You gotta love beating Spurs. Nothing feels better. It’s the only thing outside a trophy that has such a sensual afterglow.
But let’s get back to business, we gotta talk turkey about what we’re seeing and why it matters.
There are two ways to build a football system. You can structure one by throwing money at it, or you can be smart, and build out a sustainable football system.
Spending lots of money on an unsustainable system can work. Lio Messi at Barca is a case in point. But longterm, it’s killed them. Madrid created an unsustainable model with the Galacticos, a very expensive model that wasn’t really that successful.
Spurs are not building a sustainable football approach, after years of being pretty decent at it. Jose Mourinho, now a glamour coach, has one plan. They are working on an anti-football system that can kill opposition with the brilliance of two players on limited chances. That is not a sustainable system of football. One of those two players picks up an injury and it’s back to bang average. Jose constantly cries about the lack of money because his coaching is dated and it can’t outsmart the best like it could when he was at Inter Milan. He needs worldies in every position to make up for his coaching deficiencies.
United are very similar, they chuck a lot of money at players, but there’s nothing particularly interesting about what they do. They are second in a shit league season and bumming about in the Europa with us. There’s not another level under OGS except them spending more money on better players in the hope something might click. It won’t.
Clubs like Liverpool (prior to this season at least) and Manchester City have sustainable models. They are incredibly hard to create chances against, they run teams ragged, and they are deadly with their creativity. Their systems are strong even when they are bad, which is generally not for very long (because they rich). Big clubs like Bayern have sustainable football. They have great infrastructure, a certain style, so when Hansi Flick gets the job, he can tweak the football and make it electric.
What you’re seeing (or trying hard not to see) is that Arteta has spent the last 14months trying to build a sustainable model at Arsenal after years of the club shortcutting the hard work. Teams do not like playing against us now. We control games, we restrict opposition chances, and we’ve now added creativity in attack with two players with #10 like features that can hold a 97% pass completion rate against a deep block of a top 6 side. Our rolling xG since Christmas is going the way of Liverpool’s way back when Klopp started showing promising signs… we are conceding less xG and creating a lot more. Players roll in and roll out of the system and the output is pretty similar.
A lot of the press yesterday was about how bad Spurs were. Wrong. Arsenal were brilliant. They rattled Spurs. Their players hated that game. Jose knew he was in trouble because the system Arteta has can’t be bullied by ‘aggressive pressing.’ Spurs were limited to 6 attempts at our goal. They spent most of the game uncomfortably chasing shadows… but that wasn’t new from Arsenal, we’ve controlled every game since Chelsea like that.
A sustainable football system is what makes all of our centre backs look elite at the moment. Under Emery, the back four were under attack 50% of the game because he had a shit system. Now they’re only activated 20% of the game because of the way we set up. The system is making Gabriel and Luiz look like rockstars because it protects them.
The football is more cognitive now. Players understand the patterns of the game, they move with ease and fluidity, space opens up all over the pitch, and now we have killers to find those pockets and pass around corners. Look at the football, look at the intelligence of our movement, look at how protected we are all the time. That’s no accident, that’s what progressive coaching gets you. Lee Dixon, George Graham, and Tony Adams all saying they’ve heard the coaching is excellent… because it is.
Now, the great thing about this sustainable football approach is that it’s very clear what needs to be improved upon. Before Liverpool banged, they were consistently a really difficult team to play against. The criticism was Klopp couldn’t coach a defence, he always said that was nonsense, then he brought in the best centre back and keeper in a single summer and the rest is history. Before they could afford those mega players, they sold and bought smartly on a low net spend like we’re going to have to do. City, when Arteta joined them, were knocked out of the FA Cup by us and they bumbled into 4th. They had a bad season on paper, they were making defensive errors, and they weren’t finishing enough chances… but everything else was the best in the league. One summer and BANG. The best team the league had seen. Arsenal can’t afford to move that fast, but we can upgrade this summer, improve, rinse repeat in the next window until we get to the levels needed.
City, Bayern and Liverpool has the benefit of a world-class backroom to feed off. Arsenal hasn’t really had that and it’s still debatable if we do heading into the summer. My views on Edu haven’t changed. We have wasted so much money that could be helping us right now. However, what is exciting is the gaps are fairly clear. Add some elite quality and mobility to central midfield, build some support around key positions (full-backs in particular), and sell the dross and we could be cooking. Can Edu fuck that up? Who knows. No one had Willian in transfer bingo last season, the hope is Odegaard is more reflective of where we’re heading.
