Arsène Wenger has always followed his own path, but he is leading Arsenal into mediocrity. A largely justified reputation as a visionary distracts people from noticing the most basic flaws in the team. With 25 Premier League games completed, the 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge means they have conceded 30 goals. That equals the worst defensive performance Wenger has presided over since his arrival in the autumn of 1996.
Statistics of that sort are far from bloodless, and Arsenal have been wounded. Never before in the history of the Premier League have they lost all four of their encounters with Chelsea and Manchester United. The Old Trafford defeat may have been undeserved, but there is no quibbling with the aggregate score. Arsenal must be dazed after the 10-2 thumping from Carlo Ancelotti and Sir Alex Ferguson's teams.
In a practical sense, nothing grave has befallen the club. Arsenal are very likely to qualify for next season's Champions League and their current interest in the competition is genuine. They are favourites to get the better of Porto in the last-16 tie that starts next week. The real harm is done to fans, who are starting to feel undernourished on a diet of idealism, and, less gravely, to neutrals who would prefer to see more than just a pair of contenders for the Premier League title.
Two seasons ago Arsenal topped the table at this juncture and appeared reasonably well-equipped. There was to be terrible misfortune in Eduardo da Silva's broken leg at Birmingham City in February 2008. He had notched a dozen goals in that campaign, but has understandably had less impact since his return. He, however, was not to be the only person whose loss would be felt. Jens Lehmann and Gilberto Silva left at the end of that campaign.
It may have been time for them to go, even if the Brazilian was still capable of commanding a place in his national team when England were beaten three months ago, but they have not been replaced satisfactorily. Manuel Almunia has none of the command that Lehmann exuded, and seems to spread unease in the defence. Where holding midfielders are concerned, Arsenal now have no experienced candidates. United and Chelsea have been permitted to notch goals on the break in successive weekends.
The club needs to find a starting point, but Wenger has been disdainful of lesser prizes that might actually be alluring to supporters. Arsenal virtually inflict FA Cup defeats on themselves, and a lightweight selection went out at Stoke City last month. This policy is intended to conserve energy for more important challenges, but getting knocked out does appear to be dispiriting. Since leaving the Britannia Stadium, Arsenal have not won in three games.
Those matches have been particularly tough, but the pattern is also familiar. In 2008, Wenger sent out a weakened line-up against United in the FA Cup and watched as they were crushed 4-0. Injuries were a factor but some of the absentees faced Milan four days later. If Wenger had been writing off the FA Cup it proved to be an error as he helped United to develop the momentum that ultimately took them past the then leaders, Arsenal, in the league.
It is traditional and often fair to point to Arsenal's lack of means, particularly while they concentrate on paying off the cost of the Emirates, but there are limitations, too, that are self-imposed and idiosyncratic. The deals that saw Kolo Touré and Emmanuel Adebayor move to Manchester City for a total of £41m was extraordinarily good business for Arsenal and that unanticipated sum was a windfall. The money, all the same, was not used to bring in the centre‑forward who was so badly needed.
There was plenty of time to act since they left Arsenal when over a month of the transfer window remained. Wenger then spoke of wishing to bring in a striker in January, but no business was done. Though the manager was on a demanding mission, it is for his ingenuity and knowledge that he is employed. Sympathy for the harm done by the loss of Robin van Persie to ankle trouble in November is tempered by the recognition that Wenger knew the Dutchman was injury prone.
Arsenal remain the most idiosyncratic of Europe's major clubs. Wenger, with his intelligence and commitment to streamlined football, has endowed them with a status they never enjoyed before but there are days, too, when it seems that success will only be accepted on his pure and personal terms.
Comments in chronological order (Total 335 comments)
9 February 2010 12:19AM
Day 2 in the big brother house.
Arsenal from crisis to mediocrity.
Entirely predictable!
9 February 2010 12:25AM
Arsend knows..... he has lost the plot: ;)
9 February 2010 12:34AM
Ny1703 -there are only 4 clubs they write about and the other 3 won which means its back to Wenger- tomorrow it will be Benitez or Wenger depending on the result
The themes run
Arsenal- best U-11 team in the world, to Wenger's lost it (spend some money)
Liverpool- benitez's battlers to the football is so bad its making my eyes bleed
Man Utd- fergie King of Kings to Glazers theatre of debt and doom
chelsea - John Terry (good) to John Terry (bad)
Villa/ Spurs/City? Everton - will they finish 4th?
