Words of wisdom from Alisher Usmanov by KM
In a time where Arsene Wenger is turning AFC to a comedy show, the second most valuable shareholder of Arsenal has come out to speak the truth about the situation we are in.
‘Potential of the team is there, but there is no critical evaluation of own mistakes and their admittance. Because not a single genius can retain its level when he does not admit his own mistakes. Only when you admit your mistakes can you get rid of them. I wish this to my club. Nothing wrong, but we just repeat same results year by year. Quite high to secure the place in the Champions League. But we regularly lose in the first circles of play-offs. As an investor I am not happy with that.’
Can anyone really deny this? The quality is there, in fact in the state of the ‘top’ clubs in England we should be easily sitting in the top 3 instead of where we are now. Repeating our own mistakes again and again is another thing even the kids have learned, but not Arsene Wenger. The thing about admitting your own mistakes i like the most. It is basically saying that if you don’t improve, no matter who you were in the past, you’re doomed for the future. Does that mean that if Alisher was the owner, Wenger would be sacked after 8 years like this?
It’s also good to see that, someone else besides some Arsenal fans, is also unhappy with the fact we finish 4th and reach the 1/8 finals of the CL to get knocked out by a European heavyweight. These are words coming from an Arsenal fan, rather than a businessman. Not all Arsenal fans are privileged to be living in London, but we all care just as much about the club.
‘But we have in Russia a proverb which goes – ‘Even an old lady can have a roof falling on her’. Everybody makes mistakes. He can make mistakes and I know as you age that it is more difficult, more challenging to accept ones mistakes. Maybe it’s a problem today’
Alisher Usmanov has come out to criticize how the board doesn’t supply Wenger with resources in the past, but this is interesting because it is directly pointing to the manager, and Arsene cannot be happy with this. There goes the question of why Mr. Usmanov doesn’t have a place on the board? Ridiculous if you ask me. If you own 30% of a successful brand like Arsenal wouldn’t you want to have your say as to what should be done with it?
‘I like Arsene for his principles. But principles are a sort of restriction. And restrictions are always lost possibilities.’
And Mr. Usmanov hit the bulls eye and won this leg of the darts of truth with a perfect check out! Wenger is stuck with his philosophy and when it doesn’t work he’s doomed. We like principles, but we’re not that Barcelona side that could beat anyone by simply being technically better than them, but we do have a squad good enough so we can outsmart most oppositions. But instead we get outsmarted because our manager knows only one way of setting out his game, and the others know how to counter it.
‘My opinion, and I tell it openly, we need to strengthen every position to play on the level of such teams in UK as Chelsea and Manchester City, in Europe like Real, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and other clubs.’
Spot on yet again. We only have 2 players of the highest quality who could play for any top team in Europe – Sanchez and Ozil. We need a new defence (the whole 4 players in it) and we need a new keeper, and a DM. In midfield we have lots of ‘talent’ that failed to break a United team who conceded 5 goals against Leicester!
‘I know sport pretty well and respect all on the club, including Kroenke, who has a substantial experience in sport. But we also have knowledge of sport and have investment in volleyball, basketball…’
The previous lines were more interesting because for the first time the fire was at Wenger, but this one against Kroenke, has its valid point. Mr. Kroenke is a businessman and a successful one in sports investment, but that doesn’t drive the club forward. Usmanov mentions less popular sports like volleyball, because maybe investments are sometimes made for the love of the sport, not for the money it brings.
So to wrap it up, the important thing here is Wenger being put under pressure by one of the owners. Sadly it’s not the one that can rip his contract up on our next comedy performance. Under pressure people either improve or break. Wenger is broken already, he wouldn’t survive the pressure like Mourinho could and he’d be sacked in any other top club.
The question that should be raised is why isn’t Usmanov on the board, and how can he get at least a representative there right now, so we have someone with forward thinking on a higher level than Wenger.
One last thing. The world has been changed by individuals with vision – Tesla, Galilei and so on. Alan Pardew went through hell and look at him now, 6 straight wins. I am a programmer and a site like sackpardew.com is made in days by one person, but the influence it had was massive. It would cost nothing for an Arsenal fan to print out one “Sack Wenger” A4 paper for our next home game. When the 60 thousand people at the Emirates don’t want Wenger, he’ll be hurt. The media managed to capture the few “Wenger Out” signs at the Emirates, 60 thousand simply cannot be ignored. The media will pile more pressure on and a point will be reached where he’d have to change or leave.
