ARSENAL PLAYERS GIVE UP ON CHASING

UNITED GAME WAS AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF A DEAD TITLE RACE- THAT IS CONCERNING

I find it really hard to forgive that sort of performance.

Does it affect the season? No. Does it matter to my life? Not really. Does it say something about Arsenal this season? Maybe.

The thing I’ve enjoyed most about the rebirth of Arsenal under Arteta is the savagery with which we go about every game—never giving up, always trying to find answers, fighting until the death.

That didn’t feel like an Arteta Arsenal yesterday.

Maybe I’m being dramatic. United were absolutely shite, we controlled the game in the first half, but after we conceded, the reaction wasn’t what I expected. Arsenal only managed one goal despite Leny Yoro hobbling off again and getting replaced by a defender not good enough to get a new deal at Arsenal.

We are absolutely world-class in the first two phases of play, but when we get into the final third, we’re dreadful. It’s one-dimensional, it’s plodding, it lacks pace, and there’s no bang-bang to speak of.

Trossard is dead to me at this point. Someone wrap him up in a gift bag, put him in Harrods, and pray one of the Saudi teams snaffles him up for £35m this summer. He looked irritated to be playing. He was off-key from minute one. He’s slow, his creativity was in the mud, and he offered no real threat around the box. When he puts his foot on the ball like David Raya inviting a press, it drives me absolutely insane.

But wait… Martinelli was back! Yes, he was, and I remember why I wasn’t overly bothered about his absence. Head down, clattering legs, offering marginal attacking threat for the £170k a week we put him on. This season has been a disaster for him. We need wide players who can do it on the right or left, and we need our highest-paid attackers to be offering up G&As on the regular. If you can’t get any action against the worst United side in history, what is the fucking point?

As for Martin Ødegaard… what has happened here? He had a baby, but he’s playing like something else is going on. The focus isn’t there. There was one moment in the second half when he didn’t release a pass to Timber and got pressed all the way back into our own half. He’s slow on the ball, his passing has lost all precision, and his shooting is terrible. Our captain is… a confidence player? I can’t have it. He needs to find the right gears. Martin is so much better than he is offering.

But, in the rubble of that unnecessary draw, there were some bright sparks. MLS keeps on proving that he’s preferable to Arteta’s choice of left-back, Calafiori.

Jurrien Timber showed once again that he’s one of the least talked-about world-class players in the Premier League.

Declan Rice is back to being a £100m player wherever he plots up in midfield.

I’m struggling with how to react to this season. On the one hand, everything has gone against us—legitimate bad luck that cannot be fathomed. But when you look at that summer and how Arteta chose to spend money on Merino and Calafiori, it really is a concern.

I wrote quite glowingly about Andrea Berta yesterday, but I do have concerns there as well. I’ll explore them this week. But the main issue I have is wondering how much of a say Arteta had in the hire. Was it his preference—the guy who has pushed some of the worst signings at Arsenal over the last five years—to have someone who would deliver him what he wanted? Or was it a club decision because they think Arteta needs checks and balances?

We won’t know until we see the shape of the summer, but if we opt for Lautaro Martínez—a player who was linked to us two days ago—then we might get some insight into the direction of the strategy and who is really pulling the strings.

This season cannot be put down to luck. Arteta needs to own it, and the club needs to seriously think about how this next phase is run. Because, to my mind, Arteta is already being treated like a king. He is Wenger after David Dein left, but without the three Premier League titles. That might be good for Arteta, but will it be good for Arsenal in the long term?

The jury is out.

The United game doesn’t matter—but the fact that we’re having games like that on March 9th does. It means there are flaws in the system. If the club lets luck be the mitigating circumstance, I worry for us. I really do.

OK, check out the latest podcast. PSV next. x