The rewritting history thread, or how Mikel/Arsenal turned it around. Or didn't. What even IS real?

[BigPoppaPump]

I don’t see what the issue is with spending money, that’s how you get the best players.

We use to expect Arsenal managers to bleed a stone with some of those players but now it’s an issue when we get quality?

 

[DJ_Markstar]

Nah nah, what have I stumbled into here. This has all the makings of a classic AM thread.



View attachment 10298

Absolutely raging at this snub tbh

 

[Makingtrax]

Maybe get a third Arteta type thread going, or a fourth. Does it even matter anymore? One would encourage the erstwhile scribes to adhere to our motto from time to time.

Who uses ‘erstwhile’ in an internet post these days, grandpa. Apart from maybe ageing public school toffs. Wait . . .

 

[UpTheGunnerz]

He is performing on par, maybe on birdie or eagle if we win the league, in relation to dollah spent.

 

[db10_therza]

Absolutely raging at this snub tbh

Big oversight on my part. Humble apologies. Given your musical whims this is the only character for you…

 

[GoonerJeeves]

Who uses ‘erstwhile’ in an internet post these days, grandpa. Apart from maybe ageing public school toffs. Wait . . .

I do not know whence you got such ideas.

 

[DJ_Markstar]

I do not know whence you got such ideas.

No one had mentioned your elite vocab hitherto

 

[CaseUteinberger]

I don’t see what the issue is with spending money, that’s how you get the best players.

We use to expect Arsenal managers to bleed a stone with some of those players but now it’s an issue when we get quality?

Spending bigger will only benefit us as a club regardless who manages. This is the reason that e.g. ManU can stay reasonably competitive despite lurching from one coach and false start to another and have a squad that makes zero sense. They just keep on buying expensive, but relatively good quality players year after year. Same with Chelsea. A club can be relatively **** at actually running a quality football operation as long as they invest heavily in the squad. It isn't exactly brain surgery, is it?

 

[CaseUteinberger]

And that this is not incompatible with giving Pepe a fair shot, given the relevant circumstances I've alluded to above (in short: Saka, incompatibility with system and play style / lack of tactical intelligence and associative ability, lack of effectiveness)?

Associative ability? Not sure I follow, maybe due to lack of said ability...

 

[DJ_Markstar]

Big oversight on my part. Humble apologies. Given your musical whims this is the only character for you…
View attachment 10967

Looks a lot like me if you know what I mean

 

[Makingtrax]

People will be making all the excuses for Potter come May, after he's been opening unlimited premium FIFA packs in January.

Meanwhile Mikel came in midseason as a first time manager having to deal with Covid, squad mutiny, cleaning up the mess that was this club, and getting only one FIFA bronze loan pack in January containing Cedric, Mari and Ceballos.

Since 2019 Arsenal have had the third highest net spend on players in all 5 major leagues, just under £500m. All of that has somehow been released from club funds. That's incredible backing, and record Arsenal spending.

Arteta has justified that spend and is currently over performing with it. Everybody's on board and the football is great. Why make up stuff about squad mutinies and dealing with Covid. Every club was dealing Covid, and Arteta was actually lucky that the second time the club came mid table, the fans were not complaing on the terraces. Losing loved ones made coming mid table rather inconsequential.

 

[Red London]

When you came here is was hurricane strength anti-Arteta winds 24/7. And for anyone coveting the “Trusted” badge it was an absolute must!

There was that 1 trusted member, who went against the grain and backed Mikel…. I forgot his name though

 

[Red London]

People will be making all the excuses for Potter come May, after he's been opening unlimited premium FIFA packs in January.

Meanwhile Mikel came in midseason as a first time manager having to deal with Covid, squad mutiny, cleaning up the mess that was this club, and getting only one FIFA bronze loan pack in January containing Cedric, Mari and Ceballos.

Man had to discard highly rated players like Özil and Auba for 650 coins as well.

