We’re undoing all the good work from last year for no reason by Konstantin Mitov
Well, lovely Arsenal people, something is just not right with Arsenal at the moment. We drew 2:2 with Fulham, but it feels like a defeat honestly. I was hoping that my perspective will change, now that the emotion has settled, but unfortunately I feel like the obvious points everyone and their mother could point the moment the game finished are just valid.
We give away very cheap goals at the Emirates. We conceded a goal in the first minute again. but we might as well have put it in our own net ourselves, because it was a string of errors. First Havertz gives Saka a dodgy pass, than Saka criminally gives it back, then Ramsdale is out of position. That’s 3 critical errors, without counting the fact that we didn’t have a proper right back. If Ben White was there instead of Partey drifting into midfield, surely they wouldn’t take 1 shot to score.
If you look back at the game, we could’ve easily lost, because they had the better chances. That bicycle kick almost went in, then in the end they almost turned us over when Adama Traore forced a decent save from Ramsdale. At 2:2, apart from a shot from Vieira forcing a save from Leno, I can’t remember a decent chance. It’s not like their goal was peppered.
We’ve played Forest, Palace and Fulham, and in 2 home games, we’ve conceded 3 goals, all 3 extremely cheap. Forest scored by a player running half the pitch and putting it in. And the problem is sadly the manager. We’re doing all this to fit Havertz, a player who barely runs, doesn’t press and has zero impact on the game.
I don’t think Eddie is good enough to win us the league title, but I see the desire. I actually see a reason to select him, at least he tries. And we dropped him, even though he was critical in winning our first two games. This player favoritism has destroyed partnerships that worked so well. Why was Saka so poor? He doesn’t have any support, because Ben White wasn’t there.
That caused another issue, our CB partnership of Saliba and Gabriel suddenly is broken, why? It seems we can’t win a header at the back, but Gabriel is out of the side. Unless we are selling him, I’m baffled. His introduction in the first 2 games actually shored up our defence, because we reverted to the system that actually worked last season. We failed last season, because Saliba went out and we had to put Rob Holding in. One player change disrupted our whole balance, and now we’ve disbalanced multiple positions and partnerships.
Saka is struggling, because Ben White is not there to overlap. On the other wing Martinelli is all alone, because he lacks the support a certain Swiss midfielder was giving him, and Odegaard suffers from it too. I actually miss Granit Xhaka, and I’ve been advocating to replace him for years.
I think Arteta should be under huge pressure. Partey was in a discussion with Casemiro and Rodri for the best DM in the league, now he’s at RB. 65 million on Havertz, when we don’t have a striker? We’re letting Tierny go, yet we don’t have a proper LB.
I’m upset, because for 20 years, I’ve seen Arsenal not do what it takes to win a league title. We’ve finally spent the proper money. Our squad is good enough. All this backing for Arteta that I see is baffling. The guy is lucky to be here. Three absolutely horrendous years, before last season we finally played some good football, and still we didn’t win anything. I remember the performances against the likes of Olympiacos, Villarreal and Sporting. Games where we were obviously the better team and failed to put in the necessary performances.
We shouldn’t be a charity. We’ve been ruthless to players, now I want to be the same with the manager. A draw in a title race with City is like a defeat. They won their game in the end, they are a monster, if we want to catch them, we have to be the same, and right now we’re nowhere near them. And they always start slow and pick up pace. In Arteta’s fourth year here I see mistakes from the end of Wenger days. I sometimes wonder if the manager actually cares for the club as much as the fans do, or is he there just to prove his own ideas with his galaxy brain tactics, that failed to beat a 10 man Fulham side.
Just be warned, if we start Partey at RB, Rashford would eat him alive. We will suffer against United, and if we don’t win that game, you can forget any title aspirations. In 20 minutes Fabio Vieira did more than Havertz has done in 3 games. He actually got me excited, I saw a player determined to change the game. That doesn’t matter to Arteta though, I think his ego will be his downfall, as it was for Wenger.
The manager should be doing what’s best for the team, and I don’t think he is. At the moment we’re undoing all the good work we did last season. Our formation wasn’t the main reason we didn’t win it last season, we lacked squad depth and quality off the bench.
