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How quickly Arsenal have turned from a band of overachievers, as they seemed with reason to be prior to the international break, to a club in the doldrums as they have appeared in their last two matches.  Now they face a Saturday away day at St. Mary’s, and another game with “banana skin” written all over it.  As if this fixture hasn’t been a nearly perennial banana skin for the Gunners anyway.  The players must focus and concentrate on the job at hand, and not let minds wander to extraneous matters such as recent setbacks or the quick turnaround until Tuesday’s tussle with the Chavs.  After last Saturday’s home defeat to Brighton Mikel Arteta described his team’s poor performance saying “We were sloppy, we had no purpose to attack, we were really imprecise and we didn’t want to play forward.”  In other words, this is inadequate form for a Champions League-chasing club, especially considering Arsenal’s unacceptable performance at Crystal Palace in the previous match.  

As a matter of fact it is now over a month that Arsenal have gone winless excepting their narrow victory over Aston Villa on March 19.  Losses to Liverpool, Palace and Brighton have knocked the Gunners right off the seemingly solid fourth place perch they enjoyed after five consecutive wins in February and early March.  In Arsenal’s last four outings since their two goal triumph against Leicester on March 13th the Gunners have scored only two goals but conceded seven.  Fatigue, injuries, the lack of signings, and the clear-out of the potentially useful Calum Chambers and Ainsley Maitland-Niles have taken a toll on the team’s resilience it seems.  Facing the most challenging moment of his managerial campaign Arteta now has to find a trick or two up his sleeve and put the Gunners back on a positive path.

The Opposition

Placed 14th in the table after 31 games played, the Saints have had a fairly typical season by their standards of the last half decade.  Counting forward from 2017-8, the season before they appointed manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, Southampton have finished 17th, 16th, 11th and 15th, a consistently bottom half side that has always somehow managed to avoid relegation. 

But having lost last week 0-6 to Chelsea the Saints are in a rough spot, conceding 19 times in six games since the first weekend of March, including four league defeats to Aston Villa, Newcastle, Watford and Chelsea, and an FA Cup exit to Manchester City.  Saints drew their other league match in that stretch, against Leeds.  One pundit wrote that Southampton defended against the Chavs as if they were rabbits caught in car headlights, but if Arsenal’s form of the last two weeks is allowed to continue then Saints defence could look solid as a rock.  The South coasters normally line up with a back four consisting of  Ghanaian Mohammed Salisu and Polish international Jan Bednarek in the middle, flanked by full-backs Tino Livramento and Kyle Walker-Peters.

Saints’ midfield usually features James Ward-Prowse and Oriol Romeu in the middle of things, with Mohamed Elyounoussi on one side; and one of Adam Armstrong, Stuart Armstrong, or Ibrahima Diallo, who started at Leeds.  Nathan Redmond has made 15 starts, usually in a left wing role.  The Gunners must be alert seeing as Ward-Prowse seems to do nearly whatever he wants with a free kick.  Last season he registered 39 shots on goal and six assists from set pieces.   In January, Pep Guardiola called the him the best free-kick taker in the world; and JWP leads the league again with three goals scored on free kicks.  His most recent such exploit came at Leeds where his free kick equalizer ended Saints’ run of three straight league defeats.  Saints’ front line is usually led by the duo of Che Adams, who has scored 7 goals, and Chelsea loanee Armando Broja, who has added 6 goals in fewer appearances.  Broja has looked especially dangerous in Saints’ attack in the one or two games I have seen.

Arsenal

Seeing as I wrote this prior to Arteta’s pre-match press conference, I will turn to a couple of other punters to provide some insight on the team we could deploy against Southampton.  In light of the injury suffered by Kieran Tierney and the obvious desire to avoid a repeat of Nuno’s display against Palace, no less an authority than TTG pointed out in the drinks that Cedric played left back at St. Mary’s last season and did really well, so that could be a good solution for this critical fixture.  TTG added that we might see Ben White at right back until Tomi returns with Rob Holding coming in at White’s usual center back slot.  Not thinking it would be of any use to question TTG’s tactical judgment, I’m agreeing with his choice on that front too.

