Why are Arsenal fans turning on Wenger?
OK, before I start I need to make a couple of things clear. I’m not a Manchester United fan, nor do I support Arsenal or Chelsea or Liverpool. The fact is that I still curse my mum and dad on a daily basis for living in Watford. Why couldn’t they have moved to Manchester or Liverpool or London?
Anyway, the point I’m making is that I have no axe to grind. I don’t have strong feelings either way about any of the top four clubs. I admire their football and hate their arrogance. In fact, I do everything that most football fans do.
It is on this basis that I want to find out from Arsenal fans why a small but significant and increasing number of you seem to be turning against Arsene Wenger.
As a neutral I have very mixed feelings about the man. I have been known to refer to him as Arsene Whinger and like everybody else, I’ve been dismayed at his selective vision in the past. To be fair to him, I can’t remember the last time he said those famous words, “I didn’t see it.” In fact, last week he agreed with Diaby’s red card.
I have been listening to radio phone-in shows and reading sites such as this, as well as fan forums and it is clear that a number of Gooners seem to be fed up with their boss.
Arsenal sit third in the Premier League just six points behind the leaders and are level at the halfway stage in the Champions League quarter final. As a Watford fan, or a fan of almost any team in the world, we can only dream of being in that sort of position. Surely it must be like Christmas everyday. Despite that, I get the feeling that should Arsenal fail to get maximum points from their Premier League game with Liverpool, and then fail to progress to the semi-finals of the Champions League, there will be plenty of Gooners calling for Wenger’s head.
Since arriving at Arsenal over ten years ago, he has achieved a remarkable win percentage of 58%. He has led the club to three Premier League titles and four FA Cup wins. On five occasions he has finished as runner-up in the Premier League and he has taken Arsenal to the final of both the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. In his time he has managed to completely evolve the team on at least two occasions and now has a young, talented side who play stunning football at times.
Against this record and background I can’t believe that any Gooners would even entertain the notion that Wenger should go. Sadly, it seems many of them do.
There is a little disquiet that Wenger has insisted on trying to achieve success with his assembled group of youngsters rather than buying big in the transfer market like the other three top clubs. There seems to be some concern that there is so much emphasis on the beautiful game and not enough about scoring the goals needed to win matches.
As an outsider, all of this confuses me. The development of a team of talented youngsters is what everyone dreams about. (OK, it would be nice if they were English). Sir Alex Ferguson produced a team of youngsters that achieved, and continue to achieve, great success. Why can’t the current Arsenal crop do the same?
The quality of the football they play is surely a joy to watch. When you spend your life watching a team hoof the ball forward hoping that someone might give away a free kick or a throw in so you can launch the ball into the box, you really do wonder what people who get to see the quality that Arsenal produce are moaning about.
I don’t know whether the band of Wenger dissenters is large or is just a very vocal minority, but they are certainly making themselves heard. It seems to me that should Arsenal end the season without a trophy, Wenger could well be on dangerous ground. That would be three trophy-less years, but they won the League and Cup double the year before that and have appeared in a League Cup final and a Champions League final since then.
If Arsenal were to let Wenger go it would obviously have to be a big name that replaced him. The whole ethos of the club would change and there would be no guarantee of any extra success. Wenger has achieved so much and is so close to success again that I find it astonishing that these type of discussions are taking place at all.
So come on Gooners, what is going on? Is Wenger a genius who should be supported and retained at all costs or is he a dud, past his best and no longer the right man for the club.
If he moves on, I would be prepared to take back some of the criticisms I have made of him over the years and allow him to take him over at Watford.
Graham Fisher writes at Views of a fan. Article originally written for Soccer News.
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Discussion - 38 Responses
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the reason why you’ve not heard the i did not see it comment is because its “NON,I DID NOT ZEE IT”
but i agree with you most of the fans following the major teams are fickle to say the least..called glory hunters in most of the forums
Arsene Wenger transformed Arsenal without the 100s of millions the other top sides have paid out and I for one would prefer him to stay for as long as he wants to grace us with his presence.
