Hello people.
This evening at 7.15 we kick off against a Wolves side that are worryingly consistent in their play. They inevitable play reasonably well. Results for them vary of course, but they know how they play and they normally action their style quite well. The problem is that a decent team , playing quite well is good enough to see us off comfortably. I would like to think that if we play well we will win, but I seriously can’t remember when the last time was that we played well. People will cite United away, a great result, but one we got from one shot on target from open play. Hardly what can be described as a great performance. That said, I’d take that today, thank you very much.
We seem unable to attack with much fluency, guile or swash buckle, and with all the injuries and banishments we are suffering from, I don’t see that changing today, or any time soon. We have in Aubameyang, one of the best strikers in the world, but he’s scored once from open play this season. Is it reasonable to assume he’s just on a bad run (which coincides with bad runs for just about everyone in the team), or is the system not suiting him and the others? Option B would seem more likely to me. But it’s hardly surprising when you consider our creative options are Willock, Willian or bizarrely , Lacazette?
Then there are injuries to consider, Partey is out and Saka is doubtful, both would help.
He way we are playing it can’t be long until Arteta tries something new, goodness knows what that might, or should, be, but it needs to come soon. There are still people clinging to the hope that everything will somehow click, and we will morph into a fluent attacking force. I wish I was one of those people and could see it too. I just don’t.
For me, top four is out of the question and even top six is highly unlikely unless something dramatically changes. Well let’s hope I’m wrong and this evening sees the start of a transformation.
We start the day in 14th position, just one point behind Wolves in 10th place, but 3 points could see us possibly, depending on other results, scoot up to as high a 7th. Make no mistake, this is a massive game.
Pedantic George
Positively Arsenal 
I am struggling to understand the football strategy. With our financial model, either you create the best opportunity for short-term success and with it a return to CL or you go all-in on youth. Option A is unworkable without Özil, so Option B is the only choice if you rule Özil out. Yet the club extended David Luiz, re-signed Aubameyang, & acquired Willian, all of them north of 30. The incoherence of those decisions should get Edu the sack.
LikeLiked by 1 person
reports that Partey, who has been out for two weeks already, will not be back till after Christmas
LikeLike
Could the reason why none of the richer teams was interested in Partey be because he was prone to injury?
LikeLike
@jigsol he wasn’t
46 matches last season, 42 and 50(!) before that
LikeLike
@900ftgooner
why is that incoherent? they went all in with a bunch of proven old timers, Ozil is not reliable
LikeLike
I refer you to George’s recent piece about Özil, but to your broader point, they had a bunch of proven old-timers in Koscileny, Monreal, Ramsey, & Welbeck and let the lot of them go for a song. I have no way of knowing for sure but harbor the strong suspicion that they could have had Ramsey for what they are paying David Luiz + Willian. Sickening when one thinks about it.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Ed at 10:52
Wonder why the WOBS still blaming Wenger for the mess we are into
It is the easiest punching bag for them now to hide behind their flawed campaign to oust our greatest ever manager. Those idiot fans have lost but are not ready to accept their defeat. I believe they wont ever accept that they were wrong.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Urgh. I’ve become a terrible football watcher- ‘tense’ barely scratches it- and the football’s pretty terrible, too.
Could say, with justification, get a grip, get perspective, etc, but I don’t know how to watch a game like last night’s without it being a thoroughly unpleasant experience, to put it mildly. Proper evening spoiler.
Think Oliver has become the very last man we want to see in middle with us now, struggling as we are. He has become so adept at spotting opportunities for soft free kicks- any contact virtually- while with us he is almost guaranteed to contemptuously tell us to get up if we do the same. He certainly added some to the nightmare factor for me
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think there is a coloration between KSE full ownership and the many problems Arsenal FC have faced since then. The problems seem to grow by the day at boardroom level and on the pitch.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Talking about Oliver, what was that bumping of fists with a Wolves player towards the end of the game?
I reckon we are on a worse position now than we were last season at this time.
Who is responsible for the signing of Willian and the retentionof Cellabos, both of which give nothing to the team performaonce?
Arteta talks about needing several transfer windows to achieve what he wants. It is not surprising that the players he has are so luke warm in their attitudes and enthusiasm as they are being told in no uncertain terms that they are not good enough
How long before Auba resolves to leave? We will have another Ozil situation where the club desperately try to force out a high wage earning player.
