Wenger mistakes Quantity for Quality – But Arsenal can finish the season strongly
Arsenal FC: Where EXACTLY Are We Now? by Lorenzo Sallows
Lying 5th In the Barclays Premier League, level on points with a distinctly average Newcastle United outfit, this season has been one of marked disappointed and frustration for all those who support Arsenal. Goals have become a priceless commodity with only Robin van Persie willingly to cash in and failure to hold on to established leads has resulted in points lost all too easily over the last couple of weeks and all of our forward thinking players lack the ruthless edge and confidence in front of goal. If the shortcomings are identified now then I believe that work can commence on fixing them.
A matter of some dispute, especially among fans, is Arsene Wenger’s transfer policies. Arsenal is seemingly linked with a stream of quality players, week in, week out yet no progression is forthcoming. Our current bench reads like an OAP line formed outside the pension office and this does not induce fear in anyone. I do retain much respect for Le Prof and his signings, such as Clarindo Andre Santos (who was previously unknown and now is considered an integral part of the Arsenal 1st X1) but his signings occur too sporadically and often for a low transfer fee. Whether this is due to Arsene’s unmovable faith in players who are underperforming or players with persistent injuries Wenger does not feel the need apparently to sign new players. He has said that he already possesses a “large enough squad” but here lies his MISTAKE. He has fallen for the old cliché of quantity over quality so I trust him to spend BIG in the summer, replacing the lazy, aged squad with new faces so as to avoid the same start to next season. It may be a persistent point but Arsenal is in need of a prolific centre forward, and at times a creative spark to the midfield. Had Arsenal been the more committed in previous seasons then perhaps we would have more quality players today but even still, the likes of Aaron Ramsey should not be established first team players just yet. If Ramsey played for a club such as Chel$ea then he would most definitely be out on loan, earmarked as a promising prospect for the future but at Arsenal he is required to be the midfield general. This is too much of a burden for a young lad and at times the strain shows.
As far as individual performances go this season, Szczesny, the self-appointed media voice of Arsenal, has produced a torrent of mistakes in both the Fulham and Swansea matches to gift them late winners. Song, arguably Arsenal’s most valuable player, plays the “killer” pass only perhaps once a match and this is a statistic that needs to improve and perhaps he should play a little more further forward. Walcott is caught in a transition phase. Either he will blossom into a Word Class player with strength, pace and an eye for goal or else he shall continue to slide away to obscurity. The less said about fridge players, Arshavin/ Chamakh/Diaby the better. Pack your bags and leave. Amidst the gloom of underachieving there are positives to be drawn. Koscielny is transforming into a top centre half, composed, quick across the ground and tactically alert. Oxlade-Chamberlain brings a level of unpredictability to proceedings. Fast, strong, young and hungry he is set to achieve great things but Arsene is almost always reluctant to play his “wild card” whether that is to limit his exposure to the media no one knows. More needs to be seen of the Ox, that is for sure because Arshavin just seems to “wing” it every match, and not in the good sense.
In many ways, I hold the current Arsenal establishment, controversially so, very similar to the current Everton squad. Both teams are dependent on their fixed starting XI, week in week out, struggle for more than 1 goal a match normally coming late and both provide very little quality off the bench. Transfer policies are very similar, with usually little spent, just enough to secure the required objectives and the undoubted brilliance of both managers in Moyes and Wenger have kept their respective teams “punching above their weight.” The major difference however, is that the Arsenal board is extremely affluent and we HAVE major investors so why do we continue to function like a smaller club? I recognise the importance of positive revenue and balancing accounts but this mould needs to be broken to achieve the heights that I know Arsenal are capable of.
February shall return a fundamental group of players to us, including Sagna, Wilshere and although instant success cannot be demanded, it is about time we finished a season strongly. Arsenal are decidedly wasteful in front of goal and it is my opinion that Henry should join the coaching staff rather than the bench to provide more of an impact. In terms of the summer, Arsene should cut the deadwood, recall Vela from his loan and introduce Miyaichi to some more games. A change in formation is obviously a personal call but perhaps could have a positive impact. With Robin adopting a more creative CF or CAM role with either Ox, Walcott or Gervinho ahead.
