Well, that was absolutely shite. I had a feeling there was going to be a bit of the Brighton’s about us last night; I turned out to be correct, we dominated possession, did absolutely fuck all with it, and conceded from a set-piece (45% of our goals this season according to the stat guys).
How utterly, utterly depressing.
The only positive I’ll take from that game is that we might get the chance to relegate Watford at the weekend. I much prefer Villa. Dean Smith is a good guy and I like some of the Villa players.
As for Arsenal, this is who we are. One moment, they’re taking bullets for 97 minutes, the next, they are flummoxed against a team that has been absolutely shite all season.
The usual suspects were problematic again. Rob Holding and Kola just don’t cut it for me. They’re not good enough on the ball and their fear of moving it forward is painful at times. The biggest mistake of the game for me was starting Lucas Torreira. We all want him to be the guy, but he doesn’t seem to have it. He was dreadful. He’s too small for the Premier League and I just don’t think he’s capable of being the warrior we need in the middle of the park. Striking that Arteta yanked him at half time, we haven’t seen that very often, but it was the correct decision.
People were also upset we fielded 3 center-forwards without any attacking midfielders. I don’t know if the hope was Lacazette would drop into a number 10ish role again, or the analysts assessed that Villa had conceded more shots than any team this season and it was likely we’d open them up after two strong wins. It didn’t work out. A lesson Arteta will have to learn. Maybe starting Willock would have been smarter (though he’s hardly pulled up trees), or perhaps moving Pepe into a 10 role? Who knows, some experiments don’t work, this one tanked.
Dani Ceballos had a solid game, but he doesn’t have devastation in his pocket when he’s probing the box. Granit Xhaka made things a little more interesting in the second half, but he’s far better at releasing the ball from deep than finding cute angles in the opposition area.
The harsh reality is if our wide players don’t show up, we offer fuck all to the forwards.
There is no point in controlling possession if you can’t convert it into a single shot. We can get angry about that, but it’s not a new problem, and the only way it’ll be solved is if we sign players that can do the job. I’d love Jack Grealish, the man has magnificent hair and unbelievable legs. Imagine that sort of creativity in your starting 11? Trouble is, we need two or three players like that.
The big positive from the game is that once again, Arteta has been reminded of the limitations of some of the players. Some of those deal extensions he’s thinking about might need a rethink. Some of those players he was thinking of keeping on, might just find their way out of the club. His team might start to realise that you can’t save some players from themselves. If you are weak mentally in your mid to late twenties, that’s probably a thing for life. You’ll get turns out of these guys, like the prior two games, but you’ll not get consistency, which is the difference between ok and elite.
We deserve everything we get this season in the league. We haven’t been good enough. The players aren’t of the right make-up for the way Arteta wants to play and there are too many players that can go missing when you need them. The points total speaks to that. We can solve that with a good summer, or at least progress to a much more coherent squad.
If you are now disgusted by the coach and you’re doubting things again, just take yourself back to the weekend. Remember the KLOPP OUT crew at Liverpool? The Fraudiola crowd? Lampard is a disgrace? Understand that everyone wants to be the first to call time on a coach. Those people will be wrong in the long run. This is not a sprint, there will be ups and downs, but Arteta is the right guy to carry us through.
The Cup Final will see us focused, I have little doubt about that. These players show up in the perceived bigger games, they are better when teams offer more than a deep block, we will also play our best 11. Bring that City energy to Villa and Brighton, we’re in the Europa League before the FA Cup. We didn’t, now we’re stuck in the same situation as last season… leaning on a Cup Final to save our summer. It’s grim, but we’ll do a better job of the final than we did last season.
The Villa result is not good enough, but it is what it is. Bumps are par the course. It doesn’t make it any easier, but if you pray hard enough tonight and donate to my Patreon, maybe we’ll do a little better.
Onto Watford, let’s hope we can finish the season by sending Troy and the boys to the Championship.
