I feel a tad sorry for our manager and before you think I’m going soft on him, I’m not – he has played his part in all that is going wrong right now but I bet he didn’t think for one minute that so many players would let him down in Italy.
They aren’t young players or inexperienced players, they are the most senior and experienced players and when it got tough, they blew it…..
Could that dismal display finally see Wenger get tough? If it doesn’t, then it seems clear, nothing will!
He has put a lot of faith in this current side and if we are honest, not too many times this season has that faith been repaid. Yes we have had a 7-1 victory recently over a depleted Blackburn side, a 5-3 victory away at Chelsea but both of these sides are suffering their own problems. Last weekends display showed that the side can dig in for a result but in all honesty, we should be beating Sunderland with greater ease and that is no disrespect to Martin O’Neil’s side.
That victory was only our second league win of 2012, having been beaten by Swansea and Fulham away and Manure at home. We couldn’t even beat Bolton, a side that looks to be heading for the Championship!!
It’s not good enough!
The result against Milan bad but the performance, now that was shocking.
Because of that a couple of ex-players have had a swipe at their ex-club – Petit is one:
I asked myself what has become of the team that I knew.
It’s a gulf which is confirmed weekend after weekend and what is perhaps the most worrying thing is the club won’t do anything this summer to reverse the trend. They don’t want to go back to overspending in the transfer market, and I think they’re right. But for two seasons, the level of the team has only gone down.
Certain young players haven’t done enough to justify the confidence that Arsene has in them. Walcott – somehow he’s going to have to reach the next stage. It’s been years that he’s been at the same level. Ramsey, against Milan, I got the impression it was his (twin) brother on the pitch. In the way they behave, in their body language, we see they’re not there anymore.
We shouldn’t hesitate to talk about the end of the cycle. Regardless of age, we have to look seriously at certain players. Right now you have to send out a strong signal.
You have to say to Arshavin, and to Rosicky: ‘Gentlemen, thank you, but goodbye’. And soon.’
Petit doesn’t think Hazard is the answer either:
I like him a lot but what has he done at a high level? Has he been good in the Champions League?
We haven’t seen him. Has he been good for Belgium? He’s sometimes even a substitute.What’s needed is five or six players of real stature, great experience. Players who are 27 – 30 years old at most, players with technical qualities obviously, but also strong character.
A group of guys who refuse to accept defeat, who inspire confidence in the rest of the team.
Dixon:
Everything that could go wrong in the game did and it was a really, really poor performance – It was a good performance from Milan, I thought they did ever so well. (Kevin Prince) Boateng, Robinho and (Zlatan) Ibrahimovic tore Arsenal to pieces, simple as that.
There are not a lot of positives to be honest with you. It’ll be difficult for Arsene to pick the players up before a massive FA Cup tie at Sunderland this weekend. He’s got his work cut out.
Funny that Petit says that about Hazard, just when he’s reported to have back tracked on the Tottenham story and has said this:
There are several clubs that interest me in England and Arsenal is really a part. Of course, it’s always more fun when it’s the football is beautiful. In addition, at Arsenal, there is a French coach and French players, as well as my compatriot Thomas Vermaelen.
What does it matter really about Hazard, as Petit said, we won’t overspend and he would cost too much and the beautiful football is disappearing fast.
We don’t need to overspend though do we – we just need value for money!
That ‘value’ for me means heart, passion and desire….
After the Milan game, I think it’s pretty clear that is what we lack…..
Finally, The Daily Mail report that an unknown investor has paid £16,500 each for two shares – a price that would value the Gunners at £1.1billion – plus another handful at over £15,000…
Is it you??
Morning all….
Morning Gooners.
Morning Rico.
Considering the doom and gloom surrounding the club, you’ve done a good post there boss.
So, if the rumours are to be believed, Wenger gave the players a right dressing down yesterday at the Training Ground…
Morning AK, thanks, not easy….
Seriously, if Stan and AW can’t learn from Italy and all that is being said, we have serious problems and he needs to do the decent thing…
Keown has also had a few things to say but he is diplomatic, makes me think he’s waiting for his chance to get in the door,….
Read the same about him tearing into the players, why didn’t he do that at halftime in Milan though, that’s when it was needed…
Apparantly, the players have never seen him so angry before…
Wonder if he is beginning to worry about the security of his position?
He might ignore the fans, but i doubt if The Board are totally ignorant of the rising tide of discontent among the fans.
Like you, i do feel sorry for him, he constantly defends his players and they constantly let him down.
But he’s had long enough to rectify these problems, playing strength and coaching staff, and he has dithered…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17065874#asset
George Graham…
He should be AK, the clock is ticking….
But AK, are the players good enough, or does he just lack the ability to motivate them, not that they should need motivating, they should have that inner ability…
He’s too soft, he’s too close to them… imho
I agree with Petit about Theo too, his progress is static, is that because he is rubbish, or he’s not been coached in the right way to improve??
AA – how does he become so poor?
Something just isn’t right imho….
Morning,
Not sure I can feel sorry for a manager earning such a huge salary when he’s then seen to be slagging off players that he has bought or raised and has backed to the hilt, told us all they are good enough and yet they clearly are not so who is to blame…? how can you moan at players that you bought and have let you down due to not buying the players that we ultimately needed…? catch 22 really but sort of two faced for wenger to be slagging anyone off….!
Morning lads.
I only feel sorry for him in the fact that he is deluded enough to put so much faith in the current squad. I think you are right rico he is too soft, waiting for certain players to come good when we all know that they never have and never will be good enough to wear the shirt. Even if they had a bid of graft and bollocks about them, fans recognise that but this lot seem like they don’t care. Where was the passion on Wed, no bite in the tackle(other that maybe Kos) and no ambition to fight for each other. I can’t believe I’m still so angry about it!
Wenger was genuinely shocked by Wednesday’s match and, having publicly savaged the performance of his team, there was also a ‘clear the air’ meeting at Arsenal’s training ground on Thursday.
According to one source, Wenger “went crazy” and vented his anger directly at the players for a performance that he regarded as the worst in Europe during his 15 years as Arsenal manager. There was a general acceptance among the squad that Wenger’s criticisms were justified.
Several prominent first-team players are now playing for their future, including Theo Walcott, Tomas Rosicky and Andrei Arshavin, whose contracts expire over the next 18 months but have yet to secure new deals.
Arsenal will also consider offers for Marouane Chamakh and Sébastien Squillaci, who have barely featured this season, while other fringe players, such as Nicklas Bendtner, Carlos Vela, Denilson and Manuel Almunia, are finally expected to be sold.
The club’s half-yearly accounts will be published this month and, following the sales last summer of Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Gaël Clichy, a likely profit of £55 million is set to prompt disquiet among fans.
From Daily Telegraph.
Morning Wath,
I’m quite glad he’s slating the players, it’s about time… BUT, at the same time he has to take responsibilty for buying them in the first place – but he’s hardly likey to come out and admit he’s mucked up..
I feel sorry for him that they let him down against Milan, we weren’t just poor we were shocking and the way the players performed was the worst seen in a while…..
If he has finally admitted to himself that some are not good enough then i hope he’s telling Stan that already…
But then why extend players like Djourou’s contract??
How Arsenal’s defeat could affect European places
16 Feb 2012
Ibrahimovic debunks myth of an ‘English curse’
16 Feb 2012
Szczesny: Arsenal can perform a miracle
16 Feb 2012
Wenger, though, was frustrated in January by the unavailability of his main targets and preferred to keep his budget intact. He is still tracking Cologne’s Lukas Podolski, Borussia Dortmund’s Mario Götze and the Lille playmaker Eden Hazard, but knows that Arsenal would have little hope of competing for such sought-after players if they do fail to reach next season’s Champions League.
Even if they do remain in the Premier League’s top four, Arsenal also face the threat of being outbid by richer rivals.
Wednesday’s defeat was hardly an enticing advert for potential signings and could also only reduce the chances of persuading Robin van Persie to extend his contract beyond 2013.
Van Persie, the Arsenal captain, was said to be forlorn in the dressing room after the match.
Yet while Arsenal are keen to open negotiations with Van Persie, the lack of decisive progress on Walcott, Arshavin and Rosicky suggests an uncertainty on all sides.
Preliminary talks have been held with representatives of Walcott but there is a growing sense that final decisions will be made at the end of the season.
Arshavin is the subject of interest from Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala. With the transfer window in Russia open until Feb 24, he could even leave next week.
Rosicky’s representatives have held talks with Wenger and, although the Czech Republic captain was anonymous on Wednesday, he has been among Arsenal’s better recent performers.
The expectation is that he will be offered a one-year deal.
Wenger’s own position also remains a subject of growing conjecture among supporters.
The Frenchman has regularly stressed that he will honour a contract which expires in 2014, although he would consider his position if he felt that he was underperforming.
