Erik Ian Larsen: Are Arsenal’s youth Wenger’s summer signings?
Arsenal came into the summer desperate for reinforcements, with glaring holes in our back five (I’m looking at you, Almunia), scratching our heads as to how we’d keep up with Man U and Chelski and stay ahead of big-spending Man City. But, instead of bolstering our squad, it seems like we’ve thinned it. I don’t pretend to know what Arsene Wenger thinks, but what I do know is that this summer is now a major crossroads for our team and for Arsene Wenger.
Gael Clichy said the other day, the same thing Theo Walcott said last year and countless players have said before, that it’s time for us to stop using our shortcomings as an excuse, it’s time for us to stop blaming our failures on the wandering scapegoat (baaa) — of youth, inexperience, old age, busy schedules, injuries, money, and whatever else nurtures a losing mentality — and realize that our shortcomings are mental, not physical. This summer shouldn’t really be about who we did and didn’t sign, it should be about recapturing the mentality of the warrior, of the hero, of the champion. That’s been our biggest failure, Arsene’s biggest failure too, that our team doesn’t have that instinct smashed into its collective brain anymore. But, whether we like it or not, the depth at our squad hurt us last year too, it was a hindrance against squad belief at the very least, and reigniting that faith, even superficially with a signing or two to help players and fans believe again, could give us the push over the course of a season to bring home a trophy.
And, as we’re Arsenal fans, guerrilla fighters trying to convince the rest of the hard knocks Premier League that our style of football matters, we also came into the offseason hopeful of our chances to recapture the hearts and minds of the footballing world. This was supposed to be the summer of Wenger, where our tight-pursed manager finally opened his secret vault (with Geraldo standing by) and poured Roman-era gold coins he’d been saving “for the right moment” onto tables at Werder Bremen, Juventus, Inter Milan, and walked away from transfers with a fresh legion of world-class soldiers. That was supposed to be the master plan. We were supposed to take advantage of the transfer market, where our Premier League counterparts couldn’t because of financial indiscretion, and reinforce the castle walls.
Was it delusional? Probably. It seems the delusions get worse every year for me, dreaming of the “perfect signing” who’s going to somehow play keeper like Gianluigi Buffon and score goals like Thierry Henry. Is Rene Higuita out of jail yet? The reality is that those types of signings, those earth-shattering, press-stopping signings aren’t our way of life here at Arsenal. We don’t participate in the day-to-day meanderings of million pound mistakes (or successes). Wenger is tactical, for better or for worse, letting the overpriced and overvalued go and focusing on the best possible value. It’s what’s saved our books and kept our finances resolute. It’s also opened up our team to some of the brightest young players in the world: Aaron Ramsey, Kieran Gibbs, Jack Wilshere, Alex Song. Wenger could easily cast those players aside for better, faster, stronger, more Daft Punk-y stars, but he doesn’t because he believes in his philosophy, he believes in himself, and, most importantly, he believes that the faith he’s shown in building a team around youth will be repaid for years when those players reach their full potential.
We came oh-so-close to a trophy last year, and, if not for a few high-profile gaffes from our witless keepers and a stronger defense, it’s entirely possible that we could’ve finished the season holding silverware over our heads. That’s what made this summer so important. We saw potential, we saw how good we could be, just like Wenger saw those things and realized that giving up 41 goals wasn’t going to cut it. He felt the cigarette burns left on his arm by a porous defense and Swiss cheese goalkeeping, vowed to take care of it, and then balked at the transfer market.
We lost two experienced defenders (three if you count Mikael Silvestre’s corpse), one experienced striker, and another striker to injury before the season even started. Wenger has brought in forward Marouane Chamakh on a free and defender Laurent Koscielny (I’ve now learned how to spell both by memory, thank you) for roughly £8.5m. That’s been our summer. We were thin defensively last year, not bad, just lacking the necessary depth and needed to bolster our back line. We were poor in goal, no way around that one, and hoped to have a real splash this summer to address it while continuing the growth of Wojciech Szczesny. Wenger is a smart man, a man of history and philosophy, it’s something I’ve always appreciated and admired about him. So why does it seem like he’s so keen to repeat last season?
Part of me thinks it’s stubbornness, that Wenger’s so determined to prove his critics wrong that he’s willing to stand on the ship as it’s taking on water. But that part of me, even though it’s desperately clawing to stay attached to my brain, is fading away more and more each day. I don’t think Wenger is trying to kill himself twice, I don’t think he’s capable of doing that. What we’ve seen this preseason (and carried over from loan spells and Reserve team success last season) is that the next generation of great Arsenal players may be arriving sooner than we thought they would. It’s a terrifying conclusion, not because I don’t want to see it, but because we’ve been told for so many years that it was coming, only to have it used as an excuse against us when things haven’t gone well. The youth movement is here? The revolution is here? But I’m still in the shower …
For Wenger to shrug off the transfer market means that he believes in his squad, that he’s willing to say, like a confident poker player prepared to risk it all for the win, “You know what? Screw it. These kids are damn good and I’m willing to give them a legitimate shot to help us win a trophy. Not next year, not five years from now, but today. Right now. They’re ready. I’m ready. They have the heart, they have the desire to be great, they wear the Arsenal shirt for the right reasons and have since they were schoolboys, so screw it. Screw you guys, screw the media, screw everyone, I’m going all in.”
His youth dream, his home-grown Arsenal-bred dream may finally be coming true.
![[Video] Blackburn vs Arsenal highlights: Big win as we go second in the table!](http://www.thegunninghawk.com/wp-content/themes/arthemia-premium/scripts/timthumb.php?src=/wp-content/uploads/video.jpg&w=80&h=80&zc=1)
We have heard this before , again and again and again, these lads are just not good enough. Why do we continue to listen to this French idealist. We will offer up the same mistakes and get bullied off the pitch at places where 3 points was the norm.
Wenger should have gone last year, his team of scouts have had the best part of a year to select the right players, well what have they been doing , where are they.
This our team Arsene, the loyal fans expect and deserve better.
The “loyal fans” would believe in Arsene, have you not seen these guys play, the likes of jack wilshere who was amazing at bolton, and he didnt get bullied and pushed around on the pitch even though he is small, theres Kieren gibbs who is pushing for a spot in the first team and could have been in the england world cup squad if not for injury, and just look at cesc fabregas and alex song, they came through the ranks and they are key players. Right now we have more of the cesc fabregas’ and alex songs in the reserves and youth squads. How can you say they arent good enough? they are, and you will eat your words soon!
Hey the future’s bright. Look at all the talented kids coming through.This will be the season it all comes together. Just have faith. And of course, the old chestnut – “I believe in this team”.
The writer of the above article is right in much of what he says. Except the conclusion.Yes, Wenger, due to his egotistical stubborness, is going to stake his future and fading reputation on an all out gamble that he will be proved right. As the writer accurately put it – he is saying “Screw you all, I know I’m right, and I’ll be proved to be right.” Misplaced faith in his youth project or has he become obsessively fixated on being vindicated ? I think both. To the point of being delusional.
This is why he hasn’ t strengthened the team properly.He doesn’ t feel he needs to. Just a little tuck there, when we need major surgery. Faith can only be sustained for so long. LAST SEASON was when his “vision” should have ( finally ) materialised. Instead it turned out to be just a mirage.Now he wants us to give him YET ANOTHER chance ? If I had my way, he’d be on his bike.Thanks for the memories Arsene, but no thanks.
