Don’t believe that at all. Surely paid off by Arsenal. Probably Edu leaking rumours to hide the colossal cock up this was.

I’m suspicious like you Gaz. I’m pretty sure it came out later that Arsenal were still paying 90% of Özil’s £350k after he’d joined Fenerbahce on loan.

If Willian’s contract is terminated, does he value integrity more than £20m? My own guess is Arsenal will pay the difference, or much of it, between what Corinthians will be paying him over the next two years and what Arsenal would have been paying him over that time.

After all, he’s 33. Is he still in the Brazil team (I haven’t got the faintest idea)? If he isn’t, he presumably will be less concerned about playing regularly for Corinthians than he’ll play for Arsenal to increase his chances of getting in their World Cup squad. If he is still in the Brazil team, that may increase his willingness to join Corinthians without any, or as much, of a payment from Arsenal.

Unfortunately have to agree. Any random ball into out box causes chaos. Leno never communicates with his defenders

Oops, I was giving a positive reference to Martinez

Key physical attributes for any player in any outfield position have to be pace, power, athleticism, mobility if you look through our squad for those attributes you keep coming back to the same core group of players. It is no coincidence at all that those players are also the 8-9 that most fans want to build the squad around. The rest need to get moved on as soon as possible - not always an easy task. Doing that in a covid effected market and with players who are poor and on high wages gives us a huge problem

As a new manager you will have identified what you believe is the way you want to play football and to win matches. Let assume (and it is a fair assumption) that Arteta wants to mould his team in the same way as Pep plays. Currently 2 things are stopping that, 1 is clearly the quality of the players and 2 is probably the quality of the manager to make that happen.
So as a manager do you:
a) depart from your philosophy because you don't have the players capable, but you go more pragmatic in the name of winning points - but the downside is those that are capable and you want to build around don't get used to the way you want to play, or
b) implement that philosophy no matter what, knowing it will look chaotic as some players just arent good enough and dont get it but with the knowledge that when you can replace them it is more a case of fitting players in to a system rather than re-teaching the system to everyone

For my money I think Klopp and Pep both went down route b).

It is a problem for Arteta - but perhaps an even bigger problem is it is difficult for the fans to tell what the philosophy is in the first place irrespective of the quality of the players

I actually do think we are on the right track in this respect. The signings in this window look like the right kind but it's going to take 3-4 windows with almost no bad incoming transfers to get back to where Arsenal want to be.

The problem is while we have no room for error, Chelsea and the Manchester clubs can throw money around with almost no consequence.

Chelsea's spending over the last few years has been crazy. Being able to buy Werner last summer and then spend another 100m on Lukaku this summer is not something Arsenal can compete with.

It’s sad that I have got to this stage that I rarely trust anyone. Not just in football. I cannot see Willians agent, say on 10-15%, just saying - let it go.

Given the players available this had to be the team that played yesterday:
Leno
Holding, Mari, Tierney
AMN, Lokonga, Xhaka, Saka
Ogedaard, Emile Smith Rowe
Aubameyang

I'm not a fan of just pushing natural full backs in to a wing back role - as much as I think Tierney is more than capable. But we were overun in midfield so putting natural wide midfielders who have a defensive brain at wing back would have helped a 5-4-1 become more like a 3-4-2-1. Lokonga had to start to add some more presence in the middle of the park and Ødegaard and Emile Smith Rowe could have filled the half spaces and provided a decent transition to Aubameyang and lead the press if required.

Of course, there is no guarantee that back 3 still doesn't clear crosses and Xhaka still dives in 2 footed but compare that 11 to what we sent out - it was basically a surrender

Pep made good/great teams very good/great. Did he ever manage a team that wasn't top in its league? Even the youth team at Barca could give some PL sides a run for their money.

Klopp had the much tougher route. I think Pep would be successful no matter where he managed but he would have far more bumps in the road. Klopp is the better example I think of route b.

Our issues either are bigger than just the squad and its an organizational thing or it isn't. That must first be determined. Man Utd won things under the Glazers including a CL. The question is would they have won more under the former regime?

I would have played Elneny instead of AMN.

And Kepa the worlds
Most expensive Gk at £75m sidelined after 1 season and now sits on the bench. Would cripple any team.
That said Chelsea have also recouped £75m from 3 central defenders they don’t want and could spend it all on Kounde so a net zero spend to massively improve their first 11

Also, I hardly think his integrity depends on allowing Arsenal essentially not to honour their contract. Although I do see his point. Hanging around where you are not wanted isn't a great way to end a rather fine career.

