Match Reaction v West Brom (home) 15/16

[Munchies]

:coffee:

#WengerOut

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cgl_WfoWIAA-rjl.jpg

1-0 Alexis Goal
https://streamable.com/2zhi

2-0 Alexis Goal
https://streamable.com/1v3l

[adzzzbatch]

Wow we won...

Wenger out.

[Globalgunner]

We won. Give the man a new contract.

[Munchies]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cgl_VFHXEAA-G9t.jpg

Letters?

[McNamara That Ghost...]

A win but in truth, a bit shit.

I think I'm still in meltdown.

[Munchies]

Added the goals if anyone like me missed the game

[Letters]

:partytime:

Meh. Least we won.

[Chippy]

:coffee:

#WengerOut

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cgl_WfoWIAA-rjl.jpg

1-0 Alexis Goal
https://streamable.com/2zhi

2-0 Alexis Goal
https://streamable.com/1v3l
With a decent Manager and decent medical staff, we should be pissing this league. We haven't and we are not. Wenger out!

[Chippy]

:partytime:

Meh. Least we won.
Too little too late Mr Letters.

[Master Splinter]

Pulis :lol:.

[Özim]

Couldn't even manage an 8-0 :angry:

Wenger:


On empty seats at Emirates Stadium: "I don’t know why the fans stayed away. It’s Thursday night, it’s not easy and I do not want to comment on that. I’m commenting on football."

:lol: Much like tactics and problems with the team, he doesn't know why the fans stayed away. :lol: What a clown!

[Munchies]

Couldn't even manage an 8-0 :angry:

Wenger:



:lol: Much like tactics and problems with the team, he doesn't know why the fans stayed away. :lol: What a clown!

:gp:

he sure wants his £8m a year eh! Fans have had enough Mr WUMger, if you had any decency, you'd resign

Like fuck he loves this club

[Master Splinter]

Managers who don't know why fans stayed away don't deserve £8 million a year.

I think £4 million would suffice for these villains.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

In the end I don't think there was much difference between the attendance for this game and others in midweek.

It wasn't quite the unified 'voting with their feet' they intended, nor was the walkout.

[Munchies]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CgmE2CtWIAE9TRJ.jpg

lad!

[Letters]

Too little too late Mr Letters.

Well sure but would you rather we lost? I don't really believe anyone who says they don't care.

[Marc Overmars]

Pretty straight forward win. Played on auto pilot for most of it. Dull as dishwater.

I put a bet on us scoring no more goals in the 2nd half. Easy money.

Wenger out.

[Kano]

Managers who don't know why fans stayed away don't deserve £8 million a year.

I think £4 million would suffice for these villains.

That's a very reasonable amount of money to manage a football team.

[Özim]

I put a bet on us scoring no more goals in the 2nd half. Easy money.

Gave yourself something to be excited about cos let's face it the football is shite, nice one. :good:

Almost as easy as Wengers' yearly salary.

[Özim]

Like fuck he loves this club

Come on, of course he loves the club, which other club would pay him that and guarantee him a job without the need to win anything of any real significance.

[Özim]

Managers who don't know why fans stayed away don't deserve £8 million a year.

I think £4 million would suffice for these villains.

£4 million? Is that the going rate for specialists in failure these days?

[Chippy]

Well sure but would you rather we lost? I don't really believe anyone who says they don't care.
We all care, that's why we get so angry about it.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Come on, Wenger does bleed red and white. Back when he was driven and providing the best football I've ever seen, he could have handpicked almost any Club in the world.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CgmE2CtWIAE9TRJ.jpg

lad!

His name and that of his family have been recorded

They will be liquidated in due course

Long Live President Wenger

[Munchies]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6n1xW6leuk

'playing with belief and a point to prove'

:haha:

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Come on, of course he loves the club, which other club would pay him that and guarantee him a job without the need to win anything of any real significance.

You think money is any way a motivating factor for Wenger?

Look at the suits he wears, this doesn't come across to me like a man who checks his bank balance very often

Whilst of course it suits him to be at a club where he is under anything like the pressure he should be (which you can't blame him for as such because if your bosses expect nothing from you how much you going to give of yourself).

Whilst failure is acceptable it makes it easier for him to prevaricate over signings.

I think he's being Arsenaltutionalised, he's been here so long he knows nothing else now and isn't likely to retire to take up golf.

I don't mean that should elicit sympathy, he's showing the same hubris as Margaret Thatcher did near the end and it seems clear that if not now than Wengers 1990 movement is fast approaching.

[Özim]

You think money is any way a motivating factor for Wenger?

Look at the suits he wears, this doesn't come across to me like a man who checks his bank balance very often

Whilst of course it suits him to be at a club where he is under anything like the pressure he should be (which you can't blame him for as such because if your bosses expect nothing from you how much you going to give of yourself).

Whilst failure is acceptable it makes it easier for him to prevaricate over signings.

I think he's being Arsenaltutionalised, he's been here so long he knows nothing else now and isn't likely to retire to take up golf.

I don't mean that should elicit sympathy, he's showing the same hubris as Margaret Thatcher did near the end and it seems clear that if not now than Wengers 1990 movement is fast approaching.

If someone gave him £100 million he'd hand it back, if someone hands him a pay rise every other year however, he doesn't hand it back. Interesting for a man who doesn't care about money at all, if he didn't care at all then he wouldn't be on 8 million a year tbh.

I'm not saying it's his sole motivation btw, just that it's a myth that he doesn't care about money, you don't end up earning that much if money is irrelevant to you.

[Munchies]

AW: "Because Leicester is in front everybody says 'You should have done it' [won the league], but you can say that for any team."

