Don Raul: Architect of Emery disaster. What does round 2 bring?

by .

I am so sorry that I broke the website. I needed to freshen up things and I made the Unai Emery of IT choices. Will be fixed today.

Don Raul has been at Arsenal for about two years now.

He has overseen the rebuild of Arsenal in the post-Wenger era.

I think it’s time to ask questions about the direction he’s taking Arsenal.

Unai Emery was his decision. The Basqueman was brought in through the back door after Ivan Gazidis lost his nerve during the recruitment process. We interviewed Unai on the 10th of May and hired him on the 18th. The interview process started on April 25th, the club knew they were firing Wenger in January. Raul, without doubt, had to act as the translator in the interview. Ivan doesn’t speak Spanish, nor does Ivan Gazidis. Together, they all agreed that they were inspired by Unai Emery.

Ivan specifically noted that no one during the process pulled out. Allegri and Rangnick were on that list. We ignored Conte, Rodger and Jardim.

Absorb how hilarious the criteria list now looks:

“We had some clear criteria that we were looking for in our selection, the first was progressive, entertaining football, a personality that fits with Arsenal’s values and also a record of developing players, in particular, young players through detailed, tactical instruction and also through cultural demands, pushing players and demanding more from them.

“Obviously all football clubs have an ongoing review process, but we looked through and analysed on the basis that every coach in the world would be interested in this position. We don’t believe there is a position in world football that is more attractive than Arsenal Football Club and having gone through that process and series of references, and a good deal of analysis, we created a long-list, an eight-person list.

The list of Emery traits is even more perplexing.

“He came in extraordinarily well-prepared, with a detailed knowledge of Arsenal Football Club. He had an analysis to share with us, not just of his ways of working and of his ways of coaching, and the team of people he works with, but he had an analysis of all of our individual players, their qualities and how he feels he can help them develop individually and collectively – in detail. Also an in-depth knowledge of our off-the-field team, and how they can contribute and how Unai’s team would mesh with them productively.

I’ve not seen much of the above come through during his tenure and we’re over 15 months in. I am going to be honest here, I’m not sure the PowerPoint Emery came in with was the visionary document our leadership team would have you believe.

Did it involve binning off Ramsey? Alienating Mesut Ozil? Playing a brand of football that has the stadium as empty as it was for the dark days of Wenger FOR A SATURDAY 3PM GAME? Did it involve Xhaka as the central figure in our midfield… etc etc.

Ivan spun us a yarn about a detailed search and select process when in reality, we made a desperate panic purchase. Even basic due diligence would have uncovered the consistent passing up of leads, a bad record with big egos, difficulty learning new languages, an inability to build defences, and a reputation for desperately negative football.

Raul must be suffering buyers remorse. He bought a Robin Reliant on Ebay after 10 beers and he’s trying to convince car experts it’s a Porsche 911.

Emery put the kids out against a very average Vitoria side yesterday and flunked the tie. Europa League football was his comfort blanket, a weekly moment we could all rely on to forget the demise of our great club, but not yesterday. We managed 1 shot on target. We conceded 15 attempts, Vitoria had 4 on target. We took our 4th lead in 4 games and gave it up.

This is not a player issue, this is a coaching standards problem. Emery actually thought the defending was good.

Watching our manager in the rain hiding under his hood reminded me of Steve McClaren with the brolly when he was the England manager. He’s beaten. I’m not sure he knows how to fix a squad that doesn’t want to respond to ideas.

It’s clear this isn’t a long term solution, but the big fear is what comes next.

Raul thought Unai Emery was a protagonist that painted beautiful football. How can we trust him with the next step, which is basically another rebuild?

He’s been with the club for 2 years now and he’s dining out with Jose Mourinho during a crisis. The rumour was denied, but that story came from The Times and was penned by a proper journalist. How can our Football CEO be so irresponsible? How can you look at Jose’s deeply noxious relationship with the club and be captivated? How can you look at the way he has crashed every club he goes to and want some of that for The Arsenal? Beggars belief… but look, this is a man that was inspired by Unai Emery.

