Well, here we are, reality.
Life is pretty shit if you’re an Arsenal fan right now. But, things can improve fast if you believe. Positive. Mental. Attitude. Who said that? Kriss Akabusi?
For example, by thinking posi (shortened for impact), I managed to muster the energy to have the letter ‘T’ fixed on my laptop. Do you know how good that feels as a writer? Glorious. Absoluely glorious.
What doesn’t feel glorious is overseeing the current wreckage at Arsenal. However, spare a thought for Aston Villa who were beaten by the might of David Moyes and the strong backhand of Lady Luck last night. Also, pour one out for the main man, Brendan Rodgers, whose Leicester lost to Fulham. We’re still just five points from 4th, even after losing half our games. This year is going to be rough for everyone.
What those losses mean more generally is that you can go from fraud to not-fraud quite quickly. 5 wins on the bounce and you are in the mixer.
The main problem Arsenal has is there don’t seem to be too many escape routes out of this mess.
Thomas Partey is apparently out for a long time.
We banished the one creative we had at the club.
Willock, Eddie, ESR and Reiss are a long way from being ready.
Ainsley must have sat on the boss’s guinea pig because he’s out in the cold again.
Pepe, let’s face it, is not good enough. He can barely look elite against pub teams. No chance he’ll click and be the Zaha Senor Emery wanted him to be.
All the great solutions we have as fans just don’t work with the mix we have at the moment.
Let’s also be honest, we lost our three big games in fine margins matches. Aston Villa was the blip. Then all hell broke loose and we demanded a more attacking brand of football.
What did we get? Emery carnage.
What does that teach us? That maybe we’re not good enough to play a delightful brand of football with players that couldn’t do it last year.
So much for the fans that said ‘I’LL TAKE SHITTY RESULTS IF WE TRY AND PLAY MORE ATTACKING FOOTBALL.’ Monday morning after a loss and people are sacrificing sheep on the Armoury stairs hoping the gods of football termination are listening.
Arsenal are a five at the back squad right now. Without Partey and Mo driving the midfield, we’re fucking shite. WIthout a creative to connect midfield and attack, we’re pedestrian and anti-playing through the middle. It’s a real shit sandwich.
Things will get better because I don’t think they can get worse at the moment.
By January, we’ll have Partey and Mo in the middle. That gives us tempo and speed at the base of midfield. It also gives us players that can press for a full 90. We’ll bring Gabriel M back into the mixer, much needed, again, he gives us something we don’t have. He’s direct, good with his head, and no one attacks the ball like him. He’s the Leeds United energy we lack. Then you have Pablo Mari and Cal Chambers coming back into the mixer. Who the fuck knows what Pablo will be like, but he can pass and he’s built. Cal was playing very well before the break and he can move the ball with purpose.
Then you have the transfer kitty that the execs will go begging for. We’re being linked with a whole collection of players. Buendia of Norwich, Isco of Madrid, Max Aarons… there are rumblings that we’ll try and do something sexy so we can unlock some sort of exciting football in the back half of the season. I don’t know how much I believe that noise… Vinnai is like a gambler racking up bigger and bigger debts at craps table. How many more ‘please sir, can I have some more’ moments will the Kroenke family accept with the wage bill we have and the empty stadiums that are happening?
The hope is we’re not starting January thinking about next season. I’d like to be in the mixer. That could start with a win this weekend, though I’m hard-pushed to see us dealing with Kane, Son, and Mourinho who are all in excellent in form at the moment.
Still, crazier things have happened. Are we not due something crazy? DO WE NOT DESERVE A THING AT SOME POINT?
I tell yah, fuck being the positive beacon of hope in the Arsenal community. It is way easier to be a miserable c*nt. Just take a negative position on everything, because eventually, in football, you’ll always be right.
Why did I back the vision? I could have just taken it easy, but oh no, I had to treat the Arteta brand like I was selling cookies at work. WHY DID I CHANGE? Now I have nowhere to hide, but you know what, fuck all of you that come to the site to gloat. You may have won the battle, but the war isn’t over… and let’s be honest, the people that are crying ‘SACK ARTETA’ would be the guys at war playing cricket with live grenades.
