A review of Arsenal’s performances in August

How would Arsenal look back at the month of August? by SE

With Arsenal’s draw against Leicester bringing an end to the month of August, we take a look back at how Wenger’s men fared in the first month of their 2014/15 campaign.

FA Community Shield
On the 10th of August, last season’s FA Cup winners took to Wembley, to take on the defending Premier League champions in the annual curtain raiser. Arsenal were slow off the blocks, but did make staunch impact on the game through Sanchez and Ramsey. Manchester City were caught napping on many an occasion, as the North Londoners enjoyed a slick start to their campaign, with a 3-0 plundering over the Etihad outfit.

It was a statement of intent and sign of things to come from the Gunners, who had recruited astutely; their new signings – Sanchez, Chambers and Debuchy – started off brightly, thereby leading to the early excitement for the Gunners’ faithful, at the onset of a new season.

Champions League qualification
For the second successive season, Arsenal were drawn against a Turkish outfit, in the Champions League playoff tie, with the winner progressing to the group stages of Europe’s elite club competition.
Besiktas took on Arsenal in the first leg of the tie, at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul, and threatened to land a huge blow on the Gunners’ ambitions of making it to the group stages of the competition for the 17th year running. They had a plethora of chances to pull ahead on aggregate, ahead of the away leg at the Emirates.

The game, however, finished 0-0, with both sides profligate in front of goal, and not burying the chances that came their way. Arsenal were dealt with a huge blow, as Ramsey was red-carded; Arteta injured his ankle, raising serious question marks over the North Londoners’ chances of winning the second leg at home, which was the only way to progress through.

The second leg was chock-a-block with nerves and anxiety for everyone gathered at the Emirates, with the away side creating a good number of chances, as they just needed a score draw to go through. But Sanchez scored for Arsenal on the stroke of half-time, and albeit Arsenal were living off the edge, in the second period, Besiktas’ lack of quality meant that Arsenal went through 1-0 on aggregate.

Arsenal’s Champions League history, over the years, meant that they were in pot 1, with a relatively easier draw to look forward to. However, having drawn with Borussia Dortmund, Galatasaray and Anderlecht in the group stages, Wenger’s men will have to do really well to reach the R-16.

Premier League
The win over Manchester City in the FA Community Shield had raised the expectations on Arsenal and Wenger to start off smoothly against a manager-less Crystal Palace, on the opening weekend. However, it was a difficult game for the Gunners, who had to sweat blood to win 2-1, with Ramsey’s injury-time winner giving Arsenal all three points. It was the slightest of warning for the North Londoners, that nothing was academic at this level.

The second game of the Premier League season saw Arsenal face a stiff away test against Everton, who had obliterated the Gunners 3-0 last April. And, the script was very nearly the same, as the Toffees went 2-0 up in the first half, and Arsenal weren’t creating enough chances to threaten Everton’s goal. However, Arsenal threw the kitchen sink in the last 10 minutes, as they played on the nerves of Everton to draw level and earn a very well deserved away point, a crucial one at that. 4 points from two games, and Arsenal were doing very well, up until now.

With the international break lurking in the horizon, Arsenal faced an away trip to Leicester, who have been the brightest of the three newly promoted sides. So it was never going to be a walk in the park for the Gunners. Sanchez gave Arsenal the lead in the 20th minute of the game, but Ulloa’s header in the 22nd minute deprived Arsenal from pocketing all three points, thereby failing to go past Man City and Liverpool in the embryonic Barclays Premier League table. These two points dropped against the Foxes would be of huge regret to Wenger, who, up until then, had done so well to keep the Arsenal machine operating in pristine condition.

Final Thought
Arsenal will be content with what they have managed in the first month of the 2014/15 campaign. But those two points dropped against Leicester will be of concern for Arsenal, who face a hectic schedule once the international break culminates.

Arsenal’s monthly rating for August: 7.5/10

Brilliant Wenger Parody of Transfer day deadline – POKER FACE!

