Opinion: Ozil and Sokratis decisions show that Arteta does keep his word

At the start of this month, while speaking about Arsenal’s plans for the transfer window, Mikel Arteta said as quoted by Mirror Football:

“Well, we have a large squad. We knew that.

“A lot of things that should have happened in the summer we could not accomplish them for different reasons.

“There are a lot of players that are going to go on loan. They are going to leave.

“And that’s the priority at the moment because we cannot sustain the numbers that we have in certain positions We are looking to do that.”

This week, the club has terminated the contract of Sokratis Papastathopoulos, and they are closing in on getting rid of Mesut Ozil, who has been redundant at the club for almost a year.

Throughout his time as the manager of Arsenal, Arteta has shown that he isn’t afraid to make the tough decisions even if it causes his team to suffer.

He axed Ozil and Sokratis from his team because they were not part of his plans. Despite pressure on him to bring the German back, he stuck by the decision.

He admitted that he probably made a mistake not naming William Saliba in his Europa League squad and fixed that by sending him out on loan this month.

These might be early days in his managerial career, but Arteta is showing great leadership, and it is something that will serve him well in the long-term.

Most of us have disagreed with him on some of his decisions, and when the results haven’t been ok, we have suggested changes for him.

But the Spaniard has stuck by most of his decisions, and he deserves credit for sticking to them and keeping his word.

Tags Mesut Ozil Mikel Arteta Sokratis

64 Comments

    1. Big decisions don’t mean correct decisions
      Given we finished in our worst in 25 years and are 10th in Jan , his decisions have not been working

      1. All those aquisation and blames are not totally his fault Dan, and not as a result of his decision, if you asked me The present Ozil and Sokratis wouldnt have changed a thing about our poor run of form

        1. Can I ask what decisions have gone well then ?
          He failed to bring in any creativity
          He admitted saliba should have been in europa squad
          Signing of willian
          Selling martinez

          1. selling of martinez and signing of Partey. Good decision. Giving ESR chance to prove himself. Good decision. Kickout Ozil, Sokratis, The Tank, and loan out Saliba. Good decision. Saliba is a good prospect, but not even there yet. He is not performing good at Nice. Winning the FA Cup. Good decision. So, stop being deluded.

      2. Zero context Dan Smith.

        You have conveniently forgot to mention that Arteta took over midway through a season, when Arsenal were looking more likely to be relegated than anything. He was also our third manager in just one season.

        Despite the shocking state we were in, MA got us defending the best we have seen in well over a decade, and against all odds, won the FA Cup and qualified for Europe.

        MA has, and still is, also working very hard at ditching all of the deadwood that had been stockpiled over the years.

        1. I don’t understand you. Best defending in over a decade and sitting 10th? Weren’t people calling for his head just a few weeks ago (not that they were wrong) with worst results some of us who have started following the team in the last 20 years or so have ever seen?

          Where was that best defense in over a decade?

          You know you can hate the great Arsene its okay but don’t force making him look bad. Some of your attacks on him are forced and it shows.

          You enjoyed Champions League football for 20 years courtesy of the great Arsene. Now that he is gone you can enjoy it only in your dreams.

          1. @Highbury Hero

            Clearly you haven’t been watching Arsenal this season, otherwise you wouldn’t have made such an ignorant comment.

            Despite our league position, our defending has still been the best we have seen in over 10 years. The reason we have been struggling has been our creativity.

            If our defending was so good under Wenger, why were we humiliated on so many occasions? Losing 5-1 against Bayern three times in a row, nearly conceding double figures in just one game against Utd, etc.

            I must also add MA has an excellent record so far against the top six. I think he has won around half of these games. Not bad, considering what he inherited.

          2. Third man so we were losing 5-1 every game did we? So we are the only big team in history to lose big? So when Aston Villa put 7 past Liverpool now Liverpool has a worst defence for the next decade.

            Sir Alex never lost by 5 or 6 with full 1st eleven didn’t he? Real Madrid were not humiliated by Peps Barcelona losing 5 to 6 every season didn’t they?

            Oh and Barcelona with Messi in it didn’t lose by 8 goals at home to your Bayern didn’t they?

            You take one or two results in hundreds matches in over a decade to classify bad defense. That is pathetic.

          3. @Highbury Hero

            I didn’t say we were losing 5-1 every game, you said that.

