My oh my, did Mikel need that result. Finally, something to show for the all the process talk.
11th versus 12th is never a nice way to wrap a game, but that’s where we are. This was a very, very important 3 points for Mikel for so many reasons, not least, to counter some of the nonsense written about him by people eager for this move to be wrong for Arsenal
Things didn’t look good, the first half was pretty bad, the opening 25 minutes saw us register a miserly 1 shot at Newcastle’s goal. We grew as the half went on, but you sensed the fans in the ground going from deeply frustrated, to kicking themselves with internalised order to support a squad that was clearly trying.
The second half was a totally different beast. The manager clearly went hard at the players to be more aggressive in the final third. Dani Ceballos was put on the ball more, clearly instructed to pick up the tempo, his searching balls looked for openings for the front three, he was quick-witted, bold and he really made a difference.
Nicolas Pepe, a deeply frustrating talent at times really locked onto whatever was said to him, he was more direct, he looked to stretch Newcastle, and he took risks. He made the first goal, beating a man and finding Auba at the back post, that was a huge relief for everyone.
The second goal didn’t take long to land. Auba played Saka in, the left-back of the day beat two players and sent a ball at Mustafi in the box, Pepe took control of that scenario and buried his chance cooly.
I was really hoping we’d keep up the pressure, but we dropped a little, giving Saint-Traore the chance to rattle the post. I know he’s a nightmare to defend against, but he really did cause Bellerin more problems than I hoped he would. Our concentration wasn’t up to scratch in the final 20 minutes, but we did turn the game again, taking back the narrative.
Lacazette came on, he managed a goal and an assist in rapid time. He first set Mesut Ozil up with what looked like a bungled shot. Mesut’s shot was embarrassingly meek, but he scored with the help of a silly mistake from the Newcastle keeper. A goal that had 35 passes in the build-up. The moment eventually fell for Laca though, Willock worked Pepe into the box, allowing him to tee the goal-shy Frenchman up perfectly for a simple finish. A brilliant way to end the game.
So what did we learn?
I think today showed that we have more depth than we thought. Players that we thought were dead are showing up for the new manager, confidence is starting to pay dividends, it’s really great to see. Proper coaching, who’d have thunk it?!
Mesut Ozil had a brilliant game. He created 4 chances, he worked his socks off, and he kept the ball moving forward, something he hasn’t done over the past year or so. The goal was the cherry on top.
Dani Ceballos looked the player we hoped he’d be. Great energy, really good passing (96% pass completion, noting that he made more than anyone on the pitch), 3 chances created, and 9 ball recoveries. Arteta said he was the best player pitch, noting that his behaviour changed, now he trains and plays like an animal.
Lacazette finally delivered, Arteta said the players love him and he was pleased with the reaction. A lot of people asked why he hasn’t been dropped, seems clear he’s huge in the dressing room. Now he’s scored a goal, let’s see if he can go on a run and pay back the faith of the coaching staff.
Nicolas Pepe didn’t bring the heat in the first half, he was slowing play down, and he didn’t have much in the way of guts when it came to creating chances. Second half, he was a different man, he landed 2 assists and goal, he also looked scary. Running defenders ragged.
… come on, admit it, Mustafi looked elite. He was great, his passing was 89% accurate, he made 9 clearances, 5 headed, and he looked solid again. If he can continue to play like that, he’s welcome to be in the squad. Who doesn’t love a turnaround story? His one could be the most whiplash in football history… literally a meme last summer, now he’s playing like a beast.
We also brought some attacking flair to our game. Lots of people making the most out of a small sample of data to skewer the manager. One of the stats doing the round was that we’ve only managed an average of 325 passes per game under Mikel. Well, today, we were at 590. It’s kind of a pointless stat, but when it’s backed by 4 goals, I’ll take it.
I think overall, the second half showed us the type of football the manager wants us to play. We’ve lacked confidence in the final third for a long time, a 4-0 win should go a long way to restoring that. We have a great forward line, we just needed a system to unlock it. Next up… show some consistency. We are on a mini-unbeaten streak, let’s see if the squad can keep that going for the month.
My final shout goes to Saka. What a talent he is. Next season, I’d love to see him further up the pitch, he’s wasted at left-back, but think about it, he’s 18, playing a foreign position and still bossing it. A brilliant game for him.
