In this podcast, George and yours truly, Shotta, discuss the massive positivity among Arsenal fans on the signing of Mikel Arteta as head coach but wonder how long the honeymoon will last. In our opinion his biggest challenge is getting power over the signing and selling of players. But with fans turning on AFTV he may earn a longer honeymoon than expected. In between we discuss a lot more.
Have your say in the Comments below. What are your expectations?
Remember to Like and Subscribe to our podcasts wherever you listen and spread the word about our belief in free-flowing, attacking football by a club with integrity and class, the Arsenal-Way .
This podcast is available at Spreaker, Soundcloud, Spotify, Apple Podcast and Google Podcast by searching for Uncensored Arsenal.
Or, click on the link below:
Positively Arsenal 
This Xhaka exit talk is persistent and, apparently, from very credible outlet. Worrying
I’d be sad to see him go. Best of the three main centre mid options for me, and a strong character. Seen nothing to suggest Torreira and Guendouzi a sound pairing.
It would surely mean a central midfielder is coming in, and they’d have to be a bloody good one for it not to be a damaging loss for us.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree.
For too long the social media and noisy and nasty fans seem to be too powerful in influencing the powers that be at the club.
Had they not been we would have seen an orderly handover from Wenger to an appropriate successor.
Instead we saw chaos, bitterness and self destruction.
LikeLiked by 1 person
From what we have seen from Mikel so far seems to suggest he takes no prisoners. If he sees negatively in the fan base he may even do something about that as well. Obviously shutting down atv would be a good start.
I think if Xhaka is going it was a decision made a while ago and probably by granit himself. Why take the shit he has to and put your family through it when he can someone else where he’s appreciated.
Mikel has said everybody’s got a clean slate so it won’t be anything to do with him.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Ianspace2014
Agree wouldn’t hold it against Xhaka for a moment if he made up his mind and that’s that.
Clean slate or not, though, Arteta obviously wouldn’t be happy to lose the player unless we have a replacement. We’d be foolishly short at cm without him. Mind, there’s also still talk of Torreira leaving. Prob best, as always, to just wait and see (but I can never stick to that)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Arteta has said that Freddie is staying on, which is great news.
LikeLike
Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has confirmed Freddie Ljungberg will remain at the club as part of his coaching staff.
LikeLike
Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Freddie Ljungberg will be part of his backroom staff.
Arteta watched from the stands as Ljungberg took charge of his sixth and final game as our interim head coach, away to Everton on Saturday.
And ahead of our Boxing Day clash with Bournemouth, our new head coach was quick to praise Ljungberg for his contribution during a tricky spell – and provide an update on his future at the club.
“I spoke to Freddie after the game,” Arteta said. “I told him my idea and the people I wanted to bring to form my coaching staff, their roles and responsibilities of each of them. I wanted to know what he was feeling, I wanted to know what he had in mind, what his expectations were.
“We talked and we made a decision that the best thing was for him to stay with us. I think he can be very available. I think he knows the players, he knows the situation, he knows the history of where we’re coming from and also his knowledge of the game is going to really help us to be better.
“I knew him a little bit before obviously, and we will start a new chapter now with new ideas, new ways of doing things. I got a really good impression. He’s ready to help. He was very positive.”
Copyright 2019 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to http://www.arsenal.com as the source.
LikeLike
Bellerin, Holding and Ceballos all took part in first team training today
LikeLiked by 1 person
We’re back in Premier League action on Boxing Day when Mikel Arteta takes charge of his first game as our head coach, against Bournemouth.
Arteta faced the media ahead of the match to discuss his first few days taking training, our performance against Everton and Freddie Ljungberg’s future.
Scroll down for a full transcript of what he said:
on what he learned from watching from the stands…
I think that we have a really good team. There are a lot of things to improve but at least the two things that I demanded from them were done. They committed to something and they did it, so it was a good starting point.
on what his priority is in training…
Yesterday’s session was for the players who weren’t involved in the game. We didn’t do much with them but we used the time to start implementing some ideas that I want to bring to the team straight away, and some behaviours that are going to be important in helping us achieve what we want to do. Today was more about the principles, the style and the way I want the team to play. Overall, they have a little bit of a picture that I’m expecting them to have in different situations of the game. It was useful.
on whether there’s any new injury news…
No, no.
on whether he saw a change in energy levels at Everton…
I did. We are much more committed, we have a different kind of aggression every time we lose the ball. I think the body language was much, much better than in the past few games. I think they played with more passion in this game. Obviously there were things to improve but those things have to be non-negotiable. Those things have to be on the table in every game, every training session and the way we’re going to live together.
