Ok, so the reviews are in and they seem pretty damn positive for the Arsenal All or Nothing documentary. I watched one episode because I’m not a lunatic binge-watcher like the kids are and I thought it was really well done.
The series, at core, is a puff piece for the agenda items Arsenal want to push and why the hell wouldn’t it be?
Agenda Items:
- The team is young and the manager is young… be patient
- Fans are mean and players notice… don’t be mean
- Everyone at the club fucking loves what they do, and if they don’t, they get binned… understand the drive to fix the club is tangible
- Mikel Arteta is ‘the good kind of freak (Xhaka)’ and is an intense coach the players like… he’s the real deal
- Josh K is running shit, investing money, and he wants to win… so BE EXCITED
There were a few bits that might not have been my cup of tea, but I definitely felt less cringe when the pieces were watched holistically.
Key bit for me was how the players were with Arteta. They pay attention, they listen, and they are motivated by what he’s asking. It doesn’t matter what we think about speakers on the pitch or the club photographer having a crack at a Churchillian speech. The audience is the players, if they are into it, then it doesn’t matter what we think.
Onto the Premier League. It’s one day before we open against Crystal Palace. I’ll take that on tomorrow. Right now, let’s speak on our rivals and what they’ve been up to.
CHELSEA:
For all the noise in the media, you’d imagine they’ve signed about 52 players. As it stands, they have added Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koubilaly. They’ve chased a lot of big names and the targets seem to follow whatever other clubs are doing. They are rumored to be close to Cucurella, despite lavishing money on Chillwell… and for their striker position, you ain’t gonna believe it… AUBA!
They’ve lost Christensen, Rudiger, Lukaku, Saul (lol) and Azpi will likely exit. They have signed him top young players. Carney Chukwuemeka from Villa, Omari from Arsenal and Slonina from Chicago the best of them. But overall, it’s hard to look at the summer they’ve had and be impressed. Their owner, Todd Boehly, is the charicature nightmare American owner every fan dreads. Brash, attention seeking, lacking strategy, arrogant… and so far, ineffective.
Their preseason was also quite average. They were spanked by Arsenal. They lost to a very average Charlotte FC. Thomas Tuchel has been rolling his players under the bus, not normally a precursor to a good season.
BUT… they are still good. Tuchel is still a rockstar. So who knows where they’ll end up. My sense is that their grip on third place is going to loosen this season. The Premier League is too good to be able to get away with a messy preseason that leaves big gaps in the squad. Outside just the lack of signings, they’ve also had carnage internally. Their content lead was dragged in the NYT for being a bully. Marina was fired. There is a BIG difference between being run by a Russian and a baseball guy from LA. If the backroom team is feeling uneasy, so will everyone else.
PREDICTION: 5th
SPURS:
Now, for all my amazing banter about Spurs, you can’t knock them, they’ve signed players, they did it quickly, and they have some solid buys. Perisic is 33 years old, but if he can hack the league, he’s a top player. Yves Bissouma is the darling of Football Twitter for a reason, he’s mobile, aggressive, and he’s played in a fancy system. Richarlison looks like he should be a good player, he’s never had a coach get the best out of him, if Conte can make Lukaku work why not the Brazilian? They also have Djed Spence, a fullback of much potential, but EXPLICITLY not Conte’s signing.
For me, Spurs need to be looking at 3rd or above this season. This could be absolute peak for Kane and Son. Their biggest strength, but also, their biggest weakness. If one of those two breaks down, they are going to have major issues. Spurs were VERY lucky with their fitness last season. This year, there’s a world cup, there’s Champions League football, and there’s the truth of life… age fucks you in the end.
If things go wrong at Spurs, it will collapse very fast, and Conte will burn things to the ground. If they get it right and luck follows them, you know, like, owngoal being 3rd top scorer again, they are going to be right up there.
PREDICTION: 4th
MANCHESTER UNITED:
Ok, this situation is DELICIOUS. They have a new CEO who was rolled by fans with a secret video of him slagging the quality of players. They picked a manager Twitter liked who, at 52, is in his first BIG job. They sacked one of the greatest squad builders in Europe just before the transfer window and passed on all his recommendations.
What do we know about ETH? His system needs 100% commitment to the cause. Everyone has to press. No excuses.
What has he done to address the reality that he has a squad of arrogant youngsters that aren’t very good and a group of older players that aren’t very good by extremely powerful reputationally?
Not very much.
Christian Eriksen on a free. Lisandro Martinez for a MONSTER fee. Malacia for a small fee.
Who have they exited?
Mata, Matic, Pogba, Cavani, Pereira, and Henderson.
