'All or Nothing' documentary

[Highbury Hillbilly]

Making Auba captain was the wrong decision, he never had the profile for it. The same mistake was made by giving it to Laca, who was openly talking about his post Arsenal future, and playing horribly to boot. Wonder if that'll show up in the later episodes.

Emery had the right idea. Let the players vote. Yeah, they would probably vote Xhaka again. I'd take that over an overwhelmed kid like Odegaard. We are already en route to tanking his form too.

[UFGN]

A captain should be the player who best handles pressure a has good personal discipline. There is also a trait in some people to cope with pressure by making sure others are ok. It's actually a brilliant stress reliever and gives you great confidence. It's something I try to do in my own work environment. When it's all going to shit, talk to less experienced staff, tell them they're doing well and we'll get through it..... I can then walk away feeling ive got control of a bad situation.

It's a good life hack, and it's something a captain must instinctively do. Look at footage of Adams in matches, you can actually see him doing it.

[theHotHead]

As for treating people the same, it's a nice soundbite but it's fundamentally impossible. Every leader shows biases towards the players that perform well and listen to directions over the ones that don't. Now I think Arteta was saying we have rules that apply to everyone and consequences should apply equally but you have to be a good judge to balance that. We don't want the club to be "Casa Pepe" so you have to establish a code of conduct with a strong hand and yet you can't rule with an iron fist. It's a tricky balance and Arteta isn't experienced enough to walk that line expertly.

I totally get it, but there were surely ways that could've been handled behind closed doors. You have a club code of conduct, if Auba was taking the piss with punctuality fine him 2 weeks wages and keep fining him until he learns. If its something that was happening regularly set the punishment to have greater impact, 4 weeks wages, 6 weeks wages - as my mum used to say, "if you don't hear you will feel" !!!

Lateness, not putting in the effort, whatever it might be, fine them, they will soon learn !

[theHotHead]

Making Auba captain was the wrong decision, he never had the profile for it. The same mistake was made by giving it to Laca, who was openly talking about his post Arsenal future, and playing horribly to boot. Wonder if that'll show up in the later episodes.

Emery had the right idea. Let the players vote. Yeah, they would probably vote Xhaka again. I'd take that over an overwhelmed kid like Odegaard. We are already en route to tanking his form too.

To be fair to Xhaka and I have been on his case more than most, he seems the only "captain-like" player in the entire team, based on the documentary so far. Tierney also gets a nod but the boy is injured too much to be in the running.

[Power n Glory]

The Auba and striker situation was handled poorly. Too reactive instead of proactive from Arteta and management. There should have been a contingency plan in place. It's not as if they walked in blind and didn't know Auba's character and flaws. Arteta said before Auba signed a new deal there were concerns he and Auba spoke on. They both made compromises and set some standards before a new deal was signed. If you're having those sort of talks then maybe he shouldn't be captain.

Second, Arteta is logging all his 'misdemeanours'. Does he do that for everyone or was he already building a case against Auba in case things go south? That's not trust, that looks like suspicion to me. Either way, if it's a long list, he shouldn't have been captain and we should have been planning for his exit earlier. Auba didn't have a good end to last season, Laca was in his last year of contract and there should have been a contingency plan in place. Before the season starts, buy a new striker or be prepared to give Nketiah, Martinelli or some other internal option a shot. Pulling the trigger in the middle of the season and catching everyone off guard was reckless. Edu, Garlick and Vinai sounded unprepared and surprised by the development which is why they were scrambling and in a panic during the January window. They weren't expecting a hot headed decision and wanted both the manager and player to work it out until the end of the season.

