Morning all.
It’s inevitable that over the next few weeks and months, Unai Emery is going to be under scrutiny. As will Xhaka, Ozil, Sokratis, Luiz and every other player who continues to make mistakes. Arsenal are feeding the back page journalists right now and I suspect they’re enjoying every minute of it. For us though, it’s hard because it’s been relentless for the last few years. All we want to see is improvement and much better football. Compact and organised defending with the odd burst of pace up the field. Transition, that’s the technical word, we need to be quicker in transition. Something, anything to break what’s become pretty boring football played by a once exciting footballing club.
This playing out from the back stuff seems to be causing us a problem. ‘It’s the new law’ to blame I read, a supposed quote from Bernd Leno. But why is it confusing? If anything I’d say it’s better for defences.
’The change to goalkeepers is to goal-kicks, which can now be played to a team-mate who is inside the penalty area. The law now says the ball is considered in play once the kick is taken. Until now a goal-kick had to be retaken if it did not leave the box.
Opponents must still remain outside the penalty area until the kick is taken.’
Surely before this change, it was easier for the attacking team to close the keeper and defender down because every player had to be outside the box before the ball could be received? Now though, only the opposition have to be outside the box which gives the team in possession more time to consider their next move, although they should know that beforehand. The problem as far as I see it isn’t the new law but the dilly dallying on the ball after Leno has released it. Also, our players aren’t getting into the right areas to receive the next pass and so on and on. If there’s no outlet for the first player to receive the kick from Leno, panic sets in and then it’s mayhem at the back.
The occasional goal kick booted upfield would help us I think. Most teams expects the playing out from the back tactic so they’re ready to press but if Leno were to go long, find Pepe or Auba etc who could in a flash be through on goal, the opposition would have to have a rethink and I’m sure they’d drop back off. When they do, play it short again and that in my opinion is the key. Knowing when to do something rather than doing it all the time, which makes us so predictable.
As I always say though, it’s easy from the armchair as we’re not having to try and drum things into the brains of the players Emery is dealing with but last not forget, these guys grew up with a ball at their feet. It’s the game they love, the game they chose to make a well paid career out of. They should be able to on board a new tactic as easy as you and I learned our native language from the first day we could speak. Football or any sport isn’t difficult to master, not when one has been gifted with the talent required. Regardless of talent though, time, effort and practice is required and lots of it. Practice makes perfect!
That’s today’s questions. Is our defensive unit working hard enough at mastering this playing out from the back? Has Unai Emery got his forwards v defence training going a full speed so Leno and co know what to expect on match day? Does he stop the training when an error is made and correct what’s gone wrong before doing it again and again and again until it’s perfect?
I don’t know the answer but from watching us play, I’d suggest the answer in no. In fact it looks like our guys have practiced this particular style of play using the mannequin training aids. They might be slightly quicker than Xhaka but not the likes of Mane, Firmino or Deulofeu….
Catch up in the comments guys….
Thursday nights team will be interesting Holding,Chambers ,Mavropanos all available with Mustafi as well.Is Tierney ready if so we could have a completely new back 4 in front of Martinez .
I hope that’s the case so we can compare. Could turn out to be a player problem rather than anything else.
Morning Rico and all. The goal kick situation has become yet another irritant hasn’t it? It’s not mandatory that you have to play suicidally is it?
Thirty one shots against us from bottom of the table Watford tells you a lot – and this stuff hasn’t just started. Defensively we are nothing less than a joke and I reckon that we will continue to be the same. Hanging hopes on the return of Holding, Bellerin and the addition of Tierney seem forlorn to me because Unai has proved since the end of last season and certainly the beginning of this one that he is literally all over the place where defence is concerned and you won’t win anything without a properly organised defence.
At this moment so much feels wrong to me. From the bizarre team selections to the game management and the mystery of the substitutions. But, none of this is new. We were on a decent, if uninspiring run last year when Unai decided to start his tactical-revolution reforms and it’s all gone downwards since then from what I can see.
Watford was a marker as to where we are and all the chickens came home to roost on Sunday. A performance that was so bad and so completely unacceptable and yet the same players are taking huge wages under false pretences and I doubt that Unai is going to do too much about it. Mustafi has been pilloried for some of the nonsense he has produced but Xhaka, Sokratis et al cruise on.
Emery has a massive couple of weeks to turn this around. If he doesn’t then letting him carry on until the end of the season seems foolhardy and I doubt Raul will want another year outside the CL. I would imagine that future planning would assume CL revenue and Raul isn’t going to stick around if things don’t improve massively and neither will Auba and Laca.
Morning Adam. Put so well.
Not just Auba and Lacazette either as I doubt Pepe signed up for this, or Tierney, Torreira etc etc.
Perhaps it’s a good thing Aubameyangs contract is due for renewal because during those negotiations he can tell Raul what he thinks. Mind you, Raul will know already because he’s not blind and he’s not stupid.
There’s another international break next month so I’d give him until the last fixture before, then make the change during those two weeks if needed.
I can’t see anything improving though.
I’d have told him that too, right after the Watford game…
Morning Doomers 🙂
I wonder if Raul has the authority to remove Emery from the job?
