This is a huge week for the Arsenal project because there are two very different games that are both very, very important.
Firstly, the kids have to put on a good show in the League Cup. There’s a huge reason for them to show up and make a show of it. This is the main opportunity Patino, Omari, Balogun, and Hein will get to impress the coaching staff. Win this and they are rolling like a peak-Wenger team, lose and they’ll be banking on an injury crisis or a late loan.
Arteta has to find a balance. We need to give minutes to periphery players that will be needed. Managing a squad requires that you make everyone feel included so if there’s an injury, they are motivated to jump in. So that means we’ll probably see Tavares, Holding, and Chambers. We’ll also need to see the kids, especially without the Europa League. The next generation needs a taste. It’s also a massive game because you want to go into the Spurs game on a high.
The North London Derby always has extra sauce on it. Nuno started well on paper, but the performances were never there. Now the results are matching the performances. Still, he’s a very, very capable manager as we’ve felt in years gone by. I still have no idea how he beat us with Wolves last season. The squad he has is very good, Harry Kane and Son LOVE playing against Arsenal, form absolutely means nothing in these games.
What do we want? An answer to their weaknesses. A plan to nullify their strengths. A powerhouse performance and some points.
Arsenal are upping their PR game. Better late than never. This week, they’ve rolled the MIGHTY Per Mertesacker out to the fans and they’ve done it in the shape of new media, allowing The Beautiful Game Podcast chaps to spend some time with the Academy Manager.
The interview is absolutely superb. It’ll do more to shape Arsenal fan expectations for the season than anything they could put on the dot com or via Sky Sports. TV runs a 10 minute segment and the expectation is a soundbite that can power a viral tweet or article. The Arsenal situation is complex. Complex ideas need time. An hour podcast is the perfect place to talk things over. Good intentioned hosts work well for this sort of thing.
Per comes across as relaxed, honest, and inspirational. I love his German/Hale-Ender accent.
Key points:
- He’s quite brutal about our reality: this is still a transition. Instant success is what everyone wants, but that’s not reality and people need to temper their rage
- He backs the vision the club is undertaking and trusts Arteta to deliver it
- He thinks he’s making a difference to the kids he’s bringing through
This is the sort of thing Arsenal should do more of. Tell it to the fans straight, let us digest it, and we’ll come around to it if the idea is good.
We can’t compete with mega signings the way City, Chelsea, and United operate. If you can’t outspend your rivals, you have to take a different strategy that works with your means (we are still a very rich club). The one we’ve adopted now is the best way for us to get back to the top. It’s basically the Dortmund model on steroids.
- Put strong emphasis on having an elite academy, because fans love their own, and it’s good for the story of the club
- Hoover up top youth talent from around Europe by offering them a path to the first team that is more rapid than our rivals
- Spend your big dollars on elite sub 23 years old players that know the league
- Build consistency of style top to bottom with your football by bringing through a future proof style of play
You can have all the above process, vision and ideas in place, but you work for Arsenal, so you have to win and show that the project has signs of life. I personally think we’re seeing that already, but the communications around the project are still extremely helpful because…
If fans don’t know what is going on, they fill the void themselves which leads to people getting angry we’re not in for Jack Grealish. There’s a weird subculture that is very vocal online that have clearly been influenced by FUT and Football Manager who get absolutely irate if the signings that are made don’t match exactly to what they think is elite. Look at the rage at Tomiyasu over Emerson Royal. Look at the behaviour around Aaron Ramsdale. Still, look at the lusting for Aouar over Odegaard. Every club in Europe passed on him, but still, people bang his drum after Odegaard wins the game at the weekend.
You can’t stop that, but you can tell fans what the thinking behind signings is and how you came to those decisions. Ramsdale made zero sense until Arsenal fans started speaking to rival fans about him. Then it became clear he’s an elite communicator, has outrageous energy, is superb at distribution, and he’s a towering figure in the box. Couldn’t Arsenal have been a bit more explicit about this?
If fans are brought into the mixer, mostly, they will shape the way they behave around what they hear. Prime example of this is how the fans home and away have reacted to the team this season. The fans know that they are dealing with a Project Youth of sorts, they know that young players need their support in the bad times, they know if the kids feel confident, they will give more on the pitch.