“In Arsene we rust”.
Great post, look forward to reading more from you.
great article. wenger also signed a top psychologist, sagna and others have mentioned him, lets hope he can help the young players play to their potential
Old Gooner, who made 3 points a norm at many stadiums? Who made a 10 year tenure against the Spuds without defeat. You are old but not wise from the look of it.
i’m not positive, but as soon as oldie over there threw “french idealist” i thought, eh, waste of an opinion.
he’s just a visionary, plain and simple. and he has given us immediate results. after all, i watch football to see a breathtaking display, not to brag about our trophy case. on that hand i’ve been given quality time and time again. a trophy will be nice, but i’d rather see an unstoppable team of nurtured and committed talent
AMEN TO THAT!!
Finally someody with a bit of sense! If all you want is bragging rights over how many trophies we won I suggest you switch to watching Tennis, where there are dozens of trophies per year to be won!
Arsenal isn’t about buying trophies we have never been that team. The fact that Wenger has brought us not only top notch footballing skill but ALSO brought us a decade of trophies in addition to this – is more than enough to quell any proper fans negative groans until the season starts.
We nearly won the league last season but for that last month, so in my book the only thing we need to improve on this year (REGARDLESS OF SIGNINGS) is our determination in the latter part of the season, and our results against the other top4 teams.
We tore Utd to shreds at home last season only to waste our chances and get hit with the sucker punch and lose.
Chelsea outclassed us, which was unusual – this season they look nothing like the menacing champions of the season past.
This year will mark then end of Wenger’s 5-year plan: And I for one am just as committed and behind this plan as I was back in 2004 after our unbeaten season.
Infact anybody who has watched Arsenal since the early 90s will recognise the achievement of both Wenger and the Arsenal squad, and stop expecting ‘football manager’ computer game results.
There ARE no ‘easy 3 point’ games – every goal must be earned – So people who are arrogant as to assume teams like West-Ham, Fulham or even Villa cannot compete with the top4 teams should really pay more attention to the recent results of these teams and think again:
Last season, Arsenal drew with 3 supposed ‘easy teams’: So how did United and Chelsea do:
United LOST to Burnley where Arsenal and Chelsea had drawn
United and Chelsea LOST to Villa where we drew
United Chelsea and Arsenal all drew at Birningham
Oh i’m bored now actually, look …. if you want to get real perspective on last season and this season coming; why don’t you actually sit down with RIVAL SUPPORTERS and go through last season in detail with them WITH THE STATS OF ALL 4 TOP TEAMS infront of you as I do every preseason!!
Then you would be rather pleased rather than all doomy and gloomy
Nice stats about the draws where the others lost, too bad we lost big time where it counted against our rivals and to Barca in the Champions League. If we are having to hoist up draws against Burnley, Villa and Birmingham then we have no business calling ourselves one of the top clubs in Europe.
Common Sensei – Try living in the present instead of the past. It’s the present AND FUTURE we should be concerned about.That’s the point of the article, if you had analysed it.
“In Arsene we rust”.
Thank you for stating the same I was thinking. As a fan of almost 4 decades, I can remember more barren years than the last 5.
AW – is a fantastic asset. He is the main reason for many young and extraordinary talented players are choosing Arsenal. Remember, Arsenal was not that well known outside of England and a few other countries 15 years ago. AW, through his work, selecting to buy value for money instead of English and changing the style has made Arsenal a world renowned football club without breaking the financial stability but improving it.
AW – the visionary who through changing the life style of the crop of players he took over increased their playing careers.
AW – the visionary who through is strategic planning build a superb training facility and initiated the building of a state-of-the art stadium.
AW – the visionary who through a belief in himself has build an excellent youth system where talented youngsters, English and foreign, get an exceptional education and is now coming to fruition.
AW – the most successful manager in the history of Arsenal who has provided us with 7 trophies and CL football every year.
I agree to this, i havn’t supported Arsenal For long (started supporting them in 2002)
Arsenal, i think just need a defender and a golie, the young talent has grown……
Just buy tasci, Hazard, Schwrza…….. And this year is ours.
This Year many of our talents are maturing:
Wilshire
Nasri
Ramsey
Walcott (Hopefully)
JET
Frimpong
Fab-Fabregas
Song
Vermalen
Van-persie
I think Hazard should be loaned back to lille if we buy him. So he can get some first team experience straight away, so he when he comes back he will be 20-21.
Tasci is amazing i think and could be suited to EPL…..
Schwarzer is old but is consistent, thats what we need….. when he retires he could be a coach and Szczesny will be ready by then……
Hazard is amazing look him up if you dont know him…..
P.S I think Chelsea hadn’t won something for 27 years, from 1971- 1998
Also another defender that is good is Hummel
Same here..and the other thing is if it turns out to be AW’s last yr then looking at the Financial stability we’ve,i doubt most managers who’ll come will give chance to the youth and will try to buy players for quick success..so he may be even thinking this way that if its last few years then why not make sure who ever he’s brinf in as kids and nurtures for so many years to give them a chance to prove themselves since with the arrival of new manager we dont know wts gonna happen..
Agree… And not only Szczesny, Mannone is good too…
Both of two young keepers will keep us some kinda clean sheet record…
With all these current players going better and better seasons by seasons…
Hope that Arsenal will be a title contender, a solid one, this time….
T2T – As soon as even mild criticism is made of Wenger, out come his supporters with the usual list of achievements, and what he has done for the club e.t.c. All so predictable.
Hold on to and cherish those things, sure. I do too. And credit to the man for them. But you have to differentiate between that, and what is happening over recent times and NOW. Does what I’m saying in my posts, and the very relevant points made in the above article in any way diminish what Wenger has accomplished ? No not at all. The big difference is that we critics are not afraid to speak out when we can see that this “plan” of his has clearly gone off the rails. It’s not as though he hasn’t had the time to make it work. Criticism can be useful if it helps change peoples perceptions.You have to be willing to accept it first, and not attempt to censor others when they say things you disagee with.
Notice how I can readily acknowledge the good things he has done for us, but can still be critical at the same time ? It’s healthy to exercise free thought. I recommend it.
“In Arsene we rust”.
i suppose you also need to accept criticisms of your posts in good faith
i hope your words are true erik. for some reaso we just dont have that luck all the time.. may be this is the year where wenger will show everyone another way of winning the silverware and doing it in style. May almighty god be with our team this year.
“of youth, inexperience, old age, busy schedules, injuries, money, and whatever else nurtures a losing mentality”
Year on year we look pretty good up until van persie gets injured. Then we have a bad patch, stabilise, adapt, and start to look pretty good again, like we might be able to do something. It’s only after we have half our squad out injured do the wheels really start to come off. It’s ABSOLUTELY CLEAR that injuries are killing us year on year. Im not using it as a scapegoat – it’s CLEARLY the reason.
It doesnt mean we should just be sitting on our hands hoping that eventually the injuries will cease. A number of our most important players are missing at least a third of the season each due to injury. Utd might have finished fifth if just wayne rooney and darren fletcher had missed that much football. FFS rooney carried that side in terms of goals for ages! We dont need to keep on buying more and more and more players, our squad is pretty big as it is, the only sensible answer is to REPLACE the injury prone players with ones who can last for most of the season.
