It was fun while it lasted.
PSG deserve it because they were good, took the chances that mattered and had enough good luck.
But a couple of things breaking our way at the right time could have made it different.
Also, Donna Fucking Rumma.
Here’s what it looked like where I was watching:
There’s going to be a lot of toxicity around the next few days, It’s nothing to be ashamed about the team getting here with missing basically a huge chunk of the squad. I think we really ran out of steam mentally and physically. The first 15 minutes we came out punching, but we simply lacked the spark to convert. PSG punished us on our sloppyness. Like Bournemouth, like Palace.
Mikel and the staff really have to find a way next season to figure out what is the issue. Is it conditioning? Is it the way injuries are being handled? Rotation is an issue, players are either unreliable or Mikel doesn’t trust them for a reason. Nwaneri really could’ve used some minutes and could’ve brought in a fresh attack, but it’s only what if.
Saka needs a break, Ødegaard needs a reset. Declan Rice has been great…but I don’t know why the team all of a sudden reverts back to a million dribbles? No risk taking these past few games. Just shoot the damn ball.
I do hope Berta looks at this and presses at KSE to greenlight some useful signings this offseason. No more dilly dallying on deals. We won’t get as lucky with teams having an offseason. City will probably revamp after getting their slap on the wrist, Liverpool will add on to their squad with a good manager, Barcode Stoke will probably continue doing what they’re doing…if we don’t shore up, we’ll be stagnant. Unless if that’s what KSE wants. Can’t even say at least we aren’t United, as they probably do have a chance at silverware.
I’m going to take a few days off, because I am currently facedown in my bed and I’m not sure how to get out. Godspeed to you all.
Not taking advantage of those first 20 minutes when we dominated killed us. Would’ve been a different match if it was equal for the majority.
Personally, I think we needed to try and draw more yellows early on. Once we let our grip on the game go, PSG held us at arms length with their lack of fatigue and pinball passing. The fact that Saka was carded before any number of PSG players is a travesty.
it was a good run.
All things considered yeah, it really was!
doesn’t make the heartbreak any less. :/ but hey, imagine telling yourself that we’d be doing this 5 years ago
Yeah 5 years ago we were like…at least we aren’t in the bottom half.
According to Mikel, we are ahead of schedule, guess it’s catching up now. But they have to, have to get some attackers in. Or at least trust Ethan enough to give B a break. Mikel’s biggest problem is his trust issues.
The simple fact is we aren’t good enough to win the UCL yet or the PL yet, and I don’t think we have been for the entirety of Arteta’s stint at Arsenal. Even with a full strength squad I don’t think we would have won this tie.
I’d argue that we are 5-6 players short of being a complete team that can genuinely go all the way. We need a striker, possibly 2 wingers, an 8, a 6, a defender, and a keeper.
Onwards to next season. I’m just hoping we can finish this season with a bit more fight than we’ve been showing recently, and secure 2nd place.
I think we all knew going into this season it was going to be a bit tricky. All eyes were on Man City, and we knew we could keep up with them. But nobody expected Liverpool to take off this hard under Slott (not even some of their own fans). And then near the start we lost Edu and then some key players with nasty injuries. It was a combination of bad luck and poor planning.
The PL is even more competitive, and we have been treading water from an organizational perspective. Last Summer was a ‘clear out’ season - offloading surplus players. Unfortunately we focused too much on that and ran out of time for bringing in reinforcements. So we left ourselves very exposed to the consequences of injuries. Fewer players not only means more limited coverage options, it also means more grueling schedules and increased injury chances for the existing players.
The thing I’m probably most concerned about is this tendency to lose focus and steel in the final stretch of the season. That has to be addressed ASAP.
