Arteta has his issues but lets maybe stop and consider if Conceicao is a credible witness. Just about every time he loses in Europe, after having overseen a cynical performance from his team with lots of antagonism on and off the pitch, he cry arses about the opposition manager having been disrespectful to him.
Oh well, swear words and phrases in different languages and cultures. Not defending Arteta here, but who knows what was really said and it’s football we’re talking about. It’s not Shakespeare and Voltaire talking to each other in a library.
The way they’re crowing about that victory last night would make you think they’d pulled off a 4-0 against Barca. I only saw the first half , but for forty minutes Porto had their number. It was only a piece of magic from Odegaard that was the difference. Scraping through on penalties at home against Porto is hardly the stuff of legends. It’s only a matter of when , and not if , that their entire season unravels.
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As long as they are buoyant and feel like world-beaters this weekend, who cares? At least a draw, please.
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I assume you mean when they play Man City, at the end of the month.
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I think its a bit of a Rorschach test. Porto are not great this season and are struggling to qualify for the CL next year. Arsenal didnt look great last night or in the tie itself in squeezing past them. So for many there is room for criticism.
Bit I also think people are going to very reasonably view them progressing as a big positive for them. CL games are different. Even sides off the boil with a European pedigree can be a legit challenge for an emerging side like Arsenal who have not tested these sorts of waters for a generation. Getting past a side like this is part of the development that they would have to do to get where they want to go, and so is something they will justifiably celebrate. There was not much in the performance going forward to be happy about, but that is often not how you win cranky difficult ties like this.
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Haha @Arminius
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I must’ve watched a different game to you last night.
The most cynical act I saw was that odious cunt Havertz pushing the Porto manager
I forgot that England exists during the international breaks…
I saw that the Porto manager has a habit of lying about what managers say to him after his loses a game.
Not to defend Arteta but I’d take the man’s claims with a pinch of salt
I expect at least one of them would end up kicked out by the librarian.
Arsenal fans making twats of themselves over the Ben White-England issue.
Remember, he pulled out of the world cup preparations for undisclosed “personal reasons” and has since made himself unavailable for selection. Many past England managers would speak negatively about such a player, especially when the press continue to make his absence something worth questioning that manager about, but Southgate to me seem to be really trying to keep a straight bat with his comments, giving no room for suggestions that he is criticizing the player or speaking about issues White would prefer to stay private.
There are lots of rumours that White left the world cup camp after taking the hump at Holland (the england coach) publicly calling him out for not paying attention during a session. The public dressing down is part of the story that everyone seems to acknowledge, but Southgate refutes it was anything unusual and not a reason someone would want to leave or continue to not want to be involved. If anything, Southgate suggesting that is all it took for White to give up on England would paint the player in a pretty bad light and so it seems to me Southgate’s rejection of that idea is being done as much to protect White’s reputation as Holland’s. I mean Holland is not presented by anyone else as a problematic person. Yet Arsenal fans are largely getting wound up with Southgate, calling him a liar over the Holland story. Do they not realize that if southgate were to come out and acknowledge the story is true that it would do reputational to the player far more than anyone in the england camp? To me Southgate seems to be going out of his way to protect the player by saying only positive things about him and rejecting stories that may paint him in a difficult light, and the Arsenal fans are angry about it?
What am I missing (other than illogical responses to tribal loyalty)?
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Not the only ones making them look stupid over it…
Jeff has written a stunningly comedy piece.
They’ve been increasingly toxic ever since the toxic cunt took over as manager.
Ben White when he heard there were no sun beds at St George’s
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I miss the fuss from afar.
If he doesn’t want to play for England, don’t! Draw a line under it. Player selected. Chose not to join up with the group. We move on.
If a dressing down in training is part of it, I struggle to believe that’s anything other than a routine coach having a little bark, which happens all day every day. If it is bullying and belittling, and constant at the one player, fine, it’s an issue, but there’s no evidence of that.
He’s not the level of player that is worth getting worked up about.
The real England story is that the mighty Joe Gomez is back in the fold. Is right.
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White made it known through Edu to Southgate that he wasn’t available for England at the moment. Southgate saying that he doesn’t know exactly why (at least that’s what he says publicly), that he would’ve received the call up this time and that the doors are still open.
And we all know how things turned out the last time he got called up to the England squad.
Personally I hope him and the club stick their 2 fingers up at Southgate and let Joe focus on Liverpool
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That particular one really annoyed me, wasn’t just picking up an injury during the international period.
I believe he wasn’t fully fit, was played, picked up an injury, was declared fit played again the following game and out for 3 months.
Evidently he should never have played
I might be getting his England injuries mixed up, but wasn’t that the 1 Hendo hinted that something dodgy happened and no one claimed to have seen anything, they all just heard him scream and saw him laying on the ground?