Arsenal 22/23 - go to new thread

CM10

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No one is pretending that the first 2 years were good. That's why no one (including Arsenal fans) ever thought we'd be in the position we're in now. To be seriously challenging for the title? It seemed we were still years away from that. I myself was "Arteta out" when we bottled top 4 last season. But the board believed in him and his plan. And what we're seeing now is exactly why. Seems these people may actually know what they're doing. Who would have thought.
This places a lot of emphasis on Arteta actually winning the title though. Arsenal are favourites currently but if they did fall away and City end up winning the league, that progress is far less impressive.

This season has been the perfect storm for Arsenal. They've played well but it's a young team that's currently unable to handle the demands of playing multiple times a week. That might change in the summer if you recruit well but it would still be mentally taxing on a young group of players if they don't deliver now. It's all or nothing after the Sporting loss - you either win the league or it's a trophyless season; that's a huge swing. Arteta won't be able to sack off the cup competitions as readily next season either, he'll have to take the Champions League far more seriously than he has with the Europa League this year.
 

GoonerGirly

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Well as we are moving on to Ten Hag again he’s already been in the conversation of a title race this season and if not for the stoppage time winner by Nketiah it would have been even tighter at that point. In terms of competing on all fronts he’s doing that currently. How far he’ll go we will have to see.

I would say another transfer window (he’s only had one) will allow him to off load more players and bring in another 4/5. By then you could start to argue it’s more his team and you’d like to see more positive progression.

He will have also had 12 months to work with what he’s got and establish who fits and who doesn’t.
With all due respect, I don’t think United were ever seriously in a title race. Just like Newcastle never were, who has been right there with you a big chunk of the season. You got to within a few points for a while but I don’t know that you can call it a serious title challenge. You’ve suffered some crushing defeats that I don’t think title challengers do.
Ok so next season, you expect United to be in a title race and going deep in the cups. Of course that’s entirely dependent on transfer activity.
 

Daydreamer

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You’re just changing what was being discussed to suit your narrative.

An expensive squad that has had a mix of players from different managers and includes poor deals and wages from the Woodward era doesn’t indicate a strong squad that suits Ten Hags philosophy. Surely you’re not trying to argue that as that would be beyond stupid..
We were discussing Arsenal’s squad depth. I brought up the resources spent on assembling that squad relative to the clubs we’re competing with.

It would indeed be beyond stupid to say that ETH inherited a squad that suited his philosophy. That’s probably why I never said that. Or indeed anything like that.
 

GoonerGirly

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This places a lot of emphasis on Arteta actually winning the title though. Arsenal are favourites currently but if they did fall away and City end up winning the league, that progress is far less impressive.

This season has been the perfect storm for Arsenal. They've played well but it's a young team that's currently unable to handle the demands of playing multiple times a week. That might change in the summer if you recruit well but it would still be mentally taxing on a young group of players if they don't deliver now. It's all or nothing after the Sporting loss - you either win the league or it's a trophyless season; that's a huge swing. Arteta won't be able to sack off the cup competitions as readily next season either, he'll have to take the Champions League far more seriously than he has with the Europa League this year.
I completely agree, and I am a bit nervous about CL really because if we couldn’t handle Sporting, I fear more thumpings from Bayern are on the horizon. But I’m not thinking that far ahead yet.

for most of the season, I’ve been against the notion of putting all our eggs in the PL basket. But I’ve also felt that if we found ourselves in this kind of position in March/April, we should laser focus on the league if needed. And we are, and we can go 8 points clear if we win against Palace.I completely get Artetas decision to rotate in the EL. Though, if the injury to Saliba ends up being serious and costs us the title, we’d be screaming that he shouldn’t have risked him. Just like on another day, we’d have won the penalty shootout and we’d be praising Arteta’s genius to rotate. The margins at this level are so fine. But so far, I think Arteta has got the big decisions right in his time here. Hopefully this is another one.
 

