There we have it, 3 competitions down, one to go. Our choke has well and truly taken hold and I’m totally deflated.
Arsene Wenger has sold us into a dream that we all knew his squad were not capable of fulfilling. Yeah, we might have believed for a little bit, after all, Wenger is a manager who used to be capable of motivating players to play at the highest level. He used to be a man who could make the right decisions and he used to be a man who had the fire and hunger inside to be clinical about winning.
Not anymore…
As a club, we’ve underperformed our way through all the competitions this year, including the FA Cup we played in yesterday. We had a major chance to beat a United team set out to defend and we absolutely failed the test in typical Arsenal fashion. We had a load of possession, did very little with it and paid the ultimate penalty because we’re incapable of defending properly.
Denilson was too slow to win the ball in midfield for the opener, the Brazilian twins linked up nicely, Rooney floated the ball to the back post where the tiny Hernandez ghosted past everyone, he headed across goal, Almunia pulled off a smart save but could only tip it across goal where Fabio was on hand to slot home.
The image of Denilson missing a challenge then trotting back was not a new one to most fans, it was disappointing to see Hernandez lose JD at the back post and it was disappointing United were first to the save. Our whole defence seemed totally baffled by their movement.
Robin went up the other end and hit a smart shot across goal that the EVDS did well to push round the post. From the resulting corner the Dutchman powered a header just wide.
We went into half time a goal down, undeserved if possession is supposed to be worth some sort of bonus goal.
In the second half I was hoping Denilson and Diaby were going to pull themselves together, their collective attitude radiates through the side. This game was hugely important to our season. Those two didn’t seem to care.
It took all of 3 minutes for us to concede again. Valencia played in one of the twins, Denilson didn’t have the pace or desire to chase him, he forced Gibbs out of the defence to challenge him, he missed, the Brazilian slipped a pass into the box, it ricocheted up and Rooney nodded past the flapping Almunia.
Awful, awful shambolic defending. Denilson, who invited your attitude to top class football? You showed once again that you are not and never will be good enough for this Arsenal side. How have you been given 150+ games? Your inclusion is absolutely insulting to me and anyone who cares about football.
We needed a reaction from there, we didn’t get it. Sure we had a few shots that EVDS did well to save, sure we had more possession than United, but the simple fact is, when it came down to it, we didn’t have the players to deliver the result. We took off Andrey Arshavin and replaced him with Thomas Rosicky.
Sorry, the guy is an awful player. No two ways about it. He’s started 25 games this year, he’s come on 13 times from the bench and all he has to his name for productivity is 1 assist. That is a shocking statistic when you consider he was brought on to rescue the game for us.
I was expecting some fight out there, truth is, I’ve seen more urgency on an NHS waiting list. Sloppy, half assed passing all over the pitch. No one taking the game by the scruff of the neck. A visible lack of effort and concern which absolutely broke my heart.
Things weren’t over on the bad news front though, JD defended a Wayne Rooney cross, as he fell to the floor, Sagna ran into him and possibly dislocated his shoulder.
Cheerio JD’s season. Arsenal players spent 8 minutes watching him on the floor. Gearing up to feel sorry for themselves. The game restarted, we didn’t have anything more to offer. United went through, our season chalked off the 3rd trophy in a couple of weeks and our worst nightmares were realised… this squad isn’t good enough.
So where does all this leave us?
Wenger has spent the whole season telling everyone his squad is the best he’s ever had. Many sections of the Arsenal support have been telling us that our second string is far better than United’s, well… their reserves just put our 1st team to the sword in embarrassingly easy fashion.
Abou Diaby and Denilson are simply not good enough to don the red and white of Arsenal. Denilson has the worst attitude on the pitch out of any player I’ve ever seen play for Arsene Wenger. Abou Diaby, though talented, summed up his character when he declared he wanted to with the Ballon D’or and he fancied Barcelona over Madrid.
Those two must be shipped out at the end of the season. There is no future for them at the club.
Thomas Rosicky summed up his Arsenal career when he hit an air shot in injury time. He’s spent 5 years at Arsenal growing fat off wages he didn’t earn, then we gave him a new deal, now he’s fit, turns out he’s no good to anyone.
Kieron Gibbs may look like the love child of Ashley Cole and Gael Clichy but he sure as hell doesn’t play like it. His positioning is poor and he needs to go out on loan again.
