Lazy, no Power, No Commitment: Arsenal v Ostersunds Player Reviews

39 thoughts on “Lazy, no Power, No Commitment: Arsenal v Ostersunds Player Reviews”

• We were just clueless about what to do. Tactics? Without energy and commitment, what else is there to talk about deploying tactics the right way?

• Cheers PE, did not watch the game but listened to the radio.

  The players will have to look at themselves and decide whether they gave their all. From your reviews, many players did not do that. I also wonder how well Wenger and co prepare the troops before a game, both tactically and in terms of focus and attitude. It is not the first time that we started a game with low energy and focus, and that’s not good enough.

  Nice goal by Kola though and it was a good assist by Hector. Best to move on to the next game. 🙂

• Will refuse to complain about ‘style’ points considering the circumstances.
  The 0-2 score at 23′ was enough to spook me– but– we came away with the win 4-2.
  That was the objective.

  Yeah, we all would have liked another Evertonian result. But now it’s on to Sunday’s match.
  Sunday is our tilt-of-the-season. This-year’s-last-year’s FA Cup vs Chelsea. Where a 3-0 or 4-0 scoreline was predicted/expected. And Chavs wanted– no, needed– the double to validate their status historically. City is in that same place Sunday. We have the advantage of having been there before. Last season before we beat Chelsea? We beat a trophy-less City.

  On another note?
  I was simply going to write that Roy Keane can kiss my ass.
  But then paused to consider– that maybe the dullard has a big bet on the Gunners. Love to see Jack hit the pitch motivated red-hot on Sunday. Roy Keane can still kiss my ass on principle then.

  By-the-by– TA is right. Don’t look back. No good can come of it.
  jw1

• Good post PE, pretty well summed up yesterday’s performance, there seemed a lethargic feel about our team, but I did feel a bit sorry for our centre-backs who were again hung out to dry by a midfield that seems incapable of protecting them, whilst our full backs go walkabout.

  Danny could have had a hat trick but he looks devoid of any confidence.

  We’re in the hat despite the performance and we won’t see that team again in this competition so let’s put it behind us and look forward to the Wembley showdown with The City Globetrotters this weekend…

  How’s the food 17tino?
  I do like TexMex grub.

• The A side of Milano will face us in the next EL round.

  Should i be worried or optimistic?

• I must give credit to guys like TA and PE who still find the patience to try to make sense of things, after such a display. I agree with pretty much all the assessments cannot understand how a team can come up with the same symptoms, so often, as to be easily predictable, and yet no one seems to be intent on doing things differently, when it matters.

  Everyone had a poor game so while it’s hard to point at individuals, it must be said that Jack was so lazy, almost as if he felt he shouldn’t be playing with a cup final in the horizon (safe to say any starter, save Ospina, Bellerin and maybe Iwobi); Iwobi just moved about, appeared very busy without affecting much; then, in defence, I am not sure how to say this without sounding judgmental, but Chambers and Holding just aren’t the standard, if they are intended as replacements for the aging Koscielny and Mertesacker. I’ll like them to prove me wrong but it looks like their future is elsewhere.

  Now, we know who we are getting for the next round, maybe we can start to see some serious play. There’s no longer any place to hiders we enter the business end of the season.

• …place to hide, as we enter…**

• FULL DRAW FOR THE EUROPA LEAGUE LAST 16:

  AC Milan v Arsenal

  Borussia Dortmund v Salzburg

  Sporting Lisbon v Viktoria Plzen

  Marseille v Athletic Bilbao

  CSKA Moscow v Lyon

  Atletico Madrid v Lokomotiv Moscow

  RB Leipzig v Zenit St Petersburg

  Lazio v Dynamo Kiev

  These are the games we need to show our level. I feel we will show up for this one, now we don’t have to rotate anymore.
  One of the toughest Europa league ensemble, in a while if not ever.

• Looks like some of the words I typed went missing from my final post, in my comment above. I shall repost with corrected entries. Pardon me, guys. 😅

• I must give credit to guys like TA and PE who still find the patience to try to make sense of things, after such a display. I agree with pretty much all of PE’s assessments, but still cannot understand how a team can come up with the same symptoms, so often, as to be easily predictable, and no one seems to be working on doing things differently, when it matters (like starting so lethargically…again.

