The one positive of reaching 23:00 on Monday was that at least I didn’t have to talk about transfers until the summer.
It felt like every day in January, Gooners talked about a striker, debated whether we needed more attacking options, and argued whether this proved once and for all the level of our owners’ ambition. I made a conscious decision that I wouldn’t bring up the above in every preview or review. We have all said our bit, the window is closed, and we can’t change the last month. As supporters, like our manager, we simply have to accept what we have upfront.
That’s what made Wednesday so cruel, though. It wasn’t that we lost. It was that Newcastle had what we didn’t, to the point that you couldn’t ignore it. It was so apparent, so painfully obvious, it was like the Toon Army were going out of its way to showcase to the Kroenke family the difference between a settled attack and one that is short of options. In fact, both legs could be used as evidence.
That’s why so many supporters feel let down. The two domestic cups highlighted that Havertz will have too many days where he misses simple chances. His peers will have too many days where they pass the ball sideways and are unable to unlock a defence. As long as that happens, it’s very hard to lift the Champions League or put together the winning sequence it would take to catch Liverpool.
Mikel Arteta is an employee of this club. He asked his bosses for help. He watched his best player get ruled out for the rest of the season, and one of his forwards might not play this year. So it was fair of the Spaniard to say we were “short” in that area, especially if the target is to truly claim the biggest honours.
Our manager asked for help. Not just him, though. Most of our supporters, other non-Arsenal fans, pundits, journalists, etc., all could identify where we are lacking.
Net profit-wise, we barely spent anything in the summer. It was understood that it is unlikely you get a world-class talent in the winter window. We were not asking for money to be invested that we didn’t have or to breach FFP rules. We just needed a better finisher than what we have or, at the very least, another option or more numbers so alternatives are not a teenager who plays centrally or someone on loan devoid of confidence.
We needed that just in case (call me crazy) someone pulls their hamstring!
If someone truly cares, how do they watch those two cup ties in January and allow us in February to have to cope with the same issues? I don’t get how anyone can defend that.
Nobody identified our weakness more than Eddie Howe. For 180 minutes, he tactically destroyed us. Not in terms of outthinking Mikel Arteta but in understanding our weak points.
You might look at the stats of this tie and wonder how we have lost 4-0 on aggregate. In both 90 minutes, we dominated possession, made the better chances, and had more corners.
Yet it was deliberate by Howe. One of the best in the division at setting up a group to know their jobs, he was happy for the Gunners to have the ball because he was confident we lacked the quality to break his team down.
That’s what hurt the most.
He didn’t park the bus. He was comfortable believing we didn’t have the imagination, skill, or ability to unlock his defence. He trusted his centre-backs to head everything, knew Martinelli would take on his man but mostly check back, Odegaard would take too many touches, Havertz would panic in front of goal, while no one would overlap or take chances.
In both legs, how many great saves did Dúbravka have to make?
He, on the other hand, had a front three who were such a threat that counter-attacks consisted of a direct pass, and suddenly Isak and Gordon were bullying our defenders.
What hurts the most is that it didn’t need to be this way. We could have had reinforcements ready for the start of the new year, and maybe we would be going to Wembley right now? Maybe we would still be in the FA Cup? Maybe the gap between us and the league leaders would be smaller?
I asked how the Kroenke family can watch that and justify not helping in the last four weeks.
The answer?
They were not watching on TV. I bet they didn’t even know we were playing.
Stan won’t even know what you mean by the Carabao Cup. He couldn’t name our next Premier League fixture, let alone care about winning it.
This January will cost us everything, and this semi-final from start to finish told you everything you need to know.
I do not see how the Kroenkes can be faulted. They have approved a lot of money to whoever is responsible for Arsenal transfers in Arteta’s tenure but was that fat transfer kitty spent wisely? Absolutely not!!
With more than 25 players signed its incredible the squad look thin season after season.
HH,
I totally agree with you. Just forgetting our need for a striker the previous two seasons, lets just take this season for instance.
In the summer, we were lead to believe that we wanted Sesko, but he turned us down. Which is his right of course. But instead of having a back up plan, Arteta decided to totally ignore the need for a striker and instead wasted more funding on two defensive players in the shape of Calafiori and Merino.
I can’t work Arteta out, our defense over the past two seasons hasn’t been the problem, but the striker situation has. and Arteta and the clubs persistent failure to address this issue has been a big factor in our troubles winning the tight games.
I agree with you regarding the Kroenkes, although I’m not there biggest fan. You can’t say that they haven’t back Arteta, it’s that way Arteta has wasted some of the funding that has and is the problem.
Three examples, Havertz not a striker.
Calafiori and Merino, should not have been the priority last summer.
And until the club addresses the Elephant in the room, we’re going to go through this ground hog day scenario again and again. 🙄🤦♂️
I get your point mate but it begs the question if they don’t trust him with money why make him the 2nd highest paid manager in the world ?
Why do that and not listen to him ?
My fear is in reality they think he’s doing a fantastic job
Dan
In reality me too think he’s doing a fantastic job, surely he’s not perfect.
