I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that this weekend is a HUGE moment for the Arsenal project this season. Win, and we’ve taken down a strong United side in a low moment for Arsenal. Lose, and everyone will throw a shit fit on the internet and life will be sad for a while.
So far this season, the fine margins approach of this new Arsenal squad has not worked well for us. We should have done better against Liverpool, we should have taken points at City, and we really shouldn’t have been beaten by Leicester last weekend.
The new challenge we have is teams have now learned that coming at us like we’re a banter club is not a thing. You can’t bully and press us high up the pitch because we have a couple of deadly moves in the locker that allow us to move the ball up the pitch and kill. We have been sussed.
The common consensus at the start of the season was that we’d struggle against low blocks against the small teams… well, now even the better teams are playing that game. Leicester low-blocking was not expected. Arteta calls this a sign of respect.
It’s a lot of things that we’ve improved on in my opinion and we have all the stats to do that. Our thinking after Leicester, the reason why they did what they did in their game plan, to sit so low against us when they are not normally a team that do that – they’ve been really dominant and play really attractive football – I came to the conclusion that we have the respect from other teams for them to do that. Now we have to try to change our strategy a little bit and try to train against more certain blocks that I think are going to happen a bit more often. We have made teams think, ‘If we do that, we’ll be in trouble so we have to try to do something else’. We’re going to work on that and the moment we improve that, we’ll become even better.
I’d agree that it is a sign we need to develop the thinking and be a bit less predictable. The good thing is he’s acknowledging these issues. What we see with our eyes… he’s seeing, and he’s trying to coach us to a better approach.
Easier said than done. Our squad hasn’t developed at the pace we needed this summer. We made ourselves very solid, but we still lack a bit of magic. We need someone that can do the things that Mesut can do, but sadly, that doesn’t exist. That means we have to get more creative with what we have. The game in the week showed some options that might exist. Would Reiss Nelson offer a more direct option on the right? Would Joe Willock be able to function in a midfield that had the support of someone like Thomas Partey? Can Willian or Saka step up?
Arteta thinks we have enough options, but the players need to show up.
That structure is just to limit our opponents to certain things when we lose the ball. The other structure can flow. We have so many different patterns to try to attack these situations, depending on the formation that they play, and the value of spaces. That will be in different things. It’s more about our aggression, when we have the ball, our purpose, our aggression, our runs in behind. When do players take someone on and think, ‘I have to make something happen’? We want them to think about themselves, not him or him, we want them to take accountability. They need to want to put the ball in the box more often, because this is what top teams do. If the other team want to defend the box, make sure they’re defending the box all the team, and that we’re being very aggressive in the final third. It’s something we haven’t faced so much since I arrived here, but I think it’ll happen more and more.
I do think there’s been an element of passing the buck when it comes to making things happen. That might be because the system has been too rigid, or players might think that Auba can score the goals. Hopefully, this is a game where we see a different mindset. There has to be more purpose to how we attack, doing it against Dundalk is one thing, United? Hmm…
We’ll see how the basics of what we saw against Dundalk translate into the United game. We cannot avoid the middle of the pitch. We cannot assume Xhaka is the only player that can move the ball forward. We cannot expect to win the United game without taking some calculated risks.
That said, I suspect the cagey approach we thought might be the recipe of the day… might have changed after the midweek decimation OGS handed out to Nagelsmann. United don’t like to sit back and I’m not sure they’ll do that this weekend… but we’ll see.
News leaked yesterday that Huss is out the door at Arsenal. Ivan G set out with a dream, the dealmaker at Barca, the Diamond Eyes guy at Dortmund, and the contracts person at Sky Racing. Well, that entire vision collapsed inside 3 years. I actually think it mostly collapsed because Ivan left and created a power vacuum. He botched the succession plan by assuming that dual leadership could work and that someone like Raul, chancer in chief, could be trusted to run things to the betterment of Arsenal. Well, it was a mess, but it’s being cleaned up.
Huss was supposed to come in and sort out the way we did deals. I’m not sure he can walk away having achieved much. Our wage bill is a mess, we’ve lost players on free transfers, and we have a collection of duds on deals so sweet, they won’t leave. I suspect his exit is quite tightly tied to Raul’s. He was the bag man for the bag man. If he was there overseeing the deals Raul was throwing his way, then it’s pretty clear why he’s out. He’s been given the quiet exit route out… very American. Sam Dean reckons we’ll bring in a lower level Head of Football Operations. We certainly need some expertise going back into the club. The jury is still out on some high profile staff and everyone knows it there, I hope we don’t continue the trend of letting average talent make huge decisions that sets us back years.