Let’s fix it, before we’ve thrown another season away.
Konstantin
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Arsenal needs to go back to basics and ditch this Partey inverted full back madness, this inversions obsession must be tempered.
Starting against Man United these experiments that was never even tried in preseason must come to an end, period
👍Gunsmoke
Well said Gunsmoke.👍
Though the stats of Arsenal 3 matches says otherwise. But of what use is a formation and tactic that might take a whole season to perfect. Better to stick with a winning and steady formular against ManU
We can amend Havertz mistake by signing Mitoma. Mitoma is better than Martinelli and if we can buy him we can surely be title contender. When Mitoma is in team not much coaching is required as his run dictates the game and flow occurs spontaneously.
Where are you going to put Trossard?
But Arsenal has to go back to basics, it is as simple as that, every tub on its bottom.
The aim should be to build on the last campaign and not inventing the wheel
So Arsenal must return to the original back four of Ben white, Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Zinchenko, Thomas Partey alongside Odegaard and Declan Rice in midfield.
Surely innovation is fantastic and mixing up things a bit has that element of suprise, we love see new things, but sometimes a good idea evolves into something that just dosen’t work.
I don’t understand this Havertz obsession of Arteta. Obviously he got scammed by Chelsea, but when it’s not working let him come off the bench? He did the same with ESR, Trossard and they have been extremely effective. Maybe Havertz becomes a world class player, maybe, but Arsenal cannot afford these experiments on matchday.
And Partey is way too good for the RB position. Why would you put one of the world’s best controller-generals of midfield there? Never mind the reason, it hasn’t worked and this is not the pre-season where Arteta can experiment to his heart’s’ content.
And now ESR is being sold to Chelsea for way less then what we paid them for Havertz. Is it 1st April ?
Zeddo, if this happens big questions have to asked about Arsenal, Edu and Arteta’s competence. Chelsea would be laughing their heads off at the con job they would have pulled off; Kai Havertz for ESR plus cash!
If we sold Pepe to united for 65 million we’d be laughing our heads off,.to then go back and buy one of thier best talents for even less then they paid for Pepe we’d surely think that those in charge of united can’t possibly be right in the head .
I will be really pissed off if we sell ESR to Chelsea of all teams !
Rumours are going around that ESR might be sold. IF that is true, and it may well not be, then that would break my heart. It seems to me we are going backwards and Arteta is having the ‘male menopause’. His fight with Gabriel reminds me of his early days when he began to have to wars with certain players. Let’s hope these bizarre new tactics are like a passing cloud and he regains all the good progress we made. I do fear that even the players are confused by his new ‘tactics’ Also where is our right sided player to give Saka a ‘rest’. At the moment it seems Arteta has his finger on the self destruct/stubborn button.
Sean, ESR’s career at Arsenal is apparently over, because he had the temerity to put to Arteta that he was upset at being benched for Havertz.
Kai Havertz is the cross Arsenal’s season will die on, as will Arteta’s managerial tenure.
And he is our top earner too.
I think we all like ESR, but the guy is forever injured, and rightly down the pecking order these days.
He cannot be relied upon to stay fit. I’d snap any club’s hand off if a decent offer came in for him, as he’s just a squad player now, and how long until he breaks down again?
Jen, ESR has fully recoveted from his injury, was fully available for the second half of season 2022/23 and was a leadimg contributor to England winning the U21 Euros
He is a squad player due to the decisions of Arteta rating Havertz higher, not because of ESR’s fitness abailability.
Where did he get this ever injured from, people say anything just to justify arteta moving some players, maybe martineli was also ever injured
You should do some research before speaking.
You’ve just strengthened my point. By the second half of last season he was well down the pecking order.
Let’s not forget that some on here were questioning the Odegaard signing because we had ESR, and my point is that we wouldn’t have even been in a title race if MA stuck with ESR, and didn’t sign Odegaard, who was our player of last season if I remember correctly.
I love ESR, but it would be a huge risk to have him anything other than a squad player. And as important as squad players are (Nketiah for example), if you get a great offer for an injury prone squad player, you have to take it.
“forever injured”?? Not sure what you’re talking about mam.
