Arsenal woes continue as Everton clinch all three points

Arsenal have suffered yet another Premier League defeat, this time to an in-form Everton side, as we flatter with the idea of a relegation battle.

The Gunners are at risk of dropping to 16th in the Premier League table if Brighton are to win against Sheffield United tomorrow afternoon thanks to their latest loss in Merseyside.

There is little to argue over the fact that our side lost this evening, with the Blues enjoying all the best goalscoring opportunities.

Everton went in front thanks to Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s effort from inside the box, while he will thank Rob Holding for redirecting his effort, which was going wide, beyond Bernd Leno and into the goal.

The scores didn’t settle at 1-0 for long however, as Ainsley Maitland-Niles sprinted into the opposition box to claim the ball, only to be taken down by the surprised Everton midfielder Davies, who hadn’t spotted the Gunner.

Nicolas Pepe was the man to step up and score from the spot, sending Jordan Pickford the wrong way as he placed his effort into the left bottom corner.

The Blues did manage to take the lead once again however, with Yerry Mina putting away a header, with the defender running short to gain a lead on the opposition, before leaping high to head powerfully on goal, although you could argue that Leno should have done better to deny him.

We went into the break just after third goal, but the second-half didn’t bring much joy either.

Both Lacazette and Martinelli were introduced, but were unable to help to carve out any serious opportunities, while Joe Willock came off the bench also.

I wish I could tell you that we deserved anything more than the result, but unfortunately the best team took all three points, and we now go into the match with Manchester City in the Caribao Cup in midweek with horrendous form and confidence.

All eyes will be on the manager after we suffered yet another defeat, and I’m struggling to defend his position any longer.

Patrick

Tags Everton

250 Comments

  1. None of our attackers can leap like Calvert-Lewin and Kane. If Arteta survives in January, he should get Giroud 2.0 instead of another CAM

      1. A towering target man could make us able to change our plan in the second half, if he’s willing to be a super sub

        1. With our currently non existent attack (hope Martinelli will do something about that) a target man may as well be our plan from the get go.

      1. Uncle Sue (remember that? 😂) says thanks for the reminder… City on Tuesday – the week from hell??!! 🤪
        Tell you what, Kev, Jamie Carragher was doing my bleedin’ head in!!! Why on earth did they take him back?!!

        1. Oh great so we must suffer further before Christmas 😩 haha yeah Uncle Sue 😂 I’m running out of things to say about Arsenal 😩 oh I would just mute that Scouse prat Sue 😄

          1. Hahaha yeah your not likely to watch again this year Sue 😂😂 we might win another game this season so I suspect you’ll get to watch at least one more MOTD 😂😂

          2. Haha Sue yeah Arteta will be the new presenter by then 😂😂 what a lovely Christmas, locked down and Arsenal in a relegation scrap 😩

          3. Who’d have thought it, Kev? Yes and us dreading every game… wondering how many we’ll concede… it’s happening all over again…

    1. They won’t get rid of Arteta and I can’t believe I’m saying this but maybe they should Arsene to come back and help him until the end of the season.

    2. I am sure when the club asks Kronkee for more funds they will hear the sounds of silence.I have been very critical of Arteta and his tactics this season but I felt we played well in the 2nd half and deserved a draw.

      1. Surely do you guys understand the match, Everton retreated just like Tottenham did… Let your brunt team have the ball and you guys now claim to have played better…

        Am sure Arteta will say the same thing to justify the loss.

        The coach, team are all simply not good enough

        1. Absolutely JG it’s amazing how people are pleased that we pinned Everton in 2nd half without doing anything just like Tottenham.. but of course that was ancelloti and Mourinhos tactic they know we are feeble up top so they let us play.

      2. He could spend 400 mil and still not get any improvement. You have to look at why we are playing so far below our capabilities.

    3. Sue: Things can only get better . Now that we are
      used to loosing, it shouldn’t hurt as much.

      About 2 months ago I was crucified by many posters for saying MA is not the man. I wish I were wrong.

      1. I expected to lose this, Icw… we’ve been consistently poor for weeks now, so to rock up at Goodison Park and people actually thought we’d win! Yeah right!!

        More suffering to follow, hey…..

    4. I got a strange feeling we might beat city as its a cup.tie
      He has to play his strongest team though
      Leauge is a write off

      1. Even Carragher said that about Tuesday, Dan…
        Yes, completely written off…disastrous!!
        One positive though – you’ve rubbed off on me….I’m not angry 😁 yay!! 👍

        1. I’m going to be in the minority
          I rather us win Tuesday then Chelsea
          I don’t think we will get relegated so therefore Leauge season is over
          The cups are our only route to any happiness

          1. Tuesday does not matter to this club one little bit compared to 3 point’s. I still think whatever team plays we will get beat against city and Chelsea.

  2. Nekhetia is not good enough and shouldn’t start, playing hin ahead of Lacca was mad. Pepe is rubish as well.

    1. Both aren’t good enough to be Arsenal’s main striker and Pepe couldn’t show any magic as usual, but at least he didn’t lose the ball too often

      1. he needed to shoot at some point but was looking for who to dribble. he need to sit for Saka next game. Am tired of his indecision

      1. Nketiah doesn’t have the composure, guile or finishing capabilities to be a target man…he’s clearly a garbage goal, no first touch, bull in a china store type player…clearly a sign of desperation from a manger that is functionally closing his eyes and hoping for the best…why not have Balogun, at least he might get his head on something…Eddie makes me yearn for the good old days, when we were actually performing better with the likes of Danny Deer on skates Welbeck or the perpetual free agent Yaya Sanogo…in fact, our finishing is so inept I would give my left nut if it meant we could call upon the smooth stylings of the often misunderstood Danish Prince, Nicklas Bendtner…seriously, those are fast becoming the “good old days”…maybe when Arteta is on the training pitch he can take a quick break from his innovative sideways/backwards passing drills and teach the guys how to finish inside the box…this is why we’ve relied so heavily on Auba, to our detriment, and likely why we’ve struggled so mightily when his goals dried up…only really bad teams rely so heavily on one person for the bulk of their scoring…if Eddie’s the future, the future looks bleak

      1. This result of injustice to Ozil he’s a prayful man, the blame and misfortune goes to the hitler of football managment,in January we will have a new manager that’s obvious now,forget the PR nonsense from Edu.Kreonke won’t allow his investment to go down.

