West Brom v Arsenal: Will we do it?

So the final weekend arrives and we’re no nearer to knowing whether we will be playing Champions League football next season.

We all know the equation by now: a win means third and automatic qualification. Anything less and we are at the mercy of Spurs and Newcastle. Finish fourth and we rely on Bayern Munich to beat Chelsea in the Champions League final. Finish fifth and it’s Europa League for the first time in Arsene Wenger’s tenure.

If all of that isn’t enough to scare you I should add that we’re yet to win a game without Mikel Arteta in the starting line-up and haven’t won in the past three games. We’re not in good form and we absolutely need to change that because we have everything to play for.

In complete contrast West Brom have nothing to play for. It is a situation that can just as easily provoke an uncharacteristically creative performance (such as Norwich last weekend) as a disjointed, unmotivated one.

In saying all of this I expect our Arsenal boys to take care of business today.

In terms of squad news only Bacary Sagna has been added to the injury list — a broken leg last week means he will miss Euro 2012 — while Theo Walcott may return. Meanwhile West Brom are missing three of their best attacking players: Peter Odemwingie, Jerome Thomas and captain Chris Brunt.

Given the prize at stake (and the punishment for failure) today’s game is likely to be a tense affair. Goals may be at a premium, particularly if the first half is as scrappy as I foresee, and mental strength is likely to be the deciding factor.

Hopefully Wenger has a word to Alex Song and tells him to curb his attacking intentions. He may have assisted Robin van Persie’s first goal against Norwich but the Cameroonian’s sloppy positional play was a key factor in our poor defensive performance last weekend.

The likes of Szczesny and Vermaelen will be hoping for better games while further forward in Gervinho, Rosicky and Benayoun we have a creative trio that should cause West Brom lots of trouble.

There’s only so much analysing and predicting on a day like this. In the end it comes down to the team getting the job done, getting the result they require to finish the season on an extremely positive note.

Hopefully we’ll all be celebrating a comfortable victory, qualification to the Champions League and the latest (but perhaps sweetest, given the topsy-turvy nature of the season) St Totteringham’s Day in recent memory.

What do you think?

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Comments

  1. Nice post Andy and very timely . Good news about the West Brom crocks we will need all the help we can get., hope Theo is up for it today, not sure if there are any stats on it but I think he is a better player away from the Emirates where he gets more opportunities to counter sttack

    Hopefully Somg has got the message now. Can’t help thinking that Chamakh may play an important part today.

    The current crop of players isnt good enough to win the champions league and if we don’t qualify it will be difficult to strengthen the squad letalone maintain it

    I know its not winning anything today but it feels like a cup final
    COYG

  2. Nice post bro, we surely goin to win this comfortably and a doubl for Van Persie For sure.

  3. Arsenal have always performed in crunch situations… when the stakes were high…I hope this is one of those times….let the guns roll out..

  4. Thanks for the posting Drew. Well timed and well appreciated.
    Hard one to call today. Unlike the above supporter I think we have been fair at best in crunch situations. Not to mention we choked at the Baggies last year needing 4 goals to secure a draw and our only point of the year with them.
    Still, one has to remain as optimistic as possible with these things. We’ve come this close,why not? This has surely been a season to remember but sometimes for reasons I’d rather forget. Anyway let’s get the job done.
    Come ON you Gunners!

  5. Prediction list:

    Chelsea 3-1 Blackburn

    Everton 1-0 Newcastle

    Sunderland 0-4 Man United (banker)

    Man City 1-2 QPR (Insurance)

    Norwich 2-0 Aston Villa

    Stoke 1-1 Bolton

    Swansea 1-2 Liverpool

    Tottenham 1-1 Fulham

    West Brom 1-2 Arsenal

    Wigan 2-0 Wolves.

  6. Benayoun should be bought permanently….Wilshere will hopefully return and give us depth in the middle.

    Ramsey should be SOLD IMMEDIATELY…

    There will be absolutely no space for him as Yann M’vila is already signed for 17mill.

    1-0 so far, nice, just nice

  7. Just finished reading ur whole post Andy, i dont know why you do not understand Arsene Wenger by now.

    Arsene Wenger wants M’vila and Song in the middle and because Song plays the ball better, he has to vacate the permanent holding midfielder role to M’vila. This is the main reason he has been encouraging Song to go upfront (I guess todays match really proves what i’ve been saying) as we can see Coquelin is behind Song today.

    Now, we trail after scoring first……
    I had dedicated some time to state that we do not help our strikers at all in anyway. I talked about the diagonal, ground and overhead killer through-passes and so far, only West Brom is delivering those…
    They have studied us and are exploiting our high defense effectively, eventhough the first goal was an offside. What happens to Chamberlain yet again?
    I hate it when it is obvious our boys do not train enough defensively….All the same, i think we can still win this…

  8. A belter of a goal from Santos (I still cant choose between him and Gibbs)….

    If our tactics mean we need people to be shooting accurately from outside the box, then we need to get such players in addition and get rid of the (I cant shoot accurately from range) dead wood.

    2-2 and game on…

  9. Final ball keeps on being poor…We need to work on this with the midfielders atleast…

    Can we score more now or atleast hang on to this lead?

    Walcott’s presence is a threat on its own so far…

  10. The keeper is hopeless please please pleas get a shot in and put us out of our misery

  11. As it stands now, manure is taking the EPL. Good to see the mancs leading, as much as i hate them, i would still like to see them nick the EPL ahead of shittey…

    I love the shittey capitulation on the final day(if they do capitulate finally), it is theirs to loose and this just makes the whole thing better…cos manure cannot really brag about winning the title this way.

  12. There it is…Nasri and Clichy have helped them win the title in 44 years. Kudos to them all the same…

    We make it too, congrats to all my fellow gunners, we have kept the faith, we have done it

  13. what a dramatic day of football. Part of me is happy that manure didn’t win the title bacause they simply did not deserve it and all the favours they got from the referees didn’t do them any good in the end as they didn’t win any trophy this season and the other part of me is bitter to see clichy and especially chinless twart lift the lifting the trophy and saying he made the right decision by moving to $ity nywe nywe nywe … somebody tell samir nasri to shut the fuck up!

    We finished third and we’ll have champions league football next season, what a relief. Third place however without any trophy in the cabinet after such a long time is not enough, we have to win something next season which means we must, inter alia, get players who will make the difference thats needed in this team. Podolski and M’villa are a few steps towards the right direction but i would love to us going after a world class playmaker because Rosicky doesn’t always deliver especially when we’re under some form of pressure such as today, very sad that hazard and goetze look like they are out of our reach because they’re the kinds of players we need. I can’t help but think today was RVP’s last game for Arsenal. Hope that wont be the case.
    Chelski v B Munich next week, i will find something to be happy about whatever the result. Euro 2012, i think van persie and his fellow dutch men will win this one.

  14. It is a great relief that we are able to finish third because honestly, we do not have a team to compete in the champions league next year and to compete for a title.
    If M’Villa and Podolski come , we will still an offensive midfielder who can make the difference , we all know that the price for Hazard is going to be very high, I suggest the Belandha from Montpellier very good technically can score goals, he will be a perfect fit or Ben Arfa would be a solution.
    We the injection of 2 new center back as cover for Vermalin and Kos. Meterzacher is too slow, not very aggressive, he was basically a panic buy.
    We also a cover for Sagna at the back no confidence.
    There are a least 6 to 7 players at Arsenal who have no business playing for a top 4 team.

  15. Happy St. Totternigham’s day.Man of the match was obviously Fulop.Fulop has to be an Arsenal fan.In arsene I truly trust.

  16. Wow….we made CL automatically, Im delighted but I dont know if we deserved it, or frankly if we are good enough currently…I just dont see the ambition in our board or manager compared to the scum up the road or the endeavor shown by newcastle, who deserved more if we are all honest.
    We nearly threw it all away and but for a ludicrisly calamitous goalkeeping display today we were up shit creek again.
    The final months results, as per usual, make for grim reading but Wenger today asked for plaudits for the staff and players, I find that an absolutely insane comment to make, almost as insane as his recent statement that we have a big enough squad and need not spend this summer…we are not gettung any closer to those competing for the league yet he can come out with this rubbish…in the middle of the season he hints to spending in the summer, come season end hes back to his deluded best.
    If Van Persie stays it will be the greatest display of loyalty Iv ever seen from a footballer, because under this manager he stands to be one of the PLs greatest players to win fuck all.
    Roll on next years CL pipedream.

  17. Well third place is ours and fairly won.
    It’s true West Brom’s goalkeeping was dreadful but ours was not a lot better.
    And the far-side linesman was blind from either drink or syphilis.
    Never-the-less the work is done.
    Perhaps next year we will challange for something.
    Goodbye 2011-2012 and good riddence.

  18. @shambo

    Stop writing rubbish and shut the hell up. How did Necastle deserve third position more than us? We started the season’s together and now we have finished above them and you are here talking rubbish.You should give credit to the manager, the players and the honest supporters.Your hatred for Wenger won’t stop even if arsenal had won the league. At a point we were 17th on the league table and your Newcastle were far ahead of us. Mtcheeeew.

  19. Loyalty? What about the years of medical expenses he has soaked up? Many other managers and clubs would have cut their losses and discarded such a player. And he would not be playing in that strikers role the way he has but for the belief of a certain manager. But I wish he would sort out our defending. It’s crap and has been for far too long.

    Anyway relieved we got third and pleased for $ity fans for their title. Now that was drama!

  20. We also finished one spot above our last season’s league position when we still had Nasri and Cesc. For now enjoy the moment.

  21. @Opus
    Dude calm down a little. We ALL talk plenty of rubbish on this site you included.
    It is after all what we come here for. Shambo has been here as long if not longer than anybody. He is a loyal supporter of the Arsenal even if he doesn’t lick Wenger’s saggy ass like some well meaning if misguided folks.

