“They need something more, quickly” fans agree with journalist after loss to Spurs

Arsenal fan and journalist Charles Watts watched as Arsenal suffered yet another defeat at the hands of Tottenham this afternoon.

The Gunners have had a busy summer transfer window, but their preseason games haven’t been as good as their fans would want.

The defeat to Tottenham is one that is hard for most of them to take and as it is very close to their season opener, fans can easily see that it may not be as good a campaign as they hope.

Watts, who is Arsenal’s correspondent for Goal.com took to Twitter to voice his conclusion for the match.

He claimed that in both matches against Chelsea and Tottenham, they started very well and dropped their levels in the second half.

He made special mention of their performance in the final third, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang still struggling for form at the moment.

He then urged them to do something quickly even though the performance isn’t surprising since it’s from the same attacking players.

He tweeted: “Arsenal end pre-season with defeats against Chelsea & Tottenham. They were good in the first half, average in the second. Same old story in the final third. No surprise really considering it’s the same attacking players out there. They need something more, quickly.”

Some Arsenal fans seem to agree with him, here are some reactions:

Tags Tottenham v Arsenal

52 Comments

  1. “There’s still 3 weeks”

    Every single summer you hear optimistic fans say this. And when you say it every summer with the same end result, its not optimism anymore, its stupidity.

    There will not be enough quality signings anymore. There will will be maximum of one signing, and that is funded by our most goalscoring midfielder, Willock. Remember Özil purchase to appease fans?

    Get this: Arteta and Edu are rookies. They are beginners. They have no connections, no pulling power. They still think Arsenal are the powerhouse we used to, but we are not. They have spent all summer chasing pipe dreams (Ödegaard, Maddison and who else) only to realize “oops, we cant afford them”. All the while other targets have slipped by.

    +70 millions spent, ZERO on most glaring issue, creativity. ZERO sales.

    Nothing will happen this week, nor next week. Last week the cheque book rookie will panic with the amateur-Edu, and end up buying, well panic buys. Kolasinac’s contract will be teared up (pay his wages for the whole year) while we already spent 7m on his replacement. This is the amateur Arsenal way.

    We will park the bus against Chelsea and City, and pray not to concede. That is the MA way.

    We will struggle against Brentford, and likely nick an ugly win against the least team on paper and some fans will say “season opener is always difficult”, even though same mistakes are made as last,year.

    > “Trust the process”
    > Nothing changed in 18 months

  2. Willian was Arteta mistake last season I hope he drop Auba soon, the type of football he is trying to play needs dynamic wingers and with Saka and Pepe we have what it takes, we only need a cf who is good in the air.

    We were used to having fancy No 10 since Wenger days that’s why we complain about ESR not being good enough, but if you really want to be honest, this team doesn’t necessarily need a ball passer CAM to thrive, the attack only needs to run with the ball and into space, and we will have what it takes. As regards the post, it shows the changes means second team who are not good enough

    1. Aubu has not performed since his new contract last September. Aubu and William have continued the Ozil situation. A top class number 2 keeper is also needed. Chambers should be playing at right wingback.

    2. Why are you saying all this?? Ever since we’v been clinging to the wings sonce wenger days, its been hell for is…we just aint doing things through the middle anymore..no one to work the middle..wing play gets us nothing, havent we leant from this all this while…edu and arteta doesnt even know how to identify players who can work d middle like how cazorla fabregas, viera drive fwd from midfield..only wingers and defenders they seem to identify. it was even Henry who identified lokonga for them, partey had been a long term target before arteta.. arsenal wont achieve anything until we get back to working the middle…through balls 0, entering the box 0. arteta way isnt the arsenal way atall.

    1. @Websurfer, are u serious? The Tammy Abraham I know. Or do we have another? With u in charge, I believe we ‘ll be playing league one.

  3. Charlie, you must know that you cant judge preseason games, if you are a decent pundit/writer. Bring on the new season!

    1. You can definitely judge preseason games, especially when they are played 5 days before the start of the season against EPL opposition.

      1. That is what they are and nothing else, never have been never will!!!! It means zilch too Friday.

        1. We can keep dreaming but there is no way the team will improve in a week.. and mind u that preseason + last season has consistently been bad :/

          1. Improve from what, we have no yardstick yet for this season. Im not dreaming, im starting with a clean slate and hoping that Friday is the start of a journey. I have no patience but i do have hope. I dont judge anything until a ball is kicked in anger. I have an opinion but the facts will span out Friday onwards.

