The manager will be here this summer, of that there is no doubt. My view is things should be improving more rapidly than they are. That view is shared by people who work in and around the club, and those who are paid to write about it on the regular. There is a counter to my view that also makes sense, that is that Emery is grinding out ugly results and we’re in the mixer, which is all anyone ever wanted. His view on taking top 4 is to scrap like a prizefighter and worry about how that looks in the summer.
I just wanted to touch of a few of the arguments. One consistent theme I keep hearing is that the manager doesn’t have the players to affect the performance. I find this view maddening.
Benrd Leno – Internationally capped keeper and a huge upgrade on a declining Cech. The best keeper we’ve had since Lehmann.
Sokratis – Has won titles in Germany, is a natural leader, we all love him because he is mean to other players.
Kola – Bundesliga team of the season. Has 5 assists to his name this year.
Bellerin – Was having a great season. Was tracked by Barca in the summer. One of the best young right backs in the world. Injured, sure, but our defence has been shite all season and he was here for 19 games. Also landed 5 assists.
Koscielny – Would have captained France had he not been injured. Has come back and settled pretty well.
Monreal – Capped for Spain, has been a high performer over the years, even if his pace is in decline.
Torreira – The first proper DM we’ve had since Patrick Vieira, a superb player. Looked off form of late, but that seems more due to fatigue and the box to box rampage he’s on of late.
Matteo G – 19, but one of our best performers this season.
Xhaka – Captain of Switzerland, master of stats, a player the savants adore.
Mikhi – Title winner at Dortmund. Hasn’t been great, but he’s capable and he assisted the assister. I think we missed him.
Auba – The most clinical striker we’ve had since Thierry. 3rd in EPL top scorers
Lacazette – We all love him. What a striker, probably our most valuable player. Hugely effective. Top 10 EPL scorers. Maybe as cool as Bowie himself. Incredible finisher.
Ramsey – So good, Allegri signed him at Juve. Has played 921 EPL minutes this year.
Mesut – Broken for sure, but the closest thing to world class we have.
Please, spare me the ‘ this squad is so shite’ nonsense. It simply doesn’t correlate with reality or our current league position. It’s so subjective and the margins are paper thin. Chelsea finished 5th last year and are 6th this year under a new manager. They’ve not had a striker all year, given the context of what they are trying to do, is their squad so much better than ours? They’re playing Kante in an advanced position, Jorginho is shite, DL has been targeted, Barkley is awful, their defence shipped 6 vs City and 4 vs Bournemouth, their hail mary was signing Higuain who looks more out of shape than the Tango man. That squad didn’t deliver under Conte in season 2 and it’s failing miserably under a manager who can’t convince the players fancy football is the future. Chelsea didn’t invest in Sarri in the same way many think Arsenal didn’t invest in Emery. They swapped like for like with keepers and added Kovacic on loan and Jorginho was their big signing (and he’s tanked). Will he land a season 2? Doubtful if the players go any harder at ending him.
We should be doing better on the pitch. Our lack of pressing is a focus and discipline issue. You can teach it. There’s no magic approach, you just need to enforce it. Mesut Ozil was dropped because he wouldn’t do it, yet here we are, Mesutless and still not doing it? Spurs press. Leipzig press. Dortmund press. Liverpool press. Why do we not press effectively?
Style should be fairly straight-forward to impose. Emery isn’t teaching Stoke players to express themselves without violence. He’s trying to get players who have literally only artistically expressed themselves for ten years to channel the fancy into something more practical. What I don’t expect is the style to work immediately, however, we’re not even seeing a bad version of the vision, unless I’m missing something?
Klopp went into Liverpool with a shite squad, he had his team playing heavy metal football with average bodies and the big thing was: ‘He just needs a good center back’
Pep implemented his expressive brand of football and he hobbled to 4th in the first season. It was clear what the plan was. They were the best team in the league transitioning from midfield to attack, but they couldn’t play out of the back. So he went out and upgraded on Bacary Sagna at center back and invested in fullbacks better than Zabaleta and Clichy.