  22. Great result to get 3rd. Think about how far behind Spurs we were coming into the derby at the Emirates. The boys have done very well. Glad also that City got the title and not Manure. At least we can say that they payed for the title like Chelsea did. They didn’t win it because they had a better team through the ranks, they did it because of the cash.

    It’s been a long season where for periods we were rubbish but also brilliant.

    I just hope that Van P has a shocking Euro because if he has a cracker, Real with slap cash on the table that our board won’t be able to say NO to. The biggest achievement of the season is yet to come. Please sign on the dotted line Mr. VP

  23. Before some (you know who you are!) come onto this site and start about how me and a few others are satisifed with our final position and how we lack ambition etc etc, well I am not. I am relieved and given how our season started, more than a bit pleased, but satisfied? No. We are way too far off the Manchester clubs’ points for my liking. Unlike previous seasons when we have been close up until Feb/March/April this season we were out of title contention virtually before the season started. We must not let that happen again.

    There are heaps of positive signs for next season – the potential of the Ox, Wilshire to come back, the Podolski signing, three decent fullbacks and a fat Brazilian who can’t defend but boy can he hit the ball!! We have the best lobber in the league, and a new assistant coach who will hopefully have an impact on our defense at the very least.
    We have the best striker in the comp who I still believe will show some loyalty and stay with us, and a keeper who despite a few errors is a huge step up from our past few incumbents.

    Things aren’t perfect but they could be a lot worse.

  24. @Shambo , you are absolutely right! We have finished more 15 points behind the second best team in the league and our managers thinks this squad is good enough… to challenge for what ? the Carling cup?
    Seriously this is insane , we are happy to be finishing third and to playing in the champion league but to what end/ are we planning to compete and try to win it, not with this team.
    New castle, Spurs have cxaught up to us , Chelsea will be stronger next year and we plan to keep Chamakh, Djourou, Diaby, Almounia and company?! It would a signal to RVP to leave Arsenal … the manager is the problem no ambition happy to finish third. Why in the world did we build a 60 000 seats stadium?
    Most managers go to their board or owners and ask for funds to buy players only at Arsenal says we do not need to buy players to improve our team unless and until of course we are 17th in the league and we panic ….

  25. @terry
    Good point about loyalty on the RVP front, although sadly loyalty appears o be a thing of the past. Wonder what price you could get on Diaby being footballer of the year next year lol

    Also agree about not being happy about finishing 3rd (although 89 teams behind us would be).
    Yes Newcastle and Spurs have made progress, but in reality this just means that the cash rich clubs will come in and offer the talented ones buckets of cash. I doubt that. spurs will retain both Modric and Bale and it won’t be long before Newcastle lose there strike force

  26. Well, the end of a, if I’m honest, pretty draining, but in some ways also a pretty entertaining, season. It ended on a happy enough note. After the start of the season I clearly remember saying that top 4 this year is what we can aim for. We went one better than last year, which again isn’t great shakes, but coming from where we did, after the difficult summer and start we had, it is an achievement which deserves some credit, and importantly, offers us a platform from which to build.

    Some great moments, particularly the matches I was there for (Although fuck the Dubious folks at the FA for taking away the one Henry goal I saw live). Spurs and coming back to win 5-2, despite Dean being the referee (our record under him is abysmal, and we had him more than any referee this season), The home Milan game, which was a case of pride restored rather than frustration at getting so close. Chelsea away. ManCity at home. Some of Robin’s goals. Arteta. Koscielny.

    We do have things to work on though. I think some time earlier I listed our priorities (as I see them) to be to get RVP to sign, sign a striker, new contracts for Theo and Song, trimming some of the unwanted players from the squad, and getting in a winger/AM. At this point, I think a DM is also something we might need. Song has been great, and I wouldn’t mind giving him a pay rise with his new contract. But in recent weeks, he’s let himself get carried away with the ‘hollywood’ passes. More than anything else, I attribute that poor decision making to fatigue. We’ve been incredibly lucky that Song has been available pretty much every game all season. We need someone to spell him, and maybe offer a chance to create 2 man defensive screen along with him (especially if we are planning to sometimes play a 4-4-2) Coquelin is good, but needs more time. Frimpong needs a loan spell, and of course to remain free of injury. So as I said, quite a bit of work to be done.

    However, those decrying Arsenal as lacking ambition are wrong (again in my opinion). It does not show ambition to carry out tens of transfers, and throwing away money. That is compromising the long term interests in favour of short term ones (and it hasn’t worked out for most clubs even in the short term). Arsenal, at this point, I think can afford to realign those conflicting interests more towards the short term. We saw signs of that in this season’s signings. And while buying youth should remain a continuous process, we should also look to buy players for the here and now.

    The tricky thing is, getting rid of the squad players. We’ll need to take a financial hit on them, and if that’s what it takes, it’s worth it. However, it isn;t in our hands entirely. Like the Cesc saga, the buying club will know they have the upper hand as we need to sell these players to free up wages, funds, and squad spaces. So our business does depend on other clubs’ business too, plus who we need to bring in also depends on how good some of our loanees are deemed to be. (Further complicated by the fact that we can only register 25 over 21yo and many of our youngsters will thus have to take up some squad places in a couple of years) Just saying..It’s tougher than sell so and so, buy so and so. However, it needs to be done, and done better than last summer.

    I am genuinely looking forward to next season though. Some of our fans, and definitely the media, will never give Wenger the credit he deserves. Despite his failings, the man is a genius. I don’t use that word lightly, and I’m not going to get in a discussion about it, because it serves no purpose. But there are changes afoot at Arsenal. A new Assistant Manager, some new players I’m sure. A couple of new commercial deals, tours to new countries (or markets if you prefer), and I think a genuine belief that our time is coming. We might be 20 points behind City, but the gap isn’t as big as it appears. Oh and if anyone doesn’t deserve their place in the table, it is ManU. If we had referees like that, we’d show much more ‘mental strength’, and ‘belief’.

    Which reminds me. I don’t think this team lacks any mental strength. But I do think we sometimes become too ‘loose’ in an attempt to not get nervous. That’s probably what happened in the Carling Cup final, and the Norwich and WBA games right at the end this season. However, once again, all in all, well done to the team for finishing where they did, a big thank you to Pat Rice for all his years of service, and hopefully we’ll come back stronger next season.

  27. Sorry about the length of the comment. Just summing up my thoughts on this crazy season and looking forward to the next. See you guys around.

  28. I couldn’t watch it, just want to mention that they finally did a job done, as far as I can remember they always failed when they had to play for something, when there was a special pressure in the air, so … I would say, that’s a step forward …………. 😉 😎

  29. I don’t think shard could’ve summed up my feelings any better. Therefore I have nothing to say except here’s to a trophy success next season and an interesting transfer window!

  30. Same old same old. Wenger and the board have no ambition. What’s the point.

  31. Great post and comments as usual. Shard – lengthy but good – don’t apologize.
    What a season! From 17th and just above relegation to automatic qualification to the Champions League…to paraphrase Vincent Kompany in his post-match interview on getting the title:
    “but please never again this way, please”

    Emotionally draining, never truly satisfying, 2011-2012 was a test for supporters. Who are we now? Still a “big” club just a player or two away from greatness, or a mid-table team who’ve defied the odds by punching over our weight yet again? Who’s our manager, really? A great man past his prime, or still a genius of the game who will unleash a better and truly competitive Arsenal beginning next season?

    I believe our time is coming. Clubs cannot be immune to Europe’s economic woes forever and the climate of austerity can only benefit a club that has operated in this fashion for years. We are as ever stuffed with raw, youthful talent, and this summer will be a major pruning of the tree.

    I wouldn’t at all blame van Persie for leaving, as his currency may never be as high as it is now, but I think he’s settled in London, 3rd place helps a lot, and I think his agent and the club will find a way for him to stay. But I certainly don’t expect him to replicate this incredible season again here or anywhere. If stays with us, stays healthy and can score 20-odd goals for us next year he’ll be a hero once again, at least to me.

    Whew. I’m relieved, I’m exhausted and I’m hopeful for the next campaign. All that’s left now, is the unenviable task of rooting for Chelsea on Saturday to further rub it into poor old ‘Arry and his boys. And while I’m no Chelsea supporter, there is enough watchable class at that club in Ramires, Ivanovic and a couple of others (no not Terry, never Terry). When he wasn’t terrorizing us, I always loved watching Drobga, and I’m gutted for Essien with his injuries. What a great player he could have been.

    Enough about them however, let’s have the Euros now, and forever and always…COME ON YOU GUNNERS!!!

  32. One nil
    Good post have to disagree on Chelsea though the thought of Cashley winning the champions league turns my stomach. Can’t believe I am saying this but hope Sours get there

  33. @Retsub # 37. Get a grip, man! It’s the SPUDS for crying out loud. Anyway, it’s all good and I hear you, but try looking at this way: if Abramovich does finally capture his holy grail, maybe he’ll start to lose interest and they’ll eventually go away to where they belong. Down there with the Birmingham Leg Breakers perhaps.

