Wenger: Arsenal have been dealt an unfair hand
The headline is a paraphrasing of what Wenger has said - but you already knew that, right?
What is Arsene Wenger on about?
“Playing a European qualifier in the first week is a big problem when there are other Premier League matches.“We will already be chasing to get the points back.
“After three games, you can be mid-table if you don’t win the first or second game. That gives you a big disadvantage and it is unfair.
“Why could we not start the league one week earlier?
“It is not ideal. So it is very important not to get off to a slow start.”
This is a bit like Mourinho’s moaning last season about Chelsea almost always being forced to play catch up to Manchester United on Premiership weekends, except that I didn’t expect this from Wenger.
Here’s the thing - as seasoned professionals, Arsenal players have nothing to worry about if they still have games to play and they find themselves, say, 6 points off the top of the table with 2 games in hand at the end of August. It’s a possible scenario and not something that makes it ‘difficult’ for Arsenal.
What DOES make it difficult is Arsenal not qualifying directly for the Champions League. Ummmm, yes.
“Why could we not start the league one week earlier?”
And give over-worked players less time to rest? Gilberto is already taking a break because of Copa America, Henry was wasted after the World Cup and what not, do we really need to go into why the players need a good break?
“After three games, you can be mid-table if you don’t win the first or second game. That gives you a big disadvantage and it is unfair.”
If Arsenal can’t beat Fulham at home tomorrow, they deserve to be mid-table after three games (not to mention that it would be ‘unfair’ on the millions of Arsenal fans patiently waiting Wenger to rebuild the squad and take it back to the very top).
I’m tempted to attribute this to Wenger’s cultural backgrounds and the associated paranoia, but that would be a bit cliched, eh?
To be fair to Wenger though, the rest of the statement is very positive:
“We are being written off but we know we have quality, a style of play.
“We have a strong belief, great desire for success, great togetherness and we are very hungry. The fact that everyone doubts us reinforces the hunger.
“Proving people wrong is part of being a champion. This team wants to show that. We are ready to blossom.”
Agree with him totally there, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that he’s whining before the season’s even started.
Is Wenger right? Is the world of football unfair on Arsenal?
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- Why Wenger made Gallas Arsenal captain
Why do you keep underlining seemingly random words, such as football?
Yeah, he’s whining already. Just ignore the whining and let that be that.
Because it is a link to other SL articles, that is why.
it is unfair other teams always get treated betta maybe we got 2 many forigners or summfin rvp top scorer arsenal 4 da title
Huh?? You lot saying there’s a movement within the FA/fixture list makers to hamstring Arsenal? Get over it goon fans, love the way you lot play and I don’t particularly dislike Wenger/Arsenal but see Wenger’s comments as nothing more than deflecting pressure from an exciting raw team you lot have, if tinkered with and matured correctly could come out to devastating effect- this fixture unfairness nonsense doesn’t wash, if Arsenal were better last season and woken up to the Henry dilemma after your Champs League (which would’ve settled the team, possibly improved your finishing position) final 2 seasons back you lot wouldn’t have to qualify for CL this season thus taking out the congestion in your fixture list. Wenger’s an intelligent man, don’t be fooled into thinking he honestly believes it’s unfair- either that or he is just letting off steam. About ‘unfairness’-I tell you what’s unfair, Sheff Utd’s relegation. Case closed.
i dont think you can say that wenger is saying that arsenal are being ‘picked on’. surely it is the same for l’pool? however it does make it harder mentally playing catch up as chelsea and man u will be setting the pace and arsenal will be continually playing catch up which could be a mental disadvantage
As with all the rich boys of sport today, Arsene,… like the rest of them,.. have forgotton where they came from. If he was still in little ” J ” league Japan, where no-one knew him in the rest of football,… Mourinho,.. still driving ” Pop ” Robson, the manager of Barcelona around, as his nobody gofor,.. and Alex Ferguson,.. the militant, talentless nobody at Rangers, they’d have more to cry about. Some may say, they have the traits of winners, but, infact, they are just bad losers. They want it all their own way, and when they don’t get it,… they cry like babies. Successful teams, must play more football, and they don’t like it. Their losing teams, play less,… and they don’t like it. An old proverb says,.. ” a fool and his money, are soon parted “,… I think, a fool with money,… is just a fool. Football is full of them. I love watching them fall over.
Arsene is a moaner, it rubbed off onto Henry, lets hope it does not rub off onto the remaining Arsenal team.
If qualifying is a problem, why not ensure that you don’t have to qualify…it’s not that it took him by surprise or anything.
Reading through SAF’s comments after the dissapointing draw of ManU vs Reading, I couldn’t help but think of Arsene. What would he have said about the game (were it Arsenal)…that Reading did not play football, but just defended???
AW = Bad loser.
[…] fixtures were postponed because of European commitments - causing Arsene Wenger to throw out his first whinge of the new season. And speaking of whingers, this season Jose Mourinho will have tough, tough competition from Fulham […]