Third looking ever so likely, but there is room for improvement. by KM
When the New Year came around and Arsenal were 6th, you’d think that 3rd place is not too bad. But again you are left with the Arsenal feeling that we could’ve done better. We started the season badly, then we had our usual good spell and we are on course to finish third with a first point at Old Trafford for 6 years.
For all of the glorious battles we had with United, this was a game to forget. Our line up was predictable as was the whole game. I was disappointed but not surprised (knowing Wenger) to see the same squad for the 6th game in a row. I think we needed rotations and we have players to put on the pitch. Walcott, Rosicky and Wilshere were all candidates with at least the two Englishmen should’ve come in for Cazorla and Giroud.
We had a lot of misplaced passes and we had lots of trouble down the wings. I really don’t know how Ashley Young is such a nightmare for Arsenal, but Wenger never takes him into account and we are always exposed from the same thing. It’s shocking how much this game resembled our last five away games at Old Trafford but it is what it is.
We conceded from Herrera who was left alone by Monreal, who was trying to cover Fellaini having no chance of winning a header against him. This left an easily tricked Bellerin to chase an Ashley Young cross that found Herrera’s foot and the back of our net. This really reminded me of the Swansea goal from Monday, with our defense being similarly exposed.
After 50 minutes with no shot against their goal, United started to fade and we smelled we could actually do something. We created some scrappy chances and had a clear penalty against Giroud not given, but justice was restored when a deflected Walcott cross found Valdes beaten. This goal was added to our account – which will pretty much give us 3rd place.
We had another pretty slow start against a top team, but luckily for us this United side really is the worst I’ve seen for years. If Arsenal have the ambition to challenge Chelsea, you really need to take a harsh look at the squad and question your self whether all the players in our squad are champions material.
Giroud should’ve scored at least one of the chances, though they weren’t easy I’d back Aguero to bang one of them in. In goal we need someone who would make a save like Joe Hart made against Swansea. Such saves keep you in the game and don’t force you to make mistakes. United won the league with pretty average sides that had a magnificent keeper. When you’re a top club you need a keeper that would save the one chance the opposition will have, like the Swansea game for example and we just don’t have that man in our squad.
Coquelin desperately needs another defensive midfielder to give him help and cover him. Cazorla for me is another one that could go this summer. He is a good player I really like him, but he slows us down. Ozil, Cazorla, Ramsey and Wilshere mean we have too much time on the ball and not enough speed. He’s the wrong end of 30 and playing alongside a DM is not his best position.
The two full backs were really poor on United’s goal but I don’t think we need change of personnel there. Mertesacker is another one that I feel might need to be replaced soon. An overhaul is needed for sure if we want to be champions, but even with this squad we could’ve done more work on tactics and preventing silly mistakes which cost us a lot of points.
The main change has to be the manager, but this one will not happen. I cannot name anything i can feel more certain about than the fact that Arsene will be here next season again. And the same old mentality and squad issues will come too. We’ll be in the market but will we solve all the issues? Will we bring a world class center forward? Will we add another DM? A good goalkeeper? Will we resolve the defensive issues? I don’t think so.
In England people always treat time like an endless resource. A lot of people think David Moyes should’ve been given time. Truth is the top clubs change the manager the moment their club doesn’t go in the right direction. Barcelona change managers all the time and they are always in the top 2 of Spain. People in England admire Wenger for 18 seasons in the top 4.
If you want the ship to be steered in the right direction you have to change the captain. I’d like to see targets such as a Top Two finish, a semi-final in the CL, and a trophy for next year. Put the heat on the man. If he cannot do it, we bring in someone who can. Klopp and Ancelotti will be available most likely.
Real have sacked every manager who failed to bring in a single trophy in a season for more than 30 years in a row. Ambition is the word. Success is all that matters in the top clubs, not how much profit we make, or how self-sustained we are. Success makes the kid next door wear the jersey of a Champion.
Arsenal need a change of direction.
Konstantin
Its easy to ask for changes at this particular moment, why didnt you ask for changes in 2012 when we sold our best players for cheap, when we have money its easy, everyone would jump in Arsenal now, i say let Wenger finish his contract and that the end, at least thats what we can provide for his great job. Now we can buy players like Cavani and Bale. 2 seasons ago we couldnt buy players who costs more than 16 m pounds !!!