Daydreamer

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Well as we are moving on to Ten Hag again he’s already been in the conversation of a title race this season and if not for the stoppage time winner by Nketiah it would have been even tighter at that point. In terms of competing on all fronts he’s doing that currently. How far he’ll go we will have to see.

I would say another transfer window (he’s only had one) will allow him to off load more players and bring in another 4/5. By then you could start to argue it’s more his team and you’d like to see more positive progression.

He will have also had 12 months to work with what he’s got and establish who fits and who doesn’t.
If being 16 points off the top spot is “competing on all fronts”, then Arsenal are too, seeing as we were only five games away from being Europa League champions.

ETH is doing a great job. As is Arteta. They are prioritising different competitions this season, as well they should.
 

tinfish

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Again I think the point which you are all missing is quite straightforward.

For all the praise Arsenal are rightly getting I think hiding behind excuses as to why the squad still isn’t capable of focusing on more that one game per week is quite weak if I’m honest.

Arteta has had plenty of time, money and patience. He’s been allowed to shape the squad to his image and has been backed throughout in making key decisions, Auba and Ozil prime examples.

I believe he should be at a point that he can interchange players in his side without seeing a catastrophic drop off and avoid the need to solely focus on one thing at a time. The reliance on Partey is quite a good example of this really.

Using historic squad values and wages to hide behind the above is a deliberate red herring and way to deflect from that point.
Don't think you realise the squad Arteta inherited. it takes time to literally replace the first team XI and bench, i'd say more than 3 years work without disrupting too much. Not to forget the amount of first team targets we missed out on this season and last season.



it's a remarkable transformation, more investment and squaddies needed this summer to help us compete on multiple fronts next season.

Same applies to united, you tried to go for it all, but your squad also fell short int he PL hence the drop off.

To me, it also coincides with the fact that it's Hags first season, and he wants to make a statement by winning a trophy. Makes sense to me.
 

TheReligion

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We were discussing Arsenal’s squad depth. I brought up the resources spent on assembling that squad relative to the clubs we’re competing with.

It would indeed be beyond stupid to say that ETH inherited a squad that suited his philosophy. That’s probably why I never said that. Or indeed anything like that.
in which case I’m not sure why you moved the conversation on to money and wages as it’s not what the conversation was ever about.
 

TheReligion

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If being 16 points off the top spot is “competing on all fronts”, then Arsenal are too, seeing as we were only five games away from being Europa League champions.

ETH is doing a great job. As is Arteta. They are prioritising different competitions this season, as well they should.
I assume you didn’t read the exchange of posts properly so I’ll let you go back and have a look before posting silly things.
 

TheReligion

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Don't think you realise the squad Arteta inherited. it takes time to literally replace the first team XI and bench, i'd say more than 3 years work without disrupting too much. Not to forget the amount of first team targets we missed out on this season and last season.



it's a remarkable transformation, more investment and squaddies needed this summer to help us compete on multiple fronts next season.

Same applies to united, you tried to go for it all, but your squad also fell short int he PL hence the drop off.

To me, it also coincides with the fact that it's Hags first season, and he wants to make a statement by winning a trophy. Makes sense to me.
Finally! a more reasonable, balanced and interesting post.

Looking at that graphic perhaps I underestimated the overhaul needed but I still feel like 6 or so transfer windows should be sufficient to have a squad capable of some rotation without a huge drop off.

Out of interest what transfers do you feel Arteta/Edu have got wrong? Incoming and outgoing? Those that could have sped up the process.
 

TheReligion

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With all due respect, I don’t think United were ever seriously in a title race. Just like Newcastle never were, who has been right there with you a big chunk of the season. You got to within a few points for a while but I don’t know that you can call it a serious title challenge. You’ve suffered some crushing defeats that I don’t think title challengers do.
Ok so next season, you expect United to be in a title race and going deep in the cups. Of course that’s entirely dependent on transfer activity.
I mean you lot were panicking enough when we were within a few points.. no though, you’re right. We never really believed we were in with a chance of the title nor should be be with a coach 6 months in to the job and a squad primarily made up of the same bunch from last season.

