Mikel Arteta | Lego Pep watch

Dancfc said:
Around the 13-16 era he really should have capitalised and won (or atleast made a big challenge) for the league once possibly twice. Even the teams winning it weren't great and after being backed with the likes of Sanchez and Ozil he really should have capitalised.
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They didnt really have a defence - or atleast a defence good enough to win the league. And by the time they got in Sanchez, I believe Mertesacker was done, their CMs had gone to shite and Giroud had that slump.

Important to note that United despite spending all that amount finished above Arsenal in just 2017-18 in the post-SAF Wenger years
 
adexkola said:
I don't rate fans' opinions that much. 90% of it is banter anyways

I'm speaking about a comparison between Wenger and Arteta. For all the former's flaws, he knew how to set up a team that could play progressive football going forward at least. Whether he's suited to the modern game or not, I don't know. Mourinho has demonstrated he's past it, in 4 jobs now? Wenger's time with Arsenal had probably run its course but it says little about his coaching ability.
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To be honest it helps a lot when you coach talent like Henry, Vieira, Pires, etc.
 
Bebestation said:
This actually doesn't sound that bad on paper to be honest (except I personally liked Guendouzi's play style but could see he had a weird attitude).

Anyway, Are arsenal fans starting to peak across London and wondering what life would be like with Vieira as manager instead of Arteta - or are people happy with Arteta's work?
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as long as Arteta meets the target set by the board he will be fine. Fans have zero say on this. Same for every club i would assume. Arteta is doing fine. The squad and player management has been poor over the years and the club invested poorly for the past 10 years. The club did spend alot of money in the squad for the past 10 years, not only last summer. it takes time to be able to challenge for top 4 again. As i said before Arteta needs to improve his man management skill. Seems like he has conflict with players quite often.
 
Iker Quesadillas said:
You were challenging for the top four a few months before Arteta was hired.
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Man Utd was 2nd last season too, and Barcelona was challenging the title last season as well.

Edit
Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea are far ahead. Spurs, Arsenal, Leicester, Everton and Aston Villa all invested heavily to get into top 4. I am happy if we can get 5th and at least get back to europe next season.
 
They're doing ok. His biggest problem is the AFTV driven meltdown that occurs whenever they lose.
TheReligion said:
Always feels like they are just on a similar trajectory to United under Ole (minus the cup semis/final and second place/top 4 finishes).

I mean in the sense they look rubbish for a bit then go on a bit of a run then go back again. Rinse repeat.

Just don't see the progress.
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They have won a trophy under Arteta unlike Ole at United, but you’d value Ole’s top four finishes higher in terms of progression over Arteta and his consistent 8th position.
 
ThierryHenry14 said:
as long as Arteta meets the target set by the board he will be fine. Fans have zero say on this. Same for every club i would assume. Arteta is doing fine. The squad and player management has been poor over the years and the club invested poorly for the past 10 years. The club did spend alot of money in the squad for the past 10 years, not only last summer. it takes time to be able to challenge for top 4 again. As i said before Arteta needs to improve his man management skill. Seems like he has conflict with players quite often.
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It's a great myth that fans have no power, it was proved otherwise in the ultimate way last April for example. The only problem is when it comes to internal affairs not enough fans will have the balls to do what is required.

If The Emirates becomes half empty and the missing fans make it clear they won't return until Arteta is sacked he'll be gone quicker than you can say trust the process.
 
Klopper76 said:
They're doing ok. His biggest problem is the AFTV driven meltdown that occurs whenever they lose.

They have won a trophy under Arteta unlike Ole at United, but you’d value Ole’s top four finishes higher in terms of progression over Arteta and his consistent 8th position.
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I forgot about the FA cup actually. What are your thoughts
 
ThierryHenry14 said:
Did Juventus go bankrupt as well? or did Man utd?
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United fired Ole and Juventus have fired two consecutive managers after 1 season. What are we talking about here?

A fair amount of people were fine to let Wenger to because he'd stagnated right below the top 4. Emery lost a lot of support once he botched getting 4th in his first season. And now under Arteta, the narrative is "no, you need years to get to 4th." Surely you can see the double standard.
 
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Mastadon said:
All those players would be the first to tell you that Wenger was the one who made them what they are.
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So you really believe they would not have had good/great careers without Wenger? Other managers would've coached their talent too, just in a different way.

Not trying to say Wenger was not great, I just think their worst case ceiling would be the highest ceiling of the most of the current crop Arsenal have today. Just saying Wenger had way better overall material to work with than Arteta.
 
