Hi, Arsenal Faithful, it’s been a busy summer window for us and we got a lot done, but did we make any progress? Has Mikel learned anything from his tenure so far? Why do our players still look like a deer in the headlights when trying to play his system?
We have spent close to £160m this summer on players coming in, but nobody really stands out to make us get off our seats instantly. We can see the potential in a few of them, but Ben White for £50m was the wrong decision when we had Saliba, who is playing confidently in France again, but Mikel deemed him not ready? Bad Call.
It was a mistake letting Matteo Guendouzi go as he had the fight and desire missing from this team in the middle and has bags of talent, but again Mikel can’t see past own stubbornness but prefers the likes of Elneny, Xhaka & Ceballos which again was a wrong decision and costing us dearly. Even Torreira was a little warrior that Mikel thought wasn’t good enough when he is.
Lokonga, Ramsdale & Tavares look like good business to be fair to them, but again not getting out of our seats about it. Tomiyasu may be a good signing – time will tell…
All of this comes down to the inexperience of Mikel Arteta and trying to put his own authority through the club by making these bad decisions based on his emotions, and not how the player can play. Is it not his job to get the best out of these players, plus our own starters who are failing under him miserably?
Edu does the deals Mikel wants, and Mikel decides who fits the mold for his Arsenal team’s style of play, and who falls into line to what he demands. It isn’t working at all…
He is being exposed at every turn that he is not ready or up to this huge challenge at Arsenal, but we are all told to trust the process when we see no progress, especially after the start of the season without European football due to last season’s failures under Mikel. Every team know they can get something off us, and we can’t argue that statement as that’s where we are.
A mid-table playing team (with the players here or been here treated unfairly we should be in that top 6) with a rookie manager, under the guidance of an absent American owner who is only in this for his portfolio of Sports Franchises.
We are stuck with this mediocrity until someone comes in & saves this club as we are on our knees. Again, we are told for the 10th time we are in a rebuilding stage, forgetting we were told this the first time when we were apparently going to be competing with the big boys for the big trophies from the Emirates move and right now we couldn’t be any further away.
Fingers crossed a miracle happens and we start playing better after the international break. What would be the best scenario for getting Arsenal out of this rut based on stupid decisions from management over the years?
Be kind in the comments
Séan
Ooooh you are going to upset a lot of fans here by stating facts, nice article.
Thank you mate
Great article Sean, I bet most sensible fans will agree with you. Ignore the pro Arteta bregade they will say it’s not based on facts and figures but when you show them the facts and figures they say it can be deceiving then they start quoting how long they have watched football for blah blah blah. So at the end all it comes down to here is loyalty proof which they think is based on numbers of years you have supported the club.
Thank you for sharing with us the naked truth and facts,Arteta is the problem in Arsenal club his stubbonness will continue costing the team every now and then,he cannot waste a talented players of Guendouzi and Saliva calibre due to his high temper,we can’t tolerate this and we gonna say he must have gone like yesterday,I rest my case.
Players that should be in the squad – Saliba, Guendouzi, Willock (why on earth did we sell our only goalscoring midfielder??).
Players that should never be in our squad- Kolasinac, Xhaka, Elneny, Cedric, Mari.
Should have sold Laca and Xhaka and bought Aouar or Bissouma and Isaak.
I don’t mind us buying White. I think he will be terific.
AMN should get more chances.
If you said saliba and guenduzi I agree with you but NILES and willock are average team players
Guenduzi’s attitude stinks
Attitude is everything
He misbehaved at Qatar and again at Brighton and was not prepared to apologyse
Bad attitude, good riddance. He’s not bigger than Arsenal
Lokonga is better than Guendozi
Saliba, you mean 19/20 yr old who hasn’t played in the EPL before and was not prepared to go on loan to a EPL club should just slot into the Arsenal team? Are u people serious
Everyone keeps forgetting about the beast of a defender Mavro is. The man is a wall.
Pls don’t say that . Who has more goals in our mildfield from last season more than Wilock? If Abua experience a dip in form we are finished. Why ?well because our mildfielders contribute little or no goals at all . Wilock was on fire at Newcastle last season. Outscoring all of our current mildfielders. The same way Cesce Fabregas, Nasiri, Santiago Carsola and Ramsey use to score for us, thus lessening d burden on our strikers . Arteta has no foresight. Niles should stay put and given enough game time. He is young n hungry with a point to prove. And he is far better than Chambers and Cedric at dat full back position. If Partey and Eleney goes for the African cup of nations will be short in mildfield. We would have signed Auroer d french . He was cheap and available.
Arteta could become a good coach but at the moment his lack of experience and man management skills is rather embarrassing. He has had enough time already. An elite coach makes an immediate impact (Tuchel at Chelsea). This team should play to its strengths but instead Arteta wants to put the cart before the horse hence the process and a long one at that. By all accounts he is arrogant and stubborn and that is evident in spades. He wants yes men around him and anybody who does not bow down is shipped out. Some of those players have real footballing talent and would improve the team significantly if played (Guendouzi, Saliba etc). It is clear to me that alot of the players do not buy into him as a manager and his philosophies and when this happens the team fails. The team as a whole look unhappy (playing out from the back – Leno will be leaving soon due to this as it does not work) hence we are propping up the table. We have no playing style or plan B and this is down to the inexperience and arrogance of Arteta who overthinks and overcomplicates things resulting in a state of confusion for himself and the players. He is not adaptable and this is down to his stubborness. When soemthing does not work you try something different. The table does not lie. Arsenal are currently the worst team in the Premier League, in fact this is the worst Arsenal team and manager for eons. I would love to be proved wrong in everything i’ve said but to me we’ve been here before. It feels like the end of the Emery era all over again. Once the rot sets in its hard to stop. Arteta does not have the ability to learn from his mistakes and it is this which will cost him his job, not the players. Arsenal will have a new manager in the coming weeks. I would hire Conte 100% and in fact i would do it now.
Oh and just to reiterate his biggest player mistake? Favouring Leno over Martinez. Just that mistake alone has cost Arsenal £10million in transfer fees. Martinez £20 million to Villa, Ramsdale £30 million from Sheffield Utd. Martinez is a top, top goalkeeper and much better than Leno. Even a blind Cyclops can see it. Complete Arteta disasterclass !
