Arsenal are ‘ugly, cynical, filthy cheats’ but also champions

Arsenal pretty much have the Premier League title in the bag; does it matter that they have done it with such few thrills?

We also have plenty on Liverpool and Man Utd. Mail us at theeditor@football365.com

Well done Arsenal

Congratulations to Arsenal FC on winning the Barclays English Premiership League (Bestest League in the World™) on Tuesday, May 19 2026, at 10:00pm British Standard Time…
Muthama Gitonga, Nyeri (Mount Kenya)

READ: Arsenal set for six-year Premier League dominance as VAR and Guardiola bottle it

This Arsenal team is rancid

This Arsenal team are truly rancid. Ugly, cynical, filthy cheats. Eagle-eyed regular mailbox readers may have gathered I’m not hugely keen on Liverpool, but I can recall many, many games where I’ve watched them play entertaining AND tournament/league winning football whilst cursing under my breath. Can’t remember a single Arsenal game this season where I can say the same for this hugely expensively assembled and talented squad playing Arteta’s abhorrent take on the beautiful game.

The referees in this league have to take a large slice of the blame too though, neatly encapsulated in that Havertz assault. It was a red all day long and twice on a Sunday. Anyway, congrats on your hollow victory Gooners, hopefully next season the game’s administrators will attempt to steer Premier League football back to something we can all enjoy, even if grudgingly when a team we aren’t wild about come out on top.
RHT/TS x

(Hope PSG properly humiliate them in the CL)

Arsenal got away with one

Oh, Arsenal got lucky there. Havertz could have walked and there’d have been no complaints from me. Thinking of all the stupid reds we got last season, I cannot recall one being that was the same level of bad as Havertz ‘tackle,’ was (who can forget MLS’s red at Wolves away). It was an ‘orange’ card at best.

I don’t see City winning tomorrow. Bournemouth are at home, fresh, chasing Europe and are on a 16 match unbeaten run in the PL, so I think it’s nearly done.

I could be wrong though, City could win their next 2 games and we could complete the bottling by drawing to Palace on Sunday.

The pessimist in me is still strong.
Izzy, London

Writing in just to say he doesn’t care about Arsenal criticism

We’ll win the league and all the discourse and opinions and complaints will not matter one bit. I will celebrate our fourth league title joyfully and let others feel aggrieved, it will make no difference to me. COYG!
David

Responding to Man Utd fans and more

So I see now the mighty Man Utd have finally qualified for the Champions League, having had no European football and getting knocked out early of both domestic cup competitions, the focus turns to their bigger more successful Scouse neighbours.

Firstly Garey Vance claiming Jamie Carragher was jizzing himself at the start of the season when they were winning and now he’s changed his mind. Take a look at his response after the first (Ipswich) and subsequent few games of the season repeatedly telling Slot that his attacking formation was too attacking and was leaving Liverpool too exposed. He saw it and called it early.

Then we have Colin Brown (Everton supporter I assume, or a very lost Utd fan trying to find the Manchester Evening news). Of course you are going to get stupid comments in the comments section of a local newspaper online. It seems Alonso wants to be a manager not a coach. He turned Liverpool down and waited a year to take the Real Madrid job and plays 3-4-3 so is not being considered even though it’s the emotional choice a lot of fans would have loved to see. I don’t think lumping all Liverpool fans into the same pot as a few randoms posting on the Echo website is a reasonable conclusion to make. F365 is always a decent read with considered opinions (mostly) so hopefully you can hold a few of us to a higher standard.

Then we’ve got Tom, handily saying he has been Utd since 79. So a year after Liverpool had retained the European cup, followed it up with another 2, treble winning League One champions and 4 times Milk Cup (the best cup) winners. So Tom had to endure a good 11 years of Liverpool domination which has been conveniently forgotten in his comment about how Liverpool are the ones ‘reverting to the mean’. We weren’t too bad between 1968 to 1978 either.

Also Tom calls out Virgil van Dijk ‘getting away with murder’. If he wants to look at the stats he actually ranks as the number 1 defender this season so if that’s getting away with murder then he’s guilty as charged. Aerial dominance, clearances, passing & distribution, overall rating. He’s also got 6 goals which is higher than any other defender so its a little early to call time. He has had zero support and still put in decent performances.

Liverpool have had a very difficult season for a number of reasons repeatedly posted on this website, but as current champions, will probably qualify for the champions league whilst Utd are ‘back’ under the legend Carrick (who knows the club) and are a huge 9 points ahead of us having finally qualified for the Champions League for the first time in a couple of years and losing to relegation contenders Spurs in the Europa final in between.

It’s a bit early ‘giving it the biggun’ (Thanks Frank Lampard). Utd did well this season. Carrick steadied the ship, put players where they are supposed to be and had the luxury of one game a week. Cunha and Mbeumo are decent signings. Mainoo back in the team and Bruno higher up the pitch made sense. Carrick did well at Middlesbrough before it went wrong in his second season.

