Crazy game. I liked the fact we showed fight throughout. Much seems to be being made of our defensive struggles, and we were poor, but bear in mind it was our 4th choice CB and 2 LBs making up a 3 CB formation. The equivalent of Chelsea last season would be a 36-year old John Terry, Marcus Alonso and Kenedy. Although this game does highlight our lack of CB depth when using this formation, the bigger talking point was how much we created against a team usually renowned for it's defence. Leicester could've scored 1 or 2 more I agree but then we could've scored 4 or 5 more. I really don't think anybody associated with Leicester can argue with the result, there is no stat which backs up said argument. It is difficult to pick our best player, Oezil created a fair bit and Xhaka was excellent offensively in the 2nd half. Chamberlain never stopped running and I can't argue against him being MotM above- although if a more realistic weighting was given to dribbles, I doubt he would've won it.
@SteveHyland Actually Marcos Alonso is very capable of playing CB in back three having played there in Fiorentina and wasn't half bad. Monreal has similarly played there many occasions and could start there regularly this season. But in overall you're right, our defense lacked true center backs and were irresponsible with the ball at times. In set pieces we looked particularly weak. Kolasinac impressed though, he looked very comfortable as CB with and without the ball and could continue playing there as Chamberlain impressed on the left. Our defense isn't that big concern anyway as Mustafi and Koschielny will return before tough fixtures. I'm more worried about our midfield; Xhaka was good but careless in occasions and Elneny didn't look any better than before despite the assist. Perhaps Ramsey will bring a bit more stability to our possession.
@Castle- I wouldn't fancy Alonso to play as the middle CB in a back 3 in the prem. The serie A is generally much much slower than the prem and pace tends to be what catches players out of position cold like yesterday with Vardy running the lines. I would expect him to look every bit as out of place as Monreal. Both of those are ok playing LCB but the middle CB has to be a CB. Holding was terrible as well so that didn't help matters. Kolasinac was at fault for one of the goals, I think he really needs to play LWB to get the most from him. Mustafi should be back for the next game and provided Holding doesn't have as poor a game as he had here, Holding-Mustafi-Monreal looks much better. I would then play Chamberlain next to Xhaka in the middle. Hopefully our midfield struggles will prompt Wenger to buy Goretzka cos no other option looks viable.
Lacazette has really impressed me. Oxlade Chambelain has a lot of room for improvement. In my opinion, Arsenal has really good players in all positions this season and they have the potential to get better results than previous seasons.
It Mahrez can put in a shift against Kolasinac then I expect him to be an arsenal player this month. I expect Ozil to start his record braking season assist this evening with at least one assist to Lacazette! Leicester even in their record breaking season where they only lost 3 games. They couldn't beat Arsenal home nor away losing both times! Whoever says Leicester have a chance at Emirates are clearly jealous! It would be a fluke if anything but probably impossible!
start of the season games are kinda difficult to call cuz teams havent settled in yet but I'd say both teams to score, arsenal to win the back and forth game, winning by no more than 2 goals, or a tie if leicester stays heavy on defense
Still not satisfied with the transfer dealings. Would love if we added Lemar & Van Dijk. Would still put money on us winning 2-1 with Lacazette on the scoresheet. #coyg
"Daniel Amartey and Nampalys Mendy are vying to start alongside Wilfred Ndidi in midfield."
I highly doubt Mendy is even fit. It'll be Matty James more likely than Amartey to start with Ndidi.
I am not feeling Friday night football at all. Maybe my opinion will change once we get into the swing of the season but I always liked the new season kicking off on a Saturday. Ah well. As for the game itself, Oezil and Ramsey are struggling to be fit plus Mustafi and Alexis are at least another week away and Koscielny is banned. I would guess the team would therefore look similar to the XI who faced Chelsea with the addition of Sead and both players 'behind' Lacazette actually playing more to the side of him so a 3-4-3: Cech, Holding, Mertesacker, Monreal, Bellerin, Elneny, Xhaka, Kolasinac, Iwobi, Lacazette, Welbeck. Leicester will probably defend well and look to counter. Makes sense since it has served them so well. We have won 4 and drawn 2 of the last 6 games against the Foxes and have won all of the games at home so I expect that to continue but Leicester are always tough. 2-1 Arsenal, late winner.
@Valor- I think Alex has played well and it is harsh on him to be benched but Bellerin is Wenger's man. There is talk of Hector joining Barcelona next season because his family want to (already have?) move(d) back there so Arsene may be trying to convince Chamberlain to stay with a view of him taking over the RWB spot in 2018/19 with Reiss Nelson as his understudy.
@SteveHyland Are you perhaps referring to Giroud by late winner ;) but seriously, how do you expect us to perform this season? For me top 4 is realistic but very tough target and we really need to get best out of the players and avoid our traditional injuries to reach that. Lack of CL should be helpful over the season as we have large pool of players to use in Europa League.
