The show DOES go on. Unai Emery racked up an impressive 8 wins on the bounce, the first time we’ve rocked that many since 2015. That year we finished 2nd to the mighty Leicester and won an FA Cup. I’d take that this season.
So what did we learn?
Well, we’re good at beating shit teams. The Europa League is our level currently, and we’re very good when we get to strut out stuff on trendy Thursday nights. Emery is still trying to work through style challenges, this competition gives the players on the fringe the chance to click with his system.
Guendouzi was impressive, scoring the third goal from a low dragged shot from the edge of the box. His range of passing is impressive and against weaker opposition, you could really see the sort of player he could become.
Smith Rowe took a while to settle into the game, but again, you can see where his career is heading if he keeps his focus. His power is immense for someone of 19 and he’s already scoring. His goal from a well-timed Iwobi pass was clinical.
Iwobi, player of the season so far (I jest, kind of), put in another great performance. He’s very much focused on an end product this year and he’s using his brain to open up space with clever runs into space.
I also thought Kolasinac as a left wing-back was impressive. He dropped some outrageous skills, always looking to be found out wide, making some incisive passes.
The win was fairly straightforward, but let’s be honest, simple games in Europe have been anything but under Arsene Wenger.
Overall, the team still needs a lot of work if it’s going to push for top 4, but as plenty have said in the comments, if the club can make CL through the back door, who wouldn’t take it? It’ll give us the money to hire in better talent.
All eyes on the next game that sees us heading for a Sunday matchup against Fulham.
Can Emery see in the big 9? We’ll see… onwards and upwards!
Hastings 5
Thanks for clearing that up
Stan got rid of his rams long time
Coach Fischer and turned that team
Around.
Just like Emery is now.
He’s not afraid to fire managers
Just not easy when Akbs like
Pierre Vicky and stefanie cared more for
A failing employee than
They did for the club they say they love
Oh but wenger won 8 in a row. Yeah but we came 20 points back and were out of the league on dec
One Arsene Wenger
* Wenger designed
** If Allegri had been
Bamford if Stan is to blame for the man making all the mistakes staying in charge then surely he’s MOST to blame no?
Wenger was never going to leave such a lucrative position unless pushed. 10m a year with little to no pressure.
Stan could have fucked him off but didn’t so he imo is to blame for it.
Wenger had too much power at arsenal. He was a fraud and fooled Stan for too
Long
He hired his own CEO ffs.
Drained the swamp. Wenger and Gazidis gone.
PS agree Bamford about them showing him respect on his final game was always going to be a thing. What I’m trying to get across to Victorious is that Le Grove isn’t a snap shot of the fanbase. I’ve always felt the real Arsenal supporters were fucking sheep.
I would like to know who was responsible for Suarez fuckery, we start out looking to buy Higuain, have a chance at Suarez but take the piss instead and end up with Ozil because club needs to buy big name player.
I don’t think that was Kroenke instructions, surely it was Wenger and his typical dithering. That summer was collosal screw up by Arsenal, the past few seasons would have been very different if we put in proper second bid Suarez or bought Hig.
😀 you’re welcome HillWood
N5
So you don’t feel fans should make their voices heard when the manager is failing??
Sorry not real supporters I meant attending supporters were mainly sheep.
Isn’t the higuain summer the summer we brought in 50m pound rated sanago???
Just when Banford produces a train of thought (about the right to analysis irrespective of manager) that I can endorse and agree with, he’s straight back to running interference for Stan and belittling the “enabling”.
Face palm.
Joe if it was up to me I would have booed until all three of them left. I think it’s a supporters duty to show their unhappiness. The issue at the ground was you got attacked if you were anti Wenger. Supporters were fighting supporters. The amount of fans like Ty is embarrassing.
Be prepared for at least 2 hours of an anti wenger/AKB tirade from joe.
I don’t think Kroenke is blameless but I can understand his thinking about Wenger. K doesn’t know a damn thing about football and he got a well regarded manager who finishes top four year after year without demanding huge amounts for transfers, why would you sack Wenger?
