The Arteta Thread

[Mac76]

I thought seeing as he is indeed the next manager we needed a thread about Arteta.

he's here now and he's made some good noises in public, but he has big challenges - he needs to try to keep Auba on side and quickly create a team dynamic that can give Auba much better service so he can start scoring again.

he also needs to work out that Xhaka is surplus to requirements - this is key to me - it annoys me that Freddie talks about leaving out certain players because they don't have the right attitude but he plays someone who when captain crawled off the pitch in a game that needed urgency and told the fans to fuck off.

Clearly Xhaka is good at getting up the manager's arse but on the pitch he's too slow and makes several dreadful passes and tackles during a game - btw if he'd made contact with one of his attempted tackles on Saturday he'd have been shown a straight red.

i'll be really disappointed if Arteta backs him tbh - i want Xhaka out and hope Arteta sees him for what he is


elsewhere Arteta needs to get the budget to buy a very good CB in the January window - the club may think we have a lot of CBs but the reality is:

Holding - excellent and first on the defensive teamsheet for me, but injured

Chambo - good defender but needs the right guy next to him to keep improving

Mavropanos - haven't seen enough of him to konw but as he can't get a game in the league despite our shortcomings, that seems to inditate he's maybe not ready

Sokratis - totally lost it

Luiz - absolutely dreadful defender and either needs to be used as a makeshifft DM or sold

Mustafi - appalling player with a dreadful attitude, must be got out of the club

at, RB Bellerin still looks rusty so needs more time. AMN has improved a little but we need better cover

at LB, Saka did a great job on Saturday and should continue to cover for Tierney and Kola - in fact i'd already think about playing him ahead of Kola


in front of defence, for me Torreira should play in alongside Guendouzi or (if we strengthen the CBs) Chambers or even Luiz

upfield i thought Freddie had hit upon the right combination with Martinelli, Auba and Pepe, and was surprised he left Pepe out but Freddie obviously wanted to give Nelson a go

i do think Nelson will in the long run turn out to be a very good player for us but in leaving Pepe out on Saturday, was Freddie saying he didn't have the right attitude? i'd be surprised if a player who was that new to the club still and quite young would be stepping out of line

and two other players to mention:

Laca remains imporant but needs to understand he may not start every game but will still be given enough games to merit being here

Ozil yes is expensive and clearly has attitude problems so ideally we sell him, but if not then we should try to take advantage of what to me is an improvement in his form recently, that's seen him play a good part in linking up play

Condemning him for maybe not taking training seriously is the flip side of thinking Xhaka's great because he does work hard in training- i want to see the better player on the pitch, not the teacher's pet


Overall Arteta needs to get some good drills in place for the defence which is more sophisticated than telling everyone to play out from the back all the time, and he needs to educate the back line in moving up in unison to give the goalie more space and push back the opposing team

Auba needs to be told to stay upfield for when we clear the ball from a defensive situation

and anyone taking a short corner should be told they will be shot...

[Master Splinter]

Mavropanos has been injured almost entirely for two years. The time to judge him would be now if he doesn't break down again. I'm not sure if Emery not picking him is a negative tbf considering he continued to choose two clowns over Holding and Chambers.

I don't think Pepe necessarily has a bad attitude but more that he's even weaker than Ozil and is a liability in terms of tracking back. The fact that he's still adapting to a new country and club might also be contributing to a player who is struggling to show his quality in more than just brief flashes.

Ozil completing two five-yard passes and setting up his first chance in six months doesn't warrant a husk of a player who's only attribute is having a maniacal fanbase being anywhere near the team.

Auba can fuck off too if he's angling for the big final contract of his career. He's been fine in terms of attitude and performance during a dreadful period though, so deserves the benefit of the doubt.


Was this the Arteta thread?

Arteta :bow:.

Greatest Spaniard we've ever had and the best hair in the managerial business.

Hope he shows his proudness by wearing a tracksuit against Bournemouth.

[Mac76]

Was this the Arteta thread?



yes :lol:

i got a bit sidetracked on the state of the squad, but i'm just outlining what he's got to work with and the decisions i'd like to see him make.

i don't blame Auba for wanting CL football and the chance to win more while he can, and unfortunately the 18 months we've lost with Emery means we can't probably get to a position where Auba would want to stay, unless Arteta masterminds a Europa League win

i'm more hopeful of the Europa league with Emery gone though and while some good teams have now dropped into it if i was Arteta i'd make it a priority

But he really needs to get the squad onside as much as possible and shift some deadwood in January if he can.

and i want to see a tracksuit too, always the better option for me and far more sensible in winter... :)

[Niall_Quinn]

Surely all the players need to be given a fresh slate under new management? Why would any manager come in and, without so much as a training session, decide if anyone is in or out? For the players that want to muck in and work as part of the new project, let's keep them. For those that have their eye on bumper contracts or CL football as the primary concern and aren't prepared to strive for that at Arsenal, get rid.

Fact is, we don't have the cash (well we do, but he won't spend it) to buy a new team. So We'll need to make the best of what we have. The modern game is a shitty parody of football as it used to be. Players aren't here because it was always their dream to play for Arsenal. Most of them are here because of the wages they can get now, the wages they might get in the future (just by sticking around rather than actually earning them), or the shop window a famous PL club offers. Modern day players are, in the main, sad, sick fucks who dishonour the sport. But maybe some of the kids are still at a stage where their heads could be turned by the idea of working for success. Let's focus on them. And maybe there's a few professionals left in the squad. Let's get them onboard. The rest can fuck off. 20 players with their heads in the game and a willingness to give every drop of effort might be enough to stabilise the ship and slowly build something competent. That's Arteta's job - to restore competency on the pitch. It doesn't have to be spectacular, we shouldn't be expecting anything approaching the glory days that are now a long way behind us. Just your basic defending, transition from back to front, crossing a ball, shooting at goal, heading a ball, tracking back, keeping a shape. The basics. Done well.

If Arteta can achieve that much he'll be our most successful manager in a decade. But we need to give him a chance to have a look before we start shouting at him about who should stay and who should go. As if the fans know anyway. Xhaka and Torreira were our best players against Everton. Having been our worst in previous matches. They weren't great, but they did show signs they can fight when motivated. Shame a wheelbarrow of cash and a shirt from a famous club can't get them self motivated, but that's the modern player for you.

[Niall_Quinn]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjooVF63eo0

"We analyse the opponent and try to neutralise them."

This is pure genius. Where did he come up with such a groundbreaking philosophy? This could revolutionise our game.

[Letters]

That’s what we were all told Emery did :shrug:

We’ll see. He’s talking a good game.

[Marc Overmars]

Seen a couple clips from training. Arteta looks like he means business tbf, very intense.

[Mac76]

@NQ - sure he's got the right to make his mind up, but if you're asking what fans know, we watch players week in week out, and i know very few people who think Xhaka is good enough, and it will bother me if Arteta can't see that.

Fine if Arteta is able to make Xhaka twice as quick on his feet and stop him from making suicide tacles and passes in EVERY game, then great but forgive me if i think it's unlikely...

[Mac76]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjooVF63eo0

"We analyse the opponent and try to neutralise them."

This is pure genius. Where did he come up with such a groundbreaking philosophy? This could revolutionise our game.

Like Letters says that was what Emery said and actually it didn't work and meant we didn't prioritiese playing our own game and having an identity strong enough to make our opponents have to adapt thwirs

Also it's not exactly how Citeh go about things is it - that have their style and deliver on it - yes some excellent players to deliver it, but even Sheffield United are doing well playing games with a clear direction

[I am invisible]

Fair play to Pep - can’t have been easy sitting next to Mikel with his perfect Lego-hair for 3 years.

[I am invisible]

Agree with NQ - everyone’s getting a final chance chance, even if we’re mostly just paying lip service to seniority until we can make the necessary changes. The fact is we could be saddled with most of these players until the end of the season and, as Emery found out, we’re likely to have to turn to everyone at some point - we need to keep everyone at least acting like professionals while they’re still here, otherwise certain players could cause a lot of friction and unrest, which we can’t afford.

Unless there’s a catastrophic breakdown in discipline that gives him an opening, I think Arteta will look to phase certain players out a little more subtly, e.g. use rotation or injuries / suspension as an acceptable excuse to swap in younger players, and then keep them in on the grounds of merit (rather than publicly humiliating a more experienced player by dropping them in front of the world). It’s a small difference, but you know what footballers are like with their fragile egos - this allows everyone to save a bit of face, and might be enough to keep the dressing room united until we can get through to the summer.

[Niall_Quinn]

@NQ - sure he's got the right to make his mind up, but if you're asking what fans know, we watch players week in week out, and i know very few people who think Xhaka is good enough, and it will bother me if Arteta can't see that.

Fine if Arteta is able to make Xhaka twice as quick on his feet and stop him from making suicide tacles and passes in EVERY game, then great but forgive me if i think it's unlikely...

I think Xhaka improved, a lot, under Freddie's short tenure. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we now have a world beater on our hands. But if Xhaka can improve then anyone can improve. And if he want to go back to Germany next month, then that's okay too. But let's not be paying him to sit on the bench if he stays and could actually contribute. We'll see. We're literally in a zero clue space here on how it'll go.

Regarding the fans. Some of them need to wise up to the idea that booing one captain off the pitch and then calling for the stripping of the captaincy from the next guy is probably unhelpful. For some of the fans the sport is no longer what happens on the pitch but, instead, what happens on twatter.

[Mac76]

Fair play to Pep - can’t have been easy sitting next to Mikel with his perfect Lego-hair for 3 years.

