Juuuuust a quick one today because I’m back in London doing London things.
Edu put down the grill for 5 minutes to talk to the media about our summer. It was pretty much the same things that Vinai had mentioned.
“I think we have to see the wider context than just the money around it,”
“We signed six players who are under 23, which means a lot in terms of our planning.
“We started planning this squad a year ago in terms of consolidating the team and trying to get a better foundation. We have to balance the squad better.”
Pretty obvious. We have spent 5 years watching Arsenal spend money on ‘ready-made’ and it’s been a disaster. This summer, we upgraded in every position, but even if we had signed more experienced players, it would have taken time.
“It is hard. I am not asking for patience because it is the word that everybody hates to listen to.
“I am just trying to explain the strategy behind it because when people see just one window, of course they see it like this. I respect that. But you have to see what we started to do since we’ve been together. We’ve tried to clean the squad.
“As I said, it is 21 exits. It’s a lot, almost a revolution. But how are you going to fill those 21 holes? You need time. You cannot come in and do it straight away.
Edu landed a lot of criticism for this comment, but to be fair, he’s right. You can’t make as many changes as we’ve made and expect everyone to hit the ground running. It’s also clear that we went very, very hard at lowering the age profile of the squad.
It’ll take until December at least before we start kicking up a gear. But I’m pretty sure if we’re within spitting distance by then, we’ll reap rewards in the back half of the season because our players will be fresher and fitter than everyone else.
What cannot continue until that moment is the type of nutcase decision making we’ve seen with personnel.
After the break, we’ll see the actual starting 11 for the season for the first time, in a game they should win.
We need to see more aggressive pressing.
We need to see the consistent execution of a game plan.
We need to see a firm reaction to what has gone before.
… but I don’t have any doubts this will happen. We have found rock bottom. Better players mean better results.
Ok, listen to the pod, I’ll catch you tomorrow.
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Pierre
I don’t give a fuck how you think.
Mark
I am not defending Arteta as my feelings towards his management skills are crystal clear.
Arteta hasn’t helped himself this season but he hasn’t had a lot of luck what with covid and shit ref decisions
The problem on here is that if you are against the manager then you can’t be honest and say that Arteta hasn’t had a lot of luck without being criticised.
Hi Chris,
Hope you enjoy it and it’s a good afternoon. Would really like to hear your observations as a fan if you get a moment after the game. The general mood, reactions around you to certain decisions/events on the pitch, chants that are witty, abusive or otherwise.
Have a good one mate.
Kroenkephobe
Cheers, will do if I can remember haha! Hope you can find a resource to watch it.
Pierre,
As already mentioned even if the decisions had gone in our favour, we would likely still have lost. Which has been down to the selection and tactics (Arteta) , hence I’m not sure I’d be comfortable saying he’s been unlucky. You make your own luck
With him I’m not surprised it’s bad , karma and all that.
BIG
Excellent post as always
A&E broke the China with their reckless signings last summer and they’ve tried using expensive super glue to repair the crockery
Problems is they have over-corrected their previous errors so now we are left with the WORST of both works; old shit and not-ready youngsters. For examples, our ‘elite’ defensive signing has only one season experience in top-European football so someone will still to mentor Ben White.
Had they let go of Xhaka and brought in another midfielder of Partey’s caliber, then it wouldn’t look so horrible.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1431662260968206340
This season, staying in the league, i.e. avoiding relegation is the meaningful target.
Last season, they’re was fresh wave from the youngsters but where’s the new wind coming from now.
Which of the new signings can win games for us single handed and cover up a manager’s incompetence?
As for the refereeing decisions afaic there’s a definite bias towards arsenal.
I think the club need to use whatever channels there are to have it addressed
As for the football, Arteta out now!
“Arteta is taking us in the right direction”?
Is that direction to relegate the team? Because that’s exactly what is associated with him, breaking all the records from the wrong reason
Pierre is like a Schizo
He moans about the current set-up but at the same time keeps crying about referee decisions.
Newsflash. Too many of these players are weak and or weak minded.
Leno gets bullied on his own goal line. Why? Because he is weak minded.
Chambers gets weak arsed off the ball and gets a slap in the process. Why? Because he is weak and too many times just plain shite.
