When will Arteta be sacked by

[Mac76]

It's a fair point that we pretty much HAD to score first, and I did think after we'd not done so after about 20 mins we were in trouble, having thrown all we could at them but not found the back of the net

For me the most telling part of that second game was Saka putting a couple of great crosses into the box, only for there to be nobody there for the tap-in - you could see what he thought after the second one, it was what we were all thinking - if only we had a striker...

[HCZ_Reborn]

We had a record going for about 16 months in which if we scored first we wouldn’t lose at a minimum, that ended against Bournemouth (although arguably would still be going if the Evanilson goal had been chalked off)

I tend to agree with the guy when he says, signing a striker would solve a lot of our problems but not all. The XG in both legs says less about the number of chances we created, but the kind of chances that would be expected to lead to a goal.

We don’t create enough clear cut chances in games and we don’t put away the chances we do create

The tactical game we played over two legs reduced our chances of playing into their hands but when you’re dealing with ruthless players over two legs they can score three goals from low XG chances

Signing a striker is an imperative, but I think signing an attacking midfielder is also a very high priority. Not just someone with pace and strength but the footballing brain to see a pass, to pull players out of position etc. That shouldn’t be dependent on what happens with Odegaard, we need that in any event. We need more creativity in the team

[Mac76]

Sure, it's never going to be a silver bullet but it's the most glaring absence - I think we need two strikers, a star one and a backup, plus the midfielder you talk about

[HCZ_Reborn]

Sure, it's never going to be a silver bullet but it's the most glaring absence - I think we need two strikers, a star one and a backup, plus the midfielder you talk about

Fully agreed

[Niall_Quinn]

We had a record going for about 16 months in which if we scored first we wouldn’t lose at a minimum, that ended against Bournemouth (although arguably would still be going if the Evanilson goal had been chalked off)

I tend to agree with the guy when he says, signing a striker would solve a lot of our problems but not all. The XG in both legs says less about the number of chances we created, but the kind of chances that would be expected to lead to a goal.

We don’t create enough clear cut chances in games and we don’t put away the chances we do create

The tactical game we played over two legs reduced our chances of playing into their hands but when you’re dealing with ruthless players over two legs they can score three goals from low XG chances

Signing a striker is an imperative, but I think signing an attacking midfielder is also a very high priority. Not just someone with pace and strength but the footballing brain to see a pass, to pull players out of position etc. That shouldn’t be dependent on what happens with Odegaard, we need that in any event. We need more creativity in the team

XG is just a made up thing by somebody on a laptop in his mum's basement, isn't it? I mean it's not actually real or relevant? It's just another thing the shitty pundits can fill the air with. We easily created enough chances to smash PSG. We just didn't take them. Even Saka didn't take his chances. It's actually unforgivable. It's difficult to carve out a chance against many teams, so when you do surely that's when your extra talent shines through? It'd be like Fischer finally wearing down Igor Russianbloke and when the big mistakes comes, Fischer forgets how to play chess. I can't think of another sport where the top talent is so unaccomplished, relatively speaking. Not saying I could stroll on and play - unless I was covering for Sterling - but how many times have our players shit the bed in those critical moments where the money we pay for them has to be earned? That's not a measurement of XG, that's some sort of psychological problem. I mean Saka's chipped penalty against Madrid FFS. That's just crazy. That's a moment wher you get the job done, no frills, blast it in the net. To even consider doing otherwise hints at serious problems in the squad.

[Niall_Quinn]

Sure, it's never going to be a silver bullet but it's the most glaring absence - I think we need two strikers, a star one and a backup, plus the midfielder you talk about

I'm telling you, we have a kid at the academy that could do a way better job than an Eddie or a Havertz - I can never remember his bloody name. But he's a very direct and confident kid who could play backup and we wouldn't have to eff around keeping egos pampered. Gyokeres with the shirt, the kid on rest days, it'd work.

I bet we get Sesko.

