Leaving aside the positives, and very grateful for a 3-0 win, how horrible is our finishing. Outside Saka, we are just woeful, wasteful, just the opposite of clinical in front of goal. Think about it. Jesus with his two chances, one which was just one v one with the keeper, Ode when he was running towards the goal looking like he had weights strapped around his ankle, 1 v 1 and didn’t hit the target, Martinelli with his chance. And if any of those chances had fallen to Kai, the result would probably have been no different. Close to the end of the game, Trossard running towards the goal, we were 2 v 1, again his run appeared to be so slow and laboured and he scuffed his pass. That is just a very very mediocre collection of forwards my friends. Compare that to Pool. Salah, immaculate, basically an upgrade on Saka, but then, Diaz who would have finished any of those chances, Jota, same, Gakpo, he would have probably finished the 1v1s. And that’s why they’re 1st and were third. So the next time anyone tells you that Arsenal has the best team in the league (“Pedro” ahem) just know that they’re sprouting “Agenda FC”.
Any good / great team is clinical in front of goal. We are not. That’s why we are 13th in the league (very very far from “the best”) for open play goals.
Another issue is, Martinelli started out as a class finisher. I remember his first goal, bursting in the box and head in a KT cross. The guy could do it all. But him, pigeonholed as a guy responsible to hold width, seems to have regressed his core skill set. You have a CF whose core skill is holding the ball and bringing in runners, NOT scoring goals, you have a wide forward whose core skill was running in behind given his pace and being clinical, NOT holding worth, and your system then desires runners coming in from MF and scoring goals / set piece goals. All way too complicated.
Saka's finishing is constantly improving. It's true Salah is out of this world in that regard, agreed.
Saka has scored more goals than Salah had at his age. There's a good chance he gets quite close to Salah's finishing levels when he's already better in a few more things - creativity and defending are two with an absolute certainty.
Take a look at Saka's progression in goal scoring in all comps (PL):
2018/2019 - 0
2019/2020 - 4 (1)
2020/2021 - 7 (5)
2021/2022 - 12 (11)
2022/2023 - 15 (14)
2023/2024 - 20 (16)
2024/2025 - 9 (5) *we're in December
He can reach 30 goals per season easily (about Salah's average in his prime years) and 15-20 assists (he's on 12 already).
Bro you want to wait till Saka reaches his “prime”, and then see what kind of team we have then, to then think about winning trophies. The time is now. Saka needs able bodies and comparable skill levels around him to elevate the teams total skill set, because the competition has better than Saka NOW and better attacking talent to supplement NOW.
What a disaster for mancheaty, it would be quite the fall from last season if they don't even qualify for next rounds of CL, that embarrassing for Pep.
-----------
Football365 "City are now undoubtedly the Premier League team to watch in the Champions League thanks to an enthralling and rapid fall from grace that means they’re now in very serious danger of failing to qualify for the knockout stages. They’re now 22nd and need a win over either PSG (A) or Club Brugge (H) to ensure they make it into the play-offs."
Just got back from the game MLS was excellent tonight, martinelli same old same old and Jesus is just shit, through on goal twice and hit the keeper both times ugh.
Good atmosphere and one more win and we have done it COYG
Bukayo Saka's two goals tonight have taken him to nine goals and 11 assists in all competitions this season. That's 20 goal involvements in 21 appearances.
________________________________
Superb. And it's not even his final form.
Meanwhile, a plethora of people will STILL say that Odegaard is our best/ most important player. Absolutely mind-boggling.
We've got an all timer at our club and we're not giving him enough love... Giving player of the season awards to others... Writing nonsense online...
He's showing you all how he has a valid case for being the best in his position in the world. It's between him and Salah, obviously, but Saka is vastly younger.
While Salah was getting shipped on loan to Italian clubs at Bukayo's age, Saka starts for every team in the world (bar Liverpool). Has 10+ years of football ahead of him.
Treat him with respect. I will not hear about a certain someone being better/more important than him. That's absolute bollocks. He's our best player, on his way to becoming a legend for us.
Everyone knows who the best Liverpool player in the Premier League era is. They cherish him. They worship him. While we've got fellas saying Bukayo's not even the best at our club?!?? Come to your senses already.
Fair enough, rap. You found a few posts after Ode’s first game back following 2 months out, Arsenal won and folk were thrilled our only playmaker was back in the side.
Well done.
Question, if you “won’t hear about a certain someone being better/more important than Saka” and you’ve posted a quote from Pedro suggesting exactly that, why do you spend hours a day on this blog? Genuine question.
