What is fundamentally wrong with Arsenal?
Hello Gooners! Another away game at one of the big boys, another humiliating defeat. We truly are becoming the laughing stock of the Premier League. To me, this game shows exactly what is wrong with our beloved club. We have the talent and the technical abilities to match any teams in the league. We often do it, at home or in the FA Cup. What we lack is passion, commitment, motivation, and quite frankly, heart.
Why is it that teams that have almost no financial resources can go play the big teams away and not get systematically trounced, while we usually concede after 10-15 minutes. Why is it that every year, the same story repeats itself? Defeat at Stoke, humiliation at Liverpool and Chelsea, humiliation against Bayern. I honestly don’t remember the last time we went to a big team and actually showed up. It feels like the players are accepting defeat before the game even starts.
I became an Arsenal fan because of the values of the club, the offensive style of play and because I believe in building teams, not buying them. It is becoming harder every year to keep cheering this team.
Losing is part of the game, and it is acceptable. Losing because you didn’t work, didn’t give your all, and because the other team wanted it more, is simply NOT acceptable.
Our players are talented enough. What they lack is mental strength. How can we change that?
Francois
The manager can no longer motivate the players
At this level of soccer players should be able to motivate themselves.
OT
Just read a comment a few posts back and the person pointed out how wenger competed with the like of chamakh, sendaros etc I need to address this bcoz iv seen it on another website aswell were the ppl on there are obviously AKB’s not arsenal fans! The reason Wenger competed with such a rubbish squad was bcoz our rivals were just as poor and had average managers! The prem teams get so much money now they can afford the best managers in the world and then buy the best players and if u think about what arsenal have done it’s obvious we have stagnated with the same manager, spending the same amount of money playing the same tactics which never won the league in the first place (not including wengers first decade or so) so the past does not represent the present when every other team has improved so much! I’m sick of ppl defending wenger with stupid comments about the past when Wenger has blatantly not updated anything at arsenal to compete in the present with Tactics, formation, type of players brought in, amount of money we spend and most importantly contract wages he done the club is done! To many years of neglect
@Finding Dory
You are partially right as well as partially wrong. To a certain degree all players/people in that fact should have some self motivation, but external motivation is also important. Your self motivation can only take you so far if the external motivation is crap, for an example: If you work for lets say a company who has high expectations, but constantly takes advantage of your high work rate with very little reward/none. Eventually that motivation that you started with will slowly, but surely start to erode and you care less for the job, thus not putting in the effort you once used to…
What? Little reward? Most of the squad at Arsenal are on monstrous wages… the kind that can motivate the hell out of ordinary people..so why do they need to be babied into playing well?
Money is only one from of reward. Others include personal development, trophies, ambitions, growth, feeling appreciated, amongst many. Money is a material form of reward
@ZA_Gunner
Thanks, you save me from having to explain this.
@iGooner
I agree with you. My main point is that the biggest problem with Arsenal isn’t that Wenger isn’t motivating his team. It’s that there is an issue among the players. Oliver said recently that things have to change and that certain players don’t want to be there and should be let go. That they are getting game time is pissing off those that want to stay like him. I believe he’s directly referring to Ox. He wants to go and is still being started. That is causing division among the players.
Let him go. Let Alexis go. And play the guys who want to play.
For the Loserpool game I belief that because Ox started over Saed and Welbeck over Lacazette, that many other players were pissed off and took the wind out of their sails.
I am beginning to believe that Wenger did this on purpose to create a common enemy so that others can unite. Which is why Ox is being sold so quickly after the game.
I believe Alexis is a different situation and they have a separate understanding with him.
I could be wrong but Olivers words recently really make me believe that.
Too speculative, but even if what you say is true then I need Wenger himself is too blame for causing dissent in the dressing room
i think Ox has been a disruptive influence for some time. tactless and arrogant, i suspected he was the likely “rascal” with an attitude that could lower team moral. personally iv never warmed to him, chambos character worsens the more he has cash thrown at him. so im glad he’s gone.
just put ox on the reserves and promote Nelson in his place. had enough, don’t sell to the scousers. fkkk him
Many of the players have endured Wenger incompetence for so long theyve lost their drive. No excuse when you’re in crazy wages, but they’re still human beings and they have lost their will to fight because they know Arsene Wenger is a clown. Little do the realise they look just as foolish running around like a bunch of headless chickens.
