I have recently written a post about Arsene Wenger blaming the referees for all of our lost points and ignoring the poor form of our defenders and strikers, and as soon as I posted it I found another quote from Wenger after last night’s Chelsea game where he actually thinks the team is fantastic! Two wins out of our last 8 League games, 11 points from a possible 24 – and all we ever hear about is how the referees are biased against us.
This is the quote I found on Arsenal.com: “I felt we had a very good performance [as a team]. I knew that the last 20 minutes could be difficult because we played three games in six days. The schedule was not to our advantage and also, once again, we were a bit unlucky with the decisions.
“We are a fantastic football team. I think we have seen fantastic football but there are some deeper problems and some on our side that we have to correct. At the moment, the club is really hurt hard and for me, it’s difficult to take.”
Of course he has to mention ‘the decisions’ because he likes to blame the referee for everything, but he also likes to blame the ‘scheduling’, as if Arsenal are treated harder than other clubs. Well I just checked; Since the beginning of December Chelsea have played 10 games, of which ONE was a League Cup game where they could play reserves. In the same time, Arsenal have also played 10 games, but we had a Europa League games as well as a League Cup game where we rested all our players. In fact while Arsenal played reserves against BATE, Chelsea had a crucial Champions League game against Atletico Madrid. How was our schedule worse than theirs? Do you hear Antonio Conte complaining about the ‘schedule’ or does he get on and deal with it?
In those 10 games Arsenal got W4D5L1 while Chelsea W6D3L1, that is the difference. We played the same amount of games in the same amount of time but simply didn’t perform. If Arsenal are ‘fantastic’ what does that make Chelsea?
Wenger needs to stop whingeing and take his players to task for not performing. Maybe he should be honest with the team and tell them when they are rubbish – instead of stroking their egos and calling them ‘fantastic’. Let’s address those ‘deeper problems’please.
Darren N
Admin, please post article about our newest recruit Konstantinos Mavropanos..
Also, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is Arsenal’s first choice to replace Alexis Sanchez if the Chilean joins Manchester City, according to Sky in Italy.
…according to “Pie in the Sky in Italy” seems more to the point. we have a stadium that would be fit for a superstar and and our ambition is to bring in players who make us scratch our heads with bewilderment. we need wenger himself on the transfer list – back to grampus 8; He needs to be as far as possible out of the picture so as an entirely new manager with [*fresh ideas] can catapult us up the global elite pecking order to where we are meant to be. A club of arsenals’ stature is meant to be in the champions league year in and year out (imo).
Aubameyang rumour is farcical! He’s a striker, we’ve just spent £50 million on a striker, Wenger only plays one upfront, and there’s no way Dortmund are selling their best player mid-season unless they get a ridiculous offer (and Arsenal don’t do ridiculous offers). Aubameyang wouldn’t be to replace anyway, because they play in different positions, but when does Wenger ever consider a players natural position when buying/selecting players for the team? Haha.
Aubameng/Arsenal rumour has been doing the rounds for years, and is almost as bad as the Benzema rumour.
Replace Sanchez anyway*
Darren N , I am liking your articles more and more. for they are to the point and realistic, unlike Wenger who lives in la-la-land. Wenger is behaving like a man who does noit know where to turn and is desperate to apportion blame for the teams inability to defend to anything but himself, who is the direct cause. Frankly, as a decent and fair minded fan of sixty years attending, I am embarrassed and ashamed of how this manager is behaving. He is making our club a laughing stock and a source of derision to other clubs fans. Arsenal used to be known for class off the field,as well as on. Now we are a sick and sad joke club run by dishonourable custodians at all levels , from owner, CEO, board, and manager. WHEN YOU THOROUGHLY DISLIKE AND ARE EMBARRASSD BY SOMETHING YOU STILL LOVE, sooner or later that love dies and you can stand being ill treated and dissed no longer. I am feeling like asking for a divorce and have stopped attending since early last season , after coming regularly since 1958, as a season ticket holder for most of that time. I do still love our club but seriously wonder how much longer I can put up with this nonsense and sheer embarrassment by bad custodians people, esp Wenger. As of now I firmly believe we will finish in 6th place this season, numerous points behind 4th and that Wenger will be sacked in May. That hope gives me encouragement to hang on for a more honourable, truthful and competant manager and when Wenger is history, I fully intend to start coming to games again. But NOT TIL THEN!
