Well, well, well… Spurs. What have we here? Looks like another case of the CHOKES. As Dan from the pod put it, what we are witnessing looks very much like a case of ‘Le Spiral de Negativiteé.’
Very amusing. Spurs are reaching a situation where their World Cup battered squad is struggling to make physical ends meet between Champions League and the race for Top 4. Tomorrow, Arsenal will be one point behind them if they win, United will be level points if they win, and if Chelsea ramp up the pressure and win their two games in hand, they will jump them.
Oh my, what a whirlwind this race is. Imagine if Spurs drop into the Europa League after opening the Nike Toilet Bowl? Would be sweet… real sweet. Only worry is the Champions League is looking fairly weak sauce at the minute. So there’s always the horror scenario where they fall up the stairs and win that. Doubtful, but let’s cover the bases so we don’t look silly.
On the Technical Director front, the mighty Monchi has severed ties with Roma in a sweeping week in which the American leadership team also exited their manager. Make no mistake, if they’d wanted to keep the Spaniard, they’d have angled for a fee. The new team looks like it’ll be either Piero Ausilio and Massimiliano Mirabelli as the Sporting Director and Ranieri as the manager. The exLeicester boss is just out here racking up millions in dismissal fees this season, unreal work.
If you want the YES MONCHI IS COMING, take a read of this.
Today’s thoughts are a little more sober because I have done some digging.
His tenure at Roma has been bland. He wheeled and dealed very hard and made zero friends with the local ultras. At an airport, Roma fans shouted, “You have destroyed the team”, to which he responded, “sure you are better… In 6 months I come to take you all one by one ”
What did I say about him looking like a Netflix crime boss? Seems he’s the real deal. Full on John Gotti threats in an airport. Love it.
There are a few questions that have to be asked here… if he’s being panned for moving on talent, you have to work out if that was a command from the American owners. He dropped a 60m euro profit in his first window and an 18m euro profit last summer. If that was to support the new stadium, it simply means the fans aren’t as financially sympathetic as Arsenal’s.
I think the main upset comes from the fact that he hasn’t delivered the hits he was dropping for Sevilla. For me, the big red flag is that last summer, when he had a little more financial freedom to move bodies, his two marquee signings were Nzonzi and Pastore who are both 29 years old and far from elite. If you’re picking them up on free transfers, sure, but dropping 60m euros on them is pretty crazy. For a man that slagged British clubs for being profligate, those two really are perplexing buys.
It’s always good to raid the fan blogs for a bit of blood and thunder opinion. This SB Nation blog gives a very fair overview of his tenure.
On why he failed:
‘The club’s strategic direction comes from the top. I place his failures more on Pallotta’s philosophy of flipping players rather than building a winning team. What I am curious about is whether he was angling his way out prior to the last few weeks. Of course with EDF fired his position was untenable and he had no choice but to resign. I’m disappointed with the decisions he made but surely this Roma side needed at least another year or two before it would reach its peak and represent Monchi’s vision?’
‘Two years is far from sufficient to judge him, which makes his resignation all the tougher to swallow. If, however, we view it as a principled stance in support of EDF and/or his own autonomy as DS, then I can certainly respect that. In the end, I just don’t think his big purchases worked out as quickly as he needed them to, which looked worse in the face of the Salah and Alisson sales. And then there’s the wrinkle we’ll never know: how much independence did he actually have and to what extent was he limited by Roma’s financial health.’
On his failings:
‘The manner in which he short shrifted the defense. His right backs had about two healthy ligaments between them while his left backs were either living on borrowed time (Kolarov) or were too handsome to be good footballers (Santon). The less said about Moreno and Marcano the better. Roma’s defense was a disaster waiting to happen, and as we saw this season, it, uh, happened.’
‘Sometimes it felt as if Monchi would spend big on a name just to have spent big on a name. Pastore and NZonzi spring to mind immediately. Perhaps there were brand concerns at play (I remember there being significant rumors that Qatar Airways funded the Pastore purchase), but he didn’t seem to have a handle on the type of player who could succeed at Roma who was already in their late 20s.’
On his successes:
‘Cengiz Under was a great signing and I’m hopeful we will say the same about Cristante next season. Zaniolo was a remarkable find, kudos.’
‘Zaniolo is the popular answer around here and it truly was a masterpiece from Monchi. But I think Justin Kluivert can truly turn into something special in a year or two. Whether it’s at Roma or another club, that’s the question. Pallotta and co better keep him in Rome as long as possible.’
