I was like, totally off the train… ready to move on. Now I’m ALL ABOARD and ready to go again. I can’t do a summer of misery. I am back on the project and searching out the light. One last time for the vision.
If we win our next two games, the most we can finish off 3rd place is 9 points.
Think of the ways we’ve punched ourselves in the face this season. Think of the clubs we’ve failed to take points off. Think of some of the rough luck.
Since we added creative midfielders, our 22 game run has us in 3rd place.
That’s over half a season’s worth of data. It is now significant.
So, what happened in that run?
We added ESR. Then we added Martin Odegaard. Those two gave us faster movement in the final third of the pitch. They opened the game up for us.
We also added Thomas Party. Before January 14th, he’d only managed 360 minutes of football. He was our biggest signing of the summer. His form has been a bit messy, but reality is, he should have flushed that out of his system by October.
Then think about what we had brewing in the dressing room. We moved on Mustafi, Kola, Ozil, and Sokratis. 4 senior players, all big personalities, all very disruptive behind the scenes.
Mustafi and Kola went to Schalke, staged a coup, ousted Gross, then relegated the team anyway. Do you think that sort of mindset was easy to deal with?
Mesut Ozil went to Fenerbache and has registered 1 assist in 10 games. Remember when he was commentating on games just to be a pain?
During that December period, we also dropped Luiz and Willian. The expensive free transfer last summer never made it back after stinking up the starting 11 for the first half of the season.
Then think about how we’ve lost games this season. Look at the stupid red cards we struggled to recover from. Look at the unforced errors.
Then the big one… Auba went from a 30 goal a season striker to someone that could barely register 10. Family issues, malaria, a lack of form. We signed Auba to a big deal because goals are hard to come by, then we literally got the nightmare outcome, a different variant of striker that couldn’t score goals.
We lost twice to Everton, Wolves, and Villa. We only picked up 1 point against Burnley.
I don’t think we’ll lose 7 times at home with fans in the ground.
Yet, all the above… and we could still finish 9 points from 3rd.
The mission for next season is clear.
Improve defence. We have the 3rd best defence in the league currently, but 38 goals is hardly peak anything. A chunk of those goals were unforced errors, we can improve there drastically next season with better players.
Score more goals. We’re 10th in the league for that and it’s unacceptable.
Fix the midfield with press-resistant athletes that can move the ball at speed.
Find a ball playing centre back that can pick up the slack of Luiz, but without the errors. He made our attack better and we missed him because players like Holding and Mari can’t pass like him.
Find a right-back that can offer that side of the pitch what Tierney offers the left. We’re very addicted to the left side of the pitch, which makes us easier to plan against.
Find some extra ammunition in attack so we can add now numbers and goals. JACK GREALISH would be nice. Maybe even a cut-price Aouar after he tanked his form and lost out on the French squad. Whoever it is, they need to bring goals and creativity.
Unleash Auba. He should be scoring 25 goals when he’s 35. We need to create chances around him and work to his attributes, which is outrageous edge inside 8 yards.
Limit the unforced errors.
We’ve already gone a large part of the way by moving on David Luiz. His lack of focus and dying pace cost us big last season. Dani Ceballos won’t come back. There are also a number of other players I expect will be moved on. Better players make less errors.
We also need to address the backroom deficiencies. There were some awful decisions last season that a rookie coach shouldn’t have been making. Who is going to help Arteta be better with talent? Who is going to challenge him when he wants to try a false 9 in the semi-finals of an important game? Who is going to make sure average coaching is rectified with people that can create a better working environment?
City had a similar issue when Arteta first went there and took a beating from Wenger in the semi-final of the FA Cup against us. They finished 4th. They weren’t clinical enough in the final third and they made too many errors in defence. Everything else was good. They signed Bernado, Mendy, Laporte (Jan), Walker, Ederson.
Those signings gave them defensive stability, but also control from the base of defence where they build attacks from. They went from conceding 41 to 27. They went from scoring 80 to 101.
I think we’re the poverty version of what City were going through. Too many errors in defence. Not enough edge in the final third. But the bit in-between is generally pretty solid. There aren’t many games we haven’t controlled since the turn of the year. That’s a positive to build from, we’re solid and we hold onto the ball well.
