Auba is the best player but it's starting to look like his peak was last year when he was hoping for a move to barca etc. He's less aggressive in his play now and it makes a huge difference.

Its too hard to tell as the sample size is to small ans theirs every chance he's just playing managing an injury. Hopefully he gets back to his best soon.

Its not fair to expect him to carry the team but he's also on those kinds wages where that's whats expected to some extent. This team without auba is dull as fook.

Peak ozil and satchez were always influencing games.

What Mustafi was doing for Vardy's goal was disgraceful. Seriously fuck him, utter lack of effort.

speedy wrote:

Auba is the best player but it's starting to look like his peak was last year when he was hoping for a move to barca etc. He's less aggressive in his play now and it makes a huge difference.

Its too hard to tell as the sample size is to small ans theirs every chance he's just playing managing an injury. Hopefully he gets back to his best soon.

Its not fair to expect him to carry the team but he's also on those kinds wages where that's whats expected to some extent. This team without auba is dull as fook.

Peak ozil and satchez were always influencing games.

Auba has always been like this (when he doesn’t score). He lacks influence.

Clrnc wrote:

What Mustafi was doing for Vardy's goal was disgraceful. Seriously fuck him, utter lack of effort.

That was on Gabriel

Seeing what fofana brought to the table for leicester yet saliba cant even make the 25, then watching mustafi not even in camera shot as vardy nods in the winner. When arsenal troll us they do it with such poetry

Sicario wrote:

speedy wrote:

Auba is the best player but it's starting to look like his peak was last year when he was hoping for a move to barca etc. He's less aggressive in his play now and it makes a huge difference.

Its too hard to tell as the sample size is to small ans theirs every chance he's just playing managing an injury. Hopefully he gets back to his best soon.

Its not fair to expect him to carry the team but he's also on those kinds wages where that's whats expected to some extent. This team without auba is dull as fook.

Peak ozil and satchez were always influencing games.

Auba has always been like this (when he doesn’t score). He lacks influence.

Generally but not last season. He'd be involved a lot. Like the cross he put in  today. Top quality and on his poor foot. 

Clrnc wrote:

I think everyone has said, including Arteta vaguely that Saliba need more to be ready to start games for us. Which really don't make sense given that his similarly less experienced partner is already Leicester's best defender immediately after signing in their last 2 matches.

I wonder what's the story behind letting Saliba play u23 football exclusively and not include him in any of our squads at all.

I know the speculation is tiresome, but sometimes you wonder how hard agents push these kids into big moves too early. He might just be having some mild buyers remorse for moving to the big lights so early. Hoefully the performance of his mate will inspire him

Agree its all so ponderous , there's no directness no invention no skill no danger at all. Even after we conceded you would expect to go for it in search of an equalizer but nothing clicked.

GooneriC wrote:

Agree its all so ponderous , there's no directness no invention no skill no danger at all. Even after we conceded you would expect to go for it in search of an equalizer but nothing clicked.

Xhaka used to do high risk passes, then dani took over. Now they've both stopped. Arteta prefers those balls from the CBs or LB. 

We've seem pool and city struggle to break us down when we played like leister. We don't have  their technical quality so its no surprise really.

If lacazette was smart enough to be ready to head in that cross from tierney, we'd be winning 3-0. Or even if that first goal wasn't disallowed.

GooneriC wrote:

Even after we conceded you would expect to go for it in search of an equalizer but nothing clicked.

The minutes around the goal summed up Arteta as a manager so far. We were about to bring on Maitland-Niles, and then they scored and we threw on Nketiah instead with 9 minutes left on the watch. We went from trying to secure a point to trying to claw back a point at home against a Leicester missing all of their best players. That was the sum of our ambition for most of the second half. It's like we created too many half-chances in the first 45 and had to calm things down a bit so the lads wouldn't get any mad ideas about breaking the lines.

It's not about whether we play 4-3-3 or 3-4-3 or even 4-4-2; it's about how they all collapse into the same predictable shapes and negative patterns after a while. We're always hamstrung up front, always blunt. Auba has spent as much time essentially playing fullback this season as he has playing like a forward. Why do we have to be the only team that mismanages attacking players in this manner and why do we have to keep at it long after our luck has run out? We're now seeing the same xG effect as we did under Emery, where over time bad football starts to accumulate bad results.

Watching Xhaka play is painfully frustrating. Everything is so slow. He passes the ball too late, and he lacks vision and awareness so that he is nearly always forced to play the ball backwards or sideways. He doesn't really make any runs off the ball either and provide passing options for others. I can't stand Elneny, but I think he might actually be a better option..

