Arsenal’s new Promised Land? by SB
So the new era, the new dawn began. A phase in the club where Arsenal was supposed to have more than enough cash to bring in top quality players, win cups and league, grow and consolidate our fan base, reach the glorious summit of world football.
But four months in to the season and all looks bleak, doom and gloom lurks and a storm threatens to tear things to shreds, pundits smirk and berate us and the Arsenal faithful question Arsene Wenger’s ability to lead us into the glorious era.
After drawing 7 games and losing 3 in 18 all competition matches we may as well call ourselves the “Draw-Kings”. Gooners pay more than any other for gate-receipts, kits, the Arsenal School in their vicinity and tune in during match days resulting in increased TV revenue. So we are entitled to be critical when the club is underachieving in performance.
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But the question that is “What really went wrong” and “Are we underachieving”?
The answer to the first question is very simple if you look closely. We currently have 7 first team players out injured who are vital cogs in the Arsenal game- Mesut, Giroud, Ospina, Debuchy, Jack, Arteta, Koscielny to be precise. Theo still being slowly bought in. To add salt to wound our top performers like Ramsey, Santi are terribly out of form. Also keeping in mind we bought in 5 new players, 3 of whom-Sanchez, Chambers, Welbeck- are still adjusting to the Arsenal way and the team still learning the new 4-1-4-1. Also we needed a few defensive covers in regards to CBs but who unfortunately weren’t available epitomized by ManU -who are in need of more defensive cover- buying Marcos Rojo for 16 million and Liverpool buying Loveren for 20 million respectively. Wenger has promised defensive covers in January if available. We just need to keep patience.
The answer to the second question can be answered by a quick look at the PL table. We are 9 points of top, but to put things in perspective we are 8 points of relegation. We are also set to qualify for Champions League Round of 16 again, now if we can top the group is a different matter of fact and circumstances that we can only speculate about. But to be the best, you have to beat the rest and we certainly are not at our best in terms of performances. Also to quote Wenger “Our performance on field is not being reflected in the results”.
But now what we do have is a core of young players, the average age squad on a matchday is 25, who are very talented but with limited experiences. These players will go on to achieve many a thing in the near future but with a few setbacks at times. Everything can’t be rosy all the time, can it?
You as a fan can decide to make a difference. Get behind the team during some unforeseen difficult circumstances or simply boo them when an unexpected result happen?
Somu
In past years, budget constraints were a legitimate excuse. We had to be patient because we could not compete financially. But things have changed. Arsenal’s financial situation is not holding it back. Chelsea has a lower wage burden than we do and did not get to where it is now by outspending everyone else.
Arsenal had more than enough money to plug it biggest leaks (CB and CDM) last summer. The stubbornness of the Manager is to blame. Absolutely nothing else. Therefore, no excuses. When Wenger does nothing in the January transfer window, we will be asked for more patience. The response should be insurrection not compliance.
Let the board cut ticket priIces by 1/2 and lets see how patient they are. I think Arsenal fans are the most patient, but too much of everything is bad. Cut the ticket prices by a half and it will be a win-win situation for both parties. You cant pay high prices for substandard products. If we are paying the highest tickets then our team is supposed to be better than Barca, Madrid, Bayern, Chelsea, Shitty And PSG, simple logic there.
FAT Chance of that. Have you seen the waiting list for season ticket holders….
We are not after after the number of ticket holders lining up, its the standard and quality of the product we are getting (how good is the team). Cutting the ticket prices will not chase the season ticket holders away, it will still remain the same. Right now they are overpriced paying for substandard product. Get the logic there.
Good article and I agree with your comment. I still stand-by Wenger and believe he IS building a stronger squad, we definitely have a better squad than a few years ago, a big plus is that we are retaining all our best players and still adding world class talent. That being said, let us give him the benefit of the doubt until Jan, but if we do not see a top CB and DM join our cause, then heads must roll. Wenger might try and get away with Arteta and Flamini for one more season, as per their contract agreements, but both of them although some games play well, are just not cut out for the big games. Arteta is probably the most reliable of the two, and if push comes to shove I would rather keep him over Flamini, but Wenger needs to address this problem area that has been going on since Song’s departure.
