THE WENGER THREAD

[armchair]

Basically the story of the game on Saturday was that Sunderland seemed happy with a 0-0 but almost won the game. We had a lot of possession but lacked a bit of sharpness to get them out of position and they defended very well.

Wenger Oct. 2008 after Sunlun 1-1 Arsenal PL

[armchair]

We needed to dig deep to find the pace of the game and in the second half we were a little bit better, although we still lacked our usual spark. The reason we got a point was our desire and our refusal to accept defeat.

Wenger Mar. 2008 Arsenal 1-1 Villa PL

[armchair]

We drew at Wigan on Sunday and I was asked about the state of the pitch after the game. Of course I would have preferred a better pitch because, frankly, it was a disaster. ............

I don't think that is offending Wigan. It is just the normal life of a team who are going for the Champions League and the Premier League. We have to deal with that, it is not an excuse. We did what we could. We just lacked the spark in the final third, Wigan defended well and Chris Kirkland did the rest.

Wenger Mar. 2008 Wigan 0-0 Arsenal PL

[mcdowell42]

What are you trying to say Armchair

[armchair]

We always lacked a bit of sharpness to take advantage of our chances and I feel our passing was not quick enough to give them problems. But Fulham defended well and they've got plenty of 0-0s away from home because their central defence plays very well.

Wenger Mar. 2009 after Arsenal 0-0 Fulham PL

[SteveO 35]

You can dig out similar quotes from the 1-2 vs Hull, 0-0 vs Blackburn and Sunderland and a shed load of other games over the past 5 seasons

Amazing how all these teams with absolutely ***** defences somehow seem to 'defend very well' against the dynamic 4-5-1 formation isn't it? FFS - we only beat everyone's whipping boys QPR 1-0 with a goal when they were down to 10 men

The most boring system and the most boring season for 16 years.

[armchair]

Going forward we lacked sharpness and desire to go behind the defenders. We had chosen the easy part of the game, that is to always come to the ball and not to be exposed. But in football, if you want to score goals, you have to go behind the defenders.

Wenger Nov. 2009 after Sunlun 1-0 Arsenal PL

[armchair]

What are you trying to say Armchair

Just bored today mate. Feeling a little jaded and lacking a bit of sharpness.

[SteveO 35]

Wenger after Arsenal 0-0 Sunderland - 5 March 2011. The one point Sunderland gained in 8 games

On his team’s performance…
I’m very happy with the performance. I feel defensively we were very good, we gave a lot physically [but] we lacked a bit [of] creativity. Overall, we didn’t manage to score. What is frustrating [is] that we have given everything in the end but we lacked a little but of sharpness in the final third

I cannot fault the players' attitude. It’s true that we had problems to find our fluency today [and] I put it down to the quality of their defending, they marked us man-to-man and it was difficult



Yep, Bruce's Sunderland vintage of 2011 were well known for their resilience and being strong defensively

[SteveO 35]

Roll the clock forward less than a month to another 0-0 draw against Blackburn - a side with the worst away defensive record in the division

“I don't think the players did not want it against Blackburn, we were just one-paced and that is not our game. We had nothing in the tank to produce a change of pace. We looked very predictable and usually we are not.

Another masterclass - not one-paced or predictable. Oh well at least almost 2 years later we've learned to take a new approach rather than plodding on against relegation threatened teams with one isolated striker.

[SteveO 35]

And to complete the set the very next month after a 1-2 home loss to a woeful Aston Villa team

"We were punished because we went into the game too tentative. We were not dominant enough in anything we did and we were on the back foot at the start."

So there you go Lord Numbnuts - 2 seasons ago, three games in the space of a few weeks at home to Blackburn, Sunderland and Villa - all teams down on their luck and there for the fucking taking where you lined us up with virtually no attacking options. Nice to see we haven't trodden on that same rake at all this year against the similar whipping boys from Norwich (at the time getting spanked by everyone), QPR (whooppee, 1-0 against 10 men) and Southampton (yep, lets go all tentative against a team we scored six against earlier in the year)

The guy doesn't learn any lessons and thats why I'm staggered when people say he'll one day turn things around. He persists with the same playing style, the same substitutions, the same transfer policy, year after year after year.....and we drop points to Hull, Bolton, Blackburn, QPR, Norwich, Southampton etc year after year after year.

Everyone makes mistakes. Our bloke has been making the same ones consistently for years, but the old goldfish brain and self harm addiction sees him refuse to do anything about correcting them

The sooner we miss out on the Virtual Trophy the better

[armchair]

It's difficult to say whether we were naive in defence because many players came back from international games and when you play away from home it's very difficult to measure. We were not completely sharp and fresh as we can be and I felt it had an impact on our defensive concentration.

Wenger Sept 2009 Man City 4-2 Arsenal PL

[I Hate Hleb]

If you guys continue along these lines this thread could beat the all-time record of pages - so often has he used the same excuses!!

[armchair]

It is difficult to take losing a game like that in the final moments but we have to cope with it. We are a little bit jaded at the moment.

We had plenty of opportunities at Goodison Park but we did not use them because our final ball was too late or not accurate enough. We battled hard and the spirit was good but we did not create enough.

Wenger Mar. 2007 Toffees 1-0 Arsenal PL

[SteveO 35]

After the magnificent 1-2 home defeat to Hull City - September 27 2008

"It’s a good lesson for us because the commitment was on their side. We know from these kind of games that, in the League, when your attitude from the start is not good enough you risk losing the game.

"They played well and they defended especially very well. I think that's where they were dominant and where we were beaten

Another world beating side that 'defended very well' at the Bowl. Wow, more than 4 years ago......I'm glad we don't go into these games against the lower ranked sides these days where "the commitment was on their side"