The esteemed Dr. Faustus used a recent drink to provide some other useful tactical adjustments.  He would replace the knackered Lacazette with Martinelli, who he suggested would better synchronize our attacking players and help avoid the scenario in which our counter-attacks fizzle out because the center forward moves slower than the fullbacks.  Faustus gave credit to Laca for his work done, no doubt wondering why Arteta didn’t notice that Laca looked knackered weeks ago, but the Doctor added “we need to be more aggressive and front footed in the opposition third.”  Faustus and several other drinkers asserted their confidence that Sambi Lokonga is capable of doing a decent job of replacing the injured Thomas Partey in the defensive midfield role.  I would add that Eddie Nketiah put in a solid performance as a substitute against Brighton, so he remains an option up front but maybe not as a starter in such a critical fixture.

The holics’ pound

I can’t say I’m expecting a fluid or truly inspiring performance this week but do think Arsenal are capable of pulling up their proverbial bootstraps and avoiding calamitous errors as they strain to get back to playing like a side that deserves to be chasing the European places, even as the Champions League spot now looks difficult.  So I’m going for a tight 0-0 until the last ten minutes when Gabriel Martinelli pulls a rabbit out of his socks and Arsenal escape St. Mary’s with all three points.  A tonic for what ails ye, fingers crossed.  But it’s not likely to be comfortable viewing for long stretches so keep that sofa within arm’s reach.  

Enjoy the game, ‘holics.

59 Drinks to “Teetering Gunners Look to Regain Equilibrium on the South Coast”

  1. 1
    Trev says:

    Thanks bt8 !

    It says a lot about where we truly are that every match now feels like another potential banana skin. Everybody says that the full backs are some of the most important positions in the modern football team and that has certainly been proven to us with the absences of Tierney and Tomiyasu.

    Our form and fitness had looked promisingly stable for a while but both have suddenly deteriorated with our best central midfielder also now out for a while.

    Have to hope that our attacking players approach this one with a lot more conviction and pace than they have in the last couple of games. We have to have a central striker who at least looks likely to score, and I would go with your choice of Martinelli – his pace will also hopefully stop Southampton from pushing up and cramping the midfield space too much.

    Everything crossed 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

  2. 2
    bt8 says:

    Reading back in time, it appears I was also the author of the preview — https://www.goonerholicsforever.com/?p=4357 — of the reverse fixture this season, at home in December when we also came into the game following two dismal performances. I would be in the clouds, as it were, if Arsenal manage a repeat of their home performance and result (See Pangloss’ report here: https://www.goonerholicsforever.com/?p=4371 ) — the standard being “the Arsenal did what they had to do in this match without looking particularly impressive.”

  3. 3
    North Bank Ned says:

    A finely pitched preview, bt8. We should have been going into this game with six points from Palace and Brighton under our belts and looking for three more. But that is not where we are. Three points at St Mary’s are essential. Fourth is all but still in our own hands, but we have no margin for error from here on in. I, too, would play a back four of White, Holding, Gabriel and Soares so Xhaka can play in midfield. Given Laca’s recent goalscoring form, or absence thereof, we have little to lose by starting Nketiah up top.

  4. 4
    Trev says:

    Sorry bt8 – I saw “bath” in my haste !

    You can fight out which one of you should be offended ! 🤣

  5. 5
    Trev says:

    Oh, just checked – please don’t ask- I’ve lost it 😳

  6. 6
    bt8 says:

    Trev, You owe three puns, two of which must be funny 😆

  7. 7
    TTG says:

    Bt8
    Thanks for your comprehensive and enjoyable preview . We occasionally get a chasing At Southampton but we often win there too and we did last season . I also thought we played very promisingly at home before Christmas and thought Pangloss was a little harsh with his assessment but he was at the game and I was not and he undoubtedly saw things denied me by my stream .
    We are down to the last ice lolly in terms of experienced options . Lacazette didn’t train today and our forward choices are Nketiah ( who I would give a chance to) , Martinelli who I like out wide and young Biereth who hasn’t got the experience for this job. I’d go with the full backs you suggest and put Xhaka alongside Sambi . Arteta got that very wrong last week. I might also start Pepe and bring Bukayo off the bench .
    I think we will squeak this 2-1

  8. 8
    OsakaMatt says:

    Thanks bt8, I’d be happy with your prediction. With the squad so thin and the limited options we have the team could be anything – Xhaka as centre forward? 😉

    As it has been for most of the season it’s going to be down to Bukayo, Martin, ESR and Gabi to see us home. If they can do it, fantastic, if not it’s been a good season either way and I largely agreed with the link that Bath posted yesterday to She Wore – I’m enjoying this season and looking forward to next too.

