Arsenal

[Saoirse]

Last season they had a big advantage of zero European fixtures, and we started the season with a sadly very burnt-out manager and our best player in open revolt. We still finished above them. I honestly think they'll be scrapping around 5th-8th with United and West Ham or any of the other decent sides who put a run together this year e.g. Brighton or Newcastle, and not particularly near the Top 4 picture (I think there'll be a fairly big gap between 4th and 5th this time).

 

[EastUpperDK82]

Their problem is CM, cannot fathom why they haven’t signed a proper one. Until they do they will struggle to compete in the big games, same as united.

Shhhhhhhhh.... not so loud !

 

[vicbob]

Biggest spenders last summer as well ?‍?‍

Yet we hear every year that one more year without CL and they will be in trouble..........................................................

 

[EastUpperDK82]

Yet we hear every year that one more year without CL and they will be in trouble..........................................................

They can spend all they want as long as they keep making the same mistakes...

 

[Trix]

Their problem is CM, cannot fathom why they haven’t signed a proper one. Until they do they will struggle to compete in the big games, same as united.

They are waiting to see what happens with the ones they have.

This is not a green flag to start discussing the why's and when's of this, it's just pointing out (as I say repeatedly) it's not all about what happens on the pitch.

 

[muppetman]

They did but us and United were a disaster for periods of the season.

Neither of us will be thta bad this year.

And they still capitulated when things got tough

So we and Man U will definitely improve but Arsenal won't?

I think the mental toughness thing is being blown out of proportion - yes they fell over at the end of last season but they also went on a great run to get into that position.

I mean, I hope you are correct but I'm far from certain of it.

 

[hughy]

So we and Man U will definitely improve but Arsenal won't?

I think the mental toughness thing is being blown out of proportion - yes they fell over at the end of last season but they also went on a great run to get into that position.

I mean, I hope you are correct but I'm far from certain of it.

You can't say it's being blown out of proportion and then give a prime example of their mental fragilities.

They don't have a single leader in their squad. They'll start well due to a favourable early fixture list, and probably play some pretty football, but then they'll lose their bottle as soon as things start getting tough and they have to start using their entire squad as opposed to just a starting 11.

 

[spursfan77]

Yet we hear every year that one more year without CL and they will be in trouble..........................................................

I am pretty surprised they’ve gone all in on him again this summer. But they pretty much had to, to a degree, in order to get squad numbers up with European games. Yet they haven’t really got many in at all. They need another few in at fullback and midfield. A few injuries in those areas and they are hopefully fucked.

 

[muppetman]

You can't say it's being blown out of proportion and then give a prime example of their mental fragilities.

They don't have a single leader in their squad. They'll start well due to a favourable early fixture list, and probably play some pretty football, but then they'll lose their bottle as soon as things start getting tough and they have to start using their entire squad as opposed to just a starting 11.

I thought their mentality wasn't so bad until we absolutely battered them in that last derby game. I was at the game and the atmosphere was genuinely something special - they were clearly still in shock for the Newcastle game but I'm not sure that means they have zero backbone whatsoever and will fall over at the slightest sign of resistance.

I'm glad you're all so certain of how things will turn out and I certainly hope that they continue the slide into mediocrity, but even with our new signings and our world class manager we beat them by 2 points. Things can turn quickly (as things did for us last season) so I'll just see how things pan out for a bit.

 

[Joshua shepherd]

They are waiting to see what happens with the ones they have.

This is not a green flag to start discussing the why's and when's of this, it's just pointing out (as I say repeatedly) it's not all about what happens on the pitch.

Don’t find that surprising but regardless of their current crop, I still think they need at least once more.

The moment partey got injured last season against palace they were in trouble. His injury record is pretty bad since joining arsenal and even if both him and Xhaka are both fit, it’s not a convincing duo imo.

 

[Maxtremist]

Yet we hear every year that one more year without CL and they will be in trouble..........................................................

Whilst I think there can be a tendency to over-exaggerate how in trouble they'll be... I also think it's worth looking at the players they're bringing in.

