So I did some further digging on the Sven story and it would seem that the narrative on his departure is geared around promises of being made the Technical Director when Arsene left the club. From what I can gather, Sami Mokbel (the heir to David Ornstein if he ever retires) nailed the story here. Our chief scout wasn’t putting a shift in at Arsenal and didn’t impress the hierarchy enough to make the jump to a role he’d never done before.
No one knows when the departure date is yet, but it’s pretty clear he’s not going to hang around in a position he feels is beneath him. With news that Edu has rejected the Technical Director role, that gives us two major hires to replace over the next few months. It’s not easy hiring big names, because there are so few that are good, so there’s a real worry this is going to eat into our summer plans.
It’s also worrying because Raul is old school. He’s not going to want another data nerd at the club, because his contact list is where it’s at. The man at the top is a political beast with a backroom deals vision of football, and he has no oversight. Stan K has no time for Arsenal, we are an ugly stepchild that he’s keeping in the metaphorical basement. So as long as Raul doesn’t bankrupt us, he can hit the reset button every season with a new batch of excuses… Wenger’s mess, Ivan’s contracts, Sven’s mess, Emery’s mess and so on.
We’re already underway with the new transfer strategy which seems to be geared around seeking out players that are of a similar or lower quality to what we have (bad), but will supposedly work better in a system the manager likes (good). It’s like we’re buying in discipline. Denis Suarez doesn’t move the needle for me. He moves with the ball with more finesse than Iwobi, but I’m not sure the output is much different. There’s talk of James Rodriguez, which seems like exactly the sort of short-sighted deal someone who likes to brag about connections makes. He’s a sublime talent when he’s not fighting with managers, suffering from a lack of motivation, or being accused of poor fitness. Why would we try so hard to shift a problem child like Ozil, only to replace them with someone with less talent and just as much baggage?
Especially odd when Emery has such a poor track record of dealing with players and their egos. This is Thiago doing the real-life equivalent of subtweeting when talking about Neymar.
“Of course. He understood as everyone understood because these are things that you tell him directly. It is not behind that you have to say “We have to do this!”,And then in front of the player you do not speak. No, no … Respect is to speak directly and the coach does it very well. He is very strong on the technical part but especially on the “outside” part (on the field) to manage those who do not play. He tries to motivate everyone to be ready, that’s the difference. “
What a total bitch, but it gets worse.
Yes, because I’ve heard a lot of things that sometimes hurt you. We all know that in football you can win, you can lose. It’s normal. But the most important thing is to get up as quickly as possible when you fall. That’s what I tried to do. I heard a lot of things: “I’m not a leader, I’m not that or that …” It touches you but afterwards, it’s also the kind of thing that motivates you the most. I’m happy to have a staff that gives me confidence, a team that respects me.
Incredible that his comparison point is Thomas Tuchel, a manager notorious for falling out with players. I think PSG have done a very focused job on hiring good people around him to take the edge off some of his wilder impulses.
The key part of the Thiago story is communication. This is something I banged the drum for at the start of the season. Emery didn’t speak English before he came to Arsenal. His press conferences are garbled and it’s very hard to decipher what exactly he’s trying to communicate. Is that impacting his players? How is the message carrying under pressure with adrenaline pumping? Do his coaches sprechen de lingo, por favor?
Emery has come into this new job determined to bust balls, and he’s doing that. I think he’s running the risk of spoiling his season and losing the faith of the squad. Belief is a fragile thing. The players did not go into that Liverpool game thinking they could come out alive. It must be difficult to go through a poor patch knowing top talent that can help is not being used.
Additionally, it’s clear that the decision to let Emery bring in his own fitness coach was a disastrous decision. Burgess and Shad should be running the show. It’s a bit of a coincidence that injury pile-ups are a thing again and it would seem the much leaked DOUBLE sessions are taking a huge toll on the intensity the team can deliver in games. West Ham ran us ragged, that shouldn’t be happening to a £220m squad in January, it should be the other way around.
Simply put, Emery needs to try something new.