Worse still, how can you think our owners are going to want him in our dugout? Not because Stan K cares, more because of what Jose represents to their day to day. Ivan and Arsene were given the keys to Arsenal for so many years because they understood the Kroenke’s wanted the easy life. They owners have real estate DNA. They want tenants with fat kids and boring lives. They don’t want teenagers that are causing havoc at all hours. Jose Mourinho is a noisy tenant. He’s a bad egg to start with, so the press whirlwind is going to cause them anxiety. He isn’t at the cutting edge of coaching, so the only way he can win these days is by writing cheques. He’s a wrecking ball to a carefully built club infrastructure, so he’ll be expensive to move on. His football will have the fans miserable once the ‘Special One’ sauce rubs off after 3 months.

Do you think that is the sort of manager the Kroeke’s are going to indulge?

In LA, KSE are giving chances to young coaches that are innovative and entertaining. Are they really going to sign off on the most prolific arsonist in football management?

I hope not.

That said, I’m not sure there’s a plan in the works to replace Emery.

If it’s not Jose Mourinho, it’ll have to be Freddie Ljungberg. I love the guy, but I think we could be welcoming another problem. He’s a lovable risk, but his coaching credentials are working under Unai Emery and getting relegated with Joncker in Germany. I could be totally wrong, I hope I am, but I don’t think we’re hiring our way out of this mess if we move Emery on this weekend.

Oddly, we’re almost in a position where it’s more dangerous to sack Emery.

We should be making a well thought out decision right now, one for the future, one that is backed by detailed and insightful recommendations, not moving hard on a has-been or a coach very early in his career that has already relegated a team.

Bayern Munich fired Kovac and they were linked heavily with Arsene Wenger yesterday. Rapha H, the defacto go-to on all things Bayern says he’s not on the shortlist. Point is, it’s slim pickings. Worth noting, Ralph Rangnick wouldn’t even entertain a phone call with them. That’s how tough the job market is. I also don’t think we’ll move for Allegri, he has a big financial appetite and I suspect the club passed on him for a very specific reason last time. Maybe dry football and issues with language were the sticking point? Ironic if that were the case.

We are in a disastrous position now. Big trouble awaits. We didn’t move on Emery this summer despite it being absolutely clear he was not going to drive us forward. I can have some sympathy for Edu, he’s new to Arsenal, but Raul? A few shiny transfers that have so far tanked will not gloss over his choice of Unai Emery. That’s on him. Rectifying it with Jose Mourinho will further prove out my fear that he’s not the full package we hoped for.

The mutterings I hear about current situation are not positive. Take that how you will, but I have sailed pretty close to the truth on the big narratives, I consistently hear from people close to the action that the new setup is not right.

Raul can hide behind Ivan G, but he was the football guy. He can push Edu into the mix, but he’s new. He owns the mess. He owns the PR debacle of Xhaka and Mesut Ozil. He was responsible for the Mourinho dinner.

It’s time to clean up and start delivering on fixing the mess. It’s time to craft a plan. It’s time to prove that he truly is a Don, because as it stands, he’s looking more and more like a used car salesman trying his hand at running a space agency.

Let’s see what happens next, but beware the tonic of change, it might have a nasty aftertaste.

FRESH PODCAST MEAT: Matt Kandela back on the mic, all the issues, from Xhaka through to Don Raul. Please listen, you fucking owe it to me for spending so much money fixing the comments

(a bit of white noise as I transition to Skype calls, bear with me this once, I’ll have fixed it for the future)

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Receding Hairline

“Of course, its costing us points and theres no evidence to suggest that Unai will get the sack. They really need to start performing.”

They really do

I know its “shit on the coach” season but a lot of players selected on match day simply aren’t doing their jobs. You can blame anything u like from selection to tactics but a lack of effort is squarely on the players and i see a lack of effort every match day on display

Marc

Chita

It was a question not a statement.

Your response sort of proves my point.

