Other games 13th-14th May
- Thread starter Shadey
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When we went head to head with City we stuck it out to the end, both times. We didn't fall to pieces under the pressure in the last few weeks like they have done.
When I started watching the PL in the mid 90s, I didnt mind Arsenal. Until they became self annointed guardians of the beautiful game with their hoof chants. Among the many great memories of the Klopp era, I will treasure the annual humiliation dealt out by Mane and Firmino. Hopefully, we get a couple of decent midfielders and get back to that next season.
He is but if we can't fork out 100m on our top target for the last 2 years, how are we gonna sign a player that's just signed a new contract for the same price?
I'd pay 70 million for him in a heartbeat
Yeah, you're right, but it's still tough loosing the title while heading towards the end of the season and, you know, coming so close to doing it.
100% with you.
Their fans were giving it the biggun taking the piss out of us for too long, now the shoes on the other foot they know now how it feels.
This was Kevin Kilbane's take after the Man City Arsenal game..................
Kevin Kilbane: Manchester City’s success leaves a bad taste but at least they’re not Wenger’s arrogant a***holes
Wednesday’s game was sportswashing at its most effective, as Guardiola exposed his former assistant tactically in a brilliant and dominant display.
There will be no sympathy for Arsenal from my generation of players.
The post-invincible Gunners under Arséne Wenger, the group that came after 2004, were arrogant a***holes. There were a couple of exceptions but in general they were ... you can fill in the blank yourself. In this newspaper it would just be a bunch of asterisks.
On the flip side, it is tougher to witness a state-funded entity continue to carve out the most dominant period in Premier League history.
Only Newcastle United or a Qatari-backed Manchester United, if that happens, can reel in Manchester City this decade. Liverpool under Jürgen Klopp and owners Fenway Sports Group came as close as any club possibly could without petrodollars.
It should have finished 9-1 at the Etihad on Wednesday night. Arsenal hit their ceiling a few weeks back, making this title race appear closer to the one Leicester City triumphed in in 2016. The difference from then to now is the Foxes were being pursued by north London’s finest, rather than the greatest ever Premier League squad.
To be fair, Arsenal are better than that Leicester side but this feels like a one-season-flash-in-the-pan as Newcastle, Liverpool and Man United are sure to address their respective weaknesses come summer.
Man City are out on their own. All talk of Erling Haaland making them a lesser force was rubbished this week. Sure, the argument still exists statistically but see how Pep Guardiola reshaped his starting XI to crush Arsenal.
Kevin De Bruyne performed in a traditional number 10 role, effortlessly combining with Haaland as Pep’s latest approach was to play long balls into the big Norwegian striker.
See the reaction of City players to Haaland’s 49th strike from 43 games. To a man, they were delighted for him, clearly wanting the 22-year-old to surpass Andy Cole’s record of 34 league goals in a single campaign. Such visible, collective motivation makes Man City a better outfit than before Haaland arrived.
But City remain, to my mind, an unreal club. The Premier League’s charges against their ownership for breaking financial rules, allegedly 115 times in nine years from 2009, ensures that an asterisk goes beside the three titles won in that period.
Even still, Wednesday night was sportswashing at its most effective; everyone glued to the screen as De Bruyne dismantled Mikel Arteta’s three-man central midfield. They could not handle the Belgian’s running and positioning. They could only body check and foul him, with Thomas Partey miles off the pace in all aspects of play, as he looked more interested in maintaining his pass completion percentage.
I’ve tried to live with midfielders of De Bruyne’s calibre, and it can be a torrid 90 minutes chasing shadows, but so much of Partey’s shabby performance was lack of awareness and slow reactions.
City, like a prize fighter, came straight at Arsenal – jab, jab, uppercut. The first goal came from direct ball to Haaland, when Partey failed to track De Bruyne, whose low finish was fantastic. With seven minutes clocked, Arteta’s strategy was destroyed by Ederson continually finding Haaland and De Bruyne running off him.
So simple, yet so effective, Arsenal came crashing down to earth. They were blessed it wasn’t 4-0 after 20 minutes.
No team can concede from John Stones’ header, after a failed man-marking job by Gabriel Magalhães, and expect to win the league. Even Bukayo Saka’s impact was nullified by Manuel Akanji, a right footer named at left back, patiently waiting for Saka to come off the wing.
Tactically, Guardiola exposed his former assistant but it was Arsenal’s players’ inability to hold possession that should see their pursuit of a first title for 19 years disintegrate in the coming weeks.
Hope lingers. Arteta’s men can end a four-match winless streak next Tuesday when Frank Lampard’s clueless Chelsea visit the Emirates. But they might falter at Newcastle the following Sunday. Success is out of their hands now as City will go four points clear by winning the two games in hand.
Against City every little weakness is exposed but Arsenal’s inability to contain Haaland and De Bruyne, or Phil Foden who played the same role to perfection for the last goal, was the key to the 4-1 thumping.
Here’s where my paragraph comes unstuck – this Arsenal group is likable, clearly a decent bunch of lads under Arteta’s leadership. But coping with repetitive tactics, as Haaland did a fine impression of fellow Norwegian Jostein Flo, is a prerequisite for any team intent on winning a trophy. Any trophy at all.