Do a budget version of City’s summer and things could bang.
What we need to do has never been clearer. We’re not a million miles away from being a really good side. But… the summer needs to be perfect. Do I trust Arteta and Edu? Not really, but there doesn’t seem to be another option.
So let’s see.
Also, when I write posts like this, we tend to lose. So I’m bracing for impact on that one. Anyway, hope you enjoyed, see you in the comments x
The win instead of a draw was in spite of Arteta. Martinelli and Pepe played their natural game without fear and phoom 2 goals brought a smile on Arteta face.
The best decision AFC can make is to kick out Arteta. They can come 6 under an average Joe or under 4 with a proper coach without buying any players.
The AKB tom- tomming for Arteta l❤️vE. the man and not the Club. Period
Pedro
Please define ‘we’re going to the moon’ . Would that be a Top 4 finish?
Hopefully we can all agree Arteta needs to work on his hand clapping. Terrible over-stiff technique. It’s the hand-clapping of someone wound waaaaay too tight.
Pedro the other day you said you’d rather finish below spurs if it means we don’t have to play in the EL conference
Who is a spurs fan?
Winning project. Finished the season somewhere around 10th
PL table remade to consist only of post Xmas games
EL embarrassment whitewashed from existence
10 days ago Pedro you were listing out all artetas problems and why he’s not good enough. You must need a doctor to take a look at your neck after all that whiplash on your turnaround because of a couple of games
Pedro if you want people to take your 180 on arteta seriously I think you’ll need to breakdown all the various points you criticized him for just a couple of weeks ago and explain what happened in the last 2 weeks that demonstrates those problems have vanished
@Tony
You produced today’s award winning quote:
“You do know your village is missing its idiot, right?”
Please visit regularly as we do need you to put a smile on our faces just in case the Arteta project goes south badly.
In reality beating Chelsea was the only thing arteta had to do to get a complete 180 out of you. Apparently that win demonstrated that: -He is ruthless -He can get 100% out of his players over a 38 game league campaign -He is better than Bummery who sharted him out of the EL just prior and outperformed him in the league and EL when at arsenal -he is good at managing youngsters like saliba, Guen and Martinelli -he knows who is best 11 is -he will surround himself with good assistants coaches and advisors in his back room team… Read more »
N’joei Boubawillock!
Pepe is as good as Alexis!
I think at this stage the players are saving Arteta with individual performances
I am not convinced but the owner’s aren;t changing their minds so it is just not very excitable, Arsenal currently.
China
Don’t take it out on Pedro too much, or else one of two Things is going to happen. You find your comments getting deleted a lot or you will eventually get banned.
China
Don’t take it out on Pedro too much, or else one of two Things is going to happen. You find your comments getting deleted a lot or you will eventually get banned.
Didn’t mark get banned for calling pedro supreme leader or was it someone else?
Sadly for arteta, every good performance he has is followed by 3, or 4 games where the football is pathetic.
Getting out classes by roy fking Hudson. Lmao
@Pedro
Biggest thing on here is people thinking this is progress….that is hallmark of a true spuds fans. When mourinho was sacked they were higher up in the table than us, and rightly so the fans called for his head…..called ambition.
We have had the worst season almost EVER and people are coming on here to defend the worst manager in our history. Our fans have become the spuds, delusional idiots with no real ambition
@Bacary
Arteta claps like a retard. Which judging by his managerial expertise is about right
I’ve said all along that it’s all about confidence and belief for Joe Willock, and playing football matches regularly has given him exactly that. Many have questioned his ability and technique , I have never had my doubts. His next step is to be more involved in the game and get on the ball more and start to dictate games as at the moment he is mainly an off the ball runner.. It is possible that Willock will become a massive influence in any team he plays for with his powerful running from deep positions. He has electric pace, power… Read more »
What do you reckon guys, 2 months in he’ll get the tin tack? With fans in the stadium there is no way he’ll make it till Xmas. Can’t wait to say told you the fuck so
Pedro
“Bigger issue here is the amount of people that pile on here after a win to get angry like they were Spurs fans. Embarrassing stuff.”
