Merson slams dismal Arsenal and Wenger in Champions League

Former Gunners star Paul Merson could not keep his Arsenal fan persona down as he worked as a pundit for the Champions League game against Anderlecht tonight. And even the fact that Arsenal produced a stirring last few minutes to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat was not enought to pacify him.

The former midfielder laid into the performance from Arsenal, declaring that Alexis Sanchez was the only Gunner who could be pleased with his showing. And it is hard to argue with his assessment, although he clearly feels it more than most. It was like the frustration and pressure had been building inside Merse and just had to blow.

He was dead right about the fact that we got out of jail and that the Belgians can feel terribly unlucky. And in saying that a better team than Anderlecht would have destroyed us, you cannot deny. So when goal scorer Kieran Gibbs and then Arsene Wenger spoke about the spirit to keep going, it just made Merson even angrier.

He suggested that the manager is not being honest with the Arsenal fans and that the season could be real disaster if things do not change in a big way. I don’t agree that we were the luckiest team ever to win the game, because we did score two good goals, eventually, but we were lucky and maybe that is just what we needed to provide a springboard.

It needs to though, because Performances like that are not going to win us many more games. Was Merson right?

Tags Alexis Anderlecht Gibbs

67 Comments

    1. understatement of the day greg- there was work to be done as soon as we lost our george graham backline. that was more than decade back

      1. Get your fact straight.
        This is Ashley Cole – Toure – Campbell at the back during the Invincible.
        No excuse for Wenger for not building the same backline since then though

    2. I can’t say enof about Wenger’s tactical emptiness and characteristical idiocy. I don’t wanna cures, don’t wanna swear. Just gonna relish, at the moment, the fact that we won.

    3. Anderlecht have won 2/3 times in 33 CL games. Can’t say I’m at all satisfied with fluking a win against them…

      I’m more sorry for them because they didn’t deserve anything but the 3 points, and Wenger doesn’t deserve to sweep this mess under the carpet yet again.

      Highest ticket price in Europe.

    4. Was it a coincidence that as soon as wheel chair went we scored an equalizer and a winning goal?
      Wenger is the worst tactician and soccer especially in the CL is about tactics….even experience has failed to teach him.
      When will he ever see that every time jack plays we stagnate in the middle and there by struggle?????????????
      If we don’t replace wenger, it doesn’t matter which kind of players we bring in we won’t get back to what we used to be.
      I FEEL FOR SANCHEZ the brother gives it his all

  1. Merson was so upset and disappointed during his analysis.. You could just feel his frustration and disappointment in Wenger and his sorry players..

    I am a Wenger fan but some times you just can’t keep defending him.. You excuse him and stand up him but he just does not seem to want to change.. We needed a Top striker, Dm and a CB in the summer, but as always he ignored those positions. Now we are struggling to keep clean sheets and even struggling to create or score goals..

    What can I say..

    1. i agree with everything you said but i dont agree that we need a top ST. id like to give welbeck a chance he can be the world class ST we need sooner rather than later.
      BUT like you said we need a CB and a DM. If we had those our attack would be a lot more fluid and dangerous because every player wouldnt have to run the length of the pitch because of our deficiencies in defense and dm.
      Im telling you the attack is good its just the fact the team has to run so damn much to help out in defense

    2. Merse has every right to be pissed as you say. This result was a microcosm of the last few years where we sneak into the CL places and paper over the serious cracks we have at the club.

      Anderlecht deserved to win, no other way around it, i’m gutted for them. And I say that because I genuinely feel at this point we need to hit an all time low to move forward. Whether that’s CL embarrassment or failure to qualify for the CL idk, but when are we going to make changes and evolve from this cycle?

      Garbage display that frankly has become the norm. Lemme get my broken record out a sec…..Flamini is a joke, Per is not an athlete, we need a top drawer DM in Jan and a bloody good CB at least! Also, I like Welbz and Giroud but while both are very good players I can’t help but feel a star striker would transform our ppotency in attack. If not that then a new style, because this current one is leaky and blunt going forward.

      Over to you Arsene..

    3. Wenger idioticy has cost him his more loyal supporters:

      The akbs

      Without them wenger is completely over, think that 99,999999% of the arsenal fans want wenger ass out of the club ASAFP , the rest are still living in 2005.

      tik tak tik tak

      WENGER OUUUUUUT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  2. Alexis sanchez is turning out to be a real “work horse” for the gunners! Your efforts is appreciated son! Coyg!

    1. @Greg
      Dude is in another league altogether. You can see his frustration with the other guys and their lazy approach to the game. They’re to complacent.

      1. he said it in a newspaper, these european players are pampered from young. he grew up poor, not yo fam i grew up in peckham poor; shanty towns,fighting for every crumb-real poverty it relflects in his football

            1. @Muffdiver
              Don’t forget “Iron Mike Tyson”
              I grew up with Big Daddy Kane. Biggie and Hova came way later…

            1. @GOONSTER
              I met an Irish dude while I was serving in Beirut Lebanon in 83 who was with the Peace Keeping Forces and was a die hard Gooner. He introduced me to “football” and AFC.