See you in the comments. x
s
Val Saliba, Tierney and Martinelli was pretty sensible signings to me. Not Rauls fault that basically the whole squad needed replacing. Our Marquee signing in Pepe that you have an unreasonable amount of hate towards was only possible because Lille allowed us to structure the deal the way we did. Doesn’t mean we could have spent that 72m in midfield or that we felt we had any of our targets available there. I would have liked an upgrade in midfield too last summer btw but with that many holes to fill you have to take your opportunities as they come.… Read more »
“None of those made any sense either as squaddies or otherwise so no reason why anyone would want to defend that”
Go of it Charlie
Show Batistuta the error of his ways, how dare he not be positive we have two nothings on four year deals
Ringleader Receding
Leave the self pity for your wife, I’m not interested in your self conscious and wounded ego needing to extend itself to the nearest person for a pick me up.
It’s a joyous day for you, Emery is back on the dugout. Light a candle and pour a cold one.
Getting two cheap players for cover on six months loan is sensible. Giving 4 years deal to those players who are clearly not suited for the EPL (one is too slow, the other one just below par in term of quality) cannot be defended as sensible and competent. I like Arteta, but if he really pushed for those players, then he has made two big mistakes. Even just accepting to give 4 years contract to those players and not voice concern is in itself a mistake in my view. However the main culprits are Edu/Raul who really should have put… Read more »
Can one of the handful of balanced posters on here tell me why my hatred of Xhaka after 4 years of watching him is unreasonable but Valentin’s hate of Pepe is perfectly fine?
Marc
Pepe was signed by Raul.
Unless he smashes in 20 goals and have 15 assists next season, then it was Sven that signed him and Val is just being a dick.
Mari was a mistake for me I was somewhat okay with Cedric because he was filling a need which we didn’t have which was a second choice RB but in saying that if he got a 4 year contract or was signed with the intention of being first choice then it’s a major blunder. Worth noting that inter Milan had a chance to sign him and didn’t then signed up Victor Moses before finally landing on Hakimi this summer. That’s the kind of move we should be aspiring to
Freddie, I am not going to discuss Martinelli, Tierney and Saliba again with you when you clearly think that they are the result of the great work made by Raul. I don’t. BTW, even Tierney is now stating that he was scouted before Raul joined us. So much for Raul great discovery job. Discovered Tierney after we bid for him under Sven! I don’t hate Pepe, I hate the fact we spend £72 millions on a player we didn’t need when there was obvious deficiencies on other positions. I also hate the fact that Pepe was never a £72 millions… Read more »
Val Same sentiment I have with others applies to you regarding both. How you can come to any resolute view of Mari is honestly beyond me, speculation? Sure. This definitive speech however is boring as fuck. Cedric too, ‘not premier league quality’ but has been Southamptons starting RB for 5 years in the prem. I just can’t with that over the top nonsense, he’s a free transfer as backup. Fuck knows what level of output you’re expecting. You expect both to be abject failures, but they don’t actually become that until they’re abject failures. You’d think you’d reserve a level… Read more »
I’m curious to know if Arsenal were 10th at any stage of Emery’s tenure.
I was told by my sources that Raul scouted Martinelli, Tierney and Saliba while Sven scouted Lich, and pushed hard for his contacts Sok and Mkhi.
Can one of the handful of balanced posters on here tell me why my hatred of Xhaka after 4 years of watching him is unreasonable but Valentin’s hate of Pepe is perfectly fine?
Because it’s Xhaka.
Valentin
“BTW, even Tierney is now stating that he was scouted before Raul joined us. So much for Raul great discovery job. Discovered Tierney after we bid for him under Sven!”
We’ve been on Tierney since 2015/16, its not some Sven voodoo. And who the fucks says Raul is a scout? He is here to fix deals, complete deals…you’ve been told this repeatedly but you just choose to ignore because it doesn’t suit your argument.
Ishola
Too early for predictions, mate, nobody knows who’s coming and who’s going.
But I’ll go out on a limb this much:
Top 6 if he gets rid of Ozil,
Top 5 if he also brings in an outstanding creative midfielder
Ttop 4 if Saliba and Pepe prove to be worth the money spent for them
Top 3 if he adds Bernard (or someone like him)
Injuries permitting, of course.
BTW, even Tierney is now stating that he was scouted before Raul joined us. So much for Raul great discovery job. Discovered Tierney after we bid for him under Sven!