Ha, you'd think he might have lent it to Pep occasionally, especially when it was cold...

[Mac76]

Freddie's sticking around

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/50896759

[GP]

WE LOVE YOU FREDDIE

[I am invisible]

Good news. I think he’ll learn more here, being part of the turnaround of this club, than he would taking charge of a small team in a small league for a token year or two.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Seen a couple clips from training. Arteta looks like he means business tbf, very intense.

Looked like all the FIFA mini-games to me. :lol:

[Bumble]

Good news. I think he’ll learn more here, being part of the turnaround of this club, than he would taking charge of a small team in a small league for a token year or two.

I disagree think at a smaller club he would learn more and have more responsibility. I liken it to a normal job where at a smaller company you have more exposure to a wider array of tasks but at bigger companies you are more limited to a type of task stream. So at the start of your career getting a wider level of exposure is better.

But glad freddie is staying and hope arteta continues using the kids.

[A Gunner]

I'm getting a good vibe with Arteta compare to Emery. Hope this works out!

[Penguin]

I think Xhaka improved, a lot, under Freddie's short tenure. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we now have a world beater on our hands. But if Xhaka can improve then anyone can improve. And if he want to go back to Germany next month, then that's okay too. But let's not be paying him to sit on the bench if he stays and could actually contribute. We'll see. We're literally in a zero clue space here on how it'll go.

Regarding the fans. Some of them need to wise up to the idea that booing one captain off the pitch and then calling for the stripping of the captaincy from the next guy is probably unhelpful. For some of the fans the sport is no longer what happens on the pitch but, instead, what happens on twatter.

I'm all for giving everyone a chance, but If Arteta is going for a high press like Pep I don't see where Xhaka fits in. It's like when we were trying to play out from the back with Cech in goal, if the players don't fit the system it will never work.

[selassie]

I'm getting a good vibe with Arteta compare to Emery. Hope this works out!

Aye, he seems to genuinely have a Plan and I get the vibe he will actively try and address what are the "PROBLEM" areas in the team / squad.
It was evident on yesterdays showing that he has implemented structural / tactical changes to the balance of the team and the players were responding to it by carrying out these changes.

He / we have a long way to go, this team is mentally, physically and tactically damaged through years of mismanagement. This season is absolutely a write off so I am prepared to give Arteta a fair bit of time to implement his philosophy.

[I am invisible]

Looks like he’s pushing inverted fullbacks already - wondered if he’d try that, especially with AMN.

[AFC Leveller]

If Pepe can sort his head out, he can be our Mahrez/Silva. Arteta must surely see his potential.

[Özim]

I know some didn't want Ancelotti, IMO someone like him Allegri or Simeone was what we needed given our position, but he's now won 2 out of 2 and Everton who were struggling just as much as us are now above us.

Instant impact, just like Mourinho had, would have preferred that myself, was underwhelmed with the draw against out of form lowly Bournemouth who sit 2 points and 2 positions from the relegation places, they lost today as well, expected better than that.

Arteta better start getting results fast, starting with a win tomorrow.

[Globalgunner]

We wouldn't be Arsenal if we didnt try the stupid option first. Then the dumb option next. A club who really wanted to change the losers paradigm would have gone all out for Simeone even if we have to wait till the summer This Arteta leap of faith had better work out

[Penguin]

Would anyone as good as Simeone want to come here though? Even if we could somehow persuade him to join us why would he choose us over United, Chelsea or City (if Pep leaves). They all have better squads and more resources than us.

[Xhaka Can’t]

It doesn’t matter now. We have our new appointment, so I don’t see this being an issue for at least 18 months.

It is a small sample so it would be wrong to conclude much from what has gone on to date. That being the case he has:

said the right things,

has articulated the gap between the fans and the team,

a clear understanding of what is wrong and needs to be done; and most importantly,

the players are responding to him.

[Mac76]

yeah there was a good interview with Luiz and Socratis after the game yesterday, saying how they understood what Arteta's doing and believed in it

he's certainly improved Luiz beyond what i thought was possible

[Marc Overmars]

The annoying thing about Luiz is that when he's in that kind of mood, he can actually be an exceptional CB. Aggressive, composed, ball distribution and he's also a great leader. Everything you want really.

Hope Arteta can keep the awful side to his game buried...

[Mac76]

i think we got Arteta at the right time

Hiring him now means he's got 18 months more experience under Pep, plus with Emery we know what 'bad' really looks like, which i think will buy Arteta some time and goodwill as he works on improving things

the fans are really behind him in a way i'm not sure they would have been if he'd got it first time around

[GP]

Qualified for the ESL at the first attempt :bow:

[Niall_Quinn]

Arteta is easily going to have the best hair in the ESL.

Pep :haha:

[selassie]

Paella Pulis

[Mac76]

i think we got Arteta at the right time

me :haha:

[Gooner23]

I know we may still get through next week. Although given our form is in the gutter I'm not expecting much.

But looking at the wider picture it's getting really difficult to defend Mikel. Last night was a disaster class, from experimenting with the line up in our biggest game of the season to then compounding it with a failure to make decisive changes (a common theme now). If we do crash out next week there will be sharper focus on our league position which is significantly worse than what we saw under Emery.

I have desperately wanted him to succeed. He always speaks well and I think he genuinely cares for the club. But actions speak louder than words and it does feel like the job is too big for him.

[Mac76]

definitely, he's been well and truly found out

[KSE Comedy Club]

He's an embarrassment.

There is no excuse for last night unless its purely down to being an amatuer

[Letters]

I have desperately wanted him to succeed. He always speaks well and I think he genuinely cares for the club. But actions speak louder than words and it does feel like the job is too big for him.
Pretty much.

I like him and at times he seemed to be trying to build something. At times there has been more shape about the team. But the results have been poor, a mid-table finish with our squad and resources is nowhere near good enough.

[Marc Overmars]

definitely, he's been well and truly found out

He was found out months ago but we were all too blinded by faith to see it.

This has been a mess of a season, only for 6 weeks or so after Christmas have we even remotely looked like a capable team. It has otherwise been unbelievably shit.

Maybe we will turn up next week, who knows, you wouldn’t put it beyond us, but should it always take wobbling on the edge of disaster to get up for something?

[KSE Comedy Club]

Our play is like watching the day after tomorrow

We start from Leno and slowly, very slowly, make a million passes between each player to move 4 feet up the pitch.

No speed, no pace, no drive, just slow and methodical plodding.

If we lose possession, it's like we've been killed and wake up back at Leno again :ilt:


Also, what the hell is with playing out to the wing on every single attack?!?

Go through the middle, make a run, a through ball, anything, have a shot FFS!

Nothing.

Three times in the second half, we had a counter attack opportunity.

1. Leno just stood there and held on to the ball until everyone bar the defence was left within a 5 metre distance of him and then he passes to the nearest player.

2. A ball kicked out of defence to Saka who had Martinelli running with him on his left, he got a few yards forward and then just stopped dead, ignored Martinelli and passed it backwards across the pitch to Xhaka :shrug:

3. By this point I was busy adjusting the noose, so I missed exactly what happened.

I'm sorry, but Arteta has used up most of his goodwill with me. If he fucks this up - I'm done.

[I am invisible]

Honestly, I’m tired of defending him. I still think there’s a decent coach in there somewhere, who intermittently produces exciting, innovative football, and tbf I’ve never known any Arsenal manager to have more fires to put out with less structure or support around him... but if he’s going to keep doing stupid, suicidal shit like we saw last night, and I mean keep doing it, over and over and over again... sorry pal, you’re on your own.

[IBK]

Honestly, I’m tired of defending him. I still think there’s a decent coach in there somewhere, who intermittently produces exciting, innovative football, and tbf I’ve never known any Arsenal manager to have more fires to put out with less structure or support around him... but if he’s going to keep doing stupid, suicidal shit like we saw last night, and I mean keep doing it, over and over and over again... sorry pal, you’re on your own.

This sums it up for me too.

[I am invisible]

This sums it up for me too.
Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like it - it’s like watching the managerial equivalent of self-harm! Everything I’ve heard from people still at or still associated with the club suggests that his training methods are genuinely elite, and when the right team is forced in him it all starts to come together beautifully... but he just doesn’t seem to be able to pick a decent team by himself or make in-game decisions?! I can forgive the second of those to a certain extent - we knew we were hiring a rookie, and some things you just have to accept that he’s going have to learn on the job. But the team selections are just bizarre, and it’s become as much of an issue as the self-destructing players now.

So frustrating - I genuinely want it to work out with him, but I can’t keep defending this same crap, every week. You can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped.

[IBK]

Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like it - it’s like watching the managerial equivalent of self-harm! Everything I’ve heard from people still at or still associated with the club suggests that his training methods are genuinely elite, and when the right team is forced in him it all starts to come together beautifully... but he just doesn’t seem to be able to pick a decent team by himself or make in-game decisions?! I can forgive the second of those to a certain extent - we knew we were hiring a rookie, and some things you just have to accept that he’s going have to learn on the job. But the team selections are just bizarre, and it’s become as much of an issue as the self-destructing players now.

So frustrating - I genuinely want it to work out with him, but I can’t keep defending this same crap, every week. You can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped.

