Mikel Arteta | Lego Pep watch

Zen86

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Respect to him for taking on the job to begin with. Looked like a pretty hopeless situation at Arsenal to say the least.
 

Guy Incognito

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Sorry, when I mean competing that don't include the FA cup. Competitions is also about luck and raising games, and they were always in the mix for them.
in the short term, he has done a decent job.

problem is in two years, if he is week in, week out depending on Mustafi, Xhaka, Luiz, etc to do their jobs they'll be going nowhere. a decent counterattacking side would go past their midfield effortlessly.
 

Fooza

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in the short term, he has done a decent job.

problem is in two years, if he is week in, week out depending on Mustafi, Xhaka, Luiz, etc to do their jobs they'll be going nowhere. a decent counterattacking side would go past their midfield effortlessly.
That's the only positive is the like of Mustafi will get a new contract and they don't end up bringing in a defender. This transfer window will also say a lot on how the new season will pan out for them.
 

Superunknown

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Can't fault Arsenal tonight, they were great. Impressive. Hats off to Arteta for getting a performance like that out of Xhaka, who was a monster in that first half. Arsenal have looked fragile for a long time, but they were solid tonight. If we do get to the final, they will give us a good game. (got a feeling we'll narrowly lose out tomorrow, though)
 

Samid

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Fair play to the water carrier, schooled his mentor tonight. I've been critical of him in the past but if he can get his team to play like this somewhat regularly I could see him seriously challenging the likes of Jose, Nuno, Ancelotti for the Europa spots.
 

montpelier

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It's just 2 plucky underdog wins carved out of adversity for me.

In that middle tier of the Prem of 10 teams, they will have to come and play. And their defence is still Mustafi, Luiz and Bellerin. Its still offers to offer a lot of inconsistency..

Like Utd trying to control games in front of Jones and Smalling.
 

always_hoping

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On the MOTD Arteta said they beat the two best teams in Europe in their last two games.

In reality City this season aren't close to the best in Europe and Liverpool were beaten home and away by Atletico Madrid.
 

Snow

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On the MOTD Arteta said they beat the two best teams in Europe in their last two games.

In reality City this season aren't close to the best in Europe and Liverpool were beaten home and away by Atletico Madrid.
Bayern are probably the current best team in Europe on form (17 wins in a row in all competitions). 1 draw and 1 loss more than Liverpool overall in the league but they've won every CL match and won the cup.

Real got knocked out of their cup by Real Sociedad and have won 3 out of 7 CL matches.

Not far off saying that Liverpool are the best in Europe but City are not but then again Arteta is an unofficial mouthpiece of theirs.
 

SadlerMUFC

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Arsenal right now is reminding me of United before January. Capable of beating good teams with a strong defensive and counter attacking game, but struggle when expected to carry the play vs lesser competition...
 

Mastadon

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He’s done a great job since taking over. There were a lot of doubts about his ability because it’s his first managerial post but he’s done more than Emery in a shorter time and at least we look like we have a plan.
 

Amarsdd

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He’s done a great job since taking over. There were a lot of doubts about his ability because it’s his first managerial post but he’s done more than Emery in a shorter time and at least we look like we have a plan.
Didn't Emery had a very long unbeaten streak in his first season? or am I remembering it wrong?
 

AndyMUFC

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Did a top job beating City in the semi yesterday, when was the last time Arsenal were well organised and able to get results like that?
 

anant

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He's doing a decent job, but feel that he won't ever get the time to complete his project. Apart from Leno and Tierney, I don't think they have any player who would become a part of a side competing for titles (Laca and Auba will leave within next 2 seasons and I don't expect Arsenal to become title contenders till then). It's evident that they wouldn't be spending a lot this summer (20-30m net at max) especially as they've deferred the wages of their players and staff. So, it begs the question whether they would be able to break into top 6 next season, and in all honesty, I just don't think which side will drop off? Utd, City, Chelsea, Pool would be in top 6 next season for sure. You can make a case for Wolves, Spurs and Leicester as well to finish above Arsenal next season.
And in the likely scenario where they do finish outside top 6, would their board and fans still give Arteta time, despite him playing with this handicap?
 

