Why we should start watching Arsenal again

Nearly a month ago, former Premier League giants fired their manager (coach) after a losing spell not seen for the club in 27 years. They dropped to eighth place in the Premier League, which might not seem terrible considering there’s 20 clubs in the top flight of England. For Arsenal, however, this is not acceptable.

Over the past 24 years, Arsenal has won three league titles and 14 other championships. They even went unbeaten in 2003-04, something accomplished one other time but not seen in over a century of English football. 

Arsenal has faded from once being called “Arsenal’s Invincibles” into a team lacking defensive unity, confidence, courage, and desire for winning games. The famous Mesut Ozil, once hailed as the perfect #10 for Real Madrid, has become a sore point at Arsenal, hardly seeing game time yet being their highest paid player. 

Cue the three and half week search for their next manager, and in steps a former player of their own, Mikel Arteta. I wouldn’t be writing this if Mikel was just a former great for Arsenal because their brand of soccer is not what we’re trying to emulate at Fortress. However, Mikel spent the last three and half years learning from Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. He was a big part of helping individual players such as Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez become world class. Pep must have trusted his perspective most of all his assistants because he was always seen in the chair next to him during games. 

An opportunity to see positional play football instilled in a club that’s never had it before is a rare opportunity. We get to witness a team who has good players without a clear system of play develop into a team that likes to play attacking, possession soccer. Now is the time to witness the transformation. It will take some time, just like it did when Pep moved to Bayern and Man City, but we’ll see what Arteta can make with Arsenal. Their next game is Boxing Day, December 26th @ 9am against Bournemouth. It will be an exciting study! 

Soccer Skills to Practice at Home - 15 minutes

Wall Ball - 5 minutes

Pyramid Juggling - 5 minutes

Figure 8 dribbling - 5 minutes

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you and your families!

Michael