Morning all.
It feels like Arsenal has taken ten steps forward followed by seven steps backwards since Mikel Arteta took the Arsenal coach/managers job back in 2019. So many good things have happened, they’re squad changes, the fans believing again and the club getting back to being truly competitive. Yet this season has been little short of a disaster when it comes to pushing on and winning a trophy.
Last summer saw the exits of Smith Rowe, Nketiah, Vieira and Nelson – all attacking players who for one reason or another, were considered surplus to requirements. I think it would be fair to suggest that emotions aside, the majority of Arsenal fans would understand their departures. Hindsight of course tells us that keeping Nelson and ESR might have helped us through our injury situation but life doesn’t work that way. However, logic alone said that not replacing any of them was certain to bite the club in the backside at some stage of the season and bite it did.
The emergence of Ethan Nwaneri has been wonderful to watch but expecting a 17 year old to suddenly play at this level for a sustained period of time is unfair on him and his body. Of course he’ll be loving playing but too much football at his age can be a negative thing long term. Saying that, how many of us wanted to see him come into the team when Martin Odegaard was injured? Yep, me too.
Squad issues aside, what about our football which at times has been awful to watch. Shoot more we say, up the tempo we add, along with other suggestions. Mikel Arteta’s tactics have been criticised by all and sundry and reading around the blog world, his time at Arsenal should be coming to an end.
This is a part of Arteta’s post match interview on Sunday:
It’s frustrating not to win the game with everything we did, especially in the first half, the first 43-44 minutes, how we dominated every aspect of the game, full control. We lacked a little bit in the final 15-20 metres, to have more shots, more purpose, more direction, the last pass, the last action, but the game is clearly for us and in the direction that we wanted. Unfortunately, one long ball and we didn’t manage that ball well, we give it away, created a foul in a really dangerous area where you have to rely on them not take advantage of the individual quality and that’s a really bad bet against Manchester United.
He talks about more shots, more purpose, more direction and the last action as well as lacking something in the final 15-20 metres. Basically, he wants to see more of what we want to see. If you and I are frustrated, imagine how he feels?
As many of us commented yesterday, when Arsenal face a team who are as interested in attacking as they are defending, we’re good. Very good, but when up against a side with a back ten, we can be pretty average. I think back to the game at The Etihad when for the entire second half, we defended as if lives depended on it and until the dying seconds of the game, City simply couldn’t find a way through even with a one man advantage.
Finding a way to unlock a stubborn defensive is something Mikel Arteta has to try and solve. Having a big fella in the box is one option but we don’t have such a player in the squad. Set pieces? They’ve not been going so well of late but there is another option now that Gabriel Martinelli has returned. Instead of having him head down running on the wings, play him centrally and tell him to be a nuisance. He’s the player with pace who can hurt defences in my opinion. He has to be a better option than Mikel Merino, Leandro Trossard or anyone else in the squad right now. He’ll run, he’ll shoot and you never know, he might score.
With tomorrow’s tie pretty much a dead rubber, it’s the perfect opportunity for Mikel Arteta to try something a little different.
Just a thought…
Morning Rico. I agree with you totally re Martinelli. Arteta, come Wednesday, should experiment. Nwaneri and Trossard out on the wings and Martinelli in Merino’s position. I have also said why don’t we experiment with Nwaneri – try the same but with Trossard and Martinelli out on the wings. What have we got to lose this Wednesday by having a go apart from PSV scoring 7 goals and Arsenal none?! I don’t think so!
Remember our awesome No.8 Wrighty 🙂 He played various attacking roles, including striker and winger, displaying adaptability and versatility.
Like I said yesterday, Arsenal its time to put the “cat” among the “pigeons” and cause mayhem.
Morning Rico and all.
Arteta has to try something new, as everyone knows how to break us down.
Morning Laura, Geoff.
I think we’ve nothing to lose by trying. Odegaard might appreciate someone with a bit of pace and movement ahead of him. Rice and Partey too although I hope they get a break tomorrow.
A game for Jorginho I think.
Henry too Laura.. 😂
Good morning folks, oops afternoon actually. 😉
This is Arteta’s squad, he has signed most of them, trained them, tutored them and has them playing to his system. Maybe they are just unable to switch to a radically different style. Look, instance, at the trainwreck that is United under Amorin, he wants his players to play his system and they just can’t, or won’t, do it. So he is clearing out his squad and bring his club to the brink of bankruptcy, (without cuts we’d go bust by Christmas, Ratcliffe in a recent interview).
Wholesale change of system means wholesale change of players, could Arsenal afford that risk? Would we the supporters be in favour of it?
Good post Rico, Martinelli through the middle, it’s a theory that’s long been expressed? He should start anyway, to get him up to speed for Chelsea on Sunday.