Giroud is really the only exception. He’s been part of almost all the humiliating defeats, and gets a lot of flack from fans (ive done my fair share even), but you can never say the guy doesnt try, even when he doesnt pull it off. Thats what it means to be a professional. Ive been saying forever that all these British players are just overrated and spoiled and they are surely the ones that infect the dressing room with this “we dont have to try” attitude
Another reason I would never want Sterling at Arsenal. He epitomizes throwing a tantrum when things dont go his way.
He’s probably the worst football player at the club
This entire post is fantastically, and unbelievably well put. I started rooting for the Gunners 10 years ago due to the type of football they played, and the fact that they tried to build a team vs. buying one. I’ve sneered at the likes of Chel-ski, Oil City, and United, due to them trying to buy All Star teams year in and year out when they don’t win. It’s sickening. Maybe we’re fast approaching a time where club football becomes almost unwatchable due to the money ruining it. I’m afraid Wenger is done , and there literally isn’t another football person anywhere near the club, so the board are afraid of firing him, because they wouldn’t know what to do if they did. Pretty sad. Hell I’d be embarrassed if I was a part of this team right now, and I thought I was a world class player. World class players don’t allow the team to have that kind of performance, without saying something to your teammates. The mismanagement at this point is almost comical. We had 1000 CBs when we started the season and haven’t wanted to play any of them?! Now we’re trying to sell all of them, and make one magically disappear, why? What the hell is going on?! If this sport was only about entertainment, then we’d have won the league 6 or 7 times over the last decade, as our on-field and off-field antics have given the media enough ammo to last the remainder of the millennium. The Lemar saga alone is enough to make you nauseous. You can’t make up stuff like this, team crushes us, and decides to buy our main transfer target all in the same week.
That MOFO Wenger is why the players aren’t motivated, considering football is a sport and a team game even players want to have a manager who would bash them for their mistake, and scare the hell out of them by the sheer amount of shouting that a manager could do. Wenger is trying to completely deplete the quality and quantity of the squad before he leaves in 2 years, so that whoever takes over would not be successful instantly and has to rebuild a squad.if the person taking over the manager duties is successfull right away, Wenger knows that entire world would know that the secret of failure for all these years was Wenger himself, as a new manager with the same squad is doing much better.
Few years ago when van Persie left, I felt really sad and wished he would fail at MANU. But after a year news came out that he left because he could not se ambition from arsenal, and he even wanted Wenger to sign good players for specific positions on the field, but nothing happend.
And 2 years ago when Fabregas was available for less than a what Chelsea I paid a for him,Wenger said we have Ozil. That ass**** doesn’t even know where Fabregas is good at i.e. CM not CAM.
And look how he is excelling at Chelsea. Just look at those over the top balls that he delivers for the strikers.
I was surprised that even fans were agreeing that Ozil > Fabregas. And later bashed him for joining Chelsea.
What should he do? He has to beg Wenger to buy him?
Despite knowing that he doesn’t have any football career at Barcelona?
He should just quit football just because us fans doesn’t want him to join a rival club?
How many of you london fans ,in Ur respective fields would reject an opportunity to earn twice the money you are earning but have to move out of London and lose the chance to watch any match at the Emirates?
As much as I am sick of that MOFO Wenger ,I am sick of us fans too,
Because we never learn. Wenger knows how to make all those ranting fans jump on his ship, he would but some stupid player for a position which we are not in dire need of( like ASENSIO) for 75m. And all of us are again hopefull of a premier league title.
I wanted Wenger to leave for the past 4 years, but now he is taking the club to a lever where I would want him dead than retire, as even if he retires he would take up a position in the board and would not let anyone do a better job than him.
