Arsene Wenger’s attitude problem
OK, let’s get the Wenger stuff out the way first.
There was no excuse for him not to shake hands with Mark Hughes after last night’s 3-0 loss. Just as there was no excuse for his ridiculous comments about Didier Drogba after the Chelsea game.
It’s smacks of being a sore loser, something we’ve known Wenger to be for a long time, but worse than that it rubs off badly on Arsenal as a club. It is unfair on the players who were more than happy to shake hands with their opponents after this one and are usually more than happy to admit when they’ve been beaten by a better side.
It frustrates me to see Wenger acting in this way because the reason for our recent downturn in form has been nobody else’s fault than our own. Sure Robin van Persie and a whole host of others are injured but it’s up to Wenger and the players that are available to step up and make that happen.
Against Sunderland a number of players inexplicably underperformed. Against Chelsea we were simply not good enough to beat them. And against Manchester City, we lost again because they took their chances in the final third and we missed a player capable of doing the same.
It’s nobody’s problem but our own and it would be nice to see the manager approach that problem with some dignity rather than blaming all and sundry for our issues and refusing to shake hands with opposing managers.
Get your act together, Arsene.
Match Review
The scoreline once again read 3-0 yet just like against Chelsea, this was hardly a disgraceful performance by the players on display.
The manager chose to go with a typical Carling Cup team, mixing first-teamers Tomas Rosicky, Alex Song, Emmanuel Eboue and Aaron Ramsey with the likes of Jack Wilshere, Craig Eastmond and Fran Merida. Mikael Silvestre was surprisingly partnered by Song at the back (where was Philippe Senderos?) while Armand Traore and Carlos Vela also got starts as left-back and up front respectively. Fran Merida and Lukasz Fabianski completed a line-up that I felt would give a full strength Manchester City their fair share of troubles.
It turned out to be true.
In the first half City had a lot of the ball as Wenger attempted to utilise Vela’s pace up front by instructing the midfielders and defenders to play through passes as often as possible. The more City pressed the more our nippy Mexican was given opportunities, the best coming when he just flicked over with the outside of his boot from a beautiful Wilshere pass.
We lost possession a little too often in the first half but a lot of that was down to City’s pressure. The home side fashioned the best chance of the half when Craig Bellamy fired wide as Shaun Wright-Phillips posed a consistent threat to Traore down their right flank. 0-0 it ended at the break, City shading it but Arsenal looking very decent on the break.
Interest in the World Cup draw? Join me on Football Nomad at 3.30AM Saturday (Australian Time) for a liveblog of the 2010 World Cup draw.
The game’s pivotal moment came five minutes after the break when Carlos Tevez whacked home the opener. Rosicky was at fault as he gave away possession cheaply and no Arsenal defenders got neither the Argentine as he dribbled into the area and fired home of the woodwork.
From that point on City decided to employ a “defense first” strategy meaning our gameplan of looking for Vela on the break became impossible. We had some good moments and enjoyed a lot of the ball but just like at Chelsea on Sunday and Sunderland the week before we desperately missed some physical presence up front.
The game was put beyond doubt when Wright-Phillips took advantage of Silvestre’s lack of pressure to score another belter before City substitute Vladimir Weiss scored a third with a minute to go. Merida hit the crossbar in time added on but City ran out deserved winners and progressed to the semi-finals.
Talking Points
Arsenal fans will forever be split on Wenger’s decision to stick with the younger players in the Carling Cup at the expense of going all out for a trophy. While his explanation at the end of the match about developing young players is hard to fault, I think he got it wrong today: not because I desperately wanted to win the game or win the Carling Cup, but because I think it is desperately important that a couple of our senior players find some form.
Players like Theo Walcott, Samir Nasri and Eduardo need to find form as quickly as possible to help our league ambitions and this was another opportunity to get some football under their belts. Alas, it was not to be as Wenger went with the kids.
Stoke will be an interesting contest and one we must win. We’ll be without Alex Song who received his fifth yellow card of the season for a non-existant foul on Wright-Phillips though, so it will be interesting to see how the rest of the team react. I remain nervous.
Have your say on Arsenal’s 3-0 loss to Man City by leaving a comment.
looks like Wenger is creating ‘story’ around himself to deflect from the kids been beaten – he has done this many times in the past – hel create something to take focus away from the team
Leave Wenger alone.
Mark Hughes spent the whole match complaining and agitating for Arsenal players to be disciplined. After the game was over and and his team had won, Hughes wanted to be gracious. Arsenal lost because of two wonder goals and I, as a proper supporter, was as pissed off as the manager.
It demonstrates what poor level reporting exists in this country that all the headlines are about Wenger not shaking Hughes’ hand rather than referring to the football that preceded the non incident.
