One Arsene Wenger...

[Letters]

Oh Atletico! How the hell are they ever going to win la liga!

Do you think anyone bar Chelsea or City can win the title this year?



EDIT: Since we last won the title only 3 teams have done it. Utd, City and Chelsea. All 3 have bigger resources than us and one was managed by, let's face it, the GOAT. I still have no idea how they won the title last time they did, they were awful but Fergie dragged them to the title by sheer will.
We should certainly be doing better but cherry-picking a rare counter-example does not alter the fact that, in general, the teams with the biggest resources tend to be the ones winning titles.

[Globalgunner]

Do you think anyone bar Chelsea or City can win the title this year?

That has less to do with money and more to do with the fact we have an incompetent manager. If Wenger and Simeone had changed positions in the last 3 seasons. 2 things are certain. Madrid would not have won la Liga or reached CL final, Arsenal would have been closer in challenging for the big prizes.

[Dein-machine]

That has less to do with money and more to do with the fact we have an incompetent manager. If Wenger and Simeone had changed positions in the last 3 seasons. 2 things are certain. Madrid would not have won la Liga or reached CL final, Arsenal would have been closer in challenging for the big prizes.

[Dein-machine]

[QUOTE=Letters;431850]Do you think anyone bar Chelsea or City can win the title this year?

But then that would suggest the same last year - Liverpool were a Gerrard slip away from winning it last year with a very similar team to the one they had had the year before, no major money spent only decent signings that we could have made.

[Letters]

That has less to do with money and more to do with the fact we have an incompetent manager. If Wenger and Simeone had changed positions in the last 3 seasons. 2 things are certain. Madrid would not have won la Liga or reached CL final, Arsenal would have been closer in challenging for the big prizes.

I'd say it's a bit of both.
There seems to be something going very wrong behind the scenes at Arsenal, clearly we are far less than the sum of our parts right now and that's down to Wenger. But you cannot sensibly deny that the resources City and Chelsea have are highly correlated to their success.
I don't consider it a failure to finish below them, but if we're not even challenging them then that isn't good enough as with our resources we should be much closer than we are.

[Letters]

But then that would suggest the same last year - Liverpool were a Gerrard slip away from winning it last year with a very similar team to the one they had had the year before, no major money spent only decent signings that we could have made.

And how are they doing this year?

People were creaming themselves over Rodgers last year and others of us were gently suggesting that as well as Liverpool were doing they were helped by having one absolutely world class player - Suarez's scoring rate last year was insane - and the fact that they had no European football and poor cup runs. They played 43 games last year, we played 56. They lost Suarez in the summer and have CL football to contend with and they've been all over the shop. One good season does not a summer make.

[Dein-machine]

And how are they doing this year?

People were creaming themselves over Rodgers last year and others of us were gently suggesting that as well as Liverpool were doing they were helped by having one absolutely world class player - Suarez's scoring rate last year was insane - and the fact that they had no European football and poor cup runs. They played 43 games last year, we played 56. They lost Suarez in the summer and have CL football to contend with and they've been all over the shop. One good season does not a summer make.

How they are doing this year is not the discussion.
You are suggesting that because of money only City & Chelsea can win the league. Others on here whilst certainly having to agree that money is the major factor, would also suggest that you need a manager who spends that money on areas that improve not just the starting line up but the squad to be successful. Mourinho continually identifies his needs an acts accordingly, not with potentially good players but with top quality players. Yes, the money allows him to do this but we are not talking about him Messi type money here. Wenger unfortunately continues to do the opposite.
Liverpool's success last year proved that a well drilled side put together at reasonable cost with a passionate captain, a versatile game plan dependent on opposition & ofcourse a world class striker can challenge Chelsea & City, they finished above Chelsea.
After all the years of Wenger we DONT have a well drilled side, We DONT have a passionate captain, We DONT have a game plan dependant on opposition & the only world class player we have is currently the difference from us being near the bottom of the table & will undoubtedly be overplayed until injured.

[Letters]

You are suggesting that because of money only City & Chelsea can win the league.

It's the biggest factor. Of course you need a top manager but you wouldn't get one of those without paying them the big bucks so one way or another it all comes back to the money.
Chelsea and City would not be where they are but for the billionaire owners. Chelsea showed you could buy success, City have showed you can do it with any club if you pump in enough money for long enough.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

I don't think there is an argument that the odds aren't in favour of Chelsea and City, however Wenger has been content to hide behind the odds rather than fight back.
It's not the financial muscle of Chelsea and City that caused us to lose the league cup final to Birmingham, consistently finish second in Group phases of the Champions League we should be winning and to be competitive in a title race up until February and March and go through a diabolical run of form to the point where we are hanging on by our fingertips to European qualification.
The unfair advantage Chelsea and City have, and the failings of Arsenal teams managed by Wenger have always been two seperate issues. I think it was always going to be difficult to stop Chelsea running away with the league, but what they have spent isn't responsible for us winning four games from eleven and being nearer to Burnley than them in terms of point difference.

[Power n Glory]

I don't think there is an argument that the odds are in favour of Chelsea and City, however Wenger has been content to hide behind the odds rather than fight back.
It's not the financial muscle of Chelsea and City that caused us to lose the league cup final to Birmingham, consistently finish second in Group phases of the Champions League we should be winning and to be competitive in a title race up until February and March and go through a diabolical run of form to the point where we are hanging on by our fingertips to European qualification.
The unfair advantage Chelsea and City have, and the failings of Arsenal teams managed by Wenger have always been two seperate issues. I think it was always going to be difficult to stop Chelsea running away with the league, but what they have spent isn't responsible for us winning four games from eleven and being nearer to Burnley than them in terms of point difference.