Is the season a write off?
The January window has come and gone for Arsenal with the squad picture having changed for the worst in the eyes of many supporters. Let’s look at how the situation reflects on potential to perform and achieve coveted targets.
Outgoings
All outgoings have been squad players with minimal influence on squad performance this season. Mari, Chambers, Niles, Kolasinac, Aubameyang and Balogun.
More can be said about Aubameyang profile. It must be stated this is rooted in historical performances. Present day football has no room for nostalgia. Perform or be dropped. His contribution to the club has been immense since arrival from Germany and there are happy memories to go with. Honest fans with club at heart will agree with management over the decision to terminate the contract over attitude issues and lukewarm performances.
It is difficult for the club to come out and say some of these things in the open for the sake of professionalism, but contract termination is way too drastic for any club to contemplate over publicly available reasons. Juventus and Barcelona did the same to Messi and Ronaldo. Big players, big salaries and waning performances. Clubs make hard stone-cold decisions while fans can go on helium fueled bouts of sensationalism without consequences.
Strikers and goals
Social media is a festival of tears over Arsenal’s front-line options and ability to achieve champions league football. Aubameyang had a lethargic first half season in which he scored 4 goals in the Premier league. His head was not in the right place, with big misses and on field poor body language evident for all to see. Lacazette has 3 goals having started out of favor for the role. He offers better all-round attitude and work rate. While not my ideal captain, he is good for a team of talented and inexperienced young footballers. He has 6 months left on his contract but goes on like he still got three years to go. He understands the task at hand and looks eager to finish his career on a high. Looking at him going with Martinelliesque energetic vibes in Dubai only bodes well. Forget false prophecies about injuries and missing the goal with frequency, this is a player who knows where the goal is, he scored (13) more than Auba (10) in premier league last season and will put his body on the line to win matches.
It is a good thing fans are crying out for a 20-goal striker and the club went out to try and bring in someone fitting the profile. Top strikers win matches. A top performing Aubameyang makes these top 4 seasons, unfortunately we have to do with options at hand. We still have a decent front line even by comparison to close competitors. Only Liverpool clearly has better forwards in the league. Man City has spread responsibility over several players with no prolific individual. Chelsea’s top scorer in premier league has 7 goals, United have Ronaldo with 8 goals, West Ham has Antonio in similar range, Tottenham has an 8 goal top scorer as well as Emile for Arsenal. The trend has been goals being shared amongst teammates. Arsenal fans think rivals have underperformed. They have not. A good number of teams have immensely improved. West Ham had to beat Chelsea and Liverpool to be up there. You don’t go to Wolves, Palace or Villa expecting an easy win anymore.
Arsenal have good goal scoring options to safely go through our remaining 17 games. Martinelli will cause problems for teams and is not new to scoring from the center or wing. He will be way better with a regular stint. He only started playing after Auba was cast away. Emile will continue packing them in. Saka and Pepe will mean the right wing remain productive. Lacazette is a perfect foil for them. Eddie is more an insurance policy and last minute source of fresh legs than a regular, even without Lacazette playing.
League position
Arsenal sit 2 points off fourth having played a game less. Tottenham is at par having played two games less. Chelsea sits uncomfortably third having played three more than Arsenal and four more than Tottenham. Any team going on an unbeaten run will secure third. Chelsea has not been consistent enough to make third unattainable. There is very little separating wolves at 8th and Chelsea at 3rd. The core Arsenal team which has pushed this far is here having moved on from a nightmarish start.
No one gave this team a chance to be where they are today. Trust Arteta to get the best out of what he has at the moment.
Norbert
We still have 17 games left. Plenty of time to turn things around.
Turn it around?
We are well above our level.
Nope….cannot trust….don’t think Arteta can get the best out of all players…maybe some players…..all the luck to Arteta to get things right and to become a better manager……!
I think he is already getting the best out of our players.
The problem is, he wants them to play like Man city and the reason Man city players cost around 50m each is because they are so much better.
I wouldn’t call it a write off yet no, I think fans are frustrated because we had a really good chance of making a genuine push for 4th spot and we didn’t manage to sign 1 or 2 players that could’ve helped with that push.
Spot on !
Important distinction PJ, considering that this site has been hijacked by the “settling” bunch in recent days…I likewise don’t think it’s a “write off” yet, even though most would mistakenly believe otherwise, but I’m certainly less hopeful now than when the window first opened
fact remains, when you’re conducting a supposed “rebuild” you simply can’t leave any window empty-handed, especially when it’s well understood just how important securing a European position is from a recruitment capacity….not to mention, we already had plans in place to significantly slash the payroll, which makes for some sketchy optics
Just a few days ago a commenter said the anti.arteta agenda on here was taking over and they had enough. Now you are saying its Been “hijacked” by people who disagree with you.
At least we have a bit of balance!
two points:
(1) I was speaking specifically about the ridiculous justification of our most recent window, incoming-wise, by those who have bought in hook, line and stinker to the Arteta knows best narrative…try the following goggle search,” winners and losers of the PL winter window”…now of course we weren’t the only one’s on the latter list, but in most case we were the first team mentioned and we were on EVERY list…those with their blinders firmly affixed will naturally claim that this is all part of the pundit/media conspiracy against our club, which is a ludicrous notion unless you’re willing to accept that everyone on this list is in the same conspiratorial boat
(2) I, unlike many of those on the other side of the equation, have never told someone to leave this site or raised a stink with you, under the empty “threat” of potentially leaving JA, unless you did something so that the site might best reflect my particular sensibilities, which is a pertinent distinction to make Pat
After the 0-3 Arteta dismissed Leno Chambers Cedic Holding Mari Kolasinac Niles Pepe Balogun as being not up to standard. Xhaka got injured. Arteta then settled on a basic X1 trusted players who played the PL games with virtually no rest.
