Damn, waiting two weeks for football after getting spanked by Villa is a very long time. I hope Arteta is sitting in a cupboard for the first week thinking about what he did, and more importantly, what he plans to do when we come out the backend of this.
The good news is that after the break, there are three big games where we can show to league what we’re made of… Leeds, Wolves, then Spurs. Put 9 points on the board there and we go from ‘OH MY GOD IS THIS IT?!’ to ‘OK MAYBE LIFE MIGHT BE OK.’
That’ll be three very different challenges. Leeds will spray attack-minded football our way, quite simply, they have no other way to play. Wolves will be tough, they tried to bully us last time and we beat them the way we caught a lot of good sides out early on under Arteta. Then it’s Spurs. Everyone is loving Jose now. He has three of the best forwards in the league at the moment, that, combined with a solid base has Spurs looking like they might do something this year if he can get more performances out of the team. It would be huge to down him.
All of that is a long way off. If you were on death row, you’d pray that your last two weeks were during an international break… it’d be the longest two weeks ever.
The brief to Arteta is very simple, he has to figure a way of making us better going forward. He’s never been under this much pressure as a young manager. Some wither and die, the best rise to the occasion and find a way to succeed. The thing ringing in my head is Steve Round saying the Moyes project was going places but they didn’t win enough games to justify it. That’ll be Arteta if he’s not careful. Points is the best stat for any manager.
Arteta’s struggle is he doesn’t have a City squad to call on. His attacking options can’t do what they could do at City. His coaching projects have gone from making £50m Raheem Sterling world-class, to turning Reiss Nelson into a Premier League player. He knew the challenges when he took over. He cannot hide behind ‘it’s not possible’ because currently, we’re near bottom for shots in the second half across 92 clubs in English football. It’s a stupid stat, but that’s the way football fans work, and the reality is, we don’t need stats to see that this current side has no ambition in the final third.
What Arteta might need to learn is that when you manage a non-elite spender, imperfect attacking options are better than total caution.
He might have to learn to trust people he doesn’t believe in for a period of time, because sometimes, these people surprise you.
He has to innovate on something that isn’t really working this season.
Currently, we have one of the best sharpshooters out on the wing and he’s not getting the ball or being served chances. The purpose of the move out there was to give him more space to shoot. I don’t care what the stats showed last year, the core narrative of this season is BIG chances keep falling to the guy in the middle, and that guy is not converting.
Watch this video.
Here are the numbers on those goals that I did really quickly.
31 goals scored:
- Inside 6 yards: 14 (45.16%)
- Inside the Box: 15 (48.39%)
- Penalties: 2 (6.45%)
So what can we draw from this sort of data?
Well, the eye test told me a few things. Auba is at his best when he’s fox-in-the-boxing. He has a sixth sense for knowing where he needs to be. It’s a bit of a myth that he relies on his pace for goals… he relies on instincts and fast thinking.
That particular Dortmund team has a few things our side doesn’t really have. Namely, a Dembele. His electric pace and final delivery is currently unmatched in this Arsenal team based on form. That said, if there’s a player that ‘could’ be him, it’s Nicolas Pepe. They both have electric pace, they can both ghost players, and let’s be honest… final ball is a form and coaching thing. Currently, we don’t get our wide players on the ball high enough up the pitch for this sort of player, and we don’t move the ball fast enough.
You could also argue that Gabriel M and Reiss could be trained to be more direct. They both have the pace for it.
The biggest miss we have compared too that Dortmund team is final ball merchants. Dortmund had Kagawa, Gotze, and Guerreiro, and Dembele. But more specifically, they have players that can do things through the middle of park. We don’t have that, but right now, we don’t have players taking chances from wide positions either.
My rough conclusion is that the best way to temporarily deal with a creativity problem is:
1) Put your best finisher through the middle. If Auba had played centrally all this season, we’d have more points, and we’d have taken the first goal in a lot of big games.
