Arsenal 4-1 Palace Player Ratings and Match Reaction

Ramsdale 6 - Not much he could do for the Schlupp goal, but was almost beaten at his near post by Zaha and rescued by the woodwork


White 7 - Has been really good from an attacking point of view lately


Holding 5 - Silly cunt put in an ugly challenge in the first half which he could have been booked for and gave palace the chance to almost take the lead. Protected from himself by White and Gabriel


Gabriel 7 - Solid as usual


Zinchenko 5 - Quiet which is what I like to see



Partey 6 - Can be lazy and sloppy in possession of late, almost got us into trouble a couple of times today



Xhaka 6 - Getting into more advanced positions the last few games and positions himself well to mop up chances



Odegaard 6 - Someone needs to have a word with him about defending set pieces



Martinelli 8 - No sign that missing the penalty on Thursday has affected him. Good performance



Trossard 8 - Makes things happen



Saka 8 - First goal was good, second goal was even better




Subs


Jesus 7 - Feeling his way back in, love how he makes defences nervous


Jorginho 6 - Nothing much to do


Tierney 6 - No frills cameo, nice assist for the 4th goal


Smith-Rowe 5 - Completely anonymous


Kiwior 7 - Nice interception right at the end



I wasn’t happy to see Holding start and his lack of pace, game awareness and his propensity for reckless tackling could have cost us early on….if Saliba isn’t back by the time we go to Anfield I will be very nervous.
Another side that put in a deep block and was going to be hard to break down opened up with one bit of good play…like how White and Saka work together on that right hand side it’s very effective.
I complain about some schoolboy errors but in fairness, as much as I didn’t give a shit about going out of the Europa league this made this a pressure game for us and we dealt with that admirably.

Win the next 8 and we're Champions :sick:

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Originally Posted by McNamara That Ghost...

Win the next 8 and we're Champions :sick:

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Yep, don’t think we are going to win the next eight though

The way I see it. Seven games are must wins….Leeds, West Ham, Southampton, Chelsea, Forest, Brighton and Wolves

The other three are must not lose….Man City, Liverpool and Newcastle


That of course would give us the same points total as winning 8 games and would make us champions

It of course assumed Man City don't drop points anywhere apart from us.

The fact is though, it's all very real now.

City's next game is Liverpool

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Originally Posted by GP

City's next game is Liverpool

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Liverpool have a wretched away record and haven’t won at the Etihad in the league since 2015

If City drop points between now and the end of the season and there’s no guarantee they will. Brighton, Brentford and Everton away could be where it happens

Brighton, Brentford and Fulham away are such dangerous floater teams to be facing at the end.

In terms of teams, we play a lot of the same as Man City. Perhaps it's balanced in their favour by them having those 'tougher' games at home but then they haven't been as good as us away.

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Originally Posted by McNamara That Ghost...

Win the next 8 and we're Champions :sick:

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That’s not going to happen. But I can’t see City winning all their games, especially given their continued participation in the Cups. Our run in worries me but we are certainly giving ourselves a chance.

I think if we come through the game at Anfield unscathed I’d then expect us to go on and win it. It’s a graveyard for us and I think it would be a psychological boost to even get a draw there.

Obviously having to play City away is a killer but keeping the cushion we’ve got over them is key. If they’re within striking distance of us before that game then I think we’d be in trouble.

we murdered Palace today - can't be bothered with individual scores but no-one was below an 8

Holding did a great job

away at Anfield and Citeh is really tough though and I still think we need to Citeh to drop points elsewhere

but hey I'm all in for the ride :scarf:

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Originally Posted by Mac76

we murdered Palace today - can't be bothered with individual scores but no-one was below an 8

Holding did a great job

away at Anfield and Citeh is really tough though and I still think we need to Citeh to drop points elsewhere

but hey I'm all in for the ride :scarf:

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Quite a few players were considerably below an 8 but it didn’t matter because Palace were shit

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Originally Posted by HCZ_Reborn

Quite a few players were considerably below an 8 but it didn’t matter because Palace were shit

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Your team scores are absurd for a team who won 4-1 and are top of the league

Do we need 11 hatters to get everyone above an 8? :lol:

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Originally Posted by Mac76

Your team scores are absurd for a team who won 4-1 and are top of the league

Do we need 11 hatters to get everyone above an 8? :lol:

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It wouldn’t be possible for any performance to be good enough so that every player gets an 8

For example If Ramsdale got an 8 for incredible saves it means the midfield and defence haven’t been doing their job and he’s had to make those saves to begin with.

