You're assumption is based on the fact that most Arsenal fans have started supporting Arsenal this season onwards and aren't aware that they have been out of the CL for 6 years and not won the title in 20 years.
Title Race 22/23
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depends On what happens in the summer IMO. If we invest well then I think we’ll be OK, and it seems the board will continue to back Arteta. If rumours are to be believed then we’re in for at least one big name midfield signing (Rice), which is vital as I think Xhaka/Partey will start to decline in the next year or so. Partey can barely keep fit as it is.
of course it also depends on who buys United and that adjustment period. And who can rule out the question mark over City’s FA charges. Tbh between the 3 we’re probably the most stable in terms of our short term future/outlook as a club.
It was a very professional away performance, don't expect to get any praise on here though. It's almost like Rodgers played a certain way last week and saw his team get hammered. If he had set up like that again then the likely outcome was another whooping. We seriously need to get the final pass going again, was awful against city and again yesterday. More and more teams will play with a very low block against us so we need to be clinical when we open opportunities up.
I mean we can't know the future but this was said when we missed out on top four last year and we have improved. No reason a young squad with further backing will just fall apart.
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It just illustrates zero understanding of the actual context of the stat, and what it means in a game.
Agreed. You dominated a dying kitten. Well played Gunners
Ah feck here we go...
I don't think we'll do it as Arsenal will win too many points IMO. But I think we will show title challenging form from here on, as we have since the world Cup ended pretty much. But I think we'll kick on even more. Just need players to stay fit, and if we keep it up, who knows where we finish. In with a chance, more of a chance than I though a month ago. But I don't think we'll be too far off ultimately, and definitely it will be something that someone like Osimhen bridges that gap in the summer.
I don't think we'll do it as Arsenal will win too many points IMO. But I think we will show title challenging form from here on, as we have since the world Cup ended pretty much. But I think we'll kick on even more. Just need players to stay fit, and if we keep it up, who knows where we finish. In with a chance, more of a chance than I though a month ago. But I don't think we'll be too far off ultimately, and definitely it will be something that someone like Osimhen bridges that gap in the summer.
They have only got 2 more points than us in the last 22 games. Amazing when you think about it given the season they are having.
Lots of ways to chop up the season but if you look at the league table since Casemiro's first start (away against Everton on Oct 9th)..
- United is top of the league with 37 points from 17 games
- Just 0.7 xPts fewer than Man City over this period
- 2nd in xG
- 3rd in fewest xG against, though Newcastle have 2 games to play and Arsenal 1
Feel like you could see the fatigue out there a bit tonight, don’t think anyone will begrudge a heavily rotated team on Weds if needed against WHUM. Don’t think we have the attacking depth to do EL, FA and PL runs.
I see. And here i thought the XG for both teams showed that we were both pretty poor going forward, Leciester particularly so. So much so that their XG was the worst ever recorded in PL. That's the context of how bad they were upfront. Like practically zero likely goals.
Arsenal will finish the season on 92 points. I think it will be just enough to win the league
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Time to focus on this? Or do we go for the Europa…
One game at a time so hopefully we smash Liverpool and aside from the moral boost that would provide it keeps our distance to city to a minimum.
We should only really care about catching arsenal because I've got a feeling city might be docked points assuming the prosecution doesn't drag on too much.
We should only really care about catching arsenal because I've got a feeling city might be docked points assuming the prosecution doesn't drag on too much.
You realise the realistic upper bound for the xG stat is low single figures? Talking about a team's xG being x50 another team's is just ridiculous, one half chance from the other team in a split second wipes that out, surely you understand that that means the way you're talking about the comparison means nothing.
We are not generating enough chances at the moment. Lots of pressure, lots of intricate little passes but the final ball is pretty poor. Some of our players were probably on purple patches early on in the season and have since come back a little. We have a deeper squad now though so we are still definitely in with a chance. Can't wait to have Jesus back. It is good to see Nketiah and Trossard doing well but Jesus adds another dimension even if the other two are better outright goalscorers.
The Trossard transfer was awesome and I have been happy with Jorginho so far. I had lower expectations there.
The Trossard transfer was awesome and I have been happy with Jorginho so far. I had lower expectations there.
