Arsenal Football Club

[Richie97]

Manu_Graz schrieb vor 5 Stunden:

Starkes Spiel, wohl eines der besten diese Saison. Tierneys Schuss war auch geil und hätte sich ein Tor verdient gehabt.

Die nächsten 3 Spiele auch "eher einfach". Heuer noch 7 Punkte holen und ich bin zufrieden.

Heuer ohne Covid-Absage und 7 Punkten durchkommen und ich bin zufrieden.

[froehlix]

Wow Martinelli, kommt jetzt endlich seine Zeit? Traum Kicker

[Jay Gooner]

froehlix schrieb vor 1 Minute:

Wow Martinelli, kommt jetzt endlich seine Zeit? Traum Kicker

und ermöglicht wurde das von Aubameyang, bester Kapitän einfach  

[schooontn]

Ich hab das Spiel zwar nicht gesehen, aber wenn sie da ähnlich beinand waren wie heute wundert es mich dass City Leeds keine 10 Buden gemacht hat. 

[huawaJ]

froehlix schrieb vor 29 Minuten:

Wow Martinelli, kommt jetzt endlich seine Zeit? Traum Kicker

https://www.sport1.de/news/internationaler-fussball/premier-league/2019/11/juergen-klopp-schwaermt-von-gabriel-martinelli-als-jahrhunderttalent

 

ich hoffe einfach nur, der bleibt langfristig halbwegs verletzungsfrei. von den anlagen her einfach ein wahnsinn.

[Jay Gooner]

huawaJ schrieb am 18.12.2021 um 19:30 :

https://www.sport1.de/news/internationaler-fussball/premier-league/2019/11/juergen-klopp-schwaermt-von-gabriel-martinelli-als-jahrhunderttalent

 

ich hoffe einfach nur, der bleibt langfristig halbwegs verletzungsfrei. von den anlagen her einfach ein wahnsinn.

 

decision making noch sehr ausbaufähig allerdings ist mir in dem spiel wieder aufgefallen, first touch auch noch weit weg von spitze. aber er hat ja noch zeit

 

Hier ne aktuelle Inside story zu der Auba gschicht, wen's interessiert

Inside the fall of captain Aubameyang – and what it means for him and Arsenal

 

Spoiler

There is a wall of shelves opposite the manager’s desk in Mikel Arteta’s office at London Colney. It is a space adorned by mementoes and photographs of successes, and perched among them is a perfect mini-replica of the silverware won in the name of Arsenal. It was a gift from the captain, the matchwinner, the goalscorer supreme at Wembley that summer. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang commissioned a set of reproductions of the FA Cup and Community Shield to give to every member of the squad and staff involved. Such a touch was appreciated by all, including Arteta, who could not have asked for too much more from his striker as an example at the time.

 

Less than a year and a half later, that relationship is now strained almost to breaking point. After a disciplinary breach at the weekend saw Aubameyang dropped from the match-day squad, Arteta and Arsenal have now stripped the 32-year-old of the captaincy.

Events have accelerated since Aubameyang failed to return from a trip to France on Wednesday, as agreed. With COVID-19 cases on the rise, Arteta had previously told the squad that all travel abroad was banned. Aubameyang was granted special dispensation as his mother has been suffering from health problems, it was a small travel window of 24 hours, and he has not been in good form. Having made this exception for the striker, the news he had still returned late was particularly poorly received.

After the victory over Southampton, the first team had a day off on Sunday. On Monday, Aubameyang was asked to report to London Colney for meetings with the club. He did so alone: due to COVID-19 protocols, he was not accompanied by representatives or family members.

First Aubameyang met with technical director Edu and chief executive Vinai Venkatesham, before a one-to-one with Arteta. The manager has since stressed the importance of discussing matters with the player “eye to eye”. Both meetings were relatively brief, and it is in this second meeting with Arteta that the issue of the captaincy was addressed. The manager was speaking from a position of strength: support for his stance goes right to the very top of the club.

For Aubameyang, there was considerable shock. Family is important to him. His mother lives in Laval, with no direct airport connections to London. Travelling there and back in a single day, with the requisite COVID-19 testing, was a complex feat — even with the help of a private jet.

Arteta spoke in his press conference yesterday of an overwhelming feeling of “sadness”. For a player and manager who have shared some soaring highs, this acrimonious encounter must have felt akin to a divorce.

Aubameyang left those meetings on Monday with a clear understanding of Arsenal’s intention to remove him as captain — but only when it was made official, with the club’s statement on Tuesday, would the reality have sunk in. Almost simultaneously, the first-team squad were told in a team meeting at the training ground. The mood was not substantially altered. By and large, the focus for footballers remains on the next game.