@Castle- Ha, I would definitely take a late Giroud winner. He is a far better impact player than a starter imo. As for where I think we'll finish, with our current squad and a want-away Alexis, I would say 4th but given Wenger has signed a 2-year deal despite 80% of the fans wanting him not to, I think anything less than the title will be (and should be) considered a failure- especially when you factor in the fact we can make this season a European-commitment-free one by way of playing a 2nd XI in the Europa. I would hope we sign Lemar and Goretzka- 2 potentially world class players who would fit perfectly into either formation Wenger uses and if we do, then we could win the league irrespective of Sanchez because we have the benefit of no CL. Leicester & Chelsea proved what an advantage it is to play the same team week-in week-out and how often have we been able to do that while in the CL?
@SteveHyland Goretzka would be outstanding signing, he would fit perfectly in our midfield and would surely help Xhaka too. Lemar is very promising too, but I don't think we can make more than one top signing anymore this summer and I'm not sure if those players are available or that willing to join us. Mahrez is willing to leave to Rome, I wonder if Wenger has decided to give up on him. He's only had one good season but he's certainly a skillful player and would "only" cost about 40 M. Anyway, do you think we should carry on with 3-4-3 for most of the season or should we consider other tactics? Cazorla, Wilshere and Ramsey will be returning over the autumn, which gives us options in midfield. And what about Chamberlain, for now he seems to be rotation player for wing backs. Well, at least he'll play in EL if not sold this summer.
@Castle- My hope is that because both players are young, they would join us simply because we are a step up from their current clubs- Schalke a team in a bad situation in every regard and Monaco a team who are liquidating their assets because they are unable to build a dynasty having a regular support of only 9,500 people. I think Mahrez was only a back-up option to Lemar and I'm sure Wenger still believes we can sign Thomas because he wants to join. Goretzka is less certain. There was talk of him joining Bayern on a free next season but can they guarantee he starts? We can because he is the ideal partner for Xhaka who is being moulded as the player who everything runs through (similar to Cazorla in that respect) so he will start. I would keep the 3-4-2-1/3-4-3 because we look better defensively with it and it doesn't seem to hurt us creatively. Chamberlain wants regular football which we can't provide while Bellerin is fit. I think he'll leave if we receive £30m for him personally.
I predicted a 1-1 draw but didn't input it on whoscored for once lol. We were lucky to get a win out of this match
Arsenal need better defenders selling alexis and buying 2 defenders :D
Crazy game. I liked the fact we showed fight throughout. Much seems to be being made of our defensive struggles, and we were poor, but bear in mind it was our 4th choice CB and 2 LBs making up a 3 CB formation. The equivalent of Chelsea last season would be a 36-year old John Terry, Marcus Alonso and Kenedy. Although this game does highlight our lack of CB depth when using this formation, the bigger talking point was how much we created against a team usually renowned for it's defence. Leicester could've scored 1 or 2 more I agree but then we could've scored 4 or 5 more. I really don't think anybody associated with Leicester can argue with the result, there is no stat which backs up said argument. It is difficult to pick our best player, Oezil created a fair bit and Xhaka was excellent offensively in the 2nd half. Chamberlain never stopped running and I can't argue against him being MotM above- although if a more realistic weighting was given to dribbles, I doubt he would've won it.
@SteveHyland Actually Marcos Alonso is very capable of playing CB in back three having played there in Fiorentina and wasn't half bad. Monreal has similarly played there many occasions and could start there regularly this season. But in overall you're right, our defense lacked true center backs and were irresponsible with the ball at times. In set pieces we looked particularly weak. Kolasinac impressed though, he looked very comfortable as CB with and without the ball and could continue playing there as Chamberlain impressed on the left. Our defense isn't that big concern anyway as Mustafi and Koschielny will return before tough fixtures. I'm more worried about our midfield; Xhaka was good but careless in occasions and Elneny didn't look any better than before despite the assist. Perhaps Ramsey will bring a bit more stability to our possession.
@Castle- I wouldn't fancy Alonso to play as the middle CB in a back 3 in the prem. The serie A is generally much much slower than the prem and pace tends to be what catches players out of position cold like yesterday with Vardy running the lines. I would expect him to look every bit as out of place as Monreal. Both of those are ok playing LCB but the middle CB has to be a CB. Holding was terrible as well so that didn't help matters. Kolasinac was at fault for one of the goals, I think he really needs to play LWB to get the most from him. Mustafi should be back for the next game and provided Holding doesn't have as poor a game as he had here, Holding-Mustafi-Monreal looks much better. I would then play Chamberlain next to Xhaka in the middle. Hopefully our midfield struggles will prompt Wenger to buy Goretzka cos no other option looks viable.
Vardy is back!
giroud was mvp,no doubt.
Lacazette has really impressed me. Oxlade Chambelain has a lot of room for improvement. In my opinion, Arsenal has really good players in all positions this season and they have the potential to get better results than previous seasons.
Wow. What a match.
How to beat Arsenal: Get a cross in.
a proper thriller after these preseason fillers!
