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With the appointment of Arteta, Arsenal are reflecting football’s changing dynamic

The head coach is no longer the key decision maker on player recruitment

20 May, 2018 11:24 17 comments
With the appointment of Arteta, Arsenal are reflecting football’s changing dynamic

Kovac and Tuchel – Will work with the players they are given

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When looking at the current favourite for the Arsenal job (Mikel Arteta), a lot of the Arsenal support will be scratching their heads, no management experience? A massive gamble! However look across Europe and see how the wind is blowing. Real Madrid appointed Zinedine Zidane after a brief spell managing their B side. Barcelona of course created a colossus out of Pep from their B team. Valverde their current manager is experienced though he has also experienced sackings and has more importantly not lifted the Champions League, and he is no Galactico.

Bayern have now turned to Niko Kovac. Who? Well he has done a solid job for Frankfurt keeping them in the Bundesliga. Perhaps my comment is a little unfair as he managed Croatia briefly, but this appointment is low key. Remember that their previous choice Ancelotti had one of the best trophy return rates, even beating Paisley.

Then we look at Enrique and his €15m salary expectation. Too rich for Arsenal but too rich for PSG? Surely not. So surprise, surprise they hire Tuchel an up and comer who was strongly linked with Arsenal. Why would PSG, who could afford any manager on the planet go for Tuchel?

The point of my article is that it is my strong belief the winds of change have swept through the boardrooms. Perhaps it’s the experience or weariness of titanic egos and clever territory grabbing by super managers, perhaps it’s just purely sports science and administration learning from corporate structures. To my mind this is all pointing one way. The Galactico manager is dead (honourable remaining exceptions Pep and Max), the major clubs of European are looking to impose a strict structure around their Managers with the Director of football and Chief Scout becoming increasingly powerful. It’s within this environment that Arsenal turn to Arteta. I have a strong suspicion that Arsenal would have looked at the Spanish Big 2’s B side arrangements and felt that Manchester City’s coaching set up was a model that could best mirror that of Real and Barca.

Arsenal are trying to push ahead of the curve. The Sanllehi and Mislintat recruitment make perfect sense. Any manager who now says “What is a director of football?” is effectively finished within the major European footballing structure.

The Boards of the major European elite are eroding the power over budgets and transfers of the managers. The new way is the Head Coach. Chosen to coach the players systematically in a style to please the supporters. A Mourinho who would win by dour football and make constant demands on the budget will be seen as an anachronism. It remains to be seen how much longer he will be retained at United.

Arsenal have grabbed one of the most powerful Directors of Football in Europe along with possibly the best recruitment manager. Content with this set-up and with go-ahead by Josh Kroneke, step forward our ‘potential ‘new manager Mikel Arteta

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17
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  1. Yes its Ron

    May 21, 2018, 12:33 #109859

    MAF - Im always sceptical of ex players becoming Head Coaches anyway. In Henrys case, hes a vain, poor pundit on any subject i think plus he was a poor Captain whose strops with young players were well documented after he d left. A preening poser in the true send of the word. Great player no doubt, but has no credentials to get the AFC job any more than does MA. Far too deep into punditry now to get a big job in my view. Tainted by SKY habits, nuances and methods. Got to be suspicious of a bloke who dyes his beard black too. Vanity or what. Agree, Wrighty is the best there is on all matters Arsenal as a pundit. Merson is decent though. Keowns comments always reflect his carefully honed reserve, just in case hes ever offered a job there. Wrighty has no need to have any such reserve and it makes him good. All pundits are limited by the TV s editorial dictat, but to further limit yself as Keown does makes him a bit a waste of space on TV.

  2. GoonerRon

    May 21, 2018, 12:30 #109858

    Quite a few people to comment about what’s next for Arsenal have said it’s likely to take another manager or two before we’re truly ready to push on. The board might well see Arteta as the next big thing in management but worse case may see him as a cost-effective first post-Wenger manager, who can help the transition from an autocratic set up to a more collegiate approach. Just by the fact Wenger has left means the back room has been cleared out and we have another transfer window with some hopefully decisive and effective action from Mislintat and Sanellhi. I’m not saying it’s right but perhaps rather than spend £200m in transfers and have a liability of £70m+ in sacking Allegri/Enrique and their entourage if it went really tits up really quickly into a 4/5 year contract (which with experienced managers used to a certain way of operating could be a higher likelihood in the embryonic period of our new structure) this is a commercially safer option as the first post-Wenger appointment. Obviously, on the basis of a risk/reward ratio an experienced high class manager is also more likely to succeed than someone like Arteta. Not saying it’s the route I’d take but considering (rightly or wrongly) we aren’t a club with an owner who will underwrite huge spend in churning lots of players between managers it might be a consideration for them.

