Arsenal should forget our values and culture and think about winning

So much for Arsenal’s “value and culture” by Konstantin

Lovely Arsenal people I decided to write nothing after the Man City defeat because I didn’t see the point. Honestly I don’t see the point now either, but I’ll share an opinion anyway.

This is a dead team. They had more than than you usually have in the summer, yet some things never change. This club needs a mentality shift, sadly it has already happened. We’ve transformed into a banter mid-tabled club.

Emery was the players’ problem right? They kept mentioning it, but he’s gone and what’ve they done? The board promised they’d not let contracts run down again, yet here we are again with Auba and Saka.

This club should stop talking about values and culture and do something about results. Learn to defend perhaps? We have no clue what to do if we take the lead.

We’ve spent north of 150 million for Pepe, Auba and Laca, yet we cannot attack. Our midfield is utter garbage. It’s so sad, managers brought back Xhaka even though he flipped the fans off, and he is not good enough.

Aubameyang is about to leave and he’s playing with Willock, Nketiah and Nelson. No way are you convincing him to stay. This team needs a 3 year rebuild at least. He doesn’t have the time to wait that long.

Besides, the investment will not happen. We need a new defense, midfield and attack. Good luck with that. But we can’t leave Arteta out here.

Luiz sabotaged us at City, but what is Arteta’s excuse at Brighton? He’s been captain of this club, and he’s in this league for 15+ years. If you don’t know we can’t defend, you are not the man for this job.

I heard enough about “values and culture”. What about winning? We should’ve gotten a man whose capable of running a big club, (not that we are one) but we went cheap and it will cost us again.

Nothing of I loved about Arsenal is here today and I must say, nothing makes me think that change is on the horizon. You see, Chelsea brought Lampard, who also works with youngsters, but you can see a plan there and you know money will be spent where it’s needed.

I’m honestly too depressed. The season might as well have just finished for us, because I need a break again. In the last 3 years I watched Arsenal games hoping for the season to end, and I didn’t miss football while it was gone. And I know quite a few Arsenal fans who feel exactly the same. I’d love to hear what your thoughts are in the comments.

Konstantin Mitov

64 Comments

  1. I just don’t know what to say. We need to change everything. I’ll take Martinelli, Saka, Leno, Pepe and the guy, our player joining from the league then bring in replacements for rest and move on.
    It is as if our players don’t know that we have to win matches. 1-0 on top and better and you could kill the game? Only to lose at tail end of the match? Annoying.

    1. We could be 4-0 up and it wouldn’t make any difference, we always let a lead slip!!
      I can’t even remember the last time going into a game, I felt 100% certain we were going to win! We’ve always got a brain fart amongst us, can’t defend for shiz, so no hope really!!

  2. Don’t take s much on you. It is a game, they getting paid millions … Kroenke is killing Arsenal and no one can fight him anymore, Wenger gone!

    Let’s get real, we have no coach but an assistant, any team sees it and beat us for that. He can’t put proper line up nor subs!

    Can’t blame him for trying to help, he just not ready for such a club, must experiment in a lower table club as every coach done.

    Cheapest option for Kroenke, saving 5M

  3. You cannot compare Arteta to Lampard as they are poles apart Arteta was a small team chap hired 15 minutes before the closing of the transfer window, Lampard was a thoroughbred winner groomed by a young Mou, Anceloti, etc. and worked under pressure from demanding owners and coaches. Arteta had an easy life. Lampard dealt with player power better as he had the credentials as a winner. Arteta,s personality is that of a loser (ignore those FA cups)as he was as a useless side pass player
    Arteta will be remembered as Pep’s assistant and nothing more. The board wanted a cheapo they got one. If Phil Brown was hired what would be your expectations.I had no expectations from day 1 so im not surprised but deeply hurt by the losses and they way the club accepted mediocrity.We blamed Emery, now everything is Crystal clear that the players are in power and there is no way of bringing them under control.Every won 3 EL with Seville, yet we all supported Ozil against Emery. History repeats. Reap what you sow.Enjoy top 10 trophy!

