At the end of last season Mikel Arteta looked like a man who needed a holiday. Especially with comments after a defeat in Paris and a draw at Liverpool, he was talking like someone who needed a break from the sport and a chance to refresh.
Mr Wenger would, every pre-season, take all of his coaching staff to Switzerland to review the entire campaign. He would evaluate every department.
What went well?
What could be done better?
I stressed that our current manager’s chances of winning a title at the Emirates will come down to his ability to do the same. In management of any industry, it takes skill to self-reflect. You need to find that balance between sticking to your convictions and not being pressured into changing your principles, while also being able to admit your mistakes and correct your errors.
A team that has regressed offensively
For example, our stadium has gone quiet again, back to the old days of it not taking a lot for anxiety to go round the venue. That is because a lot of Gooners are bored. The Gunners are no longer one of the most entertaining teams to watch in Europe.
That is down to our tactics. Where you could once guarantee Arsenal would make chances, that is no longer the case. In his success at fixing the team defensively, offensively we have regressed. I was hoping the Spaniard would recognise this himself, but he is either unable to see it or unwilling to change.
We do not become champions playing this way. To give you an idea of how long this has gone on, here are 10 times the 44-year-old’s negativity cost us.
23rd January 2021 – FA Cup 4th Round – Southampton 1-0 Arsenal
This was more an example of a manager’s mindset towards a competition that had kept him in a job. Covid meant all teams were playing at a reduced schedule, so we would be visiting Southampton twice in four days.
Mikel Arteta chose to rotate his squad, essentially playing two different elevens. The issue was we were 10th in the Premiership, meaning the Cup tie should have been the priority. Like many companies, Arsenal had lost a lot of money during lockdown and maybe this highlighted the pressure the Spaniard was under to try and catch up to the Champions League places.
He lifted the FA Cup twice as Gunners captain and again as a manager, so it is not as if he does not care about the trophy. Yet he sent out our second team to face Southampton’s first team on the Saturday, which was not worth winning 3-1 on the Tuesday to move up to the dizzy heights of eighth.
It remains one of the most baffling decisions the 44-year-old has made since his return to North London.
6th May 2021 – Europa League Semi Final – Arsenal 0-0 Villarreal
Unai Emery got some personal karma over the employer who sacked him the year before, essentially ensuring zero European football at Arsenal for the first time in a quarter of a century.
The Spaniard could not completely get the last laugh as, due to Covid, barely any fans were inside the Emirates. In his first full season as a manager it was no disgrace for Arteta to be tactically out-thought over two legs by someone who is a master in the Europa League. Our boss let the pressure get to him by trying two new formations in both games.
Yet what was worrying was the lack of urgency having lost 2-1 in Spain. Our squad knew for a while they had to lift this trophy to save the season. Our destiny was in our own hands. Score against Villarreal at home and you are through to a Final.
The visitors waited for the kitchen sink, one that never arrived. We managed only two shots on target, with Aubameyang touching the ball eight times. The one thing you could guarantee under Wenger was that Arsenal would create chances. Not anymore.
4th November 2023 – Premiership – Newcastle 1-0 Arsenal
I vividly remember my reaction to this game and the debate it caused on this site, more specifically how I reacted to Arteta’s post-match press conference.
This was the first time I almost saw through our manager and questioned if he was being sincere. This was the fixture where the Spaniard used the word “disgrace” a million times to deflect from his own shortcomings.
Yes, Gordon’s winner was dubious, but not as controversial as our boss was making out. The more he shouted, the more transparent his attempts at deflecting became.
As I wrote at the time, I would rather any anger be directed at Arsenal for passing the ball sideways for 90 minutes with Nick Pope only having to make one save. Or how the Gunners had gone from one of the most entertaining sides to watch to now struggling to make chances.
Maybe even self-reflection for buying Kai Havertz when we clearly needed a natural goal scorer. Instead of blaming officials, I needed to hear the man in charge self-reflect. Unfortunately, it was a sign of things to come.
31st March 2024 – Premiership – Man City 0-0 Arsenal
While I do not necessarily agree, many pundits argue that if Arteta had been braver on this afternoon, Arsenal would have gone on to be champions that season.
To be fair, a lot of these pundits have experience of getting over the line in a title race and suggest this was Arsenal’s moment to go for City’s throat at the Etihad. Our record at the stadium had (and remains) so poor, though, that getting a point at the time seemed massive progress.
