Happy New Year to all who read, write for, comment in and visit Arsenal Arsenal. Whether you’re died-in-the-wool regulars or occasional drifters you’re all welcome here.
As we enter a new year it’s fun to imagine what it might hold in store, from a footballing perspective.
So here’s your chance to make your own predictions for Arsenal in 2021 and also for the big prizes in English and European football.
I’ll give you my forecasts, but please add your own in comments.
- Where do Arsenal finish in the league in 2020/21?
- How far do Arsenal get in the FA Cup?
- How far do Arsenal get in the Europa League?
- Who ends up as Premier League champions?
- Who else will make the Top Four?
- Who will win the Champions League?
- Who will win the FA Cup?
- Who will win the Europa League?
Here are my best guesses:
- Sixth
- Semi-finals
- Semi-finals
- Liverpool
- Man City, Aston Villa, Man Utd.
- Juventus
- Liverpool
- Villareal
RockyLives
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
Thanks Rocky, Happy New Year to you and all the boulders 🙂
Here are my predictions:
1. 7th
2. QF
3. Final
4. Liverpool
5. United, City and Leicester
6. Bayern
7. Liverpool
8. Arsenal
Can we have a review at the end of the season to see who got closest please.
It depends on you will be the manager.
With arteta unless there us a major change in tactics and style our chances of being too far above the relegation zone will be small. Similarly, there would be little chance of progress in either of the cups.
With another more adventurous manager, one who allows the players to play and does not dictate their every move and who us interested in creative entertaining football, we might be mid table but no chance for top 6. We have lost too much momentum already.
Call me a pessimist but I would rather be a pleased pessimist than a disappointed optimist.
Thanks Rocky and a happy new year to everyone. A massive thanks to yourself Rocky as well as RC78, LB and all the other recent post writers; apologies if I cant remember all who have posted recently.
My best guess is unnervingly very close to yours and Rasps, as follows:
1. 7th
2. Semis
3. Final
4. City
5. Liverpool, Leicester, miscreants
6. PSG
7. Liverpool
8. Arsenal
The last one is maybe a desperate wishful thinking but if we keep developing around the right formation then we have the players and squad to be one if the favourites.
We have played beneath yourself recently and have as good a squad and strongest 1st team as anyone else in the EL.
Also I think the EL will become our priority so we can focus everything on playing our strongest 11 in that even before the EPL, where I think we will be looking to climb the league purely to gain confidence and show progress rather than to attain a position that gains us much.
Blinking phone typos
Jjgsol, I read with interest yours and Akinzo’s comments yesterday. You both make good points but I feel the reality sits between both of you.
Arteta is not a busted flush but has already made mistakes this season. For me he failed to progress the team formation at the right time this season from what he was doing out of necessity last season.
He was going with the wrong tactical line ups and formation and missed the eight moment to change it up by a good few games. The last 2 games have more or less adopted the formation we should be going with maybe a couple of tweaks aside.
I mentioned a while back that I felt Arteta was lining up to hide our weaknesses rather than play to our strengths. That for me is where the negative vs positive attitude sits.
However, I get why he held out to try and minimise our weak areas but feel, and hope, that he now plays to our strengths in attack. He has done as much as he can to plug our weaknesses and to focus on that further will cost us and him.
If the line up that plays to our attacking strengths exposes certain weaknesses in the squad then so be it. We never expected to have a team that was immediately competitive with City and Liverpool anyway.
At least in exposing those weaknesses in our strongest formation we genuinely know where we have to strengthen rather than the red herring supposed weakness that I personally feel has been the main focus, i.e this lack of creativity from midfield.
I am not saying that we won’t eventually need another attacking midfielder but first that we try what we have got in the right formation.
I never bought into the answer to our lack of creativity being solved by a player from the French or Austrian leagues. I also don’t buy into it being down to Ozil not playing. Lest we forget that we have lacked creativity in many games over the last few seasons that Ozil has played, fine player though he is.
For me we never had the right personnel built around Ozil to make him effective across a whole season even in his prime years.
That ship has sailed anyway so no use crying about it but personally I don’t feel Ozil would have made a huge difference to us this season anyway. Flashes of brilliance maybe but consistent game winning brilliance, as we are seeing in Saka currently, no.
I am so pleased that Saka has moved to the attacking right but also feel he could still be an attacking central beast as well. He could be utilised in 2 different attacking positions dependant on squad availability and opposition.
If we continue to set up in a 4-3-3 variant with a front 3 consisting of 2 goal scoring inverted wing forwards either side of the number 9 then how about a midfield 3 of Partey, Saka and ESR.
Can anyone tell me that doesn’t have creative and attacking intent while looking solid as well? Can any of the attacking midfielders qe are linked with better that?
The big question then is who plays on the attacking right side if Saka goes central? We only have Pepe who at 25 and with a peach of a left foot I wouldn’t write off yet. Arteta needs to work some psychological manager magic and get in his head because I still feel he maybe has something to offer.
If not then we need to recruit another attacking goal scoring left footer because having just the 1 in Saka isn’t enough
Happy New Year to AAers and Birthday to one of our own, Jack Wilshere.
Happy New Year
Nice one Rocky:
1 7th
2 Final
3 Final
4 Pool
5 United City Leicester
6 Munich
7 Arsenal
8 Arsenal
So Arteta has finally worked out who the mutineers are: Luiz, Willian, Pepe. Maybe he read my J’accuse piece?
Dump them, inject a bit of effort with youth and bingo we’re competitive.
There will be plenty more bumps in the road but things are looking more positive.
@jjgsol you are a ray of sunshine on a rainy day
Where have you read that Pete? What kind of mutiny were they supposedly doing?
GoonerB
There have been a few reports about some kind of confrontation between either a player or a group of players with Arteta (in front of the rest of the squad). He was allegedly accused of ‘favouritism’ in his team selections.
There was also a report that some of the Brazilian players went to see Edu to suggest that Arteta was not up to the job.
Impossible to know the truth of any of the reports, but it’s not surprising that there would be rumblings of discontent after the dismal run we were on before Chelsea.
I bet it has gone a bit quieter now, although another bad result or two and the bitching would no doubt start up again.
Clearing out some of the unused senior players in this window (if we can) would help.
https://metro.co.uk/2021/01/01/arsenal-legend-liam-brady-destroys-mesut-ozil-and-backs-mikel-artetas-decision-13833407/amp/
Liam sounds a bit chippy.
Please don’t fall for any ¨rumour-mongering¨ from sources that haven’t a clue. Here are my predictions for 2021:
Where do Arsenal finish in the league in 2020/21? 5th
How far do Arsenal get in the FA Cup? Final
How far do Arsenal get in the Europa League? Final
Who ends up as Premier League champions? Liverpool
Who else will make the Top Four? City, Everton, United, Leicester
Who will win the Champions League? Bayern
Who will win the FA Cup? Arsenal
Who will win the Europa League? Arsenal
Very similar to Pete and omgarsenal, and not to be dismissive of your writing Rocky:
Towards the pointy end
Final
Final
Who cares if it is not Arsenal
Who cares
Who cares if it is not Arsenal
Arsenal
Arsenal
Let’s get ready to rumble!
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