Wenger came to Arsenal in October from Japan (no pre-season), added Anelka, Paddy, Garde (relative nobodies) and transformed a group of alcoholics (late in their careers) known for shit football into a team that finished 3rd (joint with 2nd/4th on points) in year one. Anyone doubt where the club was heading? Think about what he did for a second, it was unbelievable, and you think Emery has it bad?
Bielsa taught Championship players his ways, they play explosive attacking football with an outrageously aggressive press. Favre has Dortmund back to their best. Even Stevie G has brought some vision to Rangers in Scotland. My point here is these teams all have worse players, but that hasn’t stopped a vision emerging on the pitch. Even Paddy has Nice conceding under a goal game @ 0.96 down from 1.36.
Arsenal don’t have an ‘if you just did this’ list of players. Why? Because no one knows what we’re shooting for. What was the point of Suarez as far as you can tell? Arsenal don’t have a settled formation. Does anyone think a couple of wide players blows this team up next season? Would that solve for the lack of pressing and the porous defence? I’m not so sure.
Signing a keeper good with his feet hasn’t led to us playing out the back more, against Huddersfield Leno went short 7 times (12% of his total passes). We have defenders who can pass, so what’s the excuse for the hoof? Nacho dropped 85% pass completion, Kos was 90%, Mustafi 74% (iffy, but not awful considering how poor he’s been).
The only plan Emery does rigidly stick to is using his fullbacks to transition the ball forward, which was strugglebus.com against Huddersfield. Kola had particularly bad numbers, but nowhere near the as poor as AMN. You’d take him over Lichtsteiner or Jenko, so obviously I can feel for Emery there. The club is going to need to upgrade there this summer for sure.
It’s crazy to think the club saw a presentation last May that basically said it’s all shit and I have nothing to work, but that’s the narrative now.
My worry here is when I think about the type of players Emery REALLY wanted to solve our issues. Banega, Carrasco, Perisic, Nzonzi and Suarez. Are we moving forward with names like this?
A comment from Valentin in the comments:
At PSG Emery got his own players. All of them flopped and failed to adapt for the more aggressive Ligue 1. He got Krychowiak a year later he was on loan at WestmBrom where he helped to get them relegated. He got Jese, six months later he is on loan at Stoke that he helped get relegated.
Emery tends to favour players he is familiar with. Players who will be grateful for the opportunity and will obey diligently his instructions. The problem is that now he is at a higher level of club, being a diligent tidy players is not enough. You need special talent and none of them ever had that.
Ever Banega, Suarez are good decent players but for the sort of money/salary you expect more. None of them look like the kind of talent that will propel Arsenal forward and catch Liverpool or ManCity.
Broader point: The football is subpar and the fans who go to games are not showing up. The atmosphere is totally sterile. There is no excitement around the club.
However, let’s talk about what is incredible, amazing, and positively life-affirming. For all the cries of ‘we are shit’ from the Emery flag wavers, we are actually sitting in 5th, 1 point behind a resurgent United. We have been dire to watch all season, but we are closer than spitting distance to top four, we’re so tight in on them you can smell the Lynx Africa emanating from the sweaty jowels of Phil Jones. United’s next three games are PSG, Chelsea (FA Cup) then Liverpool, then Palace away. All potential bread mops ready to wipe out the OGS gravy train.
Our next two games are against Bate, who have finished their season. We can rest our players weary legs, then go HARD at Southampton and Bournemouth who we welcome at home. Confidence could be SOARING HIGH before we go to Wembley to topple Spurs annoyingly positive season, followed by United (H), and Wolves (A).
The absolute magic of Emery is that we have been dreadful, but we are still more than in it… he has made winning ugly an art form and it’s working… and really, in the Europa League, we only have to worry about Chelsea (who look finished) and Napoli.
Additionally, the summer is all for Emery. He will have a full preseason. He’ll get to spend £40-100m. I don’t think we’re playing in a tournament. He’ll have all his ducks in order to go hard at next season. Then we’ll see where the football is… then we shall see if patience was indeed a virtue.
Ok, that’s me done. See you in the comments. x
Would have been nice if responses to a certain poster isn’t deleted once they are made.
I mean who devotes their time to completely rubbish the works of a manager who only spent two years at a football club?
