There are zero excuses left for Arteta by Konstantin Mitov
Well lovely Arsenal people, we’re continuing our downfall at a rapid pace and I wonder when we will hit the brakes and turn our fortunes around and I just can’t see it under Arteta.
14 points in 14 games, 8 defeats so far. We’re near bottom in terms of scored goals, we very rarely score from open play, I mean it’s difficult to put any sort of defence for Arteta.
I was foolish enough to put the game on yesterday and what I was saw showed no encouragement at all. It was a flat first half deprived of ideas again. Then we went one down and I thought alright, let’s see what we are made of, let’s show some bite and desire to return the blow.
Instead the game continued in its boring fashion, but a bit of fight from Ainsley won us a penalty and we were level. And I thought; alright, they were a bit lucky on their goal, we got a bit of luck back, let’s do something. Instead we remained slow, passing sideways, lacking ideas and we were bullied on a corner and I just turned the TV off.
When was the last time we scored 2 goals in a league game? Sheffield maybe? Do our players look to you like they play for the manager? We’re in a very bad place, and I don’t see anger in them. I don’t see a fight. We’re a goal down, and we have nothing to lose, I’d like us to at least try. Throw the kitchen sink if we have to, just try to get something out of the game.
I just didn’t believe we had it in us to do something on Saturday, so I spared myself the second half. I just couldn’t do it, I didn’t believe we could be worse than 8th, but relegation is well on the cards.
There are a ton of issues at the club, and yes, the players aren’t good enough to get us back to where we once were, and they should take some responsibility, but how can we “back” Arteta?
Our style of play is non-existent. We can’t press, we can’t defend, we definitely can’t attack. Our midfield is one of, if not the worst, in the entire league bar Partey. It’s not like Arteta wasn’t given any money, there are no more excuses no matter how hard you like the guy.
The board said they will back him, but they said that about Emery 3 weeks before he got the sack, so I wouldn’t trust them. We can dwell on past mistakes all year long, but it won’t change anything.
We need to be honest with ourselves and admit a few things, starting with the fact we made a mistake with the managerial choice. Then we need to investigate who signed William, why we gave 350k to Aubameyang, the Ozil situation, why we didn’t cash in on Lacazette if he can’t get a start in front of Nketiah and so on.
And that’s not to hate on Eddie, I think he does his best to help, but with close to 2 million a week wages on Auba, Laca, Pepe, Willian and Ozil (don’t care that he isn’t in the squad) I’d expect them to deliver more or something at least, anything in fact.
We need a change, but we can’t change half the squad mid-season even though I won’t miss any of our players if they are gone, not one! We can change the manager and we should. In fact I’m 100% we will at some point this season, I just hope common sense strikes sooner.
We need something to be excited about. Something to give the fans and the players a smile back on their face. We can’t cheap out on the manager again. We need a solid name, that will cost top money, but will get the job done.
We need someone who will drop Willian and tell Xhaka to look for a new club. Someone who won’t be afraid to make a sub at half time to change the fortune of the game. We need an authority figure, that will command respect and be ruthless. Give em the hairdryer if he has to, just to see a reaction.
This set of players is not a relegation squad, no matter where we are now. They aren’t a top 4 side either, but I am 100% positive that a new manager will improve us. We just cannot afford another gamble. We should go for Allegri, Simeone, or if we want a young coach, go for Nagelsman or heck even Poch. So what if he worked at Spurs? Give him a nicer salary and the backing he needs in terms of players and he’ll come.
I have never been so depressed about football. Christmas is coming and I wish for 3 points (in one game, not in 10) and a new manager. The real question is when, not if.
Konstantin
The team is slow- Period.
And we should forget about searching for one star player and spend a fortune only for them to be injured or flop.
Liecester, Everton, Southampton, wolves etc buy what you would call unknown average players and make them stars. Arsenal is no longer in the league of big boys that can bring in like 6 star rated player costing over 50m each at once. So why not use the little resources on cheaper, hungry players that can improve the team.
Teams that went down like Norwitch etc surely had one or two energetic players we could have bought.
You are correct. Even Liverpool got Robertson and Wijnaldum when their former teams got relegated.