The fans in the stadium were superb, they are so important to the success of this season and beyond, they’re behind the project and today showed that. I’m excited, you should be too, let’s see if we can bring a similar level to the 90 against Olympiacos this week.
See you in the comments. x
👋
The reason for the improvement yesterday is pretty simple. Arsenal started a striker with more strength and movement. Lacazette is as I’ve said a million times incredibly slow and incredibly weak. Starting Nketiah changed all that, he could move faster and stronger in the final 3rd. Ceballos wouldn’t be at Real Madrid if he was a mug. The good news is he’s unlikely to get in thst midfield now over Federico Valverde, Casemiro, Kroos, Modric etc so expect us to make an offer in the summer. It was not mentioned on this site, but if you watch football and understand… Read more »
Another thing, saying Saka is wasted as a LB is pretty dumb. As a winger, he’s not gonna start over Auba or Martinelli and LB is perfect because he can cross, he’s got pace, he can dribble and he can score goals. He could be one of the best LBs in world football if he stays there
Thing that impressed me was we kept going and not stop playing at 2-0.
This attitude is what the likes of Man city and Liverpool are made of. Should be persistent and relentless.
15th September 2018 A 2-1
1st April 2019 H 2-0
11th August 2019 A 1-0
So when Emery beats Newcastle it doesn’t count right?
Were you lot nice to Pierre? Did you allow him to gloat last night? 😂 😂 😂
If Saka is happy playing left back more power to him. I personally think all those papers reporting that we are having trouble renewing his contract extension is stirring up trouble to see if they can provoke a story.
You love to see it
As far as I’m concerned it papered over the cracks again, something this club has been doing for at least 5 years now. A better team would of punished us in the first half. Fact is Newcastle are shit up front, that was our saving grace. I’m sorry but rightly so the jury is out on Arteta. So far I’ve seen nothing that tells me he’s the man to drive this club forward. Problem is because of the board and owner , no decent self respecting manager would want to come to us as much as we kid ourselves. We… Read more »
Morning ya’all…arsenal finally won a game of football.Hopefully we can kick on now.I love Bumayo Saka maan…this guy can be Jason Sancho levels…8 assists wow Just don’t understand how people don’t know he has played left back in his youth career,it’s not a new position for him as some here keep saying
Not unrealistic to think we can win europa league if we can get a few more performances like that on the right nights
Say what you will about newcastle, they beat chelsea and drew away w everton 2/3 last league games. The fact that they wilted in the 2nd half has a helluva lot more to do w having to play against a tuned up arsenal than it does w being shitty. We broke them. That is how sports work, you beat the team put in front of you. We made them look like children. Now that we’ve done that, for the first time in god knows how long, we can most definitely do it again and better.
When we were finishing 4th 5th. Many on here complained that Wenger was lowering the expectations of the fans.
Maybe the best decision of late wenger era signing mikel
Reality
Last i checked complaining was still legal
Mid season. Mid table. Regular win over Newcastle. (Emery got 3 in a row). 11th. And we are celebrating like we just won the fa cup. Spurs have just won 3 in a row. Sheffutd 2 in a row. Everton 2 in a row. Sometimes im baffled as to why Arsenal fans think Arsenal are only competing with Arsenal? There’s other teams lads! They are outperforming us and even their previous managers too. Just because you think Arteta is better than Emery (debatable) doesn’t mean Arsenal are better than our rivals. We have to do alot better than 1 random… Read more »
10th*. And we are celebrating
Minimum benchmark.
20 games unbeaten
Or
European final
Cheers thanks.
@ Leeds gunner..
About wrighty ..yes I also listened to desert Island discs.
Very heartwarming to hear Ian give everything from the heart on that broadcast.
His life is an amazing rollercoaster of emotions.
To hear him break down and weep from his memories was truly an experience.
Ian Wright is a legend.
The song “,my way” is his anthem.
David Ornstein @ David_Ornstein 19m
This week @TheAthleticUK – Ajax expect up to 9 exits – Liverpoolup
Cantwell pursuit – Woodward’s 15-min King deadline – Research fuels FIFA agent war – Swansea mumps outbreak – Arsenal 5y Saka deal + travel change – Madrid / Nketiah defend Casilla + more
Saka is given a 5 year deal according to ornstein. Thoroughly deserved and I think he will sign it.
