Well, yesterday’s post certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons. I think a lot of people felt that was mostly aimed at Emery. It wasn’t, I think the challenges we have with the club moving forward are about the whole team. A few people screamed that I’d always straight up blame Wenger for what happened on the pitch back in the day, but was affording Emery different treatment. That’s because Emery is a coach, not a demigod.
The biggest concern that all Arsenal fans should have moving into this year is the lasting impact of the Ivan Gazidis signings in the club. He’d been making face-saving decisions all over the football club because his MO was about self-preservation. Don’t rock the boat. Do enough to get you by. Go with the mainstream view of what looks good, never put your neck on the line.
The big question is this: Who will put their neck on the line to move Arsenal forward?
Think about how easy it is to take the job at Arsenal. We have a bigger turnover than Liverpool, one that is about to get bigger, without any real success to talk about. The fans still pay for the season tickets, Adidas are about to pay out a fortune on a new shirt deal, the Premier League gravy train just keeps on rolling on, and we’re doing all this without Champions League football. Incredible.
Stan has two big clubs on his books. Arsenal, arguably one the greatest brands in European football… and the LA Rams, a nothing team that moved from St. Louis. The Kroenke’s invested mega money into the American club. One of their guys is on record as saying something to the tune of ‘we knew we had to invest, because folk from LA aren’t going to pay to watch a substandard product.’
So what did they do? They hired in a bright young innovative coach to lead the team. They’ve made powerful backroom hires. They’re adding big names and excitement to their team sheet. They are making an unbelievable effort to make that team the crown jewel. It’s an absolute investment, because they know that there’s no history there like there is in North London.
Meanwhile, over here, there’s Arsenal. The MO has been keeping the trains running. He will never invest a penny of his own into taking us to the next level because there’s no benefit to him. The big question then becomes this: What is the expectation of his staff?
Will he have Raul and Vinai banging down the door for LA like investment? Or, like we’ve seen with Ivan, will it be a put up and shut up? If the person that runs the show has no desire to dominate, rewards a culture of low risk and obedience, what hope do we have?
Well, the hope goes back to what we spoke about yesterday. We need to accept that we’re tier two. We need to be grateful that at the very least, Stan allows the club to put back in what we earn. We need to try something new. The approach at the moment feels like we’re waiting for a miracle to happen, instead of making our own miracles come to fruition.
This point becomes even more important now David Ornstein confirmed the ‘we’re skint’ intel I shared 6 weeks ago.
We need to make our way back the Champions League. We’re not going to do that hiring in hacks that are past their prime. We’re not going to do that blowing huge amounts of money on players that don’t fit the mold. Again, I ask this question, if the club truly believed in Mesut Ozil, why is Unai Emery alienating him? Not that I disagree, I’ve never thought he was fit for purpose, but what was the football strategy that allowed us to get to that point?
Anyway, the thing to watch for next year is whether the new management are for real. Raul has come from the most prestigious club in the world. A nasty club. A club that does dirty things to get whatever they want. Their wage bill is hideous, almost double that of Manchester City. No wonder they dominate, they can have whoever they want. The manager is almost an irrelevance, even Enrique won the Champions League there. Raul is not a tried and true scrapper like the Dortmund CEO. He’s never had to properly hire a manager before. He hasn’t had to innovate, so what is he going to do at Arsenal to help us out think, scout and perform our much smaller resource pool?
Sven for all intents and purposes was exactly the sort of hire we wanted. In charge of ferreting out some of the roughest diamonds in world football and turning in De Beers profits. We know he has it in him to bring all the boys to the yard, but the question remains is this: What is his remit? I can get on-board with Matty G and Torriera like signings, but what is going on with Gary Cahill and Ever Banega? Are those guys kicking us onto the next level? I highly doubt it, so wouldn’t it be worth investing our limited budget in players that have room to grow like Dortmund did so well? Should we be planning for next season this January, versus making average crap shots with players that really aren’t that great?
