Gotta say with all the haters out there. It`s not too long ago we were struggeling mid table. This man got us back up there 1 step away from glory. I`d rather be fighting for the 1st or 2nd every year and be in the champions league, than staying out of the good company mid table while swapping managers every 3 months. Love this man.
Let it all out. Whether you think the season is finished or you still have hope, explain how you’re feeling post-Etihad.
I’m not gonna bias this post in any direction, just want to get a pulse of the fanbase without the constant infighting.
We have only been to three CL semi finals ever before this year. We have only ever been to the final once.
A semi final against a weak Atletico (I dont care what anyone says, I watch them a lot and they are even weaker than we are and have both Lookman and Sorloth injured), with a strong chance of getting to the final.
From there, literally anything can happen.
The more I think about it, the more I believe we need to get behind the team just until the end of the season. And have the discussion on whats next after everything has been decided.
Unless by some miracle City bottle it and hand us the title, this teams window is slammed shut.
The great Sir Alex Ferguson once said something that rings true to this very day. Teams usually have a four year window to win a title. After that, the window closes and you have to rebuild the team with fresh talent to go again.
In 22/23 our window was just opening, our team was very young. The like of Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli, Saliba etc were all between 21-23 and had their whole careers ahead of them. So even when we collapsed at the end of the season, we knew we would be back.
Now in 25/26, we are at the end of the cycle. The players who carried us these four years have fallen off due to injury, lack of development, mental scars after so many failures, or a combination of the above.
We have ran a million miles these last four years, going all out to win a trophy and have come up short. And the players bodies and minds seem broken.
Saka massively injury prone and maybe will never be the same again, Odegaard injury prone and massively fallen off, Trossard old, Martinelli stagnated, Ben White physically finished, Timber injury prone, Calafiori injury prone, Havertz injury prone and half the player he was 2 years ago..
Of the new players we brought in, Eze is going to be 28, Gyokeres will be 28 and has flopped, Zubimendi already 27, Madueke has flopped..And our younger players who are meant to be the future and pick up from the older guard like Nwaneri and MLS have had their development stalled massively.
I dont see anyway this broken team, physically and mentally, can show up next season (after a world cup mind you) ready to go again. We need a complete reset and rebuild and I honestly feel it will be some years before we are ready to compete at the top again. We had a great four year window and unfortunately it seems we weren't able to capitalise.
Recently, I've seen our club's past used to sustain both positive and negative critiques about our present. It's not my goal to make any argument in this post, just to highlight this, our history through our last three managers.
Didn't include the EFL Cup cause we haven't won it since 4 managers ago.
Manchester city 2-1 Arsenal 25/26 first pic, eze 2 molecules off
Arsenal 0-2 Aston villa 23/24 second pic, trossard open goal miss
Liverpool 2-2 Arsenal 22/23 Martinelli misplaced pass (idk if Saka would've finished the chance who knows)
A lot of teams win the league based on magic moments or lucky moments, and that's completely normal because it's a part of football, but it just never happens to us...
Errors at the front I think led to us disorganised at the back.
The press:
Havertz says to press but we don't have the players.
Martinelli pushes up leaving O'Reilly completely free.
Odegaard gets annoyed and doesn't run back straight away.
Eze is a spectator and doesn't run back.
The break:
Rodri runs down the centre of the pitch and Eze continues to look on.
Good skills from Doku & O'Reilly pass Zubi.
The final attack:
Ball comes in, Hincapie must go towards the ball, free man Rodri shields the pass so it arrives at Halaand's feet.
Gabriel sees three players unmarked - Doku (Mosquera), Semenyo (Hincapie) & Halaand (Gabriel)
My blame game analysis:
Caveat to the constructive criticism; I thought we were so much better yesterday with Havertz up front and Odegaard back. We're so lucky to have Gabriel and I don't criticise him for this nor the first goal. Cherki's goal was incredible skill
What do you reckon?
I know this sounds mental after losing like that, but I actually felt something watching us play yesterday that I haven't felt in weeks. Yeah we bottled it completely and it was devastating, but for the first time in our last 5 games we actually looked like Arsenal again.
The way we held the ball, those forward passes that actually found their target, Havertz stepping up when it mattered. Even Eze looked like he's been with us for years. I'm not saying this changes everything or that we're suddenly back, because losing that lead was unforgivable. But idk, maybe if we can play like that consistently for the rest of the season, we might still salvage something this time. We've got 5 league games left and we're in the UCL semis. Probably clutching at straws here but I need something to hold onto.
Right everyone, I’m not trying to pile on or single anyone out, but this is just how I’m seeing it right now.
I feel like Martin Zubimendi has been a step down from Thomas Partey in terms of impact. And for me, he’s not an 6. There’s a reason players like Rodri operate the way they do at the top level, they control games, set tempo, and take responsibility in big moments.
Over the last month, I can only point to one solid performance, and that was the 0-0 against Sporting where, if we’re honest, not much really happened. Outside of that, it’s been sloppy at times, giving the ball away too easily and not offering enough progression. The City game summed it up for me. When you see him with 19 touches, while Bernardo Silva and Rodri are nearly doubling that, it tells a story. In the biggest games, your midfielders need to demand the ball and dictate play, not drift through it.
So the bigger question is this… is this player profile, from an identity and football IQ perspective, actually enough to get us over the line? Or are we at risk of continuing to bring in players who are good, but not quite at that elite, game-defining level? Happy to be proven wrong, but right now it feels like we’re just a level short where it really matters.
I'll leave this here because I know he'll see it, as the lad is chronically online (most likely a plant, who knows). Anyways, with that being said, if your argument only works in private messages, it probably wasn’t that strong to begin with, and its weird tbf.
Grow up mate, there's a life out there beyond getting phased by a football club, and I guarantee you the players don't know you.
If you don't like what I have to say about recent performances, well, I guess thats your problem as it's literally just an opinion on the club, not a hit piece on you lmao.
Have a good day everyone.