YES via @EditsByRonan
Well, might as well get the depressing news out the way first… The Rams are going to the Super Bowl.
It’s like 95% of Arsenal fans must have been real shitty things to puppies in another life, because this is just utterly depressing.
Still, on the flipside, maybe Stan will be so enthralled by actual sporting success he’s rarely tasted, he’ll chuck a couple hundred mill our way.
Hopeful and naive. I get it.
Or is it? At some point, he has to wonder whether it’d make good business sense to have two world class teams on his books? Maybe Josh will want to show he’s dad he’s well clever? Who knows… I’d just reccomend your read my blog post on how they made the magic happen (HERE).
In more positive news, Emery went and done a good this weekend.
I think a lot of Arsenal fans are prematurely blowing their ‘SEE HE’S AMAZING’ load on the curtains, but I can’t take away from the absolute destruction he dropped on Sarri’s Chelsea.
Alex went over the game in great detail, so I won’t rehash it. What I will say is that Emery pivoted this weekend and it paid off handsomely.
He put his best players on the pitch, he played them in a system that worked to their advantage, and he absolutely sussed out Sarri.
Many were saying that he axed Mesut Ozil, I’m not quite sure about that. He had a player on the bench who is supposedly coming back from injury, and whether you like it or not, that’ll have an impact on the squad psychologically. Interestingly, Jose Mourinho echoed some of the points I’ve been raising about Mesut.
Mourinho says the best way to get the best out of Özil is to how him ‘care and love’ pic.twitter.com/rEnfrki0N7
— Osman (@OsmanZtheGooner) January 19, 2019
Emery has yet to find the balance between tough love and empathy, something Jose said Ozil needs both sides of. If you can’t be bothered to watch the video, he says if you’re too soft, he goes limp, but if you’re too hard, he retracts into himself because he needs to feel the love. I heard a similar thing on The Totally Football show about De Gea, apparently, he’s always looking for reassurance from his keeping coach on the sideline at games. Weird as he’s so good, but just doubles down on the fact that players are people and all have different motivations. Anyway, good to see the coach move to repair bridges there.
Additionally, it was great to see the manager start with Aaron Ramsey. No one in the league is going to harass Jorginho like he did. He sat at the top of that diamond and shut down the Brazilian, whilst also doing a good job of putting their centre-backs under pressure. We’re just better with Aaron in the side.
Having two strikers in a 4-4-2 worked wonders, especially as both did such an incredible job of defending. Lacazette in particular impressed. He does so much dirty work for the team. Not just that, look at the flair for that goal, unreal control, spatial awareness and outright audacity to strike the ball at one of the few places he had access to that Kepa didn’t.
The front three allowed Emery to live out his dream of 3 defensive midfielders who all did a very good job. I have to hand it to Xhaka, when he’s not making stupid mistakes, he’s been good this season. He had a very good game, racking up ball recoveries like a hero (11). I have a lot of love for LT and MG. The Uruguayan pitbull made 9 tackles, with MG making 5 but having a go at 10. Both have real tenacity and it was a pleasure to watch. Honestly, fuck people who thin MG is anything outside a top tier youth talent who could take the world… NO… universe by storm if he continues his upward trajectory.
Then there’s the defence. Chelsea had nothing. Sokratis did a sterling job, but no one stood out more than Laurent K. When he’s playing in a defence that playing behind a system that is not trying to play a highline, he’s in his element. His experience, positioning and outright hunger to win was a joy to watch. He was our most potent attacker with 2 shots on target and a goal. He had a very important game.
I also liked that Arsenal let Chelsea have the ball in wide positions knowing they had no one to attack the ball in the box. We clogged up the middle of the pitch with a sea of red shirts. We also allowed them to have the ball, giving them 300 more passes than us over the 90. It was almost a reversal of the roles of the past 10 years. Chelsea were… a bit… you know… Arsenal like.
You do have to be honest about Chelsea. They were a fucking car crash. Sarri is a fanatic. He has his way of playing and he doesn’t give a fuck who his players are. Willian on the left, Hazard through the middle with no runners, Kante in a more advanced position, with Jorginho sideways passing like peak Denilson… it was really difficult viewing.
Chelsea had some bad luck, no doubt, but you felt the explosion Sarri had after the game, when he questioned his players’ mentality, is going to bite him. The manager doesn’t have the bodies to do what he wants.