HI JON FOX you have frankly impressed me, attending since 1958 is INCREDIIBLE
I support the club since 2006,i never had the privilege to attend any of it’s games….Sadly.SO if i can give you an advice, and i am a lot younger than you, if you permit, GO and ENJOY. Even if you disagree with the manager
because the bigger achievment of this manager (you can disagree with me)is that he has transformed the club in a WORLD BRANd btter than liverpool for exemple .Now you have fans who never came to england but have been attracted by the style of play the class and the behavior of inside the club.REGARDS
@ pires 2006 is long enough to have proven your support of Arsenal. I am sure you will get to the Emirates one day. A great stadium (much better than Wembley) even if it does not have the atmosphere of the old Highbury in the days of terracing.
As for the manager we all have differing views and will need to tolerate each others comments no matter wether we agree or not.
NOT REALLY DIFFICULT AT ALL PIRES. You just need to be old and grumpy -or even just old, and forget the grumpy, that’s optional! THOUGH MANDATORY IN MY CASE. It was two shillings(10 PENCE TODAY) to get in when I started going and for some years after, as well . The programme, was 6 old pennies and as a kid I had ten shillings pocket money, or ten bob as we called it. And could live like a king, with dear parents paying for everything else. PLAYERS EARNED AROUND £20 PER WEEK THEN and were real men, since they played full out, every game, in Doc Martin type boots which were polished with dubbin. We played on Christmas Day and also on Boxing Day, as did all clubs. When the ball hit you, you really felt it, cos they were heavy. IT HAD A BLADDER, A TYPE OF HEAVY BALLOON INSIDE which you inflated. The supporters club away coaches in 1964 cost ten shillings there and back to Midlands games and fifteen shillings to North West clubs and one pound to North East. We were very often given comps tickets by our players, in 60’s and early70’s when we waited outside the players entrance at away games, by such as McLIintock, Bob Wilson, John Radford AND MY FAVOURITE, GEORGE(GEORDIE) ARMSTRONG, the best player never to win an England cap. My brothers mates Granny lived next door to Geordie and Marge in Winchmore Hill and it was amazing how often we went round to see Granny! Back in the sixties , hooligans were unheard of -they started in early seventies- and at Arsenal V Spuds games, home and away , I would stand next to my mates , some Arsenal, some Spuds, with just friendly banter, NO FIGHTS, NO NASTINESS. The game was still honest then, no diving but you could virtually break someones leg before even getting booked. GREAT CHANGES SINCE, MANY GOOD, SOME BAD. And the teams then would not have lived with todays teams. Oh ,and our manager in 1958 was George SWINDIN an ex-Arsenal keeper when I started going. In 1962 Billy Wright (an England and Wolves all time great centre half) became manager and was sacked in 1966 when we finished 14th. The crowd for his last game agaoinst Leeds , which we lost 0-3, before being sacked was 4554, including me. Really ! But for tales of The Romans you will need to speak to my late Grandad – he’s not dead , just always late – (thats a lie!)who used to go on the tram from Peckham, when we still played at Woolwich. Amazing, since I am still only 35, plus a good deal of VAT! And we lived in Palmers Green, next door to a Spurs supporting family of Dad and his two sons and in circa 1957, I used to talk to him over the garden fence and learn about the great(HIS WORDS) 1921 Spuds FA Cup Winning team. I can still remember the names of Jimmy Dimmock and Bert Bliss who played for Tottering Grotspurs. I have never found a cure as yet for such unpleasant memories. Though winning The Double at W.H.L in May 1971 eclipsed everthing else, at least until 26th MAY 1989 at Anfield . Ah bliss (and I don’t mean Bert either). Still the best EVER moment for Gooners who remember it. Hope I don’t bore you too much.
Jon ,the game that night against Leeds United that attracted a 4554 crowd did have an excuse. Not only was it ghastly night weather wise ,there was a live game on the television and as you know, the only live games on television in the mid sixties were Internationals and the cup final . It was rare event, the European Cup Winners Cup Final between Liverpool and Borrussia Dortmund, and I’m ashamed to admit it, stayed at home that night to watch it. But there was no excuse for the Saturday game that followed and I attended, I think it was Leicester City and attracted a crowd of just over 7500
Anyway Jon , great post
Anyway KENNY you have now ,and you can be proud of your club,fans from all over the world.Millions and millions who can fill a Maracana in almost every single country in the world.
