Theres absolutely a reaction to the Mikel Arteta criticism, with yet Liverpool followers weighing in on the part of the Fleet manager.
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Mikel Arteta a failure? He is over-achieving
Writing into the mailbox for maybe the millionth time about Arteta. I still find its so hard reading a lot of the mails regarding how much he spent and how little he has won.
If we look at how he has done compared to the teams that have spent more than them, I am quite happy with his performances. This will probably be the second time in a column we have come next, which is disheartening, but at the same moment its a lot better than where weve formerly been. It is also a lot better than the likes of Spurs, Chelsea and Manchester United who have all spent more than us during the period he has been.
I hear the idea that Ten Hag was more successful than Arteta because he won two trophies is nonsense. One of them has a task. The various doesnt. If Arteta had performed as he has for Arsenal for any of the other leading six team, I would think he would still be in a career. You cant really state oh. He has spent by amount of money and hasnt won. You need to look at how much additional team have spent.
He is no underachieving. In truth, he is doing better than I expected and better than what he should be with the money spent. He was up against the best Premier League side of all time in Manchester City. I dont blame him for coming next twice in a row. It is so strange that all of these people continuously want him up. Its mostly from rival enthusiasts, but I also see a mood among our own followers that say we need to walk on.
Are you kidding me? We are doing better than we have in about 20 times. Why do we transform this? The players seem to love him to which is fantastic. Just because we have dipped doesnt think its absolutely finished. Well of course there are some flaws workers dont appear to do under him which is a fear and then the two that he bought Havertz and Jesus have never precisely been what we needed. People just keep saying get a winger, who is this striker youre talking about? There are not many top-quality workers available in the market.
Look at Liverpool. Theyre looking for a scorer. Their aims are all coming from a midfielder they bought 8 years ago. Capital they are content with theirs. Man United need a scorer. Chelsea need a striker also Tottenham dont have a top class scorer, there arent some available. We have been scoring sufficiently goals the past two months without a striker. The targets were spread around the group. The problem is this has stopped. I believe we scored more goals than the unbroken staff in each of the last two months.
To be honest, I was delighted with the pick next day. I really dont think that we can engage with the forward people that we have at the moment. For now it is just about keeping range from second place and ensuring we finish as large and in a reputable position as possible.
I dont have much promise against PSV persons. Will certainly mock us if we lose to them but glance at our ahead range. Its Trossard who is a good person, Merino is is a winger and Nwaneri who is 17. Its really not good to get us through. People will say we deserve this as we didnt plan better but we went into the season with two people in each place and increase Nwaneri in it too. 7 ahead players is often enough. Still obviously annoying that we didnt recruit in January but id rather we sign a top player we want in summer than some average player we dont really want in January ( Cunha ).
Lets not ignore though with this group. Were only one place off the subject. Last year it was really near cars, bottle jobs most he need. Its really a terrible word people throw about no matter what the interpretation is gone in that phrase. Ive seen folks produce drink work for this year. It makes no sense at all.
Under Arteta weve had a military like Ive always seen Arsenal had in my life. We are competing against the huge team these days then too. I believe we are something like 18 game unbeaten against the top six. This is totally amazing and nothing like the way we were under Wenger where we often got thrashed by the major groups. I dont worry that he hasnt won a prize all that much. Its because if winning a medal means that are done properly. But if we when the FA Cup and travel seventh Arteta to keep his job? Will that be a signal that he has done properly? No, of course it wont.
You determine how a boss is doing based off how theyre performing in the group. We have done very well in the group. If you asked me in any time from like 2015-2020 if I may take three second-place ends, Id have perhaps taken it. It means we are basically performing properly.
Dion Byrne
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Mikel Arteta has been backed like Jose at Chelsea and won almost nothing
Its funny to inevitably log on and read the mailbox after Arsenal the only club in history apparently who have to win every game do not win and see the latest reactionary nonsense fly out of peoples hotmail accounts.
Obviously Arsenal were conflict on to win the league at the change of the year. Man, if only there was some kind of simple to way to check if that speech had any kind of digging in fact.
And of course, a guy who took a group from 8th to constantly challenging for the group has been backed more by Jose Mourinho. Again, absolutely not in the realms of real unless you want to simply ignore what the value of wealth 20 years ago compared to then Chelsea spend the equivalent of 1.5bn between 2004-2006 for what its value.
Is Mikel Arteta a camera? One people look at and then simply view whatever it is they want to? A completely blank slate that you can venture whatever unevidenced shit onto and only consider it to be best?
