A New Era, a Clean Sheet and AFTV Backlash

It has been quite a week for Arsenal. Although I'd actually go so far as to say that the least interesting part of it was the Everton game - a bore draw that was absolutely excruciating to watch. Just one shot on target the entire game (perhaps Aubameyang could have done better with it?), but there were nonetheless a few positives that can be taken from it.

Firstly, a first clean sheet in 15 games; entirely unexpected. And secondly, and with perhaps a glimpse into how Arsenal's first team may develop over the next few years, a quite surprising number of teenagers selected from the start. There was nothing startling in the perfomances of Saka, Smith Rowe, Martinelli and Nelson (not to mention Maitland-Niles, who had a much better game than last week), but as a message to the more senior players and perhaps to the fans it was interesting.

Mikel Arteta - to nobody's surprise - had been appointed Head Coach the day before; so I'm sure that it would have been almost impossible for him to have had much of an impact on proceedings. I'm also of the opinion that if he didn't know it from sitting on the opposition bench the previous week his view from the stands would have impressed on him the size of the job in hand (here he is speaking with Edu prior to kick-off).

Nonetheless I, for one, throw my support behind him (what choice do we have, frankly?), and hope that his reputation as a man who improves players both tactically and mentally, and as a disciplinarian, bears fruit over the coming months and years. There is certainly work to do with rumours of attitude issues amongst many of the most key players. Perhaps this time we will see the famed 'new manager bounce' that Freddie couldn't give the team, and with Chelsea (twice) and Manchester United up very soon I think that we're going to need it.

As for the game; well Everton, on the back of a win against Chelsea and a draw with United, were extremely disappointing. But I'm prepared to give Arsenal some credit for that, as they kept them comfortably at bay for the entire game and for a change Leno had almost nothing to do. But I suppose that the cost of the clean sheet was that very little happened at the other end of the pitch either. We did see the players at least start to try to move the ball more quickly, but the lack of confidence was there for all to see. But it's a start and I'd hope to see Arteta's influence come through pretty quickly as he has already said two things that really interest me: 

Firstly, about the players: "I don't want them hiding. I want people to take responsibility for their jobs and I want people who deliver passion and energy in the football club. Anyone who doesn't buy into this, or that has a negative effect or whatever, is not good enough for this environment or this culture. There are things to change, absolutely, because they're not performing at the level that we expect them to. I will have to help them and to help them I need to know what's happening; I need to understand how they're feeling, what they're lacking. If I get to reach that point, then I can help them. Then they will trust me and then they will follow me."

And secondly about style of play: "I want the football to be expressive, entertaining. I cannot have a concept of football where everything is based on the opposition (a dig at Emery?). We have to dictate the game. We have to be the ones taking the initiative, and we have to entertain the people coming to watch us. I'm 100% convinced of those things, and I think I could do it."

All music to any Arsenal supporter's ears, I would imagine.

And now, talking of Arsenal supporters; some videos of scenes post-match hit Social Media on Saturday afternoon - videos of what is perhaps the start of a backlash against the notorious AFTV - a YouTube channel that is a laughing stock amongst fans of other clubs. For those who don't know, AFTV's presenter, Robbie Lyle, gives a platform to a small number of regular interviewees (and now extremely minor celebrities) who are almost always extremely critical of the club and the players. This serves to do three things: 1) stir up resentment and anger amongst other fans, 2) give supporters of other clubs the opportunity to take the mick out of Arsenal and its supporters, and 3) make Robbie a lot of money, as with over one million 'followers' his is the second most monetised YouTube channel in world sport. In other words, he is making money out of his own club's struggles. 

Now I could live with much of that; if only Robbie allowed other supporters to give a more positive or balanced view (something that I try to do in my 'somewhat' less read blog). However, he has stopped interviewing the more positive or optimistic because they're not 'click bait'. Controversy means clicks, at the expense of fair reporting.

So when these videos emerged of Arsenal fans chanting: 'Arsenal Fan TV get out of our club' - and I'm sure that this was orchestrated, but nonetheless... I could sympathise with what they were doing. The club is in a poor enough state without Robbie and his cohorts fuelling the fire, and if this is the beginning of the end for AFTV I won't be sorry. I've never watched the channel (except for a bit of research) in any case.

OK, that's more than enough from me. I'd like to write about Liverpool's rise to becoming the best team in the world at this moment, and about the racism that quite staggeringly came out of Tottenham - of all clubs - this weekend, but this post is quite long enough already. But there'll be more from me after Bournemouth, and then the games come thick and fast. But I'll post when I can.

