THere is still a mountain for Arsenal to climb and a lot of things we need to put right and things we need to go our way in the race for this Premier League title, but I have to say that in the pace of just over 20 minutes I went from completely giving up all hope that Arsenal could challenge to actually having more belief than when the game kicked off.
It really felt like a turning point and if Tottenham can help us out by at least stopping Chelsea from winning then I think the way that the Gunners came back from the dead will give the players a huge boost and will give us fans reason to believe that the fighting spirit, or lack of it, that has been one of the big problems in recent years, really is there.
If Arsenal can get something from this game, with almost everything having gone wrong in the build up and in the first 69 minutes, then you have to feel that our team will do better from now on. Even the way that Giroud was downbeat after the match despite two assists and the equaliser told us that the Gunners are up for the fight and desperate for this title.
Yes we should have been better from the beginning but I don’t think we will. That was a big wake up call, but will it also prove to be a big point and maybe even the turning point in our EPL campaign?
Bob.
Rubbish article. There’s one thing to be optimistic but this is delusion. If tomorrow Spurs win we will be out of top 4. Manchester United are playing muh better football and are just 2 points behind us and then we have city and pool. Last 20 mins have made us even more delusional. Typical arsenal fans
and typical cynicism in giving other teams loads of credit whilst giving ours none..
Liverpool slipped against a team ran by David Moyes and then City lost to them just recently. But finding any positives in a 3 goal comeback? obvious delusion!!
Credit to the big G-train today. A warrior like second half.
Hmmm.. I wonder who the scape-goat will be? Will it be the young fullback who gave up literally half the pitch on his flank for the first then got well and truly done for the third? The midfielder who gave up a stupid, stupid penalty? Or the all too regular Welshman whipping boy on this forum who had a solid game? Gee Wiz i wonder…..
@josh37
Yes, Ramsey wasn’t the worst player on the pitch…for once, but what did he do for it to be considered a “solid performance”? Even when he isn’t bad, he doesn’t seem to do anything good! Bellerin, Mustafi, and Xhaka were the main culprits for me, but at least the first two have been solid throughout the season. Yes Xhaka has been poor, but if Ramsey can be given 8 years (probably will be even more)of chances to perform Ramsey, then the same rules should apply to Xhaka, and everyone else I’m guessing. Ramsey has been awful almost every game this campaign, and in every season, bar one, and I don’t think we’ve even won this season when he’s played. That’s why he gets a lot of criticism, but overall it’s Wenger’s fault for still using him.
Xhaka shouldn’t be given any more game time. Too slow end of story.
My point was not that I don’t rate xhaka.. I do, a lot!! I think he’ll grow massively for us. But 1-0 down giving up a penalty in that position deserves some stick!
The 8 years is absolute crap. He suffered one of the worst injuries I’ve ever seen and a lot of players would never have come back from that. He offers a lot and I honestly think with coquelin down and elneny at Afcon we’ll see xhaka and Ramsey flourish together.
@josh37
If you think I’m talking crap about Ramsey’s consistently bad performances, then feel free re-watch his performances. You ask almost any Arsenal fan, and they’ll say the same…only one good season from him. And you can’t keep bringing up his injury, I mean how long ago was that!
Can’t see Ramsey, and Xhaka being a successful partnership. Xhaka is slow, and playing badly, so clearly he needs help in central midfield, but how his Ramsey supposed to help, when he’ll be constantly in the final third trying to grab a goal? Xhaka will be left on his own a lot.
If any believe is bigger it is that will not finish in the top 4 despite having one the best squads in the PL.
Wait what? lol, it’s hard to believe when we struggle to draw against Bournemouth away. I like and respect Wenger but that was dreadful management from him, he simply got everything wrong today apart from the very late subs that changed the game.
Arsenal finally showed some passion and grit in the end and that was probably due to the away fans. I don’t see why we don’t play with the same passion for 90mn every game, if we want to beat the likes of Chelski and Liverpool away we need it
What did he get wrong? We started with an absolute bang and all three goals could be attributed to individual errors.
What should he have done differently?
Ox or Perez on the right instead of Ramsey because whoever was on that RW did not tracking back enough and Bellerin was exposed many times. Losing 2-0 away and we wait until the 63rd minute to sub? Any other top team manager would have taken Iwobi out for Perez at half time.
Ramsey.. whenever fit, he gets the nod anywhere, even if it means replacing a player in that position.. how many times have we seen this? and how many wins this season in a match that he started? it’s not a coincidence I’m sure
Only Wenger is to blame for the draw. it was disappointing. Great Managers would shout, give instructions on the touchline. Wenger and Bould just sit hoping the players will figure things out. Wenger is the only problem with the team. If Ozil is not playing, Perez had to start on the right to compensate for Ozil’s absence. Wrong team selection, delayed substitution. And at 2 goals down with Coq injured. Perez should have replaced Coq while Ramsey drops to midfield. If Perez had been in the game in the first half, we could have gotten a goal earlier. AOC then comes in immediately at half time. Wenger should know that he is not better than other managers who were sacked. Pellegrini was sacked even after winning the league and getting to CL semi. Ancelloti was sacked even with 3 CL trophies. Mou has been sacked twice even after winning 2 CL trophies, 3 EPL, 1 LA LIGA. Wenger should know that he is paid to do a job. And he is not doing well and should be told to leave. Football is all about winning. At 2 goals down and at such pace, you Stop playing thru the middle. instruct Xhaka, Monreal, Bellerin, to play more balls into the opposition box. Giroud will score. the problem is not with the personnel, but with the team management. Perez should start more games why Ramsey should be in midfield or come in as a substitute. Wenger is the only problem with Arsenal. it is not rocket science to figure that out.