2) Take a chance on players that aren’t hitting the mark. If Pepe is whining that he wants to play in the media, give him a go. Be explicit about what you want from him. Pump his confidence in the media. Tell him to be more like Dembele 4 years ago. Do whatever it takes to max out the skills he’s not bubbling up… stop focusing all the attention down the left. Bring some balance by making your focal point involved where he’s most likely to score goals. Also, maybe give Reiss or Willock a go. Willock centrally is the only player that might be able unlock us centrally. Reiss is direct and his career is on the line. Try is, couldn’t be worse than what we’re seeing now.
Ok, done.
What do YOU think?
P.S. Carrying on from yesterday’s post, namely, keeping players on that should be sold… I cannot believe we turned down a good bid for Lacazette from Roma. Shocking stuff. The biggest learning for Arteta in 2020 is that he needs to be more ruthless. No more old players that can’t deliver. Move them on. Go with elite young players with high ceilings.
Who Sal? Pierre or Pedro? Between Pierre, who obsessively wants Ozil back (when he genuinely thinks that he can turn things around when we all know that he can’t) or Pedro who is steadfastly standing up for Mikel in the belief that he will do it (when we all know that, unless he is a total genius, he absolutely won’t because of his lack of experience)? It’s a tough decision but I am not convinced that Arteta will do it for us. I am more than happy to be proven wrong but I am not sure thst Arteta has what… Read more »
Arteta did well during the 5 subs rule but he’s struggling tactically with three and no quarter breaks….
There was a chance to bring in Santi for a stop gap year but Raul was in charge back then….
No-one thought Willian would be this poor from the off though but looks like the club’s got the dud whilst Chel$ki have capitalised on Ziyech 🙄
LDB10 Time for some to pull the big boy pants up, it’s going around I get it. None of us are “sure” about Arteta but it’s pretty clear this is Arteta’s season to make or break his Arsenal career, let’s see what he can do with it. Do I like the brand of football we’re playing? Negative. Thats on Mikel to remedy and I hope he does, we don’t need to go down the managerial rabbit hole United have. Some on here so wounded from Emery, Ozil fully willing an Arteta car crash, if he’s as sauceless as some on… Read more »
Dissenter, I know you are still struggling with Post Emery Trauma… but the reason most aren’t paying attention to Unai’s run right now is we’ve seen how things go with his tenures. Did you blot that from your memory?
GunnerDNA, it’s hilarious to you because the only thing you enjoy about Arsenal is us doing badly.
When we win, you are nowhere to be seen.
Amen Sal, people have to pick themselves up… the season isn’t done in November.
In 1997, we lost 4 games in 6. The world was melting down. Then we went on an epic run and won the league.
‘Unknown manager from amateur league, hire Bobby Robson’ would have been the nonsense on here no doubt.
On the January transfer business, all clubs know this:
Liverpool need a CB for injured VD. Same possible for MC because of Ake injury, Arsenal need an attacking midfielder, which means to make this happening the prices will be exorbitant and it will not happen for Arsenal unless they sell players. With so many other teams in top form and basically they all are in for the remaining two top four spots, welcome to another dismal season and pinning our hopes on winning the Europa League.
Pedro, “GunnerDNA, it’s hilarious to you because the only thing you enjoy about Arsenal is us doing badly. When we win, you are nowhere to be seen.” This is the same Pedro who was ridiculing a Arsenal manager who was on a 22 games unbeaten run. 11 months later you’re mad at any otger fan who’s questioning Arsenal current manager who only allows his team to take risk in their own box. You surely couldn’t blame me for not been here when Arsenal win because the performances are that bad but you cover the cracks with “more defensively solid” until… Read more »
‘Willian may like at Chelsea produce periods of good to decent form but he isn’t going to be Arsenal player of the season any time or be lauded for an overall great season while he is at Arsenal.’
Daft comment, who was expecting Willian to be one of our best players and a POTS candidate coming in at 32 on a Bosman?
Talking as if he was signed for the Pepe fee.
GunnerDNA, I write this blog every day, regardless of the result. You only show here because you enjoy us doing badly. Huge difference.
WE, do you think Pepe can turn the corner?
