Martinelli for Lacazette.

Well Martinelli has made a difference. Creates the opportunity for Aubameyang.

Look at the relief from the Arsenal players. And Aubameyang was so emotional there. Good one lad

We can't sell Aubameyang. We just can't.

You’ve got to admire the enthusiasm. Crowd now singing “the greatest team the world has ever seen”.

Pépé is messing us up

Bollox. Got what we deserved.

What is Leno doing. 90 seconds left to just concentrate.
Season over

Yes. We have been very poor tonight.

Can't we defend properly? Just hold on to the lead, and we mess it up.

A disaster of a night.

F me. How did Aubameyang miss that!

Weirdly we could have clawed it back right at the death. Sums it all up really.

Holy *%^@ what a miss.

Got exactly what we deserved. Not a shot on target until the 76th minute at home against mediocre opponents is simply not good enough.

Sorry but we are lacking quality all over the pitch.

That's no CL football for another season then.

Aubameyang misses a virtual open goal from 4 yards. He scored that 999 times out of 1000.

The perfect storm of a game is complete.

Awful ref call to not send their man off
Slack defending from set pieces
Dominate possession but no goal threat
Miss a sitter at the end

Don’t deserve to save anything from this absolute mess of a season. Terrible performance

You saw that coming somehow. We scored and I knew it. In all the elation where’s the party pooper saying get the *%^@ back! let’s keep it out! 5 minutes lads if you lose concentration I’ll have you on a plate.

I think playing Aubameyang out wide is just nuts. It's not like Lacazette is pulling up any trees down the middle.

Would you rather lose now or in the semis or final again? Because that’s what would have happened. Apart from anything the creaky defence guarantees it. At least we know where we are. I mean, that’s somewhere along sh*t creek, but at least we know...

Martinelli must start ahead of Lacazette. He gives so much more.

Such an annoying way to go out on the away goal rule when one team has 120 minutes to score them and one has 90 minutes to score them. Some will say we had home advantage for longer, but I’d always rather play the second leg away.

Too much of the old Arsenal today, very lax attitude, no tempo, no energy....dare I say it they thought they could just turn up and go through.

Just when we were all getting positive about the season again we’re reminded what a massive mess this has been and we’re a long long long way from getting back to being a serious team

Like he missed a penalty at Spurs last year and that cost us CL these season. Nothing and I mean nothing has changed under Arteta. That was a disgraceful performance and make no mistake Arteta was totally outthought by the other coach. The moment he went for safety with picking all the experienced players over others we started behind the 8 ball. Like Wenger And Emery when they started protecting their job over picking the form players.

Not just that that defence is poor, but our midfield is always so tentative. Özil, Ceballos and Xhaka cannot make fast attacking plays. They are always looking to pass sideways or back, especially Xhaka. You see the forward play from them only when it is backs to the wall time. Frustrating that this style of play continues from the Wenger days, through from Emery, Lundberg and now Arteta. We are just too slow in our attacking play. And Pépé is over-doing things. And his tricks and flicks are not working for us.

https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/ ... e-17829207

Luiz talks and talks, but messes up too often

A lot of people have beeing waxing lyrical about Arteta but I have been less than impressed with some of his team selections and substitutions.

Let's be real, Arteta's options are somewhat limited quality-wise but why not bring on Martinelli earlier tonight? Little things like that make me wonder what game he sees unfolding. Almost like Wenger's blinkered substitutions.

I want to see Özil and Xhaka gone this summer and I wouldn't be inclined to make a play for Ceballos on the evidence so far.

The team needs to be faster, fitter and stronger.

I watched Bayern the other night and they play a possession-based game but everything is done more quickly and more accurately, the tempo of their passing is much quicker. Not to mention they look fitter and stronger than their opponents.

