Apparent mics caught Ole shouting ‘he cannot defend, take him on!” To Rashford in reference to Cédric. I cannot recall a single time Rashford got the better of Cédric, and Rashford was eventually subbed off, also Rashford hasn’t scored a single league goal from that right wing position this season. I’d say Cédric won that duel and made Ole eat his words

He confused Cédric with Mustafi?

Interesting that Gabriel has been mostly in the bench since his returns from covid. Could be he lacks fitness from having covid or it could be that Luiz and Holding are simply in too good form to be dropped.
Mari to come back in the group as well.
I don’t know what happens with Saliba but it’s probably good practice to have 5 CB for a season, so next year we’d be looking at Holding, Gabriel, Mari, Saliba and adding one more

Lots of clubs interested in taking AMN on loan. I’m worried that might leave us a bit short at full back. It would leave us with Bellerin and Tierney, and then only Cédric to cover both of them. Chambers and Saka can play there as well but as far as natural full backs are concerned 1 injury would put you on the limit

Cédric has been playing very well actually as noted. I was a little disappointed with Partey. He's better than what we already had and I'm going to chalk it up to him still getting to the speed and aggression of the league. I expect him to get markedly better.

I can't wait to see Gabriel back in there. And as I've said, along with Partey, now Ødegaard, Aubameyang, Martinelli, newly rejuvenated Lacazette, Tierney, Leno, rapidly improving Holding, Saka, and others. The rest of the season is looking promising.

Hoping /expecting us to pick off Villa, Everton, West Ham (5th halfway through the season is nothing short of phenomenal) and with a little luck Tottenham.

Really not happy seeing the city game sandwiched between the Benfica ties. It's tough enough playing them fresh with a full squad. They will have a week's rest.

I'm not his biggest fan but Xhaka has been very good of late, much more progressive with his passing.

Ironically, Partey by his very high standards was quite poor today. Still moments of brilliance but some very sloppy moments as well, losing possession in dangerous areas a few times etc.

Leno's save from Fred was stunning.

Jermaine Jenas on MOD was spot on. Lack of movement was the reason we didn't win despite a great performance.

Take note Mikel and work on it, onwards and upwards............

The quality of play has gone up as quality players have gotten into the XI (Partey, Gabriel, Martinelli, Smith Rowe, Saka and now Ødegaard) and players are forced to step it up a level.

Players are having to play better to either keep their place or be considered on the bench.

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We are slowly making progress.
Smith Rowe.
What a talent . So fluid and so silky.
What a couple of jewels we have in Saka and him.
We are very lucky.
Seems Martinelli was taken off for tactical reasons. Was he really that bad??
Thought he was doing ok myself and showed up defensively as well.

The people moaning about Bernd Leno for no reason at the start of the season seem to have disappeared. Funny that.

Yep. It seemed to be that you weren’t allowed to say Leno and Martinez were both top keepers, some people seemed to think you had to pick one who was clearly better.
My stance has never changed, the sensible decision was to keep Leno, he was the more experienced and most crucially we actually had a £20m offer on the table for Martinez.

Good stuff.

It would be great if all the people calling him a liability at the start of the season could wave their hands In the air

A simple post “I was calling Leno a liability and I acknowledge that I am a *%^@*** idiot”

I've noticed that the various sites that do player ratings keep giving Leno 7/10, with few exceptions. Like this: "Always steps up when it matters and made two brilliant saves to keep Arsenal in the game. 7/10".

If a striker scored two brilliant goals would he get 7/10?

This is true. Every week he seems to do something that prevents the ball going in our net but gets little actual credit.

He’s understated and reminds me of how Seaman was solid and understated also. Remember the people micro analysing his passing earlier in the season ? Absolutely ridiculous

I think I read something from Arteta saying it wasn’t quite working down that left side.
Martinelli helped out defensively but on one occasion he was out of position before he realised and rushed back to make a good clearance. Perhaps as fans we look at the good clearance but as manager Arteta is looking at the player out of position in the first place

Yes.

Why didn't he just switch wings for Pépé and Martinelli?

https://metro.co.uk/2021/01/31/william- ... wsnow-feed

I would be amazed if we haven't seen the last of Saliba(correction we didnt see him at all)
Very telling there is no mention of going back to Arsenal in the summer and proving himself again.
Irreparable breakdown it seems with Arteta.
Such a shame the way he has been treated.
Shabbily treated by Arteta.
Why would he want to come back???

Wolves has the worst recent form in the division (2 points in their last 6 games). They've only won once in their last 10 league games.