Finally… I did a podcast ON VIDEO, with the guys at Elite Football Show. I spoke with Haider and Ciaran about United and Arsenal. It’s a good listen, especially the parallels they draw between the United project and the Arsenal one. I also think it’s interesting to listen to other fans talking about what we’re doing… because generally, they are a bit more positive.
The podcast can be found on iTunes and Spotify… but be daring for once in your life, click the video… listen AND watch. ENJOY. x
Karim, that is funny as!
So noone has any confidence in a win today?
Same song not really 😂
But I’ll still wake up at 330 am in the hope we can nick it.
Nice one Rich.
This wack a mole lockdown decision has been taken by 6 people with no debate in Parliament,
We are living in Boris anarchy, no democracy any more.
Outrageous
Samesong,
With our abysmal record against top teams and Arteta’s wank tactics and team selections?
Literally everyone before the season was saying how tough our first 10 or so fixtures were. If we can get some points on the board from now til Christmas it’ll be interesting the 2nd half of the season.
If we continue to play like we have been though, it won’t be pretty to watch over the course of a season that’s for sure
Wtf with the politics
Level of intolerance
******Bangs my head 5 times******
tolerance does not mean allowing some to run amok and treating them like sacred cows
#justsaying
Suga and co
I was confident about winning 3 games in Bamford list that’s gone tits up. I am numb to the football we are playing at the moment. Admittedly once Vardy scored the other day I turned the game off.
If we win which I doubt I’ll take it all back. But I have a bad feeling about today. An early goal for united could be floodgates for us.
Admittedly once Vardy scored the other day I turned the game off.
I did too.
“And Keown says he sees similarities between Tottenham’s talisman and Arsenal legend Bergkamp.
“What anyone who played with Dennis will say is that his service was outstanding. I’m now watching what Harry Kane is doing for Tottenham and, dare I say it, he is starting to remind me of my old team-mate,” Keown told the Daily Mail.”
Exactly what i was saying a year ago.
Mankind faces extinction – and here we are, all wound up about the game at OT.
I say, ‘Thank heavens!’
Politics does NOT belong in sport. Fair-play DOES. Let’s stick to football on here.
Pierre shhhhh. We don’t want to hear that shit hahaha
Samesong
I’ll be honest, I had lost access to the match and once I heard Vardy was coming on the field I didnt even bother to look for a better stream.
I’m abit indifferent by it all at present. Negative timid way of playing yet we still concede chances/goals and not much ambition to attack, combined with the questionable team selections can do that to you.
Begrudgingly it is clear that Kane is becoming a far more rounded player, his on field relationship with Son is sensational. I don’t know if it is anything to do with the injuries he has suffered but he may be seeing the game with a different mindset, also with the benefit of experience he has built up. He has a long way to go before direct comparisons with Dennis though! I would say he also reminds me a little of a prime Teddy Sheringham, a guy I really couldn’t stand, despite his obvious qualities. Feeling filthy now. On another note… Read more »
Arteta has to prove today that he’s not scared.
Over to you Mikel.
If Ole sets his midfield up correctly its a walk in the park for them.
Just keep dribbling into our box til they get a penalty.
Us breaking them down is going to be an issue.
Karim
A few things in life are always more important than football even on a sunday. Not that it surprises me anymore but the fact that even elite footballers think the same way as an illeterate islamofascist should ring alarm bells all around.
We as fans have little confidence right now, the tactics used by Arteta are very negative, which we are not used to.
I can’t see us wining today as he will be too defensive and as we know once they score we seem to find it hard to get back in the game.
We cannot seem to attack and keep the pressure on, often very slow in our recovery.
This will be a bang average season, and it looks like it will all be behind closed doors
Graham Believe me I would also like to see some more expansive football from Arsenal, I am sure we all do. But I just can’t see Arteta choosing today to stray from what he has been doing so far, ie keeping the game tight and competitive. And to be fair, today is the type of game where one goal will likely win it, United have been banging in goals recently but not coming up against teams that like to organise like we do defensively. I would love a 1-0 with a late goal from us, it’s how all the other… Read more »
Tr7
Agree it wasn’t the brightest idea to like that post lol.
Now, most if not all of them have apologised and I’m pretty sure even you can understand that they did that out of frustration because their faith is being insulted 24/7 and not because they support extremists’ views.