[Niall_Quinn]

Has Iwobi been Wengerised already? The lad had full complexity mode enabled tonight. What made him originally stand out was the simplicity in his play. Simple but effective.

Would have liked to see them push and and score a few goals. The goals came from Alexis taking a chance. But after that it was walk the ball into the net time again. Really need to get the basics back into our game.

Two more wins and a draw guarantees su 4th spot at least. We'll do the absolute bare minimum required so we'll need Utd to keep winning for us to keep on winning.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

If someone gave him £100 million he'd hand it back, if someone hands him a pay rise every other year however, he doesn't hand it back. Interesting for a man who doesn't care about money at all, if he didn't care at all then he wouldn't be on 8 million a year tbh.

I'm not saying it's his sole motivation btw, just that it's a myth that he doesn't care about money, you don't end up earning that much if money is irrelevant to you.

If the club are prepared to pay him that much why would he give it back.

My point is if he were offered a contract extension offering him half the wage he's currently on he'd take it just as readily because I don't think how much he earns is that much of a consideration to him.

Even when he was considered a top manager, do you imagine contract negotiations stalling because he wasn't being offered enough?.

[Kano]

Come on, Wenger does bleed red and white. Back when he was driven and providing the best football I've ever seen, he could have handpicked almost any Club in the world.

No he bleeds green. It's funny cos that's the colour of money. In America. Still works though. Cos it's funny.

[Marc Overmars]

AW: "Because Leicester is in front everybody says 'You should have done it' [won the league], but you can say that for any team."

The difference is there have or will be consequences at all those clubs who should have done better this season, and they will likely be better for it next season.

Arsenal? Just happy to plod along reeking of under achievement.

[Munchies]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rf86mrYQ2s

Solid points now he's calmed down from last time lol

[Kano]

AKB's :doh:

[Dicks and chicks]

Phil Brown in.

[Munchies]

Apparently that was our first goal outside the box!

[Letters]

AW: "Because Leicester is in front everybody says 'You should have done it' [won the league], but you can say that for any team."

Do you disagree?

[Letters]

The difference is there have or will be consequences at all those clubs who should have done better this season, and they will likely be better for it next season.

Arsenal? Just happy to plod along reeking of under achievement.
:good:

Aye, that's a reasonable point.

[Power n Glory]

Do you disagree?

Yes, because for years the argument was the teams above us all spent more than us to be there.

[Niall_Quinn]

:good:

Aye, that's a reasonable point.

A point that has been made repeatedly along with many, many other damning criticisms and observations that together make it outrageous for Wenger to still be giving out excuses at this late stage of the shit show he planned and staged with such predictable precision. Now he gets another summer and another season and I'll bet you he makes all the same mistakes again.

[Kano]

Do you disagree?

Yes because it’s a stupid distortion of the truth by Wenger. People aren’t criticising just because Leicester are in front. They are criticising for watching the same season unfold yet again. And they are criticising because when all the other ‘big’ teams made it clear they weren’t in with a shout of the title and we stil were, we absolutely screwed it up. If we had been off the pace all season like Utd or Chelsea, or City to a degree, then we can lump ourselves into their category. But the reality is, we can't. We kept ourselves in the race until the usual point in the season when the increase in pressure becomes too much for Wenger and his players to handle.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

A point that has been made repeatedly along with many, many other damning criticisms and observations that together make it outrageous for Wenger to still be giving out excuses at this late stage of the shit show he planned and staged with such predictable precision. Now he gets another summer and another season and I'll bet you he makes all the same mistakes again.

I'm sick of this kind of cynicism, just because Wenger is getting in all his excuses in before the summer from tv money to brexit hampering his transfer plans and just because he gives the impression that he is unaware of what his team has done wrong.....and just because every time in the last ten years where we've challenged for the title we have fallen away in exactly same depressing way....doesn't mean he will make all the same mistakes again.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rf86mrYQ2s

Solid points now he's calmed down from last time lol

He has calmed down has he...Ah i see.....so he is actually a prat and wasn't just overly emotional.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Do you disagree?

No he's quite right, it is for example also wholly unacceptable for the Manchester City's and Chelseas of this world

But when you look at the teams who are usually considered to be the usual suspects in the title race, there is going to be consequences for failure. Either massive transfer spending or change of manager.

Wenger is more secure in his position than the Queen and Robert Mugabe combined and he's already tried to hint there won't be massive changes.

[Özim]

Wenger says fans should return for quality football, :lol: our football is sh*t, he just doesn't have a clue, he's still living in 2003.


Asked for a message to fans, Wenger said: "Come and support the team. If you love football, you go out there and I think you see quality football."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36106478

[Özim]

Do you disagree?

Yes because every other big team is making changes, City have got Guardiola, Chelsea have Conte, Man U may well have a new manager and will no doubt spend and Liverpool will improve under Klopp and will make signings.

It just leaves us remaining stagnant and changing nothing. The other big clubs are not accepting coming behind Leicester, but we're happy to make excuses and to change next to nothing.

[Gooner23]

Yes because it’s a stupid distortion of the truth by Wenger. People aren’t criticising just because Leicester are in front. They are criticising for watching the same season unfold yet again. And they are criticising because when all the other ‘big’ teams made it clear they weren’t in with a shout of the title and we stil were, we absolutely screwed it up. If we had been off the pace all season like Utd or Chelsea, or City to a degree, then we can lump ourselves into their category. But the reality is, we can't. We kept ourselves in the race until the usual point in the season when the increase in pressure becomes too much for Wenger and his players to handle.

