Arsenal vs Aston Villa 18.01.2025 KO 17:30 GMT

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

On point 1 - yes you are correct, most of the fanbase thought the summer window was good - I however did not & voiced my displeasure at the time. I knew we were short and I knew that Sterling was not the answer, I also knew that we still needed at least 1 or 2 more players after him that we didn't get.

Even if you look back at posts on here, I'm not sure one can say there wasn't significant disquiet about the summer transfer window.

One thing that is certain though is that there have been few surprises regarding how this season has panned out if you look back at posts critiquing the business done then.

People pointed out (including the media) we would still need a striker and some of us even predicted that act of omission would lead to us scampering in January trying to correct this.

Closely related to this is our tendency for draws, i.e. posters complained that the way we were "strengthening" the team meant we were likely to get more draws, which would not push us further nor help us get closer to winning the title (we are already at 8 when we had only 5 last season and 6 the season prior).

Yes, maybe no one predicted we'd be this heavily hit by injuries, however practically everybody agreed the squad was to thin (thinner than last years) and the coach should be concerned.

I definitely mentioned that Arteta shouldn't use injuries as an excuse this season, and I still don't believe he has a right to seeing there has been nothing spectacular, unpredictable nor unmanageable about the cases of significant injuries we've faced so far (the ones that have impacted our title challenge) :

Odegaard
likely expectation pre summer: overplayed by club and country
mitigations put in place : sold Smith-Rowe, no like for like cover, no rotation

Saka
likely expectation pre summer: overplayed by club and country
mitigations put in place: loaned out Nelson, brought in Sterling (a last minute fortuitous loan, who also has a rich recent history of injuries), no rotation

Jesus
likely expectation pre summer:injury record that stretches all the way to Citeh

mitigations put in place: sold Eddie, limited game time given


Arteta might be proving himself as a "great" defensive coach, but as a manager, especially regarding risks and resources, he's been extremely poor IMO.

[Niall_Quinn]

They don't. But what they do show is that this season hasn't quite been the calamity so far which some are claiming.
It does feel like it's constantly wobbling on the brink of it though.

The season is a throwback to the bad old decades where every opportunity to advance has been met with a stumble. This is probably the easiest title on offer in living memory, every club in the league is shite. Except maybe Forest by their lowly standards.

[Mac76]

The season is a throwback to the bad old decades where every opportunity to advance has been met with a stumble. This is probably the easiest title on offer in living memory, every club in the league is shite. Except maybe Forest by their lowly standards.

Or Liverpool who are, like, top of the league by several points...?

[Niall_Quinn]

Or Liverpool who are, like, top of the league by several points...?

Nah, that's a poor Liverpool team by past standards.

[Mac76]

Nah, that's a poor Liverpool team by past standards.

This Liverpool side would destroy every previous-era side by miles

King Kenny and co would be made to look like the Dog and Duck by comparison

[Niall_Quinn]

This Liverpool side would destroy every previous-era side by miles

King Kenny and co would be made to look like the Dog and Duck by comparison

I'm talking about their team in recent seasons, it was easily stronger and more balanced. This lot are about on par with us, which isn't good. A couple of less crooked officials and an ounce of ambition from our manager and we'd be up there with them. Our recent form is similar. As for Kenny's lot, they played a different game. Send this Liverpool team back to those days and they'd spend thei whole time rolling around the pitch crying about their broken fingernails and torn knickers.

[Mac76]

I'm talking about their team in recent seasons, it was easily stronger and more balanced. This lot are about on par with us, which isn't good. A couple of less crooked officials and an ounce of ambition from our manager and we'd be up there with them. Our recent form is similar. As for Kenny's lot, they played a different game. Send this Liverpool team back to those days and they'd spend thei whole time rolling around the pitch crying about their broken fingernails and torn knickers.

They wouldn't get near enough to them to do all the thug stuff

[Letters]

They wouldn't get near enough to them to do all the thug stuff

I'm not sure you can compare teams from different generations that easily.
There's no doubt the current lot are faster and fitter, but only because the whole culture of football has changed (thanks in no small part to Wenger, actually ).
Point being if that old generation of players were around now they'd be in the same training and diet regime as other modern footballers. And they'd also be playing an era where you can't hack players down all the time without getting booked. How that would translate in to what team would beat who...
Impossible to tell.

[Mac76]

And they'd also be playing an era where you can't hack players down all the time without getting booked.

well plenty of players seem to be able to do that and get away with it

but seriously that's exactly what NQ means when he says football used to be better and I'm saying that if you took that away from them at least some of those players wouldn't be able to compete - and maybe yes if the rest were fitter they might compete but then as you say there's to many variables so the comparison becomes almost impossible either way, i.e. I'm not more wrong than he is

[Niall_Quinn]

They wouldn't get near enough to them to do all the thug stuff

You sure about that? You forget that most of the hype surrounding the PL, and European football in general, is just that - hype. It's not played at a faster pace, quite the opposite. These pampered prancers wouldn't last 5 minutes if we went back to proper football. Pep ruined football and that's why we are all left yawning as it goes sideways, backwards, nothing on the flanks, nobody in the box. Boring and plodding as hell and they all do it.