Ivan statement not too good for Arsenal’s morale by KM
Ivan Gazidis hit the press again, to say some things about where Arsenal are heading as a football club. “When we talk about the destination, it’s not winning a Champions League, it’s making fans proud,”.
This statement looks like there’s nothing wrong with it. We play good football for the fans. The problem is it somewhat distracts the responsibility. It practically gives an excuse for not winning a trophy.
Football and sports in general have become target oriented. It’s about the PRIZE. The most popular clubs in the world are the ones that win the most trophies. Playing both good and winning trophies is what makes the Barcelona of a few years ago so remarkable.
“It’s about making the people at the football club proud of what we do and how we do it.”. I think Arsenal fans would be really proud of seeing us win the Champions league don’t you? If you want the highest prizes, you need to put them as targets and create plans on how to achieve them.
Our plan for next year is what? Play good football? We will not dominate clubs like Barcelona did. On statistics, you might argue if our strengths are possession football? This season we’ve done pretty good when we have had less possession. Can’t we play through the players strengths rather than a philosophy for the sake of trophies?
People misunderstood my last article when I said that the main problem is not the signings. That didn’t mean we don’t need any. You always need signings. They excite the fans, the players, the media, give you competition and an extra body.
Just looking at the impact Ozil and Sanchez had on our past two seasons is a sheer example of how you can buy quality and it can bring you results. It’s just that we have a lot of work to do behind the scenes. Improve players’ fitness. Ozil looks a beast after his injury. We need to work on reducing the number of injuries. Half of our injuries come from running players down to the ground.
Something that can be avoided by rotating. We have players like Rosicky and Walcott who rarely play, because the fall out of the Wenger shortlist. We also need to work on defending free kicks. We concede quite a lot of free kicks. Also work on not leaving the back 4 exposed. Although this drastically improved since the New year, it was the reason we were shipping in so many goals in the first half.
Improve our tactics. Again use player strengths. Don’t play slow players on the wing. Don’t play players out of position. I completely agree with the general opinion that we need a solid GK. I’d be pretty happy with nicking Lloris from Spurs or getting Cech. Schneiderlin would be a nice addition too. Another CB and a striker or a pacey winger would be good.
We should set ourselves high targets and work on and off the pitch to achieve them. If our goal is another top 4 finish, than 2-3 players to replace the departures would probably do. This is what I fear. The lack of ambition. What I’d like to see next season is a top 2 finish, a cup and at least a quarter final of the CL. Going out to teams like Monaco and finishing second in average groups will not do for me.
What targets will you set if you were Ivan?
Konstantin Mitov
Arsenal targets for next season should be:
1. Win the EPL
2. Win the UCL
3. Win the FA cup
4. Win the league cup
5. Sign new WC DM to compete with Coq
6. Sign new WC striker to take us to higher heights
6. Throw in Cech as sweetener
7. Get rid of some players to clear the wage bill
8. Try to keep our players fit
9. Build on our positives from this season
10. Make smaller shorts for Sanchez
I don’t think I am been over ambitious, we are a big club and with the right changes in place we can finally achieve domination!!!
would prefer Casillas or Illoris than Cech
Have you guys bn watching casilas for spain and real madrid or you are still watching casilas videos of 2003. casilas has passed it. before people said it was mourinho who didnt like him. But the truth was that he wasn’t the best keeper at the club.
casilas is not better than ospina. i can assure you that. No new goalkeeper will be coming at arsenal this season and rightly so. You guys need to grow up and stop acting like kids in sweet shop. You might as well Buy POGba messi and Ronaldo Falcao and Hummels
Agree. What is presently getting my goat up is that no-one on here, in the media or anywhere else has come out and explained exactly why David Ospina is not a credible goal-keeping solution for us. Everyone seems to have just written him off whilst he carries on playing well for us in the background – as if he doesn’t exist. I remember David Seaman joining us from QPR aged 26 (the same as David Ospina) and as they say the rest is history. He had been good at QPR and had recently got in to the England squad but he didn’t come gift-wrapped as nailed-on future legend. I am happy to be persuaded Ospina is second rate and will not improve but would like to hear the arguments first before retiring him. Heard a few say he is too short at 6’0″ (1.83m). You can clearly see that the likes of Neuer and Courtois have created one template for the archetypal modern GK but at 6’0″-6’1″ many have made decent careers as GKs (Banks, Shilton, Clemence, Jennings, Wilson, Southall, Zoff, Valdes, Casillas, Bravo etc). Height brings obvious key advantages for a GK but from a physiological perspective, height will, all things being equal, naturally diminish other fundamental attributes like speed, agility and reactions. But of course a brain beats everything when it comes to the most pressurised position on the pitch.
