Match Reaction vs Pub Team Olympiakos (Home).

[Kano]

You should have seen Keane on the CL highlight show last night. The way he said we were 'weak'.

And he's right. No leaders, no winners. It all sounds so MOTD in terms of analysis but the basics of the game are very simple. When a player like that points out mental flaws in a team, I have no problem listening. When it comes to analysing a game they will mostly just churn out cliched drivel. But you have to respect and pay attention to ex-players who understand what it takes to win a major trophy when it comes down to listing the personality traits required and our team is severely lacking. Once you have a winners mentality, you tap into the required cynicism. But don't worry, I won't delve back into that shit again, you know where I stand on that.

[Niall_Quinn]

The squad needs tearing up, right down the middle of the first eleven and out wide too. A real striker, CM and CB, with a real, specialised wide player in there. Roy Keane was spot on at the start of the season. Added to that, there are too many quiet, good boys in this squad who take their beatings as good boys tend to do. Anyone with an edge has been shipped out of the club, forming a little choir school with no personality.

Wenger's biggest mistake and one that lies at the root of the issues we've seen over the past decade, comes down to the departure of The Invincibles. As Adams and co had instilled their mentality into the early 00's team, that had to be integrated on to the next stage. Except one of the most successful teams in the history of our club was dismantled in two seasons, preventing any sense of continuity. So we started from scratch, putting together teams based on Wenger's powder puff mentality which has led us to this point. Alongside the obvious Vieira, Dennis and Henry, we had Lauren, Lehmann, Campbell, Cole, Edu and Gilberto all gone in that space of time. Continuity was something that allowed Utd to stay where they were for so long and of course the spine of the Chelsea team.

His stupid over 30's policy and his refusal to offer the spine of our experience more than a 1 year contract when they still had loads of football left in them, never mind the priceless experience. The way Gilberto was treated was a scandal and a farce, I'll always remember it and that's when my estimation of Wenger started dropping. He even had Bergkamp eking out those 1 year extensions. You can call it pragmatic management or you can call it short sightedness and another example of finances over ambition. But the old school tie brigade got their half a billion and I suppose that had to take priority over trivial shit like the blood of the team.

Wenger has gone on too long now, he's like Bilbo with the fucking ring. All the shit we were prepared to overlook is starting to rot in open view as the time lapse between success and this grey nothingness lengthens.

The best way to handle this now is not by shouting and screaming and disrespecting the guy during matches, it's for the fans to get together and respectfully thank him for his services but ask him to leave so somebody else can take us forward. But then you have 50% of the fans sitting there with their next season, next season bullshit. 10 seasons on and it's next season, next season.

Wenger always said he'd go if he wasn't wanted and felt he couldn't do more for the club. Well plainly he can't do more for the club so all that remains is to tell him he;s no longer wanted. See if he sticks to his word. Two more seasons of this and his legacy will be destroyed. We'd be doing him a favour by asking him to go while the going is still partially good.

[Niall_Quinn]

And he's right. No leaders, no winners. It all sounds so MOTD in terms of analysis but the basics of the game are very simple. When a player like that points out mental flaws in a team, I have no problem listening. When it comes to analysing a game they will mostly they just churn out cliched drivel. But you have to respect and pay attention to ex-players who understand what it takes to win a major trophy when it comes down to listing the personality traits required and our team is severely lacking. Once you have a winners mentality, you tap into the required cynicism. But don't worry, I won't delve back into that shit again, you know where I stand on that.

Coquelin is a leader and a winner. But he has no authority. He's not an Adams that grew up with the club or a Vieira that was the heart of the team. He's the guy who has accidentally found himself in the crucial role, where's his authority to grab Ozil or Cazorla and drag them around the pitch? Shame. As for our actual captains - can't fault Arteta off the pitch but he's almost as big a wet blanket as Merts when on it. Wenger has been fucking the whole captaincy thing for ages now. He doesn't value that sort of thing.