Thank you pires
Do you know Kenny, I was going to mention that but thought I had waffled on long enough already. Most others also think that too. CAN’T THINK WHY! I actually walked along Avenell Rd holding a pathetic home made banner saying “Wright must stay”. I don’t normally broadcast that, since it was hardly my finest moment. Imagine walking now down Drayton Park holding a “Wenger must stay” banner. That is the modern equivalent! Takes all sorts!
Couldn’t imagine that Jon but as you know Billy Wright was an absolute gentleman and a scholar but not a football manager
I used to see Billy Wright and Joy Beverley in the Black Bull in Whetstone back in the 80’s an he was always a gentleman when people approached him.
You’re right Ivan and a great captain of England
If you can get a ticket Jon, ain’t like the old days no seriously I knew you’d be first up with article, but I also like to say I agree with all you’ve said.
CHEERS KENNY. I am really looking forward to coming again next season, AS LONG AS Wenger is sacked.
You know what Jon, if Arsene’ Wenger had gone in, lets say, 2007, the crowd would have roared every time he showed his face at the Emirates, there’d have been a statue outside the stadium, youngsters would have idolised him, but sadly and I mean sadly his completely destroyed his legacy with a shambolic last ten years. You know in a way I feel sorry for him but that’s the price you pay for being stubborn
If he’d went at that time fans would have ripped the Emirates up in protest, and during every difficult spell you would here everyone ask what idiot thought it was a good idea to let go our best ever manager and can someone please bring him back already. That is the truth right there.
Your 100% right Break-on-through
So very true, Kenny, and so tragic for him and his now lost forever legacy. Nicer fans than me, which means very many , still feel sorry for him. I can still understand that intellectually but not emotionally, not since about 2010 at least. I have truly wanted him out since 2007-8 season and the GALLAS SULK AT BIRMINGHAM IN THE 2-2 draw when we spectacularly blew a five point lead in early MARCH over United (in second place) and I KNEW then, for certain, this man was not tough or decisive enough to ever win the title again. Still a shame but we have to live in the present. Pity so many and Wenger prefer the distant past. Being realistic keeps one sane. I could not live with the self delusion so many still cling to.
Correct
My god I was 2 then, lol at last some one who talks sense. It was run by old school back then football men. With a passion for the game. Players who played because they loved it, hard men not wimps .
absolutely right Steve h and thank you for the compliment whether directed at myself or Jon
I hardly watch 50%of Arsenal matches in the last 2 years. I’m tired of Wenger and his utterances. We won’t be making top4 as long as Wenger stays, we are loosing our top class players like small club, we can’t buy top class players again despite the vast resources available, we can’t beat the big boys, we can’t attract top class players, the academy is not sound like before. But I really love this club and I can’t leave it and I am hoping that one day, one day, one day this club will rise again.
Hayden you watched 40% more games than I. Like you I think we are a feeder club and if you look at the majority of our top players who left in the last 8/9 years they have all won major trophies with their new clubs. That then shows me that the person we have as a manager is completely inadequate for the Arsenal position. We will be in the doldrums while that person is the manager.
You get it right.
Wenger must go,it is a MUST.
Just a few reviews ago Admin was talking about stopping all this anti Wenger talk now Darren N want’s it back again, make your mind up Just Arsenal. Anyway Roehahn right lets have more about Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
I saw that interview, and it was the same old rubbish that we’ve been hearing for years. If we are a “Fantastic football team” then why can’t we ever challenge for the EPL or make the Champion’s League knock-out stages?
In some ways this season is a bit like the one where Leicester won the league. Man Utd have been looking iffy lately, and Chelsea are certainly beatable. Tottenham look good but had a drop in form for a while, and Liverpool have a manager that can’t coach defence. If we had good team management then Arsenal could be finishing above those teams this season. However the league leaders are an awesome-looking Man City rather than Leicester, and I don’t expect anybody to catch them in the way that I expected Arsenal to catch Leicester in 2015-16.
