On the Arsenal History Society website:Chapman Part 7: Success at Huddersfleld, concern at Arsenal
On Untold Arsenal:
By Tony Attwood
What is Arsenal’s problem? Bad tactics? Bad luck? Bad referees? Or too many foreigners?
The fact is that what gives most teams their absolute fluency in playing games at the top level is a deep understanding between multiple players which is gained by a combination of their ability, their tactical plans and inventiveness and an understanding of each other’s performance and what they can do.
And so with stating something like that, which is really just so plain obvious it is verging on daft, a secondary headline that says, “Although unlucky in Milan Arsenal have forgotten how to score away from home and are looking to returning captain” is even more silly. Of course they haven’t forgotten. It is just that the constant changes to the squad because of injuries is making it hard for the instant understanding necessary to win at this level of football, to evolve. Add to that the simple fact that it is not just Odegaard who has been absent but also Rice, and the size of the problem and the journalistic silliness of the commentary becomes obvious.
Put Rice and Odegaard back in a stable team, and Arsenal will be marching forward once again.
As a result of the recent results Arsenal have now sunk down into the europa league positions…. the top eight going into the latter stages of the Champions League…
| Pos | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 12 |
| 2 | Sporting | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 10 |
| 3 | Monaco | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| 4 | Brest | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 10 |
| 5 | Inter | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 10 |
| 6 | Barcelona | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 9 |
| 7 | Borussia D | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 9 |
| 8 | Aston V | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 9 |
| 9 | Atalanta | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 8 |
| 10 | Man C | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 7 |
| 11 | Juventus | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| 12 | Arsenal | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
Of course even with Rice and Odegaard together, it will take a little while for everything to be sorted, and that will depend on no more nasty injuries. And maybe it is best just to drop out of the Champions League anyway, take easier games in the Europa and focus instead on the Premier League as the seemingly ceaseless multitude of injuries are dealt with.
Meanwhile the Guardian is now treating Arsenal supporters with utter contempt and although it is not for me to suggest to anyone reading Untold how to behave (I am just grateful you are reading) I would meekly make the suggestion that if you are buying the Guardian maybe you stop and read instead online until some sort of sense and civility returns to their football pages.
To describe travelling Arsenal supporters as people whose writing is best described as “a frotthing cloud of online paranoia over questionable refereeing decisions” is so utterly insulting that I am almost tempted to descend to their level and insult them back. But fortunately, while good manners exist not within the Guardian, they are still present in my house, so I won’t. I don’t think we have ever written about their contributors in such a manner and for a once well-recognised and well-written newspaper to have sunk to such a level of football commentary is desperately sad.
But enough of that. Moving on….
On Sunday we have Chelsea which means Raheem Sterling won’t be able to play, and we know Takehiro Timiyasu is getting closer to being fit but still not there yet. Ricardo Calafiori is unfit for several more weeks, and Keiran Tierney, although making progress is also still “a few weeks away”. With Declan Rice we are not sure: all we have is that “it was a problem with his foot”.
Arsenal have 22 players on their books who are listed as being in the first team squad and being aged over 21, and of course and of course that leaves three spaces. But only four of the over 21 year olds are shown as being English.
But as I understand it a squad can only have a maximum of 17 non-homegrown players, and Transfermarkt shows us with 18 such players, so something is wrong somewhere. Undoubtedly that somewhere is within my figures, but I can’s see where, so I’d very much like it if you can sort this out for me.
Here’s the list I have of players aged over 21 without English nationality who seem to be part of Arsenal’s squad. So is one of these players now with dual nationality with the second nationality being English?
If you can point out my error without calling me names that would be nice, too. This is, after all, not the Guardian and I am not Barney Ronay
Arsenal’s foreigners (as defined by football rules)
- Calafiori
- Timber
- Saliba
- Martinelli
- Kiwior
- Havertz
- Odegaard
- Tomiyasu
- Gabriel
- Zinchenko
- Tierney
- Gabriel Jesus
- Mikel Merino
- Leandro Trossard
- David Raya
- Thomas Partey
- Jorginho
- Neto
Tony, I think Saliba counts as homegrown as we bought him as a teenager and he was registered with us despite being loaned to French clubs. I could, of course, be wrong on this.
Tierney is obviously British but I’m not sure if that counts any more.
In any event, I was always under the impression that Martinelli counted as homegrown because of he had been with us for 3 years before turning 21.
Thanks guys, now you have pointed that our I think you are right for sure. Really silly of me to have lost those facts. I don’t think Tierney being British counts as noted but I think Martinelli counts as home grown, and probably Saliba too, so that’s fine Which means we do have space in the squad if we can find the right player.
Don’t think CL teams can drop into the Europa this year.
Out is out, as the Brexiters used to say.