Well, we are into another international break and I have lost count of it now. As a neutral, I find it frustrating but I do understand that some of us loves to see our country play. And to go into a 2 weeks break after sharing points with Chelsea and ranking 4th on the table isn’t a good sight for us. Chelsea under Maresca has improved but not enough to beat us at home. In fact, we should have taken all 3 points and it feels like a loss.
We have had a fit playing XI. Odegaard was back into the team, we had our usual back 4 and a front 3 of Saka, Havertz and Martinelli. Chelsea dominated us for the first 25 min where David Raya had to make a brilliant save for a long distance shot from Cole Palmer. In 24th minutes, Gusto wasn’t able to put the ball in the nets from a close range header which should he should have been. Neto’s cross was brilliant, Ben White wasn’t bold him to move closer to him and in a way let him make space for himself to put a cross. We finally managed to put some pressure when a poor pass from a Chelsea defender was blocked by Saka and Odegaard took the ball, passed it back to Saka who then took a shot which was blocked. Martinelli got the ball from that block but wasn’t able to get pass Sanchez. In fact, it wasn’t the very best of his attempt, was on a perfect height for the GK and he didn’t have to move to his left or right. Not good enough.
Havertz scored within some min but it was offside. In the second half, Martinelli finally scored from a similar angle to the one he missed earlier. Much much better and we only had to get through 30 odd minutes to win. Even though Odegaard gets the assist, it was Thomas Partey’s brilliance. Timber tried a long range shot in 65th minute which was a bit wide. Why was he trying to shoot when both Havertz and Saka were in good places to receive the ball – I don’t know. Neto levelled the score for Chelsea and we couldn’t have done anything about it. It was a great goal, similar to what we have seen from Odegaard in the past. Nothing exciting in those minutes.
Right, that was the Chelsea game.
This draw came on the back of a 1-0 loss against Inter Milan in Champions League, a 1-0 loss against Newcastle, a 2-2 draw at home to Liverpool and a 2-0 loss to Bournemouth at home when Saliba picked a red card. These results are not enough to panic (just yet), but there has been some lacking in consistency and poor managerial decisions that could have made it better for us.
Lets talk about the players first. We had some injuries, Odegaard’s absence affected the game, Martinelli is on a poor form (still one of my favorites in the team), Trossard/Saliba had a brain fart which costed us the Liverpool game, Declan Rice had one earlier against Brighton (1-1, 2 points dropped), Trossard against Man City (2-2, against 2 points dropped). I have been vocal about the refereeing decisions going against us, but we are talking about the players who are probably in 1% of football players around the world, and they couldn’t concentrate enough to not get a silly red card for kicking the ball away? Ok, refs are not blowing whistle for other teams, but you can’t kick the ball away it’s in the rulebook.
Martinelli and Trossard are out of form. Both of them shouldn’t be on the pitch at the same time. Merino gets tired after 60 minutes, Ben White wasn’t brave enough to stop Neto for that cross and there has been other incidents. Only Saka and Partey are putting up the fights so far. The less we talk about Havertz, the better. Talking about ‘this might be the year we win’ doesn’t get you trophy. You need to put your mind and body on the line without thinking about what happens tomorrow. If you are in red and white, and has a cannon on the chest, you need to show that you earned it – every goddamn minute.
Now, lets talk about the manager. I am okay with Mikel’s infatuations towards defenders as long as we don’t neglect other areas of the pitch. But we have done exactly that. Going for two competitions at once with only 1 attacking midfielder will cost you. Odegaard is brilliant when fit, but we didn’t have a back up. Ok, we had, but we sold one of those to Fulham and loaned another one (Vieira) without bringing any like-for-like player.
This was highlighted before the season started and some of the news outlets confirmed that the club and the manager sees Nwaneri as a back up and they are not actively looking for a replacement. Guess what, Nwaneri is playing Carabao cup games and Mikel feels putting 3 DMs (Rice, Partey, Merino) in the midfield is better than giving him a chance in PL / CL. First, you didn’t have a competition / rotation to Odegaard. Second, let go off 2 players which were closest to play in that position. Third, you are hesitant in trying a 17-year old that might do the job.
And if I remember correctly, we paid 65 million for Kai Havertz because he was a versatile player who can play in the midfield and as a CF. We didn’t see him the midfield and he isn’t really doing much up top. We needed a proper CF, not another Gabriel Jesus.
