Manchester United’s 3-2 defeat at West Ham United this evening means Arsenal will play their final game of the season knowing they are assured of a top-four finish and a shot at qualifying for the group stage of the Champions League.
The Gunners are currently on 68 points and can only be caught by Manchester City if Pellegrini’s men win at Swansea and we suffer a total brain freeze against already relegated Aston Villa.
There’s still an outside chance Arsenal could celebrate St. Totteringham’s Day next Sunday if we win and Sp*rs lose to Newcastle.
Realistically, the safe money is on a third place finish and the avoidance of a pesky qualifier; a teeny consolation at the end of a painfully weird season.
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Oh…and if anyone knows who we should credit for the picture above, let us know.
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Never in doubt
The way things have gone this season, we will still find a way to finish 5th.
Yay Wenger wins his fav trophy again. Shame its an imaginary one.
Can the Club for once not spend the entire season doing nothing and for once sign some quality players. Not guys who will be good in a few years, but players who ARE good.
Two CBs, Two CMs One Str … just so Arsenal can once again start winning REAL trophies.
Not to want to shit on your toxic parade but we did kind of win the fa cup twice in a row…
Not that anyone is ‘happy’ with this season or the manager perhaps but let’s apply a little balance, no? Or if not that then at least vaguely be aware of those pesky fact things…
Do forgive the utter MADNESS on my part. We won FA CUP two years in a row so lets not sign anyone to improve the squad. How many trophies in the past decade? – Two FA Cups. Good enough for you? When was the last time Arsenal really challenged for the title? – Over a decade ago. Good enough for you? When was the last time that Arsenal were in the Business end of the CL? – 6 yrs ago. Good enough for you? Lets all sit here and revel in the mediocrity and not sign any players to improve… Read more »
I think you’re wrong with your suggested signings. What we need is to sign Messy, Runaldo, Kneemar, Marrez, Benzema, Ibrahimovoc, Tony Adams cloned to 25 years old, and the ghost of Jens Lehmann. Then we are favorites for the REAL Second Place Trophy next season for sure.
I like how fans like you find two trophies in over a decade acceptable. People like you either never knew or have forgotten what it meant to be a successful club. To enter a competition with the belief that Arsenal were going to be among the top contenders.
People like you dont know what its like to win real trophies, and are happy to settle for imaginary 4th place trophies, and a CL participant souvenir.
Shame.
As you should be able to tell from my first comment, (we’ll still find a way to finish 5th), I am certainly feeling cynical about the season and am not satisfied.
That being said, fans like you are completely unrealistic. To think that we can go out and buy half a dozen world class players to solve all of our problems is:
a. Unlikely to happen
b. Not necessarily going to change anything
Well done you’ve mad the comments section really unpleasant 😀
You wouldn’t have enjoyed 1972 to 1988. No real trophies and a real mix of differently skilled players. Supporting a club is like a successful marriage – for good and bad and forever.
^ Why can’t Arsenal sign players to improve areas that need improvement. Last season City signed 7 player, United 6 Leicester 6 and the team from Sh!te Hart Lane 5. Atl Madrid 7 Real Madrid 5 Bayern 5. These are the CL SFinalists This is what successful teams do, they sign players for areas that require improment. Its not a question of it can’t be done, everyone is doing it. Its a question of Won’t not can’t. Wenger has this steadfast refusal to sign any players. He can’t find any players to improve the squad, while the rest of the… Read more »
Yeah City and United spent gazilions and bought plenty of players. Shame they are bellow us. Otherwise that would have been good point.
Take your anger somewhere else mate. Showing yourself up.
I would ask you which ‘successful club’ you were talking about, considering our considerable lack of success pre 90’s but I’d probably just get abused.
@Ross
Which successful club? – Arsenal.
Also what r u trying to say that if pre-90s Arsenal didn’t have much success, that must always remain the case, and Arsenal shud never try to improve.
This is the exact mindset of some of the fans which is why the people keep getting away with bottling things every season.
