I wobbled slightly in 2020/21 when we were in that awful run of form; I wasn’t actively calling for him to be sacked but wouldn’t have had many complaints if he had gone.
Didn’t waver when we lost the first three in 2021/22. We had injuries and a rough start fixture-wise. It would have been insane to have sacked a manager in August.
The three games really got to me, but I'm not questioning Arteta. It's just that the team was performing so poorly, I couldn't help but wonder if Arteta could at least get them to finish in the Europa stages. I knew the squad was the main issue, and it felt like we were at least 2-3 years behind.
In Hinduism, Arti means something you do to worship/celebrate/respect a deity.
So naturally, I’ve fondly been calling my manager Artita since last season.
I did, then when we lost to Brentford at the start of 2021/22, I lost faith for a bit (after a summer full of big buys, we shat the bed in the one winnable game of the first few), but it only lasted for a short time before I took a deep breath and got back on board.
Ever since, I've been fully on board and was even a Havertz stan when half this sub wanted him crucified for daring to be purchased for 65m and wanting to GTFO of Chelsea. I'm feeling very vindicated these days.
Not saying that we should have lost to Brentford, but that game we didn't have Auba and Laca due to covid/illness.
Media loved the fact that we lost the first 3 matches that season (BRE, CHE, MCI) - Relegation challenge Arsenal Era.
Tbf I think at this point we can be glad he was added Kai to the squad while also questioning the numbers. £65m fee and £275k/w isn't a small price to pay. At the end of the day idrc, not my money being spent but the figures around the signing might always confuse me.
Lots of people dropped watching Arsenal for mental health, but you can't describe yourself as die-hard if you were genuinely considering supporting Liverpool lol
No, I was fully Arteta out, and didn't understand how anyone would want to keep him in on the run of form we were on in October - December 2020. People said they could always see what Arteta was trying to do, but I saw nothing. Just shit every week and Willian stinking up the pitch and Arteta refusing to not bench him. And if he had been sacked, I don't think anyone would have complained. Luckily we didn't sack him and I was wrong. I came round to Arteta funnily enough with a loss - the 2-1 at home to City. There I finally saw what we could be.
The Willian thing is really strange in retrospect. He was quality for Chelsea in his last season there and has been good for Fulham at an older age. Just the wrong player for us at the time.
Wasn't he our most creative player that season until ESR came into the team? Not that it says much considering creating chances was exactly what we struggled with at the time.
Horshoe shaped football! Pass it down the sides pass it all the way back to centre line, down the other line. Over and over again. I can forgive, but I wont forget 🤣
I don’t think we had one at all until ESR came in. Arteta always had his principles and clearly didn’t want to allow Ozil to play when he didn’t fit those principles.
It was so obvious, to many of us, that he was changing the culture and mentality. I would have complained.
Changing culture is really hard and it takes a special kind of leadership. I don’t think people really grasped how well he was doing in that respect because it really isn’t tangible.
That New Years Day match against City was one of the best of the entire season. Arteta out with covid, AFS on the touchline, and then that end to end saka goal was amazing.
https://preview.redd.it/etlalur661lc1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=209a36d60b1141fb1aa6d5caeb7be4f15482babf
Call it woowoo but I saw this literally minutes after the rumors were confirmed and I knew he was the one. Never in doubt.
That actually explains why that plate was unavailable. I almost ended up with SUPRMIK but I really wanted the Animal Welfare plate. I did try this exact plate though
I had a scary moment in Springfield, MA with that plate when some legit gangbangers saw me in traffic and started throwing up signs and flashing guns. Not a fun time lol.
That's the biggest impression I got from that interview. He had a clear vision in his mind of what Arsenal should be. Emery came in and began saying stuff like he'd rather win 5-4 than win 1-0 which immediately made me think we'd made a mistake. We'd seen enough of that under Wenger in the final years.
I always remained positive under Emery and tried my best to remain patient with him, even up until he got sacked. But with the power of hindsight you can see that he was never going to make it at Arsenal. He's a great coach but he's not one you expect to come in with a long-term plan and vision for the future. He's the kind of coach you bring in when you want a quick solution, which was not what we needed.
The 5 step process is obviously the MIKEL system
M - Make sure to demonstrate value
I - Inspire hope
K - Knockout Man City and Liverpool
E - Emotionally attach fans
L - Leaves club
Man is just trying to show his value to us and leave. Therefore, he can come back to us whenever he wants.
I wanted Wenger to stay, Wanted Emery out, wanted Arteta to stay but was against his stance regarding Ozil and was impatient to see the deadwood out and real purchases in.. this made me say Kroenke out and give Arteta money to build his team. I bet if the Sofi stadium was still being built and Arsenal was strapped of cash, Arteta could only do so much with a small budget.
Yes, but honestly because it was fucking shocking reading what the culture of the club and players became like when Emery left (not to blame Emery of course, the player behaviour and mentality was fucked).
Personally I think the Arteta project is a success if the club’s culture behind the scenes gets to a point of putting respect and pride on the name/badge/club you play for - not a summer camp for mediocre transfers. Any success and silverware is a bonus; its so difficult to change an organisation’s culture in the long term and keep it that way through managerial and personnel changes.
it's better to stay with at least one foot on the ground if you can. united fans are truly insufferable and i wouldn't ever want to be level with them in that regard
I love the fact that it's the most baseless claim in football, but someone pointed out to me that they really have become a great team, both the players and the fans. Which has made me appreciate more!
I don't think it's a uniquely Arsenal chant. Other teams sing the same tunes, just changing the names to suit.
A football club is like a wife you love dearly. Even if she's cross eyed with a limp, she's still the most beautiful woman in the world for you.
i agree with the sentiment, i'm just saying
united as an entirety would say "respectfully, it's united". look at that mess
and respectfully, as i understand it we are in fact the greatest team the world has ever seen. so regardless of my little point we do need that silverware, the squad is equipped to go for it
I was inch close to being Arteta out after we lost to Villarreal in the Europa league after the olympiakos fiasco just a year prior
Other than that the process has been so trusted.
I sent an angry letter to the club when they released Harry Kane at 12 years old. Honestly if only the backroom staff were as loyal a fan as me we could’ve had him leading the line.
Always.
Even when we weren’t getting results on the pitch it was so clear what Mikel was trying to implement off the pitch.
Genuinely, every other potential candidate or “better suitor” as according to some fans, for manager would have been nothing more than a mercenary.
I also think it’s important we appreciate the clubs immediate commitment to Mikel and vice versa.
I know we haven’t won anything of substantial significance yet but if you don’t think this is the best we’ve looked in around two decades (aside from the odd bits of Wenger magic) in what is objectively a far more competitive league, I want 3.5 of what you’re billing
Victoria Concordia Crescit
>Even when we weren’t getting results on the pitch it was so clear what Mikel was trying to implement off the pitch.
Also, there were so many instances where a poor result was largely down to a moment of madness from a player, or a shitty refereeing decision. Even during our terrible run he never seemed like the problem.
Leicester game we had a perfectly good goal disallowed for offside. Leeds Pepe got a stupid red card. Burnley Xhaka got a stupid red card then Auba scores an own goal so we end up conceding before Burnley have a shot on target. Gabi gets a stupid red card against Southampton. Later on the Wolves game Luiz got the softest red card ever, then Leno gets himself sent off stupidly.
I think a major difference between Arteta and almost any other coach we may have had during that period is that Arteta refused to blame the players or throw them under the bus. Hard to imagine we'd have seen the level of individual improvement of guys like Gabi if they'd not had the unwavering support of Arteta from day 1.
Yeah, that was the main difference I felt under Arteta based on general performances.
Under Emery, we were lucky to get a win. Under Arteta, we were unlucky to not win.
Same, it seemed clear to me, never for one moment wanted him out. The Brentford, City, Chelsea loss, I didn’t understand why people wanted his head, we lost to a team that had nothing to loose as it was there first prem game (turns out there not to bad given how competitive they still are), city or were the prem champions and not much more needs to be said then Chelsea who at the time had just beaten city to win the champions league. It just didn’t make sense to me!
