WHAT SORT OF MATTY FLAMINI IS MIKEL ARTETA GOING TO BE? (LONG READ)

by .

There’s literally nothing worse than losing under this current regime.

I’m wondering if it’s unique to Arsenal, the moment, or just football now… but every club has it. United fans talk about #OGSOUT after a draw. Pep was a fraud last season. Klopp amazingly has detractors.

I saw someone bemoaning ‘trust the process’ and ‘back the manager’ yesterday. Like, I get it, when something is clearly dead, you’ve got to move it on fast… we’re not there yet. Worth noting that West Ham fans were very much Moyes out at the end of last season (and the start of this one), look at them now, chasing down top 4.

Arsenal fans are kind of like West Ham fans these days, beaten down by a very long stretch of mediocrity, now everyone is a nihilist. My favourites of those types are the people that backed Wenger to the hilt when it was clear he’d reached his ceiling. If he’d been moved on in 2013, I’m not sure we’d be where we are right now. Summer 2015 would never have happened. We might not have needed a Don Raul. Ivan might have actioned a Sven like plan early. Could have been very different.

Now we’re in the worst of all situations… the ‘no quick fix’ one.

We tried the quick fix in Wenger’s last season. It didn’t work.

We tried another round of quick fix in Emery’s first summer. It didn’t work.

We then went for strike 3 trying to save Emery and that also didn’t work.

Mikel Arteta is David Cameron with Liam Byrne’s ‘I’m afraid there’s no money’ note after Gordon B lost the election. I remember writing about this a decade ago… the longer you leave a problem in football, the more expensive it is to fix. Well, here we are. 18 months into a 5 year plan and it’s difficult because we’re reengineering everything at the same time. We’re doing that because we’re trying to build sustainable football and a sustainable transfer model… not something that is fleeting.

That doesn’t mean there’s no hope, far from it… it just means if you’re a fan and you think there’s a silver bullet manager, you’re living in a deluded world. High profile managers won’t touch us because we’re a resume spoiler. Hot shit young managers, like Nagelsmann, are not in our league. So you either bum it around with names like Nuno (Emery) or you take a chance on an upstart coach like we’ve done.

There are two challenges we have at the moment.

  1. We don’t have the players needed to play the way Arteta wants to play in enough volume
  2. It is super questionable whether Edu is the Technical Director who can lead us out of this shithole moment

I think if Arteta was just coaching, I’d be more confident about the next 6 months. The fact he is anywhere near the decision-making process for players is deeply concerning.

Outside player recruitment, which we can talk about another day, there are things Arteta needs to get right super quick.

ACT ON THE INSIGHTS

In business, I find there are two types of operators at a certain level. Those that can recognize problems and do the job. Those that can recognize problems, do the job, and fix the problems. The first is Matty Flamini on the football pitch, pointing everywhere, but not doing much about it. What you really want is the Matty Flamini post-career, looking at climate change, and coming armed with a solution that WILL save the world.

Arteta, at the moment, looks like he’s midfielder Flamini.

He points to the problem really well. The issue? He doesn’t do enough about that said problem. In fact, sometimes he points at a problem and goes to great lengths to praise the offenders. He has a saving grace here, the pandemic fucked world football. Money didn’t move, no one was taking chances, we were left with a bloated squad.

This summer, we’ll truly see what sort of a leader is.

If you are pointing your finger at individual errors, you need to fix them. We can’t see a new deal for David Luiz, he’s made more errors than most this past season. We have to minimize Xhaka next season because he’s another one who has mistakes costed in. Dani Ceballos should not be renewed. Big Mo needs to be passed on. You might ask questions about our keeper.

If you are pointing your finger about our lack of edge in the attacking phase of our game, you’ve got to stop giving deals to old players that can’t do the job. Auba is a great striker, but he’s not really what Arteta needs from a 9 and he’s a million miles from what we need on the wing. Willian can’t move, it’s embarrassing that Arteta thought he’d be the move. Lacazette, he’s been good, but against the backdrop of the other two being dreadful. Pepe, not cut out for it.

… it’s a mess… but we can’t keep pointing at it. It needs to be fixed. We need to move forward.

We can’t go into this summer knowing the problems and not fixing them. Worse, we can’t know what the problems are… then make more mistakes to exacerbate them.

DODGE THE THINGS THAT MAKE ARSENAL FAIL

This is a subcategory of the first issue.

It’s easy to work in a winning environment. Everyone is confident. Pressure is lower. Things feel sexy. You don’t learn an awful lot. It’s like driving on the open road.

