Completely devastating. In times like this where life crawls slowly without any sort of excitement and frustration level increases due to not having the chance to (at least in the country where I live) travel abroad, meet your friends, play sports or just leave your home for a longer period…… marginal things that are usually generating up to 10% of your usual state of happiness like being proud of your favourite club after a decent victory are suddenly becoming more and more important. This one deeply hurts even by preparing for the worst nowadays and I just can’t accept the… Read more »
Couldn’t agree more. I don’t think what the team is doing right now is necessarily reflective of what MA wants to do, but the problem is, what we are doing isn’t working and you must make adjustments to try and get some improvement.
He is making adjustments — Willock starts in #10, Saka left-wing (clearly not a defender today), Auba up the middle, back four — but these very logical adjustments aren’t working … yet. They will, but we’re in a funk and need to play through it. Points are being lost, positions in the table ceded, morale destroyed, people are dying, the virus is spreading … oh, wait … well, either way, we work through it.
Two of the worst players on the team continue to keep their place, Willian and Xhaka. Granted the latter is probably due to an injury, but I would have thought Elneny would have got the nod at least.
I’m with you though, hoping for some better results and more importantly won’t mind losing with some fight and effort. Didn’t see that today.
Agreed — Elneny should have played (his tempo would help us match up better in midfield against a busy Wolves), but maybe he too wasn’t 100%. I think Arteta is trying, and he’s trying the right things, but they just aren’t coming off yet. They will.
Think down the years we have been so use to watching us create from the middle with walking the ball in the net that we really ought to struggle seeing anything inspiring when we create from the wings. We don’t have any risk takers in the midfield, the whole width of the pitch can only be utilized when you have those midfield players who can spread the ball without taking too much time and letting the attack come to a standstill and the players got no choice but to play it back to the defence again. And for some reason… Read more »
Football is a results based business .If Arteta keeps losing a few more games thats it,
goonero
3 years ago
Sorry what? Write off the season? Arsenal football club write off a season? Where’s this kind of apathy come from? Sorry but there’s going to be bedlam if this is still the state of affairs in a month’s time and Arteta’s position will be untenable.
Sapiman
3 years ago
This is not the end for Arteta, this team clearly has potential, we just have to be patient. However things need to change, the team have to avoid being so predictable maybe by giving abit more freedom to the players and to be creative.
I can’t be alone in thinking that Auba really isn’t cutting it. Laca is struggling but at least he fights for the ball. Partey is a big miss but we need Martinelli on the bench to liven the pair of them up. I also can’t understand why he thinks it’s better to play Leno rather than Martinez … Oh!
Tanned arse
3 years ago
I’m in the same mental place, unable to envisage an upturn in form that will get us even close to a top 4 finish. And it’s not the points gap, it’s what we’re showing. I fear arteta has very quickly lost his way. He had clear ideas from the outset and articulated them so well. His communication is still a potential strength but to me now it seems like a hindrance. He micro manages to the enth degree. It’s stifling, restricting his players of their identifies and abilities. He wants to control the game through possession but has no clarity… Read more »
Excellent post.We are so predictable going forward but the lack of movement from our front men is shocking to say the least.Rubbish delivery from out wide and no midfield players making runs into the penalty area.Mikel is over thinking things and we are quickly becoming an Emery looking side where the players lose belief in what they are being coached.
Arsenal played good but they lost. I think the defense needed to be tougher.
Lula
3 years ago
The team gave it their all and lost. This loss feels really, really significant.
A P
3 years ago
It’s not December and Arsenal is already in the spirit of giving precious points to opponents.
Chris Sheild
3 years ago
Partey has only played one game for us FFS so you can’t say we missed him bc he is such an influence – we have done that too much since Wenger left
Bjorn
3 years ago
It’s very hard to win football matches when you wait until the second half before you start playing. One thing that is absolutely missing in most games is urgency. We loose too many duels and make too many simple mistakes. It’s all a bit rigid really – too seldom our players do the unexpected. Too seldom they try to go past their man. We are really easy to defend against. Mikel says that we had a good response in the second half. But I think it is just as much that Wolves gave the ball to us stay compact and… Read more »
We’ve seen LFC, Chelski and MANU all go from places like 10th or 8th to top 4 in a season. Why can’t AFC turn this around? I can’t help but think that for some reason, we overestimate the actual quality of our players. The transfers, and lack thereof, have been terrible. I’d say we have 4 healthy players that would start on some of the top 10 teams.
Alex
3 years ago
It’s not politically correct here or on other blogs to admit it, but playing Özil wouldn’t do any harm to this s$$. No, he is not finished, no, he isn’t a liabilty, yes, he is our best attacking player, yes, he can create.
karl
3 years ago
Aubameyang never had a problem at Dortmund playing through the middle. I thought it was the teams fault he didn’t have service until recently. In the last 2 matches he has missed opportunities though.
karl
3 years ago
Using players out of position only looks clever when you win.
Xhaka covering left-back or dropping into defence. Bellerin being further forward or playing midfield with Willian covering right-back. Lacazette playing as a midfield destroyer. None of it uses players to their best ability and constantly distracts everyone from playing football.
Maybe it is time to play something more simple. When Arsenal were successful, players knew their jobs and were not constantly thinking about complex structures.
Jean Ralphio
3 years ago
Arteta needs to get back to playing with wingbacks and AMN. It was a system that at least got us results. Get Willy and Xhaka out the XI and give El Neny and ESR along with other young players a go.
