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The more I pondered where we are as a club, the clearer it became that we’ve made a total hash of the rebirth. A lot of that comes from Ivan Gazidis who has to be one of the worst decision makers in the world of football. Guided by ego and shite people getting in his ear, he’s overseen a transition that’ll likely go down in history as poorly as the one at Manchester United. The main difference being that Arsenal doesn’t have the same resources to claw their way out like our northern brethren.
I think a lot of the issues start with our identity problem. Arsenal never recovered from our delusions of grandeur after the incredible progress we made in the late nineties and early 2000s. We won three Premier League titles, we built a new stadium, we were promised riches beyond our wildest dreams, but then Chelsea and City came along with petrodollars and we didn’t adapt.
Think about this, Ivan Gazidis and Arsene Wenger’s strategy for beating out the big spenders was to convince themselves that regulation would level the playing field. Guess what, it never happened. It was like the two of them had never watched megabrands like Starbucks and Amazon evade tax laws with armies of clever lawyers and influence purchase.
Instead of recalibrating for the modern era where we’d have to work out a strategy that went beyond pound note expenditure, we buried our heads in the sand and hoped. We effectively became a second tier club that believed it was top tier, and sadly, we’ve still not woken up to our place.
That’s why the club will still complain about money issues (despite being top 3 net spenders over 5 years). Our culture is built on excuses as to why we can’t, instead of how we can. As fans, we bemoan our lot in life while Spurs, Bournemouth and Wolves massively outperform expectations. There is absolutely no reason why we can’t be performing with the best teams in Europe. Our wage bill is 263m euros and it’s 55% of our turnover. That’s the 9th highest in Europe. Higher than Juve, Roma, Dortmund, Altelti and Inter. We’re a couple of players shy of Bayern. We’re the only club in the top 10 for wages not in the Champions League.
The reason we don’t compete is we haven’t accepted our reality.
There is no guiding philosophy at Arsenal. There is no identity. Our structure is not built on an idea, so we get by throwing shit at the wall, but the chances of succeeding are greatly diminished.
Just look at how we hired. Emery seems like a lovely guy who wants to do well, but he doesn’t have that special sauce you need to win at a club like Arsenal. Sure, give him PSG and he’ll drop a title at the second attempt, but moving Arsenal to the next level? How is that ever going to be on the cards in a league that has Pochettino, Klopp, Sarri and Pep Guardiola. You need to battle ideas with ideas. Arsenal took the safe option. Someone who will come in and upgrade the basics and bring a bit of intelligence to the setup. That’s table stakes though, and we really were in a situation with Wenger where basic competence was needed towards the end. That lowered our standards and we landed where we landed.
For me, there is no scenario or amount of money that is bringing us up to our rivals levels. We’re 6 months into this project and we still don’t have a defined style. There’s no excuse for that, just throw on a Leeds game and tell me 6 months is too little time. Our defence is worse than last season despite investing in it and making it a focal point. We have a DM we all adore, yet we’re still leaking goals like a Sunday league team. Halftime subs were our drug at the start of the reign, now they’re starting to look like a predictable panic ripcord. We’ve not led at halftime in 18 of 19 games. Injuries are piling up like we suspected they would. They’re so problematic, Hector Bellerin is out. Double sessions come at a cost. For all the tactical nous we hoped we’d hired in, we went to Anfield with a game plan that was so bad we conceded 5.
Doesn’t bode well, does it? However, I can see the flip side. We went on a terrific run, he is modernizing the club, we fight harder, run further and we’re in better shape than we were last year regardless of what the naysayers try and convince you of. That said, it’s not good enough and nor will it ever be.
We have a historical example of a very similar situation like this just before Wenger arrived. Bruce Rioch came in after we’d finished 12th in the league (6 points off relegation), he purchased Platt and Bergkamp, and moved us up to 5th. David Dein knew he wasn’t good enough and pulled the trigger on his tenure, replacing him with someone who did have the special sauce needed to find the next level.
To find that next level, we need to decide what our footballing philosophy is. How do we want to play, what do we need to play that way, and how do we achieve our objectives without Man City money.
Liverpool are heavy metal football and guess what, they hire for it. The players they bring in are fast, powerful, technically gifted and hugely resilient from a fitness standpoint.
