Ratings & Reactions: Villa v Arsenal

[briny_ear]

BTW if I hear ANYBODY banging on about ”poor” performance or “shortcomings” this evening, I need your address…

[foreveryoung]

2 minutes ago, Jas10 said:

 

But but, what about what Eddie Howe did at Newcastle. 

[Talldarkandransome]

1 hour ago, Jas10 said:

 

Only 7 goals conceded and never more than 1

[Mic09]

Here is the difference between Arteta and Emery.

One talks about doing enough to win tonight, the other talks about needed consistency.

And guess who won the game. 

[Talldarkandransome]

That was much tougher than Wednesday, I've given McGinn MOTM. Dunno about the players but I need a rest

[Jonesy7211]

How do the fans of the sky clubs become so complacent? Being here and competing is magical. We're seriously competing at the top of the closed shop, it's like the feeling of winning the playoffs but week after week.

UTV, and thank you Don Unai.

[Jas10]

 

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

Very random, but Nyland has liked a Premier League and Villa post on Instagram about our form. Fair play!

[Stevo985]

49 minutes ago, foreveryoung said:

Not really, it's how the big boys sometimes win, disiplined.

We **** mugged them mate

[Wurzel]

 

[Lichfield Dean]

We scored an absolutely sublime team goal, prime Barcelona-esque, against one of the title favourites. We then dug in and defended resolutely, whilst also playing some superb attacking football and manufacturing plenty of other chances. Yes, we weren't quite at our best, but honestly I thought it was a very good professional performance with flashes of excellence. We didn't dominate, and they had their chances too, but they didn't take them. A perfectly fair and well-earned victory.

Oh, and I really dislike Saka and his play-acting.

[Brumstopdogs]

 

[pintpotvilla]

Today Iam in hospital and have been told some pretty lousy news regarding probable Liver cancer and that I need an operation to stablise my spine but I am bouncing off the ceiling with joy and happiness after following the match today.

[jim]

 

[foreveryoung]

1 minute ago, Stevo985 said:

We **** mugged them mate

That's your opinion, mine and many others are, we're a great team, great teams at this level don't rob other teams, it's the way we play, set up, an keep disiplined. Yes they had more chances, but unfortunately, they couldn't even finish a sausage roll to draw/win the game, that's them just not being good enough, an us being better.

[Khizzy]

What a week! Emery is a legend - success is imminent.

Benjamin Zephaniah would have loved the last two results. HEITS. 

[striker]

A very different performance from Wednesday but both magnificent!

[rjw63]

6 minutes ago, pintpotvilla said:

Today Iam in hospital and have been told some pretty lousy news regarding probable Liver cancer and that I need an operation to stablise my spine but I am bouncing off the ceiling with joy and happiness after following the match today.

Sorry to hear that matey

[OutByEaster?]

Yeah, so, you can out-football Man City completely for ninety minutes on a Wednesday night, but can you perform under pressure? Can you keep out an Arsenal side full of guile and danger? Can you be resilient? Are you tough? Can you deal with a ref on the turn, theatrical players, 85 minutes of suffering, can you grind out a win? Can you do that?

Oh we most definitely can.

These were two very different wins, under very different circumstances, and tonight's display of courage, conviction, defiance and sheer bloodymindedness was almost as impressive in its own way as the heights of Wednesday. That's not to say there wasn't also a good amount of quality, we played our footballing part too - but the impressiveness of the workrate and the pressing and the bravery to keep a shape, to trust teammates, to stick to a plan just stood out for me tonight.

We have a manager who can back up the desire of these players by making the right substitutions at the right times to freshen things up, bring impetus and raise spirits - I don't think any of us had take Konsa off or bring on Dendoncker on our last ten minutes bingo card - but it worked - it seems everything he touches does - and these players trust him, you can tell - you can see his plan and their faith in it on the pitch every time we play.

i thought McGinn was outstanding, a clever, whirling dervish with an amazing engine, the two centre halves were fantastic, each in their own style and Martinez had that wonderful indomitable, belligerent influence that permeated the team - radiating defiance across the back four. There are days when I think you'd have to hit him with a bat to get a ball in our net.

Unai has other students too - about 40,000 of us - learning patience, understanding when the team needs a lift, celebrating this side - another great atmosphere tonight and a symphony that seemed perfectly matched to the play in front of it - the whole place seems to be in some sort of sumptuous supernatural synchronicity.

Of our opponents, well, Arsenal aren't very nice are they? They put a lot of pressure on referees by getting around them, falling over theatrically and doing all those little things like taking free kicks from the wrong place and walking a throw in twenty yards, but they're also very good, you can really see their quality and if Saka and Martinelli ever reach maturity, then they'll be quite something. 

Today though, we were in no mood to be distracted by theatre or to place too much respect in our opponent, ours was a performance of mental strength, of fortitude. There's more than one string to our bow.

This season is brilliant, and who knows where it can take us - I'm not making wild predictions, or assumptions, but I'm going to enjoy it - this Aston Villa side is wonderful and there's something for everyone - you can throw what you like at us and we'll give it a go.

We continue to answer all of the questions asked of us and we're going to be very, very difficult to beat at Villa Park - and if you don't believe that, I have fifteen pieces of evidence to show you - long may it continue, I love this.

 

[rjw63]

47 minutes ago, Lerner's Driver said:

Arteta is snippy little word removed. Really unlikeable.