Hello pain, my old friend. Here we are again, and just like the last time, it is Arsenal that unites us. Before I begin my rant, I'd like to add that my scathing review of David Luiz involvement in our last fixture was over the top and I apologise for it. After close inspection, it turns out that it is just the perennial Arsenal prejudice from referees we faced that day.
Today though, we had ourselves to blame for the loss. Once again, we played some pretty good stuff, particularly in the second half but it wasn't enough to overturn the goal deficit that was generously created by our very own Cedric.
Other than that costly brain fart, the makeshift left back also struggled when going forward. He was clearly the weak link in our setup today and often led to anti-climaxing moves in the attack.
Horrible start
We started the game very slowly and were punished 75 seconds into the match. Trust Arsenal to generously gift a direct rival for European position a goal-scoring opportunity fresh into the match. Cedric's short pass left Gabriel in a terrible position, in which Traore took advantage of, then squared to Ollie to prod in.
After that goal, we held on to possession for large spells, mostly flattering to deceive in the first half. There were moves, particularly from Bukayo Saka on the right but none of it materialised into anything worthy of note.
Stronger but not enough
In the second half, we looked like a completely different beast. Yes, we experienced some dicey situations on the counter due to our high line, but it still gave me hope.
By the 10th minute of the second half, both teams had already produced more opportunities than the first half's total. It was end to end stuff, with Arsenal dominating possession and the Villans trying to hit us on the counter.
Both teams could have gotten the second goal of the game, with Ollie once again coming close after another generous gift from our defenders. On the other end of the field, Nicholas Pepe was a thorn in the side of the defenders, and he also came close.
Our best attacking play came when Odegard was subbed on for Cedric and Saka shifted to left back. His combination with Pepe on that flank had a lot of potential. We were creating chances from that end of the pitch and if left alone, probably could have led to something.
Sadly, Areta had other ideas and he decided to bring on Willian into the match. Now I don't understand this ridiculous decision, since Martinelli was on the bench and Willian has been well, shit since the first game of the season. True to his nature, he came into the match and worked hard to ensure we didn't get the all-important equaliser(You didn't read that wrong).
Points to note
- Auba looked terrible in the centre of the attack
- Pepe's resurgent has been lovely to watch
- We miss Kieran Tierney
- Auba's addition weakened the team today
- Odegard looks brilliant
- Arteta is still learning his trade and needs time.
At the end of the day, it was a painful loss and all losses are hard to accept. However, just like last week, there were some incidents that make you wonder if the refs hate us. I hate conspiracies but I swear it always feels like we're playing against twelve people on the pitch.
We lost today, and now we have to pick ourselves up for the next game. We're hosting LeedsNext week Sunday and just like every game we've played this season, it is going to be a tough match. Expectations are low but the hope is high, but you know what they say, it is the hope that kills you. Until we meet again, up the Arsenal.