R.B Leipzig has a stunning approach to growth that’s brought them huge success in a short space of time. They play high octane pressing football, they buy in young players under the age of 23 years old, they have a very smart youth academy, and they build feeder clubs that supply them with the players they need. This is the group that produced Keita and Mane (Salzburg just dropped an unbeaten season). They know who they are, and what they want to achieve.
What are we looking to do? Why the fuck are we binning off Aaron Ramsey for EVER BANEGA? What is the vision there? What are we planning for? If there were a clear strategy of who we wanted to be as a club, tell me why Mesut Ozil was allowed to stay on? There is no defined vision for what we’re about.
We’ve had different variations of a north star in the past. Originally, Wenger wanted to play the most technical football in the league with the fittest and most powerful players he could find in the then closed markets of Europe. Then he shifted gears to Project Youth, which was taking strategic punts on the best kids in the world and growing them into world-class players.
What exactly is our policy? Half-baked again. We buy in a little bit of everything and it all looks a touch meh. But then again, what are the parameters we’re working within? This is not the sharp player purchase strategy we’d hoped for. We have two great strikers who can’t really play together. We bought an aging right back who isn’t fit for purpose. The swap deal with Mikhi has tanked. Guendouzi and Torreira are great. Sokratis has done well, but again, he’s at the heart of a defence that’s failing. Leno was an expensive gamble that doesn’t look to have worked. What unites all of those purchases? Nothing.
The youth academy is another area where you fail if you don’t have a guiding principle or vision. It’s also an area you can win greatly. I love Per Mertesacker, but if you are a club that can’t compete, growing your own is a great way in, however, you don’t put generations of young footballers in the hands of someone who has no experience of developing kids. I am not for one minute saying Per can’t be great, I’m just saying it shows the lack of leadership at the club. Taking a punt on a young manager is very different to taking a punt on the Dean of a University.
So how do we move forward from here?
I think the club need to be brutally honest about where we’re going and whether the current approach is going to bear fruit. There’s no point in pissing around for 2 years to find out that the decision we made wasn’t the right one, or even worse, a stasis move. We need to make a bold decision about the future.
We need to be honest about who we are as a club. We then need to craft a plan around how we make it back to the top, or at least to a level where we’re building towards something. #Top4 is not a strategy, it’s a goal. We need to envision a style of fast, powerful technical football and then figure out exactly the type of players we need to deliver on that. That means the best coaches, the best young players from around the world and that means and investment of faith from the fans because we’re going in an exciting new direction.
At the moment, it looks like we’re just going to keep on investing in something that has little chance of succeeding. We can’t spend another 10 years in no man’s land, we just can’t.
Happy New Year, thanks for reading! x
DM
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Bankz is here for the Tr4phy again
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BOOOOOOOOOOM
Nice one Boomslang
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Lol bad time for my computer to go mad. Nice one Boomslang!
It all makes sense Pedro but does the club understand this.
I think not. We are a money making asset for Stan only.
Cheers y’all
The quality of discourse on this blog plunged off the cliff in Saturday. I’ve never read more babble.
Let’s hire and fire a manager every six months, that will fix all our problems
I’ve said it since wenger started buying “big”.
our best bet is to develop talent from within, buy gifted teenagers and develop them.
but everyone just wants money to be spent while Liverpool make their own money by developing sterling.
Guided by ego and shite people getting in his ear, he’s overseen a transition that’ll likely go down in history as poorly as the one at Manchester United.
Wow…..Wonder what you thought would happen in six months.
The quality of discourse on this blog plunged off the cliff in Saturday. I’ve never read more babble.
Let’s hire and fire a manager every six months, that will fix all our problems
It sure has…the over reactions have been of epic proportions.
Pedro
You’ve been bashing Emery with this empty jabs of lacking the “X-factor” or “special sauce”.
On paper we got the best coach who was willing to put with working with a newly assembled DoF and chief scout with a very limited transfer budget. No one else of repute would have taken the Arsenal job without an assurance of a major spend.
When you say he’s liking a “special sauce”, I assume you mean likeability and camera appeal.
Please explain this special sauce you keep alluding to ben]cuse you were backing a boring managerial novice over the summer.
