Match Mehaction: Watford 2 Arsenal 1

[Xhaka Can’t]

Never a pel.

More important, never a performance that merited even a point.

Ozil can fuck off.

[GP]

A simple win converted into 0 points by incompetent/corrupt officials

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Marco Silva is a must get.

[Niall_Quinn]

Wenger Out!

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Terrible performance but should have won easily. Should have been 2-3 nil up by the time penalty call came. And then we started feeling sorry for ourselves and letting ourselves be pushed around like a bunch of girls when they equalised.

It was embarrassing even before the penalty how many times they were able to get the ball back and recycle it into the box after we cleared it.

[GP]

Never a pel.

More important, never a performance that merited even a point.

Ozil can fuck off.

Fuck off. Never a penalty and the 2nd was offside so BY DEFINITION the performance deserved 3 points.

[Globalgunner]

Very typical performance. we were not demonstrably better than Watford. We were our usual wasteful muppets in front of goal. Nothing has changed so the results will never change.
Wenger out

[Globalgunner]

A simple win converted into 0 points by incompetent/corrupt officials

You`re starting to sound like Wenger. Shoulnt we at least deserve to win our games?

[GP]

You`re starting to sound like Wenger. Shoulnt we at least deserve to win our games?

We did deserve to win. Fucking obviously.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Getting slowly worn down by Ozil too....

[Globalgunner]

We did deserve to win. Fucking obviously.

Deserved to win yet couldnt even get a draw. Hmmm

[Munchies]

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzz

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Xhaka and Elneny were the problem. We need someone in central midfield who will drive forward with the ball and create space those two were a couple of pansies looking for short passes and getting constantly dispossessed. Whatever Ozil did wrong when he came on at least he was trying to get forward.

[Globalgunner]

Xhaka and Elneny were the problem. We need someone in central midfield who will drive forward with the ball and create space those two were a couple of pansies looking for short passes and getting constantly dispossessed. Whatever Ozil did wrong when he came on at least he was trying to get forward.

Ozil created at least 2 decent chances aprt from the 1 he missed himself. We were crap long before he signed. We will still be shite after he leaves, hopefully in Jan so people can have someone else to blame for 13 years of sameness.

LOL at people calling for Wilshere. Have we so soon forgotten how awful he was for us. Losing possession with metronomic regularity.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Ozil created at least 2 decent chances aprt from the 1 he missed himself. We were crap long before he signed. We will still be shite after he leaves, hopefully in Jan so people can have someone else to blame for 13 years of crap

I was more referring to the reason we didn’t win the game however I agree I thought Ozil played ok when he came on, we had two midfielders behind him who can neither keep the ball or consistently or quickly find a team mate.

If both those two play against Everton I’ll be pissed off, if Ramsey plays I’ll be pissed off.

[Globalgunner]

What is a Match Mehaction
Am I on the right thread?

[Marc Overmars]

Wenger. :lol:

Best man for the job.

[The Emirates Gallactico]

We don't have the quality of a City to outplay these teams however we had enough to grind out a good result with a solid workmanlike performance and we were on course to do that until the 70th minute.

Game changed as soon as Welbeck went off and Ozil came on. Missed a glorious chance to make it 2 and then failed to track the runner in the build up to the penalty. Didn't help that it was a shitty decision and a complete dive but we should have never been in that position to begin with.

I firmly believe had Welbeck not been forced off and replaced with Ozil we would have managed to grind out the 1 - 0 win.


Getting slowly worn down by Ozil too....

Welcome to the club m8.

[Globalgunner]

I was more referring to the reason we didn’t win the game however I agree I thought Ozil played ok when he came on, we had two midfielders behind him who can neither keep the ball or consistently or quickly find a team mate.

If both those two play against Everton I’ll be pissed off, if Ramsey plays I’ll be pissed off.

Crying shame is that if not those 2 then who....all our midfielders are bang average. Koeman has Wengers number all day long. We are definitely losing that one

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Crying shame is that if not those 2 then who....all our midfielders are bang average. Koeman has Wengers number all day long. We are definitely losing that one

It has to be Wilshere he’s our only available midfielder who is willing and capable of driving forward

[Niall_Quinn]

LOL, the Ozil angle will be milked after this one I think. Jack can also play there.

Puppets on a string.

Meanwhile, 13 years later...

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

I'm purely focusing on the tame shot Ozil had which is somewhat unfair but exactly what annoys me about Iwobi. Just too many limp footed shooters amongst the ranks.

You almost wanted Lacazette to come back on.

[Bumble]

Who is number 31. in the whole build up to watfords winner... he was just ambling around and not trying to get back to defend. I am sure he had time to make a difference or at least try. that attitude sums up arsenal.

no away league win this season. I don't think we will challenge for the league this season. but I might be just being a glass half empty.

[Chippy]

Crying shame is that if not those 2 then who....all our midfielders are bang average. Koeman has Wengers number all day long. We are definitely losing that one

Good! The more games we lose the better. We are a fucking piss poor mid table team and the Manager needs to go. It's very boring now.

[Chippy]

Who is number 31. in the whole build up to watfords winner... he was just ambling around and not trying to get back to defend. I am sure he had time to make a difference or at least try. that attitude sums up arsenal.

no away league win this season. I don't think we will challenge for the league this season. but I might be just being a glass half empty.

We will do well to avoid the drop tbh.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Be interesting to see if Richarlison gets the 2 match ban he should. Xhaka is slowly driving out all my preseason hopes for him too. Elneny I have long expected negativity from so I can stomach that and we didn't pay 35 million for him.

[Bumble]

also I don't think bellerin will be with us for much longer. just get the feeling that he is starting to stagnate a little and not really developing.

we wont get relegated. although think kroenke might act then as the value of his investment decreases dramatically.

[Niall_Quinn]

I'm purely focusing on the tame shot Ozil had which is somewhat unfair but exactly what annoys me about Iwobi. Just too many limp footed shooters amongst the ranks.

You almost wanted Lacazette to come back on.

Why does Wenger keep subbing a 50 mill striker? There's a question for him to answer. The idiot is absolutely obsessed with his fantasy visions about player fitness and performances levels. He's locked in some parallel universe where all the numbers and statistics are calculated to a fine art and, for him, it all ends up meaning something.

[LDG]

Why does Wenger keep subbing a 50 mill striker? There's a question for him to answer. The idiot is absolutely obsessed with his fantasy visions about player fitness and performances levels. He's locked in some parallel universe where all the numbers and statistics are calculated to a fine art and, for him, it all ends up meaning something.

I actually think he knows he's fucked, but he wants to keep the club from slipping further (rightly or wrongly). I think he know Stans a cunt, and I think he's actually the only one still in it for The Arsenal. I was wrong....

He can't cut it. We all know that. He does too. I reckon he's staying to stop the worst case senario...where an clueless board sign a manager that will end everything....

[rodders]

How much longer can this go on. A manager tactically in the dark ages and an owner who does not have a clue. Once I would have been devastated by this result ,now I no longer care. This is the level this once great club has sunk to.

[Chippy]

How much longer can this go on. A manager tactically in the dark ages and an owner who does not have a clue. Once I would have been devastated by this result ,now I no longer care. This is the level this once great club has sunk to.

Fuck em! Our once great club has gone. Victoria Concordia Crescit. Amen.

[Cripps]

I actually think he knows he's fucked, but he wants to keep the club from slipping further (rightly or wrongly). I think he know Stans a cunt, and I think he's actually the only one still in it for The Arsenal. I was wrong....

He can't cut it. We all know that. He does too. I reckon he's staying to stop the worst case senario...where an clueless board sign a manager that will end everything....

Nah. He's staying cause he's a man scared of post-football retirement. His wife left him, his family left him, he has nothing. Arsenal and football is his life and he doesn't know what to do without it.

[Ralpheroo72]

I'm starting to think we may not win the league this season

[Letters]

Telling ya, looking up the results afterwards and going "Oh" is way less stressful.
Actually kinda laughed at this one but that may have just been the jet lag.

Overall: Meh.

[Power n Glory]

Be interesting to see if Richarlison gets the 2 match ban he should. Xhaka is slowly driving out all my preseason hopes for him too. Elneny I have long expected negativity from so I can stomach that and we didn't pay 35 million for him.

Xhaka hasn't got anymore gears to his game. What you see is what you get. Like many others around him, you have to hope the manager stumbles upon a winning combination or tactic that will suit him. He's a limited player. Nowhere near as creative as I was lead to believe.

[Niall_Quinn]

I'm starting to think we may not win the league this season

Your pessimism is dragging the whole club down.

Thanks a lot!

[Power n Glory]

Xhaka and Elneny were the problem. We need someone in central midfield who will drive forward with the ball and create space those two were a couple of pansies looking for short passes and getting constantly dispossessed. Whatever Ozil did wrong when he came on at least he was trying to get forward.

Xhaka, Elneny, Iwobi and Welbeck have to take some flack for the lack of creativity and goals. But it doesn't explain why we lost the game. No point in going too deep on that one though. We know why we lost. It's one man and always has been. It always comes to back this one culprit.

