Stalemate at Leeds illustrates how Mikel Arteta is struggling to get the best from his expensively-assembled squadFair play to Arsenal: if this is all a devious ploy to inflate Mesut Özil’s transfer value before the January window, then it’s working a treat so far. While Arsenal again struggled to create, their best creator was on Twitter having an argument with Piers Morgan. Their record signing was sent off for a sneaky off-the-ball headbutt in a venue with 38 live cameras and video replay technology. Against a promoted team, they spent most of the closing minutes pleading with the referee to blow the final whistle. Meanwhile, they remain 11th in the Premier League. Related: Arteta angry at Pépé over 'unacceptable' red...
The manager’s impact shows football still craves a charismatic leader in a world dominated by money and analysisDeep in the English understanding of football lies a willingness for faith, a yearning for a messiah. Fans want to believe in a hero who will solve all their problems: “We all dreamed of a day when a saviour’d come our way,” as the lyrics of the original 1997-98 Sunderland version of Cheer Up, Peter Reid have it.There may be complicated psychosocial reasons for that, related to historical governmental and ecclesiastical structures, but at the very least the sense was reinforced by the fact that as football entered its televisual age with the advent of Match of the Day in 1964, the English...
Mikel Arteta has a modern plan and is exhibiting the personality to put it into effect at the Emirates StadiumIt was only the Community Shield. It’s unlikely to be remembered in a month, never mind in a year or five or 10. Sports historians of decades to come will probably not be basing grand theses around some slightly tentative probing between two undercooked teams on a damp and blustery afternoon at Wembley. But it was another success for Mikel Arteta, further evidence that he might be building something exciting at Arsenal.Nobody at the Emirates Stadium should get carried away. This, fundamentally, does not matter – go on, without checking, what happened in the Community Shield last year? (Manchester City won...
Özil’s refusal to leave north London leaves Mikel Arteta in a tough spot considering all signs point to the German being surplus to requirementsMesut Özil retains his unnatural gift for dominating Arsenal’s narrative. This may yet be the week when, in announcing the signing of Willian and confirming Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has signed his new contract, they take their first clear steps towards rebounding from a tormented season and showing their intent to progress under Mikel Arteta. But Özil’s most recent intervention, stating in an interview that he has no desire to depart, brought back into focus a long-standing and expensive problem that is no nearer to resolution.Arsenal already have a battle to master the optics given, for all the relief...
It’s hard not to feel we’ve have seen this all before and know how it plays out. The sense is the endgame has begunAs they prepare for the north London derby on Sunday, who would you rather be: Arsenal or Tottenham? For the past four years, it wasn’t a question that required much consideration. Even in 2015-16, when Arsenal last finished above Spurs, it felt freakish. The trajectories of the two clubs seemed clear: Spurs were rising, replete with gifted young players and blessed with a charismatic manager whose ideas were notably modern, while Arsenal were sinking in the dotage of a managerial great whose best years were behind him but whose departure would inevitably bring turbulence.Arsène Wenger’s retirement in...