    1. Abrahamovic spends tons of cash on his team, I have no doubts Lampard would fail woefully if he were to be put in charge of this arsenal team, and I think someone made a comparison with the team Klopp inherited at liverpool in a previous article. Klopp had Coutinho, Milner, Firmino, Sturridge, Origi, and a dedicated bunch of others, who admittedly are probably not good enough, but the board backed him to change them over time, and bring in players that suit his style. Compare that with a washed up Ozil, and a bunch of average players who wouldn’t even play for their pride (minus Aubameyang and Leno), and a board without a vision, what do you expect to get. Even though I wanted Emery out later on, I believe he wasn’t really allowed to enact his vision for the team.
      So in the end, we all know the major culprit is the board, which was appointed by an owner who’s only interested in bleeding the club dry.

    2. Yes, imagine what position Arsenal would be in without the goals from Auba….. It would be close to Norwich, and I agree this team is next to dead, and a very likely next season relegation fodder. The winning culture Arsenal once had is long gone. Arsenal need players that hate to lose and with the intelligence to know how to open up well organized defense.

      But will Kroenke sell Arsenal FC to the rich Nigerian who wants to buy Arsenal FC next according to rumours? That would the only positive if Arsenal were to drop out of Premier League.

      Arteta should ask Martin Keown to help him drill the Arsenal defense because you need a tough type that will not tolerate any sloppy work!

      1. Agree with everything you say about the winning culture. I have also said that we look more like relegation fodder than a top team. We are finished as a top team, and I really fear that next year with the same losers’ mentality we will be doomed. I also want either Keown or Adams to come and work with our shit defense. And also enough of that shit approach of playing from the back. We are shit enough and inviting undue pressure by trying to work it out from the back is hardly the way to go. And notice that our back four is so shot of confidence that we see only side way passes. No one is willing to take responsibility. Folks are keen to point to Mustafi, and the other CBs. But how shit is Bellerin?

      2. It’s no good having Kroenke sell unless the incoming owner replaces the current Board and senior management, all of whom have shown they are incapable of taking Arsenal back to where it should be. If they don’t care about mediocrity, why should the players. It is obvious the players don’t have personal pride by their attitude, lack of effort, fight and commitment.

    3. Cant agree more with the post loose, spot on. False dawns by people on here are just that, we are run like a mid table club with mid table values and lets hope we can at least achieve what we are set up for and dont under achieve that but i have no confidence.

  4. Arteta gets the benefit of the doubt from me, but Konstantin, I agree with everything else you say!!
    Been a while since we had a KM article! I have a feeling there will many more on the way during the next month or so 😉😀

    1. Totally agree, Sue. Lampard has finantial backing at Chelsea. Arteta has Kronke backing which we all know is cheap! The board are muppets. Let’s remember too that even under Wenger we had a weak mentality and ultimately We were slipping south of the table. Problem is, we can’t stop the slide until the club gets FULL investment and attention in the key areas!

      1. Brilliant, GunneRay 👍👍
        All the positions in need of strengthening over the years were always overlooked. They thought by splashing the cash on one player here and there would show ambition and keep us quiet!! But that one player can’t do it all!!
        Full investment – that will break Stan’s heart!!!

        1. Pepe scored a very good goal but did nothing else and the so-called defense could NOT close the game out when we scored we went 2 meters apart and let Brighton come at us the manager should have told them to press

      2. GunberRay this season without Hazard and no signings Lamps has done very well with what resources he had.That is the hallmark of a winner.This season there was no spending byCFC. I do know two things – Arteta is not a serial winner mentality coach and players dont care either. Either case ownership and board to be picked first then the coach and players.

        1. Yeah, I hear ya Loose Cannon. But, Chelsea have that winning mentality constantly. Lampard has a team that has always been strong. The club are actively always trying to strengthen in the “right” areas. We’ve needed defenders for years but always failed to fix the problem..