I think most people are on board with the idea of keeping Arteta on the project. We’ve seen 3 managers downed by this group of players, I’m not sure the club has the stomach to give someone else a go. The pipedreams of Allegri, Poch, or Nagelsmann are just that.
- We don’t have the money for their salaries
- We don’t’ have the money for the transfers managers on the up need to fulfil their ambitions
- We’re a fucking mess. Until we address the issues that are 10 years in the making, it’ll be hard to attract the very best.
We took the young manager route. We’ve made some bad decisions along the way. We will hopefully learn from them and course correct.
Arteta turned things around once, he can do it again. He needs to get back to basics. For starters, we’re not pressing, something that was really effective before. Where did it go? Players should be picked on form, not on reputation. Players should be dropped if they don’t’ hit the standards. Why have we gone from starting Reiss against Liverpool at the start of this project to bumming around with Willian again? If 5 at the back is the way, fuck it, it’s the way. If Auba on the left is better for him because he won’t press like our system needs, put him on the left. If Xhaka needs a special system to look half decent, then maybe he’s not the player for an 11 that needs 11 players that can run.
My hunch is it is not over, we’ll get into a good run, and we’ll laugh and joke about this moment as a turning point.
Dream, not hunch… but I can dream grenade cricketer.
Listen to the podcast with Aash and Pedro. It’s is GOOD.
azed
I’ve already told Pedro I’d love it for Arteta to be the first manager to win back to back League Titles and bring us our first CL trophy.
Despite what he thinks it’s not about Arteta it’s about Arsenal. Of course he could just be trying to drive traffic.
Azed
Godspeed when the banhammer hits ✊🏾
Personally my criticism of Arteta isn’t tied to emery or any other thing, i just call out BS when I see it. Emery was bad for us and was rightfully sacked, if Arteta tows the same line then he should be let go. Every coach has my support till they start to make baffling decisions then performances and results start to go against them
‘I just hoped the next appointment would be good for the club.’
kaz he was good for the club, he won us an fa cup, made us hard to beat and stopped us being a soft touch.
Flair and creativity will come once the right balance is found. You’re just another impatient support that wants everything now but that isnt reality.
Thanks Kaz
Superob
His decision making has been extremely poor and continues to be..
He was OK when he came, we all got a feelgood bounce but he has never been amazing.
FA Cup was a fluke. City were exceptionally wasteful. It was a nice achievement but recognise it for the luck it was. Not a managerial masterclass.
Made us hard to beat?… Soft touch?. Interesting Rob as we’ve been beaten more then we have wins this season. Explain soft touch tho as the only time we weren’t soft was against Man U with Partey and Elneny dominating
Funny this is I haven’t even called for Arteta’s sacking because I know the squad isn’t fit for purpose.
Gabriel and Partey are great buys and a good spine.
Saka shouldn’t be an automatic starter and this point in his career.
Like Pierre has stated so many times Aubameyang needs the ball early in the box so he’ll not form a good partnership with Pepe because Pepe needs to cut back to his left foot.
In my opinion, it would not be a bad idea to propose a swap with Barcelona Pepe for Ousmane Dembele.
We all hope that we beat Spurs, most of us would probably welcome an outbreak of ebola in their camp. What I’d really like to understand is what the plan is, because we aren’t going to turn things around continuing to play the way we are now. Anyone got an idea?
We have posters on here talking about the squad as if they were members of it. They should stick to what they see on the pitch, not what they imagine goes on behind the scenes. Watching the Wolves game, it was evident that certain players were not giving their best. Auba, for a start. Something else noticeable was the lack of leadership with Luiz gone. The inference is that Luiz is Arteta’s man in the dressing room. It’s a shame that Arteta was forced to keep a player past his best for that role. Another factor that showed was that… Read more »
Arteta finds himself in a gary neville position. Talks a big game, but crashes at his first job. Gary went back to being a pundit, wouldn’t be surprised if arteta followed down that road.
Superob we aren’t hard to beat, we’ve lost nearly 50% of our matches.
andy
” Anyone got an idea?”
I find booze and strong narcotics help with watching.
Andy
You need to direct that question the club PR people
Even the people defending Arteta don’t have an answer to that question.
