Get spurs called off then sign Arthur and Vlahovic (for too much money, it’s a disgrace blah blah blah )

I think you’re right kiwi. His reputation got him the sending off tonight as I think others would have got a yellow. I’m not actually sure it was as easy a goal scoring opportunity as some may think. It was a difficult ball to control for the Liverpool forward. The most disappointing thing was, to repeat Carragher, the way Xhaka was left out to dry. Not so much by Ramsdale though, as by Gabriel and Tierney had gone absent without leave from their defending responsibilities. They otherwise played great so I’m not going to moan about any Arsenal player tonight. I’m proud of them all.

Credit to Arteta for immediately going to the back 3. Completely block out the centre of the penalty area. Liverpool do score a lot from crosses but if you pack the box like we did every one of our CB could dominate their forward line in the air.

Yes Salah and Mané are a big miss but what I'm emphasising is at home we will have to come out leaving space for their other ""ordinary" players Alexander Arnold . Henderson , Firmino , Jota to score .

We can't close up like a clam at home .

Nothing given most likely at the other end. With/without VAR.

If you are supposed to be a holding defensive midfielder you will be expected to cover for a fullback from time to time if they are committed upfield without getting yourself sent off. It’s that simple. Happens every week up and down the country

Poor timing though. Not the best way to take out a player.

In the last 10 years, only Sergio Ramos has picked up more red cards than Granit Xhaka across all competitions in Europe's top 5 leagues.

I'm sure it does precede him Bernard .

Got to say I wasn't especially impressed with the ref extending a hand to haul Xhaka off the ground .

You've just shown him a red ; you plank ...... don't try and be buddy buddies now .

It was a bit odd by Oliver wasn’t it. Wonder if he was thinking ‘hmm, did I overreact a bit there?’

Indeed. It is a regular tactic for Tierney to push forward, far more than our right side, and when that happens, Xhaka as the left-sided central midfielder will naturally move over to cover. That's what defensive midfielders do. He wasn't "hung out to dry" at all.

Tierney and Gabriel were about as near to the Sydney Opera House as the goal they were defending.

I still think it was the primary responsibility of the actual defenders to be back protecting our goal in a tight semi final at Anfield. If Xhaka hadn’t bothered covering them, people would surely have been asking why Gabriel and Tierney weren’t in a position to stop the Liverpool player scoring rather than expecting him to be back doing it. But Xhaka was trying to cover them so everyone now seems to be pointing the finger of blame at him rather than where most of the blame does lay: the absent defenders.

Soc brought up a very good point, I didn't think about. The defense left Xhaka out there exposed and alone .

If we have learned one thing over the years is never put Xhaka in that position. He'll pull a Mustafi.
Still, he could and should have done better, but he shouldn't have been in the position in the first place.

I wonder how the back pages are describing the game and our effort? Did they put it down to Salah and Mané not being there or give credit where credit is due?

IMHO, the fact is clear that Xhaka is slow, and will almost always lose out in any sprint for a through ball. Opposing managers recognise that, and lobbing that long ball to a stranded Xhaka must be one of the tactical moves instructed to his players.

Whether Xhaka was left stranded by his left-sided partners, or it was a tactical play gone bad, does not take away the fact that we have a slow player in the rearguard who is almost always ready to be out sprinted.

Not intended to be overly critical of Xhaka. Simply pointing to a fact well known. Which is why, that remains a glaring weak link for opposing teams to exploit. An upgrade needed if we want to challenge for top honours.

Was discussing the game with Americans I know who follow football, 1 of them is a gooner. One thing that is amazing that we haven't discussed is just how far this side has come this season. It's completely amazing. We were literally relegation fodder after the first month. Most of us would be surprised if Arteta made it this far as our manager had we only moderately improved.

Some of us were talking about the 'R' word seriously. At the very best we were resigned to being midtable at best. Lower half of the table probably. Now we are more than holding our own either for a half or the entire match against the best of the league.

If we finish top 4 or 5 it will have been an amazing achievement if it happens. More than worthy of being manager of the season stuff but it won't happen. There is still a lot of football left and shudder the thought we slide down the table but if we maintain this form, Arteta should cement his place as our manager.

I don't know if any side has made this kind of turnaround within a season ever but so far, ours is simply amazing.

Thought the away fans were excellent again last night. I know there are more of them for cup matches but I can only remember hearing the Liverpool fans properly twice all game.

I have to think that by now, the top of the league sides no longer see us as pushovers.

The Arthur Melo deal could be off as it seems Juve are insisting on an obligation to buy for £35m.
The mirror I think report our midfield targets as Melo, Wijnaldum, Guimaraes, Danilo and Tielemans

There were reports recently that Roma will come back for Xhaka in the summer, Elneny is also off, so come the summer we need at least two specialist central midfielders. I’d also be interested in someone like Mazaroui at Ajax who is available on a free and can play RB or Def-Mid

Right now we should go for the Wijnaldum deal on a 6 month loan. We’re
Desperate. Even if everyone is fit and here we need another central midfielder

100% watch Kante and Jorginho cover when Alonso bombs forward for Chelsea. They manage to do so without having to get themselves sent off and nobody says they are getting hung out to dry.

