PL: Arsenal v Manchester City | Sunday, February 21 | KO: 16:30 UTC | Sky Sports

[wolfkidultman]

Be honest, did you think that at the start of the season? West Ham don’t have the luxury of loaning out England internationals or £27m defenders. We’ve got an unbalanced squad but allowed a lot of promising parts of it to rot unused.

It doesn’t matter what I thought at the start of the season. They’ve proven themselves to be an effective unit.

 

[DUFFMAN]

Partey is without a shadow of a doubt a world class player.

Maybe that’s about it though.

Who's Partey????

 

[Batman]

World Class players play for World Class teams. Hes a very good player but he is not world class.

So if Messi rocks up for Newell's this summer, he's ****?

 

[amigo]

I didn’t watch the match so maybe my view is skewed but I still believe we must have been doing something right to keep the score down. It doesn't make sense that Pep would take things completely easy when one penalty or wonder strike could have lost city two points. In a league a 0-1 defeat is better than 0-5 because goal difference can count. So yes we did not get points which is what we wanted but let’s not pretend that losing 0-1 to the runaway league leaders is the worst result ever and the performance that produced is the worst as well. Truth is it could have been far worse. Staying in the game - while may not seeming brave or ‘big team mentality’ is actually smart. The sad thing is that we were unable to capitalize and nick something. The time the goal was scored made things a lot more depressing. If it had been the last minute we’d have been much more positive.

 

[14Henry]

It doesn’t matter what I thought at the start of the season. They’ve proven themselves to be an effective unit.

It does matter. Because its all hindsight thinking and trying to deflect from the facts.

Had you asked any Arsenal fan were they expected us to be at this stage they would have probably said between 4-7th.

Had you asked them was 12th ok they would have said no. However Arteta backers are saying now that 10th, 11th, 12th is fine. Because let's face it. We have a poor squad and the best manager in the world couldnt have us higher.

Had you not mentioned positions in table and said at the end of February you will be 11 points behind West Ham not one single Arsenal fan would have been happy.

We look at West Ham. Crap last season. More or less the same squad. Yet they are in the top 4. Why? Because their manager is getting more from them. He's coaching them and its working. Now if someone wants to tell me that Craig Dawson, who has bounced around relegation candidates and the championship for most of his career, a 40 year old Mark Noble, and Michail Antonio are world class and top 4 players then go right ahead.

 

[teamsoutheast]

What we witnessed tonight was the blueprint of where we need to be. That City team reminded me of us back in the 2010-2011 season. We really do need some luck this summer if we are to get the players needed.

 

[14Henry]

So if Messi rocks up for Newell's this summer, he's ****?

No but he would be playing below his level because of sentiment. Not because he can't play at a higher level. Messi has played all his life at the top. Won honour after honour. Over 15 years.

Do you honestly believe Thomas Partey is world class? In the same bracket as Kroos, KDB? Etc.

 

[amigo]

It does matter. Because its all hindsight thinking and trying to deflect from the facts.

Had you asked any Arsenal fan were they expected us to be at this stage they would have probably said between 4-7th.

Had you asked them was 12th ok they would have said no. However Arteta backers are saying now that 10th, 11th, 12th is fine. Because let's face it. We have a poor squad and the best manager in the world couldnt have us higher.

Had you not mentioned positions in table and said at the end of February you will be 11 points behind West Ham not one single Arsenal fan would have been happy.

We look at West Ham. Crap last season. More or less the same squad. Yet they are in the top 4. Why? Because their manager is getting more from them. He's coaching them and its working. Now if someone wants to tell me that Craig Dawson, who has bounced around relegation candidates and the championship for most of his career, a 40 year old Mark Noble, and Michail Antonio are world class and top 4 players then go right ahead.

If you’d said we’d be six points behind Liverpool and two behind Tottenham you might have gotten takers. Position is everything.

 

[14Henry]

If you’d said we’d be six points behind Liverpool and two behind Tottenham you might have gotten takers. Position is everything.

Yeah you do have a point about the Liverpool one I will give you that. However whatever way you look at it there's not a single Arsenal fan here who at the start of the season would have accepted 10th.

Now if they are accepting 10th its because they are too stubborn to say they were wrong. If they are forming arguments that West Ham have a better squad or the wind blows in favour of Wolves then its clutching at straws.

 

[wolfkidultman]

It does matter. Because its all hindsight thinking and trying to deflect from the facts.

Had you asked any Arsenal fan were they expected us to be at this stage they would have probably said between 4-7th.

Had you asked them was 12th ok they would have said no. However Arteta backers are saying now that 10th, 11th, 12th is fine. Because let's face it. We have a poor squad and the best manager in the world couldnt have us higher.

Had you not mentioned positions in table and said at the end of February you will be 11 points behind West Ham not one single Arsenal fan would have been happy.

We look at West Ham. Crap last season. More or less the same squad. Yet they are in the top 4. Why? Because their manager is getting more from them. He's coaching them and its working. Now if someone wants to tell me that Craig Dawson, who has bounced around relegation candidates and the championship for most of his career, a 40 year old Mark Noble, and Michail Antonio are world class and top 4 players then go right ahead.

This is absolute nonsense.

 

[Batman]

No but he would be playing below his level because of sentiment. Not because he can't play at a higher level. Messi has played all his life at the top. Won honour after honour. Over 15 years.

