Wenger has a problem but getting things right does not necessarily mean winning trophies
As if getting humiliated by Manchester United was not enough, yesterday we allowed Chelsea to score Arsenal’s heaviest home defeat in the league since 1960. For many, impatience is now turning into frustration and for others, it is turning into anger.
For me, personally, it’s still frustration, simple because not much changed since October/November when with Diaby and Silvestre playing we were totally outplayed by Manchester City away from home. I mean, if way back in November signs that with these players we would be going nowhere and six months later they are still playing, how can you be surprised of the results?
Time to be realistic
The so-called “loyal” supporters will try to put this season under positive light by saying that we reached two semi-finals, impressed in the Carling Cup and still are part of the big four in the league. However, one should be realistic, realistic enough to say that we could have easily crashed out against Roma in the Champions League(apart the penalty shoot-out, we deserved to lose in the full 90 minutes at the Olimpico) and in the other competitions we were totally outplayed when we played against tough opposition. We reached a stage where wins such as the away one at Stamford Bridge, the 2-1 at the Emirates against Manchester United and the thumping one over Villareal can no longer make up for other disappointing results.
Supporters split in two, not a nice thing to see
As I’ve said a week or so ago, I’m very curious to know whether other football-based blogs face the same problems myself and my colleagues do, with supporters of the same club going at each other simply because they have different opinions.
It seems as if we’re now split in three, those who want Arsene to stay, those who want him to go and those who are ready to give him one last season to fix things. My view is that I cannot understand how someone who loves the club to death and considers Arsenal Football Club to be a major part of his life can accept a season like this one without raising an eyebrow or two. Asking questions about what the future has in store for us doesn’t mean being disrespectful to Wenger or lacking in gratitude to this man. Of course I appreciate what he’s done for us since he arrived at the club, but if your wife gives you rotten meat for dinner, you don’t just say thank you for providing fine meat five years ago.
So let’s try to accept the fact we’re all on the same boat and understand that it’s perfectly natural to ask questions, to wonder what future lies ahead and to be frustrated when things go wrong. What is not perfectly natural is to react as if nothing is wrong, as if Henry and Bergkamp and Pires are still playing for us or things will be fine because “Arsene Knows”.
I think, just think, we have to stop caring about the rest and focus on us
Yet again, Wenger preferred to speak about other issues in his post-match press conference, bashing Drogba for diving and referees for buying that. Well I think it’s time to stop caring about how ridiculous the diving stunts are from Chelsea, to stop jeering Ashley Cole whenever he’s on the ball, to stop jeering this and that whenever they are on the ball and to focus on us, our problems, our future. Do you really think Cole gives a damn of the boos and the insults having left the Emirates with a 1-4 win which leaves us nine points behind his team?
Next season, one like the last one would be enough to satisfy my desire
It would mean not winning anything, again, but let’s face it, no-one was saying the statement I’m so much starting to hate, “men against boys”, no-one. This year we lost a lot of our credibility, we’re not even the team who plays beautiful football anymore, even that was taken away from us.
So yes, all I want from next season is for other teams to fear us, just as they used to do a year or so ago and not to look at us as an easy away game from home where three points are easily up for grabs. But for this to happen, our boss has to change his mentality.
In January, Wenger was saying how the backline is strong, how Diaby is developing well, how Song is developing well and how Denilson doesn’t get the credit he deserves, but six months later he’s talking about new signings. Now unless he means a goalkeeper or a striker, then apparently Song and Diaby didn’t develop as well as he expected. Maybe our players develop backwards, I don’t know. Anyway, the mentality has to change, if there is a problem, it has to be fixed, not patched.
Looking forward
Not much to look forward to. Instead of going to Old Trafford to clinch the title as it used to be, we’ll be going there knowing that a defeat would see the Red Devils winning the title. Again. I wish I still had the believe and hope to see changes in the line-up but most likely Adebayor and Diaby will start from the first minute to repeat a script we’ve been reading over and over and over again.
