Arsenal v. Man U: it’s going to be a rough one

69 comments

1. Agree with midfield being an issue as pressing as centre back but surely it doesn’t matter whether we have 4 or 12 central defenders; if they all defend like Mustafi and Socrates – the result is still the same: we need to score three times in order to guarantee a win.

2. Arteta said Pepe isn’t being played because he’s not training hard enough. Arsenal must be the only team who would spend 72 million on a player then not play him because he doesn’t train hard enough.

   1. Wenger would have sent people around to make sure he was a good guy, that he worked hard in training, that he was surrounded by good people, and that he was a professional footballer and not just half-assing things and riding on his talent. Unbelievable that we signed a guy without looking into those issues or worse if we signed him anyway. Actually, that kind of backs up my point in the article that I think our transfer business has been shockingly poorly run.

      1. I was actually very excited about Pepe coming here but my excitement was based on his 10 minute you tube clip.
         I hope Arsenal scouting was a bit more extensive than that.

         I’m still hoping there’s more to his game than just brilliant dribbling but in his defense, it must’ve been a real culture shock facing a six foot six 200 pound left back in Dan Burn of Brighton who’s allowed by refs to manhandle or slide tackle you so long the ball is anywhere in vicinity without a foul being called.

         1. I was hugely excited about Pepe based solely off his stats. I identified him as the one player I would bring in to the club (other than Jadon Sancho) because he ticks all the boxes. I still think the club’s main target was Zaha, however, and they rushed signing Pepe because they wanted us to “get excited”.

            1. My guess is Arteta wants to play a right footed right winger. That’s the only reason I can think to play Nelson. That being the case, where does that leave Pépé?

      2. Isn’t the quote from Raul Sanllehi that we were gonna be more agent driven in recruitment? Something like that. So we put out the bat signal now and see what garbage agents bring to us?

         First we go to stats, now to agents. Nowhere in that line is talking to the player and his coaches. Didn’t Pepe play for Bielsa? How could he play for Bielsa and not work hard?

   2. There may be a case that the team structure and players availability is making it more difficult to get Pepe in.. If AMN is going to be tucked into center at the back when in possession, then there needs to be right footed player attacking right. Ozil can provide support to him. But both Ozil and Pepe might not work so easily. It’s a conjecture of course that ignores the voices doubting Pepe’s efforts in training…

3. Is that how scared you guys are of us? 😀😀😀😀
   Good to know 😁😁😁😁

   1. This used to be THE signature match-up of the season in the EPL. Fact is, no one is scared of either of us any more.

4. Yeah, if Saka has a significant injury, we’ve got a big LB problem. We’re down to academy players there pretty much. And at the moment, not like we have a surplus of outstanding center backs that we can move there either. Feel terrible for Chambers if it is an ACL…he’s been one of the better players this season, and certainly has made his case to be a regular starter.
   Agree with what was said relative to CDM. Guendouzi has potential in central midfield, perhaps more as a box-2-box type. I don’t think he fits in the CDM role, though maybe Arteta can train him to be one. And Torreira may just be too small for that role, though Kante isn’t exactly a big guy. So no great solutions there either.
   The transfer decision making has been terrible. The initial Ozil and Sanchez transfers were good. And we dropped Sanchez at the right time. The huge new contract to Ozil was less good. And the Auba purchase has proven good. But almost every other big move of the last 3-4 years has gone less well than hoped. Ironically, in United, we’re playing the only other team that has spent even more money, with equally poor results.

   1. Kante is 2cm taller and has about 20lbs on Torreira.

      Torreira is simply too small to play midfield in the Premier League

      1. 2cm isn’t much. But 20lbs is quite a bit. I’m afraid you’re right on this point, and on the broader point of the disaster that we’ve recently had on transfers.

      2. Kante is naturally athletic and he plays well above his size.
         He’s a freak, in a good sense.

         I can’t think of a single Arsenal player I could say that about.
         As a matter of fact our players barely play their size, and some don’t even do that.

         Guen is 184 cm but gets easily out jumped for a header by 176 cm Hudson – Odoi in the Chelsea build up to their second goal.

   2. also, kante is not a cdm. he’s an 8 all day long.

5. Chambers, Holding, Bellerin , all with ACL in such a short time apart is downright freakish.
   Walcott and Ox ,both former Arsenal players having had it too just adds to my dismay.

