courtesy @allthatchas
The Arteta revival of Arsenal is proving as spluttery as most expected. The Sheffield United game had positives, but the key thing we’re looking for is a victory and it once again alluded us.
The plan for the moment looks fairly clear. Arteta is trying to make us harder to beat, which in the main, seems to be working. We’re more in control of what’s happening on the pitch, the mistakes have reduced, and it’s in the main, a bit harder to create chances against us.
The main problem is that we aren’t creating enough in the final third to be a problem for most teams. Yesterday our best hope for goals was suspended, so we rolled with Lacazette, Martinelli and Pepe. It’s just not quite there. In the first half, the most interesting of our forward line was Pepe, who seems to be finding more confidence in the way he wants to play, but a lack of end product is still the common takeaway.
Our midfield is where the trouble comes from. There’s only one place a threat is coming from and that’s Mesut Ozil, his passing game was very off yesterday, though he was involved in our goal when he found Laca, who released Saka who found Gabriel for the tap with a deflected cross.
The overall lack of creativity in the side is a worry, not just that, we’re lack dynamism. Because there’s so little power, late runs into the box are a rarity, and if opposition planners know where the creativity is coming from, it makes you easy to play against. Part of the newfound ‘sort of’ solidity comes with a sacrifice in attack. The manager has yet to find the solution, but look, we bitched for 10 years about not having a coach who was interested in defending, now we have one.
I thought Saka showed a lot of promising signs down the left, he and Gabriel are players of the future, they work hard, they have power and pace, but at the moment, as teenagers, they are going to be raw and inconsistent. Arteta was effusive in his praise of the Brazilian after the game.
Absolutely. He’s an 18-year-old kid with all the enthusiasm but as well, he’s so brave to make decisions, to threaten the opponent every time. He’s all the time in the middle of the goal, waiting for an opportunity to come. The fact he hasn’t played 90 minutes for a while – since his injury – but is still in the way he went about every single action is impressive.
The real worry upfront is Alex Lacazette, he really stunk the place out yesterday, he looked slow, out of his depth and a little bit depressed. Not good and not helpful. I wonder if Eddie is going to land game time against Chelsea?
Our defence weren’t punished for their mistakes yesterday. Though in the main we looked solid, it has to be noted that Sheffield United weren’t at their best and we still nearly dropped clangers. I’m thinking about David Luiz not jumping for a corner and letting a man in behind him. I’m also thinking about Bernd Leno flapping at a cross, missing and having to rely on Granit Xhaka to save him on the goal line. I think Arteta made a good point about the general nerves when we’re 1-0 up being a problem he’s struggling to shake at the moment.
Yeah and there’s a history of [nerves in the stadium]. It makes it even more. In the Premier League we are 1-0 up and in the last 10 or 15 minutes you have to be careful, because anything can happen…
… Then when you’re 1-0 up, the last 10 minutes things change. They changed to a back four and they started to commit more bodies forward, and then they’d have six players in front of the ball. It’s more difficult to control when they play long balls or second balls like this. It’s not easy.
You also can’t ignore lady luck, who appears to have looked at Emery’s credit withdrawals last season and deemed us bankrupt. Sheffield United found space at the back post and Fleck hit the ball into the ground and it ended in the top corner, if that was on purpose, I salute you, but it felt like a mistimed shot paid off. The second bit of bad luck was having a ref in charge that always needs a bad decision to feed his ego. Pepe was clattered in the box, it was a clear penalty, but it wasn’t given. When you’re in a rut, these things go against you, and there have certainly been a lot of things go against us of late.
For me, the season was always a write-off. We’re 6 games into a rebirth, and it’ll take time to get the side playing the way the manager wants and the output is going to be inconsistent, but it will click eventually. It’s important to remember the scenario at the moment.
Onwards and upwards, a huge game at Chelsea next where we’ll be hoping to right the wrongs of the last game against them.
