Slojo

Don't let that bother you, Arsenal are destined for failure with their owners and it couldn't make me happier. They will never win the league again, they might just be able to become a top 4 team over the years should the owners think it's a worthy investment. As long as Stan Kroenke owns the majority shares in the club they'll never compete for the title, we have a much brighter future.

He's always going to be the scapegoat it appears, but he really needs to stop starting games when he's fit, we have better alternatives even a casual can see that. Certainly not the reason why we drew today, the blame has to lie with Conte for not playing Bako in the midfield.

I'm not sure if he has too much respect for Wenger, but he certainly seems to make bad decisions against Arsenal, when Arsenal constantly play the same way against us year after year at Stamford Bridge and we've beaten them A LOT, Conte seems obsessed with just outplaying them instead of physically bullying them in the midfield. I wouldn't say he's being negative when he's playing Fabregas in midfield but Bako and Kante pressuring their midfield would have been an automatic pain in the arse for Arsenal and probably nullified the majority of their game. They're really bad at the moment against top opposition, we have the quality unlike midtable teams to completely chase their midfield while being able to outplay them simultaneously. But I think Fabregas playing higher up with Hazard was the right move actually, just the game was already set, we gave Arsenal confidence when it should have been shattered in the first half like it's always gone for the past 5 years when we play Le Arse.

I agree actually. I've always been critical of Diego Costa because I don't like him as a person and I'm not a huge fan of his playing style but today I completely concede. We could have done with him bullying the Arsenal defence and winding them up, he always takes himself out of the game and defenders with him, Koscielny will always want to man mark him, leaves more room for our other 2 attackers.

Seeing Fabregas start amazed me, especially after what we saw Liverpool do to Xhaka-Ramsay midfield. Instead, we let them pressure us. Shocking decision from Conte and I don't say that out of hindsight, many people were questioning the Fabregas start, Bako was ideal for this game and he showed the difference when he came on. Hazard not starting didn't bug me too much, his match fitness is important, I personally would have liked to see him start though. But the biggest problem for me is Cahill, why on earth are we still persisting with playing this man? Rudiger and Christensen have to get these big games out the way so they can become more comfortable in the league. Right now I feel both of them are a bit nervy but the quality is still there, with Cahill that simply isn't the case, he's average.

What a wasted talent Josh McEachran was, a guy that clearly had immense potential when he was 16/17/18, always stood out in one of the best youth academies in the world, Chelsea. That's the issue with British players, I'm not sure if it's a culture thing or what but they always tend to ruin their potential with stupid PR moments. How many Jack Wilshere's have we had over the years?

I couldn't agree more. It would be really disappointing if we don't raise our game for this, we should be licking our lips, they're vulnerable, we look strong, get them.

He pulled off some great flicks in the title winning season 3 years ago, makes him less one dimensional I think, comes with the package of having Hazard, not something I want him to cut out of his game entirely.

I can't argue with that, that's obviously down to mentality & not fatigue. Remember when we first signed him, he was very very good in the first few months. As soon as we got rid of Mata & De Bruyne and we only had one player to play RW that's when his performances declined because he started every game. As an impact player, he is phenomenal and that's no insult to the player at all, squad players are needed in every team, Willian is one of ours. I think when Willian is in form he performs better than Pedro, although Pedro will be the more consistent out of the two. I wouldn't say his end product is lacking, not if you go by the past two seasons I think he's improved that a lot. You could argue many players have bad end product, even Hazard in front of goal.

You could say that about many players though, Mikhi seems to always get himself on the match stats but he's such a frustrating player for United fans. I think Hazard is frustrating in front of goal, seems to do everything right then he'll be too selfish when he shouldn't or he'll look for the pass rather than the shot when it's wide open for him. 3 years ago when we won the title I thought Willian was very overrated, fantastic work rate but his end product was sheer awful. But since then he's shown exactly the type of Brazilian he was at Shakhtar, full of flair and speed. He does have games against Tottenham this season where he does everything wrong, then he replaces that against Everton where he doesn't do a thing wrong. I would argue that it's his consistency that's the issue, that's why I like him as a squad player, his impact in so many games is what's so invaluable to the side.