After ten years of misery i know that the first is not going to happen.
Konstantin Mitov
If u want a owner that comes out and criticize his club then get this guy…but me personally want him as far from arsenal as possible…if he takes over I feel we’ll turn into the next rangers of the spl..yea im that scared….I want stan a** out too but not for this fool…anyway my team won tonight I swear it felt like forever thanks boys for that…now can we start our season plzz…gotta be sooner rather than later
Honestly, I REALLY hate people who just won’t accept the truth and will always make lame excuses to cover up basic unconcealabe facts.
We used to argue among ourselves about who it is that should be blamed for the ill happenings in the club: Wenger or the board. But at some point in time, I realised both should be blamed, but the question rather should be: Who’s to be blamed more?
Some folks say the board hasn’t been aiding Wenger financially, but even if much funds had not been available in the past, who was it that chose the kind of players we bought? Who was it that decided which position needed reinforcement? It was and still is Wenger.
I won’t say much, Sir Kiswick (Arsenal’s chairman) has said it himself: the board backs Wenger if he has a plan. And when he has no plan, they board does nothing. So, although the board is a composition of dummies, Wenger is the chief dummy leader.
Wenger is saying Usmanov should have spoken privately with him, don’t you guys think Usmanov must have done that and realised Wenger is immune to advice and rather decided to make public his frustration about how stubborn and unrepentant Wenger is?
wenger said that when u have sth to say, you first speak directly to the manager. i am sure usamanov has done that: going public is not the FIRST thing: it’s the LAST thing : and he had to do it bc i’m sure wenger just does not hear .
You have to blame Wenger. A good, strong manager will tell the board i need money and this is how much i need or this is who i need you to get for me. To the Arsenal board a good manager is one who makes do with what he’s got and keeps their bank balance looking more and more healthy. Iv’e said in previous posts we need a manager top bring in new ideas, have alternative plans for when things aren’t working but most of all a manager that is strong with the board and who won’t stand for being fobbed off
This man only usmanov only cares about the value which lies within arsenal.
Anyone with money can easily buy arsenal , use the club as collateral for loans for other unarsenal purposes , borrow 3 times what the club is worth.He was on the board before kroenke came on the scene.
Why didn’t he buy out the other shareholders then?
I will tell you why,
He was looking for slim picking and is still looking for same.
A billionaire arsenal fan?
Haha some people are just mugs .
Personally , I think that this article was far too long ..
Jesus you are not writing a book get to the point
Also I have to agree , we already have one dodgy Russian billionaire ( can’t even bring myself to mention his name) who nearly ruined the premier league by pumping cash into Chelski somewhere like 800 million ( who can count it this stage )
I won’t even mention how much city spent buying the league also.
really and truly this bloke is an opportunist who should keep his gob shut. I for one don’t respect him , I don’t have any interest in his opinion and I wish he would sell his interest in the club . this opinion must be shared by the board as he has been denied a seat thankfully. most real Arsenal Fan realise that this person is not our salvation but rather His involvement would signal our demise.
Ok so this article is written by “Konstantin Mitov”
I will overlook that fact you are probably Russian and may in fact be one of said Russians employees’
So Kon
Hang on there a minute are you saying that Russian bloke one of those “individuals with vision”
are you comparing him to Tesla ?? is he about to invent something ???
Your opinion does not reflect the opinion of Arsenal Fans and your absurd article should never been put up on this page
Do you Honestly think that publicly criticizing Arsenal and Arsene during a period when the club are struggling is of any benefit
when did he become such an expert in football anyway ???
let’s be honest he’s not exactly a picture of Health
any more outbursts from Usmanov and there should be banners at the emirates with
“Usmanov Banned for life”
Good Luck with that dude. Still think it was unnecessary though…
@ny..yes it was not even the old dirty ower from the bridge don’t do that he just fire them lol
Honestly i think alisher usmanov would be a better owner than “silent stan”! Coyg!
Usmanov>>>>>kroenke. At least, the russian has the balls to speak truth like a real fan….
