Arteta takes in the grim reality of Arsenal’s ground zero

by .

Freddie Ljungberg signed off with with a middle finger to some of the senior players in the side. Ozil was injured again, but the manager made it clear he wouldn’t have played after throwing his gloves at the bench last week. He went all out to play the kids, introducing ESR into midfield, with Saka at left-back, and though the attacking football we’d hoped for didn’t bear fruit, we certainly put in a more solid defensive performance.

Say it quietly, but Xhaka had an impressive game…

There’s really not too much analysis to be had though. This Arsenal side have been playing with the handbrake on all season, now they need a huge injection of energy from Mike Arteta and Steve Round.

A few things are a worry though.

Auba looks very, very uninterested. Mikel said before the game that he was going to observe for body language, if that were the case, he’d have been shocked by how little energy his captain had on display. His movement was disengaged and he just looked like he’d had enough. He clearly has a move on his mind, which is troubling unless Madrid are coming armed with money in January, and Arsenal has Timo Werner lined up as a replacement.

Our midfield, regardless of the combination, lacks power, energy and structure. This has been going on for the best part of three years and continues. The biggest challenge the new regime is going to have to master is how to train some sort of know-how into a group of players that struggle with the basics. I’ve never seen an Arsenal midfield so slow and clueless. The gap between attack and midfield is always far too stretched, no one moves for the ball and the passing lanes always need a Hollywood epic to make something happen. We are almost incapable of moving the ball between the lines and more often than not, we have to opt for sideways or backwards passing because even the lightest of pressing puts us off balance.

We’re also going to have to work out what we do with the forward line. I’m starting to worry about Pepe, what exactly is going on there? Are we really in a situation where two managers of Arsenal football club can’t convince our most expensive signing to do some tracking (assuming that is why he’s benched)? There’s no such thing as ‘he’s not that sort of player’, because in this era, you simply have to be if you want to be positioned in the top tier of the footballing elites.

The standout players for me were the kids. I though Saka at left-back was pretty positive. He looked assured on the ball as ever, his pace really bailed him out of some tricky situations and his defensive game was positive as well. Point with Saka, he has the energy and drive you want. He never stops, he’s always sprinting, and when he gets forward into dangerous positions, he thinks about what he’s going to do next. I really love him, I hope Arteta has a Sterling like plan for him.

Though it wasn’t Martinelli’s best game, he still showed up in terms of energy. He’s very rough around the edges, but he has all the ingredients you’d want if you were a new manager. There’s a lot to work with. Aggression, power, pace, technique, great in front of goal… I am really excited to see what happens with him over the next year.

ESR and Reiss didn’t have their best games, but again, they didn’t give up. I was impressed that Reiss was trying more things, he didn’t shy away like he has been. ESR made some rough decisions, but you can see there’s plenty of potential there. Under the right coach, which we have, I expect to see these kids make huge strides.

So overall, we’re in very bad shape. Arteta has 5 days to at least bring a bit of energy to proceedings. I do think that’s absolutely key, if the training ground has been soulless for the last 2 years, an injection of positivity is going to help. The players need reminding of their talent, they need someone to paint a picture of where they’re going, and they need to be plunged into high-intensity training that stretches their thinking about how the game should and will be played.

I’m excited, the real work starts now. It’s going to be a very rough 6 weeks, we’re starting from scratch midseason, but if you look at the next 2 months as a bit of a write-off, it’ll be easier to stomach. By March, we should start to see the shape of what Arteta and Round have to offer, and we’ll see what good coaching can do for a squad everyone now thinks is shit. I’m hoping a few players will prove us wrong.

My guess is Arteta will work hearts and minds to start with, so nothing too drastic. Everyone will land a new chance, then he’ll begin to shape from there. I don’t think he’ll wait too long to assess who the bad eggs are, from the videos, it’s clear he knows a lot of people at the club who will fill him in on the history. Then we move on from there.

