Arsenal v AS Monaco [R] - Pre/Dur/Post Match Discussion

Our methodology against teams that sit deep is just fine: control possession, pass the ball well in tight spaces, get the first goal, and then run riot. We tend to beat such teams handily, the odd aberration aside. The issue is with teams that press aggressively high up the pitch and have the pace to hurt us on the counter.

 

If you count getting into the CL as a relegation fight, that's four years running and we're getting on to #5. If you don't think so, ask someone at Man United if they miss being in the CL.

 

Wenger is a clown. He's been around too long and won't adapt. Sajid loves over elaboration lol this team has had the same glaring weaknesses for a decade!

 

We've been in the situation before. With Bayern & Ac Milan, a couple season ago and also pulled an upset. We can win second leg by 3 goals and clean sheet.

 

A clown. Really , a clown.

As in totally incompetent and having no skill whatsoever at his chosen profession.

I guess that means you are an assshat.

 

except we didn't.

 

He's not as good as he used to be which is fine for a mediocre big club like Arsenal where winning the FFP trophy is more important than winning the actual trophies. His big game record SUCKS for a man making the money he does he is producing just fine, he just won't be able to get you the wins over better managers.

 

Well, like has kind of been said in here. The past few years Arsenal have come out on fire in the 2nd leg after getting throttled in the 1st. Those were against much better teams than Monaco. So i'm hopeful.

 

Here's the thing for as bad as we played we could've scored five goals if our forwards weren't mental midgets.

So I think we have a chance of scoring three goals theye.

 

We still have the same mental midgets so there's that

 

If it's Westbrook ... Then he is back in 4 weeks
With rose... It might be 4 months

It's all mental

 

Speaking of mental midgets. gotta be ready for his toddler's high school graduation

Even Wenger is not as maddening as Thibs, who really drives his players into the ground and continues to play Captain Kirk as if 30 minutes, 1-8 shooting are inconsequential and harmLess.
We need Buckets and Snell to form a lock down defending, volume scoring partnership on the wings. And for Aaron Brooks to come out of his slump.

 

That's what has been so frustrating the last several years. Why can't Arsenal come out on fire for the first leg? Maybe they need to spot the opposing team 3 goals before the first game even starts, then they can come come out with nothing to lose and go balls out from the beginning. I just don't get why there has to be a total collapse in the first leg. Then the team gets praise for battling back and coming up just short in the second leg. Just boggles my mind.

 

A clown yes, shit tactically and has been generally battered in big games since 2007

Shit substitutions as well that are too late. Looked like he learned vs city....guess not

Don't let nostalgia and an fa cup cloud the fact wenger is years behind and is blindly followed by arsenal zealots.

Who doesn't love the guy? But he's not gonna win u the league or cm nowadays

 

Who the fock are u?

 

Have you not been around here lately say for the last 8 years?

 

I get the fury about the loss, and I'm just as upset as you are.

But blaming Wenger for the tactics in the game is just silly. Despite Monaco parking the bus, we carved them open for at least four gilt edged chances, and at least as many half chances.

The real anger at Wenger, for me, is at the susceptibility to counters. The Ox substitution had me worried when it happened, and while I understand starting Gibbs over Monreal, Monreal's been starting over Gibbs because Gibbs gets too far forward and leaves us exposed on the break. What makes it more galling is that this team has actually been really good at defending counters this season. Wednesday was a regression.

 

That Milan team is better than we think it was (it had Ibra, after all), and we forget how bad that Arsenal team was. Of the players that played in that game, only Koscielny, Gibbs, Walcott, and Ox were in the squad on Wednesday.

A couple of other thoughts: enough about saying Wenger sucks tactically. Wenger's tactics are just fine: the issue with Wednesday wasn't tactics. The only games this season where I thought Wenger got the tactics wrong were at Southhampton and at Spurs. He's typically gotten the tactics right this season: there was no issue with the tactics at Chelsea, Man City, or Liverpool, or at home to Man City and Man United.

Finally, chill the hell out guys. We all support the Arsenal. Over land and sea even. We're all on the same side, so name calling is out of order, and a little bit of civility won't hurt. I can't believe I'm the one saying this.

 

Well Mebe if he gets subs wrong with Ox and gets Monreal benched to play gibbo wrong is that not tactical?

 

For me it was more the lack of adjustments after seeing your tactics were leaving you exposed. Was there a need to continually press all of the back four up so high especially seeing the speed merchants they had? Where were the calls to rein in that positioning? Are they just allowed to do what they think is best? It was unbelievable where Mert was on that second goal, absolutely unbelievable. We played, and continued to play, right into their hands, it was pretty uncanny.

We could have accomplished what we did to get the chances we did without such a vulnerably from having Mert, Coquelin and both fullbacks up so aggressively. Second to that would be realizing leaving Coquelin without much cover, while ok if you were going to walk all over Monoco early and often, probably needed to be addressed; but he never seems to pulls Ozil who was the fifth wheel that day at least. Santi tried to get back to cover at times but their speed was too great.

I can only guess that some lack of direction from Wenger may have added to the building lack of composure, because most everyone sure seemed to play without it.

 

Any volunteers willing to start a new match thread?