topspin
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2018
- Runs
- 13,907
- Post of the Week
- 1
Don't forget Rice cooks better with the lid on
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
@aboveandbeyond
I hope you will now retract all the Odegaard's comments and finally recognise his worth. Worth every penny.
PSG are just there two full backs
Arsenal beating this side will give them all the confidence
Villa ran them all the way
@aboveandbeyond
I hope you will now retract all the Odegaard's comments and finally recognise his worth. Worth every penny.
Look
I meant RiceNot at all.
This thread reminds of the Pakistan cricket forum.
Nothings changed. Unless, Arsenal win the champions league, it's been a catastrophic failure, and every top player would be culpable.
No Arsenal so called top player has been consistent this season .
Rice
Uncle. I do respect your opnions, but I do have mine. Hope you respect mine as well
Congratulations Arsenal fans, gameplan perfectly executed. Real look awful and in need of a rebuild.
PSG will be a tough test though. They're much better to the side Arsenal beat in the league phase but as Villa showed they can be shaky defensively if you can get at them.
Uncle?
I do respect your opinions on football but this is not an opinion. As mentioned by @Amjid Javed - it's an agenda.
This guy has produced 2 x 10/10 performances against Madrid. He was head and shoulders above everyone else and was Arsenal's best player last season. What more does he need to do?
I would, but the club are not ruthless enough to do it.
He knows he can drop stinker game after game and won't get dropped
Your a veteran lol. I've not quite hit the big 30 yet.
2 games against a Madrid who have lost 6 times this season is not the bench mark.
Like I said. If Arsenal win the champions league il give the whole team the credit. Otherwise if they don't, another failure of a season
See this is what I mean? It's never well don Rice, you were magnificent. It's just more and more excuses. Arsenal winning champions league isn't just on him, it's also about those around him.
Since you have too much pride to give him credit, let's leave it as that.
Not at all. It's a team game. Arsenal as a team played to their strengths. A strong low block and broke in transitions, against a madrid side who are limited off the ball.
At home they didn't. But tonight it was.You think Arsenal played a strong low block in both legs?
You think Arsenal played a strong low block in both legs?
Thanks bro. We certainly need to break our duck in the CL.Any way. Good luck to you Gooners. If you go on to win it, fair play
Thanks bro. We certainly need to break our duck in the CL.
You can see how far we have come under Arteta. I feel we’re so close to winning something major either this season or next season.
Was at our game so haven't seen any of this game but the result doesn't surprise me, thought the first leg the tie was done
Congrats to Arsenal, knocking out Real with relative ease is impressive
Prior to this week I would have edged for PSG to go through but against Villa they showed a vulnerability I didn't think they had, think I'll edge for Arsenal now
Your a veteran lol. I've not quite hit the big 30 yet.
2 games against a Madrid who have lost 6 times this season is not the bench mark.
Like I said. If Arsenal win the champions league il give the whole team the credit. Otherwise if they don't, another failure of a season
Was at our game so haven't seen any of this game but the result doesn't surprise me, thought the first leg the tie was done
Congrats to Arsenal, knocking out Real with relative ease is impressive
Prior to this week I would have edged for PSG to go through but against Villa they showed a vulnerability I didn't think they had, think I'll edge for Arsenal now
No different to start of season, managers job is to win major trophies, if not then time to move on.I only dip in and out of this thread but I need to know is @Amjid Javed still Arteta out??!!
Signing Guler wouldn't be competition, it would be an upgrade. Arsenal need to be in position where they can drop oddegard when he's stinking place out, instead he plays because he's the puppet captain at the clubDo you think Arda Guler would provide good competition? My only concern is like Ode, doesn't look to be the strongest physically.
Before the Tie, Madrid were a few points of Barca in La liga, in copa del Rey final and the CL holders.
Let's not act like Madrid were having a poor seaaon. Arsenal were underdogs for the tie and have deservedly won. So give credit for that.
However, yes on your point on they have to win it, or yes season is failure if its trophyless
Doesn't matter when you essentially finished in the CL table as long as you were in the top 24.Not in the Champions league. They qualified via the playoffs beating a even poorer Man City team at the time.
Glad Timber didn't get booked for a silly foul he made, as missing him for PSG game would have been huge.Great night. Good performances all over the pitch except bozo moments from Partey and Saliba.
