I love how this conversation is so balanced, other fan channels are very reactionary but this one is one of the sensible ones that provide honest yet balanced opinions.
Also, this isn’t a fan channel. These are two journalists who understand football and want to educate as well as entertain. Not just drive engagement through b.s. hot takes
It's so hard to consume arsenal content at times like these. Letting CL and possibly the league slip away in one week. If it's difficult to consume, I imagine it must be difficult to create at the moment, so, thanks, Charles
Think Arteta is right, first Champions League quarter final for 14 years. Too early & too little experience to expect this Arsenal squad to be able to get to the final or win the competition. Almost over achieving in relation to clubs like City, Real Madrid, PSG with far more Champions League experience & money. Gunners fans need to be more patient & also not leave matches early. Possibly our 2 most important players Odegaard & Saka also don't look 100% fit. Squad still lacks depth in key areas like a top goalscorer, winger & attacking midfielder & lb. James is right - we don't have any superstar talent or someone on the bench like Sane, Musiala, Salah, Bernardo Silva, Foden, Bailey, Doku etc who can beat a defender, get a pen or score out of nothing or a half chance.
Hey Charles. During the last 24 hours there were many reports in England regarding Arsenal's summer transfer plan. What was intriguing was that Arsenal see Pedro Neto as their priority winger signing. I have similar opinions on Neto with you. He is injury prone but has that hell of a talent. Would we want him as a regular starter? I don't think so. But if we manage his game time carefully and can use whenever Saka and Martinelli seems to run out of steam, it would be good signing. Overall, i still think i would welcome the idea of signing Neto.
Charles get some Augustiner in you. I hope that you get home safe. I'm disappointed as the players weren't fit enough for forwards other than KH and we needed to field Trossard and Vieria who have the pace. We did very well. We were just out-tacticated. I am really happy with the club and where we are going but we also have to remember how much Arteta has fixed in a short time. We are knackered from so many fixtures and I also blame the Premier League's schedule. Unfortunately we can't have a weekend in Abu Dhabi for a while. Congrats James.
Mikel arteta knows how to spot talent and build a team. He also knows how to build a system. That being said, he has no clue about adjusting when things don’t go right and doesn’t have a clue how to utilise a squad. He’s literally running the first 11 into the ground for the second year in a row.
He refuses to adjust almost at all and that is my only frustration with him. I'm a nerd and I think I've watched every bit of media he's done since he got appointed and he has a mentality where he "never wants to change" because he's said "if you change what you do you're going aginst your values" but he takes this literally. He takes up a hill and will die on it when he goes into a fixture. I thought we could've managed the game much differently when we went ahead against Bayern.
Hi Charles, as we analyze yet another exit from a Eurpean League, I think there is another factor we have to consider: mentality, inspiration and motivation. Arsenal tend to underperform in the European leagues relative to their domestic form, whereas European teams do the opposite. How else do you explain our history of struggles against the likes of Sporting Lisbon, PSV, Porto, and now a very average Bayern team. Yet, we have Dortmund in the semis while they languish in 5th place in the Bundesliga, while Bayern are only marginally better. I do think European clubs value the Champions and Europa leagues more than English teams do. How often do you poll yourself and your subscribers and find they value the PL over the CL? I think this translates to a mentality that allows European teams, even those that are struggling in their domestic leagues to rise to the occasion, and over perform on these occasions. We need to find that mentality in our team, and this comes down to both players and staff. This needs psychological training. It may also be something that can be addressed by bonus clauses in contracts to shape our players' inspirations. We also HAVE to shake our late season slumps. This year is better than last, but the great teams actually gain strength and form in the run in. This I think is addressable by recruitment, as Arteta needs, as you say, a deeper squad of 18-20 players whom he trusts completely. The final factor missing from our team, although we are getting better every season, is an ability to dig deep and find the form and creativity to find an answer for even the toughest situations. I call this the La Remontada mindset, as when Barcelona through sheer will power overcame a huge PSG deficit in 2017. I remember thinking even then, when that game was ending: could I ever believe Arsenal capable of doing that? Sadly, not then and not now. But that is the mindset that needs to be fostered and found. Tough job, but that is what world leading teams do.
One thing that troubles me is our predictability...you can almost predict who is going to pass where in the attacking third...and late in the season when the fatigue sets in the predictability is even more pronounced...but I don't think it's James' point on needing a superstar...did he watch Dortmund where it certainly was a team rather superstar issue. The other thing that I've noticed is that our falling flat in the second half in both the CL and Premiership...is there anything that Arteta is or isn't doing in the dressing room at the half to make a difference regardless of the players; maybe he doesn't have enough in the present squad but I really believe he's not getting 100% of the players he does have...
Charles you said the Arsenal squad looks "tired and jaded!".....Well, I believe is this is a valid mitigating and continuous factor that prevents more English Clubs progressing to the latter stages of the Champions League. I agree with James perhaps Arsenal don't have enough technically gifted players in the last third that can make something out of nothing at the highest level. However, I also believe the Premiership is very physically demanding much more than La Liga, Bundesliga, and Ligue Un and we don't have an official winter break. This means the best teams (from other leagues) normally approach the latter stages with a lot more energy. The Premiership is a victim of its own success! Money has enabled the "lesser teams" to get stronger making the Premiership more and more competitive. Man City and Chelsea who have won the Champions League recently are anomalies because they are ridiculously rich!! Liverpool when they won the Champions League in 2019 and 2005 did so with Mo Salah and Steven Gerrard - two world class players!
