Match Reaction v Citeh (away)

[McNamara That Ghost...]

How many 3-0 defeats against them now?

:bow:

[Bumble]

Fair play to luiz he is showing that mustafi isnt the worst defender at arsenal. Do not extend contract.

Utter hopeless. A game like that is hardly going to encourage auba to sign not that he did much himself.

[Özim]

Hopeless team, hopeless manager, hopeless club.

[Globalgunner]

Arteta must have a very high opinion of himself to have seen this shitshow and thought he could make a fist of it. We should have gone for the Don. His team would not have tanked this badly. Can Arteta at least finish in the top half?

[Letters]

Hopeless team, hopeless manager, hopeless club.

Anyone would be better than Wenger :bow:


:whistle:

[Letters]

As I posted elsewhere:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGHufp8Huac

I don't care we lost per se, it's just the grim inevitability of it. We can't even give the top club a game any more. Embarrassing.

[Marc Overmars]

Complete waste of time.

That game could be played 100 times and you’d probably get the same result 99 times and the other one would be 2-0 instead of 3.

Mid table life. :bow:

Unless Arteta is a miracle worker he isn’t going to do much with this bang average team.

[The Wengerbabies]

Pathetic.

Not that it matters anyway.

We're literally that mid-table team with nothing to play for at the end of the season now.

[Chippy]

Anyone would be better than Wenger :bow:


:whistle:
I actually agree. Arteta is not a premier league Manager.

[Niall_Quinn]

So a global pandemic couldn't dent the infallible predictability of it all?

How was our backwards and sideways game? Is the old magic still there?

[Xhaka Can’t]

Arsenal are winless in their past 26 Premier League away games against fellow 'big six' opposition (D10 L16), with their last such victory coming at Etihad Stadium in January 2015 (2-0).

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51601979


Five years since an away win. Referring to us as being ‘fellow’ big 6 is becoming a bit of a stretch. There is nothing big about this Club any more.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Stats like that are not that instructive though. We beat Leicester away when they won the league.

However you certainly can say we shit the bed away at what would be considered our rivals. :lol:

[Xhaka Can’t]

Fair point Maccy.
However, it does open up another issue. While we can say over that time period, we were part of what would be called, the big 6, we are trending away from being considered a big club in terms of results.

Recently, we were an undisputed part of a duopoly, then the Top 4, now we are hanging on to a big 6 tag.

[KSE Comedy Club]

What a total shit show.
This team is a fucking embarrassment.

I can take losing to Citeh, as it's them after all, but how about actually trying? show a bit of fight, hell, even just play fucking football!!

We didn't even try after 10 mins - this season is done.
Arteta still doesn't have a clue.

Why play Aubameyang? The guy hasn't signed and clearly doesn't know if he wants to stay, so don't play him.
Xhaka picked again - glad he's fucking injured, that should see him out till we can sell him.

No Pepe, No Martinelli, No Torriera, Ceballos on the bench - just fuck off you greasy haired, Spanish twat.

:censored::censored::censored::censored:

[Marc Overmars]

Ozil was left out for tactical reasons apparently. For the love of god can this guy just be let go?

No idea why Pepe or Martinelli weren’t given any time.

Arteta. :haha:

Looking every bit the rookie.

[Letters]

Apparently Luiz's red card is being appealed


...by Brighton

:rimshot:

[Marc Overmars]

I think we are really missing that array of technical players we used to have in abundance and perhaps take for granted. There just doesn’t appear to be any chemistry in this team, no guile with how we move the ball and construct passages of play, no one any good in tight spaces either. It’s all just very ponderous and easily telegraphed by the opposition.

Even the games we win are often chores to watch.

If we have any money to spend I would put an attacking midfielder on the list along with a decent CB.

[Letters]

Like I said, we are less than the sum of our parts. I don't think our squad is that bad but we are not a good team.

[Özim]

Anyone would be better than Wenger :bow:


:whistle:

This is what you get when you pick someone without even 1 game managing. Joke of an appointment and proving that he's not equipped to be manager.

We can't get a shot on target, the football is boring (gone back to the Wenger days) and his lineups and tactics are shocking. He's also playing Auba our best player on the wing.

