My hope is that a desperately poor performance like yesterday’s works out better for Arsenal in the long-term. Two shocking games without mitigating circumstances might save us a season of misery.
How so?
The worrying narrative that Arteta had been spinning prior to the last two games was that the players were focused, fighting, and turning a corner. ‘They might not be the best, but they always give 100%’ has been the gist. For a moment, I was convinced. When we’ve suffered bad results of late, there’s usually been a valid excuse. Red cards, injuries, bad luck… just a shit day at the office.
Brighton felt like the exception. We made inroads away from home, we beat teams above us in the league, we took two major scalps inside 4 days, we made a cup final. Then this week happened. We had to put on a show against two teams in the relegation zone and it was miserable.
The squad showed their true colours. Like Emery post-22 games, when the focus drops, it really drops. There’s no real reason for it, it’s not a talent issue, it’s a character problem. You cannot coach that out of this squad, Mikel should know, he played with some of the offending characters.
We had an Arsene Wenger performance at Aston Villa. The players took their foot off the gas. We held onto possession and did nothing with it. Managed to lose to an average press. We were the only team this season not to register a shot on target against them. We are MILES better than Villa, but we fucked it.
Then we had an Unai Emery performance against Watford. We lost our shape, we were outbattled, we let a shit team absolutely batter us. We lucked out with a win. Where was the adherence to the game plan? Where was the desire? How can you let Danny Welbeck look world-class?
This isn’t all on Arteta, but he has to take a share of this week. He doesn’t seem to realize that these players will always let him down. They don’t care. They don’t have the ability to retain focus. If the game isn’t interesting, they won’t turn up. He knows Kola is mentally weak, yet he keeps appearing. He’s seen the stats with Luiz, yet he’s telling us he’s elite and the only way to get him out of the mistakes is to… play him some more? We also gave him a new deal, that’s not good. Rob Holding, I want him to be great, but it’s clear that isn’t happening. Lacazette for a new deal, really? There is a group of players that have the ability but lack the focus to be dangerous for any sort of stretch and that won’t change.
We’ll see the mentality shift for the cup final. I bet we show up. The players will look totally different. They will execute the game plan. They will battle like demons. We will be very competitive. Why? Because it’s an important game they care about.
The Watford game was a disgrace. I don’t care that we won. The points were irrelevant. We needed a performance and we didn’t get one. Our xG was pitiful.
Look over at City. Comfortably 2nd. Fuck all to play for and they smash Watford with a stylish display, then they hammer Norwich today. No mercy. They haven’t had a good season, but they still showed the gulf in mentality between us and them.
Arteta needs to learn fast that this sort of performance always waits in the wings. David Luiz conceding 5 penalties, a record, is exactly what he’s about. 1 worldie, 3 average games, 2 howlers. You can’t rely on him. He should be taking on a Lichtsteiner role next year. It doesn’t look that way and that’s a worry. If he’s central to our plans, we’re in trouble, because everyone in football knows how that story ends.
As for the rest of the squad, it’s clear who needs to go. If we make minor tweaks this summer, you can bet your bottom dollar we won’t move forward at the pace required. You cannot coach character. You do not progress with players that can tactically boss City, then throw in the towel against Villa and Watford.
Yesterday was a wake-up call.
Yes, Arteta has moved us forward. Yes, he is the right man to take us into the future. But he needs to get woke to these players and their weaknesses. The most novice and arrogant thing he could do this summer is buy into the idea that he has changed the fundamental character flaws that are deeply ingrained in these players. You do not create a high-performance culture with these players. The kids do not develop training with bums. It is as simple as that.
I love the theory that Steve Round and Mikel speak to, it sounds smart, it reads very progressive, but it has to go beyond words. Their actions have to show they have the courage to deliver the bad news and make horrible choices. The non-negotiables have to go beyond training ground etiquette. This summer, his non-negotiables have to focus on talent. If you don’t have the focus, get out the club. If you are good with the kids but can’t cut it on the pitch, you are no good to anyone. If you lack talent, then see you later. The way some of the contract talks have been shaped over the past few weeks, I am deeply worried about that he’s not going to deliver the aggressive stance we need. A half-baked job this summer would be a disaster.
