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Football: Remain in Europe


Iskaral Pust

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26 minutes ago, Mexal said:

Welcome to being an Arsenal fan the last few years.

It's been worse being a United fan than an Arsenal fan these past few years. Proof of that is United finishing above Arsenal just once since Fergie's retirement. Then there's the turgid, cure-for-insomnia football that we've had to put up.

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I feel sorry for Rafa. He stuck by the club during relegation when he could have gotten a bigger job, got the club promoted only to be fucked over by Ashley. There's no excuse for a club like Newcastle being unable to match the spending of the likes of Huddersfield and Brighton. If there's one manager who is totally justified at complaining about a lack of backing, it's Rafa. It will be a miracle if he manages to keep the club up again and with his contract expiring, he's probably going to walk at the end of the season regardless.

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Gomez to right back and Lovren in for Liverpool. No De Bruyne for City despite rumours of a shock early return.

 I’m not overly confident about today. We largely caused City problems last season due to being ruthless on the break and that doesn’t look too likely at the moment with the front 3 not really firing on all cylinders.

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Our attack is dire ATM, and now we have another international break to prevent any rhythm.  At least we didn’t lose to Chelsea or City in the PL in this long run of tough games, but now we need to find some fluidity and goals somehow. 

Talk of a title challenge from us was ridiculously premature.  I know that hype was coming from pundits who are terrified of a boring procession for City, and from opposition fans who want to put some pressure and expectations on us and create some pressure-free space for their own team, but it was still ridiculously early.  

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Not a bad result based on the game, playing poorly and conceding  a penalty against City but still coming away with a draw isn’t too shabby. In terms of challenging for the title it’s not great though. I think we have to take points off City in the head to head games to have much hope of substantially closing the gap.

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13 minutes ago, Iskaral Pust said:

I’m surprised that we have not yet heard more about how much we’re missing Fekir.  It’s always easy to assume missed acquisitions would have worked perfectly, and we’re obviously missing something to link MF and forwards.  

A creative player in Jan is a must,i'm just not sure that Klopp will go for it.

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Liverpool might look to resurrect the Fekir deal in January. With UEFA abolishing the cup-tied rule from this season onwards (clubs are now allowed to register up to three new players with no restrictions), Fekir would be eligible for Liverpool in the CL. 

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4 minutes ago, Consigliere said:

Liverpool might look to resurrect the Fekir deal in January. 

I doubt it. Aulas dropped enough hints that he was still willing to make a deal, if Liverpool were going to go back in you’d think they probably would have. It looks like they really were too concerned about his knee to sign him. On top of that Fekir got messed around a lot by Liverpool so he might not fancy the move so much now.

They probably do still want an attacking midfielder though, the question is whether they’ve identified anyone suitable that’s attainable in January.

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THere's still some football to be played till the transfer window opens again in January.

Let's just all wait and see, how the Liverpool team develops till then, playing and tablewise.

If Liverpool continues to collect points at the same pace as City, and their football improves along the way again (and their squad stays more or less healthy). Then a Fekir deal is probably not that high up on their list of priorities.

A long term injury for Robertson might push them, to abandon Fekir in search for another left back. Given his liking for Bundesliga players, I think Augsburg's Max would look like a good transfer target for them (or anybody else who is in the market for a good LB option for that matter). Any long term injuries for their attacking options, and I am quite sure they will renew their interest in Fekir.

Anyway, are the gunners satisfied with Leno right now? I take it, he is getting a bit more game time due to Cech's injury.

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5 hours ago, Mexal said:

Don’t look now, Arsenal 2 pts back.

Shhh! Don't jinx it!

We've now got a great attacking side (19 league goals is second only to City) but our defence is still very shaky and we've had some kind opposition. The real test will be when we play against a top side and whether we can stop them scoring.

Still, it's been a great run and feeling optimistic.

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So far, things have looked good for Chelsea under Sarri.

Since the defeat against Man City in the Community Shield, we are unbeaten in all competitions. In the league, we find ourselves second on goal difference, level on points with Man City and Liverpool. 

After last season, I said that I'd sacrifice Chelsea winning any trophies this season, so long as I enjoy watching us play again. Going back to the Liverpool fixture in the league - normally after a late equaliser from a rival I'd feel slightly frustrated; this time I didn't, at all, because it was so refreshing to see us actually try to take on a rival.

Mourinho and Conte brought great success to Chelsea, but we played pragmatic counter attacking football against our rivals - even at Stamford Bridge. At least, now, Sarri gives the players freedom to express themselves and entertain the fans. Some of the passing combinations Hazard, Willian, Pedro, Kovacic, Barkley, Jorginho etc have put together have been exquisite. 

I was pleased to see Barkley get a goal and assist - the first Englishman to do both in a game for Chelsea since Frank Lampard in 2013. I didn't think he had a great game yesterday - Kovacic keeps the ball better - but the start, the assist and the goal will hopefully give him another confidence boost. He seems to enjoy playing under Sarri, as he is able to play in what he truly believes is his best position.

So far, my only gripe with the system is Kante's role within it. Not that he is playing badly, I'd just like him a bit further back to help protect the backline more.

One of the more interesting comments from a player on Sarri come from Fabregas. He says he is enjoying working with Sarri so much that he wishes he'd come a bit earlier in his career. This is coming from a player that is yet to make a league appearance this season. 

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