These types of comms humanise the project. When you work with talent in advertising, the normal folk see them as gods, and create ideas of what they are like, and they can be vicious when things go wrong. Arsenal do a poor job humanising what is going on at Arsenal, but it’s getting better. A fan Q&A on the Youtube made Mikel look less robotic. This Per Mertesacker podcast really brought you into the club and it felt personal and warm. Transition is painful, always, but communications can soften it.
So anyway, I loved the podcast. Arsenal are slowly getting their shit together and letting the vision architects talk about what they are doing. It’s a good thing, even if the message isn’t TOP 4 TODAY.
Right, on that note, take a watch of my video with Matt and maybe listen to the podcast.
No other club has sacrificed present results for the future than arsenal football club. It’s been happening since the time of Wenger.
Only difference, under Wenger our end goal was seen as winning the league. Be patient, we are building a team to compete with bayern
Now it’s turned into, be patient, we are building a team to get into the top 4. BTW, ignore where we finish because we need time
Zach
100% sure. It’s going to be used. There was a time where a news article said, amazon was scrapping all the footage already taken to start fresh. Coincidentally, that’s when all this talk about future and process really started taking a front seat with everyone inside the club.
That’s my theory anyway 🙂
Gonsterous, what was stuntish about it?
@zacharse
“with a shiny new badass striker like the swedish kid and no european football at all for the 2nd half of the season, top 4 doesnt look so far off”
If your guess on the kid is an indication of where Arsenal will finish, it will be mid table. The kid is Norwegian, not Swedish.
Zach, you implying that laca goes to the old lady in Jan and we move for isak?
I’d be totally gassed if they pulled that off but I can’t see it.
Zach, get me Isak, DCL or Oshimen… then we’re rolling.
Pedro You know someone in football, eh Why don’;t you start by not contradicting yourself at every turn , any time it conflicts with your Arteta-centric message Once when you had fleeting sense of reality, precisely on Christmas Eve 2020 You wrote this while Arteta was shitting the bed massively “Where the story comes right back to Arteta is that he’s been a chief enabler of this since he’s arrived When he was in his 30s, he was tapping up people to help him earn his coaching badges. His head wasn’t on the project. He was just trying to get… Read more »
Diss, someone? I deal with loads of people in football and have done for 10 years. The whole narrative of this blog is built on experts in and around the football/the club that give me direction.
Mustafi wasn’t offered a new deal, received next to no minutes last season, then we terminated him… but you’re here pulling the ‘new deal’ card because it’s a cheap soundbite. You did the same when you said Arsenal should be more Dortmund on Auba, you couldn’t even be bothered to Google and check that Arsenal treated him more lightly for the same offence.
Good take China
It means so bad that edu and Arteta can’t hide behind the youth of the players as an excuse – but that’s likely pretty low because the club is going to run hard with that excuse this season
Gonsterous,
Im feeling you with what you are saying… The amazon doc needs a story, and the PR coming from Arsenal is headed that direction with the youth… the build for the future, etc etc.
Arteta will not be fired this season, the amazon doc is too important to KSE….
All eyes on The Arsenal.
Im just praying for wins. Top 4… or its been a failure to me…
You cant keep messing with the fans and feeding them story after story.
We need results End of Fucking Story
we do need to sell laca in winter… or he is off in summer
take what we can get….
not sure why we did not sell him this summer. He is not even playing now.
what about Eddie or Balo? When will Martin see minutes this season?
The lack of Europe really is going to be a challenge with our talent.
Someone is gonna get pissed off
If we get top 4 Ill be quite happy…. We can attract more talent in the summer then with CL… EL does not cut it for me. I hold this club to the highest standards and accountability. The so called values that we always hear about should be about winning, treating the fans with respect. We are the life blood of this team. IF Mike desires to be a big time coach, he should get us back to top 4, get his kudos and leave …. take over for Pep when he leaves. The way he is going about this… Read more »
Pedro
Not doubting that you know some people at the club, that doesn’t make you the alpha and omega of everything Arsenal.
