Offical match day thread

Wrong! Allegri speaks English. He actually gave an interview in English in the past week! Allegri has got to be better than the rookie we have in Arteta.. The club really is a joke, giving the job to someone without any managerial experience! He really is out of his depths! He has to be brave and drop the likes of Auba.. Drop him from the match day completely, he really has not done much this season!

 

That.^ You don't create enough chances.
Who's supposed to be running the midfield and putting things on a plate for Aubameyang and Lacazette?
Plenty of the ball, plenty of crosses to two strikers who aren't great in the air and not enough quick passing or creativity.

Arteta's made the team defend better, but he's done so at the expense of the attack.
You've conceded less than Liverpool, Leicester and Man Utd, but you've scored less than Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

 

We were after Hossem Aouer in the summer, he was supposed to be the creative spark in midfield.

The fact that we have a £350k per week creative mid not even in the squad, nor it seems any other player who can even attempt that job is a big question that needs answering.

 

Totally, even when we push up there's no-one making the final pass.


I dont understand Willian the guy is offering nothing. Why is he still starting?!

Thomas Partey looks our most capable midfielder but he's naturally sitting very deep in terms of position.
Xhaka offers soo little creatively its a joke.

Saka is the main one at the moment and the kid is just 19.

We need a new Fabregas. Isco would be great IMO. (If not perhaps Aouar or Szobolazai)

 

Honestly though Allegri just revealed he would like to return to management in the Summer. He's currently the bookies favourite to be next Arsenal manager.

If things havnt improved in terms of league position with Arteta by March/April he may be well be in the frame.

 

Bold of you to assume he'll be here until March/April In all seriousness, if we don't beat Burnley this Sunday, I think there's a very strong chance we begin to consider other options. Our remaining games in December include Southampton, Everton, Man City and Chelsea. If he doesn't pick up results fast, he may not even see it out before New Year.

I know our squad isn't great, and lacks a lot of quality, but we shouldn't be near the relegation zone. Arteta does have to take some responsibility for that.

 

Well we have more quality than given credit for but the squad is unbalanced.

I still feel like Auba, Lacazette, Pepe, Tierney, Gabriel, Partey, Bellerin - that's a pretty good base to build something around.

Then youngsters like Saka, Martinelli, Maitland Niles, Nketiah. Our league position with this side is awful - much as i like Arteta we are loosing games and not scoring goals - there's confidence and performance issues with multiple players.

 

Another complaint I have is Guendouzi and Saliba.

Both are TOP class youngsters.

In my opinion at least they are far better than the homegrown Nketiah, Niles, Willock etc.. who are getting multiple chances.

I cant help but think its an attitude issues with both players but this is a mistake. Many of the top players have an arrogance. Im just guessing here but it seems based on slections and interviews that Arteta is favouring players who work hard and show enthesiasm. That's all well and good but surely overall 'quality' is the most important thing.

 

I guess this is where there's a divergence of opinion.

I don't rate Lacazette, Pepe, Bellerin or Nketiah. Aubameyang has either downed tools since signing the contract or he's lacking confidence, but it's not what we want to see from our captain. Maitland-Niles has played 8 minutes of Premier League football all season. Martinelli will take time to get up to speed having been injured for almost the whole year.

Partey and Gabriel are great signings, but they are being let down by other players. Holding and Xhaka in particular have been key culprits. Partey has been injured twice already since joining. Just our luck...

I do think we have enough quality to be much higher in the table, and that is where I lay the blame at Arteta's feet, as we are struggling more than I think we should be.

 

Lacazette is ability wise a very good player - he should be scoring alot more. I kinda blame the manager here. He's of a similar level to Giroud.

I worry about Nketiah - his touch and finishing does'nt look great from a technical perspective.

Pepe is ability wise TOP Class. His left foot is immense - again we are definitely not getting the best out of him.

Agree about Partey and Gabriel.

 

Partey, Gabriel and Tierney are all Arteta singings and they are all top quality. So I can see what he’s trying to achieve. We’re badly missing a creative spark in the middle, maybe if we can get Aouer in Jan it will address that missing link between attack and defence. For now though I’d be playing ceballos further forward in that no10 role.

Xhaka should be a squad player only. That first choice pairing should be ceballos and Partey

I’d also be playing AMN in the this team. Either as a RB in a back 4 or on the right in a 3 man MF.

 

Yeah those three are quality - great signings.

Bellerin confuses me - know he's had his injuries but he is also playing within himself.
First choice right back under three different managers now - he's obvioulsy a talented player but he's not producing great performances on the pitch. Only in glimpses. I do like him though.

I have no idea why Ceballos hasnt been tried as a number 10. We've seen Lacazette, Willock and Willian in there - why not give him a go?

I hope Arteta comes good - but they better have some replacements in mind in case things continue to slide.

 

Seeing reports that Partey is out for 3-4 months. Absolute disaster if true.

 

Would be just our luck.

 

I think we might need to consider breadth of signings rather than depth. What I mean is instead of Aouar for 50m, maybe get Buendia and Szoboszlai for the 50m instead.

if we are really going to 'tear this squad apart' then we need to replace a lot of players. We should be targeting more mid tier players than one really elite player. I just think we are more behind in the rebuild phase than certain people think. I mean we look like we will struggle to even finish top half.

 

This summer Mustafi, Sokratis, Ozil, David Luiz, Ceballos are all out of contract / leaving. IMO none of them should be resigned.

Along with that, I think the time has come to move on from some of the other players that have been here long term. Xhaka, Chambers, Holding, Bellerin IMO should all be moved on. Even at knock down prices. Theyve just been here a long time, and have not really improved IMO.

if you could get £15m for xhaka, £5m for chambers, £8m for holding, £15m for bellerin, thats £43m right there that could help our transfer budget.

I do think there have been A LOT of players that have stuck around too long.

 

agree with that. Although I’d probably keep Bellerin.

that said, AMN can play RB.

 

Would any of you re-sign Ramsey ?

He's failed to make an impact at Juve and they will be looking to offload him at a cut price. I remember he used to link up so well with Giroud running from Midfield. Wonder if he could do a job like that with Lacazette ? He might not be a long term option, but if he was willing to come and take a pay cut. I reckon we could get him for around £15m in Jan

 

He started at the Nou Camp yesterday and put in a blinding performance. I don’t think he’ll be leaving anytime soon.

He’s also going to be 30 this month, still has injury issues and is on extortionate wages.

Taking the sentimentality out of it, it wouldn’t be a good idea.

 

isnt he on like £400k a week?