Arsene Wenger says he’s as motivated as ever to keep Arsenal moving forward, despite growing questions about whether if he’s the right man to manage the club.
The Gunners looked well placed to win their first title since 2004 when they topped the table at the of January, however, a disastrous run of form has since seen Leicester open an 11 point gap at the top of the Premier League – that despite losing at the Emirates – while Sunday’s FA Cup exit and the first-leg Champions League defeat to Barcelona have left the season teetering on the edge of disaster.
Facing the press ahead of tomorrow’s knockout round second-leg at the Camp Nou, the boss reiterated his credentials by citing his achievements over the last 19-years.
“I have no doubt about my huge motivation. I just think I built the club in the way I did it, with hard work, without any external resources,” said Wenger.
“If you compare the club at the moment I arrived and the club where it is today, we have moved forward. And without any money from anybody, just the money produced by the quality of the work.
“And I’m even more motivated than the first day I arrived. And I feel more the pressure and the responsibility to keep this club moving forward. But when you’re a long time somewhere, you’re always questioned about duration.
“I personally don’t question my dedication, it’s absolutely 100 percent. And I think I give more time to my club now than when I arrived.”
As we’ve said before on Arseblog News, nobody is questioning the manager’s work ethic; even during the summer, he spent almost every day at his London Colney office. Of course, when the press conferences come thick and fast, he’s bound to repeat himself as the line of questioning – as he made clear last week – is often similar.
“I just think I’m honest enough to know that one day I will say I gave my best,” he continued.
“The image, I’m not too much an image person. I just want to think I give my best for this club, and I’m absolutely determined to do that. After, what people think is something different. I’ve never been a fan of that. I believe honest dedication and total commitment is what is the most important.”
I don’t think he understands. Nobody is questioning his motivation, dedication etc. Im sure he’s one of the hardest working managers in the game. The problem is his demonishing quality as a manager. No amount of hard work will change that unfortunately.
I think a change is in the best interest for all parties. He can freshen himself in a new environment, new club, new city and take new challenges. And Arsenal can also freshen the club with new manager as well. It is actually a win win solution.
The problem with that is that he loves Arsenal. It is like asking a genuine Arsenal fan to support another team.
A change to *who*? Surely appointing Tim Sherwood would not be a good idea, no matter how much of a change it might make for the club.
I am not necessarily opposed to a change but it has to be a change for the better.
Looking around, I don’t see a lot of obvious candidates who could a) get and b) who would definitely improve the team. And I certainly don’t trust our shambles of a Board to find the unpolished gem the rest of us are overlooking.
Rightly so. The objective of Arsenal Football Club is to win trophies. Not to be a place where a manager can prove that you can do your personal best without money influx (whatever that means, we are sponsored by Emirates…).
I’m not sure that is the overall objective these days. Just ask the owner. Winning trophies appear to be a occupational bonus to a decent bottom line. After all, you’d never get involved if you wanted to win championships.
Unfortunately we can’t just ask the owner because he only speaks to his reflection. Kroenke is the reason why we stagnate season after season and why Wenger isn’t challenged to improve upon 4th/3rd and the odd FA Cup.
That is bullsh*t. I get the need to find somebody to blame, but how is Kroenke making Wenger content to finish 3rd/4th… The truth is Wenger is a great manager, who has been struggling of late to get the team performing. You actually think he goes home at the end of the season happy to finish 4th? We can’t even be sure a change of manager may be best right now for our current side. Players like Ozil and Sanchez came to Arsenal ONLY becuase of Wenger. That is the reality of the situation. Did Kroenke deny him transfer funds?… Read more »
ChrisGoona, you hit the nail on the head. I believe Wenger is putting his best but things are not just working for now. He is gradully assembling a jigsaw puzzle in the team and needs little time to ccomplete it. I think he wants to finish the jigsaw before calling it quits and probably leave on a high.
