2025-26 UEFA Champions League - See Mod Note Post 1

Yeah, my kid has been named the designated 'goalkeeper glove loosener' in his team. They have 3 kids who are grapplers, two that have been given the task of shirt pulling, then another couple who are blockers.

He actually said he's enjoying football training way more, and was gutted when the season ended. They did win their league, though, so they can't wait to build on their routine with whatever Arteta does next season. Exciting times.

For me, the bigger bugbear is Arteta constantly out of his technical area, which he was at again in the final. The 4th official kept talking to him but didnt have the balls to call the referee over. This waving the players backwards and forwards smacks of some genuine fear he must have that these professionals can't think and act for themselves. There is no longer any flow to the play. Its just bring the ball back, get everybody lined up again, and start the back and over again. Its slow, it's boring and it's dull, but it's getting results.

As long as you can put the oil money in the back of your mind, football won on Saturday.

Only 1 team wanted to play football, the other wanted the game to be a stinker. Arsenal probably wanted penalties from the start, but when they got the bonus of an early goal, they then had something to defend, rather than a draw.

That's why they play like they do. Lack of confidence and no belief they can outplay everyone else to win silverware. It comes from the trauma of the past 20 years I suppose that they're all on board with it.

Some good lines in this by Ken Early. The Saka astronaut one in particular is brilliant.

While I understand Ken wanted to come up with a reason to pull out his calculator, the ref gave Mosquera a yellow card 15 seconds after the ball went out of play (that's after it went out of play, mind, not even 15 seconds after he had a ball in his hands). It only took 40 seconds in total because of the ref going over to issue the card. So I guess Mosquera only wasted about 70 years of precious human life - the rest is on the ref.

Yes but it the first half theatrics arguably influenced the somewhat quick booking in the second. The ref was sick to death of Arsenals antics so was very quick to book Mosquera before they could repeat the whole routine, as a clear warning that shìt aint continuing.

He references both incidents in the write up. The 40 seconds = 190 years is the booking.

And I think this is the important point.

The referee, like everyone else, is sick to death of the Arsenal time wasting nonsense. Arsenal fans can argue about semantics all they want about how it only took 19 seconds when X other example took 22 seconds or whatever they want. But it was the continued tactic of Arsenal to waste time throughout the first half and the referee had enough of it, and this was his way of dealing with it.

This is what the rulechangers don't understand. The grappling in the box harms Arsenal's chances. With their aerial superiority, Arsenal will score even more from corners if grappling is cracked down upon.

Gabriel hardly got to a corner in the second half of the season, because every defender in the country was grappling, holding and pulling his shirt. Bring on new rules, and watch Arsenal score even more set-pieces.

Of course, then the haters will want to abolish corners.

Possibly coming from many people here suggesting that all Arteta has done is sign a team of giants.

I agree with you that its bs

Fair point and people who use that particular claim as a stick to beat Arteta with are full of crap 👍