I don't disagree with what you're saying. But it has no relevance to my post. You're just stating things that everyone already knew.
Rather than debate the merits of the FA cup, which is a great trophy to win but irrelavent to this thread, the question should be, are we doing as well as we should be doing in the league? With every big team looking the worst we've seen in a very long time and only City that look half decent, why aren't we taking advantage and getting top place? We've had more than one chance this season but seem to be suffering the usual drops in form and injuries, irrespective of change of scenery. This league is still up for grabs but we really need to grab it by the scruff the neck. We simply aren't doing enough and the Chelsea game has highlighted all the same problems we've been suffering for years, the dear stuck in the headlights routine when we come close to challenging. I really hope we snap out of it but I fear we don't have enough fighters like Sanchez in the team to maintain our momentum to the top...
Sadly friend, no chance of Wenger contemplating spending that kind of money. Even Jackson Martinez at 24m would have given us a glut of goals. The trouble is the old man does not now have the skill or judgement required for the job. In managerial terms he lags behind any of our other main rivals. He is certainly not at the level of Raneiri and I wouldn't be surprised if Pochettini outperforms him over the balance of the season. We cannot stand man for man against Southampton it seems nor bar one Community Shield game, match Chelsea in any shape or form whichever manager they have in charge so under this idiot of a manager, I cannot see us making any further lasting headway in this title fight.
But in addition to that and very sadly, our manager never makes all the right calls in any one season bar 12 years ago, to place us in the position to have a successful title run. I think that after all this time, whatever sharpness he once had has become all too blunt. Arsenal are truly handicapped without a change of manager.
Hmm.. It's interesting that so many fans think we are entitled to be doing better. The reality is when you negate the manager aspect Arsenal would struggle to compete with Chelsea, United and City. Because simply those Clubs have greater resources. We are a well run club with good finances but can only operate within our means. Chelsea and City do NOT have to operate this way. Whoever is in charge of Arsenal has to try and compete in an uneven playing field. This is why I think Wenger is still under-rated.(even though I will admit he isn't as good as he once was).
How have teams like Atletico and Dortmund competed with them (and their own respective dominant teams in their own leagues) then? Those two both have less money available to spend than City and Chelsea (let's face only PSG can match them) but can assemble top class squads that get far in europe and challenge (or have challenged) domestically and won titles. None of them have the resources to match the dominant teams in their leagues. Even Juve, while dominant in their own league, have pitiful resources compared to Chelsea and City but can get to the CL final. Quality management, astute signings in positions that need strengthening and excellent tactics saw these clubs succeed. We don't really get any of that at Arsenal, at least consistently. All you can say is that we don't lose money. That's about it. We have a board who offer new contracts regularly to a manager with no pressure put on him to do anything more than quality for the CL. We have mountains of cash to spend on players that never arrive. We have a squad eternally filled with inadequate players in some positions that are is never strengthened. We're financially well run and that is it... we're a good business. We're not particularly well run for a club that wants to challenge for the big trophies. You're quite right... City and Chelsea have poached all the available DMs and strikers in the last few transfer windows that we could have afforded that were better than Flamini or Giroud. It's so unfair that there are only enough quality players around that they all get signed by Chelsea and City
Hang on, where did you get we can't compete with the likes of thd rest? We are in the top 10 if footballing clubs in generating revenue and have just bought 2 elite players valued a heck of a lot of money. We can most certainly compete!
