Arsene Wenger goes all modern, Walcott the latest casualty & Bellerin the scapegoat…

Morning all.

I don’t know what shocked me more about last night. Us winning, Rob Holding starting or Arsene Wenger opting for three at the back for the first time in years. Who said the man doesn’t do tactics eh, or isn’t willing to change? Yes, I am being ironic before anyone asks….

The first time in 20 years, that shows you that even in my age you can change. But sometimes when a team lacks confidence, just to add something new to believe helps to focus and overall the fact that we conceded three at West Brom, three at Crystal Palace, I felt it was needed.

I wasn’t at all surprised to see Walcott left out though but I suspect his omission had little to do with his football, but more likely to be because of his comments after the loss to Crystal Palace. That’s what Arsene does. Same as leaving Bellerin on the bench which was no doubt a result of the fan abuse during the same game. But what Wenger misses is that it could have been anyone and not just the young Spaniard. He was the unlucky one to feel the brunt of the fans frustrations and anger.

Alexis gave us the lead with a stunning free kick just before the end of a tame first half. The Boro keeper should have done better but take nothing away from the Chileans strike, it was superb.

Shortly after the re-start, the ever reliable shoddy defending returned and Boro were level. During what was a decent spell for the home team, Petr Cech showed glimpses of his better days and thanks to him, the score remained level. Mesut Ozil had the final say of the game with around twenty minutes to go. Ramsey chested the ball down, the German fired home. Game over and Arsenal finally won a match on the road. Yippee!

I read a article this morning which included the line ‘despite winning the match, the Wenger out banners were still on show’.

Does that not sum up the media. Do they really think that beating Boro, a team one place above bottom spot in the league is going to change our minds on the future of this club? Of course not, idiots! The protests are around because of years of watching the club stagnate, followed by a decline. This club under Arsene Wenger is not going to improve, it’s not going to truly challenge for silverware, certainly not the big two.

Go and beat Man City in the FA Cup semi-final next weekend and then either Chelsea or Tottenham in the final and maybe one might be tempted to think differently but even that would depend on how we play. I’ll never forget the 2005 victory over Man Utd, a final in which we’d been totally outplayed in, yet hung on to win on penalties.

But I guess back then we had leaders on the pitch, players who didn’t know what giving up meant, let alone doing it. Remember Freddie back in defence to clear van Nistelrooy’s header off the line? That’s how much every player wanted to keep a clean sheet that day and they did for 120 minutes, even with Phillipe Senderos in the heart of defence.

Nowadays we can’t even keep a clean-sheet, not even against a Boro side who haven’t been able to buy a goal of late and haven’t won a game in 2017!

A victory ahead of a FA Cup semi-final is welcomed, but we’ll need to play a lot better than last night to have any chance of return trip to Wembley in May and there’s the problem, we probably won’t play any better because the team don’t know how to…

And those media darlings wonder why the ‘Wenger out’ protests remain on show… Doh!!

112 thoughts on “Arsene Wenger goes all modern, Walcott the latest casualty & Bellerin the scapegoat…

  1. Adam says:

    It was slow, turgid, lacking in quality and ultimately very depressing. There is not a shred of enjoyment in our performances these days. How anyone within or without the club can possibly see Wenger and his worn-out football as being the future, even in the short term, is beyond my wildest imagination.
    It’s like watching a 90 minute car crash.

  2. allezkev says:

    Morning Rico, good post…
    Not sure what the media expect as they’re the ones that ramp up the anti-Wenger feelings at every opportunity then they come out with the banal ‘be careful what you wish for’…
    Mish…

    Morning All, sorry Cocker, missed your comment re: cup final…
    The Double, ? don’t even go there, but it has crossed my mind mate…
    I was chatting to a mate yesterday and for the first time those accursed words ‘I think that Tottenham could actually win the league’ passed my lips. It made me feel sick…

    There’s a lot more pain to be suffered this season with the semi-final/final to face, the visit to WHL, the prospect of Mourinho’s twisting the knife – how he must be enjoying himself and the prospect of those N17 cnuts winning the league.