  3. MAF

    May 21, 2018, 12:20 #109857

    Ron, i cant do with TH's commenting on Arsenal and his political posturing. ditto Keown. Wrighty has been more outspoken, altho BBC like he also has to be careful i guess. Love TH love Keown, but dont like them as pundits talking nothing when Arsenal subject Comes up. we can at least assume MA may bring some of the discipline and work ethic that Pep clearly has in spades

  4. Big Andy

    May 21, 2018, 12:05 #109855

    We could be heading for a perfect storm next season. I agree with the posters above that Stan's plan is to get a cheap but adequate manager in Arteta and then tell Sven to pick up a few bargain young players. Hopefully this should be enough to nick fourth. Just two problems: first, Arsenal fans are not interested in just fourth any more. Second, this plan is most likely to fail. An inexperienced former player is probably the last thing the club needs right now. A strong fortysomething experienced boss who could come in with fresh ideas and shake things up is what's required this summer. Arteta ain't that. But who knows? It might work. But Atreta is a massive gamble. If it all turns to sh1t then expect a half-empty stadium and huge protests outside the ground.

  5. Yes its Ron

    May 21, 2018, 10:20 #109854

    MAF - Ditto matey. Its not been mentioned much either but MA is Spanish so hes a disciple of the type of football that AW has tried to implement for so long but with the added impetus of having worked with PG at City. To me, this means more attempts to maintain much of the same that we ve had for so long on the pitch and with the same type of cut price buys, while keeping things cozy off the pitch at the same time. I ll back MA, make no mistake as i do like the man, but hes the appointment for continuity whichever way we look at it isnt he. Its important to look at the nature of the appointers at Arsenal as much the potential appointee. Such as Gazadis wont want too many boats rocked in the aftermath of Arsenes departure. Add into the mix what we know of Kroenke this last 11 years and his clear lack on intent to challenge the very best and we shouldn't be at all surprised at what theyre doing now. It ll be interesting to see how Arsenals spin machine dress it all up. There is though one large bonus to emerge from all this for me, MA isnt Terry Henry and we should all be thankful for that.

  6. MAF

    May 21, 2018, 9:56 #109853

    Ron, MA appointment is 100% about the Budget, plus it can allow Arsenal to maintain their role as 1 of the Feeder Clubs to Man City should any players develop and we need a quick £50m. Stan is the owner because he wants to make Money, no other reason.

  7. Yes its Ron

    May 21, 2018, 9:27 #109852

    You mau well be right Marky, but lets not dress it up as some thing that it isnt. An appt like MA or similar by Arsenal looks like progressive thinking as you correctly allude to, but its primary concern is to appt someone who wont cause discomfort withing the corridors of N7 comfort, plus of course, it saves a lot of money.

  8. MAF

    May 21, 2018, 9:09 #109851

    they have Chosen Arteta primarily as Luis Enrique, Juve Manager, were not prepared to come unless they could choose whole Coaching staff + be given £200m Budget. Arteta will gain experience but it is his very first Job in Management so in my view it is a huge risk. Poch had already impressed and knew the EPL via Southampton. Arteta is a complete virgin but happened to spend a good couple years next to Pep. Arsenal have decided that this is qualification enough to be given the Arsenal Job. In my view it is a v bad sign that the Club is prepared to settle for not challenging for anything.

  9. mbg

    May 20, 2018, 22:18 #109849

    When wenger was still here bringing us down was not all that was talked about/discussed how things were going to be after him ? was it not generally agreed (by most anyway) it could/would take two three seasons to get going again (some even suggested longer) to put things right etc, some even suggested and it was agreed we would do a moyes like man yoo, and that was even before Arteta was mentioned, TOF has gone, so what has changed ? a lot has apparently, and for the life of me I fail to see it, the last time I looked we're still stuck with the mess the last excuse for a manager and his regime left behind even those there are those who over look that and would like everyone else to also.

