Not play such a high line

Kept it tight for the first 20mins (defended in numbers)

Played Ox out wide

Most of the lesser teams have a better game plan in big games than us

playing a high line was suicide, we should have started flamini, sit back and defended, made sure we kept our shape and slowly assert ourselves into the game

Defended.

We had neither the players to control and take the game to Chelsea or to hit then fast on the counter. I thought at the very least we'd make ourselves harder to break down without the suicidal high line we played.

Whatever happens this season we need to sign players to plug the gaps in the squad. We need some genuine power in midfield and pace upfront.

What would YOU have done differently?
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Not put an insane equal salary policy in place (we're just starting to recover from that one).

Strengthened the squad in summer and are failing that strengthened it in January.

Individual errors in the Chelsea game are easy to point out in hindsight but the game could still have turned out just as awfully with alternate tactics/lineups.

It's the glaringly obvious errors like the two I've mentioned above that are just as much if not more of an issue than tactics in the thumpings received at the feet of our rivals this season.

Comment deleted by Site Moderator

Strengthened the squad in summer and are failing that strengthened it in January.
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So you're suggesting that if Ramsey, Wilshere, Ozil and Walcott were all fit that we'd still have been pasted?


We had neither the players to control and take the game to Chelsea or to hit then fast on the counter
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Really? I think Rosicky is a quality counter attacking player and Ox has good pace. Perhaps Wenger had too-high expectations from that midfield to control possession though.

"It's the glaringly obvious errors like the two I've mentioned above that are just as much if not more of an issue than tactics in the thumpings received at the feet of our rivals this season."

Not really, January and wages have little or nothing to do with getting hammered in one game.
No one else have lost to Chelsea at home by that margain that season, look at their teams.

Individual errors are made more costly when you have your entire team, especially full backs in all out attack from the first minute.
Losing the ball in midfield is far less likely to result in easy oppurtunites to score if there is less space to exploit. If you approach the game in a less cavalier fashion you aren't 3-0 down in 20 minutes, that isn't happening.

Lack of pragmatism, nous and dare I say common sense resulted in us being out of that game within 10 minutes not January or a wage policy.

"We had neither the players to control and take the game to Chelsea or to hit then fast on the counter"

This is nonsense, the two teams that took the field were comprable in quality, Hazard being the only player of singnificantly more quality.

We lost because the approach was stupid or naive, the preperation was poor or non existent.

There was a 0-0 on the table at kick off.

Mourinho offered it to Wenger as he offered it to Pellegrini by declaring that he would play Luiz and Matic in front of the back four. With no intention of attacking unless it was a counter attack.

Like Pellegrini, Wenger refused to play like for like by fielding Flamini and Vermaellen in front of the back four.

Result : Chelsea counter attack all day long.

Would I have succumbed to anti football and played Flamini and TV?

Absolutely not and that is why I support Arsenal.

The idea that Flamini in place of Arteta would've made any difference is also a bit fanciful.
The approach that the team took from the outset would have still resulted in us being outnumbered on the counter constantly in the first 20 minutes, it would've just been Flamini running back towards his own goal rather than Arteta.

Problem is AW doesn't try new ideas anymore. Look at Maurren, is some typical games he playes Luiz in midfield. Luiz is an engine, what he does is go and hack the player get the ball. Flamini does it too, but then AW doesn't play Flamini whenever we need him to start . AW doesn't give you feel of every game is tactically different unlike chelsea. He sets team and tactics same of most of our games, barring few exceptions like Spurs game recently.

"Mourinho offered it to Wenger as he offered it to Pellegrini by declaring that he would play Luiz and Matic in front of the back four. With no intention of attacking unless it was a counter attack."

Thats not really true, Mourinho approach the game with the idea that losing isn't an option, the easiest way to do this was to pressue Arteta and those recieving the ball in midfield.
He did exactly what he said was the best way to stop us after the first game, the best personal to do that are Matic and Luiz (with Ramires out) as they're both high energy players.

If you think what they did was "anti-football" then you're a moron. They played an awful lot more football than Arsenal did.

Problem is AW doesn't try new ideas anymore.
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He played kids like Ashley Cole, Van Persie, Fabregas and Wilshere when he could have gone and bought tried and tested 29 year olds.

He would have had a hatfull of trophies too.

But that's why we're Arsenal!

"He played kids like Ashley Cole, Van Persie, Fabregas and Wilshere when he could have gone and bought tried and tested 29 year olds."

