507 Comments
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Ron Young's avatar

A bit of-topic but maybe the club can take a punt on Feyenoord leftwinger Igor Paixao. As a dutchman I see him set the Kuip on fire this season. He is very skillfull and very very direct. I know eredivisie is a mickey mouse competition. Maybe he gets eaten in the premier league, but some south-Americans who thrived in the Dutch league became topplayers. For 25 million he could be a Trossard signing with a higher ceiling. With all the respect to the Belgium player. Very clever signing that was. Anyways just adding to the transfer banter with some eredivisie news

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Sid's avatar

TAA won the EPL and is moving to RM meanwhile, Saliba is expected to trust the process

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Jonnygunner's avatar

And you were here after every game we drew or lost- but were nowhere to be seen after the two Real Madrid games.

Fuck off Sid. You really are a complete cunt.

Get yourself to a home game to ‘feel’ the atmosphere- you internet twat.

You are not a supporter.

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Thorough's avatar

Meanwhile, what has Nwaneri done to Arteta this time? I really think he's decided to ostracized him.

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Mystic Leaves's avatar

Maybe he asked the manager to be more attacking

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Olatunde's avatar

Liverpool fans should just be patient. If they want to desperately have TAA in their club, they will have their wish in a year or even less because there is no way he's going to survive in Spain. Apart from the fact that that English players don't travel well, he will be more exposed in Madrid. I see calvajah returning to the side next season and TAA going out on loan in January.

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Mystic Leaves's avatar

You've got to have balls to predict that. If Madrid could offset Marcelo's defensive deficiencies for years, they'll thrive with TAA as well

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Olatunde's avatar

Marcelo was 10x what TAA is. Marcelo is more like a winger that can hurt you than a winger back same as dani Alves, so their teams were able to live by their defensive deficiencies because of their output. But English fans think TAA is on their level. Just wait and see.

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Mystic Leaves's avatar

TAA is a creative force. His attacking play is so good whilesnot being an explosive winger/wing back but in a team that's set up to attack, he'll cause a lot of damage.

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Jimmy Butler's avatar

Arteta really does not deserve another chance next year. He needs to be replaced this summer. Unfortunately, Pedro has everyone here believe that he is "generational". By the time the fans and the Board wake up to reality, it will be too late. We will have lost the likes of Saka and Saliba to the big sharks out there.

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Guns of SF's avatar

Th Warriors need a big game from you today Jimmy!

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Bob's avatar

Not sure Pedro and Legrovers have as much influence as you are suggesting. Berta, the board and the Kroenkes will decide.

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Olatunde's avatar

Kroenke is after the money. He has always been. If you ask me, I don't even think kroenkei

I he's an arsenal fan even if he's a football fans. As long as we remain in Europe and arteta keeps making money, he doesn't care. How much did you think abramovic made as owner of Chelsea? But he was almost always present in their big matches.

It's the fans who need to fight for their club. Take it or leave it when and if he decides to sell arsenal, he will never miss anything about the club.

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JW1's avatar
May 12Edited

Stan Kroenke has almost as much money as God. He's married to a Walton (Walmart) as well. He's not concerned about the spare change Arsenal are producing.

Stan Kroenke is a real estate magnate who shelled out over $5B to build SoFi Stadium out of his own coffers-- an unheard of proposition in American sports.

KSE has been a very successful enterprise-- and not just financially. KSE clubs have produced a cluster of championships over the past five years-- and they believe Arteta will deliver silverware-- or they'd have jettisoned him before now.

Just a couple of weeks back (due to a toxic relationship) they fired the head coach and general manager of the NBA Denver Nuggets-- on the same day-- just BEFORE the playoffs started. This, because they didn't want to potentially waste a year of perennial MVP candidate Nikola Jokic's prime-- by waiting until the summer to clean house.

When Mikel Arteta leaves Arsenal-- it won't be over money.

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Guns of SF's avatar

There is something they see that keeps Mike in a job. I do think if he does not deliver trophies soon he will get axed. The nuggets thing really makes one think, that was a very unlikely Kroenke move but if they can do that, it give me hope they can can Mike if he keeps failing

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Bob's avatar

I think Josh Kroenke is now in charge. I am sure that they want Arsenal to win things, just look at the LA Rams and Denver Nuggets.

No idea why you wrote

'How much did you think abramovic made as owner of Chelsea? But he was almost always present in their big matches.'

If we start dropping our levels and the fans get angry then KSE might be affected by this but they're not stupid, they will get rid of Arteta if the they feel that the players need a change of 'voice' and we're underachieving.

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Mystic Leaves's avatar

Kroenke is not a football fan talk more of an Arsenal fan. He made a business decision with Arsenal and it's paying off hugely for him. He wouldn't care for trophies as much as we fans will. But the problem is that Arsenal fans, esp the match going ones (and Pedro under Arteta) don't care for trophies

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Bob's avatar

'But the problem is that Arsenal fans, esp the match going ones (and Pedro under Arteta) don't care for trophies.'

Such bullshit!

