Much to do, little time, lean resources
Arsenal and Everton filed out yesterday afternoon in the early kick-off of Gameeek 18 with two managers each. each had a manager on the sidelines in charge of proceedings for the day and also confirmed managers watching from the stand. The historic moment was soon drowned in an afternoon of lackluster, nonchalant, direction-less and all-round tasteless encounter. The media did their best in trying to capture facial expressions and body language from the in-coming managers who did their best to give but little away but from what little that was captured we could assume that just as much as the fans in the stand and stranded behind a TV or streaming device they were bored to their soul.
Little talking points to discuss from the match so let’s breeze through that and focus on the obvious nature of the task ahead for both managers. For the first time, this season Arsenal managed to keep the opposition at bay as Everton went through 90 minutes without a shot on target. Not that the Gunners did better, they only mustered two attempts on target with one deserving to be regarded as a back pass if anything. Alex Iwobi was substituted early on in the match due to cramps and Cenk Tosun came in as his replacement. Yeri Mina was solid for the host winning 70% of duels and completing all his 37 passes. Everton was under caretaker Duncan Ferguson while Arsenal was led by interim manager Freddie Ljungberg.
At Arsenal, Arteta is in dire need of a standing defensive midfielder, a role he himself took up under Arsene Wenger to revive an Arsenal season that could have been much like this one and which since he left the club has been lacking. Either Arteta is able to convert a player to a standing four with his option being either to put his trust in Lucas Toreira or build the confidence of young Matteo Ghendouzi or opt for a Defensive Midfielder on the market but with Arsenal’s lean spending capacity that may be the last resort a fact the new manager will be aware of.
Everton are in need of leadership and strong positive energy something that Carlo Ancelotti can bring to the club. He brings with him reputation and commands respect something Everton has lacked over the years. Their managers have often lacked the required presence to make oppositions spend just that little bit more time at the drawing board. No disrespect to David Moyes and his successors but Carlo Ancelotti is a huge find for the club. But with Everton not being the biggest club around in terms of money to spend even Ancelotti has a huge task in bringing the best out of his current squad.
At Arsenal, Arteta lacks experience at this level and with certain key members of the team desiring to leave his first task will probably be rallying the team behind his course and keying into his vision and for that, he needs to be an authority figure. His press conference statements suggest he’s not afraid to shake things up at the Emirates. What he lacks in experience he makes up for his understanding the philosophy of the club maybe even more than some board members and with such a clear vision of where he needs to take the club it’s only a matter of how to get there.
While experience is on the side of the veteran Carlo Ancelotti anyone who’s ever managed before knows that each job is self-contained and poses its own set of challenges. If the Italian is to succeed at Goodison Park he will need to make some marquee signings to complement what he has on ground. Everton made some interesting signing last year investing in young players with the likes of Alex Iwobi from Arsenal on the final day and beating bigger clubs to the signature of Moise Kean from Juventus.
Both managers understand the English Premier League and are aware of the “miracle-worker” syndrome plaguing the league when it comes to club management. All too many a time we see managers not being given enough time to work with a team before being shown the door, Gone are the day when a manager has ample time to build and then deliver. Now clubs are looking for instant changes and “magic” a problem that has seen more managers come and gone from the EPL more than any other league in the world.
It can’t get worse for both clubs, Arsenal are with their worst start in a long time and Everton are looking to become real title contenders or at least challenge for European football next season. The future is unsure at both camps but a breathe of fresh air was needed and Emirates and Goodison Park are breathing new air right now, whether it’ll be fresh, we’ll see.