Careful what you wish for. We were asking Wenger to stop neglecting defence and he would still go with 7 attacking players. The football was great but we would often lose. Now, we have a manager who can hold off City to a 2-2 at their home with 10 players and loves hoarding defenders. The football has gotten boring and we don’t get to see any of the Sanchez/ Wilshere like goals. Martinelli fits in that profile, but he hugs the sideline like his life depends on it.
We needed a blend, we got the opposite of what we had. City’s loss to Bournemouth is keeping us in the fight, Liverpool is leading but they will have bad days and I still feel it will come down to Arsenal v City at the end. We are still in the Champions League, not doing great but not as bad as some other teams.
Lets hope Mikel learns, unlike Wenger. I would love to hear your say in the comments.
Cheers.
@Ambarish
“Lets hope Mikel learns”
That is an oxymoron like a compassionate tax collector. 5 years and he still makes the same mistakes. This season he started with Partey at RB then switched him back to a number 6 only to repeat putting him back at RB and we dropped points.
The paper thin squad is on El-B after spending hundreds of millions we should have a quality squad that can compete in at least 3 competitions. I look at City, Pool and Chelsea and they can bring on players to alter the outcome. On the other hand we have zilch, niente, zip to bring on to rescue points. As a result the ESPN-FC show states Arteta puts out the same players with 1 or 2 variations which results in fatigue and injuries. Opposition teams know our starting line-up and our method of play.
Final thoughts from my post in the previous thread:
We had a record spending on Rice, but he does not look this season like a 100m player. His dead ball kicks are nothing to write home about and it shows in the lack of goals from set pieces. If from the next 4 matches we don’t take 12 points the spin on Le-Grieve should be very entertaining.
Finally, with the injury crises in the back 4 that Real Madrid have, I would not be one bit surprised if Saliba will be a Real player in January because by that time our title dream surely will be over.
As far as our front 3 their finishing is dismal with the exception of Saka. Havertz 4 goals and 1 assist for £65m, embarrassing recruitment. Sell Martinelli as his value starts to tank he has ONE approach race to the touch line and put a cross in. That’s it with the occasional being in the right spot to put in a rebound. He lost his form to dribble past defenders.
Regarding Saka, teams now know don’t let him get the ball on his left foot and as soon as he has the ball he is double or triple teamed, there goes that threat. Have a deadly finisher in the front 3 that draws away defenders from Saka but that would require elite recruiting which sadly our purchases do not support.
…Or a capitalist care giver, eh Marc? And I’ll get this one in before someone else does…socialist worker. Good result for the women’s team tonight. 4-0 win away to Juventus.
It has begun the fight over Saliba:
According to Le10 Sport, Arsenal is not waiting for the situation to escalate. They have contacted Saliba’s representatives to explore an early contract extension, showing their commitment to keeping him at the club long-term. Arsenal remains optimistic about his willingness to stay, especially given his key role under Mikel Arteta. However, the report notes that there is some concern that, should Arsenal struggle to secure trophies, Saliba might consider his options.
As Arsenal continues negotiations, the club will need to offer not just a competitive financial package but also a clear vision for success. For Saliba, a long-term commitment to Arsenal could hinge on the club’s trajectory in domestic and European competitions.
From Le10 Sport:
“However, Real Madrid is in deep thought to determine the “When to act”… Initially planned for the summer of 2025, the Saliba offensive could arrive earlier than expected given the serious injury of Eder Militao. The Saliba case is being considered by Madrid as the winter transfer window approaches, where Real intends to recruit a new central defender.”
“The club will need to offer a clear vision for success” we are royally fucked with El-B at the helm.
no one would ever hold it against Saliba for having his head turned by Real, especially if our current downward spell turns into a full-blown regression, but I’m still not convinced that he’s a top priority for them, at least not presently…this certainly isn’t a commentary on his defensive capabilities, as he’s clearly top shelf, but he’s a bit too much of one trick pony to justify the massive expenditure it would require, in that he doesn’t contribute much going forward…now if they’re serious about their pursuit of Davies, so they can revert back to a more wingback-dependent outfit, then I can see them making a concerted push for someone of Saliba’s ilk, but right now they’re a massively underachieving side with a bloated wage bill who has much bigger fish to fry
tbh we should beat them to the punch and sign Davies, then deploy a back 3, much like we saw with Inter…this would allow us to maximize our present roster by employing White and Rice in their best positions, RCB and DM respectively, then Timber could team up with Saka, on his proper side, and Davies could cause all sorts of havoc on the left with Marts…Ode would assume a more central role, which he should have done all along, and then Havertz would join our new readymade Striker up top, either tucked in behind or as a more traditional front 2…of course what the fuck do I know
Real have a serious problem in their back line with Rüdiger being the only experienced CB they have atm. So they are in definite search for assistance, Leverkusen’s Tau was another they are considering in January plus of course their academy talent. However the problem they have with Vini or MBappe on the left their defense has to be impeccable, which it isn’t with all their injuries. Saliba is possibly of interest to them in the summer of 2025 or 2026.
