Mikel Arteta: Managerial Royalty

[KrissKringle]

I was watching the Real-Barca highlights and Auba looked sharp. He's had quite a good start to his La Liga career.

It's kind of strange that he's performing for THE most tippy tappy team out there, but here he was a donkey in the last 6 months or so and made out to look like he was finished.

 

[Makingtrax]

How are they not "reciepts"? Lol loving the terminology by the way must be a young kids saying.

Apparently this misuse of the word started across the pond in a spat between Kanye West, or rather Ye, and Taylor Swift in 2016. A good reason to avoid it mate, unless you want to get down with hip teens. @grange and @El Duderino are younger than I thought

 

[Trilly]

apart from your Athletic shares.

 

[Makingtrax]

Man United kinda beat themselves more than anything these days, but rest of your point stands.

Arsène losing Dein, at pretty much the same time when the finances were severely restricted, was such a blow.

Spot on! You dropping the trolling bro?

 

[Riou]

You dropping the trolling bro?

Oh, God no.

 

[dka1]

Spot on! You dropping the trolling bro?

 

[Fabregasm]

I was watching the Real-Barca highlights and Auba looked sharp. He's had quite a good start to his La Liga career.

It's kind of strange that he's performing for THE most tippy tappy team out there, but here he was a donkey in the last 6 months or so and made out to look like he was finished.

It's the same as if you are starting out at a new company, you are always going to be motivated. With good colleagues and manager it definitely helps more and to sustain that kind of motivation.

Only thing he proved and humbled people (including me) really wrong is that he hasn't declined a bit but just not motivated or driven for various reasons in the last season that's all

 

[Rex Stone]

Man United kinda beat themselves more than anything these days, but rest of your point stands.

Arsène losing Dein, at pretty much the same time when the finances were severely restricted, was such a blow.

Kind of glad we lost Dein in hindsight. Wasn’t him leaving mostly down to pushing hard for Usmanov?

Issue was that the power structure he left behind was substandard. Gazidis seems a smart executive but he’s not a football man.

Left Wenger wearing too many hats where in an ideal world we’d have brought in a DoF around 2014. Its hard to have a manager in charge of personnel he had close relationships with.

We needed a guy who could refresh the scouting network of guys like Rowley and Grimandi who’d lost their fastball.

 

[KrissKringle]

It's the same as if you are starting out at a new company, you are always going to be motivated. With good colleagues and manager it definitely helps more and to sustain that kind of motivation.

Only thing he proved and humbled people (including me) really wrong is that he hasn't declined a bit but just not motivated or driven that's all

What seems like the issue was the way Arteta shut him out, like he did with Özil. I'm not entirely sure his people skills are great. He looks and seems like a ball buster. Probably didn't have toys when he was little either.

 

[Riou]

Kind of glad we lost Dein in hindsight. Wasn’t him leaving mostly down to pushing hard for Usmanov?

Yeah, Dein just wanted Arsenal to be successful, didn't care where the money came from.

Great football man for us though.

 

[AbouCuéllar]

Could be that he can't manage big players, etc?

Ehh...that's totally selective memory, Guendouzi, Saliba aren't really big players...certainly not any bigger than Thomas, Tierney, Gabriel, Ødegaard, Saka, Martinelli, White, etc. etc.

And anyways Auba, Saliba, and Guendouzi are three very different cases, one of which is not even resolved and likely has a future here (another which played two years very much content under Arteta's management, and even renewed convinced by his project...).

 

[Trilly]

This is such a good point. I absolutely hate people saying “you’d have taken 5th at the start of the year”.

The fact is we’re playing great football and are in such a position points wise there really is no excuse not to get over the line.

Definitely wouldn’t bin Arteta if he fails to get over the line but he’d be on a lot shorter leash. Next year would be way harder to get top 4 without CL football this year.

Just want to add to this that imo if he can’t do it this year then it’s likely that he’ll never be able to do it as next season will be more difficult.

I wouldn’t bin him if he didn’t get it this season either fwiw, I just wouldn’t expect much next season.

 

[AbouCuéllar]

That calm finish from Auba over Courtois, havent seen that in a while, it was just wild misses and bad touches. Man found a new vein of form in a new environment, it happens. Good for him.

