It has been real, it has been fun, but it hasn’t been real fun. In the most embarrassing way possible, Arsenal bowed out of the title race at home by getting dogwalked by Brighton 3-0 . Completely outclassed, outworked, outthought, outfought by a superior Brighton team. Just embarrassing from start to finish by the supposed title challengers.
THOUGHTS ON THE MATCH:
- Arteta might actually just be an idiot: He has done well to get us to this point but I am starting to think this guy might just be a clown. Arteta went out and played the same starting XI he did against Newcastle which is all fine and dandy when you look at it high-level, but when you are playing an up and running, physical Newcastle side where you might need a Jorginho to bring some control to a game. But when you are at home and are playing a Brighton side that plays similar to how Arsenal do with their high press – build from the back style, you might want to try something different than playing a Xhaka-Jorginho pivot. The Brighton midfield trio of Gilmour, Gross and Mac Allister absolutely took the piss out of the Arsenal midfield today by their inability to ever lose the ball, nip and tuck fouls to stagger the Arsenal play and pretty much overrunning the unathletic immobile duo of Xhaka and Jorginho. Arsenal could never get a grip in the center of the pitch and Arsenal paid the price. If only we had a more athletic, phyiscally imposing and simply better player on our bench that could help (We did, and his name is Thomas Partey).
- We need to have a discussion on Saka: This has become really really bad. This man hasn’t turned up for what feels like a month now, essentially when we have needed him most, he has completely non-existent and nobody says or does anything about it. For example, you could make the argument that he was the worst player on the pitch but somehow he was the only one that didn’t get subbed off. This protection of Saka is strange and is definitely warrants questions that need to be asked of why he gets so much protection from the media and Arteta. Supposedly, our best player but doesn’t show up when we need him most, weird.
- Arsenal bottled it, straight up: I don’t want to hear anything about City, Arsenal weren’t supposed to be here or anything like that. In a 7 game stretch where you play Liverpool, West Ham, Southampton, City, Chelsea Newcastle, and Brighton and you only win 2 of the games, nah, I’m not sorry, you choked. You want to win the title, how about you win some games, how about that? You want to win the title but get slapped up by your main rivals home and away? Nah, not how it works. Even the Klopp Liverpool sides that lost out to City, they at least defended their home fixture and gave City something to worry about, we just continually get cooked by City home and away, it doesn’t matter. So high level, of course you can say Arsenal didn’t choke cause we were never supposed to be here but that is now how this works. You perform the way we did in the last 7 games, win 2/7 games, dropping 12 points out of a 21 possible in the meat end of the season, nothing other than a chokejob.
- Saliba about to be a very rich man: There are many reasons we are in the position we are in at the moment, dropping 12/21 points, embarrassing performances at the Emirates etc. and it all be attributed to when we lost William Saliba to injury. You can argue that since we lost to him to that Sporting tie, shit hasn’t been the same, you can make an argument that we replcaed him with a useless piece of life in Rob Holding but regardless, once the spine of our team fell apart, so did our title chances. Thomas Partey hasn’t quite been at his best without Saliba behind him. And with Saliba now fighting for a new contract with Arsenal, all he has to do is show the last 7 games and Arsenal can’t really do much else than to pay this guy.
- If you think Jorginho is better than Thomas Partey, you are the problem.
- I can’t even get mad at the ref for being incompetent at his job because we were so shit today: When Alexis stepped on Kiwior, how was that not looked at? Don’t get me started on the assistant referee trying to flag Trossard offside on an throw-in, can’t make this shit up.
- END THE SEASON
PLAYER RATINGS:
Ramsdale: 3/10 – The attempt of that third save is so schoolboy, its ridiculous, Isn’t that what they teach you when you are young, to make sure you don’t save it right at players?
Ben White: 3/10 – got cooked all day by Mitoma
Kiwior: 3/10 – I mean he got stepped on but my guy, I’m going to need some fight there to at least attempt to get back up.
Gabriel: 5/10 – Fine
Tierney: 5/10 – People want to use this time to shit on KT but imagine Mitoma running at Zinny, dead meat.
Jorginho: 3/10 – Not his fault, useless
Xhaka: 2/10 – Expected more from him, useless
Saka: 1/10 – See above
Odegaard: 4/10 – Not good
Martinelli: 10/10 – Good for him for getting injured and probably ending his season, jealous of him
Gabriel Jesus: 5/10 – At least tried towards the end, not sure why he got subbed off before Saka
Trossard: 2/10 – Gave away a goal, worst game in an Arsenal shirt
Thomas Partey 5/10 – If you think Jorginho is better than Thomas, then you are the problem
Eddie, ESR: – Don’t care
Reiss Nelson – 6/10 – Way more useful than Saka at the moment
Arteta: 0/10 – Might be dumber than I gave him credit for
Madley/Assistant referees: 10/10 – Will probably keep their jobs despite not being able to do their job to an adequate let alone below-par level, gotta respect it.
De Zerbi – 10/10 – Absolutely shat on Arsenal and Arteta, good for him, Even hit us with a knee slide celly, good for him
END THE SEASON