The sad fact is, England is a brutal country to play your football. You can hide behind an ill equipped squad for a certain amount of time, thing is, it’ll always catch up with you in the end. The squad wasn’t good enough when the summer window closed. I have it on very good authority that Wenger had £35million to spend and he chose to give it back. The squad was clearly not good enough when we arrived in January, we could all see that we were short in defence and in goal, he had £40million to spend and he chose to give it back again.
It’s not good enough. Arsenal fans aren’t stupid, we can see where the squad falls down because we’ve watched 6 seasons of predictable collapse. What has happened this time? We’re in March, our keeper is out, our best defender is out for the year and we’re struggling to cobble a starting 11 with enough desire to get out of bed.
Even Jack Wilshere is being over exposed. He’s 18 years old and we’re talking about him as a possible captain. He shouldn’t be playing as many games as he is at Arsenal, he shouldn’t be shouldering that much responsibility at his age. It’s grossly unfair and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him pick up a long term injury off the back of this much play.
My other gripe is the attitude of the squad. Again, I speak to all sorts of people who work in and around the Arsenal training camp. The saddest thing I consistently hear is that whether we beat United 4-0 or lose to Birmingham 2-1… the dressing room is the same. Totally flat. These boys don’t share the same lust for winning players at Chelsea and United do. You don’t need to take my word for it either, look at the replays of our games this year, read Cesc talking about the dressing room.
Sol Campbell was a voice last year, apparently he bollocked the players on a few occassions after playing in a fashion that disgreaced the jersey. What happened to him? He was shipped out. What happened to Gallas when he spoke out? He was shipped out. Friendly dressing rooms don’t work in football. Who is in there setting the benchmark? Who has Denilson up agianst the locker room door at half time?
No one. Arsenal are a conflict free zone. The Switzerland of football.
Apparently, there is never a row at the club. Wenger surrounds himself with ineffective yes me. We don’t have the best back room staff in the world because that could mean the manager is challenged. I mean seriously, how can a club operate successfully when the manager is picking the CEO of the club?
Wenger has created a culture of acceptable failure. Winning comes second to player development and profit. We’re becoming a laughing stock and something needs to change. If it doesn’t, these top players aren’t going to hang around. Why would you if you were Samir Nasri? You’re not being given the tools to succeed. Money is worth nothing at the end of your career if you don’t have trophies to cherish.
We need to sell off the dead wood. Bendtner, Eboue, Rosicky and Denilson would earn us a minimum of £30million, that could go out and buy us Gary Cahill, Luis Fabiano and a bone crunching hard man in the middle of the park. The psychological impact of fresh meat into the squad can’t be underestimated. If players aren’t good enough now, they need to have the desire to get better, if they can’t get better, who cares if their careers are killed? What happens at Barcelona? If you’re not good, you don’t play… Guardiola doesn’t have 7 years to make things happen, nor does Mourinho.
Why should Wenger be afforded that much time?
We need to start acting like a big club. Next week, season ticket renewals are released. I’ve got a contact in the printing industry who has told me that the price hike on your ticket this year is 6%. How do you feel about that? A 6% rise after another year of profit hoarding? I think it’s an absolute disgrace and I think it’s about time Arsenal fans voiced their discontent about the way things are going online and in the ground.
We’re being run by a manager who is accountable to no one, who has flunked 3 out of 4 trophies again and you’re being whacked with a 6% increase in price in one of the hardest recessions ever despite record profits over the last 5 years.
That my friends is disgusting. Almost as disgusting as our annual collapse.
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I think his transfer record is more Benitz-esque no eye for talent..
Rohan ask Rijkaard …..He is already ahead of his peers..in many aspects
I duuno people try to complicate football ….
There is a reason he is the manager of Barca and Tony Pulis the manager of Stoke or ask Moaninho for that matter…..
Rohan, I wasn’t comparing O’Leary with Adams. Just suggesting that I had heard that option touted also.
I’m not sure his work at Leeds was underrated, TBH. He spent an absolute fortune to get them to that stage, and bought some howlers: Seth Johnson being probably the worst buy of all. And if he had the ability, then he would be offered jobs elsewhere now as you have to be an awful manager not to still be on that merry-go-round.