Pierre spot on with this… been saying the same thing about Reiss, play a right footer on the right wing and vice versa, ______ For Aubameyang to be prolific, he needs a rightfooted right winger and a left footed left winger. Pepe is a left footed right winger and consequently wouldn’t deliver the ball in the area that Aubameyang thrives. The ball has to be delivered early and with pace into the corridor of uncertainty….saka is one of the best in the game at delivering this kind of ball, whereas Pepe will 9 times out of ten check back onto… Read more »
When Gabby is back would love to see him on the left, Pepe/Saka in the hole and Reiss on the right. Auba CF
that is a stronger attack for sure.
Arteta just needs to trust more, and realize that our players need freedom.
Freedom to express themselves and to try new things… to do the unpredictable, which leads to goal scoring chances.
Hell, he played for Wenger who instructed creativity above all else…. he should know… he played with players who were great attackers. What exactly has happened?
I feel like Arteta’s real secret mentor might be….hmmm..
simeone! lol
Another way to help our attack is to play AMN on the right side – either as winger or in a CM trio.
That way, he can cover Bellerin, and also drive forward too- he is a strong dribbler and gets to the box fairly easily.
As it stands, the left side is easily read and nullified now by opposition.
___leno____
Bell___Luiz__ Gab___Kt
__Amn__TP___Dani
Willian/Reiss___Auba______Saka/Pepe
4-3-3
_______leno____
Bell___Luiz__ Gab___Kt
_____Amn__TP__
Reiss___Pepe/Saka______Saka/Pepe
_______auba____________
4-2-3-1
4231 is my preference
gives more options in attack
Playing auba up top won’t fix anything. We still need laca to do the dirty work he is doing right now. Auba has to be the second striker, working off of the dirty work of the main striker. He can start the game from the left but during the game he needs to be central or cutting in, that’s when he is most effective. Be at the end of crosses, not crossing the ball. 2 up top may Be better. Then we need pepe cutting in with bellerin, saka and tierney being the crossing men. With out an effective CAM,… Read more »
the biggest weakness I see in arteta so far is he doesn’t seem to know which players to manage and which ones to set free It’s the opposite of wengers issue where there were fuck all tactics and coaching and the players who needed it (like Walcott) were left to just figure it out or fail Certain players need some or even a lot of hands on work. Other players need to be unshackled. Pepe, Auba, Saka – these are all players who are stifled by the system atm. Saka is still doing really well but he’s a natural talent,… Read more »
Those who talk of auba not being good as a lone CF are kidding themselves. Auba will score a hatful of goals as long as his wide men are regularly putting low crosses into the box (not holding my breath on CM build up play lol) As well what difference does it make if Auba is not a giroud style hold up and link up merchant if the players ahead of him in that role (Laca and Eddie) are also not good at it? Have a CF who scores. Have wingers who create a lot and score sometimes. It ain’t… Read more »
I think it’s a myth that Laca can do any dirty work that auba can’t. Auba has demonstrated in countless games he can be unselfish, press from the front etc
I really don’t get why people think what Laca does is that great. Laca has being doing ‘dirty work’ all season and where are all these goals and benefits for the team? He isn’t scoring and neither is auba. It’s a myth
China
The way laca is playing at the moment will be how auba plays if he is put central. He will be collecting the ball deep and having to link up play. Granted laca hasn’t done well but auba will be in a similar position because that’s the way we are playing atm.
Gonsterous it doesn’t matter for the following reasons: 1) Laca isn’t good at this. Auba isn’t a downgrade 2) Even with Laca doing this it’s still he who finds himself getting many of our best chances to score as CF. Those chances would be falling to Auba instead who is far more likely to take them 3) Auba isn’t a good winger. He scores (this season aside) but he’s not a good winger. He isn’t good at skinning his man, he’s not explosive. He’s not that tricky. His crossing is ok but not stand out. His passing is average. All… Read more »
As well, one of the contributing factors to why Laca has to drop deep is because there’s nothing dynamic happening out wide. That’s partly because Willian and Pepe aren’t doing enough on the right and also because auba is a very bland left winger who can’t shake things up. It’s not like Henry who would get the ball on the halfway line, skin his man and carry it 30 yards before teeing up pires, Freddie or DB for a shot. Auba gets the ball and usually just cuts back to pass inside or backwards because he isn’t explosive enough to… Read more »
Auba wide not auba’s wife 😂😂
In their entire PL history of matches to date, Saka already has marginally better assists to games record than Auba, despite spending the vast majority of his games shunted from pillar to post in deeper roles, LB and even right wing, whilst Auba plays every game on the wing. Add to the fact that Saka is better than Auba at dribbling, he’s more explosive and less predictable. Plus he’s just a kid and will surely get better – the evidence strongly suggests if saka gets a long run as left winger he will be a clear upgrade. Auba will be… Read more »
China
The real question is why has not Arteta seen this problem with Laca?