You can pick so many scapegoats from that performance. For me it served as a reminder, despite the recent optimism, that this squad still needs a total clear out in the summer. The same problems are there. The best players won’t want to stick around so we have to sell, the worst players we’ll struggle to find buyers for and there is plenty in between that needs moving on. The green shoots of recovery have been firmly stomped down with that result. So careless. It is a long long road for us to be competitive again. Next season looks like no European football at all which is a further £30m hit to the budget

At first I thought we were deliberately trying to control the game by playing slowly and unadventurously, but then we as the game unfolded we had no real threat. Our final ball was poor, and our movement in the final third was poor. Lacazette looked a shadow of a player, Aubameyang was stuck out wide, and Pépé just incredibly frustrating. At the time I thought it was predominantly Leno's error which lead to their winning goal, but having watched it back, Luiz inexplicably lets the ball sail past him rather than clear the danger. It feels like the Arteta honeymoon period is now over.

We can go on about needing new players or even a different coach all we like. But I’m fast reaching the conclusion that it’s no more than a side issue. I can’t prove it but I strongly suspect we could appoint Klopp or Guardiola as manager, bring in an assortment of the world’s best players across various positions, and not an awful lot would change.

I reckon we could be in a KSE museum for old relics. The guide says the fossil over there used to be an English football club, sorry an English soccer club, with a great history of winning trophies. But under Stan we think measuring outputs in the context of winning competitions is so shallow these days. It isn’t the Kroenke way. We prefer a higher or more moral measure of success than tacky trophy wins.

He was saving Martinelli for Pompey.

Xhaka and Mustafi are no brainers to sell. A case (albeit possibly a weak case) can be made for Ceballos and Özil perhaps others.

Arteta is totally and 100% incorrect:

"It hurts, big time," Arteta said.

"We had a lot of hope in this competition. It was a great way for us to be able to go to Europe and it is a very beautiful competition to try to win.


"I think we did a lot of positive things in the game. I think we created enough chances to win the game, but if you concede two set-pieces again in a tie like this, then you put yourself in big trouble."

Think we did a lot of positive things in the game... I call BS. Name them. It was not a game against Bayern/Barca/RM. Two evenly matched teams. Now that is a Greek tragedy in itself.

At the beginning of his reign he said if players did not perform then he would get rid of them. Well then Luiz must go immediately. Both goals he was standing and watching. Yep he will take on a kid like Guendouzi but does he have the guts to get rid of Luiz immediately. And what of Leno 2-3 mistakes since he has taken over. Or is he immune. I could just continue listing the problems and players.

The moment he decided that he would take the most experienced players into the game, rather than the Martenelli's, Eddie etc. He sent a message he did not trust them. Picking Leno back fired 100%. He was responsible for not closing out the game. I have not bought into the Arteta love affair and give him until Christmas or he must go. He said the right things when he started, but lets see if he backs up his mouth.

A weak case can be made for Özil having to go? really? He should be the first out the door.
Ceballos won’t be bought, we can’t buy him. Real will demand at least £40m we need to be smarter than that in the window.

For me it is a total clear out from top to bottom with pretty much every position in the side requiring someone out.

I think Aubameyang and Lacazette need to go for the longer term planning. How can a team in 8th with no European football keep Aubameyang, how can we justify saddling ourselves with his wages or how can we write off the £50m+ we’d get for him this summer.
The entire midfielder needs rebuilding, every position.
Central defence needs a big clear out
And I’m worried Bellerin is nowhere near the player he was so a new RB is on the shopping list.
The fact is the team won’t/can’t buy for every position so we need to see where we can middle through with either the current players, young players or free signings. And the free signings probably won’t be Arsenal quality but as long as they are better than what we have it is a step in the right dorection.

Man U have had £1billion and 7 years to fix things post Fergie and are still miles off. How long will it take us

I saw ten minutes before half time and thought this is going to be messy , these clowns have absolutely no idea of what is required . So I went out shopping .

We have as a squad probably the most braindead bunch of pampered pr**cks in the history of Arsenal Football Club .

Fairies like Xhaka , Kolasinac , Luiz , Özil , Pépé should never be pulling on the shirt .
Pépé I think is a total waste of space , so one footed it is embarrassing .

Some left footers like van Persie / Brady / Petit , Pires ooze class ..... Pépé , Xhaka and Özil totally destroy that image .

Where is the leadership to exhort the troops ...? Aubameyang out on the touchlie a million miles from the action

I had high hopes for Mikel but given his summing up of today's performance I'm thinking you are a bit of a clucker similar to the three PC dickstops before you .
Getting our club on an even keel is on the same scale as re- building Stalingrad ... it is job for a no nonsense hatchet man Clough , Ferguson .

