Arsenal strategy speaks to a club that doesn’t like hard work (long read)

by .

Well, here we are my darlings, another day of planning our way out of this mess. This will be a joy-scroll, buckle up, it’ll be fun.

So, let’s get the bad news out of the way. It’s not good times on the injury front for Thomas Partey. If he’s fucked the same thing he fucked before, he’s going to be out of contention for maybe 8 weeks. That would be a huge blow to the project. You can understand why Mikel and his team took the chance. A willing player and a shit situation, but the reality is, they took a huge risk on a game we weren’t likely to win. Short term thinking to save a sinking season. Now the ship is sunk, then gamble looks a poor one.

The shame is that Gabriel M will be back early. He safely passed through 45 minutes of football and he’s well on his way to the first team. A huge moment for the team. He is the exact profile of player you want to see Arsenal stock up on going forward. He’s young, he’s hungry, he’s terrifying because he works like a dog, he wants to grow with the team.

As we move into December, Mikel Arteta needs to reshape the way he operates. He needs to bin the players who let him down, even if they’re the good guys behind the scenes. The fragility in this squad is both attitude, and sadly, functional purpose to the system.

Thomas Partey exiting the starting 11 should not be another opportunity for players that have been given countless chances under countless managers. It’s time to try something new.

The most obvious candidate for a run in the side is Ainsley Maitland-Niles. I can not longer tolerate the idea that he isn’t the correct choice for our midfield. I have seen the others fail, I know what the best is with them, it’s time to give someone a career here and coach the bad bits out.

Ainsley has the correct athletic profile. We’ve seen him pocket Traore. We’ve seen him control City attackers. When he is on, he is something we don’t have in the squad at Arsenal. He’s mobile, he’s dynamic, he has an underrated passing range and he should be developed.

The mistakes Arteta has made are clear. He wanted to shortcut to the Champions League and he made bum decisions that should have been rectified by a strong Technical Director. David Luiz, Auba, and Willian were not good decisions. Thinking he could take a squad where the senior players were either dreaming of their retirement or Bosman signings was fanciful.

The first stage of rectifying bad phase in the workplace is to identify the biggest problems you have. I don’t think Mikel has looked at himself, I don’t think he has people in his staff that are correcting him, but if he wants to escape this moment, it’s time to admit where it’s going wrong.

If you put 100 problems up on a wall at Arsenal and found the core patterns, you’d land on:

  • Senior players letting the club down because they don’t give a fuck on and off the pitch. Auba is in the mixer I’m afraid.
  • The wrong talent profile of players to operate a coherrant system so it’s functional
  • Young players not ready to hit the heights of the ambition the club promised in the summer

Now, clearly it’s an oversimplification, but I write a blog, I don’t run corporate workshops of beleaguered football clubs.

But solve those three problems and you steady the fanbase, you show true leadership by admitting your vision wasn’t right, and you give people a taste of where things are going in a lower pressure environment.

The young players aren’t ready.

That’s a major problem if you are kidding the world Arsenal will be more than a midtable side this season. If Arteta starts dealing in truth, namely, the squad he enabled for another season is not fit for purpose, we can move forward.

If he sets out a new plan, one that works to his strengths, the fans might buy it. Arteta is a great coach, he will work better with kids than senior players who don’t care for developing, so focus on the kids.

At this point, most of us would be over the moon if we shifted to a Hale-Enders project. Fuck the players that never change. Give me a kid that sees Arsenal as the biggest opportunity in their world. Fuck the players thinking about their retirement fund and unauthorised weekends away with Salt Bae. Fuck the player that think they are too good for Europa. We are tired of those that think their seniority and past achievements mean they don’t have to hit the required level.

Being honest gives Arteta permission to play the system he wants to play. Will it make top 4? No. Will we get spanked occasionally? Yes. Will there be days when we turn it on and everyone salivates? Absolutely. The mission here is to show the fans where the football could go when we bring in more quality players that can do the things required.