So you have evidence of him not having injuries? Wow! Must have been a cover-up at Arsenal then.
It was Rice who passed the ball to Saka, not Havertz. I only blamed Saka for that pass though, not Rice or Ramsdale
Why did you lie, Konstantin Mitov? Did you really pay attention to how we played, Konstantin Mitov?
We weren’t convincing, but we won two games and drew one. I believe we just played like that because Zinchenko wasn’t match-fit, but now he can be a starter again
Trying so hard to throw Havertz under the bus when none of the goals we conceeded where his fault
I believe Xhaka and Vieira got similar treatment from the same clueless fans. If they could some improvement, let alone Havertz
Exactly!!!
Xhaka was the escape for a long time too
All the Arsenal fans around me where moaning when Fabio Vieira came on against Fulham but he proved all of them wrong
Most of the time fans scape goat the wrong players cause there is an agenda against them
Against Fulham Saka was poor gave away a goal in the first minute missed a sitter wasn’t ineffective in the final third but no one’s talking about that.
We didn’t talk about it because he has won multiples of player of the season gives us an 8/10 year after year, why should he be blamed when the club has refused to get him a competitor or rest when needed, he is human, xhaka was poor for many years and his coming coincided with us moving out of champions league too, many red cards and stupid fouls was his game the fans has right to be angry when he turned the table and gave us some good games we sang his name too, no body is hating or scapegoating any person once the performance is right you will be fans favourite we Don’t care who or the team you came from what we care for is what you deliver, I am a big fan of giving Havertz some time but I can’t deny that he has not frustrated me a lot that I wanted him changed at half time
Xhaka at DM was rightly at fault! And when he was played in his correct position he excelled!
@GAI,do you think it is just a coincidence that several of our best players have been struggling/out form or just average ?(bar few moments of individual quality).
Methinks not!
Gai, Ramsdale has a bit part in the goal. As a top rated keeper he should always anticipate the opposition moves, he is in the mix of the error. But let’s move on Arsenal didn’t lose after all.
Sunday is chance to lay down a ” a maker” against ManU and let them know pre season match with them was a child’s play.
Beat ManU at Emirate and the players will beam with confidence again. A draw won’t boost morales.
Can someone tell me why we’re playing Partey as RB and Gabriel on the bench? I haven’t got around it yet.
Havertz must be dropped now. 3 matches played, underwhelming performances as he was for 3 years for Chelsea, someone else’s turn now. Preferably Rice – Partey combo.
I watched the Liverpool match against Newcastle and I was impressed how Klopp had left Nunez on the bench despite him being their record signing and only brought him on when he deemed it was necessary and it paid off.
Arteta needs to address whatever issues he has, as it’s still early in the season and make players earn their starting positions.
Teams have learnt how to snuff out Saka and Martinelli and this where he needs to play with other players and not that nonsense of inverted players 😔
And the biggest problem is that Arteta has been the cause of both Martineli and Saka being isolated in games with his inverted everything Gabriel Magalhaes has been in the receiving end for not wanting that tactics now he is on the bench what really can cause one of the best CB in arsenal to be on the bench.
Olivia, I presume you have noticed as I and surely many others have also , that the last time we scored from a through the middle pass to a forward and not beginning from one or other wide player was back in “God only knows when”days.
Seems to me that we no longer even try to thread top class passes through the middle attacking area but only use wide players , meaning mostly Saka or Martinelli.
And when both of them are well marked, by often two opponents, we have very few alternative plans to pass the ball forwards centrally, except long balls.
Oh, for a Bergkamp or even a first season here Ozil, til he “retired”, even while still, technically, “playing”!
Players like Douglas luiz of Aston villa or Teun Koopmainer of Atalanta would have been good for arsenal as number 8, but buying player like Havertz for millions of pounds who has been struggling since he come to pl in the hope of transforming him be a box to box midfielder was a weared thing from Arteta if he doesn’t win any trophy this season then he must leave with the kind of transfer money he has been given arsenal deserve a trophy this season and i am not talking about Carabao i am talking about FA cup,Pl trophy, Champions League or Europa League if we drop out of Champions League in group stages.
spot on
Don’t think you read so Much into that performance against Fulham we conceeded a goal in the 1st minute and that put us on the back foot that’s not Havertz fault it would have been a far different game if he hadn’t conceeded in the 1st minute. So the team will learn from that and we move on
Havertz didn’t cause that mistake yes but the inverted tactics caused it because Partey was in the midfield with no cover because that’s how Arteta wanted.
