Yep. Reinforcements needed. The thing is it is easier do so when in the CL and after the high profile season we've been having.

If we win the title but Man U win two trophies the better season is undoubtedly ours with no debate needed.
If we finish 2nd and they get two trophies and finish 3rd then Man U have had the better season but I still prefer us long term. We’ve got the younger squad and generally dominate games rather relying on games based on counter attack and transitions which is what Man U currently do.

If Man U get their recruitment right and spend as they did last summer they will/should be title challengers next season

Yep, we’ve invested quite heavily for a team not in the CL. The CL guarantees something like £60-80m more than the Europa guarantees. And there is the added attraction for players who want to play in the CL.

Recruitment has been great but whatever happens it is another massive summer of ins and outs. There is a chance with some players for Edu to show he can broker a good deal on a player leaving as well

Alternatively, we could mix up the tactical approach. I'm not really a fan of Zinchenko's free role but I can see that there are games where it works exceptionally well. However, there's no reason why we couldn't switch to an orthodox back 4 for some games or during games. Tierney is a better defender than Zinchenko and also links up better with Martinelli. Zinchenko can still play in midfield and would be a better option there than Vieira.

I find it very difficult to see the benefit in selling Tierney and as you have said, getting a replacement who plays the same way as Zinchenko will be very difficult.

I think West Ham have an option to extend by 12 months. I can't see us getting a free run at him. He would instantly improve the midfield of both Liverpool and Man Utd, and who knows what Chelsea will do in the transfer market.

Hopefully not a new manager bounce like we got away at Everton.

I don't understand last nights performance at all. What makes a team normally defined by the quality of its passing suddenly be unable to keep possession and give the ball away at every available opportunity? Was it purely that we couldn't cope with Sporting's intensity or something else.

One thing is clear, you cannot play Xhaka and Jorginho as the central midfield pairing, far too slow on the turn and Sporting just ran through them at will. Only the introduction of Partey and latterly Ødegaard enabled us to gain some measure of control in the middle of the park.

Also, Zinchenko's defensive weaknesses were really undone last night, on the occasions he was actually in the LB position. Let's be honest, he's a technically great footballer and vital to the way we play but his moves into midfield leave us wide open down the left and its really hard for Gabriel to try and deal with against sides who break quickly.

Obviously disasppointing to go out, particularly after extra time/penalties and some injuries, but I was surprised how we struggled to control most of the match. I think Jorghinio and Vieira arent strong or quick enough to dominate the midfield together against quick and robust opponents. I heard someone say on a podcast that perhaps having had a less intense Europa league match after the crazy emotional win against Brentford allowed the team to reset and face Fulham with clear heads. My worry is that now we 'only' have the title to aim for and we are suddenly into 11 cup finals territory without any Europa League respite.
I guess the question is would you prefer the distraction, opportunity to rest players and the extra games of the Europa League or only have 11 season defining Premier league matches?

Why has Martinelli stopped trying to take on his man on the outside, it used to be a feature of his game. I understand it when teams double up on him but yesterday there were several occasions where he got the ball 1v1 but just turned back and played the safe ball.

Hi Bored,

Given how poor we've looked when rotating I feel the only way we win the league is if we can virtually start our best 11 in every single game, that means no injuries, no illness etc. A big ask.

Partey, Ødegaard, Saliba, Gabriel and Saka are indispensible because the level of their back-ups is just too big a drop. Jesus coming back is a big boost but we don't know how long it will take him to get back to full fitness and form.

Lets hope Palace dont appoint Sean Dyche as their new manager

A very big ask. I'm not confident.

Well our forumites might be disheartened but it’s as nothing compared to the myriad of Facebook groups. They have turned on the team like a bunch of rabid dogs. Mind you the amount of actual knowledge and insight displayed there usually approximates to zero.

Heard talk about '11 finals'. I think the team need to approach it as they have done so far which is more like 'the next game' rather than 11 finals

I've seen a lot of 'why didn't he play his best team' chat. Damned if he does damned if he doesnt.

If we deliver the title then every single decision is justified. If we don't then the decisions in many ways are still justified as we've given ourselves the best opportunity to win it.

