Even though us fans may be a bit down on our club at the moment, with no Premier League title to celebrate since the year of the invincibles and yesterday’s defeat away to Liverpool making a top four finish this season look decidedly iffy, we should remember that the job of managing Arsenal must be one of the most enticing in football.
Not only are the Gunners one of the wealthiest clubs in the world with a state of the art stadium in the throbbing metropolis that is London, but we have a board that has proved itself to be one of the most patient and forgiving in the game, while the rest of them seem ready top sack a manager at the drop of a hat.
All that is just as well really, because the search for a new manager, which seems ever more necessary after the loss to Liverpool and Wenger’s tactical ‘gamble’ of dropping our best player, may be complicated by the fact that the current La Liga champions Barcelona are also looking for a new head coach.
The fact that the two clubs play a similar type of football means it is even more likely that our managerial targets will be the same and that is exactly what a report in The Mirror today is saying and the man we both want is the current boss of Everton, Ronald Koeman.
The Dutchman has proven himself in the Premier League with two different clubs now and hopefully he wants to stay in England, but he did play for Barca and there is no doubt that the job at the Nou Camp is one of the biggest in the game, so can Arsenal beat the Catalans in the race to sign Koeman?
Bob.
Breaking news… ?
Apparently Sanchez was dropped because of an incident during midweek training.
The reports are suggesting that there was a bust up with another player, it seems to me that could be ? ?ZIL since he was supposedly sent home from training with flu ? anyways, Sanchez left halfway through training and was then confronted by all the Arsenal players in the changing room, who went looking for him.
All the Arsenal players backed Wenger for dropping the Chilean for the Pool game.
I am not saying this not to be true. But lots of people are dumb enough to immediately believe it as being true simply because it follows their train of thoughts. If this is true it shows two things and I don’t believe you want to hear it, it is just logic applied to your rumor: one, one of the reasons we failed exactly when we were playing our best football is Sanchez lack of discipline NOT PUNISHED BY WENGER when needed. You all were in awe seeing Sanchez gesturing FORWARD, FORWARD and players looking at him in dismay. What about the plan we had in the dressing room? What do you mean forward? Secondly, it shows that Sanchez wants to leave just because he wants to leave. He always was a mercenary and the hope to keep him here were always, well, just hopes. Ffs, this guy stayed only so much at Barcelona. Why would he stay here more than that? The last one is especially for the guys with the dob banner. Sanchez is literally pi$$ing in your general direction. I know all of us already let go on Sanchez and I wish we had an owner like Abramovich. This guy would have say to Sanchez : remember Lewandowski? You will do the same. You will be 29 when you will be on a free. Good luck.
Look I agree that no player is bigger than Arsenal, and neither is any manager. But on the subject of Sanchez, the guy just wants to play and win, that is it. Asking for a better deal because he is one of the top players in the EPL and deserves it is not being a mercenary. He left Barca because he was not a first team player there. He is leaving us because we simply do not match his ambition, and are not willing to pay him market value. If we had a couple of better players and were actually competing for winning things and paid him a 220-250K salary ( which is commensurate with top players in the EPL) I seriously don’t think he would be leaving.
The problems with Arsenal start with Wenger, he is still not saying that he is staying or leaving? How horrible is that for the players and the future of the club, everyone is in limbo – no one knows what will happen. It is not fair to anyone that he is dragging the whole club with him through his indecision. Look at Luis Enrique, he already stated he is not continuing next year, it is clear to the club, the players and the fans that there is a new manager coming. It clears the air, and helps make serious, considered decisions.
Wenger is not only and old fool, who has los the plot completely on footballing matters, he is a narcissistic old fool who thinks that he is above Arsenal.
Look, I will crack it up for you quick and bluntly so that we get rid of this very fast. Sanchez does not want a better deal. he just want to go somewhere else. Mainly because he does not like (in no particular order) Premier League, coasting players at the Arsenal, London, English food, Wenger, weather etc.
That’s why I said later Sanchez is not the only problem. BTW, when have you seen Sanchez playing for the team. Give me a great game he had against big teams. BTW, MUtd last year and Chelsea earlier were clearly against inferior teams. Good players but bad teams. I am not very happy when I see Sanchez not passing to better positioned players. However, blaming Sanchez for all this mess is just shooting the messenger.
And whose fault is that- I don’t see why any player who aspires to win big things would want to stay with us !!! It’s players like Ramsey, Gibbs etc who don’t have any market value stick around !!!
