I have spent most of this morning thinking of a new format for the blog and.. I just can’t come up with anything. That’s not entirely true. I came up with an idea, I just don’t know if I can implement it.
The problem with a semi-daily blog is that things change rapidly. Yesterday, Arsenal beat Chelsea and for a lot of people that win erased some doubts that they had about Unai Emery and this Arsenal team. I can’t say that it erased any doubts for me.
But if I say that I’ll be criticized for being “too negative”. In fact, just yesterday James (from Arseblog) posted this on twitter: “I heard people say we needed Ozil to create chances. I heard people say playing Guendouzi, Xhaka and Torreira was fielding “three DMs”. Unai Emery knows a lot more about tactics than any of us. Let him do his work.”
I replied that it’s a weird take from a guy who spent the last 5 years making a living off criticizing the Arsenal managers and he said that he doesn’t exempt himself from this latest position. Which is cool. I guess he’s not going to criticize Unai anymore. That’s bold and I wish him the best. It’s not at all in my DNA to be 100% behind anything.
That’s my thing. I doubt and question everything. Yep, it’s exhausting and a lot of folks hate it but when I put voice to the same questions that you have then that post is loved, by those people. In short, I am that a-hole defensive midfielder that everyone hates to play against but loves to have on their team.
These constantly questioning and probing posts about the club packs my writing with more uncertainty than Schrodinger’s cat. You never know what I’m going to post from day to day. Maybe you like that? Some of you must because you Spuds are here all the time.
For example, and I’m just going to reveal my real thoughts for a few minutes, here’s what I have thought about Unai Emery this season:
When he was announced: this guy is a bum, I have grave concerns about his record at PSG. Fought with players constantly, marginalized quality players who didn’t fit into his system, didn’t win the League with them in the first season, his PSG side were error prone that first season, and worst of all was the defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League. It wasn’t just that – billed by some as the greatest comeback in sports history – I also remember Wenger’s team playing well against PSG and how his PSG side looked weird. His record against Mourinho and Simeone is also regrettably poor.
Loses the first two games: Ok this is kind of what I expected but he’s here now and I hope that he can get us organized defensively and helps us with possession. Maybe his new signings will help, though I do have a laugh that we have become “Overthirty FC”. At least we have a DM, when he plays.
August to October: the results are coving up for some real defensive frailty. Why isn’t the new “steele in midfield” working? Come on dude, get the defense working. I guess I gotta give this guy more time.
October and November: Big wins over Leicester and Fulham, Arsenal are playing it out from the back! Underlying numbers look crap but to be expected because of the 8 goals we just scored. I go on Arseblog to tell everyone to remain calm, let’s wait to see what the numbers really say in a few weeks, like that Iraqi minister of defense saying “there are no bombs going off in Baghdad” as bombs literally go off behind him. That was followed with four draws in five matches, including three draws at home. Emery is ticking me off because he is constantly changing the lineups constantly dropping players at half time. Benches Özil for the first time, maybe this is a good thing? People worried and maybe they should be? I start to maybe criticize him a bit publicly.
December to January 19th: beats Tottenham in stunning fashion, pressing from the front and outworking them in most areas of the pitch, I decide “fuck it” and go all in on Emery’s system (against all of my other inclinations) and sure enough as soon as I commit to this project, they get an awful draw against a Man U team that is crumbling around Jose Mourinho. Arsenal barely beat Huddersfield at home and go on to take 7 points from their next 6 games. Gah. These were winnable games. By the time we play West Ham, the Ozil thing is in full blown crisis mode, the players look stripped of their confidence, Mislintat is rumored to be leaving the club, Emery has said that Arsenal won’t buy any players this January, there is no money in the club, Ramsey signs for Juventus on the cheap, and there is a letter circulating around Arsenal telling every department to cut costs. We are six months in to this new project and Arsenal still can’t defend, the away defensive record is atrocious, individual errors are rampant (again), and worst of all there is no coordinated press (it’s evaporated since the Spurs match) nor does Arsenal seem to have the ability to play out from the back. WHY DID I GO ALL IN???
Arsenal beat Chelsea…
And the thing about that is that I kind of expected it. We were at home, where our form is excellent and Chelsea aren’t our bogey team anymore.
What I didn’t expect was that Emery would come out with a full on defensive performance at home. I thought he might stick a man on Jorginho but that was about it. Instead he played 3 defensive midfielders (Ramsey on Jorg, Torreira and Guen low, Xhaka isn’t a defensive anything) and conceded possession. Chelsea are one of the top possession teams in the League. If they get themselves a real striker (not Fat Higuain) they could challenge City/Liverpool for the title but I still didn’t expect a defense first approach. So kudos to him, the New Tinkerman, for tinkering once again and coming up with a winning formula. Arsenal are now three points closer to them and the top of the table is bunched.