Equally if the players in front of you have been so dominant that there’s been hardly any defending to do or saves to make…there really isn’t any need to give out 6’s or at most 7.

The perfect performance doesn't exist and this was far from it anyhow. Sloppy in possession at times, bit too casual second half (again that’s to be expected to a degree).

It was a good performance, but equally Palace have to be one of the worst teams we’ve played at the Emirates this season. Decent players, and they weren’t deliberately not trying just bereft of confidence. And I think we’d have had a harder game if Paddy was still at the helm.

Just like last year, Tomiyasu is expected to miss the remainder of the season. :rolleyes:

I like Tomi but we need players to be more reliable

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Originally Posted by Marc Overmars

Just like last year, Tomiyasu is expected to miss the remainder of the season. :rolleyes:

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Sell him, he's dead.

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Originally Posted by Marc Overmars

I think if we come through the game at Anfield unscathed I’d then expect us to go on and win it. It’s a graveyard for us and I think it would be a psychological boost to even get a draw there.

Obviously having to play City away is a killer but keeping the cushion we’ve got over them is key. If they’re within striking distance of us before that game then I think we’d be in trouble.

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Aye, I'm pretty much in agreement here, though I do think as long as we do not lose at Anfield, The Etihad and St James's Park then I think we will most likely be Champions.

It is going to be very tight despite our current points advantage as City seem to be back now and are very capable of winning all of their remaining games.

Basically it’s about ranking the ten remaining fixtures in terms of difficulty

10) Southampton (H)
9) Leeds (H)
8) Wolves (H)
7) Forest (A)
6) West Ham (A)
5) Brighton (H)
4) Chelsea (H)
3) Newcastle (A)
2) Liverpool (A)
1) City (A)

Now some people find rank 4-10 slightly differently, but I think we all know the three toughest fixtures

That’s pretty much right. Chelsea will be interesting because they’re not playing for anything and would obviously love to spoil things for us. At home though we should be confident enough to see them off.

Would be nice if Brighton made the cup final too, as they would possibly zone out for the rest of the league campaign after that.

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Originally Posted by HCZ_Reborn

Basically it’s about ranking the ten remaining fixtures in terms of difficulty

10) Southampton (H)
9) Leeds (H)
8) Wolves (H)
7) Forest (A)
6) West Ham (A)
5) Brighton (H)
4) Chelsea (H)
3) Newcastle (A)
2) Liverpool (A)
1) City (A)

Now some people find rank 4-10 slightly differently, but I think we all know the three toughest fixtures

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9 wins guarantee us the tittle.

You would have to think, bar Chelsea at home, all other home games should be won so thats 4 wins. West Ham & forest away should also be wins so thats 6. We then need 3 wins out of Chelsea, Newcastle, city and Liverpool. I think 2 wins there would be huge.

Of rouse football doenst work like this but i think 6 wins is a minimum out of the remaining games and if city drop points as well, a few draws could do it.

6 of those feel very winnable. That probably won't be enough in itself, but some results in the others and some slips by City and we'll be OK.

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Originally Posted by HCZ_Reborn

Basically it’s about ranking the ten remaining fixtures in terms of difficulty

10) Southampton (H)
9) Leeds (H)
8) Wolves (H)
7) Forest (A)
6) West Ham (A)
5) Brighton (H)
4) Chelsea (H)
3) Newcastle (A)
2) Liverpool (A)
1) City (A)

Now some people find rank 4-10 slightly differently, but I think we all know the three toughest fixtures

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Pretty much agree with this, though I think Brighton at home is going to be very tricky, could have a case to put that game at number 3, Newcastle 4 and Chelsea 5.

Chelsea look a better team now than earlier on in the season but they struggle defensively, even more so without Silva. Despite that if they click going forward they are going to cause us a lot of problems IMO.

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Originally Posted by HCZ_Reborn

It wouldn’t be possible for any performance to be good enough so that every player gets an 8

For example If Ramsdale got an 8 for incredible saves it means the midfield and defence haven’t been doing their job and he’s had to make those saves to begin with.

Equally if the players in front of you have been so dominant that there’s been hardly any defending to do or saves to make…there really isn’t any need to give out 6’s or at most 7.

The perfect performance doesn't exist and this was far from it anyhow. Sloppy in possession at times, bit too casual second half (again that’s to be expected to a degree).

It was a good performance, but equally Palace have to be one of the worst teams we’ve played at the Emirates this season. Decent players, and they weren’t deliberately not trying just bereft of confidence. And I think we’d have had a harder game if Paddy was still at the helm.

