Arsenal-baiting manager is ‘spanner’; he’s far worse than Mikel Arteta | OneFootball

Fabian Hurzeler has been described as a ‘spanner’ and ‘the guy the media portrays Mikel Arteta to be’ after his comments on Arsenal.

We also have some Manchester United and a little Spurs and Liverpool. Mail us at theeditor@football365.com with your views.

Fabian Hurzeler: Spanner

I’ve not paid too much attention to the fella in charge at Brighton before. He’s a bit of a spanner isn’t he?

Arsenal were very very poor last night. But it was classic trap game. Big win at weekend. Most players getting this coming weekend off. Easy to lose focus. Most feeling tired. Some carrying knocks. Brighton away – far from easy but they scrapped and they fought for a vital 3 points at this late stage of the season. End of story.

Not for the Brighton fella apparently. He’s on a crusade to save football it seems. Would never sink to playing “that football” apparently. Well no worries. “That football” is top of the league and I’m guessing that’s not a territory the Brighton fella or Brighton will be visiting any time – ever.

Brighton are in the bottom half. Have a goal difference of 2 and have 30 less points than the leaders in a league that all are acknowledging is much more competitive now. They are also not in the hunt for the conference league and are out of both cups. I’m assuming that’s as bad a season as they’ve had in a while. Certainly I recall the were much much better when they beat us in the carabao a couple of seasons ago.

If I were the Brighton fella I’d forget trying to save football and focus on saving my job. Johnno

…Fabian Hürzeler is the guy the media portrays Mikel Arteta to be. Jaxx B

Are Man City bottlers this week?

So what’s the narrative this week? Are City still ‘breathing down our necks’? Or are they ‘bottlers’?

The reality is this league is so hard, so competitive, every game is a test. Brighton worked their arses off, they didn’t allow us to play at all. And Hurzeler’s pre-game tactic of putting pressure on the ref paid off handsomely as Brighton got every single decision first half. Meanwhile since we drew with Wolves they’ve beaten Villa and Liverpool.

Still some twists and turns to come no doubt.

Much love. Simon Cochrane

…City has dropped points. Have they bottled the title? No. There’s plenty of games to go including a home game versus Arsenal. Arsenal has been labelled as bottling this title every occasion they drop points. Again, they haven’t as there are, as I stated, plenty of games to go. Just a slight advantage gained this evening.

As an Arsenal fan, watching the game nearly gave me a cardiac arrest but not for the first time of late! However, Arsenal and Citeh over their last six games have been in similar form.

Arsenal going forward were very blunt but as a team were brilliant in defence no matter what position each team member played in. I was very very sceptical regarding about how many defensive players we signed pre season but potentially that might just do the trick. I don’t care if we are considered the most ‘ugly’ champions if we win the league. I will love it!

City scored from a corner tonight, discraceful! If we win the league over City will it be down solely to converting more corners than them? No, it will be down to potentially winning more points no matter how it’s done. It’s great to be hated again! Chris, Croydon

Exhausted but loving it…

Had a late day at work. Finally stumbled in exhausted at 9:40pm or so to catch the Arsenal game from the 50th minute.

“Boring” Arsenal win – check City drop points – check Osula wonder goal & successful hate-watch – check West Ham and Forrest gain on Spurs double – check. Bonus: Hypocrite Arne Slot gets pumped by the league’s worst team – check

Football can be exhausting. Even my wife couldn’t believe we had another game today. Does it ever end? But nights like this don’t come very often and they make it worth it.

What are Arsenal actually good at?

Lots of talk about whether Arsenal and their corners/set pieces are fair/valid/disgusting/against the spirit of the game etc., but I want to hone in on why the team is so disliked and why they will never get the same respect as other League winners (even if they do go on and win it).

Looking back at the champions since I can remember (about 40 years), there is normally something about them that makes you think “Yep, they definitely are the best at ….”. Whether it’s the different type of pressing, novel tactics, supremely skillful players at their peak, drive, determination, spirit – you can go on and on.

As a Liverpool supporter, Man Utd’s success under Ferguson seriously grates, but privately I could admit that the quality all round the pitch was outstanding. A midfield of Giggs, Scholes, Beckham and Keane (all sworn enemies) could safely and objectively be held up as one of the most effective and balanced ever. I didn’t like them, but I respected them.

Arsenal, however, have chosen to be the best at what? Mastering the Dark Arts? Blocking others effectively? Fooling the referee? Diving (looking at Gabriel)? Getting others booked? Faking? Bending the rules? Sure, you can argue that all teams do it, and Arsenal are simply the best at it, and that is correct. But that is what they will be known for. In a game of such fine margins these things will make a huge difference over the course of the season, but Arteta has chosen to set up his team to deliberately take these advantages to a whole new level.

Mourinho was similar, but he also nurtured great players and a spirit that was difficult to beat – again, something to respect. Arsenal will never get respect for the way they are winning. Of course their supporters will not care as long as they win, but for everyone else (including neutrals) they make the game a worse spectacle. What is ironic is that it is such a shame because given the quality of some of their players, they could actually win the league by playing attractive football, but choose not to, and that all comes from the manager.