The celebrations turned out to be over the top when you consider it was actually a result that now meant our destiny was no longer in our own hands.
17th April 2024 – Champions League Quarter Final – Bayern Munich 1-0 Arsenal
I vividly recall how arrogant some Gooners were, calling us favourites to win this tie. Yet this second leg happened days after a 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa surrendered our initiative in the title race.
We had let the moment pass us by and would do the same in Europe. This was the classic “not if you lose but how you lose” that was the problem. After a 2-2 draw at the Emirates, Arsenal went through the motions in Germany.
When Bayern went ahead, they waited for the kitchen sink to be thrown at them and waited and waited. No one took responsibility.
19th October 2024 – Premiership – Bournemouth 2-0 Arsenal
Arteta had been criticised earlier in the season for his approach when going down to 10 men. The difference was that against Brighton and Man City, we were defending leads when we had players sent off.
It was 0-0 on the South Coast when Saliba was shown a red card, meaning our manager was trying to play for a draw for the next 60 minutes. By the law of averages it was never going to work.
Of course it is not ideal to play without 11 men, but our boss acts like it is impossible to still attack. Wenger’s two Doubles were famous for winning despite red cards. Put it this way, Man City and Liverpool would not have parked the bus at Bournemouth just because they were a player light.
2nd November 2024 – Premiership – Newcastle 1-0 Arsenal
For the second season running, Arsenal struggled to translate possession into clear-cut chances. This time our boss had zero excuses to hide behind.
To show how we have not progressed, Arteta started with a lack of creativity in midfield in the absence of Ødegaard, leaving firepower on the bench. Even at his worst, you could always trust a Wenger team to make opportunities.
Now the Gunners had reached a point where the likes of Eddie Howe could tactically park the bus, confident his opponents could not break down his wall. What was worrying is we kicked off seven points behind Liverpool and yet the lack of urgency was startling.
27th October 2024 – Premiership – Arsenal 2-2 Liverpool
There were numerous examples last season of Arsenal struggling to produce a consistent performance over 90 minutes. We either started a game slow and waited too late to attack, or we would try and defend a narrow lead.
The difference between Arteta and Guardiola or Arne Slot is that they succeed in killing off teams.
Two-one ahead at half time, we were heading just one point behind our opponents when our manager decided to park the bus. With Saliba suspended, it was like our boss panicked when Gabriel went off injured, putting everyone behind the ball and creating a nervous energy around the Emirates.
This was the definition of inviting Liverpool to equalise.
31st August 2025 – Premiership – Liverpool 1-0 Arsenal
I based our chances of winning the league this season on if Arteta could go away on his holiday and self-reflect. Could he, while laying on a beach, accept he had made some mistakes and adapt? Would he put his ego to one side and learn from his errors?
At the first opportunity to give evidence either way, it would appear our manager will not be changing his ethos.
At Anfield, Arne Slot led the Spaniard into a false sense of security. Liverpool seemed content for the game to close out into a drab 0-0, so content with a point that we retreated, barely playing a forward pass.
In reality, the champions were always going to have a period of control in front of the Kop. A great team would have gone for the throat.
21st September 2025 – Premiership – Arsenal 1-1 Man City
After the criticism for the lack of creativity in midfield at Anfield, surely our manager had now learnt some vital lessons? Incredibly, the same three started on Sunday, with the long throw looking like our only route to goal.
It was one of the few times at the Emirates our bench looked more creative than those on the pitch. Arteta seemed to have learnt his lesson at half time (let’s hope for the future), but you cannot give Man City a 45-minute head start and not expect to drop points.
Dan Smith
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I think if Arteta had made the lineup more attacking than defensive, we had a good chance of nesting City
Though the team is better equipped to manage now, have seen Arteta went out and attack Man City in the past suffering a near lost, he was then acuse of being naive.
Though Merino is not a creative player, he’s very good without the ball, it’s like a catch 22 situation, but it doesn’t takeaway the fact the gaffer is a tactical genius, you can see it in the way Pep Guarrdiola approach the game, what was the Citizens formation? A 1 : 4 : 5 & 5 : 5 ?
