Today’s tl;dr –
- Arsenal have the 2nd(ish) best home record in the League
- This is not a change from last year
- Arsenal have the 8th best record in away games
- This is a slight improvement from last year, on points only
- Fourth place is going to be VERY close but it’s in Arsenal’s hands
I know I’ll take criticism but the football from Arsenal yesterday was a bit boring and sloppy. And even though xG proves otherwise, I felt we were a bit lucky overall to get away with a win.
They started brightly, pressing Arsenal high up the pitch and causing quite a few Arsenal turnovers, Aaron Ramsey in particular had a nightmare first half, coughing the ball up 6 times in just 33 touches. And Southampton had the first good look at goal when Arsenal were caught way up the pitch and Nathan Redmond was played completely through. Only a combination save/block by Leno and Kola kept the sheet clean.
But there were glimpses of #theProcess working when Southampton pressed and Arsenal slopped their way out of it. The best example of this was highlighted by Arsenal Column on twitter:
build-up not perfect – a little bit jerky – but a feeling of moving towards some sort of purpose again. pic.twitter.com/cquNq35CA2
— Arsenal Column (@ArsenalColumn) February 24, 2019
I think that possession was typical of the match. Like Arsenal Column, I can see the foundations that Emery has laid this season, but man, that was hard to watch. And yet we got a shot off at the end and that’s nothing to sneer at, especially in the context of the second half.
That first half was full of a sort of weirdly bumbling football. Like if Mr. Bean were to accidentally get a bucket stuck on his head and then walk out of his apartment window, right onto a scaffolding, that was on a crane, which flew him across the busy road below, onto the roof of Harrods, where he fell through a glass ceiling, and as he tumbled, the bucket came off, and he landed on his feet, at a party, and a waiter brought him a snack.
For Arsenal’s first, Lacazette passed to Iwobi and darted forward, Iwobi chipped the ball into the middle, where Torreira fell over looking for a penalty, that left Mkhitaryan wide open, he attempted a shot that was so far off and so weak, it flew straight at Lacazette who back-heeled the ball into the net. It was a case of everything going right.
And for the second, Lacazette did a little one-man press, Stevens passed back to the keeper who cleared the ball to Iwobi. Iwobi dashed forward and saw Ramsey in the forward spot and tried to pick him out. Fortunately, the defender blocked the pass, because Ramsey would have been offside, and the deflection fell kindly to Mkhitaryan who scored.
Ironically Arsenal should have had a third from the best chance of the game. Again, Southampton failed to clear properly and this time Kolasinac burst through into the 18, collected, passed to Laca, Laca had time to switch to his left and blasted over from 6 yards out. That was honestly, the best move of the whole game.
Hasenhuttl made some changes at half time and Arsenal looked to be under some more pressure. They brought on a speedy forward and you could see what the game plan was, but despite the introduction of Obafemi Southampton registered the only shot for either team between the 46th and 71st minute.
They switched to a 442 after Obafemi went off and Arsenal countered with some pretty solid defending. Southampton went on to take 6 shots in the last 20 minutes or so but none of them had any real sting.
Arsenal brought on Ozil for the last few minutes of the game and he helped put together two of the best attacking moves of the second half. He laid on a back-heel flick for Aubameyang to run onto. Auba dashed in and tried to cross for Lacazette but his cross was cut out by Westegaard and that forced a kick-save from Gunn. And a minute later he got in a decent cross for Aubameyang to get off a shot which was ultimately blocked.
To finish, Leno made a decent save off a thunderstruck volley. Arsenal kept a clean sheet for the first time in 3 days and thanks to the League Cup final and a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford, Arsenal vaulted into 4th place on the table.
Chelsea can catch Arsenal but they have to win their game in hand by more than two goals and that looks unlikely. If you saw the League Cup final then you know that Chelsea are a team in some trouble. Their keeper Kepa refused to be subbed off and their manager Maurizio Sarri literally ripped open his jacket, like the Hulk hulking out, in anger. Combined with all of the other problems there this season, you have to wonder how much longer he’s going to stay in the job? I kind of hope that he stays until the end of the season at least. It’s our best chance of a top four finish.
And speaking of that. As you know, I have Arsenal finishing fourth this year. When I was looking at the teams to make my prediction, I fudged the numbers a bit in Arsenal’s favor because I knew something that the models wouldn’t take into account: Arsenal’s record last year was Jekyll and Hyde home and away.
Last year Arsenal’s home record was 2nd best behind Man City. Arsenal took 47 points (3 less than City) in home games and scored 54 goals (just 7 fewer than City and 9 more than Liverpool). Even if we use “advanced metrics” like xG and expected points, Arsenal were still 2nd best in the League in home games. The defense was bad (8th in the League, conceding 20 goals) but this record was a huge reason why I felt like “any manager” could come in and make us better. Because it felt like and looked like the foundations were there for a very solid football club. You simply don’t play that well in half of your games if you’re not good at a lot of aspects of the game.
And when I looked at the xG and xP for Arsenal’s away games we underperformed those metrics by at least 8 points. In other words, we took just 16 points in away games but based on our xGf and xGa in each match, probably should have taken closer to 24 points. It’s still not great but it would be closer to 71 points than the 63 we took.
Fast forward to this season and Arsenal are still the 2nd best home team in the League (ok, we are third by goal diff) and just 5 points off the best home team in the League, Man City. Emery has improved Arsenal’s goals allowed in home games, last season we conceded just a hair over 1 per game and this season it’s 11 in 14 (0.8).
Arsenal only have one big home game left, Man U. And I have Arsenal getting 13 points in their last 5 home games. So, I do expect Arsenal to finish with a better home record this season than last.
The problem Arsenal have is the away record.
Last season, Arsenal took just 16 points in away games. 11th in the League. Emery has already improved on that, we have 18 points and are 8th in the League in away games.
However, looking at the other metrics, there has been almost no improvement. Based on xG, Arsenal have an expected points of 1.3 per away game both last year and this. That has Arsenal just slightly overperforming (well within margin of error) this season. In other words, instead of massively underperforming (by 8 points like last season) Emery has Arsenal’s away form pretty close to dead on with what’s expected from this team.
What’s more worrying is that Arsenal are actually conceding more away goals this year than last. Emery’s Arsenal already have given up 26 away goals, 2 per game. If they continue in this form, Arsenal will concede 38 away goals, more goals in just away games than Arsenal conceded in many years.
And the away fixtures list looks like Arsenal could be in real trouble for 4th place: Tottenham, Wolves, Everton, Leicester, Watford, and Burnley. I have us taking just 5 points from those fixtures. Season average would be 8. I also see those teams, especially Tottenham, putting a lot of goals on Arsenal. Wolves and Watford are to be underestimated at your own peril, by the way. And Leicester just fired Puel (the most pointless manager firing ever) while Burnley are in some very hot form at the moment.