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Completely devastating. In times like this where life crawls slowly without any sort of excitement and frustration level increases due to not having the chance to (at least in the country where I live) travel abroad, meet your friends, play sports or just leave your home for a longer period…… marginal things that are usually generating up to 10% of your usual state of happiness like being proud of your favourite club after a decent victory are suddenly becoming more and more important. This one deeply hurts even by preparing for the worst nowadays and I just can’t accept the… Read more »
Could not have said it any better.
Couldn’t agree more. I don’t think what the team is doing right now is necessarily reflective of what MA wants to do, but the problem is, what we are doing isn’t working and you must make adjustments to try and get some improvement.
He is making adjustments — Willock starts in #10, Saka left-wing (clearly not a defender today), Auba up the middle, back four — but these very logical adjustments aren’t working … yet. They will, but we’re in a funk and need to play through it. Points are being lost, positions in the table ceded, morale destroyed, people are dying, the virus is spreading … oh, wait … well, either way, we work through it.
Two of the worst players on the team continue to keep their place, Willian and Xhaka. Granted the latter is probably due to an injury, but I would have thought Elneny would have got the nod at least.
I’m with you though, hoping for some better results and more importantly won’t mind losing with some fight and effort. Didn’t see that today.
Agreed — Elneny should have played (his tempo would help us match up better in midfield against a busy Wolves), but maybe he too wasn’t 100%. I think Arteta is trying, and he’s trying the right things, but they just aren’t coming off yet. They will.
Think down the years we have been so use to watching us create from the middle with walking the ball in the net that we really ought to struggle seeing anything inspiring when we create from the wings. We don’t have any risk takers in the midfield, the whole width of the pitch can only be utilized when you have those midfield players who can spread the ball without taking too much time and letting the attack come to a standstill and the players got no choice but to play it back to the defence again. And for some reason… Read more »
That “effort” from Auba was bewildering. And as for him as captain.. Personally I’ve never liked to see strikers as the skipper.
Football is a results based business .If Arteta keeps losing a few more games thats it,
Sorry what? Write off the season? Arsenal football club write off a season? Where’s this kind of apathy come from? Sorry but there’s going to be bedlam if this is still the state of affairs in a month’s time and Arteta’s position will be untenable.
This is not the end for Arteta, this team clearly has potential, we just have to be patient. However things need to change, the team have to avoid being so predictable maybe by giving abit more freedom to the players and to be creative.
I can’t be alone in thinking that Auba really isn’t cutting it. Laca is struggling but at least he fights for the ball. Partey is a big miss but we need Martinelli on the bench to liven the pair of them up. I also can’t understand why he thinks it’s better to play Leno rather than Martinez … Oh!
I’m in the same mental place, unable to envisage an upturn in form that will get us even close to a top 4 finish. And it’s not the points gap, it’s what we’re showing. I fear arteta has very quickly lost his way. He had clear ideas from the outset and articulated them so well. His communication is still a potential strength but to me now it seems like a hindrance. He micro manages to the enth degree. It’s stifling, restricting his players of their identifies and abilities. He wants to control the game through possession but has no clarity… Read more »
Excellent post.We are so predictable going forward but the lack of movement from our front men is shocking to say the least.Rubbish delivery from out wide and no midfield players making runs into the penalty area.Mikel is over thinking things and we are quickly becoming an Emery looking side where the players lose belief in what they are being coached.
You hit the nail on the head.
There is more than a whiff of arrogance from Arteta.
He talks the talk but…
Arsenal played good but they lost. I think the defense needed to be tougher.
The team gave it their all and lost. This loss feels really, really significant.
It’s not December and Arsenal is already in the spirit of giving precious points to opponents.
Partey has only played one game for us FFS so you can’t say we missed him bc he is such an influence – we have done that too much since Wenger left
It’s very hard to win football matches when you wait until the second half before you start playing. One thing that is absolutely missing in most games is urgency. We loose too many duels and make too many simple mistakes. It’s all a bit rigid really – too seldom our players do the unexpected. Too seldom they try to go past their man. We are really easy to defend against. Mikel says that we had a good response in the second half. But I think it is just as much that Wolves gave the ball to us stay compact and… Read more »
We’ve seen LFC, Chelski and MANU all go from places like 10th or 8th to top 4 in a season. Why can’t AFC turn this around? I can’t help but think that for some reason, we overestimate the actual quality of our players. The transfers, and lack thereof, have been terrible. I’d say we have 4 healthy players that would start on some of the top 10 teams.
It’s not politically correct here or on other blogs to admit it, but playing Özil wouldn’t do any harm to this s$$. No, he is not finished, no, he isn’t a liabilty, yes, he is our best attacking player, yes, he can create.
Aubameyang never had a problem at Dortmund playing through the middle. I thought it was the teams fault he didn’t have service until recently. In the last 2 matches he has missed opportunities though.
Using players out of position only looks clever when you win.
Xhaka covering left-back or dropping into defence. Bellerin being further forward or playing midfield with Willian covering right-back. Lacazette playing as a midfield destroyer. None of it uses players to their best ability and constantly distracts everyone from playing football.
Maybe it is time to play something more simple. When Arsenal were successful, players knew their jobs and were not constantly thinking about complex structures.
Arteta needs to get back to playing with wingbacks and AMN. It was a system that at least got us results. Get Willy and Xhaka out the XI and give El Neny and ESR along with other young players a go.
Arteta immediately banished AMN as soon as he agreed to stay.