Fartboxing at Forest Weds Feb 26th KO 1930

[General]

Surely the fat lady is singing now. The board would be mad to give him good money to throw after bad in the summer.

The board needs Arteta more than he needs them. You think they have the money or appetite to boot him and snatch a top manager from
their contract? Both endeavours will cost in excess of £20m, not to mention they’ll need to make significant funds available for new manager.

Are they not going to be under pressure to release significant funds this summer if the cone boy remains anyway ?? Every media person has shone the spotlight on our lack of striker signing in past two transfer windows, so regardless of who is manager that is something they will be under serious pressure to rectify this summer. Then the next question is who would you trust when it comes to spending that money - would you trust the guy who hand picked havertz and jesus for serious money ?? I certainly wouldnt. The guy has spent almost £800m and has wasted a lot of that money imo, so I dont believe he should get another penny to spend.
I would actually go further and say that appointing a new manager will buy the board more time - 6 seasons under this cock and almost a billion spent will mean that they will have to deliver a trophy next season, but if they appoint a new manager there might be less expectations on a trophy next season

The board is not interested in buying time. They have a business to run and when it no
longer makes business sense they will remove Arteta just like they did with Wenger and Emery. We’ve just announced record revenues so I don’t think they will be in a rush to make any changes soon.

[Retro Gunner]

Surely the fat lady is singing now. The board would be mad to give him good money to throw after bad in the summer.

The board needs Arteta more than he needs them. You think they have the money or appetite to boot him and snatch a top manager from
their contract? Both endeavours will cost in excess of £20m, not to mention they’ll need to make significant funds available for new manager.

Ok, money aside, if it were up to you, would you keep him as manager or make a change?

If you’d keep him, then how many more trophyless seasons would you tolerate?

I’ve always said that he gets another season to deliver a major trophy and if he doesn’t the sword will naturally fall on him.
This board cannot be trusted to bring in a top manager and then give him the funds he needs to win major trophies.
Ordinarily building a team from scratch with £800m wouldn’t get you in the CL let alone compete for the title.
The board are doing just enough to make their business lucrative (Champions League) and are not willing to truly push the boat out (win major trophies). The latter would mean a cash injection from the Kroenkes but this club pretty much spends what it earns.
The failure to acquire an attacker in Jan is a clear sign of their limited ambitious.

Ok, one more season. We'll see.

Why can't the board be trusted to give a top manager funds? They've given plenty of them to a novice. You spin this line that the 800 million built a team from scratch, but it didn't. Arteta inherited Saka, Martinelli, Saliba, ESR, Guendouzi and Torreira, the last 3 certainly as good and imo, better, than Partey, Jorginho and Merino. We had Leno and Martinez as keepers. We had Aubameyang and Lacazette up front and as average as Laca was, I'd take those two over Havertz and Jesus all day long. Sure the existing two were ageing, but Arteta spent over 100 million (plus huge wages) on the two complete duds we have now. Arteta has improved the back four (minus Saliba who wasn't his and who he seemed to want to offload), but that's it imo. We're woeful in midfield and the two first choice wingers aren't his. Our two quality teenagers weren't bought.

Augie has listed the long list of players that Legohead has wasted fortunes on acquiring and if you look at our best 11, how many has Arteta bought that you'd desperately want to keep? I'd want to keep hold of Gabriel, Timber, Rice, probably Raya, although he's too short and that's about it.

Bottom line, it's nonsense to say that 800 million was spent building a side from scratch.

[augie]

Surely the fat lady is singing now. The board would be mad to give him good money to throw after bad in the summer.

The board needs Arteta more than he needs them. You think they have the money or appetite to boot him and snatch a top manager from
their contract? Both endeavours will cost in excess of £20m, not to mention they’ll need to make significant funds available for new manager.

Ok, money aside, if it were up to you, would you keep him as manager or make a change?

If you’d keep him, then how many more trophyless seasons would you tolerate?

I’ve always said that he gets another season to deliver a major trophy and if he doesn’t the sword will naturally fall on him.
This board cannot be trusted to bring in a top manager and then give him the funds he needs to win major trophies.
Ordinarily building a team from scratch with £800m wouldn’t get you in the CL let alone compete for the title.
The board are doing just enough to make their business lucrative (Champions League) and are not willing to truly push the boat out (win major trophies). The latter would mean a cash injection from the Kroenkes but this club pretty much spends what it earns.
The failure to acquire an attacker in Jan is a clear sign of their limited ambitious.