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I think you have a different approach to scoring than me - for me a player can deserve a good score if they do their job well and be part of a winning performance - so if Ram only has to make one save in a game because we've defended well, if it's a top-class save he gets a 9 for me because when he was called upon he did very well

also, no offence meant but you - and i think quite a few on here - pretty much only watch us on TV - i think there's a difference if you're watching the game at the ground - all the ST holders i was talking to in the pub after agreed we played very well - maybe that's because we can see all the movement and work off the ball that's lost on the TV

again it may be a different way of seeing things, but personally i don't buy the idea that winning 4-1 is all down to poor opposition, we still had to play well although it's true they only scored because White lost his head but that almost proves the point, the minute we dropped below a very high level they took advantage

it's like the 7-0 Liverpool v Man Ure game, to say - as Gary Neville did - Liverpool didn't play well is ridiculous - even though Man Ure were terrible, how many other PL teams would be able to put that many past them?

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Originally Posted by McNamara That Ghost...

Win the next 8 and we're Champions :sick:

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This is the scary thing (although your comment is likely spoken with some satire), but the longer we keep getting positive results, the dream of becoming champions a real possibility! That hope scares the shit out of me :yikes:
I have said a few times before, it's the hope that kills you.

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Originally Posted by Mac76

I think you have a different approach to scoring than me - for me a player can deserve a good score if they do their job well and be part of a winning performance - so if Ram only has to make one save in a game because we've defended well, if it's a top-class save he gets a 9 for me because when he was called upon he did very well

also, no offence meant but you - and i think quite a few on here - pretty much only watch us on TV - i think there's a difference if you're watching the game at the ground - all the ST holders i was talking to in the pub after agreed we played very well - maybe that's because we can see all the movement and work off the ball that's lost on the TV

again it may be a different way of seeing things, but personally i don't buy the idea that winning 4-1 is all down to poor opposition, we still had to play well although it's true they only scored because White lost his head but that almost proves the point, the minute we dropped below a very high level they took advantage

it's like the 7-0 Liverpool v Man Ure game, to say - as Gary Neville did - Liverpool didn't play well is ridiculous - even though Man Ure were terrible, how many other PL teams would be able to put that many past them?

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I don’t know you know, as I said after that game credit to Liverpool for their ruthlessness but I don’t think I’ve seen a United side defend so badly, It was so bad I was watching through my fingers after the third goal and I can’t stand United

I don’t know if I agree that going to the game necessarily gives you greater insight into the game. For example going back a few years, game against Liverpool I was at…the referee came off with a hamstring problem and was replaced by Anthony Taylor…who within ten-fifteen minutes awards Liverpool a penalty…im seething…I think Bellerin has got the ball and that Taylor is trying to fuck us over like he did against Villa the previous season.
Even after we win 4-1 I can’t let it go and I’m cursing Taylor’s birth even though he sent off Emre Caan. Only watching it on match of the day later do I feel daft, it’s the most nailed on stonewall penalty there is…Bellerin hadnt got the ball and clumsily mistimed the tackle.
Now I’m shortsighted as fuck so that could possibly account for that somewhat :haha: that and I like to sit in the upper tiers during games.
But if you go to a match you’re more caught up in the atmosphere and yeah a 4-1 win is always a sign of a pretty comprehensive win. Then again I’ve been to a few games where we were pedestrian at best for large amounts of the game and won by that amount.
But I’m not giving a keeper a 9 for making one vital save if he’s had fuck all to do for the rest of the game. He’s done his job and been vigilant.
I think what you seem to be suggesting is that I’m expecting near perfection and I’m getting disappointed. In regards to yesterday? Not at all…we played within ourselves to a degree and still came out comfortable winners…that’s a good thing.

To be honest the nearest I’ve seen to an almost faultless performance this side has given this season was against Brentford. From back to front we barely put a foot wrong it was so confident and commanding and certainly no one in the starting xi deserved below a 7 (although I’d have to check what I actually gave them). Performance like that against City?, i think we’d beat them.

Ultimately I’m not the coach, and it’s just as well as I’d make a lousy one…I’d be fired within a week. But the point is I’m judging the players individually rather than the team when I give the ratings.

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Originally Posted by Chippy

This is the scary thing (although your comment is likely spoken with some satire), but the longer we keep getting positive results, the dream of becoming champions a real possibility! That hope scares the shit out of me :yikes:
I have said a few times before, it's the hope that kills you.