I think that what you used to determine a great manager is very subjected. If you talk about financials, getting into the Champions League and consistently finishing in the top four then yes Arsene is an unbelievable manager. if you determine a great manager based on how their team performs and what they win then I feel that Arsene is not successful at all. I see a lot of fans pointing out that he brought us a new stadium, had the Invincibles etc etc and I definitely agree, but most of those achievements happened over a decade ago. That’s like… Read more »
Point taken but this is just very sad. It “should” be the obejective to win trophies for a club “without” influx.
Unfortunately, I don’t think Kroenke will leave any time soon, he is here for he long term. In the end I guess it comes down to what was said on Arseblog sometimes (and which I entriyl agree with): is the club doing its utmost and using its resources and potential as efficient as possible for success?
Though Arsene Wenger is a main reason I chose to support Arsenal in ’12, I am frustrated with him. As I’ve said before and maybe not too clearly, I think he’s lost the script, his own script. He doesn’t have the team playing as they did during their most successful stretch in recent memory. They are wandering around doing something else, and sadly we all have been observing it and not winning with the same consistency. Here’s the dead horse that I’m beating. Am I the only one who sees it this way? Our most successful “formula” of recent times,… Read more »
Its getting like the EU debate ,with half wanting change and the other half wanting change but scared of what might come after , eg… Moyes after Fergie . I personally think Arsene has served his time at the club and should step down this year , his tactics on the pitch have become all too easy to play against and he shows no sign of changing . The great Brian Clough went down this road of bringing up his achievements from the past to hold on to the job until he was eventually sacked , which no one wanted… Read more »
Fair point. If we can get in a suitable manager of high calibre, then I have no problem. I just don’t trust the current board one bit to do that. The change itself shouldn’t scare us.
There is absolutely no evidence of his diminishing quality as a manager. Everyone acknowledges his work since 2005 to last season was exemplary. No other manager could have done better given the circumstances. And this season, we see a sea change, where the players are in the unusual position of strength and expectations are high and in February/March we saw a major stumble in response. However five or six games equate to form (a temporary matter) and do not reflect on ability. Arseblog since February has been frankly alarmist and resembling a Trump rally faced with the first black person… Read more »
We must stop saying no one could have done a better job than Wenger during the transition period. No possible way we know that. There is no way we know another manager will do better now either, but it sure feels like it.
The funny thing is when people say “no other manager could’ve done better or the same” it’s like they’re completely ignorant of Klopps at Dortmund. In the time we were being Arsenal, Klopp was losing even more of his best players every single year. Yet somehow he turned Dortmund to a second half of the table team nearly extinct, to one with a global authority and threat. All the while spending even less than we did, and (to remind them) losing more big time players. And before any claims of “it’s the German league” notice Dortmund’s standing in the Champions… Read more »
I’m intrigued by how you can type with your head in the sand. Wenger has stagnated…fact. Also what makes you think he is the only one who could have done better given the circumstances since 2005. If you’ve watched the Arsenal over the last 11 or so years you’ll find the same issues have cropped up season after season.
I really like Arsene, I think he is such a unique manager, the way he speaks, the way he conducts himself, the football he gets his teams to play (sometimes), and his work ethic is unbelievable for a guy who’s been managing a club like ours for the time he has done. But none of the above excuses how much of a missed opportunity this season has been. And remarkablely (not really) all of our failings on the pitch boil down to a lack of investment in the squad. It’s honestly that simple. When we lost Santi, Francis and Sanchez,… Read more »
While the board that appointed him should be credited for what was a bold move then, it was down largely to Wenger for the success that he brought to the club.
I don’t think he needed the board to push him, he was hungry for success and the rivalry with the then local bully spared him on.
He somehow seem to have lost a bit of the fire now. I blame the thuggery of the league in 2008.
I only question where all that hard work is going. Is he is working his hardest to get a PL win or just to keep Arsenal getting to the champions league round of 16 each year. I feel like he is just playing a maximising/minimising game of trying to get into the round of sixteen with the least amount of player quality, ability and durability. It makes sense to me since he studied economics, and the owners just want a nice profit.
