‘United will get run ragged by the German boys’
The coolest take of mine this week.
Getting smashed by OGS 5-0 is embarrassing. But look, that’s the reality of United, they have a lot of good players that on their night, can be absolutely devastating.
… poor Nagelsmann. That’s a real spanking. Another one of my hipster fantasies running into problems.
So, onto Arsenal.
We host Dundalk. It’s a dreamy story of a team that’s climbed the ranks with a coach that was teaching kids to play football in America not so long ago. What a day out they’re going to have.
We should beat them, but they’ll be high on life, so this will very much take on the vibe of an early-round FA Cup game. I’m praying for a win out here…
There’s a lot of misery around Arsenal and Arteta at the moment. Everyone needs to take a reality pill and get back on track with what the project is about.
This time last year, people were genuinely talking about Arsenal getting relegated. We were 12 points off 1st, and 4 points off 14th. There was no direction, the players looked uninterested, and things were about to get very, very bad for us.
We hired in a 38-year-old manager. He expertly steered us out of a hideous situation and stabilised the club. That was a huge task most thought he was incapable of.
His biggest mission has been to change the culture of the club, that takes time, especially when you can’t turn over large chunks of the squad that were badly recruited.
Arteta tasked himself with making us difficult the beat. He has achieved that. No one comes to Arsenal to roll us these days, you might think that’s no big deal, but we have literally been getting rolled by top teams for 10 years. We are good at defending. We have the second-best defence in the league and we rarely concede more than one goal. Shots against us have drastically reduced. Again, you might think that’s par the course, but it is within living memory that Watford had 32 attempts at our goal.
Part one of the job is on track. The foundation has been set. The next phase is about fixing the attack.
Here, we have to be realistic. Solving that problem with internal solutions, to the level we require, is unlikely to happen. We don’t have the attacking riches United, Liverpool, Spurs, Chelsea or City have… even Everton look like they have better-attacking options than we do.
We clearly lack a #10 or a modern #8 player. It isn’t one player either, it’s two. We don’t have players that thrive in the half-spaces. There’s no Hleb, Santi, Wilshere or Rosicky to make the magic happen. We’re currently relying on Saka adapting to that role, and that will be a huge ask. He’s more suited as a wide player.
Wide player-wise, there’s simply no world in which Arteta sanctions £72m for Pepe. He’s not playing well because he’s not that good. We hope based on his price tag, the reality is, if his name was Billy Smith and he was a youth player, we’d not be interested. Reiss Nelson is now the answer, but let’s be honest, he was struggling the break into Hoffenheim after a blistering start and we spent the summer trying to move him on. We love Gabriel, but it’s still a stretch to think he’s going to be a teenage saviour this season.
Then you look at the striking options. Auba through the middle isn’t an option because he can’t hold the ball up in the way we’d like. Lacazette isn’t right, and Eddie seems a way off ready. Fans are pumping Balogun?! That’s not right.
If we’re realistic, solving our attack is going to be very, very tough.
At the moment, our approach is to squeeze out chances to make our powerplays. The hope is that out of 4-5 good chances we create, we score one and batten down the hatches. This season, our form has been poor and we’re not taking our chances. Nothing has clicked and lady luck has covid.
You also have to accept that when you hire a young coach, they will make mistakes and misjudge situations. Arteta has a high ceiling, but he has to learn. We couldn’t afford to spend £15m on Poch, so we took a chance on potential. He will fumble, he will do odd things, but that’s a price worth paying, because when he gets it right, and he will, it’ll be worth the entrance fee.
‘SACK HIM’ is not analysis. It’s what stupid people who live in the moment say. Again, worth noting that the ‘best young coach in the world’, just had his arse handed to him by OGS. RB Leipzig is a very well assembled side deep into its development. They made the semi-finals of the Champions League last season. They are a good team, but bumps in the road are part of the journey when you bring in a young manager. Even Jose, with a far better squad than ours, tanked a 3-0 lead to West Ham.
I also find the perversion people have over William Saliba very, very odd. Arsenal are pretty good at defending. If we are not including a young player in our squad this season, there’s a good reason for it. The player had fitness issues last season, so we know there are problems there, because the Premier League is brutal. He can’t speak English, which is also tough to manage. He’s 19 years old, has just moved to a new country, and he’s dealing with horrendous personal problems. Do we think throwing a precocious talent into the first team, just because Dave on the internet saw two minutes of him on Youtube, is a good idea? Do we need to wreck him in front of millions to prove a point? 19-year-old centre backs at the highest level of the Premier League are a very, very, very rarely a thing. Arteta is protecting a player that has a very, very, very long career ahead of him. You are really struggling if your analysis of our problems right now is #FreeSaliba… but again, when things are not going well, any average idea is given oxygen.
