Arteta repetitions are a message to the players

by .

I don’t know about you, but does this year’s transfer window feel double weird on a fan level? It’s like quarantine has made people lose their minds. No chill whatsoever. I feel sorry for journalists. I saw someone sending around a petition to sack the Arsenal social guy the other day. It’s fucking nuts. Also, people are so desperate to seek out information, they start to behave like your gran on Facebook.

‘Pete, it’s honestly true. I have a friend that’s close with the army and covid was the lizard people’

A few things to remember with transfers.

If the account is called @TransferSourceNUMERuno with a bio of ‘LEGIT NEWS NO BS’, the chances are 100% this account is a teenager in their bedroom with zero intel on anything.

‘HE GETS THINGS RIGHT’

No. He hedges bets on everything based on real journo news, then deletes tweets that are incorrect.

There are very few people with legitimate sources on the internet that don’t work in the game or have a platform worth talking to. Clubs do not like leaks. If a nobody is tweeting things that are legitimate, clubs often try and track the leak within the club. That is such a fucking rarity though. The bigger problem is people making things up that damage the club or internal relationships.

If you are in a position of power (gatekeeper of elite info), you are generally pretty guarded about what you share and with who (there is a collection of prominent old school Arsenal fans with elite info that don’t put it on their feeds because they don’t want to fuck over their people). If you work as a coach at Arsenal, you cherish that job. If your mate Dave that you share beers with on a Friday starts tweeting out off-the-record goss and builds a following of 50,000 in two weeks, someone will work out what is going on. Leakers generally have nothing to gain by giving their friends internet stardom, which is why these people are generally bullshitters.

So in short, don’t work yourself up over nobodies that are literally getting sexually aroused by sharing fake rumours about the club.

Today we have a HUGE game against West Ham. They are in a very negative position at the moment, literally doing anything they can to buy a defender. The dressing room is a mess, the football is absolutely shite, and they are looking like relegation fodder this year… which means they are more than capable of beating us with a shithoused goal in the 89th.

This is Arteta on West Ham.

‘Well they have many strengths and some weaknesses, like we all have. I know David, the manager, really well and I know what he will be trying to do tomorrow to hurt us as well. It will be a tough game and I am expecting a difficult battle tomorrow.’

This is the sort of game where I think we’ll learn something about the sort of Arsenal we’re dealing with this season. Last year, West Ham might have caused a problem, will they this year? Or will the players turn up with fire in their stomachs and execute the plan at 100%? If we can deal with the teams that’ll sling 8 behind the ball on a downer, then it’ll start to build belief. We cannot have games like we did against Villa and Watford. We need to progress the way we operate in situations where we ‘could’ be complacent.

The press still can’t leave the Auba story alone, they once again probed with ‘Are you happy your best striker signed’ questions. This answer, about outside interest in him, was the one I liked.

‘Yes, but the size of our clubs is as big as those names. That is what I am saying, the most important thing is the club, what we inspire, who we are as a club and what we can achieve in the future as well, and how we can explain what we are trying to do so the players believe in our project.’

Perception is sometimes more important than reality. Mikel has been doing a fantastic job of late reengineering our reputation off the pitch. There’s a conviction in his communications when he talks about the greatness of the badge. He doesn’t budge. We are a big club, with great facilities, and we’re going back to the top. If you keep repeating things over and over, people start to believe them. Too many Arsenal fans spent the last decade bemoaning fans with standards. ‘Spoilt Arsenal fans shouldn’t expect trophies’… how wrong was that? Arteta expects trophies. The players know that. He communicates how they’ll do it. Everything pushes in that direction. Football is solely about winning trophies, if your standards aren’t at that level, what are you doing?

The club is still trying to do business to make BIG trophies more likely. Ignore anyone that tells you we’re finished for the window. That is absolutely incorrect. We will bring in a keeper and we’ll push hard for a 6 and an 8. It doesn’t matter that Aulas thinks we’ll miss out on Aouar, do you think one of the greatest negotiators in the history of football is giving the real story to a random off Twitter? Don’t be soft. Aulas will push and push and push to extract the max fee he can earn.