Yeah he’s doing a good job
I blame the owners
Think after injuries to Saka and Jesus it’s fair to ask for help considering we did not spend much in the summer
We spent £105m in the summer. Yes it’s not as much as the £208m we spent the previous summer, but I wouldn’t call it not much.
That being said I think they should have paid any January ransoms demanded to help him, but I’m not even sure he asked for a forward as most of us assumed he did
Not true mate
Net spend about 25 and that’s being kind because I’m not factoring the loans with obligations to buy
Considering what we sold not close to spending 105 million .
You misread mate. I did not say the net spend was £105m. We spent £105m
Yeah but if your spending 105 but bringing in say 85 that’s not spending allot is it lol
If I give you 100 for your birthday but then take 50 back I have not spent 100
It’s not that simple. Going into net spend means having to consider the timing and terms of payments such as installments, the finance charges of any loans taken up for the purchases. The net cash flow is not simply purchases minus sales
It’s not a surprise they pay him that much, after all they are the owners of a club which is known to pay average players wages similar to world class players.
This is a club that pays Gabriel Jesus and Havertz over 500k a week! And that is just two examples. No surprise with a manager’s salary there.
No I more meant if they don’t trust him anymore he’s not getting an extension is he ?
It would be weird to offer a contract then say ….oh we don’t rate the job you have done
It’s simply. because they are happy where we are
If we would have bought 11 new players this window and put them in to this team last night we would still lost.
Going in to this game I had hligh hopes of over turning the 2 goal deficit but watching them play and how they were set up we were in for a hidding to nothing.
The back for were so disjointed.
MLS and timber were playing so far up top it was shocking.
SALIBA got torn apart by the best striker in Europe and he was made to look like a championship defender. No offence to championship defenders.
MA didn’t learn from the tactics that Bournemouth and Fulham used to beat them.
On this occasion the blame lays at the feet of MA.
Cant signle one players out as they were all shambolic and not one players to man turned up last night. I can take losing but never in this fashion or manner and when all never put a shift in and just dropped there heads and shrugged there shoulders when the going got tough.
I said it on the last post. Newcastle well deserved winners and the crowd were awesome
Thank you for being brave enough to point out MLS being too high up
I notice allot of goals come from his side and don’t want us to start not pointing things out just because we want him to be amazing
He’s still essentially a teenager learning a new position
Dan
I always said that whilst he is playing LB to start he will end up in MF in the end.
Believe me all the back 5 were shocking last night. OUR GK had a complete heads gone, and you could see that goal coming any moment as he kept persisting with playing out that way and putting us under pressure
The managers tactics were also shocking last night.
I do not want to go back to the bad old days which it felt like last night.
Off for 10 days now, reset and wipe away that terrible game.
Good luck to Newcastle and do hope they go on and win it as the fans deserve it.
Glad your being honest mate
I heard some say he was the only good defender and that Nwaneri was our best player
I’m thinking do they mean that or is it because they are teenagers from the academy
To be fair maybe it was tactical because we were chasing the 2-0 but the full backs were high up and it felt as soon as Newcastle won the ball ,they played a long ball and our center backs were isolated
It’s up to the whole back 4 to work that out especially having got a warning with the offside
didn’t want to say it as i thought we had over come that problem. but a lack of leader on the pitch and off the pitch last night
all running around like headless chickens and manager staring in to space.
hopefully a blip
omg. never want to lambast any player but KH was the worst i have every seen. he was so bad and i would have hauled him off after 20 minutes
i will now get back to being positive and back to
onwards and upwards.
As long as arsenal Board , Arteta fails to realise and. listen. to the voice of necessity , in terns of having a points man, Arsenal will continue. to underperform and the trophies will continue. to elude us as a club. imagine having the likes of Isak, Tony, or a world class striker right. from the summer signing , our challenges of getting desired results would have lessened . Defensive teams understands what. to do. with playing. from the wings hence , buckled up their defense and that’s why for a whole second half there were scarcity of shots at goal. from Arsenal . Harvest is not. and cannot be. the desired striker !!! The earlier Arsenal realises this omission the better . Otherwise , the fringe football and fringe results will continue to prevail .
Okay, I think it’s excellent the club recorded a net profit. That means our club is being managed in a sustainable way. I also think the Kroenkes are almost blameless when it comes to our problems, over the years they have proven they are very committed with a lot of big spending. Kroenke is the owner, he does not need to know who we are playing. All he needs to do is provide the resources (he has) and select the right manager (he has partly failed on this). I only blame Kroenkes for not changing the management team regularly, maybe every 3 years without a trophy is enough to say goodbye to the coach? Overall I’m happy with Kroenkes but not with Arteta. I think he should be fired next year January depending on how things are.
That’s an arbitrary timeline for changing the management. How do you determine the “right manager”? Do you think Arsenal have some kind of divine right to a trophy every 3 years?
What is the evidence that the model you are proposing is financially viable or sustainable?
Please, why does it seem as though both Liverpool and City have trophies within the same timeframe in recent years?
Oh, maybe they have the divine right we don’t.
Arsenal doesn’t have a divine right to a trophy (just like the other top-four hunters).
The typical mediocre mentality that has stagnated us.