But I think Man U is going to catch us and I think that’s going to happen in the last ten games of the season if not sooner, after we play Man City away on February 3rd. But those last ten games, where we play 6/10 away against Tottenham, Wolves, Everton, Leicester, Watford and Burnley, are the games that are going to sink our season.
This is especially true because Arsenal don’t have a right back now that Bellerin is down with an ACL. I hope that the club would invest in that position but I doubt they will. I know that this opinion will hack some of you off, I get it – I really want Maitland-Niles to be a good player too – but the right back options are extremely limited.
Maitland-Niles is young and maybe a good run of games will improve his play but in Saturday’s match he made ridiculous passes and just looked mediocre. Ever since he said he wanted to play as an attacking midfielder he has looked poor in possession – his dribbles and crosses are not quality. That’s not the same as saying I won’t support the lad, I love him and wish him the best, I’m just saying that in my eyes he’s not that great. Maybe he will prove me wrong.
The other RB options are awful. Lich is not capable of playing but you can sort of see why Emery picked him: because when AMN plays, he makes a lot of errors. The other option there is Carl Jenkinson and that’s not realistic. I know a lot of fans like him because of his #ArsenalBedsheets but if you watch him play you have to admit that he’s not at the level required to be a starter on a top four team.
Unless.. Unai can pull a rabbit out of his hat and stop Arsenal conceding goals on away days I think we are in for a bumpy finish. Or maybe it’s not bumpy. Maybe it’s just smooth sailing to 6th place. Perhaps he’ll even win the Europa League. If we make it to the final against Chelsea, I’d put money on Arsenal winning.
You see what I mean? I see too many sides of things. I like Maitland-Niles, I don’t think he’s great. I am concerned about Unai but I’ll support him. I love that Arsenal beat Chelsea but I fear that we aren’t strong enough to finish top four. I think that we could still qualify for CL, though, especially if we face Chelsea in the final of the EL. I know, I’m infuriating. I’m sorry. Do you at least understand where I’m coming from? And maybe why I want to try to take a longer look at things?
I don’t think I can do it. Maybe I’m too much like Emery myself. Too filled with ideas and not great at execution. But every once in a while, we can score a nice win.
“…Unai Emery knows a lot more about tactics than any of us. Let him do his work. I replied that it’s a weird take from a guy who spent the last 5 years making a living off criticizing the Arsenal managers (sic)…”
Was criticizing Wenger who, of course, had over 20 years here and deserved much criticism for the last 1/4th of that run (at least), really seem the same as being critical of a completely new regime less than a season in?
I am fine with whatever you think, or how contradictory they are….just don’t stop writing! Your posts are brilliant.
Seconded
Thirdeded
Ford
Fifthted
James, btw, did a podcast today offering his views, opinions and takes of tactics and much more on Arsenal’s play. How dare he not lay off and let Emery do his work 😉 To his credit, he apologised for an in artful tweet.
Like you, Im not getting too carried away by our Chelsea performance, like many of us did in beating Spurs at home in the league. How did that turn out? Beating a beatable Chelsea does not invalidate your or anyone else’s analysis of Arsenal’s shortcomings. Finishing Top 4 will be hard work, especially when Spurs can win a game after getting a first half caning from Fulham.
btw, we’re lucky and blessed to have a blog with this quality writing and thoughtful commentary too.
Claude – I’m also not overhyping this one. Chelsea are on a downward trajectory, and need help finishing. Salah, Aguero, Kane etc getting those chances against us would have given a different result, I’m afraid. And with Bellerin out for the season, our path to top 4 just keeps getting narrower. Still love our club, but my doubts are starting to overwhelm my hopes. Tim’s pointing out our away-heavy schedule to end the season has furthered my gloomy outlook. Still, I take heart from our performances against the top 6 so far – Pool aside. We can play with anyone on our day, but we don’t have enough of those days.
Well said.
“Chelsea are on a downward trajectory, and need help finishing. Salah, Aguero, Kane etc getting those chances against us would have given a different result, “
What chances ?
The half chance by Hazard in opening minutes Leno seemed to have had covered while it went wide, or the lob by Pedro Arsenal defenders might’ve kept out had it been on target?
These two and Alonso header that skimmed the post were the only chances Chelsea created the whole game.
$hit, Aubameyang could’ve scored more goals from his chances than the whole Chelsea team on the day.
Let’s not create false narratives shall we.