And if we win nothing next season??? Y’aLl gonna come party at my house???
Interesting Emirates Cup line up. Wonder if we’ll do some buisness with any of those clubs this summer? Villarreal possibly Vietto maybe some sort of player plus cash option including Campbell would be good. Olympique Lyonnais Lacazatte or Fekir could be possibilities. 4 decent teams tho should be a good pre season test.
Yeah, looks a lot balanced this year edition. Hope will win it.
OT:
I would be very surprised if we have only £50M to spend this summer. I don’t know obviously but I find it hard to believe that a club of our standing only has this to play with. Global fan base, merchandise, sponsorship, ticket sales and new TV cash injection!!! Why restrict yourself? Are there no other possible revenue streams that can be rechanelled or plundered to try to ensure success on the field.
There is a simple correlation: spend big – win big. Put up or shut up AFC about being champs if you can only spend like chumps. Stop balancing books and show some intent to be what you say you want to be (a top club aka RM, Barca, Bayern etc).
Do this
1. Sell deadwood now. Contact clubs and tell them they are for sale now and let’s agree on a deal come summer. Don’t wait until the 12th hour of the transfer deadline.
Use this cash with transfer kitty to invest more heavily in your team/squad IF you actually want to be able to compete with the bigger clubs who WILL spend big to improve their chances of success ON the field. Again, start doing this now and not at the last moment as a half arsed gesture.
2. Pay Wenger on an achievement basis. 5 Mil for bagging premiership as bonus or otherwise give him a poultry 3 mil for FA cup and Wenger trophy.
3. Ask our 3 billionaires to consider helping the club as opposed to just benefitting from their shares.
4. BUY THE F’ing PLAYERS EVERYONE AND THEIR MOTHER KNOWS WE NEED TO BE CONTENDERS AND MORE IMPORTANTLY WINNERS..
Usmanov once offered for the well doing of Arsenal 100m for transfers. The board declinded.
Outright lie. Usmanov offered to BORROW Arsenal some money (no amount was discussed). As a shareholder he can actually invest and increase the capital (meaning investing) of the club and then everyone has to chip in.
If Usmanov wants to give Arsenal money on the free no one (and absolutely no one) will stop him to actually BUY THE CLUB and put his money where his mouth is. I doubt that will ever happen.
Google it up. Giving money for free. What an idiot you are.
No he didn’t. It was on the basis of a share issue and hence dilution of current ownership. That is why it was rejected.
I think you should google it. For free, hear him out! Pffffff.
Regardless of if he offered it as a loan or a freebie he is to date the only one who offered up any money for transfers do you honestly think Kroenke is with us for the good of the club?? if you feel Stan Kroenke is a philanthropist who is interested in Arsenal football club doing well then think again and the board are little better they don’t want Usmanov in as he will rock the boat and the current board like mediocrity as mediocrity means a stream of money into their pockets. why take any chances with the golden goose and if its true that FFP rules are about to be relaxed it means the cornerstone of the boards argument around a stable long term business plan is now in shreds. Im not much of a fan of Usmanov but he is an Arsenal and a football fan Stan Kroenke is maerly a business man looking to make money.
A financially healthy club is a good club if you ask me. Definitely Kroenke is in for the money and for the show, no one denied that here. But as everyone said, Usmanov can make a bid to buy the club himself, he’s multi, multi billionaire. What keeps him if he’s such a huge supporter. I am telling you right now, if I had couple of billions I would buy the club myself without thinking on what I will eat tomorrow, that’s how much I love this club.
Trouble is nowadays people don’t put up on their so called promises or so called allegiance. Usmanov is a few years old huge fan. If he was an Englishman he would have bought the club outright. As said, nothing stops him buying now the club and then do the Abramovich model but you know what the issue is? Chelsea was bought on the cheap as a club in financial dire. Arsenal today (and even back then) is a financially stable club and costs a lot (5th in the world). Is not the cheappo thing it was before. Now you really have to take care of the finance thing not focus only on football.