All in all shocking performance from him, yes he hasn't got the best squad but he certainly should be doing a whole lot better than he has been doing, it's been very disappointing, another sub-standard manager.

[Özim]

I think we are really missing that array of technical players we used to have in abundance and perhaps take for granted. There just doesn’t appear to be any chemistry in this team, no guile with how we move the ball and construct passages of play, no one any good in tight spaces either. It’s all just very ponderous and easily telegraphed by the opposition.

Even the games we win are often chores to watch.

If we have any money to spend I would put an attacking midfielder on the list along with a decent CB.

The manager came in to change things, we've been pretty average from day 1 of his time here, we should have been alarmed when he came out and said he wants to get the spirit back from when he was here in 2016 (why would anyone want to?), so far he's done precious little.

On top of that he's brought some shockers back into the fold and made them regulars, Xhaka, Mustafi and of course his insistence on playing Luiz at the back, not being funny but the guy has been a liability at the back for years, if you're to play him anywhere play him as a DM.

He's also playing Aubameyang, our best finisher on the wing.

Pretty shocking state of affairs really, his post match interview wasn't much better, didn't want to come down on his players and was defending Luiz, in fact he wanted the Arsenal board to give this chump a new contract.

What a mess, the way I see it he has to take blame too, nothing he's done since he arrived has made the slightest difference, we haven't move up the table, we were humbled in the EL and the style has got if anything more dull as we not struggle to create.

Should have never been appointed, was a mistake to take on a rookie all day long.

[Letters]

This is what you get when you pick someone without even 1 game managing. Joke of an appointment and proving that he's not equipped to be manager.

But he's anyone :sulk:

Anyway, more seriously. I think he's doing OK. It's depressing that we cannot compete in these games but that problem goes back years.
He deserves a transfer window and a proper run at things next season IMO.

[Xhaka Can’t]

He wasn’t the appointment we needed, but then again, he isn’t responsible for the mess.

There are so many things wrong with Arsenal, in almost every area imaginable, I’m at a loss to know where to begin.

I genuinely hate what this Club has become. It is nothing more than a vehicle to enrich a select view individuals at the expense of people who built and supported this Club through generations.

It has been left rudderless and has done nothing but meander rather than innovate and grow since 2004. It has throughout that time alienated those who provided it with the most support while fleecing them and outright lying about its current reason for being and plans for the future.

It has degenerated so much, that anything positive will eventually end in tragedy. Aubamayang is the latest example. He flourished through his own work and is now way too good for this Club, he will be more potential unfulfilled for us.

Next up will be Leno.

The rot is almost complete.

[Mac76]

The manager came in to change things, we've been pretty average from day 1 of his time here, we should have been alarmed when he came out and said he wants to get the spirit back from when he was here in 2016 (why would anyone want to?), so far he's done precious little.

On top of that he's brought some shockers back into the fold and made them regulars, Xhaka, Mustafi and of course his insistence on playing Luiz at the back, not being funny but the guy has been a liability at the back for years, if you're to play him anywhere play him as a DM.

He's also playing Aubameyang, our best finisher on the wing.

Pretty shocking state of affairs really, his post match interview wasn't much better, didn't want to come down on his players and was defending Luiz, in fact he wanted the Arsenal board to give this chump a new contract.

What a mess, the way I see it he has to take blame too, nothing he's done since he arrived has made the slightest difference, we haven't move up the table, we were humbled in the EL and the style has got if anything more dull as we not struggle to create.

Should have never been appointed, was a mistake to take on a rookie all day long.

I agree with all of this, Arteta's had three months to watch past performances and think about players, tactics etc but judging from last night he hadn't learnt a thing

if Auba had any doubts about leaving they will all be gone now, completely isolated last night on the left and while that's partly because Tierney was too busy defending to get forward, it still shows he's not being played where he should - I don't know what he must think at being passed over for CF in favour of an academy lad, promising or not.

tbh our best chance against Citeh was probably just pumping balls over the top with Auba at CF and hoping he got onto one of them, that might at least have got us one goal last night.

[Letters]

He wasn’t the appointment we needed, but then again, he isn’t responsible for the mess.

There are so many things wrong with Arsenal, in almost every area imaginable, I’m at a loss to know where to begin.