At the fa cup final vs hull at the arsenal bar in san francisco folks had a 4 ft bong in the street, and this is at 8am.
No one is celebrating like its a cup final, were all on fucking le grove. Get a grip
We arsenal- fans have previous little to celebrate…so come on let’s talk positives.
We have come exciting talent with particulatly sako and Martinelli.
We won 4-0 with some good subs on the bench.
We have a good manager that is getting the best out of the players most fans had earmarked for the bin. (Xhaka, Mustafa etc,)
Ok we are short of top 4 quality, but things are moving forward with a good and possibly a great manager in charge.
Time will tell, but let’s enjoy this eh,?
Arteta has to rotate for the Olympiakos game
We have Everton at home on Sunday. They wouldn’t have played for 2 weeks by the time we gave them while we would have played three games in 1 week; that energy differential will be massive against us.
New Castle are a 36% possession team( less away from home), so this was in many ways a perfect opponent to face after the mini break. If I had to name Arsenal’s worst weakness it would probably be our ability to handle the high press and the barcodes are awful at applying it. This is not to knock anything Arsenal did yesterday btw, but just to give some perspective on some things, like the 32 passes in the build up to a goal for example. This was a better result than the performance ( Arsenal are yet to turn in… Read more »
Wenger -Wagner 8.16.
Must agree with you.
“The ingredients are coming together.”
Pepe now has 4 goals and 5 assists in 15 starts and 7 subs in the PL, 6 goals and 7 assists for the season total. Not earth shattering numbers but in a first season where he’s been adapting and in and out of an underperforming team it’s pretty damn good. I don’t care if he spends all training giving wedgies to the coaching staff, he has to play as much as possible from now on, he’s clearly one of the very few difference makers we have. Those who were writing him off after a month are brain dead morons,… Read more »
Sorry for a dose of reality. Yes it’s a badly needed 3 points, but fucking hell guys for large periods of that game and all of the Burnley game we’ve been shockingly poor. Not impressed.
I said during the week that the most prolific creators in the past season are also the players who’s passing stats are poorest. Salah, Debruyne and Trent Alexander Arnold are the players who give away possession the most because they take risks with the ball. They all have the trust of their manager(and the fans). I repeat, Pepe is that player for us and Arteta and the fans must accept that because he is a player who takes risk he will inevitably lose possession more often than most. He is our Salah , he will score and create for fun… Read more »
FL Huge Pepe fan but I disagree with the opinion he should play regardless of how he does in training. Once you let players coast on their talent alone and start showing favoritism , all your hard work ethic speeches by Arteta would’ve been for nothing. Nothing ruins the chemistry of a squad like players realizing some don’t have to work hard to play. Pepe is a work in progress still. His biggest improvement will come when he starts using his upper body and arms to protect himself or to create separation. Right now he’s still relying mainly on speed… Read more »
Tom
I would rather we win football matches by playing the superior talents than reward too many “hard workers” because they perform in training. That’s how you end up with a mediocre team.
Nelson, Eddie Laca etc shouldn’t be starting ahead of Pepe in any must win game imo.
Luisjo “The reason for the improvement yesterday is pretty simple. Arsenal started a striker with more strength and movement” I know you are just taking another dig at Lacazette but yes , movement is the key. Lacazette has become too static and too involved in physical battles instead of trying to lose his marker. Eddie received the usual criticism ( no surprised there) but I feel he had a lot to do with the momentum change in the game, he was quiet for the first half hour and then started to drop deeper and became more involved. Eddie’s movement is… Read more »
Pierre that was true of Sanchez too
Nobody could criticize him or judge him for losing it because his net contribution was massive and it was through taking those risks we were winning games
It’s a fine balance. You have to let the creative players breathe but at the same time you cannot let them coast so much that it creates a bad situation. Pepe and klopp are extremely demanding of each and every player every single day. You don’t build that kind of work ethic by cutting ppl also all the time. Sometimes yes, but u also need to give a healthy jolt so that ppl don’t settle in their comfort zones. Bench time for Martinelli, Lacazette and no match day squad for guen would have lit up a fire hopefully. Its important… Read more »
Pepe looks like a player whonif we can unlock the remaining 15-20% hidden away in there he would be a monster.