Budd
I agree that financial stability is almost all important, but so is winning trophies and retaining and growing you brand and fanbase its all very well running the club correctly but theres a hell of a lot of smoke and mirrors at ashburton grove and all of this is regarding the amount of money the club makes for the board and how much gets spent in the pursuit of sucsess. I have likes what Wenger has done with the club and without him we would not be even close to what we are now But again if he does not go out and buy the players we need (maybe only two top notch players) then theres no ambition and it will show. Already AW is talking about our rivals improving and hinting that he wont be tooactive in the transfer market and this in itself is conceding the title before it even starts. Think on this, £100 million including wages spent now could in fact allow us to challenge AND win wich improves the brand sells millions of shirts and wins kudos which in turn wins cash through ELP and UCL sucsess and then perhaps we would not need to spend again in the next two to three years. But its always on the cheap (far cheaper than we can afford) and never quiet the right thing. I appreciate what your saying but there’s an opportunity here to go to the next level and really really become a power and we all know they wont take the chance because there’s too much caution with regards to money, both from the board and Wenger. If that does not change nothing will change and we’ll all be having these conversations until we’re dust.
All I know from last years experience that we will find out the team to tackle the next season exactly on the last day of the transfer market. Wenger talks a lot about other teams just so people focus on them instead of us.
I won’t deny the fact that Arsenal FC needs a revolution, the same revolution that brought Wenger at the club, that is. We had successful years in terms of trophies but these stop coming once we lost the 2006 UCL final basically.
I understand a bit how Wenger mind is working, I know that if the player he’s after is not going to complete the squad he will not buy him. I am also sure he is ready to pay 200k/ week for a bomb transfer but this is a huge risk when you don’t have sugga dady or oil sheikhs in house. No one will come for less than 3 yrs for a 200k/week. From the monster players we know, of course. For whom will you risk this amount of money, just give a name and then think about it. Is it worthed? Wenger is extremely cautious with spending – i agree with you – and that is sometimes good. Club needs a revolution, we will not move forward without it. And it all begins upstairs, if board is clueless then manager will do whatever he wants. And that is not always a good thing.
@OzzyAFC
Ever since AFC became a professional football club, they have been a business, about making money. Don’t get it twisted.
Roman might own Chelsea, but if he were to sell, trust that he will count that 1 billion he put in to the club, as part of the selling price…
Same with Usmanov. He might love football and AFC. But he didn’t get rich by throwin good money after bad. He’s out to make a profit as well…
@NY_Gunner
Mate I know full well that Usmanov is no angel and I am also aware that he isn’t just in it for the love of the club, as it were, but I also know that theres really nothing more than a gnats cock between Kroenke and Usmanov with regards to motive. I just feel that that difference lays in the one fact that Usmanov IS a football fan Kroenke is not. surely if your caught between to devils you would opt for the one who offers the least amount of suffering? Football is the way it is at present and big money talks. I don’t like it but its the way it is as you know. If we don’t move forward then we will lag behind as this current situation wont last forever. I just feel that of the two Usmanov is the better option for the one reason stated above. the last two games have proven that we are not the finished article on the pitch and we need improvement in two or three key area’s without that improvement all the other improvements will be worth nothing next season when our rivals will go out and do what we wont.
mate I know that we don’t have the money they have but we do have more than we are allowing for transfers and now is the best time in the last ten years to strike and make that strike mean something.
Usmanov or Kroenke ? well theres little difference but id prefer the one that likes football not the one who has nothing to say or nothing to add.
I would preffer Usmanov over Kroenke if he is to buy Kroenke’s share. Anyone would! But he will not, you know that.
You actually avoid the big issue here : Usmanov does not want to invest. He looks to do the same as Abramovich. Do you see Usmanov to put a bid for Kroenke’s share? He doesn’t even have to do it fo all , just part of it because he can buy the rest of the shares. But you see, with owning a business, a listed one, responsibility comes. Abramovich can leave tomorrow from Chelsea and claim the loaned billion as he lent that to the club. At Arsenal this is not possible.