Cheers.
For me , it’s all about seeing how the kids progress this season… Martinelli Balogun Saliba Saka Nelson Willock Eddie Smith rowe Gabriel I would love to see them all grow together as a team, build team spirit and on field relationships. Ideally, for me they would all be playing in the cup comps but I’m not sure the manager sees it that way. Away to rapid , he played eddie on the left and willock, nelson , Balogun and smith rowe were nowhere to be seen, and we all know about the Saliba blunder. The sooner we get Martinelli… Read more »
‘Sid I know you’ll say he’s soft, but that’s a fucking lot to deal with. ‘
Having him play especially without fans in stadia would do him more good than freezing him out.
Chris
I don’t feel so optimistic.
Sid,
I do believe, despite his personal shit, that arsenal fucked up with Saliba for sure haha.
Just think it’s a tough time for the lad regardless
Karim Muslims are way too touchy about their faith. Muslims themselves should introspect why Islam gets a bad name all across the world instead of getting extremely violent against anyone who questions their religious beliefs. No God of any faith is weak enough to be insulted by anyone calling them names, drawing cartoons of them or descecrating a book. The very concept of blasphemy is ridiculous in modern era. These elite footballers should ideally rather use their influence to call for reforms in Islam or at least condemn killings in the name of religion but instead they condone such acts.… Read more »
From Orbinho:
Arsenal shots per game:
2020/21 – 8.8
19/20 – 10.7
18/19 – 12.3
17/18 – 15.6
16/17 – 14.9
15/16 – 15.0
14/15 – 16.1
13/14 – 13.8
12/13 – 15.7
11/12 – 16.8
10/11 – 17.2
09/10 – 17.4
08/09 – 17.4
07/08 – 16.5
Ouch.
Chris
I think Kane is just maturing as a player,, has a really good level of experience domestically and internationally, and at 27, he’s coming into what should be his best years as a player.
I hate to say it, but he’s world class.
Tr7
Islam gets a bad name because people like you or Rich associate it with terrorism, rape and murder.
Valentin explained it very well the other day but you won’t listen anyway, so what’s the point ?
@karim
Well said. When the west went into an illegal war in Iraq for the oil , killing hundreds of thousands of innocent Eminem and children. How many white sportsmen used their status to condone these attacks? After all Blair claimed he’d be judged by god for that decision and he stood by it, technically evoking religion in the decision to falsely attack an innocent nation inflicting many deaths and injuries
TYGN
Exactly mate but why mention Eminem 😂 ?
karim
Attacking a Priest (and I’m not religious in any way) will get Islam a bad name. If these nut jobs want to attack someone for the Iraq war then will they please attack Tony Blair – if I ended up on jury service after they did it I’d let them off.
@karim
Well said again, the west has blood on their hands and have had for years, they’ve committed more atrocities, more deaths , backed vicious dictators who they’ve been allowed to commit atrocities on their own people and then plead ignorance when the truth comes out. The Middle East is a mess made by the white man. 90% of bad shit that happens in the world, dig deep enough and you’ll see the white mans hand behind it all. Difference is the white man controls the world so can re write history for his own good,
Just listened to an interview from Arteta, I absolutely love his single-mindedness. He doesn’t sound like he see’s Aubameyang down the middle as a permanent solution. Pepe got taken off at the hour-mark on Thursday, so you’d have to think he’s pencilled in today, and certainly Saka starts. Hopefully we can get an early goal, force United to come out and play a bit, then use our pace to pick them off. I’m not confident in the least for today, but I think we’e in with a punchers chance, United’s back line can be got at, we just need to… Read more »
Yes Harry Kane may remind some people of the great Dennis Bergkamp, but he will NEVER EVER be in the same league as the Dutch maestro.
@Karim
Hahahahaha he’s involved somehow too 😁
Marc
These nut jobs have an agenda : war of religion. Most Muslims don’t want that, well the educated ones at least.
TYAG
“Difference is the white man controls the world so can re write history for his own good,”
Are you a white man? Is this classic white man’s guilt?
Or non-white?
Are you looking for equilibrium now? Or are you looking for the non-whites to take that throne away from the whites?
You won’t get equilibrium. That’s fantasy land thinking. It’s in human nature to have hierarchies and that applies to just white affairs and non-white affairs as well.
Calypso
“The table shows Arteta is no different to Emery during Emery’s worse spell as Atsenal manager.”