Where do we go from here? The answer is simple. Up. Up the Premier League Table, up the European ladder of success, up the record books for trophy achieved. It is not impossible, I am not here attempting to rally a Wigan team to win the Champions League am I? This is ARSENAL. Born and bred champions so let’s show that class and bring the fans something to set Highbury alight with, metaphorically of course.
In Arsene we trust.
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Fantastic article. The best one I have seen on this Forum.
There is a small core group of players who I feel are integral to our future, but 3 of them have contracts which are expiring. They include:
Alexander Song
Theo Walcott
Robin van Persie
the other core which are on par with these 3 are:
Vermaelen
Sagna
Koscielny
Szcensney
Wilshere
we then have up and coming talents such as:
Oxe
Ryo
Frimpong
Miquel
Gibbs (if he ever is fit)
The team has dead wood that is for sure and this needs to be addressed. We also need to look into areas of the squad which need backup or a top quality talent. On the left wing we are weak. We have no number 2 striker of any quality, we need a creative penetrative CAM to play alongside Wilshere ( Hamsik, Nasri, Gourcuff this type of player)
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
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we are short on both quality and quantity..the key to a strong squad is that the backup players should be able to step up and play well in absence of the regulars and i dont believe arsenal has that ‘luxury’..e.g RVP is out and CHAMAKH plays,not the same quality player…..ARSENAL 4 LIFE
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This was a joy to read, well done
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Fantastic post! We are a big club, with a big club mentality but being run like a small club. Wenger must see that a third of the arsenal squad need to be sold and replaced with quality to start climbing back to the top. By quality I don’t mean spend like city just but clever players, hungry players, experienced players. Podolski from koln, Vargas from fiorentina, Samba from Blackburn and Gourcuff from Lyon. All quality players with experience and hungry to play at the top level
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Fantastic article, absolutely brilliant and an eye opener for a lot of people.
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Great article and finally someone with common sense. Its good to see the problems pointed out but not the finger pointed at Wenger, like you said based on our policies etc we have been doing brilliantly, when you think we are competing with Chelsea for the top 4 and the ammount of money they have spent, in actual fact we are doing well. Its as if some fans believe we should go the season with only losing one or two games. I never felt as if we would win on Sunday, espicially as the only team to go to Swansea and pick up 3 points was Utd. If we did have our fixed first XI I believe we would have one that. Things arent as bad as people make out and no doubt Arsenals greatest ever manager we pull us through. ARSENAL FOR LIFE! IN WENGER WE TRUST!
Opinions divided. What do you think?
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there is so many smart persons on the forums.What we have to do with this board?Some kind of protest?A boycott?
Opinions divided. What do you think?
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BEST ARTICLE IVE READ!!!!!!
WE NEEDED THIS
PLEASE ARSENE READ THIS!
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Great article the best I’ve read. I think what needs to be done is the players need to start taking action e.g rvp tellin the board bring in quality or else he will leave.
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wenger should do away withthe under performing players like Chamaka, Aservin, squalllace,Danlison,Dyabby,Alminia and also buy a good goal keeper so that wly works as a cover up keeper he is not yet aquality of the champions.He needs toalso stop buying uselessplayerlike Park otherwise he should be ready not toplay thechampions next year
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@Byamukama wIlson
not going to lie, I didnt understand half of that.