It is, but this is exactly the type of behaviour you promoted for years from the Wenger obsessives, so why would you expect any different now..
People getting excited that we’re going to make the equivalent of the st Johnstone trophy for Europe. They made the new competition for utter fuck wit teams that no ones ever heard of and will never play in the CL. That’s were Arteta and kroenke have taken us. Miserable Thursday night football against the sheep farmers from the urals…….ahh the smell of progress
My apology “ the papa johns trophy “ of Europe
For Nketiah to have a great goal scoring record, at most levels, given his physical stature, i have to say theres something special in him,
will definately be more productive than Laca
Just get rid of the manager. Just look at the starting team again yesterday. He will never learn. Clueless and feckless. A rebuilding summer??? Under this manager??? You have got to be kidding!!
Pedro
Pierre is correct. You have done it with Wenger then Emery.
Yet people are doing it under Arteta and suddenly your offended.
Double standards much?
Don’t mind Pedro
He repeatedly dissed the greatest Arsenal living manager, now he’s throwing out spuds insults because people don’t rate Arteta.
Pedro must be a Spurs fan since he was having meltdowns on Twitter when was publicly humiliated by Emery.
No he’s notched a couple of off-the-pressure games so all is well. Arteta is back on his perch.
Arsenal’s EPL stats since we beat Chelsea after Xmas are quite interesting Home Away Total Played 11 12 23 Won 5 8 13 Drawn 3 2 5 Lost 3 2 5 For 16 25 41 Against 11 10 21 Points 18 26 44 An analysis of our performance reveals that we have actually performed better AWAY from in wins, points and goals scored. The 5 defeats were against Man City, Liverpool and Everton at home and Aston Villa and Wolves away. Of these we were outplayed by Man City and Liverpool. The other three games should have been won. So… Read more »
Too much crying on here after a win for my liking
I don’t like artetas style with the players at his disposal. Will this change once he gets his players in ?
He has to get this window right or he is doomed
ES, Performance have been poor and ultimately teams get the results that their performance warrant. There has been game where we got a completely undeserved victory. Look at the game we won despite being completely outplayed. Assuming that the same undeserved victories will take place next season is absurd. Take the ManUtd and Chelsea games, we won but replay the same games and in all likelihood we won’t be as lucky and we will lose those. Against Fulham we got a draw, but we should have lost it. Against Palace until the 90th minutes no attempt in the second half.… Read more »
Bummery will win the EL
you heard it here 1st!
Anyone can tell however chaotic Emerys tactics were, there was a plan.
Diet pep makes things up as he goes, a charlatan
StatDNA messed Wengers recruitment
Valentin, what a load of bollocks. We’ve had undeserved losses too FFS and some shock VAR decisions as you know. Thats how football has been for the 50 plus years I’ve been watching it. What you are doing is the classic tactic of discrediting something to fit an agenda. It actually undermines your argument completely. Up to match 15 we had the 16th worse record in the PL. Over the next 22 games the third best. Trying to pass that off as ‘luck’ because it challenges your opinion is one of the list disingenuous things I’ve read on here. Seriously… Read more »
Watts saying Buendia is on top of our list and he is keen to join as well.
Would be a spectacular signing.
Pierre
A contact of mine has a relative in the coaching set up at Newcastle. Willock is sensational in training and the whole team enjoy working with him. He is currently the talk of Newcastle and the would love to keep him. If he stays there he could end up being one of the Newcastle household names – they just love the way he plays.
Mr Serge
“Too much crying on here after a win for my liking”
Damaged egos. They take Arsenal winning to heart. What a pathetic way to behave & so hypocritical. I have no idea how you can hate a Manager so much that you actually want the team you ‘claim” to support to lose. Actually I do, it’s what happens when you value always being right above everything else. It’s classic narcassism
.As for claiming every Arsenal win is down to ‘luck’ I wouldn’t even expect an 8 year old spud to say that.