Shows the results are similar. But still we are in a far better situation now than under Emery 🙂
Make no mistake I’m not sticking up for these backward idiots who commit these atrocities, I mean sorry you really need help if a cartoon would drive you to do someone harm over it. But it’s the hypocrisy of the white man that makes me laugh
No I’m not a white man. Just want people to wake up and realise religion is nothing other than a form of control. We’re not Muslim or Christian or Hindu, this is all make believe. The only thing that is real is that we are all humans, the same race. The human race.
Rich
Playing Auba at LW is not a clear and obvious mistake like everyone on here thinks.
There are pros and cons both ways.
But this game, specifically, if he plays Auba LW,then Auba is likely to be completely nullfied.
Aaron Wan bissaka is probably the best RB itw defensively.
And please for fuck people wake up, Arteta is a bum, a shut manager, an Emery lite. United will fuck us today
I have learnt that a stiff upper lip is deceptive in nature
GS88
If Kane scores 2 goals like Bergkamp did a la Leicester 97 and France 98, then perhaps the debate can be entertained!
Not to mention making Dabizas look like a prize idiot.
Also the assist for Ljungberg against Juve in 2001, absolutely magical.
Leftfootcurler
I agree Wan-Bissaka is brilliant in 1 v 1 situations.
But if Aubameyang can bring him inside, that leaves space for Saka, who’s probably our best player to exploit, the problem is none of our midfielders outside Willock get into the box on a regular enough basis.
United slight favourites for today, but I’m still quite excited for this on, we’re in with a punchers chance, first goal crucial.
Pierre
Have you given up on AMN and Pepe? If coaches correctly, they both can turn out to be starting 11 player. They have some physical attributes that I like.
TT&GN. You have spoken the absolute truth. Arteta and his sauce are a complete mirage a fabrication made of boundless hope not backed by any history or reality. We could have picked any old bloke spouting opinions in a pub. Utterly ridiculous selection.
A coach whose only CV highlights is an apprenticeship with a great manager. It will cost us another 2 or 3 seasons before reality bites. He is taki g us nowhere
Villa down 0-2.
Emi had no chance on both goals
3 set pieces goals conceded by Villa in under 30 min( one called back for marginal offside) ….wasn’t Emi great at organizing defenders?
Looks like Martinez’s bubble has been burst. After given up 3 goals last game, he has given up two goals already.
Martinez is killing it right now.
I have a niggling feeling we could be totally caked today. Man yoo have a lot more firepower than us and our, ahem (main threat) Auba does not score against the big sides. I can’t see where our goals are coming from. Also, at old Trafford…we stink the place up.
I’m going 3/4-0 to the Manchester Rat eaters.
Rich
Based on all our games this season, how can you feel so upbeat?
Please don’t tell me “it’s because I’m an Arsenal supporter”.
Aston Villa are going to show inconsistency.
The shock and horror of it all.
I don’t know man, my GP is an Indian Muslim , my dentist is a Sudanese Muslim, my barber is a Turkish Muslim, my accountant is Irish Catholic, my handyman is an English protestant and my solicitor is an English atheist ..they are all good people
Whether Wan Bissaka is very good on 1 v 1 situations will only be of real great relevance if Arsenal decide to play like they did against Leicester and attack almost exclusively from out wide.
The Auba playing left is of less relevance in comparison.
Rich In possession, actually it’s Tierney who plays lb and advances forward in attack. I know a few on here get mad that Tierney plays out of position but he doesn’t. He is lcb when arsenal are w/o the ball. But he is a regular lb going up and down the pitch when we have the ball. A big problem why Auba is less threatening this season is because Saka goes inside and attacks the same fb-cb channel that Auba attacks. They played in the same zones in the final third and got in each other’s way. They need to… Read more »
Globalgunner Arteta’s doing just fine, we’ve had some difficult games that were tight, and the margins went against us. Even if we lose today, it won’t be the crisis that it’s made out to be. Successful teams take longer than 10 months to assemble, this season was always likely to see us caught up in a cluster of clubs between 3rd and 10th, and as the season progresses, I think that’s what we’ll see. This season is about building foundations and structure, and I think we’re on the right track, this was always going to be a 3 year project,… Read more »
Another blatant yellow card foul in front of the box and it’s JWD vs Emi from almost the same spot again
Another one!!!!
He beats Emi again.
0-3
Lol Emi !!
6 in 2 so far
Poor Emi absolutely no chance on any goals.
