Arsenal ‘lost the title’ as ‘sheer numptiness’ of Mikel Arteta exposed
Let’s not pretend that Arsenal did not utterly cock up that potential title challenge and it’s Mikel Arteta’s fault.
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Drawing conclusions about Arsenal
Really surprised me that the urge to include Arsenal on the losers section for this week’s Winners and Losers was held back.
To be clear – I really do think this is a decent Arsenal side, and actually I’d go as far as to say, (damning with faint praise of course) that they are one of the best ever football sides not to win a trophy but it bares scrutiny that despite not playing this weekend, they lost the title. Even at the end, they never really had an input on the title race – and I REALLY wanted them to make it interesting.
I’ll begin by saying, many round here won’t be surprised to hear me say that I do hope they win the Champions League (the famous double order of Fried Gold Rice will, for anyone with sense, be an English sporting moment to have pride in for a long time) and if they do, then a lot of what I’m saying will be moot. After all, it’s hard to imagine Wenger himself not trading one of his first two league titles and possibly a couple FA Cups on top for a famous European title, however it would be remiss not to point to the season that has been and DRAW some conclusions. (yes, I’m proud)
See, currently, Arsenal are on 13 draws this season, with four games to play. Under Arsene Wenger, Arsenal reached 13 draws only once – the year he and the club finally said their sad farewells – and even taking the split management season of 2019/20 (evenly split between Emery/Ljungberg/Arteta) – Arsenal are approaching an amount of draws not seen since the 42-game season era.
Even then, should Arsenal “only” stay on 13 draws – that still leaves 26 points left on the table in games – and to make matters worse, Arsenal’s last 7 draws, 5 of them were from a winning position. That’s 10 points, lost, that if they hadn’t been – would see Arsenal currently 5 points behind Liverpool, with a key fixture between them still to play. The title wouldn’t be *in* their hands but it’d be a lot closer.
Arsenal last season only had 5 league draws, that’s a minimum 8 game swing in a season – add to that that even in the early 42-game era – the record amount of draws for a runner-up is 12 (funnily enough that landed in the 38 game era and Arsenal even won a pretty impressive title with 12 stalemates) and this runner up could end up on 14/15 of them – assuming they consolidate 2nd, eh Declan?
There ARE mitigating circumstances with the injuries but that big a swing from Arsenals “D” column (stop giggling) at the back) this season is pretty much unprecedented – and they still actually LOOK like a decent side who, heck, may even win the big one this year with the wind in their sails. Plus, even with a few wins from draws for Arsenal, its a fact that Liverpool really are deserving winners and could feasibly lose to Arsenal and still end on a, usually title winning, 91 points.
In the main – I fully expect them to survive another season with Arteta and this crop on the current PR vibe but for my money, they really need to re-find that ability for a cheeky last-minute winner that was almost a super-power in 22/23 and 23/24.
Altogether now… drrrraaaaawwwsssss in London foreverrrr…. sorry, I had a big lunch.
Harold Eddlestone Hooler Esq.
P.S: can we please have some jeopardy at the end of next season?
Here’s the Premier League points lost from winning positions table; it’s pretty damning:
A little asterisk joke
Congratulations to Liverpool on winning their first Premier League title…
Chris, NUFC
…That Liverpool centric mailbox is a microcosm of why a lot of people don’t like Liverpool fans. I’ve said it before, great team, awful fans.
Chris, NUFC
Liverpool v City rivalry update
Just wondering if Red Nev is now going to update his view from 12 months ago: “I mean Carragher’s statement that Liverpool vs Man City is the greatest rivalry is offensive. From 1998 to 2004 Arsenal won three titles, Man United won four. It was blood, thunder, quality. Everything you would want in a rival. In the last six years Liverpool have won one title. It’s been an absolute demolition.”. Maybe that sort of stood up to scrutiny at the time, but a little look at the updated stats would make the same statement from him today look absurd, if not offensive:
In the last seven seasons, the score is now two to five – i.e. a one title difference from ’98-’04, with two of City’s titles won by a single point (just as two of the Arsenal/Utd races were – also noting that Utd finished 3rd in two of Arsenal’s winning seasons, and the gap was ten points or more in four out of seven seasons).