No I’d expect an 8 yr old spud to pleased with mediocrity. Too many of our fans have become spud fans
Norg Who wouldn’t love a player who has effectively saved them from a last day relegation dogfight single-handedly. + Willock has always been good in training, hence why Wenger, Emery, Freddie and Arteta all gave him ample of opportunities in their teams. Emery subbed in Willock in the EL final over many bug names and he had a very good cameo. If he had his Newcastle scoring boots on the final would’ve been much more nervy for Chelsea in the last 10 mins. Arteta constantly played Willock over ESR until December and also put him on wing ahead of Nelson… Read more »
Valentin As I posted the football played was not pretty, but it was effective and we are beginning to produce results. We are still a long way short of matching Man City and Liverpool, but it should not be forgotten that we completed a double against Chelsea and were unbeaten against Man Utd. I would not personally tinker too much with our attack. The priority there should be in trying to secure Odegaard on a permanent deal. There is no substitute to playing with players who understand each other’s game. My view also is that external factors impacted on Aubameyang’s… Read more »
Having watched him at the barcodes as well as pre loan, the thing that worries me about Willock and makes me think we should sell him is that he is pretty terrible when his team isn’t in possession. Energy, positional awareness, pressing and tackling ability are lacking (in comparison to when he’s going forward). Almost Ozil-esque which is strange given his physique and fitness. What is he now worth to Newcastle or another PL team in need of attacking options? 30-35 million? Sell Willock and spend a little more on a player like Buendia/dePaul and I think it would be… Read more »
Kroenkephobe My view on Willock is 50-50. He is not the technically most gifted midfielder on our books, but he is a physically strong player and he does score goals. My concern is that we are faced with a similar situation that we experienced last season with Emi Martinez. I would only sell him if we received an offer that we cannot refuse around £25 million+. If we are going to recruit an upgrade then we need the funds to do so. We need to offload this summer in midfield AMN, Guendouzi, Torreira and Elneny and replace them with a… Read more »
Sure sign of the coming apocalypse…
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ibtimes.com/transfer-rumors-gunners-moving-re-sign-gabon-star-gent-striker-eyed-insurance-3203462%3famp=1
TYAG
“No I’d expect an 8 yr old spud to pleased with mediocrity. Too many of our fans have become spud fans”
Agree. Only a spud would be miserable when Arsenal win. Especially just after your leading goalscorer has waved goodbye & the fans have booed them off the pitch. Al in all a very satisfying night for a Gooner.
I think it’s fair to say that some just don’t like this manager.
They don’t like the style of football he has shown with the team so far and are not that taken with how he comes across in the media.
So in such circumstance this manager is going to have to over-achieve with this team to get his dislikers to fully back him.
So far he has under-achieved overall.
I’m sure his detractors are waiting for him to over-achieve to back him.
AFC, I made the exact same point against Emery and nobody talked about Agenda at the time. Now because it is Arteta, it is all “How dare you bring that up”. I am sorry, but relying on luck is not a valid strategy. It can go for you one season but against you the next. People keep talking about fine margin. Right now the fine margins have mostly be in our favour. Also We have had no major injuries. When Aubameyang form dipped, Lacazette came to the fore. Now imagine if both Lacazette and Aubameyang had been injured. Or worse… Read more »
Valentin Teams can play well and lose, and play badly and win, that’s just football, and will happen throughout a season This league is competitive, talent is beginning to be produced in higher quantities, and we’re just beginning to see the start of that cycle, as talent has become more expensive, more money has gone into youth development, and with so much money on the line, clubs will find a way to produce their own talent in higher quantities, talent will then filter downwards The PL is the richest league in the world, lower placed clubs can pick off players… Read more »
This is not a terrible squad overall and shame on those that were implying this before as an excuse for Arteta. It’s lacking in certain key areas most notably central midfield and for half a season no ACM. We have seen the bum Emery go on an unbeaten run in his first season and now we see the novice Arteta go on a decent run since Xmas in his first full season. A bum and a novice got this team rolling to some extent. It’s a shame that we talk of bums and novices though in relation to the Arsenal… Read more »
KroenkePhobe, “Having watched him at the barcodes as well as pre loan, the thing that worries me about Willock and makes me think we should sell him is that he is pretty terrible when his team isn’t in possession. Energy, positional awareness, pressing and tackling ability are lacking (in comparison to when he’s going forward).” This is complete BS. Willock has lots of energy, positional awareness, pressing and tackling ability. The one aspect of his game that is currently lacking is passing. Especially long passes. This is exactly why he does not fit into Arteta game plan. Most of goals… Read more »
Valentin “I am sorry, but relying on luck is not a valid strategy. It can go for you one season but against you the next. People keep talking about fine margin. Right now the fine margins have mostly be in our favour.” Give this nonsense a rest. Over the course of a season you get swings & roundabouts. We’ve had some terrible VAR decisions go against us I notice you don’t mention them. Why is that? It is also worth noting the adage about good teams being able to win when not at their best. You can still want the… Read more »
Valentin
As others have said and probably yourself on here the eye doesn’t lie.