Tags Besiktas Man City Sanchez

85 Comments

  1. i still cant believe weve got fkingg welbeck wenger has lost it ffs.
    Goodluck finishing in the top 5. Im so bloody disappoint we have no defence, one injury to our cb and its all over. 16m for welbeck ahahahahahahaha WTF man is this a dream? fkk wenger the muppet i feel sad for ozil and sanchez thyve made a massive mistake joining this BS team no ambition fkig 4th place team errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggg fkfkfkfkfkfkfk

    1. He is 23 years old, he have his best years ahead of him, he is fast and strong and have a great work rate, he have played in premiership for years and Sir Alex drunk Ferguson saw something in him (not that bad). And he has great passing abilities for a striker. Yes he could be alot better at finishing, but let’s see, maybe we got a new sturridge… What I am mad on Wenger about is not so much the lack of a proven striker to our ranks… No it’s that we haven’t bought a central defender to cover, but most important, we haven’t bought a defensive midfielder, that we need so much!!? Wenger makes the same mistakes over and over, everybody else can see it, just not him… hmm :/ but still lets respect him as a man and judge when we are atleast half way into the season… COYG!!!!

      1. Seriously speaking, any free agent defenders out there that we could sign? Lugano is a free agent, I know he’s old but would be a good 4th choice for us I guess. desperate times

      1. Pathetic. You really are. What are you? Terrorist who like football and unfortunately supports Arsenal.
        Pathetic.

    2. Arsenal’s biggest problems are not up front. Welbeck is fine. The problems lie with deficiencies at DM, vacancy at CB (backup) and Wenger’s “forget the wings/no width” tactics.

      Fix those other problems and the Arsenal midfielders could make Welbeck a star.

      1. Starting x1

        Szczesney
        Debuchy mertesacker koscielny gibbs
        Wilshire Ramsey
        Walcott ozil sanchez
        Welbeck

        Bench from
        Ospina, martinez,
        chambers, monreal
        Arteta flamini Coquelin diaby
        rosicky cazorla chamberlain, campbell, podolski giroud,

        Plus
        macey, iliev, vickers, huddart
        Bellerin, moore ajayi, pleguezuelo, ormon-ottewill, kamara, jebb, zelalem,
        gnabry, crowley, iwobi, maitland-niles
        Sanogo, akpom

        I am well happy with that line up and depth. Just visit the wiki pages of chelsea and man City, have a look at Chelseas 23 man squad including the likes of schwarzer, andersson, ake, Mikel.
        Check out man city’s 25 (which they need to reduce to 21 for champions league) including wright sinclair, De michellis, boyata, guidetti) they can’t leave wright and sinclair out of their Cl squad as they need 5 association trained.

        Liverpool and man united have the largest first team squads, but these are grossly inflated by at least 10 players with little or no experience, plus also include weak.players that they were desperately trying too offload.

        When the champions league squads are submitted later this week, you will see we are not in such a bad position. We will even have the luxury to be able to leave an injured player (giroud) out completely. Chelsea won’t be able to do that, man city and Liverpool will have weaker squads, while LAUGH AT UNITED, won’t even be able to submit a champions league squad!!

        1. Wiltshire and Ramsey simply do not play well together.
          Wiltshire should be cover / sub for Ramsey.
          Can’t believe we passed on Cesc, that midfield of Ramsey and Cesc damn that would have been impressive.

      2. It’s not about which position gives us the biggest problem, after the entire summer and a large transfer budget, we shouldn’t have any problem areas at all, yet we have three. That’s why we’re so annoyed.

  2. The “potential” Welbeck-Sanchez partnership surely smells like the Strurridge-Suarez partnership (major difference is that both players of the former aren’t quite up to the later’s yet).
    YES, we have not brought in the desired “30-goal” established striker (and personally I am very angry – btw f*ck u Wenger!!!).
    However what you will potentially get in Welbeck, is a striker that will make our counter-attacks more deadly, and will considerably increase our goal-scoring chance creation with quality technique and hold-up play (arguably better than Giroud’s).
    I know Welbeck will make us “play better” and he will create plenty of chances for himself and his teammates most especially. Problem is: Who is going to finish those chances?! I fear the answer to that question isn’t Welbeck. Maybe Sanchez, Ramsey or Walcott. In other words, our entire team (Özil included) needs to step-up their goal-scoring ability.

    PS: This is one of those times where you find yourself grasping at straws trying to make out something (anything) positive out of the current reality!

  3. I like Welback his work rate is impressive. he will prove Luis Van Gaul wrong. lets give him a chance and he is Gooner now.

  4. £16 million for a current international player at a good age, with great potential is a good price.

    Welbeck could be really good for us, IF he gets playing time!

