Wow, Xhaka has really thrown thrown the players under the bus with his post match interview.

Xhaka - "If someone isn't ready for this game, stay at home"

I was at home and I still wasn't ready for that.

2 strikers
Wide goal threat
2 central mids
Left back
Right back
That would be my ideal shopping list

Tielemans, Fabian Ruiz, Bissouma all have just one year left on their current deal. All are 25/26 years old. With only a year left you should be able to snap up two of those for a combined £40-50m. If we shop in the ‘contract expiring’ market this summer our money should be able to go a long way

After watching that game last night I think we need a Bissouma more than a tielemans. Totally outmuscled and bullied in a game of frenetic pace. We needed to match that and couldn’t.

To be honest we need both but economics won’t allow it. The club needs to make some difficult decisions still, elneny and Lokonga are only good enough for the cup competitions, xhaka games outside of the top 4. We should sell the 3. You want to break into the champions league spots you need better than what we have. We aren’t dynamic in the middle of the pitch. Ødegaard was dropping deeper and deeper because we were not competing there and has been drawn into the criticism.

Look at some of the through balls for their 2 fast wingers our widemen just don’t get service like that.

Btw if Milan or Marseille offered 40-45 million for saliba id bite their hand off right now and spend the lot on Bissouma.

That part of the pitch needs upgrading and is failing its MOT.

Yes, but what if he turns out to be the new VVD, we'll be looking back in 3 years time and regretting the sale big time.

It's a big call but not sure if selling him just yet is the right call.

Undoubtedly it would be a big call.

I think you have to take that risk. We have 2 good centre backs, 1 reasonably competent back up and no midfield when partey is injured.

Midfield is where the games are won. Just bullied there yesterday.

Now we hope for another twist for 4th.
Norwich play their best game ever to reward their fans, and beat Spurs.
Arteta wakes up the team and we beat Everton.

One can dream but wake up to its reality

Make no mistake, the squad needs to be strengthened. The requisite depth is not there, and the absence of key players through injury has been far more damaging than it would have been if Arteta had more options. How fitting it was that Newcastle’s opening goal started with a foul throw by Nuno Tavares, in for the injured Kieran Tierney, and was then made possible because Joelinton outran Mohamed Elneny, in for the injured Thomas Partey.

Questions will once again be asked about their decision to allow so many players to leave in January, without any new faces brought in. It is also fair to wonder whether Saka, visibly exhausted, has been asked to do too much for a player of his age and experience.

All of these issues need to be addressed by Arteta, although we can be sure he will do so behind closed doors. Not even the Amazon documentary-makers, who have filmed the club this season, will see the real conversations and decisions that will follow this second consecutive defeat.

Arsenal are run by intelligent people, and they know where they are. They knew that it was possible they would finish fifth when they announced Arteta’s new contract a few weeks ago, and these past two results will not shake their faith in the manager.

It will be, however, a source of considerable concern that this group of players lacked the necessary edge at the pivotal moment. This is a new generation, a fresh collection of characters, but on Monday it felt like Arsenal were suffering from the same old problems. Until that changes, they will never return to where they need to be.

I believe the Sun is reporting Hickey a done deal for 21mil. At that price he should be a first team player.

Stranger things have happened.

Bissouma is a good call, a physical presence with decent technical ability and PL ready. Would cost £50m and do we have that to spend.

Another problem is that we have too many injury prone players......Tierney, Partey, Tomiyasu. Three of our biggest players not playing in half the games. Going forward that is unsustainable.

Would he cost £50m with only 12 months left on his deal?

Apparently we've conceded 10 more goals than last season.

I think to go out of the top four rave with such a whimper is just unacceptable.

Did we think we only had to turn up last night, or are we just so mentally feeble we can't cope with the pressure or level of expectation of a game like this.

Last night was a must win game and not one player was over a 7 out of 10.

I'd say Tavares and Nketiah at least gave it a go, the rest were well below par and appeared to be overawed by the occasion and the intensity of the opposition.

Has he only 12 months left?

I think to go out of the top four rave with such a whimper is just unacceptable.

Did we think we only had to turn up last night, or are we just so mentally feeble we can't cope with the pressure or level of expectation of a game like this.

If we spent our entire budget on neves, Bissouma and Jesus and brought in nobody else I’d consider that an awesome summer.

We need power in the middle of the pitch. It’s so obviously being missed.

We’d face the same problems at full back as we have this season. We need quality cover there as well