A new season and a clean sheet

The premier league season is set to return after an historically short break. Arsenal begin their campaign away to newly promoted Fulham. Its been a turbulent time for the club and the opportunity to start afresh is an exciting one. Last seasons FA cup win glossed over what was a disappointing premier league campaign which resulted in an 8th place finish. While football is certainly a very different experience during these strange times, there is still a considerable amount of excitement within the footballing community about the coming season.

At Arsenal, Mikel Arteta has emphasised that every one of Arsenal’s squad has a chance to prove themselves, including Mesut Ozil and Matteo Guendouzi who have somewhat burned their bridges. The mood at the club is relatively high given the current circumstances and where they were last November when Unai Emery was relieved of his duties. They have been relatively active in the transfer market with 5 incomings so far, albeit three out of the 5 arrivals were at the club last season . The loan deals for Pablo Mari and Cedric have been made permanent, Willian has arrived from Chelea, defender Gabriel Magalhaes has signed from Lille while Dani Ceballos has returned on loan for the season.

There is still a month to go in this years Summer transfer window with the closure extended to October the 6th. While there is reason to be optimistic with regard to Arsenal’s transfer business so far, there is still a significant amount of work to do. Bar several young players going out on loan and the confirmation that Henrikh Mkhitaryan would be joining Roma on a permanent contract, there has been no notable exits. With the financial implications of the covid 19 crisis as well as the failure to secure Champions League football, Arsenal essentially have to sell in order to further bolster their squad. The midfield is still crying out for reinforcement and while links to Lyon midfielder Aouar and Atletico Madrid’s Thomas Partey persist, they have not progressed beyond links as of yet. Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi are reportedly up for sale and one would think that at least one of those two would have to leave before a signing like Aouar or Partey could happen. The futures of Sokratis, Elneny, Kolasinac, Bellerin, Martinez and Maitland-Niles remain somewhat in doubt. This is not ideal on the eve of a premier league season.

Nevertheless, there is still a lot to be optimistic about. What can Mikel Areta do in his first full season in charge after an impressive start to his managerial career? Could Nicolas Pepe’s second season be a breakthrough one? Can youngsters like Reis Nelson and Joe Willock push on? The star striker Aubameyang is set to sign a new contract and could benefit from the service of new arrival Willian. Kieran Tierney is set to be fit from the start having missed much of last season through injury. Exciting prospects William Saliba and Emile Smith Rowe looks set to be part of the first team having spent last season out on loan.

A could start to the season will be important for Arsenal as they look to right the wrongs of previous seasons. A top 4 finish will surely be the main target for a team that have missed out on Champions League seasons for 4 consecutive seasons now. Let’s hope they can find three points tomorrow and put themselves on the right road. The FA cup win was brilliant but we can’t afford to rest on our laurels. The 2014 Fa cup win felt like it could have been the start of something great for Arsenal. That didn’t exactly marterelize. Maybe, just maybe, the 2020 victory under Mikel Arteta could be the beginning of a new era for the Gunners. First of all though, lets get the win tomorrow.

Another trophy as the Arteta effect continues

The Community Shield gets a Arteta lot of criticism and there was considerable debate as to whether or not the 2020 competition should go ahead, with good reason. It’s been a year like no other and football has been drastically impacted. However, for the clubs involved, its essentially a win-win. The winner gets another addition to their trophy cabinet. If you lose, it was just a glorified pre season friendly and good run out for players fitness. On Saturday, it was Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side who were celebrating lifting the trophy for the 4th time since their 2014 FA cup win. The players and staff did the usual winning a trophy stuff and the scenes were in fact very similar to those a month ago, when Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1 to win their 14th Fa Cup. This time, however, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang didn’t drop the trophy. It was a good way to start of what’s going to be a long, hard season for the Gunners. 

Arsenal once again relied on the immense quality of star striker Aubameyang who finished of a beautiful move-not too dissimilar to the buildup play we seen for the Gabonese forwards first strike against Manchester City in the FA cup semifinal. Arsenal probably aren’t playing the type of football Mikel Arteta ideally wants us to play on a consistent basis at the moment, but the buildup to the opener at Wembley on Saturday was an example of the new managers philosophy being put into practice. Arteta has been praised for instilling a greater degree of mental strength to his side and we seen this side of their game in their reaction to Minamoto’s equaliser with the Gunners holding strong defensively and even pushing for a winner. Joe Willocks headed chance was, thankfully, not costly. Penalties are a nerve racking experience for players and fans alike but all five of all Arsenals takers showed calmness under pressure and stepped up when it really mattered. Reiss Nelson, who took and scored Arsenal’s first penalty was very eager to take one having missed out as a 17 year old. Speaking to the clubs official Nelson, still just 20, said: 

‘I really wanted to take a penalty (in 2017) but I think I was 17 at the time and the boss didn’t let me take it’ 

“So I said to myself if I ever get the opportunity to take one again then I’ll be the first one and I’ll be confident and just pick a spot and pick it. 

“I got an opportunity, went to Mikel and said I’ll take it, then I was brave and he let me take it.’ 

Its quite impressive that a player of that age is willing to put himself forward in a situation such as this and speaks to the character of the player. In the past, it’s been said that Arsenal’s players shy away on the big occasion. You could certainly argue that the Community shield is not exactly a big occasion but it’s silverware and the players showed mettle to achieve what they did.  