If Arsenal is not the team hungry for the trophies as everyone suggests here they why oh why did Sanchez chose to join? Surely our 10 years history was known by him and his agent, isn’t it?
The biggest issue here is that Wenger is sticking to one strategy (if any) and that doesn’t work in today’s football.
Sorry Budd but your theory is so thin. It could just have well been a bust up because Sanchez was fed up with the lack of effort and desire to win by this spineless bunch.
Why do you assume Sanchez is the problem when we all see on the pitch he is the only one who is not the problem. If all players put his effort in and have his desire to win we would be in a better space.
By the way, it was about effing time for some of the players to throw a strop. Too many of our players are coasting (*cough*, the British contingent). Had to laugh yesterday when Coquelin was booked for actually being the only one trying to put a shift in.
We are finished as a football force. Kroenke will feel this himself when the money will stop pouring in. I don’t give a damn about titles at this point, I want to see a plan. A plan to take us out of this … transition. God dammit, 13 years later and we are still in transition.
12.5 of which you blindly supported Arsene. Just saying….
I agree with you that we need a transition plan, but just like Ferguson was bigger than the club at Manu, Arsene is bigger than the club here in Arsenal.
The only difference is, Ferguson kept winning things until the end, knew when to quit and left on a high, whereas Arsene has destroyed his legacy and the club with it. He should have left after winning the FA in 2014 and kept his dignity.
Just to get this quickly out of your way. I am supporting Arsenal blindly even if it happens for us to play in the Conference. I don’t like other teams. Your hypocrisy knows no bounds cheering after the FA Cups the genius of Wenger. You (WOB) and the AKBs are the worst that happened to this club in the past ten years. WOBs like you labeled me AKB when I don’t agree with your train of thoughts in which only one man is at fault here. You think Wenger leaving will change our club? Just wait, because there’s not long. He will leave after (by the way, fault of his own) : a decrepit board of geriatrics in which the finance officer is called Chips (that was a nice touch I just discovered the other day). He will also leave a core of pampered, media hyped British players coasting through the season like Princess Holiday Adventure Ship. He will leave an owner thinking profit is a sport.
Yes, that is his fault but remember, he was not alone in this and more over, he is not the CEO or the owner. Yes, he’s past due his expiration date and yes he should have let go two years ago but I didn’t heard you lot wanting him leave after the second FA (and that includes Jimbeam here).
Again, I leave this for the second time here just for the new peeps joining this board: I know many people don’t read posts longer than 10 characters and I wanted to put this to the test. And yo and behold I was right. All I had to do was to put a photo of Wenger (which incredibly looks very much alike with Wenger although he’s only 63) as my avatar. The latest example of my genius is Jimbeam. I can bet right now he won’t be the last one.
I have no idea what you just said. I am definitely not against you. I am happy you finally came to the light. It is better late then never. I see all Arsenal fans in the same boat. We all want what is best for Arsenal. And if Arsene is not what is best for Arsenal i and many others will say so. The only difference between you and me is that I saw the light a long time ago. a long long time ago.
You have no idea how I felt or what i said when Arsenal wont the FA, so dont try to put words in my mouth. I have always always wanted Arsenal to succeed and since Arsene was/is the coach I wanted Arsenal to succeed with him, but that was my heart, my mind new a long time ago that this was just wishful thinking.
So stop being so angry for being wrong for so long and enjoy being right for a change.
I don’t know about you but for me being wrong is an enlightning experience. You learn only by being wrong, if you think otherwise then you either are too arrogant or you are simply a genius.
Being wrong makes me happy just as being right, have no quarrel with it.
What I am saying here, and I am going to repeat it is that Wenger out must be the first step of many. It will take us at least 3 years to come where we are here but the lesson learn from all this is that no one will be handed a blank check when joining Arsenal. And hell, maybe we will never recover, just like Liverpool, that’s also a possibility I am ready to accept.
guess Wenger is a genius 🙂
Yup, the ?? is a lot deeper than we realised at Arsenal fc.
And you would have thought that the one player who we deemed as the only one who was trying, would turn out to be main cause of unsettling the whole forking team? ?
Apparently Sanchez has been having heated arguments with everyone, including the tea lady and Wenger. ???
* Who … And Not ‘you’ ? ffs!
Koeman? No please. There are better managers.
Remember Wenger gets a whopping 7M.
Donate Wenger to PSG and pay for their manager.
Or pay for a better coach outrightly.
