Arsene Wenger was clearly disappointed after seeing his Arsenal team beaten at home by a strong and determined Watford side, and not just because it destroys the chance of the Gunners winning a third FA cup trophy in a row and all the records that would have gone with it, for the club and the manager as an individual.
The other reason the Frenchman was so cheesed off at the end of this thrilling cup tie was that he felt that Arsenal deserved a lot more out of it. In fact he seems to believe that, but for the collective defensive lapse from Mertesacker, Chambers and Gabriel early in the second half, Arsenal would have gone on to win the game.
As reported by the Arsenal website, Wenger said after the match that he thought Arsenal were the dominant force and all the chasing done by the visitors would have paid off as they tired towards the end. In the end that nearly happened anyway but for that second goal courtesy of an unstoppable screamer and the miss by Welbeck with the goal at his mercy.
Wenger said, “Our long, long run has come to an end in a very sad way because I don’t think that we deserved to lose. We have to look at ourselves for the first goal. The second goal was a fantastic shot. I felt that it was a real cup game where they defended very well and took their chances on the break, the few chances they had. As long as we didn’t score the first goal they kept their belief. They were physically very strong but we had enough chances to win the game.
“We knew that before the game. We had enough technical superiority to win the game and to score goals. It was down to not making a mistake and keeping it 0-0 until the last 20 minutes. If we would have done that then we might have won the game. Unfortunately we made one. It is sad. We’ve come out of a very long run in the FA Cup. The FA Cup is the FA Cup, you cannot guarantee you will win it.
“It was difficult to understand how we didn’t score [at the end]. I want to watch it again. It was a typical cup game against a team who comes here to fight and take their chances, with us trying to score. It was just like that, there’s not a lot more to say.”
Do you agree with Wenger’s comments and think that the Gunners were a bit unlucky and would have won on another day? Or is this defeat just symptomatic of a big problem at the club?
When you play badly and defend poorly! You get what you deserve!
Morinho was right after all.
But he is a specialist too.
Go to a rich club, buy a title
then crash and walk in year 3.
I don’t think Porto fall into that category.
this explains everything to me, nothing more needs to be said:
Kroenke: “if you want to win championships then you would never get involved”
basically admitting his involvement is a measured act, no passion, just business.
totally fits with a “i’ll invest enough to get the CL bonus, but not ridiculous sums to win the thing”.
when wenger goes, we may get another kroenke tool.
Top 4 EPL last 16 ECL
has been the club policy
since Abramovich
and further cemented
when the Quatari group landed.
Wenger and the board believed competing
for the title is too expensive, too high risk
and opted for a top 4 baseline policy
which is why Kroenke bought in.
That’s why Arsene says it is a “privilege”
to be “involved” in 3 competitions but did not
mention anything about “winning” any of these comps.
“Involvement” is the key “winning” is a bonus.
Arsenal is frustrated that some fans still do not “understand”.
But he is not God he said, and surmises that only God
could get the message through to those dummies who
are yet to come on board the sustainable “gravy” train.
“When the moneys rolling in (8 mill p/y in my case)
who cares about winning especially when winning may
upset the gravy train”?
It is actually completely logical unless you are foolish
enough to believe winning the EPL and ECL are important.
Kroenke Out!
Me Thinks Wenger’s Just being a Ridiculous idiot
classic: “It was difficult to understand how we didn’t score”
he doesnt understand then its unlikely he knows how to fix it.
@SoOpa AeoN
“Me Thinks Wenger’s
Just being a Ridiculous idiot”.
On the contrary Wenger is brilliant
at delivering the 4th place sustainable model.
He has delivered Koenke I mean Arsenal the
top four EPL last 16 ECL target with out winning a title
for a decade..that consistency is absolutely brilliant.
Seriously I mean it that is brilliant.
I wonder what would have happened if
Abramovich or the Quatar group had come to Arsenal?
We might have been looking at a slew of EPL and ECL titles by now.