So many players played well last year in what was an incredible season.
Our best player however was Odegaard with Rice close behind. Third was Gabriel. Saka had a very good season but not imo his best.
(Saka not even in top 3?)
Un na 23.11
Nothing to do with motm Odegaard eh you melon.
According to the commentary who awarded him the OFFICIAL motm.
(Odegaard wasn't the motm - SkySports Player of the Match: Bukayo Saka, WhoScored's highest rated player: Bukayo Saka, potm Ode just in Don's mind)
Chris Nov 24
I feel so much more confident about our overall chances with Odegaard back in the side (in a team becomes better with best player/leader back in line up shocker).
AKINZO Nov 26
We are just a profoundly different team with Ode. He's the heartbeat of the team and I wonder why Rap can't just shut up!
Marko Nov 26
Timber is showing why he's the best RB at the club and Odegaard is just about the most important player in the team.
Marko Nov 26
Oh Odegaard is absolutely vital to the team. Not to diminish Saka but we've seen this team struggle without Odegaard whereas with him in it this team could get by with Sterling or Trossard in it instead of Saka.
Habesha Gooner Nov 30
Martin Odegaard makes us tick. It is clear for everyone now. We are slicing through teams now with him available.
Nigel Tufnel Nov 30
Have the clowns that didn't appreciate our captain learned their lesson yet? maybe noticed something in the past couple of months about our football without him and then seeing the difference immediately on his return?
The most valuable player to their team in world football. I would have said that before his injury but now it's even more obvious.
LE GROVE (Pedro) Nov 30
Undeniably a WE'RE BACK performance. Having your best player available is a big plus.
Kpankulu Dec 1
Saka may be the best player - but Odegaard is the most important player on the team. When Odegaard was out, even Saka looked ordinary much of the time, right?
kofi Dec 2
our problem is a combination of terrible refs, inability to backup our most important offensive player in odegaard and being unlucky.
That's from a brief search in the last few months. I've heard it so many times in the previous seasons.
Can add the fans that vote Odegaard as our player of the season for 2 seasons in a row - 55% in 22/23 and 33% last season.
Add a ton of the twitter folks.
Add the ones saying how Saka is not the same player without Odegaard - was literally the highest rated player in the league while Odegaard was injured.
People absolutely say that Odegaard is our best and important player. Some say he's the glue that holds the team together. I have seen them myself. Honestly it's disrespectful to Saka.
You found a handful of posters , half of whom are easily classed as agenda merchants( kinda like yourself) lol.
Pedro can hardly be taken seriously when describing injured players for Arsenal.
Of course he would say Arsenal missed our most important player in Ode to justify our sub par results.
Nigel, Un?
lol.
Not a single post from either that isn’t agenda driven.
Anyway, the key word in your post was ‘STILL’ while most of the examples cited, if not all, can hardly qualify as current opinions, with some going back to last season.
A lot of that 2nd half window, where Monaco thrived-- was down to them getting almost every 50/50, and nearly every second ball. They came out playing the ball quicker, crisper. But yeah, the subs who came on, were substantial. Trossard and Timber were really good. Timber seemed like he was everywhere.
His final pass on more than one occasion was pathetic … he killed so many scoring opportunities.. sorry but ever since he undermined Matini by pouting cuz he didn’t start … he’s been shyt. Hope we move him in the summer and get some electricity on the wings
Trossard was fine. His end product may have been lacking-- but his energy and deft footwork expended several clock-minutes at the tail-end of the game.
Just recognize a positive contribution-- even when a G/A isn't the byproduct.
Until we buy a better player on the left side, he has to play ahead of martineli. We three Brazilian Gabriels, only one is fit for purpose. Incidentally, that is the one our manager wanted to replace
I’m sorry after his petulance for not starting and then that red card against City … nah he can pound rocks … he’s been one of the worst performers so far
We really know how to make things difficult for ourselves ..: I give Thomas Partey so much credit.
Been the Player of the season so far. At his age and with his history of injuries to play at a position that has seen so many go down with injuries and still excel just goes to show what kinda quality the man possess:
And all of you who scandalized this man need to take a look at yourselves
If partey get by passed easily, then put him on the bench and play merino and Rice and let's see how the midfield will be. If he get bypassed, then why is he being played as a defensive midfielder while the almighty Rice is playing left 8?
We were good. Especially first half. Missed a few guilt edged chances. We were very poor at the start of the the 2nd half. Needed almost 25 minutes to wake up. But cruised after that.