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After the wins at Spurs then home to Utd I started to believe. Those are the sorts of results you get in a title winning season. But then we had “the wobble”. 1 point out of 9 and losing to your rivals at home. That’s not exactly the stuff of Champions. After the City game I thought we had no chance. But the reaction to that wobble has been fantastic. 6 wins on the bounce and we are back in poll position. I still don’t regrard us as hot favourites. We’ve got the pressure of the run in, we have 3 of the top 6 away from home. But City have the cups to juggle and they’re certainly capable of slips.

We have definitely got a chance :scarf:

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Originally Posted by Letters

After the wins at Spurs then home to Utd I started to believe. Those are the sorts of results you get in a title winning season. But then we had “the wobble”. 1 point out of 9 and losing to your rivals at home. That’s not exactly the stuff of Champions. After the City game I thought we had no chance. But the reaction to that wobble has been fantastic. 6 wins on the bounce and we are back in poll position. I still don’t regrard us as hot favourites. We’ve got the pressure of the run in, we have 3 of the top 6 away from home. But City have the cups to juggle and they’re certainly capable of slips.

We have definitely got a chance :scarf:

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:pray::pray:

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Originally Posted by HCZ_Reborn

To be honest the nearest I’ve seen to an almost faultless performance this side has given this season was against Brentford. From back to front we barely put a foot wrong it was so confident and commanding and certainly no one in the starting xi deserved below a 7 (although I’d have to check what I actually gave them). Performance like that against City?, i think we’d beat them.

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You gave Saka and Martinelli ratings of 6, by the way. But, then again the week before you were quite vociferously abusing Arteta and saying he needed to leave our club as soon as possible, so you might want to take your opinions with a pinch of salt 😅

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Originally Posted by cricketsi

You gave Saka and Martinelli ratings of 6, by the way. But, then again the week before you were quite vociferously abusing Arteta and saying he needed to leave our club as soon as possible, so you might want to take your opinions with a pinch of salt ��

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I’ve been looking back on some of my player ratings (because there’s nothing better to do than this on a Tuesday morning when you don’t have to work because you condensed your working hours) and I have to say I think there’s a slight move towards me being more unforgiving of late. I think in the back of my mind, I look at some errors players make in the game and think “that’s gonna get punished by city or Liverpool”

I’m also a horrendously negative individual who easily takes against people that I’ll never meet :haha:

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Originally Posted by Letters

After the wins at Spurs then home to Utd I started to believe. Those are the sorts of results you get in a title winning season. But then we had “the wobble”. 1 point out of 9 and losing to your rivals at home. That’s not exactly the stuff of Champions. After the City game I thought we had no chance. But the reaction to that wobble has been fantastic. 6 wins on the bounce and we are back in poll position. I still don’t regrard us as hot favourites. We’ve got the pressure of the run in, we have 3 of the top 6 away from home. But City have the cups to juggle and they’re certainly capable of slips.

We have definitely got a chance :scarf:

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Yeah it's no longer a dream, we are knee deep in a Title challenge now. I still believe it's 50/50 for the simple reason that we have 3 extremely tough away games to navigate and a couple of relatively tough home games where we are capable of dropping points in. At the end of the day we can only do what we do and concentrate on ourselves and not worry about City.

I don't regard us as hot favourites either for the simple reason we have not been in this position for a very long time and most if not all of the squad with the exception of Zinchenko & Jesus have not been in this position in PL. City have the experience of being in this position and chasing down their rivals so it's not new terrority to them.

I got a little bit of heat on here the other day for saying this but whatever happens it's been a successful season, yes I want and am desperate for us to win the thing but if we don't then we would have exceeded expectations regardless.

The most important thing is not so much about this season, but more about building this squad to the level where we challenge like this over the forthcoming seasons.

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Originally Posted by selassie

I got a little bit of heat on here the other day for saying this but whatever happens it's been a successful season, yes I want and am desperate for us to win the thing but if we don't then we would have exceeded expectations regardless.

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I agree with this, we have massively over-performed from where any of us thought we would be this season. I mean, we have the same points now that we finished on last year. I also agree it's about 50/50 whether we win it. We've been brilliant so far, but we have 3 tough away games which will make our break our title ambitions. Two of them are Liverpool and City where we have horrible records.
So in some ways I won't blame them if they don't finish the job and there has been clear progress this year, not just in results but in the mentality, the ability to fight back when we go behind, the late goals which show a never give up attitude. We've been much better dealing with setbacks too.
So, overall, whatever happens we have exceeded pre-season expectations.