Support from the Arsenal board remains solid and Wenger’s position is not regarded as contingent on finishing in the top four.
There remains sympathy from Stan Kroenke, the club’s majority owner, and the other directors at the difficult job Wenger has had this season following the sale of key players.
The hope is that he can secure fourth in the Premier League and then rebuild in the summer with additions of a comparable quality to Fàbregas and Nasri.
It is felt that Arsenal do still have at least the core of a competitive squad in Jack Wilshere, Wojciech Szczesny, Laurent Koscielny, Thomas Vermaelen, Bacary Sagna, Alex Song, Aaron Ramsey, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kieran Gibbs, Van Persie, Walcott and Gervinho
Walcott and Ramsey are not the caliber of players that suppose to be in arsenal both of them are inexperience players ,When Ramsey did not play against Blackbonre i discover that arsenal was really play very well .
Yeah how can we feel sorry for a man reportedly on £7mill/year?!
allezkev I seriously don’t think Wenger ever worries about the security of his position – not that he views himself as untouchable – I just don’t think he’s worried about it! The training ground anger would have been about the pathetic passing-the-buck attitude on display in the match where so many players layed down and died
Morning all, We are in deep trouble eh…the fact tha TH can get into this team and shine says alot abt the squad we have
Morning UTA,
You are not alone, i’m bloody livid….
Trouble is, no matter what AW says, he never ‘does’ – we can read all the stuff about how a clearout etc is needed, he never gets on and does it, he’d rather sell our better players for a profit…
How many summers have we though, this is going to be the one? But same old…
All out is the best way forward, Stan, PHW, IG, the whole lot and start again with new ideas….
Rico, 10.00/10.02;
Down to the coaching maybe?
Do we need a new voice on the training ground. Not someone who’ll sroke the players furrowed brow, but someone who’ll give them a kick up the arse.
We are a club that seems to be drifting towards mediocrity.
Rico, would you pay TW the sum of £85k per week in his new contract negotiations – because I certainly wouldn’t… What about the idea of swapping TW for Daniel Sturridge, who is if you believe the paper rumours – not happy at Chelsea. By all accounts it would suit both clubs, as AVB is an admirer of TW and we now have AOC coming through to replace him. And Sturridge is a long time AFC fan…
As for AA, FWIW he’s just plain lazy and everytime I see him just looks disinterested and the sooner that we get him off of our wage bill the better it will be for us all.
Can anyone tell me how comes we have the 4th largest wage bill in the PL, given what the teams performance that we saw in Milan last Wednesday evening? I have never felt so ashamed at the performance of the team and to be an AFC fan in a very long while, and that really does hurt me to say that.
Pat Rice is retiring is he not? So who will replace him? Maybe they can bring some new Ideas to the table.
AK, The DT article is just someone’s opininon though, just like The Mail etc etc – until those players are gone, we are stuck with them..
What worries me though, another manager would get more from Walcott and Ramsey – Wenger’s coaching all seems to have gone stale…
From what we see on the pitch…..
AK., i don’t think he had any intention of buying in january…
Morning Erick, the fact that he can get in it at his ripe age says a lot too 😉
AK, yes to all of your last, except i think we have already become mediocre 🙁
Hi Andy – tbh, i’d rather both in the same side but being coached by someone who will get the best out of them.. But, £85K a week, no, Theo doesn’t deserve that kind of salary, one outstanding disply against BB doesn’t justify that…..
Morning Rico and all. Professional sport at this level is something of a cut-throat business. Success comes from hard decisions, ruthless ones even and on the way reputations and egos can be hurt. Wenger has been too loyal for too long and this is his failing, not the players. We all know the underachievers and the length of time they have been afforded to live up to his expectations. Some have stepped up and shown they are good enough and others haven’t. Some have improved, but not enough. My belief is that we have been going backwards for several years now and that Wenger has made mistakes. Ok, everyone makes mistakes but he keeps on making the same ones. Apart from the odd flutter of form we have been very poor since the Carling Cup debacle last year and yet Rosicky and the rest have been given chance after chance to come up with the goods and have failed miserably. This shows me that they are not of the quality that Arsenal needs. Why can Wenger not see this? This and several other questions have been troubling Arsenal supporters for years now. Is he going to change? Can he change? Sometimes you have to reset the clock to zero and start again, perhaps with new ownership.
7 years without a trophy says it all, we need some changes asap……we have alot of passengers in the team, get rid of two and get one quality player sod the 25players rule we have great prospect on the reserves. Ryo, Afobe etc
Rico, imagine Walcott in the Chelsea team?
The Chavs are more direct than us and i’m sure would get more out of him.
But Theo is still a poor finisher, i cannot see that changing.
One MotM performance against Croatia, doesn’t make a career does it?
I’d like Sturridge though, i’ve gotta say!
I may be alone here but I would like to keep Theo, definitely not for the wages he wants, but a matching of his current contract with performance based bonuses. His biggest problem is that he is a guaranteed starter in our team when we all know he is not good enough yet. I reckon he will get better as he is only young,he’ll never be a world beater but will def improve. Ramsey as well will get better.
UTA – PR does retire but Wenger will choose another yes man, someone who will jsut become another clone of himself…
Would like to see Keown or Bould. Or at least someone that knows how to assemble a strong defence.
Good morning everyone!
We are going down the wrong path with Wenger. We have been going that path for a long time. I watched the game against Milan with some mates, who really don’t give a rats ass about Arsenal. They mocked me, but they were right.. We don’t have that cutting edge. Will Wenger spend big? No he won’t. Will VP go? Yes he will. It’s not easy being a gooner now a days…
Morning adam, i am of a similar view, we have gone stale, same tactics regardless of who plays or who we play, same mistakes from front to back…
Erick, we need to get rid of a few but our problems run deeper
AK, they would get a lot more from him, re his finishing, i think that will improve, it’s confidence with him – once he starts scoring, he’ll score for fun – it’s getting him started that is the problem..
I still say play him through the middle, get the ball in front of him and let him going, stifling him on the wing will never get the best from him, he has got the trickery or skill needed…
UTA – you are not alone, i want us to keep Theo too, but not for £85K a week…
UTA or at least a tough mentality – fight for everything, earn your right to play football. The great Arsenal teams in my time had both a goal threat, a mean defence and hunger. I see little of that here. Really we’re fortunate that Chelsea & Liverpool are so poor right now too.
You could see VP’s face when we lost, he was thinking: “what am I doing here, with these players? I should be winning trophies” The same thoughts Fab and Nasri had..
Theo Walcott has made 207 appearances, 77 of them from the bench.
He has scored 37 goals in all competitions.
a strike rate of 1 goal every 5.5 games.
In March he will be 23.
Yes, he is still young, but not in football terms.
He has played enough senior football to have matured enough for us to expect a lot more consistancy than he provides.
Tbh, we are suprised when he plays well, rather than accepting a good performance from him as the norm.
Steve bould will be the assistant manager.
I still haven’t given up on theo or Ramsey just yet.There are other players i would rather get rid of first.If we got rid of the following players that could fetch around 30m.
Diaby
Vela
Arshavin
Bendtner
Chamakh
Squillaci
Almunia
fabianski
Denilson
Think of the money them contracts could free up,by selling these few.
Walcott should still be given time and ok Ramsey’s performances haven’t been great but he still has very good potential in my opinion.
PL Goal Scorers 2011/12 Season
Walcott – 3
RvP – 20
Arshavin – 1
Song – 1
Ramsey – 1
Gervinho – 3
Santos – 1
Arteta – 3
Vermaelen – 3
Koscielny – 1
The OX – 2
Henry – 1
CL Goal Scorers 2011/12
Walcott – 2
RVP – 4
Arteta – 1
Gervinho – 1
Chamakh – 1
Santos – 1
Chamberlain – 1
Benayoun – 1
FA Cup
Thierry Henry – 1
RVP – 2
Walcott – 1
To quote HH goal scoring chart, sad proof of yet another factor this team lacks. RVP needs a little support.
Any news on proposed line up for Stadium of Light?
Mr Arsenal I’d love to know the combined wage bill of those deadbeats!
I am torn between keeping Walcott or cashing in on him.
I think he wants to stay at Arsenal, maybe it’s comfortable under Wenger?
£85k pw is a hugh amount for a player who scores 1 goal every 5 games and plays 1 good game in 3 or 4.
Would any other club be prepared to pay Theo that amount???
Shittie are never linked with him are they?
The Chavs, who knows?
Wenger has to make a decision this summer. But on what we’ve seen so far this season, i wouldn’t pay him 85k. But then i wouldn’t pay Arshavin 90k….
Prob about 425/450k a week Gazumble….! that would pay for 4/5 top quality players….!