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Pedro's avatar

Quite grim to read so many commenters on here revelling when we were 2-0 down. Weak behavior.

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Positive Pete's avatar

Weak? I’ve got another name for it.C**ts more like.Dont deserve to call themselves Arsenal fans.More Spursy,if you need an example.Must be rubbing off on them.

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Scott Jones's avatar

I called a so call “fan” out for this on WhatsApp yesterday.. told him he has no right to celebrate a trophy win when it happens. He was also called “vermin of a fan”, “everything wrong with this toxic fanbase” & “bottom feeder of the fanbase”..

It’s quite sad that there are some out there who are quite literally on queue to start slagging everything related to the club when we concede a goal or 2.. for me, they have zero right to celebrate anything

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@1oNe_zTarge+'s avatar

it all thanks to your blog that provide that kind of platform back in Wenger/Emery days

why can't the same happen in Arteta's era too?

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Pedro's avatar

Arteta out and being called a bum after a UCL semi and 2nd in the league? Please. Unserious stuff

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Batistuta's avatar

Fans were wishing we lost cup finals because they wanted Wenger out and they were a majority on Le grove, let's not pretend anything's new really

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Dissenter's avatar

I love those Liverpool banners that mocked Arsenal and Arteta

I love the fact that we gave them a guard of honor

I love the fight back

There’s that famous quote Sun Tzu's The Art of War that says “never energize your enemy"

Thanks to Liverpool for lighting up the fire under our arses

We will be back next season.

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Positive Pete's avatar

The classless scumbags have short memories.The respect we showed to them in ‘89? They are not worthy.Actually I think ‘89 still sticks in their throats & it’s the main reason for every attempt to try & himiliate us at every opportunity.

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John Dodds's avatar

The game changed when Arteta switched Trossard and Martinelli. Martinelli is unable to get past his marker on the left and he stagnates the offense, but Trossard has more trickery in his locker. He immediately got the cross in that Martinelli put away. I think Trossard should start on the left over Martinelli.

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Ryan's avatar

If we draw against Newcastle and beat Southampton to secure second, we end the season with 72 points

To those who mock the idea of downplaying the achievement of coming second, that’s one of the lowest (possibly the actual lowest?) points tallies to get you second in a PL in decades and it would under normal circumstances just about secure 4th.

Calling that second an achievement is just falling up the stairs in a top 4 season and being gifted the position down to everyone else simply not showing up. It’s a total repeat of the Leicester City winning season for us.

If we’re going to be pleased with second place it needs to be based on one of two things

1) context: we are on a clearly upwards trajectory. No signs of that this season. We need to restart our momentum from scratch next season

2) law of averages is on your side. Last season we got 91 points, scored more than the invincibles, conceded less, won more games. If you do that and still come second on the last game of the season, you can’t complain, that’s just a pity that whoever come first was ridiculously good. Put in a few league campaigns like that and you will inevitably win big sooner or later (would’ve done this season easily if we had).

But point 2 being used to (legitimately) settle for second place has to be applied equally in negative situations like we have today. If we could be proud of our 91 points second place last season because ‘another day that was good enough’ then what should we say if we get second with a low 70s points tally this season? Because ‘another year’ that could get you 4th, possibly even 5th…)

The club needs to fight for its life to get second now just out of pride. All this talk about securing top 5 CL qualification is lame as fuck. We should only be aiming for the highest possible remaining position. If we come even third let alone worse that’s just frankly appalling after how far ahead we were.

But assuming we do get second we should be self aware enough to slump off into the summer quietly without back slapping ourselves about coming second again as tho 72 odd points is a real second place standard points tally.

It would be like hitting the curb three times and scratching the car once on your driving lesson but passing simply because the instructor was on his phone and not concentrating during the test. Take the result and disappear quietly. Don’t dare brag about it

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Positive Pete's avatar

The points total you racked up doesn’t include the 12 maybe more,points the PGMOL robbed us of.So unfortunately,it’s not a fair reflection really.

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Ryan's avatar

12? Maybe 6. Many of the decisions people have complained about were borderline

Rice’s one was clearly a BS decision, but Saliba’s vs Bournemouth was correct. Trossard’s was justifiable. MLS had one that was BS vs wolves but we actually won that game.

Most of our reds and pens were defensible in a court of law for PGMOL even if some of them were borderline. I don’t agree we deserve close to 12 extra points at all

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Positive Pete's avatar

Fair enough.We’ ll just have to agree to disagree.It would be interesting to see the voting across ALL our fan base on all,of those incidents as to which way opinion would swing.And of course the non red incidents.But we’ ll leave that for another day!

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Ryan's avatar

Yep or better yet a vote from footballing neutrals who neither support us nor have an axe to grind hah

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Bob's avatar

Not sure that will be the pervading memory of finishing 2nd again, a low points total. A disappointing PL campaign, no doubt. I can't imagine any supporter, player or coach being 'pleased'

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Ryan's avatar

There are plenty on this blog defending the season and citing us (hopefully) coming second again as part of the justification

Assuming we do get this second which I expect we will, it’s one we need to say as little about as possible because its been miles off a ‘normal’ second place finish

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Positive Pete's avatar

Has been miles off.True.And I accept that.But exceptional circumstances for us.( PGMOL) & no,I’m not letting it go.As for the rest of the prem? Perhaps the gap is closing again.

