This week is a huge one. We have a cup competition to proceed in after a leggy performance last week then we take on Leicester, with an opportunity to derail their title bid.
Gooners, this is the week. I’m telling you. It’s going to click. We’re going to be popping corks in our covid bubbles. Wild scenes as someone runs naked down the Holloway Road because we SMASHED Brenda and his team of wannabes.
There’s hope as well. Whenever we lose a game, which has been often this season, the misery brigade come out in force… because they don’t want to hear what’s brewing at Arsenal, well, someone put the #TeanmPOSITIVE news out on twitter yesterday and it’s good.
Shield your eyes, here’s the Premier League since Christmas Day. pic.twitter.com/Amb3InXSrn
— Josh Williams (@DistanceCovered) February 22, 2021
So you don’t have to do it yourself: Since Christmas.
2nd best defence in the league.
3rd most goals per game.
5th best points per game.
Am I taking my clothes off ready for a streak based on the above? No. But it adds weight to the narrative that things are getting better whether you like it or not.
When you factor in the messy hand we’ve been dealt this season, namely, our best player has been more injured this season than he ever has in his career, 62 red cards, 26 players left out of the squad, no preseason for a rookie manager, a rookie manager… well, you start to see the green shoots.
Am I forgiving the first half of the season? No. It was shite. The coach made a bad bet on Willian. Auba lost his mojo. We totally botched squad selection. We started the season believing we could be a fine margins team… this was a terrible mistake. It happened, we didn’t sack Arteta, and that’s that.
But now we have to look to the future. Many of the problems are on their way to being mended.
We ditched most of the deadwood causing problems behind the scenes.
We addressed creativity with youth and a loan player under the age of 31.
The coaching looks like it’s finally starting to kick in.
The football is exciting.
There were a lot of people saying that Pep G was trolling Arteta when he praised him after the game. I’m not so sure. Bielsa did the same. I think people forget that he made him a vital part of his backroom team for three years, he doesn’t do that as a favour. He correctly called that we’ve been the better team in most games since Christmas.
I also find the ‘HE TREATS PLAYERS BADLY’ commentary a bit painful to read. Jose Mourinho and Gareth Bale? Thomas Tuchel double subbing CHO in week 2? OGS and VDB? After years of bemoaning the Colney creche, we’ve now got feelings about binning Matteo G who dived in his own box at the weekend and cost a goal? Please. Nothing will ever be perfect, but let’s be honest, the culture at the club needed a reboot.
Last season, we fought and battened down the hatch. There weren’t many performances you could get excited about, but we were winning. Spanish Tony Pulis banter was fair.
Post-Christmas, we’re performing even when we’re losing. Performances matter, because at some point, they’re rewarded.
This week is when the performance need to convert. Arsenal need to have a 5 game run to restore some faith. If we beat Spurs, Benfica, and Leicester… it’ll go a long way.
Now is the time to make some moves. City was always a long shot. I don’t think Spurs and Leicester are on the same planet. Benfica certainly aren’t. Time to pull out the big wins.
So, short one today. Jump into the podcast if you haven’t. Enjoy your day. See you on the other side.
Where’s everyone?
Timing….
Why since Xmas?
Why not since new year’s or another arbitrary date?
Arsenal win the top four trophy…..since Xmas?
Just hope for Partey to come back and last this time and have a nice positive end of the season.
4 points from here is new tr4phy
Who’ve we played since Christmas?
The spuds can have Nagelsmann, we should go for Graham Potter.
There’s literally no other manager, apart from Bielsa, who’d produce the the type of football he is with the bunch of renegades he has at Brighton.
Forget Xmas, what’s our record since Hunakkah is what I wanna know.
Wonder what was going on before Xmas then…., oh yeah, the manager forgot about making use of a decent creative mid ☝🏽 Had that been done, then maybe the team would really be sitting within touching distance of top 4 The story that stands out for me at the moment is how from beating Man U and going above them, to then see the different trajectories from that point on…. Anyway, as said, perhaps there’ll be more consistency from here on, with the next few games being the acid test, given that it was a relatively easy run since xmas… Read more »
Since chrismas we have played more bottom table teams than top table
Im telling you for free!