    Cheers

  34. So Arsenal finally finished third and and to some based on what happened in the summer finishing 3rd seems a success BUT not to me, all it does is just high light how LOW and PISS POOR wenger and this money grabbing board (which as far i can see continues to commit financial whoredom on the this once great club by sucking the blood out of the fans) have lowered the standards of the club.
    I wanted Mancity to win the title for two reasons 1. contrary to Arsenal belief It proves that money does by trophies 2. Mau are SHIT this season and the last and if they had won it would have been a travesty, BUT on closer examination maybe they should have won for our sakes because when a team learns to win as mancity has done the appetite for more grows 2 fold and they have money to boot so surely they will strengthen and will no doubt be the team to beat next season WHICH would make it basically impossible for us to win this league especially with wenger and his CHEAP ways only buying player whose has one year left on their contract and also freebees HECK if the player is GOOD and we need him why wait, especially if he’s young WE CAN’T COMPETE IF WE CONTINUE LIKE THIS.
    Gone are the day when a top 4 is guaranteed from now on we will have to fight like hell to keep it simply because the other reams are catching up and we continue in this dream world.
    The champions league and Arsenal are like a bloke trying to screw a super model most times he gets a kiss or might get to touch her tits BUT when the time comes to screw the shit out of her he gets ED, and she goes with the next bloke. This boast of 15 straight years is becoming insignificant to me because we have never won the the dam thing what’s the sense????? 1 final!!! yes 1 and we boast, low standard that’s what. The champions league has never stop our top players from leaving has it, its only money the board and wenger want, what in hell doe he do to get 7 mil, total madness. If vanpercy has any ambition he’ll flee this mirage that wenger has built, contrary to what Arsenal think when you retire you remember what you won not how may years you played in the champions league and robin needs to win thing to be considered among the best. so good luck to him in whatever choice he makes he deserves better.

    By the way as someone said juventus has shown that reguardless of what you go through you can still win if you make the right choices, they got relegated and striped of titles and all other madness a lot more problems than we have ever had BUT look they have come back because they made the right choices and they finished the season unbeaten, what an achievement. hats off to them they make me jealous.

    The summer will be another sorry state, i hope am wrong BUT wenger has lost my respect and has totally lost the touch he’s gone overboard and has totally lost his marbles, BUT lets see what MADNESS he has in store for us this summer………………

    The s

    The SHIT will continue as long as wenger stays,

  35. Its annoying to keep hearing that we did well because we were 17th at some point. We started bad as a result of our own doings. There seems to be many ways of describing success at this club.

  36. I find it comical how all fans think their club is unnderachieving and should be winning the league etc. Even Aston villa fans think they should be in the top four, for f**ks sake Aston Villa! And Liverpool fans too, where the f**k are they, of course fans don’t really do anything (other than contribute money) but teams like Chelsea and Man City haven’t needed money from fans. So why the f**k anyone thinks we should finish above fourth is beyond me, anything above that is an overachievement, (clue, we don’t have unlimited money) thank the people who put the sweat in

  37. Couln’t have said it any better Kel. If as I read in many of these Arsenal fans are happy the current state of affairs at Arsenal, there won’t be any major changes.
    RVP IMO will not stay because he knows Wenger although he has a lot of respect him, he will make enough changes to make the squad stronger.
    There is a saying ” you are either improving , getting better or you are declining”
    We used to be known as winners , then we stopped wining trophies , we became known only for our attractive brand of football,.. That too has disappeared.

  38. kel

    “If vanpercy has any ambition he’ll flee this mirage that wenger has built”

    Really?? So it shows ‘ambition’ to join a team like City or where you are ‘guaranteed’ titles or whatever, rather than making your own team into a winner?
    If Arsenal owe Van Persie gratitude for this season, Van Persie owes Arsenal for keeping faith in him through his various injuries. And keeping Robin is important not just from the sporting side, but also the psychological side. The message it sends out. On purely the sporting side, before this season, there is no way RVP merited a new contract, forget being the highest paid player in our history, and his current contract ends when he’ll be 30. He can’t be expected to repeat his performances of this year, even next year, and beyond that. (Which is why Podolski is an important signing) And again.. since people will misunderstand, and throw about accusations, as is their wont, I am not laying the ground for RVP to leave. I think its massively important he stays. Even if he doesn’t sign a new contract.

    And seriously. Arsenal not winning the champions league being a club to beat the club with (hehe), and of course, Wenger with, is just bizarre.

    Anyway. There is a balance between being HAPPY and overjoyed, and being ANGRY and miserable. 3rd place is just that. It does represent an achievement, if not the ULTIMATE achievement. To go about chest beating, calling us shit is soooooo passe now. Aren’t you guys bored of it? The season’s over. The players will be with their national training camps (where some will get injured and it’ll be Wenger’s fault), so give it a rest. For now at least. 3rd place, CL next season. Don’t jump for joy, but don’t throw your toys out the pram either. I mean if your only belief is that Arsenal can’t progress while Wenger is in charge that’s fine. But he’s not going anywhere. So focus on what can be done (not in Football manager game style), look for constructive criticism, rather than resorting to same old same old.

    Anyway. I hate sounding like a preacher, but it just needed to be said. I’m going to go now, and look forward to Bayern whipping Chelsea’s ass in the CL final (Spurs to draw Malaga in the qualifier and get their asses handed to them then) , the Euros, and just keep an eye on any Arsenal news, without whipping myself into a frenzy about anything.

  39. @shard
    whats constructive criticism, sitting around a round table and looking for all the different reasons wenger has failed????? stupes, please!!!!!!
    Its comments and reasoning like yours which wenger has breed that’s has the club in this situation, where the one and only option is to make excuses.

    Some season ago i made an issue that vanpersie should have been sold because of his injury record and because the economics of bring a player to the club @ 22 and waiting till he’s 28 or 29 to peak just doesn’t make sense, look at vanpersie now, he’s almost 30 and injury prone to boot, how much more can he give us and that’s the double standard that the club has, talk one thing BUT do another.
    If i were in charge i would have sold him a long time ago and diaby too because the same thing will happen with him.
    And for your info vapersie doesn’t owe Arsenal SHIT,” because they stood by him when he was injured ” who’s fault is that??? i’ll tell you, its Arsenal’s fault

    They say when a player leaves a team it’s then and only then they begin to speak out cesc has done so already, and now Nasri (the truth hurts doesn’t it)
    am waiting on Ashavin next and Bedtner

    This says it all for me
    http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/1070873/man-city%27s-samir-nasri-mocks-arsenal-fans-after-title-triumph?cc=3888

    I know wenger isn’t going anywhere BUT hey, i have to vent my frustration…

  40. Just so we’re clear that all you’re doing is venting..

    Constructive criticism. Yes. trying to understand the things we do poorly, and the things we do well, to differing degrees, and how changing the things we do wrong will potentially impact on the things we do well. It’s not rocket science.. It’s much more complicated. Because it isn’t a science.

    Looking for reasons is not making excuses. It’s keeping it real. The other approach is to throw the baby out with the bathwater and start over in the hope that things work out better, and at least not worse. If it works out worse, then start the cycle again. I’m sorry but that doesn’t make sense. Regardless of how many clubs do just that. Just because the media promotes such simplistic thinking and says it over and over, does not make it true. But hey, it’s much easier to do it, and call Arsenal/Wenger idiots. Which clearly, plainly, and obviously, is not true. Once you get rid of that assumption, you can start to examine WHY the club has taken the decisions they have, and indeed why they have fallen short in some areas, instead of just indulging in all sorts of blame.

  41. well said kel! one of the biggest problem with Arsenal is that many fans are satisfied finishing 19 points behind the winner.
    Nasri has just said what many fans who dare criticize Wenger have been saying for years. Btw many ex Arsenal players have said the same thing we are not bringing enough quality players to make us competitive to win the league or the champions league.
    Henry left and went to Barca because he could see Viera, Pires leaving and not being replaced by quality players, he knew that he would not get a chance to win achampions league with us. The same goes for Fabregas, it is true that he wanted to go play home, but our lack of trophies and direction of the team made it easier for him.
    Kel , Shambo and I are not crazy Viera, Petit, Ljumber all have said the same thing.
    Another refrain that the defenders of Wenger often use” we do not want to buy atrophies or go into debt ….” The choices are not either spending like Man city or nothing. Take a look at New Castle a club which got promoted this year , they bought quality talent by being smart , none of their players cost more than 10 mil.

  42. Amazes me that although we didn’t win anything suddenly the Newcastles ( who weren’t,’promoted this year) and Spurs are better run clubs, more go ahead etc. Utter rubbish, they haven’t won anything for years and will soon learn that if they do get talent Bale, Cisse etc one of the the money bag clubs will come and take them.

    Only one team can win the league and invariably it’s the team with the most money. We haven’t done fantastic by any means but we have done very well

  43. What a losers mentality! We finish freakin 19 points behind the second placed team ” we have done very well” . Let’s stick our heads in the sand again like last summer and let’s go back next season with essentially the same players and let’s see what happens. Our manager thinks this current team can match the invincibles record, is there a psychiatric ward for crazy managers ?! cause he belongs there

    New castle went and bought , the second best striker in the Bundesliga for 9 mil.
    What the F were we doing ? Meanwhile we have Chamakh on our bench who even the manager does not trust. Pardue said “they are happy to finish 5th , but they have to improve certain areas for next season” this is the thought process of a manager who is in possession of all his mental faculties. Although his over performed this against all expectations, but he is not satisfied.

    That’s where our manager is lacking, he is not in touch with reality. I lost respect for tha man, the day I saw Frank Sylvestre in an Arsenal shirt!

  44. Just read that the 2003/04 Invincibles have been voted the best team of the EPL era. Them were the days. Who was our manager back then? Oh that’s right, the senile imbecile who lacks a winning mentality and hasn’t got a fucking clue about anything.

    Just thought I’d mention it. Enjoy your close season. Terry.

  45. A month after the transfer window closed at the start of the season, on the 2nd of October 2011, Arsenal stood 15th in the PL table, 12 points behind both ManU and ManCity. In the following 31 games, we lost 7 points compared to the leaders. And that, with 4 full backs out for a couple of months (which caused a blip in January) and a loss of form at the end.

    Nobody’s saying this team is the finished article, and a repeat of last summer cannot happen again. But 7 points comparative loss over 31 games, a month after we’d bought the players we did (giving them some time to gel) is reason to believe that we CAN do it. If we get in the right players, if we can keep some stability for next season (ie keeping the players we want) and we get back players like Wilshere and Diaby, it is in no way an insurmountable gap. What I always fear as insurmountable is the sheer crapness of referees. And no, that isn’t making excuses. The referees favouring ManU, and us not getting a single penalty at home, speaks for itself. However, that is neither here nor there, since it isn’t in our hands. We have to improve regardless.