The Hale-Enders aren’t perfect, but they sure as hell give more of a shit than the preferred starting 11 on offer now. You think Balogun is going to fuck his chance to be a big player? You think ESR would be static when a midfielder breaks the lines from deep? You think Reiss Nelson isn’t going to bleed to be a part of Arsenal’s future?

I have consistently written about Arsenal not being honest about their situation over the years. We have constantly let our ‘rep’ get in the way of the rebuild. In messy business rebuild, you have to go to the bottom to build back up. The foundations need to be set properly. You need good process. Then you build the right talent density to move things up a level. You get some things right, some wrong, but if the mission is clear, your rectify mistakes early and move incrementally forward on a quarterly basis

Arsenal has been unwilling to do the hard work. So many of our decisions are half baked. Ivan goes? Give the job to two unqualified people. Sven Mislintat quits because he was horrified by the antics of a horror show of a Football Director. What do we do? We let that soiled director carry on and replace scouting expertise with a coterie of shite super agents. We then hire a Technical Director that arrived via a super agent. Hire an inexperienced manager, watch him do some great work, then PROMOTE HIM almost immediately to a manager on the same level as the Technical Director people don’t rate.

Wow… the banter of that paragraph was intense.

Arsenal do not like hard work. They do not like a plan. They cannot be honest about the path forward being hard, so they shortcut it over and over. The hardest thing to do in football is to admit to fans that things are going to be shit for a bit, to show patience, and commit to something that makes sense.

We should be re-upping Project Youth. Imagine that team with the spine we have now? We’d be a top 3 side.

Arsenal should move to a Dortmund+ model. Come to Arsenal, give us 3 seasons, we’ll give you game time at the best stadium in London, and we’ll make you famous. Then you can fuck off for £100m.

Sign athletes. Sign players that care more about self-improvement than money (Balogun is agitating for game time, not £90k a week). Sign players with high ceilings. Make Arsenal a destination for progressive football.

I would buy that vision. You would buy that vision. It’d be exciting. It’d allow us to get back to an identity. It’d bring in a new fanbase. It would mean when we do make the Champions League, we’d actually have a squad that could compete for it, not disintegrate because they were injecting themselves with horse placenta to make it to the team bus.

Strong leadership is needed to admit that what is going on right now is not taking us the promised land. We need a new direction. Tough decisions need to be made around staffing, players, and the hard work ahead. The only way Arteta gets back on track is to do something different. He fucked the summer, his ambitions were too big for his belly, his idea has no chance of success, he has to change that now and craft a path forward and save his career.

Time to roll up the sleeves. He can do it. Does he have the cajones to? Jury is out…

LISTEN TO OUR NEW PODCAST. Matt and I talk about the root cause of our issues. Leadership, hard work, and lack of strategy… still. We also talk some positives as well.

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Play

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Hitman49

Has he gone yet..?

Hitman49

Trophy

Hitman49

Alone

Hitman49

All alone here

Hitman49

Can’t be

Hitman49

Well

Hitman49

I

Hitman49

Never

Hitman49

What.!

Hitman49

Was office party last night .?

Hitman49

No ones here..?

Hitman49

12

Hitman49

Unlucky 13

raptora

Pls

Hitman49

Ha ha ha morning….

Hitman49

And my computer wouldn’t let me post as apparently I was going too quickly…

Ha ha ha

Saladin

Play AMN, Mo Elneny and Dani in the middle and just live with reaults. Can’t be any worse than any midfield combo that involves Xhaka.

Hitman49

I can’t believe MA hasn’t played some of the younger talent available to him.

he was…in a no lose situation now unfortunately he’s back is against the wall and he needs points…
And some if not all his decisions are looking really poorly thought out…these have all been gone over on here many times but much better writers than me…

He’s clearly lost the dressing room and from that theirs no return…..

Eduardo

That was no more a “long read” than Granit Xhaka is a midfield workohouse.