Having said that, I love O’Leary from his playing days and he is one of my favourite Arsenal players still. Brady and Bould would be fantastic, however I think we will appoint from without. We are not a particularly “messianic” club like Newcastle or Liverpool (or Man U).
I hope we don’t have to wait until 2014. If so, I worry that the damage will be long-term. Nasri and Clichy are coming to the ends of their contracts. Clichy I would happily see leave, I’m afraid, but not Nasri. It could be we have to sell both Cesc and Nasri this summer. Then we are royally fucked.
Rijkaard didn’t have the 3 absolute best players in the world.
He’s a great manager and I’d love to have him, no doubt, but don’t think he’s the second coming of god just yet.
He’s also spent the sort of money he won’t really have available at Arsenal.
and if we still remain potless no ambitious player will be itching to join us forget Hazard et al the mentality of so many players at this club is just not rite talented they may be but they aren’t winners I include Cesc in that as well …..
Secondly we need specialists is certain positions which we
lack a speedy winger should be the first priority…
Kushagra. Interesting article.
It is notable that much of Barca’s success is down to their pressing and their teamwwork. It does mean, however, that they are vulnerable in the closing stages of the match once they tire. I think this is what we were hoping to exploit, but it does seem a bit of a gamble. Like Ali’s rope-a-dope against Foreman or the Pires-Henry penalty. Looks great when it comes off, but you have an egg-covered face if it doesn’t
Rohan he had Xavi and Iniesta didn’t promote Messi enough had disciplinary probs…you have to give Pep Credit certainly not the second coming of God but no one is , he will be a much better option than the likes of Henry, Adams et al ,good enuf for Arsenal……and by ur logic aon his spending at Barca also rules out the likes of O Leary and many more ….Get a grip all the top clubs are now spending shed-loads that’s why we moved to Ems FFS…and with Uefa regulations we should be in the driving seat…
Nor will he have the pool of youth in the academies as he has in Barca. Instead of the whole of Catalunya, he’ll have a small patch of Southern England not to mention the obvious competition with Chelsea and West Ham for the best kids.
He’s still the best name that has been said though.
Actually, Moray; I do think we just might promote from within/get one of “our own” so to speak. A lot of the old boys are still very much involved with the club..that Henry trained with us at the beginnign of the year is telling.
Moray and it seems our players lack the tactical and mental discipline to make it through …
Xavi and Iniesta were less than half of the players back then than they are now. They’ve only peaked over the last 3 years and that’s more to do with age and experience.
Messi was a teenager back then. Can’t expect him to push him on even more especially when they had Ronaldinho in the team as well.
I’ve always maintained that I’d love him at Arsenal. Just feel that he does have a lot of things going for him at Barca. He’ll have to prove himself at Arsenal imo. It’s a completely different ball game.
My point is that with this current Barcelona side, anyone could be successful really.
The real challenge is in managing and building a club which is not the most financially powerful in the league or that does not have the greatest resources and in building a legacy at the club. Only Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger have really done that imo (the last part that is), and just for that, they still are the greatest managers of the modern game. Pep is still in the process of it, and I have to say that he looks like a great call to be one of the alltime greats.
Another reason Jose Mourinho won’t really be remembered 50 years down the line.
Arsene Wenger may have his faults, yeah, almost definitely. But you can’t deny that he has changed the face of football as we know it in England and is one of the primary influences in the Premier League being the biggest and best league in the world.
He might be past it, criticise him all you want but atleast have a modicum of respect for the man and what he has done.
That’s all I have to say, really. Good night/day and keep the faith. I wager this season still has a few more twists and turns before it all ends.
Rohan good point I think it will be gr8 for both the parties and I reiterate Xavi hasn’t peaked and this current Barca side is that good because of Pep he changed their system , raised the level of footy a notch or two..and yeah early success can always be a dangerous thing ask Arsene
Keep the Gooner Spirit Alive….BPL is still ours to lose IMO….
if it from within, then I would love DB10 to be involved
Hi,
My username is: xyz@gmail.com, and I would like to cancel my subscription to this online TV service. I don’t feel the need to spend my hard earned money on a football club with such a brilliant record of not winning for the last 6 years.
And please do me favor and ask Wenger to just leave Arsenal, before it is too late.
