AFC - New Year's Resolutions

[Mac76]

So what NY resolutions do you think the club should make?

Mine are these:

1. buy a striker

2. sell Zinchenko, Havertz and Eddie and send Raya back to Brentford

3. Sack the set piece coach

4. Most importantly, quietly start the ball rolling to replace Arteta - watching him develop at a snail's pace is just too painful to watch and we don't have time for it, it won't be long before we start losing people like Saliba, once they realise that success is just not going to happen under this coach

[Chippy]

So what NY resolutions do you think the club should make?

Mine are these:

1. buy a striker

2. sell Zinchenko, Havertz and Eddie and send Raya back to Brentford

3. Sack the set piece coach

4. Most importantly, quietly start the ball rolling to replace Arteta - watching him develop at a snail's pace is just too painful to watch and we don't have time for it, it won't be long before we start losing people like Saliba, once they realise that success is just not going to happen under this coach
At last, a new post. I thought this place was closed!

I agree with everything except the Havertz departure. He does just enough to stay....for now.
I would judge Arteta at the end of January. If we are still doing shit then, get rid.

[HCZ_Reborn]

Problem is we are stuck with Kiwior because Zinchenko is unfit, now I’ve argued many times that Zinchenko doesn’t know what a left back does. Kiwior knows what a left back does but he is physically unable to perform that role, he also has zero passing ability…and actually what we are doing is mangling the confidence of a decent centre back. To the point where id say stick Gabriel on the left and play Kiwior in the centre. Gabriel is quick and great at interceptions.


Havertz should not be playing in the position he plays, he has far too little influence on the game in midfield, if he plays at all it should be as a deep lying forward or a number ten central attacking midfield…we are already too congested with him and Odegaard and at the moment id play him ahead of Odegaard.

At the risk of being a pedant, resolutions are something you yourself resolve to do. When they are something you believe others should resolve to do it simply becomes a wish list.

[IBK]

So what NY resolutions do you think the club should make?

Mine are these:

1. buy a striker

2. sell Zinchenko, Havertz and Eddie and send Raya back to Brentford

3. Sack the set piece coach

4. Most importantly, quietly start the ball rolling to replace Arteta - watching him develop at a snail's pace is just too painful to watch and we don't have time for it, it won't be long before we start losing people like Saliba, once they realise that success is just not going to happen under this coach

I am really trying to maintain perspective with our club's current situation, so I will start with the point about replacing Arteta. It is far too early to be thinking about this IMO. There is no doubt that he has improved the team and the club more generally since his arrival. The upward trajectory of the team following our FA Cup success in 2020 is clear for all to see, and there is also no doubt that we are a million miles away from the mess that presides during AW's final years. We lost the title last season to the best team the EPL has ever seen and have been at or near the top of the league for the whole of this season. The reason that our recent blip seems so dispiriting is because objectively we were (and even just about remain) one of only a few teams tipped to win the title this year.

In terms of transfer spending of all clubs, we sit 3rd in the last 5 year period, and our league position last season equated to net spend - 2nd in the list. Before then, our finishing positions have been remarkably consistent with net spend - so I am going to regard the managers performance as par. But we also have to consider where we started from; the dross that Arteta inherited and the fact that we have (to a degree due to factors beyond the club's control) suffered badly spending wise from a lack of decent player sales. We also have to consider - if we are comparing Arsenal to Citeh and Liverpool - that it is far easier to build a team from an established base of quality than it has been for Arteta and Edu.

People are all over Mate FC and Villa as examples of what can be achieved far more quickly than has been the case at our club, but the prospects of either team winning a trophy this year are remote. Are they top 4 contenders? Yes. But whatever our frustrations with our team there are not many people predicting that we will fall out of the top 4 this season, and we narrowly missed out in 2021/22 by 2 points. Taking emotion out of it, we are firmly a top 3 club under our current manager.

That's the head speaking, so what about the heart? My heart is worried about the fragility of this team - but this feeling is relatively recent, and there is IMO at least as much chance of us arresting our current problems as there is of us falling away. I don't think there is any need to worry about our best players wanting away - at least for another season - so I am not going to go there.

