Mikel Arteta: Managerial Royalty

[Red London]

The first half last night certainly looked like we had fully turned the corner, played some lovely stuff, but the position we where are in means any loss from here will make a huge impact on where we finish in the table.

It sums us up how we have so much momentum and look so good and arrogant on the ball, only for the roof to fall onto us like that. A red card was the only way we lose that game imo. Could have been 5-0 up by the time they took the pen. Its so frustrating how it panned out, was like a 0.1% chance of happening the way it did.

I get the same powerless feeling I got vs Chelsea last season when they shoulda got a red then robbed us. These unlikely outcomes happen too often with us...

 

[Red London]

Honestly, I actually wouldn't be surprised Apparently no English refs got picked for the previous WC or the European Championship, could show how incompetent they can be .

The FA + PL needs to start questioning themselves about this. The most financially successful and competitive league in the world but some terrible officiating. If we dont have good enough refs here then we need to bring them in from abroad. They've always been these white guys from random towns I've never heard of that probably voted brexit. And then you wonder why they had a vendetta towards us in the early wenger days....

 

[Taylor Gang Gunners]

We're top of the league for red cards, and eight for yellows. Yet, we're 20th for fouls committed per game.

Anyone who thinks the officials don't routinely screw us needs to get their head out their arse. We were the first team to field an XI without an English player and we've been paying for it ever since. Arsène Wenger didn't just change the way we played, he revolutionised English football.

People fear what they don't know, what they don't understand. An unknown quantity came from Japan of all places, having plied his trade around the world for years- went toe to toe with golden boy SAF and won. He made a mockery of traditional "English style" football. The powers that be hate us for that and still do till this day.

After Eduardo got his leg snapped in half, Wenger said "this goes around with the idea that to beat Arsenal you have to kick Arsenal, and I saw this coming for a long time now." Truer words never spoken. We will continue to be screwed over by officials, we just need to be so good that they don't matter again. It'll be tough but the payoff will be so worth it.

I think we're onto something with Arteta. During our poor run did I have doubts? Of course. Have I ever wanted him sacked? No. He's an intelligent man who understands football and more importantly understands US. With that clique gone (Özil, Kolasinac, Mustafi, Sokratis) we're now seeing a more Arteta-type squad and I for one am exciting about what he can do.

 

[freeglennhelder2]

Seem to be a lot of dark clouds in this thread.

For a brief period of time yesterday, when Pepe was tearing up the left, Saka was tearing up the right and Partey was spraying the ball around like a prime Dan Marino at the Dolphins, it was a glimpse through a tear in the space time continuum into a wondrous alternative dimension.

Then Luiz slammed the portal shut, and that was that

 

[avenellroad]

Seem to be a lot of dark clouds in this thread.

For a brief period of time yesterday, when Pepe was tearing up the left, Saka was tearing up the right and Partey was spraying the ball around like a prime Dan Marino at the Dolphins, it was a glimpse through a tear in the space time continuum into a wondrous alternative dimension.

Then Luiz slammed the portal shut, and that was that

Man...the football we played in the first half was some of the best since the Arsène days.

The interchanging, rapid counter attacks, movement off the ball. It's ridiculous how we went from that amazing high in the first half to the soul destroying low in the second half.

We are on the right path if we can consistently keep playing like we did in the first half, for sure.

 

[Trilly]

The expectations are on the floor and it seems to have happened overnight. Top 4 used to be the minimum requirement, even Emery was heavily criticised for not getting us back there. Now all of a sudden getting into mid-table is seen as some sort of progress? In the next few years there'll be new young gooners who won't believe me when I tell them not so long ago 2nd was seen as a massive failure.

I swear you backed Arteta?

Where do you stand atm?

 

[Tir Na Nog]

Arteta needs to call out these referees a bit, take the fine/suspension. At the moment he's a bit too nice about it all. Says the decision is wrong but then just leaves it at that. He needs to really show that he's not a pushover in some way.

 

[Tir Na Nog]

I swear you backed Arteta?

Where do you stand atm?

I was mostly backing Arteta up until that really poor run this season and most of that was based on the FA Cup tbh. At the moment he's got it all to prove really, I still back him purely because I know he's not getting sacked anyways because there's no real pressure to finish top 4 or whatever and we might as well stick it out for a bit longer. Basically I'm unconvinced and wouldn't really be too upset if he did get sacked.

 

[HairSprayGooners]

Actually thinking about it @Rimaal saying Arteta hasn't been backed is even more stupid than I first thought

The club has bought who he wanted and also sold/loaned/terminated contracts of most of the players he didn't want here.

Now its time for further backing in the summer in the shape of new signings to replace the trash we've gotten rid of.

 

[OnlyOne]

Actually thinking about it @Rimaal saying Arteta hasn't been backed is even more stupid than I first thought

The club has bought who he wanted and also sold/loaned/terminated contracts of most of the players he didn't want here.

Now its time for further backing in the summer in the shape of new signings to replace the trash we've gotten rid of.

Would you back Arteta even if we finish mid-table and go out of Europa?

Genuinely interested, I understand he's had some players let him down but do you think you've seen enough to suggest we can push for titles?

