Good morning all.
This evening we play Burnley at the home of football, and I can’t stress how massive a game it’s become for Mikel Arteta and the fanbase.
Burnley have had a terrible start to the season. They have won one game and only scored 5 goals, while conceding 18. But despite their form and awful record in this fixture, the game fills me with fear and trepidation.
Burnley literally don’t have a player of any note. They have two old-fashioned big lump strikers and two old-fashioned big lump centre-backs. The play an old-fashioned 442 and they just try to bludgeon their way to wins. They should be meat and drink to a team like Arsenal, but I suspect Sean Dyche is licking his lips at the prospect of his trip to London.
We sit in 15th place and a loss or a draw will likely see us stay in 15th place, a win will propel us up the table to the dizzy heights of 14th, so hardly a sea-change, but the damage to confidence – of the team and fans – to Mikel Arteta could be huge.
I get the feeling that both the dressing-room and the fan-base are tottering on the brink with their belief in the Spaniard and even his perfect hair won’t be enough to turn the tide.
When it comes to the point where the board have to come out in support of the manager and there is open rebellion of 3 or 4 players, the end is usually nigh.
Ozil, Guendouzi, Saliba, Pepe and team captain Aubameyang have, sometimes directly and sometimes through their agents, broken ranks and voiced their displeasure with Arteta. Even Willian, his pet Brazilian, is looking to distance himself from Arteta and the club that was desperate to pay £200k pw to get his signature, a few short months ago. The faith of the fans is shifting towards the young squad members, but as Arteta seems to have no inclination to put similar faith in them, even they can’t help him. I suspect there are more players, just like our big twitter accounts, bloggers and podcasters, that are waiting for the moment that they can shift their public position towards Arteta, safe in the cocoon of public opinion.
I have no idea how we will set up, who will play and where they will play. Nothing seems to work and no combination of players have looked good. We have not been unlucky, because all the measures of how well we are playing, has us in the bottom 5.
We can argue how good a squad we have in comparison to others, which could reasonably be said to be between 4th and 8th, but no way is it 15th. So something is seriously wrong and something has to seriously change. It might be an exaggeration to say that Arteta is in the last chance saloon, but it must be getting close to that. Make no mistake, our owners will be watching closely and will do whatever necessary to protect their investment, the future value of commercial deals and the share value.
Good luck to everyone involved, because we need it.
Pedantic George.
Positively Arsenal 
Ref didn’t give them a yellow for fouling Willian to stop a break away a little earlier. Looked like he was going to let this one too as well until the fight.
No yellow for them in that melee though. Their player pulls Xhaka to the floor just before he gets up and grabs his throat. Stupid by Xhaka. But then should have at least had a yellow for that.
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the thing is Mandy both Pepe and Xhaka red cards were needless and unprofessional.
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Elneny may be off here too and a penalty aganst us
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Elneny gets a yellow, its only not a penatly cos ball was out of play
Burnely score from the corner anyway,
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it was an Aubameyang own goal too, we are having some shit night here
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Complete lack of discipline
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that is the first goal we have let in from a set play in the league this season
if Burnely win this we will have lost to them at home for the first time since something like 1974
we lost to LCFC for first time at home since the 70’s
and we lost to Wolves for first time at home since the 70’s too
if we lose this game it will be the first time we have lost 4 games in a row at home since the 1950’s
but trust the process
it only Southampton, Everton, City and Chelsea next
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we go behind so need a goal, so does Arteta bring on Nketiah, no, does he bring on Smith-Rowe, no. He takes of Bellerin and brings on Maitland-Niles.
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Arsenal have received twice as many red cards as any other club in the Premier League since Mikel Arteta took charge (6), with all six of them being straight red cards. [@Squawka
] #afc
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Vinai’s elite PR team might need to call another interview this week.
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Nketiah on for willian with about ten minutes to go
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FT: Arsenal 0-1 Burnley
Xhaka let us down badly with a needless sending off just when we were getting really on top in the game. PEA own goal summed up our evening.
We have a run a difficult games coming up, Southampton, Everton, City in the CC, then Chelsea, we very well could have a new manager before the new year
we have lost 7 of our 12 EPL games this season, only scoring 10 goals
P12 W4 D1 L7 F10 A15 GD-5 Pts13
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4 defeats in a row at home for the first time since the 1950’s
would this be a bad time to remind people that in Wenger’s last season here we recorded our best ever home league pts total
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Could well be Xhaka’s last game for the Arsenal. Doubt he’ll be missed too much if it is.
