We have to go back. Arsenal vs Man City March 1st, 2018

We got more of this to come. Remember they have to find a replacement before the can him. Even if they wanted to fire him right now. I’d expect at least a few weeks before a replacement was secured unless Stevie was put as steward

 

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Having Bould as caretaker till end of season is not a bad idea. This is a disaster right now.

 

I would be fine with Bould. I mean it’s not like we will accomplish anything this season. We can’t do worse and I’m sure the players respect him more at this point.

 

Just saw his post game interview. I want to and do at times feel bad for Wenger but also he’s so damn stubborn and almost arrogant and it just whips me. He’s just continuing to tarnish his legacy.

Kyle Martino made some very good points following Wenger’s presser.

 

I'm sad that Martino didn't win the USSF President race, but at the same time, I'm selfishly glad that he gets to remain on NBC's Premier League coverage. He talks about the game so much better than every other American analyst.

 

Agreed man.

 

Sometimes the other team is just really good. I mean, this is really good pressing by Arsenal: it's organized, it's done together, with really good timing and movement. City just made 5-6 fantastic passes to get through.

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— Colin (@colgcra) March 1, 2018

 

That's basically what I said to him on Sunday when I bumped into him at the pub.

 

Just watched the game on DVR. I forgot we were on. When was the last time that happened? I honestly can't remember but I'm thinking it's been years. That's telling.

Stadium half full at best... reminded me of Red Bull Arena. Announcers were kind to say that it might be the snow keeping people away. That would be the minor factor. It's all about apathy and disgust... for a club sitting 7th with virtually nothing to play for... on a Thurs night.

 

Tonite showed the gulf in class between us and Citeh. Probably 16 other clubs in the league could say the same thing.

Some on this board would say that Ozil is our best player. It's arguable anyway. And yet I think he'd have a pretty hard time getting into Pep's side right now. There's the gulf.

And Auba just hasn't shown up for us... at the level we all know he's capable of. Sad for him, sad for us.

But we started so so so much better tonight. We had energy, quickness, sharpness, urgency, quality linkups. Everything that was lacking on Sunday. But Citeh are just that much faster, sharper, more clinical, better in all ways. Hat's off to Pep and his lieges.

And credit to the announcers who restrained themselves for being overly negative on us. A little surprised that Beglin was this way, but Drury is a class act so no surprise there.

 

This club seems like a black hole at the moment. As long as Wenger is here, if you as a player have any ability and decide to come here, you will either plateau or regress. Walcott, Wilshere, Chambers, Holding...have gone nowhere. Chamberlain actually left to further his development.

I know everyone bags on Xhaka but he was more than decent in the Bundesliga, same with Laca. They come here and nothing sadly. Mustafi maybe could be lumped in there as well but I didn’t watch enough of him in La Liga to see. Auba is still new but one would be forgiven for thinking he may not show up either.

The constant denominator, as others have mentioned, is Wenger. If we want to minimize the gulf in class between Arsenal and others, there’s really only one transfer that needs completing.

 

OK, but as long as the tubes were running, how hard is it really? And 3000-5000 away supporters made the journey OK. I suspect it comes down mostly to desire or the lack thereof.

 

I just looked up the tube status and every line shows "good service", however the all-important Piccadilly line does says "severe delays". So I guess the Picaddilly problem was indeed a significant factor in the turn-out. BUT we all know that you can get to Ashburton Grove other ways, e.g. Victoria Line. So I still think the biggest factors were: apathy/desire, and the fact that it was a Thurs night.

 

One other credit I want to throw out to Pep and his boys... both Sunday and tonite they could've easily run up the score and embarrassed us beyond recognition, especially Sunday. But in both cases, they got to 3-0 and then, feeling pretty comfy, took their foot off the gas. I don't think that was just by chance.

 

London's like ATL with the snow except a thousand miles further north?

 

Auba and Miki get a pass because they've gotten almost no time with this team, because it takes time to build understanding, and because three of Auba's first four games were against Man City and Sperz. He'll get on the end of chances.

 

When is arsenal fan tv on? That’s the real entertainment [emoji6]

 

This is probably the fifth time I've thought that Wenger deserved to be fired in the morning. It will probably be the fifth time he won't be.

Let Bould coach the rest of the season. You know he would at least organize the team.

 

We can only hope. But Sanchez contributed more when he came. Even Ozil in the first few months after he joined us.

In Auba's defense he hasn't gotten gobs of service in the games he's played, but he's had some really good chances that he's missed, including today's PK which was not as good as it needs to be.

I must say I'm surprised. What what I saw of him at Dortmund, I thought he had that innate quality to bury half-chances, regardless of what team he's on, or what league he's in.

 

I genuinely doubt that.

 

Why do you doubt that? IIRC we had a good stretch when Bould was allowed to coach the defense. Then he got relegated to cone boy and things continues as per usual.

 

When was he stripped of his defensive coaching duties?