There is good players even in bad teams. Even when transfer window closed domestic one was open, we could’ve got Cantwell and Beundia for cheap. Now they are both raising their profile again.
We could’ve got Welbeck for free, Doucore, delofeu from Watford. Hardworking players, that run and make up for quality they may lack.
Welbeck been playing better than Willian and Pepe combined since he went Brighton. He was free.
Arsenal buy stars and make them flops.
The more we buy the more deadwood we have. Then fans say we don’t have the right players and must get rid of deadwood. So we buy expensive new players and they become new deadwood and repeat the cycle
Right on! The whole players acquisition approach needs to change. You need to develop your own players first and add players with EPL experience only. Playing Ceballos and exiling Guendouzi is exactly the opposite of what should happen. Putting Ozil on ice while paying him a lot of money is irresponsible. Buying a 32 year old winger is disappointing.
Omg…. I know this article, as well as all of the others, reflect where we are right now.. but I’ve never been so thoroughly depressed!!!
Someone suggested as the U23s have finished for Christmas (and are on a roll!!) let them come in and play all over the festive period 😄 And swap Arteta with Bould…. wait, Bould?? 😳🤣
All I want for Christmas is for Arteta to bugger off.
I could see these results coming really early in the season and called it here.
But I think getting Martinelli is a bigplus. He can drag the whole team for the upcoming month or two if he starts regularly but only for a month or two, because the fixtures are what you would say is good on paper.
This guy is the next big thing in this club, you can see it in the way he dribbles. The only one that can create his own chances.
Play Saka, Auba and Niles along with Martinelli. It’s the best bet right now, with Ceballos and Partey behind.
For Konstantin
I have read many negative articles by you but fully understand the pain of being an AFC supporter which I can only share as the pain is getting worse and worse with each game I watch or listen to the commentary: like a cancer leading to a death (i.e. relegation) unless we nip it in the bud.
As per my previous comment to another article, I still reluctantly give MA till Jan to turn things around. He needs one more window not to buy new players but to shift out some of the deadwood and hope that we give youth a chance to start building again.
But if and a BIG IF (as the board loves MA) he does get the sack, I can only think of one person who can do the Arsenal job due to the scale of its problems and should have been given it when AW was relieved of his duty.
That is Rafa Benitez.
Over to all you lovely AFC supporting patients with wounds and withstanding pain as to what you think.
What kind of logic is this, MA needs a window to shift all the dead wood, part of which he himself accumulated last summer in form of Willian Cedric and Mari. Why do you need window to get rid of dead wood just don’t play them in your first team, did he not sidelined ozil and Sokaritus so he can do the same with others as well….wait he has been doing to others the ones he don’t like ozil, Sokaritus, MG and Saliba. You guys did not want to give a proven manager UE 1 more game to turn around the fortunes but for MA who has no proven record you want him to be given till Jan with a transfer window??? Just because he won an FA cup???? He lost more league matches then UE in his slump. Sooner we get rid of him better it is.
The blind faith some have in this apprentice is mind boggling.
Did you rate Sokratis?
I understand you IGL, He deserves more time.
But we may find ourselves relegated. If he was beating some teams and loosing to others them he should get more time. Can you honestly point to one team in the EPL you think we can beat?
We lost to Burnley at home my friend.
Arteta has the next three games to prove he should be kept on. Man City in the cup then Chelsea and Brighton
in the PL. In Jan send Ozil Mustafi Kolasinac and Socritis out on loan to free up cap space. Bring in two CAM with attitude.
At what point should he be relieved of his duties?
Are we safe after 3 more loses?
I say he should go asap.
He is confused. Our Possession footie while we are trailing is simply because teams have figured us out. when leading they let us play and hit us on counter attack. Gabriel was send off because of a counter attack move. To win, we have to start with high speed and go in the lead. only then can we have a chance.
I was watching the Everton game and my wife was looking at her phone and glancing up at the TV occasionally. She has no interest in football but during the second half she asked which goal we were trying to score in. When I told her she said why do they keep kicking it the wrong way? Sums up Arsenals style of play
we play the ball more in our half than in the opposition half. always backward and sideways. for what, so our possession stats is through the roof. it’s just really painful to watch. never have I seen arsenal like this in my life. so sad.