I think that’s all fair except the ungenerous take on James, who is invariably measured in his comments about the club, and a genuinely nice guy to boot!
Your comments about our chances of the top four are spot on. That Bellerin injury is just terrible news. AMN is not up to it, I’m afraid, and any side with any clue will just attack down our right, because they’ll be guaranteed joy. It’s a shame, because I do think Emery is a good manager, but he’s had just rotten luck not just with the personnel at his disposal, but also with injuries to key players. Bellerin is absolutely crucial to our attacking play, and he does his defensive duties remarkably well.
Prior to the Chelsea match, I didn’t believe a win or a loss would make any difference to where we’ll finish, and I stand by that. I had resigned myself to 5th, but 6th is where the smart money is.
I’m not frustrated or angry about any of it. That said, if we’re staring at 6th at this time next year, I’ll be peeved.
He’s a nice guy, yes, but he made a boneheaded comment. Now and again, some people respond to criticism/questioning of the team/club/coach, but urging those doing so to “get behind the team”. As if the 2 things are mutually exclusive.
My big beef is that James was being preachy. I don’t like being told what opinions I should have or how to express my reservations about the manager.
I get that. I didn’t see the tweet, nor did I hear what he said afterwards. My takeaway would have been a) it’s pretty anomalous coming from him, and b) I sort of get what motivates statements like that, given that fans need very little these days to up the toxicity, even for a manager six months into a job. However, I fully appreciate that criticism and analysis is a form of supporting a team.
“I fully appreciate that criticism and analysis is a form of supporting a team.”
Maybe you can enlighten me on this point. Who is the criticism supporting exactly?
Lol, maybe he was referring to those guys on Le Grove?
The only difference is that you are 7am; your thoughts and words sting only because we acknowledge how smart and usually right you are.
I come to this site to read your insight to the game. I go on Le Grove for stupid banter and amusement.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with James’ comment because it’s entirely correct. Emery has forgotten more about these players and about football than any of us have ever known.
“Now and again, some people respond to criticism/questioning of the team/club/coach, but urging those doing so to “get behind the team”. As if the 2 things are mutually exclusive.”
They are mutually exclusive, by definition. If you were an Arsenal player and I showed you blog chock full of negative comments about your team and your play, would you feel supported by that? If you showed up at the stadium on game day and instead of cheering and clapping you instead harangued from the stands about all the ways you felt the team was flawed, would anyone standing around you think you were being supportive? I would like to invite you to tell me in what way fan criticism translates as a form of support to the club and its players. I’ll wait.
“My big beef is that James was being preachy. I don’t like being told what opinions I should have or how to express my reservations about the manager.”
I do not follow him but I think he probably has thousands of followers, most of whom are not as thoughtful as you are. Why take the message personally? It applies to the whole and was not addressed to you. He didn’t say: Tim, from now on this is what you have to believe. He admonished temperance of criticism toward a brand new manager, which seems to me like an entirely reasonable message.
I thought that you didn’t have a twitter account, Doc. So how can you evaluate James’ comments in context, especially as he said that he misspoke? Sports fans have opinions. As does James. As do I. As do you. What are we meant to do? Stay quiet in case we hurt their feelings? Do you think that Aaron Ramsey — excellent on Saturday — was bent out of shape when you compared his shooting skills to Bambi’s 🙂
It was a silly comment by James, and he had the good grace to recognise that it was. Unai Emery yanks Lacazette over boneheaded fans’ booing in a full stadium, because he’s an elite sports manager and is therefore focused and bloody minded. Do you think he’s changing his plans or sobbing into his iMac because of something that Tim wrote or Arseblog said?
This is silly.
I notice you carefully dodged my question, while artfully subverting my point into something it was not, as you fully know! And it wasn’t a silly comment, and if he did retract it, it was probably only because he makes his living by being popular.
FYI I do have a twitter account. I follow #CardioTwitter and nothing else.
Opinions are like ahsoles, you find them everywhere (especially when you’re rotating through GI or navigating a rotary) and they’re seldom pleasant, yet everyone thinks theirs is the nicest, cleanest and so fit for public consumption that they put it out there on a public forum. When you do that you your opinion, others will see it and potentially have their own opinion about your opinion, and it may not be nice. That doesn’t mean they are censoring you. Calling out a bad opinion, as you do so often yourself, is not censorship. I just resisted the urge to type that in all caps because I dislike yelling. There is nothing worse than the person who states something factually incorrect or poorly reasoned on a public forum and then shrilly accuses others of censorship when it’s pointed out that they were in fact mistaken. I am not saying you are stupid, I am saying you were, most likely, incorrect about this and this is why. Big difference.
