The best thing to happen to Arsenal this season was ‘sickness.’
That was the reason Arteta gave for dropping Willian and Luiz.
Two players rumoured to have complained to Edu about how things have been going for them.
Two players that share the same super agent as our well-heeled Brazilian Technical Director.
This could have been the best bad luck ever, or it could have been a clever ploy to give the manager room to try something wild like… play the players that care.
Whatever went down, it worked.
Mikel Arteta picked the boldest line-up of the season. In came ESR, Martinelli, Mari and Granit Xhaka (yikes).
Auba, Ceballos, and Mustafi were benched.
What a huge difference it made.
I was unsure which Arteta team would show up, but thankfully, proper Arsenal returned to The Emirates. The players pressed with vigour, the passing was fast, crisp, and progressive. We battled like it was a cup final. It was a new manager bounce type of game. The sort that had us dreaming when Mikel landed a year ago.
Lady Luck was sitting in the North Bank. Our first goal came from a dubious penalty. Xhaka played a dreamy ball to Tierney, the Scotsman cut into the box and was downed by James. Lacazette sent the keeper the wrong way with a simple spot-kick. A lead in a big game?
Our second goal was even wilder. Granit Xhaka smashed a 25-yard freekick into the top corner. The sort of goal I remember seeing on his Youtube comps when he played in Germany. Absolutely stunning. While we’re talking about the Swiss, arguably Mikel’s riskiest selection, he had a great game. What a difference it makes for him when he has runners to aim fast-release passes to. He’s normally aiming at Pepe or Willian who don’t give him that.
We took a real liberty in the second half after Chelsea made two aggressive attacking subs (CHO + Jorginho). ESR played Saka in on the edge of the box, the England international saw Mendy off his line and clipped a delightful cross/shot into the top corner. Masterful. Lucky as hell. Exactly what the moment called for.
Things were nervy for the run-in. Frank Lampard had his team panic crossing like we did a few weeks ago. I think they tried 32 times. They broke our clean sheet on the ground, Tammy narrowly slotting home, kept onside by a hair on Bellerin’s leg. They also won a penalty of their own, the ref evening up for his first half mistake. Jorginho wasn’t to be the difference-maker with Bernd Leno saving well.
It didn’t go unnoticed that the introductions of Mustafi and Pepe made us less effective. Both players need to go in the bin. AMN was the choice, odd that he’s overlooked so often. Regardless, we managed to see the game out and record an absolutely huge win for our season.
The big question after the game is a simple one: What did Mikel learn?
ATTITUDE
Bernd Leno complained before the game that ‘bad attitude’ had held the club back over the last few weeks. True. Whether strategic, or an act of god, two of the worst offenders were dropped. They were replaced by people that cared. That wanted to fight. Guess what? We saw a performance. A team like Arsenal can’t carry bums, especially famous bums with big trophies to their names. We dropped them and the difference was intense.
The worry is that Arteta will let politics carry the season.
He invested £250k a week in Auba > yet Gabriel showed why he can’t play through the middle.
He was part of the decision-making committee on Willian > yet a £40k a week youngster showed why that was a disgraceful mistake.
Factor in Sokratis (£90k p/w), Soares (£90k p/w), Pepe (£150k p/w) and Mesut (£350k p/w) are all out… well, it doesn’t look good to the cheque signers. Especially when you’re losing games. Arteta either flogs people that don’t care and loses games, or he takes an expensive L and moves forward with players that form a better collective, and ultimately, will likely win more points.
I hope you all saw The Telegraph story about senior players demanding the reinstatement of Mesut Ozil. The story landed after the game citing ‘senior players’ backing his return. It’s clear that’s come from players that assumed we’d lose. They wanted the pile-on from the media post-game to be focused on how Ozil under a new manager could be the saviour the club needs. Think about that. Some of Arteta’s most experienced players thought they were starting against Chelsea, they knew they’d lose, they had a plan to sink the manager under a sea of online hate before they put a boot on. Very grim.
Mikel should put that Telegraph article up in his office. He needs to remember this lesson for the rest of his career. We need to exit these toxic bums ASAP. Give them free transfers in January.