      2. Slightly disrespectful as I have supported Arteta
        Is there some sort of sick pleasure in what you’re writing?

        1. We were told Arteta has authority,he has mistreated players.Everton were poor today so no excuse why we didn’t win,I won’t support a manager who has no experience to manage this club.Take care not cross the red line in your argument @ suep

          1. “Take care not to cross the red line” What does that even mean? Some folks on here really need to get some perspective. We’re all Gooners and we all want the same thing. SueP, you’re a legend on here. Kia kaha.

          2. Trudeau
            All I have done is supported Arteta. I didn’t know it was a crime. He may fail but I have only wanted him to succeed without rude and ignorant remarks being aimed at me
            Thank you 👍

      1. Sixth twice wasn’t it. Problem for Wegner was it had become the new norm, something he seemed to be OK with.

          1. Actually, it was one fifth, one sixth and twenty top four, never talked about relegation issues, but still wasn’t good enough for some 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

  3. Let us not blame the players but rather face the elephant in the room which is Mikel Arteta.The manager has failed to inspire the team and he must go!!!

          1. Our build up is so slow and careful. We are so easy to stop because we dont have players breaking, it is too robotic. Arteta wants possession football but that doesn’t win games, goals do and he has took that out of this team.

          2. I said ok Reggie
            I’ll go to bed tonight remembering the lead up to Nketiah’s virtual open goal miss. should have done better but it was at least not robotic

  4. I fear relegation if we continue like this! It’s disgusting that this is allowed to carry on! We have now lost the same amount of games as West Brom that’s just not acceptable! What’s worrying is some supporters think we should stick with Arteta because Liverpool stuck with Klopp! Klopp WAS NOT a novice, he done good things at Dortmund and done good work with Mainz.. Arteta started out as an assistant which is much different to management and he has jumped into the deep end! It hasn’t worked, it’s not working! And now we are in massive trouble! Chelsea next in the league… Very worrying times.

    1. Chill man
      It’s going to be another loss
      Don’t take too much of stress
      Accept the reality and move on..
      You will feel much better if you accept the reality..
      You will become emotionless and you will get eternal peace..

    2. maybe we should sake him. but if we are not willing to through money in, no top manager will be willing to replace him. that was probably the reason he was brought in in the first place, to save money. without 3-4 more top players, this squad can’t achieve anything.

      1. But the players which we have, we shouldn’t be in in this state
        I would have agree if we would have been on 5-7 places
        I agree players which we have are mid table quality but still not in mid table but real relegation zone

        1. but with such a bad squad you depend a lot on form and luck. Emry had a good run in his first year, not playing better football against the smaller teams, but Auba and Lacca were in top form and won us a lot of points in games we were no better than under Arteta. so with that squad, you can have good runs but also periods of bad form and bad luck combining to 8 losses. the core problem is that rubish squad.

          1. Aubameyang and Lacazzett were in good form because they had creative provider Behind them..
            There is famous saying that spine of Any football team
            CB, then your Box to Box or DM and then you have CAM or number 10 in modern football and Your CF
            But Arteta took our best number 10 from that spine..
            I don’t want to go into the topic whether Ozil do anything or not but to replace Ozil do we have any other element to fill that Spine?,
            Arteta has a problem with Ozil, he don’t want to reinstate Ozil, he don’t want to give ESR chance then what he want?? And where he is going with this tactics??

      2. He should be definitely sacked! We are poor but are we 15th in the table poor ? Not a chance! I’ve followed this club for a long time even before Wenger and this is one sorry state of affairs and I’ve never said that even after being thrashed 8-2.

    3. Experience aside, the Arteta situation is very different from Klopp’s.

      Firstly, Klopp has never finished outside the top 4 for every full season he was in charged at Liverpool. They were never struggling for a win near the bottom of the table at any point during his tenure.

      Secondly, Klopp’s system was clearly visible after a few months on the job. The fundamentals were there. They just needed refinement. I still don’t get what Arteta’s system is.

      Worrying times indeed

  5. If we ain’t conceding own goal, we are receiving a red card or an ex player is scoring or assisting against Arsenal.

    1 win in 10 premier league games. This is relegation form. I am definitely worried.

  6. Played better in the 2nd half.

    Can we get a hypnotist to hypnotize the players to think they are a goal down with 10 minutes to go before the start of every game?

    1. We won the ball possession in the second half, because the Toffees let it. This is the similar to the Spurs game

      1. It’s not really about possession. We showed more urgency and movement in the 2nd half. We fought and created more

        1. No shots on target second half for us, there was for Everton. We huffed and puffed and cause zero problems.

          1. Would it be better if we didn’t huff and puff?

            We could have taken it easy and hit a lame long shot on goal to get a shot on target

          1. Everton could do whatever they wanted as long as we react with enough urgency when we lose the ball to prevent them from hitting us on the break

  7. 8 defeats!!! is very serious….💔.Its not a joke….

    The oppositions start strong, Score soon as they can and then drop deep and form a low block inviting us and let us cross and hit us in the counter…Is this a trend with us….

    We need a win😔
    And soon

  8. At this stage I am not even going to criticise or blame anyone I’m just numb gobmsmacked sad conflicted confused… what’s the next step?

