Bellerin Deserves The Last Laugh by Dan Smith
When I read that Hector Bellerin was being linked with PSG and Juventus, it highlighted how frustrated I have become with a section of the Arsenal fanbase.
My initial thoughts were not how a transfer would affect Arsenal, but how some Gooners deserved the irony of watching the worst Gunners side in decades while the Spaniard lifts a title in France or Italy.
I believe that in the long term, good things happen to good people. That’s why, while not enjoying the subsequent years, it was perhaps only fair that, given how some treated him, that Arsene Wenger can now watch us go backwards. Frankly, some supporters needed to be educated.
You see as much as I think Football is a Beautiful Game, it is just a game.
My desire for three points isn’t bigger than a human’s right to be respected at all times.
Bellerin moved to London at 16, has become an adult at the Emirates and has always spoke with class and eloquence about the club. He’s done nothing to deserve some of the verbal abuse he receives, and it now seems that next to Xhaka, he has to be exceptional to get any credit.
As an example, more has been mentioned about how he was out of position for a goal in our recent win over Leeds, than the fact that he scored a goal himself!
My favourite remains last season when Pepe scored a great goal, and it was decided that one single moment proved that the winger played better with Bellerin behind him.
Of course the sport is all about opinions. If you don’t rate a player, that’s your prerogative. But I can show you some comments which are personal.
When we lose, the Spaniard’s interest in modelling is brought up, like the concept of a 25-year-old male having a passion for fashion makes other adults blush.
There seems a real bitterness about his desire to spread awareness about environmental issues. A pledge to plant 3000 trees after every win is mocked when we lose but never brought up when we win.
I often talk about that next generation of fans being wrongly educated by social media on how a fan should behave.
Here is a young man in his twenties being called the C word (by those older then him) for having his own beliefs, and no one is telling the individual that he’s the moron because he needs to use that language to insult someone who wants to look after the planet. I know which one I would want my niece or nephew copying?
You want to know why Fan Channels will never be accepted as ‘modern media’? How many times have Sky Sports picked on a football player for how they dress or someone’s lifestyle? They wouldn’t or can’t.
Even when Bellerin got recalled by Spain, some of his own fans were simply nasty about it.
Here is a player who has recovered from two serious injuries to get back to the level where his country might want to use him again, and he gets trolled for that? It begs the question what has the full back done wrong?
Has he lost the pace he had as a teenager? Yeah, but that is because of injuries. He didn’t do that on purpose!
It’s funny when an Eduardo, Diaby, Rosicky, Wilshere, Cazorla, etc got injuries which stole their powers, they got sympathy.
Up to Wilshere’s final game, fans wanted him to get a new contract even when it was obvious he couldn’t play two games a week. Even when West Ham released him, there were calls to bring the midfielder ‘home’.
So I ask myself ‘what’s the difference?’
Like Wilshere, he graduated from our youth team and has been with us for a decade, so you can’t question his loyalty.
Have spells on the side-lines made him less of a talent? Maybe. Yet the names above grew in popularity because of that.
He’s always been a professional, never brings the badge into disrepute (even when admitting the dressing room are aware of the likes of AFTV).
So what it is?
First let me clarify this post is aimed towards the minority. How uncomfortable with what I’m about to write makes feel, you will show your guilt if you have any.
Bullies don’t like being pushed back!
Ask yourself, when angry, why is there the need for some people to reference another man’s dress sense and social activities?
What does that have to do with football anyway?
When Aubameyang has a perceived poor display (and he’s had plenty this campaign) have you ever heard any mockery of his love for super heroes, comics or wrestling?
Ask yourself why?
A 25-year-old saving the planet, a 31-year-old wearing the WWE title dressed as Spider Man.
Which one is more mature?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m near the same age as our captain and have the same passions, but I equally don’t have a problem how anyone chooses to live as long as it’s lawful. Some do though and it’s double standards.
Why is what one player does in his free time constantly brought up when we lose, but only him?
For a start Marvel and WWE are mainstream, whereas planting trees isn’t something most 25-year-olds are associated with. In other words, some find it hard to relate to those hobbies. A 25-year-old who is a vegan and, on the catwalk, …. It’s different.
The majority of people shrug their shoulders and don’t care, they embrace the world is a better place for originality, the world would be boring if we were all the same.
Other small-minded people can’t cope with someone being different. Makes them feel uncomfortable. So they pick, mock, laugh, taunt, patronize – all under the mask of it being football.
