Nope. At least it's entertaining. More than I can say for that 0-0 snooze fest yesterday

FA Cup semi finals should be entertaining.

One point. A draw is fair. Could have been a worse result today but Arsenal fought back.

Well we play West Ham in about 5 min...I know my enthusiasm is at a very low point, but a win would at least get us back on track to fight for a top 4 spot

Arsenal should have had a pk. Oh well.

Pretty meh 1st half. I'd like to see Ox on pretty soon

Atkinson is such a terrible ref

Coquelin could kill people and it wouldn't be a foul to Atkinson

****ing awful 1st touch by Ozil when he was played in

Bought ****ing time

Man that was ****ty keeping

And we nearly **** one at the other end

Theo!

Bellerin almost made it 3

Giroud!

Nice to get 3 points for a change

You have to be joking. How is that not a penalty

Few rumors...

- We are supposedly talking to Jack about an extension
- Alexis is saying that he prefers to stay in London and that he is willing to give us next year to show him we want to win titles. If we show progress (make the squad better and start being more competitive) he will re-sign. Otherwise he bolts on a free.

I like signing Jack to a short contract. He has performed well for Bournemouth. I think he can make a difference from a deep-lying position like Santi

In the whole is AW out or not debate, I've been reading a decent amount on various formations and tactics and I've come to the conclusion that I would really like to see us try a 3-1-4-2. Won't happen under AW but I think this formation would A) help with some of our D issues and B) fit our current players well.

How it would work...

Base formation

---------- ST -- ST ---------
----------------------------------
LM --- CM ---- CM --- RM
-------------- DM -------------
----------------------------------
------ CB -- CB -- CB -----

CB - Having 3 dedicated CB helps shore up the defense and lessen being short if/when the LB/RB gets caught up field.
Current Roster - Kos, Mustafi, Per, Chambers, Holding, Gabby
Outlook - Could run with that group and let Chambers, Holding & Gabby fight for the 3rd starting spot. Ideally I would sell Gabby and bring in a better option for Chamber & Holding to compete with.

DM - Deep lying playmaker and cover for the D. Want this guy to be the pivot between D & O and make passes from deep.
Current Roster - Xhaka, Coq, ElNeny, Wilshire (maybe)
Oulook - Coq needs to be sold. ElNeny makes for a decent squady. Xhaka still has tons of potential for this role but he can be very dangerous in tackles. Need to bring in a vet (Matuidi rumored to be leaving PSG) to provide him some competition and tutoring.

CM - How you play this position depends on your tactical needs. You can play dual box to box, one B2B & one CAM, 2 CAMs or even shift one back for an extra DM. For Arsenal I think our base would be 1 CAM (Ozil) and one B2B/HoldingM (Ramsey/Ox/Wilshire).
Current Roster - Ozil, Ramsey, Wilshire, Ox, Santi
Outlook - I think this formation could bring the best out of our English core but you still probably need 1-2 CM for depth in the event that none are sold. Depending on your comfort level with one of Ramsey/Wilshire/Ox starting, you could either go with a vet starter or go with a younger (Rabiot, Goretzka, Acensio) guy to push them.

LM/RM - There is also a great deal of tactical personnel and position for this role as well. You can move the base position back as a WB or further up the pitch as an outside mid depending on your needs. Either way the position helps provide width both in attack and defense.
Current Roster - Bellerin, Gibbs, Nacho, Walcott (maybe), Debuchy/Jenks (both will be sold)
Outlook - For tactical purposes I think you ideally have one WB and one outside mid for each side. On the right you have Bellerin who can technically be both the WB and RM but you need a backup. On the left I would prefer to keep Gibbs as the defensive option and sign a new starter (Coman?).

ST - Basic ST setup. 2 up top. How they play depends on who you have and how their skillsets work together.
Current Roster - Alexis, OG, Welbeck, Lucas, Walcott (maybe)
Outlook - solid depth but missing an impact guy to play with Alexis. Lucas is likely gone so a new starter (Lukaku?) could take his spot. Walcott failed as a lone ST but I wonder if he would do well as a 2-man unit?

Primary rumors floating around...

- AW still won't confirm whether the board has offered him a new contract
- Alexis willing to re-sign (after summer) if we show as much commitment (ie buy some players) to win as he has

Exits
- Ospina to Fenerbahce
- Nacho to Bilbao
- Kos to Marseille
- OG to Marseille
- Bellerin to Barca

Signings
- Allande (Chliean youth)
- Goretzka
- Jankto
- Tolliso
- Coman
- Rui Patricio
- Pickford
- Turan

Only reason Kos, OG or Bellerin leave is because we let them. All 3 of them have signed new long term contracts in the last 6 months. Koss is till 2020, OG till 2019 and Bellerin is all the way to 2023. No way do we let Bellerin go unless we get a monster transfer fee from Barca

Agree. Could see us letting OG go given his age and role. Could see the others trying to leave if AW doesn't sign. Only way we let Bellerin go is we get a HUGE deal from Barca.

Rumor behind AW not having re-signed yet or refusing to discuss the subject...

Quote:

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The latest installment in this drama is even worse if that's possible. Wenger and Gazidis are crossing words. Gazidis wants to dump a few Wenger cronies, get in a director of football, etc. And laughably enough, Wenger is pushing back.

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Unchanged from last week

Love Elneny's ability to shoot

So is Ospina hurt, or just our cup only keeper?

Anybody surprised Arsenal down one? I'm not.

He's hurt. Forgot what it was though

Late arrival for the match was foreboding. Not surprised with the fist half. Big challenge but Arsenal has to comeback to get three points.

OneBlitzer said:

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Late arrival for the match was foreboding. Not surprised with the fist half. Big challenge but Arsenal has to comeback to get three points.

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We really couldn't pull up google maps and plan for traffic? Amazing

Physical play and aggressiveness from CP has Arsenal on their heels.

Welbeck has been awful, bout time for him to go

Good to get Giroud and Ramsey on.

Need more from Ozil.