Arsenal also continued their defensive improvement on Saturday with Rob Holding, David Luiz and Kieran Tierney making a pretty formidable shield in front of Emiliano Martinez, who started in spite of reports suggesting that Arsenal would be open to letting him leave. When this shield was breached, and it was towards the end of the game as the player tired, Martinez was there to keep Arsenal in the game. The Argentine made two really good saves from Sadio Mane. Granit Xhaka was impressive at the heart of midfield, as was Mohammed Elneny. The Egyptian spent last season on loan at Besiktas and it was generally assumed by most that he would be either sold or loaned out again this window. However, having started against MK Dons last week and again on Saturday, he may yet stay. Maitland-Niles, another player who has been strongly linked with an exit also played the full game and was hugely impressive on the left hand side. It was reported by Sky Sports just days previous to the game that he was close to joining Wolves on a permanent deal. It’s difficult to know exactly what’s going on here but he’s certainly a player who has the ability to really add something to this Arsenal team.  Hector Bellerin was generally decent but looked pretty exhausted and was replaced by Cedric. Aubameyang was excellent once again. The array of goals he’s capable of scoring is just incredible. Hes such a rare talent and the sooner his contract renewal is announced, the better. Nketiah worked hard up front and perhaps should have done better with an effort just inside Liverpool’s box shortly after Aubameyang’s opener. Saka once again showed his quality with a sumptuous pass for the goal and caused problems for Andy Robertson.  Overall, this win and the performance that went with it should give the team big confident boost. No, its not the most celebrated trophy in the world but its another addition to a bulging cabinet. ‘Winning is a habit’ and the players will learn and benefit from this experience.  

Areta and co won’t have much time to enjoy this win with the opening premier league fixture just under 2 weeks away. There is also a way to go in the transfer window and Arsenal are expected to finalize a new deal for Aubameyang in the coming days. The transfer of Brazilian centre back Gabriel Maghaeles is seemingly imminent while rumours continue to circulate about the possibility of Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar and Thomas Partey of Atletico Madrid joining the club. So far though, we have heard nothing concrete. In terms of outgoings, David Ornstein reported on the eve of the community shield that Rob Holding was close to signing for Newcastle on loan while there’s the aforementioned Maitland-Niles and Martinez stories. Meanwhile, Italian outlet RAI report that Sokratis is close to joining Napoli. There continues to be questions surrounding the futures of Lucas Torreira, Alexandre Lacazette and Sead Kolasinac.  Finally, the club confirmed today that Henrikh Mykitaryan has left the club to join Roma on a permanent deal.  

And so it begins…

As the return to a brand new season of premier league football approaches, things are beginning to move quickly for Arsenal in the transfer market. So far, they have brought in Pablo Mari and Cedric Soares on permanent deals and have also signed Willian on a free from Chelsea. According to various sources, a move for young Lille central defender Gabriel Magalhaes is edging closer with the transfer at  ‘Arsenal fans checking flight maps stage’. It looks like the gunners hopes of Dani Ceballos returning, either on loan or on a permanent deal are dwindling with Real Madrid playing hard ball.   There have been no notable exits as of yet but a recent report from Sky Sports suggests Maitland-Niles could be on his way to Wolves. The report stated that a move was ‘close’. Matteo Guendouzi is quite obviously a player the club actively want to move on, which may be big reason why they seem to be having difficulty finding a club. There was reputable sources reporting that he was offered in part exchange for Thomas Partey but Atletico were not interested in the deal-wanting cash only. There’s a number of players who Arsenal would supposedly be willing to sell with Sokratis, Torreira and Lacazette apparently available for the right price. Oh, and there’s also the small matter of our director of football leaving.  

Obviously, there is still a huge amount of work to do. This project is about more than one transfer window. The Willian signing was slightly controversial signing in some aspects and while I share peoples concerns with regard to Kia’s coziness with  certain members of the clubs hierarchy, I believe this to be a good signing in isolation. He should give us a degree of creatively out wide that we’ve been sorely lacking, even under the improved Mikel Areta team. His goals and assist records isn’t exactly spectacular, but he’s a good link player and has really good technical quality. It will be interesting to see how we line up with him in the side. My first instinct would be that he would play on the left with Aubameyang moving to center forward. However, Arteta has been really reluctant to use the Gabonese international there. It’s also been suggested that Willian could operate in a more central position, behind the front three. I can’t say I’ve ever seen him play there for Chelsea but if it worked it could help alleviate the dearth of creativity in our midfield. The Guendouzi situation is a really disappointing one. He’s seriously let himself down. However, asides from the obvious off the pitch antics and issues-he’s a player that perplexes me. I think there’s a player there. I’m just not sure what type of player. He’s quite alright at a number of things but doesn’t really excel in anything. His passing is fairly basic, as is technical ability and he’s not someone who really dominates physically. He’s got a sort of tenacity that fans tend to like but too often we see his petulant side. His antics at the end of the Brighton game were silly and his apparent refusal to apologise is even more stupid. I think it’s fair to say that he’s burnt his bridges at this stage and should leave. If we can get between 30-40 million for him then I think we’d be doing very well. Torreira’s future probably depends on that of others. If Guendouzi leaves and Ceballos doesn’t come back, then I don’t think we can sell the Uruguayan as well. I definitely don’t think he’s one we should or will be pushing out the door. Even if he hasn’t quite lived up to the early expectations he set up for himself, I think his qualities could be useful going forward.    

