So, is Wenger out officially out?

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

With FA cup victory following by the unveiling of Alexis Sanchez in the space of 2 short months, things have never been different at the club. There's a sense of positivity and enthusiasm that's seeping through from board to fans, and after years of bleak, dreary results, it's simply nothing we don't deserve.

The question is whether the Wenger out brigade are officially out, and whether this type of investment makes fans accept him again?

Summer 2014 was always the promised land as Gazidis knew our income streams would explode following years of austerity. Within months of penning the new commercial deals the board have splashed £35m on one of the best talents on the planet. They aren't stopping here; rumours are circulating that Wenger is close to a deal for exciting right back Debuchy, while he has a DM, GK and even another striker on his mind.

The thing with buying top players is that it allows fans to be patient. If we don't win the league next season then at least we can say we tried, and that for me is the crucial part because for years we couldn't say that. Buying players like Sanchez, Ozil and Debuchy shows that the club aren't sitting back making excuses anymore, they're willing to give it a serious go and win silverware. When you watch Sanogo, Diaby and Djourou it frustrates fans because you know the club can perform better if the manager simply invested. We don't pay the highest ticket prices in the world to watch a bunch of novices pull on our beloved Arsenal shirt.

While the club has erupted into a civil war over the past few years as fans have bickered about the man in charge, it's fair to say that Wenger's hunger seems to be back and that if we get anywhere near the same guy that provided us with the invincibles, then the future will not only be bright but unforgettable.

Thank you Wenger out, your union served me well over the past few years, but I'm officially out. This is a new era. The Arsenal are coming.

[GP]

Wenger had money and chose not to spend it.





:haha:

[Marc Overmars]

He certainly deserves the chance to spend the money he effectively helped generate, there is a feeling of positivity flowing through the club, something not seen in probably 10 years. I commend everyone involved in getting the Sanchez deal done, I didn't think we could pull it off but we did, and it looks like there's still more to come which is the best part.

Wenger has not been without his faults, his tactical and match day savvy doesn't convince me fully, but now he's getting the quality in which can hopefully paper over that. Slate wiped clean for me, however with bringing in bona fide quality there comes a new pressure, we need to challenge for the title and be more competitive in the CL, because guys like Sanchez and Ozil are here to win. 4th place just won't cut it anymore IMO.

Come on you Gunners!

[AKBapologist]

Wenger will never win anything at Arsenal again.
- Zimm cira 2005-2014






:haha:

[Letters]

I was going to start a similar thread. There has been a lot of criticism of him on here, some deserved but a fair bit has been OTT.

There were thoughts that we'd never win a trophy under him again - it was a school of thought I subscribed to, but now we have.
And it's been a common mantra that Wenger refuses to spend any money, there was some debate about whether he wouldn't spend money or whether he didn't have any. Clearly we couldn't compete with teams like Chelsea and now City but I do think at times he's been too cautious. But I don't think it's coincidence that the minute the new commercial deals are in place we sign Ozil last summer and Sanchez this - with hints there's more to come. It does rather indicate that until the new deals were agreed Wenger was unwilling to risk putting us in long term financial bother for short term gain.

I still think it's time to start preparing for Wenger's successor, if only because of Wenger's age, but he's definitely earned the right to go in a few years under his own terms and will leave a fantastic legacy. Aside from the trophies there is no way we'd be signing players like Ozil or Sanchez were we back at Highbury, we simply wouldn't have the money to. And it's questionable whether we'd have been able to move (we were barely filling Highbury in the 'boring boring Arsenal' era) and stay in the top 4 with the financial contraints the move imposed under any other manager.


In brief: Wenger :bow:

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

I was going to start a similar thread. There has been a lot of criticism of him on here, some deserved but a fair bit has been OTT.

There were thoughts that we'd never win a trophy under him again - it was a school of thought I subscribed to, but now we have.
And it's been a common mantra that Wenger refuses to spend any money, there was some debate about whether he wouldn't spend money or whether he didn't have any. Clearly we couldn't compete with teams like Chelsea and now City but I do think at times he's been too cautious. But I don't think it's coincidence that the minute the new commercial deals are in place we sign Ozil last summer and Sanchez this - with hints there's more to come. It does rather indicate that until the new deals were agreed Wenger was unwilling to risk putting us in long term financial bother for short term gain.

I still think it's time to start preparing for Wenger's successor, if only because of Wenger's age, but he's definitely earned the right to go in a few years under his own terms and will leave a fantastic legacy. Aside from the trophies there is no way we'd be signing players like Ozil or Sanchez were we back at Highbury, we simply wouldn't have the money to. And it's questionable whether we'd have been able to move (we were barely filling Highbury in the 'boring boring Arsenal' era) and stay in the top 4 with the financial contraints the move imposed under any other manager.


In brief: Wenger :bow:


Winning things, pictures on Instagram and Twitter of him cavorting on the beach with scantily dressed young ladies....buying top quality players in positions we need.

It's Identity theft, whatever you've done with the real Wenger....don't let him come back

[Penguin]

Wenger has basically sat back and taken years of flogging from fans, pundits and journalists alike for something he had no control over. The board even put more pressure on him by openly lying about the amount of money he had to spend and making us believe that Wenger was on a crusade to win without spending. And he has done that while refusing offers from Real Madrid and PSG to loyally see his project through. My respect for the man has gone through the roof. He's a legend and fully deserves a chance to use the fruits of his labour.

But Wenger still has a lot to prove. He needs to build on the FA Cup victory and put in a serious challenge for the League and at least have a good attempt at the Champions league. No more silly tactics/substitutions. No more cheap, unnecessary points dropped against weaker teams. And absolutely no more humiliating 6 or 7 goal losses to 'big' teams.

In 2009 Wenger said:

"I think people who analyse the club in 10 years or 15 years will realise that this is a crucial period for the club and a very exciting one - a very difficult one as well," Wenger told reporters.

"They will realise that the work we have done over the last two or three years will be of quality.
It's Wenger's time now. The groundwork has been done and the platform has been built to enable us to compete with the best, largely down to Wenger himself and I for one hope he is the man to bring silverware back home. He at least deserves to see out his three year contract, regardless of whether or not he is as successful as we'd like in that time.

[ARightTouch]

Yep I think we are seeing a new Wenger, which will hopefully mean new silverware. I, like many, have been in or around the Wenger Out brigade over the last couple of years fearing that he has lost the plot. However, winning the FA Cup and signing Alexis Sanchez for 30 odd £m does not coincide with losing the plot. An outstanding signing for the team. Moreover he hasn't waited until 31st August to his business this time.

I haven't felt this positive pre season since??????? Cant remember

:dancingman:

[Heisenberg]

No, of course "Wenger out" isn't out. We're football fans, so we're still fickle and prone to knee-jerk reactions. Buying Sanchez has everyone on their feet clapping, as well it should, now but it wasn't like that a week ago, or whenever it was before the Sanchez train started moving. Back then, damn near everyone on this forum was complaining about our summer activities. We had "seen it all before", it was "typical Arsenal", because we weren't making any signings, we were dithering, ignoring the weaknesses in the team, Wenger was being stubborn again, he was frolicking on a beach rather than paying attention while other teams did their business, it was going to be another deadline day if anything summer.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Wenger has basically sat back and taken years of flogging from fans, pundits and journalists alike for something he had no control over. The board even put more pressure on him by openly lying about the amount of money he had to spend and making us believe that Wenger was on a crusade to win without spending. And he has done that while refusing offers from Real Madrid and PSG to loyally see his project through. My respect for the man has gone through the roof. He's a legend and fully deserves a chance to use the fruits of his labour.