Keown for me UTA, do what he did in 2006…
Hi ADK – i wouldn’t stay if i was RvP, not unless he know’s something 😉
AK, not bad for a winger 😉
OK! it was the night that confirmed all the doom laden signals that have been ignored for too long. That Old Inerta then ranted at the team reveals how desperate is our plight. He bought those players – Gibbs excepted and he refused to install a defence coach. They played to his tactical plan (joke) yet when his total lack of foresight leaves us with players of quality returning from injury and no hard core of `Gunners` to, at least make a fight of it, he accepts no responability. Does he now see that fifteen years on and only cashly has justified the expensive youth policy? This year Jack has headed the emergence of a promising crop of youngsters but unless our decline is reversed, how many will stick around? Recent history suggests that loyalty is a meaningless word when big bucks come calling.
Gazumble – fight for the right to wear the shirt, spot on!
UTA, No Kos, No Merts – that spells trouble in itself 🙁
Ok,a few things.
Wenger is berated for being soft on his players,now he’s taken to task for ripping into them……ok,I’m stumped.
Next….last night,I read about our thumpings in CL over the last 15 Years…..fair call.
What I dont get is why we are listening to criticism of the manager and players from ex players guilty of involvement in some of these big losses!!!!
In 15 Years time,should we listen and accept current players comments after a bad loss????
Seriously,these guys seem to stick their heads out ONLY when things go wrong,or is it just reported that way???
Mr Arsenal – add Djourou to that list please 😉
425/450k a week for that load of tosh, for someone who is supposed to be an economics buff that is a massive waste of funds. Gross mismanagement and he harps on about sustainability, would we not be a lot more sustainable by flogging this lot for cut price sums(or nothing) and getting their wage off the clubs books!!!
No sympathy at all for wenger. Those sort of slow paced slow witted performances are all to familiar, be it over 90 mins or 45. They are all players bought by him, trained by him, ‘inspired’ by him set to tactics by him.
Its a mess at the club, and he is a man whomhas total autonomy. The next managerbhas a massive job to do to get us even into CL
Hi JL – i can’t see AW selling many of who he has, after all, that would be admitting he got it wrong… Can’t see that being a trait of his…
Not unless his hand is forced of course….
Scott – has anyone actually berated AW for laying into the team??
The ex players are saying similar to what most here have been saying for a few years now, they are pretty much spot on imho….
Petit, Dixon and Keown didn’t lose many 😉
Good point Scott re: ex-players
Rico,that’s not the problem.
Who’d want them and be prepared to pay their wages???
Rico,yes they have…..
A really good read and sensible for a change….
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/9084867/AC-Milan-v-Arsenal-Arsene-Wenger-one-of-the-great-football-managers-must-break-up-this-side-to-save-himself.html?
The bit for me that sticks out is
“The traditional Arsenal cycle over the past seven years has been spurts of promise followed by hard landings and battered morale. A classic example was the Carling Cup final defeat to Birmingham which sent the team’s confidence into a nosedive. Some frantic late transfer window trading in August seemed to have added experience and backbone but these are no good without top-grade quality.
The Bergkamp generation can hardly be expected to stay silent. There is no obligation for them to ignore this damning evidence of Arsenal’s mediocrity. Wenger’s professorial aura will come under renewed attack as the Sunderland game approaches and supporters direct their indignation against him for failures in the transfer market and his excessive faith in players who keep failing to justify his high opinion of them.
This squad can no longer save him so he must save himself by going on without large numbers of them. It will be expensive, but the alternative would be even more costly: the ruination of his work. We saw another step on that path here and it hurt the eye.
It’s called to little to late in my eyes Scott, it’s ok laying into the players but as said for me rather two faced when these are the players that he has bought or raised so how about he also looks in the mirror…? Maybe laying into the players is his final submission in admitting he’s fucked up and not bought the necessary quality players and that for all his talk of them being good enough he’s realised they are not good enough at all.
Far to soft on all his players he wraps them in cotton wool and tell us all how great they are…. there is no sentiment in football when 95% of these players would piss off somewhere else for an extra 5k a week…!
Gazumble – totally agree, as I think most will fight for the right to wear the shirt and play for the club.
Scott, that’s the big issue IMHO, not rumour but fact Squillaci wanted to leave during the last transfer window and AFC had a suitable bid come in from a French club for him, the stumbling block and why the deal never went through was his apparent £50k per week wages. The French club, offered hin circa £35 per week and he said no – he wanted the same wages which he was earning and so the deal fell through.
Rico, unfortunately for us JD has just penned a contract extension…
Morning all,
Wenger’s professorial aura won’t come under any renewed attack today wath, he cancelled his press conference.
good morning
Welcome Silentstan, you going to get your chequebook out? 😉
Must have missed that then Scott, thought the general view is he’s too soft on the players, more like a father than a manager…
Wath,what’s the boards stance???
They either need to direct him to spend,or allow him to spend…..same old story,and we still don’t know for sure which way it goes.
Either way,it is the board who control our destiny,not Wenger.
I want the board to lead from the front and tell Wenger to spend or leave.
Conversely,they can tell us all they’re happy NOT spending….at least we would all know who is responsible.
Wath – that article makes very very sad reading, but it’s so so true and it hurts!
Morning Micko, has he really cancelled??
Rico, if he knows anything, why hasn’t he signed a new contract yet? I don’t think we’ll buy anyone of importance 🙁
Scott – re the players, been saying for ages, we can’t sell them because they are already on too good a salary, and one that is hardly deserved..
That’s why i questioned how much had we tied Toral up for, i’d love to know how much his weekly salary is already…
Rico,I agree he shouldnt be on big money,I just thought you were a little harsh on his future motives.
Lets hope he merits the faith showed in him.
ADK, maybe because he knows too well that Wengers words mean very little, until things are done/palyers signed, why would he want to?
Look how any times he has fed all the spin about buying players to us fans, seldom does he fulfil his promise…
The only one he seems to keep is not walking out of his contract, shame 😉
Morning rico, according to the article by Sam Wallace in the Independent entitled “Is Wenger finished at Arsenal” he has.
ha ha that’s true rico. If Van Persie goes, Wenger must go. I cannot se us challenging for the title for a very long time. But in truth, why are we so bad? I mean, sagna, koscielny, vermaelen, VP, chamberlain, arteta, song.. these are great players.. Are the rest so bad, that it affects the team? Or is Wenger a bad motivator? I wish I knew…
Rico. Any news on Diaby?
Adam
apparently He was fit, then he stepped on an ant while walking in the park, and twisted his ankle.
Wenger said Diaby is ready at the end of February:
http://www.arsenal.com/team-news
I questioned his future motives, i do anyone young player who joins us these days…
Scott, I know you love wenger and try to stick up for him as much as possible and that’s your opinion and fair play to you but the board were wrong years ago to give wenger so much power to basically run the club as he wanted, I would agree the board should of had more backbone and not done that but since the board are now run by Stan and Stan is the invisible man the status quo is that Wenger basically does what he wants… These are his players, his tactics his sqaud, the coaching staff is his choice as well. We’ll see when the financial figures come out that yet again it will show money was available and that points again to Wenger not spending. I was told many moons ago the money is there if Wenger wants it and even when money was tight when we first moved there was a 40million overdraft in place for wenger to buy players yet he didn’t once use it…..!
The board are rotten I’ll give you that and we need a new board new ambition and new drive…. Wenger for me needs a new boss to tell him what he wants and expects and if he refuses he’ll be out the door. At the moment he has a defense as people are still unsure if Wenger refuses to spend or is told not to spend but the proof is looking more n more that it’s his choice not to spend as he wanted to “make” a team and prove you can’t buy success…!
I hope that ant is banned for life.
Good morning guys and chicks of the Gunners’ faith.
Just read the article and the comments and it has to be said that I am speechless. Simply for the fact that there is nothing I can add to them. It is one which reflects the state of mind of many AFC supporters.
It is very painful to read because one knows that it is the truth. But I still say that something is amiss. Something that we do not know about. Something that will be very shocking when real reasons are revealed.
From yesterday’s article…….
I thought that the jokes had left Arsenal when Eboue went to Gala.
Now without him Arsenal have turned into a joke.
He speaks from the heart and whatever personality he is I agree with practically all he said. What the guy said is exactly what goes on in the dressing room. Physically he has gone to another team. Mentally he is still in our dressing room. He was being honest with Theo, Song, Ramsey, Arteta and above all with SCROOGE.
Last I heard Adam he still has his heart set on winning the Ballon d’Or some day………ignorance is bliss !
Rico,again i say he deserves the bemefit of the doubt.
Of all our players,I would be more pissed off with RVP if he leaves than any other.
More time,patience and faith has been invested in him than by the club than anyone could ask…..he owes Arsenal.
Let’s hope he repays it.