Arsenal were angered by Aubameyang’s failure to return from France at the agreed time, but the wording of their statement makes clear that this is not an isolated incident: “Following his latest disciplinary breach last week, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will no longer be our club captain, and will not be considered for selection for Wednesday’s match against West Ham United. We expect all our players, particularly our captain, to work to the rules and standards we have all set and agreed.”

 

In his press conference, Arteta also verbally referred to the most recent events as the “last incident” with the player.

This punishment, then, appears cumulative. Last autumn, The Athletic revealed Aubameyang had been fined for missing a COVID-19 test before a Europa League fixture. In February 2021, he was “reminded of his responsibilities” after he broke COVID-19-related regulations to have a tattoo. Then, in March, he was left on the substitutes’ bench after reporting late for the north London derby.

This most recent indiscretion is the fourth that has become public, but even then, it is understood to be part of a broader pattern of behaviour. Aubameyang’s habitual issues with punctuality skirt the boundaries of indiscipline. When other players are adhering to the behavioural code it’s vital the captain does too. For some, the France trip was merely the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Aubameyang is a very popular figure in certain quarters of the club, but even among those who admire him, there have been questions over his suitability for the captaincy. Some close to Arsenal felt his appointment was a mistake in the first place. Aubameyang is not a tub-thumping orator or on-field coach. Instead, he is expected to lead by example — and of late, those standards have slipped.

He is also not naturally inclined to engage with the wider responsibilities of the role. Fans may have noticed that this season, the captain’s notes have been dropped from Arsenal’s official match-day programme. This was in part because the captain, Aubameyang, became increasingly unreliable when it came to providing time to give input to the column. Those pages have now been replaced with “Official Voice”, in which fans hear from other significant figures within the club.

Aubameyang did, though, inherit the armband under unusual circumstances when it was stripped from the previous skipper Granit Xhaka in November 2019. At the time, the striker was almost the default choice: it is not a role he asked for. Recently, the captaincy had begun to feel like a curse.

 

He remained an important, influential figure in the dressing room. Team-mates were grateful for the role he played in organising a group meal and party on November 9. At his best, he remains an ebullient, positive, and social character.

It is less than four weeks ago that Arteta eulogised about his attitude during a pre-match interview. “I have never seen Auba transmit what he is doing now,” the Arsenal manager said on October 25. “Apart from the goals, do you see the way he runs, the purpose he has to press the ball, and when he takes it his movement, his link (play), how he is leading the game? I prefer this Auba. For me, it is a click. It is a combination that realising that his role has to go well beyond that.”

Either Arteta was mistaken or what had “clicked” has since unclicked. The overriding impression of Aubameyang is that although it’s possible to make a case that he is a bad captain, he is certainly not a bad person.

Thomas Tuchel managed Aubameyang at Borussia Dortmund, where he also struggled with punctuality. He was formally disciplined on at least one occasion but for the most part, they found ways to manage the situation. If the team were due to meet at 11am they would simply tell Aubameyang it started at 10.45am. “He did not miss a single training session in two years,” Tuchel explained this year. “Maybe he arrived five minutes late, that can happen with him, but if he does this, he is in a hurry, he has excuses, he is sorry and he has still a smile on his face. That’s him, and it’s hard to be mad with the guy. He has a big heart.”

These minor infractions are the kinds of things that happen in all dressing rooms. Perhaps a more experienced manager than Arteta would have found a way to work around Aubameyang’s idiosyncrasies. For all the questions surrounding the former head of football Raul Sanllehi, he had a facility for smoothing over these kinds of conflict.

At the same time, it’s worth pointing out that Dortmund never sought to make Aubameyang captain. Arteta inherited Aubameyang as captain but did meet with the Gabon international before confirming he would continue in the role. In the first few months, that looked like a wise move. Now, less so.

Last season, Arsenal experienced problems with the punctuality of certain young players in the squad. The captain should arguably set a better example. As Arteta said last week, “The senior players must lead, and the younger players will follow.”

Aubameyang is due to return to London Colney today. The ball is in his court. If he does not report, then the speculation about his future will only increase.

Tuchel’s words do suggest that in the right circumstances, surrounded by the right characters, Aubameyang has a positive contribution to make to almost any dressing room. It’s difficult, however, to ascertain if that remains possible at Arsenal. There may be too much damage done, too much water under the bridge. The fear is that in losing Aubameyang as captain, Arsenal run the risk of losing him entirely.

James McNicholas, David Ornstein and Amy Lawrence

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Who will be captain in the long term? 

Alexandre Lacazette is expected to captain the side in Arsenal’s Premier League match against West Ham today. The Frenchman took the armband in Aubameyang’s absence in the 3-0 win over Southampton at the weekend and was namechecked by Arteta as a member of the “leadership group”.

“We have the leadership group and we have different players who have been nominated to be captain,” the Arsenal manager said. “In the last game it was ‘Laca’, we had Granit Xhaka who has been captain as well, so we will follow that.”