:gp:

[Munchies]

Wenger says fans should return for quality football, :lol: our football is sh*t, he just doesn't have a clue, he's still living in 2003.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36106478


Saw the vid of it mentioned
https://twitter.com/afcufcfan/status/723216806316523520

Oh dear :haha:

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Yes because it’s a stupid distortion of the truth by Wenger. People aren’t criticising just because Leicester are in front. They are criticising for watching the same season unfold yet again. And they are criticising because when all the other ‘big’ teams made it clear they weren’t in with a shout of the title and we stil were, we absolutely screwed it up. If we had been off the pace all season like Utd or Chelsea, or City to a degree, then we can lump ourselves into their category. But the reality is, we can't. We kept ourselves in the race until the usual point in the season when the increase in pressure becomes too much for Wenger and his players to handle.

The only area where i don't agree with you is that i don't think it would have been any more acceptable had we fallen off the pace the same time chelsea and united did.
City in actual fact only fell out of the title race a few weeks before we did.
But i do agree broadly with what your saying, when city who would have still been the favourites up until February lost back to back games at home to Leicester and spurs fell away that should have been the green light for us to go full steam ahead, but we just clammed up.
Like we clammed up in 2008, Like we clammed up in 2011, Like we clammed up in 2014.

I do discuss this a lot with my Brother who whilst certainly isn't an AKB, he is of the opinion that Wenger should not be sacked and deserves the entire length of his contract to try and achieve something....because he feels the club owes it to Wenger for his consistency in a period where he has had nothing to spend and had to sell our best players (yeah fair to say i don't agree with him).
He believes if Wenger is unable to win the title next season his contract should not be renewed, but he believes managers aren't given enough time and Wenger can only be judged on his performances from 2014 onwards (again i disagree with him)

[Kano]

The only area where i don't agree with you is that i don't think it would have been any more acceptable had we fallen off the pace the same time chelsea and united did.
City in actual fact only fell out of the title race a few weeks before we did.
But i do agree broadly with what your saying, when city who would have still been the favourites up until February lost back to back games at home to Leicester and spurs fell away that should have been the green light for us to go full steam ahead, but we just clammed up.
Like we clammed up in 2008, Like we clammed up in 2011, Like we clammed up in 2014.

I don't think it would be acceptable in those circumstances either. To expand on my point further, what I meant is if we found ourselves in that scenario, then Wenger can lump us into the same group as Chelsea and Utd in terms of vastly underachieving by being so far behind Leicester. What Wenger is doing is making a top line statement to cover himself, when in fact when you dig underneath the facts expose his failings. I don't expect him to reveal his disappointments infront of the media, let alone a post-game match interview but he does not help how people view him with such defensive, see-through comments.

There has been discussion about when pressure applies to our game and of course there is pressure in every game a football team plays, no matter the level. This is a competitive sport and there is always something to play for, even if that just means pride. We overcome various 'tests' earlier in the season but there were still several, more intense to come, which we have failed miserably at again. Pressure increases the closer you get to a big achievement and while the FA Cup is one example based on a few games nearer to and including the final, the run-in to a title lasts longer and is a far sterner test of an ability to stand strong.

[Marc Overmars]

I do discuss this a lot with my Brother who whilst certainly isn't an AKB, he is of the opinion that Wenger should not be sacked and deserves the entire length of his contract to try and achieve something....because he feels the club owes it to Wenger for his consistency in a period where he has had nothing to spend and had to sell our best players (yeah fair to say i don't agree with him).
He believes if Wenger is unable to win the title next season his contract should not be renewed, but he believes managers aren't given enough time and Wenger can only be judged on his performances from 2014 onwards (again i disagree with him)

Your brother would have a point if we weren't displaying exactly the same traits and pitfalls as we were when Wenger didn't have much money to spend. It doesn't matter what he spends or who he buys, he has proven without doubt he's not capable of getting his team to perform at the level of consistency required to challenge for the title. There just isn't enough of a drive to succeed at this club anymore and I put the blame solely on Wenger for that. He has been given ample opportunity to succeed, the kind of time most top managers would die for these days. He doesn't know how lucky he is because he would have been sacked multiple times by now at other top clubs.

[Kano]

I do discuss this a lot with my Brother who whilst certainly isn't an AKB, he is of the opinion that Wenger should not be sacked and deserves the entire length of his contract to try and achieve something....because he feels the club owes it to Wenger for his consistency in a period where he has had nothing to spend and had to sell our best players (yeah fair to say i don't agree with him).
He believes if Wenger is unable to win the title next season his contract should not be renewed, but he believes managers aren't given enough time and Wenger can only be judged on his performances from 2014 onwards (again i disagree with him)
I can't reallly add anything else to that apart from this whole AKB and AOB drives me absolutely mad (not aimed at yourself). It's quite possibly one of the gayest arguments I hear going round Arsenal fans. We're all here for one thing -to support the club. This split between those who still want the manager to stay and those who don't is infuriating, giving each other pathetic nicknames ffs.

[adzzzbatch]

Your brother would have a point if we weren't displaying exactly the same traits and pitfalls as we were when Wenger didn't have much money to spend. It doesn't matter what he spends or who buys, he has proven without doubt he's not capable of getting his team to perform at the level of consistency required to challenge for the title. There just isn't enough of a drive to succeed at this club anymore and I put the blame solely on Wenger for that. He has been given ample opportunity to succeed, the kind of time most top managers would die for these days. He doesn't know how lucky he is because he would have been sacked multiple times by now at other top clubs.

