Morning all.
If there’s one thing, although I’m sure there’s more, Mikel Arteta is good at, it’s his engagement with the fans. I can’t recall an Arsenal manager constantly referring to the club’s bread and butter as much as Mikel does. Without the fans, home and away, Arsenal would not survive. The same applies to all clubs really because without the revenue bums on seats bring into the club, or the purchase of merchandise, most football club would struggle to exist. Football being played in an empty stadium is awful for the players, equally as bad for television viewers. And yes, we fans who only get to see the team play on the box contribute too because with Sky Sports, BT Sports etc subscribers, there’d be less money handed to football clubs at the end of each season.
Over recent years, I think Arsenal fans have been forgotten and it wasn’t until those bums on seats stayed away did the club stop and think about the message the absent fans were sending.
Mikel Arteta changed that from the day he became head coach, now manager. The Arsenal fans and their importance to this young team he manages is constantly be referred to in his press conference and that’s regardless of performance or result.
The Emirates was rocking for the NLD, to be fair, it usually is because of history but against Aston Villa, well, the fans did the team proud and the team did the fans proud too.
I was extremely pleased with that because I can now see that our supporters are starting to identify with what the team projects and that is very pleasing because at the end of the day we play for them, and you have to find the right purpose to do so. Mikel Arteta told Arsenal Media. I think the players felt that connection behind them, [it wasn’t just] when scoring a goal, it was right from the beginning and right to the end and if we can generate that every single time we play at the Emirates, it’s very powerful for us and very difficult for the opponent.
Fans are the reason away games can be tricky I think. The thirteenth man/woman really can make a difference. Isn’t that why Anfield is such a daunting place for teams to go to? I would say Old Trafford too but things aren’t going so well up there unlike back in Fergie’s day. The Etihad is different to what it used to be but that’s because City are winning things and Upton Park was always loud, even when the team was struggling. My point is, fans are important and we have a manager who recognises that.
That [support] builds confidence in the boys. It’s incredible that we are the youngest team in this league and many of the experiences they are going through, they have never experienced before. So the more positive they are, the more confidence that will build. When a player is more confident, he fulfils his potential much quicker and much better and it only generates a better atmosphere. Sometimes when you are in a good mood, you make better decisions.
Arsenal face Leeds tonight in the League Cup which of course you know already. I’m pretty sure Marcelo Bielsa has rested/rotated his players for this competition so far but whether he’ll do so tonight remains to be seen. Mikel Arteta certainly will as Bernd Leno is likely to return, Pablo Mari, Rob Holding, Cedric Soares, Calum Chambers could come in and even Sead Kolasinac might make an appearance if Kieran Tierney is likely to miss the trip to Leicester at the weekend. Hopefully Gabriel Martinelli, Eddie Nketiah and Flo Balogun are involved at some stage tonight too.
Anyway, another good performance and a place in the next round would do nicely.
See you in the comments.
Good Morning Housers
Just realized that next Saturday there is a match which may be billed as El Sackico….between the Spuds and Manure. I hope they finish draw.
In the last 6 games, during which we garnered 14 points, Man Utd have only managed 5 points while the spuds have got 6 points only. And yet the press and pundits deem it fit to only talk about Arsenal.
Anyway. I am looking forward towards tonight’s game. I would like to see us play a central two at the top….on one hand I would love to see a combo of Nketiah and Martinelli but on the other I want to see Balogun and Pepe as central. I enjoyed seeing Auba and Lacazette as the front two. Fingers crossed that Arteta plays a solid and strong team but with an eye on the Leicester game.
The fans are important to the team. They need to back them up……and make the opposition dread coming to our ground. However, Arsenal fans are a very long way from making the Emirates like a Cauldron of hate in the same sense as in Italy and Turkey. If you have been to an Inter-Juventus or Roma-Lazio game it gets too hot. Or a Galatasaray or Fenerbache games. We need to make the Emirates a cauldron fortress.
RIP Walter Smith.
Walter Smith former Rangers and Scotland manager has passed away.
Surely it’s up to the manager and players to make The Emirates a fortress and the fans will follow. Anfield is like it is because of their history I think and the northern passion for the game.
That’s a shock.
It is. Just 73 years old Kev.
Morning Rico, El Sackico, yeah DG let’s hope it’s a draw so they both keep their jobs as they’re doing great.
Morning Boomers, I did get the distinct impression yesterday when at work in London that more people were wearing their masks, I’m going tonight so that might be a barometer to how people are feeling?
Nice finish last night, Liverpool St to Snaresbrook, dropped off around 10, home by 10.30, even the cat looked shocked.
Yes Rico, 73 isn’t really that old these days, he always looked a very fit and strong man to me, I didn’t even know that he was ill.
