Let’s get the Alka Seltzer in the cup right away, Matt from the podcast neatly surmised that:
‘If you are going to exit the cup, better now than at any other stage’
It would have been nice to win it, sure, but we didn’t, so going out now preserves legs, heartache, and allows us to focus on the two trophies we have left.
Your head is still spinning right, that didn’t help? Ok, understood… let’s get into the meat of our embarrassing loss. There are two ways I’m looking at it that both have an element of truth.
The first is that this is part of the turbulence of having a young team and a thin squad. We know that when certain players are missing, the Arsenal we’ve grown to love is hard to identify, that happened yesterday. We’re a long way from having a squad that can compete on two fronts.
Yes, we should have beaten Forest with any line-up we put on the field, but the attitude wasn’t there, inexperience and general awfulness won the day, we deservedly lost to a well-drilled side.
The second way I’m looking at things: this performance was partly intubated by Mikel Arteta as he danced a dangerous ensemble to make a point to the hierarchy about how skinny his squad is.
Yesterday, I applauded his ruthless attempt at engineering a player crisis by binning Auba, not signing Jack, and sending Ains out on loan. Today, can I really ignore the fact that a lot of the breathing difficulties were of Mikel’s making?
We’re caught between two truths here. I don’t think Arteta thought there was a chance this rag-tag group of players would tank quite as hard as they did, which is why he panicked in the first half and subbed off Tavares. He knew from the 3rd minute he was in a dangerous moment because there was no fight, no curiosity, and a painful lack of cohesion.
… but he could have done more to avert that disaster. Jack Wilshere should have been signed to a short term deal if we were going to have to play a side like that, because we lacked leadership and calm that he has. We could have kept Ains until the end of January if we were going to have to play someone as painfully shocking as Cedric Soares, who let’s be real, looked like he was doing the dishes poorly so we’d release him to Atletico Madrid.
Arteta cut off his nose to spite his project yesterday, it was an arrogant display from him, which felt like the move of a manager who is maybe leaning into his fan capital a little too hard. Now we only have one way into semi-decent-Europe (not Conference League), this week starts to look like the beginning of a very painful few weeks, we could be in a bit of bother if our best players don’t dig us out of a hole.
The Nuno Tavares move looked very odd to me. The player had a nightmare, he lost the ball 9 times in 34 minutes, his pass completion was 65%, it was really horrible to watch. He was well, well below the standards we need at the club. Arteta pulled him off early for Kieren Tierney. It was a humiliation move designed to crush him. A lot of people are with Mikel on it, including professionals like Ian Wright and Roy Keane. I just wonder if that sort of move is good for squad vibes. In the real world, if you ream someone out in a meeting, it might feel good, it might be deserved, but everyone who wasn’t the target also realises that they could be subject to that at some point. Sometimes it’s motivating, sometimes it’s demoralising.
‘Couldn’t you have done that in private?’ is what most people are thinking.
KT will pick up an injury, we know that, how is Nuno going to play when he’s asked to do a job? I thought the move was rash and panicked. It was also hard to marry binning Nuno while Cedric stayed on until the 88th minute (most pointless sub of the game). The worst thing about the humiliation sub… it didn’t move the performance. Nothing changed. Nuno was bad, but he wasn’t the catalyst for it, he was just the fall guy for a squad that underestimated Nottingham Forest.
There are pockets of good news. Granit Xhaka, who we missed last night, failed his COVID test before the Liverpool game, so he should be back. I think Tomi and ESR were cautionary. We should have the rest of our defence back in place, which makes a huge difference. I love Rob Holding, he’s clearly committed to the cause, he’s trying to elevate his game, but watching Nottingham Forest give him all the time in the world on the ball because they saw that as a weakness was painful. We need Gabriel back yesterday, and someone needs to put Arteta in a video room to watch the progress of Saliba this season, because we are a pinged hamstring away from a very shoddy defence.
The Liverpool game away from home this Thursday now goes from a game where Charlie Patino might have played, to a full-on first 11 run out… because that game sets the tone for the Spurs game at the weekend. We can’t get walloped. We have to take at least a draw away. I’m still very angry that Liverpool are now saying that they had false positives in the camp. Arsenal were absolutely rolled on that cancellation because Liverpool didn’t want to play a form side with injuries. That is a corruption of the rules, signed off by an exLiverpool employee, and it is yet another example of Arsenal being played by the system. Why didn’t Vinai get Brentford cancelled?
