Liverpool should appoint ‘obsessed’ Guardiola to grant him ‘demigod-like status’ Man City couldn’t
Arsenal continue to dominate the Mailbox agenda, but a stray hot take about Pep Guardiola being appointed by Liverpool has slipped through.
And there is definitive proof that The Invincibles < The Treble winners.
Send your thoughts to theeditor@football365.com.
Guardiola to Liverpool… anyone?
Ok this may be a left field call and I haven’t seen it anywhere else but could Pep be on his way to Anfield?
Think about it. What is there left for a manager like Pep to do? He is clearly a workaholic so slipping into some ambassador/director role looks like it would kill him. International football you would imagine is still another 10-15 years away given his energy levels, just do nothing sounds like when Fergies wife told him to get off the couch and back to work during his first attempted retirement.
Ok ok so why Liverpool?
Well obviously they are a very well run club, competing for titles and Champions leagues regularly. They already have some of the best talent in the game waiting to be unlocked: Szobozlai, Wirtz, Isak, Ekitike under Pep would be formidable with more recruits to come.
And also perhaps most pertinently he’s has always seemed a bit obsessed with Liverpool. Even at his greatest success with City (and there is no denying it) it must have felt somewhat underwhelming. Obviously there is the C115ty asterix over everything he achieved but more than that who can forget the videos of a handful of fans celebrating league titles outside the emptihad.
If Pep craves adulation, worldwide acclaim and cult hero status then Anfield is the way to that, it is the closest thing in England to Barcelona in terms of fanatical following, club and community mentality and anti-establishment credentials. In short managing Liverpool would make Pep cool again.
You could see how his obsession with Klopp drove him to success at City but no matter how much he achieved it didn’t make him what Klopp was: a legend to hundreds of millions of fans.
Pep doesn’t need money, or success or to prove anything, he is an all time great of the game, the only thing he is missing is the Demi-God like status of managing a club like Liverpool or Man Utd successfully.
Come on down Pep, all is forgiven, they’ll build a statue to you buddy and sing your name for a hundred years.
Dave LFC – yes this does mean more,
Art attack
Hello,
Congratulations to Arsenal on winning the Premier League. Something I haven’t seen in the mailbox is the achievement of Arteta as a rookie manager who came into his first managerial role, completely cleared out the club, built it back up in his image and only went and bloody won the thing. The first ever manager to win the Premier League in his first ever management role, and only in 7 years. Kudos for that. Hopefully they go on and complete the double.
Weldoninhio, BAC
Journey v destination
Well, what a couple days it has been! From the bottom of my heart, to all the Arsenal fans near and far, whether you were at the Emirates the other night, whether you stayed up till God knows when in some forgotten place in the world, this is for us. This is for every Bottler tag, every Second Place FC joke, every time rivals mocked us for Trusting The Process. Every time Mikel stuck his head above the parapet and got slaughtered for it.
We’ve paid our dues, done our time. The players and the manager have too. We’ve had to be patient, had to manage our expectations, had to swallow a lot of pain and schadenfreude over the years. The experience of seeing them finally make it, the culmination of this journey that we’ve been on with these guys, the emotional release of that millstone around our necks finally being banished… it’s funny, in the bad times I found myself having to disconnect from football, it’s just a game etc. This is the complete opposite. The world is a bit brighter now; there’s a spring in my step that wasn’t present before. Football, eh? Crazy old game.
I was a child when we last won the Premier League. My brothers had never seen it happen. It’s funny how perception shapes things. I’ve seen mailboxers question, did Arsenal have actual moments this season? Well, last night I watched the season back through highlights, and in there are moments we will wax lyrical on for years to come.
Eze humiliating Spurs (Twice!). Sending Villa packing out of the title race. Dowman vs Everton. Gabriel’s winner vs Newcastle. Raya’s saves throughout but especially the one against Fernandes. Saka coming back from the dead right when we needed him. Declan “It’s not done!” Rice right when it looked like we were about to fall. Clutch Bossard playing his skin off because he knows Anne Hathaway is watching. Magical stuff.