The result makes City odds-on to win a third title in a row, a fifth in six seasons. This possibility becomes probable when they are finishing matches with Foden, Julián Alvarez and Riyad Mahrez coming off the bench.
That’s a ridiculous trio to have as substitutes, but Guardiola cannot be accused of warehousing stars such as Raheem Sterling, João Cancello, Leroy Sané, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus who were allowed leave, the last two joining Arsenal.
Tuesday was football from another planet by a club under investigation for breaching financial fair play rules. That’s what makes it hard to swallow. It could be worse, they could be arrogant arseholes.
Its pure laziness, all the way, teams need to be brave and use brute force against their key players., I disagree with that they are a plastic club, its the system and Peps training methods that makes them a formidable opponent. They win too easily and I blame the managers and the laziness of the players. If all those playera are that great why do so many of them look utter shit when they play for their national teams. Fucking Gundogen looked pretty average for Germany, so does Rodri and thay other fucking Bozo in defence for Spain, Portugal. People need to focus on Peps system, thats all it is. Why not have one or two players of the cunts just man mark Rodri and Gundogen that way you stop them getting the ball or at least make it difficult. Just follow them around and cut off the passing lanes. That is how they always get beat when they lose a game.
No they are not leagues above Everton. They just get shitty coaching.
It it was a straight choice between Caicedo and Ugarte (ignore the price), who'd be the better choice?
Not familiar with Ugarte other than YouTube. Caicedo is far more risk-free given that he already plays in the PL.
They are also slightly different type: Ugarte seems like a pure DM, a straight-up Fabinho replacement. Caicedo is something between a Wijnaldum and a Fabinho, he seems tailor-made for the defensive LCM role just ahead of/next to Trent.
Yeah I think Caicedo could comfortably play in both single and double pivot systems. Very impressive player, and his performances have become more dominant through the season.
The problem of course is that Brighton know this and will probably demand 100 million for him.
The problem of course is that Brighton know this and will probably demand 100 million for him.
Yes and somehow I get the feeling that we prefer to have someone more versatile rather than an outright DM - we've barely been linked to any. (Don't know why - maybe it's a Bacjetic thing?) Lavia is not a pure DM either, and we seem to be assessing Ugarte on that basis as well.
Anyway, Ugarte has a Release Clause which means it's 53 million upfront. If we bid something like 85m for Caicedo, that could be 50 million upfront, and 35m in add-ons or instalments, so roughly similar in terms of upfront fees (again our owners seem to think like this and I'm not in a position to comment).
So Caicedo and Ugarte could really be alternatives (of which we will likely get neither and settle for Berge instead)
City have 55 pts more than Everton this season, 54pts last season. League above them even when they had Ancelloti and about 10 managers in Pep’s time.
I didn't mind Arsenal ever and I don't mind them now either. But I don't feel a lot of sympathy for them either to be honest. It's a brutal reality that once you let City get ahead It's usually game over.
I am focussing on teams when they play city not how they do overall in the league. Its an attitude and belief thing when it comes to being consistent throughout a season and team harmonony. City never change the way they play, which sgould make them easier to play against. There is no mystry for the opposition manager to work out, just fucking make it at least difficult to bum you.
And hed be sadly worth that much in todays market. Fucking annoying.
Problem is, wait till you see what comes next from the City Bellends…
Apparently Champions League wins shouldn’t count unless you qualified for it as champions.
If they win it this season - and let’s face it - they will and they do the treble - which they will - then it’s not any old treble - it’s the Champions Treble.
Get used to hearing it.
Don’t be fooled by the prospect of stripped titles either - that’s not happening.
"Idiots say this, or claim this, therefore I want this other thing to happen."
Who gives a fuck what idiots say?
I wanted City to lose because they're fucking horrible for football. I didn't really expect Arsenal to win, and it's not as though I'm gutted. At least there's some fun in how they utterly collapsed. Two seasons in a row, they can't get it over the line and that will prey on them.
Who gives a fuck what idiots say?
I wanted City to lose because they're fucking horrible for football. I didn't really expect Arsenal to win, and it's not as though I'm gutted. At least there's some fun in how they utterly collapsed. Two seasons in a row, they can't get it over the line and that will prey on them.
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They've got like 6 fans, so i doubt i'll encounter them
I completely agree that city are horrible for football, but i also see it as if city go on a 4 season/5 season title streak, the PL product becomes less impressive. Arsenal winning the league enables the FA/PL to go "see? everyones competitive" and are less likely to throw the book at them.
I'm all for city being obliterated for the football landscape, but i think that won't happen while the league is "competitive"
I just want everyone to lose. I'm not picky.
Hell, there's even a good argument for us losing today.
Hell, there's even a good argument for us losing today.
Saw these being tweeted (18/19 season during which we finished a point (97) behind Man City (98)) in the aftermath of Arsenal's collapse in title challenge and can't help reminiscing a little
.Their 18/19 and 21/22 run-ins
, finishing a point ahead of us both times (98 vs 97, 93 vs 92)
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