Episode 8 starts with Arteta sat in a car saying, ‘We have big ambition to be in the Champions League next season, that’s our target ‘
Not fifth readers …… fourth!
Zero mention that fifth in any way would be progress.
In fact, our manager laughs when asked if 5th would be a success given where they had finished the previous year.
Maybe he has an agenda?
The issue with Arsenal taking Amazon’s money in the first place which it was always likely to be a documentary on disappointment.
Of course, the results at Spurs and Newcastle hurt but you could accept it if the performance was better.
Given what was at stake it’s still hard to fathom how bad we were at the Lane and Saint James Park.
Our managers response to the North London Derby debacle was to downplay it and hope it wouldn’t impact the Newcastle game, yet you sensed he knew?
Xhaka has come across well throughout this project, he warns at half time that his peers are playing like a 2nd Division team. In 8 episodes I haven’t heard anything from Odegaard.
There is a comical moment when Arteta at full time of the 2-0 loss suggests that Norwich could still beat Spurs and not one player looks up in hope.
Without the happy ever ending though, editors are forced to find a feel-good finale.
Ramsdale, Ian Wright, a fan, and most worryingly, Vini Venkatesham all try to present 5th as progress.
The Chief executive was around when Mr Wenger and Emery were forced out when 5th wasn’t viewed as success, it breaks my heart to hear this now trying to be sold as something we should be happy about.
Be like Man United celebrating 5th because it’s better than 6th
Overall, what’s been your feelings on All Or Nothing?
Dan Smith
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The difference in having a top class manager to one learning his trade ,fans said on here in December when conte came in that he could be the difference between the clubs ,and he was in the end ,simple really .
calling off the north London derby with 1 covid case when the spuds weren’t playing well only to play them in the rearranged game when they were at their best was a massive mis judgement from the club .
You make a fair point about the arrival of Conte to Spurs Dan kit, and the likelihood of a better outcome if the game hadn’t been postponed, but on that point there is an element of hindsight being that wonderful thing. Covid was still really affecting fixtures and there was no knowing what new variants could do.
Are you any more confident of Arteta on the basis of the games that have been played so far? Conte is a top manager but I think that Arteta has the same potential to reach the top. Still, it is early days into the season.
‘You can’t turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse’. Because we never upgraded the midfield and striker(despite losing Auba) in the January window, we were simply not good enough. January was a poorly managed window. Still we now have made some great signings now so it’s ‘water under the bridge’. Still. in this window we desperately need a top midfielder to cover Thomas Partey or we will be short again. We now look a very good team, but still need a couple of top notch players. I can see us challenging at the top for the whole season……if we complete our summer window.
I wish there will be another documentary series for this season, because it showed the personnel’s true characters under heavy pressure and what happened in the dressing room
I don’t get the constant reference to 5th and progress in every one of these articles, is it a jibe at someone in particular or a group of fans/supporters in general?
Some fans, amongst them this author, have consistently and in my view unfairly criticised other fans for supporting Arteta. They insinuate that those supporting the current regime have accepted mediocrity. They have also suggested, rather disgracefully, that some of these fans were boasting of 5th place last season.
It is certainly true that some fans indicated that 5th place would be progress. This, of course, was based on an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the squad compared with other top teams.
Those other (supportive) fans suggest that the squad needed overhauling as the quality of the squad and the prevailing culture was not at a level to expect that we would be able to challenge the likes of Liverpool and Man City any time soon. These fans accept that it would take time and a bold approach to make the necessary changes required to turn an underperforming club to a force once more. These fans could see that Arteta and Edu had articulated a clear vision to the board which was agreed to and invested in. These fans accept that there will be setbacks but believe that the strategy is sound. They have been willing to support Arteta/Edu and give them sufficient time to realise the vision.
The naysayers don’t see any of this. Their simplistic approach is to either explicitly or implicitly blame the manager alone for any setbacks. There has therefore been a campaign of negativity whose insidious aim is to discredit the manager and thereby gain support for him to ousted. The narrow minded view of these fans appears to be that the only way to success is to get an established “name” as a manager. This partly explains the persistent reference to last season’s placing and the lack of recognition of any kind of progress.
Better put than I could do David
I don’t advocate a permanent state of happiness and positivity but harping on and on the whole time is demoralising. Arteta the yes man and the sackings are still brought up in the absence of anything else negative to report upon.
Dan can write really thought provoking articles which I enjoy reading and when not all is rosy in the Arsenal garden, that does need highlighting, but you could be forgiven for thinking that we are relegation fodder year after year.
I grew up in an era where there was no expectation of instant gratification. For a lot of the posters, I guess they have been watching the majority of their football during the Wenger era when the football in the early years was magical and latterly, being in the top4 was a constant. It was a lot of years having the top4 trophy. The horror of finishing outside this lofty position came as a nasty shock. There is an ardent group of posters who can’t deal with our current status because they didn’t know what it was like before. And some seem unwilling to accept that the complexion of the Premier League has changed considerably since the best Wenger years.
I found Allor Nothing far more interesting than I ever expected to, when it was fist announced as going to happen.
One of the more exciting things to me, is to see the great positive step forward from our position a full year ago now, when we lost our first three games. I found it positive that the Kroenkes had the sense to keep faith in MA when many Gooners, though not me, had lost ALL faith.
