Arsenal: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tomiyasu; Partey, Rice, Ødegaard; Martinelli, Havertz, Trossard
Substitutes: Ramsdale, Timber, Zinchenko, Kiwior, Jorginho, Vieira, Smith Rowe, Jesus, Nketiah
–
Arsenal beat Everton 2-1 on the final day of the Premier League season, but have finished second in the Premier League after Manchester City beat West Ham.
Mikel Arteta was forced into one change, with Bukayo Saka missing out with a muscle injury. Gabriel Martinelli started in Saka’s place.
In front of a loud and sun bathed Emirates Stadium, Arsenal kicked off, and Kai Havertz had a shot after 30 seconds that went wide of Jordan Pickford’s goal.
Ødegaard combined well with Martinelli on the right, but the Brazilian’s cutback for Havertz was blocked. Tomiyasu looked to run onto the loose ball in the middle of the box, but Everton cleared.
From a corner, Rice would cross for Tomiyasu, whose header went wide.
On 12 minutes, Havertz would block Branthwaite’s attempted crossfield pass. The ball came to Rice, who had to shift onto his left foot and hit a weak shot that Pickford gathered.
Martinelli would then be the next to have a good chance. He combined with White on the right, and then drove through the Everton defence, before taking an early shot that Pickford parried, and Seamus Coleman was on hand to clear before Havertz or Martinelli could get to the rebound.
Havertz would then collect White’s floated pass, drive inside, but see his shot blocked by Branthwaite.
Arsenal had been dominant, but Everton countered and could’ve taken the lead after half an hour. Partey was played around too easily in midfield, Calvert-Lewin was found in the space behind him, and shot beat Raya but not the near post. The rebound would come to Calvert-Lewin and he hit the side netting, fooling the traveling Everton fans.
The double Everton chance, though, would galvanise the atmosphere, which had understandably dropped after the predictable news of Manchester City’s goals came through.
Saliba would then play into Martinelli, who was taken out by Tarkowski’s ball-winning challenge.
After White lost possession in midfield, McNeil counter, and was fouled by Partey on the edge of the box, who was booked for the tackle.
From the free kick, Everton took the lead on 40 minutes. Idrissa Gueye’s free kick took a huge deflection off of Rice, leaving Raya helpless. 0-1.
Arsenal would equalise four minutes later. White slipped the ball into the inside right channel for Ødegaard, whose cutback to the top left of the penalty box was met by Tomiyasu, who slammed the ball past Pickford. 1-1.
Seconds later, a second roar would go up around the stadium as news came through that West Ham had pulled a goal back.
Partey would go close with an effort from outside the box in stoppage time.
Second Half
Arsenal had the first chance of the second half. Martinelli crossed from wide on the right hand side an Havertz beat Tarkowski in the air, but headed well wide of the goal.
Doucoure was booked for kicking out at Gabriel, after Gabriel beat Doucoure to a loose ball. Doucoure also grabbed at Gabriel’s shoulder, which led to the Brazilian being replaced by Zinchenko on 59 minutes and Tomiyasu going to left centre back.
Calvert-Lewin beat Saliba and then had a sharp shot from the left of the penalty box that Raya smartly saved on 63 minutes.
Martinelli cut in to the Saka zone of the penalty box, and floated a left-footed cross. Havertz met the cross but his header went off the post, with Pickford stranded.
On 69 minutes, Arteta made a double change. Emile Smith Rowe replaced Thomas Partey, and Jurrien Timber made his return from the ACL injury he suffered in August, replacing Ben White.
The changes were positive, and Arsenal should’ve taken the lead on 72 minutes. Rice played into Trossard, who cutback for Ødegaard in the middle. Ødegaard, though, shot low and straight at Pickford, and Smith Rowe had the rebound blocked.
Everton still offered a threat on the break, and Garner broke in to the space behind Zinchenko. Saliba, though, would mop up.