My point is that you’re cherry-picking whatever suits your narrative
That Arteta offered Mustafi a deal and tried valiantly to persuade him to stay, was widely covered. Arteta was asked about this issue in a press conference of July 10th, 2020 and he wasn’t exactly coy about it.
The minutes of the press conference and the video recording are public knowledge.
Diss
what we going to do about your boy Eddie N???! 🙂
Pedro What really happened with Mustafi is anyone’s guess. My theory is that he would have been offered a new contract but picked up that injury and never worked himself back into Arteta’s plans. Obviously, all reports have to be taken with a pinch of salt, but these words from the Mirror article on July 11th, 2020 are direct quotes and clearly seem to indicate Arteta is hinting at wanting to renew Mustafi’s deal. It also fits the timeline because until his injury Mustafi had been in the best form of his Arsenal career. https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/shkodran-mustafi-line-new-deal-22338274 Here’s the key lines from… Read more »
He was playing Mustafi and he was doing WELL before Sterling injured him on purpose….
not sure who gooners hate more
xhaka or Mustafi
Curse
we could potentially be moving quite a few players still in january. we;ve got more than one player whose deal ends this summer plus elneny, xhaka and a few fullbacks.
Pete
havent watched Osimshen. DCL or Izak oh ya def. i still have a hard on for one of the Leipzig strikers Poulsen who works like a beast. No one’s claimed the czech kid yet dont think
If Mike keeps having his wingers pump crosses into the box then we need a tall target man type striker. Ala Giroud perhaps….
if Wolves keep sucking I would go after Jimenez. Perfect player for that system Might be cheap too with age and injury but he is Mexicano and come as tough as they come… worth a look
Ramsdale has started very well with us, no criticisms of his performances at all this far The issue with his signing from my side was: 1) the only reason we needed to buy him was because we stupidly sold emi a year before. And we ended up paying more money to replace him than it would’ve cost to keep him 2) we paid well above the going rate for a keeper who did not have a top reputation The above issues remain but nothing can be pinned on the player himself. He’s done great. Very pleased with his performance so… Read more »
RH, Raptora and Dissenter, I applaud you for sticking to your guns. These people are selling a lie that we can’t be near champions league football for 2 to 3 years to hide their incompetence. A proper manager has a target of winning the league in 3 to 4 years. And a champions league football with in the first year or the second. And when your manager has been in the job for 2 years and is still afraid to set expectations, that is when you know he is just covering his ass incase he tanks. And he has spent… Read more »
Habesha They all cover for each other since they are all tied to this clueless moron mike arteta. His failures are tied directly to them so its a self preserving thing you know…. if mike gets fired, so do many others… So, they create this “be patient” BS for the fans… PR puts out Mert, and Arteta brings back Jack to train… its all a happy family now at Arsenal… the image is getting a Re-Do clearly. Does not gloss over the cracks already. I will gladly STFU if we get top 4 but ive seen too much and been… Read more »
China- His departure was a real eye opener for who mike arteta is. No surprise we learned fast about his dickish personality and alienating of players etc. His rules etc. If we kept EMI- EMI Buendia and De Paul might have both signed for us potentially. The Argentines are tight knit bunch. We got burned by Buendia- a direct result of the Emi Mike drama that happened The issue with his signing from my side was: 1) the only reason we needed to buy him was because we stupidly sold emi a year before. And we ended up paying more… Read more »
Yeah this sudden project youth focus was created just to buy edu and Arteta time, it’s really obvious But look I’m not hard on the kids. I critique them but only to the extent that is fair relative to their age and ability – but the kids are not my concern because they are generally out better players Take the kids out of the squad this last 12 months and we could 12th at best. So now suddenly their age is an excuse for us to do worse? I don’t buy it. The players you need to be worried about… Read more »
Spot on China
They dont want Mike fired bc of the Amazon doc…
It would be really bad PR for the team, and a potential loss of fan base, or recruiting new fans… which is $$ at the end of the day.
So they come with this softer, lets play the youth, we are a work in progress shit, to paint the narrative for the docu and the fans…
be patient, you will see!
