The world do not run on ‘what if’. You can console yourself thinking what if Saka wouldn’t have missed the penalty, or if one of the headers of Jesus would have landed in the nets. There were about 10 of these what-if moments but then why count only ours. Pool could have scored some more against us, West Ham might have taken advantages of one of the counter attacks. I don’t think you will remember what happened during the game after a month, but you would surely not forget that we lost 2 important points each against Liverpool and West Ham after going 2-0 up.
Why? Because we lacked the winning mentality on those days. Nelson screamer won us a game in the last minute because we fought through out the game. Compare it to the last two games, when we stopped playing and fighting after going 2-0 up. As a result, we earned 2 points out of possible 6, in a time when we are fighting for the league against a team which has won 4 times in last 5 seasons. I’m devasted, league title is still open but winners do not give up a 2 goal lead. City, after going 2-0 up, would make sure they score few more before the final whistle. Arsenal, on the other hand, became complacent. Call it a young squad, call it a young manager, call it mere luck or bad referee decision; I’m a football fan and I hated to see it.
Where’s the manager? You are on the touch line. You can see Saka is having an off day, you have Nelson, Trossard and ESR to give a try but you go on and replace two of your threats in Martinelli and Jesus. If Partey is not playing well, you shouldn’t care about his price tag and/or his last 28 match performance. He is having a bad day, where is his back up? If you were so sure about Jorgihno, why wasn’t he brought on the field?
Where are the players? Showboating somewhere. 2-0 up do not give you a license to start taking things lightly. Tricks, miss passes, no cover, giving up on duels. What the f*ck.
League is not over yet. If City wins their game in hand, we will be 1 point ahead of them with 7 games remaining. One of them being a head-to-head at Etihad. As a player, as a manager, if you want to be called winners and lift the prestigious trophy, go and beat them fair and square and then win remaining 6 games. I will do it next season, we would have a matured squad, we will buy couple of midfielders, City will have Champions League games, City will play three games a week, Arsenal will have a good rest — are for a reason – bollocks.
Lift your head up, if you see Kevin De Bruyne in front of you, make sure you run faster than him, make sure you jump higher than him and if need be, make sure you push him against the wall to show who the boss is… on that field. There’s no place for meek and gentle in any competitive sport.
And remember, finishing second is not a trophy. The only ones who remember you when you come second are your wife and your dog!
Rant over.
Thanks all, for your visits and discussions. We have crossed 5k comments on this blog, which an achievement in itself.
Well written piece Ambarish outlining all that’s not woking; hopefully the squad will have taken stock to correct and move past the issues and poor mentality.
Congrats on your first 5K comments I’ve noticed on match days the traffic is increasing. All positive going forward. More will come with the excellent writers here including your good self.
Really happy for you Ambarish to see the fruits of your labour of love showing signs of growth.
Long may it continue. 🙂
Let’s not forget the seemingly quickness that tiredness sets in throughout the squad. We get leggy or appear to because of the tired mindset. While looks done by 60 minutes for the work he puts in up and down the pitch.
The tiredness seeps in because the player knows he won’t or can’t be subbed. He knows our bench won’t be used properly and this compounds the build up of stress that tires players/athletes via nasty debilitating muscular acids, such as lactic and cortisol the stress hormone.
Our players are fatigued very quickly but play on because they have to because we have such a limited squad. It’s a vicious circle that leads to bad injuries.
Sad but true once again.
White*
As a gym rat or was up to last year cortisol was always my and any serious trainer’s nemesis. For the uninitiated below explains things better from Wiki.
“Cortisol is a steroid hormone that is produced by your 2 adrenal glands, which sit on top of each kidney. When you are stressed, increased cortisol is released into your bloodstream. Having the right cortisol balance is essential for your health, and producing too much or too little cortisol can cause health problems.”
TRVL – as a boxer and MMA fighter I’m sure you can relate to the way cortisol can debilitate an athlete under severe pressure.
Think of it this way. When you’ve had a serious shock to your body, your chest will feel like it’s full of concrete where breathing become labored. That’s what cortisol does and I would imagine we are suffering from such acids/hormones, which would account for the running out of gas 30 odd minutes and then again in the 2nd half.
When things are going well on the pitch cortisol is more limited because the pressure on the body is positive.
