How can Arsenal be in the Top Four? It’s impossible, surely…

How can Arsenal be in the top 4? by AndersS

Cheer up Gooners – it can’t all be bad.

The table doesn’t lie! It is an old saying, but it is still the truth.
We are currently 4th, and I strongly believe we will finish no worse than 5th.

But how can that be?

We have a clueless rookie manager, who’s record of mistakes and faults are numerous:

1) He is regularly outdone tactically
2) He coaches stale defensive football
3) He gives away some of the best player for free to other clubs
4) He loans out the rest of the best players
5) He micro manages and confuses players
6) He picks the wrong players to play, when he has better options on the bench
7) He spends transfer money on the wrong players

The list is probably longer. I just can’t remember it all.

But if we take all this into account, how come we aren’t in the bottom of the league?

We are 4th at the moment, and we have just beaten Chelsea and Man United. During the same week, we won those two games, Spurs, with their world class manager, played Brighton and Brentford and got 1 point without a single shot on target, they say. Surely, that is isn’t the case?

But it is. Why?

Maybe because the rest of the players, who really should be second choices behind those given away, loaned out and put on the bench, are of an unbelievable high standard? I didn’t know we had such quality in depth in our squad, that we can let all those second choices play according to the rookies strange tactics and still get us to Top 4 or maybe 5. Is it really so? Or could it be, that something else is going on?

Maybe the future is bright?

kind regards

Anders S

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122 Comments

  1. We won against some big teams, yet we lost against smaller teams. This is similar to Liverpool during Klopp’s first year

    A top four finish will be a miracle

    1. While do we always compare with klopp I don’t understand.
      Do you realize this is not the first year of Arteta that you are comparing the situation with klopp.
      Do I need to remind you that at this particular period, klopp was about to play in the UCl final agaisnt real Madrid, fast forward to now, he has his team in the final again..
      What is the relation with klopp that you guys always mention.

      Klopp didn’t win anything when he was immediately appointed, Arteta did.
      The only thing they both have in common was finishing 8th when they were appointed, every other thing is run differently and incomparable..
      Same klopp sold their valuable asset at that time which was countinho with huge money.
      Our captain was paid to leave for barca instead.
      The highest we have earn from a single player sale is from willock which is 25m.
      Countinho cost Barca, more than all the players we have sold ever since arteta arrived.

      Let normalize praising Arteta without bringing klopp into it. Cause there’s no any similarities in the manager or the team.

      1. Just wanna point out that we could potentially be as successful as Liverpool, if we’re patient enough to see a little progress at the end of this season

        1. Klopp is a hundred times the manager Arteta will ever be and that’s a fact! Jürgen Klopp is about to take Liverpool to the Champions league final for a 3rd time since his arrival and his 4th time overall. Our Greatest manager Wenger could only manage one single champions League final appearance in 22 years yet people will compare Arteta with Klopp 😆 it’s madness.

          1. Klopp is one of best managers I’ve ever seen. I think Arteta has the potential to reach that level in the future, if he stays at Arsenal 😀

            1. Liverpool have had some amazing managers in Paisley and Shankly but if Klopp wins another league title and champions league which I think he will, he will be right up there. To have his team fighting for the quadruple in may is absolutely incredible, Arteta will never reach those levels not in his wildest dreams 😂

                1. GAI in my opinion I believe a young manager should cut his teeth in the lower leagues and work his way up not jump into the deep end and spend copious amounts of money while learning as you go. Klopp was at Mainz, even Pep had a season at Barca b, Ferguson was managing St Mirren at one point, Mourinho was at U.D. Leiria before Porto took him and Wenger at Nancy.. these men weren’t given the luxury of big clubs and a pot of gold, they earned it the hard way. Maybe Arteta will become a good to very good coach but I doubt he will ever be elite.