Nate Silver’s model has Arsenal and Chelsea both finishing on 72 points at the moment (one more than my model) but Arsenal finishing 5th on goal difference.
My prediction for the rest of this season and so far 2 out of 2… Also I think we will surely be in top 4 if it goes like this.
1 Huddersfield vs Arsenal W
2 Arsenal vs Southampton W
3 Arsenal vs Bournemouth W
4 Tottenham vs Arsenal L
5 Arsenal vs Manchester United D
6 Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Arsenal L
7 Arsenal vs Newcastle United W
8 Everton vs Arsenal W
9 Watford vs Arsenal D
10 Arsenal vs Crystal Palace W
11 Leicester vs Arsenal D
12 Arsenal vs Brighton W
13 Burnley vs Arsenal D
What is your model saying about Man United’s finish? From what I read the projections still count that we will be fighting Chelsea for the 4th place..
I think more than the actual football, what pleased most people was the intent. We kept going for it in the first half. Inevitably we were less adventurous in the second since we already had the lead.
I had us down for top 4 too, and despite my misgivings with the coach, I have maintained it is possible. The only time I felt we’re definitely not getting top 4 was after the Huddersfield win. If we play like that, we won’t win enough. If we play like we did yesterday, despite the flaws, we should do enough to get top 4.
That away form is worrying but I think we have it in us to set it right. It began last season with some poor decisions against us before it snowballed into being a thing, weighing heavily on the players. But I get a sense we’ve got something of a second wind after the BATE home fixture and that the team will be up for the challenge in every game. We have enough talent in the squad to get us the sort of results we’re looking for. Just no more unnecessary drama, and we should get there.
The play is sloppy because we are poor technically. Passes are not controlled with the first touch, passes are poorly weighted and imprecise, body shape incorrect, movements into space not disguised, zero feints before receiving the ball. If you watch Ozil, he drops his shoulder, looks to one side and then subtly takes the ball first touch into space and it magically looks like he’s in acres of space when in fact he had been tightly marked. That’s the difference between players with technical skill and the sluggers we have right now. The standard started to drop years ago and continues to fall. Iwobi, Guendouzi, Kolasinac, AMN, Aubameyang, Ramsey even, none of these guys I would call strong technically. It’s hard to watch. But I will add that we’re not alone on this front – the standard is lower across the board. Man U is hard to watch also. Spurs. Chelsea. Liverpool doesn’t even pretend and just embraces a more athletic approach.
I think we finish 5th. I think you’re right, if we get 5 points from those away games we’ll have met expectations. But unless Man U’s injuries are long term, I don’t see how that train is stopped, they’ll nick us for fourth.
Great, well-stated obs on technical players, but disagree on Ramsey, whose fundamentals are solid, though his level is nowhere near as high as Ozil’s or Van Persie’s. Man we can add Rosicky, Pires, Santi, Fabregas, DB10…..
We have had our share of iffy players technically, Adebayor being one. But his other gifts, as a classic centre forward, were considerable. AOC (the original, not the Bronx congresswoman), wasnt technically overly endowed either, but his potential was enormous. But yeah, spot on.
btw, anyone saw this? Wenger on Wiltord, a player who’s hardly ever mentioned https://twitter.com/MichaelTimbs/status/1099789593803661312
I wasn’t greatly impressed by our play yesterday, but I think it was a good emotional lift for the team. It FELT better than it actually was, and that will help create/maintain some confidence as we hit the deciding stretch of our season. Sloppy wins are wins nonetheless, and going 4th feels good, so I’m trying to enjoy it. And I see some reasons for optimism about our chances:
I think Kos is going to be back by Wed or Saturday and we will have Kos and Sokratis in back together, which is our best pairing to date that didn’t involve Rob Holding.
I think there is the making of a truce between Ozil and Emery, and he will be used to help us get points that we desperately need against lower and mid-table teams.
An injured ManU and an imploding Chelsea might just create enough daylight for us to squeek into 4th. I am staying with my prediction of 5th from the beginning of the year, but if we can get some momentum going into NLD and ManU matches, I think we might just pull off 4th.
“Like if Mr. Bean were to accidentally get a bucket stuck on his head and then walk out of his apartment window, right onto a scaffolding, that was on a crane, which flew him across the busy road below, onto the roof of Harrods, where he fell through a glass ceiling, and as he tumbled, the bucket came off, and he landed on his feet, at a party, and a waiter brought him a snack.”
_______________________
Chapeau. Brilliant.
I had us finishing 4th, behind the 2 Manchester teams and Liverpool. Spurs have surprised me. What they have done well (until this weekend) is beat the teams they should beat on paper. I think that United, particularly with their forward firepower, have massively under-achieved. And they always seem to have our number, no matter what state theyre in. Theyre well equipped to beat us to 4th, and to take something from our home game against them.
The key to playing out from the back is punishing over-commitment on the press by upping the tempo in the area where the gap opens. And that’s kind of what happened in the video you included… the pass square from the RFB saw space open up.
We don’t yet have the press-beating central midfield player that we need. The beauty of Santi was that he could dribble/ferry, pass with either foot, and for a small guy, was harder to bully off the ball than youd think. He gave us possession security in the most dangerous and important part of the pitch. In time, Guendouzi will probably develop into that. As it is, he’s a more than decent young player.
Some mid table teams stop playing for points once they know they are safe and table position does not change much. This will be a benefit for Arsenal for the last 8 games.
I have not looked into what the run-in is for ManU and Chelsea.
Great analysis, mate. So bottom line is: very little difference before and after Wenger. Perhaps Wenger was getting the best possible out of Arsenal with the resources available; while being faithful to Arsenal’s attacking style/financial model and the teams beating us were financial dopers ( + Liverpool/Tottenham very recently – but we have won more Trophies than both combined in recent years and we know football is all about winning Trophies – top four “trophy” doesn’t count ..remember). So maybe the question never was “Wenger in” or “Wenger out”, but do we want a financial benefactor or not….
Sorry I forgot to give credit where credit is due… Kolasinac, Xhaka, Leno, all outstanding yesterday. Much much maligned Lichtsteiner played great too. Don’t forget Sokratis and Iwobi.. and Laca exquisite back-heel,… hey pretty much the whole team.
Agree Faith, I saw this match in a more charitable light than Tim seems to have done.
Arsenal are a football club, a sports team, they don’t need my charity.
They were bad yesterday, Southampton were improbably badder. A very big name writer and Arsenal supporter tuned in for just the second half and asked if we had been that bad all game. It’s not just me.
