Before I proceed, I must thank The Gunners FR for allowing me to use the cover image.
Well, games are coming thick and fast. We are playing twice a week and the fact that we are competing on both fronts must be posing a conundrum to Mikel Arteta. On one hand, we are top of the league having won all but one and chasing a Champions League finish – though I believe we are title contenders this season. On the other, we are playing home and away midweek games, there is a good chance we can win it and ultimately qualify for Champions League.
However, this is a bit detrimental to the squad’s performance. We saw against Bodo/Glimt last week, when players were not playing to their full potential and looked a bit tired. Zinchenko is missing games because of injuries, Jesus was left out of the playing XI, Ramsdale is playing with a thigh injury (though it’s Matt Turner starting in Europa).
We have learnt our lesson from last season when couple of injuries derailed our top 4 chances completely. We have got options for most of the starting positions. In defence, versatility of Tomiyasu is coming as handy. White can play at RB and CB. We have a solid defender in Holding who can cover the Europa games. In attack, we do miss Smith Rowe. Vieira can cover for Ode but ESR has played at wings earlier and as things stand, you can’t replace Martinelli or Saka without seeing a drop in our performance.
Midfield is our biggest concern. Partey is a must in important games but is injury prone. We have to protect him at all cost for when it matters. Xhaka is built of steel but can you name a replacement of Partey and Xhaka without compromising our performance? No, Sambi is not the answer. I have complained earlier about our negligence to fix midfield, Edu and Arteta did try to sign Luiz from Aston Villa but you can’t wait for the last day to finish business. We should have strengthen our midfield last year, I am really hoping we do this winter.
The fact that we are fighting on two fronts, with limited options in midfield and on wings, requires a very careful squad planning from our Manager. Arteta hasn’t really impressed with his rotation tactics till now, but I hope he improves and believes in our bench a bit more. I don’t mind seeing Marquinhos, Nelson and Eddie starting against smaller teams in Europa.
If we are 2-0 up at 70 minutes in a Premier League game, Saka can be subbed. As fans, we want to WIN ALL, we can’t afford to concentrate only on either Premier League or Europa and that’s why it’s more important than ever.
Match Day
We are playing PSV today at Emirates. We need to finish at the top in our group to qualify for next round and avoid play-offs, which makes today’s game crucial. It would be interesting to see what team Mikel prefers, but I’m hoping we will see Sambi today. I won’t mind KT starting today in place of Tomiyasu, whom we need in Premiership in absence of Alex.
I would also like to see Eddie playing complete 90 minutes today. Fabio in place of Odegaard? Yes.
I doubt we are going to risk our wing positions, so another start for Martinelli and Saka today (?). If we are winning at 60 minutes mark, sub them. I am no manager and I’m an emotional fuck but I can see Saka is over-playing. I love to see him in every games but that would be a short term vision. We need him for next 30 PL games, and few important games in Europa in the later stages.
Right, that’s all for today. I would love to read what you think about this conundrum.
We have reached a very small milestone, LondonIsRedCom on Twitter has 200 followers now. Yay! Rome wasn’t built in a day!
H-T. Good enough performance but still room for Soton to get back in it. We need a second goal because those corners of theirs could produce something.
Marc
Yep, Xhaka always has a good shot in him, you can’t give him time to do that in your box.
Anyways, we need couple more. #COYG
Indeed a controlled half time. Ode’ had a good challenge to stop 2 of the Sotons against no one.
Ambarish
Yeah that tracking back by MO prevented something that could have hurt us.
On the Xhaka Mea Culpa, I would hold off for a good while. There’s always a possibility he’ll come out and stick the nut on Ward-Prowse for looking at him the wrong way or lob Ramsdale from 30 yards out (as Lee Dixon sometimes used to do). We’ve got so much more quality than them. We need to get another and turn on the style whist also managing the clock. That yellow for Bukayo was bullshit btw.
Just need to up the tempo for the 2nd half and get fresh legs on early as against S’hampton: we have a very strong bench. See how Vieira plays with Partey in the Xhaka forward role.
Give Eddie game time to get back to scoring. Southampton from the 1st half have little threat other than set pieces. They can be our experimental punch bag for the 2nd half.
Dearly me
F*ck me
It’s Wally
Fucking worst second half display for a while (although Leeds was maybe on a par). A nostalgia trip back to late 2020. Unmotivated, no plan B, no determination and fight. An Arteta disaster collection piece. A reminder, were it needed, of his chronic flaws as a manager.
