In this edition, Shotta and Blackburn George, @Arseblagger, observe how confidence in Arteta and the football club is falling rapidly after a bloody home defeat to Wolves.
We are one of very few Arsenal pod-casters, if any, who are willing to take a critical view of some of the recent developments on- and off-the-field at Arsenal, which should be cause for concern to any honest, fair-minded fan of the football club. Show your support of our efforts by Liking and Subscribing to our podcast wherever you listen.
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Listen to “Confidence Falling As Arsenal Suffer Bloody Defeat” on Spreaker.
Positively Arsenal 
Arteta confirms that Partey will be back in training on Friday and might be available for sunday’s game
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Mikel Arteta was a happy man as we maintained our 100 per cent record in the Europa League with a 4-1 victory against Rapid Vienna on Thursday.
Afterwards, our manager faced the media and discussed having fans back in the stadium, Alex Lacazette, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, and more.
This is what he said:
on having the 2,000 fans back in the stadium…
Very special and I am delighted to have them back. I think they made a huge contribution. We had 2,000 but it looked like many more. They were very supportive of the team, very encouraging and the lads were saying it makes a huge difference to feel that support and energy. Thank you so much to them for coming and supporting the team.
on restoring some confidence ahead of the north London derby…
Yes, we have been really consistent in this competition. I think the boys showed a great energy, character and aggression today. Right from the beginning you could feel they were touched from the last defeat and everyone individually played a really good game. In the final third we were really aggressive with the ball, we created many chances, scored four goals and probably should have scored more – and now let’s take that into Sunday, a very special game, we are all looking forward to it, and let’s do it all again.
on Alex Lacazette’s performance as a No 10…
It was a good game in that position, I think it suits him, it gives him a bit of freedom and he is really good at linking play in those positions. He worked really hard and scored a beautiful goal.
on Maitland-Niles playing in central midfield…
What he’s done today the great thing with Ainsley is that he can fill various positions and that’s a great thing to have in a squad. He has played on the left as a wing back, on the right, he can play as a holding midfield, as an attacking midfielder and again the performances like tonight helps, and he has a chance to play like anyone else.
on Ainsley adding something extra in attack…
Yes, the same with Emile and the same that Joe Willock gives in those positions because they are attacking midfielder, they are not holding midfielders. They have it in their minds that they want to make those runs, make that final pass, they want to shoot and at the moment we need that: we need people with the mindset to score goals. They want to go there, they want to take their chances, they want to be aggressive when they have the ball and when the ball is far from them, they have to make it to the box because the middle of the goal is when goals are scored. When you get in those positions constantly, the chances of scoring goals increases so it is good to see that.
on Thomas Partey’s fitness…
Well, he is putting a lot of pressure on us! He is training tomorrow with us, and let’s see how it goes in the next few days.
on whether our team tonight showed the passion and desire that he’s looking for…
I’ve said before, I’ve seen the passion and I’ve seen the energy in the last few games. There were moments that the moment you take your foot a little bit off the pedal, or the moment you lose a little bit of focus in the Premier League, you get punished. The margin that we are losing games is very small and in Europe at the moment you have a little bit bigger margin, and you need to know that. But I’m really pleased with the work that they’ve done today and I think the 11 of the team had a real purpose on the game, even though we have qualified. This is the spirit that I want to see every single day.
on how many of tonight’s team could feature against Tottenham…
Well, you’ve seen in the last few games that we’ve used some players on the Thursday and then they’ve played on the weekend, and this can change and this will change. I don’t try to use different competitions to put out two different teams. It’s because we’re using them with the amount of injuries and suspensions and the performance levels that they can give us in various positions. You can see tonight that some of them might deserve to start the game on Sunday.
on Lacazette’s goal…
It was great because to score that goal, you have to shoot, and he shoots from 25 yards. He took it, he never doubted, he took the first touch forwards, not backwards, and that was the mindset of where is the ball, he shoots and he scores. Everyone today was really positive every time they got on the ball and we tried to attack the opponent’s box as much as possible. I think when you shoot, anything can happen, and if you don’t, we’re never going to score goals.
on whether he could enjoy the experience of fans returning…
I was so focused on the game that I didn’t hear or understand what they were saying! But it made a huge difference, honestly, even if it was only 2000. Those 2000 were really positive towards the team and that energy in some really difficult moments is even more appreciated. I appreciate the supporters a lot.