I genuinely hate what this Club has become. It is nothing more than a vehicle to enrich a select view individuals at the expense of people who built and supported this Club through generations.

It has been left rudderless and has done nothing but meander rather than innovate and grow since 2004. It has throughout that time alienated those who provided it with the most support while fleecing them and outright lying about its current reason for being and plans for the future.

It has degenerated so much, that anything positive will eventually end in tragedy. Aubamayang is the latest example. He flourished through his own work and is now way too good for this Club, he will be more potential unfulfilled for us.

Next up will be Leno.

The rot is almost complete.

:gp: Depressing, but accurate.

When I were a lad the club was well run, run by generations of people who really loved the club.
Now we're a shambles, run by a businessman with no actual interest in the club. It's rotten to the core.

[Mac76]

:gp: Depressing, but accurate.

When I were a lad the club was well run, run by generations of people who really loved the club.
Now we're a shambles, run by a businessman with no actual interest in the club. It's rotten to the core.

i still think the blame lies more with Raul and co than the Kroenkes - the Kroenkes are trusting them as supposedly football people to run the club properly but instead they're running it like their own little mafia, lining the pockets of their agent mates

I think Josh is maybe a little more savvy - note that apparently it was him that was against Emery being given a new contract when Raul wanted to

but i also suspect that he's so new to football that he can't really see the extent of the problem or know how to deal with it

we need to get rid of Raul and co in favour of people who run the club better - though i've no idea who those people are but maybe look at a well-run club like Sheffield Utd

[Marc Overmars]

Recruitment has been mostly terrible for a number of years now. I mean, we’ve got a 70m player that hasn’t been trusted all season.

[Xhaka Can’t]

We HAD a £70m player.

We don’t any more.

Which proves your point.

[selassie]

Like I said, we are less than the sum of our parts. I don't think our squad is that bad but we are not a good team.

We are definitely not a top 4 team anymore. Honestly hand on heart think the likes of Leicester & Wolves are better than us now. They have better starting XI and better managers.

We are 7th-8th best team in PL IMO.

[Mac76]

We HAD a £70m player.

We don’t any more.

Which proves your point.

good point, what would we get for him now - half that?

he's been treated disgracefully, you can imagine what he was told about playing regularly, being a core part of the team etc when he agreed to come here, instead he's sidelined completely now

i've no doubt he's pissed off, and I've also no doubt that is being interpreted by Arteta as his being 'difficult' and like Emery, Arteta is probably trying to wave his small dick around to show who's boss

meanwhile the teachers' pets like Xhaka, Luiz and Mustafi can do no wrong in Arteta's eyes

it's all a total joke

[Özim]

But he's anyone :sulk:

Anyway, more seriously. I think he's doing OK. It's depressing that we cannot compete in these games but that problem goes back years.
He deserves a transfer window and a proper run at things next season IMO.

I'll be honest, I think he's doing a terrible job, wrong choice in the 1st place but I don't see an improvement, our attack has totally gone to pot under him and his lineups are questionnable, I just don't think he's much of a manager, he just came with hype and that's why he got the job, so far it's not justified at all, he doesn't look tactically astute, seems incapable of spotting weaknesses and isn't getting the team to perform, just shows that being assistant manager is pretty meaningless in terms of becoming a manager in your own right.

This guy should have started in some lower league somewhere, not come here, now we're stuck with him and his boring, predictable football, it's like Wenger all over again!

Of course it's not just him, it's the whole club from top to bottom, it's an embarrassment to big clubs.

[Özim]

good point, what would we get for him now - half that?

he's been treated disgracefully, you can imagine what he was told about playing regularly, being a core part of the team etc when he agreed to come here, instead he's sidelined completely now

i've no doubt he's pissed off, and I've also no doubt that is being interpreted by Arteta as his being 'difficult' and like Emery, Arteta is probably trying to wave his small dick around to show who's boss

meanwhile the teachers' pets like Xhaka, Luiz and Mustafi can do no wrong in Arteta's eyes

it's all a total joke

Pepe should be playing, we need to get the best out of him he cost us a lot, another error by Arteta in a long list of them, doesn't seem to be able to get the best out of anyone.