  9. 9
    OsakaMatt says:

    Saliba into the Europa Conference semi finals with Marseille. I’d forgotten Kola is there too now. AMN with Roma is in the Ropey League semi finals.

  10. 10
    Bathgooner says:

    Thanks for a thougtful and balanced preview, without inordinate gloom. Despite TTG’s observation about our record away to Southampton, I share your anxiety about this venue as on my only visit in person, we got a 3-0 pasting from a team we expected to beat. After our last two disappointments, this match is not only a ‘must win’ to keep our hopes of a decent European place alive but a yardstick of whether this group of players will rise to the challenge caused by our cluster of key injuries or suffer a meltdown of morale and ambition.

    I completely agree about the back four and midfield that we need to select and the need to replace Lacazette but would lean towards giving Nketiah the chance to ply his trade from the off with the incentive of putting himself in the shop window. As Ian Wright observed on the Arsecast Extra earlier this week, I don’t know what is wrong with this guy. He should be showing everyone what he can do to ensure that he gets a decent offer from a decent club. Like TTG, I too prefer Martnelli on the left as there he gets the space that he can use to build his momentum and create openings that he will not get up the centre. I also hope ESR has recovered from whatever was weighing him down against Brighton. We are, however, of necessity, placing such huge responsibility on so many young shoulders.

    Go win Arsenal. Any which way!

  11. 11
    Gunnersaurus Stunt Double says:

    Cheers for the preview bt8, I enjoyed reading that!

    I also hope we can squeak home via the odd goal. Either your 1-0 or TTG’s 2-1.

    I’ve seen lots of teams get good results despite having a weak link in one position. I’d just play the strongest 10 players we have, then choose the best left back from whoever is still available and try to get them cover when needed. The best way to stop it being an issue is to keep the ball far away from them. Which means up the pitch on the right – or, put another way – with Saka. Well, I’d be trying to get the ball to Saka anyway. No tactical tweaking needed.

    If we attack well and do what we’ve been doing well for so long we will win. Psychologically, all this focus on the damage done by having our first choice LB out is doing a lot more harm than actually having our first choice LB out.

    Remember when we set the Champs League record for not conceding? We had Flamini at fucking left back!

    Just get on with it.

    And win.

  12. 12
    Bathgooner says:

    I’ve just caught up with this piece featuring Granit Xhaka that Blogs linked to the other day. It’s well worth 30 minutes of your time. It gives an insight into the man, his values and ambitions, the episode against Palace in 2019, the influence of MA8 and the poisonous effect of social media on an individual simply trying to do his best.

  13. 13
    Malcolm says:

    Hi All

    i have to say how much i enjoy Goonerholic Forever and the sensible, civilised discussion/observation/opinion that flows. Its been a long time since my last contact…and that was rather innane i have to confess. Nevertheless, despite my (very voluntary) exile to now South Australia, i am like most of the akin here so consumed by AFC that even at my now advanced age find no way to move on. As they say here – i’m ironed on…Nevertheless, innane though it may be, i have several items that i ponder which may be of no particular relevance but may engage some discussion. I was wisely advised some years back by Trev or Steve T (perhaps) that shirt colours are predicated by then Slazenger/Puma and now presumably by Adidas….

    1) Club colours..i have been in contact directly with the club to discuss for example when we play away to Wolves (Old Gold & Black) and we play not in our traditional Red/White combo but something else to “avoid a clash”…i can’t now recall what but recently to avoid another clash (Everton/Watford?) where we wore red shorts..no sensible response and some waffle but no admittance of blatant commercialism…my naivety is clearly transparent. How this engenders support is beyond me. AFC play in Red/white…though i fondly remember the blue hooped socks in the 60s….

    2) When i was there before emigrating in 1973 i was fortunate to be (briefly) a season ticket holder and from 67-72 at every big game. I think in the double-year we used 16 or 17 players. I observed previously (and i see its a different game)…but during that period we had outstanding ball players…eg GG, George Eastham, the grossly maligned Jon Sammels et al but also our tough guys…Peter Storey, Frank and in a different league in my view Arsenal all time legend – Peter Simpson (good but not “dirty”)…nevertheless opposed by Chopper Harris, Norman “Bites yer legs”, Billy Bremner/Johnny Giles, Tommy Smith etcc. Still we prevailed but now…i find myself regularly bewildered. In recent times Bergkamp, Vieira showed appropriate steel…but (symptomatic of outside influences eg Spain/France/italy) touch em and they fall over.. you get a “knock” and its weeks away…why is it so? Under-trained/over trained – je ne comprends pas? Its a while since i spoke French BTW..

