Arsenal resume Premier League action this weekend when Southampton come to the Emirates, with the team badly in need of a win.
Just 2 points from the last 12 have left the Gunners 8 points off the top four, but Sokratis believes that we still have a chance of finishing in the Champions League places.
The Greek defender says the quality in the squad is sufficient, but admits there’s a lack of confidence right now that is affecting performances and results.
Speaking to the official website, he said, “It is a season that has a difficult moment, but we have still a lot of time and we need to improve, we need to play better and of course we have the time to do it.
We also have the quality to do it. The team needs confidence and calm to show the quality we have. This will give confidence also.”
And asked if the side could make the top four, he continued, “I think we can … because if we find one or two games where we can play very good and have a good result, after the team will take confidence and after that we have the quality.
“The quality is here but I think we need confidence.”
Sokratis was left out of the team for our last Premier League game, the 2-0 defeat to Leicester, but Unai Emery’s deployment of a back three did not make us any more defensively secure.
We’ll wait and see what he has planned for the weekend, and if the 31 will be back in contention.
“I think we can … because if we find one or two games where we can play very good…..”
? hold me
It just shows the abject failure of the manager. He is supposed to inspire the team to be confident by playing them in their best positions and managing them properly. Shit managers suck the confidence out of the players great managers inspire the players to play at their top level if not exceed it. It’s quite clear which category emery falls into.
Jayzus, again with the confidence.
It’s hard to be confident if you don’t know what you’re doing. Try throwing stuff with your non dominant hand, confidence is relative to your overall ability.
Playing out of the back for instance. It’s not helpful to your confidence to be placed in a stressful situation but alined with your strengths every five minutes each game. All made worse when this is forced upon you by a petulant coward who no one likes and is willing to hang you out to dry when things go wrong.
“..because if we find one or two games where we can play very good and have a good result, after the team will take confidence and after that we have the quality.” Exactly our case with goals in matches too. Before it used to be only away, now its both home and away. We will go down a goal or two and then that’s it, the whole team as a collective have a meltdown, with the exception of a few individual performances that still have us hanging at 6th somehow. Its hard to see a silver lining with the rut… Read more »
Just a suggestion Mr Emery, how about you set the team up with the players playing in their best positions, in an attacking formation against the 19th team in the league table, score loads of goals, bring some smiles back to the Emirates faithful and build some much needed confidence in you squad? Sounds so simple doesn’t it…
I think it would be better if he just fucked off!
Torreira upfront it is then
Confidence comes from winning eh? I believe bears have been seen shitting in the woods recently too.
Not for over 1000 years have bears pooped in UK woods
I think we are relying on other teams to drop points to make top four and that’s never a good sign
I honestly read that as … ‘we are relying on other teams to drop pants’
with Emery, even if other teams dropped pants, we’d end up being the pants instead.
We’ll we’d been here before last season……and arsenaled it up arsenally….do what gives?
Sadly I believe top 4 is already beyond us.
I had so much belief at the start of the season but Dick has totally fucked it up.
The players lack confidence in the manager..
This is a cry for help!! Emery please.. Leave
You wrote: “The players lack confidence in the manager.”
That is clearly not what Sokratis said. Nice try though.
I’m not a fan of Emery right now, but at least lets be honest, eh?
Just sack Emery and apoint Mourinho, no?
That boat has sailed… and when I say boat I mean whingeing over entitled narcissist.
Is my irony so puzzling?
His already moved next door to that shit hole they call white shit lane.
I attempted to mock spuds for their hilarious apointment. I’m well aware of what they did. ?
I think Mourinho going to Spurs is going to make our lives a hell of a lot worse.
Thumbed up on accident because I read Pochettino.
So, Pochettino, No?
Pochettino could be interesting ? but I have the feeling he isn’t very popular among gunners.
Ex-Spurs manager is better than Current Arsenal manager
How the mighty have fallen…..