Bear in mind that City had a stranglehold over most of the trophies won even before Arteta was appointed. They had the most money at a time when it wasn’t so well regulated to bring in the best players and manager. Consider Liverpool under Klopp. He won one league title and after a number of years has left a very strong team for Slot – doing brilliantly – to take forward to a league title. He didn’t have it easy during Pep’s domination. No other team did either and it’s testament to the hard work out in that we are a club that is in contention.
You didn’t add the Carabao, FA and UCL trophies Klopp won.
No I didn’t
I assumed that Arteta will sink or swim based on his league showing. However, all I was bringing to your attention was the dominance of one club. Yes, Klopp won a few – 7 – excellent- compared to Arteta’s 1 but Guardiola has 15 – truly excellent
Yeah I agree with Sue
It’s a myth Klopp and Pep Guardiola dominated
Pep took the cake
Even league positions , go look how often Klopp didn’t finish in top 2
Agree QD and most sensible people would. Most!!!!
21 years without a title but it’s okay our Billionaire owner made a profit ?
The same owners who said the aim is to win major honors
So you think we should make a loss every year???
A loss ?
We are not close to a loss
Go look net spend what we have spent in the last 3 windows . You will be amazed
Thats not what I asked?
We are not close to making a loss
Measure any metric , Arsenal have money .
We could have improved the squad in January and still been okay
As has been stated by others already, I don’t think we can blame the Kroenkes. They have given Arteta plenty of money to spend and he has chosen poorly. Not so much in the players he has bought but for failing to identify areas of the team more in need. Rather than having a list of suitable targets he is obsessed with Sesko and no one else will do. We could have got Vlahovic, or David, or Watkins had he ever actually wanted him.
Similarly, Arteta is to be blamed for last night’s result as well. Eddie Howe set up his team perfectly. He put Trippier in there to marshall Trossard and get under his skin and it worked but most noticeably he used Fabian Schär to man-mark Declan Rice. When was the last time you saw someone get marked out of a game completely? Park Ji-Sung on Andrea Pirlo is the most vivid in my memory.
Eddie knew how to beat us and Arteta was either too ignorant or too arrogant to think we should adapt accordingly. Or maybe, and this is perhaps more closely aligned to the truth of it, we had no way to adapt. We could discuss different players but it wouldn’t have made any difference, the style and tactics would have been exactly the same.
Also, this game more than any I can remember showed exactly where the issues lie with this team and the tactics employed by the manager. When it works, like against City, it’s great. But when it doesn’t we never look close to being able to change the game.
I’m a fan of Kai Havertz, I think he brings a lot to the team, but clinical finishing isn’t one of them. However, he didn’t have any chances to miss in this game such was the display put on by Newcastle. When Nwaneri came on we looked to feed the ball to him but Gordon just tracked back and it ended up 2 or 3 vs 1. Time will tell how good Nwaneri will be but he isn’t Lionel Messi and can’t do it all on his own. Trossard worked hard but offered very little, much like Kai. Rice was marked out of the game by Schär and Martinelli did Martinelli things until he pulled his hamstring and had to go off.
It is no real surprise to me that we lost, nor the manners in which we lost. What did surprise me though was how Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon and Jacob Murphy were able to completely bamboozle what has been largely an unflappable defence this season. Saliba and Gabriel are the best CB pairing in the league but had nothing against Isak. He is too big, too clever, too fast, and too skillful and he had them both on toast all night.
It would be nice to think something will be learnt from this match, and it most likely will, but by other managers in the league less arrogant than our own. I doubt Arteta thinks he did anything wrong and probably went home with that same wild-eyed bewildered look on his face that he wears so well every single match day, wondering why it didn’t work tonight when it worked against City and will find some pathetic excuse rather than address his own failings.
Based on our disappointing transfer activity last month, Kroenke seemed to have given up on this season
But I’m happy Arsenal didn’t take the League Cup seriously, because we can fully allocate our resources on UCL and EPL now
gotanidea,
What planet are you on, not the same one as me that’s for sure.🙄🤦♂️🤷♂️
@Derek. Gotanidea is on Planet Zena. He’s in his little dream world of make believe. He comes up with alot of nonsense
It would have been one more game , the final ?
I know. I would have loved to win it. We haven’t won it before
Stephanie, we won it in ’87 and ’93.
When winning it in ’87 we became the first team to beat Liverpool when Ian Rush had scored for them.
When we won it in ’93 we also won the FA Cup, and so became the first club to win both domestic Cups in the same season.
Oh Herr Drier,
Those were the days, when the club actually won trophy’s.
Come back George Graham and Arsene Wenger, managers who new how to win trophy’s.🤦♂️😉👍
You certainly onto a great idea like fielding our strongest team available and not take the match seriously so that we can be blessed with elimination from the LC semis to focus on the EPL and CL.
By that logic, next season please let us be eliminated in our first LC match instead of the semis. That way we can play a few matches less and concentrate even better on the EPL and CL.
I’m sure if you are happy we didn’t take the semis seriously then you would be over the moon if we don’t even bother with the third round
I mean, we fielded the strongest team available. Seems like it was taken pretty serious to me, we just got smashed by a cleverer manager.