on whether the return of fans impacted his ability to deliver instructions…
Not yet, but it will come hopefully and they can make that happen and it will be great! At the end, you’re trying to transmit something to the players that is missing when they are not there, but the moment that they are there, obviously it’s less necessary for the coaches to intervene so much. Hopefully in time we will get there.
on whether clubs who can host supporters will have an advantage over those who can’t…
Well, probably, because this sport without fans is totally different. The players lose a bit of focus and emotion and it’s something you want to share. At the end of the day, we are here to entertain and make the fans enjoy it. They have a huge passion for this football club and when they are able to transmit that, it gets directly into the players and for me to have them here, at home or away, is always different, and it’s because of them.
Copyright 2020 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.
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Enjoyable. Wish I believed it meant anything for our immediate future in prem but I’m more than a little doubtful it has much bearing.
Glad fans in stadium got something fun to watch, though, and also that they got credit for doing their bit for the team.
Really wonder how different things would be if it were the norm to have someone like Carney- who actually looks for positives, makes no snide remarks, etc- doing our games. So peaceful in comparison, not being tensed up for the next jab.
I think the world of football and football supporting would be a lot better for it. But that ship has surely sailed.
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I do agree regarding the commentary but I often turn the sound down anyway as it is mostly irrelevant rubbish and bandwagon stuff that is going around.
There clearly is a plan developing. To win the Europa Cup and be relegated.
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A Kind of Euro Wigan
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well I’m heartened by the display last night, I’ve said many times on here that the biggest problem I seen with trust the process was that there was not a sign of positive attacking football, well last night it was there in abundance. Yes it was against very low level opposition, but if you can’t do it against that level of opponent then you have no hope of ever seeing it in the EPL. So small acorns and all that.
i won’t get carried away by it, but at least it shows the players can play it, lets hope the manager lets them do it more often.
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Interesting quote from AW
“I don’t believe in patience in football, you know, you have three months to have an impact when you arrive somewhere,” Wenger says. “And if I look at my clubs everywhere I arrived, it didn’t take me three years to have an influence.
“That’s an idea that’s floating around but it never works that way. You have an influence at the start, or you never have one.
“I think [he has had that influence]. But I am not at the club. After it’s the way the team plays and the games you win or you lose, you know, it’s simple.
“It’s about results. It’s as simple as that.”
https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/arsene-wenger-talks-arsenal-under-arteta-his-highbury-bond-and-finding-meaning-in-life-as-a-football-manager/
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‘There clearly is a plan developing. To win the Europa Cup and be relegated.’
funny!
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Well I hope I’m not proved wrong but Arteta was proving himself in his first three months, doing quite nicely and then Covid struck. Post Lockdown he struggled for a couple of games and then won the FA Cup and Shield, beating some decent teams to do so. Since the start of the new season he has seen his ‘A’ team struggle as other managers wised to his tactics and a few players failed to step up as they might reasonably have been expected to. Running alongside has been the ‘B’ team securing their Europa League and a fair few younger players gaining experience and confidence. Last evening’s match saw a bit of swagger back.
I read today that there was a clear the air meeting among the main players earlier this week, so it will be interesting to see what comes of that. I beleive that many of them do believe in their manager and want to make it work. I suspect a few don’t, and this is not necessarily the manager’s fault.
I chose to believe that Arteta is not responsible for the Ozil situation, but that he has agreed to remain silent on behalf of his employees. A utilitarian solution no doubt, and I can understand those who can’t stomach that. Ethical experiments are always tricky.
I also choose to believe that MA is a young man who has been playing profressional footballsince he was a teenager. As far as I can tell he has not been to university, and athough he is fluent in many languages I don’t think it is fair to pore over every utterance and jump on perdeived inconsistencies. I think he is trying his best. I also believe he will end up guiding The Arsenal to success.
And don’t ask me to justify or prove that as that’s not how belief works!
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well foreverheady could the clear the air talks Arteta had with the squad on Tuesday be the reason why there was such a marked improvement in our attacking play yesterday. The players were said to have aired their views on why things have not been going well in our play, maybe they told Arteta to let them play attacking football.
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Well I do hope so Eduardo. with regard to the match this weekend I shall ignore it if things go badly and not get carried away should it go in our favour. I will reserve any judgement until we have played the first hal of te Premier League season.