Hey Charles, I am not Arteta out for one second but my concern is that we are watching part 3 of the trilogy, 'Arsenal fades away in April'. In both the Villa & Bayern games we ran out of steam in the 2nd half. MA demands so much from the forward line, hard pressing, tracking back and we expect them to take on defenders & be creative. This makes us so difficult to play against but we need reinforcements & rotation. Odegaard and Saka have been run into the ground lately, they have literally been limping around on the pitch recently. The likes of Viera and ESR have been underutilised, we see them for a cameo where they look bright and effective and then they're gone again for 2 months. We were all excited to have Partey back for the run in and he's barely featured, yes he has looked a little rusty but that isn't going to fix itself while sitting on the bench. It's evident he doesn't trust some fringe players but this strategy isn't working either and it's becoming repetitive. We have a lot to be grateful for when it comes to Arteta and the season isn't over. I truly hope we can push City to the end but I am concerned we're running out of steam and if Arteta doesn't adapt then we may be watching part 4 of this series next season. Thanks as always for the great content, COYG!!
Didn’t see the game as I was working but will watch at the weekend. Now what am I expecting given the loss and no goals? Wingmen not playing as wingmen and cutting inside all the time and never running to the touchline. Tap tap football across the edge of their penalty area with no real attempts to push through. If that’s how it looks then that’ll match every other loss this season.
I do feel like Arteta should trust his squad players more. Look at how Pep changes the team every game, not matter who plays best. He rests everybody so they are fresh and fit for the better part of the season
Arsenal team has matured. 1. Look at the game against Man city. O-0 away 2. UCL games against Porto and now Munich. 3. There has been great improvement by the team. For sure we need an aggressive no.9. Havertz and Jesus are not the right candidates for that position.
And you forgetting this shambolic performance, west ham at home fulham away. Arteta is not the man and he should be questioned more gets away with so much. 750 mill spent. We wont win the league time to move on and a get a manager in who will
The only thing left dor arsenal is to go and make plan for the next transfer window with prority on a good striker,a competition for saka/martinelli, Left side 8 ,CB and probably a LB. Arteta repeated last season mistake pf not rotating the squad again.He is so rigid and his slow learning won't lead arsenal beyond all these promising outings only to crash out and run out of ideas when it matters most.
Not sure if Isak is a game changer but he could become one and I hope we go all out for him. I'd also go for Gibbs-White as he has really impressed and looks like a proper baller and someone like Nico Barella because we need to add goals, energy and quality. Maybe add Kimmich to that list if he is up for grabs.
Some things perhaps to consider for next season! Instead of constantly passing, try and carry the ball and don’t just look for a pass. Do not bring all the players back to defend leave someone up the pitch to occupy an opposition and give the defence an out ball. Learn to trust all the players so that rotation is viable. Just something I feel might help this team but of course this is just my opinion. Mandy
I really like Arteta but I can’t help to think ,is there better out there? If Ramsdale is good enough to get us to where we are now but not to win stuff. Is there any argument to say the same about Arteta? How much longer does he have?
I don't think you can blame Arteta for CL exit, individual mistakes in the Home game cost us the tie, we need to get more quality players to balance the squad and get more rest for the first team
Hey Charles, lots of talk about Arsenal finally signing that big shiny striker to complete the attack. However if a star striker is signed what happens to 70m Havertz? I think Arteta has admitted defeat to the Havertz midfield plan and this season has shown Havertz is clearly better in the attack than he is in midfield. Signing a striker could be a big admission of failure from Arteta.
What an exciting match it was: Arsenal versus Bayern Munich! As I expected, the game marked the conclusion of Arsenal's Champions League journey this season. Nonetheless, there were several positive takeaways from the match. Arsenal exhibited exceptional play and determination, considering the challenge of facing Bayern. Holding Bayern to just one goal was a commendable achievement. Reflecting on the second leg, one might wonder what Arteta could have done differently. Both legs saw Kai Havertz underperforming, which led me to believe that deploying Eddy and Jesus upfront could have applied more pressure on Bayern's defence, potentially yielding better results. Looking ahead, I remain optimistic about Arsenal's future. Arteta may need to make tactical adjustments, trim any underperforming players, and reinforce the team with a quality striker and left-back defender. Saka, who has been tirelessly utilised, deserves some rest, and Arteta should explore alternative options to support him. Similar considerations apply to Odegaard and Gabriel Magalhaes, who could benefit from additional support. Despite the setbacks, I firmly believe that Arsenal will bounce back stronger. Our focus should now shift to performing well in the EPL, with hopes that success will be on our side. Best of luck to our beloved Arsenal! Up the Gunners! Gunner for Life!
Out of CL might be a boost to our PL challenge. We play less games than we would have done, so we have only one 3 day later game now, the rest are 5 days to 8 days later. The team also know that if they have any chance of silverware this season, they need to go 100% at it in the last few games, and that will raise their determination to new levels.
Evening Charles and James, regarding 'the window of opportunity' comment and discussion, we've got a young squad and obviously been busy tying down loads of key players to contract extensions and I think with the situation with Liverpool and Klopp and I think if City win the league honestly, I do wonder if Pep will decide his time is done...won everything and who knows finish on a high? (I must stress that's hypothetical as I'm 100% sure they'll slip up against Spurs and we'll end up winning the league 🤣)...I think again we'll get a huge window in the summer - 100mil+ of sales, 200+ again of new players (plus Timber). We're definitely a club that's on a curve that's constantly striving to improve in quality in the transfer market and current players gaining experience so I think things are only going to get better and better for our club. Phill. (sorry it's not Pat and his fun house 😂)
I definitely think Arteta is the man to carry the club forward, but I'm not sure we currently have the players for big success, huge job in the summer to clear some players of the books and then invest in key players. For me yesterday, there were only 6 or 7 players I'd keep as "first" team players. The others are bench players if we're hounist.
