It’s a pretty windy morning in Dublin after a stormy night. If you’re in the UK, I think it’s headed your way. So be careful.
Today we’ll start with Mikel Arteta and his press conference yesterday. Quite often, and quite deliberately, these things tend to be quite bland. He’s a guy who tries not to give much away, whether it’s injury news or anything else, and his practice generally involves hitting everything with a straight bat. He is happy to provide information and his opinion on a particular point, but he doesn’t want headlines or courtroom arguments.
So when he was asked questions yesterday – as might be expected after the midweek attack – the question about Arsenal being the best team at set-pieces stood out a bit. Here is his answer:
We want to be king of everything. The best in the world at set pieces, the best in the world at high pressure, and the best in the world at open space attacks. We want the best atmosphere in the stadium and we want to be the best in everything.
We want to be the best in everything. We want the best academy, the best personal development for our players, the best player recruitment and the best coaches. That’s the goal.
Later, when asked how close he thought we were to achieving that goal, he continued:
Very far. I don’t think there has ever been a team that has achieved something like that. Do you think the stadium atmosphere is the best in the world? Not yet. Have we improved a lot? huh. Do we have the best academy in the world? Not yet. Do we have the best thinking in the world? Not yet.
We want to achieve that. Are we the most physical team in the world? no. Is there a top individual who can create a magical moment every three days? No, it’s in progress.
I have to say I like that way of thinking. Some may scoff, and I’m sure there are experts and others who will use this word when things don’t go the way we want (and let’s not forget this is inevitable in football): A stick to hit him with. Of course, it says a lot about how the game is covered in today’s media environment, but if you’re an Arsenal fan, how could you not agree with his words?
Isn’t this what every soccer fan wants? To help their team be the best… in every way! Having that level of ambition means you can never be satisfied. Because reality will always fall short somewhere. But the constant drive for improvement is to maintain and exceed the level already reached.
Think of a word or phrase you already associate with Arteta. His ‘foggin estandards’ or ‘non-negotiables’. This is just part of the mindset he expanded on yesterday. I think what I have to say is that when our manager, who has worked for five years and has developed the team and the club in so many ways, is in a position to be taken seriously when he says something like this. If you heard this from Erik Ten Hag when he was at Manchester United or Ange Postecoglu now, you’d have a right to laugh, but not from Arteta.
His drive and determination were evident from day one. As long as you’re with him, you’re in, but the moment he decides you’re no longer useful, you’re out. You may not always get along, but that ruthlessness can pay dividends. We liked Aaron Ramsdale but ditched him for David Raya and now no one can argue with that decision from a football perspective. There were other casualties along the way (he was very interesting, by the way, about how letting Vieira and Smith Rowe go would make room for Ethan Nwaneri). There’s more to come, but if the end result is the better team winning more games, it’ll be hard to argue.
It’s a heavy thing, a crown etc, but that’s what Arteta wants and I hope he gets it. Because if he does, he will have the trophy we all crave.
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I finally got to mention this today. Jose Mourinho said about Pep Guardiola:
I want to win, but I want to win cleanly and fairly. If you can’t win cleanly, it’s better to lose. Guardiola said this to me. He won six trophies and I won three, but I won fair and clean. If I lose, I want to congratulate my opponent for doing better than me. I don’t want to win by handling 150 cases.
It’s a bit funny on the surface, but let’s not overlook the fact that he was Chelsea manager for many years. A club that was essentially a gateway for Manchester City and other players because of what Roman Abramovich did and how he did it. We wouldn’t have this Manchester City if Chelsea hadn’t come to power because of the money that was spilled to revive them when they were on their knees. Simply put, Mourinho can stab his saint more than you can spank his ass.
you’re right. That’s it for today. Join the Fulham Preview podcast this morning on Patreon.
Until then.
