Arsenal Verdict

[marrs-guitar]

We do some things ok, especially in the middle of the park and Bouba has finally given us the option of someone running forward from the middle of the park, but we just have no punch where it really counts and you know that we will almost always concede when the opponent breaks into our box with any speed.

As things stand we really don't have enough to stay in the division, new manager or not. There's no other side with less threat up front than us and I expect that we won't have a new forward ready for January 1st but instead throw away the games in that month trying to be too smart in the market.

 

[Tring Wolf]

Silva - On loan
Sasa- Out for the season
Raul - **** knows
Costa - Offers next to nothing
Hwang - See above
Guedes - Not a CF

Mate, we couldn't need a striker more if our name was Mick Lynch F.C.

Have to bring back Fabio and sign another centre-forward.

Sell Hwang. Costa as back-up or an impact sub.

And pray for a miracle with Raul.

 

[sc91]

Killed and destroyed. Bottom at Xmas and going down.

Only hope is fosun sell.

 

[Kashmire Hawker]

Judah is even more a Wolves fan; even if Boro are now flying under Carrick.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1591540996458041344

 

[WickedWolfie]

We had chances; Arsenal showed why they are up there; our defence was again shambolic for the goals and it was 11 v 12. Mr Attwall proves people with the name Stuart A are utterly stupid and totally incapable.

Good luck Julen and roll on Gillingham.

Atwell was missing TW from the front of his name. I better not say what l think the best thing that he and Dean could do for football as l'd doubtless be banned. ...

 

[manchesterwolf17]

Killed and destroyed. Bottom at Xmas and going down.

Only hope is fosun sell.

Or that a very good manager gets us to finish above 3 of Forest, Bournemouth, Southampton, Everton or Leeds.

Whoever's fault our current predicament is, we have to believe in Lopetegui being capable of what I referenced above, which I think he is.

 

[Wolowolf6]

The positives:

- Bueno continues to impress and looks like he’s up for the fight
- Although still very raw, ditto for Bewbs
- We did actually have a bit of a go at the team top of the league
- I don’t have to watch another Wolves game for 6 weeks

The negatives:

- Moutinho continues his sad decline
- Thought Neves had a pretty average game (although seeing as he’s almost single-handedly just about kept us in touch with the rest of the league, he’s earned it)
- Defensively we continue to be disjointed and distinctly sieve-like
- Attack-wise, we continue to carry the potency of a eunuch.

 

[SmiffyWolf]

The season starts now

Been saying that for two seasons and still waiting

 

[Bryce]

Did OK today really but we are a very poor side as things stand, poor at the back and offer next to nothing going forward. Huge task for Lopetegui.

Very fair

 

[WickedWolfie]

Call it what it is: CORRUPTION!

But some BS "apology" from Mike ***** Dean will make it ok. ...

 

[manchesterwolf17]

Have to bring back Fabio and sign another centre-forward.

Sell Hwang. Costa as back-up or an impact sub.

And pray for a miracle with Raul.

I'd probably leave Silva on loan.

Costa as back up. Honestly no idea with Jimenez. And then hope Lopetegui knows exactly what/who we need to get in up front.

 

[sc91]

Or that a very good manager gets us to finish above 3 of Forest, Bournemouth, Southampton, Everton or Leeds.

Whoever's fault our current predicament is, we have to believe in Lopetegui being capable of what I referenced above, which I think he is.

Who cares. **** me. Tonight was dreadful, arsenal toyed with wolves.

Everyone wants to dance around the obvious but this was men against boys, it was absolutely embrassment, look at people clinging onto the penalty hope despite conceding two.


This team goes down, Lopetegui will get them back up. Though.

 

[sc91]

Have to bring back Fabio and sign another centre-forward.

Sell Hwang. Costa as back-up or an impact sub.

And pray for a miracle with Raul.

Leave fabio there, we need him to get back up.

 

[Contrarian]

This is the problem for me. We should have gone big from a position of strength.

It’s almost criminal that after 5 years of PL money we have a back five of Lembikisa, Collins, Kilman, Toti and Bueno finishing the game.

Really really bad recruitment. They have to fix it in January.

The defence isn't the problem. It's the lightweight, pathetic, unreliable. timid attack. Look at the stats. Goals , shots, XG. Whatever you look at , our defence stats are mid-table yet our attack is rock bottom. Repeat: Our defence is mid-table level, our attack is rock bottom.