[Özim]

I agree with all of this, Arteta's had three months to watch past performances and think about players, tactics etc but judging from last night he hadn't learnt a thing

if Auba had any doubts about leaving they will all be gone now, completely isolated last night on the left and while that's partly because Tierney was too busy defending to get forward, it still shows he's not being played where he should - I don't know what he must think at being passed over for CF in favour of an academy lad, promising or not.

tbh our best chance against Citeh was probably just pumping balls over the top with Auba at CF and hoping he got onto one of them, that might at least have got us one goal last night.

To be honest it's a disgrace Auba wasn't up front last night, Nketiah may be promising but he hasn't done an awful lot and he should be on the wing if anyone, we created nothing yesterday. Like you say we should have been trying to get it to Aubameyang and hoped he put one or two away, was never going to happen with him on the wing and Nketiah up front.

I just don't believe in this guy, he's not made us any better and is doing so much wrong, why can't we get a manager with the common sense to play the right people in the right place? Hopefully Arteta doesn't last too long, once he goes we can only pray for a decent appointment, but that's probably too much for the club.

[Letters]

I'll be honest, I think he's doing a terrible job.
Yes, but that's because you show repeatedly that you have no ability to think in anything other than binary terms.
Players/Managers etc are either brilliant or they're terrible. Nothing in between.
In real life, it's a bit more complicated.

I'm not sure he's the right choice, I agree there hasn't been huge improvement but he hasn't been here long and deserves a transfer window or two. I'd say next season is the real test for him.

[Globalgunner]

Why cant you let a thread take its natural course. You always jump in here trying to rile people up. Ozim has been right Wenger was a bust. Wenger is gone. Ozim also didnt fancy Arteta. Now we see that he might not be right for us. What part of that ticks you off so regularly? You are just miserable every day. We are here trying to analyse another miserable defeat and you as ever start off with your Wenger love jeremaid.

[Özim]

Yes, but that's because you show repeatedly that you have no ability to think in anything other than binary terms.
Players/Managers etc are either brilliant or they're terrible. Nothing in between.
In real life, it's a bit more complicated.

I'm not sure he's the right choice, I agree there hasn't been huge improvement but he hasn't been here long and deserves a transfer window or two. I'd say next season is the real test for him.

It's not just that for me, it's how little impact he's had, even when he first arrived, when managers generally have players attention and tend to get better performances out of them for a while we saw precious little of that, the longer it goes the worse it gets, he's modelling himself on the Wenger that failed for years which doesn't bode well either.

Have we improved at all since he arrived? Have we moved up the table? Have we been doing better in other competitions? Has he been picking the right team?

On top of that the style of football is really dull again, the guy seems obsessed with bringing Wengerball (post 2005) mark II, noone is interested in that, maybe 10-15 years and Spains' heyday but not today. I just don't see what he can bring and to be honest I'd rather he didn't waste any money we do have in transfer windows, it's clear to me he's not the right man on many levels.

I'd rather we got rid now and found someone more progressive with a clearer plan and a better grasp on tactics and players abilities, as they say don't believe the hype, this guy is no Guardiola or Klopp and never will be.

For me if you want to get the fans onside, you need to do a few simple things right, firstly, pick the best team which he doesn't do. Secondly don't make a player who was disrepsectful to fans the 1st player on the teamsheet, especially when he's also very limited ability wise. Thirdly plays your best players in their best positions.

All very simple, Arteta doesn't seem to be able to do any of those. Auba's contract is also running down, if we have any chance of convincing him to play I would think not playing second fiddle to a kid is probably a good start, the decision to play Nketiah up front was ridiculous and probably won't help to convince Auba to stay with us.

[Mac76]

Why cant you let a thread take its natural course. You always jump in here trying to rile people up. Ozim has been right Wenger was a bust. Wenger is gone. Ozim also didnt fancy Arteta. Now we see that he might not be right for us. What part of that ticks you off so regularly? You are just miserable every day. We are here trying to analyse another miserable defeat and you as ever start off with your Wenger love jeremaid.

Letters has been NQ-ed - it's that simple

a shame but it's true

[Niall_Quinn]

Letters has been NQ-ed - it's that simple

a shame but it's true

Has he? Or is having a different opinion now officially a sign of abnormality into which all deviants are lumped?

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Can I join the club now?