Why did Fofana easily fit like a glove in Leicester city team. Please check your facts before trying to down play Saliba’s age and PLS experience.
I agree with you Simon. Arteta’s man management skills are very poor . He is an intelligent coach, very analytic with a brilliant soccer brain and knows how to improve the skill levels of players . He is very articulate-someone who can think on his feet. However with all those abilities, if you not able handle the different personnalites within the team you not going to get the best out of the team and you may be doomed to fail. Arteta being a control freak count also against him.Take Geundozi for example – being the outspoken type with a forceful – in your face -character – is someone Arteta could not handle despite his ( Geundozi’s) work ethic , tenacity, aggression and skills he bring to the team. Yet with Xhaxa who is just as aggressive( with a much less work ethic ) on the field – who cost the team points ( who most probably suck up to Arteta ) he treat with kid gloves . Arteta should go to Tuchel for lessons in man management. Arteta said the one piece of advice Pep gave him when he got the Arsenal job is to be ” ruthless. ” Once Arteta start achieving the success of Pep , Mourinho or Alex Ferguson, then he can be ruthless ( when applicable and not in every situation) not while he is still an apprentice and learning on the job. Professional football is a business- he will be measured by what he achieves and not what he knows.
I agree with a lot of the points — the treatment of Saliba in particular — but let’s not dress them up as “facts”. Most of the points are opinions that can be debated (see posts below).
Opinions NOT facts! Nothing factual about anything he writes, even though I personally agree with the majority of what he says.
But still, just his and also MOSTLY(though not all) my opinions , NOT facts.
jon fox Fact Arteta threw his dummy out of the pram with the Guendouzi issue. How many times has Xahka let this club down telling fans to F**k off threw his shirt off being sent off and he is still here talk about favourites and others not performing but still first name on the team sheet FACTS jon
The objective facts are that following the Brighton game where Guendouzi received a red card and was heard taunting his opponents about their relative wages, Arteta stopped selecting him. That’s indisputable.
Whether this is because Arteta ‘threw his toys out of the pram” or whether this was a rationale response to immature acts is a matter of opinion.
Both opinions are valid. Neither one is a fact. See the difference?
Voyageur, I see the clear difference very easily! MANY, SADLY, DO NOT!
Guendo has had trouble with every manager in senior leagues. Glad he is gone.
Sir Michael, At your age, you ought to easily be able to distinguish what are clearly opinions from facts , about which the article is clearly lacking.
I loathe Xhaka as a player and consider his whole time here as a disaster. But what you write, about which I fully agree, is STILL only both our (and countless others too, I suggest) OPINIONS.
A fact would be to state that the Pope is CATHOLIC. An opinion would be to state that he is a good person. Even though almost everyone, myself included, would agree with him being good, it would still be only an OPINION!
Not difficult to distinguish the two VERY different words, IF YOU WISH TO!
This article is about OPINIONS, not FACTS!
NOTHING IN IT IS AT ALL FACTUAL. Even though I personally agree with most, though not all of it, I canNot let go your clear falsehood that his article is facts. They are merely Seans opinions and you, PJ-SA, ought to be easily able to separate opinions, however true you , I and others may believe tham to be, from ACTUAL FACTS!
Even if the fans are upset the truth need to be told and that’s the fact
What is nice in the article with many contradictions? He applauded some new signings and question the release of unmanageable player like Guendouzi. No matter how talented a player may be, he needs discipline and integrity to succeed. Players like Messi, Ronaldo, Henry to name but few wouldn’t have reached the height they accomplished without these qualities. It is strange that some Arsenal fans hasten to judge. Remember it is easy to destroy a building but extremely difficult to rebuild. Let us give our team some time to gel before taking it to a slaughter slab.
@Admi Pat
Interesting article but I think we should be careful of using words like “stupid” in article composition. This can easily motivates certain fans to feel liberty and be rude or uncomely in their comments. No offense just my thoughts
Should of maybe used a nicer word so my bad!!
Feels strange that you call dropping Saliba a bad call.. how do you know? He’s not played a second of Premier League football. He could struggle immensely. Being good in France, doesn’t equate to being good in England. Besides, Arteta has made that decision from multiple training sessions with him and you’ve made it from some YouTube highlights? This is where you say ‘no, actually, I watch a lot of french football on by sport!’ sure you do!
Exactly, we don’t know.
Take a guess what’s the best way to find out?
Yes… All the players we bought were epl proven players
We have a boy from Belgium playing for us and you think a higher rated player from a better league will not play for us. Interesting as we are packed with superior CB’S
We loaned out saliba only to pay 70m£ for sale position and playing kolasinac at cb but yes it was a perfect decision
Imo a Bissouma would’ve lifted Arsenal fans spirits by knowing Partey would be alongside him infront of the defence, also selling Xhaka and replacing him with the one piece of business I do agree with is Lokonga… looks a steal for what we payed.
Saliba starting and given a chance instead of Kola, Mari or Holding when we know the potential to which he showed last year and already this year to which we all have been excited about for 2years since we played £27m.
Matteo aswell but we still have Elneny here.
Knowing we would have Saliba, Gabriel, Partey & Bissouma infront of the keeper defending the team is a no brainer imo. Let’s the front men do the business.
Our team this year should’ve been;
Leno – Ramsdale
Teirney – Taveres
Saliba – Holding – AMN
Gabriel – Mari
Tomiyasu – Soares
Partey – Matteo
Bissouma – Lokonga
SmithRowe – Ødegarrd
Saka – Martinelli
Auba – Laca
Pepe – Bologun
That’s 23 for the 24 man squad with no Europena football, no £50m spent on white and a few more out the door to make room for maybe a big signing to get the fans out of there seat with excitement.
I could be wrong just my honest opinion.
AMN could be the Utility player for us
Tavares from Benfica, Lokonga from Belgium, Tomiyasu from Italy and Odegaard from spain. Which of these leagues is of higher standard than the EPL? Yes Saliba cannot play cos he’s only played in France. Is Fofana not one of the best you g center backs in EPL currently? Isn’t he from the same club that we bought Saliba from? Arsenal fans enjoy mediocrity and that’s why we’re here. If you can’t see that Arteta does things based on his own overbloated ego, then I don’t know what else you can see
He’s never been given a chance, and now arteta playing kolasinac and Mari and holding… 3 sub par defender’s. Saliba is better than all of them and has versatility to play rb. With Salibas treatment it’s likely he will run down his contract like lacazette and make us lose another 50-60 million. Edu and arteta have to go.