YOUTH
Our pass completion rate was about 69%. Well below where it should be. The quality quite simply isn’t there at the moment. However, energy, hunger, youth, and a future in the game can work wonders for output. What the kids lacked in polish, they made up for with desire.
A lot of people called the starting 11 desperate. ESR shouldn’t have played, apparently. I found this deeply irritating commentary. We were 15th. We haven’t been creating. We’ve not had a performance this season. This was exactly what was needed, even if it failed. Young kids that are talented make big debuts. ESR had a big debut. He was not out of his depth. He was not bullied. He was a big fucking problem and he landed an assist. He played so well, Arteta smacked his backside when he came off in what can only be described as a serious HR violation.
Arsenal had 15 shots, 7 on target. Not a bad return.
As for the line-up being desperate… please. What was the non-desperate starting 11? What would all these so-called experts have done under the same pressure?
The biggest question was not why that line-up happened, it was why it hasn’t happened sooner.
The Chelsea game is the blueprint moving forward.
ESR shouldn’t have been blooded yesterday. It should have happened 9 months ago.
It shouldn’t have taken ‘sickness’ to bin Willian and Luiz.
We should have taken the back half of last season as a blessing and hacked out the rot in the summer.
Arteta didn’t. He thought he could coach out bad character. He couldn’t. Then he doubled down on his underlying issues by giving Auba, Luiz and Willian long-term deals. That was a shocking error. He tried to shortcut success with old players… no, no, no.
The beauty of the Chelsea game was he learned the lesson against the best team we’ve played in a while. An expensively-assembled monster of a squad at full strength. If this win came against Southampton or Burnley, people would say, ‘so what.’ When it’s against an elite team, it’s hard to ignore.
Gabriel Martinelli is what the future of centre forwarding looks like. Powerful, fast, dogged… innovative. The only worry about him is he goes TOO hard on opponents. How could anyone ever make the case for Auba through the middle after seeing that performance? It was extremely arousing to watch.
We need Saka going forward. He’s so impressive, but he looks a different player when he’s operating with quick thinkers who play sharp combinations with him, or release him off the last man. I love him. Power, speed, and invention when it comes to cross/shooting.
ESR, I’ve already gone over it, but his energy, quick thinking, and threat heading into the final third has been sorely missed.
We also have to give credit to Bellerin who looked much better. His end ball is still very sad, but he looked solid. Kieran Tierney was nearly MOM for me. He never stops, he gives a fuck, he’s going to look very good when we make this squad better.
If you put that forward locomotion in an 11 with Thomas Partey and Gabriel (defender), you start to have a core of a team that might do things better than 14th.
We still need to have a better midfield. Xhaka ain’t it. We can’t have a player that needs carrying like he does. I love Mo Elneny, but this isn’t his level. He’s lost confidence, he made a lot of bad decisions, he will never be what we need. We need players that can break lines with power and pace… and we need that person to be able to release our forward fast. It’s not those two. Big wins should not deter transfer inquiries for anyone good for glue.
If we’re letting Edu and Mikel spend in Jan, it can’t be on Christian Eriksen. Even on loan, he doesn’t have the mobility we need. It needs to be a young player that glides. Or a senior player that has the speed and power to go past people, like an Isco type.
We don’t need players to tip us into the top 4 now, we need names that can grow with us. No more older players. We need young intelligent athletes that are hungry to succeed.
Unfortunately, that requires a Technical Director with a degree in football architecture. That ain’t Edu. The puff piece in The Athletic was painful reading. They literally had an Arsenal source with an off the record comment that basically said ‘he looks the part, which goes a long way.’ Can you imagine being a professional trying to help out a colleague and that was the best compliment you could give? Utterly embarrassing. What looks good in Technical Directorship is smart decisions, discipline, and an elite vision. I wouldn’t swipe right to Luis Campos, but I’d hire him. I don’t need to see Ralf Rangnick on the front cover of Vogue to determine his worth. His value is in his record and his decisions. Edu’s record is bad.
