@TheGoonerNation Sorry for bothering you again about Arteta, I just wanted to outline what I believe Arsenal's plan is, why I believe in it, and why I therefore am not overly concerned about poor results in the autumn.

Arteta inherited a team on an awful run, hovering above the relegation zone, with a number of high-earners and average players. An unbalanced and extremely average squad. From Dec19-Aug20, MA's job was to get the best out of them and finish the season strongly

(Opted for 3-4-3 SHORT-TERM, FA Cup win).

Last summer was the beginning of MA implementing what HE wants LONG-TERM. Saka, Gabi new deals, TP+Gabriel deals. Mistake: Not offloading players; using a creative midfield system without a creative midfielder

He tried to get the best out of his squad, whilst simultaneously trying to tear it up (e.g. players he didn't want (Musti, Ozil, Kola, Sok) stayed).

This level of upheaval negatively impacted results, something the club expected given what was happening (the process).

In Jan, MA brought in the badly-needed creative midfielder and (finally) offloaded the aforementioned fringe players. Now he must try to finish in the European places for financial reasons to further boost summer spending in these pandemic times.

He has now offloaded players, his next job is replacing them (in the summer) and integrating prospective new signings into his existing squad, with next season's goal being to qualify for the UCL.

Based on this, Arteta's project is really only happening now, with further progress to be made in summer. That's why you haven't seen progress over the last year and why I think our current league position is irrelevant to what can be achieved long-term.

His first 6 months were damage control, next 6 months were offloading players and starting the recruitment process. Arsenal expected it to impact results short-term but it was being done for the greater good (where the 'trust' comes into it)

Of course MA has made mistakes (Willian, LB+CAM issues, failure to sell players sooner), but there are also reasons for positivity. We appointed someone with no credentials bcos of his coaching potential, the club essentially want him to build a dynasty like Wenger did.

Basically, Arsenal saw Wenger's decline as the end of the team's life cycle and appointed Arteta to oversee the development of the next one. Mostly, MA's signings have performed and he has successfully shipped players out.

It is only now, with the wages freed up, that he can stop tearing down and begin building a new team, and that's why it's too early to judge him even though he has been here for a year.

Really really sorry about the length of this thread, and it may surprise you to know that I didn't want MA, I much preferred Ancelotti!

I just hope you can understand why I believe in MA and why I think that, although things are bad atm, our patience will be rewarded.