Daniel

African Writer & International HR Practitioner

[Daniel @DanManyika]

@Oye440 Well stated man. The other day I saw Merino captaining the team when we have a soldier like big Gabs. I was like wow the world is full of surprises

[Daniel @DanManyika]

You just don’t ask & immediately get. Life’s more complicated than that.

[Arteta + @Artetaplus]

Arteta asked for Kvaratskhelia after Martinelli left the club but Berta refused to replace him

He asked for Vinicius Jr but Berta did nothing about it

He asked for Yildiz after Trossard left but Berta turned blind eye

He asked for Rogers but Berta and Arsenal responded with Tzolis

He asked for Julian Alvarez but they said he should use Kai Havertz and Gyökeres

He has always begged for top talents to reinforce the squad but the Kroenke, Berta and Arsenal have always led him down..

This loses is not on Mikel Arteta, it's on Berta, Kroenke, Saka, Havertz, Bruno Guimarães..

[Lance Guma @LanceGuma]

A bitter pill to swallow at the Amex as Brighton completely outclassed @Arsenal in a 3–0 defeat.

But today also highlighted the importance of Myles Lewis-Skelly, who Mikel Arteta chose not to play.

The youngster brings greater mobility, energy and urgency to our midfield compared with Bruno Guimarães’ more languid style.

It is a difficult choice because Bruno gives you goals, but I believe Lewis-Skelly makes the team function better overall. Today, we badly missed him.

#Arsenal #LewisSkelly #PremierLeague

[Daniel @DanManyika]

@Artetaplus Who picked the players?

[Daniel @DanManyika]

@miaholder24 True true. Many people agree with you as well

[Daniel @DanManyika]

@Gravitygunner14 The manager’s favourite son 😄

[Daniel @DanManyika]

@aviv_lavi You frustrate your top goal scorer & hope that Havertz will take you to the promised land?? Dream on

[Daniel @DanManyika]

@ArsenalN7 The pay packet is quite good now. Nothing to fight for anymore maybe?

[Daniel @DanManyika]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Football HQ @FootballHQ]

Valencia's ex-president on Gary Neville:

"That Englishman we had, he was honestly the worst coach I've ever seen in my life."

[Daniel @DanManyika]

No Mex. You keep both. You don’t know who will be injured next in that back line. Konsa can play right back & I think to some extent LB as well

[🥤𝐌𝐞𝐱 @Afc_Mex]

🚨 Arsenal fans, let’s be honest…

🔸If Ezri Konsa continues performing at this level in Arsenal’s defence, while William Saliba keeps struggling with injuries, we may have a serious decision to make.

🔸Konsa proving he can be trusted. Saliba still battling fitness issues.

🔸Saliba’s reputation is huge. But reputation doesn’t win you games from the treatment room.

🔸If Konsa becomes a reliable starter and Saliba keeps missing significant time, it is actually time for Arsenal to sel William Saliba when even his value still high.

Your Thoughts…

#Arsenal #COYG

[Daniel @DanManyika]

Song has real meaning for me as well. Lost my mother when I was 19. Never the same after that. All my modest successes she was never able to celebrate. Hard.

[Shingai Ndoro @shingaiRndoro]

16 years have passed by for me. For those who were robbed of their mothers by death, this song is for you and me:

https://t.co/biecUXV038

[Daniel @DanManyika]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[SamAkinSeun @SamAkinSeun]

🚨Paul Scholes: Arsenal will finish 3rd or 4th.

Manchester United with #Carrick at the wheel will win the league.

[Arsenal News @ArsenalNews_Hub]

🚨🔴⚪️ SO WHAT EXACTLY IS WRONG WITH ARSENAL’S STRIKERS?

We need to have an uncomfortable conversation about Mikel Arteta’s attack.

We let Aubameyang go — and he went on to score goals elsewhere.

Gabriel Jesus arrived with an elite goalscoring pedigree, but at Arsenal we have spent years debating whether he is actually a No.9.

Now look at Viktor Gyökeres.

This is a striker who arrived after scoring 54 goals in 52 games for Sporting. Arsenal bought him because he was a devastating No.9.

And yet, after joining Arsenal, his game has looked completely different.

He still managed 21 goals in his debut Arsenal season, including 14 in the Premier League, and played a role in the title-winning campaign.

So what the hell is going on?

At what point do we stop blaming every striker and start asking whether the system is getting the best out of them?

Arteta demands so much from his centre-forward — dropping, linking, pressing, combining, creating space, occupying defenders — that sometimes I wonder whether we’re trying to turn every striker into the same player rather than letting them destroy teams with what they are actually elite at.