:gp:

Spot on

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Your brother would have a point if we weren't displaying exactly the same traits and pitfalls as we were when Wenger didn't have much money to spend. It doesn't matter what he spends or who buys, he has proven without doubt he's not capable of getting his team to perform at the level of consistency required to challenge for the title. There just isn't enough of a drive to succeed at this club anymore and I put the blame solely on Wenger for that. He has been given ample opportunity to succeed, the kind of time most top managers would die for these days. He doesn't know how lucky he is because he would have been sacked multiple times by now at other top clubs.

I agree with you completely and have made that point to him, don't get me wrong.....he isn't one of those people who thinks this season is anyway acceptable. I think he just generally thinks that Wenger deserves the full three years.
I don't think he is quite as negative about the board as me, he doesn't believe long term the board will continue to see it as acceptable not to challenge for the title because in simple money terms they are missing out on the huge sponsorship and marketing deals that can only come about from a team that wins the big prizes.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

I can't reallly add anything else to that apart from this whole AKB and AOB drives me absolutely mad (not aimed at yourself). It's quite possibly one of the gayest arguments I hear going round Arsenal fans. We're all here for one thing -to support the club. This split between those who still want the manager to stay and those who don't is infuriating, giving each other pathetic nicknames ffs.

I see what you are saying, but i think factionalism is a very human trait and people especially on social media make themselves very polarised and unalterable in their views.
My views on Wenger are largely fluid, i think for the past five years i have believed he wasn't the right man to take us forward but it's only in the last two months i have locked down on "he has to go".
I still like him personally and despite my doubt that he could, i have always wanted him to succeed as much to vindicate himself as much as for Arsenal

[Marc Overmars]

:gp:

Spot on

Besides, even with money to spend his activity in the transfer market remains as conservative as ever. We're still talking about the need to sign players in positions we identified 4 years ago.

[adzzzbatch]

Besides, even with money to spend his activity in the transfer market remains as conservative as ever. We're still talking about the need to sign players in positions we identified 4 years ago.

It has been conservative but he has also spent a hell of a lot of money (130 million since 2013). But they've been players that we didn't need in positions we already had a surplus, simply just not good enough or wenger has never been able to the best out of them.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

it comes down to fundamental flaws in the manager's personality, as letters consistently points out all managers have different flaws......but not all managers have the total all encompassing control over the club that Arsene Wenger has, and this has been the problem.

He won't get a new scouting team because he lacks the ruthlessness to get rid of the current set up and does not like confrontation, this is the same approach he has taken with keeping Arteta and Flamini rather than recruiting younger, better players.

I'm sure he has the same issue with buying a striker, that somehow he wants to keep faith with Olivier Giroud rather than admit he's just not good enough

There is also the sense that a title victory will mean less to him if he's spent money bringing in the key components of the squad rather than developing the squad which he feels he achieved with previous title wins.

But the problem is that even the players he has to develop are costing a great deal of money now, Nicolas Anelka at 17 now would have cost us about 20million.

[Master Splinter]

No he bleeds green. It's funny cos that's the colour of money. In America. Still works though. Cos it's funny.

He bleeds cunt.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

He bleeds cunt.

can i assume you either didn't take or failed biology at school ? :lol:

[Özim]

I do discuss this a lot with my Brother who whilst certainly isn't an AKB, he is of the opinion that Wenger should not be sacked and deserves the entire length of his contract to try and achieve something....because he feels the club owes it to Wenger for his consistency in a period where he has had nothing to spend and had to sell our best players (yeah fair to say i don't agree with him).
He believes if Wenger is unable to win the title next season his contract should not be renewed, but he believes managers aren't given enough time and Wenger can only be judged on his performances from 2014 onwards (again i disagree with him)

Needless to say I don't agree with your brother, at the end of the day Wenger's achievements in the last 10 years only really mean something to fans who value a top 4 slot, for me it was fine for a few seasons but when I realised that all it was was a cash cow and that we never competed or had a hope of competing in the CL top 4 soon lost it's appeal.

Wenger has proven he makes the same mistakes time and time again and that regardless of the scenario he can no longer deliver on the big stage, to keep him onboard for reasons other that football is wrong, he should be judged like any other manager would be at any other club, on results and in the end these haven't been good enough.

As has been mentioned he would have been sacked at almost any top club by now for some of the debarcles, he should think himself very lucky he's had as long as he has and seemingly continues to have as long as he wants to carry on without really delivering on the pitch. After 10+ years of relative failure sentiment should no longer get in the way of what is the obvious decision, that he should be relieved of his duties after yet another disastrous end to our season.

He's had plenty of time to right the wrongs and frankly failed miserably for one reason or another, it now seems he lives in his own little world, where everything is rosy and we play the perfect football and where winning is basically a top 4 place.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

I do think there is an argument to saying that keeping us in the top four made the stadium easier to pay for, but the problem now is that where it was regarded as a springboard it's now just achieving it (if you can call it that) for the sake of it.

Now you can quite legitimately argue that the debacle at the start of 2011/2012 was very much of his own making, but considering how relatively poor the team was in terms of overall quality (RVP aside) he did well to take us to third and it's not an achievement that an average manager could have been capable of.

The problem is that it appears that is all he is capable of, whether he has a terrible squad lacking in technical quality or a expensive squad full of talent the result is the same......whether it's an almighty uphill struggle, or a fall from the top....third or fourth is where we end up....it's likely to be 11 seasons in a row we end up in one of those two positions in the table.

We probably won't fall below that standard whilst he remains here, but neither will we get any higher.

He's not a terrible manager because a terrible manager would not have had that consistency, but the fact that he's using it as a defence shows that this is not a man with vision or ideas. I have stated previously that i fundamentally disagree with you that when he leaves there will be a lot of damage to repair, I think any manager who takes over from Wenger will be in a very fortunate position to have a squad that needs reinforcement rather than re-building and will have the Champions League to sink his teeth into.

