As you know, I’ve been quite interested in Unai Emery’s attack on some of the entitlement that goes on at Arsenal. We all knew there were a few areas he was going to have address this season. Ramsey’s lack of discipline, Xhaka’s ineptitude, the overall lack of giving a fuck at Arsenal… then there was Mesut.
A sublime talent that no one in Europe would take a punt on last season, even when he was in the last year of his deal. A player who takes sick days like he’s being bullied at school. A player who floats in and out of relevance. A player who divided fan opinion at a club that was desperate for a megastar.
Yet we still gave him the mother of all contracts to avoid losing him for nothing last summer.
Whether that was CEO ego, or football strategy, one thing is for sure… right now, the deal doesn’t look like good value for money.
The big question I have sits around his power in the dressing room.
How big a personality is a bonified member of the Bling Bling Gang when it comes to the Arsenal dressing room?
I ask, because Emery really is biting off a lot of meat this season. He’s gunning for anyone who can’t work out his system, and he’s taking no prisoners. He’s imposing himself in the club at a rapid pace in order to make sure there can be no excuses for failure this season. The big question is how will the rest of the squad react?
Has Emery hedged his bets that most of the squad find his salary repugnant? Does he gather that most of the boys think he’s a bit of a passenger? Is he guessing that this sort of equality of expectations is going to stand him on good footing?
I hope so. The simple fact of football management is there is a hierarchy. There is no such thing as equality in sport. The way your position is defined in football is usually through talent. You can have a big personality, but if you’re shite, no one is going to pay attention to you. So that begs the question, how much sway does Mesut have with a dressing room that must know he’s a vital part of them getting back in the Champions League this summer? An achievement inextricably linked to their bonuses?
Mourinho is a big fan of rolling into a club and dominating a favourite. He did it to Juan Mata at Chelsea, Rooney at United, Cassilas at Madrid and a little bit of Joe Cole when he was at Chelsea the other time. He goes in, swings his dick, shows the rest of the players unequivocally who is the boss. It works when you’re Jose, because the reality is, he IS the biggest persona in the dressing room and that’s the way he rolls. Not just that, he has the titles to back his credentials.
Emery is a different breed of manager. He tried similar things at PSG in his first year, working his hardest to control big names like Neymar, and it failed. He tanked the one-horse race, then spent the second season being a bitch to the big names. He even said as much in his GFFN interview where he spoke about just letting genius be genius.
Tell that line to Guardiola who will laugh at you.
So here’s the thing, it sounds like Emery is going to war with Mesut Ozil. If he wants to make this work, he has to pray to the footballing gods the football backs up playing hardball with the number one chance creator, space maker, shadow defender the world has ever seen. Because if it goes wrong, it will impact the managers judgement.
Arsenal players knew they couldn’t oust Wenger, so working on a go-slow was never an option, but these players know there’s little connection between Emery, the fans and the board. If they want to end the manager, they can do that now.
It’s also a tough spot to be in. How much of a protest can you make with a player who costs you £1.5m a month? That sort of carryon can only go on so long, because it’ll piss off sponsors and it’ll embarrass the CEO and the new backroom team. Targetting Ozil is absolutely the correct thing to do, but it’s also the most politically charged when you think about it.
Most fans will respond like the players. I’m happy to see the manager throw his weight about, but really, the hope for me is that he inspires people like Mesut to play for him. Reality is the German was NEVER going to be able to track Jorginho, because he’s just not built that way. We’re going to have to find a role for him that he can thrive in, and one that comes with less defensive duties. It’s a chance for Emery to get creative.
Ivan Gazidis and Raul made a cataclysmic mistake spending £350k a week on a player we all knew had commitment issues… but now it’s done and we have to make the most out of it. Motivating a player who doesn’t give a fuck about Arsenal is Emery’s biggest challenge. Making him fall back in love with a game that rejected him so brutally over the last year could cement his legend early on and it’ll go a long way to helping us crack the top 4.
Let’s see where this lands…
See you in the comment, and we’ll be back tomorrow with a podcast. x
**Do you think Wenger approved the mad trolley dash of 2011 ?
Do you think Wenger approved the mad trolley dash of 2012 ?
