I LOVE A NORTH LONDON DERBY WEEKEND.
The banter on the group chat is firing up. The nerves are starting to jangle. There is a LOT of pride on the line.
Spurs look like title contenders. Jose has made them nasty. They’re well organised, they have the special sauce in Kane and Son that keeps you in contention if you keep them fit, they look very strong.
Arsenal is a mess. Our form has been shocking. Big players have shrunk. Young players have struggled to make headway. Our rookie manager is overseeing a bonfire. Can he tame it? Can he do what the big managers do when the chips are down? Can he shift the narrative on the pitch like he has done off it this week?
As Janan said in the latest podcast, most other managers have a history you can point to, with Mikel, it’s faith-based. North London derbies are about faith. Form is rarely a factor. It’s a crazy moment in time when a concoction of wild elements are slammed together in a Büchner flask, and you hope the end product works to your hypothesis.
Mikel Arteta has a job on his hands. I tried to eke out some good news from Arsenal in the week and there wasn’t much to be had. There have been lots of problems to deal with. Stories leaking from the camp seems to suggest a 1997 style come to jesus meeting. Reporters are saying it was constructive and the path forward was clear.
Thursday night might have been against a nothing team, but for me, those are usually the games you worry about. The fact we landed a dominant performance can only be a positive. The players were aggressive, they were bold, they took chances. We need that vibe to flow into Sunday.
Can that carry through to Sunday? That’s the test. I think it’s amusing reading people demanding we play the same way against Spurs. This is why fans aren’t coaches. We’re going to The Lane to shithouse the master of shithousery and I am ok with that because it’s the only option we have. If City can’t blast Spurs away, we’re not going to. If Chelsea can’t score against them, we’re not going to hit them with a blitz. Setting up to lose to satisfy aesthetics junkies would be the rookiest of errors.
The good news is there’s a high probability we’ll see Thomas Partey. That’s huge for Arsenal. We have lacked a press resistant midfielder with his class. Put him next to Mo Elneny and we speed everything up to the level we need. There’s also a shout for AMN to start after his ripping performance against Rapid. Imagine that, 3 midfielders with legs? Game-changing stuff right there.
I don’t know how we’ll play, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see Lacazette pick up that link-up role against a team he likes to produce again. I think we need an athletic midfield that can pick up the movement of Kane, Son and some of the creators. Højbjerg has been a key player for them this season, it’ll be interesting to see how we deal with him.
This 90 minutes is all about closing the widening gap at the top. It’s a moment for the squad to show there’s a way forward. It’s a game that big teams would eat up. Are we going to be a big team this season? There’s no better moment to find out.
Before you go, I need you to listen to our latest podcast. We welcome Janan Ganesh into the AO fold with our regular Alex. It’s an evergreen podcast. We talk about Arteta, leadership, football strategy, and fixing the creativity issue. It’s a good listen, so put it in your ears and give me a 5* rating on Apple. THANK YOU X
MattbDecember 6, 2020 18:49:31
Hjobjerg for £15M. Partey for £50M. How many more first teamers could we have bought this Summer?
I will take this opportunity to remind you it was claimed that he was as good as Viera.
“Completely dominated the game , lost to unlucky two goals” says Arteta.
Mics
Because hopefully he gets sacked before the window and we finally appoint a good manager.
Arteta just said. this team is full of passion. He should go fuck himself.
“I saw a team full of passion, dominating the team and creating chances but in the end it is about the end product and that is why they are top of the table. I think we had 44 crosses.”
For those of you saying AMN should have played instead of Bellerin, think perhaps that B was chosen over AMN as he is a better crosser. I.e. the real villain, Arteta, WANTED a right back who would punt it into the box… and for that reason he preferred B, not AMN. So again, do not blame the players, blame the inexperienced generational manager of a generation of asshats for selecting the best crosser (I know he is shite at it) of a ball we have as that is what our generational manager has figured out: The Future is Crosses into… Read more »
Bellerin has always forgot there is a left winger in most teams. He’s a serial ball watcher. Gets drawn in field and the left wing just skips down behind him.
Get him gone
If Pedro watched Masterchef he’d know that when an up and coming chef overcooks his sauce or uses the wrong ingredients it either curdles or it splits.