We have the no-end-product inconsistent clowns up front - aided and abetted by dodgy wing backs. It's criminal that apparently our main creators are Adama and Podence. Abandon hope right there. Both would be fine in a Harlem Globetrotter exhibition team playing for oohhs and aahhs as they showboat. But competitive matches against Premier League defences? No chance. And they aren't the only ones we should have replaced long ago with players who can actually deliver something, finish something, worry defenders. We then have Mr Shot-Shy Guedes. All of them are brilliant players in the minds of straw clutchers. "But that goal he scored .." Sorry, but the fact he has only scored one goal is a HUGE reason why we are bottom. One paltry goal, yet still some dare scapegoat Kilman.

Lopetegui is a good manager who may be able to wave a magic wand and turn one of those misfiring misfits into something resembling an actual Premier League attacker. But all of them? No chance. Fully expect at least 2 or 3 of our current forwards to be sidelined and moved on when they prove not fit for purpose. You can't build a consistent side out of inconsistent players, can you? Or all these "one good match in 8" players, who we seem to have collected. They won't be remembered for long.

 

[manchesterwolf17]

Who cares. **** me. Tonight was dreadful, arsenal toyed with wolves.

Everyone wants to dance around the obvious but this was men against boys, it was absolutely embrassment, look at people clinging onto the penalty hope despite conceding two.


This team goes down, Lopetegui will get them back up. Though.

Who cares? Well clearly we do or else we wouldn't be having this discussion, so lets not pretend otherwise.

I know full well we're ****. But I also know other teams are as well. If we stay up, we'll have massively gotten away with it. We probably deserve to go down because of the sheer arrogance and complacency from those in charge but I do think we have a very good manager now which gives us some hope.

 

[wwbug]

Over to you Loppy.
8 goals in 16 matches .
No Premier League level creativity in any player on our books.
Not sure how you can do change it, we are so passive , and defensive, we operate as one defensive block with the odd ejaculation !
Not just tonight but for 3 years boring years .
Its lead to us being adrift at the bottom of the table.

 

[Bryce]

January May see one or two in but likely loans . That would make sense.

JLo needs to get a better tune out of those he has already too. We need to be more compact . Defend higher, break faster and quicker to not allow the opposition to reset so easily. We have one if the fastest players in the world and don’t utilise his pace on the break. That’s stupid

 

[sc91]

Who cares? Well clearly we do or else we wouldn't be having this discussion, so lets not pretend otherwise.

I know full well we're ****. But I also know other teams are as well. If we stay up, we'll have massively gotten away with it. We probably deserve to go down because of the sheer arrogance and complacency from those in charge but I do think we have a very good manager now which gives us some hope.

We do, great, do those playing? Do they ****, mendes got the blower running hot with the exits.
Wolves got away with it for 2 years, times up..

 

[OLDGOLD]

The whole point of the game is to score goals. If you can't do corners or don't have pace or can't play quick one twos, it doesn't matter. Other aspects can compensate. But if you can't score goals, then you are a bad team. It's that simple.

Got to emphasise the point, our goal-shy ness is of epic proportions. We are uniquely bad at it and have been for ages. It's not a blip. Or something we are not quite good at. We are beyond "a little below par". We are one of the very worst teams in all top European league at scoring goals. The only other teams anywhere near as bad as us are also relegation candidates.

Being decent apart from goal scoring is like being a nice guy apart from all those people you murdered!

Point taken. I still think/ hope that something will click or we will get a couple of players in. You are right that it is not a new problem. Maybe I am naive in hoping it can be turned around fairly quickly.

 

[manchesterwolf17]

We do, great, do those playing? Do they ****, mendes got the blower running hot with the exits.
Wolves got away with it for 2 years, times up..

Not enough do.

Mate, you're preaching to the converted. I'm just clinging to the hopeful reality that we have a proper manager now who won't put up with that **** from players and board.

 

[manchesterwolf17]

How much do you reckon would be too much for Brentford to refuse for Toney?

 

[sc91]

Not enough do.

Mate, you're preaching to the converted. I'm just clinging to the hopeful reality that we have a proper manager now who won't put up with that **** from players and board.

Haha, good luck, I'm out. **** em.

 

[ToastedWanderer]

There was something about this performance that made it masochistically enjoyable to watch. We jumped on mistakes, but couldn't finish. We won penalties that would have resulted in a red but VAR chose to ignore. A ref who dished out yellows for fun unless the offender was wearing red.

Unfortunately our defense at times couldn't pick out a Wolves player in a line up, which was a shame, as we'd looked quite good first half. Our chemistry in the box is absent without leave, yet play some great stuff on the way there.

I have to say there was a run in the first half from Boaby that was sublime. He's all limbs, but his feet at times are pure magic..

