₦airaland Forum

For me though, Between Dani and Saka would be my man of the match. I have said it previously that Dani reminds me of Santi. Plays with both feet and can pick a pass. Its a no brainier that when he started making the passes quicker, Newcastle got stretched and with runners like Auba and Pepe, it was only a matter of time before they broke down. Shout out to Newcastle's Saint Maxima.... that guys wing play was on another level.

My fear was always the balance in strength in midfield if we played ozil and dani together but it was never in doubt that with two ball retention and distribution players of their quality, we should always have more possession and dominate the game. It was just a question of how they would be setup to function on and off the ball and credit must go to Arteta for doing a good job thus far. Again he passed a silent message with the selection that no player is indispensable...Risky but played out nicely and im sure everyone in the squad will be fighting tooth and nail to impress during training in order to make themselves available for selection on matchday.

Jodera:
true. Ozil should go. I still dey wonder why this guy dey bring willock over ceballos. I mean I know he's a loan player, but why loan him if you can't use him especially when we need all the max points presently

Concerning ceballos, I also agree that he needs to start ahead of willock but maybe arteta fears the balance may not be right. Either way I prefer ceb over Willock at this crucial time when we need points

Spy360:
The focus for the rest of this season for me is to build some identity and style of play, which we are perfectly executing. The next is to identify players that we stay, acquire and those to leave. In these times, there are no more rooms for sentiments and gamble. Next season we MUST consider seriously a top 4 finish.

Well said!

Jodera:
lol. Anybody doubt am b4.
Wey jencecyde sef?

I dey oh. Just been watching from the sidelines due to busy schedules. I have always been of the opinion that Martinelli and Saka would be on my team list allday everyday simply because of their attitude on and off the ball not taking away their skill set as well. Xhaka for me is doing what a good player needs to do given all the drama which was forced unto him when made captain. The response is simple. Put in consistent good performances and all the negativity will go. He's still prone to mistakes here and there but he is now playing well especially the second half against Leeds in the fa cup where he was pressing faster and making tackles high up the pitch to kill their rhythm.

Finally the manager has made a huge difference and we can now see their is an identity and players crucially and importantly now know their roles on the pitch which was why some of us kept asking if they were really learning anything under emery.

Xhaka and Torriera now understand that they can not press so high as to leave their defensive zones but call the mids or attackers in front of them to fall back. Xhaka funny enough is now playing a pseudo left back role and understands that when we are defending he stays in the zone with torrera to protect the back four and using our left side he understands that when we push up in attack he should be slotting into the left back role to cover that zone and should the attack break down he switches back to his main zone beside torreira while calling his left back or left side mid to fall back into position.

It's a beauty to watch even though I feel they use the left side for this transition more than the right side.. Cedric for me was a good signing as I watched him in south Hampton as well as Portugal. He keeps it simple and understands his role very well but on and off the ball.

Hopefully we get a good summer with Arteta's own signings and proper preparation season. Patience to let this process take time to complete is all we need now and even if we fumble a bit here and there for now won't be such a big deal. The most important thing is to see the team play good football consistently and so far even in games we have been a man down, they have done brilliantly still keeping a decent shape and maintain the identity and balance. Great times ahead but patience is needed

RIP Kobe! really gutted for his family and the others who lost their lives in the crash. This life belongs to the almighty at the end of the day and we can only pray that he grants us a good one for each and every passing day. On a brighter note, lets hope we can put in a impressive performance tonight. Will need till end of february to actually assess this team but so far, we are beginning to have an identity and our shape is much more better off the ball especially games we have gone a man down and it looked like we were even better than being a man up. That's massive improvement but work still needs to be done and hopefully with a summer window and full pre-season, the manager can take the team forward even more.

Roland17:
Tremendous improvement in the midfield. They have stayed compact with/without possession, moved the ball well, especially in transition, done a decent job covering the back 4, played with a lot of intensity and energy. The best thing I have seen today is the coordinated press from the attack and midfielders.