Also, had to laugh at Dave’s mail this morning. ‘AI created club’ he says when 100K+ people shut London down on a whim. When the players are taking selfies with fans outside the stadium at 5am. That’s the type of movement and adoration money can’t buy. Sour grapes at its very finest, because to us they taste so, so sweet. And that’s fine, there will come a time again, hopefully not for years to come, when we’ll despair at the current Arsenal team and say “He’s no Saka” or “Raya would have saved that” and look back in fondness at the boys who finally brought us glory after 22 long, long years.
But not today. Today, The Arsenal are Premier League Champions. Because in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer.
JM, Ireland, A very happy man (Also you can stop publishing Stewie now, his heart clearly isn’t in it anymore, poor thing)
Killing the debate over who was the best
So, there has been all this pointless discussion about whether Arsenal are the worst champions or good champions. Time will tell. Who knows? The future will play a part. If they win the Champions League and go on to win numerous big trophies, then no one will say they are the worst champions. If they fade into the background like Blackburn or Leicester, then maybe.
However, years ago there was a debate about whether the Man United ’99 treble winners were better than City’s Centurions who achieved 100 points, Mourinho’s Chelsea team that only conceded 15 goals, or Arsenal’s Invincibles.
This always seemed stupid to me. It was always the team that won the most trophies — hence Man United’s treble winners. Since City won the treble, no one talks about the Centurions as the best team anymore.
Now, with Arsenal potentially winning the Champions League and Premier League in the same season, everyone is saying that if that happens, this would be Arsenal’s greatest ever team.
I would prefer to lose a game in the Premier League and be unbeaten in the Champions League and win them both, rather than just being invincible in the league. I always said that in the Invincible season I would happily have swapped the Champions League loss to Chelsea in the quarter final for a league defeat if it meant winning the Champions League that season (and we would only have had to play Monaco in the semis and Porto in the final).
So, can we all now admit that winning a treble, or even a Premier League and Champions League double, is a greater achievement than just winning one solitary Premier League title — no matter by how many points, goals, goals conceded, or whether it’s done without losses?
Cheers,
Paul K, London
The dirt worst
Do people even think when they write in to the mailbox? So Arsenal are the worst PL Champions because you don’t think any of their players will be mentioned as the best PL players of all time. Where did you get this information from? What if they win 3 more? What if Saliba stays for another 5 years? What if Rice and Raya are influential for them in many more big trophy wins. It makes absolutely no sense. They have 82 points and potentially 85. They’re better than a lot of title winners in the 90s. They’re also in the CL final and haven’t lost in that competition and conceded 6 goals. It’s pretty obvious they’re a good team with a lot of young players not entering their peak. I’m not saying they’ll definitely be great or anything but you have Raya (30), Timber (24), Saliba (24), Gabriel (28), Rice (27), Calafiori (23), Saka (24). They could quite obviously leave a good legacy. Being the worst PL champions has nothing to do with that anyways.
It reminds me of when people invented this new thing for Liverpool that they’re the worst champions cause they struggled the year after winning it in 2020. Also to McG Belfast – it was City who won the Covid title not Liverpool. Don’t know why or how people keep mixing this up. City won it in 2021 when the whole season was played without fans. Liverpool were like 25 points clear with 8 games left, there’s no asterix on their title.
Dion
They hate us. Go out and be The Arsenal
Firstly, well done Villa for ending your trophy drought and also re-establishing yourselves in Europe. Let’s hope Palace can follow suit and I’m sure, much to wishes of every non Arsenal fan, Arsenal too LOL!
A quick word for the monotonous, robotic, bore and alleged Arsenal fan you entertain with his extended information and subsequent ‘consious’ confirmation bias conjured up to irriatate his prey… change the tune! Arteta irritates everyone by stepping outside his technical zone (at least unconsciously I might add) so you surely don’t want to be compared to that imbecile do you?!
