Topic: Arsenal

[4pool]

Usually I’d say he’s a helmet but he was just spitting truth then

I felt that as a fan

The ‘hitting top bins in training’ part especially...

That and that without supporters, matches seem like summer friendlies all season long.

No matter how much investment we have when watching for the team to play great, it's not the same for the players because no one is there. I'd say there's a 10% or better drop off. Supporters make all the difference. His club and ours.

I know the players give 100% but without supporters and the extra adrenaline we give them, it's just not the same.

[Ravishing Rick Dude]

They were so close to get an European trophy...

[free_at_last]

They were so close to get an European trophy...

Phew, at least we know if we make top 4(I haven't given up yet) they don't keep us out of the CL and I can support Villareal against the mancs.

[farawayred]

They were a goal away from setting another all-English final... And to think that we are not amongst those 4 teams is madness, that's how our season deteriorated...

[ScottishGoon]

Well that was a special kind of shite last night, can't believe how pedestrian we were for a European semi final.

I want to back him, I want to give him time, but there's only so many times you can see Arsenal 0 before it really grates on you. Our home form this season is actually shocking, we look totally lost & devoid of all ideas at home, & that is a very worrying sign.

[ScouserAtHeart]

Who could they replace him with who's a definite upgrade, is available, and won't be asking to spend too much money on transfers

[ScouserAtHeart]

And no, not captain bellend

[B0151?]

Who could they replace him with who's a definite upgrade, is available, and won't be asking to spend too much money on transfers

Given that Arteta is a novice coach with no experience other than making Arsenal worse than they were when he took over, I personally think almost anyone would be an improvement.

[ScottishGoon]

Given that Arteta is a novice coach with no experience other than making Arsenal worse than they were when he took over, I personally think almost anyone would be an improvement.

You know what, even if guys like Rodgers are out of reach, I'd consider a guy like Potter. At least he's a more proven coach than the likes of Arteta, & given the number of young guys we have, could be a good coach for this stage of their development.

[Guz-kop]

Who could they replace him with who's a definite upgrade, is available, and won't be asking to spend too much money on transfers

He has zero managerial experience and credentials before this job. How can it be physically possible there isn't a better candidate around? I have no idea who would be good for them but it's not like someone with proven success who's having a bad time of it in a specific job. He might turn out to be a massively successful manager in the future but he's got nothing in the bank to fall back on to say there's no one else available

[ScottishGoon]

Saliba, Gabriel, Tierney, Guendouzi, Maitland-Niles, Willock, Nelson, Smith-Rowe, Martinelli, Saka, Balogun, Nketiah.

There's young talent there to either work with & try & mould, or ship out to create a bit of a transfer kitty.

[Fromola]

A first season out of Europe since the mid-90's is perhaps the bottoming out Arsenal need and will put a lot of pressure on the board. It gets them out of that cycle of having a run in the EL every year but not actually doing anything in the league with a season of Thursday/Sundays.

They have some good youngsters to build around but also oldies on huge contracts. Arteta hasn't shown enough to suggest they should stick with him, but there's no obvious replacement.

[Phineus]

They should go for Rodgers if they’re backing a full rebuild and want a 3-5 year project.

Or Benitez if they want to get more from current squad but don’t want to invest loads. Hell Rafa for the project too, but don’t think he’s seen as that fashionable unfortunately.

[Gerry Attrick]

Saliba, Gabriel, Tierney, Guendouzi, Maitland-Niles, Willock, Nelson, Smith-Rowe, Martinelli, Saka, Balogun, Nketiah.

There's young talent there to either work with & try & mould, or ship out to create a bit of a transfer kitty.

A lot of those are crap though, or at the very least not good enough. None are absolutely outstanding and most clubs would back themselves to have many better than them.

[plura]

Saliba, Gabriel, Tierney, Guendouzi, Maitland-Niles, Willock, Nelson, Smith-Rowe, Martinelli, Saka, Balogun, Nketiah.

There's young talent there to either work with & try & mould, or ship out to create a bit of a transfer kitty.

Sure, we can take Martinelli and Saka from you for £15m?

[The North Bank]

Nothing will change until the owners go.
I don’t know why people are so surprised.
Go back ten years in this thread ,
Wenger out ? No , the kroenkes are the problem.
Wenger doesn’t spend? No , the Kroenkes don’t.
Better than Usmanov? No , both c*nts but one has sporting ambition
Go back 5 years
Wenger gone great news ? No the only good news is that it’ll expose the Kroenkes

Now it has , they’ve spent 15 m of their own money on arsenal , that’s only more than Mike Ashley in the premier league.
When they bought us we were one of the best teams in Europe, and making money like there’s no tomorrow. In cl every year, paying low wages, 200m in the bank.

