Topic: Arsenal

[SerbianScouser]

So funny how unfit they are.

Reminds me of early Klopp days when it was muscle injuries galore. They managed only 45 mins of pressing last night, Arteta will have a big job on his hands trying to find guys who can press as much as he wants them to without getting all the injuries , I can't see him doing this with the likes of Xhaka and Ozil in the long run. Promising start but still a tons of question marks on whether he can implement his ideas long term.

[ScottishGoon]

So funny how unfit they are.

Reminds me of early Klopp days when it was muscle injuries galore. They managed only 45 mins of pressing last night, Arteta will have a big job on his hands trying to find guys who can press as much as he wants them to without getting all the injuries , I can't see him doing this with the likes of Xhaka and Ozil in the long run. Promising start but still a tons of question marks on whether he can implement his ideas long term.

Like you say, they don't have the level of fitness required yet, & yes, it might be like the early part of Klopps reign, but you know what, I'd take that just now. All I want to begin with is an identity again, a team that looks like it has some sort of plan, & commitment, even if sometimes the players are inconsistent & we get some strange results, as long as the foundations are put in place, players that suit the style more can be purchased.

The injuries haven't helped, the full backs being out has hamstrung us, players like Xhaka had been ill, Ceballos been injured etc so we've not really had the chance to rotate better. You'd imagine the formation with Ozil is a bit of a means to an end just now, it won't be a long term thing, and it seems Xhaka is staying until the summer until a bit more of an athletic player can be brought in.

[surfer. Fuck you generator.]

Good structure and sound work imo from Arteta, initial impressions and all. They showed solid planning with their pressing and possession game, more of a structure there in half a game than what Ole's shown in his entire tenure.

[CHOPPER]

We've signed the best thing in their club, their doctor.

[Samie]

Here you go Chops

Arsenal advertise to replace head of sports medicine Gary O’Driscoll, who is set to join Liverpool.

https://theathletic.com/1536086/2020/01/15/arsenal-odriscoll-liverpool/

[CHOPPER]

Here you go Chops

Arsenal advertise to replace head of sports medicine Gary O’Driscoll, who is set to join Liverpool.

https://theathletic.com/1536086/2020/01/15/arsenal-odriscoll-liverpool/

 

Thats the fella, fella.

[[new username under construction]]

well I hope we got that right, one thing for sure about Arsenal over the past few years is they have had all sorts of injuries :/

[latortuga]

Quite enjoyed seeing Arsenal players show some fight and a bit of nastiness in their play, something that has been severely lacking for so many years now.  Recent Arsenal teams would have folded going down to 10 men.

Arteta may not be getting the results yet, but if given the time I think he could turn out to be a very good move for Arsenal. 

[ScottishGoon]

Quite enjoyed seeing Arsenal players show some fight and a bit of nastiness in their play, something that has been severely lacking for so many years now.  Recent Arsenal teams would have folded going down to 10 men.

Arteta may not be getting the results yet, but if given the time I think he could turn out to be a very good move for Arsenal.

I'm happy with how things are going so far. Like you say, results wise it could have been better, but you can see we look better organised, we don't look quite as open, & we are showing effort & desire which to be fair should be the bare minimum but we know quite often that's not the case.
He's still having to work with guys like Mustafi whos probably our 5th choice centre half, & little of no full backs, so there's work to be done to address that.

Still a lot of work to be done though, i'm looking forward to see how the young guys like Martinelli & Saliba develop under him & with the team long term. We need to be better in the market though to support these guys, to give us better balance & players that can carry out the managers style.

[clinical]

Would love us to bid Ł40m +Ł1 for Martinelli.

Arsenal are awful but how they managed to sneak him in so easily I'll never know. He's not 19 till June.

[kloppismydad]

I'm happy with how things are going so far. Like you say, results wise it could have been better, but you can see we look better organised, we don't look quite as open, & we are showing effort & desire which to be fair should be the bare minimum but we know quite often that's not the case.
He's still having to work with guys like Mustafi whos probably our 5th choice centre half, & little of no full backs, so there's work to be done to address that.

Still a lot of work to be done though, i'm looking forward to see how the young guys like Martinelli & Saliba develop under him & with the team long term. We need to be better in the market though to support these guys, to give us better balance & players that can carry out the managers style.

The squad needs an overhaul but the basis for a successful team are there. One gets the impression that Arteta knows what he wants from the team and he will eventually get his personnel to execute his ideas too. Very important for Arsenal to recruit well.

Also, Martinelli fucking hell! He looks quite good from what I've seen of him. Wouldn't be surprised if Barcelona are interested in him in a couple of years.