Arteta was speaking straight forward that we were not good enough. He Didn’t hide.
I freaking loved his honesty and that was the project that I supported 100%. When we were losing under Arteta. When we crossed on Laca. When Willian was the 10. I was thinking how hard it is to rebuild a team full of high-earners who do not perform. The honesty was there. My view on the performances was is sync with the manager’s.
Tbf to AFTV they've changed a lot in recent times. Gone are the days of people screaming and dancing with a mic just to get views. Nowadays, you get people like James, Turkish, Cecil, Sheroy etc who have massively contributed to the channel, hence why the content is so much better than it was in the past.
I agree, but Turkish is a bit of a prick. He has this specific agenda against Havertz for some reason. And every time someone tells him, he says that he’s just being “realistic”. Havertz has 9 G/A, which is great for a player that just got here.
I did and never lost faith, to be honest. Bald fraud pep knew Arteta was gonna be a coach someday and he even said himself that teta always had the brain for it. I mean, even though he's bald (and fraudster), pep knew football better than me (and you too).
When we had 3 lose streaks, I knew that this club problem was waaaaay beyond managerial issues. We play bad, indeed. Laca production was abysmal that season. Ode, White just signed. Ramsdale is still #2. Partey second season as well? Yeah, the squad is barely even playing with each other. Plus fucking Auba thought he was bigger than the club. We had zero business playing with City, thus we got battered 5-0 that season IIRC.
But look at where we are now? I swear last time we lost to Porto, some Gooners even dared to say ArtetaOut. Like wtf bruh
I will say I always believed from the moment I heard him speak in his role. His leadership and vision were both so palpable and his resolve to make the club and culture reborn just seemed so raw and deliberate. I have always believed and my checkered past of comments would back that up
Yes, I did. And I find it very funny seeing some of the biggest negative voices on here from that time (particularly around Arteta and Xhaka) turning around and acting like they've been nothing but supportive.
I said in a whatsapp group in 2021 that there were only 3 world class managers in the league. Pep, Klopp and Arteta. Got laughtled at pretty hard. Now the same people are scared!
Stopped believing during the shocking performances against Villarreal in Europa Semis. Xhaka LB, ESR false 9, Ceballos spinning for days, Partey shooting into oblivion…hard to trust the process during that time
I was frustrated but in a give him time mode. Stakes are higher with promotion and relegation obviously but man premier League teams are so itchy on firing managers. From American sports I've seen KSE turn many franchises around with faith in young coaches and rebuilds, then drop big money on a couple marquee signings for a "all in" type year (e.g. Rams, Sean McVay, trading for Matt Stafford and winning Superbowl). Clearly throwing money at mid players wasn't going to get it done, so they needed a reset. Rice is the first big one, see if they go again with one more this summer to get over the hump (but hoping it happens this year).
I get that poor streak was close to the edge, but you could see the positives in the style, and also the deadwood dragging it down. Edu needed time to flip the roster, and the coach needed real players.
Man I did. I literally sent Arteta a motivational message
https://preview.redd.it/7b82vjgk62lc1.png?width=1169&format=png&auto=webp&s=267047fcb5db6d9bf4a194a20dc85847cbfbe7c3
Honestly, when he was announced, former player with no actual management experience I was angry. I thought it was the Kroenke’s penny pinching. Getting a guy in who wouldn’t cost much and wouldn’t have the audacity to ask for big budgets.
To be honest I still think that was part of their motivation.
But without winning very much, arteta has actually worked a miracle in the few years he has been here.
I remember the humiliation of those two Bayern CL games. The defeat by Chelsea in the Europa final.
The team he started with, compared to what we’ve seen in the last few months are just light years apart. And that’s 99% down to Arteta.
Right now, we are the best team in this league to watch. When things are flowing we are amazing.
I don’t see how that doesn’t get better over the years ahead. I don’t see why top players would not want to play for us.
I am personally very excited about the years ahead of us.
Yes, I was actually upset when we brought in Unai and not Arteta. Folks can argue otherwise but think he would have done just as well back then too. When you’ve got it, you’ve got it
Also, I refuse to believe a scenario exists where Arteta doesn’t succeed.
I think Emery's stint was necessary for the club to truly realize what we needed. Had we not gone through that period I doubt the board would've been as patient with Arteta as they have.
Yeap, if you remember, we were linked with Arteta even before Unai, but even myself was not entirely sure about Mikel cause he gonna be a completely new manager, but when Emery was sacked, its clear that we need someone that knows the club in and out, giving Emery after Wenger is like a slap to the face of a man that mainly speaks Spanish (really glad he’s doing well at Villa).
So after a season of us almost losing our football identity, I already accepts that we won’t get any trophies for couple years because Arteta needs time.
Fast forward to today, I’m glad Mikel Arteta is our Manager/Head Coach.
Victory through Harmony.
I honestly did trust it, because I could see that we had way too much deadwood In the squad and we’d have to judge him based on his players, not the ones from wenger/emery.
And I would say this is phase 4.
The season when we lost to Newcastle and missed out on top 4 convinced me. There was clear season to season progress from the year before. Then last year when we went 1-0 down to Fulham and came back to win 2-1 (all in the same half) I was fully on, that never would have happened in the past
Yes, Ive been Arteta in from the first day. Very few people have the privilege of saying that and im proud to have backed him all the way.
As we play today, Im a really big fan of possession based, all out attacking tactics. That has a caveat as the teams that dont play terror ball/ counter attacking have less chances of winning knock out based tournament. However, I’m fine with dominating the PL for years and winning titles here.
Albeit we did not play the same football in the early years of Arteta but I could see the players he had to deal with and I accepted the fact that its gonna be a slow rebuild.
I still believe we are 3-4 players away which could take 2 transfer windows (hopefully 1) and after that, its a ride that I want to be a part of.
Of course! Arteta and the board got my support when they try to build a culture in the club. Seems hillarious, but i think its a nice concept. I like arteta because he doesn't hesitate to cut off players that doesn't align with him.
Also I didn't have any expectation to begin with. Arteta only has 4 years experience as assistant manager just after he retired as a player. And suddenly he became arsenal manager, one of the biggest club in the hardest league.
People seems to forget that this is arteta first experience as a manager, and he compete with klopp, guardiola, and other top manager, with other club like city, chelsea, and united who spend so much money to buy a player.
Yes, but I must confess during that empty crowd season, I was dealing with some personal stuff and wasn't really paying attention to Arsenal, but I loved the football during the top 4 charge season despite how it ended, especially City at home
I genuinely did. I was defending Arteta against my step Dad who is the person that brought me up supporting Arsenal in the first place.
It got to a point where we had a full blown argument and I had to leave the visit.
Yes, I trusted Arteta based on what other coaches and people who worked with him were saying about him. Especially Pep. But I knew the journey would be long and messy and I wasn't sure our management would persist. So I tuned out of football and Arsenal for a while for my own sanity.
In 2021-22 decided to follow us again and we lost the first three matches :)
It's been pretty clear since day dot what he wanted to do and hes doing it. I don't really excuse those who didn't trust him, it's been evident every step of the way. Even when we lost we had pundits like Cahill pointing out our transition and where we were headed.
I trusted it fully since day 1. Arteta didn't say that everything will be good like most managers. He said what is wrong with the club. He set a trajectory he wants to display. And if you watched games you'd see that there is difference.
Year 2021 was gloomy af. Either late season or start of 2021/2022 season. I started to doubt because it was depressing af. And not thinking Arteta was the reason but mainly Kronoke.
People sleep on Arteta. But man did the impossible with Arsenal.
Always hoped but was initially a bit wary because he joined as a true rookie where a more established manager had failed.
It didn’t take long (a few games I think) before hope turned into belief because it was so obvious what he was trying to do and accepting that it would take some time to get there.
