Have Some Gooners Become Arrogant? by Dan Smith
Sometimes I can see why other supporters think gooners can be a little bit arrogant. It didn’t always used to be that way.
For many years we were everyone’s second club due to our style of play and our reputation of doing things the ‘Arsenal way’, which means to act with a bit of class and dignity.
I thought of this topic a couple of weeks ago when I read some fans complaining about us being linked with Coutinho and Icardi, suggesting they were not good enough to get into our squad. Which is like me approaching Natalie Portman in a bar and apologising unreservedly that, ‘sorry you’re not my type, I will not be going home with you’.
In other words who do we think we are telling a talent, who is about to add the German title to the Spanish one he won 12 months ago, that he can’t get into a midfield who this season between them have scored 2 goals? Even having that debate is the equivalent of arguing what size TV to purchase when you only have 10 pound in your pocket.
I decided though; let’s give our recruitment team the benefit of the doubt and critique transfers when the window actually opens.
Then yesterday I was online and a columnist in the Sun, who claims to be a gunner, predicted all our results for our final 9 League matches. Not just does he think we will go unbeaten, he only forecasted two draws.
It’s not just him. I’m hearing many theories saying why we might have an advantage in empty stadiums, why it’s a good time to play Man City, that Tierney and Saka are going to be this devastating partnership on the left (based on nothing), that Liverpool will be playing a weakened team against us, that unlike us others are not used to playing every few days, etc, etc, etc.
Of course, these same people, for some reason, don’t assume that the 8 clubs above us would equally enjoy those type of advantages. You can try and convince yourself as much as you want about scenarios which might help you but there is still one problem…..we are not very good…….that’s kind of important if you want to win in sport.
We convinced ourselves we have amazing youngsters who will just walk in from the academy and be great, when in reality Martinelli and Saka have been good, but not nowhere near enough to suggest they can carry this team.
Again, for as well as they are doing, we are still on course for our worst finishing position since 1994. So (this won’t make me popular) can we stop acting like we discovered Wayne Rooney in our youth team. It is okay to say a talent is decent, you don’t have to instantly label him world class.
Neither have played enough to be saying ‘don’t sign anyone who could undermine their development.’ Take the emotion out of it. If it wasn’t a club you loved would you say that if it was anyone else? If their fans turned round and said they genuinely think their side were suddenly going to put together this magical run would you not question their logic? Would you not question how a squad who are 9th after 29 fixtures, which proves they are inconsistent, will suddenly be consistent?
Everyone is entitled of course to their opinion but is it wrong of me to point out to the writer who has forecast 7 victories in Arsenal’s final games of the season, that we have only won 9 in total so far? Our longest winning sequence in the League has been three, so magically that just changes?
Many will point to our improvement under Arteta. While I acknowledge we are finally are getting our identity back, I do think some of his praise has been based on twisting statistics to convince yourself everything is okay, when in reality we have an owner who, while Chelsea are paying 50 million for a striker, and Spurs are taking out a loan, is releasing scouts and making salary cuts.
Yes, our new manager hasn’t lost domestically in 2020, yet you could also translate his record as 4 wins out of his 10 Premier League outings. He also was knocked out of the Europa League in the last 32 by Olympiakos.
If Arsene Wenger was 9th and out of Europe he would have got hammered. Remember he used to get mocked for ‘only finishing 4th’? That remains our biggest arrogance that our rival fans can accuse us of.
I will always maintain there is a section of our fan base who will never admit we have gone backwards since Mr Wenger left. It is only when he departed have we realised how hard a job he had with Stan Kroenke as an employer.
If we now would celebrate ‘only’ qualifying for the Champions League, is it not a huge contradiction to mock the greatest boss in our history for doing it.
I’m not judging Arteta by the way, it is far too early for that. I’m judging the Kroenke family. Yet for some, (especially those on YouTube) admitting that would be admitting that they were wrong, that we have gone backwards. That’s why they carry on this narrative that the old regime left us with baggage and in a mess. It will only be so long until that gets old and you are left asking where have we improved?
Again, everyone is entitled to their point of view. Even if you think Coutinho can’t get into our midfield. Even if you don’t understand that we would never have the ambition to even try and sign him.
If you think Saka is the answer to all our problems based on 0 League goals and 3 assists, then … you have either been manipulated by Kroenke, or are arrogant when it comes to how you perceive Arsenal in 2020.