Arteta has curdled Arsenal. His sauce has split the team so much that Arsenal has fractured into disgusting little pieces.
Daniel Altos
You are wrong Terry Neil did not lost 2 NLD in a row.
Tom,
Please tell me you are joking. Arteta should get the sack right now if this is true.
Basically, what we are getting is Wenger’s delusional arrogance without the pedigree Le Boss had.
56 crosses today…
Diet Pep has played more minutes under Moyes than under any other manager including time as assistant manager
54 crosses*
Raptora Atletico are a massive club, they have the third highest attendances, Madrid has a population of over 3.2million. They’ve won La Liga 11 times They’ve won The Copa Del Ray 11 times They’ve been to 3 European cup finals Won the UEFA cup 3 times Cup winners cup Simeone has done a really good job, but the idea he’s taken over some minnows and over-performed, doesn’t stand up to any real scrutiny. Atletico Madrid are a massive club steeped in history We’re just at a low ebb, I don’t think panicking and having a bed wetting competition helps us… Read more »
Sid
Party a uselesss funny cunt
Knowing our luck we would sack Arteta, idk get poch who would pull a LVG on us 😂
Its the hope that kills you I swear ffs
Is Arteta going for The Most Crosses Trophy?
Grill him, don’t let the useless prick off the hook.
This is fully on Arteta. With the players we have, we should not be 20th in the PL for chances created. Fuck Arteta
Where have I had a go at Partey?
He went down injured, my point was the PL is much more competitive than La Liga
Completely dominated the game
If Arteta said tjen he is more deluded tjan I thought he was. Possession does not necessarily mean dominate.
Arteta is really in denial isn’t he of how crap we are due to his poor managing skills? This is going to end very badly…
Arteta has Pedro syndrome
Where is Pedro? Please come here and explain why Arteta should be given more time. He doesn’t seem to learn from his mistakes.
We played well enough today without the final ball.. The decision to bin Ozil is going to come back to haunt Arteta I’m afraid. That game was set up for Ozil, we had total possession but no one with the vision or weight of pass to open up a packed defence. Ozil would have fed the ball into the feet of the attackers all day long and probed for the opening, he would have played the ball inside the full backs, instead we had no one who can see the pass inside the full back and we recycled the ball… Read more »
So speaketh supercunt.
Blind as a bat.
Arrest is utterly clueless and a tad arrogant.
Crosses made has become the new xGA
If the goal was to depend on crosses, why did he block the exit of Laca?
If the tactical goal was to rely in crosses then why did he fight to extend Auba’s contracts when only 4 of his 74 Arsenal goals are headers?
When I see Arteta, all I can think of is Nick Leeson. He’s going to harm this club in a manner that will linger long after he’s sacked.
Arteta is playing Xhaka as if that donut signs off the payroll.
*Arteta is a utterly clueless and a tad arrogant
who actually thought AFC would win today? Not many.
The few that thought there may be a chance of a point must have changed their minds as soon as they saw the crab was in the starting line up. The crab now has a best mate – Willian – they are the first names on Arteta’s starting line up sheet. Something fishy or sheer incompetence?
Arsene wenger’s final days as arsenal manager was much better than the shite show going on this year.
Pierre you are one boring cunt.
Playing well.and losing is worse than playing badly and losing.
🍆 👌
“Got done by a wonder goal for the first then Partey walked off the pitch leaving midfield empty for the 2nd. Partey should have gone down got the game stopped not just fucked off to the side of the pitch.“ Before the wonder goal actually happened there were at least three Arsenal player’s mistakes including Gabriel not getting tighter on Kane and winning the ball or fouling him, Bellerin marking Son and not getting drawn to Kane who was market up , even if not dealt with properly, Holding allowing Son to come inside on his right. All of the… Read more »
Arteta; “We can do any system, any formation, we can put 55 strikers there if we don’t score goals we cannot win football matches, simple as that”
There’s a reason Auba hasn’t scored in open play since the win at Fulham and it’s not for a lack of quality
Nonteta needs a nice sacking quickly.