Back to Arsenal. I wrote a week ago that we have to expect results like the Everton game. I can’t be reading the usual suspects say things like ‘Ugh, this always happens with Arteta’ like the hope was we’d just sail through the next 6 months winning games without the hiccups. This is the process people. The bumps are painful. But managers we dreamed of at other clubs are like Tuchel are also going through their own process issues, because Arsenal are close to them in the Premier League. If we beat Spurs, we’re 6 points off Chelsea. That’s your perspective.
If you want to see Charlie Patino at the carpet, you have to be prepared to see him struggle. That is part of the deal with young talents. Not everyone can land like Bukayo or Smith Rowe. He’ll learn, get stronger, and come back a better player.
We have to accept that it took 18 months to get a 15 that could fight at the highest level. Our second string is going to take even longer to get right. We’re not there yet. When you are second string, there are questions over attitude, technique, and overall suitability for the club. Cedric Soares isn’t built for Arsenal, Bukayo was telling him off for his hospital passes, he is a relic of ‘contacts’ scouting. But he’s our reality right now because Ains didn’t want to do his job.
I really want Eddie to be the one, but when you are asking Arsenal for big money, and you can’t be seen against Nottingham Forest, it’s hard to see how you deserve it. Another missed header from 5 yards that kills the game? That’s not good enough. He might score that at Palace, but he’s not doing it for Arsenal when he’s given minutes, and that’s the difference between Arsenal taking a chance or Arsenal letting the contract expire.
You also have to accept that Mikel Arteta is not the finished product. He pulled a move Conte and Jose have pulled for years. In fact, Conte pulled it this weekend, his team went off to boos at home against the Shrimps, which is the statement he wanted Levey to hear… then he smashed them in the 2nd half. The difference with experienced managers is they wouldn’t kill a path to an important objective they have. Arteta danced with the footballing gods and was struck by fire, I don’t think he mitigated risk last night, and the failure doesn’t strengthen his case for more money… it narrows it because now Josh has a weaker case when going to Daddy for Vlahovic money.
We have the chance to rectify things on Thursday. Let’s hope everyone is fit and we’re not gambling on long-term fitness. It’s a big week, Arteta just made it harder, let’s see how he can manage himself out of this corner.
Where was White was he not signed partly for his wonderful long range passing from the back .I think we should go back to Brighton and buy the player we should have got in the summer .Bissouma strong a ball winner who would stop us getting over run in midfield.
S.Asoa
I don’t buy the so-called Arteta explanation.
Arsenal put out weaker teams than yesterday in the Carabao Cup and still won games
comfortably. Why would Arteta choose to play the FA Cup differently as both you and others seem to be suggesting?
We keep hearing Arteta is a ruthless operator. He knows we need to offload dead wood and he knows we need to strengthen urgently in a couple of positions.
Well, here we are on 10th January, knowing we had AFCON coming up, and all that’s happened is AMN going to Roma on loan. Why are Arteta and Edu not getting our business done? Surely they know who to ship out and who their targets are.
Where’s the ruthlessness beyond pissing off our own players?
Watching afcon third game already and all played in mostly empty stadium.
Is it covid related or due to limited interest?
Any afcon experts on here?
How old is Nuno Tavares. Can we get him some game time playing for U23. He hasn’t play for awhile and was asked to play next to Patino and Holding. He has no chemistry with them at all.
@Tom, its covid related, covid pass needed to get in, vaccination is around 6% in Cameroon
Under Wenger, 4th place was a massive failure.
Under Arteta, it would be a major trophy.
@Tom, its covid related, covid pass needed to get in, vaccination is around 6% in Cameroon
Business hours ?
High ticket prices?
Arteta brings on a left back with 5 mins remaining , why?
—————–
More like a left back for a right back with 1 minute remaining, genius management!
Sid, why are vaccination levels this low ?
Tom, is Marie Antoinett your great grandmother?
“For those lovers of AMN he was responsible for two goals and was rated the worst player on the field by the Italian press.”
His first game, less than 48 hrs after he arrived in the club.
It was his 40 yard run in the 52nd minute that earned Roma the free kick the used to score the 3rd goal.