I've been thinking about this. Part of me is worried about what appears to be stubborness on the manager's part, or perhaps hubris in thinking that he can play players out of position, or others who are not up to the task in his system and get good results. Part of me understands that all of his weaknesses are those that might be expected from a manager who has never managed a team before! Similarly I waver between frustration at a club the size of our being content to allow a rookie to experiment/cut his teeth/make mistakes while learning on the job, and acknowleging that there is no quick fix at arsenal in any event, and that the long play is needed with Arteta to bring sustained success. After all, its not as though Arteta has not already won more silverware than our North London neighbours have won in 13 years, or that we are near the relegation zone. Other big clubs have taken similar punts on relative rookies recently, so there is clearly a feeling that there is some merit in trying the untried.

And that's where we are with Arteta. Part of the frustration is that we can see his quality, another part is that we are simply not in a position to do a Chelsea and introduce yet more instability to the club.

[IBK]

Because I'm sad, another thought has occurred to me about Arteta - that is very worrying. The corollary to thinking that he can play players out of position, or others who are not up to the task in his system and get good results is the manager's blind spot in turning his back on the very players that his system requires. So GK - Martinez much better than Leno at distribution but gets canned. Holding played a lot at CB when he cannot pass out, but Saliba - whose progressive passing is presumably why he was bought - is frozen out. Elneny selected when he can't progress the ball. Martinelli overlooked when if you want a dynamic pressing player he is tailor made for it, and Aubameyang often played on the left when he can't press. Pepe - one of our best progressive players - in and out of the team. When you look at it this way, its almost like Arteta wants to sabotage his own system. It's nuts.

Also - I'm worried about the dressing room - and this isn't helped by the manager's bizzare decisions and the fights he seems to pick with certain players. Why aren't we discussing Bernd Leno's apparent desire to leave for example? When a player who is no higher than Arsenal level, was preferred over an arguably better alternative and seemed happy at the club wants to leave - its an indication of real trouble behind the scenes.

[Mac76]

It’s a lengthening charge sheet isn’t it and while up to now I’ve thought it was mainly his lack of experience to blame, maybe it’s worse and he really isn’t just very good - when you look at the sheer number of mistakes he makes you start to think it isn’t just lack of experience but something more fundamental

[IBK]

It’s a lengthening charge sheet isn’t it and while up to now I’ve thought it was mainly his lack of experience to blame, maybe it’s worse and he really isn’t just very good - when you look at the sheer number of mistakes he makes you start to think it isn’t just lack of experience but something more fundamental

Agreed - and that's a worry. Lack of experience means that you make mistakes one, or twice. Not again and again. I think what's becoming clear is that certainly at this stage he may be a decent coach but he's not a manager...

[selassie]

Arteta's career and reputation is on the line as far as I am concerned ahead of tonight's game. I'm certainly tired of all the excuses and the "BIG Project" talk, he needs to deliver now and by that I mean tonight and lifting the trophy, no more excuses. He should be judged on a results only basis from now on.

[selassie]

Because I'm sad, another thought has occurred to me about Arteta - that is very worrying. The corollary to thinking that he can play players out of position, or others who are not up to the task in his system and get good results is the manager's blind spot in turning his back on the very players that his system requires. So GK - Martinez much better than Leno at distribution but gets canned. Holding played a lot at CB when he cannot pass out, but Saliba - whose progressive passing is presumably why he was bought - is frozen out. Elneny selected when he can't progress the ball. Martinelli overlooked when if you want a dynamic pressing player he is tailor made for it, and Aubameyang often played on the left when he can't press. Pepe - one of our best progressive players - in and out of the team. When you look at it this way, its almost like Arteta wants to sabotage his own system. It's nuts.

Also - I'm worried about the dressing room - and this isn't helped by the manager's bizzare decisions and the fights he seems to pick with certain players. Why aren't we discussing Bernd Leno's apparent desire to leave for example? When a player who is no higher than Arsenal level, was preferred over an arguably better alternative and seemed happy at the club wants to leave - its an indication of real trouble behind the scenes.

:gp:

The playing players out of position worries me too, it's very "Pep" lite and Arteta is in no position to start experimenting with the teams when he can't even get the basics right.

My opinion of him is that if he fails to deliver Europa / CL place on the back of this disastrous season then he should be fired.

[Bumble]

:gp:

The playing players out of position worries me too, it's very "Pep" lite and Arteta is in no position to start experimenting with the teams when he can't even get the basics right.

My opinion of him is that if he fails to deliver Europa / CL place on the back of this disastrous season then he should be fired.

I think Arteta is very lucky that there have been no fans in the ground. As the players would have been booed off plenty.

We aren't going to finish top 4 but Europa league is possible and we are lucky to still be in that.

[I am invisible]

I dunno, when it comes to playing players out of position I think he generally gets it right most of the time. Tierney at LCB in a back 3 worked. Xhaka dropping to LB has kind of worked a couple of times now. Auba was scoring at the same rate as a CF from the left last year, and has been off the boil wherever we’ve played him this year. Chambers is doing ok at RB - morning special, but solid. AMN was great at RB and LB before he decided he didn’t want to do it anymore. Saka is just brilliant everywhere. It’s only really the false 9 fiasco with ESR last week that I thought was a step too far.

Don’t forget these aren’t preferred team selections by any means - they’re workarounds that are forced on us by injuries and suspensions to key players and a badly unbalanced squad, and they’re probably only meant to see us through 2 or 3 games until we can get other players back. The problem here is that we have to find these workarounds so often.

Where I do agree that there’s an issue is the favouritism that’s shown to certain players (usually in their correct positions) - it must be absolutely soul-destroying got some of the younger players when you see guys like Willian and Ceballos getting chance after chance, and you make one mistske (probably not even that costly) and you’re out for months. This is Arteta’s major weakness - I think he can coach well, but he has too many blind-spots when it comes to team-selection.

That being said, I’m not sure I’d include Martinez or Saliba as victims of his favouritism - Martinez wanted to be guaranteed first choice, and no top club is going to agree to that, and a loan for Saliba was the right move for his development (he needs to be playing 90 minutes every week somewhere, not making erratic appearances here and there as our 4th choice CB). The big fuck up with Saliba was how we handled his summer - should have let him play the cup final and should have got his loan arranged before the season started.

[Mac76]

for me, a lot of what goes right feels like it's accident rather than design

don't forget he was playing Willian and other losers game after game until he was forced to try ESR and Saka etc

plus one of the big reasons Xhaka is an improvement at LB is it means he isn't slowing things down in midfield

and Chambo wasn't getting a look in until Bellerin got an injury

he never sees anything until it's put in front of him so he just can't miss it

[IBK]

I dunno, when it comes to playing players out of position I think he generally gets it right most of the time. Tierney at LCB in a back 3 worked. Xhaka dropping to LB has kind of worked a couple of times now. Auba was scoring at the same rate as a CF from the left last year, and has been off the boil wherever we’ve played him this year. Chambers is doing ok at RB - morning special, but solid. AMN was great at RB and LB before he decided he didn’t want to do it anymore. Saka is just brilliant everywhere. It’s only really the false 9 fiasco with ESR last week that I thought was a step too far.

Don’t forget these aren’t preferred team selections by any means - they’re workarounds that are forced on us by injuries and suspensions to key players and a badly unbalanced squad, and they’re probably only meant to see us through 2 or 3 games until we can get other players back. The problem here is that we have to find these workarounds so often.

Where I do agree that there’s an issue is the favouritism that’s shown to certain players (usually in their correct positions) - it must be absolutely soul-destroying got some of the younger players when you see guys like Willian and Ceballos getting chance after chance, and you make one mistske (probably not even that costly) and you’re out for months. This is Arteta’s major weakness - I think he can coach well, but he has too many blind-spots when it comes to team-selection.

That being said, I’m not sure I’d include Martinez or Saliba as victims of his favouritism - Martinez wanted to be guaranteed first choice, and no top club is going to agree to that, and a loan for Saliba was the right move for his development (he needs to be playing 90 minutes every week somewhere, not making erratic appearances here and there as our 4th choice CB). The big fuck up with Saliba was how we handled his summer - should have let him play the cup final and should have got his loan arranged before the season started.

Some fair points there mate - and I understand the necessity of the manager having to play players out of position. But IMO we have to look also at the other problems with doing so. Xhaka has been OK at LB, but as you say, Saka is very versitile and would be a better replacement for Tierney there, as he gets into attacking positons from LB and Pepe can supply a fair amount of the attacking quality we need at RW. More to the point, Xhaka is our second best MF, and against half decent teams we need him there. The effect of putting Ceballos into his role is there for all to see.

No issues with Chambers at RB per se, but the needless chopping and changing with all 4 defensive positions is asking for trouble, as players are left unble to build connections with playing each other. I know that Bellerin has not exactly been pulling up trees, but LB is his position, he has the experience of big games and it was folly IMO not to play him last week.

Overall, Arteta tends not just to play one, or two players out of position - he chops and changes numbers of players game after game, and therefore compounds the effect of maybe an enforced change by disrupting the rythm of an entire team. The reason there was so much anger at last Thursday was I think because it felt like the manager was leaving common sense in the toilet in favvour of trying to be too cleaver by half. We are not Citeh, and don't have world class players in every position (plus subs) trained over months and years in a particular playing style. The fact that Arteta doesn't seem to understand that he has to walk before he can run suggests a lack of footballing, and common sense basics, and this is a worry.

[GP]

Bye felicia

[Mac76]

||
\/

[dazthegooner]

GET HIM OUT NOW!!!

[Letters]

Off you fuck :wave:

[Bumble]

Off you fuck :wave:

yeah. out of his depth. dont know who could replace him though.

[selassie]

He has to go, it honestly isn't up for discussion. He has tried and failed, it's simple as that, hire somebody that knows what their doing and has experience of managing a squad of decent-ish players.

Thanks Mikel, but off you go, you have been remembered for breaking all the records and for the wrong reasons.