See you in the comments x
I don’t understand why arteta is not using the squad. Does he think he can go the whole remainder of the season with the same front 4? He needs to rotate and keep his players fresh and hungry. If you give a dog too much food, he’s not going to fight for his bone. Similarly, if players are just getting into the team without merit then they will.continue to perform badly. He tracked back on his players will play on merit comment real quick. Thankfully we have auba out for a couple of games so he can come back fresh… Read more »
Arteta should have used ceballos in the last 2 games to get him up to speed. Now, with ozil doing fk all, he has to throw a player that hasn’t played for months in at the deep end. Great managing all round.
Positives are there from the arteta era, but the lad is learning on the job. Something arsenal don’t need.
It will all unravel by game 10 and then the club can rebuild the team with a heavyweight in charge…
Gonsterous
Auba is banned from. 3 matches; Nketiah back from loan – Martinelli was carrying injury recently and only returning now – Saka has had to be called into LB duties – so not sure your point is that valid
From untold arsenal “ Meanwhile when an interesting story does emerge – such as the strange statistics concerning the ratio of fouls to yellow cards, or the fact that the top fouling clubs are primarily based in and around London – while there are no London based referees in the PL – this is not covered at all. Likewise when Europe gets excited by the announcement that Uefa declares it can no longer keep up with match fixing and needs help, the media decides as one not to cover it in the UK.” I like the idea of a brexit… Read more »
Un
So whats yr take onit? Was it simply uefa protecting their golden goose or is there a deeper thing going on
Northbanker My point was, since arteta took over, there hasn’t been much rotation going around. Sure, it was important to get a winning run going so he opted to play his best players in the FA cup, but he also needed to make sure the players he has left on the fringes (guen, ceballos, etc) and also those coming back from injury, were still used on match days to get them up to speed in case we needed them when the likes of xhaka and ozil reverted back to type. Instead, we have relied on ozil for the past 4… Read more »
Pedro The thing on the podcast that i disagree w is the matter of us failing to make europe next year. I think you didnt really thibk out the bigger picture which is that something like that will force kroenkes hand. The idea that it will discourage talent from joining us is just flat out wrong. We have arteta. We’ve had senile wenger and emery as the last decade. Surely that was more of a discouragement to young talent than sitting Out europe for a year. Because even if we do we’ll be back and imagine what arteta could do… Read more »
From what I saw on MOTD, Pepe had this best game. He seemed to really fun at the opposition with a determination and directness to score or assist.
I really hope he can keep improving or adapting to the prem. I did think because a luxury one footed beach player up till now. I hope I can look back and say I was too early with my judgement.
Marc (from previous post),
Dangote will get us for circa £2 billion. This represents a big profit for kroenke and we are a much worse club on a protracted decline since his takeover. Depending on his other ventures (don’t forget his substantial investment in LA rams), as we stand today he can cover his exposure to other assets which haven’t quite worked out and are not offering a big profit at current market.
By hook or crook, Dangote will buy Arsenal.
Ut
Kroenke mArried into the walton family. Hes a billionaire. He wont NEED to do anything. The rams deal is a real estate deal. We were the leverage. We hope he sells because he figures out its a fucking headache dealing with ‘soccer’
Zacharse,
He has made a massive profit holding an asset which he doesn’t understand very well AND one that has declined in standing. I didn’t say he NEEDS to do anything but he has an opportunity to capitalise and come out better off, something billionaires don’t turn a blind eye to.
The key here is he has known for a long time that he has the off taker in Dangote, he won’t risk playing hardball with a ready made buyer, there aren’t many others waiting in the wings at that price.
You sell when you can, not when you need.
I hope that whoever buys out kroenke is a football lover not just a money-obsessive.
Say what you liked about abramovich, he wanted Chelsea to win everything….and how we (many of us)hated him.
Kroenke is like the lord of the dark side.
Ut
Not sure i follow. He could sell arsenal whenever he wants. Selling it would
Entail paying massive taxes as well as other admin related tasks that cost money. Its about him, not markets or anything else. He’s going to take a loss this year and probably already knows it, i imagine it will come as a shock. Heres hoping it changes his current methods
Hackney proverb
“Never trust a toupee wearing billionare, to MAGA( Make Arsenal Great Again)”
Im tellinf you for free!
