My life is coronavirus roulette at the moment, I am on a plane again keeping a VERY close eye on anyone sniffling. I’m also not happy about the ‘too good to share your air’ crew with their statement face masks. I have substantial doubts that a $1 mask you bought for $50 on eBay is saving you from this.
So what do we have for you today?
KIKE MARIN DROPPED A BIG HINT THAT ARSENAL HAVE SEALED DEALS FOR TWO PLAYERS.
He responded to an AFTV tweet and said we’ve made moves already, and they are good players. For reference, his taste levels are that Cedric and Mari are not Arsenal level. So hopefully that means the names we have lined up are absolutely a-grade prime meat.
Now, I’m not one for idle speculation, but one would imagine we’ve either sealed deals for players with buyout clauses, or players that have limited months left on their contracts. Upemacano seems like it could be a thing, then I wonder if maybe we’ve signed Timo Werner. The Timo thing is just because I think he’s a good striker and I hear he has a reasonably low buyout. Total speculation on my part, but his game would suit Mikel.
One thing is for sure, the club has to move fast so we don’t get caught in the Euro 2020, ‘the player can’t talk until after they see if their value spikes to unreasonable levels of hypeflation.’
To live in a more grounded world, the positives that we can take from this is that Arteta is more than aware of what he needs to do this summer, and he’s in lockstep with Edu. I hope Arsenal is as aggressive at moving players in as they are at moving them out. I wonder whether part of the deal he had with certain players centered around the quid pro quo of: ‘You stay with me for 5 months, I’ll get you playing better and help you find a better club this summer.’
I struggle to see Auba staying on another year. Not so much because I worry about his age, more because I see him as one of the few genuine bartering chips we have this summer. We could land £50-60m for him, or we could use him as a bartering chip for someone like Coutinho.
Lacazette will still have appeal, regardless of his form. The guy has a solid track record of scoring and I wouldn’t be shocked to see a club from Spain or France come knocking for his services again. Fee is debatable, but if we can get £40m for Iwobi, at a minimum we should be recouping our outlay. I mean Spurs dropped nearly £60m on Ndombele and he still doesn’t have the right level of fitness and we’re in February. There is more than enough money flowing in the world of football to get what we need out of this summer. Then it’s about how we spend it, keep the wage bill sensible, and pray to the footballing gods Arteta can gel them in time for next season.
We should be competing for top 4 next season. Chelsea aren’t that much better than us and I don’t think Lampard is elite. City are in a bit of a mess with the very real potential of losing Pepe. United are looking at replacing Ole with Southgate, need I say more? Spurs will go the way all Jose teams do, but faster. So that creates an opening for us to scrape 4th.
All dependent on how effective our summer is… we have 14 players with question marks over their heads. Quite astonishing how we keep landing ourselves here. At least we have clear leadership in the dugout now.
Right, short post today, see you in the comments. x
as soon as we sign*
“Built a system that relies on the qualities of Xhaka”
That right there is the reason we are not heading forward nor backwards, stuck in a rut. There are better systems to move this team forward.
We can excuse Aubas mistakes coz he carries the team, even be patient with Laca coz he has scored important goals. Probably Kolasi he has come up with assists at some point.
Mustafinovs, Xhakalson and Ozil is everything wrong with arsenal right now.
Im telling you this for free!
Sid
Did we do any better when xhaka wasn’t playing?
For you to have piled up xhaka with ozil and mistaph shows the out of context view of yours.
Xhaka is the least of our problems if truth be told. Yes, we deserve better but with our current status, he is one of the most important players with Arteta’s Style of play.
It wasn’t as if we played better when he wasn’t playing.
TeeFebruary 8, 2020 06:07:42
It wasn’t as if we played better when he wasn’t playing.
Like i said we are no better now that he is playing than when he wasn’t
im telling you this for free!
Burnley 0 Arsenal 0.
Arseblog -( which in no way as good as the magnificent Le Grove.) At last finally shining a light on how Arsenals catastrophic demise has coincided with Rauls arrival. 2 years officially our Fat Spiv has been with us.( more unofficially) and in every single aspect of the Arsenal Operation we have nosedived in. Off course the most glaring illustration of his ineptitude is the League Table. Midtable with a Negative Goal Difference is shameful.( especially after burning through £250 000 000 on assorted players) Quite staggering he is still in his post Quite staggering KSE allow him to continue.… Read more »
This I found quite interesting, maybe Mesut Ozil should have a read and digest it as his game in the last 18 months has become ultra safe and he seems afraid to take a risk with his passing. “Trent Alexander-Arnold has conceded possession 736 times in the league this season – 237 times more than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues. This stat was tweeted yesterday evening by WhoScored, a reputable football data website, and unsurprisingly it quickly gained some significant traction online. On the face of it, 736 is an eye-catching number. It sounds like an awful… Read more »
Well said Pierre. It is one way to put ozil situation into perspective. I have my reservations for Özil but you have made some good points in his defence.