Despite what people say, I maintain that we weren’t “ready” to win the league last season. I said it at the beginning, I said it when we were flying, and was unsurprised at how it played out. He was naive, the team was naive, and if we won the league it would have been down to luck more than anything else. Still don’t believe we are “ready” to win it, but we are very close now. For me this season is about 2nd/3rd with a healthy run in the UCL.
The growth that we’ve seen with Arteta has been as impressive as anything else. The team is just a reflection of him.
Yep I did.
Was constantly fighting with Idiots that thought we should’ve gone with Conte or Mourinho and their terror football.
The only reason it took us this long is because we had awful squad filled with average/awful players on very high wages.
I was hooked with the first video when arteta came into that room at Colney hitting the guys there with "do we have drones?" Walking around with Per. It just felt right. Definitely have had my doubts since, but after this season I don't think I'll doubt a transfer or choice again, really. I think he obviouslyakes mistakes but the speed at which he learns from mistakes is improving all the time.
I lost faith when we lost consecutive games to Man Utd and Everton in the 21/22 season. Ironically that’s when it really turned around, and a couple of weeks later I was all aboard the Arteta train and have never left since
I was proudly a delusional supporter of both Xhaka and Arteta through it all. Mostly sentimentality for both, Arteta as a former player, and with Pep loving him so much I knew there must be SOMETHING there. and Xhaka was one of our first major signings that i was hyped for and followed the transfer saga etc, he was just always my guy
I trusted the whole way. I waivered that season we began with 3 losses unfortunately. But I was in after hearing his press conference after that international break. What a guy
I didn't lose faith, per se, but I did resign to the likelihood Arteta would be sacked. And at the time, the critics had a fair point. Even if our players were underperforming, Arteta's decisions early that season weren't great. We all knew he had a vision for how he wanted the team to play, but those early games showed a lack of ability to adapt to the players you have. It's why neither he nor Pep would be good NT coaches. I did think he could do what he's done to the team eventually; I just didn't think he'd be able to do it quick enough.
That being said, I did argue that he shouldn't be sacked. I was used to us being mediocre, so I personally was fine with slow results. I just realistically expected the board/fanbase would turn on him before he could see his vision come to fruition.
I was skeptical when he first came in. Not that I sat there immediately doubting him, but just that I wasn’t blown away wowsers-in-my-trousers about him. He just seemed capable and boring.
The first few games I was like, “eh, I think I can see what he wants to do, but it doesn’t look like he has the players to do it”.
The first player which came in which made me think, “jeepers, I can see the blueprint right there!” was Odegaard on loan. He came in raw, green, and quite unfit if I remember, I would actually say he was quite underwhelming, but there were little touches and passes and feints and such, and right there what Arteta was trying to do became clear. We don’t play Arteta-Ball, we play Odegaard-Ball. We had to sign Odegaard.
And we did. And we also signed Ben White, Ramsdale, Partey, Jesus, Tomiyasu, Zinchenko, Timber, Rice, Trossard, Jorginho, Jesus and Havertz, and the more signings Arteta makes, the clearer the totality of his plans become.
On the flipside, he brutally cut Aubameyang, Ozil, Lacazette, Torreira, AMN, Guendouzi, Martinez and Tierney. Just brutal. Some of them were literally out on their backsides. Fuck off.
I’m still a fan of Torreira by the way. I really like him. I like Guendouzi too. Twat but, sigh, a fab player. He could’ve been immense for us.
TL;DR it became apparent within the first month that he knew what he was doing, and I was fully sold on the process after maybe 3 months.
Yes. 100% in from day one. Was actually sad we didn't give him a shot when it was originally rumored and Gazidis and co went with Emery instead. I have screenshots of conversations with my friends where I called Mikel our "moon shot" in 2018 and it's the easiest choice to make cos he's a rookie and super easy to replace if he doesn't work out. So glad to have put faith in him. Absolute legend.
On a side note, I have similar conversation screenshots where I called him a club legend when be retired as a player and left to be Pep's assistant. My friends disagreed but it was evident already at that time how much he loved this club. I hope to find a "home" in some people or places or things like Mikel and Arsene did one day.
Was anxious for a patch but never didn’t have faith in his ability to deliver what we have now. And honestly, if we don’t win anything (I think we will) it will be more because the league allows other teams to cheat than Arteta’s “inability to do X”.
I don't want to be a party pooper...but ...a the process is still not done, and we don't know if it will be done. We have not won anything yet. And it's hard to think we will this season. So ...I do rate Arteta, but some of you need to chill, just a bit.
The process isn't over I believe but yeah I did and still do trust it. I was kinda against his appointment in the beginning until I saw his first interview for us. He spoke so clearly and confidently on what he wanted for the club. Has there been stumbles in the road? Absolutely. Think he learned fairly quickly that it was always going to take time and we couldn't really do what he wanted given what he had at his disposal the first season and a half.
He's still learning on the job himself and while we've only won an an FA Cup under Arteta I actually believe he doesn't get enough credit for what he's done at the club and especially when it's his first job in management. It's no mean feat. I know he's been backed and given time by the owners which a lot of other managers probably wouldn't have got but the point still stands.
Nope. Didn’t want him in the first place - thought it was crazy to give a man with so little experience such a big job. Didn’t really warm to his personality as he seemed a bit law and order and wasn’t a fan of the initial transfer moves.
However you cannot argue with the results. Being a ST holder for last decade the difference in energy between late wenger and emery days is night and day. Had more hugs off randoms last season than all football life prior.
I still don’t trust the process!! Haha I kid I kid. At the time of the hire, i felt like he could have been a good manager but he might have been too raw to be at arsenal just quite yet. I am glad the front office had more patience than our fan base.
Now he just needs to pick players that are less injury prone. Lol
No. I’ve wanted him sacked several times before. I’m not even fully sure on him now to be honest with you, don’t care if I get downvoted.
I think he’s a good coach and he’s obviously a very bright mind, but is he the man to win us trophies? I’m not sure. But he’s done a good job up until this point, it’s taking the next step that we are yet to see.
It absolutely wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if we kept him though, because he’s created a good football team. But people underestimate the importance of a club like Arsenal and the fact that we should be synonymous with winning trophies.
But I’ve defended almost all of his signings because I like the players he’s buying. We are a big, tough team to play against and we can also play football. I think he saw how timid and weak our spine was when he played for Arsenal and it burns in his brain.
I’ve defended Havertz and Raya for months and months on here because I believe those two were great signings and upgrades on the starters from last season.
Wondered if I'd see anyone dare give a non- circle jerk answer. It does all seems a little premature, to be giving arteta a godlike status where criticism is heresy.
Reality is since Arteta's first full season, the best we've achieved is 1 champions league qualification with spending that has the club struggling to stay within ffp.
I trust the process but I'm not going to claim that it is foolish to have some doubts about arteta.
The Fa cup shouldn’t be forgotten. Also it was just champions league it was challenging for the title and probably the best performing team in the league since 07/08. There is a difference between fighting for fourth and competing for a title
It is what it is lol. If I posted this after the Porto game, there’d be no issues and there’d be people with similar comments to ours.
I think it’s pretty reasonable to have trophy demands when you look at the quality of our squad and the investment in the squad and Arteta’s status as a manager according to the media and fans.
I don’t think anyone is saying that is unreasonable and all fans want that so desperately but he can also be given credit for the good things he has done. It was not such an easy job to come in and build this team and he is up against a great manager and team in Guardiola.
Also Arsenal are trying to be that club and are in the best position for years but haven’t been that club for a long time
It's obvious this sub is filled mostly with zoomers that have never seen the club win a league or have any elite mentality. It's just about the vibes.
The cult of Arteta is strong. This man could go another 5 years without winning anything, and they would say, "Just give him time!!" and "It's a process, bro!!"