Buddy this isnt just aimed at you cos I see a lot of people running with this narrative, but how can you argue that the cone boy built a team from scratch when he won his only trophy with the team he inherited, plus the season before he joined us, that same time got to the europa league final and finished 1pt off top 4 ?? If you want to label that team that he inherited as shit, then how do you label the squad which cost £800m to assemble and hasnt got near a final since ??? Maybe it is the playstation era thing I dont know, but there is an art to building a team and squad that doesnt just come down to stats and x's and o's, and things like team chemistry and leadership have to be factored in, but your cone boy doesnt seem to understand the importance of leadership and he under values the importance of a top striker. In my opinion he has to be sacked before next season because otherwise he will be given more money to spend and he has shown that he is incompetent when it comes to recruitment - imo manure are where they are in the league cos the glaziers kept financially backing managers who were bringing in sub-standard shite, and unless we want to follow them down that path then we need to grow a pair of balls and axe the cone boy fast. The similarities between both clubs is glaring - they have hojland and zirkee whilst we have havertz and jesus, and these are two of the biggest clubs in the world without a decent striker between them.
To go back to the comments that ordinarily spending 800m wouldnt get you into the champs league, my response is are you fcuking kidding me ??? Emery took over a villa team in relegation zone and got them into champions league in 18 months spending less. Newcastle under fat eddie have spent less than the cone boy, and as things currently stand, forest, bournemouth and brighton are within touching distance of top 4 having spent a pittance in comparison to legohead

[Limerick Gooner]

Surely the fat lady is singing now. The board would be mad to give him good money to throw after bad in the summer.

The board needs Arteta more than he needs them. You think they have the money or appetite to boot him and snatch a top manager from
their contract? Both endeavours will cost in excess of £20m, not to mention they’ll need to make significant funds available for new manager.

Ok, money aside, if it were up to you, would you keep him as manager or make a change?

If you’d keep him, then how many more trophyless seasons would you tolerate?

I’ve always said that he gets another season to deliver a major trophy and if he doesn’t the sword will naturally fall on him.
This board cannot be trusted to bring in a top manager and then give him the funds he needs to win major trophies.
Ordinarily building a team from scratch with £800m wouldn’t get you in the CL let alone compete for the title.
The board are doing just enough to make their business lucrative (Champions League) and are not willing to truly push the boat out (win major trophies). The latter would mean a cash injection from the Kroenkes but this club pretty much spends what it earns.
The failure to acquire an attacker in Jan is a clear sign of their limited ambitious.

Buddy this isnt just aimed at you cos I see a lot of people running with this narrative, but how can you argue that the cone boy built a team from scratch when he won his only trophy with the team he inherited, plus the season before he joined us, that same time got to the europa league final and finished 1pt off top 4 ?? If you want to label that team that he inherited as shit, then how do you label the squad which cost £800m to assemble and hasnt got near a final since ??? Maybe it is the playstation era thing I dont know, but there is an art to building a team and squad that doesnt just come down to stats and x's and o's, and things like team chemistry and leadership have to be factored in, but your cone boy doesnt seem to understand the importance of leadership and he under values the importance of a top striker. In my opinion he has to be sacked before next season because otherwise he will be given more money to spend and he has shown that he is incompetent when it comes to recruitment - imo manure are where they are in the league cos the glaziers kept financially backing managers who were bringing in sub-standard shite, and unless we want to follow them down that path then we need to grow a pair of balls and axe the cone boy fast. The similarities between both clubs is glaring - they have hojland and zirkee whilst we have havertz and jesus, and these are two of the biggest clubs in the world without a decent striker between them.
To go back to the comments that ordinarily spending 800m wouldnt get you into the champs league, my response is are you fcuking kidding me ??? Emery took over a villa team in relegation zone and got them into champions league in 18 months spending less. Newcastle under fat eddie have spent less than the cone boy, and as things currently stand, forest, bournemouth and brighton are within touching distance of top 4 having spent a pittance in comparison to legohead

This side with a striker worth his salt wins the League. This is not up for debate. So Arteta has not built a load of shite. He has built a proper outfit which rarely gets beaten and never gets stiffed. The frustration is that he has a blind spot for strikers and has not fixed it. Trying to compare us to United, Villa and Newcastle is a bit of a joke considering they are the ultimate Jekyll and Hyde sides. Turning up and looking like a Rolls Royce one week and then a three wheeled van the next will never get you close to the League. The reality is that we aren’t good enough but with a better finisher in the side we would be transformed. On the flip side, United are complete crap but have benefited from favourable draws in the Cups and then playing two sides that bottled the final in Newcastle and City. Villa and Newcastle flatter to deceive. They love to try to beat us but will then go away to Palace mid week and lose 4-1. Villa are fucking 10th!!