I hope we can get more
Don
“Emery handed arsenal over while we were in the bottom half of the table.”
clearly not FACTS.
Arteta also has the privilege of using the same players we spent those 200m on (except Saliba of course, and Tierney who’s been injured the whole time basically, so more like 150m)
I don’t have a problem with Arteta, I have a problem with lying and twisting facts.
Pierre, ‘Aubameyang, Lacazette, Nketiah and Martinelli are all good options and can be rotated without losing any quality’ Actually playing Nkettiah is a loss of quality. He couldn’t get a game at Leeds and now he’s the real deal? That said he was unlucky to not score yesterday, unlucky and also way too casual for a prospect. He lacks urgency and aggression- those are his problems. Martinelli plays like he needs to feed his family while Eddies plays like he can’t wait to get back to x-box. That playing time should rightly go to Martinelli who’s proven his mettle already.… Read more »
Freddie
That only works short term ,if at all.
Long term you build on hard work and bringing in talent that’s the required level.
I get what you’re saying , and it’s a natural reaction to have considering his transfer fee, talent and already more than decent goals/ assists record.
But if Pepe doesn’t work hard at improving all aspects of his game – and that can only be done in training- then for one, he will never realize his full potential. And two, it will create resentment within the squad.
Pepe has started to make some big contributions to matches. I’m pleased for him. Coming from the French “beach” league is a whole new planet in the prem. The pace is curious and the aggression is going to be a shock circa touch player like him.
Yes he is doing much better….but cmon man train that right boot…it’s like a pointless “swinger” at the moment.
Es
True.
We were due a big win, to quell the mob.
Mustafi, luiz, papa are there average cbs
Art has done well to get some structure in there play.
But as you say there is a blip around the corner.
I guess it shows that arts one on one training is working with players.
Long may it last..
We shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves about one win at Newcastle as nice as it was. Specifically what we need now is to put a run of wins together or in the very list a run of form with a good majority of wins If we draw the next game it will feel back to where we were before the Newcastle game The Newcastle win is a spark that we must turn into a catalyst for better form. I think it’s going to be because I don’t think we’re going to stay the same or get worse. I do think… Read more »
Tom I was kidding about the wedgies though, of course he has to work hard in training too but the most important thing is what he does in matches and lately he has been our difference maker whenever he’s played, shouldn’t have been benched as much as he have been. If he had played instead of Nelson and Laca we’d most likely be a couple of positions higher up the table. In the end that’s what matters. A player like Eddie for example can bust his guts all he wants in training he still shouldn’t start ahead of Auba or… Read more »
Can we settle the whole £200m worth of players argument?
According the transfermarkt figures, if you exclude Saliba and Tierney for obvious reasons, that’s around £140m work of talent available to Emery, Freddie,and now Arteta.
What’s the point inflating it other than to score cheap points.
Souness reckons Pepe could be a “special player” for Arsenal.
That’s something we all want Graeme.
When a club, which has ambition to compete in both Champions League and EPL it needs to build a squad, which contains at least 18-20 players who are good enough to play at the highest level without weakening the first team. The remaining 5-7 players should be recruited as either development or experienced squad players who can come into the team to cover for players who need a rest or compete in less important cup games. Arsenal have been well short of the level required to compete at the very top level for at least 16 years i.e. since we… Read more »
FL
I haven’t seen anything from Eddie yet to suggest he’s an Arsenal level player.
But he’s still only 20.
What with the comments Ozil made in Dubai about extending his Arsenal contract and in particular MA not substituting him yesterday it looks like Ozil might well be here for a while. He and Xhaka will certainly be here next season. Ozil will at a minimum see out his contract And I expect Xhaka to be rewarded with another one. He is proper pro. (I think Arteta sees a bit of Xhaka in himself as a player) Lacazette unceremoniously dropped yesterday and the village idiot Genduzi will clearly not. As for Tierney- take the Leicester City money if they offer… Read more »
‘ ‘What’s the point inflating it other than to score cheap points.’
That’s Unai na’s forte. His playbook is to repeat the lie over and over again until it passes for the truth.
I wonder where he learned that from?
