Here we are, like groundhog day, overseeing the wreckage of another defeat against a team we really should have beaten.
It feels like the project is over. It’s likely not, but I think football careers of managers at top clubs can deal with blips, but not mega craterings. We’re now in the end of days of Emery. There is no real clue how to stop us from losing, and the biggest mistakes of the summer are coming back to haunt us.
We are a top 5 team. We have top 5 players. We should be in the pack of clubs at the top of the league fighting it out every week, particularly this season. The fact that we are not doing that speaks to bad decisions.
Arteta started strong when he landed here, he had a nice little run of games. He played those that deserved minutes, he dropped those who did not, there was some sort of vision, and the players were into the process. Since then, we’ve seen Arteta slowly dismantle what he came here to do.
Mesut Ozil was dropped from 10 games on the bounce to a nobody… without a viable back-up plan. He wasn’t electric when he played, but we had a far better brand of football with him in the team and he was a threat.
He moved out arguably our best player of the back half of the season. Emi Martinez was a dominant force in the box and he perfectly represented the new meritocracy that was forming. We sold him in the summer and I’m sorry, I just don’t rate Leno that highly. The bigger message was that big performances didn’t seem to matter to the system. We also attempted to sell AMN, another breakout star, who is one of our best defenders.
We doubled down on a plan that hasn’t worked for three years. We gave Luiz a new deal, we broke the bank for Auba, and we signed Willian. Those three moves look tragic right now. All three spoke to yesteryears short-termist strategy that has consistently fallen short.
Those three areas of failure are badly impacting us now. They show a lack of planning, a misunderstanding of how far-reaching alpha boss moves could be, it shit on meritocracy, and it showed subservience to super-agents and undeserving older players.
The starting 11 yesterday was miserable. No creative players and no one who could score. The performance was much better. The system actually looked pretty decent at times. But that’s not enough. We are way beyond showing a bit of style to justify this car crash. We are in the depths of hell and it’s unclear anyone has the knowledge to get us out.
The problem is, if you fire Mikel, look at the talent replacing him. The guys that sat in a room and doubled a 32 years old wingers wages when he wanted to stay in London. The guys that allowed Ozil to be exited from the squad without a plan. The people that signed the cheque on William Saliba and said they’d be fine for him to rot for 6 months after a great loan spell.
The real move is a football CEO. You have Ralph Rangnick and Luis Campos out of work at the moment. The exec leadership equivalent of 2015 when Pep and Klopp were available. Older guys with a history of creating football player conveyor belts. Rangnick set up 4 clubs that all feed each other for a net neutral cost. He’s blooded young managers. He’s been written up in the New York Times as a visionary. The power move would be to accept that the three-point plan the club has is shite and being run by 3 people first jobbing. The honesty would be to stop dreaming of the Champions League Final in 3 years and to make the hard decision to accept the way back is a 5 year plan that should start this January.
Arteta has flunked out this season, he changed what was working, and he lost control. Don’t let yourself be convinced that he wasn’t helped along the way. Vinai and Edu gave him the keys. They didn’t lead when bad ideas were suggested. They indulged fantasies someone like Ralph Rangnick would have nixed. There simply aren’t many coaches in the world that could fix Arsenal without a proper structure. These players are failures. The club is borrowing window to window. The whole thing needs a rethink… otherwise, we’ll be back here in a years time pondering the same questions.
As for Arteta? It should be over. He can’t motivate his players. We aren’t hitting the target. He’s not moving the pieces fast enough to get a different output. It’s pretty dire. I don’t think he escapes this… and here’s the thing. The January transfer window is a reward for progress. Where is that progress? Which players are getting better? What does the xG say? What the fuck are we working towards?
If the idea is that we’re 1 creative player away from this side clicking, again, I think there should be an intervention.
The club might be better off ignoring January, getting in a caretaker who could resurrect the players we have, and seeing what a proper Football CEO could do for us over the next 5 months. We cannot allow a management team that is failing to keep adding to the mess with short-term panic signings. The next manager shouldn’t have to deal with another two windows worth of half baked attempts at resurrecting a style of football none of us are really convinced can take us to the promised land.
How utterly depressing I’m writing this after such a strong start to Arteta’s Arsenal career. The biggest lesson for me is that there are no rockstars in Premier League football these days. There are rockstar teams. We don’t have the support network in place to help managers thrive. Wenger, Emery, and now Arteta have all failed because of a lack of leadership… there are two options on the market that could help fix that, will anyone at the highest level recognize what we all see? I doubt it.
