Will there be one more twist to come this season?
Well that was tough to take!
But who would have thought after the start that Arsenal had this season that we would be finishing the season in the top half of the table?
And I know that we should be aiming higher, of course we should, but given the lack of experience and the lack of squad depth alongside some of the poor performances we have put in, we have managed to make Europe this season, which looked far away at one point!
So, yes we have faltered, but there’s nothing we can do about it, we just have to accept it and move on!
The only thing we can do is hope for a miracle on the weekend and that we beat Everton and Spurs lose to Norwich.. (this is the point everyone falls off their chairs laughing)
Norwich have nothing to play for but pride, whereas Spurs have fourth place to play for so you work it out…
We have a tiny slither, if that, of hope, after Norwich drew with Wolves and could have easily won the game, but it seems as though the pendulum has swung in the way of Spurs and I don’t see it coming back our way!
I bet those three losses to Crystal Palace, Brighton and Southampton look even more of a missed opportunity now, don’t they!
The best thing we can do now is finish the season at home with a win and look forward to the summer, where yet again we are supposedly promised that we will be given the funds to spend big! So let’s see how true that is!
As of now though, all that is left to say is we have to keep together as a team, a club, a fan base, and more importantly as a football family. Because the boys regardless of if they finish fourth or fifth, have done well with the limited squad depth, strength and experience available.
It is no consolation but at least we won’t be finishing in eighth and we knew we weren’t going to finish in first, so we just have to take this on the chin and focus on what is to come, as this season is pretty much over!
Heads up Gooners the best is yet to come.. (Although it may take a few seasons, but we hope not!)
Shenel Osman
@sh3n3l_
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can’t believe what I’m reading
That in a way we should be grateful for being in the top half of the table
How low have the standards fallen
Well it depends on who you talk about when it was wenger same fans were not happy at all for finishing in top 4 but now look at them they are trying gold plate this failure by giving all sort of excuses..from team not good enough, to squad depth, to injuries, to season target blah blah blah
Wow these comments?
Where are all the Arsenal Supporters on here?
I can see some fickle fans, but no supporters. I have only just got back from the match and like most of those on the way back we were gutted. But this is Football and more importantly this Arsenal. It’s in my blood and obviously it is not in the blood of some on here.
This week so anything Norwich that you possibly can, wear yellow and green, dig out your Delia Smith cookery books, crunch some carrots and talk like your from Narfalk. Funnier things have happened, remember lasagnagate. So come on where are ya? Let’s be Avin’ Ya
Well apart from the FA Cup, we’ve been bottling every other competition for a good 15 years, so nothing new!
I guess that’s why it doesn’t hurt.
Very true and being in the UCL has been an disgrace except for the one finals we made it to. Europa has been a better hunting ground.
As a realist, I knew from the start that making it to EL would be an achievement, for two reasons – we can actually win it next season and the players are not good enough for the UCL.
We have no leaders on the pitch, Xhaka gives the best he can and is a very nice human being, but not a leader on the pitch, so is Lacazette & Pepe and so was Auba, Ozil, Mustafi, Socrates – nice people but not leaders. So, I’m not surprised Arteta wants Neves.
Then come the injuries – Partey, Tierney two key players always injured. Need to move them and hire EPL hardened players.
Then we have the fan base who think they know it all. Most jeered Arteta when he lost Emi Buenda and Varane, but Odegard and White were much much better. Two weeks back Eddie & Elneny were the saviours, two games later the fans were proved wrong by Arteta as to why he does not give them game time,
Losing to Spurs & Castle is sliver lined rainbow – The mediocre ones will leave and better players will join. Next season will be the season, will achieve greatness with us.
Loose Cannon, you really do have a bad memory my friend.
I would love Pat to quote some of your words regarding top four finishing.
Anyway, in Mikels own words, as near as I can remember, he will bring us the CL trophy in three years…. pray tell me how he’s going to do that?
If it doesn’t hurt Jonbo, your not a supporter.
Funny how you manage to turn everything back to AW, even after four plus years!!!
Finishing 8th two years running, out of the fa cup in the 4th and 3rd rounds and out of europe after losing his one home european tie and then not qualifying SHOULD hurt even more than the last fifteen years, but, just like TMJW, you keep on deceiving yourself that what happens today is, somehow, explained by delving back!!
He didn’t say or even imply that. The implication was that. We didn’t didn’t fare too well in this campaign and have ended up where we are. The season is over and barring major miracles of good fortune on our part and misfortune on Spurs’, we can only look forward to the season ahead.
I’d like to add that as disgruntled fans, we’ve all shared our thoughts and opinions on here during the campaign we’ve criticised the manager, the players (some more than others), the board, the refs, transfer policy etc etc, oh…….and even each other for what’s turned out to be a fruitless season in terms of advancement and that elusive fourth place. The consolations might be minor as in we will be playing some European football next term and…the team have made some improvements which we have witnessed at times.