We need to see a reaction against United, Chelsea, and City. All three games pose exciting mile-markers in the evolution of Arsenal.
Chelsea up first is a good opportunity to see how two coaches that picked up teams on the floor have handled their evolution of football. Sarri is a master of creating a style built around an artistic view of the game, he hasn’t blown it out the park and there are questions marks over his talents. Can Emery contain Hazard? Can he rattle Chelsea? Can we deal with chubmaster Higuain?
United in the cup is HUGE, because OLE G is a young manager with no elite level experience and he has United playing with joy and climbing the table. He has the same amount of clean sheets as Emery, but delivered in 6 games. The media will build the narrative big time for this one, because United were in shocking shape, now they’re level points with us. Also, the FA Cup is a realistic competition for us to challenge for, so it’d be nice to win it.
Cardiff at home should be a banker.
Manchester City is not. No one is expecting us to go there and win, which is great for Emery. What they will expect is a strategy to stifle and disrupt Pep G. We cannot come out of that game taking a pasting.
We hired a coach. It’s time for him to earn his money and start coaching. Solve the problems the system is creating. Take some risks, play some kids, do something different, work with what you have. Better defending, more style and creativity is needed.
Let’s buckle up and pray to the footballing gods.
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“Have Ozil as sub “.
what’s the point …ozil is about the most ineffective substitute anyone could imagine.
Either play him or leave him out …..that’s probably why Emery left him out of the squad v West ham as he didn’t want to start him.
Cesc
I did think about posting something like that… but I thought it would be too obvious. 😉
Did you know the blue Whale’s vagina is so deep and wide that 5-6 people could lay across it?
Making it the world’s second biggest cunt after Jeremy Corbyn
Leeds
I’d make any of those lads no1 over Leno
Don’t rate the guy
Within the next two years everyone else will see
Mark my words
It goes both ways CA.
If he has a stinker his confidence will be shot to pieces.
I’d be careful and give him an easier comeback game.
mavro need not lunge. he will be called for that all the time being 6’4.
I pray he does not give up a penalty if he plays
Sokratis needs to stop putting his hands all over the attackers. He paid for that in Liverpool
The inside out game of the Chelsea attackers will be something we need to be wary of. we played them close in the start of the season bar their late goal.
I think we can take this game. We will need Laca to provide a lot of trick and movement in the box area
we win this game, and we get momentum back. We need a confidence builder like this one – we lose, and I cringe… bad things bad vibes, bad times
Gotta have the guys firing on all cylinders from the start….
Labour Government under Blair was Labour in name only.
Had he listened to Corbyn they would still be in power but instead he persisted with tory policies which led to his and Labour’s downfall.
It’d be unbelievable if Spurs got Malcom on loan while we were busy trying to get Suarez on loan. I mean that would be on the verge of ridiculous
Un na naaiJanuary 17, 2019 18:41:11 PhD Mate you were having a pop and being condescending. Which is fine as I get worse off my own brothers before breakfast but be honest. You look down your nose at brexit voters and the great unwashed I’m sure you’ll do well in your chosen field but just because someone hasn’t gone to uni or voted brexit doesn’t mean that said person possess a low IQ, is a chav ——————— Sigh… I don’t look down on anyone for the umpteenth time.I don’t look down on Brexiters, the great unwashed,people with low IQ’s(except you… Read more »
I’m sorry I don’t get the ecstatic feelings many have for Mavros.
He’s a young defender with huge potential yet but is not ready for the big stage, certainly not after a lengthy spell of injuries,
I don’t understand why we have to play another central defensive paring again. It doesn’t make any sense to be heaping so much pressure on a young untested payer returning back from injury.
“Labour Government under Blair was Labour in name only.
Had he listened to Corbyn they would still be in power but instead he persisted with tory policies which led to his and Labour’s downfall.”
Given Corbyn’s admiration for a man who effectively changed Venezuela’s constitution to allow him to stay in power indefinitely, I think you might be onto something there.
Dissenter
I see your point, and Emery may decide to break him in with easier opposition.