          1. and Arteta thinks he has fixed it with Pablo Mari . Brilliant!! That is his level and there he is taking us to.(the basement)

      3. Not a fan of Kroenke, but last time I checked there was a significant outlay last summer. The point is that our limited resources are being misused by the likes of Raul. Sven wanted either Diallo or Soyuncu a couple of years ago, but someone else decided to go for Sokratis. Torreira has completely fizzled out after a decent start. The less we say about Luiz the better. We have not addressed the RB position at all despite all the signs being there that Bellerin is not good enough. The midfield that used to be our strength is a source of major embarrassment. Our scouting needs a complete overhaul. And Raul needs to be shown the door. It’s a dream, but I would like D Dein back.

      4. Sue and GunneRay, the issue is not the amount of money Arsenal has, even without Kroenke putting in personal funds.
        The problem is the mismanagement of those funds by the Board and the senior executives: poor scouting, poor recruitment, buying players that don’t address squad deficiencies that even the average Arsenal supporter are aware of, missing out on great players because Arsenal won’t pay the required asking price, buying below average because they are cheap (eg free transfers), allowing players to run down their contracts without renewing or selling, selling outstanding youth prospects without a buy back option or sell on clause, bringing in a head coach with poor English communication skills, not supporting the head coach by directing available funds to the areas he wants addressed, passing up on top level coaches/managers because of the level of spending and a say in how it is spent in the transfer market etc. What are these people doing to earn their salaries?
        Kroenke hasn’t done any of these; the people he puts in charge of running the Club have!

  5. It’s not bout the players it’s about the owners and the board .its not one or two year’s .we are talking about almost 5 or 6 year’s . I remember long time ago when Arsenal looses am upset and get angry and so so but I change my mind like atleast 3years ago.Arsenal fans it’s time to say out from our beautiful club for the owners .Enough is Enough !!!!

  6. If we are going to turn this around next season, I feel we have to let go of our first team players, and keep only Leno, Tierney, Saka, Torreira (if he wants to stay), and Martinelli, and maybe Pepe (I think he could turn out good, and we’re paying too much for him anyways), and Guendouzi too (he has potential, and he shows heart, at least). The rest should be sold or released if they couldn’t be sold in the transfer window, and replace them with hungry, ambitious players. I feel only then will we see a change in the team’s mentality. The lack of urgency and stupid sideways passing is ingrained in this team already, and perhaps only hypnosis could help them get it out of their system.
    Knowing Kroenke, he’ll definitely prefer looking for a hypnotist (just to save money), if he read this comment.

    1. I disagree with Guedozi, don’t really know what is wrong with him, his control of the ball and temper is top not but he is too slow in decision making, this is not taught anywhere it’s instincts and intelligence. As a mf your decision making is what defines you but the boy lack such, maybe loan could help him though

      1. isn’t it the job of the coach to coach him? sending him on loan to learn from another coach?then what are our coaches doing in daily trainings?

  7. I dont care what you guys call me but I think MA needs to bench Auba, it’s clear he wouldnt start as our main striker under him because of his laziness and Martinelli could do better at the wing.
    Ozil, Auba, Guedozi, Torreira, mustaffi, Holding, chambers, Socratic, bellerin.
    At least 5 of the above need to be sold to recoup around 50million which is enough to recruit an established EPL proven defender.
    Get 2 midfielders one been a DM of Leicesters Nigerian mf forgotten his name, and an Osca type of box to box mf, then I can assure u we are good.
    If Bellerin is sold get another, if Ozil isnt interested in moving loan him and pay part of the wages

    1. Ndidi…… Partey is also a good option. I don’t get my hopes up during transfer windows though 😀.

  8. But for me case . It’s the players mentality. They all seem to be very weak, less concerned . U find small teams showing alot of energy and loving what they are doing on the pitch but for the case of arsenal , I don’t know what to say.

    1. 👍 Bring back Adams, Keown et al to belt the sh#t out of them; even at their ages they would have nothing to fear from this pack of wimps.

