Sporting H Thurs Mar 16th 2023 KO 8pm

[goonersid]

In a parallel universe we win tonight then draw united tomorrow.

2 legs against them where we’d have to go full strength sandwiched in between a couple of vital league games which we’d undoubtedly suffer in.

Blessing in disguise mate.

Sunday absolutely massive now.

100% Rodders, takes maybe 4 games off our schedule, just wish it had happened at the group stage.

[TeeCee]

Fuck the Europa, who won it last year? Can't remember without looking it up!
It really is beneficial for us not being in it.
Or first team is excellent, 90% of the replacements we have are not good enough for top 4 let alone the title so let's at least give ourselves a chance FFS!

[SteveO 35]

5 points with City away. I reckon winning the Europa was more straight forward than winning the league. Palace will be salivating at the prospect of us on Sunday.

5 points clear with Liverpool Chelsea and City to play still. Absolutely this competition was easier to win than the league.

The misplaced arrogance on here defies belief. The best chance to win a European trophy in almost 30 years, we lost to a team that will be in next season's Europa Conference League such is their prowess, and its "oh well, we are top of the league anyway, who gives a fuck"

The very reason we won't be in it next season by the way is the very reason we should have wanted to win it so badly, because we sure as fuck won't be winning the CL will we???? And that's not just being miserable that's playing back the words of others because if we feel we can't compete on two fronts in the EL and PL then quite how the fuck we are in the CL and PL is beyond me. We chose to play Turner and Kiwior in Lisbon and it cost us badly. We chose to start Vieira over Odegaard last night and it also cost us badly. Those 3 over 2 legs produced fucking dreadful performances. We also chose to leave out Partey and when him and Odegaard were on it was the best spell we had in the whole tie

I'm personally embarrassed by our appalling record in Europe for a so called big club and was looking forward to addressing that before rejoining the CL....but it seems just like with the domestic cups, I'm in a dwindling minority where only the PL and a place in the CL group stage matters to the majority of modern day football snobs

Oh well, no more midweek football again for six months. What fun we will have watching the Manchester clubs and the Chav c.unts while we talk about the greater good and saving all our eggs in one basket

Shame on me for imagining what a trip to Budapest in May and lifting a trophy might feel like. Happy to wait another 29 years for a European glory night

[rodders999]

Again, to win this competition we needed to go as close to full strength for the knockout stages as possible, 1 or 2 changes MAX per game is all we could realistically get away with. Once we started down the road of making 6 changes from the league side (as we did out there) we’re going to struggle to beat anyone left in the competition as has now been proved unfortunately. I don’t think anyone said we had a lack of resources to win it, certainly not me anyway, but we certainly lack the squad depth.

If we had gone balls deep in the EL then you could kiss goodbye to any hope in the league, well that’s how I see things anyway.

For me we faced the option of focusing on one or the other and I make no apologies for my preference being the league. Saka looks absolutely burned out, came on last night and barely had a kick again. I think some people have forgotten there was a World Cup at Christmas and there is going to be major player burn out as a result down the home stretch. Hopefully our lighter schedule means less of our players suffer and more of city’s do. I’ll grasp at anything that may help us in the quest to win this thing.

Saka is most definitely one that’s suffering from this as will others, maybe by not having 2 games a week over the next few months means he can rediscover form/freshness.

Similarly with Thomas Partey (for me our most important player) try playing him Thursday/Sunday for the next few weeks and see how long it is before he breaks.

I’d love to win a European trophy but I’ll tell you fucking what I’d love to win the premier league a whole lot more. All the shit we’ve had to suffer over the last 15 odd years, the torture of the end of the Wenger reign, the misery of the dark desperate days where we thought we’d never get shot of him, the fucking shit corrupt decisions that go against us, the pundits itching to see us lose. I’d love to ram that trophy down all their fucking throats in May. I want this so badly, I couldn’t even begin to describe it.

Well fuck all them let’s go and win this thing now.

Oh and one final thing, yeah it was me who said I hope city get a really tough draw today, of course I fucking do, anything that could impact them in the run in and benefit us I’m all for.

Shock fucking horror I want us to win this league so fucking badly that anything that can help us go and do that I want so see happen.

So whoever the fuck was calling me out on that on the last page, can’t be arsed to check who

FUCK YOU

[BFG4]

Thos

[BobbyPires7]

The only positive I see about this is that it means 1000% percent that certain squad players should not play another second this season. I’m looking at you Fabio Fucking Vieira.

[BFG4]

This entire team is held together by Partey, without him we aren't even a top 4 side so asking him to (potentially) play 5 more games and play Thursday and Sunday would be ridiculous considering his injury record. For me the EL is a competition for 2nd rate teams to give the illusion of a decent season - exactly what United are doing. We could win this competition a few times and it wouldn't near match a first title since '04. Last night was disappointing but 3 points on Sunday and I'll have completely forgotten it.

[Gunner Rob]

A couple of great posts towards the end of this thread by Steveo and Rodders arguing for and against the Europa League.
Both make valid points.

I’m just going to say this - it’s happened, we are out and now have to move forwards.
Yes it would have been nice to win a European trophy, BUT like the domestic cups earlier this season it is better to exit them early rather than later on.