Wow! Then i must find time to rewatch the match. Looks like we have a coach who has a style he wants to imprint on this team. Lets all hope he succeeds and this shows that with the players we have (not all though) they can be taught to play in a certain manner and carry out those instructions to near perfection and consistently too. Thanks for the update once again

Unfortunately i am not able to watch this match, but can someone assess whether or not there is an improvement in our midfield coordination especially off the ball as well as co-ordination in pressing. These are key areas before moving unto the defense which i beilive may still need time and reinforcements

BlueRayDick:
While I was happy seeing the boys bounce back in the second half of the game yesternight having falling behind in the first half, It is important Ljunberg work more on the Psyche of the players else they will make him Emery 2.0 version. I mean the first indicator of things not being right was Arsenal under Emery always conceding first and later fighting it out to either get a draw and some times win. Even when we played the few games unbeaten last season, almost the same thing happen. We were always chasing games instead of dictating the pace of the game from the first blow of the whistle.

I think he needs to find a way and psyche them up to get their Hustle on from the first minute. We should not be put in position to be chasing games always. You can't chase game against some teams, it won't work all the time. Take a look at City, they hustle you for the first 20 mins of the game. You only win city if you can withstand their pressure for the first 10-20minutes. They will so probe u till u fumble. That's the kind of hustle we should put on.

Ozil in the first half was just too casual, no urgency in his game. He only raised his game in the second half which leaves me wondering why he never did that in the first half. Xhaka has no future whatsoever as a Midfielder in a top club in EPL. If they will keep on using Sokratis at then back, then there should be a rule not to pass to him at the back, that man cannot play ball with his legs; he's unstable like power supply in Okokomaiko....

At the highest level, they always tell you that the first 15 to 20 mins is vital. You need to be physiologically prepared and your concentration levels must be up there in that period. You can effectively lose a game in that period no matter if its still a 90 mins game. How on earth our players always start slow is a worry and rightly said, against a better team , we wont have time to recover let alone be in the game if we do not start fast.

Fkhalifa:
The only fears are:
Sokratis and Xhaka usual errors..
Mike Dean killing the game..
West ham bullying us with their physique.

Let's hope none of the above happens

Jodera:
village people just talk say bellerin and Tierney no go start together for league games

Lol exactly my thoughts

Fkhalifa:
Official team.
Leno
3 K. Tierney
5 S. Papastathopoulos
21 C. Chambers
2 Bellerín
34 G. Xhaka
11 L. Torreira
35 Martinelli
10 M. Özil
19 N. Pépé
14 P. Aubameyang

This should be a straight win if Dean doesn't kill us.

Seems Freddie has now grown some balls and call it as it is. Auba is best in the middle full stop. If there will be a substitution in this game, i would look to take off Ozil and replace him with Laca. Laca should be able to play in the hole as his upper body strength allows him to be the most efficient player with back to goal. All i want is a good performance especially off the ball organization. If the players on this team list have shown fight and understanding with good attitude in training, then they deserve to be there. I'm not really bothered about if they lose, but i want to see significant progress in our defensive organization without the ball. A game is only lost when you concede. We are definitely nowhere near what the Old Arsenal teams used to be but this new team can build gradually and it needs to start first with good organization. Players need to be held responsible for their roles and they must understand what their jobs are on the pitch. One of Toreira or Xhaka must curtail any ehthusiasm to join the attack , that person must never be ahead of the front three/ four cos his job and primary responsibility is to shield the back four. No attack must get to the back four from midfield without going through that person except they go through the wings.

Lets hope for a better showing today.

Lol, I have always said that there are two sides to a game of football. The attacking side and and the defending side. Great teams with success have their styles built on the foundation of playing both sides of the game.

Liverpool may have a fantastic front three but they also have a hardworking front three that not only knows how to attack but also defends and presses when required. I really can't say that for us maybe cos we still don't have proper manager.

Again i have always said that its a crime for a player to have more than 5 seconds on the ball in your attacking third or midfield zone moreso that you are the home team. There were times when Brighton players had far too much time and space on the ball. Credit to our players for trying especially xhaka but the discipline in closing down with players being not more than 10 to 12 yards from each other is not there. I watched this game and honestly, as much as i also criticize the Freddie selection. I was not happy with some of the pressing. Some players would press while some would stay far back .Thats not pressing, its suicide cos a good team will simply pick one apart with that sort of pressing.

Great to see that people noticed how Brighton Pressed us with putting at least 4 players in our attacking third to stop us playing from the back and building momentum. This is not down to just how the players are coached but how the players execute the instructions they are given to the letter and consistently.

I can't fault the attitude of Torriera, Xhaka and Kola in this Game as well as Pepe when he came on but the front three need to take a good look at themselves. Ozil Auba and Laca need to work hard. In fact they need to be drilled even after training hours on basics of pressing and if one person is not fit enough(cos pressing requires high fitness levels) they should be replaced.

