Morning all.
Has your emotional Arsenal hangover gone, or at least faded? No, mine neither as I still can’t believe how easy an Arsenal team which went toe to toe with the League leaders just a couple of months ago, could then produce shoddy performances against Crystal Palace and Brighton respectively. Slightly different lineups I know, but the level of commitment shouldn’t be dropping at the rate it did in both fixtures.
West Ham were beaten yesterday afternoon by Brentford which helps us in our bid to secure a place in Europe but I think Europa League football is the best we can hope for now. Football is a funny old game though and it can throw up surprises when one least expects them.
So, who plays who?
Arsenal
16 April – Southampton (A)
20 April – Chelsea (A)
23 April – Man Utd (H)
1 May – West Ham (A)
8 May – Leeds (H)
12 May – Totts (A)
16 May – Newcastle (A)
22 May – Everton (H)
Totts
16 April – Brighton (H)
23 April – Brentford (A)
30 April – Leicester (H)
7 May – Liverpool (A)
12 May – Arsenal (H)
15 May – Burnley (H)
22 May – Norwich (A)
West Ham
17 April – Burnley (H)
24 April – Chelsea (A)
1 May – Arsenal (H)
7 May – Norwich (A)
15 May – Man City (H)*
22 May – Brighton (A)
Man Utd
9 April – Everton (A)
16 April – Norwich (H)
19 April – Liverpool (A)
23 April – Arsenal (A)
2 May – Brentford (H)
7 May – Brighton (A)
15 May – Chelsea (H)*
22 May – Crystal Palace (A)
* dates to be confirmed.
Wolves, currently in 8th place, can’t be ruled out of the race for Europe but they’ve already played 32 matches, have 49 points and still have to play Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea.
The FA Cup and who wins is relevant too as if a club other than one already qualified for Europe via their League placement wins it, they take the Europa Cup place instead of 6th place club in the League. Basically, we don’t want Crystal Palace winning it unless by the time the final takes place, Arsenal have secured 4th or 5th place.
3 fixtures in 7 days now for Arsenal beginning on Saturday when Mikel Arteta and his players travel to the south coast to play a Southampton team which has just been battered by Chelsea.
The question which keeps running through my mind though is if Arsenal continue in the same manner as the last two fixtures and because of it, lose more matches, what happens next? Can the club really afford to enter into another season with a manager who has been making bizarre decisions which has cost us points and players? I’m not suggesting those who have left or have gone on loan were, or are the solutions to Arsenal’s problems, but how can the club have so much experience out on loan, when our squad is so short? Why sell Calum Chambers when the first choice right-back is already injured?
This is what Mikel Arteta said back in December when Takehiro Tomiyasu suffered his first injury:
It was more of a muscular injury. He’s got a big load on him because he’s played every single minute since he’s joined us and even this week he’s been struggling a little bit. We decided to take him off, he wasn’t 100 per cent confident to continue in the game, and hopefully he’s not injured.
So Tomiyasu had been struggling all week yet he played. Then he came back, clearly too soon because he broke down again and we haven’t seen him since.
The sentence “he’s played every single minute since he’s joined us” says a lot in my opinion. Maybe it’s just me but I don’t think players should be playing every single minute for months on end. They are human beings, not robots and sometimes, they’re on the receiving end of some pretty tough challenges. Of course we all want to see the best players playing every game but in reality, it’s not always best for a player, or the team long term. Nor is it good for the rest of the players who aren’t always seen as being first choice because sitting on the bench or not even being part of a match day squad does no good at all.
I think we’ll head into the new season under Mikel Arteta regardless of what unfolds over the next six weeks. Whether you or I think we should is probably a different matter but Arsenal as a club aren’t always quick to make a decision, especially when it comes to changing managers.
In any case, two bad performances after a great run of form, fans in the stadium back behind the team and in full voice, the youngest squad in the League who’ll only get better – why on earth would the board think it’s a good idea to replace Mikel Arteta? Arsenal knew they were getting a guy who had a lot to learn about the managerial side of the game and sometimes in life we learn the hard way.
See you in the comments.
Another great post Rico.