[dazthegooner]

Benitez is available :unsure:

[Bumble]

Benitez is available :unsure:

thankfully Alladyce is at West Brom. but could do worse than Benitez.

[Letters]

#WengerIN

:ninja:

[selassie]

Benitez is available :unsure:

I'd take him as a stop gap, Arteta should not be given anymore time, I shudder to think who else he would alienate in the squad and how much more damage he would do if he is given another window and season.

Him and Edu couldn't even secure the signature of Aouar in the summer in a one horse race transfer battle...

[Ralpheroo72]

End of the line for Arteta

[Marc Overmars]

At least we can stop pretending now Arteta hasn’t been an utter failure this season.

Don’t buy it’s been difficult circumstances. That was last year.

This year was a clean slate and it’s been muddied beyond belief.

[Letters]

At least we can stop pretending now Arteta hasn’t been an utter failure this season.

Right. And it's not just about tonight, although it was another poor effort.
The whole season has been a mess. Mid-table with this squad is nowhere near good enough.
For every decent run there have been rubbish ones. There have been so few really good performances.

[IBK]

Yes. He needs to go now. Let's even ignore the fact that Arteta was beaten by the manager sacked for him without even laying a glove on him tactics wise. The fact that the players were so flat for the most important game of the manager's career says it all really. Out of his depth.

[Letters]

I could give him a pass if we'd been all over them tonight and just had "one of those nights" when the ball just won't go in, but we hardly laid a glove on them. Auba was a bit unlucky, but that apart we didn't do anywhere near enough. We've scored 46 league goals this season. 46!
Wenger's last season was a mess and we conceded way too many goals but we scored 75 that year.
We scored 73 the season after. Then last season it was 56 and we aren't going to do much better this. It's pathetic.

[Chippy]

I could give him a pass if we'd been all over them tonight and just had "one of those nights" when the ball just won't go in, but we hardly laid a glove on them. Auba was a bit unlucky, but that apart we didn't do anywhere near enough. We've scored 46 league goals this season. 46!
Wenger's last season was a mess and we conceded way too many goals but we scored 75 that year.
We scored 73 the season after. Then last season it was 56 and we aren't going to do much better this. It's pathetic.

Would you get rid of Arteta now? Who would take this job on?

[Chippy]

I'd take him as a stop gap, Arteta should not be given anymore time, I shudder to think who else he would alienate in the squad and how much more damage he would do if he is given another window and season.

Him and Edu couldn't even secure the signature of Aouar in the summer in a one horse race transfer battle...

What's the point of a stop gap? The season is over.

[Letters]

Would you get rid of Arteta now? Who would take this job on?

No real point now, but in the summer we should be looking elsewhere.
But admittedly I don’t know who.

[selassie]

What's the point of a stop gap? The season is over.

Stop gap next season until we secure who really want if indeed we do want an upgrade on Arteta? Arteta has never coached a team before, anything is literally an upgrade on him.

[Mac76]

Benitez is available :unsure:

i'm in

[Mac76]

Allegri trending on Twitter...

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

Yes. He needs to go now. Let's even ignore the fact that Arteta was beaten by the manager sacked for him without even laying a glove on him tactics wise. The fact that the players were so flat for the most important game of the manager's career says it all really. Out of his depth.

Poetic justice at play.....at least for Emery anyway and probably every other serious football nut.

To think we had a considerable amount of people who felt the "great white hope" Arteta should have been picked over Emery in the first instance......I wish someone could dig up the threads lol.

Anyway, like I said earlier, what should bother everyone is that both Emery and Arteta, were the first 2 on the list of a board/owners who had ages to plan for AW's replacement....
at a time when serious coaches like Allegri, Anceloti, Benitez and
Rodgers were all available (at least their quality experience could have been used as some sort of stop gap).

it seems the predictions of the so called doomist fans keep falling in place:

We stop ever being serious contenders for the title in 2007.

We slip out of AW's imaginary top 4 trophy league in 2017.

We slip out of the newly created compensatory top 6 league in 2020.

And now we are not even able to qualify for any form of European football at all!!

In fact when was the last St.Totteringham's day??

And with our demise being as slow and as painful to watch as democracy in a Middle eastern country......our wise "custodians" decide that the only way to stop this slippery slope and secure our heritage is to join a league where we will never have to worry about the dirty word "competition" ever again!!

At this rate, they were probably right on the last bit....

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

Allegri trending on Twitter...

IMO we all lost the plot ages ago when we got enchanted with all things Europe....AW was the Pied Piper and the biggest culprit in this regard.

Lets go back to our roots and try and win everything domestically we can.

A manager who understands the EPL and can win it should be all that we seek.

Ancelotti should have been our coach....simple. He was always my first choice.

Anyway, only Benitez seems plausible, since Maureen has taken the Roma job (he'd be a bitter pill to swallow anyway).

I still think Rodgers wouldn't be a bad fit for us...but you'd need leaders who had balls to pull that off. (Even Ancelotti is still a possibility)

A coach who understands and wants to win the EPL is what we need....and there are quite a few coaches that fit that mould.

[Marc Overmars]

Poetic justice at play.....at least for Emery anyway and probably every other serious football nut.

To think we had a considerable amount of people who felt the "great white hope" Arteta should have been picked over Emery in the first instance......I wish someone could dig up the threads lol.

Anyway, like I said earlier, what should bother everyone is that both Emery and Arteta, were the first 2 on the list of a board/owners who had ages to plan for AW's replacement....
at a time when serious coaches like Allegri, Anceloti, Benitez and
Rodgers were all available (at least their quality experience could have been used as some sort of stop gap).

it seems the predictions of the so called doomist fans keep falling in place:

We stop ever being serious contenders for the title in 2007.

We slip out of AW's imaginary top 4 trophy league in 2017.

We slip out of the newly created compensatory top 6 league in 2020.

And now we are not even able to qualify for any form of European football at all!!

In fact when was the last St.Totteringham's day??

And with our demise being as slow and as painful to watch as democracy in a Middle eastern country......our wise "custodians" decide that the only way to stop this slippery slope and secure our heritage is to join a league where we will never have to worry about the dirty word "competition" ever again!!

At this rate, they were probably right on the last bit....

All those names were scoffed at, yet I’d have any one of them in charge now.

It was a nice idea getting a rookie and Arteta does talk a good game but there’s no denying what a failure this season has been. He’s actually taken us backwards, which is quite impressive really considering how poor last season was despite the cup win.

I don’t think he’s a good coach, I don’t see any innovation and I don’t see any particular strengths. I’ve heard a lot of people say there have apparently been green shoots, the shape of the team is better etc, but what does that even mean if we’re heading for our lowest finish and no European football for the first time in 25 years? Whatever way you look at it, we’ve been shit by every single metric. Like fuck am I trusting this process that’s for sure.

We looked like a competent team for about 8 games after Christmas (helped playing the select few teams in the league worse than us!) but the rest of it has been a complete disaster. Whatever good run we’ve been on has been an outlier.

He shouldn’t take all the blame though. The players are not fit to wear the shirt, bar an obvious few. This club is finished for the foreseeable future, it’s hard to see anything changing on or off the pitch.

Pound for pound, I would say we are one of if not the worst team in Europe. So much less than the sum of our parts.

[Globalgunner]

If there is any truth in the rumour that Zidane is looking for a new challenge. Our owners should step up and sell him the dream. We are certainly a challenge

[IBK]

Poetic justice at play.....at least for Emery anyway and probably every other serious football nut.

To think we had a considerable amount of people who felt the "great white hope" Arteta should have been picked over Emery in the first instance......I wish someone could dig up the threads lol.

Anyway, like I said earlier, what should bother everyone is that both Emery and Arteta, were the first 2 on the list of a board/owners who had ages to plan for AW's replacement....
at a time when serious coaches like Allegri, Anceloti, Benitez and
Rodgers were all available (at least their quality experience could have been used as some sort of stop gap).

it seems the predictions of the so called doomist fans keep falling in place:

We stop ever being serious contenders for the title in 2007.

We slip out of AW's imaginary top 4 trophy league in 2017.

We slip out of the newly created compensatory top 6 league in 2020.

And now we are not even able to qualify for any form of European football at all!!

In fact when was the last St.Totteringham's day??

And with our demise being as slow and as painful to watch as democracy in a Middle eastern country......our wise "custodians" decide that the only way to stop this slippery slope and secure our heritage is to join a league where we will never have to worry about the dirty word "competition" ever again!!

At this rate, they were probably right on the last bit....

There was merit in looking at a vision with Arteta - and the idea of trying to unite the club and the fans behind a young, progressive coach schooled in the Pep style of play was understandable. The real failing was the absence of any structure above him, or control to mitigate some of a rookie manager's predictable inexperience. Instead, Arsenal compounded the problem by making Arteta manager after an FA Cup win, and effectively making him omnipotent. And even the most vocal detractors last season could not have predicted the monster that Arteta's ego would become.

Arteta went in with a plan - do the basics right and sort out our defence. Had these self-same players believing in him and putting their bodies on the line against Citeh and Chelsea to secure our Cup win. But then this season the self-belief and enthusiasm of the players started to leach out in the insipid; clueless and toothless displays that we saw before Xmas. Arteta was then handed a lifeline with the likes of Saka and ESR who seemed to glue his system together and we had an upturn after Boxing Day. What did he do? he started over-coaching and over complicating our style of play. He constantly changed his systems, played square pegs in round holes; ignored form players; picked fights with his captain and utterly failed to do the basics right.

