But that's just the problem Mikel. The Arsenal you knew is the one you joined after we'd had our arses handed to us 8-2, which had come on the back of 5 years of constant decline. The Arsenal we knew is the one before you joined. Then....after you joined our fucktard owner and board allowed the cock at the helm to pursue his pathetic project for a further 7 years - we were in decline when you joined, and then just went further backwardsThe Arsenal Way wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 7:56 amI feel encouraged by some of the things he says in today's press.
"I was here with City and felt down after the game when I saw what was going on."
It wasn't only the performance, it was the atmosphere and energy that I perceived. That worried me a little bit.
I understand that the fans are used to success and fighting for things and at the moment it's difficult for them to swallow the situation. So let me help,"
And while offering no guarantees that his team's football would ever match the unique artistry of Guardiola's, he did at least vow to imitate some of his mentor's more rudimentary requirements.
"If players like Bernardo Silva, David Silva or Kun Aguero don't get bullied, it's because they defend their position like animals and they don't allow the opposition to do that to them."
That sentence was delivered with a slap of fist into palm, but the emphasis was not really required. Arteta spoke for about 45 minutes at the Emirates as darkness fell on Friday night and his message was clear from the off.
Asked if the Arsenal he knew had lost its way, the Spaniard said: "That's what I sense from the outside. I have to understand why that is. That's the challenge and we don't have much time."
"Everybody has to feel privileged to be here and the players will have to accept a different way of things. We have to build a culture. I don't want people hiding. I want people who will deliver passion and energy."
"This is how we are going to live. The players are not performing and I need to know how they are feeling and what they are lacking."
Here's hoping that he can be a success in the long run. For the immediate future though, I hope he kicks some ass and crunches some balls and gets this squad focused on how bloody lucky they are to be at our once great club.
Oh the irony - he can search for Arsenal losing its identity till the cows come home if in the same breath he's indebted to Arsene Wenger, which he has admitted. The bloke who was responsible for us losing our identity brought you to the club sunshine. Perhaps if you look at the other signings like Santos and Park in the same window that you joined you might start to see the answer. Then when you're still searching for the answer as to where the identity went, ask which manager then went on to sign Mustafi, Xhaka, Perez, Debuchy, Chambers, Cech, Elneny and Ozil. Poor Arsene with no money - yep he spent around £175m on that useless bunch of *word censored*, swapped Alexis for Mhkitaryan and allowed anyone half decent to fuck off for nothing
Identity lost in 2008/09 when he started to allow the next potentially great team to drift apart. Then Kroenke joined and sped up the process
So, we've spent more than a decade accepting mediocrity - a manager who favoured 'rotational leadership' because captaincy is 'overplayed', admitted that 4th is a trophy, spent fifteen years whinging about financial fair play. Meanwhile the ambitious clubs moved on - appointed visionaries, chucked out shit owners and didn't accept settling for 4th
That's where our identity went sunshine - out the fucking window when Lord Wenger carried on a decade too long