Thanks and Warm Regards,
Amit Gajakosh
From talksport it actually does look like that the fans want him out now, 46% want him out, thats a huge percentage! Good thing
Ridiculous saying Jose isn’t one of all time greats and Pep is, Jose doesn’t stay at one club, he goes from Porto to Chelsea to Inter to Real and makes 4 Winning teams, winning the Leagues in different countries, Cups and CL twice!
let’s hope it will give him a food for thought – we shall see whether he is still capable of being ruthless or if he would prefer to go down with his ‘crew’…
I know it’s Talkshite and I think it realistically is about half that at the moment, but will reach dangerous levels when we are out of the title race…
I don’t necessarily want him out, I want him declaring that there are a few players that will be shipped out, loss or no loss, and that at least a couple of good signings will be made with the likes of Lansbury and JET added to the squad…
we have missed out on a few good players, like Suarez who is already proving his worth for Bindippers and probably recouped a few M in the shirt sales by now! not to mention the field day he will have against Coco the Clown and the Chuckle Brothers shortly…
but hey, why would we need Suarez, we have Bendtner, the first Matrix footballer, thinking it’s enough to consider yourself a Pele to be one…
could he be one of these?
http://www.thebeautifulaim.com/
First off i been wishing wenger to quit for 5 years. and i been attacked on every forum that i wrote on.
first off i thank wenger for our first 11. when all fit we have best 11 in premier league. but problem is when we fit. and our 2nd 11 is pure shit. bolton or sunderland 2nd 11 is even better than ours.
its not just that they are bad. they are completely useless. i have never seen players like these in my life.
they completely dont care at all. they cant defend, cant attack. cant shoot. why we keeping them. oh add most of them spent 1 year + on injury list.
why we paying those fucking useless shit over 40 million a year in wages
seriously wenger needs to go now
can someone count for me the combined wages of Denelson, almunia, Diaby, Rocsisky ,Gibbs, Eboue, Bendtner, traore, Vela. clichy
last 3 games sum it up. i dont care how good is bareclona. 0 fucking tries!!!
fucking league 2 teams will regesiter 1 try on goal
our dear captain who in his own words felt injured on 15 mins. and what did he do he stayed 60 mins being complete useless fuck. we played with 9 men not 10 most of the game. thanks to our dear Captain.
its time for clear out. we need good players. not those cheap bargins where we end up with players who are injured 3 years of there 5 years contract.
we need a coach who has a clue of how to defend. we keep losing and losing to man utd. how the fuck they deploy same tactic in the last 10 games and still 900 mins of play time against man utd. our manager cant understand there tactics.
sell those players combined for 100 million including Fabregas, build a new 2nd line
and proper left back, who can fucking defend and attack
throw gibbs on loan, either he improve or find him self a lower team. enough hiding behind this bullshit young team excuse. we are one of the top 10 teams earners in the world. and we act like a league one team
how the fuck shitspurs outspend us every year.
we dont need to sign a defender. we need to sign 2 left backs who can FUCKING CROSS AND DEFEND.
a DM to give song a breather.
CM to replace Fabregas
and a fucking winger. to open up play and move Nasri to Fabregas position.
a team who has Nasri and Persie should win trophies
This thing has gone on for far too long,im not a football manager but i can see everything that is wrong with this arsenal team at the moment, one just needs to look back at the successful invincible side and then compare it to the current side each player at each position to realise that this team is just NOT GOOD ENOUGH,While i do agree that this side has quality in pockets, FAB NASRI CHESNY RVP AND CO, its laden with so many joyriders read denilson,rosicky diaby, almunia,bendtner,and others, its impossible to think that this players earn over 50k each week, ask uaself can denilson make the newcastle bench? NEVER,what with those thugs like burton tiote and co, players who may not be brilliant but who give absolutely everything for there team,who will walk off the pitch proud even when they lose, WE NEED CHANGES AND FAST,
suga
Moves about as fast as “bullet time” as well.
Rohan
Changed the face of football 13 years ago maybe, but refuses to keep up with the changing face of football today. So to my way of thinking, they cancel each other out.
Rohan
Again, reading the comments backwards, I don’t know where you are coming from?
If Barca don’t need Guardiola, what makes you think the Invincibles needed AW?
Pray tell?
