Time for Arteta to leave ‘Next Season FC’ as Arsenal ‘choke’; Salah the only reason Liverpool will win title
The Mailbox reckons it’s time for Arsenal to move on from Mikel Arteta to a ‘next steps’ manager. Plus, Mo Salah is the only ‘difference’ between Liverpool and the Gunners, Boneworms and Konsa’s Boot, Man Utd shit-show and lots more…
Send your thoughts to theeditor@football365.com…
Arsenal
Genuine question – why is it whenever your rivals slip Arsenal go one further and totally fall over?
Admit it or not your team does have a real problem handling pressure, evidenced by the space in your cabinet were trophies are supposed to be.
Is Arteta the guy to fix that? I dunno. I heard someone say recently that Pep isn’t the guy for building teams, he’s the guy for taking teams to the next level. I think arteta is the opposite. I think he’s done as much as he can and it’s time to find a ‘next steps’ manager.
Lee
Cue deep state PGMOL MI5 conspiracy, or maybe, these are aliens from an outer world light years away masquerading as Arsenal players?
How else can you explain Arsenal’s complex, out of this world, system of Mikel Merino leading the line from minute 1 to the end of time?
Lightweight Pep is really way ahead of his peers in club football.
In other news, Villa beating Chelsea at home puts into perspective that just maybe, Liverpool drawing with Villa away last Wednesday was not a bad result afterall, no?
Syariffudin Veni, Singapore (We’ve won it 6 times!)
Arsenal panic…
I wonder where Vinny P puts Arsenal’s title chances now, 65%? Tops 68%, surely.
To be fair to Arteta and the club, I don’t think it’s accurate to say they cost us the title by not buying a striker or any attacker. Liverpool are very good, and I don’t think anyone would keep pace with them after losing their top four attackers (possibly five, with Nwaneri!) Just rotten luck.
What I think is more fair is to say by not buying a striker or attacker, we may have cost ourselves a Champions League spot. Maybe the thinking in January was that the title was probably gone, so better to wait until summer. It makes sense, except that taking the top four for granted is a massive blunder. A panic-buy striker would not have put us ahead of Liverpool, but it probably would have been enough to limp over the finish line ahead of City or Bournemouth. But now? We have literally no one who can score. We came up with zilch at home against West Ham and now we have to take the same team away to Forest in four days. Obviously we need a result there, but not for the title race. If we lose, as we probably will, it’ll be time to panic about the season going off a cliff.
I’ll be cheering for Liverpool to beat City, as should all Arsenal fans.
Sage
This will a stupid mailbox
Team challenging for title plays their defensive midfielder at striker because of injury crisis, with only fit attacking sub being a completely washed Sterling, against a really organised and determined West Ham side. I am sure the mailbox will take this into consideration and be full of rational mails and debate….
For my own thoughts, I go back to Artetas complete lack of flexibility and willingness to let his players express themselves outside his system. If a team turns up and defends really well in a deep block we rely exclusively on the magic of Saka/Nwaneri. We still prioritise defense over a West Ham team is terrible form at home. We see this type of game time and time again and still Arteta plays the same system and team. He has to adapt more to the opposition. Its driving me insane.
We lost our Salah, Liverpools is still up and running and having one of the best seasons any player has ever had in the Premier League. He deserves it. They deserve it more than we do. That’s ok (except we all know who is going to say its not…)
Rob A (he’s been involved in 63% of their goals, it’s outrageous) AFC
Dropping points
There was so much talk post Villa (especially amongst some desperately panicked Liverpool fans) about Arsenal closing the gap. Things like, “if Arsenal win their game in hand, the gap will be 5 then if Liverpool lose again the gap will be 2 etc”. The problem with that ideas is that it relies on the assumption that Arsenal will win all their games. That at no point following a Liverpool slip up, will Arsenal slip up too, offering Liverpool a chance to rebuild their lead.
That sort of run from areal was never going to happen. This Arsenal team is good, but it’s not 95 points in a season good, especially with their injuries. The Leicester game should have shown there were vulnerabilities there.
The great thing from a Liverpool perspective is that today becomes almost a free hit. Worst case scenario, Liverpool end the weekend still 8 points ahead with a game in hand, which I would have gladly accepted before the game.
