A REASONABLE view of Arsenal’s problems and Wenger!

Arsenal, the true reason of the 9 year trophy drought by JD

As a Blackburn Rovers fan I can remember the good times, we were challenging for the title 3 years in a row and then the holy grail, 94/95 Tim Sherwood lifting that trophy and with Everton winning the FA cup. The scum that are united won absolutely nothing, prompting the lovely chant “oh Teddy Teddy, went to Man Utd and you won F**K all”, a chant no doubt every Arsenal fan enjoyed.

Anyway at Arsenal things were changing. A new forward thinking manager was hired and English football would never be the same again (or Arsenal for that matter). The chants of “boring boring Arsenal” would never be heard again. I can remember going to Highbury so many times as an away fan, tucked up right in the corner and loving the atmosphere. The fans were almost on top of the pitch and it sounded so loud and I will always remember how together the Arsenal fans were, totally behind their team – what a change from today!

Arsene Wenger came in with a concept and footballing culture that was ahead of his time and not embraced by all, as lets face it, a lot of footballers at that time were party boys and just living the dream with their ridiculously high wages, but though there were legends who disagreed, their time had come to an end, total fitness and diet along with football science was about to take over.

This was the time that even though I am (and always will) be a Blackburn supporter I became a huge Arsenal fan. The football that was played was an absolute joy to watch and as the “professor” built his team I couldn’t help feel envious of Arsenal fans (especially as events at my club would end up with numerous relegations and our ownership in the hands of chicken loving Indians who didn’t even know you could get relegated) with players like Henry, Pires, Bergkamp, Overmars, Viera, Petit amongst others (I could go on forever) the team became unstoppable, culminating in the season that I believe will never be matched (as much as Chelsea would love to disagree) The invincibles. To go unbeaten for a full season is unquestionably the biggest achievement of any manager in English football history and to think Arsene said the season before it was possible and everyone laughed at him!

So, what happened next? The club knew that to compete with Man United and the newly rich Chelsea the beloved Highbury would have to say goodbye. This would mean an extreme tightening of the Arsenal belt. The policy of bringing in youth and developing would become essential to build for the ultimate goal of dominating the English game. No-one saw Man city coming, with their bottomless pockets it was going to be truly tough for any team to compete.

The Emirates was built and I have to say it is fabulous, a space age stadium fit for the type of football that Arsene had instilled throughout the club and because of seriously good planning and business it nets more profit than any other stadium in the land even though it is not the biggest capacity wise, but it had to be paid for, and this is where most Arsenal fans believe the problems began, not competing in the transfer market.

I never believed there would be a nine year wait for the first trophy since the move but the fact the club managed to qualify for the Champions League every season while the likes of Liverpool, Spurs, City and Chelsea were throwing huge sums of money at it – and in the case or Tottenham failing 99 percent of the time to break the top four. Arsene stuck to his philosophy and still managed to play seriously attractive football, but something wasn’t quite right. On my first visit to the Emirates I noticed something I had never experienced at Highbury, a group of fans were getting on the players backs and making sounds of discontent if someone dare make a mistake and this is where the true problems began.

During the glory years, Arsenal fans had become spoilt and with the new stadium to be paid for and the new oil rich clubs coming in, it was never going to be possible to compete even though I would have expected a cup or two in that time it never quite happened, and every year I went back the more it became obvious why; the fans were divided. Most would never turn on Wenger as they would trust him till their dying day because of all he had done, and then there are the others; the ones, I am sorry to say, have totally undermined their own team. The negativity and nervous energy was being transferred onto the pitch and players and the dreaded nil nil games had started. If you’ve been the Emirates youll know only too well the games I mean, Arsenal would have several hundred attempts on goal but just couldn’t score, and even though in times past the calmness and composure of Arsene would filter down to the players and the goal would come (no matter how late) times had changed and now the players knew that if they missed that chance or misplaced that pass the fans would groan or moan, and this led to the tension that has haunted the Emirates ever since.

But what about now he has all the money? I hear you Wenger haters cry. At the beginning of last season a transfer happened that blew everyone away, Ozil, a truly unbelievable capture and not cheap and even though he hasn’t quite worked out (yet) and a lot of fans are slating him. I didn’t hear one complaint at the time, and with Rambo stepping up and showing finally what most of us knew he could do, and Kos rising to a level most of us didn’t know he had, along with Theo (who I think is Henry markII) and will become a lethal striker in time. Arsenal mounted a serious title push and led for so long, but disaster would strike, injuries one after another and not short term either, first Ramsey and then Theo. The title slipped away but I am convinced it was just bad luck, Arsene could have spent big in January but there is no guarantee the new players would fit straight away, but to the joy of almost all, the team would go on to end the trophy drought and win the FA cup. A great moment for the club and all the players that hadn’t been around for all the previous glory. so surely this would be the start of the revival of Arsenal.