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I am not sure what It will solve , with the leadership at this club, I don’t trust them to pick a new man, I don’t trust some of them to pick their nose, nor do I think it is all Artetas fault, some of it is, but not all of it.
But really can’t see how he survives that, unless Stan gets off on the idea and novelty of relegation.
The problems at this club are well documented on here and elsewhere, and go way beyond And before Arteta, and his coaches , but FFS! Burnley at home…..no
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PB
@OliPriceBates
64% of the ball. 20 attempts. 7 shots on target. 13 corner kicks. You HAVE to be scoring at least twice from that.
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The strategy – prioritize the short term with experienced players – has been an abject failure. Rebuild. Play the youngsters. No way the outcome could be worse.
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I thought our front 4, with the notable exception of Saka, were worse than bang average. To me that is where all the problems lie, and I don’t think it is just because they are not having ‘on a plate’ chances created for them. They don’t run, they don’t shoot (and when they do they have taken so long to do so its easily blocked), they don’t scare the oppo. All pretty dismal.
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I think this goes further than mediocrity.
The first half was better, but still, no one capable of making a defence-splitting pass and even the chances we had were rushed or saved.
I reckon this is likely to go back to the single decision to exile Ozil. He is the only player that can turn a game on its head for us, and he sits at home watching Sky. From then onwards the major wins came from parking the bus and no real excellent attacking performance.
Unless something happens soon to change the situation we will be in relegation trouble.
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Auba was starting to find some form on the ball and also create in that spell before the sending off. Real shame.
I had the impression that the squad was lost by the Villa game.
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Xhaka’s dumb reaction: I wonder how much of it is a frustration arising from playing in a style that is ineffective, bland, and leaves the players in a despirited malaise. None of the players could be seen to be enjoying their performance. But…that does not take away from the stupid loss of professionalism. It does however, raise questions about how the playing “style” is affecting the players’ state of mind.
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But as JJ says it’s a technical problem.
There aren’t many top level creative attacking talents at the club. I count two. One is obvious.
And at Saka’s age Sterling was still getting breaks from Rodgers and Klopp. He needs a break and he can’t carry this attack.
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well I feel sorry for Arteta today, we were looking much improved early in the second half when Xhaka acted the cunt and too the wind out of our sails. What could Arteta have done about that.
foreverheady I agree that PEA, Lacca and Willain played like they were in mud, for me this is down to the paint by numbers football Arteta is trying to make them play. They do nothing now off the cuff, nothing is instinctive, you can almost see them thinking when they get the ball, “where is it the boss wants me to play it to next”. Arteta himself has said that when they practice the moves enough that he wants them to play it will fall into place cos it will look like second nature to them. This for me is the big problem. its also why i think he does not pick Pepe, cos he is very much an off the cuff player. Also might actually be the reason why it is actual “football reasons” why ozil is out of the squad, as Mesut Ozil would never play the ball robot style, he plays it where he sees it needs playing, and that is not in Arteta’s “process”.
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Arteta must like Xhaka a hell of a lot more than he likes Pepe, contrast this to what he said when Pepe got sent off
Arteta on Xhaka red card: “On this occasion Granit has overstepped the line. We cannot make that mistake. It’s the wrong approach for what we’re trying to do.”
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Arteta on Xhaka
Well, he’s made a mistake clearly that is going to cost us. The way the game was going the dominance we had we were performing it’s a game you clearly have to win. And with ten men obviously it makes it much more difficult and you give the opponent a chance and you end up losing on a set piece.
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The daft thing is that this team and manager could just as easily stumble across a win through a lucky deflection next week and then go on to put together a half-decent run.
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Anyhow, in more important news I made a start on the Christmas jigsaw this afternoon. It’s the little things that console (or not, as my better half used to say).
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yes foreverheady a win of any sort could spark a run of form, it has happened many a team, also injuries and suspensions could actually lead to Arteta stumbling on a better line up. Anyway Pepe is back from his suspension now, maybe he will be the one to get a winning goal to get us going.
we know these players are capable of much better results, we get told that they are mostly Wenger players, well in his last season here we set our record for most home pts in a season, and since then the club has spent £290M on bringing in “better” players, well I don’t know about the rest of you, but that last paragraph even made me laugh.
