Unpredictable Arsenal on show once again!
So we lost yet again, to Liverpool, yet again. Is it a shock? No not really, as it seems to be the norm now.
But what I believe is that if we had played them straight after the West Ham game and before the international break, then we may have had a different outcome. Although that is no excuse, and we know breaks happen in a season where players go off to their respective international sides and then return, but the way we returned and the performance we put out, as much as it pains me to say, it really did not come as a surprise given how inconsistent we have been and I am sure will continue to be.
Although Arteta claims he was very disappointed with the loss and the “unacceptable performance” of his team, I can’t help but think that the focus of the players and the manager himself is solely on the Europa League given how far off we are of the top four, it seems as though he has given up rather subtly, of us getting European football next season through the league route.
Of course we want to see our players fight week in week out, but if one week we win the other week we lose or draw, games have just become so unpredictable that as a lifelong Arsenal fan who has seen many great seasons and games, it becomes too unsettling and the passion and excitement I once had for watching my beloved Arsenal seems to be slowly fading away because there is no fun or confidence in watching the team anymore, knowing that the outcome is just too unpredictable.
I don’t know if that is down to the fact that the players don’t seem to be enjoying it as much, if the manager has been getting decisions wrong and cannot change it for the sake of his pride, or if Arsenal really is not the Arsenal of old and won’t ever be anymore! But whatever it is quickly needs to be rectified to save this season and to show everyone what Arsenal really is and to get back to where we once belonged. Gooners!?
Shenel Osman
Have the players downed the tools again like they did with Emery they look a Championship side. Liverpool was just a training session
I don’t get the impression they have downed tools on Arteta overall, but I do think there is the possibility they have for the league, as there’s nothing to play for. Which is obviously still unacceptable!
But hey, at least we had a good half against West Ham?
I fear for our wonderful club, it is being taken to a bad place by the people in charge of the club and the team. We have lost our great Arsenal and i see no end in sight. Sorry to those who find that pessimistic but i see nothing to change that.
Reggie
You fear..I think your fears are already reality and has been for the past 10 to 15 years
Selling top players to balance the books and replacing with sub standard players season in season out.
Lining the pockets of the fat cats who have been running the club and for those fans moaning about below par football we are watching. Managers taking the heat for players who have no drive or desire to play for us. Big contracts awarded and then we can move them on and then saying we need to move them out and replace.
It’s a mess and has been for many a year
One thing we can all agree on.. no matter about the moans and groans that keep appearing on here and other sites is that we all bleed red and white and who ever is in charge now or in the future we will be still following our beloved arsenal through thick and thin and believe me I have seen many a thin in the past
Onwards and upwards
Yes AB, i know im stating the obvious a bit but reading some people on here, they are optimistic, all hopeful but in reality, they are deluded and i dont mean that in a derogatory way, im sure they believe what they think.
We were a little bit unlucky with Tierney’s and Luiz injuries and Xhaka’s illness. I believe with these three players fit we would have had a better chance.
It’s quite possible that playing Liverpool shortly after the WH game would have produced a better game and result. The impetus from the second half was lost due to the international break.
However, there is absolutely no excuse for putting on such a feeble display – international break or not.
I was just surprised when watching Leno made all long clearances and no playing from the back at all in the first seventy minutes. We literally gave the ball to Liverpool, because their CBs won almost all long balls from us and Lacazette/ Odegaard/ our DMs were too slow to retrieve it
If we don’t play from the back against Sparta Praha, we’ll definitely lose. Confidence is everything in football and fortune favors the brave
It is not losing 3-0 to Liverpool, but the manner of the loss. The performance was gutless, insipid, lethargic and showed no personal “professional” pride or pride in playing for the Arsenal.
We older supporters like Ken, Phil, jon, Grandad and myself have seen many losses over the years, because the players weren’t good enough; however the players always gave their best, even if it proved not good enough. I felt totally disgusted and let down by this performance, as I did with Baku, Aston Villa and too many in recent times.
Spot on, Ozzie 👍 Completely agree..
Sue, sorry for not mentioning you and SueP, but a bit hurried and still angry! 😠
This is the point that those defending Arteta simply don’t get. It’s not the loss,but the manner in which the team were sent out to play which is shameful.
In my opinion, the players tried their best against Liverpool, but I believe Leno was instructed to clear with long balls. It was understandable, because we’ve plenty of silly mistakes in the back and Liverpool attackers are known for their high pressing
However, the ball simply didn’t stick to Aubameyang and Pepe, so we shouldn’t use the same strategy until we get different attacker type in the summer. Hopefully the players still believe in Arteta’s tactics
If Aubameyang was trying, I would hate to see him when he wasn’t. His body language for an Arsenal captain was a disgrace. It is a good thing there were no fans at the stadium, there would have been a riot!
