You Can’t Just Blame Bellerin For Derby Defeat by Dan Smith
I was saddened but not surprised to see Hector Bellerin made the scapegoat for our latest defeat. Instead of sometimes holding up your hands and admitting the opposing team were simply better, a section of our fan base need an individual to blame.
Leicester’s winner was down to Mustafi, Lacazette’s finishing was criticised at Liverpool and Man City, many mocked how Holding was left chasing Grealish round the pitch. After Wolves, Xhaka’s input got questioned, while Willian and Luiz have been called Chelsea rejects joining the Emirates retiring home.
Some gooners feel this Sunday Bellerin was guilty of a poor pass and both of Spur’s goals coming from down his side.
Let’s clarify something. If your 15th after 11 games, having previously finished in your worse position in 25 years, everyone is to blame. That doesn’t happen because one or two individuals are the problem. That indicates there are several issues.
Some supporters though have a list of those they are happy to be angry towards, while others get away without a word being said.
How for example does your main striker only have one league goal from open play since the opening day, and yet everyone else seems to be the reason for our lack of goals?
The reality is Bellerin was one of our better players at the Lane for no other reason that he and Lacazette were the only talent to at least try and make something happen.
Our right back put in two crosses in the second half, one of which was air kicked, the other which forced the only decent save Loris had to make. Instead though many will focus on a first half effort played behind Aubameyang.
Let’s compare the work ethic of our two forwards. Who looked like the leader, who looked like they cared?
Sky Sports carried on the theme. When Xhaka got a yellow card saying, ‘I don’t get him.’ Again there are names they feel happy to belittle but not others.
It’s not as simple as ‘Son and Kane cut in from the left so therefore it has to be the full backs fault’, what’s the manager doing to protect him?
Again if his name wasn’t Ozil, how can anyone now question that we have better options for creativity? Our options off the bench were a keeper, a defender, a DM, a deep lying midfielder, a make-shift full back, a young midfielder and a young striker.
Yes, we had lots of the ball but that was deliberate by Jose. That was his tactics against City and Chelsea so of course it would work against us.
For all our possession how many great chances did we make? You can’t tell me Ozil wouldn’t have been a better option?
Spurs had 31 possession but still more shots on target.
I don’t see that as us playing well. No one was brave, no one took a risk, no one tried anything different. Ozil would have. That’s every week by the way.
There’s an art to what Spurs did.
To be fair, when we did that City in the Fa Cup Semi-final, we spoke about the lack of chances Pep’s men had, so it works both ways.
I started writing this at half time. That’s how little confidence I had we would score.
Just don’t blame one player. Accept there is so much more wrong with us.
Dan Smith
We could have the best defence in Europe but the games would still end up 0-0. BECAUSE WE’RE NOT SCORING.
I’m baffled how Arteta is not linked with sacking. So many defeats its unreal.
You are also hell bent on making a case for Ozil who is the laziest of players in terms of defending, if he had been there we would have lost by six. forget Ozil he is in the past now
BraG we beat Liverpool Chelsea man utd and city without ozil, so the problem is not ozil the problem is the coach is too scared to play real football, he need to start playing players in there natural position.
We lost to Spurs ( twice), Villa ( twice ) Wolves , Leicester , Liverpool , Man City ( twice ) , Brighton without him ?
My wife’s comeback when she looses an argument, “But that’s different”.
Except under Artera, we were winning when Ozil was playing.
sad sad sad picture of my once mighty team , invincible and year on year title challenger .please Arsenal do something the trend is downhill.
Coach, pls stop talking about who you want to buy. The players are not confident, won’t take a 50 50, won’t try a 12m shot on goal, all because “if I make a mistake, will I be sold”. Coach the players you have. Why are they play so unafraid in Europe? Stop this 12-15 m passes get down to max 8m 10m pass to risky.
With respect Jimmy James, you are talking nonsence.
Totally agree. How soon people forget. Get over Ozil he is not an option and he is not part of the team. He wants to be a politician. The same people calling for Ozil to come back are the same people that criticized his work rate and consistency,not to mention how he just disappeared in big games. And this game against Tottenham was one of those. Let’s just say our goodbyes to Ozil and move on.
Holding should have closed down Son, Leno should have done better Xhaka is average aubamayang is useless Saka is weak Gabriel is average, you all can keep giving so many excuses but the truth is how can a team that beat Liverpool Chelsea man city just last season become so bad all of a sudden. The coach need to sort this out or resign.
Gabriel weak? He was arguably man of the match yesterday, doing the job of the midfield and defence once Partey got injured and xhaka being a lamp post once again
We the fans can see it how come Arteta can’t see it Kstix
Beats me towny.