Arteta has one last chance this Summer. It’s highly likely he fucks it but to say he is total shit is a joke. He clearly has built something but hasn’t finished it off.

[augie]

The board needs Arteta more than he needs them. You think they have the money or appetite to boot him and snatch a top manager from
their contract? Both endeavours will cost in excess of £20m, not to mention they’ll need to make significant funds available for new manager.

Ok, money aside, if it were up to you, would you keep him as manager or make a change?

If you’d keep him, then how many more trophyless seasons would you tolerate?

I’ve always said that he gets another season to deliver a major trophy and if he doesn’t the sword will naturally fall on him.
This board cannot be trusted to bring in a top manager and then give him the funds he needs to win major trophies.
Ordinarily building a team from scratch with £800m wouldn’t get you in the CL let alone compete for the title.
The board are doing just enough to make their business lucrative (Champions League) and are not willing to truly push the boat out (win major trophies). The latter would mean a cash injection from the Kroenkes but this club pretty much spends what it earns.
The failure to acquire an attacker in Jan is a clear sign of their limited ambitious.

Buddy this isnt just aimed at you cos I see a lot of people running with this narrative, but how can you argue that the cone boy built a team from scratch when he won his only trophy with the team he inherited, plus the season before he joined us, that same time got to the europa league final and finished 1pt off top 4 ?? If you want to label that team that he inherited as shit, then how do you label the squad which cost £800m to assemble and hasnt got near a final since ??? Maybe it is the playstation era thing I dont know, but there is an art to building a team and squad that doesnt just come down to stats and x's and o's, and things like team chemistry and leadership have to be factored in, but your cone boy doesnt seem to understand the importance of leadership and he under values the importance of a top striker. In my opinion he has to be sacked before next season because otherwise he will be given more money to spend and he has shown that he is incompetent when it comes to recruitment - imo manure are where they are in the league cos the glaziers kept financially backing managers who were bringing in sub-standard shite, and unless we want to follow them down that path then we need to grow a pair of balls and axe the cone boy fast. The similarities between both clubs is glaring - they have hojland and zirkee whilst we have havertz and jesus, and these are two of the biggest clubs in the world without a decent striker between them.
To go back to the comments that ordinarily spending 800m wouldnt get you into the champs league, my response is are you fcuking kidding me ??? Emery took over a villa team in relegation zone and got them into champions league in 18 months spending less. Newcastle under fat eddie have spent less than the cone boy, and as things currently stand, forest, bournemouth and brighton are within touching distance of top 4 having spent a pittance in comparison to legohead

This side with a striker worth his salt wins the League. This is not up for debate. So Arteta has not built a load of shite. He has built a proper outfit which rarely gets beaten and never gets stiffed. The frustration is that he has a blind spot for strikers and has not fixed it. Trying to compare us to United, Villa and Newcastle is a bit of a joke considering they are the ultimate Jekyll and Hyde sides. Turning up and looking like a Rolls Royce one week and then a three wheeled van the next will never get you close to the League. The reality is that we aren’t good enough but with a better finisher in the side we would be transformed. On the flip side, United are complete crap but have benefited from favourable draws in the Cups and then playing two sides that bottled the final in Newcastle and City. Villa and Newcastle flatter to deceive. They love to try to beat us but will then go away to Palace mid week and lose 4-1. Villa are fucking 10th!!

Arteta has one last chance this Summer. It’s highly likely he fucks it but to say he is total shit is a joke. He clearly has built something but hasn’t finished it off.

Buddy, I have read my post again, and maybe I am blind but I cannot see where I called our current squad "shite" My comment about "shite" was in response to one of many comments suggesting that the squad the cone boy took over was shite, when the facts clearly show that it wasnt a shite squad at all. I will argue to the day I die that he hasnt got good value for his £800m spend, and it is not a good sign that our best/most important players were not brought to the club by the cone boy, so that raises question marks on his recruitment. I see so many similarities with the latter wenger years here and if we give him another season with sizeable investment in the summer, then IF we fail to deliver again next season there will again be fans defending him and pleading for more time on basis that the new signings need more time to settle or we have been unlucky with injuries or some reason or excuse and nothing will change - you say that he has built something but the reality is that any half decent manager could built something with £800m and especially when they already have talents like saliba and saka on the books. The really top managers are the ones who can deliver trophies, or who can make a good team without big investment, but what the cone boy has shown is that he can make a decent team when he is heavily backed.

