Morning all.
Well that’s it then, the season is over for Arsenal. Costa didn’t end our chances of ending the season on a high, Arsenal and Arsene Wenger did. I thought leaving Mesut Ozil on the pitch when Wenger made his first and only unforced change was a missed opportunity. Jack Wilshere had tried to make something happen all game yet he was the one sacrificed for Mkhitaryan. Ozil had been poor and he’d certainly not been up for the fight for most of the game. Yes, he can produce a moment of magic when he wants to, but last night simply wasn’t one of those nights. Perhaps a hostile arena together with a big battle is just not his thing. £300k a week for what? Perhaps the new manager will get more out of him, mind you, that won’t be difficult.
Atlético , just like in the first leg, were there for the taking but on both occasions, either the final pass, cross or set-piece was awful. Monreal and Bellerin, with all the opportunities they had, simply messed up with their ball into the box. That said, there wasn’t an awful lot going on from our players in the box either. It could and should have been so much better. But then for how long have we been typing that either in the post or comments? Too long. Just as we have about our defending which again last night was poor, certainly for their goal. Ospina showed his weakness there too as what happened to the ‘make yourself big’ instead of showing all his cards by going to ground too early. Seaman did the same for ‘that’ Giggs goal many seasons ago and while there’s no comparison between the quality of both keepers, Ospina did the same as Costa eyed up his chance.
The ties wasn’t lost last night though, not imo, it was lost at The Emirates. On that night we had chances to pretty much put a foot on the plane to Lyon but chances went missed. Even 1-0 at home would at least sent us into extra time last night but under Arsene Wenger, 1-0 isn’t something one of his teams can often achieve and haven’t done for far too long which is one of a number of reasons his tenure is coming to an end. Just after the final whistle, my phone pinged with just eight words popping up on a message: “I can’t wait for him to f**k off” – well neither can I. Arsene Wenger has hung around too long and becauseof it, his departure is going to be cheered by so many, yet had he realised long ago that football at the top had passed him by, I wouldn’t be feeling the way I do. He could have left as a winner following one of his many FA Cup victories but instead, he’ll leave after taking our club to its lowest position in the league during his Arsenal career and failing in his last attempt to win a trophy in Europe.
All because he’s been too stubborn to build a brick wall in defence with a top notch goalkeeper behind it. As the sayings go though, you reap what you sow and you live by the sword, and die by the sword.
Just three more fixtures to go now. The last home game for him is on Sunday against Burnley followed by two away fixtures at Leicester and finally Huddersfield and they can’t come nor go quick enough.
Then, for the first time in years we can look forward to something different. Someone different in the dugout. Something different on the pitch which might take time to get going but at least we know it’s coming.
I felf a bit sorry for Lauren Koscielny last night who after a few seasons of struggling with an Achilles problem, finally suffered the worst. Down he went like a sack of potatoes with what’s believed to be a tear. His World Cup dream is over.
A bit like our season really, although in reality, that was over many months ago. Probably before it even began.
Not read the post yet Rico, I’m sure it’s great, but reflecting on your final comments from yesterday’s post.
This is how I see it….
Arsenal will not bring in one of the big names as the successor to Wenger.
Kroenke will rely on Mislintat digging up some interesting Mavropanos style signings.
There will be no big name signings.
The new manager will be a young, up and coming coach who sees Arsenal as a great opportunity- just as Wenger did 22 years ago.
Arsenal won’t, under any circumstances, give a new manager £200m, £150m or whatever crazy figure the media dream up, it’s unrealistic and certainly nothing like the way KSE conducts its business.
Kroenke does things a certain way and it works for him, he’s not changing anytime soon.
I expect Mislintat to bring in 4 or 5 low or moderately priced young or unknown players, something like Wenger did back in 1997, to begin a 3 year rebuilding plan, that’s it for me, I think we’ll have to wait until 20/21 to see any kind of improvement as the present malaise has eaten deep into the clubs psyche.
