FAN ARTICLES
Arteta For Sale

I, like most, think Arteta is a very gifted player but his performances last season and so far this season clearly shown that he is not the player he once was. Something has changed but it's hard to know what. It seems strange to describe him in this manner as he is only 26 and still developing. However, he seems to have gone backwards recently. We all know he has the skill but the performances we saw in his first couple of seasons are just not there anymore.
Arteta is a major player for Everton, but he is in my opinion not contributing enough in games, especially the big ones such as tonight's UEFA Cup defeat. He is just not stepping up to the plate. Let's face it he's never gonna beat people with pace but he used to take people on with his skill and make our midfield tick, creating chances and generally raising the standard of the players around him. Arteta was lovely to watch and got the supporters off their feet.
His delivery from set pieces has also declined to the point of shocking, especially considering his ability with the ball. Again this is something that he excelled in during his early seasons, and gave the supporters confidence for free kicks and corners.
Arteta was never a great goalscorer but this perhaps was where he could improve his game, he had pretty much everything else at his disposal. But yet again this appears to have declined, to such a point that he hardly even shoots anymore. Someone with his skill should be able to hit the target, but instead he will always play the pass, no matter how open he is. The old Arteta at least attempted shots here and there, which is what the fans want. The fans want their favourite players to score goals so they can celebrate with them, we even loved it if Carsley shot and the chances of him scoring were slim to none. But remember that derby goal, he will and so will we forever more, and that all come about coz he had the balls to have a dig. If only Arteta had more of this instinct !
I also feel for our manager David Moyes who has assembled a very able squad considering the financial constraints and the difficulty in bringing people to a club outside the "Top 4" (Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City (not Liverpool)).
When you have big players like Arteta, Cahill, Yakubu you can expect a certain standard, and for them players to produce the goods on the big stage helping along thier fellow team mates when things are not going so well. With Arteta it's been a long time since he was at the centre of Everton's good play, It's more likely you would find Leon Osman dragging us out of a bad performance than Arteta, and quite frankly in terms of footballing ability, Osman is no where near Arteta's league.
On that note the likes of Osman seem to have the will and desire to win like they would die for the team. Arteta does not come into that category, which is not what you expect from one of your so called star players.
He just does not seem the same player anymore and I can't help but feel the best thing for Everton Football Club would be to cash in on our asset before his market value becomes so low that we give him away for a poultry sum. Given the £15 million we paid for our new signing who knows what an Arteta could generate in todays market.
This could help us replace Lee Carsley (who me badly miss so far this season) and bring in a new rejuvenated midfield playmaker. If there is any change a decent winger or striker would also be a welcome addition. I know which option i'd take at this point in time, but saying that I still would miss "The best little Spaniard we know".
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Arteta doesnt deserve your posting. I believe his best position is in centre midfield... but he is good enough to shine anywhere, and he has done that in wide positions. We have the players - now lets turn the season around and forget who is to blame and just get behind the team..
I doubt very much that will happen on this website that seems to revel in anything negative.
It is obvious that Moyes should of sorted out his contract by now... for he is our continued passage to bridging the gap between us and the top 3.
It is obvious that Kenwright must be backed and appreciated... for he is the only one able to take us forward on limited funds... even though he has broken our transfer record every year for the last few years! Could you do better?
So lets forget the mistakes and just concentrate on what we do best.. supporting the Blues through thick and thin... cuz it can only get better - and we all know it will!
Lets string together a few good victories and concentrate on qualifying for europe again and a good F.A. cup run. COYB
Arteta is class but does have no other player with an ounce of creativity to play alongside
i could not agree more that his set pieces seem to have gone to pot and for whatever reason he still does not shoot enough. However to blame Arteta for the defeat last evening is, to my mind, a bit harsh.
Also due to the now famous "Credit crunch" I don’t think that we would get quite as much for Arteta as you may imagine.
Not that I would want him to go anyway.
Castillo and Arteta in the middle of a 442.....seems sensible.
If he goes, we will just get to watch him excell somewhere else.
Baines-useless going forward and hopeless defending.