Who is still there?
Cristiano Ronaldo. The man that came in as a saviour and took them from 2nd to 6th. Tanked their goalscoring output. Drove their manager out. And cost them £38m PLUS £600k a week for the honour. No one will buy him.
ETH is Dutch. The Dutch are big personalities. They are alpha. ETH is trying hard to get control of the dressing room. He did some mad things like shouting ‘this isn’t good enough’ on a training video. He stopped the players going to see the set of Neighbors on tour in Oz. United keep leaking that he’s the boss. This sort of stuff can backfire fast in a toxic dressing room.
Arsenal were here 2 years ago. Some big United players left the ground early yesterday during a game. There is going to be a BIG fight there.
ETH is going to be tested because, regardless of you man @ETHTingyTings says on Twitter, he is not a big name, and big players are like dogs, they sniff out weakness.
The easiest way to get a squad under control is… cut out the cancer. But if the cancer doesn’t want to leave, you are stuck. You can also add players, they haven’t really done that either.
This is basically Arsenal from 2 years ago.
The bigger the player, the larger the influence, the more painful the problems will be.
ETH really has only one choice… play those that want to give it their all. Same as Arteta really. What does that mean? You end up starting substandard players.
This is going to be a very difficult season for ETH. United must stick with him, even if there is a run of bad results, because at some point, you have to face reality and start again.
PREDICTION: 6th
ARSENAL FC:
I’m going to put it out there… we had the best transfer window out of the pack chasing for 3rd. We had very specific problems that we solved for. Fullback coverage is now in place, we will not miss Tomi or Tierney. We have more options in wide positions and creatively with Fabio Vieira coming in. Arsenal has realised that Sambi ain’t no #6 and he’s now an option as an #8. Our biggest problem last season was very simple: we didn’t have a striker that could run, press, connect play, and score goals. We had little bits of that in Auba and Laca, but it wasn’t enough. We now have two strikers that can do all of those things. Eddie IS a future star, he’s not at Gabriel levels, but he is very, very good and I am expecting at least 18 goals in all comps this season. Gabriel Jesus, the most picked fantasy player of all time, has been primed to be the main man for 5 years at City. This is his moment. I want to see 25 goals in all competitions this season and I think we might get that.
Let’s also get excited for the younger players who have extremely high ceilings. Gabriel Martinelli looks very focused preseason. Bukayo Saka is going to kick things up a level. Saliba looks the demigod the Ultras said he was. Smith Rowe will match his 10g/a again. Maybe there’s a breakout story for Marquinhos.
We have a captain. Martin Odegaard registered the 3rd most open play chances last season. Imagine how good he’ll be with a striker?
Do we have weaknesses? Yes. Thomas Partey is still pivotal to our game. Teams aren’t scared of us yet, so having a central midfielder like Partey is massively important. It isn’t the same for City, Rodri dropping out doesn’t destroy them because they still have fear factor. Our issue is Thomas is so specific and so good, you can’t replace him. BUT Mo Elneny can do a job, he came in after we lost 3 on the bounce and we beat Chelsea, United, and West Ham. Arteta needs to know when to use him this season and it can’t be just in emergency moments.
We also have an untested back-up keeper in Matt Turner. America produces a lot of top keepers. We don’t know where Matt sits in terms of ability. But he was VERY good in MLS and he’s 28 years old, so he has plenty of experience.
Still, worth noting, not many clubs have world-class back-ups. Liverpool have Adrian, I don’t even know who City have, but Richard Wright was on their bench for a bit. You can’t have two world-class keepers and you can’t force a German international to sit on your bench because the internet demanded it.
Arsenal are still trying hard for a saucy winger and Youri Tielemans. Sign those two and we are rolling.
We still have one of the youngest teams in the league this season. We are still going to see ups and downs. There are going to be problems. But… the season is long and I think if we hit the ground running on Friday night, we could be in for a very, very good season. We are hard to beat. You can’t press us, you can’t sit deep, you can’t switch off.
PREDICTION: 3rd
There, I went big.
Ok, before I go. We are on the eve of our season. Our Patreon has been running for a month. This season, we’ll be putting our BEFORE THE WHISTLE podcasts out once a week. We’ll put features on the Patreon. We’ll have Johnny rap once a month. If you can, it would be amazing if you could contribute to what we’ve been making as a side hustle. You can pick what you pay… and know that this website will always be free… because I know the content isn’t good enough to charge… but that’s not the point.
Tomorrow night, we’ll be LIVE On The Whistle free to air. To celebrate Nigeria bring the 3rd highest traffic driver to this site, I’ll be wearing a piece of Nigerian attire to the show. It was sent to me. It’s very nice. Tune in for the fashion, stay for the football chat, is our new vibe.
