RECORD TEMPERATURES IN LONDON, CAN ARSENAL BRING THE HEAT?
WELL, HERE WE ARE FAM IT IS FRIYAY!
So, what do we have for the weekend? Mikel Arteta has shared that everyone is in training. In the next couple of weeks, we’ll have a full squad of players to choose from, which will be utterly excellent news.
The reports are that Fabio Vieira is really impressing people and overall, the training at Arsenal is hitting new levels since the summer additions were added. We’ve added winners. Winners have a different type of focus. It sounds like the players are setting an example, which is fantastic because young players need people to work with that show them where the next level is.
The temp this weekend is going to 35 degrees. That is fucking disgusting in England. So firstly, stay hydrated people, carry a bucket of water around with you like the Americans do.
Footballistically, there are two weapons we have in the locker… the first is the water breaks are back this weekend. Mikel Arteta is a proper coach, the more time he gets with his players, the better we generally do. Those water breaks during the pandemic were very helpful. Second, we have FIVE subs to use. We were a bit slow against Palace, I suspect we might be a little more liberal with the changes this weekend… my hope? We’re taking key players off because we’re at least 6-0 up by halftime.
There was some chat about Auba and the issues he had with the club. The now famous dossier that was used to log the bad behavior is causing a bit of piss-taking, but reality is, football has HR too, and if you are trying to make a case for bombing off your star player, you do need to collect evidence. Mikel Arteta, corporate snitch, love him or hate him, he got the job done and outmanoeuvred Auba. He did say that the player should get a good reception from the home fans and I totally concur. He was our captain, scored a boat load of goals, won some silverware, and ducked out when things weren’t going well. I’ll always love him for the work he did during the early Arteta phase, he was the guy that kept us competitive.
There was a bit of chatter about the culture at Arsenal and how it has changed.
It was the club’s vision to completely change that and create and install (a culture) that makes people who are working at the club proud and accountable for their jobs. I think we have that, and I think you can see that level of commitment and passion transmitted to our supporters. That’s why there’s such unity at the club.
The non-negotiables were raised again.
It’s the first thing we talk about is what we’re going to expect from them, what they’re going to expect from the club, what our values are how we want to behave and be perceived. It’s our passion, and it’s what we love doing, and to do that, we have to get on well. There are a lot of people, clubs are getting bigger and bigger every day, and you must first have that respect to enjoy ourselves together.
I work in a start-up at the moment, born in a pandemic, the culture that we have been trying to build has been tough to set up, but now it’s in place and agreed upon, it makes everything so much simpler to manage.
If there is unacceptable behavior, people can point to the culture they agreed to.
If there is selfish behavior, you can use the culture to amend it.
If there is ever a decision to make at speed, the culture can drive what sort of decision is made.
I don’t care what anyone says, having a culture in place leads to a better work environment, it gives people clarity, and it tells you who is right for the business and who is not.
The main difference between a corporate culture and a sporting culture is the speed in which you can activate a culture. In business, if someone doesn’t want to play ball, you can come to an agreement fast. In sport, if a player doesn’t want to partake and they are tied to a massive deal, there’s not a lot you can do about it.
… but a lot of damage can be done while you work it out.
We are out the backend when it comes to problematic players. That doesn’t mean we won’t have incidents, it doesn’t mean things are perfect, but it does mean everyone is bought in, so any disruption will not be because there’s a philosophical alignment.
Bill Saliba has been making waves after one Premier League game. Again, it is important to remind people in the good times that there will be bad moments. Saliba doesn’t need us now, but he will do after a couple of bad games, that’s when we show our colours. I really don’t want to see people slandering him to get online clout. He’s a top player, he’s young, the better the fans are to him, the faster he will develop.
Arteta had this to say:
I think he has his feet on the ground. That is not going to be an issue. Obviously, we have talked about the expectation that he already created before joining the club when he was on loan. He is very aware of everything that was happening around him, and we have tried to manage that internally in a really quiet way. And I think it is better to stay like this for him because he is 21 years of age and he has played one Premier League match.
Yes, the players really like him because he has come really determined, a focused and humble boy who wants to take the club forward. He is so willing to be talked through anything you want to talk about, be coached, and his aim is to get better and get the team better, and that is about it.
It’s great that the players like him, that’s always a good sign, that wasn’t the case with Matteo G, the focus wasn’t there with him. I’m hoping Bill has another massive game this weekend and keeps his place in the side for a bit. We should be very careful returning Tomi to the starting 11, so hopefully there are minutes available.
The All Or Nothing doco does seem to have worked wonders for everyone at Arsenal, the biggest job it has done is knock down some of the made-up things about Arteta.
He’s not meek…
He’s bad with players…
He asks his players to sit back…
He’s just a cone boy…
The other misconception that he wants to control every decision. It’s actually the opposite. He’s trying to build a team of players that understand the patterns and shapes of a game so they can make the best decisions faster than anyone else.
That’s the idea that they can decide by themselves, make decisions by themselves, and those decisions are right. In (terms of) execution, timing and purpose. That’s the direction we want to take.
I don’t think the squad has been at the technical level to be able to execute at that level, but this season, I think it is. Players like Zinchenko, Vieira, and Jesus all make better decisions, faster, and they are more unpredictable.
The great thing about the squad we have this season is I really do think the media and a lot of fans are underestimating the quality of the players and the quality of the game we’re trying to play. We have incredibly intelligent players in our squad at the moment. I’d love to add Tielemans and a top, top winger… but even without them, we’ve moved up levels. My hope is that we sit out of the media glare and let Spurs and Chelsea have it. The pressure is on them, that makes sense, they have more experience, but I really think we’re a darkhorse this season.
First job to do… beat Leicester. They aren’t the same team they were, the club looks like a bit of a dead carcass, with the bigger clubs picking off the prime cuts of meat. Fofana, Maddison, Schmeichel, and Tielemans could all be out by the end of the window. Someone who has been working with Rodgers on a piece of work told me yesterday that he is talking openly about their need to balance the books this window. Basically, they are in a bit of a mess.
… but they are still dangerous. They have some killers in their side. If they go a goal up, who knows what will happen.
What do we have on our side? They are diabolical at setpieces. No team conceded more shots resulting from set-plays than them last season. I think they conceded 11 goals from corners by February. They might be a little better with Fofana back in the mixer, but there problems are deeper than one player, they conceded 59 goals last season, they have a 34 yr old Jonny Evans in the mixer.
My hope is we hit them hard, early. A deep block ain’t saving them tomorrow. If we score early, they’ll have to come and play, that’ll open up the backline to some abuse.
Before you go, we have a NEW Before the Whistle Podcast. We dropped 1 hr 20mins, covered loads of good stuff like player sales, Leicester, transfer rumours, with a little bit on competitors.