There are some Gooners who assumed that, based on Arsenal finishing 2nd in the last two seasons, we would be title contenders again – like Football stands still and waits.
Forget the comparisons though to the last couple of campaigns. On Saturday the Gunners produced a gutless display that was more reminiscent of Arteta’s first years as a manager.
We were passing the ball sideways, zero creative movement off the ball and the opposition keeper barely having to make a save became expected.
This team has enough credit in the bank for this to be conceded as a one off, but it has to be called out for what it was. If this club is serious about winning titles (and I maintain we won’t under this regime) then we can’t accept that performance at Saint James Park.
It’s ultimately why I can’t see us being Champions outside of a Man City points deduction. Pep Guardiola has set such high standards that you can’t have afternoons when you don’t show up.
Ironically one of those occasions was in the fixture last season. That day our manager was too busy blaming the officials as a deflection tactic. I remember then pointing out that we had become a side who now struggled to make chances.
Even in Arsene Wenger’s final years, you could always guarantee we would create opportunities, and rarely would we have many matches where we didn’t score.
We have had three already.
Our tempo was such on Tyneside that you never felt we were going to beat Nick Pope. For the keeper to only have one shot on target (0 in the second half) is crazy when you assume we should have played with urgency given what was at stake.
I don’t even think Newcastle were that good. Eddie Howe simply out thought Arteta, organizing his men to win every 50-50 and dual. There was nothing outstanding about Howe’s ideas; he simply demanded his players work hard and battled. Which should be standard?
Unless you lack bravery.
Bravery isn’t just about being physical or being prepared to get stuck in it.
It’s about having the personality to demand possession, the courage to not be afraid to try something different instead of fearing getting something wrong, it’s about moving off the ball instead of staying in your one position like you’re a robot.
After the last two campaigns this squad has credit in the bank, but we can’t tolerate another performance like that again.
That reminded me of the dark days of Arteta’s first full season.
Dan
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It’s rather a daft headline for the article because if it happens again (which we hope it won’t, of course) Arsenal fans will have no option but to accept it. What are they going do? Storm The Emirates and demand Arteta’s removal?
It was only a few weeks ago now that there was an article on JA (and many posts supporting it) about how great it was that Arsenal had given Arteta a new, much improved, contract at a reported £16m a year. That’s the second biggest in the EPL, only £4m less than Pep’s reported contract at City.
As I said at the time, the key difference between the two contracts is that Arteta’s is based on the expectation of success, whereas Pep’s is based on achievement. Now, it doesn’t mean that Arteta won’t be successful this season (possibly more successful than Pep, who knows) but it’s still all expectation. We’ll all have to hope that it works out in the end. There is no alternative.
I can’t agree less with your submission. Now, we have to deal with a coach stucked in his own little bubble where he feels he’s a genius who can set the team up as he likes and the other teams will just sit and watch him win.
Sincerely, I feel Arteta is overrated.
First by we the fans and the media.
Moving forward from his first two seasons, he had a whole lot to learn (even though he seems unwilling to) but we made it feel as though he had ‘arrived’, ignoring his inadequacies.
The club, maybe blinded by the progress, one they haven’t witnessed in a long while, rushed to reward him without setting clear-cut priorities. And to make matters worse it doesn’t seem as though they are ready to ask questions if things remain the way they are, they are just happy to be in around the top four and ‘always challenging for the title’.
I hope I’m wrong though.
Fine, but I don’t see what you’re disagreeing with me about.
I’m saying that whether we (Arsenal fans) like it or not, Arteta is not going anywhere – soon, anyway. We’ll get a better idea whether he’s overrated (and overpaid) at the end of the season.
Good points but i beg to differ…NEVER overated the man, knew even after his 2nd…we didnt need him. Unable to handle pressure..sadly a carbon copy of wengers last years, poor tactics, favourites, only plays his way and not according to team or situation. Too much, his way or the door, you can see the loss of individuality from his players. Martinelli has regressed because he is playing to the novices way.
But you say, he did clear the team of poor performers. Sure but equally brought in sub par players, White, Havertz, all the ex chelski and city players, all the ones currently on loan. How can Rice who was brilliant 1st season now look like a bad investment regress so much under him? Sells players without back ups and we wonder why its a poor bench? As I have said, last season was his wenger’ leicester season. 5 pts ahead and he blew it. Sadly slippery slopes ahead.
5 years, 800 mill and its like the 1st year again.
You answered your own question
Yes one of the options would be to demand a change
I beg to differ. We didn’t lack bravery, but the playmakers who can quickly and incisively move the ball to the left wing from the right and vice versa
If Arteta doesn’t trust Nwaneri to be a starter in EPL games, he should’ve kept Vieira to deputize Odegaard
The players didn’t perform is true, but they were carrying out Arteta’s instructions.
When things obviously were not working, Trossard having a nightmare game, and Havertz all over the pitch except up top, Arteta waited too long to change this up.
A real weakness with Arteta; when his plan A fails, he really struggles to adjust tactics, switch out players, and try a new approach. He struggles to adjust on the fly, the blame lies with him.
Durand,
Well said, Arteta is becoming a big problem. Hopefully the loved up Arteta lovey’s will start noticing this to.
But don’t bet on it.
Derek
Your becoming a frightful bore darling!
Sue,
I might be a frightful bore, but I’m a bore that says it how it is, and not just keep on being positive for the sake of it, as some of these Arsenal fans are.
