It's several things. One of the key problems that doesn't just affect us, but most teams, is the bullshit style of football that's being played now. Slow, negative, sideways, endless fucking passing with no end product. We've had the era of the winger, the era of the two big strikers battering away, the golden eras of high tempo, direct but technical football - and now this shit which is by far the worst style I've ever seen. And the more adept at boring the shit out of everyone a team becomes, the more they are lauded as masters of the art.Originally Posted by Chippy
Pep's Barcelona. Pep's gypos. Wenger, at the end, with his tippety shit world record passes per game. We are still fucking around playing Wengerball Mk II. They even showed a stat today about us taking most passes to stick the ball in the net. It's all viewed as cultured football, despite its coma inducing lack of entertainment. We're always dangerous when we pick up the tempo and drive directly. Aggressive, positive movement. Pinging the ball. Taking the opposition on. But we do it so rarely.
Doesn't surprise me at all to see a team with at least five forward thinking and aggressive players tearing up the league. Even when they are playing badly, bang, bang, bang, in the net. Crossing balls. Running the touchline. Taking opponents on.
The opposite has been bred into our lot over a long period of time. It will take just as long to change it. That's if Arteta even wants to change it. I was encouraged by his first few games but now I wonder if he has enough to get the better of these wasters.
Mustafi, Sokratis, Chambers, Holding, Gwen, Torreira, Xhaka, just some of the players who are nowhere near good enough to hold together a serious team over an entire season. Not the world's worst, but none of them would have been within a mile of Arsenal teams of the past.
Ozil, Pepe, Lacazette, Bellerin, decent on their day, far too inconsistent to fire bullets for a proper title challenge.
I agree with others here. Saka, Willock, Martinelli, AMN and I thought Nelson did well too (bar one game), these players seem to have so much more about them than the seniors. Not saying they'd win us anything yet, but I'd rather the manager sink time into them rather than players that have had chance after chance.
Aubu - he's our genuine world class talent. But he'll surely be off in the summer. Last years of his career, he's not going to spend them here languishing in mid table.
This season is a write-off. We aren't going down, but we won't be winning anything the way we're playing. I'd write off next season too. Arteta has to do major work in the summer transfer window. He has to clear out a whole shed of dead wood. Then he has to build a team. So we won't be in the hunt next year either. See where we are the year after that when all the dross (hopefully) has been ditched, we have a good mix of youth and experience (hopefully) and the players that reek of Wengerball are gone.
If Arteta lasts that long. Because if he's another tip tap admirer then he won't last long.
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