Well, here we go again, friends. Another week of ‘oh please god make it stop’ is heading our way. Manchester City in the EFL followed by Chelsea in the Premier League. Not ideal opponents, but when you are utterly shite, who is it good to play against?
The strategy for the week should probably be focused on giving it our all in the Premier League. Give the cup game to the footballing gods as a sacrificial lamb. Spend time coaching. A big performance and a win against Chelsea sets you up nicely for an ‘easy’ run of games. That is what we need.
Back to the grim story that is the manager’s future.
It’s pretty clear the plan as it stands is to back Mikel Arteta.
If he loses the next 5 games, I’m not sure they’ll be sticking with that idea, but hopefully it won’t get that bad. Not that there are any positives to really point to outside an uptick in xG.
Here’s the reality though. What do you think can be done right now that will give Arsenal the bounce they need?
Firstly, it’s obvious that the entire leadership team is badly off-key. We have three first jobbers trying to resurrect a club that has suffered a decade of failure. We have no footballing expertise on the board. KSE is addicted to bad decisions and staying loyal to the perpetrators. I’ll say it again for those in the back of the room in Delaware… how can you trust anyone that signed off on 32-year-old Willian for 3 years at £250k a week IN A PANDEMIC AFTER GIVING PEOPLE MANDATORY PAYCUTS. That’s a career-ending decision in most lines of work, not at Arsenal.
That last paragraph is there to drive home the reality: You don’t have good people making decisions at Arsenal. Sacking Mikel Arteta right now won’t bring us the joy or solace we need. Why? Because the only managers that are available are the b-listers who can’t get jobs.
Eddie Howe? Get the fuck out of my office.
Roberto Martinez? Red card for the commenter about to type ‘I’ve actually watched a lot of Belgium annnd’
Max Allegri? There’s a reason he hasn’t found a job in over two years. He’s a discipline merchant, supremely arrogant, and he doesn’t have any Premier League experience. He’ll cost a fortune, come with 10 of his staff, and there’s a very slim chance his brand of management will click with this group of players. You can say ‘THAT IS WHAT THEY NEED’… well, look at how the discipline thing is going down with Arteta. Look at how it worked under Emery. I also think the fans would detest his football.
The A-listers aren’t jumping onto this burning fire of a job. Julian Nagelsmann isn’t going to take it. Pochettino is still being paid by Spurs, he won’t take a pay cut to join us, and he’s not going to soil his Spurs legacy to join a club with no infrastructure. Brendan Rodgers ain’t stupid, the job is attractive, but is he going to want to work with this squad with Edu as the guy supporting him? No chance. Even a manager like Hassenhutl (not sure he’s an a-lister), who has always worked with Sporting Directors, might pass on moving midseason if we had the finance to do it.
If you can’t get an A-lister, which is what a club without leadership needs, then all you’ll be left with are managers that will have tools downed on them within 3 months. I am not even sure the idea of a rockstar manager works in 2020… I think all great managers are supported by great teams. The idea that Arteta could do it alone was naive. Now we know that, let’s not think a b-lister is going to turn this around.
Most new managers go through a shitty patch like this in their careers, it’s just usually way out of sight of an elite club. Ralph H had it at Southampton last season, but no one remembers that now he’s fixed it. Jose Mourinho did this at Chelsea in 2015, he lost 9 games, he was fired by December 17th, Rafa took over, then Conte won the league the season after. Top football clubs bin underperforming managers… but we ain’t a top football club.
The power move is a football CEO. You could be PC about it and shift Edu to the side, but it’s clear, he ain’t it by a long shot. Willian on a 3-year deal. Luiz given another year despite dreck performances. Soares on a 4-year deal. Pabo Mari on a perm deal despite keeping Luiz. Announcing signings at his super agents house. At best it’s an extreme conflict of interest, at worst, it’s the decisions of a Techincal Director that has zero creativity or plan to move the club forward. How could he rationalise any of those decisions if you sat down with him at a table? He’d be laughed out of west and north London pubs. You cannot keep faith with that sort of football taste.
We need a ‘been there, done that’ football CEO who can come in and take on the project.
