• The Arsenal

  • Official: Mikel Arteta is the new Arsenal manager.

I thought they're was an interesting discussion in the Arsecast yesterday which essentially was because we have been so effective at set pieces did that have any impact on how we attack. In essence we get to the wing and how much are doing everything to get the ball into dangerous positions more centrally versus winning the corner by just putting a cross in. I think there may be merit in that because certainly when I look at Martinelli he doesn't really look like a player cutting in with real intent and too often gets to the by line plays a not great ball almost accepting it's getting blocked out for the corner

4 days later

We are currently on course to finish around 71 points. Way below what is required for top 4.

    Clrnc not sure that stat matters while we're 3rd tbh.

      Clrnc that's a massive regression and for me raises questions about whether we are going/at as a club right now

        We will have a talk, but only 2026 may.

        I've been thinking a lot about the fact that in five years Arteta has only brought in five forward players: Willian, Jesus, Trossard, Havertz and Sterling.

          Despite that in 2024 no other PL team has scored as many goals as us.

          that's somewhat skewed by the post-dubai purple patch we had. if you go beyond 2024 to encapsulate sep-dec 2023, those numbers drop alot. in fact we played very constipated football at the start of 23/24 as well.

          what I've noticed is that most of the big strides we've made under arteta were on the back of a wave of fresh energy - new faces and tactical tweaks.

          22/23 - saliba and ramsdales defensive impact, zincehnkos inverted play, xhaka playing as a dynamic 8, jesus playing with a point to prove

          23/24 - jorginho playing 6 and rice at 8, havertz moving to 9, trossards hyper efficiency

          24/25 - same tactical set-up as previous season , none of the signings making an impact of note, and no exciting storylines aside from maybe nwaneri. as a result the team look stale and short on ideas

          we need an injection of major freshness. tetball needs a new car smell every season or it stagnates quickly. at the moment I'm of the opinion of 1-2 key forward signings will do it, but I haven't ruled out that the freshness may have to be injected at the top

            Dom

            By all accounts, we also failed to land Vlahovic, Mudryk, Williams, Sesko and maybe a couple others I might have missed. So it's not like there isn't recognition of that fact.

            • CPM likes this.

              Gazza M tetball needs a new car smell every season or it stagnates quickly.

              This is true of all football teams all the time. That's why this summer was so unforgivable.

                Gazza M

                I've been thinking the same thing. A reshuffle initiated both the 22/23 50 point run and the post Dubai run.

                TBF, we refreshed the stagnant leftside with Merino and Calafiori who should have given us a new lease of life down the left. Instead, they've both struggled with injury to support in a sustained manner.

                Going forward, it's hard to see where the impetus will come from if we don't change it up.

                    Dom Fucking hell. That's atrocious!

                      JazzG yeah they are in some hot water, someone on the show said he wants to shoot a player

                          daredevil I saw Ruben Amorim was talking about the lack of time he has had to work properly with the players on the training ground. Due to the constant midweek football, United are in a continuous cycle of light training & prep for matches. I realise this is more of an excuse for him coming in mid season than for Arteta, but wonder if there is something around not having the time to get good work in on the training ground.

                          I'd also say that, for all the understandable concern around recent performances, we're still 3rd despite all the injuries, the red cards and the away schedule we've had this season. Hand on heart, barring a second half of the season madness, I don't think it's going to be our year in the league (our next 3 away games have major angst potential), but I don't think that's a reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater. The deck has been loaded against us from the start.

                              RocktheCasbah I saw Ruben Amorim was talking about the lack of time he has had to work properly with the players on the training ground. Due to the constant midweek football, United are in a continuous cycle of light training & prep for matches. I realise this is more of an excuse for him coming in mid season than for Arteta, but wonder if there is something around not having the time to get good work in on the training ground.

                              Thats also true for Liverpool though.

                                  Qwiss except Liverpool have been fit. We got Gabriel to do his first training session on Friday for a Saturday game where he was playing alongside MLS for the first time. Every week it’s like this given the constant injury issues. Arteta has said it’s challenging because there are times he doesn’t even have enough players to run a full scrimmage.
                                  Not saying it explains all our issues, but it’s definitely a factor.

                                      Claudius Liverpool are missing loads of defenders too, including Konate who's been huge for them this season. Everyone has injury issues, everyone swaps players in and out.

                                      And anyway its not Gabriel playing with MLS that fucked us this week, the back 4 were fine, Gabriel was particularly excellent. Its in midfield and attack we have issues.

                                          If we'll play miserable football every other week and need to go "I miss Ben White" because we can only play decent attacking football when every defender is fit, then the squad we've assembled simply isn't very good.