I’ve had a chance to listen to Freddie’s post-match press conference and he comes across as a very thoughtful coach. I also appreciate his candor when discussing the problems he saw in the match and telling folks that he is going to address those problems. However, like he said, he would normally require a 5 week pre-season to implement a new playing style and instead of five weeks of intense sessions, we play every three days from now until January.
The positives from the presser were that he wants Arsenal to dominate possession more “We want to be a club that has possession and hopefully when we have the ball and the opponents don’t they can’t shoot as much.” Absolutely correct. And you could see it in the match as well, Arsenal spent much of the first half, hemming Norwich into their own half. Passing and probing for weaknesses. Very much like the old Arsene Wenger led Arsenal.
The other positive is that he noticed transitions are a problem. I don’t know when I became inured to this but whenever Arsenal defend in transitions I no longer see what we were even doing wrong. I just see players like McLean waltzing 25 yards up the pitch without anyone stopping them or even slowing them down and figure that’s how Arsenal play football. And for their first goal, you see that exact thing happen.
Willock loses possession on the edge of the Norwich final third. Xhaka puts pressure on Hernandez which leaves McLean covered by Guendouzi. McLean collects and runs straight through the Arsenal midfield, Guendouzi backpedals with him but never puts any pressure on the man with the ball, staying ten yards off the entire time. McLean passes to Pukki (who made a nice run) but it’s not even a good pass. Mustafi doesn’t try to tackle Pukki. David Luiz backs off. Pukki scores off Mustafi.
Xhaka was the only player who put any pressure on the ball. Guendouzi is the first at fault here (I am not abusing nor condoning abuse). It’s only Pukki and McLean all alone in the Arsenal half. Any pressure at all on McLean changes the outcome of that possession.
And obviously, one of Mustafi and David Luiz should have put pressure on Pukki when he received the pass. That’s terrible transition defending and if Freddie is going to work on that, I stand 100% behind him. Even if we just tactical foul, yes please. Just stop the ball.
As for the lineups, which I freely admit (irrationally) incensed me, Freddie gave his reasons “I have been here for three months and last year I was the manager of the under-23s and I saw every game for the first team so I have an opinion about how we can play and what players to use. I try to see things like that, everybody has a fair chance and what I see in training and in games is what I will judge them on.”
This is fair for him to do though he will take pelters for it. He repeated this line when asked about why he chose Saka over Pepe and again people are questioning him, which they will do. Sometimes the best players in training aren’t the best players on the pitch and sometimes the players who are worst in training turn out to be the best players on matchday.
But like he said, he’s watched every game and every training session, and he wants to start with a clean slate. So he went with the lineup he went with. I still think Mustafi is the wrong choice, that we need to start Torreira in midfield, and then after that we can start tinkering with the starting lineups but hey ultimately it’s his job and if he doesn’t get the results he will lose the job.
And by some accounts, the club are seriously looking at Freddie as the long-term option. I’ve already gone on record that I figured the club would just appoint him until the end of the season and that I would be fine with that provided that they did a good search for a permanent candidate. Obviously, if he’s hugely impressive then we wouldn’t want to throw him out just because he’s not named Allegri. So, this is his audition.
Apparently, he’s gotten Paul Scholes’ ire up for not dressing in a suit and tie and Lee Dixon said something about how he looked too relaxed on the sidelines “chewing gum and leaning back”. If he’s pissing off the traditionalists that would be a bonus. Though first he needs to get the club playing well on the pitch.
He thinks that we can still get top four and it’s not impossible. We do have the attack for it. However, we will need to get 54 points or so from the next 24 matches. That’s an 85 point season pace and would normally make you a title contender. Frankly, if he can pull that off we would probably be fools to not hire him.
So best of luck, Freddie Ljungberg. First step is to work on those transitions. That means you Mr. Guendouzi (this statement is not abuse nor condoning abuse).
On the last post I wrote that I think it’s all a big pantomime by Sanllehi and Edu. The only way Freddie keeps the job past the end of May is making top 4 or winning the Europa League. We’re going to be the new Wolves, the new Valencia, with the super-agents running our recruitment of players and managers. The weeds are starting to take root.
This is awful to think about. If this is the case, I might not watch anymore. Just Google “Arsenal score” forlornly every Sunday afternoon.
funny but I was just listening to the totally football show and they think Ake is terrible. I’ve only watched him a handful of times and never specifically scouted him so I have no opinion.