Pierre must have been an ex poster from Untold.
Had Chambers punched someone in the face like that, we would have been reduced to 10 men.
What’s the use of VAR, if calls like that go uncalled fire review with slowed motion?
I’m with Pierre on this singular non-call, not with the wider conspiracy nonsense.
Come on people, just look at that video yourselves, forget what Pierre is peddling.
Pedro winds up the readers to increase traffic.
Take it with a massive pinch of what?
Pierre,
It’s unreal I know. Yet if it was one of our players that’s being given and a red too.
Blatant.
Pierre
Do you think with a strongman manager like Conte in charge , AFC would get so many poor decisions?
He would surely be on to any skullduggery with the refs.
Conte , the Italian George Graham but hopefully without the bungs..
Pierre,
The only answer is to be better than the opposition. Same way those players who’d get kicked, cos that’s the only way to stop em, carried on.
It wasn’t a punch.
It was a slap/push in the face.
Chambers was losing out in that tussle where both of them were jockeying for position just before the slap. The slap was confirming that Chambers was the sucker in the play.
Chambers has been shocking at the start of this season. Shocking.
It’s called players getting bullied on the pitch.
And they are getting bullied because either they are not good enough or they are massively lacking confidence.
Kroenkephobe ,
No mate, I haven’t seen that, will keep an eye out,heard it was funny. Saturday’s game is big but that’s the problem really isn’t it? Home to the worst team in the premiership and beating them will be seen as progress. It’s just delaying the inevitable and wasting time. Be honest now, how many songs have you ready for the ‘freeeeeedooooooommmmm’ moment?
https://twitter.com/i/status/1432038695935385601
Conte , the Italian George Graham but hopefully without the bungs..
Nor the Bunga Bunga 🍑💋- Edu’s done enough of that this summer.
CG
That’s a really good comparison. If he comes and if he has half the amount of determination to see Arsenal win that GG had, we’ll be taking a step to getting back on track.
I have to say, that is quite a tone deaf post by Pedro. His reading of Edu‘s press conference is an extreme version of reading something with rose tinted glasses. Yes it makes sense to lower the age profile of the squad. Yes it makes sense to have more cover in our squad. But surely we are paying this complicated and overblown management structure top dollar to be able to manage a transition whereby we do not absolutely and emphatically crater the form of our team such that we are rock bottom in the league, rock bottom in confidence, rock… Read more »
Almunia Win, lose or draw he has to go. We’re all in fucking agony. I genuinely have nothing lined up but I’m confident of a massive surge of collective creative adrenaline if/when he’s left the building. I’m hoping everyone will give it a go and le grove will become like the fame academy multiplied by school of rock. Yeah mate, but it Tyrone and the Canaries win on Saturday AND Tets is still on his throne, watch Spinal Tap as an antidote to football. You’ll be putting yourself in the heart of Tony’s old industry. Tony – you a fan… Read more »
Pierre, clear and obvious errors was VAR’s remit.
I watched that replay ten times and didn’t see a clear punch to the face, especially after it was Chambers who initiates contact and Laporte wasn’t even looking at him.
Let me ask you this though , since you keep posting plays going United’s way as proof of some sort of bias.
How many times have you looked at the Stevens/ Fernandez challenge in the lead up to the Southampton goal.
My guess not once lol.
Kroenkephobe,
You’re right there, will be an outpouring of all kinds when it occurs. Hopefully we get someone in who will put the club first, CG hit the nail on the head with the GG comparison, bit of grit needed!
It’s laughable. Pierre is parrotting good old Wenger of course from the past. It doesn’t apply anymore. No team is fouling us anymore and doing dirties on us from stopping us playing our lovely football as we had under Wenger. We don’t play lovely football now. And who cares about Man United now and what decisions they get. Again it’s living in the past. It used to matter about what decisions they get on the field because we were rivals to them and close to them in the league. Now we are fucking nowhere near close to them. Stop veering… Read more »
We have seen a change in tack from Arteta. It’s win or bust for him. My way or no way. And win he will. All his mistakes derive from being too nice to people. He must regret not telling Ozil to get stuffed from the start Along with several others whose names we know well. He was too nice to Martinez when he asked for a transfer. He should have kept him, played him, and got rid of that other turncoat at the end of the season. And he was much too respectful to the elderly, from Luiz to Auba… Read more »
@Ishola 70
Hear, Hear
Get rid of the 3 stooges is the first step into the right direction and then the decisions regarding other clubs that compete against us will become relevant again.