I hope I’m wrong. I really do …
Be kind in the comments
Dan Smith
That sounds a bit fallacious to me.
An appeal to popularity (Argumentum ad Populum).
Just because Coutinho is a big name and very famous or popular does not mean we have to just accept that notion. It’s not only about acting like impressionable / loose groupies that just drop their pants at a glance of a celebrity. We are Arsenal and Arsenal fans, we too have our own standards.
This celebrity mentality where we just look at how famous a player is instead of if he is good enough, can fit our system or is what we need at a given time.
To me this is why we are struggling. We just keep hoovering up the so called big names that are being phased out by other big clubs due to them being not quite good enough. Or we just pay big money for second tier big names instead of actual players that fit the style and systems we want.
Or we just buy finished / semi-retiring famous name players etc.
Then we cry and moan about this and that player is stealing a living from us, blah blah.
And again on the Natalie Portman (Not your type) hypothetical. You meeting her in a pub and getting star struck does not mean you will be compatible as a couple. You might get your testosterone adrenaline levels rushing at 2000mph due to her celebrity status, you might even end up pulling her and taking her home that same night. Wake up the next morning feeling like superman. But after all that heat of the moment starts wearing off after a months what then? You find out in that time that her personality stinks, you are always arguing, she is untidy around the house, does not shower, she does not respect you because she feels much bigger and important than you etc.
Just look our situation with our resident “Shirt Selling Genius”. A Big famous celebrity name. Has a massive fan base. But has he been compatible for the majority of his time here? “No”.
Lets not go for famous names that are being offered to whoever is willing to bite. Lets go for players that we need and fit the style the manager wants. Lets not go for how many instagram or twitter followers a player has.
Go for compatibility and if he can fit the system and style of what we want.
Thank you.
I’m not sure we do go for big names ?
I would suggest we often prioritise value over quality
I use Coutinhio as an example not because he’s a big name but simply he’s better then what we have
I think he got like 8 goals this season compared to the 2 our entire midfield has
We are in a position where the only way your going to get a world.class player is by taking a gamble and being creative
he has 8 goals cause he plays in a mediocre league for an outstanding team. Nothing to do with his quality as a footballer. He has qualities all of which we do not need and were better investing our budget to a younger unpolished cheaper option
Can I ask who is better in our midfield?
You better get real! Which standards are you talking about?… You think this is 2004 arsenal?.. Our standards have dropped!!..
So standards dropped because of what?
Mismanagement or lack of ambition?
So this means we should just keep accepting and swimming in this mediocrity?
Once you accept a negative situation and convince yourself that this is where you are supposed to be then you deserve to be laughed at. No one should accept such weak ass mentality
No wonder we have become a joke in the last decade or so.
We keel signing over the hill big money players or mediocre players for big money.
We keep signing semi retired former good players that othee big clubs are retiring etc.
What a disaster of a recipe.
We just seem to have absolutely no plan as a club whatsoever.
We need a to strengthen crucial areas. But then start chasing shiny objects / red herrings instead of keepinf our eyes on the real playee personality that we need.
This is how it has been with Arsenal.
Chelsea wanted to get rid of Cech. So we went for over the hill Petr Cech just because he played for chelsea.
Went for Ozil just because he was made available by Madrid and because we fcked up the Suarez and Higuain situations.
We only went foe Sanchez because Barcelona wanted to get rid of him. I liked Sanchez but his transfer was due to Barcelona wanting to sell. Not because we needed him so much and forces Barcelona.
We signed Mkhitaryan just because United wanted to get rid
Laca, i really like his all round game but we paid too much for him and he was not top level.
I don’t know where the Pepe £70 million transfer came about.
Signed David Luiz just because he played for chelsea and was made available etc.
What am I saying. We just seem to not have a solid plan of what type of player we want or need. We just seem to be like opportunists. “Oh, such and such player is being offered by other big clubs to whoever can bite. So we will take them, thank you very much”.
These players that we are hoarding from the big clubs have glaring flaws hence why they are being sold by those clubs. The problem arises when we just gather them together and try to form a serious team.
You have player a, b, c, d etc all with massive flaws and you put them all together in the same team.
No wonder it has not worked for us. We have one of the most expensive squads in the EPL. But they all play like they are worth £25 million on average. It’s because we sign players only because Madrid, Barcelona, United etc detected their massive flaws hence why they were put on the market in the first place.
