I’ve watched Arsenal lose 2 European finals in Paris and despite some hellish circumstances they did mean something to me.

Better to have loved and been a contender and lost than opting out in life,

Absolutely! It's interesting, though, how some final appearances add credibility to a team and others don't. Losing in 2006 was horrendous, but it was a courageous performance and at least it shut people up for a while about us getting eliminated, inevitably, in the round of 16. (Even though we did, yet again, the following season by PSV #$%@ing Eindhoven.)

Speaking of final appearances, the fact that as a non-artificlally-financially-propped-up club we've appeared in seven FA Cup finals since 2001 and won them all is a truly spectacular achievement. Yay, us.

On paper at least, it looks like an Arsenal vs Man Utd final. I hope it isn't. My nerves couldn't stand the build up and actual game.

I agree. Please don't waste available funds on Ceballos

Think about it TG. Why are you already moaning about potential moaning?

Your moaning about me highlighting the potential moaning that will occur.

Your layering moans on top of moans

Next season's rumoured away shirt. Pretty nice with the cannon rather than the full club crest

Now you're moaning about gooner7 moaning about you moaning about potential moaning.....
Now you've got me at it

The cannon looks far better than the actual crest I think

What a pleasant bunch we’re up against next.

https://www.skysports.com/share/12250806

Can I moan about you using your instead of you’re?

That’s fine !

Your a gentleman.

I'm hoping there is a buzz around the club that extends to the domestic campaign. We've all seen clubs get far more motivated for European nights than for the domestic season.

I expect us to raise our game now, but I'll wait and see if that comes to fruition.

That's a player I haven't thought about for a long time! We've been spoiled with good left backs during my time following Arsenal; Tierney is excellent, and before him there was Monreal who I felt was criminally underrated and was honestly one of the best full backs in the league for a few years. Before him there was a season or two with Gibbs and Andre Santos that wasn't great, but before that we had Clichy, Cole, and then Sylvinho (who I remember as a good player) for a short while in between Cole and Winterburn.

And then before my time there was of course Sansom who I know is very highly rated.

I think Bernard was kinda right on clichy who was a workman like fullback who I think suffered because of wengers lack of defensive coaching discipline and structure rather than his own ability, Gibbs was ok but not combative enough and Monreal was very solid but over rated by our fans. I felt certain wingers could really get to him in some games.

Tierney for me is easily the best since cole and I think it’s noticeable how the attacks coming down our right flank aren’t as regular when soares plays rather than a Bellerin.

Yes that is a good term. Frankly when he is not scoring, which he is paid handsomely to do, he adds little to the forward play and does not assist defensively. Unless we win the Europa I think we should try and sell him and start rebuilding the forward line. Our contract was much too generous for us not playing in the CL.

Weird how things develop. At the time of his contract renewal I was hugely concerned about the effect of him leaving. He just bailed us out so many times that it was hard to imagine us without him. We appeared to be a one man team.

Now oddly we often seem to be a 10 man team with him as a passenger. All seems to have happened so quickly.

Is it that he’s changed or the attitude of our fans towards him has? I don’t see a hugely different player this year despite what people say just a different team around him and a different attitude towards him.

He’s always been more of a Lineker type striker with pace as far as I have seen him he was never a target man and his goal scoring record is superb especially as in some games he starts wide. At the start of the season he was getting no service where we were struggling to create 2 chances per game and he still put goals away. I don’t understand why people are saying apart from his goals he doesn’t add anything to the team ? It’s always been that way like many of the great strikers ? Do you see people saying apart from his goals zlatan doesn’t contribute ?

I asked during the match if Aubameyang was sulking after the weekend; but maybe it's that he isn't as good or as committed as he used to be.

I'm not sure I'd miss him if he went. You don't see many opposing teams double marking him or anything; he certainly isn't a 'physical' presence in any way.

We didn't miss him against 'them' on Sunday did we?

Just ignore that contract you dope. They are all getting paid huge money and despite missing a few chances this week if a chance was to fall to a player in our squad you want it to be him.

It won’t be easy or cheap to replace Aubameyang trust me.

Do you know who was hard working and great defensively ? Maroune Chamakh. We should re sign him.

He’s only in the side to do one job.

Hardly. In the first 10 games he scored two goals

He’s a great player who when he’s in form does add more than ‘simple’ goal scoring. He terrorises defences and probably makes them sit 5 yards deeper.

But he’s off form and had a woeful start to the season. And now perhaps has had his confidence knocked by being dropped. I hope he gets back to top form because he’s genuinely world class. But to claim he’s had a good season is odd. We’ve seen him play well, this isn’t it.

Firstly I didn’t say he’s had a good season I said people’s attitude towards him has changed . The team had a woeful start to the season though. No settled line up no attacking midfielder that isn’t his fault. It was dire.

At the end of the day he’s the fastest arsenal player of all time to reach 50 premier league goals and his goals per minutes record is better than Thierry Henry, your advocating selling an Henry and Ian Wright type striker to find better with little money. Utterly ridiculous nonsense and the teeth nashing on display when he misses a chance is pathetic (and I’m aware they were 2 shocking misses yesterday)

A good draw for Arsenal, and the two English clubs look favourites to reach the final. Certainly not guaranteed, but favourites.

For players of energy and pace, I’ve always considered 32 to be the approximate age when those factors decline. Aubameyang is fast approaching his 32nd birthday on 18th June. Obviously that’s an approximate age, with roughly six months either way, give or take. Aubameyang has generally been in poor form since he signed his new contract. Is that a coincidence or has his attitude changed? Hopefully it’s a coincidence. But being dropped for disciplinary reasons against Tottenham could suggest otherwise.