Its like to me he puts the club in a very good position for a successor to build on, but he doesn't do the important thing and leave.

[Bumble]

Wenger inherited a team that was defensively solid with top keeper, back four plus bergkamp and wright. so he was able to add a greater dimension to the attack. this time round. We probably need someone a bit more defensive in nature... to make us harder to beat.. to be able to shut out teams when we aren't playing that well. So we can win 1-0 again. If you cant win 1-0 then you wont be winning the league.

On the West Brom game... I watched the first 10 minutes, we scored and then couldn't be bothered watching anymore. It will be interesting to see how we do against Sunderland a team who have something to play for.... West Brom are going through the motions more than we are. A win at Sunderland will be a good result and should be enough to ensure we are top 4. As Norwich and Villa at home should be straight forward enough even if we lose the City game.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Wenger inherited a team that was defensively solid with top keeper, back four plus bergkamp and wright. so he was able to add a greater dimension to the attack. this time round. We probably need someone a bit more defensive in nature... to make us harder to beat.. to be able to shut out teams when we aren't playing that well. So we can win 1-0 again. If you cant win 1-0 then you wont be winning the league.

On the West Brom game... I watched the first 10 minutes, we scored and then couldn't be bothered watching anymore. It will be interesting to see how we do against Sunderland a team who have something to play for.... West Brom are going through the motions more than we are. A win at Sunderland will be a good result and should be enough to ensure we are top 4. As Norwich and Villa at home should be straight forward enough even if we lose the City game.

I think there are times when we have made ourselves hard to beat under Wenger, if you look at 2013/2014, after the Villa game - at home we were incredibly defensively solid and once we got a lead invariably we'd hang onto it. Where Wenger falls down is to ability to fuse defensive solidity with attacking flair.

[rodders]

The win whilst welcome should not disquise the fact that the performance was typical of the recent displays. Sloppy final ball lots of possession without for the most part showing much threat. What will happen when Sunderland start clattering us at the weekend.

[Munchies]

Paul merson

‘It’s getting to a bit of an awkward situation now. He’s getting like a squatter really.

“You know, you have a squatter in your house and you want them out – and you can’t!”

Fans have been urging the Gunners’ board to finally make a decision about Wenger and cut him loose, and Merson shares a similar view.

“They’ve got to make a decision,” he continued, when speaking about those in charge at the Emirates.

“They need change! Arsene Wenger is getting a lot of stick now, and he’s going to be forgotten for all the great things he’s done for the club.”

:bow:

[Kano]

and he’s going to be forgotten for all the great things he’s done for the club.”

er, no.

[Marc Overmars]

He will probably leave under a cloud of frustration but his legacy is the stadium and therefore secured. In time when we are successful again he will rightly be appreciated.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

The board i don't think want to make a decision, but come this time next year is Wenger is unsure of whether he will sign a contract extension i don't think they will be twisting his arm to stay.

It didn't appear that they were doing that last time around, they offered him a contract in January 2014 and it was like "if you sign, sign....if you don't....oh well"

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

He will probably leave under a cloud of frustration but his legacy is the stadium and therefore secured. In time when we are successful again he will rightly be appreciated.

Exactly i think his legacy is pretty much unassailable, as i said earlier anyone who takes over from him will be rubbing their hands in glee and i think it would be wrong to suggest any other than he is responsible for creating the expectation that we are so frustrated that he has failed to live up to.

Yes we won things before he came to the club and had a long and proud history, but we are in a position now where we can and should be competing for top honours consistently. Was that really the case before he came....he's like the architect whose built a beautiful house and now won't move out so it can be lived in.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

We now have to score five goals in our remaining two games to match our lowest ever goal total for a premier league season at the Emirates Stadium (31 in 19)

[Özim]

Exactly i think his legacy is pretty much unassailable, as i said earlier anyone who takes over from him will be rubbing their hands in glee and i think it would be wrong to suggest any other than he is responsible for creating the expectation that we are so frustrated that he has failed to live up to.

Yes we won things before he came to the club and had a long and proud history, but we are in a position now where we can and should be competing for top honours consistently. Was that really the case before he came....he's like the architect whose built a beautiful house and now won't move out so it can be lived in.

Playing devils' advocate before he came there wasn't the money in TV and the CL didn't pay nearly as much, so circumstances have certainly helped our financial situation as well.

4th place meant little to most people, it was in fact just a qualifying place for the UEFA cup then, so the incentive if you weren't competing for the title just wasn't there.

Comparing apples and oranges really.

[Marc Overmars]

Wenger said: 'We want to win our games and instead of focusing on the table I think it is very important to focus on the process and quality of what we do.

He really does himself no favours with dumb comments like that. He must know how something like this is going to be perceived? :doh:

[Özim]

He really does himself no favours with dumb comments like that. He must know how something like this is going to be perceived? :doh:

:lol: Yeah let's not focus on table the thing that actually matters and the thing which determines whether you're successful or not, let's focus on the quality which we don't even deliver.

The guy is truly deluded, he needs to listen to himself, if he hadn't been so fortunate and had to find another club he wouldn't find a job at any top club with an attitude like that.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

All i'm saying is that Wenger has helped create the stability and environment that will aid a better manager than him to be challenging on all fronts. Third and Fourth allowing qualifying for the Champions League as well as a lot of money has helped that, but we still had to get into those positions.

I'm old enough to remember that before 1996 there wasn't a insistence that we should be challenging for the title and challenging for the European cup, this is something we expect now and it's a good thing as we should expect it because we have put ourselves in the position financially that we can do this.

