Injuries won't matter because 20xx/xx+1 will be our year!!! (insert the numbers of the season after the one currently being played)
The transfer window has only been open two weeks!! and we have added a World Class keeper. That's a pretty damn good start. You don't know what Wenger will or won't do and neither do I.
To be fair Wenger is the hardest person to read. How many rumours have actually come true from the media? Best to wait for Wenger to drop a proper hint before believing what the rags say.
Jenkinson gone back out on loan with the Irons but he's signed a new long term deal with us.Excellent news in my opinion
You could say the same about all the criticism Wenger has gotten about things he hasn't done. Such as Wenger will never ... [insert disparaging comment] such as Wenger will never spend big on a player, we'll never win a cup with Wenger, Wenger will never sign a decent keeper, he'll never sign a great defender, Wenger will always sign youngsters, we'll never challenge with him... Even if we win the league next season there will still be people saying "yes but we'll never win the CL with him", and even if we do that it'll be something else like "Wenger will never defend a title, win a double, a treble ect".
I don't think this is true. I think I speak on behalf of nearly every Arsenal fan when I say we all want Wenger to do well and have success with the club again, but there are legitimate reservations people have over whether he is capable of it. And by success, I mean winning the league and significantly progressing in Europe. I am more than happy to concede that I was wrong about AW on two fronts. Firstly, I never thought he would spend big on players because he had always been so parsimonious with money. Our previous record transfer was Arshavin which was ~£15m, he ended up smashing it by purchasing Ozil for £42.4m. I held my hands up on that occasion. The other thing was that I didn't think we would ever win a trophy under his tenure again, but we have won two back-to-back FA Cups in the last two seasons. Whilst it is nice to see that he has splashed a bit more cash and gone against his seemingly conservative principles, he has still displayed signs that may not be capable of winning the league again under his tutelage. The failure to add a DM and an additional striker in the season we bought Ozil was just ridiculous, frankly. He got Flamini but he was never going to cut it, I still maintain he should have gone for a longer-term option and it's not as if our options were limited. Then last season. Why he took so long to bring in a centre-back I will not understand, when we were relying on one defender who was 'lacking motivation' and another who had a well-documented Achilles' problem. Relying on a young and relatively unproven Chambers who was meant to be for the future was poor judgement and he threw the kid straight into the deep end, as well as playing Monreal who at the time was our second-choice left back at centre-half due to lack of depth at the back. Calum Chambers has not looked the same since he got well and truly roasted by Jefferson Montero in the game against Swansea. AW was also very fortunate Flamini and Arteta were injured otherwise Coquelin would not have come back and our season would have been very different, in my opinion. Coquelin's good form doesn't detract from the fact that we should have sorted the DM issue out in the Summer of 2014. His, and the club's, lack of foresight here was telling. In addition to this, he utilised a suicidal high-line in big away matches against teams who had pace and strength all over the park, resulting in us getting battered by City, Liverpool, Chelsea and even Everton. Fair enough it didn't happen last season, but our record against Spurs, Chelsea, City, United and Liverpool was worse the season gone by than the 2013/14 season. This coupled with his lack of urgency when it comes to bringing on substitutions when the game isn't going in our favour are perfect examples of why people don't believe he can't cut it in the league or in Europe when it really matters.
I was always amazed by the fans who are seemingly unable to grasp the idea that Arsenal had limited transfer money due to stadium expenses. For many years AFC had to get rid of players on high salary and send their stars nearly every year. And yet fans complained about Wenger being unable to pay big money for players. A 7 yo can have problems with maths, but by 10 one has to understand - if there is no money, a club can not buy top players, be it Wenger, Mourinho or Jesus Christ.
I think every Arsenal fan hopes for success, indeed I think we all wish we'd win the quadruple every season regardless of who is in charge! But that wasn't my point, I was just saying how people have said definitely that Wenger won't do lots of things which have he has then done, so saying he won't challenge/win the league is a bit risky. Of course saying that he has his flaws and has made plenty of mistakes in the past.
I think we are a TOP striker away from winning the league. Add a Benzema or Cavani and we will give Chelsea a serious run for their money. I agree we could do with another DM but I think Coquelin,Wilshere and Arteta should be enough.
