Manchester City preview (feels good)

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Let’s start this post off with a big congratulations to Man of the Quarantine, Marcus Rashford. The guys has been relentless in his giving, donating money when others dithered, then campaigning to land the kids of the UK a meal during a very challenging summer.

That there is a counter-argument to such a campaign shows the depth of misery some people voluntarily dive into. You have a dark heart if you think empathy, during the worst pandemic of the last 100 years, is misplaced here. There is no financial planning that could see parents in, say, the hospitality industry, through this moment. If you are chirping off about this on the internet, find a friend (if you have one) and ask them to confiscate your phone for a month because you are a disgrace.

Onto the football.

ARSENAL PLAY TOMORROW!

I couldn’t be any more excited about the restart. Sure, it’s likely we’ll get beaten, but who cares, we’re back in the mixer and we still have a European spot to play for. The manager says it’s one game at a time, and I agree. If the players react well to the full preseason we’ve just had, we’ll be in good shape… if they don’t, it’ll be problematic for the fans waiting in the wings to avenge the beheading of Senor Emery.

There’s a lot to be excited about.

We’re going to see the kids. The manager has a big bench and 5 subs he can make now. New youth will get a chance. This will set the tone for the summer and hopefully show the world the Arsenal we’re going to build over the next 5 years. We are one of the best-placed clubs when it comes to teenage talent, let’s hope we meet a new star

Better off-ball movement. Arteta has been trying to build a more cognitive style of football at the club. He’s teaching players shapes and triggers that help our off-ball movement. That was tough to do midseason, but a month in the training field is kind of ideal to implement this elevated approach to the game. The hope is that we see a better style of football, less mistakes, and more intelligence on the field.

Senior turnover is bound to happen this summer, but don’t expect it to be reflected in the starting 11. Arteta wants to win a cup and he wants to make the top 4 this season. That means he’ll lean on experience. Why ‘could’ that work? Well, our bigger names are low on contract in a very uncertain world. They are going to need to prove they are value buys so they can extend out their futures this summer. I expect to see fully committed players on the pitch because everyone is playing for their future. PUMP THAT VALUE.

Style. Yes, this something I’m looking for. I’d like us to move out of functional to something more elevated. We debated this on last nights podcast. What will we see? Getting by with what you have? Or something more exciting that shows the future? I’m hoping for a middle ground. But we’ll see.

The away advantage has gone in the Bundesliga.\

Since the Bundesliga returned in front of empty stands, where they call them the “ghost games” (“geisterspiele“), home teams have won 21.7% of matches (10 from 46 games), down from 43.3% before the shutdown of play in March. Home teams have also scored fewer goals — the pre-lockdown rate of 1.75 goals per game is now down to 1.28 — while the away teams’ winning ratio has risen from 34.83% to 47.8%. The same trends have been seen in Estonia (after 29 games there were just 11 home wins) and Czech Republic (after 32 games, just 10 home wins) since their leagues resumed when behind closed doors.

This works well for Arsenal because, you know, we’ve been shit away from home for years. The hope is that we level the playing field, win some games we might not have, then build confidence going into the future.

We can dream, right?

Ok, before I go, click my podcast and GORGE on its goodness. We cover about 500 topics. It’s great.

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So defensively we are still as shit under Arteta as we were under Emery, yet we’re worse off from an attacking point of view under Arteta….please explain how Arteta has improved us.

peanuts&monkeys

Results aside, is that how you play that level? No fuckin plan to attack???? No attack plan means no plan to win, isnt it?

R.S.P.C.Arsenal

ES Sorry but I have to pull you up. As far as I can see I have been they only one who wants know Europe football at all. If I remember you said would be a disaster, catastrophic for the club and must not happen Well it does need to happen if the club won’t be rid of scum sceptic owner who don’t spend we will need to go back to basics. That means building again Strangely clearout Auba L a car Pepe Xhara Mustard Luiz Ozil Kola Straight away. No Europe… Arsenal the true Brexit club. Back one step… Read more »

@peanuts
Result aside mate, let’s be honest in at least half if not more of those games we drew we were lucky. If their strikers had been any better we would have lost those games too. Sorry but nothing I’ve seen has convinced me Arteta is man for the job.

peanuts&monkeys

“please explain how Arteta has improved us.”

