I think you’ll get only one of those in the near future.

If it's #5., it'll make not getting #1. slightly more bearable.

Yesterday's Newcastle and City showed the perils of being 1-0 up and seemingly in command. If even City are vulnerable when defending a narrow lead (and even to a team like Sheffield United) Arsenal really we need to stop taking the ()**(&.

The good news and bad news is first the bad news. We struggled in 2 games needlessly. Based on our improved squad, we should have dispatched with both over the course of 90 minutes without much of a fuss.

The good news is our rivals aren't much better. The story with Man Utd isn't that they won, but were down 2 nil.
Newcastle should have had the game done and dusted if they truly fancy themselves rivals to us, 'Pool and Man Utd. Liverpool are playing better than last season but no where close to a few years ago. Even City aren't looking invincible.

Some strange results to start the season and none more so than this weekend. With teams fresh and motivated it’s showing that everyone needs to be in their toes including Arsenal. Equally some of these results have shown that no one is comfortable even when dominating matches so maybe it’s not just us taking the piss nor left scratching our heads.

And screamed right in the 4th official’s face when Liverpool scored.
Jason Tindall as Newcastle assistant is also far worse than Arteta, but the rules this year means he can’t spend as much time in the technical area as only 1 member of the coaching staff is allowed there.
I know they don’t manage here anymore but Conte and Tuchel were also worse than Arteta. I read that Marco Silva celebrated Fulham’s equaliser very deliberately in front of the Arsenal bench.
Let’s not even get started on Pep’s touchline behaviour with the 4th officials.
Arteta’s biggest crime seems to be that he is probably the biggest coacher from the sidelines, barking continuous instructions and it has rubbed people up the wrong way. I think that has far more to do with him suddenly arriving on the scene as a top class manager when a) pundits had him lined up to fail b) he hasn’t earned his stripes elsewhere and probably c) another foreign manager proving that most Brit managers are dinosaurs.

Compare how Arteta has been treated in the press since he was Arsenal manager to Postacoglu at Spurs. Of course the pressure is rightly higher at Arsenal but the media is so friendly to Spurs in general it’s unreal - they are desperate for them to succeed

There is no media vendetta against Arteta. We finished 8th two years running and then came in 5th when in pole position to get CL football, but the vast majority of journalists and pundits still praised him. As recently as Saturday evening on MOTD, Danny Murphy was unwilling to criticise the tactical set-up in the first three matches.

Marco Silva has been booked 3 times already this season. The refs are operating to their new directive on this (it clearly won’t last) so we will see more bookings in the coming weeks and Arteta will likely get one or two. He’s no victim though.

Chelsea

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footb ... dline.html

Is it true that Havertz is on 280k per week???????
And Gabriel is only on 50k?

Could that be the reason for Gabriel's omission? Discontent with Arteta

We dodged the bullet in not buying Mudryk
We got Özil's huge wages off us
We are about to finally be rid of Pépé

But now we looked like we have got ourselves caught in another situation, in Havertz
If Havertz's form and desire does not improve quickly, he is going to be Arteta's biggest mistake yet

I think his lack of drive is also affecting players around him
Giving him automatic selection does not bode well for so many dedicated and loyal players
And the huge wage for him (I was shocked when I learnt of it) definitely unsettles many

Havertz better get his head round all these because he needs to get his team mates to accept him
And to do that, he needs to show more urgency on the field

I still think it is tactical. He really rates Havertz. The problem isn't really Havertz, it is that Partey is absolutely, definitively, 100%, not a left back, inverted or otherwise.

Now that Zinny seems to be back, I hope we will see our best back 4 in action against Manure.

Arteta needs to decide whether he's going to drop out of Havertz and Partey. I can't seem him playing Havertz at CF given that Nketiah is hot and Jesus is back. United's midfield isn't the strongest so Arteta may risk dropping Partey.

Van Dijk could and probably should get an extended ban following the dissent he showed to the ref after his sending off. If the refs are following their new strict no nonsense hard lines then he needs at least 1 extra game.