So despite the fact that I despise football scribblers like Sami Mokbal, with his assertions that Arsenal have £50m to spend this summer, I have to admit that he may not be far from the truth.
Kev, I reckon we’ll see a mix of youth/inexperienced and experience quality players signed in the summer.
But we’re all just guessing really although I can see where you’re coming from.
I’d like to see Matt Macey get a couple of games now, there is absolutely no point in playing Ospina, he needs to be moved on asap. But it wouldn’t surprise me to see him lining up against Burnley this Sunday.
I’d like to see Eddie Nketiah get a start in one or two of our final matches, why not, what would be the point of playing Danny Welbeck for example?
I’m not digging out Danny, I like him, but we need to be proactive, use these last three games don’t just drift through them with the attitude that it’s all some inane fairwell to Wenger.
Mavropanos to play with Chambers in our last three games, let Mustafi and Ozil go on holiday.
Try something different in anticipation of next season ffs…
Morning Rico great post sums up the mood of every arsenal fan. Shame it had to end like this. Like you said had he left after the fa cup triumph in 2014 we ‘ll still be remembering him for his greatness. Anyway enough about Wenger he’s gone already but my God how on earth is bellerin still an arsenal player!!?? Eboue was hounded out and called shit yet he is 20 times the player Hector is. This pony tail pimp faced bastard can’t even beat his man and whip in a decent cross. I watched him all night and thought maybe I could find something positive the new manager could work with but found nothing. He’s clueless on the football field. Don’t know when to press or retreat, easily muscled off the ball and his concentration level is unbelievable weak for someone in the top 5 leagues in the world. He’s the first to fuck off imho. Am glad a new man is taking over and womt stand for this bullshit. Roll on next season. Bye wenger.
Morning rico and all ..
I thought ozil was terrible last night.
It’s criminal that we paying him 350k a week .he can be world class occasionly when he feels up to it..but overall very disappointing and frustrating most of the time ,especially in big games.
One thing I hate most about wenger, is his blind substitutions,(50 thousands substitutions my arsene! ) he just swap a player for anothr without any change of tactics or instructions. he never substitutes his favourite players when they obviously having a stinker of a game. .
Last night was no different as you mentioned, he could have taken ozil off, or even Ramsey, who also had a night to forget.
I thought we were dire , all the possession and sideways passes were useless , we couldn’t make a single decent cross to the box and we had one shot on target.
We played better at the Emirates, didn’t take our chances, got punished for one mistake, so the tie was already lost over there.
Nketiha has been an unused sub for eternity..it’s time to give him a chance imo along with the other promising youth.
I certainly don’t want to see ozil, ramsey or bellend for the remaining games .?
Totally agree Kev, what’s the point in playing the players who will be cheesed off about last night, well, the should be.
I thought Chambers did pretty well after coming on. Couple of blips, but some really good bits too…
Morning Goonster, Kk and thanks..
Bellerin is like so many we have but I’d prefer to see him coached by different people before he’s written off entirely. It’s more than a coincidence that our entire back line is disorganised, and the midfield…
Kk God bless you son both legs were screaming for an unknown entity. Eddie could have and would have won us both legs. He’s directness is what we currently lack. He never stops running and is always open for a pass. He would have done better than welbeck or laca last night.
Kk, I couldn’t believe the commentators here saying Ramsey was behind everything good that Arsenal tried. Like you, I thought he was poor.
Agree re the subs, he just makes changes of personell whereas great managers make changes because of a plan. Wenger doesn’t have one of those.
He talks the talk, but that’s it…
Rico I disagree re-bellerin that guy is complete shit. The worst arsenal player I ve ever seen heck the worst player I ‘ve ever seen period. You don’t coach someone how to beat his man. It’s comes naturally. It’s either you have or you don’t. He doesn’t.