In the past few seasons, this one would have 'banana skin' written all over it for Arsenal, especially we've just had a decent performance against a top side.

Watched that Leno save from Fred again, full stretch, looping ball, finger tips just round the post - it is absolutely top class

One the other hand:
1. We've conceded 2 goals in our last 7 league games. I'm inclined to trust Arteta's judgement on which defenders he picks, even if it hurts the feeling of those who are left out.
2. William Saliba really shouldn't be shooting his mouth like this.

Points well made. And actually I’m so pleased for Holding right now.

That Saliba article is sad to read. I'd love to hear Arteta's side of the story. Am I to believe everyone is better than Saliba? Including anyone who has played CB since he arrived? Mustafi was better? Really?

He’s still shagging your bird then?

Well, Wolves in 2 days and it won't be easy.

Especially as his mistake for Nice has just cost them the game. I’d love him to succeed with us but he’s 19 years old, nearly all 19 year olds in the game who actually go on and make something of themselves in the game tend to get their head down, don’t talk to the media and get on with being humble, learning and improving

I saw a question online that made me think.
Do we offer Luiz another year or do we wave goodbye in the summer?

It all depends on how much money we have to spend in the market and what positions we prioritise. If for example we only have enough money for a single signing we need to go for a central midfielder. Then the question would be is there a free transfer central defender who would be better than Luiz?

I know we think we've got a lot of deadwood and signings who have not come up to scracth but is true of many teams - a bad run of form just highlights it more.

Look at Liverpool. They've built a superb team with everyone knowing their role and have individuals who have been at the top of their game. But dig a bit deeper and they have some pretty uninspiring players who have been covered up because of the ridiculous ability of Liverpool being able to put out that same 11 almost every game for 3 seasons. Now there are injuries and players out of form and the cracks are showing.
Shaqiri, Origi, Phillips, Minamino, Tsimikas, Adrian are all pretty average on what I've seen. Oxlade-Chamberlain and Keita have been a waste of £85m. Wilandum is looking to leave for free at the end of the season, Milner can't keep plugging gaps in the squad forever he's 35. Gomez and Matip are both seriously injury prone and there must be question marks on whether Van Dijk can re-capture his form, as there would with any player after an ACL. Liverpool's age profile through their squad isn't great, they had a lot of players all reaching peak age at the same time, which obviously contributed to their success, but how do you find the next wave of younger players? Everything they've tried (apart from Jota who does look good) has failed.

It may sound stupid but if I was Klopp I'd be looking to sell Salah in the summer and start a re-build.

?

Probably like your recent prediction. It could be a win or a draw or a loss.

Awesome goal by Liverpool breaking away after a West Ham corner. Reminded me of time when our opponents dreaded taking a corner against us.

Speed and accuracy and brilliance personified. Truly wonderful to watch.

Yeah and Saliba isn't the only player shooting his mouth off at Arsenal either. Other clubs same, no different. It's all over other media outlets how disgruntled and upset he was with Arteta's attitude towards him. Arteta's version of it would be interesting. Wouldn't doubt that Saliba and Guendouzi talk to each other.

Just because he was/is upset does not mean he is right. Talking in the press about it certainly isn't going to help the situation.

As for Guendouzi, his attitude has been shown to be pretty poor (he got in an argument with a team mate at half time only a few weeks ago) so I wouldn't be too disappointed if he was moved on.

Arsenal only 2 points behind Spurs and Chelsea. What a difference a few months makes. I think the top 4 is out of reach but 5/6/7 seems very open.

They still trying to find a place in the trophy cabinet for the EPL trophy at Spurs?

It was very good. I also thought Salah’s first goal was great. One of those where everyone knows exactly what Salah wants and is going to do but they still can’t stop it. You know he’s coming inside on that left foot but there are lots of small ball shifts, feints and body movements that stop and start the defender each time, eventually he gets the half yard and fires it in to the far corner. Almost unstoppable even when you know exactly what you’re trying to stop

We’re approaching the next phase of Mourinho management I think.
Start with energy, arrogance and deliver quick wins
Find a fall guy in the team (alli)
Results start to turn and players get the blame
Fans get fed up with poor quality football as soon as the results turn
Hierarchy gets the blame for not being able to deliver Mourinho’s unrealistic transfer targets
Falls out with more and more people and eventually leaves the club in acrimonious circumstances
Club left to pick up the pieces of a squad low on morale and with no future planning

Hopefully they don’t win the EFL cup as that could delay the moves to the next natural phase

lol..I was right though, wasn't I? Ladbrokes has sent a black ops team after me.