Expect or want ? I want us to win a trophy. Unless we strengthen in a couple of key areas and improve our defensive tactics I expect us to be battling for 3rd/4th again.
A lot of our players are in that age bracket. Koscielny, Vermaelen, Arteta, Mertesacker, Sagna, Rosicky, Van Persie to name a few.
I dont think that's true Murray. there is a difference between expectation and hope. I dont think Arsenal87 expects Arsenal to be successful any time soon (with good reason), but he still pays his money for his season ticket in the hope we will be.
Are you saying that Arsenal isn't a strong enough team to challenge for trophies? Because that's not true. We are. Saying that we're not going to be challenging for trophies purely because it hasn't happened for us in the last few years? That's simply lack of hope.
Kosh has been solid, Areta solid, Sagna soid, Mertesacker semi solid, Rosiky solid, RVP solid, but the others have not, sadly TV has been poor by his standards, wouldn't put it down to bottle, just had a bad season, everyone has those. But in terms of having composure and being solid for us when we really need it, the likes of Song, Ramsey, Gerivno, and even Sheza, have been letting us down. I lost count of how many misplaced passes Song was giving away in the second half against West Brom, you could literally see him choking on the pitch. The fact is, too many players in this team sadly have a very fragile mentality and bottle under pressure.
Ending 19 points behind the leaders say's we're not good enough to be challenging for the title. Don't let get facts get in the way of your stupid commentary.
I do not think we will challenge for trophies next year because i dont think much will change - I agree with Arsenal87 on this. What's going to be different? What gives you a sign that we're going to sort out what we need in the team - not just players, but tactics, style of play, character... I dont see anyone waving a magic wand here. We've already let a key period pass between the end of the season and the players leaving for the Euro's without doing any business. After the Euro's we go on tour to Asia and Africa and dont get back till very close to the start of the season. Its a real possibility that we end up actually weaker next year with no RVP (with Podolski as a lesser replacement). Wilshere coming back will help, but overall do i really believe it will be much different - no. I sure hope it is though.
Kos was part of the double act with Chezza that cost us the Carling Cup final, so he's bottled under pressure before. Mertesacker's not played down the stretch yet (through no fault of his own) and TV has had shocking games under pressure (first leg against Milan springs to mind). So it's not necessarily age that stops a team bottling, it's all about confidence. In fact, the team you guys keep chanting out being an example we should follow- Dortmund- have younger players being the core of their team. Gervinho and Ramsey aren't bottlers, they've just been **** all season.
Um ... Chelsea finished 25 points behind the leaders, and they won a double. But don't let that small fact get in the way of your "We finished 20 points behind the leaders so we're not good enough to challenge for trophies" argument. -.-
Are Arsenal good enough to challenge for trophies, here's a complete beat down for Murray: 2012 season: 19 points behind the leaders 2011 season: 12 points behind the leaders 2010 season: 11 points behind the leaders 2009 season: 18 points behind the leaders LOL, so based on these actual stats, what part of that makes us good enough to be title contenders? These stats show we aren't good enough to be title contenders, what they further show is that nothing much is really changing, we keep hearing about looking to the future, yet all these seasons show is we're not making progress, and getting no where close to winning the title. So you can keep the rhetoric and the false hope, I'll stick with the facts and reality.
I think there is a serious issue with belief in the team - call it bottle. How many times have you seen an Arsenal team in a big game recently work as hard as Chelsea did in the CL final and give their absolute all?
So ... you wouldn't take winning the FA Cup and Champions League to be a successful season, then? Because I said "challenging for trophies", y'know. But hey, don't let "facts" get in the way of your argument. They're overrated. Throwaway insults like "******" are more in fashion these days, I hear.
Chelsea have had a successful season, but we are no where close to that. And why on earth are you bringing up winning the Cup and UCL? HAVE WE DONE IT???????????? Good God it's like arguing with a ....................., we HAVEN'T WON ANYTHING, CHELSEA HAVE, get it? So now your so desperate in your arguments, your trying to put another team's success as a success for our team's make up belief hope we get those trophies? LOL.
Here's some more facts for you: Chelsea: Won the UCL AND FA Cup Arsenal: Won nothing for the 7th consecutive season. Don't let facts get in the way of your rubbish arguments.
Well I'm hoping that he does strengthen the squad and improve the defence and we win something. I can't see us winning the league ahead of City and I think Utd and Chelsea will strengthen in the summer, so an improvement on 3rd is going to be tough. I think the FA cup and the Champions League are realistic targets though. If we do finish 4th, with no trophy, then we'd have to look at why that was. Was it because the board didn't sanction moves, or sold our best player (personally I think we should keep RVP for the final year of his contract if he doesn't sign) or because we didn't address our defensive frailties, or because like this year we had long term injuries to key players. But ultimately a top 4 place isn't something to be scoffed at. I want us to be achieving more, but ultimately it's not completely in the manager's control as to whether it happens. He has to take accountability for it, but he's not responsible for all of the nuances that happen throughout the season and in the transfer windows, there are many factors at play. Would I stay loyal to Wenger if we finished 4th and won nothing? Like I say, I would have to assess what factors were responsible for it, rather than pin all of the blame on the manager.
Oh. Ok. We haven't won it, therefore we can't. I bow to the maturity of your argument. Chelsea aren't a better team than us (look at the league for proof). I said we're good enough to challenge for trophies. We are. If you're arguing against that, you're either an idiot or like I said ... somebody we could do without in the fan club.
All right, what if we ended 4th with no trophy, because we didn't fix the defensive weakness, let go of our best player, and didn't get the needed replacement cover? And that's not something unfathomable, as it's happened before with us. Would you still be a loyalist?
