Mixed feelings after that game:

Pros:

Absolutely delighted we competed and gave Arsenal a scare

Pissed off we didn't get at least one point from that game -wasn't expecting that beforehand so I'm treating it as a pro.

Camarasa looks the real deal, and Ward played superbly too

The team as a whole will have gained massive confidence that they can compete at this level against the very best

The crowd were really supportive and appreciative of the efforts that went in from the players. Brilliant to hear it in full flow


Cons:

We were so 'in the game' that I'm really pissed off that we got nothing out of it. It'll take a while for the adrenaline to subside...

For the first time this season I'm going to be critical of NW - he needed to make changes before Arsenal scored their 3rd. We should have been able to see out the game from where we were. Around 70 minutes Ward obviously ran out of energy chasing a ball almost directly in front of Warnock and Hoillet was also clearly knackered. We were 2-2 and had a real chance of getting something out of this game but needed to match Arsenal's fresh legs to compete in midfield. He had to be looking to give fresh impetus around 60 minutes I think. We'd conceded the midfield to Arsenal at this point.

There were 4 good chances to score that simply had to be got on target if nothing else - if we don't learn to make the keeper work from those sort of chances then we're in trouble this season.

Morrison looked really nervous early on - that corner he conceded was really worrying. We need him to believe in himself and not to settle for 'nearly' good enough.

We need a really nasty and tight defence to survive this year. Balance still to be found I think as we were bullied out of things in our penalty area too often for the first time I can remember in some years.


Overall:

A really positive game for us which shows we have what we need to compete in this League. That's the one match the team are allowed to lose but be positive though. We can't become plucky losers and I trust NW and his team won't allow them to become satisfied at this level of performance.