Ok, in the excitement of a win and three important points that extended our lead to 4 points at the top, I was a bit carried away about our performance. Looking back now, we got away with all points in a game we would have otherwise lost. Leeds were ferocious in the second half, should have scored the penalty and couple more and we simply didn’t have an answer to their pressing.
A day of drama, when the game was delayed by more than half an hour due to a power outage (?), an unbelievable goal from Saka, a penalty miss and a penalty plus red card overturned by VAR in stoppage time, is a good day when you come back home with a win.
That second half performance needs to be forgotten by everyone bar Ramsdale. Our defenders were poor including Saliba who made couple of mistakes, one of them was awarded a penalty which Bamford missed. We had ONLY 27% possession in second half against a team which was sitting in 15th position, think about that for once.
What was Gabriel thinking, kicking Bamford in stoppage time in our own box? Coz if he was trying to imitate Patrick Vieira’s kick on Van Nistelrooy, it wasn’t the right time (and match, Man U or Spu*s can be forgiven lol). Thank goodness to the initial contact and foul from Bamford that the penalty and red card was reversed, that could have costed us 2 points and his unavailability for the next game because of a straight red.
Partey was not up to his own standards, Ode was missing and Xhaka took a sabbatical. Considering everything, the football gods were on our side.
A ran a poll last night and the result won’t surprise you.
Enough of moaning, here’s the spicy thing. We are sitting on top of the table, with a 4 point lead against Man City who lost to Liverpool yesterday. That also means we can celebrate the ‘Invincibles Day’ only after 10 games this season.
I have been seeing lots of negativity on Twitter about Gabriel. However, we must not forget he is part of a team who has played 10 and won 9 of them, he has started all of them and is an integral part of the back 4. If you try enough, you can find fault in Messi but lets cut him some slack, he is doing well and I’m sure the manager is coaching him out of those mistakes gradually.
Saka scored yet again, that’s like 4 goals in recent 3 matches. People were complaining about him a month back! Heck, there were people criticising Ramsdale, who was MOTM with some brilliant saves.
Lets enjoy the ride while we can. 3 important points, top of the league with 4 points difference, players full of confidence and a bit of luck. Our next four Premier League games are against Southampton (A), Forest (H), Chelsea (A), Wolves (A). On a good day, we can win all of them and that would mean we go into the world cup break with one of the best points tally in recent times.
Here’s to the Monday, hope you had a nice weekend.
Cheers Ambarish
A thought-provoking write up. Winning in an ugly way, but it’s all about how Tets and the players respond in the next few games. I sense Marsch may have offered other teams a blueprint for making results closer against us.
In the second half, you could almost imagine the ghost of Bielsa sitting on his bucket admiring March and his tactics.
Arteta’s histrionics spread panic throughout the team. That situation yesterday called for calm heads and getting back to basics. Oh, and playing a few long balls when Leeds’s ferocious pressing was paying off. Instead, the team suffered a collective evaporation of confidence. Even during breaks in play in the second half, Tets radiated paranoia and fear in the way he talked to players. It simply doesn’t help. Wenger was able to instill calm in his team at difficult moments and GG was a past master. This guy puts everyone on edge and it’ll cost us. Leaders are meant to be calm and be able to soak up pressure – we were protecting a lead for fuck’s sake. He still imagines himself as the big swinging dick in the middle of midfield. He needs to trust his players and calm the fuck down, rather than pouring petrol on a fire. I thought he was the weak link during yesterday’s game. Let the fucking players play.
KP
Rightly so. But I guess this comes as a side effect of fielding a young team coupled with a young manager.
Ambarish
Quite. In other words, not an ideal mix. I’m starting to question if Arteta has the right temperament for top level management. I think he suffers from what the French call ‘tete brulee’. Aka hot-headedness and by extension volatility and over emotionality. He’s also badly lacking in self-awareness more generally. It’s a serious problem in an environment like this. It’s (another) side of his personality that he should do better at suppressing. In mitigation, it’s a weakness that afflicts a lot of managers (neither Pep nor Klopp are immune and Conte seldom shows proper self-control). I think it’s an area he should be told to improve on. If you look at top level US sports, head coaches tend to be far less demonstrative/emotional and it sends a positive message to players and fans in my view.