The guy I want is Tyrone Mings. 6’5″, athletic, left-footed. Villa paid 25M for him – he’s worth 40M+. Pair him up with Saliba next year and we have an imposing duo in the middle.
I’d sell Lacazette in January just to fund that purchase.
Jack – I’m coming around to selling Lacazette too. And I have been a big supporter. But our problems in midfield and central defense are so glaring that we have to do something. And it’s increasingly apparent that we can’t play Laca and Auba together effectively.
I don’t believe either Laca or Auba are staying. Lacazette is the player unfortunately surplus to needs at the moment because he’s not scoring on the road. I like him very much and think he works for the team and is a good team player. That said, both Laca and Auba are going to be sold in the next six months, might as well start the ball rolling with Lacazette in January, Auba in the summer. I have a feeling Guendouzi will agitate for a move in the summer as well if those other two are sold. It’s all good. Let’s get young players in that want to be here and fit together better.
I also rate Mings and he is in my fantasy team.
Then again, so is Norwiches’s Cantwell.
Honestly, I’m just happy to be watching again with interest. I was finding it a struggle to sit through a match during the last few weeks of the Emery era. I was also dismayed/bewildered by some of Freddie’s selections. I do not understand why Torreira isn’t being played routinely at DM. Not that he is perfect, but he’s the closest thing we have to an actual DM. I have beaten this poor horse repeatedly, but our midfield is still a disaster. We MUST find an aggressive, strong, athletic midfielder who can run and win tackles. That doesn’t exist on our team, and hasn’t for a while. As you said, watching McLean breeze by us over and over was so disheartening. Without that strong tackler, we simply retreat all the way down the field to defend our own box. Sure it will happen occasionally to any side, but it seems it’s just our style of play, and it’s deflating for everyone. Freddie has to solve the transitions – as you said, at least he’s aware of it.
Interim managers in England dont do suit and tie. That is seen as getting ahead of themselves. Nor do Assistant Managers. Pat Rice, Steve Bould and Freddie never suited up. Bizarre argument from Scholes, who’s as terrible as a pundit as he was excellent as footballer.
Cant argue with Freddie on his points. I’d push back by saying yes, you watched every training session, but you also watched every game. And if you did, you wouldnt start Musti or Xhaka in a game in which you were looking to be assertive.
What did he get right? He benched Sokratis, who has been poor for 2 months now. He preferred a RB who is a proper defender, in Chambers.
I can barely understand Scholes. I think he’s suffering from CTE or something, too many Ferguson shoes to the head.
FA Cup draw – we’re at home to… Leeds. I’ve been an ever-growing Leeds admirer under Bielsa. I think we’re in for a lot of problems in that game. If our problem is dealing with a high pressing, energetic team, then hold on tight.
If we don’t manage to improve substantially (i.e. manage to climb back into top 4, don’t Europa is winnable for this squad)) I can’t see a top striker like Auba sticking around and losing what’s left of his prime years at Arsenal.
Ha! I get that Freddie is towing the company line but we ain’t getting top 4. And winning the EL is probably just as challenging.
It’s clear we need fresh personnel but if you look at the comings and goings the past eighteen months it’s unsustainable. Recruitment needs to improve (who makes the decisions?) and coaching most definitely needs to improve. Rodgers has probably added at least £150M to his squad’s resale value. We on the other hand either allow players to stagnate or leave on a Bosman. Even if we sell our most valuable assets which I believe we will, we can’t keep chopping and changing. A perfect experiment to assess Freddie’s impact is to see discernible improvement in Guen’s game. Do you think you could task him with this Tim as part of his first 90 day objectives?
I thought we were for too emerylike yesterday, from Guendouzi instead of Tereira to playing it out from the back too often.
Over the years, for some time now, we have been vulnerable to crosses and to breakaways when we commit too many players in attack (since when was that called “transition”).
Just Freddie using that emeryword puts me off.
I agree, however, that now is the time to play the experienced players, not the youngsters who have been corrupted by 18 months of Emery.
Let them steady the ship and then bring the youngsters on
For those on the Pochettino train: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/12/02/exclusive-clubs-attempts-hire-mauricio-pochettino-season-would/
Can you imagine us having to negotiate with Daniel Levy? I don’t have any spare 1st born children to throw into that deal.