Okay…….we might, just happen to experience a similar thing next season in terms of disappointment but, we don’t know for sure what will happen and whilst that’s the case, I’m optimistic that we’ll fare much better than this season.
Of course, that won’t be to everyone’s liking as not just the Arsenal outsiders or the footballing world of punditry, footballing media. Some so called fans will still be looking for a reason criticise !
@Lt Dan
Very well put Gooner. 👍🏾
Well, this just about sums up where we are as a club. A club and much of it’s fan base that now accepts mediocrity as the new norm. MA fans quick to wheel out the excuses, young squad, injuries, covid, Brexit, at least we’ve improved on two 8th place finishes. Pathetic, and really what is there to look forward to? More of the same, worse and all with a manager and players who couldn’t care less about our club. No pride and no ambition. Welcome to Arsenal.
They gave him a new lucrative contract. He has improved from his previous seasons failures. With financial backup in the summer next season will show if the gamble has paid off.
Only one more season of this. It is going to end either way.
Next season he needs to show more than he has shown this season. We have to see real progress from fighting for 4th place to gaining points against the likes of Liverpool and City. No more Free Hit or moral victory talk, he has to show that he can challenge the Top 2 clubs or he will have to be sacked..
This season I wanted to see if he could challenge for Top 4, he has challenged for it but not convincing whatsoever. Bottled it against Spurs and Newcastle. Lost those 3 games (Palace, Brighton and Southampton).
He has no more excuses for next season. We need to see much better and consistent football, want to start seeing points on the board against the likes of City and Liverpool etc..
Such a demoralising end to the season. Losing 2-0 to Newcastle when we were the team that this game meant more to.
🤦♂️
No excuses but what’s the penalty? Our village idiot CEO just extended his contract even when REAL Arsenal fans could see the naivete and ignorance of the novice. He was poor as our player and captain and sadly has continued on the path.
Any manager who continues to play xhaka DOES NOT deserve to be in their job
What a joke..
Arteta and his players embarrassed us. What kind of nonsense did they served us in the Spurs and Newcastle games.. Did they even care for Top 4?
No urgency, no fight, just seemed ready for their summer holidays.
So demoralising.
Even more puzzling when it was rumoured each player was on £500,000 if we got top 4.
Let me what is the joke its the mid table mentality of board and Arteta lovers. He had an experienced squad but they were labelled as toxic and thrown out. Then he spent almost every season specially last summer club went big now for his failure with no games to play in Europe for entire season people are giving excuses like squad depth, and experience?? Lol!. They want club to even give hik more money to spend as they are not happy with the funds already provided to Arteta.
I wouldn’t trust him with the milk money let alone another 400 million to get the minimum 5 players that we need not including the players that are leaving this summer.
Feck me the next transfer window isn’t gonna be tweaks. It will be a massive overhaul.
If players like Jesus and Nunez have any ambition they will avoid us with a barge pole and we will be looking at the Calvert Lewins and Callum Wilsons of this world. Wouldn’t surprise me if we buy Chambers back for his versatility.
Depressing isn’t it.😢
spurs could lose to Norwich but you know if that happens, we will lose to Everton 🙄
We lost the chance at NLD, it was a game we needed just a point. , a back formation would have been perfect but MA arrogance cost us imo.
It’s time to get serious and go for well experience players, youth project is lovely but inconsistent is what you get with it, youngsters are fragile and under pressure they crack
A little credit to them for getting this far
I so agree with you on the NLD mate.
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Arsenal starting the game on the front foot trying to create chance.
Can you imagine Conte’s spurs coming to the Emirates with a 4 point lead, 3 games to play and trying to play pretty football?
Not in a million years
He’d play an ugly 5-4-1 which got spurs a point against Liverpool
Even though I support Arteta I’m p** off the way he set up his team for such a crucial NLD. We didn’t really have 5 fit defenders available that day but he could have played Saka as a wing back.
It’s not even about losing games, but the limping performances all season..
This Newcastle game was the ultimate limp bottle job.. What was that?
Arteta has had a long honey moon so far but if he keeps serving us these kind of limp performances he has served us this season then he will be facing the old toxic Emirates stadium bext season. And he does not want that..
What if we miss top 4 again next year? Should Arteta be sacked?
2 limp performances when it mattered most. Players outclassed & outplayed on the pitch and Arteta was outclassed on the sidelines.
Wenger, Emery, and players were held accountable.
What’s changed now? Wenger never got excused over injuries, but Arteta does?
Has Arteta EVER had standards or goals set to achieve?
How the club has lessened in the last several years. From a legendary manager in Wenger, to stop-gap Emery, to inexperienced rookie.
Fans watched it happen, from mocking Wenger only finishing 4th to praising Arteta and progress finishing 5th.
