ARSENAL SIMMERING | ARTETA MAKES IT CLICK WITH HEAVILY ROTATED 11

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It’s not often I make correct predictions, but this week, I nailed it. I said on The Arsenal Opinion podcast last Sunday that we were going to see two victories post-City and here we are.

We are better than Leicester City. They shit-housed us in the last game with a Vardy counter and some shocking VARing. It was different this weekend, that’s not to say the afternoon wasn’t a wave of emotions.

The starting 11, on first perusal, absolutely stunk. It looked like a death wish from a manager that really doesn’t give a fuck about fan sentiment. Willian, Elneny, Luiz, Xhaka, Mari, and Soares didn’t feel like a winning formula… most fans were grumbling in the group chats. Then, after 6 minutes, the I TOLD YOU SO chickens came home to roost. Willian and Xhaka lost the ball, Pablo Mari back-peddled against a surging Tielemans run, Mo Elneny failed to move across, the Leicester midfielder took full advantage and unleashed a brutal low shot past Bernd Leno.

Personally, I was furious. I am an emotional mess during most games, but this starting 11 felt personal. My group chat felt the same.

‘Arteta doesn’t get it’

‘This could be the end of him’

‘He’s addicted to shit players’

My word, was everyone wrong. Badly wrong.

The team didn’t drop their heads, players like Pepe and Willian led by example with excellent drive and efficiency. We controlled possession, we showed patience, and we chipped away at Leicester’s resolve.

Our first goal looked like an Andreas Georgeson inspired setpiece plan. David Luiz hung at the back post, he moved towards the penalty spot, Willian found his run perfectly, Luiz worked a perfect diving header across goal. Brilliant stuff.

Penalties haven’t been good to us of late. There’s always a reason for them to happen against us and always a reason for them to NOT be given our way. Pepe had a penalty rescinded early in the game after a VAR intervention… but he managed to even it out when the same tech piped up on an Ndidi handball in the box. Lacazette stepped up, sent Kasper the wrong way, and drilled home our second into the bottom left. He loved that. The relief was very clearly expressed with a clenched fist.

Our third goal would not have been possible 4 months ago. Nicolas Pepe ran at a retreating Leicester defence, he passed to Martin Odegaard, the Norwegian creator controlled the ball and passed in one silky movement, he found Willian who cut back for Pepe to finish off the goal with a tap-in. It was a very Arsenal goal. Odegaard made it with his speed of thought and his technique. Pepe was embraced by everyone, including the subs. He seems to be very popular. That’s a good thing considering the PR around his introverted character.

We saw the game out from there with minimal fuss. It wasn’t total control. There was a scare at the back post in the 96th minute, but overall, it was unfussy considering where Leicester are in the league.

So the hot takes?

We were ALL wrong about the stating 11 and I am very, very happy about that.

On reflection, with some of that 20/20 victory vision, the selection was defensible.

Cedric Soares has been excellent in 90% of his games, covering for Hector on the right was smart. I’ll say it quietly because vegan twitter is mean… but I think Cedric is better in that role. He’s faster, his defending is superb, and he’s more efficient in the final third.

Lacazette upfront totally made sense. Auba needs to be firing for the big crunch coming. The Frenchman has also been a star this year.

I might have given Dani C that game after his error, but if it needed to be Mo, that’s all we had. Thomas Partey should NOT have started out there.

Nicolas Pepe is in electric form. Willian is one of our top earners, he had an excellent run against Benfica, he was always going to start. There was no world in which Saka played. Both the above-mentioned players were absolutely excellent.

Arsenal rotated so hard it felt like a League Cup run out, yet we still absolutely dominated Leicester start to finish. The bet by the club is clear… they are laser-focused on winning the Europa League… and having the best possible 11 to down Jose Mourinho’s Spurs side.

Back to Leicester.

This is going to sound stupid, but goals change perception. That 90 was not new. We’ve done it in every game since Chelsea in December (bar City). The difference was we delivered a result to go with the performance. Again, the group chat is used as a reference for the madness of being an emotional fan… but the narrative in mine went from ‘BRENDAN HAS ARTETA’S NUMBER’ to ‘OH WOW ARTETA MASTERCLASS.’ What was the difference?

Goals.

No red cards.

No hideous reffing.

Players stepping the f*ck up.

Arteta is bringing careers back from the dead. Our squad now feels bigger because good players are being… you know, good.

The Europa League played a huge role in that. Bukayo Saka’s contribution to that game was the assist for the Leicester game. These players need a focus. Top 4 isn’t on the cards, but now the squad is playing for starting positions in a cup run that could end in a trophy. That has the whole squad sharp. We beat a team pushing for top 2 with a bunch of squad players. That’s special.

