I spent last week back in England after two years out of the game due to the pandemic. Honestly, it was so good to be back. I knew it had been too long because I was oddly enamoured with people’s accents. I loved the little things, like not being able to get a haircut until after 3pm on a Saturday, or being strong-armed into destruction drinking by nearly everyone. I honestly can’t wait to be back at Christmas and take a few games in. I miss London man, I’m in pieces at my desk this morning stroking a box of PG Tips whispering ‘alright you facking melt’ quietly to myself.
The other nice thing about the trip? I am something of a good luck charm for Arteta’s career. He won his first game with my presence and he just pulled himself partially out of a hole this weekend.
I went back over his interviews. I don’t know what the ground zero situation looked like over the past two weeks, but it felt to me like some people at the club sat down with him and had a proper conversation. I might just be projecting what I’d liked to have happened.
Notable things:
Vibes: His demeanour was very different before the game. He’s back to selling a future we can buy into. There was no moping or feeling sorry for himself. There were no excuses, no disgruntlement at what had gone on, just a laser focus on clearly communicating with the fans what the plan is moving forward.
Content: I think his content has improved over the past couple of weeks. The main message I was getting from his pressers is that he’s happy with the talent, but more than that, he’s happy with the new characteristics of his squad. I’ve found that interesting. When he spoke of his new players, he spoke of their personality traits. Tomi was ‘all smiles with a desire to play’, Sambi Lokonga ‘was desperate to play despite a knock’, and Aaron Ramsdale ‘is a great energy, something different.’
Happy family: I think Arteta also went to great lengths to thank the wider staff for getting him through it. Moving up to manager can cloud your ego, we’ve all been there, you make director and you think you’re a GOD of the internet at first. Arteta is not a god, so throwing his weight around in August in press conferences like peak-Jose wouldn’t have gone down well. It read to me like maybe he’d been force-fed a bit of humble pie because he was very keen to stress that everyone had mucked in.
Have you ever seen those memes on the internet where there’s a bear hugging a dog with a caption like “This bear loves the dog” then an animal expert writes underneath “this is a dog tied to a bowl, the bear is about it eat him.” That could be me with these hack observations. They might not be true, but whatever went on, one thing is for sure: the players didn’t down tools on him. Sure, it wasn’t an A+ performance for the ages, but you could see the specifics of what we were trying to do. I thought we were very aggressive for most of the game, our players pressed far harder than they usually do, and our overall play was far more unpredictable. Ben White creates chances, has great passing, and uses his runs to create overloads. Sambi Lokonga, quite simply, is not Dani Ceballos. Tomiyasu gives us height defending longballs, he gives us an option outwide, and he can actually right back. Ramsdale can pass so playing out the back looks good. It didn’t work as a piece of art, but at the very least, you could see the component parts and how they’ll make us better.
Some of the criticism after the game did make for painful reading. People position themselves as elite analysts of the futbol but fail to understand that we’re putting humans out on the pitch. You put a bunch of people together in a new office and it takes a while to get going, it’s the same with footballers. Arteta gifted 4 players home debuts, only one of our back 5 remained the same from the previous two games, we started a brand new keeper, we ran a midfield pairing that had never played together, and we did that all in the first game after the international break.
I know we’re all dying for a blowout here, but once again, we have to accept that it’s going to take a bit of time to start firing on all cylinders.
The good news?
- We don’t have European football so the players can spend more time on the training ground
- We have specificity in the important positions, so if we can keep players fit, we’ll have a system that works
- We’ve played the two best teams in the country right now
I suspect the club will have a lot of attention on Spurs, who have been shite this season, because that’s an Arteta Cup Final. It’ll be very interesting to see what he does against Wimbledon this week in the league cup. For me, it’s not a rest day, it’s a ‘let’s work each other out’ game. It’s a practice game with a trophy attached to it. Certain players shouldn’t be risked, like Saka, Auba and ESR, but I’d really like to see a strong team out there so we can get some minutes in the legs.
This idea does run into challenges though. We have all these fantastic kids looking for minutes. Folarin Balogun scored for the U23s at the weekend. We’re all watching the Patino hype videos. These players need experience as well. There’s a balance… but the most important thing at the moment is the development of the first team and for the players to get to full match fitness.