I understand what you were saying, but I've explained why the bit I've highlighted in bold isn't correct, in my opinion. He proved us wrong on whether he would spend big and whether he was capable of winning silverware again. But the issues I highlighted in my post have been problems which we've had for years and years now and he has demonstrated that it is not due to a lack of funds that he can't compete with the bigger sides regularly. And in the lengthy period where we didn't win anything and struggled to remain competitive, he was still not proactive and still makes similar tactical errors to the present date. The issues have ran a lot deeper than financial resources. In the two seasons where he has spent big, he still neglected key areas of our squad which would have had us challenging for the title, in Europe and I'd wager most of our targets for that central defensive midfield positions have gone to other clubs, whether it be down to indecisiveness or a change of heart. I am hesitant about trusting his decision-making and the past has shown that fans are entitled to be apprehensive. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that Wenger is not capable of creating a title winning side again. Would I like to be proven wrong? Hell yes! But I just don't see it happening because I honestly feel he has too many shortcomings as a manager to win the title. Ultimately it's down to him to answer his critics, though.
If Wenger agrees with you, and it appears that he does, then we aren't going to be winning the title this season.
Arsenal have made a bid for Napoli defender Faouzi Ghoulam, according to reports in Italy MediaSet claim the Gunners have tabled an offer of around £10m for the Algeria international who played in two of his nation's four World Cup group games last summer. The 24-year-old made 21 Serie A appearances for the Naples side last season but was not always first-choice with 10 of those outings beginning from the bench. Ghoulam could provide cover for current left-back Kieran Gibbs who has had his Emirates career punctuated by injuries while Nacho Monreal has also been linked with a move back to Spain. This one seems to be doing the rounds. Not a glamorous signing and appears to be at a decent price, does this story have any legs? If true, then Nacho could be on his way out or Wenger isn't satisfied with Gibbs's fitness.
Wenger quotes on current transfer window. The master of doublespeak. “Honestly, I say I don’t close the door if we find a new player who can strengthen our squad but we have already strengthened our squad,” he said. “I feel part of the success of a team is cohesion. We have a good level of cohesion and I think at the moment what is very important for our squad and myself is to see how we can move forward again. “We feel at the end of the season, we have moved forward. I know it will not be enough. We still have to move forward again together this season and that for me is much more important than finding a miraculous player who wins you everything.”
Non-sense! who did Chelsea have as backup to Matic??..Mikel?.. He's no better than Arteta. In fact I would take the Spaniard everytime. United WON the league with Carrick & Anderson. For six months last Season Coquelin performed at least as well as Schneiderlin or Matic. He's an old fashioned DM not technically amazing but works hard and makes ALOT of interceptions. In fact in 2015 Francis Coquelin: Has made at least 31 more tackles + interceptions (113) than any other player in the PL. I'm not saying I wouldn't be happy if we signed an athletic DM/Box to Box player. I just think IF we add a TOP striker our squad would be strong enough to rival Chelsea or City. ------------------------Cech--------------------------- Bellerin-----Merts------Koscielney------Monreal ----------------Carzorla-------Coquelin------------- -------------------------Ozil------------------------------ ---Walcott----------Benzema-----------Sanchez-- Bench: Debuchy, Giroud, Wilshere,Chamberlain, Ramsey, Gabriel, Sczezney - that still leaves players like Wellbeck,Gibbs, Chambers, Roisicky..and youngsters like Daniel Crowley fighting it out for a space. Its a very strong squad.
The only weak part of that XI Bear is the CB's. or, more pertinently, Mertesacker. It's also pointless listing Arsenal's best XI, because 5 games in half of them will be injured, so it makes little difference.
Well I was showing the whole squad really. Not just the 11 - the bench looks pretty decent too. Mertesacker is underrated. But I wouldn't be surprised if Gabriel starts head of him next year.
I would be, I think Merts is severely underrated and 2 seasons ago was our best player and one of the best defenders in the league. His reading of the game and partnership with Kos is one of our big defensive strengths. It is now great to have Gabriel pushing him and Kos and hopefully Gabriel will get a lot of game time this season.
