By Sir Hardly Anyone
If you have been here before you’ll probably have seen that we’ve spent ages researching and explaining the incredible tactical turnaround that Mr Arteta created last season at the club, which resulted in very poor results in the first third of the season as the change was implemented, and stunning results in the last two thirds as the players adjusted. Eventually a whole range of Arsenal players also found themselves in the Football Observatory list of best players across Europe by May.
But the journalists and TV presenters have not liked that story; their approach is that Arsenal must sell, sell, sell and buy buy buy, largely because it gives them something to write about.
So rather than acknowledge the tactical masterstroke pulled off by Arteta, the media have been acting like Donald Trump, saying everything must change, over and over, so that in the end the story sounds, maybe, just a bit, believable.
This story is that Arsenal have a chronic defence (actually it was the third best in the league despite the rocky start to the season), and we need to change over half the team, despite being the second best team in the league across the last two thirds of the season.
However now the Mirror is changing, and after our months of pointing out how ludicrous such wholesale changes could be in the light of the tactical changes Arteta has introduced, and the progress that resulted in, it seems our message is maybe, just a bit, getting through.
“Five players unearthed by Luis Campos as he ‘holds talks’ over Arsenal role
“Arsenal are looking hire a new director of football to help oversee transfers and aid Mikel Arteta with former Lille chief Luis Campos eyed, a man who has found some real stars in the past.
“Mikel Arteta is set to stay on as manager but is keen on bolstering his squad further in the transfer window.”
But these “five players” are players Campos has discovered in the past, not the everyday transfer gossip the Mirror and FoLo have been giving us all these months
The story that last season was a total disaster and that much of the squad must be replaced as fast as possible – including the incredibly successful defence – has gone.
Of course I’ve no idea what goes on at the Daily Mirror, but until this moment the talk has not been of “bolstering his squad” but of having a mass clear out of the “disastrous defence” (which was the third best in the league).
I’ve been through all the statistics here before in quite a lot of detail but in the shortest of summaries what happens was Arsenal dramatically reduced the number of tackles that the players put in last season, because PGMO were penalising Arsenal far more regularly for tackles than most other clubs.
This change was successful, and meant that the number of fouls given against the club was massively reduced as was the number of yellow cards. As a result after Christmas the club started to rise up the table.
Until now, virtually all of the media has ignored this tactical change, as well as ignoring the fact that taking the season as a whole we had the third best defence in the league. And indeed they have to because the main media in England will not criticise referees except for the occasional “I think the referee got that one wrong”.
While being “keen on bolstering his squad further” might still seem like a way of saying we are going to bring in new players, it is a real change in the language of the Mirror group. Bolstering usually means bringing in a little extra support, which would be one or two back up players to cover for injury. Up to now they have been advocating wholesale changes.
The other factor not recognised in the outpourings of the media is that the list of players we are tipped to be bringing in (currently sitting at 48) includes virtually no home grown players while the list of players we are said to be selling includes five home grown players.
As it was we were already short of players as our home grown list last season only included four such players and one of those (Bellerin) is strongly tipped to be leaving. With none of the incoming players we are likely to get being “home grown” we’ll be down to a squad of 20, rather than 25.
Of course players under 21 are not counted in the 25 and we have had a good crop of those of late, but to go into a season with only 20 players over 21 looks like asking for trouble.
So this could be it, the moment the media slowly realises the truth. We have the third best defence in the league already, and from Christmas on had the second best team in the league.
We can only hope that the Mirror and co now stay with the new reality.
Arsenal’s new future – the plans are revealed
- What will Arsenal do next? These stats tell us.
- How Arsenal used research into ref behaviour to rise up the league
- Arsenal’s yellow cards dropped by 45% last season. How? Why? And how did it help?
- Is development important or is the end of the season all that matters?
The incoming summer transfer good or bad news as the case maybe as far as Arsenal are concerned. Is, one top drawer incoming signing transfer news that emanated in the media today is the reported Arsenal summer transfer target, the Norwich City midfield play maker Emi Guendai possible transfer to Arsenal this summer window has been high-jacked by Aston Villa FC.
But the question that begs for answer on this transfer-jacking from Arsenal is,why did they allowed this transfer-jacking from them by Aston Villa to take place? If in the actual sense of things Arsenal do want to sign the play-maker midfielder from Norwich City FC this summer.