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On whether he feels let down by Xhaka
Yes, but honestly I think being unacceptable to do that action is because the players are in a moment when they are so willing to do more, to fight more, to show how committed they are, to be alive in the games in this occasion granit has overstepped the line. And there is another action with Mo that I haven’t seen but looks similar and we cannot make that mistake because that’s the wrong approach to what we’re trying to do.
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Orbinho
@Orbinho
·
3m
This is now Arsenal’s worst start to a top flight season since 1974-75.
in that 42 game league season we finished just the 2 wins above the relegation positions, but we only lost 5 of 21 home games, we have lost 4 in a row so far this
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Always worried what combo of team really struggling and pgmol really pgmoling would do to me and it’s as bad as I feared, maybe worse.
Sack Arteta, hire this person that person, the job is a good 1.5 times more difficult than it should be with those cunts fucking us at every turn. Ok, Xhaka was dumb but they can let them go at that threshold, they do against us every time, like they could let Sissoko put in a much harder than normal head into Saints player last year, and settle for a yellow despite VAR, delivered sheepishly by a ref who didn’t like spot he was in.
Anyway, a great revival for the club will probably only come with a lavish spending billionaire or cynicism introduced to the club to match the rest of the sport, which may, after a number of years, somehow improve things and create a more level playing field from which, at some point, we may have normal chances of a building a good team again.
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when Arteta came in I was very hopeful for our future, I expected that there would be the odd hiccup, after all he is new to the big chair, but I thought the set backs would be due to him being adventurous in his tactics, but he has been so risk averse its unreal, its paint by numbers football, everything the players seem to be trying to do looks so micro managed that it has stifled any freedom out of the player, they are not playing with clear heads, its over thought, not a damn one of them seem to be enjoying the football.
Arteta might very well be right in his assertion that once the players practice what he wants them to play enough, that it will become second nature to them and that it will be really special. The thing is will he last long enough for us to find out.
I would also say if its down to practicing it enough, would we not expect to see more youths make the step up, after all in my experience youths pick up new ideas much quicker than older players, are much more open to new ways, especially when a route into the first team is there.
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Granit Xhaka’s red card and squad rotation were the main two topics when Mikel Arteta spoke to the media shortly after our defeat to Burnley.
Here’s a full transcript of the manager’s press conference:
on Xhaka’s red card…
He’s made a mistake, clearly. The way the game was going, the dominance that we had… it was a game that we had to win and with 10 men it makes it much more difficult. You give the opponent a chance and you end up losing.
on another game this Wednesday…
Absolutely, I prefer to play in 72 hours. The players are hurting. Thank you so much to the fans because I think they were tremendous behind the team with the support that they were giving, and knowing how difficult it has been for us in this competition in recent weeks. I think they react like that because they see the team, how they try and how they go about it, how much passion they put into the game with no limitations.
on rotating for the Premier League…
Well we have shaken things up in other games and sometimes it has worked and other times it hasn’t. I pick the team that gives us the best possibility to win the game.
on rewarding the Europa League players…
I don’t know, I will tell you the same thing: [I pick] the players who, in my opinion, give us the best chance to perform, and players on the bench who can do that [too]. Some of the ones that you’ve mentioned, they’ve been with us a very short time because of injury or different situations. It’s not players who have established themselves in the first team but I understand that when you lose you have to try and pick somebody else.
on whether Granit Xhaka’s behaviour was unacceptable…
Absolutely.
on whether he feels let down by Xhaka…
Yes, but honestly, I think it was unacceptable to do that action and the players are in a moment that they are so willing to do more and fight more and show how committed they are, to be alive in the game, that on this occasion Granit has overstepped the line. It’s another action with Mo that I haven’t seen, but it looks similar. We cannot make those mistakes because they’re the wrong approach to what we’re trying to do.
on whether he’s worried that the players have lost their focus and they’re panicking…
No, I wouldn’t say they’re panicking. Again, it’s my opinion, I can see it in training as well that they try and put the energy in. It’s the same today. A team that is struggling [like this] we don’t normally see play the way that they did today, and with the way they played against Spurs, the leaders, but again, we lost the game. We gave the opponent a chance and they scored. And it’s about winning football matches.
on whether he will make changes for the Southampton match…
Well, we have three big games this week and we will see how everybody is. We have some suspensions and we have some injuries that we picked up last week and maybe today as well. We will see who is available for Wednesday.