How you can watch as year on year we fall prey to countless injuries, FAR more than Utd or chelsea, AND at vital times in the season, and still claim we should be doing better is beyond me. Its not weak to suggest so, its just obvious. You expect us to beat a close to full strength chelsea or Utd or barcelona with 3/4 of our defence missing, without our best midfielders and without our best forward? Get real. What we should be doing is replacing van persie with suarez (although chamakh in addition to RVP might be a good answer), getting another DM to help song, who is overloaded and might last longer if he had some better help (Flamini should be brought back imo, I dont care about the past) and finally replacing gallas with a defender who will last the entire season, whether that’s koscielny or someone else, I don’t know. Rosicky should have been long gone realistically and replaced with someone like hleb (pretty similar player but will actually play a decent number of games) – not hleb necessarily, but someone similar.
I think Wenger is right to place his faith in certain young players. Song is a fantastic example of what can be achieved with patience. With players like Wilshere, Ramsey, JET, and Lansbury we don’t need to buy offensive minded players…
Having said that, we are numerically short at CB with the departures this summer, so I expect a CB to come in- we simply don’t have sufficient cover even with young players involved.
I also think Wenger will buy a keeper- he must be aware of the opportunities and chances he’s afforded Almunia and Fabianski and neither have impressed consistently. One has to go, and a number 1 brought in. He said he didn’t have a number one, and I’d say by definition the keeper given the number 1 shirt should be unquestionably high class and a consistent performer-something we don’t have.
I want to believe. I love the youth philosophy and I think that the attacking players from the youth squad are definitely ready for prime time. Yes, that’s you Wilshire and JET. I also think that Frimpong needs to be blooded this year but you cannot discount the need for atleast one solid center half (Mertesacker) and a keeper. The Polish lad is good but it will not hurt him to be a backup for a few years. Wenger did the right thing by passing on Cole in favor of Wilshire (I hope) but he needs to follow through on bolstering the defense with some hard nosed thugs.
Great article. One thing is for certain is that by the end of this year, one way or another this argument will be over. As a wavering member of the Arsene Knows brigade I truly believe that if we see a repeat of the last three years in particular, then Arsene will go or be gone. If he goes he will leave a club who’s finances and infrastructure are the envy of every other football club in the world, period.. so all I say to global Gooners is to get on board for what will be either a trophy winning season or Arsene’s swansong. Either way both deserve our full and uncommitted support.
I disagree. I think we’ll be hearing this perpetually until Arsene is gone. There will always be some young players coming through and that will always be the excuse for failure. I have completely lost faith in him because he has lied to the fans too many times and refuses to address our biggest weaknesses.
WENGER OUT. 5 YEARS WITHOUT A TROPHY IS TOO LONG AND WE’RE GOING BACKWARDS. NEXT YEAR THE YIDS WILL FINISH ABOVE US FFS. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
Hahah don’t panic!!!
If all you are interested in is finishing above the Spurs ….. Mate I think you have missed the point of football.
Here is a question: How many of the doomsayers on here actually PLAY football for a proper team, or even just regularly with friends? And how many actual matches have you been to?
I would surmise that most of the doom-n-gloom lot are either very young armchair supporters who have nothing more than the SkySports News Channel as their source of wisdom …. or just people who love watching the game but have no understanding of it because they have never played it seriously.
There is no chance we will finish below Spurs this season; did you actually watch them last year? For 1/2 the season they played abyssmal football, and were not in Europe at all.
They played less games and as a result were in good shape at the end of the season, making them look much better than they are. Also they did do well to finish 4th for the first time. But even their own staff and fans cannot surmise this happening again this season.
So unless you think we are going to ‘do a Liverpool’ and finish at the tail end of the top6 we will finish above Spurs EVEN IF we massively underachieve
Roll on Liverpool and a 2-0 opening day win, that will at least quieten down the doomsayers for about 20 mins!
What would people like Old Gooner do if we had a spell like Everton or Newcastle or Tottenham or even like Liverpool did last season (and have for the past 20 years)? Are we traditionally a bigger club than any of those sides? No. I tend to think that people like Old Gooner are just very depressed people who would probably commit suicide if we did have a true lean spell. Next to their body would be a message saying “Arsenal made me do this” and in death they would honestly think that their protest would have some real effect, instead of merely making everyone say “what a loony-toon”.
Old Gooner – Arsenal are not our team, any more than McDonalds is your restaurant if you happen to frequent that particular establishment (unless of course you are a shareholder, in which case I apologize and agree that Arsenal are your team). We are consumers. We are customers. Loyal football fans are no different than loyal restaurant customers. We may have a stronger emotional attachment but we are simply customers. The club owe us nothing. The club tries to be successful not to appease us and make us happy, but to generate more and more new customers who will pour even more money into the club coffers.
“Wenger should have gone last year, his team of scouts have had the best part of a year to select the right players, well what have they been doing , where are they.” – did you ever stop to think that maybe, just maybe, after scouting everyone all across the world, the people at the club might have thought “hey, none of them are better than Wilshire, or Frimpong, or any of the other young players we currently have”? What qualifications do you have to make better judgements on players than those at Arsenal? What experience at the highest levels of the game do you have? I am very interested to hear the answer to that question.
@ Pail C – It does not take a team of scouts to see that we need a new goalkeeper and that we are short at center back and that we need cover for Song. Come on mate that is ridiculous. Arsene did the same thing last year. VP was inured and Bendtner was injured and we had no strikers except Arshavin. He could have even gotten someone on lean in the January window but he refused and we paid the price. We are repeating the same cycle and you have bought into it again.
Hunter – I havent “bought” into anything. Utd need cover for Rooney. Liverpool need cover for Torres. Every team has issues with their squads unless you have money to pay wages like Chelsea and City, which we clearly do not have. You say we could have gotten someone on loan in January, who? Please tell me. I am interested to hear who you think we could have gotten on loan in January that would have miraculously changed our season. And who is out there that is cover for Song who would be willing to be back-up (therefore excluding Melo and all that type of player) and would be better than Denilson, Frimpong and Eastmond? And what ‘keepers are available that are better, clearly better (not just maybe better) than who we have (Lloris is not available, Akinfeev has been valued at over 20million – is he worth that money?)? One of the things that drives me crazy is when people say “we should buy someone” without giving a name. Come on, give a name so we can debate the quality of that player.
I am a realist. I accept that it is difficult to build a Championship winning side, especially when you are the 3rd (now 4th) richest side in the League (behind Chelsea, City and Utd). If it was easy then Liverpool would have done it years ago. Chelsea spent hundreds of millions and won 1/2 the time. People make it seem as though we’d win every year if we just bought 3 or 4 nameless players.
There is no problem with people giving their opinion. I personally agree with everyone that we probably need another central defender, but I dont rate Mertesacker at all. I dont see him as an answer at all. I also agree that Almunia is not good enough, but see the dilemma that AW has given how highly the young Pole is rated. Casillas was good enough at 18 for Real Madrid. Sometimes they are good enough. It is so difficult with ‘keepers. I just laugh at this “doom and gloom” stuff. It is all so ridiculous, a case of people with far too much sense of self-importance (“it is OUR team!!!!”) going way over the top about things. We are all just fans, and as such we are all rather silly and stupid. That is what it means to be a fan. Admit it, enjoy it, and live it. Let’s leave the professional stuff to the professionals. If you can’t enjoy being a fan, then something is wrong. I always wonder if some of the more extreme “doom and gloom” merchants are missing something important in their lives, and would find something to be depressed about whether or not Arsenal were winning.