Ozil! :run:

[Niall_Quinn]

Xhaka hasn't got anymore gears to his game. What you see is what you get. Like many others around him, you have to hope the manager stumbles upon a winning combination or tactic that will suit him. He's a limited player. Nowhere near as creative as I was lead to believe.

That's about it. If sheer randomness aligns an open ended number of permutations we should see Xhaka at this best.

Which will be average.

Like most of our players.

But, even then, we won't be doing the bread and butter stuff that builds consistency, we'll be doing the brief patch of arrogant dick stuff that materialises from time to time to keep alive the myth we play good football.

Xhaka was never know for his creativity - it was his consistency. Tip, tap, tip, tap, tip, tap, 99% pass competition. Absolutely perfect for Wenger's keep-ball fantasies. Arteta played that way because he was a good pro and did what the boss wanted. Xhaka plays that way because it's all he can do. We've spent 70 mill on him and Mustafi. We could have had a world class player here for 2 seasons now, instead. Which would have made all the difference to a lot of things.

[Niall_Quinn]

Xhaka, Elneny, Iwobi and Welbeck have to take some flack for the lack of creativity and goals. But it doesn't explain why we lost the game. No point in going too deep on that one though. We know why we lost. It's one man and always has been. It always comes to back this one culprit.

Ozil! :run:

You don't need to go to Barca or Bayern to know what a proper midfielder looks like. The older fans at Arsenal (because the glory days really are starting to become distant) know all about decent midfielders. Xhaka, Elneny and Coquelin? Wenger's fooling nobody.

I don't count Ramsey as a midfielder, he's more like an opposition goalkeeper. And Jack, despite min being the messiah yet to come, has already shown us how serious he is about being a top player.

Wenger really has let things slide this time.

[Niall_Quinn]

Wenger's apologist in chief, Martin Keown, has slammed Mesut Ozil for not being ruthless enough and costing Arsenal all three points in their defeat at Watford.
The midfielder came off the bench for the injured Danny Welbeck in the second half before wasting a golden opportunity to fire the Gunners into a 2-0 lead after failing to score with just Heurelho Gomes to beat.

Seconds later Watford equalised through a controversial penalty but Ozil then crucially failed to close down in the midfield during stoppage time in the build up to Watford's winning goal.

Arsene's Little Helper, Keown, was furious with the Germany international, whose contract expires next summer, and as well as pinning the blame on the 28-year-old questioned his future in the side as well as his effort for the team.

'I feel he (Ozil) was at fault for the late goal conceded,' the former Arsenal defender told BT Sport.

'I don't know whether there is a future for him now in this Arsenal team and I know it looks like I'm coming for him all the time but he really should have finished the game off.

'The top players are ruthless and they don't play for fun. I don't know if he's got that ruthlessness in his make-up. That ball has got to be in the back of the net (speaking on missed chance).

'That should be game over, Arsenal have won the game. People might think i'm coming for him but you've got to be clinical in those situations. Is he really bothered there?

'He's just missed an opportunity to win the game for Arsenal and everything that happens afterwards wouldn't have happened. I don't know if he cares enough or not but he's certainly not ruthless enough.

'There's only one outcome isn't there? When it comes to January surely Ozil will be gone.'

I'm with Keown on this. Once Ozil is gone everything will be just great at the club. With Ozil gone we won't get outplayed by teams like Watford. With Ozil gone we'll be able to keep our 50 million quid striker on for the whole match, like Lukaku, so he can finish off the chances the German has been missing. And with Ozil gone, players like Elneny and Xhaka will dominate the midfield. And Alexis won't be as tired and his head won't be in the wrong place and he'll be able to start more than one game a week, like Coutinho and Firminho. We'll also be able to sign top players who can step in when injury hits. But above all else, the neverending stream of profligacy in front of goal that seems to blight anyone pulling on an Arsenal shirt will come to an end. Players like Theo Walcott will become lethal overnight.

When you think about it, we are very fortunate so much can be solved by getting rid of just the one player.

Keown is so right, there's just no future for that man at this club. Time for him to go. No more pissing around, ruthlessness is what is required now.

Isn't that right? Martin?

[Xhaka Can’t]

I’m more angry at myself for spending the guts of 2 hours watching a team that is allowed to not give a shit.

That and listening to Robbie Savage.

Disgusting.

[Penguin]

I'm starting to think we may not win the league this season

:lol:

[Niall_Quinn]

I’m more angry at myself for spending the guts of 2 hours watching a team that is allowed to not give a shit.

That and listening to Robbie Savage.

Disgusting.

:sulk:

[Niall_Quinn]

For those interested, I didn't watch the game yesterday. Completely ignored it. And yet I still know how it went. I can see the sideways and backwards tippy tappy. I can see the sloppy passing. I can see the wastage in front of goal. I can see the shitty attempts at crossing, the deadbeat dead ball routines, the stupid substitutions. I already knew it would be a crappy team selection, that's a given. I can see Wenger sitting on his arse doing fuck all as the performance deteriorated and became ever more stale. I can see our precious little petals limping around the place. Envisage Bould's pointless scowl. Hear the opposition chants of, 'Wenger, we want you to stay!'. I can picture the ref as he goes through his one-eyed paces. I can see the highly paid professionals flopping around the place and sailing through the air at a mere touch. Ah, football!

It's all there. Fact is, you don't have to actually watch the games to experience them. It's such a time saver. And more enjoyable, in my opinion. Yesterday I allowed the odd fantasy to slip into the boring reality. I imagined we were playing well. Just for a second, to see what it felt like. It definitely added to the experience. Next week I'm going to imagine we're defending properly. What a relief that will be.

All in all, I enjoyed this match more than any other so far this season.

[AFC Leveller]

Anyone seen the Deeney interview on BT? cant believe what i was watching. Calling out the players and management for being softies.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Deeney is an ex-con gobshite.

[Marc Overmars]

At least we beat Chelsea 0-0.

[Globalgunner]

At least we beat Chelsea 0-0.

Comprehensively even. No one has been able to beat them since

[Power n Glory]

Deeney is an ex-con gobshite.

We could do with a few players that had his mentality. We miss that here.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

We could do with a few players that had his mentality. We miss that here.

The type of people who think it’s ok to kick people in the head when they are on the floor?

I agree our players are in a coseted environment. Yeah the penalty was a wrong decision but you deal with it, yeah you may not be given space and time to pick out a pass but you deal with it and make the space for yourself.

But I think we could well do without actual thugs

[Power n Glory]

The type of people who think it’s ok to kick people in the head when they are on the floor?

I agree our players are in a coseted environment. Yeah the penalty was a wrong decision but you deal with it, yeah you may not be given space and time to pick out a pass but you deal with it and make the space for yourself.

But I think we could well do without actual thugs

Like the manager, we have fans that are too far up their own ass and have forgot about the type of players we used to have at this club. Listen to his actual interview and then talk.

[Penguin]

Deeney's being a twat but he's right. We all know it. Wenger doesn't.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Like the manager, we have fans that are too far up their own ass and have forgot about the type of players we used to have at this club. Listen to his actual interview and then talk.

Don’t be a bell end all your life mate

I read what Deeney said, I just think it’s a bit rich for a guy who kicks a man in the head whilst he’s on the floor to talk about the cajones of other people.

It’s abundantly clear our players lack balls, I’m just not interested in hearing it from a thug.

[hobson's choice]

Don’t be a bell end all your life mate

I read what Deeney said, I just think it’s a bit rich for a guy who kicks a man in the head whilst he’s on the floor to talk about the cajones of other people.

It’s abundantly clear our players lack balls, I’m just not interested in hearing it from a thug.

Before you call someone a thug.

Where you there, did you know what led up to him kicking someone in the?

This arrogance is so damn annoying.

People make mistakes, situations can easily get outta hands. And I've seen too many instances, where people try athletes, either from drinking too much or sheer jealousy.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Before you call someone a thug.

Where you there, did you know what led up to him kicking someone in the?

This arrogance is so damn annoying.

People make mistakes, situations can easily get outta hands. And I've seen too many instances, where people try athletes, either from drinking too much or sheer jealousy.

Resentment against athletes?

No I just think only startled horses and wankers kick people in the head

Who cares if he’s an athlete, does it make him any better than the thugs I’ve seen doing it in the street.

It caused a serious head injury otherwise Deeney wouldn’t have got ten months.

[The Emirates Gallactico]

It's also a stupid argument from Deeney as it was one of their players who went down "softly" in order to win them the penalty which changed the game.

Talk about hypocritical deflecting .... straight from the school of Jose.


tl;dr - Deeney needs to know his role and shut the fuck up. Mr 40 million pound ex convict scumbag striker ..... would love to see if one of our players care enough to call him out on this BS in the press. Sadly out of the few people that actually care about the club (BFG, Nacho etc ) there isn't one that would have the stones to do it (maybe Jack if he was still committed).

[selassie]

Deeney's being a twat but he's right. We all know it. Wenger doesn't.

He's right and that's what hurts the most. He most certainly isn't the sharpest tool in the box and hasn't covered himself in glory with his previous criminal misdemeanour but he's only saying what everybody knows and has said in the past.