Great article and very unbiased, its true that the Chelsea scoreline flattered to deceive but to be honest that was the best City team I have seen play this season and on home turf you provided stern opponents and we needed to be at our best. with youngsters like yours your in safe hands for years to com… good luck Gooners
You cant play Walcott/ Nasro/ Eduardo when we are so thin. If they get hurt then everyone is saying Wenger is dumb for playing them in the Carling Cup…
And I tend to agree with Bernard above. Hughes deserved it I am sure sure but now Wenger has been antagonized yet again. How in the world we had 6 yellow cards is beyond me. We couldnt get a foul call for some of the most blatant hack downs. Something smells fishy because this continuously happens to us- the team who consistently tries to play football. You can say Wenegr cries but I think he is right
Ja I must admit that I am also disappointed in Wenger’s behavior. I think it shows how under pressure he is and that he is seeing the arsenal legacy being trampled. But I also agree with Andy that he has to look to himself. While a policy of playing pure football and managing finances with only club income is commendable and something I agree with, it is unacceptable that when key players get injured that only 18 year olds or by-gone heroes have to step up. If he believes in his youth then he should have given them more chances.
Very fair and balanced article. As for the Whinger apologists this man has as much grace as that other deluded moron – bacon face.
Wingers excuses were laughable. Here they are in full:
City fielded a full strength side. (So whose fault is it that Arsenal didn’t?)
Arsenal would have won had it been played at the Emirates (Didn’t you realise where you were headed when you got on the coach Whinger?)
Arsenal would not parade the trophy had they won it (Litte hope of that happening is there?)
So what will Arsenal be parading this year?
Many years ago there was a Variety act on tv in the UK…..i see it has made a comeback with a slightly changed format…..ARSENE DODD % THE DIDDY MEN !!!
Wenger is a hard headed jerk that needs to be removed as he is turning senile in his old age. He must go and coach juniors as this is his passion in life. Leave the men that need coaching to a man. If he has grand children let him go and play with those.
Well said Andy. Wenger hates losing, but this all his fault. If he strengthened the squad in the transfer window like we asked him to, we wouldnt be in this mess. He needs to man up and stop acting like a little girl. What he did to hughes and drogba was childish and embarassing.
hughes stood on the edge of his technical area shouting at wenger and shouting to the officials to book our players.
the man is a monumental fucking prick, and wenger was right not to shake his hand.
and as for you ‘cityslicker’ – city wont be winning anything this year either – so keep a lid on it.
I have never in my life ( over 10 years now that I have been supporting Arsenal started when we played Gala in a cup winners cup final ) supported any other team but I support City yesterday and reason is Wenger.
I for once want this man out. The idiot thinks the club will move forward by joking with the fans’ emotions.
Yes, it is true that we should spend only what we have but it is true that we should use the materials we have to get what we need.
It is true that we should not pay players to sit on the bench.
Walcot, Eduardo, Nasri, Denilson are players who need game time but the idiot decided to keep them on the bench.
Sincerely I was mad and was hoping I will get on the official site to read apologies from wenger but the Idiot is giving us excuses.
We could have won at home my ass. May be should propose to the FA that they should allow us to play all matches at home and not away.
Sincerely, it is high time the board tells this man he must win something or fuck out.
I was thinking of who could replace him if he is sacked and can seem to find any one but sincerely this man is becoming annoying.
Though, I don’t think I really want him to go but if he should go if he can do the right thing.
fuck Wenger, he acted like an idiot and a professional bastard.
Sorry to everyone reading my comment and the blog owner but sincerely Wenger would have been killed by me if he was anywhere near yesterday.
MoMoney – That is consistently happening in big games (Us getting cheap yellows, opposition avoiding them). I wish arsenal fans would at least acknowledge it more. Otherwise there is no pressure for the refs to change. We’re going to keep on getting a raw deal from the officials.
The ref had no bearing on the outcome last night or against chelsea – but it cost us against Utd (and west ham actually) already this season. It’s just an extra difficulty for our players to deal with other teams dont have to worry about.
soccerfanbase.com – it’s the carling cup, we havent treated it as a priority for years now. why are you surprised?
asking for wenger to be removed, when we sit 3rd in the PL table, – and have just lost a CC tie against a team of mercenarys is ridiculous. get a fucking grip.
i bet you were singing his praises when we were stuffing 6 past everton.
have a cry somewhere else.
Top class Andy . Couldn’t agree more. Particularly about Arsene . He’s becoming a concern .
Thought the kids played well but they were always going to be up against it as City were full strength . Thought Rosicky poor – hardly saw him until he gave the ball to Tevez for the first goal – and was surprised he wasn’t the one to go at the first substitution .Anyway , time now to move on and away from Carling Cup.Stoke next , so let’s hope for a really good result and a much needed boost to everybodys confidence .
The aftermath of the chelsea game was justifiable. Fair enough, chelsea exposed weaknesses in our side and squad, ans showed why we will struggle to even challenge for the title let alone win it. I can understand people’s frustration there.
But last night was ALWAYS going to be about getting experience for the youth team. Why should wenger take any stick for that? He never hid his intentions. So he was incapable of beating one of the strongest sides in the league with his youth team… Is it really that surprising?
Fair enough, it’s up to you to judge how you saw the shaking-hands issue, but wenger deserves no criticism over the team he picked really.
We all wish to know whats going on in Wenger’s head when he made the comments, a million guess and we would still be wrong. But one thing we now know, Mr Wenger now knows the team is lacking in depth, a physical presence of sorts.
I expected a Carling Cup team as it has always been but what i did not expect was to see the team being outperformed, out-muscled and their inexperience bared open. Man City played patiently and struck when we lost concentration.
Suddenly this young team looks a lot like what they really are, 1-2 years away from their finished product.
