Lush Vlad

Topped off a great night. PSG masterclass, they won and we still got YABBA DABBA DOOOOOOOOO

Kvara and Doue have been great fun to watch. But Pacho has arguably been MOTM. A smaller name than most in that squad. But I love how aggressive he is with his defending. Him and Marquinhos (sp?) work great as a pair.

Ideally don’t waste 200 odd million on players that look nowhere near good enough and spend most of their time on the bench. It wasn’t the number of players signed. It was how ill suited they look to the system if you’re being kind. Crap if you’re not. Along with Howe’s reluctance to consistently play any of them bar Thiaw. It’s been a total disaster looking back.

Poor old Zaire-Emery is having a turbulent old night so far. Diaz causing him loads of bother. Kvara is a joy to watch. Is he even that fast? He just glides by players for fun, either way

He did with Isak. In his own head.

Might turn this off now. Could do with an early night and it’ll only get more unbearable from here.

Keeper?

True. But have you seen him on the ball? Barely better than Andy Carroll

He has actually managed to bag 22 goals and act as their focal point they need. But growing up watching Arsenal and the attacking talent and flair they had. He really does stand out as a cart horse.

Get that Gnocchi Gnonce out of here.

Norrrrrfff Laaaanda 4 evvvaaaa. Whateva da weavaaaaaa. The lyrics are incredibly bad. Mental that they’ve adopted it as their song. Another reason to dislike Arteta’s Arsenal.

Probably end up going around in circles and I think we agree with the broader discussion points. But he certainly does stop the other way. Of course it could be tactical and also you have to factor in how many sprints he manages per game. But I’ve seen him plenty of times this season where I thought the Gordon of old would have been putting far more of a shift in defensively.

I agree and disagree here. I think he is worth £75m in today’s market for sure. Especially when you consider what we paid for him in a cheaper market and with nowhere near the stats to back it up at the time. I also think he is our best forward. But that isn’t really saying that much when you consider the competition. So I think we will miss him. Especially if we don’t reinvest the money properly and if we insist on playing the same way again next season. Absolutely not having that bit in bold, mind. The amount of games where he has looked uninterested or not bothered about getting at the fullback. Usually when they can match him for athleticism. Is racking up into a decent amount, I would have said? You can tell what sort of game he is going to have in the opening few minutes. That’s before the laying on the floor he does. Before eventually walking back whilst the other team are on the break. I suppose you then have the few times where people have questioned if he is actually injured or not. Athletic Bilbao I thought he was. Man City I thought he wasn’t FWIW. I think he was injured recently. But people put two and two together with the comments from Howe and the transfer speculation. Gordon on his day at his radge best is unplayable. I just think for various reasons. We don’t get to see that so much nowadays. When he was player of the season, he was a joy to watch from my POV. I just don’t see that all that often these days. But it might just be me.

We all keep saying this. But I’m just not sure Howe wants to change from this now flawed 4-3-3. Reverted to playing runners and the big lads to try and stop the rot. Whilst 200 odd mil of transfers from the catastrophic summer sit on the bench. Looking no closer to getting meaningful minutes or fitting into the team.

I thought City would slip up somewhere. But not this soon. If Arsenal manage to do the double. I think I might just stop watching football.

I don’t have an issue with it not being a straight red. It was more the fact he got away with the most blatant yellow card earlier in the half. I know you could argue that he then doesn’t make such a daft challenge when on a yellow. But he was lucky, either way.

They hit the woodwork 3 times and Mavrapanos’ scored a goal that was about 2 inches offside, which would have made it 1-1. I thought on the highlights only. West Ham were a bit unlucky to lose so heavily.

Krul was quality for a couple of seasons. Never the same after his injury. Given is widely considered as our best keeper in modern history. So that’s fair. Harper was decent as cover but wasn’r starting quality. Forster and Woodman never did much for us or elsewhere. They better than Pope? Not fully old enough to remember Pav or Shaka. But better than Pope? I know he has his clown show moments and he has become a liability. But to call Pope one of the worst keepers you have seen for us is a wild take IMO. He looked like the best we’ve had in the Prem era his first season and a half before the shoulder injury.

Maybe showing my age. But when have we been spoilt with keepers?

I’m not comparing the two as managers or as decent human beings. But it feels like when Pardew held HBA to some ridiculously high standards and would regularly criticise him. All whilst playing the likes of Obertan and Ryan Taylor at right wing week in week out.

This is why I watch football. Not many flair players left. Instead we get set piece coaches and articles about why Declan Rice is allegedly the best midfielder in the world. Great nostalgia here, too. I was at loads of these games. One of my favourite kits and all.

Doesn’t read well, that. Posted a while ago about how whatever level you play. Certain players are easier to drop or sub because they’re an easy target or won’t kick up a fuss. I always thought it was Barnes in our squad. But maybe it’s Hall, as well.

And an attitude transplant.

To go with the fact his touch, crossing and passing has been poor. That video just further illustrates how bad he connects with other players. It’s like he has never trained with his teammates before and he’s a ringer (without the ability) playing for a Sunday league team. Not that the lack of chemistry is exclusive to him, mind. We’ve played like strangers all season. During Howe’s time here. I think a lot of our success has been down to great partnerships and link up play between certain players Trippier and Almiron. Murphy and Isak. Barnes and Hall/Tino. Schar and Burn/Botman. Big Joe and Little Joe. Bruno and everyone. I’ve not seen anything close to partnerships forming this season. Players in and out the side all the while and rarely having in form players in the team hasn’t helped. The wings in particular have been horrendous. Considering we exclusively attack and try and progress the ball down the flanks. That’s not really ideal.

I was gonna say. Wissa has been getting far more abuse than Gordon. Barely seen anyone sticking up for him.