[Chris~]

Would love us to bid Ł40m +Ł1 for Martinelli.

Arsenal are awful but how they managed to sneak him in so easily I'll never know. He's not 19 till June.

Connections to agents. Downside is having to sign players like David Luiz as well.

[The G in Gerrard]

Would love us to bid Ł40m +Ł1 for Martinelli.

Arsenal are awful but how they managed to sneak him in so easily I'll never know. He's not 19 till June.

He looks special. We should enquire about him.

[clinical]

He looks special. We should enquire about him.

They could use the money to buy a CB

[ScottishGoon]

Would love us to bid Ł40m +Ł1 for Martinelli.

Arsenal are awful but how they managed to sneak him in so easily I'll never know. He's not 19 till June.

A wee Edu special that 1 i think. At least he seems to be the 1 getting the credit.

Looks like the Rags missed out on him as well. 

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/manchester-united-arsenal-martinelli-pogba-17445626

[BarryCrocker]

Would love us to bid Ł40m +Ł1 for Martinelli.

Arsenal are awful but how they managed to sneak him in so easily I'll never know. He's not 19 till June.

Swap with Lovren.

[OsirisMVZ]

Connections to agents. Downside is having to sign players like David Luiz as well.

They got him from the 3rd or 4th division in Brazil, he's one hell of a find. Would have to assume Edu picked him out with a scouting connection.

The name Martinelli must of course mean he's got a dodgy Italian passport to circumvent the work permit laws

[ScottishGoon]

They got him from the 3rd or 4th division in Brazil, he's one hell of a find. Would have to assume Edu picked him out with a scouting connection.

The name Martinelli must of course mean he's got a dodgy Italian passport to circumvent the work permit laws

Correct on both counts.

https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/news/gabriel-martinelli-arsenal-transfer-news-16369964

[The North Bank]

Impressed with Arteta, I didn't think the turn around in mentality and character could happen with this group of brain dead players. Very encouraging signs, now we just need better players.

Martinelli is becoming very important, at both ends of the field, his work rate is immense. With Auba suspended, if we didn't have Martinelli wed be fighting relegation.


Dont think it was a coincidence that we looked much better when Luiz got red and Ozil was subbed.

[Chris~]

They got him from the 3rd or 4th division in Brazil, he's one hell of a find. Would have to assume Edu picked him out with a scouting connection.

The name Martinelli must of course mean he's got a dodgy Italian passport to circumvent the work permit laws

Edu is represented by Kia Joorabchian who helped with the martinelli and Luiz transfers. And likely will or has worked on others (kurzawa who they are linked to just signed with Kia's agency). It's what he did with Chelsea before.

Probably did some scouting on him but doubt it happens with the close relationship Joorabchian has with them now.

[Elzar]

Edu is represented by Kia Joorabchian who helped with the martinelli and Luiz transfers. And likely will or has worked on others (kurzawa who they are linked to just signed with Kia's agency). It's what he did with Chelsea before.

Probably did some scouting on him but doubt it happens with the close relationship Joorabchian has with them now.

It's really grim that agents have these kind of holds on clubs now.

I remember hearing the Gedson Fernandes transfer was one that Mourinho organised o get on the good side of the agent. It's like clubs would rather keep these guys happy than go out and find the player they need.

[Ghost Town]

It's really grim that agents have these kind of holds on clubs now.

I remember hearing the Gedson Fernandes transfer was one that Mourinho organised o get on the good side of the agent. It's like clubs would rather keep these guys happy than go out and find the player they need.

Agents have got it made. It's like taking sweets from a Bebe

[KurtVerbose]

Barney Ronay pretty funny about Luiz in the Guardian.

[latortuga]

I'm happy with how things are going so far. Like you say, results wise it could have been better, but you can see we look better organised, we don't look quite as open, & we are showing effort & desire which to be fair should be the bare minimum but we know quite often that's not the case.
He's still having to work with guys like Mustafi whos probably our 5th choice centre half, & little of no full backs, so there's work to be done to address that.

Still a lot of work to be done though, i'm looking forward to see how the young guys like Martinelli & Saliba develop under him & with the team long term. We need to be better in the market though to support these guys, to give us better balance & players that can carry out the managers style.

Yes, recruitment, intelligent recruitment will be a big determining factor here.  Often it can take a few windows to cycle through some players to get the right fit.  Look at Pep with City, that even took time and he had an endless sum of money to spend, our very own Klopp took a few seasons and some players that maybe weren't at the required level.  Are you at all concerned about the decision in the summer to prioritise spending all that money on Pepe over some quality defender(s).  To me that seemed a really bad decision and I'd be concerned if that person is still at the club.  Is that Edu?  Obviously how well he works with Arteta and Arteta's ideas will drive a lot of your success on the field.