    Also, since that day, we’ve scored 64 goals and conceded 33. Which is on and of itself, not bad in 31 games. However, just like our total goals conceded this season (49) is distorted by the 8 conceded to ManU, our goals scored from that point is also distorted by the 7-1 victory, the 5-2, the 5-3 etc. We seem to score freely (and concede freely) in some matches, while struggling to score in others.

    Anyway, like I said.. 7 points less than the leaders after we actually had a team, is something which like 3rd place, gives us a platform to build on.

  46. Nice try Shard , we finished 19 points not 7 points behind the second team. With if and maybes Spurs could have been champions too lol. We did not have a team at the beginning of the season , why? because our Great manager thought our team was good enough to compete at this level. The trashing that we received at the feet of manure proved him wrong.
    The TRUTH is our squad play, players and management has been closer to a 6th place team than a contender for the title.

  47. Gunfest

    Uhhh.. You really need to read what I said better. What I said was just a fact, exhibiting we’ve kept closer in the last 31 games, after losing ground in the first 7. What conclusions you draw from that fact can vary, but tell me if you disagree with my conclusions there. That a repeat of last summer cannot happen if we are to challenge for the title, and that we need some signings to come in to help us close the gap (The gap IS 19 points) As for ifs and maybe’s..I didn’t use them. Even IF we only look at the last 31 games as making the league table, we would still finish third. Also, do you disagree with the contention that we’ve tended to struggle to score in some matches, while scoring freely in others? And that this indicates that we need to work on our goalscoring too, just like our defense? Your response just indicates that you start with a pre-set state of mind where you MUST attack me, because I am more optimistic about the club than you are. I wasn’t ‘defending’ the team. I was saying we need to improve. But that we do have some platform to build on.

    And I disagree. The only way we were planning to take that team which lost at ManU, into the entire season, is if everyone at Arsenal is insane/stupid. Maybe that’s why you keep calling Wenger an idiot because it sits well with your contention. All you do is prove that you are unwilling to actually consider anything other than what you’ve decided, because everything actually points to the fact that Wenger and everyone running the club, are much more intelligent, or at the very least, better informed, than you and I.

    I reiterate, it is idiotic to state that Wenger is an idiot.. Which is not to say he doesn’t make mistakes. I say he’s a genius, AND he makes mistakes.

  48. Anyway.. I’m surprised there hasn’t been any thoughts on the new kit expressed by anybody. For myself, I HATED it the first time I saw it. It just seemed..wrong.. But I’ve actually grown to like it, and I think I’ll be buying one. Hopefully this is also the kit we break our trophy drought in.

  49. P.S. OOPS! I mean break our trophy drought in the coming season. The home kit is to be used for 2 years. So.. just to clarify 🙂

  50. Who the hell is Frank sylvester sounds feline to Me

    Terry yes that’s the guy, the bloke who is the most successful manager we,ve ever had. Sack him he doesn’t know what he’s doing.

    Wel I for one am not going to be a miserable sod, am full of optimism for next season and am willing to bet my house that Arsenal finish above Newcastle next season (and New Castle to whoever they are)

    So wha happens now do we shut down for the summer or continue to provide constructive critiscm?

  51. .
    Well I trust the judgement of ex Gunners like Viera , Petit and yes Nasri rather than the drivell we were served year after year by Wenger.
    When he says this current team can match the record of the invincibles, I say yes the man is MAD.
    The reason why we were 17th , I repeat was due to mismanagement by WENGER , he decided that the team was good enough.
    Unless Wenger can recognize our shortcomings, he will not help to solve them.

    Retsub , the so called genius has not won anything in 7 years. Can you tell us how many years Ferggie could last at Manu without winning a trophy?

    As they say insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result!

  52. For the record
    Pardews win to games played ratio is around 43 per. Cent our idiot has only managed around 53 per cent, but that’s unfair as
    Pardew spent most of his time in the lower divisions, Scunthorpe, Port Vale etc. our boy has spent 15 years playing Man utd, liverpool etc

    Maybe we should sack Wenger and appoint Pardew?….

  53. Gunfest
    If you check your records you will see that Ferguson won little if nothing in his first 6 years and came very close to being sacked. Lucky you weren’t on the board huh?

  54. @ shard
    I have a question for u:
    If at the end of wengers current contract Arsenal still has not won a single trophy and you were incharge would you renew his contract ????
    If Yes, why would you???
    and if No, why not???

    Mind you it would be 10 season, Yes 10!!! a whole decade without the league title and 9 seasons without a trophy……..

  55. kel

    That’s an interesting question. I’m sorry, much as I’d like to, I can’t answer that in Yes or No. It depends. What is the club’s progression? What other candidates are there who are capable of, and willing to, perform better in what the THEN restrictions might have to be. And as regards the trophy side, WHY did we not win a trophy. (That matters) Is it because all our best players are poached away with the lure of higher wages? Is it because we let ourselves down in terms of performance consistently enough to deny us that trophy? Is it because we had more leg breaking tackles against us? Is it because the referee decisions, or something like a penalty miss denied us some trophy we’d worked hard enough, and well enough for? Too many variables you see. It isn’t just the trophies, or the number of years. Circumstances at Arsenal in the current football climate are basically, unique. If, and that’s a big IF, the circumstances are exactly the same as now, I’d give Wenger a new contract.

  56. Retsub
    Let me answer the question for you.
    If Ferggie does not win a trophy during the next 2 years, they would send into retirement, the most successful manager they ever had why ? Because they expect excellence .
    Wenger has ran out of ideas, we were outplayed this season by teams like Fulham, Swansea, QPR ! Wingan
    I wonder what Wenger was thinking when he brought a mediocre centre back like Squilacci, what the hell is Djourou is still doing at Arsenal?

  57. Rubbish about Wenger? embarrassing

    Shame on you guys talking rubbish about Mr. Wenger.Wenger should be respected man.This is embarrassing, common guys.Mancity just won the league why not go and support mancity or you pay for mancini to come to Arsenal since some idiots here feel that Wenger is not good enough to coach our team. F**k u all calling Wenger an idiot. Trophies don’t make heaven.

  58. Wonder what Alex Ferguson was think when he purchased the following

    Taibi worst keeper in the prem paid £4.5 sold £2.5

    Eric Djemba Djemba useless

    Veron paid £28.5 sold £15

    Bebe £7.4

    Anderson £20.4

    Oberton £3.4 hopeless

    Find me a manager who hasnt bought some duffers and Djourou isnt that bad

  59. Opus who the hell you think you are to tell anyone who to support?
    Arsenal existed before Wenger and will survive after he is gone.
    It is because of idiots like you who nothing about football who worship Wenger like sheeps that we have not won a trophy in a long time!

    Because retards like you swallow the nonsense Wenger says every year well : it is the youth policy , the referee’ s fault, no it is other clubs fault.

    If you don’t like the criticism of Wenger , you and him can move to North Korea where they worship their ” dear leader”

  60. Retsub
    I do not expect a manager to buy quality every time but at least Ferguson went and bought Smalling, Jones, Ashley Young, Valencia, Hernandez and now he is after Hazard one of the best talents in Europe.
    Do you think Djourou, Squilacci, Almounia, Chamakh, Park are top 4 quality players

  61. Gunfest

    I think Ddjourou is a good squad player and i am probably the only person in the world who thinks Chamakh has something to offer. But thats not really the point to this. I was just stasting that all managers get it wrong.

    At the end of the day we all set expectations. All of us want to win, no one is happy with 3rd place, but you have to be realistic. Incidently i am sure Wenger would love Hazard.

    I genuinly believe we are only 2 /3 players away from greatness

  62. Gunfest (and others)
    Why must you resort to personal abuse? I just don’t get it. I am perfectly happy to hear informed well articulated opinion. That’s what this blog is about after all. But I get really pissed off when you call anyone who does not fit in with your limited views of how the world should be, retards, sheep fuckwits or whatever.
    Why don’t you fuck off and start your own Gunfest blog where you can moderate it so only you and your clones can contribute.

  63. Hey Terry
    I am sure that to noticed that Opus started the name calling , is it because you agree with him on Wenger that you attack me? I have never personally attacked any poster on this blog until today … So I won’ t let drunken fool abuse me. So Fuck you too, asswhole !

  64. Who would have thought after such a poor start to the season arsenal would recover and finish third in the league? I personally thought it was over for us, but the team recover well and we were able make the champions league.

  65. Gunfest

    “Do you think Djourou, Squilacci, Almounia, Chamakh, Park are top 4 quality players”
    Yes. Proved by Arsenal never having dropped out of the top 4.

    “Furthermore this is an Arsenal blog not a Wenger worshipping society blog!”
    By the same token. This is also not a Wenger bashing society blog. (Or should I saw Wenger whipping. An alliteration like yours)

    Do you ever feel happy about anything in life, if not in football? Or do you seek to extract misery from every situation? That’s a serious question. I’m not looking to look down on you. I just don’t understand it. I’m not going to go back, but I bet at the beginning of the season you were expecting Arsenal to not finish in the top 4, and probably used words like mid table, useless, stupid manager, shit signings, panic buys etc. If among all that, we finished third(above expectations), and those ‘panic buys’ were good enough to help us secure third (and not losing MUCH ground to the Mancs from a month after they came in), do you not see ANY reason to feel a little bit happy? Not satisfied, not content, but just a little tinge of happiness at it? No? Then I don’t understand why you would choose to follow a sports team. Is it after all, JUST for trophies? Calling Arsenal names all the time, is not being a fan, nor a ‘winner’.