I'd be telling Mustafi , Xhaka , Torriera , Bellerin , Luiz . Kolasinac , Özil , Pépé , Lacazette , Leno , Sokratis , Tierney , Chambers , Maitland Niles Aubameyang to look for other employment .

First target in the transfer market ; a decent hard arse leader with a bit of size , someone teamates can look to when things are going pear shaped .
End these goddamn headless chicken performances .

Hire Roy Keane as assistant manager .

PS Welcome back to my good mate ; that simpering little leprechaun Johnny Boy ...

I heard you were seriously laid up because you got tangled up in the plough harness when the donkey bolted .

Donkeys in the rutting season can get very temperamental , unpredictable and ornery .

Hope things are well .

I agree on most of those. The trouble we have is it will be impossible to do such a rebuild over night so we need to cut our cloth accordingly.
If we sell a player for £Xm but can’t find a better replacement for that price then we may need to stick with them.
Luiz as an example is he’s barely worth £2m due to age and size of contract and he only has 1 year left on it. Move him out of the first 11 but I think we have to be super realistic on who goes and stays and that will mean keeping players we want gone
Also chambers will be with us next year due to injury but I agree he’s nowhere near good enough.
Tierney needs games

We must push on and find a way to get Europa League via league position or unlikely fa cup win. As much as we hate it various football finance websites show it is still worth £30-40m to us.
If the City European ban stands but they win the carling cup (likely) and FA Cup, or a top 5 team wins the FA Cup (likely) then I think europa league places will go down to 8th in the league for the 3 places for English teams.

We need to be looking at players who are free, only have 1 year left on their deal or have a good release clause. I think Upamenco is a no goer, much bigger teams will be in for him.
Mertens, Fraser, lallana, Cédric, meunier, gotze all available for free this summer
Beggars can’t be choosers.

If we’re ruthless I think we can raise £150-200m in sales from the squad

I'm not suggesting they are the best prem side ever, far from it. They need to be winning titles for a period of time like Utd were to earn that accolade. Their margin of victories may not be as good as City's but it's points on the board that count. I doubt we would be moaning about putting teams to the sword if it was us doing a Liverpool this season. The thing is we can debate about it being a weak league etc but it doesn't detract from the fact that they are heading for a massive points total. There have been weak leagues down the years but I can't recall a team being so dominant from start to finish. That said, I don't think they will repeat it next season and they need to win it again to start being thought of as one of the prem greats.

Think I've said it before but as much as our unbeaten season was a fine achievement, I would have traded it in to have successfully defended the title the following season as well. I dare say some Liverpool fans might feel the same way. How you win titles and cups isn't that big an issue for me as long as you do. Anything else is a bonus and a good talking point.

I thought Mustafi was fantastic last night, a real body on the line performance. I still don't think he's the level we require but fair play to him, one of the few who turned up.

Conversely, I thought Bellerin was awful and was tormented by their left back. He seems to have lost his exceptional pace which is a real worry because he's never been great defensively and that used to get him out of trouble more often than not. Needs a break.

Agreed, what they are doing this season is phenomenal, and of course it is always difficult to compare teams from different seasons. I'm just trying to prepare myself for the unbearable Liverpool fans and the short termist view, or recency bias some people will have when declaring this team the greatest ever. Everything has a context.
Even our invincible team had large shades of luck. A van Nistelrooy penalty away from it being stopped in game 12 or so. Pretty much a healthy squad all season.
I've said before this Liverpool side remind me more of Jose's first Chelsea sides than the sort of swashbuckling Arsenal, man U and City sides.

We obviously need a big overhaul in the summer but, realistically, how often do you see that happen?.

Too many players on fat salaries with very few suitors willing to pay a big salary and a decent transfer fee. Too many players happy to stay at a big club with all the status it brings rather than move to a lesser club in order to kickstart their careers. It needs some real ruthlessness from the manager and the owner.

What top quality players can we attract without CL football, our scouting team needs to be spot-on in identifying future superstars because we won't be signing the finished articles that's for sure.