October 5, 2018 16:52:36
Joe if it was up to me I would have booed until all three of them left. I think it’s a supporters duty to show their unhappiness. The issue at the ground was you got attacked if you were anti Wenger. Supporters were fighting supporters. The amount of fans like Ty is embarrassing
Thanks N5
You can group Ty, Pierre vic vic, victorious, Stefanie, etc together
N5
I hear you. And I agree that Kroenke is to blame for keeping Wenger around so long (although AKB’s and the Wenger cult share some blame for this as well).
Why were we an inadequate, somewhat dysfunctional also-ran for ten years? Arsene Wenger.
Why did Arsene Wenger remain in his post for so long? Because of Stan Kroenke, AKB’s and the Wenger cult.
jwl, from what I understand of Stan, he’s always been like that with all his teams.
If they made profit, he wouldn’t rock the boat. This is why I blame him more than I do Wenger. He was the one and only person that could make that change happen at any time, but wouldn’t.
Joe
Put the Pom poms down for just a sec mate, and do me a kindness. What ceiling (if at all) do you see Emery having at Arsenal?
Genuine question.
Pierre
What’s a successful season for you under Emery this year?
If Emery won 3 FA Cups in the next 12 would you be satisfied?
Do we have a bet for the Liverpool match??
CC
League challenge which may lead to league win.
Good run in the CL. At least semi’s
A couple of minor trophies.
I’m not arguing with you Bamford. I agree fully that all the on field stuff and most of the off field stuff was Wenger eg transfers. What I meant earlier was that the fans wanted to blame someone for Wenger not being forced to leave and they couldn’t get to Stan so they started singing Wenger out to Wenger. Rather than singing it to Stan who rarely is at the ground anyway.
I’m in no way blaming Stan for the mediocre years other than him allowing Wenger to stay in a position of power for to long.
N5
How could he when as you said the “sheep” at Emirates sang one Arsene Wenger all the time. Threatening the true arsenal fans who wanted change Fighting the WOBs.
Akb sheep are an embarrassment
He’s been gone for months and they still are at it
Happy squabbling Grovers
I’m off to the pub
“If they made profit, he wouldn’t rock the boat. This is why I blame him more than I do Wenger. He was the one and only person that could make that change happen at any time, but wouldn’t.“ Ding, ding, ding. Did Stan sack Wenger, or even fail to renew a deal, when we were scraping top 4? No. Action came as a direct result of us falling outside the cash flow of CL, that’s when Stan took notice; it’s this that irks many. Football-wise the difference between our team the previous two years, to the two before that is… Read more »
@Joe, that’s Bamfords point I guess. It was easy to Keep Wenger in power when he’s getting a singing ovation from the pro-Wenger crowd. Even if their only singing louder to drown out the anti-Wenger crowd.
It all got so ugly for a little while and that surely lies at the feet of the 3 wazzocks in charge?
Gazidis was a pussy and a snake.
Shown by him leaving now.
Got rid of two. Doubt we will get rid of Stan anytime soon
Joe
When do you imagine/predict a league challenge?
What’s the remit of success this season?
Exactly Charlie. I assumed that’s why so many fans were avoiding the ground at the end their too. To hit Stan in the only thing he cares about. His pocket?
The moment Stan McDucks money intake started to be affected, he had to force change.
Ps
Without my cell
3rd season I want a strong league challenge into May
Even next year I think we will see us compete into later into the season
This year? Success would be EL/top 4.
Maybe a minor cup like fa or league.
Not being 40 points behind
Legrove, same as usual, bitching again. We all take Arsenal seriously but sometimes personal egos and agendas seem to dominate the thread.
One thing I would say, real fans care about Arsenal passionately wherever they live and whether they attend matches or not.There are seasons when I’ve only gone to a few matches but for twenty years or so I’ve had a ST. I always care when Arsenal play and I mean every game. But regardless of whether I’ve been to games regularly or not, I would consider myself a ‘real’ fan.
Joe
I mean the 40 point barb is a bit naff given they won the league by 20 points. So what would underwhelm you this season? What’s baseline expectation?
Personally I was almost sure the right appointment AND backing would yield a top 4 place. A place i’m less confident of after the summers affairs.
Ok. How about not being 20 points behind 2 place? Or out of the league by nov?
What’s success for you this season?
Top 4 after the shit show of the mess wenger left was never going to be easy.
Emery has done well so far.