Liverpool and City each have one Champions League and two CL final appearances in that time . The Arsenal-Utd rivalry produced just one victory in ’99 and no other finals. Liverpool have won as many major trophies (six) in this period as Arsenal did in those golden Wenger years (Utd won eight, City eleven – could be twelve next month).
Liverpool and City are also dead-level on points in games between them (City’s tally includes a 4-0 win in the only dead rubber between the teams in 2020) and have one knock-out victory each, both finishing 3-2.
Over these seven seasons, Arsenal’s points tally was eight fewer than Utd’s, while Liverpool’s is just eleven fewer than City’s (0.04 ppg is quite a small advantage for the greatest manager who ever lived, you might think).
The final parallel is of course that in each case, one team started with a better squad already full of multiple title-winners, and still went on to spend 25-50% more than the other on transfers and wages over the period. Funnily enough that was the team that won more trophies in each rivalry.
It’s maybe fair to say that Liverpool-City hasn’t produced an iconic moment like, say, the ’99 FA Cup semi-final and it perhaps lacks some psychopathic centre-halves and midfielders going at each other, but objectively now it would take some mental gymnastics to say that the last seven years doesn’t compare to ’98-’04.
Shappo
The best of Liverpool titles
I’ve been a reader of the mailbox and F365 for probably the best part of 20 years now. I am quite a creature of habit and will read whilst on my lunch break every day. It makes them go quicker than I’d like though.
Having been a Liverpool fan for 35 years, this title is by far the best trophy we have won in that time. The Klopp era was superb and certainly the best I have experienced, but I’ve got to agree with Mo when he says this one has a different feel about it.
My main point for writing in is not to gloat though. I would like to address the Arsenal fans, and all who have held on to some hope that they would still do it. The sheer delusion and entitlement they have shown is staggering. They apparently deserve the title due to coming 2nd two years in a row? Do me a favour, they couldn’t even break 90 points!! Using their logic, Liverpool are equally or more so deserving based on our tussles with City over the years.
Arteta has been obsessed with City and didn’t consider anyone else as a challenger, which shows the sheer numptiness of the bloke. Shout out to Thomas Partey for fouling Rodri in the 2-2 draw, it didn’t help you lot though!
It is not Liverpool’s fault Arsenal have decided to spend their money on positions in the squad that did not need upgrading or strengthening. It has been glaringly obvious they need an actual striker and some competition for the wing places, but these were ignored in favour of some shiny new fullbacks and a ‘striker’ who is never a striker.
I’ll concede that they would possibly be better off points wise if they had no/less injuries, but it is part and parcel of managing your squad. Why sign Sterling if you don’t play him? Why sell Nketiah and not replace him? Equally, Nwaneri and Lewis Skelley have had to get more minutes than expected due to injuries, and have arguably performed as well, if not better!
So, Arsenal fans – enjoy your Champions League run – I actually want you to win it as I don’t think I can bear the excuses and crying that will come after if you do bottle it as expected.
Terry, LFC
MEDIAWATCH: Liverpool ‘greatest’, Arne Slot bestest ever but Arsenal prepare for ‘bigger things’
Liverpool fan riles at somebody or other
If Liverpool did not exist Man City would have won the last 7 Premier League titles before this season, without ever being really challenged. Surely that’s having it easy! We never hear this though, all we hear is how great Man City and Pep are!
Liverpool win the title when others fall, with a title winning points tally and they have had it easy apparently. Just no logic.
Paul – London Red
Stewie’s here…
Minty LFC asked: ‘Is there a European game that Arsenal have been in in the past 30 years that has that level of folklore around it?’
PSV Eindhoven 1 Arsenal 7.
Do keep up 🙄🙄
Congratulations LFC. Also for shining a light on the laughable shifting excuses from Arsenal fans. (Money….PGMOL…injuries…Hayley’s Comet)
Stewie Griffin (What are those Liverpool fans celebrating? Is it a real actual trophy!)
Weekend observations
Just a couple of things I found amusing/ interesting having watched the highlights of this weekend’s matches:
1) The St John’s ambulance nurse/doctor celebrating Ben Johnson being sent off against Newcastle was hilarious. Not sure they are supposed to do that, but fair enough!
2) No Man Utd players celebrating Højulnd’s equaliser at Bournemouth with him seemed strange, and I felt a bit sorry for him. OK, perhaps they were in a hurry to get a winner, but at 90+6 this seemed very unlikely.