Ugh, looks like everyone is back to Team Wenger because we win 1 match. This is why i cant talk to other Arsenal fans. Its disgusting watching people flip their opinions every second. Now all those Arsenal fans who pretended to want Wenger out are going to be quiet until we start losing again. Arsenal as a club and fanbase is just really messed up. I’m not one to lead protests or anything, but just observing how our fanbase behaves is laughable. Barley anyone can keep a solid opinion. If we lose this weekend, the attitude on this forum will do another 180.
I dont think anybody change their opinion brah…we haven’t win for a while or play good for a while maybe everyone hust happy for arsenal not arsen wenger…we still say wenger out..but tonight the players turned up thats all we as fan can ask for…play for that badge and thay did tonight.
who is this “everyone”? those comments above do not indicate a slackening on arsene out.
and the article is telling people to make a sackwenger.com ; how is that not arsene out?
@RSH….I think it’s you the AOB’s that keep stressing and over working yourselves after every bad result… We know that wenger has gotten stagnant and I think he will resign come the end of the season. But why do you guys have to over work yourselves up? It is still early in the season and Wenger is not going anywhere if we are honest.
So just keep criticising him until the end of the season instead of “WENGER OUT NOW”…. It is not going to happen in the middle of the season.
Why can’t you just wait until the end of the season and then we can start saying Wenger out. What manager is going to leave their current club at this stage of the season? KLOPP is struggling to get Dortmund out of relegation in a very poor GERMAN LEAGUE right now, apart from Bayern, what is stopping him from climbing up the table?
I think Wenger is a safe option right now to the end of the season and then he can be hounded out if he does not show any progress for this season..
We know he won’t leave midway of the season but we still will say “Wenger out” just to pile up the pressure. It is also a form of criticism.
I for one will not just want Wenger to go but to learn and improve especially on the January window!
Exactly my thought…idc what nobody say I dont want this f**king umonove whatever the hell his name his running my club….I want the board out wenger out and his a** needs to go too…yes we’re not playing good yes wemger is fu*king up but do u think we want our owner to join the arsenal hating bandwagon to make is look but..that was childish of him on a levels…thats my opinion u dont like it feel free to scroll down and read another
AW was listening to no one, it was only pressure from the board and Usmanov which forced him to make changes. He can make himself immune from the ordinary fan, but he can’t from a major shareholder. I for one say thanks to Usmanov. I can’t believe any true Arsenal fan would wish to endure the previous three performances for the rest of the season.
The guy is an idiot…not fit for a owner at my club…..I think fans like u are those gold digging fans that want us to get a rich owner lile city or Chelsea cuz it guarantee wins right?…like I said the board and wenger out but not for this fool to ruin our club…he’s the blues owners best friend that tells u all about him
No – an owners money makes no difference with FFP now. Realistically the earliest possible time Wenger will go is in the summer. He made the same mistakes with MU as he made in the previous two games. It was only after Usmanov got at him, that changes started happening, the rest of the board did nothing after the Anderlecht disaster. What’s the difference between him and Kronke, apart from he seems to take some interest in the club?
So him coming out and criticizing the manager made wenger change?..I doubt that stop giving this foolx credit for making a fool of arsenal…like I said we have enough people laughing at us we dont need a owner who’s gonna do the same…I really dont think wenger gives 1 f**k what he thinks…stans the man there…him wenger and that belly Russian needs the go….and take that their puppet mrs gizidies whatever his name his with them too
Do you think if usmanov was in charge he would publicily say this stuff? I think he’s trying to get change through the fans and also showing he sees what we see!
Mind you, Usmanov did not only speak about pumping money into the club. He addressed the fact that Wenger doesn’t learn from his mistakes. That is the main problem with Wenger. Stubborn and arrogant. Usmanov was spot on. Frankly it is not our lack of spending that has left us where we are right now. After all, we had opportunities to win the league in 2008 and even came close last year but the same tactical mistakes kept being made. Wenger’s fault!