Our main problem though is one of character, not just talent. I desperately hope that Arsenal losing out on 5th because of Villa, Spurs and Brighton has drive home that point to Mikel. No more chances for players that don’t have it. No more bringing in characters that are finished. Don’t roll the dice on players from other clubs that are 26 years old with clear mentality issues. It is not worth it. We have seen it too many times at Arsenal. The story needs to change.
This upcoming transfer window needs to be profound. We have no money, but we do have players that can be traded for better ones. But there has to be intent from Arteta to move on names he seems to think are cutting it. If we blow it, based on the naïveté of the clubs coaching and technical staff, next season will be rough and the fans will not be so forgiving.
8th place for Arsenal is relevant because Klopp finished there in his first season. He learnt his lessons and he attacked the fundamentals aggressively. Arteta must do the same if we truly want to follow the same path.
We’ll spend today complaining, then it’s cup final vibes all the way. A huge chance for Arteta to start his career with a trophy, also a chance for the players to redeem themselves after a shocking end to the season.
Onwards!
1st
Excellent!
2nd
3rd
4th is a trophy
4th
Oh shitttt
Thought I’ve nailed top4
“8th place for Arsenal is relevant because Klopp finished there in his first season.”
You could have seen that one coming from miles away…
“Arteta must do the same…”
Yeah, right. lol
Hola
Nice post Pedro I was having nightmare flashbacks of the game at Vicarage Road at times yesterday. The gap between midfield and defence reappeared, if we have to play more defensively to get results then that is what we need to do., at least until we can improve the quality of player in our squad. I agree we will likely turn up on Saturday for the cup final with a much improved focus and performance, but the clear out this summer, even if it comes down to loans, free transfers or swaps, needs to reinvigorate this squad so we can… Read more »
I doubt Pedro wrote today’s post, I find myself agreeing with him.
Just thinking of Lee Dixon,said before ,on his debut ,in am thinking ,this young Man will never make it.Wrong,he was at a Big Club,and gave everything to get in the Team.Him and others.
If there is any lesson to be learned from yesterday’s game it is that Arsenal need to sort out urgently its centre back combination for next season. We cannot afford to play in defence a high risk player like Luiz who has managed to concede this season 5 penalties which is nothing short of reckless and also donkeys like Holding with a very limited repertoire to his game and is frankly no better than Championship level. Arsenal have accumulated over many years a number of poor/unsatisfactory defenders more often than not in the bargain basement. Currently we have got 8… Read more »
“8th place for Arsenal is relevant because Klopp finished there in his first season. He learnt his lessons and he attacked the fundamentals aggressively. Arteta must do the same if we truly want to follow the same path.“
Gulf of difference between Klopp and Arteta, Pedro. Klopp had already cemented a reputation as a winner with a steely focus and drive. Arteta, not so much as he clearly is learning to be his own man and coach, away from the aura of Pep.
Nice post Pedro, nail on the head. I’ll add that if Arteta keeps backing players you think shouldn’t does that open questions on his judgement? Without good judgement can he be the ‘one’?
Nah Pedro I disagree. It’s a talent issue not a mentality issue. Against aston villa,it was simply a matter of creativity. Auba and Nketiah took up rubbish positions so ceballos and torriera could not find them and hence went wide. Also when they did receive BTL,they played wrong passes, showed bad awareness etc Because Auba and Nketiah are not BTL players. They are forwards who play on the shoulder of the opposition defence line and look to run in behind. We had no BTL creators on the pitch. We have let go Alexis, Ramsey,mkhitariyan and Iwobi. Sidlined Ozil. And we… Read more »
ES
Arteta has indicated we will be in the market for a new centre back. Even if this due to Mustafi’s injury it likely means the end for Sokratis or possibly Holding.
Hopefully this would be the guy who partners Saliba at least short to mid term and with Mari due back and Luiz playing a squad rotational role it should give us enough. Chambers will be due back also as a squad player.
To be fair at least two of the penalties conceded by Luiz were due to errors by other defenders. Musti against Chelsea and Holding yesterday.