The announcement several weeks ago that our head of football, Raul Sanhelli, would be leaving the club took most people, including myself, by surprise.  Its seems like such a long time ago that he was being fondly referred to as Don Raul. After some very poor results on the field, transfer inactivity off it and an attempt to give Unai Emery a new contract amidst one of the darkest times in Arsenal’s recent history, his reputation has basically taken a freefall. Just days previous to Sanhelli’s departure, the club appointment a lawyer, Tim Lewis, to undertake an overview of the clubs spending and in particular the signing of Nicolas Pepe, who the club felt they overpaid for. While I wouldn’t got as far as to celebrate a man losing his job, I think this is a positive move from Arsenal. It has felt like Arsenals transfer business has lacked clarity and forward thinking. A good leadership core will be vital going forward and I have a feeling we are better placed with Edu and Arteta leading us.  

If we get Gabriel over the line and Aubameyang signs a new deal, which are both expected at this stage, then I think we’re looking at 2 to 3 more players coming in and several players leaving as well. It’s fairly obvious that there isn’t a big chunk of money for Arteta and Edu to splash out on new talent, so we’ll need to be smart and will most likely have to sell in order to buy. We spoke about Guendouzi and he’s a player who could bring in a relatively large sum. Alexandre Lacazette is another player who has been linked with an exit and he too is a valuable asset, despite the fact that he is going into the last year of his contract. Midfield is going to a major issue, hence the consistent links with Thomas Partey. Arsenal have struggled to find the right balance in that area for some time with numerous partnerships never really working. We lack steel and structure at the heart of our midfield and we also lack creatively further forward, which is why I’d like to see two midfielders come in. A lack of creativity has been a huge problem for the past couple of years. We simply don’t create enough chances. Aubameyang and Lacazette have lived off scraps for while now and it’s essential that they (or at least Aubameyang if Laca leaves) have someone to provide for them.  

Our season starts on the 12th of September but first there is the Community Shield game against Liverpool to prepare for. It’s not a game that either team will be too pleased about having to play-two weeks before the new season is supposed to begin. I’d expect Arsenal to go with a strong enough team regardless with maybe a few of the younger players given a chance to play. It’s the sort of trophy that, if you win-It’s a trophy and if you don’t, it doesn’t really matter. You’d expect Arsenal to organise a few friendlies between this game and the opening fixture away to Fulham on the 12th. Overall, the next few weeks should be very busy for Arsenal with incomings and outgoings expected in the transfer market as well as some actual football.  

Football and People

It is getting more and more difficult to support a football team without taking into consideration the actions of your clubs owners. Just 2 weeks ago Arsenal fans were united in joy as their team beat Chelsea to win their 14th FA Cup. It was a tremendous day for Arsenal fans around the world and just what they needed after a difficult season on the field. Just a few days later, Arsenal announced that 55 staff would be made redundant as a result of financial difficulties brought on by the Covid 19 crisis. It is important to emphasize that this development should not take away from Mikel Arteta and his players achievement on Saturday. However, it certainly took the gloss of what should have been a celebratory week. 

During this difficult time, community and kindness could hardly be more important. Perhaps it’s a young family shopping for their elderly neighbour or cafes delivering food to the vulnerable. Maybe it’s even a man out for a walk smiling or saying hello to the passing jogger or dog walker. Many of us have become more compassionate human beings as a result of this pandemic and have displayed this kindness in a number of ways. Unfortunately, this compassion has not been displayed consistently throughout the challenging period. For example, here in Ireland, asylum seekers are still treated as despicably as they were before the crisis. Across the Irish seas, the British government have been accused of showing a lack of leadership which perhaps contributed to the high death rate. While Arsenal’s decision to let go 55 staff go is not exactly comparable to the above examples, it shows a distinct lack of a moral compass.  

Its important to remember that the 55 people who lost their jobs are not just cogs in a machine, they are human beings. Too often, business and the thirst for profit and financial wealth is used as an excuse to treat people like objects. Perhaps it’s a naive idea but workers should always be treated as humans, first and  foremost. The wellbeing and fair treatment of loyal staff should always be the priority. These principles are quickly being forgotten and people are becoming more disposable. While, there is potential here to delve into a discussion about how big business’ operate, we will concentrate on the footballing side, for now.  

People will be quick to point out that football clubs are business’- this is undeniable. However, it is also a pretty redundant thing to say. A football club is more than just a business. It is a source of love for so many people around the world. For some people, it occupies their mind every day and plays a huge part of their lives. For others, it provides some light entertainment at weekends. Club’s are quick to emphasize the importance of this community when it suits them. However, when it comes to cutting costs, this is very quickly forgotten. Arsenal’s official statement which announced the 55 redundancies attempted to pull at the heart strings of Arsenal fans reading it. There was a clear attempt to portray the redundancies as a last resort when in fact, they could have surely been avoided. The owner, Stan Kroenke, is a multi billionaire and could have easily intervened to prevent people losing their jobs.   

It is easy to mark these people out as ‘unessential’ or disposable because that’s the way a business operates but a football club is so different to your typical business. Without wanting to resort to cliches, some of the victims of Arsenals cull are the life and soul of the club.  It has still not been made clear who exactly lost their jobs but match day staff are likely to be among them. Perhaps some of whom are stewards who keep us safe while we watch our team play or maybe they are catering staff who serve us a much needed half time snack. Whoever these unfortunate people are, they have contributed greatly to Arsenal over a vast number of years and deserve better. It is quite obvious that they are not going to be earning the extravagant wages of some of the playing staff. This will have hit some very hard and as football club who have always been renowned for doing ‘the right thing’ in ‘the Arsenal way’ this was a pretty callous move. 

