Official: Mikel Arteta appointed new Head Coach

This is definitely not me getting at him at all but out of curiosity. When do we judge him?

End of next season?

Yea that sounds like the most reasonable time tbh.

So far i like that he has organised our in-game defensive game more. But he clearly needs to focus more on set pieces given the goals we've conceded recently.

So far I've had a bit of a problem with his starting XI selections. For example: Martinelli clearly has been our brightest player this season and yet he hadn't featured a lot in our last 3 games...

I also really hope he notices we need to move on from Ozil. We need to find a new 10 so bad.

a few games into next season is more than enough time to judge

like October, November. No need to wait for a whole season, he will have had a summer, he will hopefully have had a couple of squad additions, he will have to show what's he's about on the pitch.

From December

Sina wrote:

earliest to judge properly of where we are and how he is doing is this time next year imo

Will see where we are

The quality of our play is 10x what is was under Emery, our defensive play has improved significantly, and we easily could have beaten Olympiacos. My biggest concern thus far is how Arteta doesn't seem to rotate much, as our team looked fatigued, but hopefully he learns from this and we bounce back. We often go on a downward spiral when we face a disappointing result...his ability to make us come back from that loss will be key.

As far as rotation goes, I'm guessing Arteta thinks he has to 1) keep as consistent an eleven as possible to give the team its best chance of finding rhythm and 2) work out which players really want to play.

In some cases, his choices are limited e.g. Saka. Kolasinac and Tierney simply aren't available. He could play AMN there but something seems to be up with him atm. I mean, you have to imagine there's an issue with AMN when Sokratis is playing RB ahead of him.

The depth in attack now is literally all kids (Nelson, Willock, Martinelli, Nketiah). Sucks for Martinelli that he's become Auba's backup now while Nketiah has edged out Lacazette. Martinelli was brilliant up front when Nketiah was at Leeds.

But at the same time, players need to know they have to work hard and maintain certain standards to get in that starting eleven. I think Arteta has handled this better than Emery has.

Just compare how differently they've handled Guendouzi. Kid is such a talent but he's raw and immature. Emery gave him every chance possible while Arteta has gone tough on him and benched for him misbehaviour. Apparently Guendouzi's response has been excellent.

So hopefully by the summer Arteta will have a good idea on which players really want to play for Arsenal and can work from there.

I think November/December time is a good time to seriously assess him because he will have had a full pre-season, a summer transfer window, and games against the majority of the league.

Arteta has Corona

With any luck, as a healthy, young person he'll only develop mild symptoms and be back in business in a week's time.

Then you think of the number of people Arteta has been in contact with - the players, his coaching team, the analysts, the catering staff, kit men, etc. - and it just blows your mind.

The PL might struggle on but I can't see Arsenal until after the international break.

Would be stupid to allow Arsenal to play.

Arteta will probably be okay but as you said he must have passed it on to a lot of people around the club and family.

Arteta has done magic for such period of time, but I am afraid he will be let down by the board to strengthen this team.

We are in desperate need for a world class creative midfielder.

^^thank you Highburied. Been saying it. Ozil is way way past it, and our midfield is the major problem. I'm afraid it's not only a creative midfielder, but strong solid defensive/holding midfielder as well.

What I like about Arteta is his attitude and attention to details. Arsenal suddenly looks well organized and most of the players are giving their best, but like I said, we need someone in midfield who takes responsibilities on his own and drives the team forward.

Özil & Lacazette are two senior players who should leave imo. They are not delivering when it matters. Pepe hasn't lived up to expectations unfortunately. He would be the one leading the creative part.

let's hope Pepe becomes more comfortable next season, definitely would help if we have a creative spark and goal threat from the wings.

Highburi3d wrote:Arteta has done magic for such period of time, but I am afraid he will be let down by the board to strengthen this team.

We are in desperate need for a world class creative midfielder.

Are you the same highburied from the old days? I remember a Goallegacy member with that name years back..

Yes I am

Wow, nice to see you around again mate!

Jay29 wrote:As far as rotation goes, I'm guessing Arteta thinks he has to 1) keep as consistent an eleven as possible to give the team its best chance of finding rhythm and 2) work out which players really want to play.

In some cases, his choices are limited e.g. Saka. Kolasinac and Tierney simply aren't available. He could play AMN there but something seems to be up with him atm. I mean, you have to imagine there's an issue with AMN when Sokratis is playing RB ahead of him.

The depth in attack now is literally all kids (Nelson, Willock, Martinelli, Nketiah). Sucks for Martinelli that he's become Auba's backup now while Nketiah has edged out Lacazette. Martinelli was brilliant up front when Nketiah was at Leeds.

But at the same time, players need to know they have to work hard and maintain certain standards to get in that starting eleven. I think Arteta has handled this better than Emery has.

Just compare how differently they've handled Guendouzi. Kid is such a talent but he's raw and immature. Emery gave him every chance possible while Arteta has gone tough on him and benched for him misbehaviour. Apparently Guendouzi's response has been excellent.

So hopefully by the summer Arteta will have a good idea on which players really want to play for Arsenal and can work from there.

I think November/December time is a good time to seriously assess him because he will have had a full pre-season, a summer transfer window, and games against the majority of the league.

It's only taken me 2 months to respond but fair counterpoints. I think you're right that he was trying to build some work ethic into players while stabilizing his starting XI. As we approach the end of the season when we may be playing several EPL games per week, and next year when he's managing a team juggling multiple competitions at once (pending how long Coronavirus goes on for), I do think he will need to rotate a bit more than he has though.

Mikel Arteta shows promising adaptability in first season at Arsenal https://t.co/7fMgGoP1x0

— Arsenal Column (@ArsenalColumn) August 14, 2020