The bad days aren’t behind us, but at least they can be time-boxed. I think the fans need it. I watched the drama unfold after the game. Seeing fans gunning for each other was horrendous to watch. As a writer that loves the club, I genuinely couldn’t think of anything worse in the world than having the away fans round on me during a game in front of the world. I would be devastated if there was anti-graffiti on the Holloway Road about me. In their defence, the negativity they spout is merely an extreme reflection of what we feel. They don’t create that vibe, the shite football does.

That said, they do have a problem they can’t ignore. Matchday fans don’t like them. That mess yesterday looked like it could have turned violent, which would be be a terrible look for us. You can’t blame racism, you can’t blame jealousy, you have to look deeper and ask if the direction of your platform is in the service of the fans, or the wider internet that likes watching people incoherently vent and throw their weight around the internet.

A delicate situation to have to manage, but hopefully a proper coach will mean the fans spend less time worrying about things they could ignore and more time engaging in a beautiful game.

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Boomslang

I’ll

Boomslang

Just

grooveydaddy

Trophy

grooveydaddy

Tr4phy

Boomslang

Take

grooveydaddy

Ooh photo finish 🙂

Marc

A stray thought I’m going to chuck out there. If Auba’s looking to be off come Jan for a decent fee and the replacement we want maybe isn’t available till the summer could Pepe fill in through the middle?

IndianGooner PD

Yo fellas

Guns of Brixton

First point of call.

Get an exorcist on that Armband of ours.

Whoever becomes captain is doomed to be sold, injured, become a bench warmer or become an idiot.

In some cases they exhibit all these symptoms.

Marc

Guns

Very good call.

Micheal

Arteta has inherited an average and poorly motivated squad with serious motivational issues among the senior pros. In an idea world, at least some of this might be tackled in the January transfer window – e.g. Ozil, Sauba, Xhaka. However we are owned by Kroenke. Unless there is a seismic change in attitude and ambition from the neglectful and irresponsible owner, we should not expect a great deal of movement in January. A few loans, in and out, look more likely than not. I hope I am wrong. But I will not be holding my breath. To be fair, January… Read more »

Micheal

“Whoever becomes captain is doomed to be sold, injured, become a bench warmer or become an idiot. In some cases they exhibit all these symptoms.”

Guns: Ditch the five captains charade and save money by giving the job to one man – step forward Mesut Ozil.

Induct14

Auba has not had the best of services whatsoever from the midfield if I were him too, I will be disinterested. But I know Arteta can convince him going forward.

Chrispy

Boomslang……. hahahaha

Champagne charlie

From the previous post: “Martin Ødegaard will go back to his home club, what other career move could be possibly have.“ Well thanks for that, I’m aware he’ll be back to Real after his loan given that’s how loans work. I’m referring to beyond then, he’s had a shit time at Real, been bounced about on various loans and now found his game at Sociedad. Is it really so difficult to envisage he’ll fancy making a move in order to get some of that good feeling on the permanent? Likewise, he’ll no doubt have various clubs sniffing about him. –… Read more »

obum

The Saka love is fledging until he pledges allegiance to a different country.

Globalgunner

I don’t know what Arsenal Pedro has been watching. Our midfield has been pants for over 8 years now. Since Rosicky and Cazorla were last seen in red. Its been like that for years. How many games did Wenger manage in the last 5 years where we would not have a single goal attempt in 60mins.
A clear out is definitely needed.

Left Testicle

From the same post…

Say it quietly, but Xhaka had an impressive game.

 I’ve never seen an Arsenal midfield so slow and clueless. The gap between attack and midfield.

TR7

Please not another tedious debate on how our side is worse than even the teams in relegation zone. If that’s what Raul,Josh Edu and Vinai felt (who some of you laud as intelligent and modern management)they wouldn’t have sacked Emery.

Samesong

available till the summer could Pepe fill in through the middle

Pepe doesn’t have the stamina yet. He is not physical enough. Martinelli at least puts himself about. I would rather Laca there tbh.