“FYI I do have a twitter account. I follow #CardioTwitter and nothing else”.
Just after midnight where I am, folks, but I laughed like a rum shop regular. Apologies to the sleeping neighbours 🙂
I think, sir, that that rather proves my point.
No one at Arsenal cares what you or I have to say, here on on twitter. I’ve got pretty healthy self regard, but it does not shade into self importance or delusion.
And yours is a strange argument to make for a guy who’s one of the most vocal people on an Arsenal football blog, and who isn’t short of an opinion or three, on a whole slew of contentious topics!!!
The notion that by having debates questions about a range of things, including tactics, we are not letting Emery “do his work” is patently silly.
Slightly off topic…
The gods of sport are hereby decreeing that all of Stan Kroenke’s teams will benefit from unfair calls against opponents in big games. I cant decide if I’m more peeved on behalf the the Saints for that refeeeing injustice deep in Q4; or the stupid sudden death rules of overtimes, in which a coin toss can effectively decide a game. I’m baffled by those rules regarding tied games.
And oh, I dont know if it’s news, but I read today that Kroenke and Kraft are among owners who gave Trump $1m for his inauguration. Unfortunately, I cant root for them both to lose.
And Tom Brady is reportedly a big Trump fan.
I don’t have a problem with any of it.
Difference of opinions makes for interesting debates.
Most of our opinions are based on speculations and guess work anyways.
To say Emery’s tenure has been a mixed bag thus far is probably accurate but the level of one’s disappointment might have to do with unrealistic expectations of turning a dysfunctional club around on a dime.
Whatever you think about his abilities and the know how, the fact is, the PL is a tougher league than anything he’s been used to by a country mile.
I chose to withhold any criticism until at least the end of first full season, even though there’s evidence Emery might be making some mistakes with player fitness for example.
Three season ending injuries and two of them ACL’s are too much to be considered bad luck.
Holding , for example, played too many minutes leading up to his injury( Rashford challenge notwithstanding). More minutes in the 2 and a half month period from his first to last game ,than any other field player in the league.
And that’s on top of the double training sessions reported by some.
But like I said , Klopp made the same mistake in his first season and was blamed for some of the Pool’s injuries.
New league, new intensity, new adjustments.
Like you I’m usually not 100% behind anything, always considering ‘What if’.
In terms of James tweet, I’ve not seen the exchange. However I think as fans, we are always keen to see us turn the corner and become genuine title contenders. Sigh!
I’m worried that the one genuine post Wenger pillar – Mislintat has been sidelined and is leaving us. We are again putting all the eggs in the Sanllehi+Emery basket. Ofcourse if they end up with the same level of success as Dein+Wenger I’ve no complaints. However till the first double, I’ll remain in doubt!
Great piece…but as always..sometimes you just have to enjoy now and let the future worry about itself.. Sometimes we’ll win a game or a run of 22 games people will start upsetting themselves about big chances conceded rather enjoying actual goals and games… Imagine that mate..not enjoying football, upset by hypothetical goals conceded and not enjoying real actual scored goals. On this point can we all just enjoy Laca’s goal…
Mate Emery will not pick a consistent 11. Our best 11 depends on the team we play…so sometimes with Ozil sometimes not (but always with Xhaka..that i love)..Emery is a chameleon..changes his 11/line up depending on opposition..look at v spurs..back 3 with devastating effect..against Chelsae mid of Ramsey/Tor/Guendi = Frances Pog/Matuidi/Kante..He knows what he is doing. Give him time and most of all…our support.
In the summer I was stumping for Tedesco or Nagelsmann to replace Wenger because I wanted a young technocratic manager on the rise. Both are having pretty mediocre seasons in the Bundesliga. So what do I know? But I know that Emery is/was a better choice than Arteta which would have been a borderline insane flyer on someone without a lick of experience. I doubt Arteta would ever have benched Ozil or would have known any better what to do about Mustafi.
Was I mistaken but didn’t we play a 4-4-2 essentially with a diamond in midfield? I base that on how Guendouzi and Toreirra were predominantly on the left and right sides, respectively, Ramsey up top. If so, Emery has changed it up again.
Yes Jack 4-4-2 it was. Lewis at Arseblog does a nice analysis using heat maps to how Emery deployed the outside midfielders and fullbacks to our benefit. And Ramsey was there to cut off supply to Jorginho.