I sadly just think his time has passed. A few years ago the players were highly motivated personally. The likes of Henry, keown, Campbell to name a few didn’t need pushing. I think players now a days need a real motivator who gets in their faces and puts an arm around the shoulder. I just don’t think he can do that. I could see pep or klopp work wonders with the ox and theo He has great faith in these players and some say they are letting him down. Does he think they are better than they are and therefore… Read more »
Hi Greg…couldnt agree more. Spot on you said it!!. AW doesnt understand that he needs to look at himself and admit that there is something wrong. THERE ISNO sense of LEADERSHIP at all from him. There is no doubt that he has developped tremendous bunch of highly talented squad but where is the sense of.leadership to.motivate them.on the pitch.???
I just hope that Arsenal can thrash Barcelona 3-1 to reduce all these negative comments, the comments are driving me nuts.
Dont know about your other points, but I think would freeze Theo out of his squad.
I meant “Dont know about your other points, but I think Pep would freeze Theo out of his squad.”
I was going to say the same thing about Theodore
Pep froze out (or put aside) Ibrahimovitch, Yaya Touré and even king Henry XIV and showed the door to Ronaldinho and Etoo. He had no qualm downgrading Henry to 3rd choice for left wing attacker behind Pedro and even Dani Alves. He is the other extreme though, He even stop stalking to the player that is no more in his plans.
Pep can go freeze out some other player at Man City now. Or bench another half a billion euros worth of top quality players. Whatever he fancies really. Glad he’s not our manager.
That settles it then, he ain’t going no where next season, because he is to pig headed to realize his best isn’t good enough for this club. Another season of this crap.
I feel very, very forlorn when I hear these words from Wenger. It’s true, he has dedicated his life to the club. He has turned down the likes of Real Madrid to build his vision at Arsenal. He has brought huge success to the club, and set us up for the 21st Century. But, he has really lost touch. I think he should be getting a lot more from the players he’s working with, but it’s obvious something is massively awry. I really hope he can get one last push from this group and then in the Summer he leaves… Read more »
I laugh when I hear people say “he has turned down other big clubs.”
And which other big club would he still be at if he chose to leave then??? as if it was really a decision to make..
Exactly, had he left ten years ago and joined Real Madrid or Bayern would he still be there? Of course not!
When is he going to acknowledge what Arsenal has done for him? It’s not the one way street he likes to picture
He said specifically in his interview the other day that soccer does not owe him anything, and rather that he owes soccer a lot. Being that almost his entire managerial career has been at Arsenal, don’t you think he is including Arsenal in that perspective? Do the Arsenal fans ever watch his interviews? It is so much more insightful than reading the quotes that the papers pick and choose from the full interview. You can understand the full context of what he is saying rather than just the sound bite that will generate clicks.
We need that motivarion and hard work to be passed on to the players. We need the players to be able to play with effort but without nerves, without the pressure that makes you freeze upon situations you could normally take. We need strong minds more than ever, cech, per, ozil and alexis need to show their experience and leadership in the dressing room. We need to work as a unit, from board room to ball boys, from keeper to striker… Including the manager. Maybe it is too late to win th pl or the champions league, but we shoul… Read more »
I think the Wenger Out side should be very careful what they wish for. In my eyes, Wenger has brought unending success to the club. Titles, memories, a new stadium, great players.. Plus, he’s a really nice guy who turns over a handsome profit for the club as well. He pretty much financed everything we now know is Arsenal through his success over the years – Champions League football included. Who can forget reaching the CL final without even conceding a goal! (hope I’ve remembered that right..) before succumbing to the evil Barcelona, having had the obligatory man sent off.… Read more »
Well summarized. This is why I am still unsure over whether a change is right for us at this time. We underachieved this season, no doubt about it. We should be sitting in 1st position in the league, still in the FA Cup, and taking at least 1 goal or a draw to Barcelona. To feel we should have done more means we are now capable of doing more. That is where the disappointment comes from. If Arsenal were one of the favorites for the league this season, why would we not be next? This is why any change of… Read more »
“If Arsenal were one of the favorites for the league this season, why would we not be next” Well because pretty much all the top PL clubs will undergo a change in management this summer, and we’re stuck with Wenger.