We saw Willock in central midfield in EPL matches for Arsenal where he was subbed off and people actually forgot that he was on the pitch in the first place such was his lack of presence in the match.
I understand that you are a defender of the youth players on here much like Pierre but sometimes you just have to tell it how it is seen.
If he improves his overall game all well and good.
Rich, “Teams can play well and lose, and play badly and win, that’s just football, and will happen throughout a season” That is exactly my point. Pedro and some are arguing that next season the games we did not deserved to lose we will win and that the game that we won undeservedly we will still win. I am just refuting that assertion. Things don’t work like that. The only thing you can work on is improving the performance and usually the results follows. We saw that under Emery where the results were not in line with the performance. When… Read more »
Rich
“Building a competitive team takes time, and involves a lot of astute decision making, and it’s the lack of astute decision makers where we come up short”
This.
I get fed up repeating it but for years the recruitment has been poor & so too has the running of the club. None of that is on Arteta.. He’s a novice manager who has come into a mess & inherited a lot of player issues, like the Ozil & Mustafi ones. Unfortunately, some people are too keen to criticise & somewhat hypocritical where this is concerned.
How many times did Wenger go on an unbeaten run at the end of the season? But ultimately it was deemed not good enough.
You can’t disregard pre-Christmas just because you don’t like it. That’s what infants do.
Arteta isn’t good enough.
We should renew Willock’s contract, and send him out on loan again He’s still raw in aspects of his game, and he needs to play competitive football consistently in order to develop Goal scoring midfielders will always hold value, particularly English ones There’s no point in him being a big part player at Arsenal, he’ll never develop that way, next season we’ll still have Saka 20, Martinelli 20, Smith-Rowe 21, Saliba 20, and quite possibly a few others as well, throwing too many young players in at once, won’t work in the immediate I really like Willock and was a… Read more »
Ishola70, We have never seen Willock play in central midfield under Arteta in the EPL. The game where he was anonymous were game when he was playing No10. I would gladly concede that he is not a No10. But then his performance is on the manager who uses a round peg in a square hole. The same manager who uses ESR on the wing or as a false No9. If you Put ESR as No10 and he will shine. Put Willock as a CM and he will shine. Put him as No10 or as striker (like he did at the… Read more »
Did you see how stressed Arteta was in the first half with Steve Round putting his arm around him to try and calm him. This job is just to big for him and he knows it.
Valentin
Please don’t imply to me that Willock is a good central midfielder at this time.
We would not be even talking about him if he hadn’t bagged some goals on loan.
You need more to your game in central midfield than just having a knack on occasions of arriving late in the opposition penalty area with an eye for goal.
He needs to develop and improve his overall game for central midfield.
Kaz “You can’t disregard pre-Christmas just because you don’t like it. That’s what infants do” The fact you all talk about lack of ‘progress’ contradicts that don’t you think? What is telling is that whenever Arsenal get a good win so many take it personally. You moan about wanting results then cry when they arrive. Very weird. I agree pre Christmas we were poor – we was sitting in 15th place in the league when he & the players were rightly criticised. However since then, the next 22 games in fact, only 2 teams have bettered our results, which is… Read more »
AFC Forever
As said before some just don’t like this manager.
That is something that you have to deal and live with.
You yourself are not going to dissuade them.
Only Arteta can do that by over-achieving with the tteam.