They're bringing in City's rejects/role players and young 'promising' hopefuls but not Europe's best. So I think they are steadily declining in that sense.

In terms of purely financially... they're a well run club with history and a dedicated fanbase and all that so they're sound. Plus it's the Premier League so you're almost hard pressed these days to be financially fucked.

TLDR: I guess when we say in trouble, it's relative. They're not in trouble of 'doing a Leeds' but they're increasingly in trouble of not making the CL again/anytime soon.

 

[EastUpperDK82]

They are waiting to see what happens with the ones they have.

This is not a green flag to start discussing the why's and when's of this, it's just pointing out (as I say repeatedly) it's not all about what happens on the pitch.

You mean like we waited on N'Dombele and Lo Celso ? ... expensive signings on and off the pitch... Partey is the one they are hoping for IMO. Becoming their CM general... I hope they keep the faith in Xhaka

 

[spurs mental]

but even with our new signings and our world class manager we beat them by 2 points

We beat them by 2 points when they had a near 10 point head start with about 12 games to go.

We beat then by 4 points from when Conte took over (28 games), and when he took over we were a mess, we weren't fit and hadn't a coach in charge since Poch who actually coached fitness.

His system only started to bare fruit from about late February/March. We'll be fitter again this season again, the players will have had a full pre season learning his system and coming to terms with it.

Arsenal will likely improve a bit but they're fragile. Like their fans. They won't improve enough to finish ahead of us, but maybe ahead of United or Chelsea.

Either way, I'm not bothered what they really do this season because we'll still be ahead of them.

 

[DJS]

Don’t find that surprising but regardless of their current crop, I still think they need at least once more.

The moment partey got injured last season against palace they were in trouble. His injury record is pretty bad since joining arsenal and even if both him and Xhaka are both fit, it’s not a convincing duo imo.

Yeah this is the strange thing about it.

Partey is their best midfielder, but he’s been very injury prone since joining them and I don’t think he’s honestly as good as we thought he’d perhaps be when they signed him.

Then they have Xhaka and Elneny who are just bang average - surely at least one of these two should have been shipped out and replace with someone better?

They do also have Lokongo, who I think partnered Partey earlier in season and was doing quite well during one of their form spells, but maybe he’s a bit young still?

Obviously still have Zinchenko now as well, but he’s not really proven quality in defensive midfield area in English league.

Let’s hope they get roughed up in midfield many times next season lol!

 

[rossdapep]

So we and Man U will definitely improve but Arsenal won't?

I think the mental toughness thing is being blown out of proportion - yes they fell over at the end of last season but they also went on a great run to get into that position.

I mean, I hope you are correct but I'm far from certain of it.

They went on a great run from around January to March.

In that time, they had:
- No European distractions
- No domestic cup distractions
- Only played City that could be considered tough.
- Played a Leeds team that were completely ravaged with Covid and injuries.
- Ran away from the NLD
- Had a very comfortable run of games in which they would often go 2 up and then just sit on it.

There was a few in here saying that they were much better than us. I disagreed with it then and I still do now.

Arsenal didn't do anything spectacular last season.

Yet every time they had a real challenge they bottled it.

NLD derby = cried off
Lost to Palace in the run in = proceeded to lose their next 2
Lost their heads against us = lost them again against Newcastle.

The mental barrier matters 100%. Because when it comes to crunch games, you need cool heads, as well as management and players who can cope with the pressure

Arteta cried and had a paddy when we beat them, instead of turning to the Newcastle game and getting his team right for that.

Of course they can improve. I just don't believe Arteta is better than either Conte or Ten Hag, not only that but I think our ceilings are higher and the mentality at Spurs and United is stronger (United's problem has been egos).

So they may improve but even that may not be enough to get them higher than 6th because I think they massively contributed from an utter shit show at United and our start with Nuno.

 

[sundanceyid10]

So we and Man U will definitely improve but Arsenal won't?