Arteta made one final change on 78 minutes, with Gabriel Jesus replacing Leandro Trossard. Jesus’ first involvement was to give the ball away, but he ran back to win the ball off Chermiti.
Arsenal were visibly tiring, and Raya and Rice, trying to pass out of pressure after an Arsenal corner, gave the ball away to Everton on the halfway line, but the Everton pass went out of play.
Smith Rowe would then hit the woodwork. Martinelli’s cross found Smith Rowe on the left, and he volleyed his shot into the ground. It beat Pickford, but not the crossbar.
Still, Arsenal were pushing for the winner, and Jesus’ curled shot was goal bound before Branthwaite headed it.
Martinelli, who was increasingly influential in the second half, drove in from the right and crossed for Havertz, who got the timing wrong and headed it over.
Finally, on 89 minutes, Arsenal found the breakthrough. Ashley Young’s crossfield pass was intercepted by Gabriel Jesus. Jesus drove on, found Ødegaard, who advanced on Pickford, and then kicked fresh air, but the loose ball came to Havertz who slammed the ball into the net. The goal, though, was checked by VAR, and Michael Oliver went over to the monitor. It appeared that Jesus had possibly handled the ball, but the referee stuck with his on-field decision and gave the goal! 2-1.
There were 5 minutes added on.
In the final minute Martinelli, whose play deserved a goal, collected a sharp crossfield pass, drove along the top of the box and then shot just other with his left foot.
No club I would rather support in this moment.
A real lesson to any young arsenal fan.
Winning is amazing. It’s beautiful. It’s invigorating.
But more importantly, playing the game with such passion, commitment and intelligence, entertaining billions of people with your art – and having integrity.
That is so much more important.
We may not have won the league. But I think we’ve won the hearts and the minds of a lot of people around the world.
And football is fun again!!!
Gracias Mikel.
Forgot, again ESR was involved in a goal
??? I don’t think he was
my bad.
The two “fans” who downvoted this comment should be banned, drawn, and quartered. Hopefully, they were accidental.
What a painful end to the season, especially with all the hard work the team has put it. I feel so sorry for them. They deserved the trophy for their incredible effort. I so convinced they will pull it through next season. The progress has been phenomenal. With a few additions, we can be unstoppable in the years ahead. Heads up boys and enjoy a great summer with your family. You have earned our respect and supports come rain cone shine. When you win the league next season, Pep will possibly leave the PL as he would know the tides… Read more »
We will win it all next season, but what a season it was. Love this club!
We must teach Villa a lesson! Emery definitely took those games like a cup final. Look how Palace trashed them today! It’s just gut-wrenching.
Emery can do one. Dracula looking dork.
Imagine if Sp*rs had actually tried to win against City, they might be in the Champions League now. My only consolation is that that lot got exactly what they deserve, which is another year in the Europa league. The manager sounds too classy for them too so I’m sure he won’t last much longer.
The sp*rs fans can do one. They are celebrating now because Arsenal didn’t win the league.
We will be there to remind them this summer when they start complaining about Levy signing mediocre players. You are not in the UCL and want to make marquee signings? The d0lts will learn. And good for us all as they continue being a small club and laughing stock.
As an amateur cod-psychologist, seeing sp*rs have a meltdown the past few weeks has been rather enlightening. Mr Freud would have a field-day analysing some of those tortured minds.
At our lowest moments and their highest, we struggled against each other for CL positions. But now normal service has been resumed and they are nothing but a circus freakshow that rolls around twice a year and are otherwise an irrelevance.
But if they’d won they wouldn’t be able to sell the DVD of them losing to Man City
Maybe not, but they have an alternative: “How we nearly came back (but not quite) from 3-0 down against Arsenal”.
I doubt this, but perhaps those brainless Spud c**ts will finally understand now why Ange was so angry after the City game.
Had the Spuds fans fully got behind their team against City then they might be looking forward to visits from Real Madrid or Barcelona next season.