Then there’s Vinai. Clearly a very talented man, but he’s 37 years old. He has been gifted an outrageous opp at Arsenal. It is unheard of to give someone that young so much power. But at what cost to Arsenal fans? Is he an Ivan protegé? What did he agree to land the job? Will he have the guts to move us forward, or will he be preaching self-sustaining as a football strategy for the next ten years.
Arsenal need to wake up. They need to focus on a way forward. They need to be bold. The problem statement is simple: how do Arsenal succeed with the resources on offer?
Remember the resources are MASSIVE. 3rd highest net spenders in the league (bigger net spend than Madrid since 2010). 9th largest wage bill in Europe. Growing turnover. We have a huge stadium, mostly full attendance, unreal training facilities and the backdrop of the greatest city in the world. If Atleti, Roma, Juve and Liverpool can make CL finals, so can we. No more excuses. No more mediocrity.
The answer to the problem statement cannot be the direction we’re heading right now. It’s not innovative, it’s not bearing fruit (nor will it), and it’s a very long way off being sustainable.
Happy New Year, enjoy the Fulham game. 🔴⚪️
Upstate, Pierre, Un
In the 2016-2017 season, Man Utd conceded the second fewest goals in the league with 29 but they finished 6th. City on the other hand conceded 39 but finished 3rd.
Which team had the better season?
Un
How many league titles did wenger win going unbeaten.
How many did GG win the season he only lost 1.
1 each.
Don’t get any more titles doing undefeated.
CC I’ll say 100% wanted Wenger out and a change. If you disagree I can change it to 99% The funny thing about gambon’s comment was he claimed he was the only one that wanted Emery. 6 months later he want him sacked cos we still as poor defensively even thou Emery has always been a 5-4 coach. He didn’t know that but still wanted him???? Is Emery the answer? Will he take us to the next level? No. Probably not. Most acknowledge this. We would be happy with either Allegri, Jardim, Nagelsmann or even Arteta just to get a… Read more »
CC sry but how can you put prominent club and Newcastle in same sentence?
“And if you don’t think that’d affect our attacking performance well then you’re a fool.” There’s a thing called balance. Have a glance at the top of the league and see Liverpool with a devastating attack and only a handful conceded. Why aren’t they conceding loads with their attacking philosophy? Almost like they’re well versed on both sides of the game. Same with Pep’s lot. “Truth is though as bad as Benitez is at demanding investment at Newcastle he’d be worse at Arsenal” This shows you up massively. Benitez is revered by the Newcastle fans, its Ashley who’s the issue… Read more »
“CC sry but how can you put prominent club and Newcastle in same sentence?“ Prominent meaning they spent enough time there, and can be judged on the merits of their work via that time. When considering Benitez do you simply ignore everything he’s done at Newcastle the last few years? That’d be odd. Goonah I don’t get your point exactly. Gambon himself has stated he was wrong to suggest Emery was the man for the job, he’s not doing what too many do on here and stick desperately to their POV in the face of ‘evidence’ to the contrary. (Yes… Read more »
If facts are right up your street what’s your take on the following?
Emery
Paris Saint-Germain 2,42
Valencia 1,72
Benitez
Madrid 2,24
Valencia 1,89
Very similar managers.
Second half of season
Throw the youth in
Melody
Smith Rowe
Wilcox
Eddie
Maitland niles
At least 4 should bedded into the team pdq
Azed
You think they’re very similar now? Personally I think Emery’s CV has been boosted (in terms of trophies) by his spell at PSG and Rafa has a track record that betters his.
Emery beat Rafa on image if you ask me, the facade of young and fresh vs ex-Liverpool and Chelsea. Understandable in some sense, but not the savvy leadership Arsenal need over the next few seasons so there’s genuine concern there on my part.