The problem refs have now is social media is awash with people showing incidents where players have wasted time and kicked the ball away or asked for a yellow card and not been given a yellow themselves. Everyone used to want the tough line and said if it takes a few games of 8v8 then everyone will soon learn. I think what everyone has learnt is it is impossible to police and be consistent and not every incident is the same and deserves the same punishment. Even in rugby, the game people look to for respect has the ref use their discretion. Onana was booked at the weekend for time wasting when there were two balls on the pitch so he couldn’t take the goal kick.

Hi G7,

Didn't Gabriel fairly recently sign a new long term deal? If he's only 50k a week he needs to find himself a new agent.

I reckon he's on 120k a week at least.

It may look at the moment like we dodged a bullet with Mudryk but I wouldn't be too quick to write him off just yet, there's a player in there and his pace is frightening. If he comes good he could be incredible.

I guess Areta sees something in Havertz that he feels he can mould into an elite player. He has a languid style, Ozil-esque in many ways, so I don't think he's ever going to look like he's on a mission but by all accounts he's covered more distance than anyone else in the team since the season started so he's clearly not lazy.

I think Arteta probably sees height, a degree of strength, excellent technical ability and a willingness to make late runs into the box and feels he can develop him into left sided midfielder with an eye for goal. It's not working quite yet but, like with Mudryk, there's a player in there.

The problem is that in shifting players around to accomodate Havertz the team has become unbalanced. We've broken up the Saliba/Gabriel partnership and disrupted the White, Ødegaard, Saka triumvirate.

I see the need to make us less predictable but I am not sure Partey as an inverted RB really works.

I read from a report. Might be an outdated one.

You have a balanced perspective

I'm just being brusque with Havertz
Happy for him to make me eat pie, the sooner the better

thing is we haven’t changed the team to accommodate Havertz. I keep seeing people saying this,

We changed the side to ensure we had an inverted full back whilst zinchenko was out. Zinchenko seems essential to how we want to play and the absence of Timber gives us less options. Partey can invert kinda but if the choice is him or Rice in that role surely it makes more sense Deccers would do it as an ex defender. (i wouldn’t suggest it)

I haven’t been that impressed with Havertz who seems neat and tidy but it seems weird we were concerned his inclusion might make us too top heavy with attackers and now we are saying he is playing too defensively. I expect there will be a moment of realisation for the manager when he realises he can only play 2 of Rice, Havertz or Partey and that changing your whole defence to accommodate an inverted full back doesn’t make sense

The Emile smith Rowe thing is a genuine dilemma.

Hes 23 now so has to be looking at his career direction and he just doesn’t get any minutes. I can’t really see him getting a look in at all except in the domestic cups. He has 3 players ahead of him for LW minutes and 3 in the left 8 position.

Does it make sense for Arteta to keep him when he has a transfer value and we have no cover for Saka.

If Chelsea offered 50 million could we turn that down? That would literally fund the winger we need. It could be in the best interests of the player to let him go but the manager would get dogs abuse for it. Difficult decision this one and similar to Balogun as if he went to Chelsea and thrived it would be a major beating point for the manager. One things for sure he’s a better player inures he’s getting right now.

Hi TG
I think you know my sentiments on this.
I cannot understand how Arteta has gone a total 360 on a player who was one of the first names on the team sheet the season we missed out on top 4 and since that Chelsea game where he was under pressure and Smith Rowe was brilliant.
I just cannot get my head around why he is being treated like this.
I have a soft spot for our academy own and it is so frustrating because Emile Smith Rowe would be giving us so much more than what Havertz is doing yet Arteta just leaves him wasting away on the bench.
He really would have lost his *%^@*** mind if he sells him to Chelsea.
Fanbase would be livid.... Arseblog's Andrew Mangan has already put out that he would be furious if this happens.
Truly gutting for me if Smith Rowe is sold.

Thing is everybody can scream about it and I acknowledge it would be disappointing but letting him go wouldn’t be illogical. His best run in the side was actually when martinelli was injured and he took his place on the left wing. Would you drop martinelli or Trossard for Emile ? I wouldn’t. Also Nelson has now positioned himself again with some very decent sub performances last year. I understand people moaning about Havertz but it’s only 3 games in and there is no connection between Emile Smith Rowe and him. I would say Havertz does look slightly more a 8 than Smithers who is a 10. It’s irritating but I’m not sure he’s shown us or the manager that he’s able to adapt into one of the 2 x 8 positions. Where as look at Vieira Saturday ? Bit lightweight but on the ball has undoubted quality and looks like he can adapt.