@V4n1lla_Rice yea but it's a stepping stone, you can't just buy world class players, you have to build first then improve it. And for me it's time to improve it.
Thought the ppojt about the club tweeting the proud of you etc was extremely interesting. Very correct that it's a job very well done so far by arteta edu & the players. But as said, this is/should be the 'base standard' for arsenal. Public message should be a little more 'just the start - go again next year' or *something* like that maybe? Ultimately arsenal don't wanna be happy with a QF exit, or transmit that message publicly - the aim should be of course to win. Unfortunately fans can't temper that with the reality that winning won't happen every year! But have ti be in the mix at the business end, think getting one over the lune would be huge. 6 games to go and great chance to pressure city at the weekend, COYG!
We played one of the Champions league big-guns with loads of experience, and all this talk about them having a 'bad season', is only by their standards, they're still third in their league. Football is about progress, and there's no doubt Arsenal are continuing to do that. Disappointing, but I refuse to crumble. Arsenal are a title challenging team again, how much do you think the other 17 teams in the league would give to be there? UTA.
I think the framing of "close loss to Bayern in a QF is a success" lacks a lot of context re: how the club got there. It was not an impressive showing. I'm happy to see progress, but European away nights continue to be awful and as much as it was a narrow loss to Bayern, we also need to talk about how narrow the win against Porto was. Sure, it's progress, but let's not pretend they were great in UCL. Need to see more next year now that the kids have experienced it.
I think we will with PL and/or CL next year. Man City and Liverpool older players will be going backwards. Look at how many games De Bruyne and Salah missed this season, look at how shattered they look . On the up are us and Villa and I think Villa will be top 4 next year as well. Like you say, we need top rotation options so that we can spread the load across the whole team throughout the season, instead of 14 or 15 players doing all the hardest work.
Partey sitting on the bench for the full 90 in the last couple games is the biggest mistake Arteta has made in this run in. Second would be playing Havertz at CM again.
Maybe Eddie being subbed on was more about how tired the players are? Man City players say they asked to be taken off because they were shattered, maybe our main players are just as shattered?
hi Charles, I think the one and only difference between arsenal and city be it Madrid even Liverpool is the intensity. we have the quality but some games won't be worn by fielding quality alone intensity is that other ingredient and its key to winning. Bayern won because of intensity not better players...clear example is white yesterday night. watch him as the ball goes down the lane just before its crossed back to kimmich , blenco didnt put in any effort to close the man. So charlie if we never add that strong intensity to our game (in every game played ) we shall always be below those European giants
I think Arsenal need forwards who are quick to grab the opportunities on the counter, Martinelli was quick but is not upto speed in recent games particularly after his injury. They need to be more clinical in the box on a regular basis and make every opportunity count and give the opposition something to think about and put pressure on them. They have done it in the past and can do it going forward , just need more calmness and composure in such situations. They need to jump at every chance to have a shot on target and get goals. Here's wishing them nothing but the very best for ther rermaining six games till the end of the season. Come on you Gunners , we are rooting for you. Renita Mumbai India
@Charles watts just want to agree with the lad that Arsenal don't have that superstar, I'll repeat what Arsene Wenger said when asked by freddie ljunberg that Arsenal have everything that his invincible team had apart from a Theirry Henry
It felt to me that video studying of Bayern was primarily "this is how good they are", rather than "here's how Saurkrauten smashed them". We looked as if we didn't truly think we could beat them.
NOW afc concentrates on Wolves and after the season ends we build again a sriker and box to box midfielder an absolute must and Timber back will help too.
U mean Charles even u have fallen prey to the negative energy in the social media directed towards the team. There is lots of positivity at the moment. Let's go with that. Am sure Mikel n Edu are addressing the gaps
There is no need for a over-correction. Charles mentions that Arteta needs 19 player he can trust? Well, Liverpool 2 seasons ago played all available games a club can play in a season and they did it largely with the same players. Arteta I think still has some naivety at times and wants to be overly analytical. When playing against smaller clubs, he comes out with Pep tactics but during big occasions he's more like Simeone in his tactical approach. I feel big teams don't care who they play or try nullify opponents tactics, they just go at them. As for the squad. How many clubs really have more quality in depth than Arsenal? City's bench has Doku, Alvarez, Gomes, Bobb, Nunes, Ortega, Rico Lewis, Stones etc. It's not practical to have 19 players who'd easily walk into a top 4 clubs starting 11 and think they will all be happy with playing time etc. It's nice in theory but not practical at all unless we're trying to hoard players like Chelsea, Arteta starts tinkering like Ranieiri once upon a time and end up not knowing our strongest starting 11.
Paul, get some perspective. 4 years ago we had a squad with the likes of Ramsey, Walcott, Jenkinson, Kolasinac, Holding, Mari, Elneny, Luiz, Chambers & Bellerin. And lazy players on huge salaries past their best like Auba & Ozil. Arteta & Edu have done a terrific job to even challenge Man City which pays double the salary of any other club so they can attract players like Haaland & have 7 defenders who cost more than 40m, & a £100m player like Grealish who doesn't even start most games. They have at least 2 world class players for every position. They can just bin Phillips & buy Kovacic or sell Mahrez & buy Doku. Plus City winning the title 6 of last 7 years & the treble makes their recent history a more attractive prospect for winning trophies than almost any other team. Get real!!!
