Pre-Season 2015/16

Need to keep it up for another 45 minutes.

Anotehr goal should be our priority though.

Chelsea will score at some point

GTFI guys

the voodoo is broken, another shield

We could kill the game twice but I'm happy with the performance

RealGunner wrote:Need to keep it up for another 45 minutes.

Anotehr goal should be our priority though.

Chelsea will score at some point

next year probably

GET IN THERE LADS

Well done lads. A day with Chelsea losing is a good day

lol Wengers and Mou, Mou shaking everyone's hands and turn right the moment Wengers entered the frame. Wengers also walked straight into dressing room after the game. They truly hate each other.

lmao no question about it.


Anyways about the performance.

Thought we didn't perform well tbh. We were good in parts but rest of the time it was a lot of sloppy passes. Chelsea could have scored on another day.

It's funny how we tried one system all pre season but today Arsene decided to change things by moving Cazorla to LW lol.

We defended in a 4-4-2, with Cazorla shuffling out to the left hand side, but when we attacked it was a bit more free-form. Whether that's going to be how we'll be doing things from now on or if it was something specific to this game we'll find out.

On the balance of chances it was an even game. Ramires and Hazard misses sitters for Chelsea, but Giroud, Gibbs and Cazorla missed good chances for us. I think once we got into the second half with the lead we went into our shell, became too passive and dropped deeper and deeper. We defended very well for the most part when we did that, but it was risky letting Fabregas, Willian and Hazard see more of the ball.

Still, I'd rather win this way than lose in the way we always lost against Chelsea. It's like the roles were reversed in the second half. We've broken that duck against them, and hopefully that'll help our confidence.

==============
trophy may not be significant but psychologically it is Massive Win

Get IN THERE

Agreed

I am too emotional to write any halfway-coherent thoughts here. Big day for us.

Well done lads.

Much needed win over a Mourinho side. Could see we got him in the feels, therefore he tried some reverse psychology shit when he shook our players' hands at the end.

How long did we wait for this win? so emotional right now. Great start of the season win, the media now have to talk about something else when Arsenal face Chelsea again.

Fantastic to get one over Mourino finally, even if the CS is a glorified friendly, it's always nice to see the boys lift any sort of silverware. Why not continue the habit of winning, no matter the competition?

We did start sloppily. Disjointed buildup and some really poor attempts at passes but so did Chelsea. Think that's just preseason rust still showing in two sides who know they're going to have to kick it up a notch.

We soaked up a lot more pressure than I was keen to see but I felt we limited them to only a handful of presentable chances whereas we really could have seen a 3-0 or 4-0 scoreline had Cazorla, Giroud and Gibbs finished their relatively simple chances on goal.

Chelsea looked toothless up front without Costa. Remy spent the entire game offside while Falcao looks like the same Falcao who couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.



Also, how GOAT was it of Arsene to snub Mou? Love how Maureen tried to play it off like it was Wenger just ignoring him when he was also turning around by the time Wenger came down lol.

Also, Cech telling Mertesacker at FT: "I told you we'd beat them!"

Cech well and truly is a Gooner.

Cech is home.

Wenger brushed that dirt off his shoulder.

Ox scored a beautiful goal.

MJ wrote:
Also, Cech telling Mertesacker at FT: "I told you we'd beat them!"

That happen?? I need a clip!

At the face of it, it tells me a few of things:
* Cech is professional and classy. But he is also very committed to the team he plays for - which is now Arsenal.

* He is a leader at the back - and that statement is one of confidence in himself as well as his teammates. That strongly adds to the overall belief.

* Love how he says 'we' and 'them'. Also love the bonhomie already with BFG.

Few tactical musings after the game:

1) Cazorla needs to play in the middle. We struggled to transition the ball from midfield. Cazorla's creativity and ambidextrous feet suits that position. No idea why Cazorla was playing wide left, Ramsey in centre and Ox wide right. Should have been Cazorla centre, Ramsey right and Ox left (even though he scored from the right).

2) We played better with Giroud's ability to hold the ball and providing the likes of Ozil the chance to get the second balls. I've always disliked Walcott playing against a deep, strong defense and this again proves why he's not suited. Giroud at least got into good scoring positions.

3) Don't know why Wenger subbed off Walcott and Ox for Giroud and Arteta. Should have had at least one pacy player on towards the end of the game for the counter attacks.

Here's my views on those points:

(1) It provided more energy in the midfield. I think that was a crucial reason for keeping Fabregas, Hazard and Remy anonymous. Not saying Santi wouldn't have done as much, but Ramsey's engine and workrate is a safer bet in keeping things tight defensively. Also, pre-season and all that.

(2) I think Theo played pretty well for the first 30 minutes, although he did become AWOL as we increasingly focussed on defending together. However, his presence ensured that Cahill and the Chav defense stayed a good 20 yards or so deeper and didn't push up to support the midfield. I think this happen once GIroud came on. We've had this discussion many times now - neither is perfect and both have their strengths and flaws. However, each played a role in the overall performance.

(3) He did bring on Gibbs, who has some pace. However, you're right that he could just as easily replaced Santi or Ramsey instead. I think bringing on Arteta and Giroud were good moves in the context of the game. Keeping the back 6 constant, there are only so many players which can be shuffled. Maybe AW saw it safer to preserve the defensive work rate by taking Ox and Theo off? That's my best guess.

on attacking options…
It depends on the games. I tried to see the options I have through the season. I felt today that I wanted to use Theo’s pace to go in behind. In the first half he worked very hard, didn’t get too much service, but he worked very hard. In the second half when Giroud came on I think he gave us a physical presence that was needed at that time as well.

Read more at http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20150802/wenger-on-victory-chelsea-and-cech#qcIDTURIf4ZCSmRS.99

I thought some were too harsh on Walcott's performance, seemingly because he didn't have too many touches of the ball.

But when you have a player like that up front the key is to play early though passes otherwise that first run he makes in behind is wasted. We didn't play any through passes in that first half. That might not have been the case had Cazorla played CM. The FA Cup final is a good example of what we should be doing with Theo's up front.

Walcott actually played a big part in the goal, by firstly showing good awareness to drop off Chelsea's defensive line and into space in front of it so he could receive Ozil's pass, then to play in Chamberlain down the right.

His involvement diminished as the game went on as we became more defensive and saw less of the ball. Any striker becomes isolated in those situations. I know Arseblog made a big deal of us making more chances when Giroud was on, but with the way Chelsea were pushing up, only leaving three at the back, and going for that equalizer there was always going to be more room for counters.

Dem bantz

Totally ripped Hazard and Mou new ones

Petr Cech said to Per Mertesacker: “I told you we'd beat them."

srigooner wrote:

Dem bantz

Totally ripped Hazard and Mou new ones

What a guy, that was brilliant,

Arsenal players predict who they think will star this season. Seems everyone is excited about the Ox.

Ramsey: Ox
Chuba: Ox
Bellerin: Ox
Gibbs: Ox
Cech: Ozil
Coquelin: Ozil
Giroud: Cech
Ox: Cech
Theo: Ramsey
Kos: Alexis
Jack: Coq
Iwobi: Santi
Gnabry: Theo

Cap'n and vice cap'n Arteta and Mertesacker both, cutely, had the same answer: The team.

https://www.facebook.com/Arsenal/videos/10153298364482713/

CechKnowsBest