            Over the years, the beatings, and humiliations got worse, in regards to results and performances. Please don’t take my word, just go and watch the games, because clearly you haven’t yet. Our last 7/8 years in Europe were also horrific. Even when Atletico let us have a man extra for over 80 mins, and their manager gets sent off, yet we still can’t win! And what was it in the 2nd leg when we needed to score, one shot on target?

            It was the defense under Wenger, because the majority of the time our attack was fine. When you look back at his whopping, and unmatched, 14 years straight of not even being competitive in the league with the same team, it was always our defense and no DM that cost us.

            If we had signed a WC DM in 2013 instead of Ozil we probably would have won the league. But Wenger was obsessed with having as many attacking midfielders as humanly possible!

          4. @HH
            Worst results some of you have witnessed in 20 years?
            What about:
            8-2 against United?
            6-3 against City?
            6-0 against Chelsea?
            5-1 against Liverpool.
            10-2 on aggregate against Bayern. Etc.

            The likes of Bolton, Blackburn, Stoke, Wigan bullying us away on a consistent basis etc. Those away matches in the Emirate era has become nearly write off for us. In most cases a draw was the best we could hope for in those particular games.

            And wenger had a period of about than 10 years where he was running everything, was even asked to choose his own chief executive (Gazidis). The board indulged him tol much, gave him so much power, hardly any accountability. And he in turned over indulged his own players, letting them run amok etc with hardly any consequences etc.

            I had had enough of all that.

        2. @ThridMan…
          I am just over the moon that Arteta is getting rid of these deadweights that just keep draining our resources.
          People can try to pretend that they hate Arteta because of our bad league positions etc, while the reality is that most got their feelings / emotions hurt because of him dropping a certain cult hero of theirs.

          Same happened to Emery and Ljumberg. Once any manager refuses to bow down and worship “The Shirt Selling Genius” that’s enough for most to turn on that manager.

          Arteta might not succeed as an Arsenal manager but I will always give him credit for bursting the bubble of a certian section of our fanbase.
          🤭🤗

          1. Couldn’t agree more Goonster.

            For any manager, but especially a rookie manager, to make the huge decisions he has in regards to our squad, deserves massive respect.

            MA certainly has a huge set of balls on him haha

          2. And creating another one by playing Willian and willock in every game no matter what form they are.

          3. Adega Olatunji when was the last time he played wilock and when last did he started Willian. You are free to dislike the coach but if you want to argue, do it with facts.

          1. We have lost just 8 times or 42% of our games with only half a season finished. But it doesn’t matter since we have the best defense in over a decade and all. Our losing games were the result of lack of creativity. Our best striker Leno didn’t score enough.

          2. It’s not been great this season, but anyone with an IQ and knowledge of Arsenal, will know MA has still been having to sort out so many problems. A small amount of his own making, but the vast majority from what he inherited, mainly dating back to the Wenger regime. Ozil being a prime example of this.

          3. Third man junior I would suggest you learn the meaning of the word facts. It clearly its meaning is different to you from the rest of the world.

            A dictionary will be a good place to start and I trust you can take it from there.

          4. HH, here are some facts for you to digest regarding our defence.
            1. Under the reign of AW, despite and the 0.7% of humiliations, which there we’re of course, AW’s defences let in less than a goal a game.
            2. The Invincible defence was completely made up of AW’s signings.
            3. The defences, made up, we are led to believe, of dross incompetent players, either finished in the top four and /or won fa cups for twenty one of his twenty two seasons.
            4. AW’s defences helped win 7 FA cups, three PL titles, 7 Community Shields, 20 top four (or above) places and reached the knockout stages of the CL in all but one of those 20 consecutive appearances… something only Real Madrid have equalled /bettered at that time.

            Delve deeper and look at the 2012 season, where we went 14 games without conceding a goal during the season… nine of those being away from home…the 2nd best defence in the PL!!!!!!

            Of course, AW could/should have done better, but he has the best defensive record of any Arsenal manager, once their time came to pass.
            WHen someone who hasn’t done their own homework says that you aren’t contributing anything and seems to claim they have a better IQ than you, just give out the FACTS… “Junior” 😂😂😂 can’t argue with them.

          5. Thank you Ken for such amazing and educative facts. Certainly my IQ has improved already. What a wonderful tool facts are (when used by the correct meaning of the word) to drive home a point.