The point is, we can now go into the summer with a clear idea of what needs to happen for us to move forward next season. The reality is, we’ve been playing like a top 4 side since the Chelsea game. The results haven’t always followed performances, but let’s be true to ourselves, we’d rather be performing well, than shithousing wins on a road to nowhere… it’s dominant performances that’ll show us whether Arteta is the right man for the job and now we’re getting them.
What I don’t think is in doubt now is that Arteta is the right man for the job. You aren’t getting this sort of progressive football from any of the managers that were in our price range, I can assure you. Who is talking about Jose, Carlo, Hassenhutl, and Nuno now? Not many.
Arteta has been rebuilding the club from a very low ebb. He’s made plenty of mistakes, some absolute howlers, but that was priced into the move. Alex Ferguson wasn’t exactly in great shape in 1990, many United fans thought he was going to lose his job that season, but an FA Cup run saved his bacon. He was in his 3rd full season with the club, United lost 16 games in the league, conceded 47 goals and scored 46, finishing in 13th position. The fans were calling for his head from December onwards. The FA Cup win against Palace saved him. He never looked back, becoming their greatest ever manager.
Arteta’s ‘cup win’ wasn’t the actual FA Cup from last season, it was ESR hitting the ground running and raising the bar for everyone. His electric partnership with the other Hale Enders brought new energy to Arsenal. His performances shamed the slacking seniors. His progressive skillset opened up our entire style. That was a stroke of luck because most teenagers can’t do that, and 3 more games of losses might have seen the Spaniard with a P45 in his hand.
Things are different now. Fans seem behind the coach. The Auba move yesterday has been lauded by the media, ex-players, and fans. Gunnerblog reported the missed covid test I’d heard about earlier in the season, apparently he ‘missed’ it near an ugly away game in the Europa. That sort of sloppy behaviour has been all over the club this season. Even with some of the Hale-Enders that aren’t in contention at the moment. Simply put, you can’t tolerate dickheads, especially if they are your most important players. For Arteta, the most important thing is the decision was correct… as Merson said, he’ll have gained a lot of respect from the players after that.
There’s still a lot of games to go this season. No doubt there are more bad results to come, but the reality now is that we’re a very good side going places. If we sell off the remaining dross this summer and buy well, we’ll be extremely competitive for top 4 next season. If we have a good summer the year after, there’s a very good chance we’ll be competing for the Premier League title.
Football is a game of faith, no doubt, but if your faith in an idea is underpinned by a good hypothesis, it has a chance of being successful. I think we made a sharp move hiring an innovative young coach, with City IP, that knew the club. The major problems have been structural at Arsenal. Julian Nagelsmann is the German equivalent, except he’s always had great systems built around him. Hoffenheim were an elite budget outfit run by the guy who owns SAP. He moved back to Leipzig who has one of the best structures in the world. Arteta hasn’t had that sort of leadership around him which is why we’ve seen some pretty big errors. The hope is the club has learned from them and this summer will not be a repeat. Fingers crossed. We get the next window right and next season will be very sexy. x
I hope we get to keep Saka during the international window.
Declare him injured and let him rest out from these stupid international games.
Rich There’s an apocryphal anecdote that people talk about in economics circles. 5 chimps and 5 economists are given multi choice tests predicting global economic trends. The Economists think long and hard about their answers, the monkeys fill it in in seconds with crayons in the hope of getting a banana. The responses are collated and guess what happens? Yes, the monkeys get more accurate results than the Economists! Well done Rich, have a plantain! As Jim Royle may have said, “exact science my arse”. You’re a charlatan Rich (by the way, is your moniker a proper noun or an… Read more »
Rich
You’re one of the most erudite of posters around when you write about football.
Stick to footie.
There’s tabloid talk that Aubameyang is recommending a Gabonese striker, Aaron Boupendza to Arsenal to consider buying this summer.
He is said to be one of the hottest strikers on the market and half of the premier league is after him. He shouldn’t cost more that 8.5 million and his wages are not more than 50k weekly.
Arsenal are top of the queue because of Auba’s involvement.
Rich
More pseudo rubbish. The law of supply and demand is an important element of economic theory and practice, but it’s far more complex and far reaching than that.
In the real world, economics is about taking known data and turning it into forecasts, which are by definition uncertain (hence the uttercridiculousness of your exact science claim) . It’s pretty basic stuff Rich.
