Match Reaction Vs Wigan

[Letters]

Your Arsenal shirt.

lolz, jk, roffle, etc.

No, but seriously. What is failure this year?

Finishing below City isn't, IMO. They've blundered their way to the top through sheer force of spending.
Chelsea and Utd also have more resources than us so while I do think we should be challenging them I don't think finishing below them is a huge failure. Finishing below Spurs would be a failure though IMO, not just because of the rivalry, they're a big club but don't have the resources we do and while they've outspent us in the transfer market they can't match our wages, we really should be finishing above clubs like that.
Not winning a cup isn't neccessarily failure, depends who we get at what stage. A young side lost to City in the CC, that wasn't a failure - their reserves are people like Nasri and Dzeko.

[Joker]

The so called "moaners" have every right to question the direction the club is taking. Just because we've had a few victories doesn't mean we've turned the corner. The same deficiencies still exist (not enough quality in central midfield, low quality squad players, over-reliance on a few players) and they haven't disappeared just because we've beaten Wigan.

And it's untrue that the "moaners" have stopped posting now that we're on a good run. Most of them have contributed consistently and I've stressed that I still have the same reservations about Wenger and the squad that I had after the 8-2 defeat.

What's more annoying at times are the Pro-Wenger brigade who keep baiting those who hold more critical views, sometimes resorting to downright abuse and swearing just because the great man has been criticised.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Joker, which player would you say we are most over reliant upon?

[Joker]

Joker, which player would you say we are most over reliant upon?

Vermaelen, RVP and Chesney. I know I criticised RVP at the start of the season, but to be fair to him he's stepped up since September and has done really well.

[Cripps_orig]

The so called "moaners" have every right to question the direction the club is taking. Just because we've had a few victories doesn't mean we've turned the corner. The same deficiencies still exist (not enough quality in central midfield, low quality squad players, over-reliance on a few players) and they haven't disappeared just because we've beaten Wigan.

And it's untrue that the "moaners" have stopped posting now that we're on a good run. Most of them have contributed consistently and I've stressed that I still have the same reservations about Wenger and the squad that I had after the 8-2 defeat.

What's more annoying at times are the Pro-Wenger brigade who keep baiting those who hold more critical views, sometimes resorting to downright abuse and swearing just because the great man has been criticised.

Pretty much but of course you wont hear anything said against that

[Cripps_orig]

lolz, jk, roffle, etc.

No, but seriously. What is failure this year?

Finishing below City isn't, IMO. They've blundered their way to the top through sheer force of spending.
Chelsea and Utd also have more resources than us so while I do think we should be challenging them I don't think finishing below them is a huge failure. Finishing below Spurs would be a failure though IMO, not just because of the rivalry, they're a big club but don't have the resources we do and while they've outspent us in the transfer market they can't match our wages, we really should be finishing above clubs like that.
Not winning a cup isn't neccessarily failure, depends who we get at what stage. A young side lost to City in the CC, that wasn't a failure - their reserves are people like Nasri and Dzeko.

Failure for me is Wenger not doing what needs to be done to get the best out of the club. At the moment, that imo is getting some quality players in January, sorting out defensive issues, playing faster attacking football, take the pressure of RVP shoulders in term of scoring.

Do all that and il be happy regardless of where we finish. If he does that though, we are guaranteed top 4 imo

[IBK]

lolz, jk, roffle, etc.

No, but seriously. What is failure this year?

Finishing below City isn't, IMO. They've blundered their way to the top through sheer force of spending.
Chelsea and Utd also have more resources than us so while I do think we should be challenging them I don't think finishing below them is a huge failure. Finishing below Spurs would be a failure though IMO, not just because of the rivalry, they're a big club but don't have the resources we do and while they've outspent us in the transfer market they can't match our wages, we really should be finishing above clubs like that.
Not winning a cup isn't neccessarily failure, depends who we get at what stage. A young side lost to City in the CC, that wasn't a failure - their reserves are people like Nasri and Dzeko.

Re Spurs - I catch your drift, but IMHO Twitchy is in it for short term gain, not long term success. Their great start to the season is mostly down to the knack the Redknapp has for doing good last minute deals - VDV last season and Greedy this. But long term planning it ain't. Plus they are beniffitting massively from non-participation in the CL, and throwing the Europa League. It wouldn't surprise me if they do finish above us this season (although they've been incredibly lucky with injuries/decisions so far, and there's no way the Likes of Ledley King are going to stay fit all season...and VDV will fade as usual come the New Year) but there's no way they are consistently going to be better than us, season on season.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Fair enough, and good answer. As for the content of your earlier post, I've been wanting Wenger to go for well over a year and while I agree this place gets abusive and shouldn't I have considerable ire for those calling Wenger a cunt and those who actively track negatives. I also have no time for those who will ignore the fact that there are a lot of things wrong and are living in lala land.

It would be nice if people could concentrate on debating what is actually happening, take into context why it is happening and go from there. Too often 'debate' is stifled by trivial point scoring in an effort to support some pre conceived opinion regardless of the situation.

I'm not a mindless optimist nor am I a relentless moaner. Most people here aren't in either category either, but debate gets stifled either by those that do fall into those categories or accuse others of being in one camp or another.

[LDG]

Failure for me is Wenger not doing what needs to be done to get the best out of the club. At the moment, that imo is getting some quality players in January, sorting out defensive issues, playing faster attacking football, take the pressure of RVP shoulders in term of scoring.

Do all that and il be happy regardless of where we finish. If he does that though, we are guaranteed top 4 imo

I'd agree with that.

And like I said earlier. The reason why we failed the last 6 years is because we haven't done the best we could have done. That doesn't mean spending masses of money. It meanes doing what was necessary to complete the job.

I think lots of Gooners have always had that "trust in Wenger" attitude, because waht he did with us in the first place was magic. He also made some odd decisions which turned out to be well thought out.

But he buggered that up to the point where many Arsenal fans didn't believe the guff anymore.

What I do think, however, is that he has gone back to basics just recently and I hope and pray that he continues this by buying in January.

[Letters]

The so called "moaners" have every right to question the direction the club is taking.

Well sure, we all questioned that this summer.

It's hardly a 'few victories' now, is it? It's P16 W12 D2 L2. The two defeats were Spurs away (disappointing but, like it or not, Spurs are a good side this year and as I said a Spurs fan told me we were a little unlucky to lose) and City at home in which we put out a young side and with the quality of City's 'reserves' it was a big ask to get a result - even then I thought we played well and matched them for much of the game. We've definitely turned a corner from where we were early season. Wigan are a poor side, but Blackburn are too. We lost at Blackburn, we cantered to a win at Wigan. We should be winning those games of course but the point is we are. Early season we weren't.
Whether that change continues remains to be seen but they look like a team again, look like they're playing for each other and for the manager and look like they care.

I don't think there is a strong Pro-Wenger brigade in the sense you seem to be implying. If you think there are people on here who think Wenger can do no wrong and that everything is perfect at the club then I've not seen any evidence of that. There are people, I'm one of them, who don't buy into the view which some on here spout that Wenger is a bumbling idiot who can't do anything right, take EVERY opportunity to snipe at him and refuse to give him any credit for the clear improvement in the last few months.

Wenger has faults, there are clear concerns about the squad (IMO the big problem being strength in depth up front) and I hope Wenger addresses those in January. If he doesn't and we suffer as a result he will be responsible for that. As ever, it's the lack of a middle ground and shades of grey in some people's opinions which I find wearying.