It’s time for Arsenal values. You’ll need it on Sunday.
Dissenter
It’s a secret plan!
englandbest
By ‘older players’ that can’t be relied upon, do you mean Aubameyang as well?
Marc
bennydevito [ a poster I respect a lot] stated earlier today that he’s confident that Arteta will turn it around.
…and I asked for what has confidence is based on.
I wouldn’t bet my favorite toothbrush on Arteta, much less my house.
Getting fired is part of coaching and Arteta won’t be the first rookie manager that was let go of.
Even Arteta has said as much, devoted fans fear the sack more than managers do.
*what is his confidence based upon?
Kas the cup win wasnt a fluke. We had the best chances and limited them to speculative efforts, we were compact with no space to work in. Dont try rewrite what was a fantastic performance and the tactics were spot on and then we went on to outplay chelsea in the final.
Lost nearly 50% of our league games? Yes by very fine margins bar villa but no one is disputing we’ve lost games. Being hard to beat doesnt mean you’re unbeatable.
The confidence is based on hope dissenter or faith to give it a religious undertone. I hope they are right at the end (recent evidence proves otherwise) as we can’t really afford to hire the top dogs.
“For me the key observation was that the older players cannot be relied upon. ” Leno – 28 young for a keeper Bellerin – 25 Luiz – 33 Gabriel – 22 Tierney – 23 Xhaka – 28 Ceballos – 24 Saka – 19 Willian – 32 Auba – 31 Holding – 25 Willock – 21 Nelson – 20 Laca – 29 So outside of the keeper the only players who are over 25 are Auba new contract, Willian just signed, Laca been worse than useless for some time why wasn’t Nketiah used and Xhaka who Arteta stopped leaving and Luiz… Read more »
I can tell you now, Arsene Wenger will not be coming back to Arsenal.
“Lost nearly 50% of our league games? Yes by very fine margins bar villa ”
Er the PL matches we’ve won have all been by a single goal bar Fulham so it looks like the fine margins run both ways.
That’s the point Marc. The fine margins are a little too much especially when we should be comfortably pasting some teams. Under Wenger we were known as flat track bullies but we now have those teams coming to bully us at HOME
Pedro sounding a lot like Trump. Pack it in you lost.Throwing out baseless facts about your man isn’t going to change reality. Start talking about who we can bring in to replace the failures and move on.
izzo
I think that’s harsh – Trump occasionally talks sense.
Le sauce you have difficulty understanding what a soft touch is? You know like we were under latter AW and Emery?
We’re you not watching when we played under those managers? Against the big boys it was a case of when not if we’d concede and we’d be regularly pumped by 3s, 4s and 5s. We dont get bent over an fucked like that and we give ourselves a fighting chance.
So no we aint a soft touch.
P 17
W 11
D 1
L5
That’s not losing 50% of our games is it?
Low blow Marc ..
Izzo, you’re taking a W before the votes have been counted, think you’re offering up a more Trumpian view than me.
Arteta is going nowhere.
Football is a game of fine margins at the top level and it goes both ways isn’t that obvious?
Le sauce thinking we should be pasting teams when we’re shite. The league is more competitive than ever and everyone can beat everyone but I thought you’d watched premier league football before.
Superob That argument would’ve made sense last season and early this season but its looking more like the new manager bounce with each passing week same way our so called defensive solidity is getting exposed. In case you don’t know, soft touch Arsenal is back. We’re now afraid to do anything of note with the ball, we don’t engage the opponents or tackle them and let them have easy ride form their 18 yard box to ours, no player is taking responsibility, we’re now more open than we used to be under him. The list is endless and that is… Read more »
Watching highlights of our youth, nelson looks very good. Maybe we need to go for a youthful team, maybe that will be a kick up the backside for the senior players.
Drop the lot for a game or two, maybe they are burnt out too, playing in a rigid formation. Sure we will drop points but it might be for the best in the long run. Just a thought.
Would Arteta be brave enough though is the real question.
You admit we’re shite then… When a team is shite its the managers fault so you’re more or less making my point.