More ‘sang froid’. 🇨🇵
Absolutely right K’Phobe I don’t believe Arteta is sustainable as a top flight manager unless he’s like Pep with unlimited funds. Both are similar personalities: fast speakers and emotionally demonstrative that never helps calm players; just makes them more nervous.
More than ever the wheels looked like they had finally fallen off our wagon for the 2nd half against Leeds. It had been coming for some time.
We’d warmed up to that 2nd half performance with 15 minutes & 25 minutes in our previous 2 games. That said, I completely read the Leeds game wrong and looked more towards Leeds’ away form forgetting they smashed the Chavs 3:0 at Elland Road. My bad! I thought they’d run out of gas around 70 minutes and we’d clean up in the last 15.
I think there WC suits us more than any club because Mikel will have 4+ weeks to have another fitter pre season before the PL resumes.
First, though, Mikel has to stop us being ragged chasing the ball we keep giving away for long periods or we won’t be top by the time the WC starts. Backs to the wall defending will soon become porous and leaking goals.
More rotation for the pre WC games so we can still train during the WC and not our top players needing a holiday.
Mikel needs a speech therapist and body language specialist and maybe meds to slow Mikel down some.
From the remaining 4 games until the World Cup it should be doable to get 12 points with the only one questionable being the game away against the Chavs on Nov 6th. 10 points would also be satisfying, anything but 9 points would be disappointing, but I like where we are in the table
In the meantime I am loving the shit show that is called Brokelona or Farcelona their situation is so similar to Arsenal’s when Arteta was brought in. I am glad how things have turned out for us for the moment and that we dodged a few bullets like getting Vlah and it looks like also Raphina now a shadow of what he did at Leeds. We might be even make some money if Brokelona is coming for Tets.
Jan TW if we don’t get a DM to cover Partey the drums are again being beaten, a repeat failure of the last Jan TW by Edu And Arteta if we don’t get Top 4.
A plethora of excellent sports events coming our way in November WC and the Rugby Autumn Series, bring it on.
There’s no denying being top of the league is intoxicating where we have a blooming squad of young & exciting players. I’ve never doubted the players bar Xhaka’s skill sets being relegated when played in slo-motion. The man who has won numerous Keeper-of-the-Keys awards needs to be our bench leader. He seems well liked and energises the younger players, and has roles to play this season, just not every game.
The last 3 games we’ve been overrun in midfield: Partey, as good as he is, cannot run a midfield with our pacy front foot game. Employing ridiculously high lines is just playing Russian roulette, as was exemplified by Leeds who luckily fired blanks all game.
I don’t know what LIR’s readers and Gooners alike think, but I’d say we are as vulnerable as we are strong at the top. Oxymoron it may be, but that’s how we play. For a while we’re unplayable and then we aren’t for alarmingly & increasingly long periods during a game.
It’s these playable periods in a game we need to shorten and finally eliminate to achieve our credentials of the title’s rightful challengers for this and for many seasons to come.
All eyes on Mikel then.
Hi All.
I apologise for my laziness in posting, as I said, I’m at the apathy stage supporting Arsenal, even on these runs.
Your point about Marsch is spot on, KP, we rode our luck in the second half at Leeds. It’s ok to play out from the back with elite centre halves like Beckenbaur etc, but we just don’t have them (yet), which means Arsenal have a vulnerability in their back line that too often can be panicked into costly mistakes.
The best sides mix it up depending on the opposition, Arteta needs to learn this, and show more tactical flexibility. We don’t need to be ‘Barca-lite’ or ‘City-lite’ we should create our own hybrid identity, which Arsenal can take to OT and impose their superiority instead of going there with the same tactical plan every year and passively handing them 3 points.
The victories against Spurs and especially Liverpool are good progress, but despite looking good at OT, United won far too comfortably.
