City 2 up now at Palace. They'll be 3 points clear of us at least by New Years Day.

[Peter]

Much of that may be true, but it has nothing to do with Saturday's performance.

We completely controlled the game for 85 min or so, and got into many great positions. And each and every time the final ball, the crucial touch, the final decision where to pass etc were all utterly sh1t. It was amazing watching so many good players in good positions do really sh1t things so many times.

And remember that only a few games ago the opposite was true against Spurs and Bayern Munich. Lord knows what the explanation is

Maybe it was just one of those nights. One of those crazy old nights....

I had better not miss any more games

[Peter]

Fair points. I?m still looking at the squad and leaning more towards optimism but only on the basis that they stop dropping like flies. We can?t achieve continuity with the current level of injury rotation.
If history shows Arteta blowing what was perceived as an unassailable lead in the league, plus a CL exit, the board won?t be left with much choice at the end of the season.

The injuries are part of the lack of trust. What trust he does have is invested in a small group of players and his resulting reluctance to rotate leads to overloading. Then the untrusted replacements come in rusty and with few minutes under their belt. 2 games a week for them is likely to overload then quickly- hence Ben White.

I don't think any lead in November is unassailable- particularly a lead that is almost eradicated by one draw and one defeat.

I'd say Arteta has until end of next season. If we are still trophyless at that stage then a discussion needs to take place.

My biggest concern at the moment is the transfer business. Did Arteta want Eze and Gyokeres?

[Pat Vegas]

Not sure if you've noticed, Pat, but we're top of the league

we've done that before. based on recent years I don't see any evidence to say we'll seal the deal

[Peter]

we've done that before. based on recent years I don't see any evidence to say we'll seal the deal

We're top of the league because everyone else has had an awful start. It is like congratulating yourself for being the tallest pile of ****.

If we don't improve, we won't be top of the league for much longer.

[redgunamo]

The injuries are part of the lack of trust. What trust he does have is invested in a small group of players and his resulting reluctance to rotate leads to overloading. Then the untrusted replacements come in rusty and with few minutes under their belt. 2 games a week for them is likely to overload then quickly- hence Ben White.

I don't think any lead in November is unassailable- particularly a lead that is almost eradicated by one draw and one defeat.

I'd say Arteta has until end of next season. If we are still trophyless at that stage then a discussion needs to take place.

My biggest concern at the moment is the transfer business. Did Arteta want Eze and Gyokeres?

Can't see why he wouldn't have wanted them. Of course, they don't come from Real Sociedad or anything but still, Mikel would know they could at least hold up an end, so to speak.

And they have both shifted a few shirts.

[Pat Vegas]

We're top of the league because everyone else has had an awful start. It is like congratulating yourself for being the tallest pile of ****.

If we don't improve, we won't be top of the league for much longer.

we do need Gabriel back pronto. but not using him as an excuse.

[Peter]

Can't see why he wouldn't have wanted them. Of course, they don't come from Real Sociedad or anything but still, Mikel would know they could at least hold up an end, so to speak.

And they have both shifted a few shirts.

If you want to ruin a club quickly, you buy **** players. If you want to ruin it slowly, buy fhe wrong players.

If we are not going to adjust and allow Eze and Gyokeres to play to their strengths, then they are the wrong players. I've seen no evidence of adjustments so far.

Ben White's injury is completely Arteta's fault. He knew White was in the red but still played him when he could have used MLS. Again, lack of trust. Lack of faith. It is killing us.

[IUFG]

We need to get rid of the Lego Haired one. Doesn't matter how much you give him to spend on a bloated squad, he ain't doing it.

Remarkable chip-pissing here, h. wd.

[Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult]

Caution doesn't come from a lack of firepower. It comes from bad Generals.

Arteta doesn't have enough faith in his players and wants to control games himself as much as possible. So he loves rehearsed actions like set pieces but is less concerned with creativity. Once in front, he wants to kill the game with shape and discipline, not by being brave and using movement and ball retention.

His control freakery is holding us back.

Has to be said.... with better players and a stronger squad we are a worse side than we were two seasons ago.

If he doesn't find a way of loosening us up then we aren't going to progress. You cant win the league playing like this.

When we had Big Gabby and Big Willy at the heart of our defence. BW-Odin-B working together telepathically. And Kai playing the best football of his career up to that point up top. Ganpati willing, Kai coming back will be like a new signing.

Having a settled defence makes a world of difference. That was our 7th CB pairing of the season.

[Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult]

Much of that may be true, but it has nothing to do with Saturday's performance.

We completely controlled the game for 85 min or so, and got into many great positions. And each and every time the final ball, the crucial touch, the final decision where to pass etc were all utterly sh1t. It was amazing watching so many good players in good positions do really sh1t things so many times.

And remember that only a few games ago the opposite was true against Spurs and Bayern Munich. Lord knows what the explanation is

We had a cross that was a whisker away from being tapped in. Vik had some superb CF play in the box that ended with him putting it just wide, and just before he went off, Gabby had a shot that curled just wide.

We were woeful, but if we'd taken one of those chances, we could have had a comfortable 2-0 win and no-one would be moaning.

I also think Jeez coming back will be a Godsend. Archangels and Jesus at this time of year always spread Divine Love. He has a point to prove and now has 2 strikers ahead of him in the pecking order. He wants to get back to how he was before that poxy, mid-season WC ****ed everything up for him.

Would love to see him at his very best. And when does Kai get back?