Chink in the Arsenal armour exposed by leaks

by .

Welcome to Saturday my darlings, what have we on the frying plate today?

Well, we might as well continue talking about miserable things because why not.

I think one of the sub-narratives of the mess that we’re in at the moment is leadership at the very top of Arsenal.

We’re still in a very messy era. There are some very positive things going on at the club, but there a number of things that still don’t quite sit right.

The death of Don Raul last summer saw some pretty decisive moves. We used the cover of the pandemic to move on a lot of underperformers. Our scouting network was obliterated and we canned Huss Fahmy just a few weeks ago. Lots of positive moves, but we didn’t quite cut to the bone where we needed to, and I think the blunt knife we used in some areas might be problematic.

One of the least surgical decisions we made, almost immediately, was to promote Mikel Arteta to manager. The first sniff of ‘rock star’ and we caved.

On paper, it’s not a big deal. Coaches fuss about it. Pochettino went from wearing fancy threads to rolling with a tracksuit when he felt he wasn’t being listened to.

‘I might as well be coach’

It’s a power thing. When you are a coach, you take what you are given and you make it work. When you are a manager, you are in control of more things. Now, I don’t know what Arteta’s remit is inside the club, but it’s certainly not just coaching.

I would imagine on the face of it, the decision was the fairly logical view: Arteta knows what good looks like, let’s give him a bigger remit to make good elsewhere.

For me, this was a bad move. In advertising, if you are an elite creative, there’s making the work, then there’s everything else. You want your best creatives focused on making the work. Not fussing over structure, recruitment, and PDPs.

We promoted someone before they’d really done something. Arteta should be focused on the work, not the PDP for the new Gunnersaurus. This move set a tone we’ve seen before.

‘Trust in the manager’

We spend 10 years trying to escape the clutches of a manager that filled the power vacuum in the mightiest of ways. At least Wenger had won 3 league titles before things got out of hand.

The most worrying thing about the current structure is it was put in counter weaknesses we have elsewhere in our football leadership team.

This is Tony Adams last week.

“I think it got lost, this one, in the transition of the chief scout at Arsenal going out.

“He was spotted very early on, not by me, by the Arsenal recruitment office.

“The chief scout was absolutely bowled over by him and the great prospect that he is.

“He had more or less done the deal, but at that moment the new sporting director Edu came in from Brazil and had no European experience and no UK experience.

“I think it got lost in the transition, Edu didn’t know nothing about this player.”

Maybe we could give Edu a pass on Bellingham because of Raul. Maybe we could ignore our old scouts crying in the press because let’s be honest, their taste levels had been wide of the mark for about a decade (Park, Perez, Asana, Jenkinson, Yaya, Ryo, Campbell). What you can’t ignore is the fact Adams is being very pointed in his attack here.

He is saying these things because there’s weakness in the Arsenal armour and a lot of people know it and talk about it. Vinnai put Arteta on the same level as Edu, not because Arteta is a god, but because they are picking up slack for the questionable tenure of Edu so far. Expect more stories like the one from Adams to creep out of the next 6 months.

Leaks are always strategic. Follow the money. No one ever leaked against Arsene because he was literally seen as a god at Arsenal and player, agents, and coaches knew that there was no way to ever remove him. A direct attack from a legend is not good, especially when the same person was full of compliments for Arteta the week before. People know the regard Arteta is held in, they don’t fear ramifications of crossing the Technical Director.

That said. Arteta should not be on the same level as the Technical Director. That’s not how it works. Leadership structures are there for a reason. You need clarity when it comes to R&R. Someone always needs to be the boss. There has to be someone that makes tough decisions. Not every conversation can be a negotiation.

If we had Luis Campos or Ralph Rangnick running Arsenal, do you think either would have sanctioned the deal on Willian this summer? Absolutely not. Do you think Arteta would have lobbied for the deal? Absolutely. But strong leadership would have seen that sort of signing as unacceptable at a club that has haemorrhaged cash consistently over the last 5 years.

Arsenal should have stripped back this summer, made themselves lean at the cost of short term success, then built back better. We didn’t. We are still the same bloated monster we were last year. We simply prolonged the same failed football strategy we’ve been working to since 2017 when we chased Top 4 by topping up on expensive players that weren’t quite right.

A strong Technical Director would have said, ‘look, we have been hit hard by poor investments over the past 5 years. We’re going to fix it. We ripped out the scouting desk. We’re prioritising elite young players we can grow. If we’re buying senior players, they’ll need to have resale value. We installed a young developmental coach for the longterm, he will grow with the players.’

Instead, we’ve found that horrible half-space where we semi-go at being a big club. You sign a big player, but you only land one. You sign a player that does what you need… but probably way better 6 years ago. You miss out on a creative talent altogether.

None of this is to say that we haven’t made some good signings. Thomas Partey and Gabriel were laser-focused, elite, and they solved actual problems we’ve had for years. The point of the post is that if we truly believe in creating a high-performance culture, we have to make sure the leadership structure is correct. We cannot have precocious talent unfocused during the formative years. We cannot drag deadweight. We cannot shirk making difficult decisions.

I don’t have all the information on Saliba. I know mostly why he didn’t make the squad this year. What I don’t understand is why the situation has been so messy. The player has a good profile in Europe, he started training with Arsenal well before preseason started, it must have been clear that he wasn’t right this year. So where was the loan move? We have a loans manager? Now, it could have been many things. The player might not have wanted Brentford, West Ham, or whoever the club was. It might have been the club felt they needed to build him physically. It might have been a late problem with St Etienne. Whatever it was, it looks like a fuck up. Now the narrative has been lost to the fans and it’s an unwelcome grey cloud that is arguably more toxic than Ozil.

What I think you should watch for is whether Vinnai makes moves next summer. Is he a ruthless operator, or is he passive like Ivan Gazidis. The simple truth is this: If Edu were the Technical Director we believed he was, he wouldn’t have taken a demotion this summer. If I were Edu, I’d have resigned on the spot at the disrespect. Sadly, we live in a world where only the good people take news like that with a smile on their face.

Anyway, there’s not a lot that can be done right now. I still firmly believe we’ll fix the problems. There’s a way to unlock our attack and the sign of a good young coach is how they deal with adversity. The good thing is that we’re in our adverse moment now and we’re only 6 points off the top of the league. We either solve it like Wenger did in his early career, or we flunk, and we have an Emery moment. If we find a run like we did last year, all this drama will be forgotten… but we really need to fix up fast. Poor in attack, a press that has lost intensity, and boring football… a lot of fixing.

Over to you, Mikel.

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Marc

Not sure it counts as a leak if you’re naming your source – Hardly Deep Throat / Woodward and Bernstein!

It’s more like gossip with someone repeating something his mate has told him saying something nice about someone..

Ishola70

I don’t mind bringing in a few oldens for balance sake.

Sokratis did a job of sorts for a season and was a lower key signing.

What I can’t stand is bringing in oldens and putting them on superstar wages. And no then being free doesn’t matter. Their actual wage should reflect their current standing in world football.

Ishola70

Leicester was a good example of this.

They brought in Evans an oldie but he was again a low key signing and not put on stupid wages for his standing in the football world of today.

Turns out he was a very shrwed buy by Leicester.

Marko

Information, being leaked by a 3rd party, from a 1st party source is an on the record leak. You can’t flat earth that reality. Right but where’s the leak? Tony adams coming out and saying he’s talked to Steve Bould about how good Mikel Arteta is isn’t really a leak and the stuff about how we should have signed Jude Bellingham with no connection to what was said between him and Steve Bould is an irrelevance. Like literally the whole thing is nothing I wouldn’t even classify it as a leak but you would. Steve Bould says Mikel is the… Read more »

Marc

Pedro

Just making the observation that generally leaks are something that would get the “leaker” (is that the term? whistle blower seems a bit dramatic) in trouble. Telling someone that a new member of staff at your organisation is bloody good is hardly something the club are going to discipline Bould for.

Marko

Marko said Adams doesn’t have contacts at Arsenal.Firstly, stupid thing to say.

You know what’s stupid not being able to read basic English and understanding what’s being said.

“You know Tony Adams not being involved with the club whatsoever and coming out and spouting shit like some scorned slut it shouldn’t count as a leak.”

That’s literally what I said. Not involved with the club doesn’t equals no contact within the club. Does it even count as a leak if you’re not involved with the club anymore

Marko

Just forget it Pedro trying to have an honest consistent conversation with you is difficult enough so I’ll just leave it. Plain to see who the new target is…

Marko

Telling someone that a new member of staff at your organisation is bloody good is hardly something the club are going to discipline Bould for.

What a leak i mean just mind blowing honestly. And the bit where he said we missed out on signing Jude Bellingham… riveting stuff… Tony Adams will be holed up in a South American embassy for a while after that

Tom

Sorry, haven’t been following closely, but are we back to someone said something positive about Arteta therefore he’s the real deal thing again?

Aren’t we past the testimonial evidence for Arteta’s sauciness nine months in?

Marko

Again doesn’t work at the club and talked about how good Steve Bould thinks Mikel is… Pedro if you want to class that as a leak to smear the club and Edu by all means go nuts in fact waste a post and a Saturday evening arguing about it but it’s literally irrelevant. Unless you’re someone who thinks leaks of any kind looks bad on management… which you used to

raptora

From the link that CT posted I found this one.

comment image
Auba’s touch maps under Wenger, Emery and Arteta.
Gigantic difference in Auba’s touch map between Emery and Arteta. Not a coincidence that Auba’s goal threat is at an all time low. Under Emery he won the Golden Boot. Apparently he can score a load of goals playing more central.

Champagne charlie

Yea, but who are Steve Boulds sources is the real question…..

Marko

The other thing is those comments came out 4 days ago why are we even talking about them now? Trying to get the comments section to give Mikel a day off from being criticized I imagine. Yeah I dunno if it’s going to happen

Zacharse

Pedro The leadership at the very top is kroenke. This should never be forgotten and he has a long track record of being a lousy owner… Really good post, reads like the first proper reflection of the summers biz. I get the sense that due to the pandemic a lot of otherwise simple biz didnt get done. Lacazette, kola, a lot more, perhaps we might have gotten a fee for mikhi. Regardless, the big one is ozil. Theres gotta be a lot more to the story there. Perhaps he was asked to move on and refused deals that havent made… Read more »

Marc

Cc

“Yea, but who are Steve Boulds sources is the real question…..”

It’s Pedro – suddenly everything becomes clear.

Marc

“Also is it just me or has auba seemed to be nursing an ankle injury for the last month?”

Can’t say I’ve noticed that but something isn’t right.

Marko

Marko, you spend 24 hours a day on an Arsenal blog and you claim to be the go-to on Dutch football.

It’s getting embarrassing now Pedro I dunno what you’re on about.

Don’t pretend Arsenal having a deal lined up for the hottest kid in English football isn’t of interest to you. It absolutely is.

Is that even what Adams suggested? I only remember United and Dortmund going hard for Jude Bellingham but either way it’s not that important disappointing perhaps

Marc

Pedro

You can bullshit everyone else on here mate – but don’t bullshit a bullshitter!

Marko

Let’s go back to your original points… you don’t count Adams saying we were close to Bellingham as a leak. Eh not really no. I don’t really count anything about it as a leak saying that we were close to and should have signed Jude Bellingham isn’t really a leak and him saying that Steve Bould thinks Mikel is the business is such irrelevance it’s unreal. You know what you’re arguing about Tony Adams coming out with: “The chief scout was absolutely bowled over by him and the great prospect that he is. “He had more or less done the… Read more »

Marko

Marko, trying to create some interesting content, you should have a crack yourself. Your 4 days late and it’s not interesting. Try harder. You know what you could do it might be interesting to actually address the whole Arteta and misusing players and getting the formation wrong on a consistent basis. Could be cathartic and it might actually draw some attention to the real problems facing Arsenal at the moment. You know something in-depth not just Mikel needs to do better after an initial defeat and then that’s more or less that until the next one. Could be good I’m… Read more »

Marko

… and let’s remember who thought writing about Raul was a pointless endeavour. You.How did that end?This is why you don’t make editorial decisions.

Considering that you purposely don’t write about the real issue currently hindering Arsenal I’d start to question your editorial choices as of late if I was you. Tony adams coming out and saying that Mikel is great and Edu missed out on signing Jude Bellingham isn’t as important as say the manager having us struggling as a club on the pitch

Jamie

The real real question tonight is who’s been leaking to Val that Arteta is difficult to work with?

Clearly not Tony Adams nor Steve Bould. Any guesses?

Marc

Jamie

Er does his name contain a U and a Z?

Ishola70

Beam me up.

Marko disappeared.

I was going to ask him if Moller would be satisfied to have a career along the lines of Andy Carroll.

Pedro

Andy Carroll, the assist machine.

Marc

Pedro

“Andy Carroll, the assist machine.”

I must be missing something?

Venga, Dani

Great post today, Pedro – it’s nice to transcend the Arteta discourse, which IMO has become lazy and short-sighted on here.

It’s clear we need somebody in Edu’s role, who commands respect and has a track record of effective long-term planning. Perhaps in the mould of Dortmund/Leipzig as if often discussed on here. Is Edu that guy? Doesnt seem like it.

Ishola70

Kicking off in Bristol today.

Oh to be Plod in this day and age.

https://twitter.com/Urban_Pictures/status/1327614072658014208

Marc

Ishola

Do you know what fucks me off? Those same fucking retards will be the same ones screaming and moaning if they or a parent needs hospital attention due to COVID.

No one likes the lockdowns and there are arguments that they infringe civil liberties but every country in Europe is having to deal with this. Didn’t France announce 90,000 new cases in one day a few days ago?

Pedro

Marc, that is a take I didn’t expect from you!

We just landed the 10pm curfew,

Dani, have my doubts. We don’t need a Dein it here, we need a leader… let Arteta coach. Luis Campos would be magic:

andy1886

“I must be missing something?”

I believe that Pedro pointed out that Andy Carroll had more recent assists than Ozil to try and shut up the Ozilites.

Ishola70

I know there was disorder in Italy but most european countries seem quite obedient.

Meanwhile in DC today. Dear oh dear this world is getting very sad.

https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1327731145102901248

Marc

Pedro Why not? We’re (hopefully) a few weeks from a vaccine being started on the high risk and key workers, even more hopefully the Oxford / Astrazeneca vaccine will be ready for roll out shortly afterwards. Once they’re out there and those most vulnerable are covered you can start using the vaccine in a targeted manor – spike in cases in Leicester inoculate enough to stamp the spike out. When we’re so close to getting to the end of what’s made 2020 a shit year for most and even worse for a lot of others why go out and be… Read more »

Valentin

Pedro, I am not misreading what you wrote, I am disagreeing with your interpretation of things. On one side you wrote that Arteta is the governor and is in charge and that Edu is weak and subservient to him. And then on the next sentence you blame the difficulty behind the scene on him. I agree on those facts. Edu lack the experience to be an efficient DoF and yes he lacks character and is subservient to Arteta. However where I disagree on the interpretation of things. My take is that Arteta like Pep can be overbearing and difficult to… Read more »

andy1886

Bunch of absolute fucking idiots (the protesters, not Le Grovers obs). I see that half-wit Farage is sticking his oar in, it’s like listening to Arthur Daley on how to build a space station.

Marc

andy

Ah – I would ask why but some people just can’t be helped.

Marc

andy

Farage whether you love or hate him was very good with his BREXIT campaign.

What you have now is someone who’s had a taste of the limelight and is now looking for a way to stay in it.

Venga, Dani

Agreed re: Dein, Pedro. What Arteta has done brilliantly is come in to a club at an absolute low that had lost a lot of its identity and culture and completely turn around the atmosphere and club culture. The problem is that we cannot hinge our club culture on one manager – that’s a repeat of the Wenger days. We need a leader behind the scenes too – like a Rangnick or Luis Campos type. Not only does that take some of the burden off the manager, but it allows the club to effectively plan long term without staking everything… Read more »

andy1886

Marc, don’t forget that he’s tied to that other orange moron Trump. Thinks that we should keep burning those fossil fuels until the planet is a toxic desert just as long as there is money in it. Seems to have passed him by that leaders in clean energy will make an absolute killing even if you’re not bothered about destroying the planet for your kids and grandkids.

Pedro

Valentin, you need to frame these sorts of comments with: ‘this is all my opinion’ versus ‘this is what is happening’

Having exacting standards is good leadership.

Being difficult to work with is not. That comment is baseless.

The decision on Partey was made based on losing out on Aouar.

Marc

andy

The argument against Global Warming / do so called green house gas emissions ie CO2 cause it has always staggered me because I’ve never heard any of the scientists ask the deniers the most simple blatant 2 questions that prove that it does.

andy1886

Marc, it does make you wonder where we’re heading. Obviously these nutters didn’t just pop out of the woodwork overnight, they must have always been there in the background. Must be related to the rise of social media over the last decade or so and the way they are going they are going to cause the very thing that they fear when governments suppress these platforms.

andy1886

Luckily we’ll never see free speech suppressed on Le Grove…

Marc

Shush – Kim Dumb Pedro is always watching.

Marc

andy

We seem to have been seeing a rise in the “nut jobs” for some time now – the Kennedy assassination was the first major conspiracy, Roswell that’d been long forgotten jumped up next, 9 11 just hyped it up to a crazy level and now it’s anything and everything.

Still I’m glad I live in a country that allows everyone no matter how completely lala to have a vote and opinion.

Swkmoon

Pedro “At least Wenger had won 3 league titles before things got out of hand”. Wenger didn’t just win 3 titles and then things got ‘out of hand’. He created a style, a brand, an elegance that we all now associate with the “Arsenal way”. It didn’t get out of hand because that is what we are all striving for now. The Arsenal way is not the win over Parma but the beautiful football that literally came out of nowhere… Yeah we stopped winning titles, and Christ, Wenger deserved more, but it is what it is. We all knew it… Read more »

Valentin

Pedro, Good leadership is having exacting standard, but also be ready to listen and apply personal touch to your relationship with others. If you apply standards only to the people you disagree with or want to get rid of, then it is not really standard just hypocrisy. What is the standard expected of Saliba so he can be on the bench instead of Holding? Same thing with Willock who despite his performance in the Europa League does not even make the bench in the premiership when it is clear that we need a goal from midfield. You are really naive… Read more »

andy1886

Marc, agreed, but are they counting all the votes? Lol, just kidding, and there are no large islands left in the southern hemisphere to ship them off to anyway.

Champagne charlie

“The real real question tonight is who’s been leaking to Val that Arteta is difficult to work with?“

Jamie has the sauce been spilled?

Pedro

Valentin, Your entire opinion and narrative is based around your upset about a 19-year-old defender being dropped. You write like you have an inside track and you don’t. You guess. There’s nothing to suggest Arteta is difficult to work with. He has high standards for a club that has low standards. He has consistently shown empathy, he never throws players under the bus, and his methods have paid off with the loyalty everyone has shown him. You are making things up to suit your angry agenda over a player the club is trying to protect. Who gives a fuck about… Read more »

Marc

andy

” and there are no large islands left in the southern hemisphere to ship them off to anyway.”

Sharks need feeding to!

Pedro

‘You make incessant demands or unrealistic demands, refuse to compromise. Why do you think some managers (Pep, Mourinho, Van gaal, …) can only work in the same place for a few years.’

You know another manager who said players get bored of managers? Klopp.

If Mikel gives us 5 years like these guys at their peak, who the fuck cares if people are upset by the demands. What a ‘warning’ you’ve given us there.

Pedro

Marc, it’ll be great to be back in the ground by next season.

My lawyer just said my visa gets me back into the UK. Can’t wait.

Marc

” I would like to see the great man held in slightly greater esteem.”

He will be after there’s been enough of a break. Wenger broke the golden rule – always leave with them wanting more / get out whilst you’re at the top etc.

Marc

Pedro

Let me know the flight you’re on and I’ll arrange a surprise.

Marc

” it’ll be great to be back in the ground by next season.”

I’m hoping we make a few games at the end of this season – don’t think it’ll be loads but there’s a chance.

andy1886

“Let me know the flight you’re on and I’ll arrange a surprise.”

Does it involve a full body cavity search?

Marc

andy

Put it this way – if it was a porn film it’d be called “Marketing dude gets fisted”

My issue is (I’m really getting banned this time!) I think Pedro might lose his sense of humour when they make the sequel on his flight back to New York

Pierre

Pedro
Only the entitled fans believed it got out of hand..

The more realistic fan recognised that the standards had dropped a little from the exceedingly high level that wenger created…

The only thing that got out of hand was the WOBS and the last 2 years have shown us how wrong they were to bring shame on the club ..

Arsenal fans are now desperate to return to the football that Wenger provided even in his last 2 seasons..

Who could have predicted it would turn out like this and we would be subjected to such turgid, boring football.

andy1886

Pedro, agree about Wenger. The ‘style’ he is associated with by many isn’t the one that won all the big trophies, it’s the pass to death one that was ultimately toothless against big teams. If you want art go to the theatre, if you want to be competitive in sport you need strength as well as technical ability.

andy1886

And right on cue here’s Pierre trolling again. ‘Desperate’ my arse.

Marc

Pierre

“Who could have predicted it would turn out like this and we would be subjected to such turgid, boring football.”

Are there any other managers in world football that play exciting, attractive football?

The mistake wasn’t ousting Wenger it was 1) letting it go too long 2) not getting the replacement (s) right.

Wenger destroyed his own legacy and it’s a genuine sorrow for all Gooner’s. No one should be able to say a bad word about him because he never should have allowed things to go so far.

Marc

” Still baffles me to this day that he couldn’t recognize what made him great.”

I think he saw something he thought could be purer – that was always his downfall. Fergie just wanted to win – Wenger (and there is something admirable in it although flawed) wanted to win in a beautiful way.

andy1886

Absolutely Pedro, agree 100%. Unfortunately the invincible season gave him carte blanche to create his own little project and play the game the way he believed it should be played which is arrogant nonsense. There is no one ‘right way’ to play the game.

P.S. beware of sweaty Spanish spivs with latex gloves when passing through customs…

Ishola70

Wenger narrates his book on audible for nearly 7 hours.

tbh ten minutes of his press conferences during his last period as manager was enough for me to listen to him.

andy1886

Sounds plausible Pedro, or perhaps just a fantasist in a bed sit, who knows?

Ishola70

On the five minute sample of his book on audible it’s an old man moaning about new developments in football and seeming to yearn for the bygone days,

Sort of sums up the situation with him.

Champagne charlie

Pedro

You obviously haven’t received the memo on Val. He’s playing everything into his ‘a great coach doesn’t mean a great manager’ prophecy he laid out two weeks in.

Man loves to circle back for an I told you so moment, will warp reality to get there too. Elite sources though..

Marc

” Queen Of Suburbia debacle,”

Don’t remember that and now I’m curious?

Marc

Pedro

I think the phrase is enough said.

Oh yeah and Oh dear!

Champagne charlie

Pedro

I made the comment the other day, too much matter of fact is said by folk as if they’re down Colney 5 days a week, versus a basic ‘I think this because…’.

Just beautiful irony that today you have someone dismissing word from someone who is literally down Colney 5 days a week.

Wonders never do cease and all that.

Marc

Pedro Company I was at a few years ago had a stand at a trade show at the Excel venue. There’s a few members of management kicking about, me and one or two of the sales team and a handful of the marketing staff – one of which was a girl in her early twenties, bright bubbly and really good at her job. Anyway me and the other sales guy had noticed a guy in drag drift past the stand a couple of times (I should make the point that I’m not prejudice on anything like that but this guy… Read more »

Kaz

If Wenger does manage again he will be a lot better.

I think he has recognised he got a little too stubborn over certain things and this stubbornness is what led to his demise.

I’d love to see him manage again, possibly even the England job.

Kaz

Anyway I hope Gabriel and Partey are the blueprint to remaking Arsenal about power and pace.

And I hope Arteta learns what pace means.