TheDrowningMan

Teams never really seem to win leagues after a manager’s departure has been announced far in advance, so the drop-off was likely regardless of whether or not Edwards came in. I’d be interested to know exactly why Klopp’s departure was announced when it was, because I can’t for a second believe that anyone at the club thought it would be a good idea unless their hands were forced. I’m sure the players genuinely wanted to win everything for Klopp (and their performances immediately after his announcement suggested that), but it added a significant amount of pressure to a squad that was already over-performing by being at the top of the league. I don’t think they checked out, which can also happen when a side knows it won’t be under the same leadership the following season.

I think he’s fine as a last 15 minute wildcard off of the bench, but he probably wouldn’t be a regular starter up front at any other top 8 club, and shouldn’t at ours.

He needs to be on the shortlist of players to get rid of in the summer. Good, but too frequently injured. Hopefully he has a fantastic Euros.

That’s a fairly realistic assessment, although Spurs and Villa spend a lot more than us, so consistently challenging them in the longer term might be unrealistic. With a manager who is inevitably going to be Klopp’s lesser, we can’t necessarily expect to compete with any well managed club that significantly outspends us, so for me it’s all on FSG to make sure that investment on the field sees a pretty dramatic increase.

It does, and it needs Arsenal money spent going forward. Otherwise, top 7 is the realistic expectation in future.

From what I’ve read he seems like he could be a good manager, but short of, perhaps, Alonso, I’m struggling to imagine anyone being able to keep us challenging on our budget. Expectations with have to be adjusted unless FSG are planning to spend at the very least Tottenham-level money. If things stay as they are, we’ll have found another miracle worker if Slot has us hovering around 4th place most seasons.

Game well and truly over - it’s essentially impossible for Arsenal to drop any more points this season. Spurs will roll over at the weekend.

Great to know we’re still going to be spending like a club aiming for a top 8 finish. In that case, we either accept that Europa Conference / League football is the club’s goal or accept that we need another miracle worker and have to change manager every season until we find one.

I’m on the cusp of thinking it wouldn’t be so bad to have Mourinho for an 18-24 month clusterfuck in the forlorn hope that he can roll back the clock by a decade and a half if the alternative is Gary O’Neil.

The Spurs game is the last realistic chance of Arsenal dropping points this season. I can’t see them falling short in any other.

People are going to be delusional enough to think we are entitled be a top four side as a result of our history despite spending like a lower top 10 side. Following our recent dip in form, I’ve seen a ton of social media cretins declaring that Klopp’s departure might be a good thing - they’re going to have a rude awakening next season, when the extent of our over-performance under his management becomes clear. The reality is that Europa League qualification would have to be seen as a really good result for a club that invests on the pitch like ours.

Or lose once.

Read my first paragraph again. Or the other posts where I’ve pointed out that Arsenal’s sudden success can be attributed in no small part to the shitloads of money they’ve spent.

If Arsenal fail to win the league this season, it would have to be said that Arteta has done a pretty poor job given the amount he has spent. Still, Arsenal have a healthy GD advantage at this point - a City draw in the last six, and they may well still win it unless they fall apart completely, which can’t be ruled out after last season’s collapse. I think we’re done since our pissing away of the GD advantage means we’d need both a City loss and a miraculous turnaround in form.

Have to agree. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, we are stuffed in the longer term if FSG don’t start spending like a top four club should.