JWD is a monster from free kicks and Villa keeps gifting them .. three goals on three set pieces
Where are the “we sold the wrong keeper” crowd? Martinez getting nowhere near any balls at the moment….
He had a purple patch, end of.
Rich is enthusiasm and optimism is a thing to behold.
The rest of us see the team conceding every game and being able to control the ball or attack.
Rich’s*
Didn’t AV beat Liverpool 7-2?
What’s going on?
Crazy times.
Martinez didn’t learn. JWD seems to be an expert aiming that corner. He should stood closer to that side. He seemed to be surprised by the shot. He didn’t move at all.
Emi looking more and more like that 10 year journeyman keeper. Some of you on here known squat!
Leno isn’t infallible, but it’s ridiculous to assert that EMI is the better keeper based on everything they have both done in their careers up to now
Being unable*
Rich
What meds are you on?
I’d still take Emi back over Leno.
Imagine how worse Leno would do.
Hopefully the Emi hysterics are finished now.
Graham I’m not upbeat. I’m just resigned to us likely finishing just outside the top4 over 38 games, probably somewhere around 6th. I don’t think our problems are coaching ones, I think if you sack Arteta, like when we sacked Emery, nothing much will change, and it’ll likely send us backwards, and not forwards. Squads are assembled in the transfer market and through the youth teams, but they’re built on the training ground. I think we’re on the right track, and once we get the structure in place, 3-4 signings of the right caliber, and with the right characteristics, will… Read more »
It is good news for us. Martinez’s confidence has broken before Villa meet us next week.
Anyone blaming Martinez for any of the goals has the IQ of a squirrel or should stick to sniffing glue.
Three set pieces and no chance on either one
“I’d still take Emi back over Leno.Imagine how worse Leno would do”
Facepalm
Looks like the Aston Villa team were being over-rated on here because of just one result however eye catching that was
They finished 21 points behind Arsenal last season and that was Arsenal’s poorest season for a very long time.
Aston Villa will improve on last season and they can get some good results on their day like the away win at Leicester (the Liverpool result was a freak one) but by the end of the season they are likely to finish midtable or just below that.
Arteta has a clear vision of what he wants, what he doesn’t want, and he’s got a ruthlessness to him.
Sounds like you know him personally lol.
We could do with a Waltord moment today!
Hasenhuttel is the one we missed plain and simple
We defo should be beating Villa, we can take that out of the difficult games discussion
The overrating of Emi was always knee jerk in typical Arsenal fan fashion.
Ernest hopefully when you face-palm you knock some long due sense into yourself.
Villa losing back to back home games.
What are the odds they show up against us in their next game?
Rich
There are many different facets and skill sets required in coaching but the key element needed for any coach, at any level, is to be able to diagnose and correct flaws and fundamental weaknesses in a players/teams games.
As highlighted, Arteta hasn’t convinced me yet.
If a coach cannot do that, he is not a good coach.
Samesong
“Sounds like you know him personally lol.”
Rich is challenging Arteta for king of the sound bites.
Arteta ruthless? Yeah, this is probably why he wanted to keep Mustafi and keeps playing Xhaka, no matter what.
I am amazed at all the faith being shown that we ourselves are capable of finishing higher than midtable.
6-8th is not midtable.
What do you see based on how we’re playing that let’s you see that??
I see a team that isn’t creating, scoring or keeping clean sheets with alarming consistency. Even MSM is starting to pick up on it.
Would take Martinez back in a heartbeat.
Same Graham.
“Rich is challenging Arteta for king of the sound bites.”
I now mostly skip his posts, there are usually long but basically all say the same thing
-We need better players, shock horror
-the coach is doing the best he can, a blatant lie
-we don’t have a top four squad,we do. A truly special manager makes top four with this squad.
If we conceded 3 today (not that I want to obviously) will Leno be given any benefit of the doubt for any of them like Martinez has?
Marc depends on if it’s a worldie of a free kick or a punch back into the area.
Rich
You can’t take Liverpool to support your argument. Klopp is an expert to coach the attack. Arteta has appeared up to now that he is clueless how to coach the attack. Both Auba and Laca were much better players under Emery than under Arteta. That’s how Emery won 20 games in a row.
I agree that Arteta has fixed the defense problem. Now that he has Partey, I am hoping that he can fix up the midfield and finally the sttack.He’ll need help to get Pepe going.
Anyone blaming Martinez for any of the goals has the IQ of a squirrel……….
——————
I don’t know, I’ve seen Squirrels do some amazing shit …….even surfing.