  Everyone had a poor game so, while it’s hard to point at individuals, it must be said that Jack was so lazy, almost as if he felt he shouldn’t be playing on Thursday, with a cup final in the horizon (safe to say any starter on Thursday, save Ospina, Bellerin and maybe Iwobi, was certainly not going to start on Sunday); Iwobi just moved about, appeared very busy without affecting much; in defence, I am not sure how to say this without sounding judgmental, but Chambers and Holding just aren’t the standard, if they are intended as replacements for the aging Koscielny and Mertesacker. I’ll like them to prove me wrong, but it looks like their future is elsewhere.

  Now, we know who we are getting for the next round, maybe we can start to see some serious play. There’s no longer any place to hide as we enter the business end of the season.

• Well said, Eris. I love your succinct writing.

• Good,good comments ….
  Kev …. without energy and commitment …. there is nothing ……
  TA. … time to move on …..
  jwl ….. don’t look back …. eh?
  njk … did feel a bit sorry for our CB who were again hung out to dry …
  Eris … no longer any place to hide …

• I don’t normally complain about Wenger; I think he does a pretty good job still in team building, selection and development. But I think I can’t ignore his inability to prepare teams well for games against modest opposition. I don’t believe he doesn’t try. Like us he will have seen our pattern of complacency in such games to the point of acute frustration – and I don’t believe that he hasn’t done everything he can to address it. So I’m left with the conclusion that he simply can’t find the means of firing his teams up for such games. Either that or his player selection does not make for the necessary application in games like these. Any side can have a slip up against another team – look only at City against Wigan. But it’s the predictable, tedious repetition of our slow or complacent starts against such teams that feels unforgivable to me. I’m happy to move on from this because it was a game that didn’t count much in the scheme of things. But the same complacency has cost us before (our CL position this year for one) and will continue to cost us, and it irritates the hell out of me, in a way that plain losing to a better team doesn’t.

• When a team plays as bad as we did, it’s hard to blame individuals, it was truly total rubbish. I think I heard the commentator say that we had lost our last five or six games in Europe at the knockout stage. The others were Bayern, Barcelona, .monaco etc. So one could be kind and say it’s a trend.

  It’s hopeless having players like PEA if we can’t even give them the ball. It may not be the Arsenal way, but personally I am sick to death of Arsenal’s central defenders wasting about a quarter of each match passing the ball sideways.
  Oh well at least Sunday is a one off cup match. I will upset the purists but get stuck in to them, leave a few bruises on them and let them know they have been in a game. No more pussyfooting around please.

  On s slightly more interesting note, loved the sleeve cover, Love Yes and adore Led Zeppelin. Am still dazed and confused from the other night, but my all time favourite is …… Since I’ve been loving you. Which sort of sums up my relationship with Arsenal.

  Do love it when my son talks about the great music soundtracks from his films . Hmm Godzilla sounds very much like a poor attempt at Kashmir to me.

• Hey Retsub, you haven’t a Black Dog by any chance?

• Hey Kev, nearly he is creamy coloured, he gives s whole lotta love though

• Kev–
  Mexican nationals south of the border? Don’t have a clue as to what TexMex is– it’s an American creation. And Houston (and Texas, far more so than other southwestern US states) has the best styles (it varies by recipes). There are a half-dozen great TexMex restaurants within 30 minutes of my abode. You would be welcome anytime.

  Casa Ole (Mrs jw1’s fave).
  La Fiesta.
  Los Tios.
  La Tapitia.
  Sylvia’s Enchilada Kitchen.
  El Tiempo Cantina.

  Those that serve a tomatillo green sauce (with tortilla chips) get extra stars from us.

  jw1

• Of course PE. When the CB are not protected well enough the mistakes get magnified greatly.
  But that is the norm when Iwobi is on the pitch. Just drop him Wenger.

  The 2 most awful players (at least in the first half) was Iwobi and AMN who held on to the ball for too long and misplaced passes.

• “KOLASINAC …. If there is one thing he is not, it is a defender. But as is his norm, came alive in our final third. Kola is the orthodox left winger. Nothing more.”

  Don’t agree with your assessment of Kolasinac’s performance at all PE. His error on the goal aside, the Serb was strong defensively with 3 tackles and 2 interceptions for the match. Combined that with the fact that he was voted the best left fullback in the Bundseliga last season and averages 2.5 tackles and 2 interceptions per match and it is clear he is very much a defender and a good defender at that. In fact he is arguably better defensively than offensively as he only averages 0.6 forward dribbles and 0.4 crosses per match.

• Hi all..
  We used to challenge Milan in the Champion.. But now we must meet them in UEL..