  5. Am I the only one buzzing about Welbeck?

    Yes, Wenger is a total idiot and a Liar but I am actually glad we got him. Yes, it was a panic buy but its our best panic buy to date

    Get behind the young lad you bunch of idiots

    He hasnt even arrived at the Emirates yet, and you mugs are already putting him down

    1. I am excited with regards to Welback. I know many dont share that enthusiasm. I think all the hate is directed towards him because we didnt get any defensive cover. if we had a dm and back up CB, most would not have cared if any striker had come (they would give that player the benefit of the doubt)…

      glad transfer window is closed.. now to focus on our team and players and doing well…

    2. You got it right on both accounts.

      1. Welbeck is a good addition.
      2. Wenger is still a liar. He stated the club absolutely needed to get a CB replacement for Verm. He made statement after Jenks was gone, Chambers had arrived, and Verm had departed. There was no confusion. Unless he comes up with a “dog ate my homework” excuse, he lied.

      1. Where does he stated that. Can you come with a link to it because I can’t find it anywhere. Until then, you are the liar. And no, reading between lines does not count as statement of intention.

        1. Yeah, it is like Wenger convened a meeting to be televised to Arsenal fans and stared in to the camera with his hand on the bible and solemnly swore to buy a CB. We all saw the press interviews to which mohawk is alluding; he was talking to the Joe Bloggs reporters just fending them off with the standard responses – he wanted to buy a CB, that is all that was said. Why we didn’t get one is a different argument – but the starting point for that argument is not that Wenger lied to the fans. Tellingly, the one club with the most clout and dosh at the moment who need CBs even more than us, Manure, have also failed. Shows what the market for decent CBs must be like.

          1. Even Chelsea has 2 standard CB in Gary cahill and JT. Ivanovic is currently the only ) since Azpilicueta has been moved to the left. They have just the young and EPL-inexperienced Kourt Zouma and Luis Felipe extra which makes it 6 in total… but media only sees Arsenal’s so called flaws and knowing us arsenal fans, we just slate our team because a LiveRpool or Manure legend-turned pundit say so.

          2. Stop avoiding the question. Did he or did he ever said he will sign a CB or a CDM ? Until then, take a sit and enjoy the show.

      2. No mate I’m buzzing too, England internationals cost more, but when you consider we got welbeck and chambers for less than Luke shaw (initially) I am more than happy.

        Falcao for 9 months for £24 million, might.look ok, but do we really want to pay him £350k a week while we pay ozil and sanchez combined far less than that? It would destroy what arsenal stand for.

        Also those people on here that say yes we should pay that, just remember, Wengers contract states that he should always be the highest paid, non-executive at the club. Pay £350k to a player then you have to pay wenger £360k I am sorry that is obscene and wenger has refused to pay himself that much.

    3. I am not at all sastisified with the way Arsene conducted the transfers. I mean little cover for the defence = asking for trouble. I was desperate for a solid DM. Poor transfer window for us.
      However, I am satisfied with Welbeck considering the rather avoidable circumstances leading up to the deal. It really smells like a panic buy. If it really is one*, I think it is a damn good one. Probably a bad finisher at the moment (big cause for concern), but Welbeck is by no means a bad footballer. He is a good footballer.

      *There may be a theory out there that Welbeck (An obviously talented and young English international striker with potential) may have been in Wenger’s plan all along. Maybe the poker he was playing was to allow ManUTD the instant gratification of getting Falcao so that they would be transfer-drunk to the extent of selling us their player when we clearly refused to do the same to them earlier in the same window.

      1. @Usmanov… I was actually thinking about Man Utd. next year NO FALCAO, 31-32 year old RvP, NO Welbeck and probably Chicarito… only Wayne to lead them? so they might have hit themselves without knowing it..

        1. One word. Instant Gratification. They are gonna be spending sh*t load of money for a striker next season again. But they have the money it seems! Falcao will use them and dump them. They will probably be scrambling for a striker, midfielder and defender in a few month time.

          PS: Still jealous of their attacking third though. And Di Maria could prove to be a beast signing for them, regardless of thier unsolved weakness in other positions.

        2. or stump up another £40M for the option to buy RF. A lot of dosh even for Utd to spend on someone who will hitting 30 years old.

  6. Guilty before proven innocent…

    Give welbeck a few games before you sharpen your knives. He has potential to become a great player.