IMO you shouldn't just 'focus' on one or the other. You guys are going well and continue to gain good momentum. I say keep it going in all comps as much as possible. Your team is only beginning to understand ETH's system and knowing their roles within it. Yes you're playing a lot of games and of course fatigue/injuries are always a concern, but the plus side of that is that your football is only improving as you're playing regularly. IMO Arsenal's recent wobble all started when we decided to 'focus on the league' and were happy to be knocked out by City in FA Cup.
It sounds ridiculous I agree but not wrong, is it? IMO it goes to show just how poor Leceister were - they barely created even "half chances". Can you create a quarter of a chance?
Because that's the best they did all game. Again, this is the lowest XG ever recorded in a PL game - that is how poor they were. That is a fact. For us to be x50 better than almost zero is not saying much, but it's still factually correct.Yeh, our overall standard has dropped no doubt but that was always going to happen, hard to maintain such a high level over the season. But our defensive solidity is improving again, after we've been leaking goals recently.
Jorginho has been immense, his marshalling in midfield is exactly why Arteta has admired him for a while. Very nice piece of business there and a sizeable step up from our previous options. I have no doubt that if we had Elneny/Lokonga there instead of Jorginho in our last few games, we may still be in our little slump. Esp last week against Villa, that looked like dropped points but Jorginho stepped up, controlled the midfield in the second half then created one of the funniest own goals ever. And his experience and game management again helped us in the last 15min vs Leceister when they tried to push forward more.
The likeliest scenario remains this in the final table:
City
Arsenal
United
No idea on what points total, but City are gathering strength while Arsenal are struggling to grind out narrow defeats. The gap is probably too large for us but on the other hand maybe not.
City
Arsenal
United
No idea on what points total, but City are gathering strength while Arsenal are struggling to grind out narrow defeats. The gap is probably too large for us but on the other hand maybe not.
Jorginho's game management has always been top notch, even at Chelsea. It's a key component of any title winning side IMO. The ability to kill games when needed.
What can I say, we are ruthless
Yep, which is why I couldn't understand why people were against his signing. Underwhelming sure when you're putting in 60mil plus bids elsewhere, but I think it's a great piece of business for a 3rd choice CM. Midfield is where you need your most experienced players. Another good thing about him is he doesn't seem to get injured often, which is desperately needed with Partey's injury record. Though, Partey didn't get injured much at Athletico but then turned to glass when he came to us, so you never know.
Congratulations Utd on your trophy win yesterday. Fully deserved, and a bit of a masterclass from ETH on how to close out a 2-0 game, and stomping out any Newcastle fire before it got started in the 2nd half.
A good solid 1-0 has been missing from out repertoire recently, so glad to see we still have it in there, they can be very important in a title tace. We don't have a song about that score for nothing.
I think we needed to get back to basics a bit and concentrate on getting that clean sheet. We've had different type of games recently, but they all had 1 thing in common and that was we were beginning to leak goals.
A good solid 1-0 has been missing from out repertoire recently, so glad to see we still have it in there, they can be very important in a title tace. We don't have a song about that score for nothing.
Arsenal are going to batter Everton at home. Easy 3-0 win incoming.
Then they have Bournemouth at home, who they will also batter easily for a win, while we play Liverpool's cup final on the same day.
No chance Arsenal bottle these 2 games.
Then they have Bournemouth at home, who they will also batter easily for a win, while we play Liverpool's cup final on the same day.
No chance Arsenal bottle these 2 games.
I don't think there's any realistic chance of us trimming the gap in the next 5 games and if we approach the final 9 games with the same 8-point deficit it'd actually be great. Arsenal's next 5 games are Everton H, Bournemouth H, Fulham A, Palace H and Leeds H. They will get at least 11 points and probably all 15. Meanwhile we have Liverpool A, Southampton H, Brighton A, Newcastle A and Brentford H, where 11 points would actually be considered a lot.
It's the final 9 games of the season where we have the edge as Arsenal play Liverpool A, West Ham A, City A, Newcastle A. It's a very long shot though as I do expect them to be some 12-13 points ahead of us in a months time.