Eduardo

Workhorse*

Justin Peter

History teaches us lessons . When we last had out worst start in the 80s under Don Howe , George Graham came in and promoted youth -Adam’s , Thomas , Rocastle ,. Ferguson did the same when he was stuck with a lazy infective squad and within 2 years had won the Prem League /Div 1
It’s time to be brave and take a chance on youth . The current PL squad lacks motivation . Inject youth and let’s see an Arsenal rebirth

Grant Elkin

Wishful thinking Pedro unfortunately, this mess will end up with Arteta losing his job. He’s bittern off more than he can chew, and is now paying the price. I really don’t see the point of pining for project youth 2.0 if there going to be coached bad. Are you not the least bit concerned, when after NLD Arteta on camera said they did exactly what I wanted them to do!

James wood.

Yes turn AMN into a Vieira/Diaby.yes.
And sign Kalvin Phillips now January.

Kaz

Was very well written Pedro.

It’s good advice for the next manager.

Jim+furnell

“Senior players letting the club down” That’s right on the money, the issue being MA letting them do it time and time again. It’s so obvious who they are. We will see a different side play Dundalk and wipe the floor with them, and Burnley will see the same clapped out whores prancing their arses. The sight of Willian standing static over the ball thinking he’s so fucking good that the hapless defender is about to be mesmerised by some display of genius drives me crazy, then the fool stumbles, loses the ball and trots back half arsed into no… Read more »

Bankz

After years and years of visiting legrove and wishing for things that should have been or shouldn’t, I think at some point we have to all agree with what gambon has said for years. As a club, Arsenal are finished.
We’ve witnessed a systematic collapse of a once big club in the last decade and it has become visible for everyone to see now.

andy1886

So in summary Arteta is a great coach, player poverty, it’s Edu’s fault, MA made understandable mistakes and mid-table is realistic.

Anyone buying that?

Tom

Eduardo
I don’t know what workohouse is but Xhaka might be it.

Shaun

“Arsenal should move to a Dortmund+ model. Come to Arsenal, give us 3 seasons, we’ll give you game time at the best stadium in London, and we’ll make you famous. Then you can fuck off for £100m.” I buy into this Pedro. Fully. And I believed that MA would be a good if not great custodian of this vision. But he is the one aggressively f**king this up. He seems reluctant to use any of the youngsters, is stubborn and seems to be fully focused on implementing a thoroughly inept style of play. I seem to recall MA not playing… Read more »

andy1886

We seem to have dumped arsing around with the ball in our own six yard box, can we stop the ‘lump the ball in on the off chance a striker might get to it’ play too yet or is it going to take six months for that to die a death too?

Dissenter

Pedro
You’re racing to the bottom with these litany of excuses that you keep generating to defend Arteta.
What do you mean by “ You can understand why Mikel and his team took the chance [on Partey]. A willing player and a shit situation”? Why not add a shit manager with medieval methods to the scenario.
Sometimes I have trouble recognizing you these days. You’ve nailed your mast to the Arteta project and you’ve lost your objectivity.
Don’t you know when to call it quits and just say enough is enough. It’s getting depressing now.?

South African Gooner

James Wood

****Yes turn AMN into a Vieira/Diaby.yes.***

Arteta is trying his best to turn Partey into Diaby.

More tired old guff from PedRo ( sorry to say)
(He was excellent Monday.)

Are we now we are back to the Dortmund 6.2 model.

Only one story in town.

Kia( ie. Edu) has stated on record:

“”‘it was Mikel that presented Willian 3 times to be the major signing of the summer- and he wanted Luiz again”””

The Edu v Arteta civil war has already started.

Very surprised the consummate PedRo avoided mentioning it.

Dissenter

I mean you lost all the major errors that Arteta has made in the short span of 12 months, tactical and strategic. You listed evidence of his lack of insight and vision.
….then you still want to keep him.
He has made too many sackable offenses. He should be let go off. He’s not ready for prime time yet. The fact that we still have him The fact that we still have him at the end shows that we aren’t a big club these days.