Champagne charlie

Pedro Xhaka had a good game because we were more compact than we have been in forever, conceded the least number of shots all season someone said? (Not verified it). Numerous players stand to “improve” playing in a structured side vs a spacious mess. Doesn’t mean some couldn’t/shouldn’t be turned over so we can alter the dynamic of the side to suit Arteta, but it’s noteworthy imo as the claim about lack of quality has been a nagging source of nonsense for a while. The difficult task for Arteta is to get us using the ball in a ‘second nature’… Read more »

Valentin

During one of the management talk that Ferguson and Wenger did, they insisted that big aspect of recruitment was checking whether the incoming player could fit the culture of the club. Are they hard worker? How do they behave when things don’t go their way: do they go sulk or do they get stuck in and fight more? I am afraid that Arsenal has too many players who basically are too eager to blame others when things don’t go their way. Özil is just the extreme case, but Aubameyang seems t be of the same ilk. Luckily the current crop… Read more »

Bamford10

Victorious “[Emery] should have been shown the door the moment we were getting close to double figures off top 4. Poor Arteta has a huge task to have us finish the season respectably.” If the problem was Emery and not the squad, and if the squad is a top four quality squad, as you and a few others seem to believe, then it actually should not be all that difficult for Arteta to finish the season “respectably,” provided we define “respectably” in a reasonable manner. We are in 11th now, yes, but we are only 4 points off Wolves and… Read more »

Spanishdave

A good win will make the world of difference to everybody.
We are all miserable having to witness our worst run for over twenty years.
Stan is totally responsible for this mess, it’s what happens with an American owner who knows nothing about football.
It’s happened at Man U, Liverpool, and Aston Villa.
They are in it for the money, and they wont put a penny of their own money in.
We can never catch up now.

Bamford10

CG “Because since Wenger left- we have complete imbeciles running the show.” Sorry, but this is nonsense. Sanllehi and Edu are serious, intelligent, competent men. They may make a mistake or two — everyone does, even the best — but they are smart, ambitious guys, not imbeciles. Also, are you implying that we were in better hands when Wenger was running the show, making all decisions, determining who to sign, who to sell, how to build a squad, etc.? Are you implying that Wenger was better or more competent at running the club than Sanllehi and Edu are? I hope… Read more »

Bamford10

I don’t watch AFTV, but when I have watched it, I have quite liked it, quite liked a number of the guys who talk on there, quite liked a lot of what they have said. Which is not to say I agreed with everything any particular guy said, but I found them honest, smart, articulate (in their own way) and entertaining. All AFTV is is devoted fans with opinions expressing those opinions. Just like Le Grove. I, for one, fully support the AFTV bunch, and I do not support those who tried to bully and intimidate them yesterday.

Dissenter

Pedro Regarding ASTV The same arguments can be made about you. That’s you’re disrupting the club from thousands of miles away [on sabbatical], mounting opposition to last two Arsenal managers until you get the one you want. That’s you’re hosting people in your platform who routinely spout innuendoes about managers, undermine players and write grossly homophobic along with near-racist banter. That’s what some will say about you. Of course we know you’re not in support of those things and can’t be responsible for grown men acting like idiots. I’m just telling you to put perspective on the AFTV criticisms. If… Read more »

Dissenter

*Regarding AFTV

Samesong

PLEASE NO WENGER DEBATE DAY

Valentin

Bamford10,

You can’t argue that the recruitment has been poor since Wenger left while in the same absolving Raul of any responsibility in that recruitment.
It should now be clear to everybody that Emery was the wrong appointment, but that does not means that other mistakes have not been done as well.

Bamford10

Un Na

subject: AFTV

“That’s what happiness when you appeal to the third worlders.”

I’m sorry, but this is racist.

Rambo

Bamford,

I guess Wenger was performing miracles then finishing worst 6th with this poor squad you constantly go on about. He did not even have Auba, had to do with Giroud for the large part.

Samesong

Sancho 120M Chelsea?

gonnerram

Re:Pepe If we were trying to get a player like Mo Salah, then we need our main striker to play like Frimino. Without that the system will not work especially when our main striker also wants to stay up front and wait for the counter. With the current system we cannot have 2 players waiting at 1/2 way line waiting for the counter. Add Ozil to the mix then we have 3 players who do not push the oppn. That way our midfield when asked to press creates huge gaps and very easy to play. Just counting the no of… Read more »

Samesong

De Gea lol messes up.