I think Wengers transfer policy is holding the club back. Every year its the same thing. To break into the upper echelons of football you have to buy players that can change a game at any moment. For instance Adebayor is not world class. His touch is poor and he does’nt score half chances or create his own chances like real world class players do such as Henry, Torres, Eto etc. I really think that wengers youth policy is the reason we lost TH14. Do you remember last year when Jose Mour… said that he was under more pressure than AW. This is so true. Do you think Ferguson would’nt be under untenable pressure if he was in Wengers shoes. 4 yrs without a trophy, No european glory. The team are not clinicle in front of goal. IM NOT HAPPY.
Holding the club back, are you mad afc fan? Don’t you remember what it was like before Wenger? Would you rather us spend millions on players that might or might not make it and risk the club? I also think you forget Henry was not a world class player when Arsene bought him!
Finally, an arsenal fan who does not bow down in unequivical gratitude at the very mention of Wenger. I applaud your courage as most people who go against the grain get battered and called fickle by a thousand moron arsenal fans who think they are in some spectacularly retarded way superior because they have untarnished faith in the manager. Mourinho won as many trophies as wenger in three seasons and please don’t give me the whole ‘money’ argument. If Wenger wants to tie his feet together before a race then he can do so, just not at arsenal because I’m bored to be perfectly honest. Beautiful football? I can see it right now. It’s so good I just want to cry. P.S. If i was a glory supporter then I would be supporting a team who achieves glory.
First of all, ‘afc fan’ i’m sure you’re aware how much man utd had won in the 3 seasons prior to them clinching the title last season.
Also i think the last 3 seasons spending budget has been affected by the new stadium causing tight purse strings. Wenger has done an amazing job to not lose champions league football in this time.
Wenger has shown in the past that if there is a player he feels would benefit the first team he’s not scared to spend. I think he’l spend this summer, with 2 first teamers coming in, 23-25yrs old and around the £15m mark.
Wenger can stay at the club for life as far as I’m concerned. If he has enough of day to day management the boardroom shall be waiting.
What is the use if we buy a world class player and he suffers the same thing eduardo did. Its nt that wenger does nt want to spend. The r a couple of issues that need to be address with the way arsenal player are treated. Take wenger away from arsenal and see what happen all the english and spurs wishes will come true. They will be relegated.
its simple… Most of the Arsenal fans i know are fickle… they went about with their chests full of pride for being at the top for a long time, and now look as deflated as an inflatable toy with a number of holes in it.
instead, with a dismal season, liverpool fans still stick with their manager… i guess arsenal, their kids and their supporters need to learn something
Sorry, but Arsenal fans are NOT turning on Wenger. Internet “Arsenal fans” are, but you only have their word that they are Arsenal fans - they don’t seem to understand the club at all.
This article just seems like a “Straw Man” to allow the usual suspects to post some more nonsense.
Well done. 3/10.
Inetresting article. But i’m not anti-Wenger. I just wish he would show more tactical nous like Ferguson does.
I love the club the way it is now. But i am pretty upset that we gave our lead away this season so cheaply. TWICE. To do so well the whole season & falter so badly right at the end, it is not the stuff champions are made of. And if you’re not playing to be champions then what is the fucking point of it all?
I just wish our current team would show some more balls. That is all.
I just viewed the second game between Liverpool and Arsenal. The season looks over for this year. Arsenal fans need to understand the weaknesses which have occurred this year. Once again, the team imploded on schedule, why? My thoughts centre on the transfer policy of Wenger. Arsenal has many young players coming through the system. However, this development of the young players has contributed to weakening the Arsenal team over these past few years, which corresponds with the lack of silverware. In the latter stages of the season, consistency that would come with a deeper pool of international players has contributed to this implosion (ties and lost games) experienced by the team. My thoughts for improving the Arsenal team for next season, is to use about 30 to 40 million pounds to strengthen the Arsenal team (cash infusion). This does not ensure success in soccer, but hopefully quality and goal scoring abilities will make up for the beautiful game, that interferes with goal scoring. One of these options, preferably goal scoring, should be emphasized more. New players that do not necessarily fit into this beautiful game strategy for Wenger will need to be purchased. Otherwise, I can see these implosion phenomena of Arsenal continuing. My choices for transferring players into the club are two wingers and a striker of international or emerging international credentials. As a final thought, my impression is that when a business needs to be re-engineered, you bring in an outside consulate to perform an assessment of the business and await their recommendations for possible improvements. Arsenal has reached that stage and requires a refresh vision to take them to the next level to maintain competitive pace with a re-invigorated Manchester United. Wenger can still be our man, but change is required on his part as manager/coach responsible for the Arsenal team.