Bamford10

Pierre Given that I don’t care if Emery is replaced and that I have repeatedly provided reasons why I think he might need to be, I don’t need to be “comforted” by this or that player’s words. I have pasted in Tierney’s remarks because they give us a different and valuable perspective on what is going on inside the team, inside the camp. Marc tells us “Emery has lost the dressing room”. Is this true? Hard to say given that we have very little access to the the dressing room. However, does Kieran Tierney think the manager has lost the… Read more »

raptora

My biggest flame towards Emery is that although there were signals in our previous season with him in charge, we had good games more often than not. I’ve literally no idea how with a worse squad, literally debut year in England, zero English language skills, debut year in Arsenal, he managed to do better than he has in his 2nd season with a better squad, with 1 year more experience in England and at the Arsenal, with better language skills. One would expect an improvement instead of a regression. He’s literally fked up every decision he had to make this… Read more »

Marko

Ishola Emery is shit he can pack his bags and go. But he can bring the weak midfield and piss poor Defenders with him as well. Again says alot about us that our best CM is arguably a young french lad who should be no more than a squad player and our best CB is being treated for an injury in St Etienne

Champagne Charlie

Marc When you claim something it’s kind of standard to substantiate it. If you’re claiming some on here wanted Emery to fail because he wasn’t their pick then say who. Don’t hide behind a banfordism of ‘if you can’t see it, not my fault’. Just name them. As far as hitting a nerve with me, I can promise you that’s false. I was laughing pretty hard if you must know, for a poster on a blog to be so up his own arse as a fan he claims another fan “irrelevant to Arsenal” is peak banter to me. To claim… Read more »

Bamford10

Marc

‘Tierney is a new player and is simply “[making] the right noises” ‘

Yeah, I agree that you can read it that way. But I think you can read it the opposite way as well, i.e., that one of our better players genuinely rates the manager, and that the mood in the dressing room and camp is very different from the mood on Le Grove or on Twitter or even at The Emirates.

I hear your point, though.

Bamford10

I like Sanllehi, and even if we have to replace Emery, he was still a sensible hire.

Ishola70

raptora
“My biggest flame towards Emery is that although there were signals in our previous season with him in charge, we had good games more often than not.”

Are you sure about that line ” we had good games more often than not.”

Even in the unbeaten EPL run people were saying that there were quite a few games that were not convincing and that the football overall was quite beige.

raptora

How did he manage to look more clueless in his 2nd year compared to his 1st in charge? We weren’t playing phenomenal football but fk me, it was much better than this year. He has had every single player available for a while now as well. Has not been the case at Arsenal for god knows how long.

Champagne Charlie

Receding Lack of effort isn’t squarely on the players from where I sit. Sure, personal pride is a factor beyond doubt, but effort is a direct consequence of motivation and leadership. Instead we have sniggering youngsters taking the piss in training, even Bellerin poking fun in press conferences. To say Emery doesn’t have the dressing room might be the biggest understatement going, he’s a meme, not a manager. That doesn’t take away anything from the fact a number of the squad need slapped with a dose of reality however. AMN taking the field with a chain on like that would… Read more »

Marc

Marko I agree 100% that replacing Emery isn’t suddenly going to turn us into title challengers. We started this process with an incredibly unbalanced squad and we’re by no means finished in correcting that. One of the major issues with Emery is he’s not picking the right players in the right positions. I’ll use Torreira as an example – he was supposed to be the answer to our DM issue. He started last season well and then faded in the second half, this season he’s hardly had a look in and when he has played he hasn’t been used correctly.… Read more »

Marko

someone needs to tell the players so they can start doing their jobs, this going through the motion waiting for the bad man to be sacked is annoying. Yeah I think I get what you’re alluding to and it’s one of the reasons for me going off Lacazette personally. Certain types have been calling it in for a while now (Özil) but I personally think that the strops have been too apparent and now he looks like he’s downing tools does Laca. Which for me is annoying considering I think he’s one of the most unnecessary and easily replaceable players… Read more »

Ishola70

Coaches should always be judged on what they build upon.

Not what they do in their first season.

Emery ultimately failed in his first season at Arsenal anyway so the warning signs were there already with him.

Chika

Marc

“Your response sort of proves my point.”

Yeah totally, no question.

Chika

I remember the many arguments last season. How posters were so desperate to downplay the relevance of Emery’s terrible English.

Ishola70

David Luiz is a huge no no at DM Marc.

Have you not seen his defending or should we say lack of when he is drawn out to the edge of his own penalty area?

He would be a defensive handicap at DM.