Everyone is beating everyone isn’t the definition of fine margins homeboy. The way to different the top six from the rest is that not all their games are fine margins, city ass whopped Burnley despite being shite this season. I should be asking if you’ve actually watched the premier league before
Just admit you don’t know what a soft touch is and now to compound matters you’re comparing our situation to city. Fuck me.
Not being brave on the ball isnt anything to with being a soft touch, it’s getting turned over easily, regularly and without resistance.
You can fuck off with that homeboy shit too.
And we were already shite when he took over. He’s molded us into an effective cup side that needs to improve in the league. It’s not hard to grasp.
– Under Emery, Arsenal had 56.2% possession through the opening 13 Premier League matches.
– Arteta’s Arsenal have averaged 50.6% possession this season. Ten Premier League clubs have seen more of the ball.
This needs to be fixed. How have we turned from a ball playing team, to a some kind of a hybrid counter attacking hermaphrodite.
The FA cup semi final and final were superb from a tactical point of view , these victories should never be regarded as lucky , to beat City and Chelsea followed by the victory in the ahield v liverpool was a great achievement by Arteta.
The opening victory against Fulham was very convincing followed by a less than convincing win against west ham .
Context Rob.. Context
Dr Tim O’Brien::”To do that you must put other people’s needs before your own when the team requires you to do so.”
I like this sentence. As a good manager, you have to feel for your player’s need. The way Saliba was treated, I could imagine how Saliba felt. I remember Emirates was defending Arteta’s treatment of Saliba. SMH!
azedDecember 1, 2020 13:46:11
Sid Supreme leader is about to bin me. I trust you to carry on the work.
I will keep on the good work
Its all for free!
You can take this to the bank!
Sid are you running a Charity? At some point you’re gonna have to pay bills you know.
A quick summary We hired a young, ambitious coach. Only ever been an assistant. An Xs and Os specialist. He took a bunch of limited players and crafted a way to play that hid weaknesses and got just enough out of our strengths to win a few “small margins” games. He got us through a shite season with just a little progress in the league. We should then have been going hard on dismissing a bunch of the players and retooling. Speaking with Arteta and then getting the type of players that he wanted. So that he could X and… Read more »
SuperRob
“Lost nearly 50% of our league games? Yes by very fine margins bar villa but no one is disputing we’ve lost games. Being hard to beat doesnt mean you’re unbeatable.”
Not really, we were second best in all of them.
We didn’t hire Arteta to win the FA Cup. Top 4 minimum.and competing for the title is his remit.
I’m eternally grateful Pedro is a never Trumper , otherwise with his level of bs he could’ve gotten Trump re-elected in a landslide.
Pedro is like Rich but in reverse.
His politics and socioeconomics are based on facts and data but his Arsenal views under Arteta are based on fairytales and hearsay.
“Removing Arteta now would be like rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. We have steered the ship in to the iceberg already, More drastic action and a dose of realism is what is required.” Best analogy yet. When Wenger was let go it was always on the cards: the real downfall. All hoped the next gen would bounce in with immediate effect and awake the sleeping giant. Clearly failed. This club is pure banter when it comes to leadership, not up for debate and we are living that dream right now. Wenger out w/ a triumvirate in place to run… Read more »
“Sid are you running a Charity? At some point you’re gonna have to pay bills you know.“
Sid is banking on that newly renegotiated prenup Melania extorted from Trump before she agreed to move into the White House and play nice for four years.
He’s the biggest fraud of all. What kinda proud black man would choose a skinny assless white chick for his avatar.
Shameless.
Pedro, “Arteta is going nowhere.” Not if we continue to drop like a paratrooper with a failed parachutes Your optimism rings hollow and sounds like the blind optimist who fell from the roof of a 10-story building. As he passed the eighth story he called out: ‘I’m all right so far!’ As he passed the fifth story he cried out again: ‘I’m all right so far!’ and as he flew past the second story the same cheerful cry was heard. Then he landed headfirst and hadn’t a word more to say. Some of us know the big splat is coming… Read more »
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-9005799/Arsenal-boss-Mikel-Arteta-pleads-patience-Guardiola-got-Manchester-City.html
Sal with the cliff notes version of the last few years.
Grim.
Raptora
“. Under Emery, Arsenal had 56.2% possession through the opening 13 Premier League matches.