Major jeneral
I haven’t been over impressed with Ozil all season, I prefer the Ozil who looks for the killer ball .
He’s played ok , that’s about it.
There have been a number of occasions this season when he could have been braver in his decision making on the ball..
Nice call Pierre on that website.
“WHOSCORED . COM.”
Ok, so now we’re comparing a dynamic, fit, youthful, proactive,committed, team orientated individual, in TAA, to Mesut Ozil.
The depths you go to Pierre to justify Ozil’s benefit to the team, are just unbelievable.
What were the stats I wonder for TAA after he lost possession. You know, regaining possession, urgency to win the ball back, track back, fulfill your duties as a team player, actually show you’re committed to the cause.
Excuses excuses excuses. It never ends.
Pathetic.
James wood
Actually copied from here ,hence the inverted commas …
https://www.liverpool.com/liverpool-fc-news/features/liverpool-trent-alexander-arnold-stats-17707161
Graham I do understand that with you it always has to be black or white , but if you care to read what I said you will find that it is more a criticism of Ozil’s game than an excuse. Sometimes Graham it’s good to look outside of the box as to why a player or players are not performing to their maximum. Torreira for instance under Emery , Sanchez at United , Pepe and Lacazette this season, it’s not always just about their football ability for their poor form . Posters like you and the abusive Ernest Reed have… Read more »
Graham
What is your beef with Pierre?
The analysis he provided was thought provoking and just because you are anti Ozil as indeed I am now there’s no need for that rant
What is for sure is that whoever plays in that #10 role needs to be able to do this for our strikers to find space
No, I have a problem with your constant regurgitation of Wenger and Ozil, Pierre. Its boring, rote, tedious and annoying. Move on already!
Is Ozil even relevant in todays football world?
The only place he’s relevant to Arsenal is our wage bill.
Northbanker.
Pierre thinks Ozil is the second coming everyone else thinks Ozil is done at the highest level and needs to leave asap
That’s the issue with Pierre all he talks about is how great ozil is
Ozil is trash end of
https://www.liverpool.com/liverpool-fc-news/features/liverpool-trent-alexander-arnold-stats-17707161 I found this interesting because one wouldn’t have thought that players like Trent Alexander Arnold and Debruyne would be top of the list for losing possession. Messi and Neymatr are top in their respective leagues. It also had me thinking of how Pepe plays the game and often is criticised for losing possession. Pepe plays on the edge , meaning he can either be looked at as prolific or wasteful , whichever angle your coming from. Pepe’s scoring and assist this season have been pretty good considering the amount of criticism he gets , so maybe we should use… Read more »
Three years of reading your perceptions on things, I really don’t need you to educate me on ” looking outside the box”. Actually, by bringing TAA into the argument shows your limited understanding of not only the game in general but also Ozil’s abilities to absorb what is needed and how to improve his game. I agree with your take on Torreira, Pepe, Lacazette and Sanchez at MU, but we’re talking about Mesut Ozil here. A player that has consistently underachieved at Arsenal under 4 different managers and who’s self-awareness is practically non-existent. Poor form is supposed to be temporary… Read more »
Pierre we rarely see eye to eye but I agree fully with what you’ve added there And about Sanchez. Yeah it’s right he lost the ball a lot but he was like a howitzer smashing relentlessly against defenses until they broke. It’s ugly when it misses but with top talent and a relentless attitude you do get your results I would feel much better to see ozil come slightly deeper, get a little more space and time on the ball and look up to play a killer through ball to on rushing wingers and fullbacks. That’s what he can do… Read more »
Crazy that some still don’t want to see the current midfield teared up and start again. How are Arsenal going to up the pace of their game going forward and yes up the pace of their possession football if the current midfield is still around next season? Quality possession football doesn’t mean slow football. Man City don’t play static possession football. Their players are on the move all the time with give and go passes while they are in possession. Barca and the height of their tika-tika wasn’t slow either. Again it was players constantly on the move. So I… Read more »
It’s importabt that ozil is more of a team player and puts in the donkey work arteta expects but it’s also important that ozil is set up to bring use to the team
If he’s playing safe, not creating chances and just running around more then I can name you 15 players in the league who can do the same or better.
