There is a debate among Gooners that Mikel Arteta should be sacked if he fails to get Arsenal over the line this season, or even if he does lift the Premier League.
Yet how would the man himself feel if he finished runner-up for the fourth year in a row?
The Manager’s Perspective
I do believe the Spaniard’s love for the Gunners is genuine.
I view the 44-year-old as a decent person.
I think, in his heart, he feels he is in charge of a talented young squad that is so close to doing something special. The issue is that it is like the boy who cried wolf. How many seasons do you give the same person to prove he can win when the lights are shining brightly?
If he starts to hear whispers in North London that his ability is being questioned, he will be very aware that his reputation remains strong elsewhere.
Pressure, Reputation and Loyalty
He would not struggle to find a job, for example, back in Spain.
When Pep Guardiola decides to leave the Etihad, you would assume City would listen to his opinion for his replacement. Why would he not mention his apprentice and friend?
Arteta’s mentor in Manchester is someone whose attention to detail borders on obsessive.
It takes a great deal of mental energy to work in conditions where you are under pressure to win every few days. It is even more exhausting if, after seven years of effort, you only have an FA Cup to show for that work.
He was Mr Wenger’s captain, so he would have watched the Frenchman turn down jobs where silverware would have been more likely out of loyalty. Loyalty, not every supporter gave it in return.
If you are aware that other clubs admire you, ones with a winning culture that do not falter every April and May, then the smart thing to do is to read the room.
If a divide in the fanbase is growing now, what will it be like in 12 months?
Logically, the anxiety will only increase among his players, Gooners will be more impatient, and a manager might begin to wonder, “Is the effort worth the reward”?
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You might expect that, considering the massive investment in the team, there would be more on the table than a solitary FA Cup success, and what I would do if I were Arteta would be to pray for the return of key players from injury, because this side, as it sits right now, will achieve nothing.
Your mastery of being concise and to the point leaves me in awe,Jax.
Well, thank you, SueP. I do attempt not to fanny around.
ahhh the injury excuse lol
The question was asked🤣.
fair play lol
Who are we waiting to come back Dan, that is the question. Maybe an underperforming Odergaard, the one who has been very quiet (putting it nicely) for the last two years. Or maybe Timber, whom sime on here for ages, said it was unfair to play him instead of White, who was first choice. Or maybe it Calafiori, who quite frankly, is always injured. Or Merino who has not got a specific position in this team. Or Saka (we may have a good argument here) who has been our talisman for a while, but to be fair has been treading water a bit when he has played this year. The fact is injuries happen, we have a massive squad and injuries seem to be the same players. So there is a good chance, it will be rinse and repeat next season.
I just remember hearing we had the best squad In the world .
I think it’s easy to blame injuries although I respect if that’s his opinion.
I don’t think injuries were to blame for the performance in the Cup Final , FA Cup , home to Cherries
just think it’s an easy excuse
I don’t think that fully explains the situation Reggie. There are definitely certain players that are first teamers. You have your views on the strengths or lack of on some players but the fact they have been regularly unavailable for selection has put enormous physical pressure on the rest. Much has been made of a stronger squad, and it is, but when Arteta is resorting to naming academy players on the bench because larger numbers of the second string are on the pitch, then it shows that the massive squad you are referring to isn’t as big as you think imo
Its the managers squad to handle injuries. Like Grandad said earlier City are missing their two first choice CBs and they have improved at defending as the season has gone on. Manage being the operative word.
Sue, its all subjective. Artetas best 11, if there is one, is different to my best 11 and I would think different to your best 11 and different to a lot of people’s best 11. Manage your squad, thats what wins you leagues. And playing style.
Reggie
You can’t manage injuries. Look at Ekitike. Look at Rodris injury last season which affected Man City big time. Some years ago, the same happened to VVD.
Injuries affect how you play. Spurs are an example
About playing style. That does not dictate if a team wins a trophy or not. Yesterday, Real Madrid played well, but they are out
And I don’t know why Arsenal fans are obsessed with playing beautiful football. It’s about results now. No one will talk about playing if we win the league or champions league. Lets stop listening to biased media narratives
I think Freddy has largely answered my point of view Reggie. I agree that we may differ on a first 11 but for the most part there are those who feature regularly out of choice by Arteta who have made Arsenal title contenders again. It’s marvellous to have the overall quality within the group but some of those regulars have had large periods of time on the sidelines and now it’s the turn of the squad members as well. As I’ve pointed out before, the quality has improved whereby we are not a distant second to Liverpool and out of the cup in the 3rd round like last year.