One thing economics is not – an exact science like mathematics.
Whereas mathematicians agree about practically everything, economists agree about virtually nothing.
It’s a mistake to call economics a science anyway.
Tits, think we’ve been over this 1000 times. we’re 7 points off 5th in our worst ever season. 10 points off first. If we’d cut out the errors this year alone, we’d be top 5 now. Beat 5th placed West Ham, we’ll be even closer. Still have to play Liverpool, Everton, and Chelsea.
The equations made to measure the data in economics are an exact science, this isn’t an opinion, it’s a fact
You can argue over the data, but the fundamental concept of what happens when you add or take something away, is an exact science
For every action there’s a reaction
If you add something, you have to take it away from somewhere else
The fundamental principle of how economic works, is an exact science, how the data is interpreted isn’t, because human beings are flawed
Thomas Edison quote
“I’ve not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that don’t work”
It’s the same with economics, economics is an exact science
They’ve just not found the correct data to input, or the correct way of interpreting that data
Human beings are flawed, not the exact scientific principle of economics
A few economists sitting at a table discussing the benefits of developing countries borrowing to accelerate the growth in their economies:
1st guy: governments can issue bonds at a sustainable rate to invest in infrastructure and accelerate GDP growth
2nd guy: governments can borrow to overcome market failures in the private sector and to diversify product dependency
3rd guy: reduce the burden on the tax payer by implementing structural governance reform and stimulate the private sector to increase foreign investment
Rich: Supply and demand, mate. It’s an exact science.
Frost
“Pretty sure Eddie has.”
Eddie..3 starts in the league this season and that was when our creativity was zero, so no he hasn’t had a decent run of games this season to prove himself.
Similar to Martinelli (3 starts) and willock (2 starts)…
The formulas to determine economic data are not an exact science One of the core reasons for the 2008 financial crash was that the market believed that a lot of financial products were valuable and then suddenly realized that they were in fact junk. some of this relates to an economic concept called VaR (value at risk) which is absolutely not an exact science and involves financial institutions taking estimates about risk <- estimates because it can’t be entirely certain and have to factor in assumptions which may or may not be true. And yet this concept of VaR underpins… Read more »
When I though I have seen it all, I am reading Economics on a football at midnight.
Cheers guys.
Jamie
The science isn’t wrong, the data is either wrong or being interpreted in the wrong way
Everyone of those theories at the table is based on what the consequences are when you add something or take it away
And every one of those policies will create both inflation and deflation
My solution would be to hand out P45’s to everyone sat at the table, and then let nature take its course, and after some initial turbulence,the market will again find a natural flow
Mark to market is another thing that whilst it has to benefits also has some incredibly dubious aspects involved (this also contributed to the financial crash and still exists) Then you can consider other incredibly important data points that impact the global economy like Libor which is also artificially created from a subjective background and prone to manipulation (thus the libor scandal years back) As well data fed into the local national and global is always incomplete unless you have an Orwellian 1984 scenario since a chunk of economic activity in any case is not properly monitored, skewing the picture… Read more »
Rich science and economics are different because science like maths is infinitely repeatable and testable and results will be the same an infinite number of times over because the answer to a scientific question is based on scientific laws
Economics exists in a field where it is impossible to recreate conditions and it is ultimately based on the behavior of people. And our behavior is not infinitely repeatable or predictable because we are not consistently all rational to follow the same behavior this why human behavior is not consistently predictable and thus our economy is not either
In the example Jamie have above there isn’t one person on the planet (past present or future) who can say with 100% certainty which of those 3 options he gave will be the right one. And even if you have them all access to all of the data imaginable (not realistic) their decision would still be based on incomplete data and trying to use that to predict an uncertain future
That’s not how science works
If you are a strong proponent of free markets then Hong Kong is often traditionally considered to be one of the closest things the world has had to that. It’s one of my favourite cities in the world but it has a *lot* of problems caused by this. There is no perfect economic system
TitsMcGee
March 16, 2021 22:23:55
You’d think we are ripping the league apart based on this post.10th, 30 points off 1st waxing poetic because we beat a team in 8th place 2-1 and barely hung on for that result as well.
Careful now, posts like these are not welcome by Pedro anymore. Comment will get deleted or you will get banned.
Just blindly follow tets over the hill and let him quietly fondle you.