            I will sleep tonight having added to my knowledge (and I believe I am not the only one), facts about Arsene Wenger defenses.

          6. @Ken1945
            @Highbury Hero

            Will Arteta retain your support if he manages to also go 14 years straight of not being competitive in the league? If Arteta doesn’t win another trophy until 2030, will you consistently excuse him from the responsibility of that?

          7. @thirdman

            If Arteta can equal Wenger’s achievements for the first 7 years, AND show the same loyalty that Wenger had shown towards the club, then I would be willing be extent to the same support to him.

            If Arteta can match Wenger’s record post 2004, even without Wenger’s achievements prior to that year, he would still have my full support.

            Having answered your question, let’s now discuss your attempts to rewrite history. Arsenal post 2004 were not ‘uncompetitive’ in the league. We had some serious challenges for the title during that period. Maybe we should have succeeded in at least one of them, but we were by no means uncompetitive. Also, of course, the consistency with which we had finished in the top 4 meant that we remain one of the elites in the league. We also came agonisingly close winning the CL playing with 10 men for the majority of the match. If that is uncompetitive to you, then I must say that you are either deluded or simply demanding privileges that you are simply not entitled to.

          8. @Nick

            Post 2004, we never won another league title under Wenger, only finishing runners-up twice, and in neither of those seasons were we realistically in the title race.

            Of course context is needed, and I have always stated it wasn’t all his fault, but he was massively responsible given he was 100% in charge of coaching and match days, and heavily involved and influential with the running of the club.

            Wenger, along with Gazidis left our club in an absolute mess.

            That is what happened, that is the history. I would be interested to see how that can be disputed.

      3. Dropped a few bollocks already in my eyes selling Martinelli buying the Mickey Mouse goalkeeper then saying we will miss Ozil’s quality dumping GUENDOUZI who I thought had a great future at Arsenal

        1. getting rid of guendouzi was not a mistake. Nor was getting ozil out the club. And I assume you mean Martinez, and yeah, I do think that was a mistake. No way is Arteta flawless. If he was we’d be higher than 10th.

  1. his decision nearly got him sacked though, he was so stressed about our poor run, and despite trying different methods and solutions, he got let down by those trusted clowns and was lucky the young guns came to the rescue. Taking a decision and standing by it, is great but not everyone is lucky to get instant result/get patience to prove point.
    He was ruthless, straightforward i like him, AW is more of a politician/diplomat shielding his employer and carrying weight some1 else blame

  2. I’d be surprised if Arteta recruits a left-footed CAM like Odegaard, because he could’ve brought Ozil back for the role. If Odegaard plays as the main CAM at Arsenal, Arteta would have to change his tactic because it’s currently working well with a right-footed CAM like Smith-Rowe

    I’m sure Odegaard’s work ethic would be much better than Ozil, but we’d likely overload the right flank if he plays behind Lacazette. Unless Odegaard would play as RW

    About Sokratis, he’s old like Luiz, but I think Luiz is faster, better in the air and doesn’t have to wrestle the opponents to stop them. I hope Arsenal get a new LB instead of another CAM, because Saka is doing great in the RW position

    1. There’s a lot of focus on left and right footedness recently. It makes sense to me when talking about a fullback or left-centre mid (although I don’t believe it’s so critical there as many believe), but when it comes to an AM who has more freedom on the pitch, I don’t see it as being important – all that matters is that they make good decisions that help the team (on and off the ball).
      Could be wrong of course – are you basing this on observing how ESR plays?

      1. Smith-Rowe made plenty of crosses from the half-space on the right flank in the last five EPL games, after the opponents got drawn into our left flank. This is similar to Man City’s tactic, which made De Bruyne able to exploit the right side

        Smith-Rowe rarely popped up on the left side, despite making an assist from there in the Newcastle game. He often became an additional RW, when Saka cut inside

  3. I agree he’s made mistakes but what managed doesnt especially a new one. Getting the team balance hasn’t been easy with injuries and players not performing but were definitely going in the right direction now. I like the fact he stuck to his guns with Ozil and Sokratis instead of saying their senior players I need to keep them in the team he said they don’t fit how I want to play which is good. The young plays are starting to prove him right

  4. I sometimes might not like Arteta’s over cautious/ defensive style of play but I just appreciate his ruthlessness when it comes to showing floppers and and poor attitude deadwood the door.

