• The Arsenal
  • Official: Mikel Arteta is the new Arsenal manager.

RocktheCasbah Well his EL League record for sure was bad. His CL you are right, was on par with the shit Wenger served for years.

He has earned this new contract, in my eyes(I would have gone for 2 years + option for one more but ok), but his next one should be subject to us winning us the league or CL. Cups are nice but thats not our ceiling, not that he seems to be interested in them.

Good news. There aren't any serious people left who want Arteta sacked or disagree he's been doing good work.

I think even if we fell short again this season, it would take a truly dire outcome to get sentiment going against this man.

This gives Arsenal the platform to try to meet fan expectations, whatever they are.

    Great news, when Arteta signed on his remit was to steady the ship and make hard decisions to put us on the right path - he met that objective. I suspect his second contract asked of him to make us a team capable of challenging for the title and routinely qualify for the CL - he's met that objective. Surely now this contract should be all about winning trophies.

    Qwiss

    I agree. But it's very good news we're holding on to Arteta for now. I reflect on Klopp's time at Liverpool. Either we add up a very lucky and winning season, we grow far more confident in Europe, or City's level drops a little finally. That's what a major trophy will require.

    In three years this playing group will be starting to split. At that point it might be best to think like a big club and flip Arteta just to freshen things up.

    But for now it's match day four and we're the bookies' third favourites for the Champions League.

    HomeSteak I am okay for him to stay as long as he wants as long as he don't drop out of top 4.

    Qwiss honestly if Pep could just fuck off I could see us winning back to back league titles

      One thing I'm reflecting on is the length of the contract - it's essentially a two year extension which isn't long (at least not in the new world of Boehly economics). Wonder if that was driven more by the club or by Arteta?

        Don Pacifico he’s already been here a while relative to the average manager. So it’s fine. Keeps him focused on immediate priorities.

        15 days later

        Mikel is a football hipster nerd. He'll not only be borrowing from all managers, he'll tell you which season the tactics were from and case examples of specific ways you handle a situation. "This is a bit like Matty Cash vs Salah when Villa won big against Liverpool. He played an uninverted full-back in defense but an inverted winger on the ball. This is something a little similar to what Dani Alves used to do when played against Espanol, except in that one situation in season 2013-2014 where they went down to 10 and he had to suffer."

        This guy doesn't get enough credit for just how tactically flexible and adaptable the team has become to playing in so many different ways. We can play a high press, a mid-block, a low block, play out the back, play long, set pieces, possession, all to an exceptionally high level in a single game. The only thing missing is an effective counter attack otherwise we would be complete. People were comparing us to Atletico and Chelsea, myself included but we aren't wedded to a particular style like they were in their pomp. It'd be a travesty if this group of players didn't win a major trophy.

          daredevil impressive. Even yesterday we played two different halves. And the variety of players we can deploy mean ls opposing torches must be at a bit of a loss

          We've become committed to a 4-4-2 when defending, which I'm fine with. It suits us perfectly because of the size and endurance of the team.

          Bring Back Kerrea Gilbert

          Yes, but just about every team has these spells here and there. The important part is not to conceded when we don't have complete control.. We have done that pretty well so far.

          Bring Back Kerrea Gilbert

          This could also be a tactic. Meaningless possession by the other side is fine.

          I really do feel we still need an additional attacker in Jan if we are going to win the league. Just to absolutely cement it.

          We have to continue to be the hungriest team in the league after what happened last two seasons. Never give in. Anytime complacency hits then remember how we felt when City won the title.

          We have achieved nothing and done nothing so we must make sure no laziness creeps in.

          Let’s keep going, game by game, grind this shit out.