Arsenal have a LOT of work to do just to challenge for the Top Four next season

Arsene Wenger engineered a brilliant win over Chelsea to claim the FA Cup yet again, but where it matters most over the course of a full season, Arsenal were miles off the pace, and ended up 18 points behind the Champions and out of the Top Four for the first time ever under Le Prof.

With this in mind, the Match Of The Day presenter Gary Lineker says this is the barometer that Wenger should be looking at and trying to improve. “Arsenal have got a long way to go at the moment, they’re a long way behind.” he said.

“If you ask me now whether Arsenal are going to be in the top four next season, I would say most probably not.”

As Wenger has signed a two-year extension, I just dread to think of what the protests would be like if he fais to make Top Four again next season. In fact I don’t think that a lot of fans will accept anything less than the title itself. Lineker is worried about the fans reaction. “The only other example of a manager that decides when and where he goes is Sir Alex Ferguson, but he was still winning league titles. Arsene Wenger was still winning FA Cups and until this season he had always got in the top four, but now that’s changed.

“I just hope if and when he decides to go he kind of does himself because I don’t want people to feel badly about him and I hope he doesn’t spoil that.”

We all know Wenger would never walk away from a contract, so we can be absolutely certain that he will be going for the full two years. Unless, of course, Stan Kroenke sacks him, and can anyone really see that happening?

Wenger MUST buy some Top Top players to improve the side into a title-chasing team, or face the ire of the fans once again….

Darren N

28 Comments

  1. Top top players mean youngsters with potential rather than proven quality.

    Aunameyang going for 60 mils? Bargain for a striker who has consecutively scored 40 goals twice in a row now.

    Sanchez is out the door for sure. Can’t believe it’s happening again. First RVP, now him. Way to go Wenger.

    1. He is a winner and he wants to play for a club that has a chance of winning the biggest prizes.

      And that place isn’t AFC nor has it been for a while.

      1. Who are all these Arsenal Critics? Certainly not Arsenal Fans. We all are unhappy with the results this season but come on guys, Wenger was not the one on the pitch when they lost to West Brom, Watford, Crystal Palace(3-0 each),or to Chelsea at Stanford Bridge where Hazard was allowed to take the Ball from their half to our ’18’ & score while Coquelin behaved like an idiot and others just watched. Wenger didn’t ask Cech to PASS THE BALL to Fabregas for the 3rd goal either. Wenger transformed Alexis to a Center fwd(like He did Henry& Van P.). Many wondered if it would work. It did for a long while. The whole Team-even Backroom staff are to blame(even Alexis who held the ball TOO MUCH on some days/ made too many wrong passes), NOT JUST WENGER! Those boys should play for Arsenal like they did at the FA Cup and they’d Beat Baryen & Barcelona Black & Blue Anyday . They fight like that next Season and they’d WIN the League with games to Spare. Lastly, all we need is for Good Money and GOALS(Win the PL, EUL FA Titles)to be given to Wenger & the Team . Sanchez should never go to ManCity.

    2. Arsenal could challenge for the title if they can get Aubameyang, but let us be realistic of our chance of getting him.

      I hope Sanchez will not go, because he has proven his consistency and determination for these last three seasons. If he does, Arsenal must get someone like him, not a simple goalpoacher, but a creative attacking midfielder that can dictate the play, assist and score a lot of goals, which I think pretty rare these days.

      Regarding Arsenal’s current state, it’s true that they are behind the current top four, but I believe Wenger has finally seen what he did wrong in the past, with the usage of the new system. He should show it by doing earlier transfer and Arsenal should show more guts by buying 50 million plus players.

  2. Everyone just hating on Arsenal. Look at all the other teams with the money they’ve spent over the last 2-3 seasons. Apart from Chelsea I don’t think the others made a far more leap than us. We are right in the mix to compete. Inconsistency and injuries has been our biggest downfall in recent years. Chelsea and Spurs did not lose any key player for a month or 2 while Arsenal lost key players for the entire season.

    The media is turning the fans against our own club. We need to stop listening to what these so call pundits or analyst says and have a mind of our own because as I don’t see us being that far like they say we are. I don’t know why it’s so easy for them to pick on us.

    1. Reality check – look at how many games Chelsea won in a season to win the league. It’s not as though they ran away with it and only got confirmation late on. On top of that you add in to the mix that they started so poorly under a new manager it is even more impressive that they won so many games after the Arsenal defeat.

      And after that – 3 other teams are in the mix before we even get to Arsenal. Pep will be ready to go, so will Klopp and that other guy is putting on too much weight so might need a crane to get him to Wembley. But nonetheless – we are the weakest we have been for since before Graham became manager in the 80’s so no I don’t buy that nonsense.

    2. When did injuries start becoming a valid excuse? United has won titles with injures, so have City, so have Chelsea. And United have an injury record that matches us to a degree. And when you also hear about how Arsenal is behind in sport science because AW wants to keep loyal to his exclusive backroom staff, it’s no wonder we have Santi magically being out 6-7 months longer than originally planned.