I wish Theiry Henry takes the managerial position, not just because of the love he has towards the club, but the tactical analysis of the game he does at sky sports. Just watch the YouTube video where he explains the way xhaka should have played through balls in the Leicester game.
And this article is about players not having the passion and motivation right?
Look at Henry recent video with lacazette.
Read a part of their conversation below. This is how you inject passion and motivation you MOFO Wenger.
Henry: How do you think you will improve the current aresenal team?
Laca: I think I will work hard for the team and try to score lot of goals.
Henry: try to score ? Or score?
Laca: ok, yeah,I will score lots of goals.
Henry : that is the spirit, that is what I wanted to hear.
Take that you as*h*** Wenger.
Get Patrick Viera back to kick their a**es or show them the door. David Dean would be the icing on the cake!!
You want them to have passion !!!!! there is only one thing that needs to be done in order to achieve that :
************* #KroenkeOut **************
its unfair to use that argument against the likes of kolasinac, cech, lacazette, giroud, nelson, maitland, iwobi, monreal, mertesacker, nketiah, welbz, elneny, coquelin, kos, holding, martinez.
*these players form part of our team and im certain none of these can be accused of lacking passion or heart. its likely to be ones missing from this list that wear an arsenal shirt and failed to do so with pride.
I agree with Henry when he said our players are “too comfortable”.
First most of our players are quite average but they make above average salaries. Walcott does not deserve to make more than Giroud. If OX had stayed he would be on £180,000 per week. OX is a good player but does he deserve that salary? Our players make a very good salary and have job security
Many of the players don’t have serious competition. Ozil, Xhaka, Ramsey, Coquelin, Bellerin. They are too comfortable. They do not need to work hard and prove themselves
Wenger is also too loyal to the players and gives players chances and benches our best players. Why were Lacazette, Giroud, Mustafi and Kolsanic ALL benched against Liverpool. That was crazy.
We started Welbeck over Lacazette and Giroud
We started Monreal as CB over Mustafi and Kolsanic.
OX should not have played LWB over Kolsanic and Monreal. He plays better on the right but wants to leave anyway. Kolsanic is excellent LWB
Our players are too comfortable
That’s why there is no commitment. That’s why they are not playing their behinds off every match.
We need to get more top players to put pressure on them.
Ozil needs REAL competition like Mahrez, Lemar Isco etc. Xhaka, Ramsey and Coquelin need real competition like Seri, Goretzka etc.
This team are too comfortable and too average to not make the Top 4 let alone not winning the league.
@Arsenal_Girl
I also saw that interview and agreed with that statement by Henry… It doesn’t matter if the players play good or bad they will more than likely play the following week/s. They know this, and because of the lack of competition if they play bad, it doesn’t really affect them like if there was someone else equally as good/better waiting in the wings to take your spot (competition).
I used to think that too… (that they are too comfortable)
However… look at the Invincibles… name me the 2nd squad or those “competing”?
Who was Jen’s competitor? Stuart Taylor…. imagine if he was our #2 now?
Who was Toure/Campbell’s? Keown and CYGAN! we had no RB backup to Lauren and had to use Flamini/Toure on the right.
Who was competing vs Vieira? who was pushing Gilberto? you could argue Edu and Parlour were both back ups for Vieira but we had no real back up for Gilberto.
Only in attack there was competition but then again Freddy/Pires/Dennis/Henry would always spearhead if fit and I dont think anyone ever came close to getting in front of them in team selection.
It has to be something else and IMO is that I’ve noticed Wenger has made a LOT of decisions in the past few seasons that are nothing more than deflating and soul sucking to players who want to fight for a place… he sticks with players when they are out of form, benches players when they are playing well, makes substitutions that make no sense, plays players out of position, does not show any type of rapport with his team when things are not going well.
There are tons more but I think is as simple as Wenger losing the dressing room due to his decisions
Liverpool will implode .
Spurs are off the pace
Man U + City have ECL
and are under enormous pressure to win.
Chelsea have ECL and have a thin squad.
Arsenal missed ECL league by just 1 point
so are the best team in the Europa League.
Our Europa League games are easy peasy.
Caruba cup for the youth players.
