Topic: Arsenal

[Ghost Town]

And Saliba (who just won the French Young Player of the Year). Ben White though.

Has anyone ever seen Arteta and Fordy in the same room? Well, have they?

[Armand9]

Yeah he had a run-in with Maupay, who is also a bit of a dick but generally owns it which I appreciate. Anyway, Maupay basically said afterwards that Guendouzi was bragging about earning more money than the Brighton squad, which is a pretty terrible look. Also made worse by Maupay apparently actually earning more.

thanks for that, total dick move yeah

reason to get him out of the squad tho? aint so sure about that, i appreciate that the argument would be that behaviour is indicative of his character so what more may he be doing behind the scenes but you know, maybe work with the guy and bring him down to earth, cos as a player he's better than xhaka and elneny and he doesn't duck a battle, like the whole fucking squad did at newcastle

All or Nothing doc - going to be interesting

[The North Bank]

Had Partey stayed fit I’ve no doubt we’d be in CL now. Our game completely changes when he plays. Problem is he’s had far too many long term injuries since he joined, so we need another quality midfielder as much as we need strikers.

[farawayred]

Had Partey stayed fit I’ve no doubt we’d be in CL now. Our game completely changes when he plays. Problem is he’s had far too many long term injuries since he joined, so we need another quality midfielder as much as we need strikers.

Dunno, mate, there were so many chances... Arsenal should have been ahead of Chelsea in 3rd, but instead are staring at Europa league place... I feel let down, so I can't imagine how you and Scottish Goon feel... But I do hope that you get your act together next season, I can't stand Spurs...

[Armand9]

Had Partey stayed fit I’ve no doubt we’d be in CL now. Our game completely changes when he plays. Problem is he’s had far too many long term injuries since he joined, so we need another quality midfielder as much as we need strikers.

after that showing at newcastle i dont think prime fucking socrates would've made a difference

im still wondering what the tactics were in that one and how arteta watches that and doesn't change something after the first 20 mins cos that was a 0-0 absolute battering

and btw the kid saka - your manager is running him into the ground, it's obvious, been off it for a while now, he's burned out, as much as he's your talisman, you have to rotate a kid that young, he can't continually carry your team

ole did it to rashford, ran him into the ground - twice! and look at him now

[ScottishGoon]

But again, why would you expect an improvement? What are you referencing from his past managerial history that makes it seem possible? I guess we could go onto how his tactics are a pretty big outlier in the league and maybe Europe?  Is that a portent to greatness to come or just that he's completely crazy in what he's trying to do? If you're just going to back Arteta regardless then fair enough but as I noted you can't be fine pointing out that Ole was completely out of his depth without questioning whether Arteta is as well.

I expect an improvement, because I expect more players signed in the summer to increase the quality of the starting XI and increase the quality of the squad.

The squad depth is poor, shocking in places, and yeah that's a big way down to Edu & Arteta for clearing out mid season, I'm not arguing that.

I'd also expect a young manager to learn from mistakes, to make better decisions with more experience,

Now these are what I expect, but I'm not saying these are guarantees. That's why I'll judge him on what happens in the summer,by the signings, by what happens with Saliba, & by what happens results wise next season.

[kaesarsosei]

Similar in a way to how Sakho did at Liverpool.

Speaking of whom (not the right thread I know), but what the hell happened to him? Is he still at Palace and can't get a game there? I really thought he was going to be a great player for us.

[-Willo-]

He had problems with Ozil, Guendouzi etc too though.

The culture at Arsenal has been terrible for about a decade now so it isn't really much of a surprise that a manager might have issues with several of their players when he came in.

[LovelyCushionedHeader]

Speaking of whom (not the right thread I know), but what the hell happened to him? Is he still at Palace and can't get a game there? I really thought he was going to be a great player for us.

He was one of many who left on a free last season. He signed for Montpellier and has had an alright season by all accounts, but he's also well off what he was/could have been.

[El Lobo]

Ozil has just been excluded from the 1st team squad at Fenerbahce. Not sure of the reasons but potentially a disciplinary action

Guendouzi had multiple issues at Arsenal. The Maupay incident, incidents at a warm weather training camp in Dubai, inability to apologise following indiscretions. Not a lot of these were direct confrontations with the manager. It was the player over stepping the mark. Similar in a way to how Sakho did at Liverpool. Nothing directly with the manager but a few indiscretions and an apparent inability to learn from his mistakes

His biggest crime at his two most recent clubs genuinely seems to have been that he's paid far too much..... He certainly doesn't seem to be a particularly negative influence, he's been capped a fuckload by Germany at their most successful, he seems like a good egg off the pitch, he was a favourite of Wenger who doesn't strike me as someone who'd rely on a disruptive player. Similarly with Aubameyang. Their disruptiveness seems to have coincided with Arsenal choosing to go against having a good, experienced coach and instead go with someone who was giving the job because he sat next to Guardiola for a few seasons.

