That was funny. Iraola certainly doing everything he can to endear himself to Tottenham fans for when he takes over in the summer....
Imagine my surprise when flipping channels here in Kentucky I come across dear old Leyton Ointment about to kick off in Oodersfield in front of the whole of the borough of Leyton to cheer them on.Great result and a wonderful performance.Well done lads.Hope to see you get promotion!!!!
We will finish 4th/5th this season. We're lucky that our top-5 rivals are playing each other in the final few games + we have Southampton away final game of the season. So a CL spot shouldn't be under threat, but yes, we won't finish 2nd (or 3rd either probably). It's gone slightly under the radar because we've made the Champions League semi-finals, but the domestic season has been abominable. If we don't get to the CL final (which I don't think we will), Arteta's going to be under huge pressure because the league campaign won't be forgiven. I've also noticed more fans beginning to turn against him. Next season could be his last one at the club.
I did state to you that last season may have been the Arteta equivalent of Spurs 2016-17. Reaching the CL final and qualifying again via the PL on the final day of the season is equivalent to Spurs 2018-19.
1977.Seems a long time ago now.I can remember the few seasons leading up to it with the arrival of Arsenal's Terry Neill in his yellow Jag taking over and thinking "this can't be right" and taking over our aged players.Those aged players quietly faded away to be replaced by very young uns.......and down we went.However,we picked up one or two new players pre season and our Division 2 introduction turned out a lot of fun....shortly we said hello to a couple of senors from Argentina and it got better.Nice memories!
Lol ok fair enough, however, you have a much better opportunity to win the Europa than we do the Champions League. And I get the quality of opposition is higher in the Champions League, however, I guess I expected to be competing (and winning) by now and, well, we're not.
Competing and winning what? Arsenal finishing 2nd and getting the Champions League semi final is a very good season isn’t it?
Competing and winning the Champions League and Premier League. We've competed for the Premier League the previous two seasons, fine, but ultimately, we never got over the line. I also think our lack of domestic cup success is a massive red flag, too. Getting to a Champions League semi-final - only the 3rd in our history - is not to be sniffed at, especially considering our terrible European record. However, when you look at things in the wider context of the last 5 years - no trophies at all, bottling top-4, bottling the league, crumbling when the pressure is on, quality of football declining, hugely questionable transfers etc - then it paints a bleaker picture and doesn't bode well for us under Arteta. He may get one more season after this one, but if he comes up short again, time to move him on and find someone who can deliver when it matters.
It can all turn on a sixpence though. Win the CL and he'll rightly go down as a club legend and all of the futile PL challenges will be forgiven and forgotten. And to do that without really having had a proper striker for the past 5 years would be even more impressive imo. By contrast most of us are in agreement that winning the EL wouldn't save Ange from the sack. If you want to see an 'abominable' league record, look no further than ours.
I’m all for aiming high but Arsenal are probably about where they should be. Sacking him for ‘only’ challenging for the title and not winning the champions league would be very harsh imo.
The issue is, winning that CL is purely hypothetical/fantasy at this point. As things stand, we are on course to get knocked out and, given how much energy we expended into that Bournemouth game whilst PSG made wholesale changes, I think it's fair to say that we are not likely to be heading to the final. But let's say we somehow do it. We have a huge obstacle in our way in Barcelona, who are an exceptional talented attacking and technical side, with a manager whom I rate very highly. It's a very tall order regardless, so the steps to getting towards winning that CL are enormous. And whilst I understand and agree with your position on Ange, at least he will have won you a European trophy, your first for 40+ years, would end your 17 year trophy drought and would also give you CL football for next season. You have a very realistic and plausible chance of that happening. The same cannot be said for us. I'm not saying I'd want us to swap positions or anything like that, but it would be a damning indictment on Arteta if Ange wins a European trophy in his 2nd (and final?) year at the club, whereas we are still on a quest for silverware heading into Year 6 of this project.
If I was an Arsenal fan, I wouldn’t be too pessimistic about the CL chances. It’s only a one goal deficit and whilst PSG can be very, very good, they have not been that consistent. They started slowly and could easily have gone out at the group stage. Villa also exposed some vulnerability. Arsenal’s problem is that they don’t have much of a goal threat at present, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they run PSG close in a low scoring game.
The semi is only 1-0 you still have every chance. Liverpool beat them at home and Villa beat them at Villa park. As for the final, it's more likely Inter and they are beatable.
Everyone take a minute for the stressed Geordies (and one in particular). Important second half coming up.