Keep up the excellent work Tim. We hang on every word. Your ambivalence goes beyond what we’re used to as Arsenal fans – it’s exponentially increased by the transition we’re in. These are the proverbial ups and downs of a new manager’s first season. Emery’s mad scientist leanings have generated a wide range of results. When he gets the approach spot on, and the players execute, we get results like Chelsea or Sp*rs. A tactical master class that gives us hope. When we lose to smaller clubs, it seems like he is too conservative – playing to win narrowly instead of playing to dominate and smash opponents. Whereas Arsene would throw all the attackers out there and expect us to outscore lesser teams (and we often didn’t), Emery sends out the best defense he can and hopes we nick a goal or two. I wonder if he might be outguessing himself vs midtable/lower table sides? For example, he expects them to park the bus, so he counters with a more defensive team, figuring if we stifle them, we are likely to eventually get a goal and win. But instead of parking the bus, they press – like West Ham, and we are ill-suited to respond? And vice versa, perhaps? Maybe time and familiarity will help him prepare better for those matches.
I’m still guessing we are 5th at season’s end, unless Sp*rs go into a tailspin with the injuries they are facing. But I also expect some major roster changes in summer, to accommodate Emery’s (still enigmatic) style.
We won’t buy a RB (don’t know which teams do such thing mid season). Hence we better use this opportunity to find our next Bellerin from academy. That could be AMN, tutu or someone else. If that doesn’t work clear out the lot and start the new RB backup project for next season.
I also have a feeling the last 10 games won’t factor that much. Our top 4 will be decided by the end of combo spurs and ManU fixtures. Mathematical possibilities might be there but we will go full blow on Europa from that point.
Do I have to say that I love your blog, Tim? I’m not good with expressing my feelings. But, you know, I think it’s obvious. I’ve been coming here pretty much every day since 2011. I’ll never forget that my first comment was an a**hole one to London Calling. Of course, I had no idea who she was, or her history here, I just bulldozed in and did my d*ckhead thing.
Not a lot has changed, obviously! 😐
The community has changed a bit since those days, but it’s always been top notch, and that’s down to the quality of your writing and perspective. Love reading your take on cooking, parenting, living and working in the City of Destiny, life in general, sobriety, and even Arsenal.
You’re a good egg, Tim, despite what everyone else says. 😀
You remember your first comment on 7amkickoff?? That’s pretty cool.
Ahhh that period when 7am, Arseblog, ANR, Le Grove etc were bubbling up through the interwebs. How organic it was. No advertising, just online word-of-mouth that there was some quality original content out there.
People were pulled in by the individual bloggers’ personality and inventiveness (and a huge majority of the good ones seemed to be Gooners!), having been pushed away in disgust at traditional mainstream papers and pundits and talking heads on TV whose commentary and analysis of the sport was dog-tired, depressingly conservative, insular, nonsensical, and quite often just plain wrong.
So yeah I still think Tim’s initial analysis of Emery and his time at PSG is grossly unfair (sure he didn’t win the title in his first season but that’s not a good reason to ignore the great football they played in his 2nd) but he’s the best writer of the lot and there’s no-one I’d rather read, whether I agree or disagree.
Nice post. I would only have a couple of reservations about Emery: 1. His handling of the dressing room. I can understand that Ozil doesn’t fit in Emery’s style of football, but there’s no need to create a storm by leaving him out of the squad. Putting Ozil on the bench vs. Chelsea was the right call imho; 2. The fact that Emery doesn’t know what his best team is after 6 months. I can understand the tactical tinkering vs. the top teams, but that doesn’t make sense vs. the weak and average sides; and 3. The Ramsey for Lacazette substitution at Brighton. Arsenal needed 3 points that day. Emery sent the wrong signal to his team with that conservative substitution.
In any case, Emery should have a free pass for his first season at Arsenal (assuming they finish in the Top 6) because of the mess at the club: Gazidis leaving a few months after Wenger’s departure, Mislintat dismissed after a year at the club, and the contracts of Ramsey and Ozil inherited from the Wenger era. The real test should be Emery’s second season.
Actually, I don’t think Bellerin is that great defensively. I think he stays too far away from the left flank opposing player for someone of his pace he doesn’t need to back off from anyone and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him cut out a cross.
But. Going forward and his connective play will be a huge miss. It’s quite astonishing that a club the size of Arsenal can’t find a half decent back up right back even coming through the youth ranks. Maitland Niles isn’t a full back and Jenks and Lich wouldn’t get in most top flight 1st 11s.