Great to see the Steve Bull pretty much still full at the final whistle. We're all staring at the abyss, but it feels like Loppy is going to tease something out of the rest of the season. Here's hoping he's up for the challenge..

 

[The Clock]

Miles off the truth, but based on the childish theatrical comments, I am guessing you just don’t like him period.. he didn’t go up for a few headers he wasn’t going to win, but chased down and put more pressure on the Arsenal defence than any other player. Worked hard, was unlucky not to score.

He made one tackle. I remember it because I was surprised. He didn’t put any pressure on anything other than my blood pressure. As I said, a couple of decent moments the rest meh.

 

[TheConcourse]

The defence isn't the problem. It's the lightweight, pathetic, unreliable. timid attack. Look at the stats. Goals , shots, XG. Whatever you look at , our defence stats are mid-table yet our attack is rock bottom. Repeat: Our defence is mid-table level, our attack is rock bottom.

We have the no-end-product inconsistent clowns up front - aided and abetted by dodgy wing backs. It's criminal that apparently our main creators are Adama and Podence. Abandon hope right there. Both would be fine in a Harlem Globetrotter exhibition team playing for oohhs and aahhs as they showboat. But competitive matches against Premier League defences? No chance. And they aren't the only ones we should have replaced long ago with players who can actually deliver something, finish something, worry defenders. We then have Mr Shot-Shy Guedes. All of them are brilliant players in the minds of straw clutchers. "But that goal he scored .." Sorry, but the fact he has only scored one goal is a HUGE reason why we are bottom. One paltry goal, yet still some dare scapegoat Kilman.

Lopetegui is a good manager who may be able to wave a magic wand and turn one of those misfiring misfits into something resembling an actual Premier League attacker. But all of them? No chance. Fully expect at least 2 or 3 of our current forwards to be sidelined and moved on when they prove not fit for purpose. You can't build a consistent side out of inconsistent players, can you? Or all these "one good match in 8" players, who we seem to have collected. They won't be remembered for long.

You say that, but we have central midfielders who don’t step off the toes of our centre backs to cover up our clear inability to defend one v one.

We’re inevitably left with our two forwards in a 532 asking to perform miracles against much fitter, stronger and more aggressive CB’s than they’re used to playing/training against.

The best teams in this leagues are built on strong foundations. Only a few can get away with conceding 2+ goals a game and still win. We’re doing that every week, and guess what’s happening? We’re getting slapped.

We keep talking about a lack of goals, and yes that’s a problem, but we’ll need to score 3 goals a game to win/draw matches at the moment. Tell me again why that isn’t the problem?

 

[bod101]

Like watching a championship side play a prem team in the cup.

If the future is a flat back 5 hoping to get lucky on a break we're down.

 

[Bostin]

The switch to 5 worked to absolute perfection for nearly an hour.

We look so much more comfortable in that formation right from the off, and actually created a decent amount too. If JLO wants to persist with it, we HAVE to get a more attacking right back though.

Collins covered the position well when Semedo went forward. There just seemed to be more options. I love the fact that it opens up the switch across field too, as the full backs are so high.

Much better to watch than the pedestrian ‘possession based’ nonsense we’ve had to ensure recently.

I didn’t expect anything out of today, but came away feeling positive. Liked the formation change, Guedes was good again, Boubacar was outstanding, and we really limited a free flowing Arsenal team for a good chunk of the game.

 

[Bostin]

Like watching a championship side play a prem team in the cup.

If the future is a flat back 5 hoping to get lucky on a break we're down.

It’s what we’ve been good at for the last 3 years. It took us to 7th - twice!!

Why are you so against it??

 

[Newportwolf]

Haha, good luck, I'm out. **** em.

Cya then……

 

[JadeWolf]

It’s what we’ve been good at for the last 3 years. It took us to 7th - twice!!

Why are you so against it??

Because we didn’t give the job to Kompany.

 

[bod101]

It’s what we’ve been good at for the last 3 years. It took us to 7th - twice!!

Why are you so against it??

Because it wasn't effective tonight. Hoping to get lucky on a break isn't sustainable.

Also we played a flat back 5 not a 3 with wing backs like when it was successful.

If this is the plan for the rest of the season we're down.

 

[Bostin]

Because it wasn't effective tonight. Hoping to get lucky on a break isn't sustainable.

Also we played a flat back 5 not a 3 with wing backs like when it was successful.

If this is the plan for the rest of the season we're down.

Love your optimism mate.

I thought it was highly effective for an hour. Arsenal couldn’t work out how to get round us. The problem of getting pumped down the wings, which we’ve seen every single game, was magically solved.