However, I am of the mind, that we just let the kids get broken in fast. Bar Mavro ripping his groin in half, he would likely have been playing much more or even a starter..
Time to take some risks- the second half of the season depends on us mixing things up bc as it stands, we are way to stagnant and predictable.
I have never seen so many take downs of a poster than Phd towards Don. I mean he’s got his number in such a way it’s truly beautiful to watch. Doesnt get too heated or insulting with just enough snark.
Let’s face it, since our move to the Emirates in 2006, we have fallen way off the pace. From being one of the top teams in Europe, playing some of the best Football, we have, inexplicably, become a second tier club both domestically and on the European stage. The so called “club values” that have been constantly rammed down our throats have been nothing more than a smoke screen tor the financial irregularities that have consumed the club. I say it again, Wenger was incompetent on so many levels. Ivan Gazidis was a weasel of the highest order, whilst our… Read more »
PhD
“You are last of a dying breed I am afraid,with your antiquated views.
I recall,how you were so vehemently against Usmanov taking over Arsenal,as you deemed him a foreigner whose wealth was tainted with blood..You think the acquisition of wealth by western billionaires,or UK billionaires for that matter is somehow purer than others?I’ll leave you with this…“Behind every great fortune lies a great crime”Let that sink in for a moment.”
Yes! Yes!! Yes!!!
I had the same heated arguments with Emirates stroller
If it’s 4 at the back play mustafi and Sokratis …if it’s 3 at the back play mustafi,sokratis and Monreal centre defence with bellerin and Kolasinac as wing backs .
Mavropanos can wait until the Cardiff game of Europa league..
Listen to a guy who is less popular than the worst Tory gov in history.
Righto
Barney75
Says the man whose Country ignores a referendum…lol
I remember when Usmanov using the “values” defense Usmanov had stated the simple truth “Speaking to CNBC in 2014, Usmanov said: “He is one of the greatest coaches, not just of European, but of world football. But we have a Russian proverb which goes: “Even an old lady can have a roof falling on her. “Everybody makes mistakes. He can make mistakes and I know as you age it is more difficult, more challenging to accept one’s mistakes. Does [Wenger] have money or not? There is officially money in the club. “Arsenal is a dream that sometimes becomes a mirage… Read more »
He’s a young defender with huge potential yet but is not ready for the big stage
True but if Guendouzi and Iwobi are playing regularly then ready or not why not try him. Especially if you consider in his position this season we’ve seen some truly remarkably bad players playing CB like Lichtsteiner, Koscielny, Xhaka, Monreal. The only CB to come out of this season with any semblance of credit will be Holding. Also he’s 21 you know how many 18-23 year old prospect CB’s are playing in Europe now?
Corbyn is very popular…600, 000 members popular the biggest party membership in Europe.
Personally I want to see Mavro in the lineup. Big tall and strong CB… we need that type of player alongside our 5 foot 10ers
Especially since teams like southhampton put over the top balls constantly. Now I dont expect the Hig to do anything like that against us… but having a tall presence helps for sure…
This mystique about tactics should be jettisoned. There is nothing new in football tactics, Herbert Chapman knew all the possibilities back in the 1920’s. All that has changed are the rules. It’s fair to say that changing the rule on, say, passing back to the GK, has had more impact on the game than tactics. A good coach can make any form of tactics work. He could go out with a five-man frontline. a five-man midfield or a five-man defence and win games with any of them. But whatever the tactics there are a few factors needed for success. First,… Read more »
I would go for this formation:
Leno
Bellerin – Mustaphi – Sokratis – Kolasinac/Monreal
Torreira Xhaka
Ozil /Ramsey Iwobi
Lacazette
Aubameyang
Auba belongs at the center. Laca can play behind Auba. He can also support the midfield and do the pressing. I still want to give Torr/Xhaka pair another chance. Together, they both become a better player. Once we are leading, play Monreal and Ramsey.
RT
As I wrote earlier the Labour Party has always had a much larger membership than any other party, but it represents under 2% of voting electorate.