My hope is we can still have something to play for going into Ramadan.
Emirates Stroller Your heritage point on the previous post is bullshit at worst, naive at best. Arsenal is a heritage club only for UK fans. Outside of the UK, the only things that will make someone support Arsenal currently is if we win League titles or atleast try If the parents or older siblings make their younger ones support If there’s a country man signed at the club If we sign a superstar or world brand like Ozil You don’t seem to understand that when someone admires a club it doesn’t mean they support the club. Arsenal will always have… Read more »
Pedro, you know Arteta is failing when the highly coveted Legrove top four trophy isn’t even contested anymore.
By the time Magha puja day is here we will be top of the table
You heard it here 1st
I would take Graham Potter.
Great manager. He can bring Bissouma and Lamptey with him too.
Tom
Lol. I was shocked too. Also shows the readership is shrinking. Keep talking about things like “since December” and they will be more
Magha puja was always my favorite.
So nice of the Buddhists to make February 26 , my birthday, a huge cause for celebrations.
Good people.
How are City doing without that “vital part of his backroom team for three years”. Oh yeah, maybe not so vital then eh?
Rolling back to an old favourite stat from the Emery days, we’ve out-xG’d our opponents 5 times in 11 league games since Dec 26th: Away at Brighton (won) Away at West Brom (won) At Home to Newcastle (won) Away at Southampton (won) At Home to Leeds (won) We’ve been out-xG’d by our opponents 6 times since Dec 26th: At Home to Chelsea (won) At Home to Palace (draw) At Home to Utd (draw) Away at Wolves (loss) Away at Villa (loss) At Home to City (loss) All of our wins were against teams lower than us in the table except… Read more »
Just watched the replay. It seems that Arteta was preparing for Thursday’s game by subbing in ESR, Laca and Ceballos. Seeing how Sterling easily ran pass Bellerin, I hope Arteta replaces Bellerin by Cedric. Auba was jogging on the pitch for the whole time. I would replace him by Martinelli. But I don’t think Arteta would do it.
Mysticleaves
Kinda makes sense though, why would you compete for a trophy on Legrove, Arsenal aren’t competing for anymore.
Top eight …….is the new top four?
Mysticleaves Actually I am not talking bullshit. I think that I understand better than you the meaning of heritage. There are far too many people like you who spend their time slagging and belittling the club. Arsenal are a supported club on a global basis and not just in England or London. The club has travelled all over the World long before the modern era with regular fixtures in Paris, Glasgow Rangers and against leading teams in South America. It is not so long ago that the full French International Team who had won the World Cup played a friendly… Read more »
Top eight …….is the new top four?
Tom
Only counts if it’s since December
I’m just glad that the since Xmas table doesn’t lie anymore.
When End Times come, very soon now according to Pedro, Arsenal will win the league, the Arteta faithful will get raptured to Heaven, and the rest of us will be dispatched to Hell, watching reruns of Pulis’s Stoke playing Allardici’s Bolton on an endless loop as we suffer and burn
You can twist stats any which way you want. The only stat that counts is the table and if that is shitty than does Arsenal play decent flowing football.
Write this season off and ask yourselves just one question who would want to play for Arsenal with Arteta as manager in the next season? Next season down the toilet already!!!
“People do not always support a club because it happens to be winning titles. Both Liverpool and Man Utd spent years in the doldrums, but still maintained their support and whatever you may think Arsenal are still by a country mile the most respected and supported London People do not always support a club because it happens to be winning titles. Both Liverpool and Man Utd spent years in the doldrums, but still maintained their support and whatever you may think Arsenal are still by a country mile the most respected and supported London” Emirates Stroller You still don’t understand… Read more »
Is Leeds climate much different than London’s?
They seem to have issues with their pitch.
Poor Bielsa asking for one touch football at brake neck speed from players unable to stay upright.
