Arsenal lost to Liverpool in the FA Cup and afterwards Arteta said the most banal and predictable things to most of the reporters: we were better than them, we deserved to win, we created more chances, we just need to take our chances.
I say “most reporters” because when he was interviewed by the BBCs Kelly Somers his responses were just downright rude.
Somers: It’s just one win in six now, how concerned are you?
Arteta: We have to win.
Somers: How do you get back to winning ways, though?
Arteta: Scoring and not conceding.
Somers (chuckles): Is it just a case of working on the training pitch? You’ve got nearly two weeks now of course to your next game, I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing..
Arteta (interrupting): Yes because working from home, I don’t think is going to work. So, (chuckles) yeah we have to work on the pitch.
Somers: But is it a bad thing that you’ve got such a long pause now until the next Premier..
Arteta: It is what it is. And we are going to have to maximize the reset and continue to play the same way. If we can be better and more efficient.
Maybe Arteta has a beef with Somers. Maybe her questions were dumb and basic. Maybe he was tired after having to do 10 interviews. I’m not saying “Arteta out!” but I do think the tone and way he responded to this reporter was just rude and he was out of line. Reporters ask dumb questions. Most of these post match interviews are nothing more than a routine set of questions and answers, everything about them is anodyne. And of course Arteta has every right to answer dumb questions with dumb answers.
But, also, Mikel Arteta is the millionaire spokesman for the billion dollar sporting franchise called “The Arsenal”. He has a responsibility to be the public face of the club and he has an obligation to face these dumb questions and give the anodyne answers that we all want to hear. This wasn’t a case of “keepin’ it real”. He was just straight up being rude to Kelly Somers. And frankly, I imagine if one of his players had done the same thing, he’d be fining them a week’s wages.
He should apologize at least. It was rude. If he doesn’t like Kelly Somers, he should ask for a different reporter or just refuse to answer her questions and take the fine. But being rude is just a bad look.
As for the football, it sucked. It sucked in the exact same way that we have sucked since November: no one can score. Did we have more shots than them? Yes, 18 to 12. We also had 4 big chances to their 1. Kai missed one, Saka missed one, and Reiss missed two big chances against Liverpool. Yay! We “dominated” them! And only lost because of bad luck.
Oh well!
The question that Kelly Somers was really asking, which Arteta didn’t want to answer and which he is fully refuting in other interviews, is whether Arsenal need to buy a forward who can score goals. The answer is yes, Arsenal absolutely need players who can score. Arteta, however, says no. We just need to keep playing the way that we are playing and the goals will eventually score themselves.
Cool. I hope that works out for us.
In the meantime, maybe be a little less rude to people whose job is to ask stupid questions? I dunno man.
You ask stupid, brainless questions like “how do you get back to winning ways” you deserve what you get.
These people are under incredible pressure and with non-entities like Kelly Somers asking asinine question after a crushingly disappointing result like crashing out of the FA cup what the hell do you expect?
The author of this “article” is just another lefty wake moron offended by everyone and everything.
Grow up..
Go away troll. Not sure that I agree with Tim about the rudeness of Arteta, but personal attacks are not welcomed here.
I think I know who this is. It’s a coward who doesn’t want to use the name we all know them by.
Welcome to the block bin!
As an actual left-handed person, i hate it when people use lefty and leftist interchangeably… aargh.
Just a thought,maybe working from home for a while would do the players some good,they look overcoached,everything is too intense.
They need to relax,and be more natural,especially in front of goal.
Arteta has many qualities, being a good man manager isn’t one of them,and neither is trusting young players.
And you’re right,he was rude to Kelly Somers.
The Dubai trip helped with that season before last, maybe lightning strikes twice.
i know folks don’t like eddie but he would have scored that reverse pass that odegaard played…and he would have buried that header that kai missed. while he’s not worth £100k per week, eddie is a proper center forward…certainly a better center forward than havertz.
with respect, havertz is not a center forward. people talk about him as a center forward option but i’m sorry folks; playing him there is NEVER a viable option. when arsenal signed him, arteta explicitly said he would be a great addition to the arsenal midfield…not forward line.
chelsea played havertz at center forward because they managed their team poorly. the germans did the same thing with havertz, and before him, timo werner. neither of these guys are center forwards but both chelsea and the dfb have damaged these player’s careers. havertz sucked at center forward for chelsea so arsenal didn’t think it was a good idea to pay £65 million so he could suck at center forward for arsenal too. why arteta played him there? my guess is he’s under tremendous pressure to find a solution. in fact, he’s desperate. kai havertz may have a good day but he is not a solution at center forward.