Right, see you in the comments. x
@ Piere most of these boys are kids bro, these kinds of things inspire them, u can see Auba isn’t interested and maybe partey as they are harder to influence being older. But the youngsters which make up most of the team are the ones he plays these games for. Toddlers learn thru playing games, and as these are youngsters he plays these games to keep them engaged. See after the hand rubbing thing he did and they won the game, the players after made fun of it but u could see they respected it. And that heart and brain… Read more »
Game day, fucking excited to see the boys!!! COYG!!!
Venga, dani “Stay petty and bitter Pierre” More like stay honest. And maybe a few more should be honest about whether they think Arteta’s team talks with his drawings and buzz words are inspiring compared to the photographer’s superb effort from the heart. In contrast, Arteta’s team talks look a little contrived, as if he has sweated over it all week.. I would love to have watched it and come away saying Arteta’s pre match team talks were brilliant and that he knew how to send out the players feeling 10ft tall…but i didn’t and I’m not sure many ,… Read more »
Arteta team talk were modern, intelligent and informative, it showed we finally after 14 years have a manger with a plan and can see where we’re going.
MarkyMark,
Xhaka from an Albanian family. And the gang is an Albanian, that’s why it’s worrying.
Apart the Dead person found in Elneny home couple of years back, he’s clean.
Pierre, I think you touched on the key point, I wasn’t that ‘inspired’ either but I’m a 57 year old, watching it from my sofa! I did understand his message as did ,I imagine, the players. The impression appears to be that they are for the most part, responding to him. The photographer idea was an excellent one, maybe he should have other voices coming in too. I think the flip chart could get a little tedious after a while but then I’m projecting again! It may be that in 2/3 years if we don’t have considerable success the players… Read more »
Well this is it, less than 12 hours till kick off 😛
After watching All or Nuffing, I hope the Gaffer hasn’t had the speakers blaring out Na Na Na Na, Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey-ey, Crystal Palace during training 😖
They probably don’t sing that these days anyway.
COYRRR
Don’t forget to rub your hands together tonight guys. What an embarrassing documentary. I knew Arteta is weird, bit I didn’t expect this level of weirdness. Sunday league stuff.
For those who don’t like Arteta the documentary will provide ammunition, for those who like him, ditto!
Matchday bitches, how we feeling?
The best team talk Arteta gave in the documentary series was the after the trashing at Anfield.
That was sincere and real, not all the cringey hand rubbing nonsense.
You get the impression that the cameras put him off in someway.
Cameras are always tough in the dressing room.
Opening match of the season, and legrove full of guys taking shots at the manager.
But they’re not haters or anything, Pedro. Nice priorities they have… still a few more hours before the game for the keyboard cowards to try and kick our guys some more.
I have a good mate who’s a Palace fan. He speaks about Arsenal with a lot more respect and optimism than some people here.
Nigel
Unlike your ‘good mate who’s a Palace fan’, the people here actually want Arsenal to win.
That’s the difference
When the game kicks off, everyone here is rooting for Arsenal
WengerEagleAugust 5, 2022 09:31:27
Matchday bitches, how we feeling?
Where have you been W E ?…. You’ve been absent from class these past few days.
You can also read or see between the lines why Auba would fallen out with the manager Older players who have been around elite coaches can see through the desperation of the younger managers Auba’s jocularity and laidback style would have been a challenge to Arteta’s more intense style. The scene after the hand-rubbing was indicative of a schism forming; Auba used humor to jab at the hand-rubbing team talk and led the team’s chant for a 2 days leave from training. Arteta laughed and gave in but it seemed forced. I can imagine that Arteta may have reached his… Read more »
Nigel Arteta is apparently an excellent coach, he’s got plenty of endorsements from top players, and the players seem to like him. He’s done a good job weeding out those who weren’t committed, and rebalancing the squad over the last 15 months The club deserve credit for backing him, rather than allowing largely the same group of players to throw another manager under the bus. The biggest problem with fans + Arteta is there’s no room for any nuance, for some people you’re either completely with him, or completely against him, one of the many reasons everyone seems to hate… Read more »
I just binge watched all three episodes of all or nothing. It was fantastic to watch. My highlights – Ramsdale is fantastic. The fact that he was upset with conceding a last minute goal against Villa when we won 3-1 is all I need to know about him. Even against Everton he knew the display was Embarrassing. He is going to be a top player. Attitude matters beyond talent and he is a leader. – Saka and ESR talking about scoring in a NLD. “Imagine scoring in a NLD, best thing ever bro”. Dude knows his priorities. He is all… Read more »
Habesha
That manager ‘doing his best’ talk is a bit of a low bar because really every manager, successful or eventually sacked ‘do (their)best’
Ultimately, manager’s are judged on results.