  3. Merson was wrong because
    the team won away from home
    with an injury ravaged team.
    Even though we are a defender light
    Ospina Szcz (susp) Debuchi and Koz out
    is unavoidable. 4th CB and 3rd keeper
    big ups to Martinez and Monreal.
    Ugly yes but a win. We’re probaly through to the last 16.
    Sure the team is labouring but hold off the slagging till
    March and review then.

    1. then why didint Wenger bring in enough backups?

      Look at Chelsea…they lost 2 strikers and its still not good enough for them….they may bring in a 4th striker if the market is open

      what about us???

    2. Mate fans like you have been saying that for how long now? If I have to wait until March before slagging (even though half a dozen games in we’re 11points off top) then just when exactly will you even ask questions of Wenger?

      At what point do we hold Arsene accountable and just admit he isn’t steering us the direction we ought to be heading. Can’t blame money anymore, 75mil on two players – who whilst being top players, were not what the doctor ordered at Arsenal. He’s not spending well, his tactics are dire/dated, just what are his redeeming qualities at this moment in time? I’d love to know.

      1. @Champagne Charlie.
        I have criticised Wenger
        as much as anyone 🙂
        Ten years no big trophies.
        But it is still very early this term
        and we do have massive injury issues.
        The squad when fit is stronger than for a number of years.
        We are playing poorly but if and when we do hit form
        we can make top 4, reach 1/4’s of the ECL and win the FA cup.
        If we crash out of everything by March I too will be calling
        for heads to roll but am prepared to wait till March.

        1. I just don’t agree to the idea we’re stronger than recent years squadwise. I think the same cycle is underway and come the next transfer window we need a top class ST, DM, and CB to be anywhere close.

          Been saying that for what, 6 seasons now?

  4. Can someone pass the message to the board?

    i would like to bring in a new manager…..!!!

    this is terrible…season after season….same old shit…

  5. Wenger out, had enough of these poor performances and pathetic excuses and bulls#it statements from Wenger

  6. I feel sorry for Alexis. He came from a club with a winning mentality and bags of trophies. He’s now at Arsenal where he will be doing his all to help us cement the legendary 4th spot. And by the way our defense is an absolute joke. What happened? We were so solid last year apart from the few thrashings.

    1. We have no presence in the center midfield including today.

      Last season, Ramsey made his presence known in the middle and we all fed off his energy. This year, not so much. Ramsey and Wilshere were less than nonexistent against Anderlacht.

        1. Teilemens was at the fur fruit of their ATt and he is only 17 this midfielder has a massive future ahead of him we should definetly add him to our ranks before another of European top team snaps him up I’ve been a big fan of his for nearly 2 years

  7. Enough of the foolishness! Wenger needs to bring in a quality DM and centre back in the january transfer window! If he doesn’t do this then wenger has most definitely lost the plot and i for one will question is credibility to continue as arsenal manager!

    1. he needs to bring in 2 Quality DMs….considering out track record for injuries…..we dont want Flamini or Arteta to take over when our Quality DM get injured…..

  8. AW MUST GO END OF COZ HE IS RIPPING THE HEART OUT OF ARSENAL. LOOK AT THE PLAYERS THEY ALL LOOK LIKE BOYS APART FROM THE OX. THERE IS NO REAL MAN INBTHAT TEAM NOW. BFG HE IS A BIG BIG PROB. EVEN IN THE WORLD CUP HE WAS DROPED. JAN SALES NEED 2 CD WORLD CLASS DM ONE BACK UP 1 GOOD HARD PLAYER WHO CAN PLAY ALL OVER THE PARK AND A STRIKER WHO CAN BACK TW UP

  9. And what I have noticed about our CMs they are so unaware of danger, they are always ball watching while their opponents ghost past them into our penalty area..

    Today Jack kept letting his man get behind him or the wrong side of him, he kept looking at the ball on the wing while not concentrating on his man, we just got lucky that we were playing a poor team.

    Ramsey I will let him off, I thought he looked so tired, he kept breathing so heavily when chasing back. He looks like he is not fully fit..

    1. its so obvious ramsey wasn’t match fit. I have no idea why he played 90 minutes. Wenger going to overwork him again until he’s injured. Just like he did last season. This is why i cannot stand Arsene anymore. He doesn’t learn from his mistakes and its killing the club.

      1. Wenger makes his 11 man selection in a robotic fashion. Ramsey is theoretically in the top 11 so he starts. Never mind form or fitness. The other mistake he made was starting Monreal at CB instead of Chambers (with Bellerin at RB). But that is an automatic decision that he will repeat without fail.

    1. We need to outbid them, he will come to usif he is not after a lot of money, because we have his country team mate Alexis Sanchez. Then 90% of the other Arsenal players will know what working really hard is to earn wages from these two.

      If you asked which one player we need most right now it would be Vidal or close behind Pogba. That gets you control in midfield and it also helsp to cover for defense. Vidal gets the edge because of his stamina and an all rounder but both have defence duties in mind, not the fastest speed but nonetheless some speed, they are strong, they can find good passes, they can also score once in a while.

