Things like this are just more evidence to me Emery got screwed here.
He should have been allowed a clear out and a senior management restructure
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We basically back where we were in summer 2019.
Can’t fuck it up again. We need to push on not regress
Failure to produce the goods this year may very well hamper our ability to do so next season though if we’re keeping it real
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So anything less than 71+ points and an EL final is regression?
I was going off finishing 5th then end up sacking the manager in November and finishing 8th.
But I agree with your statement also. Got to get far more points and a cup win. Ideally the UEL
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The test for me will be if Arteta commits to a focus on CM this summer as he dis on the backline last summer. I’ve said it before that we really need two solid CM additions this summer, one of the two can be a senior pro like Wijnaldum or Gundogan, but if Arteta and the board cut corners and we are still reliant on Elneny and Xhaka we risk more of the same, regardless of upgrading CF, which of course is a must also, as well as a relatively minor signing to sort out depth of full backs. This club has lacked power in CM for a very long time, Partey not being enough, and we can’t be over-reliant on him.
I do focus a lot on us coming up short for the CL places with Lokonga being the wrong signing, or at least wrong without someone else coming in at the same time. That in effect is where we cut corners and got punished, and it can’t happen again.
Nah, these are his kids no doubt. 
Mini Artetas!
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The only reason I voted Arteta maybe is I’m not sure who I’d get as a replacement at this point in time.
It’s a fucking travesty he got rewarded with a contract renewal already though and isn’t going into the last year of his original 3.5 deal next season.
Let me ask you this should we miss top 4 and not win EL next season. What would you have said if someone told you Arteta lasted beyond his original 3.5 years despite never finishing top 4 ? If asked at Christmas 2019.
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I’m a little more blasé about that. KSE run professional clubs and while they did keep Jeff “7-9” Fisher for way too long, they know how to cut a coach loose.
If they give Mikel 150m this summer and we’re back in the shit by the time the WC break happens, he’ll be gone. They can’t risk having the club get bounced from European places again.
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Would our opinion of Arteta be different had we won against Newcastle and finished 4th?
For me, no. I wouldn’t suddenly start believing that Arteta has what it takes to make us competitive in the league again just because we won one more game in the season. There are a lot of question marks on Arteta as a tactician, as a man manager, on his football philosophy, on whether he can get these players to understand and carry out his plans etc.
There was a period this season where we put together a good run of results and performances and it looked like things were falling in place for us but then we blew it. Whether that was because of injuries to key players like Tierney, Tomi and Partey or just inconsistency of youth or both, I don’t know. But there were also periods where we just didn’t look interested in games until the second half. So am no where near convinced about Arteta at this moment and finishing 4th wouldn’t have changed my opinion.
But like others have said, we don’t have an option of replacing him now and so it makes sense to back up for another summer and see where we are next season. I just hope we do smart business this summer.
It’s the upheaval of a replacement with the work that needs doing with purchasing new players that gets him the pass.
Already though seeing a renewal of Elneny, one I thought was going and talk on Eddie another, and likely Holding staying is already leaving me flat.
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Eddie and Elneny as 3rd choice and Holding as 4th choice are okay. But given that we need to strengthen the squad in so many areas, who knows where they’ll end up on the pecking order next season. Most likely Eddie becomes 3rd choice, and if Saliba joins us, Holding becomes 4th choice, depending on how Saliba does of course.
This will be another interesting summer for sure and I won’t rule out brain dead moves like Cedric and Mari.
These wouldn’t be bad moves if we bring the right players in. You said it before, we now have to worry about Europe and there’s the 5 sub rule being integrated next season.
I want a hungry squad of players challenging for first team football.
There’s no culture change if we have players content sitting on the bench and knowing their place.
You have no edge to your game with that outlook and the players above don’t have to push on.
That’s been a problem here for years. Subliminally as a fanbase we have been drawn into this outlook.
The games changed and evolving away from this way of thinking at the top.
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Does it matter? If it doesn’t work out, he gets sacked.
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True, although you could argue 2.5 years not 1 top 4 finish isn’t working out.
Yeah kinda matters considering we’ve seen examples in consecutive seasons where a manager is sacked for underperforming and the incoming manager elevates the team to greater heights. Tuchel when Frank was sacked and Conte when Nuno got the sack. So yeh it could be a difference of a couple years or so, if we even make the proper hire next time around. Which we won’t.
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If we are going to stick with him for another season, I rather Arteta works with the feeling of having full support.
We have also seen examples where it didn’t happen and as you yourself will attest to with the Wenger replacements
When u hire mediocrity u get mediocrity. Conte is a 6 time league winner, and to nobodies surprise had Spurs playing some of the better football the league has seen within 6 months. When the club get serious about winning they can make it happen, it’s not rocket science as much as Arsenal want u to believe it is.
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