Arsenal v PSG

[Moodybluebird]

Re: Arsenal v PSG

Disagree with you there about Arteta getting his tactics spot on. I don’t like the way Arteta sets out his team to play, but trying to leave that aside for now, i couldn’t understand why they played so many long balls, why Raya knocked it long almost every time he had possession and why they had the keeper taking free kicks about fifty yards from their own goal. Arsenal don’t usually play like that and, from what I could see, PSG weren’t inconvenienced by it in the slightest as the ball just kept on coming back at Arsenal - it was as if they did not want the ball. That’s understandable i suppose for many teams that play PSG, but I think Arsenal have enough good players to have got their possession figures up around the 40/45 per cent mark which would have alleviated some of the pressure they were under.

Well we'll have to agree to disagree. Yes Arsenal can play better football than that but it they had been less defensive, PSG would have opened them up quite easily. As it turned out, they struggled to breach Arsenal's defence and Raya had very little to do. Arsenal do have good players but in midfield and attack PSG have world class players in every position and I've yet to see a team cope with their attacking brilliance.

[Wales-Bales]

Re: Arsenal v PSG

You're a proponent of the beautiful game, can you quantify how Arsenal have enjoyed such relative success at the highest level while playing the way they do?

Arsenal GA 27 in 38 games.

Regarding the beautiful game, you'd have to go back to when Enrique first arrived at PSG and Neymar & Messi were on their way out the door. Also famously, he tried to talk Mbappe into being a team player, but the superstar was having none of that. That's when I started to pay attention to PSG as it was turning into an interesting situation, and Enrique himself was living at the PSG training ground!

Then Kvaratskhelia arrived during the second half of the season, and he was a player I knew well after seeing him play against Ampadu in 2022. He tore poor old Ethan to shreds, so I started watching some Napoli games as this fella was unbelievable. I like seeing different teams play but I never expected PSG and Enrique to be as dominant as they are, so it was great to watch it all unfold.

I've also been watching Como for a couple of seasons due to the Osian Roberts connection and Fabregas is a very good manager. Now if only Arsenal could get hold of him we might see a team that everybody enjoys watching ...

[Tuerto]

Re: Arsenal v PSG

Arsenal GA 27 in 38 games.

Regarding the beautiful game, you'd have to go back to when Enrique first arrived at PSG and Neymar & Messi were on their way out the door. Also famously, he tried to talk Mbappe into being a team player, but the superstar was having none of that. That's when I started to pay attention to PSG as it was turning into an interesting situation, and Enrique himself was living at the PSG training ground!

Then Kvaratskhelia arrived during the second half of the season, and he was a player I knew well after seeing him play against Ampadu in 2022. He tore poor old Ethan to shreds, so I started watching some Napoli games as this fella was unbelievable. I like seeing different teams play but I never expected PSG and Enrique to be as dominant as they are, so it was great to watch it all unfold.

I've also been watching Como for a couple of seasons due to the Osian Roberts connection and Fabregas is a very good manager. Now if only Arsenal could get hold of him we might see a team that everybody enjoys watching ...

Fair enough, thanks for the reply. So what you're saying is that PSG have prospered because they're more of a team unit, superstars without the ego so to speak? I will take your word on it, although people have said how good PSG are now. I did ask you about Arsenal though, what's your opinion on the success they have had over the past few years, or the resurgence so to speak. They must surely have very good players, although if Arteta opened up a bit in terms of play, do you think that they would be where they are?

[Wales-Bales]

Re: Arsenal v PSG

Fair enough, thanks for the reply. So what you're saying is that PSG have prospered because they're more of a team unit, superstars without the ego so to speak? I will take your word on it, although people have said how good PSG are now. I did ask you about Arsenal though, what's your opinion on the success they have had over the past few years, or the resurgence so to speak. They must surely have very good players, although if Arteta opened up a bit in terms of play, do you think that they would be where they are?

They are where they are because of their defensive record, so why change it? Besides that, they also seem a bit reluctant to go head-to-head against the footballing purists. It would probably take a different manager to get them playing eye-catching football, but who knows maybe he will surprise us next season?

