Indeed. Pretty ordinary really.

Nice to see him having a long friendly chat with Klopp at the end.

TG here borrowing Gaz’s computer. Aubameyang was brilliant again, we went really well, Leno only conceded 3 and Arteta is the greatest manager of the modern era. We are truly blessed by this performance.

Did you watch fat Sam's bunch of journeymen earlier? Arteta had 170 million of forward players on the pitch tonight, plus a 45 million central midfielder with one of the game's top prospects in front of him. This was Liverpool's 3rd win in 9 games according to the comms. It was pathetic.

It’s clear to me that every good performance this year has been one where we’ve played faster, higher tempo football and a high press. The pass % may have been low but we clearly look a better team with those tactics. I find it incredible that we only seem to be able to perform at that intensity one in every 4 games or so.
Still major surgery required on this squad, been saying all season and the season before. Far too many of our squad just don’t cut it at the top level of the game. I’d bin off half this squad in a heartbeat

Orbinho on Twitter;

“Since 2003, Arsenal have managed three or fewer shots five times in the Premier League - four of those have been in games under Mikel Arteta.”

On the other hand should they be losing 3-0 at home and be lucky it was only 3? Let's face it it should have been 6-0. How many teams have Liverpool beaten 3-0 (or more) at the opponents ground this season?

He looked lightweight tonight under the physical challenge of the Liverpool press.

Certainly not a no-brainer signing just yet at the £50m or whatever he would cost.

Thank you LTG. I said overall he deserves to be seen as a good loan signing because of his contribution to the cup win. This season I described him as disappointing.

I don't think we can just blame the players either, Arteta picks the side and the tactics and is employed to get the very best technically, physically, mentally and motivationally out of the players he has at his disposal. 12 losses this season suggests he isn't getting that.

He had to start the game with 2 central midfield players on loan who probably know they won’t be at the club after this summer. 1 of whom shite anyway. We know what the problem is. We are a Porsche with a Morris minor engine in it.

It was shite but we’re you expecting us to win, I wasn’t.

I’m struggling to think of many games where we’ve defended deep, let the other team have the ball and offered a genuine threat on the counter attack. With the forwards we have I don’t think we’re actually able to counter attack teams playing this way.
We’ve scored counter attacking goals but we’re not a consistent threat when playing so deep.

Slavia Prague are no mugs after what they did to Leicester.
If we dont take a healthy lead into the 2nd leg we will be in trouble

I agree that we lack energy, assuming that’s what you’re implying. Dare I say Guendouzi would improve our energy?

It is much quoted on Same Old Arsenal podcast that this is the most expensive forward line in the PL. Arteta had 2 weeks to plan this game. I will have to look at it but we have failed to score in numerous home games this season.

Two questions for Arteta today - what are your PKI’s on the process and do you still think we will win the CL in 2 years - a selling point you made to Willian.

There still a good team mate, how many players in their side would you take ? If we had Tiago Ødegaard wouldnt start, if we had Fabinho neither would ceballos. Loads, it’s just men againest boys.

We are a cut and shut design of a football team. The engine will fall out in sides in some games. We need to get to the summer and rebuild. It’s shite but it’s just where we are.

It’s one of those questions that’s impossible to answer though. A coach’s job is to motivate the players but a player should be able to motivate himself. We can all see when a player isn’t putting a shift in. I can’t think of any manager who instructs his players not to go at 100% effort.
Of course Arteta takes a portion of blame. I really don’t like the set up of the front 3, but with the players he had out there was little else for him to pick today. If people think the players played exactly to Arteta’s instructions tonight then sure put it all on the manager, but I think to absolve the players of any blame is crazy.

So you are absolving Arteta of any criticism because we started the game with Ceballos and Ødegaard in midfield? A Spanish international and Norwegian captain at 22, both employed by the world's biggest club? I'll tell you what I was expecting, and expect every time we play - for us to give the opposition a game.

With Pépé's technical skills and dribbling ability he should be bamboozling fullbacks, in the way that Mahrez does, but he just does not possess the football brain or decision-making to turn that ability into consistent beating of his man. How often is he either dispossessed far too easily or just plays a lazy 2 yard ball back to his fullback.

He’d add energy for sure but he’s nowhere near the answer to our midfield problems. He has a big major flaw in his game for me which is the inability to have a picture of the game in his mind before he receives the ball and to receive the ball on the half turn. If we want someone to run around a bit more than some of our players then put him in but thats not the level we should be aiming for

Both of those midfielders are ones Arteta identified as improving our squad. I am sure you did not expect us to win because it has started dawning on you Arteta does not know what he is doing. But your Arteta played Aubameyang who did two fifths of f... all again. Liverpool have been terrible recently and Arteta, with his submissive behaviour gave them the game.

Plenty of very inferior teams have given Liverpool a game this season, their run of defeats tells you that much.

