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Both Messi and Ronaldo are the legends of the game. Period. So, please do not bring up this debate :)
@KingSlayer23 Yea totally and without having to worry about tests that we would have to write on weekends.
Yesss
hopefully United beats west ham and makes the top 4 scenario more interesting. Although ronaldo is doubtful with an injury
Damnn….I should have said ki I wish interview call aa jaaye 😂✌🏻
Arsenal was on course for easy top 4 (3rd place was doable too) had we not messed up this transfer window.
Honestly United, Spurs arent there yet. Majority of the points that these clubs have scored in PL were won with margin and that is not sustainable in long run. For spurs, they are just one player injury(Kane) away from massive decline in performance.
AzadHindFauz,KingSlayer23@KingSlayer23 Lol, Just one weekend already.My take:
Arsenal was on course for easy top 4 (3rd place was doable too) had we not messed up this transfer window.
Honestly United, Spurs arent there yet. Majority of the points that these clubs have scored in PL were won with margin and that is not sustainable in long run. For spurs, they are just one player injury(Kane) away from massive decline in performance.Arsenal, on the other hand, except for rare cases, have been quite dominant in their wins but unfortunately we have been on the losing side of the margin.I dont need to look at points, I just look at the game. In 2 years time, I can see Arsenal challenging City and Liverpool would be back to fighting for top 4 spot. Manutd too can challenge but that wont be possible if they dont do structural revamp like Arteta did. Chelsea are heavily reliant on few players like Kante and in recent games he looked to be slow and their striker problems seem to be a perennial one.PS: I could be wrong though. Anyway lets see what the table looks like in May.
The reason I changed the prediction is because :
1. United doesn’t have a structural issue while Chelsea’s offence is largely totally missing and spurs have thin squad depth. United have neither.
2. United’s main issue have been man management and a tactical transition. For instance after Ralf’s arrival first two games were pretty decent and then suddenly covid hit and there was a 14 day gap after which next 2-3 games were largely underwhelming because of rusty players and difficulty in adopting new tactics. However since then there have been signs of improvement e.g. Bruno Fernandes back in form with direct involvement in 5 goals in 3 games, Fred is also doing much better in distributing the ball, Dalot is turning out to be pretty much of a revelation in his position. Etc
3. A game like the one against West ham can be a massive boost for mentality of players. Look last season they started abysmally but that one game where they came back from 0-2 down to win 3-2 against southampton changed the dynamic of the team and they finished 2nd. They don’t need to dominate the games, results can be built by scrapping wins in tight spots too which I feel this team has the potential to do.
4. Another factor is some of the underperforming players have finally started to perform which gives me a lot of hope. Further unlike last season there is no issue of some players being burnt out due to excessive play time which actually cost them the Europa league final
Arsene,
Does anyone else feel Arsenal are driven a lot by emotions and mentality instead of the quality of the players?
Certainly you need to have a minimum requisite ability, but after that on different match days the team performs starkly different not because of the players or the tactical setup but their mentality.
A decently good squad against Nottingham, poor gameplay because the players didn’t seem up to it. A depleted squad against Liverpool 4 days later, went down to 10 men and churned out an exceptional performance. Same story against City, despite not having anywhere the same level of excellence they gave City a run for their money.
Tottenham game, at home, important match, churned out a great 1st half display. United game, very important, hadn’t won at Old Trafford since several years, United in a poor form, recently sacked their manager, went 1-0 up with a near fluke and then eventually lost. For most of the game it felt like Arsenal didn’t believe in themselves, I believe a win at OT wasn’t out of the reach if only they weren’t scared(?).
Everton game, possibly the worst performance in the league this season. A very winnable game lost due to mental complacency.
A lot of the Arsenal players are just not right in the head. There seems to be a clear void of leadership. I like Xhaka but he’s not going to become captain anytime soon, plus he’s a very polarising figure so maybe it won’t happen again at all. Apart from him, mentally strong individuals are in short supply here at Arsenal.
At one time I was growing in confidence about a top 4 finish but recent results and developments have ended that optimism. Nothing short of a near miracle can ensure a ‘good’ transfer window. Haven’t plugged the midfield gap, still don’t have a striker, don’t have a decent backup for Tomi.
The Vlahovic saga was pretty embarrassing and now unless Edu does a deadline day Wenger, Arsenal would definitely miss top 4, an omission of their own making entirely.
