Arteta sack incoming with ‘process’ at ‘fourth tier’ Arsenal ‘over’ as Man Utd must axe ‘vanishing’ star

The fallout from Arsenal’s Champions League exit continues as Man Utd are told they cannot ‘bankroll a maybe’, while Ange Postecoglou could be a genius…

Send your thoughts to [email protected]…

Man Utd can’t bankroll a maybe…

Another nervy United display in the strangest of seasons, another big moment botched by Alejandro Garnacho.

You know the sales pitch: 11 goals, 10 assists, only 20. Impressive—until you notice when those goals arrive. When the stakes rise, his instincts vanish, and the whole team wobbles.

Manchester derby: 0‑0, six yards, free header. He nods wide; nerves ripple through the side.

Last night: clean through, he chooses the fancy chip, watches it drift past the post. The same nervy feeling builds.

The pundit line is that “experience will fix his decision‑making,” as if wisdom drops from the sky the day you turn twenty‑three. Decision‑making is the most instinctive of skills. You can polish it; you rarely remould it.

Yes, he might leave and turn world‑class, as Scholes fears—nothing in football is impossible. But it’s hardly guaranteed. What does feel guaranteed: hand him a chance in a big game and he misses. €60 million? Please and thanks.

United can’t bankroll a maybe. They need cold blood now.

Darren (MUFC)

READ: Man Utd, Spurs set up comedic Europa League final… and they somehow totally deserve it

Good for you, Mason Mount…

Even before Mason Mount signed for UTD I used to wonder what exactly he does? He seemed to be a ‘not quite’ player to me. Not quite a no 10, not quite a winger, not quite a midfielder but seemingly also all of the above.

I was a little underwhelmed with his signing, as it seemed to be ‘not quite’ what we needed at the time. Since then the poor guy has been through a really tough time. It’s one thing getting your chance and blowing it (Antony of 2024 I’m looking at you), but Mount hasn’t really had a shot at all. By all accounts that is through no shortage of hard work on his part.

That is why it was really heartwarming to see him show what he can do yesterday. The jury is still out for me in terms of what exactly he does, but it’s great to see him thrive now with the platform to show it. I suspect Amorim’s system may reveal exactly what kind of player he is, and that he may end up being a damn good one.

Akillies, Malawi

Arsenal are not ‘elite’…

Arsenal are a club that every 20 years or so are good, at the moment they are good, but they were never an elite club with the expectation of winning. The shifting financials in football has meant being good doesn’t guarantee you anything anymore, but its usually more fun to be knocking around at the top table than not (despite the impression you get from the more delusional corners of fandom).

There are your truly elite clubs, Real, Barca, Man U (despite themselves), Liverpool, AC Milan, Bayern. They have the history, success, global fanbases, etc. Players will join them based on their name alone.

There is the second tier of clubs, some who bought their way in like Man City & Chelsea who have the modern success but not the long history of glory like the above and the bigger tier clubs from the major leagues, Inter, Juve, Dortmund. PSG are in here, but really need to win something other than League 1.

The third tier are clubs that were once powerful but time has moved on and they are now operating in small leagues, Ajax, Benfica and the like. A team that seeing their jersey makes you nostalgic but you know they will never be back at the top table. Forest and Villa may be dancing around the edges of this group for English football fans of a certain vintage, but they are more sparkling wine than champagne.

The fourth tier is for clubs that do alright every so often, have a bit of success in their own league but don’t stir the juices. This is where a fair number of teams reside, if you draw them in Europe its an ‘ah that’s’ nice sort of fixture rather than the excitement of drawing one of the above. I reckon this is where Arsenal sit, they have more money than their counterparts in other leagues but a decent Scandinavian outfit will fancy beating them every so often.

The fifth tier is for your sexy teams, Napoli, Marseilles, Bilbao, Fiorentina. They won’t win much but it looks like fun. Tottenham may have a shiny stadium and Brentford may be well run but they just don’t cut it. Celtic probably reside here, not enough European success to be in the third tier.