Ignore what Mark Gonnella is putting out there, people at Arsenal know his level, they are concerned by Kia’s involvement (because it lacks creativity or smarts), but worse… they just don’t think he’s up to it… and if you didn’t believe me when I was saying this last year, just remember, it wasn’t me that demoted Edu to the same level as Arteta. Vinai did that. 10 good games from Arteta won’t change reality. We need better football leadership, more checks and balances, and a clear vision of how we move forward.
The short term message of today was clear: Bin those that are fighting against the project. Trust the youth and hunger. Win games.
Now listen to the podcast I did with Matt on the whistle.
Ozil’s contract is worth around £9m, I’d rather spend that on ridding us of this parasite than spend it on the likes of Eriksson or any other expensive has been.
If we are going to do business in Jan it better be early.
We need the shit kickers out as fast as is possible.
And if replacements are incoming wouldn’t it be nice to have them bed in as early as possible to hopefully have the biggest impact they can picking us back up the table
andy
That’d cost £9 odd million – not sure we have the cash to do it especially as everyone seems convinced we’re going to spend in Jan.
What we can do is continue to pay his monthly salary and ban him from the training ground.
I agree that Willian has been playing very bad, shocking really when we’ve had better players benched for him. But Luiz though? Somehow everyone decided to add him to the ones that should be binned from the team. Why? He’s better than any of our defenders excluding Gabriel. You saw Mari last night – slow in speed, slow in decision making, his yellow came in the 16th minute, plenty of time to get send off, and he might have been as he committed a penalty. But sure, add Luiz to the bums even though he was a big part of… Read more »
Oddly, I feel like the only one who thinks edu can do some good work for us.
It’s the fact Arteta is his equal and thinks his coaching ability is better than it is that we hung onto our dead wood and didn’t get in the funds to have a proper go at refreshing the squad.
I’m going to stick my neck out here and say, arsenal will not get relegated this season.
I don’t think we will finish top four or anywhere near it and I don’t expect us to win anything either.
However, right now, what happens in the summer is actually of paramount importance.
The club will stick with Arteta so we can only hope that the dross gets shipped out and that the club acts in an intelligent way in the next couple of transfer windows.
Great game last night. Hale enders shining through. I think the inclusion of ESR into the starting line-up was the key factor in us playing better football. He is the type of player we have been missing since the exclusion of Ozil Maybe Arteta thought Willian was going to be his replacement but that is far from the case. Willian doesn’t possess a quarter of creativity, composure, flair or intelligence of Ozil. The whole world knew Willian was looking for a retirement fund in London. I was in favour of this move happening given Willian’s expertise and accomplishments, no transfer… Read more »
“Even if we have to loan out players and pay a percentage of their wages, or offer them pay offs to take free transfers to play elsewhere.” Quite agree Rich, Ozil Willian and Luis we would be better off agreeing to pay 90% of their wages and let someone else have them rather than let them undermine the manager. If they have been moved on they cannot be considered for selection. Never buy squad players from other elite teams. It is so obvious the other clubs do not consider that they are good enough so why should we be any… Read more »
Raptora,
With you for the most part.
But despite Luiz in the fac run, I have never been a fan of his. Would never in a million years have thought we would have bought him.
Saying he is the best of a shocking bunch doesn’t say much for him. Just that this club has been shocking at addressing the back line for years haha
Yesterday was a great result but the lack of perspective by some is daft. 2 freak goals and a soft pen plus Leno saving a pen shows the match could easily have gone another way. What we did see was Tierney played in the correct position with a wide player in front of him who opened space up, Saka actually did pretty much what he always tries to do – take the match to the opposition he just had more support in attack while doing it. We also played a naturally creative player in the hole. As someone earlier said… Read more »
Marc, I understand that we can’t ban him, we have to provide with full training facilities which includes training with team mates (unless he commits some disciplinary offence).
Hence my point that I’d rather spend the £9m on getting rid than splashing out on another Wllian, Pepe or Ceballos type loan. I reckon that booting Ozil out will do more for team cohesion and results than anything less than a stellar signing (which isn’t going to happen btw).
