I will be the beacon of positivity again, TBH I'm not taking this loss as bad as the majority, just because we were so thoroughly outclassed I'm just resigned to it, so no point in getting all ****ed about it, what's done is done, it sucks, I hate it, but whatever it's not a surprise. On the flip side, we're still 3rd in the league, and we can end 3rd in the league, making sure we qualify for Europe automatically. We also still have our cup to retain. Let's be honest peeps, we were NEVER gonna win the UCL, that Mancity result coupled with this 'favourable' draw gave a lot of people false hope thinking 'what if' but it was a huge stretch, so it's not the end of the world, we never had a chance of winning this competition. Also from another angle, could we have really coped with the last 8, plus challenging for the top 4, and fighting in the semifinals of the cup should we still be in it? I really don't think currently we would be able to handle it, we're not at that level atm, still trying to reach that level, and hopefully that level starts coming next year. So yeah, not the end, we're 3rd in the league, and have a chance of making history by retaining our cup and winning it for the 12th time, so every things peachy. Also think of it like this, we're mad about being knocked out of the best club competition in the world, the champions league, now imagine being Spurs and having to be mad about getting knocked out of the Europa League on Channel 5, puts it all in perspective my friends.
If we were to win the FA Cup this season it'd cement Arsenal as the most successful FA Cup team in history and Wenger the most successful FA Cup Manager in history. It's imperative the players turn up against Utd, no half arsed displays. Having already won the community shield and having finished fourth last season, there is still an opportunity to finish this season in a better place than the last. 3rd, Community Shield Winners, FA Cup Winners - That's what we want it to read come the end of the season. Second I suppose is still up for grabs but realistically we should be looking to secure third.
Not entirely sure what you mean. I assume your saying with the money we spent in the summer it wouldn't be a good season to finish third and win the fa cup? If Chelsea win the league and league cup which I expect them too that'd make the winners of the FA Cup the only other team in the country to win anything. It'd also be automatic CL qualification to finish third. Surely that's a good season? When you look at the money paid to assemble the Chelsea and City squads and the money they spent in the summer you'd have to say - 3rd, CS, FA Cup - would be a good season.
Still want a big response vs. Monaco. Even if we don't qualify we need to win. Like when we beat Bayern 2-0 at the Allianz. FA Cup win is imperative as is finishing 3rd.
Wouldn't be surprised to be honest. Poor performance aside we did create enough chances to win and it was down to some shambolic defending we lost. Monaco have no impetus to attack us so we can pile on the pressure. If we're relentless we can put 3 past them but in our efforts we can afford to concede 1.
We should be closer to the top 2. With the squad that we have we really should be challenging not scrapping to maintain out place in the champions league. With Ozil and Sanchez we also have a higher class of player. We are definitely under achieving.
Our bad start to the season hurt us. Looking back we could really have been in the title scrap if we didn't bottle the first couple of months. Still 3rd will be an improvement and despite our shambles today we still are the best team in the FA Cup when we turn up.
We should definitely not be embarrassed at home in the champions league against Monaco either. Sometimes you get freak results but this was a tactical win for Monaco - aside from the first 10 minutes they looked quite comfortable which is not acceptable. We can keep adding players to this team but at what stage do we become a finished product? Are we forever going to be 'a DM away from winning the league'. With the resources and personnel we have, this team should be doing better. We just seem to go through cycles of players. Transitioning year in, year out until the players either leave (and usually go on to win something) or we give up on them and start the system again.
I simply don't agree Monaco looked comfortable. I thought they were utter sh*te but we played like school kids. Sad thing is we created enough chances to score 5/6 easy goals, let alone other half chances which shows Monaco weren't all that. Yes conceding 3 goals in the manner we did is embarrassing but let's not kid ourselves it was a tactical masterclass. We knew exactly how they'd play and then decided to spend 90 minutes fecking around. Even with 90% of the team playing really, really badly we still should have been out of sight. Frustrating thing is I no longer get surprised when we put in performances like that.
Mourinho said that. You have a higher wage bill than Chelsea now, FFP is kind of working, and stadium almost paid off, so less excuses now
Remember this thread? As I said, look on the bright side, all my positive things to look forward to came to be, we got 3rd, and the cup, lol.
There seems to be a spark with this team that I haven't seen since Wenger's early days. They played with the same kind of intensity and domination from yesteryear. Even the players looked more focussed in their interviews that they were thinking of challenging next year. You know what, I think they very much will. We have a team that can give any rival team nightmares. Another cup win and the belief grows. Roll on next season.
