theHotHead wrote:EK, are the players really that bad ? I don't think so at all. Its all well and good saying its the 4th manager they have seen off but the personnel is not the same and when managers are frankly idiotic, how can the players be blamed ?!!
Arsene Wenger's main squad during his final season was (league):
Mkhi, Ramsey, Laca, Wilshere, Auba, Ozil, Holding, Iwobi, Monreal, Mustafi, Chambers, Welbeck, Bellerin, Xhaka, Kolasinac, Cech, Elneny.
Emery's main squad during his last season was (league):
Leno, Bellerin, Sokratis, Ceballos, Laca, Ozil, Torreira, Auba, AMN, Pepe, Mustafi, Chambers, Luiz, Guendouzi, Kolasinac, Xhaka, Saka
Arteta's main squad this season (league):
Leno, Bellerin, Tierney, Gabriel, Saka, Ceballos, Laca, Willian, Auba, Holding, Pepe, Luiz, Elneny, Xhaka
Only Bellerin, Laca, Auba, Holding, Xhaka, Elneny played under Wenger. Emery didn't give Elneny game time. The players in this list that I don't think should be called Arsenal players are Holding, Xhaka and Elneny. We all know they are sub standard, but subsequent managers have not replaced them !! I call that managerial stupidity. No way Vinai and co would veto their sales, had the then Head Coaches wanted to get rid of them. Bellerin in fact is lucky to still be called an Arsenal player, he too is sub standard.
Then, lets not forget Emery's attempt at playing Torreira - a recognised DM as a more attcking midfielder. Lets not forget the second half transformations and substitutions during the unbeaten run that saved his skin. I can't blame the players when the Head Coach is total knob.
I don't need to explain Wenger's shortcomings, needless to say I can't blame the players or find fault with them, how can you be expected to perform to your ability when the manager is totally clueless to the issues.
Arteta is an interesting one, because he has proven that the players ARE capable of playing better as a team, he got the very same players defending better whilst not affecting their offensive capability. Then, he decides to shift the sliding scale and go hella defensive, whilst not playing Ozil who at least can link play. The end result has been some of the most embarrassing and dreadful performances I have seen from Arsenal in the Premier League era. And now, because of his dreadful tinkering, lineups and systems, he has completely blunted our attack AND the defence has turned leaky again.
How can anyone blame the players ? I gave Arteta the credit for turning us around, NOT the players, so I am blaming Arteta for our demise. The players are capable of better, unless those who blame the players think that 14th in the league is their level ........ which is utter nonsense.
Again I get your point ... but you miss a key element ... Holding, Xhaka and Elneny are all on contracts no other club are interested in matching - even if a buyer could be found that player would have to be willing to accept a huge pay-cut to move. A manager can't replace a player if in reality he can't get rid of them, he can kick them out of the squad, but look how that's worked out, or her can pay them off and clearly we couldn't afford to do that.
We have this issue with Ozil, Mustafi, Sokratis, Luiz, Willian, Soares and now we've added Auba ... we can't sell these players because their contracts are to expensive, it's almost certain that they will all run down and another seven players will need replacing with almost no transfer income.
This is the very problem that Wenger created with his crazy egalitarian contract policy, a policy which we simply can't seem to get away from.
Maybe this summer we will have the balls to deal with it - out will go Luiz, Ozil, Willian, Sokratis, Auba, Laca, Soares, Mustafi - the downside is that these exits will raise barely 100m and we will need well over 300m to fill those squad places .... so where does that come from?
In reality just like the last four years we will do a patch job - we will keep three or four players we all know aren't anywhere near Arsenal quality, players who should leave. Why? because even on their huge wages it's cheaper to keep them for another year than buy an Arsenal quality replacement, so Laca, Auba, Willian, Xhaka probably all stay - thus once again pushing a problem to another summer, and likely another manager.
That's before we've even looked at the upgrades so badly needed for Ceballos, Elneny, Bellerin ....
So yes the players are '
that bad' not just in terms of performance but also in terms of their asset value ... if we had an oligarch or a sheikh not a problem, they can bin a 72m keeper without a care ... but like most clubs we simply can't, we're now in a very deep hole and we're still digging ... at some point we are going to have to change to the Spurs/Liverpool/Leicester where you sell em' high not watch them retire, if we don't then top four might as well be on the moon.