THE WENGER THREAD

[armchair]

[xisstential]

Sorry but this is nonsense
It's the same bollocks reasoning that was used when RVP left "he's part of the failure". No he wasn't, he was playing with clowns and the minute he joined a serious club and manager he won the PL. Nasri same. Cesc same. Ozil and Sanchez can't do it alone, they need quality support and you're never winning anything with jokes like Meltesacker and Gabriel, and Flamini and donkey Giroud up front.
Just like with RVP, the minute Ozil joins a serious club with a top class striker up top he will break assist records and win pots. Top players need to play with other top players, it's a joke that Ozil and Sanchez have to play with such dross. As for Giroud and Wally, on £130k and £140k a week each, yet Giroud the only number 9 at the club can't start ahead of Welbeck when fit, Wally is considered (and is) inferior to Iwobi. And yet the oil money clubs are apparently the ones who inflate prices and spunk money up the wall Giroud is Lille or Nantes level, incredible he's at Arsenal and relative to wages and league numbers will go down as one of our worst ever strikers.

Wenker came out with another gem "tell me a team that wouldn't miss a player of Welbeck's quality for eight months"

Ermmm ... Man United...... in fact they got shot of him, to a PL "rival"

[Gunner Rob]

I never understood why fans are opposed to having Mourinho at the club. He is an arrogant, disrespectful wanker, but we already have one of those, so it wouldn't be too much of a change in that respect. As for the idea that he wouldn't hang around long term, well when Wenger does go, It will be the end of the long term managers, no manager is staying at any club longer than a few years. If you told me we would win the title under Mourinho, and be competitive in Europe, then I would take it.

i see what you are saying - so Mourinho would be good for continuity purposes

[BFG4]

John Cross - "For years Arsenal been mocked for 4th place trophy. Now other big clubs could miss out, maybe it puts the achievement/consistency in context".

[foxinthebox2001]

John Cross - "For years Arsenal been mocked for 4th place trophy. Now other big clubs could miss out, maybe it puts the achievement/consistency in context".

Yes, but City and United think of 4th as a stepping stone to more success, not the pot at the end of the rainbow.

[Gunner Rob]

John Cross - "For years Arsenal been mocked for 4th place trophy. Now other big clubs could miss out, maybe it puts the achievement/consistency in context".

the "4th placed trophy WAS more important a few years ago.
now with the advent of the new TV deal it is far less important - the "big" clubs will still be able to attract the big names.

I also think teams such as Chelsea and Liverpool could be at a distinct advantage next season when it comes to actually challenging for the league. Not for them heroic nights out in Athens or humiliations in Spain, no they will be able to focus on becoming champions...and then they might actually find they can compete in the Champions League.

meanwhile we continually aim for mediocrity in the league and in europe.

[markyp]

Sorry but this is nonsense
It's the same bollocks reasoning that was used when RVP left "he's part of the failure". No he wasn't, he was playing with clowns and the minute he joined a serious club and manager he won the PL. Nasri same. Cesc same. Ozil and Sanchez can't do it alone, they need quality support and you're never winning anything with jokes like Meltesacker and Gabriel, and Flamini and donkey Giroud up front.
Just like with RVP, the minute Ozil joins a serious club with a top class striker up top he will break assist records and win pots. Top players need to play with other top players, it's a joke that Ozil and Sanchez have to play with such dross. As for Giroud and Wally, on £130k and £140k a week each, yet Giroud the only number 9 at the club can't start ahead of Welbeck when fit, Wally is considered (and is) inferior to Iwobi. And yet the oil money clubs are apparently the ones who inflate prices and spunk money up the wall Giroud is Lille or Nantes level, incredible he's at Arsenal and relative to wages and league numbers will go down as one of our worst ever strikers.

Wenker came out with another gem "tell me a team that wouldn't miss a player of Welbeck's quality for eight months"

Ermmm ... Man United...... in fact they got shot of him, to a PL "rival"

I think its a bit harsh to say most of the players are dross,every team needs water carriers,not every player is world class in any team,you could hardly call winterburn,dixon,parlour etc etc worldies but playing alongside the vieras,bergkamps and overmars of the world they certainly looked and played the part.the problem with arsenal isn't so much a personel problem but a management or mismanagement problem,you only have to look at Leicester,they prove this,how many world class players do they have???I agree about the likes RVP,Cesc etc having to leave to win trophies though,regardless of how much £££££ bring thrown at them,all players want medals over £££££

[Nos89]

Reports Ozil and Sanchez are getting annoyed. This is what will happen if we dont actually compete. In Wengers mind, making the last 16 is something to be proud of, but the likes of Ozil and Sanchez, having played for Barcelona and Real Madrid, and regularly gone deep into the champions league stages, are not going to be pleased with constant exits at the first hurdle. If it dawns on them finishing in the top 4 and winning the domestic cup is the glass ceiling, they will F off very quickly.