Kieran Tierney would have been scouted since he was 17/18. Besides that it was Raul who signed him the credit goes to him
Val Are you really this stupid? Who in the actual fuck has claimed Raul scouted anyone? He’s not a scout, he made the signings last summer, he took the decisions as to who to pursue and who not to, not one of our dozens of scouts. Tierney was scouted by us as a 17/18 year old so if you’re trying to give Sven credit for that one you’re even crazier than I thought. “The fact one year later, we are all talking about buying a new DM and a left sided CB (as demands by Arteta according to reports) is… Read more »
Marko Watched Cedric a lot here in Milan and he’s the perfect example of average to be honest, that Southampton weren’t willing to extend should have been enough warning for us to steer clear. I mean Inter had to switch to a back 3 to accommodate 90 yr old Candreva because Cedric just wasn’t cutting it. Just not the kind of deals you expect is to be making. I’d have more time if we got Walker peters from the Saints rather than their cast off. You could seem him yesterday basically just always pass the ball back or float in… Read more »
It’s almost funny – no one has ever said Sanllehi scouted a single player – his job is to get the deal done. The criticism of Mislintat is that whilst he was head of recruitment and responsible for identifying targets we signed 5 players 4 of whom were poor signings. “Lich wasn’t his target” then why didn’t he have a better target to present to the transfer committee? He scouted player “X” before he left, then why didn’t we sign them a yer earlier for less money? I was soo excited when Mislintat joined us – I really thought he… Read more »
CC, In the EPL, defenders can’t be slow. They can survive a few games, but once opponents have properly identified that weakness , it is the end of the road for them. The better teams and well organised managers will ruthlessly expose them. We already have a player in David Luiz with flaws making impossible to play him in a back 4. So what is the point of buying a player who can’t play a high line in a back 4. Before he joined us, Mari already had a reputation as being on the slow side. We were told that… Read more »
It’s not exactly heartwarming to know manager and sporting director are short of experience. This summer window is the first major transfer windows they will transact.
“Val Are you really this stupid?”
I’m afraid it’s even worse than that! He also has no sense of humour.
Too many pointed arguments going on here at the moment. The cross fire is crazy.
Dissenter
Yeah but we need to let them complete the summer whilst taking into consideration the unusual circumstances before judging.
“In the EPL, defenders can’t be slow.”
Which is precisely why John Terry went his entire career without winning anything.
Again I wasn’t initially upset at the signing of Cedric 6 months and kinda needed but I’m against him being first choice and to give him a 4 year contract is incredible considering how he’s been the last few years. Should have been 2
Live Paul Weller just started on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfL3qjvRmO0&feature=youtu.be
“I would rather give the role to a U21 player to get experience”
How is your Osei-Tutu campaign going lately Val? You know the guy they had to remove from right back on loan in Bundesliga 2 because he wasn’t good enough defensively. The same guy you wanted in the squad as back up RB last year, you know, that guy?
Valentin “Sensible and competent signings such as a CB and a DM would have helped the team a lot more. We wasted money and a year. It is not hindsight, because I made those claims last summer and was one of the fews not taken by the Pepe and Raul hype.” At least with the DM, it was believed Torreira would become better and Guendouzi would improve, afterall they are Sven signings. I remember you were championing Ndombele instead of Pepe.. Ndombele that doesn’t seem to play more than 20mins before he is gassed. Given the choice to choose again,… Read more »
The balanced posters know that Soares was a good deal but Kolasinac is not good enough
In the EPL, defenders can’t be slow
Even before knowing who said it I could have guessed. Pretty embarrassing really
Pretty interesting piece on Xhaka, basically boils down to he doesn’t have the ball as much, does way less with it and therefore makes less mistakes. Integral part indeed…
http://7amkickoff.com/index.php/2020/07/22/what-arteta-has-done-to-xhaka/
“In the EPL, defenders can’t be slow.“ Bullshit simplification, there’s been numerous slow defenders either excel, or provide good value in this league – and any other for that matter. Cedric didn’t set things alight at Southampton so he won’t at Arsenal….that’s the equivalency? Again that’s horribly superficial, as is the whopping 3 game sample you’ve given him as an Arsenal player to decide his value. Both he and Mari will be judged against what expectations the club has of them and the factors of their transfer, not a fictitious arbitrary standard of excellence. Building squads isn’t always about acquiring… Read more »
Why is everyone shitting on Mari? He’s played like one game
Think it’s closer to 15 million.