I just hope we finally put up or shut up And we actually identify and procure in good time the quality and numbers required in key areas to make us really capable of challenging for top honours.
1. The 50m funds available is just a made up figure same as 90% of the media stories.
2. Take a look at what has been spent over the last year or so we’ve spent quite a lot brought in a lot of new players. Money is being spent so fans can’t really complain too much so long as the keep investing in the squad.
3. We’ve been through the toughest financial period with no outside help a club run completely off money generated by the club. Now that we have a lot more available funds would we start to rely on billionaire investors. You support the wrong club if you want that to happen.
4. The way people like yourself label players “deadwood” there is always going to be “deadwood” in the team because if a player doesn’t play for a couple of games then there obviously “deadwood” or if they have a couple of bad games “deadwood” over 30 “deadwood”. No taking into consideration injuries, form, form of other players keeping them out of the team. The way Coqelin had progressed and seeing how people battered players like Ramsey and Monreal and seeing how well there doing now the term “deadwood” I’d dead.
What fans are asking is more ambition from the board and manager. Fans are asking for more bec we can. We have the ability to become great.
Why cant we beat Chelsea for the past years? Why do we lose to the likes of Monaco? Why do have so many injuries? Why do we lack strikers? Why did we start the season without a Cb backup? Why did we start the season without a proper Dm? Why do we chock when it matters? Why do we play the same line up game after gamer? Why does Swansea beat us twice in one season?
Who is responsible that we lose to other to 8 goals or 6 goals. Or do fans like you not care about such humilations? If you lack pride and kamfgeist, fotball is the wrong sport for you. Answering the whys is the first step to become a better team next year.
Why would anyone thumb down the above statement is not the idea of supporting a club all about seeing that club compete and do well?? regardless of which stance you take on how to do it the above statement was not a thumbs down comment at all unless………..
Your a f@cking idiot!!!!! lol
Yes we bought Ozil and Sanchez.
But did we purchase what was necessary when necessary in terms of depth, numbers and quality?
As for deadwood I’m sorry this offends you but football is a results driven business and there are players on our books who do not aid the team: diaby, sanogoo, Campbell. Others like Arteta and Per (good servants as they were) must be sent out to graze.. It’s just part of the game and industry..and it makes no sense (financially or from a squad perspective) to keep them.
There must be a turnaround/turnover to move forward (evolution or revolution). Otherwise we stand still.
I’ve supported AFC for over 30 years through very baron patches and am not a newbie glory hunter. I just think we need to put up or shut up about playing with the big boys if we can’t manage to invest more thoroughly and to properly manage the resources we have.
You are absolutely right in what you say Invest £100 million now and we wont have to spend again for several seasons and during those seasons we can challenge for the EPL and win and the CL and maybe win!! the money we spend in the summer could reap massive rewards further down the line and make our future very bright indeed
Yes your right we have been through all that and now it appears hat was all for nothing..FFP will be relaxed as just announced by FIFA and the cornerstone of the boards argument (which see’s ALL of them make a huge profit at very little risk and very little outlay) has just crumbled into dust.
If your not winning you are loosing that’s the concept of sport and if your charging the heist ticket prices in Europe but not investing the larger part back into the club then you should either Sh!t or get off the pot!!!!
The average politician in my country splashes £50m on the buttocks of random strippers in one night.
Cazorla one of our top players has one average game and then you say he should leave? Get a grip he shouldn’t go anywhere. For me we don’t lack another DM we lack a player who’s somewhere between a DM and a deep lying creative player a cross between Arteta and Le Coq someone who can partner the likes of cazorla, Ramsey & Jack another DM to partner Le Coq will never happen we’d be far too defensive. I love Coquelin and he’s been a big part of our recent form but at the same time the fluidity of our game is much better with Arteta so a player with qualities of the two is a must although there arnt many players who fit the bill.
Yes I was really surprised to see that there, was no shot on target or off target for 50 min.The fact that man utd played without there captain Andrew vice captain has played a really good advantage for the draw.If Rooney and Carrick were on the pitch the score at half time would have been 2-0.
This team is no where near winning the league, Chelsea is way up high when compared to the quality Arsenal have.And they are going to strength, City is going to strength and Man utd has already started.