Kel Varnsen wrote:

Watching Xhaka play is painfully frustrating. Everything is so slow. He passes the ball too late, and he lacks vision and awareness so that he is nearly always forced to play the ball backwards or sideways. He doesn't really make any runs off the ball either and provide passing options for others. I can't stand Elneny, but I think he might actually be a better option..

Yeah but don't say it too loudly.

Bring Back Kerrea Gilbert wrote:

Kel Varnsen wrote:

Watching Xhaka play is painfully frustrating. Everything is so slow. He passes the ball too late, and he lacks vision and awareness so that he is nearly always forced to play the ball backwards or sideways. He doesn't really make any runs off the ball either and provide passing options for others. I can't stand Elneny, but I think he might actually be a better option..

Yeah but don't say it too loudly.

He used to be involved in many of our best and worst moments. Now he's hardly noticeable. 

Klaus wrote:

GooneriC wrote:

Even after we conceded you would expect to go for it in search of an equalizer but nothing clicked.

The minutes around the goal summed up Arteta as a manager so far. We were about to bring on Maitland-Niles, and then they scored and we threw on Nketiah instead with 9 minutes left on the watch. We went from trying to secure a point to trying to claw back a point at home against a Leicester missing all of their best players. That was the sum of our ambition for most of the second half. It's like we created too many half-chances in the first 45 and had to calm things down a bit so the lads wouldn't get any mad ideas about breaking the lines.

It's not about whether we play 4-3-3 or 3-4-3 or even 4-4-2; it's about how they all collapse into the same predictable shapes and negative patterns after a while. We're always hamstrung up front, always blunt. Auba has spent as much time essentially playing fullback this season as he has playing like a forward. Why do we have to be the only team that mismanages attacking players in this manner and why do we have to keep at it long after our luck has run out? We're now seeing the same xG effect as we did under Emery, where over time bad football starts to accumulate bad results.

Exactly, I am not a big fan of this either. Arteta seems to be a little bit too pragmatic, hopefully the players will express their willingness to shake up things slightly and he agrees, otherwise we are going to be unwatchable until the end of the season and I do not think our end position is going to be an improvement on previous year, definitely not significant.

Klaus wrote:

GooneriC wrote:

Even after we conceded you would expect to go for it in search of an equalizer but nothing clicked.

The minutes around the goal summed up Arteta as a manager so far. We were about to bring on Maitland-Niles, and then they scored and we threw on Nketiah instead with 9 minutes left on the watch. We went from trying to secure a point to trying to claw back a point at home against a Leicester missing all of their best players. That was the sum of our ambition for most of the second half. It's like we created too many half-chances in the first 45 and had to calm things down a bit so the lads wouldn't get any mad ideas about breaking the lines.

It's not about whether we play 4-3-3 or 3-4-3 or even 4-4-2; it's about how they all collapse into the same predictable shapes and negative patterns after a while. We're always hamstrung up front, always blunt. Auba has spent as much time essentially playing fullback this season as he has playing like a forward. Why do we have to be the only team that mismanages attacking players in this manner and why do we have to keep at it long after our luck has run out? We're now seeing the same xG effect as we did under Emery, where over time bad football starts to accumulate bad results.

Well summed up. I would add that there were baby steps in the right direction in the first 45 minutes,  more shots for example, but im not sure how much was due to leceister playing poorly without vardy. Most of that 45 minutes was simultaneously hamstrung by shocking individual performances by some key players. I dont know why but this club has been immune to the concept of league momentum for years, guys just turn into shells of themself at the drop of a hat

So a couple of things

• we outplayed them. 495 passes to 369. 90 to 69 attacking third passes. 12 to 6 shots. 4 to 2 on target.
• we had 55% territory which is much better than we usually do. You could see all our men in their half. The top 3 pass combos all involved Gabriel, who will possibly become the most influential on the ball defender in this league. He’s providing the deep direction I wanted from Upamecano.
• So we attacked and limited them. It’s unfortunate we lost Luiz because that Brazilian center back pairing looked sublime.
• We were cheated out of another well worked set piece. Give that coach a bonus

Our issues

• Bypassing Thomas. He was hoovering up for the most part. Play went around him. It seemed defenders were told to pass directly. It would work better if we had 2 receiving 8s like Manchester City who enable multiple passing triangles across the field. But he’s got incredible physical strength in a challenge
• Laca was a non-entity after his disallowed goal..
  -.. while our best scorer is far from goal in areas he cannot create danger. He is not Mahrez. He will not beat 3 guys to get to goal. Leave that to Pépé and Saka.

we coulda done with Pirlneny this match. Not in a defensive sense but on the attack.