How long will Arsenal keep ‘Simeone Lego figure’ when they can have real thing?
If Arsenal fail to win a trophy again, will the Gunners eventually lose patience with Mikel Arteta and bring in an actual winner?
Watch them face PSG and send your thoughts to theeditor@football365.com
Simeone in for Arteta?
Interesting that Harold Edlestone Hooler thinks that Arteta’s Arsenal are the best footballing side to never win a trophy when I would call them the best anti-footballing side around. Certainly nowhere near Poch’s Spurs as a footballing side.
In fact, they are so good at being an anti-footballing side I would suggest that only Jose’s Chelsea and Inter, and Simeone’s Atleti are any better. Of course their means to an end came with ends.
With Atleti’s DoF having arrived at Arsenal, if Arteta doesn’t win the CL, how long before Arsenal call up Simeone to replace the Simeone Lego figure?
Alex, South London
On Liverpool and Arsenal
From an Arsenal fan, congratulations to Liverpool. I can live with finishing second to an actual football club and not some doped-up monstrosity like City or Chelsea. I’m not really aware of Arsenal fans being desperate to denigrate Liverpool this season, Minty? Hugely impressive achievement after losing an iconic manager in Klopp; nobody does that. Much less after spending no money. So, bravo!
I think Arsenal had the kind of Premier League season Liverpool had in ’23/’24. Preposterous number of injuries, comedy refereeing etc. But, boo-hoo. We can’t draw 13+ games in a season and expect better than second. We’ve suffered for not having enough quality attacking cover; failed on too many occasions to beat the low block.
I feel the decision not to panic buy last summer or in January might just pay off this summer. Liverpool just didn’t drop enough points for us to have capitalised on, even if we had bought a brilliant striker in January, which was impossible anyway because there was no one selling. Let’s see what the summer brings, it could be really exciting.
Not to mention, we have something to get exciting about right now. We’ve handled every decent team this season that hasn’t attempted to low-block us. PSG won’t, Barca won’t. I’d like to avoid Inter if possible because I think they’re the smartest team we’ve played all season, but we were every bit as good as them at the San Siro.
Last thing, how the hell did Arsenal’s women not get ANY coverage on this website for what they did Sunday night in the Champions League against Lyon? Bang average Man U nearly got an entire mailbox dedicated to them for being bang average, again. Arsenal women BATTER Champions League royalty away from home to reach the final and….tumbleweeds. I don’t get that. Do better, guys.
Niallo, Gooner, Uibh Fháilí
Why FSG >>>>>>>> Daniel Levy
It was appropriate that Liverpool won the Premier League against Spurs – highlighting a marked difference in management philosophy.
When looking at ‘big’ teams who have either found themselves on tough times or those that just haven’t won anything for a long, many can make a comeback. With their huge support, the ability to pull in significant sponsorship money, a lot of broadcast money floating around these days (particularly in the Premier League), and the ‘generous’ qualification rules that allow teams from the big 4 leagues to make some extra money on the side. It just requires a decent management team.
FSG somewhat lucked out by being in the right place at the right time. A team teetering from the Gillette/Hicks era, no proper plan, getting further behind on the commercial side – needed to fund improvements. But also in the new ‘Moneyball’ era, where data could help inform decisions. They had used this to drive the Boston Red Sox to a World Series after a long, long gap. And, of course, Klopp became available just when they needed to pull all their early work together. Or were they just very smart.
Contrast this with Spurs. Overseen by one man – Levy. A man who had the opportunity to be first in the ‘Moneyball’ era, with Damien Comoli – but what did he do? Get rid of him. To Liverpool’s advantage – starting FSG and Liverpool down the road. Levy could do better than data and stats. He’s a wheeler-dealer. When you look at the quantity of players Spurs have bought and sold during Levy’s tenure, it’s huge. They’re not a selling team. Oh no, they are a wheeling and dealing team. I am sure that all assuages Levy’s ego. It seems more about the volume than the quantity. And how many long term players that were great buys during that period? There are the odd Modric, Bale, Son signings, and even Deli Alli was inspired at the time. Other than Son, none have lasted and none have taken Spurs across the line to a trophy. Their consistently best player was Kane, who was an academy grad who had to go elsewhere to win something.
Then look at managers. The roller coaster of recent years, going from one extreme style to another. Not only would that likely mean many of the players are not suited to the new manager’s style, it must do their heads in trying to adapt to how each new manager interacts, coaches, etc. Meanwhile, FSG ditched Rodgers when it was clear he wanted full control and that wasn’t going to go where they wanted and found someone who would work within their philosophy – and cleverly brought in Slot (almost boot room principles) – who could evolve the team rather than try and make a massive transformation.
It brings it full circle for Liverpool, FSG and Levy. A humiliating 5-1 defeat to a team that has won 2 Premier Leagues, League Cup, FA Cup, Champions League, World Club, etc, using a management strategy eschewed by Levy. When the camera panned to Levy looking on, as Liverpool were totally dominating Spurs in the second half, you can imagine the despair of Spurs supporters. The thought that nothing is going to change.
One can only feel the pain for Spurs supporters lumbered with a man who thinks he is better than the club.
In the meantime, Liverpool fans can glory in the thought that for all the media circus around not getting in the right manager, or buying in new players, or getting contracts sorted, FSG continues to move forward as a well run management team.
Paul McDevitt
Liverpool fans are ‘awful’? Really?