I did have doubts and expressed them but never lost faith, for the simple respon that despite his many mistakes in his first two seasons – which was actually a season and a half, rather than two- I could clearly see the mark of the man and his passionate commitment to changing the laissez faire atmosphere left behind from WENGERS LAST SEVERAL SEASONS.
I looked beyond mere Prem position , unlike some, and took the longer view of MA as being a manager who would prove himself, IF given a chance. The Kroenkes DID extend his contract and I , for just one , am firmly seeing a close knit dressing room with an excellent team spirit; one I have not seen at Arsenal for well over a decade past BTW.
In my judgement, such matters as team harmony and getting coasters, lazy players and regular trouble makers OUT, is a sign of a top manager. I reason that Klopp and Pep would never tolerate some of the things that have happened to Arsenal because of laziness on the field, including fake sickies being thrown and arrogant young players showing off . We all know which players I REFER TO, SO NO NEED TO NAME THEM.
But ALL are gone and I say hurray for that and credit our fine manager for having the guts, sense, determination and will to see it through. I say we are immensely more healthy as a team then we were even ayear ago.
And who is that down to? Arteta, IMO
On another point, to rake over old sores from sometimes a decent while ago, may well be relevant when the team is clearly struggling; an example of this is Man Utd in their present DISUNITED state. But to rake over those same old sores when the team is doing well, smacks of determined negativity and determination to be a continuing pessimist at any cost and despite all evidence to the contrary.
I repeat what I say in my article; that anyone is entitled to be a determined pessimist if they so wish, but those who are not, are also entitled to call them out for their pessimism.
I just do not understand why SOME fans love to indulge themselves in misery about the team they say they love and claim to support!
AND I WISH TO POINT OUT, I HAVE A RIGHT TO EXPRESS THAT OPINION.
Again Jon how did you refer to Xakha after we BEAT Palace ?
That’s loving misery isn’t it lol
No Dan It is not. It is fighting against what I SEE AS A PERSON WHO IS DRAGGING BACK OUR CLUB. Under my own article today about passion and being positve, I posted a very long, fulsome reply to KENS post asking me to explain certain things. It has -I hope temporarily, disappeared, BUT WILL, I PRESUME SOON REAPPEAR.
YOU SHOULD READ THAT POST, AS IT EXPLAINS MANY THINGS OFTEN ASK ME TOO.
So it’s okay to be negative if you agree with it lol ?
Of course you have the right to express your opinion, same as everybody else. I hope this isn’t an attempt at playing the victim though, because that would be rich.
Assuming that ESR is versatile who can play in the 2 multiple positions of the RW and MF. But will Arsenal still need this summer to do another specialist new top quality midfielder addition to their on the ground midfield ranks of: Elneny, Xhaka, Partey, Odegaad, Vieira, Lokonga and AMN?
Yes, but if AMN is offloaded on loan again this summer or sold him altogether. But No, if Arteta keeps him in the team this summer. For, there should be no need for the club to do a new top quality specialist new midfielder signing again this summer in my own honest opinion.
But my opinion may not tally with that of Mikel Arteta the Gunners gaffer on this issue. As he may not want to keep AMN this summer but offload him to sign a replacement to him.
Arsenal have to beat AFC Bournemouth at away in the late kickoff EPL match encounter today between the newly promoted Bournemouth team and the giants North London club side Arsenal.
And I think and believe that Arsenal will play another winning game in the match and overcome Bournemouth totally to the collection of all the 3 points at stake in the match. And remain joint top on the table after the conclusions of all the matches at week 3 into the campaign this season.
Before this summer window closes, the believes in the Arsenal quarters are, the club will sign a new top quality rightwinger and centreforward. Who can and will give tough competitions to Saka and Gabriel Jesus and Nkethia combined for their money in the team. Subsequently thereby raised Arsenal performance in the EPL to a higher level than it’s currently is this season after watching the Gunners played 2 competitive EPL games so far in the season. And I ascribe to those Arsenal’s quarters thoughts and believes.
Having seen all episodes. Genuinely I’m still not 100% comvinced on Arteta and the naivety of the club in general and how standards have dropped but I can take hope, Passion and commitment. No one can accuse Arteta of not wanting the best for this football club tbh. I liked how he can be tough on the players. Something ex players under the great Arsene said he hardly did. Maybe that’s down to personalities. But in this current squad I see a blend of more hungry players that given a bit more time will get to the level we need to challenge for titles. Also a very small blend of mentally weak and complacent players and Odegaard has no claim to the captain’s band than xhaka and ramsdale, they’re the vieras that hold the others accountable. Holding shouldn’t be happy he just gets paid to seat on the bench. He should be fighting to start. That weak mentality showed in the game against spurs. All or nothing was bitter sweet to watch but one thing I can genuinely say is that there’s hope for this team and club yet. 2 more signings this season and we could genuinely contend properly.
I liked the series glad I watched it. It changed my mind massively on Artetas way and thinking of playing always telling the players about laying forward and attacking.
Said it before and I will again 5th is progress from 8th but it’s so frustrating the fact we blew and gave away 4th that’s really gets at me and for me it’s the fact we didn’t sign anyone in January and the fact we lost to Southampton away and Brighton at home and then obviously the games at spurs and Newcastle.
But at the end of the day I’m glad we are back in Europe all be it in the wrong competition from the position we were but I don’t live in the past as look at how we have started this season. It’s like a total different team