Edu had a conversation with Arteta in one of the earlier eps about forming relationships with the players because Arteta is already strong on the tactical knowledge side of management. I think that's an area he'll have to work on. Arteta has said on camera that he sees the players as human beings and not just numbers or robots, but in the tense moments, he does come off like a dictator. I haven't seen much mentorship or one on one's with the players. It's been other staff members around the club. Maybe we'll see that form Mikel in later episodes. But with more context, I thought the Tavares sub in the first half was poor man management and not protecting the player. The aftermath from that performance was Arteta screaming at the players in the dressing room and losing his shit. I have yet to see an arm over the shoulder treatment and that's a powerful tool for some players. If I had seen a him comfort or speak to Tavares after that game, I'd feel as though the kid is being handled better.

So far, it looks like he identifies with players that he sees himself in. But he may eventually have to find a way to get through to players that need a different form of coaching. Long read. Sorry folks. A lot to unpack from this series. Some good things and some bad. It doesn't mean Arteta can't go on to be a better coach. He has some good qualities.

[Highbury Hillbilly]

Making Auba captain was the wrong decision, he never had the profile for it. The same mistake was made by giving it to Laca, who was openly talking about his post Arsenal future, and playing horribly to boot. Wonder if that'll show up in the later episodes.

Emery had the right idea. Let the players vote. Yeah, they would probably vote Xhaka again. I'd take that over an overwhelmed kid like Odegaard. We are already en route to tanking his form too.

To be fair to Xhaka and I have been on his case more than most, he seems the only "captain-like" player in the entire team, based on the documentary so far. Tierney also gets a nod but the boy is injured too much to be in the running.

He's been shadow captain ever since Arteta convinced him to stay. He is the one giving on-field instructions during the matches. When we f'd up 4th place, he was the one excoriating them for underperforming. Captain Laca was silent, already packing his bags for Lyon.

[Ach]

Why didn't we get Auba response? What's the point in this farcical documentary?

[theHotHead]

Good post PNG, I was thinking exactly the same, Tavares looked to get thrown under the bus, I didn't like that at all. I can't remember if that incident was before or after the Arteta covid incident where he said some players had not been putting in the effort in training and had he been there he would asked the players to leave. I wonder if Tavares was one of those players .....

[UFGN]

Arteta's classroom teaching style is double concentrated super AIDS.

That "positional awareness" lesson in E2 made me want to put my head in an oven

[Highbury Hillbilly]

Why didn't we get Auba response? What's the point in this farcical documentary?

Its not a documentary, it's a PR exercise to build up the club's profile.

[ag6789]

I guess these shows are for PR exercises for all clubs. Why would anyone want to wash their dirty linens in public?
Show the overall better and exciting side of the organization to attract more followers, sponsors and more Money! All for better business.

[Power n Glory]

Good post PNG, I was thinking exactly the same, Tavares looked to get thrown under the bus, I didn't like that at all. I can't remember if that incident was before or after the Arteta covid incident where he said some players had not been putting in the effort in training and had he been there he would asked the players to leave. I wonder if Tavares was one of those players .....

I think it was after that speech about training. We'll see what happens this season. With Tavares going out on loan, I'm not sure if he'll have a future here. Hopefully, in the next batch of eps we'll get some clarity on the situation and it's not as cold as that. But it wouldn't surprise me. As seen with other players, it's like Arteta takes a rocket launcher to any bridge back.

[Highbury Hillbilly]

I guess these shows are for PR exercises for all clubs. Why would anyone want to wash their dirty linens in public?
Show the overall better and exciting side of the organization to attract more followers, sponsors and more Money! All for better business.

It's glorified reality TV but a highly polished, docu-drama style one. Still counts as PR in my book, as it's designed to elevate certain personalities while also selling a narrative about the club's brand.

[Ach]

Why didn't we get Auba response? What's the point in this farcical documentary?

Its not a documentary, it's a PR exercise to build up the club's profile.

Never has a truer word been said

That's exactly what it is and it's failing miserably. We're a bit of a laughing stock these days

[UFGN]

So far I've learned that the club photographer does team talks and Kieran Tierney lives with his personal chef

Not quite what I was expecting