Pochettino no Trophy
I’d take Pinocchio over Emery, let alone Pochetino
@Nonarse people here so tense so nobody get sarcasm any more.
I’m excited to see the inevitable classic Mourinho ‘burn the boats, bridges, dreams, all of it’ meltdown in 2 years
The funny part is that it would appear that Pochettino had to go because sp*rs wouldn’t countenance his transfer demands.
So they’re hiring Maureen. A man who really knows how to buy a trophy or three.
I hope he stays with the Spuds longer than 2 years. Much, MUCH, longer than that!
And they end up ahead of us again in those 2years before the meltdown?
We need to get working and stop this penny wise pound foolish mentality the owners are having that’s why they aren’t sacking Emery
Wouldn’t it be hilarious if …
1. We sacked Emery.
2. Mourinho threw a huge wobbly/hissyfit and left Sp*rs (a la Clough/Leeds)
3. We appointed Mourinho ourselves.
NO! IT FUCKING WOULDN’T. (Apart from the bit that it would.)
No.
Just don’t care. Know this has been said many a time over the past 6 months or so, but I carry zero excitement going into fixtures these days. Never did I think I’d be jealous of Chelsea for having a hugely likeable manager and youth players, or of Tottenham for not accepting low standards that we seem to be content to do so. How times change.
Rubbish.
Fat Frank Lampard is about as likeable as my b!tch motherinlaw.
He’s got chels on a run of form. He’s been quite lucky. Let’s just all see where things are in January before we hail that chelsea @unt likeable, or anything else.
To a dying man wandering in the desert for weeks, even a sip of dirty water looks like heaven. Let’s everyone settle down. Including Blogs, I might add.
I agree his managerial skills need longer to be assessed than what we’ve see so far but I never saw Lampard as a cunt in spite of the club he played for.
I’ve been an admirer of Lampard his entire career. Never made inflammatory comments, smart bloke, hell of a player, never anywhere near controversy. Fail to see how anyone can dislike him to be honest, apart from those odious creatures that scream abuse at other human beings for absolutely no reason other than they play for/ support another team.
“Fat Frank Lampard”.. Grow up.
i like you quite like lampard.
but like homer also call him fat frank, affectionately almost.
Of course the team is lacking confidence. Self-entitled, light-weight, newbie Arsenal fans have been sapping the club of confidence for years. They may be fans, but they’re sure as hell not supporters.
I thought Benson was a pretty good show.
(My mother said I should say something nice).
I think his got it the wrong way round, our quality is shit. His one of the shit quality we have and needs to go because defensively his hopeless. No wonder Dortmund were so happy we made a bid for this mug and they sold him to us, couldn’t remember any article saying he was highly recommend or rated, a poor signing indeed.
We need to buy 70m plus defenders not cheap rejects.
…if we find one or two games…. hmmm… where are you going to do d those games?
Little OT. Let me get this of my chest. I would be the happiest gooner in 10 years time if our board sack emry and appoint pochettino or head coach in near future. I am not sure if you remember his work at Southampton? But let me tell you one thing this guy is our solution and salvation.
Upvote for pochettino in
Downvote for other
Cheers
Big thumbs up. Arsenal have just been given a lifeline. A top class coach who knows how he wants his team to play and a track record of integrating young players into the first team has suddenly become available. Wouldn’t it just be delightful if he goes back and beats Mourinho in the NLD.
Do you reckon he’d fancy a move here?
I have my doubts, but football admin is the art of the possible.
Pochettino or Our very own Arteta? Vote now
He has already said he could not manage Arsenal because of the rivalry with S*urs. Watching the guy over the years, he seems to mean what he says.
Never say never in football
Would be brilliant, but he’s probably spending the rest of the season resting up and house-hunting in Madrid
I believe he’s said before he won’t manage arsenal or Barca, due to his spurs and espanyol connections. But who knows now they’ve sacked him, he might turn. And bring Harry Kane home ?
Yawwwwnnn…reading the script again i see.
Aaaand we’re back…
I just wish the players would stop saying “moment”.
