I mean this is why we need to upgrade at striker they pluck a goal out of no where and we just don't have that. We have to hope ESR can come on and create something. What's worse is we have been the better team but they pick out 2 goals from no where and game is done.
Yeah, I thought he was fine but he just doesn't have it in those small moments. He had two opportunities to be 1v1 with the keeper and completely hosed them. His confidence looks shot completely
Credit to our boys. Their heads haven't dropped. They're still playing like they believe they can score.
i thought he was a positive contributor in the 1st half. we've been too much on the back foot in the 2nd half for him to have had much involvement other than just not having to legs to take advantage of that mistake by liverpool.
Xhaka has been trash too. His instincts in these moments are completely wrong. Coming so deep for the ball and consequently inviting even more pressure on the defenders around him
Awful defending in the second and ramsdale messed up on the first not too bothered, we are still miles behind
Not a bad idea. Except there are only 3 subs in the EPL now. If he doesn't use all 3 by 80' that's not wise. We have another game in a little over 2.5 days.
i am curious how much of that is confidence being shot and how much him just no longer having much in the way of a speed burst. i don't blame him too much for that play in the 2nd half where liverpool made the bad backpass. i don't think he had a good angle and it was probably tougher with the pitch being wet and, instead of wasting the play, he did set up odegaard for a pretty solid chance.
74' second sub: Pepe for Saka. Phew. One more in 5 mins please. This is getting to be hammie time, with the extreme efforts that many of our players have put in.
Hmm, I thought he was much more polished today than he's been. And he was in contention for man-of-the-first-half.
The way Liverpool shut this game down after going up is worth learning from. We haven't had a shot since.
There was a moment late in the first half where he almost got caught in possession on the edge of our penalty area, and it was a real "ah ********, idiot Xhaka is back in the dangerous part of the field" kind of moment. Hasn't been better in the second half.
i sort of agree. you can see when he'd beat alexander-arnold like a rented mule but couldn't finish off the play. that said, his wildness/rawness has has, i think, done a lot to keep alexander-arnold in check.
Yeah and was I was reminded there are only 3 subs. No way Laca starts next game right? He just came out for Nketiah.
Yeah, he gets caught dribbling in circles too often, but that's fine. Would love to see him drive at his defender more often, especially if it's someone as shitty at defending as TAA.
But I don't think we saw him do that much today. Except maybe later in 2T when he was clearly quite tired. IDK I thought this was one of Gabi's best performances in an Arsenal shirt. And that's coming from an ESR fanboy who's been wanting to see him brought back into the XI even if at Martinelli's expense. Edit: IOW I thought it was way more glass half full, than glass half empty for him tonight.
LeSaux just said that Ben White might've hurt his hammie on that uber aggressive challenge he just made. Pray.
i guarantee you if an arsenal player stood over the ball and refuse to move like thiago just did, it's an immediate yellow.