I know A couple people and i have been ranting on about this person all the time…..
HAZARD- loan him back to lille to get more experience, i know he wont make an instant impact but its better to get him now before real madrid or some other team get him, Arsenal is in his DNA we should get him now……
Tasci/ Hummel- Debate this one
Shwarzer- Is consistant
This should all be worth at least 30-35 mil
Shwarzer 5 mil
tasci/ hummel 10 mil
hazard 15mil
@ Paul – Who exactly is the Pole rated highly by? No one in their right mind rates Fabianski as anything more than a below average goalkeeper at best. It’s not that difficult for anyone with an objective opinion. Almunia was never good enough and Jens Lehman even warned us to that fact. Had we just addressed the GLARING weaknesses in the squad we would have won the title last year. This would not have taken tons of money like you seem to be claiming, we could have done it for less than 20 million. We made 40+ million from the sale of Adebayor and Kolo so there is simply no excuse. Arsene got it wrong and he seems to be getting it wrong again.
It’s not a matter of opinion that Fabianski is no good or that Almunia is not good enough. It’s also not a matter of opinion that we didn’t go out and get replacements when we knew RVP was out for the season or when we knew the defense was not good enough. Those are facts that can’t be ignored.
I enjoy being a fan and I also enjoy winning. I enjoy not being lied to by the manager. I can joy the team playing hard for the shirt every week which some players (Denilson, Diaby, etc.) do not do. Arsene tore the team apart to start this youth project and now that it is failing he persists when a few simple changes would bring us trophies. If you don’t play a game to win then why are you playing?
One point I forgot to address. in your post you stated:
“People make it seem as though we’d win every year if we just bought 3 or 4 nameless players. ”
This is not what I am saying at all. What I am saying is that when there is a glaring weakness with a simple solution then make the change. Not doing so is incompetent and stupid. We could have even taken players on loan if we didn’t want them long term. There is simply no excuse.
Well said my namesake, well said.
Does Arsenal have to win for you to enjoy how we play football.
Ask people worldwide, who are the teams they love to watch and I can bet you that Arsenal on a whole is no further than two on that list.
We need to get a grip and get off of the glory hunting tropy train.
ARSENAL!!
Blessings!!
Paul N. – What’s wrong with playing good football AND wanting to win trophies while doing it ? It’s hardly a novel idea, you know. Problem is Wenger and the board seem content to just aim for the top 4, and all you sheep are content with that every year. He’s really pulled the wool over your eyes then, hasn’ t he ? ( pun intended ).
“In Arsene we rust”.
All league trophies were bought over the past 5 seasons. Only chelsea and Man Utd have won the league for the past 5 seasons. How much on average did they spend on players? Was Arsenal capable of spending similar amounts or even half over that same period after building a new stadium? I dont think so. And yet we competed and continue to do so. So yes I for one have bought into been content and enjoy the football. If players start accepting offers from Man City, do u think we can compete with them in the transfer market if we sack our manager and go the ‘buy buy’ route. As for the goalkeeping issue, I’m sure a lot of us arsenal fans would have been calling for Arsene to buy Almunia IF the only time we have ever watched him was in the champions league first leg at the emirates against barca.
Very perceptive and sound reasoning PaulC.
There is no doubt the web is providing far too much exposure for people who have perpetually negative or panic-stricken outlooks on life, or, put less politely, bedwetters.
Careful, Hunter. The AKB’s don’ t tolerate objectiveness, and any critcism whatsoever is not permitted. ( Now go and wash your mouth out with soap ) *
“In Arsene we rust”.
* P.S. Just kidding of course.
Nice article, well written agree or no.
Let’s get real. At the end of the season before last AW said you could not win the league if you let in 38 goals. This season gone we let in 41 – and weakness among our competitors flattered us. We had injuries that meant we could not attack either. Our defense had been very weak and our attack lacks depth through numbers. Imagine we had bought chamak in jan and ditched almunia? The title? Probably. To win the league we need strength and depth and we of all peope can spend to get it. The boys will not suddenly become an imposing world class defense.
poster steve, he got the best psychologist years ago. the truth is we do have to defend better period. we can do it this year, keep beleieving in arsene
I don’t know Wenger personally but I have studied his actions since his arrival at Arsenal to understand his taught process. He will still bring in 1 more player (a defender) and 2 if he brings in a keeper (highly doubtful). But if you look carefully, he is bringing in more players than it appears. Frimpong (big, strong, and would be a big hit this year), Jack Wilshere, Wojciech Szczesny, Havard Nordtveit, Craig Eastmond, are going to be promoted to the first team. Jay Simpson and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas are also on the cusp.
The team will have enough depth this year. Most of these guys are ready to contribute right now.
Ejayraptor – Can’ t you see that what you’re saying is one of the main problems ? Too much reliance ( faith ) in youth to develop and mature ! We’ ve been waiting FIVE YEARS now for Wengers “I believe in this team”. philosophy ( now an unhealthy obsession ) to materialise.
PLEASE READ THE ABOVE ARTICLE AGAIN. It explains it very well.Talk about banging your head against a brick wall.
“In Arsene we rust”.
@Paul C.
THANK YOU!! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!! Finally! someone that gets it.
x2 so there are more clued fans on here! OK so predictions for the coming season:
- Arsenal to conceed less than 41 goals
- Van Persie to score 20 goals and stay fit for most of the season
- Clichy, Song and Eboue all to have their best seasons
- Arsenal to improve their league standing (top 2 finish)
- Arsenal to win a cup this year WITH THEIR ‘KIDS’
So who want’s to start the mudslinging??
Let bettle commence!
Agreed, One thing though……. Wenger could go all out in carling cups and end the trophless drought but wenger trust’s his kids so much, which is good but on the other hand, going all outin the carling cup could appease alll hungry fans
IDK, i dont mind not winning trophies at least i have pride in how we play it is entertaining.
That what s***s supporters have said for a long long time because that’s easier than than wanting a club whose Board lacks the ambition to compete to win things to win things I guess.
Nonsense. AW and the board have clearly laid out a philosophy for the club and we’re following it to the letter.
You want us to be the next Citeh, fine. It just won’t happen.
Matt – That philosophy would be ; Stick with what we have and hope for the best. What a plan !
“In Arsene we rust”.
Ejayraptor – Quote : “THANK YOU!! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!! Finally! someone that gets it.”
Er, yeah, right !
“In Arsene we rust”.
Wenger when who’d you ever learn from this your nonsin every season,you saw what baca did to us last season 4-1,instead of you to sign players you are here running around children of 19 years old can the give us instance result? don’t you ever thing of us the fans?continue, the great philosopher,i will see were this youth policy will land you.
PaulC…… you are my ‘realist’ guru
But…. in the Jan. transfer window, Huntelarr (loan), Flamini (loan), Chamack ( a bit of cash ), Hart (loan) were all available ( apparently ) to name a few and they could have got us over the line. In Wenger defense though, Campbell’s short term contract was inspired.
This is my point Chrispy. We could have won the title if Arsene had just made a few minor changes. It’s like he refuses just because he doesn’t want to follow what the fans and pundits are saying even though it’s exactly what is needed.