  9. Arteta should be sacked for these reasons
    1…For allowed Martinez to go instead of Leno
    2..For not registered Ozil and Saliba
    3.. For bringing Useless William to Arsenal on a three year deal
    4..For bias selections and favouritism towards certain players
    5..For his pride and ego.
    Arteta can not move this team forward

    1. you dont know what the probles is at all.
      Did arsenal receive bid for Leno? Did Martinez want to stay?
      Will Saliba improve our goal scoring record? how much of Saliba did you know? is he Better than those we have?

    2. We traded Martinez with Partey and Martinez wanted to increase his salary. Ozil had several seasons to fix his performance and he only put in extra effort when he wanted a big contract extension, just like Walcott

    3. You forgot to mention:-
      6.For not learning from his mistakes.
      7.For not getting rid of players when he had the chance because he thought he could turn them into better players…which as we know is impossible
      8.For not having a clear plan of how the side needs to play and how to make the most of the players he has.
      9.For giving contracts to players who are clearly not good enough and undeserving…and don’t get me started on why he decided to bring back Cebellos on loan in a depressed market at a time when so many teams were looking to reduce their wage bills temporarily.
      We could go on and on…It beggars belief to consider how many mistakes this man has managed to make in such a short time.

    4. Martinez is not close to Leno quality. If he is so good why was he 3 keeper for two years ago! This men hasn’t yet played in front of packed stadiums in PL! Jackpot to sell him for 20m and you will see it in next year. But for sure Arteta must go – not even close to be a PL standard. When looking at his tactic you can see that nobody believes in it.

  10. I told you way back at the beginning of the season, that Arteta’s football wouldn’t take us anywhere,,,,

    But people like Eddie, Jon Fox etc blasted me and I ended up being partially banned from the site.

    I hope now they enjoy the ride. How far down will this punk take us. Such utter lack of will to win.

    MAURIZIO SARRI — that’s the name of the coach to take us places. You heard it from me first.

    1. Herbz u are completely right at the beginning and now too. I didn’t see it coming and a lot didn’t. Others called u spurs fan and made fun of u but now u are the true arsenal fan for warning us at least. well I like ur general analysis except for the Mustafi one.

  11. I assume that the idiots in MAGA hats … ie mikel arteta is good for arsenal …will be sleeping soundly tonight … people with empty heads always do … arteta needs to go before Xmas … way way out of his depth … happy when he came will be elated to see him go …

  12. We can not just change manager we are not Chelsea, man. U or realMadrid
    It is an endless circle….
    Let fans keep making this club a laughing stock
    I don’t see arsenal fans more ambitious than the board or kroenke

    1. Chelsea and Madrid never find themselves in this position your crazy sick love affair with Arteta is taking us to the championship

  13. this team is dead with arteta at the helm. no matter what he does,fortune will not favour him. we only want to play ball whenever we go a goal down. we had so much possession of the ball, but in areas that will not trouble the opponent. I keep saying it,no matter the opposition they have this team figured out. Tierney will go to the line and try and square or cross or whatever we want to call it. elneny will pass sideways so he is no threat. Willian can dribble,but no matter which wing he plays on we will doublemark him once he gets near the edge of the 18 yard box. ceballos can dribble but once near the 18 will not have any one to pass ball to because opposition is well organized. pepe have a left foot just keep him off from striking. passing is slow and lethargic, movement off the ball is poor,movement with the ball is too long. I could go on. I really pity arteta. who ever think he can turn it around wish you and him luck. gunners for life. in it forever

  14. AMN was our MOTM for me. Coolness personified. Very few other positives – Martinelli back, Partey one week closer to returning, some fight shown in the last five minutes but I’m really scrapping the bottom of the barrel. So frustrating.

  15. I didn’t see the first half apart from the goal highlights but based on the second half, I thought we deserved a point.Once again the Saka, Tierney axis was our main threat and whenever Martinelli came on you could see an immediate uplift in the team.I’m afraid neither Pepe nor Nketiah made much of an impression but I thought AMN had a good 45 mins and defensively was an improvement on Bellerin.Despite the result, I am not too despondent , in fact I sense the tide is about to turn.

    1. Hope you’re right Grandad. Might not be a record breaking tide but at this point I’ll take whatever the tide brings in – especially if that includes a Partey, a Martinelli and a reborn PEA.

    2. yes Tierney and Saka are the main threat, but the opposition knows how to deal with them. where is the link up play in the final third. crossing the ball to strikers who have never scored a goal in there life with there head is just not going to work. its not like its gabriel and luiz that’s playing centre forward. shocking coaching from the boss and management from the boss.

  16. This is blessings for sure. After we’re relegated this season, the KROENKES will leave and Arsenal will climb up slowly but sure

  17. 2-1 loss not bad considering holding,eleny,pepe,nketiah,william,ceballos,willock,luis,soares,bellerin,kolasinac,mustafi..not good enough for my local mental hospital first team, of which i am the manager thanks to mikel artetas stubbornness…….

  18. @lorddenning and kedar.

    No not enjoying it but still behind him.
    Only need to look at him in the training ground to see hes working hard and coaching one to one.

    The players however for some reason have decided they fancy suddenly playing *rap like league 1 players.
    Weak and unimaginative individuals who are a disgrace to the badge.
    You think any other manager would make any difference with this shower of *hit squad?
    And if they do make a difference then it just proves they are player to get Arteta out as they did with Emery at the end.
    Player power eh!
    Hes come in with a hard line message and rules and theyve said actually no dont fancy your methods.
    Can just imagine a Sean dyche managing us hed end up with no players to field as hed be kicking it into them and benching practically 60 percent of them.