It’s not to say the league is over but to put it into context, Liverpool’s recent form has seen them win 4 and draw 4 of their last 8, 2PPG. Even if they continue that slightly patchy form for the rest of the season (in which they have 7 home games and 5 away), Arsenal would have to win 11 of their last 12 games to win the league.
To put it another way, from this point, Arsenal are going to have to be really, really good, or Liverpool will have to be catastrophically bad.
Mike, LFC, Dubai
Stewie
There’s an epic rant coming isn’t there?
Regards,
Miguel Sanchez, LFC, Eire
Earth to Stewie. Come in Stewie.
Matt Carr, Spurs, Wilmington, NC
So, let’s see. Sunday morning’s mailbox (If there is one) will likely consist of the following:
1. The Arsenal tin-foil hat brigade out in force. Hopefully, they will include my favourite ‘stat’ quoters. You know, the ones that have spent an inordinate amount of time researching cards, ref, and VAR decisions to make their point. Always absorbing and entertaining reading.
2. United supporters handwringing and pearl-clutching. Glazers out, INEOS out, Ratcliffe out, Amorim out, or players out. Delete as applicable. And let us not forget those who are about to shift their support to FC United. Well, those from in or around Manchester anyway.
3. An absolute stonker from Stewie.
Mark (Did I miss anything?) MCFC.
Oh Dear
Dear Liverpool fans,
As I said several months ago, I’m just going to repost a point I made about Los Serial FAKE PULIS-BALL bottlers:l. Congrats on a point gained Scousers! Liverpool have had no challengers all season
“Liverpool fans can rest easy because irrespective of how many points they drop, Arteta’s serial chokers will respond in kind”
Twas’ ever thus. 🙄. The only mystery is that it seems there are Liverpool fans living in as parallel a universe as the Arsenal ones – the overlapping commonality being, both these sets of fans seem to think a team of serial Chokers, has the resilience to win a PL title. How many more chances does Arteta want/need? Just to reinforce the point, here is the sequence of Arsenal results, after Liverpool have dropped points:
Liverpool draw 3-3 at Newcastle: Arteta responds by drawing at Fulham
Liverpool draw 2-2 at Fulham: Arteta responds by drawing 0-0 at home to Dyche’s Everton.
Arsenal broke the pattern tbf by dropping points at Brighton in anticipation of Liverpool dropping yet more points at home to dreadful ManYoo.
Liverpool drop more point at Forest?
Arteta’s bottlers roll out the red carpet, and drop more at home to Villa!
Arteta’s latest piece de resistance was a marvel for the ages, managing to lose at home to a West Ham side that previously couldn’t beat an egg. How generous of Arteta to launch Fake Harry Potter’s managerial West Ham career! 🤣
I’m going over old ground, but many of the Gooners in this mailbox continue to demonstrate a cyclical inability to take blinkers off, and think critically. MAGA-esque Group Think. So, I repeat: for the 21st season in a row, for those at the back: Arsenal
Is a team of bottlers. There is no Deep State PGMOL plot. Arsenal aren’t quality enough to be hated, because they’re universally mocked. Their latest Loser-excuse to legislate for Slot rocking up, no cash spent, and breezing the PL ahead of their FAKE SPANISH PULIS?
“I’d rather see Liverpool win it than Citeh” – the kind of people who probably think it’s “I’m fine with my partner shagging Johnny Depp, so long as it ain’t that James Corden”. Errrrr, cool cool. 🙄
Five years. Ten transfer windows. £15m a season in managerial salary (!). Over £750m spent. Season over in January. Fluffed the two-year old striker crisis by pilfering a combined £80m on Calafiori (a defender who never starts) and the Spanish Kevin Nolan, who is now playing the Ian Wright role lol. And Arteta’s “attempt” to address the striker issue? Bring in a Temu Raheem Sterling, which is clearly a counterfeit drop shipping scam product. Yet again, as with the injured £65m ashtray, Chelsea pull Arsenal’s pants down. Again. Has a loan deal ever been such a rip-off before?