Nicolas Pepe was literally unplayable today. He floated inside, he ran at players, he used his body really well… he was decisive. This is a player that looked so meek in November you’d have struggled to give him away. Clearly, he’s been working very hard in training and he obviously has a desire to make it here. It was a top-class performance.

Willian can’t help that he’s a Chelsea legend. He can’t do anything about that deal. But if he wants to be good, that is going to work for all of us. He really was top drawer. 3 assists in 4 days, that’s the same as you-know-who managed in the whole of last season. I thought his movement was good, the speed of his passing was much better, and he worked really, really hard.

I wasn’t sure about Pablo Mari. He was a bit embarrassing for the first goal, backing off like he had a bear running at him… but he certainly grew with the game. There was a moment late on when he was running with Jamie Vardy, his timing on the intervention was utter perfection. I would like to see more boldness with his passing, a bit more presence, but most people seem to be raving to me about him, so I’ll back off.

Granit. Xhaka. Take. A. Bow. Honestly, I feel gross writing this… but damn, he was fucking excellent. He’s been so good in 2021. The error early on was erased by a superb performance. He was hacked down 4 times, made 2 tackles, 1 interception, 6 ball recoveries, and he dropped an 87% pass completion rate off 71 attempts. He was fantastic, there were a couple of saucy moments, a kind of Cruyff turn, and a wonderful flick under pressure. He was GOOD.

I was a bit worried about ESR. He was one of two players that left the pitch with an injury before 50 minutes had played out, Barnes being the other. The fixtures are brutal. The Premier League should not have teams that play Euro games rolling first thing on a Sunday. Fingers crossed both players are ok.

The replacement for ESR was Odegaard, I thought he was absolutely electric. He’d been fairly quiet the last two games, yesterday, he burst out the traps. He pressed, he moved the ball very efficiently, and he had that little bit of special sauce we’ve lacked. He dinked a chip to Soares that was simply stunning. He assisted the assistor for the Pepe goal. He’s just the full package. I like that Madrid are leaking ‘JUST KIDDING, WE LOVE HIM’ articles to drive up his price. For me, Odegaard is our priority signing this summer.

You know things are shaping up nicely, because the only negative the ghouls had after the game was focused on who didn’t play. Namely, Gabriel Martinelli. I really don’t think it’s necessary to whine on about young players. He will get minutes. The club loves him, but he has to wait his turn like the rest of them. Some fans seem to hold dual imperatives in their head 1) WE MUST WIN ALL THE POINTS 2) YOUNG KIDS MUST BE BLOODED. It’s hard to do both. Gabi is fragile, loose, and inconsistent right now. We know that kids make it when they are ready, ESR the case study for that. Gabriel will make it, but I think Arteta deserves the benefit of the doubt on this one because every decision he made worked yesterday.

So where are we on the ‘SINCE CHRISTMAS’ trophy?

We’re in the top 4, baby!

2nd best defence.

3rd most goals.

That my friends is progress.

A lot of people think the Premier League table is all that matters. Sure, in a normal season, at a normal club. Arsenal are not normal and we are not in a normal year. Our organisation has been neglected and abused for 10 years. We hired a rookie coach because we’re broke and the view was that he was one of the best talents for his age and we could tap his City standards and grow with him. Mistakes and bad runs were priced into the experience. The terrible run happened, it was shocking, but the club moved on from it because they believed in Arteta’s approach. That means we can’t just look at the league for green shoots. We have to isolate moments in time and search for clues in different places. Christmas is when things clicked. So that table above gives good context as to whether things are truly moving to a new level. The eye test will tell you the football is better. Match reports like this tell you we’re seeing improvement beyond just the starting 11.

Even if you are #ArtetaOut, it’s a stretch to justify firing him because as it stands, he’s 7 points off Chelsea, with Liverpool, Everton, and Spurs even closer. Klopp, the 2nd best manager in the world, is 6 points off Arsenal in our worst ever season. Jose, £15m a year, with THAT Spurs squad everyone said suited him, 2 points off. Carlo 3 points. We’re in a year where David Moyes is besting them all!

Our next 5 games are Burnley, Olympiacos x2, Spurs and West Ham. 5 wins in those games and we’re cooking on gas. Arteta needs a run. Europa is absolutely key to the league. Rotation is too. Let’s see where it goes.

BUT… before all that, listen to my podcast. I’m chatting with the excellent Johnny and Matt. We discuss the smelly line-up, the big performances, and the expectations for the rest of the season.