That said Ten Hag has been challenging on all fronts (bar the PL until the past few weeks). Not sure how you can suggest otherwise.
 

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Think we're going round in circles here. Think it can easily be summed up by saying we are over achieving in the league, and under achieving in the cups.

Whether people are accepting of that is all about the individuals opinion.
 

TheReligion

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Think we're going round in circles here. Think it can easily be summed up by saying we are over achieving in the league, and under achieving in the cups.

Whether people are accepting of that is all about the individuals opinion.
I genuinely don’t know why any sort of criticism is jumped on here, even if it comes with the praise of your work in the league. It’s often as if nothing can be said other than positive remarks and praise to Arteta and the club.

I think this is the reason why some on the forum dislike Arsenal if I’m honest.
 

Nish115

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I mean at the end of the day, look at the table predictions before the seasons start.

Last season we were predicted 8th on average.

This season it was 7th.

So.. surely there is no logical answer to say we aren't ahead of schedule? Arteta has rebuilt the entire squad and the mentality of the team. This doesn't even account for what he has done to the fanbase and unifying it. The Emirates this season is nothing like ever before.

We are lacking some depth in the squad, but in 3 seasons there's only so much you can do if you are doing it properly and not risking buying 10 players per window. Must take a lot for the club to get a lot of the players out the club too which can't be understated.

I will say though that after this summer coming, we should have the depth and quality to try and compete on all fronts. Not be favourites, but to go deep in a cup and compete at the top end of the league.
 

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in which case I’m not sure why you moved the conversation on to money and wages as it’s not what the conversation was ever about.
We're discussing squad depth. If you honestly cannot see how a squad's cost and wage bill affect that squad's depth - then I can't help you.

You keep making the point that Arteta has been in place for 3 seasons. And length of the Manager's tenure is certainly a factor in building a squad. It took Ferguson 7 years to win his first Premier League at United, after all.

But the most important factor (by a considerable distance) is the level of resources spent acquiring and compensating players. Final league position correlates with total wage bill closer than any other metric.

We have a weaker squad than our rivals because we have less resources than our rivals. The only way we can change that is by once again challenging for the biggest trophies, something we are currently doing and need to maintain.
 

Daydreamer

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I genuinely don’t know why any sort of criticism is jumped on here, even if it comes with the praise of your work in the league. It’s often as if nothing can be said other than positive remarks and praise to Arteta and the club.

I think this is the reason why some on the forum dislike Arsenal if I’m honest.
I think it's more prefering to be criticized for views you've actually expressed. For example

I guess my issue is that some Arsenal fans seem to have this arrogance that the cups are beneath them and they shouldn’t be competing in them anyway so feel as though they should be sacrificed. Speaking like fans of a club that wins silverware every year and is always playing in big finals domestically and in Europe.
As far as I can see, no one in this thread has said that. If anything, we're agreeing that our squad isn't yet capable of competing on all fronts - which is the opposite of arrogance.

Additionally suggesting that some kind of Leicester City style miracle is in play this season making out Arsenal are some pauper in the league up against the big boys…
Once again, you just seem to be making stuff up to disagree with.

Feel free to criticise Arsenal / Arsenal fans, its a forum after all. It would probably make for a better debate if you addressed actual viewpoints rather than straw men of your own making.
 

TheReligion

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We're discussing squad depth. If you honestly cannot see how a squad's cost and wage bill affect that squad's depth - then I can't help you.

You keep making the point that Arteta has been in place for 3 seasons. And length of the Manager's tenure is certainly a factor in building a squad. It took Ferguson 7 years to win his first Premier League at United, after all.

But the most important factor (by a considerable distance) is the level of resources spent acquiring and compensating players. Final league position correlates with total wage bill closer than any other metric.

We have a weaker squad than our rivals because we have less resources than our rivals. The only way we can change that is by once again challenging for the biggest trophies, something we are currently doing and need to maintain.
You seem fixated on money and of the opinion that Arteta is some kind of miracle worker and Arsenal are a small club. I find that quite surprising.

