Arsenal

[hauk]

We really are a mid table team right now. Look good some weeks, but just no consistency . I do think we’ve improved in some areas under Arteta, but up front we are kind of toothless. Man U were there for the taking yet there was no drive or creativity to score.

[wev]

It's a problem Arsenal have had since Wenger became obsessed with central midfielders, they get the ball, get on the edge of the opposition's box and it goes side to side, backwards and then possession is lost. Of course it doesn't help when your striker seems unwilling or unable, maybe both, to consistently find space or make runs.

[hauk]

Yeah it’s hard to know if it’s the players or the coach, maybe a bit if both. When it clicks under Arteta you can see what he’s trying to achieve, but days like yesterday don’t fill me with confidence.

[Silent Runner]

We were trash for 47 minutes and lucky to be still scoreless. But that was pure class from Tierney and Odegaard. 

[Silent Runner]

These VAR calls are funny and all but we have to get a grip here. That was far too easy.

[Art Vandelay]

I’d be moving heaven and earth to get a front man in this January. What we’ve got just doesn’t work at all.

[Silent Runner]

That leg-breaker on Taveras not even a foul? 

[Silent Runner]

How is Nketiah on the pitch ahead of Pepe? Guy is fucking trash.

[Art Vandelay]

He’s nowhere near this level. Arteta just cannot manage a squad which is a massive problem. We fall into an XI and then play favourites until we’re forced to change it for some reason. 

[Silent Runner]

Xhaka has to take the red card there to stop that attack. Although we deserve absolutely nothing tonight. Beginning to thing Artetta is another Emery-level bum. 

[SeanR]

Aubamyang

 

le sigh…

[humdrum]

I can take us losing we have a young squad that will make mistake. what pisses me off is that teams get to kick the shit out of us. 

 

How the Godfrey and Gordon tackles where not straight reds is an absolute joke.

[Art Vandelay]

Whoever we have up front or wide are just passengers as Arteta is incapable of coaching coherent attacking football. Saying that, we’ve several players who are just embarrassing at this stage. Either we bin them all off again or get serious and get a proper manager. Explain why someone like Ben White now looks like an absolute carthorse. Partey and Aubameyang are haunted. The substitutions being routinely terrible. The buck has to stop somewhere as we’re miles off of competing properly for anything meaningful.

[hauk]

When people start blaming this player or that player it’s normally the manager who’s at fault. By all accounts we have a pretty good attacking front line, but Arteta can’t get a tune out of them.

[Art Vandelay]

Pepe should make it clear he’s desperate to leave the club at the earliest opportunity and then maybe he’ll get a few minutes.

[Silent Runner]

Can't get over bringing on Nketiah who turned down a deal and wants to leave, ahead of Aubameyang (currently in a dogshit run, I know) and Pepe. Just spectacular thinking from Artetta.  

[Art Vandelay]

There’s obviously been a row or something as the body language is just terrible. I don’t see anyone enjoying the football any more than we’re enjoying watching it. Frustrating too how we lost the absolute run of ourselves in the last 20 against a really bad team. The time wasting and lack of urgency to control the game, the complete absence of fight, no-one surrounding the ref when our players get caught. It’s just all wrong and a bit of a mess really. 
 

Man Utd and Spurs have been decisive and will leave us for dead now. 

[hauk]

Agreed, this League is just too competitive to be messing around with first time managers and projects.

[Art Vandelay]

I get annoyed at myself for wanting something better though. If hypothetically Arteta went today he’d leave the club in a much better state than when he arrived. It’s just we really do eke out results and never look particularly convincing even when we do win. Even against the poorest opposition we make sure they’re able to give us a good game, and when the margins are always so fine it’s inevitable we’ll continue to struggle. A team that doesn’t create much and leaks terrible goals is a recipe for disaster.

 

I think there’s still a long way to go in building the squad though. Midfield and strikers are an absolute mess. It’s going to need to be a transfer, but until then I think under better instruction Odegaard would be a handy 8 as he’s disciplined and willing to get stuck in. We just need another capable body from somewhere to try and control the centre of the pitch. For all that possession we had it was mostly around the back four or in wide areas and as such completely sterile. 
 

I’m rambling. Takeaways: get our house in order; fold the club.

[Art Vandelay]

I was reading that Lacazette has taken five shots, this season. The striking options we have now aren't ideal for numerous reasons, but the way we play is just killing them. The idea that the only way to score a goal is by executing a dozen or so perfect passes starting from your own penalty box is madness. Why don't we press, or try and move up the pitch 40 yards? Push the full backs wide to create space? If there's one thing we shouldn't be short of it's legs, but we don't have anywhere near the application required at this level. That feels like the easiest thing in the world to start with to make us less passive, but we've literally never done it. I honestly don't think you can be a non-pressing team in modern football. 

 

What's increasingly obvious is that this is Arteta's ceiling. The metrics don't lie after two years. 

[Art Vandelay]

Really reaping the rewards of the non-negotiables. Arteta should go and run a borstal for delinquent youths as that’s clearly his passion.

[Silent Runner]

Arteta should have been run out of town on a rail losing to that Everton team. 

[Stagger Lee]

The Utd and Everton results this weekend have annoyed me way more than our Southampton result has made me happy.

 

We should have beaten both of those teams. 

[The Fox]

This fucking club, man

 

 

[Art Vandelay]

I was listening to Arseblog and their sensible resolution was to smooth things over and this would all blow over this week. The last thing we should be doing is stripping anyone of any captaincies and creating a saga; I guess we've decided otherwise.

 

I'm going to allow myself today to dream that we're going to award the armband to the Staffordshire Casillas, Tommy Tiramisu or The Council Briefcase before sinking into the realisation it's going to be snuggly slipped onto Granit's right arm this Wednesday as he hasn't told his own supporters to fuck off recently.

[Silent Runner]

Not even this clown carnival would consider making Xhaka captain again surely? They'll probably give it to Partay just to put the final nail in his Arsenal coffin. What a fucking outfit. 

[wev]

He's mostly been a passenger in the team since the beginning of last season

[Art Vandelay]

I was half joking but would it surprise anyone. It's frustrating as I'm all for Arteta instilling some discipline into the club and setting standards, that's great. More of it please. But he does seem to struggle to keep egos and big names on side. Realistically we need to be getting the best out of everyone in the squad to make top 6 and we can't be having this carry on every few weeks from yet another player. It can't all be stick. Wenger was here for over 20 years and I don't remember many fallings out, despite managing a few wankers I'm sure. 

 

Saying all of this, Aubameyang has obviously let everyone down again. Huge pity what's happened to him.

[Rocafella]

We should just bin the armband off altogether. Seems to be a hindrance rather than a benefit to all involved. 
 

I think the majority of fans are over the captaincy hot-potato.

[Baring]

What did he do?