Of course it isn’t just you!I didn’t say your perception was wrong, just that it was different from mine. I’m/we’re not posting here in order to get you or make you look bad!! You have a lot of takes I don’t like or don’t agree with but I try to be an adult and keep it at that. You are the only blogger I actually bother to follow at all (that includes arseblog), and I can’t think of a higher compliment that I can give you than that, really. I challenge you on things sometimes because I think it’s fun to have a back and forth about football. That’s what I’m here to do and I can only thank you for giving us that platform and bringing this community together.
Hmmm..
I’m maybe having a bit of a sensitive moment right now.
I didn’t notice.
I’m stressed at work.
Apologies.
So negative. Pity the ‘very big name writer’ hadn’t watched a very positive first half. In spite of that Redmond chance Southampton looked rattled by us and the atmosphere in the ground was good. Early days for this new project. Let’s wait and see what happens after next season.
Positive first half???
We were lucky.
‘Early days’?
Mate, he’s been manager since June.
‘Let’s wait and see what happens after next season’?
What do you propose I do? Should I just lie to you and pretend I am enjoying this football? Should I just not write anything? Should we never be critical? Should I pretend that this was a great game, one of the best I’ve ever seen? The one thing that a lot of you don’t seem to understand is that i wear my heart on my sleeve. 99% of the time, I give you my unvarnished opinion on the Arsenal. I’m not here driven by an agenda to get famous, make money, or even make friends. Sorry to break this to you, but you stumbled on a really odd part of the internet where one absolute lunatic just shouts out his feelings about Arsenal. I have no idea how I have anyone following me.
And what’s weirder is that I have legitimately TRIED to be super pozzy or whatever, I really did. And I can’t do it. So, what you have here is a guy who writes it like he sees it. Maybe Emery will be great, and when he is, i will write about how great he is. Right now, I can’t say that this is great. It’s not even very good. But hey, we are in 4th place, right where I thought we should be, and the (4th place) title race is in our hands. Let’s finish the season strong and (checks notes) get into the Champions league where we will (checks notes) get an extra (checks notes) £20m or so to spend on (checks notes) players identified by Monchi.
I’ll echo Blai and Boston Gooner’s thoughts: Man United is probably a bigger threat to us than Chelsea at this point, though it has the look of a three team race. United have had an outrageous horseshoe in their rectum since the Solksjaer hire (outperforming their expected goals against by almost 6), and while we may expect that to normalize, it may not. I do expect the results to flatten out a bit after the honeymoon period finally eases up a bit. For now, everyone up that way is still just happy Solksjaer is not Mourinho.
To piggy back on BG, I have to agree that I would vastly prefer playing solidly mid-table teams like Everton, Watford, Leicester, Burnley, et al at the tail end of the season than a team with something to play for, even if they are, on paper, a better team. Dyche might convince Burnley to play hard against us at home because I remember he pulled the whole “won’t someone think of the children” thing after their home loss on our turf, but I can’t find too much ill will towards them after putting Spurs to the sword last weekend.
Sometimes I feel that you bear a grudge or some type of ill will against Emery because he doesn’t speak like Rene Flippin’ Descartes. To paraphrase the notorious Richard Pitino, “Arsene Wenger isn’t walkin’ through that door.” Football blogistically speaking, Tim, you need to move on.
It’s not a grudge and it has nothing to do with the way Emery speaks.
It’s a function of making definitive judgments half way into a season ( Emery’s not good enough to move Arsenal forward).
Which may very well be true but once you make up your mind this early in the process your opinions ( feelings ) tend to get tainted.
This is a new wrinkle on the “Tim’s biased against Unai” argument.
Does anyone remember how, during the now famous 22 game unbeaten run, everyone was like “XG SHOWS UNAI IS A FRAUD” and I went on Arseblog Arsecast to say “hold up.. let’s give this all some time, this could just be variation.”
So, how do you square that Tim with this Tim that you see here in front of you showing you that the data does kind of point to the fact that maybe Unai is getting basically the same out of the team that Wenger got last year?
Bottom line is that I don’t care whether he stays or goes. If he turns us into a team that does some of the things he promised that will be great but I don’t see this club winning the Premier League any time soon and I’m not sure he’s laying the foundations for some footballing revolution at the club. He’s kind of modernizing us. So, yeah, sorry, it’s just bland football punctuated by bouts of awful football and one really really great match (Tottenham).
So, Unai is Unai and I hope we win the European version of the League cup. I hope he gets us into the Champions League and that we finish fourth. All of that will be great. But I probably won’t shed a tear when we move on to the next manager.
Or maybe I’m wrong, and he’ll be with us for 10 years and win the League 3 times and the Champions League. In which case, heck yeah! I’ll take me some mash potato football!
That would be some glorious mash potato Football that I’ll be more than happy to indulge in, if it does rake in 3 league titles and the crown of Europe! Heck, it would be fantastic if we could win the league and the UCL once over the next decade!
This argument has been addressed ad nauseum but it seem like we have yet another person who thinks they can have a go at me personally and attempt to call into question my “bias” without any relevant facts.
I called for Wenger to leave a long ass time ago. I was one of the first to say that he needed to retire because I could only see all of this ending badly for him, that was after that infamous Stoke City match where the people on the platform confronted Wenger and told Joel “Campbell to get out while you still can.” When I wrote that article, saying he should announce his retirement, I did so out of love for the man and what he’s given this club. I’m am unwavering in my respect for him and what he has done for Arsenal but simultaneously well aware that he is way past the sell by date.
And I can’t believe I have to say this, again (redux, again, again):
I absolutely don’t want Arsene Wenger coaching at Arsenal. That would be a huge disaster for this club. It also doesn’t surprise me that he doesn’t have a job as a coach/manager somewhere. He is a spent force, I’m afraid.
Liking Wenger as a man has absolutely nothing to do with my perception of Unai Emery and the football we are playing right now. Accusations of that as a bias are tiresome and as far off base as possible.
Please, try again to uncover my hidden agenda, chump.
I think that the reason why he is not coaching somewhere is not because he is not wanted. Rather, I think the reason is the same one like the one we love him for. Values. He wouldn’t coach again in England, this seems obvious, but I think he also won’t go to coach somewhere just to fill somebody;s short-term gap. If he has got a job in January, that would have been with a club that has fired manager in the middle of the campaign, and I think that Wenger is looking for a longer term project, somewhere to work, something to develop, some place that would appreciate his values.
Maybe Milan.
Wenger is 69. This will come across as ageist, but I don’t care – football management at the top levels these days requires an extraordinary amount of commitment and energy that your typical 69 year old is incapable of, and certainly would not be capable of for a “long term project”. That’s why he’s not working.
