My biggest worry is that our recruitment will struggle to replace some of the players we expect to depart in the coming windows.

I know people like to underplay the importance of Zinchenko and Xhaka, but we haven't had a fully functioning left side since they left/fell off. Merino and Calafiori appear for various reasons as downgrades, and I'm concerned that Partey and Jorginho will also be downgraded due to a difficulty in finding players who can offer their skillsets on their best days.

Last year we had one of the youngest teams in the league. We're still one of the younger ones. We've got plenty of time.

Yeah... I just can't get behind this "chicken little" pessimism that is running rampant through sections of the Arsenal fanbase right now. Even if we had made signings this summer, I have my doubts on if we would have been able to absorb long term injuries to Odegaard and Saka this year. No club, barring maybe Madrid, can deal with injuries to their top 2 attacking players. Hopefully, we can build less of a reliance on these two players with effective recruitment in the summer but I just feel like this is one of those seasons were nothing has gone our way- yet we are still second in the PL behind a team with ridiculous form (and a lot of luck) and third in Champions League. Just can't get behind calling the project a failure after we dealt with a decade of incompetence and getting pounded by our biggest rivals on the regular.

When Pool and Chelski had an injury crisis last season they fell way behind. Pool were even on top at one point.
We've had injuries since the start of the season and we're second. So yes, it's frustrating but I don't hold anything against Mikel this season aside from constantly getting shown up by Fulham since the last season. We'd even started to rotate players for once.

    • Qwiss

    • Post #39

    flobaba I think the main atmosphere booster before was COVID. Every live event felt like a huge celebration after it.

        Not for all clubs though.

        flobaba yeah so much of our reactions is result-oriented.

        All the complaints about having no ideas for the Manc game for example. The match I remembered, we were creating multiple kinds of chances (and missing all of them). We were definitely full of ideas until ET when everyone was just knackered anyway.

          Qwiss definitely something to that, but as James and I were discussing on Wednesday, if you think about the atmosphere on the last day of the 21/22 season, when we'd blown top 4, it was absolutely incredible. I don't think that was just about post COVID celebration, I think that was recognition that despite having fucked it, we were on the way back.

            Carragher needs to try and be a bit more subtle with his propaganda. Trying to ramp up the pressure before the Villa game...

            One game away from a crisis? We're already in the crisis!

            So the Prem is pretty much done now. Unless we turn things around against Newcastle it'll likely be another trophyless season.

              • Rohit

              • Post #47

              There is a lot of football to be played and we still have a match against Liverpool, albeit at Anfield. Our attack looks too blunt though and this would be one of our worst season with respect to injuries. Even if Liverpool falter, I just can't see us taking advantage. Liverpool have dropped points recently and we still couldn't close in.

              The project isn't making sense
              Not signing a striker or attacker in the summer and not doing it again with Saka and Jesus injured.
              Relying on Partey at RB even though that experiment has failed multiple times.
              Subbing Sterling on for Martinelli in a game you have to win.
              The slow ponderous football , maybe not this game but overall this season.

              title rice is definitely over. even though there's lots of points up for grabs, we're locked in to playing the same way for the rest of the season, which means results like today's will keep happening.

              • naz likes this.

              • naz

              • Post #50

              Difference is that Liverpool aren't prone to losing games this season. They grind out draws or destroy teams. We're not winning every single game for the rest of the season so we should admit the league is over. It sucks because this was our best chance in the last 5 years but it is the reality. Liverpool could lose their best player and still grind out a draw.