Please explain this special sauce you keep alluding to ben]cuse you were backing a boring managerial novice over the summer. He already covered all bases with the below “Taking a punt on a young manager is very different to taking a punt on the Dean of a University.” He is very much still rooting for Arteta and the likes. Emery is boring, his English is poor and he is not the best at press conferences so of course he won’t be universally liked. Pedro speaks of identity and then throws in Sarri as a top manager, wht is Chelsea’s identity… Read more »
I can see a discernable Emery style, it’s like he said ‘to be protagonists’ – it’s more aggressive, more pressing, quicker transitions. However, we’ve dropped a few notches with the injuries and fatigue kicking in the last few weeks.
It is going to tie several season to recalibrate out transfer budget into money for transfer and more appropriate wages We have to live like a Europa League team for 2-3mseasons until we clear out our books. We cannot afford to keep signing 30 year old stopgaps because we won’t be able to afford replace them in two years time. That’s why I hope Mislintat does not approve the signing of Ever Banega. That 18 million is better spent on a Samuel Chukwueze and a young midfield prospect. Chukwueze can be had for about £10 million and there have to… Read more »
Emery needs players and that is Sven and Raul’s domain as I posted earlier.
We’ll know where the club stands Feb 1
I have to agree the level of hyperbole on this blog over the past few days is beyond a joke. All empty statements as well from people who are either deluded or agenda filled. I’m quite prepared to be patient, the club got rid of the single biggest problem we had and now we’re moving forward, if others aren’t that’s fine but you’re going to look very silly down the line. I mean we all expected absolute shite speech from the pro-Wenger rabble, they’ve have a decade of practice, but from some people on here it’s highly disappointing. Emery, Mislintat… Read more »
Pedro, you have put your finger on it: we have lost our Club identity. This is something I have been saying for ages. However, we differ on the cause. For me, it’s the bottom-line policy of the owner. I won’t go into the evidence that Kroenke is the root-cause of the Club’s decline yet again, I have done so many times before. Instead I will reiterate that the situation will worsen because he is bound to load onto the Club the £550 m borrowed by him to buy out Usmanov. However, let’s not be defeatist, getting rid of him is… Read more »
***it’s going to take several seasons.
“I can see a discernable Emery style, it’s like he said ‘to be protagonists’ ” Exactly. It’s pretty obvious what he is trying to do. He doesn’t ever want us to sit in a low block, he wants us to continually be aggressive with our positioning on the pitch, even when we score. Like a boxer continually staying the pocket and not using the ring. Obviously it’s impossible to do that all the time – there will be moments when the opposition force us back – but his idea is to try and minimise that concession of initiative as much… Read more »
Pedro is right about the Banega deal. It would signify that Raul and Sven are thorough confused and have no real plan. They have to reassure the manger and remind him of whatever goals they have. Chukwueze can be had for about £5-10 million, Leicester want him as well. Those are the simple deals that need to be done. We need a wide player who can score goals. One that will continue to improve before our very eyes. If our budget is limited, then start buying up these types of talent because they are the real football investments, not some… Read more »
Pedro All so true. We had an identity prior to 2006. Through GG and the early years of Wenger we were seen as a powerful, mentally tough team that were intimidating to play against. Wenger brought in the technical and physical improvements that enabled us to compete with the very best. The identity then changed(for the worst). Players became smaller/ weaker, and were cloned in both mindset and technical ability. The winners and leaders disappeared, and along with this, so did our identity. Teams no longer feared us and because of what we had become, it was sort of accepted… Read more »
I also think it’s a defeatist distraction talking about ousting Kroenke. It’s not going to happen nd you know it.’
A certain billionaire with four times Kroenke’s net worth couldn’t pull it off after one decade of trying.
Talking about removing Kroneke is like a flash mob of ostriches with their heads tucked in their arses.
And this we haven’t gone into the lead at halftime (or used to be we always fall behind or whichever is the more negative spin) is such a weak point that keeps getting regurgitated here and in mainstream media. We started well against Brighton and Liverpool and what happened there? It’s such a silly observation to keep repeating. Who has ever won the lead at half time trophy? It’s logical that teams that take the lead or start well should win. This might be backed up by statistics. Yet what we did for 22 matches was to, perhaps, buck this… Read more »
Graham, I think my broader point here is less about Emery, more about the general state of Arsenal football club. We have no idea who we are, so it’s always going to be tough for any manager to make an impact here. Those that are saying no manager would risk their rep here might be right, but that starts from the top. What are we selling? RB Leipzig jumped the queue for Nagelsmann. You have a visionary at the top of that club, so it’s easy to buy into. You know what he wants from you, the type of players… Read more »
If our budget is limited, then start buying up these types of talent because they are the real football investments, not some near-washed up Argentine midfielder.