I would point out also to you that at last General Election the Conservatives vote was one of their largest in recent years and significantly more than Labour.
Moreover Labour supporters are much more open with their posters and publicity material. Conservatives don’t like getting their windows smashed.
Arsenal beat Spurs 5-2 in FA Cup after extra time. I believe this is Spurs first defeat at U18 level this season.
God Bless our youth… they will be the ones trying to help save our season since we are broke.
We have some good ones. I guess now is the time to step up.
Arsenal beat Tottenham 5-2 in the FA Youth Cup tonight.
Why no mention on an Arsenal blog?
Ah at last!
Saka, Amaechi will join Nelso and ESR in the first team soon.
Now we need some defenders
Self sustainability is all well and good for a business, and it’s a sad fact that Arsenal has become just that. To think we were told back in the early 2000’s that we had to move stadiums to compete at the highest level is absolutely insane.
Stan Kroenke is a cancer that needs to be eradicated from our club. Le-Grove, Arseblog, AFTV etc that reaches out to millions of fans should get together and organize some forms of protests or various boycotts to get rid of him.
Norwegian-
none of that will work. Not going to games- a loss of $, might force some decisions.
Outside of that, him selling the team for a profit is the other way.
Dangote is waiting.
Right now, Arsenal is the last thing on his feeble mind. LA Rams are in the playoffs
A geezer who had a good World Cup 5 years ago…
Nah not for me… rather trust Sven to find a good young player…
Norwegian Gooner.
The perfect ownership we had.
Unless I am mistaken. They all sold their shares :
Dein
Nina Bracewell
Not sure about Fizamn
Usmanov.
They all made millions
Did any put a penny in to the club to spend on a player ( possibly fizman)?
Kroenkes deserve huge brickbats for lack on involvement, aloofness ,transparency.
They are a problem.
They are NOT our biggest problem.
The current regime Are:
Incompetence reigns supreme at Arsenal 2019!
Stroller
Throw the youth in…
Mix it up…
Will take a while but like Aussie cricket proved years ago it works.
The Self sustainable model is more than an acceptable strategy . The problem of our management team- is that they want to do it on a YEAR by YEAR basis. You have to do it over 5 / 10 year levels E.g.. No champions league – no money to spend! Champions league money – we spend! When off course- you should be spending MORE when you are out of the Champions league and LESS when you are in it.!( to get your sustainability) By doing it on such a short time basis. Means you are constantly fire fighting. Making short… Read more »
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-6604689/Arsenal-youth-coach-Mertesacker-misses-teams-clash-against-Tottenham-NBA-London.html
Useless beanpole
Bamford10January 17, 2019 18:25:44 gambon There is absolutely nothing wrong with meeting with Hamas or Hezbollah or Assad. The first has a political arm that is entirely independent of its military arm, not to mention, the Palestinian people have the right to resist brutal and criminal foreign occupation. Also, the IDF have killed a thousand times the number of civilians a Hamas has, and they have committed countless war crimes. I don’t have time at the moment to deal with your uninformed, right-wing take on Hezbollah and Assad, but your politics are fucking embarrassing for someone who claims to be… Read more »
Saka should be getting some game time with the first team before the end of the season. By all accounts he is something else.
It really would go someway to helping us next season if Nelson, Smith Rowe and Saka can offer us at least a little something in the squad as they develop.
We’ve actually got a good little crop of youngsters with Mavropanos, Guendouzi, Willock, Smith Rowe, Nelson and Saka. But we’ve been here before.
Benny I studied international human rights law as a large part of my master of laws component and it isn’t like Assad was a nice bloke even before the civil war. Massive human rights abuses. One of my classmates undertook a project from a human rights body to study the violations of Syria and they were quite something. You’re quite right about Russia as well, veto any action in the security council because their Mediterranean fleet is based in Tartus and they have billions of pounds worth of servicing contracts and arms deals with Syria. Always makes me laugh when… Read more »
Hey Benny that’s funny
Yeah my family are from sylvan way, directly next to the golf course
Sea mills used to be a trashy dump but it’s been a little bit gentrified in the last 10 years imo.