It’s not your fault Tim. It’s important for you to build your philosophy/identity for your blog and at the same time differentiate from the other 100s out there! Your love for the arsenal aside, this is your reality for your blog to keep existing. And if this is your philosophy so be it, who are we to say otherwise. In any case, its always an easier route up with starting with a critique approach when we end up winning or go “I told you so” when we lose. At the end of the day, you have to think about why he was tinkering with the squad during the “looks really good but it really isn’t” unbeaten run, maybe it was to prevent such debilitating injuries – but alas he still got them or he was just sussing out the players in terms of their potential. With the gaping squad holes and lack of top 4 players we have (mainly in defense), it could also be that 5th or 6th is the best Emery can get us. His magic can only work to an extent after which his needs can only be met from the transfer window or the academy. Keep up your good analytical work, it helps keep the optimism real.
I worry for AMN. When he first broke into the team as a DM he looked good. Simple, solid, huge shoulders, lightning fast. But he’s no LB…or RB…or RW… or AM. We’re going to ruin him.
Yeah, really worried about him. His calm, composure and cultured first touch in central midfield was one of the best parts of last year’s nightmare season.
On the bright side, Emery has improved every young player he gives starts to. I think AMN will continue to look dodgy for a few games but when he finds his level he’ll be undroppable.
Here are my five cents:
Emery is confusing. His team is confusing but it’s not really his team. It’s largely inherited from the previous manager. Will it become less confusing if and when it becomes more Emery’s team?
One of the reasons he was hired was apparently his encylopedic knowledge of Arsenal players, apparently down to who trims thier nostril hair (don’t we all?) So how come that detail hasn’t manifested itself in a more fixed and consistent way? We are 2/3 through the campaign and the team is nowhere near a settled XI. Even from one half to the next. Injuries have killed us yet again but injuries don’t explain it.
Why can’t Emery and Ozil sit down for a nice cuppa and talk about their feelings like Tim talks about his feelings?
I was disappointed in the NFL results this weekend. I dislike Kroenke intensely so all other teams not named Arsenal Football Club in the KSE portfolio are dead to me.
Worst of all is the continuing dominance of the vaguely inhuman Tom Brady and Bill Bilichek’s NE Patriots. I may hate them more Manchester United or the NY Yankees. And doesn’t thier Trump association just round it all out?
Giroud is still cool, though. He clearly appreciated the warm reception he received at the weekend. Whatever else we’ll always have Giroud…
Every word of this article is the truth. As an Arsenal fan for many years I’ve learnt the importance of regularly dosing myself with reality checks otherwise the up’s and downs become too painful to tolerate. I’d rather be somebody who has a relatively realistic perspective of where MY team stands than stop watching them altogether because I keep expecting the moon they almost never deliver. Also – I thoroughly enjoyed the Chelsea game, just as I enjoy every game where Arsenal play well.
It seems totally normal to me to feel conflicted about your team. Most fans have a very unhealthy love-hate relationship with their team which it occurs to me may be likened to the psychology of a bad romance. We criticize all the time because we can see flaws others can’t from such a close vantage point, but all we want is to be loved and wanted. When we feel spurned, heck has no such fury, or so I am told by akismet.
But then, if anyone from the outside dares criticize our club, we leap to its defense, teeth bared, because all that hurt, all those hours of crying on the sofa, those holes in the wall, all that was only worth it if that relationship means something. And it does, damn it, it does!! And the longer the soap opera drags on, the more attached we become, the deeper we get dragged into the eternal cycle of blame-reconciliation. Which, for Arsenal, basically boils down to wins and losses, isn’t it? We all feel a bit better about our relationship after that win against Chelsea, but lingering doubts remain. That’s the nature of the beast and that’s how it always will be. Run away now, if you dare and have the guts.
Hi Doc! A few posts above, you state that supporting and criticizing are mutually exclusive. and here you explain that “We (fans) criticize all the time because we can see flaws others can’t from such a close vantage point…” I find it hard to reconcile those point of views. In my eyes, supporting is caring, caring is criticizing, suffering from the perceived weaknesses, wanting to improve. But, once the game has started, we just want our team to win. So, no mutual exclusion, rather the opposite: true fans do criticize.
Hi Serge, thanks for this, I had to find my line of reasoning from last night again but I think I know why I ended up here. I still hold that criticism is not a form of support in and of itself, because quite simply it is not supportive of anyone at the club. That is not to say that those who are critical cannot also be supporters at other times and in other ways, but “caring” just enough to criticize regularly online as a sort of release valve for frustration doesn’t qualify as support in my book. I think there are more people who use Arsenal and all of sports in this way than would care to admit and I’m ok with that- as long as nobody is conflating venting with support. Unfortunately we have legitimized venting as a form of support in some sort of interesting freedom of speech type of online legislature, but it’s hypocritical and that’s what bugs me about it.