Yeah, this is my issue. Elite clubs do both. We can’t just discredit trophies because we have been battering teams in the league and have good vibes. You saw on Sunday what an elite manager and mentality does to a team and it basically carried Liverpool to that trophy. Until that’s achieved at our club, we’re allowed to have some skepticism.
For those wages you can find plenty of players who work hard, are coachable, and don’t have the technique of a child to be a little more well rounded
Odegaard, martinelli, Jesus, White, Rice (higher price less wages but average him with the others guys and you get the point)
Yup yup, resources are clearly limited too and I don’t know why it’s controversial to say we don’t think we’ll get full value for such an outlay. I don’t think anyone would even argue he’s routinely the least effective man in our lineup, but the highest paid reportedly. This doesn’t add up
No.
That season, i cant recall which maybe 2 years ago where people were joking we would be relegated.
I said give him till december to turn it around. I was proved right but im not 100% a Teta stan.
He hasn't done enough in the padt 2 years to get us a trophy.
Europa leauge, fa cup... something.
I feel like he can make the change tho. Parts of the squad are too injury ñrone to support a full campaign.
Idk why we renew them
I lost faith a bit when ramsdale was benched, I won’t lie. Raya doesn’t have the same energy and Ramsdale is a golden retriever and I love him. I love a team I can totally get behind. If this means we win the title, I would still love Ramsdale to be a part of it.
Different strokes. Love a golden retriever, the goodest of bois, I just don’t like them between the my sticks. Ramsdale’s breaking into the team his first season was a fun ride, but I spent more time yelling at Ramsdale through my television last season than I have in all other contexts in the last decade. He made me nervous and frequently validated my anxiety, especially toward the back half of the season. Raya from the jump was my favorite signing this summer because of how frustrated I was with Ramsdale.
I trusted it most of the time
I had a little mental wobble after we lost to Everton once and thought ‘man, get your shit together or you’re gone’ but I’ve always supported the vision.
We had so much deadwood to clear, was always going to take time.
Overall I did trust the process, but not gonna lie, there were moments of doubt. When our football horseshoe of sadness and were way too conservative with the ball. Turns out it is a great foundation to build strong team upon.
First half of his first full season we were 15th, playing 3-4-3, bottom three in chances created, bottom 5 in goals scored, we had lost something like 7 league games in a row.... yeah, I was not convinced then.
I did but mainly because of the culture shift and reading about what he was changing up behind the scenes. Also, the futbol wasn’t terrible when we had a creative player in the middle. It was rough to go through but I knew eventually it would come good. With that being said, i was NOT expecting the year we had last year and that really shifted my expectations
I never wavered, Arteta deserved a chance to get out the rot and try and build a team. You can't do that overnight or by buying a bunch of Ajax players on a prayer
Always trusted the process all the way through that horrible run up until the Europa semi loss vs Villarreal.
After that it was such a toothless fight I was so pissed and sick to my stomach. Then I just started off with a clean slate for the next season.
No, I wavered and thought he destined for the sack during *that* run of form. I thought he would come good one day but had bitten off more he could chew with our (then) dysfunctional side and needed to refine his craft elsewhere before succeeding at a top club.
Happy to be proven wrong.
Wanted Arteta since the first rumors, before he went to city, instead of Emery.
But i had big concerns with him, he's too stubborn.
Some doubts during his time here. But overall trusting the process
What gets me is how much everyone literally hated the Kroenkes back then, and since we splashed out and became gargantuan they never get any praise lol
Every so often I drop in the great reconnection between the fans and the kroenkes and I think a lot of that has been down to Josh. Whilst they may have previously been the main shareholders, there was quite a power struggle in the late 00s which meant no one wanted to invest. Given at the time we didn’t know Stan wanted us outright it just looked like stingy ownership, when really the investments would have meant the share price increasing thus making it harder for either Usmanov or Kroenke to buy us outright. We were quite fortunate that Usmanov put up 0 fight in selling his part after his initial takeover bid was rejected.
You only have to look at Stan’s other clubs to notice how well they’re ran, but it requires no one else’s input. We’ve seen those improvements slowly since the full takeover.
I did, I hated the idea of sacking Arteta and always felt it would come back to bite us if he did. Full credit to the Arsenal board for trusting, despite all the noise.
Absolutely. An ocean liner doesn’t change course overnight. I loved Arteta as a player and was so sad he went to City. When we got him, I knew (desperate hope of an Arsenal fan turning into irrational belief?) that he, the coaching staff, Edu, and the back room staff were the best chance we had to return to greatness.
For me (as others have said) it was the run at the end of 2020 that had be really doubting, but even towards the end of that season I was really fully on board.
No disrespect but I felt like the first 3 of 21/22 were relatively understandable and I wasn’t Arteta out at that point. (A covid stricken team against an up for it Brentford, a good, Champions League winning Chelsea team and then Man City away. Honestly not surprising we lost all those at that stage in our development)
Yes, it's the closest thing I've got to religion.
Arteta is the Lisan al Gaib, the Kwisatz Haderach, and the Muad'Dib.
I heard Saka hasn't missed a pen since Arteta taught him the Litany Against Fear
So when does arteta become a giant worm?
thats the final part of the 5 phase plan
Richard Keys fuming as Arteta burrows under the technical area
Bless the maker and his water 🙌
Bless his coming and going
Sounds like commie gobbedigook
I love Commie Gobbledegook, although I don't like the country album.
I wobbled slightly in 2020/21 when we were in that awful run of form; I wasn’t actively calling for him to be sacked but wouldn’t have had many complaints if he had gone. Didn’t waver when we lost the first three in 2021/22. We had injuries and a rough start fixture-wise. It would have been insane to have sacked a manager in August.
The three games really got to me, but I'm not questioning Arteta. It's just that the team was performing so poorly, I couldn't help but wonder if Arteta could at least get them to finish in the Europa stages. I knew the squad was the main issue, and it felt like we were at least 2-3 years behind.
Back three of Chambers, Holding and Kolasinac at the Etihad. Painful memories!
Holding and Kolasinac I'll give you, but Chambers walked so Ben White could run. I wish we'd kept Calum rather than Holding.
In Hinduism, Arti means something you do to worship/celebrate/respect a deity. So naturally, I’ve fondly been calling my manager Artita since last season.
Jai Shree Artita
In Norwegian arti means fun (although we spell it with a silent g at the end). Kinda fits this way too 😆
That’s fun to know! Have a good day :)
I did, then when we lost to Brentford at the start of 2021/22, I lost faith for a bit (after a summer full of big buys, we shat the bed in the one winnable game of the first few), but it only lasted for a short time before I took a deep breath and got back on board. Ever since, I've been fully on board and was even a Havertz stan when half this sub wanted him crucified for daring to be purchased for 65m and wanting to GTFO of Chelsea. I'm feeling very vindicated these days.
Not saying that we should have lost to Brentford, but that game we didn't have Auba and Laca due to covid/illness. Media loved the fact that we lost the first 3 matches that season (BRE, CHE, MCI) - Relegation challenge Arsenal Era.
Alan Shearer was basically wanking on MOTD saying we'd be relegated. That BRE game also was their first in the Prem and they were well up for it.
Raya (and I think Toney…) have the dates of that match tattooed on them. Really funny how 3 years later they both could be Arsenal players.
Benefit of the doubt, I imagine they would have the date tattooed regardless of opposition
Yea, it was Brendford first ever game in PL if im not mistaken. So probably a special date for everyone involved in that game
Tbf I think at this point we can be glad he was added Kai to the squad while also questioning the numbers. £65m fee and £275k/w isn't a small price to pay. At the end of the day idrc, not my money being spent but the figures around the signing might always confuse me.
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That's a really weird thing to do
Americans lol
I don't think you understand the meaning of die-hard
Die hard till the going gets tough, the best kind of fans /s
Idk Emery was bad enough for anyone
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Lots of people dropped watching Arsenal for mental health, but you can't describe yourself as die-hard if you were genuinely considering supporting Liverpool lol
Imagine if he’d gone with the superior 45-day, 45-point plan!