Dissenter “That playing time should rightly go to Martinelli who’s proven his mettle already. Eddie should be out on loan.” I disagree and so does Arteta. Martinelli is a very good player but it’s telling that Arteta is prepared to play Nketiah in front of Martinelli . Arteta is on the same page as myself. ““He needs to digest a lot of things,” Arteta told Sky Sports. “The better you do, the more you have to start to digest what people think about you. “He has to think ‘Now, the opponents know me better, the spaces are smaller, I am… Read more »
Nketiah could be a lethal striker, we really don’t know at this stage.i think arteta is right to try him and to snap the other strikers out of their comfort zone.
I think once he hits a few goals he will look a decent striker as with strikers confidence follows goals.
I’d play him in Europe and home games…Use laca in away games and Europe.
Loaning him out won’t achieve much.
“the Crocked Jock.”
Really…..?
“Use laca in away games and Europe.”
Hasn’t Laca failed to score in an away game for about a year?
Last night was the most clichéd game of two halves. We were awful in the first half and a better team would have punished us for it. The second half was much better. Ceballos was great, I would like to see a midfield pairing of himself and Torreira. 23 and 24 years old, could be a pairing for years to come.
Pepe is a handful for any defence. The way the ball sticks to his feet reminds me of Helb.
ES
Most players down tool in their final year of contract. Eriksen and Sanchez are typical example. They both got traded in the January transfer window.
ES “Both Spurs [2018/19] and Liverpool [2019/20] recruited virtually no new players and had good seasons with settled teams/squads” It helps having a good team first before you stop adding to it. We don’t. We also don’t have the resources to lose out on 40-50m for a 31 year old in Auba. Far better replacing him with an up and comer with WC potential, maybe someone like Edouard for 30m. Main priorities remain CB CM and Cam though. No matter the improvements from Xhaka and Ozil and Mustafi they’re still not good enough if we want to be serious about… Read more »
Dissenter I think this was Pedro’s narrative to drive home the Emery was a massive failure point ( he was). If anything , one could actually go even further the other way to debunk the 200m worth of talent gained thing. Arsenal got 6 goals and 4 assists from Mkhitaryan in the PL last season and we payed 38 m for him( transfermarkt). We are only getting some 3m in loan fees for him from Roma, whilst paying more to Real Madrid for Ceballos, who cost Madrid only 10 m and who ,thus far, has no goals and only 2… Read more »
Pierre
There’s a credible point to be made to give Nkettiah an opportunity because we may have to move on both Auba and Laca in the summer for obvious reasons.
Arteta is like the fella who collects stray dogs and wants to fix everything. Let’s hope it goes well.
Nkettiah is the nice guy player, he simply doesn’t bother defenders enough.
Jim Lahey
“the Crocked Jock.”Really…..?
No he is Ronaldo-esque in terms of fitness.
If there is one soccer player in the world that gets the corona virus- guarantee it will be Tierney.
He has had the pubis bone issue,
The hernia issue,
The dislocated shoulder issue,
Whats the next issue?
because this lad will have it,
Shame – because he looks like a good sort and a good pro.
Grab the Leicester City money and run to the hills.
We have got Saka…….and he aint got no injury issues.
We did start slow yesterday, 25 minutes onwards only one team was going to win
What yesterday showed is that Arteta is learning as it was complete contrast to our previous games in that we normally come out of the blocks fast and then run out of steam .
To me ,it seems obvious that it was a conscious plan to pace our game and ease our way into the game.
After the initial.poor opening we created chances on a regular basis were in total control .
Newcastle played a 1-4-5 formation the minute they lost the ball. It is not easy to break this down. In the 2nd half, we managed to score early. After that, Newcastle didn’t defend as compact and our attack had more room to operate.
Two things can improve our attack considerably:
– Keep the Saka/Martinelli connection. Saka and Auba don’t have good chemistry.
– With a dynamic RB, Pepe can take up the position of inside forward. He is much more dangerous when playing further inside than staying on the sideline.
“We have got Saka…….and he aint got no injury issues.”
No he has issues signing a new contract.
Playing Nkettiah yesterday was an unnecessary risk. He has yet not done anything to show that he’s ready to lead the line for Arsenal. Finally dropping Laca only to keep Auba wide when we have Martinelli on the bench when we were desperate for a win is crazy – especially when it looks like 5th could now get a CL spot and at least 2 of ManU, Chelsea and the Spud’s are going to drop points either tonight or next weekend.