Auba seems to have a case of Ozil-itis, win a contract and chill out. So frustrating to watch him always run behind a defender when a cross comes in rather than attack the ball. And the one cross he did get on his head (a lovely one from KT), it lacked any conviction or intention to score. Its getting clear now why he hasn’t played much through the middle for Arsenal as much as most people wanted to see.
Rob,
You’re happy with the situation?
Faber Bellerin was awful in wenger last 2 seasons
And wenger also had him bomb down the wings and cross. Bellerin is one of the worst RBs in the pl. the problem is arteta is too dumb to stop picking him
Arterta-ball is cross the ball & hope for the best.
That’s it. Literally.
Yes Danny , We miss Ozil , anyone with a football brain can see that , the game was made for him .
“He’s going to harm this club in a manner that will linger long after he’s sacked.”
Inside the Actors studio is on your other blog link Dissenter, you know the dramatic one.
Super rob absolutely loved that great performance
Ozil is needed short term. This team is starved of creativity.
Left Testicle
Rob is a troll, he doesn’t give a crap about the situation.
When did we become David Moyes’ United? We didnt used to cross this much.
Once again Bellerin the only player who looked remotely threatening going forward. Once again the only player looking to get in behind. Every forward shocking and lightweight, and usual mess in central midfield in transition phases.
Of course the macro dunces focus on the micro.
I don’t understand why Arteta wants to blame the forwards for not converting chances when every reasonable chance today required a very deft header. Every fan knows that neither Auba or Laca are good in the air.
If Arteta’s chosen style is whipping it into the box, then we should be trying to bring in Chris Wood in January as the Plan A, rather than as a Plan B when we’re struggling late in a game.
Pierre
Ozil made about 4 assists in 2 years and a hand full of chances.
What makes you think he could suddenly change us now? He’s fucked.
SuperRob and Rich
How low is your ebb before you start realizing that there is something seriously wrong going on here at our club? (And I am not just talking about Arteta here.)
Do you really think it is normal to be hiring a novice manager with a team with such huge problems?
I dont like comparisons of any sorts between the managers of Arsenal but the only thing Mikel is doing better than his predecessor currently is speaking better English which is one of the most important KPIs 😂
Unless it is the plan to wait until the end of the season so that we can finally offload the out of contract dross
Sal
Yes, Arsenal is too big to fail, too good to go down
Absent owner, geriatric BoD, inexperienced DoF and inexperienced manager
….but Arsenal is too big or too good
Ever heard of a perfect storm like the one that brought in Trump in 2016?
You have a manager using wild crosses being made and player passion as his selling points
… .but hey, lots of drama here from dissenter
We only attacked them once through the center, when lacazette threaded a nice pass to Aubameyang, Holding needs to watch that and see how Alder what’s his name defended it, he didn’t back off for the sake of it, he backed off to get a good block in.
Besides that everything else was hit and hope. Spurs played disgracefully deep in my opinion, but hey they had two goals and most of them played midweek
The Augsburg official Twitter account is trolling Xhaka by the way
The thing is that players have fuck all respect for Arteta.
He is clueless as a coach and he was a bit meh as a player back in his day. No pedigree, no clue. No wonder they are not giving their 100%.
Where’s Pedro? He was here nice and early after the rapid match
…basically, if you see a new boss at your job who has got no clue and the only thing he does is let the old guard run the place, are you going to break sweat for him? The fuck you are.
On an unrelated note Bamford is taking a lot on here to the cleaners.
Receding
Mourhino let’s us have the ball, it was by design because he’s figured out the best way to play after Thursday night EL games.
He knew we were all about just lumping the ball into the box so it’s like being it on.
Arteta saw the possession as ‘domination’
Have to say I dont have too much blame for holding, he wasn’t protected at all by willian or bellerin playing so far forward. Partey was trying to hold the midfield on his own as xhaka was xhaka and worse than useless. So even he was being dragged to the left leaving a huge gap. That right side was a free for all for the spuds.
RockyRoe
His latest Power Rankings are up on Twitter @afabulousopera6
Once again Bellerin the only player who looked remotely threatening going forward.
———
Boy do you love Bellerin 😂😂😂
Tierney was our most dangerous player imo.