    2. Preseason or not its still gonna be the same..play well against bottom quarter teams, struggle against the rest.

  4. Arsenal board has to get serious, they need to act by buying good players not just asking for their prices and leave other serious clubs to buy, and for them, they just wait for players released!

    1. Its not the board..arteta and edu just aint bidding atall only confirmed major bids were for white and maddison. None for bissouma, none for sabitzer, none for Aouar, none for lautaro (spurs even bid), none for Odegaard. We dont go for the guys that will like to come, we go for the ones that dont even like arsenal and waste the window there

  5. We don’t have money to buy players, that our manager wants, wake up from your slumber .Other teams are buying good players, l don’t understand why you can’t get it,we don’t have money!!! Stop blaming Artetta as if all these players are good enough to compete with the best

    1. He did have money. He wasted Almost all of it on two defenders which we don’t need instead of attackers which we do.

      1. You are right. MA is just too delusional.. It is clearthat our problem last season is the lack of goal, but guess what? He decided to spend 50M on a defender and as of today has not acquired any attacking player.
        Probably Arteta wants to revolutionize football by having a playmaker in CB position???

    2. Oh we dont have money right? But we buy a player we dont need for 50m right? When we needed a no.10. even Brighton were shocked we actually payed that much.

    3. Last season we permanently signed 5 out-field players, Partey, Cedric, Mari, Gabriel and Willian, the youngest of them being Gabriel, 22. Others are seasoned players.

      How many of these players, excluding Gabriel, do yo wish to be included in the starting XI this season?

  6. Not in support of arteta tactics or the results we’ve had in pre season but arsenal fans has to chill out n cool off, we react at every thing too soon n thats how we gonno judge the whole of this season.
    Pre-season is just preparation season, trying to gamble n get ur tactics right nothing more, no point for it, no trophy for it, during Wenger era we were good at preseason n no body cares but now we are in another era we care at every single result, why the sudden change

    1. Arteta has had 20 months with these tactics and buildup from the back!

      Same toothless, sterile inability to score, and same mistakes continue to be repeated.

      Bet Conte could get a tune from this lot, while Arteta can barely muster a toot.

    2. Guy listen, this is just a preview of what is to come…i bet u gonna b changing ur tone by september. Arteta and edu are clueless…even martinelli couldnt get into his team.

  7. Pretty sure we have enough money to afford Conte, but lack the wisdom to acknowledge the Arteta mistake staring them in the face.

    Arteta proving he is not a coach and every bit a checkbook manager. His answer seems to be “buy more players” in spite of bringing in nearly an entire 11 since he joined.

    Midfield continues to be a serious problem in transition and creating chances. 2 months into the window and no creative midfielder and resigned sluggish Xhaka.

    Remember last year Arteta was dying to throw £45 million at Auoar because he and Pep were convinced he was the next thing?

    Fast forward and Auoar nearly half the price, so what happened to Arteta’s conviction regarding the player?

    Groundhog year incoming

    1. You could say the same about Pep he’s spent close to a billion and is seen as a genius.. fact of the matter is most managers are checkbook managers and I’m not making excuses for Arteta as I’ve long said he’s out of his depth. Arsenal are in serious need of more signings, Auba, Laca, Bellerin, elneny, Mari, Xhaka, and many more in the squad just aren’t good enough to take the club forward. Auba especially to me looks half the player he used to be and lacazette has never hit 20 goals In a single season and this is our forward line. Very worrying.

      1. Bielsa not a checkbook manager, Naggelsmann not a checkbook manager, Ten Haag isn’t either. That’s 3 that immediately come to mind, I could name more with a bit of thought.

        Arteta is over his head, and still will be in December and May.

        Saliba playing CL football with French team, but “not ready” according to Arteta. Yet Elneny, Mari, Nketiah, and Bellerin are?

        At some point we have to place the blame where it belongs; on Arteta.

        Imagine fielding over 10 new players in 18 months, yet still it’s players fault not Arteta.

        Quite frankly it shows how mighty Saka, ESR, and Tierney are to shine under such poor management and tactics by Arteta.