If you were being sarcastic and I missed it, that’s cool. But the league cup was very much taken seriously, we just lost.
I never think of GAI being sarky, Ben
Your post is on point
Maybe just can’t take the fact we got absolutely battered. Twice! Even the best managers get upstaged now and then and Arteta ain’t one of them, so no surprises really. The moment Isak went through and put the ball in the net after 3 mins it was apparent which way the match was going to go.
Makes zero sense
We would have had one extra game
Lower your standards and expectations; ownership has It’s top 4 business model back on track, Arteta safe with his contract extension. Just sit down and be quiet, don’t disrupt the gravy train.
Summer window was a problem, and our injuries are highlighting this concern.
Couldn’t get the striker we wanted, but should have at least moved for a backup to replace Jesus or a winger to compete on the left, or a backup RW to cover Saka.
Instead, YET ANOTHER LB which seems to be a Summer theme, and another DM type midfielder. It’s looking like Merino is a bad fit for the PL; same performances we saw when he was a midfielder at Newcastle.
Embarrassing performance, especially coming off that City demolition.
Winner’s mentality we still lack, we just don’t have those personalities in the locker room.
Could prime Alexis Sanchez be in this squad? Would Arteta permit his strong personality in the squad?
Ownership failed to move in January, but Arteta failed in the Summer window.
Owners not fussed, top 4 business model looks quite stable, Arteta safe in his job after his extension and not worried.
Yet don’t question the process, don’t criticize Arteta.
Do fans who think Kroenkes has given enough money to this team advocate for us not to spend more? If they did want more spent, then what does that say about them giving out about the huge spending but at the same time wanting more money spent
Break on through,
If there’s a need to spend more, it’s because a certain Mr. Arteta has wasted previous funds.
For me now, it’s a case of waiting to the end of the season, and when we’ve had yet another trophy less season.
Get rid of this manager and bring in one that will firstly see what a lot of us have seen for three seasons and get an actual striker.
And then go about sorting areas out in the team that need sorting out, and be a manager that actually has a plan B.
Arteta’s had enough of his phases now, and it’s time to move on from him.
That’s if the club really want to win trophy’s that is.
Do they though mate ?
Of they would like to be is it everything to them ?
And who is going to replace Arteta? Come on, man. We are all disappointed but there is no way Arteta is getting sacked unless we drop out of the top 4. The Kroenkes don’t care about trophies and they don’t care about the fans, they just want a successful business model and that is what Arteta is delivering. Good seasonal finishes with ‘relatively’ moderate expenditure.
Whilst MA has spent a fortune on this team it isn’t as much as some others have spent, which demonstrates this business model pretty astutely. The Kroenkes don’t want to bet big and fail. Better to bet smaller and come away with incrementally decent returns.
Ok so many teams have outspent us in recent years? It would probably be just the Manchester teams and Chelsea. Hardly company you want to “keep up” with and no responsible club that doesnt have a whole country backing them is realistically able to. If you want to see an actual club that has owners that dont spend, check out Liverpool. But a club that paid over the odds for Mikel Merino, is not the stingy club you’re making it out to be.
RSH
Whilst Liverpool hardly spent a bean last season, they spent considerably more the year before. What Liverpool have been much better at doing is getting transfer fees for players that leave.
So is the considerably more Pool spent the year before greater than our £105m spent this summer and £208m we spent the year before?
I don’t recall Pool spending over £300m on transfers in the past couple of years.
They are much better at getting transfer fees for players that leave because:
1) they haven’t pay to terminate disruptive players’ contracts.
2) they sell players that don’t fit earlier instead of freezing them out for years or sending them out on loans after loans, allowing their contracts to wind down and values to depreciate
sushi
As I wrote, they hardly spent a bean in the summer window. They did however, spend approx £250m over the 2 years before that. My point still stands that they are better at selling.
Or Sue, are they better at choosing better managers who also know how to identify better players for their correct positions?
Certainly it’s been the case in more recent times with Klopp, bearing in mind he left Slot without a rebuild as he was gradually doing that himself.
Credit goes to the Liverpool board for identifying a very solid character in AS who has seamlessly taken over from where JK left off but also had valuable experience as a league winner
As much as I really do appreciate Arteta, he wouldn’t have been my first choice candidate having no managerial experience to call on. We go on about how long it’s been since a trophy or the league, but the risk in hiring Arteta was enormous. I’d say that he has done remarkably well under the circumstances. Attaining and then maintaining top4 or being league winners is expensive and 3 years without CL football was not good for the books. Arteta is by no means the finished article but neither were the board during the end of Wenger’s tenure until Sanhelli’s departure which included a re jig of the board members too. Certainly, Liverpool’s record has been very good overall
SueP,
Liverpool are better full stop. 🤦♂️😉👍
How can one spend a fortune and it being not much at the same time?
Ben,
Whenever I read posts that say but this team did that and this team did this , I just role my eyes.
I don’t care what other teams do, It’s what my team does that gets my attention.
Yes other teams have spent more, but as your piece says Arteta has spent a fortune and has to a large extent wasted it.
Now I hear your talk of the kroenkes business model, well to me that just makes it even more of an annoyance the way Arteta has gone about spending the clubs money.
