At last! We have an Arsenal team to make us PROUD!

AN ARSENAL TEAM TO BE PROUD OF by Uche15

There are many ways to look at Arsenal’s failure to qualify for the next round of the Champions League. While the media are busy throwing tantrums and doing their best to spin it in the most negative way, I prefer an objective and measured analysis. Mind you, the name of the competition is Champions League. A League of Champions and for Champions. Toddlers don’t qualify for the Champions League let alone win it. It takes a lot to win the Champions League. Look at a team like Bayern Munich. Before they won it the last time, they had reached the finals at least twice, if I recall correctly. It took Chelsea several attempts to win it too, in spite of having a top team as good as any out there. This is no ordinary competition. Ask Man City with all their money and top players. They will be the first to testify.

The point that I am trying to make is that all in all, our boys did well. When the final whistle went off yesterday night, I was filled with a certain peace and satisfaction that even surprised me. That is because something in me recognized that our boys did as well as anyone can under the circumstance. For a high stakes game, our Monaco performance just might be the best game that I have seen us play all season. In fact our only Champions League game that topped this one in the past five years was our 2-1 win against Barcelona at the Emirates.

It is true that our performance at home against Monaco in the first leg was terrible. They took us by surprise and we were too slow to nullify their superior tactical plan in ninety minutes. It is also true that in the past five years, we have had similar results and performances of almost going. But I look at football differently these days. I have come to realise that you cannot fully understand the result of a football game without considering the opposition. The truth is that the opposition has improved. You have to respect your opponents. Very often football fans, pundits, managers and club owners disrespect the opposition by expecting their team to beat everyone and win everything. Really? That is exactly the reason why Manuel Pellegrini, the title winning manager of last season’s EPL will be without a job at the end of this season. And he is not alone. Carlo Anceloti, the experienced and well decorated Italian manager of Real Madrid who won the double last season with Madrid – including the Champions League – and got them playing their best football ever after Jose Mourinho nearly wrecked the club, will likely be out of a job too. Why? Because he is not going to win everything and beat everybody. Because he lost to Shalke at home, even though they ended up progressing to the next round.

Football has changed. There is more money now available to teams. Even the small and mid-table teams these days can afford to sign top players like the Wilfred Bonys and the Christian Bentekes who can really hurt any team on their day. So when you put all of this into consideration, this Arsenal team is doing well. Arsenal played brilliantly against Monaco away from home and made them look like a championship side in an FA cup game. Yes we are out of the competition but we leave with our heads held high. Monaco got their tactics spot on in the first leg and we didn’t. I can live with that. They are no pub team. Just look at their record. Their defense is second to none. If I have one wish right now, it is for Wenger do his best to keep this Arsenal team together and hopefully add two or three more top players in the summer. If we can keep this team together and keep adding to it where necessary, we will win things. We will not win everything. Those days are gone. But we will not have to wait nine years to win a trophy anymore. From here onwards, we should expect the occasional trophy from this team. They are that good and we should be proud of them.

Uche Edochie
Lagos – Nigeria

Tags Ancelotti Monaco Wenger

47 Comments

    1. while wenger is at the helm we wont.
      wengers been in three european finals an lost all three
      wenger hasnt the european pedigree

      but with wenger we have certain guarantees…
      we will qualify for champions league
      we will compete for the odd domestic trophy
      we will attract big names.

      its not too bad- is it?
      cant have everything lads

      1. Honestly i agree with Uches’s article & sometimes i don’t understand our fans
        who always blame Wenger; pliz leave Wenger alone bcoz you wil only realise
        his importance when he is gone.
        Mind you, even Chelsick, Manuare, Real Mad, Barca e.t.c they do admire Mr Wenger.
        Just like Uche said, the world of football has change and you can’t always win everything.
        E.g take a good look at Man Shity, or do you think Mr Ferguson wanted to really retire?
        He new alot of things have realy changed in football but Mr Wenger has the love and passion for Arsenal than any other Manager in this world regardless of Money Matters.
        So pliz respectable gunners, drop all the Crap about our good Manager.
        No hard feelings,
        Adams.

      2. No right to have everything, but we should be aiming for everything with the resources we have.

  1. 2 additions in the summer with no departure and we can compete for UCL next season. We still have something to look for in this season as well like the following;
    -FA CUP semifnal and maybe final
    -Premier League, where will we finish, hopefully above 4th and not 4th, maybe even a late surge for title?
    – The Ramsey and Coquelin combination, so much energy there in the midfield engine.
    – Paulista, hopefully he finds his way into first team instead of Mertesacker for games vs Liverpool, Chelsea and Manu.

    1. We need 4 signings. I am tired of people saying we need just 2. GK is needed Ospina and Szczesny are not world class, CB is needed Mertesaker cant defend against faster players and also against quality teams. CDM is needed Coquelin is good but he needs competition. Arteta, Diaby and Flamini are not good enough. We also need one more attacking player.