Man City played a tight game, they played and defended like a team. The best team won and sadly today it isnt Arsenal.
Mark Huges behaves like an idiot for 90+ minutes,
then why shd wenger shake hands wth an absolute idiot, football tradition can go to hell.
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion/blogs/mirror-football-blog/Why-Arsene-Wenger-was-wrong-to-play-such-a-weakened-team-against-Manchester-City-in-the-Carling-Cup-article242277.html
EVEN THOUGH WE LOST WE SHOULD STICK AND SUPPORT ARSENAL. ALL THOSE PLASTIC FANS WHO ONLY SUPPORT ARSENAL WHEN WE WIN GAMES SHOULD RE-EVALUATE THEIR SUPPORT.
seriously Wenger must buy big in January 2010. It’s not a laughing matter but we don’t have a clinical finisher at the moment .
Should we buy Oscar Cardozo from Benfica!!!!
Yes, Mark Hughes is a prick and everyone knows he’ll be out on his arse soon enough after Man Shitty fail and the men who now OWN man shitty as their play- thing decide to get some big name in – BUT, as Andrew says, Arsene should have shook the man’s hand anyway because it would show he’s the bigger man. It’s a sport. All sports persons suffer defeats as well as victories and it IS important to show good grace in defeat no matter how it hurts. Mark Hughes can’t help being a prick, Arsene. He learnt to be that way while at manure. Shake the man’s hand then call him a c*nt behind closed doors while you’re kicking the furniture around.
My take on the handshake would be that its actually a principled action to not shake the hand of someone who’s an annoying and abusive prick, even though you know your going to face flak for it with people who get on their high horses.(dont mean you Andy, though I am suprised by your take on it)
Wenger may well be a sore loser but he is the most classy and principled football manager I can think of. For him to not shake Hughes’ hand just suggests to me that something we do not know about took place. In any case I don’t think it had anything to do with defeat.
As for the game itself..ya we lost but we weren’t embarrased.In any case it’s the carling cup..Was always gonna be a young side.Get a grip…
Is there some kind of madness affecting our ‘fans’ or do fans of other teams infiltrate our ranks and pretend to be one of us?
Many comments seem to be smug and happy if arsenal do badly just so they can say ‘I told you so’. N though i usually ignore it I’m getting really tired of it.
Agree with you on the handshake to an extent, it must be galling when Hughes has spent the entire match winding you up, but it does give you the high ground.
But on the Drogba comments, Wenger’s comments were taken completely out of context – he was actually praising Drogba for being efficient. Check out this article for the full paragraph, and an example of how much the media twist what he said:
http://arsenal.theoffside.com/team-news/thoughts-on-the-influence-of-the-english-football-media.html
come on everybody!!
we still try to find a reason not to face the facts. its all one man’s view and one man’s policy leading us to fall down. i think wenger knows that well and that’s why he acts like that when he loses because he took a risk that is not logical and he failed to deliver his promise. so unless he stops gambling and “building a winning youngster under a losing team” then we will keep watching this over and over again.
tnx again mr. arsene’s PR
the result against man city was clear that boys cant win against men. It is all well to claim that carling cup is used to give chance to youngsters. But in the end it is the result that counts and 3-0 speaks for itself that gunners are going down the hill due to wenger’s wrong tactics. It was no surprise to see that city men won every 50-50 tackle against our midgets and that is going to continue even in pl, fa cup and champions league.
I just think if we say the youngsters are brilliant then we should play them more so that they can get experience. It alway feels to me like Wenger has 11 insane players with 5 promising players on the bench and then when more than 1 gets injured the whole house of cards comes tumbling down. You cant win the league like that.
wandarah, u say its just a fucking carling cup, we have never given it a thought. so what do you intend to give a motherfucking thought and seriousness. thwe last time i checked it was the same scoreline with chelski. did it cross your mind that probably that was not serious too.
its the likes of you who should be fucking serious and stop giving crerit where it does not deserve. bulshit, wenger is just fucking not thinking.
winning the PL is just not a priority to him, he is just doing experiment after experiment, yeah with little kids. stupid.
mr wenger pls buy some move new player this year not comform can get cup fa,epl,euro.if we lost game,what happen
One thing is for certain, and in spite of this defeat being in the Carling Cup, we need to stop this rot quickly. The faster the better and in my eyes, this game against Stoke City at the weekend could be the biggest game in our season. This early!
We need to win, and need to win badly. A much needed win is vital because we have some difficult matches coming up. At the moment, hand on heart, do you fancy these boys going to tough away games at Liverpool and then a freezing Burnley on a Wednesday night and getting wins?
I’m not reading too much into this game tonight but I reckon that the manner of the defeat could be another blow to our confidence. As against Chelsea we rarely threatened to score, again, and I have to say that we are looking short of ideas in attack at the moment.
That’s fair enough, you have times when you struggle in front of goal, but our problem is that at the other end we always look like conceding. We are like someone puking and shitting at the same time, suffering at both ends!
Maybe this the reason for Wenger’s petulance at the end of the game. I understand that Wenger takes losing about as good as John Terry’s mother takes things from M&S but at times he needs to take it on the chin.