Just remember it’s 5 years with super mic ! We are 2nd again 🙌🙌🙌 better than wenger in his last 5yrs, so why all fans are so disappointed? It’s Arsenal !!! 4th place team 😆😆😆😆🫣
Arteta uses the same players day in day out until they get burned out tired now they have a break to recharge and push for the last length ...but charles I would have brought in thomas partey Bayern went througt us easily I thought I would have brought in ESR to bring us a penalty Arteta needs to get down and dirty and get things done outside of his usual zig zag he is brilliant but he gets clustered in his brilliance and sometimes things dont fit so he needs to get out of his box of tricks..tuchel new we are brilliant with corners so he used it on us we only had 2 they had 8
Of Arteta doesn’t address the issues that needed addressing from last season then we won’t go much further next season. We need a left back, midfielder (to help Rice) and a top striker. We need experience. I’d give Arteta one more season but next year if we are back in this same position. Questions will need answered.
I was in Munich to wake up to the snow but there was fantastic sunshine and a cool breeze right after that. This is one of my favourite arsenal commentaries but I’m a bit disappointed in your interpretation of arsenals/artetas messages. We know this is the third youngest team in the league - but how about the CL last eight? They are the youngest by a mile, especially of you add (say) a 10-15% weight for the manager. Can you treat their performance the same way as a fully developed mature team? Would you do that to your own kids? No way. I’m not saying unconditional but come on… The path: Year -3, 8th place: departures Year -2, 5th place: house cleaning Year -1, 2nd place: league winners bought Year 0, on for 1st/2nd: 160 mn spent Do you really think arsenals sights are set low, or could it be that they might just know a thing or two about not only building a squad but also letting them know they’re ahead of schedule and hence behind on experience?
I standby the spineless mention. 3 corners over 95minutes, which we limited Bayern to 1 corner in the 1st leg & 8 in the 2nd leg, added with having half the amount of shots as Bayern did in the return leg, we lacked true conviction from a handful of players which couldn't bring it up an extra gear, I hope though for the same 11 against Wolves, lift up the heads after the last 2 previous results, also Wolves face alot of set pieces so hopefully back to our usual set piece form shown. 🔴⚪️
Hi 👋 guys 👋, I hope all is good 👋 👦 ☺️ 👍 😊 🙏. After watching the match against Bayern Munich vs Arsenal the inexpensive showed. The Gunners were not clinical to win the match. And the Gunners needs to learn from this defeat. COYG to thrash Wolverhampton Wanders God willing. Have a good day guys 😂. Arsenal rocks 🏆 🙏 🤲 🪨 🎸 😎.
Arsenal deserved to lose, to many side ways and backwards football. Arteta is struggling against this mid block setup, he needs to introduce some chaos or find a way to break this mid block.
This guy is delusional or biased..7:30..arsenal a better team than bayern...is he for real..yes the club has improved a lot in recent years under arteta...but arsenal is not now nor has it been better than bayern in the past...arsenal is yet to win a single champions league ffs.
Charles I have been telling you all season…Arteta is NOT THE ANSWER….sack him we are absolutely terrible players are way underperforming…..he is now our issue get him gone and we move onwards and upwards
we need to do 1 thing but seriously find a top manager, we cannot last a whole season with this guy. i was hoping he would prove me wrong but season after season he fails. our players im guessing because of this manager cant last a whole season whether its being in form or fit and healthy. saka (so over-rated), but a good player nothing great, whos been awful every season from april as run into the ground. he changed a winning formula for the game vs a top 4 team in villa, such a stupid typical arteta move, we need to win so he decided against it. picks the worse players in their positiions ive seen for us in years in zinchenko and jesus these are our weakinest links and awful players, why did city dump them? We need a top striker but he thinks nketiah is the answer. nothing will change if he stays in charge. PLEASE mikel prove me wrong this season and win the league, if not please resign as he will never achieve anything, i will be backing wolves 15/2 amazing bet to beat this physically knackered and mentally weak team COYG
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I love how this conversation is so balanced, other fan channels are very reactionary but this one is one of the sensible ones that provide honest yet balanced opinions.
That's because here you get to breathe & think , the other channels they are too erratic failing to think & breathe.
Also, this isn’t a fan channel. These are two journalists who understand football and want to educate as well as entertain. Not just drive engagement through b.s. hot takes
Hope it all goes well James congratulations to you both 🥂
It's so hard to consume arsenal content at times like these. Letting CL and possibly the league slip away in one week. If it's difficult to consume, I imagine it must be difficult to create at the moment, so, thanks, Charles
I agree and how leggy we looked in the last 2 games, I'm expecting it to get worse yet.
Yes. The team as well as Arteta have too learn. Arteta hasn’t rotated enough and we are paying for it.
Think Arteta is right, first Champions League quarter final for 14 years. Too early & too little experience to expect this Arsenal squad to be able to get to the final or win the competition. Almost over achieving in relation to clubs like City, Real Madrid, PSG with far more Champions League experience & money. Gunners fans need to be more patient & also not leave matches early.
Possibly our 2 most important players Odegaard & Saka also don't look 100% fit. Squad still lacks depth in key areas like a top goalscorer, winger & attacking midfielder & lb.
James is right - we don't have any superstar talent or someone on the bench like Sane, Musiala, Salah, Bernardo Silva, Foden, Bailey, Doku etc who can beat a defender, get a pen or score out of nothing or a half chance.
Hey Charles. During the last 24 hours there were many reports in England regarding Arsenal's summer transfer plan. What was intriguing was that Arsenal see Pedro Neto as their priority winger signing. I have similar opinions on Neto with you. He is injury prone but has that hell of a talent. Would we want him as a regular starter? I don't think so. But if we manage his game time carefully and can use whenever Saka and Martinelli seems to run out of steam, it would be good signing. Overall, i still think i would welcome the idea of signing Neto.