That said I get the vibe around Arsenal fans this season is to try and play everything down and talk themselves up as some plucky underdogs that have no right to be sat at the same table with the big boys.

You can spend a fortune on players and fees but go through numerous different managers and have idiots running operations behind the scenes and end up building nothing of substance. Nothing but a muddle of different pieces of a jigsaw none of which fit. Look at United as a good example.

You can also spend relatively little in comparison a be more than competitive on all fronts. Look at Liverpool and Klopp as a good example.
 

TheReligion

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I think it's more prefering to be criticized for views you've actually expressed. For example


As far as I can see, no one in this thread has said that. If anything, we're agreeing that our squad isn't yet capable of competing on all fronts - which is the opposite of arrogance.


Once again, you just seem to be making stuff up to disagree with.

Feel free to criticise Arsenal / Arsenal fans, its a forum after all. It would probably make for a better debate if you addressed actual viewpoints rather than straw men of your own making.
I’m not going to quote everyone but there was a certain poster in the EL match day thread saying he was desperate to go out of the competition and suggesting it was not important. Keown himself echoed this when Sporting won the shootout despite earlier suggesting it was important to win.

There were similar posts like this after the City cup defeat along with this pretence no one was bothered.

The fact of the matter is after 6 windows the squad is still quite thin and not good enough. I think it should be better, you don’t and have suggested this is ahead of schedule. I can’t see that myself.

Its also interesting than many Arsenal posters here were calling for Artetas head last season yet now he’s a top squad builder who is punching far above his weight.
 

ThatsGreat

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Yeah, don't agree that we are ahead of schedule. This is the schedule for any well run club. 3 years of team building uninterrupted by either the manager or players leaving should see at least a title challenge. Its just that its surprising that we as fansfind ourselves in this position, but to the owners and planners this would be the process.
 

TheReligion

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Yeah, don't agree that we are ahead of schedule. This is the schedule for any well run club. 3 years of team building uninterrupted by either the manager or players leaving should see at least a title challenge. Its just that its surprising that we as fansfind ourselves in this position, but to the owners and planners this would be the process.
I think that is very fair.
 

Nish115

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But, literally the odds for us to win the league were us as around 6th favourites at the start of the season. Most fan forums had us at 6th or 7th in the league in predictions.

The logic/stats, even more suggest we are ahead of schedule.

We have some depth, but it's not fully there yet. Need another quality defender, midfielder and maybe forward (could be Balogun). Also need ESR to get fit again, he was our top scorer last season after all and hasn't done anything this season due to fitness.

Arteta clearly has a pretty rigid system, which is good and bad. It means the first XI works very well, but it's hard for other players to come in and do similar roles. That's why I think it'll take Vieira/Kiwior some time to adapt etc. My hope is that those players develop, and we bring in 2-3 more players, and next season the squad can develop even further.
 

Daydreamer

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You seem fixated on money and of the opinion that Arteta is some kind of miracle worker and Arsenal are a small club. I find that quite surprising.
I would also find it surprising that to hear that I'm of the opinion that Arteta is a miracle worker and that Arsenal are a small club. Because I don't think either of those things. You can find anybody's opinion surprising if you make them up yourself. It's probably better to respond to what people actually say, rather than makes things up to be surprised about.

There were similar posts like this after the City cup defeat along with this pretence no one was bothered.
Maybe, just maybe, some fans weren't all that bothered. Not a pretense. Just prioritising a more prestigious competition we haven't won in nearly 20 years over one where we've won a record number of times with 4 of those coming in the last decade. Would I have preferred to have won the tie? Yes. I want Arsenal to win literally every game we play. But exiting the FA Cup did not cause me any great distress.