My point is Sue, the first 11, is not a first 11. Its a squad and sometimes the manager makes the wrong choice, sometimes he has no choice, sometimes the choices are made for him but it is not about a first 11 and players missing. Its about managing. If we win the league, this season, will it be because of the squad? If we lose it, will it be because of the squad? You can not have it both ways. Losing to Bournemouth and that is the key, was not because we were short on players. It was because we were short on tactics. There are many key games we come up short, or have come up short.
SueP
True
Many Arsenal fans have not realised that two of our strengths is the defence and the right hand side
You will realise that we have struggled the moment Timber and Saka started to suffer from fatigue and injuries. If they get back, including Odegaard, that side will be stronger and will help us once again in the remaining matches
Sue, if we win the league this year, will it be down to the squad?
I believe injuries have wrecked the last two seasons. It is an excuse not just Arsenal can use this season, but Liverpool and Manchester City and Spurs too. When they play games here and there between injury they players never be in rhythm to be at their best. Same goes for back ups, in and out starting 11, not getting rhythm, we don’t see there best integration into team play. You may have 11 very talented players out there, but injury brings lack of team balance and cohesion. And balance and cohesion vital for winning games. That’s how football works.
👍
we had a strong enough 11 to play better against Bournemouth, Southampton and in the Final
Have you rowed back on winning rather than playing better Dan? Southampton have been steaming up the Championship under their new bloke and look very good for a return to the premier league (perhaps he’ll get the vacant position if Arteta gets his marching orders. In fact he could be in direct competition with Iraola 😁)
You’ve never wondered why international sides with the crème d la crème turn out such filthy performances?
Football works on balance and cohesion Dan.
so did you say that when people say we had the best squad in the world
if I look at our 11 last weekend
Raya – first choice
Gabriel and Saliba – first choice
White – experienced, has played in that defence
Skelly – many argued should play more and again played last season
Zubimendi – first choice
Rice – First choice
Martinelli was chosen instead of Trossard
Gykores first choice
so no first choice AM or RM – but how much did Havertz and Maduake cost?
didn’t allot of people want Saka and Odegaard dropped ?
where were you then saying about cohesion?
.
more then enough
show me where you said before game we will lose against Cherries because of injuries?
Carabo Cup – City had just as many issues and again did you say we would lose ?
because we can all once a year be arrogant then if things go wrong blame injuries
100%
I think the squad size and quality has helped us big time this season- the fact that Arsenal have the most goals and assists from subs is a testament to this.
There are just two positions- Rice and Zubimendi. These guys have played too many minutes because of Merino injury and because Norgaard isn’t trusted. You can tell they are in the red zone. Their performances have dropped. This is especially for Zubi who is not used to playing this much. Timber as well has been overplayed because of Ben’s fitness issues.
💯
“there would be more on the table than a solitary FA Cup success”
And saying 6 years 1 trophy is ignorant and embarrassing to hear, not a serious comment from serious thoughtful fan. What MA inherited was not capable of winning the Prem, it had years of work ahead of it, the first second place was if anything ahead of schedule. The following two seconds Man City and Liverpool kept key players fit, had better balance and cohesion throughout the season.
You include those first years of rebuilding when we weren’t even in the CL let alone 2 successive semi’s for first time ever?
And saying 6 years 1 trophy is ignorant?
that’s factual lol
do you want me to write he’s won 7 trophies just because you don’t like it
fact don’t care about feelings I’m afraid
and doesn’t the article say he wouldn’t struggle to find work elsewhere so no one is saying he’s done a bad job
but 1 FA Cup is 6 years is factually true
It was actually 4 trophies in 6 years .
Le Prof counted Champions League qualification to be a major trophy after Premier League, and Champions League, then FA cup. See how every top Premier League sides are fighting for the spots. You can put yourself in the shoe of Chelsea FC supporters now and feel the heat.