Seriously, as for Arteta, outside the Arsenal fold he’s not well liked and it even took a while for some fellow Gonners to believe in him as a manager. I always liked him as a player and was delighted when he joined Arsenal to play alongside the team. I always believed in him as a manager as I could see things slowly progressing both domestically and in Europe… one final hurdle to clear to truly make his mark! Of course he needed assistance with financial backing and from Jover and for the icing on the cake, Berta. Looking at how everything has now clicked into place, especially regarding good signings, efficient set pieces (much to the annoyance of the World and his wife) exploiting Arteta’s tactics of playing down the wings and winning as many corners as possible which is actually the only way to counter attack low block tactics by opponents. The players and coaching staff combining together with the owners mean Arsenal are there and ready to step further forward.
As for the slating and hatred, not the banter as such but more the spite and bitterness, it’s wonderful! Having viewed the Arsenal family’s joyful reaction to winning the league, I’m sure they won’t give a toss about how they did it and what opposing fans think! It sent a shiver down my spine and I found it almost as touching as the first title I was properly old enough to witness back in 1989. The huge gathering by the Arsenal supporters also shows what it means to them (especially those who aren’t old enough to remember Arsenal winning a league title).
Now, due to success, we’re in a position as potentially the richest club in England, to start poaching other club’s top talent (Eze’s was ours in first place (wry smile)). Let’s get hold of Kroupi, already it seems a champion to the cause. It will result in more anger towards Arsenal and carry on the hatred that George Graham was proud to emphasise.
It’s been brought to light that the name ‘Mikel Arteta’ is an anagram of ‘A Title Maker’ (which I’m sure will add to people’s anger and dislike of him). But, whether people like it or not, he potentially has a great managerial future ahead of him.
Chris, Sunny Croydon.
Process is prime
Well done Arsenal, you’re worthy champions.
I’m sure you’re enjoying all this tenuous, knee jerk, ‘style of play’, straw clutching.
(To be fair to Stewie, he needs as much straw as he can get to pad out his discursive creations.)
Thing is, I don’t watch Arsenal very often so, what do I care how they play right? If the Arsenal fans are happy…
Also, within the context of the last few seasons, they did what they had to this year;dug deep and won the darned thing. Fair play to them.
Arsenal fans must especially be loving the joyously quaint hyperbole like – ‘they’re killing football’. What because the grown adults running football clubs just copy the style of the last team to win the league?
This is not breakout Guardiola we’re talking about here – 100pts, 106gls, bringing a whole new way of playing that swept the others aside.
This is not a Damascene revelation about strategy on display here. Arsenal have been using tactical ideas that, I’m pretty sure, we’ve seen before in England.
It’s a pragmatic approach born out of necessity. They’ve been very good for a while and been ‘oh so’ painfully close and they knew this had to be the year.
This was the final chance for this team and manager – but they believed – they fought for it and one way or another made it happen.
Through all the ‘experts’ who declared they’d never make it. Through the disappointments and schadenfreude. Through what might be – what with the internet now – the largest, most sustained, single target, banter campaign in the history of English football, they stuck by their guy and their process.
In fact the whole edifice of Arsenal FC, from the fans (mostly) through to the board have shown tremendous fortitude and bravery; under immense pressure they stuck by their guy. Over and over again they trusted the process. In these broad, deep, important ways Arsenal as a club are, in point of fact, the very opposite of bottlers. Unlike say, Chelsea, Spurs or West ham who throw out the manager and plan – institutionally ‘bottle it’ – a few times a year.
That said, if that’s the bit other teams take from Arsenal’s title win then I’d argue it’s actually good for football. Demonstrating that patience, unity, determination and belief brings success, might be just what we need at this time?
Congratulations Arsenal – worthy champions.
Hartley MCFC Somerset (Trophies wise; two’s still more than one right?)
So finally, after over six years of being Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta finally has his Premier League title. It’s been a long journey for him and his team to get here; one he’s gone through with several different identities and approaches. After two serious title challenges lost to a Guardiola-led City juggernaut, they’ve finally found the nerve to hold it together and grind it out at the business-end of the season.
As painful as it is for a rival supporter to admit, fair play to this team. They’re deserving champions – not because they play the most exciting football, not because they’ve blown everyone else away – but because they have the most points on the board at the end of the season. And that’s the only thing that matters. Years later, very few people remember the dodgy 50-50 calls that could have gone the other way, ones which are true for every title winner each year – for the injury time foul call on Raya vs West Ham, see Bernardo Silva’s tackle on Odegaard that wasn’t given as a pen, for the Gabriel or Havertz reds not given, see Drogba’s offside winner vs Man Utd in 2010 (although Macheda scored with his hand in that game anyway). At the end of the day, they put together a strong lead, wobbled a fair bit but then pulled it back with 4 wins in a row to end the season.