None of this matters really, what we do know is that Wenger is incapable of managing, coaching, developing or buying the requisite players we require to improve and mount some kind of credible challenge for the Prem.

We are stagnating, once Ozil and Sanchez leave we are going to be worse off than we were before they joined. We know that Wenger is incapable of finding any kind of solution to rectify our slump, he can't even sell or buy players properly, so what makes any of us think he will rectify this mess?

[selassie]

The type of people who think it’s ok to kick people in the head when they are on the floor?

I agree our players are in a coseted environment. Yeah the penalty was a wrong decision but you deal with it, yeah you may not be given space and time to pick out a pass but you deal with it and make the space for yourself.

But I think we could well do without actual thugs

I just want to see us field a bunch of players that actually care about the club, that take pride in wearing the shirt. Hector didn't even appeal that scandalous penalty decision, none of the other players appealed it either.

If rumours are to be believed the following players wanted out in the summer, Sanchez, Bellerin and Mustafi. Why are they still here? That's a quarter of the starting line up and if you throw Ozil in that's a third of the team. Any decent manager worth his salt would have indentified suitable replacements and got shot of these wantaway players.

Wenger has created such a mess with this team that it will take a good few years and a new manager to resolve this.

[Niall_Quinn]

Like the manager, we have fans that are too far up their own ass and have forgot about the type of players we used to have at this club. Listen to his actual interview and then talk.

Damn right. Deeney would be in hospital now, instead of spouting, if he'd been up against Keown, Adams, Bould and the gang.

Yeah, Deeney's a fucking arsehole, little doubt about that. But Wenger and his mega loser philosophy has enabled this little shit to take the piss out of us. So fuck Wenger and fuck him twice for good measure. Just GTFO you cunt.

This is Watford lads. Elton fucking John's pansy faggot arse Watford. Taking the piss out of us for being softies!

Time for our precious fans to wake up and smell the bullshit they've been drenched in for over a decade, sound a fucking battle cry and set about getting cunts like Kroenke and Wenger out of this club.

[Niall_Quinn]

I just want to see us field a bunch of players that actually care about the club, that take pride in wearing the shirt. Hector didn't even appeal that scandalous penalty decision, none of the other players appealed it either.

If rumours are to be believed the following players wanted out in the summer, Sanchez, Bellerin and Mustafi. Why are they still here? That's a quarter of the starting line up and if you throw Ozil in that's a third of the team. Any decent manager worth his salt would have indentified suitable replacements and got shot of these wantaway players.

Wenger has created such a mess with this team that it will take a good few years and a new manager to resolve this.

Trouble is, we don't have a decent manager. We have an utter cunt, a selfish prick, a beyond prehistoric relic called Wenger. We're the bitches of every wannabe punk for as long as this French stool is stinking up the place.

[selassie]

Trouble is, we don't have a decent manager. We have an utter cunt, a selfish prick, a beyond prehistoric relic called Wenger. We're the bitches of every wannabe punk for as long as this French stool is stinking up the place.

Yep, we are screwed. Wenger is pretty much unsackable judging by what went on last season with the contract renewal crap.

[Niall_Quinn]

Yep, we are screwed. Wenger is pretty much unsackable judging by what went on last season with the contract renewal crap.

We beat Bournemouth and Brighton and Bumblefuck Utd, or whoever they all were, and there were fans thinking we were back. Seriously. This is the real problem. Half the fans don't give a fuck or are totally delusional. They are there for the selfies. This is the real problem at this club. Cunts like Wenger and Kroenke would be run out of the place if enough fans gave a fuck.

[Power n Glory]

Don’t be a bell end all your life mate

I read what Deeney said, I just think it’s a bit rich for a guy who kicks a man in the head whilst he’s on the floor to talk about the cajones of other people.

It’s abundantly clear our players lack balls, I’m just not interested in hearing it from a thug.

I said watch the interview before speaking and maybe you'd understand why I say we need more of that mentality. You're talking out of ignorance. This isn't Golf or Tennis you're watching. With football some players come from a working class background and have a sketchy past. Ian Wright was no angel. I'm not judging Deeney off his past. From his interview, he sounds like he has the similar sort of attitude to the old guard players that took Vieira and Co under their wing. The day we thought we were above having that sort of player was the start of our downfall.

[Power n Glory]

https://youtu.be/_48KTftAmeo

You only have to listen for a minute to know why he is captain.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Has he not atoned for his sins already Sherbert?

I did think his comments regarding the actual dive were a load of rubbish though. Absurd that we lose to nobodies like his team these days in such fashion, but the ref royally fuhked us....almost as much as we fuhked ourselves.

[Niall_Quinn]

https://youtu.be/_48KTftAmeo

You only have to listen for a minute to know why he is captain.

yeah, but he's taking the piss out of fellow professionals. And, let's be clear, those follow "professionals" deserve to have the piss taken out of them, but it's not his place to do it. It's the place of the ignorant cunt who owns our club to realise we're faggots. Trouble is, he knows fuck all about football.

[Globalgunner]

We brought all this about ourselves with our indolence. We need to chase these crazy baldheads out of town.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

I said watch the interview before speaking and maybe you'd understand why I say we need more of that mentality. You're talking out of ignorance. This isn't Golf or Tennis you're watching. With football some players come from a working class background and have a sketchy past. Ian Wright was no angel. I'm not judging Deeney off his past. From his interview, he sounds like he has the similar sort of attitude to the old guard players that took Vieira and Co under their wing. The day we thought we were above having that sort of player was the start of our downfall.

Sorry can you name me a player at the club previously who went to prison for assault?

Don’t get me wrong i believe in redemption but if you’re honestly arguing that our lack of character and ability to mix it up is because we don’t go out of way to be a re homing centre for ex felons, than I suspect you’re talking shit.

Plus what’s the difference between having read his comments or hearing him speaking them? Is there something significantly more profound in the way he says it.

Or are you just talking shit. Every one here accepts that we have pussies for players, doesn’t need a piece of shit like that weighing in.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

And I disagree with him, the penalty was EXACTLY why we lost the game.

For all his strength, for all the balls going into our box....the defence was on top of him lumbering oaf that he is. We were shit, our central midfield was shit and we were not in any danger whatsoever up to the penalty award. Then his point about cajones cones into play.

Watford look shit to me, that they are 4th says everything about our league. But horrible little eunuchs that our players are there is no question we would have won without Richarlison diving

[Power n Glory]

Sorry can you name me a player at the club previously who went to prison for assault?

Don’t get me wrong i believe in redemption but if you’re honestly arguing that our lack of character and ability to mix it up is because we don’t go out of way to be a re homing centre for ex felons, than I suspect you’re talking shit.

Plus what’s the difference between having read his comments or hearing him speaking them? Is there something significantly more profound in the way he says it.

Or are you just talking shit. Every one here accepts that we have pussies for players, doesn’t need a piece of shit like that weighing in.

Again, if you haven't watched the video and refuse to watch the video, you have no idea what I'm referring to. Sheer ignorance.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Again, if you haven't watched the video and refuse to watch the video, you have no idea what I'm referring to. Sheer ignorance.

I did watch the video just to be sure and I didn’t gleam anything from it that I didnt from having read the transcript of what he’d said.

I get the impression you’re in your usual how can you possibly not agree with me mode.

As has been clear from what I said from the start I do think we need tougher minds in the squad, but the people who used to make us more street wise on the pitch didn’t go around kicking peoples heads off of it.

So we lack balls? Fucking profound insight. A blind man could probably tell you that

[Power n Glory]

yeah, but he's taking the piss out of fellow professionals. And, let's be clear, those follow "professionals" deserve to have the piss taken out of them, but it's not his place to do it. It's the place of the ignorant cunt who owns our club to realise we're faggots. Trouble is, he knows fuck all about football.

I suspect he may have been an Arsenal fan or watched us at least in our prime because he stopped short of saying something and then said his son is a Gooner. The brash words may have been something to wind his son up a little. Sounds like they have a few back and forths over football in a joking way. Also, it was a good queue for Keown to chime in. I suspect they spoke before recording. But you're right, this should come from the manager or at least he needs to have more leaders in the team.

[Power n Glory]

I did watch the video just to be sure and I didn’t gleam anything from it that I didnt from having read the transcript of what he’d said.

I get the impression you’re in your usual how can you possibly not agree with me mode.

As has been clear from what I said from the start I do think we need tougher minds in the squad, but the people who used to make us more street wise on the pitch didn’t go around kicking peoples heads off of it.

So we lack balls? Fucking profound insight. A blind man could probably tell you that

I can see how you'd disagree. Not surprising at all.

[Niall_Quinn]

I suspect he may have been an Arsenal fan or watched us at least in our prime because he stopped short of saying something and then said his son is a Gooner. The brash words may have been something to wind his son up a little. Sounds like they have a few back and forths over football in a joking way. Also, it was a good queue for Keown to chime in. I suspect they spoke before recording. But you're right, this should come from the manager or at least he needs to have more leaders in the team.

