Imagine getting mad at the man who’s trying to make us better. Only here, really.
1 Like
Actually happy Arteta made those words, it’s a real simple message “I’m your man, you have to back me” which is absolutely correct. Not only financially but also on football matters.
1 Like
7 points out of 12 is quite encouraging. Could have been 8 had it not been for Kola’s error, probably should have been 10. Given the players he has, I think he has done rather well. If he is backed in the transfer market, I think we would be good contenders for top 4 next season.
You can see the players respect him, respond to him. He has shown that he doesn’t mind freezing out players who don’t respect him/the club or just don’t fit in his plans. He’s interviews make sense, calls it as he sees it and that sort of honesty is refreshing. He is not a company man like Wenger who perpetually would give vague non-answers for questions like Mikel was asked in the post match interview against Liverpool. Above all, he has a style, a system he wants to play and it’s the kind of football we want to see.
He certainly isn’t perfect but he gets more things right than he does wrong, and for a young manager still learning his trade, that’s a good sign. IMO, he will get better but it’s imperative he is given the backing he needs.
2 Likes
1 Like
Arsenal concede less chances and goals and convert their chances better?
Let’s go.
After his comments in the week I’m fully on board with the bald fraud crowd, but I hope his faith in Arteta as a coach is legit
I see that our keeper has been a god or we have been lucky with the expected goals against being so much higher than actual conceded.
I also see we create less than we did under fucking Emery which is absolutely incredible wow.
1 Like
They’re blowing each other off so much. Jeez.
There’s definitely some romance there.
2 Likes
Oh well, there’s no problem there then.
There’s no better board than Kroenke and co and, if Guardiola says his ex boyfriend is the right person for the job, then he must be.
Yeah we have lots of work to do as we know, the shots on goal and shots conceded for a club like us is a terrible stat.
1 Like
That’s a horrible statline tbh.
Creativity has to improve pronto
1 Like
Yeah has to start with a signing in midfield, we have zero goal threat and very limited creativity in midfield.
Hard questions need to be asked? The only player creating on the forward line is Pepe. You ideally want a LW contributing a mix goals and assists/key passes.
Oooor what if we play a striker not known for his technical abilities there.
3 Likes
Mannnnnn. Fuck these stat guys. I/We see that we give away less big chances. A lot less dangerous one-v-one situations in comparison with the Emery days and that Arsenal are a more cohesive defensive unit. In those 6 draws there were 3 games where Arsenal conceded a red card. One of which was extremely stupid (Nketiah). Or course you’re going to suffer in 10 v 11 situations. But with time that should iron out.
Our most creative player is Ceballos, but he is not great creatively in the final third. Our squad in that sense is imbalanced as fuck. If no-one can pass, how are you going to create a lot of chances?
There is a lot, a lot, more room for improvement. No question. But the shortcomings right now are not a surprise, surely?
2 Likes
These red cards have a causation tho. We don’t control games and the midfield can’t control possession. So we are constantly being pinned back in our own half which leads to desperate tackles like we saw Eddie make, and just an awful lot more defending than we should have to do, we make it hard on ourselves. So pair that extra defending time, with players who are known to make mistakes and you’ve got a pretty bad situation there. None of it surprises me at all. It’s not luck, we need to improve our play.
1 Like
What also needs to be borne in mind with those stats is that Arteta is trying to revamp our whole playing philosophy. It’s like he’s coaching them the basics again.
Starting from that really low point is hard, and to win more games, be more organised and work as a team is a big challenge.
He’s passed the “eye” test and we are definitely a better team than we were under Emery or in Wenger’s final year. More resolute defensively for sure, more structured in our pressing.
He’s still got absolutely shite players in key roles which is a huge handicap given the way he wants his teams to play. Overall, it’s an encouraging picture.
10 Likes
The reason I don’t like stats all the time is I’m not really sure what that’s supposed to tell us. So we’re doing worse in the expected goals and xga department? On the pitch we look considerably more compact and organised and are generally only really undone by individual errors. Under Emery we were disastrous, unbalanced and open all the time we were constantly leaking at the back.
I feel like the City and Liverpool games will skew those kinds of stats and increase the averages across the board.
Either way, we are a better team and I’ll continue to be a little bit more old school and just use my eyes to tell me a bit more of the story. Stats definitely are important, but it just goes to show they don’t really tel the whole story.
12 Likes