Morning Kev, maybe the talk of the rule of 6 for Christmas has made people return to wearing masks. I’ve not stopped wearing mine and won’t until this virus has disappeared.
Agree Kev, it’s no age really. Makes you realise that we’re all here for a good time, not a long time.
I don’t think that this virus is going to disappear Rico but the vaccines will get better and in time younger generations will develop a stronger immunity to it as most people did 100 years ago with influenza. Flu is still a dangerous thing for old people and those with underlying issues to catch, it’s just not something that Emily Maitlis can preach about on Newsnight
Then you will be wearing it for a long time Rico. Because it will not be before 2025 at least before its consigned to history. By then it will be like the common flu. But those who are old will still suffer from consequences….its only the young ones or those who have a hardened bodies who will be able to brush it off without any consequences
incidentally, the mask will save you from other illnesses so it has its own benefits as well.
Any change in the traffic due to ULEZ Kev ? It will be interesting to see if attendances at games are affected . No meal after the games on night matches in case it runs over midnight and you get a double hit. Still the good people of London knew what he was up to and they voted him back so they reap what they have sowed.
There are so many differing theories running round on the wearing of masks and their effectiveness .It just seems logical to me that if we accept that Covid and Influenza are respiritory and spread by droplets that the wearing should help cut down the spread of both..I can’t see that it’s too much to ask really .
But then again when did the general public show common sense. ?
I think tonight we would all like to see a bit of Nketiah , Balogun , Martinelli , Patino and Hutchinson et al. These guys are all exciting and forward players , I suppose as long as the defence is sound we can mix and match them throughout the game . I just hope that they don’t just get 5 minutes at the end which is pretty pointless.
Oh and RIP Walter Smith .
It’s a bit too early to judge the effects of ULEZ, I’ve seen a few temporary cycle lanes disappearing as those planning dept morons see the mistakes they’ve made. God help Londoners if there’s another 7/7 atrocity, people will die waiting for the emergency services but at least you be able to cycle past the dying in safety.
Good morning, all.
It may well help the team if the Emirates atmosphere was a bit less welcoming to away supporters and their players. But what we don’t want is that atmosphere to turn into the hatred and violence that was endemic in football in the not too distant past. We have already seen Hungarian fans battling with police inside our own stadium, there was fighting both inside and outside the London Stadium at the West Ham/Tottenham match last weekend.
I saw enough football violence during the 1960s and 70s to last a life time. I don’t wish to see the present situation escalate into that level of mayhem.
I don’t care really Devil. I’d rather that than get Covid.
Having visited all the big stadiums in England and sampled the welcome from across the length and breath of this country I can happily opine that Arsenal is among the most civilised I’ve been too and Arsenal fans the most decent.
Having visited both Anfield and Goodson I’ve found the blues very welcoming and the reds basically quite scummy.
Millwall was fine, West Ham awful, Tottenham are simply rancid, Chelsea are a bit mixed and middle class these days but they also have had some right animals following them.
Derby was terrible, Forest could be bad but I never experienced it, Leicester was horrible, Villa are scum, Birmingham are scum, Coventry was always good, Wolves are scum, West Brom ok, Leeds a bit dodgy but I’ve always been ok at Elland Road, Sheff Wed was scummy, United was ok’ish, most of them dislike Londoners in general, so stuff ‘em. 😀
Rico, World War I claimed an estimated 16 million lives. The influenza epidemic that swept the world in 1918 killed an estimated 50 million people. One fifth of the world’s population was attacked by this deadly virus. Within months, it had killed more people than any other illness in recorded history.
Despite the very best efforts of medical science, over the last one hundred odd years, that virus is still with us and kills thousands of people every year. With the help of anti-viral vaccines, we have learned to live with it, just as we will have to learn to live with Covid. Vaccines and treatment methods will evolve and will reduce the death rate but the virus will be around for ever.
I would like to see ARteta go for a 3-5-2 formation tonight.
Accomodating all the three remaining CBs plus giving game time to Cedric and Kolasinac should see us playing with Leno, Cedric, Chambers, Holding, MAri and Kolasinac.
The midfield three basically picks itself……Elneny, AMN as DM with Odegaard in front of them.
Upfront it will be two from MArtinelli, PEpe, Nketiah and Balogun.
Knowing Arteta he will probably play in a 4-3-3 formation
Very true Kev.
Londoners are tainted by the position of Parliament . You have to wonder if it was moved centrally to say Birmingham whether the Brummies could be disliked any more than they already are..
I too have have travelled the country often for work and the attitude to me has always been different when football was involved.
I used to be a sales manager for a Manchester based car chemicals company and never had a problem until football got mentioned.