I suppose the argument from Arteta would be that it’s hard to rotate with such a small squad of players, but isn’t that partly due to him letting players go out on loan….. Saliba has had another good season in France. Will he get a chance next season?
Thanks Marinello, morning to you and all.
But who decided on having a small squad?
Morning Rico and All.
Well put Rico and you said the line that Tommy has played every minute say’s it all.
To me it shows that Aterta has made this squad so small that player can not be rested because he has no trust in his bench players.
Looking at the list of matches we have to play it’s not looking to bright for the future.
Thanks for the post Rico, a very good post, a question was asked on Arseblog News by one of the bloggers back in September just as Arsenal were suffering their stumbling start to the season and it asked where everyone thought we’d finish?
Of course most posted 8th and 7th and some posted 6th, 9th and 10th, but me, being a pedantic smartarse, well I posted 5th and that’s how it’s looking that it’ll probably finish up. Man Utd are fighting among themselves and West Ham are fixated on Europe fortunately, whilst the Spuds have Kane and Son and although they’re too good for the Toilet outfit they are there and they make the difference.
I agree with you Rico, even if we finish 8th I think the club will stick with Arteta and his coaching staff not least because there isn’t an outstanding candidate who can take his place and whose available with the possible exception I guess of Ten Haag. Also I think KSE will make a decision based on finance as most American owners do, it isn’t about ego for them as it is with the Middle Eastern owners or money laundering as it is for the Russians, with the Yanks it’s about the bottom line.
Well that wasn’t much fun.
That was probably a worse result than the Palace one. Brighton haven’t scored for a long time and we gave them two. The injuries to Tierney and Partey have caused major problems in how we play. On Saturday we were light in midfield, not tracking the goal scorers. Pretty basic stuff.
Arteta needs to be brave and switch to 5/3 at the back. Tavares can do a job if he does less defending.
Lazzygitte was back to his ineffective self. I get the feeling some games he just can’t be bothered.
Good day Rico and all.
I can’t see the Kroenkes sacking Arteta, it would cost them money in compensation and agents fees for the new manager plus paying off Arteta’s contract.
That said, the knives will be out if we have another disastrous transfer window following the last one.
The off pitch priority right now is to confirm which of the squad will leave in the summer, then assess the players out on loan to see if they can make suitable replacements. After that Arteta and Edu must create a shopping list to fill the vacant places and work on getting the necessary transfers over the line as quickly as possible.
Morning Geoff, Cicero.
Thanks Kev. It’s been a while since the Emirates was as vocal as it is right now, I still think there’s a lot of fan belief. Not all I know, the internet etc tells us that but unless the bums on seats go or the fans turn on Arteta, he’s here for a while yet I guess.
Rico, Arteta will be in charge next season unless he chooses to walk away. That’s pretty obvious.
There’s plenty of room for constructive criticism, but there’s a reluctance to offer up alternative names, because there are virtually zero stand out candidates to take over the coach/manager position.
I mean look at Rangnick at United. He was touted as the best coach in a generation by various media outlets. He’s struggling with player power (sound familiar?)
Pete, I get the feeling Lacazette is thinking about his next move. Hope I’m wrong though.
Good post, Rico. I also think we’ll have Mikel for the next season and I’m pretty disappointed about it.
Kev has a fair point on American owners might undervalue league position and pride, but focus solely on finances, but I doubt our finances are particularly good: we broke record on transfer spending, and without a CL spot our cash inflow looks weak. (Plus we let players like Chambers go for free, and other players like Kolasinac and Aubameyang had to be paid in order to go free.) So there is a slight chance after all that KSE will fire Arteta’s sorry ass, albeit slim.
Kev, you quoted an article a couple of days ago from a guy named Pedro. That was the finest piece of sport journalism I read about Arsenal for a long time! Thanks, bro.