Useroz

Yesterday was a sorry scene so much so that I dozed off for about 10 min and woke up in time to see Mustafi the great scored! Seriously the first half of first half was shocking and look as though we had no fucking MF. The back there were supposed to pass to who upfield? Surely Ceballos and Willock? Or the wing backs? So why was it the ball get recycled amongst the defenders in own half for so much time. No hunger, desire, and purpose that was apparent watching it. May be the players were burning inside and wanted… Read more »

Marko

I like Sanllehi, and even if we have to replace Emery, he was still a sensible hire.

Actually in hindsight we should have hired Conte in ’18 but I get it if you’re referring to of the people who were interviewed.

DigitalBob

Pedro – its fine to hire someone that doesn’t speak English if they express a willingness to learn it, which I’m sure Emery did at the time.

The fact he hasn’t grasped it is down to Emery’s ability not Raul hiring someone with limited English. Look at Levy and Poch or Conte and Sarri at Chelski. The language isn’t an issue initially if the manager says he will learn it.

raptora

Ishola,
I know, that’s why I said there were signals. Yet 7 wins in our first 11 games.

3-1 vs WH, 2-3 vs Cardiff, 1-2 vs Newcastle, 2-0 vs Everton, 2-0 vs Watford, 1-5 vs Fulham, 3-1 vs Leicester.

7 wins, 2 draws, 2 defeats in 11 games. 5 wins by 2 or more goal difference.

It’s safe to say we were doing better than now.

We haven’t won a game by 2 goals or more in 11 games. We haven’t dominated a single team.

Receding Hairline

What big egos Pedro? What has our squad ever achieved before Emery to carry around an Ego?

Charles let’s see the personal pride first, phoning in to work because you can go online and see everyone dump it on the manager is shameful. Playing for Arsenal and getting outplayed by Sheffield United is shameful regardless of game plan. They should show some personal pride, its going to set a bad precedent if they can just down tools to get rid of a man criticizing them in private, wonder what will happen with one doing it in public.

Chika

Unsurprisingly, Receding Brainline was at the forefront, kept trying to question posters about the number of languages they speak. Dude even went as far as reminding us that Diego Simeone doesn’t speak English. lol what a dumb comparison.

Marc

Pedro I did actually ask the question about Sanllehi being being solely responsible for bringing Emery in – you seem to have glossed over that. You also haven’t answered any of the other questions I asked. As for the Arteta issue – yes he should be getting a first class education but that doesn’t mean he’s going to be successful – he would still be a huge risk. As for Ljungberg relegating a German team – I thought he was Assistant Manager not head coach? Secondly many successful people have failures on their CV at some point in their careers… Read more »

Bamford10

Chika

“How posters were so desperate to downplay the relevance of Emery’s terrible English.”

Right, except that you have no proof that this is a serious problem for the players or team. This is an assertion or deduction without substantiation or proof.

It may be a problem, it may not be a problem. That you or Pedro think it is doesn’t make it so.

raptora

Ishola: “Coaches should always be judged on what they build upon. Not what they do in their first season.”

Agreed. That’s why the Emery signing was a huge failure. Cause football wise we’re playing worse by the game. It comes to a point when it has to stop.

Marko

Don’t worry about Saliba’s injury. If it was another muscular injury I would have been worried but a metatarsal injury is an impact injury and that can’t be helped unfortunately. Just as well as by all accounts he’s sounding like a steal for 30 million euros

DigitalBob

Pedro -respectfully I disagree, regardless of the stage the club is at its not an issue for me.

He may have failed at Russian and French but he had a grasp of “broken” English already, it’s not Don Raul’s fault this has not progressed in any way since his appointment.

Champagne Charlie

Receding

You can sit and call for personal pride all you like, in a group dynamic if there’s a sense of weakness then the goose is cooked.

They will have made their minds up about Emery after 6 months, make no mistake.

I don’t disagree, I just don’t think you see anything from an individual level meaningful enough without the right leadership in place – hence why leadership is my buzz word I always fall back on with this current regime.

Marko

Ralf Rangnick is turning down Bayern and Chelsea jobs. It’d be absolutely ridiculous to think that he’d ever be interested in Arsenal.

Receding Hairline

“Right, except that you have no proof that this is a serious problem for the players or team. ” There is actually proof to the contrary Players playing well and to a shape against very good opposition each knowing their job in the team….again Spurs home and away, United , Chelsea and Liverpool at home, every player played to tactical instructions and we were treated to good football. To then suggest that all of a sudden they stopped understanding him is dishonest. As for the fellow name dropping me, i will not be engaging with you no matter the insult… Read more »

andy1886

But is Arteta an ‘elite coach’ or is he simply Mike Phelan to Pep’s SAF? Easy to be a number two to a managerial great.

