Aston Villa v Arsenal Post-Match Thread

[not3bad]

we seem to get worse by the week.

How do you work that out?  Today for instance, we were much better than we were last week.  A few weeks ago we beat Sunderland, and were much better than we were against Southampton for instance.  You could say our form is up and down like a bride's nightie this season.

[saunders_heroes]

we seem to get worse by the week.

How do you work that out?  Today for instance, we were much better than we were last week.  A few weeks ago we beat Sunderland, and were much better than we were against Southampton for instance.  You could say our form is up and down like a bride's nightie this season.

I've seen lots of downs. Not many ups though.

[not3bad]

we seem to get worse by the week.

How do you work that out?  Today for instance, we were much better than we were last week.  A few weeks ago we beat Sunderland, and were much better than we were against Southampton for instance.  You could say our form is up and down like a bride's nightie this season.

I've seen lots of downs. Not many ups though.

Can't say we've been getting worse and worse though can you?  4 days after we lost 4-1 to Southampton we beat Man City in the league cup.

[villan from luton]

Guzan - been better than I expected
Lowtown - looks like Delaney, fine
Vlaar - Good and will get better
Clark - have had my doubts, was a man today after Vlaar went off. Needs to concentrate
Stevens - did ok, glad Walcott werent playing
Westwood - excellent
Bannan - very good, except for a couple of bottling it challenges
KEA - Average, not a playmaker
Weimann - battled hard, good team role, nothing more
Gabby - as above
Benteke- Not his best game, but he is such a threat and thought he bullied them again today
Lichaj - did fine
Holman - Should have started if resting Ireland IMHO
 

[villan from luton]

we seem to get worse by the week.

How do you work that out?  Today for instance, we were much better than we were last week.  A few weeks ago we beat Sunderland, and were much better than we were against Southampton for instance.  You could say our form is up and down like a bride's nightie this season.

I've seen lots of downs. Not many ups though.
[/quot]

Was it an up that we kept a clean sheet perhaps, even more so when the captain went off? Was Westwood and Bannan not a plus? Was Lowton not a plus?

[Chinchilla Bathhouse]

we seem to get worse by the week.

How do you work that out?  Today for instance, we were much better than we were last week.  A few weeks ago we beat Sunderland, and were much better than we were against Southampton for instance.  You could say our form is up and down like a bride's nightie this season.

I've seen lots of downs. Not many ups though.

So you have seen some ups then?  What were they?  Come on man, name them, let's see if we can squeeze a bit of positivity out of you...

[ozzjim]

I think it is showing that the board can trust Lambert with money and know it is not going to go down the toilet though. I would bet we would make a very decent profit on our summer dealings now despite our league position.

[Brazilian Villain]

As noted in the match thread I really enjoyed watched Westwood today. He didn't dally on the ball just hit some quick first time accurate passes. In particular there was one around 60-70 mins where he didn't simply hit it sideways but rather slid a quick one touch diagonal pass between two Arsenal defenders for Lichaj (maybe Weimann?) to run onto. The Villa player then slipped on the ball in the conditions but it was still sweet.

Wrt Bent I know a couple of Villa fans whose opinions I respect who have long advocated selling him as he doesn't contribute enough to the team. I don't feel strongly either way but I know I trust Lambert to spend the 10-15m we'd get wisely. Also in purely footballing terms you could criticise Fergie for selling God. But for him it was about setting the tone that the drinking culture had to be eliminated. In Lambert's case I believe his ethos is that each player has to be prepared to run their socks off for the team which many of them did today.  Is Bent that type of player? 

[Matt C]

A hard earned point and further signs of encouragement. We kept a solid and disciplined shape which kept Arsenal quiet, we just lacked a little quality in the final third to nick all three points. Huge game Tuesday.

[JD]

A hard earned point and further signs of encouragement. We kept a solid and disciplined shape which kept Arsenal quiet, we just lacked a little quality in the final third to nick all three points. Huge game Tuesday.

Agree Matt. We harried and shut them down well, but never had the cutting edge. I would have taken a 0-0 beforehand so I'm happy with the point. Win on Tuesday and we can start looking onwards and upwards.

[supertom]

I was impressed. Just about worth staying up till 3.30am out here to watch it. I thought first half was okay. Second half was quite good. On the whole we kept Arsenal, Carzola in particular, very quietl. In fairness it's not the result it would be deemed a few years ago. This is the worst Arsenal side in decades to be frank. Very ordinary.

