Points and position aside, it’s clear this team is floundering.
Getting back Ben White won’t be enough to kick on.
The project is over
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Big Willie we were similarly laboured in the first half of last season as well, so it's not good that we're doing worse at the same point this season. and we're definitely not putting the same kind of insane run down the stretch.
Don Pacifico entirely possible the owners are looking at it that way, too. I would be. Over a 100m spent on Rice, you'd think we'd have bought the next Gerrard or Lampard, not a better version of Mathieu Flamini. Or Havertz, 65m and 300-odd-k a week on a bloke who has spells where he looks like he's the second coming of Ali Dia (look him up if you don't know the story). Calafiori? Can't even get out on the pitch. Waste of money.
TambourineMan I still don't think it is done, Liverpool will drop points but fuck me we need to get our act together.
Part of the problem isn't in our control, we are literally running on fumes and our squad has been absolutely decimated with injuries. Did you see our bench today?
It's done. It's not our season. Nothing is going for us.
Last season things were going for us and we should have won it.
@Sicario2 - Tier 1 was right when he said no guarantee we'd keep getting chances at the title like we did in the last 2 seasons.
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At the end of the day, Liverpool brought a £80m pound striker off the bench and we brought on Sterling. We deserve this.
Think this squad and leadership at Arsenal are having a nasty, bad beat season, and the test is now whether they can adapt and grow from this position or there's a crumbling and fragmentation of the structure.
Declaring the project's over doesn't make it over. Football projects end by imploding under the combined weight of failed expectations and overrun budgets, and in few other ways.
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Coombs you say that but we're the same club that had to buy Raya on loan before paying a fee and have been reported to be struggling to finance Nico Williams due to his likely wages.
This notion we can spend money without worrying about the consequences is not grounded in reality.
Don Pacifico suggests ambition to get into the CL and stay there. Now thats done the investment has dried up. Last summer we made a lot of PSR positive sales by selling the likes of Smith Rowe and Eddie for big money. Most people who took the time to go through our finances said we were above any PSR worries even before that. Yet investment last summer was practically non-existent.
The only question about last summer for me is was Edu already mentally checked out of the job or have the Kroenkes decided they're happy enough keeping us in the conversation so that we are attractive to any potential super league.
Qwiss yeah I'm starting to think this is closer to the truth. The threat of being outside the champions League and all that means for then, such as being at the table of Europe's top clubs to negotiate for things like the super League or have influence led to investment. Now we are back in that camp it looks very much like they are happy to coast there again.
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I sincerely doubt KSE has decided to stop spending. I wouldn't be surprised if they were pushing back harder on some of the signings proposed to them.
Firstly we remain very close to what we need for a title-winning campaign, and I believe a couple of major trophies would be a commercial gamechanger for us. Secondly KSE need to spend large sums to maintain us in the top four in any case.
My understanding has been that it's been Tim Lewis who has done a lot of the advocacy and upward management under the current structure.
Perhaps Lewis's relationship with Arteta is faltering based on the way last season ended, Edu's departure, this season's progress and so on. Given how we're tracking it probably should be. KSE should be asking why we have a lopsided squad and we're slipping back from last season's level, key players like Saliba are starting to shop themselves around a little bit, and so on.
This is exactly how it feels 
HomeSteak The worst thing is in recent weeks despite the set backs our performances have been good. Against Villa, Utd and Newcastle created enough chances to win the games comfortably.
This despite us being down to our bare bones. In the end stuff like this may not matter but look at city, they lost their best player and imploded. Liverpool are a Salah/VVD injury away from collapse. We’ve had much much worse yet I still despite that we are still second and still not out of this race.
Liverpool remind me of us a couple years back, if we manage to put the pressure on I think they’ll fold. We just need to get our players back.
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Coombs Those two are long term and we clearly need to get a player in January but in defence we are down to our bare bones. Part of the reason we keep conceding cheap goals is imo we are constantly changing our back 4 and not out of choice.
Saka will be back for the run in, just need to make sure we are not completely out of it by then.
How the f did we find ourselves in this situation from where we were 6 months ago? Seriously. End of last season we were at the strongest point this club has been in 20 years and only at Arsenal do we regress 5 years in 6 months.
In 20 years time we will all look back at the summer window of 2024 as a big sliding doors moment.
What If FC.
Qwiss Yet investment last summer was practically non-existent.
Off the top of my head we still spent the best part of £100m (gross) and even then we seriously wanted to sign Williams and Sesko but neither came off. None of that suggests a lack of ambition to me. Similarly the suggestions already for this summer is that we'll go back in for both players and have already sealed Zubimendi.
So I really don't agree with the narrative that the Kroenke's have given up investing. As Burnsy suggested, I think the only thing that's happening (if anything) is the club are starting to be more critical of the fees/wages we've been handing out willy nilly (which, I think is fair enough).
Don Pacifico fair enough for what?