Also, as someone who considers himself to be an honest and passionate student of the game it would be disingenuous to deny the obvious frailties of my chosen team who I watch almost to the exclusion of evey other football team in the world. (And look forward to watching might I add)
My overall assessment of Emery is he’s exactly the medicine we needed. As a club we spent too long marinating in the “Champions League or bust and everyone must venerate Wenger even though he’s past his prime” kool-aid.
People might call him a bum or a tinkerman but Emery has won things we were unable to under Wenger. We might well finish 6th but the players are learning the ultra-modern tactical game from a coach who had to work his way up to the level he’s at now.
Thinking back to Arsene’s early years, we didn’t really see Wengerball in his first two seasons. His first title-winning team played a slick, flexible 4-4-2, but it wasn’t Wengerball. That came with time. So people confused by what they’re seeing, who expect to see clear patterns from Emery and are frustrated by him, this is what it costs to hang on to a beloved coach for too long.
And plenty of people would’ve been perfectly happy if Wenger was still our manager. So wherever we end up this season, I for one am very happy that we’re moving in a new direction under Unai Emery.
Great comment. Wengerball was not an instant delivery- folks will do well to remember that. Anything good takes time.
This
I think its a little premature to call this “a direction”. I would have been happy if this season bore us nothing but a direction.
Great article. I so get where its coming from.
I had much the same journey on Emery, except I was a bit high on him after the initial reluctance.
It might seem weird because I was always the one saying the negative atmosphere isn’t helping Arsenal under Wenger, and it really wasn’t. I don’t think the same narrative exists around Emery and by questioning him it doesn’t automatically create the toxicity that existed previously.
In fact, I see a lot of people defending Emery exactly because they are tired of the toxic atmosphere that existed before and hence are prepared to just ride this out and hope for the best. Maybe that’s where James was coming from.
Personally, I’m not happy with this new Arsenal, and that’s mainly because I don’t know what to get behind. I can’t get behind defensive (almost cowardly) football, especially when it doesn’t even lead to solid defense. I can’t get behind the weirdness of half time subs as a regular thing, even though I was ok with it initially thinking Emery’s just trying to learn about his charges in different situations.
My primary concern is what the strategic direction of Arsenal is. Are we going Project Youth? If so, great, but I don’t see it happening right now. Now Sven’s leaving too. Leaving Raul in charge of the club and seeing as he served at Barca in the period when they got caught up in corruption charges, I am not encouraged by the ‘values’ this shows. Especially after the Ramsey decision. (Can I say debacle?)
But now Ornstein says we’re looking at promoting Cagigao to head of Recruitment and bringing in Monchi as technical director. Now that would be a step in the right direction. (I like his work at Roma too)
I worry this Spanish turn will shove aside Per from his post too, but whatever. I’m hoping things improve, on and off the field.
PS. Not hugely encouraged by the Chelsea result. I expected us to win that one too. But happy about it.
By the way, on Kroenke paying a million dollars to Trump’s campaign. Does anyone know if he also paid anything to Hillary? I mean I know businessmen who hedge their bets on politicians, and a million hardly seems like going all out.
On Kraft and the Pats’ relationship with Trump wasn’t there some huge controversy two years ago?
Anyway, the NFL kind of sucks as a whole. Bit strange to worry about that. Maybe that’s just the novelty of the game for me. I’m finally starting to make sense of the rules and why Americans love watching the game. I might have a Superbowl party too if the game didn’t start at like 4.30 am or something.
He gave money to the inauguration ball or some shit.
Yeah, he gave Hillary’s campaign the grand total of $2,700. Lot of influence he was hoping to buy there 🙄
Even if the $1m he gave to Trump isn’t correlated with underinvestment in talent at Arsenal, it is one more thing that makes us dislike Kroenke.
I’m not up for another Tom Brady procession, but part of me does want to the Pats deliver a slap to Stan.
Lol. Ok. Yeah I know about the reasoning behind the dislike. I was just wondering.
I’m kinda with you on that front, except, the Krafts also gave 1m to Trump inaugural fund and Trump/ Kraft relationship has been supe super chummy.
But it’s the point you’re making about Stan donating to Hilary’s campaign that needs more stressing.
When billioners and corporations donate disproportionately to both political parties ( the fu#ked up system that we have) to influence legislation further down the road, it’s up to the public to do their homework and see whether these donations actually have translated into policy, and not just assume that both parties are the same .
Often times we don’t.
I’m a bit confused by the piece Tim. You say you can’t do what you want to do with the blog – which would be allow for nuance, allow for contradiction, take a longer-term look at things, wrestle with issues.