The rest- relegation spotlight or which of their players will sign for a bigger club
Oh and David Conn writes about money in football
Think that covers it
9 February 2010 12:48AM
This is getting really, really boring. How many times has this article been written?
It's painful enough reading this, I can't even imagine having to write this same boring, repetitive article week after week.
I suppose if Arsenal lose to Liverpool next week, it'll be this same article again. If Liverpool lose, we'll get to hear about Liverpool's imminent decline.
If anyone is heading for mediocrity, it is the writer. Can't you do better than this?
9 February 2010 12:57AM
While I agree with the above that this piece was predictable, its timing is justified. As a neutral I keep wanting Arsenal to win something as I still believe over the last 5 years or so they are the best team to watch, when at their best (in my opinion better to watch than Barca). However, another transfer window passes and once again Wenger fails to address key issues. Yes, they have been finacially prudent, but as McCarra points out they received 40 odd million in the summer. I am not saying that Arsene should feel under pressure for his position, but the common line seems to be that no one else could do better if he went, but is this correct?
If a new manager took over this summer, and was told he has 30-40 million to spend (which if we believe everything that comes out of the club this is easily possible, and given last years sales, there could be more), then just adding a top class striker and CB to the team could make that difference. How about just splashing the lot on Villa (presuming he would want to come)? Or for once buying a defender for his defencive abilities.
I am a huge admirer of Wenger and the teams he has created, but now is the time to buy experienced players for NOW and not talented players for the future.
9 February 2010 1:02AM
There is a wilfulness in Wenger which is hugely frustrating as a Gooner. We spend every year discovering that, in a perfect world where noone gets injured and noone makes mistakes, we would clean up. But RVP, Cesc, Eduado, etc pick up a long term injury and the wheels fall off. We don't give ourselves a chance by deepening the squad or, Arshavin excepted, buying big. At Chelski on Sunday we could have played another hour and not scored.
I would have loved a trip to Wembley this year. To see Cesc lift the Carling Cup would have done for me, rather than another year of development. I think it would have kept Cesc interested too but, depressingly, I wouldn't blame him for moving on this summer.
Wenger has transformed the way that English teams play football by adding an x factor that we didn't have before. The problem for Arsenal is that other teams have learnt that and are winning cups while Arsene is too preoccupied with introducing the y factor.
I hope it happens but, yet again, it doesn't look like it's going to be this year.
Should he go? No. But he should wake up and smell the money.
9 February 2010 1:22AM
It certainly seems like they go out of their way to provoke reaction to their writing instead of leading the discussion in the manner expected of professional journalists. Or am I, like Arsene, seeking it all on my own terms?
Maybe I'm spoilt by having grown up reading Lacey, Keating & co. You just have to compare Sid Lowe on La Liga and Raphael Honigstein on the Bundesliga to see the clear distinction between lively factual commentary and a contrived superiority that shows the same disdain MPs have towards the very people they are meant to serve.
9 February 2010 1:26AM
Saveloy... A somewhat fair point, but you forgot the last piece of your Guardian-bashing: the inevitable comment from a regular reader/commentator claiming that Guardian writers only write about "X". If you truly feel this way, why not try the Mirror or Sun? You may find their "stories" about footballers more interesting.
9 February 2010 1:29AM
How can being 3rd in the league possibly be considered mediocrity? Do you even know what that word means?
9 February 2010 1:38AM
As a journalist by trade, I thank my lucky stars that I never had to write two blogs a week. You're on a hiding to nothing, frankly. But anyway...
These are fillers, people, and they are designed to provoke comment, and provide photo opportunities for the homepage.
And look what all you detractors just did! The more you post, the more advertising revenue this blog generates. If you don't like it, ignore it.
9 February 2010 1:42AM
It is correct until we apply actual human names instead of the consistently ambiguous "no one" "someone" etc. Who? Would you quit your job however unhappy you are, without having arranged a new one?
Gosh, if we reacted to every taunt after we lose we will soon be worse than Tottenham Hotspur. What did we win between the double seasons of 98 and 2002, a period during which we did not build a stadium nor face a crippling recession? Did the world of Arsene Wenger and Arsenal end? And who are these strikers and defenders waiting for us to sign? Alex McLeish at Birmingham was told he had £30-40M to spend and who did he buy?