    What a pile of shite!

  3. frednerk says:

    Morning Rico and All

    Don’t call me a Ts……….But
    Boro had more shots than us,
    the difference was Sanchez,for all to see.

    Arsene was quick to praise the collective spirit
    of the team.
    He thought Boro would play with Gestede and Negredo,
    up front..
    Thats why he played Three at the back…
    He was wrong…………..But we won.

    Thats not Tactic’s…Thats Fear.

  4. rico says:

    Morning Fred.

    Or a huge gamble. I think he’s trying to show he can change and do something new even at his old age, but it’s all too little too late. it’s not even like our three at the back looked good…

    Sanchez and Ox stood out for me..

  5. Kel says:

    Nice post Rico…

    The media blow with the wind fs. Fact is if Wenger was at City, Chelsea, Liverpool, utd he’d be gone already. unfortunately for us we have an owner who hasn’t a clue about football he actually thinks wenger is the dog’s nuts fs. Hopefully Josh can help us out convincing stan even though he’s probably a twat like his dad.

  6. Woody says:

    I thought Bellerin had to be left out the minute we played that formation. He hasn’t been at his best since coming back from injury and The Ox can play that role, much like Moses does for Chelsea. Personally I’m sick of all the Wenger talk and think it’s time to get behind the team and try and win as many games as possible between now and the end of the season, so we have something to offer new players no matter who is in charge.

    It made a nice change to see the players happy and united after the game last night, so let’s hope this is a push in the right direction. The performance wasn’t great but given our recent away form it was never going to be pretty and the only thing that mattered was 3 points.

  7. Wavy says:

    Broadchurch and its consequences! We could team up Rico and write a who dunnit. The title for the first one might be entitled, “The death of a manager.” Or, “the mystery at Highbury House.”

    Holding”s omission, for so long, has been a mystery to me but what do I know? Walcott has been disciplined and dropped. When you are the manager you can exert your will spitefully to exact your revenge.

    Three at the back! He took his time didn’t he. It’s only taken 8months for the penny to drop! That’s one of the problems of growing old, to change your ideas is a very difficult thing to do. A symptom of his intractability.

    No, no real changes last night. The performance was poor against such a woeful team. A good Arsenal side would have ripped them apart and won by 4 or 5. This team is playing shabby, possession football with very little end product. Poor display from a poor team.

    Wenger is going to have to turn the whole club round in about 6 games and even that should not save him.

    Bright and sunny here but still very chilly.

  8. frednerk says:

    Not trying to be clever..But
    Arsene never thought for second to play
    three at the back..Till..
    This is what Fat Sam said after last weeks game.(Palace)

    Fat Sam Allardyce’s claimed last week that Arsenal’s full-backs “play like wingers, leaving Gabriel and Mustafi exposed”. Teams have worked this out and used it to their own advantage.

    I thought Monrail played as usual..Did you.

  9. rico says:

    Woody, I can understand people are sick of all the Wenger talk but it is what it is. He is the one who has caused all the unrest…

  10. Woody says:

    It’s damaging for our results though. If you look at the team early in the season they were a decent team… since all the negativity they look average at best. This suggests to me that the thing they lack is mental toughness more than anything and the constant Arsenal Fan TV and media coverage or our fans bickering and fighting and a lack of balls from every level in the club from owner down to coaches, puts massive weight on the players shoulders.

    I’m 100% not one of those that wants us to lose just to get change, I want everyone pulling in the same direction and for that the players need a positive atmosphere to work in.

  11. optimist hablia says:

    Whether Wenger stays or leaves will chnage noting at Arsenal, the only thing that really changes Arsenal is spending big to bring in the big guys. Jose and Pep will fail woefully at Arsenal with the current squad Wenger is manageing.

  12. frednerk says:

    Hi Woody

    I can see what your saying..Team First.

    Ideally Arsene who has a duty to us fans
    should have by now have Told us his intentions,
    I think most fans would have liked him to
    go with us cheering his name…But

    Its looking more like he will be leaving by
    The Tradesmen Entrance.