These 2 legs against Villareal (and let's remember the first leg against Slavia Prague) was the culmination of a trend where Arteta lost the plot and lost his players. They were confused and petrified last night - and if there's ever a truism in football it is that most professional players can see a busted flush a mile off. They were uncomfortable with the way they were being asked to play, and simply didn't believe that it would work. It was obvious how things would go down after 10 minutes of watching us. This is exactly what happened with us under Emery, and it's a savage irony that the manager who was sacking was on the cards from the moment we stunk up the Europa League final utterly schooled his successor who fell at the stage before him.

Arteta has been given an unbelievable amount of patience and support from fans, but he has shit the bed and well and truly lost that dressing room. His trajectory over the past 10 months is now indisputably downwards, and he has shown absolutely no sign of real progress; improvement; learning from his mistakes or having a proper plan.

Taking a punt on him is not the issue. Chelsea and Manure did similar. I will even excuse the club's optimism that Arteta could turn things round following January and February. But things couldn't be more obviously over for him.

[Marc Overmars]

I believe he’s over coached them and neutered any natural game they once had. You could argue the shape of the team needed solidifying but certainly not to the point where it’s now such an effort to create chances and score goals. How many times have we drawn a blank this season?

It’s become way too regimented and the fact we couldn’t lay a glove on Villarreal over 2 legs shows how clueless this team is. Slow, methodical play with no real guile or cutting edge when it comes to the final third.

[Mac76]

I believe he’s over coached them and neutered any natural game they once had..

i agree, if you look at Odegaard, he started with us looking really fresh and able to create things but he's now been completely neutered and that has to be Arteta micro-managing him into a box

[Mac76]

If there is any truth in the rumour that Zidane is looking for a new challenge. Our owners should step up and sell him the dream. We are certainly a challenge

i'm not such a fan - if people are going to say it's easy for Pep to do well at Citeh and Barca, doesn't the same apply to Zidane at Real?

[I am invisible]

Poetic justice at play.....at least for Emery anyway and probably every other serious football nut.

To think we had a considerable amount of people who felt the "great white hope" Arteta should have been picked over Emery in the first instance......I wish someone could dig up the threads lol.

Anyway, like I said earlier, what should bother everyone is that both Emery and Arteta, were the first 2 on the list of a board/owners who had ages to plan for AW's replacement....
at a time when serious coaches like Allegri, Anceloti, Benitez and
Rodgers were all available (at least their quality experience could have been used as some sort of stop gap).

it seems the predictions of the so called doomist fans keep falling in place:

We stop ever being serious contenders for the title in 2007.

We slip out of AW's imaginary top 4 trophy league in 2017.

We slip out of the newly created compensatory top 6 league in 2020.

And now we are not even able to qualify for any form of European football at all!!

In fact when was the last St.Totteringham's day??

And with our demise being as slow and as painful to watch as democracy in a Middle eastern country......our wise "custodians" decide that the only way to stop this slippery slope and secure our heritage is to join a league where we will never have to worry about the dirty word "competition" ever again!!

At this rate, they were probably right on the last bit....
:good:

I am genuinely worried for us right now for the exact reason you raise there: who do we trust to make the next appointment? Vinnai? A man who got grifted by a fake Chinese car company and didn’t have the integrity to resign after the ESL fiasco. Edu? a TD with worrying links to a super agent, who needs to share his role with a manager because he’s either not up to it or isn’t trusted. The board, aka Stan, Josh, Tim Lewis and Lord Harris? Because that’s it - that right there is the entire leadership structure of this club! And if KSE are genuinely considering selling then they’re not going to give any kind of shit about fixing it. Terrifying.

Honestly, I’d love to believe that we’ve been planning ahead for this, and already have a carefully considered list of candidates drawn up, but I think we all know that the approach to finding a new coach is going to be to pick up the phone to as many agents as possible and see who they can send us.

[Marc Overmars]

No doubt Arteta will be in charge in next season. I don’t even think he’s under any pressure or being held to account if I’m honest. That speaks volumes to the absolute mess at executive level.

I suspect next season will be make or break for him with the fans back, he’s been very lucky to avoid that heat from the fans. I imagine he will be gone by Christmas if it’s a repeat of this seasons start.

[Xhaka Can’t]

I don’t see much prospect of a coaching change until fans are back in numbers.

When they are, it will get very ugly because the only change we are likely to see will be that forced by the fan base.

[I am invisible]

i agree, if you look at Odegaard, he started with us looking really fresh and able to create things but he's now been completely neutered and that has to be Arteta micro-managing him into a box
100% he overthinks things. You can hear it with some of the things he says, like a couple of days ago when he suggested that Martinelli works better with a passer like Xhaka behind him at LB?! Sure, if you have a clever runner and potential goal-scorer like Martinelli, then supply will be an advantage, but you can’t allow your thinking to become so siloed that that’s the only option you see. And I think he does that a lot - he’s so focussed on combination-play that he’s become a little obsessed with complimentary pairings, and ends up constantly tinkering with the side to adapt to absentees...

[Ollie the Optimist]

I wonder if the club are quickly rethinking their stance on allowing 10k fans back for hte final game of the season.

Could be a bloodbath :lol:

[WGC Goon]

It starts at the very top, with Stan and family in charge there will be no accountability for the employees below them, they (Stan & Co) simply don't and won't give a shit unless the club starts losing money.
The team selection, tactics and performance are a reflection of the manager. We all saw what happened last night, the players don't appear to believe in what Arteta's trying to do and the performance highlighted that.
I like Arteta as a person but it was a massive risk taking on a manager who had never managed any team, never mind a club like Arsenal.
Where this will all end I have no idea, what I do know is that unless Arsenal is owned by someone who actually cares for what Arsenal stands for as a club, it's ambitions and it's fan then nothing will change.

[I am invisible]

No doubt Arteta will be in charge in next season. I don’t even think he’s under any pressure or being held to account if I’m honest. That speaks volumes to the absolute mess at executive level.

I suspect next season will be make or break for him with the fans back, he’s been very lucky to avoid that heat from the fans. I imagine he will be gone by Christmas if it’s a repeat of this seasons start.

The executive structure should be CEO (Vinnai) > Technical Director (Edu) > Manager (Arteta), but can you honestly see Vinnai or Edu standing up to Arteta? He's clearly the dominant voice out of the three. The first moves we make have to be upgrading those first two - until we have someone competent at the top any manager we bring in will be totally free to call the shots with no standards, accountability or opposition.

If Arteta survives the summer then the start of next season is going to be really ugly. Anything less than a fast start and the fans will be on him straightaway, and, given the sheer number of personnel changes we're looking at, that fast start seems massively unlikely...

[Letters]

https://metro.co.uk/2021/05/06/arsenal-board-send-message-to-mikel-arteta-about-his-future-before-villarreal-clash-14532979

:partytime:

[Ralpheroo72]

https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2021/05/07/ornstein-has-update-on-whether-arteta-will-be-sacked-after-arsenals-defeat-last-night/

[IBK]

https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2021/05/07/ornstein-has-update-on-whether-arteta-will-be-sacked-after-arsenals-defeat-last-night/

You can actually understand it from the perspective of Arsenal heirarchy why Arteta won't be sacked. Firstly it was their call to appoint him and make him manager - and I reckon Arteta was in the frame even when Emery was appointed. They will be reluctant to admit their error, and trash their investment in him. Second - the club is in a shit storm from top to bottom. In a perverse way I can see why retaining Arteta at least prevents yet further instability. Lastly, I'm not surprised that they, like the manager, have no plan B, and I'm not sure who could be recruited that would not also present a risk in terms of lack of experience managing at the 'top level' (parentheses deliberate), or what 'top manager' would want to preside over a declining club with no European Football.

They will figure that he can't do worse than he has done this season, and gamble further on him pulling us back into Europa league contention next season with some Summer recruitment.

What is deeply worrying, apart from the obvious issues with Arteta from the outside, are the noises from within the club that he has established a set up of similarly crap or inexperienced coaches that only dance to the manager's tune, and that certain players are deeply disenchanted with him.

It is so typically Arsenal to ignore the clear evidence that Arteta is out of his depth and continue hoping for a miracle that wont come. Bad times. :sulk:

[Marc Overmars]

The recruitment even with European football has been terrible, so god knows what kind of trash we’re going to waste money on this summer.

I hope the fans who turn up to the Brighton game tear this lot apart.

[I am invisible]

Arteta won't be sacked because everyone above him is either clueless or untrustworthy when it comes to footballing decisions.

First step has to be getting someone like a Rangnik (suggestions welcome) into Edu's role - then you actually have a fighting chance of making the correct coaching appointments and recruiting useful players.

That probably wouldn't happen in time to make any decision on Arteta before the season started, even if we got the ball rolling now, but I'd certainly use that appointment (and this disastrous campaign) as justification to bust him back down to head coach again - there really is no need for a "manager" if the guy doing Edu's job is competent, nor do we want one. Aside from the fact that we don't want the guy running the team to have that much power, it just creates too many conflicts and grievances with contract situations - the coach should be utterly removed from that side of things so he can maintain his relationship with the players.

[I am invisible]

The recruitment even with European football has been terrible, so god knows what kind of trash we’re going to waste money on this summer.

I hope the fans who turn up to the Brighton game tear this lot apart.

Or just don't turn up at all - that would send a really powerful message after a year of being kept away.

[Chippy]

Or just don't turn up at all - that would send a really powerful message after a year of being kept away.

Or join me watching Brentford FC :)

They are building a new stadium and everything! What could go wrong?............oh yeah :(

[Xhaka Can’t]

Or just don't turn up at all - that would send a really powerful message after a year of being kept away.

