Would be great if Gordon got a shot in the squad. He will fight for the team off the ball and seemed to up his game during the U21s, seems like he thrived in tournament football so maybe he will be suited to it at full level (unlike many top club pros).
Palmer totally deserves a place given what he's showed this season. If he doesn't get in now then at least he's a great prospect for the future.
It's a real shame about Rashford given how good he was looking not so long ago.
Has there been any update on Gordon's injury? He looked out of sorts from the start against Chelsea.
I think Palmer has put himself in position to be first off the bench.
Not confident for our teams in the FA Cup this weekend mate
Newcastle look like they're running on fumes and we pass the ball like we've been inhaling them.
Out of the three sides they are probably playing the best and most free flowing football, doesnt mean they will win the league but Rice has certainly improved them as a side overall, having a decent striker would help them in the tight games though.
I still think City or Liverpool will likely win the league having the experience and Liverpool with the Klopp factor but they arent giving up just yet thats for sure, their game again City is huge though, can they get over that mental hurdle and actually beat them when it matters the most.
It's going to be a really close run-in I feel, I agree that City and Liverpool have the edge purely on an experience level, but Arsenal are showing real resilience this season.
Yeah, I also think that this year will belong to City or Liverpool.
Arsenal still has one more summer of player transfers to solidify them as the team to beat. I'm really happy with their progress over the past few years and the foundation has already been laid to take them to the next level.
(My prediction is that Rice becomes a left CM next season and we go all in for a Kimmich or Tchoumeni type at the 6)
I think the way you've racked up goals with Havertz and Trossard as false 9's speaks to how well the team is coached, very impressive, only really seen that type of versatility from Guardiola's teams where the system is clearly king, but he's always had the 2 top class players for 1 position squad depth that Arteta doesn't currently have. That being said I can see a #9 being on Arteta's list this summer.
The evolution of Rice at Arsenal has been another very impressive development this season, I remember some West Ham fans said he had more in his locker that was suppressed by playing for Moyes and Southgate who are fa8rly cautious/negative coaches. I've read Zubimendi is the #6 option Arsenal are looking at but apparently you made an offer for Amadou Onana from Everton in January.
I was surprised how nervous you looked against Porto over the 2 legs, the confident swaggering football you've played in the PL wasn't there and the team looked anxious and off the pace until Odegaard stepped up with an exquisite piece of creativity.
If we do change manager going into next season I do agree the choice will either make or break any anticipation for next season. Tuchel for example would completely kill off any interest for me. There are other "project" managers whether it's Potter, De Zerbi or Amorim for example, but I feel like any manager will get it tough. It's easy to forget that ETH did really well with Ajax and had we not secured him, I don't think it's unlikely that he would have gotten another big job like Bayern Munich by now. (Whether he would do better at another top club is up for speculation ofc)
Personally I would love to see something big like 5 players out 5 players in during the summer but it feels unlikely. Maybe INEOS will make things better but we've been so slow with fixing our squad that by the time one leak is fixed we have two other ones to deal with.
I have to admit Ten Hag has been losing me across the course of the season, his ridiculous attempt to fuse two tactical set-ups that are polar opposites has been a disaster and trying to do it with a creaking midfield and the possession lepers in this team is stubbornness to a fault. Nagelsmann and Amorin are appealing options in my view, it would also hopefully see Bruno replaced as Captain as that was another mistake due to Dutch coaches seemingly feeling the Captain needs to play every minute or every game.
Cracking player but worryingly injury prone, I'd wanted United to be interested but we can't risk it at the moment with his track record.
So poor today, purely from a balance perspective, that team shouldn't have played together. You've a collection of players that give the ball away so cheaply & without any pressure, then you've also a player on the pitch that actively hides from taking the ball & even when he does take it, he's useless, it's no shock to see Everton see far more of the ball than they should have, which in turn added unnecessary risk.
It's absolutely infuriating to watch, I'm at least glad EtH acknowledged how poor we were in regards to the lack of composure on the ball.
United in possession.
I'd piggyback him to Paris, I know Ten Hag played it down in today's presser but the fact is we'll never be a good or truly successful team while he's in it, he's massively inconsistent still at nearly 27 and his bottom level is atrocious, and in truth even when he's in scoring form his team play is poor and his football IQ is in single digits, not to mention it's like playing with 10 men off the ball as he's so lazy.
