Well, we are better than Spu*s to do a spursy! Not only did we gave away our 2 games in hand advantage, we lost against Southampton when we had the chance (again!) to lead the race of top 4. A poor display of football, no strategy, players not good enough against a defence which conceded 6 against an out-of-form Chelsea; basically a bad day at office for men in red and white.
We had our moments where if we had been lucky, shots from Eddie and Saka would have landed in nets. But apart from that, we were poor. We had no intent, no aggressiveness to move ball forward and we were stuck to the defensive sideways and back passing for a good amount of time. It’s such an easy thing to devise a plan against us for a team who are happy with a point. Sit back, let us have ball and wait for a mistake. Afterall, what’s the maximum we can do – a few passes between Gabriel and White?
Odegaard is clearly out of form. Eddie started and missed a chance but I will give him that since he has hardly got any game time. One of the reasons why rotation and a better game management is expected from a manager.
Another thing is, a layman like me can tell you that throwing everyone at offense when you are 1-0 down is not going to work suddenly. Bringing in Pepe, ESR when we already had Martinelli, Eddie, Saka, Odegaard didn’t help, not yesterday, not earlier. It’s more about a cohesion between players and the way you train with a group of players. Anyone managing a team in the best league of the world is expected to deliver better.
Three losses in three games highlighted the same problem again which I have been talking about. Partey is the only player who ups our game by a margin. We don’t have an option to keep that midfield happening. I’m not sure how much Auba would have helped but I would take him any day over Lacazette and Eddie who is only contracted for seven more games. Loaning Auba was not a great move, not giving preference to a MF over CB was a mistake and not rotating Tavares/Sambi after they had a good run of games is a fuck-all management.
With every article, I look like a karen these days but in my defence I have enough reasons. We are visiting Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, we will be the underdogs and we do comparatively better in such scenarios (sigh). Lets hope we upset them and keep our top 4 qualification chances alive. I’m still not tapping out, but after two and a half season you don’t deliver a champions league spot for a club as big as Arsenal, you should go.
I will keep my optimism for now. See you in comments.
If chelski score first, we’re fucked. Just switch the TV off. Almost a statistical impossibility that we’ll get anything from the game if we go behind.
Arteta is toast – stick a fork in him because he’s done (and stick it in a long way!), give him a brown envelope and a p45 (esoteric uk term for firing someone) and get him the fuck out of N5.
Make it our last objective of the season to beat the cockerel jockeys with some new caretaker manager bounce. Get to the end of the season and forget football for a few months.
after two and a half season you don’t deliver a champions league spot for a club as big as Arsenal, you should go
Ambarish
True true true.
Chelsea won today when Crystal Palace put up a better display that what we did last few games. I’m not sure if we will manage to get anything out of it.
For me, he keeps the 7 games left with top 4 being the minimum requirement.
Mb,
It’s poor management whatever element you wish to focus on but we were here last year with Chelsea looking certs to deliver a final nail into his coffin and we all know what happened then…. I’m going to watch on Wed with absolutely no hope,that’s usually when Arsenal surprise me. As for the manager,he simply hasn’t the ability to surprise me unfortunately, I think we’ve seen all there is to see there.
Kroenkephobe,
Haven’t seen the walking dead yet but it’s on my list. You should give the satire a go,very cathartic! Mb dropped a cheeky link in the last time, some guys read it.This is a safer spot to put the sketches I think.
Am loving the snooker at the moment, Selby won but was unimpressive, xintong looks class,young lad backed him.Went for trump in the end myself. Its a lottery really though. Ronnie did well but his interview was as odd as ever,not a safe pair of hands for your money!
I’m more depressed about Arsenal right now than at any stage during Wengers reign. Why do we do this to ourselves?
Almunia
I’ll try and check out that RO’S interview.
Have you ever seen this one?
https://youtu.be/NqhjxVZR8fw
He’s at his mischievous best here. I wouldn’t be surprised if a mate said he’d give him a fiver every time he said ‘cue action’. It’s almost as if he’s setting the interviewer up to sound like a mugged off Alan Partridge. I love the way he subtly laughs to himself throughout.
Ambarish
Sorry mate I hope snooker chat isn’t too off message. I should have checked if its within your house rules but I get the strong impression you’re pretty laid back on every subject except Arteta and Arsenal losing (largely due to Arteta). Not sure if you got the snooker bug while you worked in the UK – you probably did if you were here over the long and boring winters. All I would say is that Ronnie O’Sullivan is the GOAT when it comes to snooker (Almunia may disagree… But he’s wrong!). Oh, and Ronnie’s a massive Gooner. Maybe Arteta needs a cue action of his own.
