Hold on, hold on… you have got to be kidding me? Mesut Ozil, the man wronged by Unai Emery after a month. The man who threw a shirt at Freddie because the Swede WRONGED him. The man who was WRONGED again by Mikel ‘the beast’ Arteta. Is… being wronged again by his new club?
The Fenerbache President has had the absolute audacity to ask Mesut to basically ‘do more football thing’… excuse me sir? Who the hell are you to throw around instructions to a KING?
Here’s a little excerpt from Fenerbache TV:
“Ozil wants to play more. From now on, he needs to focus on his game and keep his commercial interests out of it. He needs to think about contributing to Fenerbahce.
“Our coach also needs to try to figure out how to get the most out of Ozil. There is not a problem, despite what the media says. Mesut is unhappy because he does not play regularly.”
Wooooah…
Steady on… public shaming?
Did anyone check if he was playing a big Fortnite tournament?
Maybe, just maybe, he’s trying to down a coach he doesn’t like… again.
Did anyone ask him if the bib throwing incident was a form of aggression or actually a nice piece of banter?
Has anyone asked if there’s a role he’d like to do more than the #10? He was very good at the social media when he was over here?
This actually feels like a conspiracy because he has nice coffee.
Or… did the Fenerbache Prez just say out aloud what no Arsenal coach would?
I’m not going to conclude on this, but Fenerbache fans, if you are reading this, do as Mesut does… #TrustTheProcess… we all support you and we support him. It’ll come good, one day, maybe.
Back to you. Are you ok? I know the news of Mesut losing his place must have been a shock.
Why don’t we get back to something I absolutely know you love me doing: splicing tables to tell a story.
The two tables below, via UnderStat.com, are where we are in 2021 after 11 games, and where we were last season after 11 games.
NOW (2021, bruh)
LAST SZN (2020)
That’s right, you can’t see us on the 2020 table because we were 15th in the league with 13 points.
Why am I showing you this? Well, there are a few things that are interesting here.
1. The table was bunched a little tighter last season. This season there are 10 points between 1st and 9th. Last season, there were 10 points between 1st and 14th.
2. The table after 11 games is not indicative of where it’ll be after a whole season. Remember all the people on the internet crowing that ‘This squad really could win Spurs the title under Jose’, well, he was gone in February. Remember people talking about Ralphy H for the Arsenal job. Frank Lampard was out by January. Manchester United were talking to Pochettino before they went on a charge to 2nd. Southampton dropped real hard. Take nothing for granted right now.
3. Arsenal are 7 points better off than they were this time last season. This is important because it means we’re in far better shape, but keep in mind, the job this year is to be within spitting distance of top 4 come January 2nd. The back half of the season is built for Arsenal. We will have played most of the major teams away from home. We won’t have the issue of Europe. Our young squad of players will be more experienced, know each other better, and should have adapted to the coaching ideas of Arteta. If Arsenal could have started like this last season, they’d have comfortably made the Champions League spots.
YES, I know you love an annualised table from Transfermarkt.
Why am I showing you this? Well, a few people have said to me ‘this form we are in is a fluke, so I was right to be Arteta Out hard this season.’ That is where I have to slap back with a spliced table. The form Arsenal is in is just a continuation of a slow drip of progression since December 26th last season. The calendar year table should give you a bit of comfort that maybe our run isn’t a flash in the pan.
Is 5th amazing? No. But it’s about where we should be. If we’re around that position in April, we might luck out into top 4. Remember, the average age of our squad is about 25, that’s the youngest. Chelsea 13th (27.7), Leicester (27.3), 11th Liverpool (27.8) 14th, West Ham 19th (28.8), City 10th (27.1). These teams have a lot more hours under the belt, so have a lot more to learn, so we have to be patient. 5th would be decent this season.
This table tells you two things:
1. The 6-month table since Christmas I talked about excessively to heavy mocking, was in fact, a pretty predictive table. The top 6 over the year are the top 6 currently in the Premier League.