The nearest socrates did to that was in post 540775 on page 13520 when he told Hazuki what Carragher had said. You had plenty of chances to point that out before this post by you, which immediately followed my one explicitly saying it (540889) on this page (13523). Why don’t you just admit you do read my posts?

Have you not seen the stick Jorginho gets from Chelsea fans? Many would have him hung, drawn and quartered let alone dropped and sold.

I think you’re right about one thing though. Xhaka isn’t as good as Kante. I wonder how many midfielders across Europe are though? Is there anyone who is? I’m struggling to think of someone, but I accept that’s a subjective view.

It’s now being mooted


https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/mike ... c3c88d34e6

Inconsiderate bastards I didn’t know that . Just imagine how they would be carrying on if he came close to getting himself sent off in every single game they played

The Minamino sitter as it’s being reported. But was it? I wasn’t sure at the time.

Did the ref indicate a foul on Ramsdale in the build up? It looked that way to me, and the match report in today’s Times says just that.

No matter if we win, lose or draw you can see the character of this side. Things won’t always work out but there hasn’t been a game where they have downed tools. There’s never dejected heads and none like Ronaldo throwing their arms around when they don’t get a pass.

We still have a few players in the squad that need to be pensioned off but if we can replace them with more depth and quality the sky’s the limit,

Also chambers and holding need to be kept around. You need players like that who can be called upon that give their all.

I have to say I’ve really enjoyed this season so far in victory and defeat. The most positive I’ve felt about Arsenal since 2011

Wonder who they’d have blamed if he’d not bothered to cover the defenders who left Jota unmarked and through on goal?

Jesus George .... Aussie Govt cancelled Novak Djokovic 's visa for not meeting Covid requirements .
Djokovic lawyers challenged that decision in court . Judge overturned the Govt decision .

Then the Aussie Govt twiddled their thumbs for a few days and have now cancelled his visa for a second time at 6 o 'clock this [ Friday ] evening .

Note the timing ; with no courts open over the weekend it must be doubtful if his lawyers can get any injunction against the latest ruling .

He might be bundled on to a plane and deported tomorrow or Sunday .

There is quite a large Serbian community in Melbourne and they are quite a hot blooded lot ..... interesting times .

I know we had fine wins against the likes of Tottenham, Villa and others. But yesterday was probably my favourite performance of the season, so far at least. Liverpool are still probably favourites to reach the final, but we showed so much guts and determination in drawing 0-0 I felt proud of the whole team.

I don’t think that their comments are based on the single incident but rather more on the serial nature of incidents.

As I have posted before I have mixed feelings about him. We definitely look like a better team with him in it. But as Mario Balotelli once said “Why always me?”.

And yes, he was hung out to dry by others out of position last night.

Bizarrely city was my favourite. A class performance robbed by the officials. Followed by spurs at home, the sheer jubilation of our fans at that game inside the ground and outside after was something I haven’t seen since Highbury, I enjoyed it so much.

It was pretty much an open goal .... it was a half volley which he botched by taking such a swing at it . A gentle side foot was all that was required .

Might be a good idea to get the Maxply re strung Big Fella ... with the need to replace Novak ; you might be getting a call from Australia some time soon

My favourite performance was the one against Man City. It was like last night but additionally we were so creative and dominant for a long period. All round a more compete performance for me.

I get that it was an open goal. But would it have been chalked off anyway due to a foul on Ramsdale?

What about when he booted the guy on the halfway line at Leeds and was lucky not to go for that?

We had a 11 men behind the ball he doesn’t discriminate he boots them regardless of his teammates position on the pitch.

So are we all on board with Arteta now, happy to extend his contract?

As for Xhaka, surely any decent judge of football would want to see him lining up against your side.

I find that a little puzzling ; but each to their own .

I'd rather be entertained with a few goals scored [ by us ] , flowing football
That game was all about chewing fingernails for most of the match and breathing a huge sigh of relief at the end .

If we win the second leg it will be remembered as a fine against the odds battling performance if we lose it will be remembered as another example of Xhaka Lunacy . .

It's quite hard to argue against that, despite the proximity of White. Jota had excellent chance of controlling the ball sufficiently well to have a goalscoring opportunity and that is sufficient in terms of the rules. And what can one say about Xhaka's challenge, except that we need to pull finger in the transfer market?

It is hard to reflect with satisfaction on a game where one of our two available central midfielders does that and leaves use in such a pickle. Feels a bit Pyrrhic.

I agree with that. What is the opposite of a Pyrrhic victory? A battle lost that contributes positively to the overall war effort.