Our defenders who played on Saturday are not comfortable playing out from the back against one of the best high pressing teams in the world so had no choice but to kick it long.
Case in point 3rd goal we conceded.
Wait a minute gotanidea Leno tried to punch the ball for the first goal and was nutmeg ed for the second Martinez would have saved both of themGoalkeeper error’s again
“Of course we want to see our players fight week in week out, but if one week we win the other week we lose or draw, games have just become so unpredictable that as a lifelong Arsenal fan who has seen many great seasons and games, it becomes too unsettling and the passion and excitement I once had for watching my beloved Arsenal seems to be slowly fading away because there is no fun or confidence in watching the team anymore, knowing that the outcome is just too unpredictable.”
You are not alone in that. We are all with you. Actually in my opinion it is even worse than that seeing nowadays it is a cause for celebration whenever we win a match. Any match even against Millwall. Arsenal winning has become a surprise and losing expected.
You’re last sentence is sadly too true. I wonder as to what proportion of the fan base it resonates with?
I am certain it is all of us only that we have different ways of coping. Being in denial is another way of coping.
“the passion and excitement I once had for watching my beloved Arsenal seems to be slowly fading away because there is no fun or confidence in watching the team anymore”sadly you’re not the only one HH!
Siamois I quoted the author on that one and I agree with you she is not alone in feeling that way.
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I think we have a very poor, inconsistent squad with no leaders on the pitch. I see what way of play Arteta is trying to impress on his players but some of them are just not good enough. There is always mistakes being made at the back which ultimately result in goals and subsequently loosing points.
The sad truth is that, as Bally said, we have been a badly run team in slow decline since first we went into hock for the Emirates, and then some of our shortsighted directors and shareholders took their 30 pieces of siver, forced Dein out and allowed Kroenke in.
I really don’t blame any of our last three managers for this. I am not praising them either, but it is unfair to heap all the criticism on them because ultimately all of them were working with one hand behind their back. The sheer greed, ineptitude and lack of affection for the club of our upper management and board has been staggering.
We are now a mediocre team at best, and the riduculous assertions by some that we have a divine right to dine at the top table, that player for player we have a top 6 team, that replacing managers will immediately arrest our slide, are in my opinion delusional.
We have a couple of decent players, a couple of bright prospects, but the numbers don’t add up to 11, let alone a full squad. We alternate between wildly overrating certain players to never forgiving certain others for making a mistake.
Optimism seems to be a word used by many here as a criticism of others. It means hopeful and confident of future success. But it does not have a timeframe. I am proud to say I am an optimist. I LIKE to anticipate all games with hope. Otherwise I’d have stopped watching by now -.who likes going to the dentist? So I will hope before every game, and be confident that eventually we will turn full cycle. COYG
we have been saying Turn it around really soon for ages. Soon is over. We have to accept facts that we have become a wannabe and fighting for mid and lower table positions will be our new target. live with it
I don’t expect our team to fight for the title each year but do expect commitment and fight for the club that pays their huge salaries. I can remember way back when when George Eastham was fighting for a minimum wage of £20 per week for footballers who were on half that salary but still put a shift in on pitches that sometimes resembled a paddy field. I know times have changed etc. etc. but attitudes shouldn’t. It’s not too much to ask, surely?
you must have started watching several years before me Andrew. I started supporting post 66 WC. You played for the love of the game then – money was not a big element. Plus players didn’t move around so much, so there was a bigger club loyalty. Times have changed – ignorant but spoiled kids – not many around like Vardy. Its gone full circle – players run the game now and most of them think they are bigger than the club they play for, surrounded by sycophants, never accepting blame, happy to be mediocre because they dont believe they are.
guy, an Arsenal supporting Army friend took me to a match at Highbury late summer 1957 against, I think, West Brom. I was hooked!! Got posted abroad for 2 years and started actively supporting The Gunners from 1959 onwards.
Agree with your assessment of Vardy and I think we have a similar player in young Tierney. I just love his attitude and commitment, to coin a phrase, a proper footballer. I just hope and pray he is not injury prone. If every current player had his attitude we may well be competing for a top 4 place.
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Andrew, you and I are like minded souls; we follow the Arsenal only expecting that the highly paid “professional” footballers selected to play for the Club give their best. This has not been happening consistently for some seasons. There have been many worse seasons results wise, but none in lack of guts and determination.