Pierre Appreciate your golf comments and if I’m honest I only dislike the sport because it’s too slow – similar to cricket although the one day game can be more interesting. I prefer faster moving sports as in rugby and football. I never thought my son would enjoy a slow sport because of his ADHD and general need to be on the go all the time. In fairness, he’s starting to grow out of his condition and control his focus much better. Obviously I’ll support him, my wife plays a bit, but says she needs to get back on the… Read more »
Just watch the training photos. Auba appears to be happy. You also see Pepe, Willian , Elneny, Mari, Bellerin and Ceballos. Looks like these group of players will be selected for the Thursday’s game.
China1 The fundamental principles of the market are predictable, something is only worth what someone can afford to pay, or is willing to pay, and that will never change A truly free market is nature’s change agent, it wipes out waste and inefficiency all on its own, and it does this without any government intervention Bureaucrats don’t need to measure it, or get involved, it takes care of itself Politicians or economists don’t create trade, businesses create trade, and that trade is conducted on the basic economic principle of supply + demand It sounds incredibly simple, but that’s because it… Read more »
I think Auba understand that whatever transgression he committed were wrong and training pics show he is not being a bad influence. He is the captain and I back him to score this Thursday and Sunday .
Its acceptable to worsen the lives of some provided the gains of others compensate. Economists institutionalise inequality.
Tits, We are so past it on this site, Just read and shake you head to yourself, It died for us with Geoff, It’s a site now for robots, Pathetic how these clowns think and talk about Arsenal Football Club.
Pedro I have followed Le Grove for many many years; I enjoy the football talk and tolerate the non football rants; I have never commented on non football rants till today – that poster called Rich ranting bullshit about ‘economics is an exact science like maths’ should be sanctioned for telling a big fat annoying lie. I teach a branch of economics called Feminists Economics, it’s brilliant and exciting and has some of the brightest thinkers in economics right now – they have thoroughly debunked the nonsense that economics is an exact science, yet this Rich fellow is proud to… Read more »
Cant believe the economics debate still going on!
Your fault Rich using the phrase ‘exact science’ which is a great example of an oxymoron. Not even maths fits that at deeper levels – based mostly on hypothesis
Wow!!
What happened
Ok Rich, so if free markets and a lack of gov intervention lead to the best outcomes, I’m curious what you think that looks like as an end game. Like I said if being more like Hong Kong is your ideal I’d recommend you look at the state of housing in Hong Kong where a small percentage of the population can charge comically high rents squeezing the lower and middle classes into broom cupboard apartments at a huge percentage of their monthly salary. It’s fair game, market forces, entirely legal and the rest. It’s also awful and hurts the middle… Read more »
Great article, PEA is a happy go lucky chap with a constant smile but needed that reprimand..
I predict we get manutd. in the uel final, need to have everybody fresh and raring
Bissuma in the summer window would be a great business.
Your point about taxes is also not necessarily correct It’s an over simplification to assume if a company has more profit (lower business rates) they will use those profits on more investment in growing their business and generating more tax revenue in the long run. That’s an ideal outcome of lower taxes but no guarantees of this (not an exact science) because what can also happen is business don’t reinvest that money in generating more company growth and instead pump into bonuses for executives and returns for a small number of shareholders. This is precisely the point about this not… Read more »
Re the old joke about the chimps and the monkeys. The very reason why economists can’t be consistently correct is because economics is one of the most complex, interdependent and dynamic systems humans have ever created. It literally proves the point that people can’t predict it will because it’s too complicated to be certain about If it is so simple to create a free market paradise, it’s confusing how of the nearly 200 countries in the world, a grand total of zero countries have taken the simplest route towards a free market paradise (which you suggest is based on very… Read more »
Artetauphillclimb
It was good to read your perspective on this. There are huge swathes of economic activity, mostly but not exclusively, carried out by women which are excluded from being factored into economic performance simply because the original modelling was designed by the patriarchy. Yet more grist to the mill.
Economics is such a vitally important – but inexact – part of our collective lives.
Just when you thought it couldnt get worse than @Rich talking about economics,
then comes a man that lectures about feminism, which is an assault on social reproduction and containing the energies of women turning them to the advantage of the bottom line.
Back to football, anti football is making a come back with managers like tuchel, moyes, OGS, in the EPL Simeone leading the pack in la liga, Zidane seems to be going down that route, Diet Pep an enthusiast.
It should be resisted at all costs
Sid the sexist. You’ve reduced yourself (further) to a Viz character. Perfect self parody and exquisite comedy timing.