Oh Arsenal were not that successful 26 yrs ago, so why talk about success today. Take top four, fool yourself into thinking its a trophy and then sing away.
Laughable attitude to say the least.
God every article you spew out your garbage. Stop trolling, it’s just annoying, not impressive. Shit your keyboard up and stop drunk texting, your bothering us!
Shut, not sh*t
Bill, it was better the first way.
City signed 7 players last summer and United signed 6 to out 1 …
And where are they in the table exactly ?
Lmao your sense of entitlement is on a whole other level. It ain’t FIFA where you can just buy 4 world class players and they’ll win everything. How did Di Maria/Falcao work out for United? De Bruyne/Salah at Chelsea? Negredo/Sterling at City? Maybe some of us just have a bit ore perspective and aren’t just blinded by the media shouting no silverware. Maybe football is about supporting your club and hoping they achieve greatness rather than expecting them to? Sure there are things Arsene and the club could’ve done better to improve our chances, but it’s not black and white… Read more »
@TonyHall Leicester signed 6 players … where do u think they are. That teams from Sh!te Hart Lane, for the first time in years cud finish above Arsenal. Real and ATL and Bayern signed plenty of players too, where r they CL SF. Only ppl with weak attitude will look at the failure and not those who did well using the same policy. As for those telling me to stop making u see reality I won’t. The reality is Arsenal are stuck in mediocrity happy with just being participants in the CL. Thats not good enough. Wenger just makes excuses… Read more »
I’m starting to feel bad for you Drunk. Why don’t you try and do something you’re good at?
You seem to be a lousy supporter incapable of arguing reasonably. Don’t take it out on the rest of us who have the decency of being grateful for the fact that a top 4 finish season is a shit season by our recent standards.
The main issue for me is not finishing 2nd 3rd or 4th but the manager and the club seeing such finishes as a success. Surely for a club the magnitude of Arsenal, anything other than a league title is a failure.
Don’t you remember the 80s? I think you should sober up a bit and think about what your typing. 10 years without a trophy is nothing new to our club… We were just spoiled, for a while, by the man you all love to hate!
don’t forget terry henry
DB10’s Air Miles
May 11, 2016 at 1:32 pm
Don’t you remember the 80s? I think you should sober up a bit and think about what your typing. 10 years without a trophy is nothing new to our club… We were just spoiled, for a while, by the man you all love to hate!
————————–
Dear me, it has come to THIS ^ What a disgraceful gutless and ambition less post.
I remember when fans of this club had ambition.
I pity the fans who have the same attitude as the poster above.
I like your passion Drunk, you say what you think! But you do realise that your arguments will always have down votes purely because they are illogical?
What you just said Dial. He has passion that’s great. But his illogical reasoning and aggressive, insulting manner pisses everyone off. As do his presumptions (saying we’re happy with top 4 when in fact we aren’t, etc).
Go home. You’re drunk.
Go home you’re drunk!
It’s not an imaginary trophy. Didn’t you see the photo?
you mean sign quality players like Leicester so we can finish top
Just to play Devils advocate here; I am not a Wenger in, or Arsene knows best, or what other bull shit tags are floating around online whenever you say anything remotely positive about coming 4th or Arsene Wenger. But in isolation, Wengers European record is fucking unreal when you consider that all of the other so called top clubs genuinely do struggle to get in The Champions League, even when they spend hundreds of millions of pounds each season. To put his achievements in perspective, Arsene has got us Champions League every season with some of the following players: Bendtner… Read more »
You missed out Kim Kallstrom.
Some of your list is harsh. If you remember, signing Arshavin is what got us CL that season, after having to chase Aston Villa (put’s our malaise into perspective looking at what’s happened to them since then). Diaby (when fit) had some great performances (remember Fenerbahce away?). Despite being Dribbly McNoshoot, Alex Hleb was an important part of us getting to the CL final and of the team in general (the king of the ‘pre-assist’). Granted he wasn’t Messi, but he was a good player. Adebayor played really well for us until deciding he couldn’t give a sh*t. In 2007/08… Read more »
Yeah well said, I was going to chime in with the same sentiments.
