ARTETA STATEMENT COMPLAINT ABOUT SQUAD GOES AWRY

by .

Let’s get the Alka Seltzer in the cup right away, Matt from the podcast neatly surmised that:

‘If you are going to exit the cup, better now than at any other stage’

It would have been nice to win it, sure, but we didn’t, so going out now preserves legs, heartache, and allows us to focus on the two trophies we have left.

Your head is still spinning right, that didn’t help? Ok, understood… let’s get into the meat of our embarrassing loss. There are two ways I’m looking at it that both have an element of truth.

The first is that this is part of the turbulence of having a young team and a thin squad. We know that when certain players are missing, the Arsenal we’ve grown to love is hard to identify, that happened yesterday. We’re a long way from having a squad that can compete on two fronts.

Yes, we should have beaten Forest with any line-up we put on the field, but the attitude wasn’t there, inexperience and general awfulness won the day, we deservedly lost to a well-drilled side.

The second way I’m looking at things: this performance was partly intubated by Mikel Arteta as he danced a dangerous ensemble to make a point to the hierarchy about how skinny his squad is.

Yesterday, I applauded his ruthless attempt at engineering a player crisis by binning Auba, not signing Jack, and sending Ains out on loan. Today, can I really ignore the fact that a lot of the breathing difficulties were of Mikel’s making?

We’re caught between two truths here. I don’t think Arteta thought there was a chance this rag-tag group of players would tank quite as hard as they did, which is why he panicked in the first half and subbed off Tavares. He knew from the 3rd minute he was in a dangerous moment because there was no fight, no curiosity, and a painful lack of cohesion.

… but he could have done more to avert that disaster. Jack Wilshere should have been signed to a short term deal if we were going to have to play a side like that, because we lacked leadership and calm that he has. We could have kept Ains until the end of January if we were going to have to play someone as painfully shocking as Cedric Soares, who let’s be real, looked like he was doing the dishes poorly so we’d release him to Atletico Madrid.

Arteta cut off his nose to spite his project yesterday, it was an arrogant display from him, which felt like the move of a manager who is maybe leaning into his fan capital a little too hard. Now we only have one way into semi-decent-Europe (not Conference League), this week starts to look like the beginning of a very painful few weeks, we could be in a bit of bother if our best players don’t dig us out of a hole.

The Nuno Tavares move looked very odd to me. The player had a nightmare, he lost the ball 9 times in 34 minutes, his pass completion was 65%, it was really horrible to watch. He was well, well below the standards we need at the club. Arteta pulled him off early for Kieren Tierney. It was a humiliation move designed to crush him. A lot of people are with Mikel on it, including professionals like Ian Wright and Roy Keane. I just wonder if that sort of move is good for squad vibes. In the real world, if you ream someone out in a meeting, it might feel good, it might be deserved, but everyone who wasn’t the target also realises that they could be subject to that at some point. Sometimes it’s motivating, sometimes it’s demoralising.

‘Couldn’t you have done that in private?’ is what most people are thinking.

KT will pick up an injury, we know that, how is Nuno going to play when he’s asked to do a job? I thought the move was rash and panicked. It was also hard to marry binning Nuno while Cedric stayed on until the 88th minute (most pointless sub of the game). The worst thing about the humiliation sub… it didn’t move the performance. Nothing changed. Nuno was bad, but he wasn’t the catalyst for it, he was just the fall guy for a squad that underestimated Nottingham Forest.

There are pockets of good news. Granit Xhaka, who we missed last night, failed his COVID test before the Liverpool game, so he should be back. I think Tomi and ESR were cautionary. We should have the rest of our defence back in place, which makes a huge difference. I love Rob Holding, he’s clearly committed to the cause, he’s trying to elevate his game, but watching Nottingham Forest give him all the time in the world on the ball because they saw that as a weakness was painful. We need Gabriel back yesterday, and someone needs to put Arteta in a video room to watch the progress of Saliba this season, because we are a pinged hamstring away from a very shoddy defence.

