I would rather City win the title than the scousers (the lesser of two evils) but when you looks at the quality and depth of City's squad two things spring to mind.

1. How on earth are we supposed to bridge the gap given our meagre transfer budgets? We do not have a single player who would get in City's side.

2. How on earth have they been able to circumvent the FFP and PL wage rules and restrictions given the colossal amounts they are spending on players and wages?

I now have serious doubts over Emery. Notwithtanding the obvious injury issues (which Wenger suffered with just as much) his team selections and tactics, man management and game management have not impressed me at all. Our defence is worse than it was under Wenger and our style of play is less easy on the eye. He was like a breath of fresh air when he first arrived but he seems to have lost his way.

Yes the city stuff is mad. If you look at their 3 subs they brought on yesterday in Mahrez, Silva and Jesus they would be the first names in our team sheet every week. FFP did nothing as the authorities bottled it and they should have been given a massive fine and points deduction.

I respect your opinion and I have doubts about what Emery is doing right now as well. His team line ups don’t make sense at all to me he’s far far too conservative but he’s having to deal with major injury problems and 2 contractual situations that will resolve themselves in the summer. If you asked me where I think we would finish before the season I would have said 6th and that’s where we will. Apparently we are on course to get around 10 more points than last year. Whilst it’s frustrating I don’t think anyone can be overly critical on Emery right at this moment

What I would say is that no matter what happens Emery is on a hiding to nothing,

Yesterday I saw someone say on Twitter we should look at Chilwell the highly rated Leicester defender and someone else mentioned it would blow our entire summer budget on one player. That’s the problem, there is no massive rebuild coming that can get us competing at a level that will be satisfactory to our fans.

Then you have the Özil situation. Absolute pure madness when the team is crying out for creativity.

Let’s say we get to the Europa League Final, will Emery leave Özil out of the squad again? What if we are one nil down and need a goal. Will he ditch his World Cup winning playmaker for El Nenny and Willock.

Just bonkers

This is exactly where I'm at with Emery. I think this season is too hard to judge primarily due to the circumstances he's working under with regards to injuries, finances, contract scenarios.

However, if this time next season we're playing in exactly the same way, with exactly the same kind of dynamic around the place then I think it's fair to say we will have an issue with our manager. But for now, I think it's only right and fair to give him some time.

With every game he doesn't at least participate in his transfer value falls. We will end up giving him away just to get him off the wage bill.

It’s very hard to criticise someone who is working under such restriction. He needs to be given the benefit of the doubt but my goodness if Wenger had picked that side on Saturday and put in that performance we would be giving him absolute pelters and rightly so.

Ditching Özil and not renewing Ramsey are big calls and if their replacements aren’t up to scratch then my goodness he will get it both barrels.

The harder you work the luckier you get.

Jesus would not get on ahead of Lacazette or Aubamayang. I'd also question Mahrez being anything other than a sub which is what he is at City.

I think we would be playing Jesus as a wideman and Mahrez gets in ahead of Iwobi and Mhikitaryan every single day of the week.

It's a 3 horse race for the 4th spot. Man Utd fans I know think its already a foregone conclusion. Tottenham are playing well enough without Kane so they should lock up 3rd at a minimum. We're not going to make up 10 points.

So, can we beat both Chelsea and Man Utd to 4th? I think we have the better manager of the 3 but not the better players. Specifically in defense. And defense is what is going to get any of the 3 sides to 4th.

Interesting? Shearer said Aguero is better than Henry was. Farcical and self-serving comment. Henry was easily the best striker of the PL era. Far far more than just a goal-scorer. Aguero is a great player but several levels below Henry. I'd put that knob Shearer ahead of Aguero too.

The irony is that we probably have the easiest run of those chasing fourth spot but probably the weakest team.

How can Aaron Ramsey be earning 400k a week?

It just shows the ridiculous farce that football now is. I mean he's a decent player but I'm not even sure he's good enough to be anything more than a squad player at Juve.

They are going to regret that. I bet they end up doing an “Özil” and dropping him to try and force him out in the end. There’s few players on that money in the world and if he’s on a 4 year deal that contract is worth 83 million, just insane money. I can’t imagine what will happen when they start getting pissed off with him trying to pretend he’s a centre forward all the time.

https://www.arsenaltrust.org/news/2017/ ... for-201718

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Looks pretty bleak (thanks to Kroenke of course).

Now Marcotti suggesting Ramsey is only on 250k a week which sounds more plausible.

Interesting to see the stick and struggles Jorginho is taking/having at the moment. Teams are shutting down any passing in to him and Chelsea struggle. Jorginho excelled in a high pressing Napoli team where he probably had a bit more time and space to dictate play with metronomic passing. It feels that with so many high pressing teams that the ideal deep lying midfielder almost needs the attributes of a tricky winger - good in tight areas, dribble past the press, direct etc

Really wish we could have had a few more years of seeing Cazorla in this position

We’re being linked with Grimaldo the benfica left back. He’s been on some top teams radar before but not made the move. 23 years old, cane through the Barca youth system. 5 goals and 5 assists this season, top level experience and champions league experience with Benfica. On the face of it he ticks all the boxes - this is the sort of signing we should be targeting

Where did that figure come from?