   The fact Xhaka is considered our best midfielder -something I don’t necessarily disagree with btw -shows the scope of our midfield problem.

   1. Incidentally, both Xhaka and Torreira- our two best midfielders- both want out of the league.

   2. I can understand ACL’s. Arsenal’s injury history is way deeper and darker than that, to the point that I’ve questioned whether luck has anything to do with it or if it’s really just gross mismanagement on the part of a few arrogant and ignorant individuals, as suggested by the Santi Cazorla debacle. Imagine if Rosicky, Diaby, Cazorla, Wilshere, Ramsey, Eduardo, and van Persie were consistently fit throughout their Arsenal careers. I often think about that. It couldn’t have happened to a more talented group than those guys and it cost us trophies, of that I have no doubt. It makes me sick. And that’s just the major incidents and not counting the probably dozens of preventable soft tissue injuries through the years.

      That said, the Chambers ACL is so disappointing on so many levels. Not only do we need him right now, this also means he will have little sale value this summer until he is rehabbed and will contribute nothing for over a year. I like Chambers but I don’t think he’s a player to build around for the future and would’ve been someone the club would’ve entertained offers for this summer. Now we have to wait and see if he can even come back at the same level a year from now.

      1. Excellent point about sell on value.

6. What is it with Arsenal and injuries? It seems, from my purely subjective impressions, that we go through every season with multiple starters sidelined for multiple games, a situation that not only denies us the direct benefit of their talent, but also results in our never being able to field the same team twice. For a team like ours that relies on close understanding between the players, quick passes and coordinated movement, this presents a huge challenge. While it is true that other teams suffer injury crises, we seem to get hit every year without fail. I’ll offer two of my pre-ground axes as possible explanations.

   First, there is the annoying view that the English game is better because it is so “physical”, that somehow by allowing harder or borderline challenges, referees make our game more entertaining. If this is your view, I respectfully suggest you might want to try watching rugby, or (gawd help us) American Football instead. I mean, why call it “The Beautiful Game” when touch and finesse are allowed to be taken out by shoulder in the ribs and knee to the back of the thigh?

   Second, we got a reputation during the second half of Wenger’s reign of being “soft”, that we were a team that could be disrupted by being knocked around, and had no stomach for a fight. Whether or not there was any truth to this, it encouraged teams regularly to try to kick us off the park. This was somehow considered to be not just acceptable but was actually encouraged by some disgustingly lenient refereeing. Call me paranoid, but I always felt that referees (certain ones in particular) were “evening up the playing field” by allowing harsh and persistent fouling without a card and sometimes even without a whistle. With the number of games and shorter recovery periods of today’s schedules, this sanctioned fouling takes a toll.

   Right lads, go ahead, put the boot in…

7. In the past 24 hours I’ve come to terms with the fact that our recovery (if it happens) requires a lot of time and patience. I can see the recruitment mistakes we’ve made and the dreadful coaching hire that was UE; but still I can’t fathom how far and how fast we’ve fallen.

   Let’s be frank none of us saw this coming. It’s difficult to remain positive. Our injury list feels like the worst of the Wenger years come to haunt us. Something’s seriously remiss there. I know from recruitment that you have to accept that only so many hires make it but boy does it feel like we’ve overpaid and gambled unnecessarily at times. Pepe will probably turn out to be our Memphis Depay.

   I mentioned fan appeasement recently and expect to see more of it to offset the rocky road ahead of us. I do hope it works our for Arteta but can he fix recruitment, retention, fitness as well as being the coach? The worst thing the club did was replacing a football guy at the top with a committee of execs.

8. dude, i’ve been going on about cdm for years. the dumbest thing i’v ever heard anyone say about a cdm is the president at real madrid (galacticos) when they released makalele, saying that they had someone in the academy who would make everyone forget all about makalele. my thought was “the academy?” (think allen iverson, “we talkin’ about practice”). it’s the dumbest thing i’ve ever heard. no academy player in the history of the world could do what makelele did for real madrid.

   a few threads back, devlin tried to argue in favor of xhaka, declaring that he wasn’t good at certain things, hence unsuited to be a cdm. sorry, but cdm is not a technical skill position. it’s a tactical skill position. it’s a cognitive position. you don’t have to be big, strong, fast, a great dribbler, a great tackler, or a great header of the ball to be a good cdm. you’ve just got to be technically sound and the smartest guy on the field. i don’t mean the most cerebrally gifted person in the squad but the intelligence gained from hundreds of games. arteta transitioned from attack to cdm. so did cazorla.