The losing environment is the most important place to identify the true character of the people that make up your team. Who showed up every day? Who gave 100% in the dressing room? Who turned up early and left late? Who was curious? Who didn’t hide? You find out who can drive on the Champs-Élysée round about.

Arteta looked like he based his summer on the cup win. He should have based it on our league form. True character, in this side, isn’t BIG games, it’s the little games that don’t matter. 10 months later, we’re dealing with the same issues. The Liverpool game was about character, not ability… but how can you be surprised? When the games don’t matter, these players NEVER show up. The lessons of the Liverpool game need to be carried into the summer. You cannot coach character.

DOUBLE DOWN ON THE THINGS MAKE YOU BETTER

Arteta has two masters, the fans, and the results. You have to be doing a good job with both to stay in the job.

What makes the fans happy? Young players.

What makes the team better? Young players.

Who has consistently let us down this season? Senior players.

You could say that is overly simplistic, but I’m not sure I’d agree. Young players give you fight, hunger, and sellable assets. There’s no argument that, in our situation, signing 32-year-old wingers from Chelsea is the better move.

The frustration I have with Arteta is that he keeps on forgetting what kept him in a job. It was not Auba. It was not Willian. It was not Lacazette. It was players like Saka, Martinelli, ESR, and Tierney. Hungry players.

I don’t want to see Arsenal trying to sign Griezmann in the summer. I don’t want to see us in for 27 year olds. Our finances don’t give us the baller money needed to get the best of players at those ages. We need to go young. Martin Odegaard, that’s the profile we want. Martinelli, starting every week, that’ll make us smile. William Saliba needs to come back and be coached to the greatness we know is there.

No more bumming around trying to justify horrendous summer decisions on senior players. Move them on if we can and replace with names that are hungry to impress.

Fans will forgive young players, they will not forgive underperforming coasters on big money.

BETTER NARRATIVES

What’s the fucking story at Arsenal?

You always knew what it was with Wenger.

We’re going to go invincible.

We’re going to have the best kids in the world grow together.

We’re going to build out a new project with Brits.

The plans didn’t always work, but you took a ride with Wenger.

Jose Mourinho always had a great narrative you could follow along with.

Jurgen Klopp keeps you bubbling along.

What is the vision with Arteta? I know he wants to play nice football, but because he doesn’t have a narrative, it makes it hard to know what’s going on.

If the Liverpool game was in the bin, give us a hint of what’s going on, and staff accordingly.

The management-speak makes it hard to follow what we’re doing. I can see things unfolding on the pitch I like, but I’d like to know how this gets better. Where is the momentum coming from? What are we planning to fix this summer? What is a summer going to do to arrest 12 defeats 30 games into a season?

We lack a good narrative. You know, even if the narrative is painful, I’d take it. My worry now is that there’s a lack of clarity in the system and it’s further clouded because the person writing it is the person who is trying to learn the ropes of coaching on his first job.

Hopefully, all of the above is being taken care of. Whether you like it or not, the City and Liverpool games have not been par the course since December. That performance at the weekend was a kink in the system, but one the fans widely understand is there. Arteta and Edu need to action it. Move us forward. Get the fans back on track with this rebuild. We can’t keep on pointing at it. If we are this time next season, it’ll be time for a new manager, because the project will have failed.

Have a great day, see you in the comments. x

221 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Valentin

China1, Under Emery, we played a few games in 4-3-3 with Willock, Guendouzi and Ceballos in midfield and we won those games playing well and attractive football. I cannot see why with a “better coach” and players with more experience we could not replicate those performances. I am not advocating playing that team against ManCity or Liverpool but against lower teams that should be enough and can be used as experience. Read what the Athletic is writing about Willock on loan at Newcastle. Geordies and journalists seem impressed. I still think that we need another midfield player with more strength… Read more »

SpanishDave

There are no excuses, we just do not have the right manager to rebuild the squad.
He’s already proved that with Willian, say no more.
He has no experience to fall on he’s just trying things out at our expense.
A club with our standing should never have employed him, it was a stupid gamble and it hasn’t worked.
An ambitious club would cut their losses and regroup, but Arsenal do it the hard way.

Nelson

Just imagine if Shkodran Mustafi has accepted the offer from this administration to extend his contract. We have to sign an experienced DOF for this club to move forward. Currently, we are swimming in the mud and are arguing who has done the most harm to the club..