Was Partey playing at RB inverted into midfield when we gave away 2 sloppy goals against at Southampton at home last season or against Afc Bournemouth when we conceeded in the 1st minute. Answer is No
Saka made a big error that messed the whole game plan up cause Fulham had a lead to protect that gave them confidence and fair play to them they were decent.
Looking forward to the game against United that’s gonna be massive.
White was at fault, white was deployed to play CB, if you to check again it was only Saliba at the back during that moment. Any it’s all Arteta’s fault coz the whole season he played him as a wing back, it will take time for him to get back the CB mentality
Hervats is one of the best players u can have in anyteam now, the problem is Arteta now, in fact to settle things back to right path he needs to put back Partey, partner him with Jogino and Ordegard, plus using last season’s defense. Then he can bring in one at a time later in the course of the season, that’s to do with Hervats and Rice
I fear for this Arsenal team this season. Last season, the passing was much better and quicker. Why has the passing slowed down so much this season?? Why have we not bought a replacement for Timber? WE HAVE THE MONEY!! Harvertz has upset the set up of this team, unfortunately. We need exciting players like Trossard who should be first on the team sheet. Vieira was a breath of fresh air when he came on against Fulham. We are missing a hard nut like Xhaka who pushed the team forward and scored goals. Emile Smith Rowe should start a few games as he brings a calmness to the way s Arsenal play. Try Balogun instead of Nketiah up front as he is a proper number 9. Gabriel was our best defender last season and should be starting every game!! I think we will struggle to make the “top 6” and won’t get into Champions League places this coming season………..unless Arteta wakes up. Sorry all you Arsenal fans…….and I have been an Arsenal fan since 1975!!
Balogun is off to Monaco mate
He’s putting himself under unnecessary pressure.
Proper Back 4, Partey, Rice, Odegaard, Saka, Martinelli, Nketiah/GJ will be feared by any team but we are busy experimenting one nonsense.
Man City doesn’t have the kind of depth we have right now but we’re confusing ourselves
I fear the dark side of Arteta is coming out. This is about Gabriel. We have seen over the years Arteta’s dark side with various players. Arteta seems to always have a player as his arch enemy. Such a shame it’s now a world class player….Gabriel.
Seeing the bizarre tactical change with Thomas at RB, and Ben White away from his role of supporting Saka on the right made us impotent. Clearly Gabriel was needed alongside Saliba.
To top it we still do not have a player to ‘rest’ Saka for. Kudus has gone to West Ham and Bukayo will end up playing 60 games and burn-out. Havertz was £65 million, when we could have got Kudus or even Vlahovic. What chance do we have of the EPL if this bizarre tactical nonsense goes on. Please change it back quickly.
What a flawless piece from Konstantin!
If:
Leno does better today than in Arsenal under Arteta;
Ramsdale has taken to the mistakes that relegated Leno – all under Arteta;
Turner is on loan and doing better than Ramsdale under Arteta;
We continue to concede cheap and early goals after Arsenal’s spending spree under Arteta;
Ben White without ball sense continues as one of the preferred starting XI;
We cannot reinforce our CB (excuse Timber injury); and
We allow Tierney and Balogun to leave, especially despite Balogun’s tested form and burning desire to play, then the manager mounting pressure on himself. As I have corroborated earlier, Arteta seems to be hanging on the luck of youthful experimentation of Arsenal team. You can see him watching, playing and earning yellow cards from the sidelines for jeering at referees than cheering our team. Let’s not again build castle on the quick sand this season with Arteta’s indirection. Let’s start with Raya taking slot at goalkeeping in place of Ramsdale for sometime or make the latter more serious and smart.
Arch moaner and massive constant pessimist Konstantin strikes again with yet more hysterical nonsense . Sigh!
You make a lot of claims, many of which are agreed with by many on JA.