How when the need for a striker is so clear, we have a manger who having failed to get his first choice striker, Sesko if reports are to be believed.
He then totally ignores any other striker, because like his system of play he didn’t have a plan B for a striker either.
And then goes out and buys two defensive players in Calafiori and Merino. If as you say that the owners don’t care about trophy’s and they don’t care about the fans, what does that say about our manager.
Is he to of the same mind. Do trophy’s mean nothing to him to. It would appear looking at some of his signings, that could well be the case.
And to think, the owners and their business model, have seen fit to give this man a five year contract.
It seems to me, that the only way this manager will be held to account by some fans, is if we flirt with or get relegated.
When are people going to see Arteta for what he is, a good manager nothing more and nothing less.
And as for your who else do we get in his place. I’ll be honest, I couldn’t tell you. But then there are people at the club who are better connected and would know better than us who’s out there. But don’t kid yourself that there isn’t better out there, because there is.
The powers that be just have to find them.
I agree with a lot you say, Derek. I do think Arteta wants to win but is risk averse and a very strange man. I think Merino is a good squad player and if not for the emergence of MLS then Calafiori would be in the first XI every week, so I think both have their merits in their purchase but as you say, there were more pressing needs at the time.
Ben,
Thank you for your response.👍
@Break on through
1. Have they not spent to the excess of 800 million as well as write off players worth around 500 million? That is factual there is no room for opinion or discussion.
2. Speaking of opinion or discussion why would they spend more if they are not happy with how previous money was spent?
HH,
Your second point I have also made in other posts. 👍
Thank you for pointing that out Derek. No surprise there as sensible minds think alike 😉😁
HH,
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍😉
May not be the season yet ….. but I’m gone fishing
Will be back
Tyndale,
I hope you get your trophy fish.
It will be one more trophy than out team will get.😂🤣👍
Kroenke’s not to blame. How much more money does Arteta need to spend to win a trophy exactly? Him and Edu completely botched the summer market and did not improve the team. The picking are always slim in January and there opportunities were limited. Blame the arrogance of management for thinking Kai and Jesus was good enough to win the league this season, no cover was needed for Saka, and the Trossard/Martinelli would make a difference this season. Martinelli especially who has been pretty useless for close to 3 seasons now. The signs were all there that Arsenal would struggle this season and instead we bough Merino who adds nothing, and Calafiori who is getting beaten to his spot by an 18 year old. This mistakes were made in the summer and we are seeing the results.
So much money wasted on players that are not good enough.
Onus is on Arteta to make it work now, he has received huge financial backing.
I’m so glad this article is not beating about the bush on where the team’s shortcomings are.
– The ownership niglegence of its needs.
– The glaring need for a striker and Havertz’s inadequacy as a point man.
Arteta used that money for Havertz, so who is to blame Arteta or Kroenkes?
So why give his a pay rise ?
They either think he’s done enough to earn a new deal
Or they don’t trust him ?
Or they are happy with way things are ?
His pay rise was ridiculous,I believe he’s now the highest Earning employee at the club more than any player.
Nearly as bad when we announced his last pay rise when we were in forth with 4 games to play and then Spuds overtook us and we finished 5th.
Both. The Kroenkes for giving MA the money without making him more accountable on how he spends and MA for spending it somewhat unwisely.
The result is that we overspent in defense and midfield and underspent in attack, let alone the signings who failed to make the grade
Though we spent in mid field, but still the mid field is still weak, it lacks creativity to unlock defences. We find it hard to win tight games.
Sws,
Arteta’s fault 100%.🙄🤦♂️🤷♂️
Sometimes I wonder whether other club’s fans are like us. Our fans are perhaps the most fickle of all EPL fans! It is difficult to imagine what we want. At one time Arteta is urged to forego all competitions and concentrate on EPL and Champions league. When he does that, he is called all sorts of names! What do we want? Win Carabao cup and fail to make top four? The top four which we were always yearning for is now being regarded by some people as the manager’s failure to deliver. What happens to some of us? Are we jokers or simply malcontents by nature? We need to remember that the team some of you are denigrating is the very team that beat Man City by 5-1 over the weekend. Would you rather lose an EPL game or a Carabao one? Even if we won the Carabao cup, other than bragging rights, what else is there? We need to overcome irrational emotions and look at where our interests are best served.
“It is difficult to imagine what we want”
Well I would imagine most Arsenal fans want to win trophies.
“At one time Arteta is urged to forego all competitions and concentrate on EPL and Champions league”
When was this ?
I cannot remember that
“ Win Carabao cup and fail to make top four”
If we fail to make top 4 from this position something is very wrong indeed .
I think you need to look at your own post mate and reread what you’ve posted instead of lambasting fellow Arsenal fans
Dan, you and I have been on this platform for as long as I can remember. I have been assessing the various opinions and drawing logical conclusions. It is a fact that most people on this platform prefer top four to winning either FA or Carabao cup.
It is not my intention to engage in a debate with you. I didn’t lambast anybody. I was only surprised by the great emotions arising out of our loss to Newcastle in a Carabao cup semi-final! Is Carabao cup our ultimate ambition for this season? The old saying goes that you win some and lose others. You can’t win everything. However, it is prudent to lose that which is not a priority, and I believe Carabao cup is not. If your priority is any cup, no matter the value, then you are right to lambast Arsenal for losing to Newcastle.