  10. We need someone like Pogba or Vidal, to control that midfield.
    Ramsey isn’t going to be as prolific as last year, Wilshere isn’t good enough with final ball, both are inconsistent. There is no control in midfield.
    Bellerin and Jenkinson are better than Chambers at RB. Without Koscielny, we struggle defensively every game, with him struggle only in a few games, were he is off his game.
    Joel, needs to play on the right and Sanchez on the left, reason is, these guys track back to get the ball, especially when they themselves lose it.

  11. this team has alot of holes than anyone can imagine, i will keep saying this, everything is done in the middle of the pack. Any slight mistake becomes a big problem to the defenders. We have the worst central midfielders in Europe none of them can walk into any top side. look around and see which side they can walk into, thats the big difference

  12. too many issues for any of us to count.

    defense, offense, speed, injuries, tactics, goalies, whose next to be played outta position, fatigue, Wenger, yellow cards, red cards, BPL table, UCL, proximity of Shite hart lane to the Emirates, corners, an angry Sanchez, set pieces, counters, who finished the last of the hair gel, wingers, money, CAM, Giroud in hotels, defense, defense, defense.

    Come Saturday we will be stating the same issues because AW won’t change anything. you change nothing, Arsene Snow.

  13. If truly this moron called “davidnz” is with his senses he will not tell Someone to wait till march before slagging. We hAve been waiting and we are tired. I remember the days when I still feel great even when we lost a match the performance will make you beg for the next arsenal match. I am always proud to watch arsenal play and I go with my girlfriend she love to see them play too. I can’t allow her to watch them play now because I don’t want a divorce.

    1. @davidnz was actually calling out the same things last year we are complaining about this year, but everyone ignored him then.

    1. AKBs – the fans that think “arsine knows best.” Those who hate AW are WOBs – wenger out brigade.

    1. Bellerin had 100% tackles won v Hull, but can’t buy a starting place in the following game because £16m player has to play. Chambers is better at CB, could’ve played there today instead of Monreal ( not Monreals fault), just Wenger trying to convert him into CB before January transfer window opens.

      1. Yes, a horrible decision that could have cost us dearly. Monreal is not a CB and will be a liability there going forward. But Wenger will play him automatically over Bellerin every time because that is just the way he does things. Chambers has looked better at CB than at RB.

  14. If this was Ferguson’s Manchester United from a few years ago, this win would have been called “hard work and perseverance”, “an industrial win”, or some other bs. Let’s take the win as ugly as it was and continue to hope, one game at a time. A win is a win although there are still issues to be worked out.

    1. We are not mancheater we are honest(Arsenal) when u know something is wrong or bad u say it as it is and not trying to use others to justify or woos….for now Arsenal sucks watching

  15. But guys, we gave “tremendous effort” and showed “great resiliency” to win the game…

    (sarcasm)

    I too have lost faith in our manager. Stubborn ol frenchman.

  16. @HA559 berrelin has class and wenger knows it,he is just scared to lose him.remember when wenger said he trust english boys than other players.

    1. Then give Akromp and Dan Crowley a chance….

      16yo hat trick at u19 game…..

      he needs to play top football soon to improve….

  17. Merso is so right and perhaps restrained if you ask me. That was an absolute stinker by the boys out there. I don’t know what’s happened but instead of integrating and being more cohesive…the guys are flapping about seemingly without any idea as to what runs to make or what positions to take up…honestly it looked as though they have never played together. And then some appeared disinterested or listless…Dear me Sanchez the new boy seems to be holding up the whole side…

    Dont talk tactics – there were none! The system or structure was as precise as sending out 1 goalkeeper and 10 outfield players and then hoping something happens. I can’t bear to watch crap like that anymore…Sunderland is very much a danger game – well frankly any game is a danger game right now.

  18. Can we stop having articles about how the media hates Arsenal now? Because the media is 100% right. We are down right horrible at the moment. Merson, one of our own, is even disappointed and rightfully so.

  19. Hi Guys, just a few comments on the article and all your comments:
    1. We should be scoring more goals than we concede!! IMO the DM and CB are important, yes, but not as important as picking, from the players Wenger has at his disposal, a team THAT CAN SCORE GOALS! But back to the defence, it is impossible to believe that after a few minutes Wenger could not see that Monreal was not cutting it at CB, and don’t blame the player, blame Wenger. One of 2 things would have rectified the situation – either bring on Hayden in place of Monreal, or put Chambers in his place and bring on Bellerin. At least with Bellerin’s pace he could have covered for the BFG.
    2. Regarding scoring goals: In just about all the games we have played so far this season, we have enjoyed the majority of possession. But what do we do with the f***ing ball?? This team is clueless about how to open up a defence, in particular when JW is playing. With few exceptions, nobody can hold up the ball anymore. A midfield of Cazorla, Ramsey and Wilshere will, when they don’t lose it, pass the ball across the field all day, and just for a change, back to the goalkeeper (ours!!). When Sanchez or Welbeck go on penetrating runs, the above trio cannot read the run.
    3. Even without buying a single player – if Wenger just picks the right team from what he’s got, we’ll get at least 4th place. If he carries on like now, that is only a very distant hope.

Comments are closed

Top Blog Sponsors