We needed a captain out there today. Jesus was being wrestled by their back line. Someone needed to get in the referee’s grille and show him the error of his ways. We should have scored a hat-full and dominated them for the full 90 minutes. Piss poor.
Deary me what a poor game again from us. Tired play from tired players especially key players.
We played the 2nd half like we did in our last 6 games of last season again though fatigue. Partey was a yard off the pace for much of the 2nd half.
I’d say Mikel is anything but generational on current form and the WC will save him, as something always does.
Should have started with Marquinhos, Eddie & Martinelli with Saka and Jesus on the bench.
Why is Mikel playing Tomi at LB instead of KT; is it to accommodate White in the team?
Tony
Why would Arteta feel the need to shorn horn a £50 million player he didn’t need into the team?
I didn’t really see the build up but half caught something about Arteta telling the players that he’s playing them every week because top players play 70 odd matches a season – did anyone see the build up or get the actual comment?
Marc
I didn’t see that, but nothing would surprise me with Arteta. The irony is top managers rotate and keep their players out of the red zone. Today we were gassed after 15 minutes and off the pace for the rest of the game.
When asked if he was considering dropping Saka to the bench, Arteta responded: “Look at the top players in the world. They play 70 matches every three days and make the difference and win the game
I think this is the genius comment you’re referring to Marc. And to think the club is negotiating Saka’s contract. He’s an arsehole.
Kroenke
What a stupid thing to say. There’s dozens of responses to that question that support starting the player that aren’t so fucking ignorant. With a World Cup mid season it’s beyond idiocy.
5th or 6th is calling with a second half of the season collapse – all the fan boys will blame luck or injuries without having the intelligence to ask why so many injuries.
The last person who will be blamed will be Arteta of course. Man, they were terrible today. He didn’t pay attention to the warning signs at Elland Rd last week.
Kroenke
He believes his own bullshit.
At least a bright note to finish the evening on with the Spuds losing to Newcastle.
Mikel, we can’t do anything about. For now. Off to bed. Have a good evening lads.
All of those Artetapologists saying 28 points out of 33 are deluding themselves and deliberately missing the point. On the day, and just looking at this and possibly the Leeds game, we have been shite, listless and ill prepared. There’s no point and no truth in turd polishing – other performances this season have been far better.
Kroenke
How many of our wins this season have been wins we shouldn’t be getting taking the opposition into account? Any match we’re we’ve been OK or better the opposition have been meh or really poor.
LG funny as. Nigel took real offense to an excellent post from Aaron because it was factual. Nigel also went as far to say he wasn’t going to read Aaron’s nasty truths any more because Nigel doesn’t believe them.
Myopic Nigel was wrong; shocker I know & Aaron is right and was vindicated by our toothless display yesterday bar the first 20 minutes.
Truth its Mikel is turning out to be no better than Emery and that’s giving props to Mikel when you consider Emery’s Euro trophy haul and Emery serving Mikels arse on a platter twice in the Euro semi. We’re on an extended unbeaten run of probably 4 well deserved wins, 4 lucky wins and rub of the green, VAR, Refs etc and 4 should never have won, such as Leeds and yesterday where Gabs was the hero both on the ground and in the air.
Mikel’s Pep light is crumbling. Why? Because it is light: in dire need of at least 3 additional starters in the JW and also bring back Patino and Bolagun in January. At least we’d have the numbers to compete on all levels.
It’s beginning to look like the last season’s run in again unless Mikel stops trying to impersonate a primadonna and actually starts producing a side capable of having at least 2 game plans for each game and sticking to them for 95+ minutes.
Mikel could at least look like he knows what he’s doing with team selections and in-game management. Yet it’s the same old play my best 11 because they can play 60/70+ games. Maybe back in the pre 70s and 80’s, but far less games back then.
Lad’s, Mikel has us running down a injury cup-de-sac unless his blind unproportionate luck continues to defy logic and where Mikel takes Houdini’s legendary escapology to new levels.
Thank you Ambarish for the platform to be able to speak one’s mind with fellow intelligent, measured and reasoned posters. Can you imagine if I posted this on LG?