Seriously, what do you expect from a club that has 0 European football, finished 8th in their league Twice!
and is currently rock bottom of the league this season.
A manager who has no pull on players, its not like Wenger, he had pull.
What superstar would want to come to that?
Sod all if you ask me.
If any super player would want to come here after all of what has gone on in recent season, will want mega money, so please tell us how the club was meant to make us jump off our seat with a magical new signing.
If that is what you want these days from a club, go support Chelsea or Mansh!ty
True Willian paid us 20 mil just to leave and laca and saliba gona run their contracts down as will many others. Despite arsenal saying this will never happen.
Saliba will be sold before he ever has a chance to run
down his contract. If he impresses @ Marseillle on
loan this season PSG and the rest of the European
Usual Suspects will come calling..
If MA gets his walking papers before Xmas the new
gaffer may make the decision to recall the
Frenchmen and build his future CB room around him.
Time will definitely tell
Most of you here are very funny. As much as I am not an Arteta in or out guy, but you all make Saliba a maldini and Geudeouzi a prime pirlo. ” A new manager to build his team around him”. *I laugh*. What most of you don’t know is that Arteta didn’t make this decision on Saliba alone. He made his decision based on recommendations from the u23 team in which Saliba played and was woeful.
And for Geudeouzi, he was too hotheaded for his age. He had issue where he played before arsenal, where he was loaned to, the coach also complained about him. In Marseille, he had already had issues. We can’t afford a young uncontrollable divisive figure.
There has been a lot of rotten and indisciplined players in the team over the years. A coach is trying to take his stand and instilled discipline while at the same time trying to form a unit that’ll compete favourable now and in the near future. Whether he is doing it right or wrong is another debate. But, you are all here writing and commenting like any of y’all can do better.
The writer and the rest of you should get your facts right before writing and commenting without fairness to all parties.
Ok Peter or should I call you… Mikel! I refuse to believe saliba is worse than Mari who is the dictionary definition of woeful. He seems to be doing well for OM. As for u23 performance maybe that’s due to personal feelings of not getting a single first team chance? As for rotten players Xhaka had done way worse than Guendozi as Captain no less. And he gets rewarded with a new higher paid contract?
Artetaout
What worse did Xhaka do? telling off fans after they threatened his family.. This compared to a hothead who creates trouble everywhere he goes…
yea sure..same thing…
Mark, so according to your so-called “facts”, on the day in question, when Xhaka flipped the bird to the fanbase, he actually identified the specific individuals in the crowd who he believed had “threatened” his family, so he was totally justified in his actions…I almost hesitate to ask, what exactly, in your estimation, would either Arteta or Xhaka have to do or say to dissuade you from continuing down this path of blind allegiance…based on your earlier posts, it likely wouldn’t have mattered about his reasoning, as you clearly believe that he has the right to treat the fans in whatever manner he wishes based solely on his financial wherewithal…it was such a telling moment when revealed your true self yesterday
Saliba may or may not be the answer, could he be any worse than Kolasinac, Chambers or Holding?
They have had many chances over the last 5 years and Saliba has had none. Anyboy would have to admit it’s a strange decision not to even give him a chance.
until white and gabby are 1st choice and he doesnt get regular minutes all season. Whereas going to a club he wanted to go to at the age of 20? There is a lot in the tank for him yet and he will come back next year more ready and experienced instead of holding him for 2 games in which we were underdogs anyway.
And Tomiyasu might end up CB with white RB for a while, or as a back 3…who knows? all we know is this wont happen overnight, but in a couple years the squad depth and quality is going to be fantastic.
Drogba mocked Arsenal on Twitter after he said Willian, David Luiz and Petr Cech worked as agents for Arsenal.
You are just echoing Pundits and soccer commentators opinions
Torreira might have been a little warrior but he wasn’t good enough here or in Madrid. Must have been Arteta’s fault that Simeone didn’t want to keep him on or couldn’t improve him sufficiently whilst he was there.
The new signings are… new!
Covid struck
Crucial team members have been injured and are only just starting to be integrated back.
If the results and manner of playing doesn’t improve by November then by all means have a major winge – I’ll join you – but until then it is so wearing. Then deciding that after one game White isn’t good enough is extraordinarily hasty. I’ve given my views on MG before and so far haven’t changed them. Saliba is a different story and in a way it is intriguing. I do hope he comes back a more mature person and gets his chance. He is after all on loan with no option to buy so that is a plus
I suspect that disrespecting your employer by unwarranted social media activity doesn’t endear you to the top brass. Do Saka or ESR do stuff like that? If they do, then I’m happy to be corrected
SueP in case you’re not aware, Simeone convinced Torreira to come because he wanted to pair him and Party in the midfield. After he signed on loan, arsenal spoilt the party by signing party on deadline day. Simeone had to change plans. That’s part of the reasons why Torreira wasn’t playing much.
You accuse Saliba of talking about his employers online. Answer me this. Has either Saka or Smith Rowe ever been sidelined? Yet you’re making a case for them not talking about their employer online. Saliba came to prominence before either of them and yet he’s not had a darn minute. NOT EVEN ONE.
That’s bad luck for Torreira then
As for the others it very much appears to me that lack of maturity in how they conducted themselves has not helped their cause one bit. I compared two young players with two other young players who seem to have a more mature outlook- no more no less
I don’t see anything immature about Saliba and Torreira. You’re only saying that because of how they said things due to their treatment by Arteta. Before then, was there anything to suggest that they had some bad(if it’s actually that) attitude ? Don’t also forgot that it was fan’s clamour that led to Smith Rowe being in the first team ahead of willian last December which was when results began to improve. Arteta was willing to let ESR rot in the bench even when results were bad just to justify his own signing. I’ll say it again….Arteta’s ego is too overbloated for a novice manager
Your right Artetas ego is it way too high for a novice manager. His handling of guendozo was poor and now we practically give him away for nothing after his loan spell. When he could walk into our midfield especially when you see AMN is our 4th choice midfield.
I was referring to MG
And you actually KNOW that it was the fans’ outcry?