I think Szcesney is definately a good enough keeper, its good to see that after all the goal keeping problems we had its finally been solved through him. Hopefully the same will happen in defence
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GREAT FANTASTIC BRILLIANT ARTICLE, SOME ONE SEND MR WENGER A COPY. OR GIVE MR SALLOWS. HIS JOB TY,
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PROTEST FOR BOARD TO GO AND KROENKE OUT USMANOV IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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@ EMERY
CONTRADICTION IN TERMS , U SAY U FELT WE WOULD NOT WIN ON SUNDAY, AT NEW BOYS SWANSEA, IT WAS ONLY YESTERDAY U WAS SAYING WENGER WAS THE GREATEST ARSENAL MANAGER EVER, . JUST SHOWS HOW MUCH U REALLY DO, BELIEVE IN HIM AND THE INVISIBLE DEFENSE,? NOW HE SAYS HE WONT BUY UNLESS WE GET HAMMERED THIS SUNDAY WELL WE WILL AND HE WONT, AND ALSO PETER HILL WOOD NOW SAYING HE DOES NOT CARE IF WE FINISH 4TH OR NOT, THEY R ALL TIED TO THE SAME STRING, PURELY FOR MONEY NOT FOR ARSENAL GLORY, OR TRADITION OF BEING ONE OF THE TOP TEAMS IN ENGLISH FOOTBALL.
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we don’t actually seem to want to win though. wenger is happy with 4th and hill wood Guy is happy with below 4th.
All of these business motivated idiots should leave football to more ambitious people like usmanov and invest in other industries. They are ruining arsenal.
Also, we have to face it rvp walcott (not a big loss) and song are going to leave but we can survive like when Henry left, viera, fabregas… There’s always someone to step up.
By summer, ox can replace walcott, coq/frimpong can replace song and Joel Campbell’s looking real class. Or there was the rumour that Maria’s Suarez has signed a pre contract. That’s the good thing about wenger, he’s the best at developing players
Opinions divided. What do you think?
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Excellent … so lets go marching on.
Just a few things to overcome. For instance, at the very least 4 teams look stronger, more unified and have better depth than us, so it is not just about us finally playing some good football again, we have to rely on these teams failing. Add to that, newcastle and liverpool pushing us from behind and we have a torrent time ahead.
The the prospect of reliving the nasri scenario with van persie and walcott … both have the remainder of this season and then the next one to go, after that they are out of contract. And neither have yet signed, nor do they appear to be willing to sign any time soon. Now maybe they will, but if they do not, will the club sell them in place of losing out however much money we could get for them.
Essentially, following the previous 6 years, we have sold our best players every summer… nothing indicates this summer will be different. If we lose yet more top players, we will undoubtedly unsettle the squad and find it very difficult to bring in top players. Same if we lose a european spot!
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If this report is true the he is
MISTAKING 4TH FOR 1ST POSITION
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@kevin cook
you moron, just because I didnt feel we would WIN doesnt mean I felt we would lose. Swansea are an extremley tough team which has been proven by their home form and position. I never at any point have said our defence is amazing and I do believe it needs strengthening but either way I have still supported Wenger and will continue to, so before you jump to conclusions try actually reading my posts. I have always backed Wenger and just because I didnt feel we would win against Swansea it doesnt mean I didnt want us to
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Very well said!
@ Travis Bickle: I do have to argue with the Theo being in the interal player categroy with RVP and Song. I think he’s a core player who’s had so much hope, time and money invested that it would be a shame for him to not shine as an Arsenal player. I would honestly put TV5 and Sagna in the Integral spot and Koscielny is really making a push to be in there.
I think we have a fine core of up & coming players who are definitely prospective Arsenal greats, but they do need time and mentoring from great players like RVP and in the immediate, Henry. This stresses why it’s so important for us to hold onto players like RVP and for the life of me I don’t understand why Wenger/the Board can’t seem to grasp that. Wilshire, Ramsey, Ox, Ryo, Miquel, Frimpong, Coq, all need more time (that’s what some keep saying about Theo) to become the players they can be but it shouldn’t be at the sake of losing ground in the EPL or CL championship hunt. They all need ample time to play and get experience and rest. We run these boys ragged because they are our #1 choices in some cases and end up burnt out and injured when they shouldn’t. We should have players brought in who aren’t “world class” but are proven quality, like Goffy suggested, who can all play together as a team playing Arsenal/Wenger style football and winning.
