Arsenal (A) Premier League 3/11 K.O 17:30

[El Rojo]

Funny to hear Fabinho questioned on here - he couldn’t do anything wrong a week ago. 

 

Great, emphatic finish from Milner for our goal. I might give up on football when he leaves us. 

[Daisy]

4 minutes ago, El Rojo said:

Funny to hear Fabinho questioned on here - he couldn’t do anything wrong a week ago. 

 

Great, emphatic finish from Milner for our goal. I might give up on football when he leaves us. 

Well let's not go overboard, he had a very good game against a weak side last week . Everyone was hoping he would build on that against stronger opposition, but he was dreadful today. 

[aRdja]

A good point in all honesty. Not the best performance from us. The two Brazilian outfield players were the worst on the pitch IMO; Fabinho looked a bit out of his depth, whilst Bobby didn’t work their weak centre halfs at all. Robbo, Salah and Van Dijk were very good. Alisson was solid, but could’ve done a bit better for the goal. Same goes with Joe Gomez. 

[Daisy]

Allison was weak. 

 

Trent was targeted and failed to deal with it, he's been really poor all season. 

 

Van dijk should have won it for us. 

 

Fabinho looked way off the pace. 

 

I fucking loved Milner scoring. 

 

Firmino is really stinking the place out now, a striker may not have been a bad idea in the summer after all 

[Colt Seavers]

This draw feels like a loss I don't know why.

Our lass asked me why I'm being a fanny when we went top but I feel like it's 2 points dropped.

Not sure I agree with needing a firminho replacement as he is the gel that links the front 3. I know they aren't clicking but surely they will.

[Hades]

Shitcunt referees cost insipid Liverpool again.

 

Looks like Buvač was the attacking mastermind.

[1892-LFCWasBorn]

1 minute ago, Hades said:

Looks like Buvač was the attacking mastermind.

Was about to post the same. We don't have the same fluidity as last season.

[Hades]

3 minutes ago, 1892-LFCWasBorn said:

Was about to post the same. We don't have the same fluidity as last season.

Losing one of the top 5 playmakers in the world doesn't help either. Shaqiri is brilliant but a clear level down from Coutinho.

[Dr Nowt]

2 hours ago, Russ Atmosphere said:

I think we'd have won that if we'd stayed one goal ahead on the scoresheet when the final whistle was blown.

Welcome back JP.

[magicrat]

1 hour ago, Einch said:

What was the linesman smoking for the Mane effort?  

 

Holmes .. “When you eliminate the impossible whatever remains,however improbable, must be the truth 

[El Rojo]

51 minutes ago, Hades said:

 

 

Looks like Buvač was the attacking mastermind.

PM’d.

[johnsusername]

We've definitely not looked as slick going forward since Buvac left. I wonder what happened? 

[Creator Supreme]

Mane was offside!

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, Creator Supreme said:

Mane was offside!

For the initial cross to Firmino? Correct. For the rebound off the post? Incorrect.

[Colt Seavers]

See this is the problem CS has a different interpretation of the offside rule to me. I'm not saying who is right.

But if someone came out and clarified it might help.

My understanding is he was on in the 2nd phase but people are too eager to protect officials in my opinion.

I am pissed so hope it makes sense

[Creator Supreme]

10 minutes ago, Shooter in the Motor said:

For the initial cross to Firmino? Correct. For the rebound off the post? Incorrect.

He was active at all times mate, and I don't see the rebound off the post being a separate phase of play!

[Jairzinho]

Peter Walton had a slightly different view.

[magicrat]

Once Firmono touched it he wa onside

[an tha]

23 minutes ago, Colt Seavers said:

See this is the problem CS has a different interpretation of the offside rule to me. I'm not saying who is right.

But if someone came out and clarified it might help.

My understanding is he was on in the 2nd phase but people are too eager to protect officials in my opinion.

I am pissed so hope it makes sense

I watched game on a stream and the commentary on it said that the PMGOL said the goal should have stood

[Colt Seavers]

1 minute ago, an tha said:

I watched game on a stream and the commentary on it said that the PMGOL said the goal should have stood

I 100% agree from my understanding when the ball comes off the bar it's a new phase so it's a goal.

[Hades]

1 hour ago, El Rojo said:

PM’d.

Shocking stuff. Lost all respect for Klopp after this.

[TheHowieLama]

The purple #10 should have had a hat trick - good from that fella.

[Guest Alex_K]

In terms of not being as effective .. it’s also important to remember that teams acclimatise. Which is why it’s always important to freshen up season on season. Hence Sane not playing such a big role at City this season, for example. I think we would all have expected Keita & Fabinho to have had much more impact .. for whatever reason that hasn’t worked out, so the ‘pluses’ in the team are more or less the same as last season in an offensive sense, and teams may have learned to live with that better (let’s not underestimate that all these league teams have multi million £ coaching teams to figure this stuff out).

 

The defense, on the other side of things, has been pretty spectacular. Arsenal were playing pretty much at optimum today with some of the best attacking players in the world, and if not for one moment of genius we would have got away with it.

[aws]

You're not offside anymore if you're in an offside position unless you touch the ball or interfere with an opposition player.  Mane did neither before Firmino played the ball and as he was behind the ball when Firmino played it the goal was good.  

[Trumo]

That was a tough game against a side who chose to attack and try to break us down rather than sit back, cede possession and hope to nick a goal from a set-piece or counter. Despite being second best on balance of play, it's fair to say we should have come away with all 3 points.

 

That we didn't is partly down to the referee's assistant incorrectly disallowing a goal. That the current offside rules are far too complicated to the implemented correctly in today's fast-paced game is another matter entirely. Simplify the rules and that goal wouldn't be given anyway. Under the current rules, if VAR had been available then that goal would have to be given.

 

Good goal from Milner to give us the lead. Excellent goal from Lacazette to equalise. For all the possession and territory Arsenal had, I didn't think they really carved us open. Klopp seems to have gone for a more pragmatic approach this season, perhaps in a final bid to ensure we are solid as can be defensively. While that has generally been the case, the cost is a lack of creativity from midfield which is forcing our attacking trio to try and make everything happen in attack instead of pulling defences apart through their movement and being picked out by creative and effective attacking play behind them, as we saw from Coutinho in the first part of last season, and The Ox once the Brazilian was sold.

 

Much has been made about Fabinho's display. He didn't have a good game it's true, but it's the first time in England he's come up against a side willing to throw numbers forward and get in amongst us. Even Chelsea didn't do much of that in the League Cup tie. Red Star and Cardiff certainly didn't. I think he might need to play as part of a central pairing in games like this, or maybe Klopp needs to 'flip the triangle' and play two of them deeper, like he did in the second half with Gini.

 

I thought Trent looked shaky. It's been noticeable when his direct opponent has been very direct and prepared to run the inside channels, like Aubameyang did. Zaha gave him some trouble this way last season too. Trent stuck to his task and didn't buckle, but it was still a ropey display from him.

 

Van Dijk had a few chances, being close down by Leno after chesting down a high ball and getting a shot away for the first, hitting the post with a header from a free kick the second, and heading right at the keeper from a corner for the third. Firmino hit the post from the incident that result in a Mane goal being ruled out wrongly, and Mane himself was inches away from connecting with a low cross after a sweeping counter-attack in the second half. Firmino headed a corner wide too. It's hard to recall Arsenal having anything like as many decent opportunities.

 

Anyway, we go on to an early game against Red Star on Tuesday, and hopefully we can repeat or better what we did to them in the game last week.