We were'nt at our best today but at the end of the day we conceded two VERY soft goals. The old Arsenal were back today our defending was poor. I'm sorry but another Koscieney rant is brewing.. Now I know alot of fans rate him highly bus the fact is this... 3 goals conceded in 2 games with Koscielney. 3 goals concede in 6 games with Mertesacker. The last Two Season he was a regular in our side and we conceded 44 and 49 league goals respectively. That's a dire record by anyones standards. With Koscieleny in the side we are physically weak in the box. - He was outmuscled forced backwards by Torres for the first goal. Some might even blame him for the second as he lounged back and obscured the goal keepers view of the ball.(i'm not sure you can solely blame him for that one though).
No doubt Van Judas will snag another couple today and reinforce to the board what a great decision it was to have Giroud and 24 million instead .. Smashing. Anyone think Arsenal will have the leagues top goalscorer this season ?
Per Mertesacker is our best CB. The fact we look so much better with him in the side backs this us. He's smart, he can tackle, and he can organise.
Or if you read other posts instead of just blaming Kos you'd see that Verm was also at fault, I know he conceded the 2nd FK and I think he conceded the 1st one aswell. And yo would also see that Kos, our best CB last year, is just returningnand he has tom play the League Champions the the European Champions, not an easy feat. The problem isn't Kos, it's Kos and Verm's PATNERSHIP. THEY ARE TOO SIMILAR IN PLAYING STYLE. And the 1stgoal Kos should have done better, the 2nd one Mannone should have followed the ball all the way (Chez and Flappy probably would have)
Don't need to have the top scorer to win the title, as long as you get goals and don't rely on 1 guy. And RvP won't be top scorer either this season.
Not me, I've had enough. I think dropping Mertesacker in the form he is in was madness, and will only make Per think he's 3rd choice. Wenger may have ended a good run of form right there. I explained how Koscielny was poor against City too. He should have challenged Lescott better because it was his zone to defend. His scuffed clearance should have gifted Aguero a goal, and if it had, we wouldn't even be having this debate because you'd all agree (except Zlatan). He should never have even started this game.
I agree Kos shouldn't have started today, and I hope Per gets his place back (Though I can see where AW is coming from in starting Kos in the end it was the wrong choice)
It's hardly blameworthy to give away a free-kick. Hindsight is a nice thing, but players don't know their fouls will result in goals, and no-one should be blamed for giving away a free-kick. The commentators at the time were saying he took one for the team and Arsenal fans will be happy he stopped Torres.
I agree. We lacked power and physicality. Key factors for me... if Mert had started and Diaby hadn't broken we'd have been solid, and perhaps now 1 rather than 7 point's off the top spot.
So the facts that: 1. We concede more when Kos plays. 2. The last three goals we've concede have all come inside the area Kos is supposed to be marking. 3. The last TWO seasons have been our worst in Wengers era. (the two Season Kos has been an Arsenal regular for). dont tell you anything? A single stats does'nt mean much but when you have an accumulation all pointing to one weakness. Then you have to address it.
True, but you also have to take in the fact that our best set-piece defenders (Per and Giroud) weren't playing and that Arsenal is still susceptible from set-pieces.
2-0 liverpool now, Suarez again. And why haven't we tried to sign Nikica Jelavic? Quality striker, about as natural a goalscorer as they come. And would be cheapish too.
Also we missed Diaby's ability to carry the ball forward from a deep position. When we have Wilshere back it wont be a problem because both him and Diaby can do this well.
1. We have conceded against Chelsea, City, Southampton, Coventry, and Montpellier (Kos played against City and Chelsea the best out of the aforementioned teams) 2. Kos should have done batter for the City and 1st Chelsea goal, Mannone should have gotten the 2nd Chav goal IMO 3. Kos has been partnered with Silvestre, Squillachi, Djourou, and other shaky defenders during that period, and he was considered our best defender last season by many So it tells me that Per shouldn't have been dropped, but that returning himmagainst the ENGLISH AND EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS, would probably imply that he's still shaky isn't at his best yet.