Arteta got lucky yesterday.
Pierre,
To me ,it seems obvious that it was a conscious plan to pace our game and ease our way into the game.After the initial.poor opening we created chances on a regular basis were in total control .
No, no and no
We just weren’t good enough and the manager made the necessary corrections at halftime.
I’m pretty sure Arteta doesn’t have your visual field restrictions. You think it was all part of a grand master plan to be shite in the first half?
Great game yesterday, 4 goals and a clean sheet! Lovely.
Here’s a nice little video of Kieran Petrie on BBC:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/51510176
Nelson/Freddy Ljungberg My view is that Arsenal should not offload both Aubameyang and Lacazette in the same transfer window. Aubameyang is 31 and in his final year of contract whereas Lacazette is 28 and has 2 years left in his contract. My guess is that both players will sell for between £40-50 million as a maximum factoring in their wage cost as well. There is no logic in offloading two experienced strikers in the same transfer window. If you are lucky Martinelli or Nketiah might score 10 goals next season in EPL. So you will need to find another striker… Read more »
Like I said before, Arteta has decided that the way to extract the best from Pepe is to just replicate the same movements that he practised under Christophe Galthier before. At Lille he used to cross to the second post for the main striker to score. Because he is let footed, his cross have to be on the second post otherwise they allow the keeper to come in and deal with it. On Sunday, Aubameyang was the beneficiary of such cross. At Lille, the most use movement was Jonathan Bamba skinning the opposing right back and cut back to the… Read more »
Great second half. Still way below our potential, I feel that our passing lacks precision, maybe a confidence issue. Too often the player receiving a pass has their options narrowed by a pass that is ‘to them’/‘behind them’ rather than just ahead of them which allows for quicker, more positive options. Too often the player, having had to check their forward movement, makes a sideways or backwards pass. This does my head in, particularly when it results in Leno having to be the distributor with a 50/50 ball down field. Loved seeing Ceballos taking the ball and turning in one… Read more »
ES Laca barely scores as it is anyway so Martinelli can easily replace his output next season. If we can add goals in midfield with a Cam and CM that are actually capable of scoring goals on a regular basis it takes some of the burden off any new CF. Pepe and Saka will most likely up their goal scoring next season too. Where do you get the 75-100m figures from? How many players has gone for that much? We can’t get a PL ready made striker to replace Auba but we don’t need to either, get the best striker… Read more »
Walt
“”””We have got Saka…….and he aint got no injury issues.”No he has issues signing a new contract.”””””
Not rocket science.
Offer him exactly the same contact as Tierneys.
same duration, same amount, same everything.
Saka refuses – he is transfer listed.
Crikey: we have Hussey, Edu, Vinny and Raul on board now- and they cant get an unknown 18 year old tied up.
Useless the bloody lot of them.
I still do not see what Xhaka gives except slowing down our play and stupid yellows for no reason at all and never going to be convinced with mustaffi as he has a world class mistake in him every other game .Defo move Saka further forward and rotate with him and martinelli on the left , let them fight it out and my money is on Saka great brain and will only get physically stronger .I would defo try laca at 10 and play auba through the middle with Saka left and pepe right drop Ozil and xhaka ,play ceballos… Read more »
I know that a lot of people think that Saka will be a winger, but the more I see him at left back, the more I believe that he is suited to that role.
If he were to start further up, he could not make the same 1-2 touch with the player ahead of him.
I also like the combination and understanding he has developed with Martinelli.
The same way Liverpool uses very attacking fullback, Arsenal may decide that having good attacking fullbacks is the way forward.
One of the many things I like about Arteta is that in post-game interviews he describes the game I saw… warts and all — most managers are highly selective in their memory of the game just played and I find myself saying, “Really?…Really! The game must’ve looked so different from the opposing team’s technical area” 🙂
Pierre,
“To me ,it seems obvious that it was a conscious plan to pace our game and ease our way into the game.After the initial.poor opening we created chances on a regular basis were in total control”
This is just sad!
