D@mn it!

Literally the last kick of the frigging game. Doh!

jammy spurs, and now manure. *&&^%^

These last minute winners are getting ridiculous - especially for teams who haven’t been dominating the game and knocking on the door for ages.
Spurs, Man U, Liverpool, City and Chelsea have all had 90+ minute goals to win games.
Shows how far ahead we’ve been with performances this season as we haven’t needed those late goals to rescue wins for us.

It’s annoying though because I want as much distance as possible and even though it’s 10+ points to some of these teams the relative performances feel like that gap should be much bigger

I saw a picture of Emile Smith Rowe recently and it seems he’s been on a bulking up diet.
With Vieira, Arteta noted it had been difficult because he carried an injury and didn’t get the full pre season. I think that is a big thing for players. Arteta said this month + break with the training and friendly games we’ve organised will do him the world of good. If he can step up in the second half of the season as well as us making a couple of shrewd signings then you never know what might happen

Manure aren't rubbish. They are consistently winning games and they are a threat.

I mean, they haven't won two games in a row since early september, and several of their wins (including today) were thoroughly undeserved. They're only a threat to us if our level drops considerably.

If we win our home games v West Ham, Brentford, B'mouth, Palace, Leeds, Saints, Brighton, Wolves, Everton (ie: all homes games not v the big 6 + newcastle) That is another 27 points which puts us on 64 points

Then if you took wins away v the bottom half of the league (villa, everton, Leicester, west ham, Forest) that is another 15 points which takes us to 79 points which will be easily enough for top 4.

So 14 more wins from the remaining 24 games all against teams no higher than 7th.

Then we would probably need to find a further 4 wins from the rest to be very very close to winning the title.

All a lot of ifs and buts, but we've put ourselves in a great position with the consistency

We've got a defining January but so have City, and I think they'll sneak our home game v City at the end of these tough runs for both teams.

A couple of issues that could dictate how we end up: I want Man City to go all the way to the CL final and hope they get a couple of difficult draws on the way. Like wise it would probably suit us better if Man U continued into the later rounds of Europa. The distraction that is Europe can make the EPL difficult.

And before you say anything about us in Europe, I think we need to make a difficult decision early in the new year. If we start after the WC all guns blazing and maintain momentum in the league I would be prepared to play a totally second team in Europa and if we exit we exit as long as the league form continues. I would play good teams in the FA Cup.

Would I strengthen in January: yes, Partey cover and a Xhaka cover. Viera may get there, the skill set is good going forward but can quickly recover to defend. A lot of people talk about Tielmanns but one of the podcasts (maybe Arsenal Vision) did a lot of reviews on him pre season and what they found was he was really good with the ball going forward but he was basically terrible if we lost possession. If Arteta has formed a similar opinion that is never going to work as defensive abilities are high on his tick list even for players like Martenelli and Jesus. The other player I would like to see is another forward to cover Jesus. But I have no idea of names in that space. I have wondered about a cheeky low bid for Raphina who on all accounts is a dud at Barca. All these players would fit nicely into the Europa second team and strengthen it as well as providing cover.

One last matter, goalkeeper cover. It appears to me that no one is actually a good back up. I know I am biased but Matt Ryan has lost his place at his club and I think he would be a cheap and reliable second keeper who may have no problem with the role.

What were Fulham doing, 4v4 at the back in the 93rd minute of a tight match.
‘If you can’t win it make sure you don’t lose it’

OK, I'll say it - "Well played England!" We love you Buttler...

That Gazpacho kid looks alright doesn’t he

That's a huge ask Rich. There will be home games against seemingly weaker opposition but it may come after a hard fought, energy draining Europa league of FA cup tie.

We look great at home though. I want to see how we do away to the big six. If we get a draw most of the time (hopefully an occasional win) and limit the loss to 1 or 2 at most (City/Liverpool), winning away to Chelsea was huge. Drawing at worse at Tottenham will be good obviously and we are capable of a win but its an NLD so.... lol. A draw at City will feel like a victory. Away to Liverpool will be tricky. Depends on which Liverpool team we catch. If were to play at Old Trafford now we'd do no worse than a draw.

Speaking of which, they use Martial and Rashford on long balls very effectively. They have nice size and are fast and can shrug off the bumps from central defenders. They used to perfection against us. We were able to neutralize it against Chelsea and Aubameyang.

Ronaldo’s interview last night will be poured over by the press. Sadly I think it will just unite the fans and club around ten Hag even more. Ronaldo is pretty embarrassing, how he can say all of what he said without once looking in the mirror is pretty staggering?

I agree but it is good to see discord in a rival's ranks.

I urge Ronaldo to speak up even more and not hold back. unless he's a pussy. Call out some players by name plus coaching staff

A lot of what Ronaldo says and is complaining about is certainly true and it should be called out, things like the training facilities not being updated in 10 years. But everything else, the stuff about the manager not respecting him is nonsense. He was the player who tried to engineer a move away from the club this summer (and had no takers), he was the player who reported back late after his summer break and he was the player who refused to be substituted on recently.

Some Man U fans will come out with the usual nonsense 'he's the goat, his standards are elite, he's an example to the youngsters...blah blah' The fact is the game has moved beyond him now. In the new(ish) era of the complete team ethic of the high press, acute tactical thinking and both being reliant on mobile, hard working intelligent forwards - the space for a selfish penalty box striker is fading

Ronaldo is an egotistical *%^@. Always has been, the moment he signed for united I said this would happen.