[Niall_Quinn]

I didn't even watch this shit because, even if they weren't parading around with racist slogans on their shirts, who didn't know, down to the fine details, what was going to happen? It would be like watching a film twice, one directly after the last. Or in the case of Arsenal, watching it hundreds of times on a loop. Not what I call fun.

[Letters]

Have we improved at all since he arrived? Have we moved up the table? Have we been doing better in other competitions? Has he been picking the right team?
Well, looking at the 16 games before he joined:
W4 D7 L5
vs Arteta's games:
W8 D5 L3

It's been a bit better. We've moved up one place, we're a bit closer to the top 4 than we were. We're still in the FA Cup.
Nothing earth-shattering, I agree.

I don't particularly disagree with what you're saying, but he only joined late last year, with the enforced gap he's only been in charge for 16 games which have been a bit of an improvement on what they were before. Agree about the boring football.

TL;DR - I wouldn't sack a manager after 16 games unless it was a real car crash, which it hasn't been. I'm not 100% convinced by him but while we certainly let Wenger stay too long, we don't want to go to the other extreme and sack a manager after 16 games because he hasn't magically turned a deeply dysfunctional team into world-beaters. He deserves a transfer window and a season to prove himself - or not.

[Bumble]

Well, looking at the 16 games before he joined:
W4 D7 L5
vs Arteta's games:
W8 D5 L3

It's been a bit better. We've moved up one place, we're a bit closer to the top 4 than we were. We're still in the FA Cup.
Nothing earth-shattering, I agree.

I don't particularly disagree with what you're saying, but he only joined late last year, with the enforced gap he's only been in charge for 16 games which have been a bit of an improvement on what they were before. Agree about the boring football.

TL;DR - I wouldn't sack a manager after 16 games unless it was a real car crash, which it hasn't been. I'm not 100% convinced by him but while we certainly let Wenger stay too long, we don't want to go to the other extreme and sack a manager after 16 games because he hasn't magically turned a deeply dysfunctional team into world-beaters. He deserves a transfer window and a season to prove himself - or not.

We only have to look at United and see what has happened to them since SAF left. plenty of money spent and plenty of managers. I see why people think it would be any different here especially as we were already on the way down whereas United somehow won the league with a relatively ordinary team and Van Persie.

I actually like the idea of playing some of the academy players. I am happy Ozil doesn't play and Luiz doesn't start. Perhaps Arteta is being encouraged to give these guys a go now because of the financial situation and that we might need to get rid of a few higher profile players. Perhaps this is the perfect time to build the team because we aren't going to get relegated and CL spot is very unlikely so what is so wrong with giving these players a go. Also we were away at City so even with our strongest team in the last decade we would still have got bashed. Arteta needs a full season.

Auba will have to go leave unfortunately for his own good as well if he wants to win titles.

[Özim]

Well, looking at the 16 games before he joined:
W4 D7 L5
vs Arteta's games:
W8 D5 L3

It's been a bit better. We've moved up one place, we're a bit closer to the top 4 than we were. We're still in the FA Cup.
Nothing earth-shattering, I agree.

I don't particularly disagree with what you're saying, but he only joined late last year, with the enforced gap he's only been in charge for 16 games which have been a bit of an improvement on what they were before. Agree about the boring football.

TL;DR - I wouldn't sack a manager after 16 games unless it was a real car crash, which it hasn't been. I'm not 100% convinced by him but while we certainly let Wenger stay too long, we don't want to go to the other extreme and sack a manager after 16 games because he hasn't magically turned a deeply dysfunctional team into world-beaters. He deserves a transfer window and a season to prove himself - or not.

Trouble is you're comparing a time when Emery had lost the team and was having a nightmare and when literally noone was happy, so years there's a marginal improvement on a guy who was struggling badly, that's not a good measuring stick, he should be doing a lot better.

I personally feels even in those 16 games he's shown he doesn't really know what he's doing and also you have to ask how he's turned a team with so much firepower (that's our strength) into a team with a tootless offence.

[Marc Overmars]

This season is beyond a write off so you have to just let things run their course and hope for some small nuggets of joy along the way.

I don’t think Arteta has made the kind of impact we had hoped for but I really feel like he’s working with scraps. Sure there are a few individual players with ability but I was going through the squad this morning and it is average as fuck really when you look at each player and compare with the better sides in the league.

