Morning all.
Losing is never nice but if there’s one competition I personally didn’t give a hoot about at the beginning of the season, it’s the League Cup. A trophy is nice but this particular one doesn’t even reward the winners with a place in the Europa Cup, not unless the Conference version counts but top four is the aim for Mikel Arteta and a long awaited return to playing Champions League football.
Mikel Arteta made ten changes to the team with the biggest surprise being Karl Hein instead of Matt Turner. I’ve not seen the game so I’ve no idea what went right for Brighton or wrong for Arsenal.
Asked about the number of changes, Mikel Arteta said:
I would select the same players if I had the opportunity again. There was a big difference between efficiency in both areas and we paid a big price for it. It’s a shame for the boys because they really tried and we should have scored two or three in the second half.”
Asked if the result suggests Arsenal need to add to their squad in the January transfer window:
That’s the squad that we have. We have to utilise in the best possible way and today we came short. It’s the same squad as when we win. I said from day one that we have a short squad because at the end we left some players. It’s what we have.
Make of Mikel Arteta’s comments what you choose but I think he’s simply saying what others might be thinking, the best are really good but the rest are either not good enough, not experienced enough or are not settled yet.
Wolverhampton Wanderers away from home on Saturday night is what matters now and another performance like the one we saw at Chelsea. Wolves defeated Leeds last night in what’s described on the BBC website as being a poor game. When one looks at their results so far this season, it matters not whether they’re home or away, Wolves are struggling to win matches.
I’ve been mulling over what to do during the World Cup. If it’s quiet when the season is in full flow, it’s going to be even quieter over the next few weeks. A few friendlies are being lined up by the club, just so match fitness levels don’t drop for those not travelling to Qatar but other than that, the only news is likely to relate to injuries so we don’t want any of that thank you. So it’s very unlikely there will be many new articles over the next few weeks. Just so you know I’ve not done a runner. Well, not yet….. lol
Come back Rico, don’t disappear off to that log cabin in the hills, we’ll all miss you…
Kev The truth is Rico is going to the word cup to get the inside information on our players for future stories 😀
Ha ha Kev, I’m there right now…
You wouldn’t catch me going anywhere near Qatar Geoff…
In Saturday’s game, we’ll see if we don’t have players “holding back” to avoid injuries.
I don’t think we will, they’re too professional surely.
Well that competition ended quickly. Like you say not the end of the world. I didn’t realise the place in the Europa league had gone. Even less reason to bother.
I saw some highlighs. Looks like Hein made a real mess that led to the penalty. Steep learning curve.
The 2nd string are exactly that. Back up. I’m disappointed Vieira hasn’t pushed on. He’s still young and looks to have all the talent.
Ben White is off to Qatar.
Rico, if you would like some content through the dark period of the world cup I can send you some ‘Nostaligia’ pieces. My experiences at Anfield ’89 etc.
Hi Pete, I think it went when the Europa Conference competition was born. I’ve been a bit disappointed in Vieira but like you, he looks like he’s a good player. Just hope he’s another Pires rather than Pepe.
https://www.flashscore.pt/jogo/ILOUIFol/#/video/613107
Arsenal-Brighton
That’d be great Pete, thank you, look forward to those..
White , Ramsdale and Saka off to Qatar with Partey , Saliba , Jesus , Martinelli, Xhaka , Tomi and Soares. That’s 10 whilst Wolves have 7 in the Portugal squad alone I haven’t checked for other squads . So we could have a very uncompetitive game on Saturday.
Just checked they have Jimenez ( Mexico ) and Hee Chan ( South Korea ) too , so they are at nine , which means that we can’t hide behind that one.
I can’t see Mikel Arteta letting the players drop off in performance. Don’t mind if Wolves do though. 😆
Evening rico, all. Believe Wolves manager takes over two days after the match? If so, we avoid new manager bounce. Pleased for Ben, it would have been a travesty if he hadn’t gone when you consider the form of a few that have!
I wonder if some of these players have not kicked on due to lack of game time
just watched the highlights from clip above and it doesn’t look as bad as the media made it, However the keeper didn’t leave me with much confident in his ability at top level, let’s hope he learns from his mistakes.
As I said we didn’t see the whole match but for the first goal he slipped which was hardly a mistake and the other two goals were not down to him . I think that picking him out is a bit harsh.
I recon the keeper slipped then got up and takes a couple of steps then dived for the ball and only court the players legs.
If you’ve got Netflix, look up FIFA Uncovered, 4 episodes of corruption, bungs and generally selling the soul of the game.
Don’t need Netflix for that Kev. Lol
New post up