Valentine beat me to it, but Boubawillock would do well in a high energy 433,
i wouldnt be surprised if Klopp bid for him
Ishola70, There are more to Willock’s game than goal. He is tenacious, athletic. He presses well. His tackling is on point. He can take the ball on the half turn and drive forward. He keeps things simple but His technique is also better than he shows. The only deficiency he has in his game is his passing. The question is whether his passing is mediocre because he does not have the vision or because he does not attempt risky passes. In a 4-3-3 combine Willock and Partey and ESR ahead and we would have a solid foundation. ___Partey Willock ___… Read more »
Rich ‘””” We’re a club in transition””” ‘Its a process’ ‘Its a project’ ‘Its time to be ruthless’ ‘its non negoatiable’ ‘Its time to be creative’ ‘ But, but we are 2nd since Father Christmas come down the bloody chimney’ etc etc All total cobblers, all excuses. No, its time he got the sack and Arsenal started acting like Arsenal again not an average side , happy we are just above mid table and clunking out wins against the likes of Palace. Arteta tried Arteta failed. His job was too get 4, like the imperious Wenger did for 2 decades.… Read more »
Sid
Willock has no future then at Arsenal with Xhakalson ever present forever.
Valentin
Your future plan for Willock at Arsenal is basically fucked.
As said before Xhakalson is here.
Optimistic post Pedro. I dont see a tweak here and there turning us into a team that can challenge. As well as lack of quality players the mentality isn’t there. I could see us challenging in 5 years or so when the youngsters are battle hardened and we have had a chance to bring in some quality.
Ishola70,
Xhaka will be gone this summer (his wife wants out and every married man knows unhappy wife is unhappy life).
If he is not, Arteta will be gone before Christmas.
Charles Watts, who’s usually well informed, saying that Madrid are likely to bring Odegaard back if Zidane leaves And that Buendia is at the top of our list Personally I’d rather keep Odegaard, signing another right sided midfielder seems nuts We spent £72 million on Pepe, then big wages on Willian 12 months later, who we’ll probably have to pay to leave this summer, only for Saka to become our first choice right winger Saka becoming our first choice right winger, definitely looks like it was more through accident than design And now we’re looking at Buendia, who’s played 117… Read more »
Ishola No it’s more than that. Discrediting results and being sad about good results is actually something else entirely. It’s funny but I was so disappointed when Arteta was appointed. I knew the club was in a mess, I had watched the players have no heart for years, softer than a baby’s sponge. We needed more than a manager, we needed changes in many key positions of the backroom team. Based on my expectation he’s done a bloody good job. He won an FA Cup against the odds, tightened us up defensively, got rid of the trouble makers & in… Read more »
Valentin
The most likely scenario by far is that Xhaka stays and yes Arteta’s position can be in jeopardy next season.
Xhaka is like the Duracell bunny. But instead of the bunny with new fully charged batteries banging those drums rapidly Xhaka is the bunny with the batteries declining and needing replaced. Unfortunately the batteries never fully run out and the bunny bangs those drums very slowly. Vey slowly.
So Emery’s 22 game unbeaten run is bollocks, yet Arteta being 3rd since Xmas is reason to get excited. Poor bastards. They are in for a shock next season when Arteta will be bent over and fucked by most teams in the premier league. Seriously how embarrassing for Arteta to be bent over and spanked by the manager he replaced. That is funny
AFC Forever
Nah it’s no more than that.
If fans don’t believe in the manager or dislike him then it is no surprise that they are less enthused about results.
As said before Arteta is going to have to over-achieve to get everybody on board.
And he has not done “a bloody good job” overall.
If he had he would have less detractors.
Ragnick and Flick joining Spurs would a quick in the teeth for Arsenal fans.
None of us are sad we won you fucking idiot. We’re sad about the shit style of football we’re playing and the fact that kroenke’s and Arteta have turned this club into a fucking laughing stock. A club that is no longer relevant on the European stage, But you window lickers go ahead and accept mediocrity. Just don’t expect all of us to be happy about it.
One of Xhakalson or Diet Pep will be gone by chrismas, the other to follow shortly
You can take this to the bank!
@Valentin
No it wouldn’t, at least not to the fucking idiot Arteta fan boys. Somehow they’d have you believing Arteta is better than those 2
Funny. Anything Arteta does good is accidental, anything bad is incompetence. Marginally better than the reverse, I suppose.