2. Even with that hammering from Manchester City, we still have the 3rd best defence in the league joint with Liverpool. That really is some achievement. What we are witnessing at Arsenal certainly feels more George Graham than Arsene Wenger. We are tough to beat, we don’t let much get by us, and it has been a consistent theme.
What would be nice is a little more Arsene Wenger up the other end. We’re certainly doing much better than before, averaging 14 shots p/g. But that only puts us 7th in the league. There might be some mitigating circumstances there. We tend to lead early then sit back. We also had very poor output against City and Chelsea. Whatever… we need to sharpen up in the final third if we’re going to make top 4 this season.
So overal, whichever tables you are looking at right now, there’s a lot to be positive about.
We’re still good at the back, despite changing out an entire squad.
We still have a lot of work to do in the final 3rd where the goals are lacking.
All very exciting.
Right, see you in the comments.
WATCH OR LISTEN BELOW PLEASE RATE IT ON ITUNES xx
Credit where it’s due, the energy and narrative around the team has changed completely, with the new players bedding in nicely and the end of the influence of Ozils toxic clique.
While not in the same category, Sterling comes with his own baggage and outside interests. The club’s better off following a different path.
Terraloon Lacazette will likely leave, he’s the oldest 30 year old I’ve ever seen, he gives a lot, but gasses out at 60-70 minutes, It’s been a common theme since he’s been here, and his stamina is unlikely to get any better Aubameyang will likely leave in 19 months, Kolasinac + Elneny at the end of the season It’s unlikely Leno will stay past the summer, unless he’s happy to see out his contract, same with Bellerin Partey will be here for 2.5 more years at least, nobody else will pay him what we reportedly do, and we’ll probably have… Read more »
Pedro, Klopp is apparently close to Mbappe
Selling Salah to Madrid for £50 million, then signing Mbappe on a Bosman, would certainly freshen things up for them
I was one of the few who was happy for Aubameyang to run his contract down, or for us to cash in last year
The vast majority of players dip physically in their early to mid thirties, we can still extract some value from Aubameyang
But the move could have been to flog him to Chelsea, and targeting a player in the 23-26 age range
Jamie “I’m worried about Pierre.What he read today must’ve been devastating. He’s devastated right now.” I shouldn’t worry about me , my golf is good , my health is good and watching the Arsenal is good. As for Ozil, I haven’t read it and don’t intend to , all i will say is that he has a better goal contributions per minute than any Arsenal player this season( Eddie may be the exception possibly) ….certainly more than Odegaard, Ozil’s replace 6 starts 4 goals 1 assist And i think you’ll find that when Ozil has started , the fenerbache results… Read more »
Rich, picking up Mbappe at Madrid might work for him… though not sure La Liga is where it’s at
None of our boys get a start against Albania tonight, will now be tuning into this one with far less enthusiasm
Pierre, clearly, if it was going well on the pitch… he’d be playing more than 394 minutes in the league.
He’s made 13 appearances this season, he’s score 4 and had 1 assist.
Emile has made 13 appearances, he’s scored 5 and has 2 assists.
Had to check for myself since I haven’t been following Ozil’s Turkish exploits at all.
Pierre is correct actually,………further more, Ozil’s g/a per minute in league play is better than any Arsenal player’s this season.
A bit of an own goal, Pedro?
Now if there was an article on how a 22 year old creative player joined a london club for 35 million from real madrid and hasn’t managed to score or assist from open play this season and has been relegated to the bench by a 20 year old home grown player , that may be a story, but i can’t see much of a story when a 32 year old player who cost nothing and despite limited game time , has scored and assisted in almost every game he’s started….. seems like too many are getting over excited about nothing… Read more »
Ozil-394 min played
ESR- 893 min played
Pedro, are you saying Ozil has been more productive than ESR despite things not going well for him on the pitch?
Tom, ESR getting call ups to England, Ozil getting told to focus on football by the club president in the Turkish League because he can’t get in the team?
Where is the own goal here?
No Arsenal fan would swap Ozil for ESR this season.
Smith rowe over Ozil all day long for me..
He’s learnt well from the maestro ,it’s time for the obsessives to forget about Ozil and to focus on our home grown talent.
Where’s the own goal?
