In their Arsenal-Brighton match review Shotta and Blackburn George are surprised by the manner the Gunners were outplayed by Brighton. This is the culmination of a trend of declining performances ever since coughing up a 2-goal lead to Liverpool in early April, similarly away to West Ham and then having to come from behind to draw with a now-relegated Southampton. While recognizing Arteta and the team have progressed more than expected, the loss to Brighton made them fear that the team is still capable of the dire standards of previous years. A sad end to an exciting PL season, so what next?
39 comments on “Out With A Whimper.”
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Positively Arsenal 
Sorry about the clickbait title on the youtube channel, but needs must.
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I have commented on the blog but the name has come up as Eric, I must have been having a laugh when I opened my YouTube account anyway it’s me if anyone thinks what I have put is crap.
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Thanks once again and a great summing up of what Zinchenko brings to the team. It is also interesting that the decline came with Saliba injured and Jesus return. It clearly isn’t any one player that changed the trajectory but the contrast between the Newcastle game and the Brighton game was disappointing and worrying in equal
measure.
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I think we’ve been struggling a little since the first half of the season came to a premature close for the World Cup. Yes, we’ve won a lot of games since then, but the excitement of those last gasp winners did a lot to camouflage the fact that we weren’t always in as much control as we might have been. Psychologically it’s hard to be out in front for so long, and I guess it was impossible to stop glimpsing the rear-view mirror: I know that when City dismissed Everton early and so easily on Sunday afternoon I thought ‘well, that’s that then’ so no great surprise if that deflated our players before they kicked-off against Brighton too.
At times this year we’ve been imperious, at times fragile and naïve. Most games turn on small margins: sometimes errors lead to nothing, sometimes they hole you below the waterline. Yes, we left too many points out there in the run-in, but then again, we probably won a few points earlier on that we didn’t necessarily deserve. Bottlers or over-achievers? Probably a bit of both, but there have been more games this season in the League that I’ve enjoyed than despaired over, so on balance it’s been a good year for me. I try to remember that if I only concentrate on the end position, I’ll have missed a lot of fun on the way. A bit like life itself, I suppose.
A couple of games to go, and then it’ll be done and dusted for another year. I hope for their sakes that our players can end positively with a couple of games they can relax and enjoy; it would be nice to see them turn on the style again. There’ll be time enough after that to wonder who might come and who might go, but as that old rocker Pete Brown almost had it, the Arsenal dance will go on, if not forever, then certainly beyond my brief span.
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I think we’ve been struggling a little since the first half of the season came to a premature close for the World Cup. Yes, we’ve won a lot of games since then, but the excitement of those last gasp winners did a lot to camouflage the fact that we weren’t always in as much control as we might have been. Psychologically it’s hard to be out in front for so long, and I guess it was impossible to stop glimpsing the rear-view mirror: I know that when City dismissed Everton early and so easily on Sunday afternoon I thought ‘well, that’s that then’ so no great surprise if that deflated our players before they kicked-off against Brighton too.
At times this year we’ve been imperious, at times fragile and naïve. Most games turn on small margins: sometimes errors lead to nothing, sometimes they hole you below the waterline. Yes, we left too many points out there in the run-in, but then again, we probably won a few points earlier on that we didn’t necessarily deserve. Bottlers or over-achievers? Probably a bit of both, but there have been more games this season in the League that I’ve enjoyed than despaired over, so on balance it’s been a good year for me. I try to remember that if I only concentrate on the end position, I’ll have missed a lot of fun on the way. A bit like life itself, I suppose.
A couple of games to go, and then it’ll be done and dusted for another year. I hope for their sakes that our players can end positively with a couple of games they can relax and enjoy; it would be nice to see them turn on the style again. There’ll be time enough after that to wonder who might come and who might go, but as that old rocker Pete Brown almost had it, the Arsenal dance will go on, if not forever, then certainly beyond my brief span.
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Just one thing about the form of little Chile,
Bukayo has not had a break from football in about three seasons. He plays every game whether that’s club or international football.
This effects young players more than older ones and if you think even DeBryne has been rested recently the overplaying of him was bound to lead to burn out eventually.
I did notice from your stats that in a game he didn’t play well and yet had 51 touches easily the most in the team.
Brighton like most teams double up on Saka and had a plan for him.
Successful team no that in some games you will have to cope without your most dangerous players we are just not there yet.
Remember Robert Pires destroying the league until he broke his leg, he was our best player until then. Arsene found a slightly different way to play and Freddie brought us home to the title.
Mikel relies on a standard bunch of players and this shows in the stats that we have made the least amount of changes in the league. He needs to learn when to rotate and to trust the squad he has. He also needs to play different ways with different players.