As for your resolutions...

1. I can see the merit in this, but I am concerned that unless we alter a system that has become stodgy and predictable a January striker signing won't change that much. I think that our recent stutters are a result of too much disruption already (whisper it quietly, but for all his immense talent, bringing Rice into the team, and getting rid of Xhaka has diminished our menace). I am not a good enough analyst to pinpoint this - but I would not be surprised if an upgrade elsewhere might re-unlock the potency of our first choice front 3.

2. I don't like Raya and find it a bit absurd that he has forced out Ramsdale because of his alleged upgrade in terms of passing out/sweeping - yet our verticality has diminished rather than improved with him in the team, while he is not as good as Ramsdale in his core job of preventing goals. I'd be more than happy for him to go - but of course he won't. I don't think Zinchenko should be sold. We are bereft of ball progression as it is and we look better attacking with him at LB than we do without him. I would however consider him at left 8 or even in MF. Havertz, no. It is taking time for him to gel into this team but there is progress and I want to see him tried in a front 3. Eddie looks like a busted flush and if he can be sold for another striker to come in I would take that.

3. I disagree. Set pieces have been almost embarrassingly important for the goals we have scored this season, and the coach is not the problem. However if I see Trossard taking another shit corner I will lose my mind :banghead:

[Mac76]

Problem is we are stuck with Kiwior because Zinchenko is unfit, now I’ve argued many times that Zinchenko doesn’t know what a left back does. Kiwior knows what a left back does but he is physically unable to perform that role, he also has zero passing ability…and actually what we are doing is mangling the confidence of a decent centre back. To the point where id say stick Gabriel on the left and play Kiwior in the centre. Gabriel is quick and great at interceptions.


Havertz should not be playing in the position he plays, he has far too little influence on the game in midfield, if he plays at all it should be as a deep lying forward or a number ten central attacking midfield…we are already too congested with him and Odegaard and at the moment id play him ahead of Odegaard.

At the risk of being a pedant, resolutions are something you yourself resolve to do. When they are something you believe others should resolve to do it simply becomes a wish list.

I'm not saying these things have to happen right now - obviously player sales are more likely in the summer and we will have Timber back for next season

I agree Havertz is out of position but I still feel the money would have been better spent elsewhere

I'd rather see ESR at left 8, Havertz is taking up unnecessary squad space

as for your final point i said "do you think the club should make" there's nothing intrinsically wrong with saying that so nothing to be pedantic about

[Mac76]

3. I disagree. Set pieces have been almost embarrassingly important for the goals we have scored this season, and the coach is not the problem. However if I see Trossard taking another shit corner I will lose my mind :banghead:

so you really mean you agree, because yes, set pieces are important, but our corners and FKs are dreadful at the moment, they are supposed to used to create goal-scoring oppportunities but instead they're an embarrassment, it's a joke that we are paying somone who's supposed to make them better and in fact they've never been worse - why can't Arteta see this? why does someone who wants every detail to be exactly 'just so' allow such dreadful corner-taking to persist? :shrug:

[Mac76]

I am really trying to maintain perspective with our club's current situation, so I will start with the point about replacing Arteta. It is far too early to be thinking about this IMO. There is no doubt that he has improved the team and the club more generally since his arrival. The upward trajectory of the team following our FA Cup success in 2020 is clear for all to see, and there is also no doubt that we are a million miles away from the mess that presides during AW's final years. We lost the title last season to the best team the EPL has ever seen and have been at or near the top of the league for the whole of this season. The reason that our recent blip seems so dispiriting is because objectively we were (and even just about remain) one of only a few teams tipped to win the title this year.


Thing is a manager can put certain things right when they come in and Arteta has certainly improved team spirit and up to a point built a better squad, but unless the manager continues to develop they end up becoming a hindrance

Does a good company wait until profits fall and its share price drops or does it head that off at the pass by refreshing the leadership and bring new energy in?