While i agree i cant think of a more oxymoronic sentiment than a hackney proverb
Common themes of this site. Wenger apologists who never gave Emery a chance (which was called prior to Wenger leaving would happen), are now stoked with Arteta because it’s the hipster option. They also give people grief for getting behind a manager of Arsenal (Emery). This isn’t about Emery or Arteta or even Wenger. We all want a god damn win on the books. And to be back at the top of the table. Trying to be positive about Emery while he was here is nothing to be ashamed of. I wanted him to be something he turned out not… Read more »
Also don’t get me wrong, I’m keen to see what Arteta can do for us.
He needs to be backed though otherwise it’s just more of the same, even with his potentially excellent coaching skills
Goober, spot on.
Goobergooner
I’m in agreement.
Your “15 years of goodwill” perceptions on Wenger are just about spot on. He should have gone in 2011(at the latest).
Emery is forgotten already.
Arteta has a job and a half to iron out our problems.
Hopefully he is the real deal.
Happy saucy monday to all.
Let’s be crystal clear the problems at Arsenal are not down to Arteta. He has arrived at the club, which has been in decline over several years with an Academy acknowledged as not fit for purpose and transfer business both outgoing and incoming, which has been awful. The owner, board of directors and senior management at the club has not been fit for purpose for a very long time and it is debatable whether anything has actually improved. I have maintained all season that our defence is in urgent need of a rebuild. No amount of coaching by Arteta will… Read more »
I will get behind any manager, whether it’s Wenger, Emery or Arteta, unless they start to show persistent malfunctioning traits. Wenger should have gone years before he did. Every Arsenal fan knows that. Emery should have gone several weeks/months before he did. Both Emery and Arteta have had to deal with the consequences of Wengers failings. Arteta is also having to deal with Emery’s mistakes. Bearing in mind all of this, Arteta needs to be given time and support from both ourselves and our hierarchy. One things for sure, we are not going to get top 4 but could still… Read more »
I said quite a few times that the danger of a new manager coming too early was that by the time the squad issues had been sorted out to the point where we could genuinely challenge for the top two or three places, he would lose his lustre and another manager would need to come in and to take us on.
That’s the danger of Arteta. He finds himself in too deep too early in his career, and doesn’t have the necessary nous, or talent in the squad, to let him ride out the storm.
Creativity is ZERO! Long Balls to fwds ZERO! Shooting at goal from 20yards+ ZERO!
Whoever expects Atsenal to win with these shortcomings
ES
Yes , good summary, it’s a big job.
The main problem is Raul, Edu and co.
They have to plan for this and work closely with Arteta to have a three year plan with a strategy, not knee jerk cheap crocks.
We have to dump at least five players and as they are so poor nobody want them.
It’s a big job.
if Laca and Ozil’s sale can fetch 40 Mill, it makes a world of sense to buy a Maddison right now.
Maddison = Ozil + Laca on the pitch. Creates and shoots at goal.
Goober Good post UTarse Totally agree with your thinking. Stan has no emotional value with the club – only money (profit) He’s sure to have the best accountants/actuaries / tax lawyers money can hire to advise him, so when an investment has run its course Stan will cash in and move on to the next low risk – high reward ( like Arsenal was) investment project. The only possible issue on Stan’s mind could be him wanting to wait it out for the super league to start, but with our continued decline and need of substantial player investment there is… Read more »
Stan’s investment will go down next year with no European money at all.
Plus our lowly position will not bring the money in from the EPL.
Sales are going down and the season ticket prices cannot go up.
This will make him think about cashing in, hopefully.
But unfortunately he will just carry on.
The fans need to get on his back.
“For the period since he signed his new contract, which was almost two years ago to the day, has been so jaw-droppingly poor that even the biggest Ozil loyalist must accept the pitiful value for money” They clearly never met Pierre “The statistics are genuinely extraordinary. In 43 Premier League appearances since January 31, 2018 – when a lucrative contract extension until 2021 was agreed – Ozil has contributed five goals and four assists. That tally of nine direct goal contributions puts him 103rd in the Premier League list, 54 behind Mohamed Salah and more than 30 short of Harry… Read more »
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2020/01/20/arsenals-mesut-ozil-millstone-damning-statistics-two-years-bumper/
Forgot the link
Maddison = Ozil + Laca on the pitch. Creates and shoots at goal.