Btw the ONLY reason I mentioned the other teams you highlighted is that the previous comment suggested that usually £800m wouldnt get a team into the champions league, and I merely pointed out teams who have spent less and got there, or are close to getting there. I never said that they are as good as us or better than us, BUT when you rubbish those teams then doesnt that also belittle the cone boy's achievement of finishing above them ? I mean if those teams are basically average, then wouldnt you expect us to finish above them, and if so then why is the cone boy being lauded as a good manager ?

[Limerick Gooner]

Ok, money aside, if it were up to you, would you keep him as manager or make a change?

If you’d keep him, then how many more trophyless seasons would you tolerate?

I’ve always said that he gets another season to deliver a major trophy and if he doesn’t the sword will naturally fall on him.
This board cannot be trusted to bring in a top manager and then give him the funds he needs to win major trophies.
Ordinarily building a team from scratch with £800m wouldn’t get you in the CL let alone compete for the title.
The board are doing just enough to make their business lucrative (Champions League) and are not willing to truly push the boat out (win major trophies). The latter would mean a cash injection from the Kroenkes but this club pretty much spends what it earns.
The failure to acquire an attacker in Jan is a clear sign of their limited ambitious.

Buddy this isnt just aimed at you cos I see a lot of people running with this narrative, but how can you argue that the cone boy built a team from scratch when he won his only trophy with the team he inherited, plus the season before he joined us, that same time got to the europa league final and finished 1pt off top 4 ?? If you want to label that team that he inherited as shit, then how do you label the squad which cost £800m to assemble and hasnt got near a final since ??? Maybe it is the playstation era thing I dont know, but there is an art to building a team and squad that doesnt just come down to stats and x's and o's, and things like team chemistry and leadership have to be factored in, but your cone boy doesnt seem to understand the importance of leadership and he under values the importance of a top striker. In my opinion he has to be sacked before next season because otherwise he will be given more money to spend and he has shown that he is incompetent when it comes to recruitment - imo manure are where they are in the league cos the glaziers kept financially backing managers who were bringing in sub-standard shite, and unless we want to follow them down that path then we need to grow a pair of balls and axe the cone boy fast. The similarities between both clubs is glaring - they have hojland and zirkee whilst we have havertz and jesus, and these are two of the biggest clubs in the world without a decent striker between them.
To go back to the comments that ordinarily spending 800m wouldnt get you into the champs league, my response is are you fcuking kidding me ??? Emery took over a villa team in relegation zone and got them into champions league in 18 months spending less. Newcastle under fat eddie have spent less than the cone boy, and as things currently stand, forest, bournemouth and brighton are within touching distance of top 4 having spent a pittance in comparison to legohead

This side with a striker worth his salt wins the League. This is not up for debate. So Arteta has not built a load of shite. He has built a proper outfit which rarely gets beaten and never gets stiffed. The frustration is that he has a blind spot for strikers and has not fixed it. Trying to compare us to United, Villa and Newcastle is a bit of a joke considering they are the ultimate Jekyll and Hyde sides. Turning up and looking like a Rolls Royce one week and then a three wheeled van the next will never get you close to the League. The reality is that we aren’t good enough but with a better finisher in the side we would be transformed. On the flip side, United are complete crap but have benefited from favourable draws in the Cups and then playing two sides that bottled the final in Newcastle and City. Villa and Newcastle flatter to deceive. They love to try to beat us but will then go away to Palace mid week and lose 4-1. Villa are fucking 10th!!

Arteta has one last chance this Summer. It’s highly likely he fucks it but to say he is total shit is a joke. He clearly has built something but hasn’t finished it off.

Buddy, I have read my post again, and maybe I am blind but I cannot see where I called our current squad "shite" My comment about "shite" was in response to one of many comments suggesting that the squad the cone boy took over was shite, when the facts clearly show that it wasnt a shite squad at all. I will argue to the day I die that he hasnt got good value for his £800m spend, and it is not a good sign that our best/most important players were not brought to the club by the cone boy, so that raises question marks on his recruitment. I see so many similarities with the latter wenger years here and if we give him another season with sizeable investment in the summer, then IF we fail to deliver again next season there will again be fans defending him and pleading for more time on basis that the new signings need more time to settle or we have been unlucky with injuries or some reason or excuse and nothing will change - you say that he has built something but the reality is that any half decent manager could built something with £800m and especially when they already have talents like saliba and saka on the books. The really top managers are the ones who can deliver trophies, or who can make a good team without big investment, but what the cone boy has shown is that he can make a decent team when he is heavily backed.