So the idea that he has left us in a quagmire which some people make is quite badly wide of the mark.


Again taking the argument that we couldn't compete financially before 2014 (which i've always felt was a bit of a stretch) but it's simply that post 2014 he has been given the opportunity to prove that it was only money holding him back and he's failed that test. And although we won't be in a worse position as a club by allowing him one more season, there really is nothing for us to profit from letting him do so.

Was it that surprising that he probably wouldn't be able to compete even with Money, but I can see the argument that he deserved the chance to try.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

:lol: Yeah let's not focus on table the thing that actually matters and the thing which determines whether you're successful or not, let's focus on the quality which we don't even deliver.

The guy is truly deluded, he needs to listen to himself, if he hadn't been so fortunate and had to find another club he wouldn't find a job at any top club with an attitude like that.

It is ridiculous for him to be saying things like that, i really don't see what he thinks he is achieving by making such statements.

It seems to me a way of trying to appeal to the fans to come back without actually admitting responsibility for why they've turned in the first place

[Marc Overmars]

The guy is truly deluded, he needs to listen to himself, if he hadn't been so fortunate and had to find another club he wouldn't find a job at any top club with an attitude like that.

Therein lies the problem. He's worked himself into a position where he's been given carte blanche, he can do and say as he pleases because no one is going to hold him to account. Leaving Arsenal means retirement for him, he's not going to manage another club so until he's had enough we're stuck with him until he gets bored. The biggest shame is that he doesn't really appear driven anymore to compete for the top prizes, if he left next year having secured another 3rd or 4th place finish, he will deem it a mark of success because no one else has managed to qualify for the CL for that many consecutive years.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Therein lies the problem. He's worked himself into a position where he's been given carte blanche, he can do and say as he pleases because no one is going to hold him to account. Leaving Arsenal means retirement for him, he's not going to manage another club so until he's had enough we're stuck with him until he gets bored. The biggest shame is that he doesn't really appear driven anymore to compete for the top prizes, if he left next year having secured another 3rd or 4th place finish, he will deem it a mark of success because no one else has managed to qualify for the CL for that many consecutive years.

As depressing and predictable as 16/17 season sounds even before the end of this season, if he actually leaves at the end of it after getting us third or fourth.....I think that wouldn't be so terrible would it?....if actually finishing in that position meant something because someone with ambition would make it a platform to build on.
If it makes him easier to go by claiming it as a success, surely not a problem?. We talk about deluded Wenger, but we are only deluding ourselves if we think he's not going to be here next season.

[Maestro]

He really does himself no favours with dumb comments like that. He must know how something like this is going to be perceived? :doh:

this is really the only reason i truly despise him. i could stomach him being around for longer, if he showed some modicum of humility and respect for the fans but that is clearly below him. done wonders for us and thank him for his achievements but i really can't respect him as a man anymore.

the true last dinosaur left (oldest manager in all the european top leagues), and i think his mind has gone. sad ending for our greatest ever manager.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

I don't despise him, I just don't want him to be manager of Arsenal Football club anymore

[Maestro]

I don't despise him, I just don't want him to be manager of Arsenal Football club anymore

fair enough and that is how most people feel, i respect that position.

[Niall_Quinn]

Will be a very interesting day if he gets a new contract. If that happens the fan base will split permanently right down the middle and it will be 3 or 4 seasons of war, if he can even stick it out that long. A new contract is unimaginable and utterly pointless. If the board isn't completely oblivious they surely know this. In which case, what point is there for him to see out the existing contract? All he's doing is delaying things a year and probably making everything worse in the process. I can't think of a single reason why it would not be an advantage to the club for him to leave right now, today. Every minute he hangs on does more damage.

I can only hope that behind the scenes these discussions are already taking place. I doubt it. If they are happy to see him linger for another year then logically they are happy for him to stick around for as long as he wants. Of course they have said this much but my problem is I don't believe a single word any of them say. If he's not gone at the end of this season it answers most if not all the questions the fans have concerning Kroenke and the gang.

I say all this on the presumption football is still important to the club. But if we have moved past that it becomes obvious why they want the bloke to stick around for ever.

[fakeyank]

this is really the only reason i truly despise him. i could stomach him being around for longer, if he showed some modicum of humility and respect for the fans but that is clearly below him. done wonders for us and thank him for his achievements but i really can't respect him as a man anymore.

the true last dinosaur left (oldest manager in all the european top leagues), and i think his mind has gone. sad ending for our greatest ever manager.

:gp:

Pretty much my feeling for him. I despise his condescending tone towards fans, and frankly I could care less how his end as an Arsenal manager came. Frankly, if he were to resign tomorrow, I wouldnt even bother to say thanks for the memories.. just good riddance!

[Bumble]

I think part of the problem next season is that you really don't want a manager knowing that he will be gone the next season. Look at City in the league... the players aren't that interested because they know the manager wont be around next season. The squad they have they should be more embarrassed than we are at not being top. There are players who go on about being here because of Wenger. If everyone knows he is going to go then they could get twitchy too and look for a move and watch performances drop.

We need to avoid having a lame duck manager, Wenger needs to go this summer or sign a new contract and then go next summer anyway but at least it would give a look of stability. I really think next season could be a complete disaster.

[Niall_Quinn]

I think part of the problem next season is that you really don't want a manager knowing that he will be gone the next season. Look at City in the league... the players aren't that interested because they know the manager wont be around next season. The squad they have they should be more embarrassed than we are at not being top. There are players who go on about being here because of Wenger. If everyone knows he is going to go then they could get twitchy too and look for a move and watch performances drop.