Thinking about this years race for the title, Arteta is actually under huge pressure, Pep reminded everyone that City won 6 titles out of 7, Pool has won a title and you have to go back to 2016 when Chelsea won it. At the beginning of the season many pundits picked Arsenal to win it this season after finishing 2nd twice and bringing in new players. However, after 11 games our odds have dropped and it is now City and Pool that the bookies like with us a distant 3rd.
So, Arteta missing out on the title will have huge implications on him, the talent at the club and any prospective talent coming to the club. For me in 2025, fuck it, hopefully the British Irish Lions tour of Australia will be fantastic and the fight for a CL spot should also be interesting. Karma can be a bitch especially if Don Unai would finish above our apprentice and take the last CL spot. All hell would break loose on Le-Grieve, which in itself is a shitload of fun to watch.
much of Real’s defensive issues aren’t long-term in nature, as they’re injury-related, so most of the talk surrounding possible replacements involve those who might be available in January…it appears as if 3 names have emerged, Romero, Tah and LaPorte…the first two have contractual concerns, as Tah’s contract runs out in the summer and he pushed hard to land in Munich this past summer, whereas Romero has been trying to renegotiate his wages even though his current deal deosn’t expire until 2027…as for LaPorte, who’s presently plying his trade in the Saudi League, some in the know see him as the best fit and believe, rightly or wrongly, that he can be pried away for a cut-rate price…Saliba isn’t a January window kind of transfer, regardless of where we are in the table at that time…all that said, I do believe wholeheartedly that he’s on their radar, but I think they’re hoping he won’t re-up, like Mbappe, so they can save a shit ton of money
The way Saliba was treated initially in his loan days, i doubt he will think too much if an offer comes in. That’s the issue we will face since we haven’t even managed to win any cups in the last 5 yrs. Cup wins keeps the momentum and hunger on. The disappointments of not winning the PL is somewhat tempered by cup wins. We should have taken FA cups seriously and made some effort to win atleast one more in the last few years. Holding on to our players will be challenge if we dont have anything in our trophy cupboard.
of course what the fuck do I know
Vieira – that tickled me. It reminded me of a clip in a druggy hallucinogenic film that the Monkees made in the 60s called ‘Head’. This guru/swami guy authoritatively craps on about mysticism for about 5 minutes and then says, “but who am I? for I know nothing!”. I’ll try and find it.
Holding on to our players will be challenge if we dont have anything in our trophy cupboard.
Hi Madhu
You’ve given me a bad flashback by mentioning Holding! Last seen sinking rapidly at HMS Palace I think. Great hair transplant, terrible positioning ability …
Tony and Vieira
https://youtu.be/HQY11LdM7vA?si=j0Ij2OCkL6ok2gD2
Skin up, sit back and enjoy.
KP holding Lol looks like Eddie may also be following Holding. Not been great for Eddie last season he had 5 goals by now i guess.
Cheers KP—since covid I let my hair grow out, even longer than the man in the clip, and grew a goatee, so it was even more apropos than you first thought…thanks for brightening up an otherwise dreary day
Hi Vieira
I just watched it again and it brought back some pleasantly hazy memories of my own. I remember listening to it a few times back in the 80s to try and work out if there was a kernel of truth and logic. I’m still none the wiser…
Glad you enjoyed it mate. That entire film is barking mad but terrific fun. The Monkees appealed to 2 very distinct audiences. Luckily I was in both camps
Yeah Madhu agreed.
Eddie Unket struck me as a thoroughly likeable guy but with the best will in the world not quite at the top level. I’d be quite happy if he ever proves me wrong.
You out watching any games this weekend? It’s Welsh Cup for me and I have an away trip planned to nearby Ammanford on Saturday.