Arteta gets rewarded for finishing where Wenger and Emery got sacked.
When is enough for some of you?
They gave him a new lucrative contract. We can only wait and see. Wenger was not excused for injuries he was blamed for them.
What a good point HH.
I forgot that liitle gem!!!
Indeed, it was said that AW was training them to hard – not training them hard enough – bringing back players too early – not bringing back players soon enough – square pegs in round holes causing injuries….. in other words, all down to one man.
Now we have the excuses coming out that MA had too many players injured and that our opponents didn’t!!!
Just remember some of the players out on loan, given away or sold, in order to cut the wage bill:
Aubemeyang, Guendouzi, Saliba, AMN, Nelson, Chambers, Bellerin, Mavs, Torreria, Balogun.
Now, imagine if we had waited until the end of the season in order to cover for any injuries, wouldn’t that have made more sense?
Instead, we left the cupboard bare and that was the decision Mikel Arteta made, no one else and that’s why he’s getting stick from loyal fans – it should /could have been avoided, if a liitle common sense had been applied… in my opinion.
Oh!! Before anyone says “look at the salaries we have saved, qualifying for the CL alone would have covered those players mentioned and MA’s salary!!!
Durand I don’t think we’re even close to them having enough, I heard someone say the reason we’re happy with Arteta is that he has us playing beautiful football again. Blind or delusional? either way what an absurd thing to say.
Kev82, it’s some of the worse football I’ve our club in many years. They must be blind.
Yeah Dennis the football is horrific.. if they think we play beautiful football then there is no hope for them.
Nketiah, Elneny, Xhaka???? Cart horses. All the bigging up of Nketiah…..crazy. PURGE,PURGE, PURGE….an Arsenal Enema is needed urgently…beginning by getting rid of Arteta. Clueless and wimpish. Arteta has NOT got it….reality. 2nd rate owner, 2nd rate manager, many 2nd rate players = failure.
Let me tell a story..
Asene Wenger our ex manager was shown the door for top 4 finish with mediocres and refusal to spend heavily like other rising teams. Then came in emery and his first season wholla we were in Europa final -no thanks to Oliver and Hazard – we were out classed. The following season Spanish dude was shown the door and then we were 5th position. Arteta took over from a 5th position, took us out of Europa in dramatic way, lost out of capital one cup and ended up in 8th then made up with it with an FA cup win with players we termed deadwoods. Applause please. The upper season, with no European game to play he ended up 8th and got out of domestic cup out early as well however he got a community shield to shield him from fans and club. this season he sold out players for free and at platter of gold and so far so good he has spent more than 250mil and has top 4 within his sight and yet he lost it with two games to go.
So don’t bring up squad depth as an excuse, he practically chased them out.
You told the truths but for die-hard MA fans like LC & JB, they have difficulty to interpret or comprehend. It is still Arsene’s fault and not MA. MA is always innocent.
It was disappointing the way we played and lost the match against Newcastle, it was clear from the first half that Newcastle were dominating us one would have expected that MA will twerk the formation to 3 defenders at the back. This has been one of weaknesses through the season, tactical ineptitudeness, failure to fully utilize the squad and letting players go in January without signing replacements
I really miss the arsenal I know during the Adam- vieira era. This bunch of featherweight players are nowhere ready for the champion league.
We need players with steel mentality and a stronger never say die attitude.
The team needs an emergency surgery to fix these, cos its very obvious after seeing the way arsenal capitulated in the last 2 games.
Injections of new players is needed from striker to defense.
We had some great games this season that out young players demonstrated their abilities, and we have a solid core. but this core needs leadership and experience and more quality around it. Partey and Tireny are the only two senior players that provide that. other than them all the rest of our above 24-years old players are mediocre or horrible: Cedric, Holding, Elneny, Xhaka, Pepe, Laca.
we need 5-6 25-28 years old experienced leaders, fighters and thechnically capable players to replace those deadwood.
the main reason we will not finish 4th is we did not replace them in January. not all of them, but even two, one versitile defender and on CM or CF would be enough for us th finish 4th. when you come to the final games with players in the quality of Tavares, Cedric, Holding, Elneny, Xhaka and Nekettia, that is 5-6 starters every game that are of low level, those results are expected.
it does not mean Arteta could not have done better. being more defensive against Spurs and starting gladiator Martinellie and not the fibble ESM yesterday were huge mistakes. but overall he had a midtable material with 2-3 above avarage playres.
20/21: TRUST THE PROCESS..
21/22 : TRUST THE LONG PROCESS..
22/23: TRUST THE VERY LONG PROCESS..
Saka and ESR will be managers and the process will still be ongoing
Hahahahaha… 🤣🤣🤣
30/31 WHAT EXACTLY IS THE PROCESS 😄
Hahahahaha… 🤣🤣🤣
Spurs will hammer Norwich. They are down and out already.
