Well, the absolute worst outcome for Arsenal happened last night, we played our best striker in a dud game, against a terrible Frankfurt side, and managed to lose. Unai Emery stood on the sidelines like he was 40 feet from his front door watching the police remove his PC in plastic bags. He knows what’s coming, so do the fans.
The Emirates was painfully empty, even when you factor in the Frankfurt ticketing issues, it was embarrassing. No one wanted to be there. I had friends in chat groups desperately trying to give tickets away before the game to no avail. Last night felt like an end-of-days scenario for the manager… the players delivered a performance to match the feeling. Raul was right, the ‘noise’ of the fans did pass, because no one cared enough to show up.
Those that did dealt with familiar themes.
- We tanked a lead, again
- Emery insisted on starting Xhaka, again (makes error). Worse, he was all smiles and jokes with the Frankfurt players after the game. Get him out of the club immediately. He’s a disgrace.
- Brings on Ozil to save game (told the press a month ago he wanted rid)
- 2-1 down, last roll of the dice, he brings on Torreira (Pepe on the bench)
We could dive into the details of the match, but why bother? We know Emery is finished. Let’s talk about what is next instead, it’s far more urgent.
Raul is bad for Arsenal. He is going to try with all his might to move us down a path that suits his agenda. Everyone who matters at Arsenal knows this.
He’s not Arsenal material I’m afraid, so as supporters, we need to be very alert to what’s coming next, because if it suits him, it’s likely not good for us.
Emery was his idea. Sven left because of his ‘contacts’ approach. We made some very bad decisions this summer on his say so. Judge a man by his actions. Those actions in the cold light of day do not look good.
The next moves he’s hyping look even worse.
Ignore the nonsense coming from Wolves PR team. Nuno is on the Arsenal shortlist because of his relationship with Raul. Move past the bullshit notion that he wouldn’t take the job. We’re the biggest offer that’d ever go near him, there’s simply no chance he’d pass on it because he has ‘good vibes’ with his Wolverhampton squad.
Pay attention to Kike Marin reporting that Enrique is being seduced by a big club, it’s likely Arsenal because we’re in a contacts kind of world. We shouldn’t be giving him the time of day. No one in Europe touched him because he’s expensive and he has a poor reputation despite winning trophies at Barcelona. This is the same issue we had with Emery winning the league with PSG, you look at the wiki page and it excites you, read what the fans and press wrote at the time and it’s a different story. The idea that we’ll hire him after he fails at next years championships with Spain is quite frankly embarrassing. Being Raul’s mate should not be part of the equation, we should stop hiring managers other clubs don’t want.
‘Contacts’ recruitment isn’t good for Arsenal. It’s backroom deals. It’s jobs for the boys. It’s not how professional outfits operate because it removes merit from the equation. I know the ‘who you know’ approach happens in many walks of business, it’s gross regardless, it’s unprofessional, and it’s becoming rarer because it has a deeply negative impact on the culture of a business.
Sport should be the purest form of meritocracy, especially if you’re pushing the idea of an elite performance culture. Why would any player perform to the best of their ability if they had even the slightest suspicion that a teammate who was competing with them was getting preferential treatment because of their agent?
Now imagine the squad know the manager is there because they are pals with Jorge Mendes? Horrifying.
Our next appointment should be made against a strict set of guidelines, one of them should be that no one we bring in should be as deeply tangled in super-agent gunk as Nuno. He’s a no-go. We are too big to be beholden to the whims of a manager that will always have deeper loyalties to his agent than the club. Outside just the agent ties, why would you want to be making an appointment Everton fans would find bland?
Thankfully, most of you understand that this move is a terrible idea. Your response to the blog yesterday gave me hope (read if you didn’t). It showed that 99% of Gooners understand that values are hugely important, even if they have been used to defend mediocrity over the past 10 years. It also showed that together, we will go to war to make sure we’re not turned into a 90s Liverpool by grifters with no love for the club DNA.
Know this, there is a battle underway for the soul of Arsenal.
Take your eye off the ball for a minute and we’re fucked. We have to be vigilant when names are thrown our way. We have to use the power of Arsenal internet to call bullshit if we see something that looks off-key. So make Raul an agenda point with journalists. Tweet the bloggers when you see something that looks ghastly. Remember, the Arsenal agenda is set by the fans because you’re the people clicking adverts. The big publishers will follow your lead. Don’t let up. You have a part to play in making sure Arsenal are not dragged into the swamp.
Right, that’s me done. More tomorrow. x
Olumide “You can’t have that expectation with Poch. What’s the point of improving the team if we don’t win trophies?” I think there is a difference between not won a trophy and will never win a trophy. Pochettino is obviously more than capable of winning trophies as he has been there or thereabouts in the league and in some cup competitions. Sometimes you just need that bit of fortune to go your way . Wenger didn’t win a trophy for 8 or so years and when he broke his duck , won 3 in 4 years..that’s how it goes sometimes.… Read more »
https://www.espn.co.uk/football/arsenal/story/4001817/arsenal-hung-emery-out-to-drybut-hes-not-blameless-for-his-sacking
Always nice reading Gab Marcotti’s take on football issues, don’t always agree with them but he is always worth a read unlike the arrogant Martin Samuel.
Don’t read the headline, he rips into Emery enough but provides context
From a skysports piece that is rough read, albeit a very good one. https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11670/11873289/unai-emery-was-out-of-sync-with-arsenal-and-didnt-give-fans-enough-to-believe-in “Emery said he needed more time, but the more he got the more difficult it became to identify what the intended identity actually was. Arsenal fans craved a clear direction. Emery could not provide one.” “Too often, his Arsenal sides were set up to nullify opponents rather than impose themselves on games in the way the fans – and, perhaps, the players – expected. His deployment of five defenders and two holding midfielders for the recent visit of crisis-hit Southampton summed it up.” “Arsenal only won… Read more »
“It doesn’t bother me one iota if Pochettino has never won a trophy bit was coming to Arsenal, he is more than capable , and that’s all that matters.” At this dire point we need someone to bring us back to the top 4 in 2 consecutive years. Whoever does that will have done well. Afterwards if we don’t manage to tighten the difference between us and the title winners, then we could think about getting another manager. When I hear safe pair of hands that will almost guarantee us top 4 just by becoming our manager, first two names… Read more »
New post.
By at least being a better man manager, FL would extract more from the squad. Anyways, plans should be made in earnest for the next transfer window. Upamecano and a CDM would be great.
Really looking forward to our next game and beyond.
Freddie would have to work closely with the players to have any chance of success. Nothing wrong with getting input from them regarding formation, tactics and players’ preferred positions.
That will undoubtedly make for a happier and more motivated squad.
What’s going on? Got fooled into thinking I’d beaten Bankz and DM and co into first place for that trophy thing.