Arteta can only reasonably be judged next season but I’d be lying to myself if I felt things were going to be any different.

We threw away top 4 last year, we choked in the EL final and we’ve been mid table ever since. We’ve been blaming the coaches for so long I think it’s time we look at the shower of crap taking the field.

[Letters]

Trouble is you're comparing a time when Emery had lost the team and was having a nightmare and when literally noone was happy, so years there's a marginal improvement on a guy who was struggling badly, that's not a good measuring stick, he should be doing a lot better.

I personally feels even in those 16 games he's shown he doesn't really know what he's doing and also you have to ask how he's turned a team with so much firepower (that's our strength) into a team with a tootless offence.

You just asked if we'd improved :shrug:
I don't think we're massively disagreeing here. Arteta has talked a good game but there has only been incremental improvement at best.
But it seems downright silly to sack a manger after 16 games unless maybe we'd lost them all or something ridiculous like that.
Results have been OK, last night was grimly inevitable but we haven't won an away game against a top 6 for 5 years, that embarrassing record was never going to magically change. As MO says, this season is a write off. Arteta deserves a transfer window and a full season before we do anything too rash.

[Niall_Quinn]

The squad is packed from top to bottom with shit players, like most mid-table squads. We've had a few talents arrive who quickly made the realisation there's no ambition here, and fucked off. That will happen again with Auba. The players who are past their peak or were overrated in the first place will linger on until their contracts have worn down and they've rooted out the last pennies. Then worse players will be brought in to replace them, but they'll sound like hot talents because the prices will just keep going up and up. 70mill for Pepe, for example. The guy can barely kick a ball. There's still a lot of cash to be earned from mid-table. Anywhere in the PL will do, even if you get relegated you get big cash. That's what the game is played for now, the cash. In 2018 the gypos banked £147mill in prize money, TV revenues, etc, for winning it. We banked £139mill for running in a distant 5th. West Ham, £110mill for 10th. Huddersfield, £94mill for being rock bottom and getting relegated. Where's the incentive to dump the hundreds of millions into this squad that it urgently requires? An investment of £200-300mill to rebuild the whole thing, just to make an extra few mills in return? Not happening.

[Xhaka Can’t]

I miss the days when there was no football.

Seriously, I do.

[selassie]

This season is beyond a write off so you have to just let things run their course and hope for some small nuggets of joy along the way.

I don’t think Arteta has made the kind of impact we had hoped for but I really feel like he’s working with scraps. Sure there are a few individual players with ability but I was going through the squad this morning and it is average as fuck really when you look at each player and compare with the better sides in the league.

Arteta can only reasonably be judged next season but I’d be lying to myself if I felt things were going to be any different.

We threw away top 4 last year, we choked in the EL final and we’ve been mid table ever since. We’ve been blaming the coaches for so long I think it’s time we look at the shower of crap taking the field.

Aye, there are structural damages at this club on and off the field that are going to take a while to fix. Arteta isn't the solution, but he isn't the problem either...in fact if anything he at least has a vision of sorts and understands what needs to be done with the footballing side of things.

What he is working with is essentially a core bunch of players who are on the scrapheap, these are players that literally nobody wants to touch, that's pretty amazing given the money in football. Ozil & Mustafi are prime examples of washed up players who we have been stuck with paying huge salaries to. The remainder of our squad isn't great to look at aside from a few young talents who we will no doubt ruin in one way or another.

I have lowered my expectations so much for this club that I now talk about us like we are an established middle table team, why expect anything else?

I watched about an hour of yesterday's game and switched it off, anybody that saw that display yesterday won't have seen anything alarming. I am not even talking about Arsenal fans either, everybody knows what is wrong with Arsenal and that's just the football side, we as Fans see more and it's truly laughable how shambolic our club has become, it's embarrassing.

I literally don't care anymore, it's not even worth watching anymore games this season because nothing is going to change.

[selassie]

You just asked if we'd improved :shrug:
I don't think we're massively disagreeing here. Arteta has talked a good game but there has only been incremental improvement at best.
But it seems downright silly to sack a manger after 16 games unless maybe we'd lost them all or something ridiculous like that.
Results have been OK, last night was grimly inevitable but we haven't won an away game against a top 6 for 5 years, that embarrassing record was never going to magically change. As MO says, this season is a write off. Arteta deserves a transfer window and a full season before we do anything too rash.