What a mess.
LikeLike
People still trying to blame AW for todays failures. It is incredible.
someone posted on another blog – “Wenger in my personal opinion, started to monopolise the decision making process, as if it his club” as a one of the reasons that we are facing issues.
Now we have a team of super agents making decisions for the benefit of the fans. They even sit with DOF at games, guess this is better situation for some.
Arsene Wenger left over 2 yrs ago, KSE took full control about 3yrs ago.
our problems have worsened since AW left and KSE had full control but somehow it is AW fault that he left the club too late? We are now witnessing the worst start to a league campaign since the prem began.
The constant thread through this problematic period is KSE and i think they have made massive mistake since they fully took control.
KSE decided to hire and sack Raul, hiring a defensive cup coach to take over an attacking club for over 22 yrs, hiring a novice to take control of Arsenal with no track record of even coaching youth teams, over pay for Pepe, Dennis Saurez loan when he was injured, Willian 3 yr deal and David Luiz 2 yr deal, sacking all our scouts, 55 employees sacked, leaks to the press, club heading in know clear direction, freezing out our best and most creative players, press leaks to ornstien etc
Think people need to rethink the source pf the problems here.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Without wishing to invite too many conspiracy theorists to the table, could anyone have a go at solving this dilemma for me?
What would be the reasons for KSE not wanting to have an obviously successful Arsenal Football Club?
Because when I read the list of issues and events that Gee has just posted it almost seems like a series of deliberate actions designed to destabilise and destroy.
LikeLike
i dont know if it is intentional or not but i noticed a general change and it came the day Arsene was not able to honor his contract and was forced to leave early. to me that was the start of this spiral of problems leading to what is going on today. I think KSE lack a bit of understanding of Arsenal FC, fans traditions and history. it seen that continuity ended with KSE full ownership.
Now this is a club i recognise less by the day and can be highlighted in the way we treated our most loyal servants of recent yrs, Kozza, Ramsey, Ozil etc. Ramsey should be captain today and still playing for AFC after 10 yrs of loyal services.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What’s up folks!!!
Well, I have been an Arsenal supporter since I know myself and this is the first time I have felt like I can hardly be bothered. Arteta does not seem up to it and the whole outfit lacks the class we have become use to. I do not blame any of the players, they are not being put in the best position to win. Arteta put the blame on himself for “not getting the best” out of Ozil, so it’s on him.
My goodness we are awful!
LikeLiked by 2 people
foreverheady its not that KSE want AFC to fail, I would say it is their desire to see us be elite, and all their decisions were made with the right intentions. You have to remember that the so called experts were telling us for years that the reason AFC were slipping was due to –
outdated manager
outdated managerial structures – it should be DOF and Head Coach not a first team manager
outdated exec structures, as above a DOF etc needed
outdated way of doing transfers, the big agents had to be pandered to
so KSE done it all, and in the case of First Team Manager, back again.
LikeLiked by 1 person
an interesting point made by earlier poster – Arteta coming out and constantly telling us that there is deep routed problems in the team and squad, problems its going to take him “Several Transfer Windows at the least” to fix – has this made some of the players down tools, or even simply lose confidence, after all how can you be confident if the boss keeps saying you need replacing. Couple that with how at least some of them are sure to doubt Arteta after his omission of ozil from the 25. And as we know once players begin to doubt one or two things, they will doubt it all. They are no different in that respect to us. Arteta can talk the talk, but so far he is not walking the walk
LikeLiked by 3 people
Arsenal v Newcastle in the 3rd round of the FA Cup
LikeLike
Exclusive: Arsenal defender in advanced talks over new four-year contract
By
Wayne Veysey –
30th November 2020 at 4:00pm 1
Share
Arsenal are in advanced talks with defender Zak Swanson over a new contract, Football Insider can exclusively reveal.
The right-back, who is on a season-long loan at Dutch side MVV Maastricht, is currently on a deal that expires in the summer of 2022.
An Arsenal source has told Football Insider that the club have indicated to Swanson they will trigger the two-year option to extend his agreement until 2024.
It will tie down the 20-year-old, who has had a wretched time on loan in Holland.