You’re so arrogant it’s unbelievable. RM and Chelski have spent 100s of millions without winning anything, so much for your theory that we just have to buy.
First of all you need to learn to use the word “arrogant” properly. Noting I said was arrogant. Nor did I say just buy up everyone. But, when you see your team is lacking to the point of costing you games with a goalkeeper like Almunia for example; then you spend a few quid and buy someone new. This can be done on a reasonable budget without breaking the bank. We could have won the title by spending less than 10 million last season but Arsene refused to spend saying that we had “internal solutions”. We did not and we paid the price. For some reason some of you think everyone is saying we need to buy up everyone like Real or Chelsea.. No one is saying that. What people are saying is to address GLARING weaknesses when they arise. The goalkeeper was a simple fix but it still has not been done. Why? What are we waiting for? Why do we not have defensive cover? Why do we get a player like Sylvestre when there were plenty of bargains to be had in the market? Have we become a club that takes in rejects and lets them stay on collecting a pay check but providing nothing?
I also do not get this idea that we have done “well enough” and that we are doing great because we came in third. What human in their right mind thinks that being second or third best is good enough?
Why do we all arsenal fans think that just because we’ve won 13 league titles in over 120 years of existence we are entitled to the trophy every year. And that if we dont win then we then its our fault we didnt just pick it up by spending a ‘few quid’. United have consistently broken the British transfer record since ferguson took over, Abramovic can buy any player he wants if its a question of money, and now Man City can too. So unless Arsenal starts spending like them whilst still consistently finishing below them, I’ll continue to ”In Arsene I Trust”. Its not even like we dont compete, unlike some of the teams on our current budget. Maybe we should just relax the ‘moans’ for a bit and ask ourselves why we consistently continue finishing above the likes of spuds, pool, villa and the other mid-table teams even though they all spend more on new recruits than we do.
HART WAS NOT AVAILABLE ON LOAN. HE WAS ALREADY AT THE BRUM FOR THE SEASON
Common Sensai….i’ll have a glass of what you’re having…….3 – 2 – 1 …..you’re back in the room
@ paul c, your mc donalds theory is(sorry to be so harsh i have nothing against you so please forgive me) stupid, if customers complain about service delivery at mc donalds, mc donalds goes all out to make the customer happy. Yes i love wenger’s philosophy as much as you do, but my argument here with you is that yes we play (i think its the best)beautiful football, but all that is acknowledged through sucess period! Wenger suceeded in 2004 and we all(as i always do) acknowledge him as our greatest manager ever. Barcalona(i hope im not hurting anyones feelings) playd their beautiful football a few seasons ago,and were claimed to be the best footbal team ever,yet last season after the inter defeat,all the praises went to mourinho. Sucess is the whole point of this game,and don’t get me wrong i don’t want us to buy it like chelsea, but let us atleast try keeping our word to our fans(mr wenger). Did he not say we lack in defence, did he not say he would get players in before the world cup,did he not say we cant win a title if we concede 38 goals, did he not say eduardo wasnt going anywhere. I know certain things happen which change certain outcomes, but these promises keep getting broken. If there’s one thing that bonds a fan to a certain club that emulates all the other stuff, like pride and passion etc……. Its trust
(I’ve got my fingers crossed that wenger will buy players we need cause ive heard he’s back in his desk.)
IN WENGER WE TRUST
oh please, you equate bying McDonalds to a PL team or a manager who has worked miracles. Now if you said you didnt like the prawn sandwiches at the emirates, maybe that analogy could work.
You are privy to watch the best footie in England but its all for nothing as we didnt win a trophy lately.
How can one even enjoy football with such a mindset?
Erik, you are a foolish optimist.
Do you seriously believe this squad of over-paid midgets have the desire or belief to win anything this season?
We have 2 billionaires who own the club, yet we try to buy an average 37 year old goalkeeper in Mark Schwarzer for £2 million. It’s unbelievable !!!!
My football philosophy is a simple one. The first team 11 should all be top class in their positions. The back-up 14 players should be the talented youth players.
As i write, our first team team is very average, judged by the mauling we received by Man utd, Chelsea aand Barcelona, last season.
Nothing much has changed this summer, and i fear if we dont have a good start to the new season, it could be a disaster.
The maulings werent against our first team. When we had most of our 1st team available we took Utd apart at old trafford and only lost in a freak result aided by some very poor refereeing (our midfield hardman (Song) was neutralised early on but theirs (Fletcher) was allowed to get away with murder), a dive and a poor own goal.
Almunia
Sagna Gallas TV Clichy
Song
Diaby Cesc
Rosicky VanPersie Arshavin
That is not a particularly young side, and there’s enough talent there to take on the best of them. Our problem has been that we seem to lose around 6 of them at a time, often for long stretches so we have to dip into too many of our talented youngsters at the same time. This point has been made many times on this site: the youngsters should be learning while on the pitch with 9 or 10 experienced players. They cant express themselves and improve when theyr playing in a team of 7 or 8 other youngsters, they just get bullied physically and exposed for their lack of experience.
We lost period. That game should have been out of sight for United at that point but we let them hang around and in the end they tore us apart. If our squad is so thin that we get destroyed when we lost one of our starting XI then you just made the case that Wenger’s plan is a failure because the squad is too weak.
We didnt get destroyed though. They got lucky. We usually play better in the 1st game against utd and have beaten them I think in the two or three previous seasons. We beat them with largely the same side, minus fabregas a year or two ago. They only destroy us when our squad is decimated with injury.
We never get destroyed when missing just one of our starting 11. It only ever happens when 6 or 7 are out.
You need to go back and watch that game mate. Although we controlled the first 50 minutes, we were played off the pitch after that. It wasn’t even a contest.
Also, Chelsea has destroyed us every season because we are too weak in the back and in midfield. Both teams were miles better than us last season.
One THing i’v relised anyone relise a pattern against Barca 2006 (champions league final) 2010 (away), we always get the first goal, if we could hold on to those leads……..
“In Arsene We Trust”
I believe in using our own resources first and replacing players with equal power or above to maintain strength our objective is torturous adequate number of man is needed
All will come to light at the weekend and soon after that MR wenger will address the issues at hand mean while we should reach to the paper bag and breath
I am cool now
Hold on! Is the transfer season ending Sunday? I thought it had another month to go?
If so, what is this crap?
Bottom line is you think Wenger deliberately and repeatedly lies — if he has no intention of buying new players, then you think he wouldn’t say so?
And how would you explain Chamakh and Koschelny? What are they? Cubs fans?
Any mature observer would notice that there was some transfer movement before the World Cup, none during it, and a little since, though it will pick up.
But you have concluded its all nothing.
Then you whine about losing Senderos and Gallas — who didn’t want to stay, or Sol, who was backup, or Sylvestre, who you would howl long and hard about if he stayed another year. You’d rather have youngsters — well, now you have, if no one else gets bought.
Eduardo couldn’t get playing time to rehab — if that’s what you want, then you don’t want to chase trophies.
And excuse me, doctor, but I didn’t know Bendtner was lost for the year.
Do you think a reputable newspaper in the States would publish such nonsense? Outside the Inquirer?
The transfer market may have another month to go, but this means what?
Pre-season started and the most-important tournament of them all is this weekend. By now all players should have been brought in, trained in Austria and found the rhythm and right partnership with the rest.