Kroenkephoebe has been brainwashed
Pedro is there a way of diverting non football related posts to another part of the website. Call me old fashioned but when I come onto an Arsenal related blog I expect to read about football matters. In what world do some posters live in if they think their random thoughts about world matters are of any interest to anyone outside their family.
Good to see that Aubamayang is all smiles again in training now that he has got his hissy fit out of the way. Honestly, it’s quite surprising how much leeway a person can get because he smiles a lot.
Personally I would rather see him turn up on time, lead by example and giving it 100% every time he is on the pitch. He is a professional footballer after all and not a children’s TV entertainer.
Oooer! A few “ salty comments” there peds From the unbelievers.Sounding a bit pissed they can’t wallow in their misery.Ffs.what does it take to make them 😃?
I second that Bard. They should talk to their families or friends. Not one way conversations through the night that you have to wade through to get to normal football chat.
The only economics I’m worried about is making sure my wife doesn’t go nuts on Amazon. When working from home on complex things, I really don’t need to be answering the bloody door every 10 minutes to take in parcels! They were talking about Guendouzi this morning and it seems everyone has accepted that the Arsenal culture of discipline Arteta has built is not going to fit him. It’s amazing how you have grounded players like ESR, Saka etc all speaking humbly and behaving on and off the pitch, yet you get some youngsters who let it all go to… Read more »
Cazorla one mans night is another mans lunch time 😎
enough with the economics bullshit this is a football blog, i can talk politics and such like with my friends
Rich
Add? Take away? That’s arithmetic not economics.
Agree on the fundamental principles? Name them, and then let’s see.
Judging by performance, economics lies somewhere between astrology and crystal-ball gazing.
It’s all very well saying how good we would be cutting out mistakes, but every team.make errors every week so it’s fools gold.
We have struggled up front for much of the season because we relied on one player who went out of form.
Recently we have started to get goals from other players and this is through having two creative players in midfield which gives us better options.
I wish I have Rich’s brain, finding all the laws in economics. I wouldn’t have lost a lot of money in the stock market. tears….
https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2021/03/17/pundit-slams-arsenal-loanee-after-5-0-defeat-says-this-is-why-gunners-dumped-him/ Mustafi being Mustafi down in Germany too. Own goal and gave away another goal in the last game, can’t believe some people actually defended him on here. After getting in Kola and Mustafi Schalke has the worst defensive record at this stage of a season in the Bundesliga for 34 years. Xhaka is the same type of player, he’s looking slightly better next to Partey but imagine what someone that can actually pull his own weight in CM would do for us. We haven’t been punished for his mistakes lately but they’re still there, almost happened a couple of… Read more »
Kola, Mustafi and Xhaka are “top 4 quality” players though, right?
Yep, politics is so painfully boring. Football is an enjoyable method of escapism from what life brings. It makes you laugh, smile and cry but ultimately it’s fun. Nothing more enjoyable than that morning-after feeling when you’ve had a great win. I woke up Monday morning to a hot cup of coffee and some toast (marmite spread thinly on the top), my wife smiling at me as she handed me the tray before walking over to the window and drawing back the curtains. It was 7:30 am. As light entered the room, I could hear the gentle tap, tapping as… Read more »
The mobility and energy of ESR and MO backed by Partey in the opposition half is transforming our play and the advanced left side role for ESR is probably good for him at this early career stage as making a mistake is less serious than say in a deeper role. We are now light years away from just the two man deep midfield with that huge gap between them and the front 3. upgrading Laca and Bellerin is pretty obvious step, but What I am confused about due to my limited football knowledge is the value of Xhaka to this… Read more »
AFC There are a couple of ways at looking at the Guendouzi issue. 1) he is a talented footballer , he is very competetive and hates losing and consequently becomes frustrated and wound up and can lose his composure in his desire to win a game of football. 2) as you say , he cannot be trusted on the pitch and has an arrogance about him which is detrimental to the team . Personally, i think Guendouzi has been poorly handled and we may regret losing a player who at the age of 20, came into the premier league from… Read more »
Foxy the fact that you asked that questions tells me you have Stockholm syndrome
I know Kroenkephobe won’t be happy I’ve made that diagnosis but there’s nothing else for it!
I should’ve known injecting the word “economy “ in my Auba’s Ferrari post would set Rich off.
Not all bad though if his market is god rants end up bringing new posters into the fold.
Pierre ❤️ Ozil. The obsession will never end.
