Morning all.
It’s not good enough. There is no way to disguise it. It’s terrible, to be honest. It’s not what we are, not where we are as a club. It’s not what the fans deserve, it’s not what the manager deserves, it’s not what the board deserve. It’s us players that need to take responsibility for this. We have got a great manager and we believe in him 100 per cent. The blame is on us, nobody else.
Red cards change games for and against you. When you are a man down it is always going to be tougher, especially against a team like Burnley. They’re physical, they’re good at it, they play to their strengths and they did that tonight. But even if we do go down to 10 men we should be winning the game at that point. We should be taking chances. We are not scoring enough goals. Everything is going wrong. We are working on the right things, we are doing the right things in training, we are working as hard as we can, but just things that can go wrong are going wrong. That happens in football. It is the lowest we have probably all felt in our careers and nobody is going to help us except ourselves.
So we just need to keep believing, keep positive. I know it is hard. I know the fans deserve much better and all I can do is apologise to every single one of the supporters through these tough times. We just need to work hard. It is easy enough to say we want to do better, but we need to actually show we want to do better. Confidence is massive in football with everyone. When everyone is out to get you of course confidence is going to be low, but we can’t let that affect us. We can’t use that as an excuse. We are Arsenal. We need to be better than this and we are not performing up to standard. We need to be better throughout the full game. We need to take chances, we need to score goals.
It’s Arsenal. It’s just not good enough.
Well, Kieran Tierney’s words have a bit more umph and honesty about them than those spoken by our captain prior to the north London Derby. The one thing about our young Scotsman is he can never be accused of not working hard or shirking responsibility. Sadly for Arsenal and Mikel Arteta, the same can’t be said for too many others but their exit day will come one way or another.
Having just recently had the backing of Vinai Venkatesham, Mikel Arteta’s future has again been the topic of discussion during an interview Edu held with the Guardian newspaper. For those hoping the sack is imminent, be prepared to be disappointed.
Mikel is doing a great job, he’s doing really well here. If we’re not talking about patience with Mikel. It would be very unfair to him because what a year we have faced: three months without football matches, a lot of things changing in the club. He started, stopped, and when he started to get an understanding of all the squad he stopped again. It would be really unfair to Mikel to say something about that because the year was so challenging for everyone, but even more for Mikel, who had just arrived at the club.
If we start to see problems internally – if the players don’t believe anymore, if the staff isn’t good enough – then I will say ‘Hmm, I’m a bit worried’, but it’s such an unfair situation right now because the way I see things every day, everything’s right. It’s strange to say that because the results are not coming but I see properly the way Mikel is working. I want people to understand what we are doing. We are in the process to have a beautiful future.
It is not about Edu or Mikel, it is about stability. Now is the time to try to be a stable club in the old sense. Externally and internally, we need that. Since we arrived here we have been changing, changing, changing: now it’s time to be stable and together at the same time.
January signings?
Why do people have to expect a magician to go ‘Boom! Come here, Messi? (Other big names are available) No, it depends on us. We will try to do something but, listen, we have the responsibility to change it. Don’t wait for someone outside to come inside and be a magician because that’s not going to happen. If you can sign 20 players, which we’re not going to do, that’s not going to work anyway. So the main thing for me is that we, as a club, have to understand our problem.
So, we’ve heard fro Kieran Tierney, Vinai Venkatesham and now Edu and all three are more than happy with what Mikel Arteta is doing. Tierney’s honesty is refreshing if not brutally correct. The players simply aren’t working hard enough. They are not thinking on their feet, using space or filling gaps, like the great big one so often seen between the front players and the midfield. When the ball is out wide with Tierney, Willian, Pepe or Saka, what’s the point in Aubameyang and or Lacazette plonking themselves right by a defender? For all the criticism Nketiah gets for not scoring goals, he’s a busy bee in the box, trying to find space, trying to lose his defender.
As a group of players, Arsenal simply aren’t busy enough on or off the ball. Our front men might jog around a bit but what do they actually do to put the opposition under pressure. Very little. Yet how did Eddie score one of his recent goals? Arteta can push these players all he likes in training, make his plans clear before a game too but once they step over the white line, it’s up to them to think for themselves. Our front men should be busting a gut to score goals and it’s not like the chances aren’t coming their way because they are. Balls are getting into the box, it’s just that no one is fired up enough to fight for it.
Roy Keane, although I loath the man, said it the other day, no footballer should need motivating before a game. It’s their job, for 180 minutes a week!
Finally, when the captain’s armband is next up for grabs, give it to a man who deserves it. A man who gives his all for the team each week. A man who isn’t afraid to tell it as it is. Mr Tierney.
See you in the comments.
Football is a team effort. Whatever differences, put it aside and fight as one. A force to be reckon with.
Morning Rico and All
Always I go by what I see as regards football Tierney and Gabriel have given 100% Saka for his age has shown up as a player I’m not sure who I can add to them.
inconsistent players as a scout are impossible to fathom out,Mickys baffled he knows it’s not working even though our play is not as bad as the results.