Good shout. That would explain why he's even decided to mention this. Usually players take the most convenient and non-controversial route. The boys did good, the gaffer did great, we all know Arsenal are quality, blah, blah, blah. It's very odd a player other than Roy Keane would come out and say something non-scripted. Whatever. The fact remains we're being trolled by a player who, by his own admission, is a pubber. One of the pubbers who took three points off a (LOL) title contender. We'll finish above Watford in the end, but they'll be closer to us than we are to the eventual champions. So, in reality, Watford is our level as things stand. Well done Ivan. Bayern Watford.

[Marc Overmars]

Quite enjoyed that from Deeney if I’m honest, refreshing to hear someone speak his mind and not some media trained robot. Frankly Wenger and club get away with murder and need to be called out in this way more often. Yeah he’s a cunt but that’s missing the point entirely. You’d never hear a current player talking about another top side in this way, it’s embarraasing and shows how little respect these teams have for us now.

[selassie]

https://www.arsenal.com/news/its-unbelievable-lose-game

Wenger thinks we lost because of the penalty decision, it's unbelievable he says. :rolleyes:

No what is unbelievable is how he repeatedly fails to prepare the team properly season after season.

It is unbelievable how weak the mentality of this team is and how they fold like a pack of cards under pressure.

It is unbelievable how he has somehow manage to wreck Central Midfield again, we don't actually have one top class Midfielder.

It is unbelievable how he manages to botch every transfer window, he couldn't even sell players this window.

This is what is unbelievable and these are root causes to why this team is stagnating.

[Özim]

We lost because we're rubbish and have a manager who doesn't have a clue, can't believe there's still the odd few trying to paint it as if we were unlucky, you'd have to be deluded to the highest extreme to think that.

Two seasons in a row they've beaten us there now, it's not the first time. As predicted we lose one or two, then go on a small run winning some easy games and people think we're the 2nd coming, then we lose and they come back down to earth with a bump.

Top teams don't lose games as frequently as we do in the way that we do, we lose because we're just not good enough end of. Yes Wenger has his excuses as he always does, but after years of this excuses don't wash, the only excuses that matters and counts is that Wenger is a sorry excuse for a manager.

[Globalgunner]

So people actually expect us to win games with that kind of crumbling, fumbling performance where the only goal came from our giraffe jumping for the first time in his life. Is that what we are reduced to?. We see how City are blowing teams away with fearless classy performances home and away and we actually expect to compete with that by stumbling across the line to a team with 1/10th of our resources.

Wengers greatest achievement is how he has managed a Vulcan mind meld with seemingly millions of ordinarily intelligent human beings and replaced their lofty ambitions with his own 2nd tier own.

Do you honestly believe that performance against Watford merited 3 points because I did not see us as the better team in any way. Why cant we play like we did against Chelsea.....and add goals to our equation. We play well once in a while when Wengers pride is at stake but only well enough to not lose, every other time its business as usual.

We wuz robbed says Wenger.......same as he did when we were blitzed by Bayern 10-2, same as after every shitty performance.

Deeney pointed out what we have all been saying on these pages for over a decade.....why the hump HCZ?

[Niall_Quinn]

I finally managed to see Ozil's amazing miss. From the way people were going on I thought I'd be watching casual one on one with the keeper and time to decide where to put it. Far from it. The chance was roughly equivalent to Iwobi's, yet Iwobi is being marked out as our best performer. Maybe he was, don't know, but he also missed a great chance. Two poor efforts at goal, no doubt, but if we're now pretending it's a new thing that our players miss sitters we must have very short memories.

And we have arses in the media claiming Ozil should be a leader. Do they not quite get the reality that Ozil is leaving the club? WTF? Say he did step up and become this great leader. It only lasts until January. So what's the plan after that? Anyone?

Focusing on Ozil is letting that cock Wenger off the hook, which is by design in the media no doubt, but hopefully fans won't get sucked in and will instead keep their guns trained on the real villains in this comic tragedy.

[Özim]

We wuz robbed says Wenger.......same as he did when we were blitzed by Bayern 10-2, same as after every shitty performance.

Come on now, we wont he first half of the first game again Bayern, in that tie we were just unlucky.

[Özim]

I finally managed to see Ozil's amazing miss. From the way people were going on I thought I'd be watching casual one on one with the keeper and time to decide where to put it. Far from it. The chance was roughly equivalent to Iwobi's, yet Iwobi is being marked out as our best performer. Maybe he was, don't know, but he also missed a great chance. Two poor efforts at goal, no doubt, but if we're now pretending it's a new thing that our players miss sitters we must have very short memories.

And we have arses in the media claiming Ozil should be a leader. Do they not quite get the reality that Ozil is leaving the club? WTF? Say he did step up and become this great leader. It only lasts until January. So what's the plan after that? Anyone?

Focusing on Ozil is letting that cock Wenger off the hook, which is by design in the media no doubt, but hopefully fans won't get sucked in and will instead keep their guns trained on the real villains in this comic tragedy.

Iwobi is nothing special, the fact some are seeing him as one of the great new hope just shows how average the team is really, in any other decent team he wouldn't get a game.

[Marc Overmars]

I want to know why Lacazette isn't getting 90 minutes, he needs every minute he can get to start filling his boots. It won't be long before the spotlight is on him considering how all the top strikers in the league are scoring freely.

[Özim]

I reckon Wenger isn't his biggest fan, took years for him to sign him, just not convinced Wenger really wanted him, he probably felt he had to bring someone in and he seemed like the only realistic reasonably high profile option (as Madrid couldn't sign him).

Wenger has never liked out and out finishers like him, he wants strikers to does about a million things, being a good finisher is not really a necessity. There's no other reason why you would keep taking a player who could get you a goal at any time off, these kind of players can do nothing for 89 minutes and then win you a game in a second.

[Niall_Quinn]

I want to know why Lacazette isn't getting 90 minutes, he needs every minute he can get to start filling his boots. It won't be long before the spotlight is on him considering how all the top strikers in the league are scoring freely.

Wenger knows better than everyone else. He knows that players new to the league can't play a full 90 minutes. They need time to acclimatise. It's especially important to sub them if they have scored 2 and might get a hattrick. Getting a hattrick in a new league would be disastrous and would probably kill the player.

This is all special science that only Wenger knows. Other managers don't have a clue. They spend big and then play their signings for whole games at a time. It's madness really but I suppose these crazy anti-scientific managers console themselves with the goals and their hollow victories.

[Niall_Quinn]

I reckon Wenger isn't his biggest fan, took years for him to sign him, just not convinced Wenger really wanted him, he probably felt he had to bring someone in and he seemed like the only realistic reasonably high profile option (as Madrid couldn't sign him).

Wenger has never liked out and out finishers like him, he wants strikers to does about a million things, being a good finisher is not really a necessity. There's no other reason why you would keep taking a player who could get you a goal at any time off, these kind of players can do nothing for 89 minutes and then win you a game in a second.

Doubt he'd be here if the Iron Overlord didn't want him. Maybe he's giving him a bit of time up top before he converts him to a central defender.

Wenger knows.

[Özim]

Doubt he'd be here if the Iron Overlord didn't want him. Maybe he's giving him a bit of time up top before he converts him to a central defender.

Wenger knows.

Don't forget this is Wenger we're talking about, the guy who signed Perez, Vela etc only to never really play them. Logic doesn't come into this mans thinking.

[Letters]

Oh the irony :lol:

[Özim]

Oh the irony :lol:

There's no irony here :lol:

[Letters]

It's like rain on your wedding day :sulk:

[Niall_Quinn]

There's no irony here :lol:

No, it's another one of his valuable contributions designed to wind people up rather than progress a discussion. Ignore him.

[Power n Glory]

I want to know why Lacazette isn't getting 90 minutes, he needs every minute he can get to start filling his boots. It won't be long before the spotlight is on him considering how all the top strikers in the league are scoring freely.

We've yet to see a starting line up. With Ozil, Sanchez and Lacazette starting together. It's ridiculous. Someone really needs to take Wenger to task over these decisions. £40m on a striker that would have suited the system we played last year to then change the system and personnel so our new striker isn't getting the sort of service expected. It's beyond a joke now. What sort of role to he envision for Lacazette when he signed him?

[Marc Overmars]

We've yet to see a starting line up. With Ozil, Sanchez and Lacazette starting together. It's ridiculous. Someone really needs to take Wenger to task over these decisions. £40m on a striker that would have suited the system we played last year to then change the system and personnel so our new striker isn't getting the sort of service expected. It's beyond a joke now. What sort of role to he envision for Lacazette when he signed him?

He's probably preparing for life without Ozil and Sanchez by seeing what works without them. Kind of makes a mockery out of keeping them in the summer but then nothing he does makes much sense anymore, ideal situation apparently and not at all affecting the squad having the 2 biggest players uncommitted.

[Power n Glory]

He's probably preparing for life without Ozil and Sanchez by seeing what works without them. Kind of makes a mockery out of keeping them in the summer but then nothing he does makes much sense anymore, ideal situation apparently and not at all affecting the squad having the 2 biggest players uncommitted.