    I’m wondering what purpose Podolski has at AFC these days. Seeing him come off the bench against Leicester and done NOTHING. Didn’t chase anyone down. Got no strikes away. Good for nothing but posing for photographs. When Theo comes back I see Sanchez move to the leftoth Cazorla a better back up. As for him as a lone striker. Don’t make me laugh.

    I’m supporting Welbeck fully until Christmas.

  7. I asked one of my ManU friends for an opinion on Welback. And thid is what he had to say.

    “Dat is a difficult question cnsiderin he hardly played regularly….ferguson played him in d wing so dat he cud develop his ol round game although he is a striker…..welback constatly delivered last season wn van persie is injured…. he’s nt d most lethal of finishers….bt d brilliance of welback lies in his pace powe n superb technique which wud b mre utilized at arsenal…..he plays well in champions league cz European sides r nt used to such direct players…..he was our bst player against Bayern n was a cnstant menace….d same with real d year before….so he still cnt turn around matches on his own Bt wn u include him in a team of crafty players his work ethic n unselfish attitute helps d team a lot…..

    And here’s what i feel.

    He debut season for ManU was 2011-12. And let’s not forget that ManU had sh*te midfielders than. No one of substance. With a better service from Arsenal midfield he will do well for us. Also lets not forget many of the 90 appearance were as a sub.

    Don’t show your hate on him for absolute no reason. He is a major signing.
    I never believed he was our 1st choice, but that’s what deadline day is about.

    #welcomewelback

    1. I don’t get the feeling that fans dislike Welbeck. Fans are rightly upset that Wenger did not address the needs of the club as a whole – no DM (that is the big one) , no CB backup (shocking), No Reus for the wing.

      Welbeck should do fine. I would start him immediately. Sanchez is clearly better playing on the wing or just inward behind the striker. Welbeck knows how to play. He could start right away.

      1. Back line : Debuchy,Chambers,Mert,Kos,Monreal,Gibbs,Bellerin,Hayden
        Back mid : Arteta, Flamini, Chambers, Diaby, Coquelin
        What the fu ck do you want more?

        Wing players : Ox, Sanchez,Walcott,Campbell
        What the fu ck do you want more?

        Bid of 40 mils was rejected by Dortmund. Only an idiot could think they will sell their best player against the side they will face in two weeks time.
        CDM? Carvalho? Have you seen him play? Rabiot? How is he better than Coquelin or Diaby? Khedira? To be stuck on a 200k/week wage for an injury prone player? See how much will Madrid play him this season.
        Now, the striker/forward issue. Lets see : Welbeck, Sanogo,Giroud,Sanchez, Podolski, Giroud,Campbell.
        What the fu ck do you want more? Pay 20 mils for an ACL loanee? In a league three times tougher than Ligue 1 where basically there’s only one team? Cavani? At 28 and huge wage plus 50 mils? The reserve of a certain 30 yrs old guy called Ibrahimovic?
        Until this craze with overrated, over-hyped players ends there will be no signing. City was warned this year. Same PSG.

    2. Why do I feel that Welbeck style of play will bring the best out of Sanchez and other midfielders of ours? Why do I feel that pricing away a young English international from a top rival like Welbeck is definitely a coup? Why do I feel like Welbeck isn’t the Savior? That he is just the one to take the pressure off Giroud (so he can play with more freedom and confidence in front of goal)? Why do I feel like now we truly have competition in the CF department with Welbeck and even Sanogo Itching to stake a place?
      Why do I feel like I am grasping at straws?

  8. welbeck wouldn’t have been my first choice and lets be honest welbeck to arsenal has panic buy written all over it.But there are few positives to look at
    1) guy is only 23 so there’s massive room for improvement.
    2) He not a ‘replacement’ for giroud rather an ‘improvement’.
    3) He already knows the premier league.
    4) Strength, speed something we haven’t seen in an arsenal striker for a while.
    5) He not a gamble at all, a gamble is an aging Falcao just returning from injury and being paid a absolutely huge salary to match what he was earning tax free at Monaco.

    1. Nice one @vijagunner.
      But surely you must be disappointed with the way the last days of our transfer went. Many think that if we were going to get only a striker, it should have been a Cavani or a Reus.

  9. We know what Wenger thinks about Sanogo’s performances. The fact that he went for Welbeck says it all. Wenger now realizes he can’t wait 2-3 years hoping the Sanogo develops.

    1. @mohawk
      Knowing wenger’s history of using players out of position, I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts him on the LW. He might keep sanogo upfront & rotate Özil & santi at no.10.
      Since he’s good at tracking back, he can help monreal in defence.