Btw the ONLY reason I mentioned the other teams you highlighted is that the previous comment suggested that usually £800m wouldnt get a team into the champions league, and I merely pointed out teams who have spent less and got there, or are close to getting there. I never said that they are as good as us or better than us, BUT when you rubbish those teams then doesnt that also belittle the cone boy's achievement of finishing above them ? I mean if those teams are basically average, then wouldnt you expect us to finish above them, and if so then why is the cone boy being lauded as a good manager ?

Nothing is ever black and white. The reality of things is always somewhere in the middle. My take on it is that Arteta came in. A novice as an actual manager but a good coach. He had a connection to the Club and a way of setting a vision. In my opinion he has lifted us up several rungs. He is now judged by higher standards because of the improvement we have made. He also spent a ton of money but I genuinely think the majority has been spent well. The other thing that people forget is that to take us out of the doldrums we signed the likes of Jesus and Zinchenko for top money. They did help us move on and I think they showed the fans and the squad that we were serious. However those two were always flawed as why else would City let them go. So there was always going to need to be a gradual upgrading of players as we improved. Even City did this when they first got bought out. Do you remember Shaun Wright Phillips and crap like that? We need to keep upgrading as ultimately it’s about the quality of the players and not the coach. As long as we are in the Champions League we will attract better and better players. Jesus and Zinchenko need to go along with several others. The failure was last Sunmer. We fucked it and I’m unclear why. We completely fucked ourselves and failed to upgrade the attack. It’s clear to me we have PSR issues and we only seem to be able to do a couple of deals each Summer. Let’s hope we have some powder dry this Summer and do what we need to do.

[the playing mantis]

One word peeps;

Paragraphs

FFS!!



Oh and quote towers

[Limerick Gooner]

One word peeps;

Paragraphs

FFS!!



Oh and quote towers

I’ll sentence you if you’re not careful. Comma then!

[the playing mantis]

Look I appreciate we called you 5 for Limerick and unless your bipolar we were probably mistaken, but stop grooming me.

Retro will get jealous!

[General]

Ok, one more season. We'll see.

Why can't the board be trusted to give a top manager funds? They've given plenty of them to a novice. You spin this line that the 800 million built a team from scratch, but it didn't. Arteta inherited Saka, Martinelli, Saliba, ESR, Guendouzi and Torreira, the last 3 certainly as good and imo, better, than Partey, Jorginho and Merino. We had Leno and Martinez as keepers. We had Aubameyang and Lacazette up front and as average as Laca was, I'd take those two over Havertz and Jesus all day long. Sure the existing two were ageing, but Arteta spent over 100 million (plus huge wages) on the two complete duds we have now. Arteta has improved the back four (minus Saliba who wasn't his and who he seemed to want to offload), but that's it imo. We're woeful in midfield and the two first choice wingers aren't his. Our two quality teenagers weren't bought.

Augie has listed the long list of players that Legohead has wasted fortunes on acquiring and if you look at our best 11, how many has Arteta bought that you'd desperately want to keep? I'd want to keep hold of Gabriel, Timber, Rice, probably Raya, although he's too short and that's about it.

Bottom line, it's nonsense to say that 800 million was spent building a side from scratch.

Let's have some perspective here please instead of this regurgitated tiresome complaints every time we lose a game.
Even if you exclude Saka, Martinelli, and Saliba, £800m to build a title challenging side from a team lingering in 8th position is still not a lot of money.
None of the players discarded were good enough to sustain a title challenge whether you prefer them or not and had they been retained, you'd be making these very same complaints. Not every transfer ends up being a success either and there is a risk of abortive cost with every manager so some of you need to get over this constant accusation that Arteta has wasted money. We had to go through a gradual process of rebuilding from a low base so the risk of getting transfers wrong was even greater given we couldn't attract elite players straight away.