It is true we want to win trophies, and so do the other teams. Obviously there is always one winner at a time. We have lost the Carabao cup but let us now put our energies on what is still left.
“ Our fans are perhaps the most fickle of all EPL fans”
Lambasting- criticize (someone or something) harshly.
Trust me it was not my own intention to engage with you ,but needs must .
It was indeed a deliberate act to engage me. So, I have no option but to respond. My belief is that there will always be high and low moments in any sector. Arsenal’s low moments came through a multiplicity of factors: injuries, unfortunate refereeing decisions, bad luck and sometimes, poor decisions. To me, injuries and poor refeering played the greatest part. Of course each of us may have their ideas.
And the transfer window
David Rusa,
You say we win some and we lose some.
Here’s a stat for you.
Under Arteta, we’ve won 1 trophy out of 21 attempts in all competitions, which will soon be 23 attempts.
Now while I agree with your comment regarding we can’t win them all, while that’s true.
The success rate of this current manager is at best very average, and that’s being kind.🙄🤦♂️🤷♂️
When your manager and even a player (Rice) is calling out for reinforcement and we got nobody after barely spending in the summer(net spend of 10m), it’s safe to assume what is the main objective of the club owners.
You think if Salah and Jota had gotten long term injuries, Liverpool would be sitting idle. I don’t think so.
But the club tried to sign sesko (it didn’t work )so why on earth then sign 2 players in 2 positions we did t need ?why didn’t we go for another forward which was the intention from the failed bid ?
You can blame the owners all you like but when they’ve backed our manager with countless spendies for the last 5 years with no trophies to boot why would you imagine they would back him again .
Hes wasted countless money on players and failed selling players ,it’s not rocket science.
Dan Kit,
Something I’ve said more than once in earlier posts.
If you can’t get your first choice striker, you need a plan B for a back up striker.
But we really shouldn’t be surprised, because don’t forget this manager hasn’t got a plan B when it comes to his teams playing system either.
How did you derive a net spend of 10m?
It’s close to that if you include the loans with obligations to buy
Even Spurs have a superior attack to Arsenal now, at least in terms of personnel.
Son
Solanke
Richarlison
Tel
Johnson
Kulusevski
It is unforgivable that this has been allowed to happen.
Wouldn’t go that far lol
Might have more numbers
Dan,
Still better finishers than Havertz though.
That wouldn’t be hard would it. 😉👍
Kronke is blameless. Arteta is. The money has been spent the team and tactics are not upto scratch. If we do not win anything it will not be anyones fault but Arteta. The question is, is the Kronkies happy with that?
Wasn’t really spent in summer though ( net spend )
Didn’t come across as owners so close to title wanting to that next step or this winter
Dan, it would have been ludicrous to have thrown everything at and left nothing to spare. You have to “manage” your finances. I think Arsenal have maximised our spending, to the max, without leaving any wiggle room. It isn’t the finances, its the players, the tactics, the mistakes and the fact our manager has reached his peak as far as actually running the job. After 5 and a bit years, he is still a rooky. The reason we are struggling to actually win something is down to 100% the manager and staff, not being able too. We fail when the heat is turned up, we have spent more than enough but we still haven’t got a balanced team. Kronke employs people to sort the football side. He is a finance man not a football man. He pays people to do the football side. The money has been invested.
But mate if your net spend is barely anything your not throwing everything at it at all , it’s the opposite.
Plus no one was asking that this month
They were asking for a bit of help , even some squad depth .
You know I point out when Arteta makes mistakes but he’s got a right to say Saka and Jesus injuries leaves us short
To not do that ends the season
But what players were available that would have not impacted us improving in the summer? Its a balance and you can not just throw money at it, without looking at the ramifications of future planning. I don’t think that any player that we wanted was available. The only ones that were were sticking plasters. Sticking plasters, do not work. It was poor buying, not lack of buying that has us where we are. Its more the manager than it is yhe kronks. 800 mil says so.
But I don’t think the thought process should be that
The process should be were there anyone better then what we have or could help ?
It’s not okay to just give up on the season
We get to the summer and everyone starts at 0
I can think of players in any criteria
Players were available better then Havertz
Available who could compete
Or even players just to give us more options
I don’t know many clubs 2nd in the division or still in CL who just write off the season
Paying over the odds in winter for sticky plasters to make up the numbers depletes our summer budget and more likely adds to future deadwood.
It’s fine to buy if there are clear upgrades at decent prices, but unwise to overpay for squad player
I’m betwixt and between. It was clear that help was needed and your post sums up the situation for the longer term but it does nothing to ameliorate the current issues. I don’t know the seriousness of Martinelli’s injury but limping through the remainder of the season is looking increasingly likely.
That’s literally what January is for , to top up if you need a bit of help
You think Man City won’t spend in summer ?