InfiniteBoredom said:
There’s a fair argument to be made that he made do to the best of his ability during 11-14 and didn’t deserve the vitriol coming his way during that period, but after spending quite a bit in his last few years with transfers like Ozil and Sanchez and finished 3rd in a 2 horse race to Leicester and Spurs, you have to question his ability as a coach at that point.
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Think your a bit off in your time scales mate, can't remember most of the crowd being against Wenger in that era. We were a bit excited, the shackles were off a wee bit in terms of finances which meant we were able to go out & get Ozil & Sanchez, & we stopped the trophy drought with the FA Cup win.

There were frustration that we weren't able to get a deal for a top class striker over the line, losing RVP was a massive blow & I think if the board were able to get him Higuain or Suarez the 2 most notable failures, that could have made a massive difference, & the Wilshere injuries made a difference as well.

Even 2015 2016 time there was optimism. Another FA Cup, Cazorla looking class, Sanchez & Ozil still balling. Again, there always the feeling that the board were holding us back, not signing an outfield player the year Leicester won the league a prime example.

I'd say it was only after that things started really going downhill. The Mustafi / Xhaka / Perez summer was big money that just didn't work out when it should have been the likes of Kante & Mahrez we should have signed. Then the Sanchez Ozil contract situation left a big cloud over us. Pressure started to build & then Wenger & the board were making more poor decisions I think in a bit of a panic, knocking back the money City offered for Sanchez then swapping him for Mkhitaryan a few months later, signing Lacazette & Auba within months of each other, we were dropping out the top 4, losing the balance in the team, Cazorla got that horrific long term injury.

We were sliding but watching Liverpool hire Klopp, City hire Pep, & these were seen as missed opportunities. People say Wenger was treated terribly but the crowd was split, & the majority were still respectful even if they wanted change. Its just that AFTV had grown & obviously their voice was loudest & what all the other fan bases heard.
 
Oly Francis said:
That's a clear penalty, the tackle is anything but controlled, the fact that the defender touches the ball doesn't allow him to take everything after that. We're not in 1990 anymore.
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If this seems to be the general consensus amongst the majority of football supporters, then I don't think football is for me anymore.

I'll just watch the United games since I can't stop watching them, and focus more on watching boxing and rugby.

Never ever is that a penalty, not in a million years.
 
Iker Quesadillas said:
A fair amount of people were fine to let Wenger to because he'd stagnated right below the top 4. Emery lost a lot of support once he botched getting 4th in his first season. And now under inexperienced Arteta, the narrative is "no, you need years to get to 4th." Surely you can see the double standard.
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That's because there's a realisation, across the board, across the fan base, that this wasn't going to be a get a new manager, sign a couple of players quick fix.

You said it yourself, the squad had slid under Wenger. Most thought a change of coach & a couple of new players would change fortunes & get us back into top 4.And it looks like it could initially, but then same old problems came & results detioriated. We had Ozil situation, Auba contract situation looming, structure behind the manager still chopping & changing.

Even initially under Arteta, he got a decent start, won the FA Cup, & I think the thought was a couple of signings, guys like Partey & Willian could have them challenging for top 4.

Then we had that awful start to last season, & I think the realisation hit everyone, from boardroom to fan base, that this seems a more deep rooted problem. That this was beyond just a management issue & that a proper squad reset was needed. So, rather than get rid of yet another manager, they've trusted Arteta & Edu to do the squad reset, to go down the road of signing younger players to try & build a new young team to hit their prime together, either that at the very least would be still have resale value if it didn't work out.

Now, is Arteta lucky the Owner backed him & agreed this with him this time last season & kept him in the job? Too right he is. Is Arteta lucky the Owner decided to invest their own money into the team for the first time this summer to allow him to carry out that strategy? Again, too right he is. Will Arteta be good enough to take this team to another level passed this summer when the last of the old guard like Aubameyang & Lacazette will likely have left? Probably not. But at least he's carried out what was badly needed, even if it might take another manager to take it to the next stage.
 
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InfiniteBoredom said:
There’s a fair argument to be made that he made do to the best of his ability during 11-14 and didn’t deserve the vitriol coming his way during that period, but after spending quite a bit in his last few years with transfers like Ozil and Sanchez and finished 3rd in a 2 horse race to Leicester and Spurs, you have to question his ability as a coach at that point.
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Actually they finished 2nd that year, that joke was on Tottenham, though the point stands because that was a golden opportunity for Wenger to win the title and then maybe leave on a high. That was the last year they were top-4 and the last year they finished above Tottenham.
 
TheReligion said:
I forgot about the FA cup actually. What are your thoughts
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On the FA Cup? It's not worth as much any more. If a team wants to progress towards bigger and better then consistent top four finishes is more valuable.