In saying this I’m no sports scientist, but I have trained with medical issues where I’ve discussed my training with my doctors over the years, which has given me a better understanding of my body’s reactions to stress and pressure weight training puts one under.
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
sorry too much data in the address Try this one:
https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=cortisol&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
Great way to end the rant
Ambarish
Congrats on hitting the 5K.
Beyond that I think we’re hitting a couple of problems – one fatigue / burnout and the other is mental weakness.
Both have been issues under Arteta pretty much since he took over. He over uses players by not rotating leading to burnout and the players who then come in aren’t match fit or match ready – I mean what the fuck has ESR got to do to even get 5 minutes on the pitch?
The mental weakness issue is again down to Arteta because deep down everyone knows he’ll fuck it up, the players when faced with things not working begin to panic which leads to mistakes which leads to more doubt and so on.
You add onto that Arteta’s in match decision making being terrible and you’ve got a end of season throwing the title away cluster fuck up of all proportions.
I never thought Arteta was ready to take over – he needed another job first. He’s managed to turn my doubts into hatred for him and all he’s managed to do is confirm every doubt I had and throw away a chance to make me have to reconsider my position.
Tony–I’m by no means a trained professional, but I have been exposed to a significant amount of info pertaining to this particular field of study over the years…regulating your body’s stress response is of paramount importance for a professional athlete…during periods of intense stress your body will generally release cortisol after releasing its “fight or flight” hormones, like adrenaline, which will enable you to stay on high alert and continue to perform at a high level even when you might be facing mental and physical fatigue and/or hardships
in more recent years a few credible studies emerged, one specifically used professional footballers from the Greek Super League as their test subjects, which examined the differing physiological stress responses depending on the time of the season…if my memory serves me well, the conclusions drawn confirmed several obvious presumptions, like the notion that performance failure rates climbed somewhat significantly in the latter part of the season due to the accumulative physical and mental toll…that said, proper rest times between matches was deemed to have had a significantly positive impact on one’s ability to handle stress regardless of age, within reason of course, which speaks directly to pregame training practices and the benefits of squad rotation throughout the season…interestingly enough, I believe that BMI is a more predictive variable than one’s age when it came to stress-related errors
as for our last two performances I would strongly suggest that once one’s adrenaline has kicked in, then you significantly shut/slow things down, it becomes increasingly more difficult to get things firing again, like the old faucet analogy
when it comes to mixed martial arts and the like, there’s a variety of rather unique factors that come into play due to the extreme level of physical contact involved in combat sports, which can be difficult to scientifically measure…the biggest concern I ever faced had more to do with muscle mass, as when one gets too yoked fatigue sets in much quicker because the body simply can’t supply the necessary oxygen to the muscles over an extended period (lactic acid)
Cheers
Marc-totally agree-it kind of reminds me of another sports team in my neck of the woods, the Toronto Maple Leafs, who always seem to find a way to cock things up…it more recent years they brought in a GM with no previous big league experience, who has the same level of misplaced arrogance as our current skipper…instead of being a young, progressive and innovative force, he’s exceedingly stubborn and predictable to a fault…he brought in a coach that he lorded over in the junior ranks, then proceeded to fill the squad with players he was very familiar with in his previous employ, even though they weren’t successful at that level and many of the players he acquired aren’t the kind of needle movers their particular script requires…to make matters worse, when it comes to the trading deadline, which is very similar to the winter transfer window, he oversells his rather underwhelming recruitment practices…so invariably when it comes to crunch time they fold like a cheap suit…when the dust settles he churns out the usual nonsense-laced excuses, then proceeds to hit the rinse and repeat button…the only reason why this individual gets a longer leash is that at least in the NHL there’s a hard cap, which does make it exceedingly more difficult to make more seminal moves at the deadline
just the thought of Rice being described as a150M target gives me the willies, as I wouldn’t pay a nickel over 60 for his signature…furthermore, if signing him meant getting rid of Partey and keeping Xhaka, I would avoid him like the plague
I would have said 50, but there’s no way the Hammers would sell us Rice for the same price we paid for the far more unpolished White, even if Declan and his agent decide to play hardball and try to force a move
Ambarish-trying real hard to prop-up your comment numbers bud…take care
Morning all
TRVL
Thanks for your thoughts on the matter. I’ve not considered BMI being used other than an overweight metric. Purely for a body-mass guide I always used 2 x my waist to being equal or under the inches of my height. I had a raging debate with a UK doctor once showing him an article about Bristol Rugby players being deemed obese using BMI when they were solid muscle on large boned frames.
