Yeah. He is constantly involved and makes a lot of nice forward passes. He's not yet creating the really dangerous passes in the final third but I feel that will come as well. He and Torreira have a chance to be a formidable pair for several years.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan lost possession more times (15) in the first-half vs. Newcastle than any other player on the pitch, at least five times more than anyone else. [@Squawka] #afc pic.twitter.com/mpmA3SS1Lx— afcstuff (@afcstuff) August 11, 2019
Maybe so, but it's more likely he'd sprain an ankle than do an ACL. ACLs are almost always about a lateral trauma to the knee somewhere, and the front flip has no lateral movement. So at least there's that going for us.
He did pretty well for me. I would have liked to see him go, but given the way the transfer window worked out, we probably need him now. That said, it was Newcastle, who didn't offer a lot of threat against us. By the time we're playing against stronger opposition, hopefully we've got some other guys ready.
He was wretched in the 1st half aside from one good pass and a missed shot. I don't really slag him on the missed shot because that was a pretty tough chance. But he was pretty lost for most of the half. Lots of poor passing and poor positional awareness. I'm not anti Mki and you we should not judge him too harshly on Game 1 of the season but it was a pretty mediocre game by him.
It seems like the real season is starting next week against Burnley, and today was an exercise in waiting for the cavalry to come. Luckily, if that is the case we get to play Burnley without having dropped any points yet. If we put in the same level of performance then, I will be very disappointed. As it is, I'm happy to draw a line under this one and move on. Willock and Nelson didn't offer very much. Given what I've heard about Mhki from preseason, he actually was better than I thought. If he could find an ounce or two more sharpness in his game he could actually be useful for us. Guendouzi and Chambers did pretty well. One thing is clear for me, we're going to need every bit of what Ceballos is supposed to have in his locker. I don't see any good alternatives for us if he turns out to be a bust.
You know if I wasn't on a budget, even though I have been barely employed since April (at Safeway for state minimum wage 3 hours a day/5 days, I clean up the cutting room in the meat department from 7-10 pm weeknights) I would definitely put down the $$$ to get this year's kits, the away strip looks better seen in live action (and in HD at that too!!!) than I thought, I'm sure the home one does too, but I'm a bit out on the goalkeeper strip because adidas does not offer replicas of them in short-sleeved form, and when the heck is the third kit coming out???
Willock and Nelson did good for youngsters. Nelson had a great backheel that nobody anticipated in the first half. Mhki’s biggest problem today, besides plain turn overs, was poor decision making. Passing into crowded areas when the other wing was much more open. He did that at least a handful of times.
Unfortunately, our next 3 games are against Burnley, Liverpool and Tottenham, all of whom won this weekend by larger margins than we did. The only way we get better in defense is if Kola returns and Luiz sees some action. None of Tierney, Holding or Bellerin will be available in that timeframe. Really puts into perspective just how important the 3 points and a clean sheet were today.
Gotta find a regular spot in the XI for Joe Willock. He’s been exceptional in the preseason end it was very good today . Player of the Game — AMN! Happy for Chambers, also ., We had one clean sheet on the road all of last season. We already equaled it in the first game
At the very least, we'll need Pepe and Ceballos to show a couple more gears above what we saw today. That, and supposedly Lacazette had a minor ankle knock which shouldn't be an issue moving forward. If we can't generate any more threat on the opponents' goal than today we're in for a very long season. I'm expecting that to be significantly better even before Holding, Tierney and Bellerin are available.
One thing I will say about the defense that impressed me: they didn't put a foot in to tackle in the box and draw any stupid PKs. Almiron was clearly looking to draw as many fouls and cards against us as possible, so he was a concern all match, but was dangerous in 1T. (Didn't he draw all three of our yellows from the match? Not certain, but seems accurate). Also, Why Almiron didn't get a Yellow himself early in the match for simulation in the penalty area is/was frustrating.
So I thought things looked quite energetic in central midfield, but we saw the same old issues is terms of trying to break teams down Aimless crosses simply trigger transition. The way to score is via through balls and cutbacks, but that means the team has to work as a unit to create those opportunities. Not much sign of it really, and this is my concern with Emery ball - seems to lack the physical and tactical presence to dominate games.
This is a really great thread in terms of understanding the tactical/operational problems that managers need to solve. Pundits are often talking about "ways of playing" which are merely in game tactics. A good example of the difference is Gaurdiola teaches his teams to exploit half spaces as a game principle which is constant, but actually changes his in-game tactics a lot based on opposition. Jose made the decent insight yesterday that Arsenal, while struggling in possession, were uncharacteristically weak in the transition. In other words Emery's problems are more fundamental that tactical execution. Jose Mourinho tirelessly explaining the difference between game principles and tactics. Game Principles do not change from game to game. Tactics are the application of game principles which change from game to game.[Thread] https://t.co/cRqPR6PHR1— David Garcia (@IJaSport) August 12, 2019
He did. Took a dive in the top corner of the box and the ref immediately whistled for a free kick for Arsenal and flashed a yellow.
I thought Pepe and Ceballos were perfectly fine given the situation. It's going to take a few games for both of them to settle in. Particularly Ceballos who will be expected to be so central to the flow of the team when it gets into form. I think that everything will have completely fallen apart if this collection of players isn't able to generate significantly more offense than it showed yesterday. Rainy North England opening day matches are probably not the best barometer of where this team is at.
If we remain uncharacteristically weak in transition for the next 3 months then it is a concern. IMO, even the best case scenarios sees this team struggle for the next few matches as we play some tough opponents while we are integrating several new and important pieces.
Good game. I thought Micky was trying too hard. Either to prove a point or get suitors in the sell window. Either way, he was a mess. I tell you what though, I was no big fan of Mateo but yesterday he impressed the socks off me. What a performance!! Take a beau son!