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I think we’ve been struggling a little since the first half of the season came to a premature close for the World Cup. Yes, we’ve won a lot of games since then, but the excitement of those last gasp winners did a lot to camouflage the fact that we weren’t always in as much control as we might have been. Psychologically it’s hard to be out in front for so long, and I guess it was impossible to stop glimpsing the rear-view mirror: I know that when City dismissed Everton early and so easily on Sunday afternoon I thought ‘well, that’s that then’ so no great surprise if that deflated our players before they kicked-off against Brighton too.
At times this year we’ve been imperious, at times fragile and naïve. Most games turn on small margins: sometimes errors lead to nothing, sometimes they hole you below the waterline. Yes, we left too many points out there in the run-in, but then again, we probably won a few points earlier on that we didn’t necessarily deserve. Bottlers or over-achievers? Probably a bit of both, but there have been more games this season in the League that I’ve enjoyed than despaired over, so on balance it’s been a good year for me. I try to remember that if I only concentrate on the end position, I’ll have missed a lot of fun on the way. A bit like life itself, I suppose.
A couple of games to go, and then it’ll be done and dusted for another year. I hope for their sakes that our players can end positively with a couple of games they can relax and enjoy; it would be nice to see them turn on the style again. There’ll be time enough after that to wonder who might come and who might go, but as that old rocker Pete Brown almost had it, the Arsenal dance will go on, if not forever, then certainly beyond my brief span.
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Another fantastic win for the ladies, another serious injury. Their season has been truly remarkable and if they get CL qualification it will be an absolutely amazing achievement.
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would just say that its true that we have done much better this season than most expected, but the reality is that the reason why we were not expected to get top 4 was down to how we collapsed last when top 4 was there for the taking, and now when the title was within our grasp, we collapsed again. Dealing with the pressure of expectancy seems to be a problem for Arsenal.
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reports that Arsenal have made a third contract offer to Reiss Nelson
seems Xhaka is to head back to Germany, but only after we complete the signing of his replacement, said to be Declan Rice.
Rob Holding and Kieran Tierney are both said to be leaving this summer, as is Balogun who today was cleared to change his international status from England to USA
along with Rice we are being linked with Caicedo from Brighton and more surprisingly Mason Mount from Chelsea
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yes ian its amazing how unlucky the womens team has been with major injuries this season, and how they have still managed to come so close to success in the WSL and CL. They need one point from their final two games to get CL spot, they play chelsea away on Sunday, game in on BBC 2 at 12.30. and they finish the season with a home game v Aston Villa.
hopefully they beat chelsea on sunday and help deprive them of the league title
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Coventry beat Middlesboro tonight to set up a final v Luton for a place in next seasons EPL. Arsenal’s Norton-Cuffy is in the Coventry team, maybe if they get promoted they will sign him
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Hi Ed, surely with city having two games remaining it’s one win from the last two games (3piints) not one or am I looking at it wrong.
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I agree with Ian
Saka needs resting for the same reasons other coaches have been resting prodigies over the last decade with the greater knowledge of recent times. Brendan Rodgers may be a vain fellow but he did a great job mentoring Sterling even though the idiot did go on to join Chelusa.
And Stirling will be strong next year under Poch partially as a result of having not been burnt out earlier on his career.
Players like Sterling and Saka do not get the favour of biased officials like Rooney when his legs went early-ish. They need to be managed. It’s the lay of the land.
I felt the form started to splutter once Jorginho and Trossard came out the team and were not even used to every game as subs when their performances had earnt them all more minutes.
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While I’m sure many Gooners will be overjoyed at Ramsdale’s newly signed contract, I still haven’t really forgiven Arsene for getting rid of Szczesny.
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yes ian my mistake, its one win needed not one point
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well finsbury maybe if we hadn’t loaned out pepe he could have helped give saka a rest, much like how if we hadn’t loaned out cedric in january we could have given white some rest time too, another we could have done with was AMN, who will now leave this summer on a bosman, he like the other two mentioned was one of our 29 players out on loan in the second half of the season
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sheffield wednesday has just scored in the 90+8 minute to make it 4-0 on the night, and 4-4 on agg v peterborough, and its gone to extra time in the league one play off semi final
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if man city win the fa cup, then they would play arsenal in the community shield at the start of next season, if utd win it then the two manchester clubs would play in it
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sheffield wednesday won 5-1 on the night to bring it to penalties, where they won 5-3 to progress to the league one play off final, where they play the winners of tomorrows match, Barnsley v Bolton, which is 1-1 from the first leg
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Pepe could probably of given me a rest at work making the tea but never would he of been able to fill in for Bukayo.
The mistake there was definitely selling Willock at a time we would of got alot more for Pepe and fewer wages as well.
The shame is Willock could of played various positions and what is even more criminal is he was one of our own and would of continue the ARSENAL DNA along with the other youth players.