I assume adrenaline creates more cortisol as the body fatigues, either way I would have thought our medics should have the necessary test parameters, and that maybe our players are pushing the needles into the red anyway.
They know, but can do nothing to help the players with such a small squad with key injuries.
The other important issue facing us is whether to play Saliba even though his injury isn’t completely healed, which is being reported?
It makes no sense to me at all. He will have missed almost 6 weeks of training and playing, which isn’t far off a break between seasons and reporting back for pre season. Saliba would need at least 2 full games to be up to fitness for the up coming City battle – because that’s what it’s going to be: a mother of all battles because it’s a potential title decider at the Etihad.
How does Saliba cope with such a game? Firstly, mentally, and secondly physically. Any twinges will naturally worry Saliba and they should. A lack of sharpness and feeling less strong physically will weigh heavily on Saliba’s mental resilience during the game. If Saliba is at fault for any goals, he will punish himself as he seems to be a deep thinker to me.
Saliba has had so much to deal with for one so young where I am a huge fan for his resilience in facing so much adversity and coming through Arteta’s BS to nail his place as a starter as we all knew he would. In doing this he is an Arteta pet where health wise it’s better to be on the non-negotiable.
Pets get worked to the treatment tables patched up and sent back out again.
Too many things could derail what will be one of the top CBs in the world or worse be career ending.
To support this 10 years ago when doing a 110kg deadlift I trapped a nerve in my lower back when my form was slightly out, on the last rep. I’ve been in constant variable pain ever since and learnt to deal with it. Now it’s worse than ever where natural herbs help a lot.
That single deadlift would have ended any pro athletic dreams if I had had them.
The demands of Saliba’s body with constant stress movements and collisions and just physical endurance to play against City just seem far too great a risk for Saliba and The Arsenal going forward.
What will Arteta do?
Let the kid heal properly and support him mentally and emotionally is my vote. Let’s not repeat what Wenger did to Jack Wilshere.
Tony-just to quickly reply to your Saliba comments before crashing for the evening, the one saving grace could be that with 5 subs available nowadays you could start him and if he tweaked anything you could immediately have him subbed out…ultimately I would let the player, in conjuction with the medical staff, to make the final decision…backs are a tricky gig, as I can do all manners of heavy lifting with no concerns whatsoever, then I might turn to pick up the most innocuous of items and be down for a day or three…I surely hope he will be able to play come the City fixture, but I certainly wouldn’t give it a go if there was a greater chance of him hurting than helping our cause…have a good one
Junior just added after reading the above he asked if Saka was in more danger of serious injury with his obvious drop in energy with his performances. I would say that is exactly what Saka is suffering from and could well be next on the injury table.
Did Arteta ever get overplayed?
Just read that Saliba and Zinchenko are out of tomorrow night’s game. Surely that would rule Saliba out for the City game next week on fitness alone.
Both being out shouldn’t be a cause for concern for tomorrow’s game – well let’s hope not anyway.
TRVL – Subbing would be an option, but it depends on the extent of the injury. I was on my elliptical in my gym and went to whip a towel off the arm of the adjacent treadmill. The towel caught on arm and I whipped my elbow inflaming the tendon that lasted 18 months. Admittedly, I kept going back too early, but I’m sure you’ll understand.
The small injury becoming a much longer lasting one or it being a minor strain that heals by itself in time. Question is while the time frame works for us – will Saliba be fit enough to cope with City? I can’t see it after 6 weeks off next week.
Tony
Here’s an unrelated schnippet (German word for snippet) to cheer you up. The Bluebirds, despite going down to an early goal away at Watford, ended up winning 3-1 last night. Sighs of relief all over Chateau Kroenkephobe. They’re not out of the mire yet but it feels a little more comfortable. I’m in the air en route to Catalunya tomorrow night so will miss the game. I assume Pumpkin hasn’t been banished (after all, we did draw our last two even if they felt like defeats). Give him an extra lucky pre-game scratch from Uncle Kroenkephobe!