This greenwood chap looks fine….one of those that doesn’t need many chances to score and is good with both feet can’t decide which is his weaker one.Makes you wonder when you see such talent what people see in nketiah.I hope he proved me wrong but am sorry I think Nketiah is a nothing player
“Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth” – Mike Tyson”
Upstate
Mike Tyson did not have sauce.
That’s a fact and I’m telling you for free today.
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John Terry was not quick, but he was not slow. Moreover he never played in a possession based team. He was playing in a low block team who had a big bulky striker on top.
The few season where Chelsea tried to play with a high line, he was cruelly exposed. I do remember a game when RvP made of mug of him.
Any opinions on Paul Pogba?
“John Terry was not quick, but he was not slow.“
Cannot take that seriously. JT ran like both hamstrings were pulled.
Freddie
” basically boils down to he doesn’t have the ball as much, does way less with it and therefore makes less mistakes”
So based on that if he never kicked a ball for us again he’d be better than Petit, Vieira, Gilberto and Rocky put together.
You’ve convinced me!
If NDombele were to be sold, Spurs would get most of their money back. Big team are still interested in him: Barcelona, Inter. I trust Conte judgement of players a lot more than some here.
If Arsenal were to try to sell Pepe, even pre COVID-19 we would do well to get half of what we paid.
I think people conflate speed and acceleration in football. Terry was a fantastic defender whichever way you cut it.
He anticipated well and had the right amount of recovery acceleration to take care of business.
Speed is relative, same as strength in sports. You don’t train footballers for power the same way at MMA fighters, yet a footballer can have as much desired power as an elite MMA fighter.
This blog has always been infatuated with pace and speed, that’s why my man Giroud was never rated here.
CC
I have issues with that comment – well one part of it – well one word “ran”.
The few season where Chelsea tried to play with a high line, he was cruelly exposed. I do remember a game when RvP made of mug of him.
He was 31 then
And RvP was RvP… name a defender he never mugged off
You really have to wonder precisely what is wrong with Valentin.
CC,
John Terry was not quick but not that slow. Appearance can be deceptive.
Pascal Cygan was slow.
But again bar Liverpool, ManCity, Arsenal will not play with a low block in the EPL. In most game, Arteta will tries to compress the play. So you need players who are comfortable with a high line.
It does not mean that the player is bad, just that he is not suited to the style of play the club wants to perform.
Dissenter
You have been all over the place regarding Mari.
When he was first signed you were all positive quoting him a winner in winning Libertadores but then more recently you have been saying he doesn’t look the deal.
What gives? What gives?
Kompany was another not quick but not slow CB who did alright. There’s actually a lot
From the little we have seen of Mari who is going to put their neck out and say he is going to be a very good/excellent signing.
Anyone?
If certain posters defend virtually everything the club do even though they have been failing as a club for enough years now then for them to get irritated that a player is not fancied on first sight is not a surprise is it.
It does not mean that the player is bad, just that he is not suited to the style of play the club wants to perform.
You said premier league though. Anyway best move on it’s not like you’d admit to saying something silly
If people are going to get all tetchy to posters that say they don’t fancy Mari then they better back it up by proclaiming now that he is going to be a very good signing.
Dissenter, You are right. Acceleration and speed are not the same. John Terry did not have explosive acceleration, but he was not that slow. You don’t need to be a sprinter if you can anticipate movements and passes. If you already in the right place before the ball the attacker, then the problem is solved before it can escalate. The only time where pace is mandatory is when a ball is played over the top and the defender has to chase an attacker. With Chelsea never playing a high line (apart from some few games and half a season under… Read more »
I’ll just say I would have preferred Malang Sarr or Salisu who are younger and less risky for me. But that’s just me
Marko,
He may not have looked it but Vincent Kompany was very quick.
At ManCity in the speed test, he was one of the quickest.
A 31 years old slow Kompany still outpaced a lightning quick Aubameyang.
https://www.dreamteamfc.com/c/news-gossip/381927/vincent-kompany-pierre-emerick-aubameyang/
Val
John Terry was slow as fuck, spare me the looks can be deceiving bit.
West ham players are better on the ball than our lot. Sad to see
Why bother
Slow does not mean bad. Our best ever defender and Captain Tony Adam’s was also deemed by many as slow
My sources tell me Terry was slow as shit. But also fast.
