Arsenal fans must feel like they have lived this summer over and over again.
I feel that we have been here and seen this before.
Wenger has said at the end of each of the last 4 seasons that his priority would be to “keep the squad together”
That never seems to be the case and we never seem to replace the players who have moved on.
And then Wenger comes out and says the same thing “I have trust in this squad, We dont need to sign as the players coming back from injury will be like new signings”…Etc
With only 4 days till the start of the new season, we again have seen a repeat of this.
All summer we have been linked with a host of players, Wenger comes out and gives a half hearted comment that gives us hope and then we are all let down.
Wenger has the money this summer to spend on new players after cashing in on Adebayor & Toure. So what is he waiting for? The new players should have been brought into the squad a long time ago so they could have time to gel and play a few friendly’s and adjust to life at the club?
So whats the problem?
Well, i fear that Wenger and Arsenal are trying to do the same thing we always do…Trying to get players on the cheap and are waiting till the very last minute.
Remember the transfer of Arshavin that went through at the very last minute on deadline day?
The only problem in playing that game is that another club could come in and pay the asking price and then you miss out and with the deadline you don’t have the time to go after a different player.
Lets look at Liverpool and the way they do things compared to us.
They sell a player in Alonso and 48hrs later they have signed a replacement in Aquilani.
Now lets look at us, we sold Diarra, Flamini and Gilberto last year, Whats taken so long in finding a replacement?
I said at the end of last season that it was going to be a big summer for Wenger and he needed to address the problems, and so far he has not. If anything we are weaker then we were at this stage last season.
And look what happened last season we got off to a terrible start and were out of the league by Dec, Only the signing of Arshavin in Feb saved our season from being a complete disaster.
People might say we came so close, and this team has great potential! But how much longer are we going to here that?
How many of you can hand on heart say we are going to win the league this year? Or even finish in the top 3?
Peter Hill Wood came out last week and said that coming 4th was like winning a prize? What is he on about? If he thinks that’s good enough for a club like Arsenal then he should step down and allow a new owner to move this club forward with major investment.
Players like Cesc,Van Persie and Arshavin need to achieve things or they are going to want to leave.
I fear that this season is going to be the worst ever under Wenger. Lets be honest if Villa didn’t flop towards the end of last season we would have finished 5th. This season we have Man City to deal with plus a host of other clubs have improved.
How can Wenger say that he is happy with this squad and we have a chance of winning everything? And how can the fans be fooled with the same lines over and over again.
I love my team, and will support them till the end.
But I’m a frustrated gooner who wants to see investment and i fear for the future of the club as i have seen this time and time again.
Greek_Gooner
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Arsenal.com
Good post mate.
Agree with you
same old shit,gonna be out of everything by september then we will see who’s right then
I agree with you 100%, it doesnt take a genius to say what we need, yet dont buy it and go in the season wit almost the same team u had last year, while losing 2 that were sold. I think its time wenger might have dug himself into a hole if it doesnt work out.
I don’t agree. Arsenal are just fine, we will be awesome this season.
Goood post but i dont think we will need players like aquilani in our squad. Song and Denilson are way better than him. But if anything we need better players than we already have. If there are available then wenger might goo for them provided the price is right. Dont think buying players for the sake of buying will enhance the team.
The question is, who do you want Arsenal to sign? Which players are available at the positions that could strengthen Arsenal? Is the squad really that weak? Arsene has gotten rid of players we didn’t need and a lot of the youngsters (Ramsey, Wilshere, Gibbs, Vela) will be a year older. Cheer up dude, get behind the team!!!
fully agree.
