Match Reaction v Villa (home)

[McNamara That Ghost...]

A real stinker of a second half, lost control of it completely.

Credit to Villa in that.

It's entirely possible we'll go out of the Champions League so will we actually respond or just wilt away like last season?

It has to be the former of those two otherwise there wouldn't have been any progression.

[Marc Overmars]

I think this was a case of being completely outplayed rather than us monumentally fucking up. We lost to a good team and just didn’t have enough to get it done.

We were very good in the first half and had to score really, after that we seemed out of ideas and Villa dominated us.

We knew we had the tougher run in because of games like this and it looks like we just don’t have enough to get over the line. Again.

[Marc Overmars]

Oh and Zinchenko has to be moved on.

He’s so incredibly weak. Not exactly what you want from a defender.

[Niall_Quinn]

Same as always. Two decades of it and people are surprised? Anyone who creamed themselves over the Luton result obviously had no idea what was coming. You HAVE to be on it 100% or else you have zero chance. I don't know why intelligent people can't figure that out. Didn't you ALREADY KNOW the title was gone after the Luton game, and if not, why the fuck not. Are you blind?

[McNamara That Ghost...]

It's about reaction, the odd terrible result in 12 games is not unexpected.

Last season it culminated in getting duffed up by Man City and with that, not winning in four.

This season? They have it all to do because last season has to be in their heads now.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Same as always. Two decades of it and people are surprised? Anyone who creamed themselves over the Luton result obviously had no idea what was coming. You HAVE to be on it 100% or else you have zero chance. I don't know why intelligent people can't figure that out. Didn't you ALREADY KNOW the title was gone after the Luton game, and if not, why the fuck not. Are you blind?

I can take not winning the title to be honest, it's really fucking hard to in it.

But if we can't push it to the final day then that's a real problem.

[Marc Overmars]

I can take not winning the title to be honest, it's really fucking hard to in it.

But if we can't push it to the final day then that's a real problem.

I don’t think we will. I anticipate that we’ll beat Wolves but then drop points at Spurs. Maybe even Chelsea at home between that. We’ll see but history does tell us that today is probably the fatal blow.

[Niall_Quinn]

I can take not winning the title to be honest, it's really fucking hard to in it.

But if we can't push it to the final day then that's a real problem.

It was in the Luton game. They sat back and assumed. And then I wondered if they'd have the gumption when it wasn't Luton. That's the acid test 'm always looking for. Haven't passed it yet, when the rubber hits the road. There's a pattern, and it keeps playing out. I'm patiently watching for that pattern to be broken. I don't think it's down to the manager, I think it's down to the culture. The culture of the club is geared to competing rather than winning at all costs. Champions win at all costs and that's the only measure. So if we et 4th, we've won. Financially speaking. And, for Arenal, that's the bottom line. When that changes, which a manger cannot do, our fortunes will change too. But right now, we lose for profit.

[Marc Overmars]

The problem really is that we’re trying to win the first one. The first one for this group and the first one for the club in 20 years. That weight just grows heavier and heavier each year. City also making the league so fucking difficult to win has made this so ridiculous that after a run of 10 wins from 11 we were still very unlikely to win it. This is also supposedly a weaker version of City than what we’ve seen in recent times, yet ourselves and Liverpool are about to be left in the dust.

I just can’t bring myself to vent about what we could and couldn’t have done, huge disappointment for sure but until I see someone else other than us or Liverpool challenging City then everyone else can get fucked. It’s bloody hard.

[Chippy]

A real stinker of a second half, lost control of it completely.

Credit to Villa in that.

It's entirely possible we'll go out of the Champions League so will we actually respond or just wilt away like last season?

It has to be the former of those two otherwise there wouldn't have been any progression.

We all get sucked in to this bullshit every fucking year. We go brilliantly until it actually matters, and then we fuck it up.

[Letters]

I can take not winning the title to be honest, it's really fucking hard to in it.

But if we can't push it to the final day then that's a real problem.

:gp:

There are such fine lines in football. In a tight title race you can win or lose the title because of a bad VAR call or someone hitting the post rather than it going in. But we must run to the line this year. Today was a massive disappointment given the Liverpool result. It does make it feel like we lost because it was an opportunity to go too and shake Liverpool off. That is a concern.
What I’m interested in now is how we react. If we lose to Bayern then so be it, they’re a good side despite their domestic woes (I see Leverkusen were crowned today). But stand up and be counted, make them work to beat us. And make City work for the title. I suspect they’ll win it but let’s make them win it. Let’s not hand it to them like we did last season.

[Letters]

We all get sucked in to this bullshit every fucking year. We go brilliantly until it actually matters, and then we fuck it up.