Wishing everyone the Compliments of the Season. And Come On You Gunners!

We Won The Argument?...

So, in much the same way that the Labour Party 'won the argument' - according to its auspicious leader - at the General Election, Arsenal 'won the argument' at home to Manchester City. In other words, they got stuffed out of sight.

It was fortunate in many ways that City 'declared' at half time, because I feel pretty sure that if they'd have wanted to go for it, they could have racked up a hatful of goals against a disappointing, disjointed Arsenal side that essentially didn't seem to know what it was supposed to be doing. It looks to me that in the space of 18 months Unai Emery has managed to transform the squad from one who at least looked to play progressive football under Arsene Wenger to one that looks afraid to do anything, either with or without the ball. That needs to be coached out of them very quickly.

It is clear that Freddie has failed his audition, but to be fair to him he has been set up to fail; he's been trying to turn this around with little proper support from within/above - like turning up for a singing audition, being told that you have no accompaniment, and having to perform accapella. It is clear that the players have an affection for him - witness the hugs and happy scenes after the West Ham game - but that's hardly enough. So it is absolutely critical that Arsenal get their next appointment right, quickly, and give him full support.

What I can't get my head around is how disorganised the Club are. Tottenham sacked Pochettino, and had Mourinho lined up to announce the next morning. Napoli sacked Ancelotti (who wouldn't be my choice to take over Arsenal by the way, although I'd be happy enough with Pochettino) and had Gattuso into his office the next day too. Arsenal barely had a short list when they relieved Emery of his duties, yet even when we saw it it showed muddled thinking. It's shambolic. I think that we are starting to see why Barcelona let Sanllehi go.

And the lack of organisation is reflected on the pitch. Almost all over it, in fact. And City showed us quite how big the gulf between the top of the table and Arsenal has become. They have better players, obviously, and less injuries, but they showed Arsenal up all over the pitch. All three goals were down to exploiting clear weaknesses in the Arsenal set-up, but frankly they could have picked and chosen where to dissect a clueless Arsenal side. De Bruyne summed it up afterwards when he talked about the Arsenal front line's failure to track back - only Martinelli bothered, in fact - but not only were Arsenal overrun in midfield but there seemed to be little rhyme or reason to what Arsenal were trying to do; either with or without the ball.

I'd give credit to Leno and Martinelli - and to an extent poor Bukayo Saka, thrust in at left back, and Emile Smith Rowe, who at least showed Ozil how it was possible to actually run around in the number 10 slot - for their performances, and to Torreira for at least trying hard, but the rest should hang their heads in shame. There was no discernable plan, I grant you, but there was also no discernable effort either. Maitland-Niles looks out of his depth and is having his career ruined at this club, and Chambers and Sokratis were a shambles. Kolasinac looked good going forward whilst he was on the pitch, but his defending is atrocious.

In midfield, Guendouzi had another really poor game, and needs to spend time on the bench (and with a coach during the week), and Torreira looks to be trying to do too much when he'd be better off just sitting in front of the defence. And Ozil, Pepe and Aubameyang should probably return their wages (I shall gloss over the Ozil glove-gate incident, which was much ado about nothing, but I think that the Club needs to lay down some rules about the use of social media by players. For all that he is quite correct in what he tweeted, I'm not sure that it has had the effect he'd have hoped for; the Chinese government is not an enemy that I'd choose).

So we saw no ball press, and a propensity to back off, and back off again, when City were in possession. And so they picked Arsenal apart at will. Three lovely goals as they played around and through an almost non-existent midfield; and as I say it could have been worse.

And now here's the thing; the foul count. Arsenal 8, and City 23. Yes, Arsenal could barely get near the ball, but there was something almost refreshing in watching City's clever rotational fouling whenever Arsenal looked even slightly threatening. Even though they probably didn't need to bother, City worked as hard as they needed to out of possession, whereas that's not something that can be levelled at Arsenal. There is so much to learn.

I know that the team has a number of injuries, but that doesn't excuse the lack of effort; especially from the senior players. It's probably worth giving some more of the kids more playing time, without overdoing it of course. Due to the injuries, I think there's a need to go back to three central defenders plus wing-backs for the next game or three; let's see.

Everton next; big game. See you after that. In the meantime, a new broom needs to be swept; and quickly.

A Game Of Three Thirds

Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to be able to report on an Arsenal victory! Yes, the mighty West ham United were put to the sword on their home ground by a rampant Arsenal on a cold and blustery East London evening.

