Newcastle v Arsenal Review

TotalArsenal

No team I believe, had lost by 2 goals (or more) in the 1st leg of a League Cup Semi Final and actually managed to get through to Wembley – and that stat still remains after a near perfect performance by Newcastle this evening. They were aggressive, left a bit on our players and generally roughed us up.

Arsenal had previously lost 3 of the last 4 matches with Newcastle so this fixture is becoming a bit problematic for Arteta, who maybe needed a slightly different approach, but Mikel leaned into his inner Arsene and we pretty much played our usual way, but as good as we were against Man City we were this evening unfortunately poor.

Saliba had arguably his worst game of the season, Gabriel was rattled, Raya seemed edgy, Havertz was ineffective, I could go on but it’s seems churlish to pile into the team after such a great performance vs Man City, it was the perfect storm for the Geordies with the Newcastle fans creating a raucous atmosphere as Isak and Gordon made the most of the acres of space afforded them by us to run into.

I felt we created a lot more problems for ourselves by allowing Newcastle to get under our skin, by being too open at the back and making poor passing decisions and executions that ultimately led to turnovers. Martinelli had made some progress on the right jinking one way then the the other trying to create an opening, then he carelessly gave away cheap possession and Newcastle were off like greyhounds, a cross-field pass found Isak pulling away from Gabriel and his powerful shot blasted past a helpless Raya. Fortunately VAR came to our rescue and the goal was ruled out, but the warning was there, we had to take note and treat the ball like an old friend.

Newcastle were pressing us all over the pitch but after some patient approach work we opened them up, a sliding doors moment again. Some passing in the penalty area presented Odegaard with the chance to change the whole balance of play, to create some uncertainty in the Geordie fans and make the Newcastle players nervous. He should have scored, but screwed his shot wide and just as Havertz had missed that chance at the Emirates it was costly.

From the goal kick the long ball found its way to Gordon who flicked it onto Isak who took the ball in his stride and with Saliba flailing he blasted his shot past Raya. Fortunately it hit the post and flew across to the other side of the penalty area, Gabriel briefly hesitated and Murphy pounced to put it into an empty net. So in a matter of minutes what should have been an aggregate score of 2-1 was instead 3-0, and that was a mountain to climb.

Shortly afterwards Trossard had a chance, but his shot lacked bite and  Dubravka saved. That was it from an Arsenal attacking sense until the last few minutes of the game. Arsenal have failed to score against Newcastle in 3 of their last 4 games and so it proved again. Newcastle smothered anything Arsenal tried to create, our passing, so crisp against City, was ragged and we sorely missed the magic of Saka.

Martinelli went down with what looked like a hamstring and Nwaneri came on in the 37th minute to replace him, it just wasn’t our night!

Newcastle comfortably saw off Arsenal’s attempts of a comeback and went off at half time with a spring in their step.

We needed a miracle, a quick goal second half to inspire a revival, there was still hope, but that was quickly extinguished as Raya, faultless in so many games made that error you kinda dread with the style we now employ. Pressed energetically, he played a suicidal pass to Rice who lost the ball before it arrived and Gordon turned it home and with that ‘hope’ got onto the next train to Kings Cross Station.

All that was left was for Arteta was to make a few subs and not to let it turn into a catastrophe. Odegaard who had struggled came off and Trossard who’d been the recipient of a few hearty kicks joined him, on came Merino and Sterling. They did steady the ship but a comeback was a pipe dream although us scoring would have been good.

For Newcastle it was game management after their 4th goal on aggregate, the game was won and they generally managed the game better than Arsenal. The Gunners kept fighting as we always do. California came on for Timber and Jorginho for Partey, and close to the end Lewis Skelly probably should have scored with his head from a corner, but it wasn’t our night and that’s how it goes sometimes.

Trippier, Bruno, Tonali and Schar, in fact most of the barcodes turned up the volume on the dark arts, trying to get Lewis Skelly, Gabriel and Rice into trouble – I was dreading another red card, we didn’t deserve that, but our boys kept their heads and Myles came out of the game with a lot of credit, Ethan also had a decent game, Rice toiled away and supported Myles when that turd Trippier tried to provoke him, Myles just smiled as he always does – I love that boy.