Did the City game away not matter? Did the Brighton one not matter - a side who hadn’t lost a home game in a while? We’ve passed a few tests this year that we failed last. We’ve stood up in the big games. We’ve gone on a run which put us right in the middle of the title race. We stumbled today, but so did Liverpool. All teams do here and there. I’m more interested in how we react.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

We all get sucked in to this bullshit every fucking year. We go brilliantly until it actually matters, and then we fuck it up.

No doubt.

But you will always encounter a bad result along the way.

If and it's a big if we did win the last six but we don't win the league then I'm not going to say too much.

Brighton at home last season was somehow more deflating than Man City away was.

[Marc Overmars]

If we somehow get past Bayern then I’d imagine the league will crumble very quickly.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

I'd take that risk. :lol:

[Mac76]

I don’t think we will. I anticipate that we’ll beat Wolves but then drop points at Spurs. Maybe even Chelsea at home between that. We’ll see but history does tell us that today is probably the fatal blow.

Yes I think it will be maybe a 5 point gap by the emd of the season, but we desperately need to avoid total collapse

[Mac76]

I'd take that risk. :lol:

I think if we can to the CL semis and 2nd in the PL that's a good progressiom

[Mac76]

Did the City game away not matter? Did the Brighton one not matter - a side who hadn’t lost a home game in a while? We’ve passed a few tests this year that we failed last. We’ve stood up in the big games. We’ve gone on a run which put us right in the middle of the title race. We stumbled today, but so did Liverpool. All teams do here and there. I’m more interested in how we react.

In general I agree, but the title was lost today, however we do need to bounce back to show it's not a replica of last season - my fear is that the tired legs we saw in the second half will be the story of the rest of the season, as the belief starts to go

[Mac76]

It was in the Luton game. They sat back and assumed. And then I wondered if they'd have the gumption when it wasn't Luton. That's the acid test 'm always looking for. Haven't passed it yet, when the rubber hits the road. There's a pattern, and it keeps playing out. I'm patiently watching for that pattern to be broken. I don't think it's down to the manager, I think it's down to the culture. The culture of the club is geared to competing rather than winning at all costs. Champions win at all costs and that's the only measure. So if we et 4th, we've won. Financially speaking. And, for Arenal, that's the bottom line. When that changes, which a manger cannot do, our fortunes will change too. But right now, we lose for profit.

You really do talk utter shite

[Marc Overmars]

Yes I think it will be maybe a 5 point gap by the emd of the season, but we desperately need to avoid total collapse

We said this last year as well about taking it to the end. We’d all probably accept it just wasn’t meant to be if we were to miss out by a single result.

However I think we all know it won’t be just today’s result that will spoil it for us.

[Mac76]

Btw Zin was booed off today, a pyrrhic victory for me which gives me little pleasure but now at least people can see it

The signing of this player, and the absurd idea that he could do a job at LB, is without doubt Arteta's biggest folly, on its own it may not be the reason we win nothing this season but it's the single most obvious mistake, along with thinking Eddie had anything more to offer and not replacing him last summer with someone at least a bit better

[Mac76]

Btw Zin was booed off today, a pyrrhic victory for me which gives me little pleasure but now at least people can see it

The signing of this player, and the absurd idea that he could do a job at LB, is without doubt Arteta's biggest folly, on its own it may not be the reason we win nothing this season but it's the single most obvious mistake, along with thinking Eddie had anything more to offer and not replacing him last summer with someone at least a bit better

Oh and the real irony is I thought Zin was finding Trossard quite well in the first half and it was probably in that single sense the best I'd seen him do for us

But don't get me wrong, overall he was just as shite as usual

[Marc Overmars]

Either play him in midfield or not at all.

He lacks presence and always loses his duels and don’t get me started on his undercooked passing which so often causes panic.

I was happy with his signing at first because of how fresh it felt but teams have very quickly worked out that he’s the one to exploit.

[The Wengerbabies]

Sigh.

[Letters]

Sigh.

A rare :gp:

I don’t often get upset or annoyed about Arsenal results these days. But I am pretty pissed off about this one. The prospect of a first title in 20 years was enticing. I never quite believed we’d do it - we have the harder fixtures and I couldn’t see the other two slipping. But the Liverpool result was a real opportunity so of course we buggered it right up.

:ilt:

Maybe with Klopp pissing off we have a chance next year, especially if City get deducted a million points

:pray:

[Mac76]

A rare :gp:

I don’t often get upset or annoyed about Arsenal results these days. But I am pretty pissed off about this one. The prospect of a first title in 20 years was enticing. I never quite believed we’d do it - we have the harder fixtures and I couldn’t see the other two slipping. But the Liverpool result was a real opportunity so of course we buggered it right up.

:ilt:

Maybe with Klopp pissing off we have a chance next year, especially if City get deducted a million points

:pray:

If it's two million I might start to believe...