Let’s also hope Diaby,eventually,replays in kind.
Thanks Micko, i had to read that twice, i thought for one minute, wenger was finished 😉
Adam, Diaby?? Who is he??
Hi all.nothing more to add.its very telling that rvp has yet to speak since Milan.
Wath,I concur with your last paragraph totally.
I do not think Wenger is perfect at all,I simply think he deserves more credit and respect than he is being given.
The board can fix everything,or fuck everything.
Currently,they are choosing the latter.
ADK, a lot has to be down to the lack of motivation, the lack of pride, we have lost the arsenal in arsenal and we need to get it back fast….,
does that now mean Park is injured 😉
W.A.T.H……when GG was sacked the board vowed that never would an AFC manager have so much power.
Sadly that is a U-turn of the greatest proportions.
We need a chairman who makes a stand. Love him or hate him, Moratti of Inter and Abramovich are two owners who are there at the front of the battle. They do not shy away and are first and foremost in action. Beckenbauer is an ex footballer who leads Bayern and whenever something which is not the Bayern way happens he comes down like a ton of bricks.
We need someone who is steeped in the AFC tradition. Sadly, can he be found????
DG I agree with you.the likes of Beckenbaeur lead their clubs with passion never shying away from real issues.they are ex-players who never accept mediocrity.we need such figure heads at our club.
ArsenalDK,
Did Wenger say what Diaby would be ready for at the end of February? I suspect it won’t be for playing football as thathasn’t happened yet.
Problem is Scott wenger has had the benefit of the doubt for the last 2/3 years after telling the fans to trust him trust the team and yet his king pin ran off back to Barca, we’ve sold top players season after season and they not been replaced with top quality, he continues to take a huge salary tells us europe is in recession yet we have loads of funds to buy quality players from teams who are struggling yet we still don’t. He is so stubborn that for me he can’t and won’t rethink his game plan as that is then an admittance that he’s been wrong for all these years and wenger doesnt do “i was wrong”….! As bad as the board are he’s in bed with the board don’t forget that…!
Rico…..what difference will it make whether Park is injured???
He is never there and more importantly SHOULD NOT BE THERE.
Diaby = Feb 2013 or Feb 2014…?????
Morning devil… it is the truth, and it does hurt…..
Scott – that’s your choice re Toral, time will tell…
I’m not sure RvP owes us anything anymore, of course we will all think that we looked after him when he was injured etc, same as rosicky, same as Diaby now etc etc…
If the board were prepared to do that, that’s there choice but now if they are not prepared to help him again, let him go….. he’s not got too many playing years left in him, he deserves to win something…
devil, i was being ironic about Diaby twisting his ankle whilst walking in the ‘Park’ 😉
Another player Wenger has ruined…….
K-TR7 – re RvP – he posted the following on twitter last night.
“Bad result yesterday we are now looking forward to saturday’s game v sunderland! We will do everything we can to bring the FA Cup home!”
and prior to that
“Thanks for all your support especially the ones who travelled to milan to support us u were great we all appreciate it!”
Well devil, if AU comes in and brings back Dein, there is no man more steeped in afc tradition there – love him or hate him, he’d start getting things sorted out….
He might even sort Wenger out…. If it’s not too late….
Hi Billboy and Kt…
Andy thanks.i thought he had said nothing yet.
Hi Rico.
Really got to like this site lately.
If rvp leaves that will be the final straw.
When Petr Cech was available, AW could have had him for less than a million. He dithered and ended up with Almunia. We all know the difference.
When Drogba was available for cheap money AW blinked his eyes too many times. He ended at the Chavs and I ask the question….Did he blink his eyes when signing Park??
Should players of the level of Bendtner, Chamack, Eboue, Denilson have been at the club??? That should not even have been thought.
Arsenal are a club who should be graced by the presence of players like Fabregas, Piquet, Chiellini, Busquets, Iniesta, Xavi, Messi. Of the present lot only a handful can be regarded in the same breath as those mentioned above. Chesney, Tommy V, Kozzer, Sagna, RVP, Wilshere, OX.
Henry should have never left. He should have been surrounded by players of that calibre. Sadly, recent seasons have shown AW to be a one dimensional manager.
He bought a lot of change to English Football. However, he is afraid to change himself to present demands and situations.
Good to hear that Billboy – what was wrong with it before 😉
KT, i’d say there were some very dark thoughts on RVP’s mind as he sat on the plane on his way home from Milan yesterday.
Think you’ve hit the nail on the head there Dev, Wenger brought amazing ideas to the English game he changed many things but now it’s time for him to change things he is scared to take things on board, change for him only seems good if it fits in with his ideas….?
If the training bust up is true then i hope it finally means he is finally acknowledging that he is wrong.
Thierry Henry firmly believes that Arsène Wenger’s squad have what it takes to respond to their San Siro setback.
The Frenchman completed his second spell with the Gunners on Wednesday night amid the gloom of the Club’s heaviest loss in European football. Players and fans alike left Italy under a cloud following the 4-0 defeat to AC Milan and Henry felt it as much as anyone.
All the same, as he left England for the United States and a new MLS season with the New York Red Bulls, Henry issued a reminder that every team suffers lows before they can scale the heights.
“Even the generation before that won the Double in 1998 or 1971, they had some very bad moments,” he told Arsenal Player. “So that is what I would like to say to the fans: do not forget that.
“It was not always nice and pretty, you have to remember that we had some times where we just wanted to go home at the end of the game. The difference is how this team can react and I think this team can do that.
“We realise it is going to be a hell of a task but who knows? The Sunderland game is just around the corner so we have to go there and win.”
Arsenal’s Champions League may be hanging by a thread but a top-four finish and the FA Cup are still up for grabs. And Henry insists that Arsenal need their supporters more than ever right now.
“You have to remember that you go through moments where it is not always nice,” he said.
“If you are an Arsenal fan then you are an Arsenal fan, that’s the way it is. Once a Gunner you are always a Gunner, you can’t change.
“I can’t talk for people whose families have supported Arsenal forever. But I am sure if you talk to their parents, and their parents too, they will tell you to enjoy this generation because they had some bad moments.
“I am sure the fans will understand that they have to stay with the team. We all need to be together because it’s the same when the team is winning and also when you lose.”
Am sure rvp feels indebted to us;he has also been an Arsenal fan since childhood but it reaches a point whereby he must look after his own career.i really hope we rebuild since id love it if rvp was to lead us to success and retire here.
devil – i wouldn’t put Chesney in there at the moment…
totally agree, he changed the game but instead of realising it needs change again, he buries his head in the sand and plays the same old way, regardless of who we face, who is fit etc….
Stale…..
Devil, we could have had Petr Cech 12 months earlier if it weren’t for……….you guessed it work permit problems, only happens at Arsenal.
Kt, we all hope that RvP remains as loyal as Dennis did, but, it was easy for Dennis Bergkamp to stay on and on and accept a one yeard rolling contract…
Look who in the squad with him, any player would have been a fool to leave back then, unlike now…..
Surely all our ex-players,pundits,bloggers…can’t be wrong?Arsene can’t surely ignore the issues anymore?
‘You Either Die a Hero, or Live Long Enough To See Yourself Become the Villain’
It would be sickening if Hazard signed for spurs.
Another potential reason for RvP to consider staying loyal to the club, is that they stood by him totally throughout the period where he was under investigation for the false rape accusation in Holland, which he was subsequently acquitted of.
Sacrifice the pony players and break the pay structure to keep RVP. Although maybe his main focus is more about winning trophies so he may still not sign. If he stays we have more chance of attracting quality players, without him……..
Kt, George Graham is getting it wrong, he thinks Wenger’s a top class manager 😉 😉
I reckon he owes us,but if we dont go hard in the transfer window,i wouldnt hold it against him if he left.
Leys hope he gives Wenger every chance to buy up.
Let’s hope Wenger takes it.
We could have signed Ronaldo too….. who did we end up with, Diaby?? 🙁
Andy Powers, any idea what Raphael Meade is up to these days ?
rico,
There was nothing wrong with it before but I was only an infrequent visitor. I have been recovering from surgery since December and have consequently had more time lately to read more blogs. Highbury House has now become my first stop.
Watching yaya toure play yesterday made me think maybe thats what AW hopes Diaby will develop to be like.the potential is there but he barely plays nowadays.
Micko, retired according to the below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raphael_Meade
I doubt there is anything different we could’ve done about Ronaldo.much like the same way the mancs thought that they had tied up the Ramsey deal.
😆 Micko
Scott, can you honestly see AW changing his ways now??
Just teasing you Billboy but good to hear we are your first stop,, hope all is mending the right way?
If you have time on your hands, feel free to write us a post…
HH is not like Wenger, we welcome fresh ideas 🙂
KT…..we used to say that about RVP.