Gunedouzi's a kid, like 20/21 when he started getting bombed out. Not the same as an established, experienced professional like Sakho who was mid to late 20s, who had already captained his hometown club. I imagine Sakho was also a lot more palatable to get rid of considering the sort of football we were looking to play, whereas Guendouzi is pretty much exactly what they need.

As a manager there's got to be a level of pragmatism, surely. You can't just bomb everyone out who causes a slight issue at some point, you can't just fuck off a massive chunk of the first team squad without replacing them (whilst retaining even more players who you don't seem to fancy either). Its very commendable that he's leading this much needed clear-out, problem being that getting rid of Aubameyang left them with Lacazette and Nketiah. Getting rid of Bellerin left them with Cedric. Getting rid of Guendouzi left them with Elneny. Getting rid of Kolasinac left them with Tavares. And this is the crux. He's making mistakes young coaches make, fine. But big clubs aren't meant to hire people like that, they're meant to let them make those mistakes at smaller clubs.

[Dave McCoy]

I expect an improvement, because I expect more players signed in the summer to increase the quality of the starting XI and increase the quality of the squad.

The squad depth is poor, shocking in places, and yeah that's a big way down to Edu & Arteta for clearing out mid season, I'm not arguing that.

I'd also expect a young manager to learn from mistakes, to make better decisions with more experience,

Now these are what I expect, but I'm not saying these are guarantees. That's why I'll judge him on what happens in the summer,by the signings, by what happens with Saliba, & by what happens results wise next season.

Put another way, either Arsenal spend the money for at least the 4th best squad or who their manager is doesn't matter? That's really what I'm getting here.

[The North Bank]

Put another way, either Arsenal spend the money for at least the 4th best squad or who their manager is doesn't matter? That's really what I'm getting here.

Football remains abut players, the top managers sign the right players. Klopp wouldn’t have won the league with the squad he took over at Liverpool and Conte wouldn’t have got cL if spurs didn’t have Kane and Son. Expecting Arteta to achieve things without buying better players is unique.

[Dave McCoy]

Football remains abut players, the top managers sign the right players. Klopp wouldn’t have won the league with the squad he took over at Liverpool and Conte wouldn’t have got cL if spurs didn’t have Kane and Son. Expecting Arteta to achieve things without buying better players is unique.

SG, and I think you as well, have been stating that Arteta didn't really fail as the squad was never good enough for 4th. So then why do you care whether Arteta stays as the manager or not? Seems pretty binary in your opinions that either you have the 4th best squad at minimum or you don't. Arteta getting over performance from the squad isn't necessary or required.

Though funnily enough your examples with Klopp and Conte both have that in their history, making the sum of the parts better than the individual and raising the performance level, seems to belie that over performance isn't needed. You can't say as a squad we were really ever better than ManC until this season and odds are we won't even win the title. Conte has numerous examples as well.

[Armand9]

Football remains abut players, the top managers sign the right players. Klopp wouldn’t have won the league with the squad he took over at Liverpool and Conte wouldn’t have got cL if spurs didn’t have Kane and Son. Expecting Arteta to achieve things without buying better players is unique.

dude you are excuse city for arteta

he has bought players, the dude has spent quarter of a billion and has got you back to 5th after having you at 8th 8th, where he started from... and he's been there for almost 3 fucking years - all that money, good amount of time, to get you back to where you were anyway, awesome

and that trophy he won, wasn't with his players, they were emery's players, who apparently weren't good enough

he may not have all the players he wants but few, if any, do

and now many will be off the table cos the twat can't build character into this side and he'll likely have less funds

if your retort is 'i said better players', dont bother, they're his players, if he can't identify quality with his team, that's on him

[tonysleft]

Football remains abut players, the top managers sign the right players. Klopp wouldn’t have won the league with the squad he took over at Liverpool and Conte wouldn’t have got cL if spurs didn’t have Kane and Son. Expecting Arteta to achieve things without buying better players is unique.

maybe he could buy better players for the money he's spent than he has

[Armand9]

obviously

but i guess that's not on him either

in other news, penny just dropped, TNB is this guy and i claim my £5

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/0Xud3HSOMJ8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/0Xud3HSOMJ8</a>

after the newcastle game 

[The North Bank]

maybe he could buy better players for the money he's spent than he has

I think the signings have been good, bearing in mind what we can attract without CL or the ability to pay Man utd type wages. we just need more signings as he got rid of far more than he brought in.

[The North Bank]

obviously

but i guess that's not on him either

in other news, penny just dropped, TNB is this guy and i claim my £5

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/0Xud3HSOMJ8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/0Xud3HSOMJ8</a>

after the newcastle game 

We battered them for 2 minutes.