I’m weirdly looking forward to the away day at Burnley. It’ll be a roughhouse game and I want to see how this new defence stands up to a thug 90 minutes. I think we have more than enough to dispatch them and I really hope they can be the team we find our edge against.
Right, that’s me done for the day, see you in the comments… and please watch the videos below.
Thanks Tom I never miss your posts either.
Posters has said they like to read over their morning coffee so I try to make the posts informative and interesting as if I’m having a chat with them.
Whether I master than is another thing entirely, but I try.
Happy you enjoyed the content.
Hi Tony, some friendly advice, it might be a good idea Not to post,
i hope you do Not take it negatively
China have you seen that 2020 BluRay?
lol Tony just need somewhere to vent this noon
you’ll understand Sid when you are as old as him
Sid when Covid is under control my life will go back to it’s always busy levels. Even more so with my son’s devotion to his golf and I’m considering a book and documentary deal to do on my club and the 6 other countries we have chapters in.
I’ll never miss a match but posting to the levels I do now will be impossible.
Thanks for the advice, though.
I’ve already made 13 films of my club here and in Bali including the MC funeral of a much loved member.
Something to keep me busy with my brothers.
I’ll be taking my son during his school breaks as well so he can help and play golf in countries we visit.
JAC, i guess you are right.
I hope you will Not to busy with the book and documentary when i visit Thailand, Tony.
I’m always busy except for the Covid era. I’ll take you to our clubhouse first and see how you fare with my MC brothers. You’ll love it Sid will be a whole new experience for you. Especially, chatting to our S.A. 120kg member white supremacist. I’d imagine you and he will have a lot in common. 🙂 Just kidding racism doesn’t exist in our MC. I would take you to the clubhouse and onto the town for a further 24 hours. It generally gives us an initial idea who people/you are. Only go to the toilet on your own as… Read more »
“”””Especially, chatting to our S.A. 120kg member white supremacist.”””
Is she blonde? I prefer redheads😊
I’ll let that be a surprise, Sid.
Probably just me but I haven’t seen any difference in his interviews.
A guy that loses 3 in a row has no right to be “peak Jose” in an interview. Maybe he’s acknowledging others because he doesn’t want full responsibility for the shit show so far.
U over analyse Pedro
Tom
You’ve listed career achievements, not a three week slug fest, as a qualifier and an unseeded player. The achievements you highlight I’m not disputing but name me one player who has gone through a three week grand slam, as an eighteen year old, not dropping a set, who ended up winning the tournament.
There isn’t one and that’s why it ranks as one of sports( not just tennis’s) greatest achievements.
I know, it’s one tournament but that was the gist of my question.
Cheers.
Tony How’s it going? Read through your excellent posts, as I always do. I concur with all your observations on Arteta. Speaking your mind is what a blog should be all about and the other week I got banned for showing disrespect towards Pedro. So be it! I hate it when people spin thing’s because of an agenda. It’s a sign of contempt for others and Pedro already admitted he doesn’t care what others say or think……,,,unless, that is, it’s ridiculing him for his love for Arteta. The thing is he really is making himself look stupid by doing this… Read more »
Burnley are a bunch of harden, so expect some injuries.. I would continue with AMN in middle
and Xhaka and give KT a rest until Tottenham.
Tony
I also agree on your perceptions of PV4.
Cheers.
PV04 was lucky at the weekend… Spurs were missing four players.