You won’t hear a word today. You will only get to hear ‘ give the chap more time, more time….’ Too early, too early’

I am saying it is ‘same old, same old’. Playing style wise, who here can give us some light how it has changed from Emery?

Valentin

time to ruthless: Luiz has shown that he may an honest, decent guy off the pitch the problem is that on the pitch in a back four against top opponents he is a disaster: a penalty or red card in waiting. No extension. The experiment of using Aubameyang on the left against top opposition should stop. He may be a top marksman, but his lack of tracking and movement outside the box is an hindrance in such game. Again he was a passenger, barely involved in the play and That is a reason why he rarely score against top 6… Read more »

peanuts&monkeys

“Back one step to go go forward 3.”

With Arteta, we are already one step behind than we were in 2019.

Graham62

Actually fell asleep watching the game.

What can you say about David Luiz.

Injuries didn’t help, even though one was GX.

Pablo Mari was doing fine until the injury.

To be honest, it was a tough watch. We all know how things are going to be for the foreseeable future but it’s going to be tough to keep watching something that is not football as we know it.

City could have had 5 or 6.

peanuts&monkeys

How many steps backward can you afford to go?

London gunner

Tbf I don’t rate arteta but he is hardly functioning under the beat conditions.

Takes over a mess of an Arsenal team .

Season gets disrupted with his new team due to Corona.

I think this season is a right off but I want us playing good attractive football by end of the season that’s the minimals for me.

LeMassiveCoq

Pierre. Good post, don’t completely agree with all of it but good never the less

@Peanuts
By the way I’m no Emery fan. But fairs fair. If he was so shit, then surely Arteta’s Arsenal are an improvement aren’t they? Obviously not…. so I ask again, just how are things better under Arteta ?

peanuts&monkeys

“City could have had 5 or 6.”

I was praying they score 6 or 7. Things might have changed back in the mngt then. This 3-0 is of no use.

peanuts&monkeys

“Obviously not…. so I ask again, just how are things better under Arteta ?”

who the fuck is saying Arsenal has improved under Arteta?

peanuts&monkeys

Its clearly evident Mari’s and Xhaka’s injuries happened due to poor fitness programme.

Though i was happy Ceballos came in and immediately improved us on the pitch.

Also funny that some fans are saying, ‘ judge him after the Brighton game’…..really? Just really ffs. So if Arteta beats an ashurst wood under 9 team we should judge him on that game, not the games against top 6 opponents. Surely the games against the so called big six are the games we should be judging our manager.

peanuts&monkeys

This Ceballos guy is damn good. Arsenal should buy him at whatever the price. He is the kind of guy we need to reorganize the team.

I can’t believe Arteta chose Xhaka over Ceballos. It was such a mistake. And, it was easily proven when Ceballos started shining.

@Peanuts

Their have been quite a few people saying we’ve improved under Arteta. Maybe not today after last night obviously, but theirs been a fair few blowing his trumpet on here.

peanuts&monkeys

Tierney is good. Ceballos is good. Arteta has no idea how to use these guys to score goals. Let him go back to Pep, learn and then return. We will wait. we will make goo with Freddie till then. Will hardly make any difference. Will it?

Gonsterous

I think the arteta out signs are a bit premature. We all agree the personnel is crap and no amount of managing can change that, so we may have to wait at least a season to really figure out if we are going in the right direction or not. A bit of patience for the manager maybe good for him. Not adding too much pressure on the manager will help him find long term solutions rather than short term get out of jail cards which won’t benefit us in the long run. We can’t keep spending millions every window, that’s… Read more »

Leftside

My thing is that Saturday 3pm will roll around and then there will be confusion at the lineup and the in game management will cause further confusion.

Refusal or inability to learn from mistakes will continue to hinder us. It may not be much of an improvement but we could start by playing players in their actual positions and picking the lineup that will give us the best chance to win the game.

Ishola70

Graham62 “Pablo Mari was doing fine until the injury.” I’ve seen this said by quite a few but it realy wasn’t the case. Probably said because the game stood at 0-0. Within the first five minutes he made a very poor challenge on the edge of the penalty area. Hugely dangerous and I was expecting De Bruyne to slot that freekick and Man City take a really early lead. As it turned out Leno had to make a decent save to keep it out. Then he got absolutely roasted by Walker and he only got injured when he was trying… Read more »

Gonsterous

I agree that ceballos is way too expensive for what he provides. If real want 10-15 m, we should buy, anything more than that, add it to the cash to buy Jack Grealish.