The world cup finished and the rumours began (Sanchez to Arsenal) after being a fan of his since his Udinese days and watching him for Barca and Chile I was really excited about this. Sure enough it happened and for one reason only; Wenger. He met sanchez personally and made him believe in the new Arsenal revolution that was coming, and along with Debuchy, Chambers and Welbeck, the team had a truly confident feel. I could see with just one more signing the title could be Arsenals again; a defensive midfielder. It had become clear last season that Arteta just isn’t good enough, he distributes well and sets up play but defensively is nowhere near good enough in the big games – and as for Flamini he unfortunately has been found out. He tries hard but hasn’t got any positional sense whatsoever and leaves the back four exposed constantly, so why didn’t Arsene sign one? Simple! Because he knows he will get Khediera for cheap in January or for free next summer and that is the simple truth, he is tight but his loyalty is second to none, he spends the money as if it were his own and would die before he let the club get ripped off.

The supporters who are going on and on about “he didn’t replace Vermaellen and he should have bought another defender” I am sure you are all capable of looking into the future and you knew that Kos and Debuchy would get injured at the same time. But the rest of us didn’t (including Wenger) and I would like to point out that TV5 hasn’t played a single game for Barca as hes been injured! So even if Arsene kept him you would be in the same position with 15 million less in the bank. Bad luck has struck again but instead of getting down and slating a a truly great manager, who I guarantee will bring the title back to north London given time, why don’t you all come together as one and really get behind the team. You really have to realise that the football you play makes fans like me want to be an Arsenal fan, and if Arsene can get Hummels in January or in the summer, the addition of Khediera and/or maybe Schneiderlin next season will be Arsenals time.

So have some patience, and to those of you that are talking about Wenger like he is an amateur, please remember the days past and show some respect to a great man that loves your club. We all know he’s stubborn and isn’t perfect, but he has the clubs best interest at heart and that is winning not money. So now that he has some, don’t let your 9 years of patience go to waste, back him and watch what happens, turn the Emirates into an Anfield not a White Hart Lane and I promise you will get all the trophies you want.

Justin Davitt
A Massive Blackburn Supporter
A Huge Arsenal Fan

Tags Highbury Wenger

43 Comments

    1. As I said before weeks ago I have given up on Diaby as an Arsenal player the same way I have given up on Arsene.

      He is a total waste of space and his on a wage and team slot that someone who can contribute to the team should take up.

      Thanks for his service and contribution but its time the club and himself realize that its not just working and he should move on. He should take up a coaching training or-something if he loves football that much because clearly his place is on the bench or behind the desk.

  1. Abou Diaby, the injury-plagued midfielder is believed to have torn his hamstring in the latest of a series of serious setbacks and is expected to be out of action well into the new year…!!
    May I remeind you that he is the reason according to “the deluded one”, why he did not bring a DM…!!

    1. That poor boy Diaby will just never be alright! Life is not fair really. I really hope he has a backup job lined up, just to stay secure for the rest of his life. I can only wish him well….

      Back to Justin… Your article exudes a lot of reason and speaks of someone who really has patience with this regime. I absolutely understand Wenger’s penny-pinching habits. What bothers me now is that, in addition to all the problems we already have, there is the element of tactical rigidity about Arsene’s decision-making during games. He seems to want the team to continue to playing the same way no matter how the game is going? Remember that Sol Campbell substitution that saw him drive out of Highbury at half-time in that loss against West Ham? How would one explain Chambers not being substituted when the 1st half revealed he was a ticking time-bomb for the rest of that game? How does one explain playing Wilshere in a position he doesn’t seem to ever be getting comfortable playing? How does one explain lack of first team action for some of our bench players like Campbell, Rosicky, and Poldi when many of the starters have been so inconsistent? Why does a manager of his experience think 5-10 mins before the end of the game is enough for subs to effect a change? I’m not a manager but some of the unaddressed weaknesses appear to have obvious solutions that aren’t even tried. That just adds to the frustration that has already built among the fans.

  2. It is finished…
    Wenger is finished at Arsenal and those 2 years 1/2 left on his contract should/shall be his last.
    This is an insult to Arsenal fans intelligence…!