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Spot on article.I think most fans are happy if the team is moving forwards.Cleary we’ve gone backwards.What really annoys me is the positive spin that Wenger and the Board bombard the fans and media with.The morons in the Arsene knows camp can’t see through this and the club rely on them to keep believing the hype.It’s sad because Wenger has been a great manager who seems to be losing his way,much like George Graham did.The Board are clearly not going to put him under pressure to perform,nor are the morons.So it’s up to the more enlightened fans amongst us to keep pushing Wenger to perform or go.
song has been our most improved player this season and really good for us these days. what bothers me is if he’s injured who in our team is going to be used in his place? diaby doesn’t chase balls endlessly- and when he does he often gives it away. denilson is inconsistent but very rarely a dominant force in the middle like song can often be these days. whichever way you look at it dm is our problem because song is our only player good enough and trusted enough by wenger to do the job. if he’s not in the team we just lack a lot of power and ball retention which he gives us. only toure is probably similar in his style to song atm, but song is a much better passer of the ball and very calm under pressure.
i’d be fiune with seeing denilson or diaby sold and replaced with a more proven player, or kept but just as squad [players
Thank you. you said it just the way it is….
Spot on from me as well
glad to see someone writing the truth about our situation … realistic, thats the keyword.
You’ve said it the way it is….but does he(wenger) care
I think you’ve summed things up nicely. It’s so annoying to see Arsenal turn in some of the dismal performances they have as of late and have Wenger come out afterwards and try to blow smoke up our arses. He surely can’t be that naive to think that it all comes down to the players having belief, faith, etc. (and us having belief in them). It should be clear to anyone with half a brain that this current team can’t win when it really counts or compete at the level of ManU or Chelsea. Yes, we’ve had injuries, etc., but we really have taken a step backward since last year. I too fall into the “give Wenger one more year” camp, but unless he signs two or three solid, reliable, experienced players over the summer (particulaly defensive-minded ones), and sheds some of the dead weight (Adebayor, Diaby and Dennilson come to mind), it’s going to be another season of frustration and unfulfilled potential. I hope he does the right thing.
I agree Kevin, we just have to wait …. and hope.
PS: I don’t write for Wenger to agree or open his eyes, Tope
Well Wenger is sending mixed messages today saying he is unsure of funds but Hill-Wood already highlighted last week that they have never denied Wenger of his requests and that they already have a healthy kitty prepared for the summer so somewhere along the way there was a break down in communication or just outright confusion. We’re richer than the other 16 clubs on the league but poorer than the 3 above us. However the areas we need to strengthen are easily done by many clubs below us. Everton, Villa, Fulham all have better defenses than we do and really we’re in 4th because we can outscore the lower teams, not necessarily because we play better.
I know we have some money and it needs to be put to use to make sure no one can ever touch the ball in our penalty box. It is time to forego grace for the effectiveness of a no nonsense old time stopper. I don’t care how ugly he is as long as he can bully the likes of Drogba and Rooney next season.
I watched the Milan/Juventus game on the weekend and lost about 60 minutes of my life watching a mediocre game stay at 0-0. Our famed Flamini was playing right back and I realized what we missed and it’s his work ethic. If not for him Milan could have lost that game in the first half but he was all over the backline making timely interventions on Juve’s attack. For all of the praise we bestow on Song, he’s still not the finished product and he still doesn’t merit a start every week. Rotated in for sure but at 22, he hasn’t the experience or consistency yet.
To be honest we’re the laughing stock of the top four and we’ve already given up on the season as per the 4-1 drumming by Chavs. What’s left for us? Beating United so they don’t celebrate in our faces as they clinch the title against us. At the very least the club owes us that much because they’ve been poor. I cannot blame Wenger alone because even when he puts out his best team available they just fold with no spirit or motivation.
We can close the gap on the other top four but serious reflection and work needs to be done by both Wenger and the team. Wenger needs to put his foot down and be a manager and stop being a daddy to the kids. He needs to force them to be men instead of tantrum-throwing children. When Ade doesn’t perform either kick his ass or ship him out – don’t reward his laziness and mediocrity with another starting berth the following game. Wenger has gotten a bit soft in his old age and it’s showing on the team’s performance.
Nice comments but lets not forget we still went 21 games unbeaten in the league(most of those games without Cesc,Walcott)so are midfield must have been doing something right,just remember we got too 2 semi-finals and we were beaten by 2 teams with lots more experience,both who had spent a small fortune on their players many in there late 20s and 30s,reasons we didnt win we played most of games with 7 players under 22,players injured Gallas,Clichy,Almunia,Sagna,Van Persie,Eduardo,Arshavin ineligible and you still expect us to
compete with two teams who are vastly more experienced than our BOYS …….Wake up lads our young ones will show the way next season just look at the resolve they showed at Roma……with Arshavin,Eduardo and Rosicky to come watch out the rest.