An good forensics breakdown on the way we play and why we seem so pedestrian in attack... A good watch if you ask me
https://youtu.be/tXWQ714dKWA?si=-FDhXtHUwwmNfzCF
Leaving aside the positives, and very grateful for a 3-0 win, how horrible is our finishing. Outside Saka, we are just woeful, wasteful, just the opposite of clinical in front of goal. Think about it. Jesus with his two chances, one which was just one v one with the keeper, Ode when he was running towards the goal looking like he had weights strapped around his ankle, 1 v 1 and didn’t hit the target, Martinelli with his chance. And if any of those chances had fallen to Kai, the result would probably have been no different. Close to the end of the game, Trossard running towards the goal, we were 2 v 1, again his run appeared to be so slow and laboured and he scuffed his pass. That is just a very very mediocre collection of forwards my friends. Compare that to Pool. Salah, immaculate, basically an upgrade on Saka, but then, Diaz who would have finished any of those chances, Jota, same, Gakpo, he would have probably finished the 1v1s. And that’s why they’re 1st and were third. So the next time anyone tells you that Arsenal has the best team in the league (“Pedro” ahem) just know that they’re sprouting “Agenda FC”.
Any good / great team is clinical in front of goal. We are not. That’s why we are 13th in the league (very very far from “the best”) for open play goals.
Congrats on the top 3 I guess …..
Another issue is, Martinelli started out as a class finisher. I remember his first goal, bursting in the box and head in a KT cross. The guy could do it all. But him, pigeonholed as a guy responsible to hold width, seems to have regressed his core skill set. You have a CF whose core skill is holding the ball and bringing in runners, NOT scoring goals, you have a wide forward whose core skill was running in behind given his pace and being clinical, NOT holding worth, and your system then desires runners coming in from MF and scoring goals / set piece goals. All way too complicated.
This is why Martinelli should be tried as a CF.
Why Arteta refuses to try is one big mystery.
I said “outside Saka, our finishing is woeful”.
And that Salah is a better finisher than Saka. Don’t think either statements are incorrect.
Saka's finishing is constantly improving. It's true Salah is out of this world in that regard, agreed.
Saka has scored more goals than Salah had at his age. There's a good chance he gets quite close to Salah's finishing levels when he's already better in a few more things - creativity and defending are two with an absolute certainty.
Take a look at Saka's progression in goal scoring in all comps (PL):
2018/2019 - 0
2019/2020 - 4 (1)
2020/2021 - 7 (5)
2021/2022 - 12 (11)
2022/2023 - 15 (14)
2023/2024 - 20 (16)
2024/2025 - 9 (5) *we're in December
He can reach 30 goals per season easily (about Salah's average in his prime years) and 15-20 assists (he's on 12 already).
Bro you want to wait till Saka reaches his “prime”, and then see what kind of team we have then, to then think about winning trophies. The time is now. Saka needs able bodies and comparable skill levels around him to elevate the teams total skill set, because the competition has better than Saka NOW and better attacking talent to supplement NOW.
Yes you did. I was responding to your claim that Salah is an upgrade to Saka. I should have made this clearer. Sorry.
I mean Saka has done a lot and done really well so belittling him is a bit insulting to the player.
If we had Salah replacing Martinelli (I know Salah is more of a RW) then we would be tearing it up a lot more than we are doing now.
But in all honestly, when it comes to attacking returns, Salah is an upgrade on Saka. Goals, assists, consistency, pace….
I agree with everything you said except for Saka.
He is an exceptional talent who basically bailed us out last night.
Other than that, we are indeed not clinical enough which is very necessary if we are aspiring to win a trophy.
What a disaster for mancheaty, it would be quite the fall from last season if they don't even qualify for next rounds of CL, that embarrassing for Pep.
-----------
Football365 "City are now undoubtedly the Premier League team to watch in the Champions League thanks to an enthralling and rapid fall from grace that means they’re now in very serious danger of failing to qualify for the knockout stages. They’re now 22nd and need a win over either PSG (A) or Club Brugge (H) to ensure they make it into the play-offs."
They’ll win at least one of those games so I think the risk is overstated whilst it is ofc present
Was waiting for you’ to take your obligatory shot at Odegaard. Not been at his best the last three games but this game was much better.
He really needs to find his scoring boots.
Should’ve easily had a hat trick today but he did move the ball a tad bit faster and decisively
Just got back from the game MLS was excellent tonight, martinelli same old same old and Jesus is just shit, through on goal twice and hit the keeper both times ugh.
