Cultural Review Another Ready-Made Safety Net for Arteta

Arsenal's latest "cultural review" is just another safety net for Mikel Arteta.

Saliba Syndrome

William Saliba vs. Mikel Arteta is a modern-day cold war. Or so it seems. Nobody's certain what exactly is going on with Saliba, who is supposed to be Arsenal's centre-back for a glorious future, except for the small detail that he can't get on the pitch for his parent club. Saliba's status has quickly become…

Arsenal Still Cleaning up Post-Wenger Mess

Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac are gone. Sokratis Papastathopoulos has followed. It's taking a while, but Arsenal are steadily cleaning up the mess left by the post-Arsene Wenger regime. It's become common for some to blame every problem Arsenal face on Wenger's alleged negligence. That logic probably comes from the same serve-soup-with-a-fork dingbats who said…

Zaha, Pepe and Arsenal’s Transfer Snobbery

Wilfried Zaha could've signed for Arsenal in 2019. Instead, Nicolas Pepe arrived from Lille and has since flopped, while Zaha stayed at Crystal Palace, where he's gone from strength to strength. There are a myriad of reasons why Arsenal ended up with Pepe instead of Zaha. Snobbery in the transfer market is one of the…

Manor Solomon a Very Wenger-Like Rumour

The setup was a familiar one in Arsene Wenger's day. Arsenal had a need at a particular position. The club was promptly linked with every available and familiar player who fit the description. Then came the name from the left field, the name few expected and even fewer were familiar with. Wenger's not in charge…

Arsenal’s Kroenke Tonk Man

Arsenal have asked for more. Please, Sir... The club's been given more, in the form of a government loan of £120 million to help with running costs during the Covid-19 pandemic. A few million to help keep the lights on. Well, okay, more than a few, but isn't this something that should come from a…

Arsenal Look More Like Arsenal Again – At Least Off the Pitch

Huss Fahmy's on his bike. The man who somehow parlayed a job with Team Sky cycling into being the guy who handled Arsenal's contracts is set to leave. Fahmy was one of the few remaining executive superstars (in name only) who were supposed to herald an exciting new era after Arsene Wenger left in 2018.…

Arteta/Edu Blame Game is Unconvincing

Arsenal's blame game is starting earlier than usual this season. The lack of creativity isn't Arteta's fault. It's Edu's, apparently. Arteta wanted Lyon's Houssem Aouar, the elegantly schemer worrying compared to Samir Nasri. Problem was Arsenal's technical director felt Thomas Partey was the better signing. Arsenal could only afford one, and Edu ultimately won the…

Precision Scouting Key to Arsenal’s Bouncebackability

August has been Arsenal's month of the long knives, and it began with a purge of the club's scouting department. Prominent player-spotting gurus like Francis Cagigago were shown the door in a cull smashed on top of 55 redundancies for administrative staff. Decimating a global scouting network naturally raised concerns about Arsenal's ability to bat…

Palace Intrigue is Becoming Arsenal’s Favourite Pastime

Arsenal is barely a football club anymore. Instead, this once-proud institution represents little more than a series of palace coups played out in excruciating detail for the edification of a baying public. Some coups are bloodless, some are bloodier than a lazy afternoon spent with Richard III. Raul Sanllehi's exit from north London, along with…