In Arsene we trust. When you take into fact the amount of money he has spent to get Arsenal where they are and with the age of the players its a tremendous achievement.
vishnujurab - way to kick off a conversation mate, you just called arsenal fans glory-hunters on an article that discusses the pros and cons of Wenger’s reign.
people may call today the end of Arsenal’s title charge but technically, it is alive till tomorrow when United play a relatively tough away game at the Riverside. If United were to get 1 point, Chelsea would have gained the most this weekend but Arsenal would still be in it.
Having said that, the confident way Liverpool went about their job suggests that Rafa has found a way to neutralise Wenger’s game plan. Anfield points to a Liverpool win / amazing comeback by Arsenal.
A Liverpool Fenerbahce semi-final? At least the stadiums will be rocking…
Without Wenger Arsenal will crumble. No doubt. Fabregas will leave for sure as he himself stated somewhere along the lines last summer after Henry’s departure. Plus we don’t want any Roman Abramovich or Jose Mourinho or Sheva for that matter. Wenger runs the club fine. Thank you very much.
AFC: Fuck you mate.
Vishnujurab: who do you support? Derby County? In that case I sincerely offer you my condolences.
My point which I missed in the previous post was - Wenger, love him, hate him, if you Arsenal Gooners want Arsenal to succeed he has to stay.
well im not lowering my standards but ive herd about carlos vela fran merida bastian schweinsteiger ben arfa carlos vela belongs to us merida is cheap with bastian and ben arfa id be happy with or 1 or the other we’re not that far so close so close we dont have rosicky and sagna also remember u have to plan for players like cristiano drogba and stevie g why did stevie g roast toure BECAUSE WE HAVE NO LEFT BACK im with the professor not over spending torres is not over spending give 60 mill for ronaldinho is over spending giving 10 mill euros 2 lulinha(corinthians brasil 18yrs old) yoann gourcuff 20 yrs old A.C. Milan is not be faithful love ur club i bought me a 3rd arsenal international fabregas 4 shirt ur club is ur heart we’re not rich like chelsea or man united liverpool remember that and im an american who has cousin whose been supporting chelsea since they were a uefa cup team i coulda joined chelsea but i didnt be loyal gooner 4 life!!!
i remember b4 the season started all arsenal fans had to put up with was the media and fans both from arsenal and other clbs saying that we would not even finish 4th without henry. we would fall at the first stage in champions league and struggle. now 5 months later we have to listen to nonsence about wenger’s time is up? wenger has guaranteed us champions league football again, he has shown we can do well in europe and next season there is no reason why with a fit V.persie eduardo, rosicky etc and with theo maturing and some new players we can still challange at the top level.
Wenger has done an excellent job at Arsenal. You guys slagging him off sound like primary school kids crying their eyes out because they’ve can’t win every game of marbles they play (or whatever it is primary school kids play these days). Grow up, Gooners.
The only thing Wenger needs to do is to get some English heart back in his Arsenal sides: like a Gerrard and Carragher, or Rooney and Ferdinand, or Terry and Lampard; or even like an Adams, Seaman, Cole, Winterburn, Campbell, Bould,Parlour, Keown etc., etc., etc. Familiar names, eh?
Spend the cash Wenger, so what if you have to pay over the odds for English talent? United have done it with Carrick and Hargreaves and others, and Chelsea have done it with numerous players. Odds are that neither United nor Chelsea would have won the EPL in the last 3 seasons without their English talent very expensively acquired.
