Proof that Arsenal still have a LONG way to go!

There is a lot of optimism and belief among the Arsenal fans that the future is looking bright for the club. Arsene Wenger and the players share this confidence and we all have good reason to do so after producing the most balanced and impressive football of any club in the Premier League since the turn of the year.

It was even better than the first half of the previous season when the Gunners raced to the top of the table and stayed there until the mounting injury crisis saw it all fall apart as the manager had to cope without the likes of Ramsey, Walcott and Ozil.

Some are all hoping that next season will see Arsenal crowned as the champions of England again and it is not just a pipe dream. The Premier League is our clear priority right now but after that comes another piece of silverware that would complete Wenger´s CV. Arsenal have had one crack at a Champions League final, of course, and the Frenchman has a great record of getting us into and out of the group stage, but we need to do better than that now.

However, after watching Barcelona beat Juventus last night and after seeing the likes of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich fall just short on the road to Berlin, I would have to say that Arsenal have a lot of work to do before we can realistically hope to lift that giant trophy.

I do think that our new defensive solidity is a step in the right direction though and the confidence of winning the BPL again, combined with the spending power that the new TV rights deal gives us, should help Wenger to close the gap on the current European big hitters.

What do you think, Gooners, of our chances of becoming the kings of Europe anytime soon?

Tags Barcelona Juventus Wenger

95 Comments

    1. CB? We have Koscielny, Gabriel, Mertsacker, Chambers
      On wings we have Walcott, Oxlade, Alexis, Welbeck, Ozil

      Also, it will be great to get Cech but even if we don’t we don’t NEED a GK as Ospina is a solid GK.

      1. Sanchez is mostly playing the wing – Wenger has wisely allowed Ozil to operate mostly out of the middle where he excels.

        If none of the Arsenal RB players depart I would not be surprised to see Bellerin given a chance at RW – he is good enough going forward and has proven he can also score.

        1. I like that idea, Gareth bale made the same step from Rb to RW. We must remember that Bellerin was a RW in the past and that Arsenal turned him into an RB.

      2. mertesacker f***ing S*CKS!
        A few good performances are not going to fool me.

        And Chambers makes me nervous. He is so slow!!!!!!! He is the new mert

        So yeah we need a CB

        1. Hes a world cup winner for christys sake. He has proved that with his partner in beside him they are indeed a very good partnering. Dont give me that bull about Kos doing all his work for him because you can flip that by saying how come Per is the one who always reads the game and cuts most things out before it can happen instead of just reacting to everything. Per positions himself well and Kos has sweeper role, they are a top combo.

          1. WC winner! LOL
            The only time germany’s defense looked shaky was when mert was playing (Algeria and Brazil 2nd half).

    2. We don’t need that spine, all we need is two more world class player like ozil and Sanchez, a top DM and a striker who can bang in 30+ goals a season,I’m a huge giroud fan but all big clubs need at least two quality strikers. Welbeck can be our third choice striker, we could use a right winger as well or start using Theo or the ox in that position. My fellow gooners we are just two signings away from becoming a force. We need to spend around 60-70 mil.

        1. He didnt say in which season.
          Besides those two there are none who can break that mark over a good number of years. There are some who have done it over more than one season… Martinez Cavani Falcao. There are others who have reached the more justly target of 20 to 30 league goals in more than one season… Lewendowski Benzema Higuain. Thats off the top my head am sure there are more if you go looking for them especially if you open it up to world football.

          Hes not wrong in saying we need a high scoring striker, am sure thats all he really meant. A 20 to 30 league goal striker would be great, hes probably not going to hit target in every season just like you cant expect to win every season but so long as its a regular occurrence, hell do nicely.

        2. Here some statistics I have compiled about potential striker. I look at minutes per goal in leagues excluding penalties. Just over 2014/2015 season.

          This is how Giroud compares in UK.
          1. Costa 110 mins
          2. Aguero 121 mins
          3. Giroud 133 mins
          4. kane 136 mins

          Of the targets we track.
          1. Martinez 128 mins (easier league)
          2. Lacazette 150 mins (only 19 goals of 27 are from play, 8 are penalties)
          3. Benzema 154 mins
          4. Aubameyang 170 mins (played 70% of time CF, 30% right wing)
          5. Higuain 186 mins

          So if we go and spend 25-40 mil, it looks like we get a player that is hardly an upgrade over Giroud or even not an upgrade at all. Chelsea did well with buying Costa.

