Match reaction v Saints 3-3

[HCZ_Reborn]

Partey is the best player in the team.

That's not even remotely debatable. It's not an opinion. It's an observable fact.

If you don't think he is then you're a spastic.

It's as simple as that.

The only observable fact is that you’re a danger to children

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

Partey has been poor lately but he’s still the first name on the team sheet for me.

I think he’s having to drop very deep to collect the ball at the moment and that means he’s getting caught in dangerous areas a lot. Our transition play has gone to shit and he’s an essential cog in that wheel working effectively. Hopefully he turns up against City.

What he said.

But on a serious note, we really need to get to a safe place where everyone is droppable...no one should be allowed to get away with shit displays week in and out.

Anyway Partey should play...and hopefully stay the full 90mins to ensure the "voodoo" of him not losing a game he starts and finishes (at least in the EPL this season) holds.

[HCZ_Reborn]

What he said.

But on a serious note, we really need to get to a safe place where everyone is droppable...no one should be allowed to get away with shit displays week in and out.

Anyway Partey should play...and hopefully stay the full 90mins to ensure the "voodoo" of him not losing a game he starts and finishes (at least in the EPL this season) holds.

The reason Partey is undroppable is because Central midfield is the one area where we have no depth. Elneny? Why the fuck did we give him a new contract. We need proper players not mascots.

We need an improvement on Xhaka in the No 8 role and we need someone who is just as good if not better than Partey in the no 6 role (and genuinely think Caicedo is that player)

[Niall_Quinn]

I don't get the Xhaka hate. I really don't.

Is he the best to ever play the role? Nope. But at least he's male. Same can't be said for most of the rest.

[Niall_Quinn]

Exactly.

He's very clearly had to adapt to a different style in which he's recieving the ball in midfield where he can turn and progress, which is what he's so brilliant at. Just now he's having to drop right back and try to play out from there.
He made a couple of unrelated mistakes but who gies a fuck?

It's the simplicity of 'analysis' that gets me

You've got to be trolling?

Partey? Turn and progress?

You must think people are blind.

The one thing you can absolutely guarantee is that Partey will get the ball and find some way, even if it's close on impossible, to SLOOOOOOOOWLY pass it backwards. And even then he often manages to find the opposition.

Absolute shitkicker of a non-player and one of the primary reasons the title is heading north.

[Niall_Quinn]

Funnily enough just been discussing this with my mate

We basically agree that Arteta is scared to change the system despite not having the players available to make the system we are playing tenable

I had to literally screen shot the subs from Friday’s game with Southampton…he simply couldn’t process why we’d start Vieira when Jorginho was available

I explained the only possible explanation for it is because Arteta won’t change the system therefore has to have a number 8 in there (and the “need” for an inverted left back meant that he didn’t play Zinchenko as a no 8)

I understand to a degree the hesitancy to change the system this late on in this system but it’s no working…something needs to change. And in my mind we should have a back up system to factor for injuries to begin with.

This is a shit league filled with shit teams. Apart from City. City are a proper team based on the modern day principles of football, those being 90% the chequebook and 10% the culture. Even so, Arsenal won enough games to give them a brief (very brief I would estimate) pause for thought. Maybe the gypos feared a new Leicester was in the offing, at points where Arsenal won, won and won again.

But they also would have noticed Arsenal collapsing in little clusters around, you didn't guess it, fixtures with City. Arsenal overcame the chequebook, which is worthy of praise. But Wenger's culture is harder to fix. TOP FOUR TROPHY. That's the real "system" that has caused a decade of grief. You can't be a winner when your dream is to be a loser.

Basically what the fans are moaning about now is Arteta has managed to turn a bunch of habitual losers from a TOP FOUR TROPHY outfit (couldn't even manage that) into champions finishing above the finished article. Not yet anyway.

The fact they even competed (sort of) means we can ignore the fans who think they could do a better job of solving the almost impossible challenge laid down by Wenger. It's tempered because this is a shit league filled with shit teams. But none were a bigger pile than Arsenal last season. This season things are a little different. For the first time since Wenger burned it all down.