        Conte is available, just saying.

        1. We’ve had this conversation before Durand in the knowledge that Conte and co want to be winners quickly. You only have to look at Ancelotti. I bet he’d get a warm welcome back in Liverpool right now

        2. You’d have to be a checkbook manager to improve Arsenal, I can’t imagine many coaches getting anything more out of the same underperforming players we’ve had for years. The squad we have isn’t good enough and yes the manager isn’t good enough either, also the ownership and the clowns that are paid to help run the club… so in reality it’s a disaster zone from top to bottom! I agree bud Arteta is completely out of touch and I would happily take Conte in a heartbeat!

          1. Leicester are a better run club than Arsenal, they have owners that care and BR blew Champions league football on final day 2 years on the trot yes he won FA cup and community shield but so did Arteta and I think most of us fans would rather Arteta took the exit sign out of the Emirates.

        3. U’r 110% correct. Arteta is so obsessed with playing from the back that he cant even identify central attackers to play from the middle, only wingers and defenders

        4. Add Unai Emery to the list. Look at what he achieved at Sevilla and Villarreal, as well as Arsenal and PSG (better results than Ancellotti, Tuchel and Ponchettino).

    2. Arsenal needs to invest , period ,there either invest o harvest what thy sow n its not arteta to blame .
      Chelsea has invested close to £250m in midfield, man utd almost £400m as well as man city , n arsenal has only invested £97m ,how do u expect them to competite, miracles don’t happen accidentally

      1. Forget all these investment crap..sabitzer, Aouar, bissouma..all are affordable and willing to come all it takes is a bid, but no Arteta is chasing pipe dreams. Finally messi is free and no news about even making a cheeky offer. Even the ones he has already he cant make use of them well, never tried playing auba and laca 2gether.. auba is a “INeedAssitance” type of striker, but u stick him in the wings not even as an inside fwrd..go check up on how Bielsa used Pepe as a fwd in Lille, u’ll know how terrible Arteta is

  8. I’ve watched all the pre-season games
    The football is amateur the tactics random. It’s clear we need changes in management more than players. It seems Conte is available. No brainer.

    1. Conte is IMO only successful as long as he has a lot of money to spend. So he has no chance to be successful at Arsenal.

  9. 1. This is only pre-season.
    2. There’s a month of window left and indications of more incoming players. The players they’ve added so far seem good. Aouar, Neto, Aarons and Abraham (or better) seem eminently doable.
    3. However, just adding players is not necessarily a solution: they can be hard to integrate into the team’s style of play.
    4. Arteta is not the problem. He got this team playing at the level of the second-best record in the league over the final 2/3 of last season. I predict that if he goes somewhere else, he will be even more successful than Unai Emery and the fans who want him gone will be criticizing his firing.
    5. Panicking fans are an unseemly sight. I hope the players, management and owners have cooler heads than some fans and commentators.
    6. I remember fans and commentators demanding Auba be re-signed. What might we have gotten for him (and for the money to pay his salary) if we had let him go?

    1. Arteta not the problem? Then who is?

      Who selects the starting 11?
      Chooses the tactics?
      Selects transfer targets?
      Micro-manages all the creativity out of the team?

      Before anyone says “he needs support in transfers” let’s remember he’s fielded over 10 new players in less than 20 months.

      Bought 3 CB’s, 2 FB’s in defense alone, yet still demands team plays soul crushing negative tactics.

      I won’t drink the kool-aid, I won’t sit down and shut up, and I won’t ignore failure staring me in the face.

      Consequences of hiring an inexperienced coach who has never built a team in his life.

      Yet some blame players, SMFH

      Imagine if club had backed Wenger or Emery; both achieved more with less.

      That FA Cup Arteta got, that was with Wenger and Emery’s “dross”, let that sink in for a minute.

      Arteta, with his hand-picked 10 additions finished 8th twice.

      #Facts don’t have feelings

      1. You say Arteta has never built a team that’s true Fid Wenger build the 1998 double winners No he had George Graham’s backbone of the team whilst Bruce Rioch bought Bergkamp and Platt Wenger brought three players Vieira Petit and Overmars and tok a gamble on Anelka Players like Henry and Pires came to Arsenal on the back of what Graham and Rioch had started Give Arteta a chance at least until December

        1. Ok for arguments sake, come the busy season of December and we’re out of the top 6 or top 8, what then?

          Excuses due to injuries? Excuses due to lack of goals like last 20 months?