Exactly. He should have just sold the pair in the summer and bought new players.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

No retrospective action for Richarlison

A green light for cheats, as long as you’re a convincing cheat you can prosper

[Globalgunner]

No retrospective action for Richarlison

A green light for cheats, as long as you’re a convincing cheat you can prosper

No surprise there: There was contact and according to the British lexicon, that all enough.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Iwobi's shot was well saved and no worse than the shot he actually scored from in the game before last when he smashed it. Ozil almost looked like he was trying to pass the ball to the keeper such was the lack of conviction.

[Niall_Quinn]

He's probably preparing for life without Ozil and Sanchez by seeing what works without them. Kind of makes a mockery out of keeping them in the summer but then nothing he does makes much sense anymore, ideal situation apparently and not at all affecting the squad having the 2 biggest players uncommitted.

Other way around I think. He's shit scared of putting them on the pitch in case it works. Then the obvious questions start flooding in.

Why didn't he sign a striker earlier?
Why did he let contracts run down?
What the fuck type of players has be actually been signing?

You spend the money wisely over the 3 seasons since Ozil signed and you could have 5 or 6 top quality players on the pitch. Instead, he signs Ozil one season, Alexis the next, and the zero outfield players. Then he signs 90 mill worth of shite and his two star players walk. This would all be highlighted if we put out our best players. Not saying we'd win anything, but better players gives us a better chance of at least upping our game.

We're still suffering a lack of investment (or at least sane investment) at this club. Draxler has been available. Vidal. Lemar. Mbappe FFS! They have all been getable and Wenger has fucked them off or fucked them up. He has. Nobody else. He's had the funds. They gave him 90 mill to spend on shite and they must have sanctioned that ridiculous 92 mill bid for Lemar. This is all Wenger and he knows it. Kroenke can't be blamed for this one. Nor can Gazidis. Wenger is responsible for the shambles on the pitch.

[Niall_Quinn]

Iwobi's shot was well saved and no worse than the shot he actually scored from in the game before last when he smashed it. Ozil almost looked like he was trying to pass the ball to the keeper such was the lack of conviction.

Iwobi should have buried it. It was a very poor effort. As was Ozil's. But not as bad as Wenger's team selection, or his tactics (for want of a better word), or his crazed substitutions, or his inability to influence anything from the sidelines. He's getting away with another horror show while everyone focuses on a player missing a chance. The fact is, Wenger has zero away wins so far this season and at a club like Arsenal that's totally unacceptable. It's an enduring and growing disgrace he still has a job.

[Niall_Quinn]

Exactly. He should have just sold the pair in the summer and bought new players.

Why would he do that? It's not what total fuck-ups tend to do, is it? The sensible thing.

I think the stupid shit believes they will still sign.

[Niall_Quinn]

No retrospective action for Richarlison

A green light for cheats, as long as you’re a convincing cheat you can prosper

Remember that time Pires dived and initiated a new ice age that wiped all life from the planet?

[Globalgunner]

I got this from another website. Apparently more of the blame for the winner can be ascribed to another player just watching Cleverly take his shot. More Wengerisation on display?
Just watched MOTD....try watch it if you haven't seen it. Cleverley must be standing, not running, not walking, standing, on the penalty spot for about 10 seconds while Xhaka is standing directly behind him on the edge of the box watching the play.....the ball rolls loose to Cleverley, standing completely unmarked...and BANG, 2-1

Murphy and Wrighty commenting on it saying Xhaka is NOT a holding midfielder and has no sense of danger.

Danny Drinkwater went to Chelsea and cant get a game. He would have improved our midfield and he is bang average.

[Marc Overmars]

Xhaka is a sloth. Not a Premier League player at all.

Alonso and Scholes are probably the 2 best players of this kind the league has ever seen and Xhaka isn’t even a fraction as good.

[Niall_Quinn]

If you watch as the second goal goes in, two fans behind the goal are eating crisps. Everyone knows how distracting that can be when you are trying to concentrate. And, predictably, we concede. Hopefully these greedy, selfish bastards won't be losing us any more games this season.

[Niall_Quinn]

Xhaka is a sloth. Not a Premier League player at all.

Alonso and Scholes are probably the 2 best players of this kind the league has ever seen and Xhaka isn’t even a fraction as good.

I feel quite sorry for anyone trying to play football with Wenger calling the shots. I'm sure none of our players (now that Sanogo has gone) are as bad as they appear to be, week in, week out. Can't pass, can't shoot, can't cross, too afraid to head a ball... this all comes from hours of work on the training ground ruled over by our resident Clouseau.

[Globalgunner]

Its pretty obvious to me that the great team we had 98-2004 must had been great because the players were deliberately ignoring him. Henry Vieira, Keown, Freddie, Pires Campbell and co. They must have been laughing at him and doing the exact opposite.

Poor Arsene, he must have been stewing inside. This must be his revenge, doing it his way......of course now stubbornly refusing to change. Because a man cannot have lucked on a formula that worked and then deliberately decided to change it to one that doesn't work. It probably means the original formula wasn't his creation at all.

Montezumas revenge has nothing on Wengers ire.

No wonder he sold them all in the space of 2 years.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Iwobi should have buried it. It was a very poor effort. As was Ozil's. But not as bad as Wenger's team selection, or his tactics (for want of a better word), or his crazed substitutions, or his inability to influence anything from the sidelines. He's getting away with another horror show while everyone focuses on a player missing a chance. The fact is, Wenger has zero away wins so far this season and at a club like Arsenal that's totally unacceptable. It's an enduring and growing disgrace he still has a job.

I thought Ozil's chance was easily worse than Iwobi's and the 2 players aren't supposed to be in the same class.

The focus has been pretty well spread between our missed chances, the ineptitude of the ref, a brilliantly executed dive that low and fuhking behold the diving panel have dismissed and Wenger's continued failure as a manager.

Even if 100% of the focus was on Wenger we all know he's here for two more painful years now.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

I've kind of just lost any real hope for Xhaka already despite his manager's lack of personal instruction or coercion. It's not a one off anymore. He can literally do one thing well and that's when he feels like it and is on his game. Horrific waste of more money.

[Niall_Quinn]

I thought Ozil's chance was easily worse than Iwobi's and the 2 players aren't supposed to be in the same class.

The focus has been pretty well spread between our missed chances, the ineptitude of the ref, a brilliantly executed dive that low and fuhking behold the diving panel have dismissed and Wenger's continued failure as a manager.

Even if 100% of the focus was on Wenger we all know he's here for two more painful years now.

Unless the fans begin and maintain a relentless campaign to get him out. If, no matter what's happening, even if we are winning 6-0, all that can be heard is Wenger Out, surely the bloke would leave?

Although, no, he probably wouldn't.

[Globalgunner]

Unless the fans begin and maintain a relentless campaign to get him out. If, no matter what's happening, even if we are winning 6-0, all that can be heard is Wenger Out, surely the bloke would leave?

Although, no, he probably wouldn't.

Wenger always respects his contracts...as he likes to say. The 2 places he left in a hurry, he was sacked. He did not resign. Even if we are relegated, he will feel duty bound to gain us promotion.

[Niall_Quinn]

I've kind of just lost any real hope for Xhaka already despite his manager's lack of personal instruction or coercion. It's not a one off anymore. He can literally do one thing well and that's when he feels like it and is on his game. Horrific waste of more money.

Who do you have any hope for in this team? Wenger has killed them all. Not one of them can string a consistent set of appearances together. Not always individual's faults, you could say Monreal has been consistent, maybe Kolasinac too. But they are still part of an inept defence. Lacazette is already well on the way to being ruined. A prolific goalscorer who cost 50 mill and can't even get a pass, let alone a full 90 minutes. Soon he'll give up running and save his energy for his next team. Theo Walcott - what's the point. The Messiah Jack, we all know what disappointment awaits once he is unleashed. Kos, Mustafi, Cech, Ramsey, any of them, none of them you'd back to have a consistent season. The whole set up is a shambles. It's unbelievable really. And equivalent would be some daft, clueless bint being put in charge of the country, which would never happen.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

As you well know.....he honours his contracts. He certainly won't break it after Kroenke personally sanctioned him signing on amidst the increasing opposition voices.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Who do you have any hope for in this team? Wenger has killed them all. Not one of them can string a consistent set of appearances together. Not always individual's faults, you could say Monreal has been consistent, maybe Kolasinac too. But they are still part of an inept defence. Lacazette is already well on the way to being ruined. A prolific goalscorer who cost 50 mill and can't even get a pass, let alone a full 90 minutes. Soon he'll give up running and save his energy for his next team. Theo Walcott - what's the point. The Messiah Jack, we all know what disappointment awaits once he is unleashed. Kos, Mustafi, Cech, Ramsey, any of them, none of them you'd back to have a consistent season. The whole set up is a shambles. It's unbelievable really. And equivalent would be some daft, clueless bint being put in charge of the country, which would never happen.

I've actually enjoyed watching Monreal, Kolas, Jack, Laca and even Ramsey (I missed a lot of his worst patches) this season though. Xhaka has just been a continuous car crash. At 35 million he should be able to do one isolated thing well with a modicum of regularity without having it dictated by his manager.

[Niall_Quinn]

He honours his contracts in the same way a tapeworm honours the intestine.