Of course he had a barney with Mark Hughes during the game but to walk down the tunnel at the end without shaking hands is a little bit silly. It’s silly because it gives twats like Phil Brown and Mark Hughes ammo in the future. Not forgetting the media who will probably have a field day.
Maybe its clever play from Le Boss? Maybe he did this to take the probable media onslaught away from the fact we have lost three in a row and deflect the attention on to him? Could be a smart move.
wow….D you said well…to see how the 50-50 tackle works then,,,,just replay the chelski game one watch the 72 minute incident between didier and traore….u will realize that they are not ok. rather than this…look at what’s happenin g to the team, how could some one raise a youngster with a winning mentality with in a losing team? tell me…if any one can drow a growth chart with the players, it is clearly seen that almost every one will have a negative change in confidence…look at vermalen and arshavin..can any one tell me that their confidence and game impact ghas been increasing “rather than the manager’s staff”?
My biggest problem with the loss is that we, as supporters, needed a positive….We lost to Chelsea, we have many injured players and we lost to Man City previously with Adebayors ridiclous celebrations…This would have been a perfect opportunity to carve out a cracking result to boost our, supporters and teams, morale…And despite being the Carling Cup it was still a Quarter Final…I understand the use of the youngsters but after so long without a trophy and again getting that feeling of not being quite good enough to win the league I just want to to have something to smile, cheer, gloat about…..
With regards to Wengers behaviour it once again is a case of sour grapes….regardless of Hughes’ behaviour there still needs t be some sort of maturity from these idolised football managers.
one more thing. i wanna talk to the person who threw his cellphone on lampard last time…..if you reading, u wasted a resource…if you really love the team then buy another one and throw it on one of the greedy owners…..that may help them to wake up and look around.
TOURE played superb yerterday.
HE GOT ALL the blame last-season but knw the truth is out. ‘WEAK MIDFIELD’ who NEVER hepl out defence.
WOW…WAMBAM!!
IT’S CLEAR THAT DEFENDER WILL BE VULNERABLE IF THEY ARE EXPOSED TO REPETITIVE ATTACK.
is it hughes fault that AW sent kids out there last night,or that hes asembled a squad of clone lightweights,or that he refused to sign quality in recent years,or that he regularly gets outwitted tactically by inferior opposition,or that his sentimentality clouds his judgement when he selects almunia,diaby and nasri consistently when their form is anything but?
hughes is entitled to moon AW for 95mins if he wishes,thats his perogative,this is a sport and merits a code of conduct that applies to all.today our team,fans and club come under the microscope again because of the managers ego,the ego that has so many times obstructed progress for the club.the post match interviews are gettin worse,hav some respect for the 5,000 fans who travelled aswel as the rest of us and just come out and be honest for once,i for one dont believe the excuses anymore,how come moyes and bruce can be so honest?their are credit to their fans as they dont try to pull the wool over
i feel the problem with our manager at the moment is that he answers to no1 at our club,some1 shud take him aside today and ask him bout recent team selections,tactics and why he cannot be gracious in defeat..but i doubt that wil happen
fabianski was good last nite and unlucky to be beat by 3 screamers but once again ros and merida displayed a lack of strength in possesion and no desire to sprint back and fight to regain the ball,ros in particular was embarrasing just trotting back,hes actually not far from where he was robbed when the balls in the net.NOT GOOD ENOUGH
we will see AWs famous ego go into overdrive now in january when he will not pay the goin rate for the necessary quality we need,he calls it ‘being held to ransom’,i bet he wuda sneered at the price liverpool paid for torres and all.
get real arsene the club is not your play thing and the fans deserve more
WOW…SHAMBOGUNNER,,,,
Just a few points:
1) Fabianski sucked, his technique and intelligence is very bad, he marks the near post and leaves the rest of the goal open, no wonder Tevez and SWP had clear shots to aim at.
2) Silvestre will be released in July.
3) 3 in midfield was a disaster, couldn’t hold the ball, couldn’t get it back, what is the point?
4) Mentally, the team sucks, 2-0 down and not even a shot taken, how else will we get back in the game?
5) Wenger is arrogant, he says if we develop we must play the guys, but if you buy, you don’t need to develop. We need a trophy asap, and the Carling Cup is a trophy, better than having nothing.
also wotever about not shakin hughes hand he cud hav waited and respected the young players whod tried their best out there and walked off the pitch with them instead of leaving them behind as he runs away down the tunnel…how does he expect these guys to go out and give everything for him when he cant even show them the respect they deserve,wot does he deserve unconditional respect?oh yeah i forgot bout LE’EGO
newgooner,
given or reina wouldnt hav saved those shots,and i recall fabianski making an excellent save from bellamy at 2-0 aswel as racing out quickly and diving bravely at adebaywhores feet 1v1,very good anticipation and he wasnt glued to his line like fawlty towers manuel
id save your critisms of young,learning players for when they are actually warranted and relevant mate
Our manager has been consistent for his views on this competition AND consistent for his behavior when the team loses.
With so much inexperience in mid-field and attack, and City at full strength, for me, it was a match with no expectation, BUT to observe which players could handle the pressure of the match.
I can’t place blame on Rosicky, he is struggling to regain his fitness and most of the evening his midfield partners Eastmond and Ramsey should have stayed on the bench.