How upset can you get about selling a player that will barely feature when we have have some obvious gaps in the squad hampering us.

Pretty straight read of the situation there TG. I think he’s actually a very intelligent footballer with how he runs and works with others but he doesn’t have the twinkle toes of some of the others he’s currently being overlooked for. In my mind he could even provide a lower level of cover to Saka if pushed came to shove. By given our current misfiring that’s not going to happen soon.

Despite the apparent links I don’t think Chelsea actually need Smith Rowe either and he would be wondering where his minutes would come from there as well.

With CL and every other comp to play for, I think he will get minutes and then we’ll see whether he commands a start in the PL. Perhaps when Ødegaard needs a rest who I’m assuming is Vieira as the intended playmaking backup.

I hear all your rational points TG.
I think allied to being one of ours is that fear of him going elsewhere and showing the player he undoubtedly is and us regretting that he didn't get to do it with us.

Man U currently have no natural left back, Shaw and Malacia injured. They played Dalot there at the weekend. Time to restore the White, Ødegaard, Saka right side and tear them apart down that side

They are about to get cucurella though right ?

Varane is out too. With the amount of injuries they have and their issues in midfield, we need to go back to our regular defence, put Partey back in midfield and just play through them.

Apparently yes, given his chelsea performances last year I wouldn’t be worried about that. Can’t even recall when Chelsea last considered picking him

Congratulations Bukayo

Ten hag is doing a good job with Man U, but I’m not convinced on the recruitment. Varane was world class but was 30 and had history of injuries. Casemiro again is top class but he had really already peaked and was only going to get worse.
Both will need replacing very soon and a lot of the very good defensive mids made moves this summer.
In fact I’m looking through all of ten hags buys and can’t see a stand out hit in there. He’s had more success getting consistent performances out of the players he inherited

I think that's being generous. They have been unlucky with Varane. He was one of the best centre backs in the world and only 28 years old. But Ten Hag's signings since last summer are far from impressive. They massively over-paid for Antony. He scores the occasional good goal but he is a very limited player. Mount does little to improve their midfield balance. Hojlund will carry enormous expectations for a kid who didn't even score 10 goals last season. Then you have the bizarre loan signing of Wieghorst last winter.

He has improved them, but they still look miles away from being genuine title challengers.

Spurs out the carabao cup in first game

Spurs pretty much did that with ease in the second half.

Don't see this transfer happening but if it were to happen, I would think Mudyrk is more a Martinelli 2nd option than anything else, with his pace and dynamism. But what do I know? lol

Varane averages 23 league games per season in his entire career, he’s only made 30+ appearances in 3 out of 13 professional seasons.

For the rest of it I think we’re saying the same thing.

Anthony seems to escape the criticism he truly deserves. He gets criticised but not at the level he should be for a £90m signing

For a club who desperately need a trophy I don’t understand why they don’t take the game seriously and play a stronger team. The Carabao cup usually gets a few strong teams knocked out early so it’s far easier to win than the FA Cup

Hi AG,

I thinks those swap stories are just clickbait.

Hi Rich,

No matter what shape they seem to be in they still have players who can hurt us and given they way we have defended of late they probably will. Rashford, Fernandes and you just know that Anthony is going to curl one in. Sod's law say's that.

I was hoping for a couple more additions but it feels like now we are desperately trying to get players out the door rather than anything else and even then it seems more like loans than outright purchases. We don't seem to have mastered this selling lark.

I wasn't disagreeing with you at all. I thought you were even being a bit kind. It's not lost on Man U fans either but they tend to blame the owners and their lack of a proper director of football. Long may it last.

Hi Soc,
That's what they are. They can win some games against the bigger teams because they have players who can be very dangerous on their day. But over a season, they get caught out.

That's a pretty good result for them.

I wouldn’t be so sure on that the suggestion came via some sources usually accurate and his transfer has been a massive failure with him not starting or looking very good at all. Looks a completely unharnessed talent and shakhtar have totally and utterly finessed chelsea. 88 million. They ain’t getting that back that’s nuts.