This team is simply missing one or two magic players to get us over the line and this requires additional investment. It is far from the sub-standard outfit you make it out to be and the numbers prove it. The problem is the Kroenkes don't put money into the club bar the re-structured stadium debt and I don't think you and other fans have truly grasped how the club's finances work. The money Arteta spends comes from funds he helped raise starting by qualifying for Europa in 2022 and then 2years in the row in the CL. Mathday revenues which were on the decline post Wenger and then took a massive hit during covid have been raised to record levels because Arteta has built a competitive side. He is bearing the fruits of his work and any new manager would have to meet the same challenge i.e. spend what they bring in.

The club is clearly under PSR pressures hence our conservative approach in the last 2 transfer windows. We would most likely spend big in the summer if Arteta secures CL football and hopefully this moves us up to the level needed to secure the league or CL. As I said, the sword will naturally fall on him if the same failure mode repeats itself next season. I don't think he would be desperate to cling on like Wenger as he has his whole career ahead of him and a parting of ways may be mutually beneficial for both parties.

[augie]

Ok, one more season. We'll see.

Why can't the board be trusted to give a top manager funds? They've given plenty of them to a novice. You spin this line that the 800 million built a team from scratch, but it didn't. Arteta inherited Saka, Martinelli, Saliba, ESR, Guendouzi and Torreira, the last 3 certainly as good and imo, better, than Partey, Jorginho and Merino. We had Leno and Martinez as keepers. We had Aubameyang and Lacazette up front and as average as Laca was, I'd take those two over Havertz and Jesus all day long. Sure the existing two were ageing, but Arteta spent over 100 million (plus huge wages) on the two complete duds we have now. Arteta has improved the back four (minus Saliba who wasn't his and who he seemed to want to offload), but that's it imo. We're woeful in midfield and the two first choice wingers aren't his. Our two quality teenagers weren't bought.

Augie has listed the long list of players that Legohead has wasted fortunes on acquiring and if you look at our best 11, how many has Arteta bought that you'd desperately want to keep? I'd want to keep hold of Gabriel, Timber, Rice, probably Raya, although he's too short and that's about it.

Bottom line, it's nonsense to say that 800 million was spent building a side from scratch.

Let's have some perspective here please instead of this regurgitated tiresome complaints every time we lose a game.
Even if you exclude Saka, Martinelli, and Saliba, £800m to build a title challenging side from a team lingering in 8th position is still not a lot of money.
None of the players discarded were good enough to sustain a title challenge whether you prefer them or not and had they been retained, you'd be making these very same complaints. Not every transfer ends up being a success either and there is a risk of abortive cost with every manager so some of you need to get over this constant accusation that Arteta has wasted money. We had to go through a gradual process of rebuilding from a low base so the risk of getting transfers wrong was even greater given we couldn't attract elite players straight away.

This team is simply missing one or two magic players to get us over the line and this requires additional investment. It is far from the sub-standard outfit you make it out to be and the numbers prove it. The problem is the Kroenkes don't put money into the club bar the re-structured stadium debt and I don't think you and other fans have truly grasped how the club's finances work. The money Arteta spends comes from funds he helped raise starting by qualifying for Europa in 2022 and then 2years in the row in the CL. Mathday revenues which were on the decline post Wenger and then took a massive hit during covid have been raised to record levels because Arteta has built a competitive side. He is bearing the fruits of his work and any new manager would have to meet the same challenge i.e. spend what they bring in.

The club is clearly under PSR pressures hence our conservative approach in the last 2 transfer windows. We would most likely spend big in the summer if Arteta secures CL football and hopefully this moves us up to the level needed to secure the league or CL. As I said, the sword will naturally fall on him if the same failure mode repeats itself next season. I don't think he would be desperate to cling on like Wenger as he has his whole career ahead of him and a parting of ways may be mutually beneficial for both parties.

I have to respond to this because I simply cannot agree with large parts of it and it just seems like straw man defence of pep's cone boy

1. We may have been "lingering" in 8th when the cone boy took over, but that does not mean that we were only the 8th best team in the league - citeeh have had a shit time in the league this season, but are we honestly saying that there are 3 better squads than theirs in the league ? As I continually point out (but people like you continue to ignore this fact), the previous season we finished 1pt from champs league qualification and were runners up in the europa league, and in that first season we won the fa cup, so please stop with this crap that we had a shit squad when cone boy took over cos it is blatantly not true

2. Your defence of his transfer's in imo contradictory - none of the players discarded were good enough so I am assuming you are including players that he bought and got rid of within 18-24 months so why then did he buy them ? You say the risk was greater cos we couldnt attract elite players straight away, so I challenge you to ask 20 fans to name the biggest transfer fcuk ups he has made. I will bet my nuts that the names jesus and zinchenko will be on the list and they were bought from the league champions straight away and that blows your argument out of the water. As well as those two names, I will bet that havertz, sterling and merino will be on the lists and they were bought/signed in the last couple of seasons, so they dont fall into your high risk window and were just shocking signings.