I agree that we can compete BUT the problem is that we are held back from actually competing. We have something like 200m actual cash reserves. That's more disposal cash than all the entire premier league put together. Granted, some rich daddy at Etihad or Stamford Bridge could well take out a chequebook and beat us to almost any player BUT do remember that they too have reined in the expenditure over the past years, especially City and more recently, Sanchez has favoured his transfer to us instead of Liverpool. So we can compete. It's just that the will to do so for the big prizes has been largely absent and not only the will, but the managerial ability too has been wanting. I stress the latter because our problems occur on an annual basis. Yet no move is ever made to address and overcome them. The injuries, the lack of squad depth, the tactical blunders and on this latter count, down to the fact that our manager is no longer operating at the sharp end. Why settle for third place or fourth year in, year out when the opportunity has been there to go and stay at the top? I find this most disappointing of the powers that run Arsenal. They truly diminish us BUT oh yes, there is always the pile of cash that they feel is sufficient comfort in foregoing those big sporting prizes. We will sadly never see a title win until Wenger goes and hopefully too, that money-grabbing owner and comfortable board.
Athletico are currently the exception. Simeone is doing Marvels similar to what Wenger achieved in his early years at Arsenal. Dortmund have won the league TWICE in the last 23 years. I don't know where you get the idea they have been more successful than us from. Because it's not true. Also when I said we couldn't 'compete' with those clubs I was talking financially.
I never actually said we couldn't compete. I was talking about finances. Wenger is very screwed and should probably have gone out and bought another DM and a TOP class striker but that doesn't really change the fact If City want to overhaul their entire squad with World Class talent.. they pretty much can. We can't operate the same way which puts us at a disadvantage.
Also where did I say Wenger shouldn't or couldn't have bought another DM and striker. He should have. You fail at reading comprehension.
I wonder why it is you have chosen to overlook our substantial csh reserves besides which, no one is saying we should compete £ for £ with the likes of City or Chelsea but that doesn't mean you can stop trying or not trying hard enough, considering we do really have the funds to go shopping. Why, even one of our senior directors said so this summer. Wenger however only chose to source a GK. Not a smart decision I venture to suggest since there were clearly several players on the pitch yesterday who had no business representing us the way they are currently playing.
Give me a break. 1. Please read what I posted. I am not making excuses for Wengers lack of spending. I personally DO think we should have added a TOP striker and another holding player. ALL I am saying is whoever has to manage Arsenal. Will have to deal with the fact Chelsea/City and to some extent Utd have FAR deeper resources than our own. It's not an even playing field. Also the cash reserves thing? .. I have no idea what the true state of those are. I do however think they are grossly exaggerated by many Arsenal fans.
Unsure about our cash reserve - look at the accounts. No one is making it up but I can tel you someone is not willing to spend. No one is disagreeing with you any manager would be up against the spending power of the ' big ' clubs BUT the contention is that our foolish and away pass his best manager simply is reluctant to invest. Perhaps he simply no longer knows how to. After all these years of underperformance one really wonders why it is there are those who urge caution about replacing him. Are we really happy with simply finishing in runnerup positions? It really sells our club cheap.
Well Wengers biggest issue his reluctance to spend. But you would have to say when he does.. he makes great signings. I would say Cech, Sanchez, Ozil, Gabriel were all excellent recent signings.
First of all, if you're going to state a fact, at least get it right. We are in 2016. 23 years ago would have been 1993. Since 1993, they have won five league titles. You weren't even close. Second of all, why have you gone back 23 years? They have won 2 league titles in the last 6 years, which is far more recently than we have. They have a wage bill that was half of QPR's, yet they were consistently competing with a Bayern side who were, on paper, superior to them in every respect by a country mile.
As opposed to Gervinho, Squillaci, Eisfeld, Park Chu-Young, Santos, Kallstrom, Sanogo (if anyone still thinks he has a future at Arsenal, I don't want to hear it)...? Wenger has made some good signings, but they have not always been good signings. Let's not pretend like he hasn't spent a fair amount on absolute dross.
My mistake. But still they have won the league 3 times since the mid-nineties. Its not a huge improvement on our situation is it? (In weaker league) If anything they prove my point. Bayern obviously operate with greater resources and win the league most Seasons. When they want a player from Dortmund they just buy him and offer him a huge wage increase. (Goetze, Lewandowski etc..) Financially we can't compete with Chelsea/City and Dortmund cant even compete with Bayern.