Style of running give a false impression of speed.
A languid Özil outsprinted Lampard at the World Cup in South Africa. He also outsprinted Kante in the game against Chelsea under Conte. Yet both players have reputation as being quick, whilst Özil does not.
I’m curious to know if Arsenal were 10th at any stage of Emery’s tenure.
Yeah if emery was still here we’d be a lot lower then tenth right now.
Valentin
Just say you don’t fancy Mari on first sight.
That’s enough.
Wow
Valentin’s decided to keep digging till he hits China.
I bet that tight bastard (China) won’t even buy him a drink when he gets there.
Because of his asshole behaviour on and off the pitch and general lack of class, his reputation as a player has taken a beating. But John Terry was not the slow player, people seems to have fixated with.
John Terry lack of pace reputation stems from the fact he was compared to his Internation teammate and rival Rio Ferdinand who was very quick. But compare him to the average CB in the EPL, and he was nowhere near the bottom.
Valentin
“If NDombele were to be sold, Spurs would get most of their money back. Big team are still interested in him: Barcelona, Inter. I trust Conte judgement of players a lot more than some here.”
Ndombele has been shit in the premier league, no two ways about it. What he does away from the premier league is his business.
Conte absolutely cannot work with Ndombele who is so lazy and has fitness issue.. A player that can’t work with pochettino and Mourinho would work with Conte? Lol..
Aulas even called him Lazy.
Ishola,
I had no opinion on Mari until I saw him playing and I was nervously fidgeting on my sofa.
I just hope that I am wrong on him, but I don’t think that he will be afforded time to adapt and bed in. With the EPL so competitive any early points dropped in the race for top 4 can be fatal.
The league used to be a marathon rather than a sprint, while now it is a sprint run the length of a marathon.
Brentford going up as it stands, West Brom choking at home to QPR.
Would be nice to see a fresh face in the top division rather than another perennial yo yo club.
Cali
Probably, although table wise we are lower than 6 months ago.
Wait united played 90 mins and only had a penalty against them?
Didn’t think that was allowed this season.
I would also like to see Forest get through the play offs. It has been a long enough wait for them to get back to the top tier.
Does anyone feel the Premier League trophy is just like a crass chavvy piece of shit? It’s like it’s trying to be the CL trophy but failing with some gaudy fake gold on it.
I much prefer the Championship / old Div 1 trophy, at least they had history, the PL one is horrible.
Chris
“Brentford going up as it stands, West Brom choking at home to QPR.Would be nice to see a fresh face in the top division rather than another perennial yo yo club.”
Well it’s Brentford who are choking more now actually losing at home atm.
I don’t think any Brentford fan thought QPR would do them a favour today.
The two clubs don’t like each other.
Backpass,
Inter are interested in NDombele.
“That is according to a report by Corriere dello Sport, which states that Antonio Conte is a fan of the out-of-favour Spurs midfielder.”
https://www.football.london/tottenham-hotspur-fc/transfer-news/tottenham-transfer-news-tanguy-ndombele-18632654
Maybe he see something in him that Mourinho does not. The same way Conte transformed Victor Moses to a Premiership winner.
Again I trust Conte judgement of players more than yours.
“The league used to be a marathon rather than a sprint, while now it is a sprint run the length of a marathon.“
What?
Ishola
I fancied Mari as a long shot signing on loan until I saw him play in the FA cup against Portsmouth .
I think his injury occurred at a very convenient time. If I were a Donald Trump conspiracy theory type, I would crazily hint that maybe it was “planned”…but I’m not so I would just congratulate him on his good fortune.
CC
Keep up!
Does anyone see the sheer stupidity in what Val is talking about with regards to slow and not fast this and that while he’s still talking up Ndombele? Is he alright?
Valentin
Let him go to Italy and play well first.
Last I checked, Arsenal are in the premier league and you wanted him here, where he has been a total flop.
He might actually join flops like smalling, Mhkitaryan in doing well in Italy, but i doubt.
I think his injury occurred at a very convenient time. If I were a Donald Trump conspiracy theory type, I would crazily hint that maybe it was “planned”…but I’m not so I would just congratulate him on his good fortune.
