There are occasions where you can blame the players when they under perform, like the Chelsea players did a couple seasons ago that led to Mourinho's sacking. But i don't recall any occasions when the players did that to us, in fact they greatly respect Wenger and are happy under his management. But it's the managers job to get the best from the players and under the right system, like any other business, have to get the best from their personnel. He has players that have won many big things and thrive under pressure, but under Wenger they routinely collapse when the going gets tough. Are the players letting the manager down? I don't think they are. They are playing exactly the way Wenger is telling them to and they reflect everything he stands for. Can they play a bit better? Yes. But i don't think it would make a significant difference against their current competitors.Their competitors are setup in better ways, with better fitness and possess stronger team bonds and mentality. It's all when and good taking selfies with each other and make funny videos, but what really matters is battling together as a team on the field of play, everything else is irrelevant.
Being 3-0 down to Bournmouth is down to Wenger or losing to Watford is his fault even though both times he did not rest any players and picked a team he felt could win? The players coast.
So for the past 10 years when the team has lost at key moments of the season in the league and CL, it's is the fault of the players? Even with different combinations of players over the years, we seem to suffer the same fate? The only common denominator in all this is the manager.
Better blame the guy that constantly signs, trains and picks players that aren't good enough to perform regularly then. Oh yeah, that would be Wenger.
I think the man who gets paid £8.9m a year should be made responsible for the team HE CREATED. Funny how people have sympathy for a guy that gets paid THAT MUCH!
He said himself that 4th place is a trophy. We need a manager who is not content with mediocrity. We do not COMPETE for major trophies, we only take part. I am of the opinion that the current squad is good enough to COMPETE but Arsene doesn't get the best out of them. A team is the image of its manager. Wenger inherited a very strong defensive team. He brought flair to the team. With time you could see the team morphing into this soft, pretty side. I think the team is bored with what they do. There's no drive. They just seem to show up to work, pick up a check and go home. Its all mundane with no hunger for more. Its all stale, formulaic, predictable and lacking in imagination. No personality. All talk no action. Just soulless. How anyone is happy with that is incredible.
Just in case some people suffer from mass amnesia, he actually said 4th place is a trophy. Arsène Wenger says Champions League place is a 'trophy' (2012) https://www.theguardian.com/football/2012/feb/19/arsene-wenger-arsenal-fourth-place Arsène Wenger has suggested that Arsenal should regard the prospect of securing fourth place in the Premier League and entry into next season's Champions League qualifying round as comparable to winning a cup. "The first trophy is to finish in the top four," said Arsenal's manager in the wake of Saturday's 2-0 FA Cup fifth-round defeat at Sunderland. "And that's still possible. I believe finishing fourth is vital for us, so let's focus on that." That was back in 2012, when our financial situation was going well. But when you read some of his comments in the article, it's like groundhog day, the same old sorry excuses come out for his losses. Barring a Champions League miracle in the second leg of a tie in which Milan lead 4-0, Wenger is contemplating a seventh consecutive season without a trophy. The Frenchman's critics believe he is in denial about Arsenal's current decline but on Saturday evening Wenger mounted a robust defence of a team which Roy Keane, working as an ITV pundit, said was the worst Arsenal side he had watched and one who are letting their manager down. (Sounds like Rubbersoul, maybe he is Roy Keane in disguise?) "That we lost here is basically down to the fact that we had to give a lot in Milan on Wednesday night and then we had to travel again, and that is difficult for any team in the world," Wenger said. "But I thought it was a good performance from us." Actually i'll add a few other quotes. I swear he repeats the same sh1t every year. Asked if Arsenal's squad requires rebuilding or tweaking during the summer, the manager indicated that evolution rather than revolution is his preferred option. "When everybody is available we have what it takes at the club and we will add what it takes," Wenger said. "But at the moment we're not making plans for next season, we're making plans for the next game. "We have many missing: big, big players, too. We're in February and [Jack] Wilshere has played zero games, [Abou] Diaby has played zero games, [Per] Mertesacker is out for the season and [André] Santos for three months. That would be difficult for any club in the world to deal with. But let's win our next game and we'll be fine." Looks like his teams still don't have what it takes after 4 years of saying this. When exactly was Santos, Wilshere and Diaby BIG players for Arsenal? Santos was overweight and sh1t, Wilshere was a green and Diaby was always injured. Actually so was Wilshere.
To parody a Sun headline : PL club with at least 4th largest financial power in finishes 4th in PL shocker !!!
I'm intrigued which teams you think are richer than us given Liverpool, Spurs and Chelsea aren't... And also, can you confirm that the richest team in la liga wins la liga every year? And that the richest team in Europe wins the champions league every year? Simple yes or no will suffice...
So Arsenal have had AT LEAST the 4th largest financial power in the PL for many years. Correspondingly to the "Wenger in" brigade, on the above basis finishing 4th in the PL is not in fact a shock nor some great heroic feat, it should be a GIVEN up to the 2011-12 season at the latest (when the effects of Citeh winning the lottery were really felt) .