Hibbert-not ready after injury and lost concentration for the first goal.
Lescott-could not find a teammate with a single pass all night.
Jagielka-Probably our best player, but still he has to hoof the ball.
Everyone in midfield not willing and able.
Neville-fascinating to watch the Liege tactic of not pressuring him in possession. Probably because they knew he was no treat and most likely to misplace the pass.
Saha-could not be bothered.
Yakubu-see above.
This season will unfortunately once again be a fight to survive.
Our midfield is still too lightweight and I agree that we miss Lee Carsley,who although he had limited ability, was very effective at what he did.
Newcastle at home might be the right medicine right now-please. COYB
At least you made me laugh, which I needed, after just having run the gaunlet of taunting kopite gobshites as I took my kids to school.
As to Arteta he’s a flair player who relies on confidence, his own & those around him. He’s not good at the mo’ BUT who is ?
He’s our one bit of potential creativity & I think the pressure of carrying the ’hoofballers’ is getting to him.
Rumour is he has complained to the manager before about needing creative help in midfield. Indeed it was suggested that Kenright himself promised him personally that this summer he buy a creative player to partner him and take the pressure off.
I guess he feels as let down as the rest of us & if he wanted a move I wouldn’t blame him.
Arteta, along with Pienaar are the only two players we have that can actually get past a man and frequently do, my two biggest concerns for Arteta are his corners very rarely beat the first man and he will not shoot when he is near the edge of the 18 yard line, many a time I have almost lost my voice screaming for him to have a dig.
People suggesting he is playing for a move FFS...just think what you are saying, according to you he is playing garbage...yeah that will have the big boys come arunning to sign him won’t it?
Usual story, our better player gets the blame, as he didn’t shine on the night. What about our disorganised and leaky defence, we would better to look there, as we are still scoring goals just conceeding more than we score.
His display in the first Liege match was pure class.
Some of you people are brainless. He is the only shinning light in a bottomless pit of doom.
Behave youselves.
They both need a kick up the ass...
Fucking hell sell him? If billy Bullshit came out and said "tell you what guys - I have got a great plan. I?m selling Arteta cos I think he sometimes doesnt play as well as we know he can" there would be fucking uproar.
I think when Fellaini settles in we are going to have a class midfield. We can then set up for a match with the oposition worrying about us, rather than the current "lets play 451 so we can change it around when we go a goal down" that we currently employe.
A final comment - and this is not meant to have a go at KK who started this debate off, but I tell you what we havent half got some moaning tossers for fans on these boards. We might have a lot of fans but I am not sure how many "supporters" we have at the moment - as in get beind the boys not just moan. You have all heard it at the ground - people moaning about hoofball and then as soon as a misplaced pass happens you get the ARGH! comments from the crowd, which almost induces a long pass next time so the player doesnt get grief again.
These next few weeks are going to be tough and I think we need to step our game up as a set of fans rather than give it all the usual "it was gash Moyes/the board/neville/arteta/etc out!"
Steven Nikolovski wrote " When you have one creative player and a bunch of "team" players, guess who the opposition is going to close down. Arteta is class but does have no other player with an ounce of creativity to play alongside".
So why can’t Arteta seem to get the ball past the first defender on a regular basis when he takes a corner ? When you are playing badly then there’s always a chance for a fluke goal from a corner or free kick but only if it gets into the penalty area !!
We are having to play players like Hibbert who are only 70% fit, Baines who hasn?t been given the confidence of his manager, and also having 2-3 new guys trying to fit in to a team which had a wretched pre-season. All in all a terrible time ? but I do think we?ll come good, but will probably be after the Man Utd and Arsenal matches.
I am haunted by his poor delivery at corners particularly the one in the dying seconds last night. If ever there was a time to step up to the mark last night was the time.
I just feel that we are banging our heads against brick walls... we have no money and are our expectations are too high??
Depressed!
ps: Any team wearing the strip we had on at Blackburn deserves a good thrashing simply as a matter of taste.
You do need your quality players to influence such games and those around them. I hate to look across the park, but as much as I dislike him, SG has constantly played with rubbish players alongside him but you see him constantly digging them out of games, even one’s they clearly don’t deserve to win.