Absolutely. In the sense that we got beat 8-2 and theeeennn he said get me players any players before the window closes and then agents were like great I have these really shit… I mean good players that you can have. And then he was like Andre Santos yes please I’ll have me some of that…
Cech can never considered indispensable no matter how hard the spin. Even Wenger replaced him with Ospina at some point and Leno can never be a worse goal keeper than Ospina. Against who exactly is Leno not impressing in training? Our forwards who so far can barely hit the target? I suggest you listen to Shaka Hislop’s take on the issue, Emery is simply avoiding too many changes at once, he needs some of the more senior players onside with what he is trying to achieve. This happened with Lloris at Spurs, it looked like he was playing second fiddle… Read more »
Bamford, you may be right but that could be an over simplification.
‘Simple logic’
Making too many changes too soon, giving established players a chance to prove themselves in a new system/ set up, wanting an experienced player in the GK position….these could all be contributory to the decision to start Cech. Emery may think Leno is the better GK and plans do start him before long.
Arsnil
I was wondering about Mavrapanos as well but I think we haven’t seen him bc it’s been only 3 games and west ham was absolutely must win.
Emery not ready to bench Mustafi for the kid. Plus I don’t think Mustafi has been so awful so far. I think the worst defending and why we are sieving chances/goals is mostly down to Bellerin and Xhaka.
But I am looking forward to Mavro getting some run in the side comps coming up.
Having a place in the XI equates to being indispensable apparently. You’re right about it being ‘simple’ logic, just not in the manner you profess.
You’re spot on Receding, Cech being indispensable is a spin tactic and totally invents a narrative that is born entirely from another speculative assumption – that Leno is somehow not impressing anyone.
3 games into the new managers tenure and some folk are utterly desperate to make cemented claims of this or that. Baffling
I would imagine that seniority is prevailing with Cech and until he has a shocker Leno will have to wait. I personally would play Leno because bar a couple of decent saves Cech does not exude calmness or confidence. Also he’s conceded 6 in 3 his days are numbered
You’re spot on Receding, Cech being indispensable is a spin tactic and totally invents a narrative that is born entirely from another speculative assumption – that Leno is somehow not impressing anyone. It’s really annoying Charlie. Some even include a new goal keeper as part of the players we need to rebuild, all this hysteria without actual watching Leno play a minute for us. I think all this nonsense started from the so called behind closed door friendly where he was responsible for a goal and since then all sought of falsehood has been built on it. Peter Cech is… Read more »
Receding
I understand what you’re saying but it’s not illogical for people to come to the pother conclusion.
If getting a keeper was not a priority we could have just kept Cech and Ospina and hoped they both stepped up with new coaching.
We shouldn’t be spending that much money on a keeper who isn’t going to start from the get-go.
Emery is fanning all these speculation in my opinion.
At least rotate the keepers to show that it’s not definate since he’s not afraid to rotate every other position.
At least rotate the keepers to show that it’s not definate since he’s not afraid to rotate every other position.
i will understand the above after 10-15 matches not after 3.
If getting a keeper was not a priority we could have just kept Cech and Ospina and hoped they both stepped up with new coaching.
It was a priority and yes he will be used, Leno signed a four year deal not a three game deal, no money has been wasted yet. He just has to wait his turn, same way Fabinho is waiting his turn at Liverpool,
Receding
It’s a bit different with goalies though
Fabhino is part of a pool of midfielders who will rotate from game to game.
It’s currently a Cech vs Ospina situation.
It needs careful management. I just hope Emery gets it right.
You don’t know what you have until you see it in a real game.
I’m comparing this with Kepa at Chelsea. He hasn’t been great but they keep playing him ahead of a tested Willy Caballero because he is the future.
Dissenter i don;t think Willy has the standing in the game that Cech does so that comparison is a bit off.
This is all ado about nothing really because we are three games in, If Three months into the season and Leno does not have games under his belt you can then accuse the manager of not handling it well. Cech will not get away with conceding goals down low to his sides for long, if he does i will gladly join in the moaning , for now i am sorry to say it’s all just pointless
Tonight’s game is the first significant game of the season. By which I mean that both sides are genuine contenders for PL title. Something that this season cannot be said of Arsenal’s games against City and Chelsea.
How terribly sad. Nevertheless because off its importance I am very happy to watch it.