I think any new manager deserves more than a transfer window to put things right with the squad because it's a complete mess. We have some decent young talents to work with, Auba obviously, but Central Midfield & Central Defence need a complete rebuild. We have a number of players with a year left on their contract, that's not an issue per se, but it is when we are going to need to squad build with what I assume won't be a good budget. We are where the likes of Liverpool & Sc*m were prior to Klopp & Poch joining either club. I know the Sc*m now are on the way down too but they actually have some very saleable assets in their squad, we have who? We can't even get money for our best players!!! I mean how f*cked is that? We ALLOW, because it happens...our best players to walk away for FREE season after season, it's comical :wacko:

Let's not pretend, we have a massive rebuild job on our hands, it's gonna get worse before it gets better IMO.

[selassie]

Trouble is you're comparing a time when Emery had lost the team and was having a nightmare and when literally noone was happy, so years there's a marginal improvement on a guy who was struggling badly, that's not a good measuring stick, he should be doing a lot better.

I personally feels even in those 16 games he's shown he doesn't really know what he's doing and also you have to ask how he's turned a team with so much firepower (that's our strength) into a team with a tootless offence.

I do see your side of the argument against Arteta, but i do feel for Arteta too. He's not perfect, I mean lately our best player, captain and only real offence threat has had to play out wide on the left to accomodate Nketiah. I like Nketiah, think he is a decent young talent...but move Auba outwide to give him minutes? :haha:

Yet the club wonders why Auba wont sign a contract extension? You couldn't make this shit up, only at Arsenal :haha:

[Özim]

I do see your side of the argument against Arteta, but i do feel for Arteta too. He's not perfect, I mean lately our best player, captain and only real offence threat has had to play out wide on the left to accomodate Nketiah. I like Nketiah, think he is a decent young talent...but move Auba outwide to give him minutes? :haha:

Yet the club wonders why Auba wont sign a contract extension? You couldn't make this shit up, only at Arsenal :haha:

Yes also, Martinelli didn't even feature which is odd as well. Whilst it's not all on him, the basic errors he makes really don't help our situation.

[Özim]

You just asked if we'd improved :shrug:
I don't think we're massively disagreeing here. Arteta has talked a good game but there has only been incremental improvement at best.
But it seems downright silly to sack a manger after 16 games unless maybe we'd lost them all or something ridiculous like that.
Results have been OK, last night was grimly inevitable but we haven't won an away game against a top 6 for 5 years, that embarrassing record was never going to magically change. As MO says, this season is a write off. Arteta deserves a transfer window and a full season before we do anything too rash.

Yes technically we have, but even if that's the case it's only marginally on a disastrous spell prior to his arrival, so it's not very good.

Maybe but did anyone really believe he was the answer, I certainly couldn't see the logic of bringing in a guy with no experience at all merely on hearsay, as it turns out he's not been very good at management so far (as expected), I forgot he also left Martinelli out, so he shifted Auba wide to play Nketiah and also didn't play Martinelli, that's an odd thing for anyone to do, especially after a 3 month break.

For me the fact he had no experience at all, it wouldn't be ridiculous to get rid of him at the end of the season and cut our losses, based on the fact he isn't a good manager and really hasn't shown anything of any promise. Better that than keep him a couple years, see us become mid table mainstay whilst losing all of our best players, because let's face it who is going to want to stick around for a rookie who doesn't know what he's doing.

I bet Guardiola was singing Arteta's praises yesterday for a free 3 points, won't get an easier 3 points, considering Arteta would have known Guardiolas methods better than most he did a very poor job indeed, according to him though it's down the bad luck!

[Niall_Quinn]

I miss the days when there was no football.

Seriously, I do.

Football is back. Fume clogged air is back. Rude bastards on their mobile phones are back. Jamie Carragher is back.

's all good, man.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Football is back. Fume clogged air is back. Rude bastards on their mobile phones are back. Jamie Carragher is back.

's all good, man.

Don't Drink And Drive, But When You Do, Call Saul.