Players look tired
Same as last year
Arteta does not rotate and it’s a damn hard season
Charles get some Augustiner in you. I hope that you get home safe. I'm disappointed as the players weren't fit enough for forwards other than KH and we needed to field Trossard and Vieria who have the pace. We did very well. We were just out-tacticated. I am really happy with the club and where we are going but we also have to remember how much Arteta has fixed in a short time. We are knackered from so many fixtures and I also blame the Premier League's schedule. Unfortunately we can't have a weekend in Abu Dhabi for a while. Congrats James.
Mikel arteta knows how to spot talent and build a team. He also knows how to build a system. That being said, he has no clue about adjusting when things don’t go right and doesn’t have a clue how to utilise a squad. He’s literally running the first 11 into the ground for the second year in a row.
Bravo lmao!! 💯 👏🙌😅😮
He refuses to adjust almost at all and that is my only frustration with him. I'm a nerd and I think I've watched every bit of media he's done since he got appointed and he has a mentality where he "never wants to change" because he's said "if you change what you do you're going aginst your values" but he takes this literally. He takes up a hill and will die on it when he goes into a fixture. I thought we could've managed the game much differently when we went ahead against Bayern.
@@goated6146 yeah exactly right. He has got so much to learn about winning. The question is whether he’s capable of actually adapting and changing.
my words exactly runs players into the ground and we cant last a whole season
HIGH WATTAGE ⚡⚡⚡
Your commitment to this reoccurring message keeps me going in these uncertain times
Congrats to you James!!!! Wishing you all the best for the future mate
Hi Charles, as we analyze yet another exit from a Eurpean League, I think there is another factor we have to consider: mentality, inspiration and motivation. Arsenal tend to underperform in the European leagues relative to their domestic form, whereas European teams do the opposite. How else do you explain our history of struggles against the likes of Sporting Lisbon, PSV, Porto, and now a very average Bayern team. Yet, we have Dortmund in the semis while they languish in 5th place in the Bundesliga, while Bayern are only marginally better.
I do think European clubs value the Champions and Europa leagues more than English teams do. How often do you poll yourself and your subscribers and find they value the PL over the CL? I think this translates to a mentality that allows European teams, even those that are struggling in their domestic leagues to rise to the occasion, and over perform on these occasions. We need to find that mentality in our team, and this comes down to both players and staff. This needs psychological training. It may also be something that can be addressed by bonus clauses in contracts to shape our players' inspirations.
We also HAVE to shake our late season slumps. This year is better than last, but the great teams actually gain strength and form in the run in. This I think is addressable by recruitment, as Arteta needs, as you say, a deeper squad of 18-20 players whom he trusts completely.
The final factor missing from our team, although we are getting better every season, is an ability to dig deep and find the form and creativity to find an answer for even the toughest situations. I call this the La Remontada mindset, as when Barcelona through sheer will power overcame a huge PSG deficit in 2017. I remember thinking even then, when that game was ending: could I ever believe Arsenal capable of doing that? Sadly, not then and not now. But that is the mindset that needs to be fostered and found. Tough job, but that is what world leading teams do.
Congratulations James....I was looking forward to seeing a British Remake of The Hangover in Munich with Charles.
One thing that troubles me is our predictability...you can almost predict who is going to pass where in the attacking third...and late in the season when the fatigue sets in the predictability is even more pronounced...but I don't think it's James' point on needing a superstar...did he watch Dortmund where it certainly was a team rather superstar issue. The other thing that I've noticed is that our falling flat in the second half in both the CL and Premiership...is there anything that Arteta is or isn't doing in the dressing room at the half to make a difference regardless of the players; maybe he doesn't have enough in the present squad but I really believe he's not getting 100% of the players he does have...
Charles you said the Arsenal squad looks "tired and jaded!".....Well, I believe is this is a valid mitigating and continuous factor that prevents more English Clubs progressing to the latter stages of the Champions League. I agree with James perhaps Arsenal don't have enough technically gifted players in the last third that can make something out of nothing at the highest level. However, I also believe the Premiership is very physically demanding much more than La Liga, Bundesliga, and Ligue Un and we don't have an official winter break. This means the best teams (from other leagues) normally approach the latter stages with a lot more energy. The Premiership is a victim of its own success! Money has enabled the "lesser teams" to get stronger making the Premiership more and more competitive. Man City and Chelsea who have won the Champions League recently are anomalies because they are ridiculously rich!! Liverpool when they won the Champions League in 2019 and 2005 did so with Mo Salah and Steven Gerrard - two world class players!
Why are we tired. Maybe look at this arrogant manager who a lot of Arsenal fans care about him then this club
Hey Charles, I am not Arteta out for one second but my concern is that we are watching part 3 of the trilogy, 'Arsenal fades away in April'. In both the Villa & Bayern games we ran out of steam in the 2nd half. MA demands so much from the forward line, hard pressing, tracking back and we expect them to take on defenders & be creative. This makes us so difficult to play against but we need reinforcements & rotation. Odegaard and Saka have been run into the ground lately, they have literally been limping around on the pitch recently. The likes of Viera and ESR have been underutilised, we see them for a cameo where they look bright and effective and then they're gone again for 2 months. We were all excited to have Partey back for the run in and he's barely featured, yes he has looked a little rusty but that isn't going to fix itself while sitting on the bench. It's evident he doesn't trust some fringe players but this strategy isn't working either and it's becoming repetitive.
We have a lot to be grateful for when it comes to Arteta and the season isn't over. I truly hope we can push City to the end but I am concerned we're running out of steam and if Arteta doesn't adapt then we may be watching part 4 of this series next season.
Thanks as always for the great content, COYG!!
Congratulations James!
Congrats to you James!!