                  1. You’re right about those legendary managers Kev. Most of them started from the bottom

                    However, there are exceptions, such as Zidane and Guardiola. I don’t consider managing a huge club’s B team to be starting from the bottom, especially since those managers got promoted after just a couple of years

                    1. GAI I forgot about Zizou unbelievably the man won 3 champions league titles consecutively? Now thats an achievement of greatness that may never be matched! Quite possibly but getting the feel of management even for a season surely has its benefits? I think Arsenal jumped the gun in promoting Arteta from coach to manager so soon after his appointment it shows the club still behave naively. One thing is for sure mate I’ll never be sold on Vinai or Edu, if the club was serious they would bring in Michael Edwards.

                  2. I can now understand how much hatred you have towards Arteta, but let me remind you that sooner rather than later Arteta will be up there.

                    1. I have no idea who your talking to, but if it’s me i do not hate anyone you don’t know me, so don’t talk rubbish.

                2. Arteta is NOT A VERY TALENTED YOUNG MANAGER but Klopp is.
                  If he play Elneny when we played Brighton and Southampton, we might not lost these two matches.

                  SUMMARY: HE DON’T KNOW THE STRENGTH OF HIS EVERY PLAYERS. HIS EYES ARE CLOUDED BY PREJUDICES & BIAS.

                  Klopp is special. He knows his players well and use them to win the matches.

                  Arteta can win any titles in EPL but may be other minor leagues in Asia or Africa.

              1. I didn’t know that Kev was a prophet or a seer! On what basis does he make such sweeping assumptions about Arteta’s future? Arteta has been a manager for barely three years. How does someone make any conclusions about his career? Is this out of emotions, hate or contempt?

          2. Stating that 40 year old Arteta will never be as good as 54 year old Klopp is not a fact, it’s your opinion mate.

            When Koop turned 40 in 2007 he was managing FSV Mainz 05. That’s a fact.

            1. LeGunner I have seen nothing to suggest Arteta will ever get to that level for example it’s like watching Nketiah you see a decent young player but you don’t think this kid is going on to become a world beater it’s the same for a manager but I will hold my hands up if I’m wrong, I have no problem admitting I was wrong.

              1. Kev, only time will tell if Arteta can reach the very top level and become a legend like Klopp already is.

                So far when you look at what he is doing aged 40 I’d say he is on track.

              2. That is why yours is an opinion. You only need to hold your hands up and that’s it.

          3. No KEV, ITS RHETORIC AND YOUR OPINION BUT PLAINLY NOT FACT!

            THE FACT YOU SAY A HUNDRED TIMES ANDNOT, SAY, NINETY OR TWO HUNDRED OR TWICE AND SO ON , PROVE ITS JUST YOUR OWN RHETORIC

            Nothing wrong with usiing rhetoric if course, UNTIL you falsely describe it as “fact”.
            IT IS NOT FACT, BUT OPINION ONLY!

              1. KEEP TO THE SUBJECT, KEV, WHICH IS WHAT YOU WROTE, AND NOT ANYTHING ELSE.

                WHAT YOU WROTE WAS OPINION, NOT FACT ,HOWEVER MUCH YOU TRY TO WEASEL OUT OF IT.

                1. I’m not trying to weasel out of anything Jon I stated that Klopp is a far better manager than Arteta as is pep and that’s a fact not an opinion what those 2 have done is nothing short of remarkable but if you think Arteta will reach that level you keep dreaming, we both know he will never reach those heights.

                  1. Kev So if other fans disagree with your OPINION is their opinion a fact too!? You are simply and cowardly refusing to admit you arewrong. Any English, as first language, speaking person knows that afact is something indisputably proven but an oponion , such as yours is arguable!!

                    Thatlast line alone proves the foolishness of you, even now, sticking to your plainly shown up as false, argument.

                    Just admit when you are obviously wrong and you will be respected for having the guts to do so, Only cowards and low character types, such as criminals, wilfully insist they are right when proven in the wrong.

                    To be clear, my opinion agrees with your opinion but that is not the point. The point IS that a fact is a fact and an OPINION is what you and I share.

      2. liverpool went through the same process when klop took over as a manager, let Arteta do his job Arsenal is in good hands

        1. How did Liverpool went through the same process??

          You mean klopp came out and said he will deliver ucl trophy in 3 years.

