Agreed.
Yes, true to a certain extent, but I also think that Arteta saw this as a sort of vindication of his position (strong support) for Havertz, and for having actually bought him and brought him to the Emirates in the first place.
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The 2023-2024 Football Thread
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Everton fans will be feeling especially aggrieved, following the (imo unfair) points deduction, and now losing at home to Man U like that. A win today would have set them up to get out of the bottom 3, and stick two fingers up to the FA.
Did they not deserve defeat?
Manchester United put three goals past them, (one of which was a classic).
In fact, I'm not sure that they (Everton) had a decent shot on goal - or had created a credible goal-scoring chance, or opportunity, - at any stage during the game.
Oh defintiely, they were crap. But they've been hard done by the FA. Especially as Chelsea andCity are so far escaping any form of punishment for far worse. Plus it's Man U.
I thought Olise’s goal for Palace yesterday was better, but agree it was a good goal and win.
Yes; the old bicycle kick looks spectacular, and is indeed hard to pull off, but does require a big dollop of luck for it to go in. Olise's goal was better in the sense it was a great run, superb composure and balance, then a fantastic shot. Many wil go for the spectacular though.
What makes a great goal is pretty subjective, though you're right that people tend to go for the spectacular finish over the superb setup. There are some goals where it's all about the run and the setup far more than the finish itself — Maradona's "goal of the century" against England being the shining example in my mind.
The Ramsdale narrative is getting boring frankly. Not sure why the media keep banging on about it. No player has a God-given right to start.
Ok he's English but he is not even first-choice for England.
And this whole trend of parents coming out to cry for English players that have (usually) been rightly dropped or criticised is stupid.
Yes he has been mostly good for Arsenal but he has had shaky moments (Southampton, Fulham) as well. But people conveniently forget this.
And he only kept a clean sheet yesterday because Rice and Zinchenko made off the line clearances. So its kinda ridiculous to expect Arteta to say something.
Part of the reason Arsenal didn't get over the line last season, is because they kept conceding throughout the season. Allowing the likes of Liverpool, West Ham, and S'oton to take points off them.
Mikel is clearly trying to address that, and so far its working (best defence in the league)
Lastly, Ramsdale came in for a certain Leno, who had also not done much wrong. But no one bat an eyelid then.
But once its an Englishman, the media won't shut up. And there i say, they're the reason the two Arsenal keepers currently feel under pressure when they play.
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As for United's overall performance, maybe they were a bit lucky. Everton was on good form and United always struggle at Goodison Park under the best circumstances. Garnacho scored a worldie, then United slacked a bit and Everton had some good spells but couldn't make it pay for various reasons. United were better overall in the second half. The penalty to Martial was soft, but the correct call: the ref initially gave Martial a yellow for simulation, but Ashley Young did make enough contact for it to count.
I'd say 0-3 flattered United, but they were certainly good enough for the points today.
I was highly pleased with Kobbie Mainoo's performance in midfield: both his defensive presence and energy and his ball progression and passing are exactly what United's been missing all season. He looked like a seasoned pro at all of 18 years old. A kid that young will have his ups and downs, but he needs to be the first name on the team sheet.
I'd say 0-3 flattered United, but they were certainly good enough for the points today.
I was highly pleased with Kobbie Mainoo's performance in midfield: both his defensive presence and energy and his ball progression and passing are exactly what United's been missing all season. He looked like a seasoned pro at all of 18 years old. A kid that young will have his ups and downs, but he needs to be the first name on the team sheet.
Maradona's goal will always be seen as the best ever by many fan's of the game because of the competition he did it in but Ryan Giggs solo goal against Arsenal in the 1999 FA Cup Semi Final is just as good, some might say even better because he picked up an Arsenal cross field pass well into his own half and from well within his own half he went on a solo run resulting in a goal. Arsenal's team was just as strong as the England team was that Maradona faced, Arsenal coming second in the league only a point behind United.
But as you say, what makes a great goal is pretty subjective.
I’ve read very little about it other than in here. Are you sure it’s the media and not just in your feed because you keep reading about it?