Well he did a terrible job then ?
sad sad sad picture of my once mighty team , invincible and year on year title challenger .please Arsenal do something the trend is downhill.
McLovin, Rome wasnt built in a single day so why should Arteta be sacked? How long did it take Klopp to lay hands on his 1st trophy? 4 years to be precise. We are even fortunate to have won the FA and Charity shield. Let Arteta have his time to rebuild, What went wrong in 20 seasons cant be fixed in one
The problem is klopp never lost game upon game as this even with worse players than we have. Another point we are not looking at with asking us to be patient is that we’re nearing relegation game by game. Should we keep being patient as the team goes into relegation? With no seeming change in tactics and lack of ideas? Would we be talking about patience should we find ourselves in relegation come May? With the squad we have, we should be doing better. No one will tell me, the squad we have is not among the top 6 in the country, why then is the table saying otherwise. We need a reality check ASAP, time is not a luxury we can afford unfortunately for Senor Arteta whom I absolutely want to succeed.
Has Arteta lost the dressing room some players don’t seem bothered Auba for one
100% with you on this post Kstix.
👍👍
Dont disrespect Klopp like that..When Klopp joined Liverpool he had players like Benteke,Ballotelli,Sakho,Kolo Toure..And even though they lost a few games here and there, you could see there was a sense in there play, you could see him implementing his gegenpress style..Both Klopp and Guardiola never had a poor run like we are on right now.
Infact, even Emery did not have a run like this..
Emery was sacked because our football was dreadful and we were drawing games we should be winning, our defence was absolute shambles..But we were never this bad under Emery..That team couldnt defend if their lives depended on it..This team cant do either defend or attack..
How Arteta still has this job amazes me.
because you didnt know football. Arteta won us trophy while emery?
Yes , Arteta won us a trophy so lets allow him to run this club to the ground..Lets just wait and trust the process as he takes us to the Championship..
I bet if we get relegated, he will be the first one to jump ship.
Astonishing,how people still support Arteta.
a cup run cannot be compared to league. Wigan and Swansea have won cup competitions in recent years. Wigan got relegated shortly after winning a trophy. League performance is the main measurement of a managers success and Arteta is blowing it.
True.!
Hehe, however Rome did not regress backwards into a small village.
Very worried, its not easy to come back to the Prem once relegated. Ask Leeds United
Totally it took Alex Furgeson three seasons before he really made an impact. We need to get rid of the deadwood In this team and allow MA to rebuild. I think we will turn the corner and have good run. I’ll keep supporting the manager. #Down with playerpower!
We don’t have to turn every single loss into an Ozil debate, Personally like and respect the player but his playing days are done.
We lost yesterday primarily because of Arteta, whom I also support. His selection was terrible. Before the match, I said even the blind can see that AMN and Elneny were miles ahead of xhaka. Why Arteta selected him is a mystery.
We didn’t lose yesterday because of a lack of creativity or a lack of Ozil as Dan Smith will have us believe. We actually created alot of chances. One of our major problems this season has been Auba(whom I love) and willian. Auba currently offers us absolutely nothing up front. Lacazette was the best of the 3 yesterday. I will never get why Nelson can’t do better than willian in Arteta’s eyes. And also maybe benching Auba for a game or 2 is exactly what he needs to get back to form. He never gets subbed despite poor upon poor performance. The goal kane scored was the exact chance he had when he had space but instead passed the ball to saka.
Arteta has to realise we can’t keep crossing balls to short players who can’t leap. Enough of that. Arteta is being too rigid tactically and he doesn’t seem to know what else to do at this point.
Xhaka, bellerin, Auba, willian… These are the players that will get Arteta sacked unfortunately.
Playing a willian who knows nothing about a NLD over a Nelson and AMN who will fight tooth and nail for the badge in this kind of game. The mistakes keep increasing for Arteta unfortunately.
Seriously bro don’t take this too serious, he’s just trying to get people to comment and you know people love talking about ozil, no matter what we say on justarsenal, arteta has made his decision so to all those ‘ozil fans’ you can either support the coach and the club decision or support ozil.
Again the irony
Didn’t you make up fake news in the transfer window just to get comments ?
Lenohappy, and you can either support MA or keep questioning him as you are doing – what’s the difference?
Kstix…
I cannot argue otherwise with your points, because your thoughts are not overboard, instead they simply describe how passionately you feel about the club. Thanks for your controlled yet passionate description of the issues in the game.
Indeed, no one should deny that Arteta got his team selection wrong, particularly in his starting formation and personnel. Anyone who blames Arteta in this regard is justified (in my opinion).