But mainly a fabulous season for Liverpool and Arne Slot. An amazing achievement in his first season in the EPL, taken a very good squad and refined it and crushed the opposition put in front of him in the league, when this really should have been Arsenal’s year given Man City’s troubles (will Arsenal ever win the EPL again?). OK, there have been disappointing results in Europe and domestic cups but I for one don’t care about those at all now!
And lastly, your provocative headline “Mohamed Salah says Liverpool title win is ‘way better, 100%’ without Jurgen Klopp” deserves to go straight to the top of Mediawatch. You know full well that wasn’t what he was saying. Hang your heads in shame!
A, LFC, Montreal
Football is brilliant
We have had a bit of a back and forth on whether football is brilliant or broken in the mailbox and I am going to come down squarely on the side of brilliant.
I have been lucky enough to see a lot of live football this season as I live in Dorset and Southampton being in the Prem (and getting into Bournemouth for cup games) means I have seen Liverpool, City, Chelsea, Newcastle and Everton amongst others. That’s not my real story though. I don’t want to seem like a mini John Nic but this season I have seen a lot of non-league football, specifically the Southern League Premier South (tier 7, one below National League South), as well. My eldest quietly said to her mum mid way through the season that she didn’t know why I had stopped taking her to the football. I had stupidly thought I had been dragging her along. So, we started going together again.
Through various recent promotions and relegations Dorchester Town, Poole Town and Wimborne Town are all in the same division (and Weymouth join them next year). This has led to some huge local derbies. The last week especially has been incredible. On Good Friday we went to Poole Town in the drizzle to see them dismantle Swindon Supermarine 4-0 in a relegation six pointer. Then on Easter Monday, under glorious sunshine and in front of more than 2200 people, Dorchester Town came from behind to beat Poole 3-2. The result kept Dorchester in the final play off place and left Poole still needing something from the last game to stay up.
So to Saturday. Poole played Chertsey in front of more than 1200. Both teams could still go down. Poole won 3-1, full on pitch invasion, joy all round as they avoided the drop. However, two souls stayed in the stands glued to a phone screen. Havant and Waterlooville had beaten Wimborne 2-0 and jumped above Dorchester in the final play off place as Dorchester were drawing 1-1 at Hungerford Town. And then, six minutes into added on time Dorchester scored a winner. Flares, pitch invasion, manager red card and 15 minutes of added time in total but Dorchester hung on!
To get so much drama in one division, but to know it was replicated in leagues all over the country, in incredible. To be at Poole and watch the joy of avoiding the drop, and then get the elation of Dorchester’s winner, and celebrate it with my daughter was priceless. We are already planning for next season.
Micki (football eh?)
…Two years ago a neighbour who was already involved in the local football club called to ask if myself and two other Dads would help him start an U-10 girls team for our respective daughters and their classmates.
We began with approximately twelve young girls and within weeks that grew to over double that number as neighbouring areas without a football club travelled to our ground.
Current rules for that age group mean it’s 9-a-side, often with double that number in attendance so you can imagine the headache on match days. We thought of splitting the group into two teams but felt it would only divide the group that we were trying to develop.
However, because there were four of us committed, the burden was shared. We’d rotate who watched gametime and substitutions and who’d actually manage the game and regardless of league tables or how a particular game was going, every kid got an equal run on the pitch.
Ultimately it was competitive but we strived to keep it light hearted, fun and the girls have made friendships with girls from different schools that they’d otherwise never have met. Some girls from outside our area only play Gaelic Football in the summer months and our own girls only played Hurling once the soccer season was finished. Now we see them all playing both, joining each others respective clubs in order to maximise their time together as friends and teammates.
Consequently, we now have league and cup double winners at U12, with all the girls who began still playing and somehow, all their parents are happy too. No abuse, no complaints, they see us trying our best for their kids. I acknowledge that we’ve been lucky though as it was evident that other team coaches, usually those doing it alone, were taking heat from parents.
I suppose the lesson here, if there is one, is if another parent, uncle or aunt mentions starting a kids team, even if it’s only a throwaway comment, follow it up, get some enthusiastic or even reluctant adults together and make it happen. It’s worth it.
Eoin (in football for the fun of it, the kids are competitive enough without the grown-ups being too serious) Ireland