Why does Arteta persist with Laca in this role?
Why cant Arteta see that the entire offense is hinging on Laca as striker and Auba as winger to accomodate him, but in reality the entire offense is not balanced and does NOT work
Why China WHy!?
Lets try Reiss as RW
Pepe as LW
Auba in the center
Saka in the hole
What do we have to lose ? We have it all to gain when we play players in their correct position.
coaching 101
I also still haven’t written off Nelson I’ve no idea if his decision making technique and end product are there or ever going to be but the problem is he never plays so we can’t really tell where he’s at. But what we do know is he’s incredibly explosive, direct and fast. He reminds me of Walcott in that he gets the ball and just wants to burn past his man. If he has anything resembling end product he could be very useful, if not nvm. But he doesn’t play so we’ll never know. Whether or not he is the… Read more »
WHY GUNS WHYYYYYY????
why not try it
Yusuf Yazici is the anointed successor to Mesut Ozil… who could be on his way to Arsenal! Meet
Anyone heard about this guy?
Lille’s rising midfield star, who is ‘obsessed with the goal’ and has already scored two Europa League hat-tricks this season
Lille midfielder Yusuf Yazici is generating excitement after some superb displays
The 23-year-old star has scored two Europa League hat-tricks this season
The Turkey international has been compared to Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil
Sportsmail takes a look at Yazici and what he could offer to interested sides
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8921959/Yusuf-Yazici-anointed-successor-Mesut-Ozil-way-Arsenal.html
“but the reason most aren’t paying attention to Unai’s run right now is we’ve seen how things go with his tenures. Did you blot that from your memory?” Always funny when Arsenal fans pretend like the 18 months Emery spent here is some sort of blueprint to his career , the Unai Emery slander will never end with Arsenal fans, like they are the first team to ever sack a manager. Unai Emery has 10 trophies to his name and an European coach of the year award. He doesn’t need validation from Arsenal fans. His record here first season was… Read more »
“We have seem how things go with his tenures” How exactly? Tenures will imply not just Arsenal right? So his tenures will include First time promotion in their history with Lorca Deportivo First time promotion in their history with Almeria followed by an 8th place finish in La Liga Three consecutive top three finish with a financially challenged Valencia Three consecutive EL trophies with Sevilla 7/10 available trophies won at PSG A credible top three/four challenge with Arsenal and an EL final Sounds like the CV of a man who should be ridiculed at every turn just to promote the… Read more »
Rich btw what do you make of Trump installing unqualified cronies through the top levels of the pentagon and department of defense in the last couple of days?
Nothing says peaceful transition of power in a democratic country than replacing half the top defense positions with your buddies days after losing an election. All done without explanation of course.
Yeah tbf to Emery he’s had a good career so far. World class manager probably not but his record overall is good for sure.
He crashed and burned in his second season at arsenal but his historical record shows it’s not that surprising he’s now doing well again. He was never a bad manager, just a manager doing badly at arsenal
God knows far more highly regarded managers have crashed and burned and got sacked worse than emery did at arsenal. Mourinho made something of a habit of it
Pierre/ Guns
Agree 100%.
What is it these days with coaches who insist on putting a naturally right footed player on the left and a left footer on the right. It’s coaching snobbery if you ask me. So what if they can cut inside. Shouldn’t they be able to do that anyway?
Go back to the basics and stop trying to be clever.
Graham I think it’s fine to do it if that’s just how the player plays best (Pepe likes to come inside, pires was the same from the left). But I don’t think it’s necessary to make this a major game plan and build your attack around it.