Doesn’t Wenger make you want to spew? His chihuahua-shaped head popping up in some right wing newspaper telling everyone the fucking obvious, ie that esr, saka and martinelli are really important to the club. Probably wants to take credit for them. It’s as annoying as those reactionary millionaires Tony Blair and Cameron telling us how to live our lives from beyond their shit stained political graves. One a man who fomented an unnecessary war in the middle East and who is now a highly paid “peace envoy” . The other a pigs head fucker who split Britain in half. Self… Read more »
Jamie,
In two of those games we had the lead and then gave up a Red card and changed the trajectory of those games, AFC probably would have won both.
That would change the narrative to 7 in 11 since Xmas and 4X.
Half full or half empty, depends on perspective.
Those Graham Potter hagiographies are comedy gold. I think Brighton fans would prefer Harry bastarding Potter as their manager… Losing to a last minute goal from benteke could be his undoing. All we need from that club is Bissouma hopefully with Eddie going the other way.
Remember three or so years ago when AKBs would talk about us winning the calendar year title? Well that’s not a thing and nor is the form table.
Even for a Pedro that’s been championing the Arteta since forever, table since December is a new low. Let me try some nuggets of my own.
Since the second minute to 90th minute we were on par with Man City.
We’re indirectly top dog in Europe.
Emiratesstroller You need to look outside England Arsenal is in a neverending downspiral with supporting in SOME. PLACES around the globe. 15 years ago Arsenal were rivaling Man U all over the world. For example in America (The whole continent or. continents not only USA) Arsenal gathered a lot. of. support from the top of Canada to. the bottom of Argentina. Arsenal was in everybody’s mouth you could hear the support, you could see the jerseys, and you could talk the talk about how Arsenal was a BIG TEAM being a little UNLUCKY. But time has change, no more jerseys… Read more »
Shocking penalty call if it stands
From Haaland’s agent:
“Only a maximum of 10 clubs can afford to buy [Haaland] and give the platform you would like after you’ve been in Dortmund… and four of those clubs are in [England].
I guess that’s the clearest evidence there’s a new Big 4, not Big 6 in the Premier League. The only consolation is that Spurs didn’t replace us.
This blog gets more ludicrous by the day if we lose on Thursday your messiah should be sacked end of
Bayern, PSG, Barca, Real, Atletico, Juve,
Chelsea, United, City, Liverpool…..are these the ten ?
Tom
I was up at Elland Road last year. A thrilling 3-3 with Cardiff after Leeds were 3-0 up at half time. Its a proper 20th century ground where being in the stands casts you back to the 1980s. I think the playing surface may be of the same vintage.
Brilliant atmosphere and a healthy amount of tension. The pitch that day wasn’t great. Eddie came on as a sub for Leeds and had a hell of a time keeping his balance (plus ca change…). Great day out.
Stroller – Did I miss something or is your memory decieving you? We played France in February 1989 (I was there) and won 2-0, but there certainly weren’t World Cup winners at the time. They did win the Euros in 84 and 90, but when we played them the Dutch team of Gullit and Van Basten held that trophy. I recall the Scots complaining that we were helping the French prepare for their WC qualify game at Hampden a couple of weeks later.
Would Liverpool swap one CL win and a PL win for those four FA Cups? I don’t think so.
SAGG Interesting what you say about South and Central America. I don’t think people in the major footballing countries ie Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia and Chile have ever been into English football, not least since the British took football there in the 19th century. Spanish and to a lesser extent Portuguese clubs have some recognition because of linguistic, cultural, and migrant links but in, say, Argentina, Boca, Racing, River and Independiente among others are huge and dominate their media. And they’ve all been around for over 100 years. I think these countries are perfectly happy with the intensity of their… Read more »
Arsenal have been in this position many times before. There was a club before Wenger. And we have had shit teams and bad managers. I get that many don’t rate Arteta but very few list the alternatives. Being a fan means suffering the bad times.
Nice positive post Pedro.
Hoping if we have to lose it will be a loss down to officials rather than our performance
Meslier is going to cost Leeds multiple points this season. He’s their Runarsson.