They should have shown ambition when we were on top , waiting for us to collapse then panic buying is another reason they should go.
Letting top players contracts run out so getting nothing for them and skewing our net transfer spend , more failure by them.
Like DT, I remember Highbury when I want to recall proper arsenal . Some clubs lose their soul and get success in return , we’ve got the worst of both now , soulless club in mid table. Changing managers isn’t enough.
The only positive is that the owners are now squeezed, they even promised to spend just to appease the fans, with no money coming in, if they don’t spend big this summer, fans are used to empty stadia now anyway , I think we ll be playing in an empty stadium next season.
I’m definitely not going back .

[Dull Tools]

Be careful what you wish for. Arsenal had the longest streak of qualification to the last 16 of the CL before Wenger left and now where are they?

Never really got the optimism surrounding Arteta. He had no managing experience at all and the Arsenal job is very tough at the moment.

What are the issues with the Kroenkes? I don't understand it as the Rams are one of the best-run operations in the NFL.

They aren't stripping money out of the club are they? I think Arsenal have been spending more recently than they ever have.

Seems like a director of football issue in how the money is being spent rather than the owners. Reminds of us in the early years of FSG when they were trying to get the right structure in place and we made lots of big money mistakes.

[Crosby Nick]

What are the issues with the Kroenkes?

Well from my understanding the ‘boy’ is actually a woman and she’s married to the ‘dad’. And get this, they’re swingers too.

[ScottishGoon]

A lot of those are crap though, or at the very least not good enough. None are absolutely outstanding and most clubs would back themselves to have many better than them.

Really, is that the general impression?

Saliba is seen as 1 of the best young defenders in France & was at least an equal to Fofana that has excelled in England.

Gabriel was highly regarded, seen as the future Brazil national team defender & started off really well winning our first 3 player of the months.

Tierney is 1 of the leagues better left backs already, & many Scottish fans regard him as a better left back than Robertson on form this season.

Guendouzi, perhaps overrated but still captain of a star studded French U21 team, but he's mostly out the door.

Smith-Rowe has been rated very highly throughout all youth levels & his introduction to the team saved Arteta's job first time round.

Saka is probably the top performing teenager in England.

Martinelli is seen as that much of a talent Klopp praised him highly.

Maitland-Niles, Willock, Nketiah and Nelson are the ones most likely to be sold but all home grown, all will likely have some sort of market in the summer.

So even if you take the better ones of Saliba, Gabriel, Tierney, Smith-Rowe, Saka & Martinelli, that's still more than enough younger guys to build around.

[So… Howard Philips]

Well from my understanding the ‘boy’ is actually a woman and she’s married to the ‘dad’. And get this, they’re swingers too.

What the fuck has Jimmy Clitheroe got to do with Arsenal?

[Crosby Nick]

I think Arsenal do have a very good crop of young players. Some aren’t great but then the likes of Butt and Phil Neville weren’t that good, but they fitted in and were good squad members (not saying the likes of Willock and Nelson etc will reach those heights).

Saka and Martinelli seem the obvious stars. I would t count Tierney just because he was known about at Celtic and came for a reasonable fee. I keep hearing  how highly rated Smith-Rowe is but have seen very little of him (who would watch this Arsenal side through choice). He doesn’t seem to have racked up goals or assists but enough people who know their stuff seem to like him. How good could he go on to be?

[ScottishGoon]

Be careful what you wish for. Arsenal had the longest streak of qualification to the last 16 of the CL before Wenger left and now where are they?

Remember, the slide started in Wenger's last 2 seasons, we didn't qualify for the Champions League in the 2 seasons before he left.

[B0151?]

It is mad to me that so many Arsenal fans seem to back him, no idea if that is changing. Coaches that are going to be successful improve their players and team. Arteta has made them worse.

There's some Arsenal fans that support him because he won the FA Cup and their team is shite. We were in the same position with Kenny winning the League Cup in our first trophy for 6 years, and despite a bit of resentment for the way it was carried out considering Kenny's position here, the vast majority accepted it as the right decision when we sacked him.

The one thing that is different that they would cite is that Arteta is young and it's his first job. However, that also means there's nothing to suggest he is capable of turning it around or even worthy of deserving that chance.

[Broad Spectrum]

A lot of those are crap though, or at the very least not good enough. None are absolutely outstanding and most clubs would back themselves to have many better than them.

I mean Smith-Rowe, Martinelli & Saka have looked excellent, and they'll continue to grow as players so they'll definitely be good enough. Even Guendouzi & Willock could potentially go on and have long careers at Arsenal, I think Guendouzi in particular has shown more than enough even if he's still rough around the edges. And Tierney shouldn't even be on that list he's an established player and would walk into any squad in the league.

