Some of the quotes allegedly made by the great man Albert Einstein baffle me, others make me smile but there are some which even today, make me think. I guess the reason for that is because every now and again, one particular quote applies to my way of thinking about a current situation. This one came to mind when thinking about Arsenal and Mikel Arteta.
Going back a number of years though, it was his definition of ‘Insanity’ popping up here in the comments section – ‘doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.’ For anyone not here on HH back then, it was of course in relation to Arsene Wenger and his reluctance to move away from what he believed was the right way to play football in the Premier League. Perhaps he was right, after all isn’t that the kind of football Arsenal fans are craving for now? The 1996-2004 style I mean. His downfall was trying to play his way without the right tools to do so.
Here we are today with a head coach trying new things so yes, there will be mistakes. He’s trying to implement those new things without his choice of tools to work with. At least Unai Emery had one summer transfer window and a pre season before kicking his reign off, Mikel Arteta just landed and took over what many of us on here agreed, was a bloody mess.
Arteta will make mistakes, players will make mistakes, we all make mistakes in life. If we want to keep on learning that is. Perhaps reading this, you strongly disagree in which case you must be a genius, or simply someone who strays from the truth. Learning from those mistakes is what improves us but not everything can be improved 100% after one time of trying. If it could, surely there would never be a winner in sport because everyone would be perfect.
Fitting I thought because one day on here, Granit Xhaka is the worst midfielder in the world, a waste of money, a dreadful Wenger signing. Yes, I think I’ve written at least one of those too. Mustafi is a liability, how the f**k did he play for Germany, he’s another liability. Luiz was nothing more than a bargain basement Chelsea reject. Sokratis, another liability and poor defender, Pepe is a waste of £72 million…… I could go on but I won’t and again I need to reiterate that I am as guilty as anyone else who has expressed a view similar to the above.
As I suggested though the other day, a new coach is now expected to turn them into someone better, as a group, much much better and all after just a few weeks.
Nearly all of the players seem to have accepted the new ideas Mikel Arteta has brought with him and there’s been much improvement individually and collectively – or at least I think so. But, there will be times when perhaps a bit of panic sets in and the default setting takes over. Opt for the safe, sideways or backwards pass because whoever it is playing it, doesn’t want to be the one who cocks up.
Gary Neville has stopped whingeing on about our defensive line so clearly that’s improved. Just a few months ago the fans were anti the team, the manager and certainly a few of the players but now they’re back singing again. Mustafi has responded well despite all the criticism he had to take online, Xhaka too has become a steady midfielder instead of a liability. Even when he slotted into central defence against Chelsea and left back at Burnley, he was good. Not perfect at left back but he’s not got the engine to bomb up and down the flanks like Saka, Kolasinac or Tierney can. Luiz no longer looks like a reject and Kolasinac looks like the player he was when he first arrived.
What about the ‘press’ – yes, I think of ironing, you guys think football. Aubameyang does a lot more, Lacazette does too and every now and again, Ozil can be spotted near to his own penalty area so that area of our game has improved too.
Individually there’s been an improvement to everyone’s game apart from when it comes to converting chances created to goals of course. I’m not for one minute trying to suggest everything in the Arsenal garden is rosy, or in full bloom but there’s been enough improvement to suggest things will only continue to get better.
As I said yesterday, Mikel Arteta has achieved in seven weeks what Unai Emery couldn’t do in 18 months and that’s to be more determined, organised and disciplined in defence. The players have responded to whatever he’s asking of them and all without a pre season, all without one single player being of his choice.
All things considered, I reckon our head coach is doing alright really. Unless you were expecting miracles overnight that is. I think Einstein had something to say about that too…..
Catch up in the comments guys…
Morning Rico. Excellent post.
Morning Adam. Thank you.
Having read around a few other Arsenal places, it’s surprising to see how quickly Arteta is being written off. It’s sad really as things are better than they were, we’re just got getting the wins to support that theory.
Morning all.
Rico, those writing Arteta off were also the people complaining about his appointment, and asking for someone with experience.
Someone like Emery or Wenger, maybe hahahahaha
If they can’t see the difference in our players and playing style, then that’s ok, they’ll see it eventually but to get from where we were 2 months ago to become a proper force will take time.
Of course it’ll take time Scott, I just understand why anyone would think otherwise. I think it was Kev who suggested that the end of the season will be the time to look back and have a better understanding of where we are.
Yes, we’ll moan and groan about performances in the meantime because it’s human but any big decision/conclusion is far too soon to make.
Yep.
There will remain a question mark over Arteta for quite a while yet and rightly so.
We just can’t write him off yet.
The players seem to be putting in a shift and are better organised, so I’ve no doubt that’ll add up to results at some point.
It’s just nice to see happy players giving 100%.