Well, if only that were true...

For an hour, Arsenal were utterly abysmal, and I was starting to wonder if they were ever going to win another Premier League game. Because, and in case you aren't aware, West Ham are a really poor side; yet they were leading and frankly comfortably holding an Arsenal side that looked terrified to do anything with the ball. Which was bizarre, because West Ham were very happy to let them have it.

To be fair, Arsenal suffered a good deal of misfortune during that first hour, and not all of it was of their own making. Bellerin was forced to withdraw from the side during the warm-up, and Kieren Tierney fell badly onto a shoulder after a tussle with Antonio; hopefully it's minor, but it didn't look that way.

But as to what was of their own making; well, they looked very tentative in possession, moved the ball ponderously, and looked frightened to do anything but play the safe ball every time. The lack of confidence was quite obvious. And whilst West Ham are really not very good, they made far more of their far more meagre possession than Arsenal. In fact, I don't recall a single decent opportunity created throughout a dreadful first half, when it looked like the nightmare would never end.

Freddie had made some interesting changes, drafting in Chambers at centre-back for Luiz, and giving Martinelli his first Premier League start. Chambers was solid, and Martinelli found himself on the fringes from his left wing position for much of the first half, but still showed flashes of both ability and desire. The problem, however, is still in midfield, where Xhaka had a truly dreadful game; epitomised by an awful 30-yard cross-field ball that ought to have led to a goal. It looks like it's time for Guendouzi to come back in and replace him on Sunday. Torreira, however, was considerably better in a more withdrawn role; yet still looking to move the ball forwards when he could.

For the West Ham goal, which came from a corner, I counted no less than 5 individual Arsenal errors in a 10-second period. None of Martinelli, Aubameyang, Kolasinac, Xhaka (especially) and Maitland-Niles covered themselves in glory there. 

One would have expected Arsenal to have come out blazing in the second half, but for 15 minutes it was more of the same. It was clear that nothing that Freddie had said to them had made a difference, and that they needed to self-start; somehow. Because there is enough individual quality in the side to make the difference; especially - and I'll say it again - against opposition this poor. West Ham are possibly the worst side in the division, from what I've seen - although Watford are clearly pretty bad too, and I don't think much of Bournemouth either.

And then, after just under an hour, a switch was flicked. A flowing move from which Torreira's astute ball out wide found the overlapping Kolasinac, and his pull-back was side-footed home by the busy Martinelli, who had made an intelligent run. It just might be that the 18-year-old future superstar has been the one to kick start Arsenal's season.

And from then on the result was a foregone conclusion, as West Ham heads dropped and fatigue started to catch up with them. First Pepe, with a trademark cut in and left footed curling finish, and then Aubameyang (inevitably) - all three goals in the space of 9 minutes and something of the Arsenal swagger was back.

However - and I'll say it yet again - we have to take this result with a huge pinch of salt. The opposition was dire, and bigger tests are very close on the horizon with a wounded Manchester City - an entirely different kettle of fish - due at The Emirates on Sunday. It'll only be after that game that we'll be able to see if this result was anything more than a flash in the plan.

But for now let's bask in that rare feeling - we've actually won a game. So here's a thumbs up from Freddie!

I'll be back on Monday. Hopefully with a report on more good signs for this group. As they say, it's the hope that kills you.

Thank you. Next...

I went to the theatre last night. It was months in the planning. I'd reasoned with impeccable logic that there was no way that Arsenal were going to have a match on this particular Thursday evening;. Thanks, Amazon Prime...

I'd been looking forward to it for months. Sir Ian McKellen's farewell tour; a three hour one-man show from a genuine national treasure. And it was excellent - even if there was a little too much Shakespeare and not quite enough Gandalf. And I even got to shake the great man's hand during the interval!

So there I stood on the wrong Piccadilly Line platform at King's Cross St Pancras, watching Arsenal fans streaming onto the eastbound platform whilst my wife and I were waiting to go to Piccadilly Circus. A part of me was regretting missing Freddie's first home game in charge. But as it turned out, I'd made absolutely the right decision.

And it all went wrong once I got home. Having managed a 'news blackout' for the entire journey home, despite sitting in a train carriage with what I now realise were ominously subdued Arsenal fans, I foolishly decided to watch the midnight rerun on Amazon Prime.

And so it was, as I finally hauled myself off to bed at 2.30am - in a foul mood - that I realised that things are far worse than even I thought they were.