This is why Saka would always be in my team. The boy can be taught and with the little i have seen of him, he can be part of something big as well as martinelli for their direct attitude off and on the ball.

Willock needs to be taken out of the firing line to not kill his confidence as i beilive he may still come good but atm its not happening for him.

I want to see Freddie and Per man up to be able to drop players that are not fit enough or lack the right attitude to play his own style which is the Arsenal way.

I am not writing him off just yet but from the next game, his selection will be seriously called to question and the way the players play off the ball if they want to press will also be scrutinized. For crying out loud these guys are pro players paid high fees. How can they not be able to carry out simple strategies based on instructions.

I sincerely hope we get Allegri. 5 Serie A and 4 Copa Italia nd 2 CL FInals!! WOW! That's even better than i thought. I know he actually came into a AC Milan Team that was dead and made them competitive again before he left for Juve where he became a beast.

Fingers crossed that the board makes this one count.

Spy360:
Rate these managers from the most preferred....

Mikel Arteta, Freddie Ljunberg, Mauricio Pochentino, Max Allegri, Nuno Espirito Santo.

This is tough, so I have to split my head from my heart.

My Head
1. Max Allegri
2. Nuno Espirito Santo
3. Mikel Arteta
4. Mauricio Pochentino
5. Freddie Ljunberg

My Heart
1. Mikel Arteta
2. Freddie Ljunberg
3. Max Allegri
4. Nuno Espirito Santo
5. Mauricio Pochentino

What's yours?

My first Choice would be Allegri. I remember when he took on the AC milan Job and did a fantastic job with putting them back in shape thereby enhancing His managerial experience. He then went on to Juve to completely dominate the league over a 3 year period also qualifying from Group stages of the Champs league as well as one Final Appearance. If we are looking at the now solution with a target of 2 to 3 seasons, then MAX is my choice.

However, if we are looking long term with a view to total rebuilding, having a style and identity to be known for and developing from within to let everyone from the youth to female team embrace the playing culture, then I'd go for Mikel Arteta. He his under the tutelage of one of the best managers of this era who has won so much in 3 different leagues. He practically understands the philosophy of his Master who is indeed very successful. Plus he was a club captain and loved within the Club ranks as well as being a fan favorite. The only problem would be, Are we willing to give him time? Because being under tutelage is different from actually being the boss. Henry is a case in study who even after working with Martinez in the Belgian team which by the way is the Top ranked in the world did not have a first successful stint as manager.

All in all , Max would be my first choice while Arteta would be my second.

Spy360:
Good point.

Just to add, we can't play a 4-4-2 because we lack that big mobile guy in midfield. Our midfield would be out run like they don't exist. Plus our useless defence. They will just die of shots.
A 4-3-3 should be OK, but that's what we are getting whooped for. Our defence can't survive on their own and need the midfield to cover so much space for them. This will make the system disjointed and weaken our attack.
4-5-1 may suit us better. It means no inverted wingers as we have currently.

More importantly, that I am typing all this bull craps shows we have a very useless manager who doesn't know his job.

#EmeryOutNow

Lol! everyone really wants Emery out. I agree that 4-4-2 without the right personnel would be an audacious task but when i look at Sheffield which i enjoy watching because they so remind me of the old Arsenal except they don't have the quality of players we possessed. One thing that strikes me is that they are well drilled in their organisational positioning off and on the ball consistently, no matter who they play. And i beilive if less quality players with no disrespect to them can put up consistent performances playing the system, how much more , the Arsenal team with top earners and better quality of players. It simply means either the coach does not have something to offer or the players are unable to execute what he has to offer.

And again i also agree that maybe emery should stop the tinkering and revert to the 4-3-3 which kinda suits the players at his disposal but make sure to play them in their ideal and preferred positions.

In a typical 4-4-2 (not the diamond) You have a central Mid and Defensive mId. One of the greatest lessons i learned was that you as a defensive mid(which was my position) have the utmost responsibility of protecting or shielding your back four. At no point in time unless its absolutely necessary that you should be ahead of your central mid. You must always be an angle to him no more than 15 to 12 yards apart.