Pedro 😂 oh dear. It’s very very easy cleaning up a shit show, if you are a good manager. I’m not a corporate buzz word manager of the ilk you are probably used to but I know how to get people performing. You just have to go back to basics, give the staff the tools they need to perform and lots of communication, find their strengths and skills and PUT THEM IN THE RIGHT ROLES! Emery did come in and Made us a better, fitter unit. He just couldn’t go next level and he wasn’t the right fit so it… Read more »
A long ball from David Luiz is our main creative tactic, only Peter crouch and Andy Carrol are suitable.
Diet Peps midfield is not allowed into the offensive 3rd
@Tony,
I wouldn’t get my panties in a knot about Lille’s wonderkid. Arteta would probably relegate him to playing 3rd fiddle after KT and Mr. Bodyguard “3 perfect cutbacks” Kola.
Arsenal should just mute their Behind-The-Scenes videos for a spell until we get back some performances and results where it matters. No need arousing fans with high octane drills and watching Özil and Willian looking like peak Zidane and Ronaldo, when when it actually matters, Arteta is organizing shit fests on both the bed and dinner table.
As many have alluded to, his cup wins have leveraged him some time but he’d be on a much shorter leash if there were fans in the stadium.
I’d like Arteta to succeed. I want Arsenal to do well, but their is a slight whiff of Wenger about him I don’t like. It feels to me like he won’t try Auba through the middle in case he tears the lace up and everyone would have been right in calling it. Same with Saliba and Guen, he’s made up his mind and now doesn’t want to appear to have been wrong. Ozil, I can understand. They left him out the squad to try and force him to move and they underestimated just what a cretin the man is. So… Read more »
Place*
We had the chance to sign Ziyech for 25-30mil last summer. We went with 72 mil for Pepe instead. Smart piece today Pedro. Our attack is very unbalanced. Its completely biased towards the left wing and relies on Auba converting half chances. Arteta wants a presence in the No.10 hole and thats why we see Laca and Eddie continuously dropping deep to link play. The best solution for now imo is switching to 4-2-3-1 with a No. 10 or 4-3-3 with 2 free #8s (currently dont have the personnel) against teams we are going to dominate. The 4-2-3-1 pre lockdown… Read more »
Weagle “Daft comment, who was expecting Willian to be one of our best players and a POTS candidate coming in at 32 on a Bosman?Talking as if he was signed for the Pepe fee.” The comment was made to highlight why did we bother with him. The guy has come in as a first team regular and many saw it as a replacement for a 72m flop. But yeah we shouldn’t expect him to have a really good top season overall. Just sporadic. Just so-so. But it’s alright though isn’t it because he was a feeebie. Nice big fat wage… Read more »
We rarely create chabces or score goals from high crosses into the box from out wide . We rarely create chances or score goals with quick intricate one touch play , in and around the box . We rarely create or score one on one chances with a defence splitting chance . We rarely score or attempt to score from outside the box. So what does this leave us with ….with the system we are playing , .the ball inside the fullback , a low cross to Aubameyang or eddie to score or a pull back for pepe.to score is… Read more »
Pierre
You did mention Ozil 😂
Danny’s “Ozil, I can understand. They left him out the squad to try and force him to move and they underestimated just what a cretin the man is. So where as it appears to be egg on Artetas face, it’s more down to Ozils odious character than anything else.” Players staying loyal to the club has been a rare occurrence in recent years Fabregas Rvp Nasri Adebayor Sanchez To name but a few…Ozil was left out of the squad when the team and player were playing well and getting results.. it wasn’t his choice, he wants to play football for… Read more »
At this point though, the football is so dire I wish we could actually use Ozil, he’d sulk and walk around the pitch and we would probably still lose, but at least he might make a couple of exciting passes.
Though not sure how many due to the fact he’s made 4 assists and only a hand full of chances in over 2 years.
8m loyalty bonus can but a lot of…. well loyalty.
Ozil is all about Ozil and cash. That is obvious.
The fact you buy in to his ‘loyalty’ bollox is amusing.