Let’s see where both sides are this time next year. Focus on your own team, unless you want to be considered a smaller club more concerned with your neighbours travails than your own success.
Hong Kong Ian (a bit of perspective and research goes a long way) LFC

READ: Liverpool should sack Arne Slot and here are a full 20 reasons why

Arne Slot? Arne Schwarzenegger, more like

The Arne Slot presser is an incongruent experience. He’s lived under the cosh most of this season which has led to his saying truly daft things with utter conviction, coming across nearly deluded at times—yet, YET, he doesn’t much fluster does he. He’s unnervingly steady and bought in. It seems an uncanny superpower of his that, more so than any flailing manager in recent memory, he appears so fully convinced of himself. But make no mistake, flailing he is.

This man has perfected flailing while remaining perfectly still. From where his belief sources I’ve no idea, I keep waiting and waiting for that Total Recall bead of sweat to appear, to give up his ghost, to give me the satisfaction knowing ok, he’s cracking, right there, I see it now. I’ve waited all season for a tell, any tell, but the massive Dutch cranium drones on inscrutable as it is inevitable.

So double down then, Arne. Triple down. Start Mo on Sunday, out of line as he was this week… then sub him off on 11′ and light up a fat stogie on the final whistle and bring it into the post-match and blow smoke at all them front-row journos. Lean into it and get us all back onside then. Go on, Arne, be the hard man, give us a flex.
Eric, Los Angeles CA

Where is the Slot sympathy?

At the start of the season we were constantly hearing about how the players were having to cope with the loss of a team mate and friend, after the tragic death of Diogo Jota. Surely Arne Slot had to cope with that too, as well as helping the players through an incredibly difficult time. Having won the league the year before, it seems wrong that Slot is not getting the same understanding from the fans that the players are. It seems a shame that after a poor season his achievements from last year are being so easily dismissed.
Dave AFC

READ: Liverpool should sack Arne Slot and here are a full 20 reasons why

Set-pieces, Barclays and the human side of football

Another set-piece, another Arsenal goal. It’s a strange trademark for champions to have, but if that’s how they end up winning the league, then, in the words of Clipse, so be it.

Looking back on this season, I can honestly say I enjoyed my own little slice of Barclays. So many of the things I love about football suddenly came back into fashion again — 4-4-2, flair-filled central attacking midfielders, and the return of deadly set-pieces. Long may it continue.

Going back to our game this weekend, it’s funny how the conversation focused on one particular incident rather than just appreciating how good Morgan Gibbs-White’s finish actually was. But at the end of the day, it’s still a human sport played by humans — mistakes, emotion, unpredictability and all.

Anyway, my only fear heading into next season is whether we finally get the transfer window right and properly fix the heart of our midfield. That all depends on how much trust you place in the minds running the club. Time will tell.
Gaptoothfreak, Manchester United F.C. supporter, New York City
(And La Liga is going to be absolutely off the chain next season.)

Pep quietly exiting the Citanic before it sinks

Unlike Captain E.J. Smith, Pep Guardiola may have decided he’s not going down with dignity aboard HMS C115Y.

For years football fans were told the game belonged to the people. Communities. Rivalries. History. But modern elite football increasingly looks less like sport and more like geopolitics in shin pads.

That’s why the Manchester City case feels bigger than 115 charges. City are owned by Abu Dhabi interests tied to one of Britain’s most important strategic allies in the Gulf. The UK government has historically shown willingness to protect valuable state relationships — from halting the Saudi-related Al-Yamamah investigation over “national security” concerns, to carefully managing criticism of key Gulf allies despite mounting controversies elsewhere.

So when reports emerge that government figures wanted to remain abreast of developments in football’s biggest financial case, people naturally start asking questions.

Maybe there’s no interference whatsoever. OOOOH LOOK A FLOCK OF PIGS

But perception matters.

And right now millions of supporters increasingly believe football governance bends differently when sovereign wealth, diplomacy and global investment enter the room.

Meanwhile smaller clubs are punished swiftly while the most politically sensitive case in Premier League history drifts through years of legal complexity, silence and delay.

As for Pep — perhaps he’s simply realised there may never be a better moment to step away. Leave now and his football legacy largely remains intact, untangled from whatever comes next.

Because unless there’s a miracle ending for City, nobody wants to be standing on deck when HMS C115Y starts taking water below the line.
Alponse J Trump

Dear FSG

Please just check if Pep fancies the Liverpool gig before you go all in on Slot?
Minty, LFC

Giving up a Man Utd season ticket after 30 years man and boy

Last week I gave up my United season ticket of 30 years. I’d been going with my Dad since 96/97 season, he’s now in his 70s and not as mobile as he once was. We sit top of the SAF stand second tier and it’s a become a bit of a struggle these days. He/we had wanted to hand it down to my son. The club wouldn’t allow it.