AFC
You should consider a career as a novelist.
That “morning after Arsenal smashed Tottenham” passage you wrote earlier was a great piece of writing and truly inspirational!
Brilliant.
Words+
“That “morning after Arsenal smashed Tottenham” passage you wrote earlier was a great piece of writing and truly inspirational! Brilliant”.
Thanks, much-appreciated mate. Nothing better than that morning-after feeling, I was buzzing.
Fred
” We haven’t been punished for his (xhaka)mistakes lately but they’re still there, almost happened a couple of times just last game against Spurs.”
I wouldn’t necessarily agree with that.
.
I thought our most reliable players on the pitch were Xhaka, Odegaard and Smith Rowe ..
Very good in possession of the football and barely put a foot wrong.
Partey ,in the last ten minutes , he was very sloppy with his passing, Tierney became nervous in possession and Willian did nothing..
Partey and Tierney did have a very good 80 minutes though. .
China I think I’d rather be psychoanalysed by you than Tony so you’re fine! As long as we don’t mention the chemical inbalances in my or Guen’s brain. 😜 Talking of which Pierre, I think you make a valid point comparing MG to PV. The challenge for Arteta should be to get the best out of all of his players. That’s his job. Guendouzi showed enough during his time here to suggest he deserves a second/third? crack. It was telling to see Xhaka’s reaction to being kicked by Lamela on Sunday. Signs that he’s working on controlling his temper when… Read more »
Pierre
Of course you don’t agree, it’s not in your nature.
Xhaka clumsily gave away the free kick for Kanes disallowed goal, think that counts as nearly cost us.
There’s a couple of occasions like that every game, doesn’t always cost us points but it’s always on the edge of doing so.
Party was sloppy because of fatigue, not because he just can’t keep up with the pace of the PL like Xhaka, when he’s upto full fitness we won’t see that anymore but with Xhaka it’ll always be there.
Pierre, thanks but I can’t agree with the comparisons of Vieira and Guendouzi. Pat was a warrior, he stood up to Keane and rammed his bullying back down his throat. He didn’t run around bragging about how much money he earned and never tried to be a big-time Charlie. Vieira was a man who the rest of the team looked up to. He earned his respect. Guendouzi is a boy. Having said that, if Guendouzzi matures and he loses that immaturity & petulance, there is a top player there. I always rated him as a player. It’s the age old… Read more »
Xhaka was superb on Sunday. Almost made a mistake can be said about every footballer in every game.
We have been massively unlucky in that nearly every error we’ve made this season we’ve been punished for.
Yes agree with AFC. Vieira was massively impacting games back when he first came through and had the desire and fire to win at all costs. He could be wound up but his attitude was never in question and was never a big time Charlie.
Too much noise with MG not enough substance on the pitch.
Fred
“Xhaka clumsily gave away the free kick for Kanes disallowed goal, think that counts as nearly cost us.”
I call that clutching at straws.
I’m a Gendo fan but it does appear that he has temperament issues. Whether they are to do with immaturity or character I don’t know.
Over to Arteta on this one.
Caz
He didn’t almost make a mistake, he made one (well a couple) that just didn’t cost us points this time. Sure, everyone makes mistakes, it’s the frequency that Xhaka makes them with and how little he offers on the pitch that’s a worry.
As said, Partey makes him look better by covering all the ground in midfield Xhaka isn’t capable of covering but it wears him out.
Xhaka is good at circulating the ball, when not pressed, but that’s pretty much it. We need a lot more from a starting CM if we’re going to improve.
Pierre “I thought our most reliable players on the pitch were Xhaka, Odegaard and Smith Rowe .. Very good in possession of the football and barely put a foot wrong.” Totally agree as did all the sports analysts I read. Xhaka will never get the credit he deserves, it’s this weird agenda thing where some fans will only criticise but never praise. Since December he has been one of our most consistent performers. An opinion needs to be more open-minded and honest, that way you get a more sensible debate because positives and negatives are discussed equally. Praising his performances… Read more »
AFC
Great piece of writing, read it out to the misses we both had a good laugh.
Everything has its place and time, problem is too many people have no perspective
Pierre
“I call that clutching at straws.”
Well it’s no pre pre assist that’s for sure.
Mustafi’s performance was so diabolical that the commentator thought he needed to be yanked at 60 minutes to send a message to the rest of the team.
And that’s from one German to another………..when was the last time you’ve seen that?