Arsenal won the game but the performance wasn’t convincing. The score line was flattering. There’s no need to go full Donald Dump. The game wasn’t PPV, so no need to come up with these weird commentary to act like your’e from the Starship Enterprise
Freddie Ljungberg Arsenal paid £72 million for Pepe albeit by instalments. Do you seriously think that Arsenal will recruit an established 25 a season goalscorer aged 23-25 with a sell on value for less than £75 Million? Lacazette is struggling to score 10-12 goals this season, but I suspect that there will be clubs will be willing to pay £40-50 million because he is still 28 and has 2 years on contract. Aubameyang will be in demand with likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter but they will not offer more than £50 million for a player in final year… Read more »
Valentin ‘ I know that a lot of people think that Saka will be a winger, but the more I see him at left back, the more I believe that he is suited to that role.’ Imageee with this, was making the same point yesterday. Just playing full back or wing back doesn’t fully utilize his skill set. He is a better defender than Kolasinac has ever been for Arsenal. Tierney will have to play out if his skin to even bench him at this point Saka uses the entire length of the field well; offensively and defensively, wingers don’t… Read more »
Good day gents. Nice win yesterday.
Still think a lot of these guys are lacking confidence and ultimately we will need to go into the transfer market to improve the technical and athleticism levels of the team but a nice second half performance where the intensity was increased. Onwards hopefully. Our next to league games are at home I believe so a chance to build momentum.
I been saying for ages Saka is a LB. People need to remember FBs these days is a very sexy position. Saka is a ball carrier. That quality is best utilised from deep when it’s harder to stop him once he gets ahead of steam and crucially for his age his end product is fantastic. If his starting position is in the final third he has limited space to move into. He spends 75% of his time attacking anyway as we build up through the left side. Xhaka/Luiz are covering behind him and Auba is stationed inside as a second… Read more »
Cazonarola
Arteta did say Ceballos was the best player on the pitch. It was in the short prezzer held directly after the match by the PL officials. They speak to both the manages, dont take much time. After that Arteta holds the scheduled press conference in which he said what you said.
Dont remember Emery doing the extra scheduled press conferences after the match. Did he do that?
ES “Do you seriously think that Arsenal will recruit an established 25 a season goalscorer aged 23-25 with a sell on value for less than £75 Million?” No, that’s exactly what I’m saying I don’t think we’re going to do. We can however buy a top talent in the 20-23 year bracket for 30-40m and use the rest to fill all the other gaps in the squad in need of filling. We don’t need a 25 goal a season goal scorer (although it would be nice) if we have a competent midfield with goals in them. If we go for… Read more »
https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soccer/soccer-news/head-arsenal-youth-development-explains-21506251 Good piece here. Also note how he mentions Saka has the potential to be top 3 wingbacks in the world. And he’s put it very accurate. Some beleive Saka is a winger and some believe Saka is a LB. But his best position might just be LWB. How his development goes will define if he will become a winger or a LB/ wingback. I’ve been in the Saka LB camp since the first time he played there under Freddie but at the same time I hope he develops into an Elite Winger with KT becoming our LB for the… Read more »
Matteo Guendouz and Arteta issue is going to be interesting. Its was very obvious MG thinks he should be playing and is better than who’s selected ahead of him but lets see how this unfolds.
“Also he’d got amazing quads.”
Pfff, it’s all in the calves, you should know this.
Romford
Would you bench Saka for Tierney or Kolasinac for a must-win game at this particular point in time?
I ask because I’m of the singular view that you have to let this kid ride out the wave. We may have a decent player or an extraordinary player- we won’t know until this crescendo wears it self out. I wouldn’t drop him for anyone now except to get him a needed rest- he’s the starter.
Dissenter, right now there is no need to drop Saka. We dominate most games and centralise build up down the left channel which is why Saka is so involved. Plus he’s a better dribbler than both Tierney/Kola while providing great end product. No need to change at this moment in time. Loads of games to play this season so they’ll all get time regardless
Guendouzi is 20. If he’s not listening to what the manager says he’s gonna ride his wave on the bench.
Did you guys see Arteta’s comments on Ceballos yesterday. Said he wasn’t happy with his training efforts for ages but said in Dubai he was working his socks off so got the chance here. Really enjoyed his technical security. It’s a shame he’s not more athletic as we need the skillset he brings.
