Arsenal v Sporting, 20:00 GMT (16/03, BT Sport 2)

I was hoping we did not go through, the main disappointment for me was playing extra time and losing two defenders to injury.

We are five points clear with 11 games to play. The pressure to win the league should be extraordinary

But personally if we don’t win it, I’m not going to look back and regret that we didn’t go for the Europa league as a consolation prize

Over the two legs we had one dodgy 45 minutes and that was last nights second half, other than that we played ok.

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Originally Posted by LDG

I don’t think its nonchalance. For me at least.

This for me is all about being desperate for us to bag the title. This is a very young side, with plenty still to learn. It is still very much one step at a time.

We have a chance to do something we haven’t done in a very long time, and so many fans are on a ride. We have been dragged through the shit for so long, that i would sooner us play our under 18s than have the first team get injured.

Of course we have to start learning to manage fixtures, and get savvy in Europe, but we lack squad depth, and that’s chicken and egg. We need to get CL football to justify a bigger collective of quality. Such that we don’t have to field Rob Balding, or worry that one of our top players burns out.

Europe and other cup runs can come. It’s a very obtuse position (a position mostly taken on this forum in isolation), that we are incapable and embarrassing. We have surpassed so many expectations in the league this year, so win or lose the title, we should be bottling the amazing feeling around the club which we haven’t had for so fucking long.

Palace will be a really tough game, and always was going to be. I’m far more concerned about that because the title means so much to me. I’m not nonchalant. I’m really desperate for these young lads (who clearly care massively) to get that title.

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I’m absolutely desperate for us to win the league too and it will probably break me if we don’t do it given the ride we’ve had this season. However this greater good and blessing in disguise mentality isn’t just exclusive to this season, I feel like it’s something that we’ve adopted a lot over the years and it’s never really paid off. Maybe I’m being harsh but I think after January our squad is actually strong enough to have gone further and stronger than we give credit for.

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Originally Posted by Marc Overmars

I’m absolutely desperate for us to win the league too and it will probably break me if we don’t do it given the ride we’ve had this season. However this greater good and blessing in disguise mentality isn’t just exclusive to this season, I feel like it’s something that we’ve adopted a lot over the years and it’s never really paid off. Maybe I’m being harsh but I think after January our squad is actually strong enough to have gone further and stronger than we give credit for.

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The squad on the face of it probably is, but ultimately we also do have a lot of players who either through injury or not enough faith shown in them by Arteta haven’t had the game time to make that sustainable. In terms of squad depth you’re right I don’t think we can complain too much. Next season I’d love to see rotation happen more frequently to bring up the level of our squad and help us compete in multiple competitions.

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Originally Posted by LDG

I don’t think its nonchalance. For me at least.

This for me is all about being desperate for us to bag the title. This is a very young side, with plenty still to learn. It is still very much one step at a time.

We have a chance to do something we haven’t done in a very long time, and so many fans are on a ride. We have been dragged through the shit for so long, that i would sooner us play our under 18s than have the first team get injured.

Of course we have to start learning to manage fixtures, and get savvy in Europe, but we lack squad depth, and that’s chicken and egg. We need to get CL football to justify a bigger collective of quality. Such that we don’t have to field Rob Balding, or worry that one of our top players burns out.

Europe and other cup runs can come. It’s a very obtuse position (a position mostly taken on this forum in isolation), that we are incapable and embarrassing. We have surpassed so many expectations in the league this year, so win or lose the title, we should be bottling the amazing feeling around the club which we haven’t had for so fucking long.

Palace will be a really tough game, and always was going to be. I’m far more concerned about that because the title means so much to me. I’m not nonchalant. I’m really desperate for these young lads (who clearly care massively) to get that title.

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Yeah, this is it, we aren't top of the league after a few years of progression, regular top four places and squad-building - it's a smash-and-grab effort so if we can just focus on it then all the better.

People have to be sensible, we had to rotate and IMO didn't do it enough in this competition

We are so bloody awful in Europe. As MO says, if we can't beat this lot then what are CL teams going to do with us.
As good a finish as their equaliser was, you shouldn't be getting chipped from that distance.
It's just annoying because it's a side we should be beating over 2 legs. Absolutely have to win on Sunday to get going again.

This was a funny game to be at - I went along not being that bothered by the outcome but just hoping for a good match - while the quality was variable, it was certainly one that held the attention and we played well at times.

but it proved they should get rid of extra time as while it produced a few chances, it's just too much to expect of teams

given we had used two subs on injured players in the first half, Arteta could make fewer changes than he'd perhaps have liked - I think we'd have seen ESR and maybe Tierney for example

by the time it got to pels i was hoping we wouldn't quite do it and while it's hard on the player concerned, at least Martinelli was on target and tbh he seemed to take it in his stride

I certainly don't think this game tells us anything about how we will do in Europe next year, when we will surely have a stronger squad

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Originally Posted by Mac76

This was a funny game to be at - I went along not being that bothered by the outcome but just hoping for a good match - while the quality was variable, it was certainly one that held the attention and we played well at times.

but it proved they should get rid of extra time as while it produced a few chances, it's just too much to expect of teams

given we had used two subs on injured players in the first half, Arteta could make fewer changes than he'd perhaps have liked - I think we'd have seen ESR and maybe Tierney for example

by the time it got to pels i was hoping we wouldn't quite do it and while it's hard on the player concerned, at least Martinelli was on target and tbh he seemed to take it in his stride

I certainly don't think this game tells us anything about how we will do in Europe next year, when we will surely have a stronger squad

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This

I think we lost our heads a bit in the second half of the second leg, whether Ramsdale should have come off his line or not that’s an audacious effort to chip someone from there and sometimes you have to take your hat off….anazing goal from Pedro Gonçalves.
But equally we were foiled by some amazing saves from Adan, and even with Martinelli as you say it wasn’t the best penalty in the world but neither was it a dreadful one.

When you put out a mixed team you’ll get a mixed performance…but I don’t look at those two legs and think we were terrible at all. It was actually quite an entertaining tie. It is regrettable that we had to play an extra half hour and it’s possible UEFA May scrap that in time and go directly to penalties if two teams can’t be separated after two 90 minute ties.

Next season is the season where we will need to learn to make the best use of an entire squad and perform in multiple competitions. And yes I’m hopeful that the squad will be a stronger one.

Ransdale really is bloody awful at penalties. Should definitely have saved 1, maybe 2

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Originally Posted by Letters

Ransdale really is bloody awful at penalties. Should definitely have saved 1, maybe 2

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Maybe but he kept us in the tie when Edwards was put through on goal. In my view the burden is always on the goalscorer not the goalkeeper. Sometimes you can guess the right way but the power and speed of the shot means you can’t keep it out.

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Originally Posted by HCZ_Reborn

Maybe but he kept us in the tie when Edwards was put through on goal. In my view the burden is always on the goalscorer not the goalkeeper. Sometimes you can guess the right way but the power and speed of the shot means you can’t keep it out.

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Overall I'm a fan of Ramsdale, but he guessed the right way a couple of times last night and really should have saved at least one of them.