THIS IS ARSENAL
That brittleness of Wenger's team, post-invincibles, is no longer there since Arteta came on board. Those 50/50 balls Arsenal will most likely miss pre-Arteta; oh no Arteta's team won't have that, they are no slouches and it's been like that for years.
But some credit to the past bosses. A certain Jack Wilshere breathed on that academy and gave Skelly, Nwaneri and the rest of them, the kind of lion heart he had as a player, when he coached them with aplomb in the Arsenal youth team. Those kids, not just Skelly and Nwaneri, are fearless.
It's worth noting that Jack Wilshere is an Arsene Wenger boy.
Then Unai Emery, he trusted Saka and was bold enough to give him his first invite to the first team.
To be balanced in judgement, Arteta was too tentative with these kids, injuries and more injuries is what forced his hand to bring in Nwaneri, then Skelly.
Home stretch
To finish up, yes Arteta brought in exceptional solidity and organisation all around the pitch( to put it more correctly). It's not the solidity of a low-block side, waiting to counter, this is a side that pressures your back line with their precision pressing.
Then there is a word called, "belief", that many might underrate.
Why did they lose to Bayern Munich in last season's quarters? It wasn't a lack of solidity, attacking nous or fatigue but a lack upstairs, yeah a mental thing. Which in other words, can be called belief.
This team has grown mentally since then and that's one key reason I was relaxed before that second leg against Real Madrid yesterday, I knew Arsenal are mentality monsters now.
It's this mentality factor that made Arteta bring in Partey, Jorginho, Zinchenko and former West Ham captain, Declan Rice, amongst others. Yeh some aren't in the first eleven, but football is beyond just who starts.
Arteta had solved the mentality deficit in the EPL a few years back, but it took him a little longer to solve the one of the Champions league, hence that loss to Bayern last term.
But right now and even before yesterday, you could see it. Even in that match, Arsenal lost 1 nil to Inter Milan in the league phase of the Champions league, I kept praising these two qualities about Arsenal and some people taught I was crazy. Alas, these two qualities have ousted Real Madrid now.
It was a solid 5–1 domination of Real Madrid, beating them soundly home and away.
Big ups, the Arsenal. Cheers to men like @amirtheawesome1, @belemo , @typebox, @stevenson7 .
Buh I told you in September 2024, @blanchy,
"My mind is on the best teams like City and Madrid, not Tot. I'm not even worried about Atalanta, who are they?
THIS IS ARSENAL"
THIS IS ARSENAL
You're right about the mentality factor , it has changed a whole lot especially during this Arteta era . No room for mediocrity in the Arsenal since Arteta came on board . The fans might not have gotten what they want which is in term of titles but it's crystal clear obvious there's a path Arteta has created that will surely lead to this . Only time will do the telling !
Hmmn this your writing today just flows like gushing water. It's clear the joy behind it.
But seriously, you are saying it as it is. A clear change has happened in how the players think, we await the trophies.
Thanks for showing.
Blessings.
Spot on about the mentality part. We have to give credit to where credit is due. I was quite surprised as to how Real behaved pre game. It was as if they were sure to beat arsenal and then Arteta said something quite profound "we will do our talking on the pitch"
Profound 👏🏿
Hi bro, well don't be too surprised about Madrid pre-game, it's the quality of their mentality.
Infact that tie displayed how they think..you saw Vinicius Jnr as he celebrated that goal with an expression of "we will upturn this", not minding how late it was in the game and how that he scored through a defensive slip.
It's their mentality on display. It's just that Arsenal were ready.
Thanks for visiting.
Cheers