Ramsdale
Tomi White Gabriel Tierney
Partry Odegaard ESR Saka Lacazette Auba.
Tavares got a run after a while and Martinelli got starts late on. A 10 game unbeaten run in the league and a very soft draw in the Carabao Cup seemed to vindicate Arteta’s 13/14 man squad policy. But the the squad became fatigued abd lost at United and Everton. Then Covid, Afcons Xhaka red card Aubas demotion and banishment ushered in a nightmare January. A tough last minute loss to City and fixture rescheduling including the dubious Tottenham postponement. Defeat at Forest in the FA Cup followed by home defeat and exit at the hands of Liverpool with Partey sending off. Then with no DM a home draw with last placed Burnley. Then an unconvincing attempt at signings in the transfer window. Why we did not add at least one or two players even on loan is puzzling. Two or three academy will be required to do bench duty. But with only 17 PL games left we have less games than any of our fellow top 4/6 aspirants. The long break ought to see our lads fresh and rejuvinated for a tilt at top 4 though top 6 will be quite acceptable. .
We’re going to have to be very lucky with injuries!!
Admin Pat sees it right (in my opinion). This post was spot on, thanks for the sanity check
Of course this season is not written off, we still have top 4 to aim for to get into the Champions League but more realistically top 6 to get into the Europa League.
I don’t like a post headline like this? How can the season be a “write off”
If you read the article you’ll find the answer is No lol
True. The actual difference in points between 3 and 7’th that any prediction of how it will end is basically just guesswork.
Anything from 3’rd to seventh is surely a realistic finish position for Arsenal.
Sorry – should have been:
True. The actual difference in points between 3’rd and 7’th is so small, that any prediction of how it will end is basically just guesswork.
Anything from 3’rd to seventh is surely a realistic finish position for Arsenal.
Pat, the examples you give regarding Messi and Ronaldo – both clubs wanted the players to sign new contracts, unlike the Aubemeyang situation.
Is our season over?
Depends what one was expecting really.
After being the biggest spending club in the summer, letting players go, who it seems we’re just there as back up, awarding new contracts to existing players…. one would expect to see us competing in all the competitions up for grabs.
We now have just one to play for and it seems that finishing 4th, 5th or 6th will be regarded as a successful season.
Some fans seem to be happy with this domestic outcome and others not.
I cannot see how improving on one’s own poor record from the season before, an be classed as a step forward and the minimum that should be accepted from MA and HIS players, is a return to the CL…. although, of course, this was not good enough when AW and UE were in charge.
Let’s see how the season ends and I hope MA can come good as many fans seem to think he can.
Oops, did i not put Norberts name on the bottom. Although I’m not saying I disagree with him at all.
Sorry Pat, my mistake 😡
What a nonsensical headline ! The reason? Its obvious of course ! NO season can ever be over with a full seventeen games to play and a serious chance of making top four still to play for.
A ridiculous headline,which insults the collective intelligence of our fanbase.
Can it be over with 16?
The main factor to be noted is the consistency factor of our attackers. On a given day, Laca, Saka, Martinelli and Pepe can destroy any team, but what matters is they have to do it on a consistent basis. Only than top 4 could be achievable. I feel for that matter, ESR is the only player to have shown real consistency in the matches he has played. The defence for that matter is pretty stable with a consistently good goalkeeper.
The season is not over, but we are intelligent and we can see patterns. We have a few good games and then a block like the January games scoring just one goal. That pattern has been set during Arteta’s tenure. Will it change? Unlikely this season, especially without having signed a striker. We were close to a top 4 finish, but it seemed to me at the end of the January transfer window Kroenke/Edu/Arteta threw in the towel for this season (in that order of blame). Maybe the thin squad will bring the best out of the team, but patterns are hard to change. We live in hope, being all that’s left from Pandora’s Box. The big positive is we are going to see some more youngsters like Salah-Eddine Oulad M’Hand, Charlie Patino and Mika Biereth. That always makes us happy. There is a habit of scapegoating certain players at Arsenal, we have seen it with Ozil, Guendouzi, Saliba and now Auba. Arteta has inner problems, and to be truly successful needs to sort himself out or there will never be the right atmosphere to build consistent success. Still I will watch every game, watch the youngsters when they are on, and enjoy if we can play some good football….and I will cheer our Hale Enders on, because they are ‘REAL’ Arsenal.
The season is not over… if we beat Wolves we are on course for 4th then the big game is Spurs!
Everyone will be well rested or recovered from injury for these last 17games after the break.
-;Pepe coming back in good form
– Saka & Smithrowe rested Well
– Laca & Martinelli look ready
There is goals between them for the remaining games, Øde will be there also. All depends on Xhaka & Partey bossing the middle until then end of the season.
Tomi, Tierney & Taveres wing back position’s covered along with GK positions. This is where White really needs to step up & Gabriel be smarter.
This team had what it takes to do make Top4. Big question will we?