With the right personel Artetas system is good he needs those players though is kse going to back him
andy
Why not? He’s a subversive presence and his online behaviour is unacceptable. He’s being paid send him to train on his own.
Pierre “ Although Lacazette had a decent game last night, I feel that Martinelli, Saka and ESR would benefit from having either Balogun or Eddie up top as they have better movement in the box and either of those two would instigate the press and make it very difficult for the opposition.. “ 5 of the youth clicking like they do at U-23 , half the team , playing like the Academy impetuous and free flowing football…you might as well have Metersaker and Boulder coaching Oops , I have said it. Arteta football is passive, disciplined chess board and as… Read more »
Marc, yesterday’s line up wasn’t a stroke of genius, more a case of Arteta stumbling on something due to circumstances. A bit like the monkey – typewriter analogy, eventually even an idiot can hit on the right formula. The test is having found something that works does he stick with it (or something similar) or revert to type and select his favorites and that defensive system for future matches. If he does actually learn it still doesn’t make him a generational coach, just proves he’s not a complete idiot.
Marc I agree ozil should be banished go train on your own
andy
I’m done with Arteta – he’s made too many really bad decisions and he’s still making them. The only thing that will get Arsenal out of this hole is sacking him. The quicker we do it the better.
Andy1886 Completely agree. To kill the petulant squabbling, bickering and bitching We need to kill the petulant squabbling, bickering and bitching. By whatever means necessary. Leno, Runarsson, Macey Bellerin, Soares Tierney, Niles, Kolasinac Holding, Chambers, Mustafi, Saliba Gabriel, Mari, Luiz, Sokratis Partey, Elneny Xhaka, Ceballos Smith-Rowe, Willock, Ozil Willian, Nelson, Pepe Saka, Martinelli, Aubameyang Lacazette, Nketiah, Balogun First team squad of 32, and Cirjan is apparently training with he first team now as well. Even if we have to pay a percentage of the wages, we should get rid of Kolasinac, Luiz, Sokratis, Ozil in January And if we’re not… Read more »
Talk of expecting Arteta to make sensible decisions, give him a chance. Arteta has been perverse when things went shit, then shitter, then shiniest. This leopard cannot change his spots, because , as a person, he is a bad man
Good day gunners in the house…sure it is a good day, we won. Maybe its true the darkest part of night is when the dawn wants to break. Our best gifts are the kids and if that is not clear to Arteta going forward,then he is not worth his onions afterall. Every pundits and their dogs have been telling us what we lack as if we cannot see for ourselves.we lack Creativity,Drive, Energy and some are calling for the one who must be named as the panacea to our malady.the club and the manager have decided he is not part… Read more »
Leeds might be the most entertaining team to watch in the league but boy are they frustrating. They’re too wasteful.
From what I read on the Athletic Ozil and his slimy agent believe that he has to be contractually provided with full training facilities and that includes being part of full training with his ‘team mates’. And they would be prepared to take legal action if that was denied him on the basis that he wouldn’t be able to maintain his fitness and capabilities (I know, lol) by simply training on his own thus damaging his future prospects. Unfortunately our execs are a weak and aren’t prepared to take him on, they would rather let the situation fetser to the… Read more »
More stories today about Liverpool being interested in Balogun. If he’s outright refusing to sign on why did we flirt and bring him back into the squad? If as was reported he was open why haven’t we given him some more minutes? Balogun Guendozi Saliba Already fucked up by Arteta, does anyone think Martinelli and Saka are going to hang about finishing mid table? And they’ll be followed by the next group of promising youngsters. If we stick with Arteta for much longer we’ll be looking back in 2 or 3 years at over £500 million worth of young talent… Read more »
Ah well….14th was nice while it lasted .
Leeds are ahead at h/t
Arsenal > Arteta
Any manager that have us 15th place 15 games in must be sacked. The supporters that think he should be given more time are part of the problem.
He came out with the same “We’ve turned a corner” like after the City game that we LOST. We saw what happened afterwards. He is a fraud. People that don’t see it are both blind and biased.
andy
Then you play the COVID card – we’re restricting first team training to the players registered for the PL squad. You’ve only got to pull it off for a couple of months.
raptora
Newcastle fans are kicking off about the shit football and piss poor league position.