I wonder. Which other manager could have possibly provoked such a profound improvement? Pep? Maybe. Klopp? Don't think so. Any of the revolving door managers at Utd?

Doesn't seem like being "scared" has taken this team from nowhere to somewhere. Let's face it, he hasn't had a lot to play with. But he's kept the loyal (until a couple of weeks ago) fans interested for a lot longer than usual.

[Niall_Quinn]

I wouldn’t leave out Partey either but I’m guessing there’s no mirrors in the squalid tenement you call a home for you to get any sense of reflection


He has been shite since he came back from international duty. I don’t know if he’s carrying an injury or whether he’s worried about the prospect of prison time in Accra. But the Partey we’ve seen in the last few games is the Partey that was stinking out the place in the Autumn of 2021 (and he even admitted himself that he was dreadful back then)

Honestly out of all the people that have added their thoughts to this thread, yours are by far the worst….and no surprise either.

Partey is no doubt a top player but the fact that he’s so crucial to us is more indicative of the absolute turd that we’ve got in central midfield…and frankly if we sign that Caicedo from Brighton I expect to be getting a player who in a short space of time could be a step up from Partey

Check the bit in bold. And reflect on it. OR, explain to me why Partey is "no doubt a top player". That's every bit as ridiculous as anything Mandela is claiming.

And at least Mandela had the grace to call out the ludicrous bullshit that has been going on here up until the last few games. You all wanked over the Bournemouth farce, didn't you?

[IBK]

This is a shit league filled with shit teams. Apart from City. City are a proper team based on the modern day principles of football, those being 90% the chequebook and 10% the culture. Even so, Arsenal won enough games to give them a brief (very brief I would estimate) pause for thought. Maybe the gypos feared a new Leicester was in the offing, at points where Arsenal won, won and won again.

But they also would have noticed Arsenal collapsing in little clusters around, you didn't guess it, fixtures with City. Arsenal overcame the chequebook, which is worthy of praise. But Wenger's culture is harder to fix. TOP FOUR TROPHY. That's the real "system" that has caused a decade of grief. You can't be a winner when your dream is to be a loser.

Basically what the fans are moaning about now is Arteta has managed to turn a bunch of habitual losers from a TOP FOUR TROPHY outfit (couldn't even manage that) into champions finishing above the finished article. Not yet anyway.

The fact they even competed (sort of) means we can ignore the fans who think they could do a better job of solving the almost impossible challenge laid down by Wenger. It's tempered because this is a shit league filled with shit teams. But none were a bigger pile than Arsenal last season. This season things are a little different. For the first time since Wenger burned it all down.

I wonder. Which other manager could have possibly provoked such a profound improvement? Pep? Maybe. Klopp? Don't think so. Any of the revolving door managers at Utd?

Doesn't seem like being "scared" has taken this team from nowhere to somewhere. Let's face it, he hasn't had a lot to play with. But he's kept the loyal (until a couple of weeks ago) fans interested for a lot longer than usual.

You've made some good posts on this thread mate. Some perspective is needed regarding where we are currently. I am not excusing 3 avoidable and extremely disappointing recent results but some fans who think that Arteta should not stay on at the club have unrealistic expectations about where we should be in his project. We are ahead of schedule and we need to see whether we kick on from here.

[IBK]

I don't get the Xhaka hate. I really don't.

Is he the best to ever play the role? Nope. But at least he's male. Same can't be said for most of the rest.

In fact we saw clearly on Friday what we miss when Xhaka is out.

[IBK]

Absolutely it should.

Unfortunately that is one of Arteta's limitations and where he fails.

He only seems to see players as like for like and 90% of his subs have been so in games. He reacts too late and not always with what is needed.

Bang on. Arteta has slipped up partly because he has stuck with a system that requires our first team choices to make it work, and treats replacements as like for like when they are either inferior or have different strenghts and in particular weaknesses. He needs to alter his system to protect and adapt to 2nd choice players, not expose them by expecting them to deliever what injured or out of form first teamers can.