I'm sorry if I sound like I'm having a go but it is glaringly obvious that we are allowing people not connected to Arsenal to wind us up into taking decisions we have little to justify. If Arsenal is broken and needs fixing then God help the rest of English football.
9 February 2010 1:48AM
I just don't understand these criticisms. It seems clear to me that the reason that Arsenal aren't challenging is because they have no strikers! They are desperately unlucky with van Persie's injury (where would Utd be if they had a similar injury?) Bendtner and Eduardo have both been injured for much of the season too.
It could be fair to criticise Wenger for selling Adebayor and not replacing him, but 3 top strikers should have been enough. Chelsea have Drogba, Anelka and Kalou. Utd have Rooney, Berbatov and, er... Really, Arsenal's 3 match them. When they are fit. Maybe he should have bought someone last month.
9 February 2010 1:50AM
Blah Blah Blah
9 February 2010 1:58AM
I have read The Guardian and The Observer all my life and there are good reasons for it. I am not against the paper making money whichever way it can and as I have posted elsewhere there are good blog writers within Sport, even football and other sections of the paper. Surely you are not insinuating that these Rocky, Rush Hour, Police Academy 1, 2, 3, serial writers have sold their souls and professionalism are you?
9 February 2010 1:59AM
c'mon you gunners.
9 February 2010 2:05AM
For most die-hard Gooners the frustration is not necessarily that we haven't won anything for 5 years - there's a tacit acceptance that resource-wise we're just not in the same league as the top 2, and that we've chosen a different and more noble path - but rather that the deficiencies, which Mr McCarra has I think accurately summed up, are so glaringly, jaw-droppingly, bloody obvious, and could be significantly improved for not a lot of money. We are three players away from being a very good side - a decent keeper, a midfield general, and a proper centre forward. The mystery is why if everyone from The Bank Of Friendship in Blackstock Rd to my front room in Sydney can see that then why can't Arsene?
9 February 2010 2:07AM
at the end of the day there's a line in the sand...and if u cross that line then u will face the consequences...now the truth hurts but the truth will ultimately set u free....and freedom's just another word for nothin left to lose...but the main thing i want to say is almunia is rubbish..and the entire arsenal team are devoid of backbone-its part of the culture there now...which makes me happy...at the end of the day...
9 February 2010 2:16AM
I think a few good english men might help Arsene win an FA Cup or a Carling Cup. They should know the history or the competitions. How about a Peter Storey and a Charlie George type up front? Have Londoners given up playing soccer to just watch it on the tele?
Hey and what happened to that little winger Theo who went to the last WC for his holidays and that promising welshman Arsene pinched of Cardiff a couple of seasons ago? Couldn't Arsene give them a game occassionally?
9 February 2010 2:28AM
Dear Muppets,
Your denial is even more entertaining of than your manager (the tall bloke who believes in faeries, unicorns, and Arsenal). Keep at it!
Yours,
fundament666
9 February 2010 2:45AM
People go on about the sustained success that Wenger has brought to Arsenal.
The team was only successful when he had the players he inherited, like Adams, Dixon, Keown, Winterburn, Bergkamp, Overmars etc... And the team continued to win trophies when he blended in Henry and Viera. The balance was perfect.
But since Arsenal have had an entire squad of only players that he has bought or brought on (i.e 2004 to 2009) the club has won absolutely nothing.
Not good enough.
9 February 2010 2:46AM
isn't this just a rehash of the articles roughly onemonth ago;
Rafa Benitez stubborness pushes Liverpool to mediocrity?
Everyone's running out of things to write about!!!
9 February 2010 2:50AM
Actually I''ve ben rereading the excellent All Played Out by Pete Davies about Italia 90. Recommended to all to see how the life of a football hack renders itself like something out of Groundhog Day.
9 February 2010 3:00AM
I agree with Kovno - Arsenal's strikers are as good as any & they would probably be top if they were healthy. But the problem is that they are ALWAYS injured. Walcott too.
I also agree with MacSydney -- Arsenal don't need great players to fill the gaps (okay, except in goalkeeping) -- they just need to find some solid footballers in certain positions. Even though I can't stand Man United, you must credit them (&Ferguson) for always finding and/or developing players that have obvious limitations, but are extremely valuable in particular roles. Fletcher is the best recent example. Park is another.
Arsenal don't have those types of players OR always seem to sell them once their limitations appear.
9 February 2010 3:06AM
Listen its MONEY that has turned the Premier League into a horse race.
