THE WENGER THREAD

[Redarmy]

We need to add to this squad in the summer, similar to Mourinho did at Chelsea with Fabregas and Costa
Schneiderlin and Cech would be a good start, think if we get the right additions we really could mount a challenge next season
But with our transfer dealings (which are a total farce) and the penny pinching that goes on, wont be holding my breath.
Another missed opportunity beckons........

[StuartL]

We need to add to this squad in the summer, similar to Mourinho did at Chelsea with Fabregas and Costa
Schneiderlin and Cech would be a good start, think if we get the right additions we really could mount a challenge next season
But with our transfer dealings (which are a total farce) and the penny pinching that goes on, wont be holding my breath.
Another missed opportunity beckons........

Not forgetting the return of Sanogoals

[markyp]

We need to add to this squad in the summer, similar to Mourinho did at Chelsea with Fabregas and Costa
Schneiderlin and Cech would be a good start, think if we get the right additions we really could mount a challenge next season
But with our transfer dealings (which are a total farce) and the penny pinching that goes on, wont be holding my breath.
Another missed opportunity beckons........

yeah cos those marquee signings that will fill the voids left by viera/gilberto in DM and Seaman/Lehmann in goal all of 10 years plus will definitely happen this summer,you see,YAWN ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

[Redarmy]

He will probably offer around 2.5 million for Cech, sure it comes out of his yearly bonus.....

[BFG4]

We need to add to this squad in the summer, similar to Mourinho did at Chelsea with Fabregas and Costa
Schneiderlin and Cech would be a good start, think if we get the right additions we really could mount a challenge next season
But with our transfer dealings (which are a total farce) and the penny pinching that goes on, wont be holding my breath.
Another missed opportunity beckons........

This is always said every year, and every year we neglect at least one area of the field that we are short in. Look at last summer, Wenger knew we needed a striker, but waited until the last minute and then panicked and bought Welbeck. We then had to wait until January to sign a CB, and thankfully we have Coquelin playing as DM, because I doubt Wenger was going to address that area either.

[beck]

There always comes a point when individuals will have a point of view which cannot be changed. I will vote the same way at the next general election, irrespective of who is in charge of the party I vote for. I will also always support Arsenal irrespective of who is at the helm. Everything that goes right is luck and eveything that goes wrong is Wenger's fault.

the point that Augie is making though which is the same for me and countless others is that yes we are second but we havent put in a serious title challenge this season and under Wenger never will again,i don't care that we are on a roll right now it wont continue next season only in fits and starts.alot of people have short memories,the good run we are having now right at the end of the season when its too late is no different to last season.the only difference being last season we hit the ground running then fell to pieces about now,where as now we were shit early doors and have got it together at the end,how does that make Arsene a good manager??we are fortunate that city,utd,spuds,liverpool,everton have been dire,its making us look good,fact is we aint all that and whilst Wenker remains in charge it will be the same next season and the season after,a purple patch per season then mediocrity for the rest.yes im happy that we are playing well but it doesn't change the fact that under Wenker we will always come up short,believe in him if you are stupid enough to,its up to you

Oh come on
Everton have not had as many points as we have at this stage of the season anytime in the last 30 years
Spurs have not had as many points as we have at this stage of the season anytime in the last 52 years
Im as fed up with wenger and his failure to plan for the whole season as the next man but Everton and spurs? Please

jeez,you forget spuds have regularly pushed us for the final CL spot and Everton if you cant remember were odds on for the 4th spot last season right up until they fell to pieces at the death,i didn't just pluck these teams from thin air as a comparison,my point was that those I mentioned have all had piss poor season compared to last,had they been on a par with last season we wouldnt be second in the league unless of course you think that we,ve improved that much over the last year,i guess in your world we are still pushing for the title

Spurs points totals with 31 games gone since they have been challenging for a champions league spot
09/10
58
10/11
53
11/12
58
12/13
57
13/14
56
Everton points total with 31 games gone last season 60
Arsenal points total with 31 games gone this season 63
I don't give a fuck about 2nd 3rd or 4th winning is everything
I don't think we will win the title but always believe we can
Don't mix me up with that grand settler mr wenger but by the same token I make no apology for being an arsenal supporter and actually enjoying the club and believing not everything is shit

[northbank123]

I certainly wouldn't be happy with aiming for second but - despite my general outlook on the direction of the club under Wenger - 2nd could have constituted strong progress, especially with another strong FA Cup showing (hopefully a win).