          1. Thanks! !! Finally some sense.
            But nevermind….u will get the replies like stats mean nothing etc

            1. Arsenal with StatDNA will have even better ideas of which player suits us or not. One of the best scoring attacks in Europa on a minutes per goal ratio is Bas Dost from Wolfsburg. 96 mins per goal.

            2. I can easily produce stats that offer a different conclusion entirely. Yes. Stats. Read below.

            3. Stats may indicate that certain players are more effective than others but the thing that really proves who’s better than who is A trophy. No amount of stats will convince me that Giroud OR wellbeck Or Walcott are good enough tofire us to premier league victory on their own Stats are good for reading but what happened against Monaco when Giroud hashed three or four chances??
              All of the above strikers are being linked (correctly or not) with other big clubs, the oe thing I don’t see is Giroud being linked wih anyone at all!!!! That tells me a lot
              We don’t need to lose OG but we do need another proven striker to add to the firing line and that’s a fact proven by the performances this season.

          2. I have examined very simple goal production stats that offer a far different conclusion – total goal production from the striker.

            The fact is Giroud produced goals at a better rate than Costa. If you examine total goal production (goals and assists in all comps) per # appearances, Giroud produced goals at a better rate than Costa.

            Costa scored more goals in league play while Giroud scored more often in other competitions and produced more assists. But it is important to look at ALL of the competitions and total goal production.

            Now you know the rest of the story.

      1. What would happen next year if OG got 24 goals in all comps with 10 assists, Alexis 24 and 6 and Theo 23 and 8 would our strike force be ok or would you still want a 30 and 4 player Instead of those 3?
        Those numbers are defiantly achievable.

        1. And what if Giroud got injured then Theo moved up top and didnt reach fifteen mark, and didnt have his assists either because hes arrow head now.. Ox came in gave his best ever but still its only eight to ten goals he scores.

          Or what if………………………………………….

            1. My point is that he gave a “what if” scenario, and im saying there are many what ifs.

  1. Of course we have the potential to move forward but whether the powers that be @ AFC choose to take it is another matter entirely.

    1. Agree. I always feel like the club has safety breaks on at all times and are too afraid to take a risk. Spending the Ozil money probably almost killed the board.

      1. Its time to spend on a couple of more ozil’s….let’s splash 90 mil on a DM and a striker. Let’s bring in quality players

  2. In a few years i think we’ll be a very different club and much closer to competing with the likes of RM/BARCA & BAYERN not only in financial terms but our players are maturing year by year. We are also adding to our depth in the bench so in due time we’ll be a team not to be reckoned with both in the premier league and champions league.

  3. We aren’t far off a domestic challenge, but the gap between the best in Europe and us is too large to fill in the short term (1-2 seasons). I’d like to remind you that despite the fantastic team that Madrid boasted throughout 2003-2013, they didn’t reach a single CL final. We must be patient, it’s a bit silly to compare our front line to say Barcelona’s who have 3 players that have contributed to 121 goals this season when our whole team can barely muster 100. If I’m honest I don’t think Wenger will win the CL, but not because he is not capable of doing it, but because I think he is setting up the team for the rest of this decade so that Arsenal can become a European powerhouse. He will pretty much give the next manager the perfect set up to take us to the next level, and Arsene will barely get any credit for it. That is of course assuming that Arsene doesn’t stand for more than 2-3 years more. Only time will tell.

    1. There’s a huge luck factor that nobody seems to acknowledge. Chelsea and inter ….? Best teams in Europe? Or maybe atlético has a super be budget?

      1. You seem to have forgotten that Atetico never won it last year. Were Inter not one of the best teams in Europe when they won it? Please don’t make me laugh. Maicon, Lucio, Zanetti, Cambiasso, Sneijder, Eto’o, Milito. We’re talking about an Inter side that completely dominated the Seria A after AC Milan’s fall. Let’s not forget the pattern here with modern era upsets – Porto, Chelsea, ‘Inter’ (according to you anyway). Notice anything? Ahh yes, probably one of the most successful young managers around. Luck? Give me a break. It’s no coincidence there hasn’t been a real upset for nearly half a century.

