Taking the positives from tonight this is the team I hope he plays v Norwich
meslier
Drameh Llorente Struijk Dallas
KP
Raphinha Shackleton Forshaw James
Rodrigo
We might be able to control the middle of the park a bit better then.
A lot bit of all of the above.
Arsenal have a much deeper quality squad - they made nine changes to their PL side from Saturday and their only noticeably bad player was Pepe - £72m - how???! - Ben White was the best player on the park - he has absolutely everything and looks so assured.
As the game wore on at 0-0 we looked the more likely to score and we had some very good chances but fluffed them.
At 1-0 - jammy goal from a corner they grew in confidence and then only looked like one winner - them.
Klich and Cooper made us play a lot worse.
Thought Roberts did okay he just panics at key moments which is probably a sign of a lack of confidence.
Sitting in the Gods it was clear how much Klich pushes forward and leaves a huge hole between KP and anything further forward which cuts out options down to hit and hope forward balls or playing it backwards. Forshaw was always in the right place as an option.
Drameh was at least as impressive as Cresswell v Fulham and grew with the game and can sure tackle with those long legs. Has a lot of pace too.
Rodrigo is wasted without Rapha and Bamf as he is too subtle/good for those around him.
Greenwood looked decent and felt for Joffy as was having balls hoofed at him.
By the end we were well beaten
Taking the positives from tonight this is the team I hope he plays v Norwich
meslier
Drameh Llorente Struijk Dallas
KP
Raphinha Shackleton Forshaw James
Rodrigo
We might be able to control the middle of the park a bit better then.
Agree to some extent but future & budget wise I'll differ.
We've recruited and realistically spent well for 'two season's' last summer as we went youth recruiting and got our decent young ones tied down - now introducing them into decent game time.
Sensible that certain established player's were tied down to longer contracts and yes we're all damn frustrated about the current patch due to a quick succession of injuries all at once BUT we are only just back into PL after 16 very 'long years' playing in a lower 'tougher-league' which some may casually forget - I don't & wont.
A few mainstay players [5] are now showing age & a lack of consistency that is required day in for PL players - we all know who they are & we all know summertime will see possible outgoings as is the nature of football & Rad's club policy.
Looking at Man Utd's situation I honestly cannot think of a high calibre Manager/Coach out there - more to the point I cannot even dare to think who'll become Bielsa's replacement either so it is what it is presently and as long as 100% plus is given on the training pitch & match pitch 'middle placing' will do for me as was the plan from Rad.
Rad said in Aug 2017 he'd give it 5 years to get back into PL.
Rad then said in Oct 2020 that the club would be 'eyeing up Europe' in five years, given we they stay in the Premier League.
Not a betting lady but wouldn't bet against Rad's wishes becoming fruition either.
As Rad said at the start of his tenure "The supporters have been very positive generally and I just wish and hope this positivity remains in the time when some weekends we are sad, because we need their support. And for sure football is up and down.”
Think in the next couple of seasons the third of the youth investment will really start to pay off.
Was incredibly impressed with Drameh last night and think he will see a lot more game time as he just grew in confidence in that game and really made an impact.
May surprise a few but would rather have Roberts or Forshaw ahead of Klick on last nights showing. Roberts off the ball running is impressive and he is always offering an option which TV doesn’t always pick up.
What is clear is how good MB is at polishing players with limitations and getting the most out of the but if you have a squad full of Nissan Micras and over lock them they can only compete with the Ferraris for so long.
Arsenal have such depth in their squad.
Biggest regret from last night was watching Ben White that we didn’t sign him.
Thanks. There’s really no substitution for actually being there, especially when picking up on what players are doing (or not doing) off of the ball. As said, I didn’t even get a chance to see it on the idiot box!
Not a competition to lose any sleep over, but hopefully it might help for when we visit Carrow Road at the weekend?
If Forshaw can stay fit he could be the answer to our midfield frailties.
Controversial but I would pick Roberts over Klich at the moment as Klich is way out of form.
It was a decent performance from us first half and we have three more players back this weekend - Shackleton, Firpo and Raphinha.
I think Rapha would possibly have ripped them apart last night but we wi never know
Difference in quality of their squad - they brought Lacazette on when 2-0 up.
We all know we have about 4 players that need to be replaced with better next season but I think some of the youngsters may avoid us having to buy big.
Please let Santa bring MB a top quality midfielder in Jan!
Really depends on what they do with them as I don't think a lot of them with ability will linger around another 3 years. If they are good enough they should be replacing the Roberts Klitch Cooper Firpo crap now.
If MB stays around I can assure you they won't be with much longer.
Creswell is proof that Cooper can get games and the kid can't. Also, cup games are known to play other players yet we have not seen any keeper play so we know what to expect if Meslier goes down or leaves.
I liked the kids and what they bring and no fault of their own we lost to Arsenal was all down to the form again of Cooper Rodrigo Roberts James for me total disappointment Harrison is by far a better player for me. Gee even Phillips was not recognizable apart from that silly hairdo lol.
The young uns did ok. We were let down by the seniors.
Not all doom and gloom Oz.
We had serious injuries to key players and Arsenal played a good side - we should have been ahead at HT.
Two players who started for Arsenal - Pepe and White - cost them 122m and their youth academy is one of the best in the Prem.
We held our own until we conceded a sloppy goal.
Would take that everyday given our recent past.
If we lose to Norwich the prepare a seat next to me on the tour bus to ‘we doomed I tell ya’ but I don’t think that will happen.
There is a clear plan and coherence to what we are doing but on less money than the top clubs
Never said we were bad in fact loved the way the young ones went about it. I'm just constantly beaten up watching the dross every game and you know who. I really can't work the master out. He refuses to play players saying there not fit enough and yet when they finally play and doing good he takes them off eg Foreshaw. Phillips was not fit enough for the league yet 2 days later plays a full worthless game.
I'm glad we have the masters in the helm otherwise I could not imagine life with a manager like Brighton Brentford the new Wolves boss