Arsene needs to follow his own mantra: “If you have no expectation, then you won’t be disappointed.”
Time for Stoke and a new battle for Arsenal.
Aggre with andy on the article, Wenger’s attitude was a bit embarrassing. No wonder the media are having a pop at us calling Arsenal a boy’s team, especially when the manager’s attitude borders on chidishness.
Is Wenger suffuring from low morale too? We can’t have our manager throwing tantarums, its enough that the players are underperforming, hope not the manager too.
Shambogunner, look at these two pictures, you will see Fabianski had awful positioning, maybe on tv it never looked bad, but looking at it from behind,you see how bad his positing was.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4OwTKVSkkNw/SxeW3oXo8PI/AAAAAAAAAIE/yMDbsbSiDLM/s1600-h/IMGP0587.JPG
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4OwTKVSkkNw/SxeXeNWuiyI/AAAAAAAAAIU/_k9P3splkCc/s1600-h/IMGP0588.JPG
Tell me you can defend him when you see it from that view?
@Shard = People love to moan for some psychological reason that I’ve never understood. It’s like they only write their diaries when they’re depressed or phone into talk shows to complain. You never see 90% of these names in here when Arsenal are winning.
Is the Carling Cup important? Well, honestly, no. Not if you’re a big club like Arsenal. Really, everyone who follows football knows that. It’s taken on a new significance for us lately because we haven’t won ANYTHING so it’s like, well at least let’s win the Carling Cup. But, really, who cares? Does anybody ever remember who wins the bloody thing each year – apart from the supporters of that team? I had no idea manure were the holders til I read it in the review of their game. If our kids had won it we could have been proud but to field your first team in the Carling Cup is almost an embarrassment these days for a ‘top’ club. It shows that you’re desperate – like Mark Hughes!
Believe me I hate losing. I felt sick and thoroughly F*cked off all day after that result on top of Sunderland and then Chelsea. But let’s not overreact to our reserve team getting beaten by multi-million pound man shitty’s first team – playing at home. Nor perhaps should we go bonkers because we got beat by Chelski who are currently on some kind of a massive roll and have the best defensive record in the league – They’ve only conceded 8 league goals all season! Especially as our main striker and back-up are both crocked.
Yeah – we need a new striker but we can’t get one til January. Til then hope to do the business against Stoke and start to rebuild.
WHERE’S SPANISHFREY??
@newgooner,
the first i will say most keepers wil take that position as not to concede criminally at your near post,but i must admit you raise a very good point on the second which i cud not see on tv replays,but i felt he also made saves and i really wud rather see him or mannone ahead of almunia who i feel is the worst keeper in the league
Almost went mad after lose to the CHELSKUM, the pattern SHETTY played was just as the CHELSKUM. WENGER doesnt change patterns, he makes the players look bad. Can we now really hold FABS back, when he wants to leave. We look so bad now, not much opportuntes…crazy.
Werent we supposed to score about 124 goals….guess we need better luck for STOKE
Cant really say all wanted, ths termnal s really crazy. Just had to say somethng
@Shambogunner. Goalkeepers are paid to make saves, he was expected to make that Bellamy save, why praise him for making a routine save? Don’t forget that 68 seconds later, Man City scored a third where he was very slow off his line to meet Weiss.
Very critical? Yes, because with bad defenders, we need our defenders to be able to save our asses and to make the difference.
nonny,
i enjoy ur posts but being a fan isnt just about blind faith and hope.when you love something you want to feel that you are getting some small return on all that you give,we are all passionate and i feel theres nothing wrong with having issues with things that are not healthy in our great club,there are so many talkin points right now and problems not being addressed from lack of signings to possible takeovers and the managers stubborness and rigidness in the market,id much rather come in here and be real than stick my head in the sand until our next win and come in and say i told you so,when we are winning there are still a large number who come on a question certain events,in my opinion we dont hav enough outspoken people in the club as AW is judge,jury and executioner.he has made promises of improvement for years now.do you know we are in the very same state as this time last season….the fans hav believed and trusted him and i just feel we are being led up the garden path by one mans opinion and obsession with winning with this group,he wil never admit that they may not be up to it
do you really believe he will go whole heartedly into the transfer market and sign quality,who would you like to see at the club that wud really make a difference
@SHAMBO – Well said
@ANDY – I actually like that BALOTELLI guy. Well written.
For WENGER…its play to the strength of the 4-3-3 formation rather than setting a pattern that would either neutralize the threat of the enemy or show their weaknesses or atleast utilize the strength of his team or key players…its terrible.
This is just my problem
@newgooner
if you are that critical of young keepers still learning their trade than wots ur opinion on the dreadfully inept ‘experienced’ almunia
Sorry, but I disagree with your comments re. Wengers refusal to shake hands.
The whole game Hughes had acted like a complete knob. Encroaching on the Arsenal technical area; giving it the big “I am” because his team of overpaid mercenaries were over powering a mostly Arsenal youth team.
Why should Wenger be disingenous and shake hands with someone for whom he correctly has no respect.
I would rather he was honest (as he was) than be two faced.
I thought Wenger did well not to react to Hughes’ provacation and the blatant bias of the ref. Who booked six Arsenal players for innocous challenges but wouldn’t book Bellamy for clear dissent throughout the game or any Man City challenges even though they were no diffent to ours.