ALSO, if you are a father, check out season two of Johnny’s How’s Your Father podcast. He’s hilarious, his guests are elite, and you should always support a fellow Gooner in a creative industry.

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Play

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AFC Forever

Tom You are right, individual mistakes have to be cut out. This can be fixed in a number of ways, not least by having a settled team on the pitch where players understand each other and their roles within the tactical framework. When building a team that kind of thing can happen, it was something Klopp spoke about. What doesn’t help is the fact that the intensity of games minimises the time on the training pitch. Pre-season is going to be very important for us, especially if we bring new players in, as Leeds quite rightly suggests. 1. Individual errors… Read more »

Rich

Leeds gunner Football finances are completely decimated It was slow in the last two transfer windows, now add in a season of no gate revenue Outside of clubs with very wealthy backers, and Bayern Munich, I don’t see much money being spent at all We’re about to see huge deflation in transfer fees + wages In the summer I expect mainly loans, and clubs paying players off, to leave early I have a feeling KSE will back us for a few players, the issue we’ll have is a first team squad of 28, which is 6 too many with European… Read more »

Greg

I am happy to get a win away at Leicester. It should be noted that Leicester were without Maddison, who is a monster player and takes our lunch money on a regular basis recently.

Tenerife+Gooner

Funny ,this emotional ride.Watching,on TV.I hate it ,hardly ever enjoy it.When I had a Season Ticket ,I could handle the bad Days.Boys and Girls together ,I suppose.

Jamie

“Exactly what I said
Never get tired of being right”

Don you cabbage, this is also what you said:

Feb 18th: “I’m calling time on Arteta. Done with him I’ve seen enough”

Feb 25th: “I’m done with arteta. Get him out”

Feb 25th: “Fuck this. I’ve seen enough. Arteta needs to go”

Yesterday: “I’ve had enough of Arteta. This is bull shit.”

When we concede a goal, you’re crying for Arteta to be sacked. When we win, you announce this is the blueprint.

It’s like you forget there’s a record of all the dumb shit you type here.

Batistuta

Love that “Since Christmas table”, very interesting albeit delusionsal.

We’ve not been better than Leicester or any of the teams above us and the actual league table since September doesn’t lie, whatever it is in May also won’t lie.

Hope we finish the season on a high though

I hate Green Bay

Kronke

“We are all goodness on here after all”

Ok, explain this.

Underrated. Really want Leicester to spank this useless manager.
Aussie. Let’s hope we do a Man City and cruise to a 1-0 defeat.

You are deluded if you think everyone is a fan, and there are stupid people on this site, and I don’t like it

AFC Forever

Gonsterous

“Arteta is in it for himself, great for us in the short run but by the time he leaves, we will be left with a bunch of pensioners, and no top prospect youngsters at the club”

I don’t understand this comment mate.

Smith Roe 20, Saka 19, Martinelli 19, Odegaard 22, Gabriel 23, Tierney 23, Holding 25, Pepe 25 etc and Partey 27, Mari 27 aren’t exactly over the hill. Sure David Luiz is 33 and Willian 32 but I don’t think anyone thinks they are the future.

Leedsgunner

Kronke

Nothing wrong with Lidl…😜. When selling though everyone thinks they deserve Waitrose prices.

Gazzap

Anyone know why Arsenal are not playing this week when it is an otherwise virtually full premier league program??? So after this week then we’ll have a game in hand on most teams in the league.

China1

Sorry Pedro but I can’t agree that we ignore the table just because arteta is young or whatever

But I will ignore the table if he wins the EL. He can’t just fail. If we are short in the league but make up for it in the cups that another story entirely (like last season) which I will have a lot more time for

Win the EL. Do eeeeet

Gonsterous

AFC forever

ESR, martinelli, saka, tierney, and co were already here when arteta came. Look at his signings. Not to mention, he doesn’t rate saliba and guen.

He has been trying to get willian in the team every chance he gets. No surprise when we extend luiz’s contract this summer. Mari and partey in their prime, so when he leaves, they will be in the no resale value age.