What should we hope for? For both of them to lose would be ideal. What do we prefer, deep trouble for Mourinho.? But that would make Spurs cock-a-hoop. And vice versa. So a draw might be best, with lots of red cards.
“I’m comparing this with Kepa at Chelsea. He hasn’t been great but they keep playing him ahead of a tested Willy Caballero because he is the future.” Caballero is a career number 2, Cech is one of the most decorated PL Gk’s ever. It requires more finesse imo from Emery and it’s to no surprise (though some annoyance) that Cech is our starting GK at present. Emery starts Leno over Ospina for instance were he the only other option. His early strategy seems to be integration of the ‘major players’ within the dressing room, then subsequent chopping and changing on… Read more »
CC My big issue is why do we keep starting Xhaka? He’s not a bad player he’s just not cut out for the PL. We’ve been crying out for a DM for years, we finally buy one and he’s not starting. If we are playing the 4-2-3-1 then we have Guendozi, Torreira, Ramsey, Elneny, AMN and Xhaka competing for 2 positions. As far as I’m concerned Xhaka has at least 3 if not 4 players in front of him for those 2 positions. If we can get MF to work then we should begin to see our defence under less… Read more »
Marc
I think the way forward if Emery wants Xhaka in the side is a 4-3-3/4-5-1 with a middle ‘V’ basically where Torreira is at the base and then Guendouzi and Xhaka either side of him slightly forward to try and control the game.
But going forward we need to add a CAM/CM type of player to take up one of the spots who is more pointedly creative while also being more of a CM type when needed.
Who the fuck thinks Utd under Mourinho are contenders this season? I’m also not convinced the Spud’s are at the level they get talked up to. 3rd will be as high as they can get and that would be an outstanding season for them.
No idea what Mou is doing with Pogba tonight.
Cesc
What ever we look to do a year down the road Xhaka is just not up to the job. In a slower league i.e. Italy he’d probably fit right in but the PL’s just to quick for him. Guendozi will make mistakes but I really think we’ve got a player on our hands, he’s gone from the French 2nd division to the PL and after about 4 hours already looks 3 times the player Xhaka does.
Bamford, No player is indispensable in this Arsenal side, not yet anyway. At this nascent stage where Emery is still working out what system and who best fits into it I don’t think it’s logical to cite a player as being indispensable. What you say or speculate is that he might be the form keeper of the two, impressed more, shares the same star sign as Emery, laughs at Emery’s jokes, Emery is performing some bizarre older players start now then get chopped later or whatever else. Who knows? As an example Kevin de Bryune might be considered indispensable to… Read more »
I like what Emery is doing. Even the big dog is not safe. I do not think that Emery is a dictator type manager. He is setting the tone early with Ozil- knowing that the media, players and board are all watching. Ozil has a part to play. He can accept, or protest. Give HIS shaky status right now in world football, I am not sure he will win this fight. Whether we play him or not, he is still getting paid. So its our prerogative. What I do like about this, is the message it is sending. Everyone needs… Read more »
Marc
Agreed.
I think players like Sanson and Brozovic are interesting for that CAM/CM role in the future.
By the start of next season we basically need to see a new CB, LB, CAM/CM and winger but until then we should build to control and press in the middle and then just have directness and goals in attack.
This was always going to be a just grab 4th or win the Europa League by any means season. After that we can really start to move forward.
Guns
Hanging Ozil out to dry (assuming all of the media rumours are true) would be in no way productive. If there’s going to be a battle of ego’s / personalities then fine but you keep your dirty linen in private.
If you need any proof of why just look at Mourinho.
Emery is doing great with Ozil right now, the pussy needed a smack for a long time and now he has it, but Emery has also shown class but not letting anyone know.
That shows class and confidence and actually makes him look stronger and more of a reliable figure to the players.
Cesc
I know this is going to sound a little crazy but I’m getting a feeling that Welbeck could be instrumental to our season. He can’t hit a cow’s arse with a banjo but he’ll press, track and be a complete fucking nuisance to the opposition. Until we get the right shaped pegs we need he might just be a very useful cog in the machine.
Marc
It doesn’t sound like Emery is keen on playing two up front, so it might he plays Aubameyang at ST and Welbeck at LM with Mkhitaryan at RM. That gives us far more balance.