I am proud of am Arsenal team that tried their best but was let done by their inexperience and most importantly a lack of playing time together.
Our defence was really bad on all three of man shitty’s goals tho’. Where were the tackles? No tackles. Tevez running with the ball on the edge of the area – nobody tackled. Wright-Phillips running with the ball, Slyvestre ran alongside him the whole way – no tackle. What’s the point? What are you doing there Sylvestre if you’re not going to tackle him?
We do need some new defenders. Vicious bastards preferably.
GUNNERBOSS…DO U BLAME FAB IF HE IS GOING TO LEAVE??? ME “NO”
Shambogunner, Fabianski is the Poland Reserve keeper, there is not much scope for improvement in the short-medium term, and you can’t be making such technical errors like this when you have played over 100 career games.
We don’t need a keeper who is still learning, we need one who is ready to do the business today, Fabianski is 3 years away from what we need.
Arsenal are dropping in form. Its the November curse. Isnt it a coincidence that after RVP gets injured, our “freescoring” team dips in form. Well, Arsenal havent scored in 3 consecutive matches, now thats what i call a drop in form ( calls for state of emergency).
Solution: Buy a fucking striker next month asap. Would love to see the France 1st choice striker playing upfront for us. Lovely stuff. ( 12 mill pounds only!)
Everyone so happy and sayin how gud AW is when we winning and scoring goals and how gud is the wenger on gettin Vermaelen, Now we out of this shit cup everyones says the coach is too blame, out with him. GET OVER YOURSELF PPL we will be fine RELAX. Its lookin dark but OUR team and COACH will come through.
P.S when we beat pool in this cup a few weeks back with all the younger players everyone was all praise for the team and look at u all now DISGRACEFUL!!!!
Everyone so happy and sayin how gud AW is when we winning and scoring goals and how gud is the wenger on gettin Vermaelen, Now we out of this shit cup everyones says the coach is too blame, out with him. GET OVER YOURSELF PPL we will be fine RELAX. Its lookin dark but OUR team and COACH will come through.
P.S when we beat pool in this cup a few weeks back with all the younger players everyone was all praise for the team and look at u all now DISGRACEFUL!!!!
CENSORED….ITS LIKE “THE DOMINO EFFECT”…
I should add to this article that I’m not slamming Wenger at all for this season’s squad, just that he needs to accept that it’s not everybody else’s fault that we have injuries. It happens and that’s life, stop making excuses.
At the start of the season we looked short in central defence and midfield and so far this season the only spot that’s been a huge concern is attack. It’s bizarre. But it’s also shown that we do need to have a taller striker to make the 4-3-3 work.
Regular readers know I love Wenger and nothing will change. This is not some reactionary response where I’m screaming “Wenger out!” it’s just a comment on the fact that I think even if Hughes is being a bit of a knob our manager can look the part if he just shakes his hand. We know he hates losing but people would love him and the team even more if he kept his cool at those sort of moments.
newgooner,
i agree with you but i wud rather see vito or fab in goal learning from mistakes than almunia who i feel makes the same mistakes all the time and if you wanna talk about poor positioning or technique look no further than almunia in champs league final.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtZbLWCyI6E&feature=PlayList&p=2A37381D68BA44B6&index=27
when did fallin on ur ass constitute good goal keeping?he never even motions toward the ball,any other manager wud hav cut their losses after this sort of shambolic display of goalkeeping
@ shambo – Dude seriously, that clip is 3 and a half years old. Almunia’s come a long way since then and bringing that up as evidence of his ability is way off the mark. I know you don’t like him, but come on, at least use recent examples.
Nobody is slamming Thierry Henry for missing the two one-on-ones at 1-0 that effectively cost us that game…
Another example of Wenger and bad tactics, we go down to 10 men and we begin sitting deep to hold on for 70 mins, did he expect Barca to not score? Wenger needs better tactics.
That said, I love Wenger and his work up to 2005, we have only challenged for the league once since then, at any other big club, he’d be on a warning by now because he chooses the players and the players aren’t winners. For all the cash spent on Nasri-Walcott, we could have got Ribery, for the cash spent on Rosicky-Hleb we could have got Yaya Toure and Toulalan, so when we factor this in, we have wasting cash and not identifying real winners.
Another thing, how the fcuk did we miss out on Ivanovic? He’s a real defender, who has bulked up and become a beast, he was cheaper than Vermaelen who has failed the ‘Drogba Test’, and he does his job of just defending.