There’s a thing called balance. Have a glance at the top of the league and see Liverpool with a devastating attack and only a handful conceded. Why aren’t they conceding loads with their attacking philosophy? Almost like they’re well versed on both sides of the game. Same with Pep’s lot. Wonderful you should say that because Liverpool didn’t have much balance until they signed up a top class CB and Pep wasn’t having much balance the first season but sure enough with enough time and squad investment he found a good balance to his squad. But you want 6 months… Read more »
There’s a thing called balance. Have a glance at the top of the league and see Liverpool with a devastating attack and only a handful conceded. Why aren’t they conceding loads with their attacking philosophy? Almost like they’re well versed on both sides of the game. Same with Pep’s lot. Klopp conceded 48 goals in his first full season in charge. If we were to count the season he took over from Rodgers, Liverpool conceded 50. Klopp right now can have balance because he spent 54M on Allison after buying Karius. He also spent 75M on VVD after bring in… Read more »
Emery beat Rafa on image if you ask me, the facade of young and fresh vs ex-Liverpool and Chelsea. Understandable in some sense, but not the savvy leadership Arsenal need over the next few seasons so there’s genuine concern there on my part. Very strange you’d say that considering during the appointment process you made a case for Arteta over other candidates because he was unknown and exciting (could never explain the exciting part) but now it’s savvy/experience that’s needed over the next few years. Is it possible you don’t know what you’re talking about and can change your mind… Read more »
CC There’s a reason why I put the Valencia points per match in there. I am not even counting trophies because if we were to judge solely on trophies, then Pochettino would be a very poor manager. They are similar in the sense that they are both flawed managers who find it hard to find a balance. Rafa thinks defence first while Emery thinks Attack first. Nobody thinks Emery is the saviour but do you honestly think a Klopp can play his kind of football with the players we have? Same thing with Pep? Our squad is fundamentally unbalanced and… Read more »
Here is an interesting stat regarding Lacazette….make of it what you will .. Arsenal have lost 5 games this season and Lacazette has not been a starter in any of them . Lacazette has started 14 games and the teams record with him starting is Won 10 Drawn 4 Lost 0 Lacazette has not started in 16 games and the teams record with him not in the starting line up is Won. 9 Drawn. 2 Lost 5 With Lacazette starting Goals for 31 Goals against 12 13 out of the 14 games that Lacazette has started were league games. 1… Read more »
Wonderful you should say that because Liverpool didn’t have much balance until they signed up a top class CB and Pep wasn’t having much balance the first season but sure enough with enough time and squad investment he found a good balance to his squad. “ You’re so utterly predictable in your response, I was even going to preempt it so you would finally stay on track but didn’t bother. Don’t deflect from what you were quizzed on, how can Liverpool be both an attacking side and good defensively when you’re here stating if Benitez was in charge we might… Read more »
@Pierre
Such stats are so misleading. Which teams did we play when we lost those games? Which were the other players in the team in those losses?
lol how is London greatest city? Only in uk maybe Euro at the push.
Good start to the 2019!