Gambon
David Villa and David Silva didn’t fall out with Unai.
Azed
They didn’t want to hang around did they.
Valentin
Honestly based on everything you write here, it’s obvious that PSG are not a serious club.
It’s what happened when a nation state decide to adopt a new club [founded on August 12, 1970] and spend like there’s no tomorrow.
Any club that allows hipster footballers like Meunier to go around the manager to talk to the owners are jokers. It’s tedious reading you give blow-by-blow account of PSG. We have nothing to learn from them.
That said I like some of the real football stuff you post here.
One minute Emery is power grabbing at PSG to bring in rubbish players, the next minute he has no power and the players all hate him including the fans.
Get your story straight
“However Mbappe, who scored 21 goals and provided 16 assists in 46 appearances last season, was full of praise for the now Arsenal manager and the impact he had on his game.
“Unai Emery taught me to be more decisive, to have that desire to score goals,” Mbappe said
Yep Gambon, Unai falls out with everyone.
Rambo 400K a week
wow
Bennydevito
How bad was he last season under Ozil ..
Remember all the functional stories in the media that he was taking holidays , faking injuries etc and he still managed to be the 2nd most creative player in the league.
He must be some kind of genius to be be able to produce figures like that whilst on holiday, faking injuries and being a lazy waste of space on the pitch who has no commitment.
“They didn’t want to hang around did they.”
Yeah Gambon
They decided they would rather stay in Valencia than move to Barca and City.
I guess you also think C.Ronaldo left Man Utd because he didn’t like Ferguson and Pogba left Juve because he fell out with Allegri.
They moved to bigger clubs Gambon, that was actually the business model for those clubs. Same way Coutinho left Klopps hugs to go play for Barca.
Fictional(functional)
Silva asked to leave because Emery told him to stop creating chances.
He said he only wants full backs to create chances.
“They moved to bigger clubs Gambon, that was actually the business model for those clubs. Same way Coutinho left Klopps hugs to go play for Barca.”
RH
What the f**k are you talking about? Coutinho left Liverpool because he didn’t like Klopp.
Mbappe left Monaco because he didn’t like Jardim.
Neymar left Barca because he didn’t Enrique or Valverde.
OK that makes sense Gambon …
I have seen the light
“”””Silva asked to leave because Emery told him to stop creating chances”””::
Is that really true?
CG
They don’t have sarcasm in South Africa?
That explains a lot actually.
Charlie George
You’re showing anger and frustration after only 9 months of Emery.
Imagine how I felt after ten years of Wenger.
Ramsey on 400K? Which games were Juve manager and scouts watching?
A decision which will become a financial albatross around their necks for years to come. Wont take 45 mins to realise what a mistake they have made.
Sums up the player greed, mismanagement and everything wrong with modern football.
Monumental waste of money by Juve.
This blog is getting tedious!
Valentin, can you explain the backstabbing comment wiht Henrique?
Dybala is quality but he’s more a player that you have to build your entire team around hence his struggles to fit into Juventus’ side with Ronaldo and the Argentina NT with Messi.
He’s not at that level to warrant an elite team to build around him ala Messi or Ronaldo with respect to his quality. So I doubt that Real Madrid go in for him.
Hazard is much more compatible with top teams, he’d fit into any top side.
G8, yellow card.
Pedro you celebrating valentin 3 days earlier? Too soon for the roses man!
G8, stop DMing me all the time for transfer secrets
Rambo – take the money and run.
We could not have had a worse case than Ozil
Good thing the club pulled the plug- dude was trying and DID get a huge pay day
glad it is not with us.
Pace/change of pace is just huge in the modern game, separates the world class from the elite there’s no getting away from it.
As much as I like Firmino for example, Mane fits better into most top sides due to his versatility that his change of pace brings.
Firmino’s the better baller but I’d rather have Mane.
What do you prefer?
Grinding out results after just 9 months at the helm, of a very unstable vessel,or getting thumped 10-2 by BM in embarrassing fashion, infront of a worldwide audience, after 20 years in charge?
Another no brainer………right?
Dybala would never come to us.
We need to pluck whomever does the scouting at Lyon.