Yet again, ask why it’s never brought up by an AFTV host when we play well, only when someone is angry? It’s called passive aggressiion……
When a rant is going on, the mask starts to slip and suddenly you’re asking, ‘what’s a fashion show or planting a tree got to do with anything?’
Wait a moment …. Treating someone differently based on how they dress, where they work, their interests or their opinion of the world? Isn’t there a word for that? A word that is hard to prove.
If I was Bellerin, I wouldn’t want to play for these fans.
Yes, it’s the minority, but when your love for the badge is the only factor when weighing up a move then it’s a shame the minority ruin it for the rest.
He would get better pay elsewhere, play with better talent and (especially in Paris) could enhance his other projects. Not even in the prime of his career, he’s got the motivation to prove people wrong.
Here’s what happens…. We will get 30-50million for Bellerin, half of which will sit in the bank. We will play Maitland Niles there or buy a cheap replacement. The same fans who drive Bellerin out of the club will then refuse to admit we have gone backwards that little bit more. Meanwhile Bellerin spends the rest of his twenties lifting trophies.
And you know what?…… Some fans deserve it to happen…
Be kind in the comments
Dan
Good Article Dan
I don’t think some of our fan base actually realise that he is homegrown and that’s quite a valuable asset to have especially in these trying times ,i keep reading we should sign this and that player it seems without the general knowledge how a team can operate.
Could we do better than Bellerin ? Yes ..
I would like to think the club are looking at other positions first because the right back slot is the least of our worry’s .
I will add ,more goals have come from our left this season .
fans will never be satisfied
they want big name and big tag players every season
Even if you got 2 world class players in one position…
they will still want more and more
A third or even 4th world class players as back up
Bellerin and Tierney are our best attacking fullbacks. They aren’t great in defending, but their dribbling skills are the best at Arsenal and they’re our main wingers
Soares is also skillful, but he’s slower than Bellerin. Maitland-Niles might be able to be a better attacking RB, but he doesn’t seem to want that role
I believe both Bellerin and Tierney would perform better if we get a better CF. Having said that, I wouldn’t be disappointed if Bellerin is sold for 40 M, but not less than that
Tierney isn’t “great in defending?” I think many here would say he is a solid defender as a FB and willing to do the dirty work.
Actually a bit surprised you would equate Bellerin and Tierney in terms of defending. For me, there is a big difference between them defending, Tierney being miles ahead defensively.
I didn’t get that also. I think Tierney is one of our best defenders who is equally good going forward. The Lille management has to be praised and admired when they got 72 millions for Pepe and Celtic getting 25 while it should have been the other way around.
Bellerin would make a good right winger. One season he was making more assists than Ozil
More than OZIL , YES! And BOTH those assists were good ones as I recall.
Who is it that was passing the ball down the byline to Hector for those assist. Iwobi?
His original position was actually right wing as a youth
Adama Traore could easily get past him and Riyad Mahrez’s assist in our last match also happened because of Tierney’s lack of effort and anticipation
Come on GAI so what if there’s a defensive lapse or a defender gets skinned doesn’t mean they can’t defend, I’m pretty sure Roberto carlos got turned on many occasion and he was the best in the world.
Traore, who doesn’t he get past is the question. Absolutely ridiculous example. As for Mahrez, that’s one lapse, why didn’t Hector do anything when Sterling went by him on his side?
Or how about the Liverpool game where Tierney had those cats in his pocket for 90 minutes? Name me ONE game where Hector had ANYONE in his pocket ever?
I’ll wait……
Traore and Zaha couldn’t beat Maitland-Niles. Bellerin isn’t the best in defending, but his attacking abilities are great
“£40mill? In the midst of this pandemic? What planet are you living on for goodness sake! All the proposed fees of a year plus ago are now out of the picture for years to come.
These former “£40 mill transfers are now worth less than “£10 mil and some seem never to have noticed what is all around them. Neither have they noticed that even giants like Barca, Real Madrid ARE FLAT BROKE.
FOR US TO ACHIEVE A JOKE FEE OF £40 mill for near useless Bellerin was never on the cards, even before Covid, and NOW he is worth virtually nothing, in the REAL football world, where I choose to live.
– Bellerin’s contract will only expire in 2023
– He’s a Spain international footballer
– He’s a homegrown player in England and Spain
– He’s in his prime age
– He’s skillful and one of the fastest RBs in EPL
– He has more than five years of experience as the main RB for a top European club in one of the most competitive football leagues
– He has worked with four managers and has good work ethic/ attitude
AND THE FOOTBALL WORLD ECONOMY IS UP THE SPOUT, WHICH YOU FOOLISHLY IGNORE!
