UEL QF 18/19 | Arsenal Vs Napoli

Ramsey

arsenal not the same team this half.

Should be happy but I‘m pissed we didn‘t completely smash them.

Still, more confident of beating them away than Wolves.

Closer game then the scoreline suggests despite Arsenal having some chances missed as well just like Napoli and a far more entertaining game than it would seem as well.

San Paulo being in the 2nd leg seems an advantage but Napoli are the side they either destroy all expectations or crumble under their own fans noise who turn against them in seconds.

Failed experimentation by the Ancelotta tonight.

Ancelotti seemed to want his front two to exploit the spaces either side of our outside centre backs, especially Monreal. It was predominantly Insigne and Zielinski doing the running into those spaces to cross to one another and it did work - they just couldn't score.

Ruiz and Allan had way too tough a job to do in midfield, though. Torriera, Ramsey and Ozil pulled them about with ease. The fact they were defending in a narrow 4-4-2 gave a lot of space to Maitland-Niles and Kolasinac as well. And if their runs didn't do it, their presence pulled their full-backs out of position and opened the run on the inside. Mario Rui was especially prone to detaching himself from the centre backs and leaving that space.

Tbh, I expected Napoli to keep a lot more of the ball and us to be on the counter, when it turned out to be the other way around.

Tie certainly isn't dead, though. We've lost to BATE and Rennes on the road in the EL this year. Napoli can easily overturn a 2-0 deficit.

Ancelotti's experiment while it may have made sense on paper just sacrificed too much of Mertens and Insigne's qualities whilst asking too much in attack of Callejon and Zielinski as whilst the wide areas were bypassed well the final ball being turned into early crosses were just shambolic in the first half, and expecting the two up front to finish their chances despite their poor finishing ability, was baffling given their main goalscorer Milk was left out whom also keeps the ball forward for them so they had no chance but to counter.

Napoli in the first half of the season maybe, but since December they've been too poor, prone to errors and lacking the verve they had earlier to force any such comeback even in the San Paolo.

Just isn't happening, unless they resort to what works rather than using Arsenal as a canvas of experimentation. Rightfully punished.

It shouldn't be underestimate how rubbish we are away from home. We're a completely different team away from the Emirates. All that pressing, smart movement and incisive passing you saw tonight won't be on display in Italy. Laziness, lack of defensive organisation, lack of attacking intent and wastefulness will be.

Also, what's the schedule like for Napoli? We've got to travel to Watford on Monday night before the 2nd leg. Not ideal.

You may just be right but Napoli either choke heavily at home or perform what you may fear but it is interesting how Arsenal just turn into what you've described away from home. And that description does describe Napoli themselves away from home to remarkable accuracy. Both teams mentally weak is what they have in common.

Napoli have Chievo (a poor side) on Sunday and not much to play for.

There is no doubt that they did but Carletto became a bit arrogant with his tactics thinking anything outside of what HAS worked in his usual system, will bring victory against Arsenal in the Emirates on the european stage. The contents of his changes are explained in the previous page and not just counting the exclusion of their main goalscorer Milik and of course not being able to afford to change anything up as a result of their dire form as of recent.

But given Carlo's Champions League pedigree it would not surprise me if he went in looking down upon the competition with an already passive aggressive hit towards its status before the quarter-final entry.

Not really surprised about this result because Napoli aren't so good as last year (2nd just because Serie A is crap this year),  and they've failed most number of big games this year ( Inter, Milan in Coppa Italia, Juve both )...
It's still opened because Napoli are strong at home ( it can't be underrated, probably they are goin to get an useless victory ) and Arsenal suffer away but  Gunners are gonna passing deservely

I wonder what Arsenal could be if they signed big defenders.
Great team tbh except for that defence still led by that French Ranocchia..
They could be really competitive for the title, there is just an evident lack ,  but then it'd be sad to stop to be an insane team

Jay29 wrote:
Also, what's the schedule like for Napoli? We've got to travel to Watford on Monday night before the 2nd leg. Not ideal.

Why would a team that's in Europe have to play on Monday night

Surely they could pull one of the massive Palace-Huddersfield, Burnley-Birghton, Leicester-Wolverhampton or Cardiff-Fulham clashes that usually happen on Saturday 4pm to Monday?

What makes it more bizarre is that our game away to Leicester is currently scheduled for Monday April 29, but if we get to the EL semi's, it'll be moved to Sunday April 28. There's different standards in place for both games.

I think the Watford game was selected for TV before the EL quarter-final draw, but even then they should know Arsenal have a chance of being in that draw and shouldn't consider them for Monday night games.

Sky always have a glut on Monday night games at this time of year because a lot of teams by this point aren't playing mid-week cup games. For whatever reason, though, they've decided that we should play that slot three times in one month (Newcastle, Watford, and possibly Leicester). Before that, we had played one Monday night game, back in October.

I usually wouldn't cry foul about this because what can you do? But in this instance it's complete bullshit. Maximising TV coverage is not within the spirit of competition.

Is it just me or has it become a bit more extreme, the extent to which they prioritise TV attractiveness over sporting reasons in fixtures?

It's pretty obvious that they try their utmost hardest to cram all the supposedly unattractive fixture into the Saturday afternon slot that can't be televised, did it always use to be quite that blatant?

Schedule for Napoli ? Their league is done, they are so distant from 1st place ( if Juve tie next match they already win Scudetto) and at the same time they've +7 from 3rd place and even +12 from 5th place. ( Serie A contenders are so mediocre..)
Clearly I expect to play with reserves next league matches because EL Is their only target now.
If Ancelotti get knocked out now I'd define as a failure his season. Out in Coppa Italia and EL soon, league battle never begun (Juve added CR but It doesn't justify 20 points less made by Napoli than last year).
He's finished as manager imo

Monreal found time mid game to take a 5 minute dump in Naples. The disrespect.

— W / (@Wayne_Writes) April 18, 2019

says it all about this match


2nd team to beat Napoli at home this season.

Had a tougher time away to Southampton

Doc wrote:Don't worry, Napoli didn't take this match seriously either.

Ah yes of course

Forgot about that.

Usually I don’t enjoy pissing on the opposition but 10 man Watford gave us more of a fight than Napoli.

RealGunner wrote:

Doc wrote:Don't worry, Napoli didn't take this match seriously either.

Ah yes of course

Forgot about that.

Not sure if you are being sarcastic or not? Because if you are, you are clueless.

It is well known that Napoli don't really take Europa League, Champions League, or Serie A seriously so that they can focus on Trofeo Berlusconi.

By far the worst year for Serie A I have witnessed in a decade since we're speaking of that.

Countless unlucky moments yet but next year has to have some serious revision built after the resurgence Italian teams seem to have from 2013.

Provinciale is back and kicking it again. Somewhere in Pescara, Robes lets out a slow drawn out lament agony.

Robes: *Howls in Abruzzese*