Man U reaction and player ratings

[selassie]

The fact is if you spend 300million you would expect that to have occurred by now. Already qualified for 4th, already making inroads towards a title challenge

The team needed 300 million pounds worth of investment at a minimum. The squad was a complete mess a few years ago, ageing players on big contracts who were stinking up the place with their performances and their attitude.

I expect Top 4 this season, but it won't be easy. We are up against other teams that have spent well in excess of 300 million over the past few seasons too so it's not like we are the only team spending.

Do I think our progress would have been further with a more experienced manager? Most likely yes....do I think Arteta is the right man to lead us to a title challenge? No... However I do think that competition is fierce now, look at what all our rivals spent this summer, it's not like we are the only team spending vast amounts on recruitment. Also, look at the Managers in the place at all our rivals, they are all seasoned winners, all of them have won domestic titles with the exception of Arteta. If we really want to improve then we should be targeting an elite Manager or one close to the level of our rivals.

[Marc Overmars]

He inherited a mess. A squad full of overpaid players past their best, coasting on contracts because no one else would be dumb enough to offer what we did. The investment was needed and so was the entire restructuring of the wage bill and profile of player we signed. He pulled them together to win the FA Cup which rightly earned him some credit to play with, then he systematically flogged almost everyone over the course of the last few transfer windows and now has a first team of players who are almost all his signings.

3 years is a fair amount of time for any coach, especially a rookie. If he doesn’t get us into the top 4 this year then you have to seriously consider whether it will ever happen with him. I’m ok with where we are at the moment and for once looking forward to seeing how things transpire this season.

[HCZ_Reborn]

I don’t think things were that bad. Apart from the fact that for reasons I couldn’t fathom we were starting Joe Willock in games, the squad wasn’t terrible. We had functional strike force in Auba and Lacazette.

I don’t rate Pepe but actually could have been used better

The midfield is actually worse now than it was then. Defence was pretty rubbish admittedly.

Arteta it feels to me fell out with too many of these players because he didn’t have the personality to manage them properly. Someone who isn’t so thin skinned and can actually interact with people on a one on one basis maybe wouldn’t have found themselves needing to junk most of the team for next to nothing.

It feels that the club have persevered with Arteta in a way it didn’t with Emery despite nothing Arteta has done has shown he deserves that patience.

I am utterly convinced that we will look back on his tenure as coach as being an utterly dismal failure (as we should)

[Marc Overmars]

I don’t think things were that bad. Apart from the fact that for reasons I couldn’t fathom we were starting Joe Willock in games, the squad wasn’t terrible. We had functional strike force in Auba and Lacazette.

I don’t rate Pepe but actually could have been used better

The midfield is actually worse now than it was then. Defence was pretty rubbish admittedly.

Arteta it feels to me fell out with too many of these players because he didn’t have the personality to manage them properly. Someone who isn’t so thin skinned and can actually interact with people on a one on one basis maybe wouldn’t have found themselves needing to junk most of the team for next to nothing.

It feels that the club have persevered with Arteta in a way it didn’t with Emery despite nothing Arteta has done has shown he deserves that patience.

I am utterly convinced that we will look back on his tenure as coach as being an utterly dismal failure (as we should)

Emery is a good coach but wasn’t the right fit for us. He also worked with Sanllehi and Mislintat who bombed really as far as recruitment goes, all 3 of them were sent packing within months of each other. Persevering with Emery was never really an option with such a mess at executive level too. Plus as far as I’m concerned those players completely downed tools at the back end of that season, the league form fell off a cliff and that culminated in the Europa League final disaster. The hangover from that continued and led to his sacking the following season.

Anyway as for Arteta that’s fine if you think this is going to end in tears, a part of me thinks it will too mainly because Arsenal have conditioned me to think that way due to recent history, however I feel like we’re still some way off pressing the panic button. He’s been given the time Emery wasn’t because the club actively pushed the self-destruct button and started again, rather than just try to repair something that was long broken. Also, you have to give a rookie time otherwise what’s the point? The club had to have some courage of its convictions with him.

As I said though, 3 years is fair and he’s been backed enormously. We must be playing CL next season.

[HCZ_Reborn]

Small part of me hopes we don’t get top four so we can be rid of him, as far as I’m concerned he should have been binned off two years ago. I still haven’t forgiven him for that run between October and December of 2020 (losing seven games in eleven). We’ve lost too many games under him - 32 in 102…utterly disgraceful, we don’t score enough goals and to be honest I don’t even find the football we play enjoyable to watch.
Fortunately it doesn’t exist here but I think there’s a weird cult of Arteta on the internet, I think imbecile fans like that we are spending money so they put the doubts to one side.

I simply can’t see it not ending in tears, I’m just worried that the club won’t pull the plug when the time comes and won’t show Edu the door with him.

I never hated Wenger I just got frustrated with him, I hate Arteta with a passion…I think he’s an utter conman and a narcissist like Mourinho but without even the charisma to go with it.
I feel sorry for any club that he ends up going to after us, if there’s any justice it will be the end of his managerial career as no club deserves the absolute shit he’s inflicted on us.

32 fucking defeats….makes me dry heave

[Marc Overmars]

Yeah I’d agree that we lose too many games. For some reason we don’t seem to draw anymore.

[HCZ_Reborn]

Yeah I’d agree that we lose too many games. For some reason we don’t seem to draw anymore.

Made Amazon’s ubiquitous All or Nothing title especially fitting

[Letters]

Holy shit. I was just reminded that when Arteta took over we were in the middle of a horrible league run

After 25 games we were:

P25 W6 D13 L6 F32 A34 GD-2 Pts31

For comparison West Ham were third from bottom on 24 points.

[Letters]

Yeah I’d agree that we lose too many games. For some reason we don’t seem to draw anymore.

13 games lost in the league in each of the last 2 seasons. We mitigated that last year by winning a lot too, but yeah, nowhere near good enough. Have to cut that out this season.

[Mac76]

Arteta it feels to me fell out with too many of these players because he didn’t have the personality to manage them properly. Someone who isn’t so thin skinned and can actually interact with people on a one on one basis maybe wouldn’t have found themselves needing to junk most of the team for next to nothing.

This

It's absolutely what's at the core of his problem and why he puts a sycophantic arse like Xhaka first on the team sheet

He's also failed to correct basic failings in players like Saka which shows he's not a good coach either