Bamford10

Pedro Yeah, I don’t know that I buy any of the assertions you’ve made there about Emery or our problems. Is the problem his English? I’m not convinced of that. Is the problem his management of “big egos”? Who are we even talking about here? Ozil? No offense, but Ozil can f*ck off, and that’s a view that was more or less your view only a few months ago. His alleged inability to organize a defense? Yeah, I don’t buy that; our problems in the back line have largely been down to inadequate or unsatisfactory personnel (Maitland-Niles, Mustafi, Sokratis, Kolasinac,… Read more »

Bamford10

Charlie

“sounds like a lot more of your own entitled fandom”

Can you explain what makes Marc an “entitled” fan? What is the difference between these “entitled” fans and, say, you?

Marko

Charles genuine question but would you still rag on about leadership from the club if they , as I expect, ending up getting rid of the manager during the international break? Or is it weak leadership that didn’t sack him sooner? Cause I just want to point out as obvious as it might have been before I imagine in that business they want to be seen as giving a chance and not being knee jerk in relation to that sort of thing. I can’t imagine that a lot of people would be interested in the job if at the first… Read more »

Chika

Bumford

Guy, if you believe speaking better English wouldn’t be an advantage for Emery, then you don’t see the game well, no questions!

Champagne Charlie

Bet it’s a right zinger that Emery’s best run as manager came when there was still a Wengerball hangover.

Few on here with their balls in a vice reading that

raptora

To be frank I wouldn’t put Emery’s disaster class on our management. I did think he sounds like the best pick of the ones who were mentioned at the time. I wanted Conte throughout and have said it many, many times. But out of the bunch, Emery looked the best candidate. That he has miserably failed was not expected by me. Yes, the management should know better than me or the regular Arsenal fan, but picking someone that on paper has the pedigree, yet eventually ends up as a huge disappointment, is an entirely understandable mistake on their part. How… Read more »

Bamford10

Chika

Yeah, that’s a different claim.

DigitalBob

Pedro – they did enough for the Emery appointment to make sense.

If you hire the former manager of league title winning PSG and multiple Europa winning Sevilla who has a dossier of Arsenal players and what he wants to do with them on a freaking memory stick, your not barking up the wrong tree with the hire.

The fact he has not grasped the language is down to him not a flaw in employing him.

Champagne Charlie

Marko When I referenced leadership to Receding I was talking Emery to the players. I’ve already said Emery is a chance for Raul and Edu to prove their competency. It’s clear what needs to happen and if they don’t act then that’s a poor showing on their part. If they do act it’s a sign they’ve got a finger on the pulse, but they also need to employ the right manager or take the right strategy. These guys aren’t employed to understand what is and isn’t working. That’s part of it, but the major part is to make it work… Read more »

Ashwin Gunner

If we are considering Arteta, why not give a run to Freddie or Per for that matter.

CG

Arteta was without question the Right choice post wenger

He would be the wrong choice now ( I doubt he would even want to work for us anymore after his appalling treatment last time round)

We need an experienced proven coach who outflanks and outlasts these complete imbeciles who are the decision makers at Arsenal these days.

We don’t need yes men or progressive coaching types with all their new fads.

We need a motivator and man manager.
And a winner to boot.

Back on track with Jose and Cesc!
Easy Peasy!

Paulinho

Raptora – Where are the contradictions?

You’ve posted post after post to what end?

Have Bellerin and Tierney played a league match together?

“Ceballos and Pepe can hopefully help bind it all together in the coming months.”

Wow, really proved wrong well and truly wrong there Oh wait, I said ‘hopefully’, and didn’t declare it all with any certainty.

Embarrassing stuff all-round. Ceballos still has the talent I stated, I did stand by that, but he’s hasn’t got the pace, in this league at least, to make it count.

andy1886

Fair answer there Pedro, so it comes down to risk and is it the right time to take a risk on a rookie who may or may not be the answer. Using hindsight it would have been less of a risk after Wenger (maybe you were right after all?) than now with Emery compounding AW’s mistakes.