Rich

Sometimes senior players can become a disruptive force, and one rotten apple, can spoil the whole bunch

Give me a young hungry squad lacking experience, over experienced players, with big-egos, flash sports cars, and stupid haircuts, everyday of the week

Rich

Tierney out for 4-6 weeks

Odegaard struggling with an ankle problem

Luiz “Available for selection in the upcoming weeks”

Saka + Smith-Rowe back in full training

S Asoa

“Arteta does not have a narrative to make Arsenal look great”
But has an alter ego who can in so many words. Already slowly pushing in a narrative of 18 months on a carrot to lead this Narcissist into his 5 year term. God forbid. Out now and Mertesaker and Bergkemp to show what the Academy kids can do. How fortuitous we blend into the same vision. It must be correct .

Sid

Sakas best position is playing as a foward, playing him in midfield puts ze handbrake on him

Aussie+Gooner

Nelson Well said. Yes, I sometimes have to get up at 3.00am to watch the games. The players need to realise that we are all affected by COVID but still have to get on with our daily lives. I would like to see how they would respond if they had to work in a powder keg of a prison like I do. COVID would kill at least 30% of the population – both staff and prisoners if it ever got in! So yes, I would like to have received a bit of a lift from my team during this period!… Read more »

Chris

That’s a huge blow regarding Tierney. If it is 4-6 weeks, he should hopefully be ok for the EL final, should we get there.

In the mean time I would go with Cedric at LB, who did well there previously, and continue with Chambers at RB or bring Bellerin back in to rotate. Not ideal but at least it wouldn’t take Saka away from his best position.

Dream10

Time for Saka at LB/LWB. We could be seeing a back three, especially if Xhaka isn’t ready to return and Partey’s durability

Doublethink

Arteta (first 50 PL matches)Won: 21Drawn: 12Lost: 17Win percentage: 42 per centGoals scored: 72Goals conceded: 56Clean sheets: 15
Emery (51 PL matches)Won: 25Drawn: 13Lost: 13Win percentage: 49 per centGoals scored: 91Goals conceded: 70Clean sheets: 10
Which ones the generational talent?

Karsa

Which ones the generational talent?

How many extra years practice had Emery to achieve that?

Rich

We sign Soares on a 4yr deal, and then turn down offers for Bellerin + Niles We then loan out Niles 3 months later, because we’ve got no use for him Bellerin is now behind Soares at right back, but both of them have fallen behind Chambers, who’s actually a centre back We loan out our only natural competition from Tierney in January, and then inevitably break Tierney from overplaying him, because he’s our only left back We’re now going into the run in, with Soares who was signed as a right back, as our only left back The people… Read more »

Graham62

Rich

So true.

La croqueta

You know what’s really funny about Artetas trajectory. He’ll never get a top European job after this. When he inevitably gets fired (or walks take your pick). He’ll be a little like moyes after utd. There will be sympathy for him. A good coach/manager but the job was too big for him. Not completely his fault. He’ll have enough credit in the bank to be given a crack at some mid table Spanish club. If he’s lucky He’ll weasel his way back to the prem somehow. A C.palace westbrom Sheffield utd type. They’ll give him a chance like clubs gave… Read more »

La croqueta

Another thing i find hilarious. Arteta ins have this perceived notion that next season is a clean slate. A fresh start. A chance to start again. Ha! What happened to Emery? His failures the season b4 carried over into the following season. So if like Emery Arteta doesn’t hit the ground running. All his failures from this season and all the anger and frustration from fans will roll on into next season. Doubling the lack of belief and PATIENCE fans currently have. Artetas not at fault. The job is just to too difficult for an inexperienced coach to tackle. It’s… Read more »

La croqueta

PedroApril 7, 2021 00:58:07 CC, offloading those 4 is going to be tough.We’ll get nothing for Laca. Pepe is worth about 30m. Credit where credits due. You are the first Arsenal commentator that has said. We’ll get nothing for Laca. I always gave a little chuckle when i read or hear ppl say. “We can get 20, 30 for laca” lol. Like what!?!? Shout out to you Pedro for keeping it all the way real on this topic at least. Lads. Laca turns 30. MAY 28TH 2021. Next month lads.. his contract runs to JUNE 30 2022. He won’t leave.… Read more »

Pierre

Pity that Arteta decided to use Nketiah so sparingly since the first lockdown, especially as he had done so well after returning from his loan spell at leeds.. 3 starts in the league this season is an appalling waste of a goalscorer. Prior to the first lockdown Nketiah started 5 out of the 6 games and in the 5 games he started we won them all. Eddie scored 3 goals in the 5 games he started , the team managed 12 goals in that period… Sadly Eddie hasn’t been given the opportunities despite our strikers struggling during the past 12… Read more »

Samir

Pierre
Fully agree. But I’m pretty sure Arteta will keep picking the underperforming senior players…He won’t want to cause any dressing room issues when we’ve still got the EL to play for…