I don't think it's quite as simple as that. I think there's been money to spend but Wenger decided to take it to the extreme and not spend any (apart from Ozil, of course). The board have always said they would fund a transfer but Wenger has always said he'd give £100m back if they gave it to him. Not saying he should have spent £100m, but you know what I mean- there was money there to address our deficiencies.

I suppose it's all in the past now. If we look back at those 8/9 years as a small drought in our history, then fuck it, it happened. Only time will tell. For now it's time to sit back and enjoy.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

No, of course "Wenger out" isn't out. We're football fans, so we're still fickle and prone to knee-jerk reactions. Buying Sanchez has everyone on their feet clapping, as well it should, now but it wasn't like that a week ago, or whenever it was before the Sanchez train started moving. Back then, damn near everyone on this forum was complaining about our summer activities. We had "seen it all before", it was "typical Arsenal", because we weren't making any signings, we were dithering, ignoring the weaknesses in the team, Wenger was being stubborn again, he was frolicking on a beach rather than paying attention while other teams did their business, it was going to be another deadline day if anything summer.

Have a day off mate, it's Friday.

[ARightTouch]

For now it's time to sit back and enjoy.

:wwf:

I wouldn't go that far :d

You certainly wont be saying that on the eve of Man City at home or Chelsea away :d

[Syn]

Definitely thought he'd wait and see what the big clubs do before looking for an opportunistic move but the way it was reported in the guardian, it seems this was a very well planned and clinical piece of work. There's no doubt that Wenger is a massive reason why top players may want to join. But you're trading that off against the likelihood that Wenger usually leaves the squad short in some way and his very rigid tactics (probably also caused by the lack of options). Even now we're short by at least a solid defensive mid and striker even if no-one leaves. Will need to wait until the end of the window to see if he corrects that. Hopefully there's a sense that he wants these 3 years to be great and go out on a high.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

i think there is a tiny minority on this board that will refuse to acknowledge anything good the manager does, whilst the rest of us are like any football fan very changeable. I think it's the way it is with every manager in every football club, if they do something well they are acclaimed and if they do something bad they are criticised...i don't think it's necessarily fickle, it's the way it should be.
AW has won a trophy for the first time in nine years, and now he and the club have secured the signing of what is for me a top, top class footballer who brings the pace and goal scoring ability that we have been looking for since Van Persie left....so he has bought himself a lot of goodwill

[Master Splinter]

I think Coyle would have been able to convince Ozil and Sanchez to sign as well.

[fakeyank]

As a Wenger Out Brigade veteran, I will say that I am very impressed with signing Sanchez and the imminent arrival of Debuchy. We are making all the right noises in the transfer market PLUS we won the FA Cup. I still have massive reservations about AW as a tactician and playing the best players in their best positions. I will wait to see how the season progresses before I decide to abandon 'wenger out' ship. We have had many false dawns but this dawn looks the most promising of the last 7-8 dawns. I'm excited... in fact very excited and I hope Wenger proves us 'wenger out' brigade wrong! :scarf:

[Niall_Quinn]

I'm reserving judgement until something goes wrong then I'll be all over it like venereal disease. Until then, I'll do a few muted whoops through clenched teeth.

[selassie]

I have/had wanted Arsene gone for a good few seasons but he/the club are doing good work in the market this summer, that can't be questioned. It's never been a case of "trophies" or "bust", more a case of hoping that Arsene/the club do everything in their power to allow us to compete. This doesn't mean I expect us to match the spending of City or Chelsea, but I do want us to use every single available resource to make us competitive as possible.

So far this summer I think we are being very pragmatic/ambitious and I really like this approach, I like that we have already signed Sanchez, I like the fact we are in the market for solid/experienced international players with the likes of Debuchy (Although I am not sold on him, he is experienced and a regular international starter), Ospina & Khedira being strongly linked.

This summer appears to be a turning point for Arsenal, we appear to be geniunely competing in the market for established quality and long may it continue. We are a BIG club with huge resources.

[Power n Glory]

Way too premature for this sort of talk. Brings a negative spin to the good vibes felt around the club as well. Say we were to get washed like last season against City, Liverpool and Chelsea? Say we suffer another injury crisis? Football does the talking but on the business side, I’m pretty satisfied. Wenger’s not afraid to spend money and we now know Gazidis and Stan aren’t simply here to milk us dry. It’s looking good.

[Master Splinter]

Wenger out.

Of the country is good.

He's in Austria next week, so Carvalho, Schneiderlin, Nastasic, Balotelli and Kalou are definitely coming home.

[Niall_Quinn]

Whilst Wenger has done quite well so far in this transfer window, let's not be so quick to forget that he missed out on Negredo. Wenger :doh:

[KSE Comedy Club]

And signed Kallstrom.
Wenger :doh:

[Power n Glory]

It's not Wenger's fault! The board say we have over £100m to spend but that's not taking into account the wages and other costs..even with the new sponsors we're broke! ;)

[Niall_Quinn]

And did 9/11

Wenger :doh:

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Wenger told Leon Britton to bury that dossier containing information high profile child sex abusers within the corridors of Westminster

Bastard

[Injury Time]

He advise Jimmy Carr on his tax affairs :sulk:

[Letters]

He hasn't won us a trophy in 8 years 2 months. :angry:

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

People that wanted Wenger out :haha:

[GP]

Wenger out out!

[Letters]

http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/image-library/square/250/m/micky-flanagan-dvd-3d_final_10,11.jpg

[Heisenberg]

http://wp-ag.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2014/05/loop-global-sports-Arsene-Wenger-signs-new-deal.jpg

[GP]

http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae331/mattlamb1982/WUMger.jpg

[Master Splinter]

Do not forget he also was gazumped in the Samba, Fellaini and Ben Arfa signings.

[GP]

Do not forget he also was gazumped in the Samba, Fellaini and Ben Arfa signings.

Missed out on BSP, too

:doh:

[Letters]

Wenger had money and chose not to spend it.





:haha:
:haha:

[Niall_Quinn]

:haha:

It's a lot worse than that - he was stealing from the club. He should be in jail, or killed.

Sort of joking aside though, this is getting really worrying. We could end up seriously competing this year. Worst case scenario we could win something again which would make it two years running. Not saying it will happen but we're starting to see more depth to the squad and it was this lack of depth that was the saving grace last year and gave us those big losses to compensate for the cup win. With that lack of depth gone there's nothing to stop us mounting a sustained challenge. Not only that, but the whole injury thing in general will be undermined if we have too many decent players in the squad. They've even brought in new medical and fitness staff FFS!

Okay so we've blown £60mill already trying to buy the title, we've got squad depth, players are coming back from injury, we have world cup winners rejoining the squad soon, the commercial side of things is depressingly strong, but it's not all doom and gloom and the fact remains, Wenger isn't the guy to move this club forward. We almost never won anything ever again with him in charge. He's stubbornly refused to spend the money he's obviously had, then all of a sudden he goes into full financial doping mode, there's no middle ground with this guy, he's out of control. He's a total control freak. We had a glorious opportunity to get rid of him and bring Owen Coyle in. In truth, that opportunity is dead now, I just can't see it happening. Somehow, for some reason, Wenger has survived. He'll literally do anything, absolutely anything, to hang on to his fat salary even if it means trebling the financial power of the club, building world class amenities, bringing in world class players and winning trophies. I wouldn't put anything past him. We hates the Wenger. We hates it! Stole from us it did, sneaky, tricksy Wenger. We ought to squeeze him, yes.