Arsenal will end up drawing Everton. I won’t be surprised if they lose too
Can you imagine that! That’s to show you how low this club has fallen. No ambition anymore. We are doing Thanksgiving for not making it to Champions league. Apart from Arteta who is the major problem, we don’t buy rightly. Why sending Saliba on loan only to buy White who Saliba can bench any day? That money could have been used to strengthen other areas. Las summer, we spent 250M on average players. What are the guarantee that we will not go for mediocre players come summer this year? Why not buy quality players from epl? Why always go for inexperienced young players? Check your records. Young talented players without experience have never won epl.
Of all players, Granite Xhaka summed up last night’s performance in a Sky Sports interview. He was scathing of his own performance as well as his team mates. He claimed Arsenal lacked “balls”. They didn’t follow the game plan that was set. He also claimed certain players should have stayed on the bench, or simply stayed at home, and they don’t deserve to be at Arsenal. He didn’t care what age they were. He also claimed that Arsenal don’t deserve a place in the Champions League or the Europa League. Gary Neville said after the interview, “how dare Xhaka say that straight after a match “. I don’t know. Does he have a point? After all, he’s not exactly the supporters favourite player
Barring a miracle?? No chance! How many chances were we handed? Even though Newcastle had “nothing to play for” we couldn’t handle it – the atmosphere (was like something out of the CL!!), the occasion, their press, Callum Wilson! Could handle any of it!
Where was the response from Thursday night????
I thought we were finally going to be taken seriously – qualifying for the CL after all this time – but no, no such luck. We buckled like we always do and unfortunately I can’t see it changing any time soon!
It hurts..
Sue, we were told that players like Ozil and Aubemeyang, who strolled around and gave nothing (four fa cups, four CS and European football) on the pitch were dross and only in it to bleed Arsenal dry (actual quotes).
It would never happen under our new, super duper, manager.
Yet here we are, listening to our new, super duper manager saying just that, along with one of the so called dross players who MA gave a new contract too!!!!
This is a Walt Disney club at the moment, full of make believe and cartoon characters!!!
Ken.. I’m so angry right now, angry over Thursday night and last night. Since January all we had to do was focus on the top 4 as there were no other distractions – wasn’t too much to ask was it? One game a week and look how we’ve screwed that up! People are excusing it, Ken – it’s ok that we’ve capitulated and given those filthy Spuds CL football at our expense! No it’s not alright, not by a long shot.
All this talk of improvements.. where? Stan’s pocket, yes, but by no means not our defence or attack! 2.5 years have passed, Ken and I’m still told to be patient! Eddie Howe/Antonio Conte anyone?
I’m tired, Ken, tired of being laughed at.. you’re right, we’re a joke!
We are a joke Sue and we have a joke manager and he has been given and extended contract on the back of failure. Failure to get past championship clubs in domestic competitions and throwing away a huge advantage for top 4 twice. All of this with no European distractions. I dont think i have been so tired of the sterile football we play as i am now. I really am not looking forwards to the same excuses and lack of ambition from this manager and this club. We spent a lot of money last summer, Edu and Arteta have wasted it. I have no confidence that either can get the players or have the abilty to take this team anywhere next season. The football i watch is just boring and tactically naive.
Reggie, I can’t believe he’s being defended! Anyone else and they would’ve been annihilated.
I said the other day if we failed to qualify for CL, the season would be a disappointment and sure enough it is. I’m not expecting anything from next season, bar more pedestrian football. How the hell will we cope in all 4 competitions? Couldn’t even hack it in one this time round..
To me the worst thing happened is not fighting for any of the titles and losing the CL chance.
What else we were expecting as Arsenal fans?
I don’t expect big names joining our club this summer, this team lost 12 points in an easy games .. still can’t imagine how they did that?
And lastly, MA should take some blame .. this guy can’t play with a clear formation and tactics and he has been here enough! But guess what? They are still believing in his process!!!!
7th best offense to date
8th best defense to date.
Does NOT equal top 4
Can’t win or draw when coming from behind
Attack is anemic, been that way for last 2.5 years!
Basically, the last 3 years everything is the same, except we have younger injury prone players.
This guy is not taking any club to the promised land, take that to the bank.
👍👍
Any analytical mind bear a few factors in mind. First and foremost we started the season so badly that nobody would have expected us to end the season in fifth position. Secondly, we have had bad injuries to some of our best players at a crucial time when we needed them most. Furthermore, our squad lacks quality depth. Many of our reserve players lack consistency. Let us also not forget that Arteta is still a new manager learning his trade.
I believe that next season Arteta will get his targets and surprise all the critics. Remember he already has FA cup to his name. Let us remain focused and optimistic.
Correction: First sentence should read:Any analytical person should keep a few facts in mind.