What influence do the Board have, as they seem an irrelevance to me?
Or does the final say have to come from Stan/Josh?
You know, it’ll be a collective decision between those at the club and KSE, but does Raul have the authority to pull the trigger?
It’s going to be Raul and Edu who interview and source our next manager, whether it’s done sooner or later in the summer.
I’d be amazed if Emery lasts beyond next summer…
Emery set the team up to score two goals away within 34minutes of the game against Watford. Nobody remember that. I felt bad after the game but this happens in football.
Arsenal knew how Warlord plays but it’s a new coach who left some years ago. We gifted Watford the draw and Socrates admitted it was down to him. Let’s move forward. I’m sure some supporters of teams angling for top four no
w disguise as Arsenal supporters and load the new media with all manner of trash. Our team is in good hand. Let’s move forward.
All the matches we have lost or drawn were as a result of stupid personal mistakes and not tactics. If we can reduce that we are good to go. When the injured centrebacks are ready, then, any one who makes such stupid mistake find himself on the bench or outside the team.
Kev. It would come from Raul and the Kroenkes would have to agree or replace Raul himself surely.
Hi Kev. Didn’t Josh said decisions like that are left to the board..
Welcome Steve, but what about our game as a whole? Leaving out the individual errors, what do you think of the way we’re playing?
On the occasions we do play it long, the ball just comes straight back anyway – our players seem incapable of winning 1 v 1 duels in the air,youngsters too which is a bit worrying.
At least Chelsea and Liverpool lost last night, in fixtures we won last season.
Probably shocks them Limey. lol
Ha ha Rico – very true,
Seriously I’m looking forward to the Frankfurt game, we might see some different players (certainly by the Forest game next week) It’s clear Emery doesn’t rate Torreria.
We will see.
The first goal from Watford was irregular.
Frankfurt will be a very hard game. Frackfurt has improve a lot since 3 weeks ago.
Abou Emery: if I have time I will write later.
It is plain to see that Trump is a stupid and reckless individual regarding many import issues. Global Warming and it’s effects on our planet being one of them.
Likewise , it is also obvious that a few of our current bunch of ‘defenders’ have a similar DNA with regard to football, and are incapable of making the right decisions.
Afternoon Rico, and everyone else onboard.
I just hope that our missing injured players get 100% fit again VERY soon, or we are going to be taken to the cleaners.
My mind is made up, Emery must go.
I seem to remember a consensus among Arsenal supporters in general and contributors to HH in particular that any new Arsenal manager/head coach would need a minimum of two to three transfer windows in order to weed out the dross left behind by Wenger.
We have seen the start of that process and with the odd exception, Denis Suarez, the replacement of some of the departed.
Building a solid defensive unit has been stymied by the number of injuries over Emery’s first season and a bit and has been helped only a little by the addition of the reckless David Luiz.
Hopefully, Bellerin, Chambers, Holding and Tierney are working together towards creating an understanding between them which will lead the them providing a successful and much needed defensive unit.
Emery should be given the time and opportunity to work through the problems and complete the squad rebuild which he has undertaken. I
I would hate to see Arsenal Football Club join the manager merry-go-round so evident in other clubs.
Rather than carping about all his perceived failings fans should give him their full support for as long as he is our head coach.
Hey Rico, all your chat the other day about Snickers/Marathon bars encouraged me to buy one yesterday, delicious it may have been but at £1.05 and about half the size of the original it left a nasty taste in my mouth. 😕
Hi Andorra, I think Adam was right earlier, were putting a lot on the shoulders of the injured. Even if fully fit, they will have to be handled with care otherwise they could get injured again..
Cicero, two years to sort the squad out is about right, maybe even three but even though better players have been signed, we simply aren’t improving.
Surely one expects to see some improvement whilst sorting out the dross but the way things are, we are no better on the pitch now than we were 18 months ago.
Actually, I’m not sure a Wenger team would have surrendered that 2-0 lead on Sunday.
You clearly chose the diet marathon 😝
I agree Rico. Things certainly aren’t improving on the field and you are right in that any contract for anybody, anywhere must be accompanied with some sort of performance assessment. After all a contract protects both parties. Man Utd saw where Mourinho was taking the squad and the club and thought it wasn’t good enough, so they sacked him. Should the Man U fans have backed him regardless? They made that judgement and paid his contract off. Most clubs do the same thing when they change managers.
These are hard decisions in an unforgiving sport where results are just about everything. Sunday’s turn out was the sort of horror that only serves to build pressure on any manager.
Unai Emery has no golden pass that exonerates him from scrutiny or criticism however unpalatable that may seem to some.
Agree too Adam. Regardless of what one fan or another thinks, Emery has to improve the football. That must have been the first objective he was set. That and returning to the CL and so far, he’s blown and is still blowing both.
I don’t expect us to win at Anfield, the Etihad and even one or two other grounds, but I sure expect us to compete.
