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Arsenal 2020-21: Here Comes The Arteta


shadow_operative

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On 1/30/2021 at 1:59 PM, Ted Lange said:

I can’t remember a player for a team I root for I have disliked more than Willian.   Absolute shit. 

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Criticism of Willian's performances for Arsenal this season are not "unfair" but the club have to "protect" the player, says Gunners boss Mikel Arteta.

The Brazilian, 32, joined Arsenal on a free transfer from Chelsea last summer but has failed to score in 24 games and provided only three assists.

 

Arteta said Willian will return to his best form with the "quality he has".

Arsenal face Benfica in the last 32 of the Europa League on Thursday, in Rome due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The Londoners go into the game on the back of just one win in their last four games, while the Portuguese side are fourth in their league, 13 points behind leaders Sporting Lisbon.

When asked about criticism levelled at his player, Arteta said: "I won't say it is unfair. Expectations of Willian are really high in terms of the goals he can score, assists he can create. We have to protect him.

"What he is doing at the moment, the way he is training, the way he is willing to give everything to the team is what I demand.

"Whether he is successful in the game is another matter, but it will come with the quality he has."

Midfielder Thomas Partey is out of the Benfica game but full-back Kieran Tierney is in the squad after recovering from a leg injury.

 

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welp; the day has arrived. we either knock out one of the main threats to winning this entire thing, or we bow out disgracefully after having completely furked the first leg of this tie. it should be 2-0 or 3-0 heading into today, but it's not. because of our own blunders it is 1-1, which has me 100% prepared for a 3-1 type of loss. teams who screw the pooch the way we did seldom get rewarded, and i expect today to be our last match in the competition for some time.

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41 minutes ago, shadow_operative said:

welp; the day has arrived. we either knock out one of the main threats to winning this entire thing, or we bow out disgracefully after having completely furked the first leg of this tie. it should be 2-0 or 3-0 heading into today, but it's not. because of our own blunders it is 1-1, which has me 100% prepared for a 3-1 type of loss. teams who screw the pooch the way we did seldom get rewarded, and i expect today to be our last match in the competition for some time.

Yep.  Arteta called tonight a "final." He's probably right.  We're 6 off 7th (and Everton have a match in-hand), and I'm not even bothering to consider 4th.  Should be well ahead but...Arsenal. That said...COYG!  Get it done.

 

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Just finished watching. Great recovery, great win. Dominated after conceding. Pepe especially had himself a match: won free kicks, the pen, scored one, looked dangerous throughout.  Only sour note was ESR leaving early. Hopefully he isn’t hurt or misses any time. 

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Not me, but it was nice to see Willian put in a good shift in addition to his contributions to the win over Benfica. We'll need him the rest of the way.

A club's record-signing needs to be a regular force in the side.  Hopefully Pepe has turned the corner as well (yeah, we've all said that before).

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