If the Palace defeat was deja-vu; the loss to Brighton was deja-shite.
Up until the last 5 minutes it was the worst I had seen us play in a long, long time. Arguably our worst performance since Covid reared it’s ugly head.
Mikel Arteta got it wrong.
Moving Granit Xhaka to left back not only made us less effectual on that side but also removed our best link from defence to attack.
Arsenal struggled to transition the ball from defence to attack; whilst also simultaneously not having any cover for the back four. It was a horrendous performance.
Arteta should have backed Nuno Tavares. You have to wonder what the future holds in store now for the Portuguese full-back.
Brighton at home – easiest game left – we should have been attacking. Moving Xhaka to full back was a defensive move.
During the game Xhaka understood the frailties and pushed himself more centrally and further up the field as the game went on. But it was to little to late.
To lose Thomas Partey was tough. To then move Xhaka away from the centre was the nail in our coffin for top 4.
Whilst Arteta will hopefully learn from what happened Saturday, the result was costly for our top four hopes.
It is still in our hands. There is still hope. But it is diminishing.
Keenos
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 
I have been telling my son all season we will struggle to get EL and there is no chance of CL, especially under Arteta. A look at our remaining fixtures would make any sane person wonder where we get a win.
So lets look at Artetaball in the PL
Records set
Successive defeats
Least goals scored in a season
Most goalless home games in a season
Successive games without a win
Lowest home points total
Ostracised 2 captains
Ostracised mf proving one of best in europe
Refused to select cb proving one of best in europe
Gave away top scorer
Persisted with Willian
The man is a disaster
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Have to agree, I`m a big fan of Arteta and the job he`s doing but Saturday`s defeat was on him. What possessed him to weaken an already weakened midfield by moving Xhaka to left back? Incredible decision.
When I first saw the team sheet I thought it looked a bit unbalanced but just presumed that Saka was going to play full back and Odegaard would switch to the right hand side. Then I started hearing rumours that Xhaka was playing there leaving a young kid – Lokonga – to fend for himself against a team who are technically half decent. Absolutely shocking decision and its definitely going to cost us any chance at the top 4. If we get done at Southampton we might not even end up in the Europa League and that would be a travesty considering the progress this young side have made this season. Saturday was a bad bad day.
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EDU should go to Brazil and recruit players..
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