      2. The Chelsea one was luck, but it’s not as if they played badly in Europe, they were just horrendous in the league given Villa-boas’s reign.

  4. Can some one plz give me short ubdate how the game today was today. I could not find the time to watch it. Did Wilsher and Walnutt play?

    1. @ks-gunner
      Put it this way. I hope neither team(Ireland-England) have high aspirations of going far in the next Euros…

  5. Its just a matter of time. That a certain team made the final this year doesnt mean she will next season. All we need to do is to go on upgrading each department on the field and who knows, we could get there earlier than thought.

  6. 1- Arsene seems content with jack and his stats which is why arsene may not bring another midfielder with players available with quality too as we look back to previous frustrating transfer window arsene stated it is not about money but about finding the right quality along with being available in the market. I don’t think Chelsea are going to get soft on arsenal they will just batter them with no backup to coquelin.
    2- arsenal can have Bayern,Barca,juventus in the group stage to soffocate arsenal and have been 100% successful

  7. If we are being honest with ourselves, we’ll agree that Arsenal are a long way off from competing for UCL.
    Can this gap be bridged with the present crop of players? Unfortunately, no. We need to make proper additions.
    Will these additions be made? I don’t know. But I hope so.

  8. Agree not unless World class players like ozil sanchez r brought this season will arsenal get close domestically never mind champs league.
    Cech vidal benzema in dreamland is what we need will we get them he’ll no because because fans n board are happy with the so called “w.class” players we already have jack rambo just to name a couple.

    Money’s there but unfortunately even in the transfer market we have No bottle just like on the pitch 99.9%.
    Thumbs dwn begin lol
    # realisticfan# 4th place n f.a cup run possibly in 2016 here we come

  9. We are a world class GK, World Class defender, World class midfielder, and a world class striker away from pushing for CL. 2 or 3 of the 4 and we can push for PL

    Something like Cech – Hummels – Vidal – Cavani and we can have a team that can compete with Bayern and Madrid and Barca and Juve as well as Chelsea, Manu and City.

    With the likes of Schneiderlin and Lacazette we are not winning the CL any time soon. Burt we will compete for the PL.

    It’s all matter of ambition and money. How ambitious are we? (not very from the looks of it) and how much money are we willing to spend (not enough from the looks of it)

    1. Cavani is overrated. He cant perform in big games and lacks pace. Lacazette > Cavani.
      Lacazette is french ligue player of the year too.

      1. Both had 27 goals.. What’s the difference?

        Got to be an improvement on Wellbecks 4 surely.

        I’d be happy with either or Martinez.

      2. Lacazette has 27 league goals – 8 come from penalties, so 19 that really count.

        Cavani has 18 league goals – They are evenly distributed from when he played on the left and as CF. The case is that he is quiet good on the LW. However only registered 1 assist. If we can get him for 30-35 mil I would have Cavani. Better than any of the other options out there. I doubt PSG will sell, especially with Ibrahimovic getting older.

  10. BOB, i actually agree with your article , i think you should sit down , what a shock , lol.but seriously , we are miles off the pace to be honest . i think it would be very unwise for us to expect anything more than last 8 of champions league , at a push . but maybe someday we will get there . all these super teams might yet take a step downwards and we just might level with them then . fell asleep today watching my beloved republic of ireland play the sasanach , the aul enemy , lol. what a bore , tis football like that match that turns me off our beautiful game . and people actually paid to get into this game . i feel for the english fans who had to travel , what a waste of money all round , oh well .

  11. My dream team for next season to challenge for PL and possibly for CL

    CECH (OSPINA)

    DEBUCHY(BELLERIN) – KOS(GABRIEL) – HUMMELS (PER) – MONREAL(GIBBS)

    RAMSEY(WILSHIRE) – VIDAL (COQ)

    THEO (OX) – OZIL (CAZORLA) – SANCHEZ(WELBECK)

    CAVANI(GIROUD)

    I know we are looking at over a 100m pounds here at it’s never going to happen but these are all buyable players. Even one or two of them would make a big difference in our team.

    1. Bellerin and Coquelin should be first choice. I cant see Vidal joining Arsenal since we have Ramsey and Wilshere fighting for one spot. Vidal is not a CDM.

