Everything Has Its Price (?)

I type this on the eve of Arsenal's Europa League Semi Final first leg against Villareal, but to be honest matters on the pitch could not be further from my mind.

Actually, I haven't written about actual playing matters since the Sheffield United game. I'll give the 4 matches that have been played in that period some time at the end of this, but I just wanted to share some thoughts on the fallout - as it affects Arsenal - of the horribly ill-thought proposed European Super League (ESL).

• The announcement was met with almost unanimous disapproval from football stakeholders all over the country; indeed all over Europe. Other clubs (literally ALL of them), players, managers, officials, politicians, journalists and broadcasters, plus people who generally take no interest in football; were all outraged. And, most importantly as it turned out, so were the fans. Billionaires, as we all may well have suspected, live in their own bubble, and we can only assume that this particular lot thought that they could take their toy and play with it wherever they liked. But as it turns out football clubs are not toys, and their owners are merely fleeting custodians

• For them to think that they could easily foist this upon the world of football was breathtakingly idiotic. It was poorly handled - the PR was pathetic - and it was clear that no consideration had been taken of anybody else in football bar this small cartel of super-rich idiots. If they were taken aback by the depth of feeling shown by... well, everyone - then more fool them!

• Although alternatively - and this is perhaps crediting them with more common-sense than they actually have - maybe this was an initial shot by these clubs at getting an even bigger slice of the cake (a slice that they've been increasing by stealth every year in any case) and the idea will merely come back, but shaped slightly differently

• The issue for these clubs - and people in general - is that how much money one has got influences one's propensity to spend. So whether you're a 'lowly' bin man on £350 a week, or a football club with hundreds of millions of pounds of income, you always want more. The more these clubs get, the more they spend on players, and the more they want - and that's why so much of the television money that has bloated the game we love into a flabby, monstrous facsimile of what it used to be ends up flying straight through the clubs and into the pockets of players and agents

• I feel that this was the moment that Stan Kroenke had been waiting for... but equally that he - and the American owners of Liverpool and Manchester United - have completely missed the point with 'soccer'. The set-up of the top echelons of the major sports in the US is so different to what we have on this side of 'the pond', and it simply doesn't translate. The NFL, the NBA, the MBA and even MLS are closed shops, but there's far too much history and diversity to draw that together in Europe

• Saying that, the one thing - and there's only one - that I'd take from those closed shops (and this is something that I personally have been advocating for years!) is a salary cap. That would drive costs down all round; and after all, does it really make a difference to a top player whether he's earning £200k or £250k a week?

And so to Arsenal:

• I am convinced that Kroenke would have been one of the ringleaders of this idea. After all, as we know, what he wants from his 'franchises' is guaranteed income - and to hell with the success. And that he has with his (KSE's) ownership of the LA Rams (NFL - I'll come back to them shortly), the Denver Nuggets (NBA - moderately successful recently), Colorado Avalanche (NHL - won the Stanley Cup 20 years ago but have grossly underachieved since), Colorado Crush (AFL), Colorado Rapids (MLS - exceedingly unsuccessful since 2010 and currently languishing) and Colorado Mammoth (NLL; that's lacrosse, by the way). So what we're talking about here is guaranteed income, and no major need to invest on the playing side

• Where Kroenke does develop is in 'real estate'. And here's where I return to the LA Rams. I won't go into too much detail, but Kroenke - a St Louis native - uprooted the St Louis Rams from their long-time home to move them to Los Angeles; purely because of the catchment area available to him - and the propensity to make money. As one can imagine, he's not a popular man in St Louis, having essentially double-crossed the city and left it with a huge debt and empty stadium, and also disenfranchising the team's fans at a stroke. He has had a most wonderful stadium built to house the LA Rams (at an alleged cost of 6 billion dollars!), but cannot fill it at the moment, of course

• As an outlier to go alongside the Nuggets' Stanley Cup success, the Rams reached the 2020 Superbowl. Kroenke is capable of investing money in his clubs - and this success was as a result of that - but in general he does the bare minimum. But sporting success is not a barometer in which he shows much interest, by all accounts. But the key thing to take from the Rams' move from St Louis is that he doesn't give a damn about the fans, and that has to be a massive concern to Arsenal supporters