It really annoys me that Liverpool are signing Virgil Van Dijk. Klopp is rubbish at defence, but he is addressing the problem. Wenger is rubbish in defence too, but it was ok when we had players like Adams/Keown/etc. doing the job. Why can’t Wenger see that some top-class defensive players would solve a lot of problems at Arsenal, and also give more freedom to the players further forward to relax and attack more effectively? (And I don’t mean “Promising” youngsters from the Greek league, but proper proven defensive beasts!)
Yossarian old chum, you really must stop posting common sense and spot on posts . You know how it annoys Wenger. And as nice, compliant sweet natured fans we don’t want to upset poor Arsene , do we! Actually , I have a very soft spot for the darling misunderstood man. IT IS A SWAMP.
Tottenham if they win today will go 4 points clear..
Liverpool got Van Dijk and in talks to get Goretzka and Lemar.
But don’t worry folks. Wenger will get Evans, Kim Kallstrom and maybe Rodwell or Sessaagnon or if we are lucky Barkley
Don’t worry, Wenger never lets us down innit
WENGER’s the best manager in the world, you know?
Lol
Wenger must be watching a different Arsenal to the rest of us we’ve dropped a lot of points because we aren’t good enough fact! We were terrible against West brom yes the ref gave a phantom penalty but come on we should be putting teams like West brom to the sword never mind holding onto a 1 goal lead courtesy of an own goal.. losing to an awful Stoke team who everyone is smashing up, losing to Watford when we should of been out of sight, dropping points at West Ham and Southampton.. playing players out of position.. hanging onto Per Mertesacker because it’s just cheaper rather than actually bringing in a quality centre half, this is all down to poor management and lack of ambition and who honestly thinks Mr Wenger will replace Alexis with Aubameyang ? In his deluded mind Alex Iwobi is his replacement or he’ll just say we have Cazorla to come back anything to save a buck.
This article is so tragic. If you look at your stats arsenal acquired 4 less points then Chelsea due to the 2 extra draws. The decision for the penalty for West brom was a joke and even Chelsea penalty which Hazard bought was clearly not a penalty. The penalty awarded to Burnley another poor decision.
The poor decision against man city. It is becoming all too common for the arsenal games. I have never seen other clubs treated so negatively even by the media and pundits as much as arsenal and Wenger have.
At Stoke the disallowed goal by Lacazette due to offside. Arsenal are a fantastic team and I agree with Wenger. We do have a serious problem with our defence and goalkeeper. Against Liverpool and man united and man city and even the opening game of the season we are not great when exposed to counter attacks. The decision making and poor passing by our defensive holding midfielders and defenders have cost us nothing less then 12 points this season. With the huge squads and cash spent by other rivals it is extremely difficult to compete. Arsenal are a club based on strong beliefs and values. Values like promoting youth , playing the game with passion and love for entertainment. Sort out the 2 central defenders and a world class keeper and a proven defensive holding midfielder and that side is capable of winning league title.
Bring in harry Maguire and Scott Dan or
Arsenal need to sell veterans like Walcott , giroud, coquelin, I agree,with some of Wenger comments.
Jon Fox..its funny how you have just become a 60 year old supporter following my post saying that I have been supporting them since 1952 but if that is the case then you should be ashamed of yourself.
It seems that you must have managed a premier league side / refereed a premier league match as you know all the answers.
You obviously slipped under the radar when managment positions came up.
Why do you use capitals in your posts, just make your points and let others decide if they are valid or not.
Perhaps you dont want reminding how in the late fifties you could walk around Highbury because the crowds were averaging 17,000 playing and losing to teams like Blackpool.
In the last four years we have won the FA cup three times, the community shield three times and finished 4th 3rd 2nd and 5th in the league. We have played in the champions league three out of the four seasons and have filled our wonderful stadium (all due to Arsene’s vision) to capacity with a reported waiting list of ten years. I hope that’s true because that means we will not be seeing people like you trying to cause division within our own supporters. I really dont believe you can support Arsenal because every single post I have read from you is a tirade of dribble against the club, the players and supporters who do not think like you. It is a FACT that you are in the minority because there have been numerous attempts to stage HUGE protest that never materialised..the sooner you realise that the better it will be for Arsenal Football Club.