Hey Graham good to chat again.Ditto I agree with you and the majority here re Arteta and Pedro’s support of Arteta. If I’m honest I have no problem is Pedro sees something in Arteta we don’t. I sense Pedro is out of his depth with keeping the arguments/discussions within acceptable decorum. For most of us we’re not phased by swear words, especially if they’re used as adjectives and not personal insults. If you look at the last interchange between Andy1886 and Pedro the age difference and experience enabled Andy to negotiate through the torrid belligerence from Pedro with ease making… Read more »
Do not be surprised to see Odegaard playing in central midfield by Christmas. And competing with Xhaka for the midfield spot. It will probably take Arteta that long for the penny to drop and realise that playing Odegaard too far up the pitch will have a negative effect on the team’s performance….or maybe Arteta has already started to have doubts. Smith Rowe will rightfully be restored to his natural position and this will immediately improve Saka’s performances as their on field chemistry is a joy to watch. If Arteta is to be ruthless in attack as he has been in… Read more »
Tony Why do you make assumptions about my heritage and what relevance does it have to what I have posted? I have made no comments on Raducanu’s heritage. What I have posted on Le Grove relates to to the improved education and intelligence of footballers. For the record I am not of Hungarian or Israeli heritage, although like a large proportion of the population my parents came to UK pre war as refugees. On purely football matters there have always been privately educated and grammar school footballers playing for professional clubs primarily pre second war. However, the vast majority played… Read more »
I have avoided posting much on Raducanu’s tremendous achievements apart from pointing out that she attended a grammar school and benefited from training at the adjoining Tennis Centre. My personal view is that she will play tennis competitively for perhaps 5 years and then pursue another career. I don’t think that she will remain a professional tennis player long term. Many of the top players like Navratilova and Virginia Wade have commented on the health and injury issues related to tennis. We have seen how Murray has become seriously injured and almost crippled by the intensity of the modern game.… Read more »
Stroller
“TonyWhy do you make assumptions about my heritage and what relevance does it have to what I
have posted?”
Maybe Tony visualises you sitting in your mansion in Bishops Avenue smoking your cigar, or is it a pipe, and it brings back memories of his meeting up with his mother after being abandoned by her
Emiratesstroller
Raducanu had travelled regularly to her mother’s home city of Shenyang in north-east China to visit relatives including her grandmother and train at the Shenyang Institute of Physical Education. There, the teenager not only found her court feet, but even played table tennis with professional players to improve her reactions.
I once wrote a book for an old white guy who thought he had so much wisdom to share with the world that his life should be recorded for posterity. Once I interviewed him though it became immediately apparent that his wisdom was just the reflections on a fortuitous life from someone who happened to be white in a time and area where it really fucking paid to be white. He had no awareness of this himself though, I mean how could he? He was rich, had many friends, a young Asian girlfriend. How could it possibly be anything other… Read more »
Pierre, Maybe I over analyse the interview, but I think that the penny has finally dropped for Arteta. He can’t overcoach players. He also have to judge players based on what they produce on the pitch and not on what he think they will bring. The clear example is Ødegaard. I agree with your viewpoint that he will be moved backward. Arsenal needs goals and can’t rely solely on Aubameyang and Pepe to score. The midfield needs to chip in. That means ESR and Saka, so they need to play further up. Ultimately I believe that Arteta will be forced… Read more »
It’s now sinking in how low we have fallen with no European football during the week.
Scraping a goal against Norwich is now a highlight for Pedro and many others, how sad is that?
Benitez won last night by changing the set up during the game as he spotted the Burnley threat and eliminated it.
Arteta would have just carried on with the tippy tappy play.
Agree with me our you are banned is not the way forward, it’s just pathetic
“and it brings back memories of his meeting up with his mother after being abandoned by her”
Oh shit. Someone get the salve.
Pierre
I don’t live in Bishops Avenue and I am not a smoker.
However, there is a whiff of antisemitism in his remarks. For the record I am an agnostic.
Spanish “””Benitez won last night by changing the set up during the game as he spotted the Burnley threat and eliminated it””” Benitez in at Everton. Already, 10 points & 10 GOALS. Gray a bargain for £2.5 M , and already has 3 goals Everton playing with panache and some serious pace on the counter.Thats the modern way- (not Arteta ‘s obsolete ‘donut’ shaped soccer and no counter attacking threat) Benitez, in all his interviews to date- has not once -asked for patience, spoken about projects or process- he has simply got on with his job. compare and contrast with… Read more »
Amusing Luteo and expected from you.
Funny I remember you reciting you became a dad.
Perhaps I just elaborate more than you or in 66 years of life probably double yours, I have seen and had many of life’s adventures.
Sorry they bore you so much and I am surprised you read them if you abhor them.
Might be smart to skip them in future as I’d hate to offend your delicate snowflake sensibilities.
As you were then.