The last weeks of the transfer market are usually for “emergency” signings not to get who you wanted to get when last season ended.
It’s almost like we are telepathically linked
Make that a telepathic trio.
“In Arsene we rust”.
We get the same song and dance,we will improve .It sounds more like a broken record
Like the Article
Anyone know whose job it is at Arsenal to secure players? Who negotiates the deals and signs the contracts?
NewsFlash…… intiatials IG not Arsene Wenger. He may identify the targets with help from scouts etc…..
But he does not complete the transfers… Ivan Garzidis does.
If you’re going to put Wenger in front of your firing squad, at least have the decency to make sure he is guilty of the crime.
Arsenal is a concept moving towards self sustainability in terms of players, developing and promoting youth from within. With occaisional purchases to stop gap.
In the meantime they play the most beautiful game.
Surely that should be enough?
Kiwi Gooner – When did the dream die for you, I wonder ? And doesn’ t Wenger recommend to Gazidis who he ( Wenger ) wants ? Wouldn’ t that at least be guilt by association, then ?
“In Arsene we rust”.
Why do we keep pretending that something hasn’t changed for the worse at Arsenal.
I dare anyone to say that that these youth players are no less experienced or accomplished than the players we bought from 1998-2005 Tell me that Thierry Henry was no more accomplished than Theo Walcott – that Robert Pires was as unproven as Samir Nasri – that Patrick Vieira was as undeveloped as Emmanuel Primpong.
Gooners are deluding themselves about the fact that our Board hasn’t made making themselves even richer a higher priority than Arsenal Football Club.
lol
you have no clue what you are talking about. The board DON’T TAKE DIVIDENDS. They gain nothing. You’ve been reading way too much Myles Palmer. We have a decent amount of cash, but the bank requires we keep cash on hand in case they call in the loans (unlikely) to keep us solvent. Thus a lot of money is tied up
Actually comparatively. Henry and Vieira were raw when we first got them. Pires was experienced, but not at the highest level. So Wenger’s purchasing style is the same, just he buys fewer players per window.
PLUS PIRES AND NASRI WERE BOUGHT IN EXACTLY THE SAME CIRCUMSTANCE; SAME CLUB, SAME CLUB STATUS, SAME NATIONAL STATUS, THEY JUST ENTERED INTO A DIFFERENT SET UP, AND SAMIR WAS YOUNGER.
I’m glad Arsene doesn’t panic like you fools.
Making purchases to fix weaknesses is not a panic, it’s intelligent.
And since you are able to identify the ‘weaknesses’ then of course you are more intelligent that the one who put together the whole.
@ MArtin
How exactly do the board enrich themselves?
Retard.
Lol. This was aimed at some doom and gloom merchant above, not the article author. I enjoyed the article.
Regards
Regardless to whom it was aimed, avoid such remarks in the future please.
You might have enjoyed the article, Joe, but you don’ t seem to have learned much from it.
“In Arsene we rust”.
Also aimed at above, seems reply is sporadic.
I don’t understand all the apprehension at this point.
We have signed two players thus far.
Apart from City, it has been a quiet transfer season with none of the big clubs making major moves.
Transfer window is open till end of August and season starts August 15.
There is still enough time for Wenger to load on a keeper and a CB.
We were weaker than the other big clubs so they don’t have as much to do. Or have you forgotten the complete ass whopping we took against both of them last season? If you are champions then of course you have less to do in the transfer market than you do if you finish third or fourth. This is just plain common sense my friend.
Gee if only Hunter was in charge wouldn’t that be great. There is plenty of time to buy. Easy tiger…..
You are missing the fact that instead of buying in enough time to bring a player in and allow him a pre-season with the squad we wait until the last minute where they are thrown into the mix with no pre-season so it takes even longer for them to acclimate. Why do we need to wait to address things that have been glaring weaknesses for over 2 years? This is football not rocket science.
You are right, if only I were in charge…..I would have ousted Almunia, Fabianski and Denilson straight away after last season and lined up replacements who would have had a proper pre-season. I would have brought in a second defensive midfielder so Song has some backup. I would have bought an EXPERIENCED center half. I also wouldn’t lie to the fans about the direction of the club. I would have done all of this with money to spare from the sales of Adebayor and Kolo (all of this can be done for under 25 million, that leave another 20 for club use). The club would still have made a profit on those sales and I would have addressed the weaknesses in the team so we could compete and win something. The last thing I would have done was hold a meeting with the players and the board and let them know in no uncertain terms that 2nd, 3rd and 4th place is not good enough. Thinking that way breeds losers not winners. We are Arsenal, not Everton or Villa. We are a team with a proud history of winning things and of playing beautiful football. The Invincibles played as good if not better football than we do now but they got results. This team of midgets Arsene has assembled are nowhere near that. We lack the heart and determination needed to be champions and this loser mentality of being happy with 3rd is not how you change things.
Hunter,
Granted your concerns are all valid but we haven’t quite cross the line with regards transfers yet.
BTW I don’t just mean big clubs in England. There hasn’t been quite that much traffic full stop.
Apart from City, Credit is tight. Everyone is watching to see who will move.
Let me give you an example. If Khedira moves to Real, then that may mean one of the DM at Real will be available. If Wenger were in the market for a back up for Song (which I believe he should be), he may choose to wait and see who comes on following the Khedira move and at what price.
In other words, there is no need to panic buy.
The other thing you are doing is your making a ton of assumptions. Yes your concerns are very valid but how do you not know that Wenger did not gather the whole team round and told them that 3rd 4th 5th isn’t up to standard (No that I think it isn’t obvious enough to the team)
OTOH if by which you mean Wenger should send a clearer signal to the younger players that their natural progression to the first team is not as assured as before, then I am in complete agreement.
Yes we need a top keeper and a CB but I think we can afford to wait it out another couple of weeks before passing judgment.
I really don’t see how buying players to address weaknesses in time to have a proper pre-season with the team is a “panic buy”
Yeas, what I am saying is that there needs to be a clear message not just to the young players but to the ones who continually underperform that their place in the squad is under threat. A good example is Denilson, his place seems to be never under threat. He has 10 poor games in a row and still makes the starting XI. If he knew he was possibly being replaced he might stop jogging around the field and giving the ball away so often. Same with Diaby. Almunia as well but with him he knows there is no way he can be under threat because the alternative (Fabianski) is even worse.
Panic buy means buying someone quickly because we need to without proper forethought on how he will fit in to team dynamics.
With Sol gone, IMO we are better off with an experienced head at the back.
It’s not as easy as it seems as we are starting with a very unfamiliar and new line up. If it’s not done properly, there will be communication issues and more hiccups than necessary.
I’ll agree with you on Denilson though. Unless he steps up significantly or improves his set pieces/range shooting, I don’t see what extras he brings to us.
And I’ll agree with you that Wenger needs to keep the lads on their toes. They must feel that : “whilst we will give our academy players every chance to succeed to first team, we are also not afraid to replace them from market if need be.”
MY FRIEND YOU WOULDN’T HAVE GOYYEN TO THAT SPOT AT ALL. YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN FIRED FOR COMPLAINING OVER PLANS TO BUILD A WORLD CLASS STADIUM, AND THAT YOUR LEAGUE POSITION IS SO EQUAL TO THE AMOUNT YOU SPEND IN THE TRANSFER WINDOW
We’re “singing from the same hymn sheet” as they say, Hunter. Must be that telepathy again.Anyone would think wedon’t have many problems to be fixed, going by what this lot believe.