Had we played 4 at the back we’d have been absolutely ripped to shreds.

The most important part of a back 5 is the wing backs. RAN is tailor made for it, but Semedo needs replacing with someone who can get goals and assists.

 

[Stafford]

Enjoyable game. Our real issue is breaking teams down once we go one behind. We always look even until then. We struggle with zipping the ball around the box and always get forced wide. Is this related to not having a striker? Or more of a midfield issue?

 

[tamwolf]

The switch to 5 worked to absolute perfection for nearly an hour.

We look so much more comfortable in that formation right from the off, and actually created a decent amount too. If JLO wants to persist with it, we HAVE to get a more attacking right back though.

Collins covered the position well when Semedo went forward. There just seemed to be more options. I love the fact that it opens up the switch across field too, as the full backs are so high.

Much better to watch than the pedestrian ‘possession based’ nonsense we’ve had to ensure recently.

I didn’t expect anything out of today, but came away feeling positive. Liked the formation change, Guedes was good again, Boubacar was outstanding, and we really limited a free flowing Arsenal team for a good chunk of the game.

Arsenal had a number of players who were suffering with sickness.

Mikel Arteta admits sickness issue in Arsenal squad after players ate same meal

Arsenal faced another opponent as well as Wolves in their final Premier League game before the World Cup, as multiple members of his squad battled sickness after eating the same pre-match meal

www.mirror.co.uk

It might not have been us that limited them. It actually makes it a bit more concerning how easily they dealt with us if that is the case.

 

[EastDorsetWolf]

Annoying that Traore didn't track his man for the 2nd, Podence should have started. Anyway the question is can we win 10 games for the rest of the season? 4 pts off 16th, its bad but not yet disastrous.

 

[Sussex Wolf]

If var worked, Arsenal would've been down to 10 men and we would've had a pen.

Changes everything

VAR did work exactly as designed. Unfortunately we’re not one of those chosen to benefit.

 

[WeAreTheWolvesII]

Refuse to be involved with Mike Dean again.

Too often. Today is unforgivable. We're probably going down anyway. Go out in style. Cheated through that egocentric ****.

 

[WasStefan]

Semedo ansolute liability and at fault for the first. Lembikisa at fault for the second but i can excuse a rookie.

Kilman and Collins not good enough

Bueno is good enough

B. Traore a beast.

Guedes showing glimpses.

Podence has to start.

Onwards and upwards

 

[Contrarian]

You say that, but we have central midfielders who don’t step off the toes of our centre backs to cover up our clear inability to defend one v one.

We’re inevitably left with our two forwards in a 532 asking to perform miracles against much fitter, stronger and more aggressive CB’s than they’re used to playing/training against.

The best teams in this leagues are built on strong foundations. Only a few can get away with conceding 2+ goals a game and still win. We’re doing that every week, and guess what’s happening? We’re getting slapped.

We keep talking about a lack of goals, and yes that’s a problem, but we’ll need to score 3 goals a game to win/draw matches at the moment. Tell me again why that isn’t the problem?

We're averaging just over 1.5 goals conceded per match this season. if we could score 1 or 2 goals a match, with our defensive record, we'd be mid-table, perhaps lower mid-table at worst.

We have got through so many centre halves, yet still can't score. Even a few weeks ago, Collins was "pacey". But now he's a "tugboat". Been saying it years, our forwards are awful, lightweight, not good enough, the wrong type of player for this league. Hardly anybody listens, we keep changing defenders yet nothing changes up front. If you don't sign goal scorers, you don't score goals. We have had a strong foundation for ages, it was excellent last year. It's our awful goal scoring that has wrecked the confidence of the defence.

Did you not see the difference in movement and link up play between Arsenals forwards and ours? We can barely string 3 passes together before it's overhit, underhit, behind the player. Or they just fall over because none of our forwards can win a 50/50, because they are not good enough. You can't be blaming our defenders for not challenging them enough in training? Never mind Arsenal, it was the same with Brighton and most teams in this league. We have cowards up front who can't beat a defender other than once in a half a season, don't take any risks and pull out of challenges, make passes rather than shoot.

That moment late on when Neves broke with the ball and nobody moved up front. It's painful. It's happening all the time and it isn't the centre halves fault. Every time the ball is loose, just knowing the other team will come away with it 9 times out of 10.

Maybe it's a manager thing, and the new one will fix it, we will see.

 

[thommo1984]

Adama stood out alright, but (for me) not in the sense you are implying...very little threat, constantly surrendered possession and failed to track back on numerous occasions

Thought Adama was awful. He’s become an absolute dud of a player.