@dgr8xt
You committing what we call “Cognitive dissonance”. Basically you keep contradicting yourself in your replies to @SueP.
You are busy lamenting how Arteta is so stubborn and egotistical for not giving into us fans whining and whinging. But at the same time saying that he was forced to play ESR by us fans crying about the whole situation in December. Lol
Anyways, How did you come to such a conclusion that “The fans crys were the reason Arteta started playing ESR?”. What evidence do you have to support your claim?
😳
Young players conduct and behaviour can be turned around plus people are different some are just scared to say the truth some are not. So based on this your comparison is wrong between Saliba,MG ,Saka and ESR. Where does your maturity and code of conduct goes when British players do worse then this in public too, history is full of it and recently in COVID we saw great examples. Did they got kicked out by managers or sidelined completely?
Of course players conduct can be turned around if they are willing participants. I’ve already mentioned Vieira in another post. I’m firmly of the opinion that MG was unable to rein in his mouth and was given the Order of the Boot. It was his choice. A little bit of humble pie might have done the trick. Too many big mouths can upset the dressing room. There is youthful exuberance and there is insubordination, so he will do his maturing at OM instead of Arsenal
As far as English players are concerned- if they can’t behave themselves then I’m not for brushing anything under the carpet either. I don’t know where you got the idea that I did.
“Simeone convinced Torreira to come because he wanted to pair him and Party in the midfield.”
WOW.. which is truer? the above or the story of Jack and the beanstalk. I will go with the Jack story
Seems you’re not aware that Simeone was very angry when he discovered that arsenal had signed partey on deadline day, ruining his plan
Hahaha here we go again with excuses…do you never get tried SueP? I mean for you guys COVID only happened at Emirates and injuries again only happen to Mr Arteta’s team. Regarding your other point for Torreria, first who in world thinks eleney is better then Torreria so if eleney is playing I am sure Torreria should have been given more opportunity, second Simone is not an idiot like Arteta who will bench or loan his own club player for a loaned player. Loaned players are suppose to help if needed not to be central to you plans. How can you keep preferring Cebollos by loaning and benching your own players when you know he will go back to his parent club and the exeprinece & growth you should be offering to your own young players you are using these resources to develop a player for another team. MG again is a fantastic talent you don’t become under 21 captain of France if you don’t have the level. Only thing required in his case is some guidance and calmness. You forget RVP when he came to Arsenal dude was a complete mess but look how Wenger turned him around in his attitude. These players are young and when they come to clubs then the job of manager is not only to polish their footballing skills but also guide them and develop their personality as well that is what great managers do. With regards to Saliba, yeah you guys won’t say anything because you have no leg to stand on, it was you guys who first gave an excuse of his family and that he wants to go back to France then Arteta protecting him (from UFOs I guess). While Saliba has come out various time to show he wants to be in the London playing for club he signed but no you guys know more then him. Regarding white you know it’s a joke right just because he is British does not justify that we need to carry him on our shoulders as some sort of world class player. We had Saliba who is much more rated then white and white only had one year experience of EPL with Brighton. All time you guys talk about physicality blah blah blah but when it’s a British player and bought by your favourite Arteta same people are now counting his passing and interception skills as base for us buying him 😂😂. Moral of the story is you guys are so stubborn that even Arteta takes us to championship you will still find an excuse for him and you guys are just not brave enough to admit you made a wrong call in supporting him.
Have you finished your rant yet?
Arteta uuumh!
Right now, I am high on exciting thing, I just @iGooner watched heavenly football highlights of the Arsenal ”gods” of the season 2007/08. Work of Art! The finesse!!, The panache!!! The audacity!!!! The elegance!!!!!
Ooh, oh la, la!
Samir Nasir is a better talent than Guendozi and despite his exploits for us , look at how he fell out with fans and couldn’t even make it in a very bad french squad.
Talent is good but character will keep any talent functioning
Nasir and MG has no comparison, Nasir is more talented for sure but MG has made no way near behaviour issue like him. Young players are hot blooded and some time need guidance that is why they are called young. RVP is more talented then both and he had some really bad issues worse then these two but did was he not able to put his life on track with wenger playing a big hand. Why do you think these players have so much respect for managers like Ferguson, Wenger, pep, klopp etc because they don’t only polish your footballing skills but also try to develop you personality not just kick you out after 1-2 incident.
Logic – your nickname says it all. Not many fans in JA like you comment with logic. Ken1945, TH14-TW14 & a few logical fans seldom comment nowadays. I read articles only and seldom comment because no time and there are too many toxic fans here. Many fans here are not Arsenal fans but manager’s fans or player’s fans. They are stubborn and think that they are always right. They don’t have analytical and logical minds. When they cannot argue with you, they asked you whether you have finished or not.
We live in present and not in the past. The ex-managers have already gone and the present situation is due to current manager. He chose the first 11 players to play according to his tactics and strategy. He renews their contracts, not the ex-manager.
If a manager is good, the league position will be in front and not behind. A good manager will outshine all the ex-managers and correct all ex-managers’ mistakes. Do we see it now? The answer is NO. Why players can help Arsene to achieve 6th position in his last season but they cannot help MA to achieve top 6?
Only few players in first 11 of 2017-2018 season are still chosen by MA, most of them have already left Arsenal after the manager was gone. Interested fans can use ESPN Soccernet to find out the facts.
Just to add, too many Arsene’s haters here. IMO, Arsene is stupid to waste his years in Arsenal to create so many haters.
The owner is a businessman and not ambitious to win title. Arsenal will never win any titles under him. Not the managers’ fault, including the current manager.
I second that Kenny, I mean Wenger literally have his life to club and the way he was pushed out of club with the abuse he got is beyound belief. What we are facing now is Karma. I think fans should have been patient a little bit more and should have waited for just an year for him to leave with respect & dignity.
Emery was a genius in his first season getting a tune out of Cech Niles Musafi Socritis Xhaka Elneny Ozil Mkhitarian Guendouzie Laccazette and Aubameyang even Kolasinac.
Nelson + Nketiah Willock were emerging.
But the same team downed tools the next two years. So a massive clear out and a new breed of young nuts and bolts player is being hired who above anything else must be totally dedicated and obey orders.
