"The journey continues" - Mikel signs extension until 2025: Page 16 - The Arsenal discussion community: One More in the Tolly

"The journey continues" - Mikel signs extension until 2025

AAStyle

Burnwinter wrote:
Gurgen wrote:
Now that it's clear we're not getting top 4, let's evaluate this season's journey. What Arteta has done is:

Pains me to say it, but … good post. I think there are other ways to frame what we've been through this season but you make a strong case.

This season I went from having few expectations, to seeing glimmers of real calibre in the squad, and the summer signings for that matter, to believing we'd probably scrape into the top four.

It's hard to argue the aggregate effect of Arteta, from recruitment to selection to man management to tactical changes (or their absence) has been to deny us that outcome.

Not much point flailing around about the specific failures for the whole summer—for me, the winter window was probably the single biggest, with even one decisively good signing in midfield or up front probably pushing us forward the couple of points we needed. But for things to go well next season we'll need a fairly unlikely set of things to happen:

Arteta experiencing rapid growth as a manager

The players backing Arteta and improving themselves, despite the lack of decisive progress this season

Pulling off some solid gold transfers to patch our deficiencies

If KSE was at all open to replacing Arteta, then the first two might not be necessary. They're asking a lot of a man who, though I personally like him, seems stolid, unimaginative, and very very far from being guaranteed to deliver them.

I hope we're not sacking Arteta ten or twenty gruelling matches into 22–23. Really hate that sort of season, just feels like watching the clock.

Nah mate, I am pretty sure that he will ruin our next season before he gets sacked (if that even happens next season). This is the price we have to pay for taking stupid decisions.

Edit: My point is that he won't get the sack before the 15th match or something like that, once the damage is irreparable.

Bring Back Kerrea Gilbert

He gets sacked which would be fantastic (but far too late, as ever), and then what do the fucktards upstairs do?

Klaus

AAStyle

Klaus wrote:

"Progress"

lorddulaarsenal

We have made progress though. We’ve positioned ourselves well to go to the next level as a club. Great set of youth players, we no longer have a bloated squad and we have we have so much scope for improvement - even just adding a good striker would lift us.

Mirth

We also positioned ourselves well in 2006. There's been some good decisions made but scope for improvement isn't the same as actual improvement on the pitch.

AAStyle

@lorddulaarsenal wrote:
We have made progress though. We’ve positioned ourselves well to go to the next level as a club. Great set of youth players, we no longer have a bloated squad and we have we have so much scope for improvement - even just adding a good striker would lift us.

What progress has been made beyond the undeniable improvement caused by a 250M Eur spending? Even a monkey would improve the team if given that amount of money.

So it will take us four years to reach the "next level", understanding "next level" as returning to top4. If we manage to return, will Arteta be able to keep us there, or on the contrary we will have to pray to not lose that position once we start playing more than one game per week?

Young players, no bloated squad, those are things that could have been done under a decent DoF. The main task of a manager is to win matches and build a strong team. Losing against a Newcastle that has nothing to play is humiliating; any other top and even any other mid-tier english team would have already sacked Arteta.

Furthermore, if we sack Arteta today I assure you than no one else would hire him. Why? Do you conceive a top EPL team hiring Arteta? Maybe in another universe. In this one, he would be lucky to be a coach in English Football League One.

This is a disaster.

lorddulaarsenal

Arteta will have learnt from this experience too.

It’s not a disaster - we’re now pretty much where our resourcing dictates we should be but we are on an upward trajectory.

Wenger and Emery were world class managers - both of whom struggled in this recent era

Shady

The transfer philosophy is more prudent and coherent, and we are doing a better job of promoting academy players. Those are the positives that stand out.

Get a proper manager in and there's a solid foundation to work with.

GooneriC

A world class manager by today's standards would give us enough to be comfortably top 4 if faced by the position we found ourselves in after the Chelsea and United games.

Rohit

Liverpool needed to stay in the title race so they went and won away at Southampton without Mane, Salah, Fabinho, Keira, Henderson, Van Dijk, Robertson and Alexander Arnold. Came from behind too.

flobaba

Come on man. Don't insult Klopp with that comparison.

Qwiss

@lorddulaarsenal wrote:
we no longer have a bloated squad

That's a very positive spin on us having absolutely zero depth.

AAStyle

@lorddulaarsenal wrote:
Arteta will have learnt from this experience too.

It’s not a disaster - we’re now pretty much where our resourcing dictates we should be but we are on an upward trajectory.

Wenger and Emery were world class managers - both of whom struggled in this recent era

So we are paying him to learn? If that is the case, then the Kroenkes are more stupid than what I thought. This is Arsenal, a top team in the best league in the world, if he needs to learn, Arteta might as well return to be pep's ipad holder, instead of making us a mediocre team while he "learns".

Clrnc

Rohit wrote:
Liverpool needed to stay in the title race so they went and won away at Southampton without Mane, Salah, Fabinho, Keira, Henderson, Van Dijk, Robertson and Alexander Arnold. Came from behind too.

That's crazy. Just saw that they changed all 10 players. Why did they do that?

Burnwinter

@lorddulaarsenal wrote:
We have made progress though. We’ve positioned ourselves well to go to the next level as a club. Great set of youth players, we no longer have a bloated squad and we have we have so much scope for improvement - even just adding a good striker would lift us.

Some of the things being said about the players in the side, or on its fringes are a bit painful at the moment. There's a lot there to work with.

The real issue is Arteta though. I quite like him as mentioned, and I don't believe he's as poor a manager as is made out, finishing fifth in this league is not a cakewalk, spending money as we have is de rigueur and we have it in common with all the clubs around us. What this season makes clear overall, though, is that Arteta is one of the factors holding us back.

Burnwinter

Arseblog wrote:
Gabriel Martinelli: 1 goal in 19 (and it’s 1 his last 21 appearances).

Emile Smith Rowe: 2 goals in his last 18 appearances in 2022.

Alexandre Lacazette: 1 penalty in 18 appearances, no goals from open play.

Bukayo Saka: 6 goals in 20 appearances.

Eddie Nketiah: 4 goals in 20 appearances, he didn’t score in 18 of those 20.

From Arseblog's Newcastle match review. Damning stuff and you can't even blame (all of) the players. On the bright side, bring in a spirited, durable and effective forward and centre mid and this side is going to change its skin considerably, Arteta or no Arteta.

Ray

With Arteta in charge a lack of goals will always be an issue, as soon as a comfortable lead is taken, he tells the players to sit back and defend.

I don’t mind that as long as he’s winning games..

Burnwinter

That's five forwards with only 15 goals between them in 20 matches, so in no way are we winning them all, yep.

QuincyAbeyie

Well we have Pépé on the bench who for all his faults scores goals when he's starting matches. But he's not a sit back kind of player.

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