And Kai Havertz?

Kai is a quality footballer, but he isn’t a traditional No.9. We’re asking him to do that job because Arsenal don’t have another option we completely trust.

Meanwhile, we’ve got a striker who scored 54 goals in 52 games before coming here and we’re asking ourselves why he doesn’t look like that player anymore.

🤦‍♂️ FFS, something isn’t adding up.

Maybe the problem isn’t that Arsenal keep buying bad strikers.

Maybe we need to seriously examine how we’re using them.

#AFC #Arsenal #Arteta #Gyökeres #COYG

[Daniel @DanManyika]

Paul Scoles

[UK Footy Bible @UKFootyBible]

You have to delete THREE of these pundits from football coverage forever.

Who are you getting rid of?

[Daniel @DanManyika]

Hopefully it is not bad old corruption 😄

[Richard Keys @richardajkeys]

So Howard Webb blames ‘tunnel vision’ for the howler at OT. What exactly does that mean? Is it catching? Does anyone else have it? What utter nonsense. It was incompetence. Reffing hasn’t got any better since he took over. Perhaps it’s time for a change?

[Daniel @DanManyika]

Perhaps it’s time these officials were given written warnings, meaningful suspensions & even dismissals for poor performance. That’s what happens in the real world of work. These people are reasonably well paid & trained for what they do. No excuse for some of their shady work

[Melissa Reddy @MelissaReddy_]

Howard Webb continually references acknowledgement of - not even apologies for - officiating errors as though we should be grateful for the admission. No, it’s the bare minimum.

“We felt it was important that we acknowledged an error in this situation.” Did you? Why, thank you, that’s so kind.

The repetitive “we want to ensure that we are transparent and open” line is also nonsense.

Individuals get briefly taken off duty for mistakes, but there‘s no accountability when it comes to the organisation itself and Webb. Systemic problems with how officials are trained and the lack of alignment gets ignored, along with the long-reported culture of fear and intimidation.

The real acknowledgement should be clearly and obviously fixing these overarching issues.

[Daniel @DanManyika]

Yes you’re right. Eze is not a left winger, full stop. If Arteta is overloaded with talent in midfield maybe he should just sell him & not let such talent degenerate as is currently the case with Viktor.

[greatman @GreatmenArs]

I’m genuinely sad watching Eze right now. The aura has disappeared.

At Palace, he received the ball in the left half space with the freedom to turn, drift and attack the box. He was unpredictable.

At Arsenal, we keep planting him near the touchline like a decorative flower pot.

He takes too long to decide, slows attacks down and rarely threatens the full back. Even tonight, despite helping to create Dowman’s opener, he had very little influence afterwards.

I don’t think Eze has suddenly become a bad player. I think he neither enjoys nor fully understands this role. He is a free No.10 being forced to cosplay as an explosive winger.

And our real problem is the left wing, not the right. Saka and Madueke cover the RW. Tzolis is the only natural senior option on the left.

What happens if his form drops? What happens if he gets injured? We start forcing Eze out there again and acting surprised when he looks uncomfortable?

If Hale End doesn’t have a natural left winger ready to step up, Arsenal have no excuse. Buy one in January even a loan.

[AFC Xtra @AFC__Xtra]

Mikel Merino captaining Arsenal when there’s Gabriel Magalhães on the pitch.

It doesn’t make sense to me.

[Daniel @DanManyika]

Spot on analysis!!

[greatman @GreatmenArs]

Mikel Merino finished with a goal and an assist tonight, but please don’t use that stat line to tell me he played brilliantly in midfield.

His assist came when he combined near the box. His goal came from arriving on the edge of it and finishing beautifully.

That is Merino.

The closer he gets to goal, the more dangerous he becomes. Keep him deep and suddenly everything looks slow. He takes too long to turn, doesn’t progress the ball quickly enough and offers very little creativity between the lines.

He is basically a striker trapped inside a midfielder’s body.

His movement in the box, aerial ability, physical strength and finishing are excellent. He scored 21 goals for club and country in 2025 because Arsenal and Spain finally stopped treating him like some elegant Spanish playmaker and pushed him towards the goal.

His best role is not as an 8 controlling our midfield. It is as a supporting striker behind the main No.9 fighting for second balls, attacking crosses and arriving late in the box.

Merino in midfield can make football look like unpaid labour.

Merino around the penalty area suddenly remembers he is Ronaldo.

[Daniel @DanManyika]

Illan everyday

[AFC Xtra @AFC__Xtra]

🚨Who’s your pick to start in goal against Ipswich Town in the Carabao Cup tomorrow?

Illan Meslier OR Kepa Arrizabalaga?