They’ll probably still announce an audience of 59k+

[Letters]

They’ll probably still announce an audience of 59k+

:lol:

[Letters]

They are building a new stadium and everything! What could go wrong?............oh yeah :(
Look! Do you want a world class stadium or a world class team?
You can't have both, greedy! :sulk:

[GP]

Look! Do you want a world class stadium or a world class team?
You can't have both, greedy! :sulk:

Building the stadium was absolutely the right thing to do.

[Niall_Quinn]

There's nothing good left at the club. A handful of young players, maybe, but they'll be ruined or they'll leave.

As with anything touched by vulture capitals, everything good is eventually consumed. It's not just down to Arsenal. The PL, Sky, the FA, the media, the owners, the players, government and ESPECIALLY the fans have all contributed to this. The reason for playing the game has been ripped out and replaced with the profit motive - nothing else. Even in chavland and Manchester the ultimate goal is personal gain for the owners. And the fans are moaning now, but they all signed up for the Sky subscriptions and tuned in on transfer day to worship the transfer clock.

The answer, in football terms, is so simple it's painful. Put the kids in and let them play, win, lose or draw. These kids aren't old enough to be fully jaded and compromised yet. They'll still remember what it took to even get a shot. That's what we need to harness. The enthusiasm and, to a degree, the naivety. The older players don't give a fuck. They are just turning up to the office and going through the motions, and it has been like that for years. There's no penalty if they don't pay it back on the pitch for those horrific wages they feel entitled to. They'll sit on their arse if need be, why should they care? They earn stupid amounts whether they play or not.

You let people like Kroenke into the game and the outcome is inevitable.

[Letters]

Building the stadium was absolutely the right thing to do.
In a business sense yes, we had to do it.
And the fact we are so poor right now isn't because of The Emirates, we'd be equally mediocre were we still at Highbury.
It does feel like we lost the soul of the club a bit but I guess businesses don't have souls, so... :(

[Niall_Quinn]

In a business sense yes, we had to do it.
And the fact we are so poor right now isn't because of The Emirates, we'd be equally mediocre were we still at Highbury.
It does feel like we lost the soul of the club a bit but I guess businesses don't have souls, so... :(

In a business sense. And therein lies the death of football. You take something that's exhilarating and try to make it more based on financials alone. You can't put the culture and experiences linked to Highbury on a spreadsheet, but you can make a crude and vulgar calculation and say that all the success (tangibles and intangibles) that attracted 40K people into the seats and a waiting list of 20-30K day-trippers translates to higher profits. Sensible, in financial terms. But when you then make the new stadium the very centre of existence for the club, as we did, everything else takes a back seat. The stadium was one of the factors that made Arsenal less. Plenty of clubs do okay with 40K stadiums. There was never any hope of the levels of investment that would have filled up an 80K stadium on CL final night (like Real or Barca), so the whole stadium project was about paying bums on seats and profits, rather than a footballing progression for the club. Maybe that was not the intention, but that's how it worked out. Pretty sure it was the intention though.

[Chippy]

Look! Do you want a world class stadium or a world class team?
You can't have both, greedy! :sulk:

:unsure:

[Ollie the Optimist]

on that being Smith Rowe's first of many Premier League goals...
It says a lot in terms of where we are. He's having an incredible season ever since he started to play in December. But he's scoring his first Premier League goal. An incredible season for a No 10 of Arsenal means he needs to score 15 goals and give 10 assists. Then you are right up there with the top guys in Europe and in the league. He's got the ability to do it but he hasn't done it. We need to stay calm with him, give him the right support and step by step I think he will be getting there.

on Willian scoring his first Arsenal goal...
Willian has done it in the past, that's the big difference. He's done it for many years and has achieved everything in the game. Somehow this season we haven't managed to get the best out of him. He had some spells where we could see highlights of things he can do and today was a good example of that.


What the fuck is Arteta thinking? ESR has probably been one of our best players but Arteta decides to talk him down yet with Willian, who has been shit all season, its ok because he’s done it in the past.

[Letters]

Yes, strange comment about ESR who has been consistently excellent, one of the few positives from the season. If I was ESR that wouldn't exactly make me feel appreciated.

[Ollie the Optimist]

Yes, strange comment about ESR who has been consistently excellent, one of the few positives from the season. If I was ESR that wouldn't exactly make me feel appreciated.

It’s not hte first time Arteta has said something like that.

When Pepe got his red card against Leeds, Arteta went ballistic in the media at him (it was a stupid red card so at the time, i could understand the anger) but then 3 days later Xhaka gets an even stupider red card and Arteta says nothing in the media.

It just plays into the idea he has favourites

[I am invisible]

If you want those kind of no.10 stats from him then maybe play him as a 10 consistently, and stop relegating him to LW to accommodate a loanee or have him fill in as a false 9 when there’s actual strikers available?

Also, just a thought, but maybe play him with strikers who can actually score if you want more assists from him, and strikers that he can play off if you want more goals?

[Mac76]

he's a shocking manager and needs o go

if they leave him in charge you can forget about next season

in theory next season could be a real opportunity - with no European football we could focus on the league and on building a proper game plan and getting players used to their positions with time to coach in between.

leave Arteta there and we can look forward to bad results, a sacking mid-season and then a new manager trying to effect repairs while trying, most likely, to stave off relegation...

[Marc Overmars]

Couldn’t resist defending his big hope Willian could he. His continued involvement and poor form is one of the reasons our season never got going.

Arteta can do one and take this bum with him.

[I am invisible]

he's a shocking manager and needs o go

if they leave him in charge you can forget about next season

in theory next season could be a real opportunity - with no European football we could focus on the league and on building a proper game plan and getting players used to their positions with time to coach in between.

leave Arteta there and we can look forward to bad results, a sacking mid-season and then a new manager trying to effect repairs while trying, most likely, to stave off relegation...

They're not sacking him - if it was seriously on anyone's agenda then they would have done it after the EL exit. Why keep him around for another 4 meaningless games when you could get the ball rolling straightaway? There's no plan there.

[Mac76]

They're not sacking him - if it was seriously on anyone's agenda then they would have done it after the EL exit. Why keep him around for another 4 meaningless games when you could get the ball rolling straightaway? There's no plan there.

i know, i have literally zero hope it will happen, this club is rudderless, overseen by fools and f****d

[dazthegooner]

Maybe the protests against Kroenke should be extended to Arteta and Edu fuck it ALL of them!

[I am invisible]

The protests probably need to turn on Vinnai and Edu if we want any kind of immediate change. KSE won’t be swayed by any demands to sell - they’ll do whatever they want in their own time - and there’s not much point in sacking Arteta until there’s someone in place who’s actually qualified (and trustworthy enough) to hire his replacement. Focus on those two and the Kroenkes might actually give it to us as a compromise...

[Chippy]

The protests probably need to turn on Vinnai and Edu if we want any kind of immediate change. KSE won’t be swayed by any demands to sell - they’ll do whatever they want in their own time - and there’s not much point in sacking Arteta until there’s someone in place who’s actually qualified (and trustworthy enough) to hire his replacement. Focus on those two and the Kroenkes might actually give it to us as a compromise...

Poch! :ninja:

[Mac76]

Poch! :ninja:

no thanks, things are bad enough already

[Letters]

no thanks, things are bad enough already

Poch is a massive upgrade on what we have.

[Mac76]

Poch is a massive upgrade on what we have.

a moaning, overrated, face-you-want-to-punch spud reject?

like i said, no thanks

[I am invisible]

Has he been sacked already?

[Globalgunner]

Has he been sacked already?

No at Arsenal we like our wounds to fester till gangrene has just about set in....even then we will wait to see if there will be a miraculous upturn in the putrid sore.

[I am invisible]

No at Arsenal we like our wounds to fester till gangrene has just about set in....even then we will wait to see if there will be a miraculous upturn in the putrid sore.
Sorry, I meant Poch.

But, yeah, that will 100% happen with us - let’s wait until the budget’s been spent and there’s no candidates left before we do anything.

[I am invisible]

https://arseblog.news/2021/05/arteta-on-player-effort-arsenals-level-and-plans-for-the-summer/

Hmmm... never a good sign when the manager starts throwing players under the bus. Hasn’t quite gone full-Mourinho and started naming names yet, but the deflection, martyrdom and self-preservation has started.

No choice but to follow through with the “ruthless” summer now - can’t publicly trash a section of the squad like that and then roll into the season with them. They’ll down you the first opportunity they get now.

[IBK]

https://arseblog.news/2021/05/arteta-on-player-effort-arsenals-level-and-plans-for-the-summer/

Hmmm... never a good sign when the manager starts throwing players under the bus. Hasn’t quite gone full-Mourinho and started naming names yet, but the deflection, martyrdom and self-preservation has started.

No choice but to follow through with the “ruthless” summer now - can’t publicly trash a section of the squad like that and then roll into the season with them. They’ll down you the first opportunity they get now.

Yes I saw this. It's a further worry, along with his comments re ESR and Willian, and ironically had he been referring to the latter in his press conference (he wasn't), then I don't think anyone would disagree - although it is never a good sign when players are being outed by a manager - even obliquely.

What I'm afraid these comments - and the decision making in relation to the team - point to is a narcissistic manager who is not alive to his own faults. It is down to Arteta, not the players, that he has f*cked about with his system and playing positions so much that his players often look like they have no clue what they are doing; who has picked fights with some players and shown blatant favouritsm to others - destroying team unity - and who has rewarded underperformance by continuing to favour certain players over mostly younger players who deserve better.