While it has been more likely to see them given the armband when Aubameyang has been substituted, both have started with it this season. Xhaka was captain in Arsenal’s first two league games against Brentford and Chelsea, while Lacazette was skipper in the League Cup win over Wimbledon.

Like Aubameyang, both are understood to be highly influential, well-liked figures within the dressing room. Xhaka received the armband after a player vote under Unai Emery in 2019 and Lacazette is routinely highlighted by youngsters as a player who helps guide their progression.

More will be expected of the next Arsenal captain (short- or long-term) than being a likeable character, however. The way Aubameyang led was questioned in a way it has not been with Lacazette or Xhaka.

 

Xhaka is part of the leadership group at Arsenal (Photo: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

This has been evident with the Frenchman, even when he has not started games — most notably when he came off the bench against Crystal Palace to help turn the game around. In that game, Lacazette did not just lead by example, but he also actively tried to involve the home crowd in Arsenal’s push for an equaliser, which he scored.

Xhaka had his presence as one of the side’s more vocal leaders elevated by the lack of fan noise in behind-closed-doors games. Having been stripped of the armband just before Arteta’s arrival, he was initially brought back into the Premier League set-up by Freddie Ljungberg before the Spaniard set to make him a key part of his Arsenal side.

“The key for a player is to understand Arteta, his philosophy and how he wants to play,” the Switzerland international said in February. “I understood this game very quickly. He’s putting me in the positions where I have freedom, where I have the game in front of me. This is what I like.

“That’s very positive from the coach. He can see how the players like to play, and he saw that very quickly in me.”

Xhaka also publicly admitted he would think twice if offered the permanent captaincy again but Arteta has made his thoughts on the midfielder clear. Even if he will not return as official captain, Xhaka will have influence as one of the squad’s leaders.

But beyond these players, who forms part of Arsenal’s “leadership group”?

The exact make-up and number are understood to be fluid, with Arteta admitting as much. “That leadership group can alter and you can have people coming in and out,” he said, with the manager failing to give names. However, Xhaka is believed to be one name that is included, with Rob Holding, who took the armband after Lacazette was taken off against Southampton, another. It is unlikely the 26-year-old would be a candidate as primary captain as he is not a regular starter following the emergence of Ben White and Gabriel as a pairing, but he will be a player trusted in the leadership group.

Upon signing his new contract in January, it was made clear that Arteta trusted Holding to help create the culture he desired among staff as well as players. Even if he is not guaranteed to be in the XI, that dynamic will be important for the squad in the future.

Of the other candidates, Martin Odegaard’s name sticks out and he could become involved, with the core of leaders set to be tweaked again in the new year, according to sources close to the club. The 22-year-old is captain of Norway and won Arteta over extremely quickly during his loan spell at Arsenal last season, partially as a result of those leadership qualities.

Supporters have raised names such as Aaron Ramsdale, Gabriel and Kieran Tierney. All are very popular inside and outside the club but they are less likely candidates. Ramsdale and Gabriel fit the vocal mould but are relatively inexperienced, whereas Tierney has not been available as often as his counterparts despite the example he sets when he does play.

By deciding against officially naming Aubameyang’s successor but naming two short-term options, Arteta may be biding his time. Lacazette’s contract expires in the summer and may complicate matters, but along with Xhaka, he offers the Arsenal manager dependable options while a long-term decision is made.

Art de Roche and David Ornstein

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What now for Aubameyang?

Arteta and Aubameyang have always liked each other and got along well. The Spaniard fought so hard to keep the striker at the club during that fateful summer of 2020, at the point of a whacking great contract extension. Arteta urged Aubameyang to think about his legacy, and deepening the roots of history he was making at Arsenal.

The present and future now look shaky. Aubameyang is having to come to terms with a serious blow and will inevitably need some time and space to work out how best to respond. Aubameyang has an executive box at the Emirates where he tends to watch matches when not involved, but it is unclear whether he will feel up to making an appearance for the West Ham game.

The next few days will be revealing for the player and the club. Although Aubameyang has a fully loaded gym at home to work on his fitness, the club has a duty of care to offer him elite training. It is expected he will rejoin the squad. The armband might have gone but — once the West Ham game is out of the way — the capacity to fight for a place in the team has not. Sometimes players on the periphery, for one reason or another — because of a long-term injury, for example — train at a different time to the main group.

Arteta was careful not to put a timeframe on Aubameyang’s absence. Beyond West Ham, Arsenal have three more fixtures before Aubameyang is due to report for duty with Gabon at the Africa Cup of Nations — Leeds away on Saturday, Sunderland at home in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday and Norwich away on Boxing Day.

