My top 5 managers of the season, 2021-22: 5) Jesse Marsch, Leipzig/Leeds 4) Philippe Clement, Monaco 3) Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool 2) Mikel Arteta, Arsenal 1) Pep Guardiola, Man City [KRAKEN THREAD]

That’s the performance which will win Arsenal the Champions League this season. A true victor’s display when the world turned against them.

Edu should take advantage of Chelsea’s reckless spending. Balogun is never going to score more than 5 goals in a Premier League season and Boehly will easily offer £60 million. His attitude is horrible and Arteta is right to want to get rid of him.

If Declan Rice isn’t convinced by the Arsenal project, then I’m not convinced by him. Only a player who is worried that he isn’t good enough for the top level would choose a place on City’s bench over being Arteta’s star man.

Chelsea have just sold Arsenal their best attacker for well below his market value. The Financial Fair Play rules are having a huge impact on their transfer activity and we’re taking advantage. In any normal window, Chelsea demand £120m for Havertz. Now, they’re forced to sell.

Havertz behind the striker would be a genius transfer. Go back and watch a full 90 minutes of him playing for Bayer Leverkusen and you are looking at the potential of the best CF of his generation. If Arteta and Edu manage to secure him for less than £75 million it’s a coup.

All I can think of are missed opportunities. Had the team not let Arteta down in 2022’s run-in, Arsenal would have been holding aloft the Champions League trophy last night. There are only two teams on Arsenal’s level in European football, and City eliminated both.

If I were Edu, the first thing I would be looking at in this window is replacing Gabriel. We have title-winning players in every position except centre-back, but he’s the weak link. I would walk to Manchester myself and offer him in exchange for Maguire. That wins the league.

A completely underrated aspect of Arteta’s management is that he’s raised the transfer value of average players which allows him to afford his targets. Under any other manager, Balogun and Willock would be sold for £5 million. Instead, Arsenal are hearing club-record offers.

The media wrote us off. The footballing world said we weren't good enough. We went into this season thinking 6th place would be a coup. A major success. We couldn't even think about fighting for top 4. But Mikel made us dream. He took a midtable side to inches from history.

When all is said and done, the history books will remember this Arteta side much more than any Manchester City team of the past decade. Clubs across Europe are already taking influence from Mikel’s tactics and philosophy. He is shaping the next generation of this sport.

I’m seeing a lot of overreaction to today’s loss. Arsenal were by far the best team on the pitch for 85 minutes today. A couple defensive errors doesn’t change that. Arteta coached a 2-0 win and his players let him down. The squad just simply isn’t good enough.

In 10 years’ time, people will look back on this period and question how Jorginho never won the Ballon d’Or. To think that, in 2021, the footballing world believed that two players were better than him is ridiculous. The only player who could ever eclipse him would be Patino.

My content will always be free. For me, the ability to spread footballing knowledge and plant the tactical seeds of the next generation of coaches means more than any numbers on a bank account.

Finally, some sense from Southgate. Henderson brings every aspect and attribute of Bellingham's game but better. There's a reason that statisticians and managers alike have consistently praised Henderson's ability for the past decade while clubs are hesitating on signing Jude.

Fair play, Noncething was cooking I can’t lie

A year ago, Brentford were our big rivals, mocking us as they beat us 2-0. Today, still as underdogs, we dominated them as we beat them 3-0 to move to the top of the table. Completely sums up how the club has turned around in the past year.

Guardiola’s side held possession against a 10-man Wolves team for around 90% of the match today. But could anyone argue that they deserved more than a 2-goal lead? You can hold the ball for as long as you like but without proper coaching you won’t convert that into chances.