Given all the rule changes suggested, I have one to add. When a player gets injured, it should not be possible for the manager to have an impromptu team talk with the other players. Again, most teams do it to some degree, but Arsenal have become the best at bending the rules to get their advantage. Effective? Yes. Smart? Maybe. Respect-Gaining? Never. The Big P, Vancouver

Arsenal, set-pieces, blah blah blah

A lot to keep up with at the moment. But there are a few things I want to comment upon…

1) It sound like a lot of the mailbox commentary is coming from people who have not been watching Arsenal (or football in general?). They have probably seen highlights and social media clips in their echo chambers which tell them what to think – but how do you think corners are won? I’m imagining you think they just boot the ball at the closest player, hoping it hits an arse cheek or a bollock and flies out into the crowd?

This has been mentioned before, but the box is so crowded more often than not, that any attempts to score form open play are often blocked or defended away and result in a corner. Pretty obvious I know, but this is the same for every single team in every single football match ever so I am not sure why there seems to be such surprise or upset. That is how corners are won. The fact that Arsenal have a slightly better rate of scoring from them than a couple of teams, and a much better rate of scoring from them than many other teams, is just a result of training & dare I say brains

2) Not all Arsenal games are entertaining, but you could argue that there have been relatively few entertaining games in general this season. I think there is a a bit of nostalgia-maxxing here

In my view – as has been mentioned by previous mailboxers – the lack of entertainment value would largely be down to the amount of money in the game, which has resulted in a risk-averse culture. There is no room for players to have fun or experiment, as there is too much on the line. Players are built into all-round machines these days. I miss Laurent Robert, Ben Arfa, Okocha, pre-City Grealish etc. Cherki could be a good example of a modern maverick, but I would say he is also a bit stifled compared to “the good old days”.

There is a thin line between success and failure, and if there was more of a level playing field (a horse which bolted many moons ago), I think we would see some more relaxed & creative individuals i.e., more “entertainment”. Entertainment started to disappear with inflated transfer fees & wages (thanks to Chelsea, City, United), meaning everyone else needs to spend more to stay afloat / “catch-up” (or not), and every point in the league is crucial in order to save their premier league status and potentially the fate of their club – just a thought.

3) Moses, what a load of guff that was by the way. Tony (professional sportspeople dedicate their lives to winning the top prizes on offer, they do not dedicate their lives to entertaining little Lewis in Manchester) Ps. thank you to the mailboxer who recently re-shared the goal of the month competition from Dec 2006 – stunning Pps. Has Igor Tudor come out and claimed football is not enjoyable yet? Or is it too soon?

Luis Enrique for Liverpool please

Appears that the mailbox included a few views similar to my own on the topic of Slot needing to be replaced.

Earlier in the year I sent a mail in talking about potential replacements for Slot and somewhat jokingly concluded that it would end up being a Spanish bloke who’s surname begins with a vowel (Alonso & Iraola being at the forefront of my mind).

A name I didn’t go into at the time was Luis Enrique – I believe I have it on relatively good authority from those with decent connections within the club that Enrique had previously shown real interest in our manager’s job, watching a couple of games first hand from the Kop, absorbing the vibrant atmosphere that came synonymous with Klopp’s home games.

I am not clear on the exact timings of that interest, noting that he took over at PSG in July-23, at which point Klopp hadn’t announced his intention to leave. So I suspect that he was ‘pressing for the job’ during Klopp’s second to last season and was not available when the actual job became available.

I have no clue / insight on how Enrique’s interest was received within the club, but one would imagine that what he has managed to achieve in making PSG the most watchable team in Europe in recent times would be triggering the interest of many.

Alonso is understandably the bookies favourite to replace Slot (so much logic points that way), but don’t discount Enrique. I think he has a year left on his contract and may be gettable.

I think I would be equally pleased with either … well actually I’d prefer Enrique if Kvaratskhelia come along for the ride too ! … I could never understand why Liverpool weren’t attempting to muscle in on that deal back in Jan-24, knowing as they did that they weren’t going to re-new Diaz’s contract and would likely be parting ways that summer … so just over £60m for an awesome player who had apparently been on our watchlist ever since Napoli doinked us 4-1 away in the CL !

Who knows !?!

(walks outside … shouts at clouds …)

(Well that mail petered out into a whole pile of meandering nothingness …)

Over & (Slot) Out. Sparky, LFC

The West Ham fan obsessed with Tickers writes…

Just checked the league table and wanted to quickly check in to see how you’re doing Mr Tickner, and all you lovely level-headed and always ever so humble Spuds fans. Best of luck tonight. Bookies have you as massive favourites, so don’t worry. And this morning the bookies said that the relegation odds were WHU – 68%, Forest – 26% and you lads just 4%. I haven’t checked the updated odds, but I’m sure they haven’t changed much right? Mike, WHU