But you, like them, have ZERO experience of running , managing or coaching a professional top level team and yet you have the arrogance to claim you know better than MA, a man with a life of experience in the pro game as player, coach, asst manager and manager.
A man who got us to second last season,narrowly behind ONLY the worlds best team in City and who has dropped just two points from a possible nine. And still you slate MA and claim you know better.
I suggest young man, that you have a good look at YOURSELF and your obvious self entitled attitudes to the team of which you are a fan but are not a “SUPPORTER”, as supporters actually support AND DO NOT CONSTANTLY, in every article they ever write, do nothing but MOAN, MOAN, MOAN relentlessly, despite their own complete lack of life experience.
You are not someone I ever wish to meet in person, as I prefer the comany of thinking ADULTS!
Pat ,Turner was sold to Forrest!😉
For Konstantin
Nothing wrong with the essence of your article.
My biggest problem last weekend was the action taken once we went 2-1 up. Why on earth did we not go on the front foot and try and score another goal or at least control the ball instead of sitting deep wasting time against a 10 man side and inviting attacks.
Fulham deserved their point.
Kai is new Willian who’s going to cost not only Arsenal but Arteta also. His ego won’t allow him to bench Kai and return to the formation which we successfully did last season.
White Saliba Gabriel Zinchenko
Parety as DM
Odegard as AM and Rice as Box to Box
Saka Jesus Martinelli
Let this be our first 11
Quite amazing that if you dare question or criticize Arteta some label you as a malcontent.
We are struggling to find form and consistency, isn’t it proper to ask questions?
I am sadly reminded of the “Wenger knows best” and “Wenger out” clans that were so polarized leaving no room in the middle for honest debate.
Durand I dispute that claim you make as untrue.
I , for example, am well known as a supporter of MA on JA. But that has not prevented me making adverse comments when I think them right, against MA.
I do not recognise other MA supporters, who do SEEM to be among a small minority on JA – though NOT in our wider fanbase at large – labelling those who do little other than criticise MA, as malcontents.
I DO CHALLENGE unthinking, overreactionary confirmed pessimists as being our of touch with the reality of what we need, to be PROPER supporters, however.
But spreaking personally, I always first consider whether such written criticism of MA has validity or real thought behind it, OR NOT, as the case may be.
FAIR AND REASONED CRITICISM IS NORMAL, TO BE EXPECTED AND EVEN WELCOMED, BY MATURE FOLK .
HYSTERIA DRIVEN RANTS JUST CHEAPEN ANY CHANCE OF REAL WORTHWHILE DEBATE THOUGH.
Jon
We clearly disagree, as far too often the implication is for those disagreeing to “sit down and be quiet.”
Durand 👍
I find it best not to sit down and be quite though 😂
Or even quiet, which is very different from”quite!
Thanks jonny boy for the English lesson 👍
I notice I made a typing error. But NOT a spelling error.
We failed to beat a 10man Fulham at home. Chances wasted. What was the reason to pull off Odegaard just after the Red card? Did MA want us to defend a 2-1 lead against a weakened side? I personally think we should have gone for the kill and score more goals. By the way, we still don’t have a prolific physically present no.9. Teams are going to eat us alive this season unless we do something about our central attack. Nketiah and Jesus just don’t cut it….
SF T, As a confirmed MA supporter, I have to agree with you on the unfathomable late sub of Odegaard , and us sitting back
and inviting Fulham on . It was mistaken thinking and often happens in many other top sides in holding a one goial lead.
It almost cost City too, until their very late winner. Foolish in the extreme!
What made it MORE daft still was that we had a man advantage over Fulham. I agree that two points were thus thrown away needlessly
Just realized what is obvious is not obvious for Arteta.
Must arsenal always use the wings for attacking. Why don’t we have people thinking like Fabregas who could give a killer through pass. We need creativity in the midfield. Those teams that study arsenal well know how to frustrate them bcoz their style of play is one.
The 2 points dropped hurt but can we stop blaming Havertz for everything? According to some people here Partey was been played out of position because MA had to fit in Havertz but take him out and one of Rice and Partey will still have to play out of position cos they are both DM. Now Eddie is good when majority here have been calling for him to be bench for Trossard since the season started. MA is not perfect but there is no pleasing some arsenal fans especially here on JA.