Valentin

Where was the bullying and intimidation against Robbie in Saturday that keep getting mentioned? As far as I know it was just Some people chanting “AFTV Get out of our club” and Robbie and his mates taking exception of the chanting. From the video, it is clear that the only people who were upset and ready to be violent were the clowns from AFTV. The police had to intervene to protect them from their own stupidity and hubris. Anybody with two cells know better than antagonise a crowd further when you are in the minority. Just walk again with your… Read more »

Marc

What the hell has happened to De Gea. Guy was best keeper in the PL and has completely gone off a cliff.

Champagne charlie

Back a whole day, fires out some ‘I’m not going to be argumentative’ comments and then resumes right where he left off pre-ban, finger pointing racism and drumming up Emery nostalgia.

Love to see. Wager incoming, “guys” everywhere.

Marko

unless Madrid are coming armed with money in January, and Arsenal has Timo Werner lined up as a replacement.

Not a ghost of a chance of getting Werner. None. One of the most inform strikers in Europe.

Watford pen here. Goal of the season Arsenal finish above United for all our sakes

TR7

Can Deeney shows some cojones ?

Champagne charlie

Marc

He’s soooo pony now, legit middle of the road in the prem. I never had him as the cream though, far too suspect with the ball at his feet for a top shelfer.

United missed a trick not fleecing Real for 80 mil and getting Oblak. Isn’t he on like 350k now too? LOL

Dissenter

Valentin
‘ Where was the bullying and intimidation against Robbie in Saturday that keep getting mentioned’

You’re acting like a proper tool
The police were called to escort him out because people were in his face …trying to hug him and smother him with confetti
You share the same condescension of Simon Jordan, obviously since you believe that the IQs of the ASTV crowd is less than yours.

Spanishdave

Watford two up!

Moe

Anyone ever seen Auba dispossess an opposition player or put in a foot to slow them down? He scores a lot but too many deficiencies. If team can get good funds for him I say sell him in January and make Martinelli and Laca our forwards to the end of the season. Then sell Laca as well along with all the dross and start a 2yr rebuilding process.
No other way, this team is too deficient.

Batistuta

United just know how to have mini runs that confuses you that they are a better football team than they actually are

Marko

Get an exorcist on that Armband of ours.

Brilliant

Marc

Cc

De Gea wasn’t as good with the ball at his feet but his shot stopping etc more than made up for that.

I mean what is he 28? It’s not as if he’s hit old age or he’s lost that extra 1%. I wonder if he’s got a bit of the Ozil’s about him – always dreamt of ending up at Madrid and it didn’t happen, he then landed a silly money deal at ManU and looks like he’s switched off.

TR7

Martinelli and Laca more likely to complement each other than Auba and Laca. I am all for selling Auba if we get good money for him.

Nelson

Ljungberg has gained a lot of respects by making a stance on Ozil. It’s a warning to all the players to behave as a professional. I wouldn’t mind we get rid of Auba and Pepe. Auba is down tooling. Pepe only starts to play when he has the ball. Also, he is not a team players.

Marko

To be fair Charles blaming a major portion of the decline of Arsenal on mongos and third worlders is a bit racist or racist sounding. But it’s Don so it’s expected

Marko

Agree about De Gea still a top keeper but he’s playing like gick at United. Similar to Leno’s last season or two at Leverkusen before his move.

Valentin

Dissenter, I may be wrong, but From the video I have seen, he is the one who went after people confronting and insulting them for their chanting. He was unhappy because he could not record his video. The shout of “AFTV, Get out of our club” basically stopping him from making a video. It turns nasty because they were upset. They want to be treated as professional, then they should have behave like professional and walk away from the situation, but no they escalated it. Remember to what happen to SkySports reporters when they attended transfer window last day in… Read more »

Nelson

Against Manure, Watford is playing better than MC. Their players are very physical. Also, they sit back when they don’t have the ball. Manure’s fast counter football doesn’t work here.

bennydevito

Simon Jordan absolutely destroyed Robbie on Talksport, it was glorious.

