Morning all.
If there’s one thing I really don’t understand about Mikel Arteta it’s his reluctance to go just that one step further with the younger players. Instead he persists with the ageing players or those who just aren’t returning the faith he puts in them. Blind faith in certain cases and that blind faith is doing nothing but put more pressure on himself and perhaps the board even.
I know we’re told about the process, the plan, the insistence that Arsenal will soon shine again. Mikel’s words not mine. But the way things are going, the days of shining appear to be a long long way away.
Whilst I’m having a moan, I kind of get why Arteta opts for experienced players because sometimes it’s that very thing which gets a club through difficult fixtures, however, when it’s clear to everyone and anyone watching, that for certain players when it’s just not their night, month or season for that matter, why does it take him so long to make changes, especially in Europa as he has five substitutes available?
The tie against Slavia Prague really is hanging by a thread after conceding an away goal after very sloppy defensive work. Arteta said the problem arose because of the corner his team had conceded, fine, but what about the defensive frailties which followed. His Arsenal team have gone from having one of the meanest defences in the Premier League to a team which looks nervous and twitchy every time an opposition bears down on its own goal.
Personally, I think our defensive issues start with Bernd Leno whose become a bit of a flapper. He’s conceding goals through his legs and when I saw the goal we conceded against Slavia Prague, I’m sure he flinched away from the ball as it came at it. When Arsenal were at their best last season, certainly during our FA Cup journey, we had a keeper who I believe was trusted wholeheartedly by his defence and that in my opinion is crucial to any team. What was the first thing both Guardiola and Klopp did? Yes, sign a top top keeper, yet Arsenal sold a darn good keeper for peanuts. A dreadfully poor decision made by Arteta and Edu.
Keeping hold of Luiz, Willian, Aubameyang, Pepe and Lacazette this summer would be more bad decisions. Just sell them to any club who makes an enquiry about them. For peanuts if that’s what it takes.
David Ornstein:
He is at the centre of a new era for Arsenal that they hope will come to fruition and improve over time. They are building the project around him. The technical Edu and the owners, the Kroenkes, they hope that with time and with transfer markets – plural – that Arteta will prove to be the right man for them.
He clearly needs different players and rejuvenated players. He needs to keep building that squad in a way that is moulded to his desire, otherwise it’s not going to work. He appears to be a really good coach, from people we speak to he is really highly rated, but I think Arsenal have a lot of work to do in the transfer market. In terms of Arteta he is at the centre of what they are doing and their faith is follow behind him.
If the club truly believe in Mikel Arteta and I can understand why they do, I’d have thought now, or certainly in a few of the fixtures remaining, is a chance for him to prepare for next season. Start giving more younger players minutes and see what they’re made of. I don’t mean throwing them all in at once, of course that would be stupid but if ESR has to come off, replace him with more energy. If Lacazette is subbed, replace him with Balogun and start with Martinelli for goodness sake. He’ll run his legs off and even then he’ll still give more than Willian.
These younger guys will be Arsenal’s future, or certainly some of them I’d have thought. Players who do little but try and undermine Arteta with their shoddy performances are not.
We play again tomorrow against bottom of the League Sheffield Utd. Goodness only knows what to expect from this Arsenal team although I think we’ve been marginally better away from The Emirates this season. I’d love to see Mikel Arteta play a younger and more energetic team.
A bit of a ramble I know but in my head, it made sense. Honest…
See you in the comments.
We need to give M T enough time to rebuild his preferred team so that we are able to see what his potentials are other wise we are going to keep blaming him until we sack him without gest the best out of him
G’day Rico, we two are definitely on the same wavelength. 😉
Certain of the experienced players are just not cutting the mustard. Give yoof a chance, there really is not much to lose.
Good Afternoon Rico and everyone.
Rico…..Arteta is not going to throw all the kids in at once. However, I feel that he can change the whole attack and keep the rest of the team full of the senior players. In my experience I have learned that its easier to change the attackers than the defenders. So let’s say Tierney and Luiz are fit. So he can go with Leno, Soares, Luiz, Gabriel, Tierney in defence. Xhaka and Partey in defensive midfield.
In front of theme he has Odegaard as central and on the flanks its Saka and ESR. In attack put Martinelli.
Now as you said, it might get interesting. We have to work on three subs in the EPL.
Let’s say he begins with Tierney…..put in Lopez instead of him. Now let’s say he wants to change ESR. Instead of introducing Pepe or Willian Arteta can take off ESR, put Martinelli on the left and introduce Balogun. Martinelli has played on the left flank so he is used to its requirements.
And the third sub?? put in Nelson instead of Saka. So he is replacing the youth with the youth.
Yes I would go for it if it were me making the choice.
the major aspect which they have on their side, the young ones, is that they know each other……but they are unkowns to the opposition.
Maybe all Arteta is waiting for is next season…..when he has cleared the decks of the old ones, begins with the new young ones plus a couple of signings and they all have a proper preseason under their belts.
We have to wait and see.
Another thing I would love us to discuss.
