Match reaction v Leeds home

[IBK]

Everyone's feeling it right now, not just us - Chelsea are wobbling, United have completely gone to shit, spurs are up one week, down the next... even Liverpool had a wobble on Saturday! This is just how it goes at this stage of the season - there's no time left for clever plans and no time to recover from defeats. Teams that should be a pushover are now just swinging wildly, scrapping for every point, and no one is doing what you expect them to. Our relative inexperience shows at time, but all in all we're probably handling the pressure as well as anyone at the moment, and better than most.

Agree with most of that, but I do think we need to box clever with Spurs. Going gung ho or trying to control the game high up the pitch will completely play into Conte's hands. Liverpool decided to play their normal game and got stung. If Spurs' defence can soak up the best attack in the league and hit them on the counter they can frustrate us - particularly with our jittery defence. We need to contain Kane and Son first and foremost, and see if we can nick one. A draw would ultimately be fine and leave us only having to win one of our remaining 2 games to take the title whatever they do.

[Letters]

It’s frustrating how hard work we make of games.
I was out yesterday at a family do (BBQs Sausages ).
Kept an eye on the score, imagine my surprise when I saw us 2-0 up so quickly. Then when Leeds had a player sent off it seemed pretty much unfuckupable.
And get at the end we are hanging on for dear life. It’s ridiculous really
But we do look solid and the back and we have developed a commendable habit of being able to see these games out, even if it is more stressful than it should be.

We can’t be gung ho on Thursday. They counter attack too well and will pick us off. We shouldn’t park the bus either but we need to be a bit sensible. I think we are capable of a point and I’d be very happy with that.

[I am invisible]

Agree with most of that, but I do think we need to box clever with Spurs. Going gung ho or trying to control the game high up the pitch will completely play into Conte's hands. Liverpool decided to play their normal game and got stung. If Spurs' defence can soak up the best attack in the league and hit them on the counter they can frustrate us - particularly with our jittery defence. We need to contain Kane and Son first and foremost, and see if we can nick one. A draw would ultimately be fine and leave us only having to win one of our remaining 2 games to take the title whatever they do.

Well we have a couple of advantages: we know exactly how Conte will play - he never plays any other way; and he can’t afford to sit back and wait for us to make the first move - we can.

That’s if he even cares, and isn’t too busy planning his move to Paris…

[Niall_Quinn]

Watched the second half casually, between chatter. Didn't see any football taking place. Not sure what they were all doing out there. Going through the motions for their unwarranted fees, I suppose.

[IBK]

Watched the second half casually, between chatter. Didn't see any football taking place. Not sure what they were all doing out there. Going through the motions for their unwarranted fees, I suppose.

Thing is though that this view - while it might have applied to our team 18 months ago - doesn't apply now. Call the second half on Sunday a bit of complacency; call it nerves, or trying to conserve energy for Thursday, but what our current crop of players cannot be accused of is going through the motions for the club - something exemplified by the committment of the likes of Nketiah; Holding and Elneny who have stepped up big time having been bench warmers for most of the season, or Xhaka - dropped as captain, written off by the fans yet showing huge character to fight for the cause. Arteta has managed to turn things around at Arsenal in that respect, which is why we are where we are now.

[Niall_Quinn]

Thing is though that this view - while it might have applied to our team 18 months ago - doesn't apply now. Call the second half on Sunday a bit of complacency; call it nerves, or trying to conserve energy for Thursday, but what our current crop of players cannot be accused of is going through the motions for the club - something exemplified by the committment of the likes of Nketiah; Holding and Elneny who have stepped up big time having been bench warmers for most of the season, or Xhaka - dropped as captain, written off by the fans yet showing huge character to fight for the cause. Arteta has managed to turn things around at Arsenal in that respect, which is why we are where we are now.

Then I guess if they were actually applying themselves, they must just be shit footballers? Basically that half of football was unwatchable for anyone who is aware of what football used to be like. But, if you are saying the clubs has gone from worse to bad then I suppose you are right. Do you remember watching Anelka? Eddie is no Anelka. Good luck to the lad for banging a few goals in, but we're not watching Wrighty or Henry or even Smudger here. The standard is LOW. Very, very low.