Normally, if you bring in new signings you would expect them to be better than what we already have at the club, and yea I know it’s all based on opinions but I’m not sure that the 6 signings will make a lot of difference The question is …..is White better than Saliba. Answer ..difficult to say , though one would say that he is not £50 milllion better. Saliba has started well in France and could have maybe had the same impact here.. I would say the £50 million could have been soent more wisely. The question is …is… Read more »
Ishola
“The main point is that we have a novice as manager who is not good enough and an overall set-up at the club that is also not good enough.”
That doesn’t mean we can’t have other discussions, saying Arteta out is just boring.
Tom “I watched that replay ten times and didn’t see a clear punch to the face, especially after it was Chambers who initiates contact and Laporte wasn’t even looking at him.” What you are saying is that if a defender touches an opposition player ( chambers didn’t even grab him) in the box then it is ok for the player to strike an opponent in the face.. And to say he wasn’t even looking at him is irrelevant because he obviously knows chambers is.. You’re beginning to go down the road of ridiculousness as you did when you failed to… Read more »
Kronk
“”””CG That’s a really good comparison. If he comes and if he has half the amount of determination to see Arsenal win””‘c
People like A. Conte become available every decade, if you lucky.
They dont bloody grow on trees. What are KSE waiting for?
Three jobs Three league titles., thats Conte.
He is out of work , with no compo.
You want a GG type , this is your man.
EB
Yea, if only Arteta was more nasty
pierre
It’s worse than boring, it’s a total waste of time. Arteta is here to stay.
That slap on Chambers is a red card offense. If an Arsenal player had done it he would have been sent off. Also Pogba challenge on Neves was equally bad as Xhaka’s two footed challenge which got him sent off. If despite having a video technology there is no basic standards then it is safe to say there’s a clear bias against Arsenal and it’s not new. Been noticing it for ages. Managers will come and go but this bias against Arsenal and favouritism towards Man U will continue. This is blatant cheating.
Conte or Mancini would do for me ….
Dissenter
I prefer ‘less nice’.
Vieras dick slap has more impact than the Chambers incident, he needs to man up. What a wimp
Chambers was weak in the play.
And no-one should be surprised because he has been utter turd at the start of this season.
Whether Chambers was weak or not is not the question. Similar offenses have been punished earlier. All I ask for his consistency in decision making.
‘’ Oh yeah we’ve been keeping an eye out on the Bologna player for a year now…..BULLSHIT. The player was hawked off to every other premier league club and no one wanted him. No one in Europe wanted him that’s how fucking average a player he is. He’ll go the same way our previous Asian players have gone. 2-3 years wasting our money before being shoved out the back door. We should honestly change our name ,’
Fuck sake give the guy a chance
Pierre
If you’re gonna whistle in the wind, how about Ozil as player/manager and you as his consiglieri
TR7
If Chambers is on his game he strong arms the Man City player off so he doesn’t even have the chance to give him a sucker slap.
Our players are getting bullied and that is another sign that we are not up to scratch.
Saliba looks like a leader to me
https://twitter.com/i/status/1434865296423202817
Pierre, funny how Chambers “touches” the City player, but the City player “punches” him.
Obviously no bias on your part there lol.
“If Chambers is on his game he strong arms the Man City player off so he doesn’t even have the chance to give him a sucker slap.”
Lol @keyboard warriors. Some of them can’t kick a balloon if their lives depend on it but will come here to call our players weaklings instead of them to speak out against the injustice from the referee.
But if the hated one goes hard on an opponent and thereby gets sent off, they come here frothing on both sides of the mouth.