It’s been a while.
Morning Rico/everyone
My favourite Albert Einstein quote was something like :
two things in life are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the universe.
Not really football related but for some reason always makes me think of Spurs.
I totally agree that Arteta should be given time to sort things out.
Sun shining in Essex, who needs Dubai..
Hi Rico and Scott as you know I am not a big fan of Arteta as a coach but even I admit he must be given to the end of the season to see how much respect the players have for him and who he sell’s and buy’s with the budget he has and what injured players come back, and can he put a competitive side on the field next season is all I ask. But to some fans it’s not about rebuilding and the long term it’s only about what position on the ladder are we that counts
Morning Limey, so many to choose from but I do like the fish one..
Hi Geoff, neither was I but at least he deserve support until something suggests otherwise. We’re the most organised in defence we’ve been in years which says something.
Who was it who ‘Peoples mind are like parachutes, they only work when they’re open’…
Afternoon Rico, great post, thanks for that…
Yep, we’ll still moan periodically but that’s the nature of the average football fan.
I was raving about Luiz prior to the arrival of Arteta and now he’s playing really consistently well.
Mustafi, Xhaka, Sokratis have all improved, even Ozil so I’m told although I can’t say I’ve really noticed, but Arteta keeps picking him so go figure?
Aubameyang had one of his worst games in an Arsenal shirt at Turf Moor, in terms of his finishing, but overall he’s been responsible for keeping us afloat.
Last season Lacazette was the fans’ player of the season, not Aubameyang, not Torrieira or Bellerin or Ozil but Laca. His form has disappeared, he can’t score for toffee, but again Arteta keeps picking him, so?
Our defence is still flakey, but it’s not as flakey as it was and Arteta has done that with half of his defenders injured, just coming back from injury or suspended. Our midfield is actually protecting the defence at last, but that’s taken something away from the creative side.
There’s lots still to do and to improve on, but Arteta is making progress and for me that’s worth cutting him as much slack as he needs.
Good day all and thankyou, Rico, for the post.
It is just beginning to dawn on me that changing managers is maybe not the best way forward in every case.
It’s a common recurring theme in football, a run of poor results brings an instant call for the manager’s head. The new guy comes in but he’s landed with the same bunch of players and their attitudes, he gets on with the job of trying to change those attitudes and, as with Arteta, succeeds to an extent with some of the squad but the remainder are probably older, longer at the club and more highly rewarded. In fact they have become stale and need shifting out of their comfort zone. Perhaps it’s those players who should be moved on and the manager given the chance to refresh the squad.
We have three marquee players who I think it fair to say are past their best, would be better off selling them and using to income to sign younger more dynamic players who would more readily accept the managers methods and tactics or stick with them for fear of what the fans, and the press, would make of it.
Your two best posts in a week !……………………….what are you smoking over there in Reading, Rico ? 😆
This is the way I see it…………………….One of the first things Arteta said was that he would give all the players a clean slate, so I did the same!
The biggest problem I see for Arteta is as you have identified with your Wenger analysis in that has Mikel the players to play to his philosophy of the game and hisMassive problem there is as we all know…………………………our lack of finances now and for the short to mid term future, which will only be improved if we get the unlikely top 4 or win the EL!………………………..I wont even mention the Kroenke debacle as it is as pointless as a spud fan trying to get a suntan living in our shadow!
Hi Kev, thanks.
I still think there’s a lot to be done defensively despite us not conceding goals. Burnley created far too many chances imo. The defence itself should improve next season season with the arrival of Saliba and perhaps if Marí proves a hit and stays.
Creatively, we need a midfielder who is far more imaginative and creative than Ozil. A Rosicky or Cesc kind of player. Whether Willock, AMN, ESR is deemed ready to to that, only Arteta knows.
What happens with our strikers in the summer will be interesting imo.
Some of them will no doubt Cicero, just as they did when Arsene Wenger took over and Unai Emery and those before them.
Because of our financial situation, I’m convinced we’ll be selling in the summer.
Thanks Lc. Newbury, not Reading. Please….. 😂
Honestly, I don’t think money is a big issue. Yes we need some of course but much can be generated from the sales of those Arteta wants gone but not every player needs to cost £50m+
Martinelli, Saliba, Guendouzi, Tierney, Torreira etc, all under £30m I think.
True Rico but them “cheap” ones you have mentioned would now be out of our price range hence our current predicament on relying on ……………….The Loan Arranger!………………………………….Hi Ho Silver! 🙂
Which is why we need to be smart with transfers and contracts Lc. At least until finances improve.
Agreed!
Morning all.
Geoff, All I can ask is what is it about Arteta you don’t like?
Obviously he wasn’t your first choice and that’s fine, we all like to nominate managers we’d love to see at the club, but I can’t see what he’s done wrong.
