I’m sorry but this is going to be a negative post once again, but us Arsenal fans have to grit our teeth because i think it is true to say we are now not a good side at all. We are not the third or fourth best side in the league. We are the fifth best side. For a team of Arsenal’s stature its simply shocking.
I think the lack of tempo, willingness and drive to win and severe lack of passion mean there are more problems than we know about behind the scenes. As fans all we see are the performances on the pitch, but something just tells me that its not just the players that’s the problem Ive just got a hunch that there is unrest inside that club.
- Greed In The Boardroom?
Many fans are upset with the lack of investment in the team, especially our reliance on youth. We lost out on Alonso in the summer for the sake of two million pounds, peanuts to a club like this that would be more than willing to shell that and more out on an unproven 18 year old. But when it comes to the developed article, they are not so willing to part with their money and put it where their mouth is. Arsenal make a crazy amount of money every home game and i know that money is used for a lot of other things, possibly funding the boardrooms liking for caviar and truffles, but we must have the funds to buy players like Arshavin. I mean, if Tottenham can, we sure as hell can.
- Mixed Expectations And Goals?
What are the targets every season for people inside the club? To win the league? To win a trophy? To just get in the top four and keep making money from fans that follow the club in blind faith and loyalty? The club has to show ambition, we have not shown it in a long time now. People might say we spent big on Nasri but that was after letting Hleb, Senderos and Flamini leave the club, and also after the loss of Lehmann’s experience. Fans need to see the ambition, I’m not talking about trying to sign a Messi or Kaka, I’m talking about getting a squad bit enough and good enough to challenge for EVERY honour. Not just one. At the moment we are throwing away the Carling Cup every single season. If we won that competition it would do the team the world of good and i know we all mocked Sp*rs for winning it but would you be happy if we won it?
The answer is probably yes.
- The Youth Not Good Enough?
I’m going to get my testicles hung from a power line if i don’t word this right.
I will cut to the point, our youth does not look good enough at the moment. Yes we have the special talent of Wilshere and possibly Ramsey but the rest? We bleat on about our youth so much, but after seeing some of Man Utd’s kids the other week i thought ‘shit, they could be better than ours’. Vela has not really set the world on fire has he? I don’t expect him too but we have not seen enough of him and he could well be too small for this league.
At the end of the day, wasn’t Aliadiere supposed to be the next Henry?
- Too Many Average Players
Now, i have defended Eboue and Bendtner a lot this season, Bendtner has improved of late but Wengers love affair with Eboue HAS TO STOP. We have too much emphasis on our players being athletes, Gallas, Eboue, Toure, Diaby are all athletes. We need footballers. Since when has this team had so many average players under Wenger? Since when has a team that should be challenging for the title had so many average players?
Eboue,Fabianski,Toure,Diaby, Song, Bendtner,Bischoff, Silvestre are average for starters.
It could be any number of those reasons, or more. We have had big players missing but as i said earlier, every team does at some stage.
I am genuinely worried about us not getting into the top four next season, and even if we did get Arshavin it it could be too little too late. For christs sake we could even end up sixth behind Everton.
I don’t want any more excuses, the players have their comforts, we don’t. We work our arses off every day to have an existence. They singularly earn enough money to keep the entire population of an African country from dying. Fans pay their hard earned money to watch them play and are rewarded with a lackluster performance and seeing Adebayor laughing at missing a guilt edged chance. Fuck off Ade.
We are fans, not robots.
We can stop spending money on the club you know. Repay our faith.
There is news that Cesc Fabregas could come back earlier than expected, but to be honest, he didn’t do much before he was injured was he. He was ineffective, face it. This season for him has not been a patch on the last three. We need the real Cesc back.
This is full of doom, gloom disillusionment and raw anger. I’m fed up of crappy excuses. Just admit we are a poor side now.
I want to see just how many fans are worried about our chances of fourth place, I’m going to run a poll so it would be great if you could fill it out.
Right, sorry for that.
Til Tomorrow.
Arsenal News 24/7
Aliadiere was absolute class until he got injured at the start of the 04/05 season. Not the same player since.
That’s too bad. I used to like this blog.
Would you prefer to have someone else as manager apart from Wenger – who is, by the way, the only person in football who could’ve accomplished what he has at this club? Let’s take the one who most people agree is the best manager in the world: SAF. He’s got the club in a disgusting debt – without having to build a new stadium. They will be very, very lucky to stay alive and avoid forced relegation during and in the aftermath of this crisis.
