Bloated squad huge priority going into deadline day

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Today, we go to war for 3 points that’ll keep us #Top4 over the international break. Before the season started, I wrote that 9 points would be absolutely ideal from this session of games, and I still believe that. The post-break games are pretty grim, we have City, Leicester, United, and Villa in the league, as well as 3 Europa League games. Going into those games with momentum and positivity is absolutely vital.

We need a performance from the squad today. We’ve been inconsistent this season. Fulham was great, but then we realised they were shite. We didn’t show up against West Ham and scraped a win. Then we were soundly beaten by Liverpool. Our xG is looking a bit Emery like at the moment. 3 games is not a big sample, but we need to be correcting that before it corrects our points tally.

The main problem we’re having is chance creation. We’re fairly comfortable defending these days. We’re solid and tough to break down. Going forward is a different issue. There’s no clean connection from midfield to attack and our offensive playbook routines are getting a little predictable. The thing I worry about is it doesn’t look like we’re trying to solve it, it seems we’re banking on low chance high conversion approach. That’s rarely sustainable.

Sheffield United will be an interesting side to come up against. They’ve been abject so far this season, but we know they are a force on their day. They’ll not play a deep block, but they will aggressively counter us. It’ll be a game that will require creativity, they can defend really well and they will not let up with the pressure.

Our transfer business, on the face of it, looks underwhelming in the extreme. We’ve signed a lesser second keeper, Willian looks good but he’s certainly not the force to unlock our forward play, and Gabriel is 6 months away from being the man.

We basically have the same problem from last year carried over. That can’t be an excuse. We need to find ways of creating more good opportunities in attack, because it’ll be games like this that undo us this season.

If we don’t bring in suitable solves, the fans will look to Guendouzi and Mesut Ozil. It’s obvious. Especially as both are training with the first team. I hope that’s not the cloud of PR noise that a shoddy window brings, but you know it will be. From what I’ve been told, the big issue for Arsenal is that the squad is too bloated. Our wage bill hasn’t really been attacked this summer and we’ve done a very poor job moving on players. As I said yesterday, I don’t think anyone thought we’d struggle to move on players like MG and Lacazette, but here we are.

That is still no excuse for not having an 8 or a 6 at this stage of the summer.

I understand Arteta just wants Champions League level players for the now, but as I’ve whined about for the last 5 years, sometimes you need to build out talent and take a little longer to get back to the top. If our shopping list is Aouar, Jorginho, and Partey… or bust. Then that starts to look like negligence. We finished 8th, improving on our squad is not a precise science or balancing act like it would be a Liverpool or Bayern. We should be able to find an 8 for less than £40m that can do a job. We should be able to find a #6 that has the athletic profile we so desperately need.

I know I am not a scout, but Dominik Szoboszlai plays on the left, he can box to box, and he’s at a franchise that supplied the world with Mane and Werner. He’s 19 years old, he scored 12 goals last season and landed 18 assists. His buy-out is rumoured to be 25m euros. Is he blowing up the league this year? Maybe not. Would he be a better bet than nothing? Yes.

The same with the #6 position. We have no one with athleticism in our midfield. Don’t tell me there isn’t someone in Ligue 1 that we could pick up at less than £45m. Sangare/Sourmare look like talented player, clearly both need coaching, but that’s what clubs with fucked finances have to do.

There has been a real lack of creativity around our transfer business. I really, really hope this isn’t like seasons past where we break a season because our perfect choice wasn’t available. There are always options that can improve the squad, we cannot let the biggest problem of last season go unaddressed again.

That said, I think fans are forgetting that spending a shit tonne of money doesn’t always translate into points. Spurs blowing a load of cash doesn’t mean they’ll be electric. OGS dropping pound notes on Cavani doesn’t mean they’ll close the gap. Leicester are just as capable of bottling the season. What new players does is create excitement for the players, the staff and the fans. It signals progress and it creates good vibes. If we fail this summer, you’ll get the covid-lockdown histrionics and it’ll be a slog.

We will be better this season regardless of where we land with the squad. We have 20 wins out of 34 games under the new regime. The longer the process goes on, the better we’ll get. We are very well-coached, we’ll be tough to beat this season, and hopefully, we’ll find a solve externally before the window shuts, and if not, maybe we’ll have to reach for a ‘like a new signing’ type of pivot.