Give whoever it is a remit.
Bonus the fuck out of them.
Tell them they’ll be given 5 years to do things properly with no pressure on them.
If you bring them in at Christmas, let them work with Arteta and Edu until the end of the season. Let them make the decision on their futures. Put the big footballing decisions in the hands of a person that knows the game. That has a track record. That has experience with all the shit we are dealing with.
Vinai should be taking away Mikel’s managerial role right now whatever the path forward is. It has not worked. If he complains, he can always quit. If Edu can’t pick up all of the job, why the fuck are we paying him to be here? Simple fact is Arteta was promoted to pick up the slack of Edu. That is shocking leadership from Vinai. Edu should have gone with Raul.
Arsenal are in a uniquely messy situation right now. Lots of fans will see sacking Arteta as the move to make, I don’t see that as a viable option unless there’s an A-lister lined up. A December hire is not something we should indulge in. I don’t want the top 8 version of Sam Allardyce for the next 3 years. These players need to claw back to midtable so we can make a proper decision in the summer.
I think that’ll be the plan… I’m just not entirely sure Arteta has it in him to move this squad of players into a satisfactory place in the league table. He’s still talking about fine margins. They truly seem to believe a couple of loan moves fix this mess… and hey, maybe an Isco turns it around for us. I’m just not sure I’m buying it. Feels like a movie I’ve seen before. I feel deeply uncomfortable about Arsenal making more short term signings to prop up a manager that has shown us next to nothing this season.
It bears repeating again. Luis Campos and Ralph Rangnick are both free agents. Both have performed incredible feats of leadership in their careers. Both are still at the elite end of the game. Both would do a great job with this Arsenal mess.
We’ll pass though, won’t we?
See you in the comments.
P.S. Podcast coming later + a striker review you’re gonna love from Mike McDonald.
What ‘bad eggs’ do some posters keep yammering about ? Other than Xhaka, I can’t think of any other incurable player habits that can’t be remedied by a decent manager. Poor player quality, certainly yes but we ought to still be safely bracketed in the top half of the table. This Arsenal team has suddenly become the horrible team that only Rookie Arteta and his stupid stats can fix. Emery must have been a miracle worker to get a poorer Arsenal team to 5th place on the table. We had to rely on players who are far worse than what… Read more »
I don’t think Eddie will be a championship player in his prime I think he will be a player with a similar but more consistent profile than Defoe when he’s in his mid 20s. Not world class but one of those dangerous PL proven strikers who is banked on to score a good share of goals every year Tho Defoe used to be wildly inconsistent and be unable to hit a barn door for 5 games in a row, then score 4 goals in two games which padded his stats. Did that his whole career. But I honestly have a… Read more »
And if you look at what Eddie does at youth level, he does demonstrate that killer intelligence for positioning and poaching like Auba. But he seems physically overawed in the PL and this impacts his confidence and effectiveness.
Either overcome the physical disadvantage or learn to calm down and try to outsmart his man (or both) and be can be a prolific PL striker I’ve no doubt.
“Most sane people understand the problem. It is frankly not going to change unless or until we are shifting many of these players out of the club. That has to be the priority and not offloading a decent coach who yes has made some mistakes but has been saddled with a poison chalice.” What an absolutely ridiculous take. Especially considering your everyday posts not too long ago that detailed out our ‘decent’ squad shape. But now these players are the bad weight that is drowning a decent coach? The only poisoned chalice in the club are supporters such as yourself.… Read more »
ES I beg to differ. Emery was never going to work. Arteta, on the other hand, had a wonderful opportunity to move us forward and, initially, things looked very promising. Unfortunately, he became too big for his own boots and started to complicate things and, significantly, make some horrendous decisions that unsettled the harmony of the squad. On top of this, he has persisted with an approach that makes us slow, predictable and easy fodder for the opposition. If you include the Xhaka, Bellerin, Willian, Leno scenarios, he hasn’t a leg to stand on. He is not, imo, “a decent… Read more »
ET you’re going in circles
You criticized Emery for doing more with a worse squad
Now you’re not criticizing Arteta because it’s all the players fault – even tho we have better players now?