  3. @Justin Davitt
    lol.Stop wafflin,what a load of rubbish this article is,Kos gets injured at least once every season,if you were a gooner you would know this,go back an support Blackburn cos you don’t know what your talking about

    1. But he has a point though. If Debuchy was fit, Chambers would have easily fitted into Kos’s position! Sometimes its bad luck

      1. we’ve had plenty of bad luck in past years: learn from it.
        wenger should have more layers of backup & he didnt.

        not good enough.

  4. No excuse wil ever make me think Wenger has not lost it…the old man is clueless what guarantees u that he wil buy khedira in January or Hummels we ol knw wenger and dnt thnk he wil change overnight!

    1. even if we bought them we still wouldn’t win anything under Wenger,cos he just doesn’t know wat he’s doing anymore

  5. I really wonder sometimes, if Arsenal had been like Chelsea(full season injury free) or had Chelsea/City be like Arsenal(injuries after injuries to important players), what could have been the result?

    1. You should know and not babble AKB bs. All the teams have their difficulties and problems, its only Arsenal who fails to fix them. Chelseas striker gets injuried, they go and buy a new one. City Aguero gets injuried all the time, but they do have other players to replace him.

      Arsenal is no special to the others, we have only a special manager ( not in a good way ).

      1. Chelsea bought striker last season when they had nothing up front did they? City aren’t even gunna get out of the group in champions league maybe everyone should sack their manager and you should take over

    2. had same thought process. pointless though.

      chelsea have one of best medical teams in europe.
      are medical team was led by derek zoolander for years

  6. I guess it costs so much money to buy the right tactics for a game and you have to spend millions of pounds to make substitutions during a game and at the right time too, etc.

    #InWengerWeCrawl

    1. Just a point but when do the players have to accept responsibility? The manager puts out the team and sometimes it’s perfect tactics but the players just don’t perform (swansea game) everything was fine accept chambers just had a bad game, it happens.

  7. Good to see OG12 back in training.

    Hope he comes back faster, stronger, more skillful, lethal on goal and a goal machine!!! Is this so much to ask for (lol)

    Atleast Welbeck can rest aswell and have chance to watch from the bench, the fella went straight into action when we signed him.

    The best injury news am waiting for is the return of Kos, when is he due??

    1. as 2013-2014 season started (aug 2013) i remember people
      saying what the f**k will we do if koz gets injured?
      thankfully he didnt that year.

      and then the dolt went out and didnt get a CB again
      bc he could save a bit of money and get
      khedira on the cheap!?!?
      or bc he wouldnt pay the going rate for carvalho etc?

  8. Arsene bought Ozill, that was HUGE from him. But he wanted more headlines, so he played Ozill as winger and failed in a HUGE way. He needs to become a cricket coach, there anyone can play anywhere

    1. i think wenger wants to think he’s a genius.

      that he can play ozil at LW and succeed
      and people will go “wow i didnt know
      that was going to work out”

  9. One of the best article in god knows how long. Very true points EXCEPT-
    Chicken loving Indians is not true. Venkys doesnt reprsent us. Venkys is one off. Don’t worry though. I hear that your fan group are planning on negotions with them and will buy back the club.

    And we planned the move to Emirates as early as 2001. So Chelsea was nowhere in the picture.

    But lovely article.

    1. Exactly bro! Other articles would only mention the fact that Wenger sold Vermaelen and didn’t got a replacement. Nobody cared about what happened on the deadline day of transfer window.
      Wenger tried and made some bids though but the players don’t wanted to be the backup choices or didn’t wanted to leave the club. Now in January, we are hearing about many players to move to a big club. And the defensive performances will definitely persuade Wenger to buy a replacement. Otherwise he never would have it empty or unfilled.

      1. Why did Wenger have to wait till the LAST DAY?
        Every season wait till the LAST DAY?
        WTF he did for the whole 2-month transfer period and had to wait till the LAST DAY, DEADLINE DAY?

        1. Are you blind? Arsenal was one of the very FIRST club to actively do transfers last summer and we get some very good ones. We made 3 successful transfers when many other big clubs only had 1 or zero. But to you they are all replacements, right?

          1. quality replacements are good. Plus we also need to promote young players. Other clubs also sell in order to buy more. I don’t say Wenger is great or something but if Arsenal buys 1 player, you will cry for 3, if Arsenal buys 3 players you will cry for 5, if Arsenal buy 5 players you will cry for 7. Statistically, Arteta and Flamini have some best stats of the league. They are not world class but they do their job not as bas as you think. Unless you can buy the like of Matic or Toure, there is no reason to cry all day for unproven DM like Wanyama or Tiote. If we buy them and they flop, you will again moan about them like you did with Monreal. There is no gurantee if you get a player that worth ~ 10m to a big club like Arsenal.