Supernob
It’s not over the top.
We look shocking atm and I can’t see Arteta actually having any answered on how to change things.
Same shit week after week. Same underperforming players not being dropped. He’s lost, and it’s pretty obvious too.
Looking and sounding good does not mean you are good and can produce a winning team. Arteta may one day be a decent manager but he has demonstrated that he cannot cut it at this level yet. He has improved us defensively but at the expense of our attack which is non existent.
He needs to be replaced.
Paulinho
Bellerin was poor today. You can’t use today’s perform we to write about his mental strength or whatever,
He can’t even execute a simple throw in properly.
Agree with Up 4 grabs; Holding was covering the overlapping run from Reguillon while backing off, Bellerin didnt need to go with him, it was Bellerin who should have closed Son down, but he was backing off too and ended up on his arse like the only registered World Cup winner on our books
Only Arsenal would shed a Giroud, bring in PEA/Laca then play as if Giroud was still in the side.
For the record Tierney and Bellerin were both our most dangerous players for me.
Still trying to wrap my head around Xhaka finding the starting XI will every option apparently available.
Mourinho complimenting Arteta
José goes to war with coaches he considers a threat.
For all those Ozil haters, the day he didn’t make any of the squads, we now have the bragging rights “We told you so!!” And don’t fucking tell me Ozil could not make the squad with the duds that are n ow Arsenal’s squad. There are 6 London teams in the EPL and only Fulham is below Arsenal.
Only Arsenal would shed a Giroud, bring in PEA/Laca then play as if Giroud was still in the side.
———
Hahaha that’s a funny line.
Super rob the golden irony in you calling everyone drama queens whilst mouthing off because some online randomers on a blog say stuff you don’t like
Seems like you’re more bothered by these comments than you are the first grade feces you’ve been served by arsenal the last month or more.
But it’s honestly cute that you think apart from resting partey there’s nothing more arteta could’ve done today.
At the end of the season we should be looking to shop out all these cunts – Bellerin Sokrates Ozil Torreira Willian Holding Mustafi Luiz Nelson Willock Xhaka In fact I’d happily take good money for Aubamayeng, bar his goals he has very little impact in games, said it for years, no he can’t score he’s invisible. We are relying on this bloke and he’s weighing us down, Lacazette is by far a better player than him. We could with a decent manager and not a rookie make a decent go of things with the money freed up from these… Read more »
Yup Raheem – we are notorious for our long term planning! haha
Salah is so fucking switched on, that goal.
13 foul throws in the Premier League this season, Bellerin has flinged five. Lost possession a match-high 20 times and hooked in the second half. From sky sports.
That’s disgraceful.
Bellerin was good? Paulinho, please 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
TL BD10
Yes the sacking of vital back room staff
and scouts has not helped the normal running of the club
the Atmosphere behind the scenes which I imagine could be quite toxic.
And the amateur decision to get a goalkeeping coach and a free kick
coach from Brentford was worrying .
Besides this the relationship with the upper tier of management
is a concern.
Whatever happened to my club.
ND how many assists did ozil get in the last 2 years?
Yeah… no….
@James Wood – of all the decisions to criticize I find it odd to go for the set piece coach considering we havent yet conceded from one this season and we have been notoriously weak on them in the past…
Ok this is for the Bellerin fan boys….
On the 1st goal, it was his shit cross that set up the counter, out of position he now gets caught in 2 minds whether to cover Holdings central position or to track the runner. Failing miserably to do either he now fatally slips allowing Son the space to get a clear shot on goal.
A defenders priorities are ALWAYS to defend, not attack and leave your team exposed regardless of the teams tactics. It’s always about balance and Bellerin has always lacked that.
Saw a clip of Arteta claiming we created enough chances to score today and he looks livid. Actually believes what he is saying.
“Tierney was our most dangerous player imo”
Still plays far too wide. Some good crossing but needs to take a leaf out of Monreal’s book and mix it up. Allergic to the box.
I’m also yet to see him make a run in-behind, which is what I specifically referred to, and what is a chronic issue in our team.
Willian is the on field reflection of artetas management. Shit, pointless, no direction, no ability to change. Fucking rank bang average the pair of them. They deserve each other the pair of bullshiting Cunts.
