Two of the best teams in the world are playing in Premier League under generational managers in Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp. Both City and and Liverpool have dominated the domestic league and have done exceptionally well abroad. For last few years, Chelsea has been trying to catch up with them but if you ask me, Chavs have a lot to do to reach their level!
There is no single 4th best team. It’s been a fight between Arsenal, United, West Ham and Tottenham to grab the Champions League spot and we will soon find out who gets to play at the grand stage.
Coming back to City, Pep relies more on the midfield control, ball retention and possession play. He is such a brilliant manager that he has not missed one of the best strikers of premier league in recent times in Aguero and has been mostly playing without one. This is possible only because of the class he has in midfield.
Klopp on the other hand loves gegenpressing. Having a high line of pressing, working in a fast paced countering football. He has his 3 machines up top in Salah, Mane and Jota/Firmino who can be a nightmare to defenders.
Mikel Arteta, having worked at City under Pep – is thought to have a similar play from the back, possession football and we were for a good part (except last 2 games) played without a striker. Yes, though Laca is a CF, he was doing the link up play and had scored next to nothing! We let go Aubameyang and has only started playing Eddie because of Laca’s illness.
Lets compare the top 2 teams in the league. While most of the goals for Liverpool have come from the front 3 of Salah, Mane and Jota; City has a bunch of players who have contributed in their tally of goals.
Liverpool :
Mo Salah – 22, Diogo Jota – 15, Sadio Mane – 14, Roberto Firmino -5, Fabino – 5
Manchester City :
Kevin De Bruyne – 11, Mahrez – 11, Sterling – 10, Phil Foden – 8, B Silva – 8, Jesus – 7, Gundogan – 6
I have only mentioned players with 5+ goals to keep it simple. Only Pep can play a season without a striker and still wins the League. Liverpool on other hand has probably the best front 3 on the planet currently. Where are we?
If you check for Arsenal, we have 4 players with 5+ goals this season : Saka – 11, Emile Smith Rowe – 10, Odegaard – 6, Martinelli – 5.
We don’t have a Salah-esque level player dropping 20+ goals a season. We don’t have two other players scoring around 15 goals each. Our goal scorers are wingers and midfielders, similar to City but the difference is City has almost double the no. of scorers and of course they are better quality wise (for now).
Arteta’s expectation for scoring has been from the midfield. Partey’s flying rockets are the proofs.
Coming back to the question of whether we need a striker – yes, we do in my opinion. We don’t have a midfield of City in terms of class and number. We don’t have a billion dollar lying around in fridge to always buy some more. In last 2 games, we saw how important it is to have a genuine CF. Eddie’s presence not only threatens defenders, it also allows the midfield to only work for delivering the ball to someone who can do the job.
Auba thrived in an environment of feeders and we need a similar player, only better in work rate. We have a midfield who can score, adding a striker will solve most of the problems.
What do you think you would like to see? Can you imagine playing without a CF which requires players like Saka, ESR and Martinelli to step up and score more?
Let us talk in comments!
Almunia,
I think I’m secure in saying his main team will always be Arsenal. I got home yesterday and he was wearing a newly bought maroon shirt from our last season at THOF (with PV4 on the back). I think he just genuinely loves the craic at football esp. away games. He’ll be on the receiving end of a keel hauling if his love for Arsenal ever wavers…
Marc
5 or 6 names sounds about right to me if we make the CL. Quality, proven players as well. And play some of the youngsters in the cups. Flores seems to be coming up quickly, as does Norton-Cuffy (on loan at Lincoln). Plus Patino, Azeez and Hutchinson. I’m getting ahead of myself terribly – there’s a chance I’ll have my head in my hands this time tomorrow. 😒
Kroenke
It’s what the squad will need to compete but we all know A) Xhaka will still be first choice next season and B) Arteta can’t rotate to save his life, he fumbles around when on a losing streak, trips over something that wins a game or two and then sticks with it until the next losing streak appears and then repeats the process.
It staggers me that more don’t see it.
Almunia
I think we’ll get 4th but it won’t be because of us doing well (since when did scrapping 4th become an amazing achievement for Arsenal?) but more down to others being poor.
Marc,
We are one of the strangest clubs/ fan bases in the world. We have a billionaire owner and are one of the top 10 richest clubs,yet many fans are averse to having expectations of consistently battling for top honours. They feel it would make them seem entitled. They pay ridiculous prices to follow the team,buy the merchandise. They see their star players earn hundreds of thousands of pounds a week. Novice manager on 5mill p.a. ,yet they are content to see signs of improvement.
Now we all know that success is rarely immediate ( Klopp is the argument used here,it took him x years etc). We also know that it can’t necessarily be bought( utd squandering millions is the argument used here). But the big difference is that at no point have liverpool or utd fans ever set 3,4 year plans just to get back in the top 4 or feted a manager for getting rid of players and replacing them,christ,next thing we’ll be thanking him for turning up on match days and talking to the team at half time.
