Liverpool has dropped 3 huge points at home to Crystal Palace. City are 2 points ahead having played an extra game than us. We win today and we go back to the top. We win today and we go three crucial points ahead of Liverpool with only 6 games to go. Every game is a cup final now for the boys and Mikel.
Team News
Strange decision to start Zinchenko ahead of Kiwior, because Kiwior has been doing better than Zinni and one bad game doesn’t mean we are going to hamper his confidence. If it’s purely for rotational purpose, I can live with it. Gabriel Jesus makes his way into the starting XI with Rice anchoring the midfield alone with Havertz playing the more forward role today. Trossard starts today ahead of Martinelli whom I think will come-in at some point to give Saka some rest.
Frankly, I had hated the concept of playing Havertz as CF but he has been doing better up top than he does in midfield. Gabriel Jesus does the dirty work but is not as clinical in front as you would expect your CF to be. Trossard gives me some hope though.
Liverpool is suffering the way we did last season. One loss and everything has gone bonkers for them. They were unbeaten at home from god knows when, and suddenly Atlanta wins 3-0 and they can’t even keep Crystal Palace to a draw. City, on the other hand, have gone full beast mode.
We need to win today. At any cost. First, because Pep is not going to drop any points now and the only way we win the league is by winning all our games. Second, I hate Aston Villa.
Right, a very short one today. See you during the game.
interesting to note how much Villa, a far more countering friendly team, has possessed the ball in these most important minutes…almost as if they want the 3 points more
Unai always seems to have El B’s number. That and El B’s pet nonsense.
what is going on. Emery’s revenge.
Alright, enough of football today. We fight another day now
No beating City now, same last season.
New manager please.
Tony – FAB 4 is waiting in the wings.
Just think of the shit Pedro hurled at Emery from day one.
Emery knew where Arteta was ahead in the first half. Countered it in the second.
Kudos to him.
Raya errors x 2.
Martinez faultless.
Buying Havertz instead of a 20+ goal striker has been the reason we won’t win the league.
Forget overturning the Bayern result. This is El B our clueless wonder mistake riddled manager.
We were once against n toothless up top and no real creativity in midfield.
Pep has just topped up his tempranillo and has a huge smile on his face.
Tony – perhaps Pedro is eating his own shit now.
the Emery karma tour continues…first in Europa and now a double that might be the difference…he’s undoubtedly the better manager, but, for the most part, we have the better horses…the key differences, clinical finishing and employing a real Striker…two shots on target = two goals…not to mention, if it weren’t for the woodwork, they could have been up by 4, although a 3-1 scoreline might have been fairer…if Emi gets a clean sheet that would be like pouring a bucket of salt on an open wound
Martinez is a joker and just loves winding people up – he is sure to say something in Spanish to El B if he gets the opportunity.
Arteta was right about one thing, the subs would decide things….unfortunately it was theirs not ours
it’s difficult not to imagine what we might look like if we had simply properly replaced Xhaka with someone with the ability to link-up play and, more importantly, finish, then brought in a real Striker
The sheer arrogance of El B is mind numbing in thinking he could out think Emery with his pets’ selection. Havertz did nothing and thus making us a one sided trick pony on the left and rarely through the middle.
Now we’re left with 6 games of misery like last season. So, the reality will be 5 years and nothing to show for it.
So glad I didn’t go to a pub to watch. Watched it in my hotel.
it’s certainly not over, as City don’t have the late season invincible feel they’ve had so often in the past, but that match definitely had more pretender than contender vibes
Oops. Missed the match. But looking at the replay , shows how poor Raya was. For the second goal , if he stayed on the line considering ESR was alongside Watkins and in fact got a toe in when the latter shot , might have saved it if he stayed on the line
I will say this, never ever has a manager spent so much on players without goals in them…between Jesus, Havertz, Vieira, Zinchenko, White, Jorginho, Eddie and even Rice, although that’s not really his MO, even though it might have seemed different considering his positioning against Bayern, we’ve spent well over 400M without once targeting a single clinical finisher
TRVL
What about the goalkeeper debacle – Ramsdale was his must have goalie but then Raya flapped his eyelids as well as his hands and ooops there goes another 30million quid down the drain. Emilio is a classy goalie who had reached his prime (as Argentina found out to their advantage in the last world cup). Today he stuck the middle digit of his gloved right hand right up El B’s left nostril. The Arsenal camp is not a happy ship – lots of back stabbing etc.