    1. I don’t know what Arteta do on training ground but what I know that players which we have are quality of Mid Table team…
      But we are not even mid table
      We are near relegation zone
      Arteta can only speak big things in Media but he can’t produce that on Field
      I don’t want to go into player power or not because none of us can find anything true about what’s happening behind the scenes…
      We can have opinions, likes and dislikes on what we saw on on field

    2. Who picks these useless players
      He brought in Soares, Mari who he never picks to play in the Premier League he gave Willian a 3yr contract and he is a passenger week in week out so you tell me what has Arteta improved when he got here, Saliba is not even registered deemed not ready or not good enough Gondauzy was shipped off Luiz and Celabos fight on the training pitch but he is more concerned with the person who leaked the story this job is way too big for him time to moove on

  19. It is relegation from for sure. It’s not about the performance any more. It’s the results that count! Stats don’t lie. We are beyond bad! Arsenal have always had lots of possession. It means nothing if you don’t score. Two biggest problems are Willian and Pepe. Useless at best and dont provide the ammo for our strike force!

  20. AMN had a good game despite some difficulties. KT too had a good one, except that the first goal came from his side. Second half, CBs performance was good. Elneny disappointed. Ceballos was good second half, Willian too. Nketiah tried hard, but for me he should have atleast hit it on target,that was horrible from him. Also as a poacher, he should not be trusted to lead the line but be partnered with someone with good holdup play to feed off. Saka was good as always, but didnt get too many oppurtunities. Laca came on and tried very hard and it almost paid off, Pepe great penalty, but lukewarm game elsewhere. Gabi is back!!
    Overall nice second half performance and urgency which should be translated all throughout the game.
    Onwards and upwards!
    COYG!

  21. Kev82 Truth is Man/city told MA he would never get the job even if pep left so he applied for the Arsenal job. The board are at fault for giving him the job inexperienced. What were they thinking of . The supporters can see it how come the board can’t

  22. Well that was another very very hard watch and typical of how Arteta has this team playing. I dont like anything about what im seeing, we are slipping to lows that are impossible for an experienced manager to cope with let alone a beginner. The football is just dire, slow and so so predictable, i sat there predicting where the ball would be passed to and most of the time i a was right. Not because im good at predicting but because we are so predictable in our style. I just can’t see anything in Arteta now and what he is trying to achieve, you would have to be a dreamer to see any other. The realist in me says he isn’t upto the job, to save our club haemorrhaging points and money, he has to go asap. There is nothing that is happening that make a case for anything else. His favouritism to willian is embarrassing and damaging, the guy should have been subbed after 20 mins but that only one thing. Our build up play is so slow and of poor quality, we could end up fighting a relegation battle very easily. We are in a massive CRISIS.

  23. We need to start a movement #Artetaforlife….let us go down get rid of all the players (even though we mostly bought them in last 3 windows), just change the whole sructure if the club (which worked before, gave us trophies not to mention year after year if champions League) and reset the clock with Arteta. I have full faith Arteta will turn us into Barcelona like cruyff with total football. We will rise like phenix from ashes and rule the whole football world for ages to come. We can earn a lot by selling our youngsters only as they are so talented they will walk straight into the Liverpool’s the city’s the Madrid’s the juventus’s etc.

    1. The inexperience in arteta is now showing as evidenced by him making poor mistakes followed by the correct ones. I felt Nketiah over stayed on the pitch, Saka playing on the right allowed him to make much needed Shots, time him tried that position. Willian moving out from the right wing slightly unleashed him. Martinelli definitely will bench nketiah.

      Martinelli Auba saka
      Elneny Willian ceballos
      Tierney Gabriel luiz niles

      Auba can swap places with martinelli, willian behind strikers. If partey recovers ceballos plays in the hole. What do you think?

  24. Arsenal cannot defend. Cannot attack. No structural deliberate formational play midfield to defense everything just opens up for teams to get to arse goal. No creativity. The manager will never make it work. No first year baby managers will ever do well in big teams. U need experience and age to handle the egos and attitudes of players. This will never work. Let them just keep on losing and playing uninspiring football. Absolute garbage. Lose to every single team. It’s like not even trying by win 1 lose 1. Zero hope. Slate it all u want.

  25. Nothing more to add than we have to play from kickoff not second half. we hav had better 2nd half performance all through the season and, this shows there still fight and qualities left in the team, and the players listening to managers correction but why do we always find it difficult to reciprocate same energy in the first half

    1. Before we end up in the Champioship we need a new, experienced, major league manager. Otherwise we will go down for the first time in our history. Isn’t it clear? Do you want to see Arsenal and the Emirates hosting Barnsley and Rotherham?

  26. Also everyone seems to be forgetting hes been here just q months in a year that has been the most disjointed and disturbed out there due to covid.
    Orher sides do okay and then lose to pool by 7ngoals today and lots of sides this year have invested well and gone up the table such as Everton Shampton etc
    It’s a messed up season so lets bring in a new manager yes great idea!
    Instead why not try to manage the players heads and work out why suddenly they seem to have become poor players overnight.
    As someone said the effort was there 2nd half and I too sense an slow upward trend in the near future.

    1. Now you are using COVID as an excuse ..😂🤣😂😂….you pro Arteta fans are really begining to surpass every expectation of creativity. Why are the other managers like inexperience lampard, less time with team Morinhio are not suffering through same..take a look at Everton boss as well. Simple answer is Arteta is poor tactically and player management wise as well. His team is not a merit based team which he lied to everyone for keeping ozil out. He has just been exposed now as new manager sendrom is finished. You can not take cup runs like FA cup or Cardoba cup as guage for a greatness of manager. The writting was on the wall from start of season when some of the fans did raise concerns on signings, issue with various players of the team so he sidelined them and then the awful disjointed football we have been playing since the first game.