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Good morning Positiveters,
Well apparently we have handed the title on a silver platter to city (although I don’t think we ever had it to give despite what the media says).
Sky predictions has Forrest to beat us 2-1 we have just started picking up lots of injuries to our first eleven, our form is more like a team in tenth rather than second and there is doom and gloom all over the place.
However as I wake up on this Saturday morning the sun is shining in London and my first thought is it’s an ARSENAL day and I’m really excited to watch us even though there doesn’t seem much at stake.
Really what’s at stake is our own pride and proving were just not going to slide into the end of season darkness.
I hate the dead out of season, transfer speculation doesn’t give me a hard on as it does some football fans, so personally the last two games are important to enjoy and to keep me going through the blankness.
On the game itself our regular left side has gone, our right side is out of form and although Xhaka is still the stalwart he has been for years the form of Partey and Odegaard has dipped and yes Jorginho has played well the missing influence of Zinchenko has unbalanced the side.
Basically the diamond has lost its two points and defensively and offensively we have lost sharpness.
Although we might have to play slightly differently with our replacements we do have players who can come in now and still look classy.
Keiran, Kiwior, Jorginho, ESR, Reiss, Trossard and Eddie still have my mouth watering with visions of the Cannon flying all round the pitch.
Today as I like Mikel see the joy in the Love for my dogs (which your club is very similar) I see no doom and gloom but am really excited about another ARSENAL day COYG.
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currently losing 1-0 at Forrest, not including this game, we have taken only 12pts from our last 8 games, while man city have taken 24pts from their last 8 games, our form puts us 13th in points taken in that time, behind the likes of villa, fulham, crystal palace, brighton, brentford, wolves and bournemouth
we really haven’t handled the pressure at all
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HT: forrest 1-0 arsenal
all the ball but little created, gave away the ball which led to their goal, need something to spark in the second half if we are to pull this out of the fire
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I really don’t think it’s pressure it’s more not having given squad players enough time to learn positions and part of the players they need to replace.
This clearly isn’t working something needs to change now.
COME ON ARSENAL
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clear penalty to arsenal not given, no surprise there
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Pen shout not even reviewed and Jesus booked for Complaining, piss poor useless officiating, var should have picked that up
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5 minutes plus stoppage time to go and we are going down without as much as a whimper, awful stuff
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don’t get why we haven’t brought on ESR and Crozier-Duberry, get more attacking players on, could it hurt
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7 minutes of stoppage time to be played, but doubt it will matter as we’ve owned the ball all game and haven’t created a chance worthy of the name. Sterile possession
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FT: Nottingham Forest 1-0 Arsenal
the win means Forest will stay in the EPL, relegation is now 2 from Leicester, Leeds and Everton, I hope everton get relegated, and leicester going down too would be nice.
back to the game, it was an awful sterile performance from Arsenal, loads and loads of possession but not created one clear scoring chance, and Man City are now EPL champions with 3 games to play. We capitulated in the title run in, we have taken only 12pts from our last 9 games, 27pts, and we have a 0 GD in those 9 games too.
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by the way we dropped 12pts in our 12 games against the current bottom 6, but man city money blah blah blah is the reason for that.
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all 3 promoted teams stay up for only the 4th time in EPL history
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no 1 predicted preseason we would finish 2nd this season due to how we capitulated in the race for top 4 last season, and now we somehow finish runner up despite an ever more horrendous capitulation in the title race this season, 12pts from possible 27pts, we still have problems
our genius manager, a once in a lifetime generational coach, has problems getting performance out of the team if a couple of the first 11 are missing, and he certainly has problems using subs.
Fabio Vieira has been a major flop for us this season, big fee, so little impact, one goal in his 32 games for us in all competitions, but he kept getting game time cos he is a big money Arteta signing.
on same sort of topic, Arteta is way too reluctant to throw on a young player, he has through necessity had to name youth players in the match day squad many times this season, like he did last season, but just like then, he has not given any of them their debut, not taken the chance, look at today, 3 youth on the bench, Walters, a right back or right CB, but we played Partey at right back, Banderia can also play right back, and we had the exciting winger Crozier-Duberry on the bench but despite our need for an attacking spark, neither he nor ESR were brought on. they mustn’t have the right attitude
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george my latest comment is missing
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Christ, tell me again how we will be better next year and win it? We are making Devon Lock look like a strong finisher. Wtf has happened. Answers on a postcard please.
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it won’t change george till every last wenger player is gone, don’t you know.
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ha ha ha, just seen someone on twitter actually say Arteta fucked up today’s line up on purpose so as to force KSE to spend more money this summer, and many agreeing with this view, 12pts from 27 and its almost as stupid as MAGA with these guys.
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New post is up.
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