Frustratingly delightful POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES What a delightful reminder that Arsenal can be fun! Not just the score but the attacking performance. As soon as the game was over I sit back to write this and get my analytical head on and start to feel frustrated. I feel frustrated not because I feel we […]
Coaching concerns clear POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES I’m not sure I can think of a new coach that has had one unfortunate circumstance after another quite like Mikel Arteta. We know the list. I won’t bore you. Yet again, he was confronted with another list of unfortunate circumstances with multiple key starters out and others […]
Since the opening day defeat, given the quality of the opposition, in the next 2 matches for Arsenal, I have been pondering whether Arteta might opt for the comfort of three at the back for the Chelsea match. Of course, he has done so before, matched up his West London rivals and with some degree […]
So here we are, the summer has flown by (hasn’t even felt like it’s started if you’re in the UK) and now we reach the point of a new season to get our teeth into. A new season, a season that comes with a new hope, a hope that we can eradicate a lot of […]
To be or not to be, that’s the question ….. Sorry this is not Shakespeare reincarnated. But it wouldn’t be too far off to allude to the question of which central attacking midfielder Arsenal should go for, to the dilemma of Hamlet in Shakespeare’s famous tragedy –Hamlet. It is clear, at least going by rumors […]
A rectangular shaped problem POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES One of the joys of my coaching career was having the blessing of meeting and coaching a boy called Mark Sherrod. (Above) Mark drove 45 minutes four times a week to play on our team and did so for many years. Mark was not only a fabulous […]
This was the Arsenal lineup for the match. ARSENAL BUILD-UP PLAY: Arsenal looked to build-up in a 3-2-5 as we’ve seen a lot this preseason and the end of last season. With Chambers dropping deep to form a back 3 with Elneny and Partey forming a double pivot. Aubameyang and Smith Rowe would drop deep […]
Preparing for the absent POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES I’m normally not in the camp of folk who say pre-season is just for fitness and rhythm. I’m still not. As a coach it is pivotal, not just for players to get in the groove but to try out the most important tactics/strategies that you want to […]
The Emile Smith Rowe saga is trundling along, and it seems to be bringing out the usual contradictions in the Arsenal fanbase, on social media at least. Perhaps some of us should step back and consider the irony of simultaneously demanding a Maddison, a Grealish or an Aouar on the one hand whilst declaring faux […]
Is there anything we don’t know about the William Saliba affaire? It was only a few days ago that Arsenal were reportedly interested in Brighton and England international Ben White, whom the Seagulls value at £40 million. The former Leeds player, who has seen his value double in the space of just one season in […]
