Mikel Arteta admits the mood in the Arsenal camp is low, but believes that if the team get good results against Man Utd and Dortmund things will seem a whole lot better.
The captain said it’s up to the team to get the crowd behind them for these two crucial fixtures and they are, in fairness, games which could have a big impact on the next few weeks.
A couple of wins would certainly instill some confidence; draws would be frustrating; while anything less will make certain sections of the Internet self-harm themselves in the face.
“We have two games against Manchester United and Dortmund at home,” Arteta told the official website, “and if we get the crowd with us from the start and get the results then it will be a very different story again.
“It is a rollercoaster at the moment but we need to manage the emotion because this is a long-term situation and we need to be where we want to be in April and May, so let’s be patient.”
The Spaniard also spoke of how the poor results have affected the morale of certain players but say they have to be professional to turn things around.
“When you see some faces with disappointment and doubts, it is not good. They are players of the top level and after one, two or three performances it is natural – you get doubts, you are not happy with yourself, you get a bit down.
“But we cannot allow that to happen here. It is very demanding to play three or four times in 10 days and bad periods are going to affect the team. So you need everyone on their toes and ready to fight.”
Arteta is hopeful of being fit enough to play a part at the weekend despite limping off against Anderlecht with a hamstring problem.
Again it shows the importance of having start the season with a good pre season. Momentum is real, as is Monreal.
Lets beat United and there’ll be a buzz about the place again. Incidentally last season we only managed a draw against them so it represents a chance to improve on last season. There’s no excuse for not doing that.
COYG.
It’s annoying to say but a draw wouldn’t be so bad with mike dean ref’ing. Pretty much anyone else and I’d be really pissed off at a draw. But he is probably the most anti-arsenal ref out there and he has some stiff competition for that title! We’ll be lucky to end the game with 11 players on the pitch if dean wants to really enjoy himself.
We need Arteta more than ever these days. O captain, my captain!
Sounds like the captain is issuing a rallying call to Santi Cazorla and possibly Aaron Ramsey:
“When you see some faces with disappointment and doubts, it is not good. They are players of the top level and after one, two or three performances it is natural – you get doubts, you are not happy with yourself, you get a bit down.”
2 men who could make a huge difference should their form turn around.
Yep, Santi could be up there with the top scorers this eason if he had simply remembered his shooting boots. I say ‘simply’, I’m aware it isn’t that easy but when you see so many players with less talent be so much more efficient with their shots, it’s hard to see why it’s so tough.
Until January the success of this team’s defensive stability is dependent on our Captain being present in the team. It’s no coincidence that our better defensive displays have come when he has played a full 90 minutes.
Due to his age his legs are going a bit. That’s why it’s so important that we go and get a defensive mid in his mould (with more defensive capabilities) in January along with a centre half.
But maybe it is a coincidence. After all, he did play in that atrocious Dortmund game, probably our worst performance of the season. I reckon he would have helped against Swansea and Anderlecht though.
In the last couple of weeks, I have felt as though something has been missing from my life.
Pretty sure it’s been the absence of that perfect Lego hair from my telly screen.
Yeah, yeah, fucking yeah. We’re over it. We all know that. we all want to press fast forward…. again… but are playing ‘Play recorded’ because of the good old days. We’re not even angry anymore.
I’m sure he feels it but doesn’t want to have to say it endlessly however in this modern media & communication world (which includes us on here) players are interviewed every 5 minutes. If they tell the journos to fuck off and leave them in peace then ‘He’s feeling the intense pressure’ or ‘Clearly all is not good in the squad’ or some other bull. So they have to repeat the same line time after time and the hacks are preying for something different but will regurgitate the same line just to fill newspaper (or whatever) space. The players must… Read more »
They should really start reading some surrealist poetry or something, just bring out little non-sequiturs whenever they’re asked a question they don’t want to answer and see how the press react.
Not the ‘seagulls following the trawler’ line…. It’s been done before.
The one thumbs up was blatantly yourself!
yeah, lets keep talking about looking forward when we continually fail to look back and learn
As cynical as this sounds, it’s true. I know there is no point in spreading negativity on articles like this one, but can anyone really argue with it? The evidence is there, however discussion about it tends to resurface only when we fail to get a good result.
Is there really a way to learn how to beat our internal demons? I’m no psychologist but I’m pretty sure simply saying over and over again ‘we’re not gonna lose again, we’re not gonna concede again, this isn’t Newcastle’ would solve it.
Unless you’re talking about buying a CB when we patently needed one, then hopefuly we’ve learnt that now.