“However, there is a whiff of antisemitism in his remarks. For the record I am an agnostic.” Of course you are ES there is only one god; you. How can I be anti Semitic when my mother was 100% Jewish ? Interesting how your mind works ES. Not so long ago you recited an interesting story regarding your grandfather was helped by President Roosevelt’s wife was it. It was a story I respected as there was a frantic dash for wealthy Hungarians, snd especially Hungarian Jews for obvious reasons after seeing Poland crushed. Not sure how the story transpired to… Read more »
CG,
Benitez left China because his project there was a very long term project and he wanted to win things now.
He may not be the most hipster of managers, but he is an experienced manager who know how to win things when given a decent team.
The Fort Lauderdale guy with a yatch must have been a voyuer, he was somewhere watching you Kinta Kunte behind.
If it was in London i would be sure thats a certain le grove poster, your guess is as good as mine.
Tony
There are plenty of Jewish antisemites in the world particularly those with a chip on their
shoulders.
Let’s be clear you enjoy playing to the gallery and pretending that you are superior to everyone else who posts on here with your “worldly knowledge”.
I recall vividly when we first crossed swords. It started with Covid. You spent your time slagging the British Government and the National Health Service and telling everyone who would listen how brilliant life in Thailand and its health service was.
“””””””””””pretending that you are superior to everyone else who posts on here with your “worldly knowledge””””””””””
The Lack of self awarenes here is amusing
Valentin
The goals will come for Saka and Smith Rowe.
Against Norwich, Saka had 3 or 4 goal bound efforts blocked , so he is getting in goal scoring positions , as is Smith Rowe…
They’re rushing their shots and need to find that composure in front of goal that all strikers need…
Luteo Guenreira Haha…I’d also rather read about Billy than uppity folk always reciting how they met up with the who’s who’s and made another check. Benitez is a good manager. If he was at Arsenal, you can bet your house we would not be 16th having scored a solitary goal. All Arteta does is whine and bullshit. We don’t need to know that your family was important in the “best 15 days of your life” you twat! All we need is to take points off Brentford and not to sign the likes of Ramsdale then you can keep your mouth… Read more »
Tony I usually don’t and didn’t, I read Sid. But old lad, you should know by now from your sixty-six years, you shouldn’t assume things about anyone, least of all how many adventures someone has had based on age or when they became a father. I might have lived only a half-life compared to some, but in those years I have learned that people who find themselves the most interesting out of everyone around usually could do with expanding their circle of acquaintances, and people who feel the need to flaunt the things they have do so in fear they… Read more »
Just watched Cooper kick a last minute penalty’ to beat The Springboks .
Great game for the neutrals
Odegaard is not starting games on merit. No way is he ahead of ESR. Also, Odegaard can’t play in CM. He is comparable to Xhaka in the way he turns and is slow to release the ball. Odegaard also can’t dribble from trouble or run into space in a threatening way. He is also physically weak and would give the likes of Rice and Bissouma a lot of joy in any kind of midfield duels. ESR could benefit a lot from a coach like Wenger as far as his finishing. He has found himself in very good positions in the… Read more »
Pierre, That’s my point, they were able to move into shooting position because Ødegaard was moved back into the midfield. Ødegaard gives the feeling of control because he slow things down and keep possession, but possession without attacking threat is not the same than controlling the play. Mourinho’s team were specialist of relinquish possession whilst retaining control. ESR will lose more often possession, but because of his dynamism and forceful runs he create havoc in the opposition defense. Arsenal has then control of the attacking play. I also agree that both ESR and Saka needs to have training session with… Read more »
Tony
Don’t you mean Burnley?
I’m not even sure Pedro is an Arsenal supporter.
Is that also being disrespectful?
You talk about a lack of balance. Well LG has basically become one mans obsession with someone who is quite clearly not good enough.
That’s why talking tennis and other things becomes so appealing.
What’s the point discussing football when someone is transfixed on one thing.
It’s a shame because there some excellent posters on here.