Man Utd have been a virtual monopoly for ages.
Arsenal competed for a while through Wenger's great transefr policies but now ManU have caught up.
Chelsea have spent £100s of millions and have won the league twice and are now the only viable competitor.
Arsenal do not have the money to compete assuming they have no billionaire investor a la Chelsea and want to be profitable whilst paying for a stadium...
But no one wants to see this...blame Wenger blame anything else except the structure of the league which is staring you in the face.
Its the MONEY stupid (or lack of it)
9 February 2010 3:07AM
Listen its MONEY that has turned the Premier League into a horse race.
Man Utd have been a virtual monopoly for ages.
Arsenal competed for a while through Wenger's great transefr policies but now ManU have caught up.
Chelsea have spent £100s of millions and have won the league twice and are now the only viable competitor.
Arsenal do not have the money to compete assuming they have no billionaire investor a la Chelsea and want to be profitable whilst paying for a stadium...
But no one wants to see this...blame Wenger blame anything else except the structure of the league which is staring you in the face.
Its the MONEY stupid (or lack of it)
9 February 2010 3:14AM
Saint Arsene?
9 February 2010 3:18AM
"A largely justified reputation as a visionary distracts people from noticing the most basic flaws in the team." Err, no, everyone, but everyone has been talking about these same flaws for ages.
9 February 2010 3:23AM
Arsenal fans are as deluded as their manager. "We dominated the game against Chelsea" - Piffle - absolute piffle. Tippy tappy football without being able to generate real pressure is not domination - its just tippy tappy football. For the record, here is Arsenal's record v both Chelsea and Man Utd since their unbeaten season. This takes into account all fixtures and includes the FA Cup victory when the Arsenal players of beautiful football bored the world to death and won by default.
The stats make for interesting comparison and quite frankly show where the Gooners really are in the scheme of things.
Arsenal vs P W D L F A
Chelsea 15 2 4 9 12 25
Man Utd 18 3 4 11 16 29
Total 33 5 8 20 28 54
There is only one element of domination and that is the extent to which the other two clubs are dominating Arsenal.
9 February 2010 3:39AM
There are several really annoying things about being an Arsenal fan at the moment, besides losing obviously.
1. Wenger pays his young players far too much. Jay Emmanual Thomas is a very promising young player, but he has made only a handful of first team appearances. He was recently arrested over car and driving licence related issues. He drives a Mercedes McLaren! Even second hand that's got to cost a lot more than an 18 year old reserve team player should be able to afford.
2. Wenger keeps saying he has money to spend, but he never spends it.
3. We don't appear to practice defensive stuff, like marking and corners.
4. We lack a real leader like Roy Keane or Vieira who will drag the team along through force of personality - basically a leader who inspires and sometimes scares you into always giving 100% and never giving up. Just one or two players with a bit more steel would be marvellous.
5. Almunia. Poor fellow, I think he sounds like a lovely bloke, but he's shattered. Although top class keepers seem to be a little thin on the ground, there must be 3 or 4 at least better right now.
Ho hum.
9 February 2010 3:39AM
i am mostly frustrated by the fact that arsenal's defense hasn't improved over time. Same fragility occurs every season. arsenal defenders seems not to learn from their past mistakes but repeat them again and again, which is not supposed to be happening in a "young team" which we suppose will only get better, but not worse.
I really wonder why.
9 February 2010 4:09AM
@LoveFootball
BUT, if you believe Wenger and the Arsenal board, he has plenty of money to spend but choses not to. If Wenger had no money to spend then I don't think anyone could argue with their recent results (recent as in last few years). However, it is the fact that we are told that he constantly has a transfer kitty but choses not to use it, that makes some question his judgement.
9 February 2010 4:09AM
Wenger?s continual assertion that only he knows how ?proper? football is played is as insulting as it is tedious. Not only are his antagonistic missives doing a disservice to football fans and professionals alike, but they also cause more damage to our National sport than might at first be imagined.
His condescension towards clubs he considers ?unworthy? (be it stylistically or tactically) is disrespectful to players, coaches, directors and paying fans and does nothing to help sell the unique British game around the world. Especially in times of a recession.
Furthermore, his ambivalence towards tournaments other than those he considers important enough, has certainly contributed to the loss of stature enjoyed by the FA and League Cups and it?s difficult to believe those responsible for selling sponsorship rights and advertising slots can be particularly happy about that.