See you in the comments.
1st
And
2nd?
The
Top 4!
4th?
Ah, the Emery slot. Those were the days…
Ooh an inadvertent tr4phy! The best kind!
Europa?
Top 5 team is the new top 4 team. Is the next level is the next level.
I can only nostalgically envy you the 4th spot, Grovedaddy. Kudos!.
We used to be top 4 no so long ago.
We are where the table says we are now.
Pedro
No mention of the regulation battle we’re in?
Why aren’t Rangnick and Campos working right now?
Not doubting their ability- just curious why they left their last jobs?
True enough, our last three managers (including the incumbent) have all failed. Not in the same way, but ultimately the club is in chaos because our senior leaders wouldn’t know a decent manager if one bit them on the arse.
We should still be doing better, a top manager would get more from what we have, But we’re not competing at the very top until the whole rats nest is exterminated and we have competent and qualified people throughout the club.
Arsenal need a new CEO
You didn’t say that when Emery was in charge.
Emery was nirvana compared to this wreckage
AFC needs a clear out over next 2-3 transfer windows. Whoever the manager is needs to let it happen and not interfere.
We have the wrong type of players fit this league. Physically and mentally weak. Can’t shoot. No pace. Old. Passionless. Disloyal. Overpaid. Mercenary. Needs to ruthlessly cut out the infection before it kills the patient.
These recruitment mistakes just need to stop.
We are a mid table club now. Need to adjust salary profile accordingly.
We’re now in the end days of Emery. Come on Pedro you are simply embarrassing yourself with comments like that particularly as it then contradicts the rest of the post.
Good post from Pedro although his headline should have read new manager required and the bit about the CEO in little print below rather than the other way around.
Still lots of deflecting going on but you can’t disagree with those deflections really and he has now admitted Arteta is not the man. He has given up on him.
Bravo Pedro!
You just called it, Pedro? Arteta out!
Relegation?
We’re now in the end of days of Emery.? We have past that 4-5 games ago!!
Yes that was a little misleading the end days like Emery.
We all know this situation now is worse than when Emerey got sacked regardless of talk of losing dressing rooms.
We have top 5 players.
–
Replace top with bottom…
The Athletic claims we had an option to extend Auba’s contract by a year and declined to take it up, preferring instead to offer him a brand new contract.
How thick are we? It’s really hard to think of many decisions we get right. While this has been the case for many years, it’s getting worse now. Three young guys leading the club, none of which seem to have a clue what they’re doing.
Sorry but we do not have top 5 players. A few perhaps but the majority are mid to lower league level.
, 2020 14:49:11
Everything is influenced by social media this day and age
Politics, sports, economy you name it
Arsenal fans should just continue calling for Arteta sacking and it should happen soon
After they should go for the upper
C&P
Everything is influenced by social media this day and age
Politics, sports, economy you name it
Arsenal fans should just continue calling for Arteta sacking and it should happen soon
After they should go for the upper hierarchy
Or We have top 5 manager.
–
Replace top with bottom…
Jacko
“Sorry but we do not have top 5 players”
Ssssshhh.
He’s putting Arteta to task when he says that.
Pedro You’re getting there but you’ve still got a long way to go. “Arteta started strong when he landed here, he had a nice little run of games.” His first 8 matches form was D, L, W, D, D, D, D, W – that’s 11 points from 8 matches. We are now sitting on 14 points from 14 matches. Take the Cup run out of the Equation and Arteta has been pretty shit since he arrived. Remember Wigan won the Cup after being relegated, Villa got to a Cup final beating Leicester and Liverpool on the way the season they… Read more »
In a parallel universe after winning the FA Cup: We got rid of Luiz, Xhaka and Elneny. We kept Martinez, Ozil, Guendouzi, Torreira and Saliba, didn’t sign Willian (of course), still signed Partey and Gabriel – gifts from Kroenke for winning the cup, and guess what, we’re 2nd and Everton are 15th! It’s not fuckin’ rocket science!
Top 5 team with top 5 players and Emery finished finished 5th and is a bum.
The Arteta experiment has failed spectacularly. Thanks for the FA Cup. We’re now radioactive. The podcast on the other post is fantastic. The guest speaker absolutely crushes it.