Tony-I’m reading that there’s some real concern surrounding his abiliity to return at all this season, although Arteta has hinted otherwise…I would suggest that the problematic history between player and manager certainly isn’t helping, as Saliba might not trust that Arteta has his best interest at heart…I’m by no means suggesting that Saliba is “faking” the seriousness of his injury or that MA and William haven’t mended some fences, I just think that in the modern era players are more apt to err on the side of caution, even more so when there’s a big contract pending…this is why when you have a blue chipper, who feels like he’s been mistreated, rightly or wrongly, you communicate with them on the regular when they’re out on loan, especially when they’re supposedly part of your future plans (lol)
I would agree that we should be able to handle tomorrow’s fixture without Saliba and Zinchenko, but after what I’ve witnessed in our last 2 affairs anything is possible…after all, our back-to-back second half collapses surely must have emboldened any future opponents, regardless of their respective positions in the table
will surely embolden NOT must have emboldened
Just a comment on the potential fee for Rice – the £150 million is either the media or West Ham trying to bump his value but with a year left on his contract only an idiot would pay anything close to that.
Where it gets complicated is the English premium – if Ben White was French or Eastern European he would have cost £10 – £15 million and we even overpaid for the English Premium bit.
The question is can West Ham afford to lose Rice on a free and have a season where his commitment is massively reduced because a bad injury would see all future earnings go up in smoke.
Marc-there’s no doubting the fact that the150M being quoted is an extremely wishful figure, which no one in their right mind would even contemplate for a player in their final year, even if a bidding war ensued…that said, after the transfer fee paid by City for Grealish and the most recent 100+M purchase of Enzo by Chelsea, nothing would surprise me…of course, there’s little to no chance that we would be involved in any 100+M transfer, especially in a position that we’ve wrongly undervalued since Vieira’s departure…that said, I wouldn’t even pay half of that ludicrous evaluation for this particular player unless we were likewise spending a similar amount to properly replace Xhaka
on a side note, a few have suggested that the whole scenario is simply a wag the dog ploy by our club so as to get others of the scent of our true targets, which seems a bit of a stretch even after what transpired with Mudryk in the winter…that said, it wouldn’t totally surprise me, as this was a technique deployed during Wenger’s second term in office, much to the chagrin of many within the fanbase, as when one dangles the likes of Benzama then Chamakh ultimately arrives, one has to question why anyone thought this was a good idea
TRVL
It’ll be season ticket renewal time in 6 odd weeks. Arsenal win the PL and fuck the cost of living crises, Arteta does an Arteta and manages to finish closer to 3rd than first after where we were with a typical Arteta end of season collapse and the club might just be trying to keep the fans excited to keep the cash flowing.
why oh why would the term “revenge” be bandied about by our manager when talking about a Hampton fixture…it’s just more clueless and ill-suited banter by our grasping at straws, scared shitless skipper…how about instead of focusing on some sort of ficticious “revenge” narrative you prepare a gameplan for a full 90+ minutes and not just for the first 45…not to mention, if you throw the term “revenge” around too often our halfwit former captain will do something incredibly stupid and receive a red card in the process…time to take the handbrakes off and allow our much better roster to run the opposition off the pitch
Found these points from an Article in the Athletic most interesting as it somewhat gives me an idea how BHA achieves its success in unearthing gems of players.
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BHA signed Caicedo for £4mill in the January 2021 from Independiente del Valle in his homeland. They bought Mac Allister from Argentinos Juniors for £8mill. Mitoma, arrived from Kawasaki Frontale in the J1 League for £3mill in August 2021. Ferguson, 18 years old was signed for the academy from Bohemians in January 2021. The club will make huge profits when Ferguson, Caicedo, Mac Allister and Mitoma are sold.
The way Brighton operate is making a big impression on recruitment specialists, executives, managers and agents throughout the football industry. So, how do they do it and is their model sustainable?
The starting point for Brighton’s ability to source low-cost gems is the worldwide data on players of owner-chairman Tony Bloom, which nobody else can replicate. He has his own software that filters the whole market. The algorithm is a secret, kept even from those inside the club.