[Power n Glory]

Seriously, aren't any of you wondering why we didn't push the boat out like this last summer or during the winter when the title race was there for the taking?

I read arguments last season saying the money wasn't there and the £100 odd million was swallowed up by wages and the Ozil deal but that argument can be ruled out now in light of this summer window, surely?

What was holding us back from really pushing for that title?

[Niall_Quinn]

Seriously, aren't any of you wondering why we didn't push the boat out like this last summer or during the winter when the title race was there for the taking?

I read arguments last season saying the money wasn't there and the £100 odd million was swallowed up by wages and the Ozil deal but that argument can be ruled out now in light of this summer window, surely?

What was holding us back from really pushing for that title?

Injuries, player availability, player wages demands, agent bung demands, the English premium, paying all the relatives if you are going into the South American market, the fact you can't build an entire squad in one year even if you are one of the dopers. Even with this year's activity, it may take another 2-3 transfer windows to get together the squad that will not just challenge for the title but also for the title after that and the one after. But it's all heading in the right direction.

[Özim]

Got to hand it to Wenger he's gone out and put his money where his mouth is for once (well not his money but you know what I mean). There's a couple of signings who are top notch and a few I'm not so sure about.

At the moment though other than Sanchez we're replacing players, Ospina replacing Fabiansky, Debuchy Sagna and Chambers Jenkinson it looks like.

I'd like us to sign a DM and an out and out striker, Sanchez is top notch but I see him as more of a wide player.

[Letters]

I'd like one top striker. If we do that it will have been an outstanding summer.

[selassie]

To be fair I think we have had a pretty decent summer already, Wenger has exceeded my expectations...though they were pretty low to begin with ;)

If we add a quality Midfielder or Striker to the squad then this summer would have been pretty much flawless in terms of player recruitment.

[Power n Glory]

I'm hoping Wenger will turn Sanchez into a striker if he's not going to buy one. I think he still wants a Saurez type menace up front.

[Syn]

I'm hoping Wenger will turn Sanchez into a striker if he's not going to buy one. I think he still wants a Saurez type menace up front.

It seems that's exactly what he's planning as soon as Walcott's back. Also seems we're keeping Joel Campbell who'll be LANS. If we make one more signing it has to be the monster DM/CM that can go up against Matic and Ramires or Fernandinho and Yaya. A big presence in the centre to stop us getting hit for 6 every big game.

[Power n Glory]

It seems that's exactly what he's planning as soon as Walcott's back. Also seems we're keeping Joel Campbell who'll be LANS. If we make one more signing it has to be the monster DM/CM that can go up against Matic and Ramires or Fernandinho and Yaya. A big presence in the centre to stop us getting hit for 6 every big game.

I hope that's the case. If he can adapt to the role, he'd an absolute beast! I think that was his original plan for Gervinho but the guy just had no composure and lost confidence.

Agree on the midfielder. Just some more steel there and if we keep Verm, we have a very strong squad.

[selassie]

I'm hoping Wenger will turn Sanchez into a striker if he's not going to buy one. I think he still wants a Saurez type menace up front.

Yeah I am sure I read somewhere that he mentioned Sanchez as a Striker.

To be fair Sanchez looked very good playing upfront for Chile and has looked good when I have seen him upfront for Barca too so I am not against him being our new striker.

[Marc Overmars]

I think I'd rather see a quality CM come in than a striker now. Theo and Sanchez will add a new dimension to the attack but we've still got that soft centre that needs to be padded out. Arteta and Flamini are too passive and limited in what they do, they're the obvious weak link.

Although I suppose Diaby is back...

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Wenger has alluded to being open to Sanchez in the central role.....but why do you lot think Walcott needs to be back before he does it?

Wenger could just as easily play Chamberlain wide right, which with the congestion in midfield is really where he ought to play and Cazorla/Podolski wide left. Even if you think neither of those 2 are suited to the wide left position, Wenger is clearly not adverse to it.

I do worry a little that without Giroud on the field and with Sanchez in his stead, allied with the absence of a new DM, we are a strikingly small team.....especially beyond the CB pairing.

Cazorla, Sanchez, Walcott would be the smallest front 3 in world football wouldn't it? We're talking an under 14's girls team here. :d

I know Pedro, Messi, Neymar aren't exactly titans but Messi is Messi and they play in a very different league.

[Power n Glory]

Wenger has alluded to being open to Sanchez in the central role.....but why do you lot think Walcott needs to be back before he does it?

Wenger could just as easily play Chamberlain wide right, which with the congestion in midfield is really where he ought to play and Cazorla/Podolski wide left. Even if you think neither of those 2 are suited to the wide left position, Wenger is clearly not adverse to it.

I do worry a little that without Giroud on the field and with Sanchez in his stead, allied with the absence of a new DM, we are a strikingly small team.....especially beyond the CB pairing.

Cazorla, Sanchez, Walcott would be the smallest front 3 in world football wouldn't it? We're talking an under 14's girls team here. :d

I know Pedro, Messi, Neymar aren't exactly titans but Messi is Messi and they play in a very different league.

I think we need mobility over power and physically presence up front. It's no good having a guy up there wrestling with defenders all game but has nothing left in the tank or simply too slow to burst into the box after laying off a crafty pass. That's where we've gone wrong up front. We've been signing physical strikers since Ade, but the key to Ade's goals for us was his mobility. He'd be constantly on the move and that just tired out defenders then he'd steam roller through. When he got tired or lazy, the goals dried up. We didn't get that sort of movement from Chamakh and we won't get that from Giroud. I hoping to see the new front three blitz the opposition with quick movement and intricate passing.

I remember the few games where Theo got a game up front the relentless attacks and chances we had on goal. It was more exciting to watch and it scares the opposition. But we do need to get some bulk and muscle in the midfield.

[Syn]

Wenger has alluded to being open to Sanchez in the central role.....but why do you lot think Walcott needs to be back before he does it?

It's just what Wenger said in an interview.


“He can play through the middle, he can play on both flanks and he has the qualities that I think are needed in England. He's brave, works hard and all these qualities together made me go for him.

At the moment he might play on the flank because Walcott is injured.

http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20140718/wenger-alexis-will-thrive-in-england

[Syn]

Oh, sorry, didn't read your question properly. No idea why Walcott needs to be back. Tbh I'd leave a space open for Chamberlain this season. Got a sense last season he's about to make a Ramsey-style jump up. The injury came at a bad time for him, really.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Ahhh I hadn't realised Wenger said that. Seems fairly straight forward then. Looks like he see's Sanchez as the speedy wide option rather than the more play making type as we know he likes 1 more traditional winger and 1 playmaker in the wide positions.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

I think we need mobility over power and physically presence up front. It's no good having a guy up there wrestling with defenders all game but has nothing left in the tank or simply too slow to burst into the box after laying off a crafty pass. That's where we've gone wrong up front. We've been signing physical strikers since Ade, but the key to Ade's goals for us was his mobility. He'd be constantly on the move and that just tired out defenders then he'd steam roller through. When he got tired or lazy, the goals dried up. We didn't get that sort of movement from Chamakh and we won't get that from Giroud. I hoping to see the new front three blitz the opposition with quick movement and intricate passing.

I remember the few games where Theo got a game up front the relentless attacks and chances we had on goal. It was more exciting to watch and it scares the opposition. But we do need to get some bulk and muscle in the midfield.

The point I'm making though is that we would potentially have no, or very little power on the field but we will always have a reasonable amount of mobility even if they aren't all as quick as Walcott. We don't need to choose one or the other, there are forwards who have both the physical presence and the mobility.

