06 May 2026 10:12:08.
I always quite liked Arsenal, or at least out of all the other teams they were the one who I felt least dislike towards. Maybe this is only because, back in the late 90s and early 00s, they were the only team that ever put up a challenge to Manchester United. We were so far off the pace at that point that perhaps I just wanted anybody other than United to win, and Arsenal under Wenger were to Ferguson’s United what Klopp’s Liverpool were to City.
But I really don’t like this current Arsenal. I think it just comes down to how dislikeable Arteta is. I am objective enough to acknowledge that if Arteta is manager of your team and your team is winning and having success, you don’t really care about how he conducts himself, but watching the final stages of that match last night kind of summed it up. What was Arteta even doing? Like some deranged lunatic running up and down the touchline, chasing after the ball (to try to hide it or slow things down?) every time it went off the pitch, bumping into players and officials.
And what about the Arsenal subs? Half the squad were lined up along the touchline, really close to the playing area all along the side of the pitch. Deliberately getting in the way, kicking the ball away when it came off the pitch, trying to block access to the replacement balls. It was like a Sunday league match. By that stage of the match, I believe Arsenal had used all of their substitutes so there was no reason whatsoever for players to be “warming up” or out of the dugout at all. Not surprising at all that tempers started to flair between the two benches.
Not sure how they were getting away with that last night. I think we’ll see some clamp down on this in future.
06 May 2026 11:21:28
I feel the same way about this current Arsenal side. I detest them. I used to love watching Arsenal play under Wenger.
I remember back in about 2002, I think it was, I used to think that Arsenal and Deportivo played the best football in Europe, Arsenal with Henry, Pires etc and then Deportivo with Valeron, Luque and Victor etc.
The football they both played was a joy to watch.
06 May 2026 11:34:06
All I will add to my earlier comments, specifically in relation to last night, is this.
If your actions are making Simeone, of all people, look like a choir boy, how much of a **** are you actually being?
06 May 2026 12:02:37
The referees have enabled all of this. If they don't enforce the rules, these desperate coaches will continue to push the barriers. Arsenal's sporting model is one of desperation than of sporting excellence.
06 May 2026 12:49:52
Does Arteta make Simeone look like a choir boy, honestly? Arteta isn't much different to Klopp, living and breathing every minute of the game, pumping the crowd up after a great win, etc. Not really a fan of the football he likes to play, but if he wins the double or even any of the big trophies then it's hard to argue he hasn't done the right thing.
He has spent a fair wedge of money, but he has the strongest squad in the PL in my opinion.
I keep my annoyance to what's going on at our club and not having a jealous eye at another club/manager because they might succeed. We should have done far better to compete with them and our team failed miserably.
06 May 2026 12:57:14
Crazy to think this Arsenal team could do a League and CL double.
Can't remember the last English team to do it.
If it happens, it will show how far the beautiful game has fallen.
Credit where credit is due, though, their fans will be buzzing and won't give 2 s##ts.
But it will bring a whole new meaning to winning ugly. Although we can't say much, we just play ugly, win, lose, or draw.
06 May 2026 13:25:01
I think we all know this. At the end of the day, the history books will only remember the titles and the wins. Everything else is just a part of the process. So the current breed of managers will coach, and do, every little thing to gain an edge to win and be in the history books.
06 May 2026 13:30:44
For me, Arteta's touch line tactics aren't my issue cos lots of managers do it. He is such a bit cringe about it cos he wasn't doing it before and used to get pelters for showing no passion and only then, did he start doing it, imo.
I do agree with a lot of what RR has said. This version of Arsenal under Arteta are supremely annoying and their diving, cheat or "Dark Arts" antics are just wretched stuff. The subs lining up at the touch line, escalating things and whinding up the Atleti players and staff, is something I've never seen any team do in all my years of watching the sport. Calafiori getting involved with scuffles here and there.
Was any that even necessary? And they wonder why people can't stand them and are rooting for City (absolute cheats, btw) to win the title over them.
Funny enuff, this same club under Wenger used to cry and whine when other teams were doing the same thing back then, calling such things "not the Arsenal way" and all that. Well, it seems that part of the "Arsenal way" has been abandoned when convenient. That's fine as we are all hypocrites in a way, as sports/football fans.
All in all, they are dire to watch and their antics and pathetic conduct of their manager and players are just in severely poor taste.
06 May 2026 13:39:24
JK, didn't City do it only a couple of years ago? Before then, though, I'm not sure. Utd in 99?
06 May 2026 13:53:21
Yup. ManU did it twice (1999 and 2008). ManC did it in 2023. We did it thrice before the EPL ('77, '81 and '84). (Thank you Google).
06 May 2026 14:56:18
Cheers, Gents. Totally forgot about City a few years ago. 3 times in 26 years shows what a feat it is.
Without coming across as bitter, I hope it doesn't end up 4 in 27.
06 May 2026 16:16:02
I'm going to double down on my original post. When I watched it on tv last night, I thought it was like nothing I'd ever seen - apart from in Sunday park football - but I've just seen a clip of the passage of play that I was talking about and it was even worse than how I first saw it.
Really quite extraordinary that Arsenal were allowed all of those players standing on the touchline, deep into the other half of the pitch (when none of them could claim to be legitimately warming up because Arsenal had used all of their permitted substitutions).
And then, throwing the ball into the crowd and even booting another ball onto the pitch to stop the opposition from getting on with the game. Like a bunch of hungover lads playing on a dog poo covered park on a Sunday morning.
06 May 2026 16:22:16
Let's be honest here. If we'd got Leverkusen, Sporting and Atletico in the knock out rounds last season or even this season, it's likely we'd be in the Final too.
They got an unbelievably easy draw, and after Barca somehow managed to blow it against Atletico, the final was the absolute minimum Arsenal should've got to. Anything less would've been a huge failure given the draw they got.
They only scraped through against Sporting, who are second to Porto in the Portuguese league. Forest knocked Porto out of the Europa. We beat Atletico in the league phase, as did Arsenal, and, in fact, Atletico had lost 5 games in the CL this year. They're not great.
You can only beat what's in front of you, but what was in front of them were teams that should've been easily dispatched over 2 legs.
06 May 2026 17:04:33
Irish, the behaviour last night was embarrassing beyond belief.