  9. Why can’t the players attitude change. What must their do to change their attitude such that you see every one wanting to win.

  10. Like I commented few days ago and it seems a lot of fans agree a proper clear out is the first thing that needs to happen!the luiz,mustafi,sokratis,xhaka,ozil….have to go even if we get small fees or even nothing,it will free up places and a fair amount in wages,they can be easily replaced by better,cheaper,younger,hungrier players if so called smaller clubs like Watford,Leicester of few years ago…can get very good bargains(kante,marhez,doucoure,issa gueye…)why can’t we ?even if it means written off next season off but I also would like MA to be given a chance you can’t expect him to work miracles with the same squad /players he inherited from energy it doesn’t make sense and is unfair!

    1. Your right . Even though we fear to lose them for a small fee., Still they are doing no impact on the team. I go with u. Let’s sell them an we see new generation

  11. Did any of the top managers in Europe want the job when they found out that the prospect of real investment by the owner was not much more than zero ? I hear Ancellotti was interested initially, but went to Everton who are prepared to back him.

    I believe Arteta deserves a chance but the countless attacks that are popping up won’t help at all. Thank heavens the grounds are empty as the thoughts of the fans baying for blood could set back the chances of Arteta turning things around. Negativity breeds negativity

    Before the shut down, Arteta had instilled a better attitude and results were improving. At least the pampered players weren’t calling the tune as they did under Emery. It seems that since they returned nearly all of them have forgotten and reverted to type.

    Regarding the Brighton game, we hardly had anybody fit or available in defence and that was before the unlucky Leno got injured

    I am not sure that comparing Lampard and Arteta has much merit really. Being a great player doesn’t mean that success as a manager follows. There have been plenty of failed managers and a paucity of great ones and some of those weren’t great players (Mourhino & Wenger) Lampard does though, have an owner who understands football and has been prepared to invest. Sadly our owner might know how to make money but he does not understand English football, its history which is deep rooted its working class background and is not like an American franchise.

    We are at present up sh*t creek without a paddle and it will be a monumental task to bring our club back to where it should be. I never imagined that we could sink so low

    1. Its not the comparison between arteta and lampard. It’s between the owners of the team arsenal and Chelsea. What ever lampard requests they give him but for the case of arteta whatever he request he is not getting. That is the pain we supports are feeling.

    2. SueP, the only reason the players appeared to “call the tune” against Emery, was because he wasn’t backed by the Board and management.
      Even a section of the fan base turns against the head coach if their favourite player is not chosen regardless of performances.
      Arteta faces the same problems.

  12. If Kroenke was taking money out of Arsenal I would be the first to condemn the man out of hand.
    However, in my opinion, and an opinion shared by some on this site, it is his failure to appoint the correct people to run the club which is his biggest error. Whatever you may think about Kroenke one thing is certain he is not financially incompetent but in the case high level appointments it would seem he is less so. This coupled, with a board without any real power to effect change, has to great extent, put us in the position as a club where we find ourselves today. As pointed out, we have spent a great deal of money over the last two or three years and most of it has not been spent wisely. It could be argued that respective managers have also some responsibility as they have asked for or approved the purchase of these players or have not had the power to resist players being foisted on them. In the opinion of many, a good number of these players are not up to the perceived
    Arsenal standard. I believe, that to move us in the direction we want to go, the first step would require a complete change of top management at the club. This seems unlikely at the moment but if we continue as we are I believe that Kroenke will be forced to take that type of action or his investment will begin to suffer. He will not accept that for long.

    1. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Kroenke has taken money out of the club in the past, for “professional advice”….. or whatever it was called then. And about not accepting that for long, if by “that”, you mean “mediocrity”, then he’s been accepting it since day one, he even made it clear that he didn’t invest to win trophies (correct me if I’m wrong again). It’s only us fans that are still emotionally invested in this clubs, not the board, not the owner, and definitely not most of the players.