Arsenal FAAAAAAAAAAAANS, We are stupid, it takes just one game and one good performance to forget the horrible season We are having. beating a Dortmund team that only needs a point to be first of the group is nothing. the only good player we have is Alexis, other than him i see nobody..chambo is tryong i respect that but thats it. the coach is still clueless…starting Sanogo was a big gamble and he got lucky he scored. that goal im sure anyone could have scored it even Lord Bentner. i still want Wenger to leave, I still cannot digest the fact that podolski and Campbell are still warming the bench..
good victory but problems arent solved
Wenger Out
Mate if you truly believe Podolski and Campbell are the answer then you better remind me what the question is. Neither are central players, both play wide and there are 4 or 5 better than both in those wide areas. LP is more interested in social media than playing football – great talent but nearing end of career, useful as 10-20 minute impact player, nothing more. JC is plain average in my opinion – not got a clue as to why the Joel bandwagon ever got rolling.
Finally someone who sees it like I do…both of them ar average…thay all follow podolski on Twitter so thay want him to play.
The joel wagon started rolling when he scored against man u at olympiacos. A lot of these players would probably be getting more time if we hadn’t crashed out of the League Cup at the first opportunity given i think. I’m most frustrated w seeing Rosicky on the bench ALL the time. He played well last season, and the Tottenham goals should be enough to get on the field;) I don’t think Cazorla’s play has warranted his constant inclusion in the squad, despite a good performance tonight.
Do u really think podolski can lead the line?…we tried it before and it didnt wrk and it wont wrk now…camble is average..dont care what u say he’s average…but u fans seems to think he’s a life saver..1 world cup goal and 1 good performance again man u and now he’s ready…i can only judge on what I saw from him..and him and podolski didn’t turn up in the capital cup at alll….when u get ur chance u have to take it if not wrk harder
You are right – Poldi up top has not worked. But Poldi at LW has worked as well or better than most other options – and he scores.
2 seasons back Poldi was scoring goals like made and was leading the league in assists – all from the LW. But Wenger does not like his players succeeding on the LW so he benched him to try the 2 year failed experiment of Cazorla pretending to play LW.
Poldi should not play at the top, but HE SHOULD PLAY often.
Ok…so why is the question of sonogo or podolski coming up?..thay not competing for the same position right?..u said he should play left wing..but uuummm I think Sanchez played there tonight carzola we. In the middle and look damn good there too…so or u saying drop Sanchez for podolski? ….nope let him go take another selfi
Yes Sanchez looks good on the left and he should be the primary there no doubt. But Poldi can play LW, scores often and is supposedly on the team for a reason.
He is likely not a regular starter anymore, but Wenger continues to wear out the same players and refuses to use proven players – like Poldi. That is one reason for all the injuries (and the many poor results this season).
And I certainly hope you did not mean to claim Cazorla plays the wing. That has been a long Arsenal nightmare that Wenger is finally just recently abandoning – thankfully.
Ok well I guess we can agree to disagree then…he’s not good enough for a starter but our poor manager wont use him at all to be honest im not against him playing im just against everytime he gets a chance he stinks it up…and no I think all arsenal fan agree that carzola dont need to be in the wing
I feel like wenger has to rest sanchez this weekend. he has played four games in two weeks. Who plays lw versus west brom w all the injuries we have in the middle is going to say alot about Wenger’s decision making and the pecking order at the club. it will have to be
giroud
?/ caz or ros/ ox
flame/ramsey
right?
i could see sanchez at cf, pod at LW, caz at cam and campbell at R.
ox and flam in midfield: 4.2.3.1:
sanchez
pod caz campbell
ox flam
gibbs monreal per calum
martinez
I would really like to see a line up like this at some point. However, omething worries me about poldi and ox in the same line up. Not the biggest polo fan admittably, but his numbers are so hard to argue with. Doubt he will drop Ramsey though. It’s a shame we are in such a fuggin hole this early, or else we probably would be seeing something like this. Not sure I support it, but I see the thought process behind the lack of rotation as the means to the way wenger wants to play. familiarity->consistency->results?
another thought though- how much do language barriers affect play on the pitch. Could it be that monreal and cazorla are getting more time because they speak Spanish, and can communicate w Alexis efficiently?
Usmanov will spend big….and with Klopp ….we can win titles season after season….
Do u remember how good it felt when we brought Sanchez in the summer and new weuse our money from the club?…Is wenger fault he diddidn’t buy the right players but klopp wont need oil money to make us win…I just dont want our club to run like Chelsea or city….we use our fun and. With these deals theres plenty in the reserve….we dont need no oil money come on arsenal fans I think we’re better that that…the board wenger and this ibromivich wanna be. All needs to go
“I personally feel there is a very strong bond within the team and the club, this team is going to have a very strong season. I can bet on that with you.” – Arsene Wenger.
