Many say Arteta is good at selling himself, but having just watched today's press conference and having not seen one for a while, I'm again struck by just how dour Arteta is. Certainly close to David Moyes in terms of personality, if nothing else! He's very clear and says all the right things, but he's also robotic and imo doesn't transmit energy. Put simply, I think he lacks the charisma of the other top coaches I've seen through the years.
Maybe some will consider it superficial analysis, but I think how he comminciates and carries himself is very important. Maybe he's just in press conference mode or is yet to find his confidence as a young coach under tremendous pressure, but I certainly don't see it as a positive either way.
I'm disappointed by Arteta's confirmation re Aubameyang and Lacazette's absence being due to covid and is no big play from him to move them on. It is what it is. But I don't see a big season ahead for either of them. I just hope Auba can find something close to his level and get some goals from the left wing for us. I know there's no market for them. Even taking a massive hit on the transfer fee wouldn't get another club to bite, unlike, say, Xhaka, where a club were willing to match his wages, even if it was at the cost of an insultingly low transfer fee.
Arteta also made a big play out of the "unprecedented" line-up we fielded at Brentford. Referring to Balogun and Martinelli starting, along with, I assume, Lokonga debuting, and youngsters like Smith Rowe, Saka and Nelson also featuring. It reeks a bit of desperation and also seems a bit out of step with his words after match where he said he didn't want to make excuses and the players we had playing were good enough. Not sure why he has made a complete turnaround in the space of a week?
The vibe I get from him doesn't bode well for the weeks ahead. Not at all confident his team are going to pull out big performances in the next couple of games.