Saliba I thought was collososal barring his mistake. But that's UCL level.
Timber was again absolutely brilliant.
Imagine how good we would be if captain would turn up at some point.
Rice has arrived for people who didn't believe before.
Enjoy it brothers
Doesn't matter when you essentially finished in the CL table as long as you were in the top 24.
The top 8 essentially only means you played one less round.
Liverpool finished top 8 and are our, same goes for lille.
The main thing as in any knockout tournament is to stay in it. Which Madrid did.
They beat Man city and Athletico, not exactly a bunch of European bums.
Your just looking for excuses not to give credit.
Pretty sure the first leg is at the Emirates.Missing partey for 1st leg, Arsenal will have to either play Jorghino or merino in midfield which makes the game in Paris even trickier than it was already going to be
Yeah your right, even so Partey being out is a blow.Pretty sure the first leg is at the Emirates.
Your waffling nonsense.Not at all. Madrid were beaten 5 - 6 times in the campaign. Very lucky to qualify
I think you must have comprehensive issues. I've clearly stated. IF ARSENAL WIN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE THEN FULL CREDIT TO ALL ASSOCIATED INCLUDING ARTETA.
DO YOU AGREE UNCLE AMJID?
Everyone’s welcome to an opinion but that appears to be somewhat extremeArteta needs to win this to save his job as well, anything less would be a failure in my eyes.
PSG have a well balanced midfield so we definitely needed our best players in the centre of the pitch.Yeah your right, even so Partey being out is a blow.
As long as Arsenal make top 4 or 5 and CL money comes in, these owners will keep him in a job.Congrats to Arsenal, they’re in the best scenario possible to win the CL. We exposed PSG & the great spanish clubs are not invincible anymore. Arsenal really look like they’re starting to believe. Arteta needs to win this to save his job as well, anything less would be a failure in my eyes.
Everyone’s welcome to an opinion but that appears to be somewhat extreme
Competing for the title & the richest prize in EU football is acceptable to a point, but am not sure it’s that extreme to expect a major trophy when you consider how long he has been in the job and their clubs financial strength, then again Arsenal’s most loyal fans (from the UK) probably know better then myself.
PSG have a well balanced midfield so we definitely needed our best players in the centre of the pitch.
Wonder if Arteta is tempted to put Lewis-Skelly in midfield, Calafiori (if fit) or Timber at LB, White at RB?
Signing Guler wouldn't be competition, it would be an upgrade.
Arsenal need to be in position where they can drop oddegard when he's stinking place out, instead he plays because he's the puppet captain at the club
Your waffling nonsense.
How exactly were they lucky to qualify?
They were 11th in league table and win 5 out 8 games,
Teams from 6th to 13th all won 5 games. So were all these teams lucky to qualify aswell?
Yeah I don't comprehend when people are talking rubbish
View attachment 153426
Top 5 midfielders in Europe for me right now.
Rice stepped it up in both games, credit to him.Well said bro. The guy clearly has an agenda against Rice and doesn’t want to give him the credit he deserves.
Back to back man of the match. Best player for Arsenal in the PL but he comes out with excuses about how Madrid been “rubbish” this season.
I have been thinking about this and I think the best solution is to put MLS in midfield, as he’s a natural number 8.
Put Timber at LB and White at RB.
From what I’ve seen of Calafiori this season, defensively he’s struggled so it would be a big risk to start him in the 1st leg.
Well said bro. The guy clearly has an agenda against Rice and doesn’t want to give him the credit he deserves.
Back to back man of the match. Best player for Arsenal in the PL but he comes out with excuses about how Madrid been “rubbish” this season.
For £40m it might be worth the punt. I just hope he can handle the physicality of the PL and has the work rate off the ball as well.
Exactly why we needed to sign Maddison.
Rice always has his haters no matter who he plays for, they follow him
Whilst I agree with you I'm also willing to give him more time and this is largely because he's still only 43 years old, its his first job as manager and he has transformed the way we play on the pitch..
So whilst AJ might be spot on regarding the ownership and what their ambitions are, I can see and feel the passion oozing from Arteta and hopeful that their aims for the club are not aligned and that Arteta is searching for trophies.