Robbie’s now done a video calling out those away fans saying they’re the worst fans and negative etc when his whole platform breeds off negativity. He allows muppets like DT, Troops and that idiot Heavy D to swear, middle finger up, fuck off you cunt etc then has the brass neck and hypocrisy to call those away fans out?

Priceless.

You keep what you sow.

AFTV are an embarrassment to Arsenal as a club and to the fan base.

Hope they continue to get called out.

Marc

This could be next goal wins it. If Watford concede you wouldn’t be surprised if they crumble.

Receding Hairline

Un na nai always carries on like he specifically chose England when coming into existence.

Being from England or Europe doesn’t make you better than anyone. Your conduct and personality is what stands you apart and judging from the way you carry on here you aren’t even fit to be called human

You are repulsive don and I will never engage you on here again

Marc

I haven’t seen any of this AFTV stuff but I don’t like people criticising the away fans unless it’s something beyond the pale – throwing stuff at players, racist chants etc.

Those guys have earnt the right to have an opinion.

Champagne charlie

Marc
See for me that never made up for it because it always appeared he had potential to drop unreal games but his average was lesser than the top, top lot. All a bit spectacular vs really being polished all over.

Benny
Simon Jordan owned absolutely nobody, he runs his mouth on TalkSport talking about stirring fan sentiment for views and generating toxicity.

If you can’t see the walloping irony then that’s a bit embarrassing.

bennydevito

CC,

I’m talking purely in the context of his debate with Robbie.

Absolutely schooled him. Was great.

Nelson

Now that we have a new manager, I hope that the Emirate crowd are united to support Arteta. We don’t need any of those infighting among the fans.

bennydevito

For the record I think Robbie does a good job but the other clowns – DT, Troops and Heavy D especially are an embarrassment.

Steveyg87

Pearson already working his magic at Watford. Some of us might remember he built the Leicester team that won the EPL. They were on an upward trajectory when Pearson was shown the door and Ranieri took over

Pierre

Benny
“AFTV are an embarrassment to Arsenal as a club and to the fan base.”

I’m surprised you feel that way as Many on Le Grove follow the same sentiments as the AFTV mob, and i would put you as one of them.

You are right , they are an embarrassment, just as WOB mentality are an embarrassment on here.

I look at AFTV as a sort of comedy act , similar to the likes of Marko, Bamford, Marc and yourself.

Matt

Interesting comment by Patrick Barclay speculating about whether the club will fulfil Arteta’s expectations. In a nutshell he’s coming from City where the owners want to be the best club in the world to Arsenal where the owners couldn’t care less. Time will tell if he gets the support he needs to get us back fighting for trophies.

Marc

Nelson Most fans in the ground, at least those near me or around people I know are no where near as militant as what you get on here or social media. I’ve only ever seen one “episode” and that was a few weeks ago right towards the end of Emery’s reign. It didn’t look like any punches were thrown but someone was escorted out by the stewards. I think the fans will be happy to give Arteta a chance and if he backs up his comments with improvements on the pitch (no one’s expecting miracles) over time they’ll all be… Read more »

Marc

Pierre

Say’s the guy who stopped going to matches but calls those that still go “vile fans”.

Geriatric OC.

Receding Hairline

Pierre wanting a different manager than Wenger isn’t toxicity.

Funny you are a regular commentator on a blog that pioneered the Wenger out movement. Guess Pedro is a clown too then huh

Valentin

ManUtd is a counter-attacking team, they don’t know how to open team that defend in a compact low block.
Also it would be interesting to know how they fare on average when they don’t score first under OGS.

Marc

Receding

In Pierre’s book Pedro must also be a “vile fan” maybe even the vilest of all fans.

Champagne charlie

Benny

Again, how you arrived at the conclusion is beyond me. Jordan lecturing Robbie about generating toxicity and profiting off of it as someone that’s paid to participate/generate talk on TalkSport…

Schooled? Lol not sure where you went.