20 million though? Call me a cynic

Apparently Fenerbahce could only afford 25% of the remainder of Kolasinacs weekly wage so arsenal offered 50% and the player still is refusing to take a pay cut for the rest so the transfer is deadlocked over 25k.

Find it really hard to believe his agent just said let’s walk away from all this money.

My gut feeling is we will beat Norwich but still somehow contrive to drop points at Turf moor (they kick you off the park) and certainly againest spurs.

If that happens honestly you just can’t defend anything anymore.

It’s getting boring.

Watching a new or caretaker manager struggling with chambers and Xhaka will feel frustrating though.

The players that are holding the team back are the same ones that Wenger and Emery couldn't get going. Can a new manager get a better performance out the players that ran out against Manchester City?

It feels like Arsenal are stuck in the same cycle until someone provides enough money to buy their way out or they hire the next Guardiola before he becomes to successful.

Chris Foy the mail on sundays ref ‘expert’ has said he saw nothing wrong with Laporte’s slap/punch to Chambers face for city’s second goal because ‘it’s a contact game’. Beyond belief.

Apparently, a few people who knew Arteta before he joined Arsenal had warned that he is very arrogant, self-obsessed and narcissistic. In essence, not an especially nice person.

I did wonder if this was the case myself after a few months of his tenure due to his odd team selections, side-line micro-management, intransigence and constant falling out with players.

The murmerings coming out of the club are that the players are tiring of his arrogance and his know-it-all attitude.

Those traits in a manager can be a good thing providing their methods work and the players believe in them and are kept onside but it can also be a manager's undoing if they don't work, then there is only one outcome.

Bit like Cloughie then Soc!

Next up folks! An in depth evaluation and criticism of Mikel Artetas LP collection and favourite colour !!!



… and meanwhile Xhaka and chambers will continue to *%^@ up

Ahh well - thankfully his methods are working a treat then.

I have removed the quick reply that was at the bottom of the forum as it slows things down.

I have AMN as right wing back in my preferred 11, I'm assuming you wouldn't play Elneny there - so who would have been your right wing back and who do you drop from the midfielders to fit in Elneny?

Arteta is too arrogant so let’s get Conte. He’s really humble apparently!

Or Ferguson or Mourinho!

Who are the few people that warned of Arteta's personality and where are the murmurings about the players tiring of Arteta? I'm not trying to be antagonistic, just genuinely interested.

Burnley are a thuggish bunch. I’m watching them play Leeds and I can see what’s in store for us in a couple of weeks time

Not sure how true that is about Arteta, Soc. He used to be a neighbour to someone me and my ex-wife knew when he played for us and by all accounts was a lovely, thoughtful bloke.

True Rich. Right now I’d take Vlad the Impaler or Pol Pot if they could get us out of this mess. A proper defence would be a nice start.

Exactly.

No arrogant narcissist would allow the players to call him by his first name. Things aren’t good but Time for people to cut out the dumb *%^@

Hi Darren,

Only going by what was relayed to the guys on Le Grove, I think it was (one of the podcasts anyway). Plus these stories keep finding their way into the press about the players growing tired of his arrogance, aloofness with certain players and know-it-all attitude.

Could just be a load of old baloney.

The days of the gentleman manager seems so far away Billy Nicholson Harry Catterick, Bertie Mee, Bob Paisley, Sir Matt Busby, Jock Stein Lawrie McMenemy. Very successful men.

What insider ? A player who probably wants to leave anyway or get his contract terminated I’ll wager.

Which one of this special group of players should we sack our manager for just to keep them pleased.

Still no score in the Totts game.

Thanks Rog. Not much to go off in the article, is there. As the leader of a supposedly big club, he should be confident enough to think his methods are right. Could the player/s with an issue be those that aren't part of his plans?

Hi Andy,

Cloughie was a genius (aided by his trusty sidekick Peter Taylor) but he was a one-off and whether his methods would work with todays multi-millionaire players in a footballing world dominated by oligarchs and oil rich arabs is hard to know.

And Son scored just before the half.

We could sack him for being bottom of the league, producing a side that is so goal shy and boring it makes watching paint dry seem an attractive alternative and making little progress in two years as manager, though.