Add to that the team still being very young, I just can't see any reason for Arteta getting the boot yet, irrespective of whether we win the CL trophy this season.
This was certainly the case during Wenger’s reign after the move to the Emirates.As long as Arsenal make top 4 or 5 and CL money comes in, these owners will keep him in a job.
There is no pressure on any kronkes franchises to win trophies. It’s a bonus if they do.
I genuinely did not expect Arsenal to dominate Madrid the way they have, can’t take anything away from those wins home/away that will be remembered for a very long time.
Also a massive shout out to Kiwior.
The lad has filled a massive gaping whole left by the immeasurable Gabriel over the last 3/4 games and has shown that he has the capability to be a great backup at CB. This could potentially save us money in the summer, not having to find a suitable back-up for Gabriel.
Yes it does feel a bit like ground hogs day....I am in agreement with you mostly, but lets be honest to, we share this exact exchange at the back end of each season. And Arteta is a great manager, and my suggestion might be harsh, but have you considered that there could be other managers out there that could potentially help unlock the full potential of a promising group and maybe Arteta needs a change of scenery himself, in life sometimes things get a bit stale and a fresh start is not a bad thing, look at LFC post Klopp and I rated him highly, Arteta has done well setting foundations though. Anyway, I think Arteta can pull the CL off so all this may not apply, you have a real chance this time.
I understand your view but only one team will win the PL or CL each season (that’s the two major trophies).Competing for the title & the richest prize in EU football is acceptable to a point, but am not sure it’s that extreme to expect a major trophy when you consider how long he has been in the job and their clubs financial strength, then again Arsenal’s most loyal fans (from the UK) probably know better then myself.
Understandable because last season Arsenal were intimidated by big atmospheres away from home and also against big opposition.
If we cast our minds back to the Bayern game in the QF fixture last year, we gifted like 2 of those goals.
If we were to play them now, I am confident we would beat them quite comfortably.
Arsenal’s improvement in Europe is due to the change in mentality. They look more calm and relaxed on and off the ball.
This was certainly the case during Wenger’s reign after the move to the Emirates.
It was purely down to financial pressures caused by the move and thus qualification into the CL was absolutely crucial.
We are in a different position now.
Critically, another aspect that you failed to mention is the ambitions of the playing & coaching staff.
I understand your view but only one team will win the PL or CL each season (that’s the two major trophies).
I think Arteta deserves an extended stay simply because of the continued improvement every season in multiple areas.
For example, Arsenal were considered a laughing stock for their soft underbelly when he took over. Now they are being described in the same breath as Inter and Athletico in terms of defensive know-how and physical combativeness.
Beyond that be honest and tell me if you thought, as an example, Declan Rice would have improved his game in so many aspects? That’s the level of progress one can shower praise on for the coach, for providing the requisite environment and support.
In terms of performance, we have been close last 3 seasons in PL, and in last 4 of CL this (and in only the second season since our failure to qualify for it for 5 years from 2017).
Sticking with Arteta is the way to go as of now.
Arsenal still need a back up CB, A few decent games from kiwor don't change that. The whole reason their was no title challenge was because of lack of quality in certain areas of the team.Also a massive shout out to Kiwior.
The lad has filled a massive gaping whole left by the immeasurable Gabriel over the last 3/4 games and has shown that he has the capability to be a great backup at CB. This could potentially save us money in the summer, not having to find a suitable back-up for Gabriel.
I understand your view but only one team will win the PL or CL each season (that’s the two major trophies).
I think Arteta deserves an extended stay simply because of the continued improvement every season in multiple areas.
For example, Arsenal were considered a laughing stock for their soft underbelly when he took over. Now they are being described in the same breath as Inter and Athletico in terms of defensive know-how and physical combativeness.
Beyond that be honest and tell me if you thought, as an example, Declan Rice would have improved his game in so many aspects? That’s the level of progress one can shower praise on for the coach, for providing the requisite environment and support.
In terms of performance, we have been close last 3 seasons in PL, and in last 4 of CL this (and in only the second season since our failure to qualify for it for 5 years from 2017).
Sticking with Arteta is the way to go as of now.
Arsenal still need a back up CB, A few decent games from kiwor don't change that. The whole reason their was no title challenge was because of lack of quality in certain areas of the team.