I’m not sure that you’d want another manager, but alot of people do nowadays. If the anti-Wenger boys get their wish and he is replaced by a lesser manager (because there are no better) I will laugh at the anti-Wenger boys as the club will join up in the ludicrous spending and ultimately doom; no Cesc, no scouting network, no total football and no Arsenal without Wenger.
I could make this post about 4 times longer and list further reasons as to why Wenger has done everything right, but it all comes down to this: other people are breaking the rules while we aren’t (which we will be thankful for in the future) and bad luck with injuries. You won’t miss Wenger until his gone, and you will miss him then. I promise you.
I dont want Wenger to go by any means. Where did i say that?
ive said time and time again i admire the bloke greatly. My beef is with the boardroom people and some of the players
This is an excellent blog, truly nail on head.
I watched Arsenal yesterday and they were awful, the only player with any genuine passion seemed to be Nasri and even he was not that good.
In total agreement with everything you have mentioned, Arsenal have massive issues at the moment, how amazing has Alonso been this season for Liverpool, missed for £2m!!
I am gutted to say it but our beloved club has upward of a dozen signficant problems and unless we are purchased by a sugar daddy soon, we are in grave danger of becoming a very mediocre outfit indeed.
Sorry, one last thing. Another very important point is that the players themselves seem to be playing with a resignation that they are going to come up short, from the start of the game !!!!!
come on aqqe – u know that our gameplay suffers from cretivity and end products lately.dont blame it becoz of the injured players, it is because we are short of experience and talented player.Arsene wenger tactics has been stale already..rest out RvP for a cardiff game??come on..he’s tactocs has gone stale…i think it’s bitter too late for arsenal to turn back their fortune..what a mess this season.
come on aqqe – u know that our gameplay suffers from cretivity and end products lately.dont blame it becoz of the injured players, it is because we are short of experience and talented player.Arsene wenger tactics has been stale already..rest out RvP for a cardiff game??come on..he’s tactics have gone stale…i think it’s bitter too late for arsenal to turn back their fortune..what a mess this season.
Sorry, while I appreciate your gloom and doom sentiment, we are a talented side that contains no real determination. Arsenal have been the 5th best team in the recent past, in the 80s but I definitely appreciated the effort the likes of O’Leary and even Charlie Nic would put into a match. I agree with you about the youth and Fabregas and I think you have to supplement them to make a great team. If you put bloody Didi Hamman in midfield Fabregas would contribute more…even if Diaby or Denilson is more talented there is no balance. Wenger to my mind has taken a wrong turn – he’s forgotten the likes of Parlour and that kind of contribution…
I personally don’t think we need a CB. We need a gk and someone to allow fab, nas, rosicky, walcott, vela and rvp to play…without hesitation, if they were free we would win most matches. Without doubt.
I could not care less about the Champs League qualification. Milan have been in the Uefa Cup and kept their top players. If anyone goes becuase their performances have left us 5th or 6th what does that tell us about them?
And as for saying blaming injuries are an excuse I think thats unfair. Rosicky, Walcott, Fabregas and Eduardo is like taking 4 first teamers including your best player out of any other team we would soon see how Villa, Chelsea or Liverpool would be then? Utd could probably cope. And then for that team to be unbeaten in 8 or 9 matches…
Fellows, there can only be one winner of the League, so every year 2 or 3 good sides don’t win it. It’s a tough leafue and I think there are genuine reasons why Arsenal have been disastrous this season.
To put in relative terms, DISASTER FOR ARSENAL = 5th. For all but 4 or 5 clubs disaster would be relegation.
I think with all the injuries and poor form, if Arsenal finish 4th ahead of Aston Villa it will be like winning a Trophy.
I think Arsenal could be a hope in the FA Cup if they get a saloon run to the semi finals when Walcott and Cesc may be ready to take part again.
This Arshavin business seems to be taking forever. It doesn’t seem like a real goer.
Okay thanks fellows.
I agree with you. Just imagine Gallas, Eboue, Song, Diaby, Denilson, Adebayor in say Manchester United or Barcelona or AC Milan or Inter Milan. Will they be in the first team? Noway! These guys are not good enough to be first teamers of a top European Club and if he are to stay with them in the next 3 4 years then don’t expect Arsenal to be a top European Club.