The funniest bit? Arsenal’s delusional contingent will now, seriously, claim that their focus is on the CL. Word of warning though: before they begin wondering how the Spanish Kevin Nolan and Temu Sterling will get on at the Bernabeu (imagine!), they might want to think about how much damage PSV are going to inflict on that shower beforehand.
Netflix FC’s QArsenal contingent will search for a litany of excuses, and we will hear how Arteta has “raised standards”. I’ll say it again: how low were the previous standards, for the current ones to be held in such revered esteem? Truly some weak-ass shite, but Samo. 21 seasons and counting.
I’m sure Saliba, Saka and Nwaneri will be delighted to waste the best years of their short careers waiting for “Next Season FC” as they see all their peers collect the biggest trophies. I mean, they just need to look at the awful trophy hauls Ashley Cole, Cesc, Nasri and RVP had after leaving eh? “Be careful what you wish for” – isn’t that the Loser saying?
Stewie Griffin (Arsenal won their cup final at home to Citeh though, so season is a success! As I’ve said before, Arsenal are a Harrods version of Spurs. Same potless product, fancier packaging. Is this the point in the season where Arsenal fans lower their sights and celebrate “St Totteringhams Day?)
Oh no! Arsenal didn’t win. Tears coming
Evening
If there is ever any doubt F365 do not want Liverpool to win the league, the opening line of Dave Tickners article on Arsenal losing sums it up.
Why the dislike for Liverpool? It’s almost like all writers are aged 47-59 years old who saw Liverpool dominated 1981-88 English football.
I can understand that. It’s like me hating United for their 1993-99 exploits.
But. If any of your writers are younger than 47 they are just a bit silly, and every article screams bitterness. But with no actual reason.
The embarrassing predictions from the “ expert” journalists at the start of the season where no one said Liverpool would challenge.
The embarrassing articles questioning lack of transfers ( like it’s a bad thing when it’s not needed)
The embarrassing “ they haven’t played anyone good yet” articles from F365, gosh they wengg tv on for 8 weeks.
The continued articles surrounding “ reasons Liverpool will bottle the league” after drawing at Everton and Villa.
I would really like to see an article they actually just praises Liverpool for this seasons performance. Ideally with no sarcasm, no vitriolic content, no bias.
I don’t think Liverpool have been amazing this season. I did think they could challenge as it was clear to see they needed to be more difficult to beat. That’s exactly what Slot has done.
But if it’s not city then f365 don’t care.
Ade. 20 is coming. Regardless of how much your website doesn’t want it to happen. Gutted
Nothing wrong at all with second place. Given our injuries this year, I think it is a great achievement. And the future looks bright with Nwaneri and Lewis Skelly. And we are still in the Champions League. We have not bottled anything. And by the way, that should have been a foul on Lewis-Skelly, who was knocked over by the West Ham player. Should have been a free kick to Arsenal instead of a red card.
Ron Jeremias, Virginia, USA
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Knee-Jerk Reactions
Getting in with my knee-jerk reaction following the West Ham game – this Arsenal loss has been coming for a long time, and the lack of attacking recruitment is to blame.
Was Martin Odegaard ineffective? Yes. Was Myles Lewis-Skelly careless and his red card completely justified? Yes. Is Mikel Merino the answer at forward? Definitely not. But the key difference between Arsenal and Liverpool this year isn’t the defense, midfield, or even the attack necessarily. The difference is actually just Mo Salah and how good he’s been. As has been floated around recently, Salah’s goal contributions has led to 31 points for Liverpool this season. He’s one of the most in-form players in the world, and Arsenal have nothing close to a similar player with Saka out.
West Ham were fantastic. This game should be the gold standard whenever a team wants to play classic ‘park the bus’ football. Defend resolutely and have 2-3 fast and strong attacking players (Bowen, Kudus, Wan-Bissaka) to hit on the break. The key reason this worked so effectively, though, is because Arsenal have no dynamic attacking players and no striker.
In the last two years, Arsenal have only brought in three attacking players – Kai Havertz, Fabio Vieria, and Raheem Sterling on loan. They’ve also let go of Emile Smith Rowe, Nketiah, Reiss Nelson, and Vieira back out. That’s not enough firepower for a team trying to win the league.