However, I want to say that it isn’t a coincidence that Mancity, Chelsea, and ManU were unable to defeat Mourinho, and likewise, our dear Arsenal. But it isn’t mockery that Mourinho applauded and gave credit to Arsenal, because none of the other mentioned teams harnessed such possession and could cage them in their half for so long, almost throughout the second half. Infact, what Mourinho saw, which I am convinced about, is that assuming our strikers were more clinical and better positioned, we would have won him, as compared to other teams mentioned above.
Consequently, let us not despair, we all may disagree, but there were positives my dear friends. It is gloomy times, no doubt about it, but tapping the panic button to sack Arteta isn’t the solution. In a way, I lean towards Holding’s view, that a sheer element of luck may be all we need.
The derby is behind us, we will need to use Dundalk as a bounce board, and once we can get through, we will concentrate on Burney, which I know we will overcome, and friends, we will turn the curve.
I cannot blame anyone who refuses to stay positive, and you are justified, however, our voices will propagate clearly to Arteta, the team, and the board, and surely a change in personnel will be seen, and we will turn around.
In the end, we all love our dear club, and we hope our collective reasoning gets us through!
Please do stay safe!
Cheers!
FIRE as someone who always admires your diplomatic and friendly style, I sometimes wish I were made like you are and could see the supposed positives in many posts.
But although I feel diplomacy has its place, I also see the importance of plain speaking and getting to the heart of the actual problems, of which our club and team has many. It is important to identify at least a concensus of fan opinion as to where our main problems lie, as we all know we have many problems.
To my mind, by far the PRIME problem is our appalling owner and all the dreadful appointments he has made- above the playing staff I mean – and how long he has left the likes of GAZIDIS there to ruin our finances. Wenger too IMO, who needed to be “asked to leave”, ie sacked, several years before he eventualy was .
Those were awful and damaging decisions that affect the club and its psyche still today.
I am a huge fan of MA and see in him the steel needed to take us forward. Many of his selection mistakes -and I see a number, as do others too- are forced upon him by lack of viable alternatives, as our squad is so denuded of talent in so many key areas.
There are also tactical errors but these will lessen with a better, deeper squad which will only happen when we can move on the deadwood previous managers left behind. We need patience and some real fortitude among we fans but so many lack those qualities and thus add to the pressure, which our club could do without.
FAIR CRITICISM IS A FAIR POINT OF VIEW BUT TO CALL FOR HIS HEAD, AS A NUMBER ARE DOING, IS UNFAIR AND UNFORGIVABLE. Not to mention also stupid. Plain speaking you see Fire!
I do not want OZIL back and think him a busted flush for at least the last four seasons . LAZY, JUST GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS AND THE SPINE OF A JELLYFISH. NOT FOR ME . NOT REMOTELY, NOR HIS TYPE.
I urge all to develop a thicker skin and stop expecting miracles, which will not happen . Not until we can force out this monster of an owner and install a fan such as DANGOTE, to buy him out.
It may yet happen and I, FOR JUST ONE AMONG MILLIONS, HOPE AND PRAY HE WILL!
Jon…
As I have said before, and I will repeat, you are a unique personality here on JA, and many will not deny that they long to see and read your posts, including myself. Thanks for being you, without fear or wavering!!
In life, as you well know, striving for the balance is often the optimal way (may not always be the best) to go, but the most reliable way. Just like the Yin and Yang, I totally agree that plain, often bitter speaking is necessary on many accounts, and I am glad you do so many times. However, the balance of the whole should be our converging point.
Jon, I once made a comment saying that every component of the Arsenal makeup seems to be ailing at the moment, and I did not spare the fan base as well, which was painful and maybe “incorrect” to say at the time, but I did. I totally agree with you that the owner has shown practically little concern during our period of decline, yet, we still do not have a concensus in this regard.
So if may I ask you Jon, from a realistic viewpoint, can we as a fan base achieve an ouster of the owner? If yes, then as a matter of urgency, we need to preach the method more often, and I would be willing to be a disciple. However, if no, which I have realized, then we can only focus on what we can do as fans to help the team progress.
Again, no one can deny your strong point that our players are not good enough to achieve our lofty expectations, and no matter the coach, there will be very little to achieve. Consequently, the fan base, just as you mentioned, needs to understand this and develop a thick skin during this period of seeming but not lasting gloom.
Many are clamouring for Ozil, which makes me smile, because it sounds similar to calling for the likes of Giroud to be brought back to rescue our goal drought. Ozil has truly being on the decline and reality says Ozil is out of the squad, and the least time we can re-discuss Ozil is January, so I will wait.