Indeed Koro. Did any one watch Man U first goal
against Leeds, There was a man U midfielder forgot his name who had a chance to play the ball safely backwards but chose a forward difficult pass to the left wing, this quickly became an attack and boom, goal in the second minute.
What is wrong with arsenal, always thinking backwards, And indeed we are headed backwards.
😂🤣🤣
I sense the genuine feelings of despair from a true Arsenal supporter and I wish I had the words to dispel your frustrations and convince you that better days lie ahead Konstantin.The reality is however telling me that we face a very difficult winter in more ways than one and that football might soon be a secondary problem for most of us.The absence of Partey has hit us hard and without his energy and ability in midfield, our struggles will continue I’m afraid.The fates are conspiring against us it seems with Holding the latest victim of back luck on Saturday.Be that as it may I think the time has come for our Manager to show real trust in our talented young players who are not culpable for our slump.To me three points is far more important than a secondary Cup competition and in choosing his team to play Man City A rteta should throw caution to the wind and play the youngsters who simply could not be worse than our overpaid experienced players.
Something I never understood . When the deadlines for registering both premier league and Europa cup league squads came, Mari and Chambers were injured with no guarantee of their return date to full fitness or preparedness to play matches, yet, they were registered instead of Saliba and Ozil, who, were not injured. Both Saliba and Ozil were fit and training with the squad should have been registered instead and given opportunities in Europa league and some premier league games , which would have facilitated better players rotation. Edu and Arteta knew that the games schedule was going to be tough. Edu, in particular, who is in charge of negotiations for players loan and transfer, knew that Saliba wasn’t going on loan anywhere ,since he failed again in his duties. Arteta has since stated the regret of not having Saliba registered. I therefore hope that Arteta will make amends in January to keep Saliba, register and play him both premier league and Europa cup league squads. Hope Arsenal can bring in Buendia and Aouar in the squad too.
Arteta is a bit of a dictator, His way or no way.
Surely he should have forgiven the young Guendozi, Registered Saliba and Ozil just in case they are needed. Filling the slots with injured players shows his not only lack of experience but strong headedness. Football is a game of 11 players and you meet different teams that need different formations.
You can not limit your options by banning some players. Some times I miss Ozil and Guendozi, These guys knew how to draw fouls and yellow cards from the opposition players. This weakens teams as yellow carded players can not commit fully into challenges. It is now Arsenal receiving the cards.
Arsenal were 8th with 18 points after 13 matches when Emery was sacked. GD was -1.
Arsenal are currently 15th with 14 points after 14 matches. GD -6.
Yet a certain self proclaimed “realist” wants Arteta to stay.
#doublestandard
Yes double standard. Why sack Emery when fans can accept Arteta for worse? Favouritism?
Only the “realist” can answer the question 🤣
You are not talking about the sage Jon Fox by any chance. Are you.
The sage indeed! And remember what he said last week…..WEEDY WALCOT won’t score against us!!
he needs the sack. he is 5 times worst than Emery. novice he is, learning his trade in the big sea instead of a pond. everyone thinking he is pep. pep is not even that good. give any manager a team that cost almost a billion pound and see if they wouldn’t have a run at the top. except arteta,he would just F it up
Kori, True. Has Pep been tested with an average team? At least Jose warn the Champions league with Porto. Arteta is no Pep, He may walk, act and dress like him but they are mile a part.
You have a severe boner for jon fox lol jeez
Realist my foot. I read his self-righteous (yet increasingly illogical) bashing of non Arteta supporting Arsenal fans whose only crime is being dissatisfied with the utter mediocrity that our club has come to embody, and I don’t know whether to laugh at the folly of refusing to see what clearly isn’t working, or cry at the fact that it’s fans like this that have kept our club in the doldrums for years under the guise of misplaced loyalty.
We’re 15th, now. With 14 points from 14 or so games. And – to top it all off, we’re how many points away from the relegation scrap now? 4? 3?