  10. Bard

    May 20, 2018, 17:45 #109847

    Interesting piece markymark but you are stretching your examples a tad. Arteta has nil management experience, Paddy has a lot more and so does Terry Henry. To my mind Arteta fits the bill because he's cheap and they hope he wont demand a fortune for a transfer kitty. I repeat my previous comment, why would he want the job ? Sadly I agree with KC38 and co, I dont. imagine for one minute that Stanley gives a fig about challenging, he just needs to make it seem as though we are.

  11. Hi Berry

    May 20, 2018, 16:04 #109845

    KC 38 - can only agree with your closing sentiments there...a recent end of season table in The Times showed the distribution of prize money for league position, share out of number of times on TV and equal share out of TV rights money showed Man City receiving somewhere in the region of £140m if I remember rightly and Arsenal, finishing sixth netting around £128m. The only incentive to finish top four is the extra £30m or so for competing in the CL - small fry, relatively speaking. Stan Kroenke maybe a ****, but he sure knows a financial winner when he sees one.

  12. mbg

    May 20, 2018, 16:02 #109844

    Good Article Markymark, remember when the wengerites were spouting to all who'd listen, this isn't the 60's 80's 90's anymore, this isn't the way things are done anymore, things are done differently now so move on, times and Arsenal have moved on accept it, maybe now a lot of them should take their own advice.

  13. KC38

    May 20, 2018, 13:33 #109842

    A manager has to have three main talents, coaching, man management and a presence in the dressing room. Does Arteta have any? who knows? and yet here we are about to see him given a position at what should be one of the biggest clubs in the world. A new stadium to compete with the best? Sadly this club under this ownership is in danger of fading away, hope I am wrong, hope Arteta is fantastic, but what a joke we have become. There is no appetite from the owners to compete for the league, their only aim is top four, if the club has 50 mill to spend after all the years in the champions league and years of a new stadium we are close to becoming a 5th to 8th place premier team on a regular basis.

  14. Badarse

    May 20, 2018, 12:52 #109841

    On the subject of writing I have to comment on a book. "What is all this about books? Eggs? Marmalade? Politics? Egg whites? Guitar players? Song lyrics? Eggs? Virtual BBQs? Crusades with westlower? Eggs and feathers? Butch and the Kid? Hedgehog kebabs? Egg yolks? Mel and Griff sketches? The Goons? Omelettes? Pete and Dud? Philosophy? Pseudo shoes? Scrabbled eggs with all 26 letters? AKB HQ? Sunny side up? Hoddle and Waddle wellies? Phone Boxes? Hard bald eggs? Philomena Cunk? Egg Foo Yung?Monty Python and 'The Knights who say Neigh!'? OG Virtual courses? Egg Drop Soup? The AKBs at Rourke's Drift? Free Hypnotism courses for WORs? E.L.Whisty? Barney Curly? How do you like your eggs in the morning? I like mine with a smile.? Members of the Badarse international family?" So back to books. I had three on the go recently which is quite a normal occurrence for me. I coloured-in the first two pretty quickly but the third took longer as it had writing to read. What a great entertaining book. 'I. Maybot.' by John Crace. Skilfully written and very amusing in parts.

  15. General

    May 20, 2018, 12:39 #109840

    All the names you've mentioned bar Arteta started off coaching baseline im the sense that they had some frontline coaching experience. More importantly they took over clubs that had not undergone an extensive period of autocracy like we have. I feel we are not quite there yet to implement this model because of the extensiveness of the change and we would benefit from a steady experienced hand to just steer us through this inevitable instability post Wenger. Whiles I would support Arteta if he gets the job, I would prefer if he came in as number 2 under a more experienced coach. Make no mistake, regardless of the new appointments behind the scenes, the new head coach will be accountable for implementing a system, motivating the team, giving them instructions and providing in game management. It is a huge challenge.

  16. markymark

    May 20, 2018, 12:20 #109839

    Badarse - that is much appreciated. I actually put in a last minute editorial change to add the word ‘Potential’ when describing Arteta. Just in case Arsenal throw a surprise and unveil Benitez.

  17. Badarse

    May 20, 2018, 11:36 #109837

    Marky, that was an interesting piece, well done. Of course much based on speculation as he isn't yet the manager, but I get the drift and it is a fairly strong case. All situations are open to evolution, though some Sours would seem to disprove that axiom. As stated once (?) before, I don't normally comment on speculation but I liked the cut of your jib in this article. Thank you.