Black Snake

winning comment of the day by SAG…
“Arteta is trying his best to turn Partey into Diaby.”

😂

South African Gooner

Thanks Snake

Ill try and get another one later.

Black Snake

haha thank you for brightening up my morning!

Biggles

I don’t think you can categorise Auba in there with Willian or Luiz quite yet. Neither of the Chelsea Pensioners have been good for us, whereas Auba has scored loads of goals in a short space of time. This season hasn’t been up to much for him, but then again, neither has the whole season for anybody. Until this season, Auba averaged ~3 shots a game. This season it’s dropped to less than 2. We’ve discussed at length the lack of creativity, it’s not all on Auba. Now, just maybe, Auba will in fact become utterly useless Ozil style now… Read more »

RockyRoe

You missed the biggest point in what’s wrong with arsenal. We have a bum manager. All the youth in the world won’t change shit if the manager can only play crosses into the box. Alex Scott summed it up really, what kind of fucked up game plan depends on crosses when your most prolific striker has scored only about 10% of his arsenal goals as headers. This is not a youth problem, this is not a vision problem, this is not a player poverty problem. This is problem of a rookie coach being out of his depth. Which idiot ships… Read more »

RockyRoe

Envisioning yourself has Drotmund 3.0 with Tony pulis as manager doesn’t work.

Leedsgunner

So that’s £45m flushed down the drain because Arteta didn’t have the good sense to rest his most important player.

Did he forget each EPL game only gives you three points?

Arteta is losing it. His judgement and man management skills are poor, poor, poor.

A really really shortsighted decision that has placed our entire season in danger.

David Smith

In fairness to Arteta, he seems to know this is a long term project and has communicated this, perhaps pissing off somesenior players in the process. This is where we need a senior footballing figure to hold this together while we navigate some rough waters, and let the manager/ coach do his job. If that is Edus role, he isn’t doing a very good job, we haven’t heard a word from him. We’ve lost Wenger in his multi roles, Raul, Ivan, Huss, Sven, Freddie,the scouting dept, and now Seems just MA, Vinnai, Edu doing it all, no wonder it is… Read more »

David Smith

I don’t know if Arteta is losing it, though he does seem and act like someone under a lot of pressure

RockyRoe

Think about this for a moment.

Bellerin has given 5 foul throws this season so far. Did it occur to arteta to see what the fuck is happening there? Or is it okay to just concede possession? If doesn’t take Cryuff like footballing genius to see these issues.

Kaz

RockyRoe

🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾

RockyRoe

David Smith

A long term project doesn’t equate to the worse start in 40 odd years. No one is asking for CL football, we are also not asking for Stoke 2.0 tactics.

Leedsgunner

Crossing aimlessly into the opposition box when your forwards are not natural crossers is stupid. If Arteta knew he wanted to pray these kind of tactics why didn’t bring in a natural target man to make most of it?

I really wanted to give him a chance but his stupid decisions are testing my patience… if we can see it, why can’t they?

Leedsgunner

*natural headers

Left Testicle

Long read? About the same length as the average Emiratesstroller post. 🙂

RockyRoe

Leeds

if we can see it, why can’t they?

Man I seem to asking this every other season since wenger-almunia. Only at arsenal.

Leedsgunner

*play not pray… although under these circumstances it might not be a bad idea!

Left Testicle

As Bellerin shapes up to take a throw the 2,000 fans should start to build up with a ‘ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo you’re shit ahhhhhhh’!

Ernest Reed

Your long read actually translates into wishful thinking, Pedro.

“You can understand why Mikel and his team took the chance.”

On that alone you quickly realize either how desperate or how utterly naive Arteta was and is at this point. Both are not where anyone wants to be at this point in an otherwise short tenure.

The optics look poor to say the least. If Arteta cant and wont change things up, his position becomes untenable with each passing game. Its all on him now.

Ernest Reed

Arsenal have more points in the Europa competition than they do in the EPL. Let that sink in for a moment.

Captain Tierney

Dont know how a professional football player keeps making foul throws week in week out. The mistake should have been sorted after foul throw no. 2 at the latest.