Let’s enjoy today and pray that we can make some magic happen by Monday.

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Ishola70

Leftfootcurler
“Nketiah is a goal poacher like Auba.
Ofc his hold up and link up play is bad
He is not that type of CF.He should be starting because of his athleticism”

I didn’t see any significant atleticism from him today

He looked like a lost little boy on the pitch from virtually 5-10 minutes into the match and matters really didn’t improve as the game went on.

Leftside

3 goals in seven minutes

Jay

Harry Maguire is a disgrace, but the coward English media won’t say a single bad thing about him.

Samesong

United LOL

Marko

United’s power rankings taking a hit here

@Jay

Good point, even the car exhaust fucking bendtner was better than Nketiah and that’s not saying much

MidwestGun

United defense is gash,

Dissenter

Son never had a hamstring problem. maybe the faintest of strains

Marko

Also how is Harry Maguire a record transfer for a CB he’s fucking gash

Leftside

The power rankings are only a thing when its time to belittle Arsenal.

Jay

Eddie nikita same level as akpom, how’s bench warming in the championship for Middlesbrough

andy1886

Why can’t both sides lose? Can’t stand Son either, diving little tosser.

@Jay

I don’t think he’d be warming the bench either, think the bench would get picked ahead of him. Yet for some reason Arteta keeps playing him and putting aubu out on the left

Jay

Everyone is gonna say by paying £100mil for jadon sancho, is going to make man united title winners

Dave

We got a real snip with Gabriel

Globalgunner

United need another pen

Jay

Just before the game everyone was saying Eddie nikita can be next Dominic Calvert-Lewin

MidwestGun

I wish both sides could lose.. but I’ll take a draw.. Although.. Mourinho is a better manager then OGS everyday. and twice on Tuesday.

Radio Raheem

I wonder if United fans are entertained.

I’ll have what Arteta dished out today over this.

And a note on our passing from the back, flipping heck we’re like peak barca now, so adept at that it.

Dissenter

I don’t get all these queuing up to bash Nkettiah. He wasn’t the only reason why we were bad the first half. Auba was just as bad as him in that same period.The entire team bar Elneny and Gabriel were poor the first half. Why scapegoat Eddie?

He’s already scored the winning goal against Westham as a sub, a game that was destined for a draw. He’s already won us two points we didn’t deserve.

The pack mentality here can be hilarious.

Leftside

Gabriel is a steal esp when you look at that blockhead Harry Maguire.

MidwestGun

Well Pierre doesn’t do Eddie any favors on here by constantly pimping him But he is young and not as bad as people make out either.

Dissenter

Actually I too was making the Gabriel vs Maguire comparison too.

United waste money on all these big money signings that doin’t one the needle much. I fear Sancho will be another signing in the same failed tradition.

Ishola70

Son is pure class has to be said

China1

Eddie was poor but auba was too. Willian was no better in the first 45

I think people need to remember that he’s a prospect, not the finished article. He will have good days and some crap ones like today, he’s not a world beater currently.

But I do think playing him there and auba wife left when we have saka Willian and Pepe in the squad makes basically zero sense

Red Army

That wasn’t abuse. It was an observation!

Dissenter

Ishola
“Son is pure class has to be said”

Just goes to show that the best things in life don;’t have to cost an arm and a leg.

Bamford10

Red Army

Right, because at times, in possession, that is precisely the space Saka was occupying. Arteta’s set-up today was flexible and it changed depending upon whether we were in possession or out of possession. Saka often tucked in centrally and took up CAM-like spaces. That’s why at the start of the match people thought we were playing 4-2-3-1, and that’s why it looked like Saka was playing as the CAM.

Red Army

Cuckadoodledoo

Pierre

Strange on here A player has a poor performance and the knives come out…what a sad lot. Last week it was Pepe, this week it’s Eddie.. Gabriel and Ceballos were the pick of the bunch today.. Aubameyang and Willian came to life a little when Pepe came on . Pepe coming on allowed Willian more space and freedom to play though in all honesty , William and Aubameyang were no better than Eddie. The first half was pretty dire and we basically won it in a 5 minute spell with a couple of excellent goals .. Somehow we are getting… Read more »

China1

Gabriel is looking like a real signing

Absolute unit and loves to defend

Dissenter

China
“But I do think playing him there and auba wife left when we have saka Willian and Pepe in the squad makes basically zero sense”

Yes….the manager made a mistake and made the proper adjustments. Auba and Eddie were like two passengers that missed their flight.