   the invincibles fell when they lost their cdm. the galacticos fell when they lost their cdm. arsenal have struggled since losing and failing to adequately replace cazorla. dortmund fell from grace when they tried replacing gundogan with a very talented but young julian weigl. even man city have struggled this season because their cdm is playing center back. it’s about intelligence displayed on the pitch, not talent. young guys can’t really do it, regardless of their talent…at least not consistently against the tough teams.

   if xhaka gives arteta 6 months, he’ll see that he can grow. with that, what does it say when a starter for arsenal wants to go to hertha? arsenal are in big trouble.

9. I’m going to come to the defense of Pepe here…

   First, he can do things few, if any players in world football can with that gazelle like agility and that cultured left foot. His physical attributes and ability to contribute goals from wide areas alone makes him special. You have to pay big money for that kind of talent once it’s out of the box and these days it’s very difficult to keep obvious talent under wraps. Tim has compared him to Arjen Robben, and if he becomes just 75% of that player then his price tag was already worth it. As for that price, it’s a different world out there than even 15 years ago. Everyone knows about everyone now, more or less. Gone are the days when hidden gems were du rigeour.

   Next, this is a culture shock for him on so many levels. Arsenal is not an easy club to play for at the best of times but he landed in a new country, new language, new teammates, new coach (twice now), new system and new expectations. Despite that, as Tim points out, he has produced. Wenger used to say he would chalk off the first six months of a player’s tenure with us as an adjustment period. It’s barely been that long at this point.

   Third, there is absolutely no room for anything less than 100 % defensive commitment from a wide forward in this league, with this manager and especially in a team that also plays Mesut Ozil. Pepe is be smart enough to understand that but it takes a long time to reprogram lifelong habits. I don’t think he’s a spoiled diva. He comes from a heavily disadvantaged background and made this career for himself from nothing. That’s not a player who is unwilling to learn or unwilling to work. He is having to earn his place in the team right now and that’s exactly how it should be. Handing him starts despite poor form or poor effort sends the wrong message to him and to the squad.

   Speaking of the squad, we all know full well that neither the coaching or the level of players, in general, behind the forward line is really good enough. This squad cannot give Pepe a platform to do what he does best. The first choice RB has been injured all season and he’s had to combine with Chambers and Maitland Niles down the flank. Opponents double team him every time and he has nowhere to go. The service into him has been slow and predictable. He has rarely had green grass to run into. In short, he has not been able to show his best because he has not played for a winning football team.

   Consider thought that his presence in the squad alone has a powerful knock-on effect. Our young wide forwards who are competing with him for minutes know that they have a player with absolutely world class potential waiting in the wings to take their spot. That will encourage a young player to give his absolute best and I do think that’s one reason that we have seen breakout performances from the likes of Saka and Martinelli.

   Lastly, he has been getting on as a substitute so it’s not like he’s totally frozen out. I too want to see him play more often but in my mind the situation is that we have an outstanding player who is still raw in the defensive aspects of the sport playing for a team that needs all hands on deck just to maintain some control in an average football match. Pepe’s forward talent is being sacrificed for that control until such a time that he can demonstrate more aptitude for it or the rest of the team becomes solid enough not to need it as much.

   1. I don’t hate Pepe. Like I said, what’s frustrating me is that he’s NOT playing. I don’t think this is a simple “adjustment to England” problem. Three coaches have now said there’s a problem in training and many people connected to the club are suggesting personal problems. That indicates alcohol abuse or some other problem that the club absolutely should have known about. They haven’t been perfect in that regard in the past but usually when that happens it’s because the club panic purchased. I think the club rushed this signing because they wanted us to “get excited”.

      1. Of course you don’t hate him. I read your post carefully. However, I disagree with your conclusion. To me the most plausible explanation for his slowish start (if we even need one!) is a combination of factors.

         Arteta basically says as much here:

         “I think, obviously, it was a big change to come from France to here,” Arteta told reporters ahead of Sunday’s clash with Chelsea.

         “As well, he found a team that, in the moment he wasn’t performing at his best, the environment for him to settle wasn’t ideal, so it’s not only about him.

         “We’re here to help him. If he’s willing to learn, to work hard, I assure you he has the potential be top, absolutely top.