We then try yo put all these flawed players in one squad hoping to make a limited flaw team?
Mismanagement or funds and priorities.
Smh
100% agree with you.
Arsenal is the only Big club buying players who are made available because the selling club don’t need them.
Sanchez was sold(cos he’s surplus) and Barcelona won CL the following season.
Ozil was sold(cos he’s surplus) and was even preferred to be sold ahead of Benzema and Real Madrid won the CL the following season.
David Luiz
Sylvester
The list goes on
This players are good at some point but I believe is not what we need at the time(Sanchez maybe).
What Arsenal need are players who they really need at that particular time and not a big name just because of it.
Mourinho bought Fabregas and Costa
Conte brought Victor Moses back in
Klopp bought Van Dirk and Alisson
Pep bought Edison, Walker, Gundogan etc
We all know what happens next.
This clubs don’t bring in players just because they are big names, they bring in players they need.
When you want Coutinho, I say we bring in Kai Harvert who will never cost us as much as Coutinho.
And why didn’t we fight for Ziyech if compulsorily we need a player in his position?
Mismanagement is killing Arsenal
Thank you Goonster and Bobs, let us keep the flag of AFC flying high by opposing those who adore big names with mediocre output on the pitch.We are rock bottom as per our benchmarks because we have lowered our benchmark by signing these nobodies and the coaches do not have the guts to banish these mannequins to the reserves. We need players who have the hunger to win, desire to give more, forget their social status. If we need to sell merchandise then hire Daniel Craig or Pierce Brosnan. And they wail and mourn that we are not in the UCL, have they ever pondered that they are the real cause we are not in the UCL?
Agree to the last word mentioned by you so nicely. Putting it simply , any player who scores couple of goals or provides few assists becomes a star player overnight. Little do we realize that bcz of the owners interest towards their respective clubs the progression happens.
Points made on saka and martinelli are quite debatable.Ya they are not world class yet but they will be soon.They certainly have the potential to carry the responsiblities of a team
OT
The charlton match,
Nketiah is on form😎
That lacazette goal is💯
And i still saw defensive issues on the highlights
Can you name me 3 prem games to back up up that saka will soon be world class ?
Trent Alexander-Arnold started at the (age of 18) with 7 EPL appearances 0 goal 0 assist
while
Bukayo Saka started (age 17) with a single EPL appearance.
Trent second season(age 19) with 19 EPL appearances 1 goal, 2 assists(involved in 3goals)
while
Bukayo Saka (age 18) with 18 EPL appearances 0 goal, 3 assists(Involved in 3goals)
And don’t forget this 2 incredible youngsters are both wingers turned full back.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is nearing a world class status, so I see no reason Bukayo Saka is an exception.
And I know who is more talented at youth level between both.
so you found a player, same age with same stats to make your argument . And when your argument is you have also found someone with 0 goals and barely any assists that doesn’t comfort me
I could easily do that the other way round and pick 18 year olds with better stats
Better find an 18 year old midfield player who can replace our maestro with stats of one golden goal and one corner kick assist in 18 games.ESR would do much better, at least we would save on wages!
Kai Hatvert has been doing it since 19
Joao Felix did it
This player performs better than our 31 years old midfielder.
There are so many players doing it more than him but our believe is buy a big name to do the job.
Leceister winning team are no big name players when they were signed
Liverpool CL team are no big name players when they were signed.
But what do I know, let sign a 2 big club rejected player cos we are mid-table team anyway.
Shakir, I agree with all three of your points regarding the Charlton game 👍
I’m not sure it’s arrogance, more like passive optimism, like grasping at straws. How the mighty have fallen from contenders to pretenders. The real arrogance came from all those who derided Wenger for ONLY finishing in the top 4 and laughing off his achievement of 20 consecutive Champion’s League spots despite the lack of funds available to him. For those who care his record over the 20 years is as follows:
3 PL titles
6 times 2nd
4 times 3rd
6 times 4th
At present our goal is qualifying for the Europa League. Arteta has done a good job in stopping the decline but still has a lot of work to do to get us back as contenders for a top 4 spot. I think we need a large dose of realism at the moment and we need to rebuild the foundations of the club as recently mentioned by Tony Adams.
Hey, I totally agree with his artical.
I have my own youtube channel (Wax Online) in fact I share some of the “justArsenal” Articals with my viewers on my Gooner Gossip Show.