If you’re honest, nor does Emery, but the whole point of us hiring in the Spaniard is we had a manager who’d dropped a powerpoint presentation for the ages on how he’d use the players we had.
For me, Emery has shown the way forward.
All the fans saying 4th place isn’t possible without a billion in January expenditure are out of excuses. We’ve already outperformed Wenger-2018 with points against the top 6 this season. We smashed Chelsea, beat Spurs, held our own in all the big games bar maybe City and Liverpool away. I don’t think it’ll happen, but that’s not because I think the players aren’t good enough. Points dropped at West Ham, Brighton and Southampton in such a short space of time shouldn’t have been part of the equation.
Emery has to shake of his PSG delusions of grandeur and get back to extracting more out of his squad. He needs to be better tactically, he needs to utilize his star names even if that hurts him personally, and he needs to make sure no one heard him say Arsenal was a distinct club because winning wasn’t that important.
Just a word to the injuries. I was devastated to see that Hector dropped an injury that has been a career ender in the past. Hopefully, it’s not as bad as it looks. It’s very difficult to apportion blame in these incidences, but it’s hard not to have noticed that our players have looked leggy this past month, and the big injuries are coming in at a rate of knots. We’ve lost 3 players sub 30 to nasty 3 letter acronyms and had a lot of problems this season.
Emery brought in his own strength and conditioning coach, despite us having hired in Darren Burgess to huge fanfare and already having a World Cup winning S&C man in Shad Forsythe. I said at the time that was unbelievably weak from Ivan, as it essentially handed veto power to someone who had unlikely been vetted. Factor in that we know Emery was more than happy to let the press know that he was hitting his players with double sessions early in the season (and was horrified at the fitness of the squad), and the leaked story Mokbel had in the DM that said the club reduced the intensity of training to help the players. Whatever is going on, if we’re to have a good backend of the season, we need to have fresh players and we need to stop losing them to injury.
Right, seeing as you’re here, jump into a meaty podcast where we talk about additional details on Sven, Chelsea and how the season is going to pan out.
SPOTIFY | STITCHER | ITUNES | GOOGLE | POCKET CASTS
Let’s pray Dissenter.
I’m with Leeds, this is a dark day for the future of the club.
Our manager is too powerful, now our football director is too powerful
Pedro
What do you know about Raul Sanllehi?
I bet it’s what you’ve gathered from the media. Sometimes the most enlightening thing is knowing what you don’t know?
Because he ditched Mislintat?
I hope you are aware that many Dortmund fans credit most of the Dortmund revivial to the work of the DoF, Michael Zorc who’s been there since 1999. I know that runs contrary to the narrative you’re pushing that it’s all Mislintat.
Pedro
No, you’re just not representing all that they’re doing. You’re focusing on certain things in order to paint what they’re doing in a bad light.
They have both near-term goals and longer-term goals. The near-term goal is top four, and if they are leaning more on Raul and Emery’s contacts there, that’s because we need players who can help us today for that goal, not 18-year-olds.
However, that doesn’t mean they’re not looking at 18-year-olds as well, for the future. Of course they are.
The two chief officer model is actually not uncommon in business. There’s a chief finincial officer and and chief operations officer i.e football. Some want to have their cake and eat it. They say the Kroenke’s aren’t involved but when they get involved …it’s oh. we need another layer of beuracracy between the real authority and the real people running the club. I suppose they can appoint big bird as CEO for ceremonial reasons. This is the course correction from the Kroenkes. They have learned their lesson well after staying away and watching mistake after mistake occur. They are doing… Read more »
Yea such power sharing arrangements don’t really work out in the end but we will see. Bit directionless if you ask me.
However Raul has been in football at the highest level so he knows what it takes to succeed. The Vinai fellow for commercial is a different kettle of fish, a bit too young for that position in my opinion
Charlie
Just because they’re looking at Denis Suarez doesn’t mean they’re not looking at right backs as well.
And AMN is not an attacking mid. Nor is he has good as Harry Winks. So that is really quite beside the point.
If we’re looking at Suarez, it’s probably because we need a dribbling, attacking midfielder given that Ramsey is leaving, Ozil is Ozil and Cazorla has left the building.
* as
Dissenter, I write in more detail about the mechanics of how football/Arsenal is run than almost any journo out there. I do not get my info from journalists.
Gambon, yes. You are right.
Raul is great on paper, I’m not sure he’s an innovator though. Well, just look at his vision for players… contacts.
