What is the definition of ‘cruelty?’ I am too bummed to find out but it feels like it should be that game. Rather than whine about an offside goal I want to acknowledge that Arsenal had some players that played like real heroes today and were possibly a penalty kick away from being legends. I […]
Positives, Needs & Hopes from Arsenal 5 Bournemouth 1 The Recipe for Identity POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES As a coach I have always held the belief that your identity should be a by product of your ability to find the best system for your best players enabling them to play […]
Did I see Intent, Rhythm and Fun? POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES As the season was about to start I remember wondering what I was going to see. I remember thinking that we would quickly try to impress our new coach with a fluid, typical Arsenal rhythm combined with the obvious initial need of a more […]
A Tale of Execution and Deception POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES I feel happy but still concerned. Ultimately happy. Did we need to produce a fluid performance?… not really. Did we need the 3-0 victory?…. absolutely. As forgettable as these two games have been they were pivotal to Emery and Arsenal. The longer we don’t make […]
Should’ve been easy, but just too difficult! POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES One of the most impactful pre-game team talks I can remember came when I was a teenager. My coach was a man called Roy Butler and I was playing for St.Albans. It was a big game. We were the better team on paper but […]
Intensity or Exhaustion… The clear Arsenal style POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES That was absolutely maddening. Almost embarrassing. I’ll get on to that (see first point in ‘NEEDS section), but for now I want to talk about a theme that I see. There has been much talk recently about what Emery’s style is. Almost all of […]
Average Arsenal explained…. POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES Sometimes I’d rather be poor than average. A poor performance often gets a reaction. A string of average performances normally point to players trying but being hampered by a decision that is largely out of their control. I think that our many average performances this season are explained […]
The Spectacular Unspectacular POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES Fans need hope but boy, oh boy has society done a number on our levels of patience. Yesterday, was a spectacular display of seriousness. Flicking through Twitter I have started to only pay attention to those who don’t have extreme views. “We are awful”, “So and so is […]
The Perfect Showcase for Arsenal’s problems POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES Ordinarily, if you wanted to compile a snapshot of the problems at your club, you’d have to scroll through 3 or 4 games to find the problems. You want to see ALL of them in one game? Watch West Ham vs Arsenal. *Goal conceded by […]
Willock reopens the modern day dilemma POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES Depending on how brave Unai Emery is or how patient the club are, Joe Willock may yet become a regular Arsenal squad player. Or maybe not…… Here’s the thing. I’ve seen enough of young players not being trusted to come to the conclusion that the […]