          I haven’t seen anywhere or come across where Liverpool or klopp said they were going on a process when they achieved all that.

          Perhaps even if they do, what makes you think it will work for us as much as it does for them.

          Did city went through process as well, is that what makes them this successful..

          I am not even sure we can compare klopp Dortmund to this Arteta Arsenal yet not to talk of the mighty Liverpool.

          Liverpool and Arsenal are not run the same way neither are their manager.
          You can actually prove me wrong though.
          Perhaps are we not saying we have the youngest team in the league, when did Liverpool have that under klopp?

      3. You can’t blame Arteta for players given away. It was Edu’s job to negotiate deals. Unfortunately Edu has friends like Raul Sanhelli and Kia Joorabchan who are all corrupt. So is Edu clean, negotiating bad deals? Guess who’s lining his pocket from all these cheap deals.

        1. We can’t blame him for players given away, but we can credit him for clearing the deadwood.
          We can’t blame him for players getting given away, but we can credit him when he signs players that are doing ok.
          I slightly agree with you, but Arteta himself has come out to say he has a says in every transfer that are being made..
          More so edu can’t decided to sell a player unless the manager give the go ahead or that he doesn’t want the player. He has been given that power to choose who stay and who leave.
          Remember that’s why he’s getting credit for clearing out the deadwood.
          So both him and edu should share the blame.
          We can’t always blame Edu all the time and leave arteta out of this.

      4. Coutinho was doing well at pool when he was signed while auba was’nt cos he insisted on leaving,plus his indisciplined actions as the club’s skipper,…..take note of that if you have’nt my friend!!!

        1. And willock was doing bad when we sold him??
          That unproven lad that lost Liverpool the community shield was sold for nearly the same price as willock that won the EPL player of the month with numerous goals in half season in a team like Newcastle.
          Did Auba came out and said he insisted on leaving Arsenal or shows any signs that he want to leave pro before the scandal?? Because I don’t know where you get this.

          My comment is not even about Auba, because he’s the past.

          If the only thing you could understand in my whole comment is Auba scandal, then I think you missed the whole thread.
          I went back now despite me not mentioning auba’s name and my comment only reefer to him just once, so how is my statement base on Auba with your comment..

    2. GAI in what way would it be a miracle? Leicester winning the league was a miracle. Top 4 a miracle omg if this is how fans think then the standards of this great football club have long vanished.

      1. Because:

        – Arsenal chose not to sign a new CF in January, despite having a good chance to clinch a top four finish and being unable to score against Burnley

        – We lost too many games and had too many problems, luckily our rivals are also inconsistent

        1. GAI well that’s down to the mastermind of Arteta so he obviously thought he will get top 4 with Nketiah and Lacazette and if he does fair play, if not it’s egg on his face.. we probably will only get top 4 because everyone around us have been crap including Totts and man u and they have changed managers mid season but if we beat west ham and Leeds I think top 4 is nailed on.

            1. Haha No Pat we aren’t a crap team neither are Totts or man u but we have played crap at times along with the other 2, there’s a difference to being crap and playing that way.

          1. Kev, Arsenal wanted to sign Vlahovic, but the guy wasn’t interested

            About Arsenal’s reluctance to sign someone else such as Jovic, I think it was Kroenke who wanted to wait till the end of the season. Because Kroenke had spent a lot of money in the previous summer

            1. GAI lol yeah we all knew that except the club who kept pushing for his signature when he made it clear he wants Juve 😂 if the Kroenkes were or are fully behind Arteta then I believe they would have sanctioned a loan deal somewhere.. I think it was Arteta himself who said he was the one who decided against it.