We could and should play TP as a DM and Rice as a box to box midfielder, simples!
I guess we will have to wait to see how that work out. I don’t agree with Partey at full back as well but using Rice and Partey together against the smaller teams do seem like been defensive minded especially now that we need to create more and score more but like i said we will have to wait.
I cannot believe that after spending £65 MILLION on Kai Havertz, there is talk of selling Emile Smith Rowe. ESR is so much better than Kai Havertz. Why does Arteta demonise some players who may challenge him, and then discard them? Are we to lose Gabriel, who is world class for the same reason. They are not even ‘naughty boys’. We are going tactically backwards according to most of the posts on this site, and the others I watch. Even pundits are confused by what Arteta is doing. If both the majority of supporters and pundits are questioning Arteta, then something going on is not quite right at the club.
Sean
We are all a bit confused 😕 on MA tactics at the moment and personally can’t see why TP is played at RB
KH currently seems to be a square peg in a round so hopefully that changes soon and he fits in or sits on the bench until he does.
35 games to go and we are already on Squeaky bum time. 7 points from 9 isn’t terrible and could have been better or worse.
The manager with all his heads gone tactics at the mo didn’t loose us the 2 points on Saturday
It was a poor pass from saka and poor marking from a set play that cost us
Players on the pitch not doing there job basically
Bear in mind Newcastle throw 3 points away against 10 man pool.
Whilst in our minds we expect now to win every match nothing is guaranteed
There will be so many twists and turns from now to the end of the season that we won’t know if we are coming or going but as long as we accumulate more points then anyone else.. we won’t care
Onwards and upwards
ARTETA is about to destroy all what he built at arsenal with his poor human relations management.
He needs to go back to the drawing board on this.
To be unnecessarily ruthless is self-destructive.
There’s just no way Havertz is better than Smith Rowe, Vieira or Trossard; no way at all.
Arteta has destroyed the whole winning team of last year only because havertz must play. Horrible.
Please play him from the bench until he can fully integrate.
Stop demonizing players. They are your family
Let Arteta not sell ESR, especially to a rival club like Chelsea.
I don’t think it is s coincidence that several players are not performing to their potential.as I said a while back,all those new tactics/selections…would affect the squad’s performances,harmony….!
God bless you Kos. I agree with you 100% everything you said. I stated it in my last contribution that, with Harvertz starting, arsenal will lose. Arteta’s stubbornness has to another level. He is slowly but surely frustrating our players especially, those players he did not buy. What is happening to Smith Rowe, Nelson and lately, Tierney cause for concern. Sometimes, his selfishness and biases are affecting the club in no small way.
Let arteta’s foot soldiers remind him that the season is already on excuses will not be entertained at the end of the season.
So much unnecessary rants on here.
Think the fans are leaving their frustrations here.
Was at the barber shop Sunday night, but my ears couldn’t eat grass.
As soon as I read the heading , I new it was yours Konstantin, and I didn’t have to scroll down to predict some of the abuse you would be getting from so called true believers with their blinkered perceptions. Some people don’t like reality and need to have belief even when the facts are out there in front of them. Just look at Trump’s red caps for example.
Why are we doing this to ourselves? Fulham draw was a freak result. With Partey inverting from RB, we had 79%, 54%(even after Tomiyasu red card and 71% possession from the 3 games while recording 15, 14 and 19 goal attempts respectively. That’s crazy dominance. We conceded silly goals and failed to score open chances.
Decisions, decisions who do we choose to create in midfield, Viera or Harvertz? Wow! Are we seriously talking about a club with high ambitions and meanwhile ESR is being liked with Chelsea where he would thrive. Hopefully it won’t happen but in thinking about his own future he should move because his career will be destroyed if he remains in Arteta’s Arsenal.
Konstantin keep up the critique. If nobody looks at the things that are wrong, then life becomes delusory. When Arteta loses the plot supporters see it. Honesty is like gold and I value your input.
sorry I have been away. Based on my reading of the site we lost all three games 9-0 and were horrible?