    2. @mohawk.
      Strong observation!
      Maybe true maybe not. But strong observation nonetheless.

      PS: Certain Journalist are calling Welbeck’s exit out of Manure a “big name departure”. Maybe a bit too exaggerated there. However when you consider what he might have given to Manure in the long-term, you may tolerate the thought. Again, Welbeck is a long-term prospect, but Sanogo is an even LONGERRRRR-term prospect.

  10. a certain Thierry henry couldn’t finish until his 7-8 game, and we’re here judging Welbeck as shite before he even played.

    has anyone really seen him play and who he plays with?

    at Man U, he’s been a winger more than a striker. and whenever he’s got a chance to score, he’s too scared to make that shot because gd old shrek sneaks up and calls for the ball.
    if he doesn’t score, shrek gives him the dirtiest look as if he’s gonna rip danny to pieces…

    you think any young player can perform with that guy around?
    Heck, even Mata and Kagawa was struggling because Shrek wants to play all over the pitch and do it all himself.

    Welbeck has pace, workrate, and most importantly, a direct approach that is willing to run at defense and through them to beat the offside trap.
    the ones that are blind are the Man Utd fans who don’t see his quality.
    even Fergie said in his biography that welbeck is one that will make it big in the nxt few years, suggesting that he has faith in him.
    so cut him so slack.

    Our game has been so stale most of the time because arteta+ cazorla + wilshere are all players who want the ball at feet, and would never release the ball to spaces behind defenders because they don’t believe there’s someone running into it.
    Why’s Ozil suffering? same reason.
    If we don’t get someone like welbeck, than all that effort from sanchez will be pointless, and eventually he will converted into someone like gervinho.

    the problem has always been our reluctance to play the ball forward BECAUSE there’s NOONE running in for it, other than Ramsey and Walcott perhaps.

    that’s why when these 2 are gone, we play like shite.

    what we need to get rid of is that mentality, and Welbeck is 1 step towards the right direction.

    I would love to see Welbeck CF, Sanchez LW, OX RW and Ozil CAM and see what happens.
    if even that’s not changing our game to something more direct, then the problem MUST BE Wenger’s tactics and orders, and not the players fault.

    IF Wenger is THAT idiotic and afraid to attack, then i won’t want to see him as our manager anymore.

    1. Don’t assume most fans are against Welbeck. I don’t believe that is true at all. Fans are rightly upset with Wenger at the moment (for other transfer issues) but most fans know Welbeck will be needed and welcomed.

    2. Some good points there jibber. Whether by accident or design Wenger has done one thing well this transfer window; he has injected a heap of energy and directness with Sanchez, Welbeck, Debuchy and Chambers. Campbell back off loan adds yet more. For all our teams attributes, this relative inability to be direct and to press has been a big weakness.

  11. Valid point. However nobody seems to judging Welbeck based on his “small” price tag. A few even thinks that his 16M is too much! I think most are beginning to judge him based on his goal-scoring record and the opinions of some ManUTD fans.

    1. The opinions of the majority of Man U reaction I have seen is that LvG has f**ked up in selling Welbeck. The jury will remain out on his prowess in front of goal but he has the rest of the package in abundance. Worth £16M for the energy he will bring to our frankly lethargic team at present. With defence always beginning with the front men we have come up trumps with DB and AS imo.

  12. Moor. They will never do it.
    That’s the beauty of it.
    They just want to stick it up to the squad or Wenger as not good enough.

    Can you imagine when they heard Wenger was in Rome, they went beserk without realising he signed Sanchez from a beach in Brazil.
    Also if you remember the trolley dash at the end of 2011-12 after we lost to ManU, we signed three players, but that day he was in Geneva for a conference.

    But they won’t understand and will simply say
    One trophy in 9 fcuking years is not good enough for a club like Arsenal.
    Without even realising that Arsenal at a time, didn’t win the league for 17 years.

    Please go and see a movie today- PITCH FEVER.

  13. We are yet to loose but on the other hand we hadnt impressed either…id give our august 7 out of 10.

    As for welbeck, just hope he plays as the striker without any experimenting and than i believe he can score 15 untill xmas

    1. You are right. Start Welbeck immediately and often. He is needed. He is the best Arsenal have to fit the striker role in Wenger’s system. Cheer him so often that he oozes with confidence.