This is why Spuds will always be a sh*tty nothing club.
they did their best, it just isn‘t enough 😑
Most of their players did try, but like Ange said the fans can be the difference between scoring a last minute equaliser or conceding, and their fans’ first cheer in that game came when City made it 2-0.
It is amusing though that the fact that Spurs fans ambition was limited to preventing Arsenal winning a trophy as opposed to achieving a Champions League place themselves may have been the difference in terms of Champions League qualification. It shows their mentality
The fact they won today and Villa lost meant their failure to roar their own team on against City possibly cost them
a Champions League place
Good on Ange for calling out their pathetic fans!
The seminal moment for me was those mutant Orc-tards singing Stand Up For The Arsenal after City scored… how utterly and hopelessly pathetic do you have to be to do that?
Singing your arch-enemies chant in your own stadium – when you’re blowing your own chance to play at Europe’s top table?
How sad when your only ‘joy’ in an entire season is the cheapest thrill of cutting off your nose to spite your ‘Arse’ ?
Even for those perennial bottom-feeders… a new low.
As embarrassing as they were in getting behind Man City, they were singing “stand up if you hate Arsenal”. It wouldn’t make any sense if they were singing what you said.
I clearly heard them singing: Stand Up FOR the Arsenal – same tune, same words – albeit with attempted sarcasm.
‘if you hate’ is un-singable to that tune!
It’ll be better if we don’t have to rely on that joke of a club. Even hoping them to win any game feels wrong and disgusting for me
As far as I’m concerned we won it this year. Of all the teams that followed the rules, we finished 1st
Agreed, we finished top of the ‘clean’ clubs!
I think of it like almost beating the computer at a video game. We came so close, and can be proud and happy. I don’t care that the computer won again. It’s supposed to, the way it’s built. But just wait til we DO beat that corrupt, shitty computer! Soon!
Pep cheated at Barca. They paid the head of refs one million a year in “consulting” fees. Gimme a break. Went to Bayern and won the league like every other manager until this season. Got pummeled in champions league with a team that won the treble before he started. Man City will be punished as soon as Pep leaves. It will be sweet to see them in the championship or league one. I will enjoy it! COYG! Next season we win it all.
I would imagine it’ll be the other way around: as soon as they are punished, Pep will leave (as he doesn’t like it when he doesn’t have a clear advantage over everyone else in the league).
Spurs are irrelevant. They will likely get relegated before winning any titles. We can start with next season. Their fans may even celebrate relegation like winning a league next.
Spu*s are irrelevant. They will likely get relegated before winning any titles. We can start with next season. Their fans may even celebrate relegation like winning a league next.
Gutted but proud!
Next season we will need 115 points. Proud of those guys!
If 2 breaches of PSR lead to the Premier League docking Everton 8 points, then…
115 breaches woul require 920 docked points, sending city to playthemselves into oblivio next ten seasons. Cheating sportswashing scum.
EPL Panel – “So Mr Guardiola, after much wrangling and bullshitting by your legal department we have finally been allowed to reach a verdict and regrettably it’ll be 920 points docked. 4 for every breach and since you’re guilty of all charges it’s…yes not good news for City we’re afraid. You are of course entitled to appea…”
Guardiola – “OK fuck it, I’m off. Bye!”
It truly is a sad state of affairs when a team that has broken multiple rules are eulogised with so many names but what they actually are; cheats.
How many teams in the world have 5+ players earning 200K+ sitting pretty on their bench every match day?
Call me bitter, I agree. But it is galling that we have been near flawless all year, slipped in only 2 games, and still end up short! Can’t lie, I think I have lost a fair bit of interest in this sport at this moment.
Still, super proud of the boys and Arteta!