– Arteta’s Arsenal have averaged 50.6% possession this season”
There is a simple explanation for Emery’s high possession rate, the team was Wenger’s and had Wenger’s DNA…
Diss, it rings hollow for someone that wants to see this fail.
I see this project as longer term than 10 Premier League games, like you did when it was Emery. Remember those days, when you were strong?
Look at you now.
Ebening, Love the optimism Pedro, still won’t let the emery digs go will you though. It’s pretty clear to everyone bar arteta that something has to change. If you need to score and your main striker is channelling his best John jensen impression then it’s time for a rest and change of formation. Why is it teams can play 442 against us and make it work but we won’t let loose with two strikers when we can’t even buy a goal. You finally play auba in the centre then ask him to sit in midfield. Gotta love a 550 formation… Read more »
‘There we have to be stronger than ever, keep our idea and keep trying to bring the players we want, keep the players we have and evolve them. For me that’s the main secret.’
Evidently knows he needs creativity in the side.
“I see this project as longer term than 10 Premier League games”
Actually it’s 30 PL games.
CC, Sal sent me the Kike leak earlier.
It looks like edu leaking against Arteta… think it’s the other way around (not Arteta leaking, but the club going for Edu)
Pedro
Wouldn’t surprise me to see Edu on his way.
Pedro,
Of course I don’t want senor Arteta to fail.
I have always insisted that no amount of banter can change his plight. No amount of blind optimism with alter the course of Arteta ball. Only Arteta can change things and I’m not convinced he has a second gear in him.
I’m just astonished that you can say with such certainty that Arteta isn’t going anywhere when his Arsenal existence depends on results.
Arsenal don’t have to be 5 at the back if they stick one of the spare defenders in as a defensive midfielder – Luiz, Mari or Holding (Who’s actually pretty good in carrying the ball and certainly can’t be any worse than Xhaka right now),. At least that then allows a building block in the transformation/’process’….
So Arteta will succeed in getting the technical director fired now?
The takeover will be complete.
Marc, hard to look past Edu being there for so many of those deals.
Nearly all the leadership from the first attempt at Arsenal is being chipped away.
If it means a Luis Campos or a Rangnick like figure, I wouldn’t complain
Diss, Tim Lewis is boots on the ground. If edu goes; it won’t be on Mikel’s say so.
Pedro
The issue and I’m not having a pop here because I know you don’t like the way Arteta was “promoted” in the summer is how do bring in one of those guys who’d insist on being above Arteta without pissing off the manager?
‘Actually it’s 30 PL games.’
Since when does half a season of the previous season and a quarter of this one constitute a season.
Last season is finished and this season and last are not the same. Remits, personnel and circumstances all different.
Pedro
Deary me, not for this shit right yet have we?
Unlike the long slog of the league, FA cup wins are not always a good indicator as to true quality of a team simply due to the factor of player motivation e.g. who wants it most on the day. In the last two FA cup wins both Wenger and Arteta used a back 5 to shore up a leaky defence and then on the day had the team who most wanted to to win for themselves, probably equally out of pride and desperation after crap seasons.
Not wildly surprising for a guy that’s been there for a lot of shit, the hope was that he was being usurped by Raul. Not complicit.