Yes Mr. Arsene. Finally you said something that we would jump out of our seats to claim. Please bet against us on your statement. The bet is if you lose you have to move away from arsenal for ever… not even are you to be in the board.
We were all told that Wenger had money to spend in summer. Then Wenger claimed he did not need a DM, a LWer, a quality striker and he especially did not need the most basic of components – actual backup CBs – so the bulk of the supposed cash went unspent.
Then Wenger actually told us that Diaby was his new answer at DM – yes he actually said that. And he then told us that Poldi and Campbell could play LW – but he does not play them. Then he said Chambers was able to backup CB1, CB2, and RB – all at the same time apparently – quite a magic trick.
All this nonsense came from Wenger. Is this the board’s fault? And does the board insist that Wenger make failed, stupid player assignment and tactical decisions game after game? What am I missing here?
It is clear where the biggest problem lies – Wenger. He was once a grew manager – he is now just a top level ego pretending to manage.
If there is anything in this comment that is not factual or true please let me know – don’t just give thumbs down to reality because you don’t like reality.
I calculate that, at the current rate, Campbell may actually get a total of 80-85 minutes playing time by season’s end.
When people thumb you down you must go back to your comment to see where you erred on facts or reasoning. That you have asked us to help you the assumption I make is that you have tried to do that but failed to notice any error of fact or reasoning. I will however help you in that regard:
1. “We were all told that Wenger had money to spend in summer”. Indeed Wenger spent nearly 80 million pounds in the summer buying Alexis, Debuchy, Chambers, Ospina, and Danny. These positions needed to be filled. From the performance of the players no one can argue that it was not money well spent.
2. “so the bulk of the supposed cash went unspent”. No one apart from club officials know how much was available to spend in the summer. So to claim that the bulk of the money went unspent when you are not involved in club management is just but speculative not factual. As a matter of fact the club ceo stated at the agm that the transfer budget was not as big as the media claimed.
3. “Then Wenger claimed he did not need a DM, a LWer, a quality striker”. I will be too happy to have a citation of where Wenger was quoted saying these words. When he bought Alexis he stated that he can play on the left, right, or through the middle. So it is possible that when he bought Alexis he also wanted him to play on the left wing, and as a matter of fact he does on the LW for arsenal. You can not therefore claim that Wenger said he did not need a LW player when he bought one. Danny Welbeck was bought who is a striker, and many of those that always say negative things about Arsenal admit he was a bargain buy. Again you can not therefore claim that Wenger said he did not need a striker when he bought one. I recall you are one of the people who went ballistic when liverpool bought Balletoli after Arsenal had been linked for a long time to the striker for a higher price but did not buy him. May be the quality striker you meant who wenger did not buy is Balletoli.
4. “he especially did not need the most basic of components – actual backup CBs”. When Chambers was bought he mentioned that he can play CB so as a matter of fact a Cb back up was bought. Wenger was on record stating that the reason why another CB was not bought was that there were no CBs of the desired quality who were on the market. He even pointed to the situation at Man U as buttressing that point. And when you consider that Barca had to buy an injured CB you will appreciate Wenger’s point. As a classy manager he made use of resources available to fill in the gap, which was to convert Nacho into a back up CB. If you look back at games played by Nacho you will agree that his performances were befitting of a back up CB of any top club. As a matter of fact, Chelsea the model club of British football has two 19 year olds as back up CBs, with a right back as another back up CB. The said 19 year olds have no experience at top flight level, just as Chambers and Hayden did not.
5. “Then Wenger actually told us that Diaby was his new answer at DM – yes he actually said that.” As a matter of fact you are lying, Wenger never said that. All he said was that he will try to convert Diaby into a DM considering the injuries he has had in the past. We all know that Diaby’s contract will end in the summer hence by January he will be free to speak to any club for a pre-contract agreement. We have not heard any reports that the club is negotiating with Diaby for the renewal of his contract. All we hear is that the club is negotiating with Walcot who still years some two years or so on his current contract. If Wenger thought Diaby is our new DM answer as you claim he would have renewed his contract or at least the club would be negotiating for the renewal of the contract. Facts therefore point to Diaby leaving in the summer, and that will not stop the manager from trying to help resuscitate the career of a player in any possible manner just like trying the player in a new position.