He should go, not that he will.
What would it take for him to leave ?
Surely not winning the league this year should be it. Nothing he does in the summer will lift up the fans and he probably won’t do much anyway.
By best he means his best excuse year in and year out. I can predict or rather tell of a deja-vu of what’s going to happen until the end of the season. Tomorrow, the Arsenal will be spirited, have a good game and come home with that too familiar “what if” feeling. Over the next several weeks Arsenal will go on a great run only to be empty handed at the end of the season. Since it’s a well known fact that no matter what the board won’t fire him, he’ll come out and say that Arsenal has the resources… Read more »
I feel sad. Immensely sad when I read Arsene say these. It’s obvious that he feels he can manage this side further. He’s hurt by the comments that have come his way this season. Nothing against the fans either. The club isn’t moving forward, was supposed to win a league and probably won’t – and at every other club it means change. It was a matter of time that it had to happen here as well. Arsene has a huge legacy here and its somewhat tarnished. Bitter taste at the end of it all. Ideally – he’d hv moved upstairs.… Read more »
Motivated?? ?? I’m having a laugh.
The way he skips around questions to change the narrative is indeed impressive.
I believe it’s “ability” we’re all focused on, not your motivation or determination.
Whu doesn’t he realise, he needs to stop now. The club desperately needs a breath of fresh air and new ideas, which evidently won’t come with Arsene and the current board acting like a fundraising business.
Hold on a second, he actually is openly declaring that “he built this club.”
Reeeeeaaally???? I guess that explains his disdain to our fans.
Fans built this club u… Uurrrghh… Let me stop…
Sorry but no. We did not BUILD this club. We supported it through thick and thin both emotionally and financially. We did not undertake a stadium move in probably the worst economic and situational climate imagineable (rise of petro dollar clubs) and oversee and manage the entire thing. I personally want him to leave end of the season because I think he’s done all he can. But he’s up there with Chapman for me. We could have gone down the gutter along time ago and that we didn’t is largely down to him. Don’t lose sight of that when criticising.
How does a club ‘move forward’ if they regress in terms of silverware? Can someone explain this to me? How has Arsenal FC moved forward since the Invincibles season?
Stagnate if you ask me!
Would love for those who ‘disliked’ this comment to give a fair and reasonable explanation for how we have moved forward over the past ten years.
To be fair him taking the club where it is today despite financial doping is hugely admirable, which explains why most of us persevered through the 10 years barren spell without much fuss. That along with his first 5-7 years makes him the best manager we’ve had, and I’ll always remember him fondly for it. The questions thrown at him revolves mostly post debt, and he’s still failed to address that, all we hear is I’ll give 100%, I’ll do my best etc. Still not pointing to the main questions being asked of him; failing to complete the squad on… Read more »
I’d understand if the predicament we are in now happened every once in a blue moon…but year in year out is always the same. There is only one person responsible for this.