Away losses to Stoke and Liverpool are expected.
A win over Bournemouth on Sat 9th and everything will be vunderbar.
18 more league games before New Year.
Only Chelsea and City away.
My pick 15 wins 1 draw 2 losses.
49 pts total at the turn.
Predicted final points tally 82.
Pedicted final placing 2nd.
Offloading dead wood like Chamberlain Gibbs Debuchy hopefully Wellbeck + Wilshere
Sanchez wants out. Make mega dollars and get younger better replacements.
Things looking great for Arsenal.
no one can be that delusional without having Wenger blood run through their veins…this team has already conceded 2 of 3 in August and you believe we can get 45 of a potentially 52 available points before Xmas…no wonder this club can’t seem to take it’s fan-base seriously, albeit I’m sure your assessment would give the Grinch who stole soccer a quarter chub…anyways, enough talk about the criminally insane with internet access…we have much bigger fish to fry…like what were the real objectives behind the choices made by our lame duck manager on the weekend
if the Ox was played to either showcase his skills or to increase any potential bids because of his perceived importance to our starting 11, this was an incredibly risky move that could have cost us dearly…imagine if he was injured or played poorly, like he did, and this negatively impacted our ability to get the best available deal…more importantly, why was Wenger willing to play someone who obviously wants out in such an important game under false pretenses…this kind of behaviour might be less offensive in April, when things are done and dusted, but to do this following a loss against a supposed main rival that pipped us for fourth by a point last year, could be considered at best inappropriate and at worst treasonous…we can’t afford to let this coach make business decisions on game day, which has gone on for far too long
why did we play Welbeck in the striker’s role…no one can question his heart but to have a player with such limited first-touch and finishing skills against such a game opponent with Lacazette on the bench is almost unforgivable…maybe it’s because Welbeck tows the party line or maybe it’s because Welbeck doesn’t know anything but 100% on the pitch, unfortunately neither of these qualities makes him a capable starting striker on a team with any real aspirations…I can only hope that he was being showcased for a move elsewhere, as there was some talk last week about some interest from Everton…if he moved on that would be the only silver lining of this coach’s decision, but once again it wouldn’t excuse this club for putting business decisions ahead of fielding the best possible team to secure 3 points at Anfield
why was Sanchez truly playing…no one believes he was too injured to play to start the season, and some like myself would go as far to suggest he wasn’t injured at all…so why play him…they can’t say it was to appease the fans because when was that ever a factor at this club except when “panic buys” were in the offing…I believe that this was to give Arsenal a little leverage when it comes to negotiating his transfer…just imagine their horrible bargaining position if Sanchez never saw the field before the deadline then heading back to South America and played for Chile…regardless of the facts, this was sadly again another example of a team putting business ahead of fielding a team with the greatest chance to secure 3 points…of course, some will say that Sanchez is, or was, our best player, so obviously he’s a no-brainer to start, but those who really watch the game know that his heart hasn’t been truly in it for quite some time…even at the end of last season you could see a definitive difference between the Sanchez who played for Chile and the one that played for Arsenal…that being said, 70% of Sanchez is still better than a 100% of the vast majority of our remaining roster…shame on you Arsene and shame on you too Sanchez for that telling smirk…I’ve supported your attempt to push this squad to the next level but don’t pretend for a second that you didn’t know you were being watched…don’t lower your standards or you’ll end up like this club, on the outside looking in
why was Sead not playing…if he’s not better than the little engine that couldn’t at left-back or Bellerin playing out of position, why did we get him in the first place…his size would have provided some much needed muscle against an undersized Liverpool front line while his speed would have made those in wide positions play more honestly…I still believe that Wenger was once again punishing the fans for not being satisfied with what had transpired so far in the current window…no matter what the reasons, the decision was indicative of the ineptitude of this manager against top ranked opponents
why did Wenger play this formation? come on people, this manager hadn’t used this formation for about 20 years and now we can’t seem to play a game without it…maybe this simply highlights his incredibly stubbornness when it comes to tactical issues…for years we couldn’t get him to make tactical changes, like trying a 3-back set, then for no apparent reason we can’t get him to stop…how insane is that…even if he made a formation change at the end of last season, albeit out of desperation, he didn’t bring players to this club over the years to play this specific formation and he certainly didn’t make a series of significant changes in the off-season with the sole purpose of remaining tactical static…the fact is we should have rolled out a 4-back formation against this sort of counter-attacking team with Sead on the left and Kos and Mustafi in the middle…this would have allowed Bellerin to play his natural position which could have helped curtail Liverpool’s aggressiveness from wide positions…likewise allowing Ozil to play a more central position with Sanchez and Lacazette leading the line…so if you think otherwise don’t hesitate respond to any or all the points I’ve provided
I know this next post is off topic but I had to say it.