Anyway, im going to do a show on this story today, as it’s something Im going back and forth with fans over. Would be great if we could connect, therefore, having you on my channel as special guest at times. Please do hit me back via email or catch on twitter (Wax_Online)
Completely agree with this article. We have gone backwards since Wenger left, then Unai Emery was the wrong man for our club. We talk about the Arsenal way, Emerys philosophys didn’t line up with that and he didn’t understand what it meant.
The misplaced arrogance by our fan base is beyond a joke. The Coutinho example, is he good enough for Arsenal, I’d say without a doubt. Is Coutinho what we need in our midfield, i would say at the moment definitely not.
Some goodness have to realise that we’ve made mistakes over the last 10 years prior to the new regime. We’ve continued to make mistakes in the last 18 months and will make mistakes shit happens.
Our recruitment over the last 2 seasons has been very good in my opinion. Leno, Tierney, Mari, Saliba, Torriera, Guendouzie, Martinelli, Pepe all great signings the only question marks were Lichsteiner and Luiz. Then we throw in our youth boys being given a shot Saka, Willock, Nelson, Nkethia and Smith-Rowe and soon Balogun and John-Jules and more. Thus for me is where our future successes will come.
Our biggest problem has been with elephants in the room. Ozil, Mustafi, Socratis and Mikhitarian, these guys our the problems left over from bad recruitment of the Gazidis era. Letting contracts run down is another problem that needs sorting, we should not have lost Ramsey and we shouldn’t be losing Auba.
With all this in mind we cannot afford to be arrogant. Are club is improving but we are still a mess. Were about 40% to being the Arsenal that people fear and under the Kronkes I cant see things improvingat the rate we would like. i Set in my mind when Wenger left its going to take us 4 seasons to start looking like the team id like us to be.
A bit more patience and realism is needed. Were not going to be chasing Icardis or Coutinhos of this world, its going to be the Martinellis Salibas and Guendouzis with our talented youth mixed in.
While I agree about most of the article, the Wenger top 4 quote is useless and inaccurate. For most of Wenger reign there are rarely more than 4 teams capable of getting top 4 so it’s like saying congratulations on finishing 4th in a 4 team league.
This has been part of the problem
It was a 2 horse race and then 3 with the advent of Abramovitch. It took a while for ManC to find their feet, but once they did Arsenal were going to struggle-especially with ambitious new owners like at Leicester arriving on the scene and the re emergence of Liverpool and Spurs.
agreed, but on that like Liverpool, we have been a successful team at different stages of our existence. We like Liverpool have to strip back and rebuild. Since big money hit the world of football us competing at the highest level will always be tough. Dare I say it football is in an unnatural state of who has the most money not whos the best run club. We have to reinvent our club to evolve around super rich clubs.
We have to take into account, liverpool has been very lucky selling Coutinho for what they did was hugely over priced. Considering Suarez was a far better player he was sold for less than half of that not too long before. That sale funded Van Dijk, Allison, Mane and Salah without it they would have made a huge loss.
We are not in that position to have all the power when selling. All because Gazidis ruined our club selling our best players off cheap or for nothing because he let their contracts wind down.
Look at Ozil and Mikhitarian, Ozil got silly money because Gazidis didn’t want to look and idiot losing Ozil and Sanchez in the same year. So we lost our best player in exchange for a guy who wasn’t good enough for the prem for over 175k a week. Then we gave another player who does kit suit the prem 350k per week to keep him.
We could have 6 players on a very good wage for what we pay those two. Then we lost Ramsey for free 18 months later. This is where our mess lays we need to sort it out.
James
I would agree on 99%
Arsenal didn’t manage to sell anybody near to the selling fee of Coutinho.
Additionally, Liverfool is a global club with millions of fans around the World especially in Asia…
even if the jersey is to cost $300, there will be silly people that will buy it
the unsettled Ozil and Sanchez that season has a detrimental effect and cost the team a lot…..
Anyone in management will know that any unsettled team will not perform to optimum in any industry
for us, we lost our scoring and assisting in the form of Sanchez and Ozil…..
We really dont have anything to be arrogant about at the moment, i dont get it at all.
Thumbs up, spot on, all accurate. I will add “spoiled brats” to describe these fans, no class, not Arsenal people love.
Wenger out! Today it sound so awful, fans kicking him out from stadium, home he built for us!
