Morning all.
I’ve said before that each time Arsenal start a new game I hope that this is the one when everything clicks into place. The passing improves, the movement off the ball less static, our general play more dynamic and our finishing more clinical. However, we’re in January, nearly six months after our opening game of the season and if anything, “Arteta ball” is dying a slow and painful death.
We’re predictable, easy to defend against and dreadful in and around the box. Having lost 2-0 to Newcastle Utd in the week, I thought we’d at least put a bit more of an effort in to ensuring yesterdays game didn’t go the same way. As it turned out, it did.
If possession stats decided the results each week, we’d be flying high at the top of the league, sadly for us, it does not. Goals win games and simply put; we aren’t scoring them. Chances aplenty yes, just no one to convert them.
Our crosses into the box were hopeful, our shots, high, wide or both and our buildup play was slow and tedious. Occasionally we hit the target but frustratingly, straight at Utd’s number 2 goalkeeper. Gabriel Martinelli did find the back of the net in the first-half but it was ruled out for offside. However, with VAR not in place, it couldn’t be overturned because it would have been I’m sure. Maguire played the ball, the ball didn’t simply deflect off of him into Martinelli’s path.
Admittedly, the second half was better, but only after Utd had gone 1-0 up and had a player sent off. Two minutes after Dalot had been given his marching orders, Gabriel levelled the scoreline. A deflection yes, but who cared at the time. We were then handed a golden opportunity to not only take the lead, but to probably win the game. Havertz went over in the box and Madley didn’t hesitate to point to the spot. Again, VAR would probably overturned the original decision. A bit of pushing, shoving and butting of heads followed by a few bookings later, Odegaard stepped up to take the penalty. He went for placement over power and it was saved.
Every other opportunity Arsenal had to win the game, and there were plenty, was either spurned or saved. Man Utd could have nicked the win the final minutes of the extra time, but Raya got across his goal to tip Zirkzee’s shot around the post.
Into penalties we went. Odegaard tucked his away easily, just as he should have during the game and then oddly enough, Havertz decided to place his kick in the same place as Odegaard’s first one with the outcome identical. Goodness knows what was going on in Raya’s mind during the shootout but he certainly didn’t look like he was going to save any one of Utd’s penalties.
Mikel Arteta on the performance…
Incredible how we didn’t win the game, that’s basically to sum up, the dominance, the superiority in relation to the opposition and everything we did to try to win the game and that’s it, we didn’t get what we deserve clearly, but there is an element about putting the ball in the back of the net, we did it once, with the amount of situations, chances, penalties that we had, we didn’t. We go home extremely sad but I cannot be prouder of my players, the team, individually, collectively what they have produced, on Wednesday night against Newcastle, against two top teams, it’s incredible. We haven’t got rewarded and that’s the downside to it.
I know he’s not going to publicly rip his players to shreds and rightly so. None of them deliberately shoot wide, high or straight at the keeper in any game we play but, it’s the clubs responsibility, the managers too, to bring a player into the squad who has a good habit of scoring goals. It should have happened back in the summer but it didn’t, even though our two other options were sold. One of whom Monaco have just snapped up yet he was considered not good enough for us. Same can be said about our alternative creative options, where is the alternative when Odegaard is off form or ruled out as he was for so long earlier in the season. That player couldn’t have been Nwaneri because he wasn’t brought into the team to replace our captain, yet we let ESR go as well as Vieira without replacing them.
Yesterday, when we needed a goal, Arteta brought on Sterling, Trossard, Tierney, Partey and Rice when what we needed was a goal scorer. If Odegaard is going to put crosses into the box, at least have a player in there who can get his head to it and score.
To make matters worse going forwards, Jesus picked up an injury yesterday which looked serious. I know the Brazilian is a bit of a drama queen but I’m pretty sure not even he would go to those extremes. Arteta certainly wasn’t very positive about his injury post game.
All in all, it’s been an awful week for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal. One foot out of the League Cup, and now we’re out of the FA Cup. On this kind of form, the chance of a Champions League or Premier League trophy is light years away….
Next up is Totts at The Emirates on Wednesday night…
Catch up in the comments.
Morning Rico.
I think you summed it up completely, but will he change it?
It’s like the great Arsene Wenger days, everything going fine then he got found out and didn’t / wouldn’t change. It’s a shame as it tarnishes a great legacy.
Morning Berg, all.
Yep, this period certainly reminds me of the latter Wenger years when his own stubbornness was his downfall. If only Arteta had his attacking philosophy along with this good defence.
Good Morning Rico and all
Grim reading Rico. Like watching the game itself. it was grim as well especially when we got into their penalty area. We got the ball so many times in their penalty area but it was like one of now familiar days….you simply know that we are not going to score. Even without Saka and White we still tore them to shreds.
The thing is United did not win the game but we lost it. Missed sitters, saved a weak penalty, another weak penalty in the shoot out. We had a plethora of chances and with a total of 39 attempts on goal (over last two matches) only 1 goal scored we need new bodies surely. even if we maul the spuds 11-0 I would still have been cheesed off because we threw the game away yesterda. I would rather have won 1-0 vs United and 1-0 vs the spuds than 11-0 against the latter.