• 

• Josh Kroenke's assertion that the ESL train was leaving the station, and he felt that Arsenal needed to be on it or they would miss out, may or may not be true; but either way he and all the other owners and Chairmen severely misjudged the mood. Where this leaves Josh and his father remains to be seen. Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote - the richest man in Africa - has had a fairly long-standing interest in buying Arsenal, and you will have read in the last few days that Daniel Ek, founder and major shareholder of Spotify, has laid down a serious interest. Ek has his own problems, however, as Spotify's share price is collapsing as fewer and fewer people use the music streaming site. However, he says that he is serious and has funding to buy Arsenal in place

• Two things on the above: firstly, Ek doesn't have a reputation for being overly generous with the artists whose music he streams; so why might we think that swapping one billionaire for another is going to make a massive difference (although he claims to be a massive fan)? And secondly, Josh Kroenke has stated that KSE aren't selling. But everything has its price...

• For the moment, we can but hope that this sorry and shoddy state of affairs shames KSE into giving Arteta a bigger transfer budget this summer than had been planned, in order to appease the fans. As you all know, we've all been up in arms about this, and the demo outside Emirates Stadium, with pictures going all around the world, must surely have made a dent even on the psyche of Stanley Kroenke

And now, quickly, to football itself. An easy win over everyone's fall guys, Sheffield United, that was mostly notable for the appearance of a new left back in Granit Xhaka, was followed by a thrilling 4-0 thrashing of the racists of Slavia Prague. For 20 minutes in the first half Arsenal were scintillating, but this is the image that remains with me from that match:

But... but... poor performances against Fulham and Everton at home meant a further 5 points dropped, and the Europa League is where all our eggs are now. And what's bugging me is that every fortnight another side that we ALWAYS beat comes to The Emirates and beats us. Everton followed Wolves, Burnley and Villa as sides who broke long non-winning streaks against Arsenal this season, and it's not just the defeats, but the manner of them. 

And, by the way, the Everton defeat showed why Xhaka is not any sort of answer at left back, as Richarlison 'roasted' him for the goal. As for Leno's part in it, I don't think I need to say anything...

I'm sick of hearing that 'we dominated the game; we were unlucky; we should have had a penalty; they shouldn't have had a penalty; VAR is inconsistent'. In isolation that's all probably true, but it's how Arsenal are playing that bugs me. If they can play so well in occasional short patches, what is it going to take to unlock that for longer? I don't want to see constant sideways passing and 'controlling the game'; I want to see incisive, dynamic football. 

But if we see that just three more times this season - home and away against (Unai Emery's) Villareal, and in the Europa League Final against Manchester United or Roma, then it will be job done - Champions League football next season and more time for a manager who is learning on the job (last Friday, I looked longingly at Carlo Ancelotti on the Everton bench).

On a happier note, don't forget that, as Chas & Dave once told us, 'It's lucky for Spurs when the year ends in 1'. That's apparently 4 cup finals in a row when they have failed to even score a goal.

I'll leave it there. COYG.

Not In My Name

Sunday, April 18th, 2021. The day that football died...

 

And to think that following the Fulham game I was preparing to do my usual thing today; dissecting the Arsenal games of the week past. All that seems so redundant now. 

There have already been millions of words written about yesterday's announcement, and I don't see the need to rehash them. I'm sure that we've all read and heard the words of condemnation from fans, broadcasters, ex-players and other clubs alike. All I can put here is a fan's perspective. So here it is; from the heart:

Firstly, shock. And then, an emptiness... I suppose it feels like being jilted; like I've lost one of the loves of my life. She will never mean the same to me. 

I know that many things have changed in the last 20 years in football, and sport in general, in the name of 'progress'. Abramovich as the fore-runner of the swathe of super-wealthy owners who now dominate the top echelons of English and European football. Arsenal feeling cornered into moving to a new stadium. Obscene television rights deals and wages.  Kroenke Sports Enterprises as absentee owners. World Cups being awarded to the highest bidders, irrespective of the quality of their offer. Blatter, Platini, Warner and others.... I could go on. 