      1. He is good in defense though and Wenger is not a big fan of DMs. He is very attack minded

        But I think Wenger won’t get any midfielders
        L

        1. You never know with Wenger – he LOVES midfielders and likes to use CAMs all over the pitch like interchangeable parts. Vidal is the type of player Wenger likes if somehow there was room for him.

          But some midfielders would need to depart also – Flamini, Arteta, Diaby, maybe even Rosicky as it appears he will get almost no playing opportunities.

          If I were the manager, however, a central midfielder would be the last on my list right now. Arsenal have so many CAMs and need to shore up other positions first.

    2. Cavani is massively overrated.
      we need a clinical and WC striker, not an expensive giroud.

      Vidal and hummels are not coming btw.

  12. Jose Mourinho is looking to sign 3 players. GK, CDM and ST. He said he was not satisfied with
    Chelsea’s season despite winning League Cup and BPL whereas Wenger says he wont spend big money on world class players this season. Wenger= lack of ambition.

    1. It’s frustrating isn’t it.
      We are tantalizingly close to a perfect team to challenge for the PL but we need those two players and because of past experience it’s hard to believe Wenger will do the right thing

      Wenger is known for his stubbornness

      Lets just hope Wenger sees the light and gets us a top DM and top striker like Kondogbia/krychowiak and Lacazette/Martinez

    2. wenger’s loyalty towards his players is his biggest weakness.
      He always believes in his players and refuses to sign obvious upgrades.

    3. Yes, we all know Mourinho is great at coming in and spending the owner’s money recklessly. Chelsea goes through players like I change underpants.

      Early last season he claimed Schurle would become a Chelsea legend and a few months later when he had grabbed some new expensive players he sent Schurle packing. He is a snake.

      Don’t worry, when Josey sees the cracks in the armor he will abandon ship and latch onto the next club with a billionaire owner. Frankly I think he is poison to the EPL. A good manager – yes. Great at spending the money of billionaire owners – yes. But good for the EPL?? No.

  13. There is NO PROOF at all offered in this article.

    There is an argument that Arsenal will LIKELY need some more talent to compete throughout Europe.

    I could offer an equally solid argument that Arsenal are only 2-3 players short of competing with any club. Just need a DM backup, 1 top attacker (either striker or winger) and maybe a GK. There you go – “PROOF” that Arsenal are close to reaching the pinnacle.

    1. we were knocked out by monaco!!!!
      but yeah we will reach the pinacle with 2 1st team additions

      1. If you want to judge the club by the bumps in the road rather than the leaps forward you will ALWAYS see the finish line is unreachable.

        Arsenal also just earned its 6th FA Cup title under Wenger, had a fantastic 2nd half of the season, and moved up the table to finish 3rd.

        If you cannot see AND APPRECIATE the successes and the progress that clearly has been made you will likely be a miserable fan for a long time. I am amazed with the attitudes. I am thrilled with Arsenal’s season. Many great memories and achievements. But to so many fans only the one bad game with Monaco means anything. I don’t get it.

        You tell me how many fine players need to be replaced because they are not good enough for you. 5? 6? Should we dump half the squad? Even Giroud, who is always attacked, produced goals at a higher rate than Costa this season and somehow Chelsea was able to win the title with him.

        If you want a club like Real Madrid, or Bayern, or Barca or Chelsea that just goes through players like candy instead of solidly building a team that the fans know and support then I am afraid you will NEVER be happy with Arsenal – ever.

        I stand with my assertion. 2 – 3 players to best build the club for next season. Sure, Wenger could get 7 new players and there would still be no guarantee of reaching the success you demand. Bayern has purchased players so often I cannot keep track of them. Did that help them with the Champions League? Or the DFB Pokal? No. There are no guarantees. That is why they play the game.

        1. we need 1 WC GK, 1 WC CB, 1 WC striker, and a good CDM.
          and if u thing being short of 3 WC players is being very close to success then i don’t know what to say to u.
          And i’m not saying that there has been no progress. But we are still long way away from ‘reaching the pinacle’

          1. Mónaco was a bump.
            We have had those many times. People fret that w e actually beat the barcas and Bayern that were eventually ucl winners. We just didn’t make global because of bumps (errors injuries red cards ….u name them)
            People also forget that inter and chelsea became champions despite not being t best teams…..the bumps went the other way.
            One thing is for sure. 2 3 additional players won’t harm us. Keeping the good ones will be good too.