They’re a point above us.
“We need more Scottish blood in the team.” Completely agree, Graham. Players that can fights and who give a shit. Who look so unhealthy that they have to keep moving or drop down dead. The only problem is that in a year or so they could have to be registered as foreign players, so it’s not a great gambit. On that note, any big insights on the effect (if any) of Brexit on our transfer dealings? I read somewhere that we are likely to be able to attract more young players from outside the EU without risk of visa issues.… Read more »
S Asoa,
“Arteta football is passive, disciplined chess board and as much time to make moves which have to come from the horse’s mouth from the touch line.”
This made me laugh haha thanks mate
Good effort Pedro,
Still putting the blame on Edu I see lol
It was great to get a one over fat lamps and his rent boys
Let’s be honest though they looked like they had one too many!
The kids did great, I wouldn’t trust Arteta to oversee their development
He is just a stuck up novice without any substance or foundation
Guen and Saliba would have fitted perfectly in that team
He has to go!
Both Guendozi and Saliba should be playing.
Both are French youngsters with bags of talent and probably more than a little arrogant.
Seems like Arteta can’t handle hot French players.
Imagine Henry, arrogant and brilliant. Now imagine if Arteta was manager. First of all he’d never play Henry, secondly, he’d send out on loan
Arsenal played well no doubt. Just a note on this very strong Chelsea team as Pedro terms them. In reality they were overall poor yesterday and only started really playing when they were in desperate measures and already 3-0 down. This is now their third EPL defeat away from home on the spin and they have a little few problems of their own now. ESR didn’t have a great match but he was quite lively and I liked that he has a bit of off the cuff style about him. The offense looked livelier as a whole and yes that… Read more »
Marc,
Yes. Newcastle fans are pushing for Bruce’s sacking, They are above us, with a game in hand.
Yet Arsenal fans vouch for Arteta no matter what happens in our games, even if we finish in the bottom half of the table.
Unbelievable.
Can I just say on record if Arteta does get the sack I’m not sold on tuchel. He done ok in Germany granted, but managing PSG is hardly same as a struggling Arsenal team. Hopefully he’ll prove me wrong if he does get the job
Isco has the power and speed to go past people?? Seems someone’s still under the influence
Ishola,
Tierney is a Robertson clone. Maybe he can be even better than him. To play him as a LCB has got to be a special kind of dumb fuck decision. Hardly surprising given Arteta’s overall decision making.
So are we now the opposite to flat track bullies?
Get beaten by everyone yet somehow manage a result against a top side 😂
Andy, I’d have the bug-eyed prick training with the women. That way he can’t complain about being denied facilities, and they can all enjoy the showers where it will be confirmed that they have much bigger cocks than him too.
Tyagn,
Yup. No to Tuchel. Seems arrogant and problematic. Not the right guy imo.
raptora “Tierney is a Robertson clone. Maybe he can be even better than him. To play him as a LCB has got to be a special kind of dumb fuck decision. Hardly surprising given Arteta’s overall decision making.” How is a player meant to get in the groove in a certain position when he is being told to keep shunting from LB to LCB during a match as we have been seeing from Tierney previously. Not only does it affect Tierney individually but it also has a negative affect on the central defence as a whole in keep having a… Read more »
Ishola/rap,
Not only that, we have xhaka having to take his place at the back when he moves out of the lcb position😂😂
The best thing that Leeds could do is get a decent keeper. The current baby faced incumbent is as shaky as hell. Get someone decent and they’ll be top half easily.
Arteta apologists :
After a defeat
“No wonder we’re 15th and have lost 8 games from. The squad are absolutely pathetic, not even Sir Alex Ferguson could do more with these players. It’s beyond hopeless, Edu needs to be launched from a cannon and Kroenke needs to surrender his shares to Arteta if we’re to have any hope of becoming a team again”
After a win
“Arteta is the best, trust the process he knows how to make the team play, it’s all down to his decision making”
🙄
15 matches played, 8 losses.
It’s not the manager though. Sure.