The interest in him if true is weird considering he was never really that good even in his prime…
He’s had 6 months so we should expect to see some improvement but we’re actually worse than last year. Everyone knew Leno was useless and how did he expect old defenders to cope with the speed of the premier league. All we hear is that he needs 3 or 4 windows yet he’s brought in mostly crap the first and there’s not one decent defender linked with us this time. Arsenal is finished as an elite club until kronke is gone. All the spin and bullshit in the world from arsenal won’t change that. Kronke has been an absolute disaster… Read more »
But this is the whole point, for 6-7 years the majority of this blog has said we have lost all identity. Are we a pressing team? Are we a counter team? Are we a defensive team? Are we a passing team? No one knew anymore. We assembled players like a stupid kid playing FIFA, no rhyme or reason to it at all. Just adding names usually in a panic because there was no plan heading into a window. Now those same people who bemoaned that every year and bemoaned the lack of coaching and bemoaned the falling standards etc are… Read more »
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11670/11594583/arsenals-defensive-shortcomings-brutally-exposed-against-liverpool
“The hope was that Emery would introduce some defensive discipline to a back line which looked lost under Wenger, but instead the situation has worsened. If they continue at their current rate, Arsenal will concede 57 goals this season – six more than under Wenger last season and their highest total in any campaign since 1983/84.”
So as many have noted then…
Guess the people at Sky are also “Akbs”. Or simply observing what’s occurring in front of them and not being emotional.
RH
I read that Villarreal made a mistake with their Chukwueze deal, they don’t have those crazy La Liga transfer clauses on his contract and that he can be had firms low as 5-10 million.
We almost had him before and frankly I’m glad we missed,out on him then because he would be languishing in our academy by now.
He’s an easy signing for a club working on a limited budget. He’s probably on 10-20k Euros weekly wages.
Think Emery wants Banega because he plays the game as he sees it. It comes naturally to the Argentine to probe in a manner which Emery wants; constant balls into the final third and ability to look for the return pass and force the issue himself at times.
CA, it’s not an either or situation. If you invested in the defence and you made it a priority, it should be better. You don’t need £300m to have a footballing identity. The club is still buying in players in a mish mash way. You can hate the Wenger era and be thoroughly disappointed with what we’re trying to do now. Patience is a myth in football. You don’t need to abide by it if you’re investing in something that won’t work. United played the patience game with LVG and and Mourinho, they shit canned both of them. Chelsea NEVER… Read more »
Pedro
‘Nagelsmann didn’t need £200m to take that job… he just needed to be excited about it.’
Emery is a bigger managerial profile that Nagelsmann.
You’re muddling up managerial ability with camera appeal aka x-factor/special sauce.
The defensive discipline spiel has always been an overly simplistic view of our problems. We were dead under Wenger in every respect. Scored a load of goals when it didn’t matter, and completely unable to play decent football unless the game was over. The pundits that hoped Emery would bring defensive discipline, as if he was some Spanish George Graham, were just clueless clowns, obviously ignorant to what he was as a manager. Emery could dial down his philosophy, but what long-term gain would that give us? He needed to look at the whole squad and see who was capable… Read more »
Please allow me to repeat my message on unity. @englandsbest “form an Association of Season Ticket Holders.” There is a difference between pool’s fan and Arsenal fan. When the new pool owner wanted to raise the ticket price, the pool fan were so united and walked out of the stadium during the game. The owner complied to the fan’s wish. Just look at this blog, there is so much division among the Arsenal fans. They seems to enjoy blaming each other’s favorites. You want to form an Association, good luck! On the other hand, the pool fans deserve their success… Read more »
If ManU win the next couple of games won’t surprise me if posters on here champion Solskjaer as Emery’s replacement 🙂
It’s all a bit stupid now isn’t it.