Cesc and RVP left for the same reason, although both stayed at the club for many years, thats because they knew nothing else and felt they owed Wenger. When Cesc won the world cup with Spain, I knew his mind was made up. Imagine the high of winning the World Cup, playing with would be team mates Xavi, Iniesta, ect, and contrast that to the rubbish at Arsenal. RVP was 29 and realised he had to leave otherwise his decade in English football would be a solitary FA Cup medal.

Wenger can pull the wool over the eyes of the likes of Feo, Ramsey, Chamberlain, Giroud, as they dont know success and football at the highest level, but trying to convince Ozil and Sanchez that this is a good season where 'progress' was made. They wont have it. Wenger needs to admit failure and not accept the season going the way it has. But his ego wont allow it. As if Ozil and Sanchez hear about 'success' this season, why wouldnt they become dismayed?




I fear the consequence of keeping Wenger, will drive our best players away.

Maybe if they pulled their finger out and performed we could have pulled out a victory against Barcelona, we had excellent chances to score and both missed their opportunities. I'm not defending wenger. They were both culpable of missing opportunities when the score was one nil. Instead of getting pissed off with the club, they needed to step up on the big stage...maybe its the reason they are playing for us and not still at Barcelona and Real
Madrid.

Sorry but this is nonsense
It's the same bollocks reasoning that was used when RVP left "he's part of the failure". No he wasn't, he was playing with clowns and the minute he joined a serious club and manager he won the PL. Nasri same. Cesc same. Ozil and Sanchez can't do it alone, they need quality support and you're never winning anything with jokes like Meltesacker and Gabriel, and Flamini and donkey Giroud up front.
Just like with RVP, the minute Ozil joins a serious club with a top class striker up top he will break assist records and win pots. Top players need to play with other top players, it's a joke that Ozil and Sanchez have to play with such dross. As for Giroud and Wally, on £130k and £140k a week each, yet Giroud the only number 9 at the club can't start ahead of Welbeck when fit, Wally is considered (and is) inferior to Iwobi. And yet the oil money clubs are apparently the ones who inflate prices and spunk money up the wall Giroud is Lille or Nantes level, incredible he's at Arsenal and relative to wages and league numbers will go down as one of our worst ever strikers.

Wenker came out with another gem "tell me a team that wouldn't miss a player of Welbeck's quality for eight months"


Welbz works hard but face it he's a ManYoo reserves reject. Never scored 10 league goals in a season in his life. Erratic finisher.
Yet being spoken of as the reason for failure. At Wenker FC it's never about who's on the pitch but who's missing. "with a fit Wilshere"..."tell me what team wouldn't miss Cazorla"...
Like the time he said finding a midfielder of Arteta's level in the market was impossible

Which bit is nonsense? They both went missing against Barcelona and missed good opportunites? They were both let go by bigger clubs because they were surplus to requirements or it just doesn't fit with your agenda against Wenger?
As I said before the top players need to perform in big game's...our two didn't... Welbeck and Iwobi both outperformed our big two world class players on the day. The manager needs to change but the players need to step up.

[SPUDMASHER]

You're right, top players should perform in big games...................but it's difficult to do so when your laces are tied together.
That's the problem we have. We might have two top players but 2 men don't make a team and they cannot reasonably be expected to get us through the big games when their colleagues on the pitch are being butt fucked by far superior opponents. Sanchez and Ozil have a job to do. That job is put the ball in the net. They simply cannot do that if the others cannot get the ball to them in the right place because they're not good enough.

[northbank123]

John Cross - "For years Arsenal been mocked for 4th place trophy. Now other big clubs could miss out, maybe it puts the achievement/consistency in context".

Expect this sort of line to be trotted out endlessly rather than the barrage of intense media scrutiny which some people are expecting.

If we finish above Chelsea, United, City and Liverpool does anybody really think that the media will be baying for Wenger's blood? Not a chance, the question marks about his future will die down and it will be generally accepted by the wisdom that he deserves to see out his deal and one more year to push on. Coverage which will pale into insignificance compared to the column inches and air time which will be dedicated to Ranieri, Guardiola, Conte, Mourinho/United's new manager and the Euros.

The media aren't going to force him out, the only way that they will maintain a campaign questioning him will be if the fans keep voicing their dissent. As long as the timid noises of displeasure from the fans keep surfacing occasionally, voices like John Cross will shout the loudest and nobody will put their head above the parapet to constantly slate him if they think they are going to get caned by most Arsenal fans for saying it.

The fans are the only people that can hound him out. The board won't do it, the media won't do it, Wenger won't quit of his own volition as the last few years have showed but despite his seeming untouchability nobody would be able to ignore persistent protesting and serious dissent within the ground.