All managers need a streak of narcissism - but Arteta's seems increasingly off the scale and the real problem is that he is surrounded by yes men who wonlt reign this in. It's a really concerning situation now, going into a Summer that could be a car crash transfer wise...

[Mac76]

https://arseblog.news/2021/05/arteta-on-player-effort-arsenals-level-and-plans-for-the-summer/

Hmmm... never a good sign when the manager starts throwing players under the bus. Hasn’t quite gone full-Mourinho and started naming names yet, but the deflection, martyrdom and self-preservation has started.

No choice but to follow through with the “ruthless” summer now - can’t publicly trash a section of the squad like that and then roll into the season with them. They’ll down you the first opportunity they get now.

i'm willing to bet in his haste to look 'ruthless' he'll get rid of some quite useful players like Chambers who for me is a 'must keep' as he's good and also can play in two or three positions

but he'll keep Xhaka and Willian who can't play well in any position at all

[I am invisible]

Yes I saw this. It's a further worry, along with his comments re ESR and Willian, and ironically had he been referring to the latter in his press conference (he wasn't), then I don't think anyone would disagree - although it is never a good sign when players are being outed by a manager - even obliquely.

What I'm afraid these comments - and the decision making in relation to the team - point to is a narcissistic manager who is not alive to his own faults. It is down to Arteta, not the players, that he has f*cked about with his system and playing positions so much that his players often look like they have no clue what they are doing; who has picked fights with some players and shown blatant favouritsm to others - destroying team unity - and who has rewarded underperformance by continuing to favour certain players over mostly younger players who deserve better.

All managers need a streak of narcissism - but Arteta's seems increasingly off the scale and the real problem is that he is surrounded by yes men who wonlt reign this in. It's a really concerning situation now, going into a Summer that could be a car crash transfer wise...

He looks like a guy who's incredibly stressed to me and is starting to crack under the pressure of the job - hardly surprising given his inexperience, the sheer volume and scale of the problems at the club, and the lack of any real support or structure around him. Whether he'll admit it or not, he's bitten off way more than he can chew here - the guy who we brought in last year looked cool, calm, articulate, could see the problems clearly and was making the right calls, but the man I see on the touchline now looks frantic, and the guy who sits there in press conferences looks like he's simmering with rage and spoiling for a fight. He's making panicky, flustered decisions and he's overcomplicating things that really don't need that much thought, probably because he's looking in so many different directions that he can't see what's right in front of him any more. Whether he realises it or not, these statements and outbursts of his are basically a cry for help.

The ESR / Willian comments were actually one of the things I'm least concerned about. I think there's an element of different strokes for different folks going on here: on the one hand you have a kid who is just starting his career and is gunning for his first big contract, so you kind of want to throw the guantlet down to him to see how he responds - if he accepts the challenge with humility and eagerness then you know you've got a proper player there; on the other you have a guy who is close to the end of his career and who has just signed a 3-year, quarter-of-a-million-pound-a-week contract, and when a player is that safe and secure, you can't threaten and shame them into performing - they'll just give you the big FU and enjoy an early retirement - so you do a lot more ego-fluffing. It comes across as massively unfair when you hear the two comments about the two players made one after the other like that, but in this instance I think (hope) that actions speak louder than words -despite what's been said, who has been the regular starter since Boxing Day and who has mostly been relegated to the bench and meaningless games?

[Marc Overmars]

Apparently there is something called the UEFA Conference League starting next season, which we can qualify for if we finish 7th.

No European football or playing in some tin pot competition created specifically for farmers?

I’ll take the former. Thanks.

[I am invisible]

i'm willing to bet in his haste to look 'ruthless' he'll get rid of some quite useful players like Chambers who for me is a 'must keep' as he's good and also can play in two or three positions

but he'll keep Xhaka and Willian who can't play well in any position at all

Tbh, a lot of it might simply come down to who we actually get an offer for - in an ideal world we keep Chambers and sell Willian, but in reality who the fuck wants Willian? If we need money and the offer comes in for Chambers then Chambers gets sold.

(Fwiw, I'd also keep Chambers - we can't even consider renewing Luiz again, and I actually think he'll be a better fit for the way Arteta wants to play out from the back than Holding at RCB.)

[I am invisible]

Apparently there is something called the UEFA Conference League starting next season, which we can qualify for if we finish 7th.

No European football or playing in some tin pot competition created specifically for farmers?

I’ll take the former. Thanks.

Oh God no. Seriously, the new lows just keep on coming...

[IBK]

He looks like a guy who's incredibly stressed to me and is starting to crack under the pressure of the job - hardly surprising given his inexperience, the sheer volume and scale of the problems at the club, and the lack of any real support or structure around him. Whether he'll admit it or not, he's bitten off way more than he can chew here - the guy who we brought in last year looked cool, calm, articulate, could see the problems clearly and was making the right calls, but the man I see on the touchline now looks frantic, and the guy who sits there in press conferences looks like he's simmering with rage and spoiling for a fight. He's making panicky, flustered decisions and he's overcomplicating things that really don't need that much thought, probably because he's looking in so many different directions that he can't see what's right in front of him any more. Whether he realises it or not, these statements and outbursts of his are basically a cry for help.

The ESR / Willian comments were actually one of the things I'm least concerned about. I think there's an element of different strokes for different folks going on here: on the one hand you have a kid who is just starting his career and is gunning for his first big contract, so you kind of want to throw the guantlet down to him to see how he responds - if he accepts the challenge with humility and eagerness then you know you've got a proper player there; on the other you have a guy who is close to the end of his career and who has just signed a 3-year, quarter-of-a-million-pound-a-week contract, and when a player is that safe and secure, you can't threaten and shame them into performing - they'll just give you the big FU and enjoy an early retirement - so you do a lot more ego-fluffing. It comes across as massively unfair when you hear the two comments about the two players made one after the other like that, but in this instance I think (hope) that actions speak louder than words -despite what's been said, who has been the regular starter since Boxing Day and who has mostly been relegated to the bench and meaningless games?

Good points there - and food for thought. Thank you.

No doubt Arteta is feeling the pressure - and he should be in terms of our performances/results on the pitch. Part of me would think that (in circumstances where we know he isn't going to be sacked) this is a good thing - he knows results are not good enough. However, I think I agree that he is beginning to become unstuck under the pressure - both football wise, and in terms of the massive issues at our club that are effectively being laid at his door as a resut of the administrative vaccum above him. It's as though the club knows no other way than the Wenger way - in which the coach is also manager; football director; chief scout; club administrator and mouthpiece. A combination that is obviously too much for anyone - let alone a rookie.

Given that the club is going to persevere with Arteta - what this situation is crying out for is someone in a kind of football director role (although probably not in name, given the unwise decision to make Arteta manager). It's a sign of his inexperience that Arteta has failed to bring in a wise head as assistant coach - who could take some of the decision-making strain off him, and act as a mentor. It's also a sign of hubris - but I suppose understandable in the circumstances. A solution is not going to come from the manager, though, and Edu - from what we have seen - is not the man to do this either. So we are loking at a real risk that the Arteta project will go down in flames for lack of support - as well as his own pride and inflexibility.

I suppose I grouped the ESR and Willian comments in with his savaging of Pepe and the Saliba situation, and maybe you are right and this is unfair. The problem is that while some of Arteta's unpopular judgments - eg our baying to see Martinelli up front where clearly he is not ready for this, or his reticence to use Pepe at times when there is some substance in the fact that he can't retain possession are justified to a degree, his favouritism of certain other players and his constant chopping and changing tends to drown this out.

[Chippy]

Yes I saw this. It's a further worry, along with his comments re ESR and Willian, and ironically had he been referring to the latter in his press conference (he wasn't), then I don't think anyone would disagree - although it is never a good sign when players are being outed by a manager - even obliquely.

What I'm afraid these comments - and the decision making in relation to the team - point to is a narcissistic manager who is not alive to his own faults. It is down to Arteta, not the players, that he has f*cked about with his system and playing positions so much that his players often look like they have no clue what they are doing; who has picked fights with some players and shown blatant favouritsm to others - destroying team unity - and who has rewarded underperformance by continuing to favour certain players over mostly younger players who deserve better.

All managers need a streak of narcissism - but Arteta's seems increasingly off the scale and the real problem is that he is surrounded by yes men who wonlt reign this in. It's a really concerning situation now, going into a Summer that could be a car crash transfer wise...

Relegation Dog Fight :bow:

[I am invisible]

Good points there - and food for thought. Thank you.

No doubt Arteta is feeling the pressure - and he should be in terms of our performances/results on the pitch. Part of me would think that (in circumstances where we know he isn't going to be sacked) this is a good thing - he knows results are not good enough. However, I think I agree that he is beginning to become unstuck under the pressure - both football wise, and in terms of the massive issues at our club that are effectively being laid at his door as a resut of the administrative vaccum above him. It's as though the club knows no other way than the Wenger way - in which the coach is also manager; football director; chief scout; club administrator and mouthpiece. A combination that is obviously too much for anyone - let alone a rookie.

Given that the club is going to persevere with Arteta - what this situation is crying out for is someone in a kind of football director role (although probably not in name, given the unwise decision to make Arteta manager). It's a sign of his inexperience that Arteta has failed to bring in a wise head as assistant coach - who could take some of the decision-making strain off him, and act as a mentor. It's also a sign of hubris - but I suppose understandable in the circumstances. A solution is not going to come from the manager, though, and Edu - from what we have seen - is not the man to do this either. So we are loking at a real risk that the Arteta project will go down in flames for lack of support - as well as his own pride and inflexibility.