There were rumours in the air that we’re looking at a swap deal for Zaha and Reiss. Stories are creeping out of Spain that Simeone has told Torreira that he wants him in Madrid. All of it could be nonsense, but these are the sort of surprise moves that can happen in the blink of an eye. We might not be close to any sales yet, but they’ll arrive as clubs start to realise they have to move on their squads.

In short. It doesn’t matter that clubs, agents and virgins are leaking against us. All that matters is where things land on October 6th, and trust me, things will move.

Right, enjoy the game today, steer clear of fake Twitter. x

P.S. The daily newsletter should be up and running again. You can sign up to it below.

* indicates required

1.5K Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Valentin

As expected Leno was rooted on his line and flapped on crosses and high balls inducing panic in the defense and recycling the ball to the opposition. When on top of that Kolasinac is the third CBs, we better hope that Tierney injury is just for one game.

raptora

“OGS would’ve given his right bollock to shithouse a win today.”

Made me laugh!

Luteo Guenreira

Fortunate win. But digging out a difficult 3 points in games like this, with one goal literally a cunt hair away from being offside, is also a good sign that things are starting to go our way. Expect a much better showing against Liverpool.

TheLegendThatIsDennisBergkamp

Just ordering some more sauce on tesco.com, as we seem to be running dry…

karim

Yeah, that was pretty atrocious to be honest.
Brilliant result nonetheless

Time to confirm we are back against the big boys now.

Habesha Gooner

Partey and Aouar needed badly. Anything less and we are favorites for 5th.

Paulinho

Dream10 – Oh definitely, Ramsey on another level to Ceballos overall.

Radio Raheem

Martinez could have stayed to fight for his place. He didn’t. Arsenal fans need to move on. Goalkeeping is the least pressing area of team.

raptora

Arteta should have closed the wings. You close the wings vs West Ham that desperately wants to cross, you kill their game. The space that their players had on our flanks, freely crossing, nobody even close to them. It’s on Arteta.

Trask

What a shit game

Holding absolute gash. How he is playing for Arsenal ild never know. 6ft+ player being dominated by a midget. Ducked for the Soucek chance. Absolute gash performance

Gabriel all over the place. Especially with his heading and the timing of them. Some good actions with his blocking though

Auba looked like he just signed a new contract. A touch if the Ozil here.

Bellerin? Spare me

Aside from Ceballos and maybe Saka every other starting 11 player was bad

That midfield really needs sorting

Captain Tierney

Not one player put in an above average performance today..
Lacazette was probably our best performer tonight and I wouldn’t give him a 7.

Saka was very quiet and sloppy apart from the 2 lovely passes.

Ceballos played well but he gave away possession cheaply quite a bit.

Xhaka also a similar story. His lovely dinked passes down the left hand side seemed to be our only way to create something but the amount of times he made silly mistakes is unforgivable at top level football.

Willian, Kola were below average.
Leno, Auba, Bellerin average.

Useroz

Saka may not have a game reminiscent of his better performance from last season BUT. he’s well down the list of players we should worry about.

As ‘bad’ as Saka played, he tried make things happen. Didn’t come off as consistent. However talent does find a way when matters. That pass was class. The vision and weight of the ball. Ceballos did one similar in added time. .

The video guys have the work cut out. Lots of review and learning.

TheLegendaryDB10

Well what can I say… a win is a win.

But what a fucking ugly win that was!!!!! Absolute daylight robbery!!!

There’s a shit ton of work to do and a goddamn midfield to rebuild. This is an absolute priority if it isn’t that obvious by now.

Chika

Some players are so terrible, you wonder how they made it this far.

Guns of Brixton

Still a long long way to go with this squad.

The dross are still being dead weight and we really need a no 8 man

raptora

Lacazette our best performer? What are you on? Need some of it.

Stefan

Let’s be happy for at least 10 mins guys and girls. 3 points. V happy for the scorers do them good

Radio Raheem

AMN should be tried in Bellerin’s position. We need a lot more in that position seeing as we lack creative midfiders.

Ceballos had a good match too, tied alongside Auba as our decent performers tonight.

Captain Tierney

Leno was poor coming out for crosses.
But he earned us 3 points with that match winning save from 1 yard. No other keeper in the league could have kept that out.

Useroz

Looks like Mourinho needs to be Baled out…

Captain Tierney

Lacazette scored, worked his socks off and his hold up play was go. Dont get me wrong it was an average performance but it was still better than everyone else wearing red.