Arshavin for example was a clear talent and scored some memorable goals – just a shame he was a lazy fucker.
I donno, I think they’re all a load of jokers, none of them had decent careers after leaving Arsenal. If they genuinely were top drawer players they would of managed something somewhere.
I understand Arsene had to take chances due to the financial restrictions in place at the time, but the fact he consistently got us top flight European football, with those players, its nothing short of a footballing miracle in my opinion.
Who brought to the club in the first place.
and all the time he was telling us he would only buy top top quality
I’ve got to say that finishing third or even second isn’t failure. We’ve been part of a twighlight zone season where bottom feeders have taken the league because they’ve been consistent. Not great or amazing football but consistent. My grievance is with dillettante players who allow themselves to ease off ffs and a manager who is too soft on them. In other words people who think it’s ok to do just enough to qualify. The fans are quite rightly hungry for success and we need to feel that all the players and the manager are hungry too. I truly want… Read more »
Third or fourth is where we should be given our wealth and our spending – or, rather, that’s how it looked until Leicester and Spurs showed what can be done on a fraction of our resources. Last 16 of the CL, however, is a big underachievement, no doubt about it, and one that has gone on much too long. Never getting further than the quarters with the Invincibles and sometimes exiting in the second group stage is a shocking indictment of Wenger’s management when poorer clubs like Atletico and Juve, starting out in pot 4, have performed massively better. Clearly… Read more »
Uhm… yay?
And with that, we’ve achieved our season’s objective! Congratulations everyone, a round of bonus is in order for all players and staff!
Absolutely as good as a trophy….
Fourth place trophy secured, that’s all Kroenke & the board care about so Arsene’s job is done.
Another predictable season, add to infinitum until we see real change at the club.
Didn’t you read the article?
Why did u leave Wenger out of that list. Thats all Wenger cares about. Stan and Board don’t tell Wenger not to sign anyone, its Wenger’s decision to not sign anyone and improve the squad.
I don’t think Arsene only cares about top four, he’s just incapable of pushing further than that. He’s far too conservative & stubborn to embrace change.
However, in his and the boards eyes a fourth place finish legitimises what he’s doing, despite us choking most seasons.
Wenger doesn’t fail bad enough (like finish outside the top four) to get the sack, but some of his decisions in recent years such as not buying a CB last year & playing Monreal there instead & not buying an outfield player last summer has cost us trophies.
I don’t want Wenger to fail, I want Wenger to succeed, so Arsenal succeeds. Lets not kid ourselves though finish in the top four so Arsenal can get a participant’s medal in the CL is not success.
If Wenger can’t deliver real success, then get in someone who can.
I dont accept Wenger’s excuse, that there is not one player he cud buy to improve the squad, anymore than I buy that Wenger is the ONLY manager that cud ever do anything good for Arsenal.
“…finish in the top four so Arsenal can get a participant’s medal in the CL is not success.”
===
Success is relative to expectations. There are many clubs–like Chelsea, United, and even City for example–who would love to be as successful as Arsenal were this season.
You mean the city and Chelsea that recently won a premier league title. Funny how people compare us to them when they are shite.
The huge difference between us and them is they have a board and owners that wants to win and will make changes to allow that to happen.
Why are this clubs expectations to just finish in the top 4? Surely with the squad we have we can and should be genuine contenders? I don’t mind if we went all out did everything we could and ended up 2nd or 3rd. The problem is we don’t seem to do everything we can in our power to challenge, whether it’s a lack of transfers, an unwillingness or naivety when it comes to tactical decisions, dropping players who are not playing well, or even changing managers… I believe we need CHANGE in whichever form it comes. The fact we have… Read more »
Not buying a CB and playing Monreal out of position. Not buying a striker and playing Theo out of position. Not buying sufficient defensive midfielders and playing CBs out of position. I never understood those decisions. Let’s be honest. The man is not stupid or blind. So why would a top-class manager choose not to rectify damages in the squad? It is insanely baffling. I do not know of any other club to do this. Where you have clear need to fix areas in the squad in order to improve but refuse to do so. I do not believe the… Read more »
United sign six players and still finished 5th. Good one.
