You’re reading news from two days ago. Pep addressed this yesterday and was less than perturbed. Word from earlier today was that we had reached an agreement with City over Arteta’s release and he will be announced shortly (tomorrow).
Actually I was hearing it from Wednesday's (today) BBC 5Live Football Daily podcast. And when I said "City's management" I wasn't referring to Pep so much as the rest of their team, who I imagine could make things kind of difficult for us in negotiations, whether that be pricing, timing or something else. Edit: Here's a Guardian article from Weds morning which talks about how we're pissing them off... https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/dec/18/arsenal-mikel-arteta-manager-manchester-city
OK - I am so on the Arteta train. Let's give this digital content one last try with a new show runner. Mikel Arteta gave an emotional speech to Man City players/staff at Etihad Campus this morning before leaving to complete formalities of appointment as Arsenal head coach. #MCFC training taking place now without him. Arteta to be presented by #AFC on Friday https://t.co/Q57Wg3ra2i— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) December 19, 2019
I'll never understand why it took this long for them to decide on Arteta. Could have happened weeks ago. Were Arsenal just waiting until after getting spanked by City?
Allegedly there was a competitive process involving at least Vieira IMO they hoped to get away with Freddie for longer
FO was trying to see if they could get a more experienced manager to come in immediately before they went back to Arteta. There were limited option with immediate availability but I still can't honestly blame them for checking out a few others first. What we will likely never know was whether any of those others were truly receptive and we ultimately chose Arteta instead. I've read rumors that we interviewed Allegri before hiring Emery. Allegri wanted the job but the inability to speak English along with a good deal of arrogance ultimately turned us off.
Freddie may have been in over his head but I can't help but like the guy and I wouldn't have any issue with him staying with the organization. Quote from an article I read somewhere... His honesty and genuine love of the club is not a bad thing. Not great that he is throwing players under the bus but is anyone watching the games that disagree with him? We have seen this general lack of giving a shit all season, even before Emery was sacked.
Yeah I saw those after posting also. It just sounds like the exact same reporting that had gone on two days earlier, which is odd. When I mentioned Pep it was because he was asked about whether that was true before the second round of reporting and he was pretty dismissive of the idea that anyone was angry with us.
Sounds like Freddie straight up told management that the players were not going to play unless there was a permanent hiring
The thing that seems strange is that he was supposed to be the great communicator that all the players like. Now he says none of them can be bothered. Lee Dixon was talking about how you can get a dead cat bounce under a new regime because the players all want to prove themselves with a new opportunity. Yet that seems not to have happened, other than the kids who take their chances anyway So what is going on here?
I'm on board also. 18 mos ago Arteta was far from my first choice. But now, he's moved up on the list a bit. And what realistic, progressive alternatives did "the board" have? And now that they've decided, what choice to we the fans have? But to get on board, give him our full support, and hope for the best! There will no doubt be some twists & turns ahead of us, and perhaps some less than smooth sailing. E.g. what's the future going to hold for Raul & Ozil at our club?
Bounce doesn’t always happen, and I think it requires a sense of permanence and control in the new gaffer. The “head coach” label doesn’t help and it’s worse when you pin “interim” on it. It’s clear to the players he isn’t the guy that decides their future. Plus, the next 4 fixtures are tough so Dead cat bounce then would be nice. Then it levels off and Arteta will two months to get some real influence before Olympiacos in feb. Rumor is that the club had been lining up a move. They thought Emery would last until the spring at least though. Fan uproar and players downing tools forced them to act sooner than they wanted. In any case, Emery was just fired on 29 Nov. if arteta is unveiled on 20 Dec, that’s just three weeks. We’ve played 5, won one, drawn two, lost two, secured the group in EL.
Freddie's presser was canceled for today. Not sure if that was the smartest thing or not, but it sure seems to indicate that Pepino may be announced tomorrow.
I'm fully on-board the Arteta train. Is it risky? Of course, but given where we are, we are going to have to take risks.
Right you are! Finally... https://www.arsenal.com/news/mikel-arteta-joining-our-new-head-coach Lots of thanks offered to Freddie. Although I have doubts he would be Mikel's right-hand man, I do hope the club retains his services. Maybe they could kick Bouldy to somewhere else and give Freddie back to the youngsters?