Scott am a big diaby fan but am beginning to run out of patience with him.when he plays well he dominates.i remember the CC finals against the chavs as a very good example,last season against newcastle prior to his redcard he was excellent but how long do we have to wait for him to constantly deliver?
Rico,no I can’t,but (I am repeating myself again) the board can give him the ultimatum…..change or go.
He is not making all the right decisions,and everyone knows it,but why do they sit back and do nothing???
KT…I cant answer your question.
We cant sell him though,so may as well persevere.
Robin Van Persie signed for Arsenal in May 2004.
This is Van Persie’s 8th season at Arsenal.
It is also the first time in those 8 season’s that he’s given us a proper season!
So yes Scott, 11.57, i think RVP does owe us some loyalty.
Lata.
That’s what they pay him £7million for i suspect Scott, to save them money and he goes along with it…
They are all as bad as eachother in my opinion….
AK, Kenny Sansom reckons he will leave IF we don’t qualify for the CL ….
Rici,that’s a fair call. They have the power,but the power of money is overriding all good decision making.
Anyway,enough of that.
Arsenal 3-0 over Sunderland????
What will tomorrow bring??
Are we going to see a very different starting eleven…?
Great minds there Scott, on to tomorrow 😉
Rico given that the FA cup is this weekend my post should be ready to be used anytime from Monday.i’ll send it to you prior to that.
I do not think if we qualify or win the FACUP he will stay. He will leave no matter what.
Ok, thanks Kt, if it’s about Milan, maybe it is best to post it before the return leg, you did suggest it would be about our failings in italy?
Would be good to keep for the home leg…
right now i’d say there is little chance on RvP staying, but a lot can happen bewteen now and the summer, AW/Stan may even be prepared to let him go for free the following summer
Rico,you’re just stalking me lol.
Shocker of a game…write it off and move on,I say.
But Scott, i don’t agree with writing it off and moving on entirely, that is what has got AW into this mess….
Had he onl;y addressed the problems before moving on, maybe we would be a lot better off….
Shouldn’t you be sleeping by now Scott??
Rico its not mainly about Italy,its about tactical issues that have made us experience defeats in the KO rounds of the CL.it will be a 2 part post:first tactical issues and another on player quality.
Off to bed…til tomorrow,goodnight all.
If we write this season or any game off it will be to AFC’s peril. Not even when we won convincingly should any game be written off.
One thing I have learned in my life is that each moment you must ask yourself……can I do better? What did I do well? What did I do wrong? Can my performance yield better results?
We should do that till our last breath.
BFG has had reconstructive surgery on his ankle ligaments and is out long term-Wenger. 🙁
Kos out for a week,jenks back in full training and Gerv back available for selection-Wenger.
That’s his season over KT.
So it Dodgy Djourou and Verm for tomorrow!
Ok, thanks Kt
Night Scott…
Told you before devil, you need to get to London and go knocking on Wengers door, he obviously doesn’t instill that attitude into our players…..
Merts is out for the rest of this season…. oh well, we have Squilli ready to save the day I guess…..
Does anyone think that Wenger will start Walcott tomorrow?
Got a feeling that Wenger may go with Theo up at Sunderland…
Ox on the bench.
Such a shame AK.we’re an injury or two away from a CB pairing of squid/JD 😮
TEAM NEWS
Sunderland could welcome back captain Lee Cattermole after the midfielder recovered from a hamstring injury.
Striker Nicklas Bendtner is ineligible to play against his parent club, while David Vaughan’s (ankle) is out.
Arsenal have Gervinho available after returning from the Africa Cup of Nations but Per Mertesacker is out.
Kieran Gibbs made his return after four months against Milan so could keep his place in the side but Laurent Koscielny misses out with a knee injury.
From BBC
How about playing AA in the hole and see how it goes?
KT, it was everyone’s nightmare scenario mate and why many of us wanted Cahill signed or Vertonghen.
Will Wenger rectify that situation in the summer and get Vertonghen?
KT, can we afford to carry anyone mate?
Not sure i’d trust meerkat to put in a shift, but it’s an interesting idea, and who knows, it might suprise O’Neill.
It might work.
i don’t AK, i think theo will be benched…..
I reckon he’ll rest a few and concentrate on the PL
Would JV want to join us now AK???
Got to pop off for a while, back laters….
We know S’land will park the bus and play on the counter so why not surprise them by putting AA in there?rosicky/ramsey really struggled to create chances against them despite them being fatigued last week.tomorrow they’ll be raring to go and we need to be at our absolute best.
Good News:
on Laurent Koscielny’s knee problem…
He had a scan yesterday and the news is quite good. He will be out for hopefully around a week. He will miss the Sunderland game. But he should be back for next week.
Laters….
I love to see this team tomorrow:
……………………………..Fabianski
….Yennaris…….Miquel……….Vermaelen……….Gibbs
………………………………..Song
….OX-C……Coquelin…………….Arshavin………Rosicky
……………………………..Chamakh.
Arshavin is more effective as a “False No. 10” with his unpredictability and skills to run at defence…and interchanging with Rosicky.
And we need Rosicky to protect Gibbs at the left flank.
Time to give Yennaris another run as RB.
I will drop Walcott and replaces him with OX-C.
Walcott will be very much better playing for other English teams “direct football” as he does not have the football brain to play WengerBall.
We need a Sweeper System as we are extremely vulnerable to counter-attacking football, especially we do not have an effective box-to-box DCM with an Engine.
4-1-4-1 with SOng in the Sweeper role to protect Back-4 and sweep teh vacuum between MIDFIELD and DEFENCE.
Coquelin-Rosicky will battle it out high up the pitch, winning balls adn creating plays..with SOng behind picking up the pieces.
The key is Song laying BEHIND the MIDFIELD, and not in front of the MDIFIELD.
WIsh Ryo, Aneke and Toral will improve exponentially and ready for senior squad next season.
Not forgetting Benik Afobe….
And enxt season, hopefully witht he return of Joel Campbell, Galindo, Botelho, Wellington SIlva…Kyle Bartley…..woner how many of these youngsters will make it at Arsenal FC next season?
“How long I don’t know. He had reconstruction of his ligaments, so it will be long term.”
Meaning..Mertesacker is out for the season..and may very well face a lengthy layoff from 9 to 12 months.
Wenger and Emirates are cursed….
First Vermaelen….missed nearly an entire season…
Now Mertesacker…….
Look like new CB in the summer..Vertonghen anybody?
Wenger said Diaby is ready at the end of February
Should be out early March then.
Hi everyone. Read through the thread but on the subject of rollicking in the dressing room it might be that it works because of it’s rarity Apparently in the past when Rice , Bould or Keown have dolled out a rocket , the players have gone behind them to Wenger who has patted them on the head and sent them on their way..
Ta Potter.
I really think with this drab team, Diaby can make a difference during the crunch period of March/April with 4th spot up for grabs..and if (AND A BIG IF) we beat Sunderland with this demoralised team……then there is really TWO TARGETS after MArch 6:
1 – Win FA Cup;
2 – Overhaul S*CUM to enable fans to celebrate St. Totteringham Day.
Can’t be arsed on 4th spot as long as we finsihed above S*CUMS in May 2012.
Beggars cannot be chooser..
so I see Song-Diaby pairing will inject much more dynamism and pace into our MIDFIELD..instead of all those crab football with slow and deliberate that telegraphed every moves to defenders, having a tea party in the box waiting fro Arsenal players to knock the final ball against their legs, their bodies or sail over the goal post.
KT, 2.25;
The way Sunderland play will not be a suprise.
Wenger knows O’Neill and O’Neill only knows one way to play. So it’s all down to the heart our players show and their desire to put right what they did wrong against AC Milan.
Call it professional pride if you like.
Potter, i hope your right. The rarity of a Wenger rollicking might have a positive effect?
If it doesn’t, then we are truely in the shite.
Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has undergone surgery on his ankle injury and will be a “long-term” absence, according to manager Arsene Wenger.
Mertesacker suffered ligament damage during Saturday’s 2-1 victory at Sunderland and could be sidelined for the rest of the season.
“He has had surgery and we have lost him for a while; how long I don’t know,” Wenger told the club’s website.
“He had reconstruction of his ligaments, so it will be long-term.”
Arsenal have major worries at the heart of their defence.
They are due to assess the state of Laurent Koscielny’s knee injury after the Frenchman joined Mertesacker on the sidelines.
From BBC
Wenger has further defensive worries going into the weekend’s FA Cup fifth round clash against Sunderland, with Laurent Koscielny unavailable for the game at the Stadium of Light due to a slight knee concern.
“He had a scan yesterday and the news is quite good,” Wenger revealed. “He will be out for hopefully around a week. He will miss the Sunderland game. But he should be back for next week.”