    Hope he does the same to the likes of Willian, Pepe etc if they continue to flop.

  5. Where other past AFC managers who should have done it but didn’t, and who tried to do it but didn’t succeed. However, the current Gunners gaffer Mikel Arteta must be praised and hailed for his getting rid of these 2 parasites from Arsenal FC at long last.

    This move out exercise by him has become very necessary for Arsenal to do if the club is to move forward this season and move to the right direction away from mediocrity. Which I believe is what the 2 moved out parasites who have been refusing to move stand for at the club dipping their fangs deep into Arsenal sucking it’s blood to almost to the dry level.

    The proposed left footed left back signing this winter window by Arsenal for cover and option could be delayed till next summer to do it. But if Arteta is confident one of the right footed of AMN and Soares can mann the position in the team effectively to not cost Arsenal points dropped in the PL or match loss in the Cups during the 2nd half of Artetal season campaign that they are now into.

    For, Saka who is looking to have settledown at right wing than at left wing when he was playing from there should not be withdrawn from the right wing that he has now made his own ahead of Pepe to go and mann the left full back position unless if it comes to that. But I wouldn’t know for what the reason that Arsenal could be signing Odegaard for. To play him as a right winger?

  6. Well said Ad Martin. I know many, mostly young and impatient fans will not agree with you that MA has shown leadership. Their vision extends no further than our current Prem position and the next few fixtures. I think thaT a shame for THEM personally as it shows limited vision which willimpacttheir ownprivate life The ability to see thingfs as they are, not to fooo youyrself they are better or worse abd to face up to the realities of where we are baravely and withouteither bias or fear is an important life skill.

    I know I upset many fans by my bluntness and am deliberately blunt, as I think it important to say things exactly as they are, NOT as you wish them to be. It is having the courage of your convictions and is precisely – as you correctly say – what MA has done with his clear decision making and not going back when under fan pressure.

    Put another way, THAT is real leadership and is one of many reasons why I PERSONALLY HAVE GREAT EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS MATURE, HUMANE AND CHARISMATIC MANAGER. I SEE REAL STEEEL IN HIM AND IT HAS BEEN AMPLY DEMONSTRATED BY HIS DECISIONS SO FAR.

    He has also shown flexibility and an ability to accept that he has made errors, notably the admission over SALIBA AND the decision to give youth its REAL head in the Prem(where it really counts).

    Having steel in your character does not mean being inflexible or not making mistakes. It means learning from those mistakes that all humans make at times and having the confidence and humility to say so, publicly!

    I see real great qualities in MA and would in all seriousness claim to be among his staunchest supporters on this site.

    I will continue to back him and urge more REAL THINKERS with vision, to come on board and see, REALLY SEE, what is happening.

    TAKE OFF THOSE ROSE TINTED SPECS OR THAT DOOM LADEN GLOOM AND SEE REALITY.

    BUT ALSO SEE THE PATH AHEAD. TO ME IT IS AS CLEAR AS DAY!

    1. Jon, I think you will find that there were only a few questioning Arteta for the future – what was being questioned, was the lack of creativity and sticking with senior players that he brought in.
      Circumstances forced him to change that stance and, like any clever person, he has grasped the mettle of the subsequent windfall… Good for him!!!

      I see no point scoring from him with regards to players he has decided to let go and would just quote his words recently regarding Ozil :

      “He is a great footballer, a really talented footballer.
      A player who has done a lot for the club… but at the moment I want to take the team in a different direction”.

      So, time will tell if he is right and, like you, he has my full backing.

      1. Ken So glad to see that NOW he DOES have your full support. Quite recently though, your posts were noticeably more ambiguous for his short term future, I would add!

        As to those who want him out, you could argue it is just a few, depending on how you define “few”.

        What I notice is the young age of those who want him gone and that tells ME a great deal about their “thinking”!

  7. Mikel had me debating of he was the man for the job after our very poor start but slowly he is getting my confidence back up with the way he has handled and admittedly spoke out about the Saliba mistakes but rectified that with the loan now.

    With stats we have not seen Arsenal defend like this in 10years apparently so kudos to Arteta and the defence line that are doing what hes asking.

    He has stuck to his guns with Ozil, Papa and Matteo so have to give him credit even though I like Guendouzi but he must be a big pain in the ass, hopefully with being a new father & playing well in Berlin he might come back more matured and ready to integrate back into the fold as he is friends with alot of the squad. Maybe a hard lesson to be learned for the young man… if not then a nice chunk of money from a sale, profit. Win – Win.