The love I've lost is the football that I grew up with, and it has been replaced by an overwhelming desire on behalf of the owners and federations to make money. The people's game has been lost to the people, and this is perhaps the final straw. At the moment it feels like it is; for me at least.

If football hierarchy in England is a pyramid, with Liverpool, the Manchester clubs and Chelsea currently (it is - or rather used to be - a cyclical process) at the very top (and Arsenal now on the second tier and heading towards the third), then what can you put on top of a pyramid the make it even taller? A spike, perhaps? Or does that spike represent a stake being driven into the very heart of the people's game.

Because for all their talk of delivering 'the best outcomes for the new League and for football as a whole', and providing 'additional financial resources for the overall football pyramid', this is merely about money being further siphoned off to an increasingly smaller number of people - the owners of the breakaway clubs.

There has been talk about this for years of course. Arsene Wenger referenced it in 2009, saying: '... I feel inside our game there are some voices behind the scenes coming up to do something..., especially if the rules become too restrictive for these clubs... teams would have to play in both the European League in midweek and the national league at the weekend. It means all these teams have two teams. The way we are going financially is that even the money that will be coming in from the Champions League will not be enough for some clubs because they spend too much money'.

And it's that final sentence that is the most crucial. Look at the finances of some of the clubs involved and you will see that in order to keep up with each other they have spent money they do not possess. Barcelona are in a terrible state. Both Milan clubs are on the verge of bankruptcy also, from what I've read. Arsenal's owners have clearly been planning for this; not investing sufficiently in the club, but not caring because they knew this was coming. And just like all of Kroenke's 'franchises' in the USA, Arsenal will become a sporting also-ran within this cartel - but the money will keep rolling in to Stan's pockets. The recent success of the LA Rams in reaching the 2020 Superbowl was merely an outlier.

Wenger said today: 'I think it's a bad idea... I believe for me, the most important thing is to keep unity in the game and that football is played the same all over the world and that's it's inside one organisation... absolutely we have to fight to keep football simple, understandable and based on merit and everybody has the same chance and dream to be successful'.

There are those who will, and with reason, accuse UEFA and FIFA of throwing their toys out of the pram (I'd say that their favourite ones have been stolen). But for all their faults this feels beyond the pale. The owners have considered nobody but themselves. Not their fans, and nor their players either. They have in one stroke diminished everything that football stands for, from top to bottom.

I'd suspect, as I intimated, that Kroenke has been part of the planning. But there were ludicrous shenanigans only last month when the club's CEO, Vinai Venkatesham, was voted onto the Board of the European Club Association. How duplicitous, and what a waste of time as Arsenal, along with Manchester United and Chelsea, have now resigned from that organisation - and good old Ed Woodward has also resigned from his role on one of UEFA's committees.

Of course, this League is following the American model of a closed shop. That's how the NFL, NBA, MLB and MLS are run - and Expansion Teams have to pay billions to join them. No relegation, and it's a money-spinner for the owners. But the difference between those organisations - and even the way the Premier League was set up - and this idea is that many of the clubs involved are founder-members. And there's much less history involved. Whilst some horrendous geographical moves occur occasionally - lest we forget that Stan Kroenke's LA Rams (formerly the St Louis Rams) are one of the franchises to have done the dirty deed with their loyal, local supporters), there is a sense of stability and everyone knows where they stand. But what's next - an annual draft to select the best young players for these clubs?

And where this differs from football is that it takes it so far away from its roots to be unrecognisable. Owners may argue that it's their club, and therefore they can do what they like with it, but they are destroying the history and legacy of the people's game. Clubs that were formed when working men came together are now the playthings of the super-rich. They have totally disenfranchised their supporters - but they don't care! The owners are already talking about 'legacy fans' - people like myself - but they are more interested in new fans; those with much less loyalty to the club and who are merely interested in seeing the best players; no matter who they play for. 

And this is the hard thing for me. I'm a 'legacy fan' of 54 years standing, having first been taken to Highbury by my father in 1966 when I was just 6 years old. And I really, really want to walk away from what has turned into a toxic relationship with my club. That's so hard to do, but I'm going to have to try. I've felt more and more disenfranchised over the past 15 years or so, and this feels like the last straw.

