Wenger and Arsenal's decline over the last 8-9 years has mainly been attributed to financial restrictions on the back of The Emirates Stadium build. No trophies since we have moved. Top players sold practically every year. (We even sold quality players to our rivals such was the apparent need for extra income). Everyone has an opinion on where it’s gone wrong for Arsenal, regardless of whether or not they support them. I like most Arsenal fans can give you two or three simple fixes to help Arsenal become contenders again.(or so I like to think) So can most other fans, and pretty much every pundit and football journalist. The general consensus seems to be that we are 2-4 TOP players short of our rivals. For almost 12 months the board have been claiming we are 'READY to spend big' and the recent financial results back up that assertion. So what happens now that we are no longer financially restricted? When Wenger is finally free to work his magic with the same financial freedom as given to managers at the other big European Clubs?.. well apparently nothing. I have long maintained that our lack of spending was not purely down to financial restriction it was also a choice made by our manager. He doesn't WANT to buy big established names, he just doe not want to spend. To some extent I admire this but the circumstances that delivered Wenger’s best seasons at Arsenal are in the past. The competition has caught up with his scouting (i.e. they found out where France is). There isn’t another Thierry Henry waiting to be salvaged, or if there was we would realistically need to pay £30 Million for him. Arsenal aren’t ahead of the curve any more, they haven’t been for a while, which leaves Arsene Wenger looking like a once famous magician whose most famous trick was accidentally revealed to the audience. Times have changed and our manager is refusing to change with them. *If the manager brings in TOP Class talent like Suarez and Gustavo before the transfer Window shuts I will happily admit I was wrong.
If we don't make big quality signings by the end of the transfer period, then that's it as far as excuses go for the Wenger apologists. We've been told to be patient until we were finally able to spend big with the financial resources at our disposal, well we're at that moment now, time to repay our patience. Even Piskie's acknowledged that questions will have to start being asked if no serious business was done this summer.
We'll have to wait until the end of the transfer window before calling for his head. So far it isn't looking very promising in the transfer market and most of the big signings have either gone or are not available. All he's doing is making it harder on himself.
I'm not sure I'd use that word TBH. Fair enough, you was winning league's back then but I think the emergence of Chelsea and now Man City with Man Utd finding ways of improving with them has left you behind rather than you guys declining I'd use decline for us
Not at all - decline kinda works. We have gone backwards from where we were. We were averaging around 84 points a Season between 2000-2004. Also compare the teams - The likes of Henry, Berkamp, Vieira, Pires, Cole, Campbell in their primes would walk into any of the current top four line-ups. The league is undoubtedly stronger but we are also considerably weaker.
Line of best fit covering the trend of points per season under Wenger over the last eight seasons: I used Treat's 'line graph' trick of putting in the real points tallies to hide the decline...
I've said for a long time that this will be his last season with us and I havn't seen anything to change my mind, all that talk of a new contract has gone quiet
German managers normally suck, full stop. Most of the great German club sides have had foreign managers. Klopp would do well here, it's not about nationality, it's about ability. He's like Wenger, but he lives in the real world. Spends when he needs to, buys what he needs, whilst trying to promote youth. Sounds like Wenger of 10 years ago, back when he was sane.
Those saying "I'll wait till the end of the transfer window to make a judgement" are missing the point IMO. This can already be classified as a terribly managed transfer window by all involved, whether we get Suarez or not. You can have a tolerance for things going to the wire for say 20-30% of your transfer targets. But we need 3-4 players that will compete for the first team, and a few more "lower tier" players (promoted youngsters or proven 'solid' players) for the numbers required to sustain a challenge in a 38 game league and 3 cup competitions. With that knowledge and starting point in mind, letting it come to this point with 3 days till the season starts, is pathetic. It shows you that A) the club aren't sincere in their announcements (turning point bla bla), or B) there is disagreement between the manager and the rest on the way forward. I have said before that Wenger has personal pride invested in this "we do it our way" thing, but we'll see how far he'd go in endangering the stature of the club so he can get vindicated for his ideology.
I think it is a matter of emphasis. I don't think there is anyone that doesn't agree with you in general that it would have been better if more of our business had been done, nor do I think that, in general terms, that your analysis of the number of players we need is that far out. I do think that you under-estimate how good our current first XI are. Let's take Gustavo as an example. Does he go to Wolfsburg where he will start any game for which he is fit, or does he come to a new league and have to displace either Arteta or Ramsey, two players that are fairly well-established? And knowing that Ox and Wilshere are about there as well? Similarly does Higuain come in and try to knock out Giroud, Podolski and Walcott? Gervinho couldn't do it, and he is extremely highly rated elsewhere. What about someone trying to better Koscielney or Metersacker? We need to understand that just because we are not 100% confident about players like Vermaelen, Podolski, Giroud, Ramsey, Sagna, Gibbs, or even Walcott, they are very close to the required standard. Any player coming in has to risk that they will improve just a bit and keep them out of the team. I don't think that this is an insignificant worry for some of these players that we are linked with.
I always said I'd reserve judgement on whether AW still had the ability to drive the club forward at the end of the transfer window, I still think we could strengthen significantly this Summer but 3 days before game 1 and no major aquisitions and I'm concerned, very concerned. The only consolation I can come up with is that entering 13/14 with a fit Jack, Giroud/Pod with a year under their belt and finally a centre back partnership that works in Mert and Kos, we are better placed this year than we have been in previous years. That said we have a very thin squad and a defensive injury/suspension crisis for our CL qualifier next week. I'm still hopeful, but my patience is wearing and I fear for the backlash AW will receive if we are 1-0 down on the hour mark on Sat....
The players that we have are playing very well at the moment , but you are right , the squad is thinner than it has ever been , if the ahem "planned transfers " fall thru , and then we pick up a couple of injuries , it could be just the start to the season that we all have nightmares about. Then the rest of the season playing catch up and fighting to achieve fourth AGAIN . He seems to be incapable of learning from his mistakes.
The squad from last year is capable of picking up from where it left off from January onwards, but as you say the squad is thinner than Kate Moss with gastroenteritis right now.
The thing is, if Liverpool had agreed to sell Suarez to us, then this thread probably wouldn't even have seen the light of day
Im not sure what the club were playing at with Suarez, there was never any chance of Liverpool selling to us
Winning the five competitive games before the window closes - absolutely feasable - would go a long way too.