Our manager is too powerful, now our football director is too powerful
Unai Emery too powerful at Arsenal after 7 months at the club??
Dissenter
I see what Pedro is saying though.
At the end of the day, a good CEO is proven to be absolutely correlated to business success. Your COO and CFO are “doers” they dont create and set company strategy, they enact it.
Look at what people like Martin Sorrell and Angela Ahrendts have done in recent years with WPP and Burberry. The vision and success was almost solely down to the CEOs grand plan.
Arsenal have (I think / hope) 2 very good doers, theres no evidence they have any experience designing and developing a strategy from the top down.
Kos looked like he had played two games back to back
it’s a matter of time before he breaks down completely.
Bellerin – Holding – Mka -Welbeck long term injury’s.
And yet loan signings not even mentioned.
Raul is great on paper, I’m not sure he’s an innovator though. Well, just look at his vision for players… contacts.
Well those contacts might include some very good scouts who are content to remain scouts
Pedro
Doyou remember when you were hyping Tom Fox?
He may have been an excellent business manager but failed woefully when promoted to the CEO job at Aston Villa.
It’s better to keep these chaps in their lanes only. There are advantages in separating the operations from the finances.
“Unai Emery too powerful at Arsenal after 7 months at the club??”
Go figure…
gambon
I see what you’re saying and fully understand Pedro’s point.
I think the Kroenke’s want to make the club their own and this is just a temporary solution. There’s more to come as they try to figure it out.
They dont want to give anyone too much power after seeing what Gazidis did.
They may have been too trustful of the institutions at the club in the past.
Dissenter, I think a lot of things went badly wrong behind the scenes for Tom Fox. Villa not a good club to start your career, especially when the guy running the place wants to sell. I’m also not asking for Tom Fox to run the club.
“Well, just look at his vision for players… contacts.” We dont know what Rauls vision is though. We really dont at this point. The idea that because Sven is leaving, that we are turning our back on scouting is probably far from right. Sven may have been a fraud (maybe Zorc was the man that made it happen at Dortmund) Sven may have chosen to leave for numerous reasons. The club may have absorbed Svens IP and no longer actually need him. Sven may have been caught stealing £6.50 from petty cash. But the club has an operation thats far… Read more »
Thing with Sven is for all the ‘scouting’ he oversaw us buying in Dortmund and Lichtsteiner.
Next hire will tell us who we’re planning to be.
If it’s Harry Redknapp, we’re fucked.
Raul might be the *David Dein *of Spanish football. An exceptional operator. But he has no experience in English football! In the 7 months he has been here. We have witnessed his lack of inexperience. green lighting the appointment of his fellow Spanish compatriot Emery, being his most glaring error. And now losing his much vaunted Head Scout being his second. *David Dein would not be the right operator at Barcelona. Because he has no expertise in La Liga Its not a xenophobic argument Its a COMMON SENSE one. After all – have there been any noted examples of successful… Read more »
“If it’s Harry Redknapp, we’re fucked.”
lol
If it’s Harry Redknapp, we’re fucked.
We are anti English according to Charlie George so it certainly won’t be Redknapp….might be some Spanish or German Fraud as far as Charlie is concerned, he will welcome Redknapp with a parade
Bamford10January 20, 2019 22:36:32 Un Na One, can you explain how you’ve determined that Wenger 08-18 is better than Sarri? I would love to hear this. Two, we were better than Chelsea, and we were better than Spurs on those particular days. So what? You have this incredibly simplistic view of things according to which if you manage to beat or draw this or that team on one day, you should be level with or above them in the table. It’s a lot more complicated than that. Bam NOT JUST this game or that game or that game though is… Read more »
I agree that you need someone at the top with vision, with a vision. However, can someone tell me who this person is at Liverpool? In a sense it’s Klopp, no? If you say that it’s someone above Klopp — maybe it is, maybe it isn’t — you have to acknowledge that this vision guy or guys also produced the Brendan Rodgers years and the Kenny Dalglish episode. Bottom line, IMO, is that it’s a tricky, complex and complicated process. Some people are jumping to new and extreme conclusions every day rather than watching this complicated process play out and… Read more »
Bamford
This is the 3rd time . If you don’t respond I’ll assume you submit that we do have a squad capable of matching our rivals in competitive matches as outplayed by me over the last 48 hours
Yes we need improvements but what we have is capable of matching any team in any game if emery gets it right.
