Arsenal: Ramsdale, White, Kiwior, Gabriel, Tierney, Jorginho, Xhaka, Odegaard, Martinelli, Jesus, Saka
Subs: Turner, Holding, Walters, Partey, Vieira, Smith Rowe, Nelson, Trossard, Nketiah
—
Arsenal’s title challenge is all but over after 3-0 defeat to Brighton at the Emirates this afternoon.
Mikel Arteta made just one change from the side that beat Newcastle, with Kieran Tierney replacing the injured Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Martin Odegaard required some early treatment after taking a ball in the face, and Gabriel Martinelli was very lucky to avoid at least a booking for a flying shoulder on Karou Mitoma in the 5th minute.
The Arsenal skipper had a chance to shoot but got crowded out, before Moises Caicedo chopped down Martinelli and he too was lucky to avoid a booking. Ramsdale had to make a save from Enciso, before Odegaard fired in a shot similar to the one he scored with last week but which drifted wide.
The Gunners were forced into a change in the 19th minute when Leandro Trossard replaced Martinelli who had been unable to run off the Caicedo foul. Jesus forced Steele into a save at his near post, Trossard skimmed the top of the bar with a shot from inside the box that deflected off a defender at the last moment, and there was a yellow card for Estupinan for a foul on Saka.
Brighton had their best chance of the game when Mitoma burst past White and drilled a low cross to the far post, but Enciso shot over from close range. Ferguson shot wide after a hopeful ball was lumped forward, Saka fizzed a shot just wide as the first half went into five added minutes, and Odegaard couldn’t add to his 15 goals this season when he fired well wide, meaning the teams went in level.
There were no changes at the break from either manager, Jesus took a Steele clearance to the head, but five minutes in the visitors were ahead. Brighton got it down their left, Mitoma crossed it, we cleared it, KT was ball watching, Kiwior went down under a slip from Ferguson, Enciso headed home from close range. 0-1.
Pascal Gros was booked for a foul on Jorginho, but Brighton were buoyed by the goal, playing with real confidence, leaving Arsenal chasing shadows at times. Something had to change, and Arteta brought on Thomas Partey and Reiss Nelson for Xhaka and Jorginho on the hour mark.
Nelson fired a shot just wide, Saka produced some excellent defending to deny Mitoma, Trossard shot straight at the keeper after an excellent Odegaard pass, and Mac Allister shot wide as Brighton continued to cause Arsenal problems. Arteta played his last hand, throwing on Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah for Odegaard and Jesus, while Brighton decided to waste time by pretending to be injured and the ref let them.
Gabriel had an effort on goal despite being held in the Brighton box, Ramsdale saved from Undav, but the German doubled Brighton’s lead moments later. Trossard tried to play a flick around the corner, in midfield, it rebounded to Undav who just lobbed Ramsdale. 0-2.
Kiwior blocked a Mitoma shot in the first of 8 added minutes, and right at the death things got worse when Estupinan made it 3-0.
I can’t be arsed with a pithy end to this, other than to say it was a horrible, disappointing day.
It was nice to see Smith Rowe on the pitch again.
Always look on the bright side
Tactical masterclass by de Zerby, credit to them for playing well. Better luck for us next season.
One of the names that need to be cleared off
Hello? We’re trying to build a squad…..?
Was good to see him, but unfortunately he played with little spirit. Reiss Nelson for example was noticeably putting in more effort.
Nelson was playing to impress his future manager? Widely reported he won’t sign a new deal and Brighton are interested in him.
Thanks for that. I haven’t been following, but in some ways this makes me sadder. The one staying isn’t putting in the effort, only the one leaving. Feels like the bad old days again…
I know this is me overreacting to a bad match, but it was quite disappointing.
if that’s true, why play him at all?
Because we don’t really have anyone else?
It was
Good of us to pay a farewell homage to our bogey team Southampton by playing like them
I thought Brighton was our bogey team? Seem to lose at home to them every season.
Both are our bogey team. Anything on the south coast is like cryptonite.