I do apologise. What on earth was I thinking!!!😱.
Moon Girl,
I’m with Dan on this. What’s ignorant and wrong with what he said.
You can claim it would have been different had Arsenal had not had the injury’s, but that wouldn’t be factual would it. Unless of course you’re Psychic.
Derek, the “ignorant and wrong” accusation was aimed at me, unless I’ve misread her comment at 11.39 am. Dan’s completely innocent, for a change🤣.
no it was me ……again 😞
I ignorantly said Arteta only won 1 trophy in 6 years
I should have said he’s won 55
🤣🤣🤣
We need to be gentle with her. There aren’t that many alien Arsenal fans😉.
it’s a generation think
I find it fascinating
like it should be a case study
I don’t like this fact so can you either not say it or please make something up that I like ?.
I generally find it fascinating
It is society Dan, like for example, free speech is fine as long as you don’t offend anyone. (But that is not “free speech” then is it?)
My comment is not aimed at anyone, just a generalization of society as a whole, and the changes as they appear to me.
I think society is currently on a “feelings” curve over logic and reason, hence all the people offended, canceled, and whatever else they do when people encounter speech they don’t like or offends them.
100 % – everything is about feelings now (which is how they justify eroding freedom of speech). At some point, it became fairly common to believe people have a right not to be offended – I think it’s an outgrowth from the (understandable) desire to help people with mental health struggles, but there should never be any such right. It’s too subjective and easily weaponised.
You make me laugh.
And that 1 FA cup success was with Wengers squad just BTW.
Led by Auba, a player he kicked out the club and hasn’t gotten a striker even close to level of his talent since
A player that has consistently broken clubs rules wherever he’s played.
RSH
As if Barca and Chelsea didn’t do the same to him. Lol 🥱🥱🥱
Discipline is more important than talent
How many years did it take Wenger to win a trophy with just his squad ????
Herr Drier,
A little misleading there my friend. By helping to extend the back four’s career’s, he had a few of George Grahams squad.
But he did bring quicker success to Arsenal than a certain Mr Arteta. And we’re still waiting.
Derek, not misleading at all. As well as the back 4 he had Seamen, Parlour, Keown, Wright, Hughes, Bergkamp.
Herr Drier,
Point taken. 👍
But he never cleared them out. And why mention Steven Hughes? Is there a significance?
You have to say the investment to increase squad size to allow rotation has not worked as well as it ought – the reliance on Rice in particular is evidence of that and we are now seeing a shattered key player. It will soon be the same for Gabriel and Saliba.
I would also say that despite saying they will play without fear they certainly do. There seems to be a real block on creativity despite the fact we have some of the most creative players in Europe. He plays more not to lose than he does to win – it shows a lack of faith in his attacking players.
A new contract should not be offered and one more year given if he fails to win anything this season. If he fails to win next season then his contract will expire and that will be that..
I agree that the squad size thing hasn’t worked as we’d hoped, but I don’t think it’s realistic to build a squad or team that doesn’t rely heavily on one or two players in particular – I don’t think we’re over reliant on rice, compared to how city were with rodri, or any title winning side was with some of their players (hazard, definitely bruyne, Cristiano etc) – I think the big worry is the lack of ability to make chances from open play, even against mid-level teams.
We are a defensive side, but so we’re atletico when they won major trophies and Chelsea under mourinho, but both were able to dominate and make plenty of chances against those sorts of teams – they only really played very defensively against the strongest opponents. We struggle to make chances against everyone, regardless of who’s on the pitch – it means we haven’t been able to make games easy and too many have become a slog.
I don’ t think his stock will drop to mid level teams. What had Kompany achieved before Bayern Munich offered him a job? He stepped down from Anderlecht and Burnley went down. I am fairly confident that it was the superior management ability of Guardiola and the long term quality of players at his disposal that ensured continued success. Arteta took on a club that was heading for the doldrums
Maybe you’re right, but the difference with arteta, compared with kompany, is that arteta’s already been tested at a top club. If kompany failed at Bayern, I wouldn’t expect him to move to real Madrid.
