How Good Are We?

[Özil's Panoramic View]

can you stop crying just for one second.

no one (yet) has marked that down as an 'achievement' or stated how proud we are that we can now only be rated as that. the OP asked 'how good do you think we are', as in, where do we stand in terms of ability.

Well, we're at least top 5 good, atm and a few signings away from top 3 / top 4.

[PGFC]

We're still better than some of the shit I watched whilst growing up Trouble is we've been spoilt in the recent past hence the needy whining from certain quarters.

[Dennis Bendtner]

I don't think we're a million miles away. This team + RvP would probably be challenging.
We do need some investment but we don't need 10 new players, 2 or 3 in key areas would do it.

Well it's 21 points now. The gap's got progressively bigger, the two seasons without Van Persie and Fabregas being the real killers. It's good news that the core of the team seems to be staying together now, but I must tell you that bridging that gap is reliant on more top, top, top quality.

[Niall_Quinn]

I don't think we're a million miles away. This team + RvP would probably be challenging.
We do need some investment but we don't need 10 new players, 2 or 3 in key areas would do it.

That's the whole problem. We don't have RvP because we have a policy of selling our best players. If another RvP emerges, we'll sell him. We've spent season after season saying that just a couple of key signings would make all the difference. Those key signings are not coming, if the existing team improves then the key players will be sold. Unless the whole philosophy of the club suddenly changes. I give you the January transfer window as an example of where this club is going under the current mob. Nowhere. We'll always be short because we have a bare minimum approach to everything except ticket prices. Just the way it is and it's also the way they want it.

How good are we? We aren't. We're second tier now and 2% away from a further drop in quality which will mean we may not even be leading the second tier.

Yes, we have seen worse in previous decades but it was only £3 to watch a match back then and the players gave a fuck about the club. So there was more to football than just the results, there was a tribe. Now it's a commercial operation first, foremost. Judging by the pure money standard that dominates the game Arsenal does not deliver. This is a poor team given the size of the commercial operation and the cost to the fans.

[Letters]

Well it's 21 points now. The gap's got progressively bigger, the two seasons without Van Persie and Fabregas being the real killers. It's good news that the core of the team seems to be staying together now, but I must tell you that bridging that gap is reliant on more top, top, top quality.

Aye, but RvP has won them over 10 points already and if we had him we'd probably have at least 10 points more. He made a massive difference last year and he's making a massive difference to them this

[Dennis Bendtner]

Aye, but RvP has won them over 10 points already and if we had him we'd probably have at least 10 points more. He made a massive difference last year and he's making a massive difference to them this

Yeah. Though even with him in the team last year it was a 19 point gap by the end. That said, having Wilshere and Cazorla this year has helped bring things back a bit. It is really about finding players on that exceptional RVP, Fabregas level who can make the difference and put the team in a position to challenge again. Getting harder and harder to do without putting a lot of money behind it.

[Marc Overmars]

We're obviously better than most but still a level down from where we aspire to be and it's a gap that's going to get bigger before it does smaller.

In my eyes now there's no difference between ourselves and Sperz, both sides are as good (and bad) as each other. Being on par with Sperz is not where we should be.

[Boss]

Fourth best team in the league, which is the best we can hope for right now.

[Letters]

Yes, we have seen worse in previous decades but it was only £3 to watch a match back then and the players gave a fuck about the club. So there was more to football than just the results, there was a tribe. Now it's a commercial operation first, foremost. Judging by the pure money standard that dominates the game Arsenal does not deliver. This is a poor team given the size of the commercial operation and the cost to the fans.

Agree with this.

And I agree with TEG that 4th best is, in a sport where money and success are increasingly correlated, about the best we can hope for.
BUT, given our resources it should be us in a top for and then a gap to 'the rest'. We shouldn't be trying to compete with 'the rest' and hoping to be the best of them. With the resources at our disposal we should be doing better.

[Özim]

I don't think we're very good.

We have a horrendous defence, the worst I can remember us ever having with pretty average defenders.

The midfield isn't bad there's some talent there but no really steel in there to mix it up and a shortage of quality wingers, but this is our best area for sure.

Up front we're not very good IMO, we lack a clynical finisher since sellling RVP, we have good players there but not the very good ones that will win you trophies.

Goalkeeper, is a bit hit and miss at the moment.

The bench IMO is pretty dire though with very little quality to change games.