Gunsmoke,
How many posts do you have to get the phrase, Arteta is a tactical genius into.🤦♂️🤷♂️
Derek, there is a saying ‘ A cow never know the use of it’s tail until it lose it’
All am saying we should be careful how we hurry to throw the young Spaniard out the door, look at Man U, Chelsea the Spuds.
He’s a tactical genius, given where he has took us from and where he now have us rubbing shoulders with Europe elite.
Gunsmoke,
You say we shouldn’t hurry. It’s been 6 years and counting.🤷♂️
Derek, yes our patience is wearing thin, can you say how many years it took Jergen Klopp to win the title at Liverpool?
A poster below stated’ the gaffer tactics is far from perfect but it allows us to finish second and probably second again’.
Arsenal now sport a detailed tactical system, which rely on discipline and structure, it allows us to adapt and outsmart opponents.
Why did Pep Guarrdiola reverted to a 5 : 5 formation and was so negative?
Why Arsenal is the only team dominated the Citizens as seen on Sunday.
Give Ceasars what is due to Caesar, the young Spaniard deserve his flowers
Currently we only have one recognised central striker to call upon in the shape of Goykares .The long term injuries to Havertz and Jesus are unfortunate, but neither is a natural CF in my opinion.In essence our strong squad is unbalanced and while the likes of Merino, Trossard and Martinelli could fill in as our main striker the team would lose the penetration needed if we are to seriously challenge Liverpool for honours this season.A Liverpool side which has been strengthened by the acquisition of Issac and Entike.
Stephanie,
What does nesting City mean. I’ve never heard the phrase before. Please educate me. 👍
Yet his tactics made us EPL runner-up three times in a row and a UCL semi-finalist last season by defeating Real Madrid home and away!
Despite those achievements, Arsenal and Berta gave him a non-towering penalty taker from Portuguese league and another luxurious CAM, instead of a Giroud 2.0 and an explosive inverted-LW
His tactics are flawed, but imagine if he got Sesko/ Woltemade/ Aghehowa and Rodrygo/ Williams
Unfortunately, we shouldn’t cry over spilt milk and Arteta could be sacked this summer partially because of Arsenal’s wrong signings
Nothing to do with Arteta himself then. So it’s the clubs fault he’s having to play this way because he’s got the wrong type of players.
According to you, it’s every body else fault.🤦♂️
I said it’s partially Arsenal’s fault for not giving him the players he really needs
His tactics are far from perfect, but they made us finish 2nd and would likely do the same this season
What players Arteta requested from the club and wasn’t given. Secondly, did he complain personally to you or in the media because you keep saying this every time he is questioned here.
Exacty. It is like a stuck record!
Sesko was obviously Arsenal’s first choice
Arteta can’t complain about Arsenal openly, because he’s still a highly-paid Arsenal employee
Sesko is a very poor argument by you. He has shown nothing, zero, nader ? It make no sense to say Sesko at all. He has been limper than a monks fart.
Sesko won more crucial aerial duels and probably did better hold-up play than Gyokeres. As I said, a highly-influential CF doesn’t have to score many goals
👍
GAI, agree with Reggie; it is goal output that is the difinitive performance metric for a striker.
Who are the players he needs, gotan., ?he has been buying, trialing and tossing out players for the past five years. Can’t blame the owners for wrong picks. Also on the bottling and not going for it gripe. How about losing to a ten man weak Manure team in the F.A. Cup in February, now wasn’t that pathetic? Or am I being self entitled!
gai, I said during the close season that Sesko would fit into the way we play, but we would have to change the way we play to get the best out Gyokeres. Unfortunately this looks to be the case.
We don’t want to be second again. What has Sesko done since he came to Man United?
So if a striker is not tall, they cannot score goals!
Give Arteta, the whole world, his tactics may not win anything.
Arsenal has a balanced squad now. It’s left to him to cross the finishing line now
Sesko joined an underperforming team
A highly-influential CF doesn’t have to score many goals, but he must win many aerial duels, be stronger than his markers and be pacier than most EPL CBs to help his teammates scoring or assisting
Sesko has the physicality to be that kind of CF
Sesko has shown zilch.
I prefer my striker to put the ball in the back of the net first before any of the other stuff you talk of. That why you pay 50+ million for these guys. I’m backing gyokeres but ekiteke would have fit well in our team.