Getting into the CL any which way is a success for me
Joe
Top 4 is my expectation this season, at worst an utter dogfight for it. Then again I find our recruitment weak AF so much depends on our Jan strategy
Joe –
I dig your optimism.
Unless we have a massive squad revamp, I fear 4th is as good as it gets. Surely that’s Emery’s only KPI.
When assigning blame for Arsenal’s undoubted decline it’s important to take into consideration what the club’s expectations was during the period after the stadium move. For Kroenke, top four and perhaps the added bonus of the odd FA cup was more than enough. The most important thing was to insure Arsenal achieved CL qualification ‘self sustainably’. Wenger delivered this and Kroenke was I would imagine, absolutely delighted. It’s a mistake for arsenal fans to think that the club was serious about challenging for top honours post emirates move when you accept the level of investment required to actually do this.… Read more »
Jamie
I’d be over the moon with 4th- and pleasantly surprised.
Alex
Why would you be over the moon with 4th? That seems a bit queer to me, if Wenger was as culpable as many suggest then a new manager with competence should positively impact the course of our season no?
Do you consider top 4 good based on our investment this summer?
You can blame Stan for our decline and rightly so But let’s take a step back for a minute, Stan bought this club and immediately let it known that he had huge admiration for Wenger and was never going to interfere in how he choose to run the footballing side of things, Wenger has never been on record complaining about a lack of funds, Wenger has never acknowledged the fact that we have become a laughing stock in footballing terms, he goes to grounds and listens to opposition fans singing we want you to stay in mockery and this never… Read more »
N5 – I was concerned about having American owner because of how the sports leagues here are run. Parity is desired outcome, there are salary caps and draft where worst teams get best new players, owners are not encouraged to create best team they can and I think that ethos has been adopted by Arsenal/Gazidis. However, Kroenke did spend a lot of money to buy top four club in most prominent league in world so I was/am hoping Stan wants to keep value of club high. Hopefully new guys in charge are more savvy and ruthless than old crew. I… Read more »
Good post receding.
Receding Can just as easy make a case that Wenger was so stubborn and entrenched in what he considered “the best thing” to attain all those things you lay out instead of your idea of lacking intention. Bottom line is Wenger only signed a contract with improved wages because Stan offered one. Also, you offer up Stan saying from the outset that he wouldn’t interfere with Wenger on the footballing side as some precursor to accepting his total lack of accountability. Not interfering comes in the form of player acquisitions, tactics, team selection. But as an owner there’s absolutely no… Read more »
N5/Joe – maybe four or five years ago on same day, N5 recommended i listen to Die Antwoord and Joe posted recipe for chicken tikka and I still listen to band and regularly cook Joe’s recipe. Good to see you both back here alive and well.
Well that was pretty sweet jwl. Tbh a lot of the blokes in here are top blokes. Nice place spend time on for sure.
Wenger wasn’t up to it, that’s on Wenger. Wenger was offered multiple contracts, that’s still on Wenger? Uhm, no its not. Yes Charlie it is Is Stan kroenke a good owner….NO..Not by any stretch of the imagination However unlike you i am willing to look at it from a different angle, from the very beginning…He bought a football club, a football club whose manager he had tremendous admiration for,not to mention respect. He was never going to show him the door unless push came to shove. He gave Wenger every chance he could to turn this around and he failed… Read more »
I’ve never been of the opinion that Arsenal need a billionaire injecting money into the club to find sustained success. But as someone who thought Wenger was the biggest roadblock to success for the last few years, I admit that my disappointment in seasons past may have caused me to attribute too much of the failure onto the manager. Still not exactly clamouring for money from the ownership. But it’s become painfully obvious that change at the top would have affected more of the end product than a manager change has, probably much faster as well.
Receding
You’re attributing Wenger signing a new contract to Wenger, and not the guy offering the contract? Makes total sense.
Again, you can’t dismiss an owners responsibility by stating he had respect for Wenger, that’s a ridiculous notion. He’s owner of the football club, his interests are whether the football club is successful end of story.
Unless you’re attempting to speculate Stan had greater respect for Wenger than he did have interest in making Arsenal the best it could be? That would be a an incredible position to attempt to defend.