[Armand9]

at least you can take a joke mate, i rate that

on your signings, hmm

ramsdale is pickford, had a decent season if you balance out good at the start, dodgy on the back end, next season i expect full pickford mode, fans gonna fall out with him
tomiyasu is good, doesn't offer a lot going forward but he's a good solid RB that strengthens your backline
tavares, yikes, dude is not a defender, he's a winger (fair play to him, at newcastle i felt he was your best player, only one really who offered much going forward and was an outlet at least, until he was subbed...)
ben white, paid way over the odds and he's just not that good at defending, quick and comfortable on the ball, which is good but needs a lot of coaching
lokonga, hard to say much really, been shakey, moments of promise, he's young and developing, needs good players around him to help him grow, jury's out
Ødegaard, a player i like and have bigged up on here but he's been very disappointing when it matters or when there's a fight, he disappears - he's earning the nickname caspar among arsenal fans, intelligent, great weight of pass, good vision, wonderful when you're on song, anonymous when you're not, he'd be great in a side like man city where he has freedom and time as they possess the ball so much, in a team that needs to dig in regularly he becomes a passenger, this arsenal can't afford that

150M for that, i dont think that's good at all, leno is better than ramsdale and martinez is better than both, so i dont see progress there and puzzles the fuck out of me

if the rest were of the quality and promise of tomiyasu it would've been a great window, as is, that's the only signing at this time i'd give a thumb's up, a wait and see with lokonga and poor to not good enough the rest (Ødegaard is the outlyer in being quality but you have to carry him and this team can't)

on your attraction in the transfer market -

a great arsenal team is a bygone time and young players werent even around to appreciate it, no CL, manager of no note and arguably viewed by ex players as 'hard to work with' - i doubt the 'noise' around artetat is positive among french players (a good market for you in the past) they talk you know, not seen as a side to challenge for the biggest honours

Arsenal are a massive club, some argue otherwise but in my eyes they still are, but you're in a 'small' time and im sure we'll disagree but i think arteta harms you more than helps you in the transfer market

[RedSince86]

This is going to compelling viewing, cannot wait to see the cocky swagger on Arteta disintegrate in spring.

I hope they show his hissy fit at Anfield in close quarters.

[Chakan]

"And in the end it wasn't enough to secure 4th place, even though the bookies gave us an 88% chance of doing that. Somehow we had managed to fuck it royally"

[Dave McCoy]

Briefing the press now that they may not be able to afford Jesus and others since they won't be in the CL (or they may not come without CL) and how Europa League next season would make a top 4 push even harder than it was this year. But they have hope that in 24/25 when the extra CL spot comes they'll be in good shape for that. Jesus.....

[WhereAngelsPlay]

His biggest crime at his two most recent clubs genuinely seems to have been that he's paid far too much..... He certainly doesn't seem to be a particularly negative influence, he's been capped a fuckload by Germany at their most successful, he seems like a good egg off the pitch, he was a favourite of Wenger who doesn't strike me as someone who'd rely on a disruptive player. Similarly with Aubameyang. Their disruptiveness seems to have coincided with Arsenal choosing to go against having a good, experienced coach and instead go with someone who was giving the job because he sat next to Guardiola for a few seasons.

Gunedouzi's a kid, like 20/21 when he started getting bombed out. Not the same as an established, experienced professional like Sakho who was mid to late 20s, who had already captained his hometown club. I imagine Sakho was also a lot more palatable to get rid of considering the sort of football we were looking to play, whereas Guendouzi is pretty much exactly what they need.

As a manager there's got to be a level of pragmatism, surely. You can't just bomb everyone out who causes a slight issue at some point, you can't just fuck off a massive chunk of the first team squad without replacing them (whilst retaining even more players who you don't seem to fancy either). Its very commendable that he's leading this much needed clear-out, problem being that getting rid of Aubameyang left them with Lacazette and Nketiah. Getting rid of Bellerin left them with Cedric. Getting rid of Guendouzi left them with Elneny. Getting rid of Kolasinac left them with Tavares. And this is the crux. He's making mistakes young coaches make, fine. But big clubs aren't meant to hire people like that, they're meant to let them make those mistakes at smaller clubs.

Knowing him,he might have visited the Moscow Midget in hospital after his operation.took the kids and everything.

[ScottishGoon]

Briefing the press now that they may not be able to afford Jesus and others since they won't be in the CL (or they may not come without CL) and how Europa League next season would make a top 4 push even harder than it was this year. But they have hope that in 24/25 when the extra CL spot comes they'll be in good shape for that. Jesus.....

I'd find it difficult to believe if a club actually briefed that. Seems more like educated guesses to me.