So now it’s the players, like I said all along….
But when it’s Emery, we should 100% be getting top 3, anything else is abject failure.
It was always the players, 5th last season overall was an overachievement, our squad really isn’t up to much.
This mess has been years in the making.
Remember when Arsene used to play with too many technical No10 types? And then Torreira was the type of player we’d been missing for years?
Now what we need is more technical No10 types?
Around and around and around we go…..
City have a billion pound squad, and stability both on and off the pitch, and we’ve only lost 1 more league game.
Comparing us with City is ridiculous, when you have the depth of talent they have, they can play poorly, but always have the quality to turn the margins in their favour.
It’s the same with us and Aubameyang, take out his goals, and look where we’d be….
We have had a lot of games this season which are 0-0,1-0,2-1 scorelines either way. Struggling to create chances is what we need to improve on the most. Shit defenders can be hidden decently in Arteta’s system. Sometimes their mistakes will expose us ofc But the main thing is creativity and goals. Besides Auba,no one else scored much. Pepe scored 5 in the league. Laca scored 10. Need to improve this to convert the 14 draws we had this season to wins. Convert 10 of those draws into wins That will give us the 20 points extra we need to… Read more »
Great, brilliant post Pedro, what more can i say
Pedro finally wrote a balanced post. It is what we have been saying all along. There is an ingrained crappy mentality in our players. Also I don’t agree we have enough talent as the other top teams either. We have excellent youngsters, some good senior players but some very crappy senior and Old timers too. Arteta’s clock starts at the start of the next season. Performances have been shit. But I think he will need to cut some players. I don’t like the faith in Xhaka and Mustafi though. If we are to be a top team we eventually have… Read more »
Without a massive clear out, we have a first team squad of 32, and huge investment, we’re not going anywhere. You don’t solve years of poorly thought out recruitment, an over inflated wage bill, and a severe lack of quality in one window, during a pandemic, Players won’t earn anywhere near what we pay them anywhere else during a pandemic, we’re likely stuck with the dross, which makes signings of Soares, Mari and renewing Luiz even more confusing. We’re fucked basically, there’s never been a better time to invest, clubs are on their knees, Abramovich and City no doubt know… Read more »
The results and performances v Villa and Watford will be a distant memory if/when we beat Chelsea on Saturday .
The players ( other than Tierney) were in self preservation mode, whilst Villa and Watford were prepared to put their body on the line.
The cup final will be a completely different ball game, Chelsea may be even a little complacent after seeing our last 2 performances.
We will be up for it, similar to the semi final and the team will be well prepared.
If we win the final, the squad will not be addressed as aggressively as it should, if at all.
(Excellent post.) But with the x 4 current biggest clubs in English soccer cementing their CL places(¥£€£¥) next season- Arsenal and others are now locked out of top 4 for the foreseeable future. No way , our bunch of misfits, cry- babies,plodders, has -beens,balloon smokers and ‘Cedric – types’ are usurping those teams. No way. (Fergie could n’t even manage that with them.) If it all clicks next season, we might get a 6th but if it unravels( more likely) we are looking at this season being a good one. Fact Facts. We are useless, and snookered at every turn.… Read more »
2 weeks ago after we beat liverpool and City, there was none of this let’s sell 80% of the team.
Fans need to understand that an FA cup final is a special occasion and players want to play in it.
The players have had one eye on the final.
CG
Sadly you may be correct unless Arteta can work miracles..I haven’tgiven up on them yet, although we are a cup team atm that’s for sure.
It certainly puts everything into perspective when you think back at how the Wenger obsessives gave him abuse on a daily basis for not winning the league and only managing to win fa cups…
Two successive finals under two different managers ( 4 finals in 6 if you include Wenger) point to us being a good cup team. That means we can produce the results sometimes but not consistently over a league season. Maybe that’s what we’ve always been but for the occasional league win. Maybe it’s not just the players that need a shift in mentality it’s the whole club for us to be something different.