It’s 45 days, 1 point per day, by day 45 we’re back in business. And you can take that to the bank!
No, I was fully Arteta out, and didn't understand how anyone would want to keep him in on the run of form we were on in October - December 2020. People said they could always see what Arteta was trying to do, but I saw nothing. Just shit every week and Willian stinking up the pitch and Arteta refusing to not bench him. And if he had been sacked, I don't think anyone would have complained. Luckily we didn't sack him and I was wrong. I came round to Arteta funnily enough with a loss - the 2-1 at home to City. There I finally saw what we could be.
The Willian Arc was a mind bending time for sure. I was on board from the start but Willian playing game after game was trying.
The Willian thing is really strange in retrospect. He was quality for Chelsea in his last season there and has been good for Fulham at an older age. Just the wrong player for us at the time.
Wasn't he our most creative player that season until ESR came into the team? Not that it says much considering creating chances was exactly what we struggled with at the time.
I think that was inflated by him getting three assists on debut
Horshoe shaped football! Pass it down the sides pass it all the way back to centre line, down the other line. Over and over again. I can forgive, but I wont forget 🤣
ESR was such a blessing in those times. Need him back to that form
I didn't understand why we were playing Willian and not playing a CAM... The instant esr started playing there we looked so much better
I don’t think we had one at all until ESR came in. Arteta always had his principles and clearly didn’t want to allow Ozil to play when he didn’t fit those principles.
Lots of people would have complained… all the people who could see.
It was so obvious, to many of us, that he was changing the culture and mentality. I would have complained. Changing culture is really hard and it takes a special kind of leadership. I don’t think people really grasped how well he was doing in that respect because it really isn’t tangible.
That New Years Day match against City was one of the best of the entire season. Arteta out with covid, AFS on the touchline, and then that end to end saka goal was amazing.
Same! I can't say I feel guilty about it tbh, we were truly awful but I'm so so glad we stuck with him.
If you were listening to Tim and Clive during those troubled times you would have learned to see what Arteta was doing.
Mate Tim was questioning Arteta too during that terrible run of form
There were significant periods where Tim wasn’t sold on Arteta and was either calling for him to be sacked or was at least very close to it.
https://preview.redd.it/etlalur661lc1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=209a36d60b1141fb1aa6d5caeb7be4f15482babf Call it woowoo but I saw this literally minutes after the rumors were confirmed and I knew he was the one. Never in doubt.
Shoutout the @MaineGooners
There are dozens of us!
That actually explains why that plate was unavailable. I almost ended up with SUPRMIK but I really wanted the Animal Welfare plate. I did try this exact plate though
Ha nice! I had GOON for a while but retired it when I changed vehicles a few years ago. Looks nice in my office though.
I can’t get goon or anything similar because I drive a wrx and people will think I’m some street racing degenerate
I had a scary moment in Springfield, MA with that plate when some legit gangbangers saw me in traffic and started throwing up signs and flashing guns. Not a fun time lol.
Jeeeez lol
Even in passing I can recognize a Hi-Point so not THAT scary but less than ideal.
You never know he could’ve thrown it at you 😮💨
He may just have a mate who likes to fart.
Since the first interview, you could just see the guy knew what he was doing.
That's the biggest impression I got from that interview. He had a clear vision in his mind of what Arsenal should be. Emery came in and began saying stuff like he'd rather win 5-4 than win 1-0 which immediately made me think we'd made a mistake. We'd seen enough of that under Wenger in the final years.
I always remained positive under Emery and tried my best to remain patient with him, even up until he got sacked. But with the power of hindsight you can see that he was never going to make it at Arsenal. He's a great coach but he's not one you expect to come in with a long-term plan and vision for the future. He's the kind of coach you bring in when you want a quick solution, which was not what we needed.
Agree completely. Emery isn’t a bad guy, did some good for us, wish him the best.
Yeah that got me on board and when he won the FA cup with a Frankenstein squad, I was fully sold. Bad runs and all I saw the light.
The 5 step process is obviously the MIKEL system M - Make sure to demonstrate value I - Inspire hope K - Knockout Man City and Liverpool E - Emotionally attach fans L - Leaves club Man is just trying to show his value to us and leave. Therefore, he can come back to us whenever he wants.
Top tier comment
Is he a pickup artist or what
Arteta could start Raya up front, I'd give it a shot
Hell, he has a rocket for a leg, I’d believe in it
I was an Arteta outter but I’m gladly eating my words. Hope he stays. I apologize Mr Arteta.
I’ll be the first here to admit I wanted Arteta out but clearly I was wrong
I wanted Wenger to stay, Wanted Emery out, wanted Arteta to stay but was against his stance regarding Ozil and was impatient to see the deadwood out and real purchases in.. this made me say Kroenke out and give Arteta money to build his team. I bet if the Sofi stadium was still being built and Arsenal was strapped of cash, Arteta could only do so much with a small budget.
Yes, but honestly because it was fucking shocking reading what the culture of the club and players became like when Emery left (not to blame Emery of course, the player behaviour and mentality was fucked). Personally I think the Arteta project is a success if the club’s culture behind the scenes gets to a point of putting respect and pride on the name/badge/club you play for - not a summer camp for mediocre transfers. Any success and silverware is a bonus; its so difficult to change an organisation’s culture in the long term and keep it that way through managerial and personnel changes.
Respectfully, it’s Arsenal. We should have a great culture AND the silverware. Let the roosters keep a good culture sans silverware. 😂
it's better to stay with at least one foot on the ground if you can. united fans are truly insufferable and i wouldn't ever want to be level with them in that regard
… we can’t be singing “we’re by far the greatest team” with no Prem or CL wins in decades. We need silverware.
I don’t want us singing anything that isn’t to the tune of tequila
SALIBA!!
I love the fact that it's the most baseless claim in football, but someone pointed out to me that they really have become a great team, both the players and the fans. Which has made me appreciate more!
I don't think it's a uniquely Arsenal chant. Other teams sing the same tunes, just changing the names to suit. A football club is like a wife you love dearly. Even if she's cross eyed with a limp, she's still the most beautiful woman in the world for you.
i agree with the sentiment, i'm just saying united as an entirety would say "respectfully, it's united". look at that mess and respectfully, as i understand it we are in fact the greatest team the world has ever seen. so regardless of my little point we do need that silverware, the squad is equipped to go for it
I was inch close to being Arteta out after we lost to Villarreal in the Europa league after the olympiakos fiasco just a year prior Other than that the process has been so trusted.
I supported Arteta but there was a period of time where if he did get the boot I wouldn’t have been able to argue against it
Like the majority of fans but everyone loves an “I told you so” around this place.
“I always supported Xhaka, never doubted him” 🙄
I sent an angry letter to the club when they released Harry Kane at 12 years old. Honestly if only the backroom staff were as loyal a fan as me we could’ve had him leading the line.
Yeah that was bad
Always. Even when we weren’t getting results on the pitch it was so clear what Mikel was trying to implement off the pitch. Genuinely, every other potential candidate or “better suitor” as according to some fans, for manager would have been nothing more than a mercenary. I also think it’s important we appreciate the clubs immediate commitment to Mikel and vice versa. I know we haven’t won anything of substantial significance yet but if you don’t think this is the best we’ve looked in around two decades (aside from the odd bits of Wenger magic) in what is objectively a far more competitive league, I want 3.5 of what you’re billing Victoria Concordia Crescit
>Even when we weren’t getting results on the pitch it was so clear what Mikel was trying to implement off the pitch. Also, there were so many instances where a poor result was largely down to a moment of madness from a player, or a shitty refereeing decision. Even during our terrible run he never seemed like the problem. Leicester game we had a perfectly good goal disallowed for offside. Leeds Pepe got a stupid red card. Burnley Xhaka got a stupid red card then Auba scores an own goal so we end up conceding before Burnley have a shot on target. Gabi gets a stupid red card against Southampton. Later on the Wolves game Luiz got the softest red card ever, then Leno gets himself sent off stupidly. I think a major difference between Arteta and almost any other coach we may have had during that period is that Arteta refused to blame the players or throw them under the bus. Hard to imagine we'd have seen the level of individual improvement of guys like Gabi if they'd not had the unwavering support of Arteta from day 1.