Young, technical talented players…
I wouldn’t bother with Brexity CG, sat here typing his daily nonsense about everything British all the way from South Africa.
Marko, just the sin bin.
Remember who runs this blog. Respectfully disagree.
Call me a liar or question my integrity, I don’t care how long you’ve been blogging here, I’ll bin you.
Pete
Pedro lol,..
if you want the French news Karim is the man. as delboy would eloquently put it;
the “creme de la creme”
“Le dessus du panier”
This valentin dude dont know shit!
“This valentin dude dont know shit!”
I wholly agree.
PSG captain Thiago Silva backs Emery to stay on as manager Joe Wright Last updated 9 months ago The PSG boss is expected to be replaced as before next season, but he has the backing of his club captain Thiago Silva wants Unai Emery to stay on as Paris Saint-Germain head coach, despite their failure in the Champions League this season. A meek last-16 exit at the hands of Real Madrid means Emery is widely expected to be replaced at the end of the campaign, with former Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel the favourite to take charge. Emery’s inability to… Read more »
G8, he seems to be pretty spot on to me. Knows his tactics, the markets for players, has a great understanding of PSG and Ligue 1 in general.
Bleating on that he doesn’t know because you’re bored doesn’t make it so.
David Silva – “I know Unai Emery personally and I know that’s he going to get the absolute best that he can out of that squad (Arsenal) of players, he’s a top manager.”
Thiago talking about Emery after he’d left: 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. On Neymar playing better: Of course. He understood as everybody understood because these are things 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… Read more »
Munier didn’t like him. Ben Arfa said he wasn’t elite. Thiago as above. Neymar ran riot around him.
A bit like Valentin said… he needs people who can follow orders, doesn’t have the ability to deal with elite players.
Pedro
He has been able to work with Auba- another primadonna and also has the guts to stand up to Ozil and his shit show
What coach would prefer head cases?
Results at the end of the day are what keep coaches employed
Mbappe
““Unai Emery taught me to be more decisive, to have that desire to score goals,” Mbappe said. ”
Pedro
I’m pretty sure Mbappe is more elite than Thiago, Munier and Ben Arfa.
I think if we go looking we will find negative things said about any manager by ex players. Especially players who get a new manager every two years.
Bit of a non story.
Will wait to see PSG win the champions league now they are liberated.
Although it’s worth noting half the squad are injured, those Emery double sessions still taking its toll on the poor dears
Guns, Auba isn’t a headcase.
[The coaching team’s] attitude, even at the most difficult moments, meant that the players felt more relaxed on the pitch. And that’s what I found personally.” – Juan Mata on being coached by Emery and his staff in Unai Emery El Maestro
What integrity? You binned me because I spoke out against a falsehood. No insults no nothing just straight up binned. It’s alright mate don’t worry about it. Let the xenophobe (Charlie George) and the guy who was banned for homophobic remarks (Don) remain after all they share the exact same opinion of Emery as you. If that’s how you deal with criticism so be it. Everytime you say he was to blame for Sven leaving or that he’s behind our transfer dealings going forward you’re wrong you continue to say that and expect to not get any push back is… Read more »
Pedro
All rather irrelevant what previous players say init .
It’s all about here an now,
Why do you perpetually have to to have insidious digs at emery,
From reading the blog for many years is this because we didn’t get a major big name? Or is this because your call for arteta was overlooked as tominexperinced .
If emery is booted out then come out with all stories an rerun your rant for whoever your choice maybe at that time…
But whoa whoa whoa … on the negative stuff hombre
And then you take me out of moderation. FFS I’m off
“”He’s a great manager, and above all a great person.” – David Villa in Unai Emery El Maestro
So much for Unai doesn’t like elite players…
Munier, Thiago and Ben Arfa are not fit to clean the boots of David Villa, David Silva and Mbappe.
3 of them are elite players and they all say Unai is a great coach but lets take Valentin (the guy who thinks Raul still signs players for Barcelonas) word.
Pedro
A while ago you said you ere maybe gonna tinkle with the blog…
You still looking at 5hat .?
Maybe where people can reply underneath to postings ?
NewCastle’s goalie… LOL! Give up a goal with the last kick of the game.