Conclusion:
The jury is out. He brought in some good young players that didn’t have the chance to show their worth. He made some bad senior signings. He couldn’t mend the defence (gulp). He wasn’t afforded enough time for anyone to make a fair assessment (he also tied himself heavily to Eusebio). Additionally, what I do admire: he took full responsibility for his failings. We lack accountability at Arsenal, the club is always looking for excuses. It takes true leadership to own up to your fuck ups. Extra pertinent when you’ve got Wenger reimagining the StatDNA investment like he unearthed the scouting equivalent of Google Search.
We are in a situation with Monchi like we were with Unai Emery. Both last attained greatness at Sevilla, the big question is: can they level-up? Are we hiring in the Europa League A-listers… or is the magic of the two together like the pairing of Peter Taylor and Brian Clough?
Here are some other questions you have to ponder.
Does our leadership have long-term thinking top of mind?
When Monchi and Emery last worked together, the average age of their signings sat at 27 years old. Emery, Monchi and Raul are big fans of sniffing out bargains from the elite clubs around Europe. Raul, I hear, is a huge fan of Malcolm who has had big issues at Barcelona. No doubt we’ll be in for him in the summer.
Does that strategy have legs? Is that how you make it back to the elite?
The mode of operation that worked best for Monchi was to flip players like houses. Identify value in the market, fix up a player, and shift them on in two seasons. That’s not a longterm view. That’s chasing the instant success dragon in a league where the major clubs are thinking in a more long-term manner.
Denis Suarez was our only punt in January, we’ve barely seen him, but he is exactly the sort of player Monchi hunts down.
The other question I have is this: Is Monchi a great chief scout, or is he a great technical director? Say what you will about Marc Overmars, but he and some of the Ajax European Cup winners have turned the club around. The youth team has churned out some wild players, the senior buys have looked smart, the football is back to its most powerful, and the job that he’s been there since 2013. Ajax has been nowhere, now they are back to resembling their best.
What are Arsenal’s objectives? Who knows… but my worry is that we’re not going to be thinking 10 years ahead. Are we bringing in builders, like Jobs, Hastings or Zuckerberg, or are we bringing in 1 term politicians who need to prove themselves now? We could punt for a brighter instant future and win big, sure, that’d be amazing. The real cost though is what happens if that plan fails. What do we fall back on? What happens if our second attempt at expensive greatness flops?
We fade into terminal mediocrity…
There is a lot riding on this hire. A lot riding on a contacts transfer approach. A lot riding on two people moved on by their clubs under dark clouds.
Could be magic though… it could be.
There’s a huge game today. Top 4 is within spitting distance. Emery seems to have less problems motivating and planning strategems when it comes to bigger sides, though he didn’t do very well against United at the last attempt.
It’s clear that United will be happy to give us possession. They’ll look to find pace on the counter with long diagonal balls. They’ll more than likely lean on the huge wave of luck that’s followed them around. Lukaku is in great form, as is most of their frontline.
We gave up the advantage of freshness when Emery fielded a very strong team in the midweek defeat against Rennes. He’s going to have to dust down those deflated souls and inject some of that energy of Spurs away into the affair.
This is our top 4 cup final. Win and we have by far the best run in. Lose, and those away days are going to look like an uphill struggle.
This is mega. It’s going to be a great game of football. Let’s see what side Emery brings to the battle.
See you in the comments. x
Steve the bitter Chav is alive and well I see
“They won the ” beat Man Utd at home” trophy. Instagram selfies and open bus parade coming up.”
Who’s “they”
You are certainly not a gooner
Why do you keep coming back here?
Just realised that ManUres shirt sponsor is a toilet maker. Very fitting since they play at Old Toilet.
Hold my hands up thought the best we could get was a draw.
Leno Leno Leno.MOTM.
No Bamford is he building the WALL.?
I like AMN’s speed. Eddie also shows some fight. We should play our youngsters more.
Yeah Leno has to be MOTM
Fucking get in.
Let’s enjoy this one win
No need to use it as a wedge to fight silly battles
Poch is engineering his way out of London. Just a shame we couldn’t have got three points against them. If Spuds get pushed out of the CL next year it will be a huge financial dent in them, what with the new stadium and the new contracts they’ve been throwing around.
Well done Arsenal.
For all of you saying that it was a soft penalty, so what?
The red to Torreira was never a red.
AMN and Leno, joint MotM for me.
Again, well done Arsenal.
We need to build on this and not lose to the likes of Brighton because we have a easier “run in.”
If we win all of remaining matches in the EPL, fourth place is ours. It’s that simple.
Emery’s jacket was dripping with peri-peri has he strode off the pitch at the end there.
A winning ugly masterclass lol
Against one of the most pathetic manure side in decades.