. “Let me try some nuggets of my own.
Since the second minute to 90th minute we were on par with Man City.“
I can do better,: Arsenal were unbeaten since the Chinese lunar new year and only lost narrowly to the best team in the world 1 : nil
Tom
The medal is all yours. I’m shit at ironies anyways
If we’re getting rid of Pepe this summer Rafinha (Leeds) and Saint-Maximin (Newcastle) are Premier League alternatives. Ratings the more rounded player.
SAGG
Spot on man. It’s the same in Africa and the part of Asia I have lived in
David Boyle
Hit the nail on the head.
I actually think we’ll get through against Benfica. Hopefully Aubameyang will have his shooting boots on. He owes us big time after last week.
If we do lose, which is possible, then the knives will be out and why not?
RR
We should be getting rid of Arteta and watching a good manager make Pepe shine.
Leeds play such great football.
Arsenal is a joke club in the eyes of most NEUTRAL foreign fans
It is a declining institution owned by an Absentee Americans filled with the drama of a boisterous online community of fans.
Like Mystic said, Chelsea has assumed dominancy in the foreign market. They used to travel for pre-season and post season tours a lot when Wenger was insisting on going to the same Austrian summer preseason camp.
Arsenal have been lazy on and off the field for the past 15 years.
Brilliant goal by Dallas.
2-0 Leeds.
Pedro, You should know better than gloat after a statistical anomaly. Let’s see where Arsenal is after we’ve played all the remaining in form teams. Since 2021, we mostly played team below us and we easily beat them. Now that we will be facing mostly teams in the top half, I would be pleased but very surprised if we kept the same points return. After the stellar performances against team in better form than us such as Villa, Wolves, ManCity, it would take a brave man to bet that we will beat Leicester, Liverpool, Spurs, WestHam, Everton and Chelsea. I… Read more »
Dissenter
100% correct.
We were more concerned in promoting the Emirates Cup.
3-0 Leeds.
Raphinha.running the show.
Mysticleaves
You’ve a point there.
But I’m alright with him finishing the season we can’t get any decent replacement at the moment. We should reassess end of the season.
Graham Potter how the ambitions have changed at the club lol.
Where are Brighton in the table?
Leeds are the best team to watch in the EPL.
It’s great to see every player giving it 100%.
Wonderful stuff.
Hats off to Bielsa.
A few weeks ago the amoebas were saying they wanted Hasenhutti to replace Arteta.
Hello !!!
Valentin, I’m flagging facts my friend.
If you whinge that things aren’t improving, you are wrong.
Facts.
It’s true that new fans, especially international, only care about the results esp. PL and UCL.
But form is temporary and class is permanent. As soon as there is an upturn in results, we will see more Arsenal fans everywhere.
Southampton do have to sack their manager
He;’s unstable and has created a very emotionally unstable brand of football. They are in a tail spin at the moment after the drubbing they got at United.
The Bard, People have named alternative numerous time: Pochetino was available, but we dithered and is now at PSG Christophe Galtier will be available at the end of the season. Luis Campos Lille DoF may also be available as the club will be completely overhauled following their takeover. Galtier is doing miracle at LoSC and is currently leading Ligue 1, having his team play good football. He may even be able to use Pepe. Nico Kovac was available but is now at Monaco where he is doing great Allegro is available Nagglesmann In Germany, Pellegrino Matarazzo, there is a few… Read more »
5th since Xmas, is the new top 4
There’s no trophy, but it’s what all football fans secretly yearn for….
Pedro,
So your take is that things are improving: we were utter shit, now we are just mediocre…
The reality is that we just hit a patch when we faced a few poor team overall.
We were 12th and playing dismal football, then we moved to the dizzy height of 8th, but then teams with games in hand won and just pulled away. So we are now back to 11th.
So Hooray, we climbed 1 place!
Let’s Wait until the end of the season and see whether normal services will resume.
Down to 11th……so depressing.
Did the season start at Christmas? No okay then. The amount of Arteta propaganda by Pedro is embarrassing at this point.