It is hard for a 69 year old to relate to teenagers and men in their early 20’s who can’t remember his glory days as a coach and will have only seen Henry and Vieira play in YouTube clips.
Roy Hodgson is 71 – but he’s a Crystal Palace. Ranieri is 68 – he’s a Fulham (and doing a poor job). Bielsa is 63 and at Leeds, and he’s an obsessive work-aholic. Neil Warnock is 71 – and he’s a career journeyman manager.
Wenger would have been perfect at Man U, where he could have walked into a very talented squad that just needed a friendly steward until the ship was righted and they got a younger manager. But he’s not anyone I would give the keys to my team for a long term assignment. Like Tim says, he’s a spent force. He was the right man in the right place for at least 15 of his 22 years at Arsenal, but now he should stick to commentating and giving speeches.
First goals matter. First goals matter. First goals matter. Leno MOTM for denying them the chance to take a lead and park the bus. That first 10 minutes or so was as bad as we’ve played all season. Inexcusably disjointed and very lucky to somehow emerge up 2-0 fifteen minutes later. Then, we settled down and played better in the first half, although I attribute some of our more fluid play to having more space afforded by Soton after we went up 2 goals and they had to chase. Our perception of good or bad play is always so colored by the scoreboard. It’s no different for my 10 year old son’s team, who beat a better side by getting an early goal on Saturday, but lost to an inferior team Sunday after giving up the first goal. The game is remakably similar at all ages.
A bit harsh on Antonio there , don’t you think Tim.
Clearly he’s wrong but maybe because he doesn’t know you the way we the regulars do.
I believe I said this already but don’t mind repeating that I think the world of you and I think you are a better man than I am. Plus I really like your writing , the non Arsenal themed perhaps even more so.
That said , no one is immune to a certain levels of bias especially once they take a firm position on an issue, not even you my friend.
Here’s an example : who’s the one player on this Arsenal team you have the lowest opinion of, lower even than Xhaka or Mustafi?
It’s probably Lichtseiner ,right ?
You were absolutely right that he would be found wanting in the PL against quicker opponents but you also said it would be better for all involved if he didn’t play a single minute, which I thought was an overreaction. There are plenty of clubs in PL and in Europe against which he could , and has been useful.
Is it a coincidence then that you would accuse him of intentionally reneging on his professional duty to do his level best whenever in Arsenal shirt?
Maybe, but I think not.
Accausing him of intentionally abandoning post ( running away from Sterling in the City game) thus giving the opposition a clear chance at a goal , when a simpler explanation of a blown off side trap was there for most to see.
In any case, any disagreement only enhances debates I believe.
I can’t think of a more boring scenario than a bunch of like minded folks agreeing on everything all the time.
Just the thought of it makes me wanna puke 🤮
Peace brother.
The word “biased” is a relatively harsh one. It carries elements of subjectivity, even dishonesty. I understand Tim’s reaction, particularly in the framework of a blog that tries very hard to bring facts and analysis to the discussion. Instead of using bias, I would use opinions. Tim has opinions, based on facts mostly, but, on the basis of the very same facts, one would be completely entitled to have a different opinion. Both persons would still be intellectually honest, unbiased. Football is extremely complex, often defies analysis. Stats are full of margin errors. Psychological explanations abound and are so hard to factor in.
I, for one, happen to think that Emery has delivered to a large extend: he is fourth right now, the team fights more (a good example of something hard to defend with anything else than the good old eye test), some players have clearly improved. The new midfielders are a great long time investment. In my eyes Emery was let down by very bad luck that decimated his best defense line up. Those are other facts (or half facts) that can lead to a different opinion. No bias involved, just differences of opinion which should lead to a good discussion.
I want to add that the Mister Bean paragraph made me laugh out loud. I guess my co-workers realized I wasn’t really working…
Well put, serge. As long as opinions aren’t conflated for facts I think we will all get along 😀
I don’t know – it’s an interesting counterpoint but I thought Tom went out of his way to come up with a fair explanation, and asking that we use a different word is asking that we describe something different.
I’m biased against Pep. For me all his trophy wins are tainted either by being Messi-assisted, or Bayern already being dominant when he took charge, or by City “doping” with corrupt sponsorships that enabled their spending spree. Nothing he will ever achieve, short of winning a title with say, Huddersfield, will lead me to accept him as the Best Coach in The World.
I think being able to recognise our personal biases is a good thing. And also, aren’t our “opinions” to a certain extent shaped by bias?
Anyway, hard agree with Doc in terms of not conflating our opinion on football matters with facts. The game has too many known unknowns.
I’m going to say this one last time and if you insist on accusing me of a bias against Emery I will start banning motherfuckers:
I DO NOT HAVE A FIRM POSITION ON ANYTHING REGARDING UNAI EMERY. I DO NOT HAVE BIAS AGAINST EMERY. I BASE MY OPINIONS ON THE FACTS IN FRONT OF ME AS I SEE THEM.
Thank you!
One other thing I want to point out: I am 99% real. In other words, what I write, I truly feel when I write it. This can lead to some rather contrary opinions over time, because sometimes I feel good and sometimes I feel bad about the club, the players, and the manager/coach. But every article I write is an honest representation of how I feel at the time. I have no agenda (I’m not smart enough to plan out grand conspiracies or anything like that). What you’re getting here is just Tim, living in the moment.
So, we really need to stop with the “bias” stuff and with thinking that I’m part of some weird conspiracy to boot Unai because he speaks Spanish and not French.
Lichtsteiner ran away from Sterling. I believe it because I can’t believe a 47 year old footballer, who’s been playing for 62 years could possibly make a 1st year error like that. He knew what he was doing.
I don’t have an opinion on the play, but when you first proposed this I was like, naah.. But then you explained and I was like.. yeah, possible.
When you know you’re going to get blown by/posterised, your instinct can become to move to avoid it. Players lose their man to pretend mark another in basketball all the time.
If Licht knew he was most likely getting dribbled past or feared giving up a penalty, he might have just told himself to run in the opposite direction and hope, for offside or someone else to cover. It’s not that he was prepared to give up a goal, but that he probably just reacted to the first bad thing he sensed could happen. It’s less shocking a claim if the intentional aspect of it is qualified somewhat.
Abou Diaby has announced his retirement from football.
Oh, what might have been had it not been for Dan Smith, an up and coming no talent clodhopper who wound up playing 3rd tier football in Australia.
https://rmcsport.bfmtv.com/football/footissime-abou-diaby-l-ancien-joueur-d-arsenal-et-des-bleus-annonce-sa-retraite-1639846.html
Indeed. Would he have been a starter in that CL final against Barca? Such an elegant player, hacked down in his prime.