A 33 year old part time footballer about 3 years past his prime, with a chronic back problem and propensity to spend all his free time playing video games and tweeting……….. has a better g/a per minute played than every single Arsenal player ……. I don’t know….. you tell me.
Exactly Tom …
“it’s time for the obsessives to forget about Ozil”
Pierre, ever thought of taking your own advice?
Time to take the posters down off the wall, and get yourself some new material for the wankbank
………,,,,…..…….Pickford
………James Maguire Stones
Walker Phillips Henderson Chilwell
……….Foden…………….Sterling
……………..………Kane
With all the attacking talent at Southgate’s disposal, surely he can put out something more exciting than this for Albania at Wembley….
Such a drab manager
If Ozil was to put in what ESR does he would have a coronary.?
Rich
Just move on from Ozil , he came to Arsenal when we were trophyless for nearly a decade , immediately trophies arrived with monotonous regularity, and now he’s gone , so let’s hope we can repeat the success of the Ozil years in the future.
Tom, you’ve hit some lows over the past 6 months, but this one is embarrassing even by your standards.
Rich, you been watching this Salah kid for the u23s?
It’s November 2021 and we are still talking about Ozil. He probably should have retired since 2016.
He’s had 6 starts with 4 goal and 1 assist. I m actually shocked by this stat. I thought his putting up stats days were over.
Pedro, seen a bit of him, he hit a screamer the other day, read good things about him away from the pitch as well
The production line of talent in this country is like nothing we’ve ever seen before, and will continue to go into overdrive over the next 10-20 years
Apparently our current group at under 23s, is at a very high level
Tom, you’ve hit some lows over the past 6 months, but this one is embarrassing even by your standards.
————
Ha ha, ok, Pedro , whatever you say lol.
Sometimes it’s hard to know what’s a real argument vs trolling on here? Are people seriously suggesting that Fortnight Maradona’s exploits in a tier 3 league can somehow be compared with what ESR is achieving? You couldn’t make this up.
Southgate is a decent man but a very average manager.
Rich, there are a couple who they are mega hyped on.
Patino on, not sure who the other is… there seem quite a few options.
Even some of the frees we picked up look good. Akinola doing well.
I repeat, I suspect that many of the Liverpool players have lost/are losing their belief in Klopp. It shows on the pitch – Mane, VVD for example – but it shows more in Klopp’s lack of self-control during the games – complaints ad nauseam – and in his outbursts afterwards – such as his ridicule of British PM. It’s the behaviour of a manager who feels ill at ease, under threat. The polar opposite of the cheery self-confident Klopp we knew. We have seen this behavioural switch in a manager countless times before. And the cause generally turns out to… Read more »
Pedro, pulling Saka + Smith Rowe out of our academy inside 14 months, isn’t an accident, I can see it becoming the new normal
Not just at Arsenal, but across the whole of the PL
Englandsbest, things are not great at Liverpool, haven’t been for a while.
Just move on from Ozil , he came to Arsenal when we were trophyless for nearly a decade , immediately trophies arrived with monotonous regularity, and now he’s gone , so let’s hope we can repeat the success of the Ozil years in the future.
We also signed Sanogo that same year Pierre. We could as well attribute the trophies that came after to him.
Seeing the way the Albanians are flying in, I’m rather glad our players aren’t on the pitch. Kin ell
Who is the best English coach out there right now ? Sure there is someone better than Southgate. The English National team is so talented that you need a great coach to compliment them and bring out their best.
Bankz, I know I said yesterday that I wouldn’t allow reupping of old comments, but you were particularly awful when things were going badly. What really happened to you Pedro? How did all your values, beliefs and vision you once held for Arsenal go out the window? How did you become fixated on a fraudulent Spanish messiah who has shown in the past 2 yrs to be nothing but average/punching above his weight? How have you become comfortable with Arsenal having just 2 goals in 5 games with both coming against 2 of the worst teams in the league currently?… Read more »
Bankz
“We also signed Sanogo that same year Pierre. We could as well attribute the trophies that came after to him.”
Dumb comment of the week..