we need a new modern scout hire, some whizz kid with stats of young players around the world I am guessing sven used to monitor a players mileage in a game etc and passes in short areas and long etc we need a good investment in the tech for access of all players for example, you got the football manager team who scouts players for their database now I am sure they must be some geeks out there who can do this and then get a first team scout out there to see them in person I don’t like Sven… Read more »
Bamford, they have a strong CEO, a proper plan and a Sporting Director who works behind the scenes.
https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/michael-edwards-liverpool-fsg-klopp-12124673
Pedro
do you think we need a big name hire?
or
a guy who has all skills to capture data of the modern footballers like Sven?
Shabz, we need the right hire. Someone with actual achievements in the game.
Isn’t Raul already a big name hire?
Why couldn’t we have melded his contacts with Sven? Have the best of both worlds and use them in tandem to our advantage?
Mislintat to chelsea as sporting director??
Pedro,
I get what you saying but maybe an upcoming data analyst could be huge potential too
I don’t think we can stir many big names with Raul in full charge mode, a big name hire will want promises and I am sure they be looking at our current situation and thinking twice
porto, benfica, lyon, ajax, lille and psv seems to be picking up hidden gems around the world
would you fancy anyone from there?
Pedro
So do we. You’ve just decided you don’t like or don’t trust Raul. Time will tell if he’s the right man for the job, but it is way, way too early to be claiming that he’s not.
The narrative is that because Sven is leaving then Arsenal have ditched the gidital analytical approach and are going back in a time machine to the analog Rolodex of Sanllehi.
You would think Sven was the only scout of this generation.
Time will tell.
also another big factor could be brexit and work permits
are we able to get hidden gems from south America or Africa???
I know the rule is if you spend over £10m on a player work permits would be all okay
Un
What possible use is Rauls contacts to us?
He would be more suited at Man City -with their unlimted funds.
We need the someone who has the contacts for the best young Eng/French contacts- not Lichsteiners agent or his buddies from barca (suarez)
he has had a totally inauspicious start to his Arsenal tenure!
*digital analytical approaches
I guess these so called “super agents” will always approach Raul i.e. the James Rodriquez story
but I know one thing we should poach FC Porto analyst scout because they always picking up some great potential from south America and sell on for huge profit
Charlie George
I bet you’ll love Sanllehi if his name were Saul Raymond.
Such is the basic level you’re operating in
Un Na I long ago responded to this meaningless point of yours. Is our squad good enough to compete with Spurs, United, Chelsea or even Liverpool on this or that given day? Sure. But this in no way changes the fact that all of those clubs have better squads than we do and that Emery will need to get nearly everything right and that other stars will need to align for us in order for us to finish 4th. You have this incredibly simplistic view that says that if you manage to compete with Team A on a given day,… Read more »
Un Na
“Yes, we need improvements, but what we have is capable of matching any team in any game if Emery gets it right.”
No, not exactly. If Solskjaer gets his approach right and Emery gets his approach right, United could win — and for any number of reasons, including their having a better squad.
This is partly what I mean by your view being simplistic.
Crystal Palace beat City at the Etihad so they should be winning the league
Wolves beat Chelsea at the Molineux hence they have a better squad than them
Leicester beat City and Chelsea back to back, that shows their squad this season is good enough to challenge for the top four and to a lesser extent the title
Dissenter
“”I bet you’ll love Sanllehi if his name were Saul Raymond.
Such is the basic level you’re operating in””
i do not care what his name is
I do care – we have someone who has experience/Knowledge/expertise in the arena he is working in (English Football)
thats a pretty basic requisite to be successful!
Receding
Exactly. According to Un Na, if Crystal Palace beat City at the Etihad, that proves they can compete with any team on any day. Therefore, if they finish below 2nd or 3rd, it’s all on the manager and his decisions. Clearly he isn’t getting it right.
Bamford But solkjear has only managed a nobody team in Norway. How can he compare to the experience and tactical nous of emery? United’s defence is pretty crap. As is their attack. They are heavily reliant on a modern day Emile Heskey an ex arsenalnhas been whic score like 3 goals in a year and a 19 year old with patchy form and question marks over his consistency. Not to mention their overrated start attraction who is their version of Mesut Ozil onky without the assists. __________________________________ Bamford Is our squad good enough to compete with Spurs, United, Chelsea or… Read more »
I’m lost.