Good atmosphere and one more win and we have done it COYG
A 3-0 win/clean sheet; 3 points.
Tell us about the other positives-- Saka, Declan, Tross, and Timber were all playing at a high level.
Myles Lewis-Skelly & Bukayo Saka post-match interview.
https://x.com/afcstuff/status/1866966605688983750
"Saka when MLS started talking, standing there and smiling like a proud uncle"
Great interview.
Obvious-- the impression Saka has on the Hale Enders coming into the first team.
They seem to want to match his standards, which are exceptional.
Saka always looks like a concerned older brother whenever I see photos of Bukayo, MLS and Nwaneri together.
Bukayo Saka's two goals tonight have taken him to nine goals and 11 assists in all competitions this season. That's 20 goal involvements in 21 appearances.
________________________________
Superb. And it's not even his final form.
Meanwhile, a plethora of people will STILL say that Odegaard is our best/ most important player. Absolutely mind-boggling.
We've got an all timer at our club and we're not giving him enough love... Giving player of the season awards to others... Writing nonsense online...
He's showing you all how he has a valid case for being the best in his position in the world. It's between him and Salah, obviously, but Saka is vastly younger.
While Salah was getting shipped on loan to Italian clubs at Bukayo's age, Saka starts for every team in the world (bar Liverpool). Has 10+ years of football ahead of him.
Treat him with respect. I will not hear about a certain someone being better/more important than him. That's absolute bollocks. He's our best player, on his way to becoming a legend for us.
Everyone knows who the best Liverpool player in the Premier League era is. They cherish him. They worship him. While we've got fellas saying Bukayo's not even the best at our club?!?? Come to your senses already.
Fair enough, rap. You found a few posts after Ode’s first game back following 2 months out, Arsenal won and folk were thrilled our only playmaker was back in the side.
Well done.
Question, if you “won’t hear about a certain someone being better/more important than Saka” and you’ve posted a quote from Pedro suggesting exactly that, why do you spend hours a day on this blog? Genuine question.
“Meanwhile, a plethora of people will STILL say that Odegaard is our best/ most important player.”
List all people who say Odegaard is our best/most important player. You have receipts, show them.
Northbanker Aug 21
So many players played well last year in what was an incredible season.
Our best player however was Odegaard with Rice close behind. Third was Gabriel. Saka had a very good season but not imo his best.
(Saka not even in top 3?)
Un na 23.11
Nothing to do with motm Odegaard eh you melon.
According to the commentary who awarded him the OFFICIAL motm.
(Odegaard wasn't the motm - SkySports Player of the Match: Bukayo Saka, WhoScored's highest rated player: Bukayo Saka, potm Ode just in Don's mind)
Chris Nov 24
I feel so much more confident about our overall chances with Odegaard back in the side (in a team becomes better with best player/leader back in line up shocker).
AKINZO Nov 26
We are just a profoundly different team with Ode. He's the heartbeat of the team and I wonder why Rap can't just shut up!
Marko Nov 26
Timber is showing why he's the best RB at the club and Odegaard is just about the most important player in the team.
Marko Nov 26
Oh Odegaard is absolutely vital to the team. Not to diminish Saka but we've seen this team struggle without Odegaard whereas with him in it this team could get by with Sterling or Trossard in it instead of Saka.
Habesha Gooner Nov 30
Martin Odegaard makes us tick. It is clear for everyone now. We are slicing through teams now with him available.
Nigel Tufnel Nov 30
Have the clowns that didn't appreciate our captain learned their lesson yet? maybe noticed something in the past couple of months about our football without him and then seeing the difference immediately on his return?
The most valuable player to their team in world football. I would have said that before his injury but now it's even more obvious.
LE GROVE (Pedro) Nov 30
Undeniably a WE'RE BACK performance. Having your best player available is a big plus.
Kpankulu Dec 1
Saka may be the best player - but Odegaard is the most important player on the team. When Odegaard was out, even Saka looked ordinary much of the time, right?
kofi Dec 2
our problem is a combination of terrible refs, inability to backup our most important offensive player in odegaard and being unlucky.
That's from a brief search in the last few months. I've heard it so many times in the previous seasons.
Can add the fans that vote Odegaard as our player of the season for 2 seasons in a row - 55% in 22/23 and 33% last season.
Add a ton of the twitter folks.
Add the ones saying how Saka is not the same player without Odegaard - was literally the highest rated player in the league while Odegaard was injured.