Your “£40 mill” line was ludicrous!
My issue with Bellerin is this one simple issue; he is a defender who is poor at defending. All the years he has been at Arsenal, can anyone say with a straight face he has improved defensively?
He still gets caught out of position repeatedly; Bellerin is a RB who job is to defend first. For the love of everything holy, he STILL can’t manage a decent cross after years playing the position. How often does he win headers? How often is he successful defending 1-1 situations?
He’s a great guy; socially conscious, charitable, liked in the clubhouse. But he simply can’t defend or be bothered to polish that aspect of his game.
Tierney has shown how below par Hector is as a defender. Seeing him laughing and smiling with Cedric and Luiz after that loss says a lot IMHO.
Probably should have sold him this Summer when the offers were high.
👍 Says it all, durand.
Does it really? If he is as poor as some of you are suggesting how come he is consistently being linked to some of the greatest teams in world football.
David, look at who he has to replace at teams like PSC, Inter Milan, Barcelona etc. On current form he would be a backup RB only.
Can we resign Giroud please!
Considering his body type how can that guy score such beautiful goals?
Because he’s a very good striker, come target man.
I’ve long banged the “Ollie G” drum on here, and of course got the “donkey” & “lamp post” predictable responses.
Other more considered comments pointed out that in their opinion re-signing Ollie would be a retrogressive step – of course it would.
My point was always, I wish it never came to him leaving in the first place.
His decision was of course based purely on seeking first team football on a regular basis – have Chelsea provided this ?
But when selected, they know he is very capable of delivering either in terms of goals, or to play off.
I honestly believe if we still had Ollie G as a SQUAD member, we would be say 8 points better off (this based on some of the games we have resorted to simply throwing crosses into the box to precisely no one).
This player is seriously underrated, and was too often disrespected at our place.
He’s not too shabby for France either !
A World Cup winner and not as a passenger!
👍 Giroud was a type of player Arsenal didn’t replace. Nikolaj Moller in the U23’s is a tall (1.90m) CF prospect, who hopefully progresses next season.
Great article mate 👏👏
“I often talk about that next generation of fans being wrongly educated by social media on how a fan should behave.”
This also applies to people not just sports fans, social media is educating people utterly wrong in most walks of live, turning people narcissistic, unempathetic dicks, Its poison.
DTM, you don’t have to go on to social media to see how future football fans are being wrongly educated… just read some of the comments on here about Bellerin – the purpose of Dan’s post I would suggest – along with the abuse Xhaka’s family has suffered.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but let’s not blame everyone else, when it’s patently obvious we need to get our own house in order.
Permit a digression guys.
David Alaba is a free agent in the summer. Shouldn’t Arsenal be doing whatever it takes to bring him to us?
Him and Tierney as our LB options! What a dream!
Alaba wants +300k a week..
The article was RIGHT enough in its general comments about certainunfair commenst to Bellerin but misses the point and deliberately so, I suspect. No sensible fan argues that Bellerin is not a good person. But this is a fan site and Dans article discusses comments that I have VERY rarely indeed ever seen on JA.
ALL THAT CONCERNS TRUE FANS IS THAT BELLERIN AS A PLAYER IS SUB STANDARD AND NEEDS TO LEAVE US. No amount of tree planting or any other of his non football accomplishments changes that fact by an iota.
So Dans article misses the salient point IMO!
You are the one who has missed the point. Not deliberately, I suspect. The article talk about people making fun of his trees planting and fashion when they are not satisfied with his performance on the pitch.
If one is not satisfied with his contribution in the team one can say so, without insulting him and mocking his activities outside of football. That is what I understood from the article.
Further to my above post which was about Bellerin AND supposed abuse of him on THIS site. DAN did actually only mention AFTV when quoting abuse.
Well, though I do not say he is wrong, it seems rather unfair to blame this site for the low life ranters on THAT site who are frankly a disgrace to our fanbase but for who WE on JA are NOT RESPONSIBLE.
It seems to me that WE on JA are being lumped together with those cretins on AFTV. I consider this out of order and untrue, DAN SMITH. Should you article not have been specifically addreesed to THEM, as I think it ought.
This article isnt specifically about JA and AFTV, he mentions social media also jon, where he probably receives heaps of abuse like a lot of players, twitter etc is A LOT worse than JA.