But...it'll be desperately disappointing if we don't finish the job, having come this far. If we don't win it this year then I'm not sure we ever will. "Ever" is a long time of course, but it does feel like our best chance for a long time and I can't see a better chance coming along any time soon. City aren't going other way, other teams are rebuilding.

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Originally Posted by selassie

Yeah it's no longer a dream, we are knee deep in a Title challenge now. I still believe it's 50/50 for the simple reason that we have 3 extremely tough away games to navigate and a couple of relatively tough home games where we are capable of dropping points in. At the end of the day we can only do what we do and concentrate on ourselves and not worry about City.

I don't regard us as hot favourites either for the simple reason we have not been in this position for a very long time and most if not all of the squad with the exception of Zinchenko & Jesus have not been in this position in PL. City have the experience of being in this position and chasing down their rivals so it's not new terrority to them.

I got a little bit of heat on here the other day for saying this but whatever happens it's been a successful season, yes I want and am desperate for us to win the thing but if we don't then we would have exceeded expectations regardless.

The most important thing is not so much about this season, but more about building this squad to the level where we challenge like this over the forthcoming seasons.

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Given it feels like it’s exceptionally unlikely that we will finish lower than 2nd, by the goals we set ourselves at the beginning of the season it’s unquestionably been successful.

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Originally Posted by Letters

I agree with this, we have massively over-performed from where any of us thought we would be this season. I mean, we have the same points now that we finished on last year. I also agree it's about 50/50 whether we win it. We've been brilliant so far, but we have 3 tough away games which will make our break our title ambitions. Two of them are Liverpool and City where we have horrible records.
So in some ways I won't blame them if they don't finish the job and there has been clear progress this year, not just in results but in the mentality, the ability to fight back when we go behind, the late goals which show a never give up attitude. We've been much better dealing with setbacks too.
So, overall, whatever happens we have exceeded pre-season expectations.


But...it'll be desperately disappointing if we don't finish the job, having come this far. If we don't win it this year then I'm not sure we ever will. "Ever" is a long time of course, but it does feel like our best chance for a long time and I can't see a better chance coming along any time soon. City aren't going other way, other teams are rebuilding.

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Aye, the mentality shift, the never give up attitude, that has been one of the most pleasing things to me. The standards seem to be high now, "Winning is everything", that mentality seems to be from the top down and it's why I believe we will be doing all we can to not only trying to win it this season but restarting next season in the same vein.

The team have exceeded my expectations, I thought we would be in a battle for 4th place similar to last season.

P.S. I agree it would be disappointing not to win it this season simply because we have performed really well pretty much all season and have been top of the table pretty much all season. COYG!!!

people talk about the Liverpool game being important but for me we need to get something at Citeh - while we froze in the home tie and the FAC game was a weakened squad, I still think that if we lose three times against our rivals for the title we don't really deserve to win it IMO

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Originally Posted by selassie

Yeah it's no longer a dream, we are knee deep in a Title challenge now. I still believe it's 50/50 for the simple reason that we have 3 extremely tough away games to navigate and a couple of relatively tough home games where we are capable of dropping points in. At the end of the day we can only do what we do and concentrate on ourselves and not worry about City.

I don't regard us as hot favourites either for the simple reason we have not been in this position for a very long time and most if not all of the squad with the exception of Zinchenko & Jesus have not been in this position in PL. City have the experience of being in this position and chasing down their rivals so it's not new terrority to them.

I got a little bit of heat on here the other day for saying this but whatever happens it's been a successful season, yes I want and am desperate for us to win the thing but if we don't then we would have exceeded expectations regardless.

The most important thing is not so much about this season, but more about building this squad to the level where we challenge like this over the forthcoming seasons.

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I agree, but at the same time I can't help but be worried about this opportunity to win the league being a bit of a one off given the weaknesses of Liverpool and the Chavs and the early indifferent form of a resurgent Manure this season - not to mention Newcasle and their oil billions. If we don't win this time, any progression next season will be tempered by this. Stakes are pretty high :pray:

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Originally Posted by selassie

Pretty much agree with this, though I think Brighton at home is going to be very tricky, could have a case to put that game at number 3, Newcastle 4 and Chelsea 5.


Chelsea look a better team now than earlier on in the season but they struggle defensively, even more so without Silva. Despite that if they click going forward they are going to cause us a lot of problems IMO.

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Yup, agree with your ranking.

How arsenal respond Murdyk's goal against them will be massive.

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Originally Posted by mandela8

How arsenal respond Murdyk's goal against them will be massive.

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Just score more goals than those chav wankers! :music: