Arsenal v QPR Match thread - SWP Starts!

[QPR Richard]

mbia's stupidity aside I dont think we did much wrong in this game, swp (today's scapegoat) included. hughes set the team up well and until the sending off we weren't even under that much pressure. my only gripe is that yet again it underlines how bizarre it was that we bought a team load of players in the summer but not one established prem centre half other than nelsen who has done well but v much in the twilight of his career..

That's just it. Hughes didn't set the team up well. Arsenal played three across the centre, we went with two, and allowed them to dominate the middle.

[Adel]

life<<<<<<

the most frustrating thing for me is I just think any other team would of scored at least 1 out of the 2 chances we had right at the end.

[bonheurjh]

I don't think anyone expected to get anything today but it's frustrating to see we got close. I'm not going to stick the knife in just yet because I've given it until the Villa game.

However, questions have to be asked about our tactics today.

We were getting outmuscled in the centre of midfield yet again yet Hughes does sod all to counter it. He stuck rigidly (yet again) to 4-4-2 and we lose the battle in the centre.....again. When is this bloke going to learn that against teams like Arsenal we've got to match their formations?

Sorry, but Hughes is on notice now. Ok, M'bia acted like a pr!ck, but Arsenal were there for the taking today. They were poor, but Hughes' tactics were pathetic. Despite two transfer windows, we are in a worse position than when NW was sacked.

How generous !

[Pookiesdad]

Get a grip fellas, to come to arsenal and get a 1-0 defeat was a good result. If we lose against Reading I will lose faith in Hughes apart from that we are getting there.

[BigAl]

They were there for the taking today and a 1-0 defeat was not a good result. Could and should be doing better - reckon 3/4 of prem teams would have beaten them today!

Get a grip fellas, to come to arsenal and get a 1-0 defeat was a good result. If we lose against Reading I will lose faith in Hughes apart from that we are getting there.

[Del]

They were there for the taking today and a 1-0 defeat was not a good result. Could and should be doing better - reckon 3/4 of prem teams would have beaten them today!

What a ridiculous comment... you think 3/4 of prem teams would've beaten them.... how many teams ever beat them at the Emirates exactly??? Not many. And they have bad spells like any team. They lost a couple of games, so what, we've lost loads so hardly on fire are we, so to say we should've won is laughable.

Lets remember they are so poor they could bring on Walcott, Gervinho and Arshavin from the bench..... We had thew likes of Mackie, Onouha, Ferdinand and Ephraim.... yeah we should definitely have won.

[MYU]

Before the sending off... I thought we were going to win the game.

[QPR Richard]

I've just been looking at the four four two match stats and they make gruesome reading. Here's a few:

Passes

Arsenal 527/600
QPR 228/294

Possession

Arsenal 66.5%
QPR 33.5%

Shots

Arsenal 22
QPR 6

In most departments they battered us. For example, their attacking third passes were over four times more than ours.

And I stand by my point earlier today that Faurlin should've played. Up until he got injured last season, he was the top tackler in the league and I'm convinced he would've stopped a lot of their play today. The stats also show that our midfield was overrun today as was expected because we were one short.

You're unlikely to win games if you have a lot less of the ball than your opponents. Hughes take note.