Rich Yes Odegaard showed his quality yesterday. That cross for Martinellis goal is the creativity you need when teams defend deep. He sees things and passed quickly. I’m not surprised about talk of attacking midfielders, as I said the other day it’s how City play. This season they don’t have a striker in double figures, the goals came across the midfield 5 or 6. They don’t have a rigid structure, they have a fluidity of interchange & play with tempo. To do that you not only need technical players but energy & finishing ability. We used to have that type… Read more »
Arteta is the Spanish equivalent of a cockney wide boy. Full of shit
If KDB can adapt to CM, so can Buendia,
He had better stats than KDB when his team was in the EPL. He is like Santi
Im telling you for free!
The only way Arteta has done a “bloody good job” is if you swallow the line that the team and squad are poverty.
Arteta himself has been implying this.
It’s bullshit.
Willock’s current contract ends in June 2023. Somehow I don’t see the player extending his contract with us if he is loaned out again. He has reached the point in his career when he will want certainty in his career. It would not surprise me that there will be a number offers on the table this summer. The question which needs to be asked is where would you play Willock in our starting lineup? The obvious position is attacking midfield. Smith-Rowe is also playing in that position and is both younger and in my view a better option. If Arsenal… Read more »
englandsbestMay 20, 2021 11:05:23
Funny. Anything Arteta does good is accidental, anything bad is incompetence. Marginally better than the reverse, I suppose.
Nothing funny here, its the reality, the guy is a charlatan. If Bernie Madoff could get away with its a walk in the park to do it in football.
CG We’re a club in transition, and transitions do take a bit of time, success comes and goes in cycles, this is football Developing young players takes time and patience, this season we had Smith-Rowe 20, Willock 21, as our only attacking midfielders, backed up by Xhaka, Ceballos, Elneny, Partey Smith-Rowe + Partey both injured for most of the first half of the season, is it any wonder we struggled for goals, creativity and flair? It’s Saka’s first full season, he’s 19, he’s done well, but he’s a teenager, and we should never be this reliant on him Smith-Rowe has… Read more »
Some fans disliked Emery even in his first season before it went completely tits up the following season.
So fans disliking Arteta is not a great surprise tbh.
I don’t believe xhaka is leaving. Some things just aren’t realistic . This is one of them
Rich.
Please do not make excuses for these imbecilles that currently are at the club.
From Josh Kronk, to Steve Round, to Mikel Arteta to Edu to Vinny , I personally think they are all clueless, useless and weak as piss.
I am used to the Hill woods, Friars, Deins, Wengers, Fizmans running the show.
I can only say what I believe.
Ill leave the fairy tales and stories of ‘ sunny uplands ‘to others.
Did you know Arsenal are 80-1 to win the league title next season.
I have never seen that price as high.
Fans took to Twitter to react to Xhaka’s cameo, suggesting that his presence in the side is still vital even now.
Some believe that Xhaka’s introduction is what sparked Arsenal’s win, with fans now hoping that he stays over the summer rather than move on.
LOL Xhaka isn’t going anywhere.
Willock is scoring goals at the mo, please I have watched him over the years he will never be good enough to hold down a starting place at Arsenal- sell now while his hot.