What happens if the club sacks Arteta? Another manager will be employed. and the players will all play all their asses off to impress…….until they get tired and the rot sets back in…this time with a vengeance heavier than the 2nd Covid wave. And within a few months we will have the bleaters coming out bleating again for the new manager to be sacked.
And then employ another manager…..and the beat goes on. Same old same old.
Arteta needs to stay until all the team is overhauled. Then when the whole team is his we can all rightly call for his head or applaud him.
Until the team is his in all positions we cannot criticize him.
Getting harder to find Rico , Having to go and open my e-mails now ..
However in answer to Kev last night , I suppose the way that we have trained for years now with short passing , being the main objective means that a good old fashioned stopper gets left in the wayside and that’s why we struggle to develop defenders and defensive midfielders.
We are in a situation where we need to blood the yoot of today and tomorrow is a perfect opportunity which if anything gives a chance to prepare for Thursday and rest tired legs .
If he truly is about to sign , then lets see Balogun on the pitch at some stage and give him the incentive to put pen to paper . Who knows a hat trick against Sheffield United might get him a few bob extra on the offer , or maybe that’s what the club is scared of.
While we are at it lets get Ryan some action before Leno’s confidence gets shattered more than it is already.
Afternoon Devil, Cicero, Potter and all.
We are Cicero.
Devil, I know and wouldn’t expect him to but the odd one or three to come off the bench
It’s always on NN as a last resort Potter.
I’m of the same opinion re Ryan, why not play him and see how good he is and if he’s worth trying to keep.
Hi Rico.. Glad you’re better now 🙂
We’re now 11th. Didn’t think Leeds would beat City, but they did! If only we could play that well at both ends…
I’m still mentally drained from Thursday night and the thought of facing the Blades tomorrow… 😬
Hi Sue, thanks.
Can’t say I’m looking forwards to tomorrow really, nor Slavia but at least I was spared much of Thursday’s poor showing.
I thought City drew, they must have conceded late, and against ten men. Well done Leeds.
How come Odegaard played for Norway, yet returned to us injured. Odd.
Lots still to play for though for positions.
Our next two games are Sheff Utd and Fulham during that period leeds have leicester and liverpool, west ham have leicester and newcastle , everton have spurs and brighton , and villa are playing liverpool at the moment and still have matches against Man city , everton , manutd , Spurs and chelsea before the seasons out .lastly spurs have manu , everton , leeds , villa and leicester in their last games .we have Chelsea and everton as top teams left.
We could creep up a bit depending on other results providing that we don’t keep screwing things up ourselves.
Thursday was awful, Rico. You wouldn’t have thought a place in the SF was at stake!!
All the more reason to bring in one or two who might be up for challenge. Who’s more likely to want to impress?
Villa take the lead 🤩 Everyone scores against the scousers except us 😭
They’re rubbish at Anfield though. Away from home has been better. Lol
City 1 – 2 Leeds, and Villa one up half-time at Anfield.
Just saw this on twitter:
Arsenal’s record in Sheffield in the Premier League is terrible. Against Wednesday they have won one, drawn two and lost five and versus the Blades won none, drawn two and lost two…
Gulp….
Just seen those stats on afc.com. Pretty poor really.
Well said rico.. at this juncture blooding the kids for next season can only be a positive.
On the other hand.. much worse than Arteta mis-management is having him coach doubt into young minds. It could cause irreperable damage.
Pepe, for instance, has rare talent – the talent to blow by or out skill opponents but it has been coached out of him. Every day pepe should be told never to doubt – that he is great and the opposition average. Attack, attack and draw cards, penetrate and score. A doubting pepe is a useless pepe.
Partey once blew by the opposition too but now it happens less and less. Arteta’s skill, it seems, is to turn great players into average ones.
Due to our erratic defending, Partey does not have the freedom to bomb forward. He has to stay back to shore up our back five, Mortimer.
Mortimer, none us know what Arteta’s coaching methods are so I’m not going to speculate. What is clear though is that something is wrong with a few of the players and if they don’t want to play for Arteta, the third guy they’ve down tools for for some of them, then I think the club are better off without them.
Agree Cicero although both he and Xhaka do get themselves further up the pitch at times.
More in hope than expectation, Rico. 😉
..I hasten to add that I’ve firmly been in the Arteta camp. We need patience and a steady hand not a management parade. I’m aware of the damage caused by the poor management in recent years, that a proper rebuild takes time, etc.. but..
Facts, when weighed dispassionately, are strongly against Arteta/Edu being the answer. At this rate giving them more time might find us relegated.
In my opinion the ‘Arsenal Way’ is attractive high paced football, playing opponents off the pitch with pace and skill. We have the talent to do this and show it in flashes but are clearly coached not to.
Rico.. People are saying Leno wants out..
Not sure how true it is, I can’t find anything anywhere.
Ha ha Cicero, yes.
I doubt relegation Mortimer, very.
Sue, shame he didn’t mention that last summer. 😂
Seriously though, if it’s true and he’s told the club, play Ryan instead.