As revealed by Football Insider last week, Arsenal are planning to terminate the deal early.
The Premier League club are set to take advantage of a recall option and bring Swanson back to London ahead of January window.
Subscribe to Football Insider TV now
It is then expected that he will be loaned out to a new team, potentially one in the English Football League, in the second half of the season.
The Gunners academy product has made only three appearances for MVV Maastricht in a campaign ruined by injury and illness.
Swanson’s temporary employers were thrashed 7-1 on his debut and he has struggled to get in the side even when fit.
ADVERTISING
Swanson had been expected to make a big impact in Holland after an impressive 2019-20 season for the Gunners Under-23s.
But the rising star has not been able to replicate his youth-team form at MVV Maastricht.
He can play in midfield, both centrally as well as out wide, but has only been used in defence during his loan.
LikeLike
just seen a stat from yesterday game – Arsenal put in 36 crosses, only 3 found an Arsenal player – that is why I said Arteta’s Arsenal play like we still have Giroud up front, and not a striker who rarely wins a header or scores from one.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I see Arteta has suggested that the reason AFC are not improving is cos we play twice a week and so he can not devote training sessions to improving players tactically. He has suggested that when they do what he wants them to do without having to think about it then things will improve a lot. Well that and him buying a whole host of better players. I’m glad he has cleared it all up, and there was me thinking he has some part to take in the blame for all we are seeing, it seems I was wrong. Trust the process, Arteta’s Paint By Numbers Football will be King, yada yada yada
LikeLike
I see people say give him time, look at klopp finishing 8th in his 1st season at LFC, but look at the football JK had them trying to play, it was gengenpressing, lots of goals scored, often let down by his leaky defense, but it was proactive football, not Arteta’s paint by numbers, I would have no problem with losing and drawing games if I could see us trying to play proactive football and not setting up like we are the little club trying to grind out a result against a much superior team. We are not dropping points how LFC did in 2015/16 trying to play an aggressive attacking/pressing style of football, no we are dropping points cos we are playing a passive safety first slow sideways and backways passing type of football.
With Klopp at LFC you could actually see what he was trying to do from the start, yes he had many setbacks, threw away a number of games, but he had a vision that you could see, even when it went wrong, and when it was successful it was exciting, but either way you could see what he wanted. LFC put up lots of big scores that season and the next too, even if not winning trophies, but it was gengenpressing football, if not refined to what it has become.
I don’t see anything like that from Arteta’s Arsenal so far, its very directed football, its why I call it paint by numbers football. Its more risk averse than gengenpressing. Why should we expect that just by signing new players we will see Arteta have us play a totally different style of play than anything he has set us up to play so far. I can not recall any manager who has done that. Yes I’ve seen many managers tactics and style of play improved by bringing in better players, but normally its still the same tactics and style of play, just done better.
So I ask who of you have seen enough from Arteta’s Arsenal to believe that just playing these tactics and style of play a bit better will see us do a Liverpool.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We start the defence of our cup at home against Newcastle.
LikeLike
Completely agree with Eduardos posts. Arteta style of play is defence first and that is 180 degree opposite what Arsenal brand has shown for 2 decades under Arsene Wenger. With this kind of football we cant win matches in the first place and are destroying the Arsenal brand of football as well.The urge to watch Arsenal play is diminishing as the days pass.
As the idiot fans still blaming Wenger for this state of affairs and the lack of spending by the owners are deluded for the fact is that Arsenal have spent a good sum to buy Leno Gabriel Partey Pepe and the list goes on.
Infact now approx 3/4 th of the playing eleven are now players post Wenger era. Maybe the idiot fans can still blame those 1/4 th of the Wenger era players for our dismal display.
What a joke?
The idiot fans said that we need a young modern manager and now they have one as well but the results are gone south.
I can bet Arsene Wenger would have walked in top4 with 100 million Euros spending as he did it for 2 decades with even lesser amounts.
Now the bigger question is that where we go from here now?
I will propse to bring Wenger back at the club as DOF to help out Arteta to stable the sinking ship.
LikeLike
Hi Positivistas. Technical problems are preventing me from posting the latest pod with me and George. We are looking into it.
LikeLike
In the meantime head over to Uncensored for the pod.
LikeLike