AFC You missed my point. Nothing to do with playing ability, of course Vieira was the better player but in Arteta’s world , he would have been treated the same as Guendouzi. I am talking about behaviour on the pitch…if Arteta was manager and not Wenger, Viera would have suffered the indignity of being sent out on loan due to his indiscretions on the pitch(red cards,spitting at opponents etc) and off the pitch. And that’s my point Just to add , i see nothing wrong in in Viera’s competitiveness on the pitch , loved it in fact.. His will to… Read more »
Cazorla
“Xhaka was superb on Sunday. Almost made a mistake can be said about every footballer in every game.We have been massively unlucky in that nearly every error we’ve made this season we’ve been punished for.”
Ha ha, ‘almost’ made a mistake!!!
I almost won the lottery last week, bloke two doors down had 5 numbers.
“Look at the game [against Spurs] it was great to see how he managed his game, how he managed that position, helping [team-mates]. “You know what is very important about this particular position? This is a very particular position because not every time you get the credit you deserve. “That’s okay, it’s fine, because you have to understand that. But this guy, when he understands the position like Partey, look at his game. He made the others a lot better. “He makes Xhaka look better in the game, he made the defenders look a lot better and comfortable when the… Read more »
Freddie
Xhaka makes his customary errors and ought to be criticized for the brain farts.
However he has been that better midfielder on a few games now because Partey hasn’t always been that great. At the very least, he’s the second best midfielder in the club at the moment.
Partey tubes away the ball as much as Partey these days but people just pretend like it didn’t happen. Xhaka gives away one ball…there’s pandemonium.
Freddy
He has his negatives, which we are all aware of, but then not to praise or ignore the positives when he plays well reeks of double standards or an agenda.
Playing next xhaka isn’t tiring Partey out. The intensity of the PL is doing that.
Freddie definitely draws the line at Xhaka.
I lost his support for the next Arsenal manager, even though I too speak multiple languages, because I refused to bin Xhaka off immediately after taking charge….
I can remember Vieira coming on as sub in the first half for his first game at highbury v shef wed and i was blown away at what i was watching….totally bossed the game.
Surely we have to sell Guendouzi for whatever he’s worth; accept the highest bid no matter how low it is.
He’s got one year left on his contract. Unless we re going to extend his contract< he has to be sold early in the summer. The time for ‘fighting force his place is over’, that bridge was crossed a long time ago.
We need to sign another CM who can start 20 league matches to partner either Xhaka or Partey. Most likely Xhaka as Partey has struggled for fitness this season.
The problem is I think Arteta prefers to sign a CB over a CM. A mistake imo
Dissenter I agree that Xhaka has raised his performances to average, which is the upper limit for him in the PL, but it still comes with costly mistakes and it’s not good enough. Some think that he should be a starter even after the summer and that what’s worrying, that we only need someone to rotate with Xhaka and Partey that would be a disaster. He’s probably been our second best CM yes, mostly because he’s the only one getting played game after game no matter how he performs. Would have liked to see more of Ceballos or Elneny next… Read more »
“Fighting for his place”
Tom
it’s a non negotiable innit.
Pierre Vieira was generational. The impact he had on our side with the perfect mixture of silk and steel, I’d never seen before.
He was a legitimate hard man without trying to be. So wirey strong but with such skinny twig legs! Was worried at the start that he wouldn’t be robust enough and would get bullied due to his frame. How wrong was I?
Pierre It is different mate. Arteta did the right thing with Guendouzzi 100%. We had too many issues with players not toeing the line when Arteta joined, there was a culture of ill-discipline and I would argue that too many players were acting up, as if it was about them. Arteta shipped out problems, at a financial cost, because he knew the culture had to change. Guendouzzi winding up players by bragging about his salary is really not a good look and there were supposedly other indiscretions off pitch. It’s not just about what happens on the pitch, that is… Read more »
Freddie
I’ll always look back at that decision and wonder what might’ve been
SpanishDave
“AFC Great piece of writing, read it out to the misses we both had a good laugh.
Everything has its place and time, the problem is too many people have no perspective”
Thanks Dave. Yes, perspective is a very important commodity that too many have forgotten exists. Without perspective, you have a one-dimensional view of everything and that prohibits the ability to rationalise.
Keep her laughing, it makes marriage almost worthwhile seeing their happy faces….!!
No need to start counting ‘almost errors’ with Xhaka or indeed laugh them off as insignificant. Just count the actual errors he habitually makes.