  PE.. We did bad.. Yes can’t argue about that.. But not every players..
  At least Mhiki, Ospina, Elneny, Bellerin did good.. And Kolasinac and Xhaka also in second half..

  Niles just ain’t midfielder.. He was bad in the last two games when Wenger put him there.. Bring him back to what he should.. then we will see what he can do.

  That’s what also stand for Ozil if he don’t get his best position..
  Sorry TA.. I repeat it again and again.. We will see it soon when the game against City held.. Whether my assumption is right or wrong..

• If anyone was deserves criticism for their defensive performance in this one it was Chambers (who was not aggressive enough), Maitland Niles (who pretty much abandoned his central midfield defensive duties) and Elneny (who is just a bad defensive midfielder but seems to get picked match after match in that role).

• “Niles just ain’t midfielder.. He was bad in the last two games when Wenger put him there.. Bring him back to what he should.. then we will see what he can do.”

  I don’t agree with that statement either HenryChan. While Ainsley’s defensive performance the other night was poor his offensive effort was solid to good (86% passing accuracy, 2 successful forward dribbles, 4/5 accurate long passes, 2 attempted through passes). Couple that with his sensational central defensive midfield performance in Sweden (3 tackles, 2 interceptions, 94% passing accuracy, 3 successful forward dribbles, 7 out of 8 accurate long passes and 1 accurate through pass), which was one of the most complete CDM performance by an Arsenal player in a long time, and i think he is has shown that he has all of the skills to make an excellent CDM. It is just a matter of consistent complete performances, which is the problem with most of Arsenal’s midfield.

• “Casa Ole (Mrs jw1’s fave).
  La Fiesta.
  Los Tios.
  La Tapitia.
  Sylvia’s Enchilada Kitchen.
  El Tiempo Cantina.2

  Great names, jw1. Gotta love the Spanish language, everything sounds so poetic, strong and romantic. From that list, I would pick La TApitia, just because I love the name. 🙂

• AB all agreed. 🙂

• Kolasinac may have been a good defender in Germany but in the PL he is v dodgy. Stats should not be used to deceive what the eye can see clearly. There is time to adjust and, like Kev has been saying, the defensive discipline training of the team is probably well under par currently, so he could still come good, but PE was spot in his assessment, Waldo.

  However, I agree with you re AMeN. A very good central midfielder in the making.

• @ Waldo 1st comment.

  Reputation is like looking into the past. Good enough. But when that past is at complete variance with the present I’d to go with the present. That past has become dead. If it ever comes back, that’s resurrection.

  I ask. Why is Kola behind Nacho and right footed 20 yr old AMN? Because it has also become crystal clear to Wenger that defensively he is behind those two. My assessment, though is based on what I see. A defender with no defensive awareness is no defender. Period.

  Tackles are no more the 1st thing in defending in these days of “clean” tackles only. It’s your positioning. That is how Per became a World Cup winning defender. To make matters worse Kola is not a “clean” tackler in the mound of Kosh. He is more of a battering ram. Many of his tackles are like dares to the referee to go for his whistle.

  I am not by any stretch writing him off. Going forward, there are few like him. All the waves he made early season as well as 2 days ago happened in the final third. If I was the coach, I’d make him my left wide man. His early balls dovetail perfectly with Auba’s strength.

• They all sound delicious JW, I love a fajita, in fact I’m feeling hungry thinking about it amigo. 🙂

• Transition. The club are in it.
  The Svenraulivans have barely just busted up the old guard about a month ago. With several more months to go before the Summer when the real ‘sparks (or pigs!) will fly’.

  
  (In keeping with recent theme.)

  The chasm that’s hard to accept for some is the one between ‘now’ and ‘when’. January’s business was unprecedented for this club. We got a leg-up on Summer dealings. Now. Arsenal are a better option for better players because of it– when the WC Shopping Mall opens in earnest.

  The kidz aren’t yet ready. Promising, yes. But requisite experience isn’t conferred like wisdom. That’s what this season has been for. Still is.

  If the recent transfer window savvy is an indicator– and Summer begins in similar fashion? The jump start required– to confidently hand-off the touchline baton– is possible IMHO.

