Edu and Arteta took over from Emery and Co more than two and a half years back. We saw some fresh faces coming in, in the hope of winning Champions League in 3 years time – Willian, Cedric, Mari and Partey. That hope crashed like no one imagined. Willian was one of the worst performers of the season even after playing 37 games. Cedric turned out to be okay-ish, Mari was so poor he is on loan to I don’t remember which club and Partey is injured most of the time.
Not so surprisingly, ones who saved Arteta’s career were the hale-enders. ESR broke into the team because of injuries and got him out of that winter misery. Last season when we lost 3 easy games against bottom half teams, Laca’s sickness allowed Eddie some game time and some relief to Arteta and Co.
Soon AFC realised what was done initially was just replacing old dross with new ones. So, someone at the club took a notice of it, decided there won’t be crap signings anymore and we only are going to invest in players with potentials and in the right age-frame. I suspect it’s Edu because of the Brazilian collections we are doing.
We went ahead and brought White, Tomi, Ramsdale, Sambi, Tavares and Odegaard.
How did that turn out? Not that great. Someone, again, at the club realised buying young players doesn’t guarantee success. It should be ‘good’ young players. We are back in the market this transfer window for a Left Back and targeting Lisandro Martinez who has a much better profile and would be an upgrade to Tavares. We are trying to bring in Tielemans because Sambi didn’t turn out to be the next big thing and we already have invested in Vieira who plays the same role Odegaard does – after noticing Odegaard’s little contribution in games when it matters.
We realised, yet again, that hale enders are much better in producing output than veterans we have. Eddie signed a 5 years contract and is given one of the most important numbers of all time #14. I hope he continues it’s legacy and make us forget TH14 with EN14. After letting go Guendouzi, the hottest prospect in world football at some point, we realised our mistake and are now adamant to keep William Saliba.
We also realised the priority. Fixing midfield and CF positions is (and was) more important than buying CBs when we had better than average players in Holding and Gabriel (and Saliba if we had not sent him on loan again).
If you are a ‘glass half full’ person, you are most likely excited for another season noticing all these realisation at Arsenal Football Club. You are happy we are correcting our mistakes and trying to be more competitive.
I’M NOT. I am more than excited for another season of Arsenal, I’m a gooner till I die. What I fail to understand is how can a club this big in history and values, is allowing people to learn on their job, things which are pretty basics for anyone working in the industry!
I guess someone will realise ‘yet again’ that some targets should be set for a manager, failing which there should be consequences. Three years of millions spent and finishing 5th is not a process, making mistakes and correcting it is not a good thing if those mistakes ‘shouldn’t’ have been made in first place.
Short one today, monsoon has arrived in this part of the world. Hope everything is all right for you, thank you for making LiR a better place for Gooners.
in more recent days, there has been plenty of speculative banter surrounding the notion that our absentee landlord and/or his wannabe Bond villain son want “final” say when it comes to the acquisition process…of course, this is their prerogative, I just find it difficult to believe that this could be a stumbling block considering the fact that we just paid over the number for someone who appeared to be off most people’s/team’s radars…so if this is the case and the Kroenke’s are balking at the notion of making more substantial investments this off-season, why would we pursue this course of action before properly redressing our most pressing needs…the whole argument seems incredibly counter-intuitive, in that if I was MA and I knew that I had a finite amount of funds available to me, I would logically prioritize those positional needs that were of the utmost import…as such, the Vieira buy suggests that either this whole argument is bogus or maybe MA’s earlier statements weren’t to be believed, regarding our TW objectives moving forward…another cake and eat it too PR-contrived moment of nonsense, I would suspect, meant to provide our MIT and his administrative sidekick with another built-in excuse should they fail to meet expectations
as for the whole top 5 gig, in no particular order, Dortmund, Sevilla, San Siro, Monaco and for some old school reason, Craven Cottage
TRVL
You’re right. It’s as if anyone with even a tenuous connection to Arsenal can see we need a striker but Tets and the Director of Bunga Bunga know better and are looking elsewhere. I just read some typical BS that we could be signing de Tomas from Espanyol however…
Nice club choices by the way.