Its all about the management style of Arteta. Maitland-Niles, Bellerin, Gouendouzi, Lacazette, Aubameyang, Nelson were doing good before the arrival of Arteta. Do you mean that all of these players can have a drop performance at the same time? I doubt so. Arteta is the main problem at Arsenal. The sooner he goes the better
Armoury Well stated Arteta is Arsenal’s answer to a Sargent Major you do as I say or you are history
Fairfan, dude this not army where you can not say no or raise voice if you are concerned about the direction or tactics. More comments I read from pro Arteta brigade more it feels like you guys want dictatorship. Everyone should just shut up and follow the orders?
In my opinion, Mikel Arteta’s pride and unforgiving heart is the reason our club is not moving forward, he holds on to faults and offenses from his players and it affects their usage , offenses must come but, don’t let it affect your own profession . one thing I know about players is, when you have something against one of them and taken to the extreme, it affects the rest of them psychologically , it kills the spirit of the game and they lose respect for the manager. This is the pain in our favourite football club.
Solution : Let Mikel Arteta leave before he causes more harm.
Thank you.
This ”not good enough” label, uuumh?
I have not heard any Arsenal manager made the phrase, it is the fans weird assessment. Giroud, not good enough, won Europa, won uefaCL, won Fifa world cup, Torreira, not good enough, won la liga, Emi Martinez, not good enough, won Copa Americana.
One thing is clear, put them among winner, and they are vital enough. They have that passion and fight and determination, and all they want to do is play, and play. With that a manager will get just what is enough.
we we’re also linked with a move for Jorginho last summer and the fans here reacted like they had been shot.
Funny how things turn out
Arteta is failing to manage his team. On top of that he lacks football knowledge. Wilshere, Ozil, Sczesney were caught smoking, but Wenger guided them like a father. Maitland-Niles comes late to training, once in over 5yrs then he is a bench warmer. Gouendouzi mocked Maupay, then he was removed from senior team. Seliba didn’t even have a chance to prove himself. Tyranny is clouding Arteta’s judgement. Xhaka insults Arsenal fans, then he’s rewarded with regular playing time. Players are not treated equally under the leadership of Arteta
Says somebody on the training ground everyday? or says somebody that is a murdock newspaper reader?
Jaymee, you don’t have to be genius to come up with 2+2=4 so in same manner you don’t have to be present on training ground every day to judge. That’s why you have reults. So let me explain you pal, every project is subjective, has goals and is result based. Results are Infront of everyone you don’t have to be Einstein to judge that we are failing.
I’ve spoken about the unfair treatment of some players at the club. Willian travelled to Dubai without permission and was not fined. He even started the Fulham match just days after that. But aubameyang was benched for returning late from a journey. Pepe was lambasted by Arteta in the press for his red card and the same Arteta made excuses for Xhaka for doing the exact same thing. Ive said it before, Arteta’s ego is too big especially for a novice manager
Auba was benched because of repeatedly being tardy. Fine example of leadership from the captain.
spot on dgr8xt…furthermore, he publicly admonished Auba, our captain at the time, in such a greasy passive aggressive manner, which was either another example of his managerial naivety or a calculated attempt to undermine Auba’s relationship with some members of the fanbase…whereas against City, following another embarrassing moment for our Roma-loving “leader”, Arteta went out of his way to show his support for a player who’s inexcusable, selfish and reckless behaviour had once again let the team down
You can call it tyranny but what happened under Emery by a bunch of senior players disrespecting him was disgraceful. Considering that MG, AMN and to some extent, WS witnessed this power play only reinforces the need from the incoming manager to let them know that it’s unacceptable. Either behave yourself or you’re off seems to be the message
SueP, again you guys make up a story and present it as facts. Can single person here share the proof that there was mutiny at Emery time and players tried same under Areta also while you are at it please do share proofs of Ozil being ring leader and Kola being his enforcing General. You make up stories in your mind and use them as an excuse.
I didn’t name any names but you clearly have it in your mind that they caused trouble
I Like Guenda..think he must have stolen MAs hair gel preventing him from styling the full Lego head or something. Although saying that Mikel’s is full on shredded wheat whilst Guenda’s is more bouncy 80s soul musician. Both great in their own rights.
Other than that it might have been an equally serious crime for him to be discarded by our manager since he was for us and now is in France a very young energetic, competitive and progressive midfielder. I think it’s another one of those ones that got away..
#hairwars
😂😂😂😂 very good 👏👏
😂🤣🤣🤣😂😂
Side show bob the younger for a while one had to distinguish between shoes when he and Luiz were both on the pitch
😂😂😂
Gouendouzi was giving Arsenal the energy that we lack in the midfield. There’s a glimpse of that from Lokonga. But Partey and Xhaka brings are too slow. That combination is not good
And people wonder why we don’t have any leaders on the pitch,anyone who dared to have a bit of fight,fire, personality..is moved on,we used tomock Old and call him s PE teacher but that’s MA that behaves more like a schoolteacher than a manager,the irony is that people accused Wenger of being scared of strong characters well if he was what about MA?
Siamois
Fight and fire are very important but that doesn’t automatically turn into leadership skills. A sensible head is also a requirement.
Tierney shows he could become one
Xhaka is popular within the dressing room but can be reckless on the pitch
It’s depressing that we haven’t got a Tony Adams or a Martin Keown. After a poor discipline record Vieira became a true leader.
Sue P, and again…when has Tierney shown the fire? He is not even the vocal. All people calling him as future captain just want him to be captain because he is British right? Because that dude does not even know how to defend, he as been badly exposed time and time again, he is mostly on treatment table and on pitch he is no leader. I don’t know how ppl see him as future captain unless you want the future captain to have all the three abilities of inability to do his job, injury prone and keeps to him self. He might change in future but for now no way he should be captain, for me he should not be in this team even. He is good offensively but when it comes to defending he is not ready in polite way.
You’re right, fight and fire doesn’t mean leadership,i became an Arsenal fan in 96 so I’m not going to pretend to know how Adams & Co behaved back then but they can’t have been saints or easy to manage either,I would be surprised if they didn’t have few heated arguments with the managers ,I believe that you need bit of every personality in a dressing room even “bad boys”!
I bet there was some plain talking Siamois! I’d like to think there was respect too back then.
Yes when they were older.