Wanting his team to pursue lofty ideals of perpetual élan is one thing, but this self-elected ?Professor-who-knows-what?s-best-for-us-all? shtick is wearing a tad thin - and is also in danger of undermining the wider sport. Surely Wenger has a responsibility to show more respect to the British game responsible for his professional success?
9 February 2010 4:12AM
Apologies for the schoolboy cut 'n' pasting error with the question marks. My bad.
9 February 2010 4:15AM
Arsene Wenger is definitely doubly mad .
Here's my Argument: It is totally unlikely that one of the greatest managers of his generation and certainly most astute evaluator of talent does not see what any 10-a-penny pundit/ fan/rival does; that is , Arsene knows exactly what's needed. So He clearly decided, out of dignity or pride or something more sinister to be the flak jacket for a club which is secretly hiding the truest nature of its financial strapping; emergency signings only. At one breaking point last season Wenger let out that he will not ' anymore allow the board to continue to claim they do HAVE funds available to spend at [his] will '. This strongly supports this conjecture that Wenger agreed to be the front man responsible for all this . But Wenger did not agree to change his tactics which was left to his own absolute discretion. This is the suicidal part, since the Arsenal game we see on the field nowadays is far from being always beautiful as many detractors claim (it is not and never is Beautiful AND impotent, But if beautiful only when potent, as it often was early in the season). Arsenal plays a system and formation they do NOT own and have absolutely no right to at the moment. like a clockwork orange it cannot be patched and playes as if. They can get away with it most of the time , but just barely at times even against the lesser ones, (for anyone who really follows them) but certainly against the big ones. (Even great Barca barely managed viz the only team in Europe that just might beat them on the day, which is the main reason, misguided or not, of replacement of Eto'o with Ibra). The failure of Arsene to adjust and send a defensive team in traditional formations on these occasions is a Hybris that makes his first madness pale in comparison. Since he does not just demoralize short tempered fans, who should get a life, or fans the fire of jealous rival tribes who perceive quite furiously that not many outside their own tribe cares deeply about their brand of football. No, What Arsene is doing now is destroying his own team. they are shockingly under performing as a team and as individuals. from the tough Arshavin the mercurial magician ever more frustrated, to Clichy who used to be the 2nd best left back of France, to Walcott who is now fit for the championship as been said, to 'little Mozart', and the list goes on with few exceptions. EVEN and most alarming the great Fab, who at times this season seemed like Xavi and Iniesta in one with and occasional Messi on top, AND just few weeks ago was by a mile the best player in the league, is dipping . by the time this is over, the entire project will be in tatters. if so, then the madness of king Wenger is indeed an incredible tragedy of person and club
9 February 2010 4:20AM
kevin,
you are on a roll. well done.
cue whinging gooners.
wouldn't it be more interesting and sophisticated instead to revel in your hubris of following a doomed dream with more self-reflexivity?
to offer a variation on what ac jimbo said the other days, show real corinthian spirit, and leaven the commitment to sportsmanship with a premium on aesthetics. just don't whine when you are repeatedly beaten fair and square by times with different but still legitimate qualities.
9 February 2010 5:05AM
I'll bet all those complaining about how boring this article is are arsenal supporters, and all those who love to read these articles, like me, are not. So what's the point? Well Kevin needs to earn his crust, we all get a lovely thrill from reading about the utter failure of Wenger's 5-year plan and all the gooners get to moan al a their manager.
9 February 2010 5:25AM
ny1703,
A grateful tip of the hat to you and the other less drama-prone comment writers.
McCarra writes:
Van Persie wasn't lost to "ankle trouble", he was lost to a hard tackle in a friendly. At the same time, Gibbs is out with a broken foot, Djourou to a knee problem, and so on. Suffering an injury with long-term consequences doesn't make one injury prone. No one has missed more matches than Rosicky, but he doesn't merit the same spin because he hasn't been as big a loss.
Writing the latest blog looking to put some dire spin on Arsenal's proving that they need a healthy striker doesn't mean McCarra is in some terminal decline as a writer, it just means that that is what the editor thinks he's good for. Too bad he couldn't apply some of the same measured logic to this piece.
9 February 2010 5:37AM
It seems Mr "Anti-Football" has suddenly become the envy of our footballing rivals from the south...