With regards to Arsene blaming the schedule, refereeing decisions etc. he is in good company along with all the other top six club managers and some of those below that. I cant believe that someone writes a post like this and completely ignores injuries caused by playing to many games in a short timespan. You only had to look at Bellerin at the end of the Chelsea game to see just how exhausted the players are.
I look forward to going to The Emirates in order to mingle with real Arsenal supporters and NOT ARMCHAIR SUPPORTERS who supposedly gave up their season ticket after fifty years of support. Just to confirm my commitment I travel from the Highlands of Scotland (a round trip of over 1000 miles) to give my unconditional support to The Arsenal…if only some people on this site did the same.
I’ve been a fan since 91…. Only went to Highbury once.. all the other times I’ve been is at the Emirates obviously. I love AFC……❤
my friend numerous polls over the last season and a half have shown that the vast majority of fans think it is time for Wenger to go. It is a sad state of affairs if we have to be happy with community shields.
Last year we had one of our most talented and deepest squads yet went backward and failed to finish in the top 4. We have not competed for the PL in over 10 years and mostly miss the title by double-digit points.
Our best players want to leave and the manager takes the spark out of our most promising prospects (even Kolasinac has been damaged by Wenger’s “coaching”. Bellerin has gone steadily backward, and Laca has been demoralized).
IMO only a clown would think a club like Arsenal should not challenge for the PL title, something which has not happened in a long time under this manager. And only a fool would refuse to see that this manager is taken us backward.
There is no shame in this manager not having anything new to offer to our beloved club after far too many years. It is embarrassing he refuses to do the honorable thing and resign.
Very well and succinctly said.
Ken , Professional bloggers use CAPITALS for EMPHASIS and STRESS. I do not get paid for my writing and so am not a professional but, pray, why exactly should not anyone who wishes to write use that same skill. Unles you feel, as you appear to THAT WE ALL MUST OBEY YOUR RULES. I do not know what you mean by “I have just become a 60 year supporter” since , clearly I have been one for , let me think, oh yes, 60 years. For a long time now on here I have often told anyone who cares to read my regular posts, of precisely this fact. I admire your committment and dedication to our club and despite your rather “fascist” view that anyone who does not share your devotion to Wenger is not a real supporter, I WOULD ,RESPECTFULLY, REMIND YOU THAT A NUMBER OF FAN POLLS IN RECENT TIMES HAVE SHOWN A CLEAR MAJORITY OF 80%+ WHO WANT WENGER OUT. Lastly we are not being wise in comparing the low attendance crowds kn sixties, seventies and eighties to todays PREM. Football, at top level ,is vastly better attended now and a more real and relevant comparison would be between where we were a decade ago and where we languish now, thanks almost entirely to Wenger and him being a totally different animal these days. If you do not have high expectations, in life as rqual,ly in football , it is certain thatb you will not reach the very top. We have money, real money, but refuse to use it or else waste it on idlers like Walcott and keeping dross and deadwood around for years on high , unearned wages. This very much includes the “manager.” BTW, if you do not like my comments, which you won’t , why not come back and directly answer my relevant points in this post?
you must be new here ken. because Jon Fox has stated numerous times that he has supporting arsenal for over 60 years now. so stop acting as if someone insulted your mama so you came to its rescue. Jesus where do they come from. still living in ancient past. God, don’t you want to move forward? are you really stuck in the past that you can’t see our future becoming bleak the more this manager stays?. God help us all. AKB’s they know nothing other than wenger.
Ken had a point. Someone going back that far would have witnessed proper drudge many a time. They would also have a fondness with FA cup memories. Today’s fans want instant no1, but the older generation who have seen the really hard times would have a better appreciation. I can see why someone would benefit from lying about how far their support goes back. And for some reason it is the same story told every-time to back up his claim, and why does he feel it needs to be backed up.
Break -on -through, THE SHEER ARROGANCE OF SOMEONE WHO HAS NEVER MET ME, DOES NOT KNOW ME AT ALL, YET HAS THE NERVE AND STUPIDITY TO ACCUSE ME OF LYING ABOUT MY 60 YEAR LONG ATTENDANCE. You are a disgrace and I can prove, over and over again my longevity and don’t need arrogant idiots like you, sonny boy, to challenge my life long support. Ever heard of Johnny McLeod, Alan Skirton Joe Haverty, Len Wills, Laurie Brown , Denis Evans, Derek Tapscott, Danny and Denis Clapton, Johnny Barnwell , ETC ETC? Go on Mr Ignorance, Google them , I don’t need to, since I saw them all playing. Regularly! Now call me a liar, idiot!