            But please oh please work on the psiquis and physical side of the players health

          2. In my opinion there are no WC strikers available, maybe Cavani (28 years old though). All the others we keep hearing are Giroud kind of standard. Let spend our money well and get defense and midfield sorted.

            1. Cech – £10mil
            2. Hummels -£35mil
            3. Kondogbia/Schneiderlin – £25mil

            £70mil for all three. Podolski, Campbell, Sangoals, Szczesny sale should get us £20mil. Done

            2016/2017 – go nuts on WC striker

            1. i fully agree – you almost repeated my dream team. Still prefer Vidal in the middle to any one else and yes he can and has played as a dm many times. He would pair extremely well in the middle of the park with anyone of our midfielders.

          3. We have ALREADY HAD SUCCESS. DID YOU MISS THE FA CUP FINAL. SOME FANS ARE NEVER HAPPY=EVER.

      2. It was a surprising result but hardly earth shattering in the general context of UCL results. S**t happens. The eventual finalists Juve beat them over 180mins by a solitary dodgy penalty. Just how bad are Monaco? Or how average were Juve? Or a PSG side that could’t score at Monaco in the season doing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge with 10 men. How bad was that? Or Real conceding 4 at home to Schalke and hanging on by the skin of their teeth. Or Shaktar holding out for a 0-0 against Bayern.

        You either think Monaco have a better team than us in which case the right team went through or you know we have a better team and it was just one of those nights. Either way the Monaco game was a godsend for those that want to repeat it every 5 minutes as absolute proof of how s^&&% we are.

    2. All our current first 11 players would not get in current Barca first 11, although they are certainly good enough to be in the Barca squad. Just to recap, our best player this season, alexis, was a squad player for Barca and was sold so they could buy Suarez….Ozil may get in, but just maybe….So quality wise…as far as Champion league goes, we are quite not there yet, though we are certainly strong enough to have a decent go at the EPL title next season.

      Our squad + some chelsea luck = can go far in Champion league. We are certainly on par with the likes of Juventus, Athletico, Dortmund….But everything would need to come off for us for that to happen….

  14. Firstly we need to address the most important issue: MANAGER
    Altough i’m happy that we have won our 12th FA cup this season, but the fact is that the FA cup is not what is used to be. Its now a 2nd tier trophy.
    Winning the league or as many are dreaming the UCL (lol) is going to be wayyyy more difficult, and if u think that wenger can win it then brace ur self for disappointment.

    1. I prefer to operate in the real world – Wenger is NOT going anywhere soon. Also, for the first time in many years Wenger this season finally swallowed his pride and made adjustments he never would have in the past. So at least Wenger is on the right track again.

      Do you believe that in the past few years Wenger would have benched Gibbs or selected Theo over Giroud at striker or would have stayed with the youngster Bellerin vs. Debuchy or picked up a good CB in January or shifted the balance from attack to defense when needed??? No. But this season he swallowed his pride, made the changes, and managed with winning in mind. Big improvement at least.

      1. But for a moment if u forget that its wenger, then its a very minor change for any manger.
        MAJOR improvement is needed in the management if we want to be ambitious.

        1. Getting a new manager is NO GUARANTEE. Why can fans not appreciate how great we have it? Major successes every season. Most importantly, improvement the past 2 seasons.

          Fans complained because Wenger was stubborn and did not make the needed adjustments. He has now done it and you are still not happy.

          Fans complained about no trophies. Wenger has delivered but now you complain that those were not the “right” trophies.

          Fans complained that Wenger was only selling talent. He has now added some top class players (Ozil, Sanchez, Cazorla) and developed others (Coq, Walcott, Ox, Bellerin) but you are still not happy.

          Real Madrid spends BILLIONS on players and has a good manager. What did they win?

          Clearly, if you are not happy with Wenger now and the direction he is moving, you might do well to find another club to support – Arsenal will never satisfy your sensibilities.

          1. I am not chelsea fan to just go and support another club if my wishes are not fulfilled. I’m just giving my opinion, its not an order -_-

            1. You cannot simply hide the totally negative outlook by claiming “just my opinion.”

              I see the problems with Arsenal. But I also find time to recognize and enjoy the great performances and great Arsenal football.