Champagne charlie

Not hearing much about OGS the excellent manager….

Gone a bit quiet there.

Pierre

Marc and Receding

Maybe you should be directing your anger at Bennydevito, as he was the one who talked about certain fans like yourself embarrassing the club, all I did was agree with his sentiments.

Marc

Is everyone else hoping for a bore draw between the Spud’s and Chelsea for 89 minutes that then turns into a 27 man mass brawl?

Bamford10

Charlie How is calling the AFTV guys or those who watch them “third worlders” not racist? Please explain. Maybe I’ve misunderstood something, but I don’t see how calling someone a “third worlder” isn’t racist. If you were at the Emirates and you called the AFTV guys or those around them “third worlders,” how would they respond, how would other Arsenal supporters respond? What would they say about what you had just said? I think they (and many others) would regard you as a racist. If there is another way to understand this, I’d love to hear about it. I guess… Read more »

Sid

Xhakalson impressive? damn! the standards and expectations are lowering by the day.
ION: Arsenal to win the Europa league and qualify for the CL
You heard it here 1st!

Dream10

Valentin

There’s a stat floating around (doesn’t seem accurate) that Ole’s win percentage without penalties won by their forwards is 7%.

Receding Hairline

Pierre I don’t react to your posts with anger, they lack substance.

Amusement or pity maybe but no anger.

Marc

Pierre

Benny hasn’t directed anything towards me, you as always try and divert attention.

I’m surprised you haven’t brought up my comment about Torreira needing a break last winter?

Bamford10

United lose to Watford. The PL is a tricky and competitive beast.

TR7

Hopefully Arteta can at least get us finish above United led by exceptional OGS.

Unai

CC, Expect similar output from Arteta as you see from OGS, hes a good coach that has been handed a pretty disjointed squad and is having to fill in with kids.

Lots of parralelles, dont be surprised if we’re blowing hot and cold well into next season too.

Champagne charlie

Marc

Sunday brawl 100% mate, hopefully see Lampard nut Jose to top it off. All after VAR snatches a Chelsea win at the death and grants a Spurs win, only for it to be overturned for a draw.

Pierre

Marc
“Most fans in the ground, at least those near me or around people I know are no where near as militant as what you get on here or social media.”

Of course they’re not….Top tier north bank is one of the most boring positions to watch a game of football , its soulless up there, no atmosphere whatsoever.

Dissenter

Benny Actually my take of the video was Ronnie Lyles wiping the floor Simon Jordan and his poodle Jim White. Talk-sports are still promoting the debate because it actually boosted thier ratings to make money off. This is just a car if traditional media vexing at new media who have outgrown them in certain aspects. AFTV’s YouTube followership is 500k more that Talksports, no wonder the radio station is still feeding off it. YouTube vs a radio station, no wonder they the envious. It’s like the telegram vexing over twitter. I wonder how you came to that conclusion since 99%… Read more »

Dissenter

‘ Hopefully Arteta can at least get us finish above United led by exceptional OGS’

So says the Pochettino guy
Be careful with stone in hand, it very well may shatter your own conservatory

Marc

Cc

Mourinho vs Fat Frank would be most amusing. Mourinho’s definitely going to go in with a eye gouge.

We’ve finally found something we agree on 100%!

CG

Super PedRo Post ….many thanks. For the second season in a row we go to Goodison Park and fail to score. Oh for the days when Wengers teams used to give Evetonians palpitations. 6 and 7’s 5′ and 4’s Maybe that is why the fans are turning on AFTV? They realise great soccer we took for granted is gone. And probably gone forever. Anyway back to the post. PedRo touches upon Arteta stating he was observing our players. Well he ( hopefully) would have observed most of the young players were wearing gloves….. From my bank of TV screens –… Read more »

Bamford10

Rambo “I guess Wenger was performing miracles then finishing worst 6th with this poor squad you constantly go on about.” Well, actually the squad was different from what it is today when Wenger finished 6th. That squad had Monreal, Ramsey, Alexis Sanchez and Koscielny. So you’re comparing apples to oranges. As for not having Aubameyang, OK, but he had Alexander Lacazette, a player some people here rate more highly than Aubameyang. As for Giroud, while he definitely had his limitations, and while I would never in a million years take Giroud over Aubameyang, we have seen that Aubameyang also has… Read more »

Marc

Gary Nevilles just been caned on Sky!