Don’t deflect from what you were quizzed on, how can Liverpool be both an attacking side and good defensively when you’re here stating if Benitez was in charge we might be a better defence, but we’d not be as good in attack. They can because they have good players in attack and defence. If Benitez was in charge here now he wouldn’t have good players in defence. Also if you want an example of an Arsene excuse you made how about signing Gervinho over Hazard. The excuse that we didn’t because Gervinho was as highly rated and we needed to… Read more »
http://arsenaltruth.squarespace.com/arsenal-truth/2019/1/1/why-kroenke-cannot-invest-big-money.html
“Arsene excuse you made how about signing Gervinho over Hazard. The excuse that we didn’t because Gervinho was as highly rated and we needed to spend money addressing other areas of the squad (we didn’t).“ You always make this comparison, but Gervinho moved in 2011 and Hazard 2012. It wasn’t a case of Arsenal picking one over the other in quite the way you predictably lay out. The year Hazard went to Chelsea they spent 85 mil net and we spent 8. We also bought Giroud, Podolski, Cazorla, then Monreal in Jan, i’m assuming your idea is that we say… Read more »
Yeah you see all that one big excuse. The summer we bought Gervinho we had our pick between him and Hazard and picked Gervinho. We spent 58 million though it’s worth pointing out that we only spent that much as a result of the 8-2 mauling by United and the following summer Hazard left for 35 million. Also what the fuck does Chelsea’s net spend in 2012 have to do with our ability to spend 30-35 million on Hazard in 2011? Worth keeping in mind that our net was so low because we were selling all our best players. i’m… Read more »
First game back at the emirates for me after a self imposed exile. Nothing to right home about, as most of you already know. However, if Sessegnon, who’s looked a shadow of his Championship scoring exploits-self put those two chances away then thing may we’ll have been different this afternoon. Fair play to Rangers for not further smashing his confidence by dragging him off during anytime. As for Arsenal, you really expect us to be beating the relegated elect, Fulham. What’s worrying for me was Fulham’s ability to break. From where I was seated, I thought our shape, for the… Read more »
Excuse seek to lessen the blame attaching to (a fault or offence); try to justify.
Yeah sounds about right. But not you Charles your unbiased objective and fair in your output. Just take away the lipstick and you see an honest man
Marko
A very interesting article from Arsenal truth which is basically exonerating kronke from any fault in allowing the wage bill to spiral out of control.
I would have thought that the one person who should take the majority of the blame is kronke as he is the one person who could have vetoed these contracts.
But what do I know….
I haven’t posted for a while but it’s amusing seeing the usual suspects bickering. My only problem with Emery is his insistence on sticking with Wenger’s players thinking he could improve them. I am of the belief that they all suck and should be shipped out so I can better gauge what Emery is trying to do. This has not been the case and the club is just not acting aggressively in the transfer market which is disappointing. Honestly by summer I expect a brand new starting 11 which only includes Torriera and maybe Leno and Guendouzi. Otherwise I’ll be… Read more »
Not a lot Pierre. He’s a hands off owner who barely ever gets over to the club. Basically left to Wenger and Gazidis to fuck things up. You think hairpiece Stan Kroenke knows anything about the talent of Mesut Ozil? Or what he should be paid? I doubt he knows what Aaron Donald of the Rams is getting paid. And why would he
Pierre
That article in Arsenal truth definitely lays to rest a lot of the nonsense you lot like to spout.
In essence, even if we had money for transfers, we wouldn’t have the wriggle room for wages within the existing rules.
What was Gazidis thinking?
It’s no wonder he packed his bags and made for the exit.
So you are basically saying that if wenger or Gazidis wanted to pay every player a million a week they could have done without any input from kronke.
Strange way to run a business I have to say .
Marko So apply your razor sharp logic to the summer we got Gervinho, after the 8-2 defeat to United we simply needed to go buy Hazard (assuming he would’ve been sold that summer) for circa 32 mil and we’d have been set for the season? When it comes to missing points you’re all the way at the top of the tree. I know you love to dismiss reality in favour of your warped take on it, but we brought in 5 bodies through necessity. You’d sooner laugh that off for 1 guy who turned out to be marvellous. Then again… Read more »
Wenger’s boast of an economics degree certainly fooled Kroenke to entrust Wenger (dud) with Arsenal’s finances.
With regard to today’s match, there were many good points and quite a few not so good. Kolasinac has shown this season that as a wing back ,he is lethal ,has a great cut back and importantly, times his runs to perfection . Xhaka and Iwobi were a bit of a mixed bag today …parts of their play were exquisite and parts were very sloppy …Guendouzi had a very effective game today. Kosielny looked physically stronger today which is a good sign. Our forward play was much more positive than in recent weeks ,we always looked dangerous going forward ..… Read more »
So you are basically saying that if wenger or Gazidis wanted to pay every player a million a week they could have done without any input from kronke.