[Dein-machine]

The issue we have will be highlighted at the weekend. If we beat Utd by a few goals & results go our way, we could be top of the league. This simply acts as a burden. Wenger uses it to justify his arrogance & stupidity, by saying "I told you so". Exactly the same as the 2 FA cup wins - Wenger back to being a winner & sticking 2 fingers up at all those who questioned him. The core of the problem lies in us playing a style of football that requires far better players than what we have. Far better players cost money which Wenger has issues with. This style of play is also dated, Barca have now adopted a style which whilst still built on a passing game is also reliant on getting the ball forward quicker. When you have Messi, Suarez & Neymer, it would seem sensible to make sure they are on the ball as much as possible. We are trying to play an out-dated Barca style but with nowhere near the quality of player that Barca had - can't & won't work.
We have become accustomed to watching decent football at Arsenal & I'm sure most of us would like that to continue as much as possible but the ONLY way forward for us now is a new manager who has the ambition to use the financial resources that we now have to make us a feared name again. After this weeks result & years of failings in the C.L. we are no longer looked upon as a top European team by fans in others countries. If a fan at Locomotive Plovdiv is sayign "what's happened to Arsenal? - 10 years ago they were an awesome team to watch & were getting into C.L semi's & finals, now they even struggle to get out of their group stage" - How can this be regarded as anything other than Wenger taking us backwards.

[Kano]

Coquelin is a leader and a winner. But he has no authority. He's not an Adams that grew up with the club or a Vieira that was the heart of the team. He's the guy who has accidentally found himself in the crucial role, where's his authority to grab Ozil or Cazorla and drag them around the pitch? Shame. As for our actual captains - can't fault Arteta off the pitch but he's almost as big a wet blanket as Merts when on it. Wenger has been fucking the whole captaincy thing for ages now. He doesn't value that sort of thing.

Exactly. And he hasn't even played a full season of PL football yet, so he's still on a learning curve himself, let alone being awarded the stripes to call out others in the team. And when Merts and Arteta were both injured, we got Santi as the captain. He must've picked the right number that week to get the armband. I think Wenger said years ago that he expects everyone to be a captain, or something to that effect. You have to wonder what it is he see's every training session and match day to not realise how void of personality the team is. Then again, that's probably just the way he wants it.

[Power n Glory]

And he's right. No leaders, no winners. It all sounds so MOTD in terms of analysis but the basics of the game are very simple. When a player like that points out mental flaws in a team, I have no problem listening. When it comes to analysing a game they will mostly just churn out cliched drivel. But you have to respect and pay attention to ex-players who understand what it takes to win a major trophy when it comes down to listing the personality traits required and our team is severely lacking. Once you have a winners mentality, you tap into the required cynicism. But don't worry, I won't delve back into that shit again, you know where I stand on that.

Yeah, I hear you. We’ve had the cynicism debate and it’s an aspect of having that desire to get the win. We just don’t have that desire and it runs throughout the club. Top to bottom. I can understand why someone like Stan won’t have it. It’s a shame but he’s corporate. It is what it is. But I can’t understand why our manager doesn’t have it. I just can’t. He’s just so weak and we’ve seen it in his squad selection this week. It’s embarrassing.

[Kano]

His stupid over 30's policy and his refusal to offer the spine of our experience more than a 1 year contract when they still had loads of football left in them, never mind the priceless experience. The way Gilberto was treated was a scandal and a farce, I'll always remember it and that's when my estimation of Wenger started dropping. He even had Bergkamp eking out those 1 year extensions. You can call it pragmatic management or you can call it short sightedness and another example of finances over ambition. But the old school tie brigade got their half a billion and I suppose that had to take priority over trivial shit like the blood of the team.

Wenger has gone on too long now, he's like Bilbo with the fucking ring. All the shit we were prepared to overlook is starting to rot in open view as the time lapse between success and this grey nothingness lengthens.

The best way to handle this now is not by shouting and screaming and disrespecting the guy during matches, it's for the fans to get together and respectfully thank him for his services but ask him to leave so somebody else can take us forward. But then you have 50% of the fans sitting there with their next season, next season bullshit. 10 seasons on and it's next season, next season.

Wenger always said he'd go if he wasn't wanted and felt he couldn't do more for the club. Well plainly he can't do more for the club so all that remains is to tell him he;s no longer wanted. See if he sticks to his word. Two more seasons of this and his legacy will be destroyed. We'd be doing him a favour by asking him to go while the going is still partially good.

Bilbo that did make me laugh out loud.

The problem is, the board have cornered the fans into this perfect sweet spot, one where the minimum does just enough to stop a real level of frustration being displayed on match days. Just the right level of players to keep us ticking over but never pushing on beyond that. Just coming close enough in the competitions that matter but never close enough. A shiny new stadium. A lush looking pitch. A couple of marquee singings. CL football every season. Hanging round the arseholes of the big clubs, taking a good whiff before they shit on our shoes and ask us to clean it up again.