Champagne Charlie

“Can you explain what makes Marc an “entitled” fan? What is the difference between these “entitled” fans and, say, you?“

Me not being entitled. Thanks for asking

Chika

When you’re too ashamed to own up to your words, you quietly adorn a different cloak and backtrack like a weasel. 😂

Ashwin Gunner

Pedro

the only big ego i see i the dressing room was Xhaka. he has been sucessfully binned. The other who might give problems is Auba and Ozil. Both of them are keeping pretty quiet at the moment. Apart from that we dont have anyone who rates himself so highly to have an ego.

Ishola70

Emery’s best run as Arsenal manager was because of the novelty of a new coach that wears off plus not playing a team away from home in the EPL that ended up finishing in the top ten.

And of course it was garnished with second tier Europa League matches and beer cup games.

Ishola70

Apart from the great Man United away and that was at the close of the unbeaten run anyway.

Marc

“But is Arteta an ‘elite coach’ or is he simply Mike Phelan to Pep’s SAF? Easy to be a number two to a managerial great.”

Excellent point – how many highly successful assistant managers did Fergie have who have then gone on to be mediocre (at best) managers?

Paulinho

“PaulinhoAugust 11, 2019 15:58:57
I’m hoping Ceballos speeds up a little.Ran like he had rickets.”

When he ‘sped’ it up against Burnley the next week talent was there to see. And he did release the players around by drawing the press when he did receive the ball under pressure.

I spent a lot of summer scoffing at suggestions from quite a few Arsenal fans he was an upgrade on Ramsey.

Ishola70

The take downs at both Leicester and Wolves away last season in hindsight were the big indicators as well as the Europa League final loss.

And these matches were not just take downs. They were big take downs.

salparadisenyc

The big indicators began last season started screaming in April and have continued right thru up until now with this club headed on a consistently downward trajectory.

raptora

Paulinho:”You’ve posted post after post to what end?” To the end that for you what is happening right now, our bad results, are because of player poverty. Full stop. You compared Ceballos to Fabregas and Hleb (and I agree cause they are also slow players who were great for us btw), now he’s suddenly too slow so none of his other talents matter?! Obviously not up to Emery to make his good qualities shine and his bad qualities not matter that much. You said that we’ll improve when our full backs are ready to start for us. They’ve been starting… Read more »

CMH

Wenger would be a great caretaker manager for the rest of the season now he’s fresh and if he was just focusing on the first team. He’d get us back to decent football and get top four, redeeming himself for past sins. Maybe the majority of fans would welcome it if it was just on a temporary basis? As I’ve said before, could do a whole lot worse…

Champagne Charlie

Please stop the Wenger coming back stuff, it’s like wanting your ex back after things have gone stale over the years purely because she never shaved her arse with your razor – unlike the new bird.

Let’s consider there are others out there please.

raptora

“I spent a lot of summer scoffing at suggestions from quite a few Arsenal fans he was an upgrade on Ramsey.” He’s not. And he wasn’t supposed to be. We were supposed to add more goals and aggression from our wings, the reason we targetted Zaha, Pepe and even Tierney, while getting more fluid in possession with Ceballos in there. His qualities are there to be seen. He is probably not as good overall player as Ramsey yet, but he is very good CM in a normal, working midfield. Ours isn’t. Not even close. It’s why we can’t know for… Read more »

RodneyKing

The defending for Vitoria’s goal was a complete joke. You can have all the defensive organization you want but if players fail to do their jobs on the day, it’s on them. It takes good, technical players to play sumptuous football. Last night Douglas Costa scored a great goal that was largely down to his brilliance on the ball. In a previous game, it was Dybala with a last-minute wonder strike. Aubameyang is up there with the best in front of goal, but he’s probably never going to score a goal like Costa’s. Emery does have his shortcomings but to… Read more »

Paulinho

Raptora – Hleb wasn’t slow, and Fabregas was much quicker than Ceballos. Ceballos is so slow it’s almost verging on piss-take level. He looked quicker in that Barca game and showed he does have the talent/attributes we need at his peak level. Some of our other midfielders have never shown those attributes ever. Point is the difference between hoping in a a genuine ‘fan’ way and stating with certainty what a player will do. It’s mixture of talent, mentality, physicality. Lots of different factors. I stated with certainty at the start of last season Ramsey would elevate our game several… Read more »

Marko

Very much behind targeting some of the players at Bilbao. Meanest defence in La Liga and we were linked with Unai Nunez I believe. Roca and Espanyol 3rd from bottom, Sangare and Toulouse 3rd from bottom and Berge and Genk 8th and struggling in Europe. I see no reason why we can’t strengthen in January is my point.