Mee ”””’Benitez is a good manager. If he was at Arsenal, you can bet your house we would not be 16th having scored a solitary goal. All Arteta does is whine and bullshit. We don’t need to know that your family was important in the “best 15 days of your life” you twat! All we need is to take points off Brentford and not to sign the likes of Ramsdale ”””’ Well said, don’t he( Arteta) talk some utter tripe. Benitez has not complained about Sigurdsson being unavailable or no DCL last night and nor about James playing up. He… Read more »
Mee I enjoyed your reference to a clockwork orange. I had a mate whose band was called the Ludovico Technique. Quite a good moniker if you don’t want your audience to take their eyes off you I suppose. Burgess was a brilliant writer who combined sharp original prose with his love of classical music. Taking his skill of Russian and converting into streetkid/gang talk was genius. I particularly love that part of the film/book where he viddies those 2 devotchkas in the record shop (I understood why Heaven 17 were so-called after he talks to them about music) and takes… Read more »
Valentin Thank goodness someone who posts on here is discussing football matters. I agree with you that both Odegaard and ESR will start scoring goals with more composure and growing experience. I would add Saka into the equation as well. As I pointed out yesterday I think that both Patino and Azeez will make the grade and join the first team squad in the not too distant future. Both have also the potential to score goals. My guess is that this will be the last season that Xhaka and Elneny will be at the club and we will then see… Read more »
Mee,
Wenger had a sport psychologist Jacques Crevoisier who assessed every players.
Every time I think of him, I think of Nicklas Bendtner. How the GSTTEL was scoring off the chart of
Self perceived competence.
But he also helped players who were more shy and less confident than our Danish deluded striker. I am sure he could work miracle with the current crop of youngsters.
Graham I’d just let things be and wait for change. As I said, once Covid is manageable I’ll be back to being busy. My daughter will be away at Uni or working in the West and my son will be busy with golf and school. I can’t wait. Luteo/Mee Can’t please all the people all the time. Perhaps you might have noticed there’s not much football to talk about and I post in a quiet time zone. Mee I have no issue with you and appreciate your football thoughts. Just skip my posts if you don’t like them. Luteo here’s… Read more »
Valentin
The major problem at Arsenal since departure of Wenger is that we have lacked a stable
team. There has been far too much rotation.
Arteta needs to find a settled first X1 and then use rotation to cover injuries and the resting of players. Ideally there should be no more than 18-20 players in squad who expect to play regular first team football.
Luto “People who feel the need to flaunt the things they have do so in fear they might not be interesting without them. Substance is what makes a subject, not material possessions. Strange you didn’t pick up on that at some point over your long adventurous life, but based on how your write about yourself I’d say it might be a lesson you want to learn even at this late stage” I have so much respect for that comment Luto. I see people who have literally nothing for a variety of reasons, not of their making. It’s often circumstantial, something… Read more »
Why are so many trying to dilute Raducanu’s ‘Britishness’? Surely not because she probably doesn’t have a drop of English, Scots, Welsh, Irish blood in her veins. If that were the case, then Arsenal would not qualify as English because the same could be said about most of the players, the manager, the DoF, the owner.
When it comes to nationality we are who we think we are. And quite obviously the girl regards herself as British.
Stroller, I disagree as I do not believe that Ødegaard will score more goals. He should, but the way he plays is not conducive of that. With Norway against Gibraltar, he never really behaved like he wanted to pad his stats by scoring goals. Attacking midfielders should want to do that. I also doubt that Artetaball is the kind of setup that will let him thrive in the EPL. In Europe where he will be given time, he could but we are not in Europe this season. In most EPL games, he won’t be given the time to measure passes.… Read more »
Tony Actually I think I’ll read all of what you write and provide detailed notes on the moments where the lack of self-awareness is too great to ignore. Like today, when you said to ES how can you be antisemitic when your mother is 100% Jewish, not long after stating your opinion on how repulsive she was, how she habitually abandoned her children, and how you procured your fortune to spite her. A very distinct disconnect there, no room for plausible deniability. That plus a joke about white supremacism as a veiled threat to Sid? Pathetic attempt at humour. Be… Read more »
Valentin
Odegaard will score goals albeit not in huge numbers. However, I do see goalscoring potential from midfield once we add Patino, Azeez to ESR and Saka.
The point is that for the last three or four years we have lacked goalscoring potential in our
midfield. I think that will change in next couple of years.