Ummmmm, highly influential center forwards score goals for fun. Anytime you’re chatting up things like winning aerial duels and hold up.play, you are trying to hide the fact that your forward can’t score. I have no idea how many aerial duels Thierry Henry, Luis Suarez, Harry Kane, or Samuel Eto’o won. I know they won a bunch of golden boots though.
“A highly influential CF doesn’t have to score many goals”!!! Got no idea, I must be missing something in why they cost so much in transfer fees?
@Gai, are you sure that Arteta knows what he truly needs to move the team to next level. Yes he wanted Sesko And Isaak but these are players who really don’t want to join Arsenal.
The players signed are good enough for him to win a major trophy this season. His tactics are only good enough for 2nd place and UCL semi which isn’t equal to a trophy. He needs to evolve and advance as Arsenal coach.
Judge Gyokeres at season end. iMO at the moment, he is doing better than Sesko in ManU.
I think the manager is implementing the ethos of club owners, otherwise, he would not have got an improved contract; to be one of the best paid managers.
So long as the paymasters are happy and the Emirates stadium is full to capacity every time the club plays there, such worries SHALL NEVER be addressed!
I doubt if there are any owners who wouldn’t want to make an additional pound by doing better on the pitch unless it would take them two pounds to do so.
Saliba is about to sign a new 5 years contract, that means the players still have faith in Arteta.
Hopefully they all come together and win a trophy this season.
I’m sick and tired of going trophyless each season.
Continuing the idea…Arteta’s chair will shake not when x, y, z fans challenge him, but when he loses the trust of the players. On the other hand, certain anti-Arteta opinions, for example, some expressed here, are pertinent and full of substance and, for one, I hope they are also known to the decision-makers.
Xhaka, Jesus, Zinchenko and Partey were responsible for our fluid fast paced football of 2022/2023 season.
JESUS.
Martinelli. Odegaard. Saka.
XHAKA. PARTEY.
ZINCHENKO. Gabriel. Saliba. White.
Ramsdale.
The injury to Jesus during the World Cup was the first downside that season and he returned from injury and lost his strength and efficiency.
Saliba and Tomiyasu got injured at the ending part of the season in the match against Sporting in the Europa league so they were unavailable for the decisive match against ManCity at the Etihad.
Rob Holding had to start that match and he was skinned by Haaland that day and we lost 4-1. Losing the grip on the title from there.
That match traumatized Arteta and caused him to change his tactics to a more rigid and solid pattern especially against the bigger teams.
It has its pros and cons but I think Arteta should have the right balance and know when to freestyle and attack and also when to be conservative.
We also no longer have Xhaka who had an eye for a good forward pass.
No more Zinchenko was a good passer of the ball for us.
Jesus has been derailed by injuries.
Partey has gone.
Rice does not have passing as his strength. He is more of a ball carrier and solid tackling midfielder.
Zubimendi is not the strongest and quickest and he is still new to the league.
Arteta just has to learn to play his best 11 and let them play to their strength.
You have covered a lot of useful stuff here. What you have described demonstrates a pretty good understanding of the contexts rather than the reductive discourse of Dan.
Dan’s narrative seems to have been written in support of those who can find nothing but negativity about Arteta rather than provide useful insights into how his approach has evolved to deal with the challenges faced when to trying to win titles.
Dan, you could have saved a lot of time and effort, by just inserting your last ten articles and headlining this article “Why I don’t want Mikel Arteta at our club”
That would have been more honest than coming up with yet another article that just repeats the same old negativity.
I really hope that you can find some kind of positivity and happiness in your life as a Gooner, but I’m beginning to fear the worst.
Would you like me to do an article on the top ten games since MA became manager?
I would love to be able to make you enjoy your life as a Gooner.
Well to prove you have an agenda
Let’s try something
Last 10 articles ( remember peeps he’s claiming I don’t have anything positive to say lol )
Last 10 articles
When Henry Should have won Ballon D’or
Arteta negative against Man City ( most would agree / have said this )
Saying well done ladies for team of year
Looking into Sterling situation
Prediction game – predicted 2-1 Arsenal win
Laughing at Bentley
The one Club Award Tony Adams
Great London Arsenal 11
Who are Athletic ?
Let Madueke Breathe
So why would Ken and his friend not tell the truth ?