Its just covering their asses…. but hey if we make top 4, its great viewing for the docu
So they lower our expectations and hope for the best basically.
Yeah guns this is all just very cheap First couple of games of the season we have chambers and soares playing RB badly. Xhaka stinking out the midfield. Auba couldn’t hit a barn door. Leno shitting the bed every match. 9 goals conceded in 3 games. Mari was bad too (tho tactically exposed by the system) Fast forward and let’s reanalyse. Soares and chambers our experiences options got replaced by young RB Toni who has done great. Leno got replaced by Ramsdale and it’s suddenly clean sheets and keeper confidence every single match. Xhaka gets himself sent off and banned… Read more »
4 or so years ago, we used to bang on here of how we were 4 players and a capable manager away from actually challenging for the title and maybe UCL. Pedro even once declared that we’d be title favorites within 3 yrs of sacking Wenger and maybe 4 or 5 seasons after, we’d win the champions league. I genuinely can’t believe the same person is right now(in 2021) wetting his pants because a average howbeit likeable slow defender is speaking gibberish and talking about a youth project which will deliver champions league qualification in 2024/25. What really happened to… Read more »
“The transfer market is not a reward for failure, but reward for progress”
I read this here and I agreed.
But what’s our reality? A manager finished 8th, outsiders Europe for the first time in years, his team scored 55 league goals, lost 13 league matches and he is rewarded nor just with funds but a downward review of his targets to match his level.
And I’m supposed to be okay with that because Per says its cool.
Brilliant!
To be honest it’s nauseating to see what’s become of this site.
How the Castlemaine xxxx did Mertesacker become a legend and a mouthpiece for the club. In my opinion he was not a great player and now we have to listen to him promote a negative image of our future all because we don’t have a proper manager/coach at the helm.
You are right, it is “pathetic”.
I wonder when the current sponsorship deals will be up for renewal. AFC will already be receiving down graded payments for the current deals.
Graham Its because we are no longer an ambitious club, all due to the lacklustre-no connection(mostly) squibs in charge right now. Arsenal are now the Arteta development institution. Its not the kids we are waiting for. Its for Arteta to sprout brains under the fertilizer bed he calls hair.
When imcompetent people find themselves in a group responsibility situation, they either turn on each other or cover each others asses. We are seeing the latter here.
In 1992 after being hired to manage a large customer based facility in the Middle East, if I had told the GM we won’t be able to compete for 2 to 3 years, he would have sacked me on the spot.
We’ve become a charity.
Each and every one of Arsenal’s players can perform better than they are doing under Arteta.
Why can’t the minority see that?
Top post, Bankz!
Global
“Arteta development institution”.
I like it!
ADI FC,
Bankz
My brilliant comment was directed at your post.
From the heart and 100% correct imo.
Better to read something like this than the endless PR waffle bs being promoted on here.
Paralysis by analysis.
This is Arteta’s way.
No wonder we are where we are.
What do any of you criticising Pedro actually know about soccer compared to the new Vice President of Content for St Louis City SC (launching 2023).
