a striker in January and stop this nonsense thought of growing a young team for the future cos the future might meet us in the championship If we continue like this o

BlueRayDick:
If Partey didn't come on yesterday as a sub, we would most likely have drawn or lost the match in the late minutes of the match.

The steel he brought into the midfield was all we needed and then he's also more direct in making passes upfront. He was precise and not just recycling possession when he need not to.

As regards Ramsdale stepping up in goal for Leno.....hmmm. I didn't see Ramsdale make muchbdifficukt saves cos White and Gabriel partnered really well at the back, so I can't judge how good he is at making unbelievable saves like Leno. However, truth be told he's a better passer of the ball from the back. He seems comfortable playing from the back compared to Leno; at a time he nearly gave the ball away, but instead he dribbled the oncoming player, relaxed and gave a decent pass afterwards. Hoping he's equally good at making saves and not just a taller Runnerson.

In all Honesty I don't see that sharp striker in Auba again. I mean the first goal Lukaku scored yesterday, Auba got a replica and he played it into the Norwich Keeper's leg. The Auba that played in the FA cup final would've dribbled the defending charging by his side like Lukaku did and comfortably score the goal. We really need to get a striker in January and stop this nonsense thought of growing a young team for the future cos the future might meet us in the championship If we continue like this o

Lol @ future meeting us at championship

What’s the guarantee that the players they want to develop for the future won’t leave when they are developed in that future for better offers.

This vicious circle has to stop. It’s those that still believe in this nonsense that I can’t fathom what spell the club has cast on them.

Good morning.. E ku 3 points o

A true gunner

A lot of work still needs to be done on this team. Fair enough we won but spells in the game where Norwich were dominating is still worrying. However, I have to say that Sambi is breath of fresh air and Odeegard was my man of the match. It was not for his passes and movement but for two critical moments in the game when Emile came on and he switched to left side of midfield to partner KT.

His AWARENESS to read the counter attacking threat when our defenders had pushed up and stop any cross from that right flank on two occasions in the second half was worthy of praise. The ordinary football lover may not see this but someone who understands the game well enough knows that no matter the score line, the game is not over until the final whistle. For me Odeegard showed better maturity in critical moments than Saka.

This does not dicredit my star boy in any way but these are critical phases in football education that he needs to learn and understand to take him to a higher level.

I will discuss Pepe matter shortly

Pepe needs some serious one on one coaching to unlock his potential to the fullest.

Honestly he was a big threat all through that match but in my opinion , it's not that he lacks good decision making, but slow decision making. I will be amazed if he has not yet come to the realization that in the Epl, you need not only to make good decisions but you need to make them fast.

Again his pressing was not to inspiring and I saw Odeegard kept waving for him and the rest to close up the space when he charges down the defenders. Pepe on most occasions was shadowing space when in fact he should be pressing high at least not more than 10 yards to Martin while Tomi also closes space behind the two all in one swift motion.

Knowing when to shadow space to hold a defensive line is different from actually closing down a player in a press and those small nuances of understanding is critical. Jorgino of Chelsea is a very good example of a player with excellent understanding of this nuance.

As rightly pointed out here, there were occasional periods in the game where is inability to make quick decisions killed our momentum in the attacking third. At this level you do not get too much time and space and as such your transition has to be a lot quicker.

Questions I am asking myself is whether our coaching staff are doing enough to help him in this regards or his he the one who is not just able to do it. Either way it would be a shame if he cannot fulfill his true potential here

Roland17:


Baba, I have always advocated for a more aggressive formation that pushes us up and that means exploring a 1 man pivot at the base. These your pics of old memory dey always make me sad..

I one man pivot is something we can explore especially against weaker teams. Having Odegaard and ESR, we would increase our attacking pressure. We could then fall back to double pivot to close the game. Arteta is clearly a defensive coach and would not want to risk anything.

BlueRayDick:
I enjoyed watching this guy play. I hope he gives more of such performance.

I also like the fact that the fans encouraged him all through the match

The Dominance on both ways and he rarely made a wrong pass. Hopefully, he'd be gingered to do even better, and start assisting goals.

Did Ben White really impress you guys? Noticed we didn't even talk about that.


This game wasn't Saka's. If we had European Campaigns, I'd have said he sits the next game out. But we don't have. He should be given rest regardless.

KT had over 7crosses, none was converted. Is this just an experiment of attacking strategy or the aim is to get at least 1goal out of every 6 KT cross? Or its about Norwich defending well? We should be raking goals from this angle at least. Lots of unlucky chances yesterday. I hope that is sustained. And i also hope the boldness teams get that we will still commit, reduces.


Almost every team has that believe now. That should change before our Boxing Day game vs Norwich.

Tomiyasu bossing the RB position after just one day of training speaks volumes. With a performance like this on his debut, we can only lick our lips.

daveP:
Did Ben White really impress you guys? Noticed we didn't even talk about that.


This game wasn't Saka's. If we had European Campaigns, I'd have said he sits the next game out. But we don't have. He should be given rest regardless.

KT had over 7crosses, none was converted. Is this just an experiment of attacking strategy or the aim is to get at least 1goal out of every 6 KT cross? Or its about Norwich defending well? We should be raking goals from this angle at least. Lots of unlucky chances yesterday. I hope that is sustained. And i also hope the boldness teams get that we will still commit, reduces.


Almost every team has that believe now. That should change before our Boxing Day game vs Norwich.

Yesterday was about the defense. The next game should be about the attack. Arteta has got to work that out. Seriously.

Spy360:

Yesterday was about the defense. The next game should be about the attack. Arteta has got to work that out. Seriously.

How about Ben White's Performance vs Norwich?

daveP:


How about Ben White's Performance vs Norwich?

Ben white played well, I think he learnt from the first three games.

In the Brentford March he was almost always out of place,....The subsequent 2 matches weren't really fun for him as well, but yesterday he did really well in the aerial duels. He also did a good job containing Pukki considering Pukki's reputation of bullying his way past defenders. Pukki would've bundled a ball in yesterday if he had played against someone like holding.

Then there was a particular period he also threw himself at the ball while a Norwich player tried to play a stinging shot.

Overall I think he had a good game yesterday

Spy360:

I one man pivot is something we can explore especially against weaker teams. Having Odegaard and ESR, we would increase our attacking pressure. We could then fall back to double pivot to close the game. Arteta is clearly a defensive coach and would not want to risk anything.

Single pivot solves nothing.

What you odd to understand is that you can be super defensive with a 4-3-3 single pivot. You can be super attacking with a 5-4-1, 5-3-2.

Here's the thing. Koeman plays a 4-3-3 with Busquet as his single pivot but his team is defensively set up. Ole plays a 4-2-3-1 which looks more like a 4-2-4 super attacking.

It's not about the formation, it's about the instructions given by the coach.

Bayern Munich play a double pivot 4-5-1 which looks like a 4-2-3-1 on paper and looks more like a 4-2-4 when attacking with Muller joining the attack as much as he can and also helping the midfield when possible.

Arteta is a defensive coach and that's not gonna change. He's more Mourinho than Pep.

Verdict: Single Pivot solves nothing with Arteta on board!

Spy360:
Tomiyasu bossing the RB position after just one day of training speaks volumes. With a performance like this on his debut, we can only lick our lips.

With that performance yesterday from Tomi, the partnership of White and Gab, the performance of Lokonga and Odegaard, not forgetting the confidence at goal from Ramsdale, if the momentum is maintained with right tactics from our coach, I think we can safely say we had a good transfer window...

My one and only fear is whatever Arteta is coaching them should just be equally good...