The Liverpool game away from home this Thursday now goes from a game where Charlie Patino might have played, to a full-on first 11 run out… because that game sets the tone for the Spurs game at the weekend. We can’t get walloped. We have to take at least a draw away. I’m still very angry that Liverpool are now saying that they had false positives in the camp. Arsenal were absolutely rolled on that cancellation because Liverpool didn’t want to play a form side with injuries. That is a corruption of the rules, signed off by an exLiverpool employee, and it is yet another example of Arsenal being played by the system. Why didn’t Vinai get Brentford cancelled?

Back to Arsenal. I wrote a week ago that we have to expect results like the Everton game. I can’t be reading the usual suspects say things like ‘Ugh, this always happens with Arteta’ like the hope was we’d just sail through the next 6 months winning games without the hiccups. This is the process people. The bumps are painful. But managers we dreamed of at other clubs are like Tuchel are also going through their own process issues, because Arsenal are close to them in the Premier League. If we beat Spurs, we’re 6 points off Chelsea. That’s your perspective.

If you want to see Charlie Patino at the carpet, you have to be prepared to see him struggle. That is part of the deal with young talents. Not everyone can land like Bukayo or Smith Rowe. He’ll learn, get stronger, and come back a better player.

We have to accept that it took 18 months to get a 15 that could fight at the highest level. Our second string is going to take even longer to get right. We’re not there yet. When you are second string, there are questions over attitude, technique, and overall suitability for the club. Cedric Soares isn’t built for Arsenal, Bukayo was telling him off for his hospital passes, he is a relic of ‘contacts’ scouting. But he’s our reality right now because Ains didn’t want to do his job.

I really want Eddie to be the one, but when you are asking Arsenal for big money, and you can’t be seen against Nottingham Forest, it’s hard to see how you deserve it. Another missed header from 5 yards that kills the game? That’s not good enough. He might score that at Palace, but he’s not doing it for Arsenal when he’s given minutes, and that’s the difference between Arsenal taking a chance or Arsenal letting the contract expire.

You also have to accept that Mikel Arteta is not the finished product. He pulled a move Conte and Jose have pulled for years. In fact, Conte pulled it this weekend, his team went off to boos at home against the Shrimps, which is the statement he wanted Levey to hear… then he smashed them in the 2nd half. The difference with experienced managers is they wouldn’t kill a path to an important objective they have. Arteta danced with the footballing gods and was struck by fire, I don’t think he mitigated risk last night, and the failure doesn’t strengthen his case for more money… it narrows it because now Josh has a weaker case when going to Daddy for Vlahovic money.

We have the chance to rectify things on Thursday. Let’s hope everyone is fit and we’re not gambling on long-term fitness. It’s a big week, Arteta just made it harder, let’s see how he can manage himself out of this corner.

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Graham

1st

Invincibles

2nd

Graham

3rd

DM

Tr4phy

Graham

4th

Graham

Well in DM

Graham

Arteta needs a defensive midfielder with a sense of timing – might be worth taking your boots to the next match.

DM

Lol, I’m a pretty rubbish footballer but I guess I couldn’t have done any worse than yesterday, eh?

Invincibles

It’s a shame Arteta does not play himself in midfield – that way he could run around shouting at everyone rather than just ruining the confidence of those playing on the touch line

Jim

Further to your point about being out the cup, it means there’s less opportunity for those hanging around the fringes of the squad to spoil any momentum we build. Barring an injury nightmare ( touch wood ) the likes of Kolasinac and Cedric only have a handful of games left for the club at most. Eddie might get more minutes but he soiled his opportunity right when he had built himself some leverage, and if he doesn’t leave this month what is the point in giving him minutes February onwards if there’s someone else to take them (new signing /… Read more »

Danny

Pedro

No mention of Arteta’s incredible decision to bring on Kolasinac deep into injury time, a sacking offence if there ever was one?

Gooner84

Get ready for a 4 game loosing streak people, we will get beat by Liverpool via 1 or 2 doggey reff\VAR decisions. Then I’d not be at all surprised if Uni Conte out smarts Arteta, I fear top 4 is a pipe dream this season.