English heart and foreign finesse that’s the blend for success in the EPL. Don’t take my word for it, Gooners: just look at the make-up of the Arsenal “Invincibles” of 2003/4.
It may be true that a section of Arsenal fans - whether they be internet ones or otherwise - are becoming increasingly critical of Wenger, with some even calling for his head.
But, in my humble opinion, this section of fans simply don’t understand nor appreciate the cyclical nature of football, and seem to believe that simply by throwing money at the team, Arsenal would be guaranteed to win silverware every season.
Breaking news…football doesn’t work like that…end of newsflash.
Whether Arsenal win any silverware this season or not, Arsene’s job is not under threat in any way, shape, or form, because the Board, thank goodness, aren’t as fickle as some of the fans that claim to support the club.
More importantly, they know, better than anyone, just how much of a miracle worker Arsene Wenger has been since he arrived at the club.
The Board would happily let Arsene continue to manage the football side of things at Arsenal for many years to come, and I for one would be delighted with that.
arsenal has nothing to learn from liverpool vishal except how to win the cl apart from that nothing more. if rafa can go three or four seasons without a trophy he will be sacked and i bet liverpool fans will call 4 his head.
is it not amazing that 4 a manager who won the cl and fa cup in only his first season in the premiership, people were calling for his sack, where were u when sometime at the beginning of the season liverpool fans were calling for the sacking of benitez when they were not doing well in the league and were almost on the verge of been eliminated from the cl? plastic arsenal fans will nagg about the plight of their team as with any other club, chelsea and man united inclusive. that does not mean that it is a true reflection of the entire arsenal fan base. if that is the case how will one explain the sacking of mourinho by chelsea after winning all those silver wares within three years. in as much as wenger has fucked up with his transfer policy, because it is seemingly going to be another trophyless season, i think he is still the best thing that have happened to afc and should be allowed to stay. after all liverpool has not knocked arsenal out of the cl yet, anything can still happen,this is football not mathematics. so until then chill, both the cl and epl have not been decided yet,so until it is all over, it aint over yet.
Us Gooners, glory hunters? Arr don’t think so mate.
I don’t think we’re turning on Wenger at all, but in fairness that winger would have made the difference this season probably.. Mr. Franck ’scarface’ Ribery anyone?
cmon gunners…shut these rantings with a champions league trophy…………
I think the anti-Wenger movement is fueled by fear. I feel it sometimes, myself. You see Chelsea, Man Utd and Liverpool spending like crazy and buying famous players, and start questioning your own transfer policy of only buying young, technically proficient players. You see a sparkling new stadium with the most expensive tickets in England, and you wonder where the money goes. You see a team that plays beautiful football at times, but has obvious flaws (injury prone, no depth, not physical, not clinical) that haven’t been addressed in three years of “rebuilding”. And yes, you start to wonder if Wenger has lost the plot, or whether he’s too secure for his own good.
That said, in rational moments, you can see the reason for Wenger’s policy. Our style of play emphasizes movement and passing. It requires a group of mobile, technically developed players who are very comfortable on the ball and with each other. There’s no room for a large squad, as the first 11 have to play all the time to used to each other. There’s no room for a sudden influx of big-name players, as they’ll disrupt the organic playing style of this current side. However much I’m disgusted by that perennial Arsenal excuse - who would’ve thought Rosicky and van Persie would get injured? - and however much I wish Wenger would buy sufficient cover for the side, I know why he does it, and I know it’s for a good reason.
However, I’d like a tactical genuis to join the coaching staff. That’d help.
Life long Arsenal far, supporting the team for at least 30 years.
No doubt about it, Arsene is one of the greatest managers that Arsenal has had and is probably one of the best managers right now in the world. HOWEVER…
Firstly, I do wonder if Wenger has taken Arsenal as far as he can. Our transfer policy holds us back. While other teams strengthen each season, Arsene, with the odd exception, seems to make buys for the future. Even in cases where he does make a purchase for the first team we have never heard of the player. Now I’m not saying that a player is better just because we have heard of him, but just for once it would be nice to have Wenger pull off transfer of the decade.
