Arsenal and Arsene-Its time to say goodbye.

[paddyc]

After another terrible Champions League defeat and poor performance Arsenal are left with a huge mountain to climb to reach the knockout stages. They will probably have to win every game to progress, which based on their performances is highly unlikely.
Leaving out Cech tonight, terrible decision.Defensively we are so bad. We're one dimensional we have no players who can mix it and scrap in midfield and no leaders.
Walcott yes he scored tonight, but he is not a striker and in my opinion Arsenal should have sold him but give him 150,000 a WEEK.No way has he shown he derserves that sort of money.
Buying no outfield players in the summer,especially a proven striker was unbelievable.He is not the only one.There is quite a few others that are not worthy of the obscene money they take home
There was supposed to be a 200 million transfer kitty and he spent 10.If you want to be the best you have to spend big.Anyone would think that it's wenger's money.
It's the fans money,they pay a fortune for their tickets and they deserve better

Yes we may finish third or fourth and we may win a cup but that Is not good enough.We just don't have the quality to challenge for the PL or CL.
We need a change and it needs to start with Wenger. It's time for a divorce

 

[IanM]

Been saying for years that Arsene is targeted with finishing 4th and doing so with minimum spend. Hence he keeps his job.

The fun will start when the premier league lose the 4th place in the UEFA Cash Cow Cup....then the third.

I've cancelled my subscription to BT Sport as I can't be doing with all the rolling around on the floor! (Only a fiver but it's the principle)

I don't watch my live premier on Skype these days either. Any sport decided on ability to con the referee and net worth of club owner has lost its appeal!

 

[Deleted member 1740]

It's mad how Arsenal have gone from the physical side and will to win that they had in 2004 with Campbell, Toure, Cole, Vieira, Henry, Bergkamp to now where they've ended up with the total opposite.

 

[jp5]

There was supposed to be a 200 million transfer kitty and he spent 10.

And then he goes and leaves him on the bench!!

I and many other Gooners have known for a few years now that Wenger will never win another major trophy.

The financial restrictions of the last 10 years have provided excuses to allow Wenger to achieve at his level - top 4, last R16 CL. Once the players (and many fans) accept that, it's hard to push on.

For the sake of the club I hope Wenger leaves at the end of this season as there are many alternatives available, but I don't hold my breath.

Anyone defending Wenger at this stage is complicit in the falling competitiveness and ambition at the club.

 

[Tashyboy]

One day Wenger will be gone, and I don't think it will be before the end of the season. Who would be ideal to replace him. I think Klopp would, but I think the hierarchy at Arsenal are happy to plod on they way they are irrespective of fans views.

 

[USER1999]

Last night was a shambles. Arsenal played against a team including three bottom end premiership rejects, one of who is a geriatric, and a bunch of well drilled, well motivated, well prepared players I have never heard of. Credit to their manager, and his team for a great performance away from home.

To the Arsenal then.

This was, on paper a strong enough team. That it turned out not to be was just not good enough.It can only come down to poor preparation, motivation, teamwork, leadership, planning, tactics, and shear incompetence in front of goal, and in it.

Ospina. He is a midget. I saw him standing next to Roberto before the game, and I knew immediatley which keeper I would prefer to see in the Arsenal goal. Ok, Ospina is 6ft tall, and standing next to Cazorla, he looks fine. But Cazorla is the shortest player on the pitch. Keepers need to be bigger, they just do.
Ospina does not command the area, he doesn’t come for crosses, or corners. He doesn’t boss his back 4, which then turns competent centre backs into buffoons. Koscielny and Gabriel are more than capable defenders, they just need direction. Cech should have played this game.

Gibbs has not developed in the way he should have by now. Monreal was the better choice last night. He is our first choice left back for a reason. I also don’t think you can play Gibbs with Bellerin. They both push forwards too much, which leaves the two centre backs exposed. One of the two needs to stay in a back three.

I like Bellerin, but only with Monreal.

Coquelin is ok as a defensive midfielder, but at champions league level, he is pretty inexperienced. This is an area that really should have been strengthened in the summer. Shneiderlin is equally inexperienced in the CL, but he would have been an option, especially as Coquelin was coming back from injury, and probably should have been on the bench. Vidal (?) would have been fine, but he moved elsewhere for not much money.

The bench. Oh dear. There are no game changers on the bench. You have Arteta, Rosicky, and Flamini clogging up squad numbers while being old, and permanently crocked. I like Rosicky, I really do, but he should have been released ages ago for being a crock. You can carry one permanently injured player in your squad, and that’s Wilshere.
Wellbeck is another that is hogging a squad number while not playing often enough. Joel Cambell was useless when out on loan, and he is still useless now. Chambers is an ok 4th choice CB. The squad (if not necessarily the first team, could certainly have been improved in this area during the last transfer window).

Walcott is not, and never will be a striker. He is better on the wing. Ramsey is not, and never will be a winger, he is better through the centre. Ozil is not a winger either, and nor is Cazorla. Play them in their proper positions, or not at all. There is never enough width in the way Arsenal play, so maybe a proper winger should have been bought in the transfer window. Di Maria would have been a good option, even though he bombed at United (I blame their manager for that, he is mental).

I like Ozil, and obviously like Sanchez, but they alone cannot carry the team.

I like Oxlade Chamberlain. But every time he makes a mistake, we ship a goal. His own goal last night was no accident. It deflected off his ankle because he turned his back on the ball, which was coming in at ankle height. Stand up, face the front, and put your boot through it. Man up for heavens sake. His decision making last night was poor in front of goal, but I think he will improve. I still think this will be a big season for him.