Foxy

Yes this seasons objective other than not getting relegated should now be to build for the next 2-3 years. Our current pool of young players (e.g under 25) look far superior to what Wenger tried project youth with.

andy1886

Nice one LT, expect another drawn out lecture from ES anytime now….

Ernest Reed

The solution is simple, have someone else take throws.

The fact that it has gotten this bad and frequent is indicative of a manager and his staff not paying attention during a match.

andy1886

@David Smith – A long term project needs at the very least a plan. Can you tell me what that is because I can’t see any evidence of one. Lumping crosses in and hoping for the best isn’t a plan.

Danny+S

David Smith

If Arteta seems to know this is a long term project, why isn’t he trying to develop players with a future?

Rejecting offers for Xhaka and Laca and keeping Bellerin around and offering fucking MUSTAFI a new deal when you can get good money for them does not speak of a long term project, in fact it’s nothing short of self sabotage.

I can’t fathom why we don’t at least have ESR and Nelson on the bench in the league.

Jim+Furnell

Edu – What were his employability credentials?

Danny+S

And regarding Partey, to risk his injury to play him, only to play Xhaka next to him immediately nullifies any short term gains.

Fir me that’s a sackable offence straight away. Gross negligence.

Snowman

Give it a rest Pedro. It is sad to watch (read) you defending Arteta, probably even worse than when you did Gazidis’ ‘mega plans’. There is no shame in admitting that you were wrong lest you be vindicated when he is winning games in the Championship cause that is his level, probably lower. It is one thing to set up cones and stay behind and teach sterling/fernandinho how to receive a pass, it is one thing to be a manager at a football such as Arsenal. Would any manager allow Bellerin’s complacency with the foul throws? Didn’t he lose the… Read more »

Foxy

My concern with Party is that he has probably never played at this intensity before, especially as he has to cover for Xhaka! he is not young and we could have Rambo situation on our hands.

DCM

“You have to go to the bottom to build back up.” “Strong leadership is needed to admit that what is going on right now is not taking us to the promised land. We need a new direction.” Peter, totally agree with you in that these statements are the key to any real progress. The club are on the way down and may go even lower. However, any resurrection is always preceded by death. The way down can be the way up. Failure can lead to success. But only if the leadership are honest and own the truth about the failing,… Read more »

Snowman

Alex Runnarsson is Almunia 2.0 you heard it here first. Arteta making signings off the Goalkeeping Coach’s Facebook sums up diet pep’s ineptitude.

Sly

Arteta doesn’t have the gravitas or vision to lead a club like Arsenal
He’s not a visionary
Lacks courage and the conviction required for greatness
Hiring Pep lite 2.0 was a huge risk
Sticking with him will be a disaster

Danny+S

I wouldn’t even say he deserves the moniker or Diet Pep.

Diet Emery at best.

Danny+S

Of*

Leedsgunner

Diet Emery… oooh that’s got to hurt…

Danny+S

It has pretty much gone the same as Emery, but we are worse
In the league now.

Come in with a clear plan and get things going, then gradually get worse and worse as the season progresses and look clueless.

Emiratesstroller

Pedro First of all I need to correct you on one point Arteta has never suggested a short cut route to League Titles or for that matter qualifying for Champions League. Based on past interviews he suggested that the process would take at least 3 years to reach that level. Second when you read the posts on Le Grove most correspondents seem to believe that there is a short cut solution to all our problems by sacking the manager, selling the majority of our players, promoting youth and everything will turn out hunckydory. That may have worked in a bygone… Read more »

englandsbest

Pedro. Spot on. The future of Arsenal lies with the young and vigorous not the old and tainted. I am going to add something which Pedro omitted to say. The current ‘fire the manager’ stuff from some on here is ludicrous. Arteta is a rookie, he was bound to make mistakes, but his overall trajectory is the right one. He spelt it out from the start. His biggest mistake was putting his faith in the elderly – a common mistake , in general. Those howling for his dismissal, do they seriously expect some new guy to come in, wave a… Read more »

Danny+S

Now THATS a long read.