  13. rico says:

    Woody. I can see what you are saying too re all the negativity having an impact on the players, but I also think that the uncertainty within the club isn’t helping either. It certainly isn’t helping us fans.

    If he’s going, tell us because then the fans will get behind the team 100%..

  14. Woody says:

    Always team first, but yeah I agree I don’t think the club as a whole are acting in the classy way they have done every since I’ve been a fan. But that partly comes down to Stan Kronke, who is getting away with a lot here. He care nothing for tradition or winning trophies, all he cares about is profit to help fund whatever he wantes to do in the US. Fact is whatever other sports brands he own the fans all dislike him and want him out!

    He is a massive part of the problem and needs to go in my opinion. People say we now compete on players because we’ve purchased a few for a lot of money, but we should be looking at wages over transfer fee. You look at league winners since we won it and apart from Leicester (freak) every team that has won it pays big wages.

    In fact these teams pay their defenders more than we pay our match winners and that is the biggest problem. I know people blame Wenger for this but it’s not only down to him. If Kronke really wanted Sanchez to stay he would have offered him a big contract last Summer, way before we got to where we are now.

  15. rico says:

    I really doubt that Kroenke has anything to do with sorting out players contracts Woody.

    Doesn’t Arsene Wenger and Ivan Gazidis do all of that…?

  16. Woody says:

    Rico – my point is if he doesn’t then he’s not doing his job! Any proper owner doesn’t just sit there!

    Plus recent press conference Wenger said I hope they players and the club find an agreement. Doesn’t sound like he’s involved there!

  17. rico says:

    Ha ha Andrew..

    Woody – The only thing I wish Kroenke would do is to have sacked Wenger, or at least step in and tell the board, no new contract. Other than that, surely he just delegates to the board?

    Don’t get me wrong though, I’d love for us to have a more ambitious owner, but my own belief is that just a new manager with fresh ideas would improve us so much.

    Re Wenger’s comments, he is the club in his eyes, I’m sure.

  18. rico says:

    And wasn’t it Wenger and Gazidis who sat down with RvP when his contract was up for renewal?

    We know what happened then…

  19. allezkev says:

    For Kroenke see Joe Lewis at the Spuds.

    Lewis gives Levy the authority to make decisions. If Levy makes a feck up, eventually Lewis will sack him…

    At Arsenal, Kroenke shouldn’t interfere, but he should give Gazides the authority to hire and fire, and that’s our problem, where our Boardroom inertia comes from….

    Kroenke has constantly undermined those he has in charge on the management side, by siding with Wenger, who is an employee…

    It’s this unhealthy scenario that has caused the problems we’re currently experiencing. And why we need a Director of Football, a kind of Director of Transfers, a new Director of the Academy, a new Director of Scouting and a new 1st team Coach/Manager, all separate and only accountable to Gazides who is accountable to Kroenke…

    We probably don’t need the Board anymore!

  20. allezkev says:

    Interesting to listen to the guys on Arseblog discussing this weekends seminal game with Man City at Wembley…

    I kind of agree with them on Arseblog, which is, Wenger has changed to a back 3 with wing-backs, he now has to work on that system and take it into the semi-final.

    Shame that Perez is still injured as he’d be great in that system.
    But I don’t think that Giroud suits it as he’s too static, hopefully Welbeck has a slight knock, that kept him out of yesterday’s game and that Danny will be fit for Wembley?

    I actually think that BFG would suit that system, we’ve certainly missed his organisation skills since he got injured, I know nobody on here will agree with me on this, but hey, sod ya… ?

