The transfer window will not save Arsenal; only Mikel Arteta and his tactical decisions will. by Jack
Arsenal has lost three of its last five games, which is disappointing, but in games against West Ham and Fulham, Mikel Arteta, on paper, clearly fielded his strongest available lineups. On a good day, with Raya at goal, Saliba at defense, Rice and Havertz at midfield, and the attacking trio of Martinelli, Jesus, and Saka, plus the other players, Arsenal have the ability to demolish any side that comes up against them. Having said that, the Gunners have not been performing as expected in recent weeks.
Many Gooners are certain that signing a super striker will solve everything. However, Mikel Arteta, like any other top coach, is dealing with a team that has lost form and whose tactics have become predictable. There’s no assurance that replacing Gabriel Jesus with Ivan Toney will return Arsenal to their top form.
Mikel Arteta’s tactical plan may have to be reconsidered. He has a variety of tactical options. He can, for one, choose to revert to a 4-4-2 shape, which will protect his fullbacks, particularly the left back, who have been exposed. One of the front two, Havertz and Jesus, or Havertz and the new attacker, can play as a No. 10. That’s only one of several ideas Arteta might consider adapting.
We need to be realistic about the transfer window; there’s even a suggestion that this may be a quiet transfer window due to FFP restrictions.
Arteta needs to accept that he has a good squad, one of the finest in the Premier League. He needs to stop being stubborn, modify his system, and come up with new tactics. The inverted fullback role worked and may still work, but most teams have cracked it and know how to counter it, and it’s not as effective as it was when Granit Xhaka played the left-sided No. 8 role.
If he doesn’t come up with a new working plan quickly, Arteta could be in trouble…
Jack Anderson
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Unlike many other clubs, Arsenal boast a decent record in the January transfer window over the last few years. Last campaign we acquired Tossard, who provided cover and much needed spark in the attacking line, as well as Jorginho and Kiwior, who have both been fairly whencall upon.
In 2021 we made one of the most significant signing in our history by bringing captain Odegaard from Real Madrid.
But this time more than ever, Arsenal has to get this one right but this is not the gaffer strong area in my opinion.
Arsenal could still win the league if they are able to get Vlohovic and Fofanao over the line, two reasonable acquisition that is right up our street if you ask me.
I move that Jack Anderson be appointed Director of Football Tactics at Arsenal with immediate effect.
Who seconds?
I second
I third
Maybe you struggled to gasp the write up. It’s indeed a fact.
Arsenal’s problem is purely tactical.
And if something is not done now it may come late for Arteta
Ignorance! All i see in this write up, Ignorance!!!
If so, try to write a better one, I’m eagerly waiting.
Alright, let’s assume i’m interested in dictating to our Manager who seems to have run out of ideas due to our current form, according to you guys anyway, how do we get the article to him? cos that’s what matters to me the most.
Vamos, Even if we assume by some weird chance , that wecould get this article read by MA, whatever chance do you think it would have of making ANY differnec to his current opinion? I will gladly tell you, NONE WHATEVER.
Do you seriously suppose ANY manager ,listens or takes ANY notice of fan sites and their debates!
He would not have the time nor, of course, the inclination, either to read or listen . True or false?
Reality!!
We have have have to win tomorrow.
Massive game.
ESR must start
Havertz up top.
Rest saka and Martinelli
Jesus wide.
I agree with you Jack. The problem we have is that we are dealing with a stubborn coach who learnt only one tactics during his coaching training. It’s unfortunate that arsenal is stuck with such a coach whose technical and tactical nuances is questioned and far below such a big club.
You’re factually wrong. Only one tactic he knows? Seriously? Do you even watch Arsenal or football in general?
I forget which game, but last season an opposing manager said that MA changed his system something like 3 times in a game.
When MA first arrived he played defensive counter attacking football, and now we play possession based attacking football where we control games and create tons of chances.
The main issue is that all our forwards cannot seem to finish this at the moment whilst our opponents are super clinical.