    We now have a load of youngsters playing excellent and that’s down to him too with his training and confidence he has in them to get us going again. Bolugun should maybe consider staying as hes the next in line to be called up properly, Eddie needs another proper loan as leeds wasnt enough game time for him.

    We have a load of hard fixtures coming up but to have Partey, Martinelli, Gabriel & Teirney back fit, the young guns flying & Laca/Rob/Xhaka/ all upping their games is giving me hope, Auba too, then I’m confident we are on the right track.

    Lastly, Get Willian out the door also. No need for him to be here. Pepe I have hope for!

    1. But but but…but William is an Arteta signing after Chelsea rejected his demands…surely the great man cannot have got it so wrong?

  8. If he could get a good CAM and a CF to replace Lacazette, I think Arteta would have sort it out at Arsenal

  9. When Arteta came in the club was in shambles. He had to build his own team and after some struggle’s that is what’s working.

  10. I admire the myopic vision and double standards of the Arteta supporters….4th was never good enough because it is not a trophy, but 10th in the league in mid/late January and with very unlikely prospects of finishing in a CL place means that the PLAN (whatever that might be) is working and the man is a genius.

    Would these people please send me details of whatever they are on. I would love to try some myself.

    That said, seeing the league table right now do bring back wonderful memories of my misspent youth, so kudos to Arteta for that.

    1. What poor comparison.
      Wenger had more than 20 years. And 4th place trophy was getting annoying each season. Proper stagnantion, proper steady decline.

      So you are comparing a manager that had 20 years. In those 20 years or so he won 3 titles.

      Let’s break it down:
      First 10 years = 3 titles.
      Next 13 year = 0 titles.
      23 years = 0 CL titles
      His last 13 years we only about challenged for the title once in that time.
      Last 13 years just making up numbers in the Top 4.
      Went 9 years without a single trophy.

      I like wenger and adored him but if we are to be honest, for 23 years just 3 titles, no CL title, just scraping for 4th place since 2005.

      If we are to be honest with ourselves he would have never lasted for that long at Madrid, Chelsea, United, City, Barcelona etc.. Wenger had become so stale, so stagnant, so dinosaur, so stubborn, so arrogant, so egotistical etc that he never accepted any criticism or advise. How many times was Wenger advised by fellow managers to buy a Keeper, Dominant CB, a dominant DM each season but but he refused?

      How many times in those 13 years was he encouraged to work on our defensive play but just kept sweeping everything under the carpet on each occasion.

      How many times was wenger criticised for letting his players be ill mannered? He pampered our underachieving and underperforming primadonnas each season. Making excuses for them instead of leading them as a leader. No wonder we struggled to compete. Poor attitude and mentality in our players massaged by wenger.

      Seriously every time i think about stuff like this during wengers Emirates era the frustration and irritation overpowers me. We only needed to a few mature serious signings during that Fabregas era and we could have achieved something with that squad. But wenger kept paying us lip service until it was too late.

      1. So let me get this right…in your opinion, Wenger was a failure post 2004 because he failed to win the league nor the CL even once. Leaving aside the financial constraints that he had faced during a very large part of that period, as to some people that was just an excuse, I will concede that for now for the sake of argument, and also accept your definition of failure.

        I will also leave out last season’s results because Arteta did not have the full season. So, by your definition, 3 FA cups in 4 years, finishing in the top 4 consistently with only occasional tilts at the title are the signs of a club going stale. In which case, how on earth can 10th in mid-Jan with very little hope of getting in the top 4 can be seen as signs of progress or as an improvement?

        You said it was a poor comparison comparing Arteta with Wenger. I agree. Wenger won the double in his first full season, won 2 further titles, one of them going undefeated for the whole season, installed a state-of-the art training facilities from the profits of his early transfer dealings while doing that, showed great loyalty to the club when arguably bigger clubs came calling while knowing that he would be financially handicapped by the debt of the new stadium, yet kept the team within the elites of the premier league when the club were losing players to richer clubs and not being competitive in the transfer market. I would be very happy if Arteta can match any those achievements, even one. Until then, it might be a little too early to proclaim Arteta as the second-coming of the Messiah.