As disappointing as the game was it was always going to be a tough assignment. In truth we lost the tie at the Emirates – but Arteta also needs to come up with a new approach to the deep block, don’t ask me what but he’s gotta find it? We’re great when we’ve got space to run into as was the case against City, but this was the reverse, I’m not sure that even Isak would have looked half as good if he’d been up against his own defence tonight?

The boys gave it everything tonight, you cannot fault their effort or their endeavour but it just wasn’t clicking and our attack, as we already know, is badly in need of some reinforcements. Anyway, off you go to Dubai you lucky lads and hopefully bring a fit Ben White and Tomiyasu back to the U.K. with you…

By Allezkev

61 thoughts on “Newcastle v Arsenal Review”

  • Super Post, Kev.

    Not easy to write, but you covered the game and its developments perfectly.

    For the Magpies this was/is existential: their big chance for silverware at last. For us it is a very nice to have, but we have bigger fish to fry with limited numbers of utensils. And this showed yesterday.

    Giving them so much space to run into was almost unavoidable as,we needed to score goals last night. Isak is a beast and he was the only top quality in their team. He did us again. Is he becoming the Drogba of this decade?

    I can live with this outcome. Never cared about the League Cup. One too many in the season IMHO.

  • Cheers Total, I actually went into last nights game optimistic that we could turn it around, I kept on referring to Anfield 1989, where George Graham played the perfect game, keeping it tight in the 1st half and only opening up in the 2nd half. I think if we’d got to halftime at 0-0 that Newcastle and their crowd would have got nervous, we needed imo to keep it a lot tighter than we actually did, we only needed two goals and you can do that over a 5 minute spell comfortably, at 2-2 Newcastle would have been in bits, but we played into their hands and actually made it easy for them.

    I think it was tactically a very poor game by Arteta, one of his worst and knowing what they do…

    I know a lot of people don’t care about the League Cup, I get that, but the players do, Havertz was apparently inconsolable last night, he went straight down the tunnel. Getting so close and ending up empty handed will eventually see our players consider fresh fields elsewhere and that’s why I wanted to win this trophy.

    The narrative of Arteta only winning one FACup in 5 years is picking up momentum, it won’t be long before bad actors begin to suggest that Arteta isn’t a winner. The recent success of Slot will become a stick with which to beat our club with and imagine if Ange actually beats Liverpool tonight? Cue much mirth at our expense…

  • No love for the Scousers but I seriously hope the barcodes get absolutely & probably battered in the final.
    The damage as you say was done in the first leg & id hoped he’d just put out a mix & squad type 11 especially after Sundays heroics & coming just over 48 hrs later.Too much in truth.And judging by 4/5 of the performances that was the case.
    The league cup over the years has been a bit of a graveyard for us .Leeds,,Swindon,Luton,Birmingham.You get the idea.Ive no love for the trophy whatsoever & in truth glad we’re out of it.An extra game against prob the scousers would have done us no favours.Silverware or not.

  • Yes Kev, there is merit in your criticism of Artetas tactics last night. It’s always going to be difficult to turn a 2-0 loss round and the Magpies loves to play George Graham footie…

    If we win the League Cup but lose out on the league and CL then the criticism will be just the same. It doesn’t really count. But I get your thinking and players hate losing.

    People forget this is a young, developing team, and we are not close from being a top top team. A couple of extra attackers this summer, and we’ll scare the proverbial out of our opponents.

  • My first visit to Wembley Pete was a League Cup final, Leeds in 1968, it’s kinda stayed with me ever since and whilst I understand why many don’t care about it I actually do, in fact two of my all time favourite cup final successes was Liverpool in 1987 and Sheff Weds in 1993, that Leeds defeat cut deep I guess…

    For me Total winning a cup final is what this team needs, you could see how they celebrated the Charity Shield in 2023. It means a lot to win, it helps you develop, especially this group who’ve had two years of huge disappointment.

    Closing a 9 point gap on Liverpool is possible but we all know that it’s unlikely just as unlikely as winning the CL, a nice thought but we’re crap in europe.

    Anyway, it’s gone now…

  • Looking at the pictures of the squad flying out to Dubai, I saw Ben White, Bakayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, but no Tomiyasu?

  • Fine post, Kev. I do not have much regard for the Carabao cup, seeing how few times we have won it and knowing (getting knocked out of) it will mean one match less to worry about. But, having reached the semi-final, going to Wembley was always going to be a great spectacle for the club and fans and there ends any regrets I habour. All I desired was for us to get a win, one way or the other. May be soured grapes though, because I agree this team needs to start winning trophies, no matter the kind.