Vow, what pub banter. LONDON IS RED and now the most beautiful blog to come to. Open your IPad and the pint lads, the good times are on.
Thank you Ambarish
Thank you all guys who post here
Kroenke
I always thought Pedro was a little bit holier than thou and too impressed by anything that is the latest fad but I always knew he loved Arsenal.
Now he’s an Arteta supporter first and foremost and anything or anyone who gets in the way or disagrees is a threat.
It’s a pretty sad way to exist.
Vieira oh oh
Vieira oh oh oh oh
Thank God in Portugal
Never saw Artetaball
Vieira……….
I do like technically gifted midfielders. If we get a couple of physical,yet mobile, players to support saka,esr,Vieira, Ode, it will be interesting to see if Arteta can evolve his footballing style. Big if on the DM though,can’t help but feel that Xhaka and Elneny are all we’re going to have come the start of the season. Would be very worried about having Eddie or Jesus( if he even comes) as our striking options. Both can disappear for long periods. LB and keeper are also big problems for me. Need more than just a constant buy a new toy policy. A playing style would be nice.
” it will be interesting to see if Arteta can evolve his footballing style”
Arteta has a footballing style? – must have missed that during one of those naps at the stadium that seem to have started hitting me during the last 2 1/2 years.
Marc,
I’m going to say it one more time ala Mel Gibson in ‘conspiracy theory’. Someone at the club reached out financially to the influential bloggers,whether that was with promise of ‘contacts’, future roles or benefits of some kind,they were bought!! Hang in there Mb,we’re putting together a package to keep you on the side of good. Remember,if you’re reading this,you ARE the resistance…….
Cheers Kroenkephobe
ever since we lowered the organizational bar, visa vie the “self-sustaining” stadium ruse, we’ve constantly tripped over our collective dicks whenever we’ve had a built-in excuse for failure…whether it be the refs/VAR, shoehorning players, late TW recruitment practices, never properly replacing Vieira, selling our best and brightest, oil-rich clubs, not buying in January, claims about there not being “good enough” players to purchase, hiring a system-based coach yet giving him no say in personnel and, among others, appointing a novice manager to undertake a massive “rebuild”, there’s been a whole host of self-inflicted scenarios that have been subsequently used to explain away our shortcomings…so when I heard this whole ownership “stumbling block” narrative, it made me logically cringe.
Almunia
like yourself, I’m very skeptical of MA’s ability to get the best out of his players, tactically-speaking, as what we’ve witnessed thus far certainly doesn’t imbue me with confidence…simply put, if we don’t rid ourselves of our on-field tactical albatross, Xhaka, and he’s still the first or second name on the selection sheet, I don’t see us competing for anything minus a late season push for 4th or 5th again…of course, this is a quite worrisome proposition considering our late season schedule, which doesn’t favour a team who isn’t willing to shore things up in the winter window…I likewise worry about our potential diminutive Striker pairing, for a variety of obvious reasons, and I just wish we had tabled the “luxury” buys until we addressed our most glaring needs, which I hoped would include a Striker with size and pace
“Hang in there Mb,we’re putting together a package to keep you on the side of good. Remember,if you’re reading this,you ARE the resistance…….”
Haha, I would rather put a ‘Buy me a coffee’ in the sidebar and ask them to jog off.
I agree with your point though, someone’s reaching out to ‘influencers’ to paint a good picture of what’s going on. Could just be a conspiracy theory but some people I know who were critical of finishing 4th under Wenger with free flowing football with ‘young’ players, are now happy with mediocrity.
8th/8th/5th.. with a first half display against City in a game we lost?
Joke Wednesday.
That first preseason game away in Nuremberg could be a bit of a trial…
Maybe us truth telling LiR’ers could get a minibus and make a trip of it. Calling at all points between the US and India. I daresay there’ll be a friendly with Borehamwood somewhere along the line which we’ll lose disgracefully.
