Arsenal must back Arteta by Konstantin Mitov
Well lovely Arsenal people, it’s a good day! We’ve taken revenge on Liverpool! I wanted to let the emotions of the league encounter settle in before I write something here, but since we played them now twice here’s what I take away from those games.
We’re still miles behind their A team. Sure Mane could’ve been sent off in the third minute, but Liverpool is a team built in 5 years that won everything and they outplayed us.
But unlike last year, this time it felt like we competed. We went there with a game plan and for a brief moment it worked. We took the lead, but then old habits hit us, and even though we went down we had the chance to come back and we missed it.
The cup game was entirely different. Still we managed to keep a clean sheet and dismiss Liverpool on penalties. It doesn’t mean we’ve caught up to them as Monday showed, but it’s an achievement nonetheless.
Top 4 should be our primary target, but the cups can be massively important as competition is heavy and the trophies aren’t many. We face City next and those kind of games can boost the morale of the team.
I was happy with Gabriel again. I’m not sure why we didn’t play him on Monday, but the guy looks like exactly what’s been missing in our defense.
The other standout performance was Leno for me and he really needed that. A lot was said about selling our better keeper in Martinez and you can’t deny he was in better shape, but Leno needed game time after his injury and he looked solid.
This was another good decision from Arteta who is really doing wonders with what he’s got. This is a team which finished 8th and barely has any signings with the Arteta stamp on them.
The board must simply back him! Our squad lacks balance. We ship our best striker on the wing, to have Lacca in the middle and while I love Alex, he should’ve given us an equalizer on Monday.
There’s an obvious problem with our midfield too. We hardly dominate games, because we lack the energy and forward thinking. Xhaka is the rock in our midfield, but he lacks pace and doesn’t offer much moving up the pitch.
I like what I see from Elneny, but I don’t think he is the answer. Imagine Partey as the foundation of our midfield? A dynamic, strong player with pace and the ability to hold the ball, who has worked with one of the best managers in Simeone.
We’re moving on Torreira and with Guendouzi and Ozil practically stuck to rot here, our midfield is short on bodies. I like Ceballos who is our most dynamic player and he’s a loan signing. We want Aouar, but whether well get him is another story.
Truth is we don’t have a lot of money, and we’re unwilling to do what we did with Pepe. Lyon may want 54 million, but with the window shutting soon and club’s cash stripped I can see how 40 million in these times could be better than nothing.
There is no guarantee he’ll be the creative answer we are all looking for, but the supply to our front 3 hasn’t been great. The squad often suffers from having too many players in the same position needing to be moved elsewhere (like Auba) in order to fill our “best” 11, even though this may not be the system our manager wants to play.
In an ideal world we would like to move on some players before we buy, but I fear Sokratis’ deal will fall off and Kolasinac was played again, when he is a major candidate to be moved on in my eyes.
Still, there are 3 more days till October 5th and I do expect at least one or two more players to leave, and I pray and hope we get Aouar done as unless a miracle happens we’re never getting both him and Partey.
I just wish the Kroenke’s realise the need for our manager to be backed. Under Mikel Arteta we have installed a system that players can buy into and develop. It comes down to the money now. Please Arsenal, back the guy and we can be on our way back to the CL!
Konstantin