I Wish Auba hadn’t miss his penalty at wembley..
Ramsey, ignore him he’s been trying to get us to bite all afternoon.
What man comes on another teams blog and regularly spouts nonsense.
Marko
‘Xhaka’s best game for Arsenal today’
How poor was AMN though, did u watch score an own goal and never put in a tackle all match?
Clueless idiot.
What a lovely weekend. Tottenham lose, Chelsea drop points and we beat Man U to go fourth only one point behind Spurs. Now that’s what I call a result.
Great victory!!! Should give our team a real moral boost heading into the EL 2nd leg game vs Rennes.
So we’re now 15 pts better off than this time last season, that’s 5 wins.
More points and victories away from home already than the whole of last season.
Most points from losing position.
Played Ozil and Ramsey from the start, AMN played and Neketiah came on.
I think we can all agree now after today and Spurs last week that Emery is doing a good job, deserves credit and no question he’s here next season.
Rollen
As an ex wenger advocate I can whole heartedly say I’m delighted today
I’ll never sit and listen to such spite and vitriol toward wenger but I’m an arsenal fan first and foremost andour team winning puts me in a great mood no matter what.
We are 4th
It’s in our hands now
Come on you gunners
Dissenter
True. But it’s refreshing to see that we will be fighting till the end. Normally, by this time, our season is already over.
If we can get past Rennes then we are looking at a very good season.
4 teams playing for 3rd and 4th…
Should be exciting times indeed.
They won the ” beat Man Utd at home” trophy. Instagram selfies and open bus parade coming up
Ok cue predicted youre post match rant lol.
Best formation, best selection.
Ozil lac, aubamklar and rambo in the same team. Good balance.
On.
Don’t let Marko see this, she thinks AMN was our weakest link and has had a shocker.. Yea the bitchy marko
He improved in the second half but he was still poor in the first. I feel like that Rashford free header in stoppage time sums him up as a RB adequate at times sometimes very good but capable of some really idiotic things.
Lots of people had good games today I’d say Xhaka or Leno were MOTM for me.
Bloody superb!
I Xhaka didn’t play so well today I would have given MOM to Leno. He saved us big time today and owe the clean sheet mostly to his excellent keeping today.
Leno, Kola, AMN, Xhaka,..all great tonight
If Xhaka didn’t play so well today I would have given MOM to Leno. He saved us big time today and owe the clean sheet mostly to his excellent keeping today.
Aubameyang fooled him with the eyes
I used to do that all the time
Was penalty take for my team for years
The side we picked today should be our default starting 11 , no Mustafi, Licht and Iwobi please.
Emery is a master tactician especially in big games. Plus he uses xhaka well
That Xhaka shot was unsaveable in my opinion
I’m pretty sure it was traveling super fast, the swerve was so bad it looked like a deflection
Gary Neville is knocking De Gea for misjudging it because he has “contract talks ringing in his ears”
AMN second half made about 4-5 important challenges that if man united got in would of probably scored. First half is irrelevant especially when Man United didn’t score.
I enjoyed that immensely. Leno was amazing today.. Motm for me. if somebody teaches him how to deal with high crosses he could be a keeper for the long term… But he read the game beautifully today…. Feels great to be a gooner today…. nice to take advantage of others dropping points.. Long may it continue.. Emery was spot on today.. as bad as he was last match was good for this one. Happy for Auba.. would have got absolutely annihilated had he missed showed courage to take that.. Still a lot of football to be played but that was…… Read more »
Dissenter
March 10, 2019 18:27:03
There are still 7 games to go
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8 to go
Very satisfying beating the arrogant Manx, and the biased goon referee and partially sighted linesmen. Smalling and pogba looked like rugby players at times, such was their pulling and wrestling tackling.
So pleased all these TV “luvvies” that follow the dark side will be silenced for a week…great!!!
The suckers giving Arsenal the thumbs down before this game need flogging.
Leno MOTM.
Jeff
Suck my balls man
Football is a game of opinions but yours is wrong today
Xakha was immense today
Really didn’t expect that win. Well done arsenal.
4th place trophy is coming home.
Marko. AMN was poor in the first half. His positioning was awful. Even in the second half. He really had a good 2nd half, but his positioning was still suspect. He did some spectacular and risky saves, some of which were needed because of his poor positioning.
One half a good game does not a right back make. But credit where credit is due. He did well. Suarez too was very good. Good substitution by Emery there.
Souness is just about to run you through why Jeff
TR7
“The side we picked today should be our default starting 11 , no Mustafi, Licht and Iwobi please.”