KingSlayer23,ArseneDoes anyone else feel Arsenal are driven a lot by emotions and mentality instead of the quality of the players?
Certainly you need to have a minimum requisite ability, but after that on different match days the team performs starkly different not because of the players or the tactical setup but their mentality.
A decently good squad against Nottingham, poor gameplay because the players didn’t seem up to it. A depleted squad against Liverpool 4 days later, went down to 10 men and churned out an exceptional performance. Same story against City, despite not having anywhere the same level of excellence they gave City a run for their money.
Tottenham game, at home, important match, churned out a great 1st half display. United game, very important, hadn’t won at Old Trafford since several years, United in a poor form, recently sacked their manager, went 1-0 up with a near fluke and then eventually lost. For most of the game it felt like Arsenal didn’t believe in themselves, I believe a win at OT wasn’t out of the reach if only they weren’t scared(?).
Everton game, possibly the worst performance in the league this season. A very winnable game lost due to mental complacency.
A lot of the Arsenal players are just not right in the head. There seems to be a clear void of leadership. I like Xhaka but he’s not going to become captain anytime soon, plus he’s a very polarising figure so maybe it won’t happen again at all. Apart from him, mentally strong individuals are in short supply here at Arsenal.
At one time I was growing in confidence about a top 4 finish but recent results and developments have ended that optimism. Nothing short of a near miracle can ensure a ‘good’ transfer window. Haven’t plugged the midfield gap, still don’t have a striker, don’t have a decent backup for Tomi.
The Vlahovic saga was pretty embarrassing and now unless Edu does a deadline day Wenger, Arsenal would definitely miss top 4, an omission of their own making entirely.
Arsenal does have a squad problem exacerbated with a mentality issue. Further on top of it the deficiency of a pull factor (Vlahovic saga) and you may or may not agree but Arteta is not the long term solution, he is in the same league as OGS and/or Lampard(Yes, despite the FA cup and CS success) and eventually, I think Arsenal will remove him to have a better competitive chance. Apart from this yes definitely a leader is needed in the dressing room.
Arsene,Arsene,@KingSlayer23 I thought United fans would be quite familiar with his ‘quality’ :PLukaku was always hyped to be in the league of top strikers. I don’t think he is at that level or if he would ever get to that level. A striker who demands a very specific playing style can’t ever be one of the best. Benzema has versatility, Lewa has versatility, Lukaku can’t even get his first touch right. He’s majorly a bully striker who isn’t even clinical.Chelsea’s striker woes seem to be never ending, not that I’m complaining :P
Lukaku was decent under Mourinho but OGS shifted to a style where he was not supposed to play purely a striker and rather an inside forward. Anyway, He is more of a player with attributes in getting behind the defenders as was used by Conte but the way he is struggling this bad is actually shocking.
@KingSlayer23 I disagree on Arteta. Sure he isn’t a Guardiola, Klopp or Conte but he certainly isn’t in the league of OGS (can’t say much about Lampard, haven’t watched his teams enough)Arteta certainly has tactical nous and his style is distinctly visible in the team now. OGS wasn’t ever tactically excellent and he also lacked the requisite coaching competence (as corroborated by sources inside the club)Right now it’s more of if the club can support the manager with signings he wants because he’s the first manager in the last 5-6 years at Arsenal who’s atleast given a good competition to top clubs.
Look, OGS did a lot of good despite the shortcomings of the coaching staff, the team Mourinho left behind had become highly dysfunctional and the way he revived the team last season in Prem was commendable (especially after the abysmal start and that 1-6 hammering). Everyone is entitled to their opinion so I can't say you are wrong but I don't think one can reach the final of the Europa league or score 9 goals in one PL game or defeat Guardiola 3 times a season, etc, etc. without distinct tactical clarity. He had a playing style but he didn't have the cutting edge coaching ability to win trophies.
Personally, I would not mind if Arsenal continues with Arteta for several years :P
Arsenal does have a squad problem exacerbated with a mentality issue. Further on top of it the deficiency of a pull factor (Vlahovic saga) and you may or may not agree but Arteta is not the long term solution, he is in the same league as OGS and/or Lampard(Yes, despite the FA cup and CS success) and eventually, I think Arsenal will remove him to have a better competitive chance. Apart from this yes definitely a leader is needed in the dressing room.
