Morning all.
Seems a bit premature to look back on the season already but that’s exactly what Mikel Arteta has been doing this week. Talking to the official website, a part of what he said is:
We are improving. When you look at the numbers in position with the top teams, it’s really positive. You need that – those head-to-head games become super important as you can see in the league table and it means that we are improving.
It’s a challenge but at the same time, it’s very inspiring. When you have two of the best managers in the world [Guardiola and Klopp] with two huge clubs, competing and facing them in their eyes and willing to be better than them, you learn from it. You challenge yourself and seek excellence because it’s the only way to try to beat them.
I think most Arsenal would agree that the toughest job Mikel Arteta and his back room team had to do in August 2019 was to earn the fans support. To make them/us believe that there was something to believe in. Arsenal had become stagnant, almost a laughing stock too as year upon year a new season would kick off with the club needing a central defender, a striker, a midfielder, sometimes all three, just to keep up with the clubs chasing top four let alone win the league. We signed players we didn’t really need and sold players we really needed to keep. We signed cheap, we signed other clubs rejects instead of other clubs quality players and quite frankly, we were in a mess. Unai Emery had tried but from rumours in the media, who he wanted Arsenal to sign and who he actually got to work with were two different things. The best thing to come out of his time at the club was the breakthrough of Bukayo Saka and the signing of both William Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli.
Arsenal simply weren’t competing domestically when Arteta walked through the doors and to this day, I still wonder how he, with the players he had at his disposal, managed to win the FA Cup but win they did and it was just what fans needed. Then came the clear up and clear out which took time, money and a strong and supportive ownership. During that period of time, I’d imagine a vast number were unconvinced we as a club were heading in the right direction. I know I had my own doubts as we ended up 8th in the league. But, as proved, sometimes one has to go down before they can go up which is exactly what has happened at Arsenal. Arsenal went from finishing 8th, to 5th, to 2nd in two seasons, not counting the 8th place season. It looks likely that we’ll finish 2nd again which considering the time Guardiola has had at City and the money he’s spent on his squad, it’s nothing to be disappointed in, not really. Of course we are though because of how close the race has been again. This campaign, we’re talking two points as the table stands today.
The difference this season though is that it’s not been Klopp or Guardiola who has dented our league title hope, it’s been Howe, Emery, Silva, Moyes etc. Not even injuries have really blighted our season, not in comparison to what other clubs have had to deal with. However, I do think a fully fit Jurrien Timber and Thomas Partey for much of the season would have made a huge difference to our season. Football doesn’t work that way though as not many clubs, if any, will have every player fit for every game of the season.
We can talk about rotation until the cows come home but I always tell myself, if Arteta 100% believed in every single one of his current squad, he’d rotate more. Why keep players he doesn’t trust then? Well, if the club couldn’t or can’t afford to spend the money needed to sign who Arteta does want, surely it’s better to give those he does have a new contract, use them when he can and then sell them for what will be a pretty decent transfer fee rather than let them leave for nothing? Especially when we think of players who’ve come through the academy who cost us nothing to sign.
But yes, as Mikel Arteta said, we are improving. A slow start under his management but the last two seasons have been very good. The fact that finishing second feels disappointing would suggest that.
Catch up in the comments.
Morning Rico and Associates.
Very good post.
We cannot overlook also the roadblock behind the scenes between the Kroenkes and Usmanov and how that stymied investment.
It’s notable how much more has been spent since Usmanov had been cut out of things.
The long road back also shows how stagnant things got behind the scenes, we now have a group of serious and focused people behind the coaching staff and they’re doing a great job. Tim Lewis, Richard Garlick, Edu etc.
Morning Kev, thanks.
Yep, I think once Stan took sole control, things changed dramatically, especially after the board changes. And to think of all the stick Stan took not so long ago and yet look at what he’s done and doing now…
Yeah, Stan is doing ok, but I still don’t trust him…
When the other week there was that kite flying about taking some Premier League fixtures to the United States I thought ‘and now it starts’….
I guess in time it’s bound to happen, but woe betide any owner who takes his core fan base for granted. It wasn’t that long ago when we had many empty seats in the Emirates!
I’ve heard it mentioned about how many of the American owners would prefer less season ticket holders so that they had more seats to flog to football tourists because they spend a fortune in the shop etc etc
Well what happens when the club isn’t doing so well and you don’t have so many tourists and you also have a lot less season ticket holders?