Arsenal have become so boring. Hardly a single clear cut chance in 90 mins. That is just too much. When you see them playing you just can’t see the determination in their performances (apart from van Persie, Nasri, Sagna, Clichy).
I agree with you on Fabregas also. He knows he is guaranteed a first team place so he doesn’t look as good as he can be. Look at him playing for Spain and he gives an all out performance. Why? Because there he fears for his place. He wants a regular place in the team. But at Arsenal he is the captain. Wenger can’t drop him. He is our best player. The best central midfielder in my view after Xavi. Even though I am a big fan of him, this season he hasn’t impressed as much as he is capable of. At times he has been brilliant. Remember that equaliser against Sunderland? That is called determination. Diaby, Denilson and co. need to learn this.
I STILL CAN’T UNDERSTAND WHY ARSENE PLAYS A DEFENDER ON THE RIGHT WING IN THE NAME OF EBOUE…THAT GUY IS NOT EVEN GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE RESERVES…WHY NOT PLAY VELA OR BENTNER
Zain, the reason Fab was not so good this season was imo for 2 reasons… 1. He is 21 and has already played over 200 odd games and 2. He does not have flamini running 100 mile an hour around him to get him the ball anymore instead he has Denilson… who would you buy to make Fab ‘fear’ for his place?
I agree with you all this is arsenal, it is a team that is meant to be up at the top not somewhere down at fifth. but as they say what’s done is done, the players have to dig down and find the grit and determination to start winning the matches, look at hull at the start of the season, they where on a pretty amazing form weren’t they and yet they are a below average team. so what the players have to do is to play with real passion, they don’t have to be fancy to win games but they have to be determined to win them. Even shitty hull could win games so why can’t arsenal that is 1 of the best in europe.
Well said goonblogger my sentiments exactly, the problem is Le boss is sleeping with the board, he is the highest paid manager in the league so he’s happy the board are happy because the club is also earning money, but we can’t win anything with inexpierenced players, bring back David Dean invest in some good players, and pay what players get elsware then maybe they wont want to leave.then we might win something
Best blog you have written.
I froze my nuts off sat watching them …. but afterwards the performance still leaes me cold. F**k Off Ade Eboue Denilson Song Gallas Silvestre etc.
I have never watched an AFC team where I have disliked so many players (I’m 54 !!!!!) This is not good ….. not good at all. Who apart from Cesc and RVP do you really feel pround of when you talk to your mates ?? Maybe Sagna and Clichy as well.
I love this blog.
But Wenger is still d best.
Arsenal forever.
Perfectly agree with you King Kolo. But I just mean that if he is not performing up to the mark or going through a bad form, he should be rested for a match or two. But you’re absolutely right about the burnout and Flamini factor.
I will have your balls indeed. Walcott, Wilshere, Vela, Ramsey, Merida, are bigger talents than Wellbeck, Gibson or Possebon. Much bigger. Gibbs is of the same level as Fabio, only Rafael exceeds our right backs (and frankly, everyone’s.) And we haven’t even discussed Coquelin. Not realistic, just jumping on the bandwagon of United, like Faker (who did make a good point)?
if we still have Flamini, im sure we dont need anybody in this transfer window. Flamini is fantastic DM.
Last time I checked:
a) we are one a 10 game unbeaten run without the likes of Fabregas, Rosicky, Eduardo and many players playing nowhere near their potential – Ade, Eboue, Diaby and perhaps Clichy and Sagna
b) RvP has fulfilled all his potential
c) We are still in all the major tournaments
d) were 5 points behind Chelsea, who spent alot more
money than us on their players.
e) we still have a very good chance of finishing 4th and winning perhaps the FA Cup
f) we have the best youth in the league. And last time I checked Vela had been setting English football on fire. Our team with an average age of 19 beat a full strength Wigan (who may play UEFA cup) 3-0 and completely dominated them, with Vela the star. This is not to mention Denilson, Diaby, Nasri and Song who are all very young and are expected to be as good as Pires, Viera, Edu, Ljundberg and Parlour every week.
g) We may be signing Arshavin very shortly
h) We still have Arsene Wenger
Now that is just a small, hastily compiled lists of the positives of the season so far. It is very easy to be negative but maybe if supporters were a little more positive then the atmosphere at the Emiraes might be something to crow about.