Apparently Ox is rejecting a move to Chelsea because he wants to go to Liverpool. What’s disgusting about this is that this hack who has some decent talent is acting like he is world class or something!! Really Ox?!?’ You think you can call the shots and decide where to go?!?! Based in what exactly?!? He has a soccer IQ of about 8 and doesn’t do or hasn’t done anything to warrant this type of behavior.
Don’t let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya. Piece of crap player. Good riddance.
Jesus !!! LoserPool wont way 40 mil so Arsenal wont sell !!!!!! he is probably gonna stay and sit on the U-23 team bench for the rest of the season.
For god sake ! That’s what we needed ! a rebel deadwood !!!!!!!
Feck him let him rot and miss WC deserve him the hell with him and any others want to leave one thing about Wenger like him or not he didnt desert us when we needed him not like this dam team if you could call them that im so angry with everything going on and its getting worse by the hour … Where will it end?
Because Wenger doesn’t believe in leaders on the pitch. The only people he has been fooling for the last 10 years is himself and the #wengerin brigade. Every pundit, ex-player, ex-manager, journalist etc can’t be wrong when they call Arsenal a spineless team. Arsenals success was on the back of players with passion and aggression.
Nothing will change until Wenger either goes or someone bitch slaps some sense into him and he plays a more compact, midfield dominating 5-3-2 with two defensive midfielders.
KRONKE..OUT.THE PLAYERS ARE SICK OF PAYING FOR HIS 1 BILLION FARM THAT IS NOT EVEN IN THE U.K OR EVEN IN EU. 250 MILL. IS ENOUGH,,THE FARMHOUSE MUST BE MADE IN SOLID GOLD..WENGER BUYS CHEAP N THEN SELLS AT A ‘KRONKE’ PROFIT..MANAGERS/ PLAYERS ARE A WAKE UP TO WENGER…PAYING OFF THE FARM…IT IS BULLSH..
HOLING,XAHA,RANSAY BARCA IN THEIR MADNESS WANTED HIM FOR 50 MILL,MONREAL MERT…….TOO SLOW FOR E.P.L
There are two defensive midfielders available right now, William Carvalho and Steven N’Zonzi.
I said at the start of the transfer window we needed 7-8 players.
Wenger. Go out there and buy,
Virgil Van Dyke
Thomas Lemar
William Carvalho
Steven N’Zonzi
These players are available, Lemar is your number one target, make it happen. Stop f#%king around.
Sell Sanchez, Özil, Ox, Mustafi, Perez. They aren’t happy and they will not perform.
Cech
Bellerin – Holding – Van Dyke – Koscielny – Kolašinac
N’Zonzi – Carvalho
Ramsey
Lacazette – Lemar
Wenger is clueless as a tactician, square pegs in round holes, doesn’t know a keeper when he see’s one, Czec is well past he’s best, the Ox at right back because he’s too scared to leave him out; Bellerin at left back when he has no left foot, leaves two German international central defenders on the bench and plays decent left back at centre half when he’d already made a mistake the previous week, no holding midfield players, I don’t think he knows what one is and then to leave a £50,million striker on the bench and use the excuse that Anfield was to intense for him was just incredible. We need to get him and the board out before we can rise again. Like Jon Fox I’ve also been a regular for 60 years and still a season ticket holder.