Xhaka has had a bit of a transformation since late last year, showing leadership and commitment to the cause. My concern is that our talented academy players could take the wrong turn if too many senior bad apples are retained. Luiz,, Kola, Torreira and Sokratis need to go, Holding is possibly young enough to salvage. With Tierney, Saka, Xhaka, Ceballos and Bellerin and the incoming Saliba we have the nucleus of a decent base to build on. Mustafi has redeemed himself to an extent and Martinez has been a welcome surprise and to my mind is a better bet than… Read more »
Kaz
“If we win the final, the squad will not be addressed as aggressively as it should, if at all.”
It must be time for the old Cliche to come out .
Winning the FA cup will only paper over the cracks is that. what you are trying to say.
“it’s a worry that so much faith appears to be put into Luiz ”
I mean, is this guy for real ?? lol
We could get Joelson and let Nelson go, that woyld be an upgrade
Ceb is physically limited and not technically exceptional to ger away with it, he should be let go, we dont need another midfielder with weaknesses.
Willock should be loaned out, he could make a squad player in future, nothing special.
Replace Laca with a Giroud type plan B player
The less said about Mustafinovs, Xhakalson, Ozil, Sok, Chambers, Holding, the better
PEDRO, you are correct, Watching Arsenal game wile just thinking we are going to be scored the next few minutes, is now like our tradition, we have good players but can’t make us proud, it’s a time to look for players that will help us in the future. Atitude comands alot, i agree that Arsenal should have let go David Luiz, and many others @arsenal lets hope we will win over Chelsea. @elvicejohnce
Pedro, I think that Arteta is making the classic rookie mistake of initially over emphasising the process and culture over the result. A new manager in a dire situation focus first on getting result and that mean getting rid of professional not talented enough even if they are good behind the scene. Once you reach a certain level, you can then get rid of the one who don’t fit the culture. Fixing the culture first but not the performance is doomed to failure without either a huge budget or a very long time. Players are like any other employees, they… Read more »
“With Tierney, Saka, Xhaka, Ceballos and Bellerin and the incoming Saliba we have the nucleus of a decent base to build on.”
Building a team on Xhaka and bellerin is a recipe for disaster.
I haven’t agreed with Pedro much in recent weeks but in this particular issue, I’m a 100% go. Arteta has to be able to critically appraise his own flawed approaches. The club also needs to save him Arteta from himself, Edu has been a nonentity so far. He’s been a rubber stamp unwilling to push for the painful difficult fixes. Arteta shouldn’t be running the club because he’s only 8 months into his head coaching career. He’s job is to coach the first team. He’s shouldn’t be having his way to have us extend the contracts of past-it defenders like… Read more »
Lolz. You’re right, you can’t teach winnerism or fight or character…not at all. This we already know, and it’s the same old shit…with three different managers. We also have to remember that these are also (mostly) different players which means that perhaps the club as a whole is to blame and not just the managers. I’ve been saying for some time that Arsenal FC is a retirement home for washed up players or mercs. We also happen to pay very very well. We don’t have a winning culture on or off the field and the players know that. If I’m… Read more »
I don’t think I remember a season where goal difference had such an impact on league position as this. Goal difference effectively determined 3rd and 4th positions; 6th and 7th; 9th and 10th; 18th and 19th.
There you have it now go show off to your friends and fam 😁
Pierre “”””It certainly puts everything into perspective when you think back at how the Wenger obsessives gave him abuse on a daily basis for not winning the league and only managing to win fa cups…”””” They are just Arsenal fans, And everyone knows they are some of the the worst fans around. I have not been to Arsenal for a long while. (Live too far away these days) (I just could nt face being surrounded by so bloody many of them.) Imagine being surrounded by 50 000 Arsenal fans for 90 minutes?? Last time I attended the couple in front… Read more »
Finally a post from Pedro acknowledging Arteta’s weaknesses. Someone’s waking up from his fantasy dream. Arteta has shown that he has the potential to be a top class manager ,but there are also glaring weaknesses in his management style which he will need to fix if he wants to become the top class manager he aspires to be. Arteta’s biggest weaknesses imo are his in-game management and extra importance he gives to training etiquettes. Dont matter how hard Luiz trains everyday. On match day he is the slowest player on the pitch , he is not brave to put his… Read more »
CG
Knitting haha, I can believe that.