Since we last won it 19 seasons ago we've only been in this position twice in 07/08 (1st) and 13/14 (2nd) seasons. Given the off seasons of Chelsea and Liverpool and Man U still slightly finding their feet under the new manager this is a big opportunity.

It was Arteta who made that reference. In fairness, he just wants them to treat every game as a must-win.

The ideal would be that we could rotate our entire best 11 and still be good enough to win in the Europa League, but don't think any team can do that with a completely changed 11 not even City.

We have more than just a first 11. Tierney, Tomiyasu, Jorginho, Emile Smith Rowe, Trossard, Nketiah. All very good players who don't make our first 11. Nelson has come in and made some vital contributions. Holding is limited but is a great guy to have when you are hanging on for a win. We have nobody at Partey's level in his position. Likewise with Ødegaard. But you could say the same about Rodri and Haaland at City.

I think we looked like a team focussed on the PL last night. There was a 10% drop in our sharpness from the off. Frustrating but not a disaster IMO. The only thing that nags me is our continued under achievement in Europe for a club of our size. Our record really is abysmal

However, as Tim Stillman says this morning, go and look at our fixtures for April/ early May and tell me you're unhappy that we're not playing on thursday nights as well.

In the league City have relied on their key players just as much as us.

De Bruyne has not started 5 games, one of those they lost to Spurs, the others were games they'd expect to win even without him

Rodri has only not started just 1 game in the league all season

Haaland has only not started just 1 game in the league all season

Even Gundogun has only not started 7 games and in 3 of those City lost 2 and drew the other

Akanji has only not started 2 games.

City rotate in central defence where we don't have the same depth, and they also rotate the wide players - which in theory we could do as well (Trossard came in Jan and Emile Smith Rowe injured all season - but add those to Saka and Martinelli and it is a good 4some)

Even with all their money and experience, and signing a freak of a striker AND a massively fortunate injury free season we're still ahead of this City side. City have weaknesses in the depth of their team but they haven't been exposed. They regularly play a midfield 3 of Rodri, Gundogun, De Bruyne......the back up 3 for that is Phillips.....and then shoe horning more attacking players like Bernardo or Foden back there. They are also hugely weak at full-back, playing 4 CB in games right now - it leaves them exposed but they've all stayed fit

The other thing with those thursday night games is it means we have to play on Sunday - so we'd stand a high chance of always playing after City. Now we may still get Sunday games because of TV but so will City

It’s the utter savaging of individual players that gets me annoyed. The sort of people who would boo at the stadium

Man Utd and us aren't leagues apart. They have a lot of talent and we are better managed. Ten has put in some very good managerial feats for them this season, is consistency he lacks. Beating City at home, Barcelona in a cup tie, the only team to beat us in the first half of the season.

If the Qataris buy them its game over. No one will see a title between the Manchester sides for a while except for Liverpool. We will compete, beat either of them once in a while, but over a season won't be able to match either club with all the money at their disposal to buy players like Casemiro and Haaland.

Then add Newcastle to the mix. They will be a top 4 side annually in a year or two, challenge for the title in less than half a decade is my guess.

Xhaka's celebration with the thumb on the nose was for his daughter. Strange that one of the Sporting players then mocked it at full time and has also put it all over his social media of him doing it again with Xhaka in the picture. Was there some sort of falling out on the pitch? Even so I always find it a strange thing - of course things go on in the heat of battle, but they won the game just celebrate with your team. I find the 'bad winner' far more distasteful than any tantrums of players when they've lost.

if all that happens what makes you think Liverpool are best placed to nick the odd title from the two Manchester clubs? They don't have loads of money and don't generate much more money than us and their squad looks like it needs a fairly substantial re-build right now.

I still think Man U rely on moments of individual quality rather than constructing dominate attacking play where chances and goals are inevitable. Some of their key players are 30+ now, Varane, Casemiro, Eriksen, de gea. If you went through the core of their team that is 25 or under you only really come up with Sancho, Malacia, Dalot, Anthony, Rashford, Martinez, Wan Bissaka - of those Martinex and Rashford look good enough but the rest is a bit meh. Being under 25 isn't the be all and end all but that would need addressing by Man U in the near future

Just my guess based on the last few years. This is an off year but they have been fantastic. I hope its us but they can spend more money than we do. I hope and pray I'm wrong. We are new to this. Maybe our youthfulness will grow exponentially the next few years into a hardened, battle tested squad of title contenders. It seems like it could but....