I agree that the documentary succeeded in humanizing the manager, players and even Josh Kroenke. It’s understand why Tavares dropped off over the season.
At the end of the day, it’s just human beings doing their jobs, or trying to .
I can see the police dragging our midfield off half way through the Palace game if you belive all the gutter press
I was waiting to see who would win the lottery to sign Maxwell Cornet from Burnley
It seems the hammer have done just that.
They’ve quietly had a very good transfer window and are definitely stronger after this summer.
Dissenter
Not every manager does their best. And not every manager will be great at dealing with players. Plus he is concerned about ESR’s and Nuno’s being shy. These are things only a manager who wants to get at the top level does. And I am talking about that.
I see us for a win tonight,we’re an extremely improved team from our last encounter with Palace. I do think we’ll concede though.
1-3 is my prediction.
Can’t believe the Chavs have spent £62m on Cucurella! And are about to drop £70m on Fofana….what’s going on over there?!
Great stat from A Allen on Arseblog quoting The Athletic: Just before the start of last season 42% of fans were feeling optimistic, this season 97%!
WW They need defenders after losing Rudiger + Christensen, and look like they’ll lose Alonso who wants out as well. They’ve missed out their top targets in Kounde + De Ligt, RB Leipzig apparently don’t want to sell Gvardiol this summer. The further they go down their list of targets, the most desperate they’ll be to not compromise on quality, the selling clubs will know that, and as a result they’ll demand a premium. Contractually neither Brighton or Leicester are desperate to sell Cucurella or Fofana Cucurella contracted until 2026, + Fofana 2027. Be interesting to see what City do… Read more »
pierre I’ve only watched one episode so I may change my mind, but I think ‘All or Nothing’ is a documentary version of Stallone’s ‘Rocky’. There is no better way film-makers know of holding aidience attention than an underdog winning through against all odds. So the screechy guy spouting ‘inspire’ stuff is Arteta, the central character, acting out the role assigned to him. Whether the squad is aware of this, I have no idea. But for sure it wouldn’t work on players who earn more in a week than most of us do in a year. I guess there is… Read more »
You know that Zaha will dive at every opportunity tonight to get his regular penalty.
We mustn’t go defensive as sometimes Arteta does, keep at them.
As both teams are fresh I think a score draw will be the result.
Viera will become a top manager
124 comments, 8 hours to the first Arsenal game? Is that the norm Pedro? Where the grove at guys? Common You Gunners! Bring on your vocal chord guys. The vibe at our away games last season was unbelievable. Long may that continue. Our passion last season was it for me. It was intense…mammoth…and whale! We literally rode on the back of our phaneromania. Let the footballmania come alive!
Meanwhile, on behalf of le grove Family, I dedicate this win tonight to your beautiful daughter.
Her Royal le groviness….
What a silly world we live in.
Arsenal is the passion that I cherish. A truly beautiful thing. We are now in the middle of something good. Pocket your little squabbles and pointless misdemeanours. We love this club! Pessimistic or optimistic. When Saka kicks the ball in the green grass to kick the season off, we should have hope..
Wherever you are at 8 tonight from, Islington to timbuktu. Fuck all the cynics! Arsenal will win through.
I hope my fingers continue these steadiness am experiencing now so that I can comment as much as I would have loved to.
Habesha ‘Not every manager does their best’? To the contrary, the real question is whether their best is enough, that’s why people are judged on results ‘Not every manger is great with players’? Again, this is untrue. Arteta too has met players he cannot deal with deal with. He was concerned about Tavares because the young man was homesick and living away from home the first time. You would expect a a anger who left his home country early too to relate with that. The documentary humanizes Arteta and the entire club because everyone has a story. If someone followed… Read more »
Crimson Am 100% with you. When Arsenal supporters banter fellow supporters it makes me wonder why.! Arsenal have caused us pain and disappointment at times yes, but where is the love and hope. If we are down after a loss, who picks each other up? Solidarity is first solid before it’s (P)rity. Let’s leave the pettiness aside. Air our views and opinion with a sense of collective responsibleness. We are The Arsenal; ‘winning is not our aim’, but a means to end. We have class, but have allowed the lass next door to force us to see the game through… Read more »
Great stat from A Allen on Arseblog quoting The Athletic: Just before the start of last season 42% of fans were feeling optimistic, this season 97%! Honestly nothing gets a football fan more excited than a signing. Said that all along when there was pressure on the kroenkes nothing eases that pressure more than a couple marquee signings. In saying that certain people will point to a philosophy of a certain manager and a project for the apparent enthusiasm surrounding arsenal but I’m telling you it’s Gabriel Jesus, Saliba, Vieira, Zinchenko and the possibility of a new CM and/or winger… Read more »
Also Freddie mentioned that we’re linked with Yeremy earlier. Huge signing if that happens he’s a top prospect
I’m really hype for palace
My requirements are just 3 points by hook or crook.
