I’m lapping up the hottakes on whether Arsenal can win the Europa League. Ballague reckons there are some positives, mostly highlighting that they have a threadbare squad and have had some issues defensively. Dennis Wise reckons we have a good chance, I’m struggling to take him seriously.
I think the biggest worry is Wenger teeing up the press with excuses before we’ve started. His line of attack is focused on player fatigue. If we go to the final, it’ll be 61 odd games this season.
“Fatigue is a little bit of a concern,” said Wenger. “You look at [Manchester] City and they look a bit like that in the second half of games recently. I do rotate much as I can. Unfortunately, some players have to play all the games.
“It is very difficult. Not only are you physically very jaded but also you are under huge pressure each time to win the game. It is mentally maybe tougher than physically.”
I’m struggling to buy this. Arsenal had the luxury of one game a week most of the season. The League Cup wasn’t a priority until the final. The FA Cup failed at the first hurdle. The Europa League has been a second string affair until the knockouts.
Not only that. It’s also worth noting we have a £200m squad propping up this half-baked campaign. We shouldn’t be putting up excuses around fatigue. Wenger shouldn’t be giving the players a pass we know they’re more than capable of taking. The manager should be firing up our chances in the press, not trying to craft a plucky underdog narrative.
I think he knows this is going to be very, very tough. He has to hedge his bets, and hope Josh and Stan are so ignorant about this season, they take his excuses and let him have another go next season. In my humble opinion, I really think the best we’ll land out of this is maybe a one leg victory… or going out on away goals.
Still, it’s hard to gauge what this means for his future. Jeremy Wilson ran an article with a title suggesting his career is on the line, but had no substance in the body copy. It’s telling that the only two journos with skin in the game on his future are Honigstein and Laurens who both say he’s staying.
If Wenger goes out to Atleti, there is no story. There are no excuses. It has to be over.
Unreal that it likely won’t be. If you haven’t seen the Juve doco on Netflix, I implore you to do so. It’s a bit cheesy/American, but damn, it’s good. It shows the absolute gulf between Arsenal and Juve. As a club, we have no culture for winning. There is no pressure. When you watch how seriously the Italians take it, it’s inspiring. All the players talk about the immense levels of pressure placed on them to succeed. The CEO has the players in his garden in preseason and he lays down the law about expectations.
Can you imagine Ivan doing that?
The next manager can’t just be a great thinker, he has to be a change agent. Someone who can create a new culture at the club, stump out the averageness, and regear us for the next 10 years.
Allegri would be perfect. The right age, fantastic experience and a huge presence.
We can but dream…
(written in an iPhone on the red eye)
I know it will never happen, but would anyone like to see someone like Sean Dyche at the club?
For interest this is how much money the top 6 clubs invested in their defence
in this seasons transfer windows.
Man City £222.75 Million [5 players]
Liverpool £ 79.02 Million [2 players]
Chelsea £72.00 Million [3 players]
Spurs £70.20 Million [3 players]
Man Utd £31.50 Million [1 player]
Arsenal £1.89 Million [1 player]
I think that this is a fair summary of how much importance Arsenal under Wenger attaches to defending.
ES and @ Pedro
Great stats!
Surely between all the bloggers on here, a summarised communication could be forwarded to AFC highlighting all these visible deficiencies in the system.
From Le Grove to Arsene Wenger.
What’s the worse that could happen.
Ever thought about it Pedro?
Michael24
Your comments are so boring that I am even finding Tonyd’s post interesting.
Pierre
Good morning!
Always nice to hit a nerve.
To be honest, I don’t give a toss if you find my posts boring.
Your take on matters doesn’t exactly set the place alight.
Little p,
I’m glad you turned up, I was just recalling how you and your troll mate the 12 year old were ridiculing me for boycotting the stadium in my “lone crusade”….. looks like 15-20k other fans have joined my silly little boycott lately ? Who’s the mug now ? I guess that’s 20,000 more fraudulent fans on your hate list.
Pierre
Your inconsequential input is both tepid and embarrassing to most on here, apart, that is, for your wingman @ victorious.
If I bore you, of all people, I know my points are getting across.
The sun is shining, so it can’t be all bad.
Welcome back from Untold Pierre. Have you renewed your nerve to come back to face the agessive WOBs?
Funny how you go AWOL after a pathetic performance and loss. You left your puppy Vitoria floundering on his own here yesterday. Still his yapping made for great entertainment.
Not sure whether to be flattered or dismayed by your comment to M24.
However I need to have a modicum of respect for your opinions to be either.
As I don’t any answer is irrelevant.
Have a good day.
Ufraud
Definately not a hate list but that’s fine by me if you want to continue to waste 4 grand a year on season tickets which is effectively paying the wages of the man you hate more than anyone in the world..
Did you say “who’s the mug now” …..
Pierre
You’re certainly on of the biggest clowns around here
Tell me, why are Michael 24’s posts boring?
Keep up the good work running interference for Wenger.
Tony
Watched the game then straight to the golf course and then a drink in the bar , perfect day ,except for the result .
You should try taking up a sport instead of your hobby of pumping iron in your 100 acre gym..
Geriatrics like you shouldn’t really be embarrassing yourself in that manner but each to their own I suppose ….
