Arsenal in Crisis????

[fari]

Time will tell I guess.

I just don't think Wenger is the draw he used to be.

times change

[Darth Vela]

I think the squad needs a massive overhaul, but I don't think the concern is necessarily for players leaving; It's about whether we spend big and actually push the boat out a bit. Losing all the players you mentioned would be terrible, but I doubt it'll happen. Clichy / Nas / Cesc look likely, but we're capable of replacing them. Not like for like, but then that's not what I want....I want some bollocks and backbone.

Yeah, fair enough if people are just worried about replacements but it just seems deeper than that, they're happy to tell all and sundry about how much of a failure our squad is but then when the rumours about Nasri (a guy as responsible as anyone for our collapse, outside of Wenger) surface they're there to talk about how it shows a lack of ambition. Maybe I just don't like idiots but it seems to me that there's more of this weird kind of thinking that justifies being able to rant at anything and everything that happens.

[Letters]

It's a bit early to be hitting the panic button IMO.
I do think we need to make some proper signings this summer. The crowd need it as much as the squad.
And earlier in the transfer window would be better so players can bed in and so we don't have all this doom and gloom all summer (which is getting a little tiresome given that a lot of the moaning is about things which haven't even happened yet and may well not happen).

[selassie]

Yeah, fair enough if people are just worried about replacements but it just seems deeper than that, they're happy to tell all and sundry about how much of a failure our squad is but then when the rumours about Nasri (a guy as responsible as anyone for our collapse, outside of Wenger) surface they're there to talk about how it shows a lack of ambition. Maybe I just don't like idiots but it seems to me that there's more of this weird kind of thinking that justifies being able to rant at anything and everything that happens.

Come on Darth....the facts are that as a squad we fail to win anything every season, I accept that you win or lose as a team but from within the team you have some really important players who can make a difference. Nasri is one of those important players. We should be looking to add top quality players to play alongside Nasri, after all that is what he wants isn't it?

Nasri was as culpable as anybody else in our annual end of season collapse but the facts are he produced stellar form in the first half of the season, he was playing at a very high level for club & country.

We will most certainly not move forward if we continue to sell our important players every 2 years. Selling Nasri to one of our rivals is nothing short of crazy, it shouldn't be allowed to happen. What on earth are we thinking weakening our team and improving a rival?

[Xhaka Can’t]

Tbf, I think Clichy was on a few peoples and given the noises about Clichy have been circling (can noises do that?) for a while I'd say it's something the club has been considering as well. I think Cesc going is something that has been considered deeply from most angles by the club as it's a big issue, I feel sure we have plans for most scenarios involving him. Nasri, I think may well be an instance of someone forcing an exit but if he was really worth that much to us, we'd have paid him a little more and I'm sure he would have signed. That's beside your point though.

I'd rather keep Nasri and Cesc but when a team fails quite so obviously as we did last season with Nasri being as prominent as ever in that failure then it's difficult to see those guys going out of the door as a massive crisis. I'm afraid when you're agitating for massive changes and then agitating for less change within the space of a month then it makes it look like people ain't gonna be satisfied either way and I can't take that viewpoint particularly seriously, just the way I see it though as I'm sure others would think my tendency to defend players but also look at the benefits of losing them is sheer hypocrisy.

It isn't hypocracy to demand change and being upset with the 'change' that is occuring. In much the same way it would not be unreasonable to get rid of a wife/gf, while although reasonably pretty, just nags, spends your money, flirts and screws about with other men only to be upset you have replaced her with a truck that does the same.

The change we need is essentially in Management as it is the Manager's phiosophies that have failed. Amongst playing staff, we needed rid of the likes of Bendtner, Chamakh, Vela, Diaby, Denilson, the entire central defence bar Vermaelen, but none of them are gone yet, primarily because nobody wants them.

We are like a business that is failing and only the attractive assets are being stripped by outside investors.