Don’t care if Edu goes, but fuck me we need to settle behind the scenes
Actually it’s 30 PL games Yes it has and the scored card doesn’t read generational, ignore the performances lets look at results alone , he has only won 43% of his league matches., Looking at last season alone when he supposedly came in and cleared up the mess in the league it reads played 20, won 9, drew 6, lost 5. New manager bounce and all. Add the lack of clear footballing identity and the over dependence on small margins then you have concerns. Attacking wise 42 goals scored in 30 league games isn’t that shabby However 33 goals conceded… Read more »
“Don’t care if Edu goes, but fuck me we need to settle behind the scenes”
Yeah really need to the structure right
Arsenal don’t have to be 5 at the back if they stick one of the spare defenders in as a defensive midfielder – Luiz, Mari or Holding (Who’s actually pretty good in carrying the ball and certainly can’t be any worse than Xhaka right now),. At least that then allows a building block in the transformation/’process’…. Good point. Or you could move Xhaka into the back 5 and the he more or less has to pass forward! Has Pep ever used a back 5 at City i,e.. has DietPep any actual experience in setting up a team that way before… Read more »
DissenterDecember 1, 2020 14:22:40 Marc bennydevito [ a poster I respect a lot] stated earlier today that he’s confident that Arteta will turn it around. …and I asked for what has confidence is based on. I wouldn’t bet my favorite toothbrush on Arteta, much less my house. Getting fired is part of coaching and Arteta won’t be the first rookie manager that was let go of. Even Arteta has said as much, devoted fans fear the sack more than managers do. Le SauceDecember 1, 2020 14:30:14 The confidence is based on hope dissenter or faith to give it a religious… Read more »
Arteta has had 30 plus games to put a system in place and find out his best eleven. The squad isn’t that different from the back end of last season. We’ve changed the team using the most players this season. It’s easy to say it’s now a new season, if that’s the case we lost fifty per cent of our league games. Averaging one goal scored per game and conceding over that. Even judged on this season alone it’s poor and only getting worse. We can’t wait until January for mo and partey to be in the midfield or hope… Read more »
Pierre
You are right it was Wenger’s team which is why Emery was sacked.
“Unlike the long slog of the league, FA cup wins are not always a good indicator as to true quality of a team simply due to the factor of player motivation e.g. who wants it most on the day.”
Actually no cup competition is a meaningful indicator of true quality since a single game or two can easily be turned on refs judgment call.
Arsenal have been overcompensated by refs in the FA cup for getting fucked over in the league. No idea why but we have.
I wonder why few raised any dust when Edu was firing most of our scouts
I don’t think any other club did this
DissenterDecember 1, 2020 16:13:09
I wonder why few raised any dust when Edu was firing most of our scouts
I don’t think any other club did this
>>>>
I did, I thought it was a bad mistake, CG did too but I understand using smarter methods can cut costs so it’s probably something done over Arteta’s head.
How are we supposed to win games when we can neither defend nor attack well.
both ends are so inept right now that we were lucky to get past Leeds with a draw, fucking newly promoted Leeds?
This is arsenal?
Not like our league form at the back end of last season was all that impressive either.
Tom
“Arsenal have been overcompensated by refs in the FA cup for getting fucked over in the league. No idea why but we have.”
What you mean is that Arsenal are getting their fair share of decisions (50/50 )in the cup competitions compared to the massive disparity in the league (includes penalties for and against, red and yellow cards for and against)
Marc By ‘older players’ I mean not only in age but in the time spent at Arsenal. Those are the players who do not appear to show total commitment, total togetherness. No surprise after the laisser-faire days with Wenger. They are unlikely to embrace the rigour of Arteta. Bellerin is young in years but old in contagion. And there are other ‘oldies’ in the squad who weren’t in the Wolves game, like Kolasinac. None of them will be missed, except Auba. But on current form he is losing his appeal. By now Arteta ought to have given up on the… Read more »
‘Gracias negrito”
Oh dearie me, Cavani is about to be taken out of circulation
Don’t the clubs give these players an orientation of some sorts
@Tom, be nice thats prejudice,
We need scouts back, ( perhaps not as many) and Edu gone.
Edu has Jan to save his job…. I am not kidding, he really has done poorly overall bar Martinelli… and a few others. Not being able to sell anyone has not helped either.
The media is all over Isco in Jan. Ok fine, a loan is ok…
Add a purchase of Buendia and I think Edu can save his own bacon for a while
Clubs fielding weakened teams in Cup Competitions makes the FA Cup not fit for purpose.
Guns of SF
You know Edu can only spend money that the.club provides
…and only on signings that are discussed with Arteta.
It wasn’tEdu that was publicly campaigning against the outward movements of certain players in the summer.
Was it really Arsenal winning the FA Cup or Arsenal reserves.
Edu is now an enemy
Pedro was very hyped with that appointment, guess he needs to sacrifice someone and Edu is the man. Interesting to see who is brought in if anyone at all. Hope Arteta is not allowed to pick his own boss
Sorry, Arteta and Arsenal are both done. We are too broken to be fixed with anything less than a billion invested.