I don’t believe with buying for the sake of buying. But we are still 2 players short of being a fantastic team
Great post mate. I honestly think that some thing is fundamentally wrong with AW and the Arsenal board, because I have never seen a club out of tune with its fans as in arsenal. They say one thing and do a different thing. At the end of last season, promises of overhauling this team before season opener were made, and listening to AW talk about not nearer to completing any new signing before season opener is like a stab on the back. This team is considerably weaker than the team that struggled to finish 4th last season, and to think that AW said we are a year older is rubish because it was only a few months from last season, and these players have not magically gained tons of experience while vacationing in the off season. Why this man can pretend to be alpha and omega at arsenal beats me. Arsene doesn’t always know, as a matter of fact, he’s the biggest problem we have at the moment, his team is a couple of players from being title challengers, but his stupid ego won’t allow him to buy the needed players. This man is on a personal crusade of ‘I told you so’and he’s dragging the whole club down with him.
Really Spurs have improved?
Do tell.
Villa have improved?
Lost Barry, Laursen and added whom?
Everton have improed?
Do tell oh wise one.
Man Utd have improved?
ARE YOU SERIOUS???
They lost the best player in damn world and Tevez, added Owen, Valencia and Obertan but….they have improved….
Liverpool have improved??
Lost their best LB in Arebloa and their best CM in Alonso, added a RB in Johnson and Tomas Rosicky long lost brother Aqualani but…they have improved.
Arsenal need reinforcements, no doubt but if you’re going to write a blog add some real insight and not rubbish that can’t be backed up with facts.
Arsenal has totally lost its ambition to be the best football club. Focusing on 4th place again and CL playoff and SURVIVAL. Can you say honestly that this team right now can compete with the likes of Barcelona??? This team may have abundant of young potentials – no doubt at all – BUT crucially lacking in EXPERIENCE. Wenger knows???
100% agree with you.if. the team we have is not strong enough to win things…we have to invest a.s.a.p . Once again its over before it started….he did bid for melo so he must know that we have problems….I never thourght I would say this but if no silver at the end of season a.w..must step down or be pushed out
i totally agree with your opinion mate..come on bring some new face or we will lose some other plyr..we need new face in our team..come on!!
Good Post Mate. Totally agree, Wenger is in to make money for the greedy B of D. We used to aim to win the league, now we aim for 4th. It stinks!!
One thing I like about us Arsenal fan is we never doubt but this year Wenger really dissapionted me with how he have done with the transfer so far. He must get Hangeland, Mathuidi or Viera, Chamakh for bench.
Its a disgrace it is i dont think i support Arsenal anymore for the simple reason Wenger has lied to us time and time again
Me and Arsenal R.I.P
Stop whinging like a big girl!
Nothing’s going to change.
The board would never sack Wenger, even after a 5th or 6th place finish.
Wenger would never leave, even for Barcelona.
Make the best of it. Stop being negative. No players are coming in, and that’s about the end of that.
People, including me, have been saying that any signings after Vermaelen looked unlikely, but people like you keep falling for the ridiculous tabloid hype.
If you start being a bit more realistic and predicting Wengers actions based on his past actions, you won’t be so disappointed when the season starts with the likes of Denilson, Bendtner and Song as automatic starters.
The team needs new players. I know it, you know, we all know it, but Arsene refuses. That’s the way it is, so stop whinging, whining and crying and accept it.
You’ll save yourself a lot of unnecessary stress if you do!
Nibbs. Good point about the other sides not being stronger. I think Chelsea will be strong over the whole season, and whoever finishes above them will win the league.
As you have shown particularly with Utd and Liverpool we are much closer to them than most believe and that is why it is more imperative than ever to get the couple of players we need. The team that wins the EPL often does so in a season when everything comes together for them while the main rivals are coming up just slightly short, which is why we must go for it now as in another year they could be up to full speed again.
I think we are a big, and if possible, quick defender, and a DM away from a title winning squad. If Hangeland and players like Melo don’t come off or are over-inflated at the moment I even think we could do it with cheaper options, especially ones that are EPL ready. If we play the 4-3-3 the DM is a deeper lying anchor role player to break up play and really doesn’t have to be technically wonderful. We could get anyone like Scott Parker or his equivalent to job share this role with Song and have 2 more technical playmakers, (Fab, Rosicky, Nasri), playing off from them. For a cheaper CB option what is wrong with Distin who is big quick and EPL ready.