David Ospina has been an excellent addition, he is committed and vigilant he is a skilled and credible keeper. Chesney has been rubbish all season he has been slack and irresponsible, we do need a back up keeper to Ospina certainly but why waste time and money buying a keeper to replace Ospina? surely it would be smarter to improve on the defence so that any keeper we have is not constantly under pressure? whoever is inbetween the sticks its true to say that with the standard of our oppsitions strikers no keeper will always have a clean sheet.
In my opinion we more urgently need a world class striker, not because I feel Giroud is rubbish but for when he’s off his game and taking the position for granted and also for when we need to rotate and lets be honest Welbeck is never going to be that man so buy a class act up top and improve the defence and all things should fall into place
Getting thumbed down for agreeing with a post that has a 21-0 favourable rating, asking an honest question and supporting our new goal-keeper. Some strange and dense folk on here. But of course I knew that already so I’ll quit whinging.
I think its because you said that almost all think him not a credible solution and everybody has written him off without explanation. I find that to be the opposite as i am one of the very few who has mentioned why id have another no1… (thought him flashy for the cameras unnecessary diving)
My opinions changed but i can recall almost everybody gladly backing Ospina for no1 without hesitation. The thing is though the fans know Cech is a better keeper with a wealth of experience so we must put favoritism loyalty aside for the benefit of the team.
Fair points YY69 – I may have underestimated the support he has from the wider fan base – but it just appears to me from chat in general from the media and from many on here that Ospina is history already. And my disappointment on this goes hand in hand with those on here who accept TH14’s “wise” punditry as the gospel truth – the implication was we need to bench/sell Ospina/Gabriel/Coquelin/Ozil and Giroud to have a chance of winning the PL. I don’t know why Thierry would stop there – maybe we need upgrades on Bellerin, Kos, Monreal, Ramsey, Cazorla and Alexis as well just to make sure.
I admire and respect Cech alot – out of the whole Chelski mob I can only look at him, Azpilicueta and Willian as no-nonsense, straightforward types without huge cynicism or ego. Have to say, as a Gooner who prefers to do things the hard way I would have slightly compromised emotions and mixed-feelings if our success came because of a Chelsea legend moving to us. Personally, I still have hope that Ospina will flourish or Wojciech finds his brain and a GK good enough to win the PL is already in our midst. For sure if Cech comes both of them will disappear so it would not be without risk and it would only be a short term plan/solution – we would still need a long-term solution.
@007, I would say target no8 should be target no4… or five. Also a congrats/good luck should be given for us possibly hitting target no3 consecutively.
Bo Wilson was one o the main people saying hes too small,an most of those keepers you mentioned are ithr long retired in a bygone age or play abroad
Who is Illoris?
Id add a true leader of a center back to that list! Finding one though is hard task. But i still think the partnership of KOS + GAB would be amazing!
Didn’t we buy 2 CB last season? I think we are becoming greedy now. Chambers is 19 and cost us £16 million while we added Gabby just a few months ago and he has shown he is quality. What other Cb do we want? We already have 4 CB at the club. Most of the top clubs in Europe have just 3 CB. chelsea won the league with Zouma terry and cahill.
Buying another Cb will leave us with Boss per Gabby Chambers and new Cb. that is 5 CB. How are you ever going to play 5 CB? I don’t think thats even possible on on football manager. lol
What happens to chambers then. £16 million and 5th choice CB. it just makes no sense. We don’t need any more defenders. We don’t even know what to do with jekinson or debuchy. lol
You are right in that sense, but we would have to sell Mert… The reason why chelsea done so well with just three CB’s is because they hardly get injured, Terry is an great leader and defender ( i don’t like admitting it!).
Our team is lacking a true leader
Ivanovic can do a very good job at CB too
How about INCREASING THE PRIZE MONEY and inviting Bayern, Barca and Real Madrid to the Emirates Cup, then set out CL standards from there..
We may as well recall Almunia.
@007
THAT LIST IS BIG !! no ones toppin that comment today im done for the day.
ciao ladies
Lol Muff… Admin will block me out if you stop commenting on my account. But if you call me an “ostrich” in a bizarre rant and walk out then I guess it can be allowed.
Arsenal’s targets for next season should be:
1. $ell
2. $ell
3. $ell
4. $ell
5. $ell
6. $ell
7. $ell
8. $ell
9. $ell
10. $ell
We need to spend big if we want to aim high and win
Win the EPL at least
once every 3 seasons.