  2. Exactly the list does go on, but this is why I bring up the Pepe blasting from the club and some fans who are arteta faithful or just wanting to get shot of him, play him as a striker no a left footer on a right wing where all defenders are just waiting on him to cut back to cross the ball with his left that’s football 101 in my books , he can play striker he has lighting pace and control and can definitely finish and always seems to be in the correct place when a cross comes in, Ian weight said to be a great scorer you need to be a in the box at the correct time to finish them off I see that in Pepe , just a shame arteta won’t give him more chances on the pitch never mind striker where he should be also partnered up back to a 442 or at least 2 upfront again, he leaves he will haunt us in the future wasn’t costing 75 million for nothing the saw class in him but he’s no even had enough time on the pitch for 1 then wrong position playing on the right, get a grip arteta

    1. Pepe have not even bothered to learn the english language. He has been here for 3 years now. What a waste of talent, he obviously does not have the professionalism to succeed. If you can not communicate with your coach and teammates whats the point?

      1. He doesn’t have the professionalism to succeed.

        Did you just said that??

        Saying a professional footballer who is a world record fee for a team like Arsenal didn’t have a professionalism to succeed.

        So Arsenal spent72m on a non professional player??

        I am sorry despite how unprofessional you labelled him, he’s still recognize in the football world as a professional player.
        Which represent both team and country..
        So everyone can’t be wrong if they recognize as a professional player when you don’t.

        Some of you view though is quite difficult to understand.

        1. Sure Pepe’s valuation was overstated to enable Sanhelli to collect brown envelop hence his sacking

  3. If the players are of unbelievably high standards we should have been celebrating the championship at the end of the season not fighting for 4th.

    I am happy for 4th and how Arteta has managed to get most of the results with a thin squad.

    But realistically we are sitting 4th with 11 games lost. That can only means we are bad but our rivals have been worse.

  4. Pepe’s time will come……..I doubt if arteta will sell him. Arsenal needs a bigger squad next season and I believe Pepe will come good. This is about the team and Pepe will get his chance.

  5. If we say the table does not lie (with no context) then the table “proves” Arteta was a terrible manager for two seasons because he finished 8th both times. This season after 3 games the table “proved” Arsenal was the worst manager in the league. . After 28 games the table “proved” Arteta was brilliant manager. After 3 successive losses the table “proved” Arteta was clueless. Yet two games and two wins later the table “proves” Artea is a brilliant manager again.
    If we get 4th by one point the table will “prove” Arteta is a great young manager. If we miss 4th by one point the table will “prove” Arsenal spent 240mill and 3 seasons getting the same position as Emery did in one season back in 2019 having played 15 more European games.
    I think how Arteta does with a full European programme remains the true test. Man U will be better, Spurs will be better. Newcastle Palace Villa Wolves and maybe Leicester will be better and will not have European committments. So May next season is when the table will tell us the truth about Arteta.

      1. if that is your Interpretation of one of the best comments i have ever read on JA in over 8 years, i have to wonder if your really read it or are incapable to objectively assess articles/opinions about arsenal when your mind is already fixed on one opinion

    1. Now your last paragraph is the real deal.
      Until we are back to Europa and participate in as much competition as our other rivals, we might not be able to judge if the progress is sustainable or not.

      Let me give a quite good example here.
      Two people are fighting, one hand is tied , while the other could use the both hand.
      We all could see who have the advantage here.
      Same thing can be said about us, out of the top7 , we are the one with less number of games.
      And being out of euopean contributed to that .
      What they are about to achieve this year is commendable. but untill next season, we might not see the full picture of the progress.
      Because we could get top4 this year , and come next season become 6th or below.

        1. Does this mean that’s why the top4 lies between us and them??
          Since they were playing kids and not their first team..
          Even with that, they had 8 more games than us.
          Now if your claim is true, how come they decided not to play their conference league match when they could have feed their kids who has been playing the competition.

      1. I disagree with the analogy and I don’t believe it is “good”. These kind of analogies pop up from time to time on this site but the situations are not comparable.

  6. There is nothing extraordinary about Arteta ,he’s been given heavy backing and plenty of breathing space to learn on the job in his 2.5 seasons ,except from a few good games per season the football is still as dull as when he walked into the job .
    My opinion ofc.

    1. Surely, it is special. He has gotten rid of our best players, either as giveaways or loans, and left the rest of the talent on the bench to play the worst, and still gotten us to a current top 4?

