Arsenal Banter 3

23 Mar 2026 06:25:25
Arteta has shown his inexperience as a manager, no sentiment in football, it was a final and you play your strongest side, Raya is in the form of his life and we go all soft on Kepa. Noooooooo for God's sake and the way we faffed about at back, how many square passes.



Still let's hope the break gets us the players back, as bad as Ode has been, he would have been better in there instead of Kai.

SY. I have said for months we are blunt up front, we need to address that in the Summer.

23 Mar 2026 08:43:51
Agree, and I've been moaning about Kai, Hesus, and now Vik for ages. They just aren't top draw quality. Arteta needs to take a gamble with a striker who doesn't defend, and has a less than perfect attitude, but knows where the goal is, with some pace.

Our play doesn't help them, but if you look at our midfield & defence - do our strikers match the quality? If no, change.

22 Mar 2026 20:20:34
Biggest occasion of the season so far and one of our worst performances! Our offensive players offered absolutely nothing. Victor, Trossard, Havertz and Saka were awful and Kepa's mistake cost us big time!

22 Mar 2026 22:35:15
True, but our keeper and defence holding up play forever, encouraging City to press & force mistakes, didn't really give the attack a lot of options.

Fair enough. When they got the ball, they weren't quick enough or didn't keep it or do much with it, but having Kai & Vik in the same side? We need to rethink our attack as it's blunt and we don't have a Wrighty or even close.



Our goalie didn't help - it was like having Leno again back there.

23 Mar 2026 00:02:27
We were short in the middle. They overran us in the second half, and late in the first half. Saka was, and has been, ineffective. The mistake from Kepa obviously changed the game. We still need a goal scorer. We had no threat up front. Big misses: Timber, Eze, Ode, Moreno (big game player) . Much as I don't want to, let's give City some credit.

23 Mar 2026 02:10:31
Let's be honest. that was a s*** show of a performance. One game to go after the effort that's been put in through the stages of the comp, to come out at a final n be so lacklustred n effortless to go out and win the game. That was a pathetic performance from a team desperate to win n 9 points clear in the league. That was us being schooled. No balls, no bottle, the team sheet at the start said it all.


The lads, n especially the boss, need to man up n believe we're the ones to fear, not everyone else. Absolute no-show today n I feel for the fans that made the effort n pad the money to attend Wembley n witness that.
Once a Gooner, always a Gooner, but that was an embarrassing effort at a one game trophy driven wanna win everything team.

23 Mar 2026 08:40:54
Well said, Je. They should refund travel expenses, be made to rewatch the game & hang head in shame. Pathetic from Arteta, as this is his team, style, mentality and tactics.

22 Mar 2026 19:04:28
Hello everyone, obviously wasn't the result we wanted.
Just like to say a few things.
Big mistake by Arteta in playing Kepa, when you get to the final play your best team.
The subs were made far too late.
Much to the annoyance of my lovely wife, I was reading some of the things pundits have been saying and also some Arsenal fans.
48 games we have played this season of which 4 were defeats. Despite the continued rhetoric about we can only score goals from corners and set pieces we are 9pts clear in the Prem and if City win their game in hand and beat us at the Etihad that still leaves them 3pts short but according to the BBC football pundits and unbelievably some Arsenal fans this is the start of the annual meltdown and freefall. Unbeaten in 10 CL games this season but according to pundits and fans alike we will be in freefall.


We had our chances in the first half and didn't take them, howler from Kepa changed the game. Well done City Congrats, but the last 2 league games 2 draws against West Ham and Forest they weren't City of old but now all of a sudden Guardiola has risen from the Ashes like the Phoenix and are odds on to win the league. I expect that from the Arsenal hating pundits and other clubs fans but not from Fellow Gooners.
Disappointed yes
Mistakes made yes
Freefall and the season finished. Give your head a wobble.
None of the criticism of Arsenal fans include the Arsenal banter crowd who like me were disappointed but not wringing our hands saying the season is over.
So take care everyone.

22 Mar 2026 19:28:52
We missed Reya so much. First, they wouldn't have gone ahead if he was playing, but we missed his distribution more than anything. Kepa was clueless on the ball; he slowed the game down for no reason, and that is a big part of how we play. We need a better back who can play our game. We will be screwed if Reya gets an injury.

{Ed025's Note - it was a poor decision to play Kepa for me RG, its a cup final so you play your strongest team mate..

22 Mar 2026 19:29:17
I don't think anyone thinks our season is over. I think most fans will just be disappointed with the way we played, and some of the manager's decisions.
We were woeful in the 2nd half, and didn't look like we were interested in winning the game.

22 Mar 2026 19:56:04
Complete moronic decision along with not buying a proper striker.

We have put pressure on ourselves, & doubt over away trip to City, but nothing much changed - we bottled another big day under Arteta.

He better learn that we can't waste time from 1st minute, & rely on corners / throws. We let City attack & pressure us like we've never played at this std before. Pathetic attempt.

{Ed025's Note - i cant argue with that SY..