No to Tuchel.
Never got the hype around him. Seems very well regarded but has he won titles? I dont know of any other than the French Ligue. Does he create problems? Everywhere.
So what is it about him that makes him so special?
Tactics. Well even Arteta is a tactician, Rafa is a tactician, even Graham potter seems like a good tactician.
Who is on the shopping list for CAM then fellas?
I say no to Brandt. He looks soft.
Aouar does too. I know a lot of folks were excited over the summer but I think we need someone with more tenacity.
I’ve never seen Buendia play but tons of people like him.
Who else can we get?
A result borne more out of pure luck than by any real judgment call by Areta.Yet given the liklihood that he will continue his roller coaster tenure as “Manager” without the introduction of a genuine Director of Football then I’ll take this victory with both hands. I wonder,though,whether the penny has finally dropped.It is pointless to continue putting players on to the pitch who either don’t want to play for the Club;or can’t be bothered as well as those who,frankly,aren’t good enough.The introduction of Willock and Pepe as well as Mustafi certainly proved this point…Unfortunately the “Mis-Manager’s” continued decision to… Read more »
I want to thank Arteta for this lovely Boxing day gift. I wish him good luck for the rest of the season. When in doubt, replay yesterday’s game.
The senior players \that want Ozil back should take a jump and leave with him in Januray
Yeah it’s quite funny that Pedro is shouting for youth and vigour but at the same time shouts out for Isco.
It should be a no for both Eriksen and Isco.
How seriously can we take this Telegraph article.
The Telegraph unfortunately became tabloid style many years ago.
This could be Ozil’s PR team trying to cause trouble yet again.
Mind you it would be no surprise to me if David Luiz is causing trouble at a club yet again. This is a man that has been in the vipers nest at PSG.
Just for context though, yesterday’s win would mean absolutely nothing if we don’t win the next two games or revet back to type
Great post Pedro Great commentary also The fact that ‘Illness’ forced arteta’s hand to make the right decision with team selection should tell us everything we need to know about him as a coach and leader moving forward Do you still think he’s the man for this job? It takes courage and vision to move in a direction of youth Any info on why Balogun didn’t even make the bench? It would have been interesting to see him instead of laca We may be losing him and a lot of other youngsters largely due to arteta’s management If Arteta and… Read more »
Azed, the million dollar a month question is certainly whether Willian gets back into the squad!
Not sure how he can after that.
Yesterday showed what runners do for the forward line. Hopefully Arteta gives those players a go in the next match.
Don’t think Ozil is going anywhere. Sure there is a loyalty bonus due if he stays until the end of his contract.
If he’s in the building any at the training ground then we should use him.
I want to thank Arteta for this lovely Boxing day gift. I wish him good luck for the rest of the season just as long as it’s at another club.
Pedro
Willian has a 3 year deal. Freezing him out now would be disastrous.
Time for some generational coaching and get him playing well.
Martinelli is a game changer. His energy and pace transforms the team and I’m sure there are combinations of a front 3 that can work with Willian in.
The relief on Arteta’s face when Arsenal got that penalty yesterday.
He looks really stressed on the touchline tbh. A bit too stressed tbh.
I know this isn’t football related but what the fuck?
https://news.sky.com/video/kentucky-man-uses-flamethrower-to-clear-snow-from-driveway-12173383
Sweet baby Joseph. Hyperbole much.
Martinelli the future of centre forwarding?
I reckon someone has indulged in too much Turkey freebase cocaine.
We won. Great but…
We lost to Burnley at home!
4 consecutive home defeats and a draw
Arteta has no business to still be in charge
But it’s arsenal, the likes of Rodriguez would still be on our books if he was an arsenal player!
And some fans would still cheer it and reminisce about his first goal 5 yrs before
Only at arsenal, coz we have values!
Ozil and his agent are bad news. Bringing Ozil back would be a weak move, it’s what killed off Emery. Ozil’s glove throwing, his agent briefing against our managers, his teammates briefing against our manager The mysterious “illnesses” after finding out he was on the bench, but training perfectly fine before the team sheet was announced His appeared reluctance to be involved in away days outside the M25 His social media activity, going back to the defeat against Rennes away almost two years ago, that’s persisted since. Ozil is poison. Regardless of who our manager is, we need to purge… Read more »
Martinelli benefited from having ESR on the field, so would Auba, everyone but diet Pep has known this.