‘In Arsene we rust”.
we only finished where we did because of injuries which has been the story for the last few seasons.As much as there is skill involved in football you still need a bit of luck and we have had none!! our time will come!!
sorry and the fact we didn’t even have a good enough keeper…
i say splash the cash on a keeper and get another CB and we are there!
You and Wenger seem to think we have all the time in the world to get players in that we DESPERATELY need. You know, the “top, top quality” ones, the “EXPERIENCED” ones, and the players we were told would only come in “if they were better than what we have”.
A manager with foresight should have identified who he wanted, have alternatves on a shortlist, and been in quick as soon as the window opened. Giving himself as much time as possible to recruit, and get the players used to each other and gelling, ready for the season start. Where is the URGENCY ? We’re still deciding who to buy, F.F.S. and the pre season preparations and matches are already here. And the season starts in a couple of weeks !
“In Arsene we rust”.
So in effect what you are saying is we should sell Fabregas to Barcelona just because Guardiola had the foresight to identify, shortlist and came for him just as soon as the transfer window opened? The top top quality players, who are of course already playing for the top top top quality teams, are not available for a pittance. Even the likes of everton and villa are pricing their players at 20-30mil. Yet again, If you believe we are a top top team, then of course we shouldnt be buying 5-15 mil players and paying ‘record wages’ of 100,000. CZ NEITHER CHELSEA NOR MAN UNITED DOES. If that’s your argument, then I do believe you are right on point (even though our history may ‘argue’ with u).
reach for the paper bag and breath it dose wonder
one way or the other we are competing and for all of us to stand behind our team and wish them luck strength and good fortune to compete in a professional team manner with solid defending and lethally attacking
Living you with
vela——————————————-archivan
shmcha————————————–benthner
Nasri —————————————–faber
wilsher—————————————-rvp
song —————————————–estmond
frimpong————————————–diaby
clychy—————————————–gibs
nordvk——————————————scoski
sanga——————————————-ebue
varmalin—————————————-terora
alumonia————————————–manoan
danilson—wallcot ——–jysimson ———rosicky———ramsy?——–fabyanski———
the thing is that you have to look at it from both points
yes we do have some great players in the reserves coming through, and a few of them could end up being regulars for the first team in several years, but the team from last year is not far off winning a trophy
the same issue has cost us heavily now for several years; the defence
the goalkeeper situation is a joke, the club should be sensible and scrap almunia and fabianski and bring in a top keeper
and the centre back situation is also a joke. TV5 is immense, and deserves to play next to another top defender. JD20 may become great but he isnt now, and who know about koscienly?
again arsenal should be realistic and go out and buy 2 top centre backs, they dont have to be well known, TV wasnt
thats all that is needed to compete for the top prizes, its so simple, yet it is ignored year after year or covered up with signings like silvester (absolute disgrace of a player)
+1, you are exactly right.
With regards the changes at the back, whilst I am certainly in agreement that we need the top keeper and a CB (if poss a DM for cover), I am also a little wary going into next season with essentially the all new line-up at the back.
What would have been good is if Wenger had been able to retain Sol for another season.
Currently none of the new CBs or Djourou would have played extensively with Vermaelen.
More than most positions, understanding between CBs is absolutely crucial.
Add in a new keeper and we could be in for a couple of hiccups along the way at the back next season.
Yes wholesale changes to the defense is necessary but we are also running the risk of ‘unfamiliarity’ in the back 4 + keeper.
Perhaps the reason why Wenger was purported to be interested in Jagielka despite his lack of height. He is at least someone who is a fighter and more importantly, familiar with the league and the opposition we will face next season.
To sum up : Additions are necessary but because of the ‘unfamiliarity’ in the defense this season due to new faces, the right players that can adapt quickly are absolutely crucial.
Anyone of us can easily suggest players whom we think would be great for Arsenal but it’s far harder to decipher who will be able to fit in as seamlessly as possible.
That’s proof of pudding there (Look no further than Lescott and Man City).
I am fairness Lescott wasn’t all that great when he was at Everton either.
Hindsight. When he transferred over to City, he was considered top money.
That wont matter for much if we get scored on from set pieces as many times as last season. We need to stop buying these little players who are not even strong enough to stand up for themselves. Look at the invincibles. Bergkamp, Pires, Henry, Keown. Campbell, Gilberto, Edu, etc. Players over 6 feet who could still play brilliant football. We rarely gave up goals from free kicks or corners because we didn’t have a player who is 5′7″ marking a player who was over 6 feet.
I agree on Sol. I know he wanted to move to start a family but I have a feeling if they sweetened the deal enough he would have signed on for another season. This one year contract nonsense for players over 30 is part of the problem for this club. We need experience but we drive all of our experience away with this idiotic policy. These kids have no one to teach them the Arsenal way.
It’s like a mirage. Always on the horizon. Always believing that the potential of certain players will finally come to fruition. Keep believing in the losers who have won us nothing so far and draft in a whole new bunch of young players to keep the perpetual youth experiment turning over. Youthenise and dumb down the whole squad. Meantime, flick off all your intelligent, experienced, mature world-class winners – Pires, Gilberto, Edu, Van Bronckhorst, Campbell, etc, and retain and give fatter contracts to youth, mediocrity and sh*t for brains losers – Eboue, Diaby, Denilson, Flapianski, Walcott.
Not this old nonsense again.
wow i think its simple
all we need is mark schwazer to last 2-3 seasons until schzeny is ready
then mertscker+ any left footed defender is good.
maybe jozy altidore would be a nice deal but fat chance
just need cover for song and rvp which we get through youth
Altidore? You have got to be kidding me. That kids touch is worse than Bendtner’s. I am an American and would love to have an American playing for Arsenal but he is not the one. After his showing over the last couple seasons and in the world cup I wouldn’t put him in a pub team.
To be succesful in anything one particular trait is STUBBORNESS and BELIEVE. I am glad Wenger has this quality.He has stuck to his way and has delivered time and again. Lest not one forget. Now his current team is smaller than his earlier team. A weakness. Yes, but a quick and easy resolution is to go out and buy a few big players. Then what…change the way we play ala Bolton?? No way. I had supported the club from the days of Bertie Mee..to the boring and dour Graham. One thing I do not do is to criticise the manager, FOR I am not smarter than him in football mangement. Same as the pundits and collumnist. All of them had tried and failed miserably in management.
Yeah I agree that this team is a bit smaller and easier to be bullied, but I emphasize, we should not change our style. Unless, the manager changes and……..god forbid …another Graham type comes in…. Of course, Wenger’s previous team was big and skillful. Somuch so they could impose themselves physically and skillfully. Even Sir Alex once commented that we looked very intimadating in the tunnel. But, the Vieras, Petits’ etc etc are one of a kind.
So what i am saying is be grateful for what we have. We cannot win all the time.
Gooner4life – It’s the managers job to expect and foresee injuries. Every manager worth his salt should anticipate that.Wenger needed to ensure we had enough strength in depth to cover for this eventuality. Even more so with our injury record. In my book the fact we were caught short is not down to bad luck – just poor planning.Using injuries as an excuse is lame.
“In Arsene we rust”.
Stubborness becomes obsession when you persist in behaviour that is self defeating and has no result.
