Arsenal are a ‘strange duck’ as Mikel Arteta got it wrong on big signing

The Mailbox reckons Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta got things awful wrong this season, leaving Liverpool as only real challengers to Man City.

Get your views in to theeditor@football365.com…

Arsenal win 5-0 and yet…
Arsenal are a strange duck this season.

We’ve played the season thus far like something’s not quite right.

Arteta only had finite sums so rather than sign a number 8 and a striker, he signed a player he thought could do both with Kai Havertz.

It was perfectly understandable at the time as Xhaka left and Gunnersaurus takes to the Emirates pitch more often than Thomas Partey these days.

We do need a striker but when you have to sign a goalkeeper at the end of the summer window on loan, you know that’s not happening any time soon.

I don’t think Mikel’s got it right. I’d rather we’d kept Xhaka and Balogun and let Reiss Nelson and Nketiah go rather than adding Havertz – but hindsight’s a hell of a thing.

But weighing it all up, we’re where we deserve to be. Good luck Liverpool. I really hope they stop another City cakewalk.
Graham Simons, Gooner, Norf London

Get over it
MAW, LA Gooner, it may be hard for you to wrap your head around, but in football it’s actually quite possible to put your hands on an opponent without fouling him. Which is what Joelinton did. The referee saw no foul and didn’t call one. The reviewers saw no clear foul. The broadcast crew saw no clear foul. Yet seemingly every Arsenal fan was able to convince themselves Gabriel, leaning forward for a header, was fouled. (Chris, Croydon: see what Anthony meant now?)

I get over actual bad calls that cost my team points within a day or two. My son, who recently turned 18, reacts to every call against Newcastle with fury and protests. It’s a bad look, and I’ve tried without success to correct this behavior. I hope he’ll grow out of it. But you’ve been writing to the Mailbox for years. You’re surely a grown-assed man, and here you are, two and a half months later, still b*tching about a call your club didn’t deserve. It’s baffling.

Also, Stewart, Chicago, I agree: Trippier to Germany makes no sense.
Chris C, Toon Army DC

Happy Reds
What a cracking second-half performance from a team missing:
TAA
Andy Robbo (plus his very able Deputy Tsimikas)
Sbozlai
Salah

Not to mention Thiago Alcantara who would start every. Single. Match. If only he wasn’t made of balsa wood.

And Matip who is a 1 in 2 starter.

Literally half a first team unavailable but after a difficult first half, during which we witnessed yet another example of Liverpool players being refereed to different standards (Curtis Jones was sent off for an identical tackle to Kluivert’s, PGMOL doubled down on appeal), the second half was an absolute delight of clinical finishing.

Jota is always capable but it was particularly pleasing to see Darwin finish unerringly. Twice!

I did genuinely lol at Jota’s second which caught the Bournemouth fans mid jeer, eerily reminiscent of Darwin’s belter in the Carabao which had the same effect.

Nervous about Fulham’s challenge on Wednesday but hopefully the lads will take heart from this professional performance and book a first time Wembley visit for the new lads.
James Outram, Wirral

Read more: Jota, Darwin and Bradley ensure Liverpool cope just fine without Salah and Alexander-Arnold

United move shows City aren’t guilty
The loss of Omar Berrada to United is definitely a loss to City and it’ll sting that the traitorous b*stard has gone to the dark side.

However, there’s another side to this. Berrada was an important cog in City’s marketing, sponsorship and partnership teams and was there when all the sponsorship deals that are now deemed to be fraudulent, were signed. If that’s the case, it’s likely that he’d receive a punitive punishment from the FA.

So, why hire him? Was it done purely to damage City further ahead of the colossal punishment that will be handed down to us? OR, more likely, is it evidence that United don’t believe City are ACTUALLY guilty of cheating and that the only charge we’ll be found guilty of is that of refusing to cooperate…which makes sense. Why cooperate with a malicious prosecution?

Not guilty, m’lud.

Khaldoon Al Mubarak has promised to say it as he sees it when all this is over. Personally, I really cannot wait to see those zingers. Hope the boardrooms at White Hart Lane, the Emirates, Anfield and….Old Trafford, are ready for them.

Football365 and all the bitters on here, too.

Here to dispense sound advice…
Levenshulme Blue, Manchester 19
PS, apologies will not be accepted, you can all do one.

Jose for England
In about four months time the ‘race’ to become the new England manager will dominate the headlines and Big Sam isn’t in it .

I would previously have said that the two clear front runners are the X Brighton boss and the X Bournemouth boss , both young , English and ‘in touch with ‘ the ‘modern game ‘ . Now however , I feel a Setubal shadow over the FA .

At first glance, having Jose Mourinho as this England squad coach looks like a mistake , but with further scrutiny it starts to look more ‘ match made in heaven’ / right place , right time . I’m intrigued to know what other mailboxers reckon .

Before that, I hope to see a decent four horse race for the title run in. This second half of the season appears( to me) to be a race against injuries so with that in mind , one has to consider Tottenham’s lack of European football a slight advantage.

If they are not the best of the four and neither have the best manager, fewer minutes in the legs will surely help them keep it interesting.

Liverpool need Salah’s injury not to be a grade three tare but still face too great a number of games. Arsenal could do without a Champions League semi final run but maybe that could be construed as progress as long as they qualify for it again next season. City have proven that their tight squad can handle multiple fronts and I cannot see a better team in Europe currently. The only thing that might stop them in the league title race is immediate ( hence unlikely) banishment to the third tier ! ( City winning it could see Villa qualified in fifth ).

Finally, Antony’s body looks too small for his head, a vice-versa with fat Frank .
Peter ( Gareth shouldn’t get a job at the top level). Andalucia.

Life of Brian
I really hope the rumours of Brian Brobbey being transferred to the Prem are true, purely because his name sounds like he’s been invented for a Monty Python sketch.

Imagine the headline possibilities!

Ta,
Dave (he’s not the Messiah, he’s a very naughty boy) PVFC