IMO, WE HAVE BECOME PREDICTABLE AND ROBOTIC, WE HAVE GONE BACKWARDS BECAUSE THE MANAGER IS OVERTHINKING TACTICS AND THE EMPHASIS IS ON NOT LOSING, WHICH THERE ISN’T ANYTHING WRONG WITH BUT NOT AT THE EXPENCE OF ATTACKING. WE HAVE OUR MOST CREATIVE PLAYER INJURED AND WE FALL APART. IT JUST SHOWS YOU THAT WE NEEDED REINFORCEMENTS UP IN ATTACK AND ANOTHER CREATIVE MIDFIELD PLAYER.
YOU LOOK AT THE OTHER TOP TEAMS AND THEY HAVE PACE UP TOP, UNLIKE US, LOOK HOW DEEP WE PLAY NOW WHICH, BRINGS THE OPPOSITION ONTO US, ALSO WE MARK SPACE AND NOT PLAYERS GIVING THEM TIME TO PLAY THROUGH US. YESTERDAY KAI WAS TEN YARDS FROM OUR GOAL LINE RESULTING IN NO OUT BALL. OUR TACTICS DIDN’T WORK IN THE 1ST HALF SO I DO NOT KNOW WHY IT WOULD WORK IN THE 2ND HALF, WHERE WE KNEW CHANGES WERE NEEDED AT HALF TERM, ANOTHER THING HE NEEDS TO LOOK AT.
PLAYING THOMAS AT RIGHT BACK SO HE CAN FIT IN MERINO WHO IS NO WHERE UPTO THE PACE NEEDED, IMO I DON’T THINK HE IS GOOD ENOUGH TBH. SO UNLESS HE FIXES THESE PROBLEMS SOON, WE WILL HAVE TO ENDURE THESE BELOW PAR PERFORMANCES.
I agree with you. I wonder why Arteta ‘punishes’ Partey, to accommodate mediocrities he brings to the club! But he will not learn. Instead, he will play his chosen ‘midfield maestro’ repeatedly, to prove he knows best for the club.
I would like to think our players have the mental strength to bounce back from a series of very unconvincing performances which have coincided with the injury to our most creative player and sub par showings from the likes of Trossard, Martinelli and, surprisingly Rice and Gabriel.One way or another Arteta has to lift his players and take decisions to introduce changes in personelle and tactics with the aim of creating more chances,Apart from restoring Partey to his rightful position as our midfield conductor he needs to abandon his obsession in using inverted full backs when we already have inverted wingers who are so predictable and seem under orders not to interchange.Attacking ,overlapping full backs are a must as far as I am concerned if we are to begin to create chances but, sadly I don’t think Arteta thinks along these lines.Testing times lie ahead for sure and we can only hope the players can regain their drive and confidence in the weeks ahead.
It’s definitely not the time, but right That a replacement of Arteta would not be completely wrong. When you insist on something What is not going to happen is a waste of time. With Arteta I think that now has a lot of chances. He is overrated and blocked, no alternative coach no performances titles. I think that when you want titles your coach must have such performances in his career either as a coach or even as a player. However I think that the owners are not blameless. What else do you expect? This ownership is a disaster, and this coach’s ceiling was the year before last when he pulled off the miracle of not being involved in losing that championship. I think we are a club trapped in this whole function of the club. It is a shame and disrespect for a club to be called big and 20 years have passed since the conquest of the last but that is, a kid who became Arsenal 15 years old when we won the championship is today 45 and waiting for the miracle. A forty-year-old is now retired, and a new retiree 2004 may have died without seeing our champion team again. This owner was our disaster.
I have tried to tell people, the system Arteta uses, is not robust. If one piece, is either missing, or part of it is exposed, it breaks down. A good formation, system and set up, needs to be flexible and robust. Artetas is flimsy and only works on a fine sunny day, when everything is all hunky dory. It doesn’t do change of any kind at all. He has no plan b and games like Newcastle etc will happen more and more. He isn’t good at integrating players into the team and he messes about with his own system which makes it even more susceptible to not work. He needs to be able to easily change up or change down, depending on the circumstances in a game and he cant. Because when he does, the system is flimsy.
@ Reggie
Realness 👍🏾
NYG
I’m missing…. Jus saying…🥲
Sue, I am, its his trademark. NY ?
Exactly!
I tend to be more pragmatic than emotional, consequently I do not flip flop with my opinion of Arteta. I would say he is not blameless for yesterdays performance but with the exception of a few, the players did not deliver an acceptable on field performance. Starting tactics and mid game adjustments are down to Arteta, but the players have to own their individual performances.
I havant flip flopped, just knew he was a flash in the pan. Its not the players BUT the tactics. Compare player by player and you cant tell me, we dont have good players and you would rather have someone else? Sorry a caveat to that is our right back). We have the players so whats wrong? The tactics and team set up, his system is too rigid, unable to flex with conditions. Heavy going and it cracks.
I remembered people expressing same fears last season, but the team came back a different animal to mount the so called “out of reach” title challenge. Not understanding that dip in form or bad spells are part of the game is very delusional and unrealistic. Rather than point fingers or give sticks to to any member of the team or the team as a whole, I’d rather get behind them, considering they have proven time and again how to positively react to adversity. I can see it in their eyes, they are ready to go for it, ready to attack, ready to go on a good run, ready to mount that title challenge. It’s in them to get things back to business, I’m confident things will align for the better soon enough. This is just a phase we will overcome, the battle is not lost, it’s very much on. COYG!
Well no mate
People said we left ourselves too much to do in second half of season which was true
Why play Thomas right back.
This guy is in top form.
Leandro best off bench.
Big week for us.
Inter and Chelsea away.
Yes, we need changes and someone has to leave, and hopefully Dan will leave first. In the meantime I will stay away from negative people and their predictable writing.
I wish all Arsenal fans a great season, stay positive and support club and players. COYG 🫶
Very hard to write anything positive about that performance
Works both ways , I praised our mentality against Liverpool but can’t find positives out of Newcastle game