Naija, Southgate gets so much stick for a man that took us to the semis of the WC and the finals of the Euros.
2-0 up already.
“seems like too many are getting over excited about nothing if you ask me.”
Ain’t worried about Pierre at all! Changes narratives as often as one would change underwear.
If Only Ozil were as consistent on the pitch as you are in defending his crap behaviour – yeah whatever.
This much is true, this is eating you alive and you know it and on that, you just made my day you shammer! LOL
Ernest, how you doing?
Im doing great Pedro, thank you for asking.
Really enjoying how the club is playing these days – a sense of purpose and they finally appear to understand their role in the plan in front of them. I appreciate that Arteta recognizes the need to adapt and he appears to no linger be as rigid in his approach. I don’t expect the same effort every game but there really appears to be something that has taken hold with these guys. Its enjoyable.
How are you doing? How was muggy Miami?
No longer…damn auto-fill
Ernest, Miami was beautiful, now I’m in Hawaii… which is also very pretty.
Glad to hear you are doing well!
Arsenal certainly in a more positive place atm, which really does help. Just hope we can treat Liverpool like West Ham did.
Pedro, West Ham had 30% of the ball at home
I’d like to see this, I’m more than happy to see us cede possession, and play for fine margins on the counter:
…….………Ramsdale
……Tomi White Gabriel
Niles Partey Sambi Tierney
……Saka ………….Smith Rowe
…………Aubameyang
Rich, AMN getting the nod in this game would make sense, his man-marking skills are pretty outrageous.
We’ve also had quite low percentage numbers this season and seem comfortable like that
Pedro, agree, Niles is our best one v one defender, and when we’re very likely to have far less of the ball, his skill set should come in handy
Ozil defintely had the talent but not the right attitude, passion or desire tbh…
“ now I’m in Hawaii… which is also very pretty.”
Oh you Lucky Buck Gold Mine!!! LOL
Put in a solid 90 minutes and release the hounds once more and hey, a result against Pool can be found!
ESR full international
Anyone find a free stream for Canada/Costa Rica qualifier?
Morning,
Pedro did the site go down?
Only 1 comment in the last 10 hours?
No love in debate for kane returning to form against the mighty Albania!!!!!!!
I know the interlull kills things on here but that’s ridiculous. Time to bring back the picture of our favourite German beer ladies, that will reinvigorate the site!😉
Grabs, German beer ladies IS the move.
Lol,
Pedro you know it makes sense.
Know your audience.
Maybe a couple of different pictures to bring the gang back!
Was it kwik that used to always have a picture or two for us during tournament times?
Nice to see Smith Rowe make his debut, with the arsenal lads getting a look in, it might make England worth watching again.
Could never get my head around calling sheringham a tosser on Saturday, then have to cheer him on for England midweek.
Or Pedro in a muumuu with two half coconut shells covering his moobs, holding a pina colada and a ukelele.
Book him Kroenko!
U4G
I’d have called Sheringham a tosser even if he signed for us. Him, Pat VD Hauwe and Razor to name but a few.
Kroenkephobe
I’ll give the half naked pictures of Pedro a miss thanks.
Sheringham always was a cocky twonk.
It was always tough cheering united bindippers and spud players on when playing for England.
Nice to see the Arsenal players in the squad again.
You feeling the same about these comments right now? Pedro. I still think you were a bit too forgiving about Arteta. You literally screamed “blood!” few months into Emery’s reign. I stlll think Arteta being allowed to learn on the job at arsenal is a bit unambitious. I still think Arteta won’t have us winning the major trophies or be title contenders anytime soon. Am I impressed with the last few games and how the players have grown into their roles? Yes Am I willing to sit my ass and watch how much progress he makes with the team from… Read more »
Pierre
It’s literally as dumb as your comment.
You’re fucking hilarious if you think a lazy nonchalant Özil is the reason we ended our trophy drought when Ramsey and Carzola had the season of their lives and even went on to score in that final.
Rich, sounds like there might be more money again this summer if the progress keeps up.
It’ll be interesting if Laca does the season here or the sell him and make a loan move for someone like Jovic.