Match reaction: Sunderland v Arsenal - FA Cup

[Power n Glory]

It was so ironic that he did the own goal - he was competely blameless and is one of the few players who seems to always put in a genuine effort for the whole time he is on the pitch. If the rest of the team each put in 50% if his effort, we'd have won the title by now.

He ran back but wasn't blameless. He lost the ball up field and that led the counter attack. I won't slay him for that but if it had been anyone else, I doubt there would be so much forgiveness. But there were other errors. Song was beaten easily on that counter, Arteta put in a weak tackle then fell over like a little girl, Verms wasn't watching Larsson's run....collective errors.

[Japan Shaking All Over]

I have grown a huge pair and that is why I believe that our club has come to a point where they have to learn the hard way. Whats a win going to bring really? Papering over cracks! Small time loss for a long time gain is what I am looking at. I hate the Spuds and I hope they never win a game ever again but my feelings towards a change at Arsenal is even more!
I will cheer the team on like no other... my heart wants an Arsenal win but my head says its time for a change and that change will unfortunately come from shocking results like the 8-2 drubbing at Utd, loss to Milan, not qualifying for Europe. This is how I think change will come to the club, may be not your way of thinking but that doesnt make me any less of a fan. TBH, I think you need to take a quick course at 'tough love 101'

Sorry FY, no need for me to be taking anything, tough love 101 or whatever you want to call it!

The fact is simple, Wenger has already done enough to be shown the door and it is with a heavu heart that I reside myself to the fact that he has to go! and it is not because I think he is a cu#t, or overstayed his welcome, it is because I see no future for the club with him holding the reigns.

I agree with some that he may have been wise to leave earlier, limit the damage to the way some would have remembered him, but he stayed, showing his increasingly negative stubborn side and in hindsight doing no good to the team. No doubt he thought he could change things and I as others did, wanted to believe him. I wanted Wenger to leave on his own choosing, with his head held high but. . .this is no longer the case and even the strongest supporters of AW no longer see him remaining as best for the club.

So you see FY you wish is coming true, the fans agree, the signs are stronger than ever before that this should be his last season, by publicly stating you want Arsenal to lose is simolar to the spolit child that gets the toy cried for but then asks for another.

For me. . .the time is nigh for Wenger to go. . .but never for me to wish the team loses, there is never a time for that. . .

[Power n Glory]

It's a tough one. Nobody wishes the team to lose but you know that if we scrape 4th, nothing much will change. The hint is in Wenger's comments. I get the impression that he won't buy big this summer because he thinks we've been unlucky with injuries. I don't think we'll strengthen, just replace players that are leaving with weaker players. Unless he's shown the door, we will continue down this road and it's like things have to really go down hill before we see any real change.

[Flavs]

My reaction was one of complete unsurprise at the ineffectiveness of this team and its manager. We are truly at sea at the moment and with Spurs and Liverpool up next i can only see it getting worse. The team were clueless, you cant faulty the effort but the huge gaping Fabregas shaped hole in the middle of the park was evident for everyone to see.

We also managed to pick up another 3 injuries on Sunderland's pitch which is just great as well. Can anyone remember us having a fully fit squad in he last 5 years? Or at least less than 3 players injured at any one time?

At the end of the season i would expect RvP and Theo to leave and i would hope Wenger follows them, thanks for all the great times but you are now officially king George and the madness is upon you. I have no anger towards the man, just disappointment that someone verging on genius for so many years has become a deluded, whining and largely clueless old man.

[Flavs]

This team is finished. Wenger is done.

I disagree with this by the way, not the Wenger bit but the team bit. This team is certainly capable of winning things, maybe not the league but we are certainly capable of matching Spurs and United and winning the 2 domestic cups. On paper we actually have a very good team, where we fall down is the application of them.

The set pieces, throw ins, counter attacking, tactics, plan b, c, d, e and f, the tempo, width, style and defensive line are all wrong and have been for 4 years now. The fact we have started changing to this 4-4-1-1 bullshit smacks of desperation and the fact we played Theo in behind RvP rather than the other way around is just plain stupid.

If you put a tactical, man motivator in charge of this lot we would be very, very difficult to beat and keep up with.

[Flavs]

I thought Wenger would last the end of the season, but now I'm not so sure. The board might be happy to let Wenger carry on but Wenger might resign under fan pressure.

.

Yeah cos our club have always listened to what the fans think...

[Syn]

Yeah cos our club have always listened to what the fans think...

Our club might not. Wenger will never be sacked. But he will leave at some point. Yes we're not liking Arsene right now but I don't believe he is some sort of evil nutcase who doesn't care what fans think of him. He is a very proud man and he gets very hurt when he is questioned. As Petit said this morning, Arsene is at the low point of his Arsenal career...things have been bad, but not this bad. And there is a limit to how low we can sink before it's unacceptable. Many would argue that stage has already passed. Nevertheless that 'breaking point' does exist and I don't think it's far away.