Maybe…
Wenger needs to be on saturday night live, because his press conference statements are hilarious!
Same old same old. Can we not all agree now WENGER NEEDS TO GO. Quite frankly, with fans still sitting on the fence and supporting him is disgusting and idiotic. WENGER OUT/ANYONE ELSE IN!!
Yes, I do think we were unlucky.
That second goal was a fluke – I doubt he’ll ever a score a goal like that in his life again (or he has ever scored a goal like that in his life before)
But then, we were also lucky not to have Gabriel sent off..
Why don’t the likes of Barca and Bayern suffer this type of “bad luck” when we play them though? Thinking…
why do goalkeepers have their game of a life against us? strikers have their strike-of-a-life against us?
if we had been in good scoring form, scoring 2-3 goals, it would not have mattered.
Excuses, Excuses and Excuses..
Wenger probably lives in a different planet….
Broken record BS from our $8M a year delusional leader.
Let me recap:
Unlucky on 2 separate shambolic attempts to play fundamental, elementary defense that results in two preventable goals… Check
Unlucky on first starting, then sticking with an ineffective OG who has more dives on the day than shots on goal…check
Unlycky to once again sub off one of games most effective players in Joel C for $140K a week Walcott who does predictably nothing in his short sub appearance….check
Unlucky for his highly waged starting 11 sleepwalking through the first 70 minutes of the fixture being out played and out worked by a collection of players bit deemed worthy to ever wear the Arsenal shirt…check
I’m sure the referee sucked to….check
Just watched MOTD and paused the game at the part where Giroud put the ball in the net in the first half which was given offside, well I’ve just checked it over and over about 10 times and the Watford number 2 played Giroud onside , he was level when the ball was played but the Lino didn’t see him because he was directly behind OG, we should of been 1 – 0 up in the first half. If the refs assistant was on his game he’d clearly seen that OG was level & at 1 up = different game, we would of been the ones catching them on the counter as they pressed.
Must u always make change around 70mins huh?Mr Wenger
he used to do it at min80. 70 is an improvement.
Some will say like Arsene
that a 5 game FA Cup run
is worthy of our admiration.
75% of the fans the AKB’s believe this.
I know the Owner, Board and CEO are thrilled.
Others like the AOB’s will say apart from the away game
at Hull, Arsenal managed to make home games v Sunderland
Burnley, Hull and Watford look like we were playing Bayern or Barca.
Arsenal has lost 12 times this season but then City have not
fared any better while Utd Chelsea have fared even worse.
What does it all mean? I don’t know but there is enough money
going down the drain in the EPL to feed Africa.
why do you feel the need to mention Africa? it is a continent not a country and there are much more natural food resources than were your from
Wengers mistake is he thinks just because Giroud scored 2 vs Hull he would be in a purple patch. The only time Giroud will be in a purple patch is early in the season or when we are out of everything. Welbeck missed a golden chance for 2-2, but he was involved more in the game.
If you want to score goals you have a forward line of Sanchez, Welbeck and Joel. I said this before the first cup game vs Hull. Giroud and Walcott are not up to scratch.
Iwobi made more of an impact than £110K a week player. Three great shots, 2 just wide and 1 of the post. If he keeps his head down and doesn’t chase the money he would be a good player for us. Better than Wilshere, Walcott, Ox and Gnabry for sure.
Vs Barcelona
Joel—————–Welbeck————-Sanchez
————————-Ozil—————————-
—————Iwobi———–Coquelin————-
Monreal—Koscielny—-Mertesacker—Bellerin
————————Ospina————————-
This is the best team right now. Sanchez is more effective on the right than the left, if it doesn’t work switch sides with Joel.
Gnabry? How much of him have we really seen?
Dude couldn’t get into the WBA team, that has to say a lot. He done well when he was suddenly bought into the first team like Iwobi at the moment, although Iwobi seems to have more composure.
Is Iwobi getting picked because he’s JJ Okocha’s nephew ?