Trump is a good almost safe bet these days isn’t he? But a Bristolian Manure fan with a hair rearrangement strategy almost akin to his infamous orange faced stateside namesake rather rules him out for me. Oh, by the way Ms K’phobe also likes Ronnie and pissed herself when that interview was broadcast.
Kroenkephobe,
Ronnie comes in 3rd. If your life is on the line and you can pick one player to represent you, I pick Stephen Hendry all day. If I want the greatest entertainer,most naturally gifted player, I pick Alex.(sorry Jimmy). Only after that does Ronnie come into the conversation! That interview was mad wasn’t it? Hadn’t seen that before watched that game in a pub so no chance to hear anything,was actually rooting for Selby that night. Mark is having great craic beyond, all his comments deleted. It’s a waste of time unless you try guerrilla tactics!
K’phobe
I don’t follow much but I have seen some games of Ronnie. I learnt how to play during college.
There was a sports bar in east ham, Ruskin Arms which was the go to place for football and had a pool table. Then they shut it down but after covid, one opened near the tube station itself, with similar set up. Perfect for a sat/sun evening.
Almunia
Bronze for Ronnie will do among that veritable pantheon of big names. He did well to recover against Gilbert from what I read.
Ambarish
Good to hear you’re no stranger to the green baize. It’s an escape in Britain when things become super turgid. And it must have been fun living behind enemy lines in Hammers territory. I was really lucky when I first bought a flat in London in the early 90s. Anywhere east-ish was affordable at the time so I bought a place in N5 next to the Highbury Barn. I quickly acquired a season ticket (those were the days) and if I wanted I could leave home at 2.50 and be in the ground for kick off. On those occasions when I’d just got out of bed. Lie-ins and live football at Highbury – life was pretty idyllic back then.
I’m reading a lot of the kind of ‘we’re shit right now but we’re due a win and it might just come against Chelsea kind of narrative’. It sounds like blind hope – I’ve gone full glass half empty after the last fortnight not least because goals have completely deserted us. I’m almost resigned to more disasters in the hope it’ll bring about an Arteta-less catharsis.
East London was cheap. I had a friend who had West Ham’s season ticket and made me go to one. It was kind of a courtesy when I was leaving UK, I couldn’t decline.
In last Sep/Oct, against Man United. For the whole 90, I was booing Man Utd so I got away alive.
I will forever regret no giving a visit to Highbury, I don’t know what’s left of it but I should have 😐
You lads who lived in London make me jealous when it comes to football. You got to see so many matches, really live the supporter experience, fair play. I had one cousin in South East London who was a Charlton season ticket holder and another in Harrow who took me to see Watford but his real passion is Wealdstone, I was brought there too!. Going to see Arsenal was something I did off my own back as I grew older,but it was difficult to get tickets and expensive cos of flights and hotels. Now it’s worse as I have to multiply the cost to bring the family! Not complaining really,wouldn’t change anything,my family or my club!
Pedro deleting posts on Le Grove cos it blows away his deluded Narrative is so lame.
Unable to justify the shit show delivered by Arteta he’s resorted to censorship. Not for abusive posts but for showing up his agenda as bullshit.
He made a list of things Arteta should improve on. I suggested he not take each one as a singular failing and look at them as a collective, which shows he’s not the right man to take us forward.
Using his own words, yet I’m acting like a rival fan on an Arsenal site.
Truth is Pedro has looked like he’s been crying for days over how Mikel has let him down
But true to form he’s back a day later quoting, footballing gods and lady luck as excuses for Arteta.
Absolutely shameless, but after investing so much in the Fraud, I don’t think his brain can contemplate the truth.
As Inside right quoted” you can evade reality, but you can’t evade the consequences of evading reality.
It’s not going to be pretty, when Karma bites.
Mark,
I think that to write a blog,or comment on a blog continuously, ultimately leads to an emotional connection for most people with whatever side they take. You think about something for so long, argue about it passionately, it becomes difficult to keep perspective. A huge amount of people have lost that perspective on Arteta,but the worst thing is that having seemingly survived backing the wrong horse they were vicious towards those in opposition. Now that this season is another false dawn they feel they have been made to look foolish on two counts. They can’t accept this and are simply digging their heels in. It isn’t pleasant to watch as logic is being replaced by puerile insults,strawman arguments and even censorship. Personally I have never cared what side a person is on,I just enjoy a friendly discussion. Sadly that is no longer possible and that is the real lament for me.