LiquidAK

Arsenal have been relentless tbf, it's a shit performance but it's not in a vacuum, they've made us look especially terrible through being so fucking good

Well this is just obviously not true. He's class, he's looked brilliant in most games he's played, this is just a massive off-day so far

It's more the lack of movement. The 3 we've got in the middle isn't well balanced. Need one of the Joe's

Is Sven okay?

That OG is so annoying, if we'd clung on deeper into the half we'd maybe grown into it slightly. As it is our confidence is fucked

God we need some centre midfielders back. Willock on the bench is a huge boost in the context of the whole season. Arsenal are clearly better than us at the moment, that combined with Howe having his hands tied in terms of midfield option isn't great to watch

Good sweeping up from Karius

Schar, what is u doin baby

They've utterly outplayed us here

Just when you think Newcastle-Online couldn't descend further into self-parody, we're now preemptively slating Howe for *checks notes*... doing the thing we've all been asking for? No, no, that can't be right. That would be utterly insane...

Beat me to it - I want Tino to be starting ahead of Burn, or at least 5 at the back tonight, but every time we've played Arsenal recently there have been worries about Saka rinsing Burn and he's kept him quiet every time.

Not even close to suggesting that, thankfully I doubt he gives a fuck what some of the more reactionary loons think

We have very different views on how reasonable and understanding some of our fans can be.

You can see how that's just hindsight though surely? He'd have gotten pelters if he rested players for kids and we lost perceived winnable games as a result, or if we whimpered out of the CL rather than being an inch away from qualifying.

Agree now, sure. Not as easy a calculation when we were still fighting in the CL, in both domestic cups and early on in the league.

Hell even on Burn, there's an argument that Tino is a young lad only back from a very serious ACL injury. If he played every game from Burn's injury onward this season and broke down with a reoccurrence, I've no doubt some of you would add that to the list of "mistakes" Howe is making. Personally I'd like to see Tino start, but with many things this season there's an element of Howe being damned either way with sections of the fanbase

In all of those bar Burn (the one element I think the majority agree he's questionable on) he basically didn't have a choice due to the others missing. These players had to play because we had no-one else, and no chucking some kids on was never a serious option if we expected to compete and win games. Playing those players early back from injury was a gamble, but one Howe realistically had very little choice but to take.

Fucking have that, love you Flash

He's had a great game so far. Gutted for him, so unlucky to slip there

I do. We were unlucky that the final he got us to in his first full season last year came during our worst run of form all season. I genuinely think given a few years to shape the squad exactly as he needs and we'll be competing on all fronts. If by titles you mean the league only - that's trickier, because you need the other teams like City to have an off-season. But Howe would have us competing for it with enough time, no doubt in my mind about that.

Disagree massively tbh. I think he's perfect for both where we are and where we're aiming to go. He's a relatively young coach who's really struggled with the hand he's been dealt this season - but he's the heartbeat of the club and will grow with us imo. I'd be absolutely devastated if we lost him, think it'd be such a massive step back.

Love him mentioning "Mad Dog" in his post-match

One in the eye for some of the weaker-willed among us. My manager

Bruno is mental

Eddie Howe masterclass that. Saw the threat from their changes and adjusted our system accordingly, Tino on completely nullified them. Brilliant performance from the lads, and the manager. So much for not being able to adapt and being stuck to a single system eh.