What kills me is the sentiment coming through is next year is our year. I think that is a very good outlook to have as fans, and it’s rooted in a lot of positive trends and evidence. But clearly City are easily motivated and not complacent. Beyond that, their depth is so staggering that they can overcome any hurdle in their path. So what happens if we fall short again next year? Because as hopeful as I am now, if this happens again I’m not sure how I’ll be able to stay optimistic and positive. I think as cynical as… Read more »
Well it was certainly a season. The refs and their incompetence had a big say in the title again. If Howard Webb is in his job next year I may take the season off.
He’ll be there and 115 City will continue to bat the charges away. Be sure of that.
Likely with a new vacation house in Dubai
Pep’s indignation whenever the charges come up is really grotesque. He is an amazing manager, best of this generation if not ever, and at some level I can see how he would be defensive of his teams and what they’ve accomplished on the pitch. But it is wholly tone-deaf to a) suggest they were proven innocent in the UEFA case (they weren’t) and b) to say their dominance hasn’t been aided and abetted by the financial shenanigans the 115 charges represent to the detriment of every other club who has worked to play (at least mostly) fairly. I hate how… Read more »
Unfortunately, he would be there still and they would make a slew of comical and farcical calls with no consequences!
Right now, I don’t even want to hear anything football-related. Maybe my head will calm in a couple of weeks and I will be back supporting the Arsenal again next year. But allowing a financially-doped team like Citeh have a maniac and freak like Guardiola is making this whole thing boring now.
That bald fraud being at city is the only reason why charges are being delayed- don’t want to ruin his spotless reputation (despite years of financial crimes at barca when all the same people were there).
He’s as slippery as an eel, see also how he wormed his way out of PED offences on a technicality (sound familiar?) in Italy after retirement, only for the purpose of maintaining his squeaky clean reputation. It’s interesting how obsessed he is with how others see him, very different to a character like Mourinho. He absolutely needs to be loved and admired, probably why he never takes a job with any degree of uncertainty in its outcome. He’s undoubtedly a football coaching genius, but like all geniuses is a deeply flawed individual. It’s up to the PL to show us… Read more »
I could win any of the trophies pep has won if I had bent refs, illegal accounting, and an unlimited budget. And so could you. His achievements are tainted by the company he keeps and the methods he uses.
Sorry but am not sure you can. Just take a look at PSG, Chelsea and lately Newcastle and you will appreciate that creating a machine like City goes beyond just money. It requires a mind that is quite a genius at what he does.
He’s bald you know… bloody criminal🤐
At least let’s give him his genius. We are in some ways reaping the benefits of that genius mind as our coach is a product. However one can’t but be angry with the Premier League as a body for allowing money rule and also point to the PGMOL for its blatant errors. Last season they cost us about 5 point by which we lost to City and this season at least in the Newcastle home game cost us a minimum of 2 points by which we again lost the league to City.
Charges are being delayed through City lawyers challenging absolutely everything in the PL complaint, often frivolously to drag things out. There was a thread about it on Reddit or something that gave a timeline of legal challenges that City have made, and lost, so far, with more anticipated to come. If they do get done on these charges, they should absolutely be put to the sword.
Can’t call anyone ginger, black, fat, but bald is also derogatory…somehow that’s ok. Lived In Australia for 7 years was a Pommy B. Apparently that’s ok…phew double standards….Long live Stevie Bould😭
It drives me crazy that it’s just brushed over. Like them having the most expensively assembled squad doesn’t win them at least 5-10 extra points. And that maybe if Arsenal and Liverpool also ignored the rules, we’d pick up more points too.
Part of me wants to say that maybe we should start flaunting the rules, but there is a larger part of me that would rather come 2nd the right way than 1st the wrong way. That is what really winds me up about City and their “fans”, they know they are cheating scum but they just don’t care.
I think I’ve never felt so underwhelmed watching any title race, let alone one involving the team I love! This is where allowing teams to cheat their way to superiority takes us.