Also I feel Wenger is correct in saying our results do not reflect our performances, if you look at so many games, opposition teams are giving some opportunity to score goals, not just against us but against any other team. Against us, those few chances have been taken and it just happens that they scored where as against another team on another day it would have been a miss. Call it unlucky or whatever, the facts are we have dominated most of our games this season with far more attempts on goal, yet we have drawn some of those games. Really frustrating but from what I have seen on the pitch attack wise, we are looking good. Fix up the defense Arsene and we will see more clean sheets and therefore more wins.
Please quote source that Chelsea spent less than us in wage. My understanding is Terry, Hazard, Fabregas, Costa all earn more or equal to our top earner Ozil.
Everyone knows we have problem but instead of complaining non-stop, why dont we contribute more about how to solve the problem at hand – at least before the Jan transfer windows
I dont like AKB who keep defending Wenger even though he did make a number of major mistakes, but in this case it’s not always his fault when anything goes wrong with AFC
Something need to be done after Tuesday match, the tactics is good, we are 3 – nil up, but players switch off – many players are at blame as much as the manager. Ramsey is my favorite player – but he is not discipline at all, roaming forward and offer 0 support to Chambers on the right, Podolski does not close their player and let them have all the space and time to put in the perfect ball for the last goal. Even we sign another defender or a super DM, we still leak goal if others keep playing like that (remember how Mourinho slating Hazard for being in-discipline). Defend is the whole team’s work not 4-5 players.
All our players are arrogant bunch on the day, looking down on Anderlecht and got punished. Our pride hurt when they scored 2 goals, instead of killing the game off, we risk going for for the 4th. Very immature performance. I wont fault Wenger for his tactics at the beginning of the game, but his subs is all wrong, subbing hard working Welbeck for Podolski? A very bad day in the office.
Calling for a manager sack or whole change the squad is immature (other big teams are also under-performing left right center – Chelsea, Man City, …). but they have learn from this lesson and deliver a big result on Sun. At least this reason happening in CL where we still have room for mistake unlike EPL
Agree with everything you said..but chelsea under performing????
Have been reading similar articles for last five years!
Spill-over comment…..
@Usmanove, we may be powerless, but not completely powerless. Once I saw on tv a banner carried by some Gunners around the emirates on which was written” Stop the greed” (among other writeups) in protest against ticket price. At least that’s something, it was captured and broadcasted.
The #WengerOut hashtag was started by someone, see how popular it is today. We keep raising our voices, soon the noise will be so loud that Wonga and his stooges will go deaf and leave our club for good. Do the little things, they count.
Don’t stop complaining until something positive happens. You lose when you stop.
@KickAssFan.
What you say may be true. That is why I identified the other 10% who aren’t apathetic or BEBAs or apathetic BEBAs for that matter. However, I don’t think these few can muster up the power needed to influence change.
KickAssFan you are spot on mate,
whenever we the fans are unhappy the media is quick to throw it in the faces of the management, it is our duty to point out how disappointed we are to the club otherwise its will no longer be a competition sport just a another business.
Injuries are no excuse. The defensive predicament was entirely predictable. And the problems on defense go much further than depth, the bigger problem is lack of quality.
We are in the situation we are in because Wenger failed to buy enough defenders and a CDM. Plain and simple.
patient?? that how we have been in the last 8years atleast, so its time to show what we are all feeling. at least the right which is yet to be taken by wanger #COYG
Just notice how the writer is looking for excuses to excuse something which cant be excused. A typical Wengerit. I simple cant believe how grown up men ,,the Wengerits,, can be so obsessed with one men.
Its Arsenal fc, and not Wenger fc. The sooner some of you Akb retards understand this the better for the club.
