I find it strange that Zubimendi joined Arsenal after coming close to joining Liverpool and being linked with Real Madrid and Man City but to each his own. Maybe that was Slot’s Goetze moment of sorts?
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https://www.spotrac.com/epl/arsenal-fc/cap/_/year/2024
Not bad for a club that hasn’t won shit recently.
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I don’t watch Zubimendi play, but his passing stats look very underwhelming. There’s no way he’s the same kind of volume passer as Jorginho.
What do you have against the glorious heights of… Hampstead? 
Jorginho played the DM role like a deep lying number 10. There arent many as good and creative from back there as he has been. Zubi isnt, but neither is Gravenberch, but he has still been an essential cog in us moving the ball from areas of the pitch where the opposition is happy for us to have it into areas where they dont want it to be. That is how Zubi plays and the role he has in a team.
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Big factor in that was Arsenal had been chasing him for much longer than we had with Wenger already having spoken to him at the previous World Cup while there on TV duties.
See, tapping up players has always been part of the game 
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Brighton and Bournemouth do it by hedging their bets across quite a few lads in that category, and they don’t mind if it costs them points waiting to see which one comes good. We just look at a player like Baliba, and don’t notice the three or four similar punts who didn’t make it.
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Up his arse?
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He’s a good player and won’t look out of place at Arsenal. However, he won’t move the dial from where they are now to champions.
They need a striker, and probably a mentality overhaul… which is down to the manager, who is a strange one indeed.
If they get the striker and don’t win the title, that’s 6 years of Arteta ball, no big trophy, a billion spent and a lot of patience extended. At that point they might realize that Lego head is the problem, but we are not quite there yet. Not en masse, anyway.
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Legoman, for all his faults, is not the fundamental problem.
The reason why Arsenal haven’t won anything is because there have been two demonstrably superior teams in the UK and several more in Europe.
It’s just unrealistic expectations from many Arsenal fans: in recent years, they have sometimes been better than Liverpool, and occasionally better than City, but never better than both at the same time.
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Personally I don’t think he is anything special.
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I hear you, he has had two great teams to overcome, at one time or another.
But hand on heart, is he getting the most from his vast array of expensively acquired talent? Not for me. He isn’t really adding a lot at this point, and to my mind, half a dozen managers could match what he is doing given his circumstances.
Great managers take everything at their disposal and make it more. Arteta is not that. Maybe in his sixth year he will show that he is?
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FIFY
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If you look at recent history, Arsenal is a better and better team the last few seasons, but not resilient enough.
I would find it absurd if they sacked their manager. Sure, maybe there is a better one, but that is totally a pure lottery ticket for them.
Personally, I try to be objective and I think Arteta is probably a very good coach. Arsenal is 5th in Net Spend the last few years, achieving slightly better than they should according to the cash (We are tremendous overarchivers there). Obviously, money isn’t everything, but I don’t understand why or how anyone can truly complain about Arteta when he takes them Top 3 and even gets to the semi finals in the Champions League. That’s a strong season, despite no titles.
But maybe you are right. I don’t know for sure, but I note that other managers and coaches have very kind words for Arteta.
If they sack him and buy a lottery ticket, what should they then expect ? Many of the best managers on paper, will fail (see Manchester United for good examples of very good managers failing to lift them up). His era does not look to be one of many titles though, true enough. But will they win the league with the next guy who must overhaul the team and implement own style of play ? I think the chance will be probably less than staying with Arteta.
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I think he is definitely a very good coach. My sense is he has lost his way a bit, trying to find marginal gains and forgetting what made them - almost - great.
As a leader of men he is showing himself to be lacking, at least if his recent comments are anything to go by.
Not nearly enough to sack him, but at some point, if your goal is to win the Premier League, and/or the Champions League, a sober assessment is needed.
He definitely gets a 6th year. Let’s see what they do.
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