An article by fanatical Arsenal fan, Tomorrow.
Given time Mikel Arteta could make Arsenal a success again.
Everton away, Bournemouth away, Chelsea at home, Man Utd at home. On current form, we will be lucky if we got even one point from those games.
Everton is the league’s top form team alongside Liverpool and Leicester. Bournemouth just beat Chelsea away and Chelsea and United are always huge risky games.
If Arteta is to come in and do little to change the outcome of the above, then it’s not new. Unai and Freddie had the same problem.
So it’s time that we need to give.
The issues are just as much tactical as they are personal. To some extent, the directors have done well to bring in Pepe, Tierney and Martinelli. It’s a shame bad form and injuries have hit two of them. While the other has been called talent of the century.
We have gems, and Arteta needs time to bring that together with better senior talent.
It’s now not a matter of if Ozil is good enough or not, it’s about arsenal moving on from a period of struggle.
New faces with new hope need to be installed, proud to be playing for Arsenal FC.
Toerrira, Saka, Martinelli and even Tierney when he played looked like they have the sort of energy our team needs.
There is a lot of youngsters along with Saliba joining that need top quality senior players around them.
Auba, Laca, Leno and Kosalinac are the only senior players I would keep. Kolsalinac has had glimpses of both poor and excellent moments – I think Arteta might be able to bring it together.
Kolasinac has a quick burst of pace but poor recovery. I don’t see why he is not played as a CD where that short injection of pace can stop that situation where we see the likes of Sokratis panicking when one on one.
Because Chambers wants to prove himself, I would play him also at centre back. Play Saka as wing-back and M.Niles at RB.
Sorry, I go off-topic, I switch between the long and short term.
Short term Arteta needs to get something out of the four games above if he becomes the manager. Its Thursday tomorrow and the game’s on Sunday.
City play tonight, I am so interested to see the news, if any, after the game.
Any doubts the squad has over Arteta’s appointment will surely be judged on who his backroom staff is.
Arteta is one of them average footballers like Pepe who came through Barca ranks became a cult hero at Everton for being a big fish in a little pond. The same as what Sigurdsson is doing.
He has been under Wenger management and has learnt from his generations best manager, who learnt from Cruyff.
If it was me, a way to assess him is to see what team he selects after two or three games against your own predictions.
Although mine is a little left-wing (or right-wing depends how you see it.lol) I would currently go for
Leno
N.Miles Chambers Kos Saka
Torriera
Gendouzi Willock
Pepe Auba Martinelli
Top teams end up with a top line of five. Liverpool has their full-backs and top three for example. Arsenal could have Pepe Auba Willock Martinelli and Saka.
Then you have a defensive line of N.Miles Torriera and Gendouzi who protect your back two of Chambers and Kosalinac. Chambers will be the pivot and Kos will use that short sharp pace and clean up and danger.
This would be my current solution.
From defending you have Kos who can break the lines and run forward with the ball with Torriera dropping in, you have Saka who can run with the ball and can pass and go or receive.
In midfield, Willock has the energy to close down and get in goal scoring position. He almost plays like the no.10 by being close to Auba but with the added situation of having Martinelli also like a no.10 as Saka takes up the wing.
It’s creative and delusional I know, but just as much as arsenal wanting to take such a big risk in the modern game where stakes are high on an unknown manager. Yet, one day 22 years ago, we appointment an unknown from Japan!!
Originally this was a comment but I felt it deserved far wider coverage – Admin Martin
Appointing Arteta is a bold decision. If Arteta could avoid defeat at the next four EPL games, the complaining fans must applaud the board for the high risk they take
Regarding the strategy, Arsenal have to move Chambers up to the DM position and replace Pepe with Nelson. If Kolasinac is still injured, we need to play Saka in his position:
………………….. Leno
Maitland-Niles . Mustafi . Luiz . Kolasinac
…………………. Chambers
……….. Torreira ………… Guendouzi
Nelson …………………………. Martinelli
………………… Aubameyang
I would interchange the positions of Luiz and chambers
Chambers failed as CB at Fulham and Arsenal. His man-marking is not good, but his other skills are good for CDM role
By the Fulham realized Chambers leaked too many goals as a CB, it was too late for them. He shone as a CDM there, but Fulham were in relegation zone already
But wouldn’t you say that while Chambers might be good enough for a backup DM that David Luiz is more suited to that role as a starter?
I mean Luiz and Callum are both roughly of the same mediocre quality defensively, but Luiz has better long passes and shots…
Also that Chambers Torreira Guendouzi midfield lacks creativity big time. Liverpool can do it because they have absolute top fullbacks and a GENUINE false 9 in Firmino. Compare TAA’s and Robertson’s passes to AMN’s and Kola’s and weep.
Exactly! Then many formation options, but Willock and xhaka infeomt of Luiz and Ozil above them., auba and laca must start, a youngster with them, the others in rotations.
But, we have now Mertazacker on couch bench; he is our defense, keeps sokratis and puts Chambers all over. A catastrophy!
Gotanidea
Who ever they appoint is got to be better then what we have now and that is no disrespect to freddie and co.
Having an interim managers doesnt work in my eyes as the players are fighting for there spot and and just waiting it out to see who they need to impress when he comes in
I beleive Everton have snared our manager and we have snared theres but that is my opinion
Who ever takes over the hot seat we need to be patient with them and give our full support even if it going wrong as this team needs total surgery and it wont happen over night
It’s a bold decision that could pay off. I know people wanted Ancelotti, but I don’t really see much that he could do when we need so much work done. He usually goes to clubs that have a strong structure and don’t need a rebuild. Even Everton dont need as much of a rebuild as we do. Our entire defense needs to go along with midfield. The truth is this has become a project, and not just a job that needs a few tweakings and the right manager.