We must all remember that Arteta was not the diamond in the overall rough. We all ackowledge that the club is rough overall. Arteta was rough along with the rest of them. If the rest were not so rough we would not have had Arteta’a appointment in the first place and having to watch him fail. So obviously not ready for a job of this size was Arteta. I must admit I don’t particularly wish him well or feel too sorry for him. He has shown just a little too much vanity and delusion along with some arrogance to make… Read more »
Get in Leicester
Calpyso
******Arsenal need a new CEO You didn’t say that when Emery was in charge.******
If we had a competent CEO – the Clown would have never come near The Arsenal.
Only Arsenal could find the only Spaniard in the world who can’t speak English and make him them their manager.
The Clown was useless and so is Arteta.
the manager preceding these 3rd raters most certainly was not.
He was the glue- that kept it all together.
truth.
One week it’s the players. Next the manager. Next the hierarchy. Next the system. Let’s face it the club as a whole is currently a bad apple that is rotten to the core. At least Leicester is one up to cheer me up…
Yes Leicester yes.
Vardy the Spud killer.
Gotta love Vardy
Good post. Clearly explains why sacking Arteta won’t solve the problem. The club is in a catch 22 situation; they need stability to run well as there has been too much unstability but the current guys are not good enough to run the organisation, so changes are needed again.
What we will end up doing is get someone like Arsene into the board and let the current guys carry on with Arsene as the boss. I don’t think we will go for Ralf rangnick as he will be an unknown and the owners want someone they can trust.
No one inside thought about what to do if this arteta thing goes sideways.
You can’t put Wenger on the board and then look to hire a DOF.
At least the players are on film being disinterested and lethargic.
I want podcast Pedro not the clever by half Pedro
See how he glosses over his favorite manager who’s drowning because he pawned his life jacket.
A proven winner with 3 European trophies compared to Wenger’s zero.
grooveydaddy
I guess Rangnick is after a new challenge and possibly a big payday after years working with smaller clubs.
Campos is a bit of a strange one. He has a company Scoutly Limited which is employed by Lille but he fell out with the hierarchy and has been MIA since the summer. Lille are in a financial mess and have just been sold i think. So I think he may have been able to get out with the change of ownership happening.
No competent football CEO would have appointed Arteta.
You don’t hand over your £1.5 billion ship to a seaman who’s never captained before.
Pedro: “Arteta has flunked out this season, he changed what was working, and he lost control. Don’t let yourself be convinced that he wasn’t helped along the way. Vinai and Edu gave him the keys. They didn’t lead when bad ideas were suggested. They indulged fantasies someone like Ralph Rangnick would have nixed. There simply aren’t many coaches in the world that could fix Arsenal without a proper structure. These players are failures.” Arteta was given all the power in the club. And he fked up decision after decision. You say it’s the people who gave him the keys fault.… Read more »
AC
“Good post. Clearly explains why sacking Arteta won’t solve the problem. ”
We are atm looking to solve the problem of a manager tanking a team so badly that it is now flirting with the relegation zone.
That is a situation that has to be addressed and quickly.
Thoughts of CL finals and EPl glory will have to be put on hold while we address this present very alarming situation.
Just man up Pedro & admit you got it all wrong with Arteta
I also did but we all make mistakes and learn from them hopefully !
Has he gone yet ?
“He has shown just a little too much vanity and delusion along with some arrogance to make me feel sorry for him.”
You and me both
The ridiculous all black match day get up, so vain
Is Auba really injured
Could be a bust-up with Arteta, guy may be tired of being marooned
Receding
“The ridiculous all black match day get up, so vain”
Ah but this was what appealed to some.
The image.
Calypso would rather have Zidane than Klopp.
Because 3 euro cups versus 1.
off topic: Spurs will be out of the title race by February, don’t worry. And if they fail in all the 3 cups, things will begin imploding pretty soon.
“What we will end up doing is get someone like Arsene into the board and let the current guys carry on with Arsene as the boss. I don’t think we will go for Ralf rangnick as he will be an unknown and the owners want someone they can trust.”
Lol
We might just as well bring Cruyff back to life just to keep Arteta!
FFS sack him !
Arsenal in the PL since October international break:
Goas 3 20th
Shots on target 27 19th
Shooting accuracy 35% 20th
Shot conversion rate 2.9% 20th
What is their plan from here?
Are we going to keep arteta???