No doubt he will convince the board to extend laca just like auba (which made sense in the summer but still over payed)

Barcelona want Arteta…….🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏please be true

Vintage Gun

@Leeds gunner Personally i would demand £25m for Bellerin and spend that money on-1 Hakimi, Lamptey or Aarrons. In that order. Left back cover i’d snap up Jordan Amavi of Marseille. Good player, good age and three months left on his contract. Midfield im hoping for Bissouma. I reckon £30-35m will do it. Sell Guendouzi and Torreia. Attacking Midfield i’d keep Odegaard if feasible. If not Buendiea would be good. Up front i would have Auba Balogun and Martinelli as our three. If Balogun leaves then i would Buy Edouard with the Lacca money and have Auba, Edouard and Martinelli.… Read more »

Jamie

“The first time I’ve turned on Arteta was 4 days ago” If you think Feb 18th was 4 days ago, use your fingers and toes and count backwards. Today is March 1st and there were 28 days in Feb this year, that should help simplify things for you. Winthorpe February 18, 2021 22:37:55 “I’m calling time on Arteta Done with him I’ve seen enough” Announce you’re right as much as you like as if it means something. Everyone else here capable of counting higher than 4 will read what’s written and know for sure that you flip flop like a… Read more »

Gonsterous

AFC

I’m happy to be proven wrong. I supported arteta when we won the FA cup and was supporting him at the start of the season, but we are not a club that can give a rookie manager a couple of seasons to find his feet.

Jamie

“Feb 18th?? Utter bull shit. I never said I wanted Arteta out on the 18th.”

Cue: Ok so I lied. Big deal. I’m still always right.

AFC Forever

Gonsterous

I’m glad he got shot of Guendouzi, you can’t have a big-headed kid behaving like that. No doubt he’s talented but he was a total liability.

Tom

“People who feel that the “since Christmas table is nonsense”, will change their mind if we could have the “until Christmas table” in parallel. Only blind can’t see the progress.“

Progress isn’t the issue here. We can all see Arsenal are better now.
It’s the Xmas cut off line that’s being questioned.
There was no pause in play for Xmas, no winter brake. Just a regular week of PL grind like the one before and one after.

Leedsgunner

Vintage @ 1506

Very doable list actually.

I completely forgot about Guendouzi and Torreira, even if sold conservatively we should be able to recoup £40m – that’s before selling Laca…

Eduard, how is he in the air? With our fullbacks crossing more into the box… it would be great if we could obtain someone who knew how to make most of it.

Jamie

Apology accepted, you plum. Try harder next time.

Gonsterous

AFC

Trouble or not, there are other ways to get rid of a player whilst keeping his value high. Arteta basically accounced to the word that guen was available at a cut price range. Great managing.

Bet arteta would have problems with a lot of the invincible because they fought for their team mates, especially that scene where everyone surrounded and bullied van nistelroy. Bet they would have all been sold had arteta been in charge, talking about his non negotiable.

Mr Serge

Most fans will not want Arteta to go well most that are not on le grove

AFC Forever

Gonsterous

You can’t have a player running around bragging about his wages. He was also supposed to be difficult in the changing room a bit of an ego. Nothing to do with him sticking up for his teammates. As Graham Souness said the other day, a young player who acts like a big-time Charley will see their progress stifled because teams won’t want them around the training ground.

Matt

The more I hear and read about Gendouzi, the more I think Arteta did the right thing sending him on loan. Whether he went about it in the right way or not can be debated. I think even if he had said nothing, it is quite clear from what previous coaches and the current coach at Hertha have said that he is frankly a bit of a prick. So in that respect, Arteta saying that he broke some non negotiables is actually a more reserved way of saying he is a prick. He could still be a decent player, but… Read more »

Greg

Winthorpe
Since you asked, I said it was a nice win. Let’s not get overconfident about beating a team with 1/2 the budget of Arsenal (https://www.spotrac.com/epl look at the wage bills of both clubs) who was missing their best player who tortures us 2-3x per year.

Kroenkephobe

Gazzap

I think we’ve played the highest number of games so far along with a few other clubs. Games this week are to make up for postponements etc.

It’s wildly optimistic but if Soton get a result vs the toffees tonight, we’ll have made up point gaps against 5 teams above us in this round.

I know it means fewer chances to see the team but getting some rest in the players’ legs at this point is optimal. We only have 5 games this month.

China1

Torreira makes stock has fallen a lot so I wouldn’t expect more than 15m for him right now since he just hasn’t played football

For Guen his performances have been very good this year but he’s again on the naughty step which must impact his value as a repeat offender so I’d also guess we won’t get much more than 15m for him

If we can get over 35m for the 2 I’d be pretty happy since that’s useful money in 2021 and could probably buy us a proper partner for partey

AFC Forever

Greg

“Since you asked, I said it was a nice win. Let’s not get overconfident about beating a team with 1/2 the budget of Arsenal”

Classic tactic of discrediting a win. Happens every time on LeGrove; the opposition either have injuries, are ‘shit’, less money or their leading goalscorer has stubbed his toe on a sponge. Talk about desperation.

