Man the problem today was Auba. He couldn’t be a focal point for anything and so the ball kept coming back to Brighton. Has there been any thought of trying pepe up too?
Agreed. And Auba didn’t look upset whatsoever when getting subbed off. My take was that he knew he wasn’t good enough today. Laca was far more physical, made himself more available to advance the ball, and made far better runs.
Decent point in a vacuum, but we've now been shut out in 4 of 7 league games. The attacking structure is garbage, and 3 goals against a sorry rival doesn't fully paper over that problem.
Update: Gabriel is still searching for his missing tooth 🦷 https://t.co/i1mCBN204W pic.twitter.com/T939y6eeKi— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley) October 2, 2021
If the ref had given that as a pk, he’d have to go back and award a pk for Arsenal when Smith-Rowe was pushed from behind in the box.
I think Laca brings so much more to our attack than Auba does. I think he's also a better striker of the ball. Offers link up play with the creators that Auba can't. I'd look to sell Auba and extend Lacas deal. He's a better bridge to our eventual striker of the future.
No one is buying Auba. He's almost certain to leave on a free in the summer of 2023. Laca sucks, if he is the answer, this club has bigger problems. Extending him would be worse than extending Xhaka. They are pretty similar actually, both sh*t players who fans become convinced they are necessary to succeed. How about giving Martinelli a run in the side to see what he can do? I fear we are looking at another wasted year for him despite his huge potential.
Martinelli doesn’t have huge potential. Neither Xhaka or Lacazette are ‘shit players.’ I get fans’ frustrations, but not being elite doesn’t make you shit. @DaPrince84’s suggestion of Pepe at striker is far more compelling than Martinelli, and at this point it’s also far more compelling than Auba.
i don't think we have tried that but i think it will end up being the same issue/problem with sanchez. their skillset and composure screams up top but they want ball to feet with room to run instead of being at the end of a through ball.
Traveling all day so just got to watching it. Started at 11am and promptly fell asleep for first 15'... did I miss anything? My thoughts... At HT we were lucky to be level... BHA coulda/shoulda been up 3-0 if they only knew how to finish (a super key factor today) They appeared to win most of the 50/50's, showing more urgency & desire, especially in 1T Start of 2T we came out pressing more, but BHA still did that better, and we promptly abandoned that tactic... UGH MO8 was nearly invisible all game, and rightly subbed off after 1hr Gabriel was very solid all game... best defender on the day... however White was good too Anemic shooting by both teams, however they clearly bettered us on nearly every other front Perhaps credit our 1 point to Ramsdale, with that 86' save Lokonga & Saka played well but his injury (to what??) was the biggest bummer OTOH ESR's was the biggest bright spot... phenomenal close ball control in traffic!... and compulsively positive play... my MOTM
God yes. He's worse even than Xhaka from a few years back. Partey shouldn't be allowed to do this any more, unless or until he has the best conversion rate in practice, which I just have to assume he is not close to.
Seems like the mediocre production continues Brighton mustered 21 shots tonight, Arsenal just eight. 58% possession to the Seagulls.The Spurs performance looking like the exception rather than the rule right now.— Orbinho (@Orbinho) October 2, 2021
The key to enjoying Arsenal right now is to stop watching them through the prism of a top-4 side and view them for what they are: mid table. I had fun watching them duke it out. Massively impressed with our young core that shows glimpses of what's to come.
That's why they are inconsistent. Their good players are very young and they have a number of journeyman pros like xhaka and laca who are sometimes good sometimes mediocre
I don’t think enough has been made of the fact we’ve fielded the youngest average starting eleven in the league. Given that, top six would be a huge achievement.
Only saw the second half (rushing home from my son's match), but I sort of expected a bit of a letdown after the Spudz match. We're still trying to figure out how to attack and as some stats guys on Twitter pointed out, Brighton don't get battered by anyone. They're one of the better teams at stifling good chances.
During the game I kept thinking of the meme, “Can they play on a cold rainy night in Stoke”. In this case it was a windy rainy night on the south coast. Brighton handled the weather very well, but it may be something some of Arsenal’s younger players have to learn to adapt to, especially when facing a team that presses as well as Brighton did.
I think everyone needs to chill with the excellent bit, hes been building this team for like 4 seasons, I'd like to see where they finish the season.
This is the start of his third season at Brighton and my comment is not based on yesterday’s game, I’ve been on the Potter wagon for about 6 months.