Have we found the Firestarters? POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES What’s the fastest way to create belief in sport? Occasionally, you support a team who are so mentally strong that they make you mentally strong too. Most of the time though we arrive at the ground/turn on the TV and hope. I think the fastest way […]
Arsenal vs. Napoli Preview – Europa League QF Preview After the poor game at Everton, we’re back in Europe, and this time vs. Napoli of Italy’s Serie A. This was, of course, the hardest draw in the competition – though I feel whoever wins this will go on to win the competition. However, despite […]
I wrote a blog after the last time Everton beat us at Goodison and I said that they deserved to win because they outhought, outfought and generally wanted the result more than us. I sat down with my son to watch the match and I could not beileve that Emery had selected Elneny and Guendouzi […]
‘The Absent Solution’ POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES I made a prediction back in December that we would fall short this season. I’m not in the slightest bit interested in being right. My thought was based on one big missing link. Arsenal lack ‘individual brilliance’ on the dribble. We are very capable of collective brilliance (last […]
‘The Birth of the Future’ POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES I’ve been waiting, wondering and hoping that we were going to get this performance. If you read often you may have got bored of my ‘need’ for Arsenal to play at a quicker tempo in the final third, the need for 1 touch to become a […]
‘Never put bullets in your enemies gun’ POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES It must be tempting. You are taught as a professional to give nothing to the media. It seems like most every time a player does or says something to inflame the game, it backfires. Players should not need extra motivation but I’m a guy […]
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 […]
Cherries pitted at the Emirates This was sexy football again. We had snippets vs. Southampton but we had more of this vs. Bournemouth. The line-up featured our German maestro Mesut Ozil, and a recall for Guendouzi. Auba played up top by himself, but Jenkinson started a as a right-wing back. Monreal started as a centre-back […]
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 […]