All of this boils down to something I’ve asked several times this season – can anyone remember the last time we played well?
We’ve won matches, put up a great backs to the wall performance away at City when we were down to 10 men but actually played good football, dominate a match, not look like conceding a goal would see us fold like a pack of cards?
We’re not progressing we’re going backwards and Arteta doesn’t know how to change that.
We missed our chance either last season or the season before. The way things look City aren’t going to win the title but we’ll still finish behind them and the teams who’ve been way off normal levels of performance are improving.
“Holding on to our players will be challenge if we dont have anything in our trophy cupboard.”
Bang on Kroenke – the killer will be Saka. Saliba will at some point move to Madrid no matter what but Saka leaving will be not only a massive failure of management but a crippling blow to the club and massive banter for opposition fans.
This January window could be another short-sighted shit show, especially with our now totally unchecked and struggling MIT…I read an article today that spoke of our desire to sign either Hugo Larsson, a young Swedish CM, who currently plays for Frankfurt, or Atalanta’s 25 year old CF, Mateo Retegui, in the upcoming window…both are currently valued at 28M on transfermarkt, but neither will be pried away for any such amount…first of all, we don’t need a CM project piece in January, as we already have the newly acquired Merino and the hardly used Ethan, who are functionally depth pieces now that Ode is back from injury…secondly, how could a 25 year old CF be a backup option, as per the article, to a 20 year old midfielder?…that makes no fucking sense…of course, I can see us trying to add someone with goals in their boots, but personally I would rather cut MA off unless the injury bug continues to ravage our current options between now and the opening of the window…MA has spent an unprecendented sum and now he needs to sink or swim with the roster he’s clearly handpicked…speaking of which, I read a few articles that suggested the straw that broke Edu’s back was MA’s uninspiring summer window…so maybe I wasn’t that far off when I suggested something very similar
KP
Really funny and vaguely dragged from my dimmer memory banks; a really good thing to watch early morning in a b’day haze thinking: fcuk, man, I made it to 69 with America on the horizon! My bypass surgeon told me every year over 60 will be a blessing at 35. Mind you, he didn’t count on me having 5 stents back in 1990, and a really cool heart team looking after me here for 15 years.
I was a young Monkees fan because they couldn’t play their instruments to begin with so that fascinated me to begin with. US TV was good in those days with Mash, Hogan’s heroes, Bewitched, Twilight Zone et al.
Wasn’t a fan of Eddie or his petulant looks when things didn’t go for him, which was largely down to his timing issues. He had a nasty streak in him off the ball at times that took his focus from what he should have been doing and scoring goals.
Eddie is nowhere nearly missed the same way we are missing ESR and Patino. Both are better players let alone subs to Merino and Rice when attempting to be an 8 but really is a more mobile CB who is a solid 6. However, as mentioned above that solidity is waning where it’s almost as if he’s been Wengerised of old.
Can anyone tell me a player MA has improved significantly in all performances today?
If not then Artetarised becomes the new Wengerised. The list begins with Ozil and then Auba with Willian with others in-between now what looks like we can add Sterling to the also ran list. I ask myself would Slot have had better results when you consider Salah’s I-want-to-stay declarations whilst really enjoying his football again.
Slot got Salah to remember why he loves football. I’m sure he would have fared better with our difficult players instead of just quoting you’re on the non-negotiables heap and left to rot while we won nothing.
TRVL
Wild man of Borneo look, eh? What can I say I hate grey hair so don’t have any. Grey hair that is, only light brown, so junior doesn’t think I could die if I look too old. I should be in America next year, so hope we can get together for a short road trip? I’ll be looking around North Nevada (low taxes), Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and maybe Oregon. KP, Marc and all are welcome to join.
LA to Vancouver up PCH1 springs to mind over 8 days?
The only options MA should be looking to fill is a pacy and fluid AM 8 & 2-footed 6′ 5+ proven goal scoring 9. We both agree on Isak and VG for 9 and you probably know a few more and for both, we have Ethan and shame he’s not 19 now. We have to buy because Rice and Merino at 8 regress us and poor Marts.
Ethan could emulate Fabregas who played for Wenger at 16 and 177 days. Fast forward a year later and Fabregas was becoming a regular, as Wiki says:
“Fàbregas came through La Masia, Barcelona’s youth academy, leaving at 16 when he was signed by Premier League club Arsenal in September 2003. Following injuries to key midfielders in the early part of the 2004–05 season, he went on establish himself in the team. He broke several of the club’s records in the process, earning a reputation as one of the best players in his position, and won the FA Cup in 2005. He was also named in the UEFA Team of the Year twice and the PFA Team of the Year twice.”