We had no Saka. Partey and Auba were both on the bench. I wonder if you were so generous when we lost 1-0 to Man City, after returning from Greece when the Arteta Out noise was at it’s loudest. W

Vintage Gun

@Leedsgunner Good point about heading ability as a LOT of good aerial crosses from Tierney go to waste with our current CF options. I know Edouard stands around the six foot mark but not sure if he can head or not. Regarding outs, as you said we can raise at least £40m for Torreia and Guendo. £20m for Lacca, £15m for Eddie and £15m for Riess, £20m For AMN. £25m for Bellerin and a quick £10m for Chambers. That alone generates close to £150m and the funny thing is out of that list only Bellerin is a XI starter. To… Read more »

AFC Forever

Kroenkephobe

“but getting some rest in the players’ legs at this point is optimal”

Absolutely. Not only is it a chance for recovery but also for training groundwork and preparation for Burnley. This is so often misunderstood by people, teams without midweek games have a massive advantage for their next game if their opponent is playing midweek.

GillespieRoadNoMore

One swallow doesn’t make a summer but I agree with Pedro that the trend is going the right way. Pepe is coming good, Willian is at last living up to his reputation and wage packet and Xhaka has transformed into a midfield master, he also appears to be shaking off the red mist stupidity that often saw him Red carded in the past. I am looking forward to seeing how we do against Spurs and the Hammers, Jose is riding his luck with Spurs and Moyes looks to be extracting much more than the sum of the parts that make… Read more »

Karsa

I agree with Soares being first choice right back, but because he’s the only cover for left back coupled with the need for straightforward rotation, I expect Hector to get plenty of run outs too.

It’s often difficult to distinguish between dropping a player and necessary rotation.

Leedsgunner

I want us to beat Liverpool and Tottenham before we speak of progress… in the upcoming figures I want to stop conceding in the first ten minutes before we speak of progress…

spanner

Well, that’s Willian woken up at last, Will he stay awake though or curl up back under his £200K a week duvet? Pepe also looking good. The pair of them regularly shamed in public by Saka and ESR’s excellence might be what has stung them back to life finally. Xhaka, just keep him away from me. Of course he will be better with Partey in the team. But Partey may well be better without Xhaka alongside him. Should Elneny have got across to Tielemanns? I think he should have been going in that direction. Soares. Yes. Odegaard. Yes, he’s only… Read more »

Rich

If Barca or anyone is willing to give us £20-£30 million in this market for Bellerin Then that’s really good business I’d be reluctant to go for Lamptey, he’s been out for over two months with a hamstring injury, and for a young player who all about pace and intensive sprints, that’s a real concern I’d love us to go in hard for Hakimi, but wouldn’t be against Niles providing an internal solution either Competition for Leno + Tierney should be at the top of our list this summer Then we should aim for quality over quantity, because our squad… Read more »

Gonsterous

AFC What about saliba? What’s the problem there? What about ESR and Martinelli? We have been asking for esr from the beginning of the season, when he excluded ozil and esr proved it time and time again but he still did not get featured till after Christmas. Same thing is happening with balogun. Everyone can see his quality except the manager. How about extending an olive branch and get the player on board instead of the usual, sod off, it’s my way or the high way bs we keep seeing from arteta?? I only see an ego in arteta, nothing… Read more »

Emiratesstroller

It is interesting that Hoddle suggests that Arsenal would have been more successful this season had they kept Emiliano Martinez.

No-one would dispute that Leno is a decent goalkeeper. Indeed there may be marginal difference in ability between the two goalkeepers.

However, I do think that Martinez out performs Leno in command of the box and also in his
decision making which is also impacting beneficially on the back line.

Carts

Big 3 points, though I didn’t go into the game with much confidence, nor did I realise how extensive Leicester’s injuries were. Oh well. Btw, stumbled across this, as I don’t actively read DM: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-9305235/Jack-Wilshere-reveals-biggest-regret-career-living-dream-Arsenal.html Little excerpt: “Now everyone wears a GPS. You’re looked after. That wasn’t around when I was younger. I’ve heard many people over the years say I attract the challenge. That’s my game – get the player close, do a one-two, dribble around. I still try to play like that. But if I could go back and change one thing, it would be to manage the… Read more »

Kroenkephobe

We’re Bellerin to leave, what about making enquiries about Like Ayling at Leeds? He’s 29 but is a good defender and footballing wing back/fb. Strikes me as a technically good player who also knows his main job is to defend (which he does plenty of in Bielsa’ s Leeds team). He might be averse given he was shown the door by Arsenal. But if he wanted to return, I think he could add value for 2 or 3 years and offer something different to Cedric. Osei Tutu was also doing well at Cardiff on loan this season prior to getting… Read more »

Northbanker

Gonstrous – I think there probably is an ego and we may just have to sigh and wait. I don’t really understand why Auba came on for 10 mins and not Gabi. But MA is much closer to what is really going on than we are and young players ebb and flow at different rates.