  14. Seriously? When I listen to Wenger is exactly when I DO get wound up.

    When asked about Giroud’s absence Wenger starts in with his nonsense that Arsenal still have Sanogo (terrible) and Walcott (injured) or Poldi (never plays) or Ox (never used up front) etc.

    He insults the intelligence of every fan when he does that. NOBODY believes him. Not the players, Not the fans. Not the media. Nobody believes that sort of gibberish. And the fact that he acquired Welbeck in a panic buy shows HE does not believe his own nonsense.

    1. mohawk: How would you deal with the press? Slag your players off and tell the truth? Tell them who you are thinking of buying? Come on man. You must listen all the time to the inanities and clueless fluff they come up with. And as you say nobody believes him so why exactly does it concern you? Welbeck was not a panic buy – it wasn’t on the radar until 6 hours before the deadline – opportunistic more like. Wenger gets the “ditherer” tag ad nauseam, why when he doesn’t dither he gets panned for a “panic” buy. He is never gonna win really is he? The panic buy would have been Zigic, Remy or someone else as soon as Giroud got injured.

      1. I would say……. “Yes, with Giroud out we have some problems that need to be addressed one way or another – no doubt about it.”

        I would not say “Don’t worry, we have a young player who has never scored any goals and never proven himself at any level – and we also have an still-injured Walcott who has only played striker a few times – we are fine.”

        And then I would not have to contradict all those words by going for a striker in a last minute panic bury.

  15. On the topic at had, August has been a roller-coaster for us all.

    Positives:
    1. We started out well with a convincing win against city and had a decent preseason while missing most of our top players (ps: Sanogo actually scored)
    2. We signed some players early for once – Sanchez / Chambers / Ospina / Debuchy
    3. We finally offloaded the deadwood (some anyway) – lord Bentner and his side kicks
    4. We started the league with a win which we haven’t managed to do in a while now
    5. We got a point at Goodisson were we were raped last season
    6. The new boyz have settled in quiet well (bar Ospina and now Welbeck who are yet to play in our colors) and have gone straight into the 1st 11.
    7. We qualified for CL
    8. We have signed a better striker than Sanogo and we have Campbell with us for the season
    9. We have an okay draw in the CL
    10. Girould finally scored against City and Everton!!!

    Negatives:

    1. Injuries injuries injuries – story of our club huh, with Arteta / Theo / Diaby / Gibbs / Girould / Ospina / Gnabry / and now potentially Ozil and Kos
    2. We have not played any game convincely (bar the Man city game) and have struggled to get our rhythm back
    3. Players been played out of position
    4. Lack of tactical awareness by our coaching staff
    5. Lack of buying the players the team actually needs – DM / CB / WC ST
    6. Weve so far played with a weak LW
    7. Poor displinary record so far (our players are attracting too many bookings)
    8. Lossing Verm and not replacing him
    9. Waiting till the final hour (and actually asking for an extension) in order to strengthen the team (what do our scouts get paid for honestly)
    10.Lack of rotation during the games

    All in all we have not lost a match so far though the team is still trying to get into zone. Just hope the interllu wont disturb the whole thing. We need to kick start September with a BANG and whoop City’s arse!!!

  16. Sturridge before he signed for Liverpool: Appearances 140, Goals 38

    Welbeck before he signed for Arsenal: Apperances 139, Goals 37

    Hope he can be like sturridge then he got the pace and power and presence. We fans need to give him some confidence

  17. In a time where someone as Wellback is considered as good enough, you simple know that Arsenal as a big club has faked up.

    The majority of the Fans are stupid, nothing can change that. But as a club we wont prevail by fighting every year for the 4th place. Say good bye to the fan base.

    1. The “fan base” that disappears because things aren’t as they like won’t be missed. The sooner they go the better. Does that mean you are off then and won’t be contributing on here anymore?

  18. Been there done that. I can even provide with a spreadsheet document that I took pains to prepare just so I can compare 5 clubs (ManCity, ManUTD, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool) players to players. Trust me, Man City and Chelsea have got better (solid) overall squad than we have. Yes, I compared player to player. I am a fan. Though I try not to be pessimistic, I also make sure I am realistically objective. It doesn’t make Man City and Chelsea better than us as a club.

    1. Let’s be honest though….Chavski and the Mancs have an endless supply of money compared to us. We will never compete with that.