  So getting amped-up about ‘now’s’ shortcomings is short-sighted.
  When ‘when’s’ prospects seem to hold promise.
  Find your ‘No Angst Zone’. Your keyboard will thank you.

  jw1

• Hey guys, just catching up…while taking my morning coffee up on a roof deck…

  JW, you sum it up perfectly… If we want to play at being manager we must not just see the “now” but also see the big picture… This is the fundamental problem with wading through the Arsenal blogs (and comments)…even Waldo’s absurd stats stuff (is he a bot?… 😉 ) In the short term, they’re ludicrous (AMN’s stats in Sweden “prove” he’s a good DM?…) Perhaps, however, in the long run, stats can play a role in determining a player’s value. I’m very hesitant in this regard and I’d bet my last peso that the club(s) is (are) using very different statistical analysis to that which our drop-by guy (Waldo) uses to slate either the club, the manager or the occasional blogger here. We all know the real reason we lost vs the Swedes is that Debuchy is no longer with us… More smileys…

  Drawing AC Milan means we need to pull our poop together a good deal more quickly than I thought if we want to continue our progress towards (back-door) entry into next years more serious Euro tourney, which could help with our summer recruitment–there are a LOT of positions to be filled after all the sales in January. Two games in London against ManCity should have the proper effect. Gotta do better than 2-10 (on agg.) in those, I fear…

  I’m still down here, however, so I can’t care too much… TA, a Tapatia is a female from the area I’m visiting, or, more specifically, where I fly in and out (Guadalajara, Jalisco), so the restaurant JW names is probably run by a woman from this area… Indeed, Tex-Mex and traditional Mexican food (which varies by region in a big way) isn’t the same. (Correct me if I’m wrong JW, but Tex-Mex often includes more cheese and things slathered in (mild) sauces.) Down here, I usually stick with the cheap stuff that the locals eat (corn tortillas, beans, rice, concentrated spicy sauces, bits of slow cooked or quick fried meats) which is all (IMO) quite delicious. (Gotta sometimes turn away from the best looking street foods as avoiding intestinal troubles is also a priority, though, IMO, this seems to be getting easier as time goes by…) On the coast it’s all about the fresh seafood (and tropical fruits). This afternoon (when the main meal is eaten) we might do a restaurant meal and go for a local specialty, pescado sarandeado, which is a big slab of fish, marinated in something not too different from soy or Worchestshire sauce (with lime juice, of course, and other liquids, I’m guessing) and then (hot or quick) smoked over a fire built from local hardwoods. It’s gooooood….

  Anyhow, that’s the news from these parts… Tomorrow’s the cup final and now (maybe) BOTH clubs have something to prove, losing their most recent matches to (supposedly) lesser competition… It’ll be a scramble to try and get in front of a television, but, if I can do so, I’ll try and chime in. Otherwise, I’m gone until Tuesday. A media blackout and watching the (recorded) match back home could work for me too…

  Happy travels… 😀

• Happy travels, Seventeenho and family. Sounds fabulous. We are bracing ourselves for the beast from the east weather front!

• Correctomundo DiecisieteHo!
  Salza verde, enchilada gravy, molè, queso…
  (Mrs jw1 crockpotted a pork-roast– but we may have to have TexMex instead tonight!)

  
  See what you started Kev!

  jw1

• Ve a buscarlo JW…. 😀

• Late finish, but up not too late today, fortunately a 4.30 ko give me a bit more time to get organised before I start the trip from Essex to Wembley.
  Of course engineering works mean no trains from here so it means a drive then a tube (subway) then change to another tube out to Wembley Park Stn, then off to find my son and his mate in the Green Man, one of the Arsenal designated pubs for a little pre match libations.

  Hopefully the day will have a satisfactory conclusion but there’s no point fretting about the result because if City hit their straps, then we’re in for a long and possibly fruitless afternoon.

  I’d take extra time and penalties if you offered it to me now and I’d take an afternoon of seeing us penned into our half, I’d take all that, if, we had a similar result to 2005.

  Total, I’ll try and send you some pics.
  COYG

• Have a blast Kev!
  Be looking for the pics– send some from the Green Man too!

  jw1

• Would love to watch the final live on tv, but the problem is that the local tv does not show it live.

  Gutted, but will see the full match tomorrow instead.

• TA/HT,
  A MAIL IN YOUR BOX.

• Enjoy the match Kev, Playing at Spurs home gotta help. Except maybe when we played Barcelona in the Champions league final I dont remember us being such underdogs in a final. I guess from my perspective if we give a good account of ourselves and lose, it won’t be that bad. i think if we can rough them up a bit (sorry ref) close them down quickly when they have the ball and take any chances we get, we have a chance.

  COYG

• Kev, pictures and observations on the way, during and after the game from The Knowledge would be great. Or just a picture or two would be fine too!

• Thanks PE 🙂

  New Post 🙂

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