In the frst 20 minutes of last nights game Arsenal should have played with pace, and battered them. They didn’t they tippy tapped it about, with no real aim or result. Possession is fine, but if your sole plan is to counter, you can’t have all the ball. It’s not going to work. Arsenal definitely look better on the counter. There needs to be a better plan, better tactics, better thinking, better analysis, better leadership on the pitch. Arseanl are not Barcelona. They can’t just mess about with the ball, and then wait for some brilliance from Messi, Suarez or Neymar to win them the game.

The transfer strategy is a joke. Players are bought (or not bought) because they become available. They are not necessarily the players that are needed to fill the gaps, just ones who are available, at the right price. This is daft. If you need a striker, buy one, a winger? Ditto. Don’t buy another central midfielder and stick him out on the wing. It doesn’t work. There is no plan. Never has been. Ozil, Sanchez and Wellbeck all fell out of the sky, into Arsenes lap. If they had not, he would have spent even less money.

There was never 200m to spend. It’s more like 40 – 50m. This is still enough to bolster the squad of outfield players. It wasn’t done, and this is the result.

Wenger has done a fantastic job over the years of austerity (I’m not convinced that the money we did have was well spent, and I’m not convinced by his salary policy of paying fortunes to bit part players when the money could have been spent keeping the better players at Arsenal), but it’s now time to go. The club is in a good position, with money to spend, a great stadium, training ground, medical facilities etc, and a half deccent squad. He is starting to put a better back room team in place, which is good, but Wenger is too old, too set in his ways, and the game has changed. It’s time for a younger manager, with fresh ideas.

All the issues I see with the team could easily be adressed, but every season is the same. It’s ground hog day. I have thought this for the last three years, minimum. When you have a manager for 18 odd years, consistent failure at this level can only be down to one person.

Oh, and I don’t think Arsenal is a football club anymore. It’s a business first and foremost. This is fine and proper if your business is making money, but is useless from a fans point of view, if your main competitors are running football clubs to win trophies. No, it’s not good to make a loss, and no, I don’t think that over spending and jeopardising the future is the answer, but spending what you have makes sense. Sitting on 50m is daft. It would have bought you 2 good players 3 years ago, but now it only buys you a Martial (who may yet be worth it!).

 

[Tongo]

Should have got rid of him 5 years ago. Trying for far too long to be Barcelona but only ended up being Barcelona-lite. Even Barcelona dont play like they used to anymore.

 

[cookelad]

One day Wenger will be gone, and I don't think it will be before the end of the season. Who would be ideal to replace him. I think Klopp would, but I think the hierarchy at Arsenal are happy to plod on they way they are irrespective of fans views.

Suspect it will be like the England job, i.e. the 'whole' country is crying out for Redknapp to get the job and they announce Hodgson!

 

[jp5]

Should have got rid of him 5 years ago. Trying for far too long to be Barcelona but only ended up being Barcelona-lite. Even Barcelona dont play like they used to anymore.

Got to agree with this. Such a difference in style between the early Wenger years and now. Used to have a team built on power and strength, with skill as well.

It seems Wenger got obsessed with building his version of Barca with small, technical players. But there's no leadership, no grit, no determination. Hence 8-2, 6-0, 6-3, 5-1 scorelines and other pathetic performances - such as 3-0 up vs Anderlecht to 3-3!

Agree that he has done great things for the club - no one will doubt that - but we need fresh ideas and a new direction

 

[Blue in Munich]

Oh, and I don’t think Arsenal is a football club anymore. It’s a business first and foremost. This is fine and proper if your business is making money, but is useless from a fans point of view, if your main competitors are running football clubs to win trophies. No, it’s not good to make a loss, and no, I don’t think that over spending and jeopardising the future is the answer, but spending what you have makes sense. Sitting on 50m is daft. It would have bought you 2 good players 3 years ago, but now it only buys you a Martial (who may yet be worth it!).

In fairness murph you could level that allegation against any of the very top teams, if not all the Premiership teams. The Arsenal model is something to be admired in some if not all aspects, and I would prefer that Chelsea followed it more closely in some respects. That's not intended as a criticism of Roman, without whom I wouldn't have a team to follow on a Saturday afternoon, but there are some parts of our set up that I would prefer were different, although I'm not sure that is entirely down to Roman.

 

[sawtooth]

Wenger created a monster.

















You lot!

 

[woody69]

 

[jp5]

.

I don't know any sensible fans that thought we could win the league this decade, or thought that top 4 is a reason for #WengerIn!

 

[Tashyboy]

I essence re Arsenal being a business and not a club. From a Man City fan I could not of said it better.
first home game of the season when City battered Chealsea, not a word about the tens of thousands locked outside because there credit card season tickets were not " chipped " to let ticket holders in. Women in tears, not good.
would love to know the financial figures of each club in how it is financially run. I do know that what the clubs receive from the T V companies is far more than what the supporters contribute. Which is why some football games are now on at stupid times with no consideration to the fan.
probably why there is now a campaign saying " Twentys plenty" when it comes to prem league ticket prices.
having said all that, talking to a pal today who is a Stags fan, Mansfield Town. He is paying £22 a ticket.😳 For div 2

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Not sure Arsenal have been good enough to win the PL for many a season especially when there seems a reticence somewhere in the hierarchy to spend the money City and Chelsea do on players. As a result consistent qualification for the CL every season is probably a good return although if the co-efficient numbers favour the Italians and we end up with only three spots they could struggle to get in every year. Would a new manager really herald the dawn of a new era especially if the purse strings are still kept tightly shut