Ronald is a great manager we would be lucky to have him
I completely agree. Koeman may not be in the elite league as yet but he showed signs that he is a top guy- Builds his team around a strong defence and has the personality to take on big players; Koeman is the only realistic option I can see- Arsenal wil provide him the platform and the stability and give him the opportunity to thrive. I am sure his ultimate ambition is to coach Barca but hopefully he can give us ~ 3 good years
Koeman is one of the best around and he is PL proven. The problem is he will not leave Everton after one year for another PL team.
I think we are reaching a turning point since the Emirates was build and I just hope that the club, the board will make the correct decision this time. One that in hindsight should have been made maybe 2 years ago.
Here is the situation:
-Wenger is out of contract this season and was offered a 2Y extension
-Sanchez, Ozil, Ramsey, Gibbs, Ox, Wilshere all are coming due in the next 2Y. And others follow the year after.
Some of them will not stay specially if Wenger sign off on that with the board’s blessings. Some because of lack of minutes (Gibbs). Others because of not playing in position and willing to go to a team with as much ambition but that will trust there abilities in the position they should be in (Ox). Finally the rest because they want to win and the lack of ambition to achieve that is showing so much that they can’t stay (Sanchez). As for the others who knows!!
This is a prime chance for the board to admit they made a mistake by putting an end to Wenger’s reign at the club. All Wenger would have to do now is everything to make us finish in the top 4.
As for the new manager this would be a prime chance to decide who he likes, wants to keep or sell and cash in. Who fits in the things, philosophy he wants to put in place or not! Build a winning spine of players with the hunger and ambition to win! Players that will take responsibility, play like there life depended on it and hold others accountable…something Wenger never really achieved in the 2nd half of his reign and that is failing him right now!
Personally Allegri would be my prime choice followed by Sampaoli. Given the proper funding to build and retain the players they like might create something great and fun to watch…they seem also like the only ones able to retain Sanchez!
Otherwise it shows a lack of ambition and a club driven by money and not result! It shows also a board covering Wenger and the manager doing the same the other way around! It will take more than one protests for things to change.
If you realy on the board to make a good decision you are simply wrong. This board never made a decision in the last 15 years. What makes you think they can make a decision now. Not to mention a good decision.
I am not just hopeful that this time they will: better be late than sorry. But than the only way is for us to drive the situation forward as fans. Unfortunately I am not leaving in London to take part in such things. But the march before the Munich game is a start but I believe not enough!
More will have to be done because it seems that banners among other things simply is not getting there attention that things aren’t working.
Yes announcing now makes a lot of sense from multiple dimensions – unites the team , the fans and gives the incoming manager time to assess the players that he really wants to keep
The team looks lost and that is scary given that ManU is on our heels !
Wenger should just go
Someone has to go, that’s for sure.
Yes I agree. The gentleman in your profile photo for starters. Then his buddy Ramsey. And why he keeps Sanogo is a mystery
Makes sense if true as we were totally lost across the board yesterday. I’d love to see him sit out the rest of the season on the bench. Tevez, berahinho. Sanchez to train with the 2nd team. You’d think a player could be sacked for behavioural issues and breach of contract. Wenger can’t comment on his behaviour because it shows weakness for our opponents and of Wenger wants to sell him then poor conduct BEING Made PUBLIC IS NOT Good.
Ot have spurs got a name for our St tottering ham day?
They will Probably call St ass holes day ??
Also the photos don’t lie of sanchez laughing at our players when the goals were conceded and messing with Gabriel who clearly wasn’t impressed. We should try to focus on keeping ozil and archive sanchez away somewhere dark. # ego #diva
On the next manager I fancy getting allegri but if we’re seeking a manager from the pl koeman is a good shout. He’d certainly take no sh*t
Just watched mu v Bournemouth. Bournemouth scrapped like I wish just a few of our players would. Flamini esque
So all kinds of reports coming out about why Sanchez was dropped. Either way, it’s obvious our manager has lost the dressing room, and it’s even more obvious that none of the players care about winning anymore. Sooner Wenger announces he’s leaving the better. It’s hard to see him come back from this.
If it is true Sanchez had a bust up with Ozil than perhaps we have finally 1 leader in our squad. I could see Sanchez get frustrated by Ozil’s effort or other team mates effort in training. Happy at least someone is not taking this spineless stuff laying down. I can also see how players like Theo, Ramsey etc would not want Sanchez to upset their cushy apple cart. They know better than anyone that their easy days are over once a manager arrives who will judge them one what they display on the pitch.