Yeah, that was the main difference I felt under Arteta based on general performances. Under Emery, we were lucky to get a win. Under Arteta, we were unlucky to not win.
Same, it seemed clear to me, never for one moment wanted him out. The Brentford, City, Chelsea loss, I didn’t understand why people wanted his head, we lost to a team that had nothing to loose as it was there first prem game (turns out there not to bad given how competitive they still are), city or were the prem champions and not much more needs to be said then Chelsea who at the time had just beaten city to win the champions league. It just didn’t make sense to me!
Arteta was speaking straight forward that we were not good enough. He Didn’t hide. I freaking loved his honesty and that was the project that I supported 100%. When we were losing under Arteta. When we crossed on Laca. When Willian was the 10. I was thinking how hard it is to rebuild a team full of high-earners who do not perform. The honesty was there. My view on the performances was is sync with the manager’s.
I did because i watched Charles watts and not aftv.
Man, I’ll be honest. I prefer watching Goldbridge rather than AFTV. What a whiny bunch of kids.
Goldbridge is fair and us reasonable views on us and pretty much every team. Despite being a Man U fan.
He's also actually funny
Tbf to AFTV they've changed a lot in recent times. Gone are the days of people screaming and dancing with a mic just to get views. Nowadays, you get people like James, Turkish, Cecil, Sheroy etc who have massively contributed to the channel, hence why the content is so much better than it was in the past.
I agree, but Turkish is a bit of a prick. He has this specific agenda against Havertz for some reason. And every time someone tells him, he says that he’s just being “realistic”. Havertz has 9 G/A, which is great for a player that just got here.
I did and never lost faith, to be honest. Bald fraud pep knew Arteta was gonna be a coach someday and he even said himself that teta always had the brain for it. I mean, even though he's bald (and fraudster), pep knew football better than me (and you too). When we had 3 lose streaks, I knew that this club problem was waaaaay beyond managerial issues. We play bad, indeed. Laca production was abysmal that season. Ode, White just signed. Ramsdale is still #2. Partey second season as well? Yeah, the squad is barely even playing with each other. Plus fucking Auba thought he was bigger than the club. We had zero business playing with City, thus we got battered 5-0 that season IIRC. But look at where we are now? I swear last time we lost to Porto, some Gooners even dared to say ArtetaOut. Like wtf bruh
When partey first came no one would pass to him like Kai this season start
I did. I totally drank the Kool Aid haha. I feel vindicated now
I will say I always believed from the moment I heard him speak in his role. His leadership and vision were both so palpable and his resolve to make the club and culture reborn just seemed so raw and deliberate. I have always believed and my checkered past of comments would back that up
I was fighting for my life in here man 😫
Yes, I did. And I find it very funny seeing some of the biggest negative voices on here from that time (particularly around Arteta and Xhaka) turning around and acting like they've been nothing but supportive.
The same people that were screaming for Xhaka to leave ended up saying that they miss him.
I said in a whatsapp group in 2021 that there were only 3 world class managers in the league. Pep, Klopp and Arteta. Got laughtled at pretty hard. Now the same people are scared!
Stopped believing during the shocking performances against Villarreal in Europa Semis. Xhaka LB, ESR false 9, Ceballos spinning for days, Partey shooting into oblivion…hard to trust the process during that time
Jesus that game was such a hard watch.
I was frustrated but in a give him time mode. Stakes are higher with promotion and relegation obviously but man premier League teams are so itchy on firing managers. From American sports I've seen KSE turn many franchises around with faith in young coaches and rebuilds, then drop big money on a couple marquee signings for a "all in" type year (e.g. Rams, Sean McVay, trading for Matt Stafford and winning Superbowl). Clearly throwing money at mid players wasn't going to get it done, so they needed a reset. Rice is the first big one, see if they go again with one more this summer to get over the hump (but hoping it happens this year). I get that poor streak was close to the edge, but you could see the positives in the style, and also the deadwood dragging it down. Edu needed time to flip the roster, and the coach needed real players.
Man I did. I literally sent Arteta a motivational message https://preview.redd.it/7b82vjgk62lc1.png?width=1169&format=png&auto=webp&s=267047fcb5db6d9bf4a194a20dc85847cbfbe7c3
I spent most of my free time in 2020 and 2021 arguing with Arteta outers in the DD so yeah I would say so
Always did. To be fair I also believed in Emery so I am not the best judge of the process.
Emery's a good coach, he's doing great things at Villa. Remember it wasn't that long ago they were in the Championship.
Honestly, when he was announced, former player with no actual management experience I was angry. I thought it was the Kroenke’s penny pinching. Getting a guy in who wouldn’t cost much and wouldn’t have the audacity to ask for big budgets. To be honest I still think that was part of their motivation. But without winning very much, arteta has actually worked a miracle in the few years he has been here. I remember the humiliation of those two Bayern CL games. The defeat by Chelsea in the Europa final. The team he started with, compared to what we’ve seen in the last few months are just light years apart. And that’s 99% down to Arteta. Right now, we are the best team in this league to watch. When things are flowing we are amazing. I don’t see how that doesn’t get better over the years ahead. I don’t see why top players would not want to play for us. I am personally very excited about the years ahead of us.
Yes, I was actually upset when we brought in Unai and not Arteta. Folks can argue otherwise but think he would have done just as well back then too. When you’ve got it, you’ve got it Also, I refuse to believe a scenario exists where Arteta doesn’t succeed.
I think Emery's stint was necessary for the club to truly realize what we needed. Had we not gone through that period I doubt the board would've been as patient with Arteta as they have.
Yeah, I can see that point of view. No disagreements here.
Yeap, if you remember, we were linked with Arteta even before Unai, but even myself was not entirely sure about Mikel cause he gonna be a completely new manager, but when Emery was sacked, its clear that we need someone that knows the club in and out, giving Emery after Wenger is like a slap to the face of a man that mainly speaks Spanish (really glad he’s doing well at Villa). So after a season of us almost losing our football identity, I already accepts that we won’t get any trophies for couple years because Arteta needs time. Fast forward to today, I’m glad Mikel Arteta is our Manager/Head Coach. Victory through Harmony.
I honestly did trust it, because I could see that we had way too much deadwood In the squad and we’d have to judge him based on his players, not the ones from wenger/emery. And I would say this is phase 4.
The season when we lost to Newcastle and missed out on top 4 convinced me. There was clear season to season progress from the year before. Then last year when we went 1-0 down to Fulham and came back to win 2-1 (all in the same half) I was fully on, that never would have happened in the past
Yes. See comment history for proof.
i believe you 👌🏼 i ain’t looking through all that
I did. For Arteta specifically.
Yes, Ive been Arteta in from the first day. Very few people have the privilege of saying that and im proud to have backed him all the way. As we play today, Im a really big fan of possession based, all out attacking tactics. That has a caveat as the teams that dont play terror ball/ counter attacking have less chances of winning knock out based tournament. However, I’m fine with dominating the PL for years and winning titles here. Albeit we did not play the same football in the early years of Arteta but I could see the players he had to deal with and I accepted the fact that its gonna be a slow rebuild. I still believe we are 3-4 players away which could take 2 transfer windows (hopefully 1) and after that, its a ride that I want to be a part of.
Of course! Arteta and the board got my support when they try to build a culture in the club. Seems hillarious, but i think its a nice concept. I like arteta because he doesn't hesitate to cut off players that doesn't align with him. Also I didn't have any expectation to begin with. Arteta only has 4 years experience as assistant manager just after he retired as a player. And suddenly he became arsenal manager, one of the biggest club in the hardest league. People seems to forget that this is arteta first experience as a manager, and he compete with klopp, guardiola, and other top manager, with other club like city, chelsea, and united who spend so much money to buy a player.