The idea of having pace in the middle of the defence is interesting, it is certainly needed. It will be a challenge to contain him though as he does want to get forward. I could see us getting stuck with just one defender and a lot of people (hopefully) running back to help out.
Constructive comments and interesting ideas on how to get the best out of Kolasinac.I like your team but would like to see Pepe play as a conventional left winger, his natural side.I suspect Arteta may use him there like Sane at Man City.
DONE DEAL!!!
Mikel Arteta is the new head coach of Arsenal. £4 million a year until 2023. Should be in place for tomorrows afternoon session at the latest, with backroom appointments being finalised by Friday.
Tim Cahill will join Arsenal coaching staff with Mikel Arteta. Tim has recently completed his coaching badges.
Arteta tried to convince Xabi Alonso to join. However due to other coaching commitments and loyalty to Liverpool Alonso turned down the opportunity.
Brought you the news early
Tim Cahill?? Are you sure he ain’t off to Everton, Kev?
He’ll join us
Why on earth would they commit to such a long deal? What if he flops afetr 18 months like Emery? They just love paying off managers don’t they. I would have given Arteta a 1 year contract max.
Spot on @QD Arteta should be on a one year rolling deal, it is now evident that this was a reactionary measure. The three clowns panicked after the 3-0 thrashing giving Arteta an upper hand in negotiation. Raul seems to be part of the problem at Arsenal
Totally agree.What will they do if the form doesn’t improve and we are in the bottom 6 with 10 matches to go.Artera is too big a risk and if it goes terribly wrong the unthinkable could happen
What happens to Freddie kev?. I enjoy how well he works with our youngsters
He stays
I don’t think the squad is no where as bad as ppl are trying to make them. Poor game plan and management has led us to this point and like any other job in world ppl thrive on confidence. That is the ingredient we are missing the most and because of that we are suffering as players don’t play to their natural ability, start playing safe and are scared. Why does everyone keep on forgetting all these players are internationals n have done n keep doing good job for their countries so it’s not like all of a sudden we have a group of champion ship players. All we need is good tactical manager which I am pretty confident Arteta is n players to get their confidence back. I bet if you would have given the same squad to Pep or Klopp or Rogers start of the season we would be in top 3 at the moment.
Yes Martin I can see why you used this post and the writer makes a lot of fine points. He is an optimist which is fine but does not seem ,as some other posters are, to be a fantasist. I much like his realism with his Ozil comment. I am hopeful to a degree, with Arteta being, in my view, the right choice from the possibles who would accept the job under Kroenke. But much depends on Scrooge having his wallet prised open, with a crowbar, in Jan and I do not think Arteta would take the job UNLESS he has had some guarantees of being able to bring in some PROPER defenders to replace at least some of our clowns in January. You would have thought at least a circus would have come calling for those hilarious clowns Sokratis, Luiz and Mustafi. Hilarious, but tragic that is! Since our founding days back in 1886 there can NEVER have been such a sick joke of a so called “defence” in all that time. They all, individually, make Gus Caesar look like Tony Adams! How much longer are we to labour under the title of the only Prem club WITHOUT a defence, of any ability or organaisation whatsoever!
JON, i am giggling here to myself reading your above comment. especially about our old warhorse GUS CAESAR, lol, omg, that brings me right back. however, my very favourite defender (in jest )would have to be IGOR STEPANOVS.oh dearie me, that man , i cannot even call him a player, was a calamity all to himself.i have never seen anybody so useless at playing football in my life.i suppose we could pair him alongside GUS, and , see how we would get on . i have a funny feeling that they might actually outplay one or two of our present “defenders”.it would be a tight call , but i reckon GUS and IGOR might win the day , lol.great comment jon !, in arteta we trust .
I want the Kroenke’s to come out now and tell us if they
are going to sell the club soon or not.
Please journo’s ask this question.
I have been postulating that the kroenke’s want to sell Arsenal ASAP
to help pay for the 3 Billion cost over run on their Inglewood stadium in LA.
But they need Arsenal to be top 4 to ensure a top dollar sale.
So they need a yes man to get top 4 asap.
They also want to slash the wage bill to make a sale more attractive.
The yes man can be got rid of easier as well.
Mind you if you asked them are you in it long term they could say they are
yet sell the day after we next get top 4.
One good reason to back Mikel to get top 4 and see the back of the Kroenkes.
Chambers as proven he’s not good enough, at any position, and still people want him to be played. Chambers, Xhaka, Sokratis, Luiz, Mustafi are all the same player – lack speed athleticism, fast twitch muscles to play at this pace; always grabbing people accumulating useless yellows. Not good enough for our club. Arteta needs to ship out at least 3 of those guys plus Mesut in January.
Best lineup? 442, basic, simple. Keep it easy for the players and give them a platform to play from.
Auba
Laca (as the 10)
Martinelli. Pepe
Guendouzi. Lucas
Below average Back 4
Leno
love the summary line for the back four!
TH14atl, i could not agree more with your comment. chambers has been badly found wanting in the recent games. he is not suited to any of the positions, so, it would make sense for ARTETA to move him on , hopefully. there are too many hanger ons at our club presently.the chief hanger on is mr.ozil, he is in charge of the dressing room , in my opinion. not a very good athmosphere to have our younger players around. the sooner ozil and his ilk are gone then the sooner the arsenal will become powerful once again. of that , i have no doubt.