Graham62

Ishola70

You could be right but what we had was a damn sight better than what materialised after he left the field of play.

Bringing on Luiz changed the psychology of both teams..

Arsenal became more passive and as you rightly say, MC “upped”it.

🍺

Sorry but why shouldn’t we judge Arteta after 12 games? What has he done that makes people believe he should be given time? Defensively we’re the same, from an attacking point we’re worse under Arteta. It’s clear to most fans on this site that AMN ,Willock,Nelson ,Eddie are not good enough for Arsenal, yet Arteta still selects them.

Most people could see from the first few games they played for Arsenal, Viera,Anelka,Cole,fabregas that they were watching a special young player. People can see Saka and Martinelli have something in them to reach the top of their game. But AMN, Nelson , Smith Rowe , Willock and Eddie , it’s too blatantly obvious these players won’t cut it at Arsenal or any so called big four team.

andy1886

With Ishola on Mari, he was off the pace, looks cumbersome and reckless. He’s another one of those that some had decided would be good even before he’d played a few matches. We have so many CB’s and we don’t need another iffy one. TBH without Luiz’s brain farts we probably would still have lost but I think that we would have been a bit better offensively. Along the lines of a not unexpected defeat. What worries me are some of the poor decisions in the way we were set up. Saka on the right, Auba on the left, makes… Read more »

Up 4 grabs now

Morning, A good first 25 minutes defensively (well for us, then the usual shit show resumes.) Luiz never plays again as far as I’m concerned. Xhaka should have gone in January, rookie mistake begging him to stay! Mustafi was ok last night but you know the accident is waiting to happen, so he needs moving out. It looks like ozil might not play again either unless he was injured? If you cant even make the squad or bench that can have 10 players on it should tell you everything. The problem is he will do a Winston bogarde on us… Read more »

Daniel Altos

I know most of you think CG is a loon but even though I don’t post often….I think he has been making some very valid points lately.We had zero shots in target yesterday,imagine the meltdown if it was big weng in the building….also,does arteta hate gabinho?

Cesc's Pizzeria

Last night did feel like Arteta had a game plan but it fell apart after the 2 non-contact injuries to Xhaka and Mari. David Luiz was atrocious but we know he would not be touching the pitch if everything remained according to plan. The two main points this has highlighted to me are: 1. Our pre-season wasn’t enough to regain fitness (which does not surprise me considering the increased injury rates in Bundesliga after the restart allowed PL teams to use 5 subs. 2. Our defensive depth is poor. We have about 6 CBs but they are either mid-table quality… Read more »

peanuts&monkeys

Why blame Mari? He is that material, Arsenal should have known well.

Camden Gooner

Seems Arteta learned nothing from Pep

G

” Dressing up like Pep doesn’t mean you’re as good as him.”. Twat

Emiratesstroller

R.S.P.C.Arsenal I did not say that qualifying for Europe would be a “disaster”. However, I made the case that not qualifying might serve our best interest. It has done Leicester City no harm and they are on track to qualify this season for Champions League. My view is that Arsenal need to offload at least 8 players this summer and make our squad smaller and fitter for purpose. On current evidence we are bloated in Centre Back Positions, our midfield is dire and needs a total rebuild and there is currently uncertainty whether our major strikers are going to stay… Read more »

Guns of Hackney

Okay. Okay. Arteta has taken over an absolute shambles. Wenger laid the foundations and emery built on top of quicksand. We know the players can’t be coached. We know they are shit. We know that we are hamstrung on wages and contracts. We know we are a very poorly run team. Arteta has only had a few games and we are already much harder to beat (last night was bad). The players at least know what they should do. Seven first team players should go and we need to rebuild. Arsenal will remain a top 8/9 side for a season… Read more »

CG

D.A “”””I know most of you think CG is a loon but even though I don’t post often….I think he has been making some very valid points lately.We had zero shots in target””””” Although , I did wake extremely every early this morning, because of some boisterous seagulls ( is this an omen for Saturday?) But not actually having a shot on target with no one in attendance ( I mean it’s hardly an intimidating atmosphere there) and having not played for 12 weeks is quite something. (Its actually very difficult to accomplish in fact.) A Le Grove XI would… Read more »

