Kurt Eisner wrote:
Rakim wrote:
Well I'm a big fan and defender of Wenger too, so would be a really nice discussion to have. 8)
I see your points. They do make sense and I agree, our evaluations aren't that different. Thanks for the really nice posts and the points you made. We could really use a Klopp kind of figure, but sadly I don't see one right now. Potter, as good as he is for Brighton, would be as big of a risk as Arteta imo. Other names I'm also not too convinced. And even with a Klopp we would need some luck against the powerhorses in the EPL right now. It's a really big task to bring Arsenal to the top tier clubs again let's be honest. That's also one of the reasons why it's hard to be super critical for me. I don't see as black or white as many football fans do. There's a lot that needs to happen for us to be challenging again. Hopefully it will work out for Arsenal no matter with Arteta or a new manager. That's all I hope for in the end. I'm just trying to be less sceptical so I can atleast enjoy the little amount of nice moments we have. I'm also too loyal and too optimistic when it comes to a lot of things 😆
Same 😆 That's why I made the comment. The FA Cup, although a nice moment, in the bigger picture is not enough. I want atleast one EPL or CL in my lifetime where I followed the whole season as a grown up. 😆
That's a great quality, seriously, don't let cynical twats like me ruin that 😆 I could use some optimism when it comes to Arsenal. This was a nice exchange, thanks for taking the time and effort to explain your points so thoroughly!
Good to know I'm not alone in having missed out on the full Invincibles season 😆 We'll get there though, even if we may be old and bitter geezers by then. I really hope it's with this group of players though, I haven't been this emotionally invested in our players since Wilshere and Ramsey were teenagers. And it's not just because they're brillant at football, the likes of Saka, ESR and Martinelli are all such likeable lads that it would be extra sweet to see them lift the PL trophy.
Nice discussion guys.
The main thing I'll disagree with is the idea LFC got 'lucky' when they signed Klopp, in so much as he was a known commodity in terms of his approach, playing style and success. He'd proven himself at Mainze and BVB before he left the latter. IMO FSG were switched on enough to go for him when he became available, and also before they got too far down the track with BR. About the only thing that was lucky was BR struggling that season to give them cause to consider a replacement, whereas we were being too gentlemanly in not wanting to sack AW, who then refused to walk whilst still under contract.
I think Klopp's style is better suited to the EPL and the English game/players than most. That said I also think he has had to modify the intensity so as to be able to sustain the performance levels for the full season, otherwise he'd be having similar issues as we currently see with Bielsa at Leeds. On that point there is the suggestion he already did so in his last season at BVB when he departed mid-season and was replaced by Tuchel.
Further to that Bielsa has an additional issue in that he applies man marking when off the ball in his version of aggressive counter pressing, which then makes it very reliant upon keeping your best XI fit and available, just as we are seeing under Arteta and previously with AW. As such IMO none of those styles is sustainable beyond the manager unless the entire club is geared towards that one focus so that it is imbedded as being part of the culture and identity.
I know Arteta has talked much about our culture, but IMO the real test of its sustainability is when the manager departs and is replaced. IMO this is where you need people who understand football as part of the BoD, as it is not as simple as plugging anyone into the role and leaving them to do as they please in terms of style etc, otherwise you end up spending hundreds of millions in transfers as seen with MU to date (although I'd also say that some of those transfers were made for commercial reasons rather than football).