@ KS-gunner ……….the Admin, really needs to work on this website , so one could at least figure out who these down thumbing AKBs really are ….. They disgust me
it must be the board members.
Another wenger lover article, go away you blinkered fool! Remain patient?! For what? If I thought we’d see wenger drop Per and flamini and buy 1 or 2 cbs in the window along with a top class dm player like Kondogbia I’d rest easy and have some hope. Will it happen? Who knows? All we do know is wenger likes his attacking football and will probably buy two up front players. He’ll ignore the defensive frailties and his #2 bould who must be getting fed up now. Be patient my ar*e!!
Like all of you I hurt after Last Tuesday…and it was good to read this post today
Of course ‘IF’ we had done this or that things would/could/should have been better
BUT…..except for the result I enjoyed being there on Tuesday, the football was exciting and we showed some real skill and promise
As a supported that lived through the years when Spurs beat us every time we played , and going to work in North London was SO depressing after each defeat…. things are 100% better
All is not lost Gooner friends ….we have some exciting talent in our squad…hopefully we can add some much needed defensive strength in January.
We should always get behind our team…and dare I say it our Manager….for they are the team and the manager that we have this year……I cannot accuse any one player for the effort that he puts in…and I know that Wenger works tirelessly for the club…that’s all any of them can do.
I feel certain that this team will get better
Wenger works tiressly for the club. Lol what a clown. You feel to much, and think to little. A big problem.
@sohara.
Respect to you sir, for being an AKB with brains. Not like some of the delusionals who come on here to tell us to shut our mouths and never criticize/ blame Wenger for anything.
You laid out your reasons as pertaining to experiences that relate to you. I disagree with some, I agree with some.
u dn’t have bigger problems than the spuds, do u? ……. Upset by HuLL city, Leicester city and recently AnderLecht….. Yet, that haven’t taught u Lessons
@Sohara
Think how far standards have fallen we are now happy if we don’t lose to Spurs, before Wenger came we never lost 8-2, 6-0 ….. to Man Utd, Chelsea, Man City Liverpool or got hockeyed by Everton. The list is growing year by year but you are happy if we don’t lose to Spurs. Wenger never, even in his best days with Arsenal had to put together a proper defensively sound back four (he inherited that from George Graham) his best player to begin with – Denis Bergkamp – was already at the club and Wenger added Viera and Henry to build that super team on the back of which he is still basing his reputation. We have to put the club first these AKB thoughts are only bringing further shame and mockery on the club. Things are worse now than when Wenger joined because back then it hadn’t been 10 years since we last won the Premiership!!!
Why don’t you talk of the sale of Anelka and Marc Overmars for huge sums that then funded the training ground Londen Colony?
Stop questioning his previous achievements for recent performance.
sohara if we don’t change those good talented players you are on about will want to leave soon.
Also these our the points I can’t understand, forgive or forget: why sell and loan tv5 and jenks then not replace adequately? Why not plan for our injuries which based on historical data always happen, shads not a miracle worker, why on the last and busiest day of the window was wenger in Rome sight seeing with the pope, why does wenger play players out of position?, why does he stick with out of form/unfit players week after week? Why will not take advice from his coaching team? Why does he not get of his ars* and give sone valuable direction during games? Why has he not bought a dm player since the days of song and gilberto? So many many whys. Remain patient?! One thing I do agree with is we have youth and quality in the team for the future bit we currently have two many players that are getting too old or are not good enough. This team needs a makeover and I demand quick results not in 3, seasons time.
@sohara. I like your positivity but I feel yoyu are wrong. Think baxk to teams of old and remember some of the warriors and leaders we had. Since then we have slowly iver time declined in the quality of football and players we have and now we don’t seem to have any vocal leaders on the pitch. This has all happened since wenger hss been at rhe helm. I feel he’s lost his midas touch and as long as hes here the new players such as sanchez, chambers, debuchy and welbeck will only also decline as characters and they soon will feel the aesene effect.