“On paper we got the best coach who was willing to put with working with a newly assembled DoF and chief scout with a very limited transfer budget. No one else of repute would have taken the Arsenal job without an assurance of a major spend.“
Sure about that? Rafa Benitez just come off a brilliant season with Newcastle and that’s just the same league as us.
Emery is riding high on the EL triple, but while it’s a truly impressive achievement it sweeps his domestic “success” under the carpet.
‘Why wait two years when it’s pretty clear it’s going to end in a very meh situation?‘
You’ve let the cat out of the bag
That’s what this was all about
Nagelsmann has never managed a club with expectation. It may be that he prefers clubs that’s dont expect anymore than just staying in the first division.
Dissenter, Nagelsmann is extracting miracles out of that Hoffenheim team. He is an incredibly talented young coach that will do great things. That’s special sauce. I personally don’t believe there’s an extra level to Emery, and we either deal with that early… or we run out the next two years and find out then… when everyone will blame money, not managerial quality for the downfall.
Charlie
Those at Sky are not saying anything new to be honest but did you really expect the new manager to fix that defense in 6 months with an absolute joke of a budget to work with? Most sensible or realistic fans knew it would take time especially without significant investment
Agreed Pedro
The club need a defined vision, but currently have none.
A number of our recent signings are in the 29/30 age range, hardly building for a bright future. Banega would be another example of that.
I see that most people that militantly bck Emery, and refuse to even accept any form of criticism are very quickly bringing Wenger into every conversation. Its like their post Wenger PTSD is forcing them to back Emery through fear of having to accept Wenger wasnt the issue.
I had my doubts about Emery from the start and 6 months on I am horrified at what’s going on. We look clueless. It is obvious Emery has no idea with selection, tactics or substitutions. I am baffled at some of his decisions and whatever is going on with Mesut needs sorting now. Painful to watch.
Pedro ‘Patience is a myth in football.’ No it isn’t. Not when you’re club has limited resources. And to say something isn’t working after 6 months is ridiculous. So let’s change the manager and give him….oh shit…nothing to spend because we have nothing and we also have nothing to sell to raise funds because of what a great job Wenger did. So what do you want to do? There’s a level of realism to reach here. Why do you think our only choices of manager were Vieira, Arteta and Emery? Who looks best out of that lot? I wanted Allegri,… Read more »
“Emery needs players and that is Sven and Raul’s domain “
but
We have an elephant in the China
Kroenke – who should have been toasted long back when there was still a chance.
In February we shall know that he bought Arsenal like buying gold i.e. to make money. The Mismatch can use players as salesmen in his Supermarkets
“to be honest but did you really expect the new manager to fix that defense in 6 months ”
Did you think that after spending £70m, a full preseason, and 6 months working with the players every day that our defence would be no better…..not even 1% better?
On the most amateur of all the nights in a calendar year. A very well thought out and measured delivery. Spot on, Peter.
Well done for bringing another stellar year for le grove to an end.
And everyone keeps mentioning this younger managers who would have gotten us better defensively but my question is how do you do that with so many error prone players in the squad?
wouldn’t cesc be cheaper than banega ? They are almost the same age, maybe cesc would have a bigger wage than banega but cesc is PL proven and associated with the club. I was shouting for him to be bought back from barca, but we had the dim wit wenger in charge. I’ve always liked cesc. Been one of my arsenal heroes growing up. Will always hold a special place in my heart.
Guess the people at Sky are also “Akbs”. Or simply observing what’s occurring in front of them and not being emotional. CC Those who work in data analysis know the data doesn’t lie, but it also doesn’t necessarily tell the truth. What does that mean as regards our defense, the data says we are conceding more goals, but it doesn’t tell why. Half of our goals have been caused by individual defenders Leno vs Spurs, Kolasinac vs UTD, Koscielny & Leno vs Southampton Lichsteiner vs Liverpool Xhaka vs Wolves. The point is there’s little a manager can do when some… Read more »
Batistuta No I’ve not once suggested we should be “fixed” or anything close to absolute. But if we binned Wenger for being inept is it so difficult to expect a new competent manager to have an effect on what’s left behind BEFORE adding any new faces? I think so, it would mark the difference in quality between the respective managers. Otherwise what’s the point? Then on top of that with a few additions we should see some signs of change. So to see a decline in defensive competency is shocking. I find this free pass stuff a bit of a… Read more »
We are the 3rd biggest wage paymasters in the League ,but sitting at 5-6 by the skin of the teeth.
