Following last night's dire defeat at home to Burnley, Arsenal now worryingly lie 15th in the table, only five points above the relegation zone. With performances not improving, there are many question marks on whether Arsenal can still be considered a ‘big’ club. In this piece, @JonnysView and I look to break down where exactly it’s going wrong for the gunners thus far...
JH: I think the biggest issue at Arsenal Football Club is the players. There are far too many overpaid and overrated members of our squad who are a total burden to the club. The attitudes of certain members of the squad is absolutely appalling. There is no denying that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is a top quality striker, but ever since he got his new lucrative contract, he has been an absolute shadow of the player that has scored so many important goals for us. He looks disinterested and gives off the impression that he doesn’t have to work hard because he's our main man. He’s our captain and yet does absolutely nothing to motivate the squad when on the pitch. The captain should lead by example and at the moment, he is doing nothing of the sort.
For some odd reason, these players are completely wrapped in cotton wool and manage to escape blame for all our performances bar a couple scapegoats. They know Arteta is under pressure but instead of showing fight and desire, they look bored, like it’s not their fault results aren't going our way. These players will do exactly the same they did to Unai Emery, for whom the record I don’t think is a bad coach. They are the ones on the pitch and ultimately it's their fault that we are not winning games yet they know they’ll still be in the job as long as they have their contracts. They threw Emery under the bus and I have no doubt they will do exactly the same to Arteta. The real question is, who are the perpetrators? Who are the players that control the mood of the dressing room? Who are the players that got bored of playing for Emery and will soon get bored of playing for Arteta? The truth is, I don’t know. However, what I do know is that this cycle will continue to ruin each and every coach we appoint until we have a complete new squad. I genuinely believe there is not a manager in world football that could turn this team around. There are members of this toxic squad that are willing to throw any manager we appoint to the pit, so long as they get their paycheck. Until the core of this squad is changed, the cycle will continue like this:
Appoint new manager - New manager bounce gets some good results - New manager bounce wears off - Poor results because squad isn’t good enough - Players stop working hard and place blame on manager to save themselves - Manager gets sacked - Repeat.
This happened with Emery, it’s happening with Arteta. It wouldn’t matter if we got Prime Sir Alex Ferguson, even he couldn’t do anything with some of these pathetic players. It’s not even the fact that they lack ability, it’s that their attitudes stink. We have to give Arteta time to overhaul this squad before we can judge or risk falling into the above cycle once again.
MM: Whilst many of the players look disinterested, there are a select few playing with the right mentality and showing they care about the club. New signing Gabriel Magalhaes has come into the side and won Arsenal’s player of the month competition three months in a row and has hardly put a foot wrong for the club. The 22 year old has no experience playing for a club with the stature of Arsenal’s yet he has been showing the more experienced players how it is done. After the loss against Burnley he sent out a tweet saying: “Sorry fans, we will get out of this situation. We need you!” showing he is not one to shy away from responsibility, which can not be said about many other members of the first team squad. Gabriel is often our best attacking threat towards the end of games due to his drive and determination, which should be a major wake up call for the likes of Aubameyang and Lacazette who have both been nothing short of lacklustre this season.
Another player who deserves credit is scottish left back Kieran Tierney. Tierney has established himself as a fan favourite since he joined Arsenal due to his impressive work rate and hunger he shows on the pitch. Many fans view Tierney as a future Arsenal captain, and it is easy to see why. According to fans in the stadium on twitter, Tierney went ‘absolutely berserk walking back to the centre, screaming and shouting.’ and was the only player who appeared to react that way. The Scotsman has had to work hard since arriving at Arsenal from boyhood club Celtic after a series of injuries last season but he has never let that deter him from playing with 100% effort and passion for the club. In an interview with Goal.com’s Charles Watts discussing the Burnley game Tierney insisted that the blame is entirely on the players stating “It’s not good enough, there is no way to disguise it. It’s terrible to be honest.” Whilst this may sound like the standard, generic response to a defeat from a player, Watts insisted Tierney was speaking from the heart.
Bukayo Saka has been another shining light for Arsenal in the darkness of this season. He often is the gunners’ best player as he shows a willingness to drive forward and create chances, something the Arsenal squad badly struggles with. His performances this season have been rightfully rewarded with call ups to the England side where he has started multiple games. Despite being just 19 years of age, Saka has looked levels above the likes of more experienced players like Willian, Pepe, Aubameyang and Lacazette mostly due to the desire he shows on the pitch.
On top of this, whilst Arsenal’s main starters have struggled domestically, Arsenal’s other youngsters have shown the right mentality in their performances in the Europa League and when called upon, the Premier League too. The likes of Willock, Nelson and more recently Folarin Balogun and Emile Smith-Rowe have shown the levels of commitment and effort required at Arsenal and the more experienced players should take note. Whilst this has often been against weaker opposition and by no means can you compare the teams Arsenal face in Europe and in the Premier League, I think if given the opportunities in the league then the youngsters would at least show a determination to play for the badge which the current crop of players just aren’t showing. I think most Arsenal fans would much rather see a team of hard working youngsters playing in the prem then a bunch of disinterested, overpaid egos. Realistically, how much worse could the youngsters do?
JH: So we’ve established that the primary issue at the club is the current group of players as opposed to the manager. But what exactly is the solution to the problem? Recruitment. It’s important that Arteta be given time to offload the deadwood and bring in players who have both quality and correct attitudes. Players that want to fight for the badge and leave everything on the pitch. Roy Keane always mentions Arsenal as having a ‘lack of leaders’ and he makes a fair point. We need players that are going to take responsibility and play with pride as opposed to the status quo where they hide behind their contracts. While it is clear we need more quality in the team, I think the more pressing issue is the lack of characters in the squad. If Arteta is given time in the coming transfer windows, there is no reason why this whole squad can’t change. I’m only going to touch on this briefly, but it’s imperative we stop dealing with these ‘super agents’ that have left us stuck with average players like David Luiz and Willian on astronomical wages. Not only do they lack quality to improve our squad and take up large portions of our wage bill, they have huge egos alongside a false sense of importance. They only leave us worse off and they are a major part of the problem. I don’t know who on the board is dealing with these super agents but that needs to stop if we’re going to progress.
MM: There was never going to be a quick fix to the struggles Arsenal started facing in Wenger’s latter years shown by the struggles faced by both Emery and Arteta thus far. I think Arsenal need a huge overhaul of the squad over the next few windows, there are too many players who are either not good enough or have the wrong attitude and until they’re gone, Arsenal will not close the ever growing gap on their rivals. I will be focusing more on Mikel Arteta and whether he should stay or go in another article.
Check out more of @Jonnysview at jonathanhoward228.wixsite.com/jonnysview
Kieran Tierney article with @Charles_Watts: https://www.goal.com/en/news/not-good-enough-terrible-arsenal-players-letting-great/1dz6h50jhevth13kt5ua8a0g6d
What a fantastic and a factual option that is happening at Arsenal FC