We need to ask these questions so Wenger improves his job, he can only improve if we ask and not keep singing ‘There is only 1 Arsene Wenger’, because he won’t change his style and we will keep losing and not winning things. There is nothing to be proud of making semi-finals or finishing second/third, this sport is all about winning.
andy i would argue mate that he hasnt improved since than and any1 capable of makin two such howlers in the first place should never be considered a shot stopper…
there are plenty of recent examples mate;
man city away they had 6 attempts on goal and scored how many?4
man utd away,senseless pen concession and no shout or presence for diaby og
chelsea 2nd goal,no shout not brave enough,3rd goal sets up a wall and then doesnt trust it and wrong foots himself as shot goes in on side he vacates
sunderland rooted to the line and afraid of his shite when bent struck the shot,turned his head away
portsmouth once again rooted and not brave enough
we put 6 past everton at walkin pace and they score from their first shot
thats just this season theres the bentley goal last yr…etc etc etc
quiet simply not good enough for a team with title aspirations,its only when hes gone and we get a quality keeper that i think you will appreciate how average he is andy….i mean cud you really compare him to cech,VdS,given,reina,freidel,jaskeilinen,james,green or robinson…id even go as far as to say utds 2 sub keepers are better
again guys. how long does it take us to see the inevitable. we need a new guy here. we cannot suffer anymore from an experiment
@nonny mouse
Its pleasing to hear a voice of sanity..on both counts. We really need defenders.(vicious bastards as you put it)It’s unbelievable that Silvestre is 3rd choice.Of course djorou’s injured. N people love to criticise him but it’s a shame the way senderos’ situation turned out.He was once known as swiss tony after all.. sigh. Still..Must buy.
For all the doom sayers, criticise by all means cos supporting this team can be nerve wracking at the best of times, and very very disheartening. Losing against chelsea hurt so much cos we just had to accept we weren’t good enough.
But at the start of the season we were supposed to be finishing outside the top 4, now the criticism is that we wont win the title. (though some might say top 4 will be out of our reach too).
Anyway, the point is hard as it may be to support a team that is struggling, we need to recognise the good along with the failings in the team. N not give in to the hyperbole that the media like to propagate.
@ shambogunner
I agree. we need a new keeper. At the end of last season i thought almunia could step up. He hasn’t. N fabiansky isnt ready yet.
People keep saying we need this new players in this position and that position. It’s not going to happen though is it?
What a great learning experience the last few gaems have been for the likes of Vela, Traore and Ramsey. They’re used to easy games, lots of credit and lots of goals. Now they are experiencing what it’s like to lose three on the trot. It can only add to their character and make them stronger.
We will beat Stoke. Then things will get better. Just wait and see.
you so called arsenal fan make me sick getting on arsene back would you all and get a life leave him alone
The last two Arsenal games have left me very angry, frustrated and uncomfortable,we can not continue to lose these big games.We can not perform against teams with larger more physical players.Yes we pass the ball intricately and quickly,it is at times mesmerising to watch, when it works, but being good to watch is beginning to be of little consolation.I am very concerned with AW’s policy to field small agile skilful players, too often we have lost the ball during another promising pretty move, only to concede goals on what is basically a hit and run counter attack. Our own swift counter attack is being used against us. Where as we are floundering as soon as we get to the opponents penalty area and seem to lack penetration, often being out tackled very easily. AW preaches that we are trying to play football and that other teams are being overly physical and intimidating,the point is that the other big teams are beating us. The invincibles were both skilful, fast, and physically powerful, no manner of bullying made any difference as we could dish it out as well.Time for a re think?
Brenda and all you Wenger-worshippers who can’t accept anyone saying anything harsher than the sun shines out of AWs rectum are the ones who need to get a life. Your blind faith verges on cultish idolatry. AW’s one of twenty or so top European managers who could all do a good job at any big EPL/ SPL/ ISA club and he’s been running on empty for a while now. Give him till the end of this season and the only trophy he can win, the FA cup, plus renewed CL qualification. If they both don’t happen, time for the old man to step upstairs and give someone younger and hungrier a chance.
its about time we stop worry about the team and get behind it supporting it a 100% fellow gooners. lets wrap it all up and get it behind us and focus on whats coming ahead…
Sack Arsene? And hire who? Who else could have done what he’s done spending the money he’s spent?
Sure it chafes to lose to City and Hughes, but the CC is our lowest priority, and we have a thin squad that’s getting thinner.
I hope Arsene spends in January and gets some quality players with toughness, physical presence, and winning experience.
sack him. 13 years. he got a blank cheque to rebuild. how many years can be go through this. it was never a team with a losing creed. and the players are gutless. sack him. the philosophy is bad
p.s. are we saying he is the only man for the team. will we go through another five years of this. sack him
guys.guys,guys some of the comments today are over the top,i didnt expect us to get anything at man shitty or against chelski due to the amount of injuries we have at the moment and the fact wenger persists with this philosophy of youth in the carl/cup but we cant do a thing about it till jan so instead of pumping negative vibes round the blog try to stay positive because right now we need to find a way to win games with out a physical presence up front till b52 is fit in a couple of weeks time then lets see where we are.
It’s time we realize that arsenal carling cup aim to bring youth in2 the game and thats what happen (3-0)wenger acts that took place after the game is finish and dusted, wenger won as sparky was annoy’ed.game in and game out we create chances but lose it in final part, it so easy to c what is the players are doing, so many crosses that seem so easy for defenders to deal with, that is just fruitless to even play if there is players willing to attack it.we made demands to wenger to get a striker(top quality), rememba a poll, should arsenal get an another striker, many of us agree, but nothing came of it and now we are paying for it,I kept on making comments about having to put pressure on wenger to performance but many disagree, and now what is happening.I felt happy when we were winning the comfortable matches, but still concern about the important matches and neva praise wenger. On espn robbie earle was speaking about a ruud van nistelrooy type of player,while I propose andre pierre gicnac comes to mind with top qualities, wenger shouldn’t waste time and put gicnac as a replacement player for adebayor
@Steviej – your comment that ‘being good to watch is beginning to be of little consolation’ sums up the sack-the-manager brigade for me. I do not want to go bak to: ‘boring, boring Arsenal’. I do not want to have to watch us win trophies but play like chelsea – who are excruciatingly boring. I like to watch a game of football – not sit and look at trophies. As Gary Linker said about Wimbledon – I’d rather watch Ceefax.
andy i,ve heared from various places wenger said he is looking to sign a striker in jan but there was nothing on the website to suggest this have you or any other gooners actually heard him say this as he normally keeps his cards close to his chest and i wont believe it until i hear him say it.