9 February 2010 5:57AM
As to all the Wenger should have bought this or that player whining and moaning, Ferguson bought Valencia and Obertan and got Owen on a free, Chelsea bought Sturridge and Zhirkov, Liverpool, Aquilani, Aston Villa bought no one and have the goals to prove it, Tottenham sold Bent and so on. Adebayor wasn't guaranteed to be something at Arsenal different to what he's been at Man City, which is average.
If you find the collective firepower in that list is underwhelming you're on to something all the managers have seen. The money doesn't matter when the quality isn't there. The best purchases in the league have been at the back, Arsenal's among them.
If Wenger hasn't found a rabbit in the hat he's got plenty of company. Arsenal have flaws, but the belief that the answer is out there just waiting to be purchased is just wishful thinking. Arsenal are what they are, third-placed, and we'll see whether they get better or worse over time.
9 February 2010 6:04AM
I know that we are in the middle of a run of nasty games and we should all stick together but I wonder how much it hurts some of the players. They seem more than happy to accept the mediocrity. The thing that really pisses me off about AW is his refusal to see the big problems. Players that do schoolboy errors are rewarded. Denilson and his jogging back whilst the other team sprints and scores from a counter attack. Almunia as was stated on here is the 19th best keeper in the PL. I wonder who the 20th is. That really shocked me that there is a keeper worse than Almunia. The other thing is he lets players go without replacing them (Adebeyor, Vieira and Henry) and even Hleb and Flamini the list goes on and on. I never understand why on the first day of the Transfer window he does not splash the cash that we are constantly being told is there. The squad is very poor and if you have competition then players like Denilson and Clichy and Eduardo know that if they put in a bad shift it will be a spell on the bench or in the reserves. This never happens. The signing of Sol proved that he realises his team needs some experience and some backbone. The players are there to be signed. We do not have a squad good enough to be just looking at world class players. Good premier league players are what we need. AW should of signed either James or Sorenson. Very good premier league keepers and a huge improvement on what we have now.Why not take a gamble on Pavulychenko. Him and Arshavin were the darlings of the Euro championships. His finish against Leeds was top class. I love Arshavin but the gamble of playing him on his own upfront just does not work. It makes Arsenal even more one dimensional and the strength of the full backs is wasted because they have nothing to aim at in the middle when space has been made for them to cross. Why does it take Aw so long to see that his team need to change tactics, against Man u and Chelsea plan A had failed miserably and Plan Bendtner was left until the game was over. Arsenal should try to give a change of tactics a go and stick Bendtner and Walcott upfront. Last season in the CL Arsenal put seven past a team playing Adebeyor and Walcott together, move Arshavin back to the wing. Look how depressing life as an Arsenal fan has become when we want Bendtner to come on and we look at him as a salvation. I was also ( whisper this) happy to see Eboue come on. This is how bad it has become.
The worst thing for me about the Chelsea game was that Chelsea did not even need to get out of first gear. It was so easy. All you need to do to stop Arsenal is defend deep and have to banks of four close enough to each other to stop the space. I can see that and I am a retard. Why can you not AW. Against ManU we made Evans and Brown look like a good centre half pairing. Arshavin had a go but just bad luck or fractions meant that his shots just went wide. A Man u defence that should of been there for the taking was not put under anywhere near enough pressure. The thing that killed me was the lack of leaders on the field. Only Gallas seems to give a shit.
The most serious problem Arsenal have is that if you do not improve the team then the World Class players you have will leave. I can not think of one reason why Cesc will stay in the Summer and if it was not for him we would be 7th or 8th this season. Then what a midfield of Song Denilson and Diaby. Tragic with the hope that Eboue can remind AW of what he thought led him to believe that he could be a midfield general. The same goes for Van persie ,there is a certain inevitability of Arsenals season, hope for the top 4 maybe get to the champions league quarters or semis. The players and the fans want more and the worse thing is we are not that far off it but with every year it gets further and further away. None of the big 4 teams squads have improved this season and yet again a chance to be the champions has gone. Last year at least we were competiitve this year this last week has been awful and an embarrassment to the club.
9 February 2010 6:14AM
My worry about Wenger is that after the initial shock and numbness you see the man a day after in a mad rationalization effort to keep the world in order and everything intact ; like religion that separates the true believers from false ones or even infidels so Wenger true and anti football, the first is enlightened, aesthetic true at heart, an end in itself, the privilege of the few...; the second, is crass cynical destructive instrumental heartless and results oriented...