         1. “If he’s willing to learn, to work hard,”

            THIS is the part that I’m worried about. That’s an if so massive you could park JMC Red Dwarf in it.

            1. I agree with wwmt about the slapdashes nature of our transfers.

               I hate using a team like Liverpool as an example, because it’s the easiest thing in the world to say that we should be doing what the current best team is doing. (Not long ago that team we should be copying would have been Leicester).

               But it does seem like they have a plan of the type of players they want and they go out and try to get them. And they don’t seem to settle for another player because they’re 10 million cheaper. If it costs them a bit extra for the player they want they go for it. In not sure we do that.

               Not related to anything being discussed here but I read this earlier and thought you might find it interesting.

               https://jacobinmag.com/2019/12/italian-football-serie-a-john-foot-calcio-soccer

10. I think you underestimate Makalele’s unique talent of ball protection.
    A sixth sense ,if you will, for where attackers might be coming from without actually looking out for them.

    This is not something you can learn whether you play a handful of games or hundreds, not to the degree Makalele mastered it anyway.

    For me, only Sergio Busquets comes close to Makalele’s level of positional awareness and ball protection skills.

    Fabregas could’ve made a great CDM.

    1. ha! i said the same thing about fabregas when gilberto was still at the club. he could be a #6…checks all the blocks.

    2. likewise, i was thinking that busquets is one exception to this rule as he seemed to intuitively understand the cdm role at a very young age.

       as for makalele having a “6th sense”, that’s nuts! while he had good instincts, he also had a great awareness that came from a great scan. this is a skill that can, totally, be developed. xhaka has an awful scan and tends to ball watch, which is the main reason he does so many egregious last-ditch fouls. better players see/anticipate things before they happen. bottom line, a player has to want to be effective when he’s not near the ball.

       this is a quality coquelin had and the primary reason i fancied him as a player. he was always in passing lanes, forcing opponents to make more difficult passes. there’s no stat for that and most observers will miss it as it’s away from the ball, but i absolutely love it.

11. possesion football, small technical players, foreigner players. foreign manager who was super intelligent, “get your foot in,”. man u fergie bully boy tactics. media bias. all refrerees come from up norf. no protection from referees because of all of the above = too many injuries to our players.

12. Xhaka is our best midfielder now? My my, Tim. That is some Damascene conversion.

    He isn’t. When your tackle is a shirt tug, you’re not. When you’re moving like you’re running in treacle, you’re not. When you’re mostly reacting and not anticipating the play, you’re not. The third point is key. Arguably the most important attribute in a midfielder — besides tackling — is reading the play. We are not that far removed in years from Arteta and Fabregas.

    Guendouzi has better attributes and is more dynamic, but is horribly out of form. Changing coaches doesn’t help young players, particularly those who have hit a rough patch… it’s a big adjustment for him. Extolling Xhaka is like suddenly finding virtue in the bad partner, because youve hit the dating scene and it didnt work out. This is the thing we must not do to young players… go short-termist on them. Ive seen Xhaka for 3 years, and he is not up to scratch.

    Notwithstanding your concerns about his size, our best midfielder, currently, is Lucas Torreira, and he is emerging first under Freddie, and now under Arteta. He’s not Kante. Kante is not Lassana Diarra. And Lassana Diarra is not Claude Makelele. He’s Lucas Torreira, and when he’s properly deployed tactically, he’s effective for us.

    The game? We’re going to win. You heard it (this reckless assertion) here first. But the key will be who takes care of Daniel James down their right. And LB is precisely where we’re short.

13. Pepe’s problem is — from where I look at things — his workrate. If Arteta’s philosophy is a defend from the front one, Pepe has a lot of adjusting to do. Particuarly when our RB is makeshift. Nelson is not a better player than Pepe… he just interprets the tactical demands of RW better at the moment.

    1. I agree with you! Torreira is our best MF player right now, but to Tim’s point it’s hard to argue on current form that Xhaka is not in that conversation as well. That’s not really bigging him up as much as conceding that the other options are even less palatable. I don’t think it’s as dire as all that but certainly a quality creative midfielder with experience is a top need for this squad and Xhaka’s departure would rob us of the best and really, only version of that that we have at the moment. I think Devlin and Joshua have both made strong arguments in his case previously and I think they both have a point. He is a player with some valuable qualities but also some fatal flaws. Right now we need those qualities, though long term I think we would all prefer a less volatile player for that position. That said, if he is not part of our our future plans, there is not much point to giving him minutes that could be going towards the development of players who will be here in subsequent seasons. THAT said, if he helps us win football matches then that might be even more important as part of the development of the team’s cohesion and winning culture, a quality that to me is absolutely paramount. It’s a difficult one for Raul and Edu and I don’t envy them because they will be criticized no matter what they choose to do.