Graham62

B10

Beware of any player who comes out “in staunch defence of his boss”

Tierney is the new kid on the block, so what else could he say.

“Emery is fudging crap and I really don’t know what I’m doing here” in his lovely Scottish accent.

Marc

Marko

We have no money to spend!

Graham62

My prediction for the weekend.

Leicester 4 Arsenal 1, or, Leicester 5 Arsenal 2.

What are the odds?

28/1 or 66/1. Nice!

Place your bets gentlemen.

Marko

We have no money?

MatinellisHead

hi pedro i cant access the new operating system it is broken

raptora

RodneyKing:”Aubameyang is up there with the best in front of goal, but he’s probably never going to score a goal like Costa’s.” Costa has also never scored more than 6 goals a season in any league he’s played. In his last 6 years he’s maintained a stable outcome of 4 goals per season in the league. Or a total of 21 goals in 6 years. Pepe scored 22 in 1 season. Aubameyang has scored over 15 goals a season in the league he’s played on 7 occasions. In 5 of these 7 times he’s scored over 20 goals. If you… Read more »

Micheal

The responsibility for the shambles at Arsenal in recent years is entirely the fault of the owner, Stan Kroenke. Kroenke has either controlled or owned the Club outright during these years and paid the wages of everyone at AFC, including Wenger, Gazidis, Raul and Emery. Wenger and Gazidis mismanaged the club solely because Kroenke allowed them to mismanage the business he controlled or owned. His irresponsibility at AFC was shameful The big unanswered question at AFC today is simple: Will Kroenke repeat the process with Raul and Emery and ignore the mismanagement, lack of vision, etc. He has done it… Read more »

RodneyKing

@Raptora I do like Ceballos and I’m hoping that he turns out to be better than what we’ve seen already. It’s a new league and he’ll need time to settle in. Unfortunately, players are expected to hit the ground running. So far, his performances have been fairly good one game and average the next. I watched him for Spain in the Euro qualifiers and he was non-existent for most of the game. In fact, at around the 40-minute mark, the commentator noted that he’d barely touched the ball. I also noticed that his teammates weren’t so keen on passing to… Read more »

RodneyKing

@Raptora I agree regarding Costa vs Aubameyang. I wasn’t comparing both of them in terms of goal-scoring ability. Costa has been something of a disappointment when you consider his talents.

Sometimes however, you need a touch of magic to get you a goal or two when a loss is more likely than not. Costa can do that with mazy dribbling runs. He won’t score but he opens up the game for others.

Pepe may prove to be a magical player for us. He’s got all the ingredients, the composure will come.

Distant legrover

Maybe Emery should put the video down for a bit. It doesn’t seem to be working.

Distant legrover

I should have known he would turn out to be average when his name rhymed with Elneny, another averager.

Marc

Marko

I very much doubt we have any money to spend in January – unless of course we can generate some through sales.

Can we shift Mustafi and Xhaka in Jan?

Champagne Charlie

Bati

Kessie and Xhaka swap deal being mumbled, thoughts?

raptora

Paulinho, You know I loved Ramsey as much as you did. You talk about the Sheffield game and Pepe. You are well aware Emery didn’t start him vs Wolverhampton just so he could play full 90 mins vs Vitoria. Why? You also say that with Bellerin and Tierney we will improve. They have been playing 90 mins in the EFL and in the Europa since 3rd of October. Both played full 90 min games for the U23 in September. More than 50 days from now. Why is he not playing them in the league? Why has Emery not figured out… Read more »

71Guns

Hey Pedro I’ve posted a couple of comments, yesterday and today, but all still being held in moderation I think?
Thanks.

RodneyKing

My wish- Leicester 2 : Arsenal 3.