And whilst I really wanted to talk about reaching the Europa League semi-final and meeting up with Unai Emery once more, and about the sad demise of Jose Mourinho from his latest job - thus breaking the axis of evil that was him and Tottenham - I just can't be bothered. It doesn't seem to matter any more. (Actually, on the subject of Tottenham; how on earth do they qualify for this Super League? Certainly not on the basis of their history. But do you know what... I can't even summon up the energy to laugh at them).

It does feel like this was inevitable. And of course I'd prefer that Arsenal were part of this group than not; I can't imagine the incandescence of supporters of the likes of Leicester City, Everton and West Ham. It feels to an extent that Arsenal are hanging on to the coat tails of the European giants, and if this had waited another couple of years it might have been too late for the club to be included, the way things are going. 

I suppose we can now look forward to never qualifying for the latter stages of the tournament; it will be such joy to lose to Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester City on a far more regular basis. Match-ups that had to be earned will now be commonplace for Arsenal - and where's the fun in that? I want my club to fight for the right to play these sides; a genuine meritocracy - don't you?

But in all honesty I really need to concentrate on the bigger picture. Football died yesterday for me; and I have no idea if it can be revived. I ought to check how much season tickets at Boreham Wood FC are; after all, I can walk there in under 10 minutes.

I'm sad. Maybe I, and maybe we, will get used to this new reality. But at the moment I am done wiith Arsenal Football Club as an institution. This deed is 'not in my name', and I completely disagree with it.

I can only apologise if this has just come out as a stream of consciousness. I didn't know where to start, and I don't know how to finish :( 

I'll be back in a few days...

Arteta's 'Cunning Plan'

Sometimes, when watching Arsenal play, I feel as if I'm in the unwitting audience to a long-running comedy show in which the same running gags are used again and again; albeit in slightly different ways - but with a common theme. And thus it was during this Europa League Quarter Final first leg.

I'm not usually of a mind to post after a European game, but having woken up at 5am with thoughts of this - yet another opportunity missed in an entirely similar way to previous missed opportunities - I've decided to get up and type. Update - sorry; I had work to do today or this would have been out much earlier :(

Now, there's been quite a bit of extra talk recently about whether Mikel Arteta is really the answer. Are Arsenal making progress? Could we do better under a more experienced manager? Have Arsenal got a clear way of playing? What are his plans for the summer? etc etc. And whilst I think that the club hierarchy are invested in him, and that we are 'stuck' with him for another season no matter how badly things get - and I really, really, want this to work! - I'm starting to have genuine doubts about him. And I so wish that this wasn't the case.

Here's what I see:

• a struggle with 'man management', on both an individual and collective basis
• something of a control freak
• inability to read how the opposition are going to play
• inability to react 'in-game'
• poor use of substitutes
• 'playing favourites' and at the same time 'freezing out' certain players

Now, it's easy to start being critical when things aren't going well - and the players have to take a deal of responsibility too, of course; it's them who go over the white line and play, after all - but I'm simply not sure that the tactics are clear, whether they are being allowed to express themselves fully, and whether they are being motivated in the right way. I know that years of mismanagement have meant that the squad is still a hotch-potch of players of diverse skill sets, but for me there's simply not enough clarity.

Perhaps the younger players in the squad are not the answer, but there has been plenty of chopping and changing in the fringes of team selection that has nonetheless led to Maitland-Niles and Willock leaving on loan (and doing pretty well, let's face it, at their new clubs), extremely limited playing time for Martinelli, Nketiah and Nelson, and the exciting Balogun feeling so disillusioned that he is probably going to leave in the summer. All this whilst others get chance after chance, and fail again and again. Don't make me name them - you know who I mean!

We've seen examples of man management that have appalled me. Pepe 'thrown under the bus' after his sending-off at Leeds, Aubameyang publicly humiliated during the North London Derby, and a collective slaughter of the entire team at the weekend. Would you be minded to play for a manager who would do this to you in public? I don't see how he thinks he may be currying favour with the press or the fan base by doing this.

He has issues with reacting during games, and with his substitutions. I don't think that anybody can dispute that point. Why is it that he cannot see what to us - mere fans - is very evident?