Some bloke brought his hamper to the West Upper around 2005, it was straight out of The Fast Show, he was being laughed at all around him.
It’s the blokes who film themselves while the game is going on or celebrating a goal who I just can’t fathom, live for the moment!
@Hackney : a double from Giroud should fix that.
HL
Can you imagine? That piece of shit is STILL doing that tongue out thing. I hate him.
Chris
“””””Some bloke brought his hamper to the West Upper around 2005, it was straight out of The Fast Show, he was being laughed at all around him.””””
I have also seen a backgammon board being pulled out and worse than that , witnessed a couple (approximately 40 years of age) skipping on the concourse.
I will not be attending ever again.
Maybe Terraloon can help me out here, what’s the total cost of keeping Auba on a 250k weekly [excluding bonuses] for a 3 year contract. I’m speculating about £15 million yearly. When bonuses are factored in…£50 million with agent fees over 3 years. Isn’t it possible to get a 20-25 year old talent on £15-20 million transfer fee who can get us 10-15 scrappy league goals per season who makes the team better in other ways. This striker will still have resale potential in 5 years time. A lesser striker on 25-50% of the wages Auba is asking for makes… Read more »
The team plays like Arteta did.
Slow sideways backwards, this is never going to get results.
He cannot manage the defence, he doesn’t know how to.
The midfield is weak and disjointed.
We cannot live on false expectations and hope , the club is to big for it but we are being dragged down by players and coaches who are using the club and have no passion for it whatsoever.
Much better piece Pedro and I hope to the Football Gods you’re right about the Cup Final performance.
What stills worries me is the number of people especially Arteta who still think Xhaka is the right player to be our CM lynch pin. He represents everything that is wrong with the current team – if he had found himself playing in a team with characters like Adam’s, Vieira or Keane they would have crucified him – literally.
Unfortunately I don’t think the current problems can be solved with limited funds in one transfer window.
Wasi
Spot on if we start the new season in the same way Arteta will have to go we are not here for him to experiment with.
Having no European football will not attract the best players to join us.
Letting Auba go is a high risk strategy, besides he has earned his keep,
We don’t have steel of nerves. We keep playing based on the idea our special skills will carry us. After Veiria left our central midfield became soft and our core broke. This disease lingers.
Show leadership and stop mollycoddling our players.
The acamedy is full of talent but we want to buy dried up players. We could played better with acamedy. Cash out and sell all who don’t buy into the Arsenal.
If you want money go somewhere else. If you want to be a legend stay and work hard for your place.
Let’s get real. Too many soft players.
ExcellentI agree. Necessarily excellent analysis and addressed all relevant areas that desperately requires urgent improvement to be Arsenal standard. I think you are right that we will put in great hard graft of a shift in the FA Cup final but we will lose it….I hope not 🙏🙏🙏Lets Go to Win…
Sid You mean he has earned a 250k weekly wage salary [excluding bonuses] at a time when the club’s.revenue is going to shrink significantly? Keeping Auba on those wages is another high profile roll of the dice . It’s keeping on for keeping on sake. It’s a lack of outage to. Make the difficult and painful fixes. This is a a redux of the Ozil deal. We need to approach it as a whole. Sell Auba and use those savings from that 250k wages deal on the table to make necessary changes. I bet that not even Salah and Mane… Read more »
And he used this line…
‘Then we had an Unai Emery performance against Watford. We lost our shape, we were outbattled, we let a shit team absolutely batter us’.
……………
It was an Emery performance – nothing to do with Arteta!?
Spanish
“””””He cannot manage the defence, he doesn’t know how to.””””””
No one can manage this defence with Luiz is in the team:
His Arsenal CV this season.
x 5 Pens.
x 2 Red Cards.
x 1 years £100 000 a week contract forthcoming
And I include Arrigo Sacchi or Bill Shankly types.
But don’t worry, reinforcements are coming,
Cedric and Mary.
And we will get to know them well, they are here for another 4 years,
And that’s Non Negotiable!
Wake me up when the Zombie Club re -awakens. ( 2024?)