Why are we so deluded? Mancs / Liverpool/ Chels. all have owners who are in it for the success of the club, owners are rich and don’t care about money earned from the club. They are clever also in knowing that wining competitions will automatically bring in more money and revenue.
Our owner is a loser and hungry for every dollar. Not a fan.
Kronke out Usmanov in NOW!
Because Wenger lost passion and heart and the players feed of that!!
No matter we like Wenger we dont like him the team we all love is falling apart and theres dicks on the team couldnt care less at least some came out with regret from Lpool loss the rest hidding behind the scapgoat Wenger ….
l still cant belive how bad we are i really thought we would be good this year no CL to tire out the best and a free run at the league …What a fool i was id like to say sorry to all Arsenal fans who i may have disagreed with your posts before i admit im wrong tho id love Wenger to prove the world wrong and win the league its not happing no matter how much i want it
No point us fighting with each other when we all want the same even if differnet ways but you guys know deep doen we need a new Manager and some one who will kick the lasy ass bitches we have playing for 1000s pounds each week up the dam arse and make them earn what they get paid …
lf someone in my job didnt do there bit i tell u wouldnt be working long .
Sorry all rant over i just cant take no more…
It aint laziness that results in a performance like that-its the wrong players not believing in the system they are playing unsure of themselves and fellow players. There is not enough physicality in the squad. The team is unbalanced. The midfield is not properly set up and defence is not being coached – and hasn’t been for years.
There is not a little wrong- there is a lot – and all of it is on the pitch.
There is a need for a completely new set of ideas in organisation, coaching and style of play for Arsenal to compete at the top level again. Incremental change won’t work- because some of Wenger’s ideas have been proved to be wrong-i.e.-obsession with possession, inability to balance defence with attack, buys only technical players in the most physical league in the world, continually playing players out of position- etc.
Francois, I can’t agree more. You said all I wanted to say.
“Losing is part of the game, and it is acceptable. Losing because you didn’t work, didn’t give your all, and because the other team wanted it more, is simply NOT acceptable.”
I don’t know what our squad is like after the transfer window is closed, but all I want to see is players giving their all; not their apologies. Simple as that.
I am really sorry to say this, but I know that won’t happen unless Wenger goes. How I wish he had left at the end of last season. Then, you could say it was an honorable good bye.
Now, things are even worse and more messed up. Not only our players don’t want to stay, but players we want don’t want to join us. The value of our club has hit the bottom and that’s Wenger’s fault. Everyone sees us as a sinking ship. It would be impossible for him to leave the club with grace. What a shame.
@finding dory and @ Francis
Agree with your views completely. Here is my small bit. All clubs have redwood and problems of motivation. Liverpool suffered for the last 15 years before this. We have consistently been amongst the top, hence motivating players continuously has been one of Wenger biggest achievements. Even conte is struggling to motivate his players this year. We don’t know much about the inner dynamics of the dressing room. I believe there are some players who are causing a rift and there are some who are demotivated due to the attitude of people like Sanchez, ozil and ox. Wenger is dealing with a lot of problems that cannot be expressed in public is my belief. He has a track record and experience handling tough guys. The biggest challenge for a manger is managing people not other issues.
guys the main problem here are the fans going to the games and making money for the board
let’s take Milan for instance if berlusconi was always having a fully packed stadium he won’t have sold the club so as long as there are people going to the stadium the board won’t take the fans serious give them an empty stadium then they would start to consider their options
Get Lemar, get Steven NZonzi and Van Dijk sell all the deadwood and we will win the league
If I was the owner, Arsene would be out after Liverpool. Not that I would have offered him a two year renewal in the first place…But that performance was beyond shameful, forever a plight on the reputation of the great Arsenal football club, the bulk of players have lost all respect for the manager and the badge. This is easily the sickest I’ve felt about a performance since the 8-2 ManU drubbing in 2011, possibly even worse. Thanks for a 5-6 period that was truly magical AW, but seriously, it’s way past time for you to go. If you have any semblance of self-respect and respect for AFC resign as soon as gracefully possible (or even just out of the blue right now even if it is a shock), you are utterly destroying your reputation.