That said, there’s no better way to start a resurgence than beating the Mancs!Come on you Gunners!
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Thats a great piece Admin, and I Love it. Yes We Can, Lets Go for it. We’ll Surely be in the Top 4! Soon!
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Excellent article. Unleash the Ox, poor contributions from the wingers, as you mentioned, have meant that this team is less capable of scoring than any for the last decade and that is while having the leagues best striker in the team.
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@Travis Bickle. Walcott is a liability, not an integral player.
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We need a creative playmaker! erikson from ajax pleasee! i cn only wish!rambo stil nt up to standard. wenger hv nw said wont gt anyone.so we cud jst stand with players like squid,almunia,chamakh,arshavin to win the champs league for us.
i dnt mind if many of u guys is arsene wenger lickers here! bt if u guys dnt wnt him to go atleast protest bout this guy name kroenky who ruining this club.he acting like he cares.and the le prof mr.so incredible wenger cnt do it with hes babe. mister dein!hu imrove this club?? i dnt think its wenger. i think david dein the most influence prson in this club.he attract the superstar.henry n co.rvp n ci. bt hu spotted squid?silvestre??senderos??cygan??arshavin?chamakh??almunia??
rvp learn from hes senior henry during hes reign. wilshere from fabregas. song,tv5,koscielny.
bt the rest??walcott from??rambo from? i dnt ndrstnd why wenger bring squid in the first place.silvestre n so on. n he keep on wna proving ppl wrong.then he proud he prove evrythng hes way is right n dnt even wna knw what the fans wants n thinks. poor delusioned fans.
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@ emery
please do not call me names, we both want whats. best at arsenal, but wenger made us the invincibles, now hes made us the laughing stock. even u must question,why he has not bought, any one, he has money, to spend.
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We should arrange a match between 2 teams of arsenal deadwood so that.prospective buyers can come and mull over our dross. how is this for 2 real shitty line ups?
fabianski
Hoyte squillaci djourou brislen-hall
rosicky diaby benayoun
park chamakh arshavin
sub mannone neita henderson
almunia
hajrovic boateng monteiro botelho
galindo denilson meade
Watt bendtner vela
sub shea murphy eastmond
there u go 28 players that quite frankly could walk tomorrow and still leave us with a 34 man squad
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Fantastic Article..!!..Definitely the best I’ve red here..!!..Indeed we need to cut loose of the deadwood..but also up the standards..!!..for instance..I’m not saying Arteta is doing a bad job..but is this the level we should be aiming for?! We need at least 2 top quality players, 1 midfielder and 1 forward..Not the mention bringing in some stronger backups..!!..I’d love to see Vela return to the Emirates and finally start showing his talent, with him coming from the left and the Ox from the right providing RvP with the chances I know he’ll score..!!
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Oh take out benayoun just realised we cant sell him as he is not ours add wellington instead.
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@kevin cook
well for a start dont say that I am contradicting myself as that is far from the truth, secondly he has bought players in (summer). Mertesacker is slowly adapting, however I definately do believe we should have signed Samba/Cahill. That said if we had Vermaelen and Koscielny both fit all season then they could have made a solid partnership as they are both decent CB’s. Also I think Arteta has been a brilliant signing, hes added a lot to the team and considering we lost arguably two of the best creative midfielders in world football hes done an excellent job. Obviously I believe that we should sign more top class players but we all know that it wont happen so we should just accept it. If we wernt soo unlucky with injuries it may be a different story. At the end of the day though Wenger is a world class manager and I dont beleive that out of an possible candidates, any of them would be good enough or better.