Rico. Yes. Pressure builds more pressure in football and there’s a lot on Unai at the moment. If there wasn’t we would be doing a lot better. 😃
Exactly Adam. I’m sure we all wish we were too…
True. Those last Wenger years are never far away are they? 😊
Not right now no. The similarities between his last few years and now are there for all to see.
Maybe those who employed Emery should sack themselves before removing him 🙂 🙂
Isn’t it a lovely convenience that those who make what can be a massive error simply replace the manager and the fans are satisfied, at least for a while, yet who’s really at fault in these situations?
Adam, you mention Jose-massive money to take him to Utd, it falls apart yet those in charge simply replace him at a huge cost both on and off the field and things move on.
Not a bad position to be in, just quietly lol
I know it’s never an easy call to make when employing a manager, but when a club employs failure after failure, the managers are always seen as the big loser and those who hire and fire just roll along untouched.
The shame and possibly even the eventual saviour of the situation is that the club have done some good work in getting Raul and Edu happening. At least, that’s the way it looks at the moment but, they too, will be partially judged on the team’s performances and eventual successes or failures. The players and manager bear a hefty responsibility. I can see why people say that the manager is the most important person at the club.
Scott. It’s just a matter of money really and MU made what seems like a really dumb move in giving Mourinho a huge new contract before he had really achieved much.
There are no crystal balls and every managerial appointment carries risks. I doubt anyone in power at Arsenal had any idea of the success Arsene would bring. It’s often a matter of the right man at the right time.
You roll the dice……
Oh I know Utd stuffed up-seems those in charge were the only people who thought it’d work and wasn’t it beautiful to watch it all play out 🙂 🙂
Tough gig, employing a manger, no question but those who decide these things do come out relatively unscathed-as long as they don’t allow the flailing manager too much time.
We definitely can’t get bogged down too much in the Emery situation, imo, as there has been plenty of positive stuff happening.
I guess the risk is it could all be undone if Emery stays too long.
Who employed Raul though Scott? Gazidis and/or Wenger? Lol
Same person who employed Emery so I’d imagine Raul has a guy of his own in mind. I’m sure he and Edu wil” have had plenty of conversations about it.
I agree Scott. This is the way that football is structured though and it’s been that way a long time. You are surely not suggesting that every time a manager fails, the entire board resign in some sort of collective shame. After all, it wasn’t a mistake at the time of the appointment. It just worked out that way later.
No Adam, I mean if there’s a series of failed managers, not that any of these bastards would fall on their sword lol
Rico, I can’t keep up with who’s employed anyone at the club lol
It’s a very interesting period ahead for the club.
Then, nothing around the Arsenal is ever dull.
There are definitely a lot of positives during the last 12/16 months. Sadly, most have been behind the scenes…
Yes, the structures in place now seem more able to respond to changing situations.
I simply can’t see Raul and co being convinced that we’re on the right track..
After Raul being involved at Barcelona for the last decade, neither can I.
Evening Rico and the House.
The squad for tomorrows game is,
Leno, Martinez, Niles, Chamber5s Mustafi
Holding, Luiz, Kolasinac, Guendozi,Torrier
Willock, Xhaka Ceballos, Smith Rowe, Martinelli
Nelson Pepe, Saka and Auba.
Ozil and Sokratis stayed at home.
Evening Rico and the house.
Ozil and Sokratis left out of the squad for tomorrows Game
Holding Mustafi are in it,
Evening Rick.
Under 23’s for Tierney and Bellerin I guess.
Rico , Emery has stated they would both have playing time with
the U23’s before he would consider them for the first team.
Now they are away to Wolves this friday and then at home
to Liverpool on the 28th.
I’m hoping they do get time playing under Steve Bould for
irrespective what others have been saying I think he is a very
good defensive coach.
In a recent interview Steve said “Its great to be back coaching
its along time since Ive last done it”
So if Bould is “back coaching” what in heaven’s name has he been paid to do since Pat Rice retired? Another question, if Bould is the defensive coach perhaps it’s his idea to play from the back, not Emery’s idea at all.
Yes, I saw that too Rick and it makes sense for them to play under 23’s first to get match fit.
What Steve Bould has said reiterates the fact that neither Wenger or Emery used him as a defensive coach. Now with his own team, it’s his time to coach. Bodes well for future defenders perhaps.
Why would Bould have much if anything to do with the first team now Cicero? Emery is the head coach, how we play is down to him and him alone I’d have thought.
Meanwhile, Bould is the u23 head coach…
I’m not going to claim that Wenger would be doing better with this squad. That wound is still too raw. I am pretty certain George Graham would be doing better, maybe even Rioch.
Emery probably deserves this season to get it right, but the direction of travel needs to improve dramatically, and soon, otherwise he might not last the season.
Hobart, I’m sure GG would soon whip the defence into shape..
But it’s not Bould’s remit to do so . To comment on his defensive coaching you would have to consider how the under 23’s defend and whether they are better at playing out from the back. Maybe Rick or Kev could tell us.
I always thought that as he sat next to Wenger he was holding something back . perhaps it was his temper.
He often looked pretty angry Potter, frustrated too. If he wasn’t coaching, or allowed to coach/rectify the shambles he had to watch, then no wonder…
New post up now..