I suggest you watch Arsenal before spreading such misinformation, or if you have been, then I guess you’re a liar.
Here we go again. What an amazing January transfer window last January. Trossard and Jorghino, Jorghino in Trossard. Did they help us in the the run down to the title race. Are they any better than some playing for mid table teams. Would we be worse off without them. Edu and the boss need to lift there game. We definitely don’t need another central defender all rounder and Saka and Martinelli need serious help. They can’t save Arteta week in, week out.
We haven’t a good squad at all.
That’s what let us down in past years and will do so this season.
Arteta hasn’t a clue if he thinks fielding Zinchenko as a fullback is a good idea.
Jorginho, Trossard, Havertz and Kiwior more mistakes.
Can’t see arteta drastically changing his tactics. Pep doesn’t rarely either.
I’d imagine one or two changes with jorginho getting more time in the middle, we might see ESR or Nelson start a few games for the next month. By mid Feb we will be back to the same starting lineup consistently.
That’s about it.
More important is changing tactics and not being so predictable and 1 dimensional.
A striker and midfielder yet play the same tactics won’t be enough to right the ship.
We need a striker that scores and a B2B midfielder to help balance the midfield. Then change or at least tweak the tactics.
Next year toss the inverted fullback nonsense; it’s unbalanced and been sussed long ago. Try overlapping fullbacks and watch Martinelli improve, and Saka find a new gear.
High time Arteta gets held accountable, and hopefully makes adjustments.
I believe he can still improve us, but he has to turn down the ego from an 11 to around 3, and be more flexible and less stubborn.
Stop micro managing everything and trust his players more. Take off the handbrake and trust their creativity more, can’t control everything like a movie script.
Colleagues, we’re trying to run away from the real thing. We have a manager who’s overated and big headed! Last year we of course played better and got lucky with most clubs not at their best which is totally different this year. Believe you me, we will be whipped from left to right.
I agree with those that say he’s not a match for this club. The sooner we acknowledge this the better. We have a more than average squad which needs a capable manager.
If Unai was over backed like Arteta, we could have been somewhere
The inverted-fullback tactic is good, because Man City, Liverpool and Spuds have been using it very well
We just lack attacking variations in the final-third, which could be solved by signing a physically-dominant CF
the front three generally is betroying arsenal, am always happy when i see arsenal looking for a box to box midfielder generrally to bring back the kind of play when we used to have xhaka
And here again is why the fans with foresight said Havertz was a bad signing. Not because he’s a bad player but because it uses up budget with cost and wages when we had other priorities.
The amount of people here that don’t understand opportunity cost is scary, maybe the penny had finally dropped for them now.
We have needed a striker for years. If we want to win the EPL or Champions League we will need a striker. The player who fits the bill is Ivan Toney, not…Solanki a Havertz type. Arteta has taken us a long way but his obstinacy is legendary. Why he bought Havertzs when James Ward Prowse and James Maddison were available at the time is more mysterious than ‘what happened to the crew of the Mary Celeste’? The most stupid signing since Mustafi.
I do think it is fair to ask that the manager needs get more out of the squad whether that be tactically or player rotation wise but regarding the January transfer window it would appear the club are cash strapped however there are other ways to raise funds to bring new players in.
(1) Sell some players i.e Nketiah who Palace are said to be really interested in, Maybe Nelson too. When clubs sell academy players it goes down on the books as pure profit which helps with FFP.
(2) FFP also allows owners to put £90M of their own money into the club over a 3 year period so that’s extra funds raised. Whether KSE would be willing to do that given how much backing they have already given to the manager over the last four years is another matter entirely.
Then we can look at some realistic options to strengthen positions of need.
GThe club may be short of money to spend this January but there are other ways to raise funds
(1) Sell some players i.e Nketiah who Palace are said to be really interested in, Maybe Nelson too. When clubs sell academy players it goes down on the books as pure profit which helps with FFP.