Captain Tierney

good*

Ishola70

Not a good performance but three points in the end. This team will not truly progress from being a good cup team to higher levels until it improves in the midfield. The midfield as a whole lacks the X factor and is too easily bypassed and this is taking into account that Ceballos tonight was a factor later on in this match and had a hand in the victory. I;m talking about the midfield as a whole. You can count on one hand for years now when after a game has finished that you think Arsenal won the game because… Read more »

Upstate Gooner

What a shit performance but a win is a win. Xhaka is horrendous. So “glad” Arteta convinced him to stay.

Danny

6 points
————-
Like we won our opening 2 games last season and we all know what happened afterward that……..

Leedsgunner

That win was brought to you courtesy of the Arsenal academy. Well done Saka and Nketiah!

raptora

Kind of sad that Bellerin isn’t an attacking outlet. Really sad. He’s playing basically a winger and does nothing of note going forward.

Captain Tierney

Way to go Danny.
Emery in disguise?

Valentin

If West Ham had better strikers, they would have really caused us problem. Antonio and Haller are triers, but their poor technique (especially their first touch) and lack of composure are their undoing.

Ishola70

Valentin

“Antonio and Haller are triers, but their poor technique (especially their first touch) and lack of composure are their undoing”

Antonio is all about power and not much else.

TheLegendaryDB10

Radio Raheem

GK may not be a priority (and you are right), but for me losing Martinez and keeping Leno has/will be creating an unneeded additional problem…. nit giving our defence more confidence. They absolutely need at this moment in time.

Leno will function well behind a well drilled defensive unit. But right now we need a dominant and confidence giving GK to help the defence stay focused.

Captain Tierney

Cant have Holding as a starter for the whole season.
Need to get Saliba ready for PL asap.

Guns of Brixton

Pedros take ( spends in game time on twitter! Should be here!!)

Terrible performance. Arteta changed a winning formula and we looked disjointed. Saka assisting the assister twice (sooo Hleb). Ceballos critical in final third. Beautiful to see Eddie make the difference.

We need to invest in our midfield before the window shuts.

Danny

Emery in disguise?
—————
I hope not but we were awful today, West Ham didn’t deserve to lose.

Ishola70

Holding is not the deal is he.

When he first came on the scene I was impressed with some of his defending but as time has go on it has become quite clear that he is an old fashioned style British CB with obvious limitations.

He may have survived back in the day in the past but not now in how the game is played from the back.

Stefan

Yeah good to see Saka back and influential and a winner from Nketiah, not just a willing runner tonight

Marc

Comments on tonight: 1) Why the fuck is Kolas anywhere near the team? You can’t build AMN up, see Tierney pick up an injury and go let’s put Kolas in the team. 2) We cannot play 4-2-3-1 with Xhaka in the team (he’s fucking useless full stop but that’s seems to be beyond some) he’s only managed to function in a 3-4-3. 3) I’m still worried Arteta seems to take an age to change things when they are not working, in the Cup Final he made changes during the first water break and it won us the match come on… Read more »

Freddie Ljungberg

Important 3 points, terrible performance. Still the same players holding us back. Kola is terrible, Holding shouldn’t be more than a backup (which he is to be fair when everyone is matchfit) Xhaka was unbelievably sloppy once again when he doesn’t have the security blanket of playing as the 4th CB, so many misplaced passes and needless fouls. Decent at spreading passes around but not much else. Bellerin average again, sloppy in possession and as always terrible crossing. Lacas lack of pace really hindering our counter attack game. No harm done because we got the 3 points and a timely… Read more »

Dissenter

Ishola
Agreed regarding Holding
He’s nog going to get any better than he is. This is his ceiling. He’s still a premier league defender, just nit one that should be starting games for Arsenal.

McGunnah

Serious lack of creativity. With a performance like this, on any other day we could have dropped points.
Edu and Arteta better get the midfield reinforcement done asap.

Marc

Freddie

Agree with you comment in general the only thing I’d say is while Gabriel needs time to adjust to the pace of the PL he had a wrestling match with Antonio and gave as good as he got so at least he can deal with the physical side.

Isaac Kimani

Three points is a big welcome, but we surely need creativity in the middle.