This was the greatest drill and lesson that whenever i watch a game and look at the setup of the team. I keep on asking. Who is responsible for shielding the defense? If its Torreira, then why does he always have to be far ahead of Guen for no reason at times? If its Guen then why does he have to be far into the opposition box at times with no communication for torreria to cover him. There is absolutely no form of responsibility passed on to individuals in the game , hence we look so disjointed at times like secondary school students.

I remember Chelsea fans calling for Sarris head when he pushed Kante more forward but in actual fact he did nothing wrong. All he did was pass responsibility of protection to Jorghino and gave kante a new responsibility which is to press from the attack. Whether Kante is the right personell for that is debatable but when you watch Chelsea, just notice how Jorghino is hardly ever ahead of Kova or any of his other mids. The guy simply understands his role. Some coaches have choice of personell for roles which people may not agree with based on size pyshice etc ... but the key thing is that Once you are assigned a position. You need to take responsibility and play that role as instructed.

Why should a Dm and still be bursting into the box everytime to score? Is that his primary assignment?

Maybe i need to stop now as there's so much in-depth footie discuss that one can go on and on with, plus work dey tommorow jare

Roland17:
This is an intelligent piece. The Cameroonian player you are referring to is Lauren Etame...

Thanks! The name just skipped my mind. How we missed those good times when we knew the starting eleven week in week out

Fkhalifa:
The bolded as our greatest undoing, hmmm, its deep..

I like your Auba Analysis, he will continue to be running and defending so far he plays wing roles, He is a CF and should be made to score

Sadly, this is the fault of Emery as i beilive Auba is one of the most in-form strikers around the top leagues and he his made to do so much work that ordinarily should be left to the midfielders and defenders. His energy should be conserved for pressing and making runs to draw out and pressurize defenses and not to be used in defending for the entirety of the game? How he still manages to score with so much work is credit and respect to him.

Shame how the stats this stats that is what is now used to judge players. Really laughable it is. Back then all the coaches needed were to see what you did in training and what you consistently delivered game after game for them to know if truly you would become a success in the sport.

I look at this present arsenal team and in my opinion , its not a bad squad at all, its just needs a better coach at the moment. Bar a few players that are not up to scratch especially in the defense and midfield, its a decent squad that should be challenging for trophies.

Watching the last game and seeing Auba who is supposed to be scoring goals upfront having to track down runners on either side of the fullback positions at times was worrisome. Taking off Hector when you switched to a 4-4-2 after it seemed the 3-5-2 was not working and not replacing with another fullback was also confusing as it left so much gap on that side that gave southampton more than enough chance win the game by a clear margin.

By the way i am a lover of 4-4-2 and the best years of Arsenal was when we played 4-4-2 imho with Henry Bergkamp up top. Frediie and Pires either side of the midfield and Ray/Viera/Gilberto in the middle with one as central and one as defensive mid. The back four picked it self with Keown, Adams, Silvigno and the Camerounian(cant remeber the name now). and of course David Seaman in Goal. Every player understood their roles and i cant ever remember Henry having to be tracking a winger back all the time or Dennis Bergkamp defending on the wings... Its just absurd to see the lack of organization with Emery's constant tinkering when honestly he should just have stuck with his 4-3-3 and improve on it.

The greatest undoing of ours was not the system we played but Wenger failing to replace the players that had given him so much success with the system. we went from Henry to Shamack and Sanogo and from Viera to Denillson and co. Altogether AW now had to change his system to accommodate less skilled players when we could have used money from the sales of the good ones to get like for like replacements and ensure continuity. This is where Sir Alex and Diego Simeone got it right. Once a High profile player was sold, the money was re-invested to near or better quality of that player so that he fits seamlessly into the system rather than buy a less better player and start having problems only to change the system entirely.

Well i hope one day , we will hire a top manager who will stick to his style and only procure the right personell to execute his style come rain or shine

Pretty much a mid table club mentality that Emery is turning this club into. Why are we conceeding possession to Leicester? This is not Arsenal anymore. We need a coach with a seasoned big coach mentality. Is this how we want to get top four? Being compact does not mean being defensive. Just look at how Sheffield outplayed spurs at home? And yet they were able to defend properly when it mattered.

Definitely not looking to watch arsenal play like this all season. It's horrible.