Left to them yes. Because he defers those decisions because he’s not a football guy he’s an owner simply put. To the best of my knowledge I’m not even sure he likes any of the sports that he owns teams in. Saw him at a Rams game stuffing a hotdog down his throat before but I couldn’t tell you if he was that interested in the actual game
Kosielny looked physically stronger today which is a good sign.
He was poor at best
So apply your razor sharp logic to the summer we got Gervinho, after the 8-2 defeat to United we simply needed to go buy Hazard (assuming he would’ve been sold that summer) for circa 32 mil and we’d have been set for the season? When it comes to missing points you’re all the way at the top of the tree. No you thick fuck had we signed him over Gervinho we would have a better player and that’s it. The other signings don’t come into it because they weren’t planned old dumbshit Arsene had no plan that summer (shocking I… Read more »
God bless you, Pedro, not a word against Emery. Those who fall for the primitive gut reaction of laying all, or most, of the blame on the manager are ill-informed, out-of-date, irrelevant. You ask what hope do we have, by which you mean, of the Club returning to the elite, and you list all the positives – the huge revenue, the fabulous history, the vast fan-base, etc. The gist is that we have every hope. How can a Club with all that potential fail to reach the top? And then you point out why maybe we won’t – how good… Read more »
englandsbest, precisely, yet people for some bizzare reason feel the need to defend him?, it would be funny if it was another club, like SPURS for example. I think it all stems back to naive fans buying the whole “Arsenal way” self-sustaining policy sh*t that Ivan spun us, deep down they think that it is more important than a competitive Arsenal FC, either that or they actually think the club can somehow be successful inspite of wiggy – which is even more naive!. The minute he got hold of all the shares the club was done. There is no way… Read more »
I know Aubamayang is not everyone’s cup of tea but I think he is quality .. Yes he missed a few today but his movement in and around the box is up there with the best … There is nothing wrong with him playing out wide as the timing of his runs make him very difficult to pick up .. I just hope Emery sticks with Aubamayang and Lacazette and one of two others up top . It’s becoming more and more obvious that it will be a case of Arsenal needing to score at least 3 goals to win… Read more »
Favorite game moment yesterday was when Emery took a off Lacazette to a chorus of boos from the shit plastic fans. Then the sub Ramsey scores 3 minutes later. There’s a reason he’s the manager and you’re all a bunch of fanboys. Hilarious. The dumbest people in the world are idiots that think they’re smart.
Favorite game moment yesterday was when Emery took a off Lacazette to a chorus of boos from the shit plastic fans. Then the sub Ramsey scores 3 minutes later. There’s a reason he’s the manager and you’re all a bunch of fanboys. Hilarious. The dumbest people in the world are idiots that think they’re smart.
Exactly, kc.
It’s becoming more and more obvious that it will be a case of Arsenal needing to score at least 3 goals to win a game
Pierre
We only needed 2 to win today. But please tell us more of your wonderful insightful logic about the arsenal.
Favorite game moment yesterday was when Emery took a off Lacazette to a chorus of boos from the shit plastic fans. Then the sub Ramsey scores 3 minutes later. There’s a reason he’s the manager and you’re all a bunch of fanboys. Hilarious. The dumbest people in the world are idiots that think they’re smart.
But but but KC. Pierre knows all! More than emery.
And laca really seemed bothered as he came to celebrate with aubu
funny how people defend henry at monaco, saying he was left a shit squad or dealt a poor hand, but absolutely bashing emery for having the same.
Some of you need to take a break from arsenal for at least a month.
If K is sending emails around asking the tea lady to buy Tesco own brand instead of PG Tips then we are a 2nd tier club that is never coming back …
My net went down so I missed the first part of the second half, including our second goal and Fulham’s as well But I was really annoyed with that first half performance Auba has insanely good movement and instincts in the box but his finishing is so hit and miss. He is a world beater half the time and a fox in the box welbeck the next. He’s missed so many tap ins this season and still has this many goals. I dunno what to make of it lol The first 25 mins yesterday were pretty disgraceful. I bet Leno… Read more »
On a side note, I’m not really sure how good AMN is, but if he can become solid defensively, we should try and sell Bellerin for big bucks in the summer.