My issue watching Arsenal under Arteta is how their style of play has drastically changed to the Arsenal teams of the last 20+ years. Arsenal are a football institution that used to pride itself on producing technically gifted footballers, with a senior team that even though they didn't win much over the latter half of Wengers tenure, they were more often than not exciting to watch. Some of the Gunners on here will have better knowledge of how the academies train and perform at the club but there just appears to be a complete disconnect now in the style of football the players coming through the academy are used to playing, and then this negative, possession based style of the senior team - but without the intricate triangles and incisive passing we've been so used to seeing from them. And the number of red cards during his time there are essentially linked to his management style, he likes the team to be aggressive and although it must be refreshing to see that as an Arsenal fan after all these years, is that truly the direction you want the club to be heading in? Arteta seems to be leaning more on his years at Goodison than his time under Pep. He will go on to be a good manager and I do hope he gets it right at Arsenal, but he can't be setting an Arsenal team up in the manner he did last night, in a Semi-Final of a European tie against a 6th place La Liga side. That first half was atrocious they should have been all over Villarreal, I understand they didn't want to concede and they were obviously unlucky with Aubameyang hitting the post, but they needed to smother Villarreal with more than just possession.

The discussion by the fans will inevitably turn towards the owners and rightfully so, but Arteta and the first team have been underwhelming this season and that has little to do with the ownership. Arsenal had two players in the starting XI last night that were signed for more than £60m each, and this will be the first season since 13/14 Aubameyang doesn't hit 20 or more goals in a season (unless he turns it on the final 4 games of the season now the pressure is finally off). Worrying times for Arsenal Football Club.

[Dim Glas]

Really, is that the general impression?

Saliba is seen as 1 of the best young defenders in France & was at least an equal to Fofana that has excelled in England.

Gabriel was highly regarded, seen as the future Brazil national team defender & started off really well winning our first 3 player of the months.

Tierney is 1 of the leagues better left backs already, & many Scottish fans regard him as a better left back than Robertson on form this season.

Guendouzi, perhaps overrated but still captain of a star studded French U21 team, but he's mostly out the door.

Smith-Rowe has been rated very highly throughout all youth levels & his introduction to the team saved Arteta's job first time round.

Saka is probably the top performing teenager in England.

Martinelli is seen as that much of a talent Klopp praised him highly.

Maitland-Niles, Willock, Nketiah and Nelson are the ones most likely to be sold but all home grown, all will likely have some sort of market in the summer.

So even if you take the better ones of Saliba, Gabriel, Tierney, Smith-Rowe, Saka & Martinelli, that's still more than enough younger guys to build around.

No it isn’t, GA’s opinions of players should never be considered the party line 

[elsewhere]

Nothing will change until the owners go.
I don’t know why people are so surprised.
Go back ten years in this thread ,
Wenger out ? No , the kroenkes are the problem.
Wenger doesn’t spend? No , the Kroenkes don’t.
Better than Usmanov? No , both c*nts but one has sporting ambition
Go back 5 years
Wenger gone great news ? No the only good news is that it’ll expose the Kroenkes

I don't know why but i read this in "Nothing Compares to You" tone.

[elsewhere]

Crazy to think they actually booed Wenger and asked him to be sacked, despite rather limited budget compared to the managers after him.
Arsenal was a lock for Top 4 when he was in charge. Now they are on their way to be Everton.

[Gerry Attrick]

Really, is that the general impression?

Saliba is seen as 1 of the best young defenders in France & was at least an equal to Fofana that has excelled in England.

Gabriel was highly regarded, seen as the future Brazil national team defender & started off really well winning our first 3 player of the months.

Tierney is 1 of the leagues better left backs already, & many Scottish fans regard him as a better left back than Robertson on form this season.

Guendouzi, perhaps overrated but still captain of a star studded French U21 team, but he's mostly out the door.

Smith-Rowe has been rated very highly throughout all youth levels & his introduction to the team saved Arteta's job first time round.

Saka is probably the top performing teenager in England.

Martinelli is seen as that much of a talent Klopp praised him highly.

Maitland-Niles, Willock, Nketiah and Nelson are the ones most likely to be sold but all home grown, all will likely have some sort of market in the summer.

So even if you take the better ones of Saliba, Gabriel, Tierney, Smith-Rowe, Saka & Martinelli, that's still more than enough younger guys to build around.

These players aren’t helping you bridge any gaps to the top sides. It can be difficult to accept academy players or players thatve come through the system, god knows as Liverpool fans we find it hard to let go. Saka is a fantastic talent and your best player but he might not even make the England squad. This is what Arsenal are up against now. When he’s the best and he’ll struggle to get a gig it says everything.

[Hazell]

Well from my understanding the ‘boy’ is actually a woman and she’s married to the ‘dad’. And get this, they’re swingers too.

It's certainly not turning out to be a Fandabidozi season for Arsenal.

[Broad Spectrum]

Crazy to think they actually booed Wenger and asked him to be sacked, despite rather limited budget compared to the managers after him.
Arsenal was a lock for Top 4 when he was in charge. Now they are on their way to be Everton.