 

[Mrs Bergkamp]

Perhaps that is a factor. But read the rhetoric online, it's bafflingly stark in its contrast to Emery and Wenger. I mean, the defence of Arteta is staunch and I can't understand why.

It's because the fans have finally cottoned on to the fact that we were overacheiving (despite our shortcomings) and that we don't and never will have enough money to mount a challenge for anything worth winning. Trusting the process is akin to self delusion by making out we were much worse than we actually were and gives hope for a self sustaining miracle in the future. No top manager is coming here so in Arteta we/they hope. The vocal Wenger outers never saw this coming

 

[Trilly]

I was mostly backing Arteta up until that really poor run this season and most of that was based on the FA Cup tbh. At the moment he's got it all to prove really, I still back him purely because I know he's not getting sacked anyways because there's no real pressure to finish top 4 or whatever and we might as well stick it out for a bit longer. Basically I'm unconvinced and wouldn't really be too upset if he did get sacked.

Pretty similar to me.

In recent weeks I've seen some of the signs of progress that I wanted to so I'm actually off his case atm. Wolves would have been another nice win against a tricky opponent and I genuinely feel we were robbed. Lots more games coming up to show if he's the guy for us, I'll have my final opinion on him soon.

 

[OnlyOne]

Pretty similar to me.

In recent weeks I've seen some of the signs of progress that I wanted to so I'm actually off his case atm. Wolves would have been another nice win against a tricky opponent and I genuinely feel we were robbed. Lots more games coming up to show if he's the guy for us, I'll have my final opinion on him soon.

Villa and Leeds should probably firm up our views. Arteta keeps getting lifelines with cards though. Not saying lifeline as a bad thing, but some losses cloud what could of maybe been wins.

I expect a tough win vs Villa and a decent win vs Leeds.

 

[HairSprayGooners]

Would you back Arteta even if we finish mid-table and go out of Europa?

Genuinely interested, I understand he's had some players let him down but do you think you've seen enough to suggest we can push for titles?

Tough question. Unless we were to really bomb out and finish bottom 12 and go out of the Europa league against Benfica then I personally believe he deserves this summers window.

He's just overseen key outgoings to help with his rebuild. I believe the summer window will be the biggest in the clubs history. Not in terms of cash spent, but in terms of the amount of movement and the squad actually being in the best place its been for about 8 years.

So to answer your question in short, I'd only start being against him if he lost the dressing room/finished bottom 8/went out early in the Europa league. But he didn't lose the dressing room in 15th so I dont expect it to happen.

 

[Lady_Gooner]

The expectations are on the floor and it seems to have happened overnight. Top 4 used to be the minimum requirement, even Emery was heavily criticised for not getting us back there. Now all of a sudden getting into mid-table is seen as some sort of progress? In the next few years there'll be new young gooners who won't believe me when I tell them not so long ago 2nd was seen as a massive failure.

But it didn’t happen overnight though..there’s 5 years between that 2nd place finish and where we are now. A lot can happen in football in 5 years. Especially when you have a summer like we did in 2015, then 2016 then 2017 was just ok.
I agree the expectations are absolutely dire right now but it didn’t happen overnight..

 

[Makingtrax]

Pretty similar to me.

In recent weeks I've seen some of the signs of progress that I wanted to so I'm actually off his case atm. Wolves would have been another nice win against a tricky opponent and I genuinely feel we were robbed. Lots more games coming up to show if he's the guy for us, I'll have my final opinion on him soon.

The Villa game is milestone for me. Let’s write Wolves off with the poor officiating, but Villa are above us and reasonably good. Win this we can say the upward spiral is still ongoing. But lose this and we know there’s problems still.

 

[HairSprayGooners]

It depends how we lose for me.

For example if Ryan isn't fit and puffinson is in net its an issue. A goalkeeping mistake in the 90th minute to draw or lose wouldn't be on Arteta's head. But in terms of the rest of the team there's no excuses, everyones fit bar Tierney and Cedric is doing an excellent job at left back.

 

[AberGooner]

It sums us up how we have so much momentum and look so good and arrogant on the ball, only for the roof to fall onto us like that. A red card was the only way we lose that game imo. Could have been 5-0 up by the time they took the pen. Its so frustrating how it panned out, was like a 0.1% chance of happening the way it did.

I get the same powerless feeling I got vs Chelsea last season when they shoulda got a red then robbed us. These unlikely outcomes happen too often with us...

Yeah arrogance on the ball is the right word, really looked like we could open them up at will. Granted they're a poor side at the moment but was still really pleasing to see. Being picky we should have converted the chances when we did have them but obviously horrific refereeing as well. Lost count the amount of times we had games like that over the years, particularly in the early Emirates years.

 

[Tree Points]

Everyone said the exact same things when Emery was here and he were getting shafted by refs here and there e.g. Palace. Emery went because he lost the dressing room. Arteta hasn't lost the dressing room, he just needs to trim the fat.

I dont see the relevance of your point insinuating people are using this as an excuse. We have improved our form recently but ofc trolls like you come out your hate cave to spout nonsensical ****.

