mzdmv

May 21st, 2018 at 5:16 PM ^

PSG fan here - he'll hopefully do a lot better for you lot. He couldn't handle the personalities of our team. Arsenal will be a bit easier for him to manage I'd imagine. He's a good manager, just didn't fit at PSG at all

M-Dog

May 21st, 2018 at 6:14 PM ^

Cool story bro.

I once walked on to Atletico Madrid's team bus by mistake.

I was at a company training event in Sevilla.  We got picked up early in the morning at our hotels in the dark, and then were driven to the FIBES conference center each day.

One of the days it was dark and ealry as usual and I was tired.  I stumbled on to the bus that was parked in the usual place.  As soon as I got on, something seemed off   . . . this bus was way more luxurious than usual.  And all of the people on the bus looked younger than usual.  

The driver looks at me and doesn't say a word, he just points over his shoulder to the bus behind me, like this happnes all the time.  As I get off, I see the sign for "Atletico Madrid" and a bunch of other players and coaches waiting to get on the bus.

That explained all of the athletic looking guys hanging around the holel lobby with duffel bags the night before.  Atletico was in town to play Sevilla and they were staying at my hotel.        

m9tt

May 21st, 2018 at 8:09 PM ^

Not sure how much of his work at Sevilla was Emery's doing vs. the strong track record of player development + technical director. Sevilla appear to be keeping on quite well without Emery. 

Arteta would have been a risk, sure, but when was the last time Arsenal rolled the dice on anything? It would have at least been exciting and interesting to watch... Emery seems like a great hire for a club with ambitions to compete in the Europa League over the next five years. 

m9tt

May 22nd, 2018 at 9:52 AM ^

...but that doesn't necessarily mean that's what they should aim for. At the time they hired Klopp, Liverpool was in a similar position to where Arsenal find themselves now (6th in the League, Europa League regulars, sold off their best player).  Three years later, they now find themselves in a Champions League Final and looking poised to contend for a Premier League title next season. 

Liverpool took a risk on Klopp (it was either going to work and be great or it was going to fail spectacularly in flames) and it looks to have paid off in spades. 

If your hope for an Arsenal manager is to win the Europa League and get the team back into the Champions League, then Emery is a fine hire and he certainly has the resume for it. But if you have bigger aspirations like making a deep run in the Champions League or winning the Premier League, I don't see that potential in him. While unlikely, I could see that potential in Arteta. 

mgob-rad

May 21st, 2018 at 8:54 PM ^

Arsenal’s ceiling next year isn’t winning the league, but should be to compete for a top 4. They have the attacking talent, just need to tighten up their defense/midfield in the transfer window, and get a goalkeeper. They don’t need a huge signing, just a few players of quality, though with Kroenke being reluctant to give any funds, I have doubts that will happen.

I’m also not convinced Man U are seemingly back quite yet. Pogba could very well leave and has a terrible relationship with Mourinho. Sanchez and Lukaku were in poor form to end the year. De Gea and their defense are great, but they struggled to score goals even with that attacking talent, and I’m not sure Mourinho’s style fits their players.

gmoney41

May 21st, 2018 at 7:10 PM ^

As a city fan, I hope Liverpool beat real this weekend. It would be nice for an English team to win it. It's been a while. Good hire for arsenal and happy Arteta can continue to learn under Pep. City will get stronger with 1 or 2 top quality additions and look leaps and bounds better than the rest of the league. Only Liverpool can play with us, and they can't seem to find consistency in the league, so I think we repeat epl title.

gmoney41

May 22nd, 2018 at 10:58 AM ^

Yes they did but context is everything here. City played a weaker team, many of the stars didn’t play or were subbed very late. KDB, Aguero, Jesus, Walker, all didn’t start. The first 45 were complete domination, Sterling missed 2 sitters and should have gotten 2 pk’s But Atkinson was shockingly bad and missed some really bad calls, especially the no pk for Aguero where Young nearly took his leg off. The second half city took their foot off the gas and it cost them. United came to play in the second half though and they played very well. But in no way shape or form am I scared or worried about themnext year, especially with Jose as manager. Considering they were 19 points off the pace, they have a lot of work to do to catch us. I like our chances next year and yes I do think City at least their strongest 11 are light years ahead of united and I think if Liverpool can be consistent, we could have a title race.

m9tt

May 21st, 2018 at 7:52 PM ^

Sure feels like they paraded Arteta out in front of the media as "the guy" and then got cold feet. I hope they didn't burn that bridge with Mikel, but it's hard to imagine this development as anything but a slap in the face.

mgob-rad

May 21st, 2018 at 8:35 PM ^

With reports just a day ago saying that they were ready to announce Arteta, this just seems like a shit show from Gazidis. I’m not disappointed in the hire, but I’m disappointed in how it seems this was not at all their top choice.

The Krusty Kra…

May 22nd, 2018 at 11:08 AM ^

Arsene Wenger is the only manager I ever knew, but it was easy to recognize both he, and the club's backroom set up were archaic compared to the rest. I think Roger Bennett said the hiring of Emery is "Risk Mitigation" for Arsenal - none of the pressure Arteta would face as a first time manager and former player, and also not the "WIN THE PREM OR GTFO" pressure that Max Allegri might face. I needed a day to process this because at first, I did not like the hire, felt like it was out of left field. Waking up today, I don't dislike it as much as I thought but his success with Sevilla was mostly continental and in the Europa League. Coaching at PSG, sure he did fine, but Ligue Un is the least competitive of the five major leagues. I need to see what kind of signings the club brings in but I do hope he prioritizes the league above all else. Don't worry about fielding full strength Europa League lineups, pull this team back into the Top 4, get that CL money and force Kroenke into rebuilding a force reminiscent of the Arsenal teams of the late 1990's-Early 2000's. Emery will be an adjustment but I'm curious to see how the club will line up under him. COYG.

drjaws

May 22nd, 2018 at 11:37 AM ^

Arsenal supporter here ...... Don't hold your breath in regards to the signings.  They're providing a 50 million pound transfer kitty this year.  Thats a pittance.  For reference:

Since taking over at the Etihad Stadium in 2016, Guardiola has spent £361.1m on 12 players. Over the same span, Mourinho has spent £286.3m on seven players. It would have been eight had he signed Ivan Perisic in the summer like he wanted.

United broke the world record when they signed Paul Pogba for £89.3m in 2016 and splashed £75m on Romelu Lukaku last summer.

At this rate its going to take 5-6 years to get the roster turnover they deperately need in the middle of the field.  And it'll all be mid-level players who wouldnt even see the field at City, ManU or Chelsea.

Desperate needs are a holding midfielder, center backs, no more Ozil, and a goalie.

Arsenal look like they're headed for Europa League at best for a long long time 

snarling wolverine

May 22nd, 2018 at 11:50 AM ^

I don't know if Ligue 1 is less competitive than the Bundesliga (won by Bayern six straight years) or Serie A (won by Juventus seven straight years).  Monaco was a surprise winner last year.  But it's undeniable that PSG has way more resources than anyone else in the league, and for Emery to not win it last year was a red flag.  Not making it past the round of 16 in the Champions' League with the teams he had raises questions too.  Granted, Barça and Real were tough draws, but PSG was a tough draw for them, too.