Unfortunately I don’t see Arteta stepping up in such games when we need him most. We may not have the most gifted players around him but surely that should make him stand out even further.
I understand teams mark your best players, it’s the nature of the game. Quality players will always get that and it’s because they are so gifted that they should still be able to influence things.
Don’t get me wrong I think Arteta is great but last season and the current campaign show he’s not the player he was. Perhaps it is confidence or the lack of quality around him but whatever it is we need his ability.
Slow’s the play down at every opportunatey.... wanting to stop the ball dead then try a smart arse flick down the line....
Corners are crap... struggles to get the ball past the first defender....
Free kicks arn’t much better, scores the odd one a year...
’IF’a good offer comes in for him.....
CASH IN !
Just shows how clueless a lot of Evertonians are to be honest.
His set pieces are the only things I can fault him for to be honest, his performance was fine yesterday. He looked for the ball and he kept us ticking in the middle of the park.
Any creative midfielder would?ve struggled to create against a team playing so deep and the fact that we had no movement whatsoever.
Alonso and Gerrard struggled and Arteta and Osman did for us. They?ve have a very good back four, they are tactically good and they played very deep cutting off all our space in the final third.
How is he overrated? He?s been getting alot of stick ever since last season to be honest Evertonians with half a brain would see whilst he?s is a very good player he?s not a world class player. That?s just the way it is, deal with it.
This big game shite is bollocks aswell. Arteta very rarely gets the ball at his feet in attacking positions against the top four. We boot it over his head and stick it outwide where he can?t get into the game.
Cahill seems to be the wonder boy on this website, I know who I?d rather have to be honest. Arteta by quite a distance.
Cahill can score a goal and dissapear for 80 minutes and he?s our best player. Arteta has to get on the ball, create and make things happen. There roles are completely different, Arteta?s is a lot more demanding. He also has to cover his fullback.
Arteta is the least of our problems, sadly people see him as an easy target nowadays.
Get off Arteta’s back.
Neville cannot pass to save his life. It’s frightening!
There’s three things wrong at the moment.
1/ Moyes: Get your contract signed and stop messing around. How can you expect players to sweat blood for you when it appears you don’t know yourself if you want to even be there?
2/ Kenwright : Explain why nobody wants to buy our Club yet they are falling over themselves to buy Newcastle - the biggest circus in football. The uncertainty off the pitch does not help the buzz about the place and leads to poor performances.
3/ We signed players 2 months late and they are only just getting used to England and Merseyside never mind the Premiership. Not sure who is to blame for that although I reckon I have a pretty good idea.
BACK TO BASICS CHAPS.
THE DAY JOB. THE LEAGUE. 3 POINTS SUNDAY AND SOME DECENT PERFORMANCES AT ARSENAL & AGAINST MANURE TO GET THE SEASON GOING.
New broom, more proper football, increased confidence leading to better form...
I feel we're missing Lee Carsely big time. So many times this season, opposing teams have had too much time around the edge of our 18-yard box then ever before. Times I've seen attacks being built (especially in the derby) with that few seconds extra in midfield that I know Carsely would have and did snuff out before they had a chance of being built. This has put extra presure on our back four than ever before, thus creating our defensive problems at the moment.
So what's the answer? Carsley is gone and modern day football demands now every team must have a specialist defensive holding midfielder in their line up. We all know by now Jags is not the answer ? he's a defender not a midfielder ? and Neville is (in my opinion) completely useless in this position.
So that only leaves the two new boys, Castillo and Fellaini, and from what I've seen Castillo looks more comfortable in that role than our record buy. But since he has arrived he has been in and out of the squad. We need someone in that role to be given at least a five-game run, in order to establish some sort of rhythm with the back four and give them the extra protection they sorely need at the moment. Until someone becomes our new Carsley, I fear our problems in defence will only continue.
1 Posted 02/10/2008 at 20:54:09
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How longer are we going to see him turn 360 degrees on the ball and pass back to a central defender? If he wants to go back to Spain then send him on his way.