Looking at some of our heaviest/worst defeats over the last 4 and a half years: Manchester United 8-2 Arsenal AC Milan 4-0 Arsenal Manchester City 6-3 Arsenal Liverpool 5-1 Arsenal Chelsea 6-0 Arsenal Everton 3-0 Arsenal Arsenal 1-3 Monaco (based on how shocking that display was) Bayern Munich 5-1 Arsenal Southampton 4-0 Arsenal I don't know why, but when it comes to certain matches it's as if we concede one goal, we then look like we're going to let in about 10. Seriously though, we shouldn't be conceding the sheer volume of goals that we have in these matches. Why do we press the self-destruct button and just capitulate in certain games? For a side that has regularly finished in the top 4, to describe some of these results as disgraceful is an understatement. It just shouldn't be happening at all. For me personally, these scorelines have occurred for a number of reasons: 1) trying to go toe-to-toe against a certain side who have more quality than us, which then subsequently leads to us getting a thrashing. It's a very naive approach. 2) Other results have occurred due to the midfield and defence being suffocated by the intensity and the energy levels of how well certain teams have pressed us all over the park. But why do we not have an answer to cope with this? Why can't we find other ways of countering these tactics? I mean, there are times when you just have to take your hat off to the opposition, but the frequency of these results cropping up are just too much. Even though rival teams have had a sizeable amount of disappointing results over the years, they've never really conceded in the manner that we do nor do they appear to get massacred like we have in these games. What are your opinions on it, guys?
That's only two heavy defeats a year (if you can call a 2 or 3 goal defeat heavy). Nothing to get unduly concerned about. I'm sure it's been said many times before but Mertesacker isn't going to get any quicker and Long exploited that very well. Have Gabriel and Koscielny been tried as a pair?
Out of all the big sides, it's just a sorry fact that we are the ones who always get the most hammerings out of them all. We have had to go through 2 alone this season already, the 5-1 at Munich, and now yesterday.
I guess I was somewhat implicitly suggesting that it was because of Wenger. You've seen me post on here long enough to know my views on our manager. But it just begs the question as to why we suffer these scorelines when we shouldn't. Is he setting us up this way or do the players not carry out the game plan that the manager actually wants? If so, why can't he get them to do their jobs properly? I can't fathom how we suffer these heavy defeats from time-to-time. How do we look so defensively sound one game and then look like rabbits in the headlines in the next? Are the players not consistently working hard enough or are they not as good as we think?
Heavy defeats every year shouldn't be happening full stop. If it's a rarity, then fair enough. But 2-3 catastrophic results like that a season is not useful for a team that have supposed title aspirations. You point out Mertesacker, but I actually thought Koscieny was our worst defender yesterday. Got absolutely rinsed by Long and Mane. Had no composure. Kept losing the ball. It was one of his worst displays in an Arsenal shirt. That being said, I did feel that Gabriel and Koscielny would have coped far better yesterday than Mertesacker and Koscielny. Although with hindsight, I'm not sure how much better. Besides, I'm not entirely certain if Wenger completely trusts Gabriel after the poor defensive mistake he made against Norwich. But I expect to see a few changes for the Bournemouth game.
Given the dubious goals scored and the tired condition of the players I don't think this result falls into the same category as the others at all. The Bayern game I also think they just put in a very good performance, they are a top team. The 8-2 against Utd we had 8 or 9 defenders out injured and other backup/youth players in the team if I remember correctly. And the 6-3 against City was a very open game n which both teams looked like scoring every time they had the ball, great offensive play, shocking defending. Whereas in the others you've posted we have just been plain ****. Most of those games the result can most likely be put down to naivity from the manager and also from the players (who for example against Monacco let the occasion get to them and threw themselves forward when a 2-1 result would have been reasonable to overcome). I think we have improved in this aspect greatly over the last season or so with improved results against the big teams and far less games where we concede more than a goal or two.
To a certain degree, you are correct. But we still seem to have the innate ability to fall apart as soon as we concede. Because whenever we concede first, I don't have much faith in us pulling the game back to win. We definitely don't do it often enough. If we concede the first goal, it's as if our heads drop and we lose confidence.
In fact, the only occasion we've won a game after conceding first this season has been against Leicester. The rest of the results have been draws or losses.
That's probably quite normal in the Premier League. What % of games are won by the team which concedes first? Doubt it's much above 10% if at all.
In fact it's 12-13% according to some bloke http://bitterandblue.sbnation.com/2...ortance-of-scoring-the-first-goal-of-the-game So even if you consider Arsenal to be far better than the average team, it probably 'should' be 15-20%. Maybe nearer 15% considering most of the games they concede first in will be against other good teams.
But how frequently the average team does it or not doesn't really matter to me. What matters is Arsenal's ability to come back from a goal down. Arsenal are in a position where they have better and more experienced players than most of the other teams in the division, so we should really be trying to get better results when we go a goal down because you'd expect the players to be good enough to get back in the game.
technical ability is no judge of mental strength, you have a team of show ponies and have lacked a strong leader since Viera left, there is nobody in your team that can get the rest to fight, you need a proper battler. I've always thought you needed someone like Felleini.
You were onto something until you said that, and then the whole bridge just crashed and burned with everyone on the bridge sadly drowning in the sea for nobody to ever come finding them.
what, you want another show pony in there then, like all the others you've had? Felleini dragged Man U back from defeat in more than the 10% of games you are quoting because he's a battler, so what if he has silly hair.
Ok, two things. 1. I see your point about Viera. But lets be honest. How many Viera-like players are there nowadays? How many of them have his leadership qualities or even his qualities as a footballer? And if there were any, would they realistically come to Arsenal? Because seriously I'm struggling to think of any players that are in the Viera mould currently. 2. Citing Fellaini as an example to support your point is not really the best idea. He slows play down, gives away cheap fouls and isn't a particularly adept tackler or passer of the ball. He would not be the answer to our problems.