Our average points over the 21-games is still less than Utd’s. i.e. our best spell of the season still isn’t enough. I could also point out that if you look at the league table in those 21 games we beat TWO teams in the top 10. And our away games…….midfield totally dominated at Villa,Everton,Wigan,Liverpool etc etc.
If you seriously think we will win the league next season without buying a partner for Cesc,I’m afraid you’re living in a dream world.
the problem this year is we havnt had a clinical striker. adebayor has been lethargic and lazy. we need a 30 goal a season striker for the likes of rvp and arshavin to play off. wenger has to be bold in the transfer market. it will make or break him
Like i said we lack the experience of Utd,Chelski and Liverpool whats the average age of those midfields that so say totally dominated us,if we have Arshavin,Cesc,Song and Walcott(Nasri) i beleive we will compete with any not forgetting Rosicky.The reason we have not been dominant this is mainly due to not scoring goals when we are on top,against the lesser teams we have got away with it but against the big 3
we havent.I think we should get rid of Adeybayor(who has had his head in the clouds since last summer)his lack of effort this season has been a disgrace,also buy a class CB and we will win the league(we were unlucky last year as injuries killed us)
I think WC really hit the nail on the head. On the whole, the team really lacks spirt, determination, grit or whatever you want to call it–the sort of thing that allows you to come back in games when you’re down. I hate to say it, but ManU has it in spades (see there comeback agains the Spuds for an example), even Chelski and Liverpool have this quality. Our lads really tend to fall apart when they’re scored on first and just can’t seem to recover. I think part of the reason for this fragility is a need for stronger leadership, esp. with such a young team, and this starts with Wenger, who needs to take a stronger hand in things. But we need leaders on the field as well. I love Cesc as much as anyone, but I’m not sure he’s been the best choice for captain. The other part of the equation is work ethic. We need guys who are proud to be Gunners–completely committed to the team and willing to put in a full 90 minutes of effort. Adebayor is the easiest to criticize here, but there’s plenty of blame to go around–too many guys more concerned with padding their personal stats than seeing the team win, or, when a game is out of reach, quitting as though it doesn’t matter. I know Billy Gallas has his critics, but that guy bleeds red and white out there. We need more of that sort of spirit from the others. Add that to our team’s skill and I think we’d truly have something special.
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Following football gives one a short-term view. Fans are always devastated after a bad week and ecstatic after a good one.
Managing a football club requires a long-term view, though, and so I’m happy we have Wenger, who under immense pressure from fans, the press, and even the players, can focus everyone’s attention on Drogba’s diving for long enough that he can keep on doing his job. People wanted his head on a plate when we were some 6 points behind Villa, but he urged to wait until the end of the season. Fans cannot really take even such a medium-term view, but we should try!
Next year, most of these kids are gonna be a lot better.. Add two experienced defensive-minded players and you have quite the squad with very little money spent. And in the end, Arsenal is a business; it’s not about winning trophies, no matter what the fans want to think. I know it’s kind of sad, but winning trophies in European football tends to require overspending and buying players at foolish prices. But every now and then, a team like Arsenal can strike gold with its scouting and player development and become invincible for a while. And it feels that much better when it wasn’t done Chelsea style.
WC that is actually not true. United and Liverpool and in serious debt (almost 1 billion US for United). We have the funds we just refuse to use them. Chelsea are also in serious debt but since they borrow from their billionaire Russian owner it’s not quite the same.
We have the funds, Wenger just seems to refuse to use them. His experiment has failed with the kids and he needs to admit it and move on without Diaby, Denilson, Adebayor and anyone else who can’t put in 100% for the team. All those fans who booed Eboue need to have a good hard look at themselves now. This guy is one of few who puts in a hard shift for the cause every single time he is called upon. It might not be pretty all the time but it’s the kind of mentality the rest of our team needs. I can’t deal with watching anymore of this lazy lackadaisical garbage anymore. If a player wants ot half ass get his ass off the field. This means Diaby and Adebayor should have played their last games in an Arsenal shirt.
All i can say is Arsenal has been the only team to seriously challenge Utd for 8yrs until moneybags chelski came along and bought the title,a title they had not smelt for 50 yrs and our fans are moaning about no trophies for 4yrs……are you taking the piss,we have one of the best
managers in the world so lets get behind him you know it makes sense……..Come on yoi Gunners…….
Well Gary, I think all of us prefer not to win trophies rather than win it the Chelsea way but the point is that we’re capable of winning trophies, the NON-Chelsea way, if Wenger changes his mentality. I think that would make everyone happy, no?