    We had no choice but to play, as we did, on the front foot, leaving those gaps their fleet-footed forwards exploited. In hindsight, maybe we could have played deep and kept the game even for longer which may eventually make it an open game, where we could also find space, but that’s easier said than done. A few of the players may also have been feeling the exertions of Sunday and with the limited bodies we have, especially in the forward areas, it was going to be a mountain to climb, anyway.

    That 1989 Anfield moment may yet come, Kev, if we are only 2 points behind Liverpool by the time we go for the reverse fixture in May. That would be, oh, so enjoyable to behold if we can get the W. As unlikely as it may be, you just never know. 14 games to go; UCL and FA cups for Liverpool to play for….. a lot can change in the period. For now, let the boys get the warm weather training, return with one or two back fit and let’s take it from there.

  • As for the pictures of the players departing for Dubai, we can’t possibly publish pics of all the players, can we? Besides, we’ve been known for restricting pics we publish just to keep the opposition guessing.

  • Kev, I don’t expect us to win the league or PL this season, but I think, with the injuries in attack, it is what we should be focusing on. Give it our all. We don’t have the squad to fight on all fronts as yet. Beating Man Citeh was a sign of real progress.

  • Thanks Kev. Excellent post, honest, balanced and insightful.
    That Swindon loss was a sad day in my adolescent life. Rogers going through in the mud to score the clincher still inhabits my nightmares. But then, what followed? Our first European trophy and our first Double. Bertie’s boys rose from the ashes of those two cup final defeats, beat Ajax and Anderlecht, Leeds and Liverpool to end two decades of nothingness.

    One of my favourite visits to Highbury was during a League Cup marathon we had v Liverpool in the ’88-’89 season. It was the middle match of three which ended 0-0, but what a night. 55,000 in the ground and 6,000 (including my mate who had the gate close on his face right behind me, just as I got in the ground) locked out. Atmosphere was red hot. Rocky had kept us in the tie in the previous match with a screamer. This time it was a fabulous tackle by Lee Dixon on Peter Beardsley which is the stand out memory. Third game back at Anfield we lost but one Arsenal fan scored a direct hit on Kenny Dalgleish with a sandwich lobbed from the stand.

    Tell us, Kev, what are your memories of the ’68 final v Leeds? I’ve watched it on video and thought it a rough house and dour affair.

  • As we go away for warm weather training, I am hoping Arteta finds enough time to effect some tactical tweaks in our play, including:
    1- Variations to our corner kick routine. Teams have studied what we do and some are better prepared for those kicks now. How about coming short sometimes, and get closer to hit a pin-point cross? I’d also like to see someone feign to cross, then ping a pass to one of the sharp shooters in the team, at the edge of the opposition box to volley one on goal. That will work a treat and make us less predictable at set pieces.

    2. Many times we take a free kick set piece from either flank, I see opportunities to roll the ball to a willing winger to run in and break the offside trap, thus creating greater chaos in the box. We always spurn such opportunities, preferring to cross in hope. We should explore using that free man a bit more often, for unpredictability.

    3. Speed of our passing has to improve, especially when playing against sides that deploy a low block. We love the safe option of keep-ball, when taking a risk with a quick incisive pass may pay off with a goal chance created.

    4. Playing to Kai Havertz’s strengths. Poor guy is made to play as a winger sometimes with no other player in the area to pounce on a potential cross because that’s where Kai should be. I understand the need for versatility in our players but if we are chasing a game, I’d rather have him trying to get on the end of others’ crosses than have him all over the place, where he loses the ball half the times. He doesn’t have silky ball skills and resorts to going down comically, but he is a handful for CBs and very good in the air. Let him spend more time in the box, ready to take advantage.

    It is a few days Arteta has but it is enough time to make some tweaks so we can return with fervour and some surprises for the rest of the teams in the league. It (warm weather break) worked last season (and I don’t want to jinx it) and can work again.

  • Not too many memories of the game or the day tbh Stu, I think the crowds, the size of Wembley, I recall more about the Swindon final.

    Kabia and Butler O are going to get, or should get, quite a few minutes during Martinelli’s absence, maybe towards the end of games?

    Options are negligible, Tierney as a left-winger, Lewis Skelly as a left winger, Kiwior as a left winger! It’ll be interesting if nothing else to see how we hang onto 2nd spot, Sagoe Junior is another option – well he’s not really but he might get a seat on the subs bench?

