THE WENGER THREAD

[GoonerMuzz]

The more this sorry saga drags on the more i begin to realise Wenger and Kroenke are immovable.

I just cannot see AW being forced out by the fans, i can't see him leaving of his own volition and Stan will never sack him so i fear no matter what the fans at the ground inside or out do nothing will change.

He'll probably buy a semi-decent out of favour player during the summer in a position of no real need and a couple of never has beens and the fans will lap it up!

We'll all forget for another 4 months how bad things can be with the excitement of a new season of hope, media will tip us as one of 4 or 5 possible favourites for the league in a tongue in cheek fashion while chuckling away to themselves and we will once again rinse and repeat the last 6 or 7 seasons ad infinitum.....

Oh to be an Arsenal fan where else could you get such a bitter-sweet roller-coaster of fun

[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.

Yeah ok. Maybe Barca should sell Neymar to Villa and see how he gets on there. Or perhaps Benzema could join Norwich next season and see how he gets on being supplied by the likes of Robbie Brady and Pat Bamford. Of course, you could blame Benzema for being "part of the problem" too then eh? Forget that he's surrounded by abject dross. If you don't bail them out alone then you're shite. LOL. Like I said, I heard this sorry excuse used for RVP after he left then he went and made everyone silly by going to Mancs and tearing up the league and winning it, the minute he stopped being surrounded by the likes of Song, Eboue and Bendtner eh

Ozil and Sanchez are top class players who joined the wrong club for their ambitions. It's real simple. Ozil needs better than donkey Giroud, and a better level of protection from midfield. Sanchez needs superior passers in the team, as Ozil is the only player who can pass properly. It's that simple.

Why would Barcelona sell Neymar with a mere 29 goals this season, a level Sanchez never reached? Thats nonsense.
Kane and Alli, Vardy and Mahrez, Silva and Aguero...each pairing has scored/ produced more goals for their teams than Sanchez and Ozil...we know we need a top striker but those two should be hitting Suarez and sturridge return in goals but they haven't. They need to play the best 8 games of their careers to even match the aforementioned partners.

[GoonerMuzz]

Why would Barcelona sell Neymar with a mere 29 goals this season, a level Sanchez never reached? Thats nonsense.
Kane and Alli, Vardy and Mahrez, Silva and Aguero...each pairing has scored/ produced more goals for their teams than Sanchez and Ozil...we know we need a top striker but those two should be hitting Suarez and sturridge return in goals but they haven't. They need to play the best 8 games of their careers to even match the aforementioned partners.

Nos please don't talk rubbish, Sanchez has massively underperformed this season i agree but he was out for a long period and has been unable to recreate last seasons form, but to insinuate he needs to try harder is a load of , if anything he needs to tone it back and go more simple and let his form come back to him.

Ozil is not, never has been and never will be a striker so to claim someone who has scored 5 goals and has created 18 this season is under performing is a gross misrepresentation of the facts, not only that but he has created over 100 chances this season, you cannot blame him for the strikers not converting those chances some of which have been golden and they have flopped on.

Ozil is a playmaker end of story, he is not a striker, he is not a defensive midfielder or a box to box one, yes his head goes down all to often but to be honest if i was in his boat i think i'd feel similar.

Yet again we are left with a situation where certain fans seem to think that one or two players should carry the whole team, you used Leicester as an example but i'd look at it another way, you have 1 or 2 really good players in that team with a whole bunch of average players playing their bollocks off which has carried the entire squad to a wholely unexpected level, to be honest our massively more expensive and supposedly superior squad should look at them and hang their heads in shame and embarrassment

[Wilson]

All teams work hard. Even Barcelona are notorious for high pressure and working of the ball. Our issue is we are neither brilliant passing team, nor sound defensive unit, so we are caught in no mans land and have no identity. Were far to sloppy to play a passing game. We have a target man upfront so what goods a passing game? Yet at the same time we are notorious for being lightweight, lacking effort, and lacking bottle.

[augie]

any truth in these Mourinho to Arsenal rumours?
all over twitter this morning

Can't see it ever happening. It would be quite funny if it did because everyone here would lose their shit.

to be honest after Wenger's comments in the past week I would be happy for us to appoint anyone else.
I'm not saying that mourinho would be top of my list but if it is him or Wenger managing us next season then I would go for Mourinho no question

That is where I stand now too I am a long term opponent of wenker, but all along I could not support the idea of having a crunt like moaninho managing our great club - now after the "I built this club" comment, I would welcome anyone else to be manager ahead of wenker and that includes moaninho, fat Sam or even the tax dodging twitcher

[Wilson]

Supposedly the board are encouraging him to spend. I always felt it was Wenger choosing not to spend. The board do not get rich with money sitting in the clubs accounts. That money cannot be used for anything else. The idea the board are opposed to spending because they 'want to keep the money to themselves' is just false.

Make no doubt about it, Wenger is choosing not to spend. He has a strong desire to 'prove the critics wrong'. Giroud was questioned, Wenger stuck with him to prove them all wrong. Why do think Almunia was backed to the hilt? Wenger simply wanted to prove he had incredible foresight by backing a keeper no one rated.

