Arsenal v Luton. 03/04/24. 19:30

[Letters]

You mean I can spot winners and losers? And what it takes to win?

The things you're looking for in this regard is about 40 years out of date.
Wenger didn't stop being successful because he changed, he stopped being successful because he didn't change while the game changed around him. It's a squad game now. City stuck De Bruyne and Haaland on the bench on Wednesday to give them a rest and still cruised to a win. Are City not winners? I mean, they've cheated to get where they are but they just won the treble and have won 4 of the last 5 titles. They rotated, because at this stage of the season with the games coming thick and fast that's what you have to do, given the pace of the game these days.

Explain to me, in technical terms, how that was "grinding out a win".

We didn't grind out a win on Wednesday, I'm just saying sometimes you have to.

There was no opposition. You take that opportunity to enhance the already impressive goal difference. Just fuck them up in every way possible and send the message. City did. We didn't. Apologise for it all you like, but we know who had the bigger teeth and the hungrier appetite this weekend. You think that won't count in those final few hours?

You're contradicting yourself somewhat. You say we need a settled first 11 but you're lauding City for a resounding win when they rested two of their biggest players. And Liverpool only just snuck past Sheffield Utd. 3-1 in the end but before the late goal it was only 2-1 against a side who have conceded 80 goals in the league this season. That's only one fewer than the top 3 combined. Our aggregate against them this season is 11-0.

Obviously it's nice to be really thumping sides and we had a spell of that but you're not going to do it every game.
There's nothing to apologise for. We needed to win, we got the win.

[Niall_Quinn]

The things you're looking for in this regard is about 40 years out of date.
Wenger didn't stop being successful because he changed, he stopped being successful because he didn't change while the game changed around him. It's a squad game now. City stuck De Bruyne and Haaland on the bench on Wednesday to give them a rest and still cruised to a win. Are City not winners? I mean, they've cheated to get where they are but they just won the treble and have won 4 of the last 5 titles. They rotated, because at this stage of the season with the games coming thick and fast that's what you have to do, given the pace of the game these days.


We didn't grind out a win on Wednesday, I'm just saying sometimes you have to.


You're contradicting yourself somewhat. You say we need a settled first 11 but you're lauding City for a resounding win when they rested two of their biggest players. And Liverpool only just snuck past Sheffield Utd. 3-1 in the end but before the late goal it was only 2-1 against a side who have conceded 80 goals in the league this season. That's only one fewer than the top 3 combined. Our aggregate against them this season is 11-0.

Obviously it's nice to be really thumping sides and we had a spell of that but you're not going to do it every game.
There's nothing to apologise for. We needed to win, we got the win.

Ah, so it was the resting of two big players that made them stronger and hence delivered the emphatic win? Well, those players you speak of aren't as strong as you are making out if they can't play a couple of games a week. Games that are timid compared to what "out of date" players had to face up to. Maybe Pep rested them because they were absolute shite against us? Because we shut down his tippety-tap bullshit and rendered his tap-masters irrelevant? Or maybe it's because he has two who first eleven teams at his disposal so it doesn't much matter who he rotates in given the trillions spent. So many possible reasons for rotating those players rather than the eagerly swallowed crap from MOTD commentators who's job it is to sell this sub-standard league as the best there ever was. Keep drinking it up. If you're telling me players need to be rested because they are wimps, and teams need to rotate because their managers aren't good enough to get 100% out of the players every week then fine. I agree. But if you are pretending it's some great expertise bestowed upon the world by boring old Pep and his GPS vests then prove it. Eliminate all the other possibilities and demonstrate why these girlies need their beauty sleep while machines like Butcher and Keown, Bremner and Shearer could just keep bashing it out at 100mph.