Agree. We here the same things after every bad result/performance but nothing ever changes. I really don’t get why we don’t learn from our mistakes (or learn just enough to push for 4th at the death, before forgetting everything the next season). That’s the biggest disappointment of the season; we were top of the league at this point last year and despite the Liverpool and Chelsea results, there were loads of positives to take out of it. But we haven’t built on any of it and I don’t know why
I always get excited thinking we’ll turn turn it around winning such big games, but then Wenger goes and plays the same team and makes subs at 80.
So the only thing I’m excited about now is Walcott and Sanchez.
If we can’t beat Swansea, Anderlecht after being 3-0 up and Man Utd reserves…..Wenger should walk. If we get stuffed by Dortmund too, then he should be sacked.
he may be losing a bit the pace and the endurance, but arteta oozes class all the time and i doubt that is something he will ever lose. i know it’s been said before, but i wish we could have signed him sooner.
let’s smash manure and get back to winning ways. our injury list is getting smaller and it’s time for the real arsenal to stand up!
Sanogo got another 2 goals for the French U21’s yesterday, surely can’t be long before he nicks a goal for us.
It’s great for sanogo to score goals, but against england u21 his goals were tap ins from half-yard and the other goals which he scored for france u21 were scrappy reflections and tap ins, i would love to see scoring a good goal with great play and a good finish, he din’t done that yet even for france u21 but i hope he will improve and rise his talent.
If Sanogo got 30 tap in’s for us in a season I’d be over the moon. Doesn’t matter how they go in, just get em in!
Mate, I get what you’re saying, but a goal scored from a goal line scramble is worth the same as a 30yard belter. As long as he keeps scoring in some capacity it can only be good for him and the arse
And we’ve seen him get in the right positions – frequently the 6 yd box for us. To me it’s refreshing to see Welbeck, Sanogo, even Giroud sometimes getting there. 3-4 years ago a cross looked like a tumbleweed through a ghost town with all the mids lined up at the 18.
And the ‘false’ 9 with them on the 18!
Hahaaa…i love scrappy reflections!
and he was the captain so he must have some good respect from this teammates and coaches
I wish I could feel as confident as the guys above, but my worry is that we are apart from one or two a team of ordinary players. I don’t know what goes on at the training ground but they don’t seam to have any desire,no confidence, no pace, I think Wenger is just clutching at straws. He comes out with the same old rubbish weekly, he sits there twiddling his elastic bands never makes a substitution till 75 to 80mins then says they had fatigue well why wait till the last 10 mins to change. Still not beat anyone… Read more »
Nope, our squad of players is the 3rd best in the league imo; these are not ordinary players as we can see when it actually clicks, but with such a big psychological problem running through the squad they’re very capable of looking like a bunch of talentless no-hopers.
I don’t think winning against both United and Dortmund is beyond us, even with all our injuries. I would fancy our chances with a midfield of Flamini Wilshere Ramsey and Welbeck Alexis Walcott up top. If Arteta is fit enough though, he has to play. Then against Dortmund, rotate whoever is tired with Oxlade, Cazorla, even Rosicky.
He also said that they needed to lift their performance so that they could reach the target of the season. Reading between the lines, he is obviously talking about the 4th place trophy.
4th isn’t the ‘target’, it’s the ‘fallback’ requirement.
The ‘target’ is better than 4th. The target is always to do better than last year.
Champions would be good but better than last year is the target.
There’s 16 PL teams that would have killed for 4th last year!
Dude… I understand the target part,but there are also 16 other managers and sets of fans who would be angry with 4th AGAIN with the talented squad we have.
The thing that frustrates and always frustrates in the recent years is how close we are to glory. Like, literally.. It’s there for the taking and for some reason or another we just can’t get our shit together and take it.
There’s been seasons where all we needed was a goal scorer, a keeper, a cb and we just haven’t got the players in. This year is no different with regards to the defence/injuries/cdm
How much longer is this negligence going to be tolerated?
there are sets of fans who will always be angry no matter what.
Most of them seem to be our own fans, unfortunately.
That’s why it isn’t the target. It’s the fall back position.
Every team in the PL has 4th as the fall back, but 16 of them didn’t get it.
Unfortunately when we fail to meet the target, then at least we’ve won the ‘fall back’ position race. It’s a fail but it’s best of the rest. The target is always to have a better year than last and now we’re starting to have the money to make the move up, we should be doing it in small jumps not single steps. We live in hope etc..