Rich Fair comment Offensively I think that Arsenal have the makings of a good squad. The only acquisition that I would want to make in that department is to make a serious attempt to buy Odegaard. The only other change in this department would be to offload Willian. Defensively despite the stats Arsenal have a long way to go to find a settled group. We need a partner for Partey who is “athletic, intelligent and a 90 minute player”. The backline is most definitely not the finished article. I would classify most of the players “squad” material rather than starting… Read more »
Rich If you watched Esr closely yesterday, you would’ve seen him constantly drifting out to the right hand side during buildup allowing Pepe to come inside. And in general our #10 drift into wide spaces during the build up. I think this tactic with better practice can be implemented to suit Buendia as well as Pepe. Pepe is ineffective when out wide but whenever he gets the ball in and around the 18 yard box he makes things happen. Meanwhile Buendia has shown great intelligence when playing the RW spot. He exploits the half spaces very well and his end… Read more »
CG
No arguments from me that Venkatesham and KSE are incompetent
Where or when have I ever made excuses for the people who run the club? There’s clearly a leadership vacuum
We’re probably stuck with our lot at the minute though, so instead of pushing ourselves into a spiral of negativity, I’m choosing to hope for the best, but unfortunately fearing the worst
If either through luck or judgment we improve the makeup of our squad, and the quality of our first team
There’s no reason we can’t be much better next time around
Rich As you say much depends on recruitment in the summer. There was no pre-season last year due to Covid and we still had a number of ‘poisonous’ characters in the squad which have now been offloaded. So a decent pre-season without those issues will prove useful. For years now we have all known the problems we have had in the squad, for example, the lack of a proper DM and the Centre Back issues. Under Emery & to some extent Wenger, it was far too easy for teams to get at us and we were soft. In some ways,… Read more »
Now that luiz is gone, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Xhaka play CB next season. Arteta loves his long balls.
Get the midfield sorted and we should we have a squad capable of top 4.
Last summer, when we recruited willian, gabriel, and partey and beat fulham in the first game, the AKBs were certain that we would finish in the top 4. By mid season we were languishing in 10th and the excuses were out in full throttle. I expect the same next season.
We may not have world beaters in defense but our defense is not the unit which needs major surgery. Why? Because defending is 70% about the system, discipline, work rate and tactics. 30% about the quality of the players in it Arteta has done an exceptional job in instilling a very very good defensive system. That is why we have conceded so few goals this season with the likes of Holding, Luiz, Gabriel, Mari, Bellerin and Chambers being our first choice players. All average imo apart from Gabriel who has potential to be top quality but has been meh-meh in… Read more »
Hypothetically, if Chelsea offered us a straight swap Abraham for Aubameyang
Would anyone take it?
Rich
I would take that, auba is at the end of his career, and he will bang goals in for chelski but his discipline is sure to cause problems.
Tammy on the other hand has yet to reach his peak and has a lot of experience playing for a top team in the PL.
Lower wages and definitely more motivated to prove everyone wrong. And the best thing is, he still has re sale value if he doesn’t work out.
Captain Tierney Arsenal’s attack is not horrible, but it is not playing to its full potential. Aubameyang has had by his standards a poor season, but I think that is understandable considering his family issues and malaria. He does not look currently in the best of health and that reflects in his performance. I am still confident that he will recover. Lacazette is a solid centre forward good enough to score 15-20 goals in a season. Nketiah is not going to make the grade at Arsenal and will be replaced next season by Balogun. We have got on the books… Read more »
Don’t know much about either buendia or bissouma, but do they play the same position and style? Im guessing we either get one or the other, right? Get a decent RB, and keep cedric and chambers as back up RB and LB. Gabriel, Mari, Saliba and Holding are more than good enough for a side with no European aspirations. Wingers are sorted, so the main positions are CM, AM (compete with ESR) and a RB. If we let a lot of our current midfielders leave, we may have to buy one more CM. Other than that, it should be an… Read more »
Gonsterous
I agree with that, Abraham is an experienced PL striker coming into a good age, and with his best days in front of him
I was keen for us to move Aubameyang on last summer, he’s not become a bad player overnight, but looks like the type of character who’s great to be around when he’s happy, and a nightmare to be around when he’s not
Hopefully either Chelsea or PSG come knocking
Rich In a heartbeat, I like Tammy a lot and think he’s excellent value in a top 4 squad. I see him as a more accomplished/polished Welbeck. ES Our attack is terrible. We have incredibly poor fitting senior players for the type of football we aspire to play. Auba, Laca, Pepe, Willian is one of the poorest returns in ability you could get for 180 mil. Auba and Laca don’t even function well enough in the same XI. All our promise comes in players like ESR, Saka, Martinelli, Balogun. But it’s more promise than expectation. The big earners don’t nearly… Read more »
Gonsterous – Bissouma is a central midfielder and Buendia plays as an attacking forward mostly on the right but can play centrally and from the left. Both would be great additions.
If we are looking at Buendia then maybe Nelson is off on a loan next season or sold permanently.