I think Im going to cry. Diaby’s story is a tragedy.
Does xG for say, the first 20-25mins of a match– differ from a final tally?
I’d found a piece at TalkSport:
https://talksport.com/football/500429/correct-result-every-premier-league-gameweek-27-match-statistics/
–which juxtaposed the actual– versus the xG result.
Arsenal vs Southampton
Real result: 2-0
xG result: 2.30-0.59
Curious though what Arsenal’s xG was through the first-quarter of the match?
Then, extrapolated over the entire 90.
jw1
Understat has a number of metrics available on their site: https://understat.com/team/Arsenal/2018
If you click on timing you can see that Arsenal have our strongest periods in the first 15 minutes and last 15 minutes of every game and our weakest periods before and after the break.
There are also game state xG and a host of other data.
Arsenal’s entire xG was generated in that first half. There’s a flow chart if you click on the game.
I don’t mind us shutting up shop in the second half. That arguably had more to do with Soton upping their intensity than us sitting back, but it’s encouraging that even with the players we had starting on the day that a very committed and very well coached Soton couldn’t cause us more problems than that. We play three games in 7 days so I don’t mind conserving energy in with a two goal lead.
Sad about Diaby because he always seemed a lovely lad and a true professional. Such a waste of a special footballing talent.
Hey, l enjoyed both our goals, especially so because we played so iffy. Lacazette had his back to goal when he flicked in off his right foot and Mhkitarian was clinical. What’s not to enjoy?
I am desperate to believe that match was a watershed moment. When we turned it all around and secured top 4 with a majestic run in. Or maybe that s$h&t is now legal in Canada.
“Nothing son, I just fired up the grill for a minute.” But Dad, it’s -11C outside…
Long live the Arsenal.
Keeping the almost-associative discussion of our two goals-scored moving along–
Looked at the ‘Field’ and ‘Timing Chart’ xG views (at understat.com). Want to ask then– if the first backheel goal by Laca (freelancing on a wide/inaccurate shot by Mkhi) was scored as 0,63xG? Is the .63 representative of a 63% chance of scoring based on the type of shot/location (and that it scored)?
Then later– the sitter Laca effing-impossibly hit OVER the bar– is ALSO scored as 0.63xG?
Without a factor I’m missing or ignorant of? I’m going to have to say my confidence in xG’s accuracy is a bit shook. The backheel was nearly a miracle. The missed sitter even more so– but in opposition.
Both scored as 0.63xG.
(I’ll go with ‘typo’ until I hear otherwise?) 😉
jw1
I don’t know all of the ins and outs of xG but it’s not the most “intelligent” stat. I believe for the purposes of xG, Laca goal was a right footed shot from inside the 6 yard box. I don’t think xG “knows” that Laca was facing away from goal or that the contact came on the heel and not the laces. But yes in broad strokes xG boils down to the frequency with which similar shots from similar areas and with similar body parts results in actual goals. It’s still rather limited in my view but it’s the best we have at the moment.
happy for the win on sunday but let’s be clear; southampton were dreadful! there’s a reason that team is in the bottom 3.
i believe the players were happier to see both ramsey and ozil feature. one would think you would bring on a player like ozil when you’re chasing a game, not closing it out but mesut came on late and helped arsenal secure the win. with that, i felt bad for ramsey in the second half because you could see him trying to play himself into the game with little success and you saw his frustration when he finally got the hook.
diaby retires. what a waste of a supremely gifted talent. even when he went to the world cup, france were a shambles. that guy couldn’t catch a break, no pun intended.
as for emery, i’m on record saying he’s not the way forward. i could be wrong. at this point, anyone who believes he is must be saying that on the bible’s definition of faith, as there’s no evidence in the things we’ve seen. we’ll see.
I would say there is no real objective evidence, though our defensive expected goals allowed has improved since the first part of the year. Subjectively I see a team that prioritizes collectivism over individuality and that is a difficult transition for this group who were accustomed to the opposite. Where that manifests for me is we see a group that is less likely to crumble in big moments, less likely to depend on any one individual for goals and inspiration, and less likely to play in the same predictable way game after game. There are also green shoots in terms of playing out from the back and not conceding goals, as mentioned above.
None of this is to say Emery has my full confidence. I was underwhelmed by the hire (I was plumping for Arteta before that even became a thing because I’m hip like that :P) and I have no idea if it was the “right move” for Arsenal. I will staunchly stand my ground though when it comes to premature appraisals of his performance. I actually believe he is over-achieving with what he’s got. The bar gets higher in this league every year and so merely a reproduction of the top 4 worthy/sufficient (depending on your glass half full/empty predisposition) is a notable accomplishment for a rookie season for a coach who is not only new to the team but to the league as a whole, is competing with absolute giants and is replacing the most almighty arsegroove in the history of Arsenal football club. I think we can cut him some slack. But I’ve said this many times and I don’t expect others to agree with me 🙂
Have been of this mind for a year. This Summer’s TW was the one targeted for change by the Sven/Raul/Ivan team in-place last January– with or without AW’s resignation. Think this is borne out by the short-term fashion of those we have signed– and lack of availability of any we might really have wanted.
A null TW last month served up a two-fold notice IMO.
The powerboys are not yet sold on Emery. And unless he continues the upswing toward top-4? He may not be retained. Not out of the realm he was always (or likely) viewed as a one-year caretaker.
Emery has to get us to the CL this season– by hook (top-4) or by crook (win EL)– to keep the job AND get funds to invest in his type of players.
jw1
This was my reading of the situation too. Especially the Jan window, that the higher ups are still waiting to see if Emery (and Raul?) can deliver.
The only reason for him to be a one and done caretaker would be if they already had someone in mind who wasn’t ready to take over then. Like Arteta maybe. But I think this unlikely.
Top 4/EL will definitely be important to raise budgets, but I now think that unless there’s a complete collapse or player disgruntlement, we’ll have Emery with us next season even if we don’t make the CL. This would be especially true if reports of us getting Monchi are accurate.
I feel strongly that Emery will be at Arsenal for the entirety of his 2 year contract.
The crazy thing is I get all the reasonable arguments made in his favour. Contrary to these crazy rantings about how he speaks being a reason to dislike him, whenever I have seen his pressers I look more favourably towards a guy giving his best to the job. I can understand why he deserves a chance, especially if reunited with Monchi under a structure which has everyone on the same page.
And yet…and yet… I can’t shake the feeling that no matter what the results are he’s just not going to be good for Arsenal. I mean it’s not like this is not based on reason too. But ultimately all decisions are emotional. I’ve just not warmed to Emery or his vision for our style of play. But yeah, I agree he’ll see out his contract.