It should be emphasised that despite the tone of the first three paragraphs, this article is not intended to be critical of Arsenal as a football club. A quick browse of the official website will tell you about all the wonderful charitable work the club do in the community. The issue is that this sense of generosity and decency demonstrated by clubs does not extend to the ownership (most of the time) and unfortunately, owners are becoming more powerful. From the Manchester City’s owners  alleged links to the slave trade to Mike Ashley and the variety of reports suggesting mistreatment of staff in Sports Direct.  The game is being ruled over by the ethically ambiguous and murky dealings have become commonplace. The issue is not so much that football has become a business, rather, the more prevalent problem is the type of business it is becoming. There are numerous examples of small business, both here in Ireland and around the world, who fought to protect staff amid all the chaos and uncertainty and keep them safe on their return to work. Unfortunately, many, including some far larger and more profitable company have been less charitable. The point being, football becoming more business-like is not necessarily a bad thing if the business is ethical and reasonable. The more you read football news, the more it becomes apparent that is not the case.  

A very simple example of football clubs detaching themselves from fans and people is the price of match tickets. Of course, prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus, match day attendances remained high but as the price of tickets rise, the normal everyday fan is being pushed away and being replaced by tourists and corporate types. The notion of football clubs being at the heart of a community is a slowly dying idea and fans and staff are suffering as a result. Running a major business should not excuse you from treating people with respect and dignity and football clubs need to remember why they exist and who they represent. Football is a very simple game about people. 11 men playing against each other in a 90 minute game, each bidding to outscore the other as fans watch on. From the grounds man who perfect the pitch to the father taking his child to their first game, this game relies on the hard work and loyalty of decent people. It’s about time they start taking that into account.  

Arsenal win the FA cup for the 14th time!

Well that was fucking brilliant. After a pretty tortuous season where there hasn’t been much to be joyful about, we deserved that. All of us deserved that. Mikel Arteta has had a bonkers first 6/7 months as Arsenal manager where his own personal fortitude will surely have been tested. It was the Spaniards own positive diagnoses for Covid 19 back in March that lead to the  3 month stoppage for all football in England. Even searching back through the realms of footballing history, it is difficult to find a manager who has experienced a more turbulent start to his career. In fact, this level of disruption to routine has not been seen since the suspension of football due to World War 2, when the wartime league was set up. Not unlike current times, the wartime league saw a reduction in the number of fans allowed to attend games.  Managing a football team during this time would surely have been a challenging job. Many footballers and staff fought in the war, some of whom lost their lives in the conflicts. Of course, these are different times. The FA and the individual clubs have done a remarkable job in ensuring the safety of both players and coaches. However, this has been an undoubtedly difficult period for everyone involved, particularly for a man in his first job in management. When the final whistle went in the FA cup final on Sunday, we not only saw a show of joy from Arteta as his new team lifted yet another trophy. We also seen relief. A video has since gone viral of the usually quite reserved and serious Arteta carrying the historic cup through Wembly’s tunnel area and joining in with his players in the dressing room as they danced and embraced each other while champagne sprayed from all corners. It was a special end to an extremely difficult season. 

Arteta sprang few surprises with the lineup with Rob Holding replacing the injured Skhrodran Mustafi, as expected. There were some worrying scenes early on defensively, with Christian Pulisic’s pace causing major problems for Holding. The American took the lead for Chelsea after just 6 minutes, skipping past Kieran Tierney and lofting the ball over Emiliano Martinez. It was the worst possible start for an Arsenal side that have generally struggled when they go a goal down. If Arsenal exceeded expectations against Manchester City, they proved the combination of defensive solidity and attacking threat they showed against Pep Guardiola’s side was no fluke. Despite the score line, Arsenal had been dangerous down the left hand side with Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang causing problems for Cesar Azpilicueta. The latter nearly gave Arsenal an early lead after Maitland Niles got in behind Azpilicueta and put a good cross into the box. Aubameyang couldn’t direct his header goal wards. The Gabon international is lethal in front of goal and this miss should have been a greater warning for Chelsea. A long ball over the top from Tierney set off a footrace between Aubameyang and Azpilicueta. Aubameyang got there first (of course) and the Chelsea defender was forced to make a desperate grab at Arsenal’s striker. It was a clear penalty and Azpilicueta was only spared a red card by teammate Rudiger covering his back. Aubameyang smashed his penalty into the bottom right hand corner. 1-1. Arsenal had the better of the remainder of the first half without creating many chances.  

The 2nd half was a far more congested, tactical affair. Arsenal needed a moment of magic or simply someone to take responsibility. With a quarter of the game remaining, Hector Bellerin made a driving run at pace through midfield before Christensen made a crunching challenge. The ball fell kindly to Nicolas Pepe, however, who played a good pass into Aubameyang. The striker had a lot to do and had Kurt Zouma standing in his way but an almost nonchalant piece of skill took the ball past a flat footed Zouma and a delicate chip over Cabellero gave Arsenal the lead and ultimately their 14th FA cup triumph. A pretty harsh second yellow card for Mateo Kovacic ended pretty much ended the game (although it didn’t feel like that). Emi Martinez had us all with our hearts in our mouths as he came to meet a ball lofted over the top. With Abraham hunting it down, he simply had to reach the ball but in doing so almost took it out of his box. Luckily for him and for Arsenal, replays showed the ball remained on the line (so in the box) and Arsenal held on to win.  