Been on some sort of self imposed exile,best article i have ever read in a while, sums it up well,the retard has to go now,for how long can he funk with our hearts like this?
hehe, good one, I’d like to hear an answer to that too
Spot on Charlie
He was good but unfortunately he has stopped himself and the club from adopting changes to the ever changing world of premier league and that has hurt us badly, if it weren’t for his poor Cup finals record, we would have been where Barcelona are today since that 06 CL final has made them very very strong and has played a huge role in where they are today!
We just needed one striker and a CB come DM (Vertonghen to be precised) who wanted to come to Arsenal as well, doubt if they would now! Ribery, Suarez, Benzema all wanted to play for us, would they now ? I doubt it highly!
I think what he’s done wrong was allowing Flamini and Hleb leave, that did a fucking lot of damage…
should have got rid of Diaby and D******n, that would free up enough wages to give these two payrises, buy Nasri to rotate with Hleb and not give Rosicky the shiny new contract and buy AA instead, now that would be a team!
oh, to have a ruthless manager…
would also managed the Ade situation in a different manner: AW fucked it up by bending over and giving him the ‘triple your wages’ payrise, I would send him to the stiffs for a month or two instead to cool down a little and give Bendy a chance or consider buying another striker (like Chamakh) and selling the Dane…
yes, I know we sold him for £25M, but he would be useful for us right now, when motivated, he pisses all over Bendtner in every department…
Flamini more than Hleb Suga, It was painful watching him against Spurs that night urging his Milan team to keep going, he had a winning mentality, was a fighter and never gave up!
Give me One Flamini over Ten Songs anyday, he used to be in the faces of oppositions! Loved him and i still do
looking back now you realise that he not only fucked up the invincibles but the 08 team as well, Toure, Flamini, Hleb, Gilberto, Adebayor
dunno Hussain, Hleb would be useful for us, I think his grudge was that he had no deputy and played too many games, would be great to have Nasri as his understudy, no?
he would still be a good player for us now if he stayed, much better than he is at the moment after fucking up his career…
I agree Suga we could have used Hleb surely, but what i am just saying is that Flamini hurts us more than Hleb!
What Wenger needs to do now for some total damage control is to tell every player that from today onwards everyone is playing for his jersey at the end of the season…but then knowing Wenger as we do he will never say anything to his children
and there are people saying that D******n is a better player than Flam…
I mean, come on
That’s the problem he has dug us into mkv, he is not going to say anything to them because he has literally fed them like his own children which is absolute rubbish as he is their boss and not father, and if we decide to give him the boot, most of the players would leave considering how much he has pampered them!
well, if they want to leave, good riddance, you think any club will want them with this kind of attitude?
I agree, we need a change even if it means loosing Fabregas! I am sick of him and the fans who say he has done so much for us, he was playing for the Arsenal, was the captain and center of the team, shouldn’t he be expected to do this much? that injury didn’t stop him from trying to impress the Camp nou and try a fancy back-heel did it?
Just watching Shakhtar vs Roma, a lovely finish by eduardo for the 3rd Shakhtar goal!
The team may break if we still remain trophless…Nasri Clichy who else….???
i dont mind losing the whole team if it means bringing people with the right attitude,and who got Arsenal at heart, for how long shall we suffer like this. I have canceled my DSTV subscription because i cant stand it anymore,the only reason i subscribed in the first place was to watch this team but then it wins fuck all. I know whats coming our way in the few weeks following and i wont be able to stand it
Morning all!
I’ve got an interesting post for you today, the contentious issues are based on views of people working in the club!
morning Pedders
good thing that you’re waving the LG flag!
just a thought – do you think we will gain any new readers from this last post? I am thinking of those people googling the term “choke-fest”…
NEW POST!
For that person who said he could see rows and rows of empty seats next season…..dream on. For anyone giving up their tickets there are two that want them at any price!
I will most certainly tell Arsenal where to go with the increase; I will not be renewing my season ticket. Wenger and the club have treated fans with utter contempt telling us that the current team is good enough to win honours and is the best team Wenger has ever assembled. Who the hell Wenger is kidding? The writing is on the wall when the fans turn against the manager, and the way Wenger is going his support amongst us fans is depleting.
Wenger you have lost the plot I have no confidence in you or the players you have recently bought if you have any honour you will leave at the end of the season.
An ex season ticket holder.
quote
“Van der vaart wouldn’t fit in our system” ahahahhaha delusional.”
definately. Our, well AW’s ststem is the problem
“system”