      1. Analysis of the last 5 years of the published accounts show that Kroenke has taken nothing from the club. If he sees the value of his investment in Arsenal Holdings begin to fall he may be tempted to sell and cash in before a further decline. Don’t forget Arsenal FC is only
        a part of Arsenal Holdings which is run as a business.

        1. The value of Arsenal shares has doubled since he bought in. There will be no decline, forget that….

  13. There is an attitude problem at Arsenal. When teams are late on us sometimes our players act like how dare you challenge us, we’re bigger players we’re at AFC and you go and challenge us roughly like that. When we lose or are about to drop points it is the same thing, how dare you, and we get a bit petulant. Ozil reminds me of it often, when he’s after finishing his minutes and he has a mini strop, you’re left thinking ffs you had 90m to show us how disgusted you are that we’re losing. Attitudes need to change. The board unfortunately are the ones we are most relying on right now, they have to sort out the contract business and they must bring in new blood. I thought this before the restart, with no-one fit and the game looking rushed and wonky atm I am looking forward to an end to this season, and would like to see us being decisive in the off-season.

    1. I support ur idea. We have challenge with the attitude of players. The winning mentality is really lagging behind

  14. Let us remember where we are as a club, BRIGHTON DID THE DOUBLE OVER US THIS SEASON. Yes Brighton!

  15. There will be a day where Riot & Protest with slogan
    “Arsenal Live Matter”
    Even MU, Spurs, Chelsea, Liverpool, Watford & Southampton supporters will join to protest for helpless Arsenal Club….

  16. Everybody is saying we need a clear out of players, we do, but we have been trying for the last couple of transfer windows to get rid of the deadwood but who wants the mediocre players we have. It’s the recruitment that has been the problem and it looks like nothing is gonna change with the present people in charge. Like we’ll have to do with Ozil we’ll have to wait until their contracts run out and then they will just leave.

  17. hello to all my arsenal friends, it is good to be back on here reading all the comments. some of you may know that i have been an arsenal fan since 1968, not boasting or bragging, just stating a fact. i consider myself to be a long time gunner fan.been through thick and thin, loved the good days, forgot the bad days. always looked forward to next season, next season will be better, well, that was always my excuse,lol.but now, i cannot come up with any excuse to try and hide the faults at our club, in fact nobody could come up with a legitimate excuse for the canker that is eating our club alive.i am not going to go into the blame game, that has been done millions of times already,and i dont think that would achieve anything.i live in ireland and therefore i am unable to attend games, pre virus , i mean.so i guess i am removed from the passionate end of the game, in a way.however, regardless of where one lives it does not take anything away from our love of the arsenal and football.we are all gunners on here, i hope.i have to say , that now, i have had enough of our club , and, i have had enough of football. money is now the most important thing in football, and the beautiful game is none the richer.we are literally watching the most wonderful game on earth being squeezed dry by television channels and agents, and , footballers too .i have no answer to how we can save our club, no idea whatsoever. i do know one thing though, we will go out of business if the powers that be within our club keep sitting on their dividends without putting something back into arsenal.everybody making millions out of the club need to stop and take stock, footballers , board members etc. have to stop milking the arsenal cow ,for once and for all.it is sad, very sad , for anybody following the arsenal. i pity the fans who pay good money to go and watch our team embarrass the club each time they take to the pitch. and i am talking pre covid19 again.i no longer get annoyed when we are beaten , i have gone past that point.life is way too short to be bothered with mediocrity, i got rid of sky sports and bt sports as a protest. i know this protest will go unseen , but it will make me feel a lot better. i like to get value for money, but the past 10 years has been handing over money for zero return.i leave this magnificent club for once and for all now, but i do hope someday that somebody will save us . i firmly believe that we need to get rid of all playing staff, bar none. same for the big wigs upstairs, also get rid of managers ,coaches etc. start a fresh. now i know this will never happen, never.but that is my belief, there is a poison at our club, i have no idea what it is, but i do know who planted it , but i wont even bother mentioning their name.sorry for the size of this comment, i seldom write novels , but i just felt i needed to give my little speak.

