Ramsey and Flamini were a horible duo, i dont think we won any games with them in the middle yet Elneny, who is a proper CM, was benched and sometimes not even in the squad.Quote:
Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory
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Ramsey and Flamini were a horible duo, i dont think we won any games with them in the middle yet Elneny, who is a proper CM, was benched and sometimes not even in the squad.Quote:
Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory
The crazy thing with that is it was patently obvious the Flamini / Ramsey partnership does not and will not ever work. Another big mistake in a long list this season for monsieur Wenger.
He says this win means his team have passed a mental test! lol what about the failures at Man utd and Swansea just a few weeks ago when the pressure was really on?
I really don't think he feels the recent criticism was justified, proper head in the sand stuff.
Yes, little bit the exact opposite. If we do win a few games now and Leicester let a few points drop we'll soon see (again) how we handle the pressure.Quote:
Originally Posted by AFC Leveller
Wenger is not going anywhere, so a decision has to be made by the fans going to the games. In reality next season could be extremely ugly if the 'Wenger Out' campaign spreads throughout the whole of 16/17. If so, then it will probably affect the team and our performances would end up being even worse. Which may be a worthwhile short term sacrifice to make if he leaves at the end of his contract. But it won't be pretty. It's easy to get behind that on the internet but another thing entirely when you've shelled out x amount of pounds to go and watch your team.Quote:
Truces are rarely as temporary. As the most comfortable of victories secured Arsenal a five-point cushion to fifth place, this seemed a restorative day but the final whistle was still a few minutes away when the club’s civil war resumed. If the first shots were the loudest, in the form of a chorus from the visiting fans, the principal Gunner returned fire with interest, pleading for peace yet risking escalating the conflict.
After supporters, with choice words, repeatedly told the absentee majority shareholder, Stan Kroenke, to “get out of our club”, Arsène Wenger defended other allies from not-so-friendly fire. The Arsenal manager’s gripe was that the pressure on his players, and the perception they were failing, is amplified by their own followers. He was particularly aggrieved that their north London derby draw, which followed three successive defeats, was not received more favourably.
“What hurts me is that at the important moment of the season we played in a sceptical environment,” he said. “I think after the Tottenham game where we played a very good game with 10 men against 11 and came back to 2-2, I couldn’t understand why – at the moment when you need everyone behind the team – we had to hit that storm. From the media, OK. From our fans? It is a bit more difficult to take.”
More placatory comments followed. “I never complain about critics, especially when they are turned against me,” Wenger added. “But we have to get the fans behind us with our attitude, and make sure that they stand behind the team until the end of the season.”
It was a call for unity, even if the rival camps’ positions seem more entrenched. Supporters are disenchanted – some used Kroenke as a proxy for Wenger and one banner proclaimed “Time for change, Arsenal FC not Arsène FC” – and the club’s establishment feel their arguments betray an ingratitude. The masses want prizes, the manager talks about pounds. “I built this club over 19 years with the quality of my work, not with resources from outside,” said Wenger. “Not with big sponsorship but by caring about every pound that I spent.”
A game notable for fiscal prudence and footballing excellence was a typically Wenger-esque occasion. He can see victories as vindication. Rather than ploughing much of Arsenal’s vast cash reserves into the January transfer market, he acquired Mohamed Elneny for £7.4m. The busy Egyptian exerted an influence. Otherwise Wenger found the answers within. He can be a master of mid-season improvisation, even if the way his initial plans unravel means he sometimes has to be, and he looks for renewal and rejuvenation from his own.
Last season Francis Coquelin was catapulted from obscurity. Now Alex Iwobi made an auspicious first league start, garnished with a goal. Wenger has long resisted entreaties to buy a world-class centre-forward and instead reiterated his faith in Danny Welbeck, the other scorer. Arsenal’s seasons invariably end with the question of what might have been if only key players had stayed fit. Welbeck’s campaign began on Valentine’s Day. “You cannot say you don’t miss a player of that stature for eight months,” Wenger said. “He can make a real difference in the final eight games.”
He has an instinctive preference for continuity, on the playing staff and in the backroom team alike. He is on course for a 20th consecutive top-four finish; the accusation is that Arsenal are in a state of stasis, the reality that Wenger is, to paraphrase José Mourinho, a specialist in averting failure. The Frenchman’s belief is that they are progressing.
“The club has moved forward a lot,” he said. “I just want to continue that.” While a growing faction urge him to leave Arsenal, he has rejected offers from many another club to stay. Would he care to put a number on it? A manager whose grounding in economics gives him a famously good grasp of the figures affected an ignorance. “No,” he said with a knowing smile.
One thing is for sure, this is not all going to end well at all.
Yep, Wenger leaves things far too late, it's just in his nature, he just gambles on players playing themselves back into form, the thing is like you said re: Flamini/Ramsey it was clear early on that the partnership was a trainwreck yet Wenger persisted with it and it cost us a lot of points, it wasn't the sole reason but a big reason. Look at the difference between their partnership and what we've seen with Coq/Elneny, they controlled Central Midfield on Saturday from the first minute and didn't even do anything flash, just standard stuff like passing and moving and holding possession.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gooner23
They were decent against Barca too.
This shit happens every season with Wenger, it's the reason why he needs to go at the end of the season, it's absolutely not unacceptable how it has turned out this season, it's been a trainwreck of a season and no amount of spin will convince me that he is the man to lead us forward.
Wait a minute, our mentally strong team can't handle a few boos? What happened to having many leaders on the pitch? ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Kano
Instead of lecturing the fans, Wenger needs to have a word with his players. This sort of stuff doesn't help the situation. When he ignores the obvious, says nothing new, tries nothing new and we get the same results, what does he expect from the fans? So quick to lash out against supporters but not peep about some really poor performances. He seems delusional.
He really has no clue why things have turned so sour does he? He just doesn't get it. Maybe he should start from last summer when he decided to sign no one and go from there. Completely deluded.
I still and always will appreciate everything he's done but this will always be the year I fell out of love with Arsene Wenger.
Me too MO. I've wanted him to stand down for a few years now, but have maintained my respect for him and even still clung on to a faint hope that given the chance he may be able to turn it around.
This season though he has really been shown up as arrogant, deluded and disrespectful towards the fans. Seems like he really can't deal with the fact that all the convenient excuses have dried up. To blame the fans for the poor run of form is the last straw.