As for ESR, he had largely been injured and wasn’t really ready until late Nov / early Dec. You can argue about a couple of games but otherwise criticism is totally unfair.

Rich

I’m not sure what happened to Bellerin

He was on the slide before his injury, but for a few seasons after his breakthrough he was consistently one of our best players

We’d do well to cash in

Chris

I think Bellerin needs a new challenge.

Much like any walk of life, sometimes you can get stale in the same job for so long. He needs a new lease of life, playing for his boyhood team (other than Beria) would rejuvenate him I’m sure.

Chris

Beria – Betis

Vintage Gun

“It is interesting that Hoddle suggests that Arsenal would have been more successful this season had they kept Emiliano Martinez.”

The same Hoddle that said Auba was a waste of money when he signed or that Spurs are bigger than Arsenal for the last 15 years?

I preferred Emi, still doesn’t mean the decision to sell him was a wrong as HE wanted to leave. Arsenal didn’t force him out.

MidwestGun

The latest trend of everyone arguing how much wood we should be supporting after a win or loss. Or how a proper fan acts… is about mind numbingly boring. Much prefer critical thinking and analysis of the game and how we can fix our errors. Which used to be the majority of LG comments. Also the majority of the people on here are not trolls and have been supporting the team for a very long time.. If anything the latest additions to LG seem to be hung up trying to tell everyone what Le Grove is thinking or behaving like… Read more »

Chris

Anybody else seen that video doing the rounds of the VAR decisions in the Australian A League? The refs and linesman appeared to be mic’d up. For a goal with a hint of offside about it, the ref quickly consulted the linesman, their conversation was to the point and efficient. They have the goal to them check on VAR. Again, conversation completely transparent between ref and video review official. They give the goal and the ref explains the decision to the opposition captain. Not only common sense in not panicking and subsequently making the right decision, but also transparent to… Read more »

China1

150m? Maybe a cheeky bid for Mbappe? 😅

MidwestGun

Yes but Mbappe would be behind Willian on the depth chart. 😀

In all seriousness though.. even if we raised 150mill.. I’m a little afraid that is about how much our losses will be due to Covid And I’m still not convinced the Club won’t use player sales to offset that rather then buying very many new players. So I guess I agree with those that say we won’t see that many new additions in all likelihood.

Mysticleaves

Lol. Any talks about Martinez being better than Leno or winning us more points at this stage of the season is dumb and just chit chat. Martinez has been sold and has made his fair share of mistakes already at villa. Leno has been very solid for us and had made his own share of mistakes too. Nothing is going to change that fact. Prefer whoever you want but don’t say unprovable stuffs like “Martinez would have made us better” he’s been here for 10 years you know. Next season I want to see too clubs jostle for him

China1

Bellerin was already very poor in wenger a last season. U like Montreal who tried to put the team on his back when everything was on fire, Bellerin already looked a shadow of his earlier self

He hasn’t improved since, he only lost his pace through injuries

If Barca can give us 20+m then I’d say thank you and drive him to the airport.

Does our youth team have any promising FBs right now?

China1

Chris yeah wow that WBA ref shit was bonkers

When reffing in the PL stands out you know shit must be bonkers because the average standard is so poor. But that WBA incident was right up there with graham poll giving one player 3 yellow cards. Unreal scenes

Matt

If we win the EL and make Champions League next year, we should go all out and pay whatever it takes to get Haaland. Get Arteta to whisper sauciness in his ear and sell him on a dream of London living and the chance to play alongside some of Europe’s best young talent in Odegaard, Saka and ESR!

A fan can dream…

China1

That’s one hell of a dream matt but there’s no way halaand chooses a scotch egg (Arsenal) over some fine dining

Jamie

The mess at Barca though. Unreal scenes if the allegations are true.

Matt

China, big stretch I know

Surely he’s got to prefer London over Manchester though?

By the way, nothing wrong with a scotch egg, especially warm with a runny yoke.