Arteta's failings are writ clear and we don't have time to have him learn better when progress seems so slow

pretty much the only thing he seems to have learnt is that he doesn't have to play Zin every game, but even that was only after a series of disastrous errors game after game

he still can't:

- rotate his squad
- make good subs
- recruit well enough - yes we've bought some good players but both Havertz and Raya were mistakes
- spot errors - such as the poor set pieces - and fix them
- get his players playing more quickly and creatively - my sense is he's micro-managed where they should be and how they should play to the point where all spontaneity is being driven out

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

So what NY resolutions do you think the club should make?

Mine are these:

1. buy a striker

2. sell Zinchenko, Havertz and Eddie and send Raya back to Brentford

3. Sack the set piece coach

4. Most importantly, quietly start the ball rolling to replace Arteta - watching him develop at a snail's pace is just too painful to watch and we don't have time for it, it won't be long before we start losing people like Saliba, once they realise that success is just not going to happen under this coach

This is really spot on except for the set piece coach thing, which is clearly ludicrous.

We've lost another game playing football that would make Wenger in his worst years blush and TBH enough is enough.

We really need to start searching for another coach, because anyone who could hurt his team so much like Arteta has done in just a few months with silly decisions like breaking players like Tierrney and Ramsdale, buying a basket case like Havertz while ensuring we have the worst striking options in the whole league.....deserves no more chances.

I suggest trying to grab Xabi Alonso before Real do.

[HCZ_Reborn]

Disagree. We complained in the West Ham and Fulham games that we were not creating enough chances, too much tika taka . Now I factor in that Liverpool weren’t playing the deep block (but I don’t think Fulham did) but we created enough chances to win the game comfortably, that simply was not the case in the last couple of games. The way we played wasn’t the issue, the issue is not prioritising attacking players in the transfer market and being too passive with substitutes…

I think you probably had a point about us not signing a player like Kudus (although arguably we’d suffer with him being at ACON) but today we got in behind the full backs (quite a lot) mixed up passing with direct play and actually were sharp in terms of the press. The problem was players frightened of pulling the trigger demonstrated by Havertz and his multiple touches….thats a confidence issue not a style of play issue.


As for Arteta, this is a case of back to default…overall we score in home games only 80% of the time

Also Xabi Alonso is an Arteta clone.

[IBK]

so you really mean you agree, because yes, set pieces are important, but our corners and FKs are dreadful at the moment, they are supposed to used to create goal-scoring oppportunities but instead they're an embarrassment, it's a joke that we are paying somone who's supposed to make them better and in fact they've never been worse - why can't Arteta see this? why does someone who wants every detail to be exactly 'just so' allow such dreadful corner-taking to persist? :shrug:

I get what you are saying, but I refuse to believe in training that corners and FK's are as bad as we have seen. The set piece coach does not oversee open play shots on goal, and we have all seen how bad these are. The set piece coach can only set up plays - and we have seen really imaginative plays in games. He can't take the dead balls. I refuse to believe that with the players we have there is lack of ability on the ball. Set piece goals have been the thing that has us 5 points of the top this season - there are plenty of areas that require attention elsewhere.

[HCZ_Reborn]

I would say there’s a lack of consistency in the set piece taking, corner routines especially…they are either very good or fail to beat the first man.

I agree that I wouldn’t set it out as the most important thing when as you say we could be a lot worse off if not for the goals from set piece routines.

Finesse seems to be the most lacking thing. And although I don’t hold much faith in XG, the fact that we have lost the last three games despite having a greater XG count than our opponents does suggest that something is not quite right when it comes to pulling the trigger. I find the whole “Arsenal just want to walk it in” a lazy and tired cliche, but it’s also not without merit…I think we are too often trying to look to set ourselves or pass responsibility when players could take the shot on. There is a bit of an issue of luck given we’ve hit the post and the bar quite a few times this season (more so than I can remember in previous seasons) but it’s relevant in that…when this happens it plays into a players confidence.

Whilst I think we are not creating the chances we did last season, sometimes we are playing with fine margins. The same accusation of being wasteful is something we all voiced at times last season (games where we scored three and four, we could have got five and six). And the deep block is not just something that was used against us last season, take for example the home game against Everton where we won 4-0 but it took that moment of individual brilliance from Saka to score and open the game up…they kept us at arms length before that and we created very little and we looked like we were out of ideas.