So, we reviewed our options, and in doing so, have decided against it. This was not an easy decision. We were “Platinum” season ticket holders.

But, scratching down we found real issues that were unresolved.

30 years ago the atmosphere was different. Forget the results, I mean the community. You knew everyone that came, we became lifelong friends with the lad and dad who sat in front of us. The brothers to our left would always argue but would deeply embrace for each goal. There was smoking, there was a loud singer called Pasty (for some reason), who would get the crowd going. All the seats were the same marginally cramped plastic seats. We’d then rush off after the game to catch Sports Report on 5 live. De du de du….

About 15 years ago, all that changed. Although people have drifted over the years, it wasn’t until this point that everything began its slow decline. Nothing to do with the on field antics – this was business. We got a letter through saying that our seats that we’d held for 15 years were moving. The reason was to account for “Executive seating”. We had the privilege of being near the half way line at the back of the stand, so from a business perspective, these were valuable seats with easy access to the lounges behind the boxes. Our seats were pushed forward two rows and the whole rows of an entire section had seats removed and repacked by plusher cushioned seats. Because the larger seats were shoehorned into the existing, it meant that things didn’t quite line up right. If anyone was over 5’10”, my dad would get knee in the back for the whole game.

The lad and dad were moved half a stand away. No one remained. It was like a little quiet bomb went off in the community. What replaced it was tourists and day trippers on “Executive World Packages”. Half and half scarves. Bags full of merchandise. Phones recording everything. Empty sets until 10 minutes into the second half. Tourists enjoying their once in a lifetime trips whilst United lose 1-0 to Palace in a rain soaked Old Trafford.

I have nothing against these people from all over the world, they have as much right to come to OT as anyone and if they are will to do it whilst LvG, Mou, EtH or Amorim serve up dull football, then that’s their choice. However, what they don’t bring is a sense of a deeper known community. A thin but broad community of worldwide fans. The upshot is the experience for a season ticket holder has diminished.

Couple on the fact United had 2 (TWO) Saturday 3pm kick offs this season at OT and the last one was in September! This has been replaced with Friday nights, Monday nights, Wednesday nights, Saturday nights…everything except a fabled Saturday 3pm. I checked and in the late 90s we averaged 9-10 Saturday 3pm kick offs and the midweek was a novelty saved for Champions League or Christmas. It’s just not the same. Sure it’s brought in the TV revenues and we have better players, but once again, the experience is diminished.

When assessing the option to leave being a “platinum” season ticket holder, gained through 25 years of continuous attendance/purchasing, must mean something? Well, it meant a plastic sign on the underside of your seat. It used to mean a pen or such like with the physical season ticket. Now it’s all digital, it’s nothing. When I clicked the button stating I wasn’t renewing I just got a box saying “ok”. I’ve not had an email, no outreach. It’s the longest “relationship” I’ve ever had and it ended without as much as a “sorry to see you go”.

But, they are not sorry to see us go. In fact, I feel it’s been a strategy to remove season ticket holders for a while. I turn up and buy a pie and a bottle of water – that’s about £7-£8. I park for free. Over a season they might get £200 in additional revenue from a season ticket holder like me. However, the guy or girl who flies over from China/Norway buys a (£120!!) shirt, a programme, a scarf, several drinks, etc etc. And if I resell my ticket, they get double bubble – my £50 seat can go for £80-£120 depending on the game (of course, I get my money back, less a fee, the club takes the rest). That’s why they brought in the policy of having to attend a certain amount of games each season and if not, selling it back to the club – and if you didn’t hit 15 games attended or forwarded on, you lose your ability to renew.

So, no more community, inability to transfer down the generations, diminished seating, anti-social match times, no reward for loyalty, a feeling of being pushed aside. That’s the reality of a modern day United season ticket holder.

The football has been better recently, and I feel the club has turned a corner, but it was never about the on pitch success. It was precious time with my Dad, starting the process again with my son (who had started to get a love for it), the rituals, the community. I’ve had a lot of very good memories and been very fortunate for all of this. But I’m left considering how the never ending commercialisation of the game has washed over me personally and what that means for the average season ticket holder.

My uni friends who moved to London became Orient fans – their tickets are next but one to each other. The guy who sits between them, unknown beforehand, after 5 years still sits between them. It’s become an absurdity that they all live out. That’s the oddities that only come from a community over years. It’s going out/gone from the top of the game – maybe it has for many years, and I’ve been too blinded to see it. But I can help looking at my son and thinking that he’s going to miss out.
Tom Parkinson (Scholes goal vs Barcelona will be the highlight)