Marinello, please forgive my passion, it’s not against you (I don’t know you, and your opinion could be vastly different from the one in your comment), but the speculative argument from Arteta that it’s hard to rotate with such a small squad of players is totally unacceptable. It could be justified if he was trying to rotate properly, but it wouldn’t work out. But you can rotate a 12-head team, hell, you could rotate a squad of 16 as well. He just doesn’t do it. When Leno played against Villa, he was flawless. (In fact he was a class better than Ramsdale in any of his last 3 games, but that’s a different topic, I’m not trying to compare our 2 keepers here.) Lokonga could have been given minutes in February and March. Whene Pepe plays bad coming from the bench, everybody is fine for him losing his place. But when he plays exceptional – and Saka or Smith-Rowe play below par – nobody seem to be complaining when we reset the ‘Arteta’s favourit XI’ starting line-up the next game. Lacazette hasn’t scored from open play in this calendar year, and managed to assist only against piss-poor Watford in the last 2 months, Yet Nketiah didn’t start a single PL games this entire season, even though when comes on does a lot more than Lacazette.
The depth of the squad is not an excuse for Arteta. And it’s not “not” because he is at least partly responsible for it. At the moment we don’t have ANY PROOF that the team size is an issue. What we have data on, is that Mikel cannot manage a team if more than 1 person is missing from his favorite XI. We are losing these games, because he doesn’t even try to rotate.
It’s harsh but nevertheless true: when you don’t rotate and the good results are coming, then you are a good manager. When you don’t rotate and the bad results are coming, then you are a bad manager. Maybe we would have lost these games against CP and BHA if Mikel would have rotated the squad. Who knows? But then we could have explained it with bad luck, VAR-decisions, crowd pressure, whatever. Now we don’t have this luxury. We need to come up with a different explanation. Mine is Arteta being a poor manager. It could be false though. But the alternative about the hardships to rotate with such a small squad of players is disproved. So what else is there?
It’s not only what players Arteta wants to sell, it will also comes down to what players on the bench and our reserves want to stay under Arteta
Thanks Pbarany
I’m not sure we can say Americans don’t care about League positions because look at Liverpool. Our selling has always been pretty poor but a lot of high earners have moved on so there’s a bit of a saving.
Peter, I think we got £2m for Chambers, although that’s pretty much a free, I think it was just a case of getting his wages off of our books and maybe to help facilitate the Vlahovic deal that never was? I’m not sure that he would have played during this period anyway as he wouldn’t have got into the team ahead of Soares or Holding. I guess he might have played left back or allowed Soares to switch to the left, but I’ve seen Soares play left back and personally I’d still go with Nuno, but in front of a back three…
Rico, of course the Americans care but it’s the bottom line they care about, the value of their investment, for the Middle Eastern and Russian owners it’s not seen as an investment that’s why they throw money at it and we’ll see that with Newcastle in the summer, they’ll be outbidding us for players – you mark my words. 🤓
To be fair to Arteta and that’s currently quite difficult at the moment given the atmosphere on the blogosphere he has done, up till now, a great job moving on a whole host of overpaid, underperforming big timers with a few more to go this summer.
Since 20/21 he’s moved on Mkhitarayan, Ozil, Sokratis, Mustafi, Luiz, Willian, Kolasinac and Aubameyang and he’s not been able to bring in a single cent for any of them…
Other clubs’ attitude to your players tell you a lot about your players, so what does getting bugger all for that crowd tell you about that crowd and the job Arteta has been lumbered with?
It tells you that the policy of bringing in these big timers was seriously flawed (see Man U) and it’s taken us ages to get shot of them.
If we finish outside the top 4 and if Arteta is still here next season and it’s the last year of his contract then, after every game, he will be asked if and when he will sign a new one. This will breed uncertainty and won’t help signing players at all. It’s the last-season syndrome again but this time with the manager.
Seems messy to me.
As much as I don’t like arteta I recon Kroenke will offer him another year or two at the end of this season
The most common phrase after things have gone wrong, whether failures in the NHS, the Met Police and almost all of the public services is “Lessons have been learnt”. I haven’t yet heard that from Arteta, but I sincerely hope that the has learnt a lesson from the last two matches.
there is many a slip twixt cup and lip is an old proverb that holds true today.
I don’t doubt that points will be won and lost in these last few games and studying them Spurs do seem to have the best chance.
We have eight games to play and four of those are against other teams in the mix for European places and three of those are away too.
Spurs have two , Liverpool away and us at home .If I was a betting man , which I’m not , my money would be up the seven sisters but really it’s down to us to change the attitude of the past two games and show what we are able to do.