Vintage Gun

“I’d say horror was spot on
We’ve been worse with Aubameyang than before him”

Nonsense

MidwestGun

Pedro.. I know you don’t agree.. and its your comment section. But that’s how I see. it.. Yes there are a few people like Redtruth and his aliases that are trolling but that has been obvious for long time and has even become Le Grove lore. Anyhow… I just had to say my piece on it.. I like to comment during the matches and during the matches you get heated and say things you might not 100% agree on later… And then you get people coming in after the fact saying you aren’t a real fan based on emotional comments.… Read more »

Mysticleaves

While I can’t say for sure there’s progress yet, yesterday was pretty much enjoyable. the win, the way we played, everything. I am obviously going by game by game now. Enjoy what I can and try not to get too attached till next season at least. Be critical as well. Arteta is a good coach but a novice one and has showed it esp this season when the company decided to make him level with his boss. We can only hope that he has been demoted and his answerable to Edu cos that’s the only way we can grow, esp… Read more »

MidwestGun

Also, I agree that bringing in Referees internationally to mix in and putting them on microphones like they do in the NFL so they can give an explanation would go a long way towards fixing transparency and bias issues. I think. Also the delay after every goal to check Var is killing the enthusiasm of the match. So it needs to be sped up.. If you cant decide after a few takes .. to me it’s not clear or obvious… like the 100 reviews they did of whether Pepe was outside the box or not.

Kroenkephobe

Vintage

If I was a has-been arsehole who visited a batshit crazy faith healer and had a history of putting my foot in my mouth as a piss poor manager, I wouldn’t hesitate to make bullshit attacks on teams…like the cockerel jockeys. 🐓💩

Hoddle just being Hoddle. A harmless dickhead who lived in Bradys shadow.

Graham

If we do sell Bellerin we need hard cash not one of those pay in instalment deals – as Barca are a bad credit risk.

Jamie

Pete, you’re not wrong. High-level crooks there for sure.

Still, club allegedly hiring a troll farm to go after Messi and co on social media on an ethical level is incredible.

Unbelievably bad read on supporter sentiment thinking those efforts would ever play well.

Pedro

Jamie, they spent quite a bit of money on it as well! So weird. They should have just sold him.

Pedro

Is it illegal to pay a troll farm? Surely you can say what you want on the internet?

Pedro

Midwest, when the conversation is dominated with disingenuous trolls, it’s time to change it up.

Nothing worse than watching the same salty Emery fans try and make a meal out of a really good win against a top side.

If your MO is to pour misery into this place at all times, you’re not welcome.

MidwestGun

I think it is illegal to pay a troll farm if they are trolling false information.. like the Russians supposedly did during US elections to influence a result.. etc.. Bit that’s a little outside my legal expertise.. which mainly is divorce proceedings. 😀

MidwestGun

Peds- I think it’s a fine line to walk really .. I agree it can be ridiculous when you have the likes of B.am etc.. taking extremes glee in our rivals victories and our bad results. And even betting everyone on it. But when it dominates the narrative I think that’s when it goes to far.. that’s all anyone talks about then. is who is a proper fan or not.

Jamie

“Is it illegal to pay a troll farm? Surely you can say what you want on the internet?” I think it depends on the content the troll farm rolls out. Trolling with embarrassing truths the target would rather forget is one thing, peddling defamatory falsehoods is another thing entirely. Ethically for the club to go after its hero-status players is no bueno any way you slice it. Total clown show at board level. I wouldn’t believe any hot super-sourced transfer gossip coming out of the Catalan press this summer. The club will be running an offensive about how they’re still… Read more »

Kroenkephobe

In Spain, defamation constitutes a criminal act, known as “calumny” and “injury” under Articles 205 and 216 of the Penal Code. In Spain, ‘calumny’ is a crime by spreading or publishing a falsehood when you either know it is not true, or with ‘reckless’ contempt of the truth

Jamie and Pedro
This might be what Messi’s briefs are looking at. It’d help to restore his reputation after the tax avoidance scandal I guess. Football as soap opera. The only place after this is the Man City oil kleptocracy. They’re welcome to each other.

Nelson

Now we see the importance of establishing a system where every player understands and trains with it. It is much easier to rotate since a player, once he is assisted a role in the system, will know what his task is. You change players and not the system. I remember before Emery was fired, he was changing the formation ever so often and Iwobi asked his teammates what system were they playing.

MidwestGun

Well Peds… I thought the Auba sub was a questionable move given we had other options at that point who needed game time. But considering we won it’s not gonna ruin my day. I do think it’s pretty clear though Willian is going to get any extra playing time beyond the regular starters rather then Marti so .. I just have to deal with that reality and hope he comes good the rest of this season and probably the next. I do know from watching Brazil crush just about everyone over the last decade with Willian in the lineup that… Read more »

Le Professor

“Namely, Gabriel Martinelli. I really don’t think it’s necessary to whine on about young players”

We win the game with a top performance and still we get this rubbish. Who was he supposed to replace then, utter madness from the #ARTETAOUT idiots.

underrated Coq

“If your MO is to pour misery into this place at all times, you’re not welcome.”