RR
“Two successive finals under two different managers ( 4 finals in 6 if you include Wenger) point to us being a good cup team. ”
It will actually be 6 finals in 7 years .
Pierre
Thanks, better than I thought.
As good as Auba is; I would also look to sell, put the money into CM and CB.
Anything over 50M and it’d be a good deal for us.
Un, completely agree.
I’ve lost count of the number of times fans watch a YouTube compilation about a player and decide that he’s the next bestest thing ever!
Usually it’s complete nonsense and the player ends up disappearing into the lower leagues somewhere.
Un
I know and whilst very tempted to point out that if it’s the players why didn’t Pedro give Emery any leeway I just couldn’t be bothered to open that particular can of worms.
My prediction for next seasons “excuse” is that Arteta’s too good to coach players this poor – they can’t do what he needs them to.
There is a Wenger type performance and Emery type performance by a team
…. managed by Arteta.!!
Yet its not all on him?
If it’s player poverty, then agree and stand by it.
If xhaka luiz mustafi are the spine of Arteta’s team then he needs to reap the results.
A genuine question re yesterday.
Bellerin had a tight calf or something so was rested as a precaution – completely agree and makes sense with the Cup Final next week but why start AMN when he’s making noises about leaving, especially when you’ve just signed a back up RB?
Doesn’t make sense to me.
Pedro, could you please send a copy of today’s post to Arteta personally, may sound unprofessional or however you may look at it but I’m not sure that anyone who genuinely supports Arsenal would disagree with what you have said here.
Samir
No one is paying £50 million for Auba this summer – I really don’t knwo what deluded world some people live in.
Completely agree with what GOH said. You have to feel that these problems do not just sit with players or coaches, it seems like it runs through the entire club. Instead of saying Xhaka is always gonna Xhaka, or Mustafi, or Kola, or any number of players, you could just say Arsenal are always gonna Arsenal. We never fail to disappoint and whether we want to admit it or not, we have become the laughing stock and whipping boys of many fans of other clubs. That isn’t because we are the worst team, it’s because we are the worst run… Read more »
Arsenal will not need a 25/26 player squad if we are not qualified for Europe next season. Frankly the club should maximise the offloads this summer and cut our cloth according to our means. Do we need three gks in first team squad? My view is that Macey is probably not required and and we can use an Academy gk to sit on bench. Do we need 8 cbs or Kolasinac at lb when we can use Saka in that position if and when required? What we are woefully short of is midfielders.Ozil is no longer playing, Guendouzi will be… Read more »
Un
I think we’re going to see quite a lot of revision from Pedro whilst diverting blame onto others. I expect his anti Sanllehi campaign to go into overdrive and even start blaming the Kroenke’s for not throwing money into the club.
Wasi, This was my point exactly. Arteta and his non-negotiables focus on points that right now are irrelevant. Going forward, yes. A friend of mine bought a construction company in his local village in France. His wife got wolf whistled and complained to him about it. He told her, once I have an up and running company, then I would worry about that. Right now, I’ll have a quiet word with them about it, but in all likelihood you’ll have to live with that. First I’ll sack the incompetent masons and roofers, then I’ll deal with that aspect. The ones… Read more »
Emirates
It’s amazing that the same posters will go on at length about no creativity in the team and then push to sell a guy who’s scoring a huge percentage of our goals.
Auba should only be given an extension if he fits into how we intend to play. That he scores loads shouldn’t be a guarantee. For example, I can’t see Auba being a starter for Liverpool or City with his shortcomings in other aspects of the game apart from finishing. This is what I mean about having a vision /plan. Each position has to be assessed with a view to how it fits into a whole. Auba might score 22 but will a player like Zapata with 18 a season be more suited to build-up play? It might be that Laca… Read more »
Marc
Cedric is ineligible for the final
If bellerin can’t make it, it’s Niles or Sokratis at RB
Raheem
No one’s arguing against selling Auba if we can get a fee that will bring in a replacement. Problem is what we get for Auba is not going to pay for someone who will get 18 PL goals a season.