Emirates No doubt the usual negative posters will choose to call him a “generational manager/coach” like they do with Arteta. The tag “generational” was coined by the very person you’re doing sycophancy for Pedro,so maybe you should rewrite it Pedro If a club like say Chelsea was to go the route we are going according to Per’s interview,I want to ask you a question,will it scare you that in 3-4 years Chelsea will become a power house after the processes might have been completed or why you be laughing at them knowing it’s very likely they won’t meet up with… Read more »
Still have an iffy feeling that Xhaka walks straight back in to the starting line up come Sunday
“The transfer market is not a reward for failure, but reward for progress”
ya and status in society is merit based…
Almost exactly a year ago on this site
“As I’ve said on numerous occasions, Arteta is a generational coach. He’s an obsessive freak of nature. Creative, driven, innovative, as well as being an elite communicator. “
There is a possibility that 1) mertesacker has been brainwashed . 2) mertesacker is telling it how it is (being honest) 3) mertesacker is making it up as he goes along.(like Arteta) 4) Mertesacker may live to regret that interview. Personally, I don’t guve a toss what Arteta, Edu or Mertesacker say , as for me its all about results and performances on the pitch. If we were to win our next 5/6 games ( could happen) and the forward line click , then there won’t be any negative talk coming from the club as we will be sitting in… Read more »
Pedro in the pursuit of positives it appears as though you lost a bit of perspective. Per’s comments were put out to try to dampen the clubs fears of fan unrest at the Emirates. This is bad for the brand and for finances. I suspect they have looked at alternatives and realise few decent managers are willing to take us on. It’s sensible tosh. We all know that if Arteta loses a few games he is out. If he tanks and we end up 9/10th he is out. Football is about results its not about long term plans. Its a… Read more »
Graham62: Fair enough — it’s in your blood! Like it is in me — I had no choice to support Arsenal, it’s a long family legacy, much like it is with you. And we’re not that dissimilar in age neither. You must remember the shit old days though? Mid 70s, early to mid 80s (save the FA Cup finals) — there have always been bad times. The comments section in here has become very divisive — much like it’s become with politics. If you don’t agree with something from the left, then you’re a Tory. You don’t agree with the… Read more »
Ustyno
I don’t care who coined the expression it is designed to “belittle” that person.
Yesterday Pedro posted an interview given by Mertesacker, which was both positive and realistic. He was attempting to explain the situation that the club are in and how they plan to
resolve the situation.
Yet there are people posting on here criticising and belittling him for doing so. Personally I
doubt that many of the critics have even bothered to listen to what he says.
They are so entrenched in their viewpoint that only the club critics are entitled to have an
opinion.
This argument that a young team can’t compete is quite a stretch, especially as china points out, it’s our older players that arent delivering. Wenger had young players pinging the ball around like experienced pros. That’s generational. SIR Alex had youngsters playing above their potential and giving 100% every game That’s generational. Arteta should first try to beat emerys unbeaten run Artetas longest unbeaten streak in the league is 10 games with 6 wins and that happened back in 2019, when he was appointed the manager and he had his positive new manager bounce. Also for argument sakes, the only… Read more »
Banks
Well done , you said it all.
let’s be clear we have disinterested owners with no clue about English football those same owners have compounded the performance issue by hiring not 1 but two complete novices who are actively learning there job as they go along .all this crap about youth and time is just bull shit excuses
GREAT POST BANKZ.
I’m not worried about mertesacker saying what he has. His job is to worry about the academy not the first team. He’s been wheeled out to back the manager and edu as part of this PR campaign and he’s not exactly going to refuse or say anything critical about his colleagues who are in more senior roles than him
Whether he believes this nonsense or not doesn’t matter so long as he’s only responsible for the kids, which he is right now
China
“”””He’s been wheeled out to back the manager and edu as part of this PR campaign .””””
Off course he is.
We have had a barrage of it recently from all quarters.
If Arsenal employees were as polished talking corporate bullshite as they were actually coaching their respective teams- we would be top of the table every season.
You will need vomit bags by the dozen when the actual Amazon Doc finally comes out.
Less Talk , Get Results and Keep your big Gobs Shut.
In my job I get slaughtered every time stuff goes wrong even if it’s really not my fault. I am delivery lead for this team and the buck always stops with me whether I had any hope in hell of foreseeing or preventing issues or not. We’ve had a lot of problems lately with people being off sick, problems with our testing servers caused by stuff none of our testers or developers have any control over. All of this has caused my team to slip on our project deadlines and we are now in a constant state of chasing to… Read more »
Arteta got his inexperienced free pass already. It’s been 18 months. Progress right now, please.
China 1 Both Arteta and Mertesacker have recognised when interviewed that their jobs are dependent on results and performance and that they will be in line for the sack at some point in their careers. That is the case at Arsenal as with any other football club. The only difference is that the owners at Arsenal are perhaps more patient than those at other clubs. Interestingly it was not so long ago that there was a suggestion Sjolskjaer should be sacked at Man Utd, because they were underperforming. This is a club which has not won a single trophy under… Read more »
The key point was your second paragraph ES
Graham62
I know.
It’s just nauseating at this point.
I keep asking myself at what point do I wake up from this nightmare?