My secondary goals are Jesus to score (would be massive on his competitive debut to continue his preseason form)
Saliba to start and play well
Everything else is a bonus for me right now.
Let’s fucking go arsenal
Since Smith Rowe, Vieira, Tomiyasu + Tierney, haven’t really had a pre-season due to fitness issues, our starting 11 tonight should pick itself, providing there’s no late issues:
………..Ramsdale
……..Saliba Gabriel
White Partey Zinchenko
Odegaard Xhaka
…Saka…………Martinelli
…………..Jesus
Eddie could feel a bit aggrieved missing out, he’s had a decent pre-season, and finished the season decently, but the seasons long, he’ll get plenty of opportunities, and he’s an excellent option from the bench.
Marko
Dead right and honest, for a change. Keep that going when the window shuts.
I’m a big Eddie fan. Hoping for a great season from him. He absolutely has it on him
Hale Enders are really something these days
Rich
“Eddie could feel a bit aggrieved missing out, he’s had a decent pre-season, ”
Well all players want first team football don’t they but realistically he will know the pecking order and his place in it.
But if he remains patient and focused he himself can contribute positively to the season as well.
Chelsea are spending fees on players that only United would approve of.
3rd place is absurdly optimistic. Chelsea have a much better squad and manager despite their travails.
The question that’s more interesting is what happens to Arteta if he fails to get 4th. I expect a hell of a war tonight.
Bard
Chelsea do not have a much better squad 😂
What are you on??
It’s a bit far out to make any predictions about the league, others will strengthen, and I hope we’ll significantly strengthen further as well. I’m hoping for 13-15 points from our first 5 games, we’ve had a strong pre-season, our fixtures are relatively friendly, with 3 at home: But I’ll do top scorers in all comps: Saka 20-25 Jesus 15-20 Eddie 15-20 Martinelli 15 Smith Rowe 10-15 Odegaard 10-15 Pepe 10-15 (Providing he stays) Vieira 4-8 I like that we can spread the goals around now, we’re not overly reliant upon 1-2 players to provide the ammunition, which is a… Read more »
Why would I find finishing out of the top 4 interesting? And before the season has even started.
Top 4 here we come.
I think that spread of goals and the amount for each player is a bit optimistic Rich but we hope you are right.
And as said before if Eddie and some others scores hatfuls of goals against fodder Europa League teams or lower ranked teams in cup competitions then the real significance of them regarding the whole season can be questioned. May be seen good for stat padding but not much else.
Suppose it can be good for confidence though when playing the harder, tougher matches.
Goals that really matter this season are EPL goals and later stage goals in the cup competitions against better opponents.
Has always been the case really.
Gk Ramsdale vs mendy evens Rb Tomi white vs James apilaquetta chelsea Lb Tierney Zinchenko vs Chilwell Curcurella (however you spell it) evens Cb Arsenal hands down Cmf Partey Xakha Odegaard vieira ESR Sambi Elneny Vs Kante Kovacic Jorginho Gallagher Mount loftus cheek Arsenal. Kante dropped off, Jorginho kills chelsea. Wide Saka Pepe martinelli ESR vieira Marquinhos vs Sterling Pulisic Hudson odoi Mount. Arsenal hands down Striker G. Jesus Nketiah martinelli vs Broje Havertz and maybe Aubameyang Arsenal. Providing we can keep partey and Jesus fit we have the better first team now and the better squad, I expect chelsea… Read more »
Ish Saka, Odegaard + Martinelli, look like players who are about to bang, and go supernova…. We’ve been through the teething + shitting the bed stage, they need to step up over the course of this season, and produce the type of end product we’ll need to get closer to the top. Smith Rowe needs to find consistent fitness, he was without doubt our best player from Dec 2020 – Dec 2021. Brilliantplayer, a real joy to watch, he’s been suffering with fitness issues for a while now, for Arsenal to have a successful season, we’re going to need him… Read more »
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MARTIBOOMBOOM!!! Never in doubt. Jesus has been a menace. Fantastic movement and pressing. He’s like a Alexis Sanchez REGEN but more complete!