Others who could or should start tomorrow include Kiwior, Zinchenko, Tierney, Sterling, Jorginho, White, Califiori at centre back (?) and/or Myles. Have a few seniors on the bench in case things go Pete Tong and maybe a couple of youngsters, but only if he intends to use them, otherwise it’s just window dressing.
Who knows the mental state of the Eindhoven players?
Are they still traumatised or will they be looking for payback?
There’s a load of tickets on the ticket exchange if you are interested, the cheap seats are £72.00, I’ll be at home… 🙂
Afternoon Cicero, I’m not sure we need to go with a totally new system, but just do what we do only quicker. Probably with quicker players needed imo. Trossard, Jesus, Havertz etc, are going to win many races against defenders.
Thanks Kev, I hope we see a number of changes tomorrow, including a couple of youngsters getting on the pitch.
Afternoon everyone.
I’ve just read an article (the headline grabbed me that it was embarrasing for Declan Rice to celebrate a tackle).
The kernob in question was none other than that fool Adrian Durham and Arsenal’s number one fan Danny Murphy. Murphy went on to say it annoys him regarding defenders fist pumping a goal saving tackle or corner. They believe you should only celebrate a goal. I disagree.
Of course we should celebrate a goal as just one will earn 3 points, so when Dec made that tackle on Hojlund, a second or two earlier his fears would have created adrenalin and his pure tackle released the fears in the form of elation and a fist pump. that tackle (and there were others) saved a point and denied an old enemy 3. What’s not to celebrate Durham? Wotta turkey!!
Good afternoon Rico and all
Good points Rico……but finding a way through a stubborn defence can be done. The problem is that Arsenal go on the attack. We have the best EPL defence right. So we shouldnt be too scared to defend. Why do we have to go on the attack against every team and keep farting around the box from minute 1?? Cant we go low block as well. Why cant we stay at the back for once and allow the opposition to have the ball or play at the back?? I did it with my teams…instructed the defence and midfield to play at the back, stay low and force them to press. We did something like 58 passes at the back between 6 players and the opposition got frustrated and came forward to press. Suddenly it was Wham Bham and it was 1-0 to us. Then we could play equally. If I could do it cant Arteta do the same?? I mean our players have the same attributes as the other team. They have two legs, two balls, two eyes and one brain each. We can play at their own game no???
Is it boring?? might be. will people whistle? yes they might. but not when the other team press and open up. When we score they will shout goal.
Whatever we do we will always be criticized. Arteta commented on the ball…..everyone commented. Guardiola did the same and everyone said he was right. So wtf??? stay low block and counter attack.
Berg….a fine tackle like the one by Rice should be celebrated. How many times did Murphy do a tackle like that??? or he always took ball and player together??? Durham I dont calculate him or what he says. If Murphy celebrated only goals then he didnt have much to celebrate I think
Although we are 7-1 up on aggregate, tomorrow might turn out to be a bit tricky with regards formation. Does Arteta do wholesale changes or just a couple??
Neto might start in goal. White, Tierney, Kiwior should be in defence. That leaves Gabriel or Saliba to make up the defence. Jorginho should begin the game and personally I would give MLS a shot in midfield. Merino as well. Up top Nwaneri, Martinelli and Sterling.
I would love to see Josh Nicholls, Oyedeji and maybe Kabia get minutes. I dont think Martinelli will be risked more than 45 mins.
Afternoon Berg, Devil.
Idiots, the pair of them Berg. I bet if it was players from a different club they’d have nothing to say about it..
I don’t think we do always go on the attack Devil, our game seems to me to be more about possession football whilst waiting for a gap, or for someone to move for a key pass. If when we attacked we did so with more purpose, we might be better at it.
yes but if we keep farting around their box or in their half its only natural that they will block themselves in their penalty area. we need to fall back. That way they will come in our half……stretching their team.
Possession football in their half plays in their hands…..they will park anything even a jumbo jet.
Exactly my point Devil. We are far too slow from back to front, starting with Raya.
The premise of the possession football is to keep the opposition twisting and turning and wearing them out chasing without the ball.
The modern game however with so many substitutions allows teams to freshen up where necessary and means that the gaps that once were there in the Wenger years have been closed.
The modern game has changed and the Slot machine is more direct , something we need to be.
Allez PSG
Durham and Murphy looking for clicks methinks.
Dev, I see no point in playing Neto, he’ll be gone in dozen weeks or so.
Luckypool diving as per usual.
The Slot machine will be burned out next season. lol
PSG should be more than 1-0 up..
🤣🤣
Love a penalty shootout…..
Thought Liverpool would have had enough penalty practice , but only Salah takes them.
Lovely result, might shut up the love fest in the media for a few days.