“Bellerin was good? ”
Where did I say he was good?
Him being the only player looking to threaten teams off the ball is more of an indictment of the rest of the drones in our side.
Arsenal can save Arteta’s future career by gracefully forging him pronto
The more he talks, the more he seems clueless.
Guardiola-ball and his city-IPO apprenticeship didn’t prepare him for a,proper relegation scrapper next weekend.
Genuinely interested to hear what Pedro made of the the game today….
Arteta got rid of our coaching set up and replaced with a no one from David moyes Everton back room team and we wonder why we are playing shit football weekly.
Remember Mikel Arteta was a master of playing simple sideways passing throughout most of his career, what were we expecting exactly.
Any players worth their weight wouldn’t come anywhere near this car crash of a squad
Super rob not picking xhaka Bellerin and Willian might’ve been a start LOL 😂😂😂😂
Loving that you think those 3 all deserved to play based on recent form. Like I said it’s literally cute
Paulinho
Him being the only player looking to threaten teams off the ball is more of an indictment of the rest of the drones in our side‘
I think you’re confusing Bellerin with Tierney
Hold out both hands and repeat; this is left….and this is right‘
I don’t give a shit about how many assists Ozil had in the past years, if you don’t play a player then you will never know what he can do in a brilliant moment or open up a defense with a pass. Case in point Giroud, Arsenal didn’t play him Lampard didn’t play him and then BAM. Point being the player loft crosses into the box, how many goals has Auba scored from headers 3. So basically since they can’t provide quality passes they just launch balls into the box hoping and praying. What a fucking joke brought on by… Read more »
Paulinho Tierney did far better on and off the ball. What are you smoking dude
Dundalk 0 Arsenal 3
Arsenal 2 Burnley 2
Arsenal 1 Saints 2
Everton 4 Arsenal 0
Tick Tock.
Both their goals came from going down the right straight past Bellerin.
The defenders both times backed off and gave them space to shot freely
We may scape a few points in the next few weeks, but that’s not going to prove anything.
James Woods The problem starts with AW in the sense that his attempt at trying to do everything has created a situation where (by the looks of it) many incompetent people were put in a position of power. This is why Raul thought he could do whatever he wanted. There is no one competent in the club including the owner who knows anything about football. If Arteta was surrounded by a strong team he would flourish. Unfortunately it is the total opposite. The one potential positive in all of this is that this could force Kroenke to sell if it… Read more »
#Arteta: “I don’t know what else we can do. If we can’t score goals we cannot improve our situation.”
There was that cross from Tierney headed wide by Auba. An average header of a ball scores that. The cut back from Bellerin I think that Laca should have tapped in had he continued his run. First was a good chance second a half chance, do you could make the argument that we could have scored one or two today. We had an encouraging second half than first but according to Mourinho it was their plan to take no risks. Watching Chelsea yesterday and spuds today the former are the more complete side, a better side wouldn’t have lost to… Read more »
Super Rob
I don’t have a huge experience with bed wetting but as an Arsenal fan I’m actually getting ready to shit myself watching this.
Thank god for Fulham, Sheffield and west Brom is all I can say.
You knows it’s not good when CG brings back the Tick Tock
Tick Tock
Tick Tock
Dissenter – Look at minute leading up to Spur’s second goal. Look at the run Bellerin made to (attempt) to find Aubameyang. That’s an off the ball run a player makes to “get in behind” a team and directly threaten them.
Tierney simply joining the play higher up the pitch with the opposition sitting deep is not remotely comparable.
Please get a clue at some point.
Had a few beers so not sure if I posted this before but Xhaka and Willian making the 11 after Thurs night makes you wonder…..
@TheLegendaryDB10
“Then again I am probably deluding myself with that idea”
Well that makes two of us hoping a relegated Arsenal will cause KSE to sell the club.
Dissenter
Bellerin was.poor on the first goal, but tbf to him he was in the final third trying to do something. I think Tierney gets way too much praise for his short Arsenal career. Decent player, but he’s been elevated in status to be a hybrid of Maldini and Roberto Carlos. I will be happy if he becomes a good player of Monreal’s level