I hope we are lining up Conte as a replacement for Arteta if we sack him. This squad is set up for a back three now. And there are some players that he will like. But he will need a big CF, a Winger, a CM and a RWB at the very least. And there will be some players he won’t like because of their character. But I think he will take the job if we promise him funds and to compete. As for Arteta, I think he is dead man walking. 9 points out of the next three is… Read more »
Arsenal is where all mediocrity is given a chance, soares, runnerson, Diet Pep, the heap continues to pile
Well, results can’t possibly get worse, so by definition there will be some improvement. And we have a half-decent squad with a few outstanding players. So hope springs eternal once again. There is one elephant size fly in the ointment though, and that is the man sitting on the manager’s seat. There is nothing I have seen to convince me Arteta has any idea how to organise and motivates a side. Quite the opposite in fact. The first three games weren’t just unfortunate blips, they were a huge expose of the manager’s ineptitude, at both ends of the park. There… Read more »
Tee
Those crying about the Chambers incident are most likely the ones to have never played the game or if they did they were those pale skinny kids on the wings who never got involved in the match.
Chambers has been shit for the start of this season and the sucker slap he got sums him up at the start of this season.
The funniest bit about Arteta’s Arsenal getting screwed by the refs rhetoric is that if it wasn’t for a couple of crucial calls going our way he might’ve been out on his ass as the Arsenal manager long ago.
Bellerin foul on Christiansen in the build up to Arsenal’s second goal, and Kovacic second yellow on Xhaka in the FA cup final.
Chelsea at full strength at 1:1 were a good bet to win it.
If Arteta doesn’t with the FA cup, he wouldn’t have gotten all the rope despite his all too well documented numerous fuckups.
The earlier posters on here understand Arteta isn’t going nowhere for now the better for their sanity.
No amount of conte blog and posts is sacking him for now. Like Edu said, they are ready to wait till the players play and jell together. This means the owners are ready to back him till all hope is lost.
Besides, the kroenkes aren’t known for taking such drastic step like abramovich would.
Ishola
I’m not a fan of Chambers and I don’t understand how’s he still at the club after 7 mediocre seasons
That said, he was fouled brazenly and VAR should have reversed that goal. It doesn’t mean city wouldn’t have walloped u even more that 5-0
The only way Arteta can even get out of this by some degree is to revert to ten men behind the ball deep and sporadic counter attacking and that’s overall in the season and not against what are seen as the weaker sides in the league.
Is that what you want to see from your team generally over a whole season?
Because there is not a chance he is going to succeed with more expansive football. He will not be capable to do that.
“Those crying about the Chambers incident are most likely the ones to have never played the game or if they did they were those pale skinny kids on the wings who never got involved in the match.Chambers has been shit for the start of this season and the sucker slap he got sums him up at the start of this season” Empty barrel comes to mind here Besides, what’s the correlation between chamber is bad and referees’ injustice? Pierre’s post was purely and clearly about this but not if chamber is good or not. It’s you that added that to… Read more »
Tom
It’s pathetic he got all that rope for the FA Cup win in the first place.
Playing big underdog tactics to win that.
It’s just another sign of the clubs declining standards.
Yes give him the keys if he won the FA Cup while also showing though that he was truly capable in the EPL as well which he has not.
Tee
You’ve come on here telling us all that Arteta is going nowhere and also crying over refs decisions.
It makes no difference. The team are shite at the start of this season irrelevant of officials.
And give over with the Arteta is going nowhere line. That’s just you in thrall of the establishment.
If Arteta continues to tank he will be going believe me.
If Arteta continues to tank he will be going believe me.”
Stating the obvious as usual.
Any manager that tanks continuously is gone, no doubt about it but Mikel isn’t going nowhere till all hope is lost on him by the kroenkes. No amount of your daily boring “Arteta out” anthem is changing that.
Tee
If Arsenal beat Norwich but lose to Burnley and Spurs the Kroenkes will be getting the message that he isn’t good enough and they will give up on him.
The decision will be made for them.
We all know this project and process talk is just jib to divert from the teams present failings and is on very thin ground.
Very thin ground can give way very quickly.
Pierre
You are maybe right and you are maybe wrong but what i will say is last week, norwich had a goal disallowed from a set piece for having a player close to the keeper in a very similar situation to the brentford goal
It was nothing like the second goal at Brentford
The Norwich player was stood in an offside position at the free kick You can not be in an offside position at a throw in.