I know a lot of Gooners and I remember arguing with them years back when they wanted Wenger out. It was cringe worthy, this was one of the greatest minds to ever grace English football and they were booing him at full time (and even half time on occasions).

[Crosby Nick]

I don't know why but i read this in "Nothing Compares to You" tone.

It’s been 7 hours and 16 years*
Since you took my league away

*Scans better than 17, and it’s 16 years since they lost their title.

[B0151?]

Thing is Wenger finished outside the top 4 his last 2 seasons

Although some of their fans laud Arteta for winning the FA Cup when it didn't count for much when Wenger was winning it

[Drinks Sangria]

It’s been 7 hours and 16 years*
Since you took my league away

*Scans better than 17, and it’s 16 years since they lost their title.

It's been so lonely without you here

[ScottishGoon]

Crazy to think they actually booed Wenger and asked him to be sacked, despite rather limited budget compared to the managers after him.
Arsenal was a lock for Top 4 when he was in charge. Now they are on their way to be Everton.

He wasn't though. They stopped being a lock in for top 4. That's was part of the problem. The regression had set in. They were making short term panic decisions that weren't good for Arsenal. Signing Aubameyang & Lacazette so close to each other. Giving Ozil a 350k a week contract etc. Problem is poor decisions have continued.

I mean Smith-Rowe, Martinelli & Saka have looked excellent, and they'll continue to grow as players so they'll definitely be good enough. Even Guendouzi & Willock could potentially go on and have long careers at Arsenal, I think Guendouzi in particular has shown more than enough even if he's still rough around the edges. And Tierney shouldn't even be on that list he's an established player and would walk into any squad in the league.
.

I included Tierney, as well as Gabriel, as I'm looking at players who are 23 or under that can be a manager can build a team from, I'm not saying they aren't established or that they came through the academy.

These players aren’t helping you bridge any gaps to the top sides. It can be difficult to accept academy players or players thatve come through the system, god knows as Liverpool fans we find it hard to let go. Saka is a fantastic talent and your best player but he might not even make the England squad. This is what Arsenal are up against now. When he’s the best and he’ll struggle to get a gig it says everything.

No, they won't be alone, they'll need supplemented with good signings. For me, the squad make up is too imbalanced. Past their prime players, & young guys nowhere near their prime. It's too disjointed. We need a couple of players maybe 23-26 to maybe bridge the gap & knit it together more.

[elsewhere]

I think Artata won't get the sack, he will get next season as well. That being said, who are realistic manager targets for them? Likes of Allegri and Benitez doesn't make much sense for them in long term imo. So, probably Rodgers would be their ideal candidate atm.

Imagine the meltdown if they come up with Scott Parker 

[The North Bank]

And while everyone else is busy choosing replacements for  Arsene Wenger , he is still making easy work of the champions league groups. I still maintain that our disgraceful fan base dont know how lucky they are to have him.

[The North Bank]

I spent years trying to tell Arsenal fans that these owners are killing us, and its only Wengers genius keeping us competitive. 
Now look at us , a couple of 19 year olds who'd get 10 games a season back then are our only hope.

There are a lot of bang average teams around europe, we are one of them.

[Simplexity]

I spent years trying to tell Arsenal fans that these owners are killing us, and its only Wengers genius keeping us competitive. 
Now look at us , a couple of 19 year olds who'd get 10 games a season back then are our only hope.

There are a lot of bang average teams around europe, we are one of them.

It honestly does not make sense why you are as bad as you are.

The amount of money you have spent and gotten THAT in return is almost incredible, its almost like sabotage or something.

[The North Bank]

It honestly does not make sense why you are as bad as you are.

The amount of money you have spent and gotten THAT in return is almost incredible, its almost like sabotage or something.

Don't be fooled by net spend,  we bring nothing in return

[El Lobo]

It honestly does not make sense why you are as bad as you are.

The amount of money you have spent and gotten THAT in return is almost incredible, its almost like sabotage or something.

It makes perfect sense, and probably a good warning to us (and our owners) at how fast things can go south. If you’d looked at that invincibles team, with Wenger in charge, and said these aren’t going to challenge for another league title in the next 17 years let alone win one, you’d probably have been sectioned. Frankly the same probably goes for United 8 years ago (although obviously they bucked the trend with their title in January).

Poor signings and poor managerial decisions for both clubs.

I’m not sure what the answer for Arsenal is. There seems to be an arrogance with them and Spurs about Rafa, and maybe it’s just our red tinted glasses, but I think he’d suit both well in terms of making them competitive. I’d say they both need a bit of a placeholder manager for a few seasons to transition away from the older players they have now (Aubameyang, Lacazette, Xhaka, Kane, Lloris, Alderweireld) and he’d be ideal for either one