Wenger can say what ever about Henry but he was right, Arsenal need to be active in the transfer market.
Why are Arsenal fans so stupid into thinking that Bale is overrated? One thing is for sure, who ever gets this guy in the future is going to dominate the leauge for years.
He alone made the poor Spurs into Arsenal rivals. Now just imagine what he can do to a team like Manure or Chelsea.
The problem i have with Arsenal is that we tend to pass the ball to much. Manures passing game is way better. They do win the ball and then attack up front. Arsenal does win the ball then pass, pass, pass. The oppesite team till then is already till then defending at the back.
Thats why i disslike having a player in Giroud up front. I dont like players who turn their backs at the goal. I want a striker whos only aim is the goal. Holding the ball compared to players who can nutmed defender and beat them is no comparising.
Ramsey is not one of my fav players but i know that he is very good. My problem with him is. What kind of player he wants to be. What does Wenger sees in him and how can he be turned into a better player then he already is. The now is not good enough in my openion. To become superb he needs: Or work on his close controll and passing abilities and become closer to what Fabregas can do, or work on his finishing trying to emulating the likes of Nedved Gerrard and so on. Right now he is Superior Dirk Kuyt a like a player.
Sanchez first season was very good. With time he will learn to link up with the others more as he tends to keep the ball to long at times and lose it.
Wilsher needs to stay injurie free. This guy is very talented. Same as Ramsey, Wenger needs to work with him and make him into something he can become a star with. Needs to become calamer as many fans are more interested what he does outside the pitch then in the game.
From these 3 i hope to see more next year as i know that they can still improve a lot. What we cant produce and train we need to go out and buy. Up the Arsenal.
I’d take Bale in a heartbeat. I don’t think we necessarily need another out and out striker but I do think we lack 1 more big goal threat player weather they can play up top or as a wide forward. If bale came in Sanchez and bale would give us a massive goal threat off the wings then I’d happily see the likes of Giroud, Walcott and Welbeck fighting for the striker position plus the odd game on the wings. Plus all could rotate during matches creating a attains nightmare for other teams. But he’d definitely push our team onto another level. Just 1 player he’d put us almost on par with the likes of Madrid and barca. Also I said this before put all the transfer funds into someone like bale then get a Kedira or Milner on a free squad pretty much complete.
Sorry, did I hear you right? We don’t need an out and out striker?
So apart from Giroud who can score a goal and Sanchez who is a winger, who else is going to bang on all these goals for us?
Is it any of the following?:
Wellbeck
Sanogoals
Campbell
Podolski
Perhaps it’s Ozil?
Please enlighten us?
Podolski would definitely score some of that… need examples. 10 goals in the second half of season provided how much less game time he was given.
Yes but where is he? Would he be played?
@ArseOverTit
AFOBE was that MAN…
Was unfortunately like Le Coq Nearly “was” but don’t you find that disturbing? cos I really do.
We HAVE to get a centre forward..we just have to.
Unless Per can be converted..?
Ha ha Per cant even be converted into a decent CB anymore.
Im with you we need that 30 goals a season beast that was King Henry was, someone to lift heads and hearts when the games going harshly someone who has the oppositions goal set firmly in their sights. Unfortunately someone who’s going to cost us in excess of 50 million….OR one who we can turn into the above with the minimum of time and effort.
But when Wenger says he feels OG is that man I get a dose of sqeeky bum syndrome cos I know that this means in Arsene speak… im not buying a striker so get used to it!!! and that’s what its all about.
@OzzyAFC
I find that “deeply” disturbing. That is why I mention it whenever possible…
Oh what could have been!
With the ball, Arsenal are merely Passersby.
Stop spreading this bull$hit that Herrera was left alone by Monreal! Enough is enough. Watch the replay again if you did not and see that ALL our defenders were in the box when Herrera (manning Sanchez for this game) made the run to our box and Sanchez giving up the chase right before the box. It highlights two problems : some of our players are tired (not surprised here) and a lot of player are extremely complacent once the title and second place is done deal.
This is not good at all for the final because this can perpetuate into a very dangerous situation as we had in the first half of the season when we were used with draws and loses. We don’t need that before this crucial game.