 

[Camron]

Since 2019 Arsenal have had the third highest net spend on players in all 5 major leagues, just under £500m. All of that has somehow been released from club funds. That's incredible backing, and record Arsenal spending.

Arteta has justified that spend and is currently over performing with it. Everybody's on board and the football is great. Why make up stuff about squad mutinies and dealing with Covid. Every club was dealing Covid, and Arteta was actually lucky that the second time the club came mid table, the fans were not complaing on the terraces. Losing loved ones made coming mid table rather inconsequential.

Squad that we accumulated over the years was so poor we had to pay players to leave. We had nearly no assets and whatever we had was on ridiculous wages. Of course that's not gonna reflect well on the net . That was a big part of the mess that needed sorting out and took the better part of two years.

Mutiny was 100% there (dressing room leaks and social media propaganda), but tbf Emery had to deal with that as well towards the end. Hence him losing the dressing room.

Mikel made sure that wasn't going to happen and cleared out the rot that had poisoned the dressing room over the years. This is undeniable however way you want to spin it. He's been proven right on most if not all his (the clubs) decisions. Hardly any of these players have done anything of value since leaving.

Yes, every manager had to deal with Covid, but we are talking about an inexperienced manager coming in mid season trying to steer a sinking (behemoth of a) ship with no direction all whilst having to deal with the above. After two(?) months of trying to build a connection with players staff/fans the whole world came to a standstill and he had to motivate his players via zoom calls ffs

His biggest challenge was to get the spirit and mentality right, then build from that. This is what people who supported him kept saying while most on here (some who wanted him here) were asking for his head (and Mourinho ). Foundations were laid, while short term results suffered. A plan was visible and that plan for the most part revolved around fixing off-pitch issues.

One thing you said is true though. The Kroenkes have decided to back Mikel. Imo this is one part them acquiring full ownership and Josh stepping up and one part Mikel. He has a calm way of words and an authenticity that oozes leadership.

Imo we've done nothing outrageous (we dropped big money on Laca and Auba in the same year and almost broke English record fees for Mbappe and Lemar ( ). But the funds are definitely available.

 

[Makingtrax]

Squad that we accumulated over the years was so poor we had to pay players to leave. We had nearly no assets and whatever we had was on ridiculous wages. Of course that's not gonna reflect well on the net . That was a big part of the mess that needed sorting out and took the better part of two years.

Mutiny was 100% there (dressing room leaks and social media propaganda), but tbf Emery had to deal with that as well towards the end. Hence him losing the dressing room.

Mikel made sure that wasn't going to happen and cleared out the rot that had poisoned the dressing room over the years. This is undeniable however way you want to spin it. He's been proven right on most if not all his (the clubs) decisions. Hardly any of these players have done anything of value since leaving.

Yes, every manager had to deal with Covid, but we are talking about an inexperienced manager coming in mid season trying to steer a sinking (behemoth of a) ship with no direction all whilst having to deal with the above. After two(?) months of trying to build a connection with players staff/fans the whole world came to a standstill and he had to motivate his players via zoom calls ffs

His biggest challenge was to get the spirit and mentality right, then build from that. This is what people who supported him kept saying while most on here (some who wanted him here) were asking for his head (and Mourinho ). Foundations were laid, while short term results suffered. A plan was visible and that plan for the most part revolved around fixing off-pitch issues.

One thing you said is true though. The Kroenkes have decided to back Mikel. Imo this is one part them acquiring full ownership and Josh stepping up and one part Mikel. He has a calm way of words and an authenticity that oozes leadership.

Imo we've done nothing outrageous (we dropped big money on Laca and Auba in the same year and almost broke English record fees for Mbappe and Lemar ( ). But the funds are definitely available.

When Arteta arrived the players tried extremely hard for him. The last few games of the season were good games too, winning the FA Cup, Pepe playing well, Auba continually scoring against top teams. There wasn't a mutiny.

Arteta started off bringing in older players and things didn't work out for him, he switched to younger player and made some excellent acquisitions which have really paid off. I don't see the point in being overly dramatic bro.