I was a huge critic of Arteta, but thats from my limited understanding of game from tactical perspective. Since last season, I have paid attention to tactical aspects of his game (despite being football player in college) and I am still to fully grasp them. Now I am starting to realise why he is so rated well and why he is best bet for Arsenal long term ( thought I personnally believe he will replace Pep - yes, he's that good). You seriously cannot compare with OGS and Lampard from tactical perspective. To be honest I was big Lampard fan but he has been a huge disappointment. Lampard may be good in man management but thats only one aspect of it. I hope he has learnt his mistakes and does well in Everton.
OGS is definitely better than Lampard but surely not at Arteta's level. He has been clueless sometimes, or maybe I wasnt that proficient enough to grasp it fully. Anyway, he did relatively okay but I believe ManUtd have supported him and spent well on transfers.
I feel league competition truly tests your team's ability from all aspects. And cup competition tests your managers tactical intelligence. Mou, Tuchel, Diego Simeone are brilliant in this and thats why you would see them winning CL games frequently despite having weaker squad. Pep, Klopp, SAF, Wenger (initial years) were amazing squad builders and you can see them winning league frequently.
Arteta was initially emphasising on tactics, and he did well by winning FA cup, reaching UEL semis, but he has been quite poor in squad building initially and thats where Arsenal did so bad in PL in last 2 seasons. He has seemed to realise this and Arsenal have been diverting their focus to long term goal of league win and results are there to see in the first half of this season. But again this transfer window has been a big mess. So maybe next season. I dont know.
But I fully agree with you that Arsenal lacks a good squad and a leader but thats ok because many of our players are quite young.
Anyway I would just wait for couple of years, and see if I am wrong completely right or wrong about Arteta.
KingSlayer23,Arsenal does have a squad problem exacerbated with a mentality issue. Further on top of it the deficiency of a pull factor (Vlahovic saga) and you may or may not agree but Arteta is not the long term solution, he is in the same league as OGS and/or Lampard(Yes, despite the FA cup and CS success) and eventually, I think Arsenal will remove him to have a better competitive chance. Apart from this yes definitely a leader is needed in the dressing room.
I was a huge critic of Arteta, but thats from my limited understanding of game from tactical perspective. Since last season, I have paid attention to tactical aspects of his game (despite being football player in college) and I am still to fully grasp them. Now I am starting to realise why he is so rated well and why he is best bet for Arsenal long term ( thought I personnally believe he will replace Pep - yes, he's that good). You seriously cannot compare with OGS and Lampard from tactical perspective. To be honest I was big Lampard fan but he has been a huge disappointment. Lampard may be good in man management but thats only one aspect of it. I hope he has learnt his mistakes and does well in Everton.
OGS is definitely better than Lampard but surely not at Arteta's level. He has been clueless sometimes, or maybe I wasnt that proficient enough to grasp it fully. Anyway, he did relatively okay but I believe ManUtd have supported him and spent well on transfers.
I feel league competition truly tests your team's ability from all aspects. And cup competition tests your managers tactical intelligence. Mou, Tuchel, Diego Simeone are brilliant in this and thats why you would see them winning CL games frequently despite having weaker squad. Pep, Klopp, SAF, Wenger (initial years) were amazing squad builders and you can see them winning league frequently.
Arteta was initially emphasising on tactics, and he did well by winning FA cup, reaching UEL semis, but he has been quite poor in squad building initially and thats where Arsenal did so bad in PL in last 2 seasons. He has seemed to realise this and Arsenal have been diverting their focus to long term goal of league win and results are there to see in the first half of this season. But again this transfer window has been a big mess. So maybe next season. I dont know.But I fully agree with you that Arsenal lacks a good squad and a leader but thats ok because many of our players are quite young.
Anyway I would just wait for couple of years, and see if I am wrong completely right or wrong about Arteta.
Lot of people rate tactically arteta.. which is all fine given that he is from guardiola school of management. But tell me one thing..what is the point of tactical prowess if you finish 8th in the league for 2 consecutive seasons? OGS in my opinion should not have been given a long term contract in first place but he still finished 2nd and 3rd and secured UCL for consecutive seasons. In my opinion that does count for something plus in last season till January United were pretty much in the title race. Which manager of Arsenal has even done this much since Don Wengz?
I’m not even saying that OGS was a great manager (in my opinion in fact he was nowhere near United class) but I see absolutely no point when people rate him even lower than lampard and Arteta. But anyway only time will tell what Arsenal can produce in long term under him, from what I’ve seen in last 6-7 years I don’t think the board will back him for long. Those days are gone when managers used to have several seasons before pressure started piling.
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