Dissenter you are consistently one of the stupidest posters on here and I tip my hat to you sir it’s not easy being that consistent
Ishola
Yep looks like I have jinxed them!
Marko
“Does anyone see the sheer stupidity in what Val is talking about with regards to slow and not fast this and that while he’s still talking up Ndombele? Is he alright?”
Yep, It’s shocking.
The league is going to be crazy next season. -Chelsea are back – the quality of their signings will overweight what ever shortcoming Lampard has -City showed they aren’t going anywhere with that 4-0 spanking of Pool -Liverpool got some questionable penalty calls early in the season. They won’t run away with it. -United are back… Bamford wasn’t far from the truth. -Leeds aren’t going down. They have too much quality and a manager built for the big leagues. A big club back to where they belong. It should be fun. -Arteta is [deep breath} going to get some more… Read more »
“I think his injury occurred at a very convenient time. If I were a Donald Trump conspiracy theory type, I would crazily hint that maybe it was “planned”…but I’m not so I would just congratulate him on his good fortune”
LOL.
Valentin
Have you ever considered that 99% of what the football media print / post etc is complete bullshit?
Only job in the world where being able to make it up as you go along is the prime requisite and you are never held to account on performance.
“United are back… Bamford wasn’t far from the truth.“
United are not an excellent side, OGS is not an excellent manager.
For United to be “back” they’d need to be Fergie levels of good. You haven’t seen that clearly if this horseshit is impressive to you.
63 points in the league, watch out City and Liverpool
Marko
I left that paragraph in place just for for you because you’re utterly too dim to understand complicated prose.
That was a way of saying his injury came at an opportune moment.
Are you a student of poetry or any type of fine writing? You’re like a plank devoid of any abstraction.
Marko
“and that while he’s still talking up Ndombele?”
You were a big fan of N’Dombele on here previously.
What’s the take now?
They key qualifier being “if I were” finished with “but I’m not”
United are back… Bamford wasn’t far from the truth.
Consistent
I left that paragraph in place just for for you because you’re utterly too dim to understand complicated prose.
Yep
You were a big fan of N’Dombele on here previously.
That things haven’t quite worked out for him at a club like Spurs doesn’t diminish the fact that he is still a highly rated footballer. Same goes for Naby Keita.
Valentin
That link from Football London has nothing of substance or proof and links to the Italian website which basically says the same thing.
Do you even bother to read these things before you use them to try and prove your point?
CC
I disagree, they don’t have to be at the Fergie all dominant level to be back. The league is a lot different now.
They have a good spine already. It they make 1-2 good signings this summer they will be in the mix next season.
Marko
Regarding N’Dombele you liked his languid dribbling style in midfield didn’t you.
Sometimes but not always languid playing style can equal to laziness.
I’m not surprised that he has been tagged as a “lazy” player.
He seems to have something in common with your fav Arsenal player Ainsley Maitland Niles.
That being they both have serious question marks against them regarding their overall application as players.
Cedric is shit. Used to love kola but nw he’s shit. However anyone who has hired people in the workplace will know its not that simple. Similar concept applies here. We have improved for sure but definitely not enough yet. Will probably take the half of next season to build the right mindset and thereafter we can kick on. Arteta chose a crap side against Villa with no balance and it showed. No need to really rest anyone either but maybe he’s afraid of picking up injuries to his key players. Plus we have Watford coming up and we know… Read more »
I understand what Valentin is trying to say. We usually class players as either fast or slow but you can classify the speed of players relatively. If you compare Mustafi to Kolo Toure, then Mustafi is slow but if you compare Mustafi to Cygan, then Mustafi is fast. John Terry was known as a slow defender but if you compare him to all premier league defenders during his time, where would he land? Bottom 10%? Bottom 20%? I personally don’t know where he would land but I understand Valentin’s argument (which is John Terry is among the middle tier a… Read more »
Dissenter
Newcastle also will have the richest owner in world football richer than the city and no one cares about ffp.
Dissenter
United are the most successful side in English history, they’re not “back” when they drop a season 30 points off the champions.
You can disagree all you like, you become the outlier.
CC,
Years ago, the consensus was that to win the league you just have to stay in contention and then sprint toward the end.
Now winning the league with near 100 points means that clubs have to go full tilt from the start. They have to sprint from the start to win it as they can’t afford to drop points early on.