Complain - and I mean really complain with concerted effort - and we are made to look like spoilt dummies. All of the 'positives' above are listed, reminding us how lucky we are to have them. Sit quietly and refuse to moan, then we watch Bill Murray turning off his alarm clock at six every morning. If you're raising a bank loan every year for your season ticket, or shelling out at least a fifth of your monthly wage to take your kids to a game, the last thing you want to do is have to bitch and moan at the end of it. Which is probably why Arsenal fans have picked up this rep of having one of the loudest voices on the net because if you're forced to do it at the stadium, you may as well of just stayed at home burning your wallet while destroying your TV set-up. As you know yourself, the problems start with Wenger but end far higher up.

[Power n Glory]

His stupid over 30's policy and his refusal to offer the spine of our experience more than a 1 year contract when they still had loads of football left in them, never mind the priceless experience. The way Gilberto was treated was a scandal and a farce, I'll always remember it and that's when my estimation of Wenger started dropping. He even had Bergkamp eking out those 1 year extensions. You can call it pragmatic management or you can call it short sightedness and another example of finances over ambition. But the old school tie brigade got their half a billion and I suppose that had to take priority over trivial shit like the blood of the team.

Wenger has gone on too long now, he's like Bilbo with the fucking ring. All the shit we were prepared to overlook is starting to rot in open view as the time lapse between success and this grey nothingness lengthens.

The best way to handle this now is not by shouting and screaming and disrespecting the guy during matches, it's for the fans to get together and respectfully thank him for his services but ask him to leave so somebody else can take us forward. But then you have 50% of the fans sitting there with their next season, next season bullshit. 10 seasons on and it's next season, next season.

Wenger always said he'd go if he wasn't wanted and felt he couldn't do more for the club. Well plainly he can't do more for the club so all that remains is to tell him he;s no longer wanted. See if he sticks to his word. Two more seasons of this and his legacy will be destroyed. We'd be doing him a favour by asking him to go while the going is still partially good.

That’s how I see it all end. I’ve always believed that. It’s an ugly end for him. He’ll fall on his own sword. It’s ugly for the club on a whole and it will split the fan base. I’d rather it didn’t come to that and he just bowed out gracefully without the embarrassment. The papers will be on our backs if he’s hounded out of the club. Really sticking it to the fans. And I’m really tired of seeing shit like Arsenal TV. It’s good to vent but what I saw after the Chelsea game was bloody embarrassing. Fans having a complete meltdown in front of Chelsea supporters as they smirk and smile away in the background. We need to cut that out. Emotions boil over in these games but we need to get a grip on it and not lose our dignity in the process. Easier said than done of course. Wenger just has to go and do us all a favour. Personally, I’d prefer if people just stopped turning up for games. A year or so of low attendance would send the right message across without feeding the trolls.

[BOBN]

I have to agree about the squad and Ozil in particular,I don't think this lot are anywhere close to competing for the really big prize's.

The man just dumped his WIFE but he cant drop Ozil? Promised Ospina games so he doesnt break his heart? Keeps Giroud?

It's Arsenal FC not Brokeback Mountain. Wenger done.

[selassie]

His stupid over 30's policy and his refusal to offer the spine of our experience more than a 1 year contract when they still had loads of football left in them, never mind the priceless experience. The way Gilberto was treated was a scandal and a farce, I'll always remember it and that's when my estimation of Wenger started dropping. He even had Bergkamp eking out those 1 year extensions. You can call it pragmatic management or you can call it short sightedness and another example of finances over ambition. But the old school tie brigade got their half a billion and I suppose that had to take priority over trivial shit like the blood of the team.

Wenger has gone on too long now, he's like Bilbo with the fucking ring. All the shit we were prepared to overlook is starting to rot in open view as the time lapse between success and this grey nothingness lengthens.

The best way to handle this now is not by shouting and screaming and disrespecting the guy during matches, it's for the fans to get together and respectfully thank him for his services but ask him to leave so somebody else can take us forward. But then you have 50% of the fans sitting there with their next season, next season bullshit. 10 seasons on and it's next season, next season.

Wenger always said he'd go if he wasn't wanted and felt he couldn't do more for the club. Well plainly he can't do more for the club so all that remains is to tell him he;s no longer wanted. See if he sticks to his word. Two more seasons of this and his legacy will be destroyed. We'd be doing him a favour by asking him to go while the going is still partially good.