After that loss to Manchester United, Mikel Arteta is under a lot of pressure, and the refereeing is being criticized.
For a variety of reasons, those of us who have followed Arsenal attentively over the past few years have concluded that Mikel Arteta is not yet ready to be a manager. It's unfortunate since his comeback to lead the team to success would have made for a fantastic conclusion. Most people now realize, though, that this promise has come to nothing.
Some people have started accusing the Kroenkes of lacking ambition, but I think that's bullshit. As somewhat absentee owners, they entrusted Arteta and Edu three quarters of a billion dollars to succeed, and their sole transgression is their foolish faith in Arteta. Instead of extending Arteta's contract to the end of current season, they ought to have recognized the warning signs.
Had they waited, the circumstances and flaws would have become apparent. Nevertheless, like the majority of Arsenal supporters, I admire Arteta and would rather things did not end badly.
I think it would be better if Arteta told the Kroenkes that he had at least temporarily ran out of ideas for the team, then announced publicly that he would be leaving Arsenal at the end of the current campaign. After reflecting and regrouping, Arteta could pursue his career abroad because he would undoubtedly get offers soon.
However, things will get more toxic if Arteta persists or if the Kroenkes do nothing. The issue is that a lot of people are worried that Arteta might bring the ship down with him. There is some hope that the most skilled players on the club, who make up the core, will remain with Arsenal during the transition if Arteta is replaced reasonably quickly.
Players like William Saliba and Bukayo Saka might be enticed to depart for a few genuinely strong teams if this carries on. The team will deteriorate, and this game will be remembered as a fleeting moment in history, when Arsenal had a successful comeback for a season or two before returning to the Champions League.
Terrible performance against United yesterday, who, incidentally, deserved to win, as Arsenal once again demonstrated their need for a consistent goal striker. Who could have known? How could someone have known?
Even when United was reduced to ten men, Arsenal still looked toothless despite having so much of the ball. I know it's not Arteta's fault that Havertz missed two clear-cut opportunities and that Declan Rice is terrible at heading a football when in front of goal. No cutting edge, no cruel streak, and no overt will to score a goal in any way. No backup plan.
Lose the ball, pass, pass, pass, pass sideways, pass, pass, pass backwards, pass, pass...
Even an average striker would be preferable to what we currently have, even if I am aware that the January window isn't the best time to find a top-tier player. I hope Arteta is motivated to go find someone by Gabriel Jesus' injuries, but I wish him well. Although I admire Kai Havertz, he is not a consistent goal scorer. Trossard is at most "meh," and Martinelli isn't good enough—in fact, I'm concerned he's hit his maximum potential. Saka is hurt, to be sure, but you need a team that can handle these situations. Every team sustains injuries.
The Premier League currently appears improbable, we're obviously not good enough to win the Champions League, and we're likely out of the FA Cup and EFL Cup [which were actually our best chances to win a trophy].
It is really great to defeat London Stoke.
Didn't it end up being a really fun football match? After Dalot's gaffe, I was afraid for the worse, but we persevered and earned the right to go to penalties to restore equality.
I thought Arsenal's skill with set pieces, sometimes known as Pulis-ball, would help them win corners and make up for the cagey first half in which we handed up a few stupid free kicks. We did, however, defend those well throughout the game, which should be evidence that our efforts on the training field are paying off. We maintained a tight line and were difficult to break down due to the team's overall shape, even though some of their chipped through balls were dangerous.
With Hojlund frequently appearing alone and having too much distance between him and the two 10s behind him, we are still not accomplishing enough moving forward. However, it's still a work in progress, and Zirkzee deserves praise for his bravery in taking the final penalty after he came on and held the ball up nicely.
We won, so there's no use in me complaining about any of the shoddy calls the referees made or drawing attention to the discrepancy in bookings and free kicks—though I have no issues with Dalot's second yellow. Even if the draw is inevitably more difficult, I'm still glad to remain in the cup as City and Liverpool have another bye to the next round. Quelle surprise! MUFC's Garey Vance
…Let's get started, but there will probably be a lot more emails like this one.
A horrible, biased referee nearly ruined the game: a penalty for a dive in which the only contact was the diver standing on the alleged offender [given a yellow card]; a second yellow for a "foul" in which there was absolutely no contact; and a foul not given for Bruno against a falling Jesus on the edge of the area [given a yellow card].
Add in the referee's failure to deal with or penalize Arsenal for their playacting and time wastage, along with perhaps a dozen other ridiculous rulings.