In an ideal world, that's the sort of guy we would have. Chamakh, Ade and Giroud have question marks over their ability. The first requirement should be their technical ability but in that solitary role you want that guy to have a physical presence. Especially if it is nowhere else to be seen on the field, for balance and options as much as anything else otherwise we might find ourselves struggling to switch things up.

[Power n Glory]

The point I'm making though is that we would potentially have no, or very little power on the field but we will always have a reasonable amount of mobility even if they aren't all as quick as Walcott. We don't need to choose one or the other, there are forwards who have both the physical presence and the mobility.

In an ideal world, that's the sort of guy we would have. Chamakh, Ade and Giroud have question marks over their ability. The first requirement should be their technical ability but in that solitary role you want that guy to have a physical presence. Especially if it is nowhere else to be seen on the field, for balance and options as much as anything else otherwise we might find ourselves struggling to switch things up.

I agree, it shouldn't be either or. We should be able to find a striker with pace and power but I don't think Wenger fancies the options out there. Benzema, Balotelli, Bony and Cavani have been shopped about by their agents and he hasn't moved for them.

We moved quickly on Sanchez and if we play him through the middle, we'd know why. I hope that's his plan and he's back to converting wingers into strikers!

But if we're going to have a small strike force, we'd need to bulk up central midfield. A big CDM could help with that. We'll see. We'd still have Giroud as an option off the bench if Plan A doesn't work.

[fakeyank]

I think we need to play two up top.. Giroud/Sanchez, Giroud/Walcott, Sanchez/Sanogo, Campbell/Sanchez, Campbell/Giroud... In the away matches or top 4 games, we can bolster our midfield with 5 players but for the majority of the games, we should play 2 up front.

[Harvey Specter]

With FA cup victory following by the unveiling of Alexis Sanchez in the space of 2 short months, things have never been different at the club. There's a sense of positivity and enthusiasm that's seeping through from board to fans, and after years of bleak, dreary results, it's simply nothing we don't deserve.

The question is whether the Wenger out brigade are officially out, and whether this type of investment makes fans accept him again?

Summer 2014 was always the promised land as Gazidis knew our income streams would explode following years of austerity. Within months of penning the new commercial deals the board have splashed £35m on one of the best talents on the planet. They aren't stopping here; rumours are circulating that Wenger is close to a deal for exciting right back Debuchy, while he has a DM, GK and even another striker on his mind.

The thing with buying top players is that it allows fans to be patient. If we don't win the league next season then at least we can say we tried, and that for me is the crucial part because for years we couldn't say that. Buying players like Sanchez, Ozil and Debuchy shows that the club aren't sitting back making excuses anymore, they're willing to give it a serious go and win silverware. When you watch Sanogo, Diaby and Djourou it frustrates fans because you know the club can perform better if the manager simply invested. We don't pay the highest ticket prices in the world to watch a bunch of novices pull on our beloved Arsenal shirt.

While the club has erupted into a civil war over the past few years as fans have bickered about the man in charge, it's fair to say that Wenger's hunger seems to be back and that if we get anywhere near the same guy that provided us with the invincibles, then the future will not only be bright but unforgettable.

Thank you Wenger out, your union served me well over the past few years, but I'm officially out. This is a new era. The Arsenal are coming.

Well, he's spent money and won a major trophy, so it's normal that people will change their mind. Having taken so long to make that choice to reinforce the squad with quality after letting people go, however, is still something that should be questioned in a constructive fashion. After how ever many years it had been, even his greatest supporters were of the opinion that perhaps it was time to move on.

The whole idea of a Wenger Out campaign now seems silly considering the changes in context of your squad, silverware and spending; but that doesn't mean it was previously a wrong stance to take considering the length of time it took to happen.

[Power n Glory]

:gp: I’m still wondering why we didn’t spend this sort of money last season when the Prem was wide open. I was certain we had a shot at the title last year and just needed a striker to seal it. This year, I’m not so sure.

Also, if we go into this season with a thin defensive line, it drags up the same issues again. Why haven’t we spent when the money is obviously there.

[Niall_Quinn]

Wenger is desperately trying to hang on to his job by winning trophies and strengthening the team. It's cynical stuff but hopefully at least some of the fans can see through it.

[Harvey Specter]

:gp: I’m still wondering why we didn’t spend this sort of money last season when the Prem was wide open. I was certain we had a shot at the title last year and just needed a striker to seal it. This year, I’m not so sure.

Also, if we go into this season with a thin defensive line, it drags up the same issues again. Why haven’t we spent when the money is obviously there.

Well indeed.

People like to point to the fact that you guys were top and had a successful season and no doubt that's true. But I think it's reasonable, as you have done, to question why investment wasn't sought from a position of strength when City and Chelsea weren't hitting their stride.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Might be joining the movement again in 24 hours so

bump

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

for me we need three players to challenge for the title, that's not going to happen, and we have enough personnel wise to make sure we get top four...so really makes no difference whether he stays or goes.

[fakeyank]

We can buy Messi and Ronaldo and we will still be shit under Vinegar. He will drill tippy tappy inside their DNA till they become shit.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

hmm i thought we broke well from defence today and look quick, sharp and pacey in our attack....then it came through to Sanogo

[Letters]

We can buy Messi and Ronaldo and we will still be shit under Vinegar. He will drill tippy tappy inside their DNA till they become shit.

79 points and the FA Cup and we're 'shit'? :lol:

[mastermind84]

man's a spent force without ideas. its sad to see him go out like this.

[fakeyank]

79 points and the FA Cup and we're 'shit'? :lol:

Getting hammered by any semblance of a decent team in the PL and horrible squad selections coupled with equal eye gorgingly slow boring football... yes, 'shit' is the right word.

Golf or chess your favorite or 2nd favorite sport to watch by any chance?

[Letters]

Getting hammered by any semblance of a decent team in the PL and horrible squad selections coupled with equal eye gorgingly slow boring football... yes, 'shit' is the right word.

Golf or chess your favorite or 2nd favorite sport to watch by any chance?
We're in the top 16 teams in Europe, consistently. So no, no it isn't. :good:

[fakeyank]

We're in the top 16 teams in Europe, consistently. So no, no it isn't. :good:

We are number 1 in ticket prices and top 5 in revenue. Nothing about the football we play shows that.

[Letters]

OK. That's a different debate though. We are not 'shit'. To say we are as good as we should be given our revenue is a more reasonable argument

EDIT: Shouldn't you be in bed? You'd better not be in London... :threaten:

[bignev]

Getting hammered by any semblance of a decent team in the PL and horrible squad selections coupled with equal eye gorgingly slow boring football... yes, 'shit' is the right word.

Golf or chess your favorite or 2nd favorite sport to watch by any chance?

I understand your frustrations but seriously, your post is such rubbish.

If it were true we would not be anywhere near the CL would we?

[fakeyank]

I understand your frustrations but seriously, your post is such rubbish.

If it were true we would not be anywhere near the CL would we?

So which part do you disagree with? Do you think we play beautiful football? Or do you think we play our best squad (reference Sanogo for recent times)? Or do you think we put up a fight away from home, against the top 5 last season?

The problem with you lot is that you are used to mediocrity and expect the same from your football club. Got chumps league football and you are happy... heck, we pay the most in ticket prices and we play absolutely horrible football to show for it. I really wish you had more ambition.. just like the manager of our football club.

[fakeyank]

OK. That's a different debate though. We are not 'shit'. To say we are as good as we should be given our revenue is a more reasonable argument

EDIT: Shouldn't you be in bed? You'd better not be in London... :threaten:

Its labor day weekend, so I was awake till late winning in Fifa! :lol:

[Letters]

:lol:

Fakeyank in!