After that its teams with money, but not enough of it to qualify regularly for Europe, nice for them when they do but a bity meh if you draw them in Europe. A good chunk of the mid ranking teams in the big leagues and the bigger teams from the likes of the Scandinavian league.

After that its the shite teams from the rest of the leagues.

Below that is Athlone Town.

Mel – Dublin, Berlin, Athlone Town

MORE ARSENAL CRISIS COVERAGE ON F365…

👉 Arsenal keep or sell: Martinelli, Partey, Zinchenko out as Arteta rebuilds to avoid sack

👉 Stubborn Arteta, no striker, poor Odegaard: Why Arsenal’s season has been another failure

👉 Arsenal must ‘bin’ five players including Odegaard for Arteta to take the final step

‘Downright bizarre’ Arsenal ‘hatred’

I’m sick of people who have no affiliation to Arsenal telling Arsenal fans how we should feel, they are not Arsenal supporters…..have I done that right?

Is that 5 mailboxes in a row dominated by Arsenal, Arteta and the players – despite all the other things going on in football? That must be a record. And a remarkably small number of those mails from actual Arsenal fans? Has a team and manager ever created so much bile from others?

Recently its gone past the bile and hatred and in to the downright bizarre as people scratch their heads to try to think of the reasons why they hate Arsenal and Arteta so much without coming to the conclusion that they hate them more now they are a very good team but less so when we weren’t a very good team.

The latest was Arsenal players aren’t ‘manly’ [more on this juicy debate below] they are the types of men who will chat up the secretary despite being married, are not the type of men willing to work hard all their life and die early of a heart attack, and we are being forced to imagine Arteta as Field Marshall Montgomery and what a terrible job he’d have done leading proud Britain in to battle against the Nazi’s, and finally that Arsenal are hated more than the very idea of state funded football teams sportwashing and cheating their way through football? If you’re not an Arsenal fan and Arteta and Arsenal cause you this much rage and causes you to think up these strange analogies and reasons to hate them/him then I think you probably need to step back from the internet, football and re-assess yourself a bit.

There has been a lot of talk of ‘hate watching’ recently, I think its growing massively, particularly with the growth of social media as a pretty toxic environment, it feels no longer is it enough to be happy with what you like, you actually live more for slamming others, getting what you feel is one over them, delight in any perceived failure and the misery of others.

We all want our rivals to lose but perhaps spend more time enjoying your own team and football in general than living too much of your time on a hate watch for others.

Rich, AFC

A friendly reminder for Arsenal supporters…

Just a reminder that 30+ managers across the top 5 leagues in Europe have won an important trophy since Arsenal last won a trophy (Google it). I would argue that close to 22-25 of those teams were not anywhere close to as good as Arsenal. Remove Madrid, City, Bayern, Barca & PSG. So yeah, winning trophies is very tough when you arent even in the top 30.

Vincent Kompany beat Arteta’s Arsenal & more to the title as a player, retired, became a manager, got Burnley relegated, moved to Bayern, won the Bundesliga. While you lot are waiting on a “process”, Well the process is now over.

3 years you had pretty much close to the best team in England, and you have nothing to show for it. Arsenal were absolutely SMASHING PSG first 25 mins, but you have nothing to show for it. Arsenal ran City close for 2 season, but you have nothing to show for it.

Arteta is a better league manager than Ten Hag. But he is not the best league manager when it mattered. Whereas Ten Has is a better cup manager than Arteta, and was the best when it mattered. Thats the difference between trophies and no trophies.

Almost only really counts for horseshoes & hand grenades. Not for leagues titles. Hope that helps. The process is over, Arsenal will struggle for top 4 over the next few seasons and be back to its mean by 3-4 years easily. Not saying this to troll, but saying this cause this is a very difficult league and this level is impossible to maintain unless you are a serial winner like Pep (With added financial doping) due to 6-8 teams now having the money, power and ambition to be top 4. You dint make the best of the time at the top you had.