    And by the way, it is you who seeks FAULT (and kel does too). It is Wenger’s FAULT, board’s FAULT. I seek reasons.(Kel calls them excuses) And it is no exaggeration to suggest that referees’ performances are a significant contributor (not the only factor) to the way the league has shaped up. Not saying we would have won the league if the refs had been good/fair. I only firmly believe that about 2008, and it would have been close even in 2011 (yes, HAHA, I know)

    Oh and about Djouorou. He had a poor season this time around. But he also showed some real quality in the last term before he got injured. In any case, he is only 4th choice CB. AND he is also a homegrown player. We need at least 8 HG players in the PL Squad, and God knows how many for UEFA. Even the Football Manager generation should recognise the worth of that. Not saying we keep him JUST on that account. But as a 4th choice Cb, who also helps meet the quota, he is worth his place in the squad.

  66. Gunfest
    Nice comeback man. But for the record given who we support/worship/slag off it must be ARSE-hole; none of this American jargon please. And the W is superfluous. If I am going to join the list of gooners you wish to insult at least do it in an Arsenal way.
    hey Shard — good work (although please can we lose Almunia, Chamakh, Squillaci and probably Park too – does he really exist?)

  67. Park is the metaphysical manifestation of Mammon, and has come to manipulate Arsene into spending more money on a multitude of marvellous player, and rid us of Manu, Marouane, and Mebastian Mquillaci (Just keeping with the theme). As such, we will look back at his time on the club and laud his contribution.

  68. I think many of you are missing the point here. Of course, you’re entitled to your opinions and so i’m not going to bash them (even if i disagree) or condescend them. However, you seem to be going around in circle: what Shard is saying, is yes, we had an awful start to the season (which was a management error), but given the situation we were in, we managed to clinch third spot against all odds. Yes, it’s not a trophy by any means but it’s a positive sign. But only if we invest (which is what Shard acknowledges). He, instead of trying to slam Wenger for his mistakes at the beginning of last season, is looking for explanations for our poor start. Nothing more. He is just stating facts and looking for reasons behind the facts which is perfectly excusable, so try not to resort to an unnecessary war of words: on this blog, we all have different views, so if you disagree, try to disagree constructively rather than going around in circles. We’re all connected in that we share a love for AFC and hopefully a love for football. That’s why, sometimes even when we are on the end of disastrous results (4-4 newcastle, 2-1 Caling cup, 8-2), we just have to smile and accept that that is sport and that’s part of the pain and joy of supporting a team. Now, instead of looking at what’s passed from last season, let’s look towards this summer and see what wenger does in the market: there we can criticize or applaud his work. So far it looks positive with podolski and possibly m’vila coming in. All we need then would be an attacking midfielder and perhaps a defender, and then in my opinion we’d be challenging for the title. Thoughts?

  69. Lets all play nicely and stop insulting people, frankly it’s not pleasant for anyone. Personally I try not to swear but have to admit when Arsenal are playing I lapse.
    Clockender agree with what you are saying, but am going to put my neck on the line and suggest RVP isn’t the greatest captain. He shows great man management skills and is very passionate. However I don’t see the Vieira/Adams drive in him when the chips are down. Similar with Cesc and I wonder if the captaincy is being given out to retain the player.

    That said I don’t see any obvious candidate except perhaps Wilshire

  70. Only a moron like gunfest can rubbish Jorou. For crying out loud Jourou is a good center back nothing more nothing less. His size and height are just enough for his center beck role. His worst performances came out when he was played in a left back position which is understandable because that is not his department. I join the Wenger out wagon any day if he showed unwillingness to buy players this season again. Am aware he has no trick to prove again with the young kids other than buying .Otherwise there is no hope for a trophy even next season. Jourou is by all standards a good team player.Just remember the Barca game last season.All we need is a combative defense midfielder and a Hazard like kind of attacking midfielder and then we shall be getting something next season.

  71. Retsub

    I agree with the RVP statement, to me he doesn’t seem to be a leader at the crucial moments (even at WBA he wasn’t very prominent), i think he is just flourishing as a result of being the focus of the team (best player, captain, only striker, all contribute), which is fine with me considering how well he is playing. I think that wilshere/szcz are the two natural candidates for future captains, they clearly have so much passion and love for the club its unrivaled, and they seem to naturally have a big match temperament, probably because of their love for AFC. (szcz blunder vs brum aside)

  72. I get what u guys are saying about a good platform that has been built and I admire your optimism. The frustrating thing for most of us is that we have been where you are now maybe 2 or 3 seasons back. Every season end we looking forward to the next with new hope but nothing happens. How many times have we been in a position where 2 /3 top players will take us over the line instead we loose 2/3 players. When in need of reinforcements we get the likes of Squilachi and Chamak. It looks like we r always trying to make profit from transfers every season. Guys like kolcieny have been excellent and credit to Wenger but we are always taking chances wit average players hoping they come good. My other problem is that we sell players for a lot of money but when we have to buy we complain about the market being inflated…the same market we use to sell our players.

  73. Delano , you may like Djourou that does not mean that he is up Arsenal standard. I do not agree with you .

    We went from essentially a team full of world class players, in 2002/2003 our starting 11 could walk in into any top 3 team in Europe.
    We have now 1 world class player left who scored more than 40 % of our goals who might leave .
    I do not expect Arseanal to win every year, but the manager should try to make smart decisions. like not bring in a players like Sylvestre who was a manure reject.
    Squilacci, Chamakh, Park. I wonder if anyone in the staff watched them play with other clubs before signing. Anyone who watched Chamakh play with Bordeaux could that he is good in the air when left alone and can only score on tap ins .

    When you have ex-players like Viera, Pires, Petit, Ljumberg, Nasri all saying the same thing do they all hate Arsenal too?
    Ferggie’ s brother and Viera have been going to every games Hazard’s team played at least for the last 2 months to show their interest . We all know his style of play would fit perfectly with ours, yes we do not want to spend 30 mil on a player , but if that player said to the club I want to go to Arsenal the club would make it happen ,like we did with Fab to Barca.

    Some will say that we do not have the funds to buy these great players, I would respond , it is not about the money , it is about making the right choice
    Pap Cisse cost Pardew 9 mil in January , the second best strike in Germany!

    I am also convinced that they are players in the championship who could add some steele to this team so won’t get pushed around by the like of Stokes and so on – BTW Smalling was bought in the lower league too by Manure.
    Olivier Giroux who is the best striker in France at the moment and might crowned champion this week has a transfer value of 10 mil before the Eurochampionship . he is tall and strong like Bentdner but he is good technically unlike Chamakh.
    The signing of Podolski is a good start, but not enough to concince RVP IMO.

    Vermalin, Kos, Ox, Theo, Gervinho… are all very but they need to be surrounded by even better players to compete for the title have a chance in the CL.
    complecency is what destroys great Empires and organizations overtime. Finishing 19 points behind the winners should be unacceptable at Arsenal!

  74. Gunfest

    Thanks for the insults. I never made mentioned of your name, since conscience is an open wound i guess that is the reason why you are worried.
    Anyway, I don’t care about arsenal not winning trophies, because trophies will never make me heaven not even dozens of it. Happiness of watching arsenal team play every weekend prolong my life not minding the outcome of the results. What matters to me is happiness. Mtcheeed.

  75. RVP has joined the pre tournement Deutch team without signing a contract extension or pledging his future to Arsenal. Wenger should be worried.

    Here is what Wenger should tell RVP to increase the chanes to keep him:
    ” Van Percy, we value your contribution with Arsenal, you have been a great captain to this club. I can not garanty that we will the title next yearv but the board and myself are commited in rebuilding Arsenal so it can challenge for the title.
    We started by getting Podolski, we will add at least 2 more new players this summer: a technically gifted passer ,scorer offensive midfielder and a new CB who will compete with Varmalin and Kos for a starting position that will keep them on their toes.
    Over the next few transfer seasons , we will let go of players who have been disappointing , and replace them with talented new players.
    We will not be able to spend 30 or 40 mil on 1 player like Man city or united, but we will go out and search the whole planet for affordable talented players who can play up to Arsenal’s standard.
    This is our pledge to you Van Percy, do not judge us by what we say , but our actions in the next couple years. ”
    “PS there is pest gooner called Gunfest who has pestering me to go to South America or even look in the championship league for cheaper talent…I will try to do that too”

  76. @Gunfest – Sweet

    @all – I’m tired of doing this over and over with speculation during every season end and yet nothing spectacular ever happens. Why cant this guy just give us a signing that would signify a real intent. Shittey went for Aguero and look what he did for them on the last minute(How many good strikers do they even have?)

    Guess i’m just too happy we even got the UCL place(bragging rights ascertained)…

    I dont even seem to have the stomach for the fight….whatever happens is gonna happen.

    Cool he has got us Podolski, but still dilly-dallying with M’vila etc
    Wish Arshavin would come back or be replaced by another extremely talented individual, wish Walcott could be converted to a central striker sooner cos we are really short upfront etc

    Just happy, but really really hoping for a lot lot more to be done

  77. If only were that simple. After feeling optimistic that RVP would sign a new deal it now looks like are in for another long month of will he won’t he.If some of the tabloids are to be believed $ity are willing to double his new offer. If that’s the case then I think we are going to lose him and it becomes a question of just how much we can squeeze out of those cashed up northern bogans.

    Hmmm I wonder if we lose RVP and get Nik Bendtner back we will be told it is like a new signing…

    So you see we aren’t too far apart in our views except where we differ is apparently this situation we face is ALL down to one man. Here I choose to beg to differ.

    Anyway I am now resigned to another month of this saga and if you were a player like M’Vila would you not be wanting to wait to see what pans out with RVP before committing. It then becomes catch 22. Hence the dilly dally.

    And then we have to work out who we can con to take all our dead wood to free up some cash.

    Here’s an idea- we say to Sity you can have RVP for $30m (only one year left on the contract and his age and injury record means that is optimisistic) plus they have to take on Squillaci, Park, Chamakh, Denilson, Vela, Arshavin, Almunia and Djorou. Then we have a deal! They can turn them into dog food for all I care, just be shot of them and start again.