    1. Some fans are in laa laa land thinking Arteta can turn this around. The job is too big for him, wake up people

        1. For starters why are we giving the initiative to the visiting team on our own patch why do we only start to play ball with a few minutes left on the clock or when we go a goal or two behind get the ball moving faster why this slow build up play, Willian as an example have been utterly useless yet he is always part of the squad he must be training his socks off but ironically find it impossible to replicate it on the pitch I can go on and on

  27. Nketiah should not be playing for arsenal,he looks so babyish for my liking&should still be playing for the u-18s,seeing him in our line up annoys me as much as seeing kolasinac this days&very soon i will stop watching arsenal when i see him starting.as for arteta,am no longer in support of him staying&turning things around because most of his team selections is so flawed

  28. I don’t think any World Class Manager could get us out of this mess. This is the worst team I have seen in 40 years (We only have four decent Premiership Players). Without backing from/or change of Owners with bucket loads of money, we will continue to struggle. Hopefully in the January transfer window we can cash in on deadwood (too many players to mention!!) and bring in at least two decent players.

      1. Reggie
        You may very well be right but I’d like to know with your knowledge of the club and football in general what action they should take and then answer me if they will

        1. Sue P, my opinion is we are going down a black hole with Arteta, if this club wants to get back in the big time, we need a big time manager with multi skills. For me and i have wanted him from Wengers sacking, Rafa Benitez, he knows how to make clubs and fans happy and a great affordable manager to boot.

        2. Reggie.
          Great call.
          Rafa is the man to keep us up.
          This squad is not as bad as we are playing.
          Arteta has strangled us of all ambition.
          Fear in the players.

  29. Don’t let the possession stats deceive us. We had lots of possession in the second half for the past three or four games because the opposition invited us to attack them, knowing we lacked any sort of ideas to open them up.

    1. Exactly it’s what you do with that possession….you can have all the possession in the world, but if you’re not creating owt, how the hell are you supposed to win!!!

  30. The only reason I can imagine they have not sacked him is is he actually gets us into the red line. That’s maybe there won’t be pay off. Otherwise why not? Even the realists on this channel cannot give me any reason why they are backing Arteta. We all keep saying the players are not good enough but what if the manager isn’t good enough too?

  31. For those defending Arteta with various excuses, the results suggest otherwise. And facts don’t care about your feelings. Arteta OUT!!!

    1. If anyone out it should be the board and the players. We had the greatest manager in English football the Great Arsene Wenger, we had one of the best managers Unay Emery, now we have a capable and good manager albeit inexperienced Mikel, but nothing has changed.

      Firing Mikel won’t change a thing just like firing Emery didn’t change anything because the managers are not the problem.

  32. If we want to be kind to Arteta we should let him go. Without it being his fault he just does not have the experience to get us out of this hole. There are some managers that can. Now….before it’s too late.

  33. We salvaged some respect in the second half, despite not having one shot on goal.
    With Gabriel back, along with Martinelli, there is a little light sneaking through the doom.

    It’s now time to call out all those who have embraced Arteta’s decision to leave out Ozil – I couldn’t care less what names are labelled against him or me , is there ANY SENSIBLE FAN who can say that he wouldn’t improve on what we saw today?

    I’m sick and tired of being told by others how Ozil is finished – Arteta and the club have made an enormous mistake with this decision and, finally, fans are realising just what the team is missing.

    Their was no creativity whatsoever and anyone who says Ceballos, Willian and /or Pepe are better players than the guy sitting at home watching this debacle, need their heads examined.

    Just five points from the last thirty…. YES five points from the last thirty… fifteenth in the league, with Brighton probably sending us down to sixteenth – look at the table folks and tell me we aren’t in trouble big time!!!

    If Arteta cannot see this, then he deserves to go… the only thing that would change my mind, is if the club buy a player who can do better than Ozil, Ceballos, Willian and Pepe.

    Open your eyes – if this continues we will destroy young players like Saka and Martinelli and any chance of bringing in the kind of top players needed.

    The worst decision since giving the same player a reported £350,000 a week and we have fans still applauding it!!!

      1. Dennis, start saying it loud and clear my friend – we have been ridiculed for stating the obvious long enough.
        It is so obvious, it’s becoming a standing joke – no creativity? Let’s just drop the only creative player we have…. because he can’t defend and run around like a headless chicken!!!

        1. When will we stop being a joke?

          When we can’t create – it’s a joke Arteta left out Ozil, our most creative player.

          When we are overrun – it’s a joke Arteta played Ozil, our slackest player.

        2. Another sobering thought Ken, if Burnley were to get 4 points from their 2 games in hand and Brighton win tomorrow we will be in 17th!!

          Listen, I get your point re. Ozil but he has not kicked a ball in anger for 9 months and it’s going to take some time to get him match fit and we don’t have that luxury. As he can’t play till January at the earliest, my guess is they will get a replacement in the next window. And anyway MA will have to eat humble pie if he does and I can’t see that happening. I think we have seen the last of MO in an Arsenal shirt – what a waste. There is more to it than meets the eye!!

          1. Andrew, I take your point regarding Ozil not being “match fit”, but his experience, class and tactical knowledge must, surely, be better than none of the said attributes on show in the league this season?

            We have over half of the season left, along with two cups to play for, so I believe we can and should reverse the decision.

            As for MA eating humble pie, I have to say, after the way MO has been treated by the club, that seems a trivial thing to do.
            As you say though, more than meets the eye.

          2. Personally Ken, I think the relationship with Ozil, Arteta and the hierarchy at AFC has become too toxic and maybe someday we will get to know the full story. Arteta will never accept that he is at fault after all he tried his best and his conscience is clear (his words). Rather unfair comments from a manager about one of his own players. He may well be a good coach but, unlike AW, he seems to lack man management skills and flexibility.