I suppose I grouped the ESR and Willian comments in with his savaging of Pepe and the Saliba situation, and maybe you are right and this is unfair. The problem is that while some of Arteta's unpopular judgments - eg our baying to see Martinelli up front where clearly he is not ready for this, or his reticence to use Pepe at times when there is some substance in the fact that he can't retain possession are justified to a degree, his favouritism of certain other players and his constant chopping and changing tends to drown this out.

A genuine DoF is exactly we need. Let's be clear on this, promoting Arteta to club Manager wasn't a reward for steadying the ship and winning us an FA Cup - it was a cowardly decision made by owners and a CEO who bottled a decision that needed to be made on Edu, and who were more than happy to shift all of the responsibility onto an inexperienced rookie. They basically took advantage of a good PR moment and used it to lessen their own load.

It's not the first time they've hidden behind him either - remember when they sent him in to negotiate a 12.5% pay cut with the squad after just 3 or 4 months in the job? Cowardly, unnecessary given that we have billionaire owners, and utterly deceitful now we know about their ESL scheming, and how much extra they assumed they'd be making from it.

Making Arteta manager was a disastrous decision for the playing side of things, too - straightaway it would have created a rift between him and a significant portion of the squad. Think about the sheer number of players we had last summer (and still have now) who know that their Arsenal futures are uncertain: as Head Coach, new contracts aren't really Arteta's call - he can put in a good word, but he's basically in the same boat as them, with the TD / DoF deciding his future as well as theirs (the players may even see him as an ally in that role, if he makes them look good); as Manager, though, he's the guy who has final say on whether they get a new contract or get sold. How can that not be a problem? How can you possibly ask a player to perform for you after it becomes abundantly clear that you have no plans to keep them? And this is the problem we've had all year, mostly with the senior players who know that they're living off unsustainable CL-level contracts that can't continue - the closer they come to the end of their deals, the less they give a shit and the more unmanageable they become.

This is actually one of the things I've found really interesting - the younger part of the squad still seems to be massively behind him. Players like KT and Ødegaard have waxed lyrical about his ideas and methods. ESR and KT have also recently said that they're willing to sign new deals, but they want assurances over his future from the owners first. There's been a lot of talk about the treatment of Martinelli and Balogun not getting minutes, but neither of them are causing problems or making noise through their agents? Balogun could have easily walked this sumemr, but he chose to stay. I couldn't tell you why that is exactly, but I wouldn't mind betting that they've been given assurances about next season, and maybe been told in confidence that the club is going to clean house this summer and pave the way for them. Whatever the reason, he still seems to command significant loyalty and respect from the younger players, and that includes guys we have on loan from Real Madrid.

[Mac76]

Yes I saw this. It's a further worry, along with his comments re ESR and Willian, and ironically had he been referring to the latter in his press conference (he wasn't), then I don't think anyone would disagree - although it is never a good sign when players are being outed by a manager - even obliquely.

What I'm afraid these comments - and the decision making in relation to the team - point to is a narcissistic manager who is not alive to his own faults. It is down to Arteta, not the players, that he has f*cked about with his system and playing positions so much that his players often look like they have no clue what they are doing; who has picked fights with some players and shown blatant favouritsm to others - destroying team unity - and who has rewarded underperformance by continuing to favour certain players over mostly younger players who deserve better.

All managers need a streak of narcissism - but Arteta's seems increasingly off the scale and the real problem is that he is surrounded by yes men who wonlt reign this in. It's a really concerning situation now, going into a Summer that could be a car crash transfer wise...

agree with all of that :good:

[Marc Overmars]

The only thing I’ll sympathise with Arteta on is how useless his senior players have been. These players are an embarrassment to the club and I wasn’t surprised to hear from Ornstein the other day that many of them have indicated they have no desire to stay.

They will certainly not be missed.

[Mac76]

The only thing I’ll sympathise with Arteta on is how useless his senior players have been. These players are an embarrassment to the club and I wasn’t surprised to hear from Ornstein the other day that many of them have indicated they have no desire to stay.

They will certainly not be missed.

i think Laca has been able to hold his head up this season, but Bellerin, Xhaka, Luiz, to a great extent Auba and of course Willian have been awful - even Leno has only been just about good enough, letting Martinez go was a huge f**kup

[I am invisible]

Amazingly, we’re still 3rd in the form table since Christmas Day, and only behind the two Manchester clubs. I’m shocked by that, if I’m being honest - feels like we’ve been utter shite for at least the last couple of months.

I’m not sure it really says much about our progress as a team under Arteta - we all know what we’ve witnessed at times - but it does perhaps go to show that everyone has been a bit crap this year, and not just us?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/talksport.com/football/880295/arsenal-news-chelsea-leicester-2021-form-mikel-arteta/amp/

[Marc Overmars]

We always seem to fare well whenever these arbitrary samples are looked at. “The table since <insert whenever we stopped being completely shit>“. Happened a lot with with Wenger too when we were second half of the season champions a few times. :lol:

Things like that just need to be taken with a pinch of salt because the outcome of the season tells us everything we need to know. No use looking at what shade of shit, as those other teams who’ve apparently been shit will be playing in Europe next season and we probably
won’t.

The standard is just what it is. City and Liverpool have been a million miles better than the rest over the last few years. I don’t think being able to keep up with them makes the rest necessarily shit, but it does maybe suggest there is a smaller bar to reach there than the one required to challenge for a title.

As always though, it doesn’t matter where the bar is because we always seem to be struggling to reach it.

[Letters]

We always seem to fare well whenever these arbitrary samples are looked at. “The table since <insert whenever we stopped being completely shit>“. Happened a lot with with Wenger too when we were second half of the season champions a few times. :lol:
True, but it's a tempting piece of reasoning - especially with a new manager. You could make the argument that he was finding his feet in the first half of the season and the second half is more representative of what we could do under Arteta. It gives some hope for next season.
I'm not sure I buy it really - the Villareal game was an example of him just not getting things right. A game in which we just had to score and we were feeble.
But I think we have to accept that Arteta will be our manager next season and just hope that the second half of the season is an indication that things will be better next year. It will be an interesting summer, sounds like there could be a lot of changes and without being in Europe it might be hard getting players in of a level who will push us on. That said, we've been in Europe for a bazillion years in a row so I think if players buy in to the ambition that I'm sure Arteta has then it won't be a problem. The question is whether Arteta can realise that ambition, I suspect not.

[Mac76]

True, but it's a tempting piece of reasoning - especially with a new manager. You could make the argument that he was finding his feet in the first half of the season and the second half is more representative of what we could do under Arteta. It gives some hope for next season.
I'm not sure I buy it really - the Villareal game was an example of him just not getting things right. A game in which we just had to score and we were feeble.
But I think we have to accept that Arteta will be our manager next season and just hope that the second half of the season is an indication that things will be better next year. It will be an interesting summer, sounds like there could be a lot of changes and without being in Europe it might be hard getting players in of a level who will push us on. That said, we've been in Europe for a bazillion years in a row so I think if players buy in to the ambition that I'm sure Arteta has then it won't be a problem. The question is whether Arteta can realise that ambition, I suspect not.

I'd adapt what you say there and say that the second half is more representative of what we could do under ... a new manager. Don't forget Arteta stumbled on the younger players when injuries forced his hand, but he then played Saka and ESR into the ground plus success made him bolder about fiddling around with the system to the point we sank back into mediocrity

[I am invisible]

I was just shocked by the fact that we're still 3rd since Boxing Day, that's all - didn't think we'd be anywhere close to that, the way we've been playing, even in a cherry-picked sample? Felt like we saw maybe a 6-week bounce after ESR came into the side, but beyond that we'd fallen away badly again...

[Letters]

I was just shocked by the fact that we're still 3rd since Boxing Day, that's all - didn't think we'd be anywhere close to that, the way we've been playing, even in a cherry-picked sample? Felt like we saw maybe a 6-week bounce after ESR came into the side, but beyond that we'd fallen away badly again...

This has not been a high quality season, no-one has been that consistent so that's a factor.

[Xhaka Can’t]

I don’t know about that.

Sheffield United were remarkably consistent.

[Letters]

:lol:


You know what I mean :sulk:

[Mac76]

This has not been a high quality season, no-one has been that consistent so that's a factor.

I beg to differ, Willian's been consistently shite

[I am invisible]

I beg to differ, Willian's been consistently shite

Fact!

[I am invisible]

True, but it's a tempting piece of reasoning - especially with a new manager. You could make the argument that he was finding his feet in the first half of the season and the second half is more representative of what we could do under Arteta. It gives some hope for next season.
I'm not sure I buy it really - the Villareal game was an example of him just not getting things right. A game in which we just had to score and we were feeble.
But I think we have to accept that Arteta will be our manager next season and just hope that the second half of the season is an indication that things will be better next year. It will be an interesting summer, sounds like there could be a lot of changes and without being in Europe it might be hard getting players in of a level who will push us on. That said, we've been in Europe for a bazillion years in a row so I think if players buy in to the ambition that I'm sure Arteta has then it won't be a problem. The question is whether Arteta can realise that ambition, I suspect not.

As much as it feels like a load of cold comfort, I do think these 'form since...' tables can be useful when it comes to recruitment? We won't have European football to use as a selling point, but what we can do is point to stuff like this and say "we've actually been the 3rd most in-form team in the EPL since Boxing day - come to us instead of those guys and we'll have a clean run at the league, CL spots and domestic cups next year with no tiring, mid-week trips around Europe."