    1. I was beginning to wonder where you were! Hope all is well, Gerry…besides the football, of course 😃

      1. all good here sue, everybody safe and well, so far. i just took a break from commenting on here.but i just had to comment on our latest shambles. i know all of us gunners are in the same boat, so i am not alone .i would give anything for a trouble free, and, injury free season , just like the old days, lol.hope you and yours are in good heAlth also sue.

        1. Glad to hear it, Gerry! Yes, at least everyone on here feels each other’s pain!!
          No chance of that happening in a good while hey… unfortunately!!!
          All good, thanks Gerry 🙂
          More doom and gloom on Thursday night, hope you’re ready for it!! Haha!

    2. Gerry, i could have written your post except ive been a fan since 1963, though born earlier.

      1. Likewise, Gerry anf Reggie, 1962 for me, but born 10 years earlier. I too have had to follow from afar apart from 1977, refuse to pay money to Murdoch and keep up via YouTube and my smart TV.

  18. Fully agree with your analysis Konstantin. Our defence has been non-existent for the past 7-8 years and we haven’t had a proper CB since Sol Campbell. AW was initially at fault in his latter years but nothing has been done to address this since. David Luiz and Pablo Mari are not the answer merely cheap options and we will win nothing until we strengthen both the centre back and central midfield positions.

    Arteta could learn something from watching a re-run of the Arsenal v Everton game at Highbury in 1998. That’s what I call a proper team, full of leaders like Adams, Keown, Viera and Petit to name just four. Bergkamp was injured and Wrighty was on the bench after a long injury but it made no difference. Maybe he should sit this current team of snowflakes(courtesy of Jon Fox) down and show them what passion, aggression and heart in a team means.

  19. we do need to talk about our culture. We just have a false reality to what our culture really is. It is based around complacency, low expectations of the players, and poor policies. Arteta is going to get no help from Kroenke. Arsenal has run on “loser culture” for years now. Arteta has the giant task of making some of these players actually believe they can achieve something. When Arsenal buy players, they also have to buy people who have the right attitudes. I look around the dressing room, and it’s a bunch of players with little personality needed to win things. And we have absolute ZERO leaders on the ENTIRE SQUAD. We are buying talented players with little commitment. This has to change.

    1. I totally agree with your write up. We actually need a change of orientation. We claim we have values as a club but as today nothing goes. As an arsenal fan, it is quite depressing watching our team nowadays. The forward players are misfiring, the midfield is confused while the defense is woefully pathetic. How I wish Mr Kronke will sell this club to the Saudis. This will be the most uplifting news that can cheer us up. I don’t even know the beef between Ozil and the Coach. Martinelli on the bench is a crime. Arteta is still learning his ropes and I believe he can not improve the team

  20. It’s all been said really, hasn’t it? Clearly, where we are now hasn’t happened overnight. The rot set in Wenger’s latter years – those humiliating defeats on a regular basis; spectacular collapses after “promising” starts; and the general “dumbing down” of expectations etc. It continued under Emery and it looks like we’re having another collapse under Arteta now.

    The club has also wasted money on transfer fees and wages on a huge scale – last Summer’s signings have hardly changed that trend so far at least. And we all know that Kroenke Snr. is no Sugar Daddy, and will never be one.

    I don’t see a way out of this any time soon, unfortunately. There’s no “light switch” solution and I fear it’s going to be pretty rough for Gooners for sometime yet. While it’s way too soon to judge Arteta, I can’t help thinking that a proven, experienced, coach who had “been around the block several times” would have been a better choice in our situation, but let’s hope he can do something in the Summer break to make a start on recovery.

  21. Konstatin you can’t be more right than you have written above. But there’s something everyone is getting wrong.
    What is it you may ask? And my response is and will ever remain that Arsenal stopped existing the very day Kroenke unfortunately came into the life of Arsenal. So why are people still mentioning Arsenal for crying out loud?

    There’s no plan, no investment and no direction. thus the issue of stupid values and cultures emphasized by the club hierarchy is nothing but rubbish.

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