He needs to strike that balance of being a team player off the ball but on the ball it should be all about his n1 strength which we haven’t seen for ages
Wasi you are absolutely deluded if you think Arsenal’s current possession play is going to be effective and productive enough in moving this team forward and getting near the top end of the table next season.
I hate ozil as much as the next guy but if you’re going to pick him you have to set the team up to enable his strengths.
This means blistering pace and running on the wings and FBs overlapping and Auba up top for tap ins
None of this laca arsing around up front and our wide players struggling etc
Pierre
Every Arsenal fans love a peak Ozil. The reality is, the current Ozil can’t do the thing he used to do a few years ago. He doesn’t have enough energy to direct play in the final third. Wenger challenged him to score 10 goals. Now I challenge him to have 10 shorts on goal. For the good of Arsenal and Ozil, it is time to move on.
Ozil will also benefit enormously from the return of 2 touch football between defense and midfield
It’s so slow and methodical that when ozil is on the ball the whole team is static and there’s nowhere forward to go
But when the players are passing and moving at speed gaps and spaces open up all over the shop and ozil is the only one with the technical ability to exploit that on the ball
As much as Emery turned out a huge, huge disappointment, to justify Ozil’s decline with Emery is so disingenuous and fake is far, far beyond the clutching at straws arguments. 1. Ozil has always been a safe player. 2. Even when Alexis was still here Ozil would be the safe player and Alexis the risk taker. 3. Ozil was a shit player for years. Years before Emery stepped in at the Emirates. He didn’t turn shit in the 18 months under Emery. He was shit for a long time under Wenger. 4. Maybe Emery wasn’t playing Ozil because you know…… Read more »
“Crazy that some still don’t want to see the current midfield teared up and start again.”
And that precisely sums up the constant arguments on here – if people think there are members of the current squad who can be “coached” into being good enough they are beyond deluded.
We have some foundations to build on, some promising youngsters but there’s a bunch of players who have been hanging round either just not good enough or not suitable for what we need.
Haha raptora well I hate ozil as much as the next guy, but if arteta is going to pick him he should be smarter about it
Ozil had 19 assists four years ago, leading the EPL.
I hope Arteta reads the last posts on Le Grove as of now, mine being the catalyst 😂
“There have been a number of occasions this season when he could have been braver in his decision making on the ball..”
Maybe, just maybe, Ozil cant be bothered any longer to put in a shift? Maybe its just me, but he has the look of someone who pretty much has called it a day, and that was some time ago.
The money being spent on Ozil’s wages are a massive burden on a club that is pretty much in financial trouble and the only way they can spend is to sell. This was and remains money very poorly spent.
Marc “And that precisely sums up the constant arguments on here – if people think there are members of the current squad who can be “coached” into being good enough they are beyond deluded.” Static possession football isn’t going to shoot Arsenal up the table right into the thick of top four is it. I mean Arsenal could get around it somewhat by basically throwing the midfield away and rely more on wide play but that would be a shame and would also probably end in failure if getting this club back to the top end of the table is… Read more »
Ernest
I’d actually say that Ozil really upped his work rate under the early matches under Arteta – his level has dropped off since purely because I think he doesn’t have the fitness level to be able to play at a high intensity level for more than a couple of matches.
The issue is even when his work rate was increased his out put was poor.
Don’t sit on that fence will ya Raptora lol.
Agreed Marc.
Ishola
My fear is that we don’t have the money to rebuild in the manor we need to – the view that we’re going to get fortunes for the likes of Xhaka and Mustafi is laughable. We then hear sell Auba to fund a rebuild? A replacement will cost more than what we sell him for unless we are incredibly lucky.
China
“If he’s playing safe, not creating chances and just running around more then I can name you 15 players in the league who can do the same or better.”
Exactly…
The reality is that Arsenal are in trouble, both on the pitch and financially. You could see this one coming years ago when they went away from addressing needs to picking up a player who suddenly was made available, even though what you had was already more than good enough. The neglect of this club is constant now and the results are clear and evident in the standings table. To be honest, this goes so much deeper than just the coach, it permeates the entire organization and the mismanagement is staggering. When the talk here is about what you can… Read more »
Pierre
So what is your solution?