Could it be that that is what he's costing them with a substantial part of that figure making up the fact that there was no initial outlay?

Yes, the £400K sounds like just taking his wage and adding in all the 'huge' signing-on fee that comes with bosman transfers then diving it up over the duration of the contract, slightly misleading to call it £400K a week but it suits making a big headline story (and possibly a PR agenda for a club beginning with A).

Whateva...

David Ornstein at bbc who usually gets his info from the club.

I think recently the club have been giving incorrect figures out to make it look like it was impossible for us to keep some of these players when we screwed up the contract.

Saw this stat

Biggest overperformance in Expected Goals
Spurs +13.6 goals

Biggest overperformance in Expected Goals Against
Spurs -6.6

I firmly disagree that our style of play is less easy on the eye now. We do get the ball forward more quickly these days, even if it isn't as quickly as would be ideal. Hence I see that as more entertaining than the even slower build up dross we saw in Wenger's last years.

Regarding the defence, you may disagree but I think we're missing Mertesacker. I presume you saw that research I did which proved we conceded fewer goals when he played, and when he and Koscielny were together our defensive record was sometimes favouribly comparable to other top teams. I recall you once said that we've had defensive problems for many years. I showed that wasn't the case. Our defensive frailties took off when Mertesacker stopped playing either through injury or retirement.

As I pointed out before, we need to remember that our greater defensive solidarity with Mertesacker came despite not having a defensive midfielder of Torreira's quality. Some may claim without any defensive midfielder at all, let alone one at Torreira's level. In short, I believe the balance of evidence supports my view that we miss Mertesacker's organisational abilities. If he was still playing, my money would be on us not conceding as many goals as has been the case.

I think they got ok money for Matic, I suppose they thought they were spending the money on a younger upgrade in Jorginho - which after seeing him at Napoli and seeing Matic struggle at Man U seemed the right move.
One of chelsea’s big mistakes this year has been playing their two best players, kante and hazard, in not their natural positions.
And they should have bitten Barca’s hand off when they were offering £50m plus Malcom for Willian!

I firmly agree with you here. Look, I'm not going to claim Mertesacker was as strong a leader as Adams or McLintock. But he was far more of a leader than any of our current players who have had the armband this season.

I think over the last few games Bernard our football hasn’t been as good. I would suggest prior to the injuries hitting and our change in formation our football was hugely improved from last season.

Attacking with pace, almost zero dithering on the ball. Pressing and working far harder. It was just much better and anyone suggesting it wasn’t isnt correct.

It’s just over the last few games with no Özil or Ramsey we don’t appear to be able to control a midfield anymore and look less assured in possession. I think the injuries have taken a toll, the formation changed hasn’t helped and energy levels are diminished as players take on more and more games.

RIP Gordon Banks

A cross between Grimandi and Ronaldo... can't wait!

I've been asked recently overseas, what made the country change (from the Obama days). I think the country got exposed.

Hoping but not expecting PSG to derail the Man Utd train. As I said before, interesting quandary the Man Utd management have in the summer perhaps. Do they continue with OGS if he maintains the current form (allowing for losses obviously for the pedants) or do they go for yet another big name manager such as Allegri (if they can pry him loose from The Old Lady) or Zindane or someone else?

Exactly the same as Brexit.

Trump and Brexit voters enabled racism and you have weird militant alt right types everywhere now sharing misinformation, encouraging hatred and all sorts.

You have james Goddard and his militant yellow vest racists all round Westminster screaming at people at the moment if they don’t look “British” enough.

Shameful

I’ve never said he’s a bad player just very inconsistent. He’s scored decent goals but only reached double figures in a season twice. For me I think he goes down as a great signing, I’ll always be thankful but I’d always say he was way too inconsistent, unable to dominate big games and probably wouldn’t have got much game time if he was at another top 4 club

If you were to give me the option of signing in their prime one of Cesc, Ramsey, Nasri or Cazorla. Then Ramsey would be my last choice if I’m honest and judging it on footballing ability.

With managers generally staying at clubs for 3 years or less now it is vitally important that the guys who hire and fire the managers establish a club philosophy. Otherwise you end up with different managers signing different players and none of them fit with the new man. Man U lost it after Fergie by employing drastically different managers with different philosophies.
At arsenal my view is the philosophy should be:
Dedication to fast passed attacking football
Vested interest in scouting and purchasing the worlds most promising up and coming young players
Developing our own internal youth players with the realisation that most wont make it but can be given a fantastic football education and sold for a good profit
Transfer targets should have pace and power

In fairness, Rich, 99% of clubs want that. There's only a handful of clubs who can chase the superstars.

Bad news developing. Looks like Man U are going to have no European distractions in their bid to finish above us.

I'm enjoying it. I can hear the sound of a bubble bursting.

And this without Neymar and Cavani.

It is fun to watch. That’s for sure. May well end the hopes of OGS longer term.

But I would like them to have a congested calendar.

Oddly they seemed to fall apart as soon as Sanchez came on, but that’s probably just coincidence.

Bye bye Pogba.

PSG were better throughout but really lifted it for about 15 mins in the 2nd half and looked miles ahead of Man U. Sanchez is a shadow of the player that lit up our side 2 years ago.