It’s telling that we get a result like this after Arteta has had time to work with the squad. I definitely feel we can put together a good run of games and at least put some pressure on the teams above us. I believe Nketiah was played partly as the manager needs to assess the quality of internal replacements for one or both of Auba and Laca next year. He has talent for sure, but I’m not seeing the killer edge to really push him to greatness. It he does still have time. What is clear is that we need… Read more »
Moray, important to remember we’ve had a nightmare run the last two months. Arteta came in at the worst possible point fixture wise. He already said after the Dubai trip it was nice to work on other things with the squad as we’ve had no break since he had been in charge.
Now there’s a game every 3 days virtually so we’ll have to rotate and pick the best team well accordingly. Hopefully this is the start of a bit of momentum being built.
Freddie
I’m with you: I think we should sell both Lacazette and Aubameyang in the summer. We need many new pieces, and we need the funds. As for CF, we can play Martinelli as a CF and we can sign someone like Edouard. This will also allow Saka to play as a wide left, which is a better role for him long term, IMO, than left-back.
The good stuff is back.
Top managers will never play a player that does not show up in training.
Arteta learned that from Pep.
He froze out Pepe initially because he want putting in the defensive shift. Yesterday Pepe was everywhere putting his body on the line and doing the dirty.
Mystic famously stated from the beginning that Guendouzi’s needed benching to help him get his head screwed on right. I disagreed then but he was right. Guendouzi needs to learn how to play his position properly.
Romford, exactly! Arteta has brought us through a tough patch and now has a glimpse of sunlight in terms of our competition.
A good run to build confidence, apply some ideas and maybe even test some mettle (ie Nketiah).
A few good results and maybe we can cause Mourinho to lose even more hair.
Bamford
Welcome back.
Good performances from Ceballos and Saka yesterday, but Newcastle were really poor, so that match ultimately tells us very little, in my opinion. Olympiakos and Everton will tell us a lot more. We now have 11 points in 8 PL matches under Arteta. That’s 1.38 points per match, which is the exact same return we had under Emery in his 13 PL matches this season. While it was good to win yesterday and to score a few goals, I personally think this is more “papering over the cracks” than “corner turned”. I’m still of the view that we are 5-6… Read more »
@Bamford
My point exactly. As has been for last 5 years, papering over the cracks
Dissenter/Romford,
Is Saka better as a left back or as a left winger/attacker?
Hard to say because he is (almost) as comfortable defending as attacking. His heat map yesterday has him spending most of his time in Newcastle’s half.
Depending on what formation Arteta plays next year he could equally play as a left/wing back, or ahead of Tierney in a 4-3-3 or as part of the 3 in a 4-2-3-1.
The guy is so talented that it almost doesn’t matter where he plays on the left. The important thing is that, so long as he is fit, he plays.
ES “””” I suspect that there will be clubs will be willing to pay £40-50 million because he is still 28 and has 2 years on contract.”””” I suspect you will be wrong, One of the consequences of the Manchester City ban- will be the deflating and eventually death of the transfer market as we know it, If Man City can not spend and PSG stop spending and other other clubs sailing close to the wind with FFP do the same – what do you think will happen to the prices of players? they will drop, we are looking at… Read more »
Welcome back Bam, your weird little fanclub has been pining after you this whole time, I’m sure they’re delighted to have you back:)
Yeah, getting 80-100m for those 2 while only really having to replace Auba would allow us to go big in one of the midfield positions.
Edoard + Pape + Havertz would be possible then
or Soumare + Fekir in midfield instead.
Just gives us a lot more options instead of losing 40-50m for the sake of 1 more year of Auba.
CB can be funded by other sales and our existing budget.
The Everton game at home will be a better test of where we’re at.
It may be costly if we play that poorly in the first half against Everton, Theo Walcott would have punished us in that first half. He’s playing well again.
Bamford,
Welcome back.
Sure we should be beating the likes of Newcastle, but that hasn’t exactly been our experience this season.
We need to remember how to be flat track bullies again.
I would bench for Kola for Saka easy. But maybe in a game where we need defensive security on his side I’ll be inclined to play KT.
KT’s got great calves too tho 😂
Freddie
Dont think we stand a chance in the Havertz race.
Being quoted 100m and all the top clubs want him. We might already be out of the race but maybe just maybe a CL spot and a guarantee of starting week in week out could sway his decision? Im hopelessly optimistic.