IAT
For starters, the winners of the Norwegian and Austrian top division qualify for the Champions League.
So do the winners of the Welsh League !
@Samesong, CAF has set tyrannical guidelines, Africa is Europes brothel
Tom
“Watching afcon third game already and all played in mostly empty stadium.
Is it covid related or due to limited interest?
Any afcon experts on here?
They are playing the first game at 8am ET [2pm] Cameroon time on a Monday
Surprised that the stadium is empty for some games
Then you factor in that international travel is close to zero, so no foreign fan contingents are there.
Spanish Dave
Bit harsh on ainsley.
He’s got quality. He will come good. He may never become top class but certainly good enough to play for elite clubs like Roma and arsenal consistently
I wish that Arteta questionnaire would piss off
I’ve answered it. Stop bugging me
To piggyback off of Jamie’s well made point, crashing out at the 1st hurdle in the Cup does matter as it is our only realistic chance at legit silverware this season. The Carabao Cup is a joke competition that nobody even remember who wins whereas the FA Cup is the oldest Cup competition in the world of football and still has prestige in my eyes albeit is an afterthought to CL football and the league. Which takes us to the main point, it is only a worthy sacrifice if we do indeed go on to finish 4th with the kinder… Read more »
Why does the AFCON have to be held mid-season? Has always been a pain in the bollocks back to the Invincibles/Cescball days.
Which takes us to the main point, it is only a worthy sacrifice if we do indeed go on to finish 4th with the kinder fixture schedule. Utd as of now are still in x2 Cup competitions so it should help us in the run-in
Eagle
Exactly. This give us an advantage over them in the race for the final spot. We really only have one competition to focus on now, well, we will do once Liverpool knock us out, which I’m hoping happens on Thursday. One game per week with 7days to prepare for each sounds great.
Diss: “It was his 40 yard run in the 52nd minute that earned Roma the free kick the used to score the 3rd goal.” AMN also made the cross that Tammy acrobatically shot from, de Ligt blocked the shot with his hand, was shown a second yellow card, so that Pellegrini can miss from the spot. I saw a 25-min video of the game. AMN wasn’t good, wasn’t bad. I just hate the fact that he doesn’t defend close to the opponent player, but gives them time to carefully pick their next move. I also hate that he looks like… Read more »
What we’re all talking about now is the momentum killer.
Exactly the point of making signings, especially w our cm problems.
Really dont think we can blame anyone else but the kroenkes for our squad problems. Good point about Vinai FAILING MISERABLY at his job. Ref decisions, pp decisions-its like no ones home upstairs.
But guess who’s gonna get blamed and which fanbase will suffer for it.
Josh kroenke is a LARPing Heir. Beard is comfirmation.
Szczesny saved Pellegrini’s penalty, as he also saved a Roma penalty in the first game between the clubs this season in Oct 2021.
He’s saved 11 penalties for Juventus in 3 seasons and a half.
His all-time statistic in penalties is – 23 saved, 56 non-saved. Stunning stuff.
well, we will do once Liverpool knock us out, which I’m hoping happens on Thursday.
Did you not see how happy the city player were when they won this competition and we can’t even get motivated to at least beat Liverpool. Player’s build confidence from these type of games.
I think we are still capable of cocking things up with one game a week. Player’s get too lax.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z2whCFQsZU
Anyone seen this guy Ben Brereton Díaz
We dont have real senior players at our club:
Xhaka
Laca
Partey
If u dont have senior players who know how to get things done yer always gonna have games like yesterday
Not really anyones fault
Except the ownership for hiring in morons like emery, raul etc. our club has had a long history now of having people in leadership positions who dont belong there
Klopp’s view of FA tie with Arsenal will be similar to Arteta’s view of Notts Forest game: we have tastier fish to fry.
Beating Arsenal is bread and butter to the Liverpool players, whereas beating Liverpool would be caviar to the Arsenal players.
For me – the way things stand – Arsenal seem a better than even bet to reach the final.
Zacharse
How is Emery a “moron”?
Strange way to describe a manager like that
Wenger eagle
The AFCON is typically held in January/Feb because if the unique climate patterns in Africa.
It’s the same reason why the Qatar world cup will be held in December after they claimed they will have ginormous ACs to cool the stadiums.
They will change the competition to the northern hemisphere summer in 2023. I have my doubts how that will progress.
