Cristiano Ronaldo loan to Arsenal in January makes perfect sense to stick it to Erik ten Hag and media | OneFootball

Cristiano Ronaldo would certainly be motivated to prove Erik ten Hag wrong

Arsenal cannot score; Cristiano Ronaldo has more goals than friends in Saudi Arabia. It’s the huge January transfer window loan which suits both parties.

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The slump continues So, three losses in a row with Arsenal missing out on half the chances for any silverware already.

Personally, I remain as chilled as I was last week. Something has to change and that change (or lack thereof) remains in Arteta’s hands. Even against a makeshift Liverpool I was not confident of a win and what transpired was more flattery to deceive. I liked the changes (Jorginho and Nelson in) and I certainly liked the vigorous level of pressing and aggression shown in the first half which Arsenal dominated. But, with the entire offense firing blanks yet gain, to what end?

The post-match fan debate has assigned blame to either Arteta or the players in pretty much equal measures. But I believe the buck always stops with the manager and in this case Arteta’s lack of man management. Last season Arteta ground the first eleven to the bone seldom trusting his bench. This season it’s been more of the same coupled with stifled, pedantic tactics in most games.

For instance, people have recently stated Saka is double teamed whenever on the ball. I am not sure what the hell they were watching but Saka was double teamed last season (as were the likes of Odegaard etc.). The difference being that was within a free flowing, fast breaking team. This year the fast attack has all but evaporated with players such as Saka getting tactically shut down time and again. I believe Arteta has sucked the confidence and life out of the entire attacking line.

It remains to be seen whether Arteta can turn this around and reinvigorate the players. I suspect he is too intense and rigid. When the team is winning, that is not a problem. However, after he himself has taken the team down a questionable path (Havertz, tactics etc.) I think we can all sense that this is culminating in a fraught season. It’s now become a cliché to ask when, for example, was the last time Saka played with a smile on his face?

This season is yet to be completely written off. If Arteta could accept he took things in the wrong direction and admits this to the players, he might yet re-instill confidence. But if he doesn’t, I think the players will feel they are in a pressure cooker situation of Arteta’s making, and increasingly resent the fact which will not bode well for anyone. Dom

Mikel Arteta on the touchline.

When we missed 427 chances in the first half,  you just knew liverpool would make us pay. We’re an excellent side until we get inside the 18 yard box. It’s putting so much pressure on our defenders as they must know by now, they can’t make a mistake as its likely a loss due to our inability to finish, but, aside from the bile Stevie spews, I’d say most Arsenal fans I know, are happy with our progress over the past 4 years.

My Canadian wifey has no interest in football but she used to ask who my favorite player was at the tail end of wenger/Emery years and I’d say I can’t stand half of them whereas I love most of this team. The expensive nobheads are gone. The Kroenkes are investing every season and for the most part we’ve got our business spot on (Vieira, Willian, and Tavares aside).

We’re back in the champions league, I wish we had won the league last year but come on, its man city every year, and will be again this year. We are one deadly striker away from elite.

One of our best performances this season was against man city at home, where did our “striker” play?  Jesus played wide right as saka was injured.

Once we get that striker, it opens up a lot of doors for us, we’d have Jesus as a back up striker, or either wing and can rotate. I honestly believe we’ll be ready next year. Chin up gooners.

Finally, I find Tickner and Will Ford to be dull and childish writers. Ford has the cheek to rip into Arteta considering some of those who have coached Chelsea over the past 15 years. Do better, or go get Daniel Storey back. Strevs, Afc, Canada

Instead of Lewandowski to Arsenal… How crazy are we feeling today mailbox? Think I have a potential solution to solve Arsenal’s insipid finishing as of late. It’s evident that we are not going to sign any of the top strikers in Europe this winter transfer window. The likes of Osinheim, Toney, Watkins will not leave their respective clubs unless a huge bid comes in, most likely in the summer.

Therefore I propose the following. Sign the top-scoring player of 2023 on a 6-month loan. A man that is deemed to be the ultimate professional, and will not be late to any of Arteta’s sessions (Not like you, Auba). A born winner, has experience, and most importantly of all, is literally the most clinical finisher in the history of the game.

That’s right, CR7 – Come to Arsenal for 6 months.

I genuinely think it might be a good fit. It’s only temporary so there is not enough time for the eventual Ronny Strop that normally happens 1 year in. He would like one last crack at the big time, motivated to prove Ten Hag and the British media wrong, A reasonable chance of silverware, and a chance to show this young team a bit of ruthless, clinical finishing along with the ultimate winning mentality needed to win at the highest level. Something Arsenal desperately needs!

The only downside I see is that this will make Piers Morgan extremely happy.

Feel free to pick holes in this mailbox. Henry (North London is SUIIIIII) Innes

A message to Stewie Given, as you say, Arsenal have a delusional fan base along with an incompetent board and, after the summer splurge, half an eye on FFP restrictions…….why the holy hell would Xabi Alonso go there?

If the rumours are true then Alonso has a clause in his contract that will allow him to leave for a former club so Real Madrid, Liverpool or Bayern Munich (or Real Sociedad but, y’know). Tuchel is contracted til 2025 and Klopp and Ancelotti 2026 so big jobs are on the horizon.