Looks like The Club Management is incompetent in addition to being Stupid to lose out on Champions League money
Pedro
You may have missed it but Nagelsmann took himself out of consideration and stated that he wasn’t ready for the Arsenal (higher) level of challenge.
Emery too used to be the golden boy of Spanish coaches, that’s why he’s had so many jobs in a short period.
Dissenter, Nagelsmann is extracting miracles out of that Hoffenheim team.
I may need to check what the word miracle actually means once again ..good coach ..yes but you seem to think he is something else because he is young. At his age Emery was working Minor miracles at the lower leagues too and pulled off one at Almeira.
RB Liepzig is not the pinnacle of football so the constant reference to them is weird, they have a good footballing model but they are not pulling up any trees considering they have outspent 70% of the bundesliga
So so funny on here. All in all what needs to happen for Emery right now is to keep it simple and get back to basics – Win the next flipping game and then the next and the next……(while banging on the doors of Sven and Raul to get bodies through the door) If we don’t see a performance/backlash against Fulham? I shudder to think how the Home supporters would react. Man United are getting results and could very well over take us as it stands and we end up 6th season end. Do we trust this team to win… Read more »
replace ozil with cesc. guy will give you the same defensive outcome but offensively, we will be a lot more dangerous.
‘Patience in football’ is not a myth.
How else have Liverpool become premier league contenders?
The owners got a good manager in and supported him. They even started buying high caliber players against his wishes.
Azed
Read the article before talking anecdotally about numbers.
Arsenal have conceded the most shots from errors (17). But spurs have conceded (12) yet conceded 9 fewer goals.
We’ve made a league high (6) errors leading to goals. Take that from the (30) we’ve conceded and that’s (24).
Arsenal defence WITHOUT errors: 24
Spurs: 21
Chelsea: 16
City: 16
Liverpool: 8
Wolves: 23
Leicester: 23
The “we’ve made loads of individual errors” stuff is what’s commonly called an excuse. We’re awful at the macro-stuff defensively, that’s system, tactics, approach, before looking at micro-reasoning like player errors.
loyika
Im not sure Stan/Raul will be giving Emery any funds if he cant improve performance.
Arsenal have a big data analysis team, that report into Raul.
Im sure he will be asking why we are shooting less, allowing more shots on goal, and conceding more goals despite Emery being a tactical wizard and Wenger being useless tactically, as we have all been told for years.
I believe Emery took responsibility for the shellacking
Let’s wait to see the reaction from the manager, players and Sven/Raul.
Again and in my opinion, no manager or tactics system or structure can stop stupid error prone players from making stupid mistakes, that’s the way i see it. Certain players can’t be coached to be better no matter how much we wish that to be true.
“Certain players can’t be coached to be better no matter how much we wish that to be true.”
But its worrying that they have been coached to be worse.
Wenger when he took over inherited Seaman Dixon Winterburn Adams Bould Keown Bergkamp Parlour and Wright. Look at the shite Emery has inherited not one defender who can defend.A midfield of lazy fuckers. I wonder what our fans expected this season .Klopp spent £250m on players this summer to go with Salah Firmino and Mane. Emery was given £70m to improve a squad that finished 6th last season.He was told to turn a turd into a diamond We have an owner who is giving the manager funds expecting to finish 6th.There is no way are finishing higher on that budget… Read more »
dissenter I agree with you totally too much bleating on here we can’t chop and change managers every 6 months. We need more than one window and 60m spend to see what he has.
We’ll see how much worse or better we at the end of the season. Until then it’s just chat. Like City had already won the league until they lost two, Southampton relegated until they won 2…and now Liverpool are the best side across all galaxies withVVD the footballing Zeus until…:)
Arsenal defence WITHOUT errors: 24
Spurs: 21
Chelsea: 16
City: 16
Liverpool: 8
Now let’s take into account players we have. Do we have any defender as good as Maguire?
Don’t you think a player like VVD would marshall our defense better?
The fact that we conceded the most from errors tells you a lot.
Batistuta
That’s fair, but I just posted our goals conceded without errors and we’re still considerably worse than the sides around us.