On one occasion at Maine Road as I drove out of the city with my then son about twelve inside a tap on the window at traffic lights , the window opened and a volley of spit came in . Yet on other occasions have been there with my family and no problem at all.
I always felt unsafe in the West Midlands where the police seemed up for it . but not as bad as the after match experience in Paris where we were escorted out through lines of riot police with guns and batons who were baiting the crowd trying for a reaction .
Cicero, I agree re the hatred on the stands. There’s no place for it imo.
Perhaps I should have worded my Covid better, I’ll wear a mask until the virus is under control more than it is now.
Morning Rico and all.
It’s fine to say that the fans should sing loud and proud and make any team visiting us hate coming but at the same time we the fans need something to sing about.
Morning Geoff. Absolutely hence the chicken v egg reference but at kick off the fans are always loud but it’s when the football goes south, the fans go quiet. The Brighton game is a perfect example. Until Lacazette came on.
Hello Rico, I’m a little bit off topic today. There’s a growing trend that has made me admire Arteta in the way he’s recruiting from within ( English talent)..For years, I’d become accustomed to Arsenal having no English players in their first team..( I blame Arsene Wenger). This was made all the more painful/boring seeing that lesser clubs such as Everton, Leicester, Westham supplying talent to the national team..However, at the current rate of onboarding and developing homegrown players, soon there might be up to 5 Arsenal players in the England national team! exciting times indeed!
Rico I don’t blame you for wanting to keep wearing your mask, especially knowing your coming into your winter, which seems to help the virus to start up again
Kyalo
We all would love to see our team all English and hopefully from our academy but at the end of the day, more importantly we want to see our team winning trophies first and where the players come from is the last thing we care about.
Hi Kyalo, I think it’s harsh to blame Arsene Wenger for the lack of Arsenal players in the England team just as it’d be wrong imo to credit Mikel Arteta for Bukayo Saka being in it these days. I can’t think of any English players who have left the club yet gone on to have a great England career.
Exactly Geoff, and flu on top of it. I have elderly relatives who need looking out for and the last thing I’d want is to be responsible for them picking up Covid.
I, for about 40 years, have been watching matches at various stadiums: Highbury (the best without a doubt and of course), WHL, Wembley, Highfield Road (Coventry), City Ground, Carrow Road, The Dell, Victoria Ground, Celtic Park (I think I missed a few) and visited Anfield, Goodison Park, Upton Park, Ibrox, Celtic Park, Tynecastle, Twickenham and Wembley. When I get back to London in time, I plan to visit them all; if I have more time I’ll go to a few more.
Rather you than me Jm. Lol
I have read that in the last 33 games only 2 clubs have got more points than Arsenal. These are City and Liverpool.
The last 24 games of last season and the 1st 9 games this season. The first three games of this season really hit us bad.
The players stopped playing for Emery. But they love Arteta. And he has weeded out those who caused trouble.
In the last 9 games he has played Auba had been involved in 9 goals/assists. While ESR has been involved in 5 goals/assists
No Tierney this evening, according to Sky he has a bruised ankle.
Arsenal: Leno, Cedric Soares, White, Holding, Kolasinac, Maitland-Niles, Elneny, Pepe, Smith Rowe, Martinelli, Nketiah.
Subs: Ramsdale, Tavares, Chambers, Lokonga, Partey, Saka, Salah-Eddine, Lacazette, Balogun.
Disappointed to see ESR start..
Wonder what’s up with Odegaard.
Bit too open at the moment we look like getting caught every time they go forward. Holding playing well as is AMN
Agree re AMN and Holding. The front guys are trying but nothing is going right.
White hobbles off with an injury.
Chambers replaces him and powers home a header….mete seconds after coming on
1-0 up
Nketiah makes it 2-0
Good result even if the performance was a bit up and down but understandable with the changes. Hope White’s injury isn’t serious.
A satisfactory result, I thought AMN had a good game, credit to Chambers and Nketiah for their goals. I hope the injuries are not serious. Two goals and a clean sheet. Just another day at the office. 🔔🔔
Arsenal, Chelsea and Sunderland in next round
Why start ESR, all we are going to do is burn him out before the season’s half way.
Devil bit harsh on Emery about the players not liking him, and loving Arteta after all The club never gave Emery time to get rid of the trouble makers.
The club used Emery as an escape goat to cover up keeping Wenger too long and what was really going on at the club that us fans don’t know about and buying him players he didn’t want.
If the players love Arteta fine send him a rose on Valentines day but I would prefer a player who put’s in 100% every match and strikers that score goals.
Geoff, Arteta said there’s a bug going round the club and Odegaard had a slight injury so I guess it was him or Saka.
New post up now