Wenger Referendum IV

[Niall_Quinn]

What about being the best?

Unless being the least worst is something to take pride in.

That statement sums him up. We are not the worst. Is that the standard then? Get dragged around and gang shagged by every half decent team in the CL but nothing to see here because somebody else has more bruises.

Is it any wonder we can't compete when this is the mentality? His CL record is a shocker. Turning up is not a badge of honour. You have to do something once you get there. Why doesn't he get this?

[Marc Overmars]

It is a badge of honour to him. It's that kind of loser mentality that has damaged our club. Even his supporters throughout the years would point to the failures of other clubs, even though other clubs still had their moments in the sun inbetween the failures. No such moments for us though, unless qualifying for the CL 897 times in a row does it for you. As far as I'm concerned our performances in the CL have rendered the mildly impressive consistency of qualifying for it irrelevant.

[Penguin]

Is he serious?

I can't remember any other English club getting beaten 10-2. The others might lose to the Barcas, Bayerns and Reals but they don't get demolished the way Wenger's teams do. So much for not being the worst

[Niall_Quinn]

Is he serious?

I can't remember any other English club getting beaten 10-2. The others might lose to the Barcas, Bayerns and Reals but they don't get demolished the way Wenger's teams do. So much for not being the worst

He is serious and that's why it is so painfully obvious he has to go. If your retirement fund manager spoke like that you'd say fine, I'll use him but only for half the basket, just in case. You'd use him as the safety net and then pick a few potential gainers to add the sugar on top but no harm if they don't pay out.

That's what we have here, a blue chip, safe and reliable fund manager. And everyone in football seems to go mad for it, telling the fans what a great job Wenger has done to build an operation your granny would approve of in her old age.

30 million more for another 4th Place Trophy triumph. Could have been 60 million if we were in a position to beat clubs like Bayern but hell, it might have cost us all our profit just to buy the players to do the job. So 30 million in the hand is worth more than money you might never get. 10-2 aggregate in the last 16? Might I remind you, the 30 mill is already banked so what's the problem. And we can do it all again next year and the year after that. 20 years in a row. You work it out. What's not to be happy about? And you are sitting there talking about football scores? What does that have to do with it?

[AFC Leveller]

What has he got to prove by staying on for two years? What will change if he stays for two more years? What will we win if he stays for two more years?

Nothing.

[Globalgunner]

The beauty of Wenger is that he has turned us all into goldfish with short term memories. The spanking against Pool is forgotten in the wake of the walloping by Bayern. If he wins against Lincoln. Its then all okay, we have bounced back. Until the next beating by Spurs or City. He will then turn round and say it was just 1 bad result, why is everybody panicking?.

[Niall_Quinn]

The beauty of Wenger is that he has turned us all into goldfish with short term memories. The spanking against Pool is forgotten in the wake of the walloping by Bayern. If he wins against Lincoln. Its then all okay, we have bounced back. Until the next beating by Spurs or City. He will then turn round and say it was just 1 bad result, why is everybody panicking?.

Bouncing back tends to mean a recovery following on from adversity. But Wenger's bouncing back is more like a squash ball. You get hammered, bounce back, get hammered again.

[Niall_Quinn]

Arsene Wenger is edging closer to staying at Arsenal according to sources at the club, despite the humiliating 10-2 aggregate defeat by Bayern Munich.

Those with knowledge of the dressing room say the mood since has been one of determination to turn the season around and finish well. If anything, it has made many at the club, including Wenger, more defiant and determined to prove doubters wrong.

It would, of course, require a top-four finish or an FA Cup victory to justify staying.

If the club were to slump in the Premier League, Wenger could yet change his mind and accept that it is a time for a change.

At present, transfer recruitment plans for next season are intensifying, with Wenger directing them as though he were staying.

The significant difference from previous years when Wenger's contract was running down, however, is that intermediaries close to the club have begun to sound out candidates to replace him.

Men such as Max Allegri at Juventus, Newcastle's Rafa Benitez and Borussia Dortmund's Thomas Tuchel. And though Wenger looks more likely to stay now than go, the insecurity is putting Arsenal's planning at risk, which is why a decision will be required soon.

All agents of players targeted for next season want to know who will be the manager next season — and no one is in a clear position to tell them.

The club are planning to make major signings in the summer, with the strong possibility that a replacement for Alexis Sanchez will be needed.

The club can keep Sanchez for another year, but the diminishing work-rate he is showing in games (illustrated in the panel) has suggested to some that he is losing heart.

The club and player are in contract negotiations, with Sanchez understood to be expecting an overall figure including image rights which is close to £300,000 a week in order to extend his deal.

Arsenal will come close to meeting his financial demands, but the bigger issue is whether Sanchez wants to commit or move to Paris Saint-Germain.

Last summer's targets, such as Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann and Monaco's Kylian Mbappe, are now coveted by clubs with bigger budgets.

Manchester City and Real Madrid are both interested in Mbappe and Manchester United will be able to pay more for Griezmann.

Borussia Dortmund's striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is a player Wenger has admired for some time but the days of Arsenal being first in queue when it comes to major signings are long gone.

If Real Madrid, whose transfer ban for the summer has been over-turned, want Aubameyang, he will go there. If United and City decide he is not a target, then Arsenal might have a chance, but it is hard to justify moving from Borussia Dortmund to Arsenal as a step up, other than in financial terms.

The club appear more confident of coming to an agreement with Mesut Ozil. The German has recently bought a new house in London and, though final terms have yet to be agreed on a deal which would be worth more than £250,000 a week, talks are expected to resolve the impasse.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will be offered a new deal, despite reports suggesting he might wish to leave. But Kieran Gibbs, whose career has plateaued, is expected to leave, with Monaco's Benjamin Mendy likely to be the player they would want to attract as his replacement.

It would, of course, require a top-four finish or an FA Cup victory to justify staying.

The media working hand in hand with Arsenal and Wenger to set the scene. "Of course" (there is no question) "a top-four finish" OR "an FA Cup victory" (well we had an FA Cup victory yesterday, strictly speaking). How does Wenger do it? This is the same media that hounded and humiliated Bobby Robson. Nobody has escaped their teeth when blood has been in the water. Except Wenger. They are working with him to get his new contract signed.

How does the media know "of course" that a top 4 finish would be required? Is that why fans are saying they couldn't give a shit about finishing in the top 4?

But the transfer bullshit takes the cake. You know we have been trying to sign Griezmann and Mbappe. You remember, don't you? They were our targets in the summer. REMEMBER? It was all over the papers, remember? REMEMBER? Yes, you do. Good.

But it looks like the big money clubs are going to thwart us. Don't worry, Alexis and Ozil are staying. But if they don't, still have no fear because we'll be making BIG SIGNINGS.

So here's the picture. Everything is under control. It's all good. Relax.

To complete that picture, remember, the fans need to be more supportive (a bit more like spud fans), fans who criticise Wenger are "idiots" and those holding up protest banners are disrespecting the man who built Arsenal, a club that did nothing prior to his arrival apart from the odd greatest night ever in the history of the club at Anfield.

You can go back to sleep now. The people who have brought us to this point are in control and there's a plan for all eventualities. And thank you for your interest in their affairs but decisions will be made by the RIGHT people at the RIGHT time.

Meanwhile, here's a season ticket hike for you. That's your bit. See that you attend to it.

Cynics might say we are watching the fusion between an out of touch group of rich men and a pathetically compliant media. But no real fans would ever notice that. Real fans know what's good for them and will leave these things to their betters.

[GP]

[Globalgunner]

You can tell he really loves his job.
Doesnt change the reality that he is crap at it.