"The journey continues" - Mikel signs extension until 2025: Page 85 - The Arsenal discussion community: One More in the Tolly

"The journey continues" - Mikel signs extension until 2025

Claudius

Coombs Liverpool just lost a tie to a vastly inferior Atalanta team. Read the tone of these two articles..

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/apr/18/atalanta-liverpool-europa-league-quarter-final-second-leg-match-report

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/match-reports/liverpool-atalanta-klopp-salah-europa-32621248

JazzG

Claudius A very challenging time for the media, on one hand desperate to call us bottlers but then realise Liverpool are in the exact same position.

JazzG

JazzG Claudius A very challenging time for the media, on one hand desperate to call us bottlers but then realise Liverpool are in the exact same position.

They've done so well, unlike those bottlers Arsenal....

Burnwinter

Rice - inarguably great signing, has played every league match and only been subbed off 8 times. About 85–90% of all available minutes have been played. 6 goals so he's closing on Xhaka's prodigious goal-scoring 22–23 without breaking a sweat.

Raya - just won the Golden Gloves after facing criticisms and controversy all season.

Havertz - scoring almost twice as fast as he did at Chelsea last season (and accelerating), 33 out of 34 possible league appearances. Expensive boy but he works his arse off and costs a lot less per minute than some.

Timber - ❓️

That's about £240m worth of horse flesh. If Timber returns with a cracking or even solid 24–25, we will have to agree that Artedu did well last summer.

Claudius

Such a special team.

Clrnc

JazzG

Remind you of this awful take last year

QuincyAbeyie

They've definitely overperformed. I don't see how anyone who watches football could think they're close to as good as us, yet the table would have one think so.

Claudius

QuincyAbeyie the media give Liverpool a kind edit. These guys have some of the greatest players we’ve seen in the past few years on their squad like Salah, Trent, VVD, Alisson. And they went out and spent another £150m improving their squad last year. They’ve had a bunch of injuries this year (Jota being the main miss), but they have a good squad they’ve built up over the years, especially in the forward areas. If you consider that City are tracking below their average points levels, this is fine.

JazzG

QuincyAbeyie Towards the end of their time Fergie and Wenger had their teams massively overachieving, I mean I look at some our sides that finished Top 4 and you wonder how? Fergie won his last title with bang average players getting serious minutes. I got those vibes from Klopp this season, the way they looked at the start of the season I don't think some were confident they'd even finish top 4 let alone challenge for the title. So they have done remarkably well and they've kept up despite losing Salah and Allison for periods this season. Last few weeks they've just looked very shaky defensively, it is like how we were last season. Having to rely on digging themselves out and that isn't sustainable. They look a bit flat at the moment.

Saying all that they aren't out of it yet, it has become very unlikely but there might be more twists and turns before the end.

Clrnc

QuincyAbeyie yeah but the media weren't saying that few weeks ago. They painted Liverpool as favorites, bought well in the market and Klopp is on for a fairytale quadruple.

No matter how the media spin it, to lose at home to Palace and lose a derby meekly to a team they haven't lost to for 14 years is out of the norm and poor. We bottled it last year and if they don't win it because of those 2 results they would have bottled it too.

Mirth

Speaking of, Trent was hilarious again last night. Man just really hates defending

JazzG

Mirth Speaking of, Trent was hilarious again last night. Man just really hates defending

True but an absolute force going forward, I saw the highlights and one of those passes he put to Salah was outrageous.

Qwiss

JazzG Last few weeks they've just looked very shaky defensively, it is like how we were last season. Having to rely on digging themselves out and that isn't sustainable. They look a bit flat at the moment.

This is exactly what I've been saying about them for the last month or two. This was inevitable. They ran out of steam a while ago and have been running on vibes and emotion since. Rescuing to many games where they shouldn't have needed to. Thats what we did last year and we seen how it ended. This year we've been much more in control. We just need to keep our heads now.

Don Pacifico

Anyone see that Balague has been saying that Arteta is on Barca's shortlist to replace Xavi next summer?

Obviously biased but I think he'd be foolish to go there in their current mess. Think Barca (both board and fans) would have far less patience too.

JazzG

Don Pacifico Anyone see that Balague has been saying that Arteta is on Barca's shortlist to replace Xavi next summer?