So what precisely was Arteta's 'cunning plan' for Slavia Prague? Just like the long-running 'cunning plan' in Blackadder - when the plan was never cunning at all - this one made as much sense as the one in the final series that involved the troops marching very slowly towards the opposition, and immediately being mown down. As the idiot General Melchett said: 'Doing precisely what we have done 18 times before is exactly the last thing they'll expect us to do this time!'

And for me, the plans for this game were incomplete and unclear. I didn't much like the selection, I was unimpressed with the tempo, and I thought that the way that Arsenal set about pressing the opposition were, for want of a better word - half-arsed. I have never liked seeing a centre-back pairing of Gabriel and Holding, because neither is comfortable enough in possession (boy, are we missing David Luiz!), I'm uncomfortable with Cedric at left-back (he is too!), I'm never happy to see Willian in the starting 11, and I was annoyed to see Lacazette start, and Aubameyang on the bench against a team who are known to play a high line.

And now I'll turn to the game itself, and specifically the lack of tempo throughout the side. I was disappointed particularly with the half-hearted nature of the press, with players going individually - and that's never enough. I recall one moment when Xhaka went to press, but Lacazette was back in the Arsenal half! Muddled thinking, and/or muddled execution.

Despite this, Slavia looked poor defensively, especially on their left where Saka continually rinsed the full back. And their goalkeeper's kicking was making Leno look like Ederson! Chances were created - Saka should have scored after been played through by Holding, Holding himself headed over from Cedric's cross, Willian was unlucky with his free kick, and how Lacazette contrived to miss his big chance is beyond me - there are guys in my Tuesday night Walking Football game who would have buried that with no trouble whatsoever.

Not that Slavia didn't have their chances; it wouldn't be Arsenal if they did not. Leno made one notable save, and they went close two or three times. 

It was clear that things needed to change, and I hoped to see something at half-time. Martinelli to up the tempo, for example. But - and I simply don't understand this - it took until 73 minutes (finally, Martinelli for the ineffective Willian) to see the first change. After Arteta had made a point during his pre-match interview about the usefulness of having 5 substitutes available. And 5 minutes later no less than three more changes. Madness!

And the second set of changes made a massive difference. The tempo went up, and Arsenal opened Slavia up. Aubameyang couldn't steer a decent opportunity on target following some excellent interplay, and a few minutes later he showed strength and no little guile to feed Pepe in on goal. The winger's pace and lovely dinked finish gave a glimpse of what he is capable of.

But then... Arsenal inexplicably went to sleep and decided to rest on the 1-0 score line, and this gave Slavia hope. They started pressing, and I wondered to myself if minute 86 had been too early to score. On 88, Smith Rowe was replaced by Ceballos, and I started to dread the consequences of that. 

And, lo and behold, a combination of lack of confidence and ambition led to a load of faffing about (I've stolen this image from@arseblog)...

...the needless concession of a corner. Pepe was unable to clear it properly, Cedric (who had been largely responsible for the faffing about) found himself on the wrong side of his man at the far post, and Leno's chocolate wrists failed to keep the ball out. Shambolic; and of course another variation on 'stupid ways to concede a goal'.

Of course, the players should have managed those last 5 minutes or so much better - they should have gone for a second goal to kill the tie in my opinion - but I'm going to point some blame at Arteta. He should have made the substitutions earlier - with more time on the pitch, those players would have created more chances - and taking off Smith Rowe sent out completely the wrong message.

And we suddenly have struggle to qualify against a side who haven't lost at home all season. Totally unnecessary.

Regular readers of this blog will be aware that I have a 'pet' troll who used to post negative comments on every piece I published. I've managed to block him by moderating all comments, but he still sends me messages. I am peppered every week with similar stuff: apparently, I am 'boring, one-eyed, repetitive and don't have thick enough skin to take criticism'. And Arsenal fans in general are 'entitled'. 

I am 99% sure that I know who the guy is - he's a smarmy, unpleasant bully, and a Spurs fan to boot - and I take exception to all that apart, actually, from the 'entitled' bit. Yes, we probably do feel entitled; but who wouldn't after watching the sort of stuff we lapped up around the turn of the century. That all that has gone away so quickly is incredibly depressing. 