Champagne charlie

Think Bellerin is escaping a lot of criticism, of the back 5 only Gabriel looked assured in what he was doing and that’s his 2nd game for 6 months and he’s brand new to the league.

Says a lot for Bellerin, Kolasinac, Holding. Saka was poor for me generally, but decisive in his contributions come the final third.

Bellerin offered nothing going forward, him and Pepe are strangers to one another I swear. Someone should introduce them, tell them they can build some chemistry out there.

Graham62

We were not up to pace tonight and were fortunate to get the win.

Leno ………………no comment.

We missed Tierney big time.

Lack of genuine creativity through the middle, although I will credit Ceballos for his assist along with his industry and excellent interception at the end.

Good to see Saka down that left flank again, although he was a wee bit rusty.

West Ham deserved to get something from the game and looked physically stronger than us.

6/6 though👍

Dissenter

CC
Kola will make anyone working on the same side as him look poor.

Ishola70

Gabriel had a bit of a dodgy moment in the first half when he ducked under a hoofed ball and Antonio got a bit of a run on him but he did some good defensive work as well.

This game was always going to be more of a test than Fulham who really are going to struggle badly in this leagur.

Gabriel has all the physical attributes and has aggression. If he marries that with composure and good judgement he can turn out an excellent signing.

Tom

Are we still on Emi/Leno debate?
You can’t sell a player ( Leno) no one wants to buy.
You don’t want to keep a player ( Emi) who wants to leave.

Emiratesstroller

Good to get 3 points, but not a great performance. 1. Does anyone believe that Leno is a better goalkeeper than Martinez? His command of area is in my book not great.. We used to call Fabianski “flapper”. Frankly Leno looks the same under barrage. 2. Can anyone explain to me why Kolasinac was playing tonight? He was clueless. Was he playing centre back, fullback or winger? 3. The absence of Tierney made a significant impact on the team. The defence looked brittle. 4 We need to recruit Partey, because against a physically strong team tonight we lost far too… Read more »

Marc

You take Kolas out of the team tonight and add a player who’s not useless, do the same with Xhaka in midfield and we are looking at a whole different situation.

Batistuta

We’ll do nothing of note if we don’t get in someone or two in that midfield.

Watch even Declan Rice and how he progresses the ball forward every chance he gets…Ours just look for the side pass and recycle over and over again. Xhaka and Ceballos must have put up some incredible numbers in terms of passing but that wouldn’t even begin to tell the whole story.

Marc

Emirates

As one of the more balanced people on here I’d have thought you’d already understand that Martinez wanted to leave – Arteta rightly said I won’t guarantee anyone anything but if you perform you’ll play and Martinez said “NO”.

If Martinez had been willing to fight for his place he’d still be here and would’ve had a reasonable chance of starting both last week and tonight.

Receding Hairline

All this Leno talk, he wasn’t the reason we conceded 15 shots at home to a supposedly in crises West Ham.

Dissenter

Marc
No one is asking for Emi to come back, what’s Dione is done. Emi forced his move and he got his wishes.
That doesn’t we can comment about Leno’s inability to dominate his 6 yard box. He’s all we got now because the new back-up shouldn’t be anywhere near a top club, if you look at his numbers.

salparadisenyc

Ideal situation really, got the three points but squad deficiency apparent heading into crucial final stages of transfer window. Another performance like Fulham and one could maybe see the powers that be sit on hands.

Lets get cracking Mr. Edu, get on the blower to Stan with the news.

Ishola70

As said before the Arsenal midfield as a whole for years now has not really had the X factor. Ramsey a few times won the game on his own and we had some good individual performances from Ceballos against Burnley and Guendouzi against Spurs most recently where you thought that the midfield on their own attributed to the win. Other than that it’s the forwards with individual bits of play that win the matches not the midfield. Flamini had an absolute blinder once in a home league match near the end of his first period with the club. Absolute blinder.… Read more »

Mr Serge

Nketiah saved our bacon tonight but three points is great
We need some spark in that midfield

Everton look really good with their new midfield. Hopefully we get that same reaction and lift if we buy a couple

Valentin

Arteta has build our success on a lopsided system that requires a left CB who can also play left fullback. Unfortunately Kolasinac is not that kind of player.

