What a night, what a result. Bertrand or Willian MOTM, couldn't call it. I give Cahill stick but he did well today given no break. Very solid.
Mou again sussed out Wenger. Great match. Bertrand was sensational. Very happy with all the players, but I'm still a little concerned with De Bruyne's progress. Also I hope Mata starts in the league again.
exactly, KDB is very underwhelming.. after preseason - especially after that neat volley, had high hopes.
Bertrand is a quality player and a ready made replacement for Cole. He never lets us down, even when played in midfield. Kevin De Bruyne only needs two things, time to adapt and games under his belt. Some players adapt quickly, most take a lot longer. Mata should be 1st picked most games. Such a pity he will be off in January, but Jose has given him no choice.
Superb result and a top top win that. Confident we'll win this competition which would be handy! And our support was absolutely class tonight. 9000 completely took the piss out of an embarrassing Arsenal. Gutted not to have been there but i'm back in 7 weeks so can make the trip to the Emirates in December!
The most impressive thing was how comfortable the win was given the players missing. No Ivanovic, Torres, Terry, Cole, Ramires, Oscar or Hazard in the starting XI. Everybody seems to be pulling their weight and so far we look a cut above every other team in this league bar City.
3 wins v Shalke, City and Arsenal makes very very good reading. On paper, those were 3 games we could have lost. Now we need to do the business this month in an 'easier' run of fixtures to make it count when all the others have games against each other - starting this weekend.
Had a quick peep at the Arsenal board, some of them saying they don't care about last night is hilarious.
It's huge because I believe if we beat Newcastle and WBA we will top the table going into the IB. I've said all along if we can be within 4 points of 1st going into the New Year we'd stand a great chance of winning it because we usually peak around the business end of the season and know how to win big games.
For me you can discount Arsenal as serious challengers. They just won't pick up enough points when playing the big sides. Can you see them getting points at OT or Etihad? I cant. Plus they always fall apart feb/march time when juggling C.L and league (though they yet miss out on C.L qualification). Thier run in is ridiculous as well. I still think United will finish above Arsenal and if you finish above City you'll win it.
Given they're unlikely to win the Premier League or Champions League, that leaves the FA Cup. Chelsea, City, United, Liverpool and Everton will all be pushing hard for that. A draw (home or away) to any of them could see them crash out. IMO their best bet of a trophy is finishing 3rd in the CL group stage (which looks likely if Dortmund beat them again) and then having a go at the Europa League because they'd be by a mile the best team in that competition for me.
I also think it's evident that outside their first XI, they don't have much threat in their side. Agree with DL too. I think they'll make top four but it's hard to see the current XI keeping up what they've been doing for the rest of the season! If Arsenal got Europa it'd be brilliant as I think playing on a Thursday would be a huge hinderence for them as oppose to any other of last seasons top four. Anyone seen Wenger's post match interview too? Classic. Still baffles me how a man of his reputation and stature can still be a petulant sour bell end when getting deservedly beaten.
Not sure. I don't think Arsenal will drop as many "silly" points as United will. I thought Arsenal were the best team to visit the Etihad last season and gave as good as they got. They were abysmal at Old Trafford but that was against a Fergie side. For the first time in about 7 years Arsenal will go Old Trafford with no fear. I'm more inclined to back Arsenal away from home against City/United than I am at home. Everyone knows how to beat Arsenal at the Emirates.
Agree. Arsenal won't cope with the Thursday-Sunday schedule. It would almost certainly make. Liverpool a shoo in for top four IMO. Not surprised with Wenger, but behind closed doors he will be worried with that he saw. Other than Ozil and Giroud that was as close to a best XI as you could get for them. We were nowhere near full strength, especially in the midfield and final third.
Question. Who do we drop for Mata to get a game? We know Jose is not going to change formation so it will always be one of the 3 slots behind the striker. Oscar who is probably our best player this season. Schurrle who is just starting to get going and after his 3 for Germany and 1st for us has big boost of confidence. Hazard who people would then start saying should be playing every game