Goonie, we’ll have to agree to differ but look at the change in Ox since he left…
Bellerin was good when he first got his chance, but has regressed under AW imo.
rico I was disappointed with Keown last night he slated ozil but never mentioned anything about ramsey or wenger decision making.
Just like souness and redknapp few weeks ago blamed everything on xhaka and nothing about wilshere who was really off pace
I guess when it comes to our British core the pundits have to be politically correct .
I am with goonster re bellerin. .I don’t see anything good about him ..he is not even that quick!
Sell him to the highest bidder and get rid of ozil too…here I said it.. lol
Kk, add Wenger to that list. Why doesn’t the likes of Keown put the blame where it really should sit? Who picks Ozil or whoever is having a bad game and leaves them on the pitch regardless? Yep, the Frenchman.
Better managers wouldn’t put up with the kind of rubbish our players play, nor their attitude on the pitch.
We won’t be able to sell Ozil now I’d have thought, not on £300k a week.
Perhaps Bellerin is going, although on current form, lord knows which other club would take him, unless they think like me… 😉
No, Bellerin is not bad. He must have a really right back for to compete with him for the place.
He did almost every game. Should be the most used player of Arsenal. He ise without physical and mental lucidity.
On my shopping list is Cedric (Southampton). It is not by accident.
rico I am sure there is some Chinese or turkish club out there would love to pay him all the money he wants and give him all the rest and holiday his tender body deserves ..
Could also be good for his immune system..lol
Morning all. Good opener Rico, summed it all up really.
Yeah, the younger players would have at least tried last night, I thought the new Greek lad should have played at least.
I was disappointed when he took Jack off, because at least he was trying. Not to say most of the others weren’t, but just not good enough I’m afraid. Some of the crosses into the box were atrocious, we would have needed a couple of Giants in there, not our little midget Lacazette.
Well I won a bet anyway, that Costa would score. As soon as I saw him lining up I just knew it.
I won’t be watching the remaining games (away for a month) but I hope he plays all the youngsters, who will be eager to please.
I agree with kev about Kroenke and what a tight arse he is, so they won’t want an expensive manager, and they won’t want to spend much. They will be going to the bargain basement 2 for 1. You buy one you get one free.
Hope we’re wrong. I can’t help but wonder if they have actually got a manager lined up, it’s not something they’ve had any practice doing for over twenty years! Has he been in disguise at the games, rather like the people who get dressed up to go to a ‘ a Rocky Horror Show’.
If they haven’t, it’s going to be embarrassing when they unveil Bould as the ‘new’ man to steady the sinking ship. Lol. A ‘yes’ man, just what IvanTheTerrible would like, coz he’d get a big fat bonus for saving Stan money.
Is he good then Jm?
Good point Kk, China would suit him quite well, Wenger too.. lol
Sorry Rico but oxcham had the x factor we all knew he ‘ll be phenomenal in a different setting. Bellend on the other hand is just pants. Have never impressed me. Always has a mistake in him. He’s utter dross. Sell him ASAP.
We’ll see Goonie, we’ll see..
Yeah we will
Last night should just be forgotten about. As much as it would have been great to pick up a trophy, Wenger and his team deserve nothing for this season. We have been poor.
I’m not sure that we will be replacing the old french geezer on the cheap though. If the reason he’s been turfed out is the number of empty seats then I can’t see a cut-price approach to his replacement improving things. A three to five year plan would not, I think, be in Syrupy Stan’s mind. Whilst he might not pay absolute top dollar he will want top four finishes, if not next season then at least the one after.
My thoughts too Billy. Why oik out Wenger and replace him with someone who won’t do better?
Allegri, I can feel it in my water.. 😉
Lol Rico what if we end up with that northern sheep shagger. The walrus looking gum chewing, fart smelling alardyce???
I heard a bit of Alan Brazil on the radio and he dropped in a fact that I have confirmed. Apparently in January this year Bellerin gave up meat and became a vegan., since then he appears to have got slower and weaker. Coincidence ? who knows.