        I actually support Arteta, for no other reason than he is the current manager of my beloved club. However, many of his decisions have been strange to say the least. We can say all managers, especially those in their first managerial roles, make mistakes. I would counter that we might now be a selling club, and while Arteta has the potential to be a very good manager, but have we really regressed to being a training ground for rookie managers to go on to bigger things?

        1. Has there ever been a manager or player who has been flawless?

          The two most successful managers in PL history have been AF and AW Nick, I could not agree more.
          You have said it all without any fear and, actually used facts to back up your opinions.
          Why fans one minute attack kronkie for not being an active owner, then the next completely ignore how that owner affected AW’s role, is staggering.
          WELL SAID SIR!!!

          1. Sir Alex had few faults, kEN IF, as I do, you put the team before the interests of individual players, SAF upset many players Beckham Keane, Stam etc but the team always came first.
            I contend that for results of the TEAM he WAS almost flawless and had no peer, certainly not AW, over that length of years.

  11. I like Arteta and support him
    But we have to have standards
    We have to say 10th in Jan is not acceptable
    Any manager in anyline of work has targets
    If a manager is set to not meet those targets , it’s very rare you would say brilliant decision
    I been in management
    If I phoned my owner and said we are going to fail our ofstead by looks of things , then my decisions have not been good enough

  12. I think MA tried to go Pep here.Dont get me wrong i will support him but you cant say that some of his decisiins arent questionable because they sure are.Pep had money and MA,am not sure….
    Some of his signings,tactics,subs,”footballing” decisions has really surprised me.Sometimes i feel like our style is too predictable and think some decisions coyld have certain consequences when we try to sign a star player in the future,for example the way MA and co. handled the ozil situation but i am really glad ozil left,thank God i can enjoy his class again. But with all of this surprises i really want to see MA achieve great things in the future.So trust the process🙄

  13. He is the manager. He lives by his decisions.
    If things don’t pan out as he planned then he himself will be gotten rid of.

    Let Arteta try to do what he believes and thinks is right for his administration. If he fails then he can’t blame anyone.

    What I was tired of was fans consistently telling the managers what player they prefer to start. “But he should play so and so because of this and that…blah blah”. They went as far as turning up for games and chanting “We love so and so, bring back so and so…”

    I like Arteta’s ruthlessness. He makes decision on players and he hardly goes back on it until he deems them fit to get back. He will makes mistakes no doubts and he will have to live with them.

    He don’t get the desired results in the time he is given then he himself will be sacked.

  14. MA inherited so many huge issues on and off the pitch. Most of them were/are draining funds from the club. No surprise the on-field performance would have to get worse before getting better. If any club needs time to repair, it’s Arsenal.

    1. How many Huge issues ?
      He chose to sell Martinez
      He chose to offer contarcts to Mari , Luiz and Cedric
      He signed Willian and Runnarson
      He chose not to play Ozil when we were unbeaten from jan – March
      He chose not to bring in aq creative player
      He chose to loan Ceballos again
      He chose to recall Elneney
      He chose to leave out Saliba
      He chose not to cash in on Niles
      He chose to recall Eddie from a loan spell
      can’t keep blaming the old regime

      1. DAN KIT, “CHOSE”?
        You are CHOOSING to ignore the fact that financially his hands are firmly tied and that in that situation, the least awful decisions have to be made sometimes, NOT the ones he would have CHOSEN, if he had free financial rein!
        THIS IS WHAT I CALL CHERRY PICKING AND SLANTING “FACTS” TO SUPPORT YOUR OWN BIASES!

        1. Hmm…Financial constraints… And yet such consideration were not afforded to Wenger by fans who screamed that ‘Fourth is not a trophy’… Strange, that!

          1. NICK THAT IS A BLANKET CRITICISM THAT IS SIMPLY UNTRUE WITH MANY WHO WANTED WENGER OUT BUT WHO STILL KNEW AND SAID, ALL ALONG THAT KROENKE KEPT HIM SHORT OF FUNDS, AS HE HAS DONE TO EVERY OTHER MANAGER POST AW.
            But Kroenke did not choose to leave the defence with a long line of dud CB’s, some going way back before Kroenke and nor did Kroenke choose for the club to keep collecting midfielders but no proper DM since Gilberto.
            Finally, that fourth is not a trophy is fact, not opinion.