I do think the Saliba – Gabriel partnership has great potential and is probably the best centre-back partnership we’ve had since Sol Campbell and Kolo Toure. I hope the club can tie Saliba down to a long term contract (along with Saka and Martinelli).
Arsenal need to remain grounded, there is momentum building, and if the wind blows our way it could be our ‘Leicester – 2016’ season.
To maintain this trajectory, I would hope Arsenal are proactive in January with an upgrade on Elneny, and proper cover for Bukayo Saka, who we rely on far too heavily. We could also struggle if Jesus or Martinelli suffer any medium term injuries, mainly because Smith-Rowe is currently unreliable (*not his fault), and there is a big drop in ability from Jesus to Eddie Nketiah.
Wenger’s Scrooge-like complacency cost Arsenal the PL title in 2014, when they had a decent lead at the top in January, let’s hope lessons have been learned.
I hope you are all in good health and fine spirit.
Hi Herb and Tony
Some good stuff as usual. I think Arteta is arguably more addicted to this playing from the back (PFTB) mantra than even Emery was. Ramsdale ought to be given the authority to tell the players to squeeze the space halfway up the pitch and play into that more often. Do it for a 10 minute period if we’re under pressure and disabuse the opposition that they can just keep pressing. Then get the midfield to earn their corn by fighting like tigers to secure possession in the opposing half. Its old skool and doesn’t get the fanboys and neutrals purring but it will relieve us of our self imposed siege mentality and all of the Arteta panic that accompanies it. But those long kicks have to be properly contested – we can’t just cede possession and let teams like Leeds run at us again.
Leeds looked like world beaters at that style of play on Sunday it has to be said. All of their passing was progressive, hi-energy and designed to stretch us. It nearly paid off for them (and probably would have 1-3 seasons ago) . But in amongst the chaos, I think we’re starting to see the makings of a steeliness in the team. Nevertheless, I maintain that Arteta’s flapping – and trying to project himself onto the pitch – must be a major distraction for the players.
For my part it drives me fucking nuts, so much do that I’m thinking of putting masking tape across the bottom four inches of my screen so that I can start enjoying it again!
Herb
I agree about the window as well. What do you think of this Danilo kid in Brazil? I’d imagine we’d be a major attraction for Brazilian kids looking to prove themselves… In any case, we urgently need to think beyond Elneny you’re right.
I’ve been watching a bit of Patino and Miguel Azeez. The former looks like he’ll be ready soon and Azeez isn’t far behind.
Hi Kilroy
Not sure if you’re also a cricket fan but the T20 WC is also on the verge of starting. I think 4 or 5 teams could win it which is bonkers considering how few big teams there are to start with: India, Australia, SA or England I think. Its a massive lottery these games so it’ll be incident packed.
Ms Kroenkephobe has already cottoned onto the fact that there’s rather a lot of sports on telly. I’m doomed!
Hi KP
I know absolutely nothing about Danilo other than a few posters on LG saying we should sign him, but those who have mentioned him say he’s better than Douglas Luiz, and with our Brazilian contingent he should have no problem settling.
Patino is getting rave reviews, it would be good to see him integrated into the first team squad next season, and potentially could save us £millions if he can make the grade.
I vaguely remember Raphael Meade, KP, he burst into the team and scored a couple of goals, but for some reason wasn’t able to make the step up, which I suppose is why we bought Mariner and Woodcock. Typical Arsenal even back then, buying star names whose best days were behind them!
Yes KP, we’re awash with sport atm, Rugby League WC, Women’s Rugby WC, Cricket (which I’ve been out of touch with since they split the County Championship into two separate Divisions), as well as football practically every day.
We have to go strong at home against PSV because I think they’ll beat us in the Netherlands.
Maybe we can get away with resting a few first team players against Southampton, who look like they could be relegation fodder.
Arteta also has to use Gabby Jesus wisely too with him being on four yellows, so I’d probably start Nketiah against Saints.
Hi Herb/KP, Mikel has a history of running players to the point they lose their edge. Jesus is getting battered on and off the ball – collateral damage I believe defenders call it. He needs a recovery period.