[ScottishGoon]

Yes, recruitment, intelligent recruitment will be a big determining factor here.  Often it can take a few windows to cycle through some players to get the right fit.  Look at Pep with City, that even took time and he had an endless sum of money to spend, our very own Klopp took a few seasons and some players that maybe weren't at the required level.  Are you at all concerned about the decision in the summer to prioritise spending all that money on Pepe over some quality defender(s).  To me that seemed a really bad decision and I'd be concerned if that person is still at the club.  Is that Edu?  Obviously how well he works with Arteta and Arteta's ideas will drive a lot of your success on the field.

With the Copa America being on, i don't think Edu was 100% involved that last window. I would imagine now him & Sanllehi will be the main driving forces with Arteta's input of course. As for the defensive situation, i don't think it was totally planned out that way. I think firstly they wanted Saliba to come in straight away, but eventually agreed to St Etienne's request to let the player go back on loan for the year.

Secondly, i think they underestimated Koscielny's desire to leave. I think they thought they could get 1 more year from him then allow him to leave next season.  Hence, Luiz being signed late in the window after funds were spent elsewhere.
We've been unfortunate with Tierney getting injured again, & obviously Bellerin is taking a while to get to full fitness.

Apparently the thinking behind Pepe was to try & make us more dangerous in the away games. Our home form was fine generally, but we struggled away from home, as apart from Aubameyang we had no pace in the team. I think the idea was to be more compact, & to be able to hit on the counter more. However, the players struggled with Emery's tactics, having Torriera playing so high up the park sometimes & having Xhaka as sole defensive midfielder was madness, he chopped & changed personnel & formation constantly, & the players looked lost & confused. 

Under Emery, i'm not sure another good defender would have made that much difference to be honest, as we left the defence exposed time & time again. Under Arteta though, we look tactically better. We now need to improve some personnel within it.

[KurtVerbose]

To be fair, several clubs have spent big money on Luiz - Chelsea twice! He once held the record transfer fee for a defender. I've no idea why, I think he's an awful player. As well as his own mistakes he spreads panic across the rest of the team.

And Arsenal proved they're better without him, even if it means playing with 10 men.

[LovelyCushionedHeader]

To be fair, several clubs have spent big money on Luiz - Chelsea twice! He once held the record transfer fee for a defender. I've no idea why, I think he's an awful player. As well as his own mistakes he spreads panic across the rest of the team.

And Arsenal proved they're better without him, even if it means playing with 10 men.

I have absolutely no evidence other than it being PSG and Chelsea involved, but I'm fully convinced there was something very dodgy about Luiz being sold to Chelsea and then brought back a couple of seasons later. I'm sure it was all pre-planned.

[latortuga]

To be fair, several clubs have spent big money on Luiz - Chelsea twice! He once held the record transfer fee for a defender. I've no idea why, I think he's an awful player. As well as his own mistakes he spreads panic across the rest of the team.

And Arsenal proved they're better without him, even if it means playing with 10 men.

Remember watching him at Benfica playing LB and he really impressed me.  He did play as full back once or twice for Chelsea but for whatever reason - maybe personal preference - since his Benfica days he's always played CB and awful most of the time.  I think you could draw similarities to Vertonghen who I think is another incredibly overrated and error prone CB who to my eyes has looked better in a full back position.

[latortuga]

With the Copa America being on, i don't think Edu was 100% involved that last window. I would imagine now him & Sanllehi will be the main driving forces with Arteta's input of course. As for the defensive situation, i don't think it was totally planned out that way. I think firstly they wanted Saliba to come in straight away, but eventually agreed to St Etienne's request to let the player go back on loan for the year.

Secondly, i think they underestimated Koscielny's desire to leave. I think they thought they could get 1 more year from him then allow him to leave next season.  Hence, Luiz being signed late in the window after funds were spent elsewhere.
We've been unfortunate with Tierney getting injured again, & obviously Bellerin is taking a while to get to full fitness.

Apparently the thinking behind Pepe was to try & make us more dangerous in the away games. Our home form was fine generally, but we struggled away from home, as apart from Aubameyang we had no pace in the team. I think the idea was to be more compact, & to be able to hit on the counter more. However, the players struggled with Emery's tactics, having Torriera playing so high up the park sometimes & having Xhaka as sole defensive midfielder was madness, he chopped & changed personnel & formation constantly, & the players looked lost & confused. 