I have said it before and will say it again, the standard of football across the world is declining year after year - this victims team is a very average league winning team, so for fans to just look at finishing place as a vindication is too flimsy for me. In the past we have had teams far better than this one who wouldnt have come close to winning the league, and those teams cost less to assemble too. You keep saying that the squad cone boy inherited wasnt good enough to sustain a title challenge - is this squad ? I keep reading shallow arguments about lack of funds ( ), but our lack of a quality striker has been glaring for the past few seasons but he has spent money buying back up centre midfielders and left backs - that isnt about a lack of funds but about a lack of vision and brains

[Limerick Gooner]

Ok, one more season. We'll see.

Why can't the board be trusted to give a top manager funds? They've given plenty of them to a novice. You spin this line that the 800 million built a team from scratch, but it didn't. Arteta inherited Saka, Martinelli, Saliba, ESR, Guendouzi and Torreira, the last 3 certainly as good and imo, better, than Partey, Jorginho and Merino. We had Leno and Martinez as keepers. We had Aubameyang and Lacazette up front and as average as Laca was, I'd take those two over Havertz and Jesus all day long. Sure the existing two were ageing, but Arteta spent over 100 million (plus huge wages) on the two complete duds we have now. Arteta has improved the back four (minus Saliba who wasn't his and who he seemed to want to offload), but that's it imo. We're woeful in midfield and the two first choice wingers aren't his. Our two quality teenagers weren't bought.

Augie has listed the long list of players that Legohead has wasted fortunes on acquiring and if you look at our best 11, how many has Arteta bought that you'd desperately want to keep? I'd want to keep hold of Gabriel, Timber, Rice, probably Raya, although he's too short and that's about it.

Bottom line, it's nonsense to say that 800 million was spent building a side from scratch.

Let's have some perspective here please instead of this regurgitated tiresome complaints every time we lose a game.
Even if you exclude Saka, Martinelli, and Saliba, £800m to build a title challenging side from a team lingering in 8th position is still not a lot of money.
None of the players discarded were good enough to sustain a title challenge whether you prefer them or not and had they been retained, you'd be making these very same complaints. Not every transfer ends up being a success either and there is a risk of abortive cost with every manager so some of you need to get over this constant accusation that Arteta has wasted money. We had to go through a gradual process of rebuilding from a low base so the risk of getting transfers wrong was even greater given we couldn't attract elite players straight away.

This team is simply missing one or two magic players to get us over the line and this requires additional investment. It is far from the sub-standard outfit you make it out to be and the numbers prove it. The problem is the Kroenkes don't put money into the club bar the re-structured stadium debt and I don't think you and other fans have truly grasped how the club's finances work. The money Arteta spends comes from funds he helped raise starting by qualifying for Europa in 2022 and then 2years in the row in the CL. Mathday revenues which were on the decline post Wenger and then took a massive hit during covid have been raised to record levels because Arteta has built a competitive side. He is bearing the fruits of his work and any new manager would have to meet the same challenge i.e. spend what they bring in.

The club is clearly under PSR pressures hence our conservative approach in the last 2 transfer windows. We would most likely spend big in the summer if Arteta secures CL football and hopefully this moves us up to the level needed to secure the league or CL. As I said, the sword will naturally fall on him if the same failure mode repeats itself next season. I don't think he would be desperate to cling on like Wenger as he has his whole career ahead of him and a parting of ways may be mutually beneficial for both parties.

I have to respond to this because I simply cannot agree with large parts of it and it just seems like straw man defence of pep's cone boy

1. We may have been "lingering" in 8th when the cone boy took over, but that does not mean that we were only the 8th best team in the league - citeeh have had a shit time in the league this season, but are we honestly saying that there are 3 better squads than theirs in the league ? As I continually point out (but people like you continue to ignore this fact), the previous season we finished 1pt from champs league qualification and were runners up in the europa league, and in that first season we won the fa cup, so please stop with this crap that we had a shit squad when cone boy took over cos it is blatantly not true

2. Your defence of his transfer's in imo contradictory - none of the players discarded were good enough so I am assuming you are including players that he bought and got rid of within 18-24 months so why then did he buy them ? You say the risk was greater cos we couldnt attract elite players straight away, so I challenge you to ask 20 fans to name the biggest transfer fcuk ups he has made. I will bet my nuts that the names jesus and zinchenko will be on the list and they were bought from the league champions straight away and that blows your argument out of the water. As well as those two names, I will bet that havertz, sterling and merino will be on the lists and they were bought/signed in the last couple of seasons, so they dont fall into your high risk window and were just shocking signings.

