Seven seasons and Mikel has been a busy boy. “Some managers inherit a squad. I inherited a crime scene and only Starboy survived the investigations.” (Source, Mikel Arteta (honestly)) Goalkeepers Bernd Leno – the guy who made a world-class save look routine and a routine backpass look like a near-death experience. Emiliano Martínez – still […]
‘Every once in a while’ An Arsenal blog from a coach’s perspective I try not to ever make this blog about one player. After a while though, certain players deserve credit aside from their team related performance. They need to be singled out because they are largely responsible for changing the game of football itself. […]
Willian as Grealish I don’t think that the first line up of the season is too tricky to guess. It looks like Leno will start after the Martinez move. It’s unlikely that Saliba AND Gabriel start, so with many CB’s out injured/just returning/about to be sold, its highly likely we go with Tierney. The 3-4-3 has been […]
Episode 19 “Will.I.An? Mesut Won’t. GK Shootout.” Gav, Dave and Mike dive into the muddy waters of the transfer market: who will sign? and when? Also a quick look at the Ozil Saga as it enters its Final Season (or not?) – and what to do about our abundance of fine shotstoppers… it’s a shootout […]
Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea 2020 FA Cup Final Review A record 14th FA Cup has come back home!! Well, we did it!! I predicted a win, and we got it. I’m not bigging myself up nor self-aggrandising. But then despite Chelsea finishing higher, I genuinely thought that if we had a good tactical plan, […]
Episode 15S “Preparing for the Cup Final • Maximizing Creativity” The lads take a look at the Watford game, digest a season that can ‘get in the bin’ and look ahead to the FA Cup Final against Chelsea. With a fair bit of worry. Another bite-sized chunk of Arsenalness delivered fresh to your cranium. Tune […]
In my previous article, I said that football is a results business and in that respect, what a great couple of weeks it’s been since I last penned my thoughts. Most supporters are quick to criticise the manager when he gets it wrong, so I’m going to buck that trend by being quick to praise […]
Perception protection POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES If you read my last post you’ll know I talked about the different ways to win. I felt that Arteta won the Southampton game tactically. This didn’t surprise me as I see this as a strength. It will happen again. Yesterday, was very surprising. In a way I’m not […]
A positive solution We don’t have to wait for the transfer window. There is a solution that leans into our individual and team strengths. Our defense is the best it will be until new players arrive. Our midfield is unfit for modern football so why worry about it until it gets blown up as there […]
As much uncertainty as there is at the moment, now is a good time to look at some of the Arsenal players and figure out if they have a future at the club. Here are my suggestions, using stats, additional information (from Transfermarkt) and perhaps some misjudgement and prejudice of my own… looking at four […]
