Arsenal (H) - CC Semi Final 1st (not 2nd!) leg, Thu 13th Jan 2022 (7:45pm)

[3 Stacks]

The Minamino thing, my God. Sell him to Leeds or some club in the Championship already and be done with it.

[J-V]

1 minute ago, Boss said:

Klopp's too loyal to certain players. We need to start getting rid of some of these players now and bringing fresh blood in. It's gone stale. 

To late now to get any decent money from them.

[Rushies tash]

Thought we started off quite well, but then ran out of ideas the deeper Arsenal got. It was like a throwback to those lockdown games where the likes of Burnley would just string 6 across the back and we'd knock it from left to right in front of them. Henderson pissed me off the most with this, absolving responsibility for creating something in front of goal by knocking 5 yard balls right to Gomez of all people. Poor all round really. Oh well, Arsenal will at least have to attack next week.

[El Rojo]

Should have started more of the kids/reserves, in hindsight. There was no need for Milner to play, Trent looks gassed and Bobby is better off the bench these days. 

[ManéMan]

Henderson, Milner, Trent and Robbo absolute disgraceful performances.

 

Klopp has to take blame on Milner for still selecting him. 

Henderson needs to be sold to someone more ambitious like Villa or West Ham.

Trent needs to sort himself the fuck out, really starting to piss me off the lad...wtf is that inside right position. Neco did far more when he came on.

Robertson, needs to be dropped for Kostas. Had one good game I think it was Arse in he league but been shite for over a year. Woeful in defence and attack

[Redder Lurtz]

We've got to cash in on Bobby haven't we, surely? He's done barely the sum of nothing for more months than I can remember. Gets a big chance tonight and shits his knickers against 10 men.

 

Diaz please. 

[gkmacca]

I think the lack of intelligence is the thing that depresses most. We were like that for most of the Ged and Rafa years - play two banks of four against us and we just kept trying the same things that never worked, over and over and over again. Terrible flat corners, crosses straight at the keeper, weirdly hopeless passes towards opponents on the edge of the area, and insane shots from long distance. 

 

Same thing tonight. I mean, these guys know how a team is trained to defend after a red card. They know that you're drilled to combat the usual patterns of play. So they know that the other team needs to be unpredictable. And yet they remained as predictable as that. 

 

Unless Div gets fit for next week I don't see much hope. 

[easytoslip]

Leccy light. 

[ManéMan]

And yeah, Klopp is too loyal. If he had his way Lallana would still be playing regularly for us.

[Nelly-Szoboszlai]

Not great. But, I'm not going to be all doom and gloom and go all "sell them all" as I think we've still got a good chance of getting to the final. 

 

Just a couple of observations though. I'd give Curtis Jones a run in the team again. Just offers a bit more flair and ability to beat a man in the midfield. I think we might be at the stage where Klopp has a difficult decision to make at left back too. Robertson has been great for us and isn't exactly shit, currently. But, for me, based on current form and ability to do stuff attacking wise, Tsimikas deserves the starting spot. And, while I said I'm not going to go all "sell them all," it's clear that there are 3 or 4 players who featured tonight who either aren't ever going to be good enough or have come to the end of their time as being able to put in the required level of performance, week in, week out. Minamino, AOC, Milner and (possibly) Henderson. 

[bossy]

Kind of where we are at the moment. New blood needed but It seems we are resigned to keeping the same squad. Very little imagination on show. Henderson’s gone backwards, Bobby’s done, I’m afraid, and the stand ins are just that. 

[No2]

That was like Fulham and Brighton at home last year, obvious from 10 or 15 minutes in we weren't scoring. The ball looked shit, that's what I'm hoping anyway.

[3 Stacks]

Henderson could have been on his way out this summer and we extended him because the supporters would've been sad if not.

[Babb'sBurstNad]

All the arguments against bringing Coutinho in on loan were fair. And yet, can anyone really say he's worse than what we put out tonight?

 

We have no midfield creativity. The closest we have is a RB drifting inside and a number 9 who's rarely in the box. An AM with legs that don't fall off would be nice.

[Judge]

Ratings 1-10:

Allison 5

Trent 1

Matip 8

Virgil 4

Robbo 2

Hendo 2

Fabinho 2

Milner 2

Minamino 1

Bobby 1

Jota 0

[Strontium]

Can't wait for the Echo headline tomorrow: "Battling Liverpool vindicate FSG transfer strategy as they hold in-form Arsenal to 0-0 draw".

[J-V]

3 minutes ago, 3 Stacks said:

Henderson could have been on his way out this summer and we extended him because the supporters would've been sad if not.

His contract was until next summer I believe.  Madness giving him a new contract regardless.

[aRdja]

4 minutes ago, Nelly-Fauci said:

And, while I said I'm not going to go all "sell them all," it's clear that there are 3 or 4 players who featured tonight who either aren't ever going to be good enough or have come to the end of their time as being able to put in the required level of performance, week in, week out. Minamino, AOC, Milner and (possibly) Henderson. 

How come Bobby gets a pass?

[waddy78]

2 minutes ago, ManéMan said:

Henderson, Milner, Trent and Robbo absolute disgraceful performances.

 

Klopp has to take blame on Milner for still selecting him. 

Henderson needs to be sold to someone more ambitious like Villa or West Ham.

Trent needs to sort himself the fuck out, really starting to piss me off the lad...wtf is that inside right position. Neco did far more when he came on.

Robertson, needs to be dropped for Kostas. Had one good game I think it was Arse in he league but been shite for over a year. Woeful in defence and attack

The team is gassed, the lack of investment since 2019 is criminal if the team that won the CL and the league was invested in propertly we'd be neck and neck with City over the last 2 seasons instead no investment and a team that has to many hangers on, Bobby, Naby Lad, Ox, Minamino, Milner not good enough anymore some were never good enough in the 1st place they need to go FSG need to throw a lot of money at us get Mo signed up and go for it again.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

Dogshit, that. We need to be twatting these small clubs. I can't remember seeing such a half-arsed and toothless display.

[J-V]

Just now, aRdja said:

How come Bobby gets a pass?

He played really well 4 years ago

[3 Stacks]

1 minute ago, J-V said:

His contract was until next summer I believe.  Madness giving him a new contract regardless.

I know but he was threatening to leave last summer if we didn't extend him. 

[George Costanza]

Toothless without Salah yet our braindead, yankee owners will let him leave on a free thinking its more financially prudent to buy a younger cheaper & shitter replacement than pay him current market value.

[TheDrowningMan]

Just now, waddy78 said:

The team is gassed, the lack of investment since 2019 is criminal if the team that won the CL and the league was invested in propertly we'd be neck and neck with City over the last 2 seasons instead no investment and a team that has to many hangers on, Bobby, Naby Lad, Ox, Minamino, Milner not good enough anymore some were never good enough in the 1st place they need to go FSG need to throw a lot of money at us get Mo signed up and go for it again.

Every window without investment makes returning to anything like that level less likely.  Realistically, we need to renew Salah, get rid of five or six players and spend £200m or so between now and the summer. Alas, if we’re lucky it’ll be “you can spend 85% of what you sell”.

[J-V]

1 minute ago, 3 Stacks said:

I know but he was threatening to leave last summer if we didn't extend him. 

Still under contract though if anyone actually bid for hm snap hands off.  Where was he going to go anyway West Ham? all that PSG talk was no doubt bollocks from his agent.