“We” have a manager that isn’t up to the job. That’s all there is to it. Get rid of him and bring in someone who can do better with the players we have and we’ll be OK. Carry on like it is and we won’t.
Welcome to the endless Catch-22 of being an Arsenal supporter: don’t have confidence ’cause we keep losing, can’t win unless we have no confidence. Where in hell does it end? I really hope we’re keeping the powder dry for a decent appointment this summer, as we’re going to need it. Frankly, if we can shift Auba (I’d keep Laca, personally), Xhaka, Mustafi, and (possibly) Nelson I think we can fashion some kind of a rebuild, starting with the midfield.
That was meant to read, “can’t win as we have no confidence”, duh…
Shift Auba? God no. Who would you bring instead?
I find it hilarious that our players always combat pundits and players who say we are mentally weak…but then every week talk about how we lack confidence. Are these not effectively the exact same things?
Let’s just take a moment to laugh at the spuds. It can only end in tears, it leaves Poch a free agent and it keeps Maureen away from us!
We have quality but we lack confidence but Spurs hired Mourinho so they are even more fucked than we are so have a nice day!
Whatever you think of mourine he is a much better coach than emery. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they over take us again this season.
The manager’s job is not only to select the tactics and team, but also to instill confidence in his players. We’ve been lacking confidence for awhile now, and the manager has done nothing but issue platitudes at press conferences in an attempt to shift blame away from himself and his tactics.
We called “Confidence” and she’s not coming to the party without her mate, “New Manager”.
I think the ex spuds manager once said when Wenger left that to be offered the job at arsenal he would rather work as a farmhand on a Argentinean ranch, I can see his comparison working with cowboys trying to steer the heffers we have at arsenal from being out of position, although Maureen would never be my choice of replacing Emery (and god knows he needs replacing) apart from 1 or 2 games his record against us is massive, as much as some of us like to think spuds have cocked up they unlike us to sack a manager… Read more »
“We lack confidence” because the players have stop believing in the manager. That’s why he has to go. It’s been an amazing 24 hours hasn’t it? It looks like Levy was planning this coup for some time. But bringing in Maureen for Potch is a huge gamble: personally, I think that Maureen is a busted flush and will be gone inside two years. Jose is a check-book manager and will quickly become frustrated by the lack of funds at WHL. And the fans will hate his brand of football. The sad thing for us is that he might turn the… Read more »
yep, this will happen.
Agree with everything except Maureen doing that level of well at Tottershiteham. They might do marginally better and then nosedive.
The only proven loser is that fat little ex spud bloke, your mate ‘poch’
Arsenal don’t have the quality – that is why they have players like Sokratis and Xhaka and that is why top four is impossible for them.
Arsenal will sit on their arse while Emery destroys everything with his incompetence until finally they sack him by which time every decent manager will be gone and we will end up with the dregs to choose from – exactly the same problem that has led to us being where we are now…
With a dreg….
Everything coming g out from this team right now is just pissing me off.
We need to put a ban on this confidence bs.
Welcome to Le Grove light. Well done fellas.
We have problem in midfield we should have to play Luiz no 6 and back side bellerin sokratics Tinney…… midfielder Luiz xhaka ozil guendouz/Ferreira… front line lacazette aubameyang pepe we wl get good result
It’s alright sok, we’ve lost confidence too.
Of course there is quality in this team what is lacking is good coach and better board
Only the board have confidence, the rest of us lost it long ago. And we are all scared because nobody seems concerned enough to put an end to this fiasco. I’m sure that there would be a lot more confidence and happiness all round if Unai Emery was gone.
He doesn’t lack eyebrows either
I don’t even have the confidence the senior team will beat the U23s to be honest.
Unless Emery manages both teams together and each team tries to out-fuck the other.
Hi Mr. Emery why not you take a 2 weeks holiday. We’re just going to get this other guy Poch try out here. Don’t worry, unlikely that he would do well and your holiday becomes permanent.- HR