Newcastle v Arsenal. 2nd November. 12:30

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

We got defeated because we were poor, it’s as simple as that…we had one shot on target for the whole game

Newcastle did as you might expect to protect their lead, but we were utterly blunt…not blunted….blunt.

So why is it difficult for you to give them props for ensuring we played "poorly"?

Or are you and Arteta the only ones who think we have the divine right to take a lead and suffocate games....and then be congratulated for doing so......I always suspected you have more in common with him than you think you do

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

I think we massively missed Odegaard today, I've never seen it looking so obvious, his energy and press, plus those line-breaking balls was what we needed, also as Maccy says we're not using Kai right in Ode's absence

If Ode isn't back than Nwaneri HAS to start vs Inter and/or Chelsea

In the absence of real options, Nwaneri should have been starting games about 4 games ago....I'm pretty certain against Inter our brilliant manager will go back to his Havertz/Trossard thingy....Italians are usually tactically astute but I just hope they don't have players able to shackle Saka.

We are pretty much a one man team now.

[HCZ_Reborn]

We clearly need a target man striker, and I think a wide player as Jesus and Sterling are embarassing

But for me the main problem is how we set up. I think Timber is a decent player but he’s neither good enough on the ball to play this ridiculous inverted full back role or got the pace to overlap with Martinelli.

Merino has been a complete and utter waste of money, basically Xhaka with slightly better defensive instincts

I also just don’t understand why Arteta insists on playing Rice in the more advanced midfield role, hes not quick enough, he’s not a good enough passer of the ball or technically good enough. Partey is both physically stronger and more technically accomplished player yet he drops back to number 6 where he’s no where near as good at reading danger as Rice is, or worse still right back which means that Saka has to drop deeper to start attacks

Havertz is a decent player and so is Martinelli, but they aren’t the kind of players who can feed off scraps…Havertz arguably is better at holding up the ball and making space for others


But the ball is not getting quickly enough to our front four. Trossard is completely off the boil at the moment and for his own sake needs benching. We have a hungry young player in Nwaneri who wants to prove himself, but Arteta won’t start him and thinks it’s better to stodge up midfield than have a quick and mobile team that can pass quickly and stretch teams

Today on top of all that, our decision making was slow and we gave Newcastle every opportunity to make interceptions.

[Marc Overmars]

It is worse than it was this time last season and that was considered stale too.

We are going backwards and if we don’t beat Chelsea we’re looking at a top 4 battle. Big game at Inter too which I’m sure Arteta will do his best to stink out.

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

I also just don’t understand why Arteta insists on playing Rice in the more advanced midfield role, hes not quick enough, he’s not a good enough passer of the ball or technically good enough. Partey is both physically stronger and more technically accomplished player yet he drops back to number 6 where he’s no where near as good at reading danger as Rice is............

This in particular is so so evident.

You really need to question the ability of any coach if this needs explaining to him, especially when we are behind in a game and struggling to create anything.

[Niall_Quinn]

If you are going to play Partey behind Saka you might as well leave Saka on the bench and play with 9.

If you are then going to play Merino on the same pitch as Partey and pretend Rice is a creative midfielder then you might as well leave Martinelli, Trossard and Havertz on the bench and play with 5.

Why is Merino here when we have Rice? For cover? Smart move, but why are they BOTH on the pitch?

Why is Partey still at this club? Whenever that guy gets the ball the whole energy of the game gets sucked away, he's the most negative player in the league.

Where does Havertz play these days? He's our only threat in the box, beyond set pieces, so why is he always half a pitch away from the box?

The last sequence of line-ups show fear, a desire to avoid losing rather than an urgency to win. There are kids on the bench who could do a basic job at least so deadweight like Partey and filler like Merino could be sidelined. It's hard to believe a clun the size of Arsenal doesn't have the resources to avoid having to play Partey at full back.

Well, the title went a while ago (admittedly thanks to the officials), so why the fear? What's the difference between finishing second and finishing tenth, apart from the money? And the joke is, if you don't accept second and don't care if you end up tenth provided you give it a proper try - it's your best chance of finishing first. If we'd have gone out and steamrollers mediocre opposition like Liverpool and this very ordinary geordie lot, which was entirely achievable, rather than turtling up and begging, please don't hurt me - but still lost anyway, we'd be hardly worse ff than we are now. Or much better off had we won such winnable matches.