Van Persie aside those players were ready for the PL and were some of the best in their positions in their teenage years.
They weren't the problem, it was the bums around them. It was Almunia, Denilson, Eboue who should've been replaced by "tried and tested 29 year olds".
That was the case with Cole, he played in one of the best teams ever to play in England filled with world class, decoreated "tried and tested 29 year olds".
Cesc and to a lesser extent Jack were playing with players who weren't good enough.

If you think what they did was "anti-football" then you're a moron. They played an awful lot more football than Arsenal did.
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Oh dear.

What do you think will happen to Chelsea on Saturday?
Crystal Palace will stare at them at kick off.
Chelsea will say please advance, over commit so that we can release Hazard on a break away.
Palace won't move.
It will be a stalemate.

Meanwhile Arsenal get caught with Giroud, Podolski, Rosicky, Oxlade, Sagna, Gibbs ALL AHEAD of the ball when Cazorla loses the ball in the centre circle.

It's not rocket science...

It's called Jose " please be stupid and walk into my trap" Mourinho anti football.

Van Persie aside those players were ready for the PL and were some of the best in their positions in their teenage years.
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Fabregas was a child.
Cole learned his trade by first team experience, they all did.

I'll tell you this for free - Ramsey would be playing for Swansea reserves if it had not been for Wenger giving him PL and CL games.

"Fabregas was a child.
Cole learned his trade by first team experience, they all did."

They were but they were clearly incedibly talented and in a team filled with quality, they were surrounded by some of the leagues best players. They were the one in a team of "tried and tested 29 years olds" who had won titles on every level so I'm unsure what your point is.
No one was ever calling for them to be taken out because they were good enough.

"What do you think will happen to Chelsea on Saturday?
Crystal Palace will stare at them at kick off.
Chelsea will say please advance, over commit so that we can release Hazard on a break away.
Palace won't move.
It will be a stalemate."

He'll approach the game differently than he did Arsenal. The team is clearly prepared.

"It's called Jose " please be stupid and walk into my trap" Mourinho anti football."

They won 6-0, and cut Arsenal to pieces tell me how it's anti football?

My point is that thanks to Wenger's bravery we were able to see the development of some truly great players.

Players that would not have seen the light of day at another top club.

For that Wenger deserves much credit.

The one thing I can't work out, in both your games against Chelsea and Liverpool, is why after conceding 2 goals in the opening 10 minutes, why you didn't then park the bus for the rest of the half half and make sure it doesn't become worse than a 2 goal deficit. Going into the second half 2-0 down still gives you a chance in the game. An early goal in the second half, and then you're back in the game. The fact that you continued to play a high defensive line and still attack as if it was still 0-0 meant you were 4-0 down at half time with absolutely no chance of getting back into the game.

This is down to Wenger. He should have instucted your team to sit back.

They won 6-0, and cut Arsenal to pieces tell me how it's anti football?
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Spending over £1 billion and putting out a team with Matic and Luiz in front of the back four is a crime against football.

The shame is that Mourinho knows that Wenger's ego is such that he will try and play his way through the packed Chelsea defence.

If you want to think that it is good football - feel free.

"My point is that thanks to Wenger's bravery we were able to see the development of some truly great players."

This is nonsense.
Cole was played due to desperation as sylvinhos passport was written is crayon.
Everyone knew how good Cesc was, the Barca president lamented his loss at the time.

"For that Wenger deserves much credit."

He deserves credit for developing them but developing those players isn't the reason we haven't won anything since '05.
For one both those two are bad examples as they were nurtured in incredibly good teams and Cole won several trophies and made a CL final in his final year.

The reason he hasn't won since '05 is he had a teams of players who plainly weren't good enough and had shown that.
EVERYONE knew Denilson wasn't a PL player but he got 150 games, EVERYONE knew Almunia wasn't good enough but he played for 5 seasons.

It wasn't the nurturing of the super talented players that was the problem, it was sticking by the ones who proved they weren't.

is why after conceding 2 goals in the opening 10 minutes, why you didn't then park the bus for the rest of the half half and make sure it doesn't become worse than a 2 goal deficit.
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He's fat, he's round, he bounces on the ground ...Jan Molby, Jan Molby!

It's the million dollar question.
It's why after conceding 6 at Old Trafford Wenger kept sending them forward like a Rocky film.
Actually Ferguson did the same against City in the 6-1.

It's called ego!