Arsenal 2017-18: Au Revoir, Arsene

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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I don't get the Auba move at all. They just signed Lacazette for a huge fee six months ago. Both Auba and Lacazette are #9s. Is there any reason to think they can play together in a balanced side, or that one of them will take well to being forced to play out on the wing? One of Sanchez's strengths was his positional versatility, he could play a wide role and still score goals cutting inside. Neither Auba or Lacazette have shown they can do that.

I also don't see how they can put out a team with Auba, Lacazette, Ozil, and Mkhitaryan all playing together against decent opposition. There's not enough width, you can't play wingbacks to add width with that front four, and it's a recipe for the two-man Wilshere/Xhaka midfield to get badly overrun. The only way to maybe pull it off would be to press very strongly from the front, like Klopp's teams do, but Ozil and Mkhi are hardly renowned for their defensive pressing efforts.
I don't think its quite as bad a fit as you make it seem. Arsenal have been playing three at the back quite a lot, often with a de facto two striker partnership up front and Ozil behind them, so that formation would work fine. Aubameyang played a lot of RW earlier in his career, both at Saint-Etienne and in his first two years at BvB. I don't think you get the best out of him there but he has a lot of experience in that role. When playing 4-2-3-1 Wenger has often preferred one winger to be effectively a pacy wide forward that looks to run behind the defense (ie, Walcott for almost his whole career) so that is a pretty good fit. At the end of the day, its hard to argue with Auba at £53M given current prices. This is a player that has scored 100 goals in 119 matches over the last three years, across all competitions. That is excellent value and even if he or Lacazette come off the bench in some matches, depth isn't a bad thing. You play a lot of matches and people get injured.

I don't really like Mkhi as a player but I think you undersell his workrate and defensive aptitude, at least when he is at his best (which I'm not convinced he will be at Arsenal). At BvB he was known for being a very good two way player, and would be a good fit on the opposite wing from Auba in Wenger's 4-2-3-1, a wide playmaker that helps with the buildup and has more defensive responsibilities. I predict that he will flop at Arsenal but I don't think its that hard to imagine Auba, Lacazette, Ozil, and Mkhitaryan in the same team, especially against weaker opposition.
 
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BostonJack42

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Does anyone else think that Alex Iwobi is complete crap?

I find myself yelling loudly at the TV whenever he gets the ball. All his moving and shaking on the ball almost always leads to a turnover.
 

ifmanis5

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mikeford

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Does anyone else think that Alex Iwobi is complete crap?

I find myself yelling loudly at the TV whenever he gets the ball. All his moving and shaking on the ball almost always leads to a turnover.
Yes. Should have been dropped literally months ago. Adds absolutely nothing of value.


Find it pretty hard to get excited about PEA given that our biggest needs were in midfield and defense and we've done absolutely fuck all to bolster that. Not to mention goalkeeper. Or fuckin manager.

It honestly feels like nothing at all matters while Arsene is still in charge. You could give him City's roster, he'd still find a way to be 10 points off the top.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Lots of reports out there that Ozil signed a new contract.

We'll never win anything of substance with Wenger in charge but we won't completely fall apart either, with Ozil and Auba now in the fold for the next 2-3 years.

And we'll have the best two strikers in North London once Spurs sell Kane to Real for a gazillion pounds this summer.
 

lars10

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Ugh, seeing that makes me physically ill.

He wasn't great but you could tell he loved the club.
He's an example of one of my frustrations with Wenger.. all he did was get on the field and score.. and was the best striker fit for what Wenger apparently wanted to do, but for some reason never saw the field while certain players that constantly underperformed were rolled out there again and again. At least Wenger has removed Ox and Walcott from the team.. two players that chronically underperformed in his system and never improved under his tutelage.
 

lars10

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My friend who is an Arsenal fan noticed that our front line is now LMAO.
 

mikeford

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I really wonder what the hell they're gonna do with Lacazette now

He's looked like dead dog shit for like 2-3 months and he can't play wing. Are we gonna just drop a guy we spent 60m on?
 

