Hmmm...don't underestimate Pogba guys. He may not have been quite what they paid for, but he's precisely the sort of player that hurts us. Him and Zlatan out and I'd seriously fancy our chances, just because of the type of player they both are.
The gulf in quality between the two sides tonight was huge. Our squad is too thin & I think the board have let Puel down here. We should not expect to get battered because we have to put out such a second-string team Not sure what good it does for the confidence of the players who started tonight.
Despite what some people say, Welbeck is a class act. He is awkward and unpredictable, but in a good way. And Walcott is as dangerous as anyone on his day. They are both top-quality seasoned Internationals. Then you have Lucas as well who is a proven La Liga striker. Other internationals throughout their team. We had Gardos and Stephens. Gardos, bless him, has never proven himself to be a consistent Premier League quality player. The jury was out on him even before the 2 years of injuries. And Stephens is only 4/5 games into his Premier League career. And then we had Lewis in goal. A child, for ****'s sake. Did anyone seriously expect us to be in this game?! Or to even keep the scoreline modest? We would have struggled against most League One sides with that line up. But the lovely thing is, its nobody's fault. Just the way it is. If Arsenal fans get cocky about that result, it mostly just makes them look daft because if they can only beat us when we play such a weak team, well, who cares? We will probably beat them in the league game at St. Mary's and now it will taste just that little bit sweeter.
To add to what Black, TTK and Fran have written; completely unfazed by it - was live on TV here and at a reasonable time - but watched a movie with my wife on another channel - changed the channel at halftime to see the score and saw it was 0-3; went back to the movie and saw the final score at breakfast this morning. Shame for our youngsters the score could not have been lower because it will disappoint them and dent their confidence. We March On.
Thing is mate, that was an Arsenal reserve side we played against. Not West Ham or Spurs or Everton, Arsenal. One of the biggest clubs in English football, who sold out a 60k seater stadium for a pre-season veterans charity match last summer (at £20 a ticket). I wouldn't feel too bad about the gulf in depth between the 2 squads, especially given our recent record against them.
Q I have about Swansea us who partners Yoshi? Stevens just played 2 games in 3 days and I doubt will start Tues. Gardos won't play Tues. Either Virgil is back or we have a new CB...
The other point I was making to my Arsenal supporting friend was he felt that was Arsenal reserves. I think the team was slightly better than that, and our team arguably didn't contain one nailed on starter. Also whilst I feel PEH will come good in the end, that end isn't yet in sight and I'm left feeling confused.
Bit of a cheek asking really as this lightweight decided not to continue watching when the laptop battery hit 3% after the second goal, but did Gardos show any hint of ability and was our child goalie totally useless?
Losing 5-0 at home is humiliating. Dress it up however you want, make excuses about tired players or rotation or injuries. Losing 5-0 at home is HUMILIATING. Reed, Martina, Gardos & Isgrove are not good enough to be playing for a team at our level. I'm not even sure they are good enough to be in the Championship. We need a lot of deadwood removed in the summer. Some players have had more than enough chances and not taken it. Enough. I am increasingly concerned about Højbjerg. Seems to be getting worse, not better.
Agree with you re Reed, Martina, Gardos and Isgrove (poor lad wandered around like a lost soul and we never got hold of midfield), although I was very pleased to see young Harrison rob Sanchez a couple of times when he came on. Josh Sims was our MOTM (for what it's worth) as he never stopped running, trying and hassling the Arsenal players. Hojbjerg, I feel, is going to be a great player. He needs time to settle in - remember how we felt about Romeu at first? He was wasted on the wing, but he has passion, no little ability and keeps going. Occasionally his first touch lets him down, but in a midfield where we were completely obliterated, he shone and he's only going to get better. What last nights game showed me was how much we need Oriel, how good a player Maya really is and that you can't start a game with a tiny midfield against a top class Prem team who (I noted) had a player with number 55 as his squad number on his shirt. Also starting with your 4th choice goalie and a CB who hasn't played for best part of 2 years doesn't help. Nice touch from Theo and the Ox to applaud the Saints fans after. We move on - hopefully our injury list is not as bad as the rumors have it. Swans away won't be an easy one - let's hope this thumping hasn't deflated the mood amongst the players.
I may be wrong, but isn't Stephens only 30 minutes into his Premier League career? I worry that his magnificent battling display against Liverpool in the League Cup will have people forgetting how fledgling he is.
Can't truly judge our weaker players when they all play together in one team. May be able to be the hod carrier in our strongest side, but struggle to be the star. Feel for the goalie....what is the point of the back up keeper we bought....or is he injured.
If you found that humiliating with out being able to put it to one side, then you you're not quite the old school "lad" you make out. If you don't have the mental or emotional capacity to deal with yesterday in the circumstances, then I have you all wrong as a character, as I thought you were made of sterner stuff. I agree on Martina and Isgrove but neither of us need to be football geniuses to know that.. Gardos - I'll see him get fit (if he can) first before judging. On Reed some may disagree with you, however I happened to agree that he won't make it at our level and Hojberg you may be right about, however I am going with "inconsistent" right now rather than "getting worse."
Højbjerg is probably the one who is struggling the most with being in and out of the side and being asked to play with a different midfield each week. He probably would improve if had a run of games alongside Romeu, but he's not going to get it. That aside, he makes too many silly mistakes, gives the ball away a lot and I hate his habit of waving his arms at the ref and stop playing, when the game hasn't been halted.
I can't recall Saints getting dicked that hard at the Dell or even at St Mary's (apart from Liverpool last season in that shambles). So my memories of humiliation are thankfully, few and far between. Not sure what being a "lad" has to do with it. "Lads" have feelings too. Being beat 5-0 at home is still, humiliating.
