Arteta was not alone in deciding to drop Auba by AndersS
Can more be discussed about Auba, or has all been said and all opinions are now too rooted to be challenged?
I don’t know, but I will try to explain some views from an angle which I feel have been somewhat overlooked.
In other threads some have rightly pointed out, we as fans don’t know exactly what has happened. But we can try to piece it together.
First of all, I think we can take it for granted, that Auba was given a special permission to skip training and travel for private family reasons. We can also take it for granted, he returned late, and not just by some 15 min. caused by a delay in traffic or some other minor margin and excusable cause.
It seems to me, there is a general agreement of events, at least so far.
However, there is major disagreements about the wisdom in the actions taken by Arteta and the club following the incident.
Auba was the captain of the team, the highest paid player, arguably the biggest name in the squad and also a marquee player in the eyes of sponsors, fans etc. You can add that Auba was also at the time a tangible asset with a value of some millions pounds. Exactly how many is somewhat irrelevant, as long as we recognize, we are talking about enough money to surely be a significant part of the overall value of the squad, and thus the value of the club.
The very moment, he returned late, and Arteta saw it as a disciplinary issue, Arteta would have known, he had a real problem on his hands.
As anyone with just a minor insight into managing other people will know, if you let significant breaches of discipline or broken agreements go on without some kind of reaction, you not only invite that person to continuously break discipline, you are also in serious danger of losing the respect from the rest of the group. More often than not, it will lead to a total undermining of your position, and eventually your job is in real danger. Arteta knows all this. He of course also knows that the reaction he is forced to take, cannot be disproportionate to the infringement.
If he had dropped Auba and stripped him from his captaincy for being 15 min. late, or being late with an excusable cause, it would be way out of proportion. Not only would that be a clear problem in relation to the player, but it would also lead to loss of respect and authority from the rest of the squad. I am confident that Arteta knows all this, and as he did drop Auba completely and stripped him of the captaincy, it is my conviction that Arteta saw this reaction to be appropriate.
I think it is significant that no other player has expressed any concerns about their captain and leader being treated unfairly. I of course understand, they would hesitate to do it publicly, but it would be easy to drop a remark to a journalist or letting your agent do it, if you thought there was a big problem with the manager. Also, it could be expected so see frustration and lack of player engagement in the games after. From what I have seen, the rest of the team performed very well in the games immediately following. In January, it has not been good. So basically, after Auba was dropped, we have seen the team perform just like in the rest of Arteta’s reign. A mixed bag from excellent to ugly, and certainly nothing to suggest, there is a player revolt brewing or something like that.
If Arteta in his team selection decides to play Tierney over Tavares, or the other way round, he will know he needs to explain it to the players, and he might be asked about it by the press. No big deal, and no closer scrutiny can be expected. But he will know, dropping Auba completely and stripping him of his captaincy, is a much bigger decision, and with much bigger implications. Possibly the biggest single decision in Arteta’s managerial career that far.
It affects the whole team, the media will scrutinize it in detail, fans will be in uproar, sponsors will ask questions and Arteta could certainly expect his superiors, and possibly the owner, to demand information and a thorough explanation. I would say a manager, before he makes such a big decision, must discuss it with others. It could be his assistant and maybe his superiors. Maybe even one or two trusted senior players will have been heard. But certainly, he would be expected to at least inform his superiors upfront, what he has decided to do, as the decision has implications for the whole organization. In my opinion, this is all basic for any big business or big sports organization, and I assume, it also happened here. If Arteta, didn’t inform the rest of the organization about the situation beforehand, I have no doubt he would have been called in to explain it after.
As mentioned, given the magnitude of the decision, Arteta’s superiors and probably the owner will have been involved. There is no way the management of a professional organization would blindly follow a manager’s decision or recommendation in a situation like this. The days where a manager at Arsenal could expect that, are over.
Arteta’s superiors would have been forced into checking up on Arteta’s explanation of events, possibly gather more information on their own. I would expect Arsenal to show “due diligence”, if you like, by having the management do most, if not all, of the following:
– Talk informally to staff around the team to get any information and get a feel for the staff and players take on things
– Talk informally to maybe one or two trusted senior players to get their take on things
– Initiate contact to Auba to see if they could get information from him
– Maybe address the whole squad at an after-training meeting, to inform players of the management’s stance, and more importantly, allow players to ask questions and voice any concerns
– Make themselves visible and available for any player wanting to have a chat
All of it, not to question Arteta’s actions, but a necessity to make sure they have the whole picture. I expect Arsenal to be a professional organization, which have done the above.
This also leads to the conclusion, while the decision to drop Auba and strip him of the captaincy probably was initiated by Arteta, it has for sure been carefully considered by many more. The whole management stands behind this decision, including the owner. They also stand behind the decision to offload Auba in a manner, which has been very expensive. Not a decision taken lightly, I am sure, but a decision in which several qualified people have had their say. Let’s keep this in mind, when we discuss motives and reasoning.
Does this mean, we can be happy as fans? Not necessarily in my opinion. There is no doubt, we would have been better off with the dream scenario of Auba in top form leading the line in our final 17 games. Only that was never going to happen, was it? He has been in poor form for a long time, and as such it doesn’t seem to be a huge loss. But we are short in choices for CF position, no doubt.
Am I happy with Arteta? Not really. I think our results in his 2 years+ have been short of my expectations for Arsenal. At the moment it looks to me, we can finish anything from 3rd to seventh this season. If we finish in the lower end of that spectrum, I will have no complaints if he is let go. But I also think, we have a real chance of finishing in top 4 with possibly the youngest team in the league. That would not only be a very good achievement, but also be a great foundation for our future.
COYG
kind regards
AndersS
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