  21. Adam says:

    I know that the ‘It’s Kroenke’ rhetoric suits the argument but I can see it only up to a point. Kroenke knows very little about football, by all accounts. He is a businessman and spends a lot of money on people to look after his investment in Arsenal. Who is Stan Kroenke to second guess the great Arsene Wenger? I just don’t see it. Wenger has been all-powerful and won’t even let any of our old and great defenders have any input whatsoever into improving what must be one of the worst defences in the PL.
    Yes, I agree that Kroenke should have seen that Wenger was past his best several years ago but, as a businessman, he most likely figured that he was still getting into the CL so he was relatively happy. As for him being unconcerned by the lack of success, well the owners of the other top clubs, including Spurs, Liverpool and even Man Utd more recently, have been trying to achieve success for years and their modus operandi has been to consistently change the manager and rebuild the team, sometimes on a yearly basis and they haven’t found the winning formula either. If Kroenke is guilty of anything where success is concerned it is probably by giving Wenger too much latitude and room to fail without consequence.
    The indisputable facts are that this is Wenger’s team, he bought all the players. It’s his coaching, his training staff and physical conditioners, he lays down the diets and he has picked the sports scientists, medical staff, statisticians, the type of surfaces at both the Emirates and the training ground. Essentially it is his show and he is Arsenal’s ringmaster and has been for years. There is though a question of responsibility for our current plight and I believe that Kroenke has some responsibility here but, again, it’s Arsene who must carry the majority of the blame.
    But now is Stan’s time. Now is the moment for his influence to be felt. It seems clear that Wenger is highly unlikely to be able to engineer a come-back from where we find ourselves. Things are not getting better and Wenger needs to go whether by his own resignation or by having the offer of a contract withdrawn and Kroenke must make himself heard on that one because the idea of another 2 years of this dross even ‘for old-times sake’ is really not on.
    We may struggle and even have to flip managers for the next few years but that’s because the club has lacked the vision required to stay ahead of the game. Now, that is Kroenke, Gazidis and the board’s responsibility.

  22. Woody says:

    I just can’t accept having an owner that would be that clueless. My mum doesn’t follow football but even she understands that everyone who talks about football thinks we need to keep our best players, if he isn’t aware of that then he’s worse than any coach we’ve had in our history.

    He knows enough about how sports work not to let this happen. From a business point of view it’s simple. Pay Sanchez, or lose him. If he goes you then have to pay a transfer fee and you still need to pay someone decent wages or they going to be to his level.

    Lose 2-3 players this Summer and you have to buy the 4 or so we need plus another 2-3 to replace what you’ve lost. Where’s the business sense. Don’t need to understand football at all there.

    If we don’t move past 150k a week we’re not competing with City, Chelsea, United & probably Liverpool soon, so that puts us 5th before we start. At the moment Spurs have a better team than us, so we’re a net 6th.

    Doesn’t matter what manager we have, if we’re only prepared to be 5th best for wages we will never compete. It’s a fact.

  23. Woody says:

    For the record, Gazidis should definitely go as well. I’m not entirely sure what he’s done except negotiate deals that are half as good as any other top club seem to get. He doesn’t seem to do anything on player deals, as we buy at over the rate and sell at below the rate or what other clubs seem to be able to manage – Sanchez apart, but that was because it was a 1 club fight for his signature as he didn’t want to go north.

  24. rico says:

    Woody, I can understand where you are coming from but I disagree. Kroenke may not be the best owner, but Wenger is the real issue.

    If he goes this summer, I think we’ll learn a lot…

  25. Woody says:

    I’m not for one minute suggesting Wenger should stay… I just feel that any new manager is going to have problems. At the end of the day, no one really knows what goes on within the club, but from top to bottom it seems a right mess.

    For me it’s not just about Wenger. Thinking that him going solves everything is wrong in my opinion. The club has been through a lot of change in the last 10 years… when we had stability we did well. We’ve had constant change and fights whether it be for control of the club, board level, manager, fans.

    Everything is a total and utter mess.

  26. Adam says:

    Yes, Leicester winning the PL Last year threw a spanner in so many theories. Low wage bill. No big names. Owners uneducated in the ways of the PL. Yet, over a whole season, they defeated the might of all the big spenders, including us. Wenger managing not to win it last year was one of football’s greatest under achievements.

  27. Adam says:

    Rico. If we don’t make Europe next season, especially the CL, do you think the ST prices might drop as the quality of the opposition will be much lower? After all, they do rate the games and charge accordingly.

    No, neither do I. 🙂

  28. rico says:

    I know you’re not advocating Wenger should stay Woody.

