Arsenal 0-3 Aston Villa - Sunday 8th November, 2020

[Stan]

Kick-off 19.15

Live on Sky Sports Box Office

      VS     

Head to Head Record
Arsenal - 83
Draws - 45
Aston Villa - 67

Last Meeting
21/07/2020 - Aston Villa 1-0 Arsenal

Last Fixture
22/09/2019 - Arsenal 3-2 Aston Villa

[JoshBRFC+]

Triple captained Aubamayeng. He’s due a big game!

[JoshBRFC+]

That was 50/50. And the life has been sucked out of a game and we were only a minute in. I hate VAR so much.

[Stan]

what  

 

[Cicero]

 

[Lucas]

2-0 now.

I'd be worried as an Arsenal fan that they haven't managed to open up a side that's shipped 3 and 4 respectively in their last two games.

[Stan]

 what is going on 

[Lucas]

Credit where it's due, Villa have gone from looking incredibly boring to genuinely exciting going forward.

I think it's time for Arsenal to consider moving Auba back up front. Look incredibly blunt up there.

[Bluewolf]

1 hour ago, Stan said:

what  

 

The game is getting out of hand when a player goes down with nobody within 10 feet of them... 

[carefreeluke]

6 minutes ago, Cicero said:

 

I've seen they've started to turn on him, I also remember Robbie saying that Willian is better than Ziyech as well.

Willian really has been one of the biggest myths of the Premier League in the last ten years, rated by all the pundits and other fans but not by those who watch him every week. Strangely his best season for us was last season.

[Cicero]

6 minutes ago, carefreeluke said:

I've seen they've started to turn on him, I also remember Robbie saying that Willian is better than Ziyech as well.

Willian really has been one of the biggest myths of the Premier League in the last ten years, rated by all the pundits and other fans but not by those who watch him every week. Strangely his best season for us was last season.

DT is a gift that keeps on giving. 
 

2 months ago - Willian better than any of our new signings. 
Now - Chelsea reject. 
 

Looks like he’s finally realised how useless Willian is in the final third and how virtually none of his crosses beats the first man. 

[Panna King]

Arteta is a shit coach, he is only good when he sets up a team to defend for their lives and that's it. He is the most negative coach I have seen at a top club, the sooner the better he is gone, with his horrible style of football this is not the Arsenal I want to watch every week. 

[Cicero]

 

[Panna King]

20 minutes ago, carefreeluke said:

I've seen they've started to turn on him, I also remember Robbie saying that Willian is better than Ziyech as well.

Willian really has been one of the biggest myths of the Premier League in the last ten years, rated by all the pundits and other fans but not by those who watch him every week. Strangely his best season for us was last season.

The problem is that Arsenal are craving for a star but they are going in for players that do not even suit the style of play and offering them stupid amounts of money.  Its a desperate move from a desperate club.

[carefreeluke]

33 minutes ago, Cicero said:

 

That clip is even better because in 30 seconds it sums up Chelsea fans' reactions to him over the last seven years, that used to be us. You've got the bloke at the back saying he was 'team Willian', as well which partly represents the sections of Chelsea supporters that rated him, that guy will be back on the Willian bandwagon in a couple of weeks when he scores a screamer whilst forgetting the games of mediocrity previously. 

@Storts A particular Chelsea song will say differently but one of your best moments in the summer of 2013 was Willian rejecting you at the last minute.

[Panna King]

Really really poor start of the season for Arsenal, Arteta is in sackable form, he is never going to get us near the top 4 let alone in a Europa league spot which his tactics and selections.     Lacazatte also needs to leave now, so overrated. 

[Lucas]

2 minutes ago, SirBalon 69 said:

Really really poor start of the season for Arsenal, Arteta is in sackable form, he is never going to get us near the top 4 let alone in a Europa league spot which his tactics and selections.     Lacazatte also needs to leave now, so overrated. 

What are your thoughts on Ozil out of interest?

I know the fanbase has alwaya been pretty split on him but would you like to have had him as an option given the way you currently set up? 

Doesn't seem to be anyone in that Arsenal squad, let alone first team, that can open up a defence like he can.

[Panna King]

1 minute ago, Lucas said:

What are your thoughts on Ozil out of interest?

I know the fanbase has alwaya been pretty split on him but would you like to have had him as an option given the way you currently set up? 

Doesn't seem to be anyone in that Arsenal squad, let alone first team, that can open up a defence like he can.

 Ozil needs to go, offers nothing now, has been very poor for the last few years.   

