Because in Hong Kong, I've got the Premier League Channel, he actually said that on an analysis about a couple of weeks before the article, and it was like "Yeah, Arsenal is the inform team, but they won't make it into the CL", I was watching it and it was like what's the logic?Originally Posted by The Emirates Gallactico
But to be honest, he never really had match savvy, it's just before, we were winning, winning, winning, we just used to laugh about it. Where as now, we haven't won it for so long, it's no longer something we laugh at.
I don't like Wenger's subs. Not his subs today, yesterday or tomorrow but his philosophy to them. He has pretty much admitted to determining them primarily on energy and fitness levels.
The subs are not necessarily a requisite or even a wholly releavnt part of winning a game though.....and mostly, the good mangers make the subs an irrelevance. Wenger didn't get away with a dodgy sub today any more than per and Koscielny got away with Sterling and Markovic clowning around in front of goal having had our back line ripped open.
I didn't have too much issue with Ozil coming off. The game was mentally won and 3 nil was always going to be hard for them to over turn at that stage. I had more issue with Flamini coming on than Ozil coming off. We tend to hammer Wenger when he over plays players. Ozil had a massive hand in winning us the game and he has run further than anybody in the team since January so taking him off before 90 minutes was up is nothing to lose sleep over.
Lest we forget we will probably need to play this Ooorible lot again this season in a game that will be of even more significance.
All the more reason not to make up new stuff from a game we comfortably won against a side who, had they beaten us, would have been snapping at our heels. The very sort of game you identified (with some justification, I guess) as one we always fail in.
It is "interesting" to read the comments here. If Arsenal had lost yesterday then the cries for Wenger to be fired would have been almost instantaneous and vociferous. Even with a pretty convincing win, the praise has been very muted from many, and that disappoints me.
While all answers are responses, not all responses are answers.
Things could be very tight at the end of the season. Here are the "top" teams each club has to play:
Chelsea: Man U, Arsenal, Liverpool
Arsenal: Chelsea, Man U
Man U: Man City, Chelsea, Everton, Arsenal
Man City: Man U, Spurs, Southampton
Liverpool: Chelsea
Spurs: Southampton, Man City, Everton
I have included Southampton and Everton because their history rather than current form. Southampton are still looking for European football.
Looking at those lists, I believe that Man U are most at risk in the current top 4.
While all answers are responses, not all responses are answers.
Unfortunately we are scarred by mistakes of the past.
This run of form is brilliant but it also leaves me scratching my head. The difference between the first half of the season and second half is night and day. Why? This is a squad that should be challenging but for one reason or another fell stupidly short in Europe again and lost any realistic chance of the title before Christmas. We are experts in late season surges that leave us wondering "what if". We're performing at par but the difference this season is that 2nd-4th is extremely close and we're in no danger of finishing lower than that, which maybe provides us with a different perspective even though points wise we are the same as last year.
The wins over the big sides have been awesome though. Wenget definitely deserves credit for those.
Last edited by Marc Overmars; 05-04-2015 at 02:35 PM.
great win yesterday but we are 7 points ahead of 6 place and the same behind the top spot (with chelsea having a game in hand) which is why people aren't ecstatic about our position. We have spent a lot recently and wenger has been given a lot of time to win the title since he last did which is why the fans aren't thrilled right now.
It's perfectly reasonable to look back at other false dawns and be wary of this run, but there are a few reasons to think this could be different
The calibre of players we're signing now we have the new financial deals in place - people like Ozil and Sanchez - are making a difference, they are pushing us to a higher level. Early season (I agree that it's bemusing how poor we looked back then) Sanchez was carrying us a bit but now we've got him, Ozil and Carzola in midfield all looking fantastic - it's a pretty formidable midfield. For the first time in ages I feel we've got a squad that can compete, not just a first 11.
We won a trophy last year - we finally got that monkey off our back.
We're back in the semi-final this year and while Liverpool are still around we showed yesterday there's no reason we shouldn't be able to beat them should be be an Arsenal vs Liverpool final. If we do win two cups in two years then it will get some momentum going.
We're winning some of the 'must win' games against the big sides. Not sure City away was an example but it was a great win, yesterday was definitely an example and Utd away was fantastic. There are signs that the mental block in these games is lifting and the squad are starting to believe in themselves in these games. If we beat Chelsea then it will be another psychological boost (because Mourinho is such a genius they will come for a draw in that one, they'll probably bore us into submission and get one, too).
Also, this run isn't just a good few games, it's 17 wins out of 20 in all competitions. When was the last time we went on a run like that?! The big question that remains is can we sustain it for a whole season? If we do then we'll be champions next year, or go very close. It's a very big if of course.
Like it or not Wenger is going to be our manager next season so we might as well enjoy it while it lasts, hope we can finish the job in the Cup and keep some momentum going into next season.
Wenger has pissed me off for the past few years, but he has to be given credit for this run. I dont believe that the players when we were playing poorly every week just thought "oh well, this is what he wants" and carried on regardless. But then just thought "oh we have our own minds, lets play however the hell we want and win". Credit for the wins has to go to the manager.
Letters said about the better quality players we have now. 2-3 years ago I looked at our team and thought when playing the top sides and thought that not one of them would walk into our rivals teams. But now thats all changed. We have players right through the squad that could get in Chelsea, Man U, Man City, Liverpool teams. We also have a much stronger bench now. Few years back in some games I looked at the bench and would think there was not one player that could come on as a game changer, or was actually any good!
Personally I feel the most positive I have about an Arsenal team for many years, and I think we have to stop being so negative over a 4-1 victory over a top team who are on a decent run of form. Its petty to argue about Ozil coming off. Much better to protect your top players when you can. The game was won, and its the type of game where a player from the losing team dives in a bit late and we pick up a late injury. Good management imo.
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