Sly

Diet emery 😂😂
You know it’s the end when bloggers are desperately trying to ‘problem solve’ for the manager lol
Arteta needs more time as an assistant manager or drop down 4 leagues to cut his teeth
A lot of his current problems stem from not being able to handle pressure
Going from cutting up oranges and arranging cones on training sessions at man city ( Gambon quote) to managing Arsenal is a bridge too far

Bertfish

Inexperienced technical director + Inexperienced manager = poor recruitment, poor decision making & shite end product

NORG

The Dortmund model plan is already in place. Edu and Per have been working on it and have made several signings. Edu had nothing to do with Willian’s signing and the Luiz extension.

Clearly the manager and DoF do not communicate.

RockyRoe

Englandbest

Arteta is a rookie, he was bound to make mistakes, but his overall trajectory is the right one.

What trajectory is that? If you mean a downward spiral, I agree. Unless you mean the floating trajectory of the ball when the team tries the 50th cross.

We are enduring the worse start in 45 years and the overall trajectory is the right one?

Bertfish

“Edu had nothing to do with Willian’s signing and the Luiz extension.
Clearly the manager and DoF do not communicate”

That’s just bollox.

andy1886

Diet Emery? For some of the oldies on here how about the Spanish Stewart Houston?

JP

Jim+Furnell Edu isn’t a transfer guy in the way Monchi is. He was very successful at Corinthians and with Brazil in working closely with the manager and bringing together all the other areas of the football club or national setup. To me this is what he was brought into do. Obviously his history with us got him towards the front of the queue. Pedro bangs on about people not rating Edu and things leaking from the club about him but I’ve not heard any specifics, bar his links to Kia. Can anyone enlighten me? I think there is a plan… Read more »

South African Gooner

Norg

***Edu had nothing to do with Willian’s signing and the Luiz extension.***

Well up until yesterday. I would have said that was nonsense.

But Kia( ie Edu) spilled the beans yesterday.

Willian and Luiz. The Chelsea Rejects were part of Artetas project all along. He wanted them both.

And thats why Arteta plays them nearly every game.
He deserves to be sacked for that alone.

Marc

Sorry but the above is the exact same stuff Pedro was pushing when he was promoting Arteta as the future. Arteta is not up to the job it’s that simple. AMN as the great midfield saviour? Can’t see it – he’s played under Wenger, Freddie, Emery and now Arteta and has managed what 1 match as a CM? He’s casual and switches off. All of this is just an excuse as to why it’s not really Arteta’s fault – he hasn’t got the players – well a huge number of the “first team” are down to Arteta one way or… Read more »

NORG

Bertfish – sorry I didnt know you were employed by AFC.

Marc

CG

For once we’re agreeing – I’m fed up with the bullshit excuses for Arteta – if he didn’t want a player like Willian why the fuck does he keep picking him?

GARY_SSSSS

Pedro I agree with all that you say, and I believe this would also play into the hands of Arteta’s coaching strengths. The very large ‘fly in the ointment’ is that he and Edu have promised the Kroenkes a Top 4 finish and Champions League money rolling in next season. It’s on the basis of finishing in the Top 4 that they stuck their hands into their pockets and stumped up the cash for Partey. That’s why the Willian signing was sanctioned, that’s why Auba’s contract was signed off, all on the basis that Champions League money will return next… Read more »

Marc

For those who are backing Arteta EB for example I’d like an answer to a simple question.

How bad does it have to get before you’d take action and sack the manager?

gooner4life

I requested contributors would refrain from using foul language which offends some of your readers, however it seems some people cant express themselves without using that type of language as you have not got too far into your article before you use offensive language which was offensive to me so i stopped reading and will not read any further articles which you post in future. I am surprised your offensive comments get posted.