Major_Jeneral

4th and carabao Cup is the goal now #AlwaysForward

Double Double

As much as I have come round to liking MO he’s not cut out for that combative midfield role. He’s more Mesut than Partey and needs someone to do the dirty work for him. Same with Lokonga needs some experience next to him. We can’t role with that midfield against the Scousers they’ll muller us. Definitely have to have Xhaka back

Double Double

Tavares had an off game, but I don’t think he should have been pulled, plus he had the pace to deal with that Spence at right back, who played really well

Double Double

He’d be a decent back up

Emiratesstroller

Let’s be honest for once. The team selected yesterday was the one, which most supporters including myself expected us to play factoring in AFCON, covid and injuries. The only player who missed the game and would have played if fit was ESR. The usual mob who post on here and are Arteta critics came out of the woodwork and blame him for the performance. Please explain what you have done differently? There are some who will criticise him for offloading AMN before the end of window. Frankly I don’t think that he would have made a jot’s difference to yesterday’s… Read more »

Nelson

“No mention of Arteta’s incredible decision to bring on Kolasinac deep into injury time”
___________________________________________________________________________

I think that is a statement made to Nuno Tavares . If he didn’t shape up, Kolasinac would replace him as the backup to Tierney.

Danny

Please explain what you have done differently?
—————
Tactics mate tactics.
We failed to have one shot on target the whole fuckin’ match against a pub team, you want me to continue?

Pierre

No need to panic, it looked like a game where we were in self preservation mode , in that we were not interested in the physical aspect of the game . We looked happy to play boring, no risk football and forest implemented their game plan perfectly, gave us a few digs early on of which the referee ignored of course and then allowed our centre backs to have the ball and closed all of the passing lanes , hence the sideways and backwards football. I was surprised that Arteta didn’t swap our offensive 4 around a little as Martinelli… Read more »

DivineSherlock

Emiratesstroller

We lost the game and it has confirmed what we know already and that we are woefully short of midfield cover in the absence of both Partey and Xhaka.

Even a kid would know this , let alone the manager . The thing is he could have bought replacements . AMN had good displays in CM when Xhaka was out earlier , its serious stupidity to let him go before getting a replacement.. We knew Elneny and Partey will be off to AFCON , Xhaka is unreliable but we didnt do anything.

Bergkamp63

As I have been saying for ages and recently wrote on here,

We have a good team but not a good squad, 4th will only land if we have no injuries and we land Vlahovic,

We are only half way through this rebuild, we still have around 18 players to ship out and replace with 13 new players including all but 1 of the players on loan.

Does anyone think this can happen in less than 18 months ?

Matt

Pedro

You’re suggesting that Arteta was trying to prove a point to Josh in his selection, but what are you actually saying, that he set the team up to lose? Or are you suggesting that he set the team up to struggle just enough to expose the lack of squad depth, but not struggle so much as to actually lose the game?

Pedro

Matt, it looked like a ‘poor me’ statement he thought he could bum his way through

Vintage Gun

We were so poor and passive that i genuinely wondered if we we trying to throw the match at times.. We got what we deserved from the match so fair enough but the performance was weird. Even in the last mins our CB’s and Lokonga were playing keep ball on the halfway line

Bergkamp63

I would rather go out of both cups early and save the legs of our first team, we have no suitable replacement for any of them, winning either of these cup will only get EL football at best, we will more than likely attain this anyway.

Staying in the cups until the end is only going to guarantee we don’t have any chance for 4th.

Danny

Pedro
———-
So you’re saying there was nothing wrong with yesterdays tactics? No shots on target the entire match?
Sitting 4th means nothing at the moment, it’s the 22nd May that counts.
Youngest squad? Fine but that’s totally on Arteta, that’s what he wants, but let’s see if the end justifies the means.