I’m old enough to remember Brian Clough (younger Gooners – Google him). He was a legendary manager. Firstly for Derby County – got them promoted from the second tier and won the league for the first time in their history. That wasn’t a fluke. He went one step better with Nottingham Forest. Got them promoted from second tier then won the league then won the European Cup (now Champions League). He stayed with Forest for nearly 20 years. As he got older his qualities as a manager diminished because the game changed and there were younger managers with new ideas… Read more »
We are the most ungrateful fans, Wenger has been amazing for us and all we do is call him tactfully shit and we want him gone….. Wake up call everyone…. The grass is not always greener…… And will miss him when he finally does go as we will never ever have a manager that stays at our club as long as he has. Personally I think it’s the players that need try a lot fucking harder. We have quality they just want it enough… You can’t blame the manager for that… Don’t give me he bought them so he is… Read more »
“You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink….” Yeah but if you talk up the amazing world class drinking qualities of said horse, only to find out it is in fact a donkey you painted white and called it Theo with no tongue drink with, then surely the buyer of the horse is the only one to blame? Or will it somehow be the board of stallions that somehow contrived to make sure it was the horse buyer’s fault all along, even though he had ample money to buy himself a nice horse, but every… Read more »
And we did just that. Scared Messi et al but did not win. COYG time to move on.
We all want change but its up to stan and I think he’s quite happy with arsene balancing the books. I just hope we hold onto 3rd so it strengthens our position in the transfer market.
I get as as frustrated as anyone else with our results in the last few years, but the Arsenal’s greatest manager ever, deserves to see out his contract and leave with his head held high.
The constant baying for his head, does not do the class of this man and our club justice.
Should we not talk just 2013 onwards? Puma and Emirates re-deals. More money.
I understand we are frustrated. By why focus on 2005-2012 where he actually did well with resources?
Even ex-players – Merson has been ridiculing the UCL qualifications under that era. With squillaci and djorou.
We are getting our point across without being overboard – so why be? 2013 – 2016 is 3 years for which we have a right to question him. We dont need to add stuff to strengthen anything..do we?
It is this easy…..http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/arsenal-flaws-explained-detail-swanseas-7563612
it only goes to show who’s failing at having the team organized.
I don’t think we give Wenger enough credit for what he has done for us. He has almost single-handedly built the solid financial platform we now have available to us. In doing so, he was forced to sacrifice the club’s short-term success for long-term security. We as fans have forgotten that he also sacrificed his own personal success, and he would be the most disappointed of any with the lack of silverware we’ve had. I think this buys him time more than anything. We, as fans, should respect that in the overall long-term plan/vision the board and Wenger had set… Read more »
We sound like spoiled children. I’m not saying I didn’t fall to the ground and cry when Danny missed that sitter, but I also didn’t sharpen my pitchfork to chase after the guy that got us there for the third time in a row. We take this amazing consistency for granted and assume this magical new coach will come in and immediately take us over the final hurdle. More likely, they will take us backwards first and we will be visiting Uzbekistan on a Thursday night. Wenger will leave soon enough. Shouldn’t we work with the manager and the players… Read more »
THANK YOU. In my own humble opinion, I believe that the first change should be within the board to give us a promising groundwork that future managers can work with. We all know Wenger will leave at some point, but who knows how long the board and their current mentality will be around? It’s not every manager who would even dedicate themselves to doing something like what Wenger has done, let alone pull it off pretty successfully! Say what you want about underachieving, but keeping the club in the top four consistently while renovating and being on a budget is… Read more »
I guess if Wenger built the club on his own
he’s more than capable of destroying it as
well.. perfect example of narcissistic
behaviour
The faatest players need to start….Alexis, Danny, Theo,
Coz its gonna be counter attack all the way.
3 goals in the first half will do the trick.
Theo shouldn’t start any game for us, ever.
Theo should stay warming the reserves bench as substitute waterboy
To be honest I love this guy for what he has done for our club and if you really take the time to appreciate where we are today compared to where we were when he arrived the difference is massive. He’s truly grown us into a club big enough to compete as a global brand. This despite the very significant constraints under which he’s had to operate. For that I will forever be grateful. However, despite my deep respect for him, I truly believe that it is time for change. I would have wanted nothing less for him than to… Read more »
pretty good article…http://www.espnfc.us/uefa-champions-league/2/blog/post/2829630/barcelona-and-arsenal-are-worlds-apart
Do I think Wenger gives his best? Yes.
Do I think his best is good enough? No.