I'm not sure what Emery has done to this group of players, but they seem utterly devoid of confidence and frankly any idea of how to play football at this level. But it all goes back much further than that; over ten years of steady decline have now turned into a full-scale fall off of a cliff. I'm sorry to be proved right, but as I predicted as a worse case scenario the current ownership simply don't understand English football, nor the ethos of the great institution that is Arsenal Football Club. And as a result, they've set it back so far that it may be irredeemable in the near future; look how long it took Liverpool, for example, to get back to the top table.

Years of neglect and mis-management - including missing out on both Guardiola and Klopp in the past few years - since the move to the new stadium have left Arsenal miles behind where they should be and where they need to be. How they go about getting back there I wish I knew, but they need to be bold. Somehow, I suspect that the sort of resources they need to throw at this project is the sort of money that this owner is simply unprepared to spend.

And the foolish and short-sighted thing about it is that he bought the club as an investment vehicle, yet is presiding over a gigantic fall in the value of his investment. As I say he didn't - and doesn't - understand what is required.

And so to the game. It started OK; for about 10 minutes. Until Brighton realised that they  had absolutely nothing to fear.

I wasn't 100% happy with the team selection, which looked strangely shaped, but I did prefer it to the previous one. At least Torreira was in the side. But the combination up top looked and felt wrong, and the defence is inevitably a disaster waiting to happen. Coupling any combination of the available central defensive personnel with a refusal to insist on at least one central midfielder sitting and shielding them was simply asking for trouble.

And so it proved. It's going to take a lot to coach Emery out of this team, and the invitation to attack was very much taken on board by the opposition; the goal was coming and when it came was well-deserved. Arsenal were terrible, and got exactly what their meek play was asking for.

And so they left the field - not for the first or last time - to boos from the sparse crowd.

Understandably, Freddie made a change at half time, bringing on Pepe for the unfortunate Willock. It was a shame for the youngster to be scapegoated for an appalling first half team performance, but something had to be done after a new nadir in a season of nadirs.

And Pepe's introduction did make a difference. Suddenly, with the Fab Four all together, Arsenal started playing with verve and energy and equalised - albeit from a corner - as Lacazette's header looped in at the far post.

But then the switch went back off. I have no idea why. Did they feel that the job was done; because it most certainly wasn't. Foot back off the pedal, and Brighton were back in charge.

And the goal came as a result of lack of closing down, and of Luiz losing his man on the 6-yard line. But what options does a Manager have when Luiz is arguably the best of the centre-back options he has available? And so Arsenal huffed and puffed after that, but never quite looked like getting anything out of the game; and left the field to even more boos from the 10,000 or so who stayed to the bitter end.

If this was part of an audition for Freddie to get the job full-time, I'm afraid that he has failed it already. As he himself said afterwards, the players are lacking in confidence, but surely it is part of his job to reinstill it. There has been no 'new manager bounce' here. As it turns out, selecting Freddie as interim has been like Spurs plumping for Tim Sherwood, or Everton for Big Dunc.

A look at the league table shows that Arsenal are in dreadful form. No wins since early October, and now on their worst run for fully 40 years. A series of draws and defeats against sides they should be dealing with comfortably.  Please note, by the way, that this one was Brighton, 16th in the table and on the back of three successive defeats. They've lost to Watford and Brighton, and drawn with Norwich and Southampton. Teams that under any normal circumstances Arsenal should be taking care of with little difficulty. No more is that the case, and this is freefall; relegation form.

How they are going to turn this around I do not know. Of the mooted candidates I'd want Rodgers, but why on earth would he leave Leicester City now, for any money? But one thing is for sure; an experienced Manager needs to be appointed; and damn quick!

It's West Ham on Monday. And Everton quite soon. But I'm not sure it matters who they are up against for the foreseeable future. I think they'd struggle against Vanarama oppostion at the moment. And it gets worse, because over the next few weeks they have to face City, United, and Chelsea (twice). Quite where they'll be in the table after that little lot is anybody's guess.

I'll be back Tuesday, as the West Ham game is on Monday. I'm going back to bed.

Plus ca change

Plus ca change... or same old, same old...

New manager, new start; one might have hoped for. But whilst one could detect some improvement in the way the team was asked to play it is clear that there is no quick fix; and certainly not one that a couple of training sessions could sort out.

I can't imagine that anybody could have guessed the line-up at Norwich with any accuracy. Freddie was as full of surprises as his predecessor, with the inclusions of Kolasinac, Mustafi and Xhaka all difficult to anticipate. The reversion to 4-3-3 seemed sensible, but square pegs were being fitted into round holes; and in the case of the defence, entirely the wrong-shaped pieces!