That hot-headedness was only part of their growth, and perhaps even a sign of their no nonsense leadership.
Keane was impossible at say Guendouzi’s age. Imagine Sir Alex banished him after just one of his many incidents. And his were not all even about defending his teammates. Keown the same.
👍 We certainly could do with some fire and fight right now, Siamois, we’ve been lacking these for such a long time!
Big time!👍
Mini-arsen…..knows it all…….!
I agree with Armoury
So many players dropped in performance………!
You nailed it on the head! Guendouzi had the energy, the fire, just like Bellerin used to.
Laca also has it, but no motivation.
Arteta leave now.
@Admin
If you’re going to keep deleting my vaccinations comments, why are not deleting others who keep spreading misinformation then? The likes of Dankit, and especially The-Real-Vieira-Lynn-4ever comments stay up, and they literally have no clue what they’re saying!
They spread misinformation like the vaccines stop the spread of the virus, and immune systems don’t work against Covid! How is this allowed then? Not to mention the vile online abuse from them as well.
You complain about us talking about vaccines, yet YOU’RE the one that posted the article starting with the word – Unvaccinated.
By your own admission, you need to start censoring EVERYONE who then strays from the topic of football. Are you going to do that, or continue to be selective with the narrative, like what we see with the mainstream media and big tech?
If one has no freedom of speech, and no freedom of expression, then what’s the point of this site? Do you start censoring any criticism of our players and manager as well, just in case someone gets upset?
I am sure you’ll censor this as well, but if you don’t, it will be interesting to see what you say.
Considering you NEVER answer a simple question, I find your comments laughable! The fact all you do is throw abuse at people, yet I’m the child? You act like a 12yr bully in the playground.
And yet again, you attack, and with no substance. If all I do is lie, why is it that you never debunk me? Surely it would be very easy?
Better keep this about football before I get censored again, so let’s hope Sambi gets some game time now.
Wow
Do you ever read what is written or just make it up as you go along
Where is this abuse that a I throw about ?
As yes there is none ,because your a maker upper about absolutely everything
And yet again the attacks ?
Where are they mate ?
Once again all make believe from someone who if does not get us own way acts like a victim .
Grow up ….
Anyway I don’t wanna get in a slanging match with you again so I won’t be replying to any other childish comments you post .
I wrote a story based on facts about an Arsenal player. I didn’t accuse him of being anything I just told the facts.
You on the other hand, decide to bring your conspiracy theories onto an Arsenal site.
Again, I am going to warn you, if you dont start talking about football you are gone..
Sorry to jump on the bandwagon here, but people have a HUGE misconception of “free speech.”
Short & simple explanation:
People have “free speech” protections from GOVERNMENT censorship ONLY, private companies and individuals are different.
Admin can run the site as they chose, censor whoever they like for whatever reason they like.
Don’t like that? Your not required or mandated to be here, so walk away.
Otherwise stop huffing and puffing and follow the rules.
To spend the money we have over the summer on these players is an oversight to the talent we actually had at the club already. I think with the correct man management this team below would be a good balance.
Imagine saliba and mavraponas in defence with Gabriel or holding. As the 3 Centre backs With Tierney and Ainsley as the attacking full backs.
Then the midfield of toriera, guendozi and partey
lacazette/auba up top
Or a combination of Saka, ESR, Pepe playing up with an out an out striker.
We then Chambers as back up with Chambers also very capable of playing as a holding midfielder as he did so well for Fulham.
I agree with some of the signings but we have some serious talent being wasted at other clubs.
Would this team be doing any worse than what we have right now??
(Sorry about some of the spelling of names, but you get it)
I said it long before now that guendozi and torreira are better players than xhaka, elneny and ceballos put together whilst our kindergaten manager couldn’t agree more. He turned our dear club into a laboratory to experiment his theory and project which are no where to be found. Let me remain you mikel that managing a club of Arsenal’s size is much more than putting out training cones at the Etihad.
The real worry is the sheer number of players who have fallen out with the manager / declared “deadwood” / declared “not good enough” in less than a couple of season. Ozil, Mustafi, Sokratis, Guendouzi, Torreira, Martinelli, Martinez, Saliba, AMN, Willock, Willian, Nketiah, Mavropanos, Nelson, Bellerin and Runnarson all fall into those categories. That’s 15 players in less than two seasons after a good number of them played an active part in reaching the UEL finals and finished 5th in the league table a couple of seasons ago.
If this is taken as a precedent, then we can expect at least a handful of players facing the same fate come the end of this season. And that list may include any of the six new players brought in this summer. Add to that the 6 players (Leno, Laca, Chambers, Kolasinac, Elneny and Nketiah) we may lose for nothing next summer. This must be taken seriously by any club and most seriously if that club happens to be a mid-table club.
What if the next player who has a fall out with the manager happens to be Saka / ESR / Tierney???
These situations not only create unrest within the squad, but also play a part in determining the market values of the players. One positive is that these situations are certainly redeemable and avoidable with a little effort.
I saw that Arteta and Edu want to destroy arsenal look at the way the team arsenal now Play ,look at the selection he did against city useless coach even intercompetiton of shs school coaches are better than Arteta….I don’t understand why he’s still the coach at the team
The stupid decisions kicked off in the latter part of Wenger’s stewardship and have continued ,unfortunately.As regards Guendouzi, the fact that no Club has submitted an offer to buy him, speaks volumes as far as I am concerned..The same applies to Bellerin, Kolasinac,Torreria ,Elneny and Xhaka who were all acquired before Arteta took over.These facts will of course be completely dismissed by fans who look to turn the knife into Arteta at every opportunity.With the closing of the transfer window and the introduction of a number of talented young players and hopefully the return to fitness of Partey and Gabriel, our season effectively begins against Norwich ,and as an Arsenal supporter I genuinely hope we can go on a run to move us up the table unlike some subscribers to this site who evidently hope for more losses to facilitate the sacking of our Management team.I will not name those concerned but if they had any decency they would come clean and admit their true feelings .
It has been argued and correctly in my opinion the fact that a certain player is not sought after by many clubs does not mean they are bad or not valuable.
I will use Tierney as an example because he is one of your favourite players, how many clubs were lining up to sign him the summer we did? If I recall correctly we were the only ones. Does that mean Tierney is not a valuable or talented player? And that can be said for nearly all players in the world.