      1. It wasn’t funny the first time in your article Andrea and it’s def not funny the second time round buddy .

      1. Except for one thing – the REAL talent left, were all Hales End youngsters, apart from Martinelli and/or players that MA has re-signed from the pool of players that AW and UE left.

        Out of interest, Barca have been reported to have put Aubameyang up for SALE… it will be interesting to see what they get for him, if anything and whether they subsidise his salary.

        Funnily enough Anders, you seem to have forgotten the millions of pounds that MA has spent…. some of which, as you rightly say, are sitting on the bench!!

        1. @ken1945
          I may have forgotten a lot of things.
          I am merely trying to expose the lack of logic thinking, I see in some of the Arteta criticism.
          I am in no way arguing that Arteta’s is 100% perfect.

          1. Then you well written article is unbalanced in favour of Arteta isn’t it?
            Nevertheless, if Mikel does get the top four spot, then, in my opinion we go from there and start to build another two decades of european football.

            1. I am sure, some will see it as unbalanced.
              The logic in some of the Arteta criticism is still missing, though.

              1. I largely agree with Anders.
                The article is clearly a satirical piece in response to much of the anti-Arteta agenda so not sure why there is an issue of ‘balance’.
                As for whether Arteta can become one of the great managers, time will tell.
                In my view, he has potential.

                1. Its satirical bollox, if you ask me and not even an article. Arteta finishes 4th we can move on, if he fails to, he fails. Its simple, no black or white, or satirical bollox either.

  7. Top 4 is a possibility but still not a guarantee. We lost 3 consecutive matches to midtable teams but yet managed to beat Chelsea and United, so anything can happen in football. Lets wait and watch because none of our future opponents till the end of the season are easy, WestHam, Leeds, Spuds, Newcastle and Everton. I would reserve my judgement on Arteta till the end of the season. Till than I hope Arsenal do win as many games as possible to make it to the top 4. As regards Pepe, I agree he should be tried as a striker, he has all the ingredients to become one.

  8. Frank lampard had stars in his team and still they were lacking behind in the pl. arteta has the youngest team in England and its environs and we are in top four

    1. That’s unfair comparison mate.
      Remember how many years he took Arteta to be in this stage and to have that young team you mentioned.

      You can’t tell me Arteta would have certainly done better either.
      He’s more of Everton legend than Arsenal but they still decided not to go for him even before he was appointed at Arsenal.

  9. We all know we have challenges as a team. Management, technical area, the playing body and even we the fans.
    But in all of this, let’s all believe we are making top four. Just believe, JA. It’s a wake up call to JA. We are one big family. This is what we all desire so let’s keep the faith.

  10. When people compare Arteta finishing 8th twice no one ever put into consideration the pandemic era which was the first of its kind in about two season for a rookie manager to juggle through, it was not part of his CV while playing or an assistant to Pep.

    We all think that was easy with amount of pressure and under performing stars that were there just to pocket their weekly package. This season is when the real Artete is being showcased with a sample of the youngest squad in the toughest leagues in the world

    1. So according to your statement, the trophies he won was due to pandemic as well.
      If not for the pandemic we wouldn’t have won that trophy.
      If that is the case then I agree with you.
      Come to think of it, the team he beats to win those trophies have gone to win trophies after then irrespecfully and we haven’t.
      So it makes more sense that we only won those trophies due to the pandemic.

      But however why should we spare him out of all manager.
      Because he wasn’t the only manager that had to face the pandemic, every other manager and team does.

  11. You are only bold enough to say this cos people would have forgotten you posted this THRASH of writting our manager off when he eventually prove you wrong by achieving beyond expectations…… who knows?you might be right,but i’ll remind if you’re proved wrong.

  12. Hey what make you think that way bro, do you remember when klopp is at dutmund what did do, or at wofsburg when he started his managerial carear. So stop saying all those thing about Arteta, can klopp win anything with this arsenal team ?