It’s the new north-west
Seagulls (flying rats) are every bit as disgusting as Magpies.
Vermin.
Does Mikel have a plan B?
Asking for a friend
Do you have a new script writer?
If so, sack them.
We are our bogey team.
Yeah, good to see those twats in free fall.
St Mary’s was never a happy hunting ground – unless you want to go back to the days of George Graham and some interesting kit changes. (Yellow and blue shirts and white shorts, which Perry Groves, in his autobiography, said made us look like a pub team. He reckoned the banana shirt made us look like court jesters).
Yep, sorry Theo. Now you’re a ‘League Division Two’ player. Shouldn’t have scored against us, should you? Karma, son, karma.
Next season will be better
Our mental fragility is so disappointing. You could see the team was completely deflated from kick-off. I know the chances of us still going for the title were low, but at least give it a go. City have kept going all season despite being behind, yet we just gave up today.
We definitely need some reinforcements over the summer – for depth more than anything, but also some self-belief.
The Invincibles had 90 points in 2004.
We still can have 87 this year with the youngest squad in the league.
Fragility? I doubt it.
We are just young, inexperienced, and far from the amount of funds City and co. spent in recent years.
But the future is bright!
Congrats to the team and the staff! Keep up the good job!
When things are going great, it’s great. The problem is when we are on the receiving end of a bad result. Maybe it’s just me, but I always feel like we start falling apart. It seems like it’s never just a one-off, but a noticeable run of poor performances. It definitely feels like it takes a while to stabilise the ship, so to speak. City, for example, never seem to struggle. When City lose I just know that whoever they face next is going to get destroyed. We just don’t have anywhere near the same mental strength and belief, or… Read more »
No it’s not just you… I can assure you that. 🙂
But I think City and Guardiola have built an enourmus team. With their funds, experience, squad depth – they just look like a machine. But they are not. It is just a perception as they stand out from the rest (in the EPL).
When they arrive in a league of their own kind (for example: final stages of the CL) – they can (an they did) suffer just like anybody else. They can look lost and they can srew up months and months of hard work compltely.
Mate, it’s the squad depth.
When you are able to rotate and rest with top drawer quality players coming in, the team keeps running smoothly.
Take away City’s bench and then play this season again. They would have struggled – and fucking hilarious it would have been too.
( I’ve just had a lovely image of a physically and mentally exhausted Grealish collapsing onto the turf with an ACL)
pep is a few days longer at the helm…
We are inexperienced
And low on quality numbers.
Please do not bring back the youngest team excuses. Walcott, Wilshere and Ramsey will come good after each game few years ago, what did that give us? Football is never tomorrow, it is always today.
Yep, well said. 👍🍺🍺
True
Injuries and squad depth have killed us. Fuck me, we went toe to toe for 99% of this season with an oil bankrolled behemoth, who have at least two high quality international level players in each position. Never mind mentality, we are physically knackered mate. Look at Saka – he can barely put one foot in front of the other, the kid is spent. We now need to keep ALL of our best players (and that, by the way, includes Balogun, KT, ESR and Nelson) and ADD to them. I have been saying all season that a good many of… Read more »
If it has to be better, something has to be done about our propensity to collapse badly at the end of the season. Better rotations during the middle of the season, perhaps? City are looking fresh despite competing on 3 fronts because their “annoying” manager knows how to use his SQUAD expertly over the course of a season.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s been a great season regardless. But we really have to take stock on why the wheels seem to fall off when we get close to achieving something big. Would help allot.
Agreed 100%. Also some squad rotation throughout the season would be nice, rather than running players into the ground and then throwing those sitting on the sidelines into the deep end and hoping for the best.
Compare our squad size/quality to City’s squad and it’s easier to rotate
That is actually just an easy take. Aside the obvious squad depth which they have, Guardiola is always willing to play less fancied players or sometimes experiment with players position. In their last EPL game for example, he played Ortega in goal (ederson wasn’t injured) and he was willing to play Rico Lewis, a relatively unknown youngster over the best left back in the league the past 2 seasons.