The fact of the matter is after 6 windows the squad is still quite thin and not good enough. I think it should be better, you don’t and have suggested this is ahead of schedule. I can’t see that myself.
The squad is too thin and not good enough to compete on all fronts. No squad has done so this season. Only City have been able to consistently do so in the last five years and they likely broke laws to do so. The squad is evidently good enough to compete for the league title. I'm happy with that at this stage. If you're not happy with it on behalf of Arsenal fans... that's great - I appreciate the concern.

Its also interesting than many Arsenal posters here were calling for Artetas head last season yet now he’s a top squad builder who is punching far above his weight.
This is a fair point. I've consistently backed him because I thought that he was putting the pieces in place for us to once again challenge for the top trophies. If you look past the 8th / 8th / 5th finishes to how he has transformed our squad, defined our playing style and unified our fanbase, I think the signs were there. But you're correct, we definitely have a fickle segment of our fanbase that can be particularly loud with their opinions.
 

TheReligion

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I would also find it surprising that to hear that I'm of the opinion that Arteta is a miracle worker and that Arsenal are a small club. Because I don't think either of those things. You can find anybody's opinion surprising if you make them up yourself. It's probably better to respond to what people actually say, rather than makes things up to be surprised about.


Maybe, just maybe, some fans weren't all that bothered. Not a pretense. Just prioritising a more prestigious competition we haven't won in nearly 20 years over one where we've won a record number of times with 4 of those coming in the last decade. Would I have preferred to have won the tie? Yes. I want Arsenal to win literally every game we play. But exiting the FA Cup did not cause me any great distress.


The squad is too thin and not good enough to compete on all fronts. No squad has done so this season. Only City have been able to consistently do so in the last five years and they likely broke laws to do so. The squad is evidently good enough to compete for the league title. I'm happy with that at this stage. If you're not happy with it on behalf of Arsenal fans... that's great - I appreciate the concern.


This is a fair point. I've consistently backed him because I thought that he was putting the pieces in place for us to once again challenge for the top trophies. If you look past the 8th / 8th / 5th finishes to how he has transformed our squad, defined our playing style and unified our fanbase, I think the signs were there. But you're correct, we definitely have a fickle segment of our fanbase that can be particularly loud with their opinions.
The squad being too thin and not good enough is the fault of Arteta and Edu. That’s the point. There’s been sufficient time and money spent to develop it. Obviously mistakes have been made along the way even if it pains some of you to say it. Perhaps there’s even been a lack of belief and some mismanagement of the various competitions.

As @TheGame pointed out this is not ahead of schedule or some gigantic shock or underdog story. Enough time and money has gone and it’s time Arteta delivered by way of trophies. As you agreed a large number of you fanbase wanted him gone less than 12 months ago for the very reason not enough had been done. This was his last chance saloon so to

I’m not sure what you’re on about in terms of being concerned on the behalf of Arsenal fans either. Feels like rambling at this point so I’ll ignore it.
 

Daydreamer

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The squad being too thin and not good enough is the fault of Arteta and Edu. That’s the point. There’s been sufficient time and money spent to develop it. Obviously mistakes have been made along the way even if it pains some of you to say it. Perhaps there’s even been a lack of belief and some mismanagement of the various competitions.
The squad assembled is 5 points clear at the top of the table. The money spent to develop it took place at the same time as slashing the wage bill nearly in half. There were of course mistakes made and it doesn't pain me at all to say it. Why would it? But considering the time Arteta's had (half of what SAF before he won the PL) and the resources put into our squad (roughly half of our closest rivals), we're in a decent place.

As @TheGame pointed out this is not ahead of schedule or some gigantic shock or underdog story.
Who's saying that it is? Whether Arsenal are ahead of schedule or not is opinion. That our squad cost and wage bill are closer to Bournemouth than United is a fact. When you take over a team in 13th, and have to replace the entire first XI (barring Xhaka) what is a reasonable timeframe to compete for the title? Everyone can decide for themselves.

It would certainly be nothing like Leicester's win if we clinch the title. But it would mean we overcame at least five rivals with more resources. I would argue that that means we've managed the resources we have quite well.