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

With 8 minutes left Wenger saved his legacy

Wenger knows :bow:

[Grebbo]

I'm puzzled as to why Ozil isn't being played through the middle, absolute waste of his talent.

We also really should have bought a DM.

Other than that I'm happy with Wenger and this window.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

4 games in and it's pretty clear Wenger is holding us back.

Zonal marking leading to free headers.
The best number 10 in the world on the left.
Plays a guy with 0 work rate and hates tracking back in front of Monreal, a defender that needs as much help as possible, against Zabaleta and Navas.
Goes into a 50 game season with 6 defenders.
Doesn't buy a holding midfielder.

Yeah, fuck off.

[Niall_Quinn]

4 games in and it's pretty clear Wenger is holding us back.

Zonal marking leading to free headers.
The best number 10 in the world on the left.
Plays a guy with 0 work rate and hates tracking back in front of Monreal, a defender that needs as much help as possible, against Zabaleta and Navas.
Goes into a 50 game season with 6 defenders.
Doesn't buy a holding midfielder.

Yeah, fuck off.

On the plus side:

After years of dross has finally started signing decent defenders, Kos, Merts, Debuchy, Chambers - chances are we'll get it right with those guys.
He'll have to change his mind on Ozil when Walcott is back, in fact he'll have to change the whole system if he wants to take advantage of the talent at his disposal.
Turns out Ramsey is a deeply technical player, who knew? He's the guy who will end up playing left, he's perfect for it and we just have to buy a defender in January - we must.
See previous - we must buy a defender, even Wenger knows this.
I suspect Wenger has a long term prospect on the radar, Bender. Now that our players are staying instead of running out the door, it may only take one more transfer window to get this right.

But yes, we have demanded the players up their performances and many of them have. The manager needs to up his game too.

[AFC Leveller]

4 games in and it's pretty clear Wenger is holding us back.

Zonal marking leading to free headers.
The best number 10 in the world on the left.
Plays a guy with 0 work rate and hates tracking back in front of Monreal, a defender that needs as much help as possible, against Zabaleta and Navas.
Goes into a 50 game season with 6 defenders.
Doesn't buy a holding midfielder.

Yeah, fuck off.

The best number 10 in THIS league is Silva, by far. I dont know about his stats but everytime i see him he runs the show.

Ozil looks slow and lethargic and needs a proper manager to get the best out of him.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Hmmm i don't blame Wenger for Ozil....if nothing else i think Wenger gives players freedom to express themselves despite the starting position they are shoe horned into...Ozil is just not trying.

[Power n Glory]

Ozil often drifts into wide areas when playing the number 10 and if his performances were significantly different to what we're currently seeing, then yes, blame Wenger.

But this is where he played for Germany and there is a reason why both coaches have shifted him wide. The German coach won the World Cup for crying out load! Was he wrong?

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

On the plus side:

After years of dross has finally started signing decent defenders, Kos, Merts, Debuchy, Chambers - chances are we'll get it right with those guys.
He'll have to change his mind on Ozil when Walcott is back, in fact he'll have to change the whole system if he wants to take advantage of the talent at his disposal.
Turns out Ramsey is a deeply technical player, who knew? He's the guy who will end up playing left, he's perfect for it and we just have to buy a defender in January - we must.
See previous - we must buy a defender, even Wenger knows this.
I suspect Wenger has a long term prospect on the radar, Bender. Now that our players are staying instead of running out the door, it may only take one more transfer window to get this right.

But yes, we have demanded the players up their performances and many of them have. The manager needs to up his game too.

Yawn.

Unfortunately the obvious might stare us right in the face but it doesn't to the one guy that matters.

'Next transfer window this, next transfer window that'. Fuck all will happen and we'll still have glaring deficiencies in our team.

[Niall_Quinn]

Yawn.

Unfortunately the obvious might stare us right in the face but it doesn't to the one guy that matters.

'Next transfer window this, next transfer window that'. Fuck all will happen and we'll still have glaring deficiencies in our team.

And yet things are happening in transfer windows. Not all at once, but bit by bit. Seems unlikely we'll start going backwards now, no sign of that.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

And yet things are happening in transfer windows. Not all at once, but bit by bit. Seems unlikely we'll start going backwards now, no sign of that.

Things might be happening but they're happening at such a slow pace that we're no better than before.

Sign Sanchez and Welbeck - one step forward
Go into the season with 6 defenders and no top DM - one step back.

Another manager would ensure we have what we need, meaning we take two steps forward.

[gunnerrrrr]

I think the very best managers, for the top clubs, identify what they need, work to get it quickly and try and have it done before pre season.
Wenger at times struggles with the concept of balance. Great we bought Sanchez, and Debaucy, however we let Sagna, Jenko and Vermalen go.

Midfield is the biggest example yet of the complete lopsidedness in the way Wenger thinks. Yet he knows we need a top class DM, we are linked to a few quality ones, and yet come the end of the transfer window we are low balling teams with offers to see if we can strike a bargain. Why risk that? Why not go in early, pay a premium if relevant and get the business done. If we believe the player to be that good than the premium paid will balance itself out.

Chelease really set the bench mark this season for transfer business, if Wenger has any common sense left in him he should use what they did as the bench mark.

Wenger is becoming a parody of himself. I loved we won the FA cup last year, however unless he starts balancing the team and not putting square pegs in round circles, i think he should go.

[topgun]

No amount of transfer windows is going to hide how tacticly inept the guy is,and that is going to be a problem going forward.

[Maestro]

why is he taking years and years to address blatant positional deficiencies in the team. don't get me wrong it's great that we are starting to replace players who have left over the years but consider this:

1. Gibbs is injury prone, we've known this for years but wumget thinks nachos (non-defensive left winger) is adequate cover - it's costing us
2. We need a top quality player to anchor our midfield, we've known this for years but wumget thinks flamini and arteta are adequate - it's costing us
3. We've needed a quality front man since the cunt left, we've known this for years but wumget thinks giroud and sanogo were the answer ...injury then forces his hand in getting welbeck (jury's still out) - it has cost us for years and may well continue to
4. Tommy V went downhill, then left and he opts not to replace him with adequate experience or reasonable quality - will it cost us? take wild guess

This is years of neglect in clear areas of need.

Don't get me started on his in-game organisational, motivational and tactical acumen. Wenger has been great for us and is still a good manager, but just not good enough if we aspire for anything more than top 4.

Anyway, he's here for another 3 years so I have adjusted my expectations accordingly, but fact is the club and in particular the manager can be doing a hell lot better.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

why is he taking years and years to address blatant positional deficiencies in the team. don't get me wrong it's great that we are starting to replace players who have left over the years but consider this:

1. Gibbs is injury prone, we've known this for years but wumget thinks nachos (non-defensive left winger) is adequate cover - it's costing us
2. We need a top quality player to anchor our midfield, we've known this for years but wumget thinks flamini and arteta are adequate - it's costing us
3. We've needed a quality front man since the cunt left, we've known this for years but wumget thinks giroud and sanogo were the answer ...injury then forces his hand in getting welbeck (jury's still out) - it has cost us for years and may well continue to
4. Tommy V went downhill, then left and he opts not to replace him with adequate experience or reasonable quality - will it cost us? take wild guess

This is years of neglect in clear areas of need.

Don't get me started on his in-game organisational, motivational and tactical acumen. Wenger has been great for us and is still a good manager, but just not good enough if we aspire for anything more than top 4.