Suddenly the golden goose isn’t laying anymore and your on the receiving end of ‘We care, do you?’ campaigns…
I still don’t think that Stan looks beyond the bottom line, I still very much doubt that he’s a soccer fan but I’m more hopeful about Josh.
And since Arsenal became his baby he’s definitely become more invested, which is all we want.
Having said that, given a choice I reckon he’d still rather watch a game of basketball for sure and maybe grid iron over soccer.
The main man at KSE is Tim Lewis because he’s a proper Arsenal fan with a deeper understanding of how the game works, what makes it tick.
I’m not fussed about Stan, or Josh. We could have a lot worse..
When I say Stan, I include Josh as I’m sure they’re in it together.. lol
Afternoon Rico and all.
Well put Rico.
Inregard to the amount of money Stan has spent since taking full control, was there a problem between him and Usmanov only or does it also go back to Wenger not wanting to spend money on players and giving Stan more money back and even the repayments of the stadium and training grounds.
Personally I am just glad that it’s been fixed and we as a club can move forward and put all the bad times behind us,
A’noon Rico.
We truly dodged a bullet with Usmanov. Look at the mess he’s left Everton in. Remember it was David Dein who made a huge amount of money from selling his shares to that lackey of PooTin.
I would rather the Kroenke’s were not involved with Arsenal. I see no reason why Arsenal can’t be run without external funding. But that ship has sailed and it appears we got lucky with Kroenke winning the share battle with Usmanov.
Maybe we should be grateful to Danny Fiszman for choosing to sell to Kroenke a few days before he died? Or was it just one great big tax dodge all along…?
Afternoon Geoff. Good question, especially as the owners stumped up money for Lacazette, Aubameyang, Ozil and Pepe etc, all before the full takeover I believe. I do think there was a reluctance from Arsene Wenger to spend, especially during and after the stadium move.
Afternoon Pete, being pedantic, Usmanov didn’t have much to do with Everton did he, isn’t that his old business mate Moshiri? Either way, I’m glad we didn’t get Usmanov if for no other reason than we might have ended up in a similar situation as Chelsea did with Abramovich.
Returning to CL football and the money 2nd (at least) will have brought in last season and this, funding transfers should in theory be easier. Add to that, the contracts have been managed better than they have in a long while so if other clubs want our players, they’ll have to pay big money for them.
I hope you don’t mind Rico, but I’ve repeated a comment that I posted last night.
Harry Kane is a Jonah, all the years he played for Spurs they won nothing. All the years he has played for England they won nothing. So he moves to the German team that every year wins trophies at home and abroad and what do Bayern Munich win….nothing. The man is a jinx.
It seams that Jorginho has signed a contract extension. Could that mean that Partey is on his way out?
Not at all Cicero.
That’s good news re Jorginho.
It’d make sense for Partey to be sold this summer if a replacement is set to join..
With two games to go, our improvement can be measured by the fact that we have not “bottled it” yet.
There have been the odd unexpected poor result but so have there been for our closest rivals City and Liverpool. To be so close to winning the league is testament to Arteta ad his coaching team’s ability to keep the players focused and motivated having created a togetherness most clubs would give the World for.
We’ve not had a nasty injury though like last season when Saliba missed a lot of games. I think that hurt us mentally as well as physically. Also, I don’t think the WC helped our limited squad.
It’s official, Jorginho has signed a new contract.
It was on a Thursday morning
The gas man came to call
The gas tap wouldn’t turn
I wasn’t getting gas at all
He tore up all the floorboards to try to get to the main
And I had to call a carpenter to put them back again.
Oh it all makes work for the working man to do…
A springtime treat tonight, the first of the locally grown asparagus with dinner. Delicious!
English asparagus is beautiful, locally sourced, even better..
Rico we will probably eat it three or four days a week during the season which only lasts about four to six weeks, it goes with so many different meals it’s really one of the best of vegetables, but we don’t eat it outside of the local season. Imported asparagus? Never! Local grown strawberries will be available from Saturday. All available from a caravan in the church layby.
Ditto Cicero, apart from the boy in a lay-by… 😜
Sharrington strawberries – berries & asparagus
Sharrington strawberries
http://sharringtonstrawberries.co.uk
We only have a few pick your own around here as many have sold up. Used to love eating more strawberries than I picked. 😜
Glad Jorginho has signed a 1-year extension, any longer I would have been a bit concerned due to his age.
Looking at some of the comments above, it looks like we are getting a new section over the break.
Rico’s cooking tips,
Not mine Geoff. lol
New post up