I appreciate your optomism, rico but, speaking from experience, it’s quite obvious what Arteta’s management style is. Apologies for being long winded but there are good reasons for my assertion:
During covid (and the years preceding) I’ve seen the shop I manage expand rapidly. I went from 8 to 60+ subordinates in an extemely short period. While everyone else has slowed our pruduction has become insane. Facing unreasonable demands each day is all I deal with. Succeed or crumble. To the ownership group my failure would not be tolerated.
My team is beyond reproach. If they down tools it is 100% my fault. They are not equal but they each work hard and seldom turn down overtime. In short they are heroes and I treat them as such.
A few months back, upon my demand, a select few were promoted to manage the various departments. To these one outside manager was hired. Instantly he was shocked at the production load and simultaniously amazed at the sheer volume and variance of goods produced.
Instead of integrating himself into the team he proceeded to micro-manage, alianate, make unreasonable demands, pick favourites, etc. Valuable workers, irreplacable for thier skill and knowledge would’ve walked.. and who would blame them.
I see Arteta in this man – A good guy with good intentions but one without man management skills.
Mortimer,
Your long and detailed posts mention someone you employed coming in to your business and failing, and you then laid the blame squarely at his feet.
Wasn’t it you who earlier said a failed staff member is 100% your fault?
Are you sure it’s a store and not politics you’re involved in, because damn, you can sidestep like a champion lol
Arteta hasn’t had the luxury of selecting his own staff, so trying to compare your situation to his is absolutely laughable.
Comparing yourself dealing with staff members who are every day people and a football manager dealing with massive egos, player agents, managers etc etc is equally hilarious, but hey, if these comparisons makes you feel important, then keep it up.
daily mail claim that some senior players are turning on Arteta because they feel he is not excepting some of the blame and putting it all on them. I still feel the senior players don’t respect Arteta due to his lack of coaching.
I am trying to like Arteta but when you see him playing players out of the preferred position and leasing a player like Ryan and never use him makes me wonder if Arteta is is starting to doubt him self.
No Auba (flu) or ESR (ankle) today 😭
Without being on the inside of Arsenal Mortimer, I don’t know how you can conclude Arteta has poor man management skills and as much as I don’t agree with Scott ridiculing your ideas, he’s right, one simply cannot compare retail with football. For a start, a footballer cannot be sacked for poor performances as far as I’m aware, whereas a member of staff in retail and many other places of employment, can be after following the relevant processes.
These multi million footballers are paid ridiculous money regardless of whether they turn up for work or how good/bad they perform.
Also, have a read of a few interviews from the players who do have some self pride. They are full of nothing but praise for Arteta.
But he has accepted blame Geoff so that story is bulls***t imo.
Man flu is serious Sue. 😝
Morning all.
Rico, Mortimer ridiculing Arteta is ok??
No, it’s not, imo.
Especially when it’s based on”facts” that are quite obviously wrong by the mans own hand.
You’re right on one count, the players who actually have a crack and take pride in their performance all openly adore Arteta, so to the critics, would you listen to the media, the players who clearly don’t care about the club, or the likes of Tierney etc etc
The problem is those who didn’t like the appointment of Arteta will never accept the man no matter what he does, but luckily those at the club that matter do support him.
Shirt term pain for long term gain is something plenty of fans just can not cope with.
They say they can, but they can’t.
It’s what happens Scott. Results and performances are dire, so he’s bound to take some flack.
Can’t say I was thrilled by Arteta’s appointment either and so far, he’s done little to convince me he’s right for Arsenal. However, I refuse to dismiss that he’s dealing with players who have shown their true colours before, some under Wenger, Emery and Freddie albeit for just a few weeks.
Most of these players won the FA Cup through determination and spirit so where’s that gone? These guys can’t just turn it on or off when they feel like it. It’s morally wrong.
Rico, players who refuse to buy in to the new direction are best gone anyway, so while we all appreciate the talent of Auba and others, we must accept the fact that they’re taking the piss out of the club and it’s fans, so why the Arteta critics automatically blame the manager for the failings of the players is just ridiculous imo
Martinelli does more in 20 minutes than Auba does in 70.
Anyone suggesting Arteta is to blame has no idea imo
New post up now
Absolutely agree Scott.
Everyone scores against Liverpool and the most serious, is that they shoot (and several times!), except us.
Today, I have the strange omen that Arsenal will offer the victory to SU.
Scott people blame Arteta because he is the manager / coach. He is the one who applied for the coaching role and claimed he can fix the club yet this has been our worst year since Wenger and he is the one who picks the team each match. even when Willian or Auba are doing nothing he still keeps picking them he got Ryan on loan but has only used him once or twice and then there is the younger players that he picks and they play 1 or 2 good games and put in a good show only to be dropped and never picks them again. that’s why some people keep blaming him. They players should also take responsibility for there performance.
Sorry that providing context for why I’ve personally formed an opinion on Arteta came off as being self important or some such nonsence.
I’m well aware that football and production aren’t the same but methods of management are. Whether millonares or not human’s are all different. Humans aren’t robots. It requires finesse to manage a group. Some don’t have that. This was my point.