Pedro
Remember the headache he was at Dortmund? Refusing to practice etc.
Hes tinkled by trolling his audience daily 😉
“Remember the headache he was at Dortmund? Refusing to practice etc.”
GSF
If he admits this, then he can’t say Unai has problems with elite players.
Second time hes done that in last month
Take a deep breath Marko… Calm down.
Rafa again showing how to go away to a better side with a plan and execute.
Wolves lucky as you like with the last kick of the game, embarrassing goalkeeping 1-1
Of the four Spanish clubs he has managed so far, none was in a stable condition when Emery took over – some of the clubs were famous but were debt ridden while the others just could not find the money to back their manager. So, Emery had to adjust himself to these constraints and this might be one of the reasons for the pragmatic approach he often adopts. Unai Emery usually favors the 4-2-3-1 formation with a touch of 4-3-3 to it. Great flexibility in the midfield is one of the characteristics of his teams. Ever since his time at… Read more »
“Rafa again showing how to go away to a better side with a plan and execute.”
So why is Newcastle still 16th?
I don’t know whether Lucas Moura is an elite player. I remember he once said that life under Emery is the worst in his football life. I think Ozil must be feeling the same thing.
Only just been able to get online. Sorry if it’s been done to death. Just have to say it.
£400k. Per. Week.
WTF????
Inside
Fucking good luck to him…
83m in 5 years…
Fucking superb…for the ladan his family…
CC
““Rafa again showing how to go away to a better side with a plan and execute.”So why is Newcastle still 16th?”
Please address this point that was earlier directed to you by azed.
Emery does seem to upset a huge amount of players though.
“Mr Emery is a fucking loser. He used to send me to go and buy butter to grease up his hair”
Dani Alves
The warning signs were all over the place with Emery
Failed to win Ligue 1 in his first season there
Fucked up a 4-0 aggregate score against Barca
Managed to not win a single away game with Sevilla in 15/16.
16 is a miracle with Newcastle or so I have been told .
A point outside the drop zone with this tactical genius…exciting times over at Tyneside
Hook line and sinker 😂
That Dani Alves quote does it for me
Valentin you have a new convert.
EMERY OUT!!!
“Mr Emery thought Rabiot’s mum was fit, but Neymar found net”
Julian Draxler
PSG is a freaking clown show
Any club that lets players run to the owner to undermine a manager isn’t worth a mention
If the sultan of Brunei buys Boreham wood and they start winning stuff, do they become the template for Arsenal to find success?
Well one could argue that Arsenal is a clown show, look no further than Rambo leaving on a free and what Juve are willing to pay.
All the while groping others for potential loan moves with the leagues 2nd most expensive player frozen out.
Its really difficult to bottle things that bad.
Pedro, I am not bored of all the negativity against Emery, far from it, iam just amazed that all them people went to hell and back defending Wenger and his systematic destruction of the club all those years.. ,yet couldn’t wait to get their knives out bollocking the new manager 6 months in his 1st season.. If it was x,y z manager you would bet your ass it be the same..it’s all bollox Being Spanish, bad teeth, alienating ozil, causing players injuries, not extending Ramsey, cazorla, wilshere contracts. AMN is the next dani alves No he is the next veira,… Read more »
juve will never pay that some to Ramsey. those are baseless sum quoted by the media. this is not the UK. juve don’t pay in £ but € let that sink in.
pedders from that list, you can take out xhaka (a player every One criticizes every time he is on the pitch, but you need to add names on your list, so you put him there), mesut, someone who is leaching off the club. Every game he’s played, he’s disappeared unless it’s an occasional Leicester. Mhiki, he’s got talent, but if he isn’t good enough for utd, why is he good enough for arsenal ? kos the boss, people were arguing before the season started that he’s finished as a top defender. He shouldn’t be in the starting 11 next season.… Read more »
azed
Mabappe also things highly of Wenger; I am quite sure you know what to make of that.
G8 I think alot of folks are on Emery case because, maybe, he made some public relation errors. Plus there is the curse of the 22 match unbeaten run. My own personal feel is that Emery got me excited at the start of the season. He said things I wanted to hear. 1. We want to be the protagonist of the match 2. Play out of the back 3. Do the high press That is like music to my AKB ears. We can see the team trying to do that at the start of the season, it wasn’t pretty but… Read more »
I wonder what legal right AFC have to cancel Ozil’s contract due to missed games from sickness or persistent injuries?