But can we see it changing soon? Only if Arteta starts learning very quickly from his mistakes. Or if we end up somewhere between 8th and 10th, and don't at the very least get to the Europa League Final, I doubt that it will be long into the new season before the pressure becomes unbearable. Once fans are back in the ground, then he's going to be in real trouble! 

But I really hope it doesn't come to that. I am desperate for him to turn things round. We can only pray.

I'll be back on Monday, with a report on what had better be a resounding victory over Sheffield United. As you know, we're very good in the 7pm Sunday slot...

Pathetic Arsenal Get Exactly What They Deserve

Where to begin? Well, let's start with a list of... what's the opposite of a 'superlative'? - a 'diminutive', I suppose? So I'll start with Pathetic. And continue with Pitiful; Shameful; Embarrassing; Dire; Heartless. I could of course go on, but I think you get the picture. And I tell you something; if there had been a crowd in, the atmosphere would have been as poisonous as it ever was in the final days of Unai Emery; I, for one, would have been going ballistic! They should be utterly ashamed of themselves.

For all the hope that we were perhaps catching Liverpool on the continuation of a poor run that had seen them lose game after game after game; well, you have to turn up with the right plan and the right attitude - and Arsenal did neither of those things. Blame all you like key absences - and there were a few - but you just have to look at what our opposition have had to put up with this season to know what a real injury crisis is!

Just a quick run through of what went on, before I cogitate on the implications: Saka, Smith Rowe and Luiz injured. Xhaka ill. Combined, not good news - but no excuse. And so Rob Holding was drafted back in for the first time after being dropped following allowing himself to be outjumped and outwitted by the giant Raheem Sterling, Ceballos replaced Xhaka and Gabriel replaced Pablo Mari, and the absences up top allowed Arteta to select Aubameyang and Pepe either side of Lacazette, with Odegaard in behind them. 

Quite a forward-thinking, attacking line-up on paper; but that would be precluded by the need to actually gain decent possession of the ball at any point. And to an extent I could understand the thinking, which was to apply pressure to the rookie centre-half pairing that Liverpool are still obliged to put out. And due to the injuries, Nketiah and Nelson found themselves sitting hopefully on the bench for the first time for many weeks.

The key piece of team news, however, was the return of Fabinho to the Liverpool midfield. Now there's a player I envy; like Partey, he's a Rolls Royce of a midfielder. However, he had a world-class footballer alongside him, and not a selection of second-raters that he feels that he has to carry. Fabinho bossed it; like the central spoke on a wheel, he controlled the tempo and the direction of the game for the full 90 minutes. And he had a willing partner in the uber-talented Thiago, who was afforded all the time he wanted to weave his magic.

And the famed Liverpool press - back after what seemed a long time away - did for Arsenal. Unable to find any out ball, Leno and his defenders were regularly forced to go long, whereupon the ball was lost and the pressure back on. 

For Liverpool, the loss of their entire central defence, and then Henderson too, had led to them playing with their feet metaphorically tied together. Just this one piece of their jigsaw back in the right place, and we can see how unrepresentative their current league position really is. That of Arsenal, if anything, flatters them on this performance.

I'm not going to go into too much detail on the game. Suffice to say that it was almost all one-way, that Arsenal were fortunate to get to half-time on level terms, and they were punished badly in the second half with the introduction of the dynamic Jota. In truth, it could and should have been worse, and Arsenal have to take responsibility for the flow of the game throughout, and for all three goals. Liverpool had not surprisingly been suffering from a lack of confidence following their horrendous run - and this was reflected by their poor finishing early on - but Arsenal played them well and truly back into form. 

For the first goal, Alexander-Arnold put in an absolutely brilliant cross. No doubting that. Jota rose above Holding - who made a similar mistake to the one against Manchester City as he was caught under the ball - and in front of Chambers, who was too slow to recognise the danger and cover. Leno's wrists were too weak to keep the bullet header out.