Wenger must bench Sanchez and Cazorla (I dare say also Coquelin) to have them fresh for Wembley.
Budd, my one time foe, considering how close u were or are with Wenger, do u think he’d listen to u and rest the aforementioned players?
Yes. He will rest them. I don’t see how he’s having any choice, honestly. We need one draw from two games at home (in case Manure will not botch it up in Hull) to secure the third spot. I don’t see how Citeh will lose against Southampton but anything is possible. So, if we really want to win we will need some fresh pairs of legs in the field. Rosicky, Wilshere, Walcott, hell! field Diaby in, put him to good use for the money he earned in the physio. Put Debuchy and Welbeck on, rest Coquelin, Sanchez, Cazorla and Giroud. Fu ck, even Akpom deserves a chance.
However, if we will actually win the game on Wednesday then I bet you any money Wenger will try to speculate any slip up from Citeh. I envy people going at the Emirates next Sunday coz it will be a nice game.
Practically we need only 1 point from the remaining 2 games to finish 3rd. So we should rest Sanchez, Coquelin and Ozil for the Wembley. Wilshere, Walcott and Flamini in their places can do the job just fine. Honestly, 2nd is out of our hands and anyways 2nd/3rd gives the same advantages. So i could not care less. But i DO care about the FA cup final and team looks a bit tired.
Sir, the team does not look “a bit” tired. THE TEAM IS TIRED!!!
It would appear that some so called Arsenal fans think criticizing Arsenal is a sign of football knowledge hence their propensity to distort facts as long as they result in negativity about Arsenal. The writer of this article epitomizes this disposition. He/she claims that Monreal left Herrera to attend to Fellaini. Anyone who watched the game knows that before the cross was put in Monreal and Fellaini were in the box. Hererra started running into the box as the cross was being hit, and in his attendance was Sanchez who first tracked him but decided to stop. So if one cannot distort this simple fact how does he/she expects us to believe whatever nonsense he says later.
In as much as Man U had the lion’s share of possession in the first half and first fifteen minutes of the second half, they were never threatening as to give us the impression that Arsenal were so shit and lucky that by the time of the equalizer it was still 1-0. When one looks at the game overall, it is apparent that it is Arsenal not Man United that created more goal threatening moments. First the Rojo clearance after De Gea was beaten; the Giroud chance that was saved point blank; and the near post chance that went just wide.
I see some people are disgusted that Man United did not win, and such is the mentality of some Arsenal fans.
Like I said yesterday, we could have won that game, Wenger needs to start making subs early.
And then how will I know that the game is at its 70th minute? He’s doing this for us so that we know there are only 20 minutes to play.
Those who watched the game would also know coquelin initially committed the error that let Fellani start the attack.
i don’t blame him. He must be one tired coq with the amount of action he gets.
And then after some performances like this, some fans say that our team need a world class this and world class that …. for example Ospina
Some fans say we need a top class goalkeeper because Ospina is not one. And when being asked why, they cite examples of Swansea and Man Utd matches… But they would not consider the games in which Ospina have done quite remarkable saves for example Tottenham, Newcastle, Everton, Liverpool, Aston Villa, etc. !!
If that is so, they can really answer one question:
How can Courtois leave some of the softest chances against mid-table teams like Hull City and Stoke City that he is supposed to save?
Even ignoring the above mentioned fact, when asked who should we buy as a top goalkeeping option, they would answer Cech, why because the media is saying so, the pundits are saying so, the transfer rumours are saying so, blah blah blah
The real fact is that our defence got disorganized a bit and we paid for that mistake.
If we look again on Swansea goal, Bellerin failed to block the cross. Fair enough, even after the team provided Gomis the space and time to jump and attempt a header, even after that Ospina tried to snuff that danger out, but we were just unlucky. Now tell me, was that Ospina’s fault for letting Gomis jump and score or even letting the cross delivered??
No, we paid mistake for our defensive blips that could have been avoided provided our brilliant defensive run in recent games. But no, we still need world class “strikers” and “goal keepers”!!