14. I agree with Tim. Clearly whats happening with Pepe is more then just a simple adjustment period, There must be something going on. A lack of effort during training can be forgiven if the player is producing during the games but so far Pepe has not been producing at a level which justifies giving him special dispensation for suboptimal attitude and effort.

    At some point we may have to consider the possibility that he is not as good as we had hoped.

15. My views on the Pepe situation is that we just need to be patient, things will come out good soon. It’s not as big an issue as its being made out to be and very understandable why he isn’t playing as much yet.

    Pepe arrived at Arsenal late, after pre-season. He played an international tournament during the summer, and that was after very good long season for Lille. He joined us when we had a coach that did not seem to believe in a single way of playing, so it will be hard for a new signing to acclimatise to a constantly changing structure. It was a player trying to fit into far too many systems and styles, and it showed when we played Liverpool that he could at least play well in a system that he knew.

    In trying to implement all the different styles and structures of play Emery tried to implement in each game, he is still a player who comes from the French League. It took Fabinho until January to really start finding his feet in England and playing to his potential, and that’s in a side that plays a certain way with a full pre-season behind him. Pepe has then had to acclimatise to two different changes in coaches by trying to also fit into Freddie’s way, which I think everyone could see was different from Emery’s nonsense (Sorry).

    Pepe is being expected to shine instantly in unfair circumstances. There is a very good player there and people are upset because they can see the potential there. He just needs time to catch the speed and intensity of football in England, and to find a way for his talents to best be used in a single system/philosophy.

    Just be patient Tim. All of this is fairly normal in football and he will come good.

16. When RVP left, we needed both goalscoring and more creativity. Santi could not do it alone without a player like RVP. If we were willing to spend our mountain of cash instead of having Kroenke Scrooge McDuck dive in it, we’d have got both Ozil and Suarez/Higuain, and likely would have won the league. As it is though, we scored only 2 goals less than the previous year.

    Likewise in the year of Xhaka and Mustafi, we also wanted Lacazette. We had a bid of around 35-40m rejected (Lyon shared the document) Trying to get all 3 in a limited budget led to a price increase for Mustafi, and us settling for Lucas Perez instead.

    I think our problem was around money earlier, then StatsDNA getting more of a say on transfers, but now it’s worse. Money won’t solve this. We’ve become food for agents rather than a football club with a plan. Arteta (and Edu?) will hopefully change that.

    I agree, we should not panic buy. I have no idea how good Upamecano is, but if we’re looking for a long term partner for Saliba, he seems the wrong age to me.

    We should open the purse strings if it’s a player Arteta strongly believes in. Or trust Cagigao to scout a player who fits the mould.(Or he finds an exceptional talent) But we really ought to let the team breathe. Forget about top 4 or even top 10. Avoid relegation and go again next season. Especially because with doubts over the futures of so many in the first team, we need to know who we’re selling before we buy.

    Broken record, but I firmly believe this will all be for nothing if Raul is allowed to remain at the club. Not only does he screw up squad stability in favour of dealing with his own preferred agents. But what does he actually bring? He doesn’t sell well. He doesn’t get players to sign new contracts (contrary to his smug claim last season). He doesn’t even handle PR well. Beyond blaming Wenger and outgoing players and staff he’s got nothing. He is bad news for this club.

17. I think Xhaka is gonzo, but I also believe that if he stays and works with Arteta, he can become a much better midfielder.

    Pepe is very talented, but he seems like a shy guy who also needs a regular push to motivate him. However, he’s understandably found it difficult to settle in, with all the tactical changes. He’s also been subjected to a couple of horrid tackles which could have really injured him.

    I think we overpaid for him by quite a lot. I also think we should have invested in a RB and CM ahead of a RW. But he is a player I believe will come good.