Anyway, he's here for another 3 years so I have adjusted my expectations accordingly, but fact is the club and in particular the manager can be doing a hell lot better.


To be fair, when Wenger does go i can hardly see him leaving us in the same shit as old whiskey cheeks left united....if he went tomorrow, a new manager would have some absolute quality on his hands....he'd need defensive reinforcements for sure but that's a damn sight better than having to build a whole new team.

[Maestro]

To be fair, when Wenger does go i can hardly see him leaving us in the same shit as old whiskey cheeks left united....if he went tomorrow, a new manager would have some absolute quality on his hands....he'd need defensive reinforcements for sure but that's a damn sight better than having to build a whole new team.

yes and I'll give him that, he's done an absolute lot of good things for this club and the game overall

[Letters]

4 games in and it's pretty clear...
4 games into a season nothing is ever clear.
Marathon not a sprint, and all that.
It's ridiculous to draw any conclusions yet.

[Xhaka Can’t]

4 games into a season nothing is ever clear.
Marathon not a sprint, and all that.
It's ridiculous to draw any conclusions yet.
True.

But four games into his 18th season does provide a sizeable body of evidence from which to draw conclusions.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

:gp:

[Letters]

True.

But four games into his 18th season does provide a sizeable body of evidence from which to draw conclusions.

:lol:

That's fair enough. And my conclusion from that is while Wenger may not be perfect he's not as inept as some on here make out. You don't finish top 4 every year and win all the trophies we have under him by luck or by not being any good. We do need to start thinking about a post-Wenger Arsenal if only because of his age but we have to be careful about it. Some managers may do a better job for us, far more wouldn't.

[GP]

:lol:

That's fair enough. And my conclusion from that is while Wenger may not be perfect he's not as inept as some on here make out. You don't finish top 4 every year and win all the trophies we have under him by luck or by not being any good. We do need to start thinking about a post-Wenger Arsenal if only because of his age but we have to be careful about it. Some managers may do a better job for us, far more wouldn't.

#BumblingIdiot

[Power n Glory]

You have to question what the man is thinking when you look at the situation we're already in with our defenders. Debuchy out for two months, Monreal and Chamabers might be out for the Dortmund game...it's negligence.

You can also tell that the players haven't had a proper pre season preparation. We played fewer pre season games than our rivals and it shows on the pitch. The fitness levels aren't right and we seem so unorganised defensively compared to the start of last season where we were keeping clean sheets. Forget conceding in every game, we're conceding goals on every first shot our opponents get on target.

Wenger has to really put a shift in this season. The progress we made last season could be undone in one summer. We signed some good players, but neglected key areas and it's showing. All the posters piping up early in the summer over the signings need to take this sort of thing into consideration when he's getting hammered on here. He doesn't help himself.

[fakeyank]

You have to question what the man is thinking when you look at the situation we're already in with our defenders. Debuchy out for two months, Monreal and Chamabers might be out for the Dortmund game...it's negligence.

You can also tell that the players haven't had a proper pre season preparation. We played fewer pre season games than our rivals and it shows on the pitch. The fitness levels aren't right and we seem so unorganised defensively compared to the start of last season where we were keeping clean sheets. Forget conceding in every game, we're conceding goals on every first shot our opponents get on target.

Wenger has to really put a shift in this season. The progress we made last season could be undone in one summer. We signed some good players, but neglected key areas and it's showing. All the posters piping up early in the summer over the signings need to take this sort of thing into consideration when he's getting hammered on here. He doesn't help himself.

When you say progress in last season? Is that solely based on the FA Cup win? Or is it because we had the most clean sheets? If thats the case, we were also hammered away from home by all the top teams. The FA cup makes me think we made progress from a mentality standpoint, but Wigan and Pompey also won the FA Cup. Other than the game against City this weekend, I have not seen ONE thing we have done that makes me think our style or standard of football is better and where we can say that we look like title contenders.

Are we playing better attacking football? Is our defense better? Is our man management better? The answer to these questions to me is a No and for that, I am not surprised. Wenger really missed the boat with signing a replacement for Tommy V and Sagna. Even now, it is a no brainer to bring in some free agent(s) 'just to get bodies in'. We have absolutely nobody to play in defense other than the 4 thats playing.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Chambers a doubt :haha:

So we now have 3 first team defenders available for Dortmund :haha: :haha:

Wenger is holding us back.

No other manager would go into a season so underprepared.

[Power n Glory]

When you say progress in last season? Is that solely based on the FA Cup win? Or is it because we had the most clean sheets? If thats the case, we were also hammered away from home by all the top teams. The FA cup makes me think we made progress from a mentality standpoint, but Wigan and Pompey also won the FA Cup. Other than the game against City this weekend, I have not seen ONE thing we have done that makes me think our style or standard of football is better and where we can say that we look like title contenders.

Are we playing better attacking football? Is our defense better? Is our man management better? The answer to these questions to me is a No and for that, I am not surprised. Wenger really missed the boat with signing a replacement for Tommy V and Sagna. Even now, it is a no brainer to bring in some free agent(s) 'just to get bodies in'. We have absolutely nobody to play in defense other than the 4 thats playing.

Would you say we regressed last season if you compare it to the season before? Besides the hammerings we took to our main rivals, we looked defensively organised and had a CB pairing that worked together and were dependable. We haven't had that since the Campbell and Toure combination. The football wasn't pretty but we grinded out results and it looked as if we had a solid defence. I'm not discounting the hammerings we took, I think that was more of mental issue, but regardless, I'd hope the experience would have had us prepared this season. But that's been taken out of our hands with poor planning and not buying defensive cover where needed.

It doesn't matter about other teams winning the FA Cup. The fact is we won it. We're a team that bottled a League Cup Final against a relegated team. The fact that we turned around a 2 goal deficit to win in extra time without the need for penalties is a sign of progress regardless of opposition. You have to give some credit where it's due.

I didn't say we've made progress THIS season. In fact, it looks like we could have gone backwards in some weird way. As said, I thought we made progress last season but it looks like it could have already been undone. I thought it was going to be hard enough to challenge for the title this year. Top 4 may even be a struggle if Liverpool and Utd get their act together. The last thing we need is to be having this internal battle with our fitness and Wenger is the worst for managing this sort of thing. He'll overplay players, won't make subs, bad team selection and destroy the confidence of a young player....we've seen it all before and I think we could be heading for that sort of season. We're on a uphill battle already and the season hasn't really even kicked off.

[fakeyank]

Would you say we regressed last season if you compare it to the season before? Besides the hammerings we took to our main rivals, we looked defensively organised and had a CB pairing that worked together and were dependable. We haven't had that since the Campbell and Toure combination. The football wasn't pretty but we grinded out results and it looked as if we had a solid defence. I'm not discounting the hammerings we took, I think that was more of mental issue, but regardless, I'd hope the experience would have had us prepared this season. But that's been taken out of our hands with poor planning and not buying defensive cover where needed.

It doesn't matter about other teams winning the FA Cup. The fact is we won it. We're a team that bottled a League Cup Final against a relegated team. The fact that we turned around a 2 goal deficit to win in extra time without the need for penalties is a sign of progress regardless of opposition. You have to give some credit where it's due.

I didn't say we've made progress THIS season. In fact, it looks like we could have gone backwards in some weird way. As said, I thought we made progress last season but it looks like it could have already been undone. I thought it was going to be hard enough to challenge for the title this year. Top 4 may even be a struggle if Liverpool and Utd get their act together. The last thing we need is to be having this internal battle with our fitness and Wenger is the worst for managing this sort of thing. He'll overplay players, won't make subs, bad team selection and destroy the confidence of a young player....we've seen it all before and I think we could be heading for that sort of season. We're on a uphill battle already and the season hasn't really even kicked off.

