I don't disagree that 3rd to 5th would be a good first season but if we don't see that a building block then we are in big trouble. Wenger also got us to punch above our weight. Unless Emery takes a stand against austerity we are going to be living on crumbs. We don't want to be the club that makes a special DVD when we make it into the top 4 or ahead of Spurs.

If we can pick up 7 or more points from the next 3 games then I think we're in with a great shout. Newcastle we usually beat at home but Benitez will play a very defensive game and I can see a struggle to break them down ahead unless we can get that early goal which makes all the difference. Everton and Watford away are not easy at all although at this time of the year you want to be playing teams with little or nothing to play for and both those sides fall into that category. Basically, we'll just have to tighten up at the back on the road. Remember in '98 some later games we nicked 1-0 and that's all that is required.

Fantastic win yesterday, a few of the Mancs I know were quite sour about losing which makes it all the better.

And hopefully the FA and FIFA will now actually do something about City if the allegations reported in the newspapers prove to have substance. In 20 years we could look back at this time and wonder how the hell did they get away with spending so much money and nothing was done about it.

I would happily have taken a draw yesterday and wasn't one of those who thought a defeat made our top 4 hopes terminal.
Annoys me how some people seem to base everything on just ONE game.
Merson I think has been saying the winner of yesterdays game would qualify for the champions league. What utter nonsense!!
There are still 8 games to go.
Just as a defeat wouldn't have ended our hopes in my opinion neither does a win guarantee us anything.
Really also annoying people saying we have the easier run in.
Have they not seen our away form!?
We still have to go to Everton , Wolves , Leicester , Watford and Burnley.
All tricky games we will need to play well to win.
Really hope Emery sticks with yesterdays formation as close as he can.
Winning yesterday was F******* BRILLIANT.
Love sticking up those Mancs and wiping that smirk off Solksjaers face.
We started the game so well and yes they could have scored a few but we took our chances and they didn't.
Enjoyed the way we managed the game as well.
We were excellent.
Was so nervous with the penalty but Aubameyang stuck it away this time.
We did what we should have done last week which was move within a point of Spurs. Unbelievable as 16 days ago they were 10 points clear.
I thought Maitland Niles had a great game as did Sokratis , Kos and Lacazette.
Ramsey and Özil and Xhaka played their part as well.
We are right in it for a top 4 place.
Win our remaining home games and win 3 of our remaining 5 away games and draw one and that hopefully is enough.
Nice to see Eddie get some minutes as well.

Nothing of consequence will be done about City and any club with owners that are willing to spend whatever it takes for trophies.
Money always wins. FIFA is the last organization that I would deem respectable and honest enough to fix that issue.
Yes, they will make some lame attempt that they will laud as taking a stand but it will be more or less a PR stunt.

Agree about playing those middling teams in the league, although 7th place this year will likely be a Europa League place with city winning the league cup and city/Man U favourites for the fa cup.
I saw Watford played a weakened team v city to concentrate (I presume) on their fa cup QF this weekend.
I see Everton and Leicester as our must win away games, both teams struggle for clean sheets. Watford with their first 11 are a really tough team, and wolves are a bogey team for every top 6 side but have lost to the relegation teams. I think we’ll need a result at Burnley on the last day - hopefully they’re safe and on the beach already.

£72m spent this summer.
£20m Leno - hit, got better and better. Would love to see a highlight reel of his saves this season and to see how many came at crucial points in games
£20m Sokratis - hit, stop start season with injuries, ultimate competitor and a bit of a thug at times, certainly what we have needed but would like him to cut out the silly fouls, collects a lot of cards, only 1 yellow away from a 2 game league ban
£25m Torreira - hit, exactly what we needed for a while, form tailed off about the time he is used to a winter break, can only see him being better next year
£7m Guendouzi - hit, a lot of potential, possibly a bit over played but Emery clearly likes him
£0 Lichtsteiner - miss move on in the summer

Pretty good work. We’re going to need another summer with players who can make a similar impact. Would like to see more young players integrated in to the team, these young lads can take sudden leaps forward in their development from one year to the next. Someone like Joe Willock needs a full season loan to a prem club

I do wonder how much of these signings was the work out Mislintat. Sokratis definately, Leno probably.

It’s amazing value for money in this inflated market. I hope his departure doesn’t mean us missing out on decent talent.

There has got to be good, solid defenders in the lower divisions and in the SPL we could buy. Is it because there is a price premium on British players? I could play better than Mustafi. Finding someone better can't be that difficult.

Apologies for this piece to those who have no interest, or are of a delicate nature, but given the farcical state of UK politics (I was going to use 'governance' but we don't have any), I thought it might be a welcome distraction to hear a view from the Antipodes:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/11/commonwealth-save-brexit-britain-utter-delusion-kevin-rudd

Is he injured? I'd take Holding over Mustafi in a heartbeat.

