AD-Free Episode 494 - Do We Feel Ready

Yes and that long term vision isn't there now. I see just two guys doing everything to move the club forward, without anyone asking them difficult questions. Which in short term could be okay if the quality of those two is good. But that brings us to their lack of experience, which is already telling with contracts of Auba, Cedric, Willian, and now Xhaka and probably Ramsdale/Martinez. Mistakes we cannot afford but are still making, with the fanbase frustration growing over the same mistakes over and over.

I don't think this is too different from the General Manager / Head Coach dynamic that you see in North American sports. The problem that we have at Arsenal is that we don't really know whether the manager answers to the DOF (or vice versa). The technical direction is also off in that DOF should typically be laying out the longer-term vision for the club with the full knowledge that managers come and go - but there should be a core identity or style of football that is clear and apparent throughout (rather than a short-termism that might kick in because a manager's neck might be on the line).

Great episode. Excellent comment from Elliot about Arteta pulling the strings on transfers while looking at the short term, with Arsene and Unai doing the same last ten years. This is where the huge mess came from and, as Tim mentioned, why mistakes are piling up. KSE are clueless and so dependent on Mikel, if he'd realise that, he would be able to think long term and demand a director of football to help him out.

Clive nails it 100% with ‘forced football’ that’s the best description for how we play.

Loved what Clive said about the club's splashing 100mil..it's a sad time when even if we get it right. Those false rich club's are operating in a different world. Not just premier League. PSG sign Messi in 4 days. It needs fixing. Maybe a breakaway league is a good idea for those lot. Let them go and ruin eachother... Let us keep it real

I feel like Emery got the best out of auba but our football suffered for it. In fairness wenger had aubamayang scoring too, but aubamayang was more of an unknown quantity to the league at that point. I think as a coach arteta has been good, there’s been a lot of players who have improved under him. His mistakes have mainly come with decision making on players. The martinez fiasco probably looks like a mistake in hindsight. The aubamayang contract, keeping amn but then not finding a position for him, same with Nelson too.

Elliot imagine a situation that you are heading a corporations sourcing dept. An internal audit finds spurious deals with a vendor and cancels the vendor. Next year you have a dinner with them and somehow the photo end up on facebook or insta. What would be your next conversation with CFO be like? Amazing the levels of incompetence in Arsenal or may be Arsenal is laundering money through those agents.

With data analysis and fitness testing these days, I wonder if players are more aware than ever of their physical decline as they age? If Auba is seeing even a small decline in the 40m sprint times, I doubt it's doing his confidence any good.

Jake Walker

Great pod guys listened tk the last one as well. Never get tired of this though better than watching the Arsenal play 🙂. I have one point to make. Arteta gives contract to the forwards and can't get the best out of them. Auba doesn't play in his favourite position, looks listless, Laca is all bluster but no end product, Pepe is well like an aging actor who has just one face for all emotions. Where do we go from here and importantly what does it say about the coach's ability. Iam at my wits end guys. Give me Arsenes brand of football and 4th is trophy anyday. No wonder he is a visionary, respect him. Clive says let's wait till 1 st and iam waiting but my whiskers are getting longer mate.

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