    Anyway with due deference to all of the very learned Goonerholics i review almost everyday and to which i so much appreciate the very civilised views and usually most pertinent observations i thought it worth showing that your collective words of wisdom are much appreciated by us of the “silent majority” but the game is full of quandaries. .e.g 4-5 minutes to determine that Gabi was offside vs BHA…well as i gather age (72) conspiracy theories can appear more likely…just saying but a large number of EPL ‘referees’ appear to come from the NW of England…repetitive i know…but just saying..By the way the Pinot Noir from Adelaide Hills that i have had had umpteen glasses of is excellent. I needed it it..after nearly 50 years here i am now an ironed on Australian Rules football fan…my team is West Coast Eagles (from Perth). They just got walloped…so good Pinot noir helps. If you can find it there…Riposte – The Dagger…$17.50 AUD…about £8.00…its a steal

    But when all else is considered its all about AFC…I was born in N19

    GOYG

  14. 14
    Bathgooner says:

    Welcome back Malcolm!

    It’s great to hear that you enjoy the site. Thanks for your kind words.

    Your points on the choice of kit worn by the team in away games (100% for commercial reasons) and the wimpy behaviour of many players including our own are well made and I know your views are shared by most, if not all of the regulars in this hostelry.

    We are of similar age so I too recall those hard men of the 60’s and early 70’s. You list several with whom I would not in a million years, share a football pitch – not only because of my own lack of talent but primarily due to my desire to walk again.

    Good to ‘see’ you. Do drop into the ‘drinks’ again. Why not share a ‘drink’ regularly?

  15. 15
    Bathgooner says:

    And thanks for the recommendation of Riposte – The Dagger. I don’t know it – though I love New World wines as they are far better VFM than European wines. It’s clearly well regarded in Oz.

    The Dagger is hard to find in the UK. Amazon stocked the 2016 vintage but no longer stock it. Vineyards of Sherborne had it in their 2020 wine list, no vintage identified, at £20.00 a bottle so you are sitting on a goldmine at Oz retail prices if you can get a good deal on shipping! Slainte!

  16. 16
    OsakaMatt says:

    Hello Malcolm, good to see you in the
    bar. I’ll look and see if they have that
    wine exported to Japan, thanks for the
    tip.
    On an oenological note, I see claret
    has been spilled at Burnley.

  17. 17
    ClockEndRider says:

    Malcolm,
    A long way from N19 To South Australia! Great to hear you’re still keeping the faith. Drop in again when you can. The bar is a great place for rational, sensible, well-mannered (except towards the Middlesex Marshdwellers) discussion. That wine sounds good, so , like Bath, I’ll do some digging.

  18. 18
    TTG says:

    Malcolm
    Splendid to hear from you . You are incredibly welcome and please join
    us in commenting more often. My dear departed Dad never liked Arsenal
    playing in anything but red or yellow in fact he loved the gold shirts we played in against Liverpool in the 1950 Final . In a few years time we will have different kits for every away game and they will still sell ! If you go to the Armoury on a match day it is rammed with people spending fortunes .
    And I agree about Stan Simpson – a superb player but sadly very ill now with dementia
    Keep in touch Malcolm
    Peter

    .

  19. 19
    Trev says:

    Good to see you, Malcom !

    I remember you from the old Tunes adverts – two returds to Dottingham – oh Mum !

    🤣

  20. 20
    bt8 says:

    Hey Malcolm, It’s brilliant to hear from you with your tales of down under. Chris (aka Oskar the Dog), Sydney Red, Noosa Gooner and a few other Aussie drinkers from the annals of Goonerholic would be proud to see your name here in the lights. Welcome back, and don’t be a stranger. 🙂

  21. 21
    Bathgooner says:

    Keenos has some sensible suggestions for tomorrow’s team at our good friends She Wore:

    https://shewore.com

  22. 22
    TTG says:

    Bath,
    Keenos always spouts commonsense .He makes some very good points but I think Tavares is a risk .Its a tough call but he will feel under huge pressure if he plays .I’m told the boy Sousa is brilliant but he’s only 17 but Saka made his debut at that age . Holding is very dependable and I’d switch Cedric to left back.
    Lacazette seems to have a personal problem from what Arteta said.He is not at training )which may preclude him from playing . Martinelli or Nketiah can do a decent job and Biereth is likely to be on

  23. 23
    Malcolm says:

    Very nice welcome back…thank you all…i’ll endeavour to drop in from time to time…having now almost recovered from a couple too many glasses of The Dagger, topped off with Parker Coonawarra ‘Terra Rossa” Cab Sav, its decision time. Do i stay up to watch it live at midnight or sleep (restlessly) in anticipation of a challenging match Da’rn Sarf…fingers and other bits crossed…they’re all big ones now…but i feel this will be especially important.