18. We all wanted a statement signing, and they gave us one in Pepe. Just like we had wanted a statement signing when we got Özil. Two high profile signings that are not worth the transfer fee (Pepe) and wages (Özil). Yet when we signed Martinelli the reaction was largely “oh an unknown Brazilian that couldn’t impress on a trial at man united”. Us Arsenal fans are partly to blame with that whole “we care do you“ nonsense during the window. To appease us they signed Pepe. If we didn’t sign him all hell would have broken loose on Twitter and aftv. Maybe the club was going for a big signing anyway, but maybe they rushed the Pepe one through because of fan pressure and didn’t do proper due diligence. Whatever the case, it’s embarrassing how they had to calm the fans down in the window. Other clubs don’t have to appease their fan base “or else”.

    So now I’m hoping the club just ignores the fans and just go about rebuilding, no matter how tough it is. The aim should be survival this season with a Europa league run. If we, the fans, feel cheated by paying high ticket prices then don’t pay it and don’t go. We need to support, not bitch and moan all the time.

    It’s going to be a long few seasons and I hope that Arteta is given the time and resources here because he is going to be a world class manager and I would hate to pull a Gnabry and let him go on to fulfill his potential elsewhere.

19. I agree with Tim regarding how ineffective our transfer dealings have been in the last 5-6 years. The last few years of the Wenger/Gazidis era was a complete mess. The only true success was Auba. The Ozil and Sanchez situations were complete botched. I have to admit that I was very excited about last summer. Pepe, Tierney, Luiz and Saliba looked like a superb transfer window. Unfortunately at least so far it looks like I was wrong and it hasn’t worked out very well.

    1. That’s kind of harsh. It’s true that perhaps fewer signings had worked out than in years past but there were still successes.

       14/15: Alexis, Chambers, Welbeck, Ospina, Gabriel, Debuchy. Alexis was a transformative talent who carried us offensively for a few seasons. That was a bargain. Welbeck and Debuchy were solid as expected but snakebitten with injury. Chambers had a slow start but is starting to show his worth. Gabriel and Ospina were signed for depth but didn’t really work out.
       15/16: El-Neny, a bunch of academy players and Petr Cech, who gave us 4 years of solid to excellent goalkeeping. Let’s not forget what a problem that position was in the early 2010’s. Mo was a miss but it’s not like we sold the farm to get him.
       16/17: Xhaka, Perez, Mustafi, Holding. This is probably the year we can look back on with the most regrets but Rob Holding was still undoubtedly a good find and remains out of the first team only because of injury. Of the other three, two were a disaster and one so inconsistent in temperament and performance that he has managed to divide opinion like few before him.
       17/18: Lacazette and Aubameyang, Mkhitaryan, Kolasinac. We bagged two of the best strikers in the league, got a decent LB on a free and made something out of a bad situation with Alexis. Not bad. Mkhi didn’t work out but had a few good games for us.
       18/19: Leno, Torreira, Guendouzi, Sokratis, Lichtsteiner. The first three are hits as far as I’m concerned, Sokratis is Ok and Lichtsteiner was a bust.
       19/20: Martinelli, Tierney, Pepe, Saliba, Luiz. Early returns are positive on Martinelli and Tierney, mixed on Luiz and Pepe, and uncertain about Saliba.

       All in all, we got some useful players every season though it’s certainly nothing like Wenger’s early years when everything he touched turned into gold. I’m fairly certain those days are well and truly over. We have to pull the trigger on players without being 100% sure about them because there is so much competition for talent and so much money in football. Sometimes when you do that, you miss. Arsenal have missed plenty but hit plenty too in recent years. I’m not sure we’re any worse at this than anyone else out there with comparable funds, except Liverpool who have sh**arted gold these past few seasons.

       1. Brilliant summary Doc. I’d add that in the first two years of the Alexis/Ozil partnership their combined assist/goal stats were league leading. Truly an example of 1+1=3 and the value of making cohesive/symbiotic signings.

       2. Well summed up.

          I’d add that 15/16, when we signed only Cech in the summer and Elneny in the winter, was a very bad year, from the standpoint of failing to address gaps. Goodness knows how much of a bearing that error had on 16/17, our poorest window of the period.

       3. Yes indeed. Nobody seems to mention Everton when it comes to doing all kinds of signings wrong. About 500 mil on players. And that’s just players.
          Separately, shard is dead on: Raul Snallehi is going to prove a cancer for Arsenal. He doesn’t fit us at all, and he doesn’t care about the club. He’s what we called in business, and also in academia, an operator.

