Celery1989

Really enjoyed the City Liverpool game. It's rare to see such an end-to-end contest, virtually devoid of any tactics; It genuinely felt like either team could carve the other open at any point. I suppose it's quite refreshing to see a game like that in a way given how pragmatically these big games tend to be played out nowadays. That said I'm glad we don't have an idealist like Guardiola in charge, I much prefer Conte's pragmatism.

Lots of reports/journalists on Twitter at the moment saying that Martial, Rashford and maybe even Rooney are out of tomorrow's game. If that's the case then it would be pretty poor if we didn't go through. If no Rooney then that would leave them with Mata and Mhkitaryan out wide and...Fellaini up front? On a separate note, Harry Kane was pictured leaving WHL on crutches and with his right ankle in a protective boot. Pochettino's comments after the game would suggest that he could be out for an extended period of time.

Can anyone make any actual sense out of the decision to bench Sanchez? I get that Wenger wanted a more physical/direct approach and therefore went with Giroud who is a more traditional "no.9" to spearhead the attack. But then why on earth would you put your best player on the bench!? Why not just put him on the left (his natural position) and bench one of the average AM's like Iwobi or Oxlade-Chamberlain!? The only thing that would make sense to me is that Sanchez' contract talks have ground to a halt and that perhaps Wenger wants to make a statement to him.

It's staggering how Liverpool seem to be able to carve Arsenal open whenever they want. It's not that Liverpool are that good, it's much more a case of Arsenal being utterly inept tactically.

We generally are mate but I think some people are still a bit sensitive about Mourinho being your manager (whether we admit it or not). This hasn't been helped by the lack of respect that he's shown towards Chelsea in the media this season. Also watching a rival club win a Cup Final which they didn't deserve will always aggravate people...let's face it we should know!

I've begun to notice this about him too. Good player but very Barcelona-esque personality on the pitch.

Southampton really unlucky today in many ways but that's Football sadly. What's interesting about the game today for us is that Southampton had almost 2 weeks off whilst United had the Europa League game midweek. When we come to play them in the FA Cup we'll have had a week off whilst they will have had a tough trip to Russia on the preceding Thursday. Southampton didn't make their freshness and superior energy count early on - well, the linesman didn't allow them to - so we must ensure that we do. In the 2nd half especially our greater energy levels should bode well.

I don't if you guys here know many Spurs fans but I just can’t really understand their mindset. They all think of themselves as supporters of a big club, one which has been dormant for a few decades, yet they seem completely indifferent about the cup competitions, domestic or European. They make such a big deal about qualifying for the top 4 yet, yet when they get there and ultimately underwhelm, no one actually seems to be too bothered. The Europa League is then seen primarily as a hindrance, even though it’s one of the few competitions they could actually win and would get them back into the Champions League which they were so eager to play in in the first place. If Spurs fans think they support such a big club then it’s about time they started acting like one and took cup competitions seriously.

Lots of papers saying we are looking several Monaco players. From what I've seen Silva, Mbappé, Sidibe and would all be welcome additions. Keen to look at the holding midfielders more in the second leg as apparently we're keen on Bakayoko too.

I have to say that I take exception to this notion that 'Millwall fans are all scum', and quite frankly I find it a bit hypocritical given the reputation that our own fanbase has had over the years. The actions of a minority - albeit a larger one in Millwall's case than with most other clubs - shouldn't be used to characterise the wider fanbase. It's exactly the same principle involved when people say 'Chelsea fans are racist' because of what happened on the Paris metro and in other incidents over the years. All clubs have a hooligan element to them because Football transcends all social strata, but the majority of fans in my experience tend to be decent people.

Won't lie I've missed it this year. Love a European away with the boys. The closest we've had this season was Swansea away back in September.

It's a blow but in all honesty I don't think City will miss him that much given that they have Agüero waiting in the wings. Not only is he a top quality striker but he knows that he is fighting for his future at the club, he more or less said as much a few weeks ago. Feel sorry for Jesus though given how electric and promising a start he'd made.

Unfortunately I think you guys are both right. I'm trying to think of a plausible scenario in which Bournemouth get a point tonight but I just can't see it. City look like they are 'on it' again and will probably have too much for their opposition. That said, they do defend poorly at times and have a habit of underwhelming away from home, so there's a small amount of hope at least...