Blame should be shared. An entity like Arsenal would not have digressed so far away from its potential simply because one man was incompetent. Judging Wenger on an isolated basis though, it really was a matter of honor toward the end of his tenure. Like so many have said, he wasn’t up for it. I don’t blame him, it’s natural for people to want to protect their high paying jobs and the prestige that comes with it. But it would have been amazing if he saw himself objectively and bowed out, for the sake of himself and for the sake… Read more »
Again, you can’t dismiss an owners responsibility by stating he had respect for Wenger, that’s a ridiculous notion. He’s owner of the football club, his interests are whether the football club is successful end of story. You do not hesitate to use words like ridiculous and others once someone does not agree with you do you Charlie…lol…good for you Well Stan is not the type of owner that is that worried over footballing success,, and i like how you ignored the part i made it quite clear he was by no means a good owner of a football club. However… Read more »
Good post Sancho
yes Wenger left a sour taste in all our mouths, he disappointed a lot of us who so desperately wanted him to leave on a high.
Good posts, Receding. Exactly correct.
Thanks JWL
Stoked you’re still
Enjoying it
I made it for the fire hall the other night
Charlie, you want the recipe? 🙂
Jamie
I am optimistic. No reason we can’t compete for the league. If Diego. Can consistently compete v Barca and real we can do it as well, especially now that wenger is gone
Emery just keeps on winning. How do you explain something that nobody (and I mean nobody) expected? Well, take your pick. Either Emery is cleverer than we thought, or the players are more capable, or the team is luckier, or some combination of all three, clever, capable and lucky. My bet is on a bit of all three. Of course, eventually luck will run out, it always does. And though the players may be better than we thought, that does not make them as good as the best of the rest. That leaves us with a clever manager. I’ll take… Read more »
Receding Interesting that you have such an aversion to the English language, when a notion is ridiculous what would you like me to call it? You’re awfully precious about these things. I’ve made clear my pov. Wenger wasn’t up to task yet was offered multiple contracts. That means Wenger has blame for the football shortcomings, and Stan has the blame for prolonging and endorsing such shortcomings. That to me is the crux of the last how ever many years. Why don’t you stay on track and explain your own points that I’ve questioned? It’s your pov that’s difficult to fathom,… Read more »
I’m good thanks Delia 🙂
“he had respect for Wenger, that’s a ridiculous notion”
From someone who had and still has deep and abiding respect for Arsene Wenger, from someone who even nine months 12 months prior to Wenger’s departure was telling Le Grove that Wenger might be capable of challenging for or winning titles if properly motivated.
If it isn’t or wasn’t “ridiculous” for you to respect and believe in Wenger, Charlie, why is it “ridiculous” to say that Kroenke stuck with Wenger because he respected Wenger?
Apologies for the typos.
Joe –
I’ll take small gains! Back into the CL, nice cash injection (and a small reputation enhancement), recruit young talented players, and push on next season.
If Mourinho could lose his job in the meantime, that would be tremendous.
Banford
Unlike you to will fully misrepresent something I’ve said. The same mutterings that were debunked previously no less, have you really such little shame?
Don’t answer that, it’s rhetorical..
I do not know how you can read my posts and conclude i gave Stan a “free” pas but that is classic you Charlie
No i do not have an aversion to the English language seeing as i communicate freely with it on a daily basis, aversion means a strong dislike or disinclination, i suggest you use appropriate words for more effective communication. Don’t just look for opportunities to throw thinly veiled insults at posters who happen to have a different take on things..its tiresome
Receding Thanks for being a breath of fresh air in these parts. You’ve become one of the steadiest writers here. Good to see people that don’t try to drift in the winds of Legrove. People tend to displace blame meant for Wenger on Stan. Stan has the sin of omission, neglecting/refusing to sack Wenger when hit was clear he was making it up as he went along. He’s the one who never articulated his vision for the club. He never supervised the goings-on and should have vetoed all these transfer misdeeds. Wenger was the one doing the actual commission of… Read more »
For the record
We were 100% right to get rid of Santi Cazorla. I wish him the best
We were 100% right to get rid of Wilchair. Our sick bay says thank you.
That’s for you Una na na na 🙂
I just wonder if Emery will start start rotating more in the Europa League once we’ve guaranteed our qualification into the next stage.