When a bully pushes you peeps , push back with facts
I’ve never been called a bully Dan and I’ll always hold my hands up and apologise when I’ve got something wrong, unlike you and the liverpool supporters at the Paris CL final.
So I got the last ten examples wrong and I apologise.
I’m not sure who my friend is your talking about, perhaps you could enlighten me and, of the last ten articles you’ve written about MA, how many are of the
positive nature?
Certainly not this article, which has ten of your examples.
However, as I did make the mistake, I’ll make up for it by producing an article of the ten most crucial matches where Mikel Arteta’s positivity brought great satisfaction to the club and see if we can balance out the negativity.
So I would say
– henry article positive
– Tony Adams article positive
Ladies team of the year – positive
Predictions league – positive
London 11 team – positive
Who are Athletic – neural
Let Madueke Breathe – neutral
And Arteta tactics were negative against Man City – I can only report what I saw
The majority agree that he was negative against Man City
What you mean is you are being proven wrong about Arteta ability to win title so don’t want to read . That’s not going to work on this site I’m afraid.
Write what want , you won’t be reading it
I simply wanted to point out to the whole site how you simply made something up .
Why would you make out I don’t write positive articles yet my last 10 articles be those?.
What is the relevance of Arteta to all those articles you mentioned? Positive about almost anything other than Arteta.
As for your article, I found it rather disappointing. Blaming Arteta for a draw at home to Liverpool with a makeshift defence is definitely in that mould. Not sure what he or the team could have done better really. We were in the grip of injuries across the board and you bring that up. It was a spirited performance against a team on the crest of a wave and I certainly wasn’t aware that the crowd were unhappy but rather resigned to our bad luck after Liverpool scored.
I’m as able as the next person to recognise disappointing matches and results. I’m also able to recognise that we have finished in the top2 for 3 consecutive years with a manager who had no experience in that role before the end of 2019 and at a time when Guardiola and City ruled the premier league.
West Ham supporters were no doubt instrumental in Moyes leaving the club. I bet they wished he was still there so that offers food for thought
I’m looking forward to Ken1945’s article as a bit of good news lifts the spirits
Because his argument is I don’t write anything about the Gooners
Your find that when Arsenal win , I compliment them
But that’s the whole point there are many examples of Arteta being negative
I also said he is a good manager who was let down in 2025 who won’t be .
All I said was he’s too negative to win a title
We didn’t have a makeshift defense against Liverpool., we had one first choice player missing and yes many were critical of how negative we were
Who was that one first choice player who was missing?
Well by that logic do did they
so
You said one first choice player not me.
Arsenal lost both Gabriel and Timber to injury during that match and Saliba wasn’t involved. Makeshift is definitely what it was.
Oh soz , I scanned it
Thought you meant the game at Anfield
But no I maintain in that 2-2 draw at home he was positive in the first half and dropped off in the second
👍
Like I said said Dan
Simps r us .
Regarding the Arteta cringe group .
When you read fans saying “I’m a massive Arteta fan “rather than a massive Arsenal fan ,their posts are obsolete IMO .
Have you ever thought Ken that some of us are not actually negative for the sake of it but just want better for the club,we have all waited quite a while for that big trophy and myself and a few others on here maybe just want to see us actually get over that winning line ,what’s so wrong in wanting better ?
Arteta is nothing special,he’s turned our club into an another Chelsea and Man City but without the trophies and a lot more excuses .
We have even had fans on here suggesting ex pros shouldn’t be talking about how Arteta runs the team 😂.
It’s got to the stage where I just come on here for the comedy factor and the p1ss take .
What can you do when the site is full of simps .
Exactly mate
If Arsenal are negative at Newcastle I will report it
If they play amazing , I will equally point it out
Eg , when we beat Real Madrid look what I wrote
Unfortunately though we have a generation who wants you to have an opinion until you say what they don’t want you to hear
Won’t work.with me 😉
Doesn’t work with me either Dan.
I’m part of a generation that holds its hands up when proven wrong, as we learnt that nobody is always right.
If I make a statement and it’s proven wrong, then I immediately say sorry, acknowledge that I got it wrong and move on…. that’s not bullying, that’s having the guts to accept a mistake.
It seems we have another generation who can’t accept the fact they’ve got it wrong, even after overwhelming evidence proves that fact!