Make the ECL semis
twice every 5 years
and win the ECL at least
once every 7 years.
Spend wisely if I say so, and if he want to make us proud, then, get whatever make this great club of “Invincibles” champions again……..!!
GK . We don’t need a goalkeeper. We have Ospina who is in his first season and has shown his quality over time. yes he is not the tallest of keepers but he has been terrific. People are obsessed with height in England but Ospina has shown that u don’t need to be a tall bamboo to be a good keeper. Its like nacho Monreal who has shown that u don’t need electric pace to be a good fullback. Its about making the right decision and intelligence.
Defenders. We have 4 CB. Boss Per Chambers and Gabby. Chelsea have Terry cahill and Zouma and won the league. people want to buy another CB so we have 5 CB. It makes no sense. tell me one club in Europe with 5 CB?
Fullbacks . We are saturated in these positions. jekinson is on loan. Debuchy may have lost his place. Thats how good we are. gabby and bell Can also play full back. NO fullback needed.
DM. Yes we need a DM. With Arteta and Flamini going we need one to compete with Coq and Rotate.
AM. We don’t need Isco or Firminho. Are we just silly or stupid? We had Rambo playing our wide not too long ago and suddenly people want to add isco the list of purchases? where is the sense in that? Don’t be greedy we have Cazorla Ozil jack and Rambo.
Attack. Yes we can add one more attacking player that has got different characteristic to Giroud.
thus that leaves us with 2 addistions.
1) DM Schiniderlin Wanyama Javi Martinez or Kongdobia. Anyone of them.
2) Flexible attacker. Lacazette Reus Pedro Vietto Dybala. they are different from giroud. Anyone of them will be good.
Conclusion. 2 signings of high quality is perfect as it doesn’t upset the balance of the squad. And its easier to gel 2 players to the squad than to gel 5 0r 6 players. That sets up nicely for a good season.
Most importantly better luck on injuries and squad management and Rotation. can’t wait for next season.
I think most of what you said is right but only Kos and most probs Gabriel are good enough to be arsenal center backs. Mert has been good for us but relies on Kos far to much and if kos had a partner as good as him, then imagine how hard it would be to get past us! People seem to be lowering the standard of players that arsenal should have! we are meant to be a title winning team… not fighting for a champions league spot with liverpool and spurs
@arsenal369,i agree with you totally.And also Chambers was bought as a RB not a CB
This is the best comment I have read in a while in this site. I hope the influential people could read your comment Gallen. Only DM and CF needed not an overhaul of the Team. Gunners should understand that we have Akpom and Welbeck are enough cover to Giroud and the new CF in the mould of Lacazette.
gazdis comment are disgusting shows clubs /owner kroenke’s amibition how can we ever achieve anything with such people on board
Reports suggest Thomas Rosicky could leave Arsenal this summer. Interest from Atletico and his former club Sparta Prague are on the table. would be sad to see him go think that wenger may go for reus/pedro or james milner
or isco
Pep in recent interview said anything less than trebble is under achievement for a club as big as bayern–that is what he aims at the start of season
Now if u ask wenger he would say that top 4 is a must
Yes wenger has improved arsenal this season but is that improvement enough???
If we compare squads of chelsea and arsenal there is not much difference in quality of players , then why are they running away with cup??
What I feel its not about transfers its about the attitude of manager
Full respect to wenger but he needs a miracle to win premier league before his contract runs out.
The answer to your question is simple: it is because we only truly gained back our ” big club” status this season. For the past 10 years we were scrambling around with everything. Our rebuilding as a big club started with the purchase of Ozil. Chelsea won the premier league because they have been building themselves as a big club for over 10 years and so have Bayern. If you ask that question to Wenger now his objective will be winning every cup possible before he leaves. There is no manager hungrier in the world right now than Wenger and he knows well that his entire career will be highlighted by what he accomplishes in the next 2-3 years with us.
Well first off, whether we like it or not Bayern are a bigger club than Arsenal. And if your team has won 12 of the last 20 titles, finished runners up for 5 of the 8 other times and won the domestic cup 9 times out of the last 20 years then the double is quite a modest target. Saying the triple is the minimum is just bravado.
Also, switch it around – do you think Wenger would have a chance of winning the Bundesliga with Bayern or La Liga with Barca?