Matt

Pedro I think you are grasping at straws a bit to be honest. If we had somehow managed to win that game 1-0, I don’t think much attention would have been paid to the manner in which it was done. Getting knocked out of the cup makes a much louder statement and if that turns out to the reason why we manage to get some signings in January then I think it could be seen to be for the greater good. However, there is no way that was in Artetas mind when selecting and setting up the team. If it… Read more »

Sid

Im must admit the sitting 4th rhetoric is hard to beat….. for now

Pedro

Danny, tell us how we set up tactically wrong and what tweak you’d have made to win the game?

Matt. Artera is a ruthless operator. You know I’m a big fan, but look at the actions this last month. It is a tried and true method to get funds.

Sid, very odd that you come to life when we are doing badly. It’s a poor look.

Vintage Gun

Regarding the game, it was clear pretty early on that we were lacking centrally and were struggling for control/ penetration from central areas. With Patino making his full debut and Lokonga starting his 1st match since November it’s understandable that we struggled in CM. However, this is where the likes of Holding and Cedric let the team down, not only from a shocking performance level as ALL our players bar Leno struggled but moreso from an experience level. I only saw Odegarrd being vocal during the match. Finally i’m gonna make some solid judgments now. Whatever Eddie is demanding to… Read more »

Sid

I keep telling you to let Raulishass do the trolling, you struggle at it, badly

englandsbest

The anti-arteta brigade out in force blowing up a storm in a teacup into Hurricane Katrina. Fact is the elimination from FA Cup is a blessing in disguise. Clearing the decks for far more important games that lie ahead.

Despite his apologies I doubt whether Arteta is over-fussed. Neither should we be.

Stephen Camfield

You wrote that Arteta should watch videos of Saliba, and I hope he does because I have watched him many times this season and he is just a solid center-half. I cannot believe the rave reviews he receives. Even the commentator mentioned that he makes too many mistakes to be a premiership player at this time. However, the one player who does stand out is Guendouzi, he is everything our midfield lacks. You do not make the French squad unless you are a good player. Unfortunately, Arteta is never going to take him back, and we are going to lose… Read more »

Danny

Danny, tell us how we set up tactically wrong and what tweak you’d have made to win the game? —————– Firstly, watching Holding and White passing it backwards and forwards to each other a 100 times. I would’ve put a stop to that after 5 minutes. I would’ve told them to move much quicker with the ball towards the half way line to enable Charlie and Lokonga to roam forward and be more involved assisting. the front 3. We should’ve started the match on the front foot and gone for the jugular as quick as possible, 2 nil to us… Read more »

Dissenter

Pedro
You covered all the bases in the post
There’s a hint of self sabotage and I just fear it may get worse in January but no worries, the excuses are already set.

Danny

Fact is the elimination from FA Cup is a blessing in disguise. Clearing the decks for far more important games that lie ahead.
————-
Oh dear, a direct route into the Europa League and you call it a blessing we’re out.

raptora

I didn’t criticize Arteta for subbing Nuno on the blog yesterday, but the moment I saw the sub, thought he had an injury. Then I saw he’s fine and I thought to myself “couldn’t Arteta wait 10 mins and sub him at half time?”. The message would have been the same, but Nuno wouldn’t have been embarrassed in front of the world. Even if we had conceded before half time, we would have had a full 2nd half to turn it around, and if we didn’t manage to turn it around, it’d still be a game that wasn’t that important… Read more »

Dissenter

“ As for Tavares , yes he was playing poor but having mouth almighty in your ear hole for half an hour is not exactly going to make you play better….let’s hope Arteta doesn’t use the famous non negotiables to freeze tavares out of the squad ….we’ve seen it before many times.”

“Mouth almighty”
Had to laugh at that , but it’s true
In retrospect, Tavares was hard done by. Tierney didn’t do any better, he was safe in his restricted repertoire.

