Big bad Berta: Page 6 - The Arsenal discussion forum and community: One More in the Tolly

Big bad Berta

JazzG

Mirth Edu did ok for us and played a big role is helping getting us back to challenging for titles but clear Berta has so far showed a different level to him. Gazidis was bought in by Kroenke's simply to make sure they had their main running the club and his job was probably to ensure they could buy the club outright. Absolutely useless otherwise though...

Burnwinter

Mirth Gazidis’ role was to fulfill what Dein was to Wenger.

To the fans. To KSE he and Wenger were asked to preside over systematic underinvestment while waiting for Red and White Holdings (and Dein) to finally fuck off. And he and Wenger both fulfilled their roles loyally, all those bland statements about the "sustainable model", and were well paid for taking the fan relations hit.

FEBravo

Big fan of Berta but you gotta give him that his PR game is out of this world

Qwiss

FEBravo well its easier to do PR when your signings are good and you have the team top of the league.

Don Pacifico

FEBravo Edu also had a strong PR game tbh

Whilst the indicators are positive, I think it's too early to make a conclusive judgement on Berta until we see how we're doing longer term. We've had false dawns with all three of the previous occupants of this job (if you include Gazidis) and I think it's very easy to get carried away with big spending/lots of players coming in. A core part of our strength is the base that already existed from last season and from the players that came in this summer, I'd only really say Zubimendi (and potentially Mosquera are the ones who have made a significant impact so far). And Zubimendi was a deal agreed before he joined.

So yeah, not shitting on the guy but we should wait until we see how the next few season pan out. Any hype coming out of Twitter is just noise; there's a lot of narrative but I'm sceptical of the substance behind it.

flobaba

FEBravo what PR? I haven't even heard him speak once! If I have, I don't recall what he said! Like Marshawn Lynch, He's all about that action boss.

USArsenal

Yeah, that may be true, but its hard to argue with the results so far. One summer and we've 'completed' the team (at least it appears so thus far)

FEBravo

Qwiss Fully agree and I was not having a go at him. His success so far and his ability to do good PR are probably not unrelated - some of the skills around understanding objectives and then knowing that narrative is important have a large cross-over.

Panda

Don Pacifico A core part of our strength is the base that already existed from last season and from the players that came in this summer, I'd only really say Zubimendi (and potentially Mosquera are the ones who have made a significant impact so far).

Wouldn't you say Gyokeres and Eze have too? They've played their part in pretty much every game and contributed positively to our results.

Don Pacifico

Panda both players need more consistent output. That's not writing them off but the point I'm trying to make is that the majority part of our success this season (and the positivity I believe that is therefore rubbing off on Berta) comes from our base of players that pre-dated him.

To be clear, I think Berta has done a good job, I just think the hype is premature.

USArsenal

Sorry Don, i have to disagree with only Zubi and Mosquera being the only ones making significant contributions. Eze and Gyokeres (as Panda said) have also made some. And Noni was filling in very admirably for Saka while he was out. Hincapie is only starting to get minutes now because he was injured, but he has looked very solid, and Norgaard is never gonna get huge minutes, but he's also contributed to us winning games (and so has Kepa, especially v. Brighton in the CC)

Its not about getting carried away with the number of players coming in. It's more the quality of those players, and the depth that its created. Even pundits that dont particularly like Arsenal have conceded that our transfer business this summer has been spectacular, and has made us into a deep, strong and well rounded team.

Don Pacifico

USArsenal Eze and Gyokeres (as Panda said) have also made some. And Noni was filling in very admirably for Saka while he was out. Hincapie is only starting to get minutes now because he was injured, but he has looked very solid, and Norgaard is never gonna get huge minutes, but he's also contributed to us winning games (and so has Kepa, especially v. Brighton in the CC)

Neither Gyokeres nor Eze have consistently put in match-winning performances (and that's probably generous). And as you've also mentioned, most of the other players have barely played for us and therefore haven't significantly contributed to the 'good vibes' of the season to date.

I just think the sample size is too small currently to anoint Berta our saviour and the Twitter twattle about what he's done is merely speculation on what's actually going on behind the scenes.

Burnwinter

Separate from the football they're producing, everything that's emerging about the Gyökeres, Hincapié, Madueke and Eze deals reflects well on Berta.

We're targeting committed players with elite attributes, we're not going in at the very top of the market and we're getting an edge on wage negotiations. Then there's the previously unseen dual trigger loan with obligation contract structure, letting us push back signing Hincapié a summer for the books without spooking Leverkusen. And we're doing very well on retention, not that I think Berta gets too much credit there, that's all about our prospects and the environment Arteta has created.

He's got plenty more to do but so far he looks a significant upgrade on Edu to me.

Big Willie

Don Pacifico Neither Gyokeres nor Eze have consistently put in match-winning performances (and that's probably generous).

I seem to remember Eze making a game winning impact for us vs Palace a few weeks back.

QuincyAbeyie

Big Willie he didn't say that they hadn't.

Don Pacifico

Big Willie consistently.

I'm not suddenly saying our signings are shit, far from it. But we're too early to say 'those signings are why we won the league etc.'

Burnwinter

I'm happy if the plan is to win the league first and decide who won it for us afterwards, seems reasonable.

flobaba

I kind of get what Don is saying, but at the same time it's kind of amusing. Right now I would say the only two new top club (non Arsenal) signings in the premier league that have had any sort of consistent impact are Ekitike and ....., well okay maybe there's only one signing doing the biz. And the funny thing is he is performing basically the same as Gyokeres, so I'm being generous to him as well.

Perhaps it's expectations that need to be managed berta? We have seen how putting a player into a different system in this league can make them look like a total bust, until they adapt. I'd say our signings are doing better than most. They have come in, and mostly have been contributing from Day 1. Credit to Berta from what I've seen so far.

FEBravo

flobaba that’s precisely why it’s brilliant!

Klaus

Never mind the starters we got right this summer: If it weren't for Berta I bet our main backup options for the defence would have been Kiwior and Zinchenko. Incredible squad improvement all around. Edu would have stood idly by and let Arteta blow 30-40 million on another keeper, and that would have been the extent of our depth.

Don Pacifico

Edu gave off fraud-y vibes very early on. Whilst he had his strengths, I'm not sorry to have moved on from him.

RocktheCasbah

Don Pacifico I've said it before, I'll say it again, I never liked him. But maybe that's because I found him leading Gilberto astray in McDonald's at 2 in the morning one time in 2002.

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