Net spend we have spent barely anything in the summer
So this idea we have no money / have to watch our budget
Trust me by any metric Arsenal have allot of money
Can’t believe there are fans saying it’s okay to write off a season so our owner can save money ….while he charges you over the nose for tickets
Do you think when they price tickets and merchandise he is thinking of your budget
He’s taking the Mickey out of you
There were
I have made this point on numerous occasions over the past few years. I do not believe that Arteta ever wanted an out and out striker and that was the reason he bought Havertz, it fitted in with his footballing strategy. Losing Saka was a huge blow and has probably cost us a trophy. I’m not going down the route of bad refereeing decisions. Every top team (apart from Liverpool) has had injuries to key players so that shouldn’t be used as an excuse. Although Havertz is a hard working player and no doubt skillful, he will never be a prolific scorer and Arteta already knew that after his spell at Chelsea. I have never been a fan of the League Cup and don’t consider it a major trophy. It’s relative though, Newcastle will treat Howe like a hero and legend if they win it because they haven’t won anything for SEVEN decades. Just think about what it is like being a Newcastle supporter then thank your lucky stars for supporting Arsenal and I haven’t mentioned the Spuds yet!!!! Agreed it was a poor performance but I’m not gutted, we’re still in with a shout in the EPL.
There are few top level strikers available and that has been the case for a few years.
How can you say that injuries are not an issue? Every team that has injuries to their key players struggles to maintain a sustained challenge on multiple fronts.
The argument will be, David, that Arsenal could have signed the likes of Isak but failed to do so. So Andrew’s point about Havertz is a valid opinion.
Apart from the goal difference at the top, some of which can be ‘blamed’ on poor discipline or poor refereeing, depending on your point of view, our figures look pretty good without having the clinical striker. It’s possible that not getting any of the strikers that were linked with Arsenal in the summer was considered manageable for this season as our figures last season were also impressive. As Pep has discovered this season to his cost, it doesn’t always work out like that.
The argument about Isak is mostly hindsight bias. Many of those up in arms now said nothing when Arsenal declined to trigger his release which meant he went to Newcastle. Apart from him how many other top level strikers have been attainable at a reasonable fee in the last few years? It’s also worth considering that Isak is another who has had injury issues.
Further, consider that the likes of Spurs have spent £65m on a striker who does less than Havertz and has scored fewer PL goals this season. There is a relative paucity of top level strikers.
David the master of looking for an excuse to hide the truth!!!!
David,
Just because there’s a paucity of strikers as you put it, doesn’t mean you ignore the need for one which this manager has ignored for three seasons now.
David, of course injuries are an issue but should not be used as an excuse as most top teams suffer from them. I excluded Liverpool because, on that issue, the Gods appear to be on their side this season. My main point was about Arteta’s choice to use an all-round hardworking striker instead of an out and out one. It was his choice and he spent a lot of money to get him. I don’t believe anything has changed his mind, Havertz is still in his long term plans imo.
Most top teams who have significant injuries to key players struggle to maintain consistent performances. We have seen Liverpool’s performances drop off in previous seasons in part due to injury.
Discussions about strikers need to take into account who was available and their potential overall value to the team. The very best elite strikers are not available at a comparable cost to Havertz. Havertz has a similar scoring rate to the next level of strikers and gives more to the team.
I thought much of your post AE made sense to me. You highlighted the fact that Liverpool have not had injuries to key players which sums up the large points difference between Arsenal and Liverpool and Salah being on a roll. Spurs likewise, have had an injury strewn season and that must have contributed to their poor league position. It’s the way the cookie crumbles sadly but those sendings off have come back to haunt us
Sue P, another example is City. Rodri and half their defence with long term injuries. If that was the case last season we would have walked the EPL. But then if wishes were horses beggars would ride. Still a way to go in the Prem, should Liverpool falter we are in with a shout.
🤞
We are not good enough mate to be putting our nose up to a trophy
Would have loved to have gone to the Final
Put it this way , ask any Gooner / Gunner how they felt when they lost to Birmingham years ago
It’s hurt
Dan, it all comes down to opinion and relativity. In my eyes the Premier League title is the main trophy, it means you are the No. 1 team in the best league in the world judged over 38 games. It’s just a question of priorities so for that reason it’s way down my list. However, if we hadn’t won a trophy for 70 years my opinion might be different.
” the League Cup is way down my list”
I agree it’s the main trophy but we don’t win it and are not winning it this year
And out of the FA Cup
So therefore the Carabo Cup Semi Final becomes important
I think we still have a chance at EPL title. If Liverpool were to lose say Salah and Van Dijk which is possible given that they are still in every competition, it could open the door. We’ve done it before to Man U so I’m not giving up just yet. Just a difference of opinion?
Agree Liverpool will slip up but we don’t have the tools to take advantage
In 1998 we had Bergkamp , Overmars and Anelka
I accept it’s your opinion but I don’t get that the evidence is in front of you
Andrew Elder,
If Liverpool lost Salah and Van Dijk, they’d cope better than us. Just look at there squad, it’s so much stronger than ours. Even when we have a fully fit squad. Come on!.
Derek
I don’t think they would be the force you think if they lost both to injury. Not just a game or two, but 4 to 6 weeks each minimum. Add in others going by the wayside for a couple of weeks here and there and the picture would not be so rosy. Well, I don’t think so.