I don’t think that AMN will play in midfield except in an emergency. The only way he has an
Arsenal future is if he accepts that he should play as a wing back. He has better potential in
that department than Chambers or Soares.
Wenger world cup every 2 years proposal ” I propose to regroup the qualifiers in one month, use rest of year for club football and then big international competition at end of season, and a guaranteed rest of 25 days for each player. People’s reactions at the moment is an emotional one. I have been educated to have a World Cup every four years, it’s engrained on my brain, so I can understand the response is negative but on the other hand I do not see any rational explanation why people shouldn’t want this. It’s all about quality of competition.… Read more »
SKIP ———
That’s exactly what i do with TONY posts for obvious reasons.
The guy’s so far up his own arse it has become dangerous for him.
Kroenkephobe
I suggest you watch Eyes wide shut then. One of the most mysterious films ever and another Kubrick masterpiece.
V ”””I also doubt that Artetaball is the kind of setup that will let him thrive in the EPL. In Europe where he will be given time, he could but we are not in Europe this season. In most EPL games, he won’t be given the time to measure passes. So we will end up playing that U or doughnuts pattern of play without scoring nor threatening.””” Liverpool , are simply playing a different sport. J.Klopp eats his doughnuts he don’t do doughnuts on the pitch. He does rock n roll, all pace, penetration and attacking intent. Artetaball is turgid,… Read more »
Valentin I strongly believe that ESR and Saka are the key to us getting out of the abyss. We really need to up the tempo of our attacking play as it is the only way Auba and Pepe will score goals. ESR and Saka can manage to knit attack to midfield with speed and intensity. My favorite part of the Norwich game was ESR picking the ball on the just outside the box and driving towards goal with real purpose only that his shot at goal was not good enough and was easily saved. As CG says, the game is… Read more »
Valentin Some good observations there. I have said for a while that our Achilles heel has been our finishing. Last season Aubameyang exposed that weakness in the team when he lost form. Compared to the previous season, his finishing difference was probably around 12-15 points. We need more goals from other players to cover for this, it needs to be shared around. More from Pepe, Odegaard, Saka and ESR. I agree about the need for players like ESR, Saka and Odegaard to improve their finishing, I often feel they snatch at chances. As they aren’t natural finishers they tend to… Read more »
Stroller “The point is that for the last three or four years we have lacked goalscoring potential in our midfield. I think that will change in next couple of years.” I wouldn’t bank on it with Arteta in charge . We sold our goalscoring potential in midfield in the summer, a decision we could live to regret , similar to the sale of Martinez., though strangely enough I see similar traits in Ramsdale’s keeping as Martinez , though Martinez is of a higher quality. And before anyone says that willock hasn’t scored this season , I will point out that… Read more »
Pierre
Although Wengers ‘s proposals are far from perfect.
They are undoubtedly an improvement to the calendar.
And if annoys the hell , out of all clubs involved with the grubby and greedy super league- even better!
Morning Graham62 , questioning/ disagreeing is all well and good but suggesting Pedro isn’t an Arsenal fan is quite a shout!
Valentin “AMN had an average game, but you could see he was growing in the role. With his athleticism and attempts at ball over the top passing he is bringing something in central midfield that Ødegaard does not.” I agree with many of your posts Valentin and you have more understanding of the game as a whole than a certain poster who gets in scraps here in your little toe than he does. I also agree with your premise on Odegaard. But I feel regarding AMN your home grown bias is showing again, He may have passable matches and even… Read more »
Tony?
https://youtu.be/U8Kum8OUTuk
I have to flaunt my longstuff, without it, the ladies would Not be interestef in me.
I also will try to have a bigger circle of friends, lady friends with benefits.
Back to football matters……..
Pierre 11.14
Wenger was past his ‘sell by’ date as a manager however his thoughts and ideas on how world football should operate are excellent. He wants to align all continents to have the same season – Northern Europe would fall within the calendar year (perhaps this would suit AFC as now we do not start getting serious points until after the start of January).