Congratulations James Benge! Wish you and your missus all the best! How not to think of the game on Saturday? Just keep looking into her eyes 😊
Congratulations James. 🎉
James, this calls for a cheeky airpod and radio 5 live at the wedding 😉😂 Congratulations and enjoy yourself!
Didn’t see the game as I was working but will watch at the weekend. Now what am I expecting given the loss and no goals? Wingmen not playing as wingmen and cutting inside all the time and never running to the touchline. Tap tap football across the edge of their penalty area with no real attempts to push through. If that’s how it looks then that’ll match every other loss this season.
All the best James..
COYG❤
I do feel like Arteta should trust his squad players more. Look at how Pep changes the team every game, not matter who plays best. He rests everybody so they are fresh and fit for the better part of the season
Congrats James!
Congratulations and good luck JB
The Arsenal FC should do every bit to present James a beautiful present on the weekend. Congrats Mate! ❤
Arsenal team has matured. 1. Look at the game against Man city. O-0 away
2. UCL games against Porto and now Munich.
3. There has been great improvement by the team. For sure we need an aggressive no.9. Havertz and Jesus are not the right candidates for that position.
And you forgetting this shambolic performance, west ham at home fulham away. Arteta is not the man and he should be questioned more gets away with so much. 750 mill spent. We wont win the league time to move on and a get a manager in who will
Congrats on tying the knot James.
James- Congratulations for Saturday. Get her to watch Fever Pitch sometime, then she'll know 😁😁😁 Have a great Saturday
The only thing left dor arsenal is to go and make plan for the next transfer window with prority on a good striker,a competition for saka/martinelli, Left side 8 ,CB and probably a LB.
Arteta repeated last season mistake pf not rotating the squad again.He is so rigid and his slow learning won't lead arsenal beyond all these promising outings only to crash out and run out of ideas when it matters most.
Not sure if Isak is a game changer but he could become one and I hope we go all out for him. I'd also go for Gibbs-White as he has really impressed and looks like a proper baller and someone like Nico Barella because we need to add goals, energy and quality. Maybe add Kimmich to that list if he is up for grabs.
Congratulations to the Benge!
Some things perhaps to consider for next season!
Instead of constantly passing, try and carry the ball and don’t just look for a pass.
Do not bring all the players back to defend leave someone up the pitch to occupy an opposition and give the defence an out ball.
Learn to trust all the players so that rotation is viable.
Just something I feel might help this team but of course this is just my opinion.
Mandy
Congratulations James, I hope the wedding goes to plan and is a fantastic day! 💒 You won't have time to think about the match, not a chance!!
I really like Arteta but I can’t help to think ,is there better out there?
If Ramsdale is good enough to get us to where we are now but not to win stuff. Is there any argument to say the same about Arteta? How much longer does he have?
I don't think you can blame Arteta for CL exit, individual mistakes in the Home game cost us the tie, we need to get more quality players to balance the squad and get more rest for the first team
Hey Charles, lots of talk about Arsenal finally signing that big shiny striker to complete the attack. However if a star striker is signed what happens to 70m Havertz? I think Arteta has admitted defeat to the Havertz midfield plan and this season has shown Havertz is clearly better in the attack than he is in midfield. Signing a striker could be a big admission of failure from Arteta.
Best of luck James lad
What an exciting match it was: Arsenal versus Bayern Munich! As I expected, the game marked the conclusion of Arsenal's Champions League journey this season. Nonetheless, there were several positive takeaways from the match. Arsenal exhibited exceptional play and determination, considering the challenge of facing Bayern. Holding Bayern to just one goal was a commendable achievement.
Reflecting on the second leg, one might wonder what Arteta could have done differently. Both legs saw Kai Havertz underperforming, which led me to believe that deploying Eddy and Jesus upfront could have applied more pressure on Bayern's defence, potentially yielding better results.
Looking ahead, I remain optimistic about Arsenal's future. Arteta may need to make tactical adjustments, trim any underperforming players, and reinforce the team with a quality striker and left-back defender. Saka, who has been tirelessly utilised, deserves some rest, and Arteta should explore alternative options to support him. Similar considerations apply to Odegaard and Gabriel Magalhaes, who could benefit from additional support.
Despite the setbacks, I firmly believe that Arsenal will bounce back stronger. Our focus should now shift to performing well in the EPL, with hopes that success will be on our side. Best of luck to our beloved Arsenal! Up the Gunners! Gunner for Life!
Holding Bayern to a just one goal deficit is defeatist talk. This is the poorest Bayern team in years.
Out of CL might be a boost to our PL challenge. We play less games than we would have done, so we have only one 3 day later game now, the rest are 5 days to 8 days later. The team also know that if they have any chance of silverware this season, they need to go 100% at it in the last few games, and that will raise their determination to new levels.
Evening Charles and James, regarding 'the window of opportunity' comment and discussion, we've got a young squad and obviously been busy tying down loads of key players to contract extensions and I think with the situation with Liverpool and Klopp and I think if City win the league honestly, I do wonder if Pep will decide his time is done...won everything and who knows finish on a high? (I must stress that's hypothetical as I'm 100% sure they'll slip up against Spurs and we'll end up winning the league 🤣)...I think again we'll get a huge window in the summer - 100mil+ of sales, 200+ again of new players (plus Timber). We're definitely a club that's on a curve that's constantly striving to improve in quality in the transfer market and current players gaining experience so I think things are only going to get better and better for our club.
Phill.
(sorry it's not Pat and his fun house 😂)
I definitely think Arteta is the man to carry the club forward, but I'm not sure we currently have the players for big success, huge job in the summer to clear some players of the books and then invest in key players. For me yesterday, there were only 6 or 7 players I'd keep as "first" team players. The others are bench players if we're hounist.