By the way. How long has BR been managing Leicester? Their football is great to watch no doubt and honestly it would take something of a miracle to even get a draw from them with the way we are playing

Jodera:
But to be sincere. Let's talk arsenal.
Like play like play, we're turning to something else. During Wenger time, I only know Chelsea (mou era) and man u with stoke away are our bogey team. But now, crystal palace don turn bogey team, wolves don turn bogey team, not minding Liverpool and mancity. Leicester would soon turn to one and God help us, Sheffield might turn one from next season. We're not even creating chances again, b4 we can even say weda we wan miss or not. I remember how we use to provoke that our players aren't ruthless in front of goal, now to even see to chances sef na big war. Everything is just wrong with this man, from tactics, to sub, to determination of the players, it's not just there. I mean look at Liverpool, you could see anger in their play even after they equalised. But Emery? You remove laca put martinelli.
Remove toreira put in saka. It's as if he was just giving them Lee way to equalise(just like Liverpool carabao cup), and wen dey did, he maintained the score by putting in kolasinac. Lol.
Mehn, if lampard is doing wonders at Chelsea, at least let's try Ljumberg na...but Emery should not last till December

Really worrisome indeed. Some things need to change asap

kokaneprodigy:
he is a troll.
TBH he’s been civil as a troll. If some peeps troll u here u go provoke gan be that.

I guess so too, but the last time i had an exchange on this thread. I know it was not too pleasant. Ever since then i just kept it cool to only relate and debate only reasonable arguments. I don't take kindly to unnecessary abuses as well but anyways lets just discuss the game and Arsenal moving forward.

thorrvik55:
God!! U really expect someone to read this type of long epistle of lamentation? Try and make ur wailings shorter next time o

I don't really exchange banter online as much but next time try to be more civil in your response.

One thing is for sure, Without Ozil's and Ceballos ball retention capabilities, im sure we would have lost this match and be totally dominated in the midfield. At home against Wolves and we are struggling? What does Emery really want? One day its 4231 next day is 443 , then the next is 442... Its becoming really confusing even for the fans after a season and already into a second season. It was painful to watch at times but ozil and ceballos did a decent job of controlling the tempo when we were in position. I really do not also understand why Torreira has this license to go forward, should it not be Guen to do that while torreira sits and shields the defense?

We can blame the defense all we want but in this match, there was zero protection for them cos torriera kept bombing forward and guen is not yet matured to hold that defensive midfield position well even though he his better going forward. He nearly cost us some goals with poor awareness when receiving the ball from either the goal keeper of central defenders, and ozil had to come all the way back to do the job as guen was nervous early on.

I beilive this set of players under a better manager will flourish but i guess even they are finding it hard to understand this frequent change of tactics. Its has not really helped the team and time is running out cos any 10 point gap between us and the top four aspirants will be too much to cover and that may mean another year without champs league footie. But honestly with the way we are playing, we really do not deserve champions league football when we are looking so un-coordinated on and off the ball. Maybe we need to hire Shefield United Coach to actually drill our players into good on and off the ball organization and actually begin to have an identity which i really can't see now. Beilive it or not that is the one team in the EPL even without any superstars that is very hard to beat. They are just too disciplined and i can only imagine if they had talents like we do, what they can become. I am a fan of total football which is both offensively and defensively with a proper balance and hence why i really enjoy watching that team.

I remember when they used to say "1 nil to the Arsenal" What some of us would give for that right now when it was not exactly entertaining but very hard to beat us and once we took the lead, thats the end , there is no coming back . Nowadays its like we need a 3 goal lead to feel safe.

Well, with the empty seats and all, i guess the board needs to act fast before the revenue dwindles even further as some people are just fed up and i wont blame them if you have to travel to watch your team play at home against a supposed lesser opposition and they struggle throughout the game. And this has been happening time and time again, then certainly some things need to be addressed

Why remove Ozil? He did not look tired and when he had the ball we always looked like scoring. Na wah oh.... Anyways great shout out to the young lads and special mention to Martinelli for his desire and pressing. Under a better coach i'm sure that boy may go on to become a world beater.

So on the whole saga ongoing. In my time playing the beautiful game, I have never witnessed the coach telling players to choose a captain, let alone 5 captains. Unai for me is the problem here.

Hate Xhaka for all you want with his reaction but truth be told, we are all humans and we will react albeit differently. Now Xhaka has not been the best or most consistent player in our team and it's disbelief to think that our Manager still plays this guy who in my opinion is not a captain material and has been inconsistent for some time.

