Match Day Thread AFC Bournemouth vs Arsenal - Matchday Thread

Am I the only one that can't see any point to Mkhitaryan? Brings little to the party.

 

I also dont get it. Only thing I can see that he works relative well in his defensive duties but other than that...not much.

 

Literally everything he did today failed.

 

Anyway, a great win and thoroughly deserved against a good Bournemouth side, who have a solid home record this season. We've also matched the amount of away wins we had last season already (4). So clear improvements on that front.

I love how Ramsey being fouled in the 90th minute in their penalty box was completely dismissed. Was a blatant foul, yet it won't get picked up on. Sky didn't even show a replay.

 

That was a pen on Ramsey.

Very tense at the end, but a great 3 pts and shows we are becoming more resilient as a team. That is a game that we would have thrown away under Wenger, so credit to Emery and the players for digging in. We were well below our best today, but we still managed to grind out a result and stay in touch with the top 4.

Spurs and Utd next. Going to be a tough period for us. If we can take 2 pts from those games I'd be happy.

 

Didnt watch the game but was listening on the radio.

Sounds like Sokratis and Mustafi were both a little dodgy and the wing backs were not offering enough defensive stability.

Still its an important 3pts

 

Yeah that's pretty accurate, but to be fair to Emery, he switched to a back four in the second half and we took control of the game.

Iwobi's directness, powerful running and incisive passing wore the Bournemouth defence down. Kolasinac played well in the second half and provided some much needed width, Holding was the best central defender, Bellerin was excellent, Leno was absolutely superb yet again. Mkhitaryan was important in pressing and winning the ball back in attacking positions, but his wastefulness is infuriating. Really needs to work on his final ball.

Emery shouldn't have taken Torreira off with 11 minutes to go, as we lost some solidity in midfield. But we didn't pay the price and we deservedly won.

 

To be fair, we needed the wing backs to get forward to give us some width. Bellerin was very good all game and Kolasinac was much better in the 2nd half. You're always going to leave yourself open at times with that set up, but we dealt with it well enough.

It was our final ball and finishing that was off today. On another day we could have scored 3 or 4 quite easily. We missed Ozil and Lacazette today. Aubameyang had a pretty poor game overall, but credit to him he still scored and it was a winning goal too.

 

Well thinking a draw vs Bournemouth and a win again wolves was expected. The fact we did it in reverse means points wise as expected its evened out.

Football a funny ol game

 

The thing is with Aubameyang. Even when he doesnt play well he still scores.

20 goals 6 assist in 30 for Arsenal now. (and at least 10 of those apps are from a wide position)
Compare that to a still reasonable (but not great) 23 in 50 for Lacazette.

As much as I like Laca - I just wonder if over the course of the Season maybe Auba should lead the line. He will score us more goals.

 

I dunno. I reckon Lacazette is the better finisher personally.

 

Only watched the first half but I thought Sokratis was solid. Maybe he turned to **** in the second? Iwobi was back to how **** he used to be under Wenger. Mkhitaryan is pointless. Torreira needs a world class partner so we can start dominating the midfield.

 

Mkhitaryan needs to step up his game big time. He's offered very little since he came to Arsenal. Would rather see Riess Nelson given a chance there tbh.

 

Statistically not. Even when playing outwide Auba scores more goals, gets more assists and has a better conversion ratio.

Aubameyang 20 goals in 30 apps
Lacazette 23 goals in 50 apps.

EPL stats soo far this Season.

 

I like them both mate. It's great we've got this dilemma. Don't really understand that chart you've posted, it doesn't really explain the conversion rate. Maybe I'm being a bit harsh on Aubameyang because he looked like he couldn't hit a barn door today. (although he scored) Some of his finishing was extremely wayward.

 

Yeah it's just that sqwuaka site, easiest way to get some basic stat comparison.
I think Laca has the better attitude, I think he's more assertive and aggressive but even so Aubameyang is the more gifted player.

It's nice to have two quality centreforwards for sure. We just need to try and figure out the best way to get best out of both of them.

 

Iwobi played a lot better in the second half I felt. His endless running caused the Bournemouth fullback to tire out and not to mention, he played a crisp through ball to Kolasinac for Aubameyang's assist. The one criticism I'd give him is that his finishing is really poor. If he wants to take his game to the next level, his shooting has to improve. Drastically.

Mkhitaryan had a bizarre game. He did a lot of good work off the ball and pressed well. He even won possession off of Bournemouth's midfielders high up the field. The problem was he didn't convert any of his chances and his general decision-making when he got into a promising position, yet again, was found wanting. I don't think he should be a starter for us, but we have no-one better than him right now. Maybe Emile Smith Rowe should have been on the bench so there could be a like for like swap in that position, but he's only 18. Which highlights just how desperately we need to buy a wide player.

 

Both strikers offer different qualities to the team.

Aubameyang is the better finisher, but as an all round striker, Lacazette offers us a lot more.

Aubameyang is great at finding space in the box and has a poacher's instinct. His pace is incredibly useful at spinning away from defenders and running off the shoulder of the last man. But his general passing, dribbling and even his technical ability isn't that great. However, he isn't like Arsenal strikers we've had in the past (e.g. van Persie, Anelka, Henry etc...) who can create chances, power past players, shoot from range, and link play with the others.

Lacazette is a scorer of great goals rather than a great goalscorer. He isn't as prolific as Aubameyang, but he works tirelessly from the front to nip the ball off of defenders, is technically superior, he's combative for such a short guy, he will create chances for other players, can play with his back to goal and will bring others into the game.

As Lacazette's style of play influences the entire team a lot more than Aubameyang, I think he should always be the focal point in our attack. Aubameyang should be playing as an inside forward on the left so they are still playing fairly close together, but can provide us with multidimensional threats.

 

I thought Miki was much better today. Yes, he wasted opportunities, he misplaced passes, etc. But I felt his general play/application was much better. I hope it is a start of something good for him. Iwobi was important. Himself and Kolasinac won us the game as far as I am concerned. Bellerin did well again, even though he was poor for their goal. Leno kept us in it. Holding was good on the ball. Classy player when he's on it. On to Europa. I hope Nketiah leads the line in Ukraine. He needs to make a case for himself with Welbeck out.

 

Some of his touches were diabolical and reeked of a lack of confidence, However, his head didnt drop and his effort attitude was, in my humble opinion, great. He never stopped looking to make opportunities even if he did **** them up. He has another opportunity on Thursday to carve a role for himself. It will be good to see him take it.