I’m sure you will be the first to come out an attack Emery for over-playing these players should they go down to stress-related injuries.
That’s the second time you’ve said something that doesn’t do you justice .
No two games are the same – that’s why you have a manager to make adjustments
I’m really happy of course but that penalty decision is a bummer. Rather we’d won 1 nil without it.
1 point behind The Scum!!
That Xhaka shot was unsaveable in my opinion
What is actually wrong with you. It was very savable he just had a brain fart and stepped to the left for some reason.
Finally seeing Utd run out of luck makes things even more satisfying, they could have had 3 or 4 on another day.
Great stuff!
”If we win all of remaining matches in the EPL, fourth place is ours. It’s that simple.”
We won’t win them all games remaining, lets be objective.
I’m still a little upset at Auba for missing that 90th minute penalty against Spurs – just can’t get the disappointment out of my system. But this weekend has gone a long way in helping me move on.
Danny
Thanks for the correction man
Recovered from your Iwobi hangover yet? 😁😁😁
Except you’re forgetting 1 thing, AMN in not a RB but has been tasked time and again to put in a shift there, of which he has done that today with aplomb, it really says more about his ability that people are having him as MOTM in discussions Yet you thought he was a weak link Well for a start He had a better first half than Ozil and Auba and was clearly our player in the second together with Leno I think many are underestimating the profound effect this result can do for us going forward, UTD were on… Read more »
qna
—–
That’s Niles first start in months and first full 90 in ages, give him a break.
Petty arguments aside, it’s always bloody lovely to beat man u.
Dissenter
March 10, 2019 18:43:42
Recovered from your Iwobi hangover yet?
———————————
He didn’t start and we won, may it continue forever!
Beating those scums is always more than a guilty pleasure.
Great win I can’t remembee the last time we got them in the league
My son is 8 had it been that long?
Souness bang on!
Emery out
Marko
Watch it again
The ball was going towards the left…De gea went the right way then it swerved and veered rightwards
That swerve was a lot, so much is looked like a deflection.
My point is that it would have wrong-footed most keepers
Qna that’s pretty much how I felt about him. Credit where credit is due he was good in the second half but when I criticized him for the first half it was totally justified. Basically I don’t think that he’s a long term solution to RB for us. His best bet to stay long term here is to be a squad player and that’s that.
Marko
Again……
what expensive United defenders should we be aspiring to sign to compete?
Un Battle Angel, you must be the village idiot on here since I just said I gave Xhaka MOM. SMH.
Hope Emery will stand by this starting line up.
AMN wasn’t even poor in the first half. For a player making a return back from injury he was doing well.
He didn’t deserve the opprobrium that Marko sent his way.
Where the hell is GoH ??
Anyone… and I mean anyone who says we are not better under Emery needs their head tested. Much more competitive league than it has been in a long time and we are looking solid.
I said at the beginning of this season I didn’t expect a better position, but just wanted to see us improve in various other aspects and the club are currently exceeding my expectations.
Good win tonight, would have been great had auba scored the pen at Wembley. What a night to be an arsenal fan
Dissenter
We have only 8 games left, shouldn’t be too much of a concern fitness wise. And i don’t have any agenda against Emery. I will continue to praise/ criticise him as I see fit.
“anyone who says we are not better under Emery needs their head tested. ”
Lolz just when I was talking about GoH.
Refs are shit
Refs are bent
However for two consecutive games we have had soft penalties awarded to us.
Just saying
Was getting so sick and tired of the over-the-top excitement around United’s sudden winning streak under fergies pet OGS..
It was like it was headline news…will they give the job to olly, or not,..bkah blah…
This result reminds me of the rooney dive that ended our 49 match unbeaten run….kind of payback in a way.
Problem Highbury legend?
Aaron Ramsey is @premierleague Man of the Match:
• 8 tackles – most in match
• 12 duels won – most in match
• 12.7km covered – most in match
For large parts of the game United were the better team. Some of their off the ball movement and passing was just gorgeous. And that was never a penalty which changed the game in our favour. Having said that fuck United, how many times have we are played them and lost and had shitty decisions against us.. The top four trophy is coming home. 12 points better off with a manager that isnt asleep at the wheel. Some of you here need to acknowledge what an excellent job Emery is doing in his first season mind you. Leno man of… Read more »
No such thing as a brain fart, stupid hipster lingo.
Nobody was saving that, the ball swerved massively and De Gea was going the right way until it swerved, probably helped by the wind.
what expensive United defenders should we be aspiring to sign to compete?