  78. I agree that it is not easy, but the wrong strategy would be to try to put pressure on RVP to sign now. Instead let’s act as if he was not coming back and go and get the players we need , it would have a better chance of convincing RVP that we are on the right track.

    I really hope RVP stays , but if I were him and wanted to move , i would pick Barca , they don’t have a tradional center forward , or AC Milan, Juventus , Real Madrid. Going to City would be a big risk for IMO.

    M’Villa that plays for a team that never competes in the champions league would be happy to play for Arsenal essentially because of the history with the club of players like, Henry, Viera, Pires, petit…our reputation has declined in europe , but in France we still have a good reservoire of goodwill.

    Why Arsenal does not hire Pires or Petit as club consultant/ambassadors in France ? so they meet face to face and talk to French players we are targetting about the experience of playing with Arsenal.

  79. Drogba is …….amazing

    Chelsea have done it……the spuds are out

    Besides this, i loved their grit and steely performance against barca

  80. Congrats to Chelsea and Drogba .Well i am happy spurs will lose some of their players and happy that they play europa league .

  81. According to the premier league’s website this means we now have to go through the qualifying stages and not automatically getting for third? I’m not sure if this is correct, does anyone know for sure?

  82. Happy for Drogba and Chelsea. It shows again that there is nothing like pure talent on a team.
    It is true that Bayern had the better team but Chelsea also had some world class players who played in CL finals , world cup … They were playing in hostile surrounding , but they did not panic and their quality players came through.

  83. Clockender
    Am pretty sure both us and chelski are straight through to the groups. I wonder who are feeling worse right now, Bayern fans or the spuds…

  84. luck = chelsea.
    Pathetic display of football by Chelsea. Football can be cruel sometimes. Feel sorry for Bayern.
    All Chelsea did was defend.

  85. Terry

    Thanks, man. I really Home That is true though. Speaking of the final, the only reason I’m happy is that it means that third place still gets automatic entry for English teams for the next few years (Chelsea win would help the coefficients). Otherwise, they are one of the worst teams to have won the CL since it’s inception. They played absolute anti-football. Disgusting

  86. What does chelsea win to arsenal? Well they are the first team in London to win it ahead of us. About the teams inability to win anything? It is purely the coach and not the players. How can a young man like Dimateo do what Wenger has failed to do in 8 years. Beating if beating BARCELONA was a fluke the same fluke couldnt have happened in the final. Talent wise Bayern was miles apart. Talk about CHELSEA INJURIES but they were never lost on the pitch and still did it their way. Will aresnal ever win anything with Wenger. My answer is NO. eVEN NEXT SEASON WE MAY NEVER WIN ANYTHING WITH HIM. I hope Persie remains for football reasons but if trophies, Wenger has no motivation of producing the best from mediocre players. HE HAS NO TACTICS of winning a major tournamnet. Same style throughout. If defending for your dear lives earns you trophies, Why ob earth have we played attacking football for seven yeras without a trophy. WENGER MUST GO. WE NEED A CHANGE OF GUARD. he has nothin new any more. CONGS CHELSEA AND DIMATEO YOU DESERVE THE JOB.

  87. @cherian
    “luck = chelsea.
    Pathetic display of football by Chelsea. Football can be cruel sometimes. Feel sorry for Bayern.
    All Chelsea did was defend”

    All Bayern did was attack, they had no deficit to overturn(like barca 2nd leg), they refused to be patient, they lost fair and square so ur pathetic excuses is just so freaking lame….Arsenal FC better take a que from this

  88. Chelsea will not go for play off. any longer All four teams in epl automatically qualify to the group stages.A team from portugal will not replace chelsea for the play off.

  89. Chelsea will not go for play off any longer All four teams in epl automatically qualify to the group stages.A team from portugal will now replace chelsea for the play off.

  90. I’d still be inclined to persevere with Gervinho. To me he works hard and is more disciplined defensively than say Walcott or Arshavin when he played. I agree his finishing was woeful and he seemed to lose confidence after the African Cup of Nations but he is pacy and set up RVP for quite a few chances.

  91. So the french league has AGAIN proven my point that regardless of how much money the opposition has that if you buy the right players (Don’t have the cost 20 mill) and you can instill the right principles in them that they will have success.
    This summer won’t differ from the last 7 as wenger does the same thing over and over again…………..

  92. @ Opus

    very interesting indeed!!!!
    This article seems to dilute some of the wenger blame BUT it will only be justified if and only if he does not renew his contract cause if he does it would mean that he is in agreement with the current goings on @ Arsenal……

  93. Well Hazard is going to Chelsea so that piece of suspense is over.
    What I want to know is who are WE going to get?

  94. I like all of us want to see at least two big signings and not a French player I haven’t heard of. However there is a lot of attention around a young guy who plays for Crewe called NIck Powell. Have to say he looks really good (albeit in a lowere division). But I really hope we snap him up plus two big signings of course

  95. More pertinently sir Leftie, is when our bloggers are going to put up a new post. This site has lost its relevance. I look at Arseblog and he always has some interesting new post. Trouble is it does not have the interaction that this site can have. No of fence intended Andy.
    Retsub, I’ll have to take your word on the Crewe bloke. Another one for the future won’t satisfy anyone though!
    I suspect there won’t be much happening until after the Euros now and the RVP saga likely to drag on.

  96. Que sera sera

    My attitude to the tranfer rumour mill…

    ..Or we could be going to Wembley next year 🙂

  97. whats up leftcoaster…i’ll be coming back to oakland next march, for the st.patties day party at the oakland clubhouse. my daughter is out there now and my wife goes in july. i have to wait my turn, but it will be worth the wait.

  98. Well let me know when perhaps we could hook up if this blog is still active.
    Does anyone know if we have completed the Oliver Giroud transfer??

  99. will do leftcoaster…last time was very hectic, and i see a much better chance for it this time. as far as the giroud transfer, i don’t see any anouncement until after the euros, or at least while france is involved. all this focus on strikers has my wondering if wenger knows more about the van persie situation than he’s letting on about.

  100. My question is will Wenger buy two additional strikers with RVP staying? I think the handwriting is already facing us.My fear is that RVP will not extend his contract, probably, he will be sold.Giroud Arsenal move is very close.

  101. @Opus & Iggy
    I’m afraid you guys are probably right and Robbin will most likely be sold. I bet his real demand was that the team invest in some veteran talent and challenge to win something seriously. Something we either cannot or will not afford.

  102. @leftcoast…. i truely hope i’m wrong and rvp is staying, but my gut is giving me that feeling you get when your spouse is cheating on you, and you know something is up but don’t have concrete evidence yet…maybe we should hire a detective to follow wenger around and get the full story…..hahahaha..

  103. Has everyone gone somewhere else? If so where are you all.

    What’s the verdict on Podolski and Giroud? Flamini is on a free I really liked him until he did a Cashley, but might be a good option

    Perhaps if I mention the R (Ramsey) word it will wake people up?

  104. My prediction for neet season. arsenal to win the league and lefty to find his cat. I can say this because I am clairvoyant. This is an old trick but it might stimulate a conversation.

    Think of a number between 2 and 9, multiply by 9. You now have a 2 digit number. Add the two digits together take away 5

    You now have a number which you should relate to a letter of the alphabet so a =1 b =2 etc

    Think of a country beginning withe the letter
    An animal beginning with the 2nd letter of the country
    The colour of the animal

    Scroll down

    Now c,mon guys what would a grey elephant be doing in Denmark?

    Oh and Ramsey will come good this year

  105. Podolski- great signing but actually very similar to RvP..without the ball hes even better because he understands formation and is a selfless teamplayer.
    Giroud is a beast. He will be a superb addition and will give us a physical presence we gavnt had before…looking forward to.stoke away already.
    Conclusion…thus far, that is, Im happy out. Quality signings done early, Wengers finally showing ambition…RvP will go I just hope not to city…I hope Walcott is sold aswel unless he is tried centrally because his lack of imagination and execution out wide is still well below what is required, I know everyone is shouting bout the Ox and quite often it can be hype but he is already a better player than Walcott on every level bar his finishing arguably. Walcott wants a payrise that would bring him in line with players way out of hus league, again this stems from overpaying these players so young at our club. Let him go and blood in Myaichi and joel campbell upfront…when we are finally rid of the passengers and wenger has a full squad of sportsmen with the drive to succeed then we will compete on every front..and by the way we are doing business this summer, it could be 2012/13!

  106. @Restub……. How the f…. did you do that ???? you are amazing !!!! what are the lottery #s for this weeks powerball ??? i’ll split the money with you…i promise….no really…..you can trust me….hahahahaha….hello, hello, hello….is there anybody in there….just nod if you can here me…….is there anybody home ?????

  107. Tottenhamsters hire Villas Boas as skipper.
    What ever happened to Harry Redknapp the “Heir Apparent”?
    Oh well, this will have to do.
    Saint Totteringham’s Day cannot be long off now.

  108. Hey Iggy

    Its clever but sadly just a pay on the 9 times table. you will get the same answer 99% of the time whichever number you choose. Good party trick though.
    Shambo i share your sentiments on Walcott. I think he’s getting better, but he can still be a luxury player. I think his biggest problem is his feet are faster than his brain. He is also a far better player when he is counter attacking ie away from home.

    Still not convinced by Gervinho it will be a big season for him

    I hope RVP stays but i dont think the world ends if he leaves, i think i am right in saying that is his 1st injury free season and it will be harder for him to remain that way as he gets older.

    I dont know too much about Podolski and Giroud but they sound good.

    Personally I think our season could depend on Wilshires fitness, Unless I am mistaken we are still lacking creativity in midfield and we cannot rely on Rosicky.

  109. Bad news,
    It looks like our captain wants out.
    As hard as this will be on us I can hardly blame him. Every good player wants a chance to win something of worth. I wish him luck.
    I wonder if we will sell him this year since it’s clear he won’t re-sign or if we won’t get any offers for the same reason?
    Oh well,
    Happy 4th to all us Yanks out there. On we go.