So, serious question, why would one of the brightest management prospects in European – possibly even world – football go to a place you regularly tell us is a trophyless, loser club that accepts mediocrity.

Good luck on the Beyoncé date though. Aim big, kid! Andy, London (via everywhere)

Headline news Watched the last few minutes of Sunderland vs Newcastle to amuse myself during a dull January weekend, managed to come up a literary based headline….

OG Ballard then concedes penalty as Sunderland CRASH out of the FA Cup….

Get me a job at one of the tabloids.  Not The Sun though. @rubym83 (Not old enough to remember City beating Hudds 10-1 when we were bad.)

Wanting more West Ham mails and… City fan here. Some random points from the FA cup weekend, and in no particular order.

*West Ham.  Firstly, and in my view, we don’t have nearly enough Hammers fans writing into the mailbox.  One of my best mates has been a season ticket holder since the seventies and he is not overly impressed with this season’s efforts so far but is willing to give Moyes the benefit of doubt, up to a point, largely because of their becoming worthy European Champions last year.  Would love to read what other Irons supporters think right now.

*Palace v Everton.  I agree with Ed QTR about being trolled.  Expected very little from it and was still disappointed.  Literally, a waste of time watching it.

*Posh v Leeds.  Bamford’s strike.  Holy crap.

*Arse v Leeds.  Oh dear.  Stewie Griffin smorgasbord inevitable.  The Gunners really should have had that game put to bed in the first half.  Reason they didn’t?  Lack of quality finishing.  Again.  I saw a stat post-match that said Arsenal have had sixty-one shots on target with only one goal to show for it.  Which says more than I could, I think.  I’m sure plenty of others will cover Arsenal’s woes in detail but, goodness me, Havertz simply isn’t the answer.  Having said that, they’ll still make top 4 IMHO.

* City v Huddersfield.  Firstly, and without the slightest disrespect to them, it was Huddersfield who are at the bottom end of the Championship, and for a reason.  Secondly, and far more importantly, City have won nothing (domestically) yet.  There’s a long way to go.  Thirdly, F365 have covered the points I intended to make in both their match report and their subsequent analysis.

*But Oh, my word. De Bruyne returns and I thought he’d ease himself back in gently, knocking it about and generally getting back into the matchday rhythm.  How stupid of me.  Because he only goes and gets yet another superb assist to the equally exciting Count Doku to smash another in.  Had to be them two didn’t it?  Of course it bloody did.  On top of that, City academy graduates Foden, Bobb, and Lewis all had an outstanding game, with the introduction of the equally exciting Micah Hamilton to boot.  How many millions of pounds have City spent to buy them or, indeed, Cole Palmer?  Not to mention the imminent returns of Haaland, Stones and B Silva. Mark (Be afraid.  Be very afraid!) MCFC. (Oh, and if you simply can’t resist replies that contain ‘115’ then please do crack on.  See you at the end of the season.   Kindest regards.)

Pon de replays Apparently the big boys don’t like the concept of replays in the FA cup. This is despite the fact that a cup replay at home for a smaller side could be the difference between liquidation or a new back 4.

We’re also always told that TV deals are worth far more than the ticket paying public to the larger teams in the pyramid.

Therefore I suggest that all FA cup games are played at the ground of the team in the lower division. In same league Vs same league affairs it should be at the team with the lowest match day income.

Ta, Dave PVFC

I more or less agree with Kiarian that football has already peaked and I’d like to add another reason to his list, fatigue.

As Kiarian will know as an F1 fan modern races follow a set pattern. There are a few laps at the start where everyone goes full pelt to gain as many positions as possible then they transition to a more settled phase where the drivers take it a bit easier and not much happens, then they typically go full pelt again toward the end. F1 has accidently created this format through its regulation of tyre compounds, fuel conservation etc which mean for the cars to survive the season and avoid penalties they can’t race a full speed most of the time.

Something similar has happened to football. The proliferation of matches caused by expanding competitions means players are consistently playing over 60 games a season. With the more stringent application of extra time this translates to a ridiculous average minutes played per year. Even with constant improvement in player health and training techniques the persistent increase in injuries show how players are overstretched. Sean Ingle wrote in the Guardian how Bellingham has played 30% more minutes than Rooney had by the same age, Mbappe 48% more than Henry. What this means on the pitch is games where it’s crazy for the first 10 minutes, then boring till half time when it’s crazy for 5 minutes either side of the break, then boring again till about 85 minutes when it gets mental till the final whistle. The players simply can’t maintain the level of intensity football currently demands and stay fit, its too much, so peak performance has to be restricted to short periods and thus so too the entertainment. We still get batshit mental games where its 100mph for the full 90 however these kind of exertions have a bigger impact on long term form and injuries, for instance you wont see this type of game after a round of midweek European fixtures.

As the powers that be seem hell bent on the expansion of matches we’re heading into a future where a players aversion to muscle injury and fatigue recovery are more important to clubs than their skill on the ball, and where squad depth will need to reach 4 deep in every position simply to handle the schedule. A player strike may be the only thing that will bring a change. FIFA will never back a playing time limit when it would likely mean only reserves are able to play the summer tournaments and we’ll never see a gutless FA or an egostistic Premier League enacting restrictions that might hamper them against European competition. Dave, Manchester