Mikel Arteta: Managerial Royalty

[GoonerJeeves]

I think we definitely learned from the Man U breaks. On another note, nice to see Cesc in the studio!

I think it really helped to have Partey there for that. Being a #6 is a tough gig for Lokonga, and honestly perhaps not his best position.

 

[SA Gunner]

The continuation of good performances for over a year now. The difference is that its now progressing into the bigger, more eye catching results.

We all remember the Liverpool and City home games from last season, but very few people wanted to give credit because those games werent won. A high level of performance was visible there already.

We are still lacking in depth though, but that's taking it towards title talk. Even if we dont strengthen in January (hope we do strengthen), we should have enough as is it is, with good fitness, for a top four finish this season.

 

[dka1]

We all remember the Liverpool and City home games from last season, but very few people wanted to give credit because those games werent won. A high level of performance was visible there already.

Hmmm I dunno SA alot of people did give credit for the City at home game, in fact it was a turning point for many people. Sure some didn't give credit (naturally) but I remember that many did.

Liverpool at home, were we good? We did quite well in the first half but I remember that after they scored we never looked very threatening.

 

[say yes]

 

[SA Gunner]

Hmmm I dunno SA alot of people did give credit for the City at home game, in fact it was a turning point for many people. Sure some didn't give credit (naturally) but I remember that many did.

Liverpool at home, were we good? We did quite well in the first half but I remember that after they scored we never looked very threatening.

I dont recall many turning mate, perhaps around that time, but not at the levels we have seen since pre-season.

As for Liverpool at home, yes we were quite good, especially for a team that was still short in key areas. We controlled them for an hour, until we lost out to those two moments of magic.

 

[GoonerJeeves]

The continuation of good performances for over a year now. The difference is that its now progressing into the bigger, more eye catching results.

We all remember the Liverpool and City home games from last season, but very few people wanted to give credit because those games werent won. A high level of performance was visible there already.

We are still lacking in depth though, but that's taking it towards title talk. Even if we dont strengthen in January (hope we do strengthen), we should have enough as is it is, with good fitness, for a top four finish this season.

I think you have to view our current situation in terms of reaching top four. This month we are playing nine games. We do not have the depth for that really, at least in terms of performing at the top level.

That being said, I think you have to be blind if you argue that there has been no progress. It is obvious that the club has backed the manager, and I think it is equally obvious that the manager has gotten his ideas across to the players.

We're heading in the right direction.

 

[Sanchez11]

fs

 

[AbouCuéllar]

So superior in every way today.

Has a very different feel this result than the win by the same score line last season in the same fixture; that felt like something of a smash and grab where everything went right for us and we sat back after in the style of Arteta when he wants to hide what he perceives to be his team’s inferiority / defectuousness.

Today things went really wrong and we still dominated and got the result, and it wasn’t holding on at the end but oles as we passed it around them killing off the clock like in the good Wenger days.

Tottenham look vastly inferior to us, I honestly think if you replayed that away fixture with this team vs that Tottenham team it would be very difficult for us not to at least get a pt. I feel pretty strongly about our chances even at Sp**s this season (where, being honest, we rarely get 3 pts).

If Conté makes it that far.

Speaking of that I think people can start to feel why I have felt he has been so overrated here. I was a huge proponent of his when he came to Chelsea, was hugely impressed with his work during the Euro cup and at Juve, and hailed him as part of the tactical revolution in the big clubs finally happening in England along with Pep Klopp and Poch.

But later results changed my opinion and to me revealed who were the tier 1 and who were the second rate managers. It was telling to see how his Chelsea fell off so much in the second season, with Klopps project taking shape, Guardiolas city in its second season after a first where he asked for a radical radical change in everything at the club and the growing pains were obvious, Poch’s Sp**s with less talent…even Wengers Arsenal in the depths of its decadence phase looked superior in their straight up match ups.

It made me rethink my opinion on him, in short, and consider the very possible possibility that he was a second rate manager; don’t get me wrong, he’s clearly effective with organisation and effective at implementing it and transmitting it to his team with clarity and efficacy…that makes him better than most managers in the world, when I say second rate I’m really just saying he’s not in the top 1% for me with the Guardiolas Klopps Tuchels and whoever else proves to be that level (Arteta, Potter, Xavi, Nagelsmann, ten Hag ones with definite chances to be in that tier, something I just don’t think Conté does), but he’s someone who’s good enough to do well in favourable conditions (Serie A, Premier League in transition), but aside with the issues inherent to his philosophy, he’s not capable of a project of much more amplitude.

His story also served as a warning sign for me with Allegri, when he was the hot name that everyone dreamed of as a Wenger replacement, and PSG seemed to be heavily interested in as well as other bit clubs, and I felt that despite popular opinion Allegri was someone I definitely wouldn’t want Arsenal to hire. That seems to have been right with further perspective.

In short, I think there were a lot of platitudes involved and are a lot of platitudes involved in the idea that Mourinho or Contes styles wear on players and that explains why these drop offs have occurred in their careers at certain clubs, more context is needed and if you look at it more closely it tends to really just be a case of the competition passing them by, but the narrative about what fiery, demanding characters with short term amazing success and dramatic fall offs sells more and is more appealing for the average football fan. There was much more going on than his hard training wearing on Chelsea players his second season there, and just as when the inevitable happens at Sp**s and they sell the same narrative, there will be a lot more going on.

In summary:

@Sp**s forum—

1. Pep
2. Klopp

t3 Arteta, Tuchel, Potter, Ten Hag

t7 Conté, etc.

Tiers.

 

[UpTheGunnerz]

Good manager!

 

[Mrs Bergkamp]

Hmmm I dunno SA alot of people did give credit for the City at home game, in fact it was a turning point for many people. Sure some didn't give credit (naturally) but I remember that many did.