We need a world class striker definatly your above argument is all about having bad luck, well teams that win the EPL have bad luck too but they also have players that limit that bad luck to the bare minimum how may shots should a striker take before he scores a goal or rather how many misses does he need to have before you put it down to him being not good enough rather than unlucky??
Goal keeper is only as good as his defence, defence is only a good defence if the DM is on the ball as well as the midfield in general. and all of this rests on the striker taking his chances and SCORING THE GOALS and most recently Arsenal have not been doing that. That’s why people talk about buying in a new world class striker!!!!
You’re defending Ospina but I don’t think anyone argues he is a good Goalkeeper. The difference is will he make saves that get you 1 or 3 points out of games you should lose? I.e. making a save another keeper lets in. The answer is probably not. He solidly makes the majority of possible saves but it’s those extreme saves he doesn’t make. No keeper is perfect, but if you take the Swansea match or the Man Utd match, both goals are actually within saving distance. I don’t fault him for not saving the Man Utd one (he reacted late on the Swansea one) but if you look at the top goalkeepers these are the saves they make that change a loss or draw into a win. If we don’t buy a keeper I don’t think it’s the end of the world, but it’s hard to deny that there is an additional level of keeper above Ospina.
If we think in terms of levels of player instead of who is better in comparison (cos that is often hard) we do lack a very top Striker and GK. We have a team made up of International level players with a few low level worldies (Alexis, Ozil, Kos). Chelsea for example have Costa, Cesc, Matic, Courtouis, Hazard, Ivanovic and arguably Terry who are World Class. Those players are all TOP draw for their positions. While we have players who step into top draw (Rambo certainly has potential to be) then we can be great on a given day but we need to invest to get our number of talents in that top bracket up. The problem is buying someone who is worth the money you’d pay for them and not spending 80m on a player who ends up stepping down to that second tier once they are playing with other players or systems (i.e. Di Maria).
You think Wenger didn’t tell them to be compact? He did. They weren’t up for it. They aren’t tired. They weren’t motivated. Sure, make changes because a lot of those players lack some motivation.
Ramsey is good, motivated. Some of the others are playing in 1st gear and sometimes 2nd.
If we can go to united like that and nearly get a result then things are looking up for next year.
@ Budd re our Usmanov conversation
the reason Usmanov is not going to buy the club outright is down to the fact that Kroenke bought the shares in cheaper from Nina Bracewll smith who after regretted not their sale but who she sold them to, Usmanov could buy the shares but at a massively over inflated price from Kroenke and as you have said Usmanov is no fool. He cannot buy up the shares from anyone else as Kroenkw has made the place a fortress against Usmanov the old boys network which is full effect at the club has united against Usmanov down to several factors, 1)they don’t want to sell as that brings to an end their continued source of revenue as opposed to a one off payment hoiwver large it may be. 2)They also view Usmanov as somewhat of a foreign and alien concept as he has a somewhat unsavoury reputation which was encouraged and fostered by the Hill woods who if I recall made David Deins situation untenable when jhe suggested a chelski like foreign investor the statement as I remember it from Peter Hill Wood was ” we do not sell to foreign investors” lol what the hell is Kroenke ?? The old boys network is too comfortable where they are at to sell to Usmanov for anything other than a ludicrously over priced amount. Hence why there will be NO revolution as its too tightly controlled.
But where I hear you ask does Wenger fit in here??
‘Too comfortable’
Says it all really in every facet at AFC
Another “masterpiece” by Konstantin. Dude, enough with Wenger hate. And stop comparing our club to Barca, and Real. “They change managers every year, and always in top 2”. I, Vlad, can manage Barca, and probably win a trophy or two a year. What Wenger has done in the last decade is nothing short of a miracle, so shut it. You want unlimited resources, and arrogant prick for a manager, go support Chelsea. As for Klopp, where’s Dortmund now? There’s a very good saying “you don’t know/appreciate what you have until you lose it”. You’ll be begging for Wenger to come back when he leaves, and we get somebody like David Moyes to replace him. Ask Newcastle fans how they feel now. Not too long ago they were screaming for Pardew’s head, and now they are battling relegation. And Pardew is sitting pretty with Crystal Palace.