How did the same people who held Wenger and Emery to such standards of competency become so cool with the shite show happening around us today?
I genuinely hope it’s a dream I will one day wake up from.
Outstanding post Bankz. Succinctly put, no matter that in the process dragged the autrem with their pants around the ankles
Sunday’s line up will provide a massive clue as to where we go next. The key questions – is Ramsdale now no 1 or will Leno be back? And is Xhaka to walk straight back to his undroppable role in midfield?
If Leno / Xhaka return then the selection brain bypass of MA will be evident for all.
Bankz yeah at least if there was any hint of consistency that would be one thing. Say what you like about untold but it has never broken from the narrative that club is god and should never be questioned
Wenger was criticized for his flaws. Emery was absolutely executed for his. Emery was being taken to the slaughterhouse for his flaws when he was fresh in the door and overseeing a huge winning streak. Arteta can do no wrong in the face of all the shit he’s actually done wrong. You couldn’t make it up
“This entire site was once built on holding the club, the manager, the team to higher standards.”
Key takeaway from Bankz’ super post.
Yeah ramsdale has had a fantastic start to the season. There’s absolutely no excuse for dropping him for the Spurs game.. let Leno play in the league cup.
As for Xhaka the less said the better. Lokonga should play for footballing reasons tho AMN has a habit of making a case for himself for athletic, tactical reasons. I’d play lokonga but I won’t be unhappy if AMN gets the nod provided he’s given a clever tactical plan to follow as one thing we know about AMN is he can follow a plan to a T.
All it took for Pedro to change his tune completely again is two wins against Burnley and Norwich. These are teams who have a combined of 1 points from their 5 matches and are sitting on 19th and 20th on the table. And we didn’t even have a performance against them. We just won. There definitely needs to be a run of form to start having even a little amount of faith again. Otherwise it is just setting the bar too low for him and ot is biased loyalty.
Matt B
None taken.
At least I can still have the Brighton results to fall back on.
China 1
Man Utd have not won a league title in 8 years and for that matter any trophy in last 4 seasons.
Sjolskjaer has been manager at Man Utd since December 2018 and has had his contract renewed for 3 years this summer.
So clearly Man Utd have also adopted a similar position to him as is the case with Arteta at
Arsenal.
I will honestly try not to point out Pedro from now on.
It’s so bloody difficult though.
Yea what else is Per going to say? Naive.
Players who must play vs Spurs at any cost
Saka
ESR
Partey
Ode
Tomi
Ramsdale
Tierney
Gabriel
Players should probably play against Spurs
Lokonga
White
Laca
Alternatives to the ‘should play’ players:
AMN (for lokonga)
Holding (for white)
Auba (for laca)
Pepe (for ESR/Ode)
Players who must not start under any circumstances unless there are injuries
Xhaka
Leno
El Neny
All it took for Pedro to change his tune completely again is two wins against Burnley and Norwich. These are teams who have a combined of 1 points from their 5 matches and are sitting on 19th and 20th on the table.”
He flip-flops from week to week. He’s invested in Arteta, so he has no choice really right? He spent months telling us why Arteta was the man for the job before he got the job. Even in the face of glaring evidence he’s still doubling down. He’s backed into a corner, he has no choice.
Bankz Does ‘how did the same people….’ = Pedro? If so why are you getting your knickers so twisted by someone who is writing a blog? Pedro doesn’t have any influence on whether Arteta keeps his job or not. No Arsenal fan can be happy about two 8th finishes. No Arsenal fan can be happy how we have been run over the last 10 years or so. Most Arsenal fans would have more than accepted, indeed welcomed Arteta’s sacking last season. Most Arsenal fans can see the thinking behind our acquisitions in the last transfer window. Should we happy about… Read more »
ES what is the value of this though? Have they been rewarded for investing incredulous sums of money and years of time on solkjaer? Has that decision to keep backing him been vindicated so far?
They could’ve moved on klopp years back before liverpool got him and probably won a couple of titles or a CL for less money.