I dont think we have regressed. I think we are/have been at the same level since 08. We have shown improvement in grinding out wins but along with that progress, our football keeps regressing to eye gorging standards. So, we have a + and then with that comes a -. And thats why I say, we are the same level.

If you take the FA Cup final out of the way, we didnt show any real progress in my opinion. I do however think we had a tremendous amount of goodwill around the club.. something that had been missing around our club forever! We signed players early and looked set to challenge.. and then things just stopped! We didnt sign the players required and have again gone gambling on crocks (Diaby, Gibbs, Walcott).

[Bumble]

I know people are talking about free agents but a aren't these players no one else wants.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Wenger wanted to spend but the board wouldn't give him money :haha:

[Power n Glory]

I dont think we have regressed. I think we are/have been at the same level since 08. We have shown improvement in grinding out wins but along with that progress, our football keeps regressing to eye gorging standards. So, we have a + and then with that comes a -. And thats why I say, we are the same level.

If you take the FA Cup final out of the way, we didnt show any real progress in my opinion. I do however think we had a tremendous amount of goodwill around the club.. something that had been missing around our club forever! We signed players early and looked set to challenge.. and then things just stopped! We didnt sign the players required and have again gone gambling on crocks (Diaby, Gibbs, Walcott).

I wouldn't say we're at 08 level. We definitely haven't been at the same consistent level. When Cesc and Nasri level, it knocked us back a peg in terms of creativity and the way we'd dominate teams. Then RVP left and we're even further back in the striking department. I'd say we were below 08 levels because weren't even challenging for the title. Last season was the first time in ages we looked like we possibly could win the league. We dropped off a peg and now it's now starting to look like we're one or two players shorts where a couple of seasons back you'd know we had no hope in hell for the title.

Our attacking fluidity wasn't there last season, the goals weren't there but it was the first time in years we built a functioning defence.

[Harland]

I dont think we have regressed. I think we are/have been at the same level since 08. We have shown improvement in grinding out wins but along with that progress, our football keeps regressing to eye gorging standards. So, we have a + and then with that comes a -. And thats why I say, we are the same level.

If you take the FA Cup final out of the way, we didnt show any real progress in my opinion. I do however think we had a tremendous amount of goodwill around the club.. something that had been missing around our club forever! We signed players early and looked set to challenge.. and then things just stopped! We didnt sign the players required and have again gone gambling on crocks (Diaby, Gibbs, Walcott).

I would say that being in a position to challenge for the title until the last leg of the race was a sign of progress.

The last few seasons before that was us clinching 4th on the last day or so.....

Having said that, i'm getting rather worried by the season so far. We really, really, really need to kick on immediately.

[fakeyank]

I would say that being in a position to challenge for the title until the last leg of the race was a sign of progress.

The last few seasons before that was us clinching 4th on the last day or so.....

Having said that, i'm getting rather worried by the season so far. We really, really, really need to kick on immediately.

I think almost all 'pessimists' (more like 'realists') had said that we will fold and die the moment we face decent opposition last season. Both times we hit a stretch of hard games- near Xmas and in March, we folded like a pack of cards! I think we had shown similar glimpses of 'title challenging' credentials in 07/08, 09/10 and last season. Every one of these times, we have folded around March or April.

[Letters]

I don't think anyone expected us to last the distance last year but to be top of the league for so long - having just about scraped into the top 4 the previous two seasons - showed clear progress. And, of course, we won the FA Cup which got the 'not winning trophies' monkey off our back.
There was clear progress last year compared with the previous one (which is the only sensible comparison). The question is have we built on that. We seemed to be making some good signings in the summer but right now we don't look any better than last year, so far we're looking worse. It's early yet though, Saturday's performance encouraged me so let's see where we are around Christmas, that's usually when you get a better idea of how you're doing.

[LDG]

Tactically, we're as poor as ever. That's Wenger's fault.

We have 6 defenders to last us at least until January, one of whom is Monreal, who is soooo poor defensively. That's Wenger's fault.

Aside from that, the team is good enough to push on, and we should be beating City last weekend, as I still don't think they're all that good! That was the players fault.

[Power n Glory]

I don't think anyone expected us to last the distance last year but to be top of the league for so long - having just about scraped into the top 4 the previous two seasons - showed clear progress. And, of course, we won the FA Cup which got the 'not winning trophies' monkey off our back.
There was clear progress last year compared with the previous one (which is the only sensible comparison). The question is have we built on that. We seemed to be making some good signings in the summer but right now we don't look any better than last year, so far we're looking worse. It's early yet though, Saturday's performance encouraged me so let's see where we are around Christmas, that's usually when you get a better idea of how you're doing.

Not many expected us to win the league because they knew our squad was thin and we didn’t have a world class striker. It’s the same situation this year. The same situation when losing RVP. It’s an ongoing cycle. We had a discussion last year regarding title expectations and I still maintain we could have won if we went into the season better prepared. We needed a world class striker but didn’t move for one in the summer or January transfer window. It didn’t take a genius to see that we’d struggle to keep up the pace with that wafer thin squad. But here we are again.

We can wait to judge in January but we all know what’s going to happen. We won’t keep up the pace even if we’re on good form because we’ve handicapped ourselves with that small squad. We’re in no position to cope with injuries at the back and that will be our undoing. This all falls on Wenger and the blame can’t be shifted on to stadium debt, Stan, Gazidis, financial doping……or whatever else.

[Marc Overmars]

Unfortunately any progression we do make always seems to be superseded by some form of bad preparation. Wenger has no excuses for the depleted defence, it's laughable Chambers is expected to cover 2 positions and Monreal is deemed adequate enough to play CB.

[AFC Leveller]

Not many expected us to win the league because they knew our squad was thin and we didn’t have a world class striker. It’s the same situation this year. The same situation when losing RVP. It’s an ongoing cycle. We had a discussion last year regarding title expectations and I still maintain we could have won if we went into the season better prepared. We needed a world class striker but didn’t move for one in the summer or January transfer window. It didn’t take a genius to see that we’d struggle to keep up the pace with that wafer thin squad. But here we are again.

We can wait to judge in January but we all know what’s going to happen. We won’t keep up the pace even if we’re on good form because we’ve handicapped ourselves with that small squad. We’re in no position to cope with injuries at the back and that will be our undoing. This all falls on Wenger and the blame can’t be shifted on to stadium debt, Stan, Gazidis, financial doping……or whatever else.

Exactly.

How many times over the last few years have we said "this squad needs one or two world class signings and we'd win the league"? Wenger goes into every season short in at least one position and then when we fall short because of lack of preparation, he shift the blame from himself to bad luck, injuries, financial doping etc.

[Özim]

It's the same every transfer window isn't it, obvious weak areas that need patching up that never really seem to be, I never really understand why.

It's not difficult to see our weak areas, why does the manager never do the obvious and fix them when he has the chance.

[Letters]

This transfer window is a bit of a puzzle in that we do seem to have signed some good players.
And yet...while we're possibly stronger up front we now look hopelessly weak at the back which, for once, wasn't a big problem last season.

:doh:

[selassie]

This transfer window is a bit of a puzzle in that we do seem to have signed some good players.
And yet...while we're possibly stronger up front we now look hopelessly weak at the back which, for once, wasn't a big problem last season.

:doh:

It's not a puzzle, it's how Wenger operates in the market and manages his squad, he is a compulsive gambler who takes unnecessary risks. Our situation in Defence is laughable, it's mismanagement of the highest order and quite frankly is not acceptable.