DTM, In fact Dan specifically mentioned ONLY AFTV which as all fans know attracts low life ranters and is not typical of Arsenals fanbase at large These ranters are given licence to do so by their mate Robbie who runs that site.
And moreover, MY point, which I AM allowed to make, and so did so, is that we on JA are not abusive to Bellerin the man but only criticise him as a player, which is not hate nor abuse. So many confuse allowable free opinions which criticise a player and stupidly call it “hate” or “hating”.
This is lazy and incorrect use of language which in a drip, drip, fashion creates wrong impressions and seeks to outlaw fair critcism.
If you have read my many social posts and articles on JA you will know I am fiercely and ACTIVELY anti racist and anti all human prejudice. But that is very different from fair free speech which I also actively defend.
But this article includes social media as he mentions NOT only just arsenal and AFTV, and you replied to HH who also never specifically mentioned JA or AFTV, you brought up JA specifically not him, so that’s on you bud. Got your wires crossed
If my memory serves me correctly Jon, you have been critical of his hair, dress sense and life outside of football in the past.. do you not remember doing this?
As for saying that AFTV members are “cretins”, as someone previously pointed out, at least they attend matches, spend their money and are also entitled to their opinions.
If Madrid and PSG are vying for his signature, I would suggest that Hector has more to offer than some fans see in him.
The best right back in the PL? No.
The worst right back in the PL? No?
A model professional and faithful servant to The Arsenal? Yes and AW, UE and MA are aware of this.
He’s a poor defender average attacking fullback and vulnerable to being caught out of position .. should have been sold … Cedric better in all depts could have brought in a promising youngster
Bellerin seems like a really nice guy, unfortunately he’s a terrible footballer, and that’s what fans will judge him on, and rightly so.
In regards to the verbal abuse he has received from some of our fans, well it comes with the territory doesn’t it? I would happily accept verbal abuse on the odd occasion, if in return I was being paid obscene amounts of money for being consistently poor at my job.
I’m against the verbal abuse completely but the world is becoming way too soft nowadays.
Learn to shrug things off, if you are truly happy with yourself then what others say doesn’t matter at all.
Everyone is way too offended by everything….the world is filled with great people as well as a@sholes! Not everyone will be nice to you! Not difficult to understand.
I get what your saying martinelli, but I’d argue it’s pretty different for these guys than the common person, we never experience say 1000+ people coming on to your page calling you all the names under the sun for a bad day at work, would be pretty demoralising.
Just don’t go on social media, problem solved.
Or people on social media could just not abuse people ?
@Dan Smith
To not expect people on social media to abuse each other is absolutely ridiculous!
Say that out loud
Xakha expects his daughter not to be wished to have cancer and your answer is he’s ridiculous to expect that ?
Yes look i definitely I agree. If I had any kind of fame I’d definitely not want social media as it would likely be demoralising.
As harsh as it sounds and even though it shouldn’t be,it’s a part of the job now.
Yeah definitely agree man, I’m a run of the mill peasant and I steer well clear of social media lol
Don’t have social media so the only thing I’ve seen thats been said about him is his loss of pace and defensive ability.
Only 1 issue with Bellerin, he doesn’t defend well.
People probably spoke more about his being out of position than the goal he scored because his primary role is defending, that’s pretty self explanatory.
We also need to get some money for someone at some stage or should we keep everyone until their contract has run down?
The hate for Bellerin is unjustifiable. We are going backwards because we sell better players and buy worse ones. Typical example:
Sell Mkhitaryan and buy Willian
Sell Coquelin and buy Xhaka
Sell Iwobi and buy Pepe
Sell Sczesney/Fabianski and buy Leno
Sell Martinez and buy Runarsson
The list goes on and we’ll never improve if we don’t appreciate what we have
Agree with all your examples except the Sczesney/Fabianski vs Leno. It’s not even close between those, Leno everyday and twice on Sunday.
Sczesney always had a Mustafi/Luiz type brain fart every game, and “Flappy-iansky” pretty much speaks for itself.
Otherwise, well said, great point, and nice examples.
Some people here cant stop hating on leno. Sure if it wasnt 4 him last season and auba we would have finished at a bad place
We did finish in a bad place – our worst in 25 years ?
Is Fabianski really better than Leno?
There is no actual “hate” that I have seen for BELLERIN on JA. We on JA are NOT to blame for what some on AFTV say. There IS genuine criticism of Bellerin as a player on JA, which is fair comment and allowable.