Just absurd that he’s throwing his toys out the pram and it will be interesting to see how they respond.

Agreed.
I recall Ferdinand telling stories of how if a player or former player said Messi was the better player he'd moan to Rio and try to call that person to ask them why. He cares for nothing but himself in a team game. He has craved individual glory over anything else his whole career.

With all the stick that CR7 has received on here how many of you wish that he signed for us before Man U snuck in and nicked him all those years ago You never know if these stories are true but it seems that’s the way it went
I think on balance I wish we’d signed
him

A great player in his prime and of course we’d want him but I kind of view him in the same way I think of Ibrahimovic in that if they had both joined they wouldn’t have hung around long at all.

Yep, LA Galaxy.

https://www.planetfootball.com/quizzes/ ... el-arteta/

Quick quiz if you're interested. 51 players are represented Arsenal under Arteta, name them all.

I managed to get 46 (missed a rather big name as well!)

Of course, I doubt the only team in his career that regret signing him are Man U 1 year ago. He bought huge success to all those teams so I'd have loved us to have got him instead of Man U back in 2004 or so. Doesn't change my opinion of him as a person and his current attitude

He would have been amazing for us Andy. What a player he was in those days, would have loved to have had him.

Might have been just click-bait (if it existed then!), but around the time we were supposedly courting Ronaldo, weren't we also linked to Van Nistelrooy?
We've come a long way from the Ceefax and Compuserve days!
Still have my short-wave radio though - a life-saver for hard to get footie intel back in the day!

Might well have been click bait RB......I think I saw him in an eleven.....of players we woulda coulda shoulda signed.....Ibrahimovic as TG pointed out VN as you say and I think Drogba also.....who knows.....what may have been

Terrific player and a terrific body of work......I still f...ing hate the flash you know what

Looking ahead to January signings, I'm struggling to think of a better potential signing than Ruben Neves. He just ticks all the boxes for me; very comfortable in the no 6 position but could easily play as an 8 as well in our team, technically very good, excellent passer, ability to play under pressure, not afraid to get stuck in and has a very good shot on him as well. He's also just 25 but already have four excellent seasons in the PL so he's unlikely to need any adjustment period at all.

It's hard to speculate about our budget and whether he'd be available, but for the second part you have to figure he'd jump at the chance to come to Arsenal playing the way we're doing so maybe he could push for a move if we show interest. I think he'd be an amazing signing, and would go a long way to increase our chances of challenging for the full season.

Really hope we go for PL proven players in January, without completely stepping away from the transfer policy that has worked so well in recent years. You never know what will happen next season with so many teams capable of spending big, so we have to make the most of this opportunity.

Yes in those early days and then resale value. But now I don’t rate him

100% agree. Every time I see him play he impresses. Arteta is supposedly an admirer and as you say he has 4 years under his belt in the Prem. Ticks all the boxes!

His antics are similar to Aubameyang

Agree with you on Neves. Would love for us to put in a bid. I'm quite sure Neves will relish the chance to jump from relegation candidate to potential Champions.

I like the shout for Neves, in terms of knowing exactly what you’re getting that can’t be many better sure things. The lone 6 is a very difficult role to recruit for, I think it might be the hardest role in football right now. Firstly very few teams play with a single player at the base of the midfield with 5 attack minded players ahead of them. We do and City do and have two of the best in the world at this role in Partey and Rodri. Fabinho at Liverpool could do it but Liverpool don’t play the same formation.

I think there is more than something in the links to Danilo from Palmeiras, he’s one of the best in the Brazilian league, just won the title there and Jan is a good time for them to move as their season is finished, he’s 21 and can play def mid or more advanced, rumoured to be available for £20-25m which is probably half the price of Neves.

I could see Arsenal doing something like that for the def mid position and going bigger on a winger

I could see that as well, he seems like a great talent and the rumours are persistent. My only concern would be that he's very young and coming from a completely different league, so it might take some time for him to adapt. I really want us to push on from a position of strength and keep an eye on this season as well as the future. With Neves you would get someone who could do a job right away, and as he's only 25 he could still give us at least 6-7 years.

What are Cristiano's best options out there? What about these?
Atletico Madrid? Milan? Chelsea?

I'm not saying he's not probably right but I've always thought it was an unsaid rule not to openly criticize an ex teammate in the press? If you are retired and you are a pundit, its okay to critique your present team.

I've always understood that to be an unsaid, unspoken 'rule' across all sports. Is Rooney's comments about Cristiano a violation of that unsaid rule?

I would have loved to have signed him. I can remember the first time I saw him play and he scared the bejeezus out of me. I knew he was going to be a HUGE problem, possibly transformative for them.

We wouldn't have been able to keep him as long as someone like Bergkamp or Henry, but he would have been massive for us in terms of impact.

By the way, tough finals loss for the Phillies, but the 'Iggles' are doing well, despite their first loss last night.

This is the bit I don’t get. I can’t see many clubs willing to take his 500k a week. Maybe an MLS club with a divvy owner. Honestly any club would have to be out of their minds and the manager and owner taking leave of their own senses to sign him.

If he signed for Chelsea it would be the funniest thing of all time. It would be brilliant a total circus I’m praying it happens. Potter will have dropped him in no time at all and would have him sat next to aubameyang on the bench with them both moaning and undermining the manager. A festival of dickheadery and so so chelsea

We’re all getting so ahead of ourselves

Jacob Rees Mogg was referred to on LBC as the haunted pencil.....