While I do think arteta has improved us enormously (I do worry people will forget how bad we were and how many changes he made to make us competitive – deserves a lot of credit imo), if he consistently fails to win things from strong positions, I do think it will hurt prevent him from moving to a Bayern/Barca/Real Madrid level club, as it shows he doesn’t have the winning formula (his style doesn’t win things, at least not in it’s current form). Tbh, I would suggest the best thing for him would be a *slightly* lower level club, even if he got that big offer.
Kompany is a bizarre case tbh – can’t think of anything similar where he basically failed into a top club and actually did really well (I don’t think Arsene Wenger exactly failed at other clubs, but it’s the closest thing I can think of?).
Leon
Arteta plays more to win, contrary to what people accuse him of
That’s why Arsenal have won more league matches and won more champions League matches than anyone else during the league phase
While I agree it wouldn’t be hard for him to find another management job, I think it’s a bit complicated for him – if he leaves without winning a major competition, after spending so much money, it really would hurt his reputation (in the short term) and I don’t think it would be easy for him to move to a similar sized or bigger club (which I’m sure is what he would want). He needs that big win to show his ethos is effective.
Personally, I think he should move on to an upper-middle table level club in Spain or Germany and prove himself, strengthen his reputation and work his way to a bigger club again. I think he’s more than capable of that, but it would be akin to admitting failure here – I don’t think he has an oversized ego, as others have said in the past, but I do think he’s stubborn (not a bad thing – Wenger was stubborn; all successful people are) and won’t want to leave without finishing the job.
What I would do is between now and City game, train continuously on. Reeling out of a press from the back through to midfield and onwards. This seems to be our main weakness currently
Freeing out
I think Arteta has played his hand too early. When you’re playing a particular, high stakes game against one of the tops sides say City for example and you happen to be three one up. You might expect for the last twenty five mins that game management might be the order of the day and the style of play is more defensive and tight knit. Less forward passing, always sideways, backwards a containing game. Okay, you might expect that for the last 20 minutes in a game as suggested above. But, to play that tactic for the last eight games of the season thinking that by defending and keep the ball away from teams is all you need to win those last eight games and secure the premiership is a massive overestimation. Managed apprehension won’t win you nothing. He has to put a team out that will go hell for leather and attack teams like Southampton, Bournemouth, Leeds and wolves do to us. They don’t fear us and just try and wind down the clock to lessen the damage. It looks like Arteta has been trying to wind down the last couple of months by attempting to play safe and we’ve come a cropper. Plus, we need the likes of Timber and Calafiori back. As they give us more defensive stability and add to the attack by providing overlapping options. At the moment the ball is just kept between the back four, Rice and Zubamendi in our third in the hope they can draw the opposition onto them and then find the wingers ie Saka, Marinelli who nine times out of ten have two men on them or, are just not able to get past the single defender that’s on them. We’re too cautious in our play and two predictable. A change of management might be the order of the day but we definitely need to change what we’re currently doing
Arteta should be able to get a job elsewhere, but more likely than not, he would have to accept either a pay cut or less transfer funds compared to what Arsenal provides for him.
Elsewhere he would likely have to make the best of the players he inherits. He probably won’t have the financial freedom to chop and change the entire squad as much and as quickly as he did at Arsenal. His managerial skills would be put to a greater test than over here.
So if I were him, I would do whatever it takes to stay put, rather than risk going elsewhere that puts my reputation more on the line
Doesn’t staying at Arsenal put his “reputation” on the line?
Going elsewhere puts his reputation more on the line.
Over here he is seen as a good manager who is just short of trophies to step up to the next level of great managers like Klopp and Pep.
Elsewhere, if only given a season or two to prove his worth or not given the financial backing to change the squad wholesale, he may struggle. If he gets the sack, he drops down to the level of managers deemed not good enough, like ten Hag, Maresca and Amorim.
Before he cements himself as an undisputed great manager, he needs to be careful not to mess it up
I disagree, wait while next season and how his “reputation” would take a hammering. IF we fail again this.