Winning a trophy in your first year is impressive enough as it is. However, winning one in your first job as a manager after taking the job halfway through the season is a pretty big achievement. If that isn’t remarkable enough, he also had a global pandemic which shut down football to deal with. The scenes after the game were jubilant. Several Arsenal players collapsed on the pitch as the final whistle blew. The past few months, including this game will surely have been mentally and physically exhausting. The players and manager deserve immense credit for coming through and achieving what they did. I think I’m sort of echoing what Elliot said on the always excellent Arsenal Vision Podcast but this is why we do this. This is why we put ourselves through all the pain and suffering. We can talk about Champions League qualification all we like but ultimately it all comes down to trophies. The feeling of watching your team lift a cup just can’t be replicated by a 4th place finish in the league. It’s a much more permanent reward for your efforts. We will always be the 2020 Fa cup champions and nobody can take that away from us. I don’t think any sensible Arsenal fan is claiming that this win cures all of our problems. There is still major issues at this football club that need to be addressed. However, winning a trophy gives everyone optimism. It’s the lift that I think everyone needed. There was sense that the 2014 FA cup final win could be the beginning of better things for Arsenal under Arsene Wenger. Bar a couple more FA cups, that didn’t quite materialize. Perhaps, though, under a talented young manager and with some exciting youngsters, the 2020 fa cup win could spark the emergence of a new era for Arsenal.                               

Arteta could be special but Arsenal have to back him

The Premier League is over and Arsenal have just finished in their lowest position since 1995. Even without the devastating impact of the corona virus, which infected their new manager, it has been a season of instability at Arsenal. Few could argue with the decision to relieve Unai Emery of his duties back in November. In fact, according to some, the call was made far too late. A number of names were linked with the job, from Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers to the former Swansea, Leicester and current Bordeaux coach Paulo Sousa.  Carlo Ancelotti was also suggested as a potential replacement for Emery and despite the general popularity for this particular choice, Arsenal opted for the more inexperienced Arteta . Its fair to say that there was a fairly mixed reaction to the announcement that the former Gunners player and F.A cup winner would be the new manager. Some felt a more accomplished coach such as Ancelotti would have been a better choice to take them forward. Others were excited at the prospect of this young, highly rated coach coming in and restoring an identity Arsenal have been sorely lacking for several years now.  

Arsenal had initially approached Mikel Arteta for the job after Arsene Wenger’s time at the club came to an end in the Summer of 2018 before they eventually opted for Emery. Perhaps Arteta’s lack of experience counted against him when this decision was made. However, less than 18 months later, the Spaniard finally got his chance. It was a big risk from Arsenal who had a disastrous start to the season. Afterall, this was Arteta’s first job as manager of a football club. While, he will have gained invaluable insight into the managerial career through working as the understudy to Pep Guardiola, this was always going to be a challenge for Arteta, as well as Arsenal.  If Arteta’s age and experience make him a novice in the field, his conduct and manner in his first conference made him look like a seasoned veteran. He spoke like someone with a clear plan and idea. If his new players were under any doubt of their responsibilities as footballers for Arsenal football club, they were made very clear in his first press conference. People will understandably point out that this was just a press conference and doesn’t tell us anything about Arteta’s tactical knowledge. However, what Arteta did show was that he is a good communicator. This may sound like a pretty basic requisite for a manager but Emery’s broken English made it difficult to decipher what he means at times. Remember, this is the person who is giving the players the team talk and instructions before games. Without wanting to make assumptions, it often seemed like this struggle to communicate his ideals clearly translated to the pitch in the case of Unai Emery, where players looked unsure of what they were supposed to be doing and where they were supposed to be.  

On the pitch, Arteta’s Arsenal have hardly been spectacular. Results haven’t been significantly better under the new manager than they were under Emery. However, there have been definite signs of improvement.  Arsenal have conceded fewer goals and fewer chances despite a distinct lack of quality at the back. Individuals such as Granit Xhaka and Dani Ceballos have shown significant improvement and there appears to be a better general structure under Arteta’s management. There has been moments to remember fondly too, albeit they have been relatively rare. The premier league homes victories over Manchester United and Liverpool and the F.A Cup semi final win over Areta’s former club Manchester City stand out as concrete proof of the improvement under Arteta. Moral is up-that is quite clear. Speaking after the win over Manchester United at the Emirates back in Janaury, David Luiz and Sokratis spoke in glowing terms about their new boss to BT. ‘The fun is back’ said the big Greek centre back as a rare grin emerged across his face. ‘In life when you’re happy-the results can be totally different.’ echoed Luiz. This was over 6 months ago but remains relevant now. The scenes after the F.A Cup semi final win over City were not just the celebrations of a team that had just reached the FA cup final but one that was fully behind their manager and believed in his philosophy. Dani Ceballos looked like destined to be a  failed loanee and was likely heading back to Madrid with his tail between his legs in January. Now, we are looking at ways to keep him here permanently. Similarly, Granit Xhaka, after his conduct in the Crystal Palace home game back in October , was on his way to Hertha Berlin. Since then, he has rehabilited his relationship with the fans and is a staple in the starting line up under the new management.  These things don’t happen when players don’t respect or believe in their manager. 