However, Carl Jenkinson is back in full training and Kieran Gibbs is available despite playing his first game in four months against AC Milan in midweek. Forward Gervinho is also cleared for selection after returning from African Nations Cup duty.
From ESPN
Ajax coach Frank de Boer believes defender Jan Vertonghen’s display against Manchester United proves he is ready for the Premier League.
Belgium international Vertonghen has frequently been linked with a move away from the Amsterdam ArenA, with Tottenham scouts reportedly watching him against United on Thursday and Manchester City also having been linked with him in the past.
And despite Ajax’s 2-0 first-leg defeat in the Europa League last 32, both Vertonghen and his coach were happy with the 24-year-old’s performance.
Vertonghen told De Telegraaf: “Especially in the first half, it was very good – especially since we were playing against an English opponent.”
The defender is under contract only until the end of next season and looks set for a high-profile summer move, and De Boer said: “Jan is already close to the level of Manchester United and he can still improve.
“Especially as he moves forward through the midfield, he is so dangerous. He sometimes does that too little in my eyes. That’s a shame, because then his qualities are more conspicuous.”
From ESPN
I actually think Diaby could be brilliant playing behind rvp as a false 10 merlin.
The Daily Mail is reporting that Arsenal manager is set to sell six under performing stars in the summer.
Arsenal are having a dreadful season and despite squeezing in to fourth spot currently, the defeat at AC Milan brought the North London club crashing back down to earth.
It was not just the scoreline that has so infuriated Wenger but the actual performances and attitude of certain players, it really was as if they could not care.
The six players mentioned are Theo Walcott, Andrey Arshavin, Marouane Chamakh, Sebastien Squillaci, Tomas Rosicky and Park Ju-young.
It is easy to understand why Wenger has those players on his exit list, they have under performed, they are not playing at a level expected at Arsenal and for the most part each and everyone one of them has been a great disappointment this season.
_________________________________________________
Okay, the eternal optimist in moi will give Arsene Wenegr the benefit of reasonable doubt that he will sell this summer and will drastically re-structure the playing squad, only wanting to keep players thata re committed to play for Arsenal…and buying in maybe 4 or 5 experienced players to blend in with those youngsters that are ready.
That Wenger is accummulating a war-chest of 50-mil to 100-mil to spalsh out in August 2012 with all hsi targets identified on an extremely secretive list.
Players he will sell or release or walk away on a Bosman are:
1 – Denilson
2 – Bentnder
3 – Squillaci
4 – Almunia
5 – Park CY
6 – Chamakh
7 – Rosicky
8 – Arshavin
9 – Walcott (refuses to sign a new contract)
10- Van Persie (refuses to sign a new contract)
11- Song (refuses to sign a new contract)
12- Djourou (not good enough)
13- Botelho (refuses to return to Arsenal)
14- Vela (refuses to return to Arsenal FC)
15- Fabianski (submit transfer request to play 1st Team Football)
16- Mannone (not good enough)
Come summer 2012, it will be a bloodbath at Arsenal Fc with mass cullings.
Van Persie, Walcott and Song will be on their way out if they refuse to sign a new contract extension by JUly 2012.
Arsene Wenger will be daft not to learn from “Fabregas-Nasri Saga” last summer as how both players destabilised the entire season with no replacements in place when they leave.
Arsene Wenger has just two more seasons to put it right else his Arsenal Legacy will be overshadowed by his past 7 years of failures which proved conclusively that Arsene Wenger got lucky form 1996 to 205 and after all, is not a great manager, just a charlatan.
No wonder Mourinho’s stinging rebuttal cut Wenger to the bone as he cannot answered “how amny CL Cup have you won?”
Jamie Sanderson@YoungGunsBlog
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Carl Jenkinson has stepped up his training schedule and will re-join the first-team on Monday. #AFC impressed his progress.
Djourou has already signed a new contract.
So The Daily Mail think that Arsene Wenger is a charlatan…..
Hmmm, interesting sentiments from the Press as they circle like a pack of hyenas…
Well fuck them…
K-TR7, he can be brilliant as that false “No. 10” as long as he does not dwell on the ball and takes too many touches.
But he needs a partner who can read his moves and has a telegraphic undersatdn with him to paly all those quick one-two in the box.
And yes, it is also hard to knock Diaby off the ball as he has such quick feet.
Ramsey is not that player as after watching him for half a season, he is limited, no technical skill to fire an accurate and properly wieghted pass..and simply does not have the football brain to spot passing channels or the knack of WIlshere to play in a reverse pass to catch a tight defence off-guard.
Forget about Walcott and Ramsey. Just cut our losses and start all over again with the new batch of youngsters coming thru’ the Reserves.
Arsene Wenger must be regretting not to hold on Fabregas for one more season like what Redknapp is doing to Modric.
Except for Sol Campbell, Arsene Wenger is an extremely poor judge of British players that he bought.
Keown: “Wenger wouldn’t have gone to bed on Wednesday night – he would’ve stayed up all night and trolled through the game.”
Yes Kev, and this does not mean he cannot be sold.
Signing new contract is just that..to tie a player down to prevent him from walking away on a Bosman.
Like Reyes after a signing a new contract and the very sumer when Real came a-tapping, he wanted out immediately.
Like Henry signing a new contract in summer 2006…and walked away in summer 2007…..
Keown: “My message to the Arsenal players would be to keep quiet, to listen and to toe the line.” #afc
Henry: “If you are an #AFC fan then you are an #AFC fan, that’s the way it is. Once a Gunner you are always a Gunner, you can’t change.”
Yes, Wenger admitted that he is a sore loser and hate losing as he is an obsessive winner.
When he was a new amanger and afetr losing a game, he felt so bad that the bus got to stop halfway for him to vomit by the roadside.
And Wenegr is really really bad-temper, screaming in the dressign room when he was coahcing France..and that stint in Japan taught him Zen…adn he came to Arsenal FC calmer and we all fooled by his clam demeanour in his early years with Arsenal FC……
Now?
Tantrums…assaulting an innocent water bottle…….and tirades in dressing room like he retrogressed to his bad temper self in his early days in France….
Merlin, we had all this clear-out nonsense last summer.
It isn’t going to happen.
Yes, some of those players you mention will almost certainly go.
But not all 16.
Almunia and Fabianski will leave as they are free agents next summer.
Rosicky will stay and unless Arsenal get a good offer Arshavin might also stay.
If Wenger has to sell RVP, then i can’t see Chamuck leaving as well.
Alex Song is well covered by Coquelin and eventually Frimpong when he recovers.
So if Song leaves c’est la vie.
Henry: “If you are an #AFC fan then you are an #AFC fan, that’s the way it is. Once a Gunner you are always a Gunner, you can’t change.”
Hypocritical as he conveniently forgot that after signing his 2006 extension with a 5-mil signing on bonus..adn Arsene Wenger declaring that Henry will be the FULCRUM which he will build a new team around him….and he let Arsenal FC down big-time by walking out in 2007 when Arsenal FC really needed him to move to another level….
And what did he said in summer 2007?
He sworn he will never touched anyhting “English”….cursng anything English….and so ahtred on anyhthign English that he must leave England immediately.
Guess time heals all wounds isn’t it?
As far as i’m concerned Bendtner, Denilson, Mannone and Vela have already left, whilst Botelho has never arrived.
Walcott is the one i’m not really sure about.
Wage demands and what he does from now to the summer will detirmine his future at AFC imho.
Wenger and war-chest in the same sentance Merlin, that’s made my afternoon.
Kev,
Summer 2012 is Groundhog Day all over again as Van Persie refused to negotiate until season is over.
How many of our players left on a Bosman?
1 – Edu
2 – Wiltord
3 – Kanu
4 – Flamini
Van Persie, Song and Walcott have 18 months of their contract left.
Can you see them signing an extension comes August 2012?
I don’t.
Expect Gazidis to force Wenger to sell this Trio if they don’t sign else they will all walk away on a Bosman in Jan 2013.
Similarly, Arshavin can also wlaka way on a BOsman in Jnaaury 2013 as well.
After that San Siro Fiasco, how many of these players will remain loyal to Arsenal FC comes August 2012?
Squillaci and Park will probably leave and Djourou will stay.
Campbell should get his work permit in the summer,
Miyaichi should step up to the senior squad, as will Afobe, Aneke, Ozyakup, Henderson, Martinez, Miquel and Yennaris.
Then Santos, Diaby and Wilshere should be back as well.
Gnarby, Toral and Jeffrey could be fast-tracked.
So i’m not ready to commit suicide yet… 😉
AK those are all youngsters, they are not ready to make us contenders again. We need experience in there…
Micko…..Wenger had doen that before during his early years with Arsenal FC when he really spent to snap up all those French players and Overmars, Sol Cmapbell, Lauren, Gilberto, Reyes, et al.