So, it isn’t always about squad size but willingness to take bold decisions. ESR and Tierney have been fit a long while but Arteta barely gives them a look in……
It’s easier to take bold decisions when you’ve won the PL in four of the last five seasons
True.
No. That’s the way Guardiola manages. Even from his early days in Barcelona. What he does is create heathy competition and hunger in part. You can be KDB and sit on the bench while Silva plays in your position. According to Pep the only player he has been unable to bench is Messi
Your comment and my comment are not mutually exclusive.
Yes but the points on squad depth matter. You can play Rico Lewis when you know you have absolute Stella, top of the line, 90-100 points, two trophy’s a season quality on the pitch/bench around him.
KT started yesterday – and look how bang average we became in our link up play without Zinchenko. It was non existent. KT is great for 60 minutes when we have built a three goal lead. But to get that three goal lead, we need to start Zinchenko – as we have done for most of the season. That said, I agree with you regarding ESR. He maybe could have been used more to replace either Saka or Martinelli. But, by the same token, those two have been such a vital integral part of our attack, that Mikel has probably… Read more »
I only mentioned KT and ESR as case points. Of course you don’t expect someone who hasn’t been having game time to make an instant impact just bcos you need him to. You build match fitness by playing them.
Grealish appears to be playing well currently but he wasn’t doing anything a number of games back. It’s what match fitness does to you. Which is what you get by strategic rotation.
Anyway, I’ll console myself with the knowledge that it’s a learning curve for a young manager and a young team but then…….
City will look fresh, benefit of a £billion squad. Seriously brought Silva and Grealish came on for a half hour stroll and De Bruyne kept his feet up.
…and rodrigo was seen saying „estoy muerto!“ after 85 min…
Deeper squad of requisite quality, this will come in the summer along with a year’s more experience for this exciting young team. Can’t wait for next season now!!!
Arteta needs to nail recruitment this summer and it’s crucial he gets people he will trust. There’s nothing really off the bench bar Trossard, and all of a sudden he seems to have lost all faith in Vieira. Out of nowhere he gave Smith Rowe 20 minutes vs city and now he’s getting the minutes, and he also looks clueless. Partey looks finished, Saka needs serious competition
Saka is burned out. But he’s still our best player. Partey has been carrying an injury for the last month. He’s not done. Viera is done though.
I think Gabriel Jesus is not a front man for the future. He’s theatrical performances every time an opponent comes close to him is embarrassing. Some nice moves, but nothing in form of an end product. Had we continued to play Eddie, the outcome might have been better.
Vieira is a reserve for Ødegaard, but Jorghino is better in that role. I guess we should sell.
That was a real throwback to last season.
Gone without so much as a whimper today. Absolutely fell apart, very reminiscent of the end of last season. I just don’t get it, we’ve been top of the league for so long this year yet you could tell we had no belief today. It honestly didn’t look like we had it in us from minute 0.
It has to start with the manager. I feel like he smothers the players too much sometimes. Even during games he’s constantly on them and that must be exhausting as a player, like an overzealous parent at a youth game. Also his rigidity when it comes to tactics is annoying. KT cannot play the same role as Zinny and not allowing our fullbacks to overlap can create a stale attack.
Yes. ‘Smothers’ them to second position…jeez 🙄
Is that you, Richard Keys?
If so, the barber is here for your four times daily back shave.
We were knackered mate.
Smaller younger squad trying to keep up with City’s two top drawer in each position pick n mix?
Our young lads did fucking well to get this far.
Brighton were miles better than us and control the game better than us. Looks like we can’t live with that kind of team considering how they and city play. Hopefully they get Europa league football or better because they probably De Zerbi
We destroyed them earlier in the season
Yep. Selective memories on here never fail to amuse.
They kicked long the ball 1000 times.
We allowed them by weirdly pressing all evening.
The ref helped them a lot with his double standards.
0 3 bye bye
Zinchenko absense felt massively today, he’s been a revelation this season. Seriously need to get adequate cover this summer.