You can’t compare Arsenal to Man Utd. Man Utd were left in disarray when Ferguson left. They made big mistakes in the managers they brought in. If or when they bring in Mourinho, they will win the title again, that is more or less a guarantee. Arsenal on the other hand have had, and more specifically Arsene Wenger has had at least 5 years within which he has spent £260 million to build a squad really capable and expected to challenge for the title, but his experiments have come up way short, his signings have been quite poor relatively speaking.… Read more »
Leicester, I mean fking Leicester signed 6 players and won the league.
I like how u missed that part.
ATL Madrid signed 6 players and r in CL FINALs.
I like how u missed that part too.
Aston villa : 13
Crystal Palace : 8
Stoke : 12
Chelsea : 9
…
@Dial Square Charity XI
Yeah some teams get it wrong, so does that mean no team shud ever sign anyone?
Wenger was no justified in his signings last season and it cost Arsenal the league this season.
Just cos some teams got it wrong, means nothing.
when’s the parade?
Actually, that would be a great ironic protest that would get a lot of coverage.
Not condoning, just saying.
I hope we’re fully committed to a 15 – 0 victory over Villa for St. Totteringham’s Day on Sunday
I think 14-0 would be enough, actually. So it’s totally on.
Actually 13-0 will do it, so long as the draw between Newcastle and Spurms is 6-6 or less. The tie-breaker after goal difference is goals scored.
I like Winston Reid
Reid was recommended to the club by a NZ journalist (me) when he was playing for FC Mitrillyand of Denmark and during his first three games for NZ when they were unbeaten at the 2010 world cup (three draws). They could have got him for fuck all …
Great, let’s go back in time and do that deal, then.
Watched the West Ham vs scum game….how we didn’t beat them at Upton Park still bewilders me…
Looking forward to the transfer summer now.
great work arsene…thanks again. there’s the door
And here’s your coat SDB, off you trot
Well said …
This makes me happy – what can I say, I guess I’m easily pleased
End of yet another painful season. I for a fact, am at the stage of the season where I don’t care about football anymore.
Wow, the joy division commenting tonight…
Just wanted to come on to congratulate West Ham, thanks for the Champions League AGAIN (ugh I know! what a terrible team we support, blah blah), if you weren’t moved by that, you’re not a real football fan.
I’ve been to Boleyn a couple times, it’s proper ground and truly terrifying at times but I’ll miss it.
Now let’s make an extra special St Totteringhams day
COYG
“Joy Division” is pure gold. If that represents the ‘WOB’, what have you got for the ‘AKB’?
The atmosphere at the Boleyn has been wild this final season. Tonight was like that as well – had me missing Highbury on those big match nights.
As an Aussie I have fond memories watching the Socceroos upset the English at Upton Park in 2003. Got the DVD actually. Admittedly it was watched on TV from my home here in Newcastle Aus, but still the place holds a special place for me!!!
Congratulations Arsene, your ‘trophy’ has been achieved. Now you can enjoy your massive salary secure in the knowledge that you have achieved the board’s target. Why not also boost your ego in the off-season by giving a few more self-aggrandising interviews about how you are a facilitator of the beauty in man or whatever psuedo-philosophical delusional nonsense you’ve been mulling on while botching the title bid?
OK it’s not a bloody trophy but it is a remarkable run 16 or 17 years of CL involvement.
Of which too many have come to end before the QFs. Nothing remarkable about that.
Well, if you think top 4 is easy ask manure and chelski fans. Been a weird season, but better 3rd with a strong possibility of St toteringham day than 5th.