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Bob's avatar

Fair

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MG42's avatar

Another possible record? We already own the all-time record for most days top of the table without winning the title, it is difficult to find lowest point total for finishing 2nd in the 30+ years of the EPL.

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Ryan's avatar

Yeah I haven’t checked the records but honestly last time second place got low 70s was us vs Leicester. I can’t remember it happening before that for a very long time. Perhaps the early Wenger years when in general points tallies were often lower

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Guns of SF's avatar

I do think we beat NC at home. Just get the feeling

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Iceman10's avatar

i dont think we need to . A draw and beat Southampton .. we finish second.

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Tashi's avatar

Typical Arsenal mentalituly. Do the bare minimum.

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Bob's avatar

It's the mentality of the players and coaches that is important. The supporters are looking from a different perspective. Finishing 2nd is better than any other position than one; 4pts in two games gives us 2nd.

Of course we'd prefer to win both games!

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Iceman10's avatar

exactly ... i didnt think that needed to be explained . But you know ... bitches will bitch :)

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Tashi's avatar

We have to bitch because truth of the matter is, next season we aren't winning it. City are going to strengthen and if you think pep is going to have another off season, you are in for a hell of a treat.

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Positive Pete's avatar

Be nice to put the ‘ Barcodes’ back in their box.

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TheLegendaryDB10's avatar

Yep.

They will be tough customers.

But if we pull off a win in the fashion like we got a draw vs the scourers, we can win this game.

We will have to be on the ball from minute one, though.

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Bob's avatar
May 12Edited

It's the last home game so the players will be hanging out on the pitch post match, certain players will be saying goodbye and the Geordies who have been painful opponents in the last few years. Plenty of motivation to get a win!

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Positive Pete's avatar

It’s the ‘ Cup final’ for 2nd place.So we can win a trophy!

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MG42's avatar

Hansi Flick, no money to spend, just the inherited squad plus academy players in his 1st season semis of the CL, and get 2 points from the remaining 3 games and he will have won the double. That is generational.

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Olatunde's avatar

And beating Madrid four times! Something we celebrate like a trophy by beating them twice.

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Josip Skoblar's avatar

This Pool side is definitely not as good as the one that won the league under Klopp. I fancy our chances next year.

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Tashi's avatar

What about city? Do you think Pep will have another off season?

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Graham's avatar

It's a strange phenomenonal emotional ride football that within the space of minutes can take you to an entirely different headspace.

Imagine as a child the unbounded joy of beating Liverpool at Wembley in 1971 to win the 'Double', and then just a few months later trying to process why the same team/players can't defend their title and then go on to lose their FA Cup to Leeds. I bawled my eyes out.

The next season, again no title, and my first semi-final sickener when 2nd Division Sunderland beat us 2-1.

Fast forward to Anfield '89 and all those past sins are forgotten.

Claudio Ranieri is the perfect example of this, couldn't get Chelsea over the line, 12 years later took Leicester to the most remarkable PL title in it's short history.

But during the highest of highs and lowest of lows, the football club manager has to be accountable for creating those emotions, especially when people have to carry them around for what can be months.

And if Arteta is the third highest paid manager in world football, it makes sense that Arsenal should be one of the world's best clubs, otherwise what is it they are paying such an exorbitant amount for?

Where is the correlation between the manager being ridiculously rewarded and the club's current status?

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Bob's avatar

Judging Arteta and judging our club are two different things.

Current status, without trophies but 2nd place probably last three years, SF of CL. Next season we will be one of the favourites for both PL and CL and an opponent that all clubs who face us, will be uncertain of victory.

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Sal Paradiso's avatar

You'll never walk alone they say, Trent walking very alone today.

Scummy, scummy fanbase of entitlement.

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Matt's avatar

Can't stand the overrated 'Trent' [say in spitty scouse Carragher accent] but dislike Liverpoo fans more. Classless bunch of scumbags booing a great servant to their club.

And then like so many events in their history, the attempts by their fans and the meejah to rewrite / reframe their actions, this time as 'we weren't booing him, we were booing how he went about leaving'... cunts.

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Olumide's avatar

"Odegaard doesn't do through pass because there are no runners..."

This happens almost every game by the way.

https://x.com/George_Zur/status/1921606439459594431

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Tom Wojtyga's avatar

Congrats , you and four other fellas don’t know what a through ball is.

That play called for an over the top ball since there were no passing lanes and five or six players between Ode and Martinelli.

Not impossible , sure, but def not a through ball.

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theredcannon's avatar

How it's called properly is not really important, it's that unpredictable move that we often lack.

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Tom Wojtyga's avatar

Ode missed that run by Martinelli, that’s for sure, he raised his hand in apology right after too.

To say he ignores/ misses these type of runs every game, as it was insinuated, is a gross hyperbole.

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richierich's avatar

yikes

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