Funny how these types were your MVPs when you were running your anti Wenger agenda on a daily basis.

Pierre

Unless I’m mistaken, a large proportion of the negatives on Le Grove are Pedro’s disciples from the Wenger days, when they used to abuse Wenger on a daily basis , win or lose…

Pierre

Underated coq
Ha , you just beat me to it.

Rich

Haaland + Mbappe are both out of our league, and I’d be amazed if either would choose Arsenal

But I also wouldn’t be at all surprised if there was a chance, that KSE would back us big for either player

They’re game changers, and far too good an opportunity to turn down

Unfortunately there’s a few clubs with owners with even deeper pockets, who are currently much more attractive prospect than we currently are, so it’s nothing but a pipe dream….

andy1886

Midwest is spot on for me. Anyone who thinks they have the right to tell someone else how to support their club is one sad motherf*cker. Maybe they lack the skills to construct a cogent counter argument, who knows. Debate, disagree, but no need to be a complete cock about it. We’re all on here to express an opinion, not get given one (to paraphrase someone…).

MidwestGun

Depends on what you consider negative.. Reality is usually somewhere in between the sunshine and rainbows and happy puppies crowd and the Misérable fuckers who think everything is shit.. And Le Grove has always had commentators somewhere all along that spectrum.

SpanishDave

Martinelli should have had a run out it wouldn’t do any harm.
Arteta has made some strange subs as we have all seen and commented on.
It’s all comments and discussion, no harm in it

Jamie

“No one wants to debate with someone who shapes their modern fandom with a deep deep love of Manchester United.”

Don’t hate the wager, hate the game. Guy.

MidwestGun

Nah.. I don’t get my joy based on what everyone else says on Le grove, Winthorpe. I have my own joy. It usually coincides with whether we win or lose.. It’s just how it is.. Definitely feel more positive during a winning streak.

MidwestGun

Hahaha .. Come on Peds.. you know you miss the power ratings.

andy1886

I guess the naysayers would point out that they genuinely believe that Arsenal wuld be better served with a different manager and that they are thinking long term rather than short term after a couple of wins. Not saying that’s my standpoint but it’s a reasonable view to have that may be right or may be wrong. For the record I enjoyed the win yesterday, probably like most it was somewhat unexpected if only in the manner we went about it. Anyone who says they thought Willian would have a good game is a liar. Let’s be honest, as MW… Read more »

BacaryisGod

Pedro

Prediction not over yet. You predicted we would win the next three games post-City. Your trifecta has yet to come in.

Jamie

Wait, can Emery and OGS meet in the EL?

Bam meets a crisis of allegiance. He likes the colour red, so I guess OGS nicks it.

Chris

Always remember Bamford asking what was shocking about the calamitous and infamous 2-2 at Watford when we allowed them 34 attempts on our goal. Joker.

Pierre

I expect to see Haaland at city in the not too distant future

I hate Green Bay

I don’t post in game, nor read posts in game, it distracts, but each to his own. I also understand about the emotions. BUT, when so called fans are actively hoping that we lose, they are not fans. How many genuine fans on LG were hoping that we would lose yesterday? The answer is none. So, go back, read the in game comments, and see who posted that they wanted us to lose.

Kronke, they are your idiots

Emiratesstroller

Rich It is pointless for us to “dream” about Haarland and Mbappe, because we know that there are at least two clubs in England who can and will outbid us in transfer market. I am less concerned about Real Madrid and Barcelona, because I think both these clubs are broke and can no longer rely on the bank system or Government to bail them out in such ventures. However, I do believe that Arsenal can afford to buy the best midfield and defenders that money can buy on three counts: 1. There are a large number of players on our… Read more »

Nelson

I am all for giving some times to Martinelli and even Reiss Nelson. It’ll keep their spirit high They will be more motivated. But Arteta is now putting all his eggs in Auba’s basket. He has to give Auba every opportunity to integrate with the new offense. He has tried three play makers to support Auba. It failed. I think he’ll go back to two wingers and one #10.. As he says, these two weeks will decide his season. He cannot afford giving time to Martinelli.

Nelson

Pierre

My money is on Haaland going to Chelsea.

I hate Green Bay

Doesnt Hoddle have some wierd beliefs or something

MidwestGun

Everything I have read says Reiss Nelson is most likely going to be sold.. so don’t see him getting any time unless there is an emergency of several injuries.