[Letters]

For me the fact he had no experience at all, it wouldn't be ridiculous to get rid of him at the end of the season and cut our losses, based on the fact he isn't a good manager and really hasn't shown anything of any promise. Better that than keep him a couple years, see us become mid table mainstay whilst losing all of our best players, because let's face it who is going to want to stick around for a rookie who doesn't know what he's doing.
I'd say if a really top manager became available it wouldn't be the worst idea to nab them but I can't agree that after 16 games you can completely write him off as you have.
Again, you seem to make very quick and very polarising opinions of people.

Agree with selassie, he isn't the solution but he isn't the problem either.

[Mac76]

he isn't the solution but he isn't the problem either.

whatever the deepr problems at the club, we have a manager who is playing the wrong players in the wrong positions with the wrong tactics - who else are we supposed to blame, the cleaners?

[Letters]

whatever the deepr problems at the club, we have a manager who is playing the wrong players in the wrong positions with the wrong tactics - who else are we supposed to blame, the cleaners?

I'm not saying Arteta shouldn't get any criticism or shoulder any blame. He's the manager, the buck stops with him.
But IMO he's done enough to suggest he should get a transfer window and a season to show his worth.

[Mac76]

I'm not saying Arteta shouldn't get any criticism or shoulder any blame. He's the manager, the buck stops with him.
But IMO he's done enough to suggest he should get a transfer window and a season to show his worth.

has he?

wanting to keep Luiz?

playing Auba on the left and a rookie in Auba's best position?

playing Saka on the right?

playing Mustafi at all?

Xhaka first on the team sheet?

freezing out Pepe?

not for me, sorry

and the transfer window point is a joke - we all know he will have very little say, it will all be stitched up by Raul and his mates - it's the reason they didn't want Ancelotti, they knew he wouldn't be their bitch and do whatever they said so they went for the kid

Everton had the guts to say' we want someone expereinced and with real stature to come in and get this club back on its feet' - Arsenal said 'we want a puppet so we can carry on milking the cash cow'

[Letters]

has he?
Looking at results yes, I'd say so.
I don't believe any experienced manager would have this level of scrutiny after this few games.
You could argue that an experienced manager would be better results but given how things have been this season I'm not sure that's necessarily the case.
I'll just him at the end of the season.
Next season.

[Mac76]

Looking at results yes, I'd say so.
I don't believe any experienced manager would have this level of scrutiny after this few games.
You could argue that an experienced manager would be better results but given how things have been this season I'm not sure that's necessarily the case.
I'll just him at the end of the season.
Next season.

ok, so when we've got an even shitter squad than now and are playing in the Championship you'll be satisfied he's no good?

[Letters]

ok, so when we've got an even shitter squad than now and are playing in the Championship you'll be satisfied he's no good?

:rolleyes:

If our squad is shit then why are you expecting results to be better?
And clearly if next season starts off as a real car crash then sure, sack him. So far though results have been OK. Not setting the world alight but after the way this season had gone before Arteta took over is that a reasonable expectation?
I'm not bowled over by his appointment but I don't want us to hop between managers every 6 months, that's a ridiculous way to run a club.

[GP]

Far too early to judge Arteta, obviously.

Recruitment has been a car crash. A string of signings that aren't good enough, only signed because the MD is cosy with their agent.

[Globalgunner]

Pablo Mari was an Arteta signing. His City links are at the root of that, its obvious. Tierney is a good signing, talent wise. Lets hope he can stay injury free. The other guy Soares. who knows if he is even real. Bottom line is a new manager knows that his remit is to work with what he already has otherwise we may have well have kept Emery if new recruitments were going to be the denominator between failure and success.

Arteta has shown zero signs of improving this team. No real business would ever recruit a neophyte to run its business either in good times or bad. This company, this club has decided to jump over the waterfall with its eyes closed. Shocking decision.

[Marc Overmars]

Sane wants to leave City.

Must get.

[Letters]

He'd be in-Sane to want to come to us :rimshot:

[GP]

Insane in the membran-e

[Niall_Quinn]

Sane wants to leave City.

Must get.

What are we going to do, kidnap him on his way to a decent club?

[Xhaka Can’t]

What are we going to do, kidnap him on his way to a decent club?

You’d be much more effective than the clowns in charge.