I can’t see 4th but maybe 5th is there to be had.
Austin Trusty was traded for $750,000 in General Allocation Money, at the time one of the largest trades in Union history. The Union will now receive 25% of the transfer fee since Trusty was sold outside of the league after Jan.31 Jan 2022.
He is left-footed, and while he has predominantly played his football at centre-back, Colorado have also at times utilised Trusty as a wing-back. Colorado fans are used to seeing him push out of defence and look to be aggressive in making interceptions.31 Jan 2022
Austin Trusty can carry the ball out from the back and play out as a left-sided defender, even his size 6’ 3” and frame is the main attraction to many. Those attributes are very valuable in the modern game, helping build attacks and beat pressing traps.3 Feb 2022
Clutching at straws or just what we need?
Kev, I think Chamber was a free transfer by nature, with some bonus elements that might amount to a couple of millions.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/calum-chambers-aston-villa-transfer-26071230
And it was a free transfer according to TransferMarkt, too. The bonus money might be due next season, or the year after. Or never, if the condition would be that Calum is called up to the England squad…
I don’t think he would have played more either. He was behind Soares for backup RB and behind Holding for backup CB. And even if the first choice is absent, being the contingency of the backup is not a promising position. So I don’t fault Arteta for reducing the squad. In fact on the contrary: I appreciate him for doing that. I blame Arteta for the lack of rotation, and for not even trying. I think he is a very narrow-minded manager, who worships the overstated OGAAT principle, and I seriously doubt if he has learnt the lesson, as the OGAAT has clearly failed – see the arguments fro Le Grove.
I get what you say about rotation Peter and I broadly agree, in a perfect world you would rotate and keep your squad players ticking over and if possible you would also blood your best youngsters, but during our recent run I can’t think of too many of our games when we’ve been that on top, that comfortable, you know say 3-0 up with 20/25 minutes remaining, so the risk of rotating and it going tits up is possibly too much of a risk?
All the same I do think that Omari Hutchinson might have made a positive impression in some of our recent games…
Auston Trusty, same bloke I think Kev, played primarily as left sided central defender but also able to play left wingback. We bought him in January and loaned him back to Colorado Rapids until June.
With a full pre-season he could be just what we need, pity we can’t call on him now.
I have been waiting to see him get a chance , i’ve seen clips of him in the under 23 team and he looks to have the ability . However in our present state I can’t see him getting on the pitch which is likely to see him want to go somewhere and play . Once again letting someone else benefit from our hard work.
We have a few waiting in the wings and I have to ask whether White , Holding or Gabriel are any better than Saliba or Mavropanus , Are any of our under 23’s better than going out and splurging another fortune on buy ins ?
Before we go out and spend for the sake of it , should we be taking stock of what we have ?
If lacazette and Nketiah go do we need to buy more than 1 potential goalscorer when we have Balogun and Bierith in the wings .
The days of Rocky , Davis , Adams etc can be repeated . We have a good crop coming through
But do we have the coach that can do it ???????????
Hutchinson I was talking about.
Potter, I think 2 strikers are enough with a full-domestic campaign and you may need a third if there are more than 8 games is expected in Europe (6 at the group stage + 2/elimination rounds). But managers don’t think as I do, and we started this season with 3 to begin with, so I don’t think Arteta – or his successor – would prefer to have only 2 available. And we have only Balogun, as Mika Biereth is far from a finished product. However if Edwards extends his contract, Mika could go for a quality year-long loan, and he could be ready in the next season.
Anyway I think we need to convince Eddie to stay and buy 1 striker unless we want to sign 2 players.
For your concern about having a coach that can develop a team full of youngsters, I wish I could respond anything optimistic…
I agree Kev, Newcastle will throw whatever money it takes to get into the big time but I’d hate us to be like that. Somewhere in between is ideal I think, probably a bit like Liverpool.
Adam, I think he’ll sign a contract extension in the summer after securing Europa League football.
Re Trusty, he might be just what we need, as might Saliba. Until they play, we just don’t know.
Gabriel and White have hardly covered themselves in glory in the last two games, neither has Ramsdale for that matter.
