Arsenal

[oobaties]

 

[1961beavera]

Mikel Arteta: Arsenal need 'support and love' after Champions League exit - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68842081​

WTF, grow some!

 

[Archibald&Crooks]

I’d argue Kane was Bayern’s best player in the first leg, although he was anonymous yesterday (not helped by his teammates’ insistence of rarely passing the fucking ball).

Exactly. He was pretty much starved of the ball in the second half.

For some people, criticising Kane is like popping a few tabs of viagra

 

[Wig]

I had a look on Google images, he was relatively normal till he went to Arsenal.

View attachment 139644

Now he has eyebrows like Gary Glitter and a tan like Trump.

Must be the Arsenal effect.

If I were shown this pic I wouldn't have recognized it as Ben White.

 

[easley91]

Exactly. He was pretty much starved of the ball in the second half.

For some people, criticising Kane is like popping a few tabs of viagra

Fixed.

 

[djhotspur]

It must really grate on him that they don't find him when he's in space when he's almost always looking for the right pass anywhere on the pitch.

There was one moment in particular in the 2nd half last night that stood out for me. He played a great ball out to Musiala who made a nice mazy run, got to the box and there was 2 or 3 defenders in front of him, Kane was in space about 12 yards out and Musiala decided to shoot.

That wasn't the only one but so many of those Bayern players make poor decisions because they are in it for themselves

Musiala decision making is really poor. He’s so so greedy, he just always wants to beat as many men as possible. I know he’s young and he’ll improve in that aspect but he’s so frustrating to watch

 

[Styopa]

I wonder whether Arsenal fans will start feeling like we did under Poch if they don’t win anything again this season. So if they don’t win the league.

There are certainly some parallels: an exciting young team playing great football under a progressive young coach. But for whatever reason not being able to make that final step to winning trophies.

True, Arsenal won the FA cup under Arteta. But that was during his first half season there. Before he really had time to put his own imprint on the team. And that was four years ago. Since then they haven’t won any major trophies - that’s their longest run without a trophy since 2004/5 - 13/14.

I don’t think winning trophies is everything and maybe they still believe Arteta will win trophies in the years ahead. But we know how frustration can set in even when things are going pretty damn well.

 

[shelflife_73]

I wonder whether Arsenal fans will start feeling like we did under Poch if they don’t win anything again this season. So if they don’t win the league.

There are certainly some parallels: an exciting young team playing great football under a progressive young coach. But for whatever reason not being able to make that final step to winning trophies.

True, Arsenal won the FA cup under Arteta. But that was during his first half season there. Before he really had time to put his own imprint on the team. And that was four years ago. Since then they haven’t won any major trophies - that’s their longest run without a trophy since 2004/5 - 13/14.

I don’t think winning trophies is everything and maybe they still believe Arteta will win trophies in the years ahead. But we know how frustration can set in even when things are going pretty damn well.

Well argued and perceptive post. Let's hope the parallels continue then, in that they continue to win nothing, Arteta gets sulky, they fire him and then they have to put up with 4 seasons of watching rubbish.

 

[muppetman]

I wonder whether Arsenal fans will start feeling like we did under Poch if they don’t win anything again this season. So if they don’t win the league.

There are certainly some parallels: an exciting young team playing great football under a progressive young coach. But for whatever reason not being able to make that final step to winning trophies.

True, Arsenal won the FA cup under Arteta. But that was during his first half season there. Before he really had time to put his own imprint on the team. And that was four years ago. Since then they haven’t won any major trophies - that’s their longest run without a trophy since 2004/5 - 13/14.

I don’t think winning trophies is everything and maybe they still believe Arteta will win trophies in the years ahead. But we know how frustration can set in even when things are going pretty damn well.

As ever, the real problem is City - the level you now need to hit and hit consistently to win a league is so high.

 

[aliyid]

I wonder whether Arsenal fans will start feeling like we did under Poch if they don’t win anything again this season. So if they don’t win the league.

There are certainly some parallels: an exciting young team playing great football under a progressive young coach. But for whatever reason not being able to make that final step to winning trophies.