          2. Wenger has been our manager since 1996. Its not like he hasn’t been given enough time. Maybe he was the best man to see us through the debt. But now time has changed and we need some1 who can take us to the next level which he isn’t

            1. In case you missed it……. Wenger has had many great successes in his tenure. Are sleeping through it all??? You speak as if he has done nothing in 20 years. Wow. Delusional.

          3. U said that arsenal have improved significantly over the season.
            Yet still we couldn’t score let alone beat chelsea (we couldn’t score against them last season too)
            We still haven’t managed to beat manU in the league
            We couldn’t even beat spurs this season.
            We earned a LUCKY draw against liverpool at anfield.
            A draw at everton.
            A draw against city at home.
            We were down 3-0 away at stoke at HT
            Swansea did the DOUBLE over arsenal
            Southampton outclassed arsenal at st mary’s

            And worst of all we were knocked out by Monaco!

            I know i’m going to be called negative, but u forced me to point out the negative facts

            1. Just like I thought. You dwell on every tiny thing that is imperfect. Well guess what? There is no perfection.

              Fans like you will NEVER be happy about anything. Hopeless and frankly disgusting for an Arsenal fan to be perpetually angry about supporting a great club

              What about the last great performance of the season? The trophy? I notice you mention NOTHING positive at all. Apparently nothing is enough to penetrate your scrooge shield.

              1. @mohawk Nokia is right he is not dwelling on anything tiny. Not beating or even scoring against top teams is not a small problem. not beating the spurs is not a tiny problem. These are endemic problems which we have to solve to win the PL. We cant beat Manu and Wenger NEVER beat Mourinho. These are big, big issues that we face year after year and without solving them we will always be 3rd or 4th.
                12 years now without the league, this year we haven’t won more games or scored more goals or finished higher than our average in the last 12 years.
                Good performances we have seen many, FA cup was won by Portsmouth a few yrs ago.
                Only winning the EPL is an improvement the rest is BS.

                1. Good job Wenger set the bar so high in 1998-2005 because if our 1992-97 trajectory continued boys like you would be crying even harder with no PL for 24 years and counting. If you became an Arsenal fan because of Wenger’s early achievements then you have a peculiar attitude. If you were an Arsenal fan before Wenger then you should know better. Either way, very random, inaccurate and selective whining.

            2. You forgot your Alexis Sanchez is s**t line – would add extra authority to your ramblings.

    2. Agree, the FA cup is not what it used to be before May 2014. The League Cup which Chelsea were clearly unhappy to win is now way more important in my opinion. At least you show signs of realism by acknowledging how difficult it is to win the PL.

      1. Ive read through all these conversations and there are arguments for and against yes Wenger has done wonders and the club and fans should forever be indebted to him But he has also missed the mark and we have slipped with regards to staying at the top tiers and winning trophies . What really gets me though is the bullying and arrogance of all the devoted AKB’s on this site, Im neither one nor tother but I will say Wenger needs to spend more and buy key players to improve the squad, when fans on here say that the AKB’s thumb them down and that really get me, why would any one thumb down a comment that suggest improvement for the team???? they then suggest anyone who disagree’s with them are “Chelsea” ect. the FACT ARE THERE WE HAVE not REALLY MADE AN EPL challenge for many years, we ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO WIN THE CL AND UNTIL WE IMPROVE WE WONT EVER BE!!!!!!! I CANT UNDERSTAND THE ADAMANT AKB’s when they say NO!!! WE DONT NEED THIS OR THAT BECAUSE ITS PURE LOGIC THAT WE ARE NOT AS GOOD AS THE COMPETITION YET AND WHILE WE ARE ON THE BRINK WE’LL SLIP AGAIN IF OUR COMPETITORS IMPROVE AND WE DONT!!! im neither an AOB or an AKB but it seems that the akb’S ARE PURELY STUBBORN SHEEP!!!! you know who you are.

        1. Come on Ozzy – bullying by the AKBs? Really? That is rubbish. My heart would bleed if it could be bothered. And who is seriously worried about being thumbed down? The majority of the aggressive, noisy and abusive posts on here come from people who are firmly in the AOB camp. And contrary to what you suggest, there is a reasonable spread of opinion on here – and is certainly not dominated by AKBs, quite the reverse, try Untold Arsenal if you think the AKBs are ruling the roost on here. Or try Le Grove if you want it a bit more feisty with more AOBs than you can shake a stick at.