Aussie Gooner

The problem with Arteta is that he thinks he is still at Man City with a squad of 25 world class players. Pep can mix and match his squad at will. It is quite evident that Arteta does not have a world class squad to manage. Consequently he has to pick the best 11 players and stick with it like many clubs in the EPL who don’t have vast resources (ie Burnley, Sheff, Wolves). What Arteta is doing is just an extension of Emery – random team selections. How can players like Pepe and Martinelli sit out a game like… Read more »

Guns of Hackney

If we knew we’d get hammered by city, why then bother playing Martinelli and Pepe? Why risk them in a game we ‘knew’ we’d lose?

Perhaps they weren’t fit. Perhaps if they had played, they may have ended up missing the remaining games.

Learn how prioritising works.

Jamie

But, but this squad is ‘top 4 quality’ even though we haven’t finished in the top 4 for 4 years and counting….

It’s not the players, stupid.

Anyone miss CC’s optimism that all we need is a change of head coach and everything will be rosy? I do. Reality bites hard.

CG

ES

“””””We can continue to blame Arteta as many on here seem to do, but we need to
offload the deadwood and rebuild squad in methodical fashion.”””””

So what’s the point of having a great coach in charge then ?

Great coaches improve the incumbent players immediately. That’s their remit

And that’s why they pay £10 000 each for their shiny coaching badges & licences.

If we are going to buy a whole new team in- Arteta is redundant .

Guns of Hackney

The same people who say that Arteta is to blame, then it’s the squad. Then it’s the board. Etc etc.

It’s a 14 year accumulation of neglect that has got us here. Does anyone think that can just be coached away? The club is bad.

Arteta needs 3 years. At least!

Freddie Ljungberg

So player poverty is a thing now eh? Who’d have thunk it.

Regardless Arteta has to do much better. He’s tinkering worse than Emery did ffs. Laying all our attackers out of position just to fir someone in that shouldn’t play in the first place while leaving our most creative player (Pepe) on the bench all game.

Graham62

TYAG I hate to admit it but you could be right. Can’t put my finger on it but all these young lads(and they’re not the first) seem to lack the key ingredients to make it at the highest level. Hunger, passion and true desire. A commitment to die for the shirt. It’s as if they’ve been consumed with the ‘acceptance bug’ that has suffocated the club, both on and off the pitch, since we departed Highbury. Being technically gifted is useless if you don’t have these key ingredients in your game. I agree with what someone highlighted yesterday. Bring in… Read more »

Olumide

Arteta has spent 6 months at Arsenal. Yet, nothing is on him. The bad performances are because of the dross we have. But what of the good performances? It’s Arteta’s fingerprints of course. Are we saying this is the best performance these players can muster? No manager can do better than this? They’re so bad they can’t get a shot on target against Man City? I started getting sceptical about Arteta during the Olympiacos game. The forward line needed energy around the 60th minute and Arteta only brought in Martinelli around the 100th minute. Immediately, the forward became more active… Read more »

Guns of Hackney

People don’t get it. It’s you lot that need fucking coaching.

Any minute now and the “should have got”

Ancelloti
Mourinho
Vieria
Wenger
Rose
Dyche
Venables
Kept Emery

Arteta is a good coach that needs some time to coach.

@Guns of Hackney

Where is the proof that he’s a good coach?

Dissenter

We need to correct some aspect of the immediate recent history
Emery didn’t get going this seasons. The club then dawdled as Freddie ruined the team before hiring Arteta.
It was the prolonged period of indecision under a temporary manager that led to most of the damage. Emery didn’t have time to build a team to begin with.
It’s wrong to keep suggesting that Arteta took over from Emery’s broken team.

Dissenter

We also need to stop bashing Pepe for not being selected. It maybe that it’s Arteta that’s showing favoritism.
Arteta will be fine…all he has to do is rely on Auba’s goals to start looking good again.

Samesong

All these excuses for Arteta are starting to wear thin. He is supposed to be the a good young coach. Brighton will beat us on Saturday because despite their squad quality. They are an very organised side with a half decent manager.

Nothing against Arteta and yes this was the first game back. But Bringing on Luiz was embarassing.