    There’ll always be a debate over Wenger and Kroenke until one is changed. As far as the football goes, it has to be the manager to go first. If then the financial restraints remain, then we’ll know Kroenke needs targeting next but for now, I think with the club in a great place financially, any new manager would have the funds he’d need to make us better.

    Plus, he’d be able to generate a good amount of money through sales.

  29. Adam says:

    And if, in the future, we should climb back into the CL and play all the top teams again, do you think the ST prices will rise to reflect our lofty status?

    Of course they will. 🙂

  30. Woody says:

    Adam – Leicester is a one off. They haven’t stayed the pace have they? That’s what you call an anomaly

  31. Woody says:

    I understand that Rico, but I can’t help but get the feeling that the good financial state we are in being funnelled over to the US.

    There is no excuse for us being in the position we are with player contracts. For some reason it never happened until Kronke took over and the Bosman ruling was in place well before that!

  32. Woody says:

    Not sure about the CL run – they had a pretty easy group and a good home game against Seville after losing away. Not sure we can really draw on many comparisons there, or are you saying they are going to be competing for the title again next year due to the change in manager?

  33. Adam says:

    I have no idea but it did rather throw a spanner in a lot of theories and the PL is decided over 38 games so it was quite an anomaly.

  34. Woody says:

    I think it was Adam. They nearly went down the year before and don’t look like challenging in the near future. We don’t want a one off title we want to be competitive year in year out. For Leicester it was good enough.

  35. Woody says:

    Rico – with Cole it was Dein that withdrew a previous offer. I think he was also advised that we were going to go through a hard period with the new stadium and he decided that he wouldn’t wait on the basis that we didn’t value him enough to stick to the original deal. I can’t blame him for that.

  36. rico says:

    What Leicester did was great for football imo. What wasn’t good is knowing that we beat them twice but still couldn’t win the league…

    Says a lot really…

  37. rico says:

    My point was Woody, it wasn’t Kroenke but you are lumping all the contract stuff on his shoulders.

    Wenger chooses who stays and who goes imo, and the pay structure. He’s the one who still keeps Sanogo in the squad.

  38. potter says:

    Disagree Woody,I heard that Dein was caught out by Fiszman and the board and that they moved the goalposts and renaged on the agreed deal.

  39. Woody says:

    That’s cool Potter, I’m happy to stand corrected on that. My point was that we have only really had these contract problems under new ownership… the Cole one was the one that was brought up that happened before.

  40. Woody says:

    Rico – for sure Wenger is to blame for a lot of things. Sanogo being here is definitely one of them… Perhaps the biggest fault is his inability to change his methods of wanting to win in a certain way, rather than evolving with football and the ever changing challenges.

    I just don’t believe it’s all him. Once he goes we have no football people at all at the club apart from a new manager, who won’t know too much about the club. To me that is extremely worrying and something that should be addressed now

  41. Kel says:

    No player can be paid higher than Wenger There’s your problem.. yes in most other businesses a manager is paid more.. but in football it doesn’t work that way..

    Arsenal’s wages bill is close to 200m fs about 60m more than spurs yet we aren’t competing we’re just participating.

    Kronke is a dick yes… but in fairness he has left Wenger to do his thing… and Wenger is failing.

    New manager and backroom staff first then we’ll see how it goes.

  42. Woody says:

    I agree Kel, that is one of the many problems we have. It should be totally irrelevant. I hope he’s not getting his usual amount in bonuses or however it works this year if we fail to win anything or get top 4.

  43. rico says:

    Woody. Once Wenger goes, a new manager would probably bring in a whole new team. I know your thoughts on Ivan are not good but I think he’s the one actually trying to take the club forward.