20. I know a lot of people will disagree but I think we made the correct decision to let Aaron Ramsey get away. He has only started 3 games so far this season for Juve and its very unlikely that his recurring soft tissue injuries are going to become less frequent as he moves into to his age 30 years. Arsenal can’t afford to give a big money long term contract to a player who spends a significant portion of every season on the injured list. The mistake with Ramsey was not selling him when he was still under contract. I think they also made a good decision to sell Iwobe.

21. I won’t try to go over all the arguments about whether we’re good or bad at buying/ selling.
    I think Dr Gooner at 9.43 (my time – no idea if that appears same for all!) makes a fair overview of who we brought in. Be interesting if anyone does same for who went.

    I don’t think this is so black and white as “we’re sh*t!” or “he’s a visionary!”.
    Methinks that our problem is mainly:
    1) not buying with a focused team-way-of-playing in mind;
    2) moving from buying players based *mainly* on their abilities to buying players *mainly* on their resale value.

    I obv have no idea if these are correct, but its a hunch that when buying players based on scouting (Mislintat etc) to agents (Raul’s contacts), then the monetary value of the player is inherently more important. Not that the team’s ability is not important, just that there is always a priority.
    Monetary value is also easily linked with “excitement” and “big club” and headlines and profile (for all concerned in the deal).

    I just hope if Edu is meant to be the guy who establishes the ‘vision’ for the way we’re meant to play, that Arteta is on board and both are able to get Raul to get the players we need while letting those we don’t, go.

22. Well, the team news is out, and good to see Kolasinac is fit. Pepe starts. Sokratis on for Chambers for the usual costly mistake and cards.

    I think we’ll lose 3-1. Rashford certain to score, and Wan-Bissaka will have a fantastic game against us.

    We are four points from relegation, folks! This year’s fourth-place trophy is fourth from bottom. Victoria Concordia Creshit.

23. I must’ve got my schedule wrong.
    Why are Man City playing United at the Emirates in Arsenal kit

    1. They got #NewYearNewMe vibes

24. Halftime, 2-0.

    Our best half of football in years. Years.

    Pepe, man. Outstanding. Leave aside his goal and hitting the post… his movement and close control in this game are something to behold. Luke Shaw is getting killed out there. My money is on OGS replacing him soon. With Pepe drifting inside, and Ozil ghosting beautifully between the lines, United absolutely cannot pick up our No 10. Maitland-Niles, also superb, is also knitting well down the right.

    Can see the hand of Arteta. We are giving them very little space to play in… a combination of playing a high line, and ferocious pressuring when we don’t have the ball.

    Torreira and Xhaka look a compatible pairing, and both have been superb. One small knock on Xhaka, though. If only he had the seemingly rudimentary skill of being able to turn and ferry the ball, he’d be a really good midfielder.

    David Luiz is showing why I consider him to be the most intelligent defender at Arsenal. Plus he led the pre-game pep talk in the huddle. Whoever wears the armband out there, he’s a leader

25. “The game? We’re going to win. You heard it (this reckless assertion) here first”.
    ______________

    Faith, my people. All this teeth gnashing 🙂

    1. Funny thing

       I called this 3 weeks ago.

       I have a United supporting buddy who watches some games live from time to time or when he gets a chance to go to the UK. And 3 weeks ago he told me he’s attending tonight’s match.

       The funny thing is, every single game he’s watched live has resulted in United being on the loosing side. Almost 8 games now (I think)

       Although I don’t believe in curses but that’s an omen I’ll gladly take especially when he said he’s watching tonight’s game live

26. “The yellow card was fair because I was rude. But I was rude to an idiot.”
    – Jose Mourinho earlier today.
    It’s a new decade but the more things change the more they stay the same. Tottenham lose, the Arsenal win and a win against any Manchester United team at home, good or bad, is a win to be treasured. All is is right with world at least for a few days.
    Enjoy my 7 am brothers and sisters and Happy New Year!

27. Go get Tyrone Mings– before another big-six club do in the Summer.

28. Coaching, organisation, a game plan.

    Or, as Bill would assert, one long adrenaline rush? 🙂 We could and should have made it 4, but lacked ruthlessness on the counter.

    United adjusted 2nd half, Shaw getting closer to Pepe and playing further forward. Shaw was playing more threateningly as a result, and just when we thought that Pepe had lost his effectiveness and needed to be subbed, Arteta took him out of the game on the hour. No time wasted.

    Josh, you’re right.