But I can’t be down about it because we are such a brilliant and loveable team, and we are just getting started! We need 3 big (not necessarily expensive) signings this summer and we can challenge for everything next season.
For now it’s time to enjoy this fantastic team and what they’ve achieved this past year or so, for me they are deserved back-to-back champions.
I only wish NBC sports, here in the US, would be honest and say, yes, Man City are a great team, but they cheat. And each season they won the league should have an asterisk.
I think I see Jurgen Klopp waving you over to share a pint at the end of the bar.
I’m imagining the scenario where Klopp beckons me to join him for a pint. What would we discuss? The state of the PL, his reasons for leaving Liverpool, the 115, how does he rate Arsenal and his future plans would be obvious topics. The rest would be about heavy metal. How deep does his love and knowledge of the genre go? Is it only 70’s – 80’s Scorpions or does he enjoy other German greats like Kreator and Sodom too? Has he maybe even explored Necros Christos? Maybe he’s just more of a mainstream Metallica guy? Klopp is a rival… Read more »
Yep, super proud, but the league is 38 games from August, not 19/20 games from January.
Jorginho’s slip vs Spurs cost us 2 points. We lost at home to West Ham. Twice to Villa. Took 1 point from Fulham, even conceding an equaliser with a man advantage. Trossard not seeing Martinelli in acres of space against City.
These are many of the reasons why we fell just short, and the boys will learn that every point is needed to beat this crazy City team
We can come second with our heads held high I feel. We have a great side that is only getting better and we’ll be back even stronger next season. COYG ❤️🤍
Next season is ours. COYG.
If there’s any consolation, its that old cheating red nose’s last legacy has also been obilerated from the PL. As for City, they will always have 115 asteriks in front of any “achievement” they get.
They have the lawyers to suppress any mainstream media mention of it though. Try saying anything about it BTL at The Guardian and see what happens.
What happens?
Comments get removed by the mere mention of pending charges or the number 115. Clearly C115’s army of lawyers have been in touch.
Is that just a Gurdian thing? I mean, we’re discussing it here! Is Andrew going to be getting a lawyer’s letter through the post tomorrow?!
Don’t know as I only comment on their BTL and here. Arseblog might be too small, maybe, but if TG are being gagged then it’s safe to assume that so are all other major media outlets.
Having said that, Blogs himself mentioned having had Chelsea lawyers on his back in the past. There was also a brief coded comment between him and Stillman the other day about, and I paraphrase, “some other club’s legal team taking humbrage with too much mentioning of pending charges” or something to that effect.
Nobody reads the Guardian as it is shit.
I very rarely read it but I use the comment section as it’s one of the few, if not only, major news outlets that isn’t behind a paywall.
The quality of the thing is neither here nor there. The worrying fact that City with all it’s might is leaning on media outlets is my point here. You know, free speech and all that.
He’s a bully and an alcoholic, but what Ferguson did wasn’t cheating, it was intimidation. The real cheating will happen this summer, as clubs like Newcastle will see what the ramifications are for committing crimes in the game are, which is nothing (and that’s before the new investor in united gets the taxpayers to buy his business a new stadium with money that should have built public transit).
The new Man U investor being Jim Brexit Ratcliffe of Monaco I assume?
Thanks arsebloggers, it’s been a hell of a season. Proud of the lads, and the club. We’ll do it next year. GOYG.
An autopsy of what could have been and why it wasn’t.
With a particular spotlight on aston villa game
A delightful season,
But what can we do better for the next?
It has been an enthralling season and we did everything could over the last few weeks, but no one was good or fortunate enough to take points from the 115 charges brigade.
Smart business in the summer and we must look at winning this league next year as the top priority.
There is still a 0.01115% chance that we could win the title if Man City are charged for this season and last season. Mathematically we are still in it!
Great from the lads. Did what we needed to.
Next year is ours.