We cant keep waiting for that game when it all comes together and everything goes in. We need consistency…in scoring.
our defence is as good as the GG defence of Adams and co ltd, as good as the Mourinho defence at Chelsea….but GG had Wright and Jose had Drogba. They scored and were hungry.
Who do we have to score ???
Good morning Rico.
Should Havertz have been awarded the penalty or should he have been booked for simulation? Either way his confidence is shot. It was perhaps brave of him to step up in the penalty shoot-out but he should not have been allowed to by the coaches.
It looks like we will be stuck with Sterling on the right wing on Tuesday and until Nwaneri is fit. Not a prospect that fills one with confidence.
Odegaard needs a rest!
I wanted to mention Lewis-Skelly. I completely agree that he has obvious talent: he is very difficult to shake off the ball and has good technical ability. But he doesn’t actually seem to DO anything. He is just another body in midfield; half the time I forget he is even playing. He is less error-prone than in defence than either Zinchenko or Calafiori, which is fine – but going forward he doesn’t seem to offer any kind of creative ability compared to them. And of course, as an ‘inverted fullback’ (ie, basically a midfielder) he never bombs down the line, so he doesn’t really offer much support for Martinelli. It was notable that in the very brief time he was on the pitch, Tierney did actually put in a dangerous looking cross – which was one more than Lewis-Skelly managed. So, are we seeing the limits of the young guy’s talents – or the limits of his coach, who is ordering him to play a kind of ‘extra body’ role in midfield?
Thinking outside the box, about our problems inside it, perhaps we should go to a back three of Timber, Saliba and MLS, and play Gabriel as a number nine. He could be quite good at getting to high balls into the box. Many years ago, Spurs were fairly successful when they converted Welsh centre-half Mike England into a centre-forward, he did alright once he had grown a fashionable moustache.
No FEM. we are not seeing a limit of MLS ability or the limits of the coach. We are merely seeing a 17 year old who’s position is CDM and the latter never goes bombing down the wing. He stays as a CDM protecting the back 4. And that is exactly what he is…a CDM. When Partey goes, MLS will take his place alongside Rice and Merino. MLS is playing at LB (and at 17 he is still learning) simply because atm he is better than Tierney, Calafiori and Zinchenko.
White Injured, Saka injured, Nwaneri injured, Tomiyasu injured, Jesus injured.
How would Liverpool, City, etc cope if they had all their right hand side decimated with injuries?
I do agree that we used to see Tierney and Martinelli bombing down the wing and from what I recall a few great goals came from this, but Arteta has made it clear that Tierney couldn’t adjust to the role he wanted him to do. Seems like there was a bit more life on the left when he came on instead of Martinelli hitting a dead end and reverting to passing back which in turn goes all around the back to the right wing.
Morning Cicero, Devil.
We definitely lost that one Devil.
I think Havertz would have been booked Cicero and I agree, his confidence is shot to pieces, as imo, is Odegaard’s.
“our defence is as good as the GG defence of Adams and co ltd, as good as the Mourinho defence at Chelsea….but GG had Wright and Jose had Drogba. They scored and were hungry.”
Who do we have to score ???
Exactly the point I and others have been making when constantly going on about needing a goal scorer. In fact I’d say we need two.
MLS is a great player in the making imo but like Nwaneri, he shouldn’t be expected to be our saviour imo. I think he’s been excellent at left back considering he’s out of position. He concentrates on his defending which is quite refreshing imo.
his confidence is shot to pieces, as imo, is Odegaard’s.
As is mine , The whole thing yesterday was predictable , we would dominate the possession and get caught on a breakaway. Couple this with our inability to put the ball in the net we slumped to our expected {at least by me } defeat .
I have long lost the feeling of love for players and would not be in the least bit concerned if half a dozen of them were dispatched however the ones that I would want to keep would likely be the ones that want to go.
Must admit, mine is too. If Arteta had it in him to speed our way of playing the game, he would have by now. What we’re seeing is the same old football with a hope of something clicking. In the meantime, we suffering more injuries, more sapping of confidence and no change to our system.
Two summers ago, we sold Xhaka for decent money which meant there was room at left 8 and ESR was the natural fit there. At the time, we were in desperate need of a striker as Jesus had proven to be somewhat unreliable (which was a shame given his excellent start to the season). Instead of signing the competition/replacement for Jesus, Arteta and Edu chose to splurge 65 million of Stan’s pounds on signing Kai Havertz from Chelsea, and claiming he was Xhaka’s replacement.
Arteta then tried to shoehorn Havertz into midfield by playing Partey out of position at RB, and we had a series of disjointed performances. It is likely Arteta would have persisted with a clearly failing experiment had Jesus not picked up another injury which forced him to move Havertz to CF, which restored balance to our midfield. Havertz struggled at CF. He lacked the movement of a striker, the finishing of a striker, and he didn’t worry defenders enough for any of them to be detailed to shadow him, which would allow a striker to create space in the box by dragging his shadow out of position through clever movement (which Havertz lacks). He also often strikes a ball like he is not exactly sure how his legs work, and his shooting often puts me in mind of a newborn foal still staggering on its legs.