Love this. Not saying you’re wrong but whenever we lose or tie there’s always a chorus of gooners ranting after the fact that whichever the LB is that didn’t play should have played. We’ve shown we can play well with both Zinchenko and Tierney, maybe we just have to, you know, play well.
I mean, were they though? Foul on Kiwior for the first goal (literally lost his shoe), lucky deflection for the second and Ramsdale spills a speculative effort straight to Estupinan for the third. Apart from that, they really didn’t do much going forward. The problem was that we were absolutely atrocious, not that they were good.
Disagree – I thought Brighton were excellent. They bossed the midfield, pressed properly, dominated possession and chased everything down in aggressive packs. If only we had 50% of their hunger. Our team looked half arsed from the first minute. Respect due to Reiss Nelson though for being one of the few players to have a go.
The disappointment is, De Zerbi technically said he would defeat us, and he defeated us. On our tuff! That’s shameful honestly!
De Zerbi has not been seriously challenging for the title with an inferior squad depth – yet the anti Arsenal cunts on Sky were blowing smoke up his arse.
I tell you this – now the title has gone – I hope City smash the shit out of Brighton and bugger up their Europa bid.
Why can’t we play a decent football without zinchenko? We can’t relay on his presence to play well. We need to sort it out for next season.
Zinny’s defence is certainly lax, but yes we do seem to control the ball better with him on the field.
As for the defensive side it has to be said that all three goals conceded today were poor and could have been avoided. We did not deserve anything from that performance though.
Did you see games vs Liverpool and Southampton?
One in the eye for all the muppets calling for Zinchenko to be dropped.
Go figure, ‘experts’….
We looked quite off it from the outset. City don’t look like dropping any more points so seems irrelevant.
Keeping the positive hat on, they hopped over Spurs
perhaps that was the idea
tbh i thought it probably had more to do with the City result
On a positive note next year we will make the revenge win
Brilliant season to be honest. We overachieved with a very thin squad. Arteta also has to take some lessons from this season, especially the last 5 games. Pressure got to him. He is young, and I am sure he will be ready for next season.
Whimper. What a shit end to the season. Anyone else arsed about watching those cheating cunts lift the cup next weekend and all the pundits showering them in jizz? No me neither. Time to switch off until August. Seems like the players already have.
Don’t worry, they’ll be docked 12 points next season and they’ll just score 13 more than the next best team (who won’t be us, because we never benefit from anything that changes from one season to the next).
Proper melt chat that
Proper Pizza cheese!
It’s frustrating. With no tournament this summer I’m sure lots of players are eager to get a nice break. Maybe more than most summers even with the World Cup break. I hope the boys get to relax and eat well for as long as possible. But let’s finish the season like the team that was first all season please??
The players are knackered mate. But they – and Arteta – have done us proud.
Given our resources and vastly smaller squad depth, we over achieved big time.
We now need a massive summer of recruiting top drawer players.
No excuses, dithering or penny pinching from Josh and Edu.
They need to back Arteta to the hilt. £200m at least.
I hope Saka contract isnt 300K pw. The boy’s good but he’s not that good.
And Odegaard goes AWOL or is marked out of games too easily by opposition.
Ben White had a horrible game, Mitouma ran rings around him.
Jesus needs to cut out falling down & looking for fouls and start playing better
Can’t stand De Zerbi. Hope City turn them over & screw their European chances for good.
FFS.
Saka is a world class player.
A world class player who has given EVERYTHING this season.
The lad is knackered. Our squad size is nowhere near big enough yet to go the distance fully with City.
End of.
He is so young. If you compare him to peak Salah for example he isn’t close, but then again what was Salah doing at 21? Not scoring 15 or so goals in the EPL. So agreed I don’t think Saka is world class yet but the ceiling is very high for him considering his age.
Well that was a shower of hot steaming shit. It’s been fun but that’s that. At least we got St Totteringhams and we have CL to look forward to. Some more recruitments in the summer and bring on the next season.