Interesting article and viewpoint. I may sound like an alarmist but I have little doubt there will be a massive economic crash in the not too distant future. I'm simply echoing economic experts and financiers whose opinions I trust.
How this will affect the UK post Brexit is anyone's guess but most think it will be far worse being outside EU. I have no horse in that race. Just parroting what the 'experts' are saying. That said, it's said the EU will not be as relevant in the future. If the scale and scope of the crash is anything close to what I'm reading (and its going to be much worse than 2008), then Spain and Italy will be likely be in a depression. Portugal possibly. Germany is statistically is on the verge of a recession and as we all know its the strongest economy in Europe.

How will this all affect the politics of these countries as well? My guess is a move to the right in some EU countries and a move to the left in America. Australia is very vulnerable so as hinted in the article, seeing Oz as a replacement in part may not work out.

Whoever is in power when the crash happens, that government is likely going to be replaced. People tend to blame the current seat holders rather than the party that got them into it if they are different.

In his post match interview, OGS wasn't down, he was correct when he said they had 4 or 5 clear cut chances and the first goal was one of those goals that doesn't happen often. The swerve on the ball would have been near impossible for most keepers. Also, Leno had great stops.

It was a great result but I can't say we clearly dominated and that the result could easily have gone the other way with any 2 or 3 of their clear cut chances. Leno saved us as well as leg of a defender.

Top 4 is ours to lose and this is where Emery will have to really earn his wages. It's not the easiest of run in to the end but its easier than the clubs we are competing for it and that is what I am judging Emery by. I don't expect to win all of them. I think we can but I don't expect to. I do expect us to get a top 4 finish though and even a 3rd place if we can run the table.

Very sensible writing.

He pretty much nails it. Yet people are unable to read between the lines and believe they are somehow being afforded additional freedoms.

There’s been a dumbing down in society currently and I really don’t know where this goes.

Lacazette is available for the Rennes home game. UEFA have reduced his 3 game ban to a 2 game ban following an appeal by arsenal. He’s already served the 2 game ban.

3 games did seem overly harsh at the time

170 majority against is my guess

149

Close but no cigar.

What a mess

Damn I had 150 first then upped it.

She's still keeping no deal on the table. Desperate stuff.

Said it before but extending the backstop to the entirety of the UK was unlikely to fly.

Imo the Orange card has been played in a hung parliament. Most people here would bank the backstop but the DUP were not faced down by the government.

She needs to ban abortion and issue a statement admitting the world is flat to get the DUP back on board and back her deal. This should happen immediately in my opinion

I was thinking of who would be a great PK taker and I thought immediately of Xhaka. Then I went to YouTube to see how good he was at it and came upon this..



Even so, it was a while ago, I'm hoping Emery have take some in training and then a game when we are comfortably up and get a PK.

I have very little confidence Aubie can be a consistently good PKer. Any GK worth his worth simply has to study him a little and see that if you hold your ground you can stop it.

Arsenal 4 Rennes 0

We are on fire now. The team will kill this off early. Team won't be on edge, fans won't be on edge. After being up 4-0, we can send in some youth to end the game.

I am not as confident as you but think we can overcome them. But I am concerned that we may concede. If we won 3-1 I would be concerned who we chose to take the pens.

Surprised how little credit Kolasinac has received on the forum for his performance against United. When fit a bit of a monster box-to-box man.

He played well. He is consistently effective and that is probably why he hasn't been mentioned. If someone was unusually good or bad it gets mentioned.

I wasn't so sure Ronaldo would be as effective in Italy in large part because Serie A is far more defensive than The EPL or La Liga but he's been immense.
He may or may not be the best ever but no conversation about who is the GOAT in football would be complete without his inclusion.

Very well said, his best game yet and could be better. Maitland-Niles( Roger can we have an abbreviation) should be pressing forward more too but I like that they are not both marauding forward at the same time as their predecessors have always done.

Juve v Atletico was full of great football last night. By contrast, the Bayern v Liverpool game is dreadful.

And VAR is a blight on the game

It may be dreadful but Liverpool are doing rather better than we do against Bayern. 10-2 wasn’t a whole heap of laughs and quality.

And now they’ve added a third. May not be quality but it sure as hell is effective.

I hate Bayern.. first they let the odious Chavs beat them to win the CL, then they humiliate us several times, now they let Liverpool through. Horrible club.

A different Bayern. The current side is miles off the level of the side that dismantled us a few years ago.

Perhaps they are. But they are still joint top of their league. Winning there is an achievement that we’d be ecstatic about.

In my view Bayern are the greatest club in the world, and I say that as an Arsenal fan.

Bayern are currently top of the Bundesliga. Not joint top.

Top by virtue of goal difference? Close enough to “joint top” as a guide to their standing.

Goal difference counts throughout the season. I'd say Bayern's standing in the game is higher than Dortmund's anyway.

Don't forget their pathetically letting Man Utd win the treble and leaving us and other clubs supporters of having to live with their gloating for an eternity.

But we were discussing their form this season - not their standing. In fact the issue was as to how much their form differed from their standing.