Almunia, Bendtner, Denilson, Eboue, Senderos, Djourou, and you can throw Giroud and Walcott into that mix, of players who have stayed well beyond the point where it has been realised they just arnt good enough to fulfill requirements.

There are times when it works, such Kosicleny who was regularly criticized and cited as not being good enough, who actually did prove the doubters wrong. But LK took around 2 year to find his feet before making a genuine contribution, and being a player we cant afford to lose. Walcott been here 10 years, Giroud 4 years. Almunia was at the club 8 years (yes , Denilson 7 years, Eboue 6 years, Senderos 6 years, Djourou 9 years (I know!!). These free loaders have had very long Arsenal careers without doing anything.

Who can forget the infamous quote 'if I sign Xabi Alonso, what do I tell Denilson'. I mean, are ya Fken kidding me? Wenger has this commitment to players than transcends the ability to be impartial. He invests emotion in certain players, and thus cannot admit to himself it wont work out.

If often takes real capitations for him to see the light. Eboue giving away that penalty to thwart a hard fought victory over Liverpool. Almunia so bad, Lehmann had to be re-signed when he was almost 40. Denilson was dropped with Wilshere's emergence, and left on his own accord - Wenger didnt can him. Bendter was goal shy with attitude problems well before patience wore thin - why wasnt this judgment made sooner, we could have saved paying him 52k a week.

Deep down I think Wenger knows we have players no where near good enough, but cannot bring himself to accept the critics were right, and ring the changes.

[northbank123]

So anyway, just found out what happened in the away end at Everton saturday.

Turns out at the final whistle the Time For Change banner gets shown. Couple blokes beside dont like it so they try to rip it down, probably thinking, wrongly, that.......1) the bloke was alone, and.......2) they'd have got it off him even if he was alone.
Then couple of mongs tried attacking from behind coming over the seats spitting and c unting off the guys with the banner. They didnt get very far before other gooners closed ranks and they were stopped in their tracks and told in no uncertain terms to behave. It got a bit heated but handbags apparantely. Then the old bill arrived and spoiled the fun.

So yet again its those who dont like the banners who resort to violence. Stupid fucking idiots because with their childish antics they only bring more attention to it.

But spitting on fellow gooners? A new low.

Pathetic. Utterly pathetic. I've heard people try to justify it on the basis of defending the clubs dignity or reputation, but it's complete bollocks and is fundamentally just physically attacking other fans for expressing a different view on the manager in a perfect reasonable way.

Imagine if somebody was attacked for unfurling a "Never leave Arsene" banner - imagine perceptions and coverage might be a little different.

[DB10GOONER]

So anyway, just found out what happened in the away end at Everton saturday.

Turns out at the final whistle the Time For Change banner gets shown. Couple blokes beside dont like it so they try to rip it down, probably thinking, wrongly, that.......1) the bloke was alone, and.......2) they'd have got it off him even if he was alone.
Then couple of mongs tried attacking from behind coming over the seats spitting and c unting off the guys with the banner. They didnt get very far before other gooners closed ranks and they were stopped in their tracks and told in no uncertain terms to behave. It got a bit heated but handbags apparantely. Then the old bill arrived and spoiled the fun.

So yet again its those who dont like the banners who resort to violence. Stupid fucking idiots because with their childish antics they only bring more attention to it.

But spitting on fellow gooners? A new low.

Spitting on fellow Gooners? Because they want the manager changed? Firstly, anyone that does that is a despicable cúnt and deserves a good hiding. Secondly, to get that wound up in defence of a manager is to prove they are NOT true Arsenal fans but rather Arsene fans. Straight up, any cúnt had spat on me, I'd be in police custody.

The old guy in the footage with the green coat and the bobble hat - anyone know was he defending or attacking the banner? He looked like he was in the process of hitting a tubby fucker over by the stairs as the clip ended.

[Gunner Rob]

3 problems with another supposed "war chest"
1) he still probably won't spend it
2) we will face massive competition this summer for the best players as lots of PL clubs are now rich because of the new TV deal
3) and finally, and this is the important one we all know that whoever he buys he no longer has any idea of how to manage players or a team. Most likely they will end up injured or suffering from burnout.

I hope I am wrong but it looks likely we will stagger on into next season with Wenger still as boss, and endure what will be a car crash of a season and one which will destroy his legacy at the club.

[BFG4]

3 problems with another supposed "war chest"
1) he still probably won't spend it
2) we will face massive competition this summer for the best players as lots of PL clubs are now rich because of the new TV deal
3) and finally, and this is the important one we all know that whoever he buys he no longer has any idea of how to manage players or a team. Most likely they will end up injured or suffering from burnout.

I hope I am wrong but it looks likely we will stagger on into next season with Wenger still as boss, and endure what will be a car crash of a season and one which will destroy his legacy at the club.

