Arteta and his ‘Mourinho-lite’ pragmatism are costing Arsenal
Arsenal are the big story of the weekend after they reverted to their ‘donut of sadness’ midfield v Newcastle. Is it over?
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At what point does Arteta come under pressure?
As a Liverpool fan, I don’t have any particular problems with Arsenal as a club. I actually have some fond memories of them; that Alan Sunderland goal against United in ’79, Liam Brady curling in what they used to call a banana shot when hardly anyone could put much bend on the ball (I am fully aware I sound like an OAP in the common room of an old folks home at this point) and obviously they played some terrific football under Wenger.
This particular iteration of Arenal is not perhaps the most likeable, and Arteta himself is very easy to dislike, but when he has no excuses after a defeat, well, then maybe there is a problem. He is perhaps a Mourinho-lite, employing some, ahem, pragmatic tactics during games, rallying against the referees and the world at large.
I get why Arsenal fans would love him – he is one of their own, and has brought the club back to something approaching greatness, but there, of course, is the rub. Arsenal are not some plucky underdogs, punching above their weight. The manager has been there five years and has a net spend of nearly half a billion pounds. As the unsubtle saying goes, it’s time to shit or get off the pot.
I think that the next few weeks are vital for him, and there is a very reasonable set of circumstances that will see him under real pressure. A resurgent Chelsea away next, then a bang-in-form Forest at home the following week, and this is after a run of a single point from three games.
It seems ridiculous that we might be talking about must win games this early in the season, but they are seven points behind Liverpool (and probably more telling, five behind City) and if this gets to double figures by December, then their challenge is over by Christmas, and this isn’t acceptable.
I’d be interested to know what Arsenal fans would be thinking if this very reasonable set of circumstances should happen. Is Arteta destined to be a nearly man, killed by the City juggernaut? Or should he get another season?
Mat (kudos to Nuno Espirito Santo, I always thought Wolves gave up too quickly there, he’s performing miracles)
Arsenal and Arteta need to target cups
So it is only November, but Arsenal’s start to the season has been average at best. Five wins in 10 league games asks a lot of questions and they play Chelsea next in a London Derby, so pressure it already on and they need to win that game otherwise Chelsea may leapfrog them in the league.
If I were Arteta, I would prioritize winning the FA and League Cup this year and of course trying to get as far in the Champions League and improve on the quarter final stage they reached last year.
I think Arsenal wasted such a golden opportunity in the last two years winning the league, especially in 2023, but I will say that they are still a very young team and rose above all expectations in that season, and matched those expectations last season and were unfortunate to lose to Villa home and away last year. A win in either game, and they would have probably won the league.
Liverpool look like the real deal this year and have so much attacking threat with great quality too, whereas Arsenal are quite weak up front. Gabriel Jesus is not good enough for even a Top 6 team let alone a title challenging team, Havertz is a 15 goal a season striker at best, and Martinelli goes missing most games similar to Rashford. Saka is the only attacker in Arsenal who is worthy of being in a title challenging team. Trossard is good I like him, but he is an impact player like Hernandez was for United.
Way too much faith has been put into Havertz, I can’t remember the last time he scored against a big time he’s overrated to say the least and doesn’t have that hunger of a top top striker.
It’s funny because United have won two trophies in the last two years (somehow), whereas Arsenal haven’t won jack shit in 5 years and the Arsenal fans constantly make fun of United.
Says a lot about the club and how excited they get when going towards the finish line, but ultimately falling over when it matters most, which the fans don’t help with at all by the way.
Arsenal are currently a more complete side than United of course, and Arteta has disciplined them so well since taking over improving the defence and midfield by a mile, but must prioritize the cup competitions more in taking them a bit more seriously, as City and Liverpool just have way more experience in belief in actually winning the league, Arsenal won’t win it in the next 2 years.
As for United and the new manager in charge, best of luck to him given some of the players are just pr*cks. I didn’t like Ten Hag and thought he peaked, but some of the players just gave up on him. United fans I suppose have to accept they are a top 4 team at best, and that will be the case for the next 2-3 years, they have ultimately become the new Arsenal/Spurs which is painful to admit, but is what it is.
Rami, Dubai
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Arsenal were just sh*t
There will be the usual suspects outlining a plethora of reasons for our loss to Newcastle (a certain someone will blame Wenger, even F365 trying to get the links going). Presumably these same mailboxes will say City’s defeat to Bournemouth show why City can’t win the league.. I have 2 conclusions: we were s***, Newcastle were very good. Sometimes that happens, what it can’t become is a habit.