That’s the other thing with our so-called leaders at the club-they’ve completely sucked the joy, excitement and anticipation our of pre-season. Results don’t seem to matter and neither do performances. I can remember it being realistically viewed as a barometer for what was to come. Now if its shit, the retort is, stop being a bedwetter or some such shit. We were fucking terrible last year. They must do better! 😠
Kroenkephobe,
You’re jumping the gun there,none of us know which games are pre season until Arteta announces when our season starts. 2 years ago it didn’t begin til after Xmas. Last year it began in September. Maybe one of the ‘influencers’ will leak it……..
Nice one Almunia
Relatively, I’d say we had a hugely easy and gentle start to this coming season. Indeed, I’m going to stick my neck out here and say we should be in the top 2 or three by the end of September. October looks, err, a little messier. I can’t think of a single instance since the early 2000s where we have been presented with a tough sequence of 5 or 6 fixtures and come out of the back of it thinking we’d got the better of the teams we faced. The odd victory (often pyrrhic) sure, but not a sequence. In GG’s time, I used to look forward to those clusters of games, knowing the lads would fight like tigers and find a way. Happier days.
none of us know which games are pre season until Arteta announces when our season starts
I think he’ll leave that to his secret cultish double agents operating behind enemy lines, Tony Lord Haw Whore Attwood and double-o-bullshit Pedfinger.
If Bond was a blogger he’d be the cool, suave geezer running LiR, our very own incorruptible Ambarish!
Of course, I would be over the moon if, as some pundits seem to be suggesting, that there will be a sizeable transfer kitty again this summer…with this in mind, it’s absolutely imperative that we get this right or the consequences could be dire
(1) it’s highly unlikely that this trend would continue in subsequent summers, unless we overachieved table-wise and/or in Europe, thus guaranteeing CL football next season, or if we sold off some of our most valued blue-chip assets
(2) if we focus too much on quantity over quality and things go pear-shaped, for whatever reason, things could spiral quickly…it’s doubtful that any top tier manager would come into our club if they knew they’re weren’t going to be properly backed, which could very well be the case, especially on the heels of back-to-back summer spending sprees
what candidate of consequence would want anything to do with this gig if they knew their respective transfer budget was directly tied to their willingness to sell off their best and brightest assets immediately upon arriving…the shipping out of one’s budding young stars is certainly no way to endear oneself to a new fanbase
(3) regardless of all the “hopeful” chatter coming from management-types regarding a 3, 4 or 5 year plan, that’s not usually how things work in the PL; keeping in mind, that this experiment started two and a half years ago, so by the end of “their” year 5, it would be a couple months shy of 8 years in the “real” world
the world of professional football is far too unpredictable and transient in nature nowadays to ever project so far into the future…for those without the monetary means it’s all about “windows in time”, where whenever those with the deepest pockets and/or best administrative/managerial teams falter, even the tiniest bit, you must be willing to act swiftly and decisively…this is why many still consider the summer of Cech as the proverbial straw when it came to the Wenger debate
now there’s no way such an obvious “opening” is coming anytime soon, with Halland City-bound and Klopp quickly “retooling”, with Mane gone and Salah likely not too far behind, but the latter might encounter a slight dip following next season and it might take a few years for United to reestablish itself as a powerhouse player…this is why I believe the Spuds have brought in Conte and our appearing to back his project…so for us to get our foot in the door we have to be ready to pounce by securing a CL spot this year and going all in next…this can’t be done unless we opt for quality over quantity this TW
no “that”
TRVL
The problem with the fanboy’s 3,4 or 5 year plan is they keep telling us it starts now and then move it back to next season.
The truth is just like Kroenke says on when pre season is over the plan will be forever just on the horizon with results in the gutter.
Marc
I thought I’d break the habit of a lifetime and do the smallest bit of research (unlike that researchophobe Almunia…)
Jam tomorrow is an expression for a never-fulfilled promise. Some pleasant event in the future, which is never likely to materialize. It originates from Lewis Carroll’s 1871 book Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There
The interesting bit about the ‘jam tomorrow’ definition is that it ‘is never likely to materialise’. Mañana, mañana for mugs and fanboys in Arteta’s case.
Can you believe the amount of smoke Pravda Pedro is currently trying to blow up Bunga Bunga Edu’s expensively waxed a-hole? It brought a lump of sick to my mouth.
