As we're unlikely to see terraces again at football, this is the virtual equivalent where you can chat to your hearts content about all football matters and, obviously, Arsenal in particular. This forum encourages all Gooners to visit and contribute so please keep it respectful, clean and topical.
SteveO 35 wrote:Very interesting listening to Gary Neville talking on SSN about the 'unforgiving' dressing room at OT and the level of accountability in there. The reference was to David de Gea who Fergie is rumoured to be livid with and considering selling. He's not even been there for 2 years yet and is only 22. He's already dropped him on occasions for Lindegaard. The fella actually had a pretty good game at WHL and made some quality saves in the second half but the mistake for the goal is seemingly one too many (fuck me compared to Flappy's mistakes that one almost went unnoticed)
Compare and contrast that to our place. Chesney is a similar age, has no competition for his first team place whatsoever regardless of balls-ups he's made along the way. I don't want Chesney out btw.....I like him. But at United his place in the first team would be under threat and he could possibly be on the way out.
When you consider the mistakes we've put with from Al, Flappy, Mannone-kokey, and to a lesser extent Chesney and how long they were/have been retained, it highlights the difference in mentality
Ferguson was fuming at finishing 2nd on goal difference last season so went out and signed one of the top strikers in Europe. We were delighted at qualifying for the CL on the final day of the season then sold our best striker and signed a pile of shite
To think that Wenger once went toe-to-toe with Ferguson. Its almost as if he's had a personality and brain transplant since those days
I know it's been done to death, but we should never under estimate how big a part the players Wenker inherited played in the success he had. We had the famous back four and Seaman. The backbone of the team which allowed Wenker to play the style of attacking football he wanted, because we could always rely on them at the back. Wenker has never managed to bring in anyone of their quality in his years at Arsenal (and I include Sol in that estimation)
We had Bergkamp and Wright who had already formed a great understanding on the field.
And even in midfield we had battlers and experience in Parlour and Platt.
Wenker inherited a very good squad, a squad which also had fighters and leaders all over the pitch.
One thing seems now almost certain and that is, he will eventually leave us, a much weaker team than the one he inherited.
Jesus Sid you have to go some way to compel me to offer some defence for the man.
Agree totally about inheriting the back four and the early success being facilitated by this, but in 97-98 we conceded 7 more goals than the Invincibles. People always say that future defences were only successful because these players trained with Graham's lot but Campbell signed in 2001, Lauren in 2000, Lehmann in 2003 and Toure in 2002: hardly brought in looking up to Adams and co in their prime.
1997-98 saw Wright score far fewer goals that year than any other season at us. He was injured in the second half of the season but we won the double with Wright scoring his last goal at the start of January, which was unthinkable bearing in mind how reliant we were on him throughout the mid-90s. And Parlour is pretty much universally held to have matured into a far greater player under Wenger than was ever expected of him.
Watched Southampton V Everton last night. Expected an easy Everton win against a dispirited Southampton. What I saw instead was a Southampton team willing to put off field matters behind them and break their collective bollix for 90 minutes. No one can tell me that they are better players than Arsenal. But our pathetic showing in the first half at Chelsea begs the question Why oh why have we seen so many pathetic performances this season. Chelsea were there to be beaten on Sunday but Arsenal have no bollix collective or otherwise. That is down to mismanagement.
Everton are waning , Fellani was poor Pieenar was poor , Jelavic was a poor Giroud impression and never saw Baines so inaccurate with his crossing. Easy 4th spot for Spuds unless they fuck it up again.
Only looks like one or two defending him on there to be honest - mostly similar comments to the ones on here
thats what i thought too,i was expecting Wenkers brain washed disciples but thank fuck it wasnt,i dont think i could take anybody defending him,it would make me physically sick,i would probably need restriaining too
I think that should read 'Arsene squandered title shot'.
Sam Allardyce - "It's not surprising because I don't know where you go and buy a player of Van Persie's quality unless you're going to pay more than £24 million," Allardyce said in The Sun. "Everybody says it's great business in terms of his age but it's not really great business for Arsene Wenger when he can't replace the goals that he's lost.
"When you sell your best players, which is not normally expected of Arsenal,(???!!! Yes it is) then it is difficult to replace them. There is no doubt the players who have come in are very good but are they better than the ones they have sold?
"It's a big ask, even for Arsene with his huge recruitment policy, to replace those players immediately. They have suffered with their level of results. The football is still very good but when you lose that many goals - particularly from Van Persie - and miss more chances than they did before, they won't get as good results."
Just a thought Swansea v Bradford in the league cup final means that yet another team will have won a major trophy since we last did Arsole knows though
“I always like the goals where the maximum [number of] players are involved, so I would say the Cazorla goal, because it was a fantastic collective display,” the manager told Arsenal Player.
So basically a slong as a goal involves lot's of Tippy Tappy - He's delighted!
begeegs wrote:I think that should read 'Arsene squandered title shot'.
Sam Allardyce - "It's not surprising because I don't know where you go and buy a player of Van Persie's quality unless you're going to pay more than £24 million," Allardyce said in The Sun. "Everybody says it's great business in terms of his age but it's not really great business for Arsene Wenger when he can't replace the goals that he's lost.
"When you sell your best players, which is not normally expected of Arsenal,(???!!! Yes it is) then it is difficult to replace them. There is no doubt the players who have come in are very good but are they better than the ones they have sold?
"It's a big ask, even for Arsene with his huge recruitment policy, to replace those players immediately. They have suffered with their level of results. The football is still very good but when you lose that many goals - particularly from Van Persie - and miss more chances than they did before, they won't get as good results."
Yeah! a 5 - 1 win is pretty awful - Ya! Fat walrus ugly *word censored* of a slug!
OneBardGooner wrote:"Wenger - Why Cazorla goal was my favourite"
“I always like the goals where the maximum [number of] players are involved, so I would say the Cazorla goal, because it was a fantastic collective display,” the manager told Arsenal Player.
So basically a slong as a goal involves lot's of Tippy Tappy - He's delighted!
Yeah, this quote pissed me off as well. What's wrong with a good old-fashioned striker who's good enough to just bang 'em in the net? What difference does it make if loads of players touch it? Does that mean Cazorla's goal was better than TH14's against Spuds at Highbury?
Another quote that pissed me off was from the commentator on Sky Sports (for the highlights), who said something like, "Ah, this is the REAL Arsenal" once the fifth went it. WTF? We play like that two or three times a season now, how is that the REAL Arsenal? The media still haven't woken up to the fact that we play like total shit 95% of the time. We're used to it, but everytime a different pundit is watching our games, it's always, "I can't remember seeing Arsenal playing this badly". Well here's an idea, why don't you start watching our fucking games on a weekly basis and stop relying on outdated media stereotypes that haven't been true since 2005?
Got into a big argument with a member of the AKBs. I don't normally do it, but have a read in the comments and see his defense. It gives you an idea of the planks that we have to deal with and win over. With this one, I don't think that there is any winning over....
How about not worrying about things you can't control and getting on with things that you can? I don't have a problem with him having an opinion about these things but the rules are what they are so get on with it and sign the players we need. He seems to do (or in this case not do) things based on his princples whereas everone else just does the maximum that they are allowed within the rules.
I'll be glad if we don't sign anyone in this window as you'll struggle to find a single person that thinks we shouldn't so it will show his negligence up.
Swansea v Bradford in the league cup final means that yet another team will have won a major trophy since we last did 
Arsole knows though 
!