Totally agree, my fear though is that if we finish outside of the top four, Wenger will leave along with Fabregas. also bring back David Dein along with his Russian mates billions.
I agree with you to up to this point in time. but I do feel wenger will sign at least 2 other players by the close of the transfer window. I also believe that is the final season of wenger and his experiments. He has this season to prove us wrong or we should stop coming to games and stop buying jerseys. I hope he does prove us wrong though.
Yes we’ve heard the same infantile drivel from other bloggers before who don’t seem to be able to see beyond the level of fantsy football.
The reason why you don’t think we replace the players who leave is because Wenger most of the time already have the replacement in place by the time he sells a player. Typically bought on the cheap a season or two earlier and then eased into the team. You bemoan the loss of Toure and Ade but the were actually both perfect examples of this strategy.
Yes he is playing with people emotion and to be honest it hard to have any hope when he has continued to lie on behalf of board. One thing Wenger should do is to just be a football manager and forget about board politics as none of them could hurt or fire him as long as he is doing his job, Just stick to football and try to reinforce the team full stop.
I’m inclined to take sides with almost every point that has been raised about AW’s stubborness derailing our season even before it has started.Firstly,to think that Mikel Silvestre is anything other than a geriatric has -been would be folly of the highest order,able deputy at centre back?.please spare me!!.Point is we have, since Big Sol left,needed a burly,no-nonsense stopper who can attack the aeriel balls and not allow the likes of Drogba to out-muscle them,It is crystal clear to all and sundry as well that we do not need PV4 back,but someone in his mould to add some steel to the midfield and allowCF4 to flourish.Given these imperative necessities,Hangelaand and Matuidi will be absolutely vital to our chances of sucess and perhaps surprise a few.Failure to do so and the blame should be placed firmly at AW’s door…Who to be ……….GOONER.
Yes but Liverpool are being highly irresponsible. They are in huge debt, and instead of trying to repay it when they get some money they buy more players.
They have a wage bill around 15m less than ours, but a revenue of over 100m less than ours.
I would rather do things our way than there’s.
Keep up the good work Arsene, when your gone and the club reap the benefits of your work, I wonder how many will admit to asking for his head.
COME ON THE GUNNERS
Yes let’s look at Liverpool compared to us!! Up to their eyeballs in toxic debt, without a new stadium!! Haven’t won anything since 2005/6. How long before Benny’s head is on the block?
Very good blog Sir.
It is nice to a see a negative blog with a big of logic thrown in too. It has changed my opinion a bit seeing the points made in this way.
Likewise, I would ask you to take a step back, because as always, we have lost players, but still have a great young team. If any other club had a squad like ours, the media would be raving.
Now, don’t get me wrong, it would be fantastic to be right at the top every season, and it is frustrating to see us suck money in and piss out kids, but that money is going somewhere, clearing debts, into future transfer kitties, or just for a rainy day, who knows, but it is there for our future, our bright future.
At the end of the day, whilst it seems clear we are 2 players from a top, top, side, if Wenger buys, we will be expected to win. It is easy to spot our shortcomings, but to spot a solution that will actually work in practice, I think is not so easy. In my opinion, a lot of the names and figures being thrown around have been pretty silly and would not actually help us. We need top drawer players, and top drawer players that are available are being priced out of the market. I believe we sometimes forget how much we actually have, and given time, Wenger will do what he does, and fart out more superstars.
i bet wenger will sign chamakh and a defender before the transfer window, because he did say if sendoros goes another defender comes in!