On that and a purely selfish note I hope Jesus and Martinelli don’t get a seat on the plane to Qatar as they’ll be needed for the rest of the season.
It doesn’t look as Mikel has full confidence in Eddie N; same as last season. Eddie’s upped his game this season, but needs to start a few games. Thing is we don’t want an injury to Jesus to facilitate Eddie getting a run of games. Integrate Eddie more with Jesus and Gabs to explore what chemistry they can bring together. Mikel has these myopic fixations with players and small player groups: Xhaka a current prime example. Xhaka should be on the bench for real high tempo pressing games.
I feel we miss Smith Rowe. He’s the nearest thing we’ve got to Freddie L with late runs into the box and ability to shoot from outside the box. I’m really hoping for the lad’s injury nightmare to be finally over.
Khayon Edwards a 19yo who’s pulling trees up in the U21s got the bench against Bodo. He’d have to be sensational to do it in the PL, but he should get game time early in the league cup etc.
Mikel has got to up his game with the Hale Enders and youth in the squad say they can be a seamless fit when needed.
What really baffles me is how can a guy like Laurentiis, running Napoli, can find a winger that has now been dubbed Kvaradonna and our scouting department comes up with nada, zip on a winger choice. You have to question how we find players. The mega rich and most well known clubs buy from feeder clubs and follow what the media praises and therefore what the fans want, Raphina going to Brokelona. We didn’t do that with our young stars and need to continue that way.
We need to follow Napoli’s example they play some of the most exciting football and ATM no one wants to play against them. They did all of that while letting Mertens, Ruiz, Insigne and Khoulabali leave while at the same time cut their wage bill by 30%.
We do have a tricky situation in renewing the contracts of 4 of our players Saka, Martinelli, Saliba and Ramsdale. I am a firm believer in rewarding a player for his performance and tear up a contract if it is not on par with what other that have similar performance earn. But that could inflate your wage bill.
Looks like that Saka is in an advanced stage of his contract negotiations and you know that Martinelli’s agent will use that in their negotiations.
Final thought, tie those guys that go to the WC down to a new contract before they play just in case they have a superb WC and their valuation just went through the roof. I am looking at you Saliba. I don’t believe Jesus will make it to Qatar even though Richarleson is injured.
From the Mirror’s article on KSE:
“Stan Kroenke is facing a whopping $571million (£504m) payout with NFL owners expected to approve a resolution over the Rams’ fiercely disputed relocation from St. Louis to Los Angeles. The NFL owners are due to meet in New York on Tuesday, where the league will waive the league’s limit on allowable debt in order for Kroenke to make the payment. ”
Hope this will not effect our Jan TW purchasing of much needed players.
Hi Tony
It seems Mertesacker is doing a sterling job in the development of our Youth Academy, we have some real quality who need professional nurturing. And those that do breakthrough and make an impact will need to be convinced that the club’s ambitions are aligned with their own. I agree, this will be a huge test of Arteta’s credentials.
But he seems to be the chosen one, the Kroenke’s have already spent a King’s ransom to bail him out and present him as anywhere near competent. The way Josh treats Arteta, you’d be forgiven for believing his and Pep’s CV were the other way round.
But we’re top, 4pts clear of City and Spurs, 8 and 11 ahead of Chelsea and United – who meet this weekend – 14 ahead of Liverpool (which could realistically be 11 after the weekend).
If Arteta doesn’t qualify for the CL with some comfort he needs feeding to sharks.
On a positive note, he is currently my favourite Spaniard in the PL, but the fact remains when calculating how much each PL point costs in £’s, last season, both PV and Potter easily outperformed our lego-haired Catalonian maestro.
“If Arteta doesn’t qualify for the CL with some comfort he needs feeding to sharks”.
I’d say CG should supply a few great whites, as Mikel would only get gummed to death by Looe’s basking sharks down Cornwall way.
