As several commentators have noticed for the past couple of seasons, as soon as Wenger starts wearing his sleeping bag to work their results and performances nosedive - the exact opposite of Mourinho's grey coat (and vast funds available to him...)
We could finish above Arsenal this year but still finish lower than last season. It would obviously be nice to finish above them but top 4 or a trophy is higher on my wish list.
I disagree with this Gent. Looking at it from an arsenal point of view I have looked at the stats with arsenal on 15 games; not us on 15 and you on 16. you might say that we were 5 points ahead, the same as now, but last season you were sat 5th, with only liverpool and newcastle posing a thread behind you (3 points). Stoke, sat in 8th were 8 points behind you. You are currently 10th in the table with a lot of other sides above you, all sat very tight. Yes, the table can shift around very quickly, but there's more teams in contention now and no room for ****ups. defeat will result in some of those clubs above, pulling a gap. Last season, you had a safety barrier with stoke being 8 points behind and only liverpool and newcastle looking like they could possibly overtake. it's a different story this season for all those clubs involved, including us. There is definitely a lot to play for, but it's a tougher season this time round. the "lesser" clubs have certainly narrowed the gap. as i've said, no room for ****ups or dropped points.
We are a side in transition this season - last year we had 34 points from the first 15 games and this year have only 26 and yet STILL we are 5 points ahead of you. In fact in terms of points per game we peaked at 15 games last year - in our last 23 games we only managed 35 points - one more point from 8 more games and we all know that was coz Harry went off the boil. You should worry that this year we are actually getting better as the season goes on. Surely all gooners must know that Wenger is way past his sell by date. His constant drone about the future being bright with youth coming through becomes a bit of a laugh Still we should not really be looking at you now as we are in competition for the top 3 or 4 places whereas you are mid table obscurity
Arsenal have proved more than any other that they were a one man team and now they've lost that one man look where they are. We on the other hand were not a one man or two man team because we lost two of our best players and look where we are. Arsenal and WBA are both on a downward spiral so their next match should be quite a drab affair with both clubs scared to take the initiative.
Plus, as I have stated on numerous occasions, the Gooners do not have RVP to keep saving their blushes. They seem to have so easily forgotten just how central RVP was to their entire season, last time out. PESKIE keeps banging on about the two players they signed in the Summer, but they have been no where near, between them, as consistent as RVP was; he was a one-man goal-machine. It will take something very special for either the two new boys to be any where near that consistent, especially in their first season in the EPL. Sorry, but I simply cannot see it happening. I was listening to Talk$hite earlier today (on my way back from Sunday League ref duties), and they were debating just how troubling Arsenal's form has been, and how they could be in real deep trouble. I think the writing has been on the wall for some time, now.
In reality, this is the honeymoon period or Podolski & Giroud - their first season. By the end of this season - certainly by next, their style will have been studied & analysed by opponents, and plans to stop them, laid. If they can continue to score freely next season, that will be the acid test for both of them
I know that my claims last season came back to haunt me - but that was just one of the reasons why I turned so vehemently against Redknapp - because his stupid fantasy about lifting the World Cup for England, and his stupid belief in the media bull$hit with all of its "cry Harry for England!" bollocks cost us not only a finish above Arsenal, but 3rd spot. It's hardly surprising that we are currently joint 3rd, because that's where we were headed last season. Arsenal didn't catch us up, Harry allowed us to capitulate. Arsenal should not be a worry for us any more, and it grates on me that we didn't put them in their proper place last season.
I like Cazorla. He looks to be a very good player. But yes, as per above, the opposition have studied him and the way he likes to play. So now life will become more difficult for him. Plus, of course, he can't do it all on his own. There doesn't seem to be that much quality around him, Apart from Wilshire.
Cazorla's probably a little concerned about the players steaming past him, every time Arsenal lose the ball. They've got no holding midfielder and some rather susceptible looking defenders, especially at full-back, so any missed pass can end up costing them a goal. Having Szczesny perform so well on the weekend, yet still losing by two goals, is a massive concern. I don't think that they've got the balance of their side right at the moment.
Wenger has made the grave error of failing to sign a defensive midfielder at several points during his time in charge. A lot of the time it can be put down to a combination of his belief that retaining posession is the best form of defence coupled with a stubborn refusal to consider you may need someone to mop up for the times you don't have the ball - Barca have Busquets for this purpose, for example. Rodgers seems to be making a similar mistake at Liverpool, which is why both teams can quickly fall victim to counter attacks, as demonstrated by Swansea at the weekend. What's baffling about this is that he had Vieira and Petit screening the back four and that system worked, yet since that partnership was broken up and moved on he hasn't really replaced it. On the one hand he attempted to bring in M'Vila to address this but failed to meet the asking price, but on the other he doesn't seem to be identifying prospects to fill in this role either.
A few years back, I posted an article on Old 606 saying Spurs and Arsenal actually had similar problems - including having an unreliable goalkeeper (Gomes for us, Almunia for them) and a lack of a defensive midfielder that was leaving both teams open to counter attacks. Looking at the current squads, these have been addressed in different ways: Goalkeeper: Spurs brought in Fridel, then Lloris. Arsenal brought in Szczesny who, whilst a clear improvement on Almunia, is prone to making blunders Defensive midfielder: Spurs brought in, at various times, Palacios, Sandro and Parker. Arsenal brought in Alex Song - then sold him without having a replacement ready The main reason Spurs have gone from playing catchup to blowing a clear lead in the table entirely because of the manager's ego in this time is we've addressed key problems in our side, Arsenal haven't. A team is as good as how they address their flaws, so whilst Arsenal have some very good players available that should see them win many more games than they lose (although "should" is always a dangerous word) they have some very large flaws that undermine them.