Arsenal have played Europa league and CL, so they have plenty of experience and exposure in Europe. Yeah CL quality is higher, but the lack of experience excuses doesn't really wash.Fair to say the experience of the CL can’t be overlooked, last year I think it had been a while since you had qualified? And Arsenal can be jittery when faced with something new, but they’ve learned from that and a lot more at home now
Yeah he's been good of late, but is the same guy who was at fault in Liverpool and Fulham games for goals conceded.But we should emphasise on just how good Kiwior has been of late.
He's hardly put a foot wrong and that's saying something and the fact that he's still only 25 means he's still a few years away from his peak. If he can continue like this, and he has the rest of the season plus CL, to prove his credentials and reliability then at least we have cover for Gabriel going in to next season. This means Gabriel won't have to play every single game day in and day out and can actually stay fresh throughout the season.
I'm living in the momentYeah he's been good of late, but is the same guy who was at fault in Liverpool and Fulham games for goals conceded.
Will he get better? Yes, but we've seen this from kiwor before with few good games and bad ones.
Arsenal need a better CB to compete on all fronts.
Bayern werent great last season, same goes for this season.Understandable because last season Arsenal were intimidated by big atmospheres away from home and also against big opposition.
If we cast our minds back to the Bayern game in the QF fixture last year, we gifted like 2 of those goals.
If we were to play them now, I am confident we would beat them quite comfortably.
Arsenal’s improvement in Europe is due to the change in mentality. They look more calm and relaxed on and off the ball.
Fair play, but we see players have a few decent games and then think we don't need to sign better quality.I'm living in the moment![]()
Unless you’re a mind reader, this is purely your opinion based on little evidence.Ambition now is no different, just because the Manager and poster boy spew out PR nonsense, doesn't mean the Ambition has changed.
Agree that Arsenal have not been able to build up the momentum to challenge for the PL this season, unlike the previous two seasons.Arsenal have regressed in PL this season, Arsenal haven't even been in a title race this season. Liverpool have had a 9 point lead over Arsenal since match week 11. So how exactly is that close in PL?
Almost most metrics, points, goals scored etc.. have dropped this season. How's that progression?
Domestic cup performances have been abysmal.
The CL is now essentially only hope of salvaging a failed season.
Also this nonsense that only 1 club can win PL and CL every season, is just an excuse for you to justify failure.
Progression at big clubs is measured on trophies won.
Current environment is conducive to bring success? Based on what?Unless you’re a mind reader, this is purely your opinion based on little evidence.
On the contrary, top level sportsmen are highly motivated, competitive and ambitious. That’s the reason they get to the top level.
I believe the Arsenal players & coaching staff exhibit these traits as well.
So regardless of the owners, and Kroenke has never denied his main driver is to make money, the current environment at the club is conducive to bring success.
Agree that Arsenal have not been able to build up the momentum to challenge for the PL this season, unlike the previous two seasons.
However, there have been several other factors other than team performance that have contributed to this.
We know what these were and how they hampered the impetus.
But by your logic Arsenal will be one of 15/16 PL clubs that will have failed this season.
All about perspective and I’m concluding that we will be polar opposites.
Well said bro. The guy clearly has an agenda against Rice and doesn’t want to give him the credit he deserves.
Back to back man of the match. Best player for Arsenal in the PL but he comes out with excuses about how Madrid been “rubbish” this season.
Ok Uncle. Hope you took your BP tablets before you posted that. Lol
Bayern werent great last season, same goes for this season.
This is why Inter beating them is no shock. (Something I said would happpen), even Celtic exposed Bayern in last round.
Yeah Arsenal naivety was exposed last season, this season key players Rice and few others learnt their lesson and stepped up.
Ok Uncle. Hope you took your BP tablets before you posted that. Lol
I've said the aame about Bellingham, who don't forget last season had a outstanding season, winning major titles as well as goals and assists.
I never see the same energy for Maguire on the Man U thread.
Let me ask you a question. Which was a better buy?
Rice - £100m
Maguire - £80m
Not all all, I’m enjoying the moment like other Arsenal fans.
If anyone needs it, it would be you after how all of your Rice bashing has backfired in spectacular fashion.
Bellingham and Rice are top tier players. I would say they are among the top 3 players for England (along with Saka).
Not every English player is dead like your Harry Maguire.