Arteta's maybe starting to lose his grip a bit, there's the ambience of declining trust. Josh Kroenke has also dropped away. It's very hard to imagine us progressing much in Europe based on these performances.

We need a shot in the arm of some kind. I agree the foundations are good and that Arteta's a good manager, but our stocks are dropping and a big chunk of our performance is set by the runaway sentiments inside and outside the club.

That is true, the number and concentration of the injuries and the corrupt refereeing decisions have been incredible this season.

Gurgen we have had some bad decisions against us this season but we had the reffing in our favour yesterday and still fucked it up. I'm pretty sick of refs as an excuse at this stage.

that's why, short of us missing top 4, I'd give him another season to take a swing at it. there have been some genuine headwinds this season. we had mainly tailwinds last season aside from timbers longterm injury. arteta has to come to grips with the fact that his football is prone to creative droughts and recruit accordingly from now on. failure to acknowledge the shortcomings in his approach and make the necessary adjustments will be the end of him

Qwiss that's one game, in the cup. Refs have cost us 10+ points in the league.

lorddulaarsenal Not sure what to make of that?

Is it the Kroenkes? Though why spend on Merino and Cala if funds are limited?

We've dominated Man Utd, literally created chance after chance and so he isn't going to come out and throw his players under the bus.

It is like it is in the DNA of the club, we had this under Wenger as well fucking chance after chance we create and still can't score! I mean look at the chances yesterday, those players score them 8 or 9 times out 10. Unbelievable really.

Havertz must have missed 3 xG on his own in the last few games.

Gazza M I can understand this perspective but it has to accompanied by proper acknowledgment that at three moment what he's built is missing key components. I've seen some views of but for the bad luck we'd actually be fine but we've still had major issues when I'm the good seasons, goal scoring has been a long term issue despite racking up some big wins. It can't be just go again a you were. If he's not capable of acknowledging the flaws we've had then we should be looking for someone else.

Ok fine, it's true Havertz has value as a squad player or clever tactical option.

I'm just beyond pissed at the club re our attacking recruitment. It's shocking and has been for years and years. I'm looking for easy scapegoats.

Qwiss I agree with this he's an okay squad player but it should have been 20m and much lower wages. That was a massive fuck up on valuation by us and that does seem to be impacting what we are able to do. Consistency is key for quality players so a nice run for 6 months doesn't change that his overall career in the prem pretty much shows his level and her isn't reliable as a goalscorer.

Gazza M Fully agree with this. This could be an indication of any number of things - that the last 2 years were an incredible purple patch, that Arteta doesn't have the resilience to come good when there's a little headwind of either injuries or bad refereeing, or that this is a one-off shitstorm from which he can come back with 1 good summer. Next season will give us the answer (assuming our hands are not tied behind our back financially) and that's the time to make the relevant judgment. If we are not up there and challenging in January 2026, I'd look to bring in another manager and give him the summer to recruit as he wants.

awooga83 I agree with this he's an okay squad player but it should have been 20m and much lower wages.

You genuinely can't get Havertz for £20m in today's football. And you can see why, granted his finishing has been average but his athleticism and work rate are outlandish for a man his size.

It's one of those cases where a Vlahović or Šeško shows up and certainly isn't transformational by comparison. I would still rather go in for a gun left winger who can play with Havertz.

There are reasons to believe things will get better next season. Liverpool should be slightly weaker or on par with their ageing squad and contract / retention issues, and City may be sanctioned.

You have to hope there is the next mile of investment from KSE, because in the last twenty years the league conditions have rarely looked like a better opportunity for Arsenal to win a couple of titles than they do now.

Nketiah moved for 30m.