The "War chest" line is one that the club uses to justify Wenger's position for another season. I actually think this summer will be one spent replacing players, more than adding to the squad. Id be really surprised if either Sanchez or Ozil stick around for much longer, so when they go, Wenger will probably replace them with some dross, but rest assured that the likes of Giroud, Theo, Ramsey etc. will be around to stink the place up again next season.

[DB10GOONER]

3 problems with another supposed "war chest"
1) he still probably won't spend it
2) we will face massive competition this summer for the best players as lots of PL clubs are now rich because of the new TV deal
3) and finally, and this is the important one we all know that whoever he buys he no longer has any idea of how to manage players or a team. Most likely they will end up injured or suffering from burnout.

I hope I am wrong but it looks likely we will stagger on into next season with Wenger still as boss, and endure what will be a car crash of a season and one which will destroy his legacy at the club.

I am absolutely convinced he will still be manager next year. He will leave when he decides to leave. No amount of fan pressure will drive him out. And Mediocrity Stan and the Board will not push him whilst he is delivering at least 4th place and the CL money. Even if we finished 7th this season then they would give him "the time he is entitled to" to put it right. We are fucking stuck with him for at least another season but probably more.

[SPUDMASHER]

I've always tried to be more positive and have frequently defended AW on here when he has been subjected to unreasonable/unsubstantiated criticism. Don't get me wrong, there's been plenty of reasonable criticism too which I've always agreed with. Now I'm afraid I am resigned 100% to the fact that he must go. This isn't because I hate him. I could never do that because he has done great things for this club over the years. We all enjoyed some tremendous football for several years and we should be grateful for that but he has changed (been changed maybe?) over time and his focus is clearly no longer on building strong teams that can compete for trophies. He's become too embroiled in the non football aspects of the club and the lines have become blurred. He's also developed an incredible arrogance that leaves a bad taste almost every time he speaks lately.

Sadly I don't think him going will make a shred of difference at the club. Whilst we have an owner that has publicly stated that its about the money coming in not winning trophies, we don't stand a chance. I'm pretty certain in my mind that the following statements are correct, a fact which makes me sad:-

1. Wenger will leave when he is ready to, not before.
2. The board will not sack him while he is getting the cash cow that is the CL.
3. Kroenke is going nowhere and his agenda will not change.
4. The fans have no power to change this as there is too big a waiting list/tourist fans ready to fill any empty seats for any direct action to be effective.
5. Buying an ST and not going so they play to empty stadiums will not work either. You're only punishing one person by doing this and it isn't Kroenke.
6. The players also have no power to change this. If anyone doesn't fall in line, or speaks out, they'll be sold or left to rot in the reserves. If players choose to leave we'll sign others. They won't care provided that they get that 4th spot and say what you will about Wenger, he's always done that and there's no reason why he shouldn't continue to do so.

I've never known such outright contempt towards a teams supporters to be publicly shown by any club. They literally are taking the view 'If you don't like it you can fuck off. There are plenty more mugs around for us to get money from'.
That breaks my heart! It really does............ and there's NOTHING anyone can do about it.

[northbank123]

3 problems with another supposed "war chest"
1) he still probably won't spend it
2) we will face massive competition this summer for the best players as lots of PL clubs are now rich because of the new TV deal
3) and finally, and this is the important one we all know that whoever he buys he no longer has any idea of how to manage players or a team. Most likely they will end up injured or suffering from burnout.

I hope I am wrong but it looks likely we will stagger on into next season with Wenger still as boss, and endure what will be a car crash of a season and one which will destroy his legacy at the club.

I am absolutely convinced he will still be manager next year. He will leave when he decides to leave. No amount of fan pressure will drive him out. And Mediocrity Stan and the Board will not push him whilst he is delivering at least 4th place and the CL money. Even if we finished 7th this season then they would give him "the time he is entitled to" to put it right. We are fucking stuck with him for at least another season but probably more.

When he leaves it will be at the expiry of a contract. Anybody who thinks that he will explicitly accept that he's no longer capable of taking the club forward/the best man for the job if we finish 2nd or 3rd behind Leicester needs to re-think the events of the last half a decade. Especially finishing above Chelsea, United, Liverpool, probably City and quite possibly Spurs.

You are spot on DB10 that if we do finish outside the top 4 and by some unknown miracle the sun didn't fall out of the sky, his army of apologists would point out that it was the first time in [X] years we hadn't qualified, a record only matched by [X] and that he deserves at least one more season to put it right. After all, 1 sub-par season in 20 isn't bad, is it?

Our only hope is that we have a stinker of a season and implode (like this year) in a year where his contract is due, and that the fans muster up enough discontent for long enough to persuade him to jack it in whilst he is able to claim that he is walking of his own accord to experience pastures new.

[MrT]

John Hartson talking shite now

Arsene Wenger will be the Arsenal manager next season and will spend £150 million on new players this summer.. #AFC

Shocked at the Hatred towards Wenger by some Arsenal fans.. Clueless with short memories.. Don't hang him out to dry. #poor

[postmanPat91]

http://metro.co.uk/2016/03/22/jose-mour ... r-5767722/

More Mourinho rumours... what's a virtual XI without a virtual manager I guess?