How many times have we seen clubs fight for a certain player signature? Rarely.
On your second point I don’t think those supporters wish for losses rather they are expecting them. And I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news but they are proved right with each passing day.
Personally I want Arteta gone as soon as possible because this season is already worse than the last. I also asked to fans such as you who had hoped that there will be improvements this season if you still think there will be a turnaround after this disastrous start but I didn’t see your reply Grandad.
Hi HH – I think Tierney’s a bad example. Everybody knew he was talented but also that he had a poor injury record. We took the chance and we’ve to an extent seen why nobody else came in ie that we need a good alternate as we only see him for half a season.
I get your point Guy and you might be right about Tierney but I still don’t think the demand of a player is a measure of his quality. There are countless examples.
GRANDAD,i always read your comments , you are one of a few voices on here that always write sensible comments. well done with the above comment, i totally agree with every word of it. regardless of if you think my support is a bad thing,or not.
Grandpa, did any club submit any form of bid for Bissouma? In your humble opinion, that makes him a bad player right?
Your attempt to link the admirable Bissouma with the damaged Guendouzi is flawed.On one hand we have a player who is the mainstay of his side and the last player his Manager would want to lose, whilst the other is “damaged” by his own infantile actions, and is on his second loan after failing to make an impression in Germany where his temporary Manager accused him of being ‘very difficult and hard to read”.After the sale of Ben White to Arsenal for a substantial premium ,Brighton were not under pressure to sell Bissouma who ought to have been our priority signing.If they had agreed to put him up for transfer I have no doubt whatsoever that he would have been acquired by a top EPL side, such as Liverpool for circa 35m whereas we would be lucky to get 10m for Guendouzi.With regard to similar remarks made by HH concerning Tierney, with respect to him, he is side of the mark.In Scotland Tierney was highly regarded and I know for a fact that no fewer than five Clubs were interested in buying him , including Man City and a top German side.Thankfully we got in first and he will go on to prove to be one of our best signings for many years.
👏👏👏👏👏👏
Well said Grandad
what do you mean no club has submitted an offer for Guendouzi? He is an Arsenal player just on papers.. the loan to Marseille is with an obligation to buy clause and he is in the last year of his contract…do the math…
I do not think there is an obligation to buy Chris but perhaps someone out there has the facts?
I checked it out Grandad and in a sense you are both right. Too long to explain but although it was classed as an option to buy, the reality is – according to the report I read – is that MG will be an OM player next season due to certain criteria being met
I’m one of them…..two scenarios…Arsenal winning the next few games and Arteta will not be replaced and arsenal finnish the season at the bottom half of the table………Arsenal losing the next few games..Arteta being replaced and arsenal end the season in the top half of the table………I think most fans would prefer arsenal be in the top half of the table…………!
The club can sign one or two marquee players or they can sign many normal players who will improve the team as a collective unit. Arsenal has done the latter this window and I believe its how Leicester do their transfers and are praised for it.
The team look very good on paper and this will be obvious after Arteta successor take the reigns.
i am seriously asking myself right now “WHAT WOULD WENGER DO “in this situation. i would love to know the answer to that.
Well we know he would ignore the defensive issues, and we would never have signed Partey.
That’s one thing we can all agree on!
Not sure that every one would , meaning I AM sure not everyone would agree.
But I DO AGREE WITH YOU TMJW ON YOUR ABOVE POST, as I do on almost all Arsenal matters.
But NOT on your foolish vaccine views! I despair of those and have to ask myself, in all seriousness, how can a man so often sensible and realistic in his views on our club , be so polar wrong on Covid vaccine?
Good article Sean. It amazes me how the thug Xhaka was kept over Guendouzi. The Saliba affair needs a public enquiry. Arteta has really lost credibility on that one. It seems Arteta has spats with players and his ‘Anima’ just makes emotionally led decisions, without any reasoning, logic, or wisdom. He feigns Wisdom but it is counterfeit, and in reality he is struggling to make sense of his own decisions. Arteta is lost and it is clear to see.
This forum is the closest you’ll get to that enquiry Sean! I can’t understand what Arteta is doing either. Lost count of the screw ups. Probably the first thing i’ve liked in 20 months are the six signings, and I really want it to work for them, not him. But if it works it will be by accident not design and it irks me that he could leap straight back to “Messiah” status when we all know he’s the exact opposite. Such a lucky boy to get given 20 months and all that cash.
The new players are all promising so we need to give them a chance. It is also essential to see what Arteta can do with these players.
Was it a mistake letting Guendouzi go? That is very arguable and by no means a given. If the manager believes that his combination of ability, skills and attitude is not suited to Arsenal at this time it is well within his remit to come to that conclusion. This is nothing to do with Arteta’s experience.
Saliba’s situation is somewhat different and if he maintains his level of performance he will likely get his chance to play for Arsenal.
Arguing for Torreira is really difficult to justify as he has not been able to demonstrate that he is currently up to the right standard.
I don’t get the Guendouzi debate.. Slow, keeps the ball way too much before release and finally indiscipline..
I only fault Arteta for not trying harder to off load him permanently…
…lacks positional play and won’t listen to instructions.
Upon that, he makes jest of his coach in training. What more can a manager take from a spoilt brat of a player.
If you ask me I’ll say good riddance.
I used to make a case for Geudeouzi before when he is criticized for his positional play that he’ll come through it’s only a matter of time.
But, to be heady, arrogant and incorrigible at that age is overly much a club and coach can allow.
Let those who thinks he is prime pirlo sign him into their FIFA team.
Rubbish.
We have a top4 titles winning squad but Arteta’s Tactical nous as a coach should be questioned seriously.
Pablo Mari and Holding (though both have the height, power and pass), but not the pace of a typical Arsenal centre back, yet Arteta is playing Tierney as an overlapping leftwing back, leaving Mari exposed?!!! Tierney offers the team more in build up and defensive solidity as a blocking leftback plssss!!!!!
Chambers (though has the height and pass) but doesn’t have the fullback pace nor centreback power of a typical Arsenal defender, so what is he doing in the team? not to talk of him playing ahead of Bellerin/Cedric/Niles in the rightwing back?? He should at worst be getting game time in the midfield pivot!!!
We are blessed with wonderful strikers, but Arteta doesn’t know how to use any of them PROPERLY as a Centre Forward.