This doesn't do it for me though. No semblance of a title challenge. Obvious gaps still ignored before and during the season. Tactically just not up to scratch. Basically hamstringing ourselves.

Sure there are positives. Sanchez has been amazing, Giroud has made big strides, we have shown occasional flashes of tactical versatility. But despite the lack of hammerings, we had another summer without turmoil where we seemed to improve the squad and yet a decent return of 16 points from our last 7 games will only see us match last year's tally. Things look better because we have picked up our points later rather than earlier this year, and because City and Liverpool have both declined.

There are always plenty of "what ifs" and "but Wenger will surely rectify so-and-so this summer and things will be different" to hang your hat on but people should really have learned their lesson by now. The sad reality is 2008 was the last time we really came near to winning the league (despite being out of it by the end of March) and that was at probably the Premier League's strongest point in the last decade.

"

[beck]

I certainly wouldn't be happy with aiming for second but - despite my general outlook on the direction of the club under Wenger - 2nd could have constituted strong progress, especially with another strong FA Cup showing (hopefully a win).

This doesn't do it for me though. No semblance of a title challenge. Obvious gaps still ignored before and during the season. Tactically just not up to scratch. Basically hamstringing ourselves.

Sure there are positives. Sanchez has been amazing, Giroud has made big strides, we have shown occasional flashes of tactical versatility. But despite the lack of hammerings, we had another summer without turmoil where we seemed to improve the squad and yet a decent return of 16 points from our last 7 games will only see us match last year's tally. Things look better because we have picked up our points later rather than earlier this year, and because City and Liverpool have both declined.

There are always plenty of "what ifs" and "but Wenger will surely rectify so-and-so this summer and things will be different" to hang your hat on but people should really have learned their lesson by now. The sad reality is 2008 was the last time we really came near to winning the league (despite being out of it by the end of March) and that was at probably the Premier League's strongest point in the last decade.

"

We lost at man utd on the 13th April 2008
That was when our title hopes went
I agree with what you say about wenger and the false promises though
I would rather see it then hear it and I don't trust him to make the changes necessary to compete on 4 fronts

[SPUDMASHER]

I'm no AKB (ask those on here that actually know me) but.........

lol

i should maybe point out that I'm not a WOB either. I'm just somebody that has been supporting Arsenal for many years and don't feel the need for a label. I Have my own opinions and think that neither of the two extremes of the argument are correct. No club should have the expectations put upon them that some of our spoiled supporters demand.
Those that feel that today's team isn't goo enough should take a trip to the 70's and 80's and watch some of the shit that was dished up then. Then they'd probably more appreciative of what they're seeing today.

[gp543]

A couple questions for those suggesting we should buy Petr Cech:

1. What has Ospina done to suggest that he is not a fully capable first-team keeper for now and the future? Keep in mind he is 6 years younger than Cech.

2. Do you really believe Wenger would buy in the same position two season in a row without, touch wood, a major injury to the current starter in that position?

3. Most importantly, do you believe Jose Mourinho/Roman Abramovich would sell us Petr Cech? Consider that he would not even loan us Demba Ba for a £3mil fee and Cech has a greater ability to influence matches than Ba.

[gp543]

.

[BFG4]

I'm no AKB (ask those on here that actually know me) but.........

lol

i should maybe point out that I'm not a WOB either. I'm just somebody that has been supporting Arsenal for many years and don't feel the need for a label. I Have my own opinions and think that neither of the two extremes of the argument are correct. No club should have the expectations put upon them that some of our spoiled supporters demand.
Those that feel that today's team isn't goo enough should take a trip to the 70's and 80's and watch some of the shit that was dished up then. Then they'd probably more appreciative of what they're seeing today.