[selassie]

I've kind of just lost any real hope for Xhaka already despite his manager's lack of personal instruction or coercion. It's not a one off anymore. He can literally do one thing well and that's when he feels like it and is on his game. Horrific waste of more money.

Wenger called Xhaka a box to box midfielder last season even though Xhaka established his growing reputation over in the Bundesliga playing like an up and coming "Xabi Alonso". I don't really rate Xhaka but Wenger stating this tells me all we need to know about what he sees in him as a player, he doesn't have a clue.

We have never needed Xhaka, he's not what this team needs now and is not what the team needed when we bought him.

Wenger seems to go out of his way to be different, I don't know whether it's deliberate or whether he thinks he's smarter than everyone else but he appears to do it time and time again. I don't understand why we didn't buy Kante when he was begging to join us, it was a no-brainer.

[Power n Glory]

I've kind of just lost any real hope for Xhaka already despite his manager's lack of personal instruction or coercion. It's not a one off anymore. He can literally do one thing well and that's when he feels like it and is on his game. Horrific waste of more money.

Also, the one thing he can do well, he needs time and space to do it well. When under pressure he'll play a wayward reckless pass. When the YouTube clips of him spraying the ball around we're in circulation, you were right to point out that he was making those passes with zero pressure and acres of space.

He really is a one dimensional player and should be a sub to come on for specific conditions.

[Cripps]

Deeney was absolutely right.

[Özim]

Wenger seems to go out of his way to be different, I don't know whether it's deliberate or whether he thinks he's smarter than everyone else but he appears to do it time and time again. I don't understand why we didn't buy Kante when he was begging to join us, it was a no-brainer.

Agreed, it's just plain weird to be honest, Xhaka was never a player we need, never mind a 35 million pound midfielder, he's at best average, he adds absolutely nothing to the team, even his forte his passing is nothing special, Wenger has condeded the guy can't tackle so why he was bough to play DM is beyond me.

He's not smart, not smart at all, absolutely clueless perhaps but not smart, a smart man would simply not make the ridiculous decisions he does.

[Power n Glory]

Agreed, it's just plain weird to be honest, Xhaka was never a player we need, never mind a 35 million pound midfielder, he's at best average, he adds absolutely nothing to the team, even his forte his passing is nothing special, Wenger has condeded the guy can't tackle so why he was bough to play DM is beyond me.

He's not smart, not smart at all, absolutely clueless perhaps but not smart, a smart man would simply not make the ridiculous decisions he does.

I'm going to throw Ozil into that category as well. The introduction of both Xhaka and Ozil has created more problems than actually solving. The tall has been on how best to get more from them and forget about what the team actually needed.

Buying a CM that can't tackle or dictate our flow of passes from the midfield was a mistake. Buying an attacking midfielder who has done little to increase the potency of our attack was also a mistake. We needed a tough tackling DM and striker that can score 30 a season. Now we're having to find ways to bed in players that we didn't need in the first place and don't compliment the other players around them.

[Niall_Quinn]

Wenger was chasing Xhaka for a couple of years at least, as the natural replacement for Arteta. I liked Arteta, thought he was an honest pro who always gave his best for the club. But, unfortunately for him, Wenger found in him the ideal man to perform the duty Wenger values above all else - keeping possession. If Wenger could introduce a rule where his players could hide the ball for the whole 90 minutes and then claim 100% possession he'd do it in a heartbeat. His absolute obsession with pointless possession is what has killed our game and sucked every drop of entertainment from it. And Xhaka was supposed to be the guy who could step in and keep the sideways circus running. But it turns out Xhaka's hasn't got a fraction of Arteta's composure under pressure. So we've ended up with a guy who can do the sideway routine all day long, provided the opposition allow it. And most do. They must find it hilarious to watch us fucking around, sideways, sideways, backwards, instead of getting it up to out new 50 million quid striker (when he's on the pitch).

Xhaka is doing what that incompetent old fart wants him to do. Keep the ball. Doesn't matter the fuck what you do with it, but keep it. That way the opposition can't have it and that way they can't punish our ridiculous defence that Wenger refuses to coach properly and refuses to allow anyone else to coach properly. This is why Santi is Wenger's biggest loss. Cazorla can not only do all the fucking idiotic stuff Wenger demands, but he's two footed, super composed, ultra technical and can still create chances even from Wenger's joy sapping tactics.

Everything would change overnight if the old cunt just fucked off. I bet you every player (apart from Theo) would improve.

[Cripps]

That summer we made a big mistake going for a xhaka instead of a kante.

[Niall_Quinn]

I'm going to throw Ozil into that category as well. The introduction of both Xhaka and Ozil has created more problems than actually solving. The tall has been on how best to get more from them and forget about what the team actually needed.

Buying a CM that can't tackle or dictate our flow of passes from the midfield was a mistake. Buying an attacking midfielder who has done little to increase the potency of our attack was also a mistake. We needed a tough tackling DM and striker that can score 30 a season. Now we're having to find ways to bed in players that we didn't need in the first place and don't compliment the other players around them.

We needed a decent CM, a striker who can score 30, but most importantly, far, far, far more important than any player on the pitch, a manager who wants to play a game fit for a title challenge. As we've seen now the striker has arrived, Wenger doesn't have the first clue how to use him. Turns out the 30 goal striker is also surplus to requirements because he too doesn't fit into Wenger's crackpot style of tapping the ball around aimlessly.

[Niall_Quinn]

That summer we made a big mistake going for a xhaka instead of a kante.

Wenger was looking at Mahrez, not Kante. Kante wasn't a player who fit into his plan. Neither was Vidal, the player who could have finally replaced Vieira. It's almost as if the old fart now views these types as vulgar.

[selassie]

Wenger was looking at Mahrez, not Kante. Kante wasn't a player who fit into his plan. Neither was Vidal, the player who could have finally replaced Vieira. It's almost as if the old fart now views these types as vulgar.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/feb/03/arsenal-tried-to-sign-ngolo-kante-last-summer-arsene-wenger-reveals-chelsea

We tried to sign Kante NQ, predictably we bulked at his wage demands. I read an article with direct quotes from Kante last season stating that we were his first choice but we refused to meet his wage demands and off he went to Chelsea.

Kante is a world class player, he was brilliant for Leicester and France that season so why we felt the need to start messing about with the financials is beyond me. He would have massively improved our team. This kind of shit will continue to happen with Wenger in charge because he prioritises his own principles above the needs of improving the team.

Oh and FWIW I have read in various places Kante earns 120k per week.

[Niall_Quinn]

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/feb/03/arsenal-tried-to-sign-ngolo-kante-last-summer-arsene-wenger-reveals-chelsea

We tried to sign Kante NQ, predictably we bulked at his wage demands. I read an article with direct quotes from Kante last season stating that we were his first choice but we refused to meet his wage demands and off he went to Chelsea.

Kante is a world class player, he was brilliant for Leicester and France that season so why we felt the need to start messing about with the financials is beyond me. He would have massively improved our team. This kind of shit will continue to happen with Wenger in charge because he prioritises his own principles above the needs of improving the team.

Oh and FWIW I have read in various places Kante earns 120k per week.

That's Wenger moaning about money again, after the event. Nobody believes the bloke. He's almost signed everyone in world football. I can't recall us being linked at all with Kante, it was Vardy (cheap striker option) and Mahrez (because you can never have to many attacking midfielders). But if we were after him but wouldn't pay him, well that's the reason our stars are heading out and wasters like Walcott are bedded in for life. We'll pay second tier players second tier wages. All three players who wanted the going rate will be gone by the summer, Alexis, Ozil and Ox. As soon as Lacazette's contract comes up for negotiation there will be problems with that too. Only one guy gets the big payday.

[Özim]

This is why Santi is Wenger's biggest loss. Cazorla can not only do all the fucking idiotic stuff Wenger demands, but he's two footed, super composed, ultra technical and can still create chances even from Wenger's joy sapping tactics.

Totall agree, Cazorla is a big miss, more direct, will have a shot at goal and very creative, sadly he's now a bit older and injuries are taking their toll so we can no longer really rely on him.

[Power n Glory]

Totall agree, Cazorla is a big miss, more direct, will have a shot at goal and very creative, sadly he's now a bit older and injuries are taking their toll so we can no longer really rely on him.

The funny thing is, we also had Rosicky who could provide the same sort of quality to our midfield play. We experienced the same problems we see now when we were playing Jack, Ramsey and Arteta. We had to stumble upon a midfield that included Rosicky playing as CM to find that fluidity and get back to winning ways. I have no idea why Wenger hasn't caught on to what sort of combination we need in the midfield. He has seen the effect Rosicky and Cazorla have on the midfield but decided to buy Xhaka!

[Özim]

The funny thing is, we also had Rosicky who could provide the same sort of quality to our midfield play. We experienced the same problems we see now when we were playing Jack, Ramsey and Arteta. We had to stumble upon a midfield that included Rosicky playing as CM to find that fluidity and get back to winning ways. I have no idea why Wenger hasn't caught on to what sort of combination we need in the midfield. He has seen the effect Rosicky and Cazorla have on the midfield but decided to buy Xhaka!