Chris told us that yesterday’s mailbox was “A microcosm of why a lot of people don’t like Liverpool fans.” Liverpool fans are “awful” apparently.
I read back to see what Liverpool fans could have done to be so appalling. Were they glamourising the injury of a player, chanting “Let him Die” a la Millwall fans? Chanting “We’re racist and that’s the way we like it” like Chelsea fans? Booing Minute’s Silence for Hillsborough like Man City fans?
No, they were (checks notes) gloating about winning the Premier League. With such despicable comments such as “So delicious due to the haters” or “Looking forward to dining out on the tears of all the pathetic fans who pretend the league isn’t competitive.” Wow, outrageous.
Maybe stop to consider why Liverpool fans are enjoying this moment, and taking the opportunity to crow. For decades, we got abuse because of being rubbish. Then we almost won the league and fans of every single club sang about Gerrard slipping. Then we finally won the league and everyone talked (and still does) about an asterisk or the covid title. Now we’ve won it again and the excuse is that the league is just easy this year.
Rival fans love to have a pop at Liverpool. No one talks about Man City’s Covid Premier League, which was genuinely played all in empty stadiums. They talk about Liverpool’s, even though the league was already won, and Liverpool got worse, not better, with the covid restrictions. No one talks about Arsenal or Leicester having an asterisk on the FA cup or Bayern or Chelsea having a Covid Champions League. Liverpool get the abuse, and that’s fine, they’re a massive club, who have won loads so people don’t like them.
But with all that, perhaps it’s understandable that Liverpool fans may want to take a moment to gloat about the success? Hardly abhorrent is it?
If you don’t like Liverpool, that’s fine, but if you genuinely believe that an entire fanbase is somehow “awful”, and somehow radically different from fans of any other club, then you’re letting your bias get in the way.
Mike, LFC, Dubai
People need to get off Twitter
“The sheer delusion and entitlement they have shown is staggering. They apparently deserve the title due to coming 2nd two years in a row?”
Excuse me what?! Can you find me one genuine Arsenal fan who said this? Where do people come up with this b******. All the Arsenal fans I know, all the Arsenal related media and it seems most of the ones writing in (there’s always one or two), have all said Liverpool were the better team, Salah is the best player in the League (/world), Slot has proven to be a brilliant manager and Liverpool deserve the title.
The discourse I see is that it’s a shame Arsenal had big injuries, caught too many red cards (rightly or wrongly) and our season petered out without a proper title challenge this year. Nothing about us deserving it? Where in the deepest darkest cesspit of Twitter are people finding this bulls***.
Congratulations Liverpool, you were the best team and deserved it. Sorry to burst everyone’s bubble but we really aren’t the nutters you want us to be/twitter says we are.
Whilst we are it, what’s the difference between a reason and an excuse? When Liverpool lost van Dijk and everyone agreed it was the main reason their title challenge petered out, was it a reason or an excuse? Is City losing Rodri for the whole season a reason or an excuse for their lack of title challenge? According to a quick google the only difference is reasons are seen as valid explanations. I think losing 5+ first team players (Saka, Odegaard, White, Havertz, Gabriel and many others) for prolonged periods are valid explanations why we haven’t won as many games this season compared to last. Three of those were responsible for the majority of our goals last season. Surely any sane fans can agree with that?
Why do I keep writing into this mailbox to reply to hyperbolic nonsense? Stewie’s entry was so pathetic I’m actually disappointed it got published, I thought better of you F365.
Rob A (I hope we win it so people can stop telling us how we’ll react on our behalf) AFC
Can the FA please act like adults?
Ex-pat Manchester United fan here. This weekend would have been my worst nightmare what with the Scousers and the Bitters had it not been for seeing all of my grandkids on my 72nd birthday. I watched our glorious 1-1 draw with that powerhouse of world football, Bournemouth. No offence, Cherries…what your club has managed to achieve on likely less than the Glazers’ annual take out is amazing!
I couldn’t bring myself to watch either of the other games and besides as I said I was doing birthday stuff but…but to read today that the FA are likely to investigate Cody Gakpo because he had the audacity to wear a T-Shirt/vest? proclaiming his love for Jesus. WTF!! Now if he had one that said something on the lines of Stalin sending 20 million Russians to Gulags was pretty awesome or “Hey Guys Mussolini wasn’t so bad because he got the trains running on time” Fair dos. BUT COME ON!
I live in the US which in case you haven’t noticed is having some…let’s say issues right now about what views people can have or not. Gakpo was not being offensive to anyone (any satan worshippers out there, though?) and if he wants to express his beliefs that his religion has helped him get to this point in his career…well I say Good on ‘im. and yes it hurts that Liverpool now have 20 times too.
And the same goes to that Irish player whose name escapes me right now that does not want to wear a poppy. My Grandad who fought in WW1 and was blown up manning his machine gun never wore one either because he detested Earl Haig (Look it up. He thought that if British soldiers marched in full uniform toward German lines that they would run away because of the discipline shown by the Tommies). And, though I strongly support LBGQT if anyone doesn’t wear rainbow regalia they shouldn’t have to. I don’t agree with it but that’s what democracy is supposed to be about. Mazroui (I know spelt wrong but after 3 glasses of wine what do you expect?) at my beloved club didn’t want to wear something contradicting his beliefs and his team mates followed him.
I suppose all I’m saying is Live and Let Live. I don’t want to come all over “Haven’t you got better things to do?” But really FA, haven’t you?
Gary (Ex-pat United fan in Pennsylvania) B