We are a big club, we are involved in four competitions and will likely play circa 50 games if not more per season, why on earth does Wenger who is sitting on Millions of pounds not build a proper squad and account for things such as injuries? It really doesn't make any sense to me...more so given that he as sold Defenders and for one reason or another chosen not to replace them!!!

[Bumble]

All our signings in the summer are actually good, which makes a nice change. Yet despite this we still don't think we have done enough. Defensively we are one serious injury away to Kos or Merte and we are screwed. Relying on Chambers who was right back at Southampton to cover for a long period of time is a huge risk and beyond him... Monreal as a CB.... really???? He isn't big or strong enough to do that role. It is difficult getting a 4th choice CB as you want someone who can step in straight away so perhaps a experienced head would have done. I still think Ferdinand could have done a job for us, past his best but hates John Terry.

Anyway maybe we have a superstar in the youth team, who knows. The Capital One cup team will be interesting.

Also Wenger has said Bellerin is quality going forward.... hmmmm rather have a right back that can defend first.

[AFC Leveller]

Mesut Ozil's mid-season lull now lasts from August until May, so why hasn't Arsene Wenger got the balls to drop him?


Mesut Ozil produces lazy performances on a regular basis for Arsenal
The German is notorious for fading during the second half of the season
But now Ozil's lull lasts from August until May
Arsene Wenger doesn't have the bottle to take the £42m out the side
Alexis Sanchez, by contrast, works hard and has more quality

Daily Fail's daily Ozil bash. (although to be fair they have a point in a way).

[Power n Glory]

All our signings in the summer are actually good, which makes a nice change. Yet despite this we still don't think we have done enough. Defensively we are one serious injury away to Kos or Merte and we are screwed. Relying on Chambers who was right back at Southampton to cover for a long period of time is a huge risk and beyond him... Monreal as a CB.... really???? He isn't big or strong enough to do that role. It is difficult getting a 4th choice CB as you want someone who can step in straight away so perhaps a experienced head would have done. I still think Ferdinand could have done a job for us, past his best but hates John Terry.

Anyway maybe we have a superstar in the youth team, who knows. The Capital One cup team will be interesting.

Also Wenger has said Bellerin is quality going forward.... hmmmm rather have a right back that can defend first.

Monreal at CB has to be suicide. If we knew it would be difficult to find a third choice CB, why sell Verm to Barca? He still puts profit over practicality. He’s now saying we need a bit of ‘luck’ to stay injury free. No, we need common sense. We sold Verm, sold Djouoru, sold Ginter .sold Miquel , Sagna walked and loaned out Jenkinson. I’m pretty sure a few posters will say they were all rubbish and that was the argument when talk of Verm leaving cropped up, but I doubt anyone would go as far as arguing Monreal is a better option for CB. If we couldn’t find a dedicated 3rd choice CB, why not bring back Alex Song? We need a DM anyway.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

This transfer window is a bit of a puzzle in that we do seem to have signed some good players.
And yet...while we're possibly stronger up front we now look hopelessly weak at the back which, for once, wasn't a big problem last season.

:doh:

The board wouldn't give him money.


































:haha:

[Özil's Panoramic View]

:haha:

[selassie]

I'll say one thing, if we drop out of the top 4 this season then Wenger has nowhere to hide.

He has spent a pile of cash this Summer, right now it looks like he's neglected/not addressed the areas that needed the most attention in the team/squad.

We are going to have a real battle on our hands to finish top 4 this season, i really do hope we are well prepared because it's not going to be pretty.

[Marc Overmars]

Whatever happens this season I'm sure we'll blunder our way into 4th, as usual.

[Xhaka Can’t]

We will. Most likely at Liverpools expense.

[Injury Time]

why not bring back Alex Song? We need a DM anyway.
Because he's a lazy, disruptive pile of crap?

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Because he's a pile of crap?

Enough about Arteta, what about Song?

[Power n Glory]

Because he's a lazy, disruptive pile of crap?

You'd prefer Monreal filling as CB over Song or Arteta as DM?

The disruption rumours only ever occurred when we sold him to Barca which is suspicious and the lazy talk...did see you the team play yesterday?

[mr_brighterside]

Having spent big in two consecutive summers the excuses need to be replaced by title contention at the end of the season.

I'd take Klopp or Guardiola!

[Injury Time]

You'd prefer Monreal filling as CB over Song or Arteta as DM?

The disruption rumours only ever occurred when we sold him to Barca which is suspicious and the lazy talk...did see you the team play yesterday?
No I prefer we bought someone good. I've watched Song play from his joining the reserves (along with Bendtner, Stokes, Larrson etc) through to the first team and my opinion is as per above the lazy and shit (disruptive I'll take on advisement, and the billy big bollox he spouted at moving to Barca).
Yes I saw enough of the team yesterday (and our home matches) to know we're flaky at best and down right shit (save yer energy lads and Özil darling please don't do anything that might stop you tweeting at the weekend!) when not on same wavelength. Is Rosicky back on the "pain killers"?

[Power n Glory]

No I prefer we bought someone good. I've watched Song play from his joining the reserves (along with Bendtner, Stokes, Larrson etc) through to the first team and my opinion is as per above the lazy and shit (disruptive I'll take on advisement, and the billy big bollox he spouted at moving to Barca).
Yes I saw enough of the team yesterday (and our home matches) to know we're flaky at best and down right shit (save yer energy lads and Özil darling please don't do anything that might stop you tweeting at the weekend!) when not on same wavelength. Is Rosicky back on the "pain killers"?

You must have been watching a different player to what I've seen. Far from shit and if he's shit, I have no idea what Arteta and Flamini are.

The laziness you talk of is a charactistic ingrained into all of our midfield players. They switch off. On the counter against City, you'll see Ramsey switch off when Navas chases down the loose ball. Yesterday evening during the first goal, Jack is chasing back then decides to jog instead of covering the extra darting for the box incase Immobile cuts it back. Song was no worse to what we usually see at Arsenal.

Regardless of your opinion, I'm pretty sure you don't want to see Monreal as CB.

[AKBapologist]

Song always jogged. But at least he retained the ball under pressure, could tackle, could pass under pressure and every once in a while would come up with a blinding cross field, defense splitting pass. Given that pile of shite I saw yesterday, I'm actually starting to miss Song.

[Injury Time]

You must have been watching a different player to what I've seen. Far from shit and if he's shit, I have no idea what Arteta and Flamini are.

The laziness you talk of is a charactistic ingrained into all of our midfield players. They switch off. On the counter against City, you'll see Ramsey switch off when Navas chases down the loose ball. Yesterday evening during the first goal, Jack is chasing back then decides to jog instead of covering the extra darting for the box incase Immobile cuts it back. Song was no worse to what we usually see at Arsenal.

Regardless of your opinion, I'm pretty sure you don't want to see Monreal as CB.
Well he certainly tore it up at Barca :blink:, maybe I've been spoilt through watching our greatest team, Song had the vision sometimes but execution nah.
Moot point re Monreal no one would want him as a defender CB. I don't mind him going forwards, I don't even mind him going back but he needs support which we don't give (as covered re Citeh and your comments above), it forwards full steam...meh I lost it...jog back for the restart post goal :banghead:.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Can't believe we have another 3 years of this shit.

3 years of catastrophic fuck ups, defensive embarrassments and tactical naivety.

Sanchez will probably get frustrated and fuck off in 2 years time, with Ozil leaving a year earlier having had his career completely destroyed by Wankger.