Xaviesta

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Once Aubameyang scored, I never felt like his team was going to lose. I don't United or Chelsea will be shitting bricks at the prospect of playing them in the final.
 

Classical Mechanic

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Did a top job beating City in the semi yesterday, when was the last time Arsenal were well organised and able to get results like that?
They beat City in the FA Cup semi in Pep’s first season. The FA cup has been Arsenal‘s in recent seasons really. If they win it this year they’ll have won 4 of the last 7.
 

DomesticTadpole

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in the short term, he has done a decent job.

problem is in two years, if he is week in, week out depending on Mustafi, Xhaka, Luiz, etc to do their jobs they'll be going nowhere. a decent counterattacking side would go past their midfield effortlessly.
Just get the impression that he could be quite ruthless and if he is allowed to buy better he will not hesitate. If is the word. They aren't City who can rebuild in bulk. It could be a slow process.
 

awop

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Just get the impression that he could be quite ruthless and if he is allowed to buy better he will not hesitate. If is the word. They aren't City who can rebuild in bulk. It could be a slow process.
He's already being pretty vocal about the need for investment. If we manage to get EL through the FA Cup or finishing 6th, that could give a bit more credit from the owners and the higher-ups.
I think at the minimum he'll get Partey and Auba's new contract. There is rumours about getting Marc Roca since they're getting relegated. If he can get a good creative midfielder on top of these 2 + Saliba, it would be considered a good window.
He also has a lot of decisions to make on players like Mustafi, AMN and Lacazette.
 

Bastian

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I like him. Intelligent. Enormous task to get them back to regular top 4 with no money though.
 

padzilla

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I am not quite sure why he's getting so much credit so far, they are in 10th...
 

trims

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New manager bounce for Pep's waterboy?
 

Ooh2B

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Round was Moyes's assistant manager and Stuivenberg was brought by LVG.

It doesn't look good on paper, you might say. However, they were working with Moyes & LVG respectively.

I need to throw in a good old "what goes Round, comes Round".

Like Steve himself.
 

JazzG

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Definitely given them much needed structure. If he isn't backed on transfers then I could see him leaving.
Not just structure but has whole team working hard and chasing down everything. There is a hunger in them and they want to fight right until the end. We are pressing well and not fearing teams who press us.

The next step for Arteta is bringing in some attacking play and improving that aspect of our game. However top sides are built on good defensive foundations so important we got that right first.

Winning these two trophies also builds up Arteta's stature around the club, he's a new coach so won't have that much sway but winning these trophies will build his reputation. There is talk Arteta is one of the reasons Raul left, he has come from a very organised club like Man City and seen the shambles we are. He now goes from just being a coach to having a massive input in our transfers, which is the way it should be.
 

Cloud7

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Interesting that Arteta drew the line at Wee Jimmy Lumsden though - the true genius behind Moysey.
I was trying to remember the name of the other person that Moyes bought with him :lol: He was the one that looked like Moyes just picked him up from the pub on the way to Old Trafford right?

Fecking hell, to think we allowed this clown to dismantle a title winning set up and bring these men in. It still gives me nightmares to this day.
 

Skills

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I was trying to remember the name of the other person that Moyes bought with him :lol: He was the one that looked like Moyes just picked him up from the pub on the way to Old Trafford right?

Fecking hell, to think we allowed this clown to dismantle a title winning set up and bring these men in. It still gives me nightmares to this day.
There's nothing title winning about Phelan or Meulensteen without Alex Ferguson.
 

Cloud7

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There's nothing title winning about Phelan or Meulensteen without Alex Ferguson.
They were at least familiar with the club and the setup. At the very least it might have made the transition a bit easier for Moyes. Not saying it would have gone well, but it made sense to at least keep someone around with a bit of experience at this level.