My apologies for the lengthy piece! I will return to discuss Dangote with you some other time!
It is always a pleasure discussing with you!
I trust you are safe!
Cheers!
FIre, Sich a typically thoughtful and positive reply and I so much admire your life philosophy of seeking the positives in nearly all comments . I wish in some ways i could be like you, as life would be more peaceful but I was brought up to be hard on myself and to use whatever abilities I have to their utmost. I cannot bear idleness and esp with gifted people who do not push their talent all the way to its utmost.
We all know which person I particularly refer too but not only him , all of ustoo. And we all have an ability to think but some will not do so however hard we push for them to do.
On forcing Kroenke out, yes it could be done but in practise will not happen unless ALL fans band together to boycott spending any money on our club, in all ways, not attending,not buying club merchandise, not TV Sports subs either It just will not happen in this capitalist society – a system I firmly believe is the only one that keeps society solvent. I have liberal principles and many mistake then for left wing but I am not a socialist, as it works only in theory, never in practise and I am a realist to my core.
So the only way to rid us of Kroenke is for a richer person still to offer a sum he cannot refuse and Dangote is the only man in that position who has the funds and who is a Gooner. So I pray he rides to our rescue.
With real investment our ills could be cured in almost no time but otherwise we are fighting against the tide in Canute fashion(even though that fable is widely discredited now).
Love debating with you, it really is a tonic for this old man. God bless you dear Fire!
Jon…
Thank you so much for your truly kind words! I really do appreciate them, particularly because there is a dearth of such, and more so, because it comes from you! Thank you!!
Indeed, such an ouster of the owner can only be realized theoretically by the fan base, nevertheless, it is practically impossible. On the other hand, I do agree that a more practical approach will be the take over by a new, caring, and pragmatic owner, one who will invest the required funds and provide clear leadership.
Dangote is a Gooner, and from that position, he should be the ideal candidate. However, reality check indicates that his refinery project cannot take off until late next year towards early 2022. So, Jon, sadly so, we are stuck with the present owner for another one to two years!
Nevertheless, I am delighted with Arteta’s ability to identify and purchase real quality: Gabriel, Partey, we see Mari coming up, and even Cedric may be better than Bellerin presently. It tells me that Arteta may be shrewd enough to work within the limitations of the present owner and navigate us to safe land. I strongly believe in Arteta despite the present results, and I am convinced that with a little more ruthlessness in the choice of his personnel, he will steer the ship aright.
Again Jon, it is always a pleasure chatting and debating with you! By the way, you sound really sturdy for an old man *smiles*!!
Please do stay safe, particularly because of the dichotomy between old age and the pandemic! Remember that we need you always here on JA!!
I hope to catch you on another thread!
Cheers!
Fire, thanks for the cool headed and diplomatic response to my rant. I’m glad we still have fans like you who choose to see the half-full glass cup but one thing we must all bear in mind is the stark reality that faces us. I honestly want more than anything for Arteta to succeed at Arsenal as I’m not a fan of the Chelsea approach to changing coaches as if they were changing jerseys.
Arteta has made some great decisions and also alot of mistakes in his short time as Arsenal boss, he’s human, mistakes are permitted. What is not permitted however, is not learning from those mistakes. Every Tom, dick and Harry that’s an Arsenal fan knows xhaka and willian shouldn’t be starting games. I would have understood if we started because there was no alternative but we have better players in AMN, elneny and Nelson who never seem to be good enough for Arteta.. We see these players play and they do way better than who Arteta chooses to stick with. Makes me believe Arteta has a poor sense of judgment as regards players performances.
I hope things get better soon as he still has my support. Cheers mate👍
Have to say mate it’s no longer a debate , got to the point where it’s obvious
We are 15th , not scoring goals
Look at our bench yesterday , Eddie was only attacking option and he’s rubbish
In terms of evidence proving we miss Ozil , it couldn’t have gone worse for Arteta
Poor Dan, still flying this kite that was long ago discarded and torn into pieces awaiting the rubbish cart to take it away for good next June. What we have missed and since circa 2016 is the OZIL OF OLD, EVEN THOUGH HE STILL GOT PICKED MUCH OF THE TIME SINCE , TIL LATELY.
The Ozil that you describe and fondly remember does not exist now. He is a pleasenrt dream from long ago in the distant past which turned into a nightmare. But some never saw the dreadful decline in effectiveness and appetite. Or more likely, could not face up to it, so pretended it did not happen. Sigh!