[IBK]

Then I guess if they were actually applying themselves, they must just be shit footballers? Basically that half of football was unwatchable for anyone who is aware of what football used to be like. But, if you are saying the clubs has gone from worse to bad then I suppose you are right. Do you remember watching Anelka? Eddie is no Anelka. Good luck to the lad for banging a few goals in, but we're not watching Wrighty or Henry or even Smudger here. The standard is LOW. Very, very low.

Not sure if the term 'shit footballers' can fairly be applied to a team lying 4th in what is regarded as the best league in the world, but each to his own...Real Madrid; Man City; Liverpool; Bayern have all had periods in games where their football is poor - by your analysis that makes their players shit footballers too.

[Chippy]

Then I guess if they were actually applying themselves, they must just be shit footballers? Basically that half of football was unwatchable for anyone who is aware of what football used to be like. But, if you are saying the clubs has gone from worse to bad then I suppose you are right. Do you remember watching Anelka? Eddie is no Anelka. Good luck to the lad for banging a few goals in, but we're not watching Wrighty or Henry or even Smudger here. The standard is LOW. Very, very low.

I am actually with NQ here.

We have certainly accepted second best here. In my mind, we are currently the best of a bad or average bunch.

I am never confident when this team take to the field because you never know who is going to turn up.

Are you confident with this lot for the Spuds game? I'm not.

Was I confident when Vieria, Bergkamp and Henry were out there? Hell yes!!

[IBK]

I am actually with NQ here.

We have certainly accepted second best here. In my mind, we are currently the best of a bad or average bunch.

I am never confident when this team take to the field because you never know who is going to turn up.

Are you confident with this lot for the Spuds game? I'm not.

Was I confident when Vieria, Bergkamp and Henry were out there? Hell yes!!

Its a fair point that you are not confident. Not so much that we have accepted second best - at least in the context of where the club finds itself.

We would all love it if we had maintained the level of the Invincibles, but the new stadium project; oligarch and petrodollar money, and the development of football and glut of money into the EPL changed the goalposts forever. Maybe under later years Wenger players and supporters alike became conditioned to top 4 being a trophy but our malaise since we fell out of top European competition happened, and we need to be realistic about where we are now. This is different to accepting second best. It is simply accepting that to get out of the mess we were in we had to completely establish a new platform, and Arteta finally sems to have got us somewhere near the solid foundation we need to push on.

I feel a bit sorry for you and NQ that you are unable to enjoy the journey we are on - and the genuine return of a good feeling to our club after so long - because you are lamenting past glories. Football is cyclical. Always has been. And we are at least on the upswing at present. We all want better, but realistic Gooners know that this can't happen overnight.

As for the best of a bad or average bunch. I get that compared to Liverpool and Citeh - who are pretty much at the levels the Invincibles were at - everyone else looks average. But when you see the level of players and coaches throughout the EPL (don't forget that EPL teams have been all over the later stages of the CL and the Europa League this season) it is pretty clear that the real story is that below these 2 generational teams the competition is super high, and winning games is tough. Not buying the 'shit player' analysis at all.

[Chippy]

Its a fair point that you are not confident. Not so much that we have accepted second best - at least in the context of where the club finds itself.

We would all love it if we had maintained the level of the Invincibles, but the new stadium project; oligarch and petrodollar money, and the development of football and glut of money into the EPL changed the goalposts forever. Maybe under later years Wenger players and supporters alike became conditioned to top 4 being a trophy but our malaise since we fell out of top European competition happened, and we need to be realistic about where we are now. This is different to accepting second best. It is simply accepting that to get out of the mess we were in we had to completely establish a new platform, and Arteta finally sems to have got us somewhere near the solid foundation we need to push on.

I feel a bit sorry for you and NQ that you are unable to enjoy the journey we are on - and the genuine return of a good feeling to our club after so long - because you are lamenting past glories. Football is cyclical. Always has been. And we are at least on the upswing at present. We all want better, but realistic Gooners know that this can't happen overnight.

As for the best of a bad or average bunch. I get that compared to Liverpool and Citeh - who are pretty much at the levels the Invincibles were at - everyone else looks average. But when you see the level of players and coaches throughout the EPL (don't forget that EPL teams have been all over the later stages of the CL and the Europa League this season) it is pretty clear that the real story is that below these 2 generational teams the competition is super high, and winning games is tough. Not buying the 'shit player' analysis at all.

Don't feel sorry for NQ and I, we enjoy being miserable
Shit player analysis is unfair.