Dissenter

Guns of Hackney
No you wanted a hot sauce manager with lots of cheesy pizzazz, one that can communicate like a politician.
No more good ebening.
Now you got him, enjoy him.

Samesong

People don’t get it. It’s you lot that need fucking coaching.

Coming from the Vegan expert lol.

Show us the proof then? you keep talking the same bs.

Pierre

I can understand a manager wanting to impose himself on the squad and to show them who’s boss, but it’s a fine line that a manager treads between gaining and losing respect . Emery tried it and failed with Ramsey and Ozil and in the end he lost the players. I believe things may have turned out different for him if hadn’t decided to flex his muscles after a very successful first 3 months in charge. Will Arteta go down the same road as Emery, I hope not. We have already seen Arteta have a type of falling out with… Read more »

Olumide

And it’s funny that people will say “the performance has nothing to do with Arteta”

Who’s the head coach? Who sets up the team?

Terraloon

The sign of a good coach is he makes players better. It was too easy to blame AW because of the squad he left yet hundreds of millions were spent under UE yet nothing changed . Along comes Arteta and he juggles around with a few players positions and… nothing changes. We all know that there is a lot of dross at the club and the squad needs cleansing but save the odd one or two leaving we aren’t likely to see many leave. It makes me smile when I see lists on here from some posters suggesting maybe a… Read more »

Graham62

Martinelli should be playing.

Why he isn’t is beyond me.

He has more visible hunger in his little finger than the likes of Willock, Nelson, Eddie, AMN have in their entire bodies.

Maybe it’s because he has all the traits needed to succeed.

Oops, sorry, now I’m being racist🤪.

Graham62

Every other team in the EPL show more positivity and hunger than our lot.

This has been the case for far too long.

Jamie

new post

CG

Pierre

“” For Arteta , i would say to him, choose your battles wisely , don’t make your job more difficult than it needs to be. “”””

Absolutely,

As the great Fergie used to say.

“”Dont go looking for fights, because they will come to you often enough.”””

Arteta has to grow up quick.
He ain’t in City La La land now.

He is in the real world.
And it is bloody horrible.

The Backpass

Pierre
“I believe things may have turned out different for him if hadn’t decided to flex his muscles after a very successful first 3 months in charge”

Wait, you mean being kicked out by olympiacos constitutes a successful campaign. A match he refused to sub in Martinelli till 100 mins and suddenly a change in attack.

One thing is for sure, That shit Emery would have navigated Olympiacos till semifinal or final.

Successful three months my ass.

andy1886

Pierre, to be fair you can’t compare Aguero on the bench (he played but didn’t start) with Ozil not even being in the squad when we can use 5 subs.

If Arteta couldn’t see a single eventuality where Ozil might be useful that would be extremely damning. One can only surmise that there must have been another factor other than a purely football based one in play.

shaun

They did not play that bad .The injury’s had a big effect as Mari was starting to adjust to the pace of the game and winning everything in the air real shame he got injured .what worries me with Arteta and Emery before him was the insistence on playing XHAKA and in Arteta case trying to persuade Luiz to stay.Playing Saka on the right was also a bit odd but lets see, at least Luiz did not start . For me I am starting to think About why is Arteta doing this and that’s a bit of an odd decision… Read more »

Dissenter

It’s hilarious when people wrote that les wait till the Brighton game to see how good Arteta is. Is playing relegation strugglers the new test for hot sauce managers? Arteta had the inside info on city. He worked with Guardiola for 2.5 seasons and had an idea as to how city will set up ….and yet he failed to pick the right team and approached the game with a vacuous plan. That in itself is an indictment on him. When I spoke up earlier this week, I was labeled as being too negative. The only way Brighton won’t beat is… Read more »

Dissenter

Chelsea have signed Timi Werner for £53 million

That £8million for calamity Luiz sure came in handy.

Valentin

Pepe hardly tracks back, so not selecting him in a game when Arsenal was always going to be under pressure make sense. However playing Saka as RW did not. It is like Arteta did not have the courage to go full on. Play Nelson on the right or Pepe. Same thing on the left. Aubameyang is in cruise control mode. Make enough to pretend that he is trying, but not too much as to risk any serious injury. Play Saka on the left. And if the idea is to put pressure and harass the midfield, put Martinelli in the middle… Read more »

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