If AMN isn’t up to it then nvm, but at least Bellerin is a high value player but his performances are less than elite, so if we do manage to find an in-house or cheap replacement like this then we should cash in and invest the money elsewhere
Negation and kc “Favorite game moment yesterday was when Emery took a off Lacazette to a chorus of boos from the shit plastic fans. Then the sub Ramsey scores 3 minutes later. There’s a reason he’s the manager and you’re all a bunch of fanboys. Hilarious. The dumbest people in the world are idiots that think they’re smart.Exactly, kc.” let’s be honest here , whoever we brought on or took off made no difference as at that stage of the game we were making chances with ease and Fulham were all over the place. Some may think that Lacazette was… Read more »
Lol. DM and banks be anticipating a new post right now 😂😂😂😂
No trophy race by 9 today guys. Come on back here.
Happy New year le grove
It must so difficult for Emery. The players, the owner, the board, the systems, the infrastructure and the general apathy and bewilderment on the terraces. He must be dreaming of the sun, simplicity and passion of Sevilla right now. Every aspect of his daily routine being scrutinized and questioned. How is Ozil? What about Ramsey? Why remove Lacazette? Who? What? Where? When? Jesus, how the fudge did Wenger manage for so long? He must have been a fudging genius. How come he not feel the strain and the pressure of such a monumental role? How did he not crumble under… Read more »
sane
Pierre
Good morning.
How did the golf go?
I agree regarding the Lacazette situation.
Something doesn’t add up with Emery’s handling of Lacazette.
Not only is he as Pierre puts it “a crowd favourite” he is also an exceptionally effective and influential player.
Input anyone?
Pierre Reviewing the first half of this season there is one overwhelming conclusion, which cannot be avoided and that is that Arsenal’s defence is appalling and the recent recruitment has not made a material difference. Sofar we have conceded more goals this season than we managed to do at the same point last season. Also whilst there has been a marginal improvement in results in away games earlier in the season that trend has been reversed recently. Once again we are struggling away from home. Okay part of the problem is that we continue to have players out with injuries.… Read more »
Graham As I see it , besides getting the players to work harder , Emery has not changed much on the pitch ,and there lies the problem. What we are seeing this season is what we have seen for the last ten seasons…surely you can see that . Emery ,I agree, is in a very dIfficult situation …you get the feeling that there is going to be a distinct lack of patience within the Emirates crowd… To be honest ,I feel sorry for the younger players coming in …for players like Guendouzi,iwobi,AMN ,bellerin Saka ,Smith rowe to succeed ,they need… Read more »
Emery is in a job not v different from senior positions in large orgs/ MNCs, in terms of accountability in financials, people, process, improvements, competitors, regulator (eg FA), customers, sponsors / business partners, and media. Yep, lots of pressure and all. But Emery has 6 million reasons to stay cool. If Emery believes in the WB play, we may not see winger(s) coming in, now that he has Iwobi and AMN / Bellerin. Some brought up time anf again our performance misalignment with the wage level. Please recall who racks up those wages, and whether Emery has reaosnable opportunity to… Read more »
Stroller I agree with you 100% on our defensive issues….the problem all season has been primarily down the flanks though just lately we have looked weak through the middle. Holding coming in to a back 3 improved the situation for a while but we now look very vulnerable….I can foresee quite a few bad away defeats in the next few months. Kolasinac is a bit of a conundrum as he is so potent in the final third but so weak defensively…his positional play is poor, he doesn’t spot or react to dangerous situations and is basically a liability at the… Read more »
Pulisc signs for Chelsea. £58m.
That could be very good business for a 21 year old.
Chelsea still have pulling power.
Borussia will lose another major star but it will be interesting to see how they spend their cash…BD always seem to find talent from somewhere. It might be worth Arsenal bugging their phones or something.