Whilst its fair enough to argue that Ozil’s time has passed i think there is an arguemnt to say that as our only real creative midfielder he should have been allowed to compete for the squad and play on merit.
I dont see how we could be worse with him starting it would at least have offered a different option given that what is going on at the minute lacks creativity. I suspect his time has passed but to leave him out and have game after game where we are unable to create good chances seems like a huge mistake.
Gurjit, he was not sidelined for NO reason He had ample chances over many seasons and failed to live up to the player he was in his first season here and before that. He became an ineffctive passenger in game, after game, after game.
There comes a point when you need to say”enough” and drop him. That was correct, even though done far too late.
Is that the realist speaking Jon…the one who doesn’t admit we had a defence in the 2011/12 season that was the second best inn the PL?
I guess you couldn’t face up to that eh Jon, especially as we only had “dross defenders” since Sol Campbell?
As a realist Jon, please tell me who is going to supply the chances and assists for our forwards now?
The problem is, by not admitting ones mistakes, one buries ones head in the sand and denies everything.
Perhaps Ozil is not the answer, but we certainly haven’t got anyone better at creating chances have we?
Unless, of course, you can name them and why they are not actually doing that?
It always amuses me that, when Dan puts out sensible and logical articles about MO, you answer in derisive tones, but fail to give any solution to your perceived problem.
So, just who did MA have in mind, when he dropped Ozil, to create the chances for our forwards…as surely he would have thought about that , wouldn’t you say?
Ken You seem under the odd impression that I think we have better creative midfielders than OZIL ONCE WAS MORE THAN FOUR YEARS AGO!
I HAVE NOT SAID THAT WE ARE FLUSH WITH SUCH TYPES, MERELY THAT OZIL IS NOT THE ANSWER AND IS WAY PAST BEING THE PLAYER HE ONCE WAS, IN FOOTBALL ANCIENT HISTORY TIMES, PRE 2016.
AS SO OFTEN Ken, you put to me a premise which you refuse to believe I just do not accept. You ask questions which I have many times answered but which you always never take any notice of my answers , so keep repeating the same many times answered questions. Exactly why you do so, I have no idea!
BUT FOR POLITENESS SAKE, I will do so right now once again so here goes: Your first question, answer is, there is no one here who can reliably do so. NO ONE!
Second question, answer is, I have no idea who MA had in mind, if he even had, since I have not the power to read minds. I also point out the paucity of options he has , which paucity UE also had.
NOW TO THE FINAL BIT YOU ALWAYS IGNORE BUT WHICH I constantly mention , KROENKE and his lack of investment, lack of interest and lack of all round care for the club.
HE is the PRIME LONG TERM PROBLEM and until he is gone we will never again seriously challenge for the title, no matter who manages us. No manager can make a host of inferior players good enough to be title challengers.
Please remember these answers, which I have told you countless times Ken.
Yes Dan, while that is true, I do not believe Ozil or giroud are our saviours, I believe the solution lies with the willingness of our players to play for the badge and Arteta employing the right tactics and line ups at all times. The game yesterday could have been very different if AMN, elneny and Nelson started in place of willian and xhaka and maybe bellerin.
true
Bellerin is the worst of the lot sorry, he has been consistently playing poorly and he is part of the arsenal problem, opponents target his wing as it is the major weakness, surprisingly he is still starting ahead of Niles who is a better player.
Any sensible attack from the right comes from Bellarin. I dont understad you.
Is Robertson and a Arnold at liverpool also useless, what of Aurier at the Totts? Do you see them join attack?n nest time you see this watch their teammates from the mid, they slot in to cover the fullbacks.
Songs goal, Auba could not control a cross from the right that was quickly turned into attack. Bellerin was out of position, our right sided mid should have been covering for him. Arteta should know this as a former defensive midfielder.
I don’t see us playing well either, Dan, and for only 2 or 3 to actually look like they cared, in what was our biggest game of the season is unbelievable! I said if they weren’t up for that then god help us with the rest of the season!
The problems and pressure are mounting…..and it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if we’re having this same conversation next Monday…
Story of our lives Sue, at this rate, without any new ideas, we seem to be headed for rock bottom with Arteta edging closer and closer to getting a sack.
I feel he should have been sacked by now..
If we were playing well and losing ,I’d be okay with Arteta, but this is the worst football I’ve seen Arsenal play..Only one outfield goal in the last 9 PL games..1 win in last 7 PL games..
No creativity, sideways , back pass football..I am sick of it.
Watch when we lose possession, where does our right back (clue where he’s supposed to be in the name of his position) run to? The centre circle and ignores his man, Son, running free down the wing. We still let the opp play like we’re coached by Wenger, we let them run at us with the ball like we’ve given them the keys to the city.