JimBoSox9

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I really wonder what the hell they're gonna do with Lacazette now

He's looked like dead dog shit for like 2-3 months and he can't play wing. Are we gonna just drop a guy we spent 60m on?
I do think they're going to try to play all of Auba, Lacazatte, and Ozil in either a 3-forward line or more likely something that looks like a 4-4-2 diamond ahead of Xhaka/Ramsey/Wilshire/Elneny.
 

Zososoxfan

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Lots of reports out there that Ozil signed a new contract.

We'll never win anything of substance with Wenger in charge but we won't completely fall apart either, with Ozil and Auba now in the fold for the next 2-3 years.

And we'll have the best two strikers in North London once Spurs sell Kane to Real for a gazillion pounds this summer.
Whither Morata?
 

hube

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Still need a defender, keeper, midfielder, and most importantly a new manager, but these moves are good steps. Glad they started to clear out some of the dead weight.
 

BostonJack42

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He's an example of one of my frustrations with Wenger.. all he did was get on the field and score.. and was the best striker fit for what Wenger apparently wanted to do, ...
Giroud will score goal after goal after goal on a team that will cross him the ball from the wings. Sure - he's a great passer and holds up the ball well - but if you want him to score - cross him the ball.

It would be like whatever version of FIFA it was where that was literally all anyone ever did.
 

lars10

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Giroud will score goal after goal after goal on a team that will cross him the ball from the wings. Sure - he's a great passer and holds up the ball well - but if you want him to score - cross him the ball.

It would be like whatever version of FIFA it was where that was literally all anyone ever did.
For a while there that was what Wenger seemed to want.. having Bellerin and Nacho fly up the wings and cross the ball into the middle.. to forwards that don't really out jump players for headers. Giroud was able to play that way, but for some reason never got in games. Wenger has some very weird blind spots and some misplaced loyalties or non-loyalties imo.
 

shaggydog2000

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This team really needs to decide whether it is going to average or not and stick with it. The crap game immediately followed by looking like they did yesterday is just making it hard for me to know what to expect any more.
 

InstaFace

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The HFB is too good for those Chelsea bastards.
OG deserves more of this, and deserved better - he really did love the club. When he pulled that hat trick to salvage a UCL R16 berth on the last day of group play a few years ago, it was nearly the most excited I've seen a professional athlete be about anything, right up there with TB12 seeing Malcolm Butler's interception.

We'll see if Conte actually knows how to use him to get the full value of his talents. I hope not - eff those guys. But it's really hard to root against Giroud. He almost pulled a late equalizer out of nothing against Watford yesterday.
 

mikeford

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This team really needs to decide whether it is going to average or not and stick with it. The crap game immediately followed by looking like they did yesterday is just making it hard for me to know what to expect any more.
Yesterday is what they are. Which is garbage. Mid table trash. We're Liverpool before Klopp now.
 

mikeford

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I think the most damning thing about the end of the Arsene era (and how you KNOW he's finished as a top flight manager) is just how many games we roll out where guys don't even look like theyre putting in a shift. Just absolutely lackadaisical play. Sloppy passing, lazy pressing, no one going after loose balls or fighting for position. When virtually NO ONE in the squad looks like they give half a shit, the manager is the problem.
 

lars10

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I think the most damning thing about the end of the Arsene era (and how you KNOW he's finished as a top flight manager) is just how many games we roll out where guys don't even look like theyre putting in a shift. Just absolutely lackadaisical play. Sloppy passing, lazy pressing, no one going after loose balls or fighting for position. When virtually NO ONE in the squad looks like they give half a shit, the manager is the problem.
And the one guy that seemed to give a crap every game just left the team to go to United.
 

mikeford

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And the one guy that seemed to give a crap every game just left the team to go to United.
Last year sure.

This year no way. Alexis was so beyond checked out. Sure he tried hard but it was solely for his own sake, he was utterly disconnected from the team on the pitch 90% of the time.
 

lars10

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Last year sure.

This year no way. Alexis was so beyond checked out. Sure he tried hard but it was solely for his own sake, he was utterly disconnected from the team on the pitch 90% of the time.
Fair. I still think he hustled more than just about anyone.. often tracking back. He may have been checked out, but I imagine it’s hard to want to perform for a manager that doesn’t acknowledge your effort and also rarely seemed to put you in the best position to win. Plus the jumbled mess of players in the box would be frustrating to me as a forward.
 