(2) FFP also allows owners to put £90M of their own money into the club over a 3 year period so that’s extra funds raised. Whether KSE would be willing to do that given how much backing they have already given to the manager over the last four years is another matter entirely.
Then we can look at some realistic options to strengthen positions of need.
Guirassey(ST) don’t know much about him but I wouldn’t mind the club taking a punt on him with a release clause of just £15.2M
Fofana(CM/DM) this is a talented player and a well rounded midfielder who first caught my attention at the last world cup for France and was very impressed.
We are also short of numbers in defensive areas too so why not give the likes of Walters and Sousa an opportunity?
How can you hope, when every week they kill your every hope. We cannot go down the same road that leads nowhere, and we continue to hope.That is, what can I expect from this Saka, Martinelli, Jesus, Odegard, when Arteta’s tactics have embalmed them and they seem to move like prisoners, or sometimes like dogs who have an object hanging on their tail? Here there is an obvious setback, which if something does not change dramatically, and I mean the racing philosophy from Arteta and all that We all mention, but only he sees a problem in the physical condition, or in the increase of more phases. But how can this be done? If you sleep standing up?
Vanzel, such wisdom. I think the Arteta heads will lie low for a while. But as football supporters all we can do is hope.
I think it’s high time we go back to a simple 4at the back. 3 in the middle comprising of rice, joghinho then odegard upfront as the nub 8. Then we go with the usual saka and martinely with either Jesus/nkitieh/ havert as the top 9
Has anybody thought that maybe Arsenal need a new manager?
Unless we change our method of play, tactics any decent out and out striker would be nullified. The ball would still continue to go sideways and backwards before taking a more direct route to him.
Because we rely on the current method of Saka and Martinelli to take their man on, cut inside and take shots on goal and just keep trying that until it bares a goal, we have no other identifiable plan. Outside of that it’s a case of multiple, unnecessary passes to try and deftly finesse the ball into the net, almost opting for a stunning visual of pretty football without it being very perfunctory!
A good striker would need a regular supply up to him on a frequent basis so that he can carve out his own chances or, use his hold up play and knock downs and become a foil for other players to feed off him. If we stick to the current method, the game will be behind him all the time, resulting in him having coming out of the area where he’s most dangerous and looking for the game elsewhere on the pitch!
If we did resort to route one football at times……would Saka and Martinelli be able to change their games and use that foil? I could see Nketiah and Trossard being able to feed off the likes of an Ivan Toney type of striker and the three of them becoming a handful, even Jesus! But would Arteta be willing to take a more direct approach to the Arsenal attack?
I know we have been spoilt since Wenger who introduced us to lovely football and great players to achieve it, but unfortunately the premiership has moved on. Mesmerising football on its own isn’t yielding the same results anymore. We need to become a lot less florid and more ruthless which calls for a change of plan!
Is it time to revert to the old style of Smith & Wright, Wright & Bright, Shearer & Newell type of long ball football……or, at least a version of? At the moment, Arsenal seem to have been found out!
Could we have such a lineup as White, Saliba & Gabriel as centre backs. Saka and Martinelli as wing backs. In front of them Oedegard, Rice and Trossard in front of them and Toney and Nketiah up front being a nuisance. Saka and Martinelli on the opposite sides to where they are now whipping crosses in. Trossard, Rice and Oedegard provide the slide rule passes from midfield to Toney and Nketiah and driving on with the ball as well. Over come the high block with the long ball directly to Toney with the full backs charging on simultaneously whilst the ball is on route, with the midfield pick up the pieces from any loose balls as a result!
A pipe dream I know….but something’s got to change!
Arsenal have become too predictable.Its pass here ,there and everywhere. This spurning of chances is nothing new.
Against Brighton ,chances were squandered. Against a better team,the gunners could have lost.
The attack lacks speed and is one ,two or even three passes more.
We need Martinelli and others to run at defenders instead of passing .Then we shall see