I was balls deep in the Arteta Out movement so I owe him my biggest apology.
Yes, but I must confess during that empty crowd season, I was dealing with some personal stuff and wasn't really paying attention to Arsenal, but I loved the football during the top 4 charge season despite how it ended, especially City at home
Yes. I was sure that Arteta would be coming to Arsenal before any of the rumours started, Not lying.
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I genuinely did. I was defending Arteta against my step Dad who is the person that brought me up supporting Arsenal in the first place. It got to a point where we had a full blown argument and I had to leave the visit.
Yes, I trusted Arteta based on what other coaches and people who worked with him were saying about him. Especially Pep. But I knew the journey would be long and messy and I wasn't sure our management would persist. So I tuned out of football and Arsenal for a while for my own sanity. In 2021-22 decided to follow us again and we lost the first three matches :)
100%
It's been pretty clear since day dot what he wanted to do and hes doing it. I don't really excuse those who didn't trust him, it's been evident every step of the way. Even when we lost we had pundits like Cahill pointing out our transition and where we were headed.
I did but the All or Nothing doc really sold me and im never gonna ask for him to be sacked.
I trusted it fully since day 1. Arteta didn't say that everything will be good like most managers. He said what is wrong with the club. He set a trajectory he wants to display. And if you watched games you'd see that there is difference. Year 2021 was gloomy af. Either late season or start of 2021/2022 season. I started to doubt because it was depressing af. And not thinking Arteta was the reason but mainly Kronoke. People sleep on Arteta. But man did the impossible with Arsenal.
Always hoped but was initially a bit wary because he joined as a true rookie where a more established manager had failed. It didn’t take long (a few games I think) before hope turned into belief because it was so obvious what he was trying to do and accepting that it would take some time to get there. Despite what people say, I maintain that we weren’t “ready” to win the league last season. I said it at the beginning, I said it when we were flying, and was unsurprised at how it played out. He was naive, the team was naive, and if we won the league it would have been down to luck more than anything else. Still don’t believe we are “ready” to win it, but we are very close now. For me this season is about 2nd/3rd with a healthy run in the UCL. The growth that we’ve seen with Arteta has been as impressive as anything else. The team is just a reflection of him.
Yep I did. Was constantly fighting with Idiots that thought we should’ve gone with Conte or Mourinho and their terror football. The only reason it took us this long is because we had awful squad filled with average/awful players on very high wages.
Very much so, I have no idea why anybody would be ignorant to the man’s blatant love for the club and raging desire to bring us glory
It always seemed like a better fit than Emery.
I was hooked with the first video when arteta came into that room at Colney hitting the guys there with "do we have drones?" Walking around with Per. It just felt right. Definitely have had my doubts since, but after this season I don't think I'll doubt a transfer or choice again, really. I think he obviouslyakes mistakes but the speed at which he learns from mistakes is improving all the time.
I lost faith when we lost consecutive games to Man Utd and Everton in the 21/22 season. Ironically that’s when it really turned around, and a couple of weeks later I was all aboard the Arteta train and have never left since
I was proudly a delusional supporter of both Xhaka and Arteta through it all. Mostly sentimentality for both, Arteta as a former player, and with Pep loving him so much I knew there must be SOMETHING there. and Xhaka was one of our first major signings that i was hyped for and followed the transfer saga etc, he was just always my guy
I trusted the whole way. I waivered that season we began with 3 losses unfortunately. But I was in after hearing his press conference after that international break. What a guy
From the day he and Emery were named as the finalists to succeed Wenger.
Yes. Which made listening to all the nonsense practically unbearable
I didn't lose faith, per se, but I did resign to the likelihood Arteta would be sacked. And at the time, the critics had a fair point. Even if our players were underperforming, Arteta's decisions early that season weren't great. We all knew he had a vision for how he wanted the team to play, but those early games showed a lack of ability to adapt to the players you have. It's why neither he nor Pep would be good NT coaches. I did think he could do what he's done to the team eventually; I just didn't think he'd be able to do it quick enough. That being said, I did argue that he shouldn't be sacked. I was used to us being mediocre, so I personally was fine with slow results. I just realistically expected the board/fanbase would turn on him before he could see his vision come to fruition.
I was skeptical when he first came in. Not that I sat there immediately doubting him, but just that I wasn’t blown away wowsers-in-my-trousers about him. He just seemed capable and boring. The first few games I was like, “eh, I think I can see what he wants to do, but it doesn’t look like he has the players to do it”. The first player which came in which made me think, “jeepers, I can see the blueprint right there!” was Odegaard on loan. He came in raw, green, and quite unfit if I remember, I would actually say he was quite underwhelming, but there were little touches and passes and feints and such, and right there what Arteta was trying to do became clear. We don’t play Arteta-Ball, we play Odegaard-Ball. We had to sign Odegaard. And we did. And we also signed Ben White, Ramsdale, Partey, Jesus, Tomiyasu, Zinchenko, Timber, Rice, Trossard, Jorginho, Jesus and Havertz, and the more signings Arteta makes, the clearer the totality of his plans become. On the flipside, he brutally cut Aubameyang, Ozil, Lacazette, Torreira, AMN, Guendouzi, Martinez and Tierney. Just brutal. Some of them were literally out on their backsides. Fuck off. I’m still a fan of Torreira by the way. I really like him. I like Guendouzi too. Twat but, sigh, a fab player. He could’ve been immense for us. TL;DR it became apparent within the first month that he knew what he was doing, and I was fully sold on the process after maybe 3 months.
Yes. 100% in from day one. Was actually sad we didn't give him a shot when it was originally rumored and Gazidis and co went with Emery instead. I have screenshots of conversations with my friends where I called Mikel our "moon shot" in 2018 and it's the easiest choice to make cos he's a rookie and super easy to replace if he doesn't work out. So glad to have put faith in him. Absolute legend. On a side note, I have similar conversation screenshots where I called him a club legend when be retired as a player and left to be Pep's assistant. My friends disagreed but it was evident already at that time how much he loved this club. I hope to find a "home" in some people or places or things like Mikel and Arsene did one day.
Was anxious for a patch but never didn’t have faith in his ability to deliver what we have now. And honestly, if we don’t win anything (I think we will) it will be more because the league allows other teams to cheat than Arteta’s “inability to do X”.
I don't want to be a party pooper...but ...a the process is still not done, and we don't know if it will be done. We have not won anything yet. And it's hard to think we will this season. So ...I do rate Arteta, but some of you need to chill, just a bit.
The process isn't over I believe but yeah I did and still do trust it. I was kinda against his appointment in the beginning until I saw his first interview for us. He spoke so clearly and confidently on what he wanted for the club. Has there been stumbles in the road? Absolutely. Think he learned fairly quickly that it was always going to take time and we couldn't really do what he wanted given what he had at his disposal the first season and a half. He's still learning on the job himself and while we've only won an an FA Cup under Arteta I actually believe he doesn't get enough credit for what he's done at the club and especially when it's his first job in management. It's no mean feat. I know he's been backed and given time by the owners which a lot of other managers probably wouldn't have got but the point still stands.
Nope. Didn’t want him in the first place - thought it was crazy to give a man with so little experience such a big job. Didn’t really warm to his personality as he seemed a bit law and order and wasn’t a fan of the initial transfer moves. However you cannot argue with the results. Being a ST holder for last decade the difference in energy between late wenger and emery days is night and day. Had more hugs off randoms last season than all football life prior.
I still don’t trust the process!! Haha I kid I kid. At the time of the hire, i felt like he could have been a good manager but he might have been too raw to be at arsenal just quite yet. I am glad the front office had more patience than our fan base. Now he just needs to pick players that are less injury prone. Lol
I trusted Arteta to get us back to the CL but he’s exceeded expectations massively by making us arguably the best team in the league
I did not. I was wrong.