Xhaka can only redeem himself on the pitch and should say nothing to the media. I have walked this line before and there is nothing better than dusting yourself up, putting in the shift and with performance after performance, winning the hearts of your supporters back. That's the only way as saying anything now is not going to change nothing of the perception he has already created for himself.

Arsene had it bad during his final days but he was the greatest man manager ever. He commanded the respect of every player he managed. Unai is no-where close to that and even his on the pitch assessment is not so good at the moment.

Many would agree that in this situation, Arsene would have shielded Xhaka and put himself in the firing line which he had done time and time again. Unai unfortunately has just layed xhaka out there to dry in the sun even though Xhaka did not cover himself in glory with his reaction.

Well moving forward, the only way to put an end to all this is still down to performance on the pitch and the manager has to take full responsibility. He has run out of time and excuses now and his mediocre man management can not be tolerated anymore. He needs to pick a captain and stick with a captain through the thick and thin and be ready to accept responsibility for his actions especially with on the pitch performance which has to not only improve but be consistent.

Problem with this team is that they do not respond with positive performances to shut down the critics. Evra labelling them babies would stand to be true if they cannot start delivering consistent performances and the part I liked most is where he said Xhaka is not captain material which the whole world knows except our coach.

If this Arsenal team has any iota of shame, they should simply just keep quiet and do their talking on the pitch. Indeed it seems Emery cannot manage big players as the ozil issue is just out of hand and making Xhaka captain is laughable.

I mentioned how well organized Sheffield was against Liverpool and were unlucky to concede a last minute goal. Sadly we are not the force we once were and the entire coaching staff is not helping either. We had the whole of the international break to plan and execute for this game and we started so poorly. Shout out to sheffield , even when we dominated in the second half, their banks of four stayed compact throughout.

It was a poor performance and team selection was wrong form the start. How on earth is xhaka our captain if he will always have to be removed for us to make the game quicker?

I also think Pepe is trying to hard and he needs to adapt fast as the EPL is a lot faster and you wont get so much time and space on the ball. Really bad day at the office and well done to sheffield. We need to get our acts together and the sooner KT and HB are integrated into this starting eleven, the better it would be. Top four is fast slipping away and at this rate we may be even battling for top six

Learn the ropes in forex and you will be fine

Yep Ndidi all day everyday. He has really matured and that boils down to playing his preferred position on a regular basis. Would be an improvement over xhaka in my opinion. Reads the threats around him intelligently and guess what, he plays most times as the lone dm. No need to two dm's when you are supposed to be the dominant team.

Fkhalifa:

David Luiz will enjoy the international break like pizza,his first cleab sheet and a goal, could easily be MOTM..

That Guen's tackle/ clearance late in the game saved us, how he was able to do it without conceding a penalty is class, I don't want to imagine Xhaka in that position.

Let pepe go and train and play with the U23s for a month this league is faster than him, Iwobi will be like Mane or Sterling in Ligue1.

LMAO! Honestly the part i was concerned about most looks to be gradually addressed, which is keeping a good organized defensive shape off the ball. Of course im not deluded to beilive that we still wont conceed against tougher opposition but what i would like to see is that we make every team work hard to score us. We give gifts of goals regularly which is alarming due to simple schoolboy errors. If this can be removed and we stay compact consistently then we can look to build on that towards better linking of midfield to offense.

Xhaka for me is not disciplined at all even if he has his good attributes. Guen and Saka for me were vital in this game. How many have noticed that Opposition hardly threaten us through Kola's zone? Thanks to Saka who is always covering. People may not see anything in what that boy is doing but mine oh mine, i would put him in my team all day everyday simply due to that disciplined nature. He so much helps to nullify threats from that side of the pitch and i wont be surprised if he has sealed that position this season even if Laca comes back.

Guen! what more can i say. He is showing more leadership than most of the senior players with consistent powerful displays and that last block was vital in securing three points. how old is this boy again? I pray he stays injury free and he develops better positioning and awareness with time.

All in all we move unto the next game .COYG!

Lol no great team wins titles without good defensive shape no matter their attacking prowess. Man city are getting carried away. Meanwhile the young lads saved us in this game. Terrible second half but hats off to saka and Guen. They maintained good off the ball shape. Honestly Emery needs to make a decision on some players. Pepe needs time but he also needs to learn fast that the epl is faster than ligue 1 where he came from.

Xhaka is one game away from costing us valuable points and senior players at the back still defending with suspect.