    2. Complete nonsense. Tactics, style, management are in need of changing. Classic fan logic to just throw more players at the failure.

      Quote from the last paragraph – “Monaco got their tactics spot on in the first leg and we didn’t. I can live with that.”

      Incredible. When you can live with managerial inadequacies there’s a serious issue. WAKE UP.

  2. That was a beautiful write up. We are going up, if the upward spiral can be sustained, there will be many happy days. Let’s focus on Newcastle on Saturday and keep the pressure on the Man City and Chelsea

  3. Excuse me,I’m proud to be a gooner regardless.
    Win lose or draw their my team for evermore.
    C O Y G

  4. Wenger should quit, no need maskin failures wit a good win…i love carzola bellerin kosielny coquelin..walcott flamini welbeck should be sold n replaced wit quality enthusiastic players

    1. So what did he do last summer then? Keeping all the cash for himself? Or this winter. I think we have spent quite some money this season. And we will spend some more in the summer, rest assured.

      1. I agree its ridiculous to paint such a picture that AW and the board penny pinch every transfer window and refuse to go after WC players.

        IMH Arsenal will NEVER pay the ludicrous transfer fees of the Ronaldos, Bales, and Pogbas of the world and frankly I dont blame them for such fiscal responsibility. The biggerst problem or elephant in the room, again IMHO, for Wenger and Arsenal is the realization that there are a handful of current 1st team players that simply aren’t good enough(and are paid WAY to much) to elevate the Gunners to the next level in the EPL and Europe. Real questions need to be raised about the futures of Podolski, BFG, Schez, Theo, Wilshere, Campbell, etc.

        If all these players were sold and Arsenal bought one of each of the following would it be difficult to admit that the Gunners would be drastically improved and capable to win on all 4 fronts?
        Lacazette
        Kondogbia, Schneiderlin
        Subotic, Dragovich, Schar
        Cech

    2. the fault is in Wenger, not the quality of our players. Seriously, do you think Pep, Mourinho, Ancelotti, Pellegrini, heck even Moyes wouldve messed up this tie so freaking badly??? We could have Messi and still wouldve lost to Monaco.

  5. Personally ma 11 for nxt season is
    Perin..bellerin..hummels..koscielny..monreal..
    Coquelin..ramsey..carzola..
    Alexis..cavani..ox

    1. I bet you any money that you will take out Coquelin after his first bad game. And mind you, that’s not far away. You know, people do tire time to time.

      1. @Budd
        You’re so right. He’s one match away from the fickle fans calling for him to be sold and replaced by Wanyama…

      2. There is no need to sell anyone but to buy more quality. Why having Coquelin only around when you can buy also some one like Kondogbia. Competition is good, without it you become lazy and you lose you mojo like Wenger.

      3. spot on. Only reason some of our fans dont rate coquelin is because he didnt cost a lot of money. I do want another CDM for competition sake, but Coquelin is quality and has been one of the best CDM’s this season honestly…

        1. @RSH
          Exactly.
          I’m always happy to see players from our own ranks step up and hold down positions…

        2. Le Coq has been a revelation since his recall and should be the DM anchor of midfield for years to come. With that said, Schneiderlin(had an incredible game against Chelsea)
          and Kondogbia(my personal favorite) are very talented lads and would add incredible depth to the current squad. But @ what price?

          I personally think the quick development of Bielek is the wild card. Does anyone think AW would of invested the necessary capital to acquire the young Pole if his intention was to send him out on repeated loan spells or permanently ride the pine? I hope he isn’t rushed to the first team, but AW might have his reason to avoid spending $20+M for either of the beforementioned players.

  6. Lol the loser speech i pressume. Lets make big cake for wenger and write something on it like ,, At least you tryed,, hahahahah.

  7. words of losers. R16 ties are 180 minutes. It doesnt mean crap that we had a better 2nd leg because guess who went through… MONACO! This is the 4th-5th year in a row we show the same stupidity every single year. When is enough enough, when will some fans stop accepting the losing culture that Wenger has created at the club? Seriously, some fans need to wake up!

    1. It is just that. A loosing mentality.

      Paper over the cracks, hide deficiencies, make excuses, fail to acknowledge repeating behaviour etc.

      Yes, next year we WILL win the PL and UCL..we will, we will. We just need to keep buying players to fix things! Zlatan, messi, Ronaldo, bale etc..let’s buy them all just to find we still don’t cut the mustard in terms of competing at the top level. But the common denominator would never be recognised.

      Nothing based on the past 10 years but just because of our unflinching and blind following of a manager who lost it a long time ago.