      Also did people really think we would pay Falcao those wages? 300 grand a week! Nearly 3 times our highest paid players wage? Why should we? What signal does that give our current Arsenal players.

      It is not Arsenals way, it never has been. I am not sure where some of the fans we have now have come from. I go to the Emirates every home game and it is like a library and they are all waffling on about how we should buy Cavani and co. Etc. Why? They still wouldn’t cheer them on even if they did. Compared to how it was in the old Highbury days. It’s seems most people there don’t want to look uncool by shouting and cheering. It’s like the hard core fans have been priced out and we have been left with the prawn sandwich entitled brigade that don’t really understand we can’t complete money wise like the chavs and Mancs.

      Welbeck for us is actually a good signing. If we get him firing and being fed by the likes of Alexi and Ozil, with his strength and pace and a point to prove some of you may just be very surprised. He could be a bit of a gem for us and does offer us something we currently do not have. He is certainly an improvement on an injured OG and Sanogo who just isn’t ready.

      What does frustrate me is why AW plays our guys out of position. He needs to sort that out.

      Also I would agree we should of bought a DM and a CB as we seem a bit light. But then AW must have something in mind? Perhaps he sees the mystical Diaby as playing more of a role at last and Chambers as a possible DM cover? After all we have Debuchy and Bellerin on the right now, Bellerin looks very good when I have seen him play.

      Whatever happens this is the squad we have until at least Jan, so we need to get behind them and see where we go.

      1. I don’t expect Cavani, I just expect us to get our money’s worth. We pay the highest ticket prices in the league, yet we signed the fewest players of any premier league team this summer.

        Whilst I don’t think that any of our signings are ‘bad’, I expected better. The only real improvement we’ve made to the team is Alexis – Chambers isn’t better than Vermaelen (though he definitely has the potential to be and is a good buy), Debuchy isn’t better than Sagna, Ospina won’t play in the first team and Welbeck’s goal scoring record barely tops Bendtner’s..

        Our lack of signings aside we still have a fantastic team, we’re just lacking depth in certain areas. We’re still capable so long as we don’t get too many injuries…

        1. The fewest players signed is only part of the story though isn’t it Mick. Our spend was the 4th highest and comparable to Chelsea and our net spend was the second highest behind you know who. Chelsea only bought one more player but off loaded an astonishing 28 players compared to our 12. Man City only bought one more player. Liverpool bought a stack but needed to and also off loaded more than we did. Quality over quantity all day every day for me and I think we did OK that in respect. If we had gotten Morgan Schniederlin and Sokratis I would have been very, very happy rather than just mildly happy.

    2. Really so you compared all of Chelseas 23 man squad with.our 29 man squad and considered andersson schwarzer, ake, Mikel?

      Did you look at man city’s 25 and think I really fancy wright, guidetti, boyata, sinclair, De michellis?

      What about Liverpools 32 have you even heard of Lloyd jones, brannagan, Dunn, sinclair, ward, rossiter and yesil, do you really rate, Brad jones, can, suso, borini, lucas, toure.

      I am sorry but I think you are just being anti arsenal, anti wenger and totally dishonest with yourself.

      Even the great man united, with their 2 trophies to play for and their 35 man squad are simply including all their u21s to make their squad look strong. Fact is they still have Anderson, cleverly, Evans, young, fellaini and heaps of crap. Sure they have 4 great forwards a decent midfielder and a potential england left back of the future. But the likes of fletcher, blind, smalling, jones, herrera, valences, januzai, carrick are all average.

      1. Quality was the watch-word for me. What I did was apply the theory that each position in the team should have atleast 2 players (1st and 2nd choice) available to fill them. Hence having 22 quality players (of consistently proven talent) is far better than having 17 of such quality + 12 of below such quality.

    1. Falcao deal may prove to be the winner in the short-term. However, Welbeck deal may prove to be the best for us both in the short-term and long-term. We all should wait to see before we judge.

    2. I haven’t seen to much evidence of “smartness” at OT for 15 months now. If you think spending £250M in just over a year constitutes “smart” then good on you. Hardly genius or groundbreaking though is it?

  19. Am i the only one here seeing that Wenger’s sin was not because he signed Welbeck on the dead of the transfer window but stubbonlly refusing to sign a decent replacement to Vermalean, a natural (not converted) DM and possibly a sound left wing back. I have never been impressed by the Gibbs – Monreal combination, while Gibbs eventhough good, effective and fully addapted to Arsenal’s game play has fitness issue (not sure if Gibbs has ever played 10 mathes on the trot without injuries), Monreal on the other hand is work in progress.