He won’t , because he doesn’t have them, Jamie.
He’s gone absolutely nuts with his Ode obsession, to the point of making shit up to score some imaginary points against imaginary foes.
No one rates Ode equally with Saka.
No one.
People absolutely say that Odegaard is our best and important player. Some say he's the glue that holds the team together. I have seen them myself. Honestly it's disrespectful to Saka.
Names please?
I posted a response to Jamie above.
Yes you did.
You found a handful of posters , half of whom are easily classed as agenda merchants( kinda like yourself) lol.
Pedro can hardly be taken seriously when describing injured players for Arsenal.
Of course he would say Arsenal missed our most important player in Ode to justify our sub par results.
Nigel, Un?
lol.
Not a single post from either that isn’t agenda driven.
Anyway, the key word in your post was ‘STILL’ while most of the examples cited, if not all, can hardly qualify as current opinions, with some going back to last season.
We've got a legend on our hands.
We've got to keep him at all costs.
Winning something this year, like the Carabao cup or FA Cup, would be a good start to ensure that we keep him.
A lot of that 2nd half window, where Monaco thrived-- was down to them getting almost every 50/50, and nearly every second ball. They came out playing the ball quicker, crisper. But yeah, the subs who came on, were substantial. Trossard and Timber were really good. Timber seemed like he was everywhere.
Sorry Chief Trossard was not good.
His final pass on more than one occasion was pathetic … he killed so many scoring opportunities.. sorry but ever since he undermined Matini by pouting cuz he didn’t start … he’s been shyt. Hope we move him in the summer and get some electricity on the wings
Trossard was fine. His end product may have been lacking-- but his energy and deft footwork expended several clock-minutes at the tail-end of the game.
Just recognize a positive contribution-- even when a G/A isn't the byproduct.
Nah I’m done with Trossard.
He’s a selfish prick and not contributing anything right now
Until we buy a better player on the left side, he has to play ahead of martineli. We three Brazilian Gabriels, only one is fit for purpose. Incidentally, that is the one our manager wanted to replace
Trossard is totally junk when starting.
I’m sorry after his petulance for not starting and then that red card against City … nah he can pound rocks … he’s been one of the worst performers so far
I'm selling Martinelli before Trossard. Selfish pouts or not
The idea of jettisoning a player in December-- when you will have to count on him till May-- at the very least-- is sophist.
Pull back. Take stock. Maybe quit Twitter.
Lewis-Skelly has earned a start for me. Take Merino out on the weekend, return Timber to RB and return Partey to midfield.
We really know how to make things difficult for ourselves ..: I give Thomas Partey so much credit.
Been the Player of the season so far. At his age and with his history of injuries to play at a position that has seen so many go down with injuries and still excel just goes to show what kinda quality the man possess:
And all of you who scandalized this man need to take a look at yourselves
Why can't Rice play right back? Partey is more important in the midfield.
Because he gets by passed by players. We would concede shots easily prevented by Rice.
If partey get by passed easily, then put him on the bench and play merino and Rice and let's see how the midfield will be. If he get bypassed, then why is he being played as a defensive midfielder while the almighty Rice is playing left 8?
Because he can't play the 8 role. He isn't athlethic enough these days.
Then put him on the bench and play the Charlton athletic player. Since everything about England football is athletics
Chief I’m not the manager and I think it’s nutty he’s out there and I’ve been saying it
Better performance and better result as well
Well I missed the game but it's nice to see The Arsenal win tonight with what sounded like this was not a great performance from us.
We were good. Especially first half. Missed a few guilt edged chances. We were very poor at the start of the the 2nd half. Needed almost 25 minutes to wake up. But cruised after that.
Thanks for the precisions!!!
I am glad we got the 3 points to keep our CL campaign alive.
We have to win the last two group games in January to make top 8 certain
If we win against Zagreb, we are guaranteed at this point. We are third as it stands.
Have you seen how many clubs are on 13 points ands 12 points?
Six clubs on 13 points and another four on 12 points, only 2 wins guarantees top 8
Correct best Zagreb and we are through
yeah. But a lot of them play against eachother or big sides like Madrid. Look at the fixtures. One win guarantees us a top 8 imo.
Wow, 6 teams on 13 points, GD sooo important!
We were crap the first 25 minutes of the 2nd half. But 3 nil, rotations and in a strong position for top 8. No complaints.
Juve 2 - Man City 0
😂
Fuck Cheaty!
Yep, they might need to put Pep on a self harm watch list.