Fair point. I actually think he should have started with Fabregas today. I know Burnley are a physical side but they didn't pose any real threat on the counter attack to exploit Fabregas' defensive deficiencies; they bypassed the midfield a lot by playing it long. We could have really used Fabregas from the start to establish a rhythm to our play, something which we never managed to do throughout the entire game.

Pretty mediocre performance. There was no fluency or cohesion in our game. But Turf Moor has become a very tough ground to win at and the conditions today made it even more challenging. 2 points dropped but a draw is just about ok IMO. I think today's game should serve as a wake up call for some of our fans in terms of their expectations. We are not going to win every game from here, especially not away from home. We still have to play West Ham, Stoke, Bournemouth, United, Everton and West Brom away from home - every single one of those games has the potential to be very tough. It's imperative that we take care of business in our home games, starting with Swansea in two weeks' time. All of our home games look quite winnable to me, including Man City who are poor defensively. So long as we keep winning at the Bridge we can afford a slip up or two away from home.

Agreed. Tottenham have admittedly a very good first XI but outside of that they lack quality and reliable depth. The Europa League will surely put a strain on their League form; The competition is a way into the Champions League and for that reason I'm sure Pochettino won't just field a team full of backups and kids. Let's not forget that they are still in the FA Cup too, although I can see them taking that less seriously.

Agreed completely. Very obvious who the weak links are in this side. But that said, they've all played well to this point and they are good enough to see us home this season. Being such an intelligent manager, Conte will have identified our weaknesses and potential for improvement a long time ago and I'm sure we'll be making some moves in the Summer. But that is a discussion for another time. Overall I'm quite happy with last night's point in light of the other results. Sure, we could have won it but I'd have taken a draw beforehand anyway regardless. 9 points is a strong lead.

Also on a separate note - if this is to be his last game then great to see Ivanovic score. He's been a solid right-back for us for several years, a great servant to the club, scoring several vital goals over the years. I wish him all the best in his future endeavours.

Solid performance overall. Fabregas was the star man, dictating the game from start to finish. Batshuayi has a lot of raw potential but currently isn't up to it. He badly needs a loan to get consistent minutes and develop his overall game. If Costa were to get injured, then I wouldn't have a lot of confidence in Batshuayi leading the line. I'd much rather have someone like Llorente until the end of the season and re-evaluate Batshuayi for the following season then. RLC got involved a lot and clearly has a lot of talent. There often seems to be something missing, though; the final pass, finish, sometimes he takes too many touches or gets lackadaisical. He's another that could do with a loan but currently I don't see us bringing in anyone of the requisite quality in the next few days and so RLC will have to stay. I like the look of Chalobah a lot. He didn't put a foot wrong really and quietly does a very good job when called upon. Good to see Aké at LWB as we may need him there if Alonso were to get injured. He wasn't really tested at all but first signs look positive in this position. I guess he'll probably play more as the LCB if used this season.

Thought Hazard was poor yesterday. Against a team like Hull, he should be making a far greater impact on the game, especially at home. That said, I don't think he's in a bad vein of form. I thought he did a great job leading the line vs Leicester last week in what is an unnatural position for him. Also provided a great assist on that day for Marcos Alonso's first goal. I fancy him to rebound against Liverpool and have a good game, he generally does against them. Many here have voiced their doubts over whether Hazard can take that next step and I have to say I agree. I just don't think he has the requisite killer instinct to get there. Yesterday he seemed very lackadaisical and appears that way too often IMO.

Exactly. It was an awesome weekend for us regardless and for that we should be thankful. 8 points is a big lead.

Thought Arsenal should have a penalty earlier as well. Let's not forget that Hull should have had one today too...

I'm not sure about Tottenham. When the Europa League starts again I can see it detrimentally affecting their chances in the League given how small their squad is.

I fancy 1-1 as well. After the Everton I think City will be pumped out for this one and generally they are a tough proposition at home, even if their defence has its weaknesses. Regarding Spurs, they switched to 3 at the back against us and had carried on with that formation in the last few weeks. However, Vertonghen being out for the next 2 months is a big blow as the drop off to Wimmer/Davies is significant. The former has looked pretty poor whenever I've seen him. I think City will able to exploit Tottenham and I wouldn't be surprised to see them win. But to do that, they will need to play much better than they have in recent weeks.

If this is true then I agree with you. If Hazard earns £200k a week then Costa, IMO, deserves to earn as he is our most important player at the moment.