Spanishdave

So we are playing mostly once a week. ‘ saving our legs ‘ ‘ resting players’ ‘ 20 year olds tired’ Give it a break please. The hard truth is we have a poor squad of overpaid dross . We have a manager who is a fast learner! We have a manager who destroys confidence thinking it’s the way forward. Academy players who are not ready to seamlessly slot in as the top three clubs seem to be good at. Championship defense , poor midfield and absent strikers. It’s taken two years to get at this point. Arteta is godlike… Read more »

englandsbest

Danny

For all your tactical nous, you seem to have no grasp of reality. Afcon, Covid, inuries, etc don’t exist in your world. Your ‘direct route into Europa League’ would have entailed umpteen additional games for a squad undermanned and over-loaded with games.

Emiratesstroller

Danny I would be very surprised if Arteta instructed to play the game which we did. Sometimes the team goes into a shell away from home and that was how we played yesterday. Divine Sherlock We don’t know what goes on in the transfer market. Most is media, press and agent speculation. If we buy as opposed to loan a midfield player then I would want to get the right player at the right deal. If it meant missing out on any game I would have gambled on not recruiting before the game against Nottingham Forest rather than the games… Read more »

Jamie

I can’t understand the folk who think it’s good that we’re reducing the number of games our first 11 has to play for the remainder of the season (by crashing out of another cup) in order to give us the best chance of finishing 4th. Then what? A bunch of extra games to play next season with a dogshit 2nd 11 while we negotiate the CL and the need to finish 4th again? Or worse, finish 5th-6th and play EL on Thursdays in Lithuania – the same competition that was seen as a total distraction this season – and try… Read more »

Unoni

Terra (From previous) I’m not sure I rate Tavares yet myself as from what I have seen he is very gung ho, but does have skill on the ball. Ramsey was gung ho also and he too left gaping holes but I wouldn’t use positional indiscipline as a definitive example of a player being championship level Holding is a premier league defender but requires a run of games to reach his stride and white is an international defender. Mari and holding played very well together last season and contributed to several clean sheets, some against the top sides. Do we… Read more »

Sid

I would be very suprised if Diet Pep did Not instruct the players to play as they did.

benkind

Saka, Martinelli, Odegaard, Smith Rowe and Lacazate have scored most of our goals in recent games. We ended the game with 4 of them and didn’t have a shot on target. These 4 guys are part of our 1st team presently they played Mancity and will feature against Liverpool. So, no excuse why we should not test their keeper. If any of our rivals lost to forest we will not make any excuse for them. Pedro even made fun of Conte when they went 1 goal down. I just hope this isn’t like the wenger days when we exit all… Read more »

Danny

englandsbest

over-loaded with games.
————-
Seriously? No europe this season for the first time in 25 years and you reckon we’re overloaded?
How the mighty have fallen……

Emiratesstroller

Sid

Do me a favour do you really believe that Arteta instructed the team to play the way they did
with Martinelli, Saka and Nketiah playing up front.

Tom

Thats the beauty of cup competitions, you win a couple games at a late stage against top teams to hoist the trophy and everyone calls you a genius. You lose one to an inferior team early on and everyone questions you. That’s why the league is the true barometer………always has been and always will be. I’m not too fussed about yesterday, it was always going to be a tougher match than many thought and the all white kit didn’t help, although Arsenal’s PR department can feel good about themselves. You want your team to play like a bunch of strangers… Read more »

Sid

Estroller
Do you believe players would go against his instructions?

Dom B.

if he really did do that (bad selection and setup) to make a point towards the owners, that is some arrogant bullshit there. He’s not Conte/Ancelotti and this is not RM or Chelski. Also, we are not citeh where mikel spent his apprenticeship. Should work with what he has, do the best he can, and develop those who are still on the up. Here I include Pepe, who cannot be a 72m flop and making him successful should be his priority. Also the same with Tavares, guy just came to a new league and country, we need to support him… Read more »

raptora

I’m one of Arteta’s biggest haters, but after crashing out of FA Cup, and possibly out of League Cup, I honestly couldn’t care less. I’m not going to throw stones at him for losing meaningless games. Nope. Top 4 is all that matters at this point. We need to get back in the UCL. Our next 3-5 years might be different if we manage a top 4. We ain’t Manure, we ain’t Chelsea. We need the money, we need the exposure, we need to be attractive for top players. One top 4 and our next few Summers could totally change.… Read more »

Sid

Watch Lokonga and Patino, they are static, which in turn makes the forwards isolated.