 

[Macho]

I think Arteta was sh*t for a long time and got lucky that the work he was doing was seen by the people that matter really.

The stuff he had to deal with was typical manager stuff but he seemed to have garnered more sympathy than most. Covid was not exclusive to Mikel, not having ideal squad etc.

I think Ten Hag and Howe coming in and turning things around a lot quicker has highlighted Arteta's inexperience for me and what we had to sit through. The success now has invited some revisionism and misplaced gloating.

 

[Camron]

When Arteta arrived the players tried extremely hard for him. The last few games of the season were good games too, winning the FA Cup, Pepe playing well, Auba continually scoring against top teams. There wasn't a mutiny.

Arteta started off bringing in older players and things didn't work out for him, he switched to younger player and made some excellent acquisitions which have really paid off. I don't see the point in being overly dramatic bro.

Players try hard for every new manager. They even tried for Freddie. As soon as the demands became clear the toys went out the pram.

The older players (free/loans) were short term solutions to try and keep things steady through experience. Long term ambition was always to rebuild with young players. No need to make stuff up.

 

[Makingtrax]

I think Arteta was sh*t for a long time and got lucky that the work he was doing was seen by the people that matter really.

The stuff he had to deal with was typical manager stuff but he seemed to have garnered more sympathy than most. Covid was not exclusive to Mikel, not having ideal squad etc.

I think Ten Hag and Howe coming in and turning things around a lot quicker has highlighted Arteta's inexperience for me and what we had to sit through. The success now has invited some revisionism and misplaced gloating.

Both the revisionism and the back slapping has just completely taken over this thread though.

 

[El Duderino]

There was that 1 trusted member, who went against the grain and backed Mikel…. I forgot his name though

It's @Blood on the Tracks but it's normal.to block.it since his pots are all so long.

 

[Tir Na Nog]

I think Arteta was sh*t for a long time and got lucky that the work he was doing was seen by the people that matter really.

The stuff he had to deal with was typical manager stuff but he seemed to have garnered more sympathy than most. Covid was not exclusive to Mikel, not having ideal squad etc.

I think Ten Hag and Howe coming in and turning things around a lot quicker has highlighted Arteta's inexperience for me and what we had to sit through. The success now has invited some revisionism and misplaced gloating.

I don't get why there's such a need to dismiss the struggles Arteta had a couple of years ago +, if anything it's a testament to Arteta and his character that he's grown and improved so much and overcome all the difficulties he's faced. It's very nice to paint it as this has all been a master plan and the struggles were a part of it but in the end everyone knew we'd come through and be the team we are today. Of course with our recent policy we have a long term vision but let's not forget when he first came in immediately one of the goals was top 4 in his first full season, in his first window he brought in two relatively experienced defenders (even if quality was lacking), then he signed Willian and promised him we'd be competitive, gave an aging Auba a massive contract, re-signed Luiz to his contract and bought in a prime Partey. All this screams that we were intending a quick-fix in the short term to try and get us competitive for top 4. But then all the issues with Auba underperforming post contract, Willian being a major flop, Luiz having issues, the system not working meant he was changing on an almost weekly basis to try and find a solution. Also let's not forget that infamous game vs Chelsea when Martinelli and ESR came in, Willian was out with illness and Auba missed it (can't remember why) so you could say this was something forced on him.

I don't get why we need to ignore all this. It shouldn't be used as a stick to beat Arteta with, but it shouldn't be glossed over either. He struggled for a long time and was fortunate he had the backing he did. I still maintain COVID era with no crowds helped him greatly in a sense that there was no pressure from the home crowd getting frustrated and maybe forcing the issue. But in hindsight it's understandable as it was literally his first job in management and it was at such a big club that was falling below expectations so for him to be expected to come in and fix everything straight away was always going to be unrealistic and in that sense the expectations of top 4 straight away shouldn't have been placed on him anyways.