Enough time and money has gone and it’s time Arteta delivered by way of trophies.
Arteta delivered a trophy six months into the job.

As you agreed a large number of you fanbase wanted him gone less than 12 months ago for the very reason not enough had been done.
I said that fickle fans didn't recognise the progress we were making. Not really the same thing at all.

To sum up:
  • I think we've competed well against better resourced rivals.
  • I think we've restructured our squad in a relatively short period of time.
  • I'm glad our team is young and everybody is on reasonable wages.
  • I'm happy that we've assembled a side that is capable of competing for the title.
  • I'm comfortable waiting till the Summer to strengthen so we can compete on four fronts.
I'll probably leave it there as we're going round in circles and you keep responding to things I haven't said. Feel free to disagree with any of those points - I'd just request you address things I've said rather than opinions you've invented.
 

TheReligion

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The squad assembled is 5 points clear at the top of the table. The money spent to develop it took place at the same time as slashing the wage bill nearly in half. There were of course mistakes made and it doesn't pain me at all to say it. Why would it? But considering the time Arteta's had (half of what SAF before he won the PL) and the resources put into our squad (roughly half of our closest rivals), we're in a decent place.


Who's saying that it is? Whether Arsenal are ahead of schedule or not is opinion. That our squad cost and wage bill are closer to Bournemouth than United is a fact. When you take over a team in 13th, and have to replace the entire first XI (barring Xhaka) what is a reasonable timeframe to compete for the title? Everyone can decide for themselves.

It would certainly be nothing like Leicester's win if we clinch the title. But it would mean we overcame at least five rivals with more resources. I would argue that that means we've managed the resources we have quite well.


Arteta delivered a trophy six months into the job.


I said that fickle fans didn't recognise the progress we were making. Not really the same thing at all.

To sum up:
  • I think we've competed well against better resourced rivals.
  • I think we've restructured our squad in a relatively short period of time.
  • I'm glad our team is young and everybody is on reasonable wages.
  • I'm happy that we've assembled a side that is capable of competing for the title.
  • I'm comfortable waiting till the Summer to strengthen so we can compete on four fronts.
I'll probably leave it there as we're going round in circles and you keep responding to things I haven't said. Feel free to disagree with any of those points - I'd just request you address things I've said rather than opinions you've invented.
So now we have moved on from comparing club cumulative spending, cumulative wages to the time it took Sir Alex Ferguson to win the Premier League (he actually won it first time of asking given it was the inaugural season of the competition after the restructuring of Division One).

As for your list of bullet points I’m very happy for you. None of them relate to what I was saying though bar the amount of time it’s taken.

I disagree you’re ’ahead of schedule’ as do some of your own fans and it’s been explained why repeatedly.
 

Daydreamer

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(he actually won it first time of asking given it was the inaugural season of the competition after the restructuring of Division One).
I'm sorry, I forgot that football was invented in 1992, so the 6 years Ferguson was at United prior to that have been erased from history. Top-tier argument, that.

So now we have moved on from comparing club cumulative spending, cumulative wages to the time it took Sir Alex Ferguson to win the Premier League
You can't seem to grasp that accurately judging resource management naturally includes the context of the resources available. Or, why you might use the example of one manager's tenure when discussing another. I'm not sure if it's deliberate or if you are genuinely unable to see the links. Either way, this isn't going anywhere, so I'll just leave it here.

Have a lovely evening (if you're on UK time).
 

TheReligion

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I'm sorry, I forgot that football was invented in 1992, so the 6 years Ferguson was at United prior to that have been erased from history. Top-tier argument, that.


You can't seem to grasp that accurately judging resource management naturally includes the context of the resources available. Or, why you might use the example of one manager's tenure when discussing another. I'm not sure if it's deliberate or if you are genuinely unable to see the links. Either way, this isn't going anywhere, so I'll just leave it here.

Have a lovely evening (if you're on UK time).
It’s not an argument. I was just correcting you as you said it took 7 years for him to win the Premier League. That was incorrect.

