Arsenal 2020-21: Here Comes The Arteta

[Buzzrock 15118]

ESR was just glorious on that assist. Damn.

[Surly Bevo 25660]

5 minutes ago, Ted Lange said:

Enjoyable first half. 

Enjoyment continuing

[Buzzrock 15118]

Leeds is scrappy

[Buzzrock 15118]

Nervy second half but good win

[Bullneck 19454]

On 1/30/2021 at 1:59 PM, Ted Lange said:

I can’t remember a player for a team I root for I have disliked more than Willian.   Absolute shit. 

Quote

Criticism of Willian's performances for Arsenal this season are not "unfair" but the club have to "protect" the player, says Gunners boss Mikel Arteta.

The Brazilian, 32, joined Arsenal on a free transfer from Chelsea last summer but has failed to score in 24 games and provided only three assists.

 

Arteta said Willian will return to his best form with the "quality he has".

Arsenal face Benfica in the last 32 of the Europa League on Thursday, in Rome due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The Londoners go into the game on the back of just one win in their last four games, while the Portuguese side are fourth in their league, 13 points behind leaders Sporting Lisbon.

When asked about criticism levelled at his player, Arteta said: "I won't say it is unfair. Expectations of Willian are really high in terms of the goals he can score, assists he can create. We have to protect him.

"What he is doing at the moment, the way he is training, the way he is willing to give everything to the team is what I demand.

"Whether he is successful in the game is another matter, but it will come with the quality he has."

Midfielder Thomas Partey is out of the Benfica game but full-back Kieran Tierney is in the squad after recovering from a leg injury.

 

[shadow_operative 15932]

oh my god Auba.

[shadow_operative 15932]

that's how you respond. 

[Ted Lange 16361]

Tierney & Pepe on the left, me like.

[shadow_operative 15932]

plus Martinelli at CF. need them to get us one more goal, please and thank you. 

[shadow_operative 15932]

should have been a 3-0 victory. we're going to regret ducking up a game in which we dominated like that; i guarantee it. 

[shadow_operative 15932]

how much you wanna bet that Benfica scores an early goal in the next match and we just watch our boys unravel? fuck that was frustrating yesterday.

[shadow_operative 15932]

welp; the day has arrived. we either knock out one of the main threats to winning this entire thing, or we bow out disgracefully after having completely furked the first leg of this tie. it should be 2-0 or 3-0 heading into today, but it's not. because of our own blunders it is 1-1, which has me 100% prepared for a 3-1 type of loss. teams who screw the pooch the way we did seldom get rewarded, and i expect today to be our last match in the competition for some time.

[Dutch 4533]

 

41 minutes ago, shadow_operative said:

welp; the day has arrived. we either knock out one of the main threats to winning this entire thing, or we bow out disgracefully after having completely furked the first leg of this tie. it should be 2-0 or 3-0 heading into today, but it's not. because of our own blunders it is 1-1, which has me 100% prepared for a 3-1 type of loss. teams who screw the pooch the way we did seldom get rewarded, and i expect today to be our last match in the competition for some time.

Yep.  Arteta called tonight a "final." He's probably right.  We're 6 off 7th (and Everton have a match in-hand), and I'm not even bothering to consider 4th.  Should be well ahead but...Arsenal. That said...COYG!  Get it done.

 

[Dutch 4533]

Anyone watching this? Since I refuse to pay for CBS' shitty streaming service, I'm following a MBM.

 

[shadow_operative 15932]

Auba! some dynamite passing these last several minutes. let's keep it going!

[Dutch 4533]

1-0 to The Arsenal.  Auba with, from the description, a fine finish from a nice attack. COYG!

[shadow_operative 15932]

yup. saw that coming. this one is over. fucking shameful.

[shadow_operative 15932]

we bring on Willian but leave Martinelli, Pepé, and Laca on the bench. 🤦🏼‍♂️ 

[Dutch 4533]

[Dutch 4533]

Just now, shadow_operative said:

we bring on Willian but leave Martinelli, Pepé, and Laca on the bench. 🤦🏼‍♂️ 

SMH...We need two goals, so... Willian is the obv choice.