Eddie’s had far too many chances already. I’m absolutely sick of the sight of him upfront or be honest. I’d rather see Trossard, Havertz and ESR upfront before him. At least with them at false 9 the team flows and plays well.
Nketiah doesn’t combine, he doesn’t create chances, he doesn’t press that well and he doesn’t even make his own chances. In no way can you be confident of him ‘burying’ anything.
Where was he against Fulham? He needs to be moved on the next 3 weeks – we take whatever we can get and reinvest.
I believe Arteta prefers goal scoring to be done by committee – theoretically, it gives opposition defenses less of a focal point, and is especially potent when you have a front 5 that can interchange positions. Problem for us is that everyone has gone cold simultaneously and that’s either bad luck or a system error. It’s probably a little bit of both. Nketiah is only good when the wingers are on form, which gives him space and draws attention away from him. He’s not a striker that can finish crosses or barge through packed defenses either (Plan “B”). If an offer comes for him in January you have to sell, even if a replacement isn’t there immediately – just play Trossard or Havertz as a false 9. Saka and Martinelli are shot because they’re constantly doubled up on the wings – that tells me the JDP system needs re-jigging so they’re not constantly parked out wide. And Zinchenko’s drop in form (he’s become ponderous with the ball) isn’t dragging a defender away from Martinelli anymore. I would bet though, the dam will break, and it may coincide with Partey (and possibly Timber) returning – Partey can spell White at RB and invert from that side, allowing Kiwior to be more of third back and we don’t have to play Zinchenko every game.
limey, you’re correct in pointing out arteta’s limitations as a man manager. it’s been my primary gripe since he’s come aboard. likewise, his unwillingness to play young players…or the squad. the thing i love about both guardiola and klopp is they’ll play the squad and drop whomever, whenever. i don’t mean wholesale changes but just to change things up or give players a game here or there. that gives players confidence, especially young guys. with arteta, you can pretty much guess his starting eleven every week. the only time you’d get it wrong is if he feels pressured to make a change. if arteta could play the same eleven every game, he would. this makes him very predictable, hence making him easy for opposing coaches to prepare for. in that regard, he’s a polar opposite from unai emery, who’s willing to employ 3 strategies in consecutive games.
we’re also missing a certain quality that both partey and xhaka provided; they move the ball forward faster from midfield. rice, if he has time, will always take at least 3 touches. the same with trossard. jorginho passes the ball backwards 90% of the time. delaying the attack allows defenses to get back into their shell, forcing arsenal to have to break them down just to create a decent chance. partey and xhaka’s quick forward passing often released the arsenal front line behind the defense, which led to a lot of chances. likewise, it prevented the double ups we often see our strikers contend with. that’s just my take.
i loved to see arteta go back to the double-pivot the other day…instead of insisting kiwior do a job he’s not suited to do. there’s a certain scottish player on the arsenal books who’s on loan who’s a much better left back than kiwior…but arteta wouldn’t adjust the system for him. the sad part is, despite the timber injury, arteta still allowed this player to go out on loan. yes, timber was injured before the tierney loan was approved.
Agree with all the points here, especially the 1st one!
Watching the games against WestHam & Pool, it felt quite inevitable that we will not be able to score from open play. So many turn overs in the attacking 3rd but still can’t score! Problem is compounded by even our set plays not giving us any goals currently.
Hopefully the break helps the team reset & go again. Equally for the management to find a striker even if it means selling someone Eddie, to fund it!
Joshuad
Regarding Tierney the Scottish player , you are right in past tense about Arteta not having been prudent to keep him knowing Timber was injured.
Coming to present tense , Tierney has expressed his desire to continue where he is, feeling liberated,etc.
Going into the future, guess Tierney will be looking to a permanent transfer if Arteta and his bullshit are still around .