I remember as a kid the ‘40A Bus Crew’ throwing fucking wine gums at me as I got off my (Gordano) school bus. I laugh every time I think back to that. Back in those days in breeding appeared to be fairly rampant in sea mills lol.
These days it’s not so bad
Just like good ole Donny Boy pulling out of Syria! See what happened yesterday!
You let ISIS regain power.
and….
Leave the Kurds to fight ISIS/ Assad???!?
Just like when the US left the Hmong after Vietnam and they got slaughtered and became mass refugees
Human rights abusers are the worst and must be removed from their tyranny
Yeah I couldn’t believe the footage they showed during the day of that bombing in Syria. Shit was unsettling to say the least
Just read about mertesacker skipping the youth FA cup game against spurs to be an NBA pundit.
Honestly I’d say sack the fucker. He had a dubious attitude in the final years of his playing career. Now he has a shitty attitude even in his new role.
We’re clearing house/having a mass exodus of corporate abdnplaying staff anyway. I’ll shed no tears if he is booted out the door. Not that he will be.
China1
That’s pretty shocking.
“It’d be unbelievable if Spurs got Malcom on loan while we were busy trying to get Suarez on loan. I mean that would be on the verge of ridiculous“
Wenger out
Wenger back in you mean. Then we’ll start getting these players in. Miss that eye
Banford
Excellent political commentary there, blows my mind that you’re so marmite. Most things outside football I find myself nodding along with everything you say, then you say something about Neymar, double down, and ruin it.
That was a nice thing you just said Charlie
He’s right, too.
The strategy that arsenal are now adopting is incredibly confusing. Like it or not, sport is a rapidly evolving entity. Every single professional game is adopting a data focused approach and arsenal seem reluctant to get on board. The sheer number of hires for for reputation is unreal. If the club wish to advance to a modern way of working then surely sven wqs the man that would lead the charge. The fact that he is leaving is a daming endicment of the current regime. Power gabs for the sake of self preservation. The main reason of getting rid of… Read more »
Cesc Appeal
As I said last week.
This summer I would consider spending our entire budget on defence and midfield, then give Saka, Amaechi, ESR and Nelson a shot.
I’m not a huge fan of throwing kids in without a loan and slow introduction but we can’t fix every issue in the team in the summer window, and the defence is shambolic.
Also, Saka and Amaechi are such big talents, there are probably German clubs sniffing around them constantly.
Emiratesstroller
General Election. 2017
party seats votes share (%)
Con 318 13,667,231 42.45
Lab 262 12,874,284 40.95
RT
I know what the voting count was, but the point is that the Conservatives had their largest vote in years and Labour’s membership is less than 2% of the 46 million+ voters on electoral role.
I have just listened to Question Time in Derby which followed Islington last week. There is a definite shift in mood in both audiences against Corbyn.
A number of Labour voters made it crystal clear that Corbyn is a major electoral problem whatever you may think. Diane Abbott represented Labour
on panel and the audience laughed at some of her comments.
Gambon
I agree.
Spend the serious money on the defence and then the midfield.
Use the youngsters and see what they can do, also massively saves us money on the wage bill.
I would use the rest of this season to give some of them a go here and there as well to see what they’ve got.
Emiratesstroller
That freak Rory is clueless
Labour had their largest vote since 1945 …..you muppet
Cesc appeal, Guns of SF, Thank you both so much. I take heart that there are those of you out there that know what monsters Assad and Putin are, and Cesc you’re absolutely right about Russia using their veto to stop any action against Assad because of their gas and oil deals with Assad. Can you believe that Putin was boasting to Russian parliament about testing his latest military equipment on the Syrian people and how successful it was?? Also regarding ISIS, the Western coalition during the 2nd Iraq and Afghanistan wars (invasions to be fair) would send captured AlQeada,… Read more »
gambon,
You’re right about transfer funds – it should all go on the defence and let our academy prospects fill put the holes in our squad further up the pitch.
