Arsenal

[bomberH]

Which they did. A very very favourable start.

I remember loads of Arsenal fans (including the fans tv lot of course) complaining about their start. I saw this comment hundreds of times…

‘This is a fix. Away to Palace our first game. The premier league is corrupt’.

Yes, that premier league giant Crystal Palace. Which was followed by Leicester, Bournemouth, Fulham and a Gerrard led Villa. Not the hardest start in PL history…..

 

[bomberH]

SportBible did a piece titled something along the lines of ‘if you think Arsenal bottled the league, give your head a wobble’. A whole piece on how everyone else fucked up while they didn’t (which obviously has an element of truth in it).

Didn’t have quite the affect the author wanted it to. Turns out the author was an Arsenal fan cos he’d mentioned it in his bio and what followed was around 95% of posts laying into the piece and more ‘bottle’ posts than I’ve ever seen before in a single thread.

So they’re just letting any fan create pieces now. Top journalism as always by the bible group… (by that I mean SportsBible, LadBible etc, not Christians…)

On a separate note, I’ve heard quite a few fans descriptions of what b0ttlers are lately. Arsenal for being top all season then losing it. Spurs for not being able to catch Leicester and finishing 3rd in a 2 horse race. Spurs for losing 6-1 to Newcastle. Spurs for drawing 1-1 to 10 man Everton. Spurs for conceding 2 late goals to Southampton. Man Utd for losing a 2 goal lead against Spurs. Man Utd for losing 7-0 to Liverpool. Chelsea for spending billions and finishing mid table. And many, many more.

Personally, I think bottle and shit are being mixed up. Is losing at Newcastle was because we’re shit. I think the ultimate bottling was our performance against Everton. 10 men and 1-0 up and we sat back and allowed them to come back into the game as we seemed too scared to finish it off. That’s bottling it.

We all know deep down that Arsenal have been amazing this season and they’ve choked at the run in. But since they coined us b0ttlers for the Leicester season then fuck them. They’ve distorted the true meaning of the word and it’s come back to haunt them. Fucking bottling ****s.

 

[Beefyboy]

SportBible did a piece titled something along the lines of ‘if you think Arsenal bottled the league, give your head a wobble’. A whole piece on how everyone else fucked up while they didn’t (which obviously has an element of truth in it).

Didn’t have quite the affect the author wanted it to. Turns out the author was an Arsenal fan cos he’d mentioned it in his bio and what followed was around 95% of posts laying into the piece and more ‘bottle’ posts than I’ve ever seen before in a single thread.

So they’re just letting any fan create pieces now. Top journalism as always by the bible group… (by that I mean SportsBible, LadBible etc, not Christians…)

On a separate note, I’ve heard quite a few fans descriptions of what b0ttlers are lately. Arsenal for being top all season then losing it. Spurs for not being able to catch Leicester and finishing 3rd in a 2 horse race. Spurs for losing 6-1 to Newcastle. Spurs for drawing 1-1 to 10 man Everton. Spurs for conceding 2 late goals to Southampton. Man Utd for losing a 2 goal lead against Spurs. Man Utd for losing 7-0 to Liverpool. Chelsea for spending billions and finishing mid table. And many, many more.

Personally, I think bottle and shit are being mixed up. Is losing at Newcastle was because we’re shit. I think the ultimate bottling was our performance against Everton. 10 men and 1-0 up and we sat back and allowed them to come back into the game as we seemed too scared to finish it off. That’s bottling it.

We all know deep down that Arsenal have been amazing this season and they’ve choked at the run in. But since they coined us b0ttlers for the Leicester season then fuck them. They’ve distorted the true meaning of the word and it’s come back to haunt them. Fucking bottling ****s.

Arsenal fans are doing what they always do and in trying so hard to claim they haven't choked, are somehow making it more obvious than they have.

They do seem particularly fragile as a group. I swear in the Leicester season lots of spurs fans were saying we'd missed a really big opportunity.

 

[rossdapep]

They got knocked out of every competition. In no way should they have ran out of puff by now. It's likely more mental than physical. They lost two 2 goal leads and should have lost to the bottom club.

They're bottling their position like they did 4th last season.

Absolutely.

Its nothing to do with squad size.