  13. Some Arsenal fans really are the problems of this club, everyone seems to be a professor in analysing and criticising Arteta, same people who critisised Wenger and Emery yet can’t even kick a ball not to talk of coaching their families good enough. I thinking you all should stop this attitudes of bring him down by force no matter what he does. Yeah, Emery has gone but we need to back Arteta until he build his own team properly then we can judge him from there. No one gave Moyes a chance while in Manure Disunited, he got sacked, went to Spain and was doing well and WH went and brought him back and now look at what he’s doing there. Can you guys give Arteta a benefit of the doubt for now?

    1. You forgot to add Moyes was doing absolutely well for Everton for ages before he was appointed.

      Or did he got the manager job being assistant to someone??

    2. There are several reasons why we are 4th at the moment.
      -biggest spender this summer
      -contrary to our closest rivals,we had no European football or even domestic cups,I don’t think I have to tell people,how big an advantage it is.
      – speaking of rivals, Conte hasn’t been at sp*rs a full season yet(MA 2.5 years) and has only brought 2 players somehow they are just 2 pts behind us.i dread to think of the progress they’ll make if he stays and given a healthy budget.
      -WH,Leicester have been distracted by European football, both reaching the semis and possibly the finals, Leicester have been very unlucky with injuries to their big players.
      -MU,well can I say?they are a mess and the managers merry go round is not helping somehow we are only 5 pts ahead.
      To put things into perspective,what about Newcastle?bottom of the table at Christmas,they are now 9th,having lost 14 games, we’ve lost 11 so far,lastly since some on JA like to move the goalposts (ie the start of the season),if the season had started at Christmas, Newcastle would 2nd,what does that say about the league this season?

      1. The League table (right now as otherwise its called ‘cherry picking’) says that with a crap manager and unproven kids we are 4th in the table.

        Don’t try and make excuses for the other teams, why not just support our own team’s achievements?

        1. Pat,you may not believe it but I am actually pretty happy with the fact that we are 4th,as for supporting my team, don’t you ever doubt my support.the reason I brought up other teams is simple,I wanted to put things into perspective/context and show that this season is not a vintage one,with several of our closest rivals going through some difficult times it does represent our best chance in years to get CL football back,were we to finish outside the top 4,I would see it as a missed opportunity big time.lastly, do not include me in the Arteta out ,crap manager….camp, merci.

          1. In the previous 2 seasons, it took 67 and 66 points to make top 4. In fact in 19/20 66 points was enough for 3’rd.
            So it seems it is more difficult this year?

            1. I disagree,I could be wrong but the fact that you need more points to finish in the top 4 shows that the league has become less competitive no?if the top 4 teams managed to earn more points ,it shows that the gap between the top and bottom teams has been growing wider ??

                  1. Sorry, can’t agree to that one 😉
                    It is not serious to claim the fewer points it takes to reach a certain goal, the more difficult it is.

  14. For God’s sake this is arteta first time of being a head coach of a big club. we have seen coaches like frank lampard and ole Gunnar solskjaer coach Chelsea and man united and failed woefully in their respective clubs. The same lampard went to Everton and also failed woefully and you guys are all here criticizing arteta?????. you guys should give arteta breathing space. For me he is a great young coach and will grow to become one of the greatest coaches in Europe

    1. Except those two managers finished higher than Arteta.
      And both of them were managing somewhere before.
      Let me guess your reply, both had financial back up and experience that Arteta never had.
      Good so why are you comparing them.

      The same Arteta could have been higher by Everton considering he’s their legend, but he was ignored.

      Now many claimed Arteta inherited deadteam , but you are here claiming lampard has a team full of stars..
      Let compare lampard current stars that he has and the deadwood Arteta inherited.
      And see who really got stars at the time of appointed.

  15. As for auba,We all saw it in his performance that he ain’t willing to play for us anymore and eventually said it after he left. And as for coutinho and willock,we can’t compare both cos coutinho has a lot of experience,playmaking and goalscoring abilities than willock and you’re right 25m is too small considering the fact that he helped them stay up last season with his goal contribution but without price tags on a youngster’s contract what do you expect?Upwards of 50m? C’mon no one in his right frame of mind will pay that given he was underperforming when he was with us.

