AC Milan v Arsenal

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Great result.

First half performance was excellent. Played really well.
Second half less soo but still managed to defend better than we have in recent matches.

Second half Milan knew they had to come at us but instead of over committing like we would have in the past we stayed calm, dealt with the pressure, kept our shape and controlled the ball when we got it, only pushing on if a space opened up.

The first has was excellent football with great tactics followed as a team. The second half was the football you see from experienced teams in European competition controlling and seeing out a game.

The amount of times we have messed up european two leg games by not being tactically clever enough used to really wind me up. Either pushing too hard to catch up in a first leg or over committing looking for an extra goal when we already have the away advantage. Today I thought we got the balance 100% right.
 
Second half I was actually really impressed that we adapted as the game changed. The players felt the game change and changed with it. And Wenger was active in telling the players what he wanted to see throughout the game. Haven't seen that in ages.
 
Second half Milan knew they had to come at us but instead of over committing like we would have in the past we stayed calm, dealt with the pressure, kept our shape and controlled the ball when we got it, only pushing on if a space opened up.

The first has was excellent football with great tactics followed as a team. The second half was the football you see from experienced teams in European competition controlling and seeing out a game.

The amount of times we have messed up european two leg games by not being tactically clever enough used to really wind me up. Either pushing too hard to catch up in a first leg or over committing looking for an extra goal when we already have the away advantage. Today I thought we got the balance 100% right.

Yep <ok>

It was a really mature and professional performance. Really good game management too.
 
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Make no mistake, this was a HUGE game for Arsenal tonight. If we'd have lost this game badly, then the season would have been over. It would have probably been the end for Wenger and some of the players. They absolutely had to get a result tonight and credit where it's due, they stepped up when it really counted <ok>

Felt like they had taken a real look at themselves and recognised how important this was <ok>
 
I said this before on another thread - anyone who thinks we have a good chance of progressing past this round is living on another planet IMO.

They are in very good form, look strong all over the pitch and they have a manager who has completely reinvigorated the direction of where the club are going. Their players are hungry, competitive and have a newfound determination to win.

We will need to bring our A game to get past them. I still believe we have the better players [on paper], but given how shockingly feeble we have been for most games this season, it is unlikely we will get any further. We are showing the complete opposite qualities of what Milan are showing right now.
Hello from Mars
 
Felt like they had taken a real look at themselves and recognised how important this was <ok>

I know it's only one game and we can't get carried away. But it's SUCH an improvement on what we've seen recently. The hope is that we build on this and use this game as a platform for the rest of the season.
 
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I know it's only one game and we can't get carried away. But it's SUCH an improvement on what we've seen recently. The hope is that we build on this and use this game as a platform for the rest of the season.

Today they looked like a team playing for each other and for the manager. Proper effort and passion. If they can do that for the rest of the season, particularly in the Europa then they may give the fans something to feel positive about.
 
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Atletico have a strong lead from the first leg and look like they will progress. But Dortmund lost 2-1 at home.

It'll be interesting to see who goes through as there are some decent teams in the competition.
 
Good result but what does it really tell us about the team? I'm still not convinced that Wenger has lost the dressing room despite some say that he has. But have we REALLY played worse or have we come across better opposition? It's clearly the latter as demonstrated by Milan. We lost 4 on the trot because the other team was better and we beat Milan because they were a shadow of their former selves.

This result was good but won't change anything. Sooner or later we will play the tournament favourites Athletico and then we'll see what our team is all about. Then we'll see the usual weaknesses pop up and excuses that Ozil was lazy etc.
 
How much of a difference do you think Ospina made today? OK, so there were a few flappy moments with crosses, but there were a good many back passes that the defense played that I don't think that they would have been comfortable playing to Cech, and Ospina was fast of his line on several occasions to deny chances on the ground.

I'm wondering if some of our defenses woes are due to their lack of confidence in Cech.
 
Did I see wrong when xhaka took the shoot in the 93rd minute and wenger shouted at him that he responded with a "f*ck off" answer?
 
Diego Costa, Griezmann as well as Godin and Gimenez in defence.

They are a strong side. Good manager too, definitely the team to beat.

Definitely the team to beat and a cut above all the teams, including us, in this tournament. No idea how we will beat them as i can see Simeone exploit our many weaknesses in midfield and defence.
 
Did I see wrong when xhaka took the shoot in the 93rd minute and wenger shouted at him that he responded with a "f*ck off" answer?

I thought he said "come on" and couldn't tell if it was actually at Wenger who had just shouted at him or one of his teammates.
 
Definitely the team to beat and a cut above all the teams, including us, in this tournament. No idea how we will beat them as i can see Simeone exploit our many weaknesses in midfield and defence.
Well much like ourselves they are weakest in midfield.
They are MUCH better than us defensively but we probably have the better creative talent.

Lets hope Lacazette is back and fully fit for us soon.
 
How are things up there?
Weird.......up here, Arsenal win and everybody's favourites, the spuds, blow leads and crash out of Europe. There's a ginger haired skinny freak who sings great songs and some guy from Oceans 11, who got stranded by his rocket mates, has developed a way of growing cannabis. Can't think of a reason to come back tbh.