Time to Mo Vaughn

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Lacazette out 4-6 weeks after arthroscopic knee surgery. With Aubemayang cup and Giroud on Chelsea this leaves Welbeck as our only true Striker for our next few Europa matches.
 

mikeford

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Lacazette out 4-6 weeks after arthroscopic knee surgery. With Aubemayang cup and Giroud on Chelsea this leaves Welbeck as our only true Striker for our next few Europa matches.
What kinda odds can I get that Arsenal knew he'd need knee surgery at some point BEFORE they sold Giroud and they did it anyway hoping it wouldn't matter?


They should start Eddie Nketiah because Welbeck sucks dead dog ass.
 

Time to Mo Vaughn

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We may not even see them on Thursdays for much longer. Gave up 2 in the first to Ostersunds. Only up 3-2 on aggregate heading into the second half.

Also, since they're at home for this leg a 1-4 result would have them eliminated on away goals.
 

SocrManiac

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Just saw a replay of the second. Beer league from Ospina. That ball should have been closer to hitting him in the leg than beating him at full stretch.
 

mikeford

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Now that Arsenal will definitely win nothing this year, hopefully that sentient walmart hairpiece that owns this joke of a club will do the right thing and fire this senile dinosaur.
 

shaggydog2000

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There's always the Europa League... :confused:
Which is more meaningless of an achievement; winning the Europa league or winning the "Thai energy drink probably made from monkey Balls" League Cup? The only thing you get by winning Europa is not having to play in it again the next year.
 

swiftaw

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Arsenal are basically in the same position as United last season in that the Europa probably provides an easier path to the Champions League than a top 4 finish does.
 

BostonJack42

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I have finally come around to "Wenger Out" (it was the Nottingham Forest loss that pushed me over the edge) and I have been appalled at some of their losses this season.

However, besides for Thursday, we have a pretty decent run in for the remainder of the way.

Fixtures.JPG
 

JimBoSox9

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Why you'd think that's even a factor at this point is beyond me. The Wegner era gets officially put in the ground Thursday.
 

mikeford

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We lost to like Watford and shit this year. We lost to some fuckin Swedish team AT HOME that DIDNT EXIST WHEN WENGER TOOK OVER AS MANAGER.

Who we play does not matter what so ever. This team shows up to play when they fuckin feel like it and under this manager that's almost never.
 

shaggydog2000

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I've figured he would be able to find the right players or figure out the right system, but I was just wrong. Wenger doesn't have the answers any more. He needs to go.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Part of me will believe it only when I see it but events over the last week really do seem to be increasing the chances that Wenger is pushed out this summer, especially if we don't qualify for CL through the Europa League backdoor. Lots of news stories on this and I think there is just too much smoke for some fire not to exist.

Jardim is my first choice replacement. He has done a really excellent job at Monaco, melding veteran and youth players, constantly remaking his squad after they sell their best prospects, and his teams are always well set up tactically and competitive. Their youth system is fantastic so he has had a lot of talent to draw upon but he has got the most out of that talent and provided a platform for young players to improve. Arsenal needs a thorough rebuild centered on youth and a cultural change toward a more hardnosed, tactically-astute setup and that is the kind of side he has built (and rebuilt) before at Monaco.
 
Jardim is my first choice replacement. He has done a really excellent job at Monaco, melding veteran and youth players, constantly remaking his squad after they sell their best prospects, and his teams are always well set up tactically and competitive. Their youth system is fantastic so he has had a lot of talent to draw upon but he has got the most out of that talent and provided a platform for young players to improve. Arsenal needs a thorough rebuild centered on youth and a cultural change toward a more hardnosed, tactically-astute setup and that is the kind of side he has built (and rebuilt) before at Monaco.
Is he your first choice replacement from among those managers on the rumored shortlist - said to include Jardim, Joachim Low, Brendan Rodgers (!) and Mikel Arteta (?) - or among all potential managers likely to be available and willing to come to Arsenal in the summer?
 

Schnerres

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Jogi Löw would never move from the five-time safety net from the DFB to that hotspot volcano. The guy is the calmest ever. He could leave team Germany after Russia 18, but if he does, then I would think he would retire or move to the other part of the arena if he wants to. I doubt he wants the constant stress of a club coach.