Arsenal have had a truly bad winter its inarguable. The summer exchange windows was a crisis and its been compounded by an injury problems that no staff would do well in. The reason Arsenal are bringing on Kieran Tierney as an attacking sub is because Kieran Tierney is Arsenals most effective attacking substitute in the context of having 4 of their 5 attackers out long term. It is what it is.
Conversely, throughout all this, I think theres a pretty good argument to say that Arteta is actually having one of his most effective seasons as a coach. Look at the drop off of every team when the same things happen to them Spurs are at the bottom of the league, City are scabbling around for 4th, Liverpool finished 5th 2 years ago Arsenal are second.
Thats the measure of a guy who has created a system robust enough to deal with the shock. No team wins the league in the position Arsenal found themselves in the minute Bukayo Saka got injured. Expecting them to do so is an exercise in intellectual dishonesty predicated solely on the premise that a 40 year old man can write into the mailbox once every couple of weeks under the pseudonym of a cartoon character that hasnt been especially relevant for well over a decade now.
Simon, London
Arteta does need a trophy though
Lots of interesting emails coming in on Arteta and whether he has been backed too much or if he has been successful or not with what he has the support he has received. I think all of them have value ( apart from you know who ) and I find myself both disagreeing and agreeing with them. Do I think Arteta has been backed more than most managers? Yes. Do I think he needs to win a trophy soon? Yes. Do I want him out and a different manager brought in? No. Am I happy with the style of play right now? No. Do I think the context makes this fair? Somewhat.
I think its fine that Arsenal are in a grey area where we are happy with how things are going broadly speaking during Artetas reign and the progress we have made but unhappy that this season has seen a drop off. How many Slots do we think are out there that could come in and do the same at Arsenal ( looking at you Iraola)? 6 months ago it was Amorin
What I did want to talk about was being judged against near perfection. Whether you think Arteta has done a good job or not, you cant deny he has been challenging ( for most of this season at least ) for the title against near perfection. Liverpool could, and I think will, go and win their last 10 games and hit 97 points. They might even get close to 100 goals scored. This would be an amazing achievement and mean they lost 1 game all season. Last season, City won with 91 to Arsenals 90 last season, losing just 3 games scoring 96 goals in the league. In 22/23, we lost by 5 points to a treble winning Manchester City, one of the best teams that we will ever see in the Premier League. The season before, Liverpool and City again got over 90 as they competed.
In these 4 seasons, the winning team has ( so far ) lost a combined 12 games. United have already lost 12 games this season and Tottenham have lost 14. This is absolutely insane. Thats 12 games lost in 142 games. 12?!? In 142?!? If you take the top 2 its 28 lost over 4 seasons, only 6 more losses for Southampton to achieve that in one season.
You can dismiss the red cards, the injuries, the poor transfers and the poor squad management on their own individual merits, thats fine and all the criticism I feel Arsenal, Arteta and Edu get this season has merit too. But when you need perfection to win the league, you dont have room for any errors or bad luck, and Arsenal have had their fair share this season. Anyone who loses the title to a team that loses only 1 game all season should just hold their hands up and say They were the better team and they deserved it. And they do. I just hope our season doesnt end with PSV in a 1-0 loss at home
Arteta in for 25/26 (unless we cant renew Saliba, Gabriel, Saka in the summer, then were in big trouble ). Then if still no trophies we can see whats available.
Rob A ( 3 losses with the context is not bad at all really ) AFC
Even Liverpool fans are defending Arteta
Just want to write in to say that it is quite hilarious that people continue to write in to lambast Arsenal for their shortcomings this year. Was it not apparent that they wouldnt succeed this year round, at the start of the season? Has anybody managed to go toe to toe with City two seasons in a row and keep going for a third? Even we couldnt do it, and those who didnt even try might what to shut the eff up.
They had eyes on Man City and not one soul thought that we would be this consistent. I wont say we have been great, we have edged it quite a few times this year, wouldve been different in another year. We really did have things go our way when it really really really mattered ( thank you ).
When rival and neutral fans write in day in day out to slag you off and laugh at your failings, you should know that you are doing something right. I for one dont think that Liverpool have been challenged in the league this year, but that is everybodys fault. I do still think that Arsenal are the team we currently fear the most.
Managerial comparisons are completely irrelevant. People can do great things and still come up second best, such is life.
So the Newcastle match, thanks for the rehearsal, well see you at the end of the Carabao Cup Final, hopefully you arent so bad on that occasion. Maybe the real Isak/Guimares would turn up.