Secondly we always seem to get hit by injuries and have no real cover the position as our squad is too small
Thirdly, team selection sometimes baffles me. I am all for blooding the young guns in the Carling cup BUT there was no way we were going to beat Spurs in the semi finals. Not a chance. Then we put out a joke of a team at Man united in the FA cup. I really think that we had an excellent chance of winning the treble this year. Had we put out a decent team at Spurs and won we would have been in the final, and has Man united were focused on the Champions league, had we have put out our 1st team and beat them we would have been one of only 2 premiership teams left in the FA cup. That would have left us with a good shot of winning at least 2 trophies. Which would be welcomed and give the team a taste for more. Instead we put out poor teams in both competitions (and get slaughtered both times) while we focus on the Champions league.
Yes I would like to win the Champions league as much as the next guy but as a manager you should look at what the most realistic trophies you can win.
So as a result of poor transfer policy that is obsessed with youth, a small squad that is prone to injury, and bewildering team selection, all I have to look forward to for the rest of the season is the slim chance we will beat Liverpool on Tuesday and then another trophyless season followed by a few painful months in the transfer season where we are linked with every great player around the world but make no signings.
That’s my gripe with Mr Wenger.
I am fed up with Arsene’s ITK… Sometimes he gambles too much on the premier league. Mr Arsene started the season with 26-27 players including the likes of Mark Randall, Diaby, Traore, Hoyte and Song who are all good players but lack experience to play football in the top flight, other players that didn’t help matters are Rosicky(Injury Prone), Van Persie(Injury Prone), Gilberto(Passed it), Diarra(gone), and Eduardo(Unlucky lad. We lost most of the matches this season when we started with Hoyte, Gilberto and Traore simply because they are not good enough, what stops Wenger from adding to the squad during the January transfer window, he sold Diarra to Pomper for 5.5 million pounds and he should at least tried to add to every position of the team with well establish players.. Lets flash back to Arsenal vs Wigan where we drew 0-0… Aresene brought Kolo Toure who was just coming back from injury to play as a right midfielder simply because he has no back up player, we should stiop fooling ourselves if Mr Wenger continues with this philosopy of hi we will never win anything next season. Man UTD won the league last season and yet SAF spent almost 60 million pounds or more to strengthen is club, same goes to Chelsea (Carling& FA), Liverpool(UCL finalist). Wenger sold Henry, Aladiere, Lundberg and Reyes and replace them with Eduardo and Bendtner. Wake up Mr Arsene if u want to win any silver ware then u must learn how to spend big because u nevere won the league with KIDS, u won all the trophies with well established players like Adams,Keown, Dixon, Viera, Petit, Overmars,Edu,Gilberto, Kanu, Bergkamp, Pires, Lungdberg, Campbell, Laurent, Wiltord, Ian Wright and Seaman to name but few, all this players are veterans with maximum experience, u cannot compare them with the likes of Diaby, Song, Hoyte, Djourou, Eboue,Randall, Bendtner, walcott or Traore, I am not condeming them but is a fact they are still far from it, as far as i am concerned Eboue will not improve more than that. Stop wasting our time and Money please…
We are tired of watching beautiful football with no trophy to show for it for 3 good years, beautiful football to me are the ones played by our Invincible team and the squad that won us the double not this squad…. They are only good at one thing (Passing) which is not good enough, few of our players will only make it to Man UTD, Chelsea, Liverpool,R. Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan or Bayern Munich first team… Am i saying rubbish? Yes! No! Yes!! No!! Okay lets make a little comparison..
