Yorkie

Am I looking at the wrong pre-match coverage or is everyone getting Arsenal waffle?

No beef with that. Would love for Trippier to force a positive end to his time here; would be sad for his reputation to be tarnished after such an incredible start.

Howe absolutely loves a bit of flanter with Puke. It's a mystery.

Catching up on the presser there. Honestly man, some of the questions he gets asked. At one point Martin Hardy actually asked him if he wanted to win a trophy. Christ on a trike. Nice throwback from Louise Taylor though, quoting some shite from Pardew about how 'philosophy' should be banned in football. Halcyon days.

Eriksen pretty much the only success from that bunch of signings they made with the Bale money? Remember Soldado being a disaster.

Drogba > van Persie imo.

Hope he stays because he's a wonderful player and a club icon, but I would understand if we cashed in and could begrudgingly accept the financial benefit. It's feasible that he would go even in a non-PSR world. We know from the summer that it won't be for anything like £100m, if anything.

One of those players who improved our chances literally just by having his name on the teamsheet. Even if he played shite, which was possible. You're absolutely right in what you say but I think his pace and explosiveness scared teams regardless. I absolutely loved him when he was here; one of many I'd have loved to have seen in another era. The Spurs goal, the home leg against Alkmaar, the iconic partnership with Sibierski - all good stuff.

Absolute banter that this can happen to Chelsea and it won't remotely impact their ability to invest and continue their title charge; meanwhile us signing quality backup wingers is apparently something to be criticised as a poor use of funds. Great system.

Crucial that we can peddle him the first chance we get. There's no way we can even upgrade the number 1 position until he's out the door. No beef with him but his departure is long overdue at this point.

Naturally I meant for us specifically...

AM HAPPY. AM HAPPY. AM GAN TE GET ME SUIT MESHARD.

Could be true but personally think it's a bit stupid if so because he's played in that position far, far more than he has CB, and was very good there across basically all of 22/23. He's been exposed more times than you'd like; particularly last season, but ultimately he's been pretty dependable there.

Probably being pedantic but I think 'astute' is putting it mildly. I'd put him among the best transfers we've made in my lifetime, certainly in terms of value for money. His contribution to this club - not just on the pitch - has been outstanding, and he's still doing his thing even now; three years on from being a handy stopgap after we missed out on our main targets that January. I think the only Newcastle defender I've loved more than him is the bloke at his right hand side.

That Brighton calamity is a true "puts things into perspective" result for the ages. Properly competitive league this year; quality in all regions of the table. Two points from Southampton, Fulham, Leicester and Palace in their last four is a dismal return.

Inoffensive choice. Quite surprised they recruited in. Hug your gammons tonight, folks.

As a glasses wearer I don't support this.

Really? He goes over the top but it's hardly a stamp and the contact is minimal. Red would've been incredibly harsh imo; yellow's fair.

Showed his physical attributes again but thought he demonstrated his rawness very aptly with that botched breakaway late on. Slip it through to Gordon and that's 5-0. Look forward to seeing more of him though; he's got talent and he's in very good hands.

It wasn't an impossible job for decades and decades prior to VAR. Relying on the lino enables the rule to be applied in the spirit it was created: to prevent unfair advantages. I'll take that over the ludicrously pedantic, overzealous and unnecessary application by VAR.

That was my take, too. Goes down early in anticipation of the contact. Let's face it, most recipients of fouls emphasise the contact these days; doesn't mean it isn't a foul. Was annoying he didn't sell it better tbh.

Buzzing for this now. Huge game, huge opportunity. They won't fear us so we'll have to be totally on it, but hopefully we'll go hell for leather, deshackled from the anxiety of our league form.

Champion. Brilliant performance.

Match thread.

You're such a wet wipe, you.