Still Potter: I would remove Gabriel Magalhães from the equation. He is a left-footed defender and the only one in our team (apart from Mari, who might never return). And Gabriel is really good. He has a reliable passing range, he is tall, he is good at corners both defending and attacking. And he is still improving. He is at the fringe of the Brazilian squad. With a better command of English and some focus he could become the best left-footed defender in the PL.
Regarding the rest of the bunch, your question is a good and an important one. And I might not be the best guy to answer as I tend to overemphasize the statistics as well as the player ratings. But if you are interested in that aspect, both Saliba and Mavropanos are clearly better than White and Holding. Not that it would make any difference, though…
Kev.. Mustafi moved himself on! Arteta wanted him to stay, he turned us down…
Hi Rico.. I thought I was angry.. take a look at this:
https://www.givemesport.com/87994057-arsenal-fan-lists-all-of-mikel-artetas-sackable-offences-in-thread/amp?utm_source=navigation-previous&utm_medium=internal
Are Saliba and Mavropanos better than Holding though? They might be doing well where they are but who’s to say they would excel in the PL? Until they do, they are simply playing well where they are.
Hi Sue, yep, I read that too re Mustafi. Do I dare read that link?
Goodness, I read it and it’s a bit of a reality check.
That’s an exciting prospect Rico. The Europa League. 😊
We’ll rip that up.
At least until the Champions league drop outs join
Good read, Sue.
While I don’t agree with all of the points, I could add some more to reach the same tally. 🙂
😂 Adam, I do like a bit of irony…
I’m glad to hear it Rico. 😊
It just might stand us all in good stead over the coming weeks perhaps. There’s no smooth ride with Arsenal.
Hi Sue, yes I did read that about Arteta wanting Mustafi to stay although I don’t know the source, did Arteta ever say that he wanted him to stay, I’m not sure?
Maybe it was the agent of Mustafi who put that rumour out there?
Anyway, don’t managers always say that they want so and so to stay before getting rid of them?
Rob Hoskin, the editor of GiveMe Sport is a big Liverpool fan from Southampton (Glory Hunter?), he also publishes stuff put out by arch doomer Lee Gunner.
So obviously he’s searching for a very positive angle concerning Arsenal…
Just started watching The Ozarks, it looks promising…
Another interesting post from Pedro on Le Grove, enjoy:
Our season isn’t really in the gutter, it just feels like it. We have 8 games left of the season, we’re 3 points off 4th having played one game left than Spurs, we’re not just technically competing… we are competing.
Do I think we’re going to make top 4? No.
Do I think we’re going to make Europe? Yes.
How many points do we need? I reckon we need 9.
We’re in the business end of the season now, this is where the pound notes are made, time to deliver.
Arteta has absolutely messed his pants 5 minutes before a food court stop on the M1, we’re struggling with major injuries, form has dipped, confidence has dropped… but there IS a way forward with the team we have, although Arteta is going to have to hope he hasn’t bruised too many egos to get what he needs.
At a base level:
Play your players in their best positions.
Wild concept, right?
Arteta should take Nuno to Sega World in the London Trocadero (young people like arcades, right?), pay for his popcorn and arcade tokens, tell him he’s really good over and over. Then inform him he’ll be getting the rest of the season as left back.
Speak to Granit. Apologise to him for putting him at left back and tell him he needs to take Sambi Lokonga under his wing and let him thrive for the rest of the season under the guidance of the Swiss midfielder.
Pull Sambi to one side, tell him we need him flying at his best with ambitious passing, clever dribbles, and aggression.
Up front, we need to be a little more creative.
Lacazette should not be starting against Southampton, he’s done for the moment, the big questions is who replaces him?
Eddie needs a next club, he hasn’t done much this season to show that he’s capable, so if he’s given minutes, he will probably show up. If he’s in the right headspace, give him the rest of the season to shine.
If he can’t shine… then maybe we need to go galaxy brain.
Gut always says Martinelli through the middle because we saw what he did when he was 18 years old there. However, this might be a good chance to see what Smith Rowe can do in the Lacazette position. He can connect play, he’s faster and more powerful, he has height, and he has what we need: GOALS.