Also, City are one of the least rotated sides in the league this season.

Its all on Arteta constantly playing the same 11.

That has huge upsides but it also means when you get injuries you have to have players sharp and ready to go.

People forget they signed Trossard, Kiowar and Jorginho, and Vieira has been quite a poor buy so far - something we all stated at the time.

When you consider that they were so far in front, having a deep squad shouldn't really come into it.

I mean, it's not like they've been ravaged with injuries. Only Saliba is out.

You have to be able to adapt quickly when key players are out. The very best can do that.

And I don't think Arteta has shown that. In fact, he's struggled.

The easier part is to establish your best 11 and way of playing, especially when you get 3 years.

The hard part is managing a squad on multiple fronts.

Considering they are bottling the title and were eliminated from all other comps early, Id say Arteta has made a right mess out of it.

Being in all comps is healthy as it means you can have a little rotation and keeps all the squad healthy and ready.

 

[SUIYHA]

Absolutely.

Its nothing to do with squad size.

Also, City are one of the least rotated sides in the league this season.

Its all on Arteta constantly playing the same 11.

That has huge upsides but it also means when you get injuries you have to have players sharp and ready to go.

People forget they signed Trossard, Kiowar and Jorginho, and Vieira has been quite a poor buy so far - something we all stated at the time.

When you consider that they were so far in front, having a deep squad shouldn't really come into it.

I mean, it's not like they've been ravaged with injuries. Only Saliba is out.

You have to be able to adapt quickly when key players are out. The very best can do that.

And I don't think Arteta has shown that. In fact, he's struggled.

The easier part is to establish your best 11 and way of playing, especially when you get 3 years.

The hard part is managing a squad on multiple fronts.

Considering they are bottling the title and were eliminated from all other comps early, Id say Arteta has made a right mess out of it.

Being in all comps is healthy as it means you can have a little rotation and keeps all the squad healthy and ready.

It's near impossible for a player to remain in form for an entire season (particularly one with the World Cup in the middle of it). The key to successful campaigns is to manage the squad so that different players to peak at different points of the season, so that when the inevitable dip happens for some players, you've got others that step up and keep winning games. Arsenal had everyone in top form in the first 3/4s of of the season at the same time and were brilliant, but in the last few games it's looked like everyone collectively has run out of steam. I remember the same thing happening badly to us in Redknapp's last two seasons

 

[rossdapep]

It's near impossible for a player to remain in form for an entire season (particularly one with the World Cup in the middle of it). The key to successful campaigns is to manage the squad so that different players to peak at different points of the season, so that when the inevitable dip happens for some players, you've got others that step up and keep winning games. Arsenal had everyone in top form in the first 3/4s of of the season at the same time and were brilliant, but in the last few games it's looked like everyone collectively has run out of steam. I remember the same thing happening badly to us in Redknapp's last two seasons

Yeah totally.

I think they had the easy start which created momentum and when rivals are falling over each other it only breeds confidence.

But like you said, you can't keep playing the same 11 and expect it to continue forever, you have to mix it up.

I think Arsenal have probably been the most consistent in putting the same 11 out over the last 18 months or so, and it has shown. that breeds chemistry, cohesion and the ability to play faster.

But the downside is it can become fatigued over a long period, and when you need to change it, players coming in can't match the level of those injured.

I am no way saying that Holding could get to Saliba's level but Arteta needed to find a way to mask that.

Considering they were so far ahead, maybe they should have gone with a back 3, used Tomiyasu and switched Martinelli for Trossard?

That way they become a bit more stable at the back.

Top-level coaches sometimes prepare for these scenarios and I don't think Arteta has done.

He's also used Vieira a lot recently who has been proven to be too lightweight and ineffective. Perhaps they should have spent that on a better player?

 

[Beefyboy]

They got knocked out of every competition. In no way should they have ran out of puff by now. It's likely more mental than physical. They lost two 2 goal leads and should have lost to the bottom club.

They're bottling their position like they did 4th last season.

Completely this. I mean they lost to West Ham who had played away in Belgium 3 days before. Can't blame that on tiredness.