Why would Maddison want to come to Arsenal when his team are in a good postion to make CL?
Tony,
Dangote will be our man and he’s a huge fan AND more (marginally) wealthy than Stan.
Graham, well said. Cups are all we have this season. The club hierarchy are most likely banking on another Europa final, seeing as they have no clue. The only part about the rest of the season I’m optimistic for is that cup games, in their one off nature (or over two legs obviously) can shake up form and games aren’t a given. We may fluke it to the end, with some Mikel sauce and hopefully a bit of luck for a change. Mikel has an even bigger job than Emery had, so it’s just weathering the storm til hopefully we… Read more »
When was the last time we bought from the Premier league? Was it Arteta?
And not including mhkitaryan
Why would Stan sell for £2bn when it’s less than market val?
Arsenal still has upside, so why cash out early and miss out on that growth when he can just sit pretty and watch his investment grow without doing anything?
Welbeck?
Luiz this summer.
Debuchy?
Chambers?
Debuchy as well. Can’t think of any others.
Everyone thinking that Kroenke is just going to “cash in” and walk away really needs to get their heads out of their arses. Arsenal’s value is at worst stable at the moment and with future PL deals the value will continue to increase. For Kroenke to sell someone would have to offer way above the value of the club which was valued at $2.2 billion by Forbes so you’re looking at something like $3 billion for him to sell, maybe more. You then want the new owner to put money into the club as well so add on another £500,000,000… Read more »
Lego nails it.
Why would he sell?
ES “””””””The owner, board of directors and senior management at the club has not been fit for purpose for a very long time and it is debatable whether anything has actually improved. (post Wenger)””””” No- the complete opposite has happened. What the wonderful folk on here don’t do when they incessantly criticise Wenger ( and there is much to criticise him for and rightly so) – they dont actually analyse he was still getting most things right. ( about 60%) Nowdays we get nothing right. Absolutely nothing (maybe 5% – martinelli at £ 6 million) thats why we have won… Read more »
CG
Right on.
We have not improved post Wenger.
Emery tried every combination with the squad and could do nothing with them.
Ozil extended contract has killed the club going forward he gets three players wages and does nothing for the team.
We are putting a lot of faith into Arteta and as you say he and all the others have won nothing yet.
We have nothing to trade now only our glorious past.
Areta has designed a formation to fit in the players available to him. He has Kola who can’t defend. He plays more as a LW. He has two strikers. To fit both in, He players Auba more like an inside left attacker. Auba can move inside as the striker when Laca drops back to help out the midfield. I think Arteta would rather play a 4 3 3 formation like MC. But he had to play a 4 2 3 1 formation because Ozil can only play the #10 position. Since he is moving Kola upfield, he has to move… Read more »
Lego 11.22
There is no growth
Mid table.
No Europe.
Dwindling crowds.
Sponsorship waning.
Unrest again within the crowd .
Every reason to sell.
Proper investment and results then your talking?
Leicester can’t buy a win without Ndindi!
Marc
Your 11.26 post is bang on
I’ve always found the Kroenke talk boring. It’s not like they have an uncle ready to fork out billions to buy Arsenal from Kroenke. The last minority share owner was two time richer that Kroenke and was still shooed off.
They can bang their heads on the wall until their brains spill out and it won’t change a damn thing.
I can understand Laca’s frustration. He always plays his heart out. He and Martinelli are the two players doing the most pressing. He was replaced by Eddie while we needed to close out a match. It was a big mistake to rely on Ozil, Pepe and Eddie to close out a match.
How is £2 billion below market value ?
“How is £2 billion below market value ?”
Well when the market value is $2.2 billion (last figure put out by Forbes) then $2 billion is less than that number.
It’s pretty simple maths.
Marc,
do you understand that a $ is not worth the same as a £ ?
simple enough no ?
Haha nice one Marc you donut..
Un
Where are you seeing Kurzawa done for the summer? That was the chat a few days ago but today PSG have said there’s been no contact for him.
UT My mistake i was looking at $2.2bn not £2.2bn. Point still stands, the offer needs to blow them out of the water or why would they sell? james wood ‘There is no growth Mid table. No Europe. Dwindling crowds. Sponsorship waning. Unrest again within the crowd . Every reason to sell.’ As long as there is competition for the PL TV rights and the value of PL clubs will only rise and so will the sponsorship deals associated with it. You need to have a word with yourself if you think dwindling crowds and fan unrest will effect the… Read more »
Charlie
Hopefully the no contact for him stays that way, I’d sooner keep Kolasinac and that’s saying something
Bati
I’d sooner replace Kolasinac with Kurzawa and use the coin from a sale towards other parts of the side.
Not going to comment much on their respective abilities compared, just not that fixated on the LB that will be behind Tierney longer term personally. If that lateral kind of love banks is 10-15 mil I think it’s savvy.
*if that kind of lateral move banks us 10-15mil it’s savvy.
Fuck you Siri
look I get the whole “why would Stan sell” soundbite but then ask yourself : why did he shell out £550 million to buy out Usmanov when he already had total control on the club anyway ? the main premise behind it is he is preparing for a sale or that should he want to sell, he can name his price and be in total control of the process. as I have said, its no secret that dangote has indicated he wants to buy the club when he is financially ready, Stan was just getting himself into the best position… Read more »
CG Your support of Wenger is consistently laughable. From 2006-2018, even though we were restricted, to a degree, by our stadium commitments, we had more than enough resources/finances at our disposal to warrant a far more successful period in the clubs history. As other clubs progressed, we stagnated and regressed. I know that, you know that, in fact the entire footballing world knows that. Imagine the consequences of neglecting basic maintenance on your house. Eventually, over time, these minor defects will manifest into far greater problems. That’s what happened under your hero. We have struggled since Wenger’s departure but if… Read more »
Batistuta
You’ll rather keep Kolasinac?
If Tierney turns out as well as some hyped him, then all Kolasinac will be is just a back-up.
Moving him on for Kurzawa on a free transfer is excellent business, Kola is 26 y/o and will fetch at least 20 million.
14.38 Lego.
I am talking moving forward with the current owners.
PL rights I feel will drop over time once the likes of Amazon
offer cheap Prime Tv to the masses. Just my opinion.
As regards your remark about having a word with myself regarding
dwindling attendances then I suggest you are making a mistake on that one
as revenues surely will affect us over time.
Arsenal in The Champions league is the saving grace for us and I don’t see
It with the mistakes and ongoing mistakes this club has made.
UTarse
Kroenke’s business revolves around owning sporting organizations.
He’s attained the zenith of that goal by owning a cherished London club in the most profitable football league in the world. Arsenal is the only sporting organization with a global following that he owns.
Arsenal are part of his family heirloom now, deal with it. He’s not going anywhere.
Kroenke has NEVER sold ANY of his sporting franchises. He’s a keeper and doesn’t even need the money. He’s a septuagenarian who has everything including the world business ranch. Why would he sell?
CC
Would rather we continue to give the minutes to Saka. He has the tools to be a top class fullback. There’s so valuable in the modern game. Would sign someone like Diallo from PSG. A left footed defender who can play LCB in a four/five or LB.
Arteta saying that we need to win tomorrow to keep our top 4 hopes alive. He’s not writing off the season thankfully
Surprise, surprise. A bunch of decisions got reviewed by Dermot Gallagher in his weekly column but oh lights, oh darkness, NOT THE POTENTIAL PEPE PENALTY. https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11661/11913359/ref-watch-virgil-van-dijk-fouled-david-de-gea-for-liverpools-disallowed-goal-says-dermot-gallagher Who would have guessed… Another decision that costs us is swept down the carpet. Honestly, the EPL is so corrupted it disgusts me. To be so pretentious about being the greatest/best league in the world is so, so rich. If it was a decision against Manure or Pool the world would have exploded. If was yet another decision against them, they would have cancelled the league. When it’s versus Arsenal nobody gives a damn.… Read more »
Dream
Prefer Saka more advanced, I think he’s a much better fit as a wide forward. Having Tierney and Saka as LB options isn’t smart for me, as good as Saka is he’s 18. Martinelli isn’t a genuine starter and he’s the best teenager at the club. There needs to be a level of protection with youth players.
Who would have guessed… Another decision that costs us is swept down the carpet.