I was sure we’d beaten Leicester twice a few years ago…
So what does that means ??
Best teams in the league
Excuse the grammar
I’ve kids jumping all over the place here
Kids jumping on the keyboard… original.
Man City offers the best private school education in the area to all their scholars. The standard is such that even Man United players are sending their sons to the academy to get them into the schools.
If you make life easy for their families stars will often choose your club… it’s not about the money but giving your club a unique selling point so that players choose to come to your club over others.
I’m lost.
I was sure we’d beaten Leicester twice a few years ago…So what does that means ??
We were good enough to win the league that season is what it means, the table disagreed though
Bamford
No it doesn’t
But if crystal palace outplay everyone but city in 5/7 agaisnt top six opponents then I’d start to question their league position.
And let’s be clear, you can’t be comparing this team with crystal palace
We are choc full of internationals, World Cup winners, title winners, european cup winners. Our players are clearly holding their own and more against our rivals
To compare us to palace is disingenuous at best.
Kids jumping on the keyboard… original.
Legend
Thanks. I pride myself on my unique ability to find excuses for grammatical errors.
We were good enough to win the league that season is what it means, the table disagreed though
Receding thought process
So why did you main when we didn’t win the league that year?? If we were clearly second best?
Holding your own and being out rightly better isn’t the same thing
How can a team with zero natural wingers, error prone or ageing defenders, the meekest number 10 in world football who cannot be trusted to perform at away grounds be considered on par with the rest of the top six simply because they held their own in home games against them
We were good enough to win the league that season is what it means, the table disagreed though
Receding thought process
So why did you moan when we didn’t win the league that year?? If we were clearly second best?
I think you know the answer to that question hairline
So why did you main when we didn’t win the league that year?? If we were clearly second best?
Come again
So why did you moan when we didn’t win the league that year?? If we were clearly second best?
Didn’t moan. we weren’t second best either, Tottenham choked and handed us second place behind Leicester
Our manager is too powerful, now our football director is too powerful
I honestly don’t know what to make of this though. One Emery’s not and two shouldn’t the DOF be powerful? Especially in the new set up where he and Vinai took over the CEO duties. I suppose the perfect scenario for you would be Arteta manager Raul with less power and who exactly pulling the strings at the club? Surely not the manager they should have no power according to you and surely not the DOF. Maybe the head chef
Receding Er because we have a quality midfield quartet. Because we have the best strike duo in the league. Beacuse we have quality and experienced centre halves and two great attacking full backs Because we have a manager who knows how to tactically out manoeuvre his rivals, Klopp and 5-1 aside (he’s bested him every time he’s encountered him) Because spurs have lost both of their goal scorers Because Chelsea are shit under Sarri and directionless Because United are full of overrated brats and have an inexperienced manager on arteta levels who’s inferior to the class, style and tactical nous… Read more »
Didn’t moan. we weren’t second best either, Tottenham choked and handed us second place behind Leicester
RH
Not what the table said!!
The table never lies after all does it??
Laca…What a guy. How do I get a physique like that?. I’ve got handles on my love handles.
The table never lies after all does it??
Nope it doesn’t
The table clearly showed Spurs choked
Also
Maybe emery is playing a blinder with Ozil. Revving him up, ready to unleash on the league for the next 4 months teeing up the league’s most lethal and clinical strike duo.
With the stability of Guendouzi Torreira Xakaha behind them
And the new found solid foundations of
Koscielny and Sokratis begins them.
He may have stumbled upon a gem of a right back in AMN
Like wenger with Lauren and Cole and Kolo Toure at centre half.
Also James Rodriguez isn’t so so he was actually brilliant for them last season it’s just Kovac isn’t keen on him for some reason
The table clearly showed Spurs choked
The table showed arsenal finished second.
Spurs were always going to choke. That’s what they do.
Behind them not begins them
I love all the spinning Un na is making
‘The ‘best strike duo ‘ in the league is not the same as ‘the best best attack the league’
I think people are mistaking the camaraderie between Auba and Laca as something else.
No other club is foolish enough to cram two £55 million strikers on the same team with no wingers or meaningful attacking midfielders.
Don your analysis of our squad is laughable it’s like a kid is analysing our squad. Are you sure your kids are not only jumping on your keyboard causing the grammatical errors but are also causing you to write really poor opinions on the state of Arsenal’s squad? Makes sense mate send them to bed before they make you look even more silly
“We were good enough to win the league that season is what it means, the table disagreed though”
lol I was ironic, but thanks anyway.
