This feels different Positives, Needs and Hopes I respect the world of football stats but don’t search them out. There is something in me that resists stats and considers them somewhat unnecessary even though many are interesting and revealing. I far prefer basing my judgments on feeling. Maybe it’s because I’ve poured much […]
Systems vs Swagger Positives, Needs and Hopes One of the most frustrating parts of coaching is when you spend endless hours working on what seems like such a good idea only for it to hurt the team. I can’t prove this but the first half against Newcastle looked like a plan shut down. In my […]
Structure 3 Balance 1 Positives, Needs and Hopes Arsenal are in a period of sacrifice. It looks to me that the new coaching team has sacrificed needed work on our attacking game to focus heavily on defensive structure. I’m not necessarily disappointed as Arsenal haven’t had a proper defensive structure for almost half my life. […]
The STARTeta of transformation. The last game versus Bournemouth was the real beginning of Arteta’s reign as manager, and it’s what all us Arsenal fans have been crying out for. I reiterate that it is the beginning, and we don’t need to be getting carried away as it’s a long way to get to where […]
It has been a while since Gunners fans have been able to be enthused by their team but on a wet Monday night on the Dorset coast, a first half which showed all that Arteta is about, Arsenal set up an a mouthwatering encounter with Portsmouth in the fifth round of the FA Cup. The […]
When you know the Coach is good Positives, Needs and Hopes Besides good results, how do you know if you have a good coach? Clues are found in various places. a) consistent effort. b) game winning alterations. c) bad runs of form don’t last. d) understanding of importance to build team based on their qualities […]
Very clear, very complicated Positives, Needs and Hopes Some games get lost in the joy of the win or dejection of loss. Others give such clarity as to what needs to change. This season it seems that we’ve been part of three results…. a few wins, a few losses and a bucket load of clarity. […]
Maybe Crayola should sponsor us – since we’re being drawn as much as their crayons. The vibe in some quarters was that we were poor here. I agree it wasn’t stellar. But then – without any real bias attached – I don’t’ think Sheffield United had many major chances. They did get behind […]
Arsenal in February Part One: The Players I’ve had this theory for months that Arsenal will run out of energy in February onwards, as Emery had us playing end-to-end basketball for 4 months. As with most everything I’ve feared would happen, I’ve either dialed that back or believe the opposite now due to everything Mikel […]
ADRENALINE MAN Positives, Needs and Hopes He didn’t score. He wasn’t really the star of the show. He was however, the instigator. It’s not the first time that Gabriel Martinelli’s infectious attitude and energy have shown to be contagious. Prior to the 69th minute, Arsenal were in with a fantastic chance of coming second in […]