Man Utd have been shockingly run for years and are along with Barca and Arsenal one of the elite tier of banter clubs in terms of bang for their buck in recent times
Gonsterous “Artetas longest unbeaten streak in the league is 10 games with 6 wins and that happened back in 2019, ” Actually we were the only team unbeaten domestically in Europe in 2020 ( not 2019) up until lockdown. Eddie had cemented his place as our no.1 striker and Ozil was an integral part of the side . With eddie starting as striker up until first lockdown Win 1-0 Win 2-0 Win 3-2 Win 4-0 Draw 0-0 Win 2-1 Sadly, those 2 have a never started much more than a handful of games between them in the past 18 months.… Read more »
Also ES whether or not utd back OGS and whether or not he eventually achieves anything is entirely irrelevant to arsenal If he wins the league this year does this mean Arteta will win the league for us? There’s no connection between the two. And for every case you can name where a club stood by a manager and it eventually paid off I can find you an example of 10 where other clubs were hurt badly by holding onto an underperforming manager too longer and eventually had to sack him to turn things around. We should not be backing… Read more »
https://youtu.be/tzJwp8aevCE
Wow, According to ChavTV The Arsenal’s 6 goals were lucky & the chav goal was striker instinct.
The hysterics on here. I’m just happy the going fans are not as miserable as the lot here cause they understand how much the team needs support. Imo my opinion it is not so much about arteta as if he fails to deliver he’ll be gone but it still won’t make this miserable lot happy. They did it with wenger,emery and now tets
Words, the football is going to get better. It’s already improved since the end of the window.”
Jesus.
The competition also got markedly worse. Christ almighty man.
Raul glad to see you’ve been really happy with arsenals start to the season
CHINA
I haven’t been happy but we had issues with covid,injuries etc. Plus did you think we were going the whole season unbeaten?
I will repeat, if Arteta wants to play a pressing game then he needs to use players in his squad that have the desire to press. I think Aubameyang is a top class striker, but not in this present Arsenal side and I’m beginning to think that he never will be as the team is not tailored to suit Aubameyang’s needs. Of course, he will always score at a reasonable rate because of his ability to find space in the box but his inability to press from the front will always hinder our play under Arteta . That’s why our… Read more »
Raul I thought we would have more than 0 points and -9 goal difference after the first 3 games.
“There is a possibility that 1) mertesacker has been brainwashed .2) mertesacker is telling it how it is (being honest)3) mertesacker is making it up as he goes along.(like Arteta)4) Mertesacker may live to regret that interview.“
There is another possibility………. Mertesacker is…….Pedro.
Just look at pictures of both up top , swap out the headset off Pedro’s head with Mertesacker’s glasses and these two look like twins.
Leave the BFG alone.
At the moment there are gems coming out of the academy.
It might not be his job to save Arteta’s bacon but when your boss wheel you out to do a job then it is your job to do it so fair play to BFG for a job well done. He really did his best to sell the pitch.
I mean what do Le Grove expect? He do an impression that his boss is shit?
And we all claim to be adults here.
Bankz just hit the nail on the head
Like I told Pedro, he’s more invested in Arsenal’s PR and commas games these days.
All these smooth-talking characters exist because the Kroenkes haven’t set any expectations,
We need courage in this club, not patience. The same type of courage that Abramovich showed when he personally called a proper club legend to tell him he was being fired.
Grahaham62 Once an Arsenal fan, always an Arsenal fan. There is no escape. One thing you must hve learned in your life-long liaison (as in any life-long liaison) is that there are ups and downs. After a disheartening down lasting years, we had an up with GG and then one with Wenger. Followed, inevitably, by a down. A down that ended in January. How high and how far the up will go, nobody can tell. Arsenal have had short-term ones (nder Mee, for example) and long-term ones (under Chapman, say). My belief is that a project based on the young… Read more »
Dissenter, Do you really think Edu, Arteta and Per, all serious professionals who are used to competing at the elite level, have no expectations on where Arsenal should be? Really don’t get how people can question the ambition and integrity of those 3, question the competence yes, but these guys have fought their whole lives to be at the top level. The club is showing courage…they’ve literally revamped every part of the club (and still ongoing) over the past 18 months. Its obvious the hope was that last season we would build on the FA Cup win and get back… Read more »
I ahways find that it’s best not to listen to the bullshit of Arteta , Edu or pedro and just watch the games with an open mind . The way i see it is, the last 2 games the players were under enormous pressure to get results and they did which will slowly build confidence and belief. I saw a number of positives in those 2 games..Burnley away is never easy and yes their home form has been poor but so has most teams during covid . Teams like Burnley and liverpool need the home support and both suffered more… Read more »
Pierre
Good post. pal. We’d be ready with Eddie
Englandbest
I lost count of the number of times recently there was a mention of jimmy greaves injury in the world cup 66 ..