Speaking of which. Somebody was spouting nonsense about first and second step managers. Isnt Eddie Howe long considered to be a first step manager?? Why havent Newcastle sacked him yet? Why havent the media got on his back like vultures? Is it because hes British? PSR problems? Trust the process? Too humble? Silent genius? Who knows?
Howe has been at Newcastle since 2021 and he has won f*ck all and barely shown any progress besides stabling the ship during his tenure. Maybe these owners know more than you and the media think you do.
Romulus Shani, LFC ( Isak needs to join a Champions League regular to get better, he has plateaued at Newcastle )
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Mikel Arteta has been backed like Jose at Chelsea and won almost nothing
Im not an Arsenal fan, nor am I a huge Arteta fan, but I had to come back on Tims claim that Arteta has had backing like no other since Mourinho.
Lets look at the figures from transfermarkt.com. Spending since the Summer of 2000 ( Artetas first full season ) :
1. Chelsea FC 1.7bn
2. Manchester City 969.9m
3. Manchester United 918.8m
4. Tottenham Hotspur 833.8m
5 Arsenal FC 783.8m
Now potential champions Liverpool sit 10th on that list, so you could be critical from that perspective. But to say he has somehow been awarded riches greater than any other club just is not backed up by evidence.
And to compare him to Mourinhos first spell at Chelsea :
1. Chelsea FC 342.9m
2 Liverpool FC 148.5m
3 Tottenham Hotspur 144.6m
4 Newcastle United 123.1m
5 Manchester United 120.3m
To put it another way, Mourinho spent more than double the next biggest spenders, Arteta has spent less than half of the biggest spenders ( and less than most of his main rivals ). Even the comparison to Liverpool is unfair as some of their key players ( Allison, Van Dijk, Salah ) were signed before this period. Arteta has rebuilt an entire squad.
Arteta took over a club that were in 10th position, that had finished 5th, 6th and 5th in the prior 3 seasons. He has spent less than almost all of his direct rivals. And yet people slate him because they are second in the league. Seems a bit harsh to me.
Mike, LFC, Dubai
Evaluating managers
When evaluating the greatness of a football manager, three fundamental traits stand out :
1. Building a strong team regardless of net spend.
2. Winning major trophies regardless of the total count.
3. Leaving the club in a strong position ensuring a solid foundation for the next manager.
By applying these criteria to managers who have spent 3 or more years with one team in the modern EPL era, a clear picture emerges :
Sir Alex: Excelled in both team-building and winning, making him an excellent manager.
Wenger: Matched Ferguson in these areas, also placing him in the excellent category.
Jose: Succeeded in all three aspects, marking him as great. His 3rd season syndrome of self-imploding is a real thing but managers who followed him generally succeeded.
Pep: Defined by his trophy success since he joined a strong established team and looks like he might jump a sinking ship, making him merely good for now. What he does after this season could elevate him to excellent.
Klopp: elite in all three areas, earning great status.
Arteta: So far, has only built a good team without winning a thing of note so placing him in the above average category.
ETH: Come on now!
This simple framework makes it easy ( for me at least ) to assess who truly stands above the rest.
Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia
READ: Top 10 all-time Premier League managers list has Guardiola at 2 )
Fed up of hearing about PSR
I know this might sound like a bit of a partial take as a City fan, but put them out of the equation for a moment. Is anyone else sick of hearing about bloody PSR?
The last few transfer windows have been a farce with clubs playing swapsies like the players are actual trading cards all to avoid PSR rules. Some of them were bizarre and players more and more are becoming commodities to strategically move about in order to navigate loopholes in the rules.
Do we want to hear the slimy words pure profit talked about our academy graduates as teams sell promising players they would otherwise have trusted or when tieing less promising ones down to long contracts with no desire to ever play them. They are now too valuable assets to let go on a free.
Maybe its not the general idea, but the weird loophole causing the above erratic behaviour that I dislike, but the idea of the PL regularly taking clubs to tribunals because they are all having to stride a knife edge financially that could swing against them with a bit of bad luck is not great either. We dont really want to talk about accounting every time the transfer window approaches do we?
And then there is the strange punishment that has never sat right with me, the one that says clubs like Everton who fall on the wrong side of it will be deducted points. A financially challenged club sent closer to relegation only exacerbates their plight showing their priority to be not protecting clubs as sustainable entities, but preventing them from upsetting the applecart or dominance. Its utterly stupid. A transfer ban would make more sense. Spend too much? You cant bring in new players next window. Problem solved.
What do others think?
Nick
