please log in to view this image Venue: Emirates Stadium KO: 15:00 GMT Date: Saturday 11th September 2021 Overall Record Wins: 29 Draws: 20 Losses: 11 Last six meetings Arsenal 4-0 Norwich Norwich 2-2 Arsenal Arsenal 2-1 Norwich (League Cup) Arsenal 1-0 Norwich Norwich 1-1 Arsenal Norwich 0-2 Arsenal please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Team News: The hosts have been boosted by the return to full fitness of key players like Ben White and Thomas Partey. Mohamed Elneny is the only concern with a muscle injury, while Sead Kolasinac will undergo a late test to determine his availability. Emile-Smith Rowe left the England Under-21 camp after feeling unwell and is a doubt for the visit of Norwich. Granit Xhaka tested positive to COVID-19 while on international duty but was already suspended following his red card against Manchester City. Bali Mumba and Sam Byram have been ruled out with knee and thigh injuries respectively. Przemyslaw Placheta is currently in self-isolation after testing positive to COVID-19. Christos Tzolis will undergo a late fitness test for his calf injury.
Relieved to get the win and, as I expected, we made hard work of it. I don't think that performance has done much to change people's minds about Arteta though, and we'll need to perform miles better than that if we want to win other games in this league. Norwich are favourites to get relegated, but they still looked very difficult for us to overcome for large parts of the game. Also - it's frustrating at how profligate we are in front of goal. Auba, Pepe, Saka and ESR all had chances they should have done better with. Decision-making and ruthlessness in final 3rd needs to improve tenfold. Let's hope for a better performance and win against Burnley.
On a side note - and I am aware the calibre of opponent was poor/well-suited to us - but I thought White had a tremendous game. Some excellent line-breaking + penetrative passes. Good positioning. A few vital blocks. Hopefully we see this Ben White more than the one against Brentford.
Seeing a lot of similarities between us now and our 11/12 season. - Poor start including a 2-0 loss at home to a top 4 challenger - thrashing away to a Manchester club in our third game - late transfer window trolley dash - 1-0 nervy home win against a lower table side in our 4th game We actually ended up finishing 3rd that season; obviously we won’t this season but hopefully we can win our next 4-5 games.
To be fair we had 30 shots on goal and Saka and new signing Tomiyasu were unlucky not to have scored. Overall I thought the new fullback did really well. He's tidy and looks solid defensively. Lokonga also looks a class act. I want to see Smith Rowe starting games though - we looked dangerous the moment he came on.
this is something (30 shots) until you realize we only had 6 shots on target and I believe until the goal we only had 1 shot on target. To me that shows our attack still isn’t working correctly.
How do people think Pepe performed? The stats would make you think he had a superb game. Personally, I found his performance very frustrating. His first touch is still erratic and at 26 years of age, I don't think it will be getting better, so I suppose we need to expect this from him now. His decision-making in the final third remains inconsistent, too. He always looks dangerous up until he gets into the penalty box and then he'll either cut inside and blaze the ball over the bar or he'll try and do a million stepovers, pirouette, then pass it back. He did play a massive part in the winning goal, but his efficiency with the ball still isn't good enough.
Things dont go from 0-100. We created enough chances to score 3-4 goals for sure. Auba needs to start scoring, Pepe/Saka etc also. Need to build that momentum.
Not great to be honest - he actually annoys me the same way Ozil used to. I want to see intensity and he just doesnt give us that. Talent is there for sure but everything is done in this casual lackadaisical way. I think he needs to adjust his attitude if he really wants to excel in the EPL.
Just watched the match over on the Arsenal.com site. Offensively we were very wasteful, the little chances we carved out we could not put away. Auba was short on confidence, Saka and Pepe were hit and miss. We are by no means out of the wood and cannot see us beating any half decent with our approach!
The reality is we just dont play to Pepe's strength. He just doesnt fit in our system; much of the frustration surrounding him comes from that.
Although I think this is true to a degree, he still hasn't developed other areas of his game which really should be the basics for a Premier League player. I listed some of them above, but his general technical ability isn't at the level it should be.
Hmm, please tell me what his strength(s) is/are and also whether you feel is worth the money we paid for him? On the second part of the question, I think not, but genuinely don't know if the answer to the first part!
Someone like Klopp would demand a higher intensity from him - and call him up on it when he doesnt deliver. Thats what he needs.
I mean he's technically excellent and has a wand of a left foot. It's just a workrate intensity issue.