    By the way i knew my AFC hero Stan Simpson was poorly but not to that extent…saddens me immensely. What a player he was. I am a tad biased but how unfortunate he was never to be capped

    My very best wishes to him and to all at the GF fraternity….COYG

  24. 24
    North Bank Ned says:

    Bath@10: To be fair to Nketiah, he has been given only 166 league minutes this season, with a third of those being his Brighton and Palace appearances

    GSD@11: And Senderos at CB.

    Malcom@13: Good to see you in, again. As Bath says, don’t be a stranger.

    Commercial reasons are usually a default explanation for much of modern football practices. The red shorts worn in the Watford game were reportedly a marketing test for us playing more regularly next season in all red

    Also, VAR has brought an added complication as it needs a contrasting colour, including for shorts and socks, for its AI to distinguish players in off-side calls.

  25. 25
    North Bank Ned says:

    TTG: Your dad was right.

    Here are a couple of links to our kits down the years.

    http://historicalkits.co.uk/Arsenal/Arsenal.htm

    http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Arsenal/Arsenal-change-kits.html

  26. 26
    Ollie says:

    Cheers bt8!
    I really don’t know what to expect anymore, but a nervy three points would not surprise me.
    Should we not win, of course, I will never watch football again or start supporting Spurs.
    What? No.
    COYG!

  27. 27
    Doctor Faustus says:

    Excellent preview bt8! And thanks for presenting my rather (annoyingly I think by now 🙂 ) insistent suggestion of Gabi down the middle. No central defender ever enjoys playing against a central striker who in addition to goals, skills and pace have these other qualities: pressing, persistent, and sharp to win the 50:50s. 🙂

    Countryman and others traveling to the game, looking forward to the awesome away supporters rallying the team to a well deserved win.

    And welcome to the blog Malcolm!

  28. 28
    Noosa Gooner says:

    Good stuff bt8
    I’d go with Tavares at LB – he should have something to prove.
    Nketiah – meh.
    2-0 to us.
    UTA.

  29. 29
    Gunnersaurus Stunt Double says:

    Baff @21.

    I made the same basic point as Keenos @10, and having read his excellent piece, I still think that makes the most sense.

    Anyway, let’s see how it goes…

    UTA!

  30. 30
    Gunnersaurus Stunt Double says:

    In this round of pressers, Jonas Eidevall has outdone Mikel Arteta in the battle for best quote with this pearl

    “If you’re going to play brilliant football, you need to be playing at a state when you’re not overthinking situations

    “I say you need to think like a squirrel.

    “You need to move that fast in order to go up the tree, collect food, eat food – having these lightning-fast reactions, but you can’t do that when you’re overthinking.”

    Excellent stuff.

    I am inclined to nominate ESR as head squirrel. To paraphrase Anne Widdecombe, he has something of the squirrel about him.

  31. 31
    Esso says:

    Cheers bt8!

  32. 32
    Ollie says:

    Heh, splendid, GSD.

  33. 33
    Esso says:

    Watching Scottish Cup semi, Hearts v Hibs.

    So where’s Dr Z these days, aka Jambo Ray?

  34. 34
    Bathgooner says:

    Esso @33, he was invited but didn’t want to join this group. He’s often to be seen ranting in Snir’s WhatsApp group.

  35. 35
    OsakaMatt says:

    Nuno back and Eddie up front

  36. 36
    OsakaMatt says:

    I feel suddenly warmer about Brighton
    Spuds were rubbish

  37. 37
    OsakaMatt says:

    Just got to take advantage now….

  38. 38
    OsakaMatt says:

    Great chance for Bukayo
    Switched wings today with Gabi on the right

  39. 39
    OsakaMatt says:

    Better first 20 than the last two games although admittedly that’s a low bar

  40. 40
    OsakaMatt says:

    No more free kicks for Cedric!

    Nuno doing fine so far.

