THE WENGER THREAD

[falkirk goon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J_bwBG1feE



Piers get a lot of abuse for his Twitter postings, but he's actually bang on with most of the things he says in the press regarding Arsenal.

Piers

[g88ner]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J_bwBG1feE



Piers get a lot of abuse for his Twitter postings, but he's actually bang on with most of the things he says in the press regarding Arsenal.

Very well put by Piers

[Top Londoner]

Seventh v eighth... but Wenger says north London derby will decide who lands top four spot.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... enger.html


'Certainly the results in the two derbies can have a big influence as well on the qualifying spots for the Champions League.'

So, there it is in black and white and from the horses mouth.

[green gooner]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... enger.html

Arsene Wenger says he has no regrets about missing out on Zlatan Ibrahimovic when he came to Arsenal for a trial aged 16.

The Paris St German superstar made headlines this week when he scored four goals - one of which now sits among history's greatest - in Sweden's win over England.

The subsequent clamour over Ibrahimovic bought back into focus one of his most famous quotes, in which he allegedly told Wenger that 'he doesn't do trials' after being invited to Highbury in 2000.

A young Cristiano Ronaldo is another to have been looked at by the club, while Yaya Toure enjoyed a lengthy trial while still plying his trade in Belgium.

Ibrahimovic eventually joined Ajax, and has gone on to win league titles with AC Milan, Barcelona and Inter, while commanding transfer fees in excess of £150million. He's also bagged three goals against the Gunners to knock them out of the Champions League.

Wenger, though, insists he doesn't look back ruefully on the day the Swede got away.

The Frenchman said: 'He was here at the training ground and went somewhere else. That has happened to many players - Ronaldo was here, Ibrahimovic was here. It does not mean they sign for you.

'The story is true I wanted to see him. I did not know him, you cannot sign players you have not seen at all because it is not serious.

'He was 16. I asked him to have a little training session with the first team and he didn't want to do it.

'Do I regret it? No. I will continue to do that unless our scouts have seen the player and says, "look he is absolutely 100 per cent". I trust them.

'But when somebody says he has some quality, you want at least to see, otherwise you would not be serious.'


Reflecting on Ibrahimovic's stunning acrobatic strike in stoppage time at the end of Wednesday's international friendly, Wenger was stunned.

He added: 'I am more a fan of team goals than of individual goals, but I must say it was exceptional. It was a fantastic combination of flexibility, strength and skill.

Sometimes, when a guy has a shot from 30 yards and puts it in the top corner, you say "it's a fantastic goal" - but somehow you believe you can do that as well, even if you cannot do it on a consistent level.

'But when he scores a goal like that, you think it’s impossible for a normal athlete. You have to be an exceptional athlete to do that.

'They say he’s a master in kung fu. You could see that on Wednesday night. You need some special flexibility, subtleness and physical strength to do that, apart from the fact that you have to realise what you have to do.

'He was also in zone, where you have no confidence problem at all. He had scored three goals before, and was on a day where everything becomes easy. It happens in every sport.

'To get into that zone, you need to have success before that in the game. Was it at 1-0 down or 0-0, in the last minute of the game, would he have tried it? Would he have scored? I am not sure.

'It shows you how important it is to get that confidence in our sport, to just do things with a freedom of spirit without any handbrake.'


These two quotes are my favourite -The question must be asked which scouts said they were 100% on the signings of Gervinho and Park

The return of the handbrake

In all seriousness you have to wonder how our scouting team let talent like Ronaldo slip through the net? It only took Fergie and Manure 90 minutes of the guy in action in a friendly and he was signing on the dotted line at United. What is also equally baffling is how they saw star quality in the likes of Denilson.

It makes you wonder if Wenger is taking the piss out of us with all this chat of 'what might have been', like some kind of ghoul from A Christmas Carol. Or does it just prove beyond doubt what a shit manager he is? Zlatan or Frannie Jeffers?

[SteveO 35]

Not only do we compete for the Virtual Trophy but we also had the virtual strikeforce of Ibrahimovic and Ronaldo, the virtual Yaya Toure linking up the midfield, and the virtual Drogba sat waiting on the bench

[1989]

Not only do we compete for the Virtual Trophy but we also had the virtual strikeforce of Ibrahimovic and Ronaldo, the virtual Yaya Toure linking up the midfield, and the virtual Drogba sat waiting on the bench

[I Hate Hleb]

Not only do we compete for the Virtual Trophy but we also had the virtual strikeforce of Ibrahimovic and Ronaldo, the virtual Yaya Toure linking up the midfield, and the virtual Drogba sat waiting on the bench

At least those kind of players would be worth forking out a - very real - grand a season to watch!!

[ThomasMitchell]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J_bwBG1feE



Piers get a lot of abuse for his Twitter postings, but he's actually bang on with most of the things he says in the press regarding Arsenal.

He was a million percent right on every point.

[StuartL]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J_bwBG1feE



Piers get a lot of abuse for his Twitter postings, but he's actually bang on with most of the things he says in the press regarding Arsenal.

I don't like Piers Morgan as a person, but cannot diasagree with much that he has said on there regarding the clubs state and the acceptance of too many fans of the situation (maybe the bit about if Dein returned giving Wenker 2 more years)

The more publicity that the unrest among the support gets the better, Hillwood, Ivan and Kronke need to be feeling a little hot around the collor.

[OneBardGooner]

Apparently AW has said we need "Expressive Stability"....then all will be ok.

[TeeCee]

Well hopefully "Expressive Stability".... is a world class defensive midfielder!!

[SteveO 35]

Even when we were dicking the Spuds yesterday I didn't hear a single chorus of There's Only One Arsene Wenger coming over on the TV

Anyone care to shatter my illusion ?

[mcdowell42]

Even when we were dicking the Spuds yesterday I didn't hear a single chorus of There's Only One Arsene Wenger coming over on the TV

Anyone care to shatter my illusion ?

I was singing it in my sitting room

[I Hate Hleb]

Well hopefully "Expressive Stability".... is a world class defensive midfielder!!

[Newb_Russ]

Even when we were dicking the Spuds yesterday I didn't hear a single chorus of There's Only One Arsene Wenger coming over on the TV

Anyone care to shatter my illusion ?

I was in the clock end lower, block 25 towards the back.
Somewhere in front of us and over to the left, maybe as far over as block 26 a small band, (they will know who they are) , possibly into double figures, started the chant. Didnt go on for long, a few people around us just looked at each other and started some much better chants of which there was plenty the whole match.

We hardly heard the spuds even with our close proximity.