Now don’t get me wrong, we clearly have needed a striker but Arteta seems not to like out and out strikers, opting instead for players like Jesus and Trossard who want to be involved in play in midfield. But I think there’s an argument also that our goal scoring issues are as much a case of fine margins as regression in style of play (we are not leaving ourselves any more open to the counter this season than last season)

[Mac76]

I get what you are saying, but I refuse to believe in training that corners and FK's are as bad as we have seen. The set piece coach does not oversee open play shots on goal, and we have all seen how bad these are. The set piece coach can only set up plays - and we have seen really imaginative plays in games. He can't take the dead balls. I refuse to believe that with the players we have there is lack of ability on the ball. Set piece goals have been the thing that has us 5 points of the top this season - there are plenty of areas that require attention elsewhere.

"The set piece coach can only set up plays"

so why is he telling them then to aim EVERY SINGLE CORNER to the near post where they are almost always headed away by the first defender?

it's stunningly predictable, it's almost completely unsuccessful and we waste opportunity after opportunity because of it

whatever the stats say we are dreadful at corners, my eyes aren't lying to me

[HCZ_Reborn]

"The set piece coach can only set up plays"

so why is he telling them then to aim EVERY SINGLE CORNER to the near post where they are almost always headed away by the first defender?

it's stunningly predictable, it's almost completely unsuccessful and we waste opportunity after opportunity because of it

whatever the stats say we are dreadful at corners, my eyes aren't lying to me

The stats say we’ve scored more from set pieces than any other team this season…now either opposition defences have become extraordinary poor from defending set pieces or overall we aren’t doing too bad. Dont get me wrong there are games where it’s been horrendously poor (especially against defences like Newcastle who will eat that shit up all the time) but actually there has been a lot of times where we’ve profited by creating uncertainty at the back post….from Havertz’s goal against Brentford to Jesus goal against Brighton.

[Mac76]

The stats say we’ve scored more from set pieces than any other team this season…now either opposition defences have become extraordinary poor from defending set pieces or overall we aren’t doing too bad. Dont get me wrong there are games where it’s been horrendously poor (especially against defences like Newcastle who will eat that shit up all the time) but actually there has been a lot of times where we’ve profited by creating uncertainty at the back post….from Havertz’s goal against Brentford to Jesus goal against Brighton.

That stat says more about our failure to score from open play than it does about anything else, i.e. you're comparing an area where we're doing badly with an area where we're doing even worse

Once again, my eyes aren't lying, we waste corner after corner and I'm far from being the only one to see it

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

The stats say we’ve scored more from set pieces than any other team this season…now either opposition defences have become extraordinary poor from defending set pieces or overall we aren’t doing too bad. Dont get me wrong there are games where it’s been horrendously poor (especially against defences like Newcastle who will eat that shit up all the time) but actually there has been a lot of times where we’ve profited by creating uncertainty at the back post….from Havertz’s goal against Brentford to Jesus goal against Brighton.

You don't even need to pull out the stats to argue this as its obvious when you watch the games. The variation in our set pieces and the danger it generates has been one of the few joys under Arteta for the past year.

Just look at Odegaard's free kick/pass that got to Havertz, which Gabby and Saka couldn't convert. It was so brilliant that not only did it take the whole Loserpool defence by surprise, but even the camera guy and lil old me watching on the tele had no idea that was coming.

Like IBK said, all the set piece guy can do is set them up, he can't be responsible for the fact that they can't get basic things like headers and touches right anymore...that's a confidence thing and I blame the manager 80% for that.

[HCZ_Reborn]

That stat says more about our failure to score from open play than it does about anything else, i.e. you're comparing an area where we're doing badly with an area where we're doing even worse

Once again, my eyes aren't lying, we waste corner after corner and I'm far from being the only one to see it

Yet it very much appears that other people don’t agree with you, and I’m pointing out that if we have scored the most goals from set pieces that then means that other sides are doing even worse. There are times where our corner routines are poor and predictable, but there are also times which I’ve witnessed with my own eyes that they cause genuine panic in opposition defences.

