[Albion] Brighton & Hove Albion vs Arsenal *** Official Match Thread ***

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

BBC reporting 68% possession to the Albion

 

[Rookie]

What is going on with Trossard? Truly dreadful when he came on against Charlton, anonymous v Soton and poor tonight.

 

[aolstudios]

Lamptey has sadly lost some of his pace due to his long term hamstring injury as we saw for Arsenal's 4th goal.

Yep. Massive difference

 

[dolphins]

Gave them sloppy goals
Ridiculous Arsenal time wasting
Missed some key players
Arsenal the better team but we helped them

Just not our night & I didn’t think it would be given the players we were missing.

All of this. I went for a 2-1 win for Arsenal in the Sky Super 6 thingie, bearing in mind our missing players and Tross not seeming to be totally focused and fired up at the moment. I would have been delighted with a win but just had a feeling it wasn't going to be our day.

There were some definite positives though - Fergie's goal, and the never-say-die efforts of the team, for example.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

BBC reporting 68% possession to the Albion

And there are lots of other favourable stats. Touches in opp box etc.

We did alright today. Arsenal properly ruthless in the box today.

 

[Springal]

What is going on with Trossard? Truly dreadful when he came on against Charlton, anonymous v Soton and poor tonight.

He’s always terrible when the clocks go back. Every season is goals early and late; with very little in the middle. Probably also annoyed the club will activate the ‘optional’ extra year on his contract

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

And there are lots of other favourable stats. Touches in opp box etc.

We did alright today. Arsenal properly ruthless in the box today.

Yup, they don't seem to be quite the soft touch they once were - tho Arteta will not be best pleased with his leaky defence

 

[chickens]

Thought there were positives to take from the game, but a bit upset to see our third chalked off.

I do have faith in our young attackers, but don’t feel we should be immediately shouting for Ferguson to start every match. We’ve seen Connolly turn bad fast, and I don’t want to repeat past mistakes. A slow phase in is called for.

We’ve won one in two PL games since the restart, am choosing to see the glass as half-full.

 

[GT49er]

He’s always terrible when the clocks go back. Every season is goals early and late; with very little in the middle. Probably also annoyed the club will activate the ‘optional’ extra year on his contract

Trossard really is marmite personified. To some of us, he is top class, should be worth a decent sum to a top four club. To the rest of us, when working out our 'team for XXXX' we always try and fit in what we think are our best/most exciting players - and Trossard seems to finish up on the bench.

If he does move on, I can't see it being to a higher level than us. Higher wages, maybe, at the likes of Villa or West Ham - but top 4? No.

 

[macbeth]

Get him in behind a proper striker (and who knows, we may have one) and you'll see the player he is.

Ask him to lead the line against top quality defenders like that. OK yes, he'll look shit

granted that was the case tonight but it doesn't negate the fact that he was awful against charlton and disappeared against saints, neither of whom have top quality defenders. indeed, he does this sort of thing every year around this time

 

[Acker79]

without watching any replays, just on watching it live, my initial thoughts are that it was a somewhat predictable result. The goals were soft, including two gifts that went through Sanchez, who seems to not be at his domineering best at the moment, but then neither does our defence in general. We have definitely become defensively softer since De Zerbi came in.

I think the game was over as soon as they got their early goal. They were then able to sit back and defend with quality and discipline. I don't think we truly threatened their goal until their defence was weakened by the confidence of a three goal lead, White going off, and two of their defenders being on yellow cards. And even then, with the first goal they responded by cutting through us for their fourth. Our second certainly unsettled them further and if the third wasn't disallowed, who knows what might have happened.

(They would have cut through us and scored a fifth, probably).

They were good, they deserved the win, don't get me wrong, but those goals we conceded were soft. Just like the one v a southampton side we had pinned back in their own third for most of the match, and the two v villa. and...

Defence is my biggest worry since Potter has gone/De Zerbi has come in.

Not a great way to end the year, but as my first post in this thread indicates I was expecting it, so not too down.

 

[5Ways Gull]

I a

No, because most of us don't want the game ruined. Most of us understand the phrase 'clear and obvious' - but PGMOL unfortunately don't. They just see VAR as a chance to demonstrate their power to disallow as many goals as possible.

For that reason, offside VAR decisions should be allowed 10 seconds only. If not 100% certain it was clearly and obviously offside after 10 seconds allow it - if you can't be certain after ten seconds then it isn't, by definition, clear and obvious. Simples. Shame they can't see it, and can't see they are ruining the game.

I always thought that offside was brought in to eradicate goal hangers getting an unfair advantage. Not sure someone's 3rd pube from the left being slightly ahead of the last defender really fulfils that criteria. IMHO a player should only be offside if there is actual daylight between him and the last defender.

 

[5Ways Gull]

I a
I always thought that offside was brought in to eradicate goal hangers getting an unfair advantage. Not sure someone's 3rd pube from the left being slightly ahead of the last defender really fulfils that criteria. IMHO a player should only be offside if there is actual daylight between him and the last defender.

I also think there should be some sort of equivalent of "umpires call" adopted in VAR

 

[B-right-on]

Thought we were woeful in the first half and they could have had 3 or 4 more.

Better when the kids came on in the second half. Estupinan and Mitoma had a good game, both looked very dangerous in the second half of the second half. They link up well. Missing Caicedo who is the other pivot in that 3.

A combination of us not being at the races today and Arse being a decent team that took full advantage of our poor first half.

 

[GT49er]

Thought there were positives to take from the game, but a bit upset to see our third chalked off.

I do have faith in our young attackers, but don’t feel we should be immediately shouting for Ferguson to start every match. We’ve seen Connolly turn bad fast, and I don’t want to repeat past mistakes. A slow phase in is called for.

The mistakes made with Connolly need not be repeated - and that's nothing to do with whether Ferguson goes out on loan or plays an increasing number of games with the first team.
With Connolly, it was obvious by the January after that Spurs game - and certainly by the following summer - that he was struggling at PL level and needed to go out and remember how to score a hatful at a lower level; but.......for whatever reason, it didn't happen. We need to get Ferguson right - but what hapened to Connolly has no bearing on it.

 

[GT49er]

I also think there should be some sort of equivalent of "umpires call" adopted in VAR

There is - or is supposed to be. To any sensible person that is encapsulated in the phrase 'clear and obvious'!

'Close'.... 'marginal' ........ 'could have gone either way' ..... 'seen them given' ............ if any of those apply, then it isn't a clear and obvious enough error to intervene and overturn.

 

[Jesus Gul]

Gonna bang a ton on Citeh to win the Prem tomorrow.

 

[Questions]

What is going on with Trossard? Truly dreadful when he came on against Charlton, anonymous v Soton and poor tonight.

That is Trossard though.?Always will be.

 

[pasty]

I chuffin love you Karou.

Everything was in apart from him scoring and I was hovering over the £75 cash out, but thought I’d give it another 10 minutes.

 

[Billy in Bristol]

We always look defensively better with Veltman.