He hasn’t been sacked yet so…
Pedro isn’t wrong about the perfect storm that’s hit the club: failings in ownership, management, diabolical recruitment and so on, and Arteta has made rookie errors learning on the job. I just rewatched the last 20 mins and on the pitch it’s not all bad. With Gabriel and Martinelli on for 90 minutes I doubt we would have lost. I agree the way back will be long, might involve relegation (pretty unlikely), and it will require senior heads rolling on and off the pitch. I see Gabriel, Holding, Tierney, AMN, Saka, Martinelli, Partey, Elneny, even Leno all possessing enough of… Read more »
If you hear Pedro on a podcast or follow him on Twitter, then you get the true reflection of the man.
On legrove however, waxing lyrical and circuitous logic are the staple.
If Arteta got sacked this very moment, would anyone mourn him?
If Arteta was fired via a text message, would anyone cry injustice?
Arteta out. Get him out before he takes down this club with him.
AC
“What we will end up doing is get someone like Arsene into the board and let the current guys carry on with Arsene as the boss.”
Jesus mother of riley.
You really don’t want this club to move forward do you.
Continually living in the past.
“We might just as well bring Cruyff back to life just to keep Arteta!
FFS sack him !”
I tell you bro, some are more concerned with getting Arteta a baby sitter, they will try anything before sacking him
Captain Rob fkin Holding the icing on the cake. Was only proper he scored an own goal.
Captaining a garbo 2m negative charisma player ahead of a Luiz that has won it all and has more leadership in his poop.
Makes sense for an average player like Arteta who himself had no outstanding qualities. Sees himself and values players like Xhaka, Willian, Holding, Nketiah and co that have zero mentality, fight and personality about them.
Luiz is a cunt Raptora but you keep bumming him up on here.
What a garbage camera and we are supposed to believe their lines and bullshit. It looked onside.
If he is to survive he needs to rid
Musrafi
Xhara
Laca
Auba
Luiz
That would show that he is up for the fight
Otherwise the Brazilian mafia will get him gone
. .
See no c word used. I can do it
This great leader Luiz that gave away so many penalties last season and shit penalties as well.
This great leader Luiz that you don’t know if he has got his clown suit on for a match or not.
Yeah great leader.
I’ve swung around
I feel it’s the players who should go rather than arteta
They are the root of the problem
I think all these calls to replace Edu immediately are just a ploy to buy Arteta time.
-Sack Arteta – short term. Firing him establishes that this performance is unacceptable.
-Get an experienced veteran manager on an 18 months contract
-Start a process of getting an experienced director of football in before the summer window, fire Edu.
-Let the veteran DoF work with the veteran coach until we appoint a manager in for the 2021-2022 season.
One of the most simple things the club should do going forward
Is not issue contracts longer than 2 Years.
Let’s stop all these long term fur lined sofa contracts now.
Us getting Rangnick would be very similar to Pool getting Klopp.
I dont doubt that Arteta is a good coach. Our team has real structure to it now much thanks to Arteta and his coaching.
What we need is someone to keep Arteta on a leash. A bit like Levy at Tottenham. Poch didn’t have the final say in transfers and contracts even after making the CL final.
Arteta has made some shocking decisions. And his Fa cup trophy isnt enough to make up for those horror decisions.
Sack Edu…yeah that will solve all our on pitch problems. Right on. Dunderheads!
Just watching Fofana performing fir Leicester, you can see he’s still rough around the edges but there’s s a defender there.
He’s no different from his St Etienne team mate, Saliba.
Arteta wants us to believe that Saliba was the sick runt of the litter, so bad he’s only good for u-23 games. There’s no way a properly managed Saliba shouldn’t be getting minutes in the league.
We had a system for recruitment then blew it up to give the keys to a goddam nobody.
“Our team has real structure to it now much thanks to Arteta and his coaching.”
Er no CM is not a good structure.
raptora
‘ Captaining a garbo 2m negative charisma player ahead of a Luiz that has won it all and has more leadership in his poop’
Proves that there was a fall-out between Luiz and Arteta
Captain Tierney
“Our team has real structure to it now much thanks to Arteta and his coaching.”
lol and what has this structuring achieved? This great structuring that is in place right now as you put it? What does it even mean?
And you contradict yourself as well. You say someone should tame Arteta but at the same time say he is not good enough.