60 million down the drain!! That song has become a joke about itself at this point, the lad hasn’t stopped scoring and they’ve all been important goals, one after the other. These last few months he’s been playing like a 100m+ striker
Havertz has been so good during the run in that I’m not sure anymore if I want us to sign a replacement at centre forward. With how his all round game has developed and what he gives to the team with his hard work, intelligence, technical security, aerial ability and now goal scoring it’s hard to imagine anyone else better leading the line. It will be interesting to see what we do.
He’s been excellent and since becoming our starting centre forward has been scoring at a rate that spread across a whole season would put him in the converted 20-25 goal a season mark.
We need someone in that left 8 role to really open up that side of the pitch from an attacking point of view. We saw today that we’re so right side dominate, even without Saka, Martinelli would have had 2 assists had we had a little more luck with our finishing.
Still would like us to get someone who can compete with him and Saka maybe both, perhaps a pacey forward to give us a different look there. But that player better be ready to consistently compete for a place.
Buy another CF, sell Nketiah. Jesus can be a squad player to fill in any of the 3 attacking roles. Havertz will still have plenty of game time next year.
As Tim Stillman and others have so brilliantly put it the past week- a massive part of C115’s title wins are “victory through apathy”. Very few teams have any sort of rivalry/hatred towards them, so half the league barely show up against them week in week out. Because of that, whether we won the league this year, or are to win it in future, I’ve honestly started to view Arsenal’s fortunes in a separate context to that bunch of robots. I have no appetite to pick over the bones of where lost out on getting to 90+ points. Just so… Read more »
Just go back and look at the team Emery put out at the Etihad. Wrote the game off.
I lose count of the amount of times this year where some bottom half team put their heart and soul in to playing us (which is completely within their rights to do), only to play City a few games later and roll over for them. I wish more fans would be vocal at the stadium about hating City, so that their players might actually give a shit. It’s like any team outside the top 6 see City as a week off and just take the 4 – 0.
That’s what happens when teams play against a really dominant opposition… Don’t worry, we will be that dominant opposition in their minds soon. It’s like what Blogs have been saying, that we are building a team that strikes fear already in the tunnel.
Well we gave it a try, but when the press, the refs, and the league willfully fail to do their jobs adequately it was always going to be an uphill battle.
Until the financial cheating and incompetent unaccountable referees are dealt with the league will be a joke.
Never enjoyed an Arsenal team as much as this.
Great season, thanks blogs.Enjoy the summer all can’t wait for next year
Yes, City have won it again. However, when the consequences finally come crashing down on them, the whole world will know they only achieved it by cheating and their success is no greater than any other doped athlete in sport, and it will make our victories in the future that more sweeter.
It’s the Premier League. Don’t expect too much from it.
Given how slowly the league are walking these charges, the ten year olds who support city will be retiring from their careers before anything is delt with and you and I will be long in the ground.
whether it happens now or in 10
years, it will be a stain on their legacy and prove they’re nothing but cheats.
Was a small consolation, but Attwell slipping in his own shit on that VAR call at the end was a nice chaser.
Rarely been more proud of this team. Heart’s full. Let’s do it all again in August.
Bless this team, staff, fans and website. We go again next season. One or two smart additions to the first 11 and not even 115 FC will overhaul us.
Thanks guys.
Been an Arsenal fan since 1991 and, although – like so many of us – there are elements of modern football that frustrate the hell out of me and push me away, I’m not sure I’ve enjoyed an Arsenal side as much as this lot. Maybe that’s recency bias as we’ve had some stunning sides, but there’s something about this team.
You’re far from the only one who feels that way.
This is more painful than a divorce
Idk there, mine has been pretty awful
Im so bored of Manchester Cheaty
Great season, proud of the lads. Just a shame the PL couldn’t pull their fingers out of their arses and sort out the City charges. Probably another year at least I heard on the BBC. So another season where the ‘genius’ will spunk 400m on players and give 500k a week contracts to bench warmers then. All sponsored by some ‘companies’ in the UAE that suddenly appear. Allegedly. If innocent, then we have to hold our hands up and say, ‘Well done City, we just need to do better. ‘ If they’ve been cooking the books so as to buy… Read more »
This team overperformed on many levels.