While it’s important to recognise the difference Mikel Arteta has made both on and off the field, there is only so much he can do with the squad Arsenal have. Significant and ruthless change is necessary if they are to achieve their goals. There’s players currently at the club who simply aren’t good enough and others that just aren’t compatible with Arteta’s philosophy.  There’s a huge amount of work to do in the upcoming transfer windows. It is quite obvious that there won’t exactly be a war chest ready for Arteta and co to splash out.  However, there is other ways to support him. A lack of coordination when it comes to recruitment has lead to a largely dysfunctional team where a lack of fluidity has been a major issue. If we are to truly address that issue, we need to change the way we bring in players going forward. We need players who suit the style of play Arteta is trying to implement and who have the specific assets which we need to improve the team. Signing players because they are represented by Kia Joorabchian won’t cut it and is no way to support a new manager in what they are trying to do. Unai Emery was clearly not a good fit as Arsenal manager and his management in the final few months of the season was disastrous. However, it’s worth remembering that Arsenal remained quiet in the previous January transfer window when it was blatantly obvious that they needed reinforcements.  In this regard, Arteta should be at the heart of transfer and contract decisions going forward. The project will take time and investment but if we truly believe Arteta is the right man to take us forward, then we have back him with both money and patience.  

Football and mental health in the Covid 19 crisis

Football has returned in Germany and is seemingly edging closer across Europe as well. There was a keen interest from fans across the globe as the Bundesliga kicked off for the first time in two months last weekend. Sky Germany reported record figures as Borussia Dortmund dispatched Schalke. Despite the oddities such as the substitutes sitting 2 metres apart in the stands and the noticeably subdued goal celebrations, there was sense of relief and joy in many quarters at the return of the beautiful game. However, the decision has also sparked controversy from some who feel it is too early. With politicians and leaders citing the mental health of the general public as a reason for a return to professional football, it is important that we only consider how the pandemic affects footballers themselves.

Thankfully, discussion surrounding mental health has become far more prominent in recent years. Most people have become more mature about the issue and there is a greater awareness of the damage mental health issues can have. The impact of Covid 19 has had a detrimental effect on peoples liveliehoods. People have jobs and some have seen their business crumble. Tragically, many have also lost family members and loved ones to the disease. It is absolutely undeniable that this level of chaos will have had and will continue to have a dramatic effect on peoples mental health.

It is often said that footballers live in a bubble. They don’t understand or experience ‘normal people’ problems. However, Covid 19 has somewhat levelled the playing field in the sense that everyone experiences the same level of isolation and separation from loved ones. It is the middle of May and the season would have just about finished up by now under normal circumstances. Many footballers would be travelling back home to visit family. That is simply not going to happen anymore. Being away from family is tough at the best of times, but that difficulty is heightened in these strange times. For someone like 18 year old Gabriel Martinelli, who joined Arsenal from the Brazilian fourth division last summer, it must be particularly challenging.

Premier League and other elite professional footballers live privileged lives, there’s no disputing that. However, there seems to be a consensus that this somehow makes them villains. How they dare earn a very good wage while the brave NHS works break their backs for a pittance? Many Doctors and nurses are overworked and underpaid. However, their mistreatment is not the fault of the Arsenal right back or Manchester City’s striker . This unhealthy comparison between footballers and frontline staff has unfortunately continued into this pandemic. When Troy Deeney voiced concern for his young child with breathing problems in a story for Sky Sports, the comments below the headline showed a certain disregard for his concerns. The fact that people are failing emphasise with a man who doesn’t want to go back to entertaining people because he has a daughter at home who could potentially become seriously ill shows a worrying trend

Troy Deeney is most likely not the only premier league footballer who has a vulnerable person at home. Footballers are being asked to go from isolating at home to protect themselves and their loved ones to playing football at a competitive level with the eyes of millions of people watching, albeit from their homes. While physically, it will take time for them to regain their fitness, it should also be asked that we are asking a huge amount of them mentally too. The already significant stress caused by the virus will be compounded by the fact that they will no longer able to follow the medical advice, putting them at greater risk of getting the virus and passing it on to their loved ones.

Studies continue to show that mental health and physical health are heavily interlinked. The Mental Health foundation in the UK state on their website that

‘a clear distinction is often made between ‘mind’ and ‘body’. But when considering mental and physical health, the two should not be thought of as separate’.

With this in mind, it’s is worth considering the physical ramifications the players may experience as a result of the build up of stress and isolation over the past weeks and months

The comparison between footballers and healthcare workers is completely null and void. Healthcare workers are essential. Footballers are not. Thier paychecks are irrelevant in this discussion. Footballers who do not feel safe should not be forced to return to competitive football. It is unfair of us to expect footballers to act differently to the general public. Nurses and doctors are bravely performing an essential front line service. It would be foolish to expect footballers to perform for our entertainment at the risk of themselves and the people they live with.

Most of us have suffered in some capacity as a result of Covid 19, some more than others. As football nears its long awaited return, it is important that we step back and acknowledge that the people we’re hinging our entertainment plans on are human beings. Human beings with family and friends who they want to keep safe. Our thirst for Saturday nights Match of the Day and a routine we’ve grown accustomed should not overpower our capacity for compassion and understanding, even for multi millionaire footballers.