My opinion!!!! I do think the CL is turning out well for us. We didn’t play many real super powers in the league phase. Bayern and Athletico but the rest were winnable anyway, in CL terms. Leverkusen was a nice draw, then the best Quarters draw in Sporting. I do think it is in our favour to play A.Madrid over Barcelona. And if we did get to the final, The best outcome for us would be a Bayern win. I would fancy us (a little of an over statement) more against Bayern than PSG. So, if Bayern (and I fancy PSG) were to win. We have a chance. We still have the small matter of AM first. But like us, they are not flush with goals.
I wouldn’t fancy our chances against PSG.
Reggie
We should be ready to beat any team honestly. I have watched our matches against Psg, and I can tell you, without Donarruma, we would have beaten them at least twice. Even at their own home, we missed a lot of chances.
Both teams are good going forward, but are very poor defensively
Your opinion and mine. Thats all it is. I am just saying, I hope it pans out, to suit us. It has so far.
Deep down, i have no doubt that Arteta recognises the weaknesses in his squad most of whom were acquired on his watch.Injuries are a material factor but Man City have actually improved recently despite the absence of arguably their first choice centre backs.Where we fall short is undoubtedly in the lack of top quality options for our front three.In fact I cannot think of one of our forwards who would start for the likes of PSG, RM,Bayern and last but not least, Man City, and I include Saka in that group.The lack of back up energy and athleticism in midfield is also another area which needs to be strengthened for next season.Rome wasn’t built in a day,but if our Manager cannot win one of the two major trophies this season he should call it a day at Arsenal given the time and financial resources made available to him.Will he jump before he is pushed? Not a chance.
Good post Grandad and as it is.
What Ode has is knowing how to lead a lung busting press, and organising those around so the press is done in the blanket way. Theres no point a press having just 3 sides where horse bolts through the open 4th. No one else replacing him can replicate that, and weve tried at least 8 others in that 10 role in 2026.
I think Timber and Califiori are classy operators, just like Rodri brings class better than those around him to Man City. It’s not a shock our best run of season came with Califiori playing every Saturday – Timber and Cali can step forward very well, but defensively their positional sense is stronger than the other fullbacks, they just get tighter to their opponents. They are just extra class.
Last year against Newcastle in the semi of the Carribou cup. Odergaard played, Timber played and both legs MLS kept Calafiori on the bench, so according to your logic, we missed him. We got mullered 4-0 on aggregate. Another semi final, another poor performance under pressure and another horrible defeat. We were never in that game. It is poor management over injuries. It is the flimsy way we play, thats very hard to sustain under pressure. Lets not use players missing as excuses ALL the time, to cover up the real deficiencies.
I do not think Calafiori would have made the difference. And we had a better midfield, then.
Having watched Arteta’s after match interview, it would appear the pressure is really beginning to tell on him. And if he thinks It’s going to get any easier, he’s in for a rude awakening.
The heat will only intensify game on game. He finally did what the Tabloids wanted and bit, they’ve been waiting for it, and he finally succumbed.
The heat in that kitchen is only going to get hotter, he talked about fire before this game. Well failure to win something this season, could and maybe should come back and burn him. (Not literally of course).
breaks my heart mate
I think he’s a decent bloke and you can see it means everything to him
we are so close yet so far
it’s painful
😔
Agree, you 2.
I wanted to see an improvement in the Sporting game and there were marginal increments in players’ willingness to take risks, but that performance against City at the weekend will lead to a very bad outcome. Haverts needs to start upfront in that match, G14 is not the striker the team needs at this moment. The surprise recovery of Saka, Odengard, and Timber will increase my confidence about getting a result
Tactics or lineup changes won’t fix anything, its all mental mate.
Oyama
Tactics can change everything
Against City, Havertz should start. Do you know why? If City press us, then Havertz will be a good target since Raya has found him alot in a 1-9 pass. Havertz is good in the air, unlike Gyokeres. That will make Saka (If fit/ pr Trossard/Martinelli to find space behind their defence
We don’t do behind. We do slow methodical build up. We ignore early balls.
@Freddy for me it’s less about “who plays” and more about collective instinct under stress. Second, tactical flexibility isn’t the main weakness anymore. Arteta has already evolved. Lastly there’s a pattern under pressure. Arsenal have shown across multiple seasons that when the stakes peak (title run-ins, big knockout games), performance levels drop slightly — not dramatically, but enough. That suggests a psychological ceiling, not just a tactical flaw. You can switch from a 4-3-3 to a 3-2-5 in possession, but if decision-making tightens under pressure (safe passes, hesitation, rushed finishing), the outcome doesn’t change much.