He needs a change of scenery, and so do we. He could go somewhere else and his ideas could take off, but we’ve been playing the same record for years now.
AW is simply not a push over type of a person, he has and extraordinary level of knowledge and confidence that will sustain him against any misguided attacks. He is a man who decides not us…
Our fans-cum-managers should stop this petty campaign of trying to find scapegoat in the managers without questioning their own, start having a united stand behind the club.
boring boring same old wenger speech. We appreciate all he has done but we are a football club that should be creating history again n again by achieving n winning. Not just living on past glory or staying stagnant. wenger is committed no doubt but perhaps getting is to the next level is beyond him?
Worldwide the majority of managers step down if not sacked to help the needed change in a club. He just believes he is still the best for the job at Arsenal…
The man has built this club. We were financially a minnow when he took over. We built the club on the platform of his early success. The INVINCIBLES and doubles won us a huge fan base and branding/style of football. Wenger then helped us navigate through critical years with spending restrictions in building a self generating financial source in the stadium all the while hampered by key departures toward the end of that stage whilst at the same time facing the introduction of the oil rich clubs. All this while, he achieved his MINIMUM standard of CL qualfication. Clearly notwhat… Read more »
What you write is nonsense and what makes it worse is that you believe it. Wenger isn’t the reason for Arsenal’s financial growth, the Premier League and Champions League are, and both were set up to hoover up as much money as possible in to the hands of it’s participants. Arsenal have ALWAYS been a massive club and one of the best place to capitalise on the riches on offer and Wenger just happens to be the beneficiary. Arsenal were indeed in the vanguard of setting these competitions up. Yes, Arsenal have participated in the Champion league for the last… Read more »
What you write is nonsense and what makes it worse is that you believe it. Wenger isn’t the reason for Arsenal’s financial growth, the Premier League and Champions League are, and both were set up to hoover up as much money as possible in to the hands of it’s participants. Arsenal have ALWAYS been a massive club and one of the best place to capitalise on the riches on offer and Wenger just happens to be the beneficiary. Arsenal were indeed in the vanguard of setting these competitions up. Yes, Arsenal have participated in the Champion league for the last… Read more »
Santori – I agree with John C, you have written largely nonsense.
AW did not build this club – the supporters built this club. Without the fans there is no Arsenal FC, pure and simple. Arsenal FC won 10 league titles before Arsene arrived and will win many more after he has gone.
After everything that Arsene has achieved at the club he deserves more respect. He has put us in a position where we can now assemble a squad with the abiity to win anything. I would like to see him have the chance for one last tilt before his time is done. However that would probably mean a few significant departures and signings. (goodbye former Saints hello former Dortmund) If he really does have the backing to go out and spend a proper amount of money then I would love to see him do it. But i would rather see him… Read more »
you really think Wengers has been better than Chapman or even George Graham? In terms of the league titles, both Chapman and Graham won 2 in 9 years, Wenger has won 3 in 20 years. So the stats suggest Wenger is not the best manager.
What a disgrace we have become as fans. We are acting like a bunch of privileged spoilt brats. I am sure if Wenger didn’t build this most of you wouldn’t be supporting arsenal in fact some times I wish he hadn’t so we wouldn’t have such a bunch of fickle fans. As a fan u support your team through good times and bad not throwing toys of your pram when everything goes awry like some of you selfish bunch
I am a huge fan of the man and almost everything he stands for, but I do question his ability as a top manager in the modern game. I personally believe his weakness is ability to galvanise what he professes to be the team’s mental strength. However, I feel this current situation is a much more complex than the club simply recruiting a new and better manager. Wenger is much more involved in every operational level of the club than probably any other top flight manager and a hasty exit would leave a weaker position than we currently have. When… Read more »
I can’t believe some of you call yourselves Arsenal fans. How can anyone want him to leave? He is the last shred of true integrity left in the game. He has more than earned the right to manage us for as long as he wants to.