[Letters]

XG is just a made up thing by somebody on a laptop in his mum's basement, isn't it? I mean it's not actually real or relevant? It's just another thing the shitty pundits can fill the air with. We easily created enough chances to smash PSG. We just didn't take them. Even Saka didn't take his chances. It's actually unforgivable. It's difficult to carve out a chance against many teams, so when you do surely that's when your extra talent shines through? It'd be like Fischer finally wearing down Igor Russianbloke and when the big mistakes comes, Fischer forgets how to play chess. I can't think of another sport where the top talent is so unaccomplished, relatively speaking. Not saying I could stroll on and play - unless I was covering for Sterling - but how many times have our players shit the bed in those critical moments where the money we pay for them has to be earned? That's not a measurement of XG, that's some sort of psychological problem. I mean Saka's chipped penalty against Madrid FFS. That's just crazy. That's a moment wher you get the job done, no frills, blast it in the net. To even consider doing otherwise hints at serious problems in the squad.

A rare from me.
xG is bollocks - at best it's a vague indicator but nowhere near as significant as some make it out to be.
And while I'm not on board with your thesis about modern footballers being useless compared to the good old days where they had a pint at half time, I've always thought that footballers are largely incompetent compared with other sports. How can you be a professional footballer and not be able to hit the target pretty much every time? How can you not be able to deliver a corner reliably? Some of them can, but not as many as you'd expect given it's their job and they practice every day.

EDIT: When Henry was through on goal you pretty much knew it was game over for the 'keeper. I wouldn't be confident with any of this lot. And one issue highlighted in the video above is we don't create enough clear chances anyway. Multiple times on Wednesday PSG broke forward and I thought "shit, we're in trouble here". I don't think we did that to them once. It's all slow build up play, sideways, sideways, back, sideways, sideways, forward...sideways, sideways, back...FFS!

[Marc Overmars]

This season we’ve looked overcoached and excessively reliant on set pieces and physicality. Whatever creativity that was in the team has gone and we’re left with a group of players lacking in any individuality and spark. Odegaard’s lack of courage in advanced positions is perhaps the biggest factor in why our football has gone to shit.

Just hated this season and can’t wait to see the back of it. League campaign never got going, weird refereeing decisions, ridiculous injuries and shit football. Embarrassing cup exits as well to cap it off.

The CL run has to be seen as a positive and something to build on at least. Rice’s freekicks will live long in the memory but it also makes me wonder if we would have even broken the deadlock without that miracle.

[Mac76]

This season we’ve looked overcoached and excessively reliant on set pieces and physicality. Whatever creativity that was in the team has gone and we’re left with a group of players lacking in any individuality and spark. Odegaard’s lack of courage in advanced positions is perhaps the biggest factor in why our football has gone to shit.

Just hated this season and can’t wait to see the back of it. League campaign never got going, weird refereeing decisions, ridiculous injuries and shit football. Embarrassing cup exits as well to cap it off.

The CL run has to be seen as a positive and something to build on at least. Rice’s freekicks will live long in the memory but it also makes me wonder if we would have even broken the deadlock without that miracle.

Good post, agree with pretty much all of it, also

I listened to a pod yesterday where Adrian Clarke said that Arteta needs to learn in-game management, how to change things and use subs better, I totally agree, he almost always makes like-for-like changes or takes off an attacker and brings on a defemder to save a 1-0 lead, not good enough for someone who's paid millions

Or and the referee decisions weren't so much weird as blantantly biased

[Niall_Quinn]

This season we’ve looked overcoached and excessively reliant on set pieces and physicality. Whatever creativity that was in the team has gone and we’re left with a group of players lacking in any individuality and spark. Odegaard’s lack of courage in advanced positions is perhaps the biggest factor in why our football has gone to shit.

Just hated this season and can’t wait to see the back of it. League campaign never got going, weird refereeing decisions, ridiculous injuries and shit football. Embarrassing cup exits as well to cap it off.

The CL run has to be seen as a positive and something to build on at least. Rice’s freekicks will live long in the memory but it also makes me wonder if we would have even broken the deadlock without that miracle.

Hated the way the defence suddenly seemed shaky at the end. Was consoling myself with, oh well, at least the defence is sorted. The Saliba goes on holiday and Raya starts trying to pinch the 9 shirt. And Timber fell off a cliff and that one positive started drifting away to merge with all the other uncertainties. It's hard to find any progress that has been made this season. MLS, Ethan. But if Arteta applies his magic touch they'll both be tipping and tapping with the best of them by next season.