The PL is vastly superior to ligue 1. Don't think many if any will argue with that. So whilst Lacazette can score for fun over there he looks like a deer in the headlights over here. As for La Liga and Bundesliga? I tend to agree that quality wise it is much of a muchness. But the PL, if not better, is certainly different. Far more physical, scrappy and generally frenetic than the major continental leagues. Some players simply struggle to adapt to that. Could be due to style, could be down to something as innocuous as moving to a country with **** weather and a **** cuisine. Aubameyang may well turn out to be an inspired signing. But if he flops, he'll be in pretty good company of top drawer players who came to these grey shores and foundered. Veron, Shevchenko, Di Maria, Forlan, Brolin, Rebrov.
I've noticed a number of posters (Piskie and Bear) continually put Lacazette in the same bracket as Aubameyang and Ozil. I'm struggling to understand why, given that his crowning achievement has been a solitary Coupe de France (basically the French FA Cup) which he won 6 years ago. Other than that, he has impressed greatly against the likes of Guingamp, Angers and Toulouse, which amounts to squat when taking the step up to the PL. Hence my comparison to Rebrov, who tore the Ukranian league to shreds at Dinamo then did **** all when he came to us in a mega-bucks deal.
Someone like Diego Simeone would definitely install the mental, physical and defensive mindset which has been lacking for so many years at Arsenal. May not be pretty but he is one effective manager at grinding out results. Back to what we used to be known for, which is the true Arsenal.
He would certainly instil the work ethic and commitment that we lack, but I wonder if his defensive style would be a step too far to accommodate for these players ? Might need a a complete clear out and restart to get that philosophy to work at Arsenal
cant see Simeone TBH. I think the board will look at it as too much in the other direction when it comes to offensive/defensive football. (dont get me wrong I would love Simeone) But I also think the board will go with someone young, and someone who can stay at the club for a long time; they will go for someone who wont demand too much. Someone like Henry or Arteta would fit their bill. Not sure how I would feel about either as replacement.
Arteta? Can not see him leaving city at the moment. Henry won't touch it...Will be s career killer, like Neville going to Valencia was. Either might be tempted in 2 years or so time.
As much as I love Henry as a player, he has virtually zero experience to bring to management at a big club like Arsenal. Maybe he could come in as a No2 and learn his trade, but it would be a monumental risk to appoint him as manager and it could turn sour really quickly.
Whoever you get, he will need to get rid of the garbage within the squad. I know some of you like Little Jack, but when you compare him to the greats of Arsenal such as Brady, Ball, Eastham, Paul Davis, Rocastle, Thomas, Viera and Petit ... he needs jettisoning asap. You will never be near winning anything with him around.
For a start I actually think Lacazette looked pretty good for his first 10 games or so. Turned out he was carrying an injury for his next 5-6 games. But No I never mentioned Lacazette in my post. He's a good player though I like him. And as for Ozil winning La Liga, The Champions League, The World Cup and European Championship?.. Mourinho calls him the best No. 10 in the World. Almost 100 caps for Germany ahead of the likes of Draxler. Ozil is ****ing WORLD Class. Pretty sure Aubamayang is right up there too. But with a piss poor CM, NO actiual defensive midfielders and an ageing senile manager we're simply not getting the most out of them.
Wenger has lost the dressing room. Whats really going on is the players have finally started figuring out they have a manager with no ideas. I think the (now) years of fans, media, pundits questioning Wenger has finally entered the players heads as well. Now that they are in a terrible run of form, they are looking to who can help them, and really for the first true time they are not listening to Wenger as they have lost all faith in anything he says. Thus you are left with a team that has no direction, no leadership, and no clue as to how to move forward. (highlighted by the 'meeting' the players had with Kosc allegedly crying). I firmly believe it is primarily psychological - a new manager would change that mentality, much like when Chelsea went through that awful season a few years back. I think the true difference this time unlike our other bad runs in the past, is the players literally do not trust Wenger. I really hope they make a change in the summer as EVERYONE (even his staunchest supporters) believes it is now past the point of no return.
latest rumours have sean dyche in the running...thoughts on him? while he would instill some discipline and probably get players with better 'non-footballing' qualities, I dont think he would be a good choice.
It's hard to tell whether he has lost the dressing room as we tend to be a flaky team at times. I think the next few games will tell us where we really are. The players seem to like the manager and will perform, but to a level they are comfortable at. Normally you'd expect a team to really up it after losing a few on the trot, but our team lacks certain mental elements, which we've been saying for years, except of course Wenger. What is happening has happened to every team out there, when you become complacent, set in your ways and adverse to change. This forum is a prime example. We all know the posters who have staunchly supported Wenger and have turned a blind eye to the countless mistakes he's made over the years. They've ridiculed fans on this forum because they've dared to question Wenger, but now they have to witness the sad decline of their team because of their blind adoration of Wenger. Don't get me wrong, i really liked Wenger back in the days, but i'm also not miopic to Wenger's tactical awareness, motivation and player mistakes, it's blindingly obvious. Putting him up on a pedestal has really hurt us, all that hard work creating the new stadium is being thrown away by poor insight and bad decisions. It's bloody annoying. If you truly love something, you are willing to let go of the thing you love the most. Does Wenger really love Arsenal or is his vanity and irrational fear making him stay? If he did he would have left years ago.
The amount of ridiculous statements and excuses he is now coming up with are indicative of a floundering soul. I believe he has lost a fair amount of the dressing room apart from those players who he has kept faith with in spite of their low standards of ability. Unfortunately he is far too arrogant and stubborn to resign which is tragic for the club as we urgently need someone to give us a complete change of ethos.