I think Arsenal will go on to win 3-2
Both teams to score over very quickly
It Mahrez can put in a shift against Kolasinac then I expect him to be an arsenal player this month. I expect Ozil to start his record braking season assist this evening with at least one assist to Lacazette! Leicester even in their record breaking season where they only lost 3 games. They couldn't beat Arsenal home nor away losing both times! Whoever says Leicester have a chance at Emirates are clearly jealous! It would be a fluke if anything but probably impossible!
Anyone else got a problem replying to comments?
@Champion nope
start of the season games are kinda difficult to call cuz teams havent settled in yet but I'd say both teams to score, arsenal to win the back and forth game, winning by no more than 2 goals, or a tie if leicester stays heavy on defense
kolasinac to kill mahrez
Arsenal win
Will the be any LACK OF SWEAT?
Arsenal win @ 2 - 1
Still not satisfied with the transfer dealings. Would love if we added Lemar & Van Dijk. Would still put money on us winning 2-1 with Lacazette on the scoresheet. #coyg
Tough game to predict. I think I'll bet on Leicester to score goal at @1.50. Not a bad choice
"Daniel Amartey and Nampalys Mendy are vying to start alongside Wilfred Ndidi in midfield." I highly doubt Mendy is even fit. It'll be Matty James more likely than Amartey to start with Ndidi.
I have a feeling Leicester will win this. But, I wouldn't put any money on it!!
Will hope Walcott starts over welbeck as his movement complements Mr L much more than Welbeck
I am not feeling Friday night football at all. Maybe my opinion will change once we get into the swing of the season but I always liked the new season kicking off on a Saturday. Ah well. As for the game itself, Oezil and Ramsey are struggling to be fit plus Mustafi and Alexis are at least another week away and Koscielny is banned. I would guess the team would therefore look similar to the XI who faced Chelsea with the addition of Sead and both players 'behind' Lacazette actually playing more to the side of him so a 3-4-3: Cech, Holding, Mertesacker, Monreal, Bellerin, Elneny, Xhaka, Kolasinac, Iwobi, Lacazette, Welbeck. Leicester will probably defend well and look to counter. Makes sense since it has served them so well. We have won 4 and drawn 2 of the last 6 games against the Foxes and have won all of the games at home so I expect that to continue but Leicester are always tough. 2-1 Arsenal, late winner.
@SteveHyland I'd prefer the OX by far on the right wingback to Bellerin.
@Valor- I think Alex has played well and it is harsh on him to be benched but Bellerin is Wenger's man. There is talk of Hector joining Barcelona next season because his family want to (already have?) move(d) back there so Arsene may be trying to convince Chamberlain to stay with a view of him taking over the RWB spot in 2018/19 with Reiss Nelson as his understudy.
@SteveHyland Are you perhaps referring to Giroud by late winner ;) but seriously, how do you expect us to perform this season? For me top 4 is realistic but very tough target and we really need to get best out of the players and avoid our traditional injuries to reach that. Lack of CL should be helpful over the season as we have large pool of players to use in Europa League.
@Castle- Ha, I would definitely take a late Giroud winner. He is a far better impact player than a starter imo. As for where I think we'll finish, with our current squad and a want-away Alexis, I would say 4th but given Wenger has signed a 2-year deal despite 80% of the fans wanting him not to, I think anything less than the title will be (and should be) considered a failure- especially when you factor in the fact we can make this season a European-commitment-free one by way of playing a 2nd XI in the Europa. I would hope we sign Lemar and Goretzka- 2 potentially world class players who would fit perfectly into either formation Wenger uses and if we do, then we could win the league irrespective of Sanchez because we have the benefit of no CL. Leicester & Chelsea proved what an advantage it is to play the same team week-in week-out and how often have we been able to do that while in the CL?
@SteveHyland Goretzka would be outstanding signing, he would fit perfectly in our midfield and would surely help Xhaka too. Lemar is very promising too, but I don't think we can make more than one top signing anymore this summer and I'm not sure if those players are available or that willing to join us. Mahrez is willing to leave to Rome, I wonder if Wenger has decided to give up on him. He's only had one good season but he's certainly a skillful player and would "only" cost about 40 M. Anyway, do you think we should carry on with 3-4-3 for most of the season or should we consider other tactics? Cazorla, Wilshere and Ramsey will be returning over the autumn, which gives us options in midfield. And what about Chamberlain, for now he seems to be rotation player for wing backs. Well, at least he'll play in EL if not sold this summer.
@Castle- My hope is that because both players are young, they would join us simply because we are a step up from their current clubs- Schalke a team in a bad situation in every regard and Monaco a team who are liquidating their assets because they are unable to build a dynasty having a regular support of only 9,500 people. I think Mahrez was only a back-up option to Lemar and I'm sure Wenger still believes we can sign Thomas because he wants to join. Goretzka is less certain. There was talk of him joining Bayern on a free next season but can they guarantee he starts? We can because he is the ideal partner for Xhaka who is being moulded as the player who everything runs through (similar to Cazorla in that respect) so he will start. I would keep the 3-4-2-1/3-4-3 because we look better defensively with it and it doesn't seem to hurt us creatively. Chamberlain wants regular football which we can't provide while Bellerin is fit. I think he'll leave if we receive £30m for him personally.