Un Na Everything you say reveals an intellectual simplicity and wrongheadedness. That Solskjaer has only previously managed a Norwegian team has nothing to do with whether he has a good tactical mind. Absolutely nothing. And everything he has done at United suggests he has quite a good tactical mind, that he sees certain things simply and clearly and that he explains things to his players in clear and simple terms. Indeed, from what I’ve seen, I’d say Solskjaer may have a better tactical mind than Emery, though this is ultimately impossible to say at the moment for a variety of… Read more »
Hudson Odoi has apparently rejected 85,000 a week from Chelsea. Lad hasn’t done anything of note yet… football is crazy
Un Na “because we have a quality midfield quartet” One of these four is Granit Xhaka, a player who has made more errors leading to opposition goals than any other player in the PL. He’s also neither a 6, nor an 8, nor a 10, nor a “deep lying playmaker,” as some have claimed, as he isn’t a playmaker at all. As for the others, are you including Guendouzi or Ozil? If the former, you’re talking about a promising 19 year old who is prone to indecisiveness and errors. A good player for the future, but he has hardly already… Read more »
Marko
I think Hudson-Odoi just wants to leave and will settle for a lower wage at Bayern.’
He should be commended for declining a wage increase to stay as a reserve.
Indeed, from what I’ve seen, I’d say Solskjaer may have a better tactical mind than Emery, though this is ultimately impossible to say at the moment for a variety of reasons. Fuck off mate. All in all, they have a better squad than us. Ask any manager in the world which squad he’d prefer to have at his disposal and he’d say United’s. I think you probably answered one of the main reasons for the early success of Solskjaer. That and he played 3 teams in the bottom 4 and Bournemouth who are shit as well a bit. Good result… Read more »
That Solskjaer has only previously managed a Norwegian team has nothing to do with whether he has a good tactical mind. Absolutely nothing. And everything he has done at United suggests he has quite a good tactical mind, that he sees certain things simply and clearly and that he explains things to his players in clear and simple terms. Bamford Devils advocate old chum. I completely agree with you there. So by that rationale so could ARTETA for arsenal right? ———————————————— Yes, United don’t have a star-studded defense, but it’s more solid than some think, and they have a good… Read more »
Dissenter true.
quartet”One of these four is Granit Xhaka, a player who has made more errors leading to opposition goals than any other player in the PL. He’s also neither a 6, nor an 8, nor a 10, nor a “deep lying playmaker,” as some have claimed, as he isn’t a playmaker at all. As for the others, are you including Guendouzi or Ozil? If the former, you’re talking about a promising 19 year old who is prone to indecisiveness and errors. A good player for the future, but he has hardly already arrived. If you’re including Ozil, I don’t even need… Read more »
Bam
Oh now Torreira is a poor decision maker??
So we don’t have a quality midfield quartet?
Only Ramsey is quality in that midfield?
The wengeriest of them all……
As for the inane point you continue to repeat, I have already answered it several times, and others have also answered it (and mocked it) above. Please stop filling up the comments with your simple-minded nonsense.
Bamford
You and marko bith weaselled our of answering it yesterday
You and marko bith weaselled our of answering it yesterday
Kids again I suppose
Marko
Na I’m in the bath now old sausage.
Marko Ummm, I’m not sure why I can’t think Solskjaer might be a better tactician than Emery. He has adopted a single formation since arriving, a single starting XI for the most part — an XI that has excluded Lukaku, btw — and they have been playing well-engineered, fluent football ever since. The same cannot be said of Emery. Anyone with eyes and a decent football brain could see that we should be playing both Auba and Laca together through the center, as we did on Saturday. I said this since last season, in fact. None of this is to… Read more »
Funny how you gloss over the fact you weaselled out of answering the question from yesterday though marko
The same cannot be said of Emery. Anyone with eyes and a decent football brain could see that we should be playing both Auba and Laca together through the center, as we did on Saturday. I said this since last season, in fact. None of this is to say Emery is poor or is a poor tactician. It’s a difficult job. However, based on what I’ve seen from the two so far, I think Solskjaer might be the more perceptive of the two.And no, this is not simply a matter of his having the better players. Bamford I completely agree… Read more »
Marko
1.5m wide this bath. Proper bath. Mrs loves it. Kids love it. Shit even I have the odd wash these days just to sit in it
Don your analysis of our squad is laughable it’s like a kid is analysing our squad. Are you sure your kids are not only jumping on your keyboard causing the grammatical errors but are also causing you to write really poor opinions on the state of Arsenal’s squad? Makes sense mate send them to bed before they make you look even more silly Marko So if we do rise up the table now and take 3rd/4th spot would you admit you were wrong? And would it be solely down to emery or the quality of our players or both? After… Read more »
if Arsenal play the same team against Chelsea and Man Utd play all their forwards( as per recent weeks)
Think Friday- we will all be in for an absolute humdinger!