Remind me what it took for the ‘all-conquering Mou’ to get the sack at Chelsea? 10th position, as I recall?
But no. Let’s keep blaming everyone except the one guy who ACTUALLY MANAGES the team.
The sheer hypocrisy.
No case for the defence, your honour!
Arteta what are you doing? Do you want to press or low block? Can you pick a style and work on it? You are neither here nor there.
What are you training the players to play? They look confused. The fans are confused.
You have been here for a year and you still don’t have way of playing. What are you doing?
Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka, Thomas Partey, Kieran Tierney, Gabriel Mangalhaess, Ainsley Maitland Niles, Reiss Nelson, Folarin Balogun, maybe Willock , William Saliba and some notable upcoming stars from under-23 (Miguel Azeez, Cottrell ). Keep these players and appoint a new experienced .
Oh, no!
How dare you blame Arteta the All-knowing for our slump?! How dare you question his methods or tactics, you “Plastic Fan” – you Spur in disguise?!
Surely you also can “realistically” see (thank you, Sir Jon Fox), that our lack of clear tactical nous, passion or purpose on the pitch, game after game, is EVERYBODY else’s fault but the very Manager’s – and that Arteta the Omniscient ought only to be credited for whatever initial (and increasingly distant) successes we once enjoyed – and NEVER blamed for the current, repetitive failures that now see us sit just above the very worst of the worst?
I think the Aubameyang situation is similar to Ozil. People complain why he’s getting the money he is currently getting because not long ago, he was scoring a lot. Same with Ozil, he got the contract on the back of 18 G/A in 35 games. He’s only in a scapegoat because people choose to look in hindsight but they forget the sentiments of the club, or even their own sentiments at that time.
Relax, people. We’d likely draw or lose to Man City and Chelsea, but we’ll get much easier games after that
I bet Arsenal have been contacting some candidates to replace Arteta, but Arteta could survive if he can get through the January transfer
do you really want him to survive with the way this team is playing. I keep scrolling to see him getting the sack. arteta was good enough when he played for us,not so much as a manager or coach. I love your optimism though.
He still has a slim chance to turn the table over, if he could fix his team selection problem
My Friend, Name one team you think is easier and we will beat. We lost to Burnley at home.
Teams have figured us out.
1. The team is afraid – Walcott and Arteta said that
2. We lack speed – (see Saka and the goal the Auba scored recently- that is what speed brings)
3. We cant defend
4. Pepe and Willian are worse than Ozil when helping in defence.
5. We do not press teams- The first goal by Everton was due to Willian letting the cross come in without challenging the Evertonian.
6. We do not draw fouls from other teams. Guendozi and Ozil would do this quite a lot weakening the opposition with many yellow carded players. Man U are good at this, getting many penalties that Fernandes scores frequently.
7. We can not head the ball. Our players let the ball bounce in our half and make it a race with the opposition. We waste corners, free kicks and crosses as the opposition out jumps us. – City does not need this as they use speed to score goals.
8. We have more slower that fast players, Xhaka can not run.
9. We have no plan B
10. Our forwards do not run behind teams like Vardy, and even if they did we do not have a CAM to thread balls to them.
Need I say more?
There are those who want Arteta to stay because of how he has treated Ozil, the Ozil haters majority want Arteta to stay,then those who like Ozil do not support Arteta based on Ozil as the main issue. The minority I and others we see it beyond Ozil the fact is Arteta is a nobody in football either as a former player or a coach ,majority of fans here know football than the so called ‘coach’.Arteta won’t make it at arsenal no matter the support he gets results over excuses any day!
I’m not even an Ozil fanboy but i know it was criminal to leave him out of our PL/EL squad. I don’t think he is the answer to most of the problems and I don’t think he should start most of our games either. But Ozil is a good choice to have on the bench to unlock the defense when the opposition are tired. He can even start in some of the games where we’re expected to dominate possession. He could’ve provide more cutting edge to the attack. Yes he wasn’t the player he used to be. 4 assist and 5 big chance created in 42 matches is nothing to be proud of but our current midfield couldn’t even create a single chance through the middle. It’s always hopeful cross from Tierney. We’re playing big Sam brand of football at the moment. And I’m sure that big Sam is better than Arteta when it comes to boring primitive non stop crossing football. At least he’s good at helping relegation threaten teams to stay afloat. ARTETA OUT! NOW!!!