[Letters]

Btw Zin was booed off today, a pyrrhic victory for me which gives me little pleasure but now at least people can see it
I don't see why it's a victory at all and I don't like our players being booed off.
I mean, fine, he had a stinker and overall I'd agree we need an upgrade. But booing the fella isn't going to help him or the team.
I just can't see what it achieves.

[Mac76]

I don't see why it's a victory at all and I don't like our players being booed off.
I mean, fine, he had a stinker and overall I'd agree we need an upgrade. But boing the fella isn't going to help.
I just can't see what it achieves.

Well as I said, I mean a pyrrhic victory for me, given i've said right from the start he was a fail but others were trying to say he was good

Zin isn't good enough, he never was good enough and Arteta's thinking he was the answer at LB was total folly and his biggest mistake - yes OK, having both Timber and Tomi injured hasn't helped but, as i said at the time, we should have shipped out Zin last summer and got an actual left-sided defender in, given we were consigning Tierney to the bin

[KSE Comedy Club]

Btw Zin was booed off today, a pyrrhic victory for me which gives me little pleasure but now at least people can see it

The signing of this player, and the absurd idea that he could do a job at LB, is without doubt Arteta's biggest folly, on its own it may not be the reason we win nothing this season but it's the single most obvious mistake, along with thinking Eddie had anything more to offer and not replacing him last summer with someone at least a bit better

Really? I must have missed that.

He should've been pelted with eggs and banana skins too!

Fucking dogshit player :angry:

[KSE Comedy Club]

Well as I said, I mean a pyrrhic victory for me, given i've said right from the start he was a fail but others were trying to say he was good

Zin isn't good enough, he never was good enough and Arteta's thinking he was the answer at LB was total folly and his biggest mistake - yes OK, having both Timber and Tomi injured hasn't helped but, as i said at the time, we should have shipped out Zin last summer and got an actual left-sided defender in, given we were consigning Tierney to the bin

I cannot fathom why he is back starting games when we have had our best defensive run recently with Kiwior at LB?

It makes zero sense.

He was at fault for letting Tielemans have that wild shot at goal and then he was in the same area of the pitch leaving LB position completely empty when they scored the first goal.

A total and utter embarrassment.

[dazthegooner]

What Merson said

“I said before the game I didn’t like Arteta’s decision with the team he picked,” the ex-Arsenal midfielder told Sky Sports.

“Keep on playing the same team that wins every week, don’t have the wool pulled over your eyes for a 25-minute cameo against Bayern Munich. Jesus comes on and does well and he moves Havertz.

“They’ve won nine of 10 with Jorginho and Havertz playing where they were. It was a bench today that if it wasn’t going right, he didn’t have anyone. Usually, you have Trossard and Jesus to come on.

“He did it against Southampton last season when he left Jorginho out last season. The pressure gets to everybody. That’s where you need a Pep Guardiola who keeps cool.”

[HCZ_Reborn]

Except that’s bollocks. Guardiola doesn’t keep his cool.

This is a guy who bawls out his players on the pitch, look at what the bald cunt was doing with Jack Grealish against us

I’m no fan of Arteta but that’s because he’s too similar to Ming the Merciless

[HCZ_Reborn]

And Pious Arsenal fans can fuck off as well

Complaining about fans leaving the ground at 2-0. What do you want? People to sing when this coach has once against shit the bed. Fuck right off with that…the only thing I won’t tolerate is hypocrisy

Fan going for an early pint before half time starts chiding fans for not singing loud enough, I told him to fuck off. Cunt

[Mac76]

Tbh it annoyed me and others that so many left early, it makes us look like soulless gloryhunters who turn their backs on the team at the first excuse, I never leave before the end

[The Wengerbabies]

A rare :gp:

I don’t often get upset or annoyed about Arsenal results these days. But I am pretty pissed off about this one. The prospect of a first title in 20 years was enticing. I never quite believed we’d do it - we have the harder fixtures and I couldn’t see the other two slipping. But the Liverpool result was a real opportunity so of course we buggered it right up.

:ilt:

Maybe with Klopp pissing off we have a chance next year, especially if City get deducted a million points

:pray:

It's the inevitability of it all. 20 years if exactly the same shit.

[HCZ_Reborn]

Tbh it annoyed me and others that so many left early, it makes us look like soulless gloryhunters who turn their backs on the team at the first excuse, I never leave before the end

I mean good for you I guess

My attitude is live your life how you want to and let others do likewise. The stadium is a nightmare to get away from at final whistle, so if there’s no hope of recovery I simply cannot find it within myself to condemn others for thinking better of it than to wait in queues outside Highbury and Islington or Finsbury Park.

If the game is 1-0 or 2-1 to us or we are drawing I’ll stay to the end, if we’ve comprehensively won or lost no I’m going during injury time.