            1. we need to buy as many as the holes we have and
              as to cover those that left.
              yes: we bought enough to cover who left
              (vermaelen doesn’t count since he was and is injured)
              but we didn’t buy critical pieces : wenger always just
              comes up a bit short in the trading window.
              i honor his legacy but at some point you have to
              live in the present. and its been this way at least
              the last 4 years.

  10. To win any title in any league you need key ingredients IMO:

    1- Top class keeper
    2- 2 top class CB
    3- World class DM
    4- Top class CAM
    5- Lastly a world class CF

    Do have what it takes? you be the judge.

    1. And for that you need a hell lot of cash, otherwise one billionaire owner of oil fields or airways,etc(you got it).

  11. How about everyone who wants wenger out on this forum start a campaign , I want him out aswell, there is one good place that can get everybody’s attention .. *Unboxing* “TWITTER” We could do a HashTag on twitter and instagram, Get the post to rank 1st then the media would do the rest.. And every other person who would see the match live at the emirate would ready their banners.. Who is in ? #WengerOut

  12. One word, “favoritism”.

    Players he likes, despite of form, ability, he will keep them and play them as much as he wants. Giroud (whole Arsenal career), Sanogoal (Swansea match recently), Cazorla (recent months), Ramsey and Jack (whole Arsenal career), Arteta (just a meanlingless contract extension), Diaby (how many games he actually played for us?), Ox and Theo…
    Players he does not like (or trust), gets rotten on the bench, or assigned to not so familiar position(s). Bendtner, Arshavin, Gervinho, Podolski, Rosicky (this season), Ozil (shifted to left to accommodate Jack), Campbell.

    This is our manager.

  13. The article has the typical wenger mentality embedded within it. We always seem to need atleast 3 purchases every season to make a bid for the title. Guess what!! it hasnt happened yet. Im sorry, but no club with title aspirations would have monreal at CB and flamini in midfield. These deficiencies in defence are absolutely criminal.

    What is baffling is how the article mentions that Wenger cares about trophies and not money…ROFL. The board has been looting the fans dry with false promises of future title challenges. The reason why the arsenal supporters are unhappy is because MUCH MORE is expected of the club. Once us fans accept that we are no longer a top club, we will all ferociously get behind the team. Its a life lesson in fact, a person having high expectations is more likely to be dissatisfied with mediocrity.

  14. Well done Justin. I’m no AKB but I agree with most that you say and although Arsene does have his flaws, I concur that we are not far from being a very strong team again.

    I think that social media plays a big part in our issues. In days gone by it would have been a pre or post match beer and discussion about the game, now it is a 24×7 barrage from informed pundits who rival the AKB supporters with WKB (we know better) having never run a football team yet know better what the tactics or formation should have been, who should have been played, who they clearly would have bought (fcking fantasy football) etc etc. Many will never have even visited Highbury or the Emirates. The press latch onto the sh**e produced and it becomes a constant tirade of disatisfaction from every direction. Even someone on this post is proposing to use Twitter to start a campaign to show our desire to remove Wenger…makes the point perfectly.

    In my view we are were we are. January is around the corner and unfortunately it will not be until then that we will (hopefully) have a fully fit squad back in play or see what happens with any transfers. No matter who you are Klopp (struggling with Dortmund), Brenda (what can I say), oil rich City, the worlds richest club in Utd…sh** happens, so start supporting the team and be grateful we’ll never be Spuds.

    1. gooner100: seems like you’re saying its mainly because of our injuries?
      well: we’ve seen that picture every year.
      whether its the way we play or the way we train: our team gets
      more injuries.
      a competent coach would learn from that, accept it and have
      even more backup than other squads do.
      instead we have less backup.
      in some positions, its not even a Q about backup: the 1st team players
      are simply not good enough.
      W has failed repeatedly & criminally in the many transfer windows .
      he stands culpable for our current predicament: not bad luck.

  15. It was a good effort and i especially liked how it began. Highbury… good old Arsenal. Unfortunately i dont think you will get many on here to listen. It would be great if we could get some of that old atmosphere back and i truly believe if there had not been such a dramatic change in atmosphere we wouldnt of had a nine year wait, or maybe we would even have a number 14/15 title to boot.

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