You was so certain that it was a a tactical masterclass from Alf Ramsey in dropping Greaves to bring in Geoff Hurst.
Dissenter We are super fucked. In 2011, I said with the way things were going, we wouldn’t smell a top trophy for the next decade and I was insulted. It’s been exactly 10yrs since then and all we’ve smelt are a couple of FAcups and community shields. Unless somehow the club changes ownership or the Kroenkes become a bit more decisive, I don’t see us competing for the title or come close to a CL or Europa in the next 7 – 10yrs. The club has deteriorated into a mid table club before our very eyes but according to Rauhishuss,… Read more »
Englandsbest – Steady Eddie?
Englandbest
My worry is that Eddie has been frozen out like many others .. I hope I’m wrong ..
EB Throughout my 55 years as an arsenal supporter I have seen many downs and a few periods of ups. During that time there have been moans and groans. In the past it was in the stands and on the terraces followed by sessions in the pub. Now social media dominates our lives and the moaning and groaning continues. Under GG and then Wenger there were periods when I cannot recall any ill feeling towards the manager however that changed as early as 2006. Because they are only a few commentators to this post that are upbeat then surely the… Read more »
Bankz, much more comfortable/manageable for you!
We’ve just spent £150m net, is that the actions of a club happy about being 8th?
Englandsbest How have Liverpool remained relevant over all this time, going right back to the early ’60’s? We all know they went 30 years without winning the title (1990-2020), but even with that, they’ve still won six more than Arsenal. And they were still part of the conversation because they carry the gravitas and expectation that at some point they will get it right. People talk about Arsenal on here as though we’re a tinpot outfit with no relevant history, and we should all offer measured understanding and unlimited sympathy to a bunch of crooks rinsing our good name and… Read more »
Pierre,
Eddie is in the last year of his contract, nearly got sold, hasn’t chosen to sign an extension and is behind PEA and Laca. Not sure if he’s been frozen out or just circumstances have overtaken him. He may get a chance against Wimbledon but Laca, Martinelli and Balogun need game time too.
Pierre
Let’s call it a draw: Alf didn’t drop Jimmy, he left him out.
Makes me shudder, though, to think he died a day after my post.
On Eddie, have no fear, Arteta is here. Actually, you are right, Eddie does worry me. He may become impatient and insist on leaving. That’s why I think Arterta will play him tomorrow. And against Spurs, too, if he scores.
Englandsbest ‘insists on leaving’ – if he doesn’t sign an extension, no insisting necessary!
Are you going to address my question, Englandsbest?
I mean, Arsenal are one of the supposed ‘big six’, or have they voluntarily removed themselves from that group on our behalf, so we don’t ask too much of them?
Pierre
Eddie was ready but he got injured and it seems like he has to be slowly eased back. Burnley wouldn’t have been the game to bring him back. Was he fit for Norwich? I like your posts
Especially this one.
“I ahways find that it’s best not to listen to the bullshit of Arteta , Edu or pedro and just watch the games with an open mind” .
Pointless foaming at the mouth. I’ll take results at this stage instead of performance.
Moving off the constant diatribes about the management there are a couple of concerns that I do have at the moment. These are the lack of experience and goalscoring in the current team/squad. The only player currently playing in first team aged 28+ is Aubameyang. The only players is squad apart from him who are also in that age bracket are Leno, Soares, Kolasinac, Elneny, Xhaka and Lacazette. I suspect that most of these players will be offloaded in the next two transfer windows. So there is a shortage of experience in squad. One player that I would consider recruiting… Read more »