We don’t know what happens behind closed doors but we do know the players are enjoying their football, they’re energised and working their butts off.
City aren’t doing real week since he left them, just quietly 🙂
Did we want someone to come in, yell and scream to get a quick reaction, or did we want someone to come in, work out exactly what we have in our squad and slowly change things?
Mustafi and Xhaka…..my evidence to support the fact we had little idea what we actually had in the squad as they’re suddenly very different players.
We all thought these guys incapable of playing PL football yet look at them now-vastly different players to what we all thought they were.
That’s after 6 weeks of Arteta and nothing else.
Hi Scott In regards to Arteta it seem to me at times that he tries to portrayed some one with confidents but deep down he still not sure what to do for ex sample last match Saka got injured in the first half but in stead of just taking him off and replace him with Torreira when we were playing well he waited until half time Then the week before that he was going to bring A think Martinelli off but again kept hesitating lucky the player scored as I said Scott don’t get me wrong I am happy to give him until the end of the season I not counting on coming 4th lets face it he has not had the players to do that due to several reasons like injury ect but he has to start getting some wins on the board other teams have replaced there coach and started winning but we are stuck and just drawing the match is not good enough.
Two tactical errors in your opinion seems little reason to not want him as manager,
I’d have thought, especially with all he’s doing right but fair enough.
Afternoon all, To be fair , I was a bit worried about the appointment of Arteta. I must admit that I am pleasantly surprised with the way he has improved things. The players are definitely working harder and the defence is better.
Arteta does seem to make odd decisions sometimes regarding player selection, OZIL !!! for instance but like somebody has said on here already , he has given everyone a clean slate and is giving all the players a few games to prove what they can do,
Geoff, I get what you are saying about other teams changing managers and starting to win……….Thing is they all have different types of players to us. Arsenal players lack the blood , guts ,grit and backbone needed for a long fight. For years we have bought pretty playing tippy tappy types, and generally they don’t like getting stuck in when it is needed.
As Kev says, let’s give him all the help he needs and see at the end of the season where we are……………Even that’s a bit unfair, because I personally think we need to change quite a few players to get to where we need to be.
Good afternoon everybody.
The Summer transfer window is set to get longer:-
Premier League clubs have voted to change the summer transfer window to bring it in line with the rest of Europe.
For the past two seasons, the window in England has closed the day before the top-flight campaign began.
In a statement, the Premier League said the deadline has been changed to the “traditional point at the end of August/early September”.
The 2020 closing date will be 1 September at 17:00 BST.
The vote was taken at a Premier League shareholders’ meeting in London on Thursday.
The transfer window was moved to the start of August in England following complaints from clubs and managers that keeping it open after the start of the season was disruptive.
It was hoped major leagues across Europe would also bring their own windows forward.
However, that did not happen and a number of clubs found themselves in the uncomfortable position of knowing their players were in demand across the continent but unable to bring in replacements for anyone they wanted to sell.
Afternoon guys.
Why not just open the transfer window on 1st June. It’s not like clubs wait until 1st July. Just change the contacts from July to June…
Re other managers and their instant winning impact, this happens often for sure but isn’t longevity what we’re after? As Ole show at Utd, a good start can be misleading, Mourinho at Utd and his second spell at Chelsea, the list is probably long if checked.
I’d rather we are as we are now if it means in six months time, consistency, better football and better results is the result.
Regarding Arteta, who do some of you think we should have got?
The so called top dogs are at City and Liverpool, so they were out of it.
Allegri, another who doesn`t speak the language, so we would have went from Good Ebening to Chow Spaghetti and he probably would not have wanted the job due to the current zero money to spend and that last one is why most others would not want the job!
We are lucky to get Arteta ……the next big thing imo!……………………….even with the lack of funds I feel confident Mikel will get us top 4 next season once he has had the end of this one out the way and a good pre-season to get his philosophy more ingrained in the players heads!
Win a cup this season and my head will explode Mikel confetti over Cornwall!
RIP Kirk Douglas.
Despite all the imposters, he was Spartacus!
No lcm, I am SPARTACUS😊
Cicero, I’m sure l heard our plucky PM state absolutely, fantastically that we would never, never align with Europe, either in the sea, or on the beaches nor even the stadia. We shall never surrender our sovereignty!
Seems we have just made our first realignment and bowed to the might of the EU. Ah well, never mind what we think. Sad to say we’re pretty irrelevant now, or so it would seem!
August 31st always was exciting anyway. Jim White…….what a guy??
Morning all.
I asked earlier do we want some one coming in, yelling and screaming and getting some immediate reactions, or do we want someone who’s looking to the future from the very start?
