Mikel Arteta: Fighting Until The End

[Manberg]

An attack needs balance. One that can work well together, and create chances for each other. Auba, Laca and Pepe is not it. It's like playing an attack with 0 chemistry on FIFA ultimate team.

 

[gamechannel]

This is terrible.

 

[Hleb's Sirush]

I can pinpoint goals he scored last season and moments where he was moving and running at defenders in the box. He was eager to get on the end of things. His shooting was more clinical. He tried things such as cutting inside and aiming for top bins. The comparison to what I’ve been seeing of him this season is night and day.

You have to remember there are knock on effects. Auba was getting more chances last year. He was clinical with it. When the next chance came his confidence stayed high because he was scoring regularly. This season we hardly created anything for him. As a forward your confidence drops if you aren't scoring goals after a few games. Which in turn affects your overall game. Also imagine now the pressure he probably puts himself under if he gets a chance? Deep down he probably knows he won't get another for the rest of that game.

 

[AbouCuéllar]

It’s not a lack of attacking players that we have, because we have attacking players on the pitch all the time, but we need some moments where we have to make decisions earlier, better and they have to be more ruthless.

It's comments like these from Arteta that worry me, and make me wonder if he just hasn't really much of an idea how to coach consistently good, attacking football, despite being Pep's second.

These are not the words of someone who has an idea how to produce sustainable, good attacking football.

I know people are not much for press conferences but I want to see my manager analysing the game in a clear, analytical, coherent fashion. It's something that gives me confidence that the manager sees the issues and knows how to address them. That's something I've seen from Arteta and why I believe in him, something you always see/saw in Klopp, even when the results weren't good.

Would have to see the context and the way he said these things to understand fully--I know people are saying he was very angry during the press conference so perhaps he was just rather angrily spouting ****--but I've seen some comments of his like this and after the Leicester game that worry me if he's really analysing our offensive deficiencies too well and has a good plan to fix it.

 

[DUFFMAN]

Watch Liverpool and Tottenham and see how their attack functions very well without creative players in midfield.

I never said anything about a creative midfield.

I said a consistent functioning midfield who do the basics that sets up the attack.

A midfield we have lacked for years

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

Whenever a team is underperforming their fans think their players must be crap. Don't people realise it is the manager and the way he sets up the team that makes players under perform? Even if you don't have world class players, a well set up team will look decent.

I used to frequent the Sp**s forums and towards the end of last season and beginning of this season they were convinced their squad was mid table. Only kane and Son were rated. Alderweireld was past it (must have been the new big contract he signed they said), Dier was a terrible CB and even worse DM. Aurier was the most brainless footballer in the league, Sissoke should be playing at Watford level, Moura was a headless chicken. Now they think they can win the league with the same players.

Fans are reactionary sometimes Sp**s still don't have players to win league they barely have players to be top 4 they 1 injury away to Kane or son to be in trouble going forward. Manager play part that for sure mourinho has years of experience than mikel better personality too players are respecting him i don't feel players are respecting mikel much because he is young and new manager some of players attitude and professionalism this season has been awful it wouldn't happen if Arsène still here or some big name manager because there will be consequences look at utd for example similar players are not preforming and they hot/cold under oleh and there many unprofessional attitude because oleh personality weak

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

See Liverpool today they have Salah Thiago van dijk Henderson all out still managed to outplayed a very good Leicester team with Curtis Jones Kieta and Milner because they do what klopp demand them to do

 

[Manberg]

You have to remember there are knock on effects. Auba was getting more chances last year. He was clinical with it. When the next chance came his confidence stayed high because he was scoring regularly. This season we hardly created anything for him. As a forward your confidence drops if you aren't scoring goals after a few games. Which in turn affects your overall game. Also imagine now the pressure he probably puts himself under if he gets a chance? Deep down he probably knows he won't get another for the rest of that game.

It's his responsibility as a striker to either create chances for himself and others or be in the best possible position to receive a ball in the final third. If you analyse his overall play, it's not close to what we were seeing last season. He's getting the ball in front of the defence and at times looks lost as to what to do with it and passes it backwards or loses it. He's not making runs to get on the end of crosses either. There are issues across the attack but he's also a part of it and hasn't been anywhere near up to par.

 

[GDeep™]

This is terrible.

Post it on the Özil thread so @Jury and @Oxeki can see it.