More likely to end Leicester 2 : Arsenal 1

raptora

RodneyKing, I agree with what you’ve said. I, myself, have been disappointed with Pepe and Ceballos, and Torreira and Guendouzi of late, and Lacazette and Luiz and with basically every single one of our senior players. I’m of the opinion that these players are much better than we’ve seen of late and it’s on Emery why we’ve been playing like shit. Other people say that first it’s on the players then on the manager. Chicken and egg situation right there. We can’t change all the players so might as well change the manager imo. I’m really interested in the following… Read more »

Graham62

raptora

As it stands, everything “on Emery”.

No pressure then.

Graham62

Micheal

The owners don’t pick the teams and employ the tactics.

That’s all down to the manager.

The simple fact of the matter is that both Wenger and now Emery, are to blame.

Pierre

Wenger always said it is difficult to bring more than one or 2 new players into the team due to the settling in period , and that’s proving correct.

Pepe, Ceballos, Tierney, Luiz plus the new academy players willock and Saka.

Maybe someone at the club should have listened to those wise words.

Paulinho

Raptora – We will see. You’ve mentioned Auba and Lacazette not linking up. Well I think they are just limited footballers. To put Lacazette into perspective: Arsenal fans see him as the ‘footballing’ striker out of him and Aubameyang; the one that drops deep, links play etc, yet France have left out of every squad because he’s doesn’t bring enough apart from goals. So think about that, and think about the fact Fekir was needed to partner him to add guile to Lyon’s attack. And yet Lacazette is held up as our most talented ball playing forward. That’s how bad… Read more »

Pierre

Mind you, wenger talked a load of shit over the years as well .

Thought I’d better get that in before the obsessives do.

Marc

Pierre

That’s utter bollocks and was an excuse by Wenger to not spend money.

Liverpool signed 4 players in 2018 and City have had summers where they signed significantly more than 2 players and they seem to do OK as well.

raptora

We shouldn’t really take Deschamps’s opinion for anything. He’s been playing Ben Yedder now. Inferior striker to Lacazette in every shape and form. His idea to play Giroud I could understand. He wanted his other forwards to play off of Giroud. But Ben Yedder? Come on. Had a lengthy post the other month on how clueless Deschamps is. Let’s not go there lol.

Marko

Marc between how we did our business last summer and sales not to mention potential sales in January and then trying to sign Upamecano I’m not sure I’m buying the whole we’re skint angle.

Leedsgunner

Not sacking Emery is NOT an option unless we want to remain stagnant and remain a Europa League football team forever. If this was the plan, frankly, I would have stuck with Wenger… and YOU all know how much I railed against him. If the Wenger dismissal is to mean anything, we need to sack Emery. Why not give Freddie go as a caretaker? Frankly it can’t be any more risky than giving the reins to Arteta and Freddie understands the club in a deeper way than Arteta ever will. Freddie was part of one of Arsenal’s greatest sides… he… Read more »

Marc

Pierre

“Mind you, wenger talked a load of shit over the years as well .

Thought I’d better get that in before the obsessives do.”

Then why even bring it up?

Marc

Marko

I hope I’m wrong but I’d be surprised to see us spend anything of note.

Nelson

We have over estimated the current Saka. He is still too weak physically. Most of the time, he loses the ball before he can get going. Martinelli has a better fighting chance.

Marko

Ben Yedder has been banging them in the last few years he deserves his shot. Deschamps is clueless though. Correct about Lacazette though I’d honestly pull the plug on him. Could do with a more balanced forward that can actually play alongside Auba and we should be able to replace his goals

Marko

Marc I see no reason why we couldn’t afford or bring in any of the players I’ve mentioned earlier who are responsibly priced and at lesser clubs. Someone like Thomas Partey fair enough he’s expensive and wouldn’t move midseason but you telling me we couldn’t get Sangare or Roca? Arne Maier or Sander Berge?

Bamford10

Marc

“I’d be surprised to see us spend anything of note.”

Why would you be surprised? Did we not spend more this summer than we publicly stated we even had? Has it not been reported that Kroenke dipped into his own pockets to help finance Pepe?

Why are you so pessimistic? Why are you of the view that nothing has changed at Arsenal when so much (Sallehi, Edu, Josh Kroenke, Wenger dismissed, etc.) has obviously changed at Arsenal? I don’t really get this.