To say that we should be appreciative of things as they are now because of how poor we were 30 or 40 years ago is an extremely weak argument. please tell me how our fans are spoiled? Spoiled from watching us win Fuck all for 10 years, and at the same time being fleeced by the club when it comes to buying a ticket to the ground. Also, we have to put with a manager who insults our intelligence with the constant bullshit he comes out with. You might not be an AKB, but you sure bury your head in the sand, as you conveniently forget, we are one of the richest clubs in the world, and our expectations as fans simply matches the wealth we have.

[Herd]

Petr Czech was a very good goalkeeper but he is past his sell by date ,end of.
If we buy a world class keeper fine if not leave as is .
I still think that Chez COULD be a world class keeper but he is so sublimely stupid that I doubt if he's capable of change.
If we are to win the league next year we need at the very least a world class left back and another holding midfielder.
If I'm greedy Id say we needed a World class striker too.
More important though is that the manager needs to change and concentrate more on our shape when we dont have the ball and to mark properly at set pieces !
THAT ISNT EVER GOING TO HAPPEN !

[SPUDMASHER]

Paying high ticket prices is irrelevant. That's simply down to the law of supply and demand. If we didn't have big queues of people waiting for tickets the prices wouldn't be as high. If attendance at Grimsby was as over-subscribed as they are at the grove then their prices would be higher too.
No amount of whining from the discontent fanbase is going to make a shred of difference to the way the club is run. You may as well just sit back and enjoy supporting the team. All you end up doing is winding yourself up to the point whereby you are no longer enjoying going to the football. The point of supporting a club is to have an escape from the worries and pressures of the world and having a bit of downtime with your friends. If it's getting to the point where you are no longer enjoying it because of the internal politics of the club or that you feel that you're being taken for a ride then there is one simple thing to do isn't there? Just get off the ride and go do something different instead!
Each season there are three trophies up for grabs for 90% of the clubs. Nobody has a right to expect their team to win one of them. We all have a right to want them to. Sometimes we get lucky or hit a run of good form that results in winning something. It doesn't happen every year and to be honest it would be quite boring if it did.
Currently the club I support is 2nd out of 92 professional clubs in the country. They're in an FA Cup semi final with a good prospect of not only reaching that final but winning it. They're playing decent football which is on the whole enjoyable to watch. Occasionally they frustrate the crap out of me when they under perform and sometimes the manager makes bizarre decisions that I cannot see the sense in. It won't stop me supporting them because on the whole they're doing quite well. I enjoy being an Arsenal supporter. I'm proud of the achievements of the club, team and manager and I thank my lucky stars that I chose to support them rather than some of the other shite out there. Most importantly though, and this is what I fear that many people that support the same club have forgotten, is that I know what their role is in my life. Their role is to give me a short term distraction every week or so away from the rigours of work and daily life. When I forget that and start tensing myself up into a tight little knot of frustration and anger, I'll stop watching them because either they or I have forgotten what they're there for.

[Redarmy]

Petr Czech was a very good goalkeeper but he is past his sell by date ,end of.
If we buy a world class keeper fine if not leave as is .
I still think that Chez COULD be a world class keeper but he is so sublimely stupid that I doubt if he's capable of change.
If we are to win the league next year we need at the very least a world class left back and another holding midfielder.
If I'm greedy Id say we needed a World class striker too.
More important though is that the manager needs to change and concentrate more on our shape when we dont have the ball and to mark properly at set pieces !
THAT ISNT EVER GOING TO HAPPEN !

Sorry mate have to forget about Chez, he is a total liabilty, and will cost you points over the course of a season.
Need a world class keeper, Ospina is good but not in that league
Czech is only 32 nothing for a keeper, seem to remember getting Seaman at a similar age, and in that first season was immense
Whether they would sell to Arsenal is debatable, even though publicly said they would, obviously dont mean much coming from a guy who trys to gouge out other managers eyes whilst on live TV.