Ernest
I agree I think a lot of people are in denial about the value of some of our players and our financial position – part of this could be down to spending a lot more than what was reported we had to spend last summer.
I think, and maybe i am wrong on this, that we spent this summers transfer budget last summer? If this is true Marc, then this appears to have been yet again another case of money poorly spent as many of the big ticket players have not panned out. And for the record, the expectation is that you get value right away, not down the road or never in some past instances. You cant spend this kind of money and see what we are seeing (Grand Master Pepe comes to mind easily).
And to ky earlier point, why did Arsenal spend an outrageous fortune on Pepe, someone we really didn’t need, instead of addressing our more serious and glaring issues on defense and midfield? Fundamental mismanagement is the only thing that comes to kind.
Perhaps a coffee is in order as i cant seem to differentiate between the “m” and “k” keys.
Ernst I’m not sure we spent this summers money last year but we certainly rolled the dice on achieving CL football for next season. We now have people hoping we don’t even make EL football because of the “boost” it will give us. The level of delusion is worrying. I think criticism of Pepe is overly harsh to be honest – he came into a team that had issues and wasn’t’ functioning correctly whilst having to adapt to a new country and much faster league. People forget it took time for Pires and Henry to adapt. What we really need… Read more »
Ernest
“And to ky earlier point, why did Arsenal spend an outrageous fortune on Pepe, someone we really didn’t need”
We had no wide players last season and no outlet – a winger was a requirement.
Agreed Marc, no EL means no money and likely no real transfer target improvements.
Regarding Pepe, the jury is still out on him. He may not be a EPL type of player and maybe it will take him time to sort it out? Either way, his performance this season has been not as advertised and it places a bullseye on his back, not because of him, but rather that transfer fee that sets expectations.
I saw and still see greater need in midfield and defense Marc, but valid point from you.
Ernest
” but rather that transfer fee that sets expectations.”
Internet noise and children are best ignored! Pepe might not work out but tell which players can honestly be claimed to have had a good first half of the season?
I know people Have some issues wiyh our squad, but honestly the positions we really need to Adress as starters are CM, CAM and CB (though Mari and Saliba might have something to say about that). I know it’s the spine of the team but there are good players at decent prices if we look for them. The rest of the Positions, we could easily fund from selling our own players. Our attack Has real talent and depth to it. It would only need fixing If someone leaves. Midfield needs real Work. Defense needs addressing with a backup left back… Read more »
Ernest Defence and midfield need attention but I think the club took a view of what can we do at the moment and where is the squad. We bought Saliba for the long term and Luiz to cover Kos leaving, a new left back to replace Monreal – this was seen as being enough to get us through. Midfield Xhaka was / is seen as being suitable (fuck knows why) and Torreira is at minimum a decent player, Ceballos was brought in on loan as well. We also had some highly rated youngster coming into the first team squad. What… Read more »
Damn! Walcott can still cross the ball. 1 – 0 Everton
I think pepe would do better with an aggressive wing back overlapping more often
We know he much prefers to cut inside but if there’s no one outside to foil him coming inside it makes him look a bit isolated in the opposition half sometimes
China
Could well be but we’ve only had one real RB in the squad up till now and he’s been injured.
Again that’s just another issue that won’t have helped him adapt.
The Cedric I remember from couple of years ago was a really good full back.
Not a surprise rumors were he was a transfer target for Barcelona, Juventus, Chelsea, Manure and us at the time.
That player was good.
If he’s dropped the level is another story.
But no way is he a Lichtsteiner or AMN. He’ll do okay for us.
Zaha is such a cunt with all these diving he does in the box
I’m glad we didn’t buy him.
Damn Tierney is looking fit. Any body know why he is being earmarked for a return in March? Dude looks like he is already fit and in full training
We won’t get top 4 with a manager that can’t pick the best team. Lacazette will likely still be here next season because only Arsene Wenger bought him because he was senile, no club in world football wants a short, slow striker that doesn’t score away goals. Championship sides haven’t got the money but he is a championship quality player and he gets picked every game by Arteta
Habesha
A dislocated shoulder is not something you want to do repeat damage to – it’s probably a case of getting him fully fit and up to speed with next season in mind.
I’m not sure when Kolas is back but Saka has done a very solid job there.