Does it have to be a United defender? You think we’ve turned a defensive corner? Kept a clean sheet today showed we can do it perhaps give them another chance next season perhaps? Nah still major work needed. Still need a RB a LB and a couple CB’s. Would still bin Mustafi, Koscielny and Kolasinac.
Could 2019 have a St Totteringham’s Day?
Leno comfortably man of the match. Didn’t put a foot wrong all game.
Xhaka immense
I’ll take the soft penalties anyway
I’m just tempering down the conspiracy theories Pierre has been peddling lately
Officiating has been poor overall
At the end of the game, I couldn’t recognize OGS when he lost his smile.
Carra and Neville lol
Marko
No I never mentioned anything about turning a corner. I just find your stock idea of us having to spend mega money to get better players dumb.
You’ve cited United in your argument time and again as a side that spends big money on defensive players. So who are these awesome big money names?
Lindelof was shit, Bailly (who you say walks into our XI) watched from the bench.
Petty arguments aside, it’s always bloody lovely to beat man u
_____________
You can say that again Alexander.. feels great.
Every time Xhaka has a good game…people say he’s had his best game for Arsenal
Xhaka has had very good games for Arsenal in the past.
Doesn’t take away anything from his propensity to make errors.
I think Europa League is great insurance for a Champions League spot next season but now I’m thinking going out to Rennes wouldn’t be the end of the world. It would allow us to play a fully rested team until the end of the season and Too 4 being our sole focus could just be enough to carry us through after a great weekend.
Fantastic result and performance,
Leno, AMN, Kola had brilliant games,
Well done Emery. Solid effort all around.
Marko is floundering
Hahaha
Are you really a gooner?
All your poxy calls and predictions fell away today
You’re wrong. You clearly don’t understand football and today more than any other day (there are many) proved how inept your level of assessment actually is.
Stick to camogie madam
Marko
I like Kola as a wing back. He is among the best wing back in the league. Auba could have scored two easy tap in if he anticipate the cross well. He is useful when we play 3 CB’s.
Was listening to Lee Dixon give his pre match assessment, including his opinion on emery. He said emery needs to acquire his own players in the next windows before we can judge him. The size of the task he is facing is immense,.the behind the scenes mess is so much more significant than the fans realise.
After hearing Lee, I’m even more impressed with emery…it would appear the job he has undertaken is much harder than we realise.
I thought Ramsey was very disciplined today. Really selfless and efficient but with Xhaka it’s less of a norm more of a rarity. He played more like that the last two seasons he’d be on 200,000 a week and it’d be warranted.
Are we glossing over Ozil today because we won? I feel like he was really non-existent today
Emery is just doing the same tedious top 4 trophy thing the specialist in failure did for years. Nothing special. He’s an average manager.
Every time Xhaka has a good game…people say he’s had his best game for Arsenal”
I don’t think I’ve ever praised Xhaka before today’s game, he did everything that you’d expect except without the stupid mistakes.
Bacary
Hmmm,…not so sure about that idea
We have to take the Europa League very seriously.
A loss midweek didn’t stop us from doing well today
Besides every club in that top 6 race will still have European commitments come next Friday morning.
Players of the Game:
1. Xhaka
2. Leno
3. Kolasinac
4.Ramsey
5. Sokratis
6=Kozzer, Montreal, AMN and Ozil, Laca
11. Aubameyang (but he’s still a great asset)
6. M
The other thing that makes today’s performance so good is that most of that team played a few days ago for most of a match with only 10 men. Huge effort for the guys that backed up today. Should not be understated.
All the starting 11 played well
We rode our luck well which is okay because United have had some very lucky victories in their purple patch run.
To Emery’s credit, we don’t seem to be so childish in our defending anymore. We are learning to defend and manage games. Our forward play and build up play has looked really ponderous at times this season, but that can improve.
Emery might or might not be the right man – but he has had a decent season so far.
I just find your stock idea of us having to spend mega money to get better players dumb.
Duly noted. I find you expecting 10-25 million to drastically improve us inside a few months to be stupid. I find your general impatient attitude towards the club post Wenger to be pathetic really.
We got our miracle. United have a psychological effect on us so us winning means a lot to me.
All your poxy calls and predictions fell away today
What calls and predictions? I always thought that we’d win the game even after the Rennes debacle
Love beating United
Dissenter
Why are you so fucking negative mate? We won. Our rivals didn’t
Xakha was our best player.
This highlights the difference between the London and non London contingent on Le grove. You just don’t get it. You are looking at arsenal through the lens of a man without true tribal passion
That’s what you’re missing out on. I like you. But you’re missing out. You just aren’t getting it.
Stick to camogie madam
LMAO, for some reasons this really cracked me up