China, Yes they’ve converted that old public toilet into a cafe and have revamped the park, it’s a much better place nowadays agreed. Lol! It’s funny you should say that, I remember about 6 years ago when I was getting my daughter from her Mother’s after school a school kid got off the Gordano school bus and was chased across the road by a mob of about five 16 – 18 yr olds and he was probably about 14. They got him and were beating him up but I chased after them and intervened and gave a few of them… Read more »
RT I referred to recent Conservative votes. I made no reference to Labour. For the record the Conservatives received 4% more votes in last General Election than they did when David Cameron won an absolute majority. Labour relied very heavily on strategic voting in many constituencies. Let’s see how well they do in next election. At the moment they are 6% behind Tories in latest poll despite what is going on over Brexit. As Pedro pointed out if they cannot manage to do better at this stage of proceedings when will it happen. No intelligent voter who is a tax… Read more »
Anybody know anything about our supposed interest in the Leeds right winger? Apparently City, Liverpool and Tottenham want him too. Apart from a story in the Express I haven’t seen anything else.
Benny
How exciting if true. Arsenal buying British talent from the lower leagues?
A Eureka moment!
Raptors
Great comparison post on the ever changing narrative on here. Excellent sleuthing!
It’s funny how Pedro chose to completely ignore the post showing him contradicting himself and doing a 360 on Raul in 1 year.
Jack Clarke is that? We’re supposedly after Max Aarons from Norwich as well.
I do think young British talent is the way forward, our youth production in Britain seems good at the moment, we’ve got quite the crop. If they fail as on field assets they can still be off field ones as well. Look at Solanke.
Yes that’s right, Jack Clarke. Apparently he’s still on low contract which Leeds are refusing to talk about until the summer. That’s alerted a number of prem clubs and apparently Emery wants to get in there first. I totally agree that young British talent is the way forward there’s plenty out there that Leicester, Villa , Norwich and Leeds etc identify so we should be too. I’d like us to go for Maguire and Chilwell from Leicester but we probably don’t have the money. Grealish from Villa, Clarke from Leeds – these are the players we should be going after,… Read more »
These sort of players if successful will sky rocket in value too so we can always sell them on at huge profits and reinvest in more of the same.
Benny
We are agreeing tonight.
Sold ox, theo ,even Gibbsy for tidy profits..
Can’t think of too much profit on these overseas signings recently, can u?
Coquelin is ok ( I count him as home grown.). Made 10 mill on him
Forget Suarez- make an offer to villa they can’t refuse for Grealish..
Even a couple of loan signings and cash for Grealish.
Come to think of it….
Who was the last overseas purchase we made a profit on????
Forget Arteta how about Freddie L doing an Ole G?
Great win for the under 18s beating Spuds last night.
Charlie George,
Anelka, Overmars, Petit, Vieira, Henry, Sagna, Abebayor, Nasri and Fabregas I think? Made profits on all of those no?
But buying young British talent and selling them on at 4 or 5 times what we paid is definitely something we should be doing, but only until we build a title winning team and keep the best of them.
bennydevito
That Afghan war was Obama’s doing right?
Obama is a snake pretending to be an earthworm while Trump is a snake pretending to be a sandworm.
‘Come to think of it….
Who was the last overseas purchase we made a profit on????’
Giroud
van Persie
Vermaelen (small)
Hleb (small)
Clichy
Song
Schezney
Flappy
Why is it that British players have this supposed higher sell on value?
Where is the proof of this , or are they just overpriced?
Should mertasack be sacked for not attending the u 18 match last night choosing to watch nba instead….
5 18 year olds beating on a 14 year old
Classy as fook!
Woodleaze road is much better than it used to be at least. Used to be a bit of a den of shit heads but you’ll find more Mercedes than meth heads on that road now haha
Seems there are so many rumors about arsenal transfers but fuck all actual progress
Come on arsenal…
Saka should be playing with the first team regularly already ..he should have been the one fast tracked with Smith Rowe rather than Nketiah who i don’t think will make it here. Our need for a winger surpasses the need for a third striker
Dissenter doing his usual Mavropranos policing i see …nice