 

[Hleb's Sirush]

Fans are reactionary sometimes Sp**s still don't have players to win league they barely have players to be top 4 they 1 injury away to Kane or son to be in trouble going forward. Manager play part that for sure mourinho has years of experience than mikel better personality too players are respecting him i don't feel players are respecting mikel much because he is young and new manager some of players attitude and professionalism this season has been awful it wouldn't happen if Arsène still here or some big name manager because there will be consequences look at utd for example similar players are not preforming and they hot/cold under oleh and there many unprofessional attitude because oleh personality weak

Yes fans are reactionary. My point was that manager matters a lot more than people seem to realise. They can make average players look great and vice versa. Look at Hasenhuttl at Southampton. When he arrived they were in relegation places, none of their players seemed to have any quality. Yet same squad he transformed into playing great football and punching well above their weight.

If you want to see the reverse. Moyes took a squad that finished first and took them to 7th place. That is the difference a world class manager can make.

 

[Manberg]

For half a season Wenger had Auba and Lacazette. Wenger did not play them together. He played one of them with Mkhi and Iwobi on the wings. He knew that Auba and Laca together is not balanced. Arteta would do the same if he had that option. Instead our owners/board decided to add to our lack of balance by spending £72m on Pepe. No manager can get this front line working smoothly, not even Bielsa.

 

[HairSprayGooners]

Think the most balanced thing we can do right now is use Saka and Nelson on the wings.

 

[GDeep™]

For half a season Wenger had Auba and Lacazette. Wenger did not play them together. He played one of them with Mkhi and Iwobi on the wings. He knew that Auba and Laca together is not balanced. Arteta would do the same if he had that option. Instead our owners/board decided to add to our lack of balance by spending £72m on Pepe. No manager can get this front line working smoothly, not even Bielsa.

Arteta signed Willian, he had Özil etc.

 

[Hleb's Sirush]

It's his responsibility as a striker to either create chances for himself and others or be in the best possible position to receive a ball in the final third. If you analyse his overall play, it's not close to what we were seeing last season. He's getting the ball in front of the defence and at times looks lost as to what to do with it and passes it backwards or loses it. He's not making runs to get on the end of crosses either. There are issues across the attack but he's also a part of it and hasn't been anywhere near up to par.

Like I said you are taking these actions in isolation. They're part of the bigger problem. We not playing to his strengths. Seem way when you don't play to the team's strenghts it always looks like they not trying. Sometimes it is just the frustration. For example if you know you aren't going to receive a through ball, why run? After you try numerous times you start to not expect it anymore. When a player isn't happy on the pitch, his game suffers. Their believe, confidence etc all go.

 

[Manberg]

Arteta signed Willian, he had Özil etc.

He signed Willian because Willian was free. If he had £100m to spend, he wouldn't have.

Özil being out of the squad's not Arteta's doing. It's political. Arteta likes Özil. Özil started every game before lockdown and would've wanted to continue playing him.

 

[GDeep™]

He signed Willian because Willian was free. If he had £100m to spend, he wouldn't have.

Özil being out of the squad's not Arteta's doing. It's political. Arteta likes Özil. Özil started every game before lockdown and would've wanted to continue playing him.

Those are fair points, and I agree with both actually. Willian is here because he’s free and we have no money and Özil isn’t playing for other reasons than football.

 

[Manberg]

Like I said you are taking these actions in isolation. They're part of the bigger problem. We not playing to his strengths. Seem way when you don't play to the team's strenghts it always looks like they not trying. Sometimes it is just the frustration. For example if you know you aren't going to receive a through ball, why run? After you try numerous times you start to not expect it anymore. When a player isn't happy on the pitch, his game suffers. Their believe, confidence etc all go.

Someone with his experience and on his wages shouldn't be having these confidence issues. And how did it start? The system didn't change from the time he was scoring freely, his goals and overall play dried up on its own. He wasn't dropped from the team either.

 

[GDeep™]

The fixtures are tough, I see a rough ride ahead btw.

 

[Hleb's Sirush]

Take bamford for example. I'm not really convinced he has suddenly turned world class. What more likely happened is Leeds are creating load of chances for him, he actually missed a lot early on but eventually he scored some. Like most strikers that fed his confidence. He can't lose at the moment. He gets so many chances a game. Even if he misses 80% of he will score a lot.

 

[Manberg]

Take bamford for example. I'm not really convinced he has suddenly turned world class. What more likely happened is Leeds are creating load of chances for him, he actually missed a lot early on but eventually he scored some. Like most strikers that fed his confidence. He can't lose at the moment. He gets so many chances a game. Even if he misses 80% of he will score a lot.

He's trying a lot harder. He's running more, linking up with this teammates etc. Missing all those chances doesn't seem to have affected his confidence. It's not magic from the manager. It's all about a player's mentality.
Not what we're seeing from Auba at the moment.