What is hurting players and fans morale is our propensity to concede goals by unforced defensive errors.The solution is not to turn Arsenal into a defensive team. It is for the team to get organized and disciplined in positioning so that we are able to close opposition players down quickly. The manager is known to lack interest in the defensive aspect of the game and this is unconsciously conveyed to players. It becomes a vicious circle because you lose your offensive sharpness if morale is down. Even though United are always sharp against us, we have enough quality to beat… Read more »
The manager is actually very interested in closing down and winning the ball back in the oppositions half, so he can attack again. All part of the defending from the front that he’s tried to get the team to do for years. It’s possible he’s less interested in the defensive aspect when the ball is in our half, but that’s just a guess.
Picture of Stewart Robson. Now you know.
https://twitter.com/northbanklower/status/532509877261066240
fascinating and damning: http://spielverlagerung.com/2014/11/16/wengers-problems-and-arsenals-long-term-crisis/
Would arteta make Southamptons first team? He’s our captain, oh wait.
A squad/team is about trying to balance qualities.
You could just as easily ask if all their players would get into out squad/team.
Less talk, more rock!
Man U are without Falcao, De Gea, Carrick, Blind, Rojo, Jones, Evans, Rafael, Young…and they have a coach with a funny weird face.
3 points are a must! No more draws!
In the past 9 years, minus last season. We usually start the season great, playing brillant, and in the last few months, we play like we are playing now, and win nothing. Lets hope this is the season it changes, we have started shit. We have to gel together at some stage and go on a great run. And hopefully win a trophy come may. Personally, i think Chelsea will go on a bad run, especially if Diego Costa gets injured, or Fabregas. I think pundits and fans etc, are over hyping Chelsea. Ive already giving up on the league,… Read more »
I hope you mean ‘A CB in Jan’.
Mr.Captain u’ve got until Saturday 5.29pm to lift the players spirits and get their attitude right… The players are getting paid handsomely, the fans are totally behind the team as always and we are only in the 2nd quarter of the season having played just 11 games with 27 more to go… No excuses,,,
Interesting interview Wenger did with BeIN Sports:
http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/arsene-wengers-interview-with-bein-sports-on-welbeck-ozil-diaby-podolski-more-videos-translation/
Arteta has got to play in front of flamini if fit. Good distributing of the ball and slightly more disciplined. Still only feel he has this season at the club though and we have to look to strengthen in the def mid role.
I can only assume it is because there is fuck all else to talk about that Arteta is saying this, but how many times have we heard the “we must learn” “we must fight” guff….
I hope everyone else follows Arteta’s lead and puts in a real shift against the Mancs on Saturday. Both teams have most of their squads away on internationals today and tomorrow, but our six-man England contingent is only a couple hours away and our Alexis is so awesome he can travel across the universe on Wednesday and Thursday and still score a hat trick on the weekend. And as I write this England have just gone 1-0 up on Scotland, on a brilliant pass from Jack Wilshere and a superb finish from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. That’s what I’m talking about, boys.… Read more »
1)Stifling Di Maria could be key. chambers has to tighten up as he was too easily fleeced against Swans He will need a bit of support on right flank, we cannot afford them space to cross or cut in. 2)Communication between Monreal and Per picking players out from crosses is also paramount. 3)Finally checking Rooneys movement through the middle will need robust tracking from Jack or Ramsey in concert with Arteta Concentrate on this and we will have our opportunity on the other end. I think we will see Welbeck Alecid Ox for sure, maybe Santi with Walcott subbing in… Read more »
El Capitan?
Or is it too soon?
One bad result and Arsenal crumble like a pack of cards!!! Remember the 49 games unbeaten, get beat by scum and took way too long to get back on track, totally forgetting we had just gone 49 games unbeaten!!! Basically Arsenal momentum is never to get beaten or, put another way, one defeat undoes any previous good work!!! Totally illogical and smacks of no mental strength – despite what Wenger says!!!
We’re a better side when Arteta is in the lineup. ManU have a bit of an injury crisis so I hope we go at them from the 1st min. Unfortunately I think the manager will have both Arteta and Flamini in the stating 11 which blunts us creatively in the midfield.
Honestly can’t remember last time we beat United. Was it Ramsey late winner 4 or 5 years ago at Emirates?
Hopefully Super Sanchez can fire us to the 3 pts! But I smell a draw. Hope I’m smelling wrong.
Alexis 🙂 still can’t believe we have him, 2 goals in two games for he’s country, watch out united, we are the gunners so stay welbeck
We’ll lead united 4-0 and draw 4-4 with 15minutes to full time.