on whether he can give an update on Freddie Ljungberg’s future…
I spoke to Freddie after the game. I told him my idea and the people I wanted to bring to form my coaching staff, their roles and responsibilities of each of them. I wanted to know what he was feeling, I wanted to know what he had in mind, what his expectations were. We talked and we made a decision that the best thing was for him to stay with us. I think he can be very available. I think he knows the players, he knows the situation, he knows the history of where we’re coming from and also his knowledge of the game is going to really help us to be better.
on whether he knew Freddie before…
I knew him a little bit obviously, and we will start a new chapter now with new ideas, new ways of doing things. I got a really good impression. He’s ready to help. He was very positive.
on Freddie saying he would have dropped Mesut Ozil for Everton…
I don’t know, it’s a question for him. I just wanted him to make the decision on the day to pick the best possible lineup to win against Everton. My job started straight after the game, so I had to pick the players up first of all mentally and then put them in the work frame that I want. With me, they have a clean slate. I told them that. You’re not going to be judged on things you’ve done in the past, whether they are negative or positive. This is evolving every day and I’m expecting you to perform and be in the right mindset every single day for me. If you do that, you’ll have a chance to play. If you don’t, you won’t.
on whether he’ll be looking at our mentality against Bournemouth…
We will try to put the most competitive team against that team. We know how tricky that stadium is and how complicated they are going to make it for us but we have to be ready. We analyse opponents, we have to try to nullify them as much as possible, and make, as I said before, as predictable as possible for us so when our players jump in that pitch they know what they are facing.
on whether they’ve spoken about transfers yet…
We had many other conversations, there is so much going on in the last 48 hours. We have a meeting in place very soon, we have some ideas, but we have to pull them together.
on racism…
I think if it continues, obviously at some stage another kind of reaction will be needed. We have some protocols at the moment about how we have to behave towards it, but the message to drive it out, and to be strong with it, has to be even stronger than what happened yesterday.
on whether he’s enjoyed being back at the club…
Absolutely! It’s an incredible opportunity. There is so much work to do, and I just try to embrace everybody here at the training ground and explain what my idea is, what I want to try to do and I need them all on board. Everything we have been doing in the last few days, all the talks and meetings, is to get people to jump on board with the right energy, the right idea and we need them. We need them to help the players and transmit what we want to do. So far I’m very happy with what I’ve seen on that.
on what his priority is…
The priority, as I said before, is what we are going to transmit on the team, is a reflection of the demands we are going to put on them every day in training. That’s commitment, accountability, aggression and passion to play this sport and to represent this football club. This is the basic I am going to demand from them, and from there we can start to build things and improve all the things, obviously, that have to be done as quickly as possible, but if we don’t have this in the right manner, I think it will be difficult
on how impressed he is with Eddie Howe…
Very much. He started at the age he started as well is a good reflection for me on what he’s done. He comes across really well, I have met him many times and we have played against each other many times, so he is a coach that I like, that I look to, and that I value the work he’s done. Because it’s not easy at all to maintain that level for that many years.
on whether his match preparation will be similar to Pep Guardiola’s…
Yes.
on how much he thinks he did at Manchester City as an assistant…
I helped as much as I could. To put that into figures is not something I would like to do, but I gave everything I had to try to improve the club, the organisation and the players and to create the right environment and give the solutions to the players to feel more secure to know exactly what I wanted to do. To give guidance, to give help to Pep, avoiding as many problems as I could, jumping into his door. That was one of the biggest challenges as well and to enjoy the profession.
on whether our players are told how to behave if they encounter racism…
Yes, I was discussing that. Right now, there’s a protocol in place that has to be guided. I think every context and every situation is different, so it’s difficult to react because emotionally a player can react in many different ways to the same situation but yes, we have to be ruthless with this as well and we have to take that out of the game.
Copyright 2019 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to http://www.arsenal.com as the source.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Early days but where Mikel leads I follow.
There’s something just so pure, honest, about this guy and I’m really pumped up. I genuinely think the club has made the right choice and that Mikel will surprise many of doubters soon. I also think those players will put their bodies on the line for him. He is just that sort of guy man.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Arteta on transfers “We had many other conversations. We have a meeting soon and some ideas but we have to put them together.”