Reminds me of a funny story. Years ago when media meant printed newspapers I worked near Birmingham with a Villa fan. He told me that Villa was one of the biggest clubs in the country as there was loads of coverage in the national newspapers.
I had to tell him the coverage was regional and if you bought a London copy of the same newspaper the articles would be about London clubs.
You make some very good points.
And remember, Arsenal also sold Emi Martínez - who had performed exceptionally well for the team when he stepped in for the injured Leno, Arsenal won the FA Cup with Martínez between the sticks - which was something that I have long considered a serious mistake.
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The London based (national) media tend to cover the London based clubs.
Personally, I think that Arteta could have defused and defanged this at the start of the season by stating that he had recruited two goalies with somewhat different skills that he would select as the challenges of specific games in specific competitions required, rather than clearly signalling that individual players are "in" or "out".
Now, Ramsdale's father's outburst was simply media giving oxygen to a story and should never have treated seriously - and here, I agree entirely with @Alphazoid.
Re Leno, I do think that Ramsdale was a considerable improvement on him, (but Martínez was far better than either of the pair of them).
If you are being treated like crap by your employer and the employee has confronted their boss about it but the boss does nothing or just dismisses the complaint out of hand, the employee should be very vocal about it. We see it nearly every day with employer and employees all over the world. Footballers are employee's but when they speak out or their family members speak out, the footballer is derided for doing so. Why do we allow everyday employee's the luxury of speaking out about their bosses but not footballers?
I think it’s harder to empathise with a football player on £100,000 a week compared to a cleaner on £23,000 a year.
No one should be called out publicly. But the situation is different. If my manager wants to sack me they have to go though the correct due process.
If a football manager wants a player out (for whatever reason), they have to try and sell them on rather than sack them (unless they are near the end of their contract).
By being very public about the situation, maybe Arteta is hoping other clubs may come knocking come January.
Agreed.
Again, agreed.
Yes, very true.
Agreed.
Agreed, but with a few caveats:
Firstly, I suspect that while Ramsdale may submit a transfer request come January, (which I think is the outcome that Arteta may prefer and is actively seeking, but a goalkeeper whose confidence has evaporated may not command as high a price as a goalie who is in demand), I also devoutly hope that he has a decent reserve goalie lined up as a potential replacement, should Raya (whom I am not entirely persuaded of re skills, and, above all, re judgment) end up absent through injury, either in training or as a result of a nasty foul, (which has happened to Leno in the past).
We sold Martínez, (granted, at a time when there was a lot of dead-wood in the club and I suspect that he may have been one of the few players we had at the time for whom there was a demand) and, this past summer, our reserve goalie, Matt Turner departed for Nottingham Forest.
I am not so sure that we have an embarrassment of riches in this department, and I do think that Ramsdale served the club well.
Not sure that he is what I have in mind.
Or, rather, I am sure that he is not what I would have in mind.
Not a bad back up for some club though. With Utd’s keeper off to the African Cup, I wonder if they are considering it?
Sky Sports, TNT, Talksport, BBC.
'Big moment for Ramsdale to prove his worth to Arteta'
Throughout the game especially after the howler they would inject something about Ramsdale. Post match it was 'Ramsdale kept a clean sheet'.
The other one they love talking about is Havertz.
Fair. Martinez was very good.
Because the actions of an individual can have a negative impact on the team. Football is a team game. Unity is strength. So actions by one individual can damage the team.
It's quite simple really.
Actually, while I do think that Arteta's "people" skills could do with some attention, @Alphazoid makes a fair point about perspective, and how the fact that Ramsdale is English seems to serve to render his treatment worse in the eyes of some commentators and media (and rather intemperate fans).
Klopp (who is famously empathetic) replaced Karius rather briskly after the disaster of the latter's egregious errors during the 2018 Champions' League final, - a debacle from which no return was possible - while, earlier still, almost Guardiola's very first action when he took charge at Manchester City was to discard (and replace) Joe Hart.
Klopp (who is famously empathetic) replaced Karius rather briskly after the disaster of the latter's egregious errors during the 2018 Champions' League final, - a debacle from which no return was possible - while, earlier still, almost Guardiola's very first action when he took charge at Manchester City was to discard (and replace) Joe Hart.