Compare Eboue with C. Ronaldo, SWP, Babel or Kuyt, Robben or Robinho, Messi or Eto’o, Jimenez or Ribery… what is the answer? Yeah u got it, Eboue is nothing compare to them all to our striking department; Can u Compare Adebayor and Bendtner to Rooney and C.Ronaldo, Drogba and Anelka, Torres and Steve G. who as being us as AM or SS, Raul and Nistelrooy, Eto’o and Henry, Ibrahimovic and Cruz, or Toni and Klose, Huntelaar, Fabiano…LOL. Even their bench are better than us Podolski, Teves, Crespo, Bojan, Kalou, Shevchenko compare them to the likes of Walcott……….. Am i right? Yes I am…….. Plus Rosicky and Van Persie are not helping…
Wenger has some key weaknesses :
1) he cannot make subs to change a game
2) he cannot pick a weakened team to win a game - every single time he does it we get murdered.
3) selling Diarra was a huge mistake see 3b below.
3) he keeps paying the following for their services :
a) Kolo Toure
b) Mathieu please Flamin’ go
c) Gilberto (who did however have a reasonable 2nd half yesterday)
agree with previous comment that we have no-one in the middle of the pitch who can grab the game by the neck.
no team can win the title with two passengers.
Why are Arsenal fans turning on Wenger? Perhaps because he promised a product he’s been unable to deliver on. Perhaps because Arsenal charge a fortune and yet play a poor man’s eleven. Perhaps because Arsenal have only taken 8 points from the last 21. Whichever excuse you look at, Arsenal fans do have cause to be somewhat annoyed with their manager. He continually talks of the clubs style, but in the time since February, maybe even January, that style has become lumbering, slow and thoughtless. It perhaps emphasises just how bad the players are that he has selected to play his wonderful system.
If you want to pass and win, you need players who can pass quickly, but you also need players who can select the right pass, and that has not happened here; Arsenal have a mixture of back passers and back passers who are afraid of risks. Perhaps the best Arsenal team was that of Pires, Henry, Cole (yes, Cole), Vieira and Bergkamp, that of 2004. They notably played some fabulous football, but also played it at speed, which enabled their football to be *incisive*. Where has Arsenal’s incisiveness gone? Why is their manager extolling the virtues of having possession when it’s been proven useless to the final result? Why does he continue to place his faith in Eboue, who’s useless and dangerous? And why play all the squad players in important games? Why not play them against Derby, or Fulham, and give your big players their rest then so that you can play them for all three Liverpool games? Choosing to rest all the big players for the big games such as Manchester United and Liverpool is beyond most fans understanding - those are the games that matter most. Now, the reason for that is either Wenger’s choice - which makes fans annoyed with him - or a lack of squad depth, which is also Wenger’s choice - and makes the fans annoyed with him.
I also think it’s worth noting that the fans must get annoyed with Wenger to get any sort of problem noted. As the article states, Wenger is in a very safe position, with a board who seem to trust him completely. This means that, to get problems noticed, fans must be vocal and obvious. Wenger has a long history of ignoring problems - his continued play of Gilberto, his continued play of Eboue, long stints of players such as Pascal Cygan, the decline of Ljungberg etc. There are problems that Wenger often ignores and in most specific cases, avoids spending money to fix them. Now I have no doubt that his team are capable, but it is also in no doubt that they have fallen short again this season. This must come down to the manager and the squad that he has put together. Fans wouldn’t mind spending lots of money to watch matches, if they thought that the money was going towards something. But where are their results? We’ve moved to a glitzy new stadium and are still spending money as though we’re building it - that’s not the case, the board continues to state the money is available.
Why then does Wenger not spend it - teams that win titles need experience and class, and although he has been able to grow it in Cesc Fabregas, he has failed in the majority of other cases. Big teams spend money and win titles. Fact. Does Arsene want Arsenal to be a big team? History remembers the winners… Perhaps this could be the “best” Arsenal team never to win anything…
What are you supposed to think when your manager says something like .It is not all about winning trophies or we we will prioritise cl and Pl and therefore not focus on Fa cup.The debacle at ot put our season on the rocks and that was solely wengers fault.we havnt performed since.He is refusing to spend money even though they actually for once seems to be there.And while United will probably strengthen with someone like Berbatov this summer we will get some unknown 15 year old.Dont get me wrong wenger is and always has been a great manager but he most change his way if we are to progress beyond mediocrity.