Arteta will experiment. He is humble enough to admit when he’s wrong. He will develop his ideas. But you need to brace for the fact that the path to top 4 is not paved in goals, it’s brick walls and ruthless discipline… and the hope that January might bring a present or two.
Don’t lose faith. Don’t covet busted flushes that started with better tools. Keep the faith. This is the way. xx
“..”………..Runarsson
Soares Mustafi Kolasinac Nile”
This lot is taking home in excess of £300k per week! Likely more than all of Dundalk’s starting 11
They better perform, at least against Dundalk….
Captain Xhaka is leading the team.
CC / Eagle
To think Lille still haven’t lost a game this season and are joint top of the league with PSG….
They were quite lucky tonight.
Useroz
The Dundalk players will not be strangers to each other.
You seen our keeper play before?
Kola and Mustafi a recipe for disaster.
Rich. That’s irony isn’t it?
Useroz
It’s likely more than the entire Dundalk squad earn in a year, but that won’t stop us making hard work of this.
“Captain Xhaka is leading the team.”
Where?
it will be turgid as fuck
What is this two widemen playing in wide positions? Be still my beating heart. Odds on Nketiah at LW? No I joke I joke…
Karim
Oh I know, my Dad was messaging me raging at how bad Lille were when Celtic went 2-0 up haha he was tuning in to watch a battering so was duly disappointed.
Who is pulling strings for them so far in the league? Forgotten man Renato Sanches looked lively when he came on there, enjoying himself at Lille isn’t he.
Out onto the football pitch, Marc…
Cmon lets bully them!
Well here we go…Let’s Go!
Just saw the line up..thank fuck I have a zoom call..Sunday cant come fast enough..cant stand this elite competition
Come on The Arsenal!!!!
My brother has just put money on it to wind me up.
What a twat.
—-++++——–
Hahaha at least he isn’t Dariano. Or is he?
Xhaka is the CB. Kola plays LB.
Lets also count the number of successful aide and back passes in our expected total domination and possession!
Whats the total valuation of Dundalk’s starting 11?Annual player wages?
———–
Same as a pack of Lidl crisps?
Good shot Mc Elneny
Dundalk with the first chance of the game. I kid you not
Jesus. Wot a long shot. By Dundalk.
Runa catches the corner!
MuppetmanOctober
Yeah keyboard warrior is alot easier!
Banging your mum alot more easier, idiot
On the other hand is not getting out of out EL group a sackable offence?
———
We need to go for this competition. Maybe not sackable but gets that convo going.
Take note Runner boy threw out the ball for quick counter.
karim
Yilmaz has settled in nicely there, guy was a goal machine in Turkey and still remember a good few years back in the CL where he scored a fair few when Gala went on a nice run.
Credit to them, great club for churning out/developing talent.
Hazard, Gervinho, Pepe, Osimhen, Leao, Gabriel Marghaes, Thiago Mendes, Boufal, Digne, Sidibe, Origi, Gueye.
Made quite a bit of dough off of that list.
Edie doesn’t fight for the ball over the top?? Didn’t even jump and put pressure there?!
Did Eddie learn the fall over for no reason move from Laca? I hope not.
Nothing wrong with Pepe’s jump
Marko
Keith fucking Andrews on the mic, Dariano help us.
Eddie Nketiah is championship at best
If Pepe can’t perform tonight against these lot questions have to be asked about his future I want to love him and become world class but he needs to up his game now we need him
Reiss again I want him to do well hopefully he can produce tonight
Is that Leno in goal for them?
Questions over Pepe? No way
Dundalk drew with the Spuds early 80s. We better not break that record.
Doing ok for now. More forward play than the A team but could be quicker. Dundalk looks Championship level and fighting.
Fucking hell Pepe! Disgraceful
Pepe has to learn how to kick corner.
Sick new corner strat
Serious corner game there Pepe.
Go on Arteta leave the tactics on the Macbook for all to see.
Honestly, Pepes confidence looks shot. Cant be good for a player like him coming in and out of the team. But he is one of few that can deliver special moments in this team. And the fact that we are the worst creating team around isnt helping either.