For me, like with everything else it’s a kind of advertisement of moral worth. Oh look at me I’m a true believer, I’m staying till the end. Ok how bout you do you and shut the fuck up about it


By the way that’s a generalised you, rather than specifically singling you out.

[The Wengerbabies]

Tbh it annoyed me and others that so many left early, it makes us look like soulless gloryhunters who turn their backs on the team at the first excuse, I never leave before the end

lol you're a loser.

Guess what I totally tuned out of football for a number of years until last Januaryish. I couldn't tell you anything about the Arsenal team from a few years before Wenger left until about a year ago when I got back into it. It was all pointless, I'm starting to feel that way again.

[Letters]

lol you're a loser.

Guess what I totally tuned out of football for a number of years until last Januaryish. I couldn't tell you anything about the Arsenal team from a few years before Wenger left until about a year ago when I got back into it. It was all pointless, I'm starting to feel that way again.

So...basically you're a glory hunter?
You do you, dude, but that's a weird flex.

[The Wengerbabies]

So...basically you're a glory hunter?
You do you, dude, but that's a weird flex.

It's a more mature way to be a football fan tbh.

[Letters]

It's a more mature way to be a football fan tbh.

As usual, it's the exact opposite. It's what children do - only follow a team when they're doing well and then sulk and give up when they're not doing so well.

That said, I certainly think as you get older you chill out a bit more generally, other things come along like family, responsibilities. And in general football seems less important. And, for me, that's all been exacerbated by the way football has gone where it's now all about the money and saturation coverage, pandering to a global audience etc. Just makes me less engaged with it all.


All that said...the prospect of a first title in 20 years had somewhat reeled me in and I was pissed off we fluffed our lines on Sunday. That said, I was talking to a mate about it and he pointed out that before Sunday we were P11 W10 D1 L0 in this calendar year in the league. One defeat and it's all over. And we were only 2 points behind at the turn of the year - although both Liverpool and City had a game in hand each. 31 points out of 33 and it didn't give us any cushion or margin for error. It shows you have to be basically perfect to beat City. The only time anyone managed it was the year Liverpool went completely mental and basically won every game till they'd all but won it by Easter. And we all know how City have got there. The question remains whether the FA have the balls to deal with it.

[Marc Overmars]

As usual, it's the exact opposite. It's what children do - only follow a team when they're doing well and then sulk and give up when they're not doing so well.

That said, I certainly think as you get older you chill out a bit more generally, other things come along like family, responsibilities. And in general football seems less important. And, for me, that's all been exacerbated by the way football has gone where it's now all about the money and saturation coverage, pandering to a global audience etc. Just makes me less engaged with it all.


All that said...the prospect of a first title in 20 years had somewhat reeled me in and I was pissed off we fluffed our lines on Sunday. That said, I was talking to a mate about it and he pointed out that before Sunday we were P11 W10 D1 L0 in this calendar year in the league. One defeat and it's all over. And we were only 2 points behind at the turn of the year - although both Liverpool and City had a game in hand each. 31 points out of 33 and it didn't give us any cushion or margin for error. It shows you have to be basically perfect to beat City. The only time anyone managed it was the year Liverpool went completely mental and basically won every game till they'd all but won it by Easter. And we all know how City have got there. The question remains whether the FA have the balls to deal with it.

To add to that, this version of City have been spoken about as perhaps being slightly weaker than previous years, yet here there are, on course for another treble.

They won’t give up the title while Pep remains.

[Mac76]

I mean good for you I guess

My attitude is live your life how you want to and let others do likewise. The stadium is a nightmare to get away from at final whistle, so if there’s no hope of recovery I simply cannot find it within myself to condemn others for thinking better of it than to wait in queues outside Highbury and Islington or Finsbury Park.

If the game is 1-0 or 2-1 to us or we are drawing I’ll stay to the end, if we’ve comprehensively won or lost no I’m going during injury time.

For me, like with everything else it’s a kind of advertisement of moral worth. Oh look at me I’m a true believer, I’m staying till the end. Ok how bout you do you and shut the fuck up about it


By the way that’s a generalised you, rather than specifically singling you out.

It wasn't the usual thing of people wanting to avoid the rush, it was the deflation of knowing our title hopes were gone then and there. I get that, but it still looks bad and also it can backfire - I was there last season when we were losing 1-3 to Southampton and people were leaving, but we fought back and snatched the draw (yes, ok, only a draw but still...) those people leaving early didn't look so smart then

[Niall_Quinn]

To add to that, this version of City have been spoken about as perhaps being slightly weaker than previous years, yet here there are, on course for another treble.

They won’t give up the title while Pep remains.

Very much weaker. Shit, in fact. But a higher grade of shit than the rest, so it turns out.