I felt for Mertesaker, as I always felt he played in mental & emotional pain both for Germany and us by being so hard on himself and the pain in his eyes. Injured for the longest time then came back after one game to put in a GOAT performance against Chelsea to help us win the FA cup was the stuff heroes are made of. Holding came of age that day, too.
When it came out Mert suffered from crippling anxiety or similar before games and throughout his career, I felt nothing but admiration and respect for the BFG. When he was appointed to our youth set up I felt he was the complete guy to take on such a role after an initial reservation if the pressure would be too much? However, a big loss was Freddie who the Hale Enders loved and respected greatly, and Mert found the job cathartic if you look at the positives with our youth set up and Meet looking happy in interviews.
A captain on the field and a nurturing leader off it.
What we’re seeing now is the product of their hard and dedicated work. A minority will join Saka and hopefully ESR. The majority will repay their footballing education with sale proceeds as they move on for their careers.
I’d love to see Freddie back and Bergkamp join as a AM/ST coach, but I doubt Mikel would embrace it as he’d see them as Threats instead of Strengths or Opportunities.
Personally, I’d leave Wenger to FIFA and strengthen not only our back room coaches, but also strengthen the global brand with Freddie, Dennis and Martin Keown adding an Invincible touch and second to none footballing tutelage. It’s a PR’s dream to market and increase an already good feel-good factor around The Arsenal.
Sadly, too big personalities for insecure Mikel to embrace even if it could help him win the title.
I agree wholeheartedly about Mert, Freddie and the promise of vast numbers of youth players on our books. It was sad that Omari Hutchinson jumped ship. He’d been at the club a long time and after seeing clips of him as a young player I had high hopes for him. I can’t believe his advisors had his best interests at heart though when they steered him towards Chelsea of all clubs (a graveyard for young players if ever there was one). In all, there must be 20 odd names of kids who could make it to the pro ranks. Maybe if you spoke to a semi knowledgeable Spurs or West Ham fan, they’d iffer the same opinion about their own youth players. But thanks to Freddie and Mert chiefly, I think the home grown future looks good. Personally, I’d love to see many of them coming to Cardiff for their apprenticeships but that’s another story.
Aaah Tony,
Seeing Denno back at Arsenal would be like a dream come true. He and Paddy prowling the touchline with GG ‘upstairs’ (keeping order but with no financial authority ahem!). The dream team.
Just hearing about the renewed threat of a euro super league. And there was me, believing the Kroenkes that they were sorry and that normal order was to be restored….
Kroenke
It’s going to happen one way or the other. Personally if it’s set up right – running alongside the PL not replacing it with some form of promotion / relegation then I don’t really have a problem with it. It’s the clubs deciding “why should we let UEFA make money off us?”
Hi Marc
I’m absolutely certain it will irrevocably damage the English top flight (whatever it’ll be called in the brave new world). Euro football (about which l care much less) will also nosedive as a spectacle. There’s an outside risk that our club and its traditions will be diminished. London SpursyGunners v London ChelskiLAdodgerrentboys, live from Singapore at 3am London time. Any takers?
Watching any games tonight?
Hi Kroenke,
If they go down a path of spreading the matches about like you say it’ll kill it stone dead and for a number of reasons. Just my immediate thought on a few of them – the reason the PL is so successful is busy grounds full of passionate fans, you might get a few fans in God knows where be noisy but they won’t match “real” fans. Long distance travel mid week will so undermine the PL matches that the “real” fans will start to stay away and all competitions will suffer – this will then snowball into fan demonstrations etc.
The only way this works is as a Euro league alongside the PL, have 2 divisions of whatever number of teams, the lower league is made up of 3 teams relegated from the upper plus other teams from the major European divisions the top three are promoted.
If they think they can turn PL teams into full on franchises they’ll come unstuck so quick they won’t know if they’re on their heads or their arses.
Anyway, very pleasing to see Spurs losing, and in the awful kit.
Arsenal women’s team were brilliant last night. They beat current CL champions Lyon 5-1 away. Huge achievement after struggling to beat Reading on Sunday. 6pm kick off tonight lads. Don’t forget!
New post!