Sounds a little bit like a track title for an Adele song. BUT IT’S NOT OK? It’s about the game today.
Top 4 was the stretch target this season, especially after the shocking opening we had… but the more the season goes on, the clearer it is, that the objective might not be that outrageous.
You gotta dream big (ish). The power of ambition in an organization cannot be underestimated. It sets the tone, it keeps people excited, and sometimes… it pays off.
Just look at Arsene Wenger when he told the world we might go invincible. Hadn’t been done before. Will never be done moving forward. The ambition was ridiculed, it was put on Spurs market stall merch… but who was the one laughing in the end? Wenger.
Our ambitions are a little lower right now, but everyone has to start somewhere.
Beating Everton would be a very good indicator that we’re less fragile than we were last season. Losing to United was upsetting, but they are a good side, and Old Trafford is always going to be a difficult place to go. We can beat them in the return leg. I don’t think we’d won there in 17 years until last season. Not like beating them is par the course. It’s also not like there crisis was that terrible either. Ralf Rangnick is one game into his tenure and he’s 3 points off top 4. Their crisis is they aren’t winning the league.
Goodison Park? Now, there’s a game that you lose if you’re not Top 4 serious. In fact, it is a game we actually did lose last season, 2-1, when Carlo was there. We can’t be that team this season. Beating the teams below us and around our level is how we’re going to progress.
Rafa Benitez is a very good coach. I’m actually surprised he’s still in charge though. The Director of Football, Marcel Brands, left their business yesterday… so maybe not for long. As I said yesterday, we’re either going to see a big reaction from Everton this evening, or we’ll see a non-reaction if the players can taste blood in the water and they don’t like what they’re getting from the exScouse boss.
Arsenal have injury concerns. The biggest one is ESR. He has a tight groin. Our #10 wasn’t great in the last game. He might just need a rest in general. That’d put a lot on the shoulders of Odegaard, but if we have Saka in the side, hopefully it won’t be too telling.
The biggest reboot I feel we need is in attack. Will Arteta persist with Auba in the side? Or is he going to cave and give his captain some time out? It’s a tough call. If you persist with an underperformer for too long, it starts to impact your standing with the other players. No one is undroppable. If you have a high performance culture and you talk about it… you have to live up to it.
He could play and score a hattrick. He could play and drop another disaster class and make it feel like we’re rolling with 10 men.
Auba is part of the reason we struggle with chance creation. If you striker can’t hold-up the ball and link play, the whole system is going to struggle. That’s why Lacazette has been so important. He brings others into the game. The issue with him is he doesn’t have the speed to be a threat coming deep and holding the line.
It’s a messy balance that needs to be struck… but we have to find a way this evening.
The curve ball inclusion might be Granit Xhaka. He’s making good progress. We know he’s made of iron. We could see him on the bench. That’s good news for squad depth when you hit mid-December.
3 points puts us back where we need to be. Anything less and it’s going to ramp the pressure up again.
December is the month for heroes. Who is it going to be? My hope is Martinelli gets a run again. It seems more likely if ESR is out again.
Let’s see what happens. See you in the comments. Watch our video or plug our podcast right into your ears.
*Shocking
No, enoughs enough. Whirling your arms like a nutty dervis and screaming doesn’t make you a pep gaurdiola just like me struggling to zip up my coat doesn’t make me Arsene Wenger
It’s depressing knowing that Arteta will not be sacked or resign before next May.
He’s had enough time to show us what he is and it’s clear it’s going to take along time for him to even be a mediocre manager.
Our owners love him and believe his bull shit
Should said whirling your arms around and screaming from the touchline doesn’t make you pep mk2
“Or I misread center attack as center back”
Hahahaha China that is pure gold
Graham62: Agree with that — slow and predictable sums up that performance. We seemed to have returned to crab-like passing, sideways, backwards but rarely forwards.
From a very encouraging league position and following some decent performance up until less than a week ago, we are back to playing turgid football.
Self-inflicted losses and some bizarre team selections, substitutions and the freezing out of Pepe — we’ve been here before. I thought Arteta had moved on from all that, but clearly not…
Inside We need decisive owners. That has been true for the last 15 years. Abramovich wouldn’t tolerate the results and the style Arteta has showed since he took over. Ten Hag won’t be coming in now. I was banging about him since I saw that Ajax team that run through everyone with an amazing football style. They only fell short because they were naive against spurs in the last 10 minutes. 2 or 3 years later, he is back to producing the same level of football after they sold everyone that mattered to the way the play football. Only old… Read more »
so I’m illiterate AND a bed wetter. FML
Don’t agree on Potter. Think he has the same weakness when it comes to forwards just like Arteta. When he first came in he dumped Glenn Murray then had to recall him to save his arse from the drop, 4 transfer windows later and Brighton still don’t have an out and out striker and struggle to finish games. 2 1/2 seasons and all potter has done is make them play slightly better but are still relegation candidates come the end of the season. MASSIVE NO TO POTTER!! Sorry
Leeds
“we need more investment in the team and a lot more of it.”
He’s got plenty of new players in.
What’s the point of Arteta if it’s just a case of buying a whole new team for him and more. Joe Bloggs could manage the team with a massive overhaul.
I agree we need some more central midfielders and a forward but christ this throwing everything at Arteta seems misguided.
