Today again showed how clueless Arteta can be. Too many mistakes today. Nketiah playing, Willian playing, Elneny-Xhaka midfield, Cedric at the left(why not AMN?) , 2 goalkeepers at the bench, Balogun nowhere near team, Nelson nowhere near. Why didn't Thomas start today? Too many questionable decisions.
posted on 24/1/21
Grow up children.
posted on 24/1/21
comment by Jenius99 (U4918)
posted 10 hours, 42 minutes ago
comment by Lexington 125.2 - Give Reiss A Chance (U8879)
posted 1 hour, 13 minutes ago
Wenger: Didn’t play Maitland-Niles in midfield.
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38700749
ironic that. Vs Same team, in the same stadium, in the same competition.
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In the same round too. Sigh those were the days
posted on 24/1/21
comment by Jenius99 (U4918)
posted 19 hours, 24 minutes ago
Top 4 is still a target. We have the second best form in the league only behind Man City. But we need to keep it going which is why the stalemate against Palace was so awful.
I honestly believe Europa will be easier to win than FA Cup. Europa games are slower and players like Xhaka, Lacazette look far better because of it.
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Our form is temporary. We are still carrying too many passengers and have very tough games coming up. I dont think we will finish higher than 7th. So FA cup could have been a pathway into Europa. Yes we still can go for the Europa league but remember when Emery put all his eggs in THAT basket?? There umis a VERY real chance that we don't play European football next year...do you think players will wanna come to Arsenal then? And more crucially, do you think our board will approache the players we need for a top 4 push with no European commitments?
posted on 24/1/21
comment by 4everanarsenalfan (U20629)
posted 18 hours, 50 minutes ago
People complained when he played Tierney against Newcastle in the cup due to getting a minor injury now they complaining when Arteta rests players because we lose to a fluke own goal and where denied a pen guarantee if Arteta had played Tierney , Saka , ESR from the start and at least one of them got injured but we won they’d be moaning about that, he just can’t win with some ‘fans’
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The issue is not rotation..it's WRONG rotation. Let's be serious...we started the match with 3 out of 4 players COMPLETELY out of form/confidence and perhaps ability in Pepe, Willian and Nketiah. Those same 3 players also have ZERO urgency or commitment to pressing opposition. So right away, you are on the back foot with players who are not doing anything on the ball and are as bad or worse than Ozil off the ball. (I bring up Ozil due to his perceived lack of ground covering which was actually not true and his lack of putting a tackle in which is true). Then you have the axis of Xhaka/Elneny who have shown that when paired together, they occupy the same space and we lose all impetus to go forward. Add the lack of a proper LB and Gabriel coming back from Covid, this a team that would play versus lower Championship teams and below....NOT a flying Southampton. The Newcastle game could have seen some rotation with maybe Saka getting a rest for Pepe to allow Saka to start yesterday. Or...at least players who have shown at least fight in Willock, AMN and Reiss-Nelson. Or Balogun who in a few cameos has caught my eye with his strength and composure in a way Nketiah never has. O we had options...but Arteta seems to not be able to pick a team unless it is forced on him. ESR and Saka on the right literally fell on his lap with Martinelli on the left due to persistent bad form and injuries (Auba). It worked so he sticks to it. The moment he has to pick a new team like he did yesterday, he chokes.
I am dreading the next few games as even in this unbeaten run in the league, we were poor vs Brighton and Palace and even vs a poor Newcastle, we could only manage a convincing 60 minutes maybe. Villa, Leicester are going to be much much better. Funnily enough, I think we will beat Man utd...but I would be stunned to get more than 10 points from the next 7 fixtures.
posted on 24/1/21
Arteta's man-management is apalling . His "my way or the highway" attitude is too simplistic, naive and one-domentional. He is employed to manage the egos of the players and to get the best out of them . In my view he has failed on both accounts.
Whatever you think of Ozil, Guendouzi, Saliba, AMN etc he has not managed them well.
I'm not sure how many players he has actually developed. I would even say that some players have gone backwards or stood still.
We have no chance of top 4 in the Prem or of winning the Europa league so the FA Cup was our best chance to win a trophy . His team selection and the players he left on the pitch for the subs were a disaster .
He continues to play Willian, Pepe, Nketiah, Elneny who just are not good enough for this club.
It is clear that barring a disaster in the Prem he is safe until at least May. I hope that the board is actively searching out potential replacements such a Benitez but I very much doubt it . They are as incompetent as this Government.
posted on 24/1/21
comment by MaineGunner (U10130)
posted 3 hours, 38 minutes ago
comment by Jenius99 (U4918)
posted 19 hours, 24 minutes ago
Top 4 is still a target. We have the second best form in the league only behind Man City. But we need to keep it going which is why the stalemate against Palace was so awful.
I honestly believe Europa will be easier to win than FA Cup. Europa games are slower and players like Xhaka, Lacazette look far better because of it.
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Our form is temporary.
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I disagree with you there. I feel there is a skeleton of a good team starting to emerge. Think Auba/Laca are enjoying playing with Saka/ESR.
And behind them Partey is providing the quick ball that we have missed for years. Kind of ball that Auba thrives on.
I do fear that Arteta is crediting too much of our form to Xhaka. To me we are doing better in-spite of him and not because of him. I don't know how many Palace type performances or Brighton or Southampton games it will take for Arteta to see the light. (if at all)
But as I suggested Europa really is easier for us to win because Xhaka finds it easier to play against slower teams who haven't cottoned onto the style that isolates him to control the tempo (which is just too slow).
posted on 24/1/21
comment by Jenius99 (U4918)
posted 1 day, 3 hours ago
https://arseblog.news/2017/09/wenger-defensive-midfielder-maitland-niles-has-a-great-future/
must be a different wenger
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posted on 25/1/21
comment by WB2 {Tackle Like Tierney} (U8276)
posted 8 hours, 37 minutes ago
comment by Jenius99 (U4918)
posted 1 day, 3 hours ago
https://arseblog.news/2017/09/wenger-defensive-midfielder-maitland-niles-has-a-great-future/
must be a different wenger
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‘Arsene Wenger says that Ainsley Maitland-Niles best position is as a defensive central midfielder, and that if he can work on his concentration he’s got a bright future ahead of him.‘
Ahh yes... Ainsley’s concentration. We all suspected it could be an issue for him in the end.
J99 and WB2 both finally acknowledging it’s time to put that one to bed. Took you a long time, chaps, but better late than never
posted on 25/1/21
I’m convinced he is ready to play. He has to improve a little bit on the concentration front because the demands of top level football don’t tolerate some lapses of concentration, but all the rest is there.
“He has a great future.”
Maitland-Niles could play at left or right wing-back tomorrow.
Article dated September 2017
You didn’t even read it did you, WB2, you thick ?
posted on 26/1/21
You're too good for this sheeet Lex
It's time for some of our fans to wake up and smell the coffee.
Is Ainsley a talented young-ish player? Yes. Can he still improve? Yes. Has he quite obviously been plagued with lapses of concentration in his performances for years now? Yes! They are/have been really, really noticeable, Wenger was absolutely correct with his analysis.
I still think we were right to reject the low ball offer from Wolves because given his age, ability and international caps he's worth more but at this stage as much as I like him it's very clear that he is at best a useful utility player for us.
it's no surprise that the majority of his best performances have come in the big games where he has been really fired up and motivated which no doubt helped him to maintain his focus and concentration throughout the whole 90.