In modern football, wingforwards ought to be diminutive (i.e. less than 180cm, say 178cm and below). That’s why Pepe, Auba, Martinelli, Folarin, Smith Rowe will continue to be hit and miss when they are played out on the wing without them matching conquering pace with arch typical technique and fitness of Cristiano Ronaldo or Thiery Henry.
Arteta is not different from Wenger, he clearly has a blind spot. If not Pepe would not be playing on the wings ahead of Nelson, Saka, Nketiah, Niles and even Bellerin!!!
We have a squad that’s capable of winning the league but Arteta is too poor a coach for Arsenal. He can’t develop any player, he can’t improve any player. Bellerin with his defensive issues should have been coached into a wing forward cos he has all the qualities.
Going forward, atleast 2 should be sold out of Auba, Pepe and Lacazette. So that Nketiah, Folarin and Martinelli can be fighting to play up front.
Also if we must buy a centreback, he must be pacy, slik, powerful and tall.
Our academy should also focus on signing speedy tall players and develop them into defensive midfielders or centrebacks.
Kolasinac and Tavares have the potentials to develop into left footed Kolo Toure. They must play ahead of Pablo Mari in our centre back.
Gouendouzi not good enough for Arsenal squad but good enough for French squad!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes Reggie, made the squad after two imidfield njuries but never got on during the defeat. Can’t see him becoming a regular but who knows. He’s doing quite well at Marseille, who are a little more of an “in your face” team and crowd, so they probably love his attitude. I just remember how annoying he was towards the end when he was here. Nobody should be kept who thinks he’s bigger than the club, even if he does eventually become a decent player. Liked his fire and engine in matches, but that was about it. Too late now anyway!
Guendouzi is an over hyped journeyman.
Poor attitude. Disrespectful and thinks he is better than he actually is. What a joke.
I hope Arsenal keep this primadonna away from our club. Sell him.
Can’t stand rotten personalities like this. The kid has absolutely done nothing to write about in his career so far but has an ego bigger than Zlatan Ibrahimovich.
Get rid. Thank you very much.
Well the French manager doesn’t hold your view but Hey what does he know campared to………..
And for your information he is in France squad playing Ukraine today. You better re-evaluate your thinking together with clueless Arteta. This young man is gem (Pactrick Veira) mould.
Sean you hit the nail on the head. The process is failing. I think Arteta does not like the players who are from France. I can’t wait to see him resign. He has killed our team, not forgetting Edu too.
For me i think it was at 50% good and 50% bad. Guendouzi had a really bad attitude at brighton and manager should have talk to him but… Aside he will be a great update to xhaka and elneny and has more talent than lokonga.
If nothing else, this article was a good starting point for discussing the myriad of issues that have emerged during Arteta’s tenure here. some of which you raised and others that still need to be discussed…an earlier poster was right when they suggested that it might be wise to avoid terms like “stupid”, even tough they might reflect the appropriate sentiment, as it might negatively impact some people’s perceptions of the document as a whole
Yes I replied staying I should of used another word… got abit personal I did 🤦♂️
of course, it matters not to me, as I perfectly understood why you chose this word…as a fellow skeptic of the “process”, my concern was that any language that might be deemed as crass by the holier than thou crew might create an unnecessary distraction from your well-intentioned and important message…Cheers
Excellent article.. totally on point. His ego and desire to be successful has clearly clouded his judgment. Arsenal came way too soon for him, but he’s desperate to prove fans wrong. Guendozi and Saliba are good players who were snubbed for silly reasons (would’ve saved a fortune keeping them). The process we’ve been told to trust is damaged (are you sure Kalasinac and Elneny are better than Guendozi and Saliba)? I have no doubt Arsenal can rise again, but under the current structure that seems highly unlikely.
Appreciate that buddy thanks you
Why stop at STUBBORNNESS? I would also add: ARROGANCE, STUPIDITY and INCOMPETENCE.
Same “stubbornness” claim labelled at Wenger. Perhaps it’s the fans that deserve that title with the incessant whining and inane advice on how to manage a PL team they throw around.
There are two facts which shown have stated in this article that are hard dispute:
1)After almost two seasons as Arsenal manager Arteta has not designed a system of play, one can see what Tuchel did at Chelsea in less than one season at the helm.
2)Arteta’s authoritarian way of dealing with player issues(discipline)has been counterproductive leading to him shipping out players who could have done a better job than what he has.
When the Arsenal ownership hired Arteta they knew he was an apprentice and this comes with shortfalls which have so far manifested themselves during Arteta’s reign, hopefully he improves sooner rather than later .
Edu came out with a very interesting interview!! We had since Jan to be ready for this window and we are still no where near ready!
Norwich has to be a big win!!
Arteta needs to step down if we lose
And who would replace him? Would they then want to build their own team from scratch?
Perhaps that stand by “Conte” would PAT!
ASSUMING THAT YOUR IN HOUSE COLLEAGUES VIEW THAT CONTE IS REPORTEDLY STANDING BY TO BE OFFERED THE JOB COME OCTOBER IS TRUE!!
Which is of course arrant nonense! !
I do feel MA should give Mavropanos and Saliba chance to shine rather then signing White.
and we can use the money to but someone for quick push for Arsenal to bounce back to where we belong, UCL.
the likes of Aouar or Edouard will create a wow factor in the team.
COYG
I would like to comment on what I have observed of Arteta since his arrival at the Emirates.
As an example, I believe the only reason Arteta (Arsenal) signed ESR to a new contract was to remove the embarrassment of him going to Aston Villa, where I think he would have fitted in perfectly.
Arteta knew he was bringing in Odegaard, because he told ESR that he needs to score more goals.
ESR has been pushed out to the wing, where he is less effective, and has to compete with Pepe, Saka, Lacazette, Aubameyang and Martinelli for playing time.
This shows me a level of duplicity in Arteta’s character that I do not like.
No wonder he has fallen out with so many players.
At Man City all he did was coach (and coaching Pep’s style at that).
I think he has shown at Arsenal he is NOT a very good “manager”. Some people are born to be a number 2, and I think Arteta is proving he is one !!!
I suspect he talks a good game in the board room and in the dressing room, but has been found wanting at crunch times, both on and off the pitch.