Aman

READ: Big Weekend: Liverpool v Arsenal, Newcastle, Nuno, Watkins, play-offs, El Clasico

‘Who’s had a better season’ debate…

It’s that time of the year again when someone like Chris Croydon asks: “Who’s had the better season – the teams who won something or Arsenal?”

A familiar, well loved – and circular – debate then ensues because ‘better’ is ultimately subjective.

To help out, what if we change the question to: “Who’s had the most successful season?”

But first let me ask: Who’s the third most successful team in English football history? Who’s the most successful World Cup team?

I think we’d all answer Arsenal and Brazil because we’d add up trophies won, because winning stuff is success. Success is unequivocal; it’s absolute. In sport it’s measured in trophies.

Whoever wins the Europa League and Newcastle will have had a more ‘successful’ season than Arsenal.

Finishing second can never be success, I think, because it’s based on relative expectation. For Brentford it would be delirious, for Bayern a disaster. I guess for Arsenal it’s matching expectations? In context, is it even an achievement.

What about: “Who’s fans have had more satisfaction from the season?”

A difficult one but I put it to you that winning big silver brings lasting pleasure – ask West Ham fans. Or, do Newcastle, Liverpool, Man City fans look back with misty eyed reminiscence on ‘that time we came second’? Or, after the season they’ve had imagine the parties there’ll be in north London if Spurs win it? Smaller or bigger than the, ‘we finished second again ‘ parties?

To conclude, on both those measures of better I’m afraid, Arsenal came second.

In fairness, supporting the nearly men is maybe the toughest role as a fan and I have to say the Arsenal fans I’ve met always seemed rational and good to chat with. Honestly. Some Arsenal fans though right?

The harmful ‘referee conspiracy’ wing, for example. You want examples of when the ref’s done you a favour? The Trossard second yellow is one. It should have been a straight red.

And please don’t give me any time-travelling hocus-pocus; you can see his face contort with rage and his body language change when he hears the whistle. Then, and only then, he angrily hoofs the ball away, I suppose, because the ref had the temerity to blow up after Trossard so skillfully smashed another player over right in front of him. Your boy was dangerously out of control and fully deserved his exclusion. Using this as an example of referee bias massively undermines your case btw.

Wow, I can’t believe I’ve become this passionate about Arsenal. And I’ve not even mentioned Arteta! Arsenal are certainly relevant again – which is maybe one measure of better.

Hartley MCFC Somerset (Arsenal are like the perfect gentleman – always coming second! …. I’ll get me coat.)

READ: Why are TNT Sports so reluctant to acknowledge the ‘imbalance’ which favoured Spurs?

Maybe Ange isn’t so daft…

There’s a decent enough clip of Ange addressing the Spurs players in the dressing room after the game in Norway. He comes off well, genuinely pleased that the players have come this far. It’s not Al Pacino in ‘Any Given Sunday’ but the team listen, they’re engaged, his voice cuts through. Now, it’s not that deep. Ludicrously well-paid manager addresses incredibly excited team who’ve just gotten to a European final. Table stakes right?

Maybe not. Right from the word go, he’s put all the pressure on himself. Which has made us think he’s an oversensitive grump who can’t handle the pressure. The headlines are always on Ange. Trophy in the second season. People are going to be pissed off I’m not getting sacked. This semi final win is going to upset a lot of people. Nobody has said that much (365 aside) about Solanke (and I hate to say this) not properly delivering on a 65m investment. About world cup winner’s being crap. About Madders going missing. About Son’s form falling off a cliff. Ange has been the patsy. And there’s always a patsy at Spurs. Over the last few years though the slightest whiff of continental egos being cast as the patsy has been met with fireworks. But Ange has played the role.