The second goal was a mess, the WHOLE team is at fault for that one, how does no one recognise we’ve left 2 at the back to cover 4 men? No one wants to speak up, no one wants to call anyone out. Its not even leadership it’s willingness to do the dirty jobs that’s lacking. Along with the insistence of playing players who aren’t worthy of a start yet players who have performed well in Europe get benched and ignored or not even selected for the squad at all, wheres the sense in that?
Back to Bellerin, who is coaching these players? I count 4 or 5 foul throws this season now, no one gonna tell him to sort that out? It coaching, along with holding each other accountable, the Captain lacks fight, tbh he looks disinterested. I criticised Vieira in the past when he was aching for a move but when he had that armband on he truly led us even though he wanted out. Auba needs to be dropped, Laca started through the middle upfront for the next few games, he ain’t a #10. Saka and Nelson on each wing, Ceballos (Not rotating in a 3) IN FRONT of Elneny and Xhaka(Partey when he returns) and then a back 4 of KT, Gab, Holding and AMN. Leno(C) between the sticks. Play that for the next 2 or 3 without compromise and see how much they create, crosses without a target man are a silly idea.
Don’t blame one player they were all rubbish. Oh well enjoy the relagation fight.
Enjoy your moment of glory while it lasts
Bellerin was and has been a disaster since he returned from his injury
He was responsible for the goals !
However after defending arteta – he has to take the blame – insisting on Willian, bellerin and xhaka league game after league game.
In europe which we play a game every week we have a group of players playing well – yes opposition isnt great but they have confidence . Nelson, soares and niles should be starting
Smith rowe should be given a chance
Some of arteta’s best arsenal performances have been with niles in the team, he did well against city (semi final) liverpool ( c shield)and wolves (last season) . Niles has been good in the Europa this season also but yet not good enough to start in the premier league where the players ahead of him are dreadful every game
Soares may not be spectacular but at least he can defend
Arsenal have some serious problems
Mustafi, sokratis, kolosanic , chambers all need to be moved on in January
Next summer its ozil (free) luiz (free) lacazette, guendozhi (he has no future at arsenal) also in that list should be the likes of pepe ( he isnt going to get better for us) and Willian ( arsenal should be offering willian to clubs in the january window or even a loan ) bellerin moved on same with xhaka also
We brought in gabriel ( looks good and promising) Willian ( disaster) and partey (will be a good signing). The partey signing was great but if you actually think about it, really poor from Arsenal – we have signed a player who has had no pre-season with us so doesnt know our style of play, doesnt know the pace of the premier league so injuries will be natural. So yeah it was great signing him but the fact we had to wait until the last few hours of the window- demonstrates how poorly arsenal are still managed above management
This is what I mean
It’s the same names
You even bring up Musafi who didn’t play
What Partey did was a disgrace yesterday , imagine if that was Xakha?
Why did you not mention Auba ? Paying with him is like playing with 10 men at the moment
Leno conceded 2 put of three shots and needs to get better
We decided after 2 games Gabriel is amazing so he’s immune to critics
TP shouldnt have even played, he was clearly struggling from around the 40th minute and you could see him shouting to others that he was hurt.
MA said he should have gone to ground instead of walking off, what would that have done? it wasnt a head injury and Spuds would have played on regardless, saying it was a disgrace that he was walking off the pitch is harsh, when he tried to run back he pulled up yet again so that in itself could prove to have made it worse.
Leno couldnt do anything about either goal imo, the defence let him down along with the midfield.
Sons goal was a great strike from distance, so unless you know of a 7ft keeper, no one would have got to that.
Kanes strike, he was well positioned at the near post but was hit with such venom, again no one would have got to that either.
Auba is shite right now and should be benched, he isnt a captain even before his new deal, he’s not TH14 in any way shape or form
Dan we have inherent weaknesses in our side and these include Bellerin, Xhaka and Willian .Two days before the match I stressed the importance of man marking Son who is, without doubt, the best far Eastern footballer I have seen.The fact that Arteta did not deploy Bellerin as an out and out defender in this match is a matter of dismay to me as the need to shackle Son is clear, and has been for some time.This is not a great Spurs side believe me, but they are defensively aware and in Son and Kane, they have two players who can hurt any team.We did not play badly against Spurs as our domination of the ball indicates, and we have the players available who can help us get out of the deep water we are currently in.Unfortunately, our Manager has chosen not to play the likes of AMN, Elneny and Willock, who in the absence of Partey is the best midfield trio available to us in my opinion.If he continues to play Xhaka, Bellerin and Willian we are unlikely to get out of the mire and the future of the Manager will be subject to increasing scrutiny.