    Our 9 holding it up has been central to our play. Laca did a lot of under-appreciated dirty work out there, and Auba has combined play excellently on the left. With Ozil ghosting and the CBs and Torreira running into space in the middle, Laca performed perhaps an unheralded aspect of our play.

    To those who defended Emery’s treatment of Ozil, see what playing tactically astute football in a properly coached setup does? Even I thought that he had run his race when Arteta arrived, but what was all that, being “rested” for 6, 7 games on the trot?

    1. Claude
       I’ve got to hold my hand up. You were right.

29. OK it’s one game BUT, that performance proved the players are good enough; just needed a good coach. Converted Bill? 😉

30. There games in six days and we finally shut up and put up. It’s a one off but stop looking ahead and enjoy the W. We need it.

31. There’s going to be humble pie crumbs all over this blog and I’ll eat my fair share of it too.
    “Ozil is done as an Arsenal player” !?!?
    He tracks back, tackles , goes in hard for ………..headers?!?!
    Whaaat?

    I gues we all should’ve stuck with the “let’s wait with judgment on players until they get some proper coaching again”
    Jeeez, how bad of a coach is Emery to let this Arsenal squad deteriorate to this level?
    And how good is Arteta to show such improvements so quickly?

32. And before I get carried away let me just say AMN has shown so much improvement already – a completely different player.

33. Ahhhh, was getting shivers down me spine listening to the Emirates buzzing and watching the Arsenal players getting fired up, being there for each other, supporting each other. Arteta has managed to impact the emotional energy in such a short space of time. I won’t say it’s beyond my wildest expectations because I have been ALL IN on Miki since before Unai, but it’s a different feeling to see it starting to materialize.

    The players look like they’re enjoying their football again. Ozil is transformed. Maitland-Niles is transformed. We have a functional midfield. United were horrible, particularly in the first half, but the Arsenal of a month ago would’ve found a way to gift them a lead in this game.

    I want to give special props to Kolasinac who played his butt off while he was clearly injured. He got a huge hug from Arteta after he was subbed. Also Arteta’s substitutions were really good. After he went to a 3 in midfield, United looked utterly spent. I don’t think I’ve seen a United team just give up like that in the last 15 minutes of a game.

    On a note of concern, the fitness levels and intensity in the second half clearly lagged again and a more dedicated opponent might’ve punished us more. The high press is also still very unsettling to this team. The forwards still lack confidence in front of goal but this game went a long way to remedying that and a few other things.

    But today is a day for celebrations. More than anything I feel at peace with what’s happening at the club in a way I haven’t in years. It feels extra special coming on the first day of the new decade.

    1. Same here Doc.
       Took a lot of stick for staying MA’s corner for the duration too.
       Can only imagine how much further we’d be in the process– had we made this choice then– or just sooner.

34. Practicing my Jimi today for a gig. Fender strung, wah wah pedal on and playing Voodoo Chile and thinking of Mikel Arteta, the club and and task ahead:
    “”I stand up next to a mountain
    and chop it down with the edge of my hand…”

35. I’ll have a slice of that humble pie, chef!

    Did not see this coming…should have trusted in Claude!

36. Fifteen fouls by United and not a single yellow card, while Kolasinac gets a yellow for his first foul of the game. I really want to believe that refs aren’t biased, but we’ve seen this shite too many times, especially against the Mancs. Kudos to Lacazette who took a lot of that punishment and managed to not lose his rag. Wish I could say the same, scaring the cats while yelling at the tv.

37. Excellent response after the Chelsea game. Hopefully this will be the start of a run of good form we have been waiting for. Top 6 is certainly not beyond reach if we can run off a few wins. Winning the home games we expect to win and then a bit better road form is the key.

38. Succession management. A shame its taken a couple of seasons to get it right.
    Just think what our situation would be, if Arteta had had a pre season and the chance to buy the players he needs.
    Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

39. I think we really needed to hit rock bottom to realise how much value Arteta would bring. I think, it is a good time for Arteta too. He has seen how Man City is floundering too due to defensive issues. I am sure he will learn from those mistakes too. So as Arteta said in his first press conference, It was not the right time 18 months ago. Now is the right time and let’s all give him time because he will indeed need it. There will be days when we still might tank. But as long as Arteta holds on to his vision and is backed by fans and board to make us a big club again, I think we will be alright. Happy 2020 indeed.

    1. He probably also gets more goodwill now than he would have had 18 months ago, by taking over from emery instead of Wenger, so it’s all good.

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