I agree with what u wrote , in fact Arsenal need 3 players and not 1 or 2 we need a defender , a midfielder and a striker , We must move quickly to sign players as Hangeland , Veloso and a good striker as Dzeko , Demba Ba or Hulk fropm Porto , chamakh is not all an ideal replacement for the greebayor , we cant buy a player who scored 47 goal from 193 game with his team in 7 years. We need a real striker we lost on Huntelaar and that’s whas a big mistake from Wenger . chamakh is not better than The strikers that we have so when a team must buy he must buy players than he has and not contrary
we can only spend the cash if we go through against celtic , that is why he is waiting , if we go out there is no money left , sorry but that is where the club is at the moment , all very ugly and all very sad
Wow this site is optimistic……………. If this is what your like now I’d hate to see what you’d be like if we were relegated. You’d probably go hang yourselves…… I mean if a team with van persie fabregas arshavin clichy sagna rosicky eduardo and nasri in it aren’t good enough to win something then wtf is?
Haha you’re jealous of liverpool and the “way they do things”. Remind me the last time they won the title please?
Fabregas will the next out the door. Why do you think Wenger bought Ramsey? It’s becoming clear that the long term plan is to make a lot of money every summer through player sales while Wenger tries to fob the fans off with lie after lie after lie about buying players. When Arsenal win nothing, young players will not complain because they are young, but the older ones get fed up and leave, so Wenger can save a bit more on wages. This has been going on for four years, but this season will see the end of it as it becomes clear as day what the club is up to and fans start to demand change. Last season we saw a lot of restlessness at the Emirates, you can multiply that by 5 if Arsenal have another shitty season scrapping for fourth place.
I agree with the basic sentiment of the article except that I feel it is just a tad too pessimistic and I feel we will do as well if not better than last year.
However finishing 4th should not be our target every year. The opportunity has never been better in recent years to actually win the PL. All three teams above us are weaker this season and there for the taking.
The frustration that everyone feels is that it is so obvious to all Gooners where our team needs strengthening and with £40m of Man City cash in the bank there is no excuse to not do the right thing.
If Wenger just secured Hangeland it would send out the right signals to opponents and the fans alike that we will not be pushovers this season. Can he and the board not see they are playing with fire. Another season like the last one and it will all come tumbling down.
I am a Silver Member but had to get onto the website the day the tickets went on sale to be sure of securing a ticket when we first moved to the Emirates. Go and look now and a week later seats are available in nearly every block for the Portsmouth match – the warning signs are there
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dbGNgeMLH4
A very very rock solid post which wenger must read… wenger must buy cf,cdm,cb or otherwise europa league wl b w8ing 4 us., gunners 4 eva…
Time for the french muppet to be sacked along with Mr clueless Hillwood.
Paul, Its sad when a stauch gooner like yourself leaves the fold. Im sure we will all shed a tear for you up at Goodison next week, I think the Chavs still have season tickets available, or if you dont fancy the extra travelling you could always wander up the Seven Sisters Road. Anyway Greek Gooner or is that Greek ( I want it all now or I’ll stamp my foot till I get it) Gooner. I’ll address your last point. “INVESTMENT” Wenger has been investing in this club since 97. Do you really believe any other manager in the world could have delivered 3 Premier League titles (2 of which were doubles) 4 FA Cups( yep real trophies) a Champions League final, UEFA cup final, Champions League football for the last 10 years, a state of the art training facility, 60,000 stadium which in my opinion( and i’ve seen a few) is the best stadium in the country and you can include the new Wembley in that. Finally some of the most breathtaking football it has been my pleasure to experience in my 30 year love affair with the Arse. In 98 Wenger went on record saying he wanted to develope the club from within regarding player resources. At the time he said that it would be a 10 year plan. So just at the very point that we have top quality young players on the fringes of the first team, players who have effectively spent the whole of their footballing education from the age of 8 playing Wengerball you want to chuck it all in the bin and spunk 40mill on a couple of ego’s, never been Wenger’s way. Never will. Add in the fact that the transfer window dosen’t close for another 3 weeks, the fact he basically stole Arshavin last January(which wouln’t have happened mid way through the window), and the season hasnt even kicked off yet!!! you really should get out more.