Grandad…
Your comments are so true, and it’s difficult to walk pass such well thought out opinions.
Just in support, there cannot be a better time for Arteta to demonstrate his ruthlessness and throw caution to the wing. The trio of players you mentioned must be given a break, and Elneny and AMN be introduced at the base on the midfield in the absence of Partey.
Something tells me Arteta has given these guys you mentioned their last chance and they blew it; and he will heed the clarion call going forward (just my gut feeling).
Again, your comments were simply worthwhile!
Cheers!
I remember an ex-player’s response when asked what Wenger’s greatest strength was. “Loyalty” he said. When asked what Wenger’s greatest weakness was his response was the same – “loyalty”.
Maybe Arteta is cut from the same cloth?
I hope your gut feeling is right Fire. Seeing AMN, Nelson, Elneny et al getting a fair crack in the PL ahead of underperformers would be fantastic.
Trudeau…
I truly wish I can back my gut feeling from a more positivist point-of-view, however, at the moment, my hands are tied, sadly so, but without doubt, it is the reality.
However, I lean back to when Arteta finally benched Xhaka for the ManU game, which was so gladdening to me. I can only say if he could have done it then, I strongly believe he will do it again, for the evidences are stark clear to be seen.
Presently, the work done via the process is not yielding the required results because the wrong personnel are being tasked with the job, which sadly falls at the table of the gaffer.
I trust he will correct it! Its gloomy times, but happy days lie ahead, which we shall share together!
Please stay safe!
Cheers!
I still don’t understand why Ozil has been dropped considering the lack of creativity options.
But we didn’t lose yesterday because of Ozil’s absence. We didn’t lose because Bellerin or Holding switched off on Son’s strike. We didn’t lose because Partey was injured for the second goal.
We lost because the team was all over the place. As Ndombele was injured, the only threat was coming from the link play between Kane and Son. What did Arteta put in place to cut this link: NOTHING. Why on earth would Arteta always change the position of his team: is Saka a left winger or a right back? Is Lacazette a CF, a “false 9” or a midfielder / is he a substitute or a captain?
Couldn’t Arteta inform his players that when you are 2-0 down, passing the ball at the back for 5 minutes is useless? And are Xhaka and Willian really forced to pass 80% backwards?
Auba is not in form, why keep him on the pitch for 90 minutes ? What does he bring as a captain: he doesn’t talk to his teamates, his doesn’t interfere with the ref when needed. At the moment, he is useless both as a striker and as captain.
Now the team lacks on everything: quality, stability, direction, goals, confidence, willingness, creativity, luck,…
I like the guy, but the job is too big for Arteta. It is spinning out of control and he needs to go asap. If not, we will soon be in a relegation battle.
The main reason we lost is because they have better Players than us in every position. We have a few players Mourinho would take to add to his squad but only as squad players. I would say we have somewhere between the 7th and 10th best squad in the league and I remain confident we can finish in one of those positions. We finished 8th last season and didn’t underachieve. We may have slightly overachieved last season as I’m sure you will remember fans stating we were relegation material without Auba’s goals. Well the goals have tried up now and you can see the result. In the summer we strengthened by only a small amount and with Partey out, we haven’t strengthened at all. Arteta knows his time will be up if we don’t start winning. I guess he’s probably only got 3 or 4 games at most unless we win. Hopefully we will start scoring and winning soon.
6 foul throws Bellerin has made this season which is a bloody joke. Also, his primary job is to defend not try to be a wanna be winger who cannot even cross a ball. Bench him and play Cedric, at least he can defend and knows how to cross.
I don’t think anyone is making a scapegoat of Bellerin Dan, he has always been a useless defender masked by some good attacking work but i agree he is not the only problem here Xhaka has always been nothing more than average , he slows the movement down too much, he also seems to think he can take a free kick well he does in fact take at least one every game and they always end up in the back of the stand, as do Luiz’s, Arteta is not making enough use of Smith-Rowe I am not sure where he is going with his tactics we are so boring to watch now and major work needs to be done to change that.
But again you focus on the same two name ?
Were you happy with Auba yesterday?
What about Party waking off the pitch ?
Dan, I wonder if these fans who are pasting Bellerin have ever considered this?
He is playing the way Arteta has instructed him to do, this is actually fact now because MA has come out and said his team played EXACTLY THE WAY HE WANTED THEM TO!!!!
Bellerin is not a scapegoat, he is a symptom.