Pierre finally has some other agenda, Emery and Lacazzete, i mean God forbid a manager takes off a striker and puts in an extra midfielder to track the runs of the extra midfielder that was put on by the opposition. For you to say the sub didn’t have any effect as we were already creating chances is just plain weird especially because said sub got a goal and the opposition didn’t anymore. Maybe read the manager’s reason as to why he took Laca off, I mean i love Lacazzete, prefer him to Auba but only one is doing the business… Read more »
Batistuta
Ramsey track a midfielder……now you are taking the piss.
Batistuta
Lacazette is not my agenda ….did you listen to the reaction from the Arsenal supporters last night when he was substituted…
Emery’s reasoning was quite logical but I’m afraid the words “ramsey” and “tracking back” should never be used in the same sentence.
Pierre
Yes and there’s a reason why he’s the manager and they’re just fans, years of experience over emotions will always win out and that’s the problem with most Arsenal fans, way too emotional and unrealistic in what they expect from their football club taking into consideration we have the worst owner of any of the top 7 teams in the league
Pierre I do agree with you on one thing from your earlier comments, the whole Wenger saga, the poor state of the squad e.t.c. can only have the buck stopping at one persons table I’m afraid and that’s Kroenke, the earlier Arsenal fans stop bickering over average players like Ramsey and the ineffectual Ozil and come together and do something about the owner, we’ll forever just be another run of the mill still living in the past football club chopping and changing managers praying for them to be miracle workers because there are no available sufficient funds. The self sustainable… Read more »
Pierre I have no issue in keeping Kolasinac in our squad or making Maitland-Niles the understudy for Bellerin. Let’s be honest you cannot change every player in our squad. However, the club needs to recruit at least one quality “defence” minded fullback to counter balance the wing backs. When it comes to centre backs let’s be totally honest none of those on our books are remotely world class. They are average to poor and mistake prone. Arsenal need to find someone who can actually stabilise and improve the heart of our defence and instil concentration and discipline something which has… Read more »
A real cracker tomorrow
Who do you reckon will win between Man City v Liverpool?
Would be interesting to know what percentage on le grove would choose Ramsey to come on and track back.
Lacazette,who is a striker , would be my choice to track back if it was a choice between Ramsey and Lacazette.
Now if Emery had said I wanted Ramsey to come on and press from the front to put pressure on Fulham at the back line then I could go with that but tracking back …..I will have to watch the last 15 minutes again and if I see Ramsey tracking back then I will stand corrected.
He didn’t say anything about tracking back, he said he brought Ramsey on to track Seri, he’s a deep lying midfielder so yeah, pressing from the front basically.
Calm down with the agenda Pierre it’s getting real old.
It’s like you’re trying to blame Emery for the fullbacks constantly bombing forwards when it’s only because we have 0 wingers in the team and our creative players are not good enough that they have to do it if we are going to create any chances at all.
Wonder who assembled the poor squad? Was it Emery in 1 summer with 70m to spend or the previous manager with unlimited power and 22 years in charge, hmmmm?
Stroller The conundrum for Emery is , does he bring in a ball playing centre half or a solid reliable defender who is not as good with the ball at his feet . I would go for the solid defender at the moment , someone who will attack every ball in the box ,positionally good and a warrior at the back . The problem is that Emery is fixated on playing out ,man city style,from the back when I don’t think we have the midfield players to make it work ..xhaka,Torriera and Guendouzi are all prone to lapses of concentration… Read more »
Freddie
“He didn’t say anything about tracking back, he said he brought Ramsey on to track Seri, he’s a deep lying midfielder so yeah, pressing from the front basically.”
Will get back to you on that as I will need to watch the last 15 minutes again ..from what I can remember,Ramsey was pressing the back line but I may be wrong …I’m not saying it didn’t work whatever he was doing, but I am querying whether Ramsey did track Seri….maybe he did.