Raptora
Liverpool had two VAR goals decisions go against them yesterday. They still scored a second goal. Sometimes we need to stop the crying over decisions that don’t go for us and make sure that actually score rather than rely on decisions from dodgy linos and refs.
Lyon expected to make 22 mil Euro bid for Bruno Guimaraes, his agent followed Lyon on social media and liked tweets stating Lyons interest in Bruno. – Twitter
People who keep trying to justify the Kurzawa signing by bringing up the 10-15 million we might get for Kolasinac have to remember instead that it’ll be another poor player with a questionable attitude added to the squad going on 28 on circa 100,000 a week. Keep hearing about a 4-5 year contract even if it’s a 3 year contract it’s not going to be financially smart either
I can see kurzawa if he comes do a fabinhio /petit and be converted into a midfielder, I think he will be a good fit, defensively minded , mobile and can drive forward, also a left footer which helps., Both fabinhio and petite were defenders converted to play that position and did they do it well.
Wolves signing Podence. Good signing
Marko ‘People who keep trying to justify the Kurzawa signing by bringing up the 10-15 million we might get for Kolasinac have to remember instead that it’ll be another poor player with a questionable attitude added to the squad going on 28 on circa 100,000 a week. Keep hearing about a 4-5 year contract even if it’s a 3 year contract it’s not going to be financially smart either’ Why isnt getting 10-15 million profit financially smart brainiac? They both earn similar, similar age and same position. Upside we get 10-15 million downside our back up LB is derided as… Read more »
Dissenter,
Thats your opinion and I have mine. Let’s see what transpires.
james wood
You were talking about selling the club and were saying we were losing value.
We aren’t. We would however grow in value much more if the on field side was successful to boost the off field commercials.
As it stands the PL and its TV revenue is king and attendances and tickets sales are fuck all in comparison in the modern game.
Marko
‘Wolves signing Podence. Good signing’
Course he is.
The Kurzawa signing is absolutely perfect for midtable Arsenal in 2020.
(Lets not dare aim to look for the next Ashley Cole from the lower leagues)
Lets Go:
Mediocre
Over paid and on a de-incentivised 5 year contract ( so we cant sell)
Injury Prone
Bad Attitude
Glove Wearing
Unambitious & Unimaginative
Cronyism( Edu and Raul)
Luiz and Kurzawa – thats the way forward.
Looks like he is part of a plan to me
Top 4 here we home.
Samesong, Both of Pool’s goals were rightly disallowed. Our penalty was obvious. So has a bunch of other decisions but the people upstairs don’t want to see it. Also, excuse me that we are not Pool, we are in our worst form in 25 years, we desperately need to get some momentum going, but some people are obviously against it. Yes, we suck. Have we been butchered by around minus ~8 points? Yes. Two very important things in mind when you want to win football games: 1. Quality – where at the moment we aren’t spectacular but recently we’ve been… Read more »
The De Gea/ VVD incident should have stood. Referee was correct.
Definite goal imo.
Pepe – penalty all day long.
Would have been a free kick anywhere else on the pitch.
Samesong
I agree.
Trouble is our fans always feel hard done by.
Some even blamed the ref when we lost 8-2 at OT and managed to throw away a four goal lead against Newcastle.
I’m afraid it’s in our blood.
I think it’s called excuses.
We should look at Sheffield U , Wolves, and even Leeds for hard working regular players to buy.
We seem to only look at semi broken overpaid Jonny foreigners attached to Rauls fav agents.
Crook
Why isnt getting 10-15 million profit financially smart brainiac?
Right so Kolasinac a year younger with 2 years left on his contract going for 10-15 million replaced by an older player on similar wages apparently on a 5 year deal. Even if it’s 4 on 100,000 a week where exactly is the profit? Seems like that profit gets eaten into by the contract. Lemme guess no problem we’ll just sell Kurzawa if he doesn’t work out. Cause we always find it easy to sell underperforming Defenders on big wages.
Marko do I have to spell it out to you that the wage bill and transfer budget are separate things?
The wage bill isnt affected by this transfer but we will have 10-15million to spend on a new player, see how that works?
If Tierney didn’t turn out to be a crock, none of this Kurzawa business would be necessary.
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