That doesn’t work with me and before you want to show the whole site I made something up, perhaps you should acknowledge you made something up, when crucifying Liverpool fans in Paris?
You see Dan, everyone makes mistakes, but not everyone can eat humble pie.
I was more than happy to admit I’d got it wrong (again) but you have decided to make it personal, by calling me a bully.
So let’s see if you are capable of admitting you got it wrong regarding the Liverpool CL article.
Meanwhile, let’s look at the last ten actual articles that Arteta was the subject of, shall we?
Not predicted game results, or Henry, Bentley, Adams, our Ladies type of articles, but ones that you talk about MA?
That was my mistake, not saying articles regarding Arteta and one I accept without hesitation.
You might even prove me wrong again Dan and, if so, I’ll inform the site myself,as I always do!!
Does not work for me either Ken and Dan .
Common ground and all that .
I’m not getting this
You said my last 10 articles
What was I meant to do , just agree when I know it’s not true
Said to you before , unless it’s anything to do with the article not engaging
Easy way out Dan by not owning one’s mistakes.
No I have always been consistent with it and
The article is essentially times Arteta was negative
Then it’s gone too – Dan your always negative
So I prove your making that up
Now it’s …..Paris lol
Someone else is ……but Mr Wenger?
It’s simple., stick to the topic or I don’t engage
No, you’ve consistently failed to admit and recognise your mistake.
You can forever hide behind that keeping to the subject BS, but the fact is, you can’t bring yourself to say – sorry but I was wrong!
Never mind, I’m working on my article and I’ll try and get some way for you to allow yourself to apologise in said piece .. if you want to of course.
No mate not responding to any comments or articles that are designed to target people
Look how many people in the last week have been critical over Arteta tactics
Yet the same little gang come after me and no one else
It’s sad
I object to that Dan. You wrote the article and you chose to nitpick Arteta’s failings so don’t be surprised that not everyone agrees with it. One of the matches covered wasn’t negative tactics anyway .. Credit to you for writing as JA is in many ways lucky to have your regular input but criticism goes with the territory and I’ve had more than my fair share – a lot of it personal for considering that Arteta has been good for Arsenal. I may change my mind but some will never change theirs.
Sue you have missed my point
I don’t care about people agreeing with me and will respond to anyone who stays on topic
I.simply won’t engage with anyone who goes of topic
Hence It was implied my last 10 articles were not positive – I
responded but then it’s …….” Yeah but … Paris lol ‘
Or …..’ well Mr Wenger lost 6-0 ‘
If people are happy with Arteta great
I think he’s a good manager, just recently seen allot of negative tactics that have made me doubt can he get us over the line
I’m not involved with your discussion with Ken1945 and the article. It’s between the two of you.
My concern with the article was it’s feeding into the current anti Arteta rhetoric after a handful of games with so many more to go. It may be that Arteta hasn’t got what it takes but until later in the season it’s too early to judge imo. It’s open season to vilify him on matters not even match related half the time. My concern is tgat this feeding frenzy will have a negative impact. So much has been written about the way Wenger was treated- appallingly as we know and yet calling Arteta names is acceptable And it seems to be perfectly fine for those who are less than keen on Arteta to take aim at the few who have appreciated the changes he has brought but get decidedly uptight about criticism if it’s turned on them.
If I and others seem to be luvvies it rather misses the point. I post less than complimentary criticism about certain matches during game time. However, looking at the bigger picture SO FAR, I’m not yet in a flap.
Sue you make out that Arsenal are winning titles and winning games and people are still complaining
Most in football saw our starting line up last weekend negative ( yet only after me of course lol)
Don’t forget your little gang think 2nd was a positive and applauded
None of you will bully me into changing my mind
I’m simply writing that I won’t engage if not in topic
Very disappointed that you should refer to me as a bully Dan.
By the way, your reply to my reply was a classic case of deflection and bore little to no resemblance to anything I posted
Dan kit, listen mate, I’m 80 next month, so my time hoping to see our club win the PL again, or lift the CL trophy, is even more desperate than yours!!
If you think I’m happy waiting for that to happen, while watching our awful record in the domestic cups, then you really don’t know me, despite the years we’ve been participating on JA.
In my opinion, there are some fans on here who are negative towards Arteta just for the sake of it and why do I think that?