    Who would have thought it, isn’t football mad, players who seemed indestructible like White, Saka and Odegaard missed large chunks of the season whilst Mr Glass, also known as Thomas Partey, stays fit (for now)…

  • Yes Total, TP has indeed been very impressive this season (we’ve waited a long time to see this consistency in availability from him) leaving Arteta and Co with a big decision on Thomas this summer, but recency bias shouldn’t drive that decision.

    After all his past unavailability is the reason his contract is in it’s last year and hasn’t already been extended.

    The club will soon have a similar decision to make over Tomiyasu?

    Not many teams will cross the French try line three times in a match, so kudos to England for hanging in and lasting the entire match.

    France remain the best team in the Northern hemisphere with the best league and players, Wales seem in disarray, Ireland are next to France, but psychologically England can take a lot from that win although still a long way to go before they approach anywhere close to 2003 levels.

    I see that Harriman Annous it seems is playing the Heaven/ Obi Martin card, he isn’t an MLS or an Ethan so he’d better be careful he doesn’t cut off his nose to spite his face.

    It’s already cost him a trip to Dubai and maybe early inclusion in the senior group.

  • It’s always good to watch the FACup highlights, as you sometimes see a few old faces and wonder what would have been?

    Just seen a few brief minutes Blackburn vs Wolves and it seemed nip and tuck.

    With Wolves winning 2-0 Blackburn had to go for it and I noticed Amario Cozier Duberry had been playing for Blackburn, he lasted 57 minutes before being taken off.

    But it did make me wonder where he would be now if he had actually stayed at Arsenal given our attacking paucity?

    Sliding doors eh?

  • What a great rugby game that was, Kev. Stu was right about England’s lack of discipline last week, but I still think bad luck was involved too. Their streak of one-point defeats had to stop some day, and if only for the way they defended yesterday, they deserved the win – to be compared with Les Bleus’s saloon doors’ defense on the third try in particular!!!
    What I didn’t get is the number of times France’s three-quarters dropped the ball in dangerous situations (even Dupont did). At some point I thought to myself they might as well be wearing mittens …
    Overall excellent week-end for England, since the U20s won Friday night’s game too – not exactly an exciting game but the superior power of the “Red Roses” was rewarded.
    I didn’t comment your review because I stopped watching after Murphy’s goal; I didn’t want my post-City impression to be spoiled too much. Let’s see in what shape BigBill will return from sunny Dubai. Mbappé has been all over the French media lately, saying what a great player he was, that all the rewards Kylian got last season should have been William’s blahblah blah, which sounds to me like trademark destabilizing tactics from Real.
    Having said that, no player has ever been irreplacable. If we squeeze at least £200m for our CD out of Perez pockets, so be it. We’ll be left with a White-Calafiori pair, which will still be one of the very best!

  • Just took in the American Super Bowl LIX, which the Philadelphia Eagles won 40-22, vs the Kansas Chiefs. First time I gave it any attention and found the distraction from soccer refreshing, since I never really followed the sport.

    After losing the 2023 Super Bowl to the same Kansas chiefs, it was sweet revenge for the Eagles.

  • I only saw highlights Le Gall, but as you say, England have recently got themselves into winning positions only to throw it away, regarding the France handling issue I wonder if a slightly more circumspect approach might have been the way to go until the Blues had built up a lead before putting on the Ritz so to speak?

    I’m quite warming to baseball, in particularly the South Korean and Taiwanese baseball, their dancing gals are quite an eyeful. 😉

  • It was those handling issues that cost the French, but huge credit to the poms for the way they finished the game. The French do the Ritz as few can. I recall some very painful moments when they went all Harlem Globe Trotters against the AB’s over the years. But, yes Kev, I agree, they should have patiently built the platform first.

    Brazilian beach volleyball has its moments too, Kevski… 😇.

    200 mill for Big Will? Yeh, maybe. I watched him at the Vitality down in Bournemouth when he scored his first goal for the club and have loved him ever since. The next VVD. Tell me, who’d swop him for Isak? I think Big Gab is having a better season, and with, as LG mentioned, Calafiore and Benny Blanco in situ 150 -200 big ones might tempt our American overseers.
    Me? I’d def keep him another season.