Arsenal fans, do something similar, even in this thread, they cannot really embrace Wenger , they do not know anymore if he indeed knows anything, though they are not truly sure yet if he should be disowned as if he were the anti-Christ... so in a mode of suspension they undermine the blow by attributing it to some little detail, a misfortune happenstance, inexplicable recurrent bad luck, a one, two, player(s) away from, prudent spending to be vindicated or the last barren spell between cycles of momentous success, like before..
Just some weeks ago we saw the loyal scousers do the same, and the gloating devils were not immune either. I don't remember the Blues in that state recently, not only because their team is likely indeed the would be champions, but because like every nouveau riche they still lack the sense of entitlement, historical memory and the need to justify the present in terms of glorious past (which they do not have) , Got it?
9 February 2010 6:52AM
Kovno makes the more prescient about Arsenal as an attacking force, the forward line and attack have the capacity to score goals. The issues lie further back; a physically strong central midfielder (Diaby is not the solution) a least one aggressively defensive fullback and a goalkeeper capable of inspiring confidence.
A decent reserve centre back would be a nice plus.
9 February 2010 6:57AM
trickery?
ronaldo20?
Where are you when your team needs you?
gg
9 February 2010 6:58AM
Man Utd were playing devestating , exciting football long before Wenger came to England . For that matter the Liverpool side under Dalglish were not too shabby either . Arsenal can be pleasing on the eye , but I never thought for a moment , save for the Arshavin chance , that they were going to score against Chelsea . They are great at steamrollering rubbish , but Utd and Chelsea sit back , cigars in mouths , and cope comfortably with all of Arsenal's pretty passing .
9 February 2010 7:07AM
What would Arsenal fans give for Wilson Palacios in their current situation? Simply the best holding midfielder in the league and pretty much the main reason why Tottenham are challenging for fourth place (as well as Defoe/BAE).
The next time a non-Spurs fan watches Tottenham on TV/live just concentrate on the amount of work Wilson gets through and the amount of tackles he makes...he literally hunts down the player on the ball....he's the player Spurs have been waiting for for the best part of 20 years and the player that Wenger TURNED DOWN.
What a visionary Wenger is...
9 February 2010 7:20AM
HAHAHAHAHA I thought this article was written tongue in cheek then I find in the comments someone recommending a tottingham player to Wenger. Considering it was Wenger that recommended him to Bruce in the first place, I think the tiny totts are getting ahead of themselves again (or have they forgotten what we did to them this season?).
It's funny how it's always Arsenal fans that give the tiny totts a chance at silverware. I think we need to have a word with Harry.
9 February 2010 7:25AM
You have to feel for the Arsenal supporters as they do not seem to understand Arsenal's business model. It is not about winning trophies. It is about buying young players very cheaply, developing them and selling them for large amounts. Yes they will play nicely against shit teams and they will try and always make Europe as there is money in that. Otherwise if you cannot cheer the buying and selling of players then perhaps you should support another team.
9 February 2010 7:38AM
As a spurs fan, I think Wenger has done an excellent job for the last five trophy-less season's...long may he continue.
9 February 2010 7:48AM
Last season when Arsenal came to Stamford Bridge, during the pre match warm up we were treated to the Arsenal substitutes playing keepie upie, while the starting eleven did their warm up routine. I remarked upon this to the usual suspects standing around and someone behind said maybe that's there problem.
OK they went on the beat us, but I do think this immaturity runs through the club under Wenger, and the beach football mentality is their problem. They have some great players but no steel, only petulance and the ability blame someone else for their own failings.
Wenger did not create the invincibles and I do not think he ever could. I wonder what goes through Pat Rice's head; now that would be an interview Kevin.....
9 February 2010 7:50AM
You know who Arsenal need? A new keeper would be nice. An outstanding midfield engine to partner Fabregas. Their first choice strikers back and fit. But above all of that...
George Graham.
I remember reading an interview with Lee Dixon. He was asked who was the better coach between Wenger and Graham. His response was along the lines that whilst Wenger was a visionary coach with great offensive ideas, as a defence coach his coaching never cut the mustard compared to Stroller's dreary, dull, repetitive and effective drills.
Once van Persie, Bendtner, Walcott et al are back to full sharpness, I'd expect the goals to start flowing again. The real and enduring problem, as Kevin points out, is conceding 30 goals in 25 games. No team is going to win the championship like that. You can't say it's because Clichy, Gallas, Vermaelen and Sagna are bad players, so it must be down to the coaching (or lack of it).