First half comments:
When the guys are playing this well, you wonder how they could ever be outclassed as badly as they were in Munich and Liverpool. The passes were quick and accurate, they were winning more than their share of the 50-50 balls, and they were pretty well organized too. I was really impressed with AOC, but I've felt that way for some time now. Even his corners were good. Walcott was dangerous and combative, and that was a classy goal. (He could have had two or three.) Back at the end...
Okay, Kos gets sent off--harshly I thought--while giving up a penalty. 1-1 and we're down to ten men. I have to complain here about Alexis, who gave the ball away twice in two minutes just before this. Oh well...it was a smashing game up til now. Wrap up later...
It's later. Shit. Look, Bayern is the better team, no question. But 10-2? That's ridiculous. Kos goes off and we ship four goals again. Xhaka gives the ball away, makes a nutty challenge (earning a yellow) and takes himself out of the play, leading to an easy Bayern goal--and he was jogging back. I tell you, he's a moron. Mustafi looked pretty bad defensively today. I could play "what-if" on the chances we had but didn't take, but Lewandowski alone bottled two or three gilt-edged opportunities for Bayern. They could have had nine today.
Yes, Wenger has to go. It's sad that he hadn't come to that conclusion a long time ago--a year at least--and sadder still that the owner and board didn't have the courage to let him know that he had to step off the stage. I have no confidence that a new manager is going to win anything next season, but we're going backward now.
Alexis burned some bridges today. He was going to go somewhere else anyway, but it's a shame he has made himself a villain at his own club. I don't think I've seen a player laughing at his own team's misfortune from the bench before.
Does it matter if Arsenal doesn't finish in the top four this year? I don't think so. They'll get to the FA Cup semis thanks to a favorable draw, and probably lose there. (But it would be nice if we got that 13th Cup...) Don't think City, Liverpool, United, and Spurs are going to avoid the occasional pratfall themselves, so sure, we could end up in 3rd or 4th. But that's not a trophy.
It'll be an interesting off-season. It's up to Stan Kroenke now. He's an owner who is in this to make money, not history or romance. I very much doubt that he will invest a lot in the club. That will dissuade most top managers from even thinking about joining a club on a downward trajectory. Kroenke's more likely to pocket most of the Alexis and Ozil money and hire someone like Eddie Howe to manage the talent he already has, hoping to squeeze a European slot out of them, but comfortably mid-table at worst. The TV money is enough for him. Anyway, that's how I see it. I'll still be watching and supporting the Gunners, but the fans who were spoiled in the Wenger era will be howling.
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