[Letters]

Set pieces are the least of our worries. As 21GS says, that one yesterday was excellent and would have resulted in a goal if we had competent attackers.

[Mac76]

Yet it very much appears that other people don’t agree with you, and I’m pointing out that if we have scored the most goals from set pieces that then means that other sides are doing even worse. There are times where our corner routines are poor and predictable, but there are also times which I’ve witnessed with my own eyes that they cause genuine panic in opposition defences.

I'm talking specifically about corners, our corners are shite and we should do a lot better, we have people like Gabriel, Saliba etc who waste their time coming forward only to see the ball constantly repulsed by the first defender, I don't care if the whole board disagrees, it's a major failing and, to get back to the point , any manager should be alarmed about and have sought to address it, which Arteta clearly hasn't

Yes we desperately need a striker but even a good striker won't be able to do anything with our appalling corners - the fact that we apparently pay someone to tell the team to take exactly the same crap corner each time only makes it more unacceptable

[HCZ_Reborn]

I'm talking specifically about corners, our corners are shite and we should do a lot better, we have people like Gabriel, Saliba etc who waste their time coming forward only to see the ball constantly repulsed by the first defender, I don't care if the whole board disagrees, it's a major failing and, to get back to the point , any manager should be alarmed about and have sought to address it, which Arteta clearly hasn't

Yes we desperately need a striker but even a good striker won't be able to do anything with our appalling corners - the fact that we apparently pay someone to tell the team to take exactly the same crap corner each time only makes it more unacceptable

The majority of our set pieces will be corners, and again I disagree. Because it depends what game you’re watching, against Newcastle the corner taking was feeble but there are other times where we’ve aimed the ball at the far post and created uncertainty and there are times where we’ve been able to execute very good training ground routines (think Trossard goal at Goodison Park)

It’s ok for people not to agree with you, you know. Your eyes may be objective, but the stuff they take in get filtered through the incredibly subjective perceptions of your brain (as it does with us all)

[HCZ_Reborn]

Set pieces are the least of our worries. As 21GS says, that one yesterday was excellent and would have resulted in a goal if we had competent attackers.

Yarp

[HCZ_Reborn]

I see no reason why this shouldn’t double up as the January transfer rumours thread, given I think our activity will be non-existent.

Though that said, there’s a lot of persistent talk about Amadou Onana from Everton


Now, I absolutely think this won’t happen without getting significant money for a crocked Partey (and that’s just not going to happen). But I think if it did happen I think it would have the effect of making an already testy fanbase even more cross. Now we’ve been without Partey for almost all the season aside from that lamentable spell where he was at full back. Now we’ve coped without him to the point where prioritising a replacement over a goalscorer would go down about as well with the fan base as a Chas and Dave tribute act performing at the Emirates during half time

From what I’ve seen Onana is not as progressive a player as Partey anyhow

[IBK]

Alas I think that Onana is more likely than a striker (although I agree with you that no signings are even more likely).

I'm no expert, but our manager can be galaxy brained about where our needs lie - and is quite capable of ignoring the obvious. Further, we have seen for 2 seasons now that his idea of effective forward play seems to be doubling down on a front 3 who are showing that their form during the earlier part of last season was a high point rather than a platform for greatness.

I still feel that unless he unlocks our robotic 'control' dominated play, even the proverbial 'world class' striker would not thrive in this team - he'd be more likely to descend into the horse-shoe merchant that all our other forwards are. We are currently a peculiar mix of over-caution when it comes to passes in the final third (where other teams take more risks - and even turn misplaced passes into opportunities to win the ball back and cause chaos). What seemed a solid game plan when we beat Citeh just 2 months ago has been well and truly found out and thus far we are seeing no further evolution to deal with this. I don't see Onana as changing this even if he is signed.

[HCZ_Reborn]

Maybe not the worst thing ever but I think Arteta looks at things long term when he makes signings. So if we do get Onana he’s looking at things going forward rather than plugging gaps this season.