To the rest of the Premier League, can we as football fans try and not be petty and dismiss this victory? I see a lot of people talking about things like “worst Premier League champions” or “Set Piece FC”, etc. Yes, I don’t like their brand of football, but their set piece coach saw a vulnerability in the rules and ruthlessly exploited it. To any F1 fans, this is about 75% of what that entire sport is about. And it’s not without skill either; Saka and Rice are two of the best corner takers I’ve ever seen. Almost every ball they put in is right on the money. That takes a lot of practice, and I see far too many teams put terrible balls into the box and conceding counters rather than take advantage of their set pieces. Yes, I’d rather not watch Arsenal games because I find them terribly boring to watch, but that doesn’t mean that on most days, they don’t put the ball in the opponent’s goal more often than vice-versa. They’ve won the league and they deserve their flowers. Let them enjoy it. Sure, some of them will go overboard (I’ve already seen someone here talk about how it takes 22 years to sustainably win the league – LOL!) but such is human nature.
I’ll be curious to see what happens next season. Surely, the FA and the Premier League are going to clamp down on this corner nonsense involving crowding and nullifying goalkeepers with WWE royal rumbles in the box, so one of their biggest advantages may get nullified. At the same time, with Guardiola leaving, Slot uncertain, Carrick and Xabi Alonso being relatively unknown quantities from a Premier League title race perspective, surely Arteta has the opportunity to build on this? It’ll be interesting to watch – and will tell us a lot about Arteta’s legacy – was this a flash in the pan, taking advantage of inferior challengers, or is it the start of a period of dominance.
I’ll naturally be rooting for PSG in the Champions League final but if Arsenal somehow find a way to win, then once again, credit to them. Football isn’t about who plays the most beautiful passes, or dribbles past the most defenders, it’s about who puts the ball in the back of the net more often in 90 minutes. As a Chelsea supporter, I don’t care that we defended our way to a Champions League win in 2012, I just remember it as being one of the most thrilling nights of my life. And I’m sure Arsenal fans will feel the same way (if they win).
CFC, London
The one and only Villa…
Hi,
Since Thursday’s mailbox was somehow still about Arsenal with most of my fellow Villa fans to drunk or ecstatic to write in I thought I’d share the good vibes with the rest of the football community.
We just won the UEFA Cup. Yeah. Us. Really we did.
Yes, the elephant in the room is the grotesque financial mismatch that is the Premier League vs any other league in the world but a win is a win!
I cannot believe we qualified for Europe for the fourth year in a row while winning a cup in Europe. With a team largely made up of Dean Smith signings. When our entire first choice midfield spent a month or two (longer in the case of Kamara – thanks ‘little paul’) in the treatment room. When some of our players have played 55(!) games. When we had little choice but to sell a great striker (Malen) in January to cover our financial butts even after selling ‘one of our own’ Ramsey in the summer. After not winning a game and scoring once in the first 5 games during major transfer rumour turbulence.
Clearly, Emery is the lynchpin holding this whole rackety bus together through thick and thin. The man is a genius. He’s bonkers, yes. But a genius. The one thing other managers should note is that almost never, ever complains or makes excuses. Not once has he ever moaned about injuries, he rarely mentions referees or decisions (and boy have we been on the wrong end of some weird coin flip decisions like most teams) and is effusive with his praise when warranted.
If anyone has seen us this season, we are usually a fantastic watch too (Tottenham game notwithstanding…), mixing up playing through the press and some more direct play through the middle. Some amazing goals, team and individual. Oh, and if Arsenal want to see how to take a proper clever and FUN corner, check out the goals on Friday and Wednesday night.
Most of all though, best of all… the memories, the community and sharing this moment with friends and family.
Football… Bloody hell.