Could Arteta be higher up the table? Yes. Is he inexperienced? Yes. Does that influence the job he can potentially do in the next few years? Not really, as he has shown he is quite switched on but has shown inconcistencies he needs to iron out.

This Wolves game was solely down to officiating, its just one of them ones.... which we seem to get way more often than other sides.

I'm not trolling, check my post history. Arteta isn't going to bring the good times back to Arsenal and that's just my opinion. I'm welcome to it and you are welcome to yours.

The reason I think he'll fail is because, like I've already said - your owners won't back him properly and he'll be forced to make loan signings (come on, what BIG club does this? Arsenal are crying out for major signings in key positions yet they bring in a 23 year old Dani Cabellos on loan and then a 22 year old Ødegaard ALSO on loan.

I can't see how this strategy works long term? There are coaches out there Arsenal should have broke the bank for. Not Emery - you made the same mistake that we did by bringing in terrible managers after your long term boss left. After sacking Emery you should have brought in an established coach with Champions League experience, given him a transfer budget to bring in a quality spine, shipped out the many average players still on your books and worked on being a force in football again.

Instead you sacked Emery, brought in a guy with zero experience, bought players like Willian who are well past their best, and then he persists with Xhaka and Luiz who are clearly not good enough to get you back into the Top 4.

Because you've just had a mini run of beating some awful sides in Newcastle, West Brom and Southampton, everyone thinks Arteta is going to bring back the good times all of a sudden.

I'm not saying he won't be a good appointment long term becuase none of us can predict the future. But there were far better options available and Arsenal could easily have been ruthless and sacked him a month ago, brought in Tuchel and focused on being a serious club again.

All rival fans want Arteta to stay at Arsenal because we know he's not good enough. Same goes for rival fans of Utd - you know Ole isn't going to win us trophies and you're right to think that.

Watch Chelsea go on and be a good team again now they've got a manager who has Champions League and European experience of managing big players and occassions. Meanwhile Arsenal and Utd will be winning a few games, getting a feeling of assurance only to go and throw it all away with silly results like us again Sheff Utd and you against Wolves.

And it's not the ref's fault that Leno decided to make a school boy error last night. You can't move the goal posts and blame refs etc (not you but a lot of your fanbase right now are blaming the ref for last night). If you had taken your chances in the first 35 minutes when on top, you would have won 3-2. But Arsenal players STILL make ridiculous decisions - Arteta hasn't been manager for just a few weeks, he's been at the club for over 13 months yet you're 10th place and likely to be lower when opponents have played their games-in-hand.

I just don't see what Arteta brings apart from a better shape defensively. Every time I've seen Arsenal under him the football has been awful, the players still make silly mistakes and you still have far too many average players on the books who he persists on playing every week.

 

[HairSprayGooners]

I'm not trolling, check my post history. Arteta isn't going to bring the good times back to Arsenal and that's just my opinion. I'm welcome to it and you are welcome to yours.

The reason I think he'll fail is because, like I've already said - your owners won't back him properly and he'll be forced to make loan signings (come on, what BIG club does this? Arsenal are crying out for major signings in key positions yet they bring in a 23 year old Dani Cabellos on loan and then a 22 year old Ødegaard ALSO on loan.

I can't see how this strategy works long term? There are coaches out there Arsenal should have broke the bank for. Not Emery - you made the same mistake that we did by bringing in terrible managers after your long term boss left. After sacking Emery you should have brought in an established coach with Champions League experience, given him a transfer budget to bring in a quality spine, shipped out the many average players still on your books and worked on being a force in football again.

Instead you sacked Emery, brought in a guy with zero experience, bought players like Willian who are well past their best, and then he persists with Xhaka and Luiz who are clearly not good enough to get you back into the Top 4.

Because you've just had a mini run of beating some awful sides in Newcastle, West Brom and Southampton, everyone thinks Arteta is going to bring back the good times all of a sudden.

I'm not saying he won't be a good appointment long term becuase none of us can predict the future. But there were far better options available and Arsenal could easily have been ruthless and sacked him a month ago, brought in Tuchel and focused on being a serious club again.

All rival fans want Arteta to stay at Arsenal because we know he's not good enough. Same goes for rival fans of Utd - you know Ole isn't going to win us trophies and you're right to think that.

Watch Chelsea go on and be a good team again now they've got a manager who has Champions League and European experience of managing big players and occassions. Meanwhile Arsenal and Utd will be winning a few games, getting a feeling of assurance only to go and throw it all away with silly results like us again Sheff Utd and you against Wolves.

And it's not the ref's fault that Leno decided to make a school boy error last night.

Weirdly you're skirting round the good players we bought and just firing shots at loan signings (Haven't even seen Ødegaard play a half of football yet) and free signings...

Partey and Gabriel are part of the main rebuild. Look at United, how many mains starters did Ole get in his first summer? Two, AWB and Maguire. He then got Bruno in January and this window just gone he didn't get a single starting player ffs.

We'll spend money, as seen with Partey and Gabriel, simple as that. Anyone saying they want Arteta to stay at Arsenal as a rival fan, you'll be shocked next season.