This season will probably bore even the most ardent supporter. There isn’t much to excite anyone, we initially start games well without really threatening or having any meaningful chances then once that phase of play is over, the game is a long slog. Auba, Pepe and Lacazette are our main threats in this department and they do not hit the net regularly enough to win games and then the supporting acts of Saka, ESR, and Odeegard have next to no goals in them. We also know that once we go a goal down, the game is lost. We have drawn… Read more »
To just outrightly say ode can’t/won’t score is such a dim to say even for you val. You have totally written off a 22yr old without any rational reason but agenda gotta be driven i guess. Ode might not be a high volume shooter but i think if he improves he’s capable of scoring 5-7 goals plus a lot more assists a season.
Pierre
Arteta is on a timeline. If the team does not improve he will go.
However the objectives which are now in place of recruiting or promoting young technically gifted players will continue.
The club has on its books four young technically gifted midfielders in first team squad plus
Patino and Azeez coming through Academy.
Hopefully we will find a more attacking formula as these players mature and progress.
Personally I am an optimist.
Bob N16
Maybe it is.
Cheers.
I thought i seen it all when Wenger signed Kallstrom, then in comes Diet Pep who shoves an injured player back into the field
James wood “SKIP ——— That’s exactly what i do with TONY posts for obvious reasons. The guy’s so far up his own arse it has become dangerous for him” Tony can’t be a real person, it has to be a wind-up. Nobody can be that egotistical, bigoted, racist and insulting while blowing smoke up their own arsehole. Who really cares about his mother running off with a multi-millionaire, while he was left to make his own millions; or what his son thinks about the Sun reflecting off Uranus while eating his crunchy nut cornflakes on their yacht?! Got to be… Read more »
Are you Pedros knight in shining amor?
The premise wasn’t that Odegaard won’t score any goals.
It was that he won’t score enough goals.
And Arsenal really needed a goalscoring ACM.
Other teams that have goals coming out of their arse would probably be less concerned having Odegaard as their ACM but as we know with this current Arsenal this is not the case.
ES
“However the objectives which are now in place of recruiting or promoting young technically gifted players will continue.”
Many clubs can do this.
It’s what entails after that matters.
Pierre “Anything that puts a stop to international qualifiers interfering with league football is a good thing in my eyes” I agree. Wenger makes some very good points as you would expect. The man is a massive loss to our club he should be in the boardroom replacing one of those faceless Kroenke recruits who know nothing about football. If you listen to what he is saying, he is trying to give fans what we all really want and that is quality, competitive football rather than just mindless games. The Nation league was a crazy idea, turning friendlies into a… Read more »
Raulishuss
“I think if he improves he’s capable of scoring 5-7 goals plus a lot more assists a season.”
Some of us think he will not. He lacks the speed, desire, aggression, among others to reach those targets.
I will also add that if he was capable of improving that much in one or two seasons, he would be a Real Madrid player.
You see where are getting this line again from enough that we can just continue to throw away seasons and now we have the perfect excuse to do just that with this complete re-set talk and younger players.
This club can lead up the garden path many it seems.
The question that now needs to be asked is has the footballing side of the club been re-aligned just to suit Arteta?
Fucking hell. We have totally re-aligned for this guy.
Lovely.
Both the manager and the team can learn together then. Double whammy.
Any club can suddenly decide to have a core of young players. Dare I say that is the approach that Chelsea took while winning the UCL whereby they had players like Pulisic, Havertz, Werner, James, and Mount being important cogs in the team.
Only at Arsenal where it becomes a good enough reason to lose to Brentford, and then play possum against Man city and Chelsea. As a supporter, we are not supposed to rationalize with management or sympathize with a whiny coach. We deserve and demand points, good performances and joy.
Where are the targets? What are they?
And another poster asked several days ago what is deemed unacceptable from Arteta.
If fans can’t tell us along with the club what should be considered acceptable targets then at least they should be able to tell us what is not acceptable.
And no not relegation as a cop out answer.
Ishola70
If it has, we are doomed.
Ishola 70
Arsenal and its owner and management have made a lot of mistakes.
The lesson is whether they have learned from those mistakes.
There are no targets seemingly Ishola, otherwise Arteta likely isn’t in the dugout. Even at this stage, we still have the worst-record for the first three games in the Premier League in it’s history with Norwich. If Norwich managed to beat us, we would have had the worst opening 4 games in Premier League history.
