Mikel Arteta’s side made basic errors in a predictable 2-0 defeat but it is the culture behind the scenes that is the real concernArsenal fans: honestly, what did you think was going to happen? Probably, in fairness, exactly that. Indeed, had you simulated this game several thousand times in advance, “an easy 2-0 milking for Chelsea with Romelu Lukaku running riot” would probably have been among the more common outcomes.All the same, there was a startling quality to the way Arsenal lost here. Not simply the speed of their capitulation but the sheer stupidity of it, the bone-headed determination to keep making the same elementary mistakes, the way the 11 on the pitch were pretty much the only people in...
With fans back at the Emirates, Sunday’s derby with Chelsea will show how much goodwill the manager has in reserveEverybody wants their own Pep Guardiola. Everybody wants to find a former player, steeped in the traditions of the club, who can bring great success, preferably by using products of the academy. But the problem with geniuses is that there aren’t many of them about.It’s also the problem of clubs: for all the talk of identities and DNA, very few of them actually have a cogent philosophy that binds first team to youth sides, or at least not one that has been in place for long enough to turn out a player who can return almost two decades after their debut...
Romelu Lukaku returns for Chelsea, Raphaël Varane set for United bow and Burnley test Virgil van Dijk’s aerial mettleArsenal beat Chelsea twice last season, including a victory at StamfordBridge three months ago. Since then they have spent heavily on transfers including a £50m centre-back. Their fans must be super-confident as they prepare for Sunday’s Emirates clash, especially those who have blanked out last week’s fiasco at Brentford. But Thomas Tuchel is sure to bear that match in mind as he prepares his strategy for Sunday, and his pre-match pep talk is likely to begin with a good old-fashioned “get into ’em”. Ben White performed no worse than many teammates last week but the expectation on him is higher following his...
A comprehensive defeat by Premier League newcomers Brentford laid the Gunners’ problems starkly bareMikel Arteta smouldered and in front of him, Arsenal wilted. A comprehensive defeat to exuberant newcomers, a clutch of experienced players absent and others simply missing in action: this was the stuff nightmare starts to the season are made of and, in a situation that he is aware demands freshness and optimism, the manager finds himself on the back foot before 18 of his rivals have kicked a ball. Brentford’s night was a triumph for Arteta’s opposite number, Thomas Frank, and the latest occasion that laid the visitors’ long-standing problems starkly bare. Frank had noted before the match that there is “a part in every single game...
After years of decline, it is time for the excuses to be cast aside and improvement to begin under Mikel Arteta Guardian writers’ predicted position: 6th (NB: this is not necessarily Nick Ames’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)Last season’s position: 8thOdds to win the league (via Oddschecker): 50-1 Related: Arsenal’s Rob Holding: ‘No Europe this season can be a blessing in disguise’ Continue reading...