Makes sense to view a 2-year agreement as binding; and that UE has done his best with a roster not of his making. Then factor in injuries? He’s done admirably from most observer’s POV. If that is your take Tim.
( Note: I like UE. He’s been ‘fine’. No better, no worse.)
But I’m back to ‘it’s on a knifes-edge’. And KSE has positioned everything well enough– to continue with Emery– or press the ‘eject button’ without too much fanfare or cost to remedies. And I do feel this decision is at the corporate-level. Not a gut feel from that group either. They’ve turned around 3 franchises in short-order and know what they are seeing.
If they aren’t rock-solid positive (after this season)– on UE’s Year Two trajectory– solidifying Arsenal as a top-4 club? IMO– what’s the point of seeing how next year turns out with him at the helm?
If there’s a more convincing managerial candidate available late-May- I press the eject button without hesitation. Buy the Newman’s system the players required.
(Of course, it would be nice if we did make a change? We were to find a Newman who doesn’t want to use Mesut Ozil as a plowhorse!)
jw1
I don’t love what Emery’s done so far. Jury is very much out, at best, I’m not convinced by what we’ve achieved, especially on the defensive side. However, barring a late season melt-down or complete falling out with the players, I think the club must keep him for at least one more full year. We have had so much drama with Wenger out, the Sanchez saga, the Arteta near-signing, Ivan and Sven leaving, Ramsey leaving – none of which you can lay completely at Unai’s feet. We need some degree of stability and an honest effort at creating a foundation for renewal. Sacking him creates a lot more uncertainty and chaos, and sets us back even further on the rebuild everyone knows is coming.
I think the lack of tw support in January was the result of Sven leaving and Raul not wanting to invest in players that might not fit with the new director of football’s vision. We need to have head coach, Director of Football, senior management and ownership aligned before putting money into a true revamp. Assuming Monchi rumors are true, that’s what’s happening come summer. (he says hopefully) 🙂
I’d have preferred Jardim or Allegri but I’m just philosophically committed to letting any new Arsenal manager come in and try to do things his way.
He has to learn what works and what doesn’t. Wenger drilled a similar idea into us when it came to his signings – he said give a new signing a season to bed in and you will see the benefits in their second season. When Wenger arrived in ’96 he had the foundation of a title-winning defence to build his first title on. Emery doesn’t even have that.
One of the crucial indicators I was looking out for from Emery was noticeable improvement in our players age 24 and under (because above that age players are already matured or defined). Kolasinac, Iwobi, Bellerin, Holding need consistenty but they’ve all found new levels. And I expect Torreira/Guendouzi to drop off a little now having played so much in an intense first English season, but next year they will be even more exciting to watch.
And besides, I seem to remember the same person saying they’ve seen “no evidence” that Emery’s the way forward also saying that Torreira would be a massive dud!
The Leicester job became open. It’s a substantial one. But weirdly, no one is mentioning Arteta.
The idea that Arsenal is his manifest destiny is bizarre to me. Has any assistant coach not at a club ever been so hyped by a section of its fans? I just don’t get it. Arsenal, at this stage of a post Wenger overhaul, is not the club for a rookie coach who hasn’t managed for one minute.
I loved Arteta the player and man, btw, up there with my love for BFG. He was one of the best midfielders we had at reading the game in recent times.
Emery? While it’s too early to form definitive and determinative opinions, he’s shown us more than enough to make intelligent evaluations (and the regulars here are above average smart students of the game). Heck, he’s been in the job twice as long as some coaches have survived.
His handling of Ozil was poor, and that becomes clearer by the day. It looks, reading between the lines and observing this with a keen eye, as if the players staged an intervention. It was clear from the on-field interactions that they considered Alexis to be a richard. Far different with Ozil and Ramsey, who both look to be outgoing. And more importantly that was the footballing case, painstakingly made by Tim.
Two, the Southampton game was the first in which the defence looked well drilled and cohesive, but even then, as Tim pointed out, they had their “Mr bean lands on his feet” moments. And Leno, who was excellent, had a not much commented on say in the final outcome. Until then, our defensive organisation under him has not been good enough and it’s not too early to see or say that.
Three, he’s too often served up some stodgy fare attacking wise, even with 4 excellent forward players in his squad. The City game at the Etihad, he sent out a team to not play football. That’s on him, and honestly, the margin of defeat flattered us. Sure, City are miles better, but you send footballer players out to play, no? Even against lowly opposition, we look skittish and nervy in defence. Until Southampton. Let’s see how sustainable that is.
But, to repeat, he deserves at least another 2 years and 2 or 3 transfer windows of ins/outs to let us really see what he’s got. I hope that Arsenal are not the kind of club to shift a manager after one season of restricted operation. I guess you can say that those are values that the club should hold dear 😉
I thought in the big scheme, he handled Ozil ok and Ozil handled the situation ok too. He needed the players to know this was his club now, not Ozil’s. That started by not giving Ozil any special treatment. He had to do his part for the collective, whatever that meant to Emery, and if he didn’t, he wouldn’t play. When the media asked him about it, he kept repeating that Ozil was just like any other player. That was imperative for him to establish and early signs are he has won that battle. Ozil will have to play by Emery’s rules if he wants to play, and he’s not someone who’s going to sulk in the shadows, crying over spoilt milk or using his connections to undermine his boss. Deep down I bet Ozil agrees with Emery’s direction for the club and probably understands the importance of setting an example in terms of work rate in the modern game. He’d be a fool not to.
Disclaimer: This is all speculation and opinion!
But informed opinion and so reasonable speculation. It’s amazing how much time and effort we (supporters) put into this stuff (ideas, opinions, etc.) without a sniff of what’s actually going on.
I think of Arsenal as a fun, absorbing, but sometimes unhealthy hobby. My kids are older now and they’ve learned to deal with this hobby of mine. But why should any family member have to “deal” with living with a supporter?
Age old problem to which there’s only one good cure for which any doctor anywhere in the world will recognize and recommend. It’s usually silvery and shiny and has ribbons hanging from it.
I really enjoy your comments 1NIL. There’s a lot of value in us reflecting on how this fanaticism impacts those around us. Dating someone for whom the entire subject is irrelevant helps keep it in perspective for me.
Remember Rioch 🙂
On Arteta though. Again, I can understand the view that it’s absurd. That was my reaction when Henry used to be talked about as a potential manager. But Arteta nearly got the job, which means some people in the know clearly rate him. That Leicester don’t, or don’t think he’d be interested doesn’t change that.
The structure is supposed to help any coach, and Arteta’s experience at the club, including in stabilising us along with Per when he first got here, might even help. We have some idea what he’s like. It’s mostly a guess for us with every manager anyway. But mainly I suppose the idea of Arteta appeals because he can be anything we want him to be. To hire him would also signal a preparedness for a long term project at Arsenal. Not sure what the project currently is.