Under Emery, i'm not sure another good defender would have made that much difference to be honest, as we left the defence exposed time & time again. Under Arteta though, we look tactically better. We now need to improve some personnel within it.

Interesting insights and makes a lot of sense, greatly appreciated. 

[PoetryInMotion]

Remember watching him at Benfica playing LB and he really impressed me.  He did play as full back once or twice for Chelsea but for whatever reason - maybe personal preference - since his Benfica days he's always played CB and awful most of the time.  I think you could draw similarities to Vertonghen who I think is another incredibly overrated and error prone CB who to my eyes has looked better in a full back position.

Vertonghen has always been way way better than Luiz.

[ScottishGoon]

Vertonghen has always been way way better than Luiz.

Ah...but big Sideshow Bob would just say look at his medals. Champions League winner, 2x Europa League winner, Premier League winner, 2x FA Cup winner.

Vertonghen's medals for for Spurs......

[The North Bank]

Yes, recruitment, intelligent recruitment will be a big determining factor here.  Often it can take a few windows to cycle through some players to get the right fit.  Look at Pep with City, that even took time and he had an endless sum of money to spend, our very own Klopp took a few seasons and some players that maybe weren't at the required level.  Are you at all concerned about the decision in the summer to prioritise spending all that money on Pepe over some quality defender(s).  To me that seemed a really bad decision and I'd be concerned if that person is still at the club.  Is that Edu?  Obviously how well he works with Arteta and Arteta's ideas will drive a lot of your success on the field.

We did sign Saliba who is highly rated. Good thing he didn't come in this season, wont have done much good for his confidence.

Martinelli was actually pretty well known, he apparently had 4 trials at Man utd, but they rejected because they have Chong.

[El Lobo]

Fuck it, I still like Luiz

[pathetic]

Remember watching him at Benfica playing LB and he really impressed me.  He did play as full back once or twice for Chelsea but for whatever reason - maybe personal preference - since his Benfica days he's always played CB and awful most of the time.  I think you could draw similarities to Vertonghen who I think is another incredibly overrated and error prone CB who to my eyes has looked better in a full back position.

I think he played against us at LB when we got knocked out and he was their best player by a country mile. I don't think CB suits him at all.

[LovelyCushionedHeader]

I think he played against us at LB when we got knocked out and he was their best player by a country mile. I don't think CB suits him at all.

He wasn't around when Benfica knocked us out the Champions League, it was the Europe League game a couple of seasons later that he played in. We lost the first leg 2-1 when their whole team acted like pricks (and the referee), but then we dicked them in the second leg.

[Linudden]

Something I didn't figure out until I ran another check at the table is that Arsenal went out of mathematical contention to win the Premier League on 1 February 

1 February.

Arsenal.

Wow.

Even if they won today and the 13 remaining fixtures they'd end at 72 points. We're at 73 with three months to play  In the Premier League 1992-2020 table, we've cut the deficit from 106 to 63 points with 1/3 of the season yet to go!

[WhereAngelsPlay]

Watched them for the 1st time this year and they're pure gash.

[arthur sarnoff]

I couldn't believe it when I saw on Twitter that they've only won 6 league games all season.  Because it was Twitter.  But after checking....  Wow, that's bad. 

[El Lobo]

Something I didn't figure out until I ran another check at the table is that Arsenal went out of mathematical contention to win the Premier League on 1 February 

1 February.

Arsenal.

Wow.

Even if they won today and the 13 remaining fixtures they'd end at 72 points. We're at 73 with three months to play  In the Premier League 1992-2020 table, we've cut the deficit from 106 to 63 points with 1/3 of the season yet to go!

Indeed

Ray Houghton on talksport: If Arsenal win all their remaining games they can't  get more points than Liverpool

One win in eight or nine in the league under Arteta. One of the gimps on Sunday Supplement we’re going crazy over Arteta and how he’s the best young manager in world football. He’s been dreadful.

[ScottishGoon]

Indeed

One win in eight or nine in the league under Arteta. One of the gimps on Sunday Supplement we’re going crazy over Arteta and how he’s the best young manager in world football. He’s been dreadful.

Don't think he's been dreadful. He's taken over a team low in confidence, looked shockingly unorganised with injuries & suspensions affecting what he can put out.

If you've watched the Arsenal games, it's obvious he's made an improvement, although results are still mixed. We've probably had 2 poor performances, today and against Sheffield Utd.

That's not to say he doesn't have a fair bit work to do though. He's improved the defensive side. We've got work to do on the offensive side.