Xhaka has now made more errors leading to goals (8) than any other outfield player in the Premier League since the start of the 2016/17 season. He’s =3rd highest behind Kepa and Alisson this season.
He’s a fucking train wreck. That he’s “our 2nd best midfielder” only highlights how low we’ve sunk. Imagine having 2 Parteys in midfield – how much movement and mobility that would bring. Instead we have Granit, who turns like a barge.
Freddie Xhaka is no longer isolated in one on one situations, that’s what you are missing. He used to be too often exposed, especially Emery’s defensive set-up. That has never been his strength, he isn’t that player and it was forcing him to make fouls. It is about the sum of all parts, the way the team is set-up now suits Xhaka and that is why his performances have improved by so much. It’s the same with pressing, it has be organised done in groups or else it doesn’t work. In the position he plays, it is more likely that… Read more »
In other news. Schalke were beaten 5-0 this weekend with Mustafi scoring an own goal. Seriously, credit to Mikel for making Mustafi look like a CB that we actually felt very bad when he played the FA cup semi–final and got injured. The calibre of players at Arsenal has been horrible. No matter how slow the revolution is, long may it continue.
Afc I’ve never once said anything about a mistake that Xhaka almost made, that’s on Cazorlas poor reading comprehension. He made a mistake. It almost cost us. Spot the difference between that and almost making a mistake. Like Jamie said above it’s hardly the occasional mishap that’s made up for by his outstanding qualities, they happen all the time and his ceiling is average. We’re 10th with our most played midfielder having been “superb” apparently. Not saying he doesn’t have any redeeming qualities, or that he doesn’t have any room at all in this seasons midfield but if we move… Read more »
Jamie This seasons stats for errors leading to a goal: 3 errors = 2 players 2 errors = 6 players (incl Xhaka) 1 errors = 47 players Berd Leno has 0 errors leading to a goal – but it could be argued that he was responsible for the error against Burnely playing Xhaka a ridiculous pass. This season only 2 players at Arsenal have “officially” made mistakes leading to a goal, Xhaka (2) and Soares (1). Some other stats: TACKLES WON Xhaka = 38 Holding = 31 Bellerin = 27 Ceballos = 26 Partey = 25 DUALS WON Saka =… Read more »
Freddie, the debate wasn’t about whether or not Xhaka is the player we need, it was about unfair criticism. He receives too much of that and a lot of it is agenda-driven. You can praise and still hold the position he isn’t good enough.
Guend will be as good or better than Pogba, and worth as much in transfer fee
You heard it here 1st!
“Berd Leno has 0 errors leading to a goal – but it could be argued that …” Hold your horses, there, AFC. Almost errors don’t count. “Stats don’t always paint the true picture; it is a lazy way to make a point unless you are going to add weighting in order to produce an accurate point.” Got it, thanks for the lesson. Here’s me painting a picture adding weight to your muddled metaphor: Xhaka PL Appearances: 154 Xhaka PL Goals: 9 Xhaka PL Assists: 15 Xhaka PL Red Cards: 3 Averages 0.06 goals and 0.09 assists per match. Elite numbers… Read more »
Afc This was the post that ignited the whole Xhaka shitstorm today: “Xhaka is the same type of player, he’s looking slightly better next to Partey but imagine what someone that can actually pull his own weight in CM would do for us. We haven’t been punished for his mistakes lately but they’re still there, almost happened a couple of times just last game against Spurs. First priority in the summer to get an upgrade there.” I take full responsibility for it and I’m sorry for dragging up a subject that’s been done to death over the last 100 years… Read more »
Mustafi & Ozil were good players(!), they were replaced and we could see the improvement.
Xhaka is another good player, if you know what I mean.
Sticking to best of the worst is not a good thing if that ‘best’ is bang average at best.
‘You have a bigger hardon for Granit than CC. Miss that guy.’
LMFAOOOOO, you a quite good at sniffing them out
Some were defending Mystafi when he was here too, mostly the same people doing it for Xhaka. He’s elite for 80 minutes a game, he didn’t give away a goal today, that freekick he absolutely didn’t have to give up didn’t result in a goal this time so it’s all good. He just need to focus more/ play more and get into his groove and on and on. Still shite though and he keeps proving it in Germany. To be fair to Xhaka I think he’d be decent back in Germany or in Serie A but in the PL he’s… Read more »
1¥ to guess who Marc is
And Guen would be another Gnabry if we decide him to move him.