I’m writing the rest of this season off – predicting a quarters CL exit to Real and a second place finish. If we buy 2-3 top attacking players (unlikely), we have a shot next year. If not, we’ll be the perennial ‘bottlers’, although that moniker should really be given to the board, not the players.
Kentaro
Boneworms and Konsa’s Boot
Twelve years ago, what’s happening to Manchester United would have been a source of joy. Now it just feels like watching boneworms dissolve a whale carcass lying deep on the bottom of the Atlantic.
Since that time, they’ve hired six permanent managers and another four caretakers. Under those managers, their success rate with player recruitment (and transfer profitability) has trended reliably downward to an extent that might be unique among elite clubs. Dead man walking Erik Ten Hag seemed to provide a new management low for the club, such was his tactical bluntness and transfer blindness.
But — to return to my earlier analogy — Ruben Amorim’s mid-season hire seems to represent the boneworms getting through to the marrow. I don’t doubt that he was forthright about his commitment to the system during his interviews; indeed, changing it at this point might be self-destructive. But it’s hard to see inflexibility as the solution for any problem.
I can’t imagine him lasting long enough to change the squad at all. It probably shouldn’t surprise us that he’s unable to motivate his players at this point, because he’s gotten them used to losing. If he hadn’t been a mid-season panic hire, he’d be a mid-season panic fire — or sack, if you don’t like rhymes. But the bottom three are poor enough that Manchester United Football Club probably needn’t fear the drop. He’ll last until the end of the season, at which point his buyout clause will become relevant.
Of far more immediate concern: when Marco Ascensio scored his winner against Chelsea, Villa’s Ezri Konsa, who’d been lurking around the six-yard box but was uninvolved in the goal, paused to take off his boot and throw it high into the air. Can anybody explain what that was about? Am I culturally insensitive, or perhaps a bit stupid?
Chris C, Toon Army DC (Can’t help suspecting that 1-4 thrashings of relegation fodder do not reflect a new absence of silliness.)
Everton and VAR
Andy Madley had a shocker all game. The PGMOL want respect? Earn it.
United deserved absolutely nothing from that game. Nothing. They’ll not be catching us in the table. I can promise you that.
As for the penalty non-call at the end. Just diabolical. Replay shows clear shirt pull. No clear and obvious error needed to overturn.
VAR once again overturns the initial correct call.
One thing is for sure. If that was Jota or Salah in the box, it’s never, ever overturned.
TX Bill (United really are shite and we let them back in it) EFC
Penalties
Ashley young did a better dive than the Welsh winger. Shirt pulls? If a shirt pull is a penalty Maguire should have had two. I’d love for the players to wear Velcro tops so if they get pulled then the shirt ends up in the pullers hands. No contest then.
Tony C
Half time
Ffs. And it’s Everton.
83 minutes
Ridiculous. Nonsense.
Full time
A point. Great! Yet again an absolute shit show.
Liam J
Reffing hell
When I check who the ref is as I walk to Villa Park I despair when I see it is Craig Pawson/Michael Oliver/Andy Madley/AnthonyTaylor/insert own pet useless ref here. But then I realise that I feel like that every week, with pretty much every ref. There isn’t one where you think to yourself “oh good, this guy knows his stuff and applies it consistently, we’ll get a fair crack of the whip”.
Now I admit it’s not an easy job with a lot of the interpretation of the Laws of the game being subjective. But surely the least we should expect or demand is a bit of consistency of interpretation, both within games and across various games with different officials. It appears that is a pipe dream.
On the Villa fans forum I frequent, on the post match thread, there are polls for MOTM, Manager’s performance, and Referee’s performance. The categories for refs are Very good, good, average, poor, and very poor. Whether we win, lose or draw, the Referee poll invariably has way over 50% in the poor and very poor category.
There are frequent calls for new categories to be added at the bottom end of the scale because very poor does not even begin to do justice to the ineptitude of some of the clowns, keystone cops and Mr Magoos PGMOL send our way. Suggested sub-categories have included “Absolutely shite”, “bent or corrupt” “Stevie Wonder award” and “Graham Poll/Phil Dowd tribute act”
I’d hazard a guess that the results are similar in other polls on other clubs’ forums. Whilst it’s obvious most fans are one-eyed bigoted fanatics who will see things only one way regardless of the facts, it’s also becoming increasingly obvious that fans have lost, or are rapidly losing, faith in the PGMOL officials. If you win and you still hate the officials, something aint right.