Have Arsenal become too slow and deterring un this summer transfer window to have not completed the transfer of Guendai to AFC before Aston Villa struck with deadly financial poison to attack Arsenal?
Or just what’s the problem with Arsenal in this current summer transfer window that is yet to be officially opened for transactions but during which Arsenal could sign new players in advance of time, I don’t understand? But before the transfer window is open, clubs are unofficially allowed to enter into transfer negotiations to sign and make their signings official when the transfer window is opened.
If this allowing Aston Villa subversion of Arsenal in this summer transfer window which has taken place was a mistake committed by the Arsenal hierarchy bosses who are concerned with doing Arsenal transfers this summer. Let their slowness and deterring mistakes to not sign their hot cake transfer target Guendai in time this summer only to be undo be the very last one that they’ll commit to fail for Arsenal this summer window. I so warn. But what will I do to them? Other than to make noise on the UA against the Arsenal officials.
For, it would have been better if Arsenal did not declare their interest to sign Guendai this summer to raise us Gooners hopes of seeing a top productive midfielder signed by the club this summer. But only to have us hopes dashed unceremoniously into the trash.
But haven expressed my anger to the high heavens as above in regard to Arsenal purportedly failing to sign Guendai this summer. Butwhich could turnout for Arsenal to have dodged a bullet from hitting them during next season’s campaign. Let me therefore sober down to come down to earth. For, it could be that Emi Martinez who was rejected as Arsenal no. 1 goalkepeer last summer in preference to Leno. But who later transferred to Aston Villa that summer could be the brain behind Guendai preferring Aston Villa to Arsenal. So as to pay Arteta back with his own coins is the conspiracy theory that I am suspecting has led Guendai going for the small club side A Villa instead of him to have come to the big club side Arsenal.
And additionally, it could be that Villa offered Guendai a fatter pay packet to go to them than Arsenal have offered him to come to them. Which might have had his head turned to choose A Villa.
Meanwhile, let the backlash that could follow the Arsenal miss out on Guendai signing not lead the club to panic-sign any new inept midfielders for Arsenal during this summer window. So as to use such panic signing to pacify us Gooners in our anger towards the club chieftains appealing to us to bark down in our furry condemning them for their failing to do the incoming signing of Guendai for Arsenal this summer.
By the way, what is Richard Carrick the new Arsenal Chief Transfer Negotiator, or the New Arsenal Director of Football Operations negotiating or directing at the club for Arsenal this summer?
On the home grown issue, no Gunner should be allowed to in the Arsenal first team squad of next season’s campaign just for his been a home grown player. Because to allow that will amount to an indulgent for the Gunner.
But the Gunner should be in the squad for his top quality football game playing for the club. With been a home grown an advantage to the club. As since the club has to name 8 home grown senior team squad players in their 25 man senior team squalid players registration list with the FA.
A look at the current Arsenal first team squad that is currently under going reshulfment have Bellerin, Chambers, Holding, AMN, Willock, ESR, Saka and Nketiah in the 25 as senior team squad home grown players.
But no any Hale End graduates are looking could be promoted to the first team squad next season until after the pre-season campaign is done before us could see 2 Hale End graduates promoted to the senior team squad to replace the likely outbound Bellerin and Nketiah. Whose duo’s football playing quality has reportedly declined to fall below the requisite Arsenal standard.
But if Arsenal want to sign a new top quality striker, left back and a highly productive midfield play maker this summer, with the striker a regular 30 goals plus per season top League goals scorer kind, that means the club will have to offload Balogun to the summer transfer loan market to loan him out for the season. And sell Bellerin too this summer. But who would Arsenal sell in their midfield this summer? Xhaka? Okay, the club could sign Bissouma as replacement to him. But will they sign Aouer as their creative midfielder? But if he’s still the top quality that he was known to be in 2019-2020 season.
But would Arsenal want to loan out Balogun this summer? But if they wouldn’t want to do this, then, they will have to offload one of Auba or Laca this summer. But the hold up play to bring others into play quality of Laca makes him indispensable to Arsenal game playing to do away with him in the Arsenal team. So, this things are difficult to manage. Hmmm. But let’s see how it’ll finally pan out before the season opens.