Today’s most important conclusion is simple:
I mean it.
“Arsenal played against ten men, crazy, what are you talking about?”
Exactly my point. In all seriousness, eleven-man Chelsea beat us. If it weren’t for the madness of a midfielder trying to be a modern day Roy Keane, I think we could be licking our wounds today.
No one wants to hear me bleat about this, but I’m going to… life at the highest level is about hard choices. Quite simply, unless you are extremely lucky, you can’t have everything.
Prioritizing, even though it is an excruciatingly boring part of management, is an advantage. A marginal game. The difference between good and great. Leaders with bravado, machismo, and reality distortion can drive people to extraordinary endeavors… but at some point the laws of physics kick in and reality bites.
Arteta is probably the best coach in the world right now. But he cannot set priorities when it comes to team management. It’s his Achilles heel (ambiguous work here). This is a man who believes that mental strength and physical strength are linked.
“Look at the top players in the world. They play seventy matches every three days and make the difference and win the match. You want to be at the top, that should be possible.”
“I want them to be ruthless every three days. I want them to knock on my door.” [saying]’I want to play, I want to win the game’. There isn’t a fitness coach in the world that’s going to tell me they can’t do it because I’ve seen it.”
The difference between Klopp and Arne Slot was mainly in the management of the burden, and this was reflected when Slot won the Premier League in his first season with a team that looked ready the year before. The difference between Arteta and Slot last season was also the same. Slot was hired because he had a history of working with small squads and maximizing them without breaking them. He kept old dogs fit, Arteta ended the season with 3 hamstring injuries to young players that were so bad they required surgery.
The hope this season was that he would get a deep roster and be rotated heavily. That seemed to be the case for a while, but now that we’re deep into the season and we’re winning, Arteta seems to be returning to his old ways.
The rest of this blog explores Arsenal’s problems, some of the poor performances, and why I think they will be fine. If you want to become a member, you have a special Cyber Monday Deal. X
#WARNING #SIGNALS #FLASH #ARTETA