          Have you got any reasonable explanation as to why any Arsenal supporter would not want improvement? Even the merest hint of a plausible reason would be welcome because I can’t for the life of me work out what it could be. Isn’t the essence of the argument(s) about how we should improve? One set of supporters have what I think is a pretty one-dimensional, football manager for dummies perspective. Others will suggest it is not quite that simple.

          And why are people who have a different opinion “stubborn sheep”? That is a sly way of saying “I am right why can’t you agree with me”. What are looking for; the whole site to come out in unison and agree to sack the manager and spend loadsamoney with guaranteed success just around the corner. We could all engage in continuous back-slapping and self-congratulation and live happily ever after.

          If I came on and earnestly declared that if we had “real ambition” we should try and buy the Barcelona front 5 and the Chelsea back 6 would that make more delusional or less so? Strikes me that the only way to avoid the bog-standard “delusional” or “4th place junkie” tag is to simply state that I want to sack the manager and the board, spend big money every year to ensure we win the PL and UCL every year in perpetuity. That apparently is all you have to say to become a real supporter.

          1. @jonestown1
            Mate lot of what I said is to a point Born od frustration, In my mind the whole point of sport I t compete and win an it really drives me crazy that s a club we are both failing to do so AND unable o do so and Ill explain my thought process on this if I may. I know have had huge financial resraints over the last decade, I kno that ts has been manage prudently and with a degree of wisdom that has come in a major part rom Arsene Wenger and his financial Vision. I also know that we are unable to actually match he Oil Rich and Oil Funded clubs that have billions to throw round willy nily on astronomical buys each season. For the Relative success of what we have achieved as a club over these tough and ever changing times I am both n admiration of the cub and AW and also hghly thankful. However my frustration comes when, after all this time and the restraint that we as fans have shown is that there is STILL this overriding attitude that we as a club can not / will not / should not. Take the final step and spend the warchest that our media friendly board members regularly boast of whenever the fans become restless, I am only me, Im not a skilled or qualified professional football manager BUT I am a lifelong fan of the club having supported Arsenal since the tender age of four and I have seen glory years and I have seen rubbish but what I have never ever seen in those 40 odd years is Arsenal Football club rise to the heights of the European Elite and I do feel that for a club that has been on the very brink and who have had to step back from it due to the worlds finances and the ever shifting world of the global media. I know that there are fans who say we should be content that we should be happy with fourth and the managerial style we have, but should we settle for fourth each season?? As fans we have great pride in our club and lets be honest there is no other like us, but should we settle for what the board and sometimes the manager expect us to accept?? We are NOT the hated spuds, we are NOT Everton or west Ham, we are the Arsenal we have won more silverware than any other London club we are the mighty AFC and if we accept that 4th is a trophy then we are little better than they are. Yes 4th is a major achievement and its not to be sniffed at, Yes the FA cup is a worthy trophy and it should not be downgraded but what we really need to do is win the EPL and also the CL and to do that its pure logic to suggest that we need to buy in some players that will improve the current team. Now who they may be and what positions they should fill is open to debate. But there are certain exponents of the line that states WE DON’T NEED ANY NEW PLAYERS and that I cannot accept. It usually comes from the AKB area of the forum and my argument is this…..if we are currently good enough to win the EPL and the CL why have we NOT done it? If Arsene Wenger really does know best…bearing in mind the financial well being of the club should NOT be his concern per sey why does he NOT get involved in the transfer window early and buy the players that WE ALL know we need??? Yes he brought in Sanchez who has been brilliant yes he also brought in Ozil who for many has yet to convince, but we all see that more is needed and the lack of potential action is frustrating beyond belief . If we don’t strike first everyone else will and we will slide back to where we were prior to these seasons improvements. I don’t really know if Arsene really does know best or if he should call it a day but what I do know is that we as fans pay more for our tickets than anyone else in the UK and that we have a 33.3% shareholder who is the richest man in the uk BUT HAS NO PLACE ON THE BOARD….this tells me that the financial prudence we have extolled as prudent for the clubs future and for the adherence to FFP is really a smoke and mirrors situation we need a striker(opinions differ to which one) we need cover for Le Coq (again opinions differ) and maybe we need one other in another area of the pitch, but if we don’t get them we wont be better than we were this year and we wont move closer to the real glory. As loyal fans who love and support the club we are owed this now more than ever and its about time the club gave us a little back of what we have given them especially over the last ten years.

