Arsenal 2 - 0 Montpellier: Eh, that'll do

First half

Montpellier played in a very similar way to how they did in the reverse of this fixture. They pressed from the top, got tight to our players and swarmed around our midfielders whenever they got onto the ball. Arsenal responded with equally aggressive pressure. This resulted in a scrappy first half, where neither side could retain possession of the ball, either because of opposition pressure or because of sloppy passing, and a lot of space in midfield for players to run into.

Arsenal seemed to lack composure and patience on the ball. They regularly played the ball forward quickly, but Giroud was often lacking in support and whenever a midfielder did get on the ball on the final third, there was a lack of options. Their best chance was Koscielny's header smashing against the crossbar.

Montpellier weren't much better. Remy Cabella did create problems on the right hand side and it took some brave keeping from Szczesny to deny Mounier earlier on. Aside from that, they didn't look particularly dangerous.

Second half

On the whole, the second half wasn't much better than the first. The game was still scrappy and they didn't give our midfielders a moment's rest, which limited their effect on the game. Arsenal's approach was more measured, but still retained an element of directness.

The biggest difference this half was that when we managed to carve out an opportunity, we were clinical in our finishing. Giroud's knock down after a Vermaelen cross was finished smartly by Jack Wilshere to give us the lead. It was a move that should have been familiar to Montpellier, who were regular exponents of Giroud's aerial ability. Why Arsenal haven't utilised this side of Giroud's game more, I don't know.

The second goal began with some good movement from Chamberlain. The winger had come inside to pick up the ball and lay it off to Podolski. The German would play a one-two with Giroud, who would loft his return over the top, before volleying home in emphatic fashion.

From that point, it was comfortable for Arsenal despite not having complete control over proceedings. There were still elements of sloppiness in our play, but we did create a couple more chances and were rarely troubled at the back this half.

Not a lot to complain about

The performance was neither jaw dropping or inspiring, but it was enough to get us through in the end. For the first time in a while we've kept a clean sheet and didn't suffer many scares at the back and while chance creation still appears to be a problem, we were clinical in front of goal and both goals were results of good moves.

Usually, when Arsenal play in mid-week after intense games like the North London derby they often look lethargic and put in indifferent performances. In that sense, it's pleasing to get through tonight with a decent showing, a clean sheet and qualification to the next round with minimal fuss.

We can now go to Olympiakos on matchday six without any major pressure. Winning the group is, of course, preferable, but we can relax a bit which is always a nice thing to be able to do before an Arsenal game. There aren't many opportunities to do so.

Godolski

2nd half was Majestic. Brilliant display from the team

A decent though not fully convincing performance..
In the first half, Montpellier were happy to stay back and did not show much attacking intent.. We managed to create few chances but our passing was poor.. many misplaced passes and lack of understanding.. Podolski worryingly looks to have poor understanding with almost all other players..
Second half started perfectly as we got the goal early which opened the game.. we created more chances..

Sczeny - 6 solid hough hardly tested.. btw, when is he getting his clearances and distribution right ?
Sagna - 6 decent game at both ends..
Metskr - 6 good game..
Koscielny - 7 in Boss mode.. best of our defenders today.. unlucky to hit the bar...
Vermelen - 6 better game and contributed more to the attack today..
Arteta - 6 way below his standards.. some sloppy possession and passing.. good defensive work..
Wilshere - 6 too many misplaced passes in the first half.. happy to see him get a goal.. good second half..
Cazorla - 6 good game.. but didnt get much space upfront to influence the game..
Podolski - 7 he seems to have understanding problems.. many a time he turns the wrong way.. beautiful volley to score..
Chamberlain - 5 was poor today.. sloppy passing and decision making..
Giroud - 7 good game.. showed his strength, held the ball well and knocked the ball in the air..

We're through

Positives:

Defence was great. Best defensive performance since West Ham. Mikel did his job as usual, Podolski great goal and good performance, Giroud 2 assists - good movement but needs to improve his right - good performance overall, Wilshere good in the 2nd half (still not near his best).