[shadow_operative 15932]

Tierney! Do we have hope? Let's get one more! 

[Dutch 4533]

Laca on... come on, guys!

[shadow_operative 15932]

AUBA!!!!

[shadow_operative 15932]

what a ball from Saka!

[Dutch 4533]

[shadow_operative 15932]

wow, helluva comeback. first time we've showed character like that in a long while. LFG!! COYG!!! 🔴⚪️

[Dutch 4533]

1 minute ago, shadow_operative said:

wow, helluva comeback. first time we've showed character like that in a long while. LFG!! COYG!!! 🔴⚪️

Yup.  Dug deep and found some intestinal fortitude.

[Dutch 4533]

A rerun of last season's Round of 32 in this year's Round of 16.  

In other news, Utd - Milan should be an interesting tie.

[The Maestro 775]

Big win today.  Missed the first half, too damn early.  Impressive with Auba & Saka not starting.  

[Surly Bevo 25660]

Watched on delay, guess that probably puts any of the faintest glimmer of Leicester winning the league in the morgue.  We looked good, nice to see Sideshow Bob put one on the board.  

[Dutch 4533]

Just finished watching. Great recovery, great win. Dominated after conceding. Pepe especially had himself a match: won free kicks, the pen, scored one, looked dangerous throughout.  Only sour note was ESR leaving early. Hopefully he isn’t hurt or misses any time. 

[Ted Lange 16361]

I’ve grown to almost loathe Willian, but that was a very good shift he put in today.  Pepe played great as well. 

[shadow_operative 15932]

yeah Pepé was awesome today. great comeback after conceding early with a rotated squad. if Willian can continue to bag assists then that will seriously help. hope he's coming out of his funk. 

[shadow_operative 15932]

raise your hand if you had Willian and Pepé in the TOTW. 😂 

 

 

good for them. Pepé needs to be starting every match at this point. Pepé, Tierney, and Saka need to start as much as possible. 

Edited March 3, 2021 by shadow_operative

[Dutch 4533]

Not me, but it was nice to see Willian put in a good shift in addition to his contributions to the win over Benfica. We'll need him the rest of the way.

A club's record-signing needs to be a regular force in the side.  Hopefully Pepe has turned the corner as well (yeah, we've all said that before).

[Buzzrock 15118]

What a defensive boner. Nice goal and lead up early on though.

[Dutch 4533]

Burnley... Five points dropped to MF'n Burnley.  

[Buzzrock 15118]

That sucked. We sucked. The ref sucked. Suck.

[Dutch 4533]

Ceballos puts that in 99 times out of 100.  Urgh...

[shadow_operative 15932]

holy shit what a frustrating match. from all of the missed chances to that blatant handball not going called, that match was a shitshow. FAK.

[texanbychoice 356]

Not a bad point though.

[shadow_operative 15932]

FA Cup: out

Finishing high enough on the table for European football next season: done

well boys, this is it. this is the last bit of hope we have left for this season. hold onto your butts. 

[shadow_operative 15932]

ØØØØØØØØØØØØ SNAP what a goal!!!

[Dutch 4533]

Boom!

[shadow_operative 15932]

we have basically tried to hand Olympiakos goals all game long and we finally succeeded. fucking stupid.

[shadow_operative 15932]

i mean we have dominated them, save for three unbelievable turnovers in our own box. to just own a team like this all day and find yourself tied is getting fucking old.

[shadow_operative 15932]

this Thomas Partey substitution has turned the game on its head. 

[shadow_operative 15932]

let's fucking go!!!

[shadow_operative 15932]

credit to Willian, another assist. great job taking the quick corner, then an awesome ball, and an even better run and header from Gabriel. 

Edited March 11, 2021 by shadow_operative

[shadow_operative 15932]

Mohamed "Bangers Only" El Neny!!! I was screaming at him to take the shot, and he had so much time on the ball that I actually was able to say out loud, "Do it El Neny, shoot the ball, this is what you doooooooOOOOOO!!!" lmao. what a guy.