[Darth Vela]

Come on Darth....the facts are that as a squad we fail to win anything every season, I accept that you win or lose as a team but from within the team you have some really important players who can make a difference. Nasri is one of those important players. We should be looking to add top quality players to play alongside Nasri, after all that is what he wants isn't it?

Nasri was as culpable as anybody else in our annual end of season collapse but the facts are he produced stellar form in the first half of the season, he was playing at a very high level for club & country.

We will most certainly not move forward if we continue to sell our important players every 2 years. Selling Nasri to one of our rivals is nothing short of crazy, it shouldn't be allowed to happen. What on earth are we thinking weakening our team and improving a rival?

On the basis of his early form, sure we should make him our biggest earner and sell Cesc off for whatever Barca deign to offer us whilst installing Nasri in the middle of the park no questions asked but his behaviour over this contract and his ability to disappear at the times when we needed someone of his abilities to stand up shows us a little bit about his attitude and frankly, if we can get someone a little more reliable with a better attitude, even if they don't have the same talent, I'd be happy enough.

I know we wouldn't sell him to Man U and I don't think we'd sell him to City either, although I doubt he'd improve City that much as they need more of that winning attitude we're trying to foster. so it's a little more likely. I'd rather keep him and I think the club would rather keep him but if he ain't signing a new contract and we're not willing to throw money at him then there's not much we can do about it.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Time will tell I guess.

I just don't think Wenger is the draw he used to be.

Funny thing is though if he left tommrow we'd be in a bigger "crisis" then, we would be in today.

If AW rectify's the problem then we should be fine.

[Marc Overmars]

On the basis of his early form, sure we should make him our biggest earner and sell Cesc off for whatever Barca deign to offer us whilst installing Nasri in the middle of the park no questions asked but his behaviour over this contract and his ability to disappear at the times when we needed someone of his abilities to stand up shows us a little bit about his attitude and frankly, if we can get someone a little more reliable with a better attitude, even if they don't have the same talent, I'd be happy enough.

I know we wouldn't sell him to Man U and I don't think we'd sell him to City either, although I doubt he'd improve City that much as they need more of that winning attitude we're trying to foster. so it's a little more likely. I'd rather keep him and I think the club would rather keep him but if he ain't signing a new contract and we're not willing to throw money at him then there's not much we can do about it.

Of course he will improve a City squad that has already shown they are probably made of sterner stuff than us. Judging by the type of spikey character Nasri is as well, I think he is more than suited for what City need.

[Darth Vela]

It isn't hypocracy to demand change and being upset with the 'change' that is occuring. In much the same way it would not be unreasonable to get rid of a wife/gf, while although reasonably pretty, just nags, spends your money, flirts and screws about with other men only to be upset you have replaced her with a truck that does the same.

The change we need is essentially in Management as it is the Manager's phiosophies that have failed. Amongst playing staff, we needed rid of the likes of Bendtner, Chamakh, Vela, Diaby, Denilson, the entire central defence bar Vermaelen, but none of them are gone yet, primarily because nobody wants them.

We are like a business that is failing and only the attractive assets are being stripped by outside investors.

It's not hypocrisy as such, just strange (from the way I see it) to say that so many of our players are failures whilst ignoring the fact that greater responsibility means a greater share of the failure, Nasri failed big time at the end of the season along with the rest of the team but he COULD have done something about it given his level of talent, he didn't.

I don't think you're right on it being a complete failure of our philosophy, just the balance of our team and the attitude of too many of them wasn't right but that's a completely different debate that we've all had far too much.

[Darth Vela]

Of course he will improve a City squad that has already shown they are probably made of sterner stuff than us. Judging by the type of spikey character Nasri is as well, I think he is more than suited for what City need.

I don't think he's much better than Silva and with the way City play he's unlikely to get a starting berth in the middle. They've got talent but are in need of greater maturity/will to win or whatever you want to call it and I'm not convinced Nasri will help with that if his character for us is anything to go by.