And you don’ t believe you should criticise the manager ? Critcism is part of having an OPINION. Are you saying you shouldn’ t have that either ? If so, then you must be pretty docile.
“In Arsene we rust”.
Everyone who agrees with this author is deluding himself. Hunter has it right: you don’t need to buy foolishly, but pretending that players like Frimpong or JET are ready to play against Drogba, Lampard, Essien or Mikel is ridiculous. Every summer it’s the same exact argument, so Wenger has no excuse for not filling the holes in the squad.
People love to point out the demise of players that have left Arsenal, but how nice would it have been to have Adebayor when RVP was injured last year? Or Flamini partnering and protecting Cesc in the midfield? Both players left, in part, because Wenger wasn’t bringing in players to convince them it was a top-level club.
In reality, we were no where near good enough to win the league last year, and Barcelona laughed us out of the Champions League. Without a new goalie, I would be happy to take Common Sensei’s retarded bet on finishing in the top two. And when the injuries start up again – and they will, like every year – and we sub in 18-year-olds to do a man’s job, I’ll be too depressed to rub it in this author’s face.
Though i’m sure we have great backup in youth team, I don’t see any central defender capable of covering up. I’m sure wenger will sign one more defender untill the end of the transfer market.We have only 3 cb right now.I just hope he will sign him sooner , untill our first game of the season. He must have some time to adapt and train with the team.
My greatest fear is with the goalkeeper. If we don’t bring a new face in that position this season will be over before it starts.So please wenger…2 more players,a cb and a goalie is all we arsenal fans ask.It’s that hard to spend a few milion on two players to have a real shot at the title?
Quote ; “We could have even taken players on loan if we didn’t want them long term. There is simply no excuse”. Dead right, Hunter ! Paul C. you asked “Who could we have gotten in that could have made a difference ?” I’m glad you asked. Jan Klaas Huntelaar, for one. 186 club goals in 290 appearances. 16 in 36 for his country. A prolific striker with good technique. Look up his resume on Wikipedia. He was available to buy or for loan during the time RVP was injured. Wenger chose to ignore him. Instead playing Arshavin out of position as a striker. Wenger in his wisdom, didn’ t think we even needed Huntelaar ON LOAN, F.F.S. He decided to get by with what he had ! Don’ t you think that shows poor judgement ? Couldn’ t his potential goals MAYBE have got us across the line ? But we’ll never know will we ? And remember we COULD HAVE AFFORDED him at the time, as the board said the money would be there if Wenger needed it.
“In Arsene we rust”.
This is exactly the wrong thinking. “Huntingforagoal oh I mean Huntelaar scored alot in that league so he must be great”. Huntelaar is a slug. If some of you were in charge you would have spent big money on him and we would be sitting with a slow non goal scoring tool. Bendtner is better than Huntelaar and that is a fact and we didn’t spend millions on him.
You are mad if you think Bendtner is better than Huntelaar. Regardless of who is better it still would have been more of a help to us than playing Arshavin completely out of position.
Ask Wenger who is better. I think I know what he would say.One plays for Arsenal and starts for his world cup team the other plays for nobody. Why is that?
By the way. If you put either one of those on the transfer list who would get interest. Nothing more needs to be said. Dutch stats are deceiving my friend. Just ask Real Madrid and AC Milan.
This is my first summer as a gooner. I follow the arsenal blogs daily, for 10 months now. Now I feel the gooner frustration at unanswered needs. In Arsene I trust, but how about a world-class center half and a world-class goalie (Marchetti let in 4 of six shots on goal this World Cup, what about Stekelenburg, Akinfeev?).
I’d love to hear the boss’s real analysis of a viable top 4 Premier league club’s business model. I think we are all so used to the big transfer fees paid out by all the deficit-spending big clubs that we don’t appreciate the true (low) prices that can be paid in transfer fees and wages to ensure a balanced checkbook.
But without that true knowledfge of what it takes to keep a club solvent I’ll be left to wonder if 10 mil quid is just too much to pay for any player even if it is PEr Mertesacker or someone else who would fill our gaps.
Alot of you seem to think that the transfer market is easy. “we need a keeper, get that one.” The only way that works is if your Chelksi or City and you over pay for every player you bring in. Paying more than a player is worth is never a good idea(Lescott,Robinho etc) Arsenal has a great youth system that will be in place for a long time. Fantastic talent is coming through and it is a wonderful thing. try to enjoy it. I am sure Wenger is aware of the problems and will try to fix those areas. This is not football manager mode.
Spectrem mate, get a life. your happiness determined by whether arsenal win trophies or not. You probably need have somthing important missing from your life. I am a little repulsed by the fact that so many arsenal fans lose faith after five seasons. There are fans of other clubs that go to every game home and away and even reserves to never see there team win anything. Arsenes vision has sucseeded and is still sucseeding you can’t deny how bloody close we were last season to getting a tangable reward for arsenals ‘vision’ if he bought chamach in January… If van persie stayed fit… Wenger isn’t perfect but he is among the greatest coaches in the world. you saying inarsene we rust is like a Liverpool fan saying you will walk alone because Liverpool arnt playing champions league. arsenal is in the centre of my life. So until his brains start rotting:
IN ARSENE WE TRUST
I’m realy excited about Wilshere, eastmond, JET ect this year because if we have another injury crisis (likley) then these players are ready to step up. Who will be our new centre back?
In Arsene we trust!!!
P.S.
I have one strong suggestion. we should not buy any players who look like male models from nice families. We could use a narcissistic defender or striker or keeper who just wants to dominate other people on the pitch to affirm his skewed self-image, and compensate for an abusive childhood, Like Cantona or pre-sober Tony Adams. We’re just too freakin nice and get mad when people kick us! What do you expect when you hold the ball so long and all clump in the middle at the end of every build-up! Of course you’re gonna get kicked! Fight! Dominate! Intimidate! Arrgh!!!
Great job again Erik
“We are still on the search because at the moment we only have three centre backs and we have seen last season you needed five. I believe we need at least four because we have some other players who can fill in this position but overall we are still on the search.” WENGER
Seriously don’t understand all the panic. We have some ways to go with the market and he is adamant we need more CBs.
Thus far he has delivered in Chamakh and Koscielny. More to come.
Erik,
Youth and the future.
Don’t forget to take into account homegrown ruling coming into effect.
We’re lucky to have the academy feeding us a rich supply of young talent.
Otherwise for every new recruit coming in, we will be ‘forced’ to sell another senior player sometimes at not so preferential prices to us.
It’ll be a tricky balance in the coming years but Wenger has set us up well to weather it thanks to the strength of our academy.
Very much agree. I feel that ruling is definitly affecting the transfer market overall. Wenger attention to the academy will make it easy to adjust.
As six of our players won’t be in today faber rvp song diaby danilson benthner our match with ac Milan would be very interesting i hope Milan will give it a 100% today and constantly attacking and pushing forward need to see how we cop under pressure and to address the quality of our strength to close the door and pushing forward while focused
How was masi neutralised at the world cup or rubin for that matter we conceded 40 goals last season because we didn’t keep the ball where we can control it and move forward and score
Today s encounter is of vital importance and i hope the squad are prepared to build their mentality and team coherence and continue to improve all the way up to graduation THE CHAMPION CHIP
Com on Arsenal com on MR wenger our objective this season is be crowned champion lets all work together to achieve our goal com on Arsenal