“HATE” IS SOMETHING VERY DIFFERENT FROM CRITICISM. It would help if YOU knew the difference.
I hope you haven’t read the full article and wrote a reactionary comment.
The text is directed at people calling Bellerin out for being interested in fashion and ecology whenever he plays badly. That’s got absolutely nothing to do with CRITICISM, it’s pure ABUSE and HATE SPEECH.
Well done Dan, a brilliant article. Thank you for highlighting the abuse these men (and women) go through. I’ve been astounded at the amount of bile spewed out …. they must be such sad people.
Sally, a brilliant comment – some of the abuse on here is the same as on AFTV, without the swearing…. thanks to Pat controlling that side of the coin.
Spot on jon fox, i too believe in fair critism and that our admins would give the boot to members who use abuse such as thrown about in AFTV and thats why i tend to stay clear of that cursed youtube channel
Wes, Well said and thanks for being a fellow realist. I ACTIVELY, (as in Parliamentary lobbying and decades ago when young also very much at street level) do all I can to attack racist attitudes and Neanderthal prejudice for “perceived” differences in all we humans, which give such richness and diversity.
BUT, I also defend free speech and the right to use it AND to educate those who are unthinking, about the key difference between free opinion and what is actually hate speech.
So many silly younger fans routinely and lazily misuse the word “hate” for simple criticism . They are profoundly wrong and this harms precious free speech.
So, being me , I naturally defend free speech, which is hard won and extremely precious to maintain.
I loathe the tyranny of the WOKE BRIGADE, WITH THEIR FALSE VIEW OF WHAT LIBERALISM IS ACTUALLY ALL ABOUT. Many of then are profoundly illiberal, but are too dull witted even to realise it!
Coincidentally there’s a very good Hector article out by Tim Stillman (always a good read is Tim) over on Arseblog this afternoon.
Hang on a minute, wasn’t it Mr. Wenger who brought in so many of the underperforming players we ended up with? Good things happen to good people you say. So the arsenal fanbase are bad people? Come on my fellow Gooner, our current situation has been years in the making with too many mediocre players being bought. Hector was promising, but he got hurt and never came back the same. It’s time to let him go and get players who are MENTALLY STRONG. Hector is not improving and Arsenal derserves better
“Good things happen to good people you say. So the arsenal fanbase are bad people? ” 😂😂😂
Maybe we are.
People who wished death on Xakha wife and cancer on daughter yes are bad people
People who swore at Mr Wenger are bad fans in my opinion
It’s interesting to read some comments stating that Bellerin’s main duty is to defend. I’m not sure that is the case nowadays with modern full backs. I’m far from an expert on the subject of tactics but it seems to me that many FBs are being used as a key tactical weapon in attack. Cancelo, Arnold, Robertson etc. I suspect that tactics have moved on and the days when the FBs main task was to kick the winger into the stands have long gone.
Fair enough question Jimmy, but when they line up in a back 4 alongside CB’s, I would call them defenders. Otherwise, teams tend to play 3 CB’s and use wingbacks who mostly attack and are defensive support.
FB’s are being asked to contribute more offensively I agree with you, but they still have important defensive responsibilities. For example even Arnold and Robertson at Liverpool have to defend in Klopp’s system.
👍
Most fans would like to see the back of him and quite a few others including Arteta!!
Speak for yourself only sonny, about our gifted manager.
Gifted really more clueless worse record of any Arsenal manager and taking the club further into decline shows hes still in a job is Beyond me!! Arteta Out!!
Is this article for real? Bellerin has to be the biggest poseur in the Arsenal side. I have long advocated if you want to attract attention make sure you are good at what you do. And for Hector, it’s being paid to be a professional footballer for Arsenal not a catwalk model. His ability to live this lifestyle is funded by thousands of working-class gooners, so when he is responsible for errors that have lead to countless goals against over the last 3 years then is anyone surprised he gets the bird when he’s walking around like a ponse in what to anyone else would be a pair of pyjamas. You heard the story about the Emperor with no clothes right? It 100% applies to Bellerin, probably the most mediocre first choice RB to play for Arsenal in the last 30 years. Not a patch on Dixon, Lauren or Sagna. Shocking journalism here. I will personally drive Hector to the airport.
CSG, I want Bellerin gone from us at least as much as you. But your unwarranted attack onhis lifestyle is unfair, irrelevant to his football and shows your own sad prejudice. I disassociate myself from all you write, save only his inability as a player.