6. “And he then told us that Poldi and Campbell could play LW – but he does not play them.”. A team plays with 11 players. I do not recall at any point when Arsenal played with 10 players on account of not having LW players. Any manager will pick his best 11 in any match and the fact that these players do not get starting places is because they are no better than those chosen ahead of them. As a matter of fact these players were given an opportunity to prove themselves in the capital cup but they alongside Rosicky were very disappointing. So your argument therefore is ridiculous to say the least.
7. “Then he said Chambers was able to backup CB1, CB2, and RB – all at the same time apparently – quite a magic trick.” Its not a magic trick but you lying to prop up a non existent point. As I mentioned elsewhere above, Wenger stated that there were no CBs of right quality on the market that is why he did not buy. As to Chambers backing up right back and Cb at the same time, you have seen that for yourself in past matches. Chambers is covering up for Debuchy right now and every time a CB got injured Chambers was brought onto the CB position with Bellerin going to the right back position. You cannot deny that Bellerin is a quality backup RB and every time he was brought in he never disappointed. I also need to remind you that Chelsea has Ake and Zouma as back up Cbs who are all 19 year olds and are no better than Chambers and Hayden.
8. “All this nonsense came from Wenger. Is this the board’s fault? And does the board insist that Wenger make failed, stupid player assignment and tactical decisions game after game? What am I missing here?
“It is clear where the biggest problem lies – Wenger. He was once a grew manager – he is now just a top level ego pretending to manage.”
These comments flowed from your earlier arguments and supposed points of fact. As demonstrated above your points of argument were senseless, while you made false claims about what Wenger said. All that therefore contributed to an intellectually bankrupt post. people therefore thumped you down because your comments were devoid of sense and logic as to deserve no other treatment. I think you are happy now.
Thumb me down, but I don’t share the enthusiasm of many here that see us rising like the Phoenix from the ashes….not sure if we all watch the same game but to me it was more BORUSSIA settling with the score that us having the game of a lifetime, quite frankly at times we were pretty disorganized, Per as usual gave it away a few times, Sanchez was having a bad game till he scored, OX also gave it away more than few times, RAMBO well the poor man he just cannot find himself, Martinez one good stop was not challenged much….Not all was Bad our defense was not horrible but again, WENGER made no changes till injuries came to play…the old Dino could have given more game time to POD and Campbell, after we scored the 2nd goal….Sanogo did not much on the second half, still Le Prof was sitting in his Arse and did not change him till he got injured….Nothing has changed BORUSSIA did not play at their level, we need to keep the pressure to see changes this should be WENGERS last years as ARSENAL coach PERIOD.
I agree with you mostly but i have to say you can only beat what is put before you. We weren’t at our best when we played them in Germany. Would you say then that they were s**t because they played a bad Arsenal team? When the team plays well, give them credit, when they are s**t, criticize them. The first half was all ours, we were solid in defence albeit with a few shaky moments. You said Martinez was not really tested and made one good stop. that’s because the defence did their job well. I’m not getting carried away because they might go back to “self destruct mode” in the next game, but they were professional against Dortmund and didn’t give away a 2 goal lead. Thumbs up to them.
Having said that, Wenger still won’t change his ways, and his stubbornness will still come back to haunt us. So, Wenger STILL out!
@MIA GUNNER FAN exactly my point.Yes Arsenal won the game, which is good.But Dortmund did not play, you might say that it’s because they are struggling, but even though they are struggling they have been playing better than yesterday.Yesterday, Cazorola, Arteta, Ox, Chambers, all played really great.But Alexis and Ramsey were poor, yes Alexis has scored an amazing goal other than that he was poor all night.It felt like he is still tired, any sensible manager would have changed him after the goal.With Ramsey there was nothing changed,he was poor all night,
dort don’t want to be #2 in this group so getting at least 1 point for them was a must . i don’t believe they didn’t want it. i believe they didn’t get 1 point bc they played poorly and we played better. Wenger poor again w subs: could’ve rested sanchez after we were 2:0. prob should’ve rested sanogo too.
Rest Sanchez? That would have instilled belief in the Dortmund team. Look at how they dominated when Podoslki and Campbell were introduced. My only regret is Rosicky, I like him and will have preferred to have him for the last few minutes.