Wenger Referendum III - End of Season Poll

[Letters]

It's true. We haven't won anything for literally days

[GP]

What have the Romans ever done for us?

[Power n Glory]

http://www1.skysports.com/football/n...al-this-summer

This will always be the struggle for us. A lot rides on next summer and although we have potential, gambling on players developing and keeping fit is what's always held us back.

We shouldn't have to spend silly money next year in theory, but I'd like to think we'll do what's necessary to bring in a player that' will improve our squad and title chances without question.

[Niall_Quinn]

There has to be an end to the next season thing at some point. We've been using that for a decade.

He's here until 2017 anyway so that's that. But for the sake of argument, we just watched the team rip Villa a new hole in the FA Cup final. Gorgeous football, sane tactics that suited the opponent, great motivation, great ambition, high energy, sensible subs, a fast start and we kept our foot on it for 90 minutes.

So we can do it. So the manager can do it.

So what happened in the PL and CL?

Can Wenger make the necessary corrections required to keep the squad at this level over a whole season? The recent record says no, not a chance. Season after season falling short at critical moments. What's going to be different next season? Will Wenger change? He hasn't so far.

[Letters]

What happened in the PL was we got off to an awful start. Once we got going we matched Chelsea stride for stride.
The problem has been maintaining title winning form for a whole season, I think we finally have a squad and mentality to do that.

We do have to stop doing the "there's always next year" thing but we've started to sign a new level of players and it is making a difference, it has won us 2 trophies in 2 years for a start. It makes me think we're heading in the right direction.

This is the most optimistic I've felt about Arsenal for a long time, Saturday was the day we finally showed up in a really big game and did the business. Villa are poor but so are Hull and we made hard work of that last year. This time we swept the opposition aside playing a brand of football Wenger aspires to but hasn't quite managed over the last few years. There are no more excuses, we have to properly challenge next year. I can accept we may finish below a side who are propelled to the top by billionaires but we have the resources to push them all the way, we have to do that next year.

[Niall_Quinn]

I think we finally have a squad and mentality to do that.

The mentality? That's why it was so important to keep the foot on the gas during the run-in and grab second instead of third. That would have displayed the required mentality. We didn't do that, we didn't even come close to doing it in the end. When we know for a fact the team will give 100% to the bitter end, that's when we can think about titles. Until then we are left talking about progress and getting closer and next season.

[Letters]

We've had this discussion.
There is a massive difference between 1st and 2nd.
There is NOT a massive difference between 2nd and 3rd.

Slipping to 4th would have been very disappointing but we didn't do that. The Cup Final was the priority, on the day they did the job.

[Power n Glory]

If we're saying we had a bad start because of poor preparation in the summer, that's what we have to sort out first. Bad preparation has always played a part in our season run and why we fall short so often.

We need to be prepared to keep the players that are here now and also act quickly when a hot prospect is on the market or when we know we have a long term injury to a key player. No compromising on quality.

[Globalgunner]

This time next year when we finish 3rd/4th (same difference), having been knocked out of the CL round of 16 by Sevilla or Porto, we will have this debate all over again.

I look forward to it.

However, we might have done a hattrick of FA (Letters) cups, so everything will be al-right then, I guess.

[Niall_Quinn]

We've had this discussion.
There is a massive difference between 1st and 2nd.
There is NOT a massive difference between 2nd and 3rd.

Slipping to 4th would have been very disappointing but we didn't do that. The Cup Final was the priority, on the day they did the job.

And you didn't understand it the first time around either.

You can't talk about a winning mentality and then claim there is no difference between 2nd and 3rd, the two concepts are entirely incompatible. You say we finally have the squad (agreed) and the mentality? I'm showing you why we don't finally have the mentality. Forget about the practical consequences of finishing 2nd or 3rd, you dwell on these but they are trivial compared to the wasted opportunity to finally beat a major doping rival by pushing on to the final whistle.

You can't seem to comprehend the winning mentality, I don't think Wenger can either. He also deals in benchmarks and averages and secondary landmarks. That's not what will push us to the top but admittedly we'll always have a place in the foothills.