Premier League 2023/24: Race for the Title

[GDeep™]

Our run in looks brutal.

 

[fute]

Ødegaard is the biggest worry, there is not a single player in the entire squad that is capable of what he does, if he goes down the season is over imo

Nah. We'd be okay. We were okay when he was out this year.

If we lose Gabriel or Saliba, then it is another story. We saw when Saliba was out last year.

Hopefully, we don't lose anybody though.

 

[DJ_Markstar]

it’s seductive now to say deeper guy

@Riou

 

[MartiSaka]

We are likely to lose out on both mate, even if we beat City on the 31st. These run of games are too congested, and we dont have quality cover for the likes of Rice, Saka and Saliba.

I think a respectable showing this season is finishing in the top 3 with 85+ and making the semi finals of the CL, things I think we'll do.

Next season is the one where we will be complete as a squad, and ready to move onto multiple competitions at once. Once we get in proper replacements for our core players, we'll be ready. I didnt think we'd be able to jump a level up from last season, but we did. So excited to see how we become even

@SA Gunner the voice of reason.

 

[LookingForEric]

I disagree with this statement as it is written anyway. There’s a lot more to it than that.

Edit: sorry you added the deeper guy bit after I replied but yeah I mean it’s seductive now to say deeper guy based on how well we’ve done with Jorginho there.

But that doesn’t help address the “we’re fked if Ødegaard gets injured” problem. It’s why my preference is a b2b midfielder who can do all 3 things - defend deep, progress the ball and create. That would make our squad bulletproof. His “normal” position would be left 8, but he could/should be able to shoulder different roles depending on injuries.

Admittedly these sorts don’t grow on trees. Gundogan was one of the best examples of his generation. We saw him fill in for both KDB and Fernandinho at different times when they were injured. Which when you think about how different those two players are, is fkn wild.

The only guy out there who could fill this role for us for me is Barella. He’s the one man. He can do it all. I’d throw mad bucks at inter to get them to fold.

I think there’s a few players right now where we’d be donezo if they got injured long term.

Obviously Vieira was meant to be that guy as backup to Ødegaard. Still think he could work out but might be worth getting a winger/10.

Also I think Nwaneri is probably a natural replacement very long term, he’ll get more minutes next season you’d assume.

 

[LookingForEric]

Our run in looks brutal.

The way Sp**s and United are playing I’d be pretty bummed if we lost at their grounds.

 

[drippin]

Nah. We'd be okay. We were okay when he was out this year.

If we lose Gabriel or Saliba, then it is another story. We saw when Saliba was out last year.

Hopefully, we don't lose anybody though.

It wasn't just about Saliba, no matter how good player he is.

The problem was enhanced, because Tomiyasu got injured in the same game. White would have been the RCB otherwise, not Holding. That was the catastrophe.

 

[Vibra]

I just flipped through our schedule on livescore and it's gonna get spooky fast, so many games with 2 rest days between them, and before huge games as well

Being back in the champions league is amazing but it ups the intensity big time, at least City and Liverpool are in the same boat

 

[Riou]

It wasn't just about Saliba, no matter how good player he is.

The problem was enhanced, because Tomiyasu got injured in the same game. White would have been the RCB otherwise, not Holding. That was the catastrophe.

If at least Tomi stayed fit last season, I think we win the Europa.

 

[fute]

It wasn't just about Saliba, no matter how good player he is.

The problem was enhanced, because Tomiyasu got injured in the same game. White would have been the RCB otherwise, not Holding. That was the catastrophe.

But it is about Saliba though or Gabby. Nobody liked when Arteta was benching Gabby in the beginning of the year.

Depth. Quality and quantity. It is why Arteta brought in Timber over the summer. He is out. It is the same this year now. Tomi is often injured now. Zinny too, plus his defensive liabilities. Thankfully, Kiwior has stepped up, but that is all we have left (no pun). Next man up is Cedric.

We are thin in the midfield, but were fine when Ødegaard was out this year.

We don't want anybody injured though. We want as many people healthy as possible to win either or both titles this year.

 

[BaZZe]

Crashing out of the FA Cup in that manner to an average United team could very well start to unravel Liverpool's season no?
It's probably a good thing that the City game is the first game of the run in. Get it out of the way. A win would be absolutely massive of course, would give us a 4-point cushion against City which could serve as an extra lifeline in the league.

 

[db10_therza]

Crashing out of the FA Cup in that manner to an average United team could very well start to unravel Liverpool's season no?

Idk about unravel but they were getting by on the fumes of their aura of invincibility which has been choked now. It may well affect their mentality to keep rescuing wins.