As I said the other week this still sits with Arteta. He can be so stubborn and tactically inflexible due to his pragmatism that we are back to the donut of sadness passing maps without Odegaard.
One thing I have noticed, when teams sit deeper against City, you will see full backs and CBs take pot shots. These rarely succeed (unless your called Gvardiol) but it gives the opposition something new to think about. When they sit against Arsenal we cycle through the flanks and run into 2v1s and recycle. City’s attackers also are much better at creating space for themselves to shoot. Again only Odegaard and Nwaneri do this from central positions. This lack of long-range threat means Arsenal are much easier to defend against.
Whilst I do blame the manager, the players were awful, nobody comes out of that looking good. When the manager and the players don’t do their jobs away at St James’s Park, you can’t win. A win against Chelsea and the fixture list until Christmas could get us back in but Arteta needs to get his brain trust together and figure out how we can get more shots on goal with the players he has available instead of sticking to his comfort blanket.
Rob A (Bournemouth for Europe?) AFC
Big up the Spurs
The media – and F365 in particularly – absolutely love a good Spursy jibe. That’s 9 times now Ange/Spurs have come back to win at home after going a goal down. For a little bit of balance.
Anon
Arne Slot: The real thing
It can’t be too early now to say Slot is doing an incredible job at Liverpool. It’s one thing to take over a struggling team or bump a lower or mid table team up a notch or two but it’s a completely different story to take over from a bigger-than-life character like Klopp and the success he brought and be at 14-1-1, top of the league, near top of the CL and into the QF of the League Cup.
To do this with a team that was still in transition, no major transfers in during the summer, and still not purring along the way they can is impressive.
Slot seems to have that ability to make the right changes at the right time, which not all the top-level managers have – part analytical, part bravery.
While it doesn’t mean Liverpool will come away with any trophies this early in the season, it shows the club are in the right track and a great mirror for the United management to reflect on. This is how it’s done.
Still wondering what it takes to win a PL Manager of the Month award, seeing that he has seen off both the previous monthly winners. But Slot seems like the kind of manager that would be more than happy for the team to win a trophy rather than winning any individual award.
Paul McDevitt
Toon chat: The son’s turn
If you’ve been reading these mails for a while, then chances are that you’ve read a (probably NUFC related) mail by a bloke named Chris Crenshaw. That man is my father, and I figure it’s probably about time that I write a mail of my own. I have been advised to not spew nonsense that could damage my dad’s reputation here, so I figure I’ll just talk about my experience on Tyneside.
My name is Eli Crenshaw, I know I’ve been mentioned by my dad before, as I am one of the bairns he took to Newcastle Upon Tyne to see the Brighton match. I’ve never, in my extensive world travels, felt more at home when abroad before.
That “toon” is something special, the Geordies are an extraordinarily friendly bunch, and a motto that my dad and I kept repeating throughout the trip reflected it: “Never met a Geordie I didn’t like”.
Whenever we happened to strike up a conversation with a Geordie, they were nothing short of gobsmacked that someone from the USA travelled all the way up north to support the lads on gameday. Additionally, my dad’s friend Ray, or Geordie Ray as he’s referred to, is one of the most fun blokes I’ve ever met in my life. He took us on an amazing pub crawl where, for the first time in my entire life, I got drunk. I’m pretty chuffed that the first time I got drunk was from a Broon Ale in the Strawberry.
After spending those few days on Tyneside, I’ve come to realize that I could never support another club in quite the same way as I support Newcastle. That sentiment is both an emotional one and a physical one, since I did get the NUFC club crest tattooed on my chest, over my heart.
I’ll refrain from gushing about the things that have already been mentioned in my dad’s most recent mail, since it would just be redundant, so I’ll talk about some things he didn’t mention.
Me and my cousin recently shared the sentiment while watching the match cam video, we both had the exact same thoughts, “I’ve been in that hallway, I’ve been in that locker room, I plucked grass from the field right where he’s standing, I walked through that tunnel”. The day we toured SJP, one of the people on our tour group spotted, met, and took pictures with Joelinton, who he recognized in the carpark of SJP a few minutes before the tour began, so that got added to the list of things that I barely missed (right up there with hearing St. James’ Park erupt as one of the lads hit the back of the net).
Even though the start and end of our trip had a few issues (thanks in no small part to American Airlines), this trip has been one of the best trips I’ve ever taken, and there truly is no other FC on the planet with a community like the Geordies backing them. I’m proud to be an adoptive Geordie, it’s a badge I will wear (on my skin) with honor.
Howay the Lads.
Toon Army Newport News, Eli Crenshaw