Does anyone remember when Chambers trucked up from Southampton? Cost under £16 million, aged what 19. Hit the ground running indeed all sort of plaudits got into the England team and well his progress hit a brick wall and that’s where he is now aged 26 My point is that when listened to Edus interview he is talking as almost all the new signings and come to that the other younger players will develop and of course they might but just as likely they will reach their ceilings way sooner than later and nowhere at the level needed to start… Read more »
I think the injury Chambers picked up against Chelsea at home in the league two seasons ago was basically the end for him in becoming a really good player. He was excellent at CB for those 20 odd minutes he was on the pitch against Chelsea in that match. Arsenal were under heavy pressure in the first period of the first half in that match and the Arsenal penalty area was being peppered but Chambers won every header and tackle. He was like superman in those first 20 odd minutes against them. But then he got stretchered off with that… Read more »
Negative Nigel, only in your mind , and perhaps Pierre’s as well, calling two out of three decisions against Arsenal wrong can be seen as going out of my way to defend indefensible. The fact is any referee decision made in real time can be scrutinized and disagreed with when looked at from different angles. I thought Saka should’ve had a penalty but I accept a different opinion. I thought Leno was fouled for Brentford’s second. I thought the Chambers foul was just two players jostling for positions with only one with his eyes on the ball( Laporte) , and… Read more »
Read this in an e-sport thread regarding the retirement of one of the most famous e-sport managers. As I am interested in picking successful people’s brains I read the thread and it’s a very long one. I did not expect to read this: “This industry is very cutthroat at the top. A bad season can see you out on your arse, and that is not the sort of job security that allows you to plan for the future. In any sort of competitive environment, your position is only secured with constant success. There is no room for failure and very… Read more »
Honestly you I think we are getting the calls designated for clubs that play shitty unattractive football
We are getting calls that relegation-bound clubs get.
Terraloon, ishola , tom
Klopp understands the game and has no readon to defend Arsenal
https://twitter.com/i/status/1429006107507363842
“We are a laughing stock” Is this supposed to be a new gospel? It’s been known for ages that the media, pundits and what have you always revel in our calamity. Even during the glory days, they always find ways to mock the club. I don’t go veba shit about whatever they have to say about the club because even the fans of our club are doing worst. Can you imagine some posters trying to ridicule our last fa cup trophy saying we won using an underdog tactics? Who cares what tactics we used? All that matters is we won… Read more »
Terraloon
“The Norwich player was stood in an offside position at the free kick You can not be in an offside position at a throw in.”
And what about the brentford player in front of Leno standing in an offside position when it was headed in.
Does that not also count as offside as he was impeding the goalies sight( as well as holding on to him)
*give a shit*
Terraloon
Good point
Then Wenger tried to re identy him in another postition
Arsenal is an easy target for the pundits, there’s no conspiracy theory there.
We have made so many mistakes, obvious errors at that that it’s understandable why every wannabe pundit wants to cut a career picking on Arsenal.
Then you have the massive online presence of gooners, we are the Banterville these days.
I know who to believe between klopp and a random. Poster on Le-grove.
The team’s performances were nothing to write home about – checked
Referee bias is obvious to the sincere ones – checked
Trying to back the injustice from referee because of our bad performances depicts slowpoking – checked
Pierre
You are notorious on here to keep going on about injustices to Arsenal by officials.
Face up to facts.
We are shite heading nowhere at this time.
Injustices from officials doesn’t even come into it.
I didn’t even look at the Klopp link because this is just crying over a shit pie.
Was it by any chance Klopp putting a word out and feeling sorry for his fellow countryman Leno?
Instead of feeling sorry for Leno why don’t we just do all the truthful thing and proclaim him not good enough.
Tee
“I know who to believe between klopp and a random. Poster on Le-grove.”
What a crap tedious line.
These people in the game look out for each other.
Haven’t you got it yet?
Pep says Arteta is a very good manager.
Have you got it yet?
Have you latched on?
Tee
“All that matters is we won”
No it isn’t a case of all that matters is that we won a secondary domestic cup.
That FA Cup win using underdog tactics could set us back years.
Do you understand?
Have you latched on yet?
‘Mohamed Elneny will miss Egypt’s World Cup qualifier with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s Gabon after picking up a muscle injury. ‘
Why am I not surprised
That’s one of the oldest tricks in the game
Some injuries are difficult to conclusively disprove.
