About a week ago, a reader wrote how Arteta wasn’t afraid to upset players individually for the sake of ‘success’.
‘What success?’ I argued? ‘Look at the league table’ they insist.
While my stance is 5th should never be viewed as an achievement, how have I been so confident that that we won’t finish in the top 4?
I simply watch what is in front of me. A group of players simply not entertaining to watch with zero leadership and few characters.
I’ll be called even more names, but you tend to accept that when proven correct.
Because while some Gooners’ rejoiced’ about a season where we have still yet to be in the top 4, while others boast about ‘progress’ for surging into positions that Spurs and Man United sack managers for, while we overhype our players to the point some arrogantly questioning if a Sterling could get into our 11 …… others have seen enough.
Enough to know that Mikel Arteta, a nice guy, well spoken, his love for the club not in question…. is simply not the man to take us to our previous levels.
He’s too conservative to begin with but most of all his man management lacks any kind of consistency.
The Spaniard gets praised for his honestly in interviews but how honest is he really?
When we needed a goal at Old Trafford, he took off Aubameyang.
When we needed a goal at Goodison, our captain came on in the 84th minute.
Sandwiched between that, our manager insisted he has faith in his skipper and there is zero issue.
Yet yesterday, Eddie Nketiah was essentially picked ahead of Aubameyang.
This is the same Eddie who for large portions of this campaign fails to even make the bench in the Prem.
He won’t extend his contract because of a lack of playing time. He hasn’t had those minutes because he’s proved to not be good enough.
Yet the moment he rejects a deal, you want to give him minutes.
Why? To change his mind? To keep a British player to meet your quotas?
It can’t help Aubameyang’s confidence that on Merseyside he was overlooked by two strikers who this time next year won’t be at the club?
Who, in January, can negotiate with clubs abroad?
Applauded on Sky Sports for accepting his team wasn’t good enough, yet stopping short at questioning himself. Nor did the reporters ask the correct questions.
Like how do you go from not rating Eddie, he says he wants to leave, yet suddenly he gets off the bench, but Pepe doesn’t?
I want a straight face where our boss tells us that’s a footballing decision.
The same man who promised that it was a footballing decision why Guendouzi and Ozil couldn’t make a 9-man bench for a Cup Final, but a young Matt Smith could?
Don’t get me wrong, Pepe has to take accountability because his move to England hasn’t worked out, but it’s rare that a team lose 3 out of 4 games and your record signing is an unused sub.
Other owners would want to know why you suddenly stopped using that resource.
The answer is in his first ever job as a manager, a rookie has been conditioned to think that it’s okay to wash your hands of talent.
Most are expected to coach players and get the best out of the assets they have.
At Man City that was supposedly Arteta’s strength, his ability to teach and train.
It seems Pepe is the latest scapegoat in this constant need to blame someone.
Ozil and Sokratis were paid to sit at home.
Guendouzi was loaned out due to his attitude.
Saliba for two years now hasn’t been deemed ready.
Now it’s Pepe’s turn.
At the start of the season, Pepe was starting, Laca wasn’t, and Eddie wasn’t in the matchday squad.
Part of the club’s refusal to pay over the odds to keep Laca is that they can’t justify a big salary for a striker deemed as back up.
Eddie wants to leave because he can’t start in the Prem for Arsenal.
Yet a month before they can sign pre-contracts they are ahead of Pepe and Auba?
Martinelli is only suddenly playing having been ignored for months.
It’s so disjointed and messy.
According to some though it’s fine if it means success …. what success?
None of these decisions are winning us points.
The most impressive aspect is instead of a section of our fanbase questioning these decisions, they have been charmed into thinking that somehow, we are heading in right direction.
That’s perhaps the club’s greatest achievement, convincing customers that everything is positive when we factually fail to hit our targets.
A week ago, Gooners who questioned the progress of this manager has their IQ questioned.
That anger comes from being proven wrong every week.
I didn’t respond …. I didn’t need too.
Arteta’s done that for me.
A nice bloke who might turn out to be a great manager elsewhere.
Just not at Arsenal
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Dan