Expect him to really spend this summer as Kroneke (like John Henry) will realise that he needed to spend big to protect hsi 70-mil investment in Arsenal FC…else he will ended up with another “St Louis Ram” in English Football.
“Win win” for Wenegr in summer 2012 as he got 2 years to re-structure Arsenal FC…and he will be on high moral grounds in his fight with the Board if they refuse o allocate funds for his spendings.
During summer 2012…Arsenal fans will have an answer to who is the actual culprit to their question “Spend the f**king money!”:
Arsene Wenger refusing to spend or the Board refused to allocate funds for Wenger to spend massively to build a title contender of an Arsenal team.
ADK, we had the seniors playing for us in Lombardy on Weds night….
They might be kids, but if Arsenal are not going to invest in top talent, then i’d rather watch them than some of the overpaid tossers who lost 0-4 the other night…
Well Kev, you are banking on that “Eric Cantona” effect.
That is, Eric Cantona is that catalyst that sparked off Fergie Fledgings that so dominant ENglish Football for a decade and more.
Arsene Wenger needs to buy experienced 24 to 27 year old “catalyst” to spark off those youngsters called Wenger Wunderkind.
As of in San Siro Aftermath, this team of youngsters are just Wenger Washouts.
i’m afraid that we are screwed no matter how we put it 🙁
Nothing like a good bit of positive thinking……………………!!
No Merlin, i just happen to believe that those youngsters i mentioned are a superior bunch than the previous mob.
I know it was a shatteringly poor performance on Weds night.
But i can’t recall Vermaelen having such a poor game for AFC, whilst Sagna was fairly off-form that evening.
In the Italian Press, they said that Song had a great game!
Work that one out?
Boateng scored a goal he probably won’t score again all season.
Milan’s 2nd goal was off-side.
Vermaelen was undone by that terrible pitch for the 3rd.
Milan’s 4th wasn’t a penalty.
RVP should have had a penalty.
Abbiatti made 3 great saves from RVP. I doubt that he does that every week!
Arsenal Summer 2012 Bazaar Clearance Sale!
Perhaps this time around, the chief instigator may very well be Gazidis on a cost-cutting exercise after we did nto qualified for CL Cup 2012/13.
Kroneke is a businessman and invest to make money and not to run a non-profitable charity foundation at Emirates.
So cost-cutting exercise is the order of the day to make-up the short-fall of about 50-mil in 2012/13 for missing CL CUp qualification.
And that on-going Greece Credit Crunch..plus P.I.I.G.S..
And yes, even Dubai Electricity and Water Authority may not be able to pay off their creditors this year..may default..and may sparked off another Credit Crunch Crisis this year….
Imagine, Greece defaulted, Dubai defaulted…….a run on European banking systems (especialy British banks heavily exposed in Dubai and UAE)……
With global banking systems coming to a head in the summer..it makes one wonder which teams can afford to spend big in summer 2012 as banks are extremely reluctant to finance football club deficits for next season…
Glasglow Ranger in adminstration…
Pompey may enter into another administration…..
Let’s hope S*CUMS enter into administration in the next few seasons after defaulting on their loans to build a 58.00o-capacity Chicken Farm at White SH*t Lane….docked 10 points and promptly relegated the very next season..:lol:..happy thoughts in this gloomy period….
Merlin, I think our most expensive buys are Arshavin 15 mill, Wiltord 13 mill and Henry 11 mill.
I can’t see much changing in the summer, we’re gonna get the same old speil from Gazidas, only last month he repeated that wenger doesn’t buy superstars, he makes them.
Mick your starting to sound as grumpy as Wath.
I’m gonna have to go on Le Grove to cheer myself up.. 😀
Kev, the latest batch of Wenger Wunderkind is between 16 to 20 years old.
And even a 17 year old Fabregas reached his full potential when he was about 22 year old.
That is, this latest Wenger Wunderkind will reach their full potential when they are 18 to 22 year old in 2013/14 season.
Who are the senior players in their 27 to 30 year olds to guide them and to provide leadership on the pitch?
1 – Vermaelen?
2 – Santos?
3 – Mertesacker?
4 – Koscielny?
[I expect Van Persie, Walcott and Song to leave this summer]
Therefore this Wenger Wunderkind need catalyst like a “Eric Cantona” to gell e’m together.
Plus Wenger Wunderkind needs a leader like “Tony Adams” to drive ’em…….do you see Miquel, Coquelin or even WIlshere has that leadership quality as the enxt generation of Arsenal players?
I believe that if we have a “Tony Adams” type of Leader on Feb 15 at San Siro, that sorry bunch will not rollover and die.
I think the very first question that Arsene Wenger needs to address is “there is no leadership on the pitch”.
Van Persie is a brilliant player, so is Fabregas; but both of them are not “Leader” like Tony Adams or Roy Keane that will drive a team to perform out of their skins, will not let their heads dropped and will lead them to fight till the final whistle and beyond.
Do you notice that ManU is inconsistent because they do not have a “Leader”?
Merlin i remember in the 08/09 season the goal diaby scored against Newcastle at St.james park and last season Blackpool away where he played quick 1-2’s with rvp after making excellent run at newcastle.there is also that villa away goal in 08/09 where he ran with the ball from inside our half to score.those goals demonstrate he is a very calm finisher and a very strong dribbler with excellent close control.even chamakh and theo have said he is the most skilled player at the club.however he has a tendency to dally on the ball sometimes but other than that id say he is a perfect candidate to play there.
Kev, I thought Song was toilet the other night, back to his old ways, spent the whole game just jogging around.
He’s been around the squad for the last 5 or 6 years now, trained with the likes of Ljunberg, pires, nasri, fabregas, he’s not arsenal class for me, just another average midfielder who knows however bad he plays he will get selected the following week, I wouldn’t be sad to see him go.
Kev, you know waths problem, he still hasn’t got over the 1927 FA cup final when cardiff turned us over, he’s got to move on.
AK i think the 4-1 loss to Barça at the camp nou was vermy’s worst game for us.messi and co toyed with him all night that day.
Talking of old grumps, evening guys and gals….
Well Kev, how ome Arsenal always made other teams look good when tehy were in the midst of a dismal run?
E.g. like a few season bakc, Blackburn was on a winless run….and Arsenal promptly lsot to them.
West Ham was winless for ages..who else but Arsenal turned up and lost to ’em in the 93rd minute!!!
Boateng?
Well, like that Mellor “wonder strike” and we never ehard of him again?
Kyle Walker ‘wonder strike”?
Boateng “wonder striker”?
Isn’t it time to start looking at Szczesny’s performance?
Another Manniger in the making?
Just an above average goalie, not in the class of Reina or even Joe Hart?
Is Szczesny just a better stopper than Almunia, steadier than Almunia in coming out to collect crosses but dropped less clangers than Almunia, as erratic as Mad Jens when charging out of the box but has none of the intimating presence of Mad Jens in the box?
Evening guysa dn dolls.
Late in my time zone…..goodnight and see you all agai in 7 to 8 hours time..:mrgreen:
Laters, Merlin.
Merlin,
Gervinho,Arteta,Rosicky,Sagna,Diaby, plus who Wenger brings in this summer.
See ya Merlin…
Wilshere might be young, but he is already a leader, just how Tony Adams was a leader when he was young.
Merlin 4.41,
I’m pretty sure that Arsenal are not the only team that go on poor runs.
We just fret about Arsenal as they are our team.
KT, i don’t really recall that game tbh, but i do think that we’re gonna miss BFG.
Hiya Rico.
Yeah Mick, 1927 was a bad year for Wath.
He got laid off from the coal mine as well.
AK vermy has struggled against false 9 type of forwards who tend to drop deep as he tends to follow them leaving a huge gap in the defence.ibra/messi/rooney have toyed with him in that manner.
Nighty Merlin,
Wenger sacked yet?? 😉 😉
All quiet here so back after dinner…..
Hiya folks. Back again.
I predict that we will see BFG in the same week s Frimpong. Next season.
Incidentally, what do you think of my comment yesterday…..we should make it a priority to win the Charity Shield every season, or at least compete in it?
To win the Charity Shield devil we must win the FA Cup or the PL, so that’s a huge yes from me –
Or of course come second in the PL and the Champions have also won the FA Cup 😉
PL and FA Cup over any other competition for me….
Now i’m off to eat ….
AW says that if he finds better players than the ones we have he will buy. Just taking a look around the premier league itself I can see that even buying the following 3 players would instantly improve our team. Honestly, can anyone say that Samba, Yakubu and Fellaini would not improve our team. Just these three. All of them are behemoths who could give us strength in the air and in 1 to one challenges. They are also mobile and would thrive in our system of play. I gather that if he sold just Bendy, Denilson, Chamack, Djourou and Squilli he would gather enough money for the 3 of them.