            Personally I would love to see Ozil back in the team because even though he is past his peak, he is still superior to both Ceballos and Willock. It still bugs me, why on earth did MA sign up Ceballos for a second loan term? He wasn’t even good enough to make the RM bench!!

    1. Ken, the problem is Arteta is NAIVE and ARROGANT. Even when Martinelli becomes fully fit, Arteta would still prefer Nketiah ahead of Martinelli. I’m still trying to understand why he did not include Saliba in the squad. Things are not looking good at the moment. This is very sad.

      1. Skills, or even Willian to Martinelli… as he has done before of course.

        I wouldn’t say Arteta is arrogant though, if you are referring to the Ozil decision?

        A decision was made and it has proven to be the wrong one – he just needs to reverse it ASAP.

        It’s the arrogant fans who tell us that Ozil is this and that, yet go completely silent and missing after games like this…. they are the arrogant ones in my opinion.

    2. Exactly ken1945 Arteta in his short spell made alot of blunders the most telling being the exile of Ozil and selling Martinez after he showed what he was capable of, alot of fans don’t know what Ozil bring to the squad his presence create space for others simple and Martinez organised the defence, these two players were part of Arteta’s early success but he made rookie mistakes getting rid of both

    3. Ken, no i dont think he would have made any difference at all, he had stopped creating and scoring well before Arteta decided he wasn’t good enough. The problem was NOT replacing him, whoever that blame falls too. I thought Ozil was strolling for months, so i dont buy it. Im looking at the way we play and Ozil 2015 would be a factor in this team, we need drive and a different style.

      1. Reggie with all due respect it’s looks like all the midfielders has stopped creating or scoring for that matter I don’t see them exiled, Ozil was binned for non footballing reasons simple

          1. Just out of curiosity have you ever had a manager in your line of job completely out of his depth? If your Ozil hypothesis is correct, and it is a big if, I surmise then that Ozil would have found Arteta to be completely out of his depth. Remember that Ozil is a gifted player, one who can see space that few others can see. He does not need to be doing huff and puff shit to be effective. People who understand football would have also noticed that when defending Ozil occupies the ‘lanes’ that can be used as attacking outlet. He does not need to run like a headless chicken to be effective. If you want to be objective, just tell me how much tracking back do Auba and Pepe do? I would rather have Ozil do what he does best to help the team out than subpar players like Ceballos, Willock etc. Play Ozil with Partey and ElNenny/AMN behind him may actually work. At least have him on the bench as an option. What have we got to lose? Lest you forget, we have lost 7 out of our last ten.

      2. Well then Reggie, you will have to be content with the way we are currently playing then, as there is no other player in our squad (apart maybe for the inexperienced Martinelli) who has the ability to change the game…. except Ozil, even if he’s not the player he once was.

        1. Ken, im not content with the way we are playing but ozil wasn’t/isnt a factor but Arteta is. He picks the tactics and style and in truth IT SUCKS.

          1. Yes and it was Arteta who decided he didn’t need Ozil… then decided the tactics and style without Ozil and it truly sucks, as you say.

        2. I don’t think many would argue that a primetime Ozil would make a big difference. I think it’s valid to debate whether he has enough left in the tank to make a difference.

          We should be able to have this debate without name-calling (from both sides). For me, Ozil has looked a shadow of himself since Sanchez left and I don’t think he would make much of a difference. But given our current form I wish he was eligible to prove me wrong.

          1. Trudeau, with all due respect and, as you are a regular on JA, your comment about both sides not name calling is a bit rich.
            Those who have tried to put the case for MO have been pilloried and the player himself subjected to horrendous personal abuse.

            Please don’t confuse one viewpoint with another’s quoting that abuse.

            As you say, playing Ozil to see if he can improve on the sterile football we are witnessing should be a no brainer…. but for some, it obviously isn’t.

          2. Trudeau: You just proved Ozil’s point by saying he looked a shadow of himself since Sanchez left.
            Why didn’t Arsenal replace Sanchez?

            Why do we expect Ozil to excel when the supporting cast stinks?

            That said, we were winning under Artera when Ozil was playing and we are loosing without him . So what gives?

      1. Arteta holds the worst points-per-game ratio of any Arsenal manager in Premier League history at 1.42. And that’s before this defeat. Even mediocre Bruce Rioch was on 1.65

      2. That many, i didn’t think we had got that much, it feels far less. Thats relegation form Sue and some think that is unrealistic.

        1. And remember not long ago when we mentioned a crisis and it was laughed off…. never in my lifetime did I think I’d witness this, Reggie…

  34. These players are not up for it. I say squad overhaul. Sell the lot. Because as long as these players are here, we will see one promising player and a sharp decline afterwards. No manager will fix this problem.

  35. These players are not up for it. I say squad overhaul. Sell the lot. Because as long as these players are here, we will see one promising season and a sharp decline afterwards. No manager will fix this problem.

  36. Guys, Arsenal can make one have a high blood pressure. Supporting this present team is not good for the health. I am tired

  37. If we are to turn results, we need to play Niles, Saka and Martinelli together not Laca or Nketiah or Pepe or Willian, Heck maybe even stop Auba from being regular given his form.

    I’d trust the younger trio up top then the others.

  38. the fact that willian keeps showing up in the line up is ridiculous. This team is really weak, easy to play against and not capable of going against a set defence at all. We are in a relegation battle folks.

    1. Im afraid i can’t take anyone serious at the moment who still thinks we should keep Arteta. There is nothing happening to support him and everything happening not too. We want our Arsenal back. Bring in RAFA.

  39. His post match interview is enough to sack him, it’s clear the league is way above his depths. You can see what urgency instead of passing the ball around can do for you during the last 5 mins of the game. Nkeita should be loaned out in Jan and replaced with Balogin. Now Matinelli is back, we can bench Willian till he is sold or something. Willock should be loaned out too.