Jack Kelsey, Jimmy Magill, Billy (Flint) McCullough, Gerry Ward, Bill Dodgin,Vic Groves, (had the service station in Blackstock Rd) MeL Charles, Jimmy Bloomfield etc etc. You tell ’em Jon
kristoman, Cheers and thanks , my fellow realist. Pity some are still stuck up Wngers arse though!
So Arsenal are a fantastic team. Yet his record against the top 5 is mediocre,not only this season but in the last ten years.
Arsenal have fanstastic passing even in the last third of enemy territory.No wonder they have
a hard time scoring. With a defence of 10 guys facing them, instead of shooting,the gunners elect to pass and that’s how Mourino broke away to score and win.
The FM shd watch how WH and TH scored long range goals. They were sudden and with the defenders in retreat .
Wenger was mainly complaining about the disparity in the schedule and not the amount of games played. Please listen carefully before you crucify the man. He simply said “I don’t care if we play everyday but let every team playing each other have at least the same length of days to recover or rest before the next game. Take the Westbrom game for example, they played on Tuesday and then Sunday whilst we played on Thursday away and then Sunday away to Westbrom. Can you see the disparity Wenger is complaining about not the number of games.
Funny , then, how you never see him mention when the schedule aids us, as it sometimes does. Or when we get a fortunate penalty as we have , often. Then Wenger is silent , as two faced people are!
Winners concentrate on what they can control themselves and constantly work on improving those things.
Losers complain and make excuses.
No wonder, we haven’t won anything significant for so many years and we also lose out to the big teams. The manager has grown a culture, that is weak and it filters to the players in pressure situations. So sad.
Jon Fox,
Just quoting old players and remembering you headed a ball with a bladder inside doesn’t make you a premier league manager, but you seem to know all the answers.
What I find most disturbing about your comments is that they are so negative, hateful and, frankly, bordering on hysteria.
I realise that opinions differ from one supporter to another and that is healthy. Discussions are a brilliant way to understand other peoples points of view. As a Arsene Wenger supporter, I do understand that he can rile other supporters up, but to use the tirade of abuse that you come up with against him, the board and the club is why I cannot see how you can claim to support the club.
I made the point that Steve Bould is supposed to be at the club to organise the defence. Everyone agrees that that is the problem with our team at the moment so why don’t we discuss him?
I have also asked who you would replace him with, bearing in mind your view that the board, manager, half the players and probably the tea ladies need changing.
It is so easy to raise problems, but what you need to do is have a solution, so I ask you again…who takes over from the owner, the board and the manager?
By the way, can you please name the polls that have shown 80% of supporters want Arsene out? I have never seen these advertised or promoted so please enlighten me.
Finally, I take your word that you have followed Arsenal for as long as you say you have, so what was you saying in the fifties and sixties when we were a club that was winning nothing at all. Do you remember finishing below Spurs every season? Why did you not fall out of love with them then? After all, we are a bigger club than them now financially, succesfully and with our support.
I look forward to your reply and please no capitals.
kristoman,
Again I read a bog that insults someone rather than debates the issues raised.
You say I know nothing apart from Arsene Wenger…but just recap on who I do remember shall we?
TOM WHITTAKER…JACK CRAYSTON..GEORGE SWINDON..BILLY WRIGHT..BERTIE MEE..TERRY NEILL..DON HOWE..GEORGE GRAHAM..BRUCE RIOCH..ARSENE WENGER:
So tell me kristoman, who stands out as the most successful manager in my time as a gooner?
Go on, bite the bullet and tell the truth…and just to pre-empt your comeback, we are still seen as a top club within the football hierarchy.
I have used capitals for the managers names as they represent ARsenal F.C. not someones personal views.
Await you comments with interest.
Thank you Goonernews for allowing pro Arsene Wenger comments to be published on your site.
The most successful depends on your measurement. A bit like for Liverpool fans Shnkly or Paisleyor for Utd Busby or Ferguson.