  41. 41
    Gooner_KS says:

    Terrible timing to conceive, a soft one

  42. 42
    OsakaMatt says:

    Bit of pressure towards the end of the half and we concede at a bad time
    Poor concentration

    COYG!!

  43. 43
    OsakaMatt says:

    Need a big half now COYGS!!
    Get Ode on the ball more

  44. 44
    Sancho Panza says:

    Arteta looks really fed up.

  45. 45
    Gooner_KS says:

    Very slow in transition, very predictable. And Eddy is just another version of Laca, just lighter, far from what we need.

  46. 46
    Gooner_KS says:

    And Forster has his usual blinder against us

  47. 47
    Sancho Panza says:

    Utter shite really. There should have been a reaction after the Palace debacle. Three games zero points and a team who can’t score goals.

  48. 48
    Gunnersaurus Stunt Double says:

    After 2 crap performances we were better today. And we were the better side, albeit still far too slow passing the ball through midfield and with a strangely apathetic performed from Eddie up top.

    However, we conceded another shit goal, didn’t take our chances, and contrived to come away with nothing.

    Bugger.

  49. 49
    Silly Second Yella says:

    “I’m enjoying this season and looking forward to next too.”

    oh.my.god.

  50. 50
    Bathgooner says:

    I think we have to come to terms with the fact that this team just isn’t good enough for a CL place, would be very lucky to get out of the group stage and might be seriously embarrassed by top opposition. I know that a CL place might convince some proto-star strikers to join us but them’s the facts and we might be better with an emerging and aspiring young striker with talent who wants to take Arsenal forward than someone with a developing sense of status who just wants to bask in the CL.

    We must also face the fact that unless we get extraordinarily lucky and both beat Spudz and see them melt down worse than we do, we are going to finish below the Marshdwellers. Worse things happen at sea.

    We have to recover our way to goal sufficiently to secure fifth place. Sadly as a result of recent performances and results even that is now looking a stretch.

  51. 51
    Cynic says:

    Arteta looks really fed up.

    I’d sack him if we don’t finish fourth. Fourth place was in our hands and we’ll be lucky to finish sixth the way things are going. He trims the squad to the bare bones, we have nobody to score goals, we’re relying on Nketiah, with Lacazette incapable, and he’s a guy we would have happily sold a few months back.

    Shambles.

  52. 52
    Cynic says:

    Still it could be worse. We could be a so called top side like City and turn up for a cup semi final with half a reserve team, play like it’s a pre-season friendly and basically wipe our arses on the badge with the level of effort put in.

  53. 53
    Sancho Panza says:

    I would get rid of Edu as well.

  54. 54
    TTG says:

    Two weeks ago we looked at the next three games and hoped to get at least seven points. All three games were winnable but Palace was a test . Instead we got none , scored one goal and lost two key players for the rest of the season. Bath makes some very good points .
    It was predictable that we’d struggle.Loads of us predicted it! It was all very well moving Auba on and cutting the wage bill but we had eighteen games to play. Arteta’s teams fluctuate between very exciting , fluid football and pedestrian, stale and mundane football like today. Chelsea won 6-0 there last week in between a major Champions League game . We had all week to prepare . Very disappointed.

  55. 55
    North Bank Ned says:

    Our quality is a mile wide but an inch thick.

  56. 56
    Cynic says:

    In Lilliputian miles, maybe.

    We had six players playing today who I rate and there are questions about a couple of them as well.

    Still, we’re not good enough for the CL and not even good enough to finish fourth when we’re up against the worst Man Utd side in a long while and a one man team in Spurs, who were as Spursy as predicted but I forgot our unfailing ability to be Arsenally.

    Fourth was more than doable, third was possible. If we finish lower than fifth, Arteta has to go. He’d be gone for fifth as far as I’m concerned anyway and that’s not knee jerk, I simply don’t think he’s going to get this club winning again. Nothing he does that works feels like it has anything behind it, it’s all a bit accidental. That’s how it feels to me anyway.

  57. 57
    Silly Second Yella says:

    “strangely apathetic performed from Eddie up top”

  58. 58
    North Bank Ned says:

    Even if we lose to Chelsea, fourth would still be almost in our own hands (it would come down to goal difference) if we won the rest of our remaining games (Man Utd, West Ham, Leeds, the neighbours, Newcastle and Everton) It feels like clutching at straws.

  59. 59
    scruzgooner says:

    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>