Despite my misgivings about the personnel chosen, I was pleased with the start the team made. They were looking to pass the ball more quickly - and indeed forward - far more than before. And they should probably have been at least one goal up before the inevitable happened. My fault, actually; I was just thinking that that attitude and speed of play looked promising, but I'd be interested to see how they'd react to going behind... when that's exactly what happened.

And in a season-long theme, this was an entirely preventable goal. As, I may add, was Norwich's second - plus a host of other chances that Arsenal offered up. As we've seen before from this group, a combination of losing the ball, failing to track back and pick up runners, defenders failing to close down the man with the ball... it all added up once again to another busy afternoon for a beseiged Bernd Leno.

The key, of course, is not to over-commit going forward, and Freddie needs to look at that. If there's any comparison with an Emery set-up, it's that the full-backs, encouraged to push very wide and far forward, left gaps in behind that the central midfielders were unable to plug (and that's where both Norwich goals came from). As we've seen before far too often, the central midfield was conspicuously absent when they were needed. And that's why I'll say, at this point, that Torreira is a key member of the squad and the sooner Freddie realises that, the better.

Fortunately some mental fortitude - and a slice or two of good fortune for the first equaliser - meant that they got out of town with a point. But make no mistake, the team is lacking in organisation and confidence, and is currently in relegation form with just 4 points from its last 6 matches and no win since early October. That's what got Emery the sack, and that's what Freddie has to sort out.

Here's a list of immediate requirements:

Personnel 

• Calum Chambers is not a right back; don't pick him there. The sooner Bellerin gets fit again, the better
• Mustafi should be nowhere near the first team. He is a massive liability. Whilst Sokratis has been fairly woeful all season, he is still a considerably more reliable defender than the German. And David Luiz is... David Luiz. 'Mercurial' would be a kind description for a man always with a mistake in him. The trouble is, who do you leave him out for? Either way, any combination of Luiz, Sokratis, Mustafi, Chambers and Holding is unlikely to give Premier League attackers sleepless nights. What could be worse than pairing Chambers and Holding ? They can't do much worse than what we saw at Norwich
• Adding the unreliable defending of Kolasinac into that mix was an error. Tierney must play
• As alluded to above, Torreira should be one of the first names on the team sheet. Of the midfield personnel Arsenal possess, he is the only one who could genuinely be regarded as having the mindset of a defensive midfielder. Which is of course the reason why Emery wanted him to play further forward (oh, and that was irony...)
• You know what you're going to get from Xhaka. Which is not quite enough, due to his lack of mobility. However, when Guendouzi has a bad day - as he did at the weekend - you start to wonder if he needs a rest. Or if not, a lot more coaching on positional awareness, strength in the tackle and tracking back
• Ozil on the wing? I'm sorry, but no. He doesn't have the pace for it. Put him in the hole
• Lacazette; an enigma. Effective at home; poor away. Makes no sense. He escapes the away day criticism that Ozil gets, however, and I'm not sure why
• I'd seriously look at giving Martinelli a Premier League start. A star in the making

Tactics

• With the team lacking confidence - and speed of thought when the ball is lost - I'd sit Torreira in front of the back 4 and tell him he's not allowed over the half-way line. I'd look to play Willock (for his energy) close to him and Ozil a bit further forward
• What happens in Transition is what is hurting the side most. That's what needs to be drilled into this side; how to respond to losing the ball
• Up front, things should take care of themselves. Aubameyang, plus any three from Lacazette, Martinelli and the invisible man, Pepe, should do the trick. Positional rotation from that group will keep defenders on their toes. The key to keeping the score down is what goes on behind them. Hopefully, the energy of Torreira and Willock will deal with that

New Manager

As I said in my last piece, an experienced man is vital for the team at this stage. And here's something to ponder; if a club are happy to fork out £50-70m on a striker, what's the problem with paying a £14m release clause to get your man? Brendan Rodgers, please. ASAP. Or Poch (no release clause!). Or at a pinch perhaps Rafa Benitez. Experience is key.

Transfers

It's going to take a while to sort this squad out. After the last window, we thought that Arsenal had done well, but a centre-half is desperately needed in the next window (no, we cannot wait for Saliba) and hopefully by then some confidence will have been restored by Freddie. But he has to get the right pegs in the right holes!

It's no fun being an Arsenal fan at the moment, is it? Until Friday, post-Brighton.