Freddy Ljungberg I have no problem having two wing backs on the books. Both Bellerin and Kolasinac are okay playing offensively. The problem is that they should not both play attacking roles at SAME TIME. Too often our flanks were left exposed both last and this season. This is presumably why Emery introduced three centre backs until both Mustafi and Holding got injured. Arsenal need to add a Centre Back as soon as possible particularly since Holding is out injured for rest of season and Mavropanos has failed to make an appearance. Koscielny is no longer good enough to play… Read more »
Of course we have to add to the defence, our whole backline is crap, altough, Holding, Mavro, Sok, Bellerin and Kola are probably wort holding on to for now at least.
The problem is that the team is weak straight through, so long as we have to sacrifice the defensive aspects just to create chances our defensive numbers are not going to get great even with better defenders. If we don’t want to go full Bolton and play with 9 men back and hoof it to Auba, doubt the fans would be on board with that.
Just saying, buying defenders is not the only way to improve the defence. If we had for example Pepe and Nelson back, then our fullbacks could stay back and not leave us exposed all the time.
We would still suffer for the individual mistakes of Kos, Mustafi and Xhaka but at least it would get better.
Cold and hard reality is sinking in. That young American, Pulisic was once our target. I read that we has offered 35 m for him. He has just joined Chelsea for 57.6 m. We are now a small fish in the transfer market.
Great article from Arsenal Truth… Why Kroenke CANNOT invest big money It’s an age-old debate we’ve heard ever since Stan Kroenke joined Arsenal as owner. Why doesn’t he put his hand in his pocket and invest? This is usually accompanied by complaints that the wrong owner was brought into the club, and that Alisha Usmanov would have spent Arsenal back to competitiveness. Although history has proved time and time again that spending money alone is not the route to competitiveness – Man Utd and Leicester being two sides of the counter coin, the plain fact is that ever since the… Read more »
Mr J
Only one person to blame for letting wages spiral out of control and that is the person who owns and controls the club …kronke.
Any owner who allows his employees such freedom to waste millions is either stupid or not fit for purpose.
Why are you saying to me, of all people,” What we are seeing this season is what we have seen for the last ten seasons……..surely you can see that” Remember, I gave up on Wenger in 2008. My point is this, if Emery becomes blind to the things now( ie Lacazette the way we defend etc) what will he be doing further down the line. Wenger was allowed to get away with it…….. by our weak fanbase. Emery will not be given the same amount of freedom or leeway. Just a pity fans were not so impatient ten years back.… Read more »
The thing is people just don’t understand why he keeps picking on Laca to take off.
Is it that he feels Laca cannot finish a full game time (even against Fulham?) Or is he preserving him in terms of freshness for future games (too bad Laca hasn’t read that memo)
Will see how Laca behaves during the summer TW. Might also be dependent on how our season pans out.
Graham “My point is this, if Emery becomes blind to the things now( ie Lacazette the way we defend etc) what will he be doing further down the line” Very good point …I must have got the wrong end of the stick earlier . Did you see those stats regarding Lacazette and how the positive results we have with him in the team. I have a feeling that Emery doesn’t like to play both Lacazette and Aubamayang in big games …I don’t know why …the only time he has started them together in against a top side ,home to Liverpool,… Read more »
Mr J You paint a grim picture of the future. Even if your proposals are followed rigorously and to the letter, years and years of mid-table mediocrity at best lie ahead. What you have failed to point out is that Kroenke handcuffed himself. Deliberately. And that,if so minded, he has a legitimate way of freeing himself. His bottom-line policy was a statement that he would not invest money in the Club under any circumstances, not for buying players, not for paying their wages, not for anything. And yes, the Club might have navigated itself safely through the austerity period had… Read more »
Pierre
As you well know, don’t go on stats.
I see with my own very experienced eyes, the benefits of playing Lacazette.
Well done in the golf. You’re right though, “the stableford system” would make a great bedtime story.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz……