Arsenal (A) - Sun 21st Sept, 16:30 | PL | Pre-Match Thread

[Bluemanc100]

Which was FOUR AND A HALF YEARS AGO. “Funny” after everything Pep has won for us people still have to go back to a game that went wrong

We had a great weekend though ;-)

 

[Dax777]

Second toughest game of the season in the league. I’d take a draw tbh. Doubt we’ll even get that but would be great if we could somehow get a win then the confidence that should instil for the season would be amazing.

……………Donnarumma
Khusanov….Dias…..Gvardiol….O’Reilly (Ait-Nouri if fit)
…………Rodri…..Gonzalez
…Foden…..Reijnders………..Doku
….…………Haaland

...................Donna
Khusa.....Dias... Josko....NOR
...................Gonzo.................
Bobb....Foden......TJN.....Doku
...............Erling....................
...

 

[Dodge]

Into the last 15 minutes at the Runners Up Stadium. Tarquins leaving in their hoards as Foden scores City's third, taking them above Arsenal in the table.

Stupendous.

 

[BringBackSwales]

We had a great weekend though ;-)

For me it was good before the game, not great after!

 

[coolcity]

Rodri clearly isn't fit even if he continues to think he is!

I think he's fit but will take some time to get back to form

I’ll add one more thing here. In all his time with us Pep has rarely kept the same team 2 weeks running (thus week being an exception) and he has done what people think are mad/weird tactical things - ball playing keepers, false 9’s, inverted full backs, midfielders regularly playing at full back, why the fuck do people call Pep out for the times it goes wrong? They are so heavily outweighed by things going right but it can’t be right every time. But hey ho it’s still regularly dragged up 5 years on.

Absolutely spot on.

 

[coolcity]

Saliba, Zubimendi, Rice, Saka , are up there mate. Maybe not the very very best but not far off. The have strength in depth too. I think they may win one.

Not far off is where you end up when you finish 2nd or 3rd.

 

[Corky]

It is a long time since City have gone into a game where the opponents are odds-on to win.

 

[Sibierskii]

...................Donna
Khusa.....Dias... Josko....NOR
...................Gonzo.................
Bobb....Foden......TJN.....Doku
...............Erling....................
...

In what universe does Rodri not start

 

[Lowtower]

Hope the lads fetch their winners medals along for these shit cunts to have a look at.

5-0 City

 

[Harrycity21]

Kick off time 16:30 BST.

Dreading it. I think they're the best team in the league and they battered us there last season. They dont concede many, so our defence needs to match them on Sunday.

Our last 2 games have got me more confident but this is another step up. I'd take a draw, if we were to win, it would be a sign that we might be in the fight this season. Our last win there was the battering in the treble season.

Unchanged again?

---------------Donnarumma
Khusanov--Dias--Gvardiol--O'Reilly
----------------------Rodri
----------Foden-----------Reijnders
Bernardo------------Haaland----------Doku

Right wing is possibly the only argument but I think he goes Bernardo.

Think Bernardo has to play on the right (especially in a big game where we may be without the ball), his work rate allows Phil to shine in the middle and every time we go through a bad spell in a game he’s the one who gets us through it

 

[Gone for a Burton]

He makes one mistake !!!! Why don’t you focus on what he has achieved - some of which is unprecedented

Such an unnecessary error that,along with Lyon & Monaco, scarred Pep to his very core and led to the signing of Jack with a view to providing risk free possession and control.

Imo, all those defeats could've been avoided if Pep hadn't fucked about with selection in the CL & elected to play ' possession & control ' tactics rather than ' basketball tactics '.

We had the players !!

 

[CC1]

Such an unnecessary error that,along with Lyon & Monaco, scarred Pep to his very core and led to the signing of Jack with a view to providing risk free possession and control.

Imo, all those defeats could've been avoided if Pep hadn't fucked about with selection in the CL & elected to play ' possession & control ' tactics rather than ' basketball tactics '.

We had the players !!

yeah whatever

 

[ninjamonkey]

No such thing as being out of contention in September in the real world.

But I guess you're one of those who said we had no chance of CL football this season.

There absolutely is. As the old saying goes, you can't win it this early, but you can lose it. Perhaps not in so many words but i'm pretty sure Bernardo used that very saying this week.

I've literally no idea what you're even referring to with the second sentence. Who has said we have no chance of a top 5 finish? I certainly haven't and I've not seen that from a single poster.

 

[Bluemanc100]

For me it was good before the game, not great after!

Me too.. Great experience until we saw the starting 11

 

[Harrycity21]

Such an unnecessary error that,along with Lyon & Monaco, scarred Pep to his very core and led to the signing of Jack with a view to providing risk free possession and control.

Imo, all those defeats could've been avoided if Pep hadn't fucked about with selection in the CL & elected to play ' possession & control ' tactics rather than ' basketball tactics '.

We had the players !!

You’re forgetting the reason we won the league that season was pep’s tinkering which led us to win the league with no striker and got us to the cl final. But yeah one big mistake and fans make a better manager than pep

 

[Saddleworth2]

Not far off is where you end up when you finish 2nd or 3rd.

Lets see.

 

[Gone for a Burton]

You’re forgetting the reason we won the league that season was pep’s tinkering which led us to win the league with no striker and got us to the cl final. But yeah one big mistake and fans make a better manager than pep

.....if it WAS only 1 mistake !!

Pep is great and is rightly lauded,but he's not beyond fact based criticism either currently or historically !!

 

[blueparrot]

In what universe does Rodri not start

In the one where the medical team say he’s at risk. If that happens then we rest him.

 

[Harrycity21]

.....if it WAS only 1 mistake !!

Pep is great and is rightly lauded,but he's not beyond fact based criticism either currently or historically !!

Pep has got us cl football every season, won 6 league titles and every won we could have won we have done. The cl final he played Gundogan instead of 36 yr old Fernandinho or 22 yr old Rodri I don’t think it’s the worst mistake in the world. Apart from that game I cant think of many more, and anyway even if he make a few why dwindle on them when there’s so many good moments he’s provided us with

 

[Blue Hefner]

I’ve talked myself into a win. 2-0, Haaland and Rijnders