If Poch is available then we can go for him as well.
The Godfrey stamp should be looked at again.
Saka being targeted is the new norm.
White needs to hold his position.
Torriera used to do the same thing ( big gaps behind when he charged and those little legs never got him back.)
Say again White needs to hold which probably will make more average
than he already is .?
What the scenario should be is that you give a manager huge backing regarding new players coming in if he shows that he is doing a good job with what he had before. You add to the potential that is being shown.
This is not happening with Arteta.
He is likely to finish 8th again as he is to finish 5th. Probably more likely to finish 8th again.
Arteta is here to stay. No point debating alternatives. A young team will go through peaks and troughs but Ajax is often a young team and they win the Dutch league, pretty much from year year. Why is that? I’ll tell you why…. The coach, the identity and belief is top rate, and the squad is battle hardened and tested. We are starting to develop an identity. I for one am tired of dumping a coach thinking it’s a cure all. Give him until the end of the season- he’ll have been given what? Three years then? If we’ve not… Read more »
Stan Kroenke should let Whitney Ann take charge of Arsenal, Josh is clueless. Her smile will light up the emirates.
“Arteta is here to stay. No point debating alternatives.A young team will go through peaks and troughs but Ajax is often a young team and they win the Dutch league, pretty much from year year. Why is that? I’ll tell you why…. The coach, the identity and belief is top rate, and the squad is battle hardened and tested.”
We don’t want your sermons Leeds
Leeds
“Arteta is here to stay. No point debating alternatives”
Is he?
If he finishes 8th again why should he stay?
And why would KSE continue with him?
Thank you and good night They do have an out and out striker. He is called Maupay. They spent 20 mil on him and for that fee he is doing well enough. He misses chances but we was in double figure goals last season. And Brighton have totally transformed from the chris hughton team. They aren’t relegation candidates at all now. What I like about him is his team have no problems getting in to the final third and creating chances. There have been a handful of games that they should have won since the season started including against us.… Read more »
Diet Pep will finish at best 8th if he outperforms xG , probably 10th
Im telling you for free!
Mertesacker should be manager before Bayern Munich get him
The Premiership has a collection now of the worlds best managers, no other league has this. We have a novice so how on earth do the owners think we are going upwards to win things. We don’t have a chance. Putting in Xhaka for the full game shows us what a complete dick Arteta is. Leaving him on resulted in the winning goal being scored, so Arteta was fully responsible for loosing the game. Partey got teed up for a shot and put it out of the stadium, you can’t make it up. The players look bewildered and Arteta’s constant… Read more »
When a manager has supposed tools (players) at his disposal to help remedy a situation and continues to ignore them in order to make a point to said players, thats not managing a team, thats called being spiteful to your team. You can keep excusing this team because they are young, but eventually they will stop being so and poor play s poor play. There is something really wrong at Arsenal and its not about inexperienced youth, its about playing under a spiteful and football illiterate manager. Playing this poor brand of football is not bad luck, its a pattern… Read more »
@Sid
We don’t need mertesacker, a black sack could do the same job as Arteta.
As for Maupuy, my wife’s family including my father in law have season tickets and they aren’t overly impressed with Maupuy. Potter might play decent foot up to the final 3rd but I’d still pass on potter
‘Give him until the end of the season- he’ll have been given what? Three years then? If we’ve not achieved no European football (ie. Europa at the very least) he’s out.’
That was done this time last season and look where that got us. How many seasons should we do this Leeds?
It’s Groundhog Day again the football is not improving and I knew we would lose with20 mins to go,
You do not change the manager in the summer you change him now, so the new manager has a chance to assess players now and be able to change who he needs come the summer, it will also give a chance to bed in his philosophy
Partey does not simply need a proper partner, He needs to take responsibility (up his game) the old man(50 years) misplaces more passes than lokonga (a rookie) does
I’m inclined to conclude that Arteta has reached his peak but then i look back at the chances we had late in the game (Nketiah, 2 Odegaard, Auba) and i think maybe reinforcements in the attack and as the team plays more together, Arteta can still take us back to champions league.
I’d take Potter over Arteta for sure
Win or die the issue I have is our in game management is useless and the football is turgid, how much more money must we throw at MA ? We have only beaten 7 teams all season and they were all bottom 6 or in dire straits like spurs and Leicster
Winordie,
Can’t argue with that assessment of partey ATM haha
You can’t keep throwing money at the problem, you have to correct the problem, it’s the manager, he’s out of his depth.
Yeah Partey is quality – but only sometimes He has to be the guy in this team. Even more so with auba letting us down. The stage is all set for him to be ‘the one’ in this team in his own way – just as vieira, cesc, rvp, Sanchez etc have all been in their own way over the years. He does have the ability to be a standout PL CM – but ability doesn’t count if we don’t see it a solid third of the time. He needs to step up. If he doesn’t he’ll always be a… Read more »
Seriously our midfield has been so bad for so long. For partey with his qualities and athletic profile it’s on a plate for him. The only two questions are 1) can you stay fit? 2) how much do you actually want this? I’ve not seen conclusive evidence of either so far. It’s frustrating. If he was an el neny or a xhaka with obvious shortcomings that would be one thing as we could see he’s not fit for purpose. But nothing is more frustrating than when someone has the talent but still doesn’t consistently deliver He can have bad games.… Read more »