How can you have MORE belief after that! Stunning comeback, yes, but the main talking point is surely, why were we 3-0 down, and playing so badly against a team like Bournemouth? If that comeback was against a top team, then maybe I can see your point. But the reality is that we had to score three, with a man extra for the last 15 minutes, against a mid-table/bottom half team, just to get a point! And how many more times are Arsenal going to continue having awful half’s, and why do we only start playing once we’re deep in trouble, on the verge of defeat? Why don’t we start games like we finish them?
Wenger is awful against the big boys, especially away from home, so can anyone seriously see us winning at the Bridge…because we’ll have too! Knowing Wenger, we’ll probably beat them, but only after dropping even MORE points before we play them haha.
We are fighting for a top 4 finish and will fail, no doubt. You don’t win too many PL games when you start Giroud and Ramsey in the same game. There is no excuse falling 3-0 down against any team. We even had Mustafi but he made no difference unless you think we should have been 6-0 down. This draw was no surprise given our inability to play decent and fight for more than 1 or 2 games. The future will be more promising if we fall outside the top 4 which we will beyond any doubt IMO.
Shakedown needed. I am not going again to say that Wenger got the selection wrong because it serves no purpose. We know where it is going to end.
I know I sound like a broken record but we loose the league in the transfer season. Last year we didnt get Vidal and this year we chose Xhaka instead of Kante. Imagine Kante and Vidal playing today in the middle of the pitch. Xhaka is not the finished article but both Kante and Vidal are.
This really is all Wenger’s fault, he gives too many chances to mediocre players and keeps buying the wrong ones. The result is that he will leave Arsenal at the end of the season and will leave the team in shambles. Sanchez will definitely leave and we will probably get Hove to replace Wenger and we will be lost in the wilderness for a while. He should have left when we had a chance to sign Klopp.
Wow… The player who’s had experience in the prem is currently playing better? Shocker!!!
Perez scored a clutch banger. We’ve still yet to lose with Mustafi in D. How’s about maybe giving just a tad more time to the players still bedding in?
Yes the player with experience IS playing MUCH better. Thanks for making my point for me.
Are we always building for the future or is there a year we want to win it all? If so sometimes you have to buy the finished article. We had a choice between the top midfield general of 15/16 season in the premier league or a very promising talented midfielder with no PL experience from Monchengladbach and we went for the potential instead of the proven quality. This year Kante is a much better player than Xhaka – I thought we wanted to win something this year.
Now with coquelin out and elneny out carzola out that is 3 missing from midfield Its worrying me …..the match changed when alexis took charge ……evidently the team was not balanced today we did not get going at all at the first half we ddnt even have one ball on target >>>>>we are clearly missing carzola …..we need to improve fast we need to be stronger >>>>>great come back but far to late for a win …..some players need to practice corner kicks
We really need a midfielder to dictate the tempo. It doesn’t have to be anyone expensive. Joe Allen and Cabaye will be pragmatic additions to this Arsenal side. Since Cazorla’s injury, our midfield has lacked guile and creativity. By the way anyone else thinks Iwobi will be a better player than Ozil in that number 10 role in the next few years?
Lol I still remember people here and in social media saying xhaka >pogba just because he scored one screamer. Pogba is miles ahead of xhaka that its not even funny to compare both. Its like Comparing Henry with giroud.
I care less about Spurs, in fact I want them to win, but if Chelsea tomorrow we ll be 11points behind. so the best case scenario is a Spurs win.
We compete with Spurs not with Chelsea. Winning the PL is out of the question, finishing in the top 4 is not yet and Spurs are the direct competition with Man U. So if you want a top 4 finish you should want Chelsea to win.
How about a draw n it’s as you were …. Except for the mancs
I don’t know how many times I have to say this: We are not in a title race. The title race was over for us a long time ago. We can not win more than two or three games in a row without even playing top 6 competitors.
We will not even finish in the top 4. We don’t deserve that, we are not improving or consistent.
But let’s not be dramatic. Finishing outside of the top is not the end of the world if you ever want to win a PL title in the future because it might mean Wenger leaving.
We don’t need a midfielder to dictate the tempo. We rather need a new Manager who wants to win at all cost. A Manager that will shout at his players. A Manager that will study every opponent strength and weakness. A Manager that can change tactics depending on the opposition. A manager that will utilize his squad effectively(Like giving Perez more game times and not playing Ramsey just to accommodate him in the squad).
We have a big squad and can have 3 or 4 formations depending on the opposition, injuries to key players.
Option 4231
Xhaka Coq
Perez. Ozil. Sanchez
Giroud
Option 433
Xhaka. Ozil. Coq
Sanchez Perez Walcott
Option 4312
Xhaka Coq Ramsey
Ozil.
Sanchez. Perez/Giroud
You need to use your strikers more. teach them to press more and be very aggressive. Perez by now should have settled well into the team scoring goals for fun. But Wenger keeps playing a box to box midfielder(Ramsey) in the position that should be played by a top Striker(Perez).
We need a new Manager. Period.