Tbf, he also missed two absolute sitters, and to not score 2 goals with a Madrid defence that tactically disastrous and open would've been a travesty for any striker.

I love Auba and am not surprised he's doing well at Barsa in an inferior league, in a team that creates more chances for him (thanks to league and also quality of attacking player and midfielder).

I will say the goal he scored against Valencia was an Auba goal that we haven't seen for a while, but again, he's in a new team, with huge motivation to prove himself...I don't think it was just that Auba was past it (I never thought that), but a mix of him going through a natural physical decline + a motivational decline + less favourable circumstances than the ones he finds himself in now.

 

[AbouCuéllar]

I wouldn’t bin him if he didn’t get it this season either fwiw, I just wouldn’t expect much next season.

I've always said that Arteta should get the sack if he doesn't get 4th this season (well, since the league started to shape up and we saw the level that Tottenham and United were at), but it would be an interesting question...I think there are still serious doubts to be raised about potential alternatives (ten Hag, Potter, Gallardo, Rose).

And if nothing else Arteta has shown himself to be a great leader this season. While perhaps his purely footballing product still can be questioned to some extent and needs to continue to show progress, the former quality is surely past doubt at this point.

 

[Trilly]

I've always said that Arteta should get the sack if he doesn't get 4th this season (well, since the league started to shape up and we saw the level that Tottenham and United were at), but it would be an interesting question...I think there are still serious doubts to be raised about potential alternatives (ten Hag, Potter, Gallardo, Rose).

And if nothing else Arteta has shown himself to be a great leader this season. While perhaps his purely footballing product still can be questioned to some extent and needs to continue to show progress, the former quality is surely past doubt at this point.

Yeah and that’s a pretty big compliment from me as someone who doesn’t like him to say that he should be kept on regardless.

I voted improvement of performances regardless of league position before a ball was kicked this season and it seems I’ve come full circle to that.

He really, really, really should finish in the top four though…

 

[Penn_]

Th only thing wrong with what happened with Auba is that we backed ourselves into a corner and ripped up his contract.

Looking at him now we likely could’ve got a nominal fee for him.

Apart from that we’ve been better off, nothing to cry about, apart from possibly being in the mud if Arteta puts us back in the CL.

 

[AbouCuéllar]

Th only thing wrong with what happened with Auba is that we backed ourselves into a corner and ripped up his contract.

Looking at him now we likely could’ve got a nominal fee for him.

Apart from that we’ve been better off, nothing to cry about, apart from possibly being in the mud if Arteta puts us back in the CL.

I don't see any problem with getting a club to take on Auba's massive salary without a fee at his age. Look at Madrid with Hazard and Bale who would die to do the same. I've criticised our work with outgoings over the years but I don't see much to complain about here, I was pleasantly surprised we could get his contract off our books, tbh, if we in fact did in its entirety (did we? I assumed we were paying some of his contract still--don't know how Farsa rigs the accounts to pay for players on his wages still...).

 

[Gunner D]

Fair enough Boon. Like you pointed out, I never said that anyways and I should probably speak for myself in future.

I've been honest about Arteta. He's not my cup of tea and I've explained why a million times but as far as on the pitch matters go and what we can see, you cannot complain there's a lot to like.

This is how I’m feeling as well. Not a fan of Mikels personality but we’re getting results and that’s all that matters. I’m very happy as things stand. Huge improvement from what he was serving up the previous few years, excluding the FA cup run.

 

[drippin]

That's why I'd rather not ignore him. Besides, I still have hope he will start posting better, because I remember him having good posts about Lacazette before. But recently even his Laca posts have been horrible, only suggesting Laca should leave because it would be better for him.

 

[Macho]

That's why I'd rather not ignore him. Besides, I still have hope he will start posting better, because I remember him having good posts about Lacazette before. But recently even his Laca posts have been horrible, only suggesting Laca should leave because it would be better for him.

It's common sense to keep him as cover to share the burden with the new striker, but I am not sure a lot of Arsenal fans see it that way.

How you feel about my posts is how I feel about a lot of Laca opinions on here, it's just hard to read. He's not an academy player who receives the ball on the half turn, which means he gets shat on relentlessly on here and I am a bit tired of it.

I'm not opposed to a whole brand new Arsenal if it means we all get behind it, which would mean Laca and Xhaka having severely reduced roles next season or gone completely.