there’s a lot of noise online surrounding the notion that MA got the tactics all wrong from the get-go, whereas I would suggest otherwise, at least on this day…the fact remains we had loads of scoring opportunities, as no one even marked Havertz for the whole of the first-half…maybe Unai knew full-well that this player alone would never decide a match, unless he was given a half dozen chances from 2 feet out…therein lies the problem, our recruitment practices, which continually targets half measure and ill-equipped for the task at hand players
Norg-as you should know by now, I was never in favour of letting Emi go, regardless of the whole assurances narrative…since that time I’ve likewise spent countless hours knocking MA for the way he’s butchered the hunt for a suitable replacement, which has been an unmitigated shit show…my earlier list was aimed specifically towards the lack of clinical finishers we currently employ, especially after the gobs of monies spent…Cheers
TRVL
I think AFC is a troubled camp. El B was over promoted for winning the FA Cup during Covid. Gasper is the one who has Josh’s ear and no doubt he keeps him abreast of any failings. Gasper has had the embarrassing situation of sitting down with a player, contract on table, pen in hand when El B changed his mind. That player is now at Newcastle. Only Saka is left as an Emery player because El B knows there would be an outcry if he was dropped or moved out. Saka must be aware of the situation. Fail this season and El B will be in a precarious situation next – especially as others teams will be on the rise.
Tony-if you haven’t watched it already make sure you check out the last round of the Holloway/Gaethje fight…that’s the way to end things…Cheers
Norg—but it’s only the fourth phase of his seven or eight phase master plan and we’re clearly ahead of schedule…normally you would assume that as expectations rise, which has undoubtedly happened following last season and our off-season spending, so should the pressure to prove that he can get us over the hump, unfortunately those metrics don’t seem to apply here at the Emirates…he still has the Kool-Aid crew propagating his nonsense, we’re more relevant than we have been in quite some time, even though that’s more of a reflection of the parity that presently exists, and he was just re-upped again…much like with Wenger and our former bird-wielding captain, Xhaka, unless he goes to the middle of the pitch and takes a steaming dump on an Arsenal kit with Kroenke’s picture on it, he’s seemingly imprevious to the axe…as such, he will likely be here for the foreseeable future, as he doesn’t have the onions required to take his one-trick pony blueprint to another club of consequence
What a complete and utter disaster – Arteta was outthought and out manoeuvred by a manager we sacked for not being hood enough when Arteta’s had ten times the budget.
Add to that he’s just bottled another shot at the PL title when it was in our hands, what odds our seasons completely finished midweek when we lose to Bayern?
The simple truth is Liverpool’s next manager will win a title before Arteta and he hasn’t even been hired yet.
Did I like the result? NO
Did I like the Schadenfreude? I am reveling in it.
1. Don Unai pulled down Tets pants and spanked him. Revenge is a dish best served cold. Even if he wasn’t the manager Arsenal wanted/needed his treatment was despicable and KSE deserves all the embarrassment
2. Third season in a row where Tets start bottling it in April after spending 700mill.
3. There exists a chance that Don Unai will end up with a Trophy and our Apprentice manager is standing there holding the Bottlers trophy and the Nil, Nil draw at City in the other hand.
4. Le-Grove in total melt down and Don Unai living rent free in Pedro’s head. Best one yet.
Let’s see what will happen on Wednesday, don’t have much hope and Tuchel will have studied this match closely for the return leg in Munich.