We aren’t fighting relegation, and we aren’t fighting for a top 4 finish so really, there is no seperate need for immediate results-don’t get me wrong, I’d love us to be winning.
We need a rebuild, and that’s what I believe is happening.
Lc, just like with players, it’s always easy to believe someone else would do a better job.
As someone who questioned the Arteta appointment, I think he’s doing well considering the injuries, sending offs, low confidence etc etc he’s had to deal with.
There’s a reason people don’t like queuing Scott. 😂
“Separate” should be “desperate” and once again, phones are evil 🙂
Indeed, Rico hahahahaha
It is a virtue, however 🙂 🙂
It sure is Scott.
Crikey, the poor blokes had 7 weeks to do something with a demoralized , split, crud squad of players and some people in the press are already questioning his ability .
If we keep improving at the rate we are I’ll be happy……..That said, I wouldn’t say no to a few 1-0 to the Arsenals in the next run of games.
Scott and Geoff, what’s the news on the Bush Fires over there now.? Since the Corona virus and scum stabbing people in the street over here, the fires are old news.
No Wavy……………………..Mikel is SpArtetacus! 😉
Hi Mike,
There are still fires raging, but as it stands, there’s been very little recent news coverage even here about them which can only suggest they’re under control, relatively speaking, and not threatening properties or lives.
We’ve copped quite a bit of rain with more to come so it’s all looking pretty positive atm.
Oh great, thanks Scott. I saw some of the rain you had…. Christ, you can’t win over there at the moment. Lets hope you have a nice quiet time from now on.
Not just the press Mike, have a read around the blogs. It’s amusing in an odd kind of way.
Very droll LC, I feel I have to concede my title and give an, All hail Emperor SpArteta cus. Nice one.
I should add that he has almost his new title. In 7 weeks he’s begun to turn the Arsenal round, or at least he’s well on the way. For example, I saw Lacazette smile on Sunday in between berating Saka for not delivering the correct weight of pass to his right foot! He’s a marry sod, that one but his attitude has improved since his reluctant goal scored against Palace. I’ve never seen a player score a ,sarcastic’ goal. Arteta has sort of cured him of his moaning ways, well nearly. Auba too has been playing with a smile on his face, and I’ve witnessed Ozil with sweat on his brow…….I could go on………but I won’t. Suffice to say the new Emperor will do for me. They are playing much better football now than when I saw them against Wolves. By god they were poor not so poor now.
Onward and upward.
Rico , I know.That’s why this is the only place I like to come.It frustrates me how many idiots there are………And they support, well , they follow Arsenal !! Not like enough people knock us, We do it to ourselves.
Arsenal are through to the FA Youth Cup Quarter Finals , just beat Brighton 4-3.
I think it was Kev who said it’s been a funny old season,I was just looking at the table – it certainly has.
Only Liverpool have lost less games than us,it’s crazy but Man City, Leicester and Wolves have also lost 6, which means most of the teams above Arsenal have lost more, including Spurs,Man Utd and Chelsea.
If only we could have held on to win in games like Watford away, Norwich away and others we would be a lot nearer the top 4.
I understand that we have to make money and sell players.
Do you remember how many players we sold at the end of the season and how many of those players were habitual or potential habitual?
Limey, our lack of goals has really hurt us imo.
Mike, I’m FINALLY reading social media comments about Arsenal and just ignoring most of them.
I’m about 10 years behind the intelligent people, granted, but better late than never lol
Life is much more peaceful 🙂
Hi Mike like the fires in Victoria are also under control at the moment and we have got a fair bit of rain which is great
Hi Scott I am not saying we need top 4 finish and I except Arteta has a hard task on his hands but to me I want to see more emotion and anger from him on match day even towards the 4th official I guess I look back to when I was playing Aussie rules to get the best out of me was a couch who was motived and strict and would yell at you on the field than I would if I sore a quiet coach just sitting down a lot
Geoff, some players respond to that,
Some don’t but I take your point.
To me, Arteta always looked a smiling assassin and I have no doubt he will let every player know exactly where he stands in his own way.
I could be wrong and time will tell, but I genuinely can’t see any player dictating to him.
I’m sure we will see a few big names headed out the door during the summer.
I believe with 50-60,000 people yelling and screaming, the manager is barely heard anyway, and 98% of his job is done during training, before the game and half time.
Look at AFL nowadays-the coaching staff are all at the top of the grandstand in air conditioned comfort 🙂
Mike, that’s why I come on here too. 😂
I’d understand if Arteta had been in the job six months without any sign of improvement etc etc, but seven weeks. Well, it’s odd. I’ll leave it there.
Geoff, there’s always Panto, you’ll get a lot of screaming and shouting there.lol
Arteta simply has his own style. We need to worry when he gets his teeth whitened and starts chewing gum….
New post up now