When you look at this current arsenal squad vs the ones between ’14 and ’18, there are positives at every position. We have a ball-playing winger now. We have a top-class finisher like Auba. We have a gutsy DM like LT11. We do have CBs who are supposed to be better than Kos plus Per plus whoever else used to put in shifts? Leno, by no means is poorer than Cech. We also have 2 LBs, one of whom was billed as best among Europe best young talent. Guend and Ceballos are way way better than Wilshere & Co. But… Read more »
Actually technically we replaced Sanchez with Miki.
Marc
Dislocated shoulders don’t often require surgeries, especially in young healthy subjects
I just wonder if this was a recurring injury that made the club opt to a definitive surgical fix.
Dissenter
We had our fingers burned with Walcott getting repeated dislocations. Probably find it was a win with no downside.
I think the 2 key positions to consider are DM and CAM
CB would only need to be addressed if we manage offload Sok and Mustafi and even then it might depend on the progress of Marí and whether Holding gets enough game time to re-prove himself or else he will also be sold
Northbanker
It’s less DM and more the player next to Torreira that is a priority. I can see both Sok and Mustafi (please God) being sold in the summer so with Chambers injured that would leave us with Luiz, Holding and Saliba so another CB would be required.
Peanuts
Agree that a CAM is badly needed to create the space for our forwards
The Sanchez factor is I believe already resolved with the development of Saka and Martinelli. Once we have our LBs back (for better or worse Kola should be available next week) we can move Saka back to LW
I would only buy a striker if Auba leaves and get rid of Laca anyway
Perhaps next year we may see the emergence of Balogun as squad material
“Actually technically we replaced Sanchez with Miki.:
1) well, technically, we replaced Sanchez by Miki commercially
2) what a cropper that decision came up to be
3) I still think we could have put up with Miki for a while. Laca turned out to be worse. laca is just parking his time in London.
Northbanker As long as Auba doesn’t throw his toys out of the pram and unless someone comes in with a mega money deal – £80 million area I would keep him even if it means he goes on a free. In a better team next season he could be the difference between top 4 and mid table. The £60 or so million it would give us would be worth losing a player who would not bring in more in a transfer fee. Our biggest problem is Laca – if he can’t get his act together his value will be pretty… Read more »
Carlo Ancelotti is not doing too badly at Everton despite all the talk about not having enough sauce for Arsenal 🤦🏽♂️
Just caught the last 20 minutes of the Everton game and it was quite impressive how high their work-rate was in closing down the opposition in the later stages of the match.
A little marooned now in 10th.
Carlo Ancelotti has quietly moved Everton to 7th place to a position where a remote run at 4th place is not impossible.
At least they will be gunning for that EL spot which will be a step-up for a club such as Everton.
You can’t pare results away from performance
Arteta needs to start showing the sauce because really the teams currently above Arsenal from 9th place are not clearly inferior sides atm.
Luis Alberto of Lazio has become quite the player. Looked like he was never going to make it at Liverpool but He looks a totally different player now. Another player we could target for a CAM role in the summer.
Dissenter
Hey thats great news. When they make 4th we can sell him a bunch of squad players they can afford
Looks like Carlo has that special sauce himself
That’s the point I’ve been making for a few weeks now. The lack of wins is not only a “thing” because it means even an outside run at top 4 is a no go but come the summer how attractive will we be? Yes Arteta is a highly rated young coach who many think (and outside of here) has a really bright future in the game but he needs to show he’s a “winner”. In his case it’s getting a run of PL wins, the Pooooch never won a trophy why are ManU being linked with Southgate – another mediocre… Read more »
Zach
Why would you buy a bunch of players to help you compete in the CL when the those very players took Arsenal from top 4 to 5th to 10th?
Marc,
“Yes Arteta is a highly rated young coach who many think (and outside of here) has a really bright future in the game”
Says who?
@Marc
Fuck them, let utd go for Southgate. I agree he’s average. Then next season when Arteta goes we can get Poch. Lol.
I want Arteta to succeed but I said on here months ago I think this is to big a job for a novice manager. Let’s hope Arteta proves me wrong. Don’t get me wrong, rather Arteta than Emery, but I would of preferred Carlo.
DNA
Henry Winter and the other journalists on Sunday Supplement last week and Pep Guardiola for a start.
Doesn’t mean he does just means he’s rated by some.
Musa Barrow of Bologna.
Boga of Sassuolo.
Two wingers/support strikers I’ve enjoyed every single time I’ve watched them this season.