  • 200 would be for both Bill and Gab … but even at this price, it would hurt of course. Isn’t it upon their rock that Mikel … well, you know – better than me, actually.
    Truth is I fear there might be reason to worry about Bill in particular. The articles I alluded to got all maudlin, syrupy, about how Kylian always regarded William as a kid bro, the one he allowed to play the 5-a-sides in the schoolyard with him and the other older boys, the one he looked after when he got his first France callups – about how influential Kylian’s father was with Bill too, as his first coach ever, etc.
    All of which is, at least partly, true, but if there’s something I don’t buy about Kylian and his family, it’s their being overly sentimental, which is why, again, all of this looks like Kylian being on a typical Real PR mission …

  • Kai, now …
    Exclusive Bergkampesque:
    August 2024; the Goddess of Football at work, outside the Gates of Colney …

  • William and Big Gabby are tight, having been in France I’d suspect that Big Gab chats in French with Billy on and off the pitch although having met Bill a few years ago I can confirm that his English is pretty good.

    There’s a worrying report that Kai Havertz has done his hamstring whilst training in Dubai, if true then it’s almost as devastating a development as losing Saka and pretty much puts the kibosh on the last dregs of hope we had of catching Liverpool. It also means that the last 16 round of the CL is seriously under threat…

    Other than that everything is just fine.

  • Update: Kai Havertz ruled out for the rest of the season with a torn hamstring, there’s rumours of a celebratory party ongoing at Stockley Park…

  • It’s symptomatic of our season Total, ever since we suffered those two reds cards early in the season you kinda sensed that the omens weren’t good for us and so it goes…

    Some will blame Arteta for not rotating, some will blame the recruitment team and maybe there is some blame there but all in all it’s been everything that can be helpful has been for Liverpool and the opposite for us.

    Roll on 2025/26

  • Ww have just five PL games between now and 1 April. That’s doable. I rather have a depleted attack than defensive or midfield. We just need to be tight and all can score a goal in our team. I think Merino or Rice can play as a false 9 if necessary.

    This may also be Raheem’s moment. I love his application and he just needs a couple of goals.

  • Well, with necessity being the mother etc., three possible setups from now on imo:
    # Same old (Leicester, WHam):
    Raya
    Timber – Saliba – Gabriel – LewisSkelly (Calafiori, Tierney, Zinchenko)
    Partey (Jorginho) – Rice
    Nwaneri – Ødegaard – Sterling (Zinchenko, Merino)
    Trossard
    # Grahamesque (from Forest to Fullham); once Benny’s back and PL fit again
    Raya
    Timber (White) – Saliba – Gabriel – Calafiori (Timber, Tierney)
    Rice (White) – Partey (Jorginho) – LewisSkelly (Rice, Merino)
    Ødegaard
    Nwaneri (Trossard) – Trossard (Sterling)
    # Grahamesque on steroids (Everton to Bukayo’s return)
    Raya
    Timber – Saliba – Gabriel
    White – Rice – Partey (Jorginho) – LewisSkelly (Merino) – Calafiori (Zinchenko, Tierney)
    Ødegaard
    Nwaneri (Trossard,Sterling)
    (This one’s my favourite; I’d love nothing more than seeing the boys trying for a string of boring one-nils to The Arsenal and tell Bad Luck to go f..k itself)
    Lastly, with one man’s sorrow being etc., I believe Kabia and/or ButlerOyedeji could bring something to the team, for 15-20 minutes at the end of a game at least; they’re strong, fast and they have absolutely nothing to lose; to them, at least, this epidemic of torn harmstrings is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity …
    COYG

  • Tarkowski……………………………………………………………………….

    Hope springs eternal.

  • Quite the raucous end to the game. Second yellow cards to Curtis Jones and Doucoure. Straight red cards for Arne Slot and his assistant. Like Michael Oliver wanted to ensure that Slot does not get the benefit of his assistant in the dug-out, during their suspensions.

    We may be short in the forward areas but the good news is we have really never had a top striker (the traditional No. 9) so tactically, not much to re-arrange except to cover the ground Havertz covers.

    There are a few free agents to take a look at, if push comes to shove. The likes of Diego Costa, Maxi Gómez, our former striker, Carlos Vela….. Just saying. 😁

  • Nice comments from the Duke, and yes, I wholeheartedly agree, 1-0 to the Arsenal for the rest of the season, bore the pants off of everyone and climb into our major strength, the defence.