Dissenter
?
You think emery was a good fit
For us? You think he took the job becUse he was skilled manager for a team that plays technical attacking possession football?
Hes garbage and he was a garbage appointment
FOR ARSENAL
if you like seeing games won pathetically and w no style go watch mourinho reruns
I believe the moron finished 5 in his first season missing 4th by a point or Auba’s missed pen.
Same moron handed Arteta his arse on a plate twice in the EL semis.
Not bad for. Moron.
Football not your strong suit then, Zacharse?
Samesong,
He was the MotM when we last lost in the 3rd round of the FA Cup. To Notts Forest Again. He was 18 yo at the time and caught the eye with his play. Not surprised I’ve been hearing about him quite often.
He played for England’s U19 and U20 before he decided to play for Chile instead.
With so many goals in Championship (20 in 24 games this season), he’ll be in the EPL very soon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgqjjZqyoRI
Klopp’s view of FA tie with Arsenal will be similar to Arteta’s view of Notts Forest game: we have tastier fish to fry. You mean the carabao cup england you think Arteta wasn;t angry that we lost yesterday?? lol “We needed more drive, more hunger to win at any cost in every single action, much more. We were not at our level,” he said. “I’m really disappointed with the performance, first of all. Not with the attitude but how much purpose we have and what determination we showed to change the game when it’s difficult to play against and the… Read more »
Yaaaayyyy!!! San Fran-fucking- Cisco. What a game. Poo to Stan. Poo to Josh. Poo to dog wank Rams.. It was like a home game, massive noise. Love it.
On t more sobering stuff. I really thought that reading the comments, that the toys would be out of the pram, the pram would be out of the house and the house would be outof the city. Apart from the usual protagonists, most posts are reasoned. When Nuno turned up on right wing, his days were numbered. I do thinks it’s fair to say that Cedric, Holding and Sambi are better players than they demonstrated last night. It’s surely down to lack of minutes. From my perspective, the game demonstrated just how much the front four are totally reliant on… Read more »
Tony
Give it a rest. If you cant bother to read dont bother to respond. You probably wouldve cheered mourinho coming here.
But in general you are fucking annoying and need friends/book club and less of what you might consider football knowledge.
Why didnt we just appoint sam allardyce instead of mikel right!!??
Congrats to emery for winning EL semi final against our impressive squad
AND ALSO TO FOREST
I am totally expecting us to lose the 1st leg to Liverpool,lose to Spurs and win but go out on the aggregate score in the Carabao cup,just like when Arsene was in charge.
As long as we finish 6th or better,that would be par for where the board expect us to be.
I am encouraged by the Man City showing,but we still lost,we need to build a winning culture in the team,so that performances like Nuno’s and the rest will not be tolerated.
Hope my predictions are wrong,but I think I have seen this all before.
Yup clueless Zacharse
Sorry anyone in this space raving about Emery’s level with Arsenal needs to go and have a quiet word with themselves.
Vlahovic with one tame effort in 40 min…hasn’t really touched the ball…Dusan Nkiteah
Not raving Sal just pointing out he’s not a Moron.
As you were then.
Ya Tony, totally clueless
i’m the one who can’t tell the difference between possession play and counter attack and the only thing i care about is the final score. real sportsman i am
and to show how truly clueless i am, i come on here every night and post 50000 word essays to myself praising the like so pink floyd and alan parsons. i’ve got real problems lol
No pressing from Vlahovic..0 desire.and passion even when the team is down 3 to nothing..making meaningless runs and losing possession…perfect for Arsenal then lol
Our new no 9 looking shit against Torino at the moment, just as he has every time I have watched him, forget DCL at Everton and go for Richarlison instead
Wow Zacharse that really told me. I’m mortally wounded.
It’s midnight here.
Enjoy your pouting.
Zachare
Hope you realize that you could have made all those points without resorting to calling Emery a “moron”
There was no need for that and it surely doesn’t reflect the man.