I don't think we will lose - but imagine the reaction if we do get beat by Tottenham. And then these are our run of fixtures:

Premier League Arsenal v Tottenham
Premier League Liverpool v Arsenal
Champions League Arsenal v AC Milan
Premier League Arsenal v Newcastle
Premier League Arsenal v Aston Villa
Premier League QPR v Arsenal
Premier League Arsenal v Man City

It's not difficult to imagine a situation where we keep on sustaining injuries and keep on putting in lacklustre performances and suddenly 4th is out of reach with few games remaining. 4th is the only thing left for Arsene; if at any stage it looks like we really won't get there with games running out, he will feel forced to leave.

[Flavs]

Our club might not. Wenger will never be sacked. But he will leave at some point. Yes we're not liking Arsene right now but I don't believe he is some sort of evil nutcase who doesn't care what fans think of him. He is a very proud man and he gets very hurt when he is questioned. As Petit said this morning, Arsene is at the low point of his Arsenal career...things have been bad, but not this bad. And there is a limit to how low we can sink before it's unacceptable. Many would argue that stage has already passed. Nevertheless that 'breaking point' does exist and I don't think it's far away.

I don't think we will lose - but imagine the reaction if we do get beat by Tottenham. And then these are our run of fixtures:

Premier League Arsenal v Tottenham
Premier League Liverpool v Arsenal
Champions League Arsenal v AC Milan
Premier League Arsenal v Newcastle
Premier League Arsenal v Aston Villa
Premier League QPR v Arsenal
Premier League Arsenal v Man City

It's not difficult to imagine a situation where we keep on sustaining injuries and keep on putting in lacklustre performances and suddenly 4th is out of reach with few games remaining. 4th is the only thing left for Arsene; if at any stage it looks like we really won't get there with games running out, he will feel forced to leave.

The only 4 things that will get Wenger sacked are

1, the club continue to be a bit wanky and the season tickets, shirt sales and corporate box subscriptions go down dramatically

2, The fans stage a mass stay away and the team are forced to play in an empty stadium

3, some ridiculously rich A-rab comes in and buys all the shares and sacks him for some pin up, poster boy

4, Stan finds out Arsene has not only been shagging his wife but also his daughters and the family dog.

As none of those will ever happen he is safer in his job than me, and i am pretty much untouchable

[Joker]

I think after the change in ownership in clubs like Man City/Chelsea etc, Wenger seems to be resigned to the fact that we can't win trophies competing against these teams with such resources. Therefore, he has convinced himself that the next target (which is attainable) is simply to get 4th. However, this sort of reasoning is BS, because even if winning the league is difficult, we can at least properly compete for the cups, rather than treating them with disrespect. Moreover, I don't actually think it was impossible for us to win the league in the last 5 years. We were there or thereabouts until about March/April in 2007-2008, 2009-2010 and 2010-2011, but because Wenger has failed to create a strong enough squad in terms of quality, a few injuries and our whole challenge disintegrated. This isn't City's or Chelsea's fault. There have been players available who would have made the difference over the last 5 years, and needn't have cost the earth (like VDV, Parker, Alonso back in 08, etc) Wenger has to take the blame for that. I think he's lowered his ambition, and found City's resurgence as an excuse for concentrating purely on financial matters.

[LDG]

I think after the change in ownership in clubs like Man City/Chelsea etc, Wenger seems to be resigned to the fact that we can't win trophies competing against these teams with such resources. Therefore, he has convinced himself that the next target (which is attainable) is simply to get 4th. However, this sort of reasoning is BS, because even if winning the league is difficult, we can at least properly compete for the cups, rather than treating them with disrespect. Moreover, I don't actually think it was impossible for us to win the league in the last 5 years. We were there or thereabouts until about March/April in 2007-2008, 2009-2010 and 2010-2011, but because Wenger has failed to create a strong enough squad in terms of quality, a few injuries and our whole challenge disintegrated. This isn't City's or Chelsea's fault. There have been players available who would have made the difference over the last 5 years, and needn't have cost the earth (like VDV, Parker, Alonso back in 08, etc) Wenger has to take the blame for that. I think he's lowered his ambition, and found City's resurgence as an excuse for concentrating purely on financial matters.

That's the most sensible post I've seen you make. It's smack bang on.

We could have won the league in at least one of those seasons. Last season, we were by far the "best" team on paper, and all it needed was another exciting signing to keep the lads on their toes.

That said, we can still compete with City / Chelsea / Utd. FFS, people seem to think they're a million miles away, when in actual fact, they're about 2 shrewd signings away from us.

We can complete with them, even with this fragile team, as shown in the league matches against them.

This is what makes it so infuriating.