Exactly right Reggie, symptom. Most attacks come down Bellerin’s side, opponents stroll through midfield when Xhaka plays, it’s not a coincidence.
I don’t even really blame the players anymore; most fans know they have been trash all year. I blame Arteta for still selecting them and expecting something different. The very definition of insanity; repeating the behavior and expecting a different outcome.
How many partners have we tried for Xhaka in the midfield, and not a single one worked. Who gets the blame for that?
Bellerin is bad tho and has been for years but it’s unpopular to say because he can assist once in a while, and because he’s from our academy. He isn’t near the quality for a top team tho and thats as clear as day. Thats just what Arsenal have at the moment. Unmotivated players, poor quality players, and players that dont fit into whatever the heck it is Arteta is trying to do.
All blame squarely falls on Arteta for his team selection. For some reason, Arteta has so much confidence in certain non performing players, while failing to give others that have performed in the Europa league games, a fair chance to play in the premier league. The first goal was a result of very poor defending by Holding. Strikers go past this guy too easily time after time. Why on earth in the first place Arsenal signed Willian, expensive wages, old tired legs,can’t go pass defenders to create chances and cannot score a goal. He is not just wasted funds, but, he wasn’t good enough for Chelsea anymore. Xhaha playing ahead of Elneny is another mystery. Arteta needs to make better use of Maitland-Niles, Nelson, Elneny and Pepe instead of his non-performance favorites. Experience is gained from playing games and only when a team score goals, games can be won. In the January transfer window, Arsenal must invest in at least three quality players like Dominik Szoboszlai(creative and attacking midfielder) Darwin Nunez (gifted striker/ well rounded and complete) and Emiliano Buendia (creative midfielder),who, in last year’s premier league ,provided the fourth highest number of assists, while playing for Norwich, who,were relegated. These players are not expensive and do not command exorbitant wages( like Willian and co.), yet, they are very talented and young.Thus, great investments for the club. It makes no to buy just one of them, Arsenal needs all three to transform and complete midfield with creativity and attack. Arteta should go directly to Kroenke for funding of these players ,who, are at cost of around 75m pounds in total.Arsenal must sell Mustafi (13m),Kolasinac (13m),Xhaha (20m),Lacazette (30m),Sokratis (4m)and Ozil (20m) in the January transfer window. Edu has proven to be incompetent, so, Arteta must not depend on him to get deals done.
The problems at the club are a list of issues, many of which were not resolved years ago.
For instance, Bellerin has been here for years, but has never been coached on properly defending as a FB; that is simply shocking.
An owner who allowed driftwood to accumulate at the club; spending well over 100 million on 9 CB’s, and only Gabriel is truly reliable. Spending 170 million on 3 attacking players, and having a pathetic midfield devoid of creating chances for them.
Mismanaging transfers and contracts like Ramsey leaving on a free, Losing out on 60 million for Sanchez and flop-swapping for Mhki, & over-paying Ozil.
The management team given license by Kronke is also appalling. Gazidis was revolting, Raul was crooked as a lightning bolt, and Edu who can seemingly only identify talent when it’s Brazilian.
The best of clubs would be hurt by any of these failings, but to suffer ALL these failings is catastrophic for even top clubs in the world.
We have quality strikers but can’t score goals, a midfield in appearance only, a manager who is inexperienced and now struggling to deal with a cascade of problems when he is having difficulty getting the team to score.
Sorry to say an experienced manager won’t fix our problems. Perhaps get the team competitive and play football enjoyable to watch, but only delaying the inevitable. Poor management unable to build on any momentum, an owner not involved to chase trophies, players who want big wages without being expected to give big performances.
The ugly truth is the club is rotting from the inside out.
Spot on Durand, Totton from the inside is not a strong overreaction,plus the Brazilian connection stinks to high heaven. If Arteta were shoved out how could Edu be trusted to take the next steps. Personally I think Edu is just hanging on by the last layer of skin on his neck as the Japanese say. The problem though is that the Kroenkes will again revert to non footballing people to keep the business viable or send an SOS to Arsene Wegner to return as a football director. Either way the fans loose.
WAyne, well said, experience comes from playing games, not the bench.
We could have put in 100 crosses and not scored, because that is not our strikers strengths. Poor manager, poor game management. #Artetaout
Well like I said before. If Arteta’s priority is EL cup. I’m all for it. One at a time. We certainly will never fall for relegation. Im not worried about that at all. So, lets get Europa League Cup. EUFA Super Cup will be icing on the cake. Oh yes, thats my personal opinion and wish. Well, pls share your opinion, which cup we should prioritise for this season. EPL definitely not our league, so be rational. Tq.