Leftside

Arteta on transfers
“I am confident we know exactly what we want to do. We are trying our best to finalise the deals. Let’s see what happens.

“I cannot comment [on players]. At the moment there is nothing definite.”

Pierre

Pedro
“Red Army, we don’t abuse on here.”

Only abuse of the players is allowed eh
..

Dissenter

******”finalize the deals”*****

Aulas holding out for another one million

gunnerram

If we just keep going as the flat track bullies – we will be alright when the season ends.

Leftside

Very eventful half an hour in this game.

Buzzy

United getting battered lol..finished club..red card to Pogba too ..shame its against spuds

Nelson

RED!

Bamford10

Pogba and Matic are a porous midfield base, and Maguire and Bailly are a porous CB pairing. Shaw is poor as well. If Solskjaer doesn’t figure this out, United are in for a nightmare of a season.

Dissenter

Lalema needs a yellow card for that as well.
Pansies the lot of them

MidwestGun

Red card? gonna really get battered now.

Trask

Son poor touch otherwise that would have been a third

Really wish OGS could stay af United forever

Wengaball

Gabriel is a good defender but looks a bit clumsy to me. Doesn’t have a great first touch either.

Leftside

United are getting piped here

andy1886

How does Martial get a red and Lamella gets nothing? Same offence.

Nelson

Martial is the one who got the red.

MidwestGun

Could be 7-1 by the time it’s over.

Could be worse, we could have OGS as our manager. Please Man Utd keep OGS for ever

Buzzy

lol united trying to pass it out of the back..who do they think they are? Arsenal?

andy1886

OGS could be out by Xmas.

Dissenter

Pogba has been a nothing player for the better part of a year. United will be advised to just let him go but you just know they will give him another big contract.

Jay

Now if Eddie nikita won’t homegrown, media and fans would be on hes back, so basically he gets a free pass, because of hes nationality

London gunner

Son is such a quality player.

One of the best attacking players in the league of he wasn’t asian he’d be rated higher

Dissenter

if you’re going to slap a player then smack them hard enough to actually drop them.
Never get a red card for little girlie slap

Bamford10

Red Army

At times he was the 8, at times he was the 10. And like everyone else, I was just trying to figure out what Arteta was up to. I was just observing what we were seeing. Nothing more.

Why don’t you chill out and stop insulting people?

TR7

I want United to be humiliated.

1-3 down and 60 mins to go with just 10 men. Hope it ends 1-6 or something like that. Spurs have anyway bagged 3 points.

Thorough

Pedro.
Leno not at fault for that beaut of a strike.

Of course he was. If he was on his line he would have had a better chance at stopping that. Even the amazing acrobatic save he made against Liverpool, it was because he wasn’t on his line. A meter is a lot for a goalkeeper. If Ramsdale has been a meter out of his line he would have found it harder saving Auba s dropping shot in the first half. For keepers, positioning is almost as important as reflexes.

Dissenter

Jay
Were you this mad at Eddie when he got the winning goal against Weshham?

G8

shame that’s United are one man and 2 goals down
No way back for yanited in this game!
Fuck off Mourinho

GunnerDNA

OGS is bang average and should be sacked. Frank and Mikel are also under the microscope. United, CFC and Arsenal are bigger than the trash that’s on display. The league is less competitive because all 3 teams are underperforming. Brighton and Leeds are putting pressure on all of them because they’re actually trying to compete with inferior players.

Dissenter

Compare what martial did to Lamela to what Sadio Mane did to Tierney?

G8

Nketiah is not a prospect, he hasn’t shown any progress, he lacks the 3 qualities needed for a modern-day striker, strength ,pace and link play
That tap in goal against west ham was all on saka and ceballos..my mother could have scored that.
It’s not his fault that Arteta keeps selecting him

MidwestGun

Although a United comeback… to make it 3-3 a man down and then a Mourinho meltdown. would be the perfect scenario for me. But a United battering will do I suppose.

Leftside

TR7 your gonna get your wish. Spurs could get 2-3 more here.