I’d like to point out that Bayern’s league and domestic cup are a given for then, I mean who can compete with them in the Bundesliga? Since Lewandowski and Gotze joined them, their trophies are all bought. The CL on the other hand is a different animal and any team that can win that deserves respect. Bring Pep to the BPL then I bet his standards of winning things will drop considerably, because in the BPL, you have us, Chelsea, United, Liverpool, City and one or two other teams all capable of winning it or beating any team on a good day. So to compare our standards to Bayern’s is misleading as two of their trophies are a walk in the park for them.
Liverpool?they havent won the league since 1990
Dear Ivan,
That type of statement are the likes that makes us started to believe in those who think u and the other bas*ds that running the club only concerned about making profits and make ur loved club a bussiness (spend only to ge the target = 4 place and get in UCL). We used to be a huge club men! we are eleven years without EPL and just this year some people can see us like a real competitors. how can i be proud of my team? f* off i will be proud of my team always, how can i be proud of u and the players? give me the f* league, next season and stop with that injury stuff and luck factor…do what it takes to get EPL, and the same for mr wenger, the fans deserve it…this club is one of the richest of the world and the fans pay the most expensive tickets…forget spuds, i want to look foward, first man ud, citeh and win to the f* morro…than, real, barca, munich, etc. COYGS
When elders speak children and little minded people must keep quiet for they say silence is golden. Ivan speaks about the club’s vision some kids by age and by reasoning waffle about tactical issues. What Ivan is saying is that winning trophies that include CL form part of the ultimate objective but not the objective.
Inter Milan won everything in 2010 at a cost of future success. Right now they have become a mid-table team that relies on borrowing unwanted players from Arsenal a club yet to win the CL. With the benefit of hindsight they would not have acceded to Jose’s egotistic stupor to secure longevity at top level. Liverpool nearly went bankrupt during Benitez and the Hickman/Hicks fellows in pursuit of UCL glory. Today their remain a near mid table team despite loads of cash having been thrown in by Henry. AC Milan are looking for a new benefactor after years as a mid table team, despite dominating Europe at the turn of the century. Examples given above go on to tell you that winning UCL is not the crest any club wishes to reach but long terms supporters delight is.
Couldn’t have said it better Sir!
Comment of the day. Well spoken. Right now I am extremely positive about our club and the way in which things are going. 2nd place, 2 trophies last season and 1 on the way hopefully, and on top of that we have been spending top dollar on top players recently and there is definitely more to come. WHAT PLEASES ME THE MOST is that the money spent is from a well run business model, not from some sugar daddy or oil money. We can be proud to be gooners and I think Gazidis and co deserve credit for how they have managed to keep us afloat financially the last decade, funding a brand new stadium and ensuring they made the right decision regarding Wenger to keep working his magic and stay in the top 4.
Rubbish,how can you blame inter milan and liverpools financial problems on them winning the CL,that is nonsense@ The analyser,is that what ur calling ursef on here ivan.you can’t fool us,the statement is stupid,winning the CL would make us more proud tan anything,since its the biggest trophy in club football and we’ve never won it.Ivan please stop leaving messages
“Borussia Dortmund and midfielder Ilkay Gundogan and will not collaborate any further longer than June 30, 2016,” a statement released by the club reads.
Wenger should keep tabs on PSG activity in summer. If they bring in someone like Pogba or Yaya Toure to replace Matuidi , Wenger should go for him, as PSG also can be in trouble if not respecting ffp rule.
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No need to buy, our squad is loaded. It’s time to offload.
If Pogba is available will then go buy him. Not sure why we’d pass up a talent like him.
I think 2 wc signings would do. I would love to see Sterling swapped for Theo; I think his time is up. I’d also prefer Wanyama to Schneiderlin.., he seems to have more presence in the midfield. I say we give Campbell another chance next season as well.., d kid has found his footing @ Vilarreal.
Arsenal need 3 additions:
Kondogbi – CDM/B2B position
Konoplyanka – LW
Lacazette – ST
Departures:
Flamini
Diaby
Arteta
Campbell
Wellington Silva
Miyachi
Podolski
Sanogo
Loan Out:
Martinez
Jenkinson
Hayden
Zalalem
Gnabry
Akpom
Szczney will stay, Mertsacker Rosicky Cazorla and Monreal will stay 1 more season and then replacements will be bought in for them in 2016.
@gonnerboro, you must have been playing football manager or something worse.
@sparkles…. I’ve stated 3 realistic targets, Kondogbia will leave Monaco if they dont make Champions League, Lacazette has stated in 2014 he would like to join a bigger club in the future and Konoplyanka is out of contract soon and looking for a move to England.
Most of the departure list stated will go sooner or later (some nearing retirement)
So please explain what game im playing, is it called ‘Being Realistic’?