I'd agree. Tierney is an excellent player, albeit not suited to our current style of attaching. I feel that when Zinchenko is playing we are both more likely to score and to concede (he notably seems to get a bit indecisive when we are leading 1-0).

Perhaps there was plan to bring Tierney and partey on earlier, but having made 3 subs already Arteta felt he needed to keep his options open?

Arteta definitely missed a trick by waiting until they scored before bringing on the heavies.

We are going to need Tierney in the run in, I'm sure. So the fact that he is only getting a few minutes now and again is a slight worry.

Things did get very heated at one point and Xhaka-surprise surprise--was at the center of it.

We were excellent from when we scored up until about 5 minutes before half time. We didn't get the second and the a combination of sloppiness and some very good pressing and running let them regain the momentum. Same as the first leg.

'Boring Arsenal' and '1-0 to the Arsenal' it certainly isn't this season!

I saw that incident and it was when we won a corner and were rushing to get it taken and their GK I think took the spare ball and threw it back on to the pitch to ensure there were two balls on the pitch and to slow us down - Xhaka took exception to it

Often our main issue is when we have to reply on 4-5 or more of the 2nd string. When the odd second string player is thrown in with 9 or 10 first teamers they don't look out of their depth in general

I'd disagree that Tierney links better with Martinelli - I think their connection on the pitch is quite poor actually. I think a player like Trossard wide left would work better with Martinelli.

If we want to mix up the tactical approach by playing more to Tierney's strengths then a target man CF who attacks the box and thrives on crosses would be a good start.

Having an overlapping left-back rather than an inverting left-back would probably mean that Xhaka would need to stay back a bit more and perhaps the RB is the one who inverts. Maybe that is over complicating it all but it would need a bit of a rethink for a team who have been drilled in the 2-3-5 formation.

City drawn Bayern in the CL, if they win that QF they will face the winner of Real Madrid/Chelsea in the Semi. Best possible draw for us

An example of the quality of Facebook Threads on Arsenal.
So this ‘fan’ is so devastated that he’s decided not to ‘support’ us anymore. Wow. Big loss.


Am very disappointed with same attitude year in year out.
Am now out as a supporter.
It may not carry impact, but enough is enough.
We support for fun, if fun loses taste then leave it.

Sporting draw Juventus in the next round the winners likely playing Man U. When you see when those Europa games are played - a potential semi being between Newcastle (a) and Brighton (h) it really is crucial for our league hopes that we went out.

Man U are probably in a good position of secure in top 4 but not winnig the title that they can go all out for Europa

Let's wait and see if losing helps us! Losing isn't often the main ingredient of the recipe for success.

You'd prefer to have the five extra games? I always think back to 1980, when, after 70 endless matches of a heroic campaign, fighting on several fronts, for the FA Cup, European Cup Winners Cup and UEFA Cup qualification, we ended up with ... well, I'm sure you remember!

So do I. You won. Enjoy it. Also doing it to a big club you stand the risk of meeting them again where that'll be used to rile them up.

Albert Johanneson and Billy Bremner, 1965. The first black player to appear in an FA Cup Final. "He helped me overcome many of the battles facing what was a rare commodity in the 1960s, a black footballer. In many games the players we faced would call me offensive names and some even asked me to clean and polish their boots. Billy would always come to my defence and tell me I was better than such people and to ignore all the comments. He would tell me that the best way to hurt them was with my skill and pace and goals. Many times I cried and it was Billy Bremner who would lift my spirits, even after we finished with the game. He is a fine man and he has helped and supported me through some difficult times in my life."

PS: I looked it up, Liverpool won 2-1

Oh yes - play and win as many as possible. Isn't that the aim of a football club? I mean its not like the Europa Cup is worthless - winning its predecessor I do remember very well as one of Arsenal's greatest nights!