I posted that on here so long ago that all we want is to cross cross cross with no one in the box. the sad part is the team is now fighting. fighting to avoid relegation.
Heading the ball is not our strength.
Arteta seems out of his depth and it’s really hard to see what he’s trying to do. He was lauded for fixing a leaky defence but that praise has been retracted given how leaky we have been.
Many say Ozil is a luxury player and doesn’t track back. I feel this is a flawed view for we concede with sufficient numbers at the back. The Everton game for instance, that own goal plus Yerry Mina scoring whilst contested by Pepe. So what’s the point in killing creativity in the effort of bolstering the defence if the team still concedes with enough bodies facing the ball. The creative force has not been replaced, I feel this really is the missing link in our team. An example is Man U, pre and post Bruno. They had pretty much the same squad but Bruno came and he has showcased that he was the missing link. I am not advocating for Ozil for after AW, he had form and injury battles, but till we find an adequate replacement at least, I feel he should be given a run in.
His attack is in disarray. The team plays in a predictable U-shape, with the ball going from side to side, with our opposition have a lot of numbers facing the ball. We do not have anyone occupying pockets of space in between the opposition. We do not have someone to carry the ball, beat a man or two and create more space. Saka has been trying to do those things but the players around him haven’t responded in a manner that would make it effective. I guess that’s where Auoar or Buendía come in.
Sorry I disagree. The manager should be given a fair chance. He inherited this useless team from Arsene Wenger which was passed down to Unai Emery and than Arteta. We are in a rebuilding stage. As painful as it is we need to be patient.
17 players signed since Wenger left
That’s a full team plus 6 subs
you say useless team from Arsene Wenger, but even ‘useless wenger’ had this team playing the orchestra compare to this crap Dboy. give him time and see where the lovely arsenal will be.
He inherited a mid table team at least. He is coaching them to near relegation zone. He has made the team worse and added some deadwood of his own. Be patient and let him do more of the same?
Finally a comment from someone who knows what he’s saying.
This is the best article I’ve read in a very long. Arteta has minimum understanding of the game. The players are confused with his style of play, because even me I can’t really understand how the team is playing. It’s like a trial and error method. At this point, there’s no reason to keep Arteta as Manager
A manager’s job is to tell the players what is do on the pitch, not how to do it. Arteta is killing the team with his micromanagement. In Arteta we rust. OUT!!!
If the players aren’t good enough to get us back where we once were as you say, how then can the coach really achieve with them?
our players aren’t of high quality and crisp enough exception to Martinelli, Saka, Partey, AUba, Gabriel M., and maybe Leno and Ceballos.
MA will need this January transfer season to ring changes to all the players that let him down.
The team has been faced with hard luck as well but when it is all said and done, the season will be saved and Afc will come good.
Arteta will make mistakes but I believe he is still the man to do the job.
Great Article Konstantin, let’s go for Allegri before he takes on another adventure with some other club. We always loose out in good managers when they become available because we are wasting time with a failure while others are quick to react. He is a proven manager and will hold the respect of players as well. While we are at it send Edu packing as well. Complete useless he is.
After 14 games and a possible 42 points up for grabs we have 14 points. That is 28 points dropped. The equates one game won in every three. If Burnley win their next two game we will be in sixteenth place. If you had told me this time last year that by Xmas 2020 we will be four points off relegation after fourteen games, I would have gone to the bookies for some fantastic odds. No one saw this coming really. That is football for you. It’s shocking, but it’s true. This is Arsenal in 2020. The team everyone wants to play against!
Watching the Football Show on SSN… shocking to say the least! They’re highlighting everything that is wrong with our play at both ends of the pitch..they can see it, why can’t MA?? And Sue Smith saying you don’t see players busting a gut to go and score a goal or make that last-ditch challenge…. well at least she had a smile on her face with how well Ancelotti is doing at her club!
Everything stinks right now!!