Obviously biased but I think he'd be foolish to go there in their current mess. Think Barca (both board and fans) would have far less patience too.

Arteta isn't stupid, he knows the club management is basically been built around him. Xavi won the title last year and recently was being hounded out, now he might change his mind and stay their fans are moaning. Those fans are next level ungrateful.

Arteta is someone who wants his team to play in a certain way so would have to change a lot of players to build the team in his image. At Arsenal we are a young team who are yet to enter our peak, he has the owners full backing in terms of his position and backing in the transfer market and the people around him are fully supportive. Barca have a bigger pull than us but also broke. Would be an idiot to take the job imo.

Tam

JazzG I've said it before but I think we massively underestimate the ego of managers and players. I'm not sure he would jump at it for the reasons you've outlined, but I reckon managers like Arteta would look at that situation and have enough conviction in their own skills and experience (warranted or not) that they could overcome it. He's sharp enough to see the jeopardy in it, but he also knows he came in here and re-floated a shipwreck - why wouldn't he think he can turn his hand to magic wherever he rocks up.

goon

Tam

They have ego but I also think the likes of Pep, Klopp and Arteta are acutely aware of what's needed to be successful, so they won't want to go anywhere that they're not convinced will back their vision.

Burnwinter

Tam I reckon managers like Arteta would look at that situation and have enough conviction in their own skills and experience (warranted or not) that they could overcome it.

True, but I reckon Arteta would have the arrogance (probably correctly) to see that this Arsenal's a lot closer under his tutelage to being the kind of club the name "Barcelona" evokes than Barcelona is itself.

Claudius

Tam I disagree. Arteta will look at his situation with Arsenal and recognise that he has 3 enablers - a sharp, hardworking DoF who buys what the project needs; funds made available for this purpose; and non-interference from the CEO/president. These are the ingredients that allow a great manager to thrive. Barcelona currently has none of these things. They’re even telling Xavi which assistant coaches to select.

JazzG

Barca and R.Madrid are cut throat jobs, coaches get fired the year after winning titles. Also as Pep has alluded to the media pressure is on a different level out there. Mikel is young, he won't stay with us forever but he knows he has a great chance to build a legacy here and at that point he'll pick his own next job.

Also the money is mainly in this league. R.Madrid is a very well oiled machine but Barca is a complete wreck on and off the pitch.

JazzG

I remember that, for them we were just a flash in the pan. I think when we signed Rice a fair few of them were a bit shocked as to how we pulled that signing off. Still in their mind we were the Arsenal of old. Whenever it was talked about how Arteta had turned things around behind the scenes brushed off as not a big deal.

I remember Neville talking about getting us into the Top 4 was Arteta's ceiling. The funny thing is he is a failed manager himself but in their eyes nobody, especially Arsenal, could come in and take one of their spots.

These guys are working in studios because they are clueless when it comes to football.

goon

JazzG These guys are working in studios because they are clueless when it comes to football.

What has really struck me though is how limited these guys are when it comes to really scrutinising things. Carragher has only recently started talking about Liverpool's frailties in comparison to us and City, but those things have been evident all season. You shouldn't need a couple of losses to suddenly realise. It's all so basic.

That Carragher is still probably among the more inciteful is a damming indictment of the standards of punditry among the main broadcasters. The likes of Keane, Redknapp, Theo and Joe Cole barely have a footballing braincell between them, and are gormless twats to boot.

I'm no fan of Mourinho, but it was quite something seeing the difference in knowledge between him and the rest.

You get far better football punditry from average joes doing podcasts.

Don Pacifico

goon gotta love a Roy Keane sound bite though. 😉

Burnwinter

goon That Carragher is still probably among the more inciteful is a damming indictment of the standards of punditry among the main broadcasters. The likes of Keane, Redknapp, Theo and Joe Cole barely have a footballing braincell between them, and are gormless twats to boot.

To be fair, I think the ideal commentary trio for entertainment purposes is two guys dumber than the viewer—despite a lifetime in football—and one who's smarter than the viewer. The first two provide a cushion of reassurance and you learn something from the third. 😆

Trouble is we often get three guys dumber than the viewer ...

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