Disappointing game and performance, sub didn’t really work but that’s not on Arteta, we’re lacking from the bench atm. Been a fantastic season overall but we’re just not quite there yet, going to be a big summer and Arteta is going to have to be ruthless if we’re going to take the next step.
Why no VAR for Ferguson clear foul on Kiwior on their goal?
Are you new here? That’s how refering works for us. If its on the other end, you can bet the house it gets chalked off
He has to be stronger that that. He was certainly being optimistic relying on VAR.
Literally got his shoe taken off by Ferguson, yet didn’t even warrant another look? Come on now. So tired of this “has to be stronger than that” narrative that seems to only ever be applied when we’re at the receiving end of the foul.
Another look, VAR doing justice for us. More chance of Holding winning the ballon d’or.
Sorry I just couldn’t see big Tony, Bouldy, Keown, Sol etc etc going down due to being stood on and shoe coming off. They would have stood resolute cleared it then kicked off with the ref.
Not hanging the young lad, because he is a young lad and will learn from the experience.
Play to the whistle! I don’t think he was badly injured. Hopefully he’ll learn as you say.
A lot of brown paper jiffy bags full of beer tokens, postmarked Manchester, have been changing hands mate……😉
Well that was a one side thumping. Not going to go off on one as before the season began I was pessimistic about a top four finish, but it’s been a sad end to the season. Looked knackered today, in fact they looked physically a lot fitter than us. Some work to do before next season. I like our number 9 to score goals and although Jesus missed a portion of the season his return has not been good enough. So another striker a must as well as central midfield and centre half. Going to need to spend wisely leading… Read more »
Is there a role for Balogun to play? Jesus really is not that clinical, for whatever other benefits he offers
He doesn’t bring much.
Been saying for a while, that Jesus is another 2008 Adebayor. His finishing is too eratic to be a main striker for a title chasing team.
I love watching him play, but we need an upgrade next season, or rotate him with Saka, maybe
Jesus hasn’t been the same since returning from injury (no biblical pun intended). Agree Balogun should be part of our plans.
Continuing playing Eddie, might have paid off.
Perfect day🥳
A pathetic Arsenal performance in a must-win game.
Brighton fully deserved the win against a bunch of players who were wearing arsenal kits but were completely anonymous. The Seagulls fully deserved the win.
A sad end to a promising season.
Supporters that leave before full time should get a 1-game ban. 3 strikes and permaban, no refunds.
I see no way of justifying making a game like today mandatory. It was fucking shit and the people who left spared themselves the misery of Brighton’s third goal.
In some cases Id agree but today i dont blame them. Fans are paying rip off prices for tickets and they owe the players nothing if that’s the kind of ‘performance’ they offer.
There’s a waitlist for season tickets. If you can just stop supporting the team mid game then you should have no problem not supporting the team mid season.
People only pay ‘rip off’ prices from secondary sites – more fool them. If they didn’t buy them the touting industry would collapse. It’s been a season that was better, I think, than we imagined. Granted today was poor, but for the stadium to be so empty after so many great moments over the last 9 months or so felt pretty shameful to me.
Im sorry leweekend but even legitimate ticket sources are a rip off. Not just at Arsenal but all of the PL. 60 quid+ to watch 11 blokes kick a ball badly when families are struggling to pay their bills is a rip off.
Proud of this team. What a season, no one expected it. I think we ran out of gas, Arteta is very demanding and I think we burned out. Lets get the bench some minutes espicially players like ESR and Nketiah who need to be in top form next season with UCL. COYG!
Brilliant post. 👍🍺🍺
Judging from the 90 mins Arteta should’ve shown the team the Amazon All or Nothing rerun again before this game. Today’s game had the potential to be a season ender and we ended it with a whimper. We have some ways to go still but we’ll get better.
The drop off when we get injuries is concerning. No Tomiyasu meant burning out White. No Saliba meant weaknesses at the back which resulted in at least 4-5 points dropped in this final run in. Partey and Zinchenko… their injuries finished us.
I understand being angry at the team
but after that passes take a second to appreciate what this team have given us this season . They gave everything to their capabilities , manager has been saying it clearly without y’all reading between the lines . Appreciate what we got from the season and stop being so bitter , we go again .