  44. frednerk says:

    Current 2016/17 Premier League Form Table, Last 6 Matches, Home and Away
    Pos Team P W D L GF GA W D L GF GA GD Pts
    1 Tottenham Hotspur 6 4 0 0 13 3 2 0 0 5 1 14 18
    2 Liverpool 6 2 1 0 7 4 2 1 0 4 2 5 14
    3 Everton 6 4 0 0 14 3 0 1 1 2 4 9 13
    4 Leicester City 6 3 0 0 7 1 1 1 1 7 8 5 13
    5 Crystal Palace 6 2 1 0 6 2 2 0 1 5 4 5 13
    6 Manchester United 6 1 3 0 4 2 2 0 0 6 1 7 12
    7 Chelsea 6 1 0 1 3 3 3 0 1 7 5 2 12
    8 Manchester City 6 1 2 0 4 2 1 1 1 6 4 4 9

  45. Woody says:

    I’m really not sure about him Rico, he doesn’t seem to be at all proactive. The only time I’ve seen him call for change is when the fans are going mad. That’s extremely reactive and looks to me like he’s saying something to appease people and protect his own ass.

    His negotiations for naming rights etc are abysmal from what I see compared to other tops clubs and he also earns a decent wedge.

    I guess my ultimate fear is that it’s more likely Wenger stays than goes… and if Wenger does stays and everything else remains the same then nothing changes. If Wenger is staying another couples of years (don’t shoot me), then there has to be change elsewhere. I know Kronke isn’t going to sell but Sir Chips and Gazidis can do one as I’m not sure what they add. We used to be a club with vision on and off the field.

  46. rico says:

    Again Woody, I understand where you are coming from but how can Gazidis secure the kind of deals which Chelsea, Utd, City etc have? We’ve won bugger all for so long and don’t even look like that’ll change any time soon…

    If you were the negotiator dealing with Arsenal, would you offer a top notch deal? I wouldn’t…

  47. rico says:

    Also, let’s not forget that his hands are tied because he has a control freak called Wenger calling most, if not all the stops. Until now perhaps…

  48. Woody says:

    I doubt Wenger gets involved in naming rights etc. I agree he has too much control, but there is a limit.

    If we can’t attract the same deals as Chelsea, City and United etc then why do we expect to compete with them on the pitch?

  49. rico says:

    Because we have money in the bank. But a tight manager whose footballing ideas are stale. That’s why we don’t compete with them, that’s for sure…

  50. Wavy says:

    Wheelchair ruled out for the rest of the season. Plus ça change?
    Broken leg this time. Just to repeat myself, I believe Jack has a bone related weakness and has had for years. Osteoporosis comes to mind, unusual in one so young and male and pre menopausal, (sorry, that’s not supposed to be sexist, honest).
    He has a flawed frame, really sad as he is a very talented lad but, he may well have played his last game of football, for any club.

    Ah well, Wenger won’t have to worry about how to tell him he’s not being offered another contract! Hopefully it won’t fall to Wenger anyway, as I think he’s toast too!

  51. gnarleygeorge9 says:

    I know you are turning your attention to the F A Cup for now, so here is my favourite F A Cup themed tune about The Arsenal, for you all in the build up to Sunday night AEST.

  52. Adam says:

    Morning Rico and all. Fantastic game between RM and BM last night ruined, result-wise, by a totally incompetent referee and linesman. Some great football though.

  53. rico says:

    I didn’t watch the game but read about the shoddy officiating.

    Leicester were extremely unlucky too by all accounts… They’ve certainly done themselves proud.

  54. Le Coq Monster says:

    Morning all from Costa del Cornwall…..phew ! 🙂

    I`d say he as clutching at straws with 3 at the back and not sure if there is any revelance, but I looked back to all games to the Liverpool defeat and we did the most fouls on Monday night compared to games before ………..and look how dangerous `Boro were for just lofting the ball into our penalty area, make you wonder why we dont just loft balls into the area when we get fouled instead of playing a short one then going sideways and backwards containing possession !….on any other given night `boro would have scored two more, tad lucky I think !
    Looked good with Ox as trhe right wingback, but Monreal was poor……………we have needed a decent fast LB since Cole !
    No doubt if Wenger plays the system Vs Mansour City……………Pep will find an Achilles heal !

    http://metro.co.uk/2017/04/18/arsenal-only-practised-arsene-wengers-new-3-4-3-formation-twice-admits-rob-holding-6582244/

  55. Le Coq Monster says:

    relevance………you know what I mean !………my fingers are sometimes quicker than my brain ! hahaha

  56. Adam says:

    Rico. The game was great but the officials decided it really. The sending-off was a travesty.
    On an even more sour note, it once again reinforced how far we are behind the top teams and how pressing the need for change really is. Sometimes I feel as if the club is sleepwalking toward disaster.