Dan, at what point do you think he should go then or is your answer never. Or if at some point you reach the conclusion that he’s done what he can and should go then you are no better then those that are saying it now.
Many people have huge respect for what he has done but have just reached the point of no return with Arsene sooner than others.
I didn’t say never, Arsenal is a big club with a big reputation and that’s why we as fans should conduct ourselves better. The manner in which we are treating Wenger and even the players is in no way right and I don’t think any of us can justify it. We are always crying out for Guardiola and other great managers but do some of us even think that Pep himself spent some time at arsenal? If you were guardiola would you come to arsenal knowing how your predecessor was treated? We are not only chasing away Wenger but also… Read more »
We the fans also play a part in attracting players and in our case potential managers and some of us need to realise that coz to be honest very few of us would take a job knowing our predecessor was treated like this
That is very rhetorical…Don’t know many would turn down the millions and opportunity to work at Arsenal because the fans “chased away” a manager that has been at the club for 20 years…That said I would never boo Wenger or raise a banner for he deserves all the respect in the world for what he has done for us fans and the club.
We are not talking about mid level managers here we are talking about managers the calibre of Pep Guardiola here his kind don’t need the millions as they can walk into any club they want
Shut up Dan he has joined Man City who sack managers at the drop of a hat! Barcelona also do not tolerate failure after even ONE loss! Arsene FC is a country club
Agreed
Agreed!
So when you think wengers time is up then that would be Ok ? What if the bloke next to you believes he should be given another year like you do now. Do you then become the spoilt brat that you accuse others of being ?
I never said I think Wenger should be given another year or not I am just trying to say we should respect each other and we should also respect our manager and players too. I respect that you maybe want Wenger out this year all I am saying is that there are better ways to express those feelings to Wenger not airing our dirty linen for all to see. What do you think our rivals think of us now that they know our club is in disarray we us fans are fighting amongst each other publicly? That is all I… Read more »
What are these other ways you speak of?
Via email? Twitter? How exactly do the fans in the stadium (I’m pretty sure for all your talk of fan behaviour, you probably don’t go to games, like most of us) make it known their unhappiness of seeing the same mistakes repeated for nigh on 10 years?
Tell us, Dan.
There was a discussion on the Arsecast Extra this week (which was excellent as always) about whether Arsene Wenger was the lesser of two evils and potentially protecting us from our own board and the potential risk of subsequent free-fall after he leaves. Ivan Gazidis STARTED football in the USA. IN 50 years time when America has realised how much money is in our beloved sport and are dominating the sport with a Messi in every team, remember it was Gazidis who put it on the map. Arsene Wenger is stuck in the philosophy of attractive self-solving football and it… Read more »
AW is ggetting it wrong. No is questioning his ccommitment but he must realize thatbhis best is not good enough for the club anymore. Arsenal is regarded as a big club but what i have noticed in last few years is that the club has become unattractive to many world class highly talented players. I do think also that Arsenal fans are some of the most patient and highly tolerant the world over. The fans understand and endured with patience, hoping for a great change at the club in the hands of AW. Were to be some other clubs wenger… Read more »
I’m just guessing the same people that want a change of manager are the ones who cry like babies when the club don’t sign this or that player every transfer window, the kind of quick fix short term-ism that no successful club.brand/company is ever built on,this is for one simple reason,listening to short term thinkers leads nowhere,because as sure as the sun rose this morning the same people will be decrying the next manager/player/Chiefexec within the next 12 months, no matter what he does or doesn’t do, they cant see past the present and a loss is a loss is… Read more »
It’s hard to believe how brainwashed and afraid of change some fans are, yes Wenger was a genius and our greatest manager ever and we will love him forever for that but he’s simply not able to do it anymore.he’s unable to produce a squad capable of winning the league again,his tactics are non-existent,he accepts terrible and gutless performances from his players and his lack of proper recruitment is beyond belief.we need change and unfortunately if Wenger can’t see this himself he needs to be pushed
A lot of people calling for Arsene’s head & to be honest I can’t see him progressing this team because he had too much faith in players who cannot deliver the type of football he’s after or lack the composure to do so with any consistency or when it truly matters. Food for thought though is who’d pick his replacement. Is there anyone capable of picking such a person currently at the club. Presumably Gazidis would be a major player in the decision & I have marginally more faith in him than United’s Woodward who has shown dreadful judgement
Messieur Wenger appears to have lost touch with reality. Nobody I know has ever accused him of not trying his utmost or lacking motivation, whilst everybody I know has huge respect for what he has done for the club and lavishes praise on him for the magnificent achievement of constructing the stadium with no benefactor whilst keeping us in the Champions League year after year. What the fans want now is for Arsene to focus away from the bottom line financial success so important to the owner and refocus on us becoming the best on the football pitch. That is… Read more »
Just want to say one thing. Wenger had done great. And i didnt mind 4th spot for many years because we played great football. The problem now is that we are boring to watch. Football/Arsenal is my hobby, i want to be entertained and at the moment i am not. Not because we arnt winning the premier league, but because our team is playing shit and boring football.