Funstar Andy
Oh, Stewie
I will be honest, I was having a great time joyscrolling as an Arsenal fan. Lots to laugh, lots to feel about. I was in 5th grade when we last won the PL. Fellow Arsenal fans in different continents, friends from a different time of my life called me after years just to shout in joy. To share this moment with me. I had some tears at the end of the night. It has been fantastic and a great reminder about the beautiful euphoria sport in general and football in particular can produce.
Feeling the joyscrolling, I brought myself to the F365 mailbox. I am not super regular but like any other reader, I am aware of our dear Stewie Griffin. Honestly, maybe I am naive but I did read his piece to see if a) there is finally some joy and introspection in the miserable ol sod (naive, I know) and b) if the comedic madman shaking fist at the sky critique make me laugh. And to quote Narcos, “when you come face to face, the devil is a real letdown”. But, I was not aware of this hat bet that was referred to. Seeing as I had too much time in my hands, I decided to look up what this was about and found some fun snippets. Now, not that it will matter to SG but I do hope he realizes this is really a function of me being petty and having some free time rather than giving grave importance to you. In fact, I wanted to bring this for the record and our other readers who are only united with me in a shared sense of having our consciousness treaded upon by the IQ draining, context-free, unentertaining dross. I read a few of Stewie’s older emails, and boy, I hope he rediscovers some of the comedic bile he used to spout. Its like a populist without a popular cause today. Some of his observations, were to be honest pertinent in a broken clock is right twice a day kind of way.
First, the hat: “To be clear: if Arsenal finish within even 10 points of Citeh, I’ll eat my hat. Live on the mailbox with a side of Arteta sauce. Arsenal might scrape 4th place – and if so, congrats.” (22nd October 2022)
Now, seeing as Arsenal did finish within 10 points of City that season and in 2nd place, I would have expected our resident soothsayer to have had even a snide acceptance but nope. No concessions of progress, no acceptance of a lost bet. Welcher.
Second, this glorious prediction considering now SG has some acid reflux about spending money to win. As a side (for readers and not our all-knowing SG), his facts are wrong and City, United, Chelsea have all spent more money than Arteta. Besides, the driving proxy should be the wage bill. Arsenal is 5th on that and City pay 5-6 extra Bukayo Saka (Highest paid at arsenal) level wages. Anyway, the prediction: “Irony is that the “billion-pound bottle-jobs” is Arteta’s Arsenal – and not Maresca’s Chelsea. Who knew!” (15 Dec, 2024)
Maresca got fired and is now taking up the other billion dollar team supposedly. and a follow up chaser “Your boy has blown over £1bn, and according to 22 years of deluded folklore, if you spend loads, you automatically have to win the lot. That’s how it works we were told??” (28 Jan, 2026). Well, we won. Not that I agree with simplistic assessments but, yes, it works as you were told.
Having welched on his eat the hat promise, I do request that stewie offer us link to his livestream in advance because his next proclamation was this:”The fact is, anything short of winning the CL (and Arsenal ain’t winning it in a month of Sundays, I’ll livestream me drinking a pint of my own p**s if they do)” (25 April, 2025). Not that I am some sort of connoisseur of videos entailing urine drinking homunculus, I think it will be a great laugh and instant internet legend should Arsenal win the UCL (tall order, but still).
Anyway, I know I am not practicing what I preach here but I reckon we should all collectively ignore SG mails. It is a context-free, goalpost shifting, fictional, silly discourse-starting, rage bait this website unfortunately loves to use because sure, it delivers clicks.
I feel guilty for wasting your time with nonsense so please allow me to recommend some great reads in case someone (Arsenal fans) is interested and I hope it is not upsetting to F365 editor that I am using this platform to encourage other media. I highly recommend Barney Ronday’s piece in the Guardian about why everyone hates Arsenal (a humorous commentary on society with Arsenal on focus), Miguel Delaney’s last two pieces on Independent about behind the scenes of Arteta and the James Mcnicholas’ piece on Arsenal project (long form, deep dive, and a great insight into how club decision making works/doesn’t work. It is free to read on the Athletic). Go ahead SG, you can read them too. Don’t think it will bring forward refliection but hope it improves your content because honestly some of your past rants were not insufferable.
Best,
Abs (Geneva)