SF- Would you shake your hand with an ass? I wouldn’t. Hughes behaved like an ass through out the game winding Wenger on the touchline and you are expecting him to get his hand dirty on that piece of filth.Instead of celebrating his win he goes on Camera and moan and cry like spoilt brat “Wenger did not shake my hand” cry cry cry.he should just brush it aside it is not important. It is not a rule that you must shake hand with people you do not like otherwise you’ll be a hypocrite.
Shaking hands is not the be all and end all, it’s pathetic to bang on about this.
Hughes acted like a cunt throughout the match.
I wouldn’t much feel like shaking the twat’s hand after his antics either.
Good on Wenger.
And no we shouldn’t have played our senior squad in the pointless carling cup – if that’s our only chance of silverware this season, and the only way to win it is with a full strength squad, then I’d prefer we won nothing at all.
To all the people backing up Wenger’s decision not to shake Hughes’ hand: I think I’ve been convinced.
I’ll have an apology in tomorrow’s post.
Now all the darn blogs and online news read the same. “Hate Wenger (ungracious, smug, blah, blah…)not shaken that a-hole’s hand, Arsenal doesn’t have the gut or the physicality blah, blah,” Where are we going with this?
Here is my feeling: We can’t really know the reason why, and don’t really give a flying F.if Wenger didn’t shake Hughes’s hand. Every manager (English, Welsh, Irish, Scottish, etc…)ones has been telling us all along that Arsenal is not good enough to even finish the top 4. I’m referring to SAF, Harry, Hughes, and Villa’s coach. That is designed to wind up Wenger and psyche out our players, right? Why is it the other foreign coaches never comment on this? And here we are on the bandwagon cheering on!
We have a problem at this moment in time in the shape of a striker. No one seems to step up from the few we have. We can’t really do anything about it until January now, can we? We all have frustrations sometimes, but we have to put things in perspective. We get enough flak from some other team supporters and media, but what worries me is that this blog also started to get poisoned by few.
Hughes calls Wenger “ungracious”
But who is the ungracious one? The one who is going crazy on the sideline screaming at the ref and the players, so his $100+ million can beat a bunch of reserves because the manager chose to start them- or the one who doesnt shake hands afterwards.
If you have a big math test and the professor gives you a break and tells you to only do half of it- but you still fight and scrape and do everything you can to try to get more of an advantage- you are being ungracious IMO.
Andy, despite the comments, I still think it is ungracious and bad sportsmanship.
Nothing is really achieved by not shaking Hughes’s hand. Instead, by acting this way, he has reduced himself to Hughes’s level and allowed people to question Wenger’s professionalism.
Yes, I also still feel he should have shaken hands. All anyone can infer from it is ‘bad loser’. What would we be saying if it was the other way round? The players are told to shake hands with opposition players before and after the match. it’s a code of sportsmanship I approve of. Rugby players bash hell out of each other right through their games and at the end – the losers line up and applaud the victors as they file past! This is a much better scenario than a bunch of sore losers sulking and behaving like spoilt kids.
@hey nonny mouse
Don’t think we would be saying anything cos nobody would have noticed..I seriously doubt wenger wud have brought it up..
Ur right as regards that there’s nothin to be gained from not shaking hands but it really is a non issue.
@ andy
Good on ya mate 🙂
http://www.onlinegooner.com/exclusive/index.php?id=1418
Let’s see who deserves (and gets) condemnation..
told you arsene had class 🙂
hi all, watched the game later and have seen nothing that i haven’t seen be4. FAR TO MANY PLAYERS ARE ROUGHLY THE SAME. I dont really think Wenger had 1 TRUE striker on that pitch. Very Very lovely to watch but im sure every1 could see what was going on. How many times did little jack get pushed off the ball or give the ball away and not fight back 4 it. Young products like Jay Emman Thomas should be out there not allowed to go off on loan. But maybe he’s not small and slick and pretty enough. Apart from the back 4 i only saw a team of possible midfielders all very good on technique and touch but no drive and stacha. I now hide when Wenger is being interviewed. Well said Shambo. Good luck for next game, could be sticky. Up de ammers!
i say shaking hughes hand would have been the gesture of a bloody hypocrite, some would have done it, but a man true to himself wont, bigup arsene. hughes is gonesoon as they get dump out in the semis. another 28 years with nothing oo show. i’m amaze how we have such clowns calling themselves arsenal fans, fair weather prats. most can’t see past their noses. i supprt arsenal and wenger, he is our best ever signing, bar none.
mastergunner