[BFG4]

Ozil in particular gets a raw deal from some on here, but its ridiculous to expect him to do anything with Giroud up front. Ive lost count of the amount of times Ozil gets the ball, and is forced to pass it sideways because a through ball to Giroud(with his lack of pace) is pointless. I remember Alan Shearer saying on MOTD before that with a player of Ozil's ability in the team, any decent striker should be scoring near 30 goals a season. Giroud has 12 league goals, in a season that he has been the lone striker in a team creating multiple chances, that sums him up. In a typical Wenger move, he bought a world class playmaker, and kept with the usual mediocrity up front.

[DB10GOONER]

Ozil in particular gets a raw deal from some on here, but its ridiculous to expect him to do anything with Giroud up front. Ive lost count of the amount of times Ozil gets the ball, and is forced to pass it sideways because a through ball to Giroud(with his lack of pace) is pointless. I remember Alan Shearer saying on MOTD before that with a player of Ozil's ability in the team, any decent striker should be scoring near 30 goals a season. Giroud has 12 league goals, in a season that he has been the lone striker in a team creating multiple chances, that sums him up. In a typical Wenger move, he bought a world class playmaker, and kept with the usual mediocrity up front.

Agree with most of this but also would say it's easy to be critical of Giroud (and right to be critical - he's been gash for months now) but we also have to look at what the manager is trying to achieve and in what manner. Giroud cannot play the lone striker in a 4-5-1. Neither can Welbeck. That is one of the toughest jobs in football and only a few top strikers can do it effectively. Giroud and Welbeck are squad players at best really.

If you are going to put your money into buying a Giroud or a Welbeck and pick them as starters then you have got to build and play a system that helps them, that plays to their limited strengths, not blindly believe in some fantasy idea of what football should look like and then just wedge them into it.

[armchair]

John Cross - "For years Arsenal been mocked for 4th place trophy. Now other big clubs could miss out, maybe it puts the achievement/consistency in context".

Expect this sort of line to be trotted out endlessly rather than the barrage of intense media scrutiny which some people are expecting.

If we finish above Chelsea, United, City and Liverpool does anybody really think that the media will be baying for Wenger's blood? Not a chance, the question marks about his future will die down and it will be generally accepted by the wisdom that he deserves to see out his deal and one more year to push on. Coverage which will pale into insignificance compared to the column inches and air time which will be dedicated to Ranieri, Guardiola, Conte, Mourinho/United's new manager and the Euros.

The media aren't going to force him out, the only way that they will maintain a campaign questioning him will be if the fans keep voicing their dissent. As long as the timid noises of displeasure from the fans keep surfacing occasionally, voices like John Cross will shout the loudest and nobody will put their head above the parapet to constantly slate him if they think they are going to get caned by most Arsenal fans for saying it.

The fans are the only people that can hound him out. The board won't do it, the media won't do it, Wenger won't quit of his own volition as the last few years have showed but despite his seeming untouchability nobody would be able to ignore persistent protesting and serious dissent within the ground.

If (and I agree thats a big if) the protests continue, the media will have no option but to highlight it. Im not expecting the media or the fans to "hound him out". His ego and arrogance will be the factor. All I expect the media to do is report and discuss the protests. I was amazed and delighted at the coverage BT Sport dedicated to the banner at Everton. Half of the after match discussion was about it.
After these "incidents" the likes of John Cross are playing catch-up and thats to be expected.

If it continues Wenger will be quizzed about it and he wont like it. As g88ner has said earlier - if hes swaying on whether to accept a new contract or not, these shows of dissent may just tip the balance. Thats why action needs to be taken now, to dissuade him from accepting a new contract. Maybe the board will eventually wake up too. I believe there is no love lost between Wenger and Gazidis.

Nothing will happen overnight. Its been a long time. The memories banner was made 5 years ago. We just have to keep chipping away at his ego and arrogance, and that will be his downfall.

But I'll tell you what will do absolutely nothing to get rid of him though..... sitting behind a computer whingeing and lamenting and moaning about the whole sorry state of affairs.

[Henry Norris 1913]

corbyn has just said he thinks getting in the top four every year is a great achievement, and that wenger should stay


well, i certainly don't want that mad fuck running the country

[Block93]

Sorry if the point has already been made, but....

One presumes that Guardiola has signed his pre-contract Man C on the proviso they will be in the CL next season. That's by no means certain now, and it must create uncertainty. Whether or not he is a good manager remains to be seen, as he really has had the two of the best clubs, with the very best players, to look after. But there's no denying he attracts top players.

So if City do f*** it up, what happens?

Surely Arsenal think we have got to step in here, move Wenger upstairs (I think he'd make a very good MD) and tell Pep to get up to N5 pronto. Everything is in place.

Could be a golden opportunity, for like the old Chinese proverb says....

"Man wait long time with mouth open for roast chicken to fly in."