Kroenke
It’s top level propaganda – praise Edu for being part of the Arteta ascension which then sets him up to take the blame if any signings don’t work out.
We both know Edu doesn’t take a breadth without Arteta’s permission – a real DOF would never accept the member of staff they’re supposed to manage being on the same level (or higher) than they are.
All the current talk is that Arteta is going to go for a 4-3-3 – if that’s the case why the fuck has it taken 2 1/2 years and 4 transfer window’s (I’ll give Arteta the benefit of the doubt for the Jan after he took over) to decide on what formation he prefers?
It’s all about keeping the illusion going and making the fan boys keep onside with the belief that paradise awaits those who believe.
It’s now worse than a cult.
Really retrograde day in the US yesterday. Full of bullshit thinking, pandering to suspect and corrupt philosophies, and succumbing to the worst kind of propaganda spouted by ill-educated sycophants.
Right, that’s Pedro’s latest cack about Jesus and Arteta taken care of. Did anything else happen over there by the way?
Kroenkephobe
He is having a baby girl. But hold it. It will require sleepless nights and changing of diapers for this to effect any change in such man.
Until then the manager’s acolyte will do, although that calling out feels raw and is binable offence
Considering how lobbed balls tactics Arsenal plays now Lukaku would be a better fit for Arsenal and might cost same or less than G Jesus.
Gabriel Jesus is just a slight upgrade on Eddie particularly in hold up play. Lukaku , on the other hand would offer another dimension.Drawback is his pinning for Juventus, but supporters there have started calling him a traitor, so that infatuation might cool.
Hi Hoopah
I’ve also got a sneaking suspicion that Lukaku would have been an astute acquisition. How many games have we lost or drawn in the past 15 years where crosses were raining in but no one seemed ready or able to connect with them. It’s astonishing how far his reputation has fallen – he was the difference in the hone loss to Chelsea at the beginning of last season. I really don’t know a huge amount about Jesus but I struggle with the idea that he has the mental toughness and physicality to get those short range, putting your head in the way goals that we so sorely lack. I also don’t see how Jesus alive is going to add another 25-30 goals necessary to make us contenders.
Have you kids of your own? My three arrived in a very short space of time (twins being part if the reason!) and life hasn’t been the same since (and not in an entirely good way).
Enjoy the rest of the weekend mate. Not sure if there is any test cricket going on in India at the moment, but there is a hell of a series taking place here between NZ and England.
Alive = alone. Not even I’m daft enough to suggest Jesus (the other one that is) is alive!
Why we’re looking at Jesus has got any rational fan stumped – he’s not a bad player but he’s not the type of striker Arteta’s style of (anti) football has been crying out for.
I’m coming round to the idea that Arteta’s actual plan is to keep us in a perpetual state of rebuild always just a player or two from being ready to compete that way he doesn’t have to meet any targets.
Hi Marc
It’s curious isn’t it the way he’s not held to account the way managers of other big teams are. It’s the last thing you’d expect from the money grubbing vultures who must at least occasionally question the bottom line, if not on field success. Tets must have some pretty salacious photos of Stan or Josh (or Stan AND Josh).
But despite their unchecked stupidity and supine strategy, even they must be thinking Tets will be on borrowed time the minute there’s a return to last season’s spells of poor form.
That idea of permanently needing reform or just 3 more signings etc. certainly accords with the jam tomorrow philosophy.
Wenger became a major bullshitter as his tenure wore on (and on and on and on zzzz) but compared to the current crew….
Hi Almunia
Was just about to rush home to watch it, but I see Mayo have beaten Kerry. Another narrow victory. Did you watch it? Are you sober?
Dublin v Cork. 1 point each early on. Who would Mayo prefer in the semis?
Kroenkephobe,
Am at a wedding,flat out over the last week with family stuff. Mayo beat Kerry in the minor( u-17). The senior match is tomorrow, 3.45 I think. They are serious underdogs. Catch up in a few days. Looks like we’ve got our own ‘Arsenal Jesus’ as Depeche Mode said. Not the man for me but good luck to him.
Aha! Too good to be true then. Fingers crossed for tomorrow. Enjoy the wedding mate. And give it the big one on the karaoke. 🍻