22 Mar 2026 20:11:48
Would Fergie have put Schmeichel on the bench in a final? Nope. Why? Because Fergie made unpopular decisions to win, not to be nice. Fergie was a serial winner.. Arteta makes nice, easy decisions. Would Seaman be on the bench in a final - nope.

Ridiculous & weak. Just like his tactics.

22 Mar 2026 20:12:02
I think we need to acknowledge that City have won practically everything in the last few years, and that's because they are, in my opinion, still the best team in the PL, even though they have had a few wobbles, and with Haaland underachieving they still managed to get over the line when it mattered. We play very similar styles of football, but they are still the masters, and we are still the apprentices.

They have a team that are used to winning, and they always seem to up their game in the 2nd half, and we didn't.

I always expect, when they get in our half, that there is a goal incoming, even though our back line very often performs miracles. I think on a single game they will always be favourites, but the league is a marathon, and now our boys have to dig deep for the rest of the season.

Time will tell if we have it in us.

22 Mar 2026 20:49:17
Big one off game away to City - that carries a lot of weight. Hope we don't defend from the warm up.

We've spent a lot of money, Sally - so why is there still such a big gap in style, tactical awareness, quality & mentality?? Surely anyone that signs Kai, Vik & Jesus must answer serious questions.

22 Mar 2026 21:07:02
A Chelsea fan in peace, we had pain in 2018 when Kepa refused to leave the pitch in the final against Man City under Sarri. It was arrogant of him, as he thinks he is better than he is. Why did you buy him, and why did Arteta play him today? He cost you the chance of the quadrupple and may just have shifted the momentum towards City in the league.

Anyway, you have a 9 point lead and would need to do a Spursy to blow it all now.

22 Mar 2026 21:32:40
Hello RPD, hope you are well. Massive massive mistake by Arteta today, coupled with an absolutely shocking 2nd half performance. But I still think we will win the Prem, because both teams have hard games to play, and City, though they deserved to win today, aren't the City of old and they will drop points.

Also, the CL is within our grasp, because I said it countless times on this site. CL suits our tactics.
Thanks for coming on the site with your views.
Take care mate.

22 Mar 2026 22:28:23
Yes, thanks for coming on RPD. I remember that moment well. Sarri was apoplectic!
Good luck for the rest of the season!

22 Mar 2026 22:29:18
We have certainly spent a lot of money, SY!

22 Mar 2026 18:50:31
We definitely missed Reya today. He is such a big part of how we play. Not even that fact they do not get the first goal if he is on the pitch. It's the distribution we missed. Keppa is just clueless on the ball. We need better back up for next season. We are screwed if Reya gets injured.

22 Mar 2026 18:43:13
That 2nd half was shameful to say the least.

22 Mar 2026 20:24:19
Well done City. You played better than us on the day. 👏🏻 Thought the first half was a fairly even affair. Second half, by our standards, was very poor. We didn’t win any 50/50s, ball retention was really dreadful, and we gave the ball away time after time (very frustrating) .

Let’s hope and pray we use the pain of today to dust ourselves off and go again, onto bigger and better things. Let’s stick together and get right behind Arteta and the lads. COYG/VTH. We are the Arsenal. 🔴⚪️❤️

22 Mar 2026 18:32:45
Well done City - you deserved that.

Arteta - hang your head in shame. Playing 2nd best keeper, not attacking, not making changes like Pep did after 10 mins. Go find your backbone and stop bottling big games and decisions.

Pathetic attempt at trying to win a trophy. Rubbish football and no tactics. I’m embarrassed by you and your pathetic decisions. No decent strikers - Kai, Jesus and Vil are poor.

So looking forward to today despite how we’ve played in last 15 or so games.



Time wasting from 1st minute - we are Arsenal, not Spurs! Pathetic boss. That’s why I give you stick as it’s boring, backwards, sideways, awful football and you keep making weak decisions…

Rant over and sorry but the boss is a bottle job even if he wins the league. Embarrassing set of strikers and lack of options.

Terrible finish from Kai in first 10 mins.

Terrible keeper blooper.

Terrible tactics and ambition.

Sorry again - gutted but shouldn’t be surprised by the boss.

22 Mar 2026 18:25:23
Gutted, but then I looked at the spuds result and that made me smile. Next game please.

22 Mar 2026 14:18:11
Kepa; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Eze, Trossard; Havertz

Or Raya and Viktor?

I’d okay Raya and Vik in starting 11, as Kai probably marginally more cutting edge off the bench with a tired back 4 to run at after Vik working them hard.

22 Mar 2026 12:37:03
My stomach is doing triple somersaults.
The wife says man up.
Fair enough 😂😂😂.

22 Mar 2026 15:41:31
Me too, Bill, but my hubby is asleep so he's not saying anything lol.

22 Mar 2026 12:32:22
D-Day

Let's do this. 🍻🇮🇪👍🙏

22 Mar 2026 07:39:16
{Ed's Note - BlueNose1878 has posted a new article entitled, Everton Finally Look Like a Proper Unit