This whole thing that they're just putting it all on Saliba as well. Every team has injuries lads. The results against Saints was the first time in PL History that the top team had conceded 3 at home to the bottom team, can't put that down to one injury. You just weren't good enough

 

[Beefyboy]

Since the turn of the year they’ve played 17 league games and taken 32 points. That’s not title contender form - it’s ordinarily borderline Top 4 form. In addition they were knocked out of Europe in their first and only tie of 2023. Their FA Cup results don’t tell us anything because the first was a win away to a struggling League One team and the second was a defeat away to the best team in the country.

If they drop more points in their last 5 games then there’s a solid argument that the early season form and consistency was the anomaly, and that next season they will be among the favourites to finish in the Top 4 but a long way off the title.

On this note it really shows how big a role vibes and momentum plays in these sorts of things. That's why europa really helped, could rest key players but was also just more wins. Whereas our UCL group was so even that we didn't rotate and were dropping points. Our patchy squad depth and contes refusal to rotate really was our undoing this year.

 

[spursfan77]

Absolutely.

Its nothing to do with squad size.

Also, City are one of the least rotated sides in the league this season.

Its all on Arteta constantly playing the same 11.

That has huge upsides but it also means when you get injuries you have to have players sharp and ready to go.

People forget they signed Trossard, Kiowar and Jorginho, and Vieira has been quite a poor buy so far - something we all stated at the time.

When you consider that they were so far in front, having a deep squad shouldn't really come into it.

I mean, it's not like they've been ravaged with injuries. Only Saliba is out.

You have to be able to adapt quickly when key players are out. The very best can do that.

And I don't think Arteta has shown that. In fact, he's struggled.

The easier part is to establish your best 11 and way of playing, especially when you get 3 years.

The hard part is managing a squad on multiple fronts.

Considering they are bottling the title and were eliminated from all other comps early, Id say Arteta has made a right mess out of it.

Being in all comps is healthy as it means you can have a little rotation and keeps all the squad healthy and ready.

Their fans go over the top with every signing too. Each one is the best thing since sliced bread, even some skinny runt who'd only played about 20 games in the Portuguese top division. They bring it on themselves when these players bomb (although Trossard, who they didn't make much fuss about looks to be a really good signing).

 

[DJS]

Weird how Lego Head turned to Agent Rob Holding again, rather than moving Ben White back to centre back.

Although can see Takehiro Tomiyasu injured and they randomly loaned Cedric Soares to Fulham, which was very clever of them!

Shows the difference a decent centre back makes!

Not naming any spurs defenders here...

 

[Larkinho]

Robbie absolutely rattled calls the spurs fan a MF

 

[spurmin]

Is this song a new thing before kick off. Don’t remember it before.

 

[riggi]

I won’t laugh until it’s mathematically over. They always get the last laugh over us.

 

[Marty]

Is this song a new thing before kick off. Don’t remember it before.

Started some time last autumn IIRC.

 

[dvdhopeful]

Top of the league, form over last six games, played 5, 6 points - #NotBottle-d

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

What was the gap they had at its biggest? Anyone got a screenshot?

I swear this would be biggest bottle job since Keegans Newcastle

 

[inclineyid]

What was the gap they had at its biggest? Anyone got a screenshot?

I swear this would be biggest bottle job since Keegans Newcastle

11 points although had played more games but who cares

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

11 points although had played more games but who cares

Wish could find a screenshot

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

Weird how Lego Head turned to Agent Rob Holding again, rather than moving Ben White back to centre back.

Although can see Takehiro Tomiyasu injured and they randomly loaned Cedric Soares to Fulham, which was very clever of them!

Shows the difference a decent centre back makes!

Not naming any spurs defenders here...

So true, big mistake from legohead that could end up costing them the title

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

Completely this. I mean they lost to West Ham who had played away in Belgium 3 days before. Can't blame that on tiredness.

This whole thing that they're just putting it all on Saliba as well. Every team has injuries lads. The results against Saints was the first time in PL History that the top team had conceded 3 at home to the bottom team, can't put that down to one injury. You just weren't good enough

And they did fine when Jesus was out so it just shows it was the pressure more than anything and if they go on to finish 2nd that run of 4 games bottling 2x 2-0 leads , drawing at home to bottom of the league then getting dismantled by city will be made into a top shelf dvd for spurs fans for years to come