    I’ve no problem with using the Kids to protect our diminished attacking options as games wind up, although bringing on a youngster at 1-0 is fraught with risks, having said that maybe it’s time to just take those risks because the time to be conservative is running out.

  • Eris, I think we have to go back to the days of Alan Smudger Smith to find a traditional centre forward leading our attack, he was a greatly underrated striker, won two golden boots, only ever booked once despite playing in an era of frighteningly physical centre-backs and won two league titles under Gorgeous George.

    He was an extremely intelligent forward and would fit seemlessly into the modern game, there are a lot of similarities in style between Smudge and Kai, with Smudger being more clinical as the major difference.

    Mind you, I guess that Olivier Giroud is also a classic centre forward, how could I have forgotten Monsiuer Handsome?

  • Before he got on the gravy train, Ade was a very fine Centre Forward. His volley v Spuds is one of the fond memories. I also have a big soft spot for Dudu, he was absolutely flying until that thug broke his leg. Remember his tennis shot of a volley v Burnley?

  • Yes Stu, Adebayor was the centre forward legend we never had. I wonder if he has any regrets?

  • Kev, Smudger-type Smith-type is a fair shout. 😁👍
    Arteta confirmed our interest in all the options, including the free agent market, during his press conference. I guess that’s just to shake off the numerous enquiries.

    Adebayor most certainly has regrets about the manner in which he left the club, though it was for money the club needed at the time. He has been having interview after interview and can’t help mentioning his time here. He masks his regrets with a bit of bravado and some understated trash-talking, it must be said. His stay with us were some of his best days. He played for the shirt in the big games and would have helped us had he stayed.

  • He must have, Kev. Leaving Arsenal must ultimately bring regret and, in my eyes tarnish a reputation. One reason why I, for one, always regard Thiery and Cesc as greats, but nonetheless lesser lights than the eponymous hero of this blog.

  • That control was Bergkampesque indeed Stu, I wonder if this is the summer when Brighton, as the do routinely, cash in on Mitoma?

    And would we be interested?

    Yeah Eris, there was an element of ego in the break up between Arsenal and Adebayor, he wanted the kind of remuneration you’d usually get after several successful seasons, not just one, maybe he had advisors around him, family even that urged him on to make the demands that he did. I really liked him and was very sad when he left.

  • Adebayor, Nasri, Bendtner, van Pudsie… it was a period in which the club/Arsene got it all wrong in terms of ignoring club values. Super talents but with the wrong attitudes sadly. None lib4d up to their enormous potential.

  • 49 minutes and we haven’ tested their keeper once. Actually the 2 real opportunities were theirs.
    Surely something has to change, in midfield imo (for what it’s worth). Rice disappears for whole chunks of the game, he has to do much more, c’mon kiddo! But for his “cupped” pass to Trossard, our skipper was below par (understatement), as for Partey I’ve stopped counting the number of times he gave the ball away …
    Might be time for our summer recruits to show their mettle, will we see something like?:
    Raya
    Timber-Saliba-Gabriel-Calafiori
    Rice-LewisSkelly
    Nwaneri-Merino-Sterling
    Trossard
    The kids have been outstanding … again. Ethan’s been “Yamalesque”. Sterling has tried very hard, but of course he’s rusty. Trossard’s struggling but I hope he won’t be taken off, he did make a mess of Ødegaard’s gorgeous pass, but in the box he’s our most reliable player …
    Lastly, I thought the refs were supposed to wait, let the game flow, before waving their flag. A few of the offsides were dubious, I think, but of course no replays were shown …
    COYG

  • That’s the spirit !!
    Game on; ‘Pool will feel our breath down their necks tomorrow
    Merino bailed us out big time, and in glorious fashion too, but Jorginho … what a Light-Bringer !! Enough to turn you into a Lucifer-worshipper (sorry, Stu)

  • Very important, the win. Liverpool will start to feel the pressure, hopefully.
    Ethan Nwaneri was out best player on the pitch and that’s saying a lot with winners like Sterling on the pitch.

  • Nope, Raheem Stirling cannot step up, a routinely average performance from him and whilst I don’t want to be unkind and pile onto him you have to be realistic, he simply cannot do it anymore, he doesn’t give you any kind of a glimpse of anything to hang onto.

    So I reckon starting Raheem is a no no unless it’s unavailable and he should be only used to use up minutes and run down matches we’re winning from now on.

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