Negatives:

Cazorla and Chamberlain were awful. Cazorla's worst performance in an Arsenal shirt, looked like Gervinho in his worst day. Chamberlain played as a CM in the majority of the first half leaving Giroud alone and exposed upfront - whether it was a Wenger thing or just poor positioning I don't know but he looked awful. Wilshere's first half performance was terrible, couldn't pass, slipping around, out of position - just bad first half. Also his defending is being a liability, I think he's forgot how to tackle, he just dives into tackles without timing it. Should improve or move to AM permanently.

Went with a more clinical write-up tonight. Think I may do that more often, since it'd be less work for me and less reading for you guys.

we like player ratings though

Need to improve, our performances haven't been good enough in Europe. If we play like this in the next round we will get humiliated.

Bit harsh Urban, Santi wasn't that bad. Oxlade can be exused because he just came back from an injury.


Wilshere is nearly there. 90% now imo, he was unplayable at times. Arteta was excellent. Giroud was brilliant. Koscielny

Come on Come on Girouuuuuuuuuuuuuud

Cazorla struggled for two reasons: 1) having three or four players around him every time he had the ball and 2) lack of options ahead of him. Wilshere suffered from similar problems, but I thought his passing, in general, was wayward tonight. It's something I've noticed in every game he's played so far, but it should be something that'll improve with more games.

RealGunner wrote:Bit harsh Urban, Santi wasn't that bad. Oxlade can be exused because he just came back from an injury.


Wilshere is nearly there. 90% now imo, he was unplayable at times. Arteta was excellent. Giroud was brilliant. Koscielny

Maybe I'm being too harsh, but if we play like this against most of the teams that qualified... I think it won't end this well.

We could use some luck with getting someone like Galatasaray/Cluj, Celtic or Malaga though.

FFS missed the whole second half due to personal problems.
I'll probably download it tomorrow.

Anyway, glad we stepped up our game in the second half and that our defensive side keeps improving. (there's still a lot of room there for improving of course)

Some players should be rested for the weekend and some should be given a fair chance. (Jenko,Coq)

All in all, I'm just satisfied that this is behind us and we can focus on other things.

Jackie lad agrees with me:

"I think we have to step it up from tonight," Wilshere told Sky Sports. "It wasn't good enough, especially in the first half.

"We stepped it up in the second half and got the three points, so we have to go now, watch the game, work on our weaknesses and get into the last 16 and whoever we get, you've got to play the best teams in the competition to win it so it doesn't matter who you get.

"We're pleased. It was a tough game tonight. Montpellier came tough. We started off sloppy but we knew if we kept going we'd get the win.

"We haven't finished top yet, still got one more game to go at Olympiakos, and we need to finish top of the group. We've seen in past years that if you finish second you can be in trouble going into the last 16, so we need to finish top.

"The first half was hard and we were sloppy. We were giving the ball away and we weren't ourselves. We had to come out and get an early goal. I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. It was a great header from [Olivier] Giroud and I'm happy to get the three points."

Montpellier manager Girard: "We still have a game to play vs Schalke, if we can help our friends at Arsenal to top the group, we will!"

_____________



Lol forget that and give us Cabella instead

Cabella is quality, We need Giroud to do his thing.

Is it just me or do streams always go down or get laggy when goals are about to get scored? Missed both live

Through to the knockouts though. Quadruple still on

I've been impressed with Cabella in both games against us. Could be a potential Walcott replacement, I think.

He is a CM/CAM by nature though. Will be a ramsey like move at RW lol

I think he's nowhere near Walcott, but that's probably the bias talking.

The one I would like to see at Arsenal is obviously Belhanda. Been a fan of his ever since he got a 80+ rating in FIFA.

He could be a great understudy to Cazorla, plus if I'm not mistaken he can play on the wings too.

Ramsey infuriates me to no end, but I guess we'll just have to stick with him and hope for the best.

Sign Isco and Walcott, please

oh btw

13 seasons straight

Wenger

RealGunner wrote:oh btw

13 seasons straight

Wenger

Not hard when you get groups that belong in EL

What do you guys think of Belhanda? Cabella does not look anything apart from the types of players we already have. Skillfull on the ball but not threatening in the bigger picture.

I somewhat agree with the criitism of cazorla. He is really fantastic on the ball and he had nice moments in this game, but the problem for me is he keeps trying to do all the work himself. He tries to beat players always, always tries to forward pass, he just needs to cool that side of his game and just pass quickly and simply when its required