Arteta's doing ok. I don't think he'll get Arsenal competing for the league any time soon due to the resources of United, City and Chelsea but top four might be doable. I still think United will end up there due to the quality of their squad compared to Arsenal.

I'm still in shock that Ramsdale has turned out so good. Never rated him before.
 


"The fairness of the competition can be altered"

From the guy who two weeks ago was celebrating scoring on an injured goalkeeper like he had won the World Cup. And who two days ago was forcing his off-field injured player to get up and go down on the field instead.
 
Samid said:


"The fairness of the competition can be altered"

From the guy who two weeks ago was celebrating scoring on an injured goalkeeper like he had won the World Cup. And who two days ago was forcing his off-field injured player to get up and go down on the field instead.
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So much anger :lol:
Anyway, if you bother to read and listen to the actual content, he's just asking for the PL to give a precise ruling on what gets a game postponed. There should be a clear threshold that applies to everyone. At the moment it looks a bit random.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Well, exactly. And we fired our manager. They should be far ahead of us after our awful start to this season under Ole. Yet all we have to do is win our game in hand and they’re below us in the table. Which says it all really.
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What says it all is your seemingly unhealthy obsession with a team and manager you regard, unconvincingly as of no serious threat to Man Utd.
 
SalfordRed18 said:
Hes a shite classless manager who's underperforming considering the money he's spent.
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Djemba-Djemba said:
I've said it before but at least with Lampard and Ole both of them are legit legends at Chelsea and Utd. Both weren't good enough managers but both had a ton of goodwill and affection with the fans.

Lampard is their highest ever goalscorer and maybe their greatest ever player, Ole was a hugely beloved player who scored the most famous goal in our entire history. Both won multiple titles and cups and the CL etc.

Arteta was a journeyman midfielder who was at Arsenal during the start of their banter years, and won an FA cup or two maybe?

I don't understand the leeway the fans give him.
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I think we would off been in a better position if we had gone for arteta he'd already won a trophy with arsenal I think he's doing okay
 
Samid said:


"The fairness of the competition can be altered"

From the guy who two weeks ago was celebrating scoring on an injured goalkeeper like he had won the World Cup. And who two days ago was forcing his off-field injured player to get up and go down on the field instead.
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Is Arteta saying that his feelings take priority over the evolving handling of a global pandemic?

I couldnt care less what he may feel about it. It gets postponed if it gets postponed.
 
Hope they get 7th this year and celebrate it as progress.
 
Tom Cato said:
Is Arteta saying that his feelings take priority over the evolving handling of a global pandemic?

I couldnt care less what he may feel about it. It gets postponed if it gets postponed.
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No, he’s clearly not saying that but pointing out the inconsistency in treatment which disadvantaged his team
 
TJ Reid said:
What says it all is your seemingly unhealthy obsession with a team and manager you regard, unconvincingly as of no serious threat to Man Utd.
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Says the insecure Arsenal fan on a United forum.
 
Iker Quesadillas said:
A fair amount of people were fine to let Wenger to because he'd stagnated right below the top 4. Emery lost a lot of support once he botched getting 4th in his first season. And now under Arteta, the narrative is "no, you need years to get to 4th." Surely you can see the double standard.
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This is the thing it isn't a double standard. Wenger took a top 4 team to 5th and then 6th. Emery then took the team that finished 6th to mid table in 8th place and conceeding 30 shots a game against Watford of all teams. Arteta then maintained 8th place over 18 months and I did wanted him sacked for that. But from some time in December 2020 onwards to the summer Arsenal performed as the 4th best team in the league IIRC. He currently has his side in 4th with 3 games that look easy on paper to win coming up, which could see our points get a big boost.

During this period Arsenal have lost 4 of our best players of the past decade in Alexis Sanchez, Ozil, Santi Cazorla and Ramsey while replacing them with dross. Our best players currently are Saka, Smith Rowe and Odegaard. These aren't elite players when you consider the players we have lost. Aubameyang is also well past his prime now, so another problem.
 
LARulz said:
Easier to say that now but look at how many Arsenal fans wanted him gone at various points
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I still want him gone. It's not about winning here and there, which I know in the end is the most important thing, but I just don't see the team growing under him. Sure, some terrible players have been replaced by decent ones, but that's it, that's where the improvement is coming from, not from Arteta in my view.
 
With all these postponements and match cancellations, if the season ends like this then we secure top 4.

Stop the count! Bring out the safety car. Where's the PL version of Michael Masi to rig the season in our favour?
 
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