Almunia and Flappy are free at the end of the season. But so is Jaaskelainen. Doesnt anyone think that he would not be an improvement in our team? I would sleep more at night knowing that if AW decides to rest/rotate/throw (delete as applicable) Jussi instead of Chesney we will not have to worry about our goal.
Imagine a centreback partnership of Tommy V and Samba or Kozzer and Merte. Frightening isnt it.
And 3 strong central midfielders who are Frimps, Coq and Fellaini who can share the defensive duties between them.
RVP can operate behind Yakubu. During the Milan game, when TH came on, RVP dropped into the Bergkamp role and was immediately alive. He was giving all sorts of passes around the pitch and was spreading the ball more.
Any other comment is superflous. Just these 3.
http://twitpic.com/8l5taj
For Rico… 😉
Hiya mate…..how are you???
Thierry Henry@14OfficialHenryReply
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Sorry i haven’t tweeted. disappointed about wednesday. Thought Zlatan dived after looking at replay & Johan defended well.
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I am already missing London & especially Arsenal – really had an amazing time with the fans and the players. Thank You!
I’m good habib.
Tomorrow could make or break our season.
Stats view: Walcott is a chance maker but not a chance taker
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After coming under fire for a limp display against AC Milan on Wednesday the knives have been out for Theo Walcott – but as the statisticians at Opta show, he remains a vital creative influence for Arsenal.
Theo Walcott was unceremoniously substituted off at half-time by Arsene Wenger in Arsenal’s disastrous midweek defeat in Milan and that disappointing 45 minute performance was indicative of the young winger’s somewhat inconsistent season with the Gunners.
Playing exclusively on the right side of a three-man attack in this campaign, Walcott has tended to veer between the sublime and mediocre.
However, creatively, the former Southampton man has stepped up to the plate this season, providing seven assists in the league, a joint-high at Arsenal (along with Robin van Persie) and a figure only five other players in the whole division can better.
Indeed, no other Englishman in the Premier League can match that haul of assists so far this season.
Central to this impressive haul of assists is Walcott’s blossoming understanding with Van Persie. Interestingly, so far this season, five of the winger’s assists in the league have resulted in a goal for the Dutch striker.
Winger or striker?
In fact, Walcott has now set up more league goals for Van Persie overall (13) than Dennis Bergkamp managed for Thierry Henry (11).
While Walcott does possess blistering pace, his success with his dribbles is surprisingly poor.
Despite embarking on 86 dribbles this season in the league, the 10th highest total, he has only beat his man on 30 occasions. That equates to a success rate of just 35%, the fifth-lowest rate of any player to attempt 20 or more dribbles this season.
Much has been said (a lot of it by the player himself) about Walcott’s natural central striking instincts. However, judging by his scoring and shooting stats this season, he’s not yet ready to lead the line for the Gunners.
So far, in the Premier League this term, he has managed just three goals, at a rate of one every 627 minutes, while his conversion and shooting accuracy rates of 7% and 53.5% are also disappointing.
The England man will continue to divide opinion, but while he may still struggle in front of goal himself, he does provide a vital creative threat for Arsene Wenger’s side, a threat which could prove pivotal on Saturday against Sunderland as the Gunners try to bounce back from that San Siro mauling.
ITV.com
Our season has been broken long ago mate. It has been broken the moment that AW decided to persist with the likes of Almunia etc. It has been broken the moment when Cesc left and AW decided to play with the same tactics and formation instead of applying the tactics to the players he has. Our season has been broken when for all their misdemenours they still play week in week out.
It’s not over until it’s over.
devil – there is a lot more than those three, Fulhams Mark davies springs to mind….
Evening AK, what a picture that is, thank you – now there is a true Gooner, i’ll be glad when he’s back, he can play central can’t he….
Thought you was doing soapy time Rico? 😉
It is AK, but masterchef is on at the mo, don’t need to concentrate on that 😉
He’ll give everything wherever he plays, but yes, he has the physique to play C/B, and given time he might adapt to that position.
Masterchef……. 😕
That is really interesting about Theo…. no wonder RvP just loves him…
I’m backing Freeman to score the winner for Stevenage.
Tbh AK, i’d rather him in the middle of our defence than Miquel, JD or Squilli, just effort alone will give us so much, he’d have that never say die attitude….
Morning all.
Thank goodness Merlin went to bed.
I just spent ten minutes reading what I missed out on,and was about one Merlin post away from topping myself…talk about negative lol.
Theo would only have a chance of making it as a striker with a playmaker of absolute world class behind him.
Defence splitting passes for him to run on to could work,but we have noone.
Wenger needs to hit the ground running in the transfer season.
Get the players he needs asap.
This way,our others whose contracts and if are running low will see he’s serious about building a squad,and if they still leave,he will have time and money to replace them.
Get Podolski,Vertonghen,Hazard or Goetze locked in early.
The first week or two will show how serious he and the board are about winning trophies.
If RVP still wants to go,then let him.
We should have 40 or 50 million to replace him with.
Morning Scott.
I’m just out for a stroll, see ya a bit lata cobber.
devil – i’m not sure our season is broken, the squad and the season has serious cracks in it though, thats for sure – but a win tomorrow would do us the world of good – even if it is only about gathering confidence to help us secure CL next season…
Should we win tomorrow and should we even go on to win the FA Cup, yes it would be fantastic, but it wouldn’t mean all is well… Far from it 🙁
Hi Scott – Song can play those passes, as bizarre as that may sound… but that’s not his job….
Sometimes i wish we would play Coq and Song together, and let Arteta free, he’s too stifled….
We said that last suumer, we waited until 48 hours before the window shut to make the signings… Ox and Gerv apart….
Merlin just comments on how he feels – it’s from the heart, nowt wrong with that ….
I’m heading off for the day guys, catch you all tmorrow…
have a good one – nighty all…
cu Rico
offski for me
Good night all
Rico,I was tongue in cheek about Merlin…..he was obviously on a roll…..we are all guilty of that on occasion.
Agree with you about Arteta…..he is too disciplined in defence atm,though through necessity,and is not showing the creativity we probably assumed he was brought in for.
Wenger MUST spend,and spend big, early on if we are any chance of keeping RVP.
I dont think its the end of the world if RVP goes,not that i want him to,unless the board bank the 50 odd million and refuse to replace him.
That would truly be a disaster.
Goodnight guys.
Oi where all you lot gone……………
I can’t believe you bastards brought up 1927….. what a fucker of a year that was …. Been trying to get it out of my system then some Micko shithead brings it up…. Devastated… another decade of no sleep……………
Someone then mentions Diaby may be a good player………… what century are we talking about…?? he slows the game down, disappears up his own arse and hardly even sees the pass to play people in… the bloke is a nightmare and as for being like RVP least when RVP played we knew he was good….!
Scott, when have the board and or Wenger ever spent what they have brought in from player sales…. Never…!
they say we have 20/30 million to spend they sell for 60 million and spend 30million… do they really think none of us can add up…?
Piss takers the lot of em… bet they all know what they earn….!
Ooooooooooooooh and do you think someone can pls tell Djourou to shut the fuck up…………………………!!!
hello
goodnight
Maybe add a few comments to this rubbish from the states that reckons Stan is well received… Utter shit….
http://blogs.denverpost.com/rapids/2012/02/16/21575/21575/
Potter, was that you on there……????
Try these Scott.
I find they help, if you know what i mean. 😉
http://codex.wordpress.org/Using_Smilies
Hey Wath, how are ya, me ol’ mucker?
What has Djourou said then Wath?
Just off to read that link you put up.
What a load of bollocks and a load of piss poor comments from Yanks showing their total ignorance of our club and our game.
Kroenke’s ownership is a disaster.
AK, go abuse that f’kin yank on that denver site……
Yanks that only think that the world revolves around america and London is the capital of Europe….
Djourou going on about we need to show our quality… it’s dicks like him that are the biggest culprits…? Why oh why do these idiots feel the need to talk utter shit…?
Just have Wath…..
Good man…………… 😉
Am off mate chat 2moro… take it easy… cheers Lee….
Doesn’t Djourou do a regular piece on Arsenal.com?
Maybe his stoopid comments were on there.
In a way, i was glad that Wenger cancelled his Press conference today.
Well wtf can he say anyway?
Suprised you didn’t leave a comment Wath…
See ya lata mate.
Oh I left a comment mate but not under Wath………………
Loved your Sherlock Holmes comment 😉
I’m silent when it comes to things like that……………
10.06 Night JM, sorry mate no idea why you went into moderation…!
Ah that was you was it, well said buddy….. 🙂
I try to be subtle sometimes mate 😉
take care n chat 2moro… nite mate…!
Subtle is your middle name… 😉
Morning all
New Post up….