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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claims that Arteta and David Luiz are no longer on speaking terms, and that it seems this is due to the training ground fight between Ceballos and David Luiz being leaked to the press. Arteta vowed there would be major repercussions for whoever leaked the story, and now it seems he is blaming David luiz for the leaks. Its said the story was fed to several journos by a few different agents. some big twitter accounts put the blame at the time on Ozil. But it now seems a new name is in the firing line.
Reports also suggest that many of the squad are unhappy with how Arteta slated Pepe for his sending off v Leeds, as they see it as hypocritical of Arteta to do that in public when he is so upset at the training ground fight being told to the press.
If Arteta is losing the dressing room then he is on very thin ice, his only hope is to move out many players in January, if he lasts that long
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I honestly think Artetas only option is to play the kids, or at least more of them, but that will further antagonise senior players who are allegedly pissed off with him already, according to some of these articles. Not sure he can get out of this one
If they keep losing , he will do well to last until Jan, Stan won’t want to contemplate relegation. But I seriously worry who this lot , probably Edu would pick to replace him, some super agent lackey would be a possible choice I fear, just don’t think the Kroenkes seem to be up to speed on some of these shenanigans if previous appointments are anything to go by .
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well Mandy, its said that Josh is a massive fan of Henry (god help us), and it was reported that some at the club wanted Rodgers, would he leave LCFC midseason
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That fucker Evra apparently said on tv he went round Henry’s house to watch a game and Henry turned off tv when he saw Xhaka was captain and said ‘I can’t watch my team with him as captain.
I hope Xhaka heads off, sooner the better, as he really doesn’t deserve all the shit and scorn he has received since joining, and there is almost no chance it will ever improve much and most likely will hit new lows right about now. From what I can see a much better man than the two knocking him. Hopefully can find somewhere he is appreciated for the good player he is.
Henry inviting a guy over who has disrespected his club and its players an enormous amount over years is no surprise.
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well Rich I don’t think many would doubt that what Evra says is true, as its just about what you’d expect from a prick of Henry’s caliber
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Was Xhaka incident 3rd time one of them squared up to our players by way? Think Mcneil two and someone else when Tierney down with head injury. Mcneil had always seemed bit out of place with Burnley dirtbags as well.
Anyway, I’m sure that on back of Pepe incident they planned doing so beforehand. Another sign that if anyone at club thinks it’s the way I see it- pgmol fuck us- then it can’t be case that it’s discussed with players and instructions given to mitigate it.
Expect lots more provocation and squaring up to our players in weeks ahead as managers and teams see if they can get reaction again. Expecting any time now to see a player try duck at the last moment to try get face brushed by a hand which was meant for chest.
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Doesn’t seem any point in going on. Im sure Artetas a good bloke, but hes not a leader, it seems its unlikely he can create some kind of renaissance. There’s no point in dragging it out further, flogging a dead horse is illogical ( captain)its doing more damage to the players and club? At this point we can say its failed.
The process is one of hanging around the relegation zone and we all know thats big laughs.
It causing us to be a laughing stock and of course our “oldtimey” rivals are all breathing a sigh of relief. They all knew they were onto a winner when we committed hazzakazza by getting rid of the Mes. Comedy Arsenal?
Teams know how to beat us, they arent frightened, we are Arsenaljellyfish FC. With no sting. And anti brains. We arent even pulling of heroic failures!
I feel sceptical that the owner know anything about what to do, who to employ, it all seems to be more money orientated that sport first orientated? But maybe Mikel wont resign as getting the boot means more severance cash? Havva grabbba!
Imagine if the stadium would have been full. Im not sure it would have been chocolate and flowers and sweet nothing being whispered in ears at the end of the game?
To me anyone who wants to go further with Mikel and the atmosphere like this is someone whose enjoying some kind of masochistic examination of failure. Like posh people hanging around poor people to see what its like. OH ya! Or people who like sniffing pavement pizza. Now Im for democracy but that aint my cuppa. Of course I would still charge to the sound of the guns, if we went down, but its an experience I would rather do without. And we might not bounce bac automatically. Dang! then theres even the thought that the Chickens might win the league and we might go down. Arrrgh!
Le Grove got it wrong, and so did AFTV. Schadenfreude isnt much of compensation though us it?
I thought according to them that Wenger was senile and the game had passed him by. Well where the fuckery does that leave the youthful play-world of Mr.Arteta?
Nice to see Auba on the scoresheet! Sheet! It was the wrong end. Or was it at the right end?
Love from Mills the twat xxx
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Shotta you proved me wrong.I was of the view that we will beat Burnley atleast.