  110. Greetings all. Happy 4th of July Leftcoast.

    So RVP wants out. hopefully it will all be sorted quickly unlike Nasri’s transfer last year.

    Not then end of the world. Spain showed you don’t need a striker! Maybe there is a spot for Chamakh after all!

    Personally now that he has made his “statement” he can sod off. Ungrateful sod. Typical of the modern footballer. One good season in his eight year career and he thinks he is Maradona. Bring back NB52!

  111. @ Terry pliz don,t remind us of mediocres like Chamakh. Their era ends with V.Persie’s depature. I would better retain B52 now though not a priority. On the two new strikers non of them is clinicaland magical infront of goal am yet to be proved wrong. Its time to look beyond Arteta &Rosicky 30+ player who may not take us any where next season. We must complement Wishere thats if he is any where near fit to play for us this season with another technically gifted attacking midfielder. Dont remind me of Ramsey or Coq or Frimpong. Buy Mvilla, Lloris,a good attacking midfielder and test Athletic Madrid on Falcao and i wont mind whether V.Persie goes to MANCITY OR NOT.The club must show us some little glimmer of hope amidst failures season after the other and Wenger is still coaching. His French national coach quit on first attempt. Wenger feared to take on the job. Could it be true that he insists at staying at arsenal just to hide his incompetence. He has failed to spot good talent of late buying Bendtner ,Chamakh and others. Tactically falling shot when it comes to European Nights.Question. Is he the right man to take us forward . V.persie may have left because the two strikers are the only signings they are likely to make the whole summer and that’s it. Mvila wont be bought because they are at the same level with Diaby(wengers son) expected to come back next season with Vengeance. It is this kind of incompetence and player loyalty that has cost us. Who knows where we could be had we sold and replaced V.persie earlier with better strikers by then for all those 7 years on the treatment bed.
    This stupidity in the board must stop. We need a player manager in the class of “the special one” who can motivate and get the best out of average players. Wenger is fit to manager Barcelona with totally accomplished players who need no motivation.He either kicks the ass of incompetent players or be kicked out. Chek Tiote is a talent in midfiled for all to see why not spot him quickly to partner Song. Why look else where yet some one is on your door steps.Why not try unsettle him. We have not bought any player from the premier league and you wonder what Arsenals sporting directors are always doing. Mancity has bought heavily from within the league and are already successful. The early buying of two strikers was a plot to mitigate the impact of V.persie’s eminent departure. The board already knew and regardless of what happens V.persie wont play for us next season. We need to get the money quick and buy about four quality players to enable them gel with the rest before the season starts. We shall not loose anything if we m use the money well and make the right signings. Sell to the highest bidder and get a falcao,Mvilla,Lloris and a mid fielder. I would be happy if he went to Madrid other than Barca or Mancity. We have a good record on Madrid in Europe so he wouldn’t be a threat .

  112. Delano, Leftcoastgooner – we all said for a long not buying quality in the long run will make our best players leave. The fact that we bought Poldoski and Giroux is a step in the right direction. RVP is a big loss we now need true top class offensive midfielder who can create goals and score.
    Walcott has speed , finishing not very good technically and not create with the ball to his feet. The best way to use is like with the England team , as a bench player.
    Gervinho does not score a lot of goals, his last year with Lille deceived lots people, his main asset is dribbling and creating for others. He too for a top club with ambition can not be a starter every as he lacks a great engine!
    We need another DM, CB and experience keeper ! That is a lot but that’s what we require to compete for a title. Apparently , Usmanov in his letter to the board is worried about the direction of the club too.
    Our reputation as a top European destination for great players has been damaged in the last few years.
    Ajax was once a great team too, what happened?!

  113. Well i am not worried about V.Persie leaving. The reason that made him to leave is possible signing of Podolski and Giroud rather than any midfield player, as the striking department is really crowded now and he has to compete for a place .As everyone says, he now wants trophies and wish to leave and not for money.Let him leave for a good money ,so that arsene can get some strength in midfield, and make our team competent for trophies.Even i am not worried if Walcott follows through. Because wenger is no longer interested in buying players aged between 17 to 23 anymore.

  114. I knew robin would leave, GOOD for him. wenger and the board epitomize DOUBLE STANDARDS, saying “we wont spend big on players” well why not sell vanpercy on the cheap if that’s the case, hypocrites!!!!!!!
    Let what you say reflect in what you do, if your doing things on the cheap then let it be reflected when the fans buy tickets, ours are the most expensive as we all know, YET we buy the cheapest players, real F*ckery!!!!!
    Am mad as hell with whats going on at the club, look at what nasri said and now robin.
    BUT you know what worst, people all over the blog are saying sell him now and i agree BUT when we sell him what happens to the cash???? I’ll tell you, not one F*ck, so then round and round we go like a circus. the board and the owner don’t care shit about us fans, all they want is profit and wenger is good at that.
    The only way is to not go to the games and don’t renew your season tickets, BUT that’s easier said then done.
    we bought two attacking players BUT where is the out and out pace that we were associated with, the element that has made us successful before, now its seems that slow and technical is all we want, wenger your and idiot and big one too.

    As i said before all the power grabbers around never new when their time was up they just woke up and realize its time, yours will come as sure as day because you can go to no other top club and oversee the crazyness, lies, deceit, double standards, wanton buying of crap players whilst between all this you get 7mil, if you think so much of your plan then TAKE a pay cut because you being paid too much, BUT you won’t and that just shows how double standard you and the club have been….

  115. as far as robin’s “statement” goes…what an ungrateful dick. all those seasons on the doctors table mean nothing as far as loyalty goes. i’m reminded of a stituation where a wife works 2 jobs to put her husband through medical school, then when he becomes a doctor…..he divorces her to marry someone else… he should NOT wear the captains armband this season !!!! and sell him fast…we have time to make moves with the money still.

  116. Yes but you can’t begrudge a player for wanting to win something.
    He was the last world class players left at the club. Over the years we have refuse to bring in top talents. Why would RVP stay at a club which has Chamakh, Djourou, Ramsey as players , they are not even close to being in the class. Last year we we were luckyb, we played a full season without a back up DM . Now there is talk that Diaby will be the other at position next season, really?! Because he is tall and black , does make him a defensive midfielder. He plays like Nasri , he is just taller!
    It hurts to say it, but we have become a feeder club. The moves that Wenger made this summer are good, but he should have done it last summer to show RVP that things were changing, and we were improving the squad. it was a huge blunder by Wenger that put us 17 th in the standing at one point.
    We can’t just lash out at the players if we’re in their shoes , I would do the same. We have only ourselves to blame . We are reaping the rewards for the decisions made for the last 6 years.
    Now that all our bright stars are left, can Wenger and the board explain why we have the most expensive tickets and why did we build a 60 000 seats stadium again ?

  117. @gunfest
    you are correct in poiting out that i shouldn’t begrudge him for wanting to win something. i have to say that i don’t know what is happening behind the scenes, maybe he just wants to win and with the boardroom circus that it is now he just doesn’t see that commitment?? that being said i still don’t want an uncommited player wearing the armband over qualified players who HAVE pledged themselves (vermaelen, sagna, rosicky,arteta,ect,ect..). its a slap in the face to them in my opinion. we have many international captains in our squad, surely it wouldn’t be to hard to replace him with a commited player.

  118. forgot to mention wilshire….he is the future of arsenal, and a future captain of the english international squad as well. if he can bounce back strong this season and not come back as….well…..you know who…..alright i’ll say it…..RAMSEY……he should be in line for the captains armband. young and tough, and commited to the club…he just lacks maturity…and that will come with age…thats why i didn’t mention him before.

  119. @iggypup Our main problem has been the midfield. In the days of HLEB,NASRI ,FAB we nearly won the premiership if Eduardo wasn’t to break his leg. Simply because we had a midfield closer to Barca. V. Persie was by then on the Doctors table for almost a season after he had played for us 15 games that season.No wonder BARCA bought HLEB that same season only for him to languish in no mans land. A top drawer midfeild wins you trophies. Look at Spain. We now have Rosicky a 30+ player who to me i think should be off loaded immediately to Italy to combine with the likes of Pirlo.Its just a joke to suggest him in the same wave length as the future of our midfield. Arteta is a 30+ player in the midfield. He is a reject in the Spanish National team because he is not better than any of 10 best Spanish midfielders. We have Ramsey, Diaby,Qocline. All these bunch of idiots please spare me the laughter. We are a total joke as i speak. I surey see no reason why Persie even had to waste time explaining why he is not extending his contract. He should have handed in a transfer request immediately. Apart from young kids like Ox, Walcott,Wilshere non of the old guard is good enough for our midfield apart from may be Song who to me i think is at times reckless in his movements but though good.Only a moron would suggest selling Walcott. We must retain him ,make him happy ,age is on his side and besides that he is the fastest player in the league. How could you loose such a player because of just loss of form which is akin to even Messi the best player in the world. With him on the side we can sit behind and play on the counter attcks as he thrives in Spaces. We just can loose him cause we have no replacement for him unless we bring in Gareth bale or Hazard . We must reinforce the midfield with quality. United has shipped Park out. We must ship Rosicky out with immediate effect. loan Ramsey, Frimpong and buy Chek Tiote to partner Song,Buy a good quality creative player to complemet Wishere when back in the team.

  120. well I for one am not going to spare the laughter. did I misread the last note or did you compare Walcott with Messi? What are you smoking?

    I could if I were so inclined make cases for Diaby who if he hadn’t been assaulted and thus injury prone isn’t a bad player…. Maybe he will do an RVP type injury free season, Ramsey, who I am convinced will come good with a competent midfield around him… but if you have seen Coquelin play you would know the boy is very talented and when his chance comes he will thrive.