    3. Inconsistency and injury have been the kins of Arsenal for last 3-4 years, when money was there and we could not well spend. Whom to blame for it? Media has got it right this time

  3. Spurs, City and Chelsea will be better or same which is still Top class
    United and Liverpool are a couple of signings away from Top

    We need several top signings
    If Wenger had got who we needed after getting Alexis and Ozil we would not be in this mess

    I will wait till end of summer to judge but not very optimistic bases on Wengers transfer history

  4. The only manager or executive anywhere to get rewarded for sending us in reverse.
    He’s undoubtedly been brilliant,but he should’ve gone having won the cup,cos we need new ideas to excite the team and the fans.

    1. For the first few years yes, he was.

      But now…

      Look nowone wants AW to ruin his legacy but he has just been set up for a fall as Stan & co will continue to milk the cash cow and will leave an incapable and deluded AW to the wolves when things inevitably go wrong. Greed takes its toll once again.

  5. Again, the discussion is only about Arsenal and Top 4, never about winning the league, because no pundit is deluded enough to ever think Arsenal can win it in the near future. Gary is right at the moment. If there are not big investments this summer we will continue to dance around 5th and 6th place.

    1. Even if there is big investment (think Ozil/Sanchez) will it make a difference if in fact it is used wisely (think of some of the other Wenger signings!)

      1. Good point. Big signings would keep us in top 4, but of course not make us champions. Gotta change the manager for that to happen

  6. I can’t help laughing when people say Liverpool are better than Arsenal. despite all the problems we faced, and them playing only saturday or sunday, only one point separated both teams.

  7. Fork Gary salt and vinegar, the Jug-ears spud conti. Even if Arsenal won the quadruple, he would rather run off with wengers ex-wife than congratulate the club on their success.

    Anyways, there’s no point in moaning or ranting anymore, what’s done is done and Wenger is still our manager ?? lets face it, the protesters weren’t worth a rub, simply because nothing gets resolved peacefully in today’s world, it’s only brutality that prompts action nowadays and since no one really wants to take it to that extreme, ??we may aswell just STFU and wait and see what happens during the summer transfer window before anyone bursts another blood vessel.

  8. According to some bookmakers,Arsenal are now favourites to sign Mahrez.
    And before anyone states anything about Arsenal made offers for this player,last season ?? Leicester have recently confirmed that no offers were made for Mahrez last season.

      1. Mahrez has proven to be a one season wonder. Or a least a player that only tries when he feels like it. I wouldn’t want him.

  9. You can make more money to fund transfer easily this summer

    Scszesny sell for £20m
    Walcott sell for £15m-£20m (maybe for even less than we bought him)
    Giroud sell for £20m+

    There will be money this summer it’s a question of how they are going to spend and how much.

      1. Great reputation in Italy. But Italian clubs besides Juve and Napoli usually don’t splash cash. 20mill could be possible if either of them want to buy.

    1. Would sell all three but your numbers are a little inflated mate,

      Schez… $12M
      TW….. $10M (at the most sadly)
      Giroud….$15M(max)

      I would add

      Sanchez(AFC won’t pay him $350K a week)… $50M
      Wilshere(Turn the page)…. $15M
      Perez(deserves better)… $17M
      Gibbs…. $8M
      Oslina(#1 anywhere else)…$5M
      Gabriel(BFG & RH are better)…. $10M

      That’s $142M that conceivably could and imho should be recouped in the off season . Other than Sanchez, none of these players should be considered first team regulars for the future.
      Arsenal could sign Mahrez, Seri, Lacazette and Gaya with that deadwood cash and add a Isco, D Costa, Carrasco, or the young stud for Lyon as Ozils replacement.

      Lacazette
      Costa….Ozil…Mahrez
      Xhaka…Ramsey (Seri)
      Gaya….Boss…Holding…Bellerin
      Cech

      With a deep and talented bench consisting of Welbeck, Santi, Nacho, Mustafi, Ramsey or Seri, Iwobi, Coquelin, BFG and Ox Arsenal would be a serious threat in the EPL and Europe

      AC

  10. Forget this so-called pundits they never gave us a chance to win the Fa Cup andbatillnwe won .they said Leicester city will be relegated and still they won the league even last year they never gave Chelsea a chance to win the league and they won’t seems these guys are doing some TRY AND ERROR THUNG let’s support our team and surely we might win the league #realgunnersonly

  11. The new formation definitely helped finish this season strongly, but we will start next season using exactly the same tactics, and by November they will stop being so effective.

    Conte’s Chelsea started getting figured-out by some teams as the season progressed, so the teams that dominate the EPL next season will have moved-on from there. Chelsea will develop their strategy, and I expect re-vamped Man Utd and Man City to be the main challengers towards the end of next EPL campaign.

    Wenger’s Arsenal Team will start next season looking good, but by November the usual problems will set-in, because he simply doesn’t have the ability to think-on-his-feet, and manipulate the team’s tactics as well as the best managers do nowadays.

    I expect Spurs to make the top four next season too (Along with Man City, Man Utd, and Chelsea) and I think we’ll be battling with Liverpool for 5th-6th place.

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