          Will some still blame players, even though Arteta brought in over 10 players he hand-picked in 2 years?

          Or will people finally see Arteta for what he is: checkbook manager with a one-dimensional tactic of negative football. Unable to figure out how to create chances and play attacking football.

          I’m happy to apologize if I’m wrong, but nearly 2 years Arteta still thinks “players” are the problem and not his micro-management and $hit tactics.

    2. Idk how he did it, but MA just had enough charisma to sway more than half the fans to keep supporting him despite his lack of results…

  10. Do something quickly – in just over four weeks! We spent almost the entire transfer period chasing a central defender when we should have kept our own player Saliba, using the time and resources instead to strengthen the midfield. We failed to sign Buendia, Odegaard and Locatelli and flirted with Neves and Bissouma. Now our own goal machine from midfield, Joe Willock, is on his way to Newcastle. Need something quickly? Start praying for miracles, Charlie.

  11. arsenal is a disgrace to all the fans cause every season this story so who is deceiving who they will go for a big name at the end of the day will go and toddlers for us and keep deceiving themselves with a big name till the transfer will end then they will come and tell us no players in the market what nonsense.

  12. So fellow Gunners, help me understand reason out of this:

    When Unai Emery was sacked by the club, there was apparently a shortlist of 10 managers in the running to takeover.

    Amongst those 10 was Luis Enrique, Maximo Allegri, Pochettino, Rafael Benitez, Carlo Ancelloti, Brendan Rodgers…. (I think Mourinho had replaced Poch at Tottenham but was previously available) just to mention the big names.

    Enrique & Allegri, two of the most experienced and well decorated managers in Europe whose accolades speak for themselves, were turned down because apparently they wanted 200mil to rebuild the squad.

    Now let me get to the point….. to date (Monday 9 August 2021) in this transfer window Arteta has spent 50mil on Ben White + 8mil on Tavares + 17mil on Lokonga = 75mil.

    There’s strong links to Maddison 70mil + Ramsdale 25mil + Tammy Abraham 40mil = 135mil

    So if all deals go through the total outlay is 210mil spent by Arteta this window alone which is 10mil more than what Enrique and Allegri wanted.

    Let’s not forget Mikel also bought Gabriel (centre back) 23mil and turned Mari’s loan into a permanent deal for 8mil.

    That brings his total outlay to 241mil since he took over Arsenal.

    So if Kroenke and the board can fund an inexperienced manager with no managerial history literally to the tune of 241mil (plus we’ve hardly had significant sales to recoup money during Arteta’s reign, just contract cancelations and expirations) why the hell weren’t any of the elite managers mentioned above given the job?

    I see Arsenal being the English Barcelona financially with these clowns running the club.

    1. You make too much sense, but facts you presented speak for themselves.

      They sold Arteta to fans on keeping
      1. “Arsenal DNA” and
      2.him being a “tactical genius”
      3. Good at working with youth.

      However problems are this

      1. Besides the kits, what is Arsenal about Arteta-ball? His negative football? Flair and creativity in our play? Attacking football?

      2. Arteta’s “tactical genius” is playing negative football; fixed defense by parking the bus and destroying the offense.

      3. Working with youth? Like loaning Saliba (again), also loaning Guendouzi, Mavroporas, AMN, Willock, etc….

      Love how he improved Nketiah, Nelson, Holding, improved back line’s buildup from the back (sarcasm), fixed the scoring woes and turned a golden boot winner 1st 2 years into a rank amateur defender.

      Saka prospered under Freddie, shined when Emery gave him a chance, good before Arteta.

      ESR only played due to injuries, not selected due to Arteta’s eye for talent.

      Arteta is drowning and over his head. He is not “ready.”

      # Facts don’t have feelings

      1. 55 goals from a team including a forward line selected from Aubameyang, Lacazette, Pepe, Willian, Martinelli, Nheketia, Saka and Smith Rowe says it all really.

  13. Xhaka is here.what midfielder do you gunners need.are there no midfielder better than this guy?auba is good is he best and only in this world. Arsenal always refuse to upgrade in terms of recruitment

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