The front 3 shouldn’t be restricted or restrict themselves to a certain area of the pitch. With pace they can rotate and give opposition defenders a hard time for 90 minutes but we can’t do that with Giroud.
Is yours a trick question?? if not I go with B this is a defeat symptomatic of a big problem at the club called WENGER
I heard an interview today that really had me thinking. Spurs, West Ham and Chelsea will all have new stadiums that will seat the same if not more than what we currently have. All London based clubs who are performing better than us with half the crowd size we have. Don’t for 1 minute think Chelsea won’t be back after this season and that’s because of a ruthless owner. They’re attracting top talents as well and have turn us over in the not so long past. What does that say for us and where do we go from here?
Let me riddle the last 10 years of so called building the new Arsenal stadium hoax!
If Wenger was anywhere as astute and malleable in his tactics & management then he would instead of making excuses of all his best players leaving the club would’ve signed hard working gems from the lesser teams and motivated them enough to have grabbed the league at least thrice by now off his ‘Invincibles’ credentials.
There were so many players available at the lower clubs who could’ve done marvelously well at Arsenal and wouldn’t have costed a dime. For example, he could’ve signed Defoe after RvP left, Milner could’ve replaced Song. And what does he do?! Buys the lot like Gervinho, Squillaci & Bendtner. These are just a few to name from hundreds that could’ve done the job at least ONCE.
We have already seen it doesn’t take immense amount of spending and talent to grind to the top as Leicester is a proof. Even Fergie in his last year in charge took a very average Man Utd side and won the PL. All it needs is a bit of tactical awareness, man management and basic team motivation.
I can’t digest the fact that Wenger created the Invincibles legacy himself. It was THAT TEAM that was responsible for everything. They dug it out, fought for each other and were ruthless while the manager took all the plaudits. He just made a few jackpots with the likes of Henry & Fabregas which I will credit him for. And that too David Dein takes some share of credit for in my assessment.
All I’m saying is new stadium or not this guy with any sort of resources or situation should’ve won us the league by now with his experience and guile. I mean c’mon guys open your eyes. We have been lied to and cheated all along. I had lost faith in him a long time ago and don’t know why people were still holding onto the strings.
But now its all or nothing! We have come to this stage that we risk the reputation and pride of our beloved Arsenal. And all because of one man! God help The Arsenal!
so basically we’re now questioning every aspect of his legacy. wenger is not a wise man. a wise man would have left after the 2nd FA cup win. he is a greedy and self-deluded man.
sad.
I said we should of bought Defoe last summer as a makeshift striker in case of Injuries, even at his age he will contribute goals, it’s what he’s always done, he even modelled himself on Wrighty.
Yeah we were very unlucky. We were also unlucky to be the only club in top European leagues not to sign an outfield player during summer.
Gabriel!what a disaster
I thought I was the only 1 that realized that. Just been over a year and already seems like a waste of money. At that point we could have done better, even in that summer we sold Verm we could have gotten a better replacement then. Cheap solutions! You get what you pay for, squad player at best and I fear the same with Elneny. Don’t forget Gabriel started brightly too but now I cringe when he plays.
sanchez started brightly too. do we take players and then turn them into dirt?
gabrielle has been better than per once the language barrier is surpass I can see hi being a solid 2nd/3rd for years to come, but I doubt he will be the best cb on the books time will tell
I know Wenger has 1 year left on his contract and most including myself wants to see him step down before it gets worse but that will never happen. So the only hope I have left for Arsenal while he’s still the manager is that “THIS” summer he gets the damn players we’ve needed for years now and get rid of the dead weight. No more Gabriel’s or Elneny’s, we can do much better. At least half of that squad needs to go whether is on a free or contract termination with payoff. Just pull out the roster and start from #1 until you get to the end of all registered first team players. Call them in the office and tell them your services are no longer needed, we’re moving forward and unfortunately you don’t feature in those plans. Be ruthless, these are grown a** men and they’ll have no choice but to move on and get over it…
no, i cannot give wenger another year. the man should have the self-respect to walk away at the end of this season. good form like his record w invincibles cannot last for ever. and his record in the last few years makes everyone question everything he did. he dug this hole for himself by staying too long. deludedly thinking, he could win PL again. he was good once, but not so much any more. please mr wenger. just go.
who should be sold/ released?
szezney, debuchy, kamara, gibbs, w.silva, hayden, sanogoo, Jenkinson,walcott, arteta, rosicky, flamini
loan out?
