I think we're going to lose this match, and to be honest, i want us to lose this match. Our squad is too small to compete in 4 competitions, we need to prioritise, and this is not a priority, it is expendable, so losing tonight would be advantageous to our league campaign.
What a ridiculous comment. Although I couldn't give a rats arse whether we win the competition, no Arsenal fan should ever want us to lose any match. If anything, it gives the kids a chance to play against proper opposition.
I never want us to lose a game - what kind of fan hopes we lose games? Your such a depressing tool lol I hope our youth show there worth and get a result and then get played for the rest of the competition.
That's where i differ from you lot. I'm thinking of the long game here, rather than just 1 match, and long term, it's better for our interests to lose tonight. Assuming we win, we'll likely get an easy draw to the next round, the further we progress = the higher likelihood of first teamers having to be used = higher chance of an important player getting injured = negative effect on our ambitions elsewhere. Ordinarily this wouldn't be an issue, but with a ridiculously small squad, fatigue and injuries become more of a problem. I see the FA cup as winnable, we should be aiming for the FA Cup and 3rd place in the league, as opposed to the Coc and 5th place in the league. There is a method in my approach.
Getting further in a competition doesn't force us to use first team players. When we reached the final against Chelsea the youth where still the main players. And as you said with a fairly thin squad i'd say the youth will continue to be played for as long as they remain in the competition. Why can't you hope our youth do well in the competition rather than desperately searching for a negative edge to everything?
You never look at the long term. Us 'old uns' grew up supporting The Arsenal when it would take us 18 years between titles. But, the rest of your point is pretty correct, but I would hope that we would continue to use the youth all through the competition, even if the whole squad was fit and even if we signed 10 1st teamers in January.
Because there is no way in hell our youth team can compete with the big clubs still in the cup, like Chelsea and Spurs.
But that is irrelevant. It is still good experience for them and I don't know of any Arsenal fan who would be happy just winning this competition (unless it was with the kids).
Another way of looking at it is that the further we go in this competition, the closer we get to winning it Just sayin' ....
You'd rather win this meaningless trophy, get our important players injured and finish outside the top 4? And i'm the one always accused of being mad.
So because you have no faith in our youth players you'd rather we where immedietly knocked out of the only competition the youth will realistically get proper game time in? I just don't think you think through what you write. If we get drawn in a later round against one of the top teams and they choose to play there first string against our youth and we lose then i really wouldn't mind that much - As you say it isn't our main aim this year.
Yes because what PISKIE said is that he wants us to give up on the league and prioritise the LC at all costs even if it means we lose our CL place.... good one.
You know what. I couldn't give a tin shilling about our youth players, all our best players are outsourced anyway, English football's moved on from the days of academy progression, and especially for a top side like us, it's pointless. We have 2 first teamers who came from the academy, and all our best players were signed from elsewhere.
I enjoy watching our youth get a run out and looking for the odd gem who will actually manage to push through to the first team. Just because you don't like watching the youth players doesn't mean you shlould hope we lose this game so that none of the rest of us can enjoy seeing them...
ANyone with a link that has already started - the only one on firstrow hasn't started to broadcast yet
I'd like our young players to "thrash everyone in the CoC" 5-0 while the big boys win the big trophies.