End of April schedule now looks like this:
21 April v Southampton
26 April v Man City
29 April v Chelsea

That looks a lot better than what it would have looked like:
20 April v Europa QF
23 April v Southampton
26 April v Man City
29 April v Chelsea

[Almunia is a clown]

A couple of great posts towards the end of this thread by Steveo and Rodders arguing for and against the Europa League.
Both make valid points.

I’m just going to say this - it’s happened, we are out and now have to move forwards.
Yes it would have been nice to win a European trophy, BUT like the domestic cups earlier this season it is better to exit them early rather than later on.

League Cup, Went out to Brighton a PL side.
FA Cup Went out to Oil Citeh cheats, narrow defeat away.
Europa League Went out on penalties Sporting CP.

Happy St Paddys Day to all!

https://www.google.com/search?q=arsenal ... tpuku3pny4

We didn't throw the cups as some demanded, we didn't play our strongest line up either in the cups. We haven't treated these competitions with disrespect. We did the best with the limited squad & injuries we have had.

Imagine playing our strongest line up like the Swamp Dwellers did last week & going out of Europe without scoring a goal over two legs. Then everyone on here would be moaning for the last week LOL

COYG

[SteveO 35]

A couple of great posts towards the end of this thread by Steveo and Rodders arguing for and against the Europa League.
Both make valid points.

I’m just going to say this - it’s happened, we are out and now have to move forwards.
Yes it would have been nice to win a European trophy, BUT like the domestic cups earlier this season it is better to exit them early rather than later on.

League Cup, Went out to Brighton a PL side.
FA Cup Went out to Oil Citeh cheats, narrow defeat away.
Europa League Went out on penalties Sporting CP.

Happy St Paddys Day to all!

https://www.google.com/search?q=arsenal ... tpuku3pny4

We didn't throw the cups as some demanded, we didn't play our strongest line up either in the cups. We haven't treated these competitions with disrespect. We did the best with the limited squad & injuries we have had.

Imagine playing our strongest line up like the Swamp Dwellers did last week & going out of Europe without scoring a goal over two legs. Then everyone on here would be moaning for the last week L!OL

COYG

With respect, we made multiple changes for the EL games and got our pants pulled down - to me that is a lack of respect. Kiwior hasn't even had 5 PL minutes from the bench and yet we threw him straight in at Lisbon. Turner was sodding awful. Does the keeper need a rest?

We could have won that first leg by a couple of goals and then made some changes. Instead we left the tie in balance.

I'll ask this question again to everyone who says we shouldn't worry about this and focus 100pc on the PL. What are we going to say next season when we are in the CL? Rest players for that? Or is it OK to play a full strength side in that and the PL, hence rendering the argument about not being able to compete on two fronts an utter joke. Or are we suddenly hoping we will buy half a dozen worldies that allow us to have the same squad as City?

Last night is a big opportunity missed and for me shows a total lack of ambition. If we don't win the PL now then that lack of ambition will be shown up even more. People can mock the completion all they like but if you're telling me finishing 2nd and winning fuck all is better than Man Ure finishing 3rd and winning two cups then it just highlights to me how fucked people's priorities are in this day and age

[BobbyPires7]

That team last night should be winning a last 16 Europa tie at home. The fact we hung on for dear life until the cavalry was brought on was shocking to witness. Cognitive dissonance is not a good look. We were embarrassing.

This reminds me of peak Wenger. He would regularly rest players for an upcoming game. More often than not we would lose both games and end up looking a total *word censored*.

Let’s pray we win the League because if we don’t we have fucked it in a massive way.

[rodders999]

Before the season started the club would have targeted wining the Europa and finishing top 4 as the main objectives for the year and even though they would never admit it I reckon they would probably have seen winning the Europa as being the most likely of those 2 things to happen.

We’ve since massively exceeded expectations, performed unbelievably in the league so the club’s objectives have pivoted and now the full focus has turned towards trying to win the thing.

6 months ago it would have seemed more likely to be at full strength last night with a few changes coming in at the weekend, instead circumstances have dictated that it’s the other way round.

[BobbyPires7]

Before the season started the club would have targeted wining the Europa and finishing top 4 as the main objectives for the year and even though they would never admit it I reckon they would probably have seen winning the Europa as being the most likely of those 2 things to happen.

We’ve since massively exceeded expectations, performed unbelievably in the league so the club’s objectives have pivoted and now the full focus has turned towards trying to win the thing.

6 months ago it would have seemed more likely to be at full strength last night with a few changes coming in at the weekend, instead circumstances have dictated that it’s the other way round.

Why did we finish full strength then? Arteta wanted to win it. It is pure cognitive dissonance on here.

[madjens]

Couldn’t see us winning the EL if we’d gone through. We’d have had to play a full strength team Thurs as well as at the weekend, would just burn out in both comps.

It shouldn’t be like this but we have so little depth that we can barely make one change without it being like playing with 10.

We didn’t go out shamefully, got the performance we expected from the team that was selected. Maybe if we weren’t in the title race we could put more into it. But absolutely would sacrifice the league cup of Europe if it gives any advantage in the title run in, which I think it does.

[rodders999]

Steveo we’re going to have to sign 4/5 players in the summer to handle the CL and for once I actually think the club have the stomach for it. After binning off so much shit in the last few years we now have one of the smallest squads in the league and that has to be addressed in the summer.

We tried for Caicedo in January which would allow us to seamlessly transition between him and Partey. We will need the likes of him and 4 others in the summer, simple as.