      Simone won la liga with peanuts. He created a team with a system of play where each player was drilled in their correct and natural position. He screams blue murder at them if they do something to the contrary of his plan and dislike and corrects things.

      Yes, acknowledge the efforts of the team in respect to their effort in the second leg but let’s stop trying to polish a turd of a situation.

      Positive, yes. Delusional, no.

      1. Dear @ArseOverTit, you really do think this is a turd of a situation? Really. You see, there is a feeling of entitlement that supporters have which often borders on the ridiculous. So Real Madrid buys Bale for 82 mil, Ronaldo for 80 mil, James Rodriguez for 60 mil etc. Barca buys Suarez for 65 mil and neymar for 57 mil to add to a star studded team that already boasts of players like Messi, Xavi and Iniesta. And then Arsenal buys Sanchez for 27 mil and Ozil for 42.5mil and you think that entitles us to a champions league trophy? You are making me laugh. Just do a brief research of the teams that win the champions league. Take a look at how much they spend on the best players, how many managers they have fired in their quest for that cup and how long they have tried to win the damn thing. And then compare them to what we do at Arsenal and only then will you realise that we are not in a position to expect a champions league trophy. It is the most coveted club tropy of all and the most expensive to win. Follow the money. That will give you all the answers you need as to why Wenger has not won it. Stop throwing tantrums. Follow the money. You just don’t win the Champions league because you think you should be winning it. I want a private jet too but only a ridiculous amount of money will buy it for me, money that I don’t have.

        1. Yeh your right (laughs). Not like Man Utd won the champions league in 1999 against Bayern with a team of kids ever.

          With the price of entry into our magnificent library of football being amongst the highest there is we should be securing the services of a TOP manager and building on the existing team. Then we may have more chance but not much. Ferguson in the UCL and Simone in the League as well as past bayern and Dortmund teams show cash is not always king.

          Having a plan, system/s of play, strategy, tactics, motivation skills and balls does.

  8. Get rid of Flamini, Diaby and Arteta. They are old, injury prone and not good enough. Szczesny has been our 1st choice keeper for 3 years but still he hasnt improved. Look at Courtois 3 years ago he was similar to Szczesny but look at him now he is miles better than Szczesny. Keeper is needed. And blah blah blah.

  9. Some of the personal biases on here are amazing, but I guess it’s those differences that make the world go round.
    Example, Mesut and Santi were at the heart of every productive attack we had last night. Their ability to wriggle out of tight areas and make their individual defenders miss absolutely keeps attacks ticking over for us . Aside from maybe one or two dribbles, the only time Mesut lost the ball was when he tried to force a penetrating pass to create a scoring opportunity (which he gets paid to do). You bias folks that struggle to properly evaluate a game then come on here and say that he was a liability and needed to come off the field. Horrible observation. We’ve won 9 of 10 games since he’s returned and has been performing well. Jack and Aaron, who can’t pick half the passes that Mesut can, needlessly give the ball away on the regular – as Ramsey did several times yesterday – and no one says anything about that because they look like they run so hard.

    To further prove my point, Ramsey, who has been an absolute shell of the player he was last season and more inline with the player he was seasons prior to that, has scored two goals in two games, and all of the sudden you want to say that “he’s back in form”. Are you kidding? He’s not done anything spectacular, just his shots have gone in the goal. Many times yesterday he doddled on the ball when there were other quicker options, and even just ran one out of bounds, and no one says a word. He’s just viewed as “back to his best” because he scored.
    Meanwhile, Giroud keeps on scoring goals, and is still told he’s shyte. I don’t believe that Giroud is the man to lead the line for us and ultimately take us to glory, but why is it that his goals make him average, while Ramsey’s goals make him world class? Because Giroud is a forward and constantly in the box getting chances and Ramsey’s a midfielder you say? Tell that to Ramsey who 85% of the time is ahead of our ACM and constantly in the box looking to score with the rest of the front line.

    Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but these biases are unreal sometimes.

    1. I love the Armchair experts that deride Welbeck as being a headless chicken on the pitch and then laud Ramsey’s incredible engine and workrate? Often both are eerily similar but viewed through biased and distorted perspectives.

      And those that consistently piss on Ozil, wasn’t he tirelessly tracking back in injury time to stem a Monaco counter?

    1. @moneytalks
      Monaco is currently 4th in Ligue1. And in case you weren’t watching last night, we did beat them…

  10. That’s easy to say, but will it be the same when we have to travel to Hartlepool for a wet Tuesday night League Cup tie?

    Something to think about.