However, there were also some excellent plays: Bruno had a great finish; De Ligt, Maguire, and Martinez all played brilliantly with game-saving tackles [especially De Ligt, who had a great physical display and deserved a goal]; Garnacho managed a good pass after great harrying [2 in 2!]; and Zirkzee [along with a hard-running Amad] completed a brief redemption arc with the winning penalty.
To the hero of the game, who made two penalty saves and displayed excellent general keeping, you add another redemption by a goalie who recovered from a prior awful performance with a jittery first half of kicking.
You can debate the merits of three or four players winning man of the match after seeing the game.
Every athlete can also claim a great deal of credit for their outstanding efforts. Mainoo was tight and controlled, Ugarte and Mazra were excellent, and Højlund put in good but underappreciated work up front [without his run that engaged the defenders, there wouldn't be space for Bruno to finish].
Lastly, I would like to thank Arteta and Havertz. Really, we appreciate it very much. To paraphrase, Havertz would have released his tenth album by now if he was aiming at Tupac. The taste of justice is quite pleasant.
A whinge about refereeing
It was quite the game. Arsenal tried their hardest to squander a gimme, but nevertheless United managed to grab a victory. albeit with Havertz and Bayindir's assistance. Indeed, United prevailed in the end, but it was purely due to one of the worst refereeing performances I have ever witnessed. Since it's difficult for a United supporter to maintain objectivity, I'll just state that Mr. Madley's performance was utterly awful, a sentiment that appears to be supported by impartial supporters online.
Regardless of your stance on the matter, Dalot's shocking tackle was a dumb move to make while on a yellow. Nevertheless, I will state that a red card was unavoidable due to Mr. Madley's readiness to issue severe yellows for insignificant tackles. Michael Oliver's statement that red cards and penalties shouldn't be used in games this important raises concerns; it appears that Mr. Madley disagrees.
His inconsistency in calling fouls was evident; Havertz was given a penalty by Maguire's application of Kill Bill's Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique, while Fernandes was clattered into and had his boot stood on by Gabriel Jesus, receiving nothing more than a yellow card for being understandably upset.
United's defeat against the worst penalty in years would have been incredibly harsh, but they were fortunate to have Bayindir's touch of class and Havertz's unwavering resolve to be completely astonished.
What is the problem, then? "Why are you complaining when your team won?" the editor sighs impatiently. The game is being impacted by subpar refereeing. Teams and individuals are impacted by poor decisions, such as Ten Hag's dismissal following the shocking penalty against West Ham. Yes, he lost his job because he was having a bad run, but that "penalty" cost him the match and eliminated any chance he had of turning the ship around, no matter how remote. For a period. Completed. due to a bad refereeing call.
Since it impacts many teams and I'm sure every fan has a story, I'm not saying that there is a plot against United. When will the caliber of referees be subject to greater scrutiny? When will the PGMOL undergo an audit, be questioned, be interviewed, be changed, or anything else to address what is already a glaring stain on football?
We can complain about simulation, but the referees must enforce the rules against diving. Havertz ought to have been reprimanded for diving and given a yellow card instead. However, the existing mentality of "Not A Foul Unless He Falls" is absurd, thus referees must call fouls as such.
On the midway line, Gabriel and Hojlund made more contact at one point than I could have with a stranger without it being considered sexual assault, but as Hojlund remained upright, no foul was called. Weak officiating promotes the diving, rolling around, and theatrics that we all say we detest but never hold accountable. Basically, Mr. Madley presented one of the worst officiating performances I have ever witnessed, and it appears that many people on the internet concur, which is strange that 16 Conclusions didn't even bring it up.
Journalists and the press ought to be looking into this issue much more. The voice is yours. The Fourth Estate is you. I believe it's time for the refereeing discussion to gain some traction. For every fan.
Ten Hag was treated too harshly.
It's kind of weird. I felt Ten Hag's ranking last on the PL managers list was a little harsh, but after reading Badwolf's email in the Sunday mailbox, I was relieved to see that there are supporters who have a slightly more balanced perspective. It's a hill I'm willing to die on. I don't think Ten Hag was the only issue, and it's obvious that something had to change, but some of the performances under Amorim and what the players and Amorim are saying about their lack of confidence show that the issue wasn't [necessarily] just Erik.
With new players trying to settle in and players getting older, Manchester United had maybe the worst injury list of any side in the league last season. In 38 league games, we started 30 different back fours. You attempt to be safe and make a mistake, but all of a sudden your confidence collapses and every error is scrutinized. This, in my opinion, was fueled by the media and produced a self-reinforcing doom spiral that eroded the team's confidence. This lasted throughout the summer until the pressure became intolerable, and as I mentioned before, something had to change to rid the club of the negativity.