Nothing he ever does makes much sense to be honest, more often than not he stumbles across a solution through luck and when there's a clear logical choice he veers away from it and does something completely different. Some of the mistakes he makes wouldn't even be made by managers of amateur teams, there's just no explanation for some of these things.

Right now IMO there aren't many worse managers than Wenger when you consider everything he comes with, sure under some managers we might end up lower in the league, but at least things would be less predictable and they'd try something different when things weren't working. At the same time a decent manager could do so much more and bring back hope and excitement, this man sucks all the joy and fun out of the game, he turned a once exciting team into one of he dullest around.

[Niall_Quinn]

The funny thing is, we also had Rosicky who could provide the same sort of quality to our midfield play. We experienced the same problems we see now when we were playing Jack, Ramsey and Arteta. We had to stumble upon a midfield that included Rosicky playing as CM to find that fluidity and get back to winning ways. I have no idea why Wenger hasn't caught on to what sort of combination we need in the midfield. He has seen the effect Rosicky and Cazorla have on the midfield but decided to buy Xhaka!

Wenger's had some sort of a mental breakdown. He's become obsessive with certain elements of the game while ignoring others entirely. Everything he does is unbalanced. He's completely out of his depth in terms of competing at the top and it's probably only muscle memory that keeps him from dropping things entirely. Kroenke is such a cunt. It's not actually decent in any way to keep dumping responsibility on a guy who is struggling so badly. If Greedystan genuinely had respect for Wenger he'd tell him to retire. But he's using him like he uses everyone and everything that crosses his path.

[Özim]

I've heard some people say this is our best squad for a long time, I can't disagree more to be honest, it's absolute rubbish. NQ highlighted that if we lose Sanchez and Ozil and you then look at our squad it's really very very average, other than Lacazette up front we have nothing decent, Wellbeck is hopeless and 2nd rate, Walcott the less said the better, 10 years of failure, Giroud a sub at best...the midfield is again pretty rubbish, who is there who is decent other than Cazorla? Don't get me started about the defence, very little real qualty in there, on top of that Cech is well past his best as well.

This squad needs a massive overhaul, we need a new owner, a director of football, a new manager, a new squad and a whole new coaching and medical setup, can't remember this club ever being in such a mess.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

The funny thing is, we also had Rosicky who could provide the same sort of quality to our midfield play. We experienced the same problems we see now when we were playing Jack, Ramsey and Arteta. We had to stumble upon a midfield that included Rosicky playing as CM to find that fluidity and get back to winning ways. I have no idea why Wenger hasn't caught on to what sort of combination we need in the midfield. He has seen the effect Rosicky and Cazorla have on the midfield but decided to buy Xhaka!

Rosicky and Cazorla are amongst the most dynamic midfielder's we've ever had at the club IMO. Hate that we no longer have this kind of quality at our regular disposal.

[Power n Glory]

Rosicky and Cazorla are amongst the most dynamic midfielder's we've ever had at the club IMO. Hate that we no longer have this kind of quality at our regular disposal.

Dynamic is the word. A joy to watch. Loved watching Rosicky play and despite being an injury risk, we should have kept him to the avoid the sort of situation we face now. Could have stepped in for Cazorla with ease.

[Letters]

I've heard some people say this is our best squad for a long time, I can't disagree more to be honest, it's absolute rubbish. NQ highlighted that if we lose Sanchez and Ozil and you then look at our squad it's really very very average, other than Lacazette up front we have nothing decent, Wellbeck is hopeless and 2nd rate, Walcott the less said the better, 10 years of failure, Giroud a sub at best...the midfield is again pretty rubbish, who is there who is decent other than Cazorla? Don't get me started about the defence, very little real qualty in there, on top of that Cech is well past his best as well.

This squad needs a massive overhaul, we need a new owner, a director of football, a new manager, a new squad and a whole new coaching and medical setup, can't remember this club ever being in such a mess.

So you think we have a rubbish squad and a terrible manager and we finished 5th and won the FA Cup last year.
:blink:
We have some problems right now but no need to go overboard.

[Özim]

So you think we have a rubbish squad and a terrible manager and we finished 5th and won the FA Cup last year.
:blink:
We have some problems right now but no need to go overboard.

Yes I do, we basically have a handful of players that drag us to victories but as a whole the squad is average, probably amongst the worst Wenger has ever put together, it's inbalanced and lacks quality in key areas. Yes we win games but 99% of the time they're unconvincing victories and average displays. As NQ point out if you take out Sanchez and Ozil (which we'll need to as they won't be hear come next summer (or even come February) where is the quality, Lacazette, Cazorla (thought he's always injured), who else is actually world class and performs week in week out?

We got 5th as we've got such a big squad and can rotate more and cope with inuries better which is why we probably cope better than most, but in terms of quality and winning things, this squad together with this manager have got zero chance.

As for Wenger you know my view I think he's incompetent.

[Letters]

Incompetent manager, average squad...5th and the FA Cup :shrug:
OK.

I don't think our squad is that too far away. With Wenger we'll never challenge but with a better manager this squad would be challenging IMO.

[GP]

Incompetent manager, average squad...5th and the FA Cup :shrug:
OK.

I don't think our squad is that too far away. With Wenger we'll never challenge but with a better manager this squad would be challenging IMO.

This is the crux of it.

There's no need to throw out the baby with the bathwater.

New manager first and foremost.

[selassie]

Incompetent manager, average squad...5th and the FA Cup :shrug:
OK.

I don't think our squad is that too far away. With Wenger we'll never challenge but with a better manager this squad would be challenging IMO.

Do you hand on heart think we'd challenge with another manager? Wenger is a major problem but we have built up quite a few issues in the squad now. We geniunely lack real quality in quite a few areas IMO.

Don't get me wrong I think any half decent manager would improve us but I think we need to recruit regardless, proper recruitment too. There are 3, maybe 4 teams that have better first XI and squads than us now in PL IMO.

[Marc Overmars]

Kroenke is a long-term cancer but we desperately need a change of manager if we want to at least see a short-term turnaround. I don't believe this squad of players should be as bad as they appear, they just really need to hear a new voice and some fresh ideas. They need proper and modern coaching.

[Letters]

Do you hand on heart think we'd challenge with another manager? Wenger is a major problem but we have built up quite a few issues in the squad now. We geniunely lack real quality in quite a few areas IMO.

Don't get me wrong I think any half decent manager would improve us but I think we need to recruit regardless, proper recruitment too. There are 3, maybe 4 teams that have better first XI and squads than us now in PL IMO.

We would have challenged over the last couple of years with a better manager. This year there are more better sides but we'd be closer.
The squad is far from perfect but it isn't "average" either.

[selassie]

We would have challenged over the last couple of years with a better manager. This year there are more better sides but we'd be closer.
The squad is far from perfect but it isn't "average" either.

Fair play. I think this season is a real wakeup call to be honest, seeing how our rivals are doing...well Spurs in CL..has really hit home for me. We can improve and should improve but as it stands I feel we are getting left behind.

[Niall_Quinn]

Fair play. I think this season is a real wakeup call to be honest, seeing how our rivals are doing...well Spurs in CL..has really hit home for me. We can improve and should improve but as it stands I feel we are getting left behind.

Getting left behind? That's an understatement. Wenger has us running in the opposite direction to everyone else. We're leaving everyone ahead just as fast as they are leaving us behind. Only Wenger could achieve this. All the stupid bastard needs to do is the basics to stabilise things. Get a coach in to help set up the defence properly. Pick a starting eleven and stick with it where possible, give the poor sods a chance to build team understanding. Pick our best players, like every other manager does. Sort out the Ozil and Alexis shit, make clear statements and start lining up the replacements. No fucking around. These are all things the arsehole could be doing. But he sits there grinning and tells us to wait for his book. That'll be the first book I'll burn. I don't want to hear another word from the shit.

Why doesn't he just fuck off?

[selassie]

Getting left behind? That's an understatement. Wenger has us running in the opposite direction to everyone else. We're leaving everyone ahead just as fast as they are leaving us behind. Only Wenger could achieve this. All the stupid bastard needs to do is the basics to stabilise things. Get a coach in to help set up the defence properly. Pick a starting eleven and stick with it where possible, give the poor sods a chance to build team understanding. Pick our best players, like every other manager does. Sort out the Ozil and Alexis shit, make clear statements and start lining up the replacements. No fucking around. These are all things the arsehole could be doing. But he sits there grinning and tells us to wait for his book. That'll be the first book I'll burn. I don't want to hear another word from the shit.

Why doesn't he just fuck off?

:lol:

On a serious note we both know that Wenger won't do any of this even though he should do, his ego won't allow it. Wenger would rather amble on and rot this team to the core before he goes out there to seek assistance.

[Özim]

If we go a new manager this is what I think we should be bringing in and getting rid of:

Out:
Sanchez (gone)
Ozil (gone)
Ospina
Mustafi
Mertersacker (already gone at the end of the season as a player)
Chambers
Wilshere
Elneny
Coquelin
Wellbeck
Walcott

In:
Goalkeeper
2 x Centre back
Left Back
Right Back (cover)
Defensive Midfielder (maybe a utility player who can cover there too)
Creative Midfielder
Winger
Striker (possibly 2 as you need 4 decent ones to challenge on all fronts)

If Cazorla is done then maybe another creator as well. On top of that we need proper coaches to get the players playing together and the defence playing as a unit and to ditch the zonal marking which is a waste of time, oh and to switch back to a faster style of player so I'd suggest bringing in some quick players.