Awful last night no positives to take from that performance Leno did ok the other 10 not one played to even average standard. Nketiah last night like Everton he missed a sitter, offers no link up play and really don’t mind at all that he’s going, simply not good enough. Soares was as bad as Tavares and should of been hooked as well, could go on,Holding awful etc Arteta’s subs made litttle sense Lacca should of been on at HT. Annoyed we went out so poorly away from home against sides in our faces and a noisy crowd like Everton… Read more »
Sure thing Tony Fawlty
Glad we settled the strange case of the pensioner defending the arsenal great from glib criticism
Diaz one year older 30 Mill looks like he got it all
Diss
Really? Safe space is it now? Must have missed that. Where i come from people like emery are not given mercy for the problems they cause
There is no such thing as a safe space anymore on this earth
Ghana 1 down bit os a shock.
my chest is a safe space, atleast thats what they say while the rest their head on it.
This Ghana is a shadow of the team that had Essien and Gyan
Essien was a baller. Still remember that screamer he scored against us. Ugh
Sid
True that about Ghana always expect them to do well in ACON, Partey has just been subbed.
Great African nation as well for boxers Ghana over the decades, Accra produced a few great ones Azumah Nelson one of my favourites.
Pedro
Excellent post and not just because you identified Arteta’s primary weakness It’s a personality flaw that hurts him and sometimes this bleeds into his strategic decisions.
I just hope he learns some humility and maybe even simply loosens up a bit. A man wound this tight is bound to keep making rash and self-harming decisions.
Ghana haven’t won the AFCON since 1982.
Most of their four wins was in the black and white tv era.
Agree w/ BIG good stuff Pedro.
Speaking of those full back subs, Tavares move I can wrap my head around, may not agree with tactic but understand it. Soares on the other hand was just bizarre, pulling that sub touching stoppage needing a goal? Killed clock and whatever little impetus was left which was very, very little from what was on show.
Gawd bless Morroco.
Also, anyone read that Ains was panned on his debut for giving the ball away so freely?
jamesong Of course Arteta was angered by the display against Notts Forest, it was half-hearted and he expected much better. But he would been angrier if a key player had been injured and out for weeks and devastated if it had been, say, Saka. And so would we. And many on here – inc me – would have judged him reckless to play key players at full revs. Gone the chance of a top 4 finish, a much smaller chance of a top 6, unlikely further progress in FA Cup, certainly none against Leicester City. Whether said or unsaid, he… Read more »
A midfielder that plays for a team that has 30% possesion against Morroco, is the last person Arsenal fans should be celebrating
No Ronaldo tonight.
Bacary, it’s a work in progress for them, I’m not sure what’s going on with this latest one, I can’t see it.
Pedro, when celebrating Morocco winning against Ghana, spare a thought for your Ghanaian readers and posters.
I am one of them. Ghana deserved nothing from that game, but neither did Morocco. A draw wouldn’t have been a travesty
Sid, that’s such a senseless comment. You mean a team having 30% possession cannot have any good player in their ranks? Absolute rubbish
Are people seriously watching Gambagon Vs Morbombom on AFCON? Don’t you have lives?
“No More Red” v Nottingham Forest, in Nottingham was not the fixture to do it. The Arsenal tempted Karma, by showing total disrespect to the origins of it’s red strip. The gesture by The Club, in hind sight, should have been carried out in either one of the legs v Liverpool, not during a fixture with Forest who donated a number of red shirts to Dial Square in 1886.
KARMA KNOWS!
What’s wrong with watching Gabon Vs Comoros at the Nations cup? It’s football isn’t it
That’s such a weird and maybe disrespectful comment considering people had to sit through games like featuring the likes of Moldova and Latvia all the time and you never hear a peep about it.
Happy New Year Pedro and Grovers. As the visitors, in the event of a kit clash, i.e. both teams wearing the same colours, we’re obliged to wear our away kit, which aren’t red anyway, so a strange time to make such a gesture, maybe the home leg of the League Cup semi would have been more appropriate. I hope this FA Cup exit leads to something significant because the gap from where Arsenal were when moving to the Emirates, right up to where they are now is frankly alarming, and I have absolutely zero confidence that Mr Everton is capable… Read more »
Are people seriously watching Gambagon Vs Morbombom on AFCON? Don’t you have lives?
Yet people watch Gilbratar vs Iceland
Sometimes I wonder if gadgets are given to toddlers to type
“Are people seriously watching Gambagon Vs Morbombom on AFCON? Don’t you have lives?
You couldn’t bring yourself to write the names of the countries properly, had to put it an intolerant manner.