On paper, our toughest opponents are Sporting Lisbon, and to win there would virtually guarantee our progress into the next round…
I can imagine that our youngsters like W.illock and Nketiah will be raring to play… will they get their chance then? It would be brilliant to see these boys struct their skills.
*strut
“Wenger wasn’t up to it, that’s on Wenger. Wenger was offered multiple contracts, that’s still on Wenger? Uhm, no its not. Yes Charlie it is” Right here you state Wenger is to blame for signing contract extensions, not Stan. So i’ll ask again, because you failed to answer before, why is Stan a “bad” owner in your eyes? You’ve stated he: – Doesn’t need to put his hand in his pocket for the club – Wasn’t to blame for Wenger singing new contracts – Came to the club and admired/respected Wenger from the outset Also, you’re literally rehashing my own… Read more »
Upset? Could this be classic marko having comprehensive struggles and thereby correlating shit by putting 2+2 to get 5
Don’t want to be that guy but I think you meant comprehension struggles Vic you ding dong
Hey Bamford.
How’s the sun- worshiping going?
Charlie Sorry, are you denying (i) that you have a deep and abiding respect for Arsene Wenger or that (ii) you told us twelve months prior to his departure that, given he was once a title-winning manager, there was no reason to think he couldn’t accomplish great things again under different ownership? If so, everyone here knows you’re being disingenuous. And not for the first time. If I’ve misrepresented what you said at that time, just tell us what you did say and what you did mean. But please note that we all remember what you said and the record… Read more »
Stan is a bad owner in my eyes because he is not a football fan. He does not care if we win trophies or become one of the nest teams in Europe, He bought Arsenal mostly for its value and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that Read Dissenter’s comment: “Stan has the sin of omission, neglecting/refusing to sack Wenger when hit was clear he was making it up as he went along. He’s the one who never articulated his vision for the club. He never supervised the goings-on and should have vetoed all these transfer misdeeds. Wenger was the… Read more »
https://www.transfermarkt.com/miguel-almiron/profil/spieler/272999
American Grovers… apparently we are heavily linked with this player in January… a Paraguayan playmaker — has anyone watched him play? Is he actually any good?
Has the MLS gotten any better in terms of quality recently? How good are the top MLS sides compared to the English leagues?
Banford
I think you missed the memo on me answering your super cool pop quizzes…
I’ve said what I’m saying about your commentary, it’s false and misrepresentative because that’s classic you. It’s also been done before, so get some new material at least.
*to those in the English leagues
Leeds
The MLS has gotten better compared to the past but it’s quality is still a ways behind the top flight European leagues. I’d say most Championship sides could handle MLS squads easily, not because I know a lot about either league but simply based on the way they generally play. The MLS is an all action league, entertaining at times but really no emphasis on defense to speak of.
“I already stated many posts ago that Stan was a bad owner so i don’t get what you are making noises over…by the way you have not bothered to answer my question, what percentage of blame for our decline lies on Wenger??“ Saying the owner “isn’t a football fan” doesn’t specify how it makes him a bad owner. You’ve denied Stans culpability in extending Wengers reign at Arsenal so it’s quite easy not to grasp why you consider Stan a bad owner. Since when do you need to be a football fan to be a good football club owner? I… Read more »
Leeds
I don’t watch much MLS, but I actually saw Atlanta FC play live in Atlanta last year. I was quite impressed with their play in general — their front five are all South Americans — and with the Paraguayan #10 in particular.
Impossible to say how he would do in England, obviously, but he looked a classy player.
Leeds I don’t know about getting any better or any of that but I have noticed recently MLS sides buying up young promising prospects from South America like Almiron like Barco basically doing things that Atletico or Benfica have been known to do. These types of players aren’t long for the MLS
I blame Wenger for not being up to task, and Stan for being devoid of ambition and using us a profolio piece.
I dare say Stan is a very ambitious man, he now owns all of Arsenal, only problem is his ambitions and that of the fans isn’t the same. Having said that we have spent quite a lot on player recruitment over the past two years, we just didn’t spend it well. That is not on Stan.
I’m sorry but the MLS is improving but it’s still a little shite im sorry. Bradley Wright Phillips is considered one of their best players these last number of years and I think Charlton/Southampton was about as good as it got for him in England
Charlie
Hilarious. You’re not replying, guy, because I have in fact represented your views accurately, and you know that there is no way for you to address the issue without either admitting this or contradicting yourself.