Emery must take the team selection seriously Friday.
Martial and Pogba are head and shoulders above what we have and walk straight into our 1st 11 all day long.
Un Na Well, that might be “basic logic,” but it’s certainly not correct logic. If Emery manages to finish third or fourth, this won’t mean we had the third or fourth best squad in the PL; it will mean that he managed to finish third or fourth with the sixth best squad in the PL, i.e., that he/we overachieved. Just because you finish third doesn’t mean you have the third best squad in the league. This simplistic logic — your calling card — overlooks the contribution of the manager, of tactics, of motivation, of chemistry, of organization. All of these… Read more »
Solskjaer has a far better squad than ours. You really have to be a moron not to challenge with that team…..or be Mourinho.. He has Martial on the bench, a player 3 times better than Iwobi. a keeper who is worth 20 points each season by himself and 5 quality CBs. Its only in midfield that he is below the top 3 and slightly on par with what we have, Also i don’t know what the preoccupation of many with a winger is. Does a winger look any different to any other player?. Laca makes wonderful cross balls for Auba… Read more »
United don’t have a defender that makes our XI, their best striker is Rashford too. Let’s not pretend United have a squad for us to be envious of.
They have unreal spending power and can change that squad in one summer, that’s the difference. The squads aren’t that dissimilar, with a few players living a charmed existence on reputation alone.
Just because you finish third doesn’t mean you have the third best squad in the league. This simplistic logic — your calling card — overlooks the contribution of the manager, of tactics, of motivation, of chemistry, of organization. All of these factors play a role as well.
Bamford
Again. Devils advocate. You’re echoing my sentiments exactly.
Yesterday marko, receding and others claimed that if you finish 6th then your squad is the 6th best.
So you agree with me that it’s not necessarily the case and that there are many other contributing factors?
irrelevant discussions as always….
if someone was to gather information/knowledge about ARSENAL FC on le-grove… he will totally be misled by the comments on here….
the problem with this great club is everyone thinks they know too much, when virtually they know nothing.
mchewwwwwwww…
I would swap any of our current midfielders ( bar LT) for d. Suarez, just for his flair/dribble and little creativity, no arsenal midfielder can even do a nutmeg on an opponent, not even ozil… all they do is pass and pass…
Global
No he doesn’t. Their midfield is actually the best part of their team.
Their attack is overrated and their defence, while extortionate, could not be moulded by Mourinho who continued to ask for more and more defenders as the ones he got turned out to be shite.
Without De Gea that team crashes. He’s the only thing keeping them near the pack.
Bamford
So if you have a squad of players who have outplayed their top 6 opponents in 5/7 games would it be logical to assume that the side in question should theoretically be able to finish above some of those teams?
Benny
Martial maybe. Not Pogba. Massively overrated, girly faced prima Donna. Looks like a an ugly gangly woman too
Globalgunner
Most people wants a winger like Sane, Salah, Mane, Pepe, etc etc, aka a goalscoring, dribbling winger, not someone that just goes to the corner flag and crosses.
We need that to open up park the bus defences and also on the counter. We have 0 players in the team that can consistently beat his man and that is hurting us attacking wise, puts too much pressure on our fullbacks to create chances which in turn weakens our defensive stability.
With the exception of Auba and Laca, the United squad is better than ours.
Even Auba and Mykhi won’t start for them together, only one will get that honor.
Lacazette’s goal was van Persie-esque in its execution. Truly beautiful goal. That first touch was a killer but then to turn and bury it high at such an an angle.
Aubameyang would never score this goal
Dissenter
Ramsey would start for United
Our entire defence starts for United
Lacazette starts for United
Aubameyang starts for United
Only De Gea pogba and maybe matic start for us