Who bought all the players?
@V4n1lla_Rice yea but it's a stepping stone, you can't just buy world class players, you have to build first then improve it. And for me it's time to improve it.
Thought the ppojt about the club tweeting the proud of you etc was extremely interesting. Very correct that it's a job very well done so far by arteta edu & the players. But as said, this is/should be the 'base standard' for arsenal. Public message should be a little more 'just the start - go again next year' or *something* like that maybe? Ultimately arsenal don't wanna be happy with a QF exit, or transmit that message publicly - the aim should be of course to win. Unfortunately fans can't temper that with the reality that winning won't happen every year! But have ti be in the mix at the business end, think getting one over the lune would be huge. 6 games to go and great chance to pressure city at the weekend, COYG!
The conclusion is: We need a bench. We need a strong bench.
We need Zubimendi, we need Gyokeres, we need Pedro Neto or Diaz from Real Madrid.
We played one of the Champions league big-guns with loads of experience, and all this talk about them having a 'bad season', is only by their standards, they're still third in their league. Football is about progress, and there's no doubt Arsenal are continuing to do that. Disappointing, but I refuse to crumble. Arsenal are a title challenging team again, how much do you think the other 17 teams in the league would give to be there? UTA.
I think the framing of "close loss to Bayern in a QF is a success" lacks a lot of context re: how the club got there. It was not an impressive showing. I'm happy to see progress, but European away nights continue to be awful and as much as it was a narrow loss to Bayern, we also need to talk about how narrow the win against Porto was. Sure, it's progress, but let's not pretend they were great in UCL. Need to see more next year now that the kids have experienced it.
“ she’s locked in” is greatest quote ever
I think we will with PL and/or CL next year. Man City and Liverpool older players will be going backwards. Look at how many games De Bruyne and Salah missed this season, look at how shattered they look . On the up are us and Villa and I think Villa will be top 4 next year as well. Like you say, we need top rotation options so that we can spread the load across the whole team throughout the season, instead of 14 or 15 players doing all the hardest work.
You know though both clubs will sign 2 wonder players
Partey sitting on the bench for the full 90 in the last couple games is the biggest mistake Arteta has made in this run in. Second would be playing Havertz at CM again.
Maybe Eddie being subbed on was more about how tired the players are? Man City players say they asked to be taken off because they were shattered, maybe our main players are just as shattered?
hi Charles, I think the one and only difference between arsenal and city be it Madrid even Liverpool is the intensity. we have the quality but some games won't be worn by fielding quality alone intensity is that other ingredient and its key to winning.
Bayern won because of intensity not better players...clear example is white yesterday night. watch him as the ball goes down the lane just before its crossed back to kimmich , blenco didnt put in any effort to close the man.
So charlie if we never add that strong intensity to our game (in every game played ) we shall always be below those European giants
I think Arsenal need forwards who are quick to grab the opportunities on the counter, Martinelli was quick but is not upto speed in recent games particularly after his injury. They need to be more clinical in the box on a regular basis and make every opportunity count and give the opposition something to think about and put pressure on them. They have done it in the past and can do it going forward , just need more calmness and composure in such situations. They need to jump at every chance to have a shot on target and get goals. Here's wishing them nothing but the very best for ther rermaining six games till the end of the season. Come on you Gunners , we are rooting for you. Renita Mumbai India
@Charles watts just want to agree with the lad that Arsenal don't have that superstar, I'll repeat what Arsene Wenger said when asked by freddie ljunberg that Arsenal have everything that his invincible team had apart from a Theirry Henry
It felt to me that video studying of Bayern was primarily "this is how good they are", rather than "here's how Saurkrauten smashed them". We looked as if we didn't truly think we could beat them.
NOW afc concentrates on Wolves and after the season ends we build again a sriker and box to box midfielder an absolute must and Timber back will help too.
Such as ?
Big big summer coming up for us, we simply have to get right
You don't take 1 out of 6 pts from FFC, drawing when they were 1 man down, and managing to take 0 out of 6 from AVFC and expect to win the title!
I think even that loss to Vila had some undesired effect
Is Charles not at least invited to the reception? 😅
Lads we have only one player every time he goes on the pitch and you no what your going to get is captain outerdaurd
U mean Charles even u have fallen prey to the negative energy in the social media directed towards the team. There is lots of positivity at the moment. Let's go with that. Am sure Mikel n Edu are addressing the gaps
There is no need for a over-correction. Charles mentions that Arteta needs 19 player he can trust? Well, Liverpool 2 seasons ago played all available games a club can play in a season and they did it largely with the same players. Arteta I think still has some naivety at times and wants to be overly analytical. When playing against smaller clubs, he comes out with Pep tactics but during big occasions he's more like Simeone in his tactical approach. I feel big teams don't care who they play or try nullify opponents tactics, they just go at them.
As for the squad. How many clubs really have more quality in depth than Arsenal? City's bench has Doku, Alvarez, Gomes, Bobb, Nunes, Ortega, Rico Lewis, Stones etc. It's not practical to have 19 players who'd easily walk into a top 4 clubs starting 11 and think they will all be happy with playing time etc. It's nice in theory but not practical at all unless we're trying to hoard players like Chelsea, Arteta starts tinkering like Ranieiri once upon a time and end up not knowing our strongest starting 11.
Paul, get some perspective.
4 years ago we had a squad with the likes of Ramsey, Walcott, Jenkinson, Kolasinac, Holding, Mari, Elneny, Luiz, Chambers & Bellerin. And lazy players on huge salaries past their best like Auba & Ozil.