            1. Mate, full respect for the obvious passion. “40 odd years” must make you bit of an old bastard just like me!!! For my part I have too much pride to ever subscribe to the deification of Wenger by some – “Arsene Knows Best” really sticks in my gullet. As such, I more often than not come from the angle that he probably does know better than most of the supporters, most of the time but is far from infallible. So what tends to really wind me up most is hearing people basically just making things up and presenting them as facts. Or just simplifying the world of football in particular, sport in general, business, finance and management to an extent that should make a 6 year old blush. And when I see stuff like “old lanky frog”, “clueless Wenger” and the general personal abuse I know it is time for me to get off the site for a while calm down and re-group.

              This is only my personal experience – but the most passionate and knowledgeable football fans I have known in my life have been the ones who are able to fully and unconditionally accept their team/individual, warts and all. Doesn’t mean you can’t moan and get upset – but it does shape and refine the way you go about it.

            2. Well that was a first – my comment was awaiting moderation – assume it was the friendly use of the word b**&&&d. I’ll resend with some asterisks.
              Mate, full respect for the obvious passion. “40 odd years” must make you bit of an old b*****d just like me!!! For my part I have too much pride to ever subscribe to the deification of Wenger by some – “Arsene Knows Best” really sticks in my gullet. As such, I more often than not come from the angle that he probably does know better than most of the supporters, most of the time but is far from infallible. So what tends to really wind me up most is hearing people basically just making things up and presenting them as facts. Or just simplifying the world of football in particular, sport in general, business, finance and management to an extent that should make a 6 year old blush. And when I see stuff like “old lanky frog”, “clueless Wenger” and the general personal abuse I know it is time for me to get off the site for a while calm down and re-group.

              This is only my personal experience – but the most passionate and knowledgeable football fans I have known in my life have been the ones who are able to fully and unconditionally accept their team/individual, warts and all. Doesn’t mean you can’t moan and get upset – but it does shape and refine the way you go about it.

  15. Funny how people now rate the FA Cup. Should Arsenal win the C.L, they’ll still underrate it. They’d want the world cup.
    Before now, people were putting up the top 4 as an evidence for Wenger’s failure. Now they’ve added the FA Cup. Wenger’s trophy…lol

    1. I heard a radio broadcast discussion just the other day that posited the notion that Arsenal’s FA Cup victories did not really mean anything because they only had to beat Hull and Aston Villa.

      With Arsenal, unless they defeat an Army of Space Warriors from a far off galaxy and are then declared champions of the universe, it will never be good enough.

      1. Compare that to Chelsea’s obvious elation at winning the lesser cup and the media gushing about Mourinho’s winning mentality and didn’t hear them mention their tortuous route to the semis against Shrewsbury, Bolton and Derby or the dullest final ever. Funny that.

    2. And funny how £220M and 2 managers later that 4th place for LvG was an achievement.

  16. I did say on this Gooners’s website sometimes ago that Arsenal don’t need to import a new striker in the summer. Because they already have 3 top strikers in the Gunners of, Olvier Giroud, Theo’ Walcott and Danny Welbeck who the Boss had played diffirently last season. So, why are some Gooners talking of signing a new striker again when they know Arsenal have 3 strikers already. I think what we should be agitating for, is to plead with the Boss to please play those 3 in rotation as the Gunners’s 3 main strikers next season. What d Gunners team need are 3 new internally or externally drafters of top quality: left back, a dm and a right winger to complement Jack Wilshere who I presumed should be Arsenal’s right winger next season instead of Ramsey who prefers to play centrally. With the aboves, Arsenal are done next season. Charity begins at home. Let the Gunners first aspire to first win d domestic treble which will be a feast. Then the UCL trophy could follow if they somehow got to the final as Juventus did.

    1. Ill tell you why??? because the three we have ARE NOT OOD ENOUGH!!! Its not rocket science. if they were w would have been playing on saturay night and would have won the EPL. Wellbeck especially IO is never going to be he top notch striker you deem him to be already and Giroud needs backing and competition in this position , Walcott…well we’ll se

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