A club like Arsenal, holding such a record and potentially an even worse one and the manager as safe as ever? There can’t be any targets.
I like Patino’s movement with the ball. Reminds me of peak Ozil.
Actually the club don’t need to tell us what is acceptable or not.
It’s clear as day that as long as Arteta doesn’t completely tank that a midtable finish would be deemed as a non sackable offence. They would live with that.
The best result Diet Pep gets vs Burnley is a draw. Norwich were awful.
You can take this to the bank!
There you go guys.
The club has been downgraded before our very eyes over just a few seasons and some are actually cheering this on.
I also will try to have a bigger circle of friends, lady friends with benefits
Hi Sid,
No disrespect mate, but I’d personally be wary of being in a circle with you, particularly if there was a plate of digestive biscuits or ginger nuts on a table in the centre. 😉
If you don’t believe ode is capable of scoring then i can’t help you. But his history says otherwise. Plus what is this obsession? I expect goals from all our forward players and they aren’t cutting it yet but it’s easy to bash ode cuz it suits an agenda i guess
AFC 12.11.
Re BAMBO I couldn’t have that stunt either.
Could be the same.
Only Pedro would have an idea on that .?
Raulishuss
“If you don’t believe ode is capable of scoring then i can’t help you”
See you have done it again.
No-one is saying he is incapable of scoring a goal.
What they are saying is given Arsenal’s sparsity overall as a team in scoring goals then an ACM with a more proven goalscoring record could have been more beneficial than Odegaard.
Graham
There had been 7 younger GS winners in women’s open era tennis including 3 sixteen year olds, who actually beat defending champions and top ranked opponents on their way to, or in the final.
But I get it, we live in the social media era now and everything is either the greatest or the worst ever.
Raducanu could retire tomorrow and continue to make a handsome living off her US open title for probably another 20 years.
Arsene Wenger reminds me a lot of Tony Blair. A ‘holier than thou’ figure whom we all thought (and hoped) was gone for good, but who keeps turning up.
Offhand I can’t imagine anything worse for football fans than a biennial World Cup.
Arsenal do have players capable of scoring goals but you have to actually send them into areas where they can score them from, kinda like Ramsey did under Wenger.
That of course is risky in itself because it opens you up to counters and Arteta football is risk averse.
Ode is not capable of scoring many goals in the EPL. I will be pleasantly surprised if he gets more than five in all comps this season. He rarely gets into the box to score and he can’t run forward with the ball to score himself. His best position is in the inside right channel as a wide playmaker or something. He best contributions came in the West Ham game where he played balls into the channel for the Right Back to cross with. He is not even an assist king. Truth is, we could have done with a much… Read more »
The only way this re-set and talk of younger players and totally withdrawing from attempting to be a CL club is acceptable is if the actual footballing product on the pitch is up to scratch. Atm the club is in this marketing ploy of seling you another Arsenal football club. Maybe that’s why Pedro is so enamoured of it given his marketing background. But Artetaball has to take a complete turnaround here for it to be palatable. What’s the point of getting in younger players only to play drab cautious football. Younger players are associated with fresh exciting football not… Read more »
I just find Arteta contradicts himself sometimes. He wants to play a 4 3 3 formation. For that the three CM’s have to be mobile and be able to move up and come back quickly. Why he wants to keep Xhaka who is only OK as a DM in a 4 2 3 1 formation. Even that, his midfield partner will need to cover a lot of ground for him.
“ Arsene Wenger reminds me a lot of Tony Blair. A ‘holier than thou’ figure whom we all thought (and hoped) was gone for good, but who keeps turning up.Offhand I can’t imagine anything worse for football fans than a biennial World Cup. “
Wenger pointed out that Arsenal is having a good squad good to challenge. Guess this pulling pants of the current manager to his ankles rankled the fanny club
@kroenkephoebe, the feeling is mutual, im not interested in your “inner circle” im into the other “inner circle”, the one on females
The current coaching staff doesn’t convince me that they are capable of improve our players. I wouldn’t mind hiring Wilshere as an assistant. At least, he plays better than all our assistants.