Rico is right we lost that tie last week , but nothing gave the impressionlast night that we would turn it around .I said last night that their goal was down to a lack of communication . Ospina should have seen the danger and shouted to the defence to get a man each . Bellerin should have left the man that he was marking taken Costa and the midfield should have taken the man he was on . but no he got caught between two and couldn’t get back . One or two shouts would have cured it but I am sure that there is a vow of silence through.out the whole team.
The forwards are static , they dont move and drag their defenders about . when we did get into the position to cross a ball they were never moving and even if we had havew some decent crosses , which we didn’t , the defenders were going to the ball and getting there first.
they are all good players but they need coaching. For some it’s too late and we should now get them out if not to get giant transfer fees but to get the wages off the bill and buy in those that we need and couple that with our youngsters and a modern thinking coach. two or three years for things to start bearing fruit , the next couple of seasons will be more of the same in success , although lets hope the drummer finds a different tune and makes it worth watching..
Goonie, I’ve got more chance of replacing Wenger than those two…
I didn’t know that about Bellerin. Even so, there are foods and supplements he can eat/take which would give him the nutrients that meat would give him.
Totally agree re the players, the game last night and the rest in general..
Strange that, after Arsene let us know he was leaving and the players came out saying how hard they would try to give him a big send-off on the pitch, it’s all been a bit of a shit storm. Those who wagged a virtual finger with warnings that the club will find it impossible to replace Wenger and that he has been badly dealt with, must be seeing things more clearly now. Every chicken has come home to roost, every lapse of concentration resulting in a goal and all those hapless flaps at the ball by Ospina who has proved himself entirely average in just about every respect that a goalkeeper could. Every failed cross and sloppy bit of attacking has provided what must an agonising reminder to Wenger and the board that he became the nearly man some years ago and that treading water had sadly become his level.
Last night couldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone who has watched Arsenal closely for the past decade. A litany of almost this and that and could’ve, should’ve, might-have decisions have illustrated in the starkest terms exactly what the problems are at the club and precisely why a new manager is such a desperate need.
I hope that Ivan and the board are brave and positive with what comes next. No leaps in the dark please. Support the new manager financially too because if you don’t and our decline continues, it won’t be long before recent attendance figures look good. Wenger has had his go and now it’s up to the board. Nobody as yet knows what Kroenke will or won’t do. He got rid of Wenger when it was said many times here that he wouldn’t. He was too loyal really.
Now we’ll see if the real Arsenal is ready to emerge from what has become a very, very dreary period in its history.
Good comment Adam.
I just can’t see the club not going for someone with the right credentials because if that’s not the plan, then why get rid of Wenger? Add to that, the comments from Ivan last year, I think the club are looking forward, to improving and challenging at last.
Rico. We live in hope. 🙂
It’s all we can do.
Certainly is Adam, but logic suggests Arsenal won’t take a risk..
Wasn’t Klopp’s assistant mentioned rico, they don’t come much bigger than him, trouble is I can’t remember his name for the life of me !
Ha ha Micko..
Well Ivan has been talking up the future of AFC and how we should be up there with the best. .
it would be the ultimate anticlimax, and he would certainly look like a real mug if he is to recruit a rodgers or a 2nd rate ex assistant manager with a 50 million budget…
nah it can’t be can it?
The net’s closing, Tuchel would have been good but Psg look to have snapped him up, that just leaves Terry Henry or some Italian golden oldie, I could be wrong !
He would and that’s just why I don’t think it’ll happen Kk. Trust me, after all, I did have a hunch about him leaving….. ??
Has anyone ever told you you’re the eternal optimist Micko? Lol
Eastenders is calling so catch up tomorrow guys…
rico, as you say in today’s post just 3 more games and his journey’s over !!!
Nite matey.
Morning all.
New post up now.