Point taken SueP,
But I still think they would still cope better than us.
Time will tell of course.
I do hope that the boys are enjoying there jolly up out in Dubai.
With our record with injury’s this season, I hope they’ve got their sunscreen on.
We don’t want a squad full of sunstroke or sunburnt victims coming home do we.😂🤣😉👍
Andrew Elder,
Isn’t waiting 21 years and counting long enough without a League title to change your opinion.
Andrew, it’s not just going out of the League Cup which riles, to be honest I can shrug my shoulders and move on from that, but the way we lost; out smarted, outplayed , goalless and found wanting in that it hurts to know that our players are not as good as we want them to be. Someone has to be held accountable and this time it can’t be the Kronkes, but has to be the two people who simply didn’t do their job in maximizing the ample funds they were provided with.
Joe. S,
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
From the first moments when we did a ‘short’ corner to Martinellii and lost the ball immediately, it was clear we were lost. Sad performance….. that shows we are not ready to win anything. You’d have to laugh at ‘no striker Arsenal’, after having had Van Persie, Alexis Sanchez, and an in form Aubameyang…….pathetic really. Tactical stupidity. What the F was Arteta doing? The Kroenkes, don’t give a F.
I am of the view that Carabao cup is 4th in the list of our priorities. I would put our priorities as follows: EPL, Champions league, FA and Carabao cup. Fortunately, we are still in our top two priorities. If we won one of them, it would be great. Who would remember that Newcastle beat us in Carabao cup or that we were eliminated from FA? Let us not argue just for the sake of winning an argument.
David Rusa,
With all due respect, with our recent record of no trophy’s in the last 5 seasons.
We’re hardly in a position to pick and choose what trophy’s we take more seriously are we.
That’s bordering on arrogance right there. No wonder opposing fans are now choosing our club as one of the most delusional clubs out there.🙄🤦♂️🤷♂️
All clubs have that view but we have not won Prem in 2 decades , have never won CL and this attack won’t change that this season so that Cup was important
Still a matter of opinion Dan. I do respect yours.
👍
👍 to David
Ask yourself why did Arteta let Mika Biereth go for only £4m. Check out Biereth’s impressive stats this season which are distinctly better than those of Ollie Watkins. The moment I saw this abysmal decision I knew that that Arteta had lost the plot. He really thought he could win the league with false nines.
Consider too all those recent purchases by Arteta mainly on mid fielders in recent years and wingbacks a number of whom are out on loan. Compare Liverpools more frugal and informed recruitment.
Yep scored 4 goals in 3 matches already ,let go for 4 mil sold for 15 mil 12 months later .
Not even sure he was given a chance here .
He looks a proper number nine
Ask yourself why did Arteta let Mika Biereth go for only £4m?Check out Biereth’s impressive stats this season which are distinctly better than those of Ollie Watkins. The moment I read of this abysmal decision last year I knew that that Arteta had lost the plot. He really thought he could win the league with false nines.
Consider too all those costly purchases by Arteta mainly on mid fielders in recent years — a number of whom are out on loan. Collectively the price tags on these players could more than pay for a top striker. Compare Liverpools more frugal and informed recruitment.
When you say that we spent 100+ million pounds in the summer, what do you mean? That we only spent? Let me ask about the transfers we sold and are those also some millions of pounds that We got, they don’t count? Let’s do some addition and subtraction to see how much we really spent? If we got in? If you also include players we released and saved the big salaries of the month What’s left? Let’s calculate the season tickets, the stadium that is always full, the millions from the sponsors, the television….oh my, what did we spend? You’re supposed to be a Premier League team. title contender, you also play in the Champions League, but millions from there for participation….nomizv That to be the most profitable team that doesn’t win a title, that means that the revenue is generally much more than the expenses. What the hell are you, relatives of the owners? Listen, did we spend?Arsenal’s team, we spent nothing but crumbs. How can we be a profitable business for the owners? Finally wake up. And every year we have been far ahead for years the team that doesn’t touch titles, yet its profits are as high as if it were winning all the titles. As for Arteta, I’ll say it for the thousandth time…he’s a failed coach…nothing He has taken it, he reached the source once, but he gave away the championship, he has been with the team for many years, and he continues Wenger’s drought of recent years. What a brain and how can you take him seriously When he said that Balla was to blame in the Carabao Cup match with Newcastle? It caught my eye….if there is ever a change for the loser, I would like Iraola….for many reasons, which I can’t now to write. But look at the slot! How long has he been at Liverpool? Not even a season… Look at the Nottingham Forest, a team that was said to be relegated….where is Nottingham? His second season Nuno, and firmly in the Champions League miracle, look at Iraola’s third season and he has established a small team and he should be consistently one of the strongest in the league… Arteta, who has been the second highest paid for almost ten years? Why? What has he achieved? So Arteta and Kroenke go together!
Vanzel1papado,
What an excellent post. One that I totally agree with in the most part. 😉👍
Amen and Hallelujah to that, Vanzel1, I guess it all comes down to different fans having less ambitious expectations and some are simply happy to buy their tickets, wear their shirts and go along with the status quo.