    1. Yeah but what they going to do when in 9 months, he returns to monaco or they have to find another £45m plus £400k a week wages.

    2. No you are not the only one, but chambers is not a converted player, he is a 19 year old player still finding his best position. He has played as many games at Cb as he has at Dm and as he has at Rb. It’s quite normal for a young Dm/cb to hit the first team and be used at Rb, that.is exactly what happenned to chambers at Southampton, it’s happened to.jenkinson, it’s happened to coquelin, I even remember 2 of arsenals greatest ever centre backs keown and bould starting their first team careers for arsenal and stoke at right back before resuming their centre back careers later on.

      You complain about converting players, but are probably one of those who wanted to.convert veaelen into a Dm. Well let me tell you, it is far harder to convert a 28 year old defender into a specialist DM, than.it is to convert a 19 year old defender into a specialist centre back or defensive midfielder or a specialist right back. Even.Keown, didn’t beverage a specialist DM, he became a spoiler, a man to man marker, which earned him the name of rash. He was all over ya. That is what I think coquelin would be good at.

  20. I love arsenal fans… so much faith… we keep doing the same thing for 9 years and we expect a different result.. The god’s must be crazy!!! We all know how it all goin to end…so stfu and suport the team..wenger is military..

  21. Strikers? No. Center Forwards? Maybe.
    Off those 5, only Podolski (for club) and Sanogo have played a huge part of their careers as traditional Center forwards. Those 2 are very inconsistent at the moment. It would have been fool-hardy (almost on the same level as Bendtner/Park) to rely on them as back-ups to Giroud. This is why I am “satisfied” we got Welbeck at the least.

    1. Jesus man, listen to you. Giroud is the reference in our attack and only last season he was hanged drawn and quartered on this p0rn site. How things turned out …

  22. Debuchy, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs (always injured). Plus Chambers and Monreal is absloutely disgraceful for arsenal. League 2 teams have more cover than that and we’re supposed to be competing for the Premier League and Champions League? Forget it. Bad business Wenger why the hell let Vermaelen leave and not replace him. We need to call Jenkinson back, if we’re allowed.

    1. If stupidity would be painful I bet you a penny you would be screaming on the floor in pains and not writing gibberish on the internet. Are you legally allowed to drink?

  23. I don’t actually think I can handle another whole season with arteta as cdm. Wenger is a very strange man and too stubborn

  24. He was playing the negotiation game, trying to sound less desperate in the market so he could get a better price.

    Welbeck is fantastic, he only played 13 games as central striker last season and scored 8 times. And most of those were away games mainly against good opposition. During an underperforming year for Manchester United!

    Unbeatable stats even if he wasn’t used much by Manchester United in that central striker position. At least Wenger noticed.

  25. Guys, can I out of topic a little bit?

    I am Arsenal fan live in Dortmund, I want to see BvB vs Arsenal in Dormtund sooooo bad considering probably this is my once in lifetime chance, but I prefer to sit with other Gooners in the stadium….
    My question is how can other Gooners who live in UK buy the ticket? I have tried open arsenal.com for ticket but I have to be a Platinum/Gold/Silver member to buy it?
    Is there any other way to buy ticket other than arsenal.com? Please let me know…

    COYG

  26. Another thing people should take note of is the age of Wengers purchases we now have a decent team of 26 and overs but just as strong is our team of 25 and unders

    Ospina
    Debuchy mertesacker koscielny monreal
    Flamini arteta
    Rosicky cazorla podolski
    Giroud
    Sub diaby

    Szczesney
    Bellerin chambers hayden gibbs
    Wilshire Ramsey
    Walcott ozil sanchez
    Welbeck
    Sub chamberlain

    I would love too watch that match

  27. Wenger seemed happy enough to swan off to Rome on deadline day to take part in a charity event rather than stay in London and rectify problems of his own making.

    Maybe he has already given up on competing with Chelsea and City this season.

  28. @Lord Moor
    I thought it was obvious they are not. Most are either under 18 or biased against AW or both. The blind and senile, leading the ignorant under aged, around in circles…

  29. Wenger was in Rome hoping to sign some world class players for free….like shevchenho, Baggio, Maradona, Del Perio, Maldini ….etc

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