Is someone playing champ manager 99 during the game?
Pepe is very predictable coming inside all the time. Easy to defend against.
I was reading those Laptop tactics.. something about score you fuckers … is all I could make out.
Pepe’s passing (not crossing ) still poor.
Half chance.
Is Gary McAllister in goal for them?
Is Gary McAllister in goal for them?
LOL
I hope Balogun is better than Nketiah
With size of the Irish should be doing short corners keeping possession.
Charlie
Dundalk keeper is 40, lol.
SamesongOctober 29, 2020 20:16:14
Go on Arteta leave the tactics on the Macbook for all to see.“
Thats a decoy. The 13th player and sauce to help secure a win against a very strong (physically ) aide!
Your I think we missed the boat regarding Niles. He should have been sold to fund a creative midfielder. I cant see us selling him for more than the 25 mil quoted this summer.
Mid,
How are we doing on the XGs?
He doesn’t look a day over 39. Must be the Guinness.
Not scored yet.
Their goalie looks like an obvious weak link.
Old pissed up looking fella dragged out of the pub.
What a fooking bland team.
Left _ I’m calculating now.
Habesha GoonerOctober 29, 2020. Did we get an offer actually? Would grab that £25m ….
Better header from Pepe.
Nelson has to hit that. He’s got wengeritis
Are we aware that we’re playing DUNDALK?
Lol, pathetic
This shape is better than against Leicester. It’s just a shame the players aren’t quite top quality. But Willock in that advanced central area makes a positive difference.
That was definitely an XG goal..
Jesus begorrah holy saint Patric hav’nt we scored yet.
Freck
At the end of last season I never thought I’d see a defence of Kolasinac, Cedric, Mustafi and Xhaka.
Nelson took couple of shots but still nothing on target half way the 1H.
Elneny under instruction to pass forward it seems. Good start.
We don’t have ball carriers to take on their defence even with Pepe and Nelson.
CC
Yilmaz has been good and the other noticeable ones have been Araujo, Bamba and Ikoné with Jose Fonte rock-solid at the back.
Renato is a bit inconsistent but still quite talented.
Eagle
Yep, having Campos as chief scout was always gonna help as far as making profits on talented youngsters is concerned.
Eddie mot offside.
useroz
There was a lot of numbers quoted from 15 to 25 mil. I thought we could have got atleast 20 mil for him. I dont get his use to us now apart from playing wingback against big teams. We would have been better served if we had a N 10 instead.
Pepe has a lot of ball but needs to do better
Is balogun on the bench
Still waiting for that direct dribbling and off the ball running from Reiss. Goal threat though
We look better in XGs. Is Nketiah our XG top scorer?
Oh. Eddie. Take the shot
All this talk about Pepes confidence being shit because he is on an out of the team. Sorry, but what a meek prick!! Fucking man up, put your big boy pants on and show the world that you can’t be left out. He is a typical Arsenal signing of the past 10 + years. Weak as hell mentally and not up for a fight.
Jay you’d struggle to bang a drum with your midgets thumb poking out of a bush dick
Oh ffs shoot
Balogun is on the bench.
Eddie should be on form playing effectively a U23 team!
Runa boy made two corners. Wow. 100%. Passed.
Runnerboy not Artetarised yet.
If it stays like this how will Pedro spin this one?
At least we are competitive.
Runarsson appears to have a sure hand to catch the ball.
Willock and Nelson two best players on the pitch tonight.
Come on y’all his nickname is Iceman… get with the program. sheesh.
Kolac header on target. Finally after 33”.
I like willock because he is the only one of our midfilders other than partey that drives the ball forward.
Xhaka has been a rock at the back. 😄
First one on target.
Finally a shot on target.
“
At least we are competitive“
LOLLLL
I am liking Nelson he showing some fight and wanting to take a place
Love to see balogun come on he can’t be that bad then nketiah
Come on y’all his nickname is Iceman… get with the program. sheesh.
Runna boy for me.
Willock shot from outside the box. Second on target.
Runna boy is too Rasta….. I think.
This is just too depressing again. Don’t blame the quality of the players, as they’re clearly better individually than the pub team, but it seems the coaching is not working out.
Willock shot from outside the box. Second on target.
Looked like a pass. lol
Eddie!!!
Eddie. Better reflex would have nicked a auba tap in. Saved.
How about Runa long now son?