Marc “we have Guendozi, Torreira, Ramsey, Elneny, AMN and Xhaka” This in many ways in an issue. For me Xhaka is the best CM in the group for knitting together play and offering structured transition. Torreira and Guendouzi are yet to show this, yet they could prove just as good if not better as the season continues. However, one is 19, and the other is coming from Italy so needs a bit of time to adapt – that’s this season anyway. Elneny is a nothing player I think we’d be better rid of, he’s not particularly good at anything and… Read more »
Cesc
Bang on re Ozil – thing is if this works it’s a win for Emery and a win for Ozil who will get the chance to ram it down the throats of the detractors from the world cup.
Publically making him look a cunt will just mean Ozil effectively retires with 4 years of big money to carry on coming in which we can’t get out of.
CC
Xhaka is a liability in any PL team midfield. Yes he can ping a nice 40 yard diagonal when under no pressure but the minute he’s closed down or has to press he’s worse than useless – and every other PL team knows it.
The question is, are Arsenal’s defensive problems this season down to personnel on the pitch or is it the tactics and formation they are being asked to play. I think it’s the latter because if you look at our defenders and keeper individually, they are generally playing ok. Mustafi and sokratis look a decent pairing, morata’s goal was probably the one goal you could point the finger at them. Monreal and cech are playing decent, which leaves bellerin who I feel sorry for as he is basically having to do the job of 2 players with little or no support… Read more »
Marc
I disagree. He’s crucial for that aspect of our midfield imo, and this ‘shit when pressed’ narrative that does the rounds is a bit wafer if you ask me. Very few players in the prem handle the press in the manner you suggest.
Champagne charlie
“Structured transition”
WTF lol
What a miss
Lukaku doing a Lukaku
Charlie respectfully these things you see in Xhaka are not correspondent to reality. You keep saying them and you keep being wrong. He does not dictate play he does not transition well in fact anything he has shown capable of doing in an Arsenal jersey the 19 year old we signed from Lorient has shown that he can do also and more. Consistency is a problem for both sure but ones 19 and 3 games into his career the other is what 26 and two seasons in. He’s not our best midfielder not by a long shot
Matic handling the press with aplomb..
Marko
Your differing opinion doesn’t negate mine thanks. I could pull various passing stats out that empirically underline his involvement, but I’ve no desire to.
You have your view and I’ll have mine.
Christ the refereeing is abysmal in the prem, that’s a definite pen for Spurs
You just don’t get them at some places, it’s so so clear.
You have your view and I’ll have mine.
Exactly. Just a huge difference of opinion
Marko I think I can live content with that lol
You are completely without shame, Pierre. The reality is that Emery has inherited a rather poor squad of talent and behaviour. There are a number of playersto whom he will require time to seriously evaluate. This is NOT his squad, but rather a mish-mash of Wenger and Gazidis talent. You espoused that you would be fair in your assessment of Emery but you clearly have demonstrated a disingenuous view that no matter what Emery does, he will never meet your expectations. Your view and subsequent statements are most certainly not objective, but rather totally biased to such a degree that… Read more »
Some of the commentary above re Cech/Leno is hilarious. If Emery thought Leno was better than Cech, Leno would be starting. He’s 26 years of age, not 21. And he can play with his feet, i.e., he fits the style that Emery wants to play better than Cech does. That Cech is starting tells you that Emery is not convinced that Leno is the better keeper, and I don’t blame him; the little I have seen of Leno was none too convincing. None of which is to say that Leno won’t turn out to be a good keeper for us… Read more »
Receding
“Cech can never [be] considered indispensable no matter how hard the spin.”
Unless he is in fact a better keeper than Leno, in which case, as mediocre as he is, Cech is nonetheless indispensable to us at the moment.
Lets face it, Emery hasn’t a clue about Keepers.
Makes the worst Keeper in the league our No 1 Keeper…lol
Sounds like you’ve been at Colney a fair bit lately Banford…
Jesus United are average. Literally only have 3 very good players one they don’t know how to use properly.
Kane with a very good but never world class finish
Kane with another mockery of any criticism of him, awesome header.
Lucas Moura’s good preseason is certainly carrying over
Keylor Navas is still starting at Real Madrid over Courtois. Just because you have signed a keeper does not mean that you immediately start them. As with Emery, patience will prove to be a virtue. Leno will have his opportunities.
