Divine intervention.

For the two best teams in the league by some distance it is surprising how both teams use longer direct passes to good affect. Its something we just don't seem to have in our tactics.

Great game. Liverpool were very lucky. Anthony Taylor is half-blind

If Gallagher had played for Arsenal at the same age as when Guendouzi did, you would quite possibly have doubted his defensive discipline and awareness too.

I bet Guendouzi will end up being recognised as a greater player than Gallagher.

Thing is, moving Xhaka to fullback and thus weakening midfield and defence in one fell swoop, and playing Smith Rowe, who is neither in form nor comfortable in a midfield three, was just a bad move. Simples. What was he thinking? Is he planning to play that way for the rest of the season, or he just hoping to get away with it for one game?

There were other options. Tavares had a bad game last time out, but he's not a bad player. If you don't trust him in a back 4, bring in Holding (perfect for this sort of game) and make a plan.

Also, I'm not convinced that Nketiah is as bad as you make out. Not worse than playing Lacazette week in and week out, anyway.

Having said that, I completely agree with Bored. A couple of shocking results doesn't make Arteta a bad manager or the team a bunch of surrender monkeys. 5th or 6th would be disappointing but still represent decent progress.

Well, when Guendouzi played for Arsenal he didn't play in the same position as Gallagher. Gallagher is the most advanced of the 3 central midfielders, (demonstrated by his 8 league goals this season) Guendouzi wasn't that for us, he is more for Marseille and he's playing better because he has less defensive responsibility.

In terms of energy, workrate and tempo there is a difference between runnig around a lot and running intelligently, cutting off passing lanes, being the trigger for the press. I'm not saying Guendouzi can't do that but I've not seen him do it the way Gallagher does.

If I had to put one of those players in to our team right now I'd chose Gallagher. (Gallagher is 2 months older than Guendouzi)

I can't believe Mahrez didn't just put his foot through it in the 94th minute, decided a chip over Allison and cleared the bar by 10 feet. He had a clear shot 20 yards from goal, on his left foot, I've seen Mahrez bend them in to the far corner from there in his sleep

Other than Son + Kane, the biggest difference between us and Spurs has been their ability to win games that had no right winning, or winning games late or winning them where the opponent had most of the game. They started the season with 3 1-0 wins when they were outplayed in each. They had last minute winners v Watford, City and Leicester. When you're not playing well you need that individual spark because the collective isn't working.

Compare that to us and whenever we've played poorly we've dropped points. Even in some of the tight 1-0 wins like Norwich, Burnley, Wolves, Villa we've been the more dominant side and deserved to go 1-0 up at the time and didn't have too many scares to see out the game.

If there’s only two months in the ages how can you criticise Guendouzi for a lack of defensive awareness just because you thought Gallagher played well against us. He did not play for us at the age Guendouzi did. I believe that makes your criticism of Guendouzi hopelessly feeble. His energy is what we desperately need. Running intelligently can come with experience.

Didn’t you say it wasn’t sustainable? Haven’t they more or less sustained it? Perhaps there other nine players aren’t quite as ordinary as some make out?

Very few of the Mikel Arteta boo boys actually go to games. The majority sit at home, watching on dodgy streams, hoping Arsenal lose

They are life’s losers. Watching games at home alone, hoping their agenda fulfils itself. I feel sorry for them. I will be at the next game. And the next game after that. And so on. Backing my team. Hoping we win.

Meanwhile there will be some weird little kids (or adults whose brains have never fully developed) sitting at home alone cheering on our opponents. Moaning about Guendouzi, Saliba and all sorts.

These folks don’t want a successful Arsenal. It’s a joke

Meanwhile back in the real world.......

There has been talk this week of City v Liverpool being the best rivalry the prem has ever seen. If we're talking pure rivalry then it has to be Arsenal v Man U 97-2004, firstly it is a lot longer period but more importantly the two teams absolutely hated each other and had iconic captains and managers that hated each other. Klopp and Pep is more of a mutual love in.

If you're talking about these rivals in terms of their quality then that is a better argument. Liverpool and City are hitting consistency and points totals that Arsenal and Man U didn't hit. One big difference is the depth and strengths of their squads now as opposed to ours and Man U's squads back then. We obviously had strong squads but it wasn't world class players twice over in every position AND top class players that don't even make the bench.

Last minute winners and lucky victories aren't sustainable. Spurs most recent victories have been pretty emphatic and deserved. Scoring goals for fun.

I didn't criticise Guendouzi's lack of defensive awareness 'JUST' because Gallagher played well against us. I didn't bring Guendouzi in to the point I was making about high tempo. Guendouzi with us and Gallagher with Palace play in different positions. There is a difference in what I call general defensive awareness - ie: the player in front of the back 4 vs having defensive awareness in being able to press from the front, knowing how and when to do it and to do it relentlessly ie: what Gallagher does for Palace.
When Guendouzi was with us his strengths were his passing and his energy and the fire he had - but his weaknesses for me were he could switch off defensively. He'd struggle to track runners and he'd sometimes struggle with his lack of pace. It seems the Marseille manager has helped mask those weaknesses by playing him further forward. There is also the possibility that he just suits playing in the french league more than he did the premier league - I know which league I think is harder to play in.
I know you're a massive Guendouzi fan so I won't change your mind, nor am I trying to. Lets just see how his career goes.

