Arsenal Banter 3

25 Mar 2026 07:39:16
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Brighton & Hove Albion v Liverpool - A Quick Liverpool Perspective

24 Mar 2026 19:30:24
Now that everything has (sort of) calmed down, I have decided I'm fed up with all the negative social media posts about our club and I'm going full-on positive from now on! I've always been a glass half full sort of person 😉

Let's go! 🏆 🏆 🏆 One out of 3 would be ok for me!

24 Mar 2026 19:55:45
Kudos to you, Sally. I tried that, but the heartbreak when our positivity is shattered takes you to the darkest place, and then you doubt and blame everything. However, I still believe we can win the PL. COYG!

26 Mar 2026 03:06:55
We're going to win the league, Sallyjannine, you keep smiling.

24 Mar 2026 19:07:07
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Brighton & Hove Albion v Liverpool - A Quick Liverpool Perspective

24 Mar 2026 10:41:08
Nice to see our Ben has been called back to the England team. Hope he enjoys his games and comes back in one piece ready for the run in! ⚽️ 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🥅.

24 Mar 2026 13:39:46
Another player to potentially get injured. I have no time for these waste of time friendlies.

24 Mar 2026 14:59:22
Nor me, Banbury, dragging players halfway around the world for a stupid and pointless game, which at no time has helped us towards winning a WC or Euro.

24 Mar 2026 16:29:17
What's the point of Kane, Saka, Rice and others going when they are a shoe in to start the first game in the World Cup, we know what they are like so my put more stress on them and risk injury. Senseless, I would have spoken to the players and explained why they aren't in this squad.

24 Mar 2026 17:15:57
Friendlies or not, surely the teams need to get instructions/work together before a World Cup?

I understand all the comments above, but managers and their players need time together before such a huge competition, I reckon.


I read that Rice and Saka will sit the first game out, which seems a good idea.

And. who knows how the World Cup will go, or if it will go at all! Anyone on here going?

24 Mar 2026 18:42:34
Hello Sally, hope you are well.
Banbury has summed it up with his comments about Kane, Saka, etc. If they need pointless friendlies to gel together, and Tuchel needs to see who gels and who his best 11 is, well, we are in serious trouble.
Take care.

24 Mar 2026 06:23:32
I have said earlier that I have doubts about Zubimendi, but will give him the benefit of first season in the new league. However, though some of his tackles are great, his passing is mostly sideways or backwards. He has been guilty of Man U's first goal in the home defeat. For the final, he was ahead of Oreilly when Kepa dropped the ball; he shouldn't have allowed him to score, but he was easily brushed aside for a free header.



Hopefully he improves in his physicality for the next season.
Over analysing now that I am pissed to lose the chance of first of the four trophies.

23 Mar 2026 18:45:00
Evening all, I was gonna post a rant yesterday, but decide against it, I personally think our wingers don’t score enough goals, especially your “star boy” take the red tinted glasses off for a second and look at his goals the last 3 years! I think our forward line needs a reshuffle, this is why I would like in the summer.
Sell
Martinelli
Trossard
Saka
Ode
Kia
Ben White
Buy
Livermento
Tonali
Rodrygo
Leao
Guler
Alverez
Personally that’s an upgrade on every player, I know the Saka lovers will go mad and just say it’s shocking what I’ve said, but this is my own opinion and would love to see this happen, absolutely gutted about yesterday COYG.

23 Mar 2026 19:06:19
I'd sell Jesus, Vik & Kai. I'd keep Saka, but agree Ode needs to go also.

Problem is Arteta & his style of play, though - he loves a hard working striker who presses rather than scores.. Noni looked pretty poor, and no end product also. Eze looks poor with our style of play.. Something other than the players needs addressing.

Hope you are well.

23 Mar 2026 19:28:11
How have we managed to be 9pts clear in the Prem, unbeaten in 10 CL games, quarter final of the FA Cup, Carabao Cup final, albeit a terrible display in the final? How have we managed with such an underperforming squad. Granted, Mikel made a bad selection yesterday and waited too long for substitutions, and I have been critical of that in the past, for example I would have thrown Max on yesterday but he didn't.


You're both entitled to your opinion, but let's wait till the end of the season before we pass judgement. Don't get me wrong, I was angry like everyone else yesterday, f***ing livid tbh, but let's just wait till the end of the season.
Take care.

{Ed025's Note - yeah Bill still a hell of a lot to play for yet mate..

24 Mar 2026 07:04:52
Bill, I'm not passing judgement on our season. I'm just saying our wingers don't score enough goals, and it's there to see. Good wingers should be easily getting 15 prem goals a season. I don't think Saka has scored that in two years! He needs to up his game.

People moan about other players, but when it comes to "star boy" he gets a pass. He's probably been the least consistent player for the last 2/3 years. People just have their Arsenal glasses on. L, SY forgot about Jesus, get shot of him too lol.

24 Mar 2026 08:22:44
Hello Dublin mate, hope you are safe and well.
I think the general consensus around Saka is that he has become too greedy.
Sunday's performance was shocking, in team selection, tactics, and players' attitude.
I still think we will win the league. City and we will drop points, and I think the draws against Forest and West Ham will be costly for Pep, just like our 2 home defeats against West Ham and Villa a couple of seasons back cost us.


The CL is so suited to us because of the way we play, and I think we are capable of that as well.
Having said all that, if we are potless again this season, I think Mikel should be replaced, but I have a gut feeling the Kroenkes won't replace him.
Anyway, take care, Dublin mate.

I.

23 Mar 2026 08:39:55
Eze pulled from England squad, hope his injury is not serious.

23 Mar 2026 09:15:49
So he should be. If he wasn't fit enough yesterday, why send him to the England squad? Same goes for Timber and Ode; keep them at home.

23 Mar 2026 07:25:00
I'd have given Max 20 minutes, the amount of free kicks he would have won, forcing the ref to deliver yellow cards.

Get the lad on.

23 Mar 2026 08:39:15
Absolutely Banbury, mate.

23 Mar 2026 09:21:19
I'm struggling to understand Arteta, Bill, why so scared? He needs to let our talent free, and put sides on the back foot.

Max is a diamond. I get the protecting bit, but he is more than good enough.

23 Mar 2026 12:24:58
Absolutely Banbury, mate.

23 Mar 2026 06:43:21
Disappointed to say the least and I am not convinced with people saying it’s not an important trophy, if you are in the final, you must play to win it and at no point we looked like trying to have a go and win it. Scoring goals has been our Achilles heel but we didn’t even land a blow. If this is what we show in Carabao Cup final, I am worried how we would play a Champions League final.
Kepa is more than a capable Cup keeper and mistake do happen but how can we allow a left back to get into the box and score free headers?!
White and Saka have been poor, add Trossard and Gyokeres to it and we didn’t have an attack.


We can’t put pressure on a 16 year old but why does Arteta fear to try something when we have only 15 mins to salvage 2 goals when your so called starters aren’t delivering.
I hope we don’t let this affect us, after a two weeks break I can’t predict how we will respond on the season restart.
Still staying positive, COYG!

23 Mar 2026 06:56:40
It was a poor performance, can't argue otherwise. We had no answers to City's approach in the second half, which is worrying. We need to keep on going, plenty of games still left to play.

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.