Rodgers at Leicester has done the same with Vardy, asic stuff
Arteta needs another two EPL wins to follow on from this victory.
He wins those two and this sets him up for the home games against Crystal Palace and Newcastle and then Teets is beginning to rock then.
https://mobile.twitter.com/AFCTempo/status/1343156698387783682
A very tiny but important observation here. Look at Laca in this clip. He is jogging during the press, sees Gabi pressing like a rabid dog and therefore increases his own pace to match Gabi’d work rate. Pacing and leading.
Having players like Gabi in the team pushes other players to do more and he isn’t even 20 yet. Just imagine how it will be when Gabi is a full fledged international well respected in the dressing room.
JOEL
“in preference to Eddie ‘I always look like I’m trying but offer little else” Neketiah”
except doing the toughest job on a football pitch…..score goals whilst being a loan striker against 2 or 3 6ft + centre backs…
Pierre, do you not worry that Eddie is too much the fox in the box? Like, not a lot else to his game outside goals?
Rich
“Ozil’s glove throwing, his agent briefing against our managers, his teammates briefing against our managerThe mysterious “illnesses” after finding out he was on the bench, but training perfectly fine before the team sheet was announcedHis appeared reluctance to be involved in away days outside the M25His social media activity, going back to the defeat against Rennes away almost two years ago, that’s persisted since….”
Jackanory….jackanory
JP, time for good leadership… admit you made a bum move signing him. No amount of coaching saves you from a player that doesn’t care.
Rich, agree, Ozil has to stay in the bin… I would tell the outsiders they can’t train with the squad. Send them on holiday in Jan
Captain Tierney “A very tiny but important observation here. Look at Laca in this clip. He is jogging during the press, sees Gabi pressing like a rabid dog” Excellent clip to highlight Martinelli. But you are wrong to criticise Lacazette in this instance. There is no point in two players sprinting to the same area to press. That’s called dumb pressing. Martinelli in that play was obviously earmarked to do the higher pressing and you see Lacazette run not jog as you put it to the right hand side deeper and behind Martinelli. But yes the clip perfectly highlights Martinelli… Read more »
AC, appreciate you calling out the politics in the podcast… but when it comes to elite level football, every transfer window you waste with someone who can’t do the job, is a year in sport.
Edu was demoted by Vinai, not me.
His signing speak to a lack of creativity, or cronyism with his mates.
I have no guilt over calling those things out.
Diet Pep fanboys want to push the narrative that youth made the difference.
The reality is the managers team selections and tactics have been awful.
Few players out of contract who will be wiling to join us and we should be interested in. Maybe even try to sign them this Jan.
Riqui Puig
Thauvin
Milik
Draxler?
Pedro
For once we’re in complete agreement.
Just as a note I was in agreement with
“Rich, agree, Ozil has to stay in the bin… I would tell the outsiders they can’t train with the squad. Send them on holiday in Jan”
Sly, we’ll find out over the next 10 or so games. If Arteta’s lesson from yesterday was ‘bring bacl Luiz and Willian’, then no, we have the wrong man. If his lesson was, ‘wow, the kids can do it, let’s give them a go’ then he’ll stay. He’s made horrible mistakes he shouldn’t have been allowed to make. He’s made terrible tactical decisions. He’s trusted the wrong players. … but, we are creating chances now. The football is getting better. There’s a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. It all means fuck all if we lose at… Read more »
JOEL December 27, 2020 13:31:38
Top post. Thoroughly agreed.
“we’ll find out over the next 10 or so games.”
Really don’t want to have to watch another 10 minutes of Arteta let alone over 900.
The Nketiah vs Martinelli debate is void. If you are to play Nketiah(clinical finisher) have a Buendia behind him, who is a hard worker and creator.
It all goes back to tactics. Having Nketiah running around midfield is cluelesss. Square pegs round holes.