I could also warm to the idea of Freddie at some point. He’s been doing a good job with the reserves, and he’s been assistant, albeit for a short time, at a Bundesliga club. A few recent promotions from reserve team to the top job haven’t worked out too badly.
But Emery will stay. Not sure he’ll get at least 2 more years as you ask though.
Good points. But the only people who seem to be calling for Atreta are gooners with keyboards and time on their hands 😉 My reasoning is simple. There are a lot of promising continental managers locking down jobs at clubs with good potential, and I never see Arteta’s name in the mix. Football management isnt like a Hollywood romance, where he’s destined for one great love. Even Arsene Wenger had tried France and Japan before coming to a club as big as Arsenal.
Now Freddie, sure. He has head coached something. And according Ornstein, is highly rated on the basis of that head coaching experience.
If Arteta is eventually appointed, I’ll get on board. Just dont see the case for it now, or last summer. Emery, as much as Ive criticised him, was a solid hire by Arsenal FC.
Oh I agree with the logic of the Emery hiring, and as I’ve constantly maintained the results are fine under him, which is nothing to sniff at. I’m not saying it was a mistake to go for Emery over Arteta. But I do wonder if taking the less logical, less safe, but bolder action would have been for the better.
We’ll never know but that was my preferred course given the available alternatives for the job. It’s based on nothing more than intuition and personal preference.
Abide what 1Nil stated– “But informed opinion and so reasonable speculation. It’s amazing how much time and effort we (supporters) put into this stuff (ideas, opinions, etc.) without a sniff of what’s actually going on.”
Works. By affording respect for ‘informed opinion and reasonable speculation’. Even if not yours.
+++
Claude, sir. We two slammed iceberg-like last time we were on the topic of Arteta managing Arsenal. Now, several here (myself included) didn’t wave off the concept as traditionally impossible. Reasons differ I’m sure. But– to some– it did make sense.
Today, it may currently be as you say: Gooners With Keyboards (wonder if the domain is available?) –pining for Arteta. But up until last June 18th? Of the votes that counted it was probably Josh, Ivan, Sven– Huss on the fence– when Sanllehi made his power-play. Arsenal was this close (thumb/forefinger an inch apart) from hiring Mikel Arteta. Solid information backs that statement.
Not like that bunch ate psilocybin for a week straight, came down, collectively slapped their foreheads and exclaimed: “Holy crap and WTF! We nearly hired Mikel-effing-Arteta.”
It was the plan.
No matter how ludicrous it could seem to some.
So, it could be a benefit to accept the possibility as probable at one juncture.
We’d just cruise over that speed bump and all save some keystrokes.
That said? I don’t see it as possible now. Not with the current power structure at AFC.
jw1
I think the Solskjaer story is interesting with regard to this. Also a good player, but not a top, top one, relatively untested but completely impregnated with the club culture, obviously smart, young, refreshing, never mentioned by anyone before,… It could (have) worked. But, indeed, what a risk! The big difference here is that OGS was hired by MU as a caretaker, not a full trainer, with a short contract. That move was a lot less risky and was dictated by the urgency of the situation.
Yeah interesting parallel. Although Solskjaer has actual managerial experience. After he retired he spent a couple of seasons coaching at Rosenborg? Or Molde.
Emery has handled the Õzil situation fine. It’s really not the biggest issue going on at the club. What’s far more important than coddling a star player when you’re a new coach taking charge of a new team, is setting the right tone in training.
Training is absolutely everything. Ideally a coach wants older, experienced players to help set that tone. They need to arrive early and *visibly* work harder than anyone else, on fitness runs they need to be at the front of the pack to “set the pace”, and they need to encourage others who are struggling. In 5 vs 5 games they need to be the ones who play to the last second and never give up, even at the end of a gruelling day. I imagine these hidden factors are why we ignored his age and signed up old man Derelicht.
You can’t have a player given a leadership position like Õzil was at the start of the season start going missing through illness/injury and continuously let him walk back into the team ahead of guys who’ve turned up and been training extremely hard waiting for their opportunity. It’s anti-competitive, it’s demoralising, and it disincentivizes hard graft.
To his immense credit, Õzil is a pro! He knows this! Emery could not have been clearer about hard work and consistency! Which is why he hasn’t complained at all, and why Emery has at times still given him the captain’s armband.
lol. last week you were totally fine with blanking him for good. And (hilariously) equating him with Elneny. Your shift of the goalposts, while subtle, has been noted.
I understand your view on Özil/Emery. I just have an opposing view, and try my best to explain it. But acting like my argument is (hilarious) without actually refuting it just tells me you can’t refute it. If it’ s that dumb, show how dumb it is.
And now you’ve invented a “player intervention” out of whole cloth to explain something as simple as Özil being fit and healthy again. And remember, an intervention like that would also mean risking the bad blood of the player dropped to make way. It’s not very plausible. I know you value Ornstein’s words, but let’s also listen to players like Sokratis, who said after the Bate game:
“He was sick, he had some problems but after he came back for training”, implying that yes, Özil was absent with illness for a minute.
“Now, he is good… He enjoys (himself) and we enjoy that he is with us. But when you are injured, it is difficult.” Doesn’t sound like much of a conspiracy to me.
You missed the careful wording that preceded “player intervention.”
This is the problem with these kinds of online debates. People sometimes take a meat axe to nuance.
Your positions now, as opposed to last week, have conveniently shifted (though youre hardly the only one making new, convenient arguments), which is a tad intellectually inconsistent (another carefully chosen word formulation).
And are you still sore that Elneny is still being frozen out?
In the interests of nuance, I’ll take it in good faith that you just didn’t understand what I meant when I compared Elneny being frozen out to Özil.
Both players have been absent from a lot of squads. People assume that with Özil it’s a club-sanctioned financial consideration, but surely Elneny also being absent meant it was plausible it was just the coach’s decision to go with other players?
And on the other hand, people fixated on how much we were wasting on wages with Özil and told Emery to just play him. My argument was Elneny’s salary was also going to waste – why weren’t people outraged about not getting value for money from his contract? It seemed a bit arbitrary.
I agree with what Doc said earlier – for me the most plausible explanation was Emery’s oft-repeated view that Ozil was just like any other player.
Demanding that he appear in the 18-man squad would be like picking a player based on salary, and that’s not his philosophy. Wenger wanted a flat wage structure, Emery wants a flat player preference structure where everyone trains their way into the team, and Mesut couldn’t do that because he was absent.
Not saying it’s factual. It’s just my opinion, but that’s why I thought contrasting Elneny’s treatment with Özil might be instructive.