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Nice post.then come to the subject of the matter,wenger should start doing something cuz the time is ticking very fast.UP GUNNERS
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Brilliant article! You have outlined very important points. This season things must change or we can expect the worst. Being in the top 4 and not winning anything for the past 6 seasons is of corse going to make people want to move away. Now everyone knows this, the fans and some of the better players do. We need to come out in the start of the summer and buy some world class players and really surprise the other title contenders, not only this will boost confidence it will also nudge some of our terrible players (arshavin and squid etc.) to leave. Also sometimes wengers tactics are comical, don’t get me wrong in Arsen we trust but against Leeds to bring off the Ox and not Arshavin… I’m sorry but he was the most creative player on the pitch that night! And going its nice playing pretty football but what’s the point if we are not scoring? What I see is some beautiful passing to the edge of the box and then some more passing around the box… Why does no one have a shot?
Things need to change, we have an amazing stadium but if things start to falter and we move any further down the league, well what’s the point in having all those seats if we cannot fill them? That will soon make the profit minded board think again.
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we have some good quality players in the squad the likes of RVP, Wilshere, Arteta, Sagna, Vermalean, Koscileny, Song, Santos, Chamberlain
the problem for us for over 5 years now is we are always 3-4 quality players short of actually winning something
imagine the difference it would have made if we signed a proven goal scoarer like Darren Bent or Asamoah Gyan, a creative midfielder in Mata,Goetze or Gourcuff and a solid defender like Samba, Cahill or Scott Dann
we always use the same formation teams know what to expect when they play us. personally i think theo walcott would be alot better playin upfront with RVP jus behind him, he would score alot more goals because hes a decent finisher he doesn’t have the skills to get past players n deliver a decent cross from the wide area Wenger has always said his going to play him upfront so whats the wait theo has been there for nearly 6 years now
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No no no no no. Unless something positive going on behind closed doors but just isn’t being shown to us then. Just someone please pull the flush and get them out.
Wengers had Six years soon to be 8 to win something.
The board are useless.
The training staff are rubbish. My nan could have taught theo to cross by now.
Medical staff seem to replace their legs with fiberglass.
The players. Need to go. How dare he play arseolhavin after his comment “so we dropped points, so what”
RVP IS SIMPLY the only thing that changed this season. Without him we would be 11th in the league still. And everyone would be asking for their heads.
If he leaves in Summer that is what will happen.
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looking forward to see what these fans would says if we lose. n interested to see what would they say if we win.
That stip doesnt stop me for changing myminds.These club getting on mynerves n frustating. kroenky definetly out! if can gazidis too! Why manshity suporters bhind our club?why kroenky with us?these guys kills the club.kroenky in the first half of the season.cme into the dressing room to gve a motivation talk. but nw he ddnt even cme to watch at the stadium.he thinks some of us is idiot.He think he cn be like dein tht cn influence the players. He jst need publicity n being pics. why the blog arsenal.com is silence aftr that dfeat?stil no news bout that protest.come oon guys!join the group! remove this sht crap bhind the club!
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wenger stip.ddnt wna solve the dfence.atleast bring keown back or tony adams to teach this defence a lesson.
nw hv a problem with midfield.our sexy football is gone.
striker? rely on rvp.wthout him.hu is arsenal?
yea this is whole cycle myb perhaps future is better.bt it is sucks for now!why i hv to be in the era of when arsenal being worst. i wud hapy if live in the 1995-2005 era. cus this 6 season wna kills me. so 10 yrs trophiles.thats is our goals n target for now.looking forward to that.n then we cn focus to target 20 yrs trophiles n drop to europa league each season.cus once we drop there we wud b in a hug trouble.such as where liverfool now. so when we’re on that crisis. less profit. i cn see the board n.perhaps wenger too depart by then. myb they need some lesson!
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Walcott when he finishes like he did against Swansea and assists 50% of van Persie’s goals he goes unnoticed by some Arsenal fans.
