Don’t let a last-gasp draw deviate from the fact we were totally outcoached and outplayed against players who aren’t anywhere close to being as good as ours. It just shows you what difference a good manager can make to a team. Which we, regrettably, don’t have. This Arteta experiment has gone on for long enough. It isn’t working and it will never work. Just get rid of him before we waste away the best years of these young players.
Wow that was a ****show we started brightly and scored and then the performance fell off a cliff, like they didn’t know whether to go for a 2nd goal and kill game off or hold back and pick them off on a counter. Where was the coaching to instil the killer instinct
As stated he really should have been sacked last season with that dreadful November-December run. The club decided it was not enough time in the job to sack him, so they let him stay on. This season we have this new concept of a 'project youth' so who knows how that affects his future. Personally I saw about a year ago that he wasnt the man to take us forward; and I said he would be gone by summer 2022. I still think thats the case; he will be sacked at SOME point this season. if he is not sacked this season, I believe next year is the final year of his contract - and I would be absolutely shocked if we somehow renewed that.
He should have been sacked two times over really, but I wish I knew the answer to your question. At this point, it seems like there is no depth we could sink to that would encourage the club to fire him unless we're in a similar position to where we were last Christmas. And even then, I'm still not sure we'd get rid. For whatever reason, the club hierarchy are already convinced that Arteta is the man for the job. The issue is we're not seeing any evidence as to why we should be investing all this time and effort into his ideals when the performances, results and squad management have been substandard (to say the least). Really though, this is all the fault of KSE. They hired a man, who had never managed a club before, to take the reigns of one of the top 10 biggest clubs in Europe and gave him a carte blanche to do what he wants. During the most turbulent time in the club's recent history. Without any checks and balances. Our demise is primarily on them and there's no sign of it getting better.
As a spur I am genuinely shocked that we have finished above you in the last 2 seasons. We have averaged 9 attempts per game since the beginning of 2019-20 season. We have won just 39 league games out of the last 86 we've played. This season we have only scored 9 goals in 8 games. We are awful. I am amazed that you owners do not comprehend just how bad it is for you to be behind us while we are in full on decline. We made you look like a top 4 team yet Palace made you look like a lower mid table team from the 15th minute until the 80th.
This was something that I was wary of even after the euphoria of winning the NLD. A lot of people were convinced we'd turned a corner and that we were going use that result as a springboard for future success. But I was fully aware that you lot didn't turn up. Your midfielders weren't working hard off the ball and allowed our fresh, hungry players to glide through your team. It was too easy. Other teams aren't going to give us the luxury you did that day. I was right. Brighton and Palace have both outmanoeuvred us in successive games, dominated the ball and made us look average. I expect Villa to do the same. Arteta has never beaten Dean Smith and has never scored against his Villa side, either. I can't see that changing on Friday night.
If you lose to villa he should be sacked...they were piss poor against us and there meltdown v Wolves shows they've no back bone.
Honestly, he is nowhere near the sack. The only way he will go before Christmas is if we have another atrocious run in that time period like last season - something like 1 win 2 draws 7 defeats in 10.
Arteta is reported as saying he was thrilled with our fightback against Palace, I think he probably meant relieved. His assessment of players is sometimes bewildering. We probably have one of the weakest captains ever in Aubameyang who is not a leader and when the going gets tough he becomes anonymous Someone like Tierney would be a far better choice. We desperately need a 'world class' striker. I don't know why Arteta doesn't give Martinelli, Balogun or one of the other young strikers a run in the team. If he won't do that then we need to entice someone to Arsenal, preferably in January. Also of course selling Emi Martinez was not exactly a masterstroke.
Honestly this was an example of **** management. We got an early goal started the game brightly. Then our intensity dropped off and Palace started to cause us problem. We made it into the second half without conceeding. What's the first thing a manager should say at halftime in this situation? Just make sure you DO NOT concede in the first 10 mins or so. Keep it tight, keep the ball and close them down. He just doesnt know how to manage games out.