    1. You claimed auba said he wanted to leave while he was playing with us .
      Now you said we all saw he wanted to leave.
      That’s two different thing.
      Maybe he wanted to leave but he never came out to say that while he was still our player.
      Now you claimed it because we all saw it , but you could point to where auba himself said he wants to leave before the scandal.

      And to be honest I don’t really care about Auba. Wish him well already.

      Did Liverpool put price tag on countinho and that unproven lad before they sold them for that amount??
      To be honest I can’t blame Arteta for the negotiating part. Its not his job .but I mentioned this to burster my claim that we and Liverpool are not run the same way, just like arteta and klopp has nothing in common with the way they are managing their team.

        1. And how about the unproven lad??
          Who barely have a up to 5 matches putting together and was sold for 20m..

          Let me remind you again, my initial comment is to show how Liverpool and Arsenal are not being run the same way and neither the manager have anything in common.
          So I don’t see why there should be comparison between the two managers or the team..

          If you can point out to me where the team are being run the same way with evidence to back it up then I will agree.

          I haven’t seen anywhere where Liverpool or their players claimed they would deliver ucl trophy in 3years.
          In fact they never claimed any process.

          The only thing comparable is the 8th position.

          I have nothing against anyone.
          And I agree that the manager should get credit for this season only and that includes edu too.
          But we have nothing in common with Liverpool.
          Even history suggest otherwise.

        2. Aubameyang never said that Fk, unless you can show proof?
          What he did say was that he had a problem with MA.
          As MA dropped him, he couldn’t have played anyway could he?

    2. I’m sick of those people castigating Arsenal for letting Auba go. It was plain for all to see that he had absolutely no interest in playing for us and had effectively downed tools. The Willock sale has proven to be a good piece of business for us also, given his subsequent career. Unlike, of course, the Gnabry tragedy, when Wenger loaned him out to West Brom, then managed by Tony Pulis, who said he wasn’t good enough!

  16. what I am saying is that arteta has taken that same team with lesser quality of players in terms of age, strength, price worth or value and experience to the position of fighting for the top four whilst coaches like frank lampard and solskjaer who had better quality of players like Sancho, werner, pulisic, maguire failed woefully in managing their respective clubs

    1. Sorry to ask, why is ole being mentioned here in the first place?
      He never had pulisic that you mentioned.
      Then again apart from the trophy arteta won, ole did more than him in all his seasons at united.
      Do you even realize man u was second last year and runner up in European finalist.

      We haven’t had a season like that in the last 5years. Whereby we become a runner up in both European competition and the league.
      So how did Arteta did better than ole.
      Remember you are the one bringing them into the discussion when you know they have all backing they needed.
      Both of them are recognizable legend in the club they represented but they still got sacked.

      The only time we have look better is this season.
      And even lampard you mentioned finished in 3rd or 4th that season and was beaten by Arteta in the fa cup.

      The only reason why lampard and ole got sacked was because both team are use to high standard that they won’t settle for less
      Both team has managed to win more trophy than us in the last 10years.
      You really think they will leave a manager who finished 8th twice to continue as their manager.

      No discredit to Arteta he has done very well if we are to judge on this season alone. But the thing is he wasn’t appointed this season.

      1. I have been dealing with some people like @kaay all my life. No matter what you do, how or when you do it, they never seem satisfied. See at this crucial stage in the season, let us all support the manager and the players cos I remember not too long ago, some players are just there collecting fat pay cheque and giving little to none to the team. MA whether you admit his good works so far or not has somewhat bring stability, right attitude and discipline back to the team. Give him credit for what he has done cos it’s not easy to become a coach from being an assistant to someone and also coaching the youngest squad in the league. Lastly, MA is still the manager of Arsenal now whether you like it or not, and to me has the backing of the board and the entire football club, so @kaay, we do not want all these negativity.

        1. @ife, You have been dealing with my type all your life??
          Do you even know me??
          Do you even know what my response was about??
          And lastly did you read my last paragraph on that same comment??.

          If you have deal with my type all your life, then I can assure you, you won’t have any regrets howsoever..

