Exactly. I want Rice in that 8 position. Apart from what he adds offensively, his off the ball work in that position has been fantastic. The press needs to be top notch.

https://twitter.com/LatteFirm/status/17 ... rQ1ig&s=19

Love em!

Ramsdale must have wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole.
Disastrous error but fair play to him he kept us in the game when he could easily have fallen to pieces.
Havertz!!!!
I was one of many who ridiculed and criticised his purchase but boy is he making me eat my words. Has showed great character.
Long may it continue.

Really took exception to that defeat against porto..... really bothered me.
Unfinished business tomorrow. We have to start fast and with that high end tempo and blow the f***** away.
Come On Arsenal!!!!

Ederson out for 4 weeks and will miss our game with City

Selling Palmer looks more and more like a mistake by Pep. Could arguably already be worth double the £40m Chelsea bought him for. I wonder whether his sale was FFP influenced for City because as a home grown player he brings in ‘pure profit’. If FFP is forcing clubs to think more about the buys/sells in their squad it’s a good thing. You can’t really just hang on to youth players and keep buying other players, play them or sell them for profit but risk being too impatient

the bloke making the flaky dive is already on a yellow ; he should have been sent off ...what part of that is playing the percentages ..??

NZ 2 Botswana 0

City match on Easter Sunday. Cut your long weekend plans short for some, aside after scarfing down chocolates, Sunday dinners, so forth.

pri**&&ck .... stepped in a rather large cow pat mentioning Pires ; should have said Peter Marinello

Tonight’s ref will be very important. Fall for and pander to all the time wasting and cheating antics of Porto and it will be a very stop start and frustrating game. The crowd have a huge part to play in being all over these antics from kick off. Put pressure on the referee. European refs give far more than prem refs for little niggles and theatrical falls - play to that as well. If Porto like to throw themselves down in their own box at our set pieces just don’t get involved in the grappling, just attack the ball. And make sure we go down in attacking positions to test the ref as well.

I’m confident we will go through but an early goal would really help everyone

You missed the part where I said Havertz diving while already on a yellow was not clever.

Your entire argument, is groundless, not to mention your fantasy scoreline and dubious geography.

Have another swing at my question: do you think our players should be playing for the percentages or to a high moral standard?

It is going to require something stronger than chocolates to get through that, I think. Some of Kiwi's nettle and sheep dung laxative/pile ointment, perhaps?

So City’s directors work for free? Nothing to see here….

Another thing is their keeper was excellent on crosses, so I hope we make the necessary adjustments, especially on corners.

I think we will win 2-0 tonight.

I'm coming across more and more armchair pundits on youtube who think we have a very good chance of winning at City. They point out that City have not been nearly as dominant as last season while we are better than last season. Also our record against the top sides.

I do think its going to probably be a bridge too far to do the double over City, triple if you count Charity Shield. If the football gods are kind and we do, be prepared for the media to start saying 1. We will win the title and 2. There is a changing of the guard.

I trust they are not the same armchair pundits who wrote us off after the Fulham game and were beginning to mutter darkly about Arteta?

ditto that

Brilliant! The machine and the beast!

Never forget Mourinho’s Porto in that final against Celtic years ago, utter disgrace. Though I did enjoy them knocking out utd previously.

Let’s hope the footballing gods are with us tonight.

I recall that Europa cup final against Celtic vividly. It gave me a preview of Mourinho. The referee let them get away with murder.

We need to score first and score relatively early. Then I'll wait to see what Porto does. Will they get desperate and start going forward or will they stay patient since its even on aggregate? Either way, we will need to go after a 2nd goal.

They will park the bus is my guess. Expect a lot of play acting, time wasting, cynical fouling, instigating from Porto. I'm hoping players like Gabriel don't take the bait.

2-0 or 3-1 us.

If or when we win, we'll have to look at the drawing but its very likely we'll have a tough draw. There are too many good teams still left: City, Bayern, Real Madrid, PSG and possibly going through after this week, Barcelona.

Usually, it takes a club a few years of being in the CL to get to a final and win. Man Utd were ruling the EPL in the 90s but it took till '99 to win it and they were outplayed most of that game. It took Liverpool a few years. Chelsea were in the CL regularly most years since the early '00s and didn't win it till 2012, 8 years after having mega money. Liverpool in 2019 after a long stint in the competition. City last season after having big money for several years.

First year back in after a long lay off? Not likely. It's just against the odds. I would love it but just want to see us play well.

Didn’t they play Monaco in that CL final?

Hmmm not wanting to appear to have my bum cheeks wedged on the fence pailings but that is a bit of a tough one . On the one hand I hate it in sport where due to sending off , sin binning , some injustice a team [ even the All Blacks gains a win] but then again I guess if Havertz tripping on his own bootlace and gaining a penalty to beat Tottenham I'd be screaming " Do it again "

......which just goes to show I'm a really knowledgeable flaky likeable dipsh**t .

Okay on to today this should be a hell of a match ....we can't sit around playing safe we have to go for the jugular and we get one we have to go hard for a second .

If they score one we have to score three is that right ....?

One of my sons Scott is already in the stadium so I'm hoping he has an enjoyable watch . 4-0 Havertz 2 Trossard and Saliba

Yes they beat Monaco in the CL the year after winning the UEFA cup, that was the run where they tipped utd out. Mourinho did the infamous knee slide at old Trafford.

They played Celtic in the 2003 UEFA Cup final and then beat Monaco in the 2004 CL final, beating Man Utd along the way (with a goal that should not have stood). That was the one when Maureen ran up the touchline at Old Trafford and we all laughed not realising that an absolute prick had just arrived. The Celtic final was an abhorrent display of diving and cheating. Martin O'Neill was apoplectic after that game as it really was horrible.

Anyway, Mourinho is now a dinosaur and we are going to stuff Porto tonight.

I'm very nervous tonight

Porto want to slow the game down take out any urgency out of our attack.

Porto players drop when touched. Referee not buying it

Porto are employing some tactics you'd never see in the PL. Could be a very difficult game.

Porto's press is good. Could be a game for Zinchenko.

It’s like trying to get hold of a slippery pig.

Saliba seems a wee bit off

They're controlling the game.

Edit

Trossard!!!!!!

Trossard!!!!!!!!!!

What a magic goal.................

Beautiful goal and we really needed it to settle things down.

Now that buggers up Porto time wasting tactics .

Hmmm thinking on .... maybe given our free scoring of late Porto wont want to come out of their shell .

Frustrate us and take it to penalties could be the plan .

Just as I was thinking trossard was really struggling

Ødegaard 's assist was beautiful

Beautiful assist from Ødegaard.