Tom
“They seem to have issues with their pitch.
Poor Bielsa asking for one touch football at brake neck speed from players unable to stay upright.”
They had a chance of playing one touch football on a perfect pitch at the Emirates…..
What people tend to forget is that Leeds are used to playing on that pitch , consequently that could give .them the edge …
Pedro still trying to use statistics to convince us that oatmeal is actually Caviar.
If you have never tasted Caviar before, you might be convinced
The only relevant stat is that we are in 11th place
Pedro going all AKB on Arteta…
Pedro
Do you remember when Wenger used to being out stats like this?
We won the 2nd half against Bayern.
We have been the best team since
We dominated the game…
Ladies and gentlemen, Pedro is the new Tony Attwood.
Talking of dodgy pitches, I went up to the baseball ground to see Arsenal in the FA cup v Derby …it was basically a mud heap.
Classic cup tie with an unbelievable atmosphere, finished 2-2 with Charlie George giving the old v sign to the Derby fans after scoring his 2nd ..
Pedro I’m flagging facts my friend. You are flagging half the facts, Pedro. I’ve been thinking about this lately and came to the following conclusion: Arteta is definitively a very good coach. The improvements you are talking about are there and visible in spurts (normal for a team still learning a new system). That 1st half vs Wolves was definitively a watershed moment of watching great dominant football until that Luiz red card ruined the momentum. The problem with Arteta is that he is a poor manager. His in-game management is questionable and he is incapable of making the tactical… Read more »
“They seem to have issues with their pitch. Poor Bielsa asking for one touch football at brake neck speed from players unable to stay upright.”They had a chance of playing one touch football on a perfect pitch at the Emirates…..What people tend to forget is that Leeds are used to playing on that pitch , consequently that could give .them the edge …” Pierre, Yes, our pitch is probably still tops in the PL and all the credit went to Arteta and the boys for outplaying Leeds, who were poor on the day. According to Bamford their pitch is a… Read more »
Another thing , I saw as many Leeds players fall on their back sides as did the Saints.
Leeds relayed their pitch recently and it cost them £300 k and it’s still shit.
Pedro, nice positive post mate.
Tom
“According to Bamford their pitch is a sore subject and he desperately wanted to avoid speaking about it after the game, so hardly an advantage.”
So Bamford not wanting to talk about the pitch is confirmation that that they have no advantage despite playing on it every other week .
Got it!
Pedro’s optimism is admirable but I take an entirely different view. Arteta is way out of his depth; in terms of team selection, tactics, substitutions and treatment of young players he is found wanting. The thought of him presiding over the summer transfer window is worrying to say the least. We can’t afford any more Willians. Let’s be honest, Arsenal FC is on a downward spiral and, no matter what the result on Thursday, our season is over.
Valentin, no… look at the stats table again. We’ll be where we need to be next season.
lol Leeds go above Arsenal in the league despite being trounced by the boys the other week. That’s the thing about Leeds this season. They get drubbings at times and can go on a period for a short time of not very good results but they keep brushing off those poorer spells and bounce back with impressive wins coupled with the good football they played. It’s an outrage really that a squad like Leeds that is Championship level is above Arsenal going into the later stages of the season. Arsenal may finish above Leeds by the end of the season… Read more »
Pierre, no, but Bamford not wanting to talk about while grimacing is an indication he fucking hates it.
If you watched the game you would know both sets of players looked like on skates at times , and considering Leeds play quicker style it stands to reason there’s no advantage for them.
They aren’t fucking Stoke ffs.
Pedro
We’ll be where we need to be next season.
And where exactly in the table??
Close to the top 6? Hovering around 10th/11th???
Tom
In all honesty , after having a quick look at the Leeds pitch in recent matches, it looks Ok to me .
I don’t know if you realise , but when there has been a lot of rain, the pitch gets wet and consequently players can slip a little , especially if they have the wrong studs .
Yea. Beating the poor teams and then losing by 1-0 to a Man City goal in the first 5 minutes. Mostly 8th to 11th. That’s where we will be next season if this madness continues. Arteta needs to be reigned in and made accountable to a DOF or be sacked entirely
Pierre
Leeds have a better away record than home record this season.