  17. While praising this sensible article I note that articles using disguised (to some, not all) irony, make the case beautifully.

    applaud Anders for, ever so subtly, showing up the anti MA FANS FOR THE SHALLOW THINKERS THEY ARE.

  18. Now is not the time to criticise Mikel or the players when we are at one of the most crucial points in our rebuild. Get behind the the boys and the coaches to push on for Top4, then we will be able to sprinkle a few young studs into the 1st 11.

    We were never suppose to be in this position come the end of the season due to our start but to be fair injuries, covid and new players adapting played a huge part after we decided to start clearing all of the older players not pulling their weight & investing in youth.

    We have the one of smallest and youngest squads in the league, possibly Europe and we are doing this with massive players underperforming, leaving or the likes of Partey, Teirney & Smithrowe being injured or not fit alot of the season.

    He took over when we were in free for all down the table then guided us to FA Cup & Community Shield in his 1st 6months, yes we finished 8th but what else could he really do.

    In his 1st ever pre season as a manager we then signed freebies like Willian and played players constantly even when they were not performing due to their names or previous contributions and it cost him, Europa League we got to Semi Finals and lost to our previous manager we had just sacked, again Mikels 1st ever European cup run as a rookie manager.

    Then this season he learned from last season, rebuilt with youth and has been improving since. I’m hard on him sometimes but he is doing a good job so far bar a few dodgy Cup runs this season.

    If we get Top4, sign a few top players in a CF, RW & CDM positions, plus backup CM & RB along with Saliba return, we will be ready to go next season under Mikel. Again will be his 1st go In the Champions League and Arsenal will finally be back where we belong in the top table of European football but with a decent squad heading into it.

    Next few games are huge for our progress.

    1. Sean, but we have one of the youngest and smallest squads in the PL, because that’s what MA decided would happen.

      By pointing this out, doesn’t mean I am anti Arteta, just stating the FACTS and pointing them out to those who use it as a defence for Mikel.

  19. This is a young coach in his third season as a manager competing against some of the biggest clubs in the world; and against some of the best managers in the world.
    The team he has put together has demonstrated the ability challenge for a CL spot in what is almost certainly the strongest league in the world.
    He has done this whilst also managing a massive overhaul of the squad.
    To make this work takes an exceptional individual.

  20. PAT I reckon its time to seriously consider another poll onMA,as it seems to me the majority NOW is for him. I reckon a poll today would show that.

    Of course, if we lose as West Ham tomorrow it might well be different again, such is the fickleness of a PROPORTION of our fans.

    I refer to the ones who are fans all the time but only suppporters when the team is on a winning run. Such people disgust me, as a true SUPPORTER!

      1. But Pat, I thought that the last poll you conducted didn’t mean a thing…. because it was anti Mikel.
        You have to laugh at the IQ of some fans!!!

        By the way, spuds now 3-0 up!!!

        1. Hey Ken, don’t confuse me with bias. My opinion is that Mikel has done well and has started a promising project, but I only censor pro or anti posts if they get personal.
          Everyone is entitled to their reasoned opinion on here as you know mate

          1. I have post taken off with bias when i see other posts left on. Being personal is a completely different thing to controlling opinion. I have just had a post taken off this article that challenged the way it was written and its context.

  21. We are leading the way with the amount of draws that we suffered. We have only drawn three games all season, which amounts to two losses and one win (points-wise) We have 11 defeats. If we can turn over half of those defeats -becoming wins instead, we’d roughly be four points off Liverpool. That is the next step in our development. We don’t yet have the forward players to manage this, whereas Liverpool have five or more great options in their forward areas. We’ll see how the recruiting goes but that will be the next step, closing down the space to Liv.

  22. It’s our misfortune that our forthcoming games are mostly against teams either fighting relegation or going for top 4. Even the rejuvenated Newcastle players will have been told by Eddie Howe that they are playing for their futures. I cannot see our makeshift defence keeping out Kane and Son, so we will have to rely on Liverpool doing the business, and, hopefully us winning at St. James’s. It would also be handy to have Everton’s fate decided before the final day, as it would be tragic for Arsenal for them to make a last ditch escape at our expense.

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