And everyone here knows this.
I’ll leave it there, though. It’s not all that important.
Seems as if this Almiron thing might actually be true.
£11 Million, could prove to be a great bit of scouting, his stats are pretty great but obviously you have to recognise it is the MLS and the EPL is a different ball game.
Almiron’s manager at Atlanta FC is Tata Martino. He managed the Argentine national team and Barcelona briefly. I imagine his opinion of Almiron would carry some weight.
It is true that MLS is far from the PL, but the level of play has improved, and there are some good players in the league.
I doubt it would happen but if AC Milan was willing I wouldn’t mind doing a swap where we send Ramsey that way and we receive either Franck Kessie or Hakan Calhanoglu in return… Like I said unless Ramsey wants to move overseas it’s unlikely to happen. I think, if he is going to move in January, he’ll move to an outfit like Liverpool, who will be looking for reinforcements if they are still in the latter stages of the title race and/or the Champion’s League. If Liverpool come in for him I can see him going for something like… Read more »
Reading up on him from Atlanta fans they say he is best when he is dribbling at people, using his pace and being direct but also works hard and tracks back. If we are buying him could he be the wide playmaker we need?
You’ve denied Stans culpability in extending Wengers reign at Arsenal I would say a certain type of fan is just as culpable if not more so than Silent Stan. I’ll give you an example the one game of the season Stan attended the season before last was the FA Cup final and admittedly it was a good performance on the day but you and I know that performance was more of a one off instead of the dawn of anything and by the end of that match you had fans cheering one Arsene Wenger and singing sweet Caroline. It’s understandable… Read more »
Without even looking it up we were linked with him when he was at Lanus.
@Banford No what’s hilarious is you regurgitating the same rubbish that was debunked previously. The fact i’m refusing to dig in the archives to satisfy one moron with a hard on is precisely that, I can’t be bothered indulging you. Dead simple: what you’ve said is misrepresentative of what I said way back when, and it’s being done to try and point score. Massive yawn, one for rehashing the same content, and two for presenting it in the same way as always with your pop quiz that results in your customary “hilarious” quips. Honestly you’re beyond predictable, shouldn’t teachers be… Read more »
Graham 62/ Michael 24
You must be tying yourself in knots who you support this weekend
Fulham or Arsenal ?
LMAO well played Hillwood
Leno, Xhaka, Ramsey and Auba are most certain to play at Fulham. I wonder if Mkhitaryian will be called upon if so, it would be interesting to see if Bellerin and Henrikh can ignite their chemistry… earlier this season and late last season they seemed to mix well together to create flowing attacks. I hope we stay sharp against complacency… it would be a shame to lose our winning streak right before an international break. Our next few fixtures are all winnable if we stay focussed — it would be great if we could keep these winning run going as… Read more »
Wenger was a fucking wanker. His arrogance and ego destroyed the club.
Giving that cunt Jenkinson a five year deal back in 2015 was a stackable offense alone. Shocking decision.
Marko
I cannot remember where I read it but apparently Sanellhi likes South American players, interesting that he has taken over and the Ramsey contract was removed and now there are these stories that we’re in for Almiron shortly after strong links to Pavon as well.
Only a sad deluded idiot still proclaims the great arsewenger!…
8-2 is a scoreline that only befits a wanker in charge. Please don’t ever forget that disgraceful scoreline……
He carried on, driving our club down with his decaying performances…..sacking him was correct but 7 years too late
I really like Emery however.
CA he’d add some much needed pace and flair to the attack. But can Almiron make third party runs into the box? That’s all that matters to me. It’s so important
@steve…you obviously got the same annoying feeling as I did reading these “strange” wenger-lovers bleat on about him….losers
I was at the 8-2…been going to therapy ever since
“I was at the 8-2…been going to therapy ever since“
Not the right sort clearly
Steve
Fuck off you sneering sanctimonious creep. You’re nothing in here but a negative presence. There is zero optimism or hope in any utterance you offer, only condemnation as though you are offering advice from an esteemed position. You clearly can’t stand anything about arsenal or the fans who seek a positive outlook.I bet you live a frustrated existence. You little anus licker…