Wenger says:
“Our performance on field is not being reflected in the results”.
What do our results reflect then? Our performance off the field? Like transfer business? Like tactical decisions?
You see, as an AKB (a type who believes Arsene has been following a plant leading up to next summer transfer window) it pains me to see him shoot himself on the foot with statements like this.
Well I am learning to become apathetic to whatever he says or does. This is my own way of being patient.
I actually think the results flatter the performance on the field. A lot of the draws deserved to be losses. We were lucky to beat Anderlect in Belgium (deserved to lose). We have looked good only a handful of times this season. Heck, we were lucky to beat Besiktas and had to rely on bad refereeing to get past them. If Sanchez gets hurt, we are totally screwed and will go from 4th to middle of the pack in a hurry.
The perfect 4th place
sustainable model.
But could the club do better?
Could Arsenal actually quinella the EPL and ECL?
…?
…?
…?
No.
So should I agitate for change or go along for the ride?
“Unforseen difficult circumstances”.
That’s a pretty good excuse given that we knew the probability of these “circumstances” occurring.
But, whatever floats your ship, and Wenger stays as it’s captain.
Reus has pre contract agreement with real madrid does not want to play in prem league guess we will go for draxler then!
And where will he fit in Real Madrid huh?
Ronaldo – left winger.
Bale – left winger playing on the right.
Rodriguez and Isco capable of playing left though being CAM’s.
No son, he won’t be going to Real.
He will be off to Bayern. Simple as that. Arsenal has nothing to offer.
We always have a spare pound to offer.
More excuses for Wengerites.
It IS ALL Wenger’s fault, he didn’t have enough good cover for injuries and overplayed players, doesn’t rotate to improve the young players, same team every week until they all break.
Stupid 4-14-1 formation.
PLUS the OP is talking about Giroud, WTF??? Have you all forgotten how bad he is???
Just because the decline under Wenger continues you look back and think that the mediocrity of last season is somehow the answer to our current woes?
Behave, anyone who thinks that way, what was not good enough last year should have been flushed and new players brought in by a new manager.
I don’t know why everyone is saying be patient. As fans we have been patient, the cup win means nothing to the majority of us who want to see a genuine challenge for the prem. 1 trophy in 9 years and we all have to be patient? Whilst the ticket prices soar what return are we getting on our hard earned cash? Next to nothing. How many times have we heard we will come back stronger? It’s all good saying these things but our team lack the substance to back up these claims. Too many mediocre players resting on the substantial pay checks.
If Wenger can’t get in a couple of CB’s, and a decent strong DM in January then I don’t think it’s really a possibility of him continuing.
Every season we do just enough, We scrape into champions league, we come fourth. It’s getting to the point where fourth is basically winning the premier league for Wenger. I know city and Chelsea have financial power but it is the penny pinching that will cost us long term. Refuse the buy back on fabregas despite him being a class above anyone we have. How many players have we lost because we’ve refused to pay an extra million or two?
Song going to west ham was a kick in the balls too considering he’s exactly what we need. Buying Sanchez is all good and well but you can’t win games just attacking. Our record against the good teams recently is dreadful. Time to take that walk Wenger, you won’t buy big in January, you’ll keep to the same tactics that won’t win. There’s a serious lack of grit in our team which is the most disappointing thing. Get a new manager in, someone to get them fired up.
Patience in this case has already been and gone, you can claim for patience and sit back and watch us fall further away from city and Chelsea than we already have. I’d rather do something about it. A cup win was just papering over the substantial flaws in our team and management.
Also at the AGM everyone needs to remember that the board said every footballing decision goes through Wenger. He’s the one not spending the cash that is there.
its onLy at Arsenal F.c that fans are being asked to be patient for more than 9yrs ….God! We could be such toLerable and gentle fans……..but we all must know this : “patience is a VIRTUE, but with a wengeritic patience, we will have no FUTURE” ….. End of story!