I think the mental toughness thing is being blown out of proportion - yes they fell over at the end of last season but they also went on a great run to get into that position.

I mean, I hope you are correct but I'm far from certain of it.

They won an awful lot of games by just 1-0 and I seem to remember even a lot of their own fans were saying we are lucky to keep squeaking through games.

They have bought Jesus and he is a good player but when I think of really good goal scorers he isn’t one that springs to mind. I think they got him simply because he was available.

 

[spursfan77]

They went on a great run from around January to March.

In that time, they had:
- No European distractions
- No domestic cup distractions
- Only played City that could be considered tough.
- Played a Leeds team that were completely ravaged with Covid and injuries.
- Ran away from the NLD
- Had a very comfortable run of games in which they would often go 2 up and then just sit on it.

There was a few in here saying that they were much better than us. I disagreed with it then and I still do now.

Arsenal didn't do anything spectacular last season.

Yet every time they had a real challenge they bottled it.

NLD derby = cried off
Lost to Palace in the run in = proceeded to lose their next 2
Lost their heads against us = lost them again against Newcastle.

The mental barrier matters 100%. Because when it comes to crunch games, you need cool heads, as well as management and players who can cope with the pressure

Arteta cried and had a paddy when we beat them, instead of turning to the Newcastle game and getting his team right for that.

Of course they can improve. I just don't believe Arteta is better than either Conte or Ten Hag, not only that but I think our ceilings are higher and the mentality at Spurs and United is stronger (United's problem has been egos).

So they may improve but even that may not be enough to get them higher than 6th because I think they massively contributed from an utter shit show at United and our start with Nuno.

First game away from Palace is tough for them. They had a similar game last season against Brentford when the home fans created a great atmosphere and they couldn’t handle it. Palace fans will make it loud for them and they don’t like that.

 

[Dillspur]

Whilst I think there can be a tendency to over-exaggerate how in trouble they'll be... I also think it's worth looking at the players they're bringing in.

They're bringing in City's rejects/role players and young 'promising' hopefuls but not Europe's best. So I think they are steadily declining in that sense.

In terms of purely financially... they're a well run club with history and a dedicated fanbase and all that so they're sound. Plus it's the Premier League so you're almost hard pressed these days to be financially fucked.

TLDR: I guess when we say in trouble, it's relative. They're not in trouble of 'doing a Leeds' but they're increasingly in trouble of not making the CL again/anytime soon.

I don't think we should be judging them being City "rejects", didn't we get a couple of Juventus rejects in January? It'll be interesting to see how they perform now they'll have a more prominent role, they are decent players that improves them, I just don't think it improves them enough to really challenge the for the top 4, I think they are probably relying on the Chavs being in a bit of turmoil and another UTD implosion to have a chance of top 4.

 

[Kingellesar]

I thought their mentality wasn't so bad until we absolutely battered them in that last derby game. I was at the game and the atmosphere was genuinely something special - they were clearly still in shock for the Newcastle game but I'm not sure that means they have zero backbone whatsoever and will fall over at the slightest sign of resistance.

Crystal Palace away early April they got battered. After we battered Newcastle 5-0, they could have gone back to 4th.

Instead they played in a ground that is known for a fairly loud / hostile atmosphere and they got destroyed completely.

They don’t do well against teams with loud fans / intimidating atmospheres.

If I remember rightly they tried starting that game like they did against us but Palace were too physical for them and they couldn’t get a grip in the game and it went from bad to worse everytime they tried attacking.

 

[RJR1949]

It’s a cult.

I was talking today with an Arsenal fan. He’s a bright, street smart, hard bitten prison Governor with a well attuned bs detector - he’s trained and experienced in seeing through stories to get to the truth.

Yet he assured me that the plan is on course. Arsenal was only supposed to get Top 6 last year so finishing 5th was somewhat of an over achievement.

This season the plan is to be Top 4 and he’s absolutely confident. Arteta and Edu are geniuses and they’ve signed the missing pieces to fulfil the plan.

It’s a cult.