Ishola, Arteta has problems with big players. Can you deny Luiz is a big player? Guy was the most expensive defender in the world. He has over 15 trophies. He’s won everywhere he’s been at. Will Holding repeat that? Don’t make me laugh. Guy has 0 international caps. I’m comparing what we have and how Arteta is using what he has at his disposal. Give me another Gabriel and fuck Luiz right off – yes. Arteta has been picking the weaker players ahead of the better. Arteta has problems with Luiz, Guendouzi, Saliba, Auba even Ozil. Players with personality, ego.… Read more »
Full Spursy mode now…
Excellent
Rumours circulating that we are about to sign another young promising CB. As long as it it means getting rid of the garbage
All we need now is someone to snap Harry Kane.
Speaking of it, Alderweireld pulled up a Rob Holding.
Let’s go!!!!
Moray, Officially there were two reasons why we did not take the option to extend Aubameyang’a contract. The extension had his basic salary shooting to unsustainable level. Aubameyang wanted some stability and a longer term contract. The fear was that if we were to unilaterally extend his contract he would sulk all year long. The reality is that his basic salary is not much lower than what was in the original contract. However the length of time is much longer. What is amazing is as the deal with Willian, there was nobody else in town for Aubameyang at that level… Read more »
‘ What we need is someone to keep Arteta on a leash’
Captain Tierney
Maybe before he burned lots of bridges. Too much water has crossed under those bridges.’
What exactly is so special about Arteta that the system around him has to be b,own up to preserve him?
Why would Rangnick want to work with the indestructible rookie manager who’s succeeded in firing his bosses?
Brendan rogers and Leicester teaching Mourinho and his bunch of malicious men a lesson in football. Should have been 3-0 if not for a delicious goal by Maddison being ruled out
Marc
.”Er no CM is not a good structure.”
Exactly.
What the fuck was that about.
We haven’t had a functioning midfield since Arteta arrived. In fact he has basically abandoned it.
You can’t have a true structure of a team with a major part missing.
Reasonable post by Pedro
But my word Raptora
….If Arteta was overruled like Emery was with going for Pepe instead of Zaha and the club deciding to let Ramsey go against Emery’s will, and things were to go dire, you would have said how Arteta wasn’t given the platform to realize his generational ideas and to succeed.
You should have written the blog today!!
Globalgunner: “Rumours circulating that we are about to sign another young promising CB.”
Who’s the other one? Saliba is in the reserves squad benched for Mustafi, Mari, Holding and Chambers. Guess he ain’t good.
It would be inconceivable to go into 2021 with Arteta as manager. He has to go, he is the worst performing manager in my lifetime and I’m 49 ffs.
If he stays beyond January , we will be staring down the barrel of the unthinkable, relegation.
Josh is playing roulette with £2bn.
Fuck u Mourinho.
Global gunners,
Yes we are rumoured to buy Omar Rekkik, an U21 player with 8 (EIGHT) appearances in the 4th tier of German football. Meanwhile according to Jorge from Arsenal Youth Team blog Arsenal have 17 CBs under professional contract on their books!
Ishola “You really don’t want this club to move forward do you.”
Lol, I am with all of you. I want Arteta gone along with edu. And bring Ralf rangnick in. Chances of this happening are bleak. We will again end up with a half measure like bringing Arsene back. It is a nightmare situation we are in.
Why does the captain on the day mean so much to some people. Who cares who leads this lackluster bunch, if a novice is on the sidelines shouting to the players telling who they should pass to?
“Our team has real structure to it now much thanks to Arteta and his coaching.”
The fact we are not getting 5-0 drubbings anymore is seen as some great achievement
Receding
“The fact we are not getting 5-0 drubbings anymore is seen as some great achievement”
The way we’ve played recently we might have to revisit that on Boxing Day.
Harry Barnes such a decent player. Wished we used ESR more.
They have to sack him before the Jan window to give a new manager a chance to do a mini build to get the club moving.
The trouble is who , there doesn’t seem to be a front runner, it’s all very quiet.
Strange times
Plenty on here were seeing that Arteta was going to fail a while back but his final nail in the coffin was his interview where he mentioned the need for those additional six or seven players. It was the final killer for him. You don’t plead player poverty in your first full season at the club even if you think you would like to shot most of them. Not only did he risk and may have irked the existing players but he also made himself look silly to all those who thought he was this generational coach. Such a naive… Read more »
“Our team has real structure to it now much thanks to Arteta and his coaching.”
Ena Sharples had a lot of structure too. She was no beauty queen.
“Such a naive rookie mistake he made there.”
I agree. It’s common knowledge that a manager should never publicly berate his players especially 2 months into the season. How dim was that?!