Ethan reminds me of both past greats: Fabregas and Liam Brady, problem is we need a new manager to help Ethan realise his full potential, which he won’t under MA bench warming and short cameos ala ESR’s and Eddie’s time here. More chance of Ethan being Artetarised through lack of minutes, as his quality is there to see every time he steps on the the field of play.
We are both singing off the same hymn sheet as always with our hopes for our team.
Madhu
It’s appalling how MA sees fit to treat players particularly young players who we are losing to other clubs. The young 10-goal in one game striker: Chido Obi-Martin was bought by Manure last month.
The kid may not aspire to dizzy heights, but we shouldn’t be losing our kids to get some money for MA to use poorly.
Marc
Whether we are going to lose our best players now should be the least of our worries, but are big concerns. When there is talk of movement it destabilizes players where they lose some focus and where emotions are stronger when the team is under performing as we are now. The feelings of wanting better naturally become stronger where eventually they leave while not playing their best either.
The grass become far greener and desirable especially if you have a winless manager like MA.
Anyone heard of what happened to, Win, the dog? Is he resident in Battersea now for underperforming?
Finally, White is out for 6 weeks at least with a back injury he’s been carrying, which maybe a blessing, as Timber should be RB with Tomi, Zinchencko and Calafiori all vying for the LB sport.
The back issue would explain White’s drop in form. That and MA’s tactics combined.
Two quotes from Football 365 that made my day:
“By any of the admittedly bonkers standards applied to managers in his position these days, he must be in the final stretch of his tenure, the phase when he loses a few games, draws a few like on Sunday and wins a few. Then comes the phase where he’s knocked out of the Champions League. Add in an embarrassing cup exit and a top-six league position. If he wanted to exit now, his reputation would probably be intact to a sufficient degree to get him a gig in the Bundesliga, but he won’t. It’ll get dragged out until the spring when all hope is statistically lost and he’s reaching for the hair-dye again.”
“It’s to Arteta’s credit that he’s managed to bullsh*t his way through this (almost winning something but not actually winning) with endless talk of faith and delusions of mythical projects leading everyone up the mountain and has managed to convince a section of the fanbase that this is all heading to a successful destination, as though it is an unfolding plan. But of course it isn’t. He hasn’t a clue what he’s doing beyond the short term. He’s not a genius, self-evidently. Not that he needs to be.”
Looks like the wheels are coming off and other journos see Areta for what he is a incompetent manager.
Tony—there are a plethora of conflicting reports regarding White’s surgical recovery timeline, some say 8 weeks, whereas others say considerably less…frankly if we could count on both Timber’s and Cala’s availability this could actually be viewed as a positive situation, as I believe they’re our best options going forward, but clearly that’s not the case…I fear that we’re not only going to see Partey at RB far too often, so that MA can deploy both Merino and Rice in the midfield, we could likewise waste more money on another half measure defender option, which could negatively impact our ability to redress far more pressing needs
this is starting to feel like a karmic bitch slap from the footballing Gods for MA looking two gift horse seasons square in the fucking mouth…instead of taking advantage of our good injury fortunes and deep pockets, our tactically stunted fucktard shit the transfer bed on multiple occasions…when that happens it tends not to end well…that said, I’m not without hope, as we have some really talented players in the room, I just don’t think MA has a clue how to get the best out of this particular collection of players…here’s hoping they’ll find a way to rise to the occasion in spite of our managerial shortcomings
Tony
Very happy birthday my man! I hope you have a brilliant day.🎂🍾
I’m also pleased to hear about your US plans. I’m sure you’ll have no trouble avoiding the multitude of loons running the country these days. It struck me a few days ago that if I was still living there, it might be time to keep an Uzi under my bed and hang out at some suitably progressive rifle ranges (if such things exist).
I’d also take a look at New Mexico too, especially the towns to the north of Albuquerque with the Adobe architecture. Some of them seemed really calm places, miles away from the seamier side of certain cities.
I’d prescribe a few herbs and some Steely Dan. Have a good one mate.
Oh, and maybe a few choice episodes of Breaking Bad, especially the ones where Walter and Jesse are out cooking in the desert.🌵🔥🌵