Lest we forget, Emery’s first season he got fifth with ZERO wingers in the squad. Emery would’ve loved to have Gabriel might I add…
ES
No disrespect sir but you’re not making sense.
Cheers anyway.
Tbh if it wasn’t for emery letting Saka and Martinelli get minutes I doubt Arteta would’ve promoted them to this day. Such is his disliking of playing kids (apart from Eddie)
Raptors. Very true. Now, we may know why…
Marinelli stepped up in lieu of Auba counted nothing because it happened during *real PL matches*, rather than the daily Mikel Mouse ganes on the Colney training ground! Presumably that’s another unspoken non-negotiable too…
Move the wannabe on please
Seriously it never crossed my mind before but when you stop to think, there’s little chance Saka or Martinelli would’ve even been anywhere near the first team if emery hadn’t already bedded them in. Saka would be a league cup player at best. Martinelli would be a u23 player
Morning i dont even think i have the energy for this, but here goes. Pedro, pick a side, this flip flopping is getting ridiculous. we arent sitting in 8th 12 points of the top four. were in 15th Burnley win the game in hand we’re 16th about to play the chavs and Brighton who if they beat us send us into 17th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! were getting our pants pulled down every game, yes weve played OK in a few games but were not scoring let alone picking up points. any other manager at a big or medium sized club would be gone… Read more »
Martinelli is a generational talent Eddie could aspire to in many areas of his development, noting the age gap , time in the UK and Arsenal as well.
Goals aside in his first and breakout year, some of the mayhem Martinelli has caused the opposition speaks volume. When was the last time you’d recall Eddie doing it?
how many more times can you keep saying we can win the next 3-4 games and climb up the table.
……………
Also, that ,could apply to any teams?! It’s weak argument where we are in the table this time of the season.
The club (or the Board, KSE rather) must act swiftly before it’s too late.
With our reported financial challenges, these clowns must not be allowed to manage the January transfer window.
Arteta said we’ve already planned our business for Jan and Summer
What odds on it involving extortionately high fees and or salaries to players in their late 20s. If we don’t sign any such players I will be honestly shocked
What arteta did to martinelli against olympiakos is shocking kept the boy on the bench for so long but when he came on provided auba wonder goal assist the kid has received plaudits from klopp and ronaldinho but to arteta he only turns to him when he is in crisis but now we shouldn’t take him as a saviour 6months injury is no joke
Arteta said we’ve already planned our business for Jan and Summer
china, its jack & shit and jacks left town!
they might have planned it but doesnt mean they can get it done.
lets sign partey with 20 minutes to spare thats not planning.
if on february 1st after buying a 12 year old goat herder from some small outer hebrides kids side for the future, that they turn around and say there was no super qualideee available i might go mad
ES
“Frankly no half decent manager will come in to sort out this mess until and unless we have
shifted out some of the bad eggs and dross.”
Ah! The Pedro argument! Because ‘no half decent’ manager will come in, then no change at the top!
It is a good job you do not run a large multi-national company!
New post boyz
Arteta has to go. He is one of the most shit players to wear an Arsenal jersey, right next to Xhaka. He has done nothing for us as a player or a manager. i would be inclined to give a PV4 or Henry more time were they on a rot just because they bled for the club once, but Mikel-shit player-Arteta? Imagine Xhaka or Sanogo became Arsenal manager in the future, some would absolutely love them and defend them to the end of the earth.
China 1 I am not going round in circles. I have been consistent throughout the debate over the last 15 years. 1. Wenger overstayed his welcome and his decision making was a major factor in our decline. 2. I was never a fan of the Kroenkes’ controlling the club as distant landlords, although since they became 100% owners they have at least attempted to sort out the mess albeit they lack a football background. 3. The Board of Directors was too old and rudderless in recent times. The introduction of Tim Lewis is a step in right direction as he… Read more »
China1
eddie is complete gash can’t dribble has no technical skill weak shot and poor finishing.
plenty of players have done it at under 21 and amounted to nothing. defoe shits all over him and I dont even rate defoe.