Hi guys, Kenyan gooner here. First time commenting but have followed the blog since 2011. I think I am ready to write off this season. Not 100% sure that firing Mikel would be the right decision, although if things continue like this then I will simply stop watching our games like I did during Emery’s time, with the player’s attitude the one part I couldn’t stand. Right now though, it is just so boring that I sometimes doze off, especially these recent late night EPL games that start past 10pm here. Anyway, let’s give the guy some time to build… Read more »
https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/pfizer-ceo-sold-stock-day-covid-19-vaccine-results-unveiled-2020-11-1029790705
Clowns
Danny’s
“At this point though, the football is so dire I wish we could actually use Ozil,”
Exactly…Arteta could have brought him back , if it worked Arteta would have been hailed a genius .
If it didn’t work then Ozil would be on the scrap heap and Arteta would be a winner either way .
As it stands, Arteta is fortunate there are no fans otherwise he would be taking copious amounts of stick from the fans who want to see some creativity..
He cocked up big time I’m afraid …
Morning,
Pierre your right there is time to salvage the season but it has to start now.
Two up top strikers and two wingers. Left footers on the left side right footers on the right.
442 or 352
We also need to see players actually shoot at goal.
Midfield players from outside the box.
Strikers as well. You only get one goal of the season winner but for the last ten years it seems every goal we score has to have been touched 25 times by every player in the side before actually scoring it.
Grabs
I quite like the wing back system with 2 up front, leaving the wingbacks to create the width.
It also allows 3 in centre mid and 3 central defenders..
At the moment we look over loaded in the wide positions.with the wing back system he’s playing atm.
We need to be able to score all types of goals.
A quick throw out like villas third against us. We used to do that all the time.
A late runner from midfield popping up in the box to score.
25-30 yard screamers. Either from free kicks or open play.
A winger or full back cutting in and curling from outside the box.
And then all the scruffy goals in the box that dont look pretty but get the job done.
When did you last see goals like this?
We can move the ball much quicker, we can attack more at pace, we can be more direct, we can pack the box for crosses and beat the first man, we can practice set pieces, we can change to a more attacking formation. There’s a lot that we can do. We seem to be locked into this slow play out from the back and through our wings which, when the ball eventually gets into our opponent’s half, sees them all formed up and ready to defend. On paper our attacking team is not actually that shit. Just out of form… Read more »
I’d like to see Pepe and Auba as a front 2. Auba off the shoulder and Pepe given the freedom of the pitch behind him.
Pepe stuck on that right wing is just far too one dimensional. You know exactly what he’s going to do.
Pierre, 442 or 352 works a treat. Like you say wingbacks like bellerin/amn on the right and saka/Tierney on the left.give you the width with 3 cb to protect and one defensive midfielder. That then gives you two attacking midfielders to pull the strings and create but also to link to the two strikers. 442 which we couldn’t really play until now because we had xhaka in midfield not partey. Now we can play it as a back four, the CB’s can do there job knowing there is still protection in midfield and fullback cover. The wingers provide width and… Read more »
Moray, Totally agree, what’s easier to score against. A set defence with every player in position waiting for the attack. Or hitting a team fast from a quick release from a keeper. Like villas third against us. We used to do that trick often. Seaman or lehmann quick release it goes to Cole or Lauren who were hit with precision. Or finding freddie pires Henry or even bergkamp who then puts a slide rule pass to a striker or midfield running to score. Defences were all over the place. We used to score from oppositions corners, now they do it… Read more »
Danny,
At least with pepe and auba up top we have height.
Playing laca whose 5 foot 8 is ridiculous he wont win against two 6 foot plus centrebacks.
And that’s when hes in the box most of the time he drops deep and is sat in midfield.
Centrehalves have it so easy playing us as we dont have anyone in the box like giroooood used to be.
U4G
Neither Eddie or Laca suit the role they are being asked to play. However Arteta continues to shoehorn them.
It’s good to have industrious players in all positions but you can’t put simple hard work over actual ability to perform the role.
U4G, absolutely. counter attack at speed and every defence is vulnerable, particularly with these stupid penalty rules this season. Defenders are scared to tackle in the box, so we should be running at them with pace.