Lucas Moura has been the best player on the pitch. 2-0
Maureen’s side are shocking defensively, wtf does that leave them with? He’s a goner.
Czech can never be indispensable. He wasnt under Wenger.. He isn’t now.. You can keep deceiving yourself you are being clever but you are not. I think I have given u enough attention on that pathetic point already so I will just leave it there.
Jeez, United has gone to the dogs!
Mou has no excuse
Fellaini to the rescue..
About as predictable as Wengers 70th minute change. Maureen is clueless
To be fair Red could have a point about Emery and goalkeepers. First season at PSG he could not decide between Trapp and Areola with both practically playing the same amount of times and then second season he went with Areola over Trapp
Real Madrid got mugged off signing Courtois…..Now they are stuck with the gangly carthorse.
Could have got Ospina for nothing
Receding
Why are you so worked up about this keeper issue? Are you a big fan of Leno’s for some reason? Are you hugely anti-Cech? I am genuinely curious.
Redruth, the expert on goalies….Ospina notwithstanding!!
2 goals down at home at Old Trafford and bringing on Fellaini is about the worst case of career suicide I’ve ever seen.
Only question is who comes in to replace Mourinho – Zidane or the Poch? If they do go for the Poch who covers till the summer?
Bamford…you prefer the simplistic approach re. Cech/Leno. You do not address the potential psychology/ man management reasons for Emery’s choice so far. You are making assumptions without any insider knowledge.
Simple rather than simplistic possibly.
Piano man is a proper shadow of himself, maybe United didn’t back Maureen in the window because they tried to get him replaced
The only person anti anything here is you bamford. You can’t come out talking crap about a player simply because he has not been picked. Anyone with half a brain can see the reasoning behind that except you apparently. Little you have seen of Leno he did not impress you so Cech is indispensable… Listen to yourself. Like I said earlier this whole Leno debate is pointless. Scezny was number one at Roma.. He moved to Juventus and sat on the bench most times behind Buffon now he is number one, he wasn’t 20 when he moved either. If you… Read more »
Must say absolutely brilliant from Lucas Moura. Pace is so vital to attacking football these days
Lucas Moura just ended Smallings United career.
Mourinho to be found hanging in his hotel bedroom early tomorrow wearing a ball gag, gimp mask and a tee shirt with “I’m special” on it. In the background will be a loop of John Terry’s greatest moments.
Wonder if Wenger be yo for the United job?
Damn United are a dumpster fire. No way they finish higher than us this season.
Piano man is a proper shadow of himself, maybe United didn’t back Maureen in the window because they tried to get him replaced
Rumours out of the Manchester evening news was they blocked a swap between Martial and Alderweirald which Mourinho wanted. To me that suggests that they want Martial to last longer than Mourinho
Does anyone have the transfer spend of the current Utd squad?
Pogba’s going to go apeshit to get a move before the TW shuts in a few days.
Zidane has packed his bags already
Ready for the call to take over.
Mourhino’s sulkiness is destroying that great club.
Marko
I think there’s a serious power struggle / political game going on. ManU don’t want to pay him off and Mourinho won’t go without one.
What happens when Son comes back? You can’t drop Moura in this form
Spurs chanting ‘Sanchez what’s the score’
Marko I think they’ve given up bankrolling his wank signings.
Look at all the expensive talent playing like a pub side. They probably think what for? We ain’t beating City with you.
The decision to offer him a contract extension last season now looks all the more confusing
How much do you think Lucas Moura makes.
Fantastic pick-up by Spuds, he only cost them 25 million.
A message to Mourinho – Please go and watch the MASH film.
Mourhino wanted to sign Boateng from Bayern for 49 million!
It’s a good thing the player declined to leave.
The could have bought a crocked dud for 49 million.
Mourhino’s targets haven’t worked to say the least.
United lost but a far better performance compared to their last match. Decent tempo to their game but got punished for their defensive mistakes. Ironic as that’s Jose’s forte.
Trust the media to go nuts with this result.
Dissenter
You have to ask – outside of Sanchez’s accountant who’s happy what the fuck is the player thinking?