But this is exactly what you do, and it’s why we’re here. Whenever you take a position on something, it’s always based on evidence, or at least solid argumentation, and you are always prepared to change your mind if the facts change. And life is too short to not be doing exactly what you want, especially when this is your free time.
My journey with Emery kind of follows yours. He was my least favourite of all the managerial options, but since he has been in the hot seat, I have found things I like and respect about him and what he is doing with the side, as well as things that frustrate. I like him as a character.
The more I think about it, the less I care about the team having an “identity”. That only comes with time, after the manager and the team have played and fought together. As yet, in this new Arsenal side, we don’t have any heroes – but they will come.
With Emery I don’t yet fully believe that he will bring us success, but I have complete faith in his intelligence and his level of dedication. The main worry at the moment is that we have nobody in the club hierarchy who has fully earned our trust. Under Wenger we became so used to Arsenal being in safe hands in terms of values and philosophy, but now, Emery aside, we are fully in the hands of businessmen, opportunists and untested (to us) figures. Mislintat leaving is a blow because he at least has already demonstrated his competence.
I never worried about Arsenal’s ambition under Wenger and the previous ownership, but we’re in a period of change and that brings a level of anxiety.
thoughts and prayers are with emiliano sala and his family this morning. i read last week that cardiff just broke their record transfer fee signing this player and he’s never even trained with his team mates before possibly dying in an aviation-related accident. #heavyheart.
it’s official, hector’s out! we all knew it but hector has finally announced it on his twitter. arsenal need to buy at right back because bellerin probably won’t be ready to begin pre-season training. maitland-niles is not a right back and, as someone has already alluded to, he’s being destroyed by playing against premier league opposition in a position that doesn’t suit him. niles is a huge talent with big potential. it’s important that management doesn’t kill that potential because the owner doesn’t want to spend a little bit of money.
on to the actual thread, i felt the same way that tim does concerning the club’s decision to hire emery. i, too, thought he was a bum. i didn’t appreciate how he beefed with players. people are downplaying the fact that he didn’t win the league in his first season. do you know how difficult it is for a competent manager to blow winning the french league with the players psg had available? he absolutely blew it in the champions league against barcelona, ironically, using the same strategy that he used against chelsea this weekend.
the links with rabiot leaving psg? that was emery. when lucas moura did leave, that was emery. draxler rumors was emery. i don’t remember thiago silva talking about anyone or anything and he came out with strong words against emery. the debacle with the penalty kick taking duties between neymar and cavani; poor management from emery. the final straw was when veratti threatened to leave psg. that’s when the club were done with emery. he hit the lottery getting the arsenal gig.
i wanted vieira and bergkamp. for me, they invented wengerball and it should have been called bergkamp/vieira-ball. they are part of the history of the club, they love the club, and they know the league well and what it takes to win the league. i was more opposed to arteta managing than emery as mikey had ZERO management experience. anyway, here we are.
fast forward to today, emery still doesn’t know how to manage big players. his team still plays “weird” or directionless football. he still underachieves with the available talent. sorry, but it doesn’t take two seasons to recognize these things. will the club pretend not to see the obvious and wait 3 years before yanking this guy? we’ll see.
Maybe you are as confused as every – true – Arsenal fan. We knew that the real problem with this arsenal team is the defense, like Wenger said in his last interview with french TV RMC Sport. The defense and the away form. I’m confused too, I said it in your last post. I’m not confident about the end of the season, even if we won against Chelsea. Arsenal are at the same level with last season. The defense concedes a lot and the away form is not improving. You don’t lose against Saints and West Ham like we did when you are battling for top four. I’m confused because I thought the trauma of last season were definitely over after the 22 unbeaten run and that we were in a different mood. Unfortunately, we are exactly the same like last season. We can put in a strong strong performance against top four rivals at home then lose to a team in the bottom of the table. As Didier Drogba said it once, you don’t need any kind of motivation when you’re playing rivals. The real problem is when you’re playing “small teams”. Finally, Arsenal won’t sign any RB this January window. They signed Lich for this kind of situation. If we need another RB, that means a massive failure for the recruitment department. What we need right now is a playmaker, the kind of playmaker Emery want for his team. I heard yesterday that Juve want Ramsey right now and Arsenal want around €20m if they can’t wait the end of the season. Maybe if Ramsey goes we’ll get the fund for a playmaker. Denis Suarez? Though, I don’t think Denis Suarez is a playmaker. But definitely, I’m not confident about top four finish.
We have Ozil. What other playmaker could we possibly need?
Guillem Balague badmouthing Mislintat apparently. Yet another sign that the Arsenal values are under threat from this new regime, leaking this sort of stuff.