It’s about expectations. Some fans have never recovered from the gradual lowering during the latter Wenger years,others have refused to accept an Arsenal that aren’t in the title race. And those two groups have grown further and further apart,to such an extent that they are now blaming each other for the club’s failings. The high expectations are unrealistic, toxic,hounding out players and managers. The low expectations are enabling the mismanagement of the club to continue,heralding every small step forward as a major success while ignoring, if not denying, the flaws. We are beginning to despise each other. Hard to see where it ends. I’d like to say I’m neutral but I’m not. I’m firmly of the belief that it is the duty of fans to hold their club to the highest standards possible,within reason. For Arsenal ,those standards should be equal to the likes of utd and Liverpool. That’s my belief.
And one final point. Look at the other teams in Europe’s top ten richest clubs and ask yourself,where in their fanbases are the swathes of supporters happy with the bare minimum??
Almunia
A really good explanation of where the club and supporters are these days. Thanks for sharing that. I was an Arsenal fan from some point during Bertie Mee’s reign to the present. I think an individual’s relationship with the club is affected by the team’s values at the time of first realising you’re going to be with them for life. Mee’s Team gave way to Neill then to Howe and GG. A gradual metamorphosis from a club which paid attention to values and tradition to becoming a hard, physically strong team for who the result and dominating the opposition mattered. My ideals about football changed in step with that progression (although I still have a fondness for that time in the early 70s when we consistently enjoyed moral and actual victories) . Wenger’s inheritance of GG’s team and its culture allowed him to reap success. It was only when the scales started to move fully towards Wenger’s corinthian ideals did standards start to slip and trophies start slipping away. A lot of people who got into Arsenal during Wenger’s time don’t see it that way, and don’t fully appreciate why 71 and 89 were our most important periods in the post war history of the club.
It’s dreadful the way some fans base their opinions on sentiments that Arteta expresses in press conferences etc. We shouldn’t be concerned about going to places like West Ham if you consider not only the current circumstances but also the history between our two teams and who we – not they – are. I think we win by 2 clear goals this afternoon.
In essence, I agree that we now have an element of relative newcomer support which perversely thinks that loyalty is about making excuses for the team and coach rather than being angry/disappointed when they fuck up. Part of that includes criticising OUR brand of support (which is far more honest). You’re right – it does particularly, but not exclusively, affect Arsenal. It’ll take a hell of a manager to restore unity – the present incumbent is a wanker and will never achieve it. Ho hum.
I assume you’re hoping for a Trump triumph. I’m going to watch as much as I can as soon as my mother in law stops watching her antiques programmes! I really need a man den.
Kroenkephobe,
We all need a man den! Keeping an eye on the snooker but big gaa and premiership games mean I’m flicking all over the place. Ronnie is hot favourite in my eyes,Trump has done very well just to get to the final. He is not in form. Ronnie acting the tool again with the ref, I can’t take to him at all.
You made two brilliant points in the last post that have me thinking. The idea that our expectations of our club come from our commitment years,and also the huge importance of ’71 and ’89. We must cling to them. Liverpool were shaped by Paisley,Utd by Busby, and the sense of being elite has never left those clubs despite the departure of those managers and many lean years since. But Arsenal fans who cling to our pivotal moments are criticised for being out of touch,entitled or just ignorant. No I can’t accept that. You must always want the best for the people you care about. End of story.
Liverpool were shaped by Paisley,Utd by Busby, and…. Arsenal by George Graham!
I suppose I already have a deluxe wood-panelled man den. Its called a shed. When I was younger I never understood why old boys disappeared in their sheds. But it’s to escape the other half of course. Not for me though, I hate the smell of creosote and looking at lawnmowers (and feeling I should be using it).
What’s going on this season? I’m watching Chelsea and kind of hoping they win.
Teams announced.
West Ham’s better than I expected. Our’s a little worse…
Almunia
There are a father and son (son my age or there abouts) who sit one seat away from me both really nice guys who’ve been going for much longer than me – I know I irritate them with my dislike of Arteta but during the last two homes matches I’ve had one case of them both moaning about Laca being everywhere but leading the line through the middle – when I said blame the manager because it’s clearly instructions they were “your just moaning about Arteta again” and then the following match the son saying he’d prefer to be playing golf next season than going.
I don’t understand how you can be unhappy with things and not want something done about it. I’ve never expected instant success and if you ever saw my comments on Le Grove you’d know that I was in the “give Emery a chance camp” he screwed it up and was rightly moved on but we’re worse now and it’s blasphemy to criticise the manager.
It doesn’t make sense.
Marc,
I really think people are just so tired of being critical of Arsenal that they’re desperate to throw themselves behind the team. Arteta’s fa cup gave them hope and they can’t accept it was yet another false dawn. They have my sympathy,no one wants to be in a permanent state of frustration. But like I said,it’s getting a little bit nasty with some unable to accept others right to criticise, that’s the line in the sand for me. You don’t have to give out but don’t tell me I can’t.
Kroenkephobe,
See Ronnie acting the dick again since my last post,then walked off without shaking the refs hand, he’s a pup!
Nervous watching this but the atmosphere isn’t as intimidating as I feared. Key not to wind them up by doing something stupid.
It looks like the lazy team showed up today. It’s such a crucial game, we need to kill it as soon as possible..
New article, a short one but still…
Half time… The ecstasy and utter fucking agony of supporting this club.