Not sure if anyone's into tactical shooting strategies, but if you ever want to try one, try the new X-Com 2 War of the Chosen out on Steam. Most DLC's are usually money grabs but my god this is like a whole new game, really worth the 40 quid. I hope more games look up to CD Projekt Red's Witcher 3 and it's DLC's. Need more game companies putting everything into games rather than ripping gamers off with crappy content, Bioware with Mass Effect Andromeda was a big one, so glad it got the backlash it deserved.

I really hate reading through the comments on this thread and looking at how lowly rated Willian is, I would rate him above Pedro and say he's our 2nd best-attacking player under Hazard. Of course, you're all entitled to your opinions, I just think it's strange, has nobody watched him for the last two seasons?

Who loves playing Arsenal more than Didier Drogba? Eden Hazard I would argue, can't let him not start this game, get him back into it.

Oh I know I'm just saying from Sky News articles which I read for some stupid reason always bang on about Liverpool's structure whenever they play.

Even a lot of Liverpool fans have said the atmosphere is nothing to what it used to be, but it won't stop Skypool.

Stats are what Arsenal fans have used to legitimise Ozil's terrible performances over the past 3-4 years.

I think two strikers is enough to go the full season, I wouldn't worry so much about that. Let's hope Christensen moulds well then and gets a good amount of game time, I'm down with that. Rudiger I'll have to see more of but I'm still not sold on him.

I'm a stubborn negative nancy so I really hope you're right and I'm wrong, but if we keep Cahill out of the side I will have a lot of hope.

Going to be very negative here considering it's only 3-4 games, I'm not keen on his ball distribution or his ball retention. But I've never seen him play before quite honestly so I don't know what his strengths are, maybe it's fine having someone who's more limited on the ball but is a better defender to mix things up at the back when we have Azpi & Luiz who are exceptional passers and great going forward. I think Rudiger has looked a bit shaky but that's my only criticism, his defending I can't complain at all, we'll see how he gets on as the season progresses. I've watched Bako in Ligue 1 and I wasn't very keen on him because of his technical skills whereas Rudiger like I just said, I've never seen him play so I can't really comment but I have a fair idea he's not a ball playing defender which I think is something we should've went for in the market despite how rare they are, Luiz is honestly what keeps this team together and so many don't realise it.

Lol the thing is didn't Costa score about 3 headed goals in his Chelsea career? He never got on the end of anything. I can't tell you how many times Alonso, Hazard & Moses whipped in amazing balls on the byline and Costa was never on the end of one of them. I am absolutely relieved Morata is getting on the end of crosses.

What about our defence though? It had its problems last season we can't completely sugarcoat it, Cahill is just not good enough. He's not top tier, David Luiz & Azpi are top tiers however but I think our organisation at the back is very rusty even now, looks like the same problems last season, we get dominated by crosses. Maybe that can't be helped given the formation, I could be negative here but that's my strongest criticism, the back 3.

I think Spurs have with Sanchez & Aurier. Manchester City replaced all their wing backs when it was necessary and they've signed a fantastic player in Bernardo Silva, but they already had fantastic depth as it is. United got the business deals done with Mikhi & Pogba last season and have started building their team. Their width is a big issue though I agree. I think Liverpool have strengthened though, Arsenal hasn't with the loss of Gabriel but you can't argue with the Lacazette signing. But Liverpool, Spurs & Arsenal are irrelevant for me, the top 2 are City and United we have to compete with, do you think on paper we have better squads than them? I would say on paper we have a better first 11 than United.

I think over the recent years United have far superior squad players to what we do now, that's what'll make it decisive this season. I could be wrong and I'll happily hold my hands up but until then but I'm not going to say I was wrong after just a few games and I wouldn't expect anyone else to either, it's a long season...

Most people aren't comparing it to our other transfer windows, they're comparing it to circumstances & our rivals, who have made better and quicker business than we have.

Said it on another thread but I think I'll say it here also, United look very weak out wide. They have one attacking fullback who's 32 and looks way past it, that could cost them in the long run. Jose seems content with sticking to his old formation despite the change of the game. But I can only see teams doing what Stoke did two days ago, playing it down the middle all the time will be one dimensional, could really bite them back in the ass and Jose has to win it this season for me or at least must be up there. It's been near 5 years since United last won a title, their fans & board will be impatient.