Pedro, you are so damn soft since moving to the US 😂
Some people don’t have eyes apparently, just listen and use other people’s ideas. A bit sheepy
Not sacking Tets now means club is heading for relegation fight or even possible relegation.
Clocks ticking on that untalented meglamaniac, just a waiting game
‘Wire’ actor Michael K. Williams found dead in Brooklyn apartment.
He played Omar Little
‘’Man, Money Ain’t Got No Owners, Only Spenders.”
Whilst Pedro insists on continuing his shameless spin, in the real world Arsenal fans want…..
#CONTEIN
For the sake of my emotional health, I try to ignore Pedro’s excuses as much as possible.
I don’t read the post half the time.
When Edu was pilloried for not publicly setting a target for the season.it seemed eerily familiar because Pedro and the other Arteta-sexuals had refused to set targets too.
How can any major business, or any commercial entity, no matter how small, not set targets ffs ??!!!
I don’t understand how any fan actually subscribes to this level of bullshit without being a window licker, the joke’s on you pal
Arteta will be here all season.
The team above him are clueless
They are chickens…
headless chickens…
His success and failures are tied directly to them, this inept bunch.
If mike gets fired, they know they are next.
There best self serving interest is to back him all the time and hope for the best…
In defense of Edu, I suspect that they have targets for Arteta.
They may not want to put a young manager who’s already struggling under more pressure.
I refuse to believe that they don’t hav4 targets that have been articulated to the manager.
There’s no way the Kroenkes will spend so much money and not have any expectations.
Diss
when have KSE had any expectations except to earn $?
Guns
This is different though
They clearly opened the wallets this summer, no one likes to look like mugs.
There are all sorts of motivation as to why they won’t wait too long. These billionaires don’t like being taken for fools
It’s not the scale of the spending because many billionaires have lost more than the £150 million summer sound in a single day in the markets. Is because someone asked for big money from them and didn’t deliver.
Heads will roll because of pride.
Diss, if that’s the case then the CEO and DOF would at least intimate or give some sort of line like “we need to improve on our 8th place finishes over the past 2 season” or “being in Europe is very important to a club like Arsenal”
No clarity in which position but some form of fucking woolly response like the above would at least give fans a mast to pin their performance measures to
* £150 million summer spend
UTarse
Yea, there is no specifics… just edu talking about the “future”
rebuilding, getting younger etc.
Nothing about expectations and goals, just let mike continue to burn the house down….
UTarse
Yea, Edu could have just used the ‘unacceptable for Arsenal to be out of Europe” line but I think he as intentionally taking one fir the team.
Overall, I appreciate the fact that Edu put himself out and tried to articulate whatever they are trying to do. He didn’t seem prepared fir the focused questioning that he got and he ended up looking stupid.
Typical Edu thinking that the fans are dumb.
Gazidis the rat was great at speaking to fans and deflecting constantly. His lawyer background I am sure helped
Edu OTOH, needs to feel more heat from the fans as does mike. All fucking season long. Consistently.
That’s my point, him taking one for the team is actually raising more concern for me. Both the CEO & DOF being tight lipped and offering pathetic excuses as we sit bottom after spending 150mm is very worrying. Had they come out and talked Arsenal up with whatever bullshit gusto of “unacceptable this” and “great club that” may have thinly covered them till Xmas…maybe…
Gunsf it has gotten beyond the point of it beggars belief….it really has
Guns Plying the devil’s advocate here. What exactly has Edu done, besides not being good at interviews He’s not the one responsible for preparing the team, selecting the starting and making adjustments during games. The Athletic tried to explain the dynamics and clearly Edu’s remit in the system is to set a direction and support the manager. It was from Edu that Mike was told the club aren’t signing any more oldies. Edu sees to be the one trying to temper down Arteta’’s excesses, if you believe the Athletic. The reason why we kept walking away from the White and… Read more »
Christmas? Wait till Christmas? What for? So someone can wax lyrical about how a few acquisitions in the January transfer window will have us challenging?
UTarse
There’s a case to be made that had Edu given a definite answer to that question then it was like signing Arteta’s Arsenal death sentence
Arteta knows the score, anyone who’s been in football for so long so knows you’re only as good as your last 2-4 games.
Just an alternate view, of course.
If only diss….if only