Brentford vs Arsenal - Match reaction and player rating

Henry Winter has written a piece about how more fans have begun to trust the process. For me “Trust the Process” is the bleating of sheep on social media who don’t want to admit that they have placed their faith in a false dawn. I don’t trust Arteta, I don’t trust Edu and I don’t trust KSE…..I still think too many decisions get made unwisely.
However if in the unfolding of this season there are many more games like this one which show work rate and talent in equal measure, It will go some way to alleviating many of the doubts I have. I’m still of the view that Arteta should have been sacked in the autumn period of 2020. But if he is able to produce more results like Sunday, and is able to adapt from his own hubris that resulted in our 3-1 loss to United then there is hope that we can see a movement in the right direction

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Originally Posted by Xhaka Can’t

I’m not a fan of the decision to field Nwaneri. I know it’s only for four minutes, but it raises expectations and pressures at a ridiculously early age as well as the pressure to field him.

He is still a child and the physical demands placed on him to compete at this level could lead to injury that shortens a career before it should even start.

Am I being overly critical here? It just doesn’t sit well with me.

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Not sure I agree. I think that the introduction of Nwaneri simply sent a message both to our youth players and more generally that Arsenal is a club that will give opportunities for them to progress their careers. By fielding the youngest average age team in the EPL we are already showing a committment to youth team progression, that both sets us apart from the other top teams and feeds into our more general strategy - to focus on the best young talent rather than trying to compete for the very best established names with clubs for whom finance is not a consideration. While giving Nwaneri some minutes was a 'stunt' to a degree - the coverage that this received was for me a useful PR exercise that cost neither the club nor the player anything.

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Originally Posted by mandela8

Who would you play instead, man?

I'm always up for dropping Xhaka but for who?

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Why would Arteta drop one of our most consistent best performenrs this season?

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Originally Posted by IBK

Why would Arteta drop one of our most consistent best performenrs this season?

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He wouldn't. No one would. People just can't admit they were wrong.

Certainly not a Xhaka fan but he’s definitely playing the best football of his time with us at the moment. I know that bar isn’t particularly high but he’s had a positive impact on our strong start so far.

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Originally Posted by GP

He wouldn't. No one would. People just can't admit they were wrong.

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Wrong about what exactly?

His lack of positional awareness, his lack of pace, his lack of ability to take the ball forward from his own half under any pressure. His being totally one footed in a way that Saka would be embarrassed by.

There’s being overly optimistic and there’s being masochistic

Xhaka playing well is the exception that proves the rule. Just like it was with Aaron Ramsey. But instead you have moronic fans chanting “we’ve got Granit Xhaka” at the game against Brentford. Which to me is like chanting that you’ve got Monkeypox

It’s nice to make people aware of the fact but it’s not really something to boast about

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Originally Posted by IBK

Why would Arteta drop one of our most consistent best performenrs this season?

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In fairness to that Alba descended maniac even he is saying you can’t drop Xhaka even though it is to lament our lack of options in central midfield. On this and little else, we are in accord

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Originally Posted by HCZ_Reborn

Henry Winter has written a piece about how more fans have begun to trust the process. For me “Trust the Process” is the bleating of sheep on social media who don’t want to admit that they have placed their faith in a false dawn.

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We don't know if it's a false dawn yet. But looking at All or Nothing, it does seem like there is a strategy for the club.
And looking at results, it seems to be working. And it's not just results, although those are of course important in football, I just like the way they're playing right now, there feels to be more fight and purpose in them.
I'm not convinced it'll take us right to the top of the game, but I reckon Arteta's earned the right to try. There have been times when I, too, have thought he should be sacked. But overall I'm glad we have a management structure in the club who isn't as impatient and reactionary as the fans.

Having seen the highlights now, we were really good on Sunday. It was a level of performance I haven't seen from us in a while, and 3-0 flattered Brentford if anything. We have some bigger tests to come of course.

I’m not insisting that it is a false dawn, I’m saying that Arteta’s reign has been a myriad of them designed as little more than a trick of light when we are in fact still in the middle of the night.

Sunday was the first and in fact only glimmer of us being a functioning football team in almost ten years…so yes that even by itself should be cause for celebration.

But it cannot and should not be allowed to detract from the fact that a) our transfer policy which some deluded fans seem to think akin to uncovering a trove of Nazi Gold, is more hit and miss than someone with glaucoma on a driving test

B) Anyone with even a passable level of intelligence should have been deeply concerned by what they saw in All or Nothing. A passive aggressive dictatorial figure with all the charisma of John Major making deeply quixotic team talks, failing to demonstrate any personal level of relationship with one single player and blaming players for defeats when it’s abundantly clear his own tactics and set up are responsible


Now it could be that Arteta has either had an epiphany or that he’s started taking psychiatric medication that has dulled his napoleon complex whilst still allowing him to function at a basic level. But despite that we are in an incredibly precarious position, in terms of the potential for injuries and suspensions that could see this unravel very quickly.

The fact is Brentford was nice, really nice to see…but logic suggests we should still be waiting for the other shoe to drop

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Originally Posted by HCZ_Reborn

I’m not insisting that it is a false dawn, I’m saying that Arteta’s reign has been a myriad of them designed as little more than a trick of light when we are in fact still in the middle of the night.

Sunday was the first and in fact only glimmer of us being a functioning football team in almost ten years…so yes that even by itself should be cause for celebration.

But it cannot and should not be allowed to detract from the fact that a) our transfer policy which some deluded fans seem to think akin to uncovering a trove of Nazi Gold, is more hit and miss than someone with glaucoma on a driving test

B) Anyone with even a passable level of intelligence should have been deeply concerned by what they saw in All or Nothing. A passive aggressive dictatorial figure with all the charisma of John Major making deeply quixotic team talks, failing to demonstrate any personal level of relationship with one single player and blaming players for defeats when it’s abundantly clear his own tactics and set up are responsible


Now it could be that Arteta has either had an epiphany or that he’s started taking psychiatric medication that has dulled his napoleon complex whilst still allowing him to function at a basic level. But despite that we are in an incredibly precarious position, in terms of the potential for injuries and suspensions that could see this unravel very quickly.

The fact is Brentford was nice, really nice to see…but logic suggests we should still be waiting for the other shoe to drop

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I think you’re just too shrouded in negativity man. I’m not an optimist by any stretch but I’m happy with what I’m seeing whilst still being acutley aware of how fragile things are. Every single cog needs to be functioning for us to work, we won’t be able to deal with more than a few absentees.

Most fans with a brain cell know this is not likely to end in all encompassing glory but we’ve been out in the wilderness for so long it’s just nice to be be relevant again I guess.