I fully expect him to have a great career and be worth millions in lost transfer fees for what Arteta got rid of him for.

I do agree that the Premier League is a higher standard than the French league. But he competed as well as run around a lot for Arsenal. At the beginning of two seasons in the Premier League I think he shone.

Dare I suggest you’ve fallen into the club of thinking Guendouzi lacks pace from reading this forum? He doesn’t. He has average pace. Not super quick but certainly not slow.

And then there are those who make up their own thoughts, and hallucinate them as well.

On a completely unrelated topic to Arsenal, I found the television series of The Ipcress File deeply underwhelming. It went on for six weeks and watched all six episodes. The acting wasn’t as good, the storyline confused, and it was all a bit tedious plus a struggle to sit through.

I fully accept I’m probably not qualified to judge the television series fairly. I rate the film so highly, I was never going to enjoy a remake of it in any form - by film or television series. But whilst accepting those qualifications as a critic of it, I was disappointed by the television series.

The impression I got was of them largely sustaining it way beyond the time you said it wasn’t sustainable for, prior to their recent form.

I have seen a report that Xhakas grandmother past away and he was at her funeral in Kosovo on Wednesday and back by Thursday. Just a thank you to Granit for his efforts in doing that and for giving your best for the club. There are posters on here who may not rate him as a midfielder but without him we look like a team near the bottom of the league.

This is the run of games I think I first mentioned that spurs method of winning wasn’t sustainable. They were second best in pretty much all of these games and won 3 of them with goals in the 95th minute or beyond. Immediately after this run they beat Leeds 4-0 and everton 5-0, I’ll stand corrected but I doubt I was referring to those results as unsustainable. It was more about them picking up wins they didn’t deserve with last minute winners

I know still images don’t tell the whole story but there is no getting away that this tackle from Fabinho is a red card. When you watch it at full speed there is actually no way he can win the ball, it is a deliberate attempt to take Foden down and instead of just tripping him he’s gone studs in above the ankle.

West Ham and Man U also losing did us a big favour. When we get in this kind of form it is hard to see where the next win is coming from. 7th palce is europa conference league, only 5th and 6th are Europa league assuming that Palace don't win the FA Cup - then I think 6th is Europa conference league.

On current form and fixtures it wouldn't surprise me if Spurs ran away with 4th place now, probably sealing it before we even meet them. Man U and West Ham have much tougher fixtures so we need to make sure we stay ahead of them both.

Watching City v Liverpool yesterday I was trying to work out which players from any other team in the league would actually get in to either side's 11.
They have the 2 best GK in the league
I can't think of any better full-backs than Trent, Robertson, Walker, Cancelo
VvD, Matip, Stones, Laporte (and Dias) - Possibly Rudiger but he plays in a back 3
Fabinho, Thiago, Henderson, De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo in midfield - there is probably a case for a CM from Chelsea being better than Henderson - peak Kante or Kovacic
Then up front - Salah, Mané, Jota, Sterling, Foden, Jesus - The only two players I can make a case for is Son and Kane neither of whom would be out of place in those sides.

We may be biased and look at Partey or Saka but in my opinion they probably still aren't at the level of any City or Liverpool player.

Those 2 clubs are miles ahead of the rest

On Martinelli's offside goal. Has there been a definitive angle which shows Martinelli definitely head of the last defender? From everything I've seen it is impossible to tell exactly where the last defender's foot is because other players are blocking the view - so then you're guessing where his foot is likely to be based on the rest of his body? Was that what VAR did at the weekend. 4 minutes is a ridiculous length of time. I think we have to move towards a system with VAR that if it is taking that long to try and work out a possible infringement then you have to go with the on field call. Other sports with video replays have done this very easily. There is the onfield call and the video has to conclusively prove that was wrong or you stay with the onfield call. Cricket has the 'Umpires call' for close ones and in Rugby Union the refs will say to the video ref 'my decision is try, is there any reason why I cannot award the try'

Myself, I think it’s too simplistic to associate how players perform at other clubs with how they would play at City or Liverpool, by thinking they wouldn’t get into those sides. I bet Klopp and Guardiola would absolutely love to have Ødegaard and Saka at Liverpool and City. Moreover, if they did, both would get lots of game time.

Declan Rice would walk into both City and Liverpool’s teams.

But it is still a valid conversation to have as it is literally the conversation recruitment teams are having when they look at new signings. As fans we're always going to say is player X better than player Y? I'm sure they both would like them in their squads but Klopp doesn't play with a player where Ødegaard plays. Pep plays Bernardo/De bruyne in that position and I'm pretty sure he'd have either of them over Ødegaard. Saka would be up against Salah, Klopp isn't doing that swap, and at City he'd be up against Sterling/Foden/Jesus/Mahrez - he can be compared to them and I suspect the only reason Pep would swap any out is due to Saka's age and English status.