But both clubs have won the champions league and we haven’t. So what have we achieved? Just more money for Kroenke, and we are still poorer than both clubs
But we’d have been much lower down the league/finances for many years to come if we hadn’t been so consistently in the top 4. Still not a CL winner but many clubs aren’t and they’re not even in the CL to try to change that. It’s not a win but it opens the door to the distant possibility, and we’ll probably be disappointed again in the last 16/Quarterfinals but both those teams would prefer to be in the CL.
You are talking about finances as if it is your personal account. Who gives a flying fuck about finances when all it serves to do is pay these bastards running this club and is not used to strengthen the team? I am glad you are happy the club has a bank account bursting at the seams. I want the club to spend the fucking money on FOOTBALL players. I thought we were a football club?
No I’m talking about my football club trying to pay off a stadium they needed to stand any chance of competing long term. Many clubs would be much further from that target than we are.
Great photo as usual
I still regret West Ham’s loss to Swansea over the weekend!
Both the Manchester clubs would have been playing Thursday football. It would have been fun watching Pep and the Special Cunt fighting it out for the greatest trophy of the all!
I fear that the anguish and anger between the fans means that it would be best for arsene to retire. 12 seasons without the league is unacceptable imo even though I admire him greatly.
Sack the manager! We finished above Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea who all spent more money than us, but we are ungrateful twats so let’s all whine, whinge and get on Wenger’s back cause, let’s be honest, everyone else took advantage of the fact EVERYONE was shit this year, unlike us. Leicester win it every year, and everyone could see they’d win it at the start of the season (that’s what everyone said right?) so we have even more reason to be mad.
So will you bet on Arsenal winning the title next season?
I will if I get those 5000-1 odds that seem to be all the rage…
Lemming
Accustomed to that caviar life, I guess.
Paying for caviar but get sausages is not much fun.
I wonder what a caviar sausage would be like?
Chicken?
Fishy crocodile
Wow, the capability of the usual top four teams to bottle things this season bewilders me.
.. And it’s hilarious!
Yeeeaah! Me boy, Rosicky, get to play now. He what Wilshere should try to be without all da injuries. Rosicky to MLS. Sign for da Galaxy. #retirementleague #sawhenryfor$20
Clear some room in the trophy cupboard! Etc.
I’m sure Alexis Sanchez is over the moon wide grin emoji.
“Painfully weird” is the most spot on summation of this season that will ever be typed.
Love the username. Falco will be stuck in my head all day.
We’re going to finish 3rd, and by God, that’s pretty amazing when you consider how shit we played for about four months.
I feel for Wenger. I don’t think he deserves the vitriol at all. When you have clubs like Manchester United and Chelsea envying our position, you have to give some credit to the man. It was a totally crazy season, and we’re one of the only big teams not to capitulate spectacularly (still laughing at Chelsea).
The only thing that hurts this season is finishing below Spurs, but let’s make sure that’s a one-off.
Better yet, let’s thump Villa and watch Spurms fold up against Newcastle, so then it’ll be a zero-off.
Desperately need Everton to turn up and get something against Sunderland… that WILL give Newcastle a reason to fight against Spurs.
We cud still finish second, I really wnat Sunderland to lose tonight, so Newcastle have an incentive to bulldoze that team from Shite Hart Lane.
But it wud still be a season of Monumental Underachievement. One too many under Wenger
FFS Enough of the “wud” and “cud”!
The division between the fans is so worrisome that it is borderline boring now. While we all accept that we’re not a position where we would have liked to be at the start of the season, let’s give the team and Wenger some breathing room and not sit and judge their each and every move with a magnifying glass: “Ooo, Giroud took a breath. it wasn’t like the breath Henry took.” Also, let’s not kid ourselves that this season was anything more than a disaster. We fucked it up in typical Arsenal style which is seriously worrisome as well. And… Read more »
Fourth is minimum. Consistency for 20 seasons. NO one is saying we should not be punching higher now with the sort of money we have. NO one is saying we should not sign new players. OTOH spending on players does not necessarily improve a squad alone. NO one is saying Wenger does not have his faults. OTOH, he knows more about footy than majority on these posts. See Iwobi, Bellerin, Coquelin, Campbell. None were deemed worthy of Arsenal ‘quality’. Wenger stuck out for them and IMO introduced them very successfully into the first team. NO one should also forget we… Read more »
Congrats for shoehorning an “Elneny is no better than Flamini” statement into one of your posts, yet again.