 

[avenellroad]

Crashing out of the FA Cup in that manner to an average United team could very well start to unravel Liverpool's season no?
It's probably a good thing that the City game is the first game of the run in. Get it out of the way. A win would be absolutely massive of course, would give us a 4-point cushion against City which could serve as an extra lifeline in the league.

They were comprehensively beaten by United on chances. xG bears that out.

Hopefully other teams will look at that performance and realise Liverpool are vibes FC. Press them in the right areas and they crumble. Their defence has been leading a ****ing charmed life up to this point.

 

[fute]

Winning the league or a Cup isn't easy. Every game will be contested as the end of the season draws near..

 

[GoonerJeeves]

The way Sp**s and United are playing I’d be pretty bummed if we lost at their grounds.

We're Sp**s' cup final. I think that is probably our most difficult game bar the City game.

 

[DJ_Markstar]

Also...we could potentially win the league at Old Trafford...again!

 

[Artemis]

We are likely to lose out on both mate, even if we beat City on the 31st. These run of games are too congested, and we dont have quality cover for the likes of Rice, Saka and Saliba.

I think a respectable showing this season is finishing in the top 3 with 85+ and making the semi finals of the CL, things I think we'll do.

Next season is the one where we will be complete as a squad, and ready to move onto multiple competitions at once. Once we get in proper replacements for our core players, we'll be ready. I didnt think we'd be able to jump a level up from last season, but we did. So excited to see how we become even better next year.

If we go for both the PL & CL, we will get neither. That is a certainty. Like you rightly said, the fixture list is ridiculously congested and we don't have the depth.

But it doesn't have to be that way.

My original thought still stands: we should be prioritising the CL because that is far more achievable.

We are only 5 games away from winning the CL. If we can field a full strength team in each of those fixtures, with no mental or physical fatigue to worry about (which means heavily rotating in the PL games), I am absolutely convinced we can win the competition. There is nobody in Europe playing better football than us at the moment. That's simply a fact. We have to seize this opportunity.

 

[Artemis]

I don't think we have the quality or experience to do The Double yet, think we have to prioritise one of them at some point or we could end up losing out on both... especially with our remaining fixtures.

The only Arsenal side really in my time as a fan that I felt could win both the Premier League and Champions League was our 2004 one, and even then we did ourselves in by playing Thierry v United in the cup semi trying to get The Treble and him aggravating his injury ahead of our Champions League game right after it...as exciting as this time is for Arsenal, we can't get carried away either.

As I said, the result of the City game when we get back will determine what we should focus on more.

You're right, we can't realistically go for both the PL & CL. If we beat City, Luton & Brighton all within 7 days, then I would have to reassess what I have told @SA Gunner because we can actually win the PL from there, provided that we don't exert too much effort in the Bayern games.

But Arteta would be under so much pressure to play full strength against Bayern anyway regardless of the results in the PL. The key players would never accept being rested in those CL fixtures and much of the fan base will expect a strong line-up. That's my concern in that scenario. I don't think Arteta is strong enough to make that decision.

 

[Henry boi]

You're right, we can't realistically go for both the PL & CL. If we beat City, Luton & Brighton all within 7 days, then I would have to reassess what I have told @SA Gunner because we can actually win the PL from there, provided that we don't exert too much effort in the Bayern games.

But Arteta would be under so much pressure to play full strength against Bayern anyway regardless of the results in the PL. The key players would never accept being rested in those CL fixtures and much of the fan base will expect a strong line-up. That's my concern in that scenario. I don't think Arteta is strong enough to make that decision.

You can always rotate assuming everyone is fit
Trossard Nketiah Jesus
Partey Jorginho
Arteta has to be brave he definitely has the squad

 

[Riou]

You're right, we can't realistically go for both the PL & CL. If we beat City, Luton & Brighton all within 7 days, then I would have to reassess what I have told @SA Gunner because we can actually win the PL from there, provided that we don't exert too much effort in the Bayern games.

But Arteta would be under so much pressure to play full strength against Bayern anyway regardless of the results in the PL. The key players would never accept being rested in those CL fixtures and much of the fan base will expect a strong line-up. That's my concern in that scenario. I don't think Arteta is strong enough to make that decision.

Yeah, gonna be a hard thing to judge/balance...why teams sometimes end these situations with nothing, as you they can't put one above the other.

Even prime Arsène couldn't do it in 2004, and that was just sacrificing the FA cup to try and win The Double...you want to win as much as possible when you get close, which I understand.

If Arteta can manage to win one of them though, would be amazing.