All of this seems very simplistic, maybe even a little naive… but one thing is for sure, you can’t keep rolling with the same team over and over and expect something different.
The fans need to see that there are consequences for being shite.
The players need a different idea because they aren’t doing well with the current one.
The season needs to finish in a respectable manner so we can put the #ArtetaOut weirdos back in their box for another 6 months.
It’s what gets me through Adam. 😂
Oldest trick in the book Kev, Arteta has been raving about Eddie, however…
You’re up late Rico, I’m usually here on my Jack Jones why the rest of you are snoring. 😃
Hi Sue your story at 5:21pm made a good read, the person who wrote it dislikes Arteta more than me,
Our under 18 player Edwards seems to be heading in the right direction but as I said yesterday apparently he has not signed a new contract and going by several reports Chelsea have spoken to him and are very interested in him and all they would have to pay is a small academy compensation fee.
Ha ha Kev, yep, it was a late one.
Mazeed Ogungbo, Charlie Patino, Miguel Azeez, Lino Sousa and Marcelo Flores have all been invited to train with the first team ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League fixture against Southampton at St Mary’s on Saturday afternoon, Apparently.
Brilliant, wouldn’t mind seeing Azeez in midfield.
It’s great to see all the youngsters training with the senior squad but they’re there to make up the numbers and even when they get on the bench you pretty much know that barring a catastrophe or Arsenal miraculously leading 4-0 with 20 minutes to go, that they aren’t playing.
I’d love to see Flores get a run out, I mean he’s actually pretty good at scoring goals and has played to a relatively high level with Mexico but Arteta is unlikely to take a risk at this stage of the season.
Just watch youtube of Azeez, he looks good, reminded me a bit of Theo Walcott
Ditto Kev, I’m not expecting any of them to be selected, too much is at stake although saying that, it’s not like the last two games would suggest one or two might not do any worse.
I also understand the rationale behind it. And maybe Arteta is right: no matter how enthusiastic these youngsters are, that cannot compensate their lack of experience and maturity. I don’t necessary agree, but it’s Mikel’s job and Mikel’s call.
What I cannot understand though is that how can people keep saying that Arteta is leading a youth revolution. He didn’t discover Saka or Smith-Rowe. He didn’t sign Martinelli… All he did was calling up some academy players for trainings when he needed some legs, and giving Patino 10+68 minutes in 2 cup games. And that’s all. While I don’t have my own statistics, but I think that makes him about the #20th best youth promoter in the Premier League.
would be nice to play some of the younger players but as others have said the season is still alive.
Actually Pbarany, Arteta, if anything, was reluctant to use ESR and Martinelli. But for the problems with Auba, Martinelli might still be on the bench.
Managers often find solutions by accident , they get forced into doing something and then always claim the glory if it works.
.I think it was Ron Greenwood or Revie that tripped over the Brooking / Keegan partnership purely because of injuries to their preferred players . it was a stable partnership for about 5 years until after the `1982 world cup when Bobby Robson dropped Keegan
It would be nice to see something of our youngsters , as I said before that’s the only way that we will know how far to push in the summer recess but circumstances are standing in their way . Whilst the prospect of an European paycheck is around they will be bench warmers only.
Yes Rico I completely agree, someone as unorthodox as Hutchinson coming off of the bench might have given us something, even at 0-2 vs Palace and certainly against Brighton.
Europa League and League Cup next season I reckon Peter, it’s difficult for these lads and maybe this season is a year too early, even Patino struggled in his 2nd apps and he’s rated as our top academy boy, then there was Balogun vs Brentford again completely out of his depth.
There’s no latitude for these lads at Premier League, every game is life or death, you have to be really special like Saka or Foden to get in and hold your own…
True Potter, Ashley Cole earned himself a fabulous career off of the back of the false Silvinho passport and Bellerin did ok thanks to the Debuchy injury.
Perhaps we will in the last couple of fixtures if the League placements are sorted. As long as Palace aren’t in the FA Cup final.
Exactly Kev, the unexpected can sometimes cause problems.
So happy for Emery!!! What a result… 👌
Me too Sue..
And Benzema… the perfect night, Rico 👍
Indeed Sue. 😀
New post up now