Alternatively, is it feasible his decline has started the early side of 32? If so, is it a concern he signed for three more years? Let’s face it, people were moaning here for ages about a lack of creativity. With Saka, Ødegaard, Smith Rowe and Pépé, not to mention Willian and Ceballos, we currently have loads of creative players now competing for places. Plus Xhaka who, although it’s not primarily what he’s in the side for, has been known to pass creatively as shown by that defence splitting pass a while back to Tierney who provided the formal assist. But despite that, Aubameyang has still been poor.

I think with Aubameyang, last season what he brought to the team was goals when a lot of our other play was basically non existent. This season the squads ethos has changed and you need to be multi faceted and assume responsibility for defensive as well as attacking opportunities. I am now not sure that he is the way forward. I consider him a luxury player: this would not sit easily with our plans if I am in any way grasping Arteta’s project.

When Pep arrived at City Aguero had to change to fit the game plan. In fact Aguero was half way out the door but he changed. It is one of those situations where we need his goals but we need him to do more. I just don’t know if he is part of the way forward and if not then we need him gone. Probably about 15 games left in the season to convince us one way or the other. I will look on with interest.

Asking your main striker to do defensive work is daft, work ethic and energy fine but they are paid to do one thing and that’s put the ball in the net. They are there for the clinical moments in a football match, if they don’t achieve that they will get stick. The quality of the team affects strikers too, stick de bruyne and gundogen in our team and Aubameyang is dripping in goals. That has to be considered. We have a Porsche with a tractor engine.

On his age I usually see the start of decline for strikers being 34 or slightly earlier depending on their game. Ian Wright was 34 when he scored his hat trick v Bolton. 33 when Wenger joined the club. People are too focussed on Aubameyangs age at 32

Jamie vardy is 34 years old and despite only scoring 3 more goals than Aubameyang this year nobody is discussing his decline least of all his own fans. This points to a change in attitude of our supporters for me and not necessarily his ability.

Describing the first Arsenal player to reach 50 league goals quickest and best goals per minutes strike rate as a “luxury player” ? Surely one of the silliest things said on here in a while

So if Aubameyang’s decline isn’t down to age, doesn’t that increase the likelihood it’s down to a change in attitude after the contract extension? If so, to me that sounds just as worrying.

There have been a few games where I don’t think he has put in the effort. He is supposed to be captain ; he needs to act like it. Despite what others think- no player can just park themselves up in the penalty area. Those days have gone, particularly at a club like ours that is mid table.

Or just a run of bad form? Before the dropping incident and his poor form is in the Europa league game where the whole team was sluggish, he'd been showing signs of being back to his best.

If you think he's showing signs of decline, could you explain which attributes you think have diminished? Pace? Ability to find pockets of space? Shooting ability?

Alex Ferguson always knew when to get rid of his stars. Look at the number he offloaded early and look how he always replaced them mostly with younger players.

Sanchez went at almost the best time. Holding onto Ozul was the worst decision ever made etc etc.

I’d say his pace has declined. It’s inevitable. I remember telling you once that Usain Bolt’s fastest time was a few days before he reached his 23rd birthday. So he was still 22. He continued winning gold medals galore because as a one off, nobody could beat him even when he was past his quickest. With the same training, diet and so on, people get slower as they get increasingly older. As I said earlier, for me 32 is about the age when I think players with great pace begin to wave goodbye to their peaks. However, good a season Vardy is having, I bet he’s lost some pace. It’s what happens to human beings. There’s no point in denying it.

Maybe it is a poor run of form. But it’s quite a time since he signed that contract, so it’s turning into a bloody long run of poor form. Or, as I asked, perhaps it’s a change in attitude. I don’t know the answer, just like everyone here. But I suggest it’s a question worth asking.

I agree that it is a question worth asking. However, it seemed to me you had only set out two of the three possible answers: which are a poor run of form, age-induced decline, or change in attitute.

He renewed his contract in mid-September. That’s over six months ago. I was going to say it’s turning into a bloody long run of poor form. But maybe it already is one, if that really is the reason.

True, but he hung onto the real nuggets, like Giggs and Scholes. And when he sold top players, he always had the resources to replace them (or already had world class young talent like Ronaldo and Rooney when he sold RvN).

The signs are that Arteta will not be sentimental and will move on players who don't fit. However, as Top Gun has correctly argued, you don't let a player who has scored 83 goals in 133 appearance go without having a clear idea of how you are going to replace those goals.

It’s more that, a bit like Henry before him, I just couldn’t imagine the side without him. And now I can. That’s not to say that I want him out.

I’m less convinced than you though about his current effectiveness to the team’s efforts.

I do agree with that. But I’d add the proviso that rather than only taking the global figures for his time at Arsenal into account (if that is what you’re doing), it’s surely necessary to consider their recent contributions for a player approaching 32.

It is a longish time. But its been quite an unsettled time, with the team lacking creativity in the first part of the season and Aubameyang in and out for various reasons. I don't rule out that you may be right, although my instinct is that he's got another year or so in him. Too early to say, in my view.

Of course. The point is that it is much tougher for Arteta than it was for Ferguson (which is the comparison Chris was making). When they sold RvN they had Ronaldo, Giggs, Rooney, Solsjaer and Saha. Arteta's got Lacazette and a bunch of unproven kids.