I don't think they would more like 85-87 points and that should more likely be good enough to wrestle title from City this season .Arsenal will finish the season on 92 points. I think it will be just enough to win the league
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There's no title race and that's ok. We're about 2-3 seasons behind Arsenal in our own rebuild, they've come to maturity at the right time (Liv and Chelsea going to shit, and Pep seemingly not giving a flying feck), and are going to win this title in a highly forgettable season (which is no slight on them, there's just seasons like that, and a title is a title).
They don’t have to? There’s so many games left.
Keep within 5 or so until their trip to City and see what happens. Also means we have to win 99 percent of our games but nobody said winning titles should be easy
Arsenal/City will drop points but they can actually afford to drop a few here and there...United will need a perfect record which is very unlikely.
But lets see what effect the win yesterday has on the group.
But lets see what effect the win yesterday has on the group.
I don't think so, based on their trajectory, young squad and playing style, there's no way they will slow down next season. What we're seeing now is the birth of a new title challenger.
I hate Arsenal, but credits where credits due.
Like ETH said, end of an era. Next season we're seeing City, United and Arsenal challenging again, with Newcastle getting closer and closer.
I don't think we are 2-3 seasons behind, we will be competing next season. We are basically behind because of our first two games of season, if we were to play Brighton at home and Brentford away now we'd probably grab 4 points and be right in the mix.
Arsenal will finish the season on 92 points. I think it will be just enough to win the league
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I agree - what I meant is that while we've started our rebuild this year, they've been at it for a while and it's coming to fruition at the right time. What Ten Hag has done is incredible, and I agree we look like a team that will be challenging next season, with the right summer business. But challenging this season was just a bit too much of a tall order, and I have the feeling that some cracks are going to appear over the coming weeks, the squad depth isn't quite what it needs to be to be competing on 3 fronts.
I think in a month we will be focusing on cups. We are 8 points ahead of 5th and it doesn't look like we are going to struggle to make top 4 as I don't really expect Newcastle to go on a run, and we are 13 points ahead of Liverpool who probably have enough quality to go on a winning streak. If we beat West Ham this week we'll be 3 games away from winning the FA Cup, we are probably the strongest team left in Europa by some distance (as I fully expect Arsenal to give up on that competition). Winning all 3 cups would be a tremendous achievement and even winning 2 will boost our morale immensely. People can dismiss League Cup or FA Cup all they want but winning these competitions is exactly what you need to build up winning mentality.
Winning 3 of them would certainly be a brilliant achievement alright
I think we just need Kane to mix with Case and Varane. If we get the right owners and sign Kane, the spine of the team is complete.
Leader in attack, midfield and defense, imagine that!
We have to challenge, feck it, we have to win it next season knowing that Casemiro, Varane, Luke Shaw, Rashford and Lisandro going into their prime.
I said last year or the year before, if you were involved in the strategy at the likes of Arsenal, Utd, Spurs etc, is that what you should be doing is trying to build a young team/squad with the aim of really challenging in 2024/2025 ish. As I thought that's when City's & Liverpool's team cycle might end, and I think Klopp & Pep both had contracts ending by then.
Both signed extensions since, but the cycle of certainly Liverpools team looks like coming to an end early, and 1 might argue City's team as well. I don't think anyone expected Arsenal to be ahead of that, and likewise Utd in ETH's first season.
If both clubs get their transfers right this summer, I can't see anything but these 2 being near the top of the table the next couple of years.
I'd be surprised and disappointed if United didn't challenge next season actually. Right now you are were arsenal were last season post-Auba, a great side that won't compete this season only because it's a little early, there's 2 greater sides around, and you lost too much ground before getting to this level. A full season like this you're looking at a 91-95 points side
Let's see, City's core players are KDB - declining, Rodri - prime, Haaland - prime, Ederson - prime, Kyle Walker - Declining, Ruben Dias - prime.
I think City has another 3 years minimum as they already signed replacements for those players.
But I agree, Arsenal and United looking great to be the next title contenders.
I can see the wheels falling off for one of city or arsenal, but not both. FA Cup and Europa should be our focus for me. As much as I want to smash the scousers, it’s not actually a priority if we accept the league is just a little bit out of reach for this season.
City’s biggest concern is Guardiola. Should he leave, it doesn’t matter which players are entering their prime or in decline, they won’t be as ruthlessly efficient in garnering 90+ points season after season, IMO. He’s the key to their continuing success, not the squad per se.