Arteta’s failing under pressure, and he’s starting to sound like a Poet in his press conferences. But with that said, I think its premature to start talking about his future. Let him finish the season and then deliver the final judgment.
We should also question some of his signings, especially those coming from Chelsea.
If I was Arteta l would stop saying and doing things that make me cringe and draw unnecessary attention. He has to build up the confidence in the players and create a siege mentality. Block out the noise and play with swagger, steel and flair. We cannot go to City like lambs to the slaughter.
the boys have to be reminded that they are young, wealthy and doing what they have always loved doing – for a fantastic living. the envy of billions across the planet. Plus they are at the peak of achievement – unbeaten in CL group phase / in semis and top of the PL. If they enjoyed it (had a little bit of fun) I suspect they’d start winning again. Let’s see some joy in their performances.
Invent a Time Machine and not sign a bunch of Chelsea rejects and inept attackers. If we have to live in reality, our only chance is to park the biggest bus we can at the etihad and hope once again all our backline, Rice, and Raya have 10/10 matches and we manage to score from a set piece. Because these players clearly do not have to level of talent to compete with City man to man.
Shocking news that Alex Manninger has died
omg has he !!!!!!
Car accident. 48 years old. Terrible!
Certainly is Sue. He was severely injured in a car accident. RIP Alex.
Another one of our own lost in a car accident. Such a shame, HD
Awful. You just never know. RIP Alex.
So young too… 💔
So sad Sue 😞
Sue,
His car was hit by a train. I’ll always remember him for helping us win a penalty shootout in the League Cup V west ham at Upton Park.
RIP, Mr Manninger.
Derek, pretty sure that was in the FA Cup.
Herr Drier,
Do you know I think you’re right. Once again you save the day. At least I got the Cup bit right. 🤣👍
Yes I remember that too, Derek. It was brilliant!
Evening Sue,
Herr Drier got me out of trouble yet again. I ‘ll have to start paying him a fee soon. 🤣👍
Derek, glad to be of assistance 👍
🤣
RIP Alex
In the whole world, it’s only Arsenal fans who want their manager to be sacked for leading the League in matchweek 32 and a place in the Semis
Maybe we are entitled as people say.
Fred, you are right to wonder at the irrationality of some of our fans! Where on earth would any sensible club dismiss a manager who has performed like Arteta. Let’s face it: Carabao cup final, FA quarter final, CL semi final, top of the league after 32 games. What would other clubs do to their managers? Or, some people want to emulate Spurs which changes them every two weeks? Perhaps when they see what Spurs has gained as a result of these constant changes, they will become wiser.
I would feel a lot of pressure if I was Arteta. Managing a big club is a great opportunity but if you fail it’s difficult to recover. Unless you are really a good manager but somehow it didn’t work first time. But if Arsenal sack Arteta is any other big club going to give him a job immediately? Probably not.
This team, his team, played good football at one point. In both PL and CL. For some reasons the level dropped. I just hope he’ll find a solution. I criticised him, I said he’s not good enough but now I wish him all the Managerial Enlightenment – I like how it sounds 🙂 – needed to get Arsenal a trophy. Maybe two :-).
Cornell, yes we did play exciting footy at a stage, however I don’t see it as a level dropped.
Arteta just saw that playing like that might not win trophies, and had to find a solution and be different to the others.
Although I don’t like it, it has got us where we are so I’ll take it. For now…
Just my view, but I think the injury with the most impact on the team was the one suffered by Mikel Merino.
He could have played with Zubamendi to relieve Rice, and played with Rice to relieve Zubamendi. They both look exhausted at the moment
Mereino could also have played up front as a target man!
He has done that successfully before.
One other problem we have is our lack of real defensive pace up the middle. Neither Rice nor Zubamendi are quick.
I hope we correct that in the summer.
But Nihil desperandum, we only have to draw with City on Sunday to win the league.
PS, Remember, we have beaten both Munchen and Athletico already this season.