Agreed but also look at all the games he has played well and the positions on the pitch he receives the ball. He’s much higher and often more central. Today he seemed to have 3 players around him and was at least 40 yards from goal each time.
He’s been a disappointment but we need to look at the games when he has played well and see what the circumstances were that meant he did that.

Well said. The acceptance of mediocrity by other posters is staggering.

Who thinks we missed Xhaka today?

He’s not one of my favourites but I agree.

Top players find a way to influence the game, even when time and space is limited.

You also have to ask the question if he has 3 players around him all game how was there not space available to the other players in our side to exploit. Pépé is a headless chicken, Lacazette runs around a lot and puts in a shift but lacks that pace to run in behind so we have no outball, Aubameyang is just a passenger out left if he doesn't score.

We did.

Partey has silky skills and produces moments of brilliance, intertwined with some moments of absolute mediocrity. Losing possession in dangerous areas for example.

No, I think they were both on the beach today in a meaningless mid table contest. I absolutely think Arteta needs to assume responsibility but until we can restructure anyone is screwed with our lot.

He doesn’t get the service or didn’t today. That chipped ball from Fabinho between the lines to his left winger that had our full back on his toes. Our forwards need a quick early ball. Just didn’t come

Don’t Arsenal have to pay the Bank of England £150m in eight weeks?

(1) If by major surgery you mean players out, I expect you to get your wish.
(2) If by major surgery you mean players out being replaced by players in equating to a net zero spend, then I imagine that’s the best we can hope for.
(3) If by major surgery you expect expenditure on new arrivals to exceed the amount received from selling players, I am not so confident especially as I thought Zed indicated reports that Stan Kroenke is being sued over the LA Rams move. If I’m wrong about that, then apologies to Zed.

Worryingly there are suggestions there’s another possible angle to this, related to the repayment of the Bank of England loan and presumably now Kroenke’s court case. Namely, funds received from players sold will not be put towards new recruits, but towards paying off actual or possible debts. Hopefully that won’t be the case. But I don’t think it’s impossible either. We’re a Stan Kroenke club.

MOTD showed some interesting stats. Apparently this was Arteta’s 50th game in charge. They showed the records of the first 25 and last 25 together. Lineker said words to the effect there’s been no obvious improvement. But the brief glance I gave to the two sets of data gave me the impression the latter 25 was actually worse than the initial 25.

Aubameyang played like he didn't want to get his new dreads style in a twist.

Oh well, onwards to Europa instead. Whoever gets picked needs to give much much more than what was dished out yesterday. Too many players just did not put their heart into it.

And he is our Captain, go figure

Losing faith in Arteta. Gives us hope in one match, then in the next, sigh!

With Ceballos in place of him yesterday, Xhaka was easily missed. Xhaka has been very good for us this season. I have never been convinced about Ceballos.

I loved the optimism from some quarters on here on our chances the rest of the season. I won't begrudge anyone for being optimistic. I just didn't see it from where I was sitting. I'd have loved to be wrong. Liverpool weren't that good. If I had to go with one word to describe us generally: inconsistent.

I like Arteta generally, but I get the feeling he's learning to be a PL manager at a big club at our expense. You can solve deficiencies at City with a cheque book. Yeah, its more than that, but bring in enough very skilled football players with a good football brain and they'll figure it out. Pretty much regardless of tactics. We don't remember the 'great Brazil managers', do we?

The intangibles that have been dogging us for several years now has not been resolved. We simply don't seem a side with belief, a purpose. We show moments of it. Don't know if I've seen 90 minutes of it save the 2 final matches of the cup last season.

It permeates the club no matter who we bring in, its in the air. Dare I say we reflect present ownership. Strip it all away and it starts at the top. As I've said since day 1. Anything we win will be in spite of Kroenke, not because of. I stopped watching American pro football and basketball because of people like Kroenke. It was why I was adamant he shouldn't be let into the club and as awful as Usmanov is, he'd have been better for the club. We traded 'respectability' for 'viability'. And with him also being a Trump supporter, even that is in question.

Although I hope against all hope we can win the Europa cup and get into Europe, a season without European football may chasten us or specifically Kroenke into action. He only understands ledger accounts. He'll ask questions as to why revenues are falling, if they (revenues) do, and someone will have to convince him the fundamentals of business. If you have a bad product, you will lose money.

Against all evidence to the contrary I’ve kept hope throughout that we would go on a run and move up the league table. Even up to the start of yesterday’s game.

That hope was totally crushed. Utterly depressing situation with no realistic hope in sight. We have no money and even if we did I’d expect us to waste it.

The challenge will be keeping players like Saka and Tierney.

Mediocre in the extreme.

You say we have no money but I’ve read Arsenal’s owner is richer than some financially doped clubs. Funny (in a curious not humorous context) you raise the possibility of losing Saka. The Metro recently discussed the possibility of Arsenal, as a last resort, selling him to fund transfer activity.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/metro.co.u ... 51641/amp/

Absolute *%^@*** muck yesterday.