Defensively we still looked susceptable to movement and pace when they rarely upped gears. Fullback areas are weak, because of a lack of midfield cover.
Tactically we did well. Lamberts key change was bringing on Holmans energy at a point we normally start flagging, and it worked well.

Guzan- 7 Solid. Never greatly troubled but did well when called upon.
Lowton- 7 I like him. As said, reminds me of Delaney. Switched to CB comfortably too.
Vlaar- 7 Played well enough till going off.
Clark- 9 MOM for me. Thought he was excellent.
Stevens- 7 Don't think he's Premiership quality but he has equitted himself well. Did quite well yesterday. Generally kept the Arsenal wide players quiet his side and did okay going forward. In terms of our other LB options, thus far he looks no better or worse than Bennett or Lichaj in that position. One of the three needs to kick things on and become indispensible in that area. He's a 1 in 3 chance.
Westwood- 7 Quietly impressive. Very Carrickesque. He's not gonna score many or influence the final third massively, nor the defensive side, but he keeps it moving. A connective player. I like him.
Bannan- 8 One of his best games this season IMO. Kept it simple when needed and chose his long passes more wisely. His set piece delivery was very good, and should have been utilized better.
KEA- 5 Poor. His promising first month or two has faded to be honest. Needs to kick on a gear again. Dwelt on the ball far too much. His passing lacked zip and he just slowed it down too much. Awful dive too. Has to do far more.
Gabby- 8 Great work rate. Led by example. Typically frustrating end product at times, but he won us a lot of territory with set pieces and throw ins down to pace and will.
Weimann- 7 Worked hard. A yard from getting a goal. Was a typically sharp finish from him. He's started to influence games more now too.
Benteke- 6 Very good at times, and very sloppy too. Needs to keep his concentration up for more and he can be lazy. You always feel a spark though, that he might do something or make something happen. Won a few headers in their box but didn't attack them enough. Must time his runs better to attack the ball, not do standing jumps.

Lichaj- 10 For moustache alone. An awesome piece of face fuzz. Oh and he played okay when he came on.
Holman- 8 Made a big difference. For me his endeavour and energy means he should be playing. I like him in the centre too. Our midfield 3 had a great balance once Holman replaced KEA. He's one of our few midfields who creates and makes things happen. He's adapting well to the pace of the Prem now too. Rarely wastes the ball.
Alby- 5 No time.

Play like this in the next few games and we should win them. If we get the likes of Bent and N'Zog back fit it gives us strong options from the bench to nick goals and make things happen.

[Matt Collins]

Westwood was completely anonymous in midfield

Some viewpoints are matters of opinion that you may disagree with. Some are just wrong. This us the latter!

[N'ZMAV]

Westwood looks classy. He doesn't get stuck in, because he doesn't need to. He is like a Carrick type player.

[Summers]

Westy is something we've needed for a long time. A replacement for Barry. He's classy, comfortable has a fantastic range of passing & works hard. Bannan, who prior to this season, has normally flattered to deceive is really shining under Lambert. The discipline instilled in him is fantastic. He can pass a ball, but prior seasons he went for the hollywood pass to often, now he's smart with the ball and his workrate is brilliant. A midfield of two of Bannan & Westy - on paper - should be too lightweight and not defensive enough but they're both working so hard and reading the game well that they're really doing the job out their. Fantastic to see. They play well together.

Lowton continues to impress. Looks like he's played at this level for years.

[ozzjim]

Westy is something we've needed for a long time. A replacement for Barry. He's classy, comfortable has a fantastic range of passing & works hard. Bannan, who prior to this season, has normally flattered to deceive is really shining under Lambert. The discipline instilled in him is fantastic. He can pass a ball, but prior seasons he went for the hollywood pass to often, now he's smart with the ball and his workrate is brilliant. A midfield of two of Bannan & Westy - on paper - should be too lightweight and not defensive enough but they're both working so hard and reading the game well that they're really doing the job out their. Fantastic to see. They play well together.

Lowton continues to impress. Looks like he's played at this level for years.

Good shout re Westwood reminding you of Barry. As he grows in confidence it will be interesting to see if he has the ability to carry the ball too. One of the great strengths of the 18-25 year old version of Barry was he would carry the ball forward when there was space and had the ability to step past opponents creating room for a pass. If Westwood has that ability in him, it will make him very exciting indeed. Plus, he has impressed against some very good midfield players since being in the side. Cattermole not easy first up, United is not easy ever, Man City have some of the best midfielders in the league and Arsenal speak for themselves. Fair play to him and Bannan, to come in for those 4, and play like they have deserves commending.