He is a “liability” because he was thrust in the limelight at 17. He was hyped and so much was expected of him. Arsenal fans say we shouldn’t push Ryo, Oxe etc. well thats what happened to Walcott. And he still is being pushed, thats all he has received from Arsenal fans. Fans should stand behind him, he still has his pace and shows a calmness in front of goal reminiscent, at times of Henry. His final ball has improved massively, his assists this season prove that. He his still only 23, at this age Henry was not the player he became.
Walcott seems to be written off by some fans, but I think he is in transition (just as this article says) If you turn your backs on him now and he is sold, I would not be surprised if he became a worldclass player in 1 or 2 years.
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I find it quite shameful that players are now rejecting our darling team,the board needs to get something done.we got players that wont even make united,s squad in our team,almunia,squid,arshavin,chamakh,park,fanbiaski and the likes.I would be very disappointed in this board if chel$ki eventually gets hazard ahead of us,that would be the 3rd player they snatching under our nose simply because some peopld dont want our team to move forward.I’d advice the team stay back in London this summer as we wont come out to cheer them if they come to Nigeria without a trophy and a top4 finish.other teams fans are now making fun of us,TERRIBLE
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Also the reason I put Walcott beside RVP and Song was because, and I thought I made it clear,These 3 players’ contracts are running out.
There was no particular order, just a separation of those 3, due to contracts expiring from the other group, who’s contracts do not expire soon.
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I agree! What a refreshingly well written piece! Need to give Ryo more games, Should recall Vela (he does more than Chamakh!) and has potential, also like we have all been saying every day for ages, get rid of the deadwood, build a fearsome bench and get competition in the squad! Only spots that are safe for now are RVP, Song, Kos, Verm..(hopefully Bac too when he comes back), everywhere else we can improve. Ramsey has way too much responsibility for a player who had his development delayed and rocky through injury! Need to spend some serious money, hopefully this transfer window because if we don’t get CL who we gunna tempt with our boards wage structure and lack of ambition?
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the core group I was trying to state were as follows, in no particular order:
RVP (contract expiring)
Vermaelen
Sagna
Koscielny
Szcensney
Walcott (contract expiring)
Wilshere
Song (contract expiring)
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with wenger in charge, i don’t think arsenal will ever win anything again. same old mistakes are happening in defense yet he goes ahead n blame the match officials for his shortcomings. he trains the team for 1 week n send them on the pitch with his old tactics that are not working anymore. i feel its time he just quit n let someone who is capable to do the job.
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@Georges
If you think Wenger should quit then who would you get to replace him, that will actually come and do a better job?
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Wel done guys you al write reasonably but it is a pity that our so cal management wil not do anything of whatsoever. Pls for Godness sake can someone answer this question. Is this web is arsenal official web b’cos i dont believe they read al our comments.
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Can I ask a question is L.Sallows Mr Wengers son because he sounds just like Mr Wenger full of BULL.
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Organise a protest
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Well said dude.
What we need is getting rid of players (some 40% of the squad) that have proven to be sub par despite have been given WAY too much chance to prove themselves worthy of wearing The Badge on their kits and let our talentful youngsters play more. Come several seasons of rebuilding and hence finishing below the top four, such policy would only do good on the long run.
Gooner for life!
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Just because Man United were the only team to beat Swansea at home, doesn’t mean everyone should just go there with a defeatest attitude. If Arsenal were really wanting to win, they would have shown it in the game. Either our boys lack enthusiasm/positive morale whatever you want to call it, or we are just not good enough.
All these articles lead to the same conclusion – Kroenke is ruining our club, the board are a bunch of greedy bastards, and Wenger is sucking each one of their nobs. Plain and simple. They all need to pack their bags and go, the very fact Wenger is willing to bend over for them shows what a loser he is. Really, no integrity and love for the club. Trust me Wenger knows as well as us that the club is being run into the ground, but his bank account figures seem to get higher. And when the sh*t really hits the fan, Wenger will leave and say well I was just doing my job. THEY DON’T CARE ANYMORE GUYS. It’s just a business to them, nothing more.