  57. rico says:

    Even Leicester have embarrassed us in the CL this season Adam.

    As for the refs, seems the standard has dropped everywhere. I’ll be glad when technology is here.

  58. Le Coq Monster says:

    Monreal hasn`t got the tricks or the pace to be a wing back in a 3-4-3 system…………….imo

    Been asking for a decent LB/WB for years, we`re covered on the right with Ox, Bellerin .

    As the links suggest, you cant just wake up one morning and decide to play such a system, it takes the right players and lots of training to get it right !……………..Wenger may have caught the multi talented and scoring for fun `Boro out, but he wont with Pep !…………………..all we can rely on now is………luck and plenty of it if we`re to win the FA Cup………………..Spuds with their pressing all over the pitch with great energy is the team we dont want to meet !…………………..maybe not on here, but reading somewhere else it was considered that the Spuds and Liverpool would not be able to play the pressing game for a whole season and would wear themselves out !………I was not one to think this as these are young athletes and you will not wear yourself out when you are winning all the time………………confidence is an amazing thing and as long as they are successfull in that system, they wont tire, believe me, as a runner I know this !

  59. Le Coq Monster says:

    Nice to hear that Barron Trump is a Gooner !………….now have a word with your dad to nuke N17 !
    🙂

  60. Le Coq Monster says:

    Although only a Van Driver, I do have what most boys on here want !……………no, not a Ferrari, not a harem, not a yacht………………..but a Ride on Mower ! hahaha………….and now`s the weather, first though……………….. a hard interlude of high intensity training and then I can press all day on the ride on……………..Spuds will probably want to sign me up as I`m fit enough for them, shame Arsene doesn`t listen ! 😆

  61. frednerk says:

    Afternoon Rico and All
    Kev thats why I give respect to our fans who go
    to games.
    The time and cost to these guys now..Is a Joke.

    I remember the night before an away game telling
    everyone ..I’m not going..
    Then waking up desperate to go….
    Lot easier in them days no Tickets Required,
    Just a Blueee to get in.

  62. allezkev says:

    I think that there should be a limit Rico, distance wise, on the games that Sky move for Bank Holidays and Midweek. Say 100 miles, therefore no Southampton vs Sunderland on a Monday night.
    It won’t happen, but it should…

  63. rico says:

    As do I Kev. There’s no thought for the fans at all when Sky and BT choose their fixtures. I’m sure many of ours get moved purely because the TV companies expect us to lose…

  64. potter says:

    They don’t necessarily think we will lose but they know Arsenal in trouble is good for viewing figures.

  65. Le Coq Monster says:

    OK HHer`s, out of the 4 CL semi-finalist`s there are 3 possible Wenger replacements.

    Jardim doing great with some talent at Monaco.
    Allegri winning everything in Italy and has 8 clean sheets in 10 CL games this season.
    Simeone has done wonders for AM in a two horse race Spanish league.

    Over this side of the water it would be Koeman all day for me as I doubt we could get Pochitino !.

    As much as I love great attacking football………….it`s disciplined, organised and well drilled defences that win most titles, you have to be hard to beat first and foremost and we have become easy to beat in the second half of Wenger`s tenure !.

    Come on Rico, do a poll thingy on who we want to replace the immovable object ! hahaha

  66. allezkev says:

    180 minutes and no goals from Barcelona vs Juventus…

    A bit different from the 10 we shipped vs Bayern…

    Allegri showed his tactical intelligence as opposed to Wengers tactical naivety…

    That’s why Wenger has not won a European trophy in his entire career in the 2,000 odd games he’s managed in…

    Not that that fact will have any effect on Kroenke as he hands Arsene another contract…

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