Receding Hairline

Ole won’t get united anywhere. The earlier he is sacked the better.

They have become a team that turns up for the big games but are rubbish for the rest. Fans will enjoy the big wins but its the flat track bullying that shoots u up the table

Marc

“Get the nice watches, the gloves, wags, fags, cars when you start performing.”

Er you need to clarify what you mean by fags. It certainly has different meanings between the UK and US – no idea what it means in South Africa!

Marc

“Top tier north bank is one of the most boring positions to watch a game of football , its soulless up there, no atmosphere whatsoever.”

Not when I’m there it’s not – I’m a one man party machine!

Champagne charlie

Wenger was underperforming with a better squad that he assembled…

We overhauled for competent and professional guys to run recruiting and hire a head coach…

Subsequent head coach wasn’t at fault because the squad is worse since Wenger? All of the sense.

Some people need to give up with the hard-on for Wenger, near 2 years later, 200 mil, 15? new faces, 12 new executive/coaching staff?.. just get over the man, he’s a boring subject at this moment.

Arteta is in because Emery was gash, simple as it comes.

Paulinho

United and their quick dynamic players look good when they can play on the break, but their lack of dimensions in terms of quality get exposed when they are the ones expected to take initiative.

At least they have the players to go to City and do what they did though – we can’t take the initiative or soak up pressure.

Ernest Reed

“I don’t watch AFTV, but when I have watched it,…”

Genius statement!

Love how you come back Bamford and immediately play the racist card and copy and paste every single post from the previous posting so you can once again try to control the agenda.

Total waste of space. What, they turfed you from Arseblog so now you have to come back here with your poisoned pen?

Geez, there goes the neighborhood

Bamford10

Charlie

“Wolves have a better squad than Arsenal. Haha. This sort of talk is actually genuine sentiment from some people.”

Well, if we have a better squad than Wolves, Charlie, if the idea that their squad is better than ours is laughable, as you seem to think, then surely Arteta will be able to close the 4 point gap that exists between us over the course of 20 games, yes? If he doesn’t close that gap, what will you attribute that to? Genuinely curious.

Rambo

Oh this gonna be fun.

“That squad had Monreal, Ramsey, Alexis Sanchez and Koscielny. So you’re comparing apples to oranges.That was a better squad”

So let me get this straight Bamford. As per your numerous posts above, Wenger was a total incompetent fool and was replaced by proper footballing men.

And yet the squad that Wenger assembled was better than what his so called accomplished replacements have assembled.

And he was getting his team playing better football than the modern, astute coach Emery.

Can someone get the hat with the big D for our teacher here?

Valentin

Barcelona signed Jean-Clair Todibo on a free pre-contract last season. That infuriated Toulouse who decide to freeze him. So Barcelona bought his remaining six months for €2 millions. 1 year later they want to sell him for £17 millions with a buy-back clause. ManUtd are willing to pay more but without the buy back clause. Potential profit made £15 millions in one year on one player from lower club of French league. That really prove that getting good players on the cheap is still possible if you know where to look. Like I said at the time, why were we… Read more »

Spanishdave

Seems like Mikel had a lot of youngsters at his first training session today.
Trainers had pads to pressurize the players on the ball.
He’s gonna shake em up!
Xhaka got a headache coming on. Yet Ozil was awake!!

Champagne charlie

Banford

I’m not arguing over the respective Arsenal/Wolves squads.

Arsenal are where they are because Emery completely tanked in all aspects, we had no system, no confidence, no clue.

Arteta is joining that mid-season, and he’s tasked with completely overhauling all that fluff on the fly AND implementing his own ideas and direction – which clearly isn’t an ideal situation.

Sheffield United, Burnley, and Newcastle are above us. All with superior squads based on this inane logic.

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