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@Emery. Half this forum for starters. We all knew if Wenger didn’t sign quality beginning of last transfer window and replace Fab and Nas with equal quality, things were not going to be good for us. our defense had major holes too. And indeed we were spot on, defeated by Liverpool, Blackburn, Spurs and raped by United. You cannot tell me the wise and mighty Arsene Wenger did not see that one coming?
I can go on and on about the lies that have come from Wenger’s forked tongue and the most basic text book mistakes he has made the last 2-3 seasons. My girlfriend who doesn’t even watch soccer had pointed out a few things after watching a couple of games with me that were spot on. Why does everyone else see all the errors except Wenger? Has his pride completely blinded logic?
He has done well in the past but he is past his sell by date. Bring Usmanov back in and make Bergkamp our new manager.
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It is sad, but Wenger is afraid to win a trophy…..Wenger is the one constantly playing players who has no interest in playing for arsenal…..wenger is the only one in the world want to see out of form players play every game….. walcot, arshavin, ramsey, and djourou, should never be allowed to be in arsenal starting 11 in a premier or a champions league game…..
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you cant tell yourselves wenger will offload deadwood but he won’t. Its just the sad truth.
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@ Big Gun
Bergkamp as manager?
He only got his coaching licence in 2008 and he hasn’t even been the manager of a club yet. Ludicrous statement.
Would like to see Usmanov on the board though. He’s always said he’d provide money for transfers and if the Board weren’t so sanctimonious about everything we’d be the Arsenal we all want to see.
Still, there are 17 more PL games left in the season, a lot can happen from here so lets not all stick the boot in just yet.
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@ Travis….Walcott is useless. Even all the “Ex Pros” mock him left right and centre everytime Arsenal play. They cannot understand his pass selection, his awareness, his understanding with the team. He is not the player we thought he would be. He has played at every level and yet is so completely devoid of a football brain despite being coached by one of the world’s best. he scores the odd goal. But so do many wingers. Aside from that though, many other wingers offer alot more week in week out.
Walcott thinks hes a striker, but has no game. He only has pace. You say his final ball has improved…Are you kidding me? You mean he hits row K now instead of row Z??
You say he assists alot. Well is that saying anything when we have a team devoid of assisting talent?
He has been at the club for 6 seasons and scored 36 goals in 204 games?
Van der Vaart scores more and has the pace of a slug.
With Walcott you get an average of 5 a season….you call that class?
He is simply not good enough to be at Arsenal.
The Ox by comparison has scored 12 in 51. And 2 in 8 for the Arsenal.
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@Ryo Oxlade-Chamberlain. You are supporting a manager who would rather profit personally at the expense of Arsenal sliding into mediocrity. Wenger is riding the gravy train like all the board members, if he had any integrity and real loyalty and devotion to this club, he would have made it clear that the board are not giving him the adequate resources to do his job properly, and exposed them for what they are. Instead he is content to bend over for them well knowing the club will not win any silverware in the next few years. He has sold himself out just like Nasri. Now is that the type of person we want running our club? Just shows his true character and I have lost all respect for him because of it. Then we look at his managerial tactics. He has made some serious blunders, text book stuff, that most of us could have spotted a mile away. He persists with deadwood players, makes terrible in game decisions and substitutions etc etc. His philosophies are stale, and every team now know how to beat Arsenal, because Wenger uses the same tactics every game. Other teams are not afraid of us anymore, they all want to beat us.
We can agree on one thing though and that is Usmanov must take over.
If that happens, Wenger should be fired because while Arsenal slides into mediocrity into its 7th trophy less season, he is happy to sit there and reap a good salary from the board whilst knowing Arsenal is being run into the ground. There is only one goal for Wenger now, not titles or silverware, not glory, but only personal profit.
I really don’t know how people can still think he is the best manager for the job.