Arteta & Edu have done a terrific job to even challenge Man City which pays double the salary of any other club so they can attract players like Haaland & have 7 defenders who cost more than 40m, & a £100m player like Grealish who doesn't even start most games. They have at least 2 world class players for every position. They can just bin Phillips & buy Kovacic or sell Mahrez & buy Doku. Plus City winning the title 6 of last 7 years & the treble makes their recent history a more attractive prospect for winning trophies than almost any other team. Get real!!!
Have a great day James! Only advice I can give to forget about Arsenal is to think of your "post match celebrations" with your wife. Have a great one.
Yeah James agree. Nelson can’t be worse than this shattered Saka we are seeing, surely?
Inside Arsenal: Extra Prozac
Why isnt this Arteta fc challenged more questions . I never known anythink like this
Come on James, June - July is the window for weddings!
Just remember it’s 5 years with super mic ! We are 2nd again 🙌🙌🙌 better than wenger in his last 5yrs, so why all fans are so disappointed? It’s Arsenal !!! 4th place team 😆😆😆😆🫣
Arteta uses the same players day in day out until they get burned out tired now they have a break to recharge and push for the last length ...but charles I would have brought in thomas partey Bayern went througt us easily I thought I would have brought in ESR to bring us a penalty Arteta needs to get down and dirty and get things done outside of his usual zig zag he is brilliant but he gets clustered in his brilliance and sometimes things dont fit so he needs to get out of his box of tricks..tuchel new we are brilliant with corners so he used it on us we only had 2 they had 8
I don’t agree that Arsenal were a better team than Bayern.
Knackered...tired physically but also tired in terms of ideas...Wolves, Chelsea, Spuds = 9 points. How many points will we get? See you in a week.
For all the doom and gloom - man city were also just dumped out of the CL. why no concern over the effect THAT may have on THEIR PL form?
Q DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE DEATH OF SIR CHIPS KERSWICK
Of Arteta doesn’t address the issues that needed addressing from last season then we won’t go much further next season. We need a left back, midfielder (to help Rice) and a top striker. We need experience. I’d give Arteta one more season but next year if we are back in this same position. Questions will need answered.
What a bad week for Arsenal 😢
please convey our best wishes to James Benge on his upcoming wedding from Mumbai India
I was in Munich to wake up to the snow but there was fantastic sunshine and a cool breeze right after that.
This is one of my favourite arsenal commentaries but I’m a bit disappointed in your interpretation of arsenals/artetas messages. We know this is the third youngest team in the league - but how about the CL last eight? They are the youngest by a mile, especially of you add (say) a 10-15% weight for the manager. Can you treat their performance the same way as a fully developed mature team? Would you do that to your own kids? No way. I’m not saying unconditional but come on…
The path:
Year -3, 8th place: departures
Year -2, 5th place: house cleaning
Year -1, 2nd place: league winners bought
Year 0, on for 1st/2nd: 160 mn spent
Do you really think arsenals sights are set low, or could it be that they might just know a thing or two about not only building a squad but also letting them know they’re ahead of schedule and hence behind on experience?
I standby the spineless mention. 3 corners over 95minutes, which we limited Bayern to 1 corner in the 1st leg & 8 in the 2nd leg, added with having half the amount of shots as Bayern did in the return leg, we lacked true conviction from a handful of players which couldn't bring it up an extra gear,
I hope though for the same 11 against Wolves, lift up the heads after the last 2 previous results, also Wolves face alot of set pieces so hopefully back to our usual set piece form shown. 🔴⚪️
I hope the players and manager grow some balls next season
The Edu tweet and the club insta post was a fuking disgrace mentality wise
Hi 👋 guys 👋, I hope all is good 👋 👦 ☺️ 👍 😊 🙏. After watching the match against Bayern Munich vs Arsenal the inexpensive showed. The Gunners were not clinical to win the match. And the Gunners needs to learn from this defeat. COYG to thrash Wolverhampton Wanders God willing. Have a good day guys 😂. Arsenal rocks 🏆 🙏 🤲 🪨 🎸 😎.
What is our latest news tf ???
Sadly arsenal were just too predictable. Bayern knew how we would attack and it was exactly what we did.
Arsenal deserved to lose, to many side ways and backwards football. Arteta is struggling against this mid block setup, he needs to introduce some chaos or find a way to break this mid block.
Bayern will finish on more points than lsst season and everyone thjnks there shit
This guy is delusional or biased..7:30..arsenal a better team than bayern...is he for real..yes the club has improved a lot in recent years under arteta...but arsenal is not now nor has it been better than bayern in the past...arsenal is yet to win a single champions league ffs.
Charles please buy your children Real Madrid jersey with Bellingham's name on it.
Charles I have been telling you all season…Arteta is NOT THE ANSWER….sack him we are absolutely terrible players are way underperforming…..he is now our issue get him gone and we move onwards and upwards
we need to do 1 thing but seriously find a top manager, we cannot last a whole season with this guy. i was hoping he would prove me wrong but season after season he fails. our players im guessing because of this manager cant last a whole season whether its being in form or fit and healthy. saka (so over-rated), but a good player nothing great, whos been awful every season from april as run into the ground. he changed a winning formula for the game vs a top 4 team in villa, such a stupid typical arteta move, we need to win so he decided against it. picks the worse players in their positiions ive seen for us in years in zinchenko and jesus these are our weakinest links and awful players, why did city dump them? We need a top striker but he thinks nketiah is the answer. nothing will change if he stays in charge. PLEASE mikel prove me wrong this season and win the league, if not please resign as he will never achieve anything, i will be backing wolves 15/2 amazing bet to beat this physically knackered and mentally weak team COYG
Saka was awful and Havertz just never again
So who is to blame for that???