True, Arsenal won the FA cup under Arteta. But that was during his first half season there. Before he really had time to put his own imprint on the team. And that was four years ago. Since then they haven’t won any major trophies - that’s their longest run without a trophy since 2004/5 - 13/14.

I don’t think winning trophies is everything and maybe they still believe Arteta will win trophies in the years ahead. But we know how frustration can set in even when things are going pretty damn well.

Playing devils advocate they've never pointed to the FA Cup wins as a reason to have faith in Legohead. It's always been a belief in the style of play and what he's trying to achieve.

 

[HildoSpur]

They are a good team but you do get the feeling that up until now they have been super confident in their own abilities (over confident?) and that has raised their game. Big question marks now on how they will cope with a period of bad form, I suspect they will collapse because without that confidence they are actually fairly average.

 

[Buggsy61]

Not just the fans losing faith, but the players too. If they are being flogged to death in training, and seeing £200M spent every summer, but still choking in the final weeks of the season, and going out limply in the cups then senior players might start to conclude that the Lego Creature is a fraud and switch off. We had it with Poch after the CL final in 2019, although he never had the funds to spend that Arteta has.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

View attachment 139637

“STOP CRYING ARTETAAAA”

 

[he is you know!]

This young team thing has to stop.

Average age 25 last night, squad average 25.6.

Ours squad average is lower already and will get lower in the summer.

 

[Buggsy61]

Got to stop watching this or I swear I will strap on a pair of roller skates in a minute and join in!.
Love it!.

 

[SUIYHA]

Sound ON

 

[Styopa]

This young team thing has to stop.

Average age 25 last night, squad average 25.6.

Ours squad average is lower already and will get lower in the summer.

I still think 25-26 is fairly young.

A lot of players will peak around 27-28.

But I think it’s a case of it’s a young team until suddenly it’s not. There’s a small window and it happened to us under Poch.

 

[0-Tibsy-0]

I wonder whether Arsenal fans will start feeling like we did under Poch if they don’t win anything again this season. So if they don’t win the league.

There are certainly some parallels: an exciting young team playing great football under a progressive young coach. But for whatever reason not being able to make that final step to winning trophies.

True, Arsenal won the FA cup under Arteta. But that was during his first half season there. Before he really had time to put his own imprint on the team. And that was four years ago. Since then they haven’t won any major trophies - that’s their longest run without a trophy since 2004/5 - 13/14.

I don’t think winning trophies is everything and maybe they still believe Arteta will win trophies in the years ahead. But we know how frustration can set in even when things are going pretty damn well.

Though I imagine Arteta will continue to get backing with players he wants so they won't suffer a complete stagnation.

 

[SUIYHA]

So much of this Arsenal side reminds me of Poch's side. Obviously not Arteta and the whinging and the diving, but the actual football.

I was told by someone I trust completely on these things (a high level coach in Norway who has visited Arsenal a few times to study them in the last few months), that he had the impression that this Arsenal team will run completely out of puff within the next two years if they don't make several significant personnel changes every summer. Arteta's running them so hard now and the players can take it because they're so young, but it's an intensity they will not be able to manage to maintain over several years as they get older.

Like Poch's team, he expects them to burn out. Maybe next season, maybe the one after, but they will burn out.

God I hope he's right.

I was thinking the same. Arteta and Poch are mates, Arteta has said many times how he looks up to Poch as an older brother type figure and IIRC Poch tried to get him to join his coaching staff at Tottenham before he went to Man City. Both have an authoritarian style and struggle with big name players/big egos in the squad but do well with young, hungry players that want to prove themselves. Just like Poch, Arteta's teams seem to do well in early to mid-season with an aggressive, high pressing style, but have a drop off in April when everyone runs out of steam.

Big difference between the two (at least when Poch was here) is that Arteta has had a far bigger budget and more expectation to perform. He's spent £650m+ and for all the good he's done, if they don't win anything next season then serious questions are going to be asked. Hardly any managers get five years in the Premier League without the sack these days, let alone those that have spent big with nothing to show for it.