BHA got a different process to a lot of clubs, they don’t charge around the world, constantly watching matches looking at players, which is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
They focus on the areas for improvement, focus on the players that they feel can fill that gap and then send their eyes-on scouts to look specifically at those players.
Brighton cannot compete with the wealthiest clubs on fees and wages. The most they have paid for a player was £20mill in August 2019.
South American players see Brighton as an environment where they can grow before moving on because they can offer salaries three times what all but 3 of La Liga clubs can afford.
Premier League survival was the aim for the first two seasons following promotion which ended 34 years out of the top flight. The new vision was to establish Brighton as a top-10 club. That meant not only a more refined style of play, but building a younger squad.
Brighton are an attractive proposition. If players move onto bigger and better clubs, there’s then a desire from the next players that jump into those vacated roles and think, Brighton is going to give me the opportunity to go to Manchester City, Real Madrid or Barcelona.
That model of losing players for huge money to maintain sustainability at the club actually contributes to how great the model is. They’re growing their product.
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Kind of sad that we don’t have something like that dedication at AFC.
MA has admitted that Saliba is not progressing as quickly as hoped in his recovery from injury and his participation again this season is far from certain.
For me, no Saliba, no title.
A final gem for the day before hitting the retiring. Buying Newcastle was cheaper than Chelsea’s TW buying spree.
Chelsea spent over £600 mill on new players, and will likely miss out on Europe next season. For less than that, the Saudis bought for £543 mill an entire club and some upgrades and will likely be in Europe next season.
So glad that there is Chelsea to look at them and smile. Now Chelsea, save your season by beating City and prove that the next season will be better.
Morning all
KP
Really happy the Bluebirds are keeping their heads up towards safety. Have a great time in Catalunya in making headway for your end game move. Pumpkin cannot be at fault for Arteta’s poor squad management and repeat failures through making the same mistakes. I mean poor Pumpkin is not even human although sometimes I think he’s smarter.
At the time of setting the recorder Pumpkin will be pampered, scratched and sat before the Buddha shrine before going to bed with our daughter. Junior and I will watch early morning our time.
TRVL & Marc
Karen Brady is no fool who I would stay is in Marina G’s league for women in senior club football positions. Marina was reported to earn £34m for Father Ted’s deal with The Chavs before leaving. Nice leaving bonus.
Question is; is Rice double or treble the player Ben White was when he was bought for £50+m? Better yes, but not even double of our Benny Blanco. On this logic I wouldn’t pay more than £70 to 75m for Rice and would probably want Caicedo & Mitoma for around £100m and then go for a quality young RB.
Game Night
We need to come back and make a statement once again and prove we are worthy of our place at the head of the table. Anything less will be regarded as bottling with a capital B. If Arteta can’t produce a team and tactics to make Southampton look ordinary while scoring at least 3 goals, then Arteta should go to RM and the cheque book football that awaits him.
Fait Accompli for Arteta gaining his experience from us.
All I want to see is fight for 90+ minutes to at least give City something to think about for next Wednesday.
Whatever Saliba needs should be done now particularly if it means an operation. Forget Saliba for this season and get him fighting fit for next season.
Kilroy
Thanks for the Atheletic piece on Tony Bloom. What a difference between Ted B and Tony B as owners. Tony Bloom always look serious and businesses like even when watching his team intently. It came as no shock that Tony Bloom has his own algorithm for scouting. There had to be a technical digital stats’ based logic behind so many rough diamonds that BHA were finding.
Pedro will be all over this being his ultra fav: Stats. Yet all Pedro’s stats reek of Arteta agenda BS, so will never make sense to anyone other than Pedro and his Pedro-Pete bots.
I hope Tony Bloom has got his prized asset hack free.
Tony B has done what Edu has failed at: a conveyor belt of south American talent to make millions off and flirt with Europe places at the same time, as well as playing extremely attractive pacy football and are worthy of their PL position.
I’d definitely go 343 or 352 tonight as Southampton should be dominated in midfield.
Ramsdale
White Gabs KT
Ode Partey ESR Martinelli
Nelson Jesus Trossard
One can hope, but Arteta is predictable every game.
I’d see Partey playing more a 6 role, as there are enough chaos making players to hold the MF and create turnovers for our interchanging front 3.
Should be a game we can cope well with and win in style. 4:1.
Match day blog is live.