No sensible player would join us. We are the new Leeds United under Ridsdale.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said the club’s young players are “worth the risk” after his youthful team beat League One Portsmouth at a noisy Fratton Park to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals. Arteta named a side with six players aged 20 or under and they looked in control, especially in the second half, as they beat a team which had not lost in 19 home games and had won their previous 10. This was something of a bonus match for Portsmouth, who are third in League One and pushing for promotion. That was reflected by their starting line-up with their… Read more »
Pierre
No , there’s 50/50 decisions, like Bellerin overrunning the ball and clattering into Alonso in the lead up to Arsenal’s winning goal, and there are wrong decisions like Kovacic sending off for the second yellow.
I’m not going to go down the memory lane and dig up all the calls we got that helped us to the FA cup glory because to tell you the truth I actually like it better this way.
Arsenal aren’t winning the league with or without the refs but we might win an odd cup here or there.
ask Per what Edu has been doing this year – exactly what he was asked to do.
I think with following tweaks in our set up, we can see an upturn in results :
1. 4-2-3-1 formation with Partey and Elneny as central mid duo
2. Back 4 playing a slightly high line
3. Switching from crosses from wide areas to either cut backs or using angles in ground passes
I don’t often agree with Merson but do here:
“For me, Mesut Ozil comes back in the team if Thomas Partey is fit,” Merson told Sky Sports.
“Partey gets around the pitch, dominates the midfield and dictates the game. Him playing opens up a chance for Ozil.
“At the moment, Arsenal have nobody in there to provide the forwards.You can make runs all day long, but if you’re a centre-forward, your runs are only as good as the players playing behind you.
Pedro
There are a far too many people on here who love to be proven right- yourself included- but predicting football, even with the vast amount of research you do is maddeningly difficult.
Hiring a rookie coach was always a gamble and you’ve put all your chips on it.
Can arteta turn it round? I hope so.
Just wanted to say that if Pedro spins this as a Edu failure, after the garbage, clueless, geriatric football we’ve been watching for months, it will be really, really embarrassing. Edu might turn out a dud, but whatever it’s called that we’ve been served and it was supposed to be exciting and generational stuff, is the worst Arsenal in 38 years. If Edu is made out to take all the blame and be the sacrificial lamb, when Arteta is entirely responsible for our dreadful style of football, then people will have blood on their hands. Fans are such sheeps I… Read more »
Alexander henry
He has turned it around, he’s made it worse.
I think the defensive issues we seem to have stem from our full backs having to provide the width in a 433 or 4231.
If we played 352 the extra centreback can move across to cover wingbacks either side.
In a 442 wingers provide the width so the full backs can stay back further and actually don’t get caught on the break.
It also means we can play two strikers which helps with our scoring problem.
Sid
Prejudice? That would imply I’m pre-judging. I’m not.
I’m judging.
She married a serial adulterer clearly for money, which is fine…….and then leveraged her position to maximize her financial standing , which is also fine.
It’s her conduct as the First Lady that’s reprehensible….. married to the biggest bully ever while timidly running a an anti- bullying campaign, amongst many other fake half arsed agendas.
She’s a person of no substance whatsoever and you chose her for your avatar while also being anti Trump.
And she has no ass to speak of lol.
What Am I missing here?
Dissenter
Storm in a teacup re Cavani, just like the Bernardo Silva Mendy one before.
The media will blow it up into a far bigger talking point than it ought to be.
Clearly wasn’t intended to be offensive, stupid of course but very far removed from the Suarez-Evra incident. Is a highly followed public figure playing in England so can’t be saying things like that on Twitter even to mates without any malice behind it but talk of match bans is crazy.
Dissenter,
Unfortunately, that term is used plenty in some south American countries.
I did a read about this last weekend, a few articles regarding how this is used in Argentina.
It has morphed to become a class term instead of purely racial, which was what it originally was.
Nevertheless, its wrong to use… no amount of ignorance in today’s age can cover for this.
Plus his buddy Suarez was nailed for a similar offense.
Dissenter is right, these folks need a quick primer on words not to say…. when living in the UK
We can dismiss the FA Cup as shown by lower teams utter contempt for the tournament. This leaves Arteta utterly exposed and with no leg to stand on.