This squad will definitely improve under a new manager but will still need a fair few changes IMO, this squad is going nowhere, it was built by Wenger and he's entirely incompetent.

[Özim]

Incompetent manager, average squad...5th and the FA Cup :shrug:
OK.

I don't think our squad is that too far away. With Wenger we'll never challenge but with a better manager this squad would be challenging IMO.

Yup, like I said 5th is nowhere given our resources and the amount of time we've had to build a team, our squad size allowed us to get 5th, it wasn't really down to quality, we scraped through a whol host of games which could have easily ended up draws.

Our squad is miles away IMO, a new manager might be able to get top 4 but that's it, we need some major surgery as well, especially as we're losing two of our best players. People can delude themselves it's not far away if they like, just like they do about some of our players, but it's not reality, bad signings and the wrong signings have brought us to where we are.

[Letters]

Yup, like I said 5th is nowhere given our resources
Actually that I pretty much agree with. We have the resources to compete with anyone.
But our squad is certainly not average compared with the PL, you talk about squad size but that is part of assessing how strong a squad is.
And I'm sure we did win some games which could have been draws but the reverse will have been the case too. There are often fine lines in football and you more or less end up where you deserve to.
If our squad is average AND our manager is incompetent then there's no way we'd finish where we usually do.

[selassie]

If we go a new manager this is what I think we should be bringing in and getting rid of:

Out:
Sanchez (gone)
Ozil (gone)
Ospina
Mustafi
Mertersacker (already gone at the end of the season as a player)
Chambers
Wilshere
Elneny
Coquelin
Wellbeck
Walcott

In:
Goalkeeper
2 x Centre back
Left Back
Right Back (cover)
Defensive Midfielder (maybe a utility player who can cover there too)
Creative Midfielder
Winger
Striker (possibly 2 as you need 4 decent ones to challenge on all fronts)

If Cazorla is done then maybe another creator as well. On top of that we need proper coaches to get the players playing together and the defence playing as a unit and to ditch the zonal marking which is a waste of time, oh and to switch back to a faster style of player so I'd suggest bringing in some quick players.

This squad will definitely improve under a new manager but will still need a fair few changes IMO, this squad is going nowhere, it was built by Wenger and he's entirely incompetent.

I pretty much agree with this. I do think Wilshere & Welbeck could offer decent enough squad cover under a competent manager but the rest I would bin, I would add Xhaka to the list too.

Any manager worth his salt would need to come in and build a proper spine to this team because we basically don't have one as it stands. We do have some very good players even outside of Ozil and Sanchez and I think some could form part of the spine assuming they were under proper instructions/tactics.

Another thing is removing the "winning comes secondary" culture, this is ingrained in the club, the standards are so low that competing is seen as enough now, any decent manager would not accept this as the status quo given our resources, potential and past achievements.

There is a lot of work to be done regardless of whether Wenger stays or goes.

[Niall_Quinn]

The sensible thing, not that I'm suggesting for a split nanosecond we should contemplate considering it, is to get rid of Wenger and then give all these players a chance to prove themselves. I bet we'd be very surprised and pleased with the outcome.

The incredibly stupid and self destructive thing to do is keep Wenger beyond close of business today.

That's why I love football, you never know which way it's going to go. :ilt:

[Özim]

I pretty much agree with this. I do think Wilshere & Welbeck could offer decent enough squad cover under a competent manager but the rest I would bin, I would add Xhaka to the list too.

Any manager worth his salt would need to come in and build a proper spine to this team because we basically don't have one as it stands. We do have some very good players even outside of Ozil and Sanchez and I think some could form part of the spine assuming they were under proper instructions/tactics.

Another thing is removing the "winning comes secondary" culture, this is ingrained in the club, the standards are so low that competing is seen as enough now, any decent manager would not accept this as the status quo given our resources, potential and past achievements.

There is a lot of work to be done regardless of whether Wenger stays or goes.

Sorry yes, I meant to include Xhaka in that. As for Wilshere IMO he's too injury prone and Wellbeck has had years to improve his finishing to no effect so I'm not convinced with him either in terms of being a goal threat (if Ferguson couldn't get goals out of him noone will IMO).

I agree about the mentality, people said Wenger will leave us in a good state for the next manager, I don't agree at all, there will be so much to change with this club, a lot of which is deeply ingrained in it's culture like the losers mentality, Wilshere piped up responding to the comments Deeney made disagreeing of course, our own players can't accept the facts this is why we need a massive overhaul IMO, that and the fact none of the players mentioned were much kop when we signed them tbh.

[Özim]

The sensible thing, not that I'm suggesting for a split nanosecond we should contemplate considering it, is to get rid of Wenger and then give all these players a chance to prove themselves. I bet we'd be very surprised and pleased with the outcome.

The incredibly stupid and self destructive thing to do is keep Wenger beyond close of business today.

That's why I love football, you never know which way it's going to go. :ilt:

A new manager will definitely improve them, probelm is, they were never the right players in the 1st place, we signed them like we always do for the sake of it, because Wenger liked the look of them. In addition many of htem were nothing special before they arrived so can't see a monumental change in them going forward.

This squad has been put together by a guy who doesn't know what he's doing, wrong players, in the wrong positions, with the wrong skills no manager can fix that without a sizeable cull.

[Niall_Quinn]

A new manager will definitely improve them, probelm is, they were never the right players in the 1st place, we signed them like we always do for the sake of it, because Wenger liked the look of them. In addition many of htem were nothing special before they arrived so can't see a monumental change in them going forward.

This squad has been put together by a guy who doesn't know what he's doing, wrong players, in the wrong positions, with the wrong skills no manager can fix that without a sizeable cull.

Chesney's recent comments are damning. He was never going to be a world class keeper sticking around at Arsenal. But now, who knows? His career path has opened up for him again now he's with a club that values coaching. We don't really know what we have with this squad, not fully. We know there's a gem of a player locked inside Ramsey, we've glimpsed it. We know Lacazette is a goal scorer. We even know Merts can put in a world class performance, once unfortunately. We have young talent that desperately needs guidance. Older heads who haven't progressed in years. This is all down to one idiot. Who knows what a determined coach could do with these players and I'm sure all of them would soon be enjoying things as much as Ches seems to be, if only somebody would wake the fuck up at this club and get rid of the stinking great elephant shitting mountains in the living room.

[selassie]

Chesney's recent comments are damning. He was never going to be a world class keeper sticking around at Arsenal. But now, who knows? His career path has opened up for him again now he's with a club that values coaching. We don't really know what we have with this squad, not fully. We know there's a gem of a player locked inside Ramsey, we've glimpsed it. We know Lacazette is a goal scorer. We even know Merts can put in a world class performance, once unfortunately. We have young talent that desperately needs guidance. Older heads who haven't progressed in years. This is all down to one idiot. Who knows what a determined coach could do with these players and I'm sure all of them would soon be enjoying things as much as Ches seems to be, if only somebody would wake the fuck up at this club and get rid of the stinking great elephant shitting mountains in the living room.

Aye, Chesney isn't the only one who has voiced concerns about the coaching at Arsenal, Cesc did too when he went to Barca, he basically said that the coaching at Arsenal wasn't up to scratch, it isn't comprehensive enough, too much work on the ball and not enough work off it/tactics/studying your opponents. That was quite damning considering he joined Barca who at the time were famed for their tiki taka and were basically the best team in the world, if they work on the tactics, off the ball type stuff why don't we?!

[selassie]

Sorry yes, I meant to include Xhaka in that. As for Wilshere IMO he's too injury prone and Wellbeck has had years to improve his finishing to no effect so I'm not convinced with him either in terms of being a goal threat (if Ferguson couldn't get goals out of him noone will IMO).

I agree about the mentality, people said Wenger will leave us in a good state for the next manager, I don't agree at all, there will be so much to change with this club, a lot of which is deeply ingrained in it's culture like the losers mentality, Wilshere piped up responding to the comments Deeney made disagreeing of course, our own players can't accept the facts this is why we need a massive overhaul IMO, that and the fact none of the players mentioned were much kop when we signed them tbh.

Yeah Wilshere and Welbeck are most definitely question marks and I do agree with you to an extent regarding Wilshere because he's basically a crock. Neither of them can be relied upon as starters or to bring the required level of quality on a consistent basis but the same could be said of most of the first XI.

[fakeyank]

The sensible thing, not that I'm suggesting for a split nanosecond we should contemplate considering it, is to get rid of Wenger and then give all these players a chance to prove themselves. I bet we'd be very surprised and pleased with the outcome.

The incredibly stupid and self destructive thing to do is keep Wenger beyond close of business today.

That's why I love football, you never know which way it's going to go. :ilt:

I agree with this. While there are some that absolutely need to go, I am confident a fair few of them will pleasantly surprise us if they get a competent manager.