We have the example of Saliba and the medical team insisting he was fit to play, only for him to be substituted after five minutes…. and the complaint was that it was Arteta’s fault.
Another example was Raya saying he needed to get used to the new ball, only for that to be turned into another example of it being Arteta’s fault.
As for ex pro’s like Neville and Keane talking about how Arteta should manage, when both have had horrendous managerial experiences, is the real comedy factor for me mate.
Excellent article aided with facts written for the sake of saving the season before it gets too late. Arteta may cite goal loaded wins over Leeds and Forest to debunk this negativism argument. His negativism manifests itself vigorously against top teams. Or else i wish he had used the first half for attack to creating goals cushion and defend his lead in the second half as Pep did v Arsenal. I wish Arteta’s comms officer had read this article and also vociferous critics like Carra Neville Keane Merson. Arteta had been working with Arsene and Pep but realistically he was hijacked by Mourinho like managers. Draws will not make Arsenal champions as we saw it last season.
Cheers mate
Ambachew,
Unfortunately some people refuse point blank to see what’s before their eyes. 🤷♂️
I want to sincerely ask this question: is Merino really a defensive midfielder or are we calling him that to flog Arteta.
Again how many times in his career was he ever deployed as the deepest midfielder?
Not sure where this is coming from. Merino is a central midfielder for Arsenal. He doesn’t get deployed as a DM. Zubimendi / Norgaard are our DMs. Last year it was Partey / Jorginho.
Depends how you define defensive midfielder. He can play but he’s a mainly destroyer – similar to Patrick Vieira, who was often called a defensive midfielder, but similarly wasn’t usually the deepest midfielder in the teams he played in. Same with Roy Keane.
The point is: merino is not a creative midfielder like odegaard, who he replaced in the starting lineup, or other options like eze and nwaneri, so we lost some creativity by picking him.
Dan, have you ever previously done the same article on our previous managers and Head Coach ? Because I’m pretty sure they have made mistakes that cost us.
No because I didn’t think Mr Wenger tactics were negative
Maybe I and others say his tactics ate negative because that’s simply what we are seeing
Ahh right. So attacking football and getting battered by conceding 5 and 6 goals was ok with you then. Or putting out weakened teams in important domestic and European games was also ok.
I’m sure after those performances I was critical
Just like I can show you after wins me praising Arteta
Again it’s selective
Have I never wrote for example , Arsenal can now go away and battle and grind out results , a quality they couldn’t do under Mr Wenger
Your ignore that
Unfortunately I can’t write Mr Wenger was too negative to get us over the line because …..he got us over the line lol
Last Prem manager to win in league at Anfield and Ethiad ?
Mr Wenger
If Arteta gets us over the line I can’t say anything can I ?
Where you critical in the match threads or did you write articles criticising him during those barren trophyless 9 years ?
Those wins at Anfield and the Etihad, what trophy did get ?
Yes lol
And was critical of Koronke Family
That’s why I never wanted Wenger to leave or wouldn’t ask for Arteta to be
I simply noticed in second half of last year we were not making chances anymore and said will he reflect on that
“Yes lol”. What sort of answer is that 🤔. Come on, stop swerving questions. Did you write articles criticising him, or did you just write your criticism in the match threads ?
If Wenger would’ve agreed to wor with a DoF/SD he probably wouldn’t have got sacked.
What sort of answer is yes ? Lol
Dan do you want a coffee ?
Yes …..
What kind of answer is that lol?
I don’t know how to answer more then saying to you yes
Anyone else want to help me out here
I see you’re still having comprehension problems.
The question was: A) did you write articles criticising him ?
Or
B) did you criticise him in the match day threads ?
Hope that’s made it clearer for you !!
Yes to both lol
At last, a proper answer 🙄
Strange though, as you wanted him to stay.
When did I say I wanted Arteta to leave ?
You making zero sense lol
When have I said you wanted Mikel to leave ? 🤔🙄
The awkward moment when you say I make zero sense 😂😂
So would you call MC’s tactics negative?