This isn’t an argument about a striker scoring 4 goals less but bringing more to the team – this is an argument about bringing in a striker who scores 12 goals less but supposedly bring more to the team.
Dream10
Thanks had forgotten that Soares was ineligible for the final.
35 mil and 200k a week wages of the wage bill will be a good boost to the transfer kitty if he decides to go. But I wouldn’t give him a 3 year deal on 250k wages. He has earned the money through his goals he scored but everything else about his game is average. And I wouldn’t want a 33 year old striker on 250k wages who can’t score if he slows down in two years time. If he was 29 though that would be a different conversation. We need to find other ways to score the goals we… Read more »
“”””Arsenal MUST keep Aubameyang.””””
Disagree ES.
PEA will turn into David De Gea/Ozil when that contract is signed.
Players always do.
Even Saka ‘s performances have dipped since he became an overnight millionaire.
Arsenal should sell PEA for what they can
and then buy Saints Ings.
Player of the year that one, for me.
the game is all about management- and Arteta has to learn it fast.
Un
‘This isn’t all on Arteta, but he has to take a share of this week. He doesn’t seem to realize that these players will always let him down.’
At least Pedro took some baby steps towards realizing that Arteta is not perfect and some players are just not good enough.
Val
Thats a special analogy !.
Just hope Arteta realizes that Luiz , Kolasinac are not good enough to be first team players as soon as possible. And Xhaka , Ceballos , Willock is not a midfield that can get us top 4.
Cg
‘But don’t worry, reinforcements are coming,Cedric and Mary.
And we will get to know them well, they are here for another 4 years,And that’s Non Negotiable!’
This is great. 😂
Today’s piece is full of sad truth bombs. Great post.
Being told yesterday by Dissenter to grow up and stop keeping score of his outlandish early-season predictions keeps my chuckling though.
“Grow up. It’s just a footballing blog, the score keeping is a bit childish.”
But also last month:
“I’m not afraid to say I get some wrong same way I get a lot right as well.”
Amusing, keep it up.
Glad that season is over
Let the clear out begin.
Xhara out first.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8564339/Arsenal-weighing-loan-deal-worth-27m-Barcelonas-Philippe-Coutinho.html
This better be a rumor. I would rather have Buendia at 15 mil permanently with below 100k wages and he is 23 with resale value. Of this deal happens in these numbers I will join the ” We are run by agents camp”
I really want Edu to do whatever job he was brought to do. I don’t want him to allow himself to be led by the nose by Arteta.
The Auba decision ought to be beyond the job description of even the best head coaches.
Had Liverpool listened to Klopp they would have Brandt [ a good talent] but not the phenome that Salah has become.
This is one of those times I wish we had gotten a director of football with some European football management experience in rebuilding squads.
I see Jamie is still smarting from the brush off he got from me yesterday.
If that’s the best rebuttal you can come up with after 24 hours, then you must have spent all night wasted on a cheap bottle of rum.
Good post Pedro, thanks.
We need reinforcements of a higher quality but I have my doubts we get them. Mustafi being injured is a double blow as he was in form and so a guaranteed starter( as mad as that sounds) but was also a player we could have cashed in on this summer. Now it looks like the only CB we can get anything for this transfer window will be Sokratis and it won’t be much, yet Mikel still wants more defenders, its like some warped version of Peps love of midfielders.
Habesha
The Countinho stuff is just rumors. It’s has to be ..right.
You don’t pay Ozil’s 350k weekly wages, Auba’s 250k plus bonuses package along wit Coutinho;s hefty package in a season where revenue are drastically down.
That’s just newspapers looking for gooners to click on a story.
Dissenter “Isn’t it possible to get a 20-25 year old talent on £15-20 million transfer fee who can get us 10-15 scrappy league goals per season who makes the team better in other ways” Use your brain, why waste 20 million + wages when Eddie will get 15 to 20 goals a season with ease playing regularly. Arteta has a conundrum with the academy players (and Martinelli) coming through. They all like playing together and have built a special on field relationship. Eddie’s goals this season have come from assists by Saka and Nelson . Willock , Nelson, Eddie, Martinelli… Read more »
“Let the clear out begin.Xhara out first.”
Oh yes.