Martinez, zalelem, gnabry, maitland-neils, toral, akpom, gnabry, chambers
sign?
RB AURIER @ 15m – 9m (Jenkinson/debuchy) = 6m net spend
LB Gaya @ 17m – 11m (Gibbs,Kamara,Hayden) = 6m net spend
DM SAUL @ 10m – 8m (Szezney) = 2m net spend
RM Mahrez @ 33m – 23m (Walcott, wellington,sanogoo) = 10m net spend
ST Ibrahimovic @ 180k – 200k (Flamini,Arteta, Rosicky) = save 20k
24m spent!!!
squad after
GK Cech, Ospina
RB AURIER, Bellerin
CB Mertesacker, Gabrielle
CB Kosicleny, Chambers
LB Monreal, GAYA
DM Coqulan, SAUL, Elneny,
CM Cazorla, Ramsey,
AM Ozil, Wilshire, Iwobi
RM MAHREZ, Campbell, Ox-chambo
LM Sanchez, Welbeck,
ST IBRAHIMOVIC, Giroud,
? Wtf! Happened? …
I missed one game and you went and xxxxed it up! ?
Unbelievable… This is Beyond a joke! ?
Hey… Don’t forget to shut the door behind you, mr wenger!
I have immense respect for Wenger-for the exceptional record and ground breaking Arsenal teams he has produced,but like all great emperors, it’s his own conceit and ego that will be his downfall.
He has failed to emulate those great teams;today they lacked aggression, physicality and finish in front of goal,so maybe if he had bought a real striker and DM in the summer,we’d be up for the double,but he didn’t want to listen.
His time is over,he knows it and I think he will go.
On review of the squad, chances need to be made. I am not one for pre season bemoaning. Squads can always be better, and yes management can also be better, and Yes some players are not good enough, but they have more respect and integrity for the establishment than some fans who wish to go matches and boo and pull out banners when the team win.
The joke for me is this. We are Arsenal but have no God given right to win anything. We have spoilt fans who don’t seem to understand growth in a world where we are too use to instant everything.
On the other hand we have a club mentality that resist too much the desire to see more than they want.
Somewhere in between the fans deluded view and the clubs stiff approach is a idle ground where total success lays, and until first the fans and clubs line up their dreams, we won’t get there!
Blessing in disguise that defeat because that was the 1st nail in Wengers coffin. 2nd nail will be after the Barca game.3rd nail will be if we lose to Everton next week/end.Final nail will be if Spuds win the League. See, there’s is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Wenger : Who doesn’t like a bargain? Well your bargains Gabriel and Elneny have cost us dearly today and I’m not even going to mention the rest that have been collecting a paycheck for the last 10 years give or take. Who scouted Gabriel and concluded he was good for Arsenal? The guy is a mess! Not impressed with £5m Elneny either and his game at Spurs won’t pull any wool over my eyes. There’s a reason NO ONE else was after him hence his price tag. I see more in the academy player Iwobi than him. This club is a mess and whoever sold their share to Kroenke should be brought up for charges against deceiving the fans of a brighter future. What’s the point of moving from Highbury? To showcase to more people how sh*t we have become? We are a worldwide joke!
To All arsenal fans
I suggest when next you watch our match, watch as a neutral expecting to be entertained…of course you know where your loyalty lies!!…but then that way you will leave longer I promise..Kroenke made me believe this..
I miss the spirit in Highbury….Emirates seems like a church to me…where the Cong. only rise and sing when the choir starts singing…the stadium should be buzzing before kick off.