Had MA lost the dressing room?
It does seems so.
I am speechless.
What next.
I still believe we need to bring Arsene Wenger back at the club to stabilise the things.
There are lots of things happeing behind the curtains we dont know. Vinnai Edu are making things messier.
The board must act quickly if they want to save the club.
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Don’t think Wenger is ever coming back.
Think he always seen out his contacts unless he was sacked at all clubs he was at and he didn’t finish his last one with the club he loved and poured most of his life into.
Pain may be a bit too raw especially with the current regime and AFTV/Wenger out industry is still thriving.
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we’ve been drawn against Benfica in the EL
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just seen this on the net,
on October 22nd Ainsley Maitland-Niles was asked about Mesut Ozil’s omission from Arsenal Premier League squad
“We’re behind Mesut, we’re a team, that’s always going to be the case.”
Maitland Niles has started ZERO and played 5 mins of Premier league football before yesterday since he made this comment.
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no fans allowed in to Emirates for the Southampton game, as London gone into more severe lockdown
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reports that atletico madrid will be sending Torreira back to Arsenal in January as he has not been as good as they had hoped he would be
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The search for a new manager has started but when he will turn up is another question.
Will the board go for a safe boring manager or one who can get a team to express themselves, my money unfortunately is on the former.
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ian why do you think they are searching for a new man already. I think they will back him as long as they possibly can.
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Edu hints Arsenal are trying to reach pay-off agreement with outcast Mesut Ozil
Mesut Ozil is not in Arsenal’s Premier League squad despite being the club’s highest earner, and tehnical director Edu has hinted the two parties are in discussion over a pay-off agreement
ByJohn CrossChief Football Writer
22:30, 14 DEC 2020
Edu has hinted Arsenal are trying to reach a pay-off agreement with outcast Mesut Ozil.
World Cup winner Ozil has been left out of Arsenal ’s squad for both the Premier League and Europa League despite being the club’s highest earner on £350,000-a-week.
Edu admitted it would be a quiet January market for Arsenal but clearly getting their biggest earner off the wage bill would help the club.
Edu said: “I talked to him, Mikel talked to his agent, I talked to his agent about some possibilities, not fighting, just some things to try and help each other. The way we see his future at the club, the way we see him here. It’s quite clear.
Ozil was not named in Arsenal’s 25-man Premier League squad (Image: Arsenal FC via
“What makes me feel comfortable, which we treat the situation, man to man, no-one hides anything, and Mikel explained to you guys a lot.
“People might start to ask: ‘what are you going to do in the winter window?’ Of course we will try to do something but, listen, we have the responsibility to change it. Don’t wait for someone outside to come inside and be a magician because that’s not going to happen.
“Or if you can sign 20 players – which we’re mot going to do – but that’s not going to work anyway. So the main problem, the main thing for me, is that we, as a club, has to understand our problem. Here. That’s it. Believe, because we believe. I believe.
“If you see our squad, to be fair, we have a strong squad. A fit Thomas, if Willian starts to perform like he always performs. If Lacazette, Aubameyang. If you see our squad, we are strong, but they depend on us.
“Why people have to expect a magician to go ‘boom! Come here, Messi! Boom!’ No. It depends on us. No, we have to take this responsibility, it’s not about me, not about Mikel, it’s not Leno, it’s not Laca, it’s our responsibility to change it.”
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Agree with that one Eduardo, they will back him as long as they possibly can, but Emery was in that situation last autumn as well, and he had Raul watching his back for his own reasons, not sure of Arteta has such support….Edu????
But if Arteta doesn’t change anything….and he probably won’t, and does poorly over Christmas with no signs of an upturn, I can see Stan acting, he will not want to risk relegation and all that would entail to a big part of his brand.
Then, there is the possibility, some might believe, likelihood that certain players, some with previous, are killing him, if that’s the case I don’t think, he stands a chance at this point.
Artetas best chance might be to play the kids, but he has become so risk averse, he could fail to do the one thing that could save him.
Arteta has inherited a Raul shit show, many of the clubs problems are not Artetas fault, far from it, he won a trophy, the CEO recently publicly backed him, he will cost to be rid of, there is no guarantee replacing him will work apart from maybe a short lived bounce, if there are problem players, they will win and the message that sends, the club execs might not be the best at making future appointments, but if Arteta loses his next few games and threatens a situation where hundreds of millions could be knocked off the clubs value, Arteta will be at that point, toast
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