Bravo sir, bravo.
Admit it, you wrote all that other stuff just to sneak in a few lines about Flamini. You might be the only one who thinks that Flam is better than Neny, just because RamFlam won more matches than when Elneny has played does not make Flamini a better player. Most people look at Elneny’s movement and availability and conclude he is more useful.
The game last night was awesome, I don’t watch many non-arsenal games but that was great. Westham showed real passion for the last game at their stadium and to be honest United were lucky to lose by only 1 goal.
I hope United fail to get CL football, I hate them much more than City.
I could be wrong, but is top 4 finish enough this time? If Liverpool wins Europa, 4th place won’t be enough will it ?
It will – Liverpool will also go into the Champions League
Five cubs from one national association can now be in the CL (i.e., Seville; a recent change) – http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/newsid=2215121.html
I think we could have done the league and FA cup double this season had Wenger just got a decent striker in – now I am left hoping palace win the FA cup the thought of manure doing so is vomit inducing!!!
No living thing can beat Wenger in any Top-4 fight – none, never! Not a Bayern and not even Barcelona or both teams strength combined!! At least, some credit due to him!!!
Wow. People are actually happy about this. Does nobody feel we should’ve won the league? Seriously, Arsenal fans are the most forgiving fans ever!
Happy to be in the Champions League? Er….
Yes?
Low expectations. Good for you.
No True Arsenal fan would say they are not happy with Arsenal’s top four record under Arsene wenger,He deserves huge credit for that,On the contrary,you can argue that enough has not been done to take Arsenal to the next level,where the real top teams are,True winners don’t rest on their laurels or gain inspiration from those below them,We should be aiming to get closer to the likes of Real Madrids,Barcelonas and Bayern Munichs,In this regard i think the Club has failed,How can we brag about playing in the champion league for the past 20 seasons and have only played in… Read more »
Finished 1st – 3 times
2nd -5 times
3rd – 5 times
4th – 6 times
Plus numerous cups, a new stadium and consecutive 19 years in Europe.
I wish I could do 0.01% of that! As they say you only miss what you have when they are gone. Enjoy while you can, even small positives (not just football) should not be taken for granted and should be celebrated by us intelligent human beings. No matter how hard we try the future is not in our hands!
No top club in Europe; not Madrid, not Barca, not Bayern, Juventus, Chelsea or even the Milan sides would have tolerated Wenger in the last twelve years. He would have been sacked and he knows it.
He has made very poor judgements this season both in the playing staff and in tactics yet choose to blame we fans for his shortcomings. It is never his fault!
As a mark of respect he will/should finish his contract but a change is desperately needed.
Would take Koeman in a heartbeat!
You may be right if you said the last 3 or 4 years but for the club to have gained CL football with the squad we had for the previous 8 or 9 years was over achieving and all the top clubs could see that.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/36268886
For all those bleating on about getting an involved owner. Why the hell do you want Kroenke to weigh in on something he knows very little about?
The agenda is these people simply want Kroenke to sack Wenger. That is very different from asking for an involved owner. Is Usamov that much more knowlegable or does he really truly care about Arsenal?
Mike Asheley the shining light of owner meddling. Sack Sir Bobby and the wee club in the NorthEast has been on the slide ever since.
Spend spend spend. They spent 76m quid last summer.
😉
I’m sure you could give examples to argue both ways (the Liebherr family versus Massimo Cellino for example). The fact of the matter is that there is a culture at the club of accepting the current performance because it satisfies shareholders to have a low risk, but steadily increasing in value (albeit in relatively small increments) investment. That starts from the top from Kroenke. I don’t think he should be held responsible for the playing staff not performing, but he should be criticised for not acknowledging this and instilling a culture of continuous improvement from the top down. That means… Read more »