It is a huge blow and as you pointed so we’ll, since Wenger left, .in 18 month time we almost Fenn in relegation zone. Past few games helped us leave that danger zone.
We lost ambition, spirit, our football and shine when Wenger left. Complete mess. Players smoking crack balloons, 3 captains in a year, an assistant coach to lead team & such a club.
Arteta is adorable and most likely has a bright future ahead as a coach but not ready to take over such a club.
We all seen his limits in picking team, he can’t because he never did nor defined tac tic; coach does; Guardiola.
Another Kroenke trick to save money and dictate/impose whatever to coach.
Knows Arteta was denied to replace Guardiola when gone. City is not crazy, he needs experience, make mistakes, learn, not at Arsenal but Southampton first, build up and prove…
Mogunna
He has extremely limited options on who he can pick
I agree, refering to available players; if he keeps useless Xhaka Ozil Pepe, and Luiz. as a CB; it reduces our options.
It is same thing before any game as for next one, you can predict result from team selection.
We are not dictating and controlling games anymore. When it is not working, can’t keep repeating same thing.
Win 4 games out of 10 puts us in middle table. And we know at least 2 where not deserved.
No control nor dictate, no style, no winning spirit. An assistant coach experimenting.
We have options, we can try out AMN with Guendozi in the center instead of Xhaka /Willok,
try Laca behind Auba, phase out Ozil in important high tempo matches, bring in Gabriel down the left forward, try out Saka, but Arteta’s inexperience counts, he keeps picking the seniors to avoid ego clashes even if it means a loss or a draw. After all he needs his job and he thinks that the seniors will save him! He knows how difficult it is to get a job once your out of AFC. Ask Arsene or Unai.
Exactly and fans think it is that easy to sign and drop player like Fifa20
You dropped an experience you risk losing the game with an inexperience player
if you field an inexperience player, he may make mistakes that cost the game
either way if its a game is lost, fans will go bonkers and ‘attack’
Like the experienced Mustafi,Luiz and Socrates (or I call it the MLS horror show, my peers call it the MLS comedy show because 2 of the 3 normally make it to match days) or the experienced Xhaka giving free kicks for fun, or the experienced Laca could not see the the goal posts for over a year in away games, or the the experienced Ozil (no, the lad does not have quality around him, so he is absolved!). The experienced fullbacks – Kolasinac and Bellerin on a one way highway, cannot reverse and defend. A team full of experienced internationals on mega wages and here we are 9th?
I feel your pain too!
Loose cannon
The way I see it is that some people here has lot there mentality of been a big team.
Yes I’m an Ozil fan but that won’t make me lose my initiative of him been part of our mediocre team.
If it was a big club Ozil would have been sold 2 seasons after his 19 EPL assist.(some people will still argue big club will never sell him as if he wasn’t sold in Real Madrid)
When you can’t provide assist like you use to do, then you work like a workhorse to cover your blushes or score more goals.
Gary Neville wasn’t a good player but he was a workhorse.
So many players in this team should have been flushed.
The only player who should remain in this team should be Auba, Tierney, Pepe(cos 1st season don’t make a player) and Leno
Laca, Bellerin, Chambers, Kolasinac with the rest of the youth can be a workhorse but should only be a bench players.
But No, we hugged mediocrity and believe all will be well.
Great Gooners
Everyone of you has spoken well from a true fan perspective. It clearly shows we all have one thing in common – PAIN. This defines our bitterness of seeing our once great club degenerate into complete mediocrity.
Yes, Arsene has been a true lover of Arsenal with much enthusiasm of making us great again but unfortunately he shares the blame today for our poor state cos he stood in the gap for the DESTROYERS of Arsenal (The Kroenkes) for too long selling the “all is well cover up” to fans.
In another development, the reality in football now is money. It is easier for a an unknown club to build a formidable team of good players and win, than a so called big club to win without spending. My argument is perched on the fact that any player wanted by the premier big wigs skyrockets in price suddenly unlike when the lesser teams makes inquiry.
All said and done the future of Arsenal does not lie in the hands of the Kroenkes or on the so called big name players rejected by every other club willing to compete for top trophies.
As for Arteta, he is my ideal coach but he really needs to stamp his authority both on the players as well as the top management of Arsenal and not compromise like Wenger did in his later years.
I honestly disagree with the inexperienced Arteta argument cos Guadiola had no prior experience before taking Barca to great heights.
I rest my case