Graham62

Tavares was awful from the start and deserved to be taken off.
The tactics though were abysmal.
The players were flat.
Neketiah just wasn’t at it.
It was if they were all running on empty.
Big let down.
No excuses.
Well done Forest!

Sid

Im also Not concerned about losing the FA

Graham62

raptora

Hate is a big word.
I’m also not an Arteta fan.
You’re right, top 4 is the objective.
No ifs or buts.

Tom

“The anti-arteta brigade out in force blowing up a storm in a teacup into Hurricane Katrina. Fact is the elimination from FA Cup is a blessing in disguise. Clearing the decks for far more important games that lie ahead.Despite his apologies I doubt whether Arteta is over-fussed. Neither should we be.”

Knife crime victims probably deserve some apology for this performance more than anyone else.

Jdawg

Ooo Pedro I can’t wait until the end of the season to see who has egg on their face. Could be me could be you who knows. Whichever way you cut it that result was shocking and should never! be accepted. We are Arsenal not Watford or Brentford lol The enthusiasm for Arteta is amusing. I’m not bothered about the guy and never had much confidence in him. As he is learning on our time and money. However I do have confidence in the direction of the club now. We have a handful of very good young players. Hopefully we… Read more »

Major_Jeneral

“Graham62
January 9, 2022 23:03:34
Djed Spence should be on our radar.”

After just 1 game, the Arsenal fan base expect Jed Spence to be on Arsenal radar.

You saw him in 1 game ffs.

How is he quality after 1 game? Like seriously?

Mb
TeeCee

We suffered massively from a very poor midfield in particular. It wasn’t really the game for Patino, who looks like a boy still, a game against lower leagues is always going to be a physical affair. I know we don’t have much else but we all knew midfield was the main area of concern at the start of the season and it’s magnified now. If we don’t bring in a couple of faces even if it’s just on loan, then 4th is likely to be a step too far. There is also a mental issue that exists in the team,… Read more »

Unoni

Jdawg

You’re looking forward to arsenal falling short of our ambitions to feel vindicated?
Have a word.

Unoni

Jdawg
It is accepted and it should be given the circumstances
We are out of Europe completely for the first time in 23/24 years
We’ve turned the whole squad around in less than 3 seasons and currently have the youngest side in the league
We have 4 first team members off for international duty and 2 others off with covid
Our second string are clearly a bit ragtag and will require more time or just being replaced.
The priory is top 4

This shouldn’t have to be explained mate

Unoni

If we have wilshere and AMN on the field yesterday then it’s a different game entirely.
Even more so if we had a striker with any sort of presence. Nketiah just ain’t it.

englandsbest

Tom

Wearing all white is a gesture, nothing more. Unlikely to have a meaningful impact. There are far mote effective ways of dealing with knife crime. Cops on the street, for a start.

Matt

I can see it now should we finish outside of the top 4 this season…

‘To finish 5th with the youngest squad in the league is a great achievement and gives us something to build on for next season’.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

Arsnil

Pedro you state and I quote “he was just the fall guy for a squad that underestimated Nottingham Forest.” I think you are all wrong there in your summation. We didn’t underestimate Nottingham Forest. We just couldn’t deal with them. They put on a high aggressive press and we tried to play out at walking pace from the back because our midfield wasn’t showing and we had nobody up front running the channels. Once the press came on we just could not deal with it the same as when we played Liverpool. From a physicality point of view we had… Read more »

Danny

Matt

Anything above 8th will be an achievement for some here!