There’s a bit of Ferguson about it. Circle the wagons. Take the heat off players. I don’t for a second think there’s some kind of finish 16th or 17th in the league and win a cup masterplan. But maybe, just maybe, all isn’t lost…even if they lose in Bilbao. This hasn’t been the death or glory vibes of Man U’s campaign. It’s been mature and controlled. They’ve let in 4 goals in the last 7 games in the Europa. That is very unspursy. The pundits are obviously casting this as all or nothing. Is it more nuanced than that?

Andrew

Dave and his merry men…

Hi Dave. An interesting mail where you indiscriminately mash all the manliness stereotypes into a bloody mess and then cut an Arteta shaped hole out of it. I’m going to keep a lid on that can of worms for brevity’s sake.

But just one thing I will have to pick up on. Did you put together that neat and tidy summary of how a proper manly manager would manage his men, and then forget your own criteria? You rattled off legendary managers, obviously including everybody’s favourite uncle Klopp, surely the manliness man of them all. Then you seem to just hit send without using the little grey cells.

Jurgen ‘It was the wind’s fault!’ Klopp?… Who inspired many articles on many sites including this one listing the most ridiculous excuses he has contrived as to why his team didn’t win as they deserved to. ‘Proper men’ don’t excuse their players when they lose right?

Jurgen ‘the bully’ Klopp? … who has inspired yet more articles on his famous post-defeat abuse of officials and interviewers. ‘Proper men’ are graceful in defeat.

I could use this as an excuse to have a pop at Klopp but that would be disingenuous. Where does it say the best managers are graceful in defeat? Was Fergie? Is Pep?

And don’t get me started on the inclusion of José Mourinho on your list of gracious losers.

Nick

Fighting opinion with facts…

That email on manliness is a joy to read.

Your so-called heroes of “manliness” all did the things you chastise Arteta for. Klopp was famous for screaming at and even celebrating in front of the referees in defeat and victory. Ferguson got match suspensions for blaming referees for defeats, as did Klopp, Mourinho and Ferguson. Mourinho blamed a ball boy and the crowd because they lost to Newcastle ffs.

What exactly is wrong with posting hype videos onto social media? This is literally why social media exists. Presumably you get annoyed when Arsenal do amazing charitable work in the community and post videos about that too?

What is wrong with trying to encourage the fans to make noise? Arsenal were teased for years for playing at a library and when the players encourage the fans to make noise they are told off for it. You literally can’t win

“Hopeless Havertz” had 9 goals/3 assists in 21 matches this season in the Prem. If he had kept that up without injury he would have had 16 goals and 6 assists, putting him 7th for scorers in the League. We should improve on him but he was hardly hopeless.

I won’t even bother with the Rice, nah actually I will.

He averages 68th percentile across all statistics vs other midfielders:

-Caicedo averages 54th

-Tielemens 61st

-Guimaraes 66th

-Mac Allister 69th

So across 19 offensive and defensive statistics, only Mac Allister from your list (and probably Rodri) is a better all round midfielder than “Deccers”. Pure delusion indeed.

“Get the 6 first team players back that you’ve missed all season,according to Rice ”

Why is “according to Rice” doing the heavy lifting here. Key players who missed 7 or more (+3 if they are expected to not play again this season:

-Saka (12 games)

-Odegaard (7 games)

-Jesus (20 games)

-Gabi XL (11 games)

-Ben White (17 games)

-Calafiori (15 games)

-Tomiyasu (37 games)

Total: 119

It’s always important to compare so here’s the games Liverpool key players have missed (7 or more):

-Jota (8)

-Becker (10)

-Elliot (8)

-Gomez (20)

Total: 46

Does Arteta have a squad management problem? Yes. Has Arsenal had an injury crisis? Also yes.

It took 10 minutes to do some research using reputable websites to realise people see/read/listen to whatever agenda they want. People these days sign up to an opinion before even thinking if it might be right and tunnel vision and believe what they want to believe. Seems football is no different.

Rob A (Arteta is the face of Arsenal, he isn’t a fun man, he isn’t warm and fuzzy, he doesn’t smile much, he’s arrogant and he’s not a PFM, that’s all there is to it) AFC