To think it’s an effective squad of about 12 players +/_ partey/jorghino
Turning up every day, every weekend,
the concentration, the ability to deliver results…
All season !!!
We need to strengthen in numbers.
It’s obvious the coah only play certain kind of players
Give him 3 or 4 more of his kind of players, and I see the trophy in london.
gutted for the boys but so proud!! we are truly back and trophies are going to fill the cabinet at the Emirates! COYG
The only thing Arsenal have done wrong is to play by the rules for the last 15 years. Mancheater C115y worked out that, if you’re going to cheat, then cheat big and surround yourself with brown-envelope-funded lawyers.
We don’t have the resources for that, so we have to stay honest. And of the teams that do, we are by far the best. Two years running.
Proud of our team. Yes, yes and a thousand times, yes!
The best lawyers are 6 feet under the daisies.
I’d like to think that, even had we the money for an army of lawyers, we still wouldn’t cheat so blatantly. Arsenal has far too much class and dignity.
Just so proud! A beautiful team!
Thanks Mikel and co for another brilliant season.
Gutting to fall short again but let’s go again and finally knock 115 off their perch!
Thanks Arseblog community for your great comments here. I spend more time reading than writing but it’s always enjoyable.
COYG!!!
Emery basically had the agenda to get revenge and he had killed our chances of winning.
We’ve had a great season – but we need to improve. The squad needs a shake up with 4 quality players coming in. And at least 6 deadwood players need to go. A top-quality striker is an absolute must if we are to close the gap on City. But overall, we’ve done really well. 89 points is an excellent total in this league and in many seasons would have been enough to win it. We didn’t fall away over the last quarter this time: good. Let’s enjoy the summer and then go again next season. Hopefully, city will be in… Read more »
Those 2 deadbeat intel from city absolutely need to go
I would actually keep Zinchenko – but only as a squad player. Jesus’s injury record makes his position at the club untenable as far as I’m concerned.
Eddie, Nelson, ESR, Ramsdale, Vieira and Cedric all need to be moved on in the summer.
ESR looking lively today…we will regret selling him!
I’ll gladly take the money for him and put it into another Rice level player.
There is still a heck of a player inside ESR – he has our DNA and isn’t a bloody trading card fantasy token! He will be difficult to replace. He needs another season with a decent run of games – if he doesn’t perform, still young enough to sell.
Personally I’m ready to let him go.
Nope – I’m opposite, keep Jesus and sell Zinchenko who also has a terrible injury record and has declined massively this season.
Other way round – keep Jesus as back-up across all front positions. Injuries shouldn’t be an issue if he’s not starting every week.
Zinch’s time is done, as far as I’m concerned – even yesterday, it was clear that this team has evolved very rapidly past him, with Declan, Thomas as deeper-lying playmakers. Timber is a whole different level, and with Tomi and Kiwior as back-up, he really is redundant now.
What changes are you making? Improvement to the first team or the squad? The numbers suggest we’re pretty good at scoring goals, and the figures suggest we have a consistent option… I’m not saying that we won’t sign a big striker or that we don’t need one – I’m saying that this striker is going to have to play second fiddle until a drop in form – and whilst that is good, which strikers are going to sign up for this challenge? I’ve advocated Bowen for a while, but I don’t see him joining us as he’s a back up… Read more »
A top-quality striker turns a draw into a win. A top-quality striker buries the one half-chance he gets in a crucial CL game.
That’s what we need.
Or even the Conference League?
We have a top quality striker, you’ve seen Havertz’s numbers and watched him play.
The squad doesn’t need a shake up but needs more depth and quality. A top notch back up striker, and able deputy for Saka, perhaps centre mid with Partey leaving.