Mitigation is what managing is all about. Overlong weakness and amplifying strengths are their remit. So there’s only so much you can reduce to player error when viewing our defensive performances for the season.
gambon
Have you seen Walcott at Everton.He is still as shite as he was at Arsenal because he has the coaching of Wenger in him.Like Bellerin Mustafi Xhaka Ramsey Ozil and Iwobi.They have got years of Wenger telling them what they did on the pitch was right Emery has come in and seen they are no good
Azed I don’t rate slabhead as highly as many on here, he’s decent but not better than Mustafi/Papa to the level you’re suggesting. He’s also not performing alongside players as good as we have, in midfield either. You can make a VvD argument if you want, but that’s not denied by anyone. Yes, a top drawer defender would make a difference. Why didn’t we buy one in the summer then? You’re going off piste with that narrative anyway. We have a team of players better than West Ham etc but concede as many as them when all errors are discounted.… Read more »
Im back on Twitter after 11 month ban for calling Wenger a cunt.
Best not say the same about Emery eh!
Dissenter, Liverpool have piled through the managers for years. Brendan Rodgers didn’t last long after nearly winning the league. Everything under Klopp has been an upward trajectory. Energy around the club, energy on the pitch, a defined style, a Europa League final in his first season, CL ever since, great player purchases, the development of young players. Patience is worthwhile if you’re seeing progress. I’m not sure we are if we’re honest. Emery isn’t a world class coach. Just look at how he bottled the CL two years running with PSG. Look at how he flunked the first season at… Read more »
RH, I know football is really tough for you, but why not have a read into Hoffenheim, then recheck your miracles view.
He needs more time.. think he brought 2 decent players in midfield so far.. Give him Jan and the summer and then we can judge as it generally will be his team
For what its worth i think long term our keeper is going to be more then capable..
I would be happy with top 4 next season and at least challenging for title season after
Dissenter
Project Fear – you must be a rmainer
It’s pointless bemoaning our lack of mega spend in the transfer market. With Kroenke in charge that’ll never change. People cite Liverpool but they had player assets they could flip for a lot of money. Question then is, is Emery the one to move us forward with a restricted spend? Decide end of the season. If we finish 5th and have decent cup runs in the Europa and FA cup I think he’ll be given another season at least. That said I don’t see Arsenal doing a Chelsea serially paying off sacked managers. I’m sure Arsenal would be looking at… Read more »
Gambon
Can’t say they’re worse, probably just same old really but that’s just me
Meanwhile over in Denver Kroenke is pouring himself a large drink and laughing his head off
While bloggers and fans are attacking Emery our absent owner who will not invest in the team gets away with it scot free.Where are the Kroenke out protests?
You can blame the manager the coaching staff and the players but the biggest problem at Arsenal is STAN KROENKE and whoever the manager is he will not give them the funds (£350m) to bring in quality players.We shop in Primark not Harrods
Stan likes money
If he can’t see CL cash at the end of the tunnel he will pull the plug on Emery
I think that’s the reason he eventually fired Wenger
Considering that defence is our biggest problem, considering how Bould used to trot out 1-0 winners whenever Wenger used to land in the trough and yield to alternative, what about Emery giving him charge of defence instead of usuing his continental pansies ?
Batistuta
So that means Emery is no better than Wenger as a manager.
So why remove Wenger?
As Charlie said, if Emery isnt a better manager, we couldve just bought in a Head of Recruitment and let Wenger carry on.
If Emery is incapable of making performance improvements, then we stand no chance unless we bring the best players in the world in for each position, which will cost £50-100m a time.
Gambon
The Why not leave Wenger argument is really weak to be honest as we obviously declined rapidly under him.