MidwestGun

4-1… Ok battering it is then.

G8

This is going to be 7 or 8 lol..

Dissenter

Ed Woodward better leave the stadium and start working on another five transfers.
Bring out the trolley

TR7

Son is a world class player. Up there with the likes of Mane,Aguero and KDB in the league for me.

Dave

Just wish the fans were in the stadium

andy1886

If I’m honest the PL isn’t in great shape, some really average sides in the top half. Even this Liverpool side would’ve had a much tougher time ten or fifteen years ago.

1-4 now, Ole in real trouble. Will probably fail to even get out of their CL group too.

Leftside

Son is some player that must be said

Jay

England’s best defender and world’s most expensive defender getting exposed

Rich

If Martial’s is a red? Then so is Lemela.

3 game ban, violent conduct, so Martial misses the Arsenal game

Hopefully United don’t get too badly beaten here, Poch is still available, and I’d really like OGS to be still in charge when we play them at OT

MidwestGun

Pretty sure if Spuds score 2 more.. OGS is going to start crying.

Dave

Can’t wait to hear Evra

Kris

Lamela – what a total douchebag.

And those are both reds or both yellows. English refereeing is a joke.

Also, isn’t anyone gonna punch Son? Something about him that simply grates, don’t know what it is…

Ishola70

Tick Tack

Bye Ollie

Dissenter

Eddie NKettiah is good enough to be the 3rd/4th striker at Arsenal behind Auba and Laca.
When Martinelli returns back from injury, he will compete with that 3rd striker role with Eddie.

Eddie was reduced to scraps in the first half [same as Auba]

Left Testicle

30 hours to sort the midfield.

Kaz

I’m going to say it.

I’m pleased United are being battered by Spurs.

andy1886

United have spent more than anyone bar City and Neville is claiming player poverty lol….

Bamford10

Solskjaer is just getting his XI wrong. United are better with McTominay and Fred in midfield than with Matic and Pogba, believe it or not. No idea what Solskjaer is up to; I almost wonder if he’s *trying* to prove that Pogba is not the right player for United. Or he is playing the “big names” rather than the right players. Either way he is getting it wrong.

Recall, however, that United got off to a terrible start last season as well. They ended up finishing 3rd.

GunnerDNA

Pedro,

“GunnerDNA, why do you think it is a novel thought to say, every week, that managers are under the microscope? Who isn’t in a league where managers averagely last 18 months?”

All things you and others didn’t like 5 season ago you’re now celebrating them. The stats are there to prove that all 3 teams are underperforming because of having mangers who have no business at all 3 Clubs. JM and CA is not highly rated anymore but they’re still better managers than who Arsenal, CFC and United have in their dugout. OGS might be sacked after this game.

I’m paying for a banner to be flown over old Trafford with the words ,Ole and Woodward forever , on it 😃

TR7

United were awarded 20 odd penalties last season. A penalty in the last game after the referee had blown the whistle and one undeserved penalty today too. I really don’t care whether Martial decision was a harsh one. F**k United !!

Champagne charlie

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Evra voice: I love this game

Bamford10

Strange body language from the United players as well. They look disinterested.

Not good.

Dissenter

This is a big win for Spurs, the type that can infused confidence and launch a run.

Good thing the international window will take away the steam.

Dissenter

*can infuse

GunnerDNA

Bamford,

OGS is absolutely rubbish, he’s not good enough. I wouldn’t be a surprised if he’s sacked during the international break. Poch is available!

Tom

Hate to say it but Mourinho has got them playing well.
The inevitable meltdown might be next season rather than this.
People get hung up on how much they’ve paid for Bale’s loan( I don’t), but he definitely improves them.
Top four contenders.

TR7

‘Strange body language from the United players as well. They look disinterested.Not good.’

An Arsenal fan concerned about the body language of United players.

Dissenter

Lamela has always been one of the dirtiest players in the league.
Nasty nasty spud.

Rich

What a game this is.

Other than money?

Why would Sancho look at what’s happening at United, and think “this is a project I really want to be a part of”

OGS was a knee jerk appointment, everyone but United fans caught up in the moment could see it wouldn’t end well.

Wash you’re mouths out all of you. OGS is WC long may he remain in charge of united. OGS forever

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