          2. And while you keep criticising Wenger collection of players, yet his results are better than what Arteta has shown so far, no?

            Or is it that in your strange world, players that finish 4th under a bad manager (as many claimed that Wenger had morphed into during the latter part of his stay at Arsenal) are somehow inferior to players who finished in a lower league position under a good manager (the second coming of the Messiah according to some here)?

        2. So if both were under financial constraints, then why attack Wenger for only finishing 4th at worst, apart for his last season, yet praise Arteta for his ‘plan’ (whatever that might be) making progress when we are sitting at the lofty position of 10th in mid January?

          Surely if financial constraints are hindering the ability of Arteta to do his job, it must have also hindered Wenger in his? Yet you constantly attacked Wenger for doing a lousy job, while putting Arteta on a pedestal, despite Arteta’s results being far worse so far, and that is not even taken into consideration of the style of football being played.

          So, it may be a blanket criticism on my part, but one which is justified because of the double standards invoked.

  15. I am only supporting MA just merely because he is the current manager in the club i love. However i can applaud him coz he is doing good to sell excess dead wood in the club. He has also tried to stabilize our defence CB area. But Some of his decisions are just ridiculous ie his Obsession with Crosses, passing sideways, selling Emi and buying Mr micky mouse, exiling MO, poor Man and squad management (player manager rship),,… He is also the Master of double standards when it comes to different players (performance based). He is also the culprit behind some very boring football that we have witnessed in most games of the first leg, no creativity at all., i even occasionally fall asleep watching some of our games and opt to watch (African CHAN games as they are more entertaining to watch than our games) so to say… We therefore need a good and reliable GK to help Leno, a box to box midfielder and a world-class CAM (to be back up to ESR). otherwise the second leg is coming thick and fast to haunt and ship Mr MA out of his short rookie Career.🤦😂.

  16. If you insist on comparing MA unfavorably with AW please allow a level playing field. AW is measured over 20 years and was an experienced when he arrived. MA was not only a rookie but has been judged over 12 months. MA has had to contend with Covid and empty stadiums which has wrecked the “self sustainment” model he has to work within.
    Yes MA has made plenty of mistakes but I for one can see he is learning from every one. We appear nowadays to live in extremes – adore or hate, they’re great or awful. Every debate here is so polarised, whereas I try to see what is reality, which is somewhere in the middle. AW was amazing pre Emirates, but started deteriorating slowly towards being laughable at the end.. So what does that make him – a genius or a buffoon? Try somewhere in the middle.
    All supporters of major clubs believe they should be winning the league, but thats impossible. Even for those clubs its cyclical at best – there is no Divine Right here. Ask Leeds, Notts Forest, Aston Villa fans. Fourth place was never bad, we were just drunk from success, and mid-table with a new manager and a poor senior team is also not failure. Let’s support this team AND it’s manager and jettison this vitriol. Please

    1. ‘MA was not only a rookie but has been judged over 12 months. MA has had to contend with Covid and empty stadiums which has wrecked the “self sustainment” model he has to work within.’

      Your statement above really begs the question: Have we now sunk so low that we have become a training club for aspiring rookie managers to learn from their inevitable mistakes? I do not blame Arteta for wanting and getting the job, what aspiring manager wouldn’t want the Arsenal job as their first step on the managerial ladder? For this, I blame the club.

      ‘Fourth place was never bad, we were just drunk from success, and mid-table with a new manager and a poor senior team is also not failure. Let’s support this team AND it’s manager and jettison this vitriol.’

      But it’s likely to be the same set of fans who complained that 4th was bad (I would include you on that list based on your statement that the club had ‘started deteriorating slowly towards being laughable at the end’) now acclaiming that Arteta is somehow the second-coming (I would not include you in this list based on what you had written) despite evidence to the contrary. If they think that the last 10 years of Wenger was bad, then at least judge the present manager by the same standards.

  17. The owners of Arsenal could never finance the club the way Mancity could or even Liverpool do. it is going more harder to attract class players going forward. with the EPL clubs such as Everton now accessing more finances, things are going to be more tough for Arsenal. the current owners are very cunning people. i would not be surprised if they put it out for sale because Arsenal is a falling brand and it is going to take years and brilliant team built by dedicated individuals to keep it afloat. it is my opinion. MA is trying to do the best he can but to create a wining team you need human resources and finances. also the vision should be clear and well communicated.

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