[Panna King]

5 minutes ago, shut up said:

You don't half overreact ffs. We're poor at the minute and Arteta keeps getting the starting XI, but he is 100% a better coach than emery. At least we're on the front foot and dominating games. Under emery we were having 30% possession against bottom three sides.

I think the players are being over coached. They need to be given freedom to make their own decisions on the pitch. Also, lacazette is terrible. We should have sold him in the summer tbh.

I dont care if he is better than Emery, he was shit and not right for the club and nor is Arteta, he is sooooo negative. You really want to see this every week?  and when we win we are defending for our lives like its a lower league club beating a premier league club in the cup.    

 

Arteta couldnt even break down a sand castle, shocking.

[Panna King]

1 minute ago, shut up said:

I agree emery was shit, but Arteta needs to be given time. He has been in charge only 10 months and our squad is so poor. Emery had Ozil and Ramsey to create chances, arteta has nobody really. We have an average squad imo and i don't think Klopp would finish top 4 with it, so not expecting Arteta to either.

But Klopp plays high energy football even with a bad defence before Virgil signed,  Arteta is shocking, his style is so slow, no creativity, 5 at the back and we have hardly scored so far this season in the league.  

[Cicero]

24 minutes ago, carefreeluke said:

That clip is even better because in 30 seconds it sums up Chelsea fans' reactions to him over the last seven years, that used to be us. You've got the bloke at the back saying he was 'team Willian', as well which partly represents the sections of Chelsea supporters that rated him, that guy will be back on the Willian bandwagon in a couple of weeks when he scores a screamer whilst forgetting the games of mediocrity previously. 

Willian just needs to get adjusted to the Premier League, mate. 

[carefreeluke]

25 minutes ago, SirBalon 69 said:

Really really poor start of the season for Arsenal, Arteta is in sackable form, he is never going to get us near the top 4 let alone in a Europa league spot which his tactics and selections.     Lacazatte also needs to leave now, so overrated. 

I can see why he's gone with that system given the quality of players available to him and it will get results to a certain extent.

I also think he's won a lot of plaudits because he's given Arsenal a clear identity and people have seen a more defensively solid Arsenal, particularly in big games. They were lacking this for years which was always the general complaint about them, the fact that they weren't defensively solid, had no backbone and whatever else.

@SirBalon 69 comments, however, don't sound too dissimilar to what I and some others were saying in Conte's second season. I've said countless times on here that system can be very rigid, predictable and machine-like, you end up watching the same playing patterns over and over. The opposition will let you off at times, by making mistakes which can be punished but over time things get tedious. 

Conte's trajectory was something like this:

Crisis, players low on confidence

Change of system

Players get clear instructions and specific jobs and roles, given more protection in the system, things are simplified and a foundation is built, new ideas, a fresh start.

Football's great, it's new and looks great on the eye, confidence builds, the league can't cope with the system

League eventually adapts, a system that was fresh and new becomes slow and predictable, things become stale.

To quote Jay Z  

Quote

Same sword they knight you they gon' good night you with

As I've also said before however, I think Arteta has the ability to change and adapt and should be given more time.

[Cicero]

It's exactly why I've stated this type of system is unsustainable. Winning the FA Cup papers over some glaring facts. You guys haven't scored from open play since October 3rd and your chance creation/expected goals has suffered tremendously since Emery. 

[carefreeluke]

I'm not here on a wind-up.

Don't you Arsenal fans feel you're watching the same thing over and over?

[carefreeluke]

19 minutes ago, Cicero said:

It's exactly why I've stated this type of system is unsustainable. Winning the FA Cup papers over some glaring facts. You guys haven't scored from open play since October 3rd and your chance creation/expected goals has suffered tremendously since Emery. 

I think we're comparing Chelsea under Conte to Arsenal simply because of a similar playing system, you know there are other factors involved.

This is a bold statement and I always get some strange looks and reactions when I say this in front of people but we actually went backwards under Conte and we're still clearing up some of the mess. I'm not saying this is what is happening with Arsenal and Arteta, I'm talking in purely Chelsea terms here. Under Conte, from the football played, the press conferences, the signings, the stuff behind the scenes, winning things really papered over the cracks. I'm definitely not saying that Conte didn't bring positives, he did but he really didn't leave the club in a better place compared to the one when he came in. You know Lampard and the current squad may not even get close to winning a league title and an FA Cup but we're wrong to always heavily use trophies as a barometer of success.