Let’s hope the players remember how they did it.
Completely agree about Merino, he offered us so much and he is sorely missed! His calmness would have definitely helped us as well.
Similar scenario to the season we were almost there, then Saliba got injured, then everything derailed.
I see talking about injuries are a soft topic on JA… I am not blaming injuries, I am just saying how certain players missing in a certain part of a season can be a real blow.
If Arsenal do not win anything this season – and that’s a scenario whose probability is getting bigger with every match – Arteta should be honest enough to admit the fault would be his and his alone.
Not injuries – we’ve heard enough of that excuse for the past 3 seasons plus. Not a small squad size – we have at least 2 ready-made starters at every position.
Arsenal’s team selection, and his lack of tactics to use to actually break opponents down and score from open play, in spite of having poachers (in seasons past) like Bukayo Saka, Trossard, Martinelli, Havertz, Odeegard, Declan Rice, and even Big Gabby in the team.
A team will hardly get the ball in the opponent’s net if they are more comfortable with side- and back-passing, as Arsenal have done way too many times since the middle of March. Arsenal play like a team that is scared stiff of losing rather than a team that wants to win games, like they were at the beginning of the season.
If Arteta does not win the league or the Champions League this season, he would have confirmed that he lacks that extra oomph that coaches like Arsene Wenger, Sir Alex, Guardiaola, Mourinho and Ancelotti have. At the end of last season, I told my missus that for as long as Arteta is Arsenal’s coach, we are never going to win anything. Yes, he’s a good coach and a decent human. But a coach who wants to succeed does not use sentiments to pick his players, like Arteta did in the Carabao final and the FA cup. A coach who wants to win something will not keep one of the best goalkeepers in the world on the bench and play a mistake-prone, below-average Kepa.
If we had beaten Man City to win the Carabao, that would have done a helluva lot to lift the players and dampen Man City’s hope of catching up with us in the League.
But Arteta played Kepa and we duly lost. The fear of losing and the timidity which our players display now is a direct result of that.
So let Arteta go at the end of the season if we come up empty again. He’s done his best. Let someone else give it a go.
🤣Thanks
Anyone saying that injuries are merely an excuse is completely unreasonable.
It is ridiculous to say that that you have two ready-made starters when many of the players are injured or unfit for a large part of the season.
Your comment about sentiment is untrue. Every manager displays sentiment at times. Just like most normal human beings. Using second string keepers in cup competitions is also by no means unusual.
The so-called “oomph” that you are referencing is meaningless in this context. Those are great managers that you have mentioned but they all had particular circumstances that helped them along.
Arteta bears some responsibility but to say carte blanche that it’s all of it, is too simplistic by far.
I’m sure that the squad size is either the same or broadly similar to any other club. The difference is that there is an upgrade in quality to what was on offer last year. What Arteta can’t legislate for is the number of players that have been injured- some for the long term, with several who would be part of the first 14. Other clubs have had their injury issues , notably Spurs who currently look doomed but Arsenal are still very much in the picture even with having to regularly mix and match. What has been missing is continuity imo
Regarding Kepa, he did make a mistake but that was not enough on its own for the other 10 players to throw in the towel.
I bet DeZerbi can just taste a victory over his old club today. We’ll see if he can satisfy his hunger. It’s going to be a tall order. As much as I like him as a manager he’s just going to have learn to be Spursy the hard way, lol.
😁. Do I get the impression he has a get out clause if they go down?
Kind of like that escape clause in The Santa Clause movie. I believe that’s standard now when you risk it all by joining that lot of noisy neighbors. If they go down there will likely be a mass exodus of players. Then again that’s one way of rebuilding the team to your liking, lol
Here’s a couple of thoughts should Spurs go down.
Firstly, they will struggle to get any big names to play at their ground. The likes of Taylor Swift, Beyonce, or any other big name singing stars.
And secondly, as Spurs we’re 1 of the 6 that wanted to play in that breakaway league, well it looks like their wish may soon come true. They’ll be playing in a different league at any rate.
You’re on good form this morning Derek
Guys ateta want to win trophs than even us fans coz it wil be counted on him so for me i think its just bad luck for arsenal not ateta so lets ae patient things wil come in emirates