For the second, Fabinho's through ball should have been cut out by Gabriel, whose challenge on the speedy Salah was simply too weak. Take him out! From that point, you can't touch a player like Salah - he's going to go down at the slightest touch, so Gabriel didn't put in a second challenge. And the Egyptian waited... and then poked the ball between Leno's legs. Lovely from Salah, but Gabriel should have prevented it.

And for the third we had another of those 'playing out from the back' errors. This time it was Gabriel who gave the ball away, and three seconds later the ball was in the net for Jota's second.

I think I'll take this opportunity to rate the players' performances, for a change. Just to indicate where and how it went wrong:

Leno - doesn't always inspire me with confidence. Could have done better with the first goal. Nonetheless made one or two other big saves. 5/10

Chambers - kept his place at right back after a fine performance at West Ham. Probably should have gone to centre-half - I'm not quite sure why Bellerin's not getting a kick at the moment - 4/10

Holding - another basic error for the first goal. We're at the point where, with Saliba surely back for next season, despite the new contract we can raise some much-needed funds and let him go now - 3/10

Gabriel - generally can be relied on to defend well, but can look clumsy in possession. On this day, he failed all round - 3/10

Tierney - lost late in the first half due to a knee injury. I cannot express how serious this may be - 5/10

Partey - we had glimpses of what sort of player he could be with the right support around him, but he was overrun - 5/10

Ceballos - looked slow and lacking in confidence. He's not good enough to play for Arsenal, and in that case he's definitely not good enough to play for Real Madrid - 2/10 and lucky to get that

Odegaard - didn't see enough of the ball to be any sort of influence. Difficult to judge him on this - 5/10

Pepe - at least tried to track back occasionally, but poor in possession and rarely seems capable of keeping hold of the ball - 4/10

Aubameyang - not cut out for the role of tracking back with the opposition full back, and totally unable to influence play further up the field. Extra point lost for stupid haircut - 2/10

Lacazette - failed to lead the press or put any pressure on the Liverpool centre-backs. Almost invisible, in fact - 3/10

Subs:

Cedric - on for Tierney just before half time and did OK in the circumstances. Had Arsenal's only shot in anger in the entire match - 5/10

Elneny - on for the totally ineffective Ceballos on the hour. Did what he does, but will never influence a game at this level - 5/10

Martinelli - on late for Auba. He may as well start Premier League games now; he runs about, and shows intent, at least - 5/10

Manager:

Arteta - poor team selection. Failed to react at any point. Unable to energise the team at half -time. Back to the bad old days of November and December - 0/10

If his after-match interview was anything to go by, Arteta was spitting blood. Here are a few excerpts from him:

'We completely deserved to lose the game. They were better in every department. They deserved to win the game by the margin they did; or more. They won every duel, every second ball, every challenge. It is my fault - I set the team to play in a different way. The standard has to be much higher for this club. We could not put three passes together. At the moment I am in shock'

As regards that last sentence - you and me both, mate! Arteta has to take some responsibility here; he cannot pass the buck that easily to his players. Yes, they looked outgunned and lacking fire and motivation; but that's partly down to him.

We can go all the way back to the Chelsea game to see the seeds of this embarrassment. With injuries and absences, Arteta was forced to play Smith Rowe alongside Saka, and stumbled on the answer to many of the problems of the previous weeks. With those two absent, so much was taken away. 

And much as I hate to admit it, the loss of Luiz and Xhaka was just as badly felt. Luiz is at least vocal, and can play a pass that no other Arsenal defender can play. And, for all his faults, Xhaka was badly missed. Not like Gilberto Silva used to be, obviously, but he's comfortably our second best midfield player - and that's a sad indictment of the state of the squad. He would have added a bit of order to the midfield.

And so to Slavia Prague on Thursday. Injuries left, right and centre, and we can only pray for the return of some of the absentees. They'll be no pushovers, for sure, and their home record - for those unaware - is frightening, so we need to take a decent lead there.

As for some of these players, as Gary Neville said, they are 'like fed lions'. They lack hunger and motivation. Time to get shot, and play the kids now. All of them!

Meanwhile, I'll leave you with an image that sums up why class is permanent. On the 20th anniversary of his passing, this was the cover of the match programme. RIP Rocky; we will never forget you.