Terraloon

Unoni Mari and holding played very well together last season and contributed to several clean sheets, some against the top sides. They actually only featured together in 3 PL clean sheet games Brighton, WBA and Chelsea all three were away. Football just isn’t a first 11 game nowadays it’s about squad that’s why season after season we see clubs fade post Christmas because their squads just aren’t deep enough and in terms of squad depth that’s where I believe Arsenal are . We always knew that 4 players were off the the AFCON so allowing AMN to leave before this… Read more »

IAT-Robbie

I couldn’t watch the game so no comment on the match performance. The general sentiment seems to be apathy towards our shock exit from the FA Cup. Nothing wrong with that though I remember many Gooners making similar comments last season when we were knocked out quite early by Southampton in a similarly limp fashion. “More rest” , “less fixture congestion”, “less distractions” etc. Then we met Emery in the Europa League and within an instant our season was over. The gap between the starting XI and 2nd team is big but most of the same second stringers did just… Read more »

Fair play to Arsenal with these white shirts to promote no stabbings………no shots either 😁

Terraloon

Arsnil.

Far more along the lines of how I see matters.

James

Personally I don’t think Wilshere would have made any difference. Other than nostalgia of an era of so much hope promised, which in reality ultimately only provided so much failure, I don’t think he’d deliver.

He’s not played at a high level for so long and we let him go for the right reasons.

Shame it didn’t work for him (and diaby as theyre both such talented players blighted by injuries) but he’s not what we need now.

I’d rather give playing time to Patino. Isn’t he the new Wilshere anyway?

Sid

We are 4th is more convincing than the table since chrismas narrative we had same time last year……. for now

LoveSausage

In the grand scheme of things, it’s not the worst thing to be out of the FA cup. We have a thin squad so this means fewer risks injuries and Covid exposure.

That said, I really hope Arteta knows what he’s doing and that this isn’t some misguided power play for funds. AMN should only leave on loan if the owners have agreed to replace him in this window. If they haven’t, and this is Arteta’s attempt to force their hand, then any negative consequences will be firmly on him.

Terraloon

IAT

The gap between the starting XI and 2nd team is big but most of the same second stringers did just fine last season in the Europa League, which is at least on par with the Championship.

I am far from sure that the likes of Dundalk, Molde and Rapid are Championship level and it was those games where the squad was used.

Once into the knockout stages Arteta went 100% strong and other than the odd team member like Willian in the home loss to Olympicas or subs coming on none of the second string were remotely trusted

Tom

“Wearing all white is a gesture, nothing more. Unlikely to have a meaningful impact. There are far mote effective ways of dealing with knife crime. Cops on the street, for a start.” Bringing awareness to important issues is commendable. Asking your team to wear an one off kit for an important game…..not so much. I’m sure Arteta wasn’t too thrilled when it was pitched to him. There’s a reason most players prefer the first kit and by some distance, and it has nothing to do with club colors but rather the frequency it’s been worn and the familiarity that comes… Read more »

Unoni

Terraloon Yes. I agree to a certain extent but when we are entirely out of Europe and our main aim is to achieve top 4 status then an elite 22 isn’t the the priority yet. It’s baby steps. Most of which are being achieved, week on week to achieve our aim. We have 15 players currently capable of achieving and maintaining a top 4 four finish. Add another 3/4 by august this year and we are looking very good. I’m not going to bother listing the players but we know who they are. We still have Saliba to come home… Read more »

Emiratesstroller

Sid

So according to you Arsenal went into a knock out FA Cup match planning to play static and
defensive football. In other words we did not plan to win the game.

Do me a favour!!

Bob N16

If you believe that Holding needs a few games to get up to standard then I’d argue that he’s not worth keeping. Hopefully White and Gabriel will be joined by Saliba next season – pushing Holding down to fourth choice where he would hopefully only get the odd game. If this is the case, the needing a few games’ defence would be a constant issue. Watching him being allowed to bring the ball out of defence by Forest, knowing he was hopeless with the ball was embarrassing, turning like the QE2 doesn’t help either. Obviously having a functioning CM would… Read more »

Bob N16

Much I support the reason for wearing a white shirt, let’s not do it again!
‘Are you Tottenham in disguise?’