Outplayed, outmuscled, outsmarted. We move.
Shite performance, Odegaard goes missing when the pressure is on Saka has faded badly despite only having 1 game per week and gobbing off after the Palace game – we ain’t scared of anyone bro – really! Brought Jesus back too quick and spoilt a good rhythm we had going. Loads of lessons that hopefully Arteta would have learned from but todays performance at home was unacceptable. League gone in a damp squib
How is the ref and var not the main topic of discussion here? We were cheated of any hope in this game and its far from the first time this season… if referees in this country were actually held accountable, and var implemented properly, we would already have won the league. Fully behind the team and arteta, it’s been a fantastic season, but we deserved more, and im sick of watching this corrupt nonsense
Totally agree Tom, the referee for the Newcastle game and this one let all sorts of fouling and cheating go on. If the referee had carded Martinelli, who was a bit too exuberant, and Caicedo who hurt Martinelli, we might have seen a football match because the nonsense would’ve stopped. It must be hard for the players knowing that they’re playing against twelve men. Martinelli was hurt and I’m sure there were more knocks too, it’s horrible.
Players like G. Jesus and Martinelly build their play around influencing the refree. Their bad theatrical clearly pisses referees off, and you don’t even get for genuine transgressions.
Worse, it took focus and energy away from the game and the way Arsenal should play.
Players make millions, referees do not. They will always be inferior to the great game. They have been bad for decades. Live with it. Ignore it, let’s play our game.
Last season we lost the top 4 race at about this time. This year, it’s the race for the title we’ve lost. That is progress. Next season we’ll strengthen and come back for the title. My only counsel is that we should go for real quality, even if it means some of the first team players sitting on the bench.
We were unable to battle Brighton tactically as we were unable to change anything in our play when we went behind. When our plan A is being contred we never, not in a single game in Artetas tenure, were able to change our style of play to counter the opponent. For all the great game prep work Arteta is doing this particular inability to change the way we play in-game is the reason why I still have reservations over the probability that MA will turn to be great manager. He is good, he learned one or the other thing along… Read more »
Really have loved watching this team under Arteta, and this season’s run especially. This has been the new Arsenal we needed, and I’m here for it, even if this match showed us losing the plot. (Which happens sometimes.) I put this loss, which stings, like the string of draws that sealed our fate, on both Arteta and club management. To hold on and win the title we either needed to land and integrate an absolutely exceptional midfielder in January, or we needed the skipper to perform a masterclass of strategy and man management in every single match. Arteta and our… Read more »
“savoir faire”
Sign him, he sounds like a great midfielder.
Drop in KDB and your league is won right there. That’s reality.
Totally dominated today. It was embarrassing. We loss the midfield from the off without Zinchenco going in there. It is a risk but it was so evident today. We need to spend big in the summer or we will struggle to challenge again. Squad ain’t good enough. Hopefully this is a wake up call. Holding nketia could bring us a few quid, maybe ten million for Pepe, and I would move Xhaka on. Hopefully balogun will come back and it might be worth going in for Toney. That would take care of front. Rice added to midfield and maybe few… Read more »
Toney is a gambling addict with a ban coming, we don’t need that. I’d rather keep Granit, if he wants to stay, which he may not, but we need an upgrade in midfield because Partey is a one decent game in four player, when he’s not injured, and we need someone smarter and quicker. Also Tierney isn’t good enough, we need an upgrade to Holding and a top class right winger to share the load with Bukayo. At least four quality players would make a huge difference.
Why on earth would you think about wasting money on Ivan Toney, when we have Flo Balogun………?
It was sad seeing the fans leave the game early. These lads deserve a big pat on the back and it would have been nice to give them a huge hand clap from a full stadium.