For me the most successful would be:
1) Herbert Chapman – he built Arsenal and the club would not have been the same without his input.
2) George Graham – More trophies per season than Wenger by a long way and Wenger would not have been as succesful without his defense.
3) Wenger – A very good first 6 years but he really has been out of his depth in the last 7.
Yes but with GG Arsenal was playing really boring football.
Only his last few years when he had lost the plot.
Ivan,
First of all, I never saw Herbert Chapman so he wasn’t on my list even though I am over 70 and your observations do hold water.
Secondly, Arsene’s defence was the one that went 49 games undefeated and not George Graham’s.
(As a footnote, as great a manager as he was, George left Arsenal in disgrace and his team was a tad boring..only my opinion).
Thirdly, “has been out of his depth in the last seven”…three FA cup wins, three community shield wins, league positions from 2011 = 4th 3rd 4th 4th 3rd 2nd 5th…qualifying for champions league six of the seven.
If that is being out of his depth, who would you realistically recommend takes over from him?
Ken,
As I said yesterday the FA Cup is a devalued second rate competition where teams do not play their first team. Also last year highlighted it is not much of an achievement. We beat 2 non league teams, 1 championship team, Southampton who made 10 changes, Man City where we benefitted from a dodgy decision and Chelsea who had been partying following their title win.
As for the league positions you mention we were never in competition at the business end of any of those seasons.
As for who takes over from him that is irrelevant until he leaves and we then see who is an option. What I will say though is that fear of the unknown is no reason to maintain the present position of slow deterioration in the league.
Ivan,
So what your saying is that the FA cup doesn’t represent a trophy now that Arsenal have won it three times in the last four seasons?
The other team to win it was manUtd and i wonder if you can remenber how they and their supporters celebrated the win. Perhaps that shows a different level of supporters from one club versus another, although I think there were over 35,000 gooners celebrating a fantastic win against a full strength Chelsea team who had just won the league.
By the way, was you at the party with the Chelsea players or is this another figment of your imagination? I would have thought that a club like Chelsea, with a chance to win the double, might have put off partying until after the final wouldn’t you?
But hey, if it means you can knock the teams achievements lets go with it, you know it makes sense.
The fact that we were drawn against the teams you mentioned proves that the FA cup is devalued? Let me mention a team beaten by one of the non league sides…Burnley from the premiership. That has always been the case with the FA cup, David and Goliath and that is why it is the best domestic cup in the world so I am told by the pundits.
Remember Hereford versus Newcastle? Perhaps not, because it doesn’t fit your argument.
Your response to our league positions is also a smokescreen.From your comments it seems that only the teams above us were vying for the title.When it comes to Arsenal, we were never in it. That was until we finished fifth and then the knives really came out for the team. “Couldn’t even finish 4th, what a load of rubbish”. But when we did finish 4th or above that wasn’t good enough. I despair of supporters like you I really do.
On the Manager comment, I noticed you didn’t refer back to Arsene’s back four, was that deliberate or just a error on your part?
Finally and in complete disregard of reality you say that fear of the unknown is better than the slow deterioration of the club.
Well whoopy doo, let’s get rid of the owner, the board, the manager and then decide what to do next. I never ever get a structured answer to my question of: who are you going to replace these people with?
Please come back and let me know your views on all my points as I love to debate with facts. By the way, since the formation of the premier league we have averaged a finishing figure of 3.6 under Arsene’s management (from our official handbook).
Slow deterioration?
No wonder the rest of the premier league laugh at our so called support.
Ken, you say you like debate but seem incapable of having one. You ignore facts and just come back with snide insulting comments. I have tried to be respectful to you and your views but you do not respond respectfully. So end of conversation. I am not going to waste my time with somebody with so little understanding of today’s football. I really despair where the club will end with people like you who are living in the part and so terrified of change.
Ivan,
Well that was an easy cop out wasn’t it.
Let’s just leave it on the backburner and see how our great club progresses under Arsene and after he leaves.
I must admit I am really sad that I didn’t get the answers to my Questions, but I would love to know why Chelsea decided to party just before they had the opportunity to complete a “double”.
However I respect your decision to call an end to this particular debate. After all we both support our club, but in different ways I guess.
Thanks and I hope you have the opportunity to follow The Arsenal as long as I have.