TYAG
You missed my point – if the Poooooooch is as good as everyone seems to think why are ManU looking at a manager who was pretty shit at managerial level and if you’re honest had a piss poor world cup performance wise?
There has to be something that put’s them off of the Pooooooooooooch!
Arteta just needs to get those few wins on the card and then his early stint then begins to look pretty good = only one defeat and those added points on the board. So the Newcastle match is really a must win and then the Everton game will be an interesting one. Only thing is that Everton match comes just a few days after Olympiakos away match and I don’t think the Greeks will be an easy tie. They lost narrowly at home to Bayern and drew with Spurs both at home in the CL and were giving Spurs a… Read more »
Up to now, Arteta has design a system to accommodate a slow Xhaka. The attack is tilted to the left side. As Arteta said,” being a left footed CB, Pablo Mari will balance the defense. ” Now we can sign two box to box CM’s teaming up with Torr thereby saying goodbye to Xhaka and Ozil.
@Marc
He’s waiting for the Arsenal job 😁
The thing with Olympiakos is that they have goals in their side.
They scored six goals on Spurs and Bayern in their matches against them in the CL.
So looks like Arsenal will have to get their shooting boots on and this can be done because although Olympiakos didn’t do too badly against Spurs and Bayern they had a horrible result away to Red Star Belgrade shipping three goals there.
So we can expect goals most probably in the EL ties against them.
Nelson
“Now we can sign two box to box CM’s teaming up with Torr thereby saying goodbye to Xhaka and Ozil.”
Sounds good doesn’t it.
Whether it will happen is another story.
Marc,
“Doesn’t mean he does just means he’s rated by some”
Cool!
Most of them capping though! MA hasn’t proven anything at Arsenal yet to substantiate those claims. If he doesn’t improve his team selection, game management and substitutions in games coming up, he will be gone early next season. His back room staff needs serious upgrade too!
If we get knocked out of the Europa League I got one think it will be a good thing. Because I really don’t think some fans realise we are already in a relegation battle. Let’s not kid ourselves we’re to good to go down. While players are playing a little better, as of yet I haven’t seen ANY special sauce from Arteta. He’s still playing the wrong players and whilst we’ve slightly tightened up at the back, creatively we are worse off than even under Emery.
@GunnerDNA
Spot on. My sentiments exactly
Ishola Have you looked at our remaining fixtures? Our next 6 fixtures could all be classed as must wins, in fact I’d say anything other than 5 wins and a draw would be poor. Those fixtures are: Newcastle H Everton H West Ham H Brighton A Southampton A Norwich H After that our run in is pretty brutal: Wolves A Leicester H Spud’s A Liverpool H Villa A (could still be fighting relegation) Watford H (could still be fighting relegation) We also have City A which will be inserted in there somewhere. Out of those 7 how many points does… Read more »
P&m’s “When you look at this current arsenal squad vs the ones between ’14 and ’18, there are positives at every position.We have a ball-playing winger now. We have a top-class finisher like Auba. We have a gutsy DM like LT11. We do have CBs who are supposed to be better than Kos plus Per plus whoever else used to put in shifts? Leno, by no means is poorer than Cech. We also have 2 LBs, one of whom was billed as best among Europe best young talent. Guend and Ceballos are way way better than Wilshere & Co.But in… Read more »
DNA
Again you missed my point. Even if Arteta is considered the 2nd coming of managers if we don’t put a run together we go into the summer with what attraction to new players? A couple of wins, a few losses and a world record number of draws?
@Pierre
“Whether you meant to or not, you have just made a very good case for the managerial skills of Arsene Wenger.”
You also need to take into consideration the improvements of the opposition’s in that time frame also! No?
Marc
Newcastle H
Everton H
West Ham H
Brighton A
Southampton A
Norwich H
Well there are four games there that should be won at this stage and to help Arteta and the side along those being Newcastle, West Ham and Norwich at home and Brighton away. Not so sure about Everton at home and Southampton away.
Four wins and two draws out of that lot and Arsenal will rise up the table and Arteta’s start at Arsenal will actually start to look good.
Ishola
We’ve achieved more league wins against Everton than any other team in history.
They’ve been our bitches since football started – if Emery was in charge or if we’d appointed another manager instead of Arteta Pedro would be demanding a win especially after a winter break and some warm weather training.
Ishola
Also if we can’t beat Everton at home what will we do against City, Wolves and the Spud’s away and Liverpool and Leicester at home?