A home draw in a game you really need to win, even if the opposing side are a good one, is hardly enough to scratch the surface of the disappointment and frustration that has built up in Arsenal fans over the course of another faltering season in the Premier League and Champions League.
The fact that it has been going on for so long and that the improvement we all hoped would come after the Emirates stadium debt repayment eased enough to give Arsene Wenger a good transfer budget has not come, but instead we seem to have moved further from the EPL title and European glory, has made the calls for the boss to be replaced all the more loud and the fans more united than ever.
So why do the Wenger Out protests appear to have fizzled out? There were a lot of empty seats at the ground for the West ham game but a protest planned for before the match was cancelled due to low turnout and we even heard some fans chanting the name of Arsene Wenger towards the end of our 3-0 win.
I cannot believe that a draw and a win against a side in terrible form has convinced every Arsenal fan that Wenger is the right man to lead us on, but what I do believe is that the years of our club ignoring our complaints and using us as cash cows have prepared the average Gooner for disappointment.
To be honest, I expect the board to give Arsene a new deal and for him to sign it, but am I happy about it? Not at all and I reckon a lot of you feel the same way, so do we just accept it quietly?
D.N.
Hmm stagnant nature awaits us again..
Most English fans especially Arsenal fans are pathetic. They lack the desire to be the best that’s why the Three Lions has not made real exploit in the World Cup and Euro. The fans are customers of a club and customers are kings. But here in England, fans are puppets.
Our england based fans don’t know what they want.
That’s the gist of it, they’re the ones that can make the biggest difference. We can help by not buying any merchandise, but most merchandise is sold to tourists around the world I think.
The AST done a poll recently that was talked allot about. I think how to judge the number divide most accurately would be to do a Twitter and or Facebook poll for Arsenal fans only, this would get the true reflection overall. In England they are clearly still behind Wenger.
And why shouldn’t they be behind our most successful manager ever?
All you youngsters don’t know what Arsenal were like before Wenger arrived. Yes we won a few ytrophies (nowhere near at Wenger’s rate) but we certainly werent one of the top 5 teams in the country never mind the world!
How many PL titles did Wenger win per year in charge and how many PL titles did GeorgeG win per year in charge? Howe many CL titles did Wenger win and how many did GearogeG win?
There is no way that one can objectively call Wenger our most successful manager ever. That statement can only be made subjectively. Measured in PL titles per year Wenger is not our most successful manager.
For me PL titles are the truest measure of strength.
GG may have had more success if he hadn’t have been naughty which resulted in him leaving.
He only won the league twice though I believe, 1 time less than Wenger winning the EPL (top flight).
3 is greater than 2.
That is a way of thinking Wenger is our most successful manager, he hasn’t got himself sacked like GG did so he has had the time.
GG had Dein all through his managerial time and you could compare Wengers time with Dein to GG time with Dein and see Wenger won more top flight titles.
Please note I am comparing top flight title and not PL title, if it is PL titles then GG has ZERO…
I can comprehend your side of the argument, titles per year is in question because he has had over a decade of not winning the title to lower the statistic you want.
It is a statistic, it is not right or wrong, there are other statistics which can be added to it to get a bit more of a complete picture.
Like how I added Dein to the factor, GG had him and if we only count the years Wenger had him… It tells a different result.
Sure, but I rather find one manager every ten years who wins me two titles and than one who wins me 3 every 20 years.
But I get your point, it all depends on how you look at it and what you appreciate. That in fact was my point, meaning, it is a subjective topic outside of results. In my view you can not call Wenger our most successful manager ever unless you are willing to value subjective standards. Would a guy in charge of Arsenal for 40 years winning 4 titles also be our most successful manager? Not to me.
In any event a statement like “our most successful manager ever” is a backward looking statement. I think we might agree that what is most important is our future and what our ambitions are for the future and who and how we think we can realize those ambitions.
I am starting to realize my ambitions for the future of Arsenal are probably not consistent with Wenger’s (and some of the fans) ambitions and at the moment that is more my problem than his.
After 25+ years of supporting Arsenal it might just be time for me to wake up and smell the coffee rather than continue to resist a situation that simply will remain in place. To resist what is, is the perfect recipe for frustration.
I need to respect the clubs I support. It is easier for me to respect a Southampton or an Everton, who do a lot more (IMO) with a lot less than Arsenal, or Europe’s top teams who are a lot more ambitious and spend fortunes to win, than Arsenal who lack ambition IMO.
I am happy to concede that Arsenal have been quite stabel over the last 13 years or so both financially and competitive wise but I don’t value stability in football teams. I value ambition. I rather my team try hard but crash and burn than that they don’t try at all. If I were a Man U fan I would be happy. My club spend a fortune on players, brings in the world’s top managers and try like hell to get back to the top. Even if they miss the top 4 again Man U fans know it is not for a lack of trying. That is all I ask. Two summers ago we bought not one single outfield player!!!! How can I feel that my club does everything in its power to win???
It could be that the infighting changed some minds, not all but a number of them might have had second thoughts after seeing what happened after the city game, you also see the odd scuffle inside the ground. The empty seats, we have had this problem since the Emirates opened, so it’s hard to judge how many stayed away in protest/disgust and how many where just unused tickets. Arsenal always report that there are more in attendance than what it really is.
I think it is a number of factors. The majority still likely want him to leave, but like me apathy is starting to set in together with the acceptance that this is just a club who don’t care about winning as much as the big clubs.
Clearly Wenger and some fans value more benchmarks that have nothing to do with winning. Benchmarks like a strong balance sheet, a nice stadium, good training facilities. Many who support Wenger mention these “accomplishments” of his. At Barca, Bayern, Man U, Chelsea and other ambitious clubs they could build the most beautiful golden stadium and training grounds with a balance sheet that contained hundreds of millions in cash, if no ambition and success was shown for 10 years those fans would not give a rats as about how beautiful the stadium was in which they sat whilst losing 5-1 to a big club for the umpteen time.
If Wenger stays, as I said before, I will try to realize that this club is about something else than I admire and that I should look for a club that better matches my personality. I am not into appearances as much as results.
For me I loved our days at Highbury and tbh the Emirates does less for me even if it is bigger. And it is hard to see for me how the extra millions in the bank that Emirates might have resulted in has helped competitive results.
Having said that, some fans are really not too strategic and can only think so far ahead. It might well be that failing to deliver a top 4 finish might unleash another (temporary?) wave of unity for the need for competitive change at our club.
It’s too late, you can’t go and pin your colours to another mast, that’s called a turncoat. Yellower than yellow. Honestly, if there are many fans that can do a swap with the club they support, I find it confusing. I know Konstantin is one of these fans and that’s why I couldn’t be arsed which camp he is in because quite frankly I feel there is not one reason for me to care in the slightest. I enjoyed reading some of your stuff, you’re logical and sound caring about the good of Arsenal, but I feel now it’s more about you than it is Arsenal. Can’t believe people thumbed you up after seeing you admitting how you can just move onto a more successful club.