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Well lads, it’s a worry if the players are telling the manager the way forward.
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I don’t really know much but football for me is a simple game.
Playing four attacking footballers instead of three helps a team to attack. It’s why until Barkley’s injury Villa were for example were much better to watch play some football this season then the misfiring Gunners. Why it was predictable that they’d outplay the Gunners!
The Europe league group stage is a different sport to the PL. I expect a revert to three attackers only for the NLD.
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Listening to many blaggers literally copy George and Shotta’s soundbites from recent months I’m surprised by how quickly the worm has turned after the cup victory but when you see the quality of the football, it’s been awful, then I guess people are simply not impressed.
Dropping your best footballers (plural), vacating the midfield in a football game will never impress the watching punters. Or players.
Like I said a few weeks ago this derby is a bigger game for arteta then for anyone else. For purely selfish reasons I hope Arteta turns it round.
Whether Arteta could keep the squad spirit was the only question left after he made the mad call to chop off his own member with Kia’s rusty hatchet in front of the whole watching squad. We saw how that worked for Emery. With the same squad.
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Listening to many blaggers literally copy George and Shotta’s soundbites from recent months I’m surprised by how quickly the worm has turned after the cup victory but when you see the quality of the football, it’s been awful, then I guess people are simply not impressed.
Dropping your best footballers (plural), vacating the midfield in a football game will never impress the watching punters. Or players…!
Like I said a few weeks ago this derby is a bigger game for arteta then for anyone else. For purely selfish reasons I hope Arteta turns it round.
But I’m not sure if he’ll make it after the mad call to chop off his own member with Kia’s rusty hatchet in front of the whole watching squad. We saw how that worked for Emery. With the same squad.
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I see the FA and FIFA have different views on how Brexit will affect English clubs signing U18 players, the FA said that the CTA agreement, a pre EU treaty between Ireland and the UK would mean Brexit would have no change in English clubs signing them, but FIFA have now said irish players be treated the same as players from anywhere else in the world and need a GBE
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so at the moment Arsenal sit in 14th, and we trail all 7 teams that finished above us last season
Liverpool 8pts
Man City 5pts
Man Utd 6pts
Chelsea 6pts
Leicester City
Spurs 8pts
Wolves 4pts
we also have Newcastle, Leeds, West Ham, Aston Villa, Everton, Southampton above us in the table,
a win tomorrow could see us go as high as 11th, and as few as 5prs off top, but a defeat could see us go as low as 16th and as much as 11pts off top
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The marked improvement in our attacking play on Thursday was the oceans of space we were afforded and the fact the young side they had put out looked absolutely knackered by the end of the game.
Even Laca who had a good game still wasn’t brilliant and was again guilty of trying to much at times, if he tries this at the weekend he will be picked off. Mind you what a goal.
I think we could of beat them with ex academy players and a few players that weren’t going to play Sunday.
The fact we used so many first team players is extremely worrying. Obviously I hope it proves to be a confidence builder for not only all those involved but those first teamed not involved but I tend to think it won’t serve much purpose against a side which are technically a world away from the opposition of Thursday night and will be ten times more motivated.
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well Ian I do wonder if the players asked to be allowed to be more attacking at that crisis meeting on Tuesday.
I agree that it was a bit needless to see so many first team regulars play, did we need to bring on Willian and Ceballos when we could have given Azeez 20 minutes, also if we are trying to persuade Balogun to sign a new deal, whey not give him more than 10 minutes
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former Chelsea player PAtrick Bamford has given Leeds the lead at Chelsea
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My concern for today’s fixture is that as a rookie coach Arteta will gamble on players who are not fully fit. Saka and Partey spring to mind.
My hope from midweek is that Nelson coming off early means that he has earned the start from Arteta ahead of Willian.
COYG
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If Arteta plays a back three will Tierney be the LWB? It’s an option with centre backs returning. Is it an option that interests Arteta? You’d hope so…
Quite a lot of competition to play alongside Gabriel, none to play as an attacking midfielder as the only option in the squad is not in the squad.
Remember how Venga had to unleash the Ox whilst predominantly playing him as an attacking midfielder? Will Arteta ever let Saka off the leash and not play him as a wing back? If you’ve dropped your only AM to restrict Saka to the wing back role behind Willian is…wrong.
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New post is up
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