I believe that is the biggest problem right now. I don’t think these player believe in what MA is doing or what he has done, possibly? I don’t see them connecting with each other or the manager. I think the short term fix will see us finish outside of Europe in mid table (10th or so). The big fix will have to be done next summer. This is the reality of Arsenal, I guess. We have fallen a long way but I don’t think we should panic. We just need to accept that we are not a big club any more for a few years. We are the new Fulham, Newcastle, Aston Villa etc. No offence to those teams. They are better than we are actually! Arsenal do not have the divine right to be classed as a big club when it goes about business as a smaller club!
I said before and I will say it again Arteta is not the best or even a good manager to lead us climbing the ladder back to the top,his first mistake was to convince Xhaka to stay and signing a 32 years old winger William,keep on playing Holding.
For Mohsan
As I said earlier:-
“I still RELUCTANTLY give MA till Jan to turn things around. ”
Because the problems at Arsenal are so big. There is a lot of deadwood which need to be shifted.
Also stated the board loves MA so I do not think you would get what you want unless the loosing streak lasts for another 5 PL games.
Also, what is your view about Rafa Benitez whom I thought should have been the manager when AW left. He has done this kind of work before at other clubs he has managed. I do not think Allegri has this skills set of turning around a dead beat side with ‘no unity, bad attitude and loss of confidence’ as stated by Leno.
Over to all AFC supporters in this time of pain.
Yeah, Benitez is the man if we do sack MA. Also, I read somewhere that Ralph Rangnick is available. He as sporting director with Benitez as a manager would be a good combo to right our sails. But then again if we sack MA. The current situation in the club doesn’t seem to indicate that, and who knows if results improve we may have a good run. After all, there is the case of SAF’s first few years at ManU. But the man seems so clueless right now that I have trouble placing my faith completely in him.
RAFA for me!
I honestly see a lot of potential still in the way we’ve played in general. Defensively we haven’t been awful at all, it’s more like we get the ball up the pitch to a point and consistently hit a wall. Teams aren’t actually having to beat us right now, they just soak it up knowing they’ll likely manage to get a couple of chances on the counter if they keep poking.
The big issue is the lack of movement in attack and the the lack of risk taking, more than anything else.
It used to happen under Wenger in a lot of games, but we’d usually have someone like fabregas or RVP to make a goal out of very little when we really needed it. We’re missing that spark to give the team a boost in the attacking sense.
The auba injury was incredibly untimely and unfortunate. Just when it looked like he might come back to his old self the rug was pulled out.
Not to say everything will be great this year, but things can change very quickly.
There is no denying it we are a poor side and this is the worst run of games I have had the misfortune to watch, every game is the same a lack of creativity boringly slow movement of the ball,a lack of commitment from experienced pro’s and the same two players trying to lift the gloom on their own in Saka and Tierney the only two players that can honestly say they have had a go, the rest do not look like they are playing for the manager to me they all look like they couldn’t give a damn,for once i have to agree with Alan Shearer we will go down if Arteta continues to show faith in these underperforming prima donna’s.
Tierney embodies what MA and most managers want in a player.
I don’t quite agree that this is a lack of trying for the most part. All the young players give it their all, Eddie being a primary example, which is why a lot of people would rather we just went all-in with the younger players as I dont think we’d be any worse off at this point, and it might lead to a better future. That said I’d rather see a bit more of Balogun as an alternative to EN as he may have more to offer.
I don’t think it’s a lack of trying, it’s more a lack of confidence and a bit of nativity. Examples: Willian seems to have lost his ability to skip past a tackle, but he does try and Pepe doesn’t receive the ball in the most useful areas because he’s not moving into them, but again, he does try
Willian in the line-up yesterday lost Arteta for me. I realize that there aren’t limitless options and that he should be a really good player but he isn’t. Give a young player a chance.
Arsenal’s has a problem. It’s about having the courage to tell MA ‘thank you and goodbye’.
MA is an arrogant man who listens only to his own music. He uses personal loyalty to him as the criteria to select his X1. His substitutions are not timely thus ineffective.
He needs to go and NOW
Arteta should be sacked before the match against chelsea if not arsenal will be relegated.