    Also not being amongst the best 11 Spanish players is no insult and if we discount the keeper, strikers well one at least and the defence, your saying Arteta isn’t up to it because he. Can’t make the midfield of the most successful international team ever…. A little harsh don’t you think?

    It’s a real shame RVP is going, but we have Podolski
    , Giroud and another new boy… Wilshire to look forward to

    If we can get a good start I think we will do well

  121. i still haven’t heard any thoughts on rvp wearing the captains armband now that his statement of non commital has been made. what say you….fellow gooners….should he retain the captains position while he is still here, or step aside for someone else. and who should the new captain be ????

  122. oh yeah, i say he should step aside, and as for the captain…i would like to see bacary sagna or thomas vermaelen. bacary sagna has been one of our most solid and consistant performers year after year, and has been an inspirational player for us. it would be a fitting reward for his loyalty and hard work. vermaelen would be another great choice for many of the same reasons, plus he is captain of the belgium international side as well.

  123. Squillaci would be my choice. After all look at our recent captains

    Vieira
    Henry
    Fab
    RVP
    am sensing a patern here

    I’d go for Vermaelen or possibly Wilshire. Sagna striles me as a little quiet maybe??? And to throw in a wild card although i doubt he will be a regular, Santos strikes me as an inspirational type player…. no forget that one

    Szczesny?????

  124. Really like this article. Not sure any of us really know whats going on, but I think the writer has hit the nail on the

    headhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-2169935/Arsenal-trust-Arsene-Wenger-Robin-van-Persie–Des-Kelly.html

  125. …its so hard to contain the anger i feel…for starters i dont even know why im on here..no update in weeks and all the fools iv argued the point with for years are here now to answer for their arrogance and holier than thou attitude when it came to.being a fan of this club and having your own opinion…not ‘trusting’ in Wenger, Gazidis and Hillwoods lies.
    Im not going.into.the dozens and dozens of lies down thru the seasons, the last whopper was a few weeks ago.when.Wenger guarenteed RvP would be in a red jersey next season..I seen the interview for myself…then man has no care or thought for the fans..just be honest.stop toying with us now its a pisstake at this stage and we have Gazidis talking bout a marquee signing..me hole.
    Hillwood blocked ushmanov because in kroenke he has a like minded ally who like himself is purely motivated by turnover and money..this is why Wengers obsession to try win on the cheap, or rather his success at failing to improve and compete, is tolerated.
    Hillwood isnt being challenged by Kroenk because Kroenke is making money without having to invest. Gazidis isnt being challenged to do better because Hillwood is serving his own interests. Wenger is being challenged to do better by anyone because hes selling our best for millions and buyind cheap investments that suit the money men.
    I used to think the term investment meant an investment for the betterment of the team and on field sucess. its not. Hillwood ne
    eds to go..his underhandedselfish outdated agenda has gone unnoticed for so long i dont know how we fans missed it? why were our loyal ambitious shareholders who had the clubs best interests at heart selling up???
    Cesc, Nasri, Toure, gallas, Adebayour, Clichy, Cole, Flamini,Hleb…..and now RvP…they dont believe these liars who are playing with our emotions our time and our money….I truly believe t
    he wrong people are pulling.the strings at our club and its time for the fans to revolt. something has to be done..we are buying tickets for the most expensive carousel in the world and until everybody in the que gets real and informed on whats happened and continues to happen then we will go through this undermining of our club and its values every year.
    I can take opposition fans telling us were not good enough…but players still under contracts earning thousands a week???!!?? WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE.
    Wenger and the suits are loyal to money…so why should these players act any different when the gun is put on them.
    Get the people who care about Arsenal back in charge..David Dein was one…I dont want a City/ chelsea club but I have respect for Ushmanov showing he is a fan and speaking his minded.
    And I actually thought the giroud and pod signings were a signal of intent…i think deep down tho we all knew it was to soften the blow of RvPs departure…sneaky bastards all of them.

  126. @Shambo,Iggy,Retsub,Delano,kel, et al…
    Wow dudes explosive rancor!
    I’m not so much bummed that Robin’s going so much as I’m afraid we’ll make a hash of it and wind up giving him away for a 16 year old midfielder from Brie.
    And no, the armband is for someone who’s commitment is to this team and not another one. I’ll go as far as to throw the cat among the pigeons.
    Give the armband to KOZ!

  127. Lefty,
    It might have been a little better had i managed to spell and punctuate properly but im reduced to blogging by phone all the time now!!!
    Is this blog gone now or what?
    If so where are we gonna meet to palaver all things Arsenal in future?
    Where are you Shard Id love to hear your take on RvPs decision and the boards part in this??? How did we allow two of our most regarded players contracts get down to 12 months….AGAIN??
    Thats not stupidity, thats not carelessness….its pure negligent and so Gazidis and Wenger should have to answer for it.

  128. @ shambo
    The thing is that most people are looking for reasons to exclude wenger from being held accountable.
    The link above seems so one-sided on the issues, I know that hillwood only wants money and Stan is in this for only money reasons as he seems not to have a clue about football, BUT wenger has total control, not some, BUT all control on football issues, which make accountable even more than the aforementioned bunch. wenger has never been a manager that spends big on players, never!!!! if that were the case would be able to accept these last 7 years, as some say he’s a developmental manager even at his days a grampus 8, all he wanted to do was to buy players on the cheap and develop them as he is doing now. So to tell me that the board is not giving him enough money to spend and saying he’s under financial constraints doesn’t add up with his past record or the way he does thing, it make no sense to me. All the players that he bought that turned out great he paid small fees for almost all of them, and that’s the way he operates, he puts himself under financial constraints.
    BUT you know what will prove or disprove my point??? if wenger is so much working under a tight budget as some suggest and he knows that this will not change in a hurry lets see when his contract comes to an end, if he renews it OR if he renews it before it ends Then that will say surly that he agrees with the current goings on at The club…

  129. @Kel
    Interesting how two reporters who presumably have access to the same sources come up with opinions at either end of the spectrum. I have always liked Wenger and probably always will (other than I never saw the incident bit), I don’t profess to fully understand the internal mechanics, but personally I doubt that Wenger has control of the purse stringse.

    It’s disappointing about players leaving, but they didn’t all leave because of lack of success (Henry, Vieira etc). I can’t bring myself to dislike RVP although having spent 70 per cent of his career being paid for being on the treatment table, I think he should show Arsenal more respect. Now Nasri, Adebayor and Cashley ji dislike intensely.

    What is happening on this blog? Is it dead?

  130. Kel, you have hit the nail on the head,. I have watched Wengers teams for a long time and I agree, the financial philosophy used at the club is his !
    As far as I can remember Wenger unlike other managers has never said ” I would like to buy a player but I do not have the funds” . He always like to buy players on the cheap , well 15 years ago when you could talented players like Henry for less than 5 millions not any more.
    So Wenger is as much responsible for the state of affairs at Arsenal.
    At Monaco he was happy finishing in the top 5 ,won the league only once, he was always known as a great coach , his teams played attractive, but he was never known as a WINNER as he became known with Arsenal.

    Reality check – when Henry left , he sold to the fans that we could win the title with Adebayor and Bendtner, I never believed it. Many gullible Goonners did!
    When Sol Cample left we did not replace with a player with the same attributes and our defense suffered for years because of it.

    They humorous examples over the las 7 years when talent has been diminishing .
    Fabregas and RVP and others did not believe what they were being sold. making them captain is not enough to keep them…

  131. I think the comments at the end of the Martin Samuel article are far more pertinent than the economic bollocks that the writer is spouting. What Man City and Chelsea are doing is in no way a sustainable or (in my opinion) ethical. Basically being bankrolled by a totally separate revenue stream that has nothing to do with football. If I were a citizen of Russia or Abu Dhabi I would be mightily pissed off that the proceeds from my country’s mineral resources were being laundered overseas to run a rich man’s plaything.

    Actually the same thing is happening here in Oz and thats why they have introduced a mining tax to hopefuly ensure that a fair share of our mining profits might actually be used for something useful like schools and hospitals.

    But anyway, more importantly, should we all form a breakaway blog that has more up to date posts for us to rant and abuse each other over? I mean this thread is getting ridiculous. I wouldn’t want the job of moderator though!

    I for one am excited about the new season. It’s going to be our year I can feel it in my bones. After all that’s why we are the gunners isn’t it? We’re gunner win this year for sure. I just have to put up with four weeks of transfer sagas and such drivel.

  132. Lefty

    Sawit on the sky sports website earlier, but the article has gone now hhmmmmmm heres another though 2 am here cant sleep role on the seasonhttp

    ://www.givemefootball.com/premier-league/rvp-considers-arsenal-u-turn

  133. What they need: Midfield steel, a right-back and, if Robin van Persie departs, another striker.arsenal hear my call come on!!!!!!!!

  134. hi guys, how about a swap between robin and adam johnson he’s younger and we like them young, so why not for????
    Just thinking of ways to improve the team
    I really read that suggestion from someone else BUT i like it!!!!

  135. @kel
    I think Johnson is a good player and it would be a smart move. Only reservation is we are full up with wingers, I think the priorities lay elsewhere

  136. @Home made gunner
    I’m going to have to agree with you. Midfield steel is the call.
    But who else is listening????
    Hello, Arsene… are you there?
    Anybody got a link to the pre- season friendly with Anderlecht tomorrow?
    Oh, and does anybody else out there think our young Polish keeper looks like the lead singer for “The Pet Shop Boys?”
    (see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3j2NYZ8FKs )

  137. Robin is going period.
    Not because he can make more money elsewhwere but because he wants OUT at Arsenal.
    How many more quality players are we going to have to lose before we get rid of Wenger.
    He built and presided over some great teams but it is all over now. How much more proof do you need?
    Those who cannot or will not change have change forced on them. THAT is what is happening to our club.
    Still Robin or no,Wenger or no The Arsenal will ALWAYS survive. Like the Phoenix we will rise again from the ashes.

    COYG!!!!

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