Yes, there was a fair amount of criticism regarding methods and setup, but a lot more of it was just garbage to get more clicks. Ten Hag's squad and man management, in my opinion, was deficient, but it is evident from Amorim's early disciplinary measures that the issue was not a one-way street. The truth is that we won two titles in two years thanks to ETH, including the FA Cup against a lot more favored Man City. He isn't just a whipping boy to get more views; he deserves a little more respect.
Separately, I'm thrilled for Harry Maguire, who appears to have regained his reputation, confidence, and form after becoming somewhat of a laughing stock. I would justify my criticism of his past performances and incapacity to complete basic passes, but I also appreciated his perseverance in trying to rejoin the club. He trained with Ricardo Carvalho a few summers ago, and he now appears to be a respectable defense with some confidence. Daniel Cambridge
How Ange acted arrogantly at Tamworth
I'll try to slip in a letter with my opinions on Spurs' better-late-than-never victory against Tamworth amid the barrage of Stewie-directed hate and the most recent Arsenal meltdown emails.
To be truthful, that wasn't very good. I never believed that Spurs would push Tamworth away because they were scrubs. Football is a game in which eleven people compete against one another. And those Tamworth people were incredibly excited for the most important game in their history, as were the hundreds of their supporters gathered around that tiny astro turf field. This test was challenging.
Although it was a challenging test, Spurs should have been able to pass it in ninety minutes. I'm happy that Postecoglou chose a solid side.
Maddison was one of our better players, and I thought he would dominate, but it was unfortunate that he missed some opportunities. Even while I still firmly believe in Angel, I thought he made some poor choices yesterday.
Werner. Werner, my God. Werner starting out LW, stretching their legs with his one-trick-pony kick and chase routine, down past the full back, would have been fine with me. However, playing him as a central striker and expecting him to perform the tasks we expect of Solanke made him appear to be the worst player on the field. It was absurd that he was chosen there instead of Lankshear [or a healthy Richarlison?].
Porro. Although I like Porro, I think he has played too much football. He appears cynical, which will lead to errors. An outburst Although Porro is an excellent player, the one we had yesterday was a tired and prone to mistakes. ought to have taken a nap. But instead of concentrating on the drawbacks, as I'm sure most reporters, mailboxers, and Dave Tickner will do this week while laughing heartily at Spurs, I'm going to concentrate on the most crucial statistic: the victory.
Spurs' quality may be criticized, but the truth is that it was 3-0 after 20 minutes as soon as Son Solanke and Kulusevski took the field together. It's unfortunate that those men were unable to take the day off. Spurs have been eliminated. We will still be in third place going into February. It doesn't matter how you advance; what matters is that we make progress.
Spurs were about to lose to Coventry in the first round of the league cup, but Djed Spence came back from exile to save us. In that competition, we have since defeated City, United, and Liverpool. A victory is a victory. Winning "ugly" like that could really benefit the squad in several ways!
Lastly, the goal of "resting" players was to ensure they were healthy for Wednesday's NLD. Even more difficult was our opponent's match, which ended in a crushing defeat on penalties after injuries and extra time. Excellent.
We'll go again on Wednesday when we put Porro, Bissouma, and Gray on ice. Eire, THFC, and Andy
Havertz was visited by justice police.
You knew they would lose when Havertz used the cliched, pre-VAR dive-and-kick-the-defender-to-con-the-ref penalty ploy, even if he played like a turd the entire time. Karmic suicide.
He must have thought, "f**k, this is being filmed," as he sheepishly sidestepped giant Slabhead in the chaos, knowing he had done enough to guarantee Arsenal would never win the game again.
Thus, it transpired just as it was stated. Little Team Away a man down receives powerboost+8, anger+10, and Turkish pleasure redemption cape to adorn for the remainder of the game. Havertz attempts to cheat at home with a man extra and is dealt luck-10 and must wear the cursed amulet of the Fanny hole for the remainder of the game.
I haven't heard much about it, but it was pitiful. Get what you deserve, Arsenal, even if it means playing with two more players. Even while there is no assurance that VAR would have been used to stop the cheating, it is regrettably the reason why Karma ultimately prevails. a pivotal moment in the game that was entirely caused by cheating.
Zirkzee waving away Arsenal supporters made me laugh so hard. There is redemption everywhere. Moses [By the end of the season, is the personality-free Arteta gone? This time, he could probably blame Karma.
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