Summarising Mikel Artetas Arsenal career so far

Image Credit- Getty Images

Mikel Arteta really has had the most surreal start to a managerial career. The Spaniard took over in November with Arsenal in the midst of their worst crisis’ in decades. Expectation was high when he was announced as the successor to Unai Emery. He was tasked with performing an almost impossible job- transforming a severely unbalanced and error prone squad into a cohesive unit or simply one that resembled a team. With no managerial experience and nowhere to hide, this was always going to be a struggle. His first press conference was impressive and there was a degree of excitement about the the prospect of this fresh faced, perfect haired apprentice of Guardiola and Wenger taking over the team. This season, however, was always going to be about experimentation where there was an outside chance of rescuing a Champions League place. It was a chance for the new manager to analyse his squad and perhaps make decesions about the summer. All in all, it was set to be a fairly uneventful 6 months where steadying a sinking ship was the main priority. That was what was expected. Nothing more and hopefully nothing less.So often in football, expectations and reality differ significantly. However, usually that disparity consists of a newly promoted minnow overcoming the mighty title challengers. Even the greatest storyteller with the wildest imagination would have struggled to come up with the series of events which were forthcoming.

The early reports of a contagious virus spreading in China did not cause much concern for the vast majority of people in Europe. The threat seemed far enough away that it did not take up much space or time in our busy lives. In fact, bar a brief read of a Sky News article, for January and even much of February, we were in almost complete ignorance of how dangerous this could be. Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta was slowly getting to grips with life as a football manager and Arsenal were steadily improving.Life was petty good in the minds of many Arsenal fans, or at least better then it was under Emery. However, within a matter of weeks, we went from debating about whether or not we should sell Ainsley Maitlind-Niles to wondering how we get back to playing back to playing football again. The health and safety of our loved ones became a far more important concern as were thrust into this dystopian reality.

It is perhaps a damning endightment of the FA and the Premier League that the fixtures scheduled for the 14th and 15th of March were set to go ahead. Arteta’s diagnosis just days prior changed everything. The news came as a shock to Arsenal fans world wide. It’s difficult to imagine just quite what Arteta himself was thinking when he received the positive result. With a wife and 3 children at home to worry about passing it on to, this would surely have been a very challenging time for a man who should have been overseeing his new teams continued improvement. Arteta was praised early in his Arsenal career for the way he communicated his ideas and showed good leadership for such an inexperienced manager. These qualities would now be relevant in a very different way. Even in what most have been a troubling time personally, Arteta continued to conduct himself impeccably, a true testament to his professionalism.

It is May- six months into a truly bonkers Arsenal career for Arteta and preparations are underway for a return to football behind closed doors. I’m sure that life as a football manager in normal circumstances is a unique experience and starting in a new job is never easy. However, Arteta’s beginning to life at Arsenal is hardly comparable to anything that has come before. Watching his Manchester City team take apart a feeble and shambolic Arsenal side he would take over several weeks after said match would have been bizarre enough in itself. The next few months would put that particular experience in perspective. However, through all the turmoil and uncertainly, Arteta has continued to show his class and leadership qualities, qualities that will serve Arsenal well going forward.

Team of the Emirates era

Image credit-populous.com

Leno

Sagna Mertesacker Koscielny Monreal

Fabregas Cazorla

Ozil

Ramsey Van Persie Sanchez

The isolation boredom is here and reall and teams of the Emirates era have been doing the rounds. It’s sort of fun and light which is something we could all use right now.

Leno

Goalkeeper was a tough decesion. I really liked Szcesny and I thought we let him go for far too little. The Southampton incdent certainly damaged his reputation and despite being rather funny in hindsight, it really soured his exit. Cech was excellent at times but there was a sense that he wasn’t quite at the level he used to be. Leno has definetley been the busiest of the three keepers and oftens singlehandedly kept us in games. The double save against Spurs in particular stands out as an impressive highlight.

Sagna

The right back slot was essentially a battle between Hector Bellerin and Sagna. The Frenchman gets in the team for his reliability and consistency. Bonus points for his bullet header in the North London derby.

Mertesacker-Koscielny

I’ve gone for perhaps the only reliable center back partnership of the Emirates era. The slow but intelligent Mertesacker worked well alongside the more aggressive and pacy Koscielny. The manner of the latters exit was painful but hes arguably the best defender of the era.

Monreal

Left back was a relatively easy choice. Gibbs and Clichy were okay but neither mantained the level of consistancy that Monreal did. He played in his natural position for much of his time at Arsenal but also filled in at left wing back and centre back, most notably in the 2017 F.A Cup final victory against Chelsea. Him and Sagna were quite similar in terms of the fact that neither of them were paricualy flashy and never won many Man of the Match awards but they got the job done with minimum fuss.

Fabregas

He sort of picks himself. A superb player and arguably the best of the Emirates era. Even as a teen, he showed leadership beyond his years and is one of Wengers greatest success stories. His position at the base of midfield will probably require him to do more defensive work than he is used to, but then again, he’s probably used to carrying a pretty heavy load playing in an Arsenal midfield that contained Denilson.

Cazorla

The little Spaniard was always going to be in this team. His superb technical ability and two footedness made him a joy to watch. He scored some incredible goals, most notably in the FA cup final aginst Hull back in 2014. He even managed to make Francis Coquelin look quite good. The injury which ended his Arsenal career was tragic for both Arsenal and Santi himself. It was fantastic to see him back playing for Villereal.

Ozil

The German may not have won over the entire Arsenal fansbase through a lack of consistancy. Some also questioned his workrate and application. However, in the seven years hes been at Arsenal, I feel hes done enough to make the team. There is no question of his talent and he’s shown this at times throughout his Arsenal career.From almost breaking the record for assists in a single premier league season to that goal he scored against Ludogorets, Mesut Ozil has certainly paid back the 42.5 million pounds we paid for him. No, we probably shouldn’t have given him that massive new contract, but that doesn’t take away from his undeniable ability.

Ramsey.