[WhereAngelsPlay]

I'd find it difficult to believe if a club actually briefed that. Seems more like educated guesses to me.

Any old shit on twatter gets turned into a "briefing"

[Dave McCoy]

I'd find it difficult to believe if a club actually briefed that. Seems more like educated guesses to me.

I'm sorry did Manchester City call up the press and say Arsenal won't pay the £55m we want for Jesus and they are now looking at others? Maybe some of it is conjecture but when you get the same story across the multiple outlets then it seems obvious that someone is being briefed, no?

[Armand9]

This is going to compelling viewing, cannot wait to see the cocky swagger on Arteta disintegrate in spring.

I hope they show his hissy fit at Anfield in close quarters.

never watched any of these (apart from NFL one) but defo gonna give this a go

i dont care really about the team/season etc in itself, it's arteta i want to see, whether we get insight into the man or not i dont know, but i think he's a huge fraud in many ways and could end up being hugely damaging to arsenal, so i just want to see what kind of man he is really and happy to be wrong, i have no dog in the fight

[El Lobo]

maybe he could buy better players for the money he's spent than he has

People in Maguire houses shouldn’t throw Ben Whites (or something)

[El Lobo]

Chelsea 9 points from their last 7 games. Arsenal with their games in hand....12 from 9 games.

Results like last night again show just what a spectacular bottle job they've had. Just two points a game and the racists would be clinging on by their fingernails.

[Armand9]

I think we ll improve more than those 2 because our weaknesses are clearer and our main players younger, but the recruitment needs to be spot on. We can probably tell how next season will go by where we are when the window shuts. Saka isnt going anywhere.
Looking forward to seeing William Saliba finally play for us. Hes gotten into the france team before our team and just won ligue 1 young player of the year.

might want to put that on hold, Saliba widely reported as telling marseille he wants to stay, if he pushes for a move....?

not surprising is it?

anyway, trust the process

[newterp]

might want to put that on hold, Saliba widely reported as telling marseille he wants to stay, if he pushes for a move....?

not surprising is it?

anyway, trust the process

especially after how well arteta treated him the last time?

[El Lobo]

might want to put that on hold, Saliba widely reported as telling marseille he wants to stay, if he pushes for a move....?

not surprising is it?

anyway, trust the process

Probably wasn't wise to loan him somewhere they'd already sent Guendouzi.....and then let Kolasinac join in January

I can't imagine that little group is very complimentary of Captain Black.

[The North Bank]

Probably wasn't wise to loan him somewhere they'd already sent Guendouzi.....and then let Kolasinac join in January

I can't imagine that little group is very complimentary of Captain Black.

He’s improved beyond any expectations so the loan move was the right one.

[PeterTheRed ...]

He’s improved beyond any expectations so the loan move was the right one.

And he won't be returning to Arsenal, since you've treated him like shite ...

[Armand9]

i said it before, arsenal cos of wenger days had pull in the french market but arteta is doing his best to damage it

dude was put in the under 23's for 6 months, and not happy about it, before being put out on loan and is clearly having a good time in marseille, who look likely to get CL

promising CB wants away it seems, and now with arteta starting to drop hints of keep your expectations modest on the upcoming transfer merrygoround

perfect puppet for the owners that lad - transfer dealings under this ownership has been shockingly poor

He’s improved beyond any expectations so the loan move was the right one.

trust the process 

owners dream this one as well

[The North Bank]

And he won't be returning to Arsenal, since you've treated him like shite ...

That’s not how contracts work

[tonysleft]

its been an absolutely incredible bottle job from them. I do think they have looked very good at times this year when ESR and Saka are in full flow and Martinelli and Odegaard are playing well too, but otherwise its the usual flakey Arsenal. I just don't see how they can take a step above where they are. They can add a striker like DCL or whoever, any 20 goal striker basically, but that's not going to take them beyond the level of top 4 challenging. Arteta is very lucky to have gotten that extension

[PeterTheRed ...]

That’s not how contracts work

Yeah, because contracts are like some sort of slavery. The only question is, how much you can get for him. Arteta has fucked up big time with Saliba ...

[The North Bank]

its been an absolutely incredible bottle job from them. I do think they have looked very good at times this year when ESR and Saka are in full flow and Martinelli and Odegaard are playing well too, but otherwise its the usual flakey Arsenal. I just don't see how they can take a step above where they are. They can add a striker like DCL or whoever, any 20 goal striker basically, but that's not going to take them beyond the level of top 4 challenging. Arteta is very lucky to have gotten that extension

You can talk 🤣🤣

[The North Bank]

Yeah, because contracts are like some sort of slavery. The only question is, how much you can get for him. Arteta has fucked up big time with Saliba ...

Slavery 🤣🤣🤣