Liverpool at home, were we good? We did quite well in the first half but I remember that after they scored we never looked very threatening.

Iirc, most of the praise for the City home defeat went to airpod Albert as Arteta was off with covid. Liverpool turned us over with two CB's I'd never really heard of before or since. For sure, The City showed us what we could be.

 

[DJ_Markstar]

I’m an Arteta lover until Monday or one of his supporters start chatting sh*t, whichever’s first.

*chat's *****

 

[dka1]

Iirc, most of the praise for the City home defeat went to airpod Albert as Arteta was off with covid. Liverpool turned us over with two CB's I'd never really heard of before or since. For sure, The City showed us what we could be.

Hahaha I remember that though tbh I thought those were jokes, but then again with this forum I can never really tell anymore

 

[Mrs Bergkamp]

Hahaha I remember that though tbh I thought those were jokes, but then again with this forum I can never really tell anymore

I was serious in my praise for Albert. It's probably still the most complete performance against a proper top team I've seen under Arteta. It's a match that will stick in the memory as we were on it for the full 90 iirc.

 

[Vinci]

 

[OnlyOne]

Managed to get to the Emirates early today to watch the game and took this pic from my seat, pitch was proper clean, what a game and atmosphere!

 

[say yes]

Managed to get to the Emirates early today to watch the game and took this pic from my seat, pitch was proper clean, what a game and atmosphere!

What time you flying back to Sweden? Want to share a taxi?

 

[Camron]

Managed to get to the Emirates early today to watch the game and took this pic from my seat, pitch was proper clean, what a game and atmosphere!

They let you score a pen vs Gunnersaurus during the break?

 

[samspade]

I’m an Arteta lover until Monday or one of his supporters start chatting sh*t, whichever’s first.

I’m gonna need some proof
Can we get a ‘What a manager!’ please

 

[Slug457]

So superior in every way today.

Has a very different feel this result than the win by the same score line last season in the same fixture; that felt like something of a smash and grab where everything went right for us and we sat back after in the style of Arteta when he wants to hide what he perceives to be his team’s inferiority / defectuousness.

Today things went really wrong and we still dominated and got the result, and it wasn’t holding on at the end but oles as we passed it around them killing off the clock like in the good Wenger days.

Tottenham look vastly inferior to us, I honestly think if you replayed that away fixture with this team vs that Tottenham team it would be very difficult for us not to at least get a pt. I feel pretty strongly about our chances even at Sp**s this season (where, being honest, we rarely get 3 pts).

If Conté makes it that far.

Speaking of that I think people can start to feel why I have felt he has been so overrated here. I was a huge proponent of his when he came to Chelsea, was hugely impressed with his work during the Euro cup and at Juve, and hailed him as part of the tactical revolution in the big clubs finally happening in England along with Pep Klopp and Poch.

But later results changed my opinion and to me revealed who were the tier 1 and who were the second rate managers. It was telling to see how his Chelsea fell off so much in the second season, with Klopps project taking shape, Guardiolas city in its second season after a first where he asked for a radical radical change in everything at the club and the growing pains were obvious, Poch’s Sp**s with less talent…even Wengers Arsenal in the depths of its decadence phase looked superior in their straight up match ups.

It made me rethink my opinion on him, in short, and consider the very possible possibility that he was a second rate manager; don’t get me wrong, he’s clearly effective with organisation and effective at implementing it and transmitting it to his team with clarity and efficacy…that makes him better than most managers in the world, when I say second rate I’m really just saying he’s not in the top 1% for me with the Guardiolas Klopps Tuchels and whoever else proves to be that level (Arteta, Potter, Xavi, Nagelsmann, ten Hag ones with definite chances to be in that tier, something I just don’t think Conté does), but he’s someone who’s good enough to do well in favourable conditions (Serie A, Premier League in transition), but aside with the issues inherent to his philosophy, he’s not capable of a project of much more amplitude.

His story also served as a warning sign for me with Allegri, when he was the hot name that everyone dreamed of as a Wenger replacement, and PSG seemed to be heavily interested in as well as other bit clubs, and I felt that despite popular opinion Allegri was someone I definitely wouldn’t want Arsenal to hire. That seems to have been right with further perspective.

In short, I think there were a lot of platitudes involved and are a lot of platitudes involved in the idea that Mourinho or Contes styles wear on players and that explains why these drop offs have occurred in their careers at certain clubs, more context is needed and if you look at it more closely it tends to really just be a case of the competition passing them by, but the narrative about what fiery, demanding characters with short term amazing success and dramatic fall offs sells more and is more appealing for the average football fan. There was much more going on than his hard training wearing on Chelsea players his second season there, and just as when the inevitable happens at Sp**s and they sell the same narrative, there will be a lot more going on.

In summary:

@Sp**s forum—

1. Pep
2. Klopp

t3 Arteta, Tuchel, Potter, Ten Hag

t7 Conté, etc.

Tiers.

Agree with most of this. I'll freely admit as someone who was calling Conte elite solely based off him winning the league with Inter/Chelsea and getting top 4 last, whilst not really watching his teams, today was an eye opener. They basically played a 7 - 1 - 2 and just looked for Kane/Son to bail them out. As you rightly point out even at the height of the negativity in Wenger later days, we still bodied him regularly, 3 0 at home/FA cup final in 2017, League cup semis 2018. Think he has failed in CL repeatedly also. Wouldn't go so far as to call him 2nd rate but definitely not elite. Would much rather have this season's version of Arteta who's getting his teams to impose themselves on the opposition every game than a negative Conte.

 

[GoonerJeeves]

I think as it stands now, the Arsenal manager in, is the most sensible view.