Anyone who’s sat through England playing mighty San Marino shouldn’t be so dismissive of Gabon playing Comoros.
Villa are fucking shite.
Frustrating to watch given any team with a pulse sticks it to this downed tools Utd outfit.
Pedro-I understand it’s a work in progress but why did you delete my last 4 posts? What was wrong with them?
Micah Richards is so terrible a pundit, cannot believe we have to suffer through his fake obnoxious laugh and dense platitudes for the foreseeable now. Makes Shearer look a sage in comparison.
Only positive to him is when he is partnered with Keane as he gets him out of character at times but otherwise, Christ just awful.
“Are people seriously watching Gambagon Vs Morbombom on AFCON? Don’t you have lives?”
The absolute state of this comment
I can’t access bbc iplayer over here but if I could I’d watch all the games,international soccer tournaments still do it for me. I remember being heartbroken for Algeria when the West Germans and Austria conspired to eliminate them from the world cup in 82. Roger Milla’s Cameroon also caught my imagination in 1990. I’ve been waiting for an African breakthrough ever since but alas no luck yet despite more and more quality African players emerging and playing in Europe’s top leagues. Watching Buendia here,he looks a really skillful, technical player but seems to lack any physical presence at all.… Read more »
Happy New Year Herbs
Good to see you and monochrome Herbert around again.
Yeah it’s a funny decision to. I wonder if the Premier League has stricter rules regarding kits than the FA. Or maybe there are more contractual obligations to sponsors in the League that are not required in the cup competitions. Who knows…
Cavani was no where near the ball
I thought there was no VAR in the Cup, what gives?
VAR is so anti-football
They are only desperate to keep Utd in the Cup lol, absolute fuckery this.
Just see the gears spinning to overturn that goal
‘
Cavani was no where near the ball
Weagle
“Micah Richards is so terrible a pundi”
“Villa are fucking shite.”
“Why does the AFCON have to be held mid-season? Has always been a pain in the bollocks ”
“The Carabao Cup is a joke competition ”
Weagle excelling himself tonight, how miserable can one person be.
WEagle apparently there’s is VAR in the cup but only on the PL grounds lol
Pierre going two-feet up studs exposed tackle on Wenger eagle
That was a strange one …
Why look for 3 minutes at the offside and then when they don’t find an offside , decide that there was an obstuction on a united player.
Surely VAR should have just said there was a foul in the build up …end of story.
Wenger Eagle
If the stadium is “VAR friendly” and meets all IFAB requirements for the technology, then the referees can decide whether or not to use it. Old Trafford (despite its shoddy state) is a UEFA Category 4 stadium as well.
So Pierre is a fan of Micah Richards as a pundit (makes sense, he also has a dense view on football), rates the Milk Cup (Likely because it is the only competition that Nketiah is prolific in) and enjoys the mid-season scheduling of AFCON.
Tell us again how yesterday was all Martinelli’s fault and that Eddie did his job by providing a handful of 5 yard square passes again you cretin.
There really are some morons on Le Grove. It’s ok when San Marino plays Azerbaijan but you think people don’t have lives when they watch Afcon?
I will respect myself and hold my tongue
Pierre,
The pubs are closed at 8 o’ clock every night over here and they’ve virtually doubled the price of take home beer under the guise of a health measure.There’s an entire country full of contrary people right now.
“ Are people seriously watching Gambagon Vs Morbombom on AFCON? Don’t you have lives”
This kind of casual racism supported by literally no wit or mirth could only be uttered by an American white girl.
This Villa midfield is going to get better by next season
They just have to try and extend Carney Chukwuemeka’s contract
I think that reference to Arteta’s arrogance nails one of his less attractive qualities. Finally, after two years of trial and error, mostly error, he stumbles upon the right formation of talents. So you think he is growing into the job and learning something. Then this stinker yesterday. And once again, on top of the entirely unnecessary Tavares’ humiliation (could have subbed at half time and said he tweaked a hamstring) he launches into another ‘it’s all the players’ fault’ afterwards. As if he was a neutral spectator and it was nothing to do with him. He knew what to… Read more »
To be fair American white girls would be all in thinking its Star Trek doing 90210 based on that.
I think Villagabon are unlucky to be trailing against the Man Ubombom
United are woeful. Villa deserve at least an equalizer in my opinion.
Cmmon Watkins lets level this.