If we weren’t desperately shy on goals I would find this approach commendable. But as we all agree it’s the tactics as well as the lack of a target man. I think the tactics did improve for the Liverpool game in terms of dimensions of attacking play. But ultimately I do think there’s something to what you’ve said about this control aspect to our game, which does leave us vulnerable to the counter (even though individually and collectively I really can’t find much fault with our defending, Saliba and Gabriel are for me even better than they were last season)

I think either way this winter training camp in Dubai could well do with a shooting clinic

[Mac76]

It’s ok for people not to agree with you, you know.

well that works both ways...

[Mac76]

Tbh i think we basically have no strikers worthy of the name at the moment - long term we do need a read top-class player but in the meantime if we coudl do it, I'd be happy to pick up a Solanke or Archer or suchlike who would surely add some much-needed potency for the rest of this season and then play second fiddle to whoever we brought in over the summer

[IBK]

Tbh i think we basically have no strikers worthy of the name at the moment - long term we do need a read top-class player but in the meantime if we coudl do it, I'd be happy to pick up a Solanke or Archer or suchlike who would surely add some much-needed potency for the rest of this season and then play second fiddle to whoever we brought in over the summer

As I said on the other thread I think our issue is mental. Its not principally our talent pool. Why have our existing forwards fallen off when they were scoring for fun last season? It can't be that everyone is off form at the same time. Let's face it we have had form for years with bucking under pressure. We saw it at the back end of last season, and the season before; and now we are seeing it again. I don't think its technical inability. It's inability to deliver under pressure. We might get a mentality monster who is immune from this. But I do wonder whether a Solanki or even a Watkins - and positively doubt that a Vlahovic - would perform like they have been doing in our team. I think it is more likely that either they will start well, but sink to the team's level aftter a while - or be unable to reproduce their form for us full stop. We feel pressure, and while he has many strengths, I think our manager's intensity increases rather than diminishes this. This approach is OK at Citeh - who have better and more experienced players; or Liverpool who have a more seasoned spine - but our relatively young team has won nothing big and is hamstrung by it.

My concern is seeing a striker as a panacea is that it is almost certain that we will not have any idea whether a new player can rise to the pressure (given that we are unlikely to be buying anyone who has done the business at the very top). The odds say that they won't (which is why in my pipe dreams we buy noone in Jan and sign Mbappe in the Summer).

(And just for you) FWIW - I think we are seeing the effect of Xhaka's replacement by Havertz in this regard. I think Xhaka was more important as a leader in the dressing room whose skin is tough enough to deal with pressure/adversity than we appreciate.

[HCZ_Reborn]

Tbh i think we basically have no strikers worthy of the name at the moment - long term we do need a read top-class player but in the meantime if we coudl do it, I'd be happy to pick up a Solanke or Archer or suchlike who would surely add some much-needed potency for the rest of this season and then play second fiddle to whoever we brought in over the summer

If we were going down that road, I’d much rather we brought someone in on loan. Like Spurs have done with Timo Werner

[Mac76]

As I said on the other thread I think our issue is mental. Its not principally our talent pool. Why have our existing forwards fallen off when they were scoring for fun last season? It can't be that everyone is off form at the same time. Let's face it we have had form for years with bucking under pressure. We saw it at the back end of last season, and the season before; and now we are seeing it again. I don't think its technical inability. It's inability to deliver under pressure. We might get a mentality monster who is immune from this. But I do wonder whether a Solanki or even a Watkins - and positively doubt that a Vlahovic - would perform like they have been doing in our team. I think it is more likely that either they will start well, but sink to the team's level aftter a while - or be unable to reproduce their form for us full stop. We feel pressure, and while he has many strengths, I think our manager's intensity increases rather than diminishes this. This approach is OK at Citeh - who have better and more experienced players; or Liverpool who have a more seasoned spine - but our relatively young team has won nothing big and is hamstrung by it.

My concern is seeing a striker as a panacea is that it is almost certain that we will not have any idea whether a new player can rise to the pressure (given that we are unlikely to be buying anyone who has done the business at the very top). The odds say that they won't (which is why in my pipe dreams we buy noone in Jan and sign Mbappe in the Summer).