Today against Chelsea I felt particularly wary that we had the “dream team” of Michael Oliver as ref and Paul Tierney on VAR. Up until a couple of years ago I thought Oliver was a decent ref, but he seems to have lost the plot. I’m not sure Tierney ever had a plot. But ok, there were the usual niggles and perceived inconsistencies until late in the second half, a ball comes across the Chelsea goalmouth, Lamar Bogarde makes an attempt to direct it goalwards but is prevented by Cucurella wrapping both arms around him and dragging him backwards. Clear as day a penalty kick. Oliver misses it. Never mind it’s a clear and obvious error and we have VAR and they are there to call those out. Yet somehow they don’t. At first I thought it hadn’t gone to VAR but apparently it did. It was such a shocker that I can only imagine Tierney did not want to undermine his mate by calling his decision into question – the old boys network again. I can’t wait to hear Howard Webb’s mealy mouthed wafflings to justify that one.
It really is about time the old boys network was broken up. We need a totally independent VAR body who aren’t just out to watch their mates backs. At the moment it stinks, and if it stinks it’s often because it’s rotten.
Kevin Villa (The French ref for the Celtic game was ace but the players helped by not acting like twats)
Man City…
As a City fan, it is shocking to see Pep’s team transform from using False no 9’s to being totally dependent on an Apex no 9. After watching that second leg at the Bernabeu, I feel that the Etihad match could have been even worse without Haaland.
We would have never got that penalty because the Madrid defenders wouldn’t be nervous without Haaland in the box. Its a shame how badly our attackers have regressed this season. The likes of Foden and Bernardo have stopped offering any threat whatsoever.
The midfield is perpetually scared without Rodri. I have a feeling that this version of City is actually even more dreadful than it appears. Haaland’s goals and presence in the box might have given us more wins than we actually deserved in the Premier League.
I remember Stewie wrote in one mail that Josko Gvardiol has more attacking instinct or something than everyone in the Arsenal team not named Bukayo Saka. Well, truth be told, it appears that Gvardiol also has more attacking instinct than the everyone in this City team not named Erling Haaland. Won’t be surprised if Salah and Liverpool annihilate us at the Etihad Stadium.
Victor MCFC
Ravaged
Historically for me, one of the blandest areas of following footie was injuries, now VAR holds that honour but the season we are watching is an injury ravaged one and it is sadly, the new landscape.
We may get 7 subs like we used to in farcical England friendlies but top tier football , like humankind in general, is (getting) ruined by greed and corruptive power.
The present & future is about injury ravaged squads ‘coz there ain’t no way to cut down on games or travel. The content has to keep on giving just like the stocks & shares.
I used to look forward to the random champions league quarter final draw as a mouth-watering part of Spring.
Though I am trying to be laissez faire about the new ‘swizz’ format , the barsturds are grinding me down.
Peter.(I’ll be more chipper after the weekends fixtures) rainy Andalucia.
Squeaky bum time
There have been great managers in England. Shankley, Paisley, Dalglish. In the Premier League era there is the undisputed greatest, the GOAPLE, and that’s Sir Alex Ferguson. Fergie called the run in squeaky bum time. He didn’t call it we were top on valentines day so it’s a clear coast to the finish line time.
Maybe it’s the 24 minute news cycle of social media, a football media fed by clicks rather than insight, or the ennui of watching City get their nose in front and faultlessly match to the title. But possibly, it’s that Liverpool are rarely in this position and we are DESPERATE to win this league before city get their shit together again.
I see Arsenal’s Russian oligarch billionaire owner has upped his free owner loan. I imagine they are keen to get some silverware in before that has to start counting. Now or never for both teams.
Alex, South London
Giddy…
In f365’s defence, when you were publishing articles about how giddy you were about Ruben Amorim joining Man Utd you didn’t specify exactly what you were giddy about.
And let me say, as someone who grew up in South East England in the 90s, I remain positively giddy about whatever this is.
Simon, London