WHY ARE WE PAYING THE MOST EXPENSIVE TICKET PRICES TO SEE A JUNIOR TEAM? THE QUESTION THAT REALLY SHOULD BE ASKED OF THE BOARD IS “IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BRING IN THE BEST PLAYERS, YOU MUST REDUCE THE TICKET PRICES”. THE OBVIOUS ANSWER IS WE ARE ALL PAYING FOR THE STADIUM ALL THE PRICES DID SHOOT UP AS PROMISED PRIOR TO US LEAVING HIGHBURY.
I CAN SEE THE STADIUM ATTENDANCES REDUCING THIS SEASON NOT JUST BECAUSE OF THE CREDIT CRUNCH!
Wenger is looking beyond 4th! Vermaelan was bought before Toure left and Arshavin was bought long before Ade was sold but believe me he was bought because of the problems Ade was creating so chill on that one. We have top offensive players and maybe we need another at the back or another DM instead of Chamakh but this team are going to surprise the doubters this year including you and all the other Fantasy football managers. Perhaps Arsenal should let fans watch training sessions like they do in Italy and we could all see what the players are like outside games because they do develop well in preseason and discuss the previous one in detail. Wenger will buy at the end of the close season if he needs to. I watched a lot of the reserve games last year and we have some amazing youngsters coming in to add depth; not as glamorous as a big signing perhaps but depth nonetheless. Have you forgotten last season’s Carling Cup teams?
If we end up as 5th or below (AND WE WILL, mark my words), Fab will leave so will Gallas, Andrey(maybe), RVP will regret he signed a new contract and try to find a way out, Wenger, Hill-Wood and Gazidis should be fired by he board.
Wenger has a a total lack of respect towards the supporters.
He’s said “We always listen to what the supportes say”. What a load of SH%^&! Every year the same story, “I believe in the squad, Our squad is strong enough>\” How many times did our defence fail during set pieces? We have a midget defence! Just ask Delap and Hangeland!
We’re about to become the laughing stock of PL and the Man City farmer team!
I blame you,the arsenal fans(in England).
You should through the bad people that ruing our club.
People like-Hilwood and Fizman,just don’t care about the club on the field,and in the last few years-of the field.
Arsenal are the only club in the world that a bunch of people taking a club down, year in year out ,and the fans keep on buying tickets(the most expensive ones in the world of football)!!!
You should boycott the arsenal games,our money wouldn’t benefit the squad anyway.
The people in the board knows that if they wouldn’t give Wenger money to buy new players,the team will fail,and they are doing so year after year,for this is a behavior of brutal people who doesn’t give a demn,about us the fans,and the club.
They MUST GO,if not,we should give them the slight push(in a civil,and legal way of course).
yawn i go away for 5 minutes and more saddos add comments ok listen up kids this has just come on the wires…
Real Madrid midfielder Rafael Van de Vaart is set to leave the Bernabeu this summer, after being told he is not in new coach Manuel Pellegrini’s plans. I bet Arsene knew about this before now knowing his relationship with Madrid. Us football fans only know the tip of it and the scouts know the real deal. So watch and learn……
It’s the damn boardroom/ player/ media politics that AW has to tinker which at times make him sound deluded/ senile/ hypocritical. Do you think he sees not the same trash on the pitch we fellow gooners see? Of course he does. But put yourself in his shoes. Do you think he’s gonna just walk up to the likes of Diaby, Denilson etc & say- “look son, you’re shit. You need to go.” what kind of impression would that leave on the other toddlers at the club?
AW goes about things differently from other managers. He is a man of Faith. Whereas lesser men would grab the hose at the sight of fire, our gaffer would look to the sky for signs of rain.
We love our club so much that it hurts. But don’t take it out on Wenger, it’s the incompetent Board & players that deserve our anger.
Or if you must, blame it on the rain.