  40. – Nketia leading our attack is a criminal offence. He should be sent on loan to a team his level.
    – Bellerin should never start a game again unless AMN is injured or is played in midfield.
    – Holding is a liability in that defence. The earlier Arteta realizes that the letter for him.
    – Pepe is beyond redemption.
    Saka should operate through the right wing now Martinelli is back.
    Willian should play CAM or sit on the bench.

      1. Created the penalty, always ran back to stop attacks from his side (mostly), created good crosses, was better in ome on ones…generally he was MOM for me.

    1. -Nketiah is a “big fish in a small pond” kind of player. He can shine for the smaller/U-23 but he’ll never be top club level.
      -I agree with that except Cedric should be backup to AMN, not the foul throw king.
      -Totally agree. At this point i would even play mustafi ahead of him.
      -Pepe is too one footed to be a top player. And his lacks decision making ability. Always dribble and slow the game down when he has the chance to play a pass or shoot.

  41. As much as I love Pepe I can’t believe we sell iwobi for him. This is iwobi sixth match now maybe iwobi wasn’t that bad maybe it’s the coach that couldn’t bring out the best in him,. Someone on this site once told Aston villa is Martinez level but the question now is where is Leno level, I expected him to have done better with that corner and where was Holding and Luiz when that corner was taking.

  42. I don’t think Arsenal have been as poor as the results may reflect. There is obviously an issue at Arsenal that needs to be addressed. Emery said that the balance between attack and defence was not right in the team. Arteta tried to fix the defence but the attack now suffers. Under Emery the opposite was true. I would personally give him till end of season. Arsenal are too big to go down. I would not worry about that.

    1. Deonic, can I just remind you that every team, bar Everton and ourselves have been relegated…. from the game today, which team out of the two would you put your money on to say that at the end of the season?

      If Burnley win their two games in hand and Brighton beat Sheffield, take a look at the table and then say “I wouldn’t worry”.

      1. We are not being outplayed in any of these recent games we are losing. In fact we dominate most of them but fail to be more clinical. That comes with form which we are currently lacking. The only way is to keep trying till confidence returns. #COYG

        1. We have been completely outplayed, both tactically and chances created.

          I would guess we must have one of the highest possession percentages in the league at the moment, but what good is that?

  43. All things considered,I can’t see anything good coming with a change of manager. Firstly,if Arteta has only himself to blame for being in this hole, then he should be given the opportunity to get out of it. Another manager is not going to do much better considering the rubbish he will have to work with and the time needed to turn things around. Secondly , although I’m not a fan at all of Arteta’s playing style I think this nightmare is a case of the chickens coming home to roost as a result of some shocking decision making from the people ( crooks?) above. Why was the squad left so bloated with little effort made during the offseason to offload underperforming players? Why wasn’t the club more aggressive in signing a top quality creative midfielder?, Why was William given a three year contract when at 32 he would at best be a year on year proposition? Why was David Luiz’s contract extended? Why were Sanelihin and Edu given so much power over recruitment? Why have the Kroenkes allowed so much of their money to be squandered? Arsenal are not a US style sports franchise relying on a draft system and player swap deals. Why did Ozil have to be made the scapegoat for all the above follies? If it was about Chinese pressure then they should have stuck up the middle finger and told them where to go. It’s time everyone stood up to China. In one sense Arteta’s early success has only been more detrimental, further propping up an incompetent, lazy and possibly corrupt regime. Now when things are down the blame is all his, while the others hide. Arteta has to sort out the mess he has on the playing field. Tactics, selections and motivation are his responsibility, however they can only be dealt with calmly and through trial an error.

    1. Im sorry but this “rubbish he has to deal with” is his doing. No way should we be this rubbish and the fact he got us in it, means he can’t be allowed to carry on dragging us down to extinction.

  44. JOE.S, up to a point I agree with you, but the question is, has he Ben learning from his mistakes?
    Willian, Luiz, Xhaka?

    That’s why fans are questioning him in my opinion.

    The one thing he could do though, is bring back Ozil and Salibas ASAP and accept Hertha Berlins offer for Xhaka.
    We have Willian for three years!!!

    1. Hey Ken, simply put its the stubbornness of the board and some fans now nothing else. There is no logical reason to keep him at his job and to support him. He has broken all the records at the wrong end already and non of the top 6 clubs even the mid table clubs would have tolerated what we are tolerating at the moment. We are betting our league survival on a man who has performed awful so far and has no previous track record of turning things around. Another things I do not understand is everyone keeps blaming the structure and that Aretat has to change whole of the structure of club it’s a new project. If our structure and process was so broken how did we finish with so many league titles, FA cups and champions League spot year after year??. I can understand us not competing for league for years so the structure needs a tweak but it’s not like we have been fighting relegation in last decade so need a complete structurual change. It’s just Edu, Aretat and Vink, feeding this rubbish to owner so he does not fire them. They are lucky our owner is not into this football thing if it was an Arab or Russian dude who actually do love football and take interest in their investment, none of them would see another day light at this club.

  45. MA seems to be lost and he can’t defend or attack either, selecting the wrong players and making the wrong substitutes, I can’t see any improvement with getting one playmaker if you can’t change the mentality of the manager at first.
    Things should be serious now as we are going so down!!

  46. Some of us did said a long time back in start of season that actually we see the same pattern emerging as UE era. Arteta has actually gone worse then him, atleast UE did not have issues with 3-4 players of the team. Some fans are also saying Everton and Spuds scored then went back into their shell to defend the lead. I don’t seem to remember them complaining when we did the same in FA cup run and community shield. Arteta’s success was all based on scoring a goal then defending it if you are presented with a chance to score another then be it. Why do you thing our creativity and attack is struggling so much? All the blame is on Arteta and seems like Kronke will need to step in again sack not only Arteta but his friend Edu as well who has thrown away our money as well and he is too blind to see the free fall of the club. He is delusional that we are on a great road to success.