I was disappointed is the fact that he Arteta changed personnel, but did not change system during the second half. In the end, Kola was moved infield in midfield and Saka was a left fullback. So clearly he is not trusted as a defender.

TheBayingMob

Are we still on Emi/Leno debate? You can’t sell a player ( Leno) no one wants to buy.“ Problem we have is busted flush players who we can’t shift yet we are holding out for 2019 xfer fees or their salaries are so high they are willing just to see it out regardless. At some point you have to accept we are not going to get decent prices for them, I would urge dropping all fees for these deadweights so the receiving club can smooth over the wage demands, but then really who is going to pay Kola the same… Read more »

Marc

Dissenter

Leno played behind a back four tonight with a midfield 2 that couldn’t help protect the defence.

Please give examples at length of when Martinez had to deal with the same?

Marc

sal

Hope you’re right and it’s all part of a cunning plan – I might have to start calling you Baldrick.

Graham62

Marc

Not disputing what you say.

The thing is, imo, Leno is just not good enough.

Are we going to have to make do with a GK who is, without question, a liability?

He made at least six major errors tonight.

Marc

Mob

Why can’t you believe it – he could have easily stayed and signed a new contract, he could have said I’m staying and will fight for the No 1 shirt.

The only people who can’t believe it are people who need to be slapped silly.

Tom

Interesting some can argue for keeping Emi and getting Partey in the same breath.

Atletico want, like, real money you know…..
and quite a lot of it too.

Dissenter

Marc
I don’t want to get sucked into the whole Emi vs Leno debate. I thought Emi was every good as Leno simply because he has a presence in the box and dealt with aerial balls better.
Leno wasn’t the reason we sucked today, at least 7 outfield players were subpar today. Only came out with any credit.

Leno needs to work on that part of his game, he’s a flapper. Criticizing him isn’t nostalgia for Martinez, it’s just an observation that holds true.

Marc

Graham

If we are going to be completely honest nearly any player can be improved on but right now if you want to list where we most need to improve GK is way down the list.

Graham62

Is Matt Macy capable of stepping up to the plate?

Dissenter

*Only Gabriel came out with any credit.

Valentin

Marc, Did you watch the game? Leno played behind a back 3 for most of the game. There was only 10 minutes during which we switch to a back 4. We then revert back to a back 3 when Luiz came in. Leno flapping at high balls has nothing to do with a back 3 or back 4. He simply is not a goalkeeper who dominate and command his area. I have also said that he is not vocal enough. I was watching on Sky PL with no added crowd noise. Had he shouted keeper loudly when he went for… Read more »

Marc

Dissenter

I’ve never criticised Martinez’s performances in the matches last season but too many are playing the agenda game.

He wanted out end of.

Marko

Midfield is still crying out for character and personality but some guile is needed in the forward AM positions like you wouldn’t believe. I know it’s been discussed to death but Aubameyang and Lacazette cannot work together. Two CF on at the same time it takes away from the balance of the side for me.

Marc

Valentin

You are full of shit and hate Leno. I’m not going to argue with on the fact because you will then accuse me of gas lighting you (it’s not my fault your sense of reality is so fragile).

Give it a fucking rest.

Dissenter

I made the remark very early that we had to choose which of Emi or Leno to keep. You can;’t have two co-equal keepers in the same club. You have ton have as definite number one and a number two.
In the end, Emi made it easier for Arteta and the cub. That chapter is closed for me.
Leno needs to deal with crosses better. It’s a weak link in his game.

Graham62

Marc

Again, I agree with you but when was the last time we had a genuinely decent keeper?

Leno is not the answer.

Valentin

Graham,

Matt Macey can’t step up the plate. He is an awful goalkeeper. A few years ago we were going to release him when João Virginia suddenly left to join Everton. Arsenal had no choice but to give him an extension to fill the U23.
There is a reason why we are trying to buy potentially 2 goalkeepers. There is no way the coaching staff would want him as a No2.

Graham62

Valentin

100% in agreement.

Marc

Graham

I’m happy to improve on any player in the current squad but we have no money and a whole host of players who are worse.

The way I look at it you’re commenting on not liking the wall paper when the house is on fire. When we’ve got CM sorted we can then start looking at what’s next.

Marc

Dissenter

Agree but that doesn’t make Martinez a victim as is being portrayed by some on here.