As it is, it all fizzles out because of our irrational fear of losing the ball.
Danny its true.
Yes they can press and be industrious, but if it means were toothless in attack what’s the point.
Eddie seems like a bit more of a poacher but cant be a lone striker.
Laca is so out of form and cant play up top on his own.
If he wants to shoe horn laca into the side then play him on
the right
Or as two strikers, this experiment of dropping into midfield doesn’t work. Its leaves no one in the box.
Moray,
I cant work out this playing out from the back while were passing it along our six yard box, and potentially losing it in a dangerous position.
We never create a goal from it. All it does is give the opposition time to get back and reset there defence. And if were playing a city or bindippers side or a team that high presses we are just put under pressure and lose the ball in a dangerous area.
The keeper looks nervous the defence crap themselves and its gets hoofed into touch.
The strikers are feeding on scraps…our strikers are lucky to have one decent chance per game and they are expected to finish it or receive criticism. Harry Kane misses chances regularly, is he bothered ..no as he knows there will be a few more coming his way during the game.. Lacazette/eddie/Aubameyang don’t have that luxury. That’s not to say our strikers are completely blameless, Lacazette and Aubameyang are woefully off form in all areas of their game. As yet Eddie has only stsrted one league game so it’s difficult to be critical of him as he is joint top scorer… Read more »
Pierre,
It helps that kane tries to shoot for goal and can be selfish when he wants to be. He also has son that creates a lot for him.
Throw bale into that front three at it looks quite frightening unfortunately.
It gives me no pleasure in speaking well about that shower down the road.
Auba doesn’t look happy and his form is off as well.
I’m hoping it doesn’t turn into a hissy fit, if arteta doesn’t keep him onside it could turn bad very quickly.
Auba is the captain, too, don’t forget. The last thing we need is an out of form and missed off captain. We’ve had enough of those over the years.
Unleash Balogun
Was saying at the time how daft it was to reject the Wolves offer for AMN but everyone was high on the FA cup win and couldn’t see past the Wembley performances and now the manager barely even plays him.
Very poor management from Arteta, very poor. Same with Holding who is as average as they come and on his way to Newcastle and all of a sudden the manager wants to keep him. Those kind of overtly emotional decision making are why he might not make it as a top manager
Let’s have a poll.on who wants Arteta sacked.
Batistuta
There was nothing wrong with keeping AMN, provided we sold Bellerin.People who wanted AMN to stay were counting on Bellerin being sold.
Arteta’s biggest flawed handprints on Arsenal are the poor squad decisions he’s made that will endure even after he gets fired [if we keep performing like this]
Who signed Soares for 4 years, then decided it was okay to keep Bellerin and AMN?. It’s like someone forgot how to count from one to three.
Although the Torreador was to small for the roll he
played in the Premiership.
He was not frightened to have a shot.
I just don’t see anyone else at the moment stepping
up to shoot on a regular basis quite worrying.?
The fact that Lukaku who was shite at United is doing so well at Inter(and there are many other examples), we have to accept it’s the coach or playing style sometimes.
Mikel needs to shake up, use the players for what they do best and provide a better playing structure to them.
Dissenter
We have a reoccurring issue with Arteta hoarding players or at least not being able or let players leave.
The latest one is the Laca rumour yesterday – a player on a reported £180k per week who’s contract is up in the summer of 2022.
Right now Arteta is getting more wrong than he’s getting right.
Dissenter We already had Soares and Bellerin. The latter is the best RB at the club, on the left we had Tierney and Kolasinac so again, there was no reason to reject the offer especially if we were almost never going to play him. I’ve said countless times how daft the signing of Cedric and Mari were especially the Cedric one when we had AMN who could play there and then you hear we’re offering contract extensions to Mustafi and you start to think maybe both Edu and Arteta maybe way out if their depth when it comes to squad… Read more »
https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/news/mesut-ozil-latest-arsenal-news-19246709.amp?int_source=taboola&int_medium=display&int_campaign=organic
Back to bite arsenal and arteta. Too many fans going to ozils account and pleading how much they miss him. Oh boy, where have we seen this before.
Pierre cesc played for us for something like 8 years then went to his boyhood club, the best team in the world to play with the best manager in the world and win the biggest trophies
‘Disloyal’
Lol.
Highbury legend 11.37.
I hate to hark back but there was so many
players that used to score from distance on
a regular basis and with a heavier ball.
I was one of those who said turn down the money for AMN, but as someone else said, I was calling for us to push through the sale of Bellerin to PSG instead Which ofc we didn’t do If AMN is barely even rated enough to play in the lesser games this season why did arteta keep him? He has inherited the wenger problem of hoarding players. He’s turned down solid money for xhaka, Laca, amn, Bellerin, at a minimum. Of those he is now starting to show that he appears to be not keen on AMN at all and… Read more »
Wasn’t there even talk of mustafi turning down a new deal not long ago as well?
If we actually offered him a new deal that’s a sackable offense. I’m not even joking. Mustafi is as bad as xhaka and it would’ve been criminal to extend
https://twitter.com/NickLutsko/status/1326375815572025344?s=19
Fox news are actually serious?
The Mustafi deal is incomprehensible. It is a worrying sign of Artetas preference of player.
The frustrating thing is the wasting of money these last 4 or 5 years on nothing players. When we wanted a winger and palace wanted 90 million for zahara, we bought pepe for 72 million everyone thought this was good business. Ziyechi now at Chelsea had a 29 million buy out. Yes we pay pepe off over 5 years but we could have bought ziyechi straight cash. 40 million mustafi 38 million xhaka. Laca at 45 million Mari 15 million Soares loaned never plays then sign him on a 4 year deal. Willian looks an awful waste of wages even… Read more »
U4G
Ozils new contract also
“The latest one is the Laca rumour yesterday – a player on a reported £180k per week who’s contract is up in the summer of 2022. Right now Arteta is getting more wrong than he’s getting right.”
Asking Xhaka to stay is worse. Lacazette was AFC player of the season two seasons ago. Xhaka is a player who’s not fit for PL football. I won’t even mention Mustafi in the team while Saliba is relegated to U23 football.
One more Liverpool defender down they’re going to struggle defensively until January. Can’t see them winning the league now. Hopefully Mourinho team starts getting some injuries soon.
Danny,
Ozil contract at the time made sense he was still performing, it was the wages being offered that didnt.
If it was a 200-250k contract it might have made sense.
But to offer real madrid/barcelona/man united wage levels were a joke.
But I take your point the list of bad decisions go on and on.
Christ, when you delve into all the problems at our club it’s quite frightening.
Up4: Ozil’s numbers were on the way down for a while before the contract, there was a little improvement for a couple of months but everyone knows that’s standard when a player is looking for a new contract. The real reason he could hold out for that big payday, and why the club paid it was not football related but to avoid terrible PR having just lost Alexis. Clubs like Arsenal can’t afford to lose their two biggest names such a short time frame, not just because of fan unrest but because sponsors would be less inclined to buy into… Read more »
Pierre
“Unleash Balogun”
Couldn’t agree more. Without an effective midfield creator we need impact players that can run at a defence with the ball, shoot and hopefully score!
Mustafi being offered a new contract is mind-blowingly stupid.
It brings Arteta’s judgement into serious question.
Leno over Martinez.
Pepe being ignored at the expense of Willian.
Auba out wide.
The Saliba scenario.
Our playing style etc.
Bloody hell, is it really that bad?
andy1886
The Sanchez/Ozil debacle.
One of the worst periods in Arsenals history.
Doesn’t really matter who plays up front. Arteta micro managing from the touchline restricts any flair and spontaneity from the players. Can you imagine Bergkamp playing under Arteta?
Pretty sure we would have secured Wilf Zaha with the £72m we got Pepe for. It’s how the deal would have been structured though, that wouldn’t have allowed us to make that transfer happen. At the time Pepe looked like the best player available that we could buy. So I was all in for that transfer. In hindsight Zaha would have surely been a much better transfer for us. What Zaha’s arrival would have allowed us, was to never see Auba as a left winger again. Then if Auba was a CF, we could have sold Lacazette. Lots of ifs… Read more »