Do football contracts have Force Majeure in them as were/are still used in record company and management/artist contracts?
Anyone?
Pedro
Was your comment regarding your concern regarding The Sun quoting any such polls etc you added to the blog tongue in cheek?
If not, then why would you want to shun additional branding you’d accumulate from such quotes/polls, and why only think that it would only be a Murdock tabloid that would quote Le Grove’s results?
The broadsheets’ sport’s correspondents are often quoted here, so I would have thought there would be a quid pro quo potential here.
With any such media strengthening connections made, wouldn’t that give you more validation from AFC in gaining more inside information?
Tony, I don’t mind writing for a small bunch of fanatics. I don’t really want to disrupt the club at a National level. I also trust where I get my info from, so I don’t really seek out new people.
Was wondering about the Ozil contract situation too. There’d be enough data to show he’s not working hard, right?
Ok, that makes sense and I’m very appreciative of the quality work you put in even if I don’t subscribe to all your POVs.
Regarding Ozil, I would have thought there’s enough data but would depend on what is in the contract clause wise.
If the same situation was in a corporate environment, I’m sure there would be grounds for termination.
Wasn’t ES in the legal profession? Perhaps he can shed some light here.
Tony
There are grounds for termination, but unless Ozil refuses to play or train, there is nothing you can do.
Otherwise things like transfer fees wouldn’t make sense.
I remembered Winston Bograde sitting on his contract at Chelsea and absolutely refuses to budge. They didn’t even play him for the U21s. Plus they made him train alone. Which was really disgraceful because unlike us, they did not have any budget problems.
Thanks Tony!
Dark Hei Wouldn’t you think that with a £50+million contract there would be clauses to protect the club from sickness and or persistent injury (in Ozil’s case back & knee) resulting in the player missing a substantial number of games? Jenks is sitting on his contract while willing to play, but Ozil is claiming sickness and or injuries for not playing. I’ve seen plenty of record company and management contracts but never a sports contract so have no idea of contractual points and obligations from both the player and club. Force Majeure should be in place with set guidance and… Read more »
Come on Pedro so some polls for fun
Regarding Ozil, the fans deserve an explanation. The club( not just Emery) need to tell us what exactly is going on. Of course, based on the complete lack of transparency at the club over the past decade or so, we all know this is never going to happen. Lies, lies and even more lies, mixed in with the correct amount of BS and you have the perfect ingredients that have made AFC such a magical place these past few years. I also know nothing about Football based contracts, but what I do know is that AFC have once again mismanaged… Read more »
I agree I’ve been to enough strip clubs to know.. Polls are fun. Cheetah Club .. in Las Vegas ..epic night. However some Polls are not fun. Remember when Szczczceczesny would go on walk about at the most important moments in a match.. Oh well.. I think it’s possible to just have a gut feeling Emery will not succeed but I think the things Pedro is using to justify it … is fake news. Power grab… should be doing better because our squad is so amazing ..Everyone else is doing it like Stevie G.. etc.. … it just doesn’t ring… Read more »
First year in Premier League that is.
Dark Hei 2. Play out of the back 3. Do the high press?? Why would that be music to anyone ears? 2) Surely defenders jobs -are to defend and Goalkeepers to make saves .. Why do We want our defenders / goalkeepers to play pretty little innocuous passes to each other.? Get the ball forward ( it’s exciting) into the space for PEA , Laca and the likes of Rambo to run into? 3) do the high press- ( please advise me) is it a gymnastics manoeuvre.? And do you want them to High Pressing in: Training Pre season tours… Read more »
CG My favorite Arsenal lineup was the 4-2-3-1 with Santi-Coquelin pviot. It was, in my opinion, a very creative starting lineup and the football was so beautiful and exciting and effective. It also played out the back, adopted the high press and kept a high line. Yes, with big Per and all. And it was quite utterly unbeatable. The only thing that beat us were injuries and Wenger’s squad management. So, yes, I thought Emery sounded really confident. From that lineup, we do not have Sanchez, Coquelin or Cazorla anymore. But we now have Toerreira, MG, Mik who are in… Read more »
Dark Hei
I still don’t really understand this high pressing malarkey…
You play a high line – surely opposition’s players will look to run into it.