However, we got lucky and he hit a vein of (albeit) inconsistent form and we battled City for the title until about the Aston Villa debacle. After that, it was clear that we were hoping they’d slip up and they did us no such favour. After another 2nd place finish, it was clear that our need for a top class CF had gone from desperate to dire, and it is here that Edu and Arteta committed unforgivable managerial and executive malpractice in the summer. Chasing after Sesko but somehow failing to convince him that he would gain scads of experience leading the line for one of the biggest clubs in Europe? Massive red flag. Hell, I even saw some reporting suggesting Arteta intended him to understudy Havertz. Can you imagine one of the hottest young strikers in Europe being asked to take a back seat to a guy who is decidedly NOT a striker? No wonder he turned us down. But, these things happen, no? It’s why you then have to be alert for alternate opportunities, and here the aforementioned malpractice became egregious. Victor Osimhen was primed to go to Chelsea, but that deal somehow fell through. It was then clear that he was available on loan. Now, even if we accept the “we’ll go back for Sesko in the summer of 2025” narrative, it still left us requiring a striker for the 2024/25 season, and Osimhen fit the bill. Arteta and Edu refused to make the move, and instead, signed a washed-up Sterling from Chelsea on loan. A Sterling Arteta then pointedly refused to play no matter the situation on the pitch.
Yesterday’s disaster is squarely on Arteta. This is his team, his squad. These are his players, and Martinelli’s alarming regression over the past two seasons is a damning indictment of his coaching abilities. Wenger would have by now cemented Martinelli as the sort of player defenders absolutely hate to see coming, the player we saw hints of during his first few years with us. Arteta has completely destroyed that player, and left us with this hollow shell.
Anyway, I have written off this season. If Arteta is still in charge come September 1, 2025, we can write off next season too.
It’s quite obvious a lot of us fans are starting to get a little bit tired of the glaring inadequacies that have crept into our performances and have seemingly not addressed.
Arteta has done great things in his time as coach but may have got to a stage where he can’t proceed further due to the advancement and improvements by other coaches, or maybe just like us the players are bored with his methods.
Kroenke is a winner and will probably only back Arteta so far before he pulls the plug.
MrB – my own opinion is that Emery got the best out of Martinelli after he and Tierney forged a good understanding down our left side. But the rest, well, it’s very hard to disagree. The only time we’ve seemed to go for an option b in the transfer window is when Mudryk didn’t arrive but Trossard did. Exactly what we should have done when Sesko didn’t come in. It’s all very well waiting for the right player but before we know it, another season has been wasted.
I fear if it’s the players getting bored Berg, I really do. If the players give up, Arteta’s on a hiding to nothing.
As Potter said a while back and again this morning, our better players might start itching for a move away.
Afternoon Rico and all…
Yeah yesterday was disappointing but we should have won, the team’s confidence is probably at an all time season low but in a way the NLD could be what we need, the occasion will motivate the crowd, the media will do Arteta’s team talk and the players will be driven by the emotional rollercoaster that is this game.
With no games due between Feb 6th and Feb 14th there might be a window for Arteta to take the players and their families away for some sunshine?
Afternoon Kev. I sure hope we beat the Totts, actually, I hope we have 11 fit players.
That’s the international break though isn’t it? Many of our guys will be away…
What a horror show,and yet we had loads of chances to win. Kai Havertz in particular had a nightmare. I was just reading about his wife being abused on Social Media,someone saying they hope she loses her baby,there are some real sickos out there.
Before the game I said we needed some luck in front of goal,we got some with the Gabriel goal(well done for shooting at goal though) we couldn’t make the most of it though.
Easy to say with hindsight but I never feel confident when Odegaard takes a penalty,to me if Jorginho is on the pitch he should be taking them,he has been brilliant over the years. The stats show Odegaard created the most chances this season so far,to me although you can’t fault him for effort,he wasn’t on top form,it just shows how misleading stats can be.
Someone commented that Odegaard should spend an hour a day practicing shooting,I agree with that,not just him though,the entire squad.
To me,Kieran Tierney at least looked direct and played with urgency,and he’s one of the few pre Arteta players left.
Where this leaves us for the rest of the season I don’t know. I think we will beat Spurs but I’m not looking forward to the Aston Villa game.
I’ve just seen that Villa is at home which is much better,still a tough game but away would have been a nightmare.
Marquinos has gone to Cruzeiro on loan. With Saka and Jesus injured, our only right sided attacker left standing is the underwhelming Sterling. That seems a strange decision, but also indicates that the Marquinos has no future at Asenal.
I think if could be an FACup weekend Rico?
Look on the bright side.
Arteta can focus on title race and CL Cup now.
If North London Derby does not lift the team to play out of their skins, nothing will.
“Individual wins game, Team wins championship”.
The social media stuff against Havertz and his family is disgraceful imo. I hope whoever has done it gets caught and jailed…
Ah, ok Kev. I assumed international so yes, would be a good time to go away in the sunshine and come back in a much better frame of mind.