I agree with so much you’ve said on this subject but one thing that gives me pause is the idea of “attacking his lifestyle”. In this case, while largely irrelevant to his value as a footballer, it’s hardly the worst thing in the world to criticise or make fun of someone (or even call them names) for their behaviour or the choices they make.
It’s perfectly fine to be prejudiced against someone who likes to dress in an unusual way, to dress that way is a personal choice and people are never going to like the choices everyone else makes. It’s the same as not liking someone’s personality, basically, it is what it is.
(I’m not using the term lifestyle to talk about things like sexuality, in case anyone thinks that)
John, his lifestyle is funded by my season ticket/merchandise purchases. As I said if you are good at what you do, I don’t care what you do off the pitch. But Bellerin is a mediocre RB, he isn’t an established international and two moneybags teams are sniffing about. Sell for anything more than £25m, and get a young deputy for Cedric. There are a few good candidates in the championship,. Again, I reiterate the article is shocking especially the Wilshere comparison. On a footballing level Wilshere is different class, injuries have prevented him from fulfilling his potential in an area that Arsenal are badly lacking quality right now..
Mate you proved my point lol
You spoke about the catwalk and what he wears more then anything to do with football
i seem to remember freddie ljungberg having the same problem as hector is having now. freddie became a model, and the jokes that were flying around about him. i would guess that those jokers would love to have looked like freddie. in fact i would give anything to look like freddie right now.we should only judge our players by their performances on the pitch. what they do in their spare time is their business alone. there is an awful lot of jealousy of our players on this site i feel.when they throw on the red and white they are ours for 90 minutes, and after that they are private individuals.
Gerry, Freddie was actually a decent footballer? Did Hector almost single handedly guide us to the league and FA cup in one season? Review season 2002 and look at all thise crucial goals.
👍
CSG, hi, i vividly remember 2002 and freddies input to that wonderful team. however, i do feel that you miss my point. freddie was abused because of his modelling contracts, many macho arsenal supporters let him have it . thats what i am saying, regardless of if a player is good enough or not in bellerins case. i am not defending bellerin as a player, in fact i will be delighted when he leaves us because he is not a defender. but i would never abuse him on social media because of his modelling aspirations nor his poor play. do you get me now ?.
Well said gerry, though I do wonder if your sensible thoughts have the power to reach the brains of SOME on here to whom the feat of actually THINKING is way beyond them.
The C word and that type of abuse is simply not on but it could be that Bellarine needs to move on. I don’t think he is the worst of Arsenal’s many problems however he is not impressing anyone with his inability to progress. Long term Arsenal fans have seen too many good fullbacks to settle for an average player who hardly ever seems to get it right in terms of crossing a ball or being in the right place at the right time. He is unlucky because with nothing positive in sight the fans are looking for a scapegoat and he seems to be an easy target on the right where Arsenal are average. If Barca or PSG come calling it would suit both parties to seperate. But please let’s not settle on Cedric as heir apparent. Arsenal need to do better.
Arsenal seriously do have the worst ‘fan’ base….shunning Giroud out of the club and no he is excatly the player we miss and instead we gift him to Chelsea….forcing Wenger out the club….abusing are own players like Xhaka and Bellerin
We definitely should try the “selling club” model a la Southampton. Even then our tendency to permacrock half of the players we sign might mean we have no command over the fees we get. And that also involves shedding our “retirement home” image as well
I just read something disturbing.
Angelino of RB Leipzig:
“They both (Pep and Julian Nagelsmann) like to play with the ball, get the ball quickly, there is one thing that is a big difference – one gave me the confidence and played me and the other didn’t. You need courage and Julian had it,” Angeliño said in a media round table on Wednesday.
“(Not playing) It killed me. Confidence is everything and I was judged after two pre-season matches and then did not get another chance,” the Spaniard said. “From Pep, I learned a lot in training, but hardly got to play.”
Does this ring a bell?
“William Saliba has lifted the lid on his difficult start to life at Arsenal, claiming manager Mikel Arteta “judged me on two-and-a-half matches”.
We all know Arteta learned from Pep. This sounds awfully too familiar..? Angelino is actually now one of the best LB’s in Bundesliga..
McLovin
That is also a concern of mine regarding Arteta. He has poor man management, and so far has frozen out players who merely question their lack of playing time.
Arteta saying Saliba was not ready rings hollow. Who’s job is it to develop and make sure he is ready?
Is Willian ready? He’s full-on trash this year. This lost year is perfect to play Saliba & Gabriel together to build chemistry and their partnership.