Leicester is a bad fit: Arteta will want to play progressive possession football, Schmeichel and Vardy just want to play longballs with each other.
LOL I see what you did there Tim
Awful lot there that’s speculative/unsupported, so yes appreciate the disclaimer.
Ornstein’s done a lot of insider journalism on this, so we dont have to.
A bit convenient that Ozil started training well enough just after we’d lost to Bate playing the way we did, putting our EL campaign at risk, and just after Ozil sent out a post ‘undermining’ the coach which was liked by Iwobi (presumably one of those at risk of losing his place to Ozil) and Xhaka. All part of a masterplan from Emery to lay down the law.
I laughed at Emery’s attempts at saving face then, and I find this narrative amusing. But it’s not really important as long as Ozil is back, the players are happy, and the team plays well and wins. I don’t think Emery’s still too happy to play Ozil, but I don’t think he can drop him from the squad again.
If he’s a coach worth his salt, he’ll drop Ozil again the moment he gets too comfortable. Otherwise this whole Ozil saga has been just a charade, and Emery doesn’t seem like the type of bloke who plays charades, nor do I think he would stay around to coach a club that forced him to play charades. It’s up to Ozil to show the coach that he can adapt his game to suit the style of the team. I don’t see why he shouldn’t be able to do just that.
I still don’t think Ozil will start any away matches for the rest of this season, but I think he will be an important piece of the squad in certain games and certain situations. I actually like the idea of Ozil as a home specialist and an impact substitute, and I don’t think Arsenal can finish 4th without his contribution.
I’m going to try to pull back and take a broader perspective on Emery. Some points to consider:
We had a manager take over for a legendary predecessor.
There was an entitled, underachieving culture with some of the players
He inherited a very imbalanced roster
He was selected too late to influence most of the summer signings.
He lost 3 regular starters to season-ending injuries.
His defense has been plagued by additional injuries that have not allowed any continuity (including Kos returning in late November, Mavro out till December and occasional Sokratis, Musti and Kola nicks)
The executive that signed the manager left the club.
The scouting director who’d been put in place only a year earlier left the club.
He got no budget in the January transfer window.
We had a 22 game unbeaten streak at one point
We are currently fourth, with a reasonable chance of finishing in that spot
We are very much alive in Europa league.
If you had told me all that before the season, I would have jumped at the situation we now have. Were we not going to look dismal from time to time this season? Should we expect him not to have clashes with players who didn’t fit his vision? Should we expect our defense to improve with all the injuries it’s sustained? Should his style of play be crystal clear to everyone without the players he wants, and the injuries we’ve dealt with?
As I said above, the jury is still out on Emery. I can’t say he is a genius or our long-term answer for coach. And while I don’t see anyone here calling for his head (Yes, Tim, I understand your aren’t Emery out, and this post isn’t directed at you, specifically), I think we have ALL been really uncharitable in our assessment of him (myself included!).
I don’t think we fully appreciate the obstacles that have been put in front of him with the changes in management, lack of budget, significant injuries, and a very imbalanced roster. It’s possible we are all so accustomed to this level of drama and dysfunction we don’t realize how ridiculously hard Emery’s job is. In our minds, we are The Arsenal, and it’s an honor to coach this team with its storied history. Anyone should be able to take this talented team and mold it into a consistent winner. In truth, this is a club that’s been in steady decline. Things got worse after he was hired, things that were out of his control. It could easily have been a completely disastrous season, given everything that’s transpired.
Could my opinion of Emery change if we fall into the tank by season’s end? Absolutely. But there is an argument to be made that he’s held this thing together pretty damn well, all things considered.
A few quibbles, but please don’t think I’m fighting you on this, because I think your points are correct and reasonable.
1. Maybe it’s just me but I don’t think our injury situation has been as bad as is being made out. Bellerin aside.
2. Emery’s been somewhat stuck in the middle between enforcing a style of play and using the players we have. This is bad. If Ozil doesn’t meet his style of play, bench him no problem. But then play a convincing, consistent style.
3. My biggest sympathy for him comes from the idea that this might well be due to decisions taken from above. No way were we trying to get rid of Ramsey and Ozil while Gazidis was here. Our wage bill concerns weren’t enough to stop us even honouring any deal offered to Wilshere. This is new. In a weird way though it also leads me to…
4. Mistrust of Emery as the man brought in by Raul. Either he said whatever it took to get the job while Ivan was here, or he is just going along with the boss now. (I lean towards the former) It doesn’t bode well either way.
5. Not to do with Emery, but I really don’t get the enthusiasm of Arsenal fans when they talk about wages. Arsenal have money. We’re getting even more money. And we’ll be shedding wages in the offseason anyway. By my back of the envelope calculations, we’ve barely added to our wage bill since last January, and that’s with Ozil’s new contract.
Not picking bones with anyone, but looking into the past Wenger had a lot of injuries to contend with too, and I don’t know if welbeck was really a starter for eg. Certainly not as much as santi, but nobody seems to give Wenger any excuse for that. Sorry for diaby, but again he had plenty of detractors even when he was fit and playing.
The Arsenal injury situation, viewed from the lens of Santi Cazorla’s revelations and a known history of MULTIPLE players with injuries that left them sidelined for MUCH longer than should’ve been necessary… there were some major issues there from a medical professional point of view. The Cazorla interview about this showed that the staff were full of conceit about their own expertise while also letting things drag on, ignoring what the player is telling them… viewed from this lens, the situations of players such as Diaby, such as Rosicky, such as van Persie, such as Vermaelen, such as Wilshere and of course Cazorla… all important, all first team players, all would’ve helped the team in a major way if fit during crucial periods. Some of this was difficult to diagnose, like Vermaelen’s plantaris tendonitis, but Rosicky was given the wrong diagnosis for about two years before his hamstring injury was eventually repaired, and by then nearly irreparable damage had been done to his muscles and to the prime of his career. Ditto Cazorla. Ditto Wilshere, who was also never the same after he came back from his injury. I imagine peak Rosicky, peak Wilshere, peak Diaby, peak Cazorla playing in Arsene’s midfield from 2007-2014 and THAT is what makes me want to cry. This injury situation and the chronic mishandling of it by Arsenal’s (it is easy to argue) conceited and negligent medical staff is probably the greatest tragedy to befall Arsene and his teams since 2005. I’m sorry but O’Driscoll and his staff haven’t been good enough and I am shocked he is still on staff with us.
Based on what we’ve seen and how Emery used Welbeck early on, I think Danny would have logged lots of minutes this season. He runs hard, tracks back, and is athletic. All traits Emery values. A lot of time on the wing. Maybe not starting every game, but getting a lot of time.
Agree. Very Emery player.