If their home pitch was advantageous it would probable be the other way around.
When do we truly judge Mr Beige? Obviously not this season although a Europa League win will of course change opinions and outlook considerably even if it may seem unlikely. Surely it has to be at the end of next season. If Arteta doesn’t considerably improve on this season’s display and league placing next season he basically has to be shown the door. He will be shown to be not up to task. Although there seems a fair few who are quite willing to sleep walk hand in hand with Arteta into midtable obscurity surrender forever.. He has to turn… Read more »
“We’ll be where we need to be next season.” There are still a whooping 39 points to play for in the league and all to play for in the EL,if you had any kind of conviction in what those stats tell you, you won’t be postponing tangible evidence till next season. Your desperation to write this season off makes a mockery of your positivity. You write the season off anytime we hit a bad patch, and boy have we hit them, then return to talk it up once we win a match or two, at this point you have no… Read more »
SAGG
I beg to differ with your opinion that Spurs were popular in Argentina, because of the management of Pochettina.
Spurs popularity stems from Ardiles and Villa playing for Spurs. They were the first 2 Argentinians to play in England.
DB10, top 4 contenders, no doubt
Yes,Pierre, rain is wet and water makes grass slippery.
Arteta absolutely should be judged at the end of this season.
Advancing past Benfica is the minimum requirement in Europe and improving, or at the very least matching his league position from last year— if ones so desperate on lowering the bar— should be the acceptable benchmark.
Anything less and might as well admit any sort of meaningful accountability is none existent.
Things are definitely getting better.
But they aren’t actually progressing. We are just back to square one from when Wenger left if he keeps this consistency. (Well that’s only if he finishes 6th this season, otherwise we are still 2 steps back).
This squad has been under achieving this season.
And you can blame player poverty, but that’s being very dishonest if you compare our squad to who is above us.
I’d say it’s mostly Arteta not knowing how to get our most potent goal threat to actually score and his negative tactics from the start of the season.
I admire Pedro going full AKB and doubling down as we sit in 11th place behind Leeds and then the three teams above them all have games in hand on us. Pedro’s catchphrase ‘something’s brewing’ could go down in Le Grove folklore like Arsene’s ‘handbrake’ and ‘mental strength.’
However, DB10 makes a good point. We were exceptional against Wolves until the Luiz penalty. Played absolutely fantastic football. If we could do that on a consistent basis, maybe there’s hope.
By the way, just saw Giroud’s brilliant goal. Very happy for him, if not for Chelsea.
I am also looking forward to next season. Because I saw a system is being developed. What we are missing is depth and one or two week position.
Oh! Just saw the Chelsea is awarded the goal from Giroud’s super kick!!!
Pedro,
You could probably out-argue Valentin on a lot of football things, being an established blogger and all.
One thing you can’t put-argue him on is on the stats.
Stats is what Valentin does for a living.
Giroud with an overhead stunner to put Chelsea 1-0 up at Atleti. Assistant ref flagged it offside but after a VAR check it was given.
How on earth they ruled the giroud goal
Pedro
I really would like to think that you are right… but this is one helluva mighty task for this season.
For me, the next transfer window will be utterly crucial for MA. At that point he should know what kind of players he wants and this will be a showcase of whether he is a good judge of talent or not.
You do like your positive spin, don’t you Pedro? Marketing 101 I guess? 😉
Tom Matching his league position of last year is absolutely not the bare minimum, that would prove he hasn’t progressed us a single iota a full season later . I would imagine for the people who matter ( the owners ) he has to without fail gain European football . Next year he has to without fail get champions league football it’s the kronke’ pattern . Wenger 2 years without cl football – sacked . Emery – obvious his 2nd year wasn’t going to gain cl football – sacked Next year is arteta’s 2nd full season . On a side… Read more »
I’ll continue with my post. For me, it is important to know what we need to be competitive. Now it is up to the club and the owner to support the manager.