(And just for you) FWIW - I think we are seeing the effect of Xhaka's replacement by Havertz in this regard. I think Xhaka was more important as a leader in the dressing room whose skin is tough enough to deal with pressure/adversity than we appreciate.

last year was a one-off - it's not normal for three non-strikers to each get around 15 league goals in a season - even Arteta has said that

so we need a new attacker who can score regularly

reluctantly (because i hated the guy) i have to at least partly agree with your Xhaka point - Havertz was a bad buy not just because he deoesn't have an obvious position but also he's just too feeble, so you're right about that - we really ought to be trying ESR in left eight

but we also need a striker - I don't think Villa are selling Watkins but we could get a Solanke or an Archer or someone on loan - but then, yes, Areteta would need to set things up to bring the best out of them

[IBK]

Perahps a one off in numbers - in fact that is a worry for sure - but I think Arteta has based his system on goals being shared - and certainly on a striker who fits into the tecnical passing style of the team. is it possible to get a 'technical' striker who fits this bill while also being a focal point finisher?

I've said before that Eddie had numbers at all levels up to this one, and a rep as a finisher rather than a player involved in build up. He's dropped off a cliff yes - but his fall is further than just bad form would suggest. Is this because Arteta has tried to ove him away from his strenghts and make him part of a team build up? Quite possibly. I am concerned that even buying a new 'out and out' striker will either involve yet more bedding in (a bit like Citeh at the beginning with Haaland) or will result in an eddie style situation under Arteta's system.

Of course I understand why people want a striker - but I fear that the problem goes deeper than this and is a systemic one.

[Mac76]

Perahps a one off in numbers - in fact that is a worry for sure - but I think Arteta has based his system on goals being shared - and certainly on a striker who fits into the tecnical passing style of the team. is it possible to get a 'technical' striker who fits this bill while also being a focal point finisher?

I've said before that Eddie had numbers at all levels up to this one, and a rep as a finisher rather than a player involved in build up. He's dropped off a cliff yes - but his fall is further than just bad form would suggest. Is this because Arteta has tried to ove him away from his strenghts and make him part of a team build up? Quite possibly. I am concerned that even buying a new 'out and out' striker will either involve yet more bedding in (a bit like Citeh at the beginning with Haaland) or will result in an eddie style situation under Arteta's system.

Of course I understand why people want a striker - but I fear that the problem goes deeper than this and is a systemic one.

Well as I've said I don't doubt that Arteta's tactics and instructions are stifling the team, which is why i said we do need to set things up differently, but still we are actually creating chances and not scoring, so we need someone who's more consistent in front of goal - if we don't do something this month you can forget this season - we're not winning anything and quite possibly not making top 4

[IBK]

Well as I've said I don't doubt that Arteta's tactics and instructions are stifling the team, which is why i said we do need to set things up differently, but still we are actually creating chances and not scoring, so we need someone who's more consistent in front of goal - if we don't do something this month you can forget this season - we're not winning anything and quite possibly not making top 4

I hear you. But I'm still not sure that simply buying a striker will work. Arteta's teams are complex mechanisms, and we have seen how taking out one part can effect the whole. Like I said, we saw with Citeh how they took time to adjust to Haaland, and our players are not as good as theirs. I'm not sure that the fact we create chances now necessarily translates if we alter a key component. I may be wrong, but I worry that the solution isn't quite as simple as people suppose.

[Mac76]

we're being linked with Isak again - if we could get him I'm for it, from what i've seen i think he would certainly meaningfully add to our goal threat (though that's not saying much atm :lol:)

[HCZ_Reborn]

we're being linked with Isak again - if we could get him I'm for it, from what i've seen i think he would certainly meaningfully add to our goal threat (though that's not saying much atm :lol:)

Hearing somewhere that Newcastle have to sell to meet their FFP obligations. I’d rather take Guimares off them even if he is an atavistic brute

[KSE Comedy Club]

I see some reports today that we are close to extending Arteta's contract again.....

NY resolutions are not going well so far.

[Mac76]

I see some reports today that we are close to extending Arteta's contract again.....

NY resolutions are not going well so far.

Hope they don't, it's not justified while he continues to make so many mistakes