When a new manager comes in, people expect to see change. Better results, more points, but in our case especially, better quality of play.
At this time, we don't have that.
Arteta has stemmed the haemorraging - nothing more. He has inspired a little confidence in some of the players who needed it, like Xhaka, but by and large nothing has changed. We've changed out defeats for draws but we are still struggling for real gain against teams we should be beating. And worst of all, our attacking line has dried up and we're struggling for goals across the board.
I know it's still relatively early days, but there's a lot that needs to be fixed and I don't believe the transfer window came close to sorting it. Soares and Mari might be good defenders but our problems now go deeper than that. Aubameyang must be distracted by the Barca rumours - who wouldn't be? Özil seems to have fallen back into old ways, Lacazette couldn't buy a goal on the black market, and the more I watch him the more I fail to see the point of Guendouzi.
Things were always going to be bad whether Emery stayed or not but let's not kid ourselves - we're in a veiled freefall. We've been closer to relegation than the title for almost all of the season and this campaign is shaping up to be our worst finish in many, many years, irrespective of whether the outlook in the long term is better.
I genuinely don't believe Arteta is the man to herald a new dawn at the club and I never have, but as is my rule, I'll give him a season for free before I start levelling any real judgement. He isn't in control of the playing staff we had when he started and ninety percent of them need to go. It's like we're running a failing business that needs to be burnt down for the insurance money so we can start over, because bog-standard 'changes' just won't cut it.
We haven't turned it around
posted on 3/2/20
* I'll not I'll and too not to
posted on 3/2/20
All those things you mention are down to the management and upper echelons of the club though, WB2. Ozil didn't throw away the CL. That was Emery and the team collectively. It was down to the lack of quality and feeble mentality that still lingers around the club. If you want to be pointing the finger at individual players, Mustafi and Xhaka were two of the main culprits who made shocking mistakes in that critical end-of-season-run.
Emery may have been pressured to start him by the fans, but, as manager, you can't just cave into the fans demands. You have to show why you're the manager and that you know better than us. Fanbases will never be consistent in what they want. Emery failed to stamp his authority when it mattered.
I agree with you that Ozil shouldn't be at the club. But we gave a 28-year old a 4 year deal on £350k per-week wages out of desperation. Unless someone is willing to pay that, he will still be an Arsenal player. It isn't his fault we chose to give him that money. Why were we even in a situation where he could bend us over a barrel like that?
The point is there are wider systemic issues here that lie beyond Ozil.
I want him off the wage bill. The bigger problem is the mishandling of his contractual situation, and that of many of our other big name players who left for frees/paltry fees.
Poor recruitment, bad squad management, bad managerial appointments, no clear direction from the top and a lack of pro-activeness are the main reasons for our current malaise.
posted on 3/2/20
We were shipping goals by the bucketload before Arteta took over. And we've only conceded more than one goal in a game on two occasions since then.
First time was the last minute collapse after he'd just taken over, and the second time was as a result of playing an entire hour with 10 men.
The turnaround has been massive, imo.
posted on 3/2/20
My point is simply, let's start with just getting him out of the team or at least starting 11. The contract was a big mistake but it's one we're continually compounding with every game we put him in for. It is utterly pointless and hugely counterproductive to keep on selecting any player you KNOW is going to not even TRY to play. We've reached the point of dead horse flogging madness. It's a football team not a donut, it's not supposed to have a gaping hole in the middle of it.
What I'm saying makes far more sense if people would stop reading it as "Getting rid of Ozil will solve all the teams problems." That's not what I'm saying at all, it's "Getting Ozil out of the team is a must, to get it stable whilst we solve the problems we have. His presence only multiplies those problems. So much so, that going forward ANY ONE of the other Snr CAMs we have, is a better option. Dropping Ozil is a quick easy and effective solution to both the problems he directly causes but more importantly, the ones created indirectly by his presence. Like rendering us near hopeless at effectively pressing a ball and marauding MFs and strikers running unchecked at our defence. Those are two serious game losing issues right there, which disappear from the team along with him.
posted on 3/2/20
whiny sharticle. Go away.
posted on 3/2/20
We're unbeaten in the last 7 games and 2020. Still getting too many draws but better draws than losing. What I cant forgive Arteta is his making Xhaka a nailed on starter every game again. I thought we were finally getting rid of him. As Ive said under my various user names its no coincidence that we dropped out of and stayed out of the top 4 after he joined us.
posted on 3/2/20
Been an improvement under arteta but we are still pretty toothless up top.
We create 1 or 2 chances per game
posted on 3/2/20
comment by Castor Troy (U8700)
posted 1 hour, 15 minutes ago
Been an improvement under arteta but we are still pretty toothless up top.
We create 1 or 2 chances per game
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What Ozil has supposedly been played all season to change. Xhaka being a nailed on starter for now isn't a problem, so long as he's paired with Torreira. Goes pear with Guen because that pits Xhaka in the DM role. The reduction in goals conceded is down to Xhaka with Torreira instead of Xhaka/Torriera with Guen. And Mustafi being put at CB so we can't competently play the ball out.
People want to ship out the very players responsible for the defence beginning to sort itself out. NONE of those players can be allowed to leave the club until we have replacements for them. We can kick the CAM tomorrow though. Just needs Arteta to have to stones to say "I don't give a damn how much we pay him, he's not playing because he's been sh!t all season and couldn't care less about winning games" Only time will tell if he's got em.
posted on 3/2/20
Ozil has been sheet of late but Willock isn't the answer. Neither is ceballos
posted on 4/2/20
Arteta will do good anyone says otherwise doesn’t understand the game just give him time at least four seasons which must improve every season.