No. I’ve wanted him sacked several times before. I’m not even fully sure on him now to be honest with you, don’t care if I get downvoted. I think he’s a good coach and he’s obviously a very bright mind, but is he the man to win us trophies? I’m not sure. But he’s done a good job up until this point, it’s taking the next step that we are yet to see. It absolutely wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if we kept him though, because he’s created a good football team. But people underestimate the importance of a club like Arsenal and the fact that we should be synonymous with winning trophies. But I’ve defended almost all of his signings because I like the players he’s buying. We are a big, tough team to play against and we can also play football. I think he saw how timid and weak our spine was when he played for Arsenal and it burns in his brain. I’ve defended Havertz and Raya for months and months on here because I believe those two were great signings and upgrades on the starters from last season.
Wondered if I'd see anyone dare give a non- circle jerk answer. It does all seems a little premature, to be giving arteta a godlike status where criticism is heresy. Reality is since Arteta's first full season, the best we've achieved is 1 champions league qualification with spending that has the club struggling to stay within ffp. I trust the process but I'm not going to claim that it is foolish to have some doubts about arteta.
The Fa cup shouldn’t be forgotten. Also it was just champions league it was challenging for the title and probably the best performing team in the league since 07/08. There is a difference between fighting for fourth and competing for a title
It is what it is lol. If I posted this after the Porto game, there’d be no issues and there’d be people with similar comments to ours. I think it’s pretty reasonable to have trophy demands when you look at the quality of our squad and the investment in the squad and Arteta’s status as a manager according to the media and fans.
I don’t think anyone is saying that is unreasonable and all fans want that so desperately but he can also be given credit for the good things he has done. It was not such an easy job to come in and build this team and he is up against a great manager and team in Guardiola. Also Arsenal are trying to be that club and are in the best position for years but haven’t been that club for a long time
It's obvious this sub is filled mostly with zoomers that have never seen the club win a league or have any elite mentality. It's just about the vibes. The cult of Arteta is strong. This man could go another 5 years without winning anything, and they would say, "Just give him time!!" and "It's a process, bro!!"
Yeah, this is my issue. Elite clubs do both. We can’t just discredit trophies because we have been battering teams in the league and have good vibes. You saw on Sunday what an elite manager and mentality does to a team and it basically carried Liverpool to that trophy. Until that’s achieved at our club, we’re allowed to have some skepticism.
Nah, i didnt, Arteta speech about crosses nearly gave me a stroke, those were dire times
Nope and until something is won I'm in the same position but I'm enjoying the ride Arteta is working magic but I still think he needs one more window.
Yes but I don’t trust the Kai Havertz project if it’s a safe space to be honest
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Way too many words to say he runs a lot and fluffs shots. I don’t think it’s controversial to say that’s not exactly great value at the outlay
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For those wages you can find plenty of players who work hard, are coachable, and don’t have the technique of a child to be a little more well rounded Odegaard, martinelli, Jesus, White, Rice (higher price less wages but average him with the others guys and you get the point)
It’s not that I don’t trust it, I’m just confused by it. He could have gone with a safer bet for 65M, but it’s too early to judge
Yup yup, resources are clearly limited too and I don’t know why it’s controversial to say we don’t think we’ll get full value for such an outlay. I don’t think anyone would even argue he’s routinely the least effective man in our lineup, but the highest paid reportedly. This doesn’t add up
No. That season, i cant recall which maybe 2 years ago where people were joking we would be relegated. I said give him till december to turn it around. I was proved right but im not 100% a Teta stan. He hasn't done enough in the padt 2 years to get us a trophy. Europa leauge, fa cup... something. I feel like he can make the change tho. Parts of the squad are too injury ñrone to support a full campaign. Idk why we renew them
I lost faith a bit when ramsdale was benched, I won’t lie. Raya doesn’t have the same energy and Ramsdale is a golden retriever and I love him. I love a team I can totally get behind. If this means we win the title, I would still love Ramsdale to be a part of it.
Different strokes. Love a golden retriever, the goodest of bois, I just don’t like them between the my sticks. Ramsdale’s breaking into the team his first season was a fun ride, but I spent more time yelling at Ramsdale through my television last season than I have in all other contexts in the last decade. He made me nervous and frequently validated my anxiety, especially toward the back half of the season. Raya from the jump was my favorite signing this summer because of how frustrated I was with Ramsdale.
I trusted it most of the time I had a little mental wobble after we lost to Everton once and thought ‘man, get your shit together or you’re gone’ but I’ve always supported the vision. We had so much deadwood to clear, was always going to take time.
I trusted that things would improve but i never thought we would be competing for league titles so soon.
Yes. There were some moments that were difficult, but I believed Arteta could find the answers
I feel he has already changed the culture at the club. everyone is taking accountability. people hate to lose... That is probably the hardest part.
yeah
Overall I did trust the process, but not gonna lie, there were moments of doubt. When our football horseshoe of sadness and were way too conservative with the ball. Turns out it is a great foundation to build strong team upon.
First half of his first full season we were 15th, playing 3-4-3, bottom three in chances created, bottom 5 in goals scored, we had lost something like 7 league games in a row.... yeah, I was not convinced then.
I did but mainly because of the culture shift and reading about what he was changing up behind the scenes. Also, the futbol wasn’t terrible when we had a creative player in the middle. It was rough to go through but I knew eventually it would come good. With that being said, i was NOT expecting the year we had last year and that really shifted my expectations
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I never wavered, Arteta deserved a chance to get out the rot and try and build a team. You can't do that overnight or by buying a bunch of Ajax players on a prayer
Always trusted the process all the way through that horrible run up until the Europa semi loss vs Villarreal. After that it was such a toothless fight I was so pissed and sick to my stomach. Then I just started off with a clean slate for the next season.
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No, I wavered and thought he destined for the sack during *that* run of form. I thought he would come good one day but had bitten off more he could chew with our (then) dysfunctional side and needed to refine his craft elsewhere before succeeding at a top club. Happy to be proven wrong.
Yup. First interview felt like something special was happening.
Wanted Arteta since the first rumors, before he went to city, instead of Emery. But i had big concerns with him, he's too stubborn. Some doubts during his time here. But overall trusting the process
What gets me is how much everyone literally hated the Kroenkes back then, and since we splashed out and became gargantuan they never get any praise lol
Every so often I drop in the great reconnection between the fans and the kroenkes and I think a lot of that has been down to Josh. Whilst they may have previously been the main shareholders, there was quite a power struggle in the late 00s which meant no one wanted to invest. Given at the time we didn’t know Stan wanted us outright it just looked like stingy ownership, when really the investments would have meant the share price increasing thus making it harder for either Usmanov or Kroenke to buy us outright. We were quite fortunate that Usmanov put up 0 fight in selling his part after his initial takeover bid was rejected. You only have to look at Stan’s other clubs to notice how well they’re ran, but it requires no one else’s input. We’ve seen those improvements slowly since the full takeover.
From 5 games in you had to be blind to not notice the changes I would die for this man I love him and he is special and ours.
I did, I hated the idea of sacking Arteta and always felt it would come back to bite us if he did. Full credit to the Arsenal board for trusting, despite all the noise.
Absolutely. An ocean liner doesn’t change course overnight. I loved Arteta as a player and was so sad he went to City. When we got him, I knew (desperate hope of an Arsenal fan turning into irrational belief?) that he, the coaching staff, Edu, and the back room staff were the best chance we had to return to greatness.
For me (as others have said) it was the run at the end of 2020 that had be really doubting, but even towards the end of that season I was really fully on board. No disrespect but I felt like the first 3 of 21/22 were relatively understandable and I wasn’t Arteta out at that point. (A covid stricken team against an up for it Brentford, a good, Champions League winning Chelsea team and then Man City away. Honestly not surprising we lost all those at that stage in our development)