Yes it is very disappointing, but looking at the bigger picture, this team has done has proud. They performed beyond everyone’s expectations at the beginning of the season
It’s not that we got thumped that really annoys me, it’s the BBC wankfest over City and peps smug face next match when they invariably win the title. Oh, and you can add the lovein over the Chelsea ladies’ team and the irritating face of Emma Hayes as well after they won the FA Cup earlier. I hope the overblown coverage of both really pisses off the men’s and ladies’ teams and they make a solemn vow not to let the same thing happen again next season! As for the team, gotta add quality midfield reinforcements in the summer, and… Read more »
Subbing all of our best players to win a game with the B team was shocking.
We were not at the races and the ref was shit too
The first half hour was largely players (mainly Brighton) lying on their back on the pitch wasting time, but we never got going and almost everything was wrong about today’s performance – a mystifying showing at home after the glory of last Sunday’s away blockbuster at Newcastle. It has been a fabulous season and we’re going to come second and get Champions League football back at last. But we really need to sign at least five new players this summer to give us a squad we can safely rotate. We only had the one competition for most of this season… Read more »
Balogun has to comeback for next season. He is far more clinical than both Eddie and Jesus.
Well, that was abject. We look like a team with a full season in its legs. We need a bigger squad. Was good to see Emile on the pitch although given he’s one of few in the team without a season of football in his body I’d have hoped for more spark. That said maybe putting him on for Martinelli would have helped instead. Either way, that puts an end to the title challenge. I’d like to see some players rested and others given a chance now, whether that’s to give them some confidence or to shop window them.
Credit to Brighton…they played well and with energy. For the most part, we did not. Too many players not showing up in too many matches in the last couple months, last week’s match being one of the few exceptions. Saka and Jesus haven’t taken too many chances.
And need to find a solution to the Zinchenko situation. He does help in attack, but a liability in defense. Maybe it’s just having Saliba back?
When the manager and some of the players started saying, “It’s still in our own hands” after the draws against Liverpool and West Ham, I had a feeling it was over. It just snacks of desperation. I may be wrong, but I didn’t see the same from the city camp. I said it myself, but I knew I was clutching at straws. Next season will be better once we get reinforcements. The ‘wobble’ was due in my opinion not to bottling it, but to injuries and a lack of elite cover like at Fuck FFP City. City smelled blood and… Read more »
Manager is to blame. Poor game management.
Crap.
A lack of quality squad depth and injuries are the reasons why we couldn’t get over the line this time.
Have a look at City’s squad, have a look at their bench and then have a word with yourself.
Arteta and the lads have been fucking superb this season. Champions League in the bag and more progress than any of us – especially those cunts in the media – could have anticipated.
We bottled it today, heard the City result vs Everton, a generally hard place to go and bottled it. Second best all over the pitch. No heart, no fight, a capitulation. That wasn’t Man City, that was Brighton. What a typical Arsenal bottle job. Look at the 3rd goal. McAlister holds the ball, with Kiwior up his backside, holds it for 5 or 6 seconds, and Kiwior just gives up. The time the Brighton player has to shoot, the follow up from Ramsdale, none of our players near. Couldn’t even keep it at two, instead of 2 nil defeat, lets… Read more »
Bottle this bottle that.
Save that shit for the cunts outside the Emirates, mate.
Gutted for Arteta and the boys – but fucking proud of them for all that they’ve given us and achieved this season. Yep, we didn’t get over the line. Seriously, who saw us, back in August, finishing 2nd, never mind staying top of the pack for 99% of the season? Some of you on here need to have a word with yourselves and question what your idea of ‘support’ is. If you can’t see that we have overachieved and some to get to where we are – in the face of a bankrolled behemoth – then you might be masters… Read more »
Arsenal came onto the pitch inclined to play a tough, physical game, since this payed off in Newcastle. But Arsenal is at their best in light, fast football, avoiding duels with the adversaries. Here, much focus disappeared from the play, as Martinelli and Jesus decided to concentrate on influencing the referee to hand out yellow cards, overplaying minor transgressions (Martinelly did get hit big time later on, admittedly). Somebody stepped on Kiwor’s foot ahead of 0-1, and I guess it hurt, but he probably would have managed to stand on his feet instead of foolishly playing for a free kick,… Read more »