Marc

Jesus you’ve got a poster saying Pedro’s spot on and right and that Arteta’s the right man for the job and then has this at the bottom of his comment –

“PPS. I am starting to feel the dread building for the Burnley home game (our Sunday evening death slot!)”

Just for the record Burnley has won 1 match all season – at home this should be a banker.

Guns of Hackney

I know this is a good read but…Arteta has to go.

He’s made the mistakes of the two previous managers.

This means:

1. He’s not his own man.
2. To replicate a shot Wenger and a terrible Emery means he’s cray cray.

Either of the two means instant sack. He has to go.

shad

Reading about Klopp mentioning how Liverpool would be rudderless without their youth and seeing the distrust Arteta has in the youth is all you need to know about Arteta’s flaws that he is too stubborn to rectify (so far). He seems to be a metamorphosis of Wenger (stubbornness and being smug in doomed plans) and Emery (incorrigible tactics) where he can’t acknowledge that either his style of football is too complicated or too shit to be executed by the already dross we have. While Klopp finished 8th in his 1st season, the team went into the summer with a clear… Read more »

Snowman

The shoving of an injured Partey back on just sums up Arteta’s character. An obsessive micro-managing annoying lunatic. I want to see fans back, so that I don’t have to listen to the generic atmosphere or diet-Emery instructing players on how to control the ball, yet doesn’t pick up Bellerin’s netball toss!

englandsbest

RockyRoe

Arteta’s trajectory is aimed at returning Arsenal to the elite. He said that at the start and told us it would take time, as I recall, tree years. If anything, bearing in mind the circumstances, that sounded over-optimistic to me.

Isn’t that what we all want? Arsenal’s return to the elite?

Qualifying for a place in CL is a step on the way, no more. Genuinely competing for major tiles CONSISTENTLY is a measure of what makes a Club elite.

Wengaball

Arteta exhibited his poor judgment when he sold Martinez.

After that it has just been a series of confirmatory actions. Transfers and non transfers, squad/team selection, tactics, in game management, man management.

What exactly is he good at? Being a control freak? That harms more than helps. But he wouldn’t know that.

Guns of Hackney

Never fancied Arteta.

I never got the hoo haa about this appointment.

Snowman

I would strip Auba captaincy just cause he uses curse words on social media… and his fashion sense ofcourse. There should be a rule that the captain has to always use English, when in the premises. All this French connect- all buddy buddy with the Captain of Arsenal Football club- is probably why Lacazette feels undroppable, what gave Guen a big head and Pepe complacency. Give it to KT, zero vibes, just hard work. Imagine the respect Tony Adams, Henry, even Van Persie commanded. Kompany, JT, Rio, Gerrard etc

Wengaball

All of you are wrong in blaming the players.

Willian, Aubameyang, Özil, Pepe, Mustafi are all good players.

But they can’t do jack if they are pigeon holed into rigid zones the key requirement of which is ten people behind the ball.

Gavin Stevenson

I agree with much of the post. However whilst I am all for giving youth a. chance sadly I don’t think Nelson, Nketia or Willock are good enough. Saka is brilliant and Balogun definitely worth a go plus EMS in for. a run of games. Now the contraversial bit – let’s play 4-4-2.flat sometimes and diamond sometimes.. Auba and Laca up top with Balogun and Martin Ellis when he’s fit. That’s 4 CF’s to compete for the front two places. AMN wide left yes left that’s where he is best. Saka right or the point Partney and a new signing… Read more »

Marc

eb

” He said that at the start and told us it would take time, as I recall, tree years. ”

He told Willian he’s going win the CL in three years – he’s more likely to win the Championship the way he’s going.

SpanishDave

Arteta a brilliant manager
Pedro’s on real sauce
How can anybody say that , what has he achieved?

andy1886

EB – Of course we want AFC to return to the elite, thing is rather than hollow words there needs to be some actual evidence that we’re heading in that direction. Reality is that not only is there no evidence of that, the evidence is that on every metric we are heading in the opposite direction! At least tell us what the plan is. Do you know what it is? I don’t.

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