by Angelito » Wed May 12, 2021 9:55 pm
For the first time since Wenger left, Amy/Ornstein/the Athletic have come out with a critical piece on Arsenal.
- Arsenal hierarchy have no experienced footballing personalities;
- Edu, Vinai, and Mikel are learning on the job; Kroenkes aware of this;
- Edu is the most experienced footballing personality in all of Arsenal;
- They don't want David O'Leary at Arsenal;
- Senior players aren't happy with Arteta but he enjoys a cult-like following amongst Hale End graduates;
- Auba and Mikel don't have a smooth relationship;
- Senior players also unhappy with Arteta's interviews and press conferences in which he always insinuates that the players are at fault and his tactics are spotless;
- Bellerin, Willian, Luiz, Xhaka, and Leno want to leave;
- Edu and Mikel see the, "Hale End," folks alongside Chambers, Tierney, and Holding as the future of Arsenal;
- Many people in the board didn't want Arteta to be promoted to manager;
- There's a power vacuum at Arsenal; no monolithic figure who could take tough decisions;
- Player management remains an issue.
Essentially, for the first time, the Athletic puts the blame on Arteta as well as Edu.
Unless Josh becomes hands-on, or we hire an experienced DoF, it looks gloomy at Arsenal. Arteta had a choice to bring along some senior coaches, but he opted for inexperienced coaches, and doesn't—as insinuated—want anyone questioning his authority.
Senior players remain skeptical.