I understand a coach- could get his players ( high pressing? -In a tournament)
After all its a max of 7 games.
But you think you can do this High Pressing over a 10 month season over in The UK?
Please explain in layman’s terms what your definition of High Pressing is ,please?
Ozil hides in big games cos he does his one trick which is go to the flanks and try to pass the ball to someone in the around the 18 yard box (expecting a Stevie Gerard shot).Another is to cross from said the left flank, also, usually awful into the box. He’s not a man to turn to when going gets tough. He’s good on the ball but a coward nonetheless. Ramsey’s deal doesn’t bother me cos The Ox injured for 80% of time at Liverpool. Wilshere the smoker(do you know he was roomies with Szczesny at some point?)At least… Read more »
MWG: However some Polls are not fun. Remember when Szczczceczesny would go on walk about at the most important moments in a match.. And Flappyhandski. But Leno has me worried. He seems to come for a lot of balls that he doesn’t get to. Cech was doing the same last season, but in a short number of games, its something that already stands out about Leno. Hopefully, if we ever get our back 6 organised and settled then this wont happen. I reckon any keeper would naturally take into account his confidence in his defenders to deal with something when… Read more »
This summer Fabianski was available at a cheaper price than Leno. Fabianski would also have filled the quota of both club and home grown player.
Leno has made some mistakes, but not yet the big clanger he was prone to before. He is a decent keeper, but I don’t see him reaching the level of Courtois, De Grand, Allison, or Even szcechny for that matter. At least we got rid of the incompetent goal keeping staff. Every goalkeepers who joined us regressed under them.
De Gea normalement De Grand.
Auto-correct!
Lucas Fabianski is 33 years old
Our defensive personnel is simply not good enough. Also the competition in the PL is much fiercer now than in the 90s. How many of our squad would walk into the other top 6’s squads?
Fabianski left Arsenal on a free transfer and we were supposed to pay Swansea 7m pounds to bring him back to the club at the age of 33 to fulfill a hoe grown quota …yes that’s really sound squad planning.
We should have some of you running the club.
All the keepers listed above as Mustard have already dropped their own fair share of clangers this season..every goal keeper makes mistakes.
“But Leno has me worried. He seems to come for a lot of balls that he doesn’t get to”
I remember during last game, he came out and attempted to punch the ball. But he was at least two meter short.How can a goalkeeper misjudge the ball so much?
By the way, the Newcastle goalie is so much worse. Deep in exact time, he misjudged a high ball. He let the ball bounded against some part of his body and dropped into his own net.
CG High line + high press allows you to bombard the opposition goal. You can’t do a high press without a high line. It does not work because the team becomes stretched and there are gaps between your lines. When it is done correctly, even when you lose the ball, opposing teams are forced to go back to their GK, or you force a turnover near their goal. The tactic requires certain type of players. But the typical template is that your attacking players need that dynamism and they need very good technique since you are winning possession in tight… Read more »
I’m pretty sure Fabiansky does not wish to have anything to do with Arsenal again.
Both Sczezny and Fabiansky openly mocked Gerry Peyton’s methods. To amazing to think that was the GK coach that Wenger kept in place for 15 years.
Just mind blogging to think that our rot started insidiously under Wenger a longtime ago
That Fabianski shout was poor, if we’re being entirely honest. And this is the problem with a lot of arsenal supporters: Wenger literally reduced some of you to subservant beings.
Has it not occurred to you that Fabianski has found his level. Yet you wanted to bring him back based on HG quota and price. Fucking hell
Thanks Dark Hei
“””You can’t do a high press without a high line. It does not work because the team becomes stretched and there are gaps between your lines”””
Couple of questions, though::
You expect this dynamic style to played over a 10 month season?
Do 3 time ,recent CL winners- Real Madrid play this style?
Or OGS Man Utd ‘ s team?
Who are the arch propoenets (team)of this HP style?