I thought that was an interesting point that’s been lost – guardiola shockingly played a mourinho-type game against us, because he believed we were the much better side and he didn’t want to go toe to toe. It’s a compliment really
Sadly, I believe your last four words is the express the main reason why the point has not been given much recognition and would be heavily disputed on JA.
oops – “expresses the main reason”
The funny thing is it was Arsenal attacking from the first minute, not looking at the features of players on the field, and man City waiting for counter attack, that’s how they got their goal. In a match where Arsenal dominated in terms of possession and shots, in a match where Pep played 5 at the back for the majority of the second half it was Arteta that’s negative… like seriously 😳😒
I don’t get it!!! Could we have been more creative with Eze? definitely, that’s why am mad at Mikel when I saw the lineup, but negative!!! 😕😔
Artetaball is Anti-football. Tony Pulis with a better haircut and stylist.
Do you also think he’s negative against City?
I can see the author is playing some “gotcha” games to score points and throw people off track.
One can choose whatever games ones likes to create a narrative of choice.
Wenger’s teams will always create chances. So I hope this justifies getting beaten home and away by 5-1 score lines against Bayern Munich.
So we have seen Wenger’s team win with 10 men. We have also seen a shellacking at the hands of Chelsea, with Mourinho saying he had to leave the game early to tell his wife the result. There are any number of games from previous managers that can be cherrypicked to create a story.
I see some muppet here telling us this person is trying to save Arsenal’s season.
This is a ridiculous article at this time of the season and those praising it ought to be ashamed of themselves.
Arsenal have been fairly conservative but to equate that with negativity is disingenuous if not downright dishonest.
I think you’re ott, but I will say I thought the line about Wenger’s teams guaranteeing we’d create chances was wrong – I remember plenty of times/periods we really struggled and we could also be quite boring under Wenger. Usually that was when we were heavily reliant on one or two attacking players (who were often struggling with injuries etc).
Wenger brought plenty of good times and his teams were generally exciting to watch (even in the “bad” years), but he had some boring patches as well.
I remember years going by where Chelsea and Utd would usually play by simply keeping us at arms length and nicking a goal or two for an easy 1-0 or 2-0 win. They had us figured out and played in second gear to conserve energy. We were an easy win for them. It’s when evra called us “babies”.
Utter cringe post as per usual.
Talking of muppets 👆
“waited for the kitchen sink to be thrown at them and waited and waited. No one took responsibility.”
The last sentence hit me and hints at a larger problem. The only attacking player I can think of who consistently does try to take responsibility and make something happen when the games are tough is saka. Others do at times (trossard, martinelli, havertz) but I wouldn’t say consistently. Maybe the reason we lean so much on set pieces is that the others who really do go for it are defenders like Gabriel, timber and calafiori?
This isn’t just because of the manager, though I’m sure his way of doing things has an influence – are the attackers too concerned with keeping the ball and staying in certain positions?
One player who doesn’t come to mind in this regard is odegaard… I’m not saying he never steps up, but I am saying he doesn’t do it consistently, and the captain is the one player who should *always* be taking responsibility and stepping up when games are difficult.
For me the football we played under Wenger in his first 8 years was scintillating at times. The times they’d come out and put teams away in the first half an hour with their high speed football was a joy to watch.
In his next 4 years, the football was still good but the trophy’s were not coming along so regularly.
I found that in his last 10 years having changed from having real combative midfielders, he changed to a more technical kind of midfielder, ironically we didn’t seem to have the same the same creativity. I used to go back then as well, and he to played slow side to side football. It felt like they just passed for the sake of passing and getting nowhere fast.
And under Arteta I get the same vibes. People can talk about the City game all they like and how City parked the bus, but the starting 11 not having Eze in and sticking with the usual three in Midfield just doesn’t do it for me.
I’ll be interested to his starting 11 V Newcastle this weekend.
If AFC spent, Arsene and the team would have won more!
I’m not expecting a positive outcome against Newcastle on sunday because Arteta is so predictable and normally don’t do well against Newcastle and other teams like Brighton,Villa and Fulham that have good and highly tactical coaches.peharps i will stop watching until we start playing positively like we did against Madrid and Man city last season(that’s to show we can play positively if Arteta decides to let the team play but he most of the time holds the team back by his delibrate negative/boring tactics)
Exactly @ Matthew, I wish others, like you, can make the same decision.
We won against Madrid and Man city because MA just out of the blue decided to let the team play positively but we don’t do well against Newcastle, Brighton, Villa, and Fulham because they have good coaches. 🤦♂️
Pride, ego & favoritism + stubbornness = failure. This is why Arteta will fail again.