Typical hate filled comments. Why not counter the points made in the article instead of name-calling eh?
A midfield of Pirlo(living ledgend), Vidal, Pogba, Marcassio(spelling?) and striker like Tevez, goalie in Buffon and no one even expects them to reach the final, or even semis of Champions League.
Get a grip. And think.
I don’t expect us to reach the final, but would you rather watch those players for arsenal or what we have ????
I do have a grip, serie a is basically a none competitive league. Sure they are good players but playing in a mediocre league. There short comings get highlighted in the champions league. I’m not saying we should be challenging for the champions league. It would be nice to at least beat anderlecht comfortably. Wengers tactics are just way out with what needs to be done. Mediocre team at the moment and that disappoints me. Sanchez must be wondering why he joined!
Um, the points in the article have been countered. Stop making excuses and plug the obvious weaknesses in January. Very simple except Wenger won’t do that. Instead, he’ll repeat the tired line about how hard it is to buy in January just like the line last summer about how hard it was to find defenders. Then next summer, history will repeat itself again. The CDM hole has been there for years.
@sumo: dude stop this stupidity. Instead of trying to figure out why other teams are not working , lets focus on ourselves..the mediocrity that us fans have resigned to over the years is because of fans like you who just cannot see what is wrong with the club !
Remain patient – promised defensive cover if available
That comment tight there makes wenger a joke
EVERY player is available for the right price but when you shop at Aldi your choices are limited
most of the German experts says Arsenal London is the favorite to get Reus. Arsenal London is the only top Club who Reus can be the biggest star. He dont like the bench like Lukasz Podolski.
Reus isn’t what we need, yes he’s a great player but the issue with our team is at the back and the DM role that hasn’t been filled for years
Be patient!! My patience is running out . That was a complete disaster on Tuesday evening. Patient…….. It’s a hard thing to do.
Fellow GuNNERS,, Um touched by how you feel.
It pains me everytime I pull on my Home jersey wch cost me a fortune, and to think that I still got A Fab 4 one still intact (Was hoping he would come bek n will be home n dry).
Now my point is, PATIENCE?? NO… Thus for City n Spuds… We are a big club with a manager who thinks like he’s at (sorry.. my second team..) Brentford….
Can Wenger Stand up and tell us fans, why he accepted a useless and (late) Flamini, yet turned down Fab 4 and Song? Why loan Jenks and stay with Bellerin wen he is not ready for Premiership. Coz, the ideal situation wud be Jenks covering at RB n Chambers playing CB.. why let Sagna go?? Wen he can do both, for a salary of one, like chop (Flamin) useless,,, give the xtra to Sagna…. He’s not that bad,, better than Flamin n Monreal put together…
Wenger has gone nuts. Um angry, very angry, n his excuses mek us fans luk like we are forgetful n childlike. U can’t do this to our great team Wenger…. I hope he sees my plea n at least learn to respect us as fans…. It’s unacceptable Arsene… I Imagine my daughter feeling sorry for me as i watched the Anderlecht game… Wenger,, u will soon be out in the cold…. ALONE
OK lets make some noise as fans and start using social media. #AFCNEWCDM & #AFCNEWCB on Twitter Facebook & Instagram.
“Get behind the team during some unforeseen difficult circumstances or simply boo them when an unexpected result happen?”
Unforseen ? Unexpected ? What are you talking about ?
Is that humor or are you really serious ?
Patience is a virtue.
maybe Wenger has a long term plan to win the Premier League.
we must give him time to let his plan come to fruition
In Wenger we Must Trust
maybe?, hahaha, that says it all… pathetic wengerite
It is obvious that is not just the Fans who lost faith in Wenger, you can feel dissent among the players, is it only me or for the longest of times you can tell Ozil just want out and is spreading like a plague, wont be long before Sanchez will feel the frustration too. Darn even Rodgers changed his team to try something new, Maureen does it every game, the Dino keep sticking to the same squad, Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results