Just because Arsenal are 6th in the league it doesn't mean they are the sixth best in England. Though again, it depends on your parameters.
I dont really blame the board. They dont give a stuff about football , only money , so they do exactly what i expect them to do. I blame the coaching and tactics that we employ every week. CLEARLY they are wrong. CLEARLY they dont change. Whose fault is it ?
Arsenal have clearly regressed from the Invincibles era. But that was expected with the Stadium move. We have however had some good teams since our last trophy. We have stayed in the top 4 so never fallen too far off in the league. We have continually got out of our CL group. We've been to a CL final, two League Cup finals, come close to winning the league etc... It hasn't all been bad and but for the odd different decision from a player or ref and we would have a decent trophy haul. Last season was the first season in the entire time AW has been with us that we where not in the title race at any point. That for me was the first season i have really been dissapointed with as we didn't look like winning anything at any point and had to struggle to keep up. We did get a little respect back by ending 3rd above the other london clubs but we where clearly not as good performance wise as in prior seasons. And since then we haven't played the same beautiful football. There are signs of it in thsi team with WIlshere/Cazorla/Arteta and others occasionaly stringing together some great passing moves. Despite our performance level and overall squad quality regressing over the last 18 mponths or so, off the field everything is pointing in the right direction now with long term contracts for players and more money available. So yes i think we have regressed but i also think that we will now move forwards which is why i'm not panicing and going over the top like some others.
Is it bollocks! Getting relegated would be the ultimate regression. Finishing outside of the European places would be a bigger regression. Finishing outside the UCL places would be a bigger regression.
I do not understand the tactics or the coaching as i am not a coach but i saw Arsenal play well in the second half. Honestly i cn not see the logic of the reaction to the loss. It was a close game and Arsenal did well. Realistically this was a game Arsenal would be expected to lose. It wont define the 4th spot.
No its not a good thing at all , but its not them that straps the boots on and crosses the white line every week. The players play the tactics Wenger sets out for them. The board dont go thru tactics i dont think. lol
I fear we're going to become the next Nottingham Forest. We have a legendary manager who is now past his best, and is dragging us back with him.
Because the players themselves aren't to blame aswell? Play crap it ONLY the manager's fault. Play well, brilliant players. If blame is to be given it should be equally between the Board, AW, and the players.
Wenger isn't dragging us back with him - he has been keeping us up near the top whilst we have had financial constraints. It's because of him that we haven't had a single season out of the CL. Now that we are entering a period of time where Wenger will actually have the money to spend on the players he wants judge him over the next season or two and we will see if he is still capable of winning things with Arsenal. It's unfair to say he can't do it when he has had his hands tied with resources and been forced by the board to lose some of his best players. And still we have come very close on multiple occasions and in football the smallest bits of luck and we could have had a very different trophy haul.
We can't judge this season until it finishes. At this point last year Arsenal were two points better off and in 5th (dropping to seventh after the next game).