Michael24, Wengers coaching has a lot to answer for. Multiple reports and statements from ex players how he refuses to let specialists coach the defence, just himself or his yes men. Fair play to the likes of Kos who is his peak became a half decent defender, because the clubs coaching structure clearly didn’t help him. A pretty well known story from a few years back , on one rare occasion, Wenger had to miss training to be over in France, and instead of letting his then, new assistant manager Steve Bould take training, he insisted on dinosaur fitness coach… Read more »
In Debuchy, we had a player that could have provided Bellerin with real competition, instead Wenger picked one player above the other without creating an environment where proper intra-squad competition could take place. Bellerin has since regressed (or just never got better) and was rewarded with a lengthy 100k weekly contract. Bellerin can’t go past a player with a dribble or with pace, he can’t cross the ball nor defend. All he’s good for is doing silly interviews criticizing fan groups and dressing like a hippy. Bad squad management has been the hallmark of the Wenger’s pathetic stewardship. Everyone is… Read more »
Pierre,
“Geriatrics like you shouldn’t really be embarrassing yourself in that manner but each to their own I suppose ….”
Do you even read what you post?
You do realize that the same petty insult could be easily extended to you.
Dissenter
Michael 24 is just about a level down from j.o.e when it comes to repeating the same old shit day after day , hour after hour ,minute after minute …
It says a lot about you that you are willing to ask the question “why is he boring” .
Dissenter
It’s common knowledge that Tony is one the geriatric goons , it’s a term of endearment….Graham 62 was the other but he’s disappeared ( maybe he has come back as michael24)
I wondered how they would let an old woman like you on a golf course, Pierre but then I realized you were referring to Crazy Golf.
Clearly you have no understanding of what people do in a gym. I mix it up with strength training and HIIT.
>Paulinho
>April 15, 2018 20:57:25
>
>“When he moved to Inter he inherited the best squad in Italy- they won the >league there I think three seasons in a row.”
>
>Absolutely useless in Europe though, so close but no cigar.
They won the bloody Champions League!
This is no longer a case of just picking on the performance of one or two players, but they perform as a collective. A defence who concedes 70+ goals a season is not fit for purpose and that was already apparent last season. Arsenal as a club continues to be REACTIVE to problems rather than anticipate them. We have seen it not only in renewing contracts of Mertesacker and Cazorla, but also how we have handled contracts with Sanchez, Ozil, Ox, Wilshire and now Ramsey. This has been an ongoing problem for far too long. If the club is going… Read more »
Tony
“Clearly you have no understanding of what people do in a gym. I mix it up with strength training and HIIT.”
Oh do you , that very interesting…
“At no point did I say Wenger didn’t do a lot of good things during that period. Without him it wouldn’t have happened either. The combination of Wenger+Graham was an extremely potent one”
This is true about every manager that had immediate success in his new club including Guardiola
Talk about egg on the face for Pierre and his ilk. He was one of those idiots that said “let’s wait and see what happens, let’s give Wenger some more time” hahahaha.
@Biggles
He’s talking about before Mourinho arrived.
Hmmmm didn’t miss Ramsey yesterday.
“”But these players are quality and we need to forget about today and focus on the next game. ” Why are they quality if they have lost to a mid table team like Newcastle? Why must we forget the result? Shouldn’t we be learning from our mistakes? An another away loss and Wenger tries to come away from it by saying he is baffled by the fact they lost. We have the worst away record for any of our rivals and the sad thing is our Board allows Wenger to get away with it. He is the manager. He is… Read more »
Yesterday was another rubbish day at the office. I’m genuinely hoping at this point that we finish behind Burnley, because it won’t make any difference to our season (we’re going to qualify for the Europa League one way or another since the FA cup will almost certainly be won by a top 5 team and the League Cup place is already going to a next-highest-in-league) but at the very least finishing behind Burnley will stop the excuses – we’re simply gash and directionless. People should have realised that the season we finished behind Leicester, but because they won the league,… Read more »
samesong
Very perceptive.
Pierre
You really shoudn’t be referring to people on here as ‘geriatrics’.
My father is 86 and he can read the game better than you mate.
Leeds
I think stroller got it about right in highlighting the defence and the lack of investment in that area as a major reason for our demise in the league.
As much as winning trophies and getting to cup finals is a very good achievement , our league form has got worst year on year and unless the defence and the defensive side of midfield are sorted we will not challenge for the title in the foreseeable future.
This summers transfer window will be very interesting and telling because if we don’t strengthen in those areas we will not compete.
Alexanderhenry
Get a sense of humour ….I’m the same age as Tony
“They won the bloody Champions League!”
Biggles – That was my point. Mourinho completely changed their fortunes in Europe when he took over.
Pierre
The truth is Wenger has a pretty poor record in choosing good defenders. For every good defender chosen under Wenger one could name two or three duff ones. He has never seen defence as a priority.
The best Arsenal defence under the Wenger were players he inherited from Graham… I’m sure we can agree on that!
Some humor… that’s all that’s left for us nowadays, our club is dying.
To think Rioch was fired forthwith when he was in pretty much the same state as Wenger now.
Wake up Ivan! Get your finger out!
“Get your finger out!”
Ivan’s answer : “why ?? it’s so good!!”
Leeds
When you look back some of wengers buys defensively are dubious to say the least even in the early days.
I never rated grimandi then there was stepanovs who was dire . Cygan another liability and then the signing of Sol Campbell ,who was a leader, gave the side the stability at the back with Lauren,Toure and Cole .
Since Campbell we have not had a leader at the back or midfield so consequently the team has suffered as there is no backbone in the side .
“There’s no backbone in the side.”
If that is not a clear description of our club, from the playing staff, coaching staff and the Board I don’t know what is.
See Pierre, we CAN agree on things! 😉
We should all be relieved that the loan system wasn’t up and running when Wenger joined the show.
The likes of T14, Pires etc, would probably have been shipped out to toughen them up.
Just a thought.
“I know it will never happen, but would anyone like to see someone like Sean Dyche at the club?“
Yea, I’m fine with him in the away dugout
COMPLETE REGIME CHANGE, NOTHING LESS.