Bearing in mind what Arsene Wenger has to contend with every time the transfer window opens and comments from supposed fans I think he does a great job. Arsenal have one of the best stadiums in the country which once we’ve paid off will enable us to be a bit more fluent in our transfers funds. They have done that without putting the club in financial jeopardy nothing the other 3 teams could have done. But what angers me most is that regardless of the trophies there were times last season where Arsenal played football so beautiful, so clinical and with such skill that anyone who cannot hope to see that again would question Arsene Wengers tactical decisions. Our problem is lack of consistency bought about, not by not having big names but by injuries and inexperience. Should we not suffer that same fate this year we will win more than one piece of silware im sure.
Good Post. You are ON THE BALL!!!!!
Why dont all Gooners feel the same? Am sick of reading posts supporting Arse-n Wenger. If I was him I would have gone to Real Madrid as the Arse-nal board are Pi$$ Poor Pass!
Ohh no,please dont complain, Arsene Knows.
4 years ago we used to discuss about winning the league , now its about holding onto 4th place , we have as supporters ourselves to blame for putting up with 2nd best , wenger will be happy with 4th and breaking even , as an accoutant he is right , as a manager of a great club he is very wrong
Already fans are paying the most expensive tickets. Fans expect the gunners to challenge and win trophies and not compete in the cl and get whacked in the qf/sf.So in this case PHW is from the jurassic age.
I think he would do well to retire and enjoy his time.
If nothing is done to get the new players thereby giving them time to jel and AW continues to ask for patience,that’s it.Arsenal only want to buy players on the cheap and not indulge in finanacial doping.
Don’t get me wrong. If the gunners fail to qualify foor the cl what makes AW think they can do so the next season.
He has made blunders since 2005 by refusing to strengthen the team.He wants attacking soccer when he failed to shore up the defence.At any other club he could have been axed.I personally believe that no one ,not even the red faced cunt is indispensable.
If AW fails to get the gunners firing I’ve a sneaky feeling that next summer would be interesting.
For christ sake people would you listen to yourselfs we havent won any silverware in over four seasons Wenger is living in cloud cuckoo land going on with the same bullshit every season we are now entering five seasons without a trophy even Spurs have been to wembly twice in the last two seasons.
It’s pretty simple really. We have a pot of money that Arsene has to use for new signings and for new contracts. We have secured a number of players on new long term deals – that takes some of the money out of the pot.
We sold Hleb and replaced him with Nasri. We lost Flamini for no fee. Toure was sold, Vermaelen has come in. Adebayor has gone and Asharvin was signed. That balances it out. Whether you like it or not that is how we have to operate.
Man Utd haven’t spent money and are weaker than last season. Chelsea haven’t spent any money and are no better than last season. Liverpool haven’t spent any moeny and are worse off than last season. Geln Johnson coming in with Alonso going out makes them weaker make no mistake and the same with Aquilani – he’s no patch on Alonso.
Arsene will sign a player when the right player is there at the right price. We have very limited funds. Why pay £10m for a player who will be availale to sign for free in Jan?
Our squad is strong and i don’t see the sale of Adebayor (appaling for 18 months) and Toure (2 or 3 good games in 2 seasons) makes us weaker.
Eduardo’s back, Nic will get goals, VP gets goals, Asharvin gts goals.
I’m pretty fed up with all the negativity towards Arsene and the club. There is 3 weeks until the window closes, if Arsene sees fit to get someone on our budget then fine and if he doesn’t find anyone then that’s fine too.
Almunia/Fabianski
Sagna/Eboue
Clichy/Gibbs/Traore
Gallas/Song
Vermaelen/Djourou
Rosicky/Nasri/Vela
Fabregas/Denilson
Song/Ramsey/Diaby
Asharvin/Walcott/Wilshire
Van Persie/Eduardo/Bendtner
What is wrong with that?!
You’re the only muppett. Simples.
Whether you have faith in Arsene or not at least show some f*cking respect for the miracles he has worked for the club.