How you getting on with the Trump lawn signs – election fever’s got to be building up over there?

Tom

“I can’t believe Emi would have wanted to leave for Villa, that’s a fucking nonsense,“

Emi would’ve gone anywhere in PL if it meant first team action and a substantial pay raise.
He got both at Villa.

It’s Leno who wouldn’t have gone to a club like Villa, nor would they have matched his wages.

How is it people have a problem getting this ?

Marko

Think Bellerin is escaping a lot of criticism

He was really bad today. I’ll never understand for the life of me how people mention him when they talk about mental strength or character. He literally drifts by games like he’s plays it from the coach. This club has been crying out for a RB for a long while now

Marc

Marko

After his ACL injury I think Bellerin has lost a yard of pace. What I can’t understand is how AMN can’t get a match on either flank tonight?

Tom

Arsenal got three points on a day when not a single player played well.
Take it and be glad because this hasn’t happened in a long time.

Dissenter

Marc
Martinez forced his way out of Arsenal. once he gave that interview to the local newspaper in Argentina, the die was cast. He knew no manager would give him the guarantees he was seeking. he also refused to extend his contract.
I don’t blame him because it was the right career move for him. He saw his chance and took it.
Anyone presenting him as a victim is misguided. He got the transfer of his dreams and the club got a bumper fee.

Aussie+Gooner

OK – lets recap: Rinse and repeat-

Should have kept Martinez and sold Leno – check
Kola should not even be cleaning the boots – check
Xhaka not fit for purpose – check
Holding will never make it at the top level – check
Bellerin is too slow and can’t cross – check
We need a midfield – check

All these things have been said over and over, unfortunately the club remains oblivious to these issues, unlike most of the fan base.

Champagne charlie

Dissenter

Not sure what you’re saying?

Kolasinac was the other side of the pitch so how was that influencing Bellerin’s performance to that degree? He wasn’t an outlet at all, he’s a senior player and this is his 10th season at the club.

Surely among Saka, Kolasinac, Gabriel and Holding you’d have some expectation for him to offer a platform for us to build? Was as bad as I’ve seen him play tbh.

Ishola70

Martinez isn’t a victim.

He knew as well as anyone that however well he played the hierarchy that had been set previously would not be budged.

So in essence when he was deputising for Leno he was in the shop window.

And he took that chance to show himself very well.

He is now No.1 at a Premiership club.

Marc

Dissenter

We agree on that – just a shame you’re so pro Trump give the crazy politics a rest!

Tom

‘He got the transfer of his dreams and the club got a bumper fee.‘

Not just a bumper fee.
Arsenal paid for him 1.5m and sold him for 15 times that.

GunnerDNA

Why are all these fans still going on about Martinez. Leno is the least of Arsenal problems. I’m more worried about Arteta and his inability to changes things up when the team is under pressure. Why is he still picking players who shouldn’t be at the Club? Xhaka is a bigger concern than the goalkeeper imo

Dissenter

Bellerin couldn’t dribble or cross a ball before he did his knee.

Marc

DNA

Halle fucking lujah.

Staggers me so many are caught up on bullshit agenda’s and not what needs doing and doing first.

Ishola70

Bellerin can come up with big plays occasionally like in the FA Cup final and last season against the same opponents in the league but as far as consistency in performance goes he is well off.

Dissenter

Leno is allow got now.
Based on the numbers from Dijon, I hope Rúnarsson stays on the bench for as long as possible.

MLC

Andre Santos and Gibbs are better than Kolasinac, thats how shit kola is!

Mr Serge

Let’s not discuss the keeper issue again please it’s been decided

Mr Serge

We won playing shit that’s good
We need two cm and we will be much better
Look at Everton

MLC

Hope we can perform another underdog win against Liverpool 🤞

Mr Serge

Just going to go in the mindset that that game is going to be a loss that way I won’t be upset all day if we do MLC

Marc

It looks like all the papers are carrying a general line tomorrow that “Bale is back and he wants to win trophies”

Best news I’ve heard for ages – the more the Spud’s hubris builds the more they are useless.

Marko

Andre Santos and Gibbs are better than Kolasinac, thats how shit kola is!

I absolutely hated those two players and I agree with that statement. Kolasinac is beyond words at this point.

1 8 9 10 11 12 15