Wenger is a very good manager with so much experience and I am sure he loves Arsenal and wishes to make the club the best in the world, but the man is so stubborn and it’s costing the club money, trophies and a larger fan base. I am convinced we would’ve won the league atleast this season, if AW had brought in timely re-enforcements in the january transfer window. We need an impact player, a striker who can convert the many chances created by this team. We are not winning now because the team is tired, due to many games and not enough depth to cover. To succesfully challenge for the league title in England, you must have quality in depth to cover for injuries, fatigue, and loss of form. We have a strong first 11, and a not so strong supporting cast, coupled with the high energy style of footbal we play, Arsenal with continue to be an also ran team. The thing that irks me a lot is that it will not take a lot of money to fix this team like some people are saying, two or three quality players will enable us scale the huddle, but AW will rather concentrate on his quest to recruit every pimple-faced teenager that shows a glimpse of football skills. I like AW, but I am starting to think that he’s believing his own hype a little bit too much.
Wenger is one of the most intelligent men in football. He understands, at the end of each season, what he needs to improve upon. If this season is a learning experience, the team have done fantastically well (3rd in prem and progress in CL). Give him a break.
Glory hunter? I don t think so - I started supporting Arsenal in 1968 and we promptly went out and lost to Swindon in the League Cup Final. I - and the others writing above - supported Arsenal home and away long before Mr Wenger had even heard of the club and it would be disloyal to our club to simply sit on our hands now and not voice legitimate concerns for the future. No manager however great should be guaranteed a job for life and it s crazy to suggest this. I don t think Wenger should go now - I d give him another two, maybe three, seasons to prove his point - but a club of our size, history and stature has got to win trophies in that time to be considered successful: the Premiership and the ECL. Playing great football will never be enough. This is a club and a fanbase that was prepared to forgive boring football for many years - 71 etc. - in return for results and trophies. The comments on the FA Cup and League Cup ring true: losing those games destroyed confidence and cost us momentum. Having said all that we ll get a 2-2 draw at Anfield and then we re on our way to Moscow!
“The Acadian” - we need strikers with international or emerging international credentials you say? Van Persie, Adebayor, Eduardo, Bendnter are all regular internationals, and Walcott is clearly an emerging international, having been in the World Cup squad at 17 years old.
come on gooners! We are acting like spoilt little rich kids. Wenger is the man for Arsenal he has deliveried in the past,and he will deliver more in the future.
Wenger is a genius and we trust in him. However, he is not infallible. if only he collected mistakes earlier as Mckenzie has said, and if only the board did not take him as a football god, i believe Arsenal would be a team to watch.
he is too conservative and has too much faith on unproven guys/tactics. yes he is a very good coach, but sometimes one must be realistic. some players i.e Fab, Gallas are tired but they cannot rest coz of the period we are in and the bench has mediocre players to play on their behalf coz they need a break. with the Euro coming, most of the players will still be tired come the next season. this means we need to buy players this summer. but i can bet onn you Mr know it all (wenger) will choose to watch as our bitter rivals strengthen there already stronger squads than ours. if only you could soften up Arsene!!!
always the bridesmaid never the bride!
how long do we have to go without another trophy?
Hopefully, a very long time!
I’m an asrenal fan and the trouble with us is we simply have no depth in the squad; thats what seperates us from chelsea and man u they have depth we dont simple as. To require depth we need to spend its as simple as that. Bendter has to go i’m sorry he just isnt arsenal material; we need some back up in the centre midfield cause if fabregas gets injured we basically f’ed. we need strikers RVP is always injured adebayor just needs more time to mature. WE NEED TO PLAY WALCOTT MORE ON THE RIGHT AND HAVE A ROTATION IN RIGHT BACK OF EBOYE AND SAGNA IF ONE GETS INJURED WE JUST ROTATE. all we need is about 3-4 players this transfer window and we’ll be fine!! in conclusion my view is this i am gettin pissed of wenger and am gettin critical of him but dont want him to go; however if the non-spending continues an and we end up trophiless (for say another 6 or more seasons) then arsenal may need to look elsewhere and i say may not for definete!