I have said it before and will say it again, the standard of football across the world is declining year after year - this victims team is a very average league winning team, so for fans to just look at finishing place as a vindication is too flimsy for me. In the past we have had teams far better than this one who wouldnt have come close to winning the league, and those teams cost less to assemble too. You keep saying that the squad cone boy inherited wasnt good enough to sustain a title challenge - is this squad ? I keep reading shallow arguments about lack of funds ( ), but our lack of a quality striker has been glaring for the past few seasons but he has spent money buying back up centre midfielders and left backs - that isnt about a lack of funds but about a lack of vision and brains

I’m really struggling with your post Augie. It looks like nonsense to me. Your whole argument is based on the fact Emery finished 5th the season before and therefore it must be a good squad. How do you work that out? When Emery was sacked we were nose diving in mid-table? Why was that if the squad was good? And why did we bottle 4th the previous season? If you think the squad was good enough then it must have been Emery? But you repeatedly claim on here that Arteta is not fit to tie Emery’s shoelaces. So what is it? Was it Emery or the squad that was shit? Because you appear to be claiming we had a great squad and a great manager. So why were we mired in mid-table when we sacked Emery??

The second point is that you think because Arteta won the FA Cup in his first season that he had a good squad. Again, I don’t see how you can make that point. United won the Cup last season and they are total total shite. It was the same with us. We had a few decent players but the majority were complete crap. We had a decent cup draw and turned up in the final. The squad was bang average and you know it.

[augie]

I have NEVER argued that the squad the cone boy inherited was good enough to win a league or even put in a proper title challenge - what I will continue to push back on though is that it was a shit squad because in emery's first (and only) full season they got to europa league final and finished 1pt outside the top 4, and both were improvements on season before. We were in step one of the rebuild and he got axed after 18 months and we then won an fa cup with his squad, Fast forward 5 years now and we have since spent almost £800m on purchases, PLUS we spent a small fortune paying off the contracts of the bad eggs that neither emery nor cone boy could control, and yet we still havent won a trophy since and if we are honest we havent been that close either. The whole point of transfer business is to improve the squad and hand on heart not many can honestly say that this squad is better than the one he inherited - we are way inferior in the striker department, saliba arteta didnt buy, torreira and guendouzi are both better than partey, merino and jorginho, ozil shits all over captain invisible, so it is impossible to justify the £800m spend in my opinion, and I still argue that the cone boy adopted the "lets throw the baby out with that bath water" philosophy when he didnt need to

[Limerick Gooner]

I have NEVER argued that the squad the cone boy inherited was good enough to win a league or even put in a proper title challenge - what I will continue to push back on though is that it was a shit squad because in emery's first (and only) full season they got to europa league final and finished 1pt outside the top 4, and both were improvements on season before. We were in step one of the rebuild and he got axed after 18 months and we then won an fa cup with his squad, Fast forward 5 years now and we have since spent almost £800m on purchases, PLUS we spent a small fortune paying off the contracts of the bad eggs that neither emery nor cone boy could control, and yet we still havent won a trophy since and if we are honest we havent been that close either. The whole point of transfer business is to improve the squad and hand on heart not many can honestly say that this squad is better than the one he inherited - we are way inferior in the striker department, saliba arteta didnt buy, torreira and guendouzi are both better than partey, merino and jorginho, ozil shits all over captain invisible, so it is impossible to justify the £800m spend in my opinion, and I still argue that the cone boy adopted the "lets throw the baby out with that bath water" philosophy when he didnt need to

Shit squads can win cups. It happens. To come second or first season after season you need top squads. The side Arteta inherited was nowhere near good enough. It was packed with utter dross. To say we should have stuck with Emery (which is clearly what you are saying) is a bit of a joke. How the hell was he improving us when we were in mid table?? He blew the Europa Final, blew top 4 and started off the following season dreadfully. That’s why he was sacked. Arteta has cocked up the last transfer window and we have neglected the front line but to claim that any player we have got rid of would be good enough for this squad is simply not true.

[augie]

My post was about sticking with players not emery so you are wrong thinking I was suggesting that