Ishola
Nobody is criticising Laca here. In fact I thought Laca played very well today. Even his link up play was on point. The clip just shows how one player’s energy can make other players give that extra 10%.
And btw Laca is not going to press the same player, he is moving to pounce if Mendy plays it to the CB.
Can’t disagree with any of that, Pedro. As just about everybody and his dog has pointed out, the future for Arsenal is obvious. Ditch the old guard, and build a new, vibrant, energetic young team. There is no point in delaying it, we have a great batch of young talent. Tierney, Saka, Martinelli, ESR, Balogun are the future, Auba, Laca, Willian, Luiz etc are the past. The massive question is whether Arteta has the cojones to admit to himself that he got it totally wrong, stand up to the deadbeats in the squad and the hierarchy, and make a clean… Read more »
Pedro
Have you heard any noises about us signing a creative player and when it could happen?
Orny says we’ll get a creator in.
Fab said Arsenal going to do something special this Jan.
Pedro
Eddie’s link up play is no worse than any of the other strikers…
The time to judge Eddie is when the team start creating chances, put him up top supported by Martinelli, Saka and Smith rowe and he will get you 25 a season…
I put Balogun in the same bracket as Eddie with possibly higher potential as he is more explosive….
What i will say is if Eddie had missed the 2 clear cut chances that Martinelli missed last night , he would have been slaughtered on here.
Any chance taken by Pedro to lay in to Ozil again, even when he’s not playing!
Fact is, you can’t paper over the mess that the same manager has brought about in the first place from exiling the player from the off. Had he been kept him in the squad, there’s no way the club would be this low in the table to start with ☝🏼
Again Luiz has been in teams that have won titles, expecting him to be the top creator in the team the having snail midfielders shielding him is clueless.
Who would rate Eddie N above Martinelli?
Disturbing stuff.
Pierre
Eddie’s link up is worse of the lot. Maybe on par as Auba.
Laca has the best link up play but I only say this because we haven’t seen much of Balogun. But it’s clear from his cameos that Balogun has better hold up play than Eddie and Auba and definitely has a much higher ceiling than Eddie
“The time to judge Eddie is when the team start creating chances, put him up top supported by Martinelli, Saka and Smith rowe and he will get you 25 a season…”
Exactly
5am
Well said..
Ozil is a cunt.
Sooner he leaves the better for this club.
Ishola
Pierre probably the only person in the world who might rate Eddie over Gabi.
25 what a season? ‘Cause it ain’t goals you fucking madman.
You lot are the worst.
I agree Pedro
Fingers crossed for the next games
I’d love him to succeed, but I don’t really care who the coach is. Just want the Arse to win. If anyone’s not good enough they need to go
GOH
I think he means in the U21s
I’ve got nothing against Nketiah but if you think he is gonna get you 25 goals a season you might be setting yourself up for massive disappointment.
With the workrate Martinelli has, him under diet Pep is a recepie for disaster, he will be broken down.
You heard it here 1st!
Personally I disagree and I honestly don’t buy he doesn’t care. These are professionals players. You really think he wants to be seen as a joke figure?
Good leadership would get him onside and playing well. Doesn’t reflect well on Arteta as a manager to bin a player after 15 games.
Pierre
Do you actually think Balogun’s going to stay?
Tierney
You’re getting confused between link up play and hold up play.
Let me help you to understand.
Hold up play is normally when players have their back to goal , Lacazette and Balogun have a low centre of gravity and are better at protexting the ball.
Link up play is when a striker comes off his defender and plays one or 2 touch football .
If you look at the goal scored by Aubameyang against Southampton (i think) in which Eddie linked with Saka and Aubameyang then you will have an understanding of what i am saying.
Protecting
Marc
Looking doubtful ..will be a massive loss i reckon …
If he leaves , I can see it now , in typical le grove fashion , Eddie will get the balme for Balogun leaving
CT, we’ll move for a creative player this Jan. The club probably has a broad list of players they’ll target. I just hope it’s not something that looks 29 years old. Jan should be building out the future, not racing for top 4.