Declan Rice is a fine player but in my view he's not quite at the level of Fabinho and Rodri. If Rice gets a move to a huge club this summer we'll be able to judge him again. Someone like Grealish looked like one of the best wide attackers in the league, 15 goals and 20 assists over the last 2 years with Villa - but has struggled to replicate that now hes not the big fish in a small pond.

I’m not saying it isn’t a valid discussion. I’m just saying under Klopp and Guardiola, many players would improve from what they are now at their current clubs. Ødegaard, Saka and Rice would all be better at Liverpool and City to the players they are at Arsenal (Ødegaard and Saka) or West Ham (Rice). I can’t prove it and hopefully Ødegaard and Saka will remain with us for many years so it won’t become an issue, but I’m convinced all three would get loads of game time under Klopp and Guardiola.

If Thiago gets game time at Liverpool, Rice definitely would.

I don't know why but I just looked back at the team that started the Europa league final defeat to Chelsea in 2019 - just under 3 years ago.
Čech, Monreal, Koscielny, Sokratis, Kolasinac, AMN, Xhaka, Torreira, Özil, Aubameyang, Lacazette
Bench was: Leno, Iliev, Lichsteiner, Mustafi, Jenkinson, Elneny, Guendouzi, Willock, Iwobi, Welbeck, Nketiah, Saka

That is 23 players. Only 9 of those are still registered Arsenal players. AMN, Xhaka, Torreira, Lacazette, Leno, Elneny, Guendouzi, Nketiah, Saka.

We know Lacazette, Elneny and Nketiah's deals are up in the summer. Guendouzi has an obligation to buy clause and I fully expect Leno and Torreira to find a new home - you could make a case that AMN time at Arsenal will be up in the summer.

So of a 23 man squad to start a major European final we're going to be left with just 2 players from that squad in 3 years. It is a pretty astonishing turnover of players. It is an entire first team squad in 3 seasons!

There was so little value in that squad as well - we did well to get good money for Willock and Iwobi. Guendouzi and Torreira will bring in fees and I'd argue we've missed out on decent fees for Nketiah and AMN

Hi Rich
I think 4th has gone.
No way Spurs are letting go of that now with the form they are in.
Can't see palace winning the fa Cup so it will be 5th and 6th for europa.
That might well be our saving grace. That there are 2 europa positions and not just one.

Although Palace winning the FA Cup gets them into the Europa League, I must admit I just can’t make myself want Chelsea to beat them in the semi-final. If Palace reach the final and play City, depending on the league positions I could make myself want City to beat them. But Chelsea in the semi-final? No, I simply can’t do it.

i hear you Bernard but its self preservation for me.
If Chelsea beating Palace releases another Europa league spot down to 6th place which ensures we get into that and not the Europa Conference league then i'm all for it.
Of course id want Liverpool or City to hammer them in the final.
Job done.

Hi David. I know your one is the sensible way to look at it. I’m simply not capable of wanting Chelsea to win a semi-final. Illogical and barmy? Yes indeed. But I just can’t bring myself to do it.

I'm sure Rice would get some game time, but when it comes to the crunch games would Klopp pick Thiago the serial winner (16 trophies, including the CL and countless league titles) ahead of Rice.

With Grealish, I don't think it has anything to do with ability, rather a style of football that doesn't play to his strengths. He is a more talented player than Sterling, for example.

How many of those countless league titles were playing for Liverpool, or the Champions League? My mother-in-law could win trophies at Bayern Munich and she’s in her eighties.

No way would Thiago get selected for crunch games ahead of Rice.

She’s not a left back by any chance?

A lot of fans have talked about tempo and how much better we play when we start fast, press high and maintain that more direct and high tempo. It got me thinking back to those late Wenger days when we went very attacking and played high and constantly got caught out with a sharp counter attack or long ball. I may be wrong but it doesn’t feel like that would be a trait of this side. I don’t think I’ve felt like we were still vulnerable to quick counters when we’ve been pressing high and playing fast.
As for the reason why we don’t/can’t do it every game, I’m sure it must be a confidence and trust thing. To play that way does take a fair amount of balls because a mistake ‘can’ leave you exposed. Everyone has to be on it, including the defence as they need to be swamping their attack to win it back quickly and restart the overwhelming attacks.

I wish we could play the entire game with the same same vigour as the final 10-12 minutes we usually end up playing.

The end of the Brighten game we were playing with a proper urgency.

We’re also facing a period of pretty elite finishing by our opponents. Of the last 12 shots on target we’ve faced the opposition has scored 7 goals.

So we’re either
A) only giving away high quality chances / easy chances
B) our GK is letting in savable shots
C) we’re not giving up many chances but those we do give away and being taken with high quality strikes