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@H
Walcott in the EPL this season has – 3 goals 6-assists in 18 starts thats a goal he is involved in, every other game
in 2010-2011 he scored 13 goals…..
In my opinion thats not a “liability”.
With Henry at the club I imagine he will be given strong advice for finishing better. I agree with you that he isn’t a striker though, but I think this is the age, where a player who is expected to become great, can become great. You seem to have turned your back on him at the ages of maybe 20-21…thats insane. He is only 23 and can still improve, and he is improving. If you have been watching Arsenal over the last 3 years, you can see that last season and this season he is becoming a better player.
Oxe is a great talent, and offers a different mind. He is only 18 though, and must not be thrown into the limelight like Walcott was. If that happens, I’m fairly sure that in 2 years time you will be saying the same thing about Oxe.
I stand by the Arsenal players, ones who are making a difference and are showing willingness. Ones who are showing year by year improvement. I don’t stand by other players such as Arshavin, who seem lost, who seem to be getting worse and worse. Players like Bendtner and Denilson who have said they never want to play for Arsenal again. There are bigger problems at Arsenal than Walcott.
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by the way, you brought van der Vaart into this, he is 28-29 years old. Much older and more complete. You would not have said this when he was 23 and playing for Real Madrid, not scoring any goals or assists. That is the reason why they sold him for 8mil to Tottenham!
Compare Walcott to another 23 year old, not a 28-29 year old who has played for much longer.
How about comparing Juan Mata of Chelsea?
Mata has 6 goals – 9 assists in 24 starts,
I doubt you would be saying he was a poor player. And yet his stats are very similar to Walcott’s.
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I actually used Mata’s total in all competitions there:
Mata has so far scored 4 goals and has 7 assists in 18 starts……
food for thought @H
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PLEASE READ THIS CUT AND PASTE AND OFFER YOUR COMMENTS: Defender Johan Djourou has admitted he will be gunning for revenge when Manchester United visit the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Arsenal suffered one of their worst defeats during Arsene Wenger’s reign when they were humiliated 8-2 by United at Old Trafford back in August.
The Gunners face Sir Alex Ferguson’s side having lost their last two league games but Djourou is unconcerned by their recent form and believes the weekend fixture is the ideal game for them to get back on track.
“It’s a fantastic game for us after Swansea which was difficult to swallow,” the Switzerland international defender told The Sun.
“It will be a bounce-back game. We have to turn up, we have the away game still in our minds so there is revenge to take.
“We have to keep working hard to try to improve. We have to fight to get in the top four. It will be a difficult task but there is a long way to go.”
MY COMMENTS:THIS PLAYER IS JUST DREAMING.. HE IS THE WEAK CHAIN IN OUR TEAM ..HE PLAYS VERY STATIC NO IDEAS JUST FULL DUFTNESS… WE HAVE THE WORST TEAM IN HISTORY HOW CAN HE SAY THAT THE GAME WAS NICE ?WHAT DOES HE MEAN? WHAT REVENGE CAN THIS FOOL PROVIDE? JUST LACK OF AMBITION
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@Cornelius Ombagi
I completely agree that he is a weak link in our squad but I dont see how it shows a lack of ambition, surely if he said we are just going to have to try and scrape a win or something then maybe? Either way he is crrap
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I cannot agree with much in this article at all!
Of late we have been struggling to score. I attribute this to the nature and formation of the team, with most of the width being provided by full backs (this has also affected Walcott’s game as there is no overlap to draw men).
Song HAS played further forward and been slated for not holding his position. Again the lack of fullbacks has forced him to err on the side of caution to cover vacant wings.
I dispute the fact that Ramsey is the general. As shown at Swansea, Arteta (by absence b4 anyone points it out) is clearly the cool head/leader with Ramsey doing a lot of the work. Pre injury Ramsey WAS the General.
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my fello compartrous arsenal supporter let ur heart not be in trouble don’t give ur ear 2 all those bad fellow, we are going 2 make it 2 the top4
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