Ozziegunner
I agree with much of your post, but you have highlighted before that the players downed tools on Emery and the lack of guts and commitment is intermittent with Arteta
Arteta looked shell shocked twice this season – against Villa and Liverpool – which suggests that some of those players have an attitude problem. A worrying time
SueP, I think the players reacted to Emery’s attempts at bringing discipline, saw he wasn’t supported by the Board and management and thus were encouraged to not play, such that results would force him out. The main instigators against Emery are gone; however some players are testing the waters with Arteta, but he is still supported by th Board thus far.
I really feel for those of you that are season ticket holders. I really do. Your hard earned money going down the TOILET. Way too many bad eggs in the Arsenal squad. Been supporting Arsenal since 1977/78. I was 11. I actually jumped ship. I followed my favourite player from Tottenham Hotspur to Arsenal. So please don’t hold that against me( I was only a kid). My favorite player,,, the great gentle giant Mr Patrick Jennings. These days I’ve been watching alot of Arsenal games back in the 1977 to 1985 era. Seen Arsenal cop a real footballing lesson. Did they ever stop playing the full 90 minutes as a team??? No!!!! They won as a team, and lost as a team. They played for that famous Arsenal Cannon Badge. Today, everywhere the eye can see, there’s bad culture from the top to the bottom. The only person doing their job is the groundsman at the Emirates Stadium. There should be a law,,, if you don’t get your moneys worth, you receive your hard earned money refunded. I never thought I would criticize an Arsenal player. A coach/manager, yes,, that’s only natural. We all do. Maybe it’s a blessing I live in Australia. I’m far far away from the nonsense going on in North London. But I feel robbed and cheated by this current squad of Arsenal players. That’s if you can call them players. I woke up early Easter Sunday morning to watch my beloved Arsenal play Liverpool. I was quietly confident of a favorable result. What an absolute f-cking anti climax. Please excuse my language. I subscribe to watch Arsenal live. The last time I watched Arsenal live was FA CUP FINALS against Hull. I feel robbed. Has Aubameyang as Arsenal’s captain, fronted the media to explain?? Any other sporting code captain would have faced the media, whether it be cricket, rugby league, tennis etc, win lose or draw. Aubameyang and his co senior players are not setting an example to our younger future stars. It will slowly be etched into their brains, that this is the normal part of football. Had Sir Alex Ferguson been at the Arsenal helm, Aubameyang and company would have had more than a football boot kicked at their heads after that pitiful, gutless display against Arsenal. We are no longer that feared football club we were once. I now have that Bruce Springsteen song stuck in my head, “GLORY DAYS”. Them days are now a distant memory. Or was that just a dream???
Great comment, PJ!
We’re being carried by 2 youngsters and tbh I feel our more ‘experienced players should be ashamed of themselves.. it isn’t too much to ask for them all to put a shift in, is it??
We have a season defining week ahead – will they be up for it? I won’t be betting on it!!
That is all we have now – memories (dvds!!) of those glory days!! Can’t see us ever getting back to those heights, can you? 🥺
pjennings, you have taken the name of a great Arsenal goal keeper, who Tottenham thought was finished. Were they ever wrong!
The great English all-rounder Ian Botham, when asked did he think the Australian Cricket Team, then in a slump, would be competitive. His reply was that Australia could pick 11 players off Bondi Beach and they would be competitive as that is their nature. All we want is the days when Arsenal players were competitive by nature. Lacking talent is one thing, not making the most in applying what you have is another.
Kroenke needs to get the chequebook out…..for Brendan Rodgers. Seduce him from Leicester. If we keep the confused Arteta our club is finished. We need a real proven manager. Isn’t it patently obvious Arteta is way out of his depth. We are predictably, unpredictable and like a 45 playing on repeat endlessly, the same song over and over again. Trouble is it’s not a no 1, it’s a shite song and a tone deaf song. We are out of synch due to one reason……Arteta. He is one man but the supporters a million…he needs to go, a million unhappy supporters are more important than one man floundering like a dying fish.
Hi there Ozziegunner. Just something very trivial for you and Sue. I live in Bundaberg. We make that horrible drink called Bundaberg Rum. Back in my high school days I had a history teacher. He was also my football coach for high school boys. His name was Michael Rimmer. His cousin was Jimmy Rimmer who Pat Jennings replaced as goalkeeper. Mister Rimmer used to call me Pat. Jimmy Rimmer was an under rated goalkeeper. Leno has alot to live up to. Please never get me started about Leno. These days I’m a Director Of Goalkeeping. Have been for 25 years. Goalkeepers today are way too soft. Mentally and physically. Another story for another day. Cheers to you