Its hard not to include a player whose scored the winning goal in 2 out of the 3 major trophies we’ve won in the Emirates era. He fought back from an horrific injury sustained against Stoke all the way back in 2010 to become an important part of the Arsenal team. The 2013/14 season was something of purple patch for the Welshman and while he may not have quite reached those goalscoring feats again, his engery in the middle of the park and his attacking threat are something we’ve severly missed since his departure.

Van Persie

He may not be the most popular man on this list but nobodly can deny his ability and he pips Aubameyang partly due to lonegevity. His final year at Arsenal was perhaps the only one where his true talent was represented in the number of goals he scored, with injuries holding him back for much of his Arsenal career. Van Persie had as supreme level of technical ability to go along with that finishing touch and instinct in front of goal.

Sanchez

Arsene Wenger had a penchant for nurturing talented young players and moulding them into world class athletes. With Alexis Sanchez, it was more a case of getting the most out of superstar who was underappreciated at Barcelona.His exit was badly managed on all accounts but the 35 million pounds spent aquiring his services proved to be a bargain with the Chilean scoring 80 goals in 166 appearances for the Gunners, mainly from out wide.

Reliving Arsenal’s 2014 FA Cup triumph

Image Credit-CNN

It’s the 18th of May 2014. A warm, sunny day and one of hope and promise for fans of both sides. Arsenal have gone 9 years without a trophy and the pressure is growing on manager Arsene Wenger. There is palpable tension in the air. Memories of the calamitous League cup final against Birmingham a few years previous creeped into even the most optimistic of Arsenal fans minds. The image of the Wojciech Szczesny and Laurent Koscielny mix up is etched into our minds for all the wrong reasons. We could not let it happen again. This was our chance, our chance to end the drought.

Arsene Wenger sprang no real surprises in his lineup on the day, apart from perhaps Lucasz Fabianski starting ahead of the aforementioned Szczesny in goal. The always reliable Bacary Sagna started at right back. It was a centre back partnership of Mertesacker and Koscielny with Gibbs at left back. A midfield of now manager Mikel Arteta,the diminutive Santi Cazorla and the only survivor of the lineup on the day Mesut Ozil sat behind Lukas Podolski, Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey. There was  an understandable tension in the air as the match kicked off. 8 years of failure rested heavily on the shoulders of the 11 men on the field. Wenger would have emphasised the importance of a good start, but the Gunners found themselves a goal down after just four minutes. A scuffed Tom Huddetone strike was touched in by James Chester and Arsenal fans around the world once again found themselves with their head in their hands. 4 minutes later, Arsenal found themselves two goals down and with a mountain to climb. Stephen Quinn took the ball past Aaron Ramsey and his lofted ball into the box was headed goalward by Alex Bruce whose effort hit the woodwork. The ball, however, fell kindly to Curtis Davies who smacked the ball home from close range. Hull almost added a third only for Kieran Gibbs to clear off the line and keep Arsenal in the game. It looked like Arsenals day at Wembly would be spoiled by Steve Bruce’s men and that their drought was set to continue.

Up step the Spanish magician Santi Cazorla. A wondrous free kick from forty yards out gave Arsenal hope. It was a stunning goal and one that had to count .Arsenal heaped the pressure on Hull and controlled the rest of the game, but perhaps wihout creating enough chances. Would that incredible effort from Cazorla be in vain or could they find an equaliser from somewhere?  With 20 minutes to go, the Gunners till found themselves a goal behind. Cazorla puts in a corner in the hope that it finds an Arsenal head. Bacary Sagna bravely heads it towards Allan McGregor’s goal, it takes a deflection of a Hull player and  Laurent Koscielny is in the right place at the right time to spin and squeeze the ball between the posts .It was the luck that Arsenal needed and deserved and  the centre back  is clattered by the keeper in the process. Wembley erupts with the sound of Arsenal joy. The Arsenal players jump on the stricken Frenchman. They were back on level terms after being behind for much of the game. Now was the time for a hero to step up and clinch a winner.

Kieran Gibbs missed a glorious chance to put them ahead just 7 minutes after Koscielny’s equaliser but his shot blazed over the bar. Arsenals player of the season Aaron Ramsey beautifully set up Olivier Giroud after a mishap in the Hull defence but the strikers header smacked the bar as the Keeper stood and watched. It was agonisingly close. Was that the chance to win it? Arsenal were the ones pushing for the winner. The idea of penalties would have perhaps been too much for many an Arsenal fan who were already biting their fingernails with the tension .  With 10 minutes to go until spot kicks would decide the victor, Hull were tiring. Bacary Sagna wins the ball back in his own half of the pitch and plays it into Aaron Ramsey. The Welshman plays it back to Mikel Arteta who passes forward to substitute Jack Wilshere. Wilshere plays a good ball into Yaya Sonogo whose touch is loose, but James Chester’s attempted interception falls into he path of Olivier Giroud. He plays a delicate ball heel back to Ramsey and GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL. The ball is in the ball of the net before McGregor or the Hull defence can react. Arsenal fans had often been cited for their lack of noise but Wembley was shaking with cheers of both elation and relief. It was a fitting end to an excellent season for Ramsey and the long wait for a trophy was finally over. For some Arsenals fans, it was the return to winning trophies that they had great memories of, for others, including myself, it was the first vivid experience and one that is very special.  The smell of barbecues on a beautiful day in South Dublin made the feeling all the better. Summer was here and Arsenals victory would provide us with a good end to the season and reason to be optimistic going forward.