Arsenal are obligated to watch very carefully how this plays out because the rest of their season, and how they deal with the bigger picture of this Aubameyang problem, depends on that. If he is involved on some level then the striker situation for the rest of the campaign is less urgent. If there is no sign of Aubameyang on the pitch before he leaves for an international tournament, how can the club feel confident he will return after several weeks and be certain he can play an important part in the remainder of the season?

This move is a club move, not just an Arteta move. If Arsenal felt they could risk alienating their major striker, even if he is off-form, they will have done so with full acceptance of the consequences. It may demand activity in the January window because if a contribution from Aubameyang is not on the cards for the second part of the season, the squad will be very light in attack. Lacazette tends not to play a full 90 minutes. Eddie Nketiah has been used very sparingly and is expected to leave soon. Folarin Balogun has promise but lacks experience. Gabriel Martinelli is not necessarily seen as the answer at centre-forward, where there is so much more hold-up and all-round play required —Arteta regards him as more of a winger. Arsenal have three Premier League goals from that quartet this season.

 

Arteta with Balogun, who is yet to consistently play for the first team (Photo: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Action in January needs ruthless consideration. But they cannot wait until late in the window to decide what their options are. That is why the next 12 days feel so significant for how they tackle any winter transfer opportunities, whether that means loans or bringing forward some of the targets they are scouting for a summer move.

Some may wonder whether this is some kind of ploy to try to get Aubameyang to leave before the end of his contract but this is not an exact sequel of the Mesut Ozil scenario. Although Aubameyang’s lax approach to regulations has cost him the captaincy, he is still very well-liked at the club. Ozil’s presence became far more political and created a different kind of tension as he wound down his deal until an agreement was found to end it.

This situation feels like Armageddon for Aubameyang right now, but there is enough precedent to suggest he will return. Arsenal have an abundant recent history of players coming back from the brink. Xhaka, most infamously, endured a similar ignominy when it came to the captaincy, his emotions augmented by the crowd’s opprobrium and hate for him and his family on social media. It seemed inevitable for him to leave, only for the rehabilitation to include full integration back into the team and his current role as one of Arteta’s most trusted leaders. Ozil spent time in the deep freeze, only for relations to thaw and bring about a period back in the team (before he was frozen out again).

Never doesn’t always mean never in football.

 

Schließ mich dem einen comment an, dass wenn Auba eh nicht so heiß auf die Kapitänsrolle war, ihn das wohl wenig stören wird. Wichtiger wird da wohl eh das grundsätzliche Verhältnis zum Manager und der Clubführung sein

bearbeitet 20. Dezember 2021 von Jay Gooner

[Jay Gooner]

das 3-1 und 4-1 von Nketiah ein Traum! v.a. das 3-1 saugeil gemacht. Abschließen kann er ja, ich bin bei ihm innerlich echt zerrissen, weiß nicht wie ichs finden soll wenn er uns verlässt. Dass sein Vertrag im Sommer ausläuft is jedenfalls eine Schande, dass mans dazu kommen hat lassen.

[themanwhowasntthere]

Freut mich fürn charlie-bub.

[Jay Gooner]

themanwhowasntthere schrieb vor 18 Stunden:

Freut mich fürn charlie-bub.

 

mich auch, fand ihn schon in Road Trip sehr sympathisch

 

 

[Jay Gooner]

für 17m Pfund not bad. 

schad dass wir net bissi früher angefangen haben so zu rekrutieren wie heuer

[dialsquare]

4:0

Rennt bei uns

[froehlix]

Nur Norwich, aber unsere jungen vorne sind so gut. Martinelli wieder eine Monsterpartie, Saka Doppelpack, Odegaard 2 Assists, ESR kommt rein und spielt den Traumpaas vorm Elfer, das macht schon Spaß

Und bei Tierney freuts einen ganz besonders wenn er einmal trifft

Edit - natürlich auch das Abseitstor von Martinelli erwähnenswert, war der abgefälscht? Sonst wars nämlich ziemlich Alexis-esque

Und jetzt ESR auch wieder

bearbeitet 26. Dezember 2021 von froehlix

[schooontn]

@themanwhowasntthere Danke!

[Manu_Graz]

Starkes Spiel, man hatte nie das Gefühl, dass es kippen könnte. Auch White auf der ungewohnten Position ganz ordentlich. Anfang 2.Halbzeit dann einige Fehlpässe bzw hohe Bälle nach vorne die ins Nichts gespielt wurden aber das war ok heute. Mit einem Heimsieg gegen die Wolves könnte man das Jahr perfekt abschließen. 

Warum Elneny wieder Minuten bekommt, verstehe ich jedoch nicht. Ich mag ihn ja sehr aber da hätte ich Sambi eher noch die 15 Minuten gegeben nach Corona.

[themanwhowasntthere]

schooontn schrieb am 26.12.2021 um 17:57 :

@themanwhowasntthere Danke!

Wenns jetzt auch noch gegen City was hilft, schau ich wohl nie wieder ein Spiel.