We need to avoid having a lame duck manager, Wenger needs to go this summer or sign a new contract and then go next summer anyway but at least it would give a look of stability. I really think next season could be a complete disaster.

Fair point about the lame duck manager. Which is why I believe the board has every intention of offering him an extension.

Certainly could be a disaster next season. Or an exciting new start. One man can decide that but I doubt he'll make the decision that's in the best interests of the club. Although of course he imagines (genuinely I suppose) that everything he does is a big benefit.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Will be a very interesting day if he gets a new contract. If that happens the fan base will split permanently right down the middle and it will be 3 or 4 seasons of war, if he can even stick it out that long. A new contract is unimaginable and utterly pointless. If the board isn't completely oblivious they surely know this. In which case, what point is there for him to see out the existing contract? All he's doing is delaying things a year and probably making everything worse in the process. I can't think of a single reason why it would not be an advantage to the club for him to leave right now, today. Every minute he hangs on does more damage.

I can only hope that behind the scenes these discussions are already taking place. I doubt it. If they are happy to see him linger for another year then logically they are happy for him to stick around for as long as he wants. Of course they have said this much but my problem is I don't believe a single word any of them say. If he's not gone at the end of this season it answers most if not all the questions the fans have concerning Kroenke and the gang.

I say all this on the presumption football is still important to the club. But if we have moved past that it becomes obvious why they want the bloke to stick around for ever.


I think it's a fair presumption to make of the board that a detrimental effect on revenues and sponsorship will force them to act.

Will Puma feel they are going to be getting their money's worth for the kit deal if people don't buy replica kits?

Will corporate sponsors feel embarrassed having advertising hoardings in a half empty stadium

It will make the board stand up and take notice id imagine. Unless Wenger wins something major things are just not going to improve in that respect.

Short term they can hold out, but with his contract ending next year it would be easier just not to offer him a new one and tell Gazidis to get a replacement.

Why won't they do that this season? Because it means that they have to do make a football based decision, why would they want to do that if they have deferred all that to Wenger.

[Munchies]

lequipe say Arsenal are currently negotiating 3-year extension with Wenger, even if club are denying it.



Oh god.

[alexander]

lequipe say Arsenal are currently negotiating 3-year extension with Wenger, even if club are denying it.



Oh god.

Ah crap.

[Kano]

lequipe say Arsenal are currently negotiating 3-year extension with Wenger, even if club are denying it.



Oh god.

http://images.supersport.com/Arsene-Wenger-Smiling-100915-AI-300.jpg

[Gooner23]

Surely they're not THAT out of touch!

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

I'm calling Bollocks on this

[fakeyank]

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11670/10254219/arsene-wenger-disappointed-by-arsenal-atmosphere-against-west-brom

This is precisely the reason I dislike this manager. He is disappointed in us.. really you thick goat?! Piss off you old fart... do something that remotely shows value for the money the fans are putting in, and then expect them to be happy! What a jackass!

Hope we have lower turnout as the remaining games go on..

[Marc Overmars]

"You want your fans to be enthusiastic"

You also want your manager to improve the team but hey ho.

[Niall_Quinn]

lequipe say Arsenal are currently negotiating 3-year extension with Wenger, even if club are denying it.



Oh god.

You mean Wenger is dictating terms for his new contract. It doesn't surprise me. Unless they are going to sack him then the worst outcome is to leave him in place for an uncertain year. The club is just a profit driven corporation now. Wenger fits that bill perfectly. They won't be looking at football at all when they make tis decision.

[Niall_Quinn]

I'm calling Bollocks on this

There are tens of thousands of fans who hope you are right.

[Kano]

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11670/10254219/arsene-wenger-disappointed-by-arsenal-atmosphere-against-west-brom

This is precisely the reason I dislike this manager. He is disappointed in us.. really you thick goat?! Piss off you old fart... do something that remotely shows value for the money the fans are putting in, and then expect them to be happy! What a jackass!

Hope we have lower turnout as the remaining games go on..

I think given the rumoured malaise amongst fans the atmosphere - on TV at least - appeared to be a lot more lively than expected. There were no boos (well, only when Feo came on which was telling) and after the game you could hear fans singing 'Arsenal FC'. So for an average performance against a team that couldn't be bothered, I'm not sure what Wenger was expecting. It didn't sound as bad as it had been predicted it may be.

I think he's got the wrong idea about this whole 'us against them' thing. It's supposed to be the media, FA and opposing teams Arsene, not your own fans.

I want the man to leave our club so we can begin to build again but I'm gaining no pleasure in seeing him go out like this. It's very sad to see.

[adzzzbatch]

"You want your fans to be enthusiastic"

You also want your manager to improve the team but hey ho.

What the actual fuck, is this guy for real!?

[Letters]

Yes, because for years the argument was the teams above us all spent more than us to be there.

Right, and they've certainly spent more than Leicester so you could say that for any team. :shrug:

[Munchies]

What the actual fuck, is this guy for real!?

Sadly yes, was mentioned on Sky Sports too.

https://twitter.com/SkyFootball/status/723768391891357696

Wenger 'very disappointed' by Arsenal crowd: "We are not playing to avoid relegation"

What the fuck are we playing for?

How long will this shit go on ffs

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

There are tens of thousands of fans who hope you are right.

Connect the dots and it makes sense, in the October period around the time we beat Bayern Munich and Man United there were newspaper stories about a two year extension to his current contract. And now we are reading about a three year deal starting from this summer, both of these speculated contracts take him up to 2019.

