I Can't Fucking Stand It

Our best player on the season gives away three points.  We won't be relegated, but playing in Europe next season is not something this squad deserve to think about.  Why do I watch these games?

Notts County is doing well, and Juventus is top of Serie A (on head-to-head w co-leaders Inter), so there's that.

Arsenal 0 - 3 Manchester City

We were second best by a mile today.  There's no denying it.  But despite the empty seats and the terrible online player ratings, I was heartened by what I saw today.  A mostly young squad put plenty of energy and belief into trying to play decent football.  Sadly, the Emery era seems to have stripped us of our identity and our defensive organization.  Freddie can't fix that.  But he has infused the players with some confidence.  These are good players, though obviously we have some weak links across the back line, partly due to injury.

Start with Leno.  He was fantastic today.  I wouldn't trade him for anyone.  Everyone in front of him will look better when they are managed better, even the aforementioned weak links.  What team wouldn't want Martinelli or Saka in their setup?  They're certain stars.  Pepe has enormous talent, and Auba has been one of the league's top scorers since he joined the EPL.  We were on the attack a good part of the time, but City was always back in good order.  That's training and instruction.  Our mids showed a lot of individual talent and often combined well, but when we didn't have the ball they seemed unsure how to close City down.  That's training and instruction.

I could bitch about Kolasinac and Chambers today, but I like them as players and they're being exposed because the team has been poorly coached.  No one reads this so I can say without fear of contradiction that if Wenger had these players we'd have quite a few more points this season.  We needed someone who would get more out of the team, and we ended up getting someone who got less.  It's all on the Kroenkes.

I hope Arsenal keeps pushing.  Yeah, we're mid-table and we're going to stay there, but we're getting our Arsenal back.  Freddie's right that Arsenal is killing us by not supplying a coaching staff for him.  He's not the guy who can restore our former glory--I wonder if anyone can given the owner--but he's got the right idea about how we should play.

Looking a Little Better; Man City Tomorrow Though

As it happens, I couldn't watch the last two games in real time.  I did follow along with the audio commentary at Liege.  Our defensive frailties are still evident, but finally the offense is starting to click.  The excellent performance of our young guys is especially heartening.  City will be a real test, but the men will have to believe they can win this game, despite our current injury crisis with both first choice fullbacks.  I continue to believe that Holding and Chambers are our best center backs now, and are the future, with Saliba of course.  But I'm resigned to seeing at least one of the older, error-prone guys in there who will probably be turned inside out by Aguero.

I have no confidence that our execs will choose the best candidate for the coaching job.  I like what Freddie's trying to do, but he's not allowed to hire a staff so there's a limit to what he can work on.  It's a case of trying to hang in there and not drop too many more points until the new guy can address what's wrong.  The January window might bring a little help, but I'm not expecting much.  Can we give Ceballos back and get a partial refund?

Well, hoping for the best.  Statistically, we outplayed Liege by a good margin.  In highlights, I saw their keeper make a couple great saves.  The first team should give City some problems, but our defenders will have to be harder to play against than they have been.  Torreira-Guendouzi in the middle of the midfield?  Laca maybe should sit this one out so Auba can fill the CF spot.

ARS 1-2 BHA

This is a lost season.  We won't be in Europe next year at all unless there's a dramatic turnaround, and we won't deserve to be.  I still believe we have a fantastic set of offensive players, and the talent is there to do a lot better.  But we're so easy to play against.

I will try to take a break from Arsenal.  If it's not fun, don't do it, right?  And watching these millionaires underachieve is not fun.

NOR 2-2 ARS : Freddie Couldn't Fix Everything in Two Days!

I'll get the negative comment out of the way early:  Luiz and Mustafi are a terrible CB pairing and Freddie shouldn't have picked them.  One or the other with Holding, OK. 

It's pathetic that dropping two points in a fair result away to a bottom-dweller looks like progress after dropping two points at home to a bottom-dweller we were lucky to draw against.  But there we are.  We were still ridiculously easy to play against, but the attack was more incisive and the ball moved quicker on offense.  The games come thick and fast this month, so there will be ample opportunity to see if we can improve under Freddie.  It was not going to happen with Emery.

I liked the classy way AFC and Emery parted ways.  The players were circumspect and respectful, and Emery was gracious.  His whole staff was ousted, which makes sense, so I hope we have cover.  Moving Per in was good.