With Emery, it’s obviously going to be a wait and see scenario because unless we are ready to go down a level in terms of managers, he’s maybe the best bet especially with regards the Europa league as a route back to the champions league. No other manager would be willing to undertake the massive rebuild we need without significant investment especially knowing the fickle nature of Arsenal fans
Emery isn’t a world class coach. Just look at how he bottled the CL two years running with PSG. Look at how he flunked the first season at PSG. Sure, Monaco were a great side, but hugely inexperienced and battling against a team that bought Neymar. Pedro Pep lost to that Monaco side. Also Pep hasn’t won the Champions League without Messi. Does that make Pep a bad manager? You can’t knock Emery for losing the league to Monaco in the same post you call Pochettino a world class manager. What was Pochettino doing when Ranieri was winning the league?… Read more »
@ Gambon You are preaching to the Converted. I don’t see Stan supporting Emery with much funds either. Josh will have to convince his Dad that we are on the right track and just need a shot of funds to push us to the finish line (of achieving UCL spot this season. Any trophy will be a bonus but would be surprised if a trophy was part of Emery’s KPI for this season) At the end of the day, no UCL qualifications twice on the trot and Fan Base apathy was enough for Stan to pull the plug on Arsene.… Read more »
Sky sportsAs well as highlighting the gulf that still exists between Arsenal and the elite, the result threw their debilitating defensive issues into sharp focus. Arsenal have shipped more goals after 20 games (30) than in any previous Premier League campaign. They occupy fifth place in the table but only seven Premier League sides have worse defensive recordIt’s just not good enough. We have pretty much the same defence we’ve had for 3 years so why is it now so much worse when we had the most non existent defence coach in the league for the past 12 years
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11670/11594583/arsenals-defensive-shortcomings-brutally-exposed-against-liverpoolSky sports agreesThese are not wenger signings causing the issue this seasonI’ve said all along that Leno should not be starting premier league games for us right now if ever. It’s got to be cech. We need a commanding voice, a leader
According to Opta, Arsenal have made more errors leading directly to opposition shots (17) than any other Premier League side this season. Unsurprisingly, they also rank top for errors leading to opposition goals, with six. They have conceded the most penalties in the division (five) and only kept three clean sheets in 20 games.
People comparing our defensive record under Wenger and Emery seems to forget the decline of some of our supposedly best players. Kos: not up for it anymore Monreal: too old and injury prone Ozil: has checked out mentally and not fit for the PL Ramsey: out of contract soon and understandably not given much playing time, been declining for years anyway. Then we have the error machines Xhaka and Mustafi. We have no CAM and no wingers which is why the fullbacks has to bomb forward constantly if we’re going to create anything at all (Pierre) which in turn leaves… Read more »
I really don’t get the Ramsey love in on Twitter to be honest, he’s been with us almost 10 years and many can’t even point to what his best position is. Have Arsenal fans been so starved of quality that many are calling for the manager’s head for letting Ramsey go and benching the less than industrious Ozil
And besides, even with such investment there would be no guarantees. Arsenal’s defensive problems are not just down to individuals but to the collective. The team lacks structure and organisation and at Anfield they were finally punished. Emery must find solutions sooner rather than later. Until then, the same old problems will continue to hold Arsenal back.
Here we are, jabbering on and on about the manager again. Would even Pep have got us motoring by now? Not a chance. Liverpool fans have set us a good example. They have stuck obstinately to their identity. There was a period when their owner posed a threat. They got rid of him. The incoming owner, John Henry, was in it for the money too, but he was smart enough to get the fans onside. He invested money in the Club. No bottom-line policy for him. Now it’s paying off. Let’s learn a lesson from Liverpool. It’s sheer defeatism to… Read more »
We need to get Riess Nelson back from hoffenheim.
Why would we go and blow £40m on a young winger when we have one ready made to take the spot. He’s lighting up the bundesliga right now with Jadon sancho. It’s a no brained for me. Unless he gets struck down with injury too
What happened to Bielik too?? Wasn’t he meant to be the next big thing? And zelalemband the Jeff?? Where did they all go?
Batistuta
I don’t think the away fans are “fickle”
Probably many don’t attend the Emirates
Chelsea in for Pulisic and Isco…..we go for banega and sokratis…..
Tumbleweed….
#allwengersfault
‘He’s lighting up the bundesliga right now with Jadon sancho’
He doesn’t start, which is a massive worry expecting him to walk into the EPL and deliver.
‘Chelsea in for Pulisic and Isco…..we go for banega and sokratis…..
Tumbleweed….’
We’re a Europa League side who have wasted a massive amount of money on dross in fees and wages.
How did that happen again?
Does anyone think we can play Klopp, Pep or Pochettino’s style of football with the players we currently have?
Unaii is probably just trolling at this point i mean the dude still has a thing for Wilshere so that tells you a lot