  11. Arsene Wenger is the loser in the UCL and the dumbest manager of the bunch. Using the word NAIVE like it is some vegetable bought and sold in the market everyday in Islington. Lousy bastard like Wenger who goes on to say Europa league is a change arsenal need may be correct cause it is something we actually need to find out our potential on the smaller stage just athletico and Chelsea. Arsene said the same words after 2-0 win at Bayern, I just don’t trust the man and his training methods, people who call him as lost are wrong, stubborn attitude and easy going mentality is just not Arsenal way. The press is going to put enormous pressure on the manager and i hope he cracks and goes into tears cause he deserves it and having players like wilshere,flamini and arteta shows what he means by he wants to win the UCL !!

  12. and moreover being disrespectful towards to jardim in the first leg is a bad image on the club and a coach like Monaco may have felt really ashamed.

  13. What we can conclude from being knocked out again is dat it wasn’t our bad luck bcos we have been very consistent at dis!! Knocked in last 16 , 5 times in a row. Also always finishin 4th . Its very essential dat we finish at least 3rd in d league so dat we can break dis chain and take a step forward. To think dat we wud hav won d ucl if we made it thru last nite is not correct. Wid u hav put ur bet on schalke to win ucl had Dey qualified for nxt round? A team who regularly loses at dis stage can not win ucl in a shot span of time. Wat we can do is make progress whereever possible, and finishing 3rd or 2nd wud b a huge progress. And to cap it wid d fa cup wud b wonderfull , even better if we its followed by spending spree in d summer.

  14. Monaco is one of the best defensive sides I have seen. #5 the bald guy in the back has incredible strength. He was also the one that blocked Welbeck’s shot while on his back.
    Let’s pull it together for the next two months with an eye for the FA cup.

  15. Uche Edochie, how are you? I live in Zaria Nigeria. And I am not just an Arsenal Digital-Internet/Global supporter. I am Arsenal Mania. I cannot do without Arsenal. If Arsenal FC were a woman, I would have long proposed to her to marry her. Uche, I was very keen to the details in following our darling Arsenal to see that they qualify for the UCL Q/final. But for just one error by the boss to start the dip in form Alexis, we lost out. My due respect for the boss. Not to keep cycling round the vicious cycle, I think the boss has to strengthen his top striker department for depth and options. Lack of another top striker option on our bench had forced the boss to keep Alexis on the field who had no single shot attempt at goal yesterday. While the boss will ofcourse retain strikers Alexis, Giroud, Welbeck, Walcott and Akpom next season. The boss has to consider adding a 6th striker to his front line from the trio of Harry Kane of Spurs, Charlie Austin of QPR and Alexandre Lacazette of Leon FC for our Champions League combating next season. I like Lacazette. Because the two English players maybe too costly for Arsenal to buy. And another CB and CDM are still desirable at Arsenal from the boss’ £50m transfer kitty for his summer transfer.

    1. Dear @samuel@justarsenal.com, I am fine, thanks. I live in Lagos and I am just as crazy over arsenal as you are. We played a very good game. For a guy who came over from a different league and scored 19 goals for us so far, I have nothing but respect and gratitude to Alexis. He is the last arsenal player that I will criticise. I personally believe that his goal drought started when ozil came back. Right now, everybody plays to feed Giroud. Most of our goal scoring chances fall for Giroud, not Sanchez. So I wouldn’t blame Sanchez for not scoring. Everybody knows that he is more clinical than Giroud. If Sanchez was presented with the five or six goal scoring chances that Giroud had in the first leg, God knows he would have scored at least two of them. So you cannot keep a guy like that on the bench. If you bench Sanchez, what are your options? Ox is injured and Walcot is still rusty. He misses chances and cannot dribble or defend. Walcot plays better when we are counter attacking but when teams sit deep, he has no space to run into. So Sanchez was a better fit for yesterday’s game. We have no one better at the moment to replace Sanchez. I think we played a great game. I cannot fault last night’s game one bit. We lost the game at the emirates, not in Monaco.

  16. Wow hold on lads we should not have been in the position that we found ourselves after the first game. Yes we played well but that is where we should be every week. Monaco are NOT a team that will rule Europe Arsenal should be beating them hands down week in week out! Wenger is the manager and he should accept that he is just not good enough when in Europe.

    1. @BUR
      You guys killme. Monaco is 4th in Ligue 1. A professional football team, capable of beating any team they come up against. They have one of the best defenses out there.
      They do not have to rule Europe in order to get wins against any other team. They have rightfully earned their spot in the CL…

  17. It was a uperb display, determined but not wreckless- given that we needed a minimum of 3 goals I thought we got the balance between attack and defence near erfec-

    And whilst I know there are no prices performance- it was great to see Arsenal playing at the highest level despite good opposition, despite being away, and despite the pressure

    My only fear is, we have an important EPL game in just a few days, think our players will still be exhausted. We’ll need to change the team to help the recovery I think

    But if we can perform like that in every game, very few (if any teams) in the Premierleague can live with us, and we’d prob win 2nd place

    COYG!

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