Your passive aggression is amusing as I can see the smoke coming out of your ears as you type furiously. :lol:

Relax.
 

TheReligion

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GoonerGirly

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Well Arteta would say that wouldn’t he?
Well, he could have said he was just on schedule? Straight from the horse’s mouth, he says he’s progressed more than he expected at this stage. Whether you believe him or not is entirely your prerogative.
 

TheReligion

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Well, he could have said he was just on schedule? Straight from the horse’s mouth, he says he’s progressed more than he expected at this stage. Whether you believe him or not is entirely your prerogative.
He was close to getting sacked last season by all accounts.

I’m not sure why you’re all so hung up on this anyway.
 

CannonBalls

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Arteta himself has said we’re ahead of schedule in terms of his 5-phase plan. He doesn’t give any real details about this of course, but it’s the “process” that he presented to the Kroenkes to secure his job. So, clearly the manager, the owners and the fan base are happy with our progress so far.
https://onefootball.com/en/news/art...-on-step-three-of-his-five-step-plan-36980064
I think Edu mentioned this somewhere not sure where. But from what i remember the plan was to get to Europe in 22/23 then in CL in 23/24 and then challenge for titles from that point on.
 

Red00012

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ETH mentioned a few days ago that Arsenal have been lucky with injuries so I guess he’ll be blamed for this
 

CannonBalls

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Well Arteta would say that wouldn’t he?
This has been mentioned by Edu many times going as far back as 2021.
He has been consistent the targets have been Europe in 22/23 then in CL in 23/24 and then challenge for titles from that point on.
 

mathrait

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ETH mentioned a few days ago that Arsenal have been lucky with injuries so I guess he’ll be blamed for this
It was quite bizarre. Other than Eriksen, what injuries have United had?
 

GoonerGirly

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He was close to getting sacked last season by all accounts.

I’m not sure why you’re all so hung up on this anyway.
I never heard that his job was in serious danger last season. As far as I know, his new contract was announced May 2022 which runs til 24/25 season. Arteta has said many times that the club agreed to extend his contract during a poor run of form, making the point that the board fully backed him even during the lows. Where did you hear that he was close to being sacked? I'm genuinely curious to know.

And we're "hung up on this" because you keep repeating that Arteta's not built a good enough squad to play more than 1 game a week, despite the time he's had and money spent. We are responding to you... that's kind of how a forum works, no? It would be no fun if we just ignored or agreed with you. :D

Big loss. Bar Jesus they’ve been quite fortunate with injuries though from memory?

Who will partner Gabriel? Holding with White at full back (Tomiyasu injured too?)
Of our first team, other than Jesus who's missed 3 months, it's only really been Partey and Zinchenko who have missed a considerable amount (about 1-2 months in total, each) this season. Odegaard from memory has missed a couple of weeks, but I can't think of any other significant injuries. But of our squad players, we have have been less fortunate - Smith Rowe has been out all season until last month; Nelson has also missed a few months; Tomi has been in and out of the squad all season and is injured again; Nketiah is out for a few weeks right now, and now Saliba. Saliba is a huge blow if he's out for long and the emotional and unreasonable side of me is now rueing that Arteta played him vs Sporting, but I know that's illogical as you can't predict these things, nor can you wrap players up in cotton wool. Still, what a blow.

With Tomi also injured I think he'll have to go with Holding-Gabriel and White at RB. The only other option is Tierney at RB if White moves to CB? I don't think Kiwior is in contention as he hasn't played a minute of PL football. I hope we don't catch Palace on a new manager bounce like we did with Everton. :nervous:
 

Solius

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It was quite bizarre. Other than Eriksen, what injuries have United had?
Martial has missed basically the entire season. Sancho missed a huge chunk but more for personal reasons. Still absent though. Varane just before the WC. Also lost Dalot to an injury after the WC and he hasn’t been the same since. Now obviously Garnacho for a long period and Sabitzer has missed the last few weeks too.