Unoni

James

Wilshere would have offered us control of the ball and an eye for the pass that lakonga cannot make. He’s have taken the creative burden off Odegaard
Wilshere with patino or lakonga would have given us options that lakonga and patino would not

Sid

“””So according to you Arsenal went into a knock out FA Cup match planning to play static and
defensive football””””

Is it the first time the above has been used as a tactic in the FA cup by Diet Pep?

Graham62

I am still not convinced by Arteta.
I feel I’m in a catch-22 situation.

englandsbest

Posturing appears to be the MO in the world of today. Sport was a welcome escape into action, free of pretense. No longer.

S Asoa

Comprehensive post. All the things would have said myself. But instead of my trolling Artetawith it , Pedro used it to pump up Arteta.
OK, to each his own way.

Sid

You can take this to the bank,

At an away ground where with 2 young midfielders, a leftback from overseas, Diet Pep will demand as many players behind the ball as possible.

Henleygooner

There is a general school of thought that being out of the cup is good, as it means fewer games. This is true up to a point. If the goal is fourth place, that means more games next year, with a squad that is likely to be too thin. Which reduces the liklihood of 4th place the subsebsequent year. If we don’t get our act together, we could be out of the Carabao Cup next week, lose to Sperz and that’s 4th place gone, and the problem of too many games is completely gone.

IQ

I’m surprised Tommy was not on the list of most important player in the questionnaire. For me he is the most important difference maker in the team at the moment. He improves both offense and defense as well as adding some much needed physicality in the team. We already have good players but until we add some more steel we’re going to suffer.

Emiratesstroller

Sid

If Arteta was not bothered with outcome as you seem to imply why did he select five regular
first team players?

He could have selected a combination of First Team Squad and U23 players.

S Asoa

“ The team selected yesterday was the one, which most supporters including myself expected us to play factoring in AFCON, covid and injuries. The only player who missed the game and would have played if fit was ESR.The usual mob who post on here and are Arteta critics came out of the woodwork and blame him for the performance. Please explain what you have done differently? “ This needs parables. If one tries to saw with a drill bit or vice versa , both ways results are meh , although the tools ,individually are top brands. Tactics, game management, are… Read more »

Spanishdave

For those lovers of AMN he was responsible for two goals and was rated the worst player on the field by the Italian press.
So no doubt he will be sent back.
Eddy is crap.
We have losers everywhere.
Arteta brings on a left back with 5 mins remaining , why?
Why did the team play badly throughout?
No desire?
No plan?
Arteta is so up his arse

Spudnik

Pedro, great podcast last night and I’d agree with Matt that our momentum has stopped. Who would have ever expected Tavares to be so bad? Not just him though, the whole team looked bereft of fluency. Lose a couple of players and we get this type of dross?
There is no excuse for the thinness of the squad, especially during a highly infectious pandemic. With Liverpool and Spurs coming up fast there are some red lights flashing on the board

Emiratesstroller

S.Asoa

Please explain who would you have selected to play yesterday and what evidence have you got
that Arteta instructed to players the way you allege he did.

Spanishdave

Loose to Liverpool ( likely) and Spurs , then what?
We are artificially 4th with games played and really about 6th.
We have a brittle midfield, poor goal scoring attack, and Holding and White very average defenders.
Hardly breathtaking management.

IAT-Robbie

Terra,This is a good discussion point. I can agree on Dundalk but I think the other two are at the very minimum, Championship level. For starters, the winners of the Norwegian and Austrian top division qualify for the Champions League. Rapid used to dominate their league before Red Bull bought Salzburg. Yes, their leagues are below the EPL level but not so far down that their best teams are basically pub sides. Looking at the Europa League last season. Many (current) second stringers got more than 6 games. Nicolas Pepe – 13 matches, 10 starts Dani Ceballos – 12 matches,… Read more »

S Asoa

Emirates
Am fully with you about agreement of the squad put out yesterday. All are good players individually everyone worth more than the Forest players.. So why we lost so badly as not to have a single pop at the goal, misses yes.
Let us ponder. That only leaves Arteta’s role unsaid

Sid

Estroller,

Argumentam ad logicam detected

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