LikeLike
New Arsenal assistant Steve Round says he jumped at the chance to link up with Mikel Arteta
“Mikel called me in the week and asked me to join his staff.”
“I jumped at the chance straight away.”
“I think he’s going to be a really top manager.”
.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hertha Berlin, general manager, Michael Preetz says he ‘could not remember’ when he had last been to England when asked whether he made a trip to England to negotiate a transfer for Xhaka
LikeLike
Now it’s
Adrien Rabiot on loan in January..?
LikeLike
Mikel Arteta has named his core coaching team.
Freddie Ljungberg remains as assistant coach and is joined by Albert Stuivenberg.
The Dutchman, who has been coaching since 1992, was alongside Louis van Gaal at Manchester United. He is currently assistant manager of the Wales team with Ryan Giggs and will continue in this role as well as his Arsenal duties until after the European Championship in the summer.
Steve Round is also joining the club as an assistant coach.
Steve has coached with Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Everton, Manchester United and England. He has also been Director of Football at Aston Villa.
Inaki Cana Pavon comes in as goalkeeping coach from Brentford to work with Sal Bibbo.
Inaki previously worked in Spain and Denmark after starting his playing career at Barcelona.
Mikel Arteta said: “I am delighted to have this talented group of coaches alongside me. They bring a great mix of experience and fresh thinking. Along with the talented people we have in the club already they will be key people to get us back to winning ways.”
Copyright 2019 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to http://www.arsenal.com as the source.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Freddie a political decision maybe? I hope not.
LikeLike
one interesting aspect of Arteta’s training is his change to the routine where 2 or 3 players try to get the ball off a larger group of players who are normally in a circle or in a confined area. the players are no longer allowed to use flicks or tricks to pass the ball to each other. They are now encouraged to take a touch if needed and then pass, to open up their body as they receive the ball so they can pass it off. Team mates are also encouraged to move into a position to take the pass from those being put under pressure. It seems Arteta told the lads that the flicks and tricks are out cos they are not normal in match play and he wants them doing things in training that they will do in a match. He stalled training several times today when players flicked a pass or used a trick to get their pass away. Its all about correct body position when receiving and passing the ball.
LikeLiked by 1 person
well Marky, Arteta did say he wanted 5 or 6 in his coaching team, including Freddie its still only 4, if we include Arteta that 5, so maybe one or two more to be added yet
LikeLike
It’s probably more than political eduardo. It makes sense to keep some continuity with the recent past. He learnt from the best because that is what Arsene did when he kept Pat Rice around and they ended up as a very strong professional partnership and maybe even friends.
LikeLike
Sorry eduardo, that was markyb!
LikeLike
With Arteta now our Head Coach, we are all AKB’s again, and that brings me to the notion that his influence is still pretty strong at Arsenal.
Arsenal Director of Football – Edu – a former AFC player, Wenger signing
Head Coach – Arteta – a former AFC player, Wenger Signing
Assistant Coach – Ljunberg – a former AFC player, Wenger Signing
U23 Head Coach – Bould – a former AFC player, former assistant to Wenger
Head of Youth Academy – Mertesacker – a former AFC player, Wenger Signing
LikeLiked by 1 person
Merry Christmas you silly people.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Merry Christmas Positivistas!!! I’m looking forward to Artetaball….
LikeLiked by 2 people
With Arteta now our Head Coach, we are all AKB’s again, and that brings me to the notion that his influence is still pretty strong at Arsenal.
Arsenal Director of Football – Edu – a former AFC player, Wenger signing
Head Coach – Arteta – a former AFC player, Wenger Signing
Assistant Coach – Ljunberg – a former AFC player, Wenger Signing
U23 Head Coach – Bould – a former AFC player, former assistant to Wenger
Head of Youth Academy – Mertesacker – a former AFC player, Wenger Signing
So the Wobs trying to get Wenger out of the club ended up with Wenger boys from top to bottom.
What an irony for the Wobs.
Wenger has done it again
LikeLiked by 3 people
Happy Christmas everyone
LikeLiked by 1 person
Merry Christmas to you guys. The new era begins tomorrow hopefully the box contains winning magic. The Arseteta Era
LikeLiked by 1 person
Arsenal blogger Goonerholic has died.
LikeLike
That’s sad Eduardo, he was one of the good guys
LikeLike
Arsenal has lost a great soul in Goonerholic. He cared about the football on the field more than the politics around the football.
Long live Positively Arsenal.
LikeLike
Good Boxing Day Morning, Labo is here with today’s positive offering.
LikeLike