Hissy fits all round and Pedro firing up all his nom de plume characters. Bob would be all his usual indignant first. but then acquiescing to some of it being true in the gray areas. Don Un would be ok, as he flip-flops on anything other than Wenger and Jacky boy, which was a good job they were caucasian or Don Un would have been in a right pickle.
cul de sac*
Hi Tony
I’m pretty sure charmless, twatty Pedro uses his (Spinal Tap) Nigel Tufnell identity to channel his inner fury and dissatisfaction with Gooners who have a more grounded version of the club than he does. It’s deeply sad to see an apparently grown man use his own aliases to fluff himself – he’s nothing but an insecure poundshop hipster trying to be a bit of a lad. By all means accuse me of being reductionist but his Nigel persona is just shit. Pedro as a pocket hardman just doesn’t work. I also question whether he even likes football, let alone Arsenal.
I hope our basque bantamweight friend is getting to work this morning on a new focking plan to get us through to the WC break. The lack of movent upfront yesterday when we had the ball in midfield was a real concern. Southampton FFS!
Mikel said “we struggled against Southampton and will learn a lesson from that”. So nothing to learn about the Leeds game either winning under siege.
Clueless!
Unai Emery is back taking over at Villa. No doubt LG will be LTFAO out loud until Unai faces Mikel on the pitch again with Unai being up 2:0 over Mikel already.
Villa have already got their new song for the incoming Spaniard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a5vaIsaxB8
Well it is Villa. Land of the Peaky Blinders and not much else. Ah, lest we forget spaghetti junction.
Apologies in advance if this is too long everyone, but I find the history of football fascinating, especially how the old First Division/Premier Lge titles have been distributed.
The original 12 League members were made up of 6 Midlands clubs and 6 North West (Accrington, Aston Villa, Blackburn, Bolton, Burnley, Derby, Everton, Notts County, Preston, Stoke, West From, Wolves).
Up to now, 63 titles have gone to the NW, only 15 to the Midlands, which is spread over 6 clubs, London have 21 between 3 clubs.
Villa have won 7 titles, six of them before the first world war. Newcastle won the last of their four titles in 1927.
Yorkshire have 11 titles between four clubs, Sunderland take the North East’s total to 10, but the last one to head up there was 1936.
It’s incredible how long these ‘big’ clubs go on without any tangible success whilst retaining their status through media perception.
Villa, Newcastle and Sunderland are prime examples of this.
Villa’s title in 1981 was their first for 71 years, and 41 years ago now. Newcastle’s last trophy was 1969, (Fairs/UEFA Cup), Sunderland’s, 1973 when they shocked Don Revie’s Leeds at Wembley.
63 titles from 123 campaigns, shows a huge bias for the North West, I’d love to know the reason for such a poor return from middle England.
Arsenal only need two more titles and we’re level with them.
West From???
D’oh!
West Brom
Hey K’phobe poor Pedro has had to bin me again for telling the truth. He won’t get far without a sense of humour. Probably be a long sentence this time as I think I upset his woke sensibilities.
He’s working his Nigel moniker overtime, though. How bizarrely absurd Pedro’s ultra character is, but so funny to watch unfold because you have Pedro acting the idiot through another moniker where Pedro doesn’t really have to act at all if you ask me.
All eyes on Mikel now for Thursday and Forrest.
Interesting reading, Herb.
This series I found interesting though not sure how factual: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8403664/ because Eton and the northern clubs feature heavily in the series. Football being the working man’s game, it seems to have more clubs the further north you went with probably more support particularly in the coal mining, Big mills and steel producing areas of the north.
Below London there are no major cities only a large town, such as Canterbury and looking west only Reading, Bristol and Plymouth, so clubs from this areas would have been unlikely to have the people to support clubs and financial backing.
Would it be because football was far better supported in the north midlands upwards other than outside of London?
Hi Tony
It could be that, nowadays the title seems to gravitate towards either NW or London. Leicester were the only club to break that duopoly in 24 years, but even with that, the NW has won 3× more titles than London and 4× more than the Midlands.
Yorkshire has a poor return, Sheffield Wednesday’s last title was 1930, Huddersfield’s 1926, Sheffield United’s only title was 1898, and Leeds won the last of their 3 in 1992.
When Everton won the First Division in 1970, there were four clubs tied at the top of the leaders list, Arsenal (7), Everton (7), Liverpool (7), Man United (7), Aston Villa and Sunderland were one behind with 6 each.
Portsmouth and Ipswich are the only two oddities, but Alf Ramsey managed Ipswich to their title so perhaps not the shock it would seem at first glance.
I tend to agree, Tony, I’m sure the dynamics of our football has been heavily shaped by our outdated class structure.