I’m beginning to sound like a parrot defending Micky,but he has to perhaps take a leaf out of GGs book and change the captain,Auba looks fried now,that oggi I think will have given him nightmares and maybe in our best interests Micky should use this and agree with Rico.
Tierney all day long for me agreed
Agree with Kean-no player should need motivating!
Professional and person pride should have a player ready to earn his pay!
Tierney and a few others lead the way and we need more like them.
Morning all.
Morning Fred, at the moment, I’m still behind Mikel and possibly more so after reading Edu’s interview. I think it’d wrong for the players to win yet another power struggle with a manager.
Absolutely Benjamin.
Hi Rico and All I hope we don’t keep changing coaches to keep players happy how ever if the current players and our up and coming academy player or even the players Edu would like to buy are not 100% willing to back Arteta were do we draw the line.
Scott I am doing fine been busy rebuilding my 4wd now we can get back into the bush
Geoff,
We Aussies are bloody lucky in the big scheme of things.
What you want and need from a captain is leadership, honesty, integrity, an ability to articulate the message, passion, controlled aggression, technical ability who is a shoe in for the 1st team and, ideally, someone who understands the spirit and fabric of the club. Despite his youth, Tierney has that. His upbringing at Celtic has stood him in good stead. He must be the next and long term captain. Reminds me a lot of a young Tony Adams.
Hi Geoff. If Edu and Vinai are being honest, Arteta is staying put for a while yet.
Afternoon all,
Some say the captain doesn’t matter, I suppose you want leaders all over the pitch, we are certainly not getting leadership from Aubameyang, he is setting a terrible example.
I wouldn’t drop him yet but he should never have been made captain in the first place.
Scott, I apologise, you never mentioned Lacazette or Willian. I thought you said something about senior players not putting in a shift, just shows never assume.
I hear that Torreira might come back in January, not wanted at Atletico.
Reading the quotes doing the rounds this morning I am getting more and more worried.
“What I can say about Granit is his professionalism and his commitment with the club and with his team is maximum.
“He knows and we all know he had a moment where he lost it. And I know the reason why but what I cannot do is just take everything he has done away because he has made a mistake.”
and then
“Willian will come good and that it will just take time ”
Looks like we are in for more of the same .
Haha rico, certainly we feel the same. As I was surmising yesterday, there’s something about Tierney, every expression on his face. He cares so much more than some players we know out there.
Limey, no dramas at all mate, they’re just two that though not playing their best, weren’t two I was talking about.
A Scotsman playing for our local A League club is doing some strength and conditioning training sessions for my son and a few mates.
He knows Tierney well and reckons he’s never seen anyone so single minded in his focus on football.
Nobody he’s come across works 24 hours a day to become a better footballer like our lad.
He’s got everything you want in a skipper.
There’s quite a bit in the Telegraph (subscription only, unless you buy the paper) about rifts, division and cliques within the dressing room. No names given, no evidence given and no sources to quote, not even “someone close to the club”.
Phrases like “Arsenal in crisis”. “Pressure mounts on Arteta”. “Fans losing patience with manager”. “Absent owners”. Are all used. There was even a taster on the front page of the main paper.
I have to say there is a lot of wordage, but very little substance to the reporting.
I could cut and paste it if you like Rico.
It is strange that it is not noticed that Torreira, Ghendouzi …, players from the central zone left and went to get William to play on the right side, very close to the line. In other words: as I have already said, we are very deficient in the center of the terrain, which is the “engine” and “soul” of a team. The team is strongly unbalanced by both side faiuxas and very “thigh” in the middle, with reflexes in the defense, in the middle and above all in the attack.
Totally agree re Aubameyang Limey, he’s everything a captain is not.
Potter, to be fair, Arteta is unlikely to criticise either player in public. Well, not if he wants to sell them.
I really like him Andrew. He’s not bad, for a Scot. Lol
Feel free Cicero but as you say, there’s seldom any substance to these s**t storing articles.
Welcome Sharpstu.
We had an excellent Scottish captain in the sixties and early seventies. He didn’t do badly for the club. He was a natural leader, a wholehearted, reasonably skilful, noisy, player who gave his all and lead by example. Tierney is becoming a similar to old Frank! Imo.
He may well become our future, when the clear out is complete. He may even lead us to greater glories than his older countryman. Well here’s hoping😊
Afternoon all.
Didn’t we just Wavy. Big Willy Young wasn’t so bad either, although never a captain.
Giroud scored again…
Morning ladies and gents,
I too agree with Frednerk, only three players can stand up an say yeah im fighting for the cause. I think those players should become more demanding of the rest.
On the Nkethia and our striker problem, I dont believe we have a bad striker at the club. People going on about Willian and Pepe not being up to it, i say this, use your eyes every one of our strikers are not performing to their own high standards.
Even the pundits are throwing the blame at their feet. I like what Souness and Smudge had to say after the game sunday and echoed what fred was saying only a few deserve their place. Yes hes making a few mistakes but bad form isnt Arteta’s fault, its individuals in the sqaud. They are letting him down, letting the fans down, letting the defence down, letting our strikers down and letting themselves down.
Morning James, all.
Again, I agree. If our front players start performing to the best of their ability, we’ll score goals and start winning games.
New post up now