It’s all gone quiet on this Kokcu fella.
Bar Martinelli and Saka, the rest aren’t up to par.. We stick with them next season and its basically more of the same as this season. A loan move will do them a lot of good.
Chelsea’s young players went on loan last season and did well, came back and performed well, same should be applied to our youngsters… Nketiah can stay as back up and nothing more.
Firstly, the most honest post I’ve read on here for 2.6 months. Author have a quick look at the xG vs xGA numbers and it’s not a good read for Mikel. Secondly, I agree with Dissenter PEA should be sold, there’s no point spending that much to finish 7th or 8th again next season. Watching OG playing for Chelsea one have to wonder if it’s worth it to keep PEA and AL. The kid from Everton Calvert-Lewin is not a prolific striker but he adds more to the team’s overall performance than PEA and AL does for Arsenal. Thirdly, Marc… Read more »
Good post Pedro. The team was all over the place in that game. After the first half waterbreak(2-0) it seemed normalcy and the shape of the team had returned but it didn’t last long. I think Arteta saw this and will try to rectify it (in terms of personell)
Now we can only hope the club back him. Klopp offloaded sakho after his first season. The guy is still prone too making avoidable mistakes at crystalpalace.
Pierre ‘Use your brain, why waste 20 million + wages when Eddie will get 15 to 20 goals a season with ease playing regularly.‘ ‘I once believed that our youth players may grow into that a position where they can rotationally score a combined 10-20 league goals/season but I’m now of the opinion that we have to replace Auba with another young striker. -Martinelli may have been able to do that but Arteta didn’t give him as much opportunities until he got injured. -Nkettiah????…. you like him but the jury is still out on him. -Saka- we dint okay him… Read more »
“If xhaka luiz mustafi are the spine of Arteta’s team then he needs to reap the results.”
Amen to that.
Just read that Grealish created the most chances in the PL behind KDB.
He’s such a good fit for us, I really wish we could find a way to negotiate a buy. I wonder if we have players we could use that would go the other way.
Would be heavily in favour of giving them Elneny, and loaning both Willock and Eddie their way to try and land Grealish. On the fantasy end of the spectrum but one could hope. Always a cunt when multiple players are involved, invariably someone ain’t happy with something and the whole thing falls flat.
Chelsea and Bayer Leverkusen are in negotiations over the €80m transfer of Kai Havertz. Personal terms are already agreed. (Source: @FabrizioRomano) At this rate Chelsea will be going in hard for Messi….they aren’t fucking around at all I swear…where will we be next season?Chelsea have a terrifying attack,Liverpool and city will be there ….not forgetting united will spend big bucks and Tottenham isn’t as bad as some here would want us to believe…am afraid I need to lower my expectations because unless we have an unreal window or arteta turns out to be pep,we are fucked…the religious fellas here should… Read more »
Dis
“””””This is one of those times I wish we had gotten a director of football with some European football management experience in rebuilding squads.”””””
Well, that would not really have suited the Fat Spiv- someone, who knows what they are doing.
Hence the Edu appointment.
I am 100% certain Edu can not even use a computer. As for reading a spreadsheet- forget it….
Its Kia or bust with The Brazilian Passport Dodger.
“8th place for Arsenal is relevant because Klopp finished there in his first season. ”
Was that an indirect comparison between Ar(sene)teta and Klopp? LoL
“At this rate Chelsea will be going in hard for Messi….they aren’t fucking around at all I swear…where will we be next season?Chelsea have a terrifying attack,Liverpool and city will be there….”
Good Q. But we will be 8th again. Ha ha ha ha.
The squad showed their true colours. Like Emery post-22 games, when the focus drops, it really drops. There’s no real reason for it, it’s not a talent issue, it’s a character problem It’s a talent issue too. But more or less what alot of people have been saying for a long time don’t trust these players they’ll let you down always it’s a rod for Mikel’s back. Literally been everything a lot of people have been saying for years even more so when people were getting fooled by this Xhaka performance or that Mustafi performance. This squad needs a wrecking… Read more »
Chelsea also have a terrifying defence, most goals conceded in the top half of the table.