[Wales-Bales]

Re: Arsenal v PSG

^^^^ Or to put it another way, how do they improve on this season? That's the big question.

[Tuerto]

Re: Arsenal v PSG

They are where they are because of their defensive record, so why change it? Besides that, they also seem a bit reluctant to go head-to-head against the footballing purists. It would probably take a different manager to get them playing eye-catching football, but who knows maybe he will surprise us next season?

They were 2nd highest goalscorers in the Premier league behind Man City, i would have thought that would have something to do with it as well.

[Wales-Bales]

Re: Arsenal v PSG

They were 2nd highest goalscorers in the Premier league behind Man City, i would have thought that would have something to do with it as well.

They got 31 points from league games where they scored 1 goal or less.

[Wales-Bales]

Re: Arsenal v PSG

They got 31 points from league games where they scored 1 goal or less.

Man City got 15 points by my quick calculations when they scored 1 or 0 goals, so Arsenal's defensive prowess gained them 16 points over Man City.

[William Treseder]

Re: Arsenal v PSG

They were 2nd highest goalscorers in the Premier league behind Man City, i would have thought that would have something to do with it as well.

ToBW has had a bee in his bonnet about the Premier league all season, and Wales-Bales can’t seem to work out if it’s Boxing day or pancake Tuesday.
You’d be better asking a few of the girls who work in your local ASDA for their opinions on Arsenal and Arteta’s style of play.

[Wales-Bales]

Re: Arsenal v PSG

ToBW has had a bee in his bonnet about the Premier league all season, and Wales-Bales can’t seem to work out if it’s Boxing day or pancake Tuesday.
You’d be better asking a few of the girls who work in your local ASDA for their opinions on Arsenal and Arteta’s style of play.

You'd need an advanced degree in statistics to find any beauty in the way Arsenal play!

[Tuerto]

Re: Arsenal v PSG

They got 31 points from league games where they scored 1 goal or less.

That's impressive in my opinion. Thing is, people seem to be talking this up as Arsenal just stopping teams from playing. That may well have been the tactic against PSG, but it can't be the tactic for the who;e season. Teams still need to have quality in and out of possession to do what they have this season, yet it comes across as they're a team full of robbie savage type players. People may not like something, it may go against how they think things should be done, but there has to be some credit thrown Asenals way. I fairness you did say that they're good at what they do. I can't stop. i;m watching re runs of Greece games from the 2004 Euro's........

[Wales-Bales]

Re: Arsenal v PSG

Man City got 15 points by my quick calculations when they scored 1 or 0 goals, so Arsenal's defensive prowess gained them 16 points over Man City.

Correction: Arsenal actually got 29 points from low scoring games, so it's an advantage of 14 points over Man City.

Arsenal: 29
Sunderland: 23
Fulham: 21
Bournemouth: 20
Leeds United: 19
Liverpool: 19
Crystal Palace: 18
Aston Villa: 16
Everton: 16
Manchester City: 15
Manchester United: 15
Tottenham Hotspur: 14
Brentford: 13
Nottingham Forest: 12
Brighton & Hove Albion: 11
Newcastle United: 11
West Ham United: 10
Chelsea: 9
Wolverhampton Wanderers: 9
Burnley: 7

[Wales-Bales]

Re: Arsenal v PSG

That's impressive in my opinion. Thing is, people seem to be talking this up as Arsenal just stopping teams from playing. That may well have been the tactic against PSG, but it can't be the tactic for the who;e season. Teams still need to have quality in and out of possession to do what they have this season, yet it comes across as they're a team full of robbie savage type players. People may not like something, it may go against how they think things should be done, but there has to be some credit thrown Asenals way. I fairness you did say that they're good at what they do. I can't stop. i;m watching re runs of Greece games from the 2004 Euro's........

It's an interesting stat because Leeds and Sunderland stayed up while Burnley, Wolves and West Ham went down. Chelsea also missed out on Europe, so gaining points from low scoring games is quite important in the grand scheme of things.

[splott parker]

Re: Arsenal v PSG

They restricted us to just the Ferguson goal, it was enough though.