We seem to perform better when our backs are against the wall.
I feel a 2-2 could’ve been a bad result for our knobs because they would start the game passive like they always do and get caught out by Villareal. They have no choice now but to start the game chasing a goal.
This is of course a good trait to have but it has lately become the only way for us to wake up. Going nowhere in the league with this approach.
We are going nowhere.
Or to quote the great Talking Heads “we’re on a road to nowhere…”
It’s funny because I think the only way Arteta can chase a match is if he knows he has to before it starts, because once he’s picked his team he is completely wedded to it for that entire match and he doesn’t contemplate at all that he may have to change it. Once we go behind he’s fucked cause making use of substitutions doesn’t exist in his managerial playbook for some unfathomable reason, but if he has to pick a team to chase a match from the start maybe he’ll do a better job of it.
Sorry maybe because i have had a few Sierra Nevada talking, but we are f*d period with Arteta leading.
Over time (and now we have ample sample size), truth emerges in sport… fact is, we are trash compared to our lofty ambitions and I don’t see that changing.
No that’s not the Sierra Nevada talking, it’s just common sense. I’m just grasping at straws cause in some small part of my brain I want to pretend for one more week that this manager might actually be able to get us through this.
When Arteta’s stupid plans are out the window when we’re chasing games, sure.
Went to bed early thinking I’d wake up in a better mood. Spoiler alert, I didn’t
You can always hate-watch this bullshit. If you’re going to be angry go all in and be furious.
Give us the tldr not watching an hour of this arteta wank fest. I stopped when they started talking about Arteta with a heart condition as a baby…who gives a shit?
It’s going to be an Arsenal - United final .
Villarreal won’t beat us at the Emirates . We got a very credible away goal .
We’ll have players back so all will be good.
Roll on the final .
It’s just that, an hour long Arteta wank-fest.
But since Arteta is incredibly shit, it ends up being hilarious. Like football’s version of The Room.
Hate how we shit the bed in the first half. Scared of playing. These guys were nothing special as we saw in the 2nd half. Maybe there’s too much pressure on the players or something, I dunno. Weak mentality.
Actually managed to get something out of this eh?
I always maintained that Chelsea had no rights to win the CL because they were an absolute embarrassment during the campaign.
Similarly If we somehow manage to win Europa, I just won’t be able to take it seriously.
We don’t deserve to be champions.
We’re the competitions top scorers though. Does count for something!
Apart from the penalty I don’t think we had a shot on target until the 94th minute. I can’t even recall an actual chance from any other point in the game.
Saka blasted a shot over early in the first half trying to curl it in from the edge of the box
If we get into the Champions League we’ll be back in this competition by February.
So so fortunate to still be a alive in this tie.
Dreadful first 45 minutes, deservedly 2-0 down, and then an arguably even worse final 10-15 minutes where we should have been pushing to leave with a 2-2. Villarreal had far more to lose in those final moments but we couldn’t threaten.
Emery’s substation at halftime (he just can’t help himself with his HT subs 
) putting on Coquelin for Alcacer was a godsend. Immediately they went into protection mode and we started to gain control until the Ceballos sending off. They should have left everything the same as the first half.
Got to be somewhat relieved at the end of the day to still be in with a shot here. Ceballos goes off and we’re looking at a 2 or 3-0 loss (credit to Leno for his save on Moreno).
Bizarrely I think winning this competition is the worst thing that could happen to this Football club right now. I can’t not want to win a European trophy tho. Fuck.
I remember the commentary mentioning at the start of the second half, that we didn’t have a single shot on target in the first half.
Their GK looked about 14 years old too, we should have blasted a few shots at him, secondary school style :tierney2: