So I’m watching Everton lose to Leeds United at home. Ancelotti, a manager plenty of Arsenal fans talk about when we lose, is just 3 points ahead of us going into tomorrow’s big game. He’s had money, he’s one of the most experienced managers in the game, he has an excellent squad to work with… but it’s still hard.
If we beat Wolves, we go from 14th onto the same points as the clubs in 6th position currently.
Say what you will about our miserable play this season, we’re still in the mixer, and if this is our bad patch… we’re more than on target to compete for top 4 this season.
Therein lies the challenge, to keep up with the pack, we have to start winning games and we really have to start scoring goals. Wolves is going to be a big test for us, on paper, they’re basically the same team as Arsenal this season. Defensively, they’ve conceded 10, and going forward, they’ve scored a meek 9. They average 3 shots more per game than us, but only about 1 more on target. They have one more point than us though.
Both teams need to find a bit of spark in front of goal. Both are dealing with very different problems. Most of our first team issues stem from experienced players bombing, and new signings not settling or picking up injuries.
The biggest issue for Mikel is getting Auba scoring again. He’s massively out of sorts and in our low margins system, we simply can’t afford for that to be the case. We get these fake hits of dopamine from the Europa League that don’t really tell us much. I have my doubts we’ll play a 4-4-2 against Wolves, but what we might see is more of our wide players going direct and coming inside.
The hope is Thomas Partey and Bukayo Saka are fit. That should immediately give our midfield and attacking options more sex appeal. Seeing Xhaka in the starting 11 again isn’t going to be good for anyone. The question then becomes who compliments the Ghanian. I reckon we might see Joe Willock and Dani Ceballos given a role again, mostly because it’s the only real options we have at the moment.
The front three, assuming we’re going 4 at the back will hopefully be Saka, Auba, and maybe Nelson. I think we need directness and speed tomorrow, Reiss has those vertical runs, and he looks very, very motivated at the moment. That said, if anyone is going to get played into form this season, it’ll be Willian. Salt Bae’s best friend needs the same love Pepe gets. However, he needs to ball into his feet faster.
Tomorrow really has to be about speed. We’re rubbish building up slowly. If we have pace in our frontlines, we need to exploit it with quick balls. We can’t afford this slow passing combined with players running the ball up the pitch from deep positions.
We also need to take chances. Have a shot. Play a speculative pass. We are so predictable at the moment and it makes us easy to defend against. To achieve that, it means Willock has to step up, it means Saka and Reiss have to be at their best, and it means Auba needs to lead by example and get back to form.
Arteta had this to say on why we are playing the way we are.
“In football, time is very precious and people are very impatient. But if you don’t respect the processes and you ask certain people to do certain things when the foundations are not there, it’s a really dangerous thing to do.
He’s basically saying we don’t have the player to do the things he wants right now, and if he were to prove out that he doesn’t have the players, he’d look even worse than he does now. It seems very certain that we’re going to make moves for a creative player to help us move towards a better Arsenal. Isco is the latest to be linked. The Spaniard is very much out of favour at Real Madrid and they are in all sorts of financial bother. The rumour is a loan move to perm signing. I don’t like these deals for older players, but he’s certainly an outrageous talent when he’s focused. I just get the Ozil jitters when I read through the stories about why he’s not playing. If he bombs, on the money they’d want, we’re in another bad situation without a sell on clause.
We’re still being linked to the Hungarian from RB Salzburg. The Athletic reckon Arsenal are worried about his ball retention rates and his lack of ability to go past players. However, Jesse Marsch loves him and reckons that can all be developed. He called him the Hungarian Beckham. I think we need two players, we need someone that can beat players like Isco or Aouar, and we need someone that gives us goals and final balls from midfield. We’ll see where the club takes it, but at least it’s looking good for improvements.
Finally, Dani Ceballos dropped an apology press tour. He had this to say on Emery and Arteta
“The team was almost dead – but after Arteta’s arrival we won the FA Cup and the Community Shield.
“It’s not even a year since he arrived and he has given a radical change to the club.
“He’s the soul of the club and he’s lucky that the players trust him 100 per cent.
“Arsenal need him, in part because he takes the initiative most of the time.”
I will say it again, the weirdest people in the Arsenal community are those that try and right the wrongs of the Emery tenure after we have a bad game. It is incredible. The fashion equivalent of of defending a gilet. The fine dining equivalent of taking your wife to a Jamie Oliver restaurant for a 25th wedding anniversary and asking for some ketchup for your bread roll. Defending Emery is a keyword trigger for MI5 that warns “DANGEROUS PERSON.” Just stop doing it. It’s really weird.
Right, that’s all you’ll get from me today. See you in the comments!
I worry massively for the dressing room, he keeps toiling with toilet and playing people in weird positions, he’s also a control freak, recipe for mutiny, are we seeing it from auba
Spurs will probably rest some key players next week against us.
May as well
Dick emery could manage a side better than this.
raptora
I worry that the players are seeing a coach who just doesn’t know what he’s doing.
Pedro will slag off the performance/result tomorrow only to revert to type on Tuesday. That’s the usual pattern.
14th””……
R.S.P.C.ArsenalNovember 29, 2020 20:57:42
Arteta is a cunt
The biggest cunt Spain have sent us bigger than the Spanish flu
The man is a cretin a cunt and a fraud
Fuck off you rangers reject
“Lol”
Has Tierney developed a club foot.?
Pedro went from xGA stats to just plain hope: if we win…if we win
Who do I like more? Elite marksmen Auba
Or generational coach Arteta.
Pretty easy decision.
I was one of those people that wanted Arteta instead of Mou…I was wrong.
Arteta should have started at a lesser team.
Its funny people think Auba is the problem. He was always just a really good goalscorer Nothing more. Now he has zero supply. You can’t win games with Zero midfield. There is a reason every team that wins a lot has world class midfielders. Only liverpool bucked that trend. But even Henderson and Wijnaldum could hold their own. We have crappy midfielders and It transmits to the whole team. A shit defense is with a great midfield is better than having no midfield and everything else.
That cunt xhara on for 80 mins
Ffs
Get rid of auba
Laca on
Raptora called this
Sub should have been done 10 minutes earlier.
Commemtatornjust said arsenal shift up through the gears what the fuck is he watching…….
About time the Xhaka shit-show is ended. Trouble is his replacement is piss poor too….
Even if we somehow manage to draw this 2-2, it’ll be an embarrassing result.
Finally, no more Xhaka.
lol Xhaka off.
Why don’t we play like this fir 90 mins
Haha we’ve got a relegation cunt of a manager.
Auba is a problem. Anyone with eyes can see it.
Swiss cheese off thank God,
Will the interviewer actually ask Arteta some decent questions? Probably not.
This is so depressing I know too many spurs fans as well my life is ruined
Auba is fucking useless no good cunt
Seek da cunt
Hard to watch.
Has Xhaka won one tackle all night?
“Finally, no more Xhaka.”
If only – he’s a fucking Terminator and he’ll be back.
Cavani looks like a much better all around player than Auba these days.
Auber playing like a compete pussy. No conviction in his play. That header was pathetic.
The fear of losing has spurred them on
Zero conviction form Auba. Piss poor attitude.
Looks like Auba has been sleeping with Ozil recently. Nothing else can explain this shit.
“Has Xhaka won one tackle all night?”
Has Xhaka won one tackle in his entire Arsenal career?
Why is the ref fist bumping Neves?
Dissenter
“Why don’t we play like this fir 90 mins”
Wolves are sitting back for quite a while now inviting the pressure.
They fancy themselves to see the game out it seems
honestly Olly for free would do much better with these crosses. Auba looks weak
Auber needs to be benched to get his fire back. He is so lazy now.
Can’t wait for this fraud to get the sack.
Wow Auba wins a header!
This second half is the best we’ve played since Fulham away.
Zero sauce, players declining in value, its now arteta out from me
Can we get Sky to play booing noises for us?
There is no direction in our play
That BBB cunt telling where players should pass
That ain’t on the cunt micro manges
Well fuck off out the club BBB
we are so predictable in the final third. Just passing to the open man. yawn
we need more unorthodox movements and passing,
our off the ball movement in the final third is boring and predictable
just pass to the open man, all wolves do is watch and mark,
Xhaka being shit doesnt excuse ceballos though. My God he has been crap this season. But he isnt our permanent problem.
Radio,
Really?
Will be interesting to see how Pedro spins this one.
Auba downed tools fellas.
New manager gets the elite finisher back.
Can’t blame the effort in the second half. We are trying. It’s a bit better than before.
Generational
Fans in this stadium won’t go be a good thing for this side and Arteta
“Can we get Sky to play booing noises for us?”
That would be funny under other circumstances.
Kaz
Any player that’s downed tools can fuck off with the manager. Can you imagine Kane doing that? Precious prick.
Only reason we seem better this half is because Wolves are sitting back and letting us play…
Don’t be fooled.
When he lost the war with Mattie
He lost saliba and the rest of the players
He’s dead to the club arteta
What’s Pedros positive spin on this shite
Tbf I don’t blame arteta for failing the rebuild job is just to vast for a rookie manager.
Arsenal made a seasoned pro like emery look clueless so it was going to get the better of arteta.
Are squad is sooo shit people overrate this teams individual quality massively.
I mean we bring on nelson and lacazette to change the game kind of sums up shit we are.
Leftside
Who the fuck would turn up?
Pedro and his sources know more then I ever could.
But I’m a fuckload better at reading people then dear Pedders if he can’t tell the players aren’t playing for Arteta.
Going to be hilarious see ozil trot out first game under new manger, he knows that he will outsee any manger, he must be laughing
Left Testicle
Yep, discounting Europa League games. Manure away wasn’t that good can’t remember us putting any sustained pressure on them. Pogba helped us out.
Tbf to Pedro he has been very critical of arteta at times.
He doesn’t always keep away from criticism
Long rebuild ahead of us.
Very dark days ahead in the near future, actually dreading Spurs and Jose laughing at us.
We take 58 passes for every shot. Meanwhile, we lose the ball and the opposition gets a shot off within seconds against us. That is an Arteta issue.
Can we all admit that arteta has been an utter fucking shambles.
Arteta is at fault because he chose to keep some of these players. He should have sold them for some money and tried to buy his own. He actually hasnt spent badly when he has.
Last time we lost 3 in the row at home in pl was 1908!! Let that sink in!!!
Nelson been lively apart from that shit corner he took.
Marc
It looks like your 2-1 prediction may indeed come true
The club is in freefall under this useless cunt
Man united away was always over hyped. We were disciplined and not headless chickens that’s about it. We created nothing and without the pen it would have been a dour 0-0 draw.
Matt
Players are people too. Why are they going to try to save someone they know is bad for them?
I’d keep Auba. Still a quality player there, just hope we can recruit a real manager this time
Dave
Nah he’ll be heading into excuse mode.
The players were upset by the injury.
The players aren’t good enough
The grass is the wrong shade of green
Who knows?
3rd home defeat in a row looming!
@Guernsey Gun
‘Utter fuckjng shambles’ that’s putting it mildly
That was literally the worst free kick ever .
Fair point. Still crap though and Wolves are sitting back.
3 home losses in a row when we should not lose at home 3 times in a season this is poor
Dissenter
I’m not sure this is a good time to rub that in.
Lost souls out there def lost the players.
Piece of shit arteta can fuck off right now.
I think we are all in agreement that Arteta needs to go.
Lots and lots of flaws with Saka – especially if people have designs on him being a forward.
Spurs will rape us
The ball was too round.
the FA cup win and the normal new manager bounce got the entire club high as a kite like doing coke all day.
Now the drop and crash,
Arsenal need to wake up
Edu needs to wake the F up
Kroenke needs to spend some big cash or we are doomed this season… they know it. I wonder how long they hold out and make Arteta the fall guy… I hate them…
they do not love arsenal
A lot of mistakes have been made in the transfer windows.
Why did we keep
*lacazette when we had offers
*xhaka when we had offers
*amn who never plays pl football when we had offers
We could have sold them and substantially upgraded the squad
There was an offer for Xhaka, Holding, AMN. It would have been better if we had one good midfielder alongside Partey for the price if the three of them.
Marc, its mad. We have 2,000 coming for Thursdays game too.
Kaz
If he had any love for the club he wouldn’t let his opinion on the manager cause him to drop his performance. It’s precious and petulant. Like I said, can you imagine Kane doing it.
He is one of our most experienced players and he is a poor example to others.
Fucking shit the whole lot of them
Can Pedro do a poll. Arteta in or out ??
We must go for Allegri or Poch…
Crossing is diabolical
lose tonight and he has one more PL game.
We were 8th when Emery was sacked??
Peter
There is no way you can defend this cunt …
Get him gone and get a proper manager in…
This cunt had killed the club in a year …
Was against him from the off cunt had no credentials.
Paulinho
He is only 19
most 19 year old have flaws
He has been overplayed
And he is a left mid.
Don’t think we should be really focusing criticism on our best player