Now I think therefore this is just a recycled story, is it possible the board want him to stay until 2019? Quite possibly....it could be part of an understanding where Wenger has said to them I don't want to be managing in my 70s and a departure date of May 2019 takes him up to about five months shy of his 70th birthday.

But again I think that understanding could only be accommodated in a good atmosphere, unless there is a complete turn around in personnel and performances next season (and neither you or I expect that) than it is indeed quite possible that what we saw against West Brom will not be a one off event, fans aren't stupid they will know it's his last season of his current contract and I do think there will be a number trying to influence it to make sure he doesn't stay.

But at the same time it's all based on results, if we have a good start to next season will there be the motivation for protest?.

Either way I don't see a contract being signed anytime soon.

[Globalgunner]

Unless the Muppet gets his finger out and buys players who will help us escape the gravitational pull of his crap management and inept tactics, next season could be our worse yet. Everyone of our competitors will have new managers add to that now Leicester and the Spuds. Unless United keep LVG which they could if we get overtaken for 4th. Chelsea, City, United, Pool, Spurs, Leicester, even West Ham. You know all will strengthen in the summer, while Maestro sits on his wallet, dreaming of world domination with Wilshere and the Jeff taking us to the summit.

My guess is that by November things could be so toxic it won't matter what contract he has just signed.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Like I say there won't be any contract signed this summer.

Wenger chose not to sign a contract until after the end of the season in 2014

[Niall_Quinn]

I suppose that's how they'll play it. 2019 is shaping up to be a landmark (or more like landfill) event for football when the greedy "big5", simply can't get enough, never enough, football cash corporations pitch us their stinking Euro league. So ideally I suppose the bean counters would want Wenger to stay and manage their affairs up until that point, after which you could put a monkey in charge and still make huge profits. Hopefully this horrible track will be derailed, but I doubt it.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

I think the business of keeping Wenger is as much about the board knowing they will have to make football decisions if he goes as much as it is profit.

You suspect within reason they want Wenger to make the decision on his future unilaterally and so if he does go, he can pick a successor so again they don't have to do anything even vaguely related to football.

We know that Alex Ferguson picked Moyes as his successor because there was no chance he would outshine him.......

[Özim]

I'm happy with him having 1 year left, ok so we won't attract top players, let's be honest though a) even if we did it would make no difference under Wenger as they probably won't be the ones we need and b) Wenger isn't the man to take us forward so saving the money for a new manager might be best.

If he gets a new 3 year contract however, that will be a disaster, more of the same sh*t really would be depressing, I don't care what anyone says but the guy doesn't truly care for the club because at the end of the day the club is the fans without them it's nothing and the way he blames and talks about fans isn't the way someone who loves a club talks.

He loves managing and doing whatever he wants and his players, that's what he loves, he has absolutely no loyalty to the fans whatsoever.

[Özim]

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11670/10254219/arsene-wenger-disappointed-by-arsenal-atmosphere-against-west-brom

This is precisely the reason I dislike this manager. He is disappointed in us.. really you thick goat?! Piss off you old fart... do something that remotely shows value for the money the fans are putting in, and then expect them to be happy! What a jackass!

Hope we have lower turnout as the remaining games go on..

What a plank honestly, why does he come out with sh*t like this, it just alienates him even more. I agree that's why I can't stand him, he's got no respect for the people that are this club and he thinks he can say whatever he wants, the guy is always blaming the fans but never his players or himself.

He's an arrogant, deluded individual who thinks he's better than he is, the sooner he leaves the better because only a handful of people actually still want him here.

If he wasn't so arrogant and accepted some responsibility and accepted his players weren't delivering and we need to change a few things it might be different but the way he talks he comes across really arrogant and like he doesn't give a toss about the fans.

Has there ever been a more delusional and blinkered manager in the history of football, I can't remember one personally and think he's making himself look like a real fool to everyone right now.

[Letters]

I'm happy with him having 1 year left, ok so we won't attract top players.
Sanchez?
Cech?
Ozil?
(The last of who quite openly said it was Wenger's call to him that swayed him)

[Power n Glory]

Sanchez?
Cech?
Ozil?
(The last of who quite openly said it was Wenger's call to him that swayed him)

With Wenger's future up in the air, the pull will have to be more than Arsene Wenger.

[Globalgunner]

Having those players has not changed our league position. However its good that we got them. Only God knows where we would be without Sanchez and Ozil this year. Before you get all worked up. FA cups yes, I know. Thats what £80m of world class player has brought us. League progress?. Nope, CL progress? Nope.

[Munchies]

ITK:

@Memz_Dogi 1h1 hour ago
As I was doing my periscope I got a call and it's true that the club have offered on the table a new 3 year deal for Arsene Wenger

https://twitter.com/Memz_Dogi/status/723823607894429696

https://media.giphy.com/media/dM5h1F0R9rocw/giphy.gif

[Letters]

Having those players has not changed our league position. However its good that we got them. Only God knows where we would be without Sanchez and Ozil this year. Before you get all worked up. FA cups yes, I know. Thats what £80m of world class player has brought us. League progress?. Nope, CL progress? Nope.
Yes, it hasn't pushed us on because Wenger. But I was responding to Zim's point that we wouldn't be in the market for top players.
Although I do take PnGs point.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

ITK:

@Memz_Dogi 1h1 hour ago
As I was doing my periscope I got a call and it's true that the club have offered on the table a new 3 year deal for Arsene Wenger

https://twitter.com/Memz_Dogi/status/723823607894429696

https://media.giphy.com/media/dM5h1F0R9rocw/giphy.gif

in the know? based on what exactly?

plus there is a difference between a contract being on offer and the manager signing it

[GP]

Seriously, you need to stay away from Twitter.

It's good for nothing.