Defensively, we look okay, today’s subs showed us that.
If only we dont play stupid zinchenko vs villa…
Dropping 5 points against Fulham and 3 at home to West Ham cost us the title.
The most frustrating thing about this season is that head-to-head we got the better of both City and Liverpool.
Had we been more ruthless against the weaker teams we would be champions right now.
I think the villa game did it. We took nil from 6 against villa, but the home defeat was especially costly
Losing against villa at home in the heat of run in was the killer blow.
If only we had won all 38 matches, we would have dropped no points and won the league. Every point we dropped is equal, regardless of the opponent. I guess dropping three against your closest challenger might be an exception–but of course it was the other way around: Man City dropped three against us.
Every point ISN’T equal. The head-to-head games against City are effectively 6-pointers. It’s much harder to win a title if you lose those games.
City are really good at putting away the bad teams; if we were that good we would be champions.
You omit the Etihad game – as you say, Fats, a lethal striker may have gotten us the one goal needed. That’s a 3 point swing right there, and sorts the GD.
I think Stan should just spunk a few billion on players and fuck FFP.
It’s clear the PL will do fuck all if you get a shitload of fancy lawyers to scare them into putting off doing anything.
We’ll be in self driving flying cars by the time the FA do anything about City
Might as well offer Mbappe a million a week and give Bayern 150m for Musiala. For starters.
Just lawyer up.
If you can’t beat ’em…
What really upset me is that this year is our best chance yet.
Our squad relatively injury free that Gabriel and Saliba always starting.
Liverpool are not that stable, City slipped one or two times, United and Chelsea aren’t even in the calculation. But somehow we did 2015/2016, shooting ourselves in the foot again.
If we want to win the PL against Fraudiola and his money team, we need to eliminate mistake-prone player
I just hoping Odegaard doesn’t blip, our CB can handle 38 starting games, and we get ACTUAL STRIKER whose confident on his scoring ability
Than injury free is important, think we’ll go another season with Saliba, Gabby, Rice etc not picking up injuries, I doubt it.
Maybe it’s just me but I don’t see why people keep harping on about the need for a so called out and out striker! Scoring goals is clearly not a problem for this team and the so called out and out striker changes the whole dynamics of the team! Say what you want about city’s treble last yr and likely double this yr but they were a better side prior to haaland’s arrival.
You should change your name to Numpty.
There’s no reason to think we won’t have an even better chance next season. This one had only been our best chance so far.
Of course, others may improve. Others might also worsen. But, given our trajectory, there’s no reason to think we won’t improve as well.
I can’t lie I’m very disappointed, not necessarily in the boys but kind of how things have unraveled on the final day. Frankly, I wasn’t that surprised, I mean let’s be real, we know that city are going to win the League, hence why I had very little hope and just hoped for a strong performance today which wasn’t the strongest performance is all things considered but we’ve got the job done but clearly it wasn’t enough as city, unfortunately when their fourth title in a row. Now I am kind of disappointed but you know what I’m proud of… Read more »
Honestly, no one can be bothered reading these days.
Just feels frustrating to have dropped 11 points vs Villa and Fulham. Such small margins. You could see how much it hurt the players but loved their spirit in wanting to win it for the fans next year.
This team deserved more, performances were out of this world, I hope they can go again and use this group of players to their max next season.
So here’s what struck me the most about yesterday’s post-final whistle celebrations… The Everton players, almost to a man, genuinely sought out our lads and commiserated/congratulated them all. Watching these interchanges, they were touching moments of real camaraderie… in stark contrast to the routine handshakes at the Shitty-had Stadium. Why? Because everyone – everyone – loves the plucky, honest, valiant underdog. The players themselves know better than anyone, how hard it is to win this league – and they know who they respect more. Not because the Shitty players are cheats, or frauds, or anything less than world-class athletes –… Read more »