  47. Extinction is a bit extreme and this freefall started before Arteta. Look there’s a lot I hate about what we’ve been seeing since the Leicester defeat. For me that was the Reality check setting me into a deep depression which has only made it easier to absorb this current horror run. I hate the playing style, sideways passing,aimless crosses to players who never appear to be in the right position. And don’t get me started on player selection. My children can vouch that seeing Xhaka on a team starting lineup has had me ranting and fuming for at least five years now. What Arteta sees in him I have no idea but he needs to push the delete button on him before his own Arsenal career is terminated. Similar decisions also need to be made with other favorites. What will save Arteta’s job? I’m expecting more of the same against Chelsea, the league cup game shouldn’t matter because the focus now must only be on the EPL. A win against Brighton is a must. After that expect ongoing gradual improvement.

  48. After reading all the criticism aimed at MA I wish to point out that Ancelloti openly admitted that Arsenal were by far the better side in the second half.Small margins make a huge difference in the EPL.We conceded an unfortunate own goal, we hit the bar, and Saka, who had a good game, scuffed a shot late on which was saved by the GK. In the second half we outplayed a side which at the end of the evening lies second in the League.Yet these facts mean nothing to the hoards who slag off our Manager with a degree of venom which I find increasingly distasteful.Our Club has been on a sharp decline well before Arteta arrived and it will take time for him to put us on the road to recovery.Once we are rid of our numerous non performing assets and the drain they have on our wage bill we will be able to recruit 2/3 quality players to help us on our way.Until the deadwood is gone there is not a Manager on the Planet who could turn us into a team to be feared.

    1. You mean once we are in championship then he will put all the things right? Getting rid of players, majority of them we bought in last 2-3 season and rest are youngsters from Academy? Drain on the wage bill, well wasn’t it Mr Arteta and Edu who signed over the hill 32 year old Willian on 3 year deal when his parent club was not willing to chuck such deal to him. Not to mention this summer it was only Edu and Arteta who were incharge of summer transfer with no interference from anyone. We can not even blame Raul now as he is gone.

      1. Then Arteta signed injured Mari from a Brazilian league being a European playing in Brazil shows the level, he was not stopping at that though he went out and signed another injured player Cedric who he does not trust to play in league anyways. If this is not waste if money and drain on the finances then what is ? In one summer Arteta brought 3 dead woods to the club.

        1. Agree Mohan, the last thing Arsenal needed was those three pieces of Deadwood,but were they Arteta signings? Someone up above has been making decisions which go beyond any logical explanation.

    2. Grandad I have noticed one thing here. Other than ken 1945 and a few others, most of the other hardcore Arteta hate group dislike Arteta not for his coaching but because they believe he banished their boy Ozil…
      I do think that Arteta should leave though.. He is unlucky and needs a breather..poor fella..

      1. If out of all the logical arguments this is the only one you understand Mark the. What can I say? It looks like pro Arteta fans actually support Arteta more then the club. When you guys have run out of arguments now are playing Arteta a victim card. If loosing 8 out of 14 is unlucky then I am lost what does a poor performing manager means to you?

    3. Although I do agree with you about the 2nd half I am afraid this job was too big and too soon for a manager with such limited experience. He may well become a very good manager but this learning on the job at such a problematic club like Arsenal does not sit right with me. It needed a man with some gravitas who would command the respect of players like Ancelloti who you could say inherited a similar mess. The deadwood will not clear out of the way until the summer and by then it could be too late. Arteta has added as someone said at least 2 more problems in Cedric and Willian on long contracts that will also be hard to shift on their wages. He has ignored a huge potential in Balogun despite our striking problems. He had a great opportunity to give him 90 mins in the last two Europa ties but chose not to. So yes he has inherited a poor squad but he has added to his problems with his decision-making. I actually feel sorry for him as this job will damage his career before its even started. I would be overjoyed if he proved me wrong and I am trying to glean any positives from the situation but the stats he is creating are making it too hard to find any.

      1. I take the view the squad isnt as bad as Arteta has it performing. I actually think the squad is ok, its the set up and the way we play that is the fault. How can people not blame Arteta when this team is easily capable of top 6 and we are fighting relegation.

  49. IMO, the very much root problem is on the Manager as a head coach and his coach staff. Cannot bring the best of the players we have now. Cannot bring the right tactic.
    I do not know, I just think that las season was just a luck for him to win two trophies and Arteta is too fast to confident with his way how to manage the team..
    I would prefer to change Arteta and take a new risk but with a New Hope, rather than keep Arteta with a dream that looks not happenede.

  50. Arteta must go before more losses pile up, we need somone temporarily to help us fight relegation.
    Big sam would have been perfect but thatnship sailed. Are there any othere relegation experts?

    1. If big Sam had come in you may as well have started your renewal program in the Championship. That guy would be Clueless in running a big club. Has he ever taken a club out of the Championship, or does he Just specialise in saving loser clubs.

  51. Early days, but I like the rumour that Edu could be replaced by Van De Sar, the Ajax connection with Overmars and of course our very own Bergkamp is a much more promising way out of this mess.

  52. I Personally think kroenker is not an Arsenal fan.he is pretending..how can you allow a coach to player babys or school team and expect to win by luck.every games he switch players at different position. Arsenal dnt hv a first 11 like other team.tlk of liverpool or man city..he mst not play nketiah,holding, elneny,willock.thy must come as substitute in some games. Enough is enough..Arteta must go….wr know the next game is a must loss game

  53. Big Sam, he heads the usual merry go round list of managers connected to relegation threatened teams to turn too which includes Pardew,Megson,Warnock,pullis and Dowie.

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