Pochettino says he got a few offers that he is considering. Bayern or Man U is what I read seem to be the leading guesses.
You and other gooners are not going to like hearing this, but Arsenal is a step down for Pocchetino. Still, as they say, beggars can’t be choosers. Arsenal are still a well regarded club, and a good name on a coach’s CV. A saw this on twitter earlier. Allegri and his entourage made me chuckle. He is apparently first choice, though.
https://twitter.com/ltarsenal/status/1201413383980900352
That article is misleading at best: Pochettino is being paid his guaranteed contract but he’s not under contract at Tottenham. We wouldn’t have to pay Spurs anything nor negotiate with Levy for anything. What would happen, however, is if Poch takes another job he would lose his £12m in guaranteed wages. Maybe he likes not working and collecting a paycheck. Most likely he would just want a salary that matches or exceeds what Tottenham guaranteed him.
Curious to see what Freddie will do with Guendouzi.
Guen is fundamentally a defensive midfielder (thanks, Josh), and the way he’s playing at the moment, a team that had true depth would, shall we say, give him some time out of the starting lineup. He does not offer enough in the final third. What he needs trained into him is better positional discipline and greater defensive awareness. He’s a tough kid, takes a lot of banging for the team, he plays hard, and is competitive. I like him a lot.
But in a system that lacks sound coaching, he can get exposed. The problem that he and the the whole team has is deciding, in an instant of an opposition attack, who picks up whom. Transitions. That’s why you see a lot of throwing of hands up in the air after a f*** up, particularly from Musti, Guendouzi and his hairsake, David Luiz. You can see, from their reactions, that there was a collective botching of tactics.
You look at Guendouzi, Maitland-Niles and other young players and you see tactical confusion. Yesterday I looked closely at Everton against Leicester. They lost, but they played well. Each man knew and understood his tactical role. I don’t want much from Arsenal at this point… I just want us to look as if we know what we’re doing out there defensively. Yesterday, after the mess ups in the opposition third in which Willock et were culpable, the midfield parted like the Red Sea.
Guen should mostly sit in a double pivot, and surge when space opens up in front of him. But he should never venture into the opposition box. He also has to learn to keep a cool head. He is a red-card-by a trigger-happy referee waiting to happen.
Please, Freddie. Get some good coaching to this lad. He is special, but he’s looking jaded.
My question on Guendouzi is how much of his current deficiencies is down to coaching and how much down to who he is. By some reports he was almost un-coachable at Lorient and they were happy to be rid of him for a pretty meagre fee all told. I can’t believe Emery gave him complete license to vacate the middle and sit on the flanks playing little one-twos with our fullbacks and wingers and then, oops, we’ve lost possession and there goes the other team!
If you can get him to stay in the middle, play like a true pivot and move the ball around with passing rather than dribbling, he’s got a future. But if he’s going to act bewildered at being subbed off when he was pretty ineffectual, that tells me there’s a lack of humility there that will ultimately cap his development and perhaps we are better off investing in Willock, ESR, AMN and Burton as our midfielders of the future.
The reverse is also true. Players with obvious talent, when put in teams with no obvious method or system can quite quickly become very average. I’ve lost count of the number of players who have shone at first, then after a few games drop like a stone. You could probably make your own list.
What for the love of Pete is the reason for the clamor for Arteta. Right now Ljungberg is an actual manager with 1 game of experience under his belt which more than Guardiola’s bench jockey. Ljungberg can show us what he’s got while Arteta continues to be a what-if.
For some reason, didn’t get the email notifications of new blog posts. Here I’ve missed a bunch.
I didn’t have too high of expectations for the Norwich match, particularly when I saw neither Holding or Tierney starting. I’m not ready to give up on Holding, he’s obviously still coming back from the injury, and might at least be a potential part of the defense solution. And hopefully we can get Hector back to full strength and playing well on the right.
I do think Chambers is an option for CDM, and honestly, I thought Luiz did OK there before getting hurt. I think both are better options than Xhaka or Guend. Jury’s still out on Torreira for me. I had initially hoped he’d be our Kante, but that’s looking less likely.
I think both Willock and Guend can be good. But neither is ready to run central midfield, the way Ramsey or Arteta could, to say nothing of Santi. And Ozil is hot and cold, but still at least has the creative passing ability we don’t have from anyone else.