Do you honestly believe Thomas Partey is world class? In the same bracket as Kroos, KDB? Etc.

You didn't say Partey wasn't World Class based on ability. You said he wasn't World Class based on employer. For me, a fit Partey is World Class. Auba last season was World Class. Haaland is very hard to argue against being World Class. None of them play for massive clubs. Your class is based on your ability, not the club you're at.

 

[14Henry]

This is absolute nonsense.

What's nonsense is David Moyes and West Ham occupying CL positions 11 points more than us while we are sitting mid table and the excuse for our position is "the squad isn't good enough".

 

[14Henry]

You didn't say Partey wasn't World Class based on ability. You said he wasn't World Class based on employer. For me, a fit Partey is World Class. Auba last season was World Class. Haaland is very hard to argue against being World Class. None of them play for massive clubs. Your class is based on your ability, not the club you're at.

While I get what you are saying and perhaps I worded it wrong if you're looking for true world class who are at their peak (Haaland is only a kid....dormtund are a CL team a lot better than us) they are usually in the top teams. Harry Kane breaks that theory. But you couldn't find me many world class players playing mid table italy, spain or even in England.

My view is still that Thomas is not world class. I have never seen anything from him for Atletico or us to say that he is world class. If he is world class then KDB, Kroos, peak Modric etc must have been world world world world class. Nowadays everyone's world class. It makes a mockery of the title.

Thomas wouldnt be in the top 10-15 midfielders in the world. Hence there must be a hell of a lot of world class players. I'm not saying he isn't a very good player. But he's not world class.

 

[Jae]

So what’s your point? You’d rather lose lots of games by 1 goal than very few by 3 or 4. Enjoy your mid table mentality.

You need to relax what's wrong with you?

 

[wolfkidultman]

What's nonsense is David Moyes and West Ham occupying CL positions 11 points more than us while we are sitting mid table and the excuse for our position is "the squad isn't good enough".

Not even what I had said but you’ve clearly gone off on some tangential rant.

What is nonsense is the weird ‘hindsight’ bit. Has absolutely no relevance at all unless you want to go down the ‘look, I told you so’ avenue. It’s perfectly reasonable to evaluate the situation now and say that it’s evident that West Ham have a balanced squad who are delivering, proven by their performances this season.

 

[14Henry]

Not even what I had said but you’ve clearly gone off on some tangential rant.

What is nonsense is the weird ‘hindsight’ bit. Has absolutely no relevance at all unless you want to go down the ‘look, I told you so’ avenue. It’s perfectly reasonable to evaluate the situation now and say that it’s evident that West Ham have a balanced squad who are delivering, proven by their performances this season.

By that logic then you would be able to say that based on evidence, delivery of results etc its evident that Arteta is underperforming with this current team?

Anyone who is denying that and is desperately looking for ways to defend it could be falling under the category of "being stubborn".

 

[wolfkidultman]

By that logic then you would be able to say that based on evidence, delivery of results etc its evident that Arteta is underperforming with this current team?

No. I’d say that the team is underperforming but I’d say that’s more than likely due to the blatant lack of balance in the squad which you’ve already acknowledged. Balance allows teams to exceed the sum of their parts. You can’t achieve anything without it.

 

[14Henry]

No. I’d say that the team is underperforming but I’d say that’s more than likely due to the blatant lack of balance in the squad which you’ve already acknowledged. Balance allows teams to exceed the sum of their parts. You can’t achieve anything without it.

Na mate you're clutching at straws.

Its fine you clearly are another one who will defend Arteta with your life. Finishing 10th, 11th, 12th is fine because he doesn't have his perfect team.

Well some news for you. Hardly any manager in world football has his perfect team and if he finishes 10th this year he will have a budget of no more than 50m to somehow bring in players to bridge the gap.

Arteta kept Elneny, signed Willian, signed Ceballos, signed Ødegaard, signed Gabriel, Mari, Soares etc etc. Why is he signing so many players who can't "balance" the team.

 

[wolfkidultman]

Na mate you're clutching at straws.

Its fine you clearly are another one who will defend Arteta with your life. Finishing 10th, 11th, 12th is fine because he doesn't have his perfect team.

Well some news for you. Hardly any manager in world football has his perfect team and if he finishes 10th this year he will have a budget of no more than 50m to somehow bring in players to bridge the gap.

Fine. Sack him. Repeat the process again and again until we stumble across a miracle worker. See how that pans out.

 

[14Henry]

Fine. Sack him. Repeat the process again and again until we stumble across a miracle worker. See how that pans out.

We don't need a miracle worker. We need a good coach. You honestly believe Arteta is one of the best coaches in the PL?

He has to bark orders continuously because he obviously isn't getting his message across in training.

If after 18 months he hasn't improved the team through his coaching methods and in play tactics then you have to wonder what he's gonna do different 1 or 2 years down the line to make it work.

Say we finish 10th this year. And we stick with Arteta. He makes 3 15-20m signings. Next season we finish 8th. We repeat same process. Finsihes 7th. The year after finishes around the same. When do we cut the cord.

Every year we are going backwards. That isn't a good move while the other teams are kicking on. We are free falling into becoming a run of the mill team like Everton and fans are lowering the bar every single year. Its sad.