The working within your means stuff is old too. Apart from Leicester this year, which is a freak of nature, the last 10 years have been dominated by big clubs who’ve spent big money.
If we don’t move forward in this way too we will never win the league and even worse, we’ll turn into Liverpool.
It’s scary to see how the cycles repeat themselves in sport and life: Young, upcoming, unproven becomes the new “star” breaking records in the process. Whilst he/she is getting older, having revolutionized the game in the process another young, upcoming, unproven star is born out of nowhere. The old guy is suddenly replaced by a much better and younger version of him/herself and comes accross as aloof, desperate and bitter, clinging onto past feats, as he/she’s threatened by the successors utter dominance. Rinse and repeat. I like Arsene, I think he did remarkably well over the years. Financially, personally and… Read more »
No one’s doubting what he has done for the club it’s massive and is determination to succeed ,but he’s not getting the best out out of this group.Every year it’s the same thing next year’s are year,but this was are year ,I know we have injuries but we should still be ahead of Leicester and the spuds.people are saying that city and the chavs are not doing anything this year but that seems to be lack of hunger ,determination having won it over the last few years.
Wenger should take out sometime and watch Dark Knight , may be then he can understand two things.
1. You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villian.
2. “He’s the hero Arsenal deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we’ll hunt him. Because he can take it. Because he’s not our hero. He’s a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A dark knight.
I hope Wenger rotates and plays a largely second string side, to be very honest I’m more concerned about the Everton game.
I saw Leicester against Newcastle, they were not convincing and I can see nerves creeping in.
Keep Elneny, Coq, Campbell, Ozil, Welbeck, Nacho and Bellerin fresh for the weekend.
Dream on son!
We are 11 points behind. If we carry on with current form (2 wins in 9 games), then Leicester can lose all their remaining games and we still wont catch them.
I’ve accepted that we won’t win the league, so the priority is to ensure Spuds don’t win it. Come on Leicester!
I believe at a point in time we will have to replace Wenger. My worry is that other clubs are undergoing transition now to vibrant and younger managers. Wenger has failed to stamp his authority on the EPL despite his experience during these transitions. It bothers me if he will ever be able to do that again in the presence of Pep, Conte, Pochettino, Klopp, or (Mourinho) knowing fully well he never really had a convincing upper hand against most of these managers in any duel. The kind of flame and passion that these managers show by running, jumping with… Read more »
I really don’t think it’s down to Wenger’s quality or motivation anymore. It’s really more what a new manager could give us: changing tactics to best combat the opposition, adjustments rather than living or dying with our style of play when it’s not working, focused team selections, smart substitutions, training that mimics game situations, unit coaching and training to better defend as a unit, etc. And not to mention identifying players and making deals to improve the club in the transfer market rather than waiting it out for that one special player or a good player who’ll take cheap wages.… Read more »