Up front, Auba is essentially undroppable for us at the moment. We’d be well in the relegation zone without him. Lacazette on the other hand, may be worth selling if we can get a decent price. I don’t think there’s a great solution to playing he and Auba together. And definitely not Auba, Laca, Pepe and Ozil together unless it’s the last 15 and we’re chasing a goal. Auba and Pepe might work if Pepe can get off the blocks. If he can’t, we may be stuck with him fo rthe price we paid. It’s increasingly looking like that would have been better spent on a top central midfielder.
Mostly, Tierney missing from the lineup for me. His crossing may have been the tool to pick the lock at times. While Kolasinac, the locomotive he is– ran straight down the track– on schedule. Norwich was susceptible on Mesut’s corners. Possibly too– to Kieran’s various set of blades into the center of the box.
Believe we had one match earlier this season with both Chambers and Holding playing CB, where the defense was solid. Likely one of the early cup or EL group matches. Suppose that’s folly until Bellerin gets up to PL fitness. I’d rather see either of those with Luiz than Mustafi (ever again).
Am a fan of the underappreciated Laca. Rather Giroud-like in that respect. You don’t miss those characteristics until you don’t have them to call upon. But then? For me in that January TW where Auba joined Laca– it occurred they were both stopgaps (at or right at 30) until the backroom and managerial situations solidified over the next 2 seasons. That at the right times– they’d both be sold on to fund the next step of the club’s rebuild. The pair of them are currently stanching the bleeding– of a club full of fairly expensive talent– that were allowed to devolve into a chaos machine of random results within the space of a pitch.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_theory#/media/File:Double-compound-pendulum.gif
(Tell me this doesn’t remind of a Guendouzi heat map? 😔)
Freddie may not have the training time between matches to deprogram the team from what Unai Emery has wrought. And possibly not quickly enough to halt this current slow-motion spiral. Add-in the human factors? It might not hold at all.
I’ve already said I didn’t like the starting lineup but I see many fans are giving Freddie a pass there.
Sure, why not.
Just this though, in a very important away game Arsenal started two 20 year olds in their midfield …..and Xhaka.
How far have fallen from “ we are capable of competing with the likes of Bayern” days.
Great post Tim
A lot of people were unhappy about Freddie’s starting line up but you have to assume he thought those were the players who gave us the best chance to win. The fact that it was a line up which was closer to one that Emery used Then we liked suggests that Freddie agreed with Emery and we may be off target regarding which players were Emery’s best option. Freddie has been with the team all season and he has seen Torriera play DM and just like Emery he didn’t think Torriera is his best option. That does not surprise me but a much bigger concern is using 3 U21 players instead of Pepe. That does not bode well for our future.
Regarding the idea of selling Lacazette we only have 2 players on the entire squad who are even a nominal threat to score a goal in any game. Suggesting we sell 1 of them seems completely suicidal to me. The math is rather straightforward. If we sold laca we wouldn’t even have much of a chance if Auba doesn’t score in every game.
Goals do not just happen. You can have the worlds greatest creative players and a brilliant tactical manager and awesome build up play but it all goes to waste if you don’t have anyone who can turn the passes into a goal scored. . Any team which wants to be a champions league contender needs a critical mass of players who are good at scoring goals. Laca is not as prolific as we had hoped but he can get us low to mid teens in league goals and other then Auba there is no one else on this squad who can do that.
what was Freddie supposed to do pick Chelsea players?
we only have a squad of what 25 three are keepers there were 3 or 4 injuries some very inexperienced players who would be a gamble and a couple of players taken ill before the game (apparently) .
bit hard to pick a new starting 11 from what was left.
don’t feel Freddie is getting a fair deal atm
Mings, Ndidi and Haagland – IN
Ozil, Sokratis, Kolasniac and which ever of the front two who wants to leave but keep the other one. – OUT
Biesla, Rodgers, NES, Allegri or Nagelsmann – IN
For those who may have missed it (as I did), the single greatest individual performance by any player in the history of Arsenal as a football club:
https://arseblog.news/2019/12/army-of-miedema/
Purely as a matter of interest, is there any FA regulation that specifically says that women aren’t allowed to play in the men’s team?
My mind goes back to Ray Hankin and John Hawley, to name but two. Truly awful players. Miedema must be better than that.