Mou is the proper cheque book manager. He was a serial winner because very few clubs then could afford high cost signings. Now everyone can, and he’s barely able to piece a good team together. Imagine that lindelof?
Plus he needed Costa not Lukaku. Lukaku is proper average
RADIO RAHEEM.
Trust the media to go nuts with this result.
WOULD YOU cut arsenal same slack if we put in same performance as man utd and get same result?
Hypocrites
I’m getting pissed off with Spurs, even their ‘like a new signing’ is better than ours were. Still want to see how they do down the stretch after UCL hits and the January pile up given that they have no fresh faces and a lot of players that went deep into the World Cup. Impressive from them though, you have to say. Something the commentators kept saying though is that training is deadly serious at Spurs for the most part and I do worry that I see our players still f*****g around a lot. Obviously we don’t see the serious… Read more »
Dissenter
Bit premature to be waxing lyrical about him as a signing, Aaron Lennon had nights like this.
He was terrific, and if that’s his eelforthe season then absolutely right he’s a bargain. But if he has 4 more performances like this and the rest nah average I think you can retract your statement.
Also, after a 25 mil move from PSG he’s not on 50 grand.
Cesc
Spuds are a top 4 team these days. Still don’t see them winning anything maybe a decent run in the CL and maybe a fa Cup final.
Samesong Replacing Dembele is going to be a big issue for them, it is fair of the player that he is basically saying as the engine of the team and the carrier of the ball my body is not letting me do it that well anymore so I cannot be relied on for much longer to do the job as well as I have done. They are going to need to get that one right though. Kane just gets better and better though. With Moura, if he keeps this up, and Son they finally have that pace I’ve always felt… Read more »
Mou is the problem, that spurs team isn’t better than man utd talentwise .
Kane better than Lukaku
Sanchez better than Moura
Martial better than Alli
Erickson better than Mata
Pogba better than dembele
Matic better than Dierks
Only in defense is spurs better and mou spent 100m on the defense and it’s not any better.
He’s just a shithole manager.
I bet arsene gets a better attacking play from that man utd team
You can’t judge spurs on this result. They weren’t even the better team on the day (they were clinical though), last 3 matches for spurs could have gone either way result wise. Fulham, manutd, and Newcastle all had chances before spurs scored.
For some reason man utd defense is just in tatters, it looKS worse than ours. Maybe it’s cos mou openly criticized the defenders
Sanmi
Spuds always looked threatening.
MU were predictable. If Lukaku had scored, maybe different outcome.
Player for player, Spuds far superior.
Agree with you on one thing.
Mourinho is “a shithole manager”.
Lucas Moura was excellent.
You can very much judge spurs they have only lost 2 games in the last 22 matches.
They have a good defence and a good goal keeper.
They will not win the league but they definetly will be in the top 4.
Whether the other team had chances or not they still took there’s and that’s sign of a team with real grit and determination.
As shit as this united side if they would still give us a game.
is*
Alderweireld also played well.
Quality defender.
Great to see the shit Cunts Mancs lose. Great Club my bollocks. They look like they are heading back to their true 1970’s version of great. So here we go again. Kane scores an unchallenged training ground basic goal and it is hailed as a great header on here. The fact the most over rated keeper in football got nowhere near it is laughable. Too many on here slag us off while lauding these teams up. They kept Moira on the bench most of last season now he is a great signing. WTF. So happy to see Moaninhio get fucked… Read more »
Whatever we as Arsenal Supporters may think Spurs under Pochettino have been turned into a very good solid team with an exceptional level of fitness. Manchester United by contrast look like a bunch of individuals who are rather like Arsenal flaky at the back with two or three players such as Pogba and Martial who are clearly not thrilled to be at the club. Arsenal need to follow the model of Spurs and that requires improvements in all departments of the game. Emery has 12 months to sort out our team/squad. My guess is that Arsenal are unlikely to change… Read more »
There’s nothing to suggest that Emery cannot replicate Poch’s performance.
It’s just that we have to unwind so much nonsense as he tries to steer the club in a different way.
Too many bad contracts at Arsenal and we all saw that we compounded it more with the extension of Xhaka and Chamber’s contracts.
Mourinho is turning into Wenger, you could see it last year
Lol at United and Mourinho, only one ending in sight to this fair tale…