Arsene Wenger says Arsenal have no room for any further defeats if they are to close the eight-point deficit on the Champions League places.
On a run of one win in their last five Premier League games, the Gunners have fallen to sixth position in the table, six points behind Sp*rs above them. While Chelsea and Liverpool are only a further two points ahead, any further mistakes could condemn the club to a second consecutive year outside the top four.
After a manic week that saw Arsenal defeated by Swansea on Tuesday then complete the signings of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil, Wenger called for a reaction on the pitch from his reshaped squad.
“It has been [a rollercoaster week],” he admitted on Friday. “We lost a game we should not have lost. Overall, January was a very difficult month for us.
“As much as it was disappointing on the pitch side, I felt on the transfer side it worked well for us. That’s what we have to show now on the pitch in the coming months. We have no room for any defeats anymore, basically. It’s important we react very quickly.”
Arsenal’s abject form away from home is in stark contrast to the quality they’ve shown at the Emirates. So far on the road, the Gunners have won just three of their 13 fixtures, drawing four and losing six. In N5 they’ve lost just once.
“Personally, I don’t like the difference between home and away,” reflected.
“I think if you’re a football player it doesn’t matter too much where you play, you play to win the game.
“In my whole career, I hated that difference between home and away, that’s why I’m especially unhappy with our away results.
“Personally, for me, there is no difference. When you walk on the pitch you don’t look too much where you play you just do what it takes to win the game.”
The Gunners tackle Everton on Saturday before a tricky six-pointer in the North London derby at Wembley the weekend after. If his side are to make the top four, Wenger knows it’ll take a monumental effort.
“It’s a big gap, but if we’d won at Bournemouth and at Swansea we’d be two points behind. We have to think like that.
“I want to qualify for the Champions League through the Premier League and it’s absolutely vital that we focus on achieving that game by game now.”
No shit Shurlock
Just as the adoption of three at the back last season saved Wenger’s bacon, so has this window with two great additions and our worst fears avoided with beautiful Mesut signing on the dotted line. Being a staunch Wenger out man, I myself must admit being seriously impressed by our activity and Wenger’s continued pull as a manager. It’s amazing players like Aubameyang still look at our club and consider us a serious career step up given our demise in the previous few seasons. The idea that this will do anything to stop a highly disorganised defence, dysfunctional midfield and… Read more »
I am not over the moon as the rest of Arsenal fans are about signing new players. Neither am I impressed by Ozil signing a new contract.
One thing I want to hear is….Arsene Wenger,the long serving Arsenal manager has resigned/sacked.
Are they supposed to do that before Wembley or after ? Not that you’ll be there anyhow I would bet !
I think you’re attributing too much to Wenger on the pull of these transfers.
Mikhi didn’t even wanna come and was offered as a sacrificial Lamb to the Jose false god.
Aubem? Sounds great thinking he came because of Wenger, but chances are Mislintant had a greater influence. Oh, and money. This is a guy that almost left for China last year, and I’m sure that wasn’t to play with whichever manager is out there.
I hope that he came because he has been told that AW is going at the end of this season and Arsenal is restructuring. This goes for both of them.
I do have this feeling that this will be the case, but it may only be wishful thinking.
Arsenal needs THAT change to go further now.
How many trophies WOULD be good enough for you then ?
Come on mate. You can’t be serious. Yes, FA Cup’s are great but don’t you miss chasing the title? Having a serious chance of going deep in the champions league? Of not losing week in week out to average/poor teams? Haven’t we been embarrassed by our rivals enough yet for you to warrant change? Cause this arsenal team is unrecognisable from our teams that properly challenged for the big stuff.
Always Arsenal you really are blinded! It’s not about all about trophies! It’s about being able to compete at the top! I’d happily have us go toe to toe for the PL vs a day out a thing Wembley for the Carabao cup any day of the week. I’d also trade last years FA Cup if it meant a champions league run to the semis, actually fuck it lets go mad, the Championd League final. See the bigger picture! Four years ago a trophy was needed, something to act as a catalyst, but if you think that paves over the… Read more »
You don’t say
Good that it has been finally noticed Monsieur.
Well, considering we still have to face City, United, Liverpool and Spurs again, I predict at least 2 more losses.
Wrong. We played liverpool twice already!
6 more, and another 40 goals against.
Brighton away,United away,City at home,Newcastle away,Huddersfield away,Spurs away.
Arsenal will lose four more matches or five before the end of the season.
Wenger is chasing Bruce Rioch record of 11 losses in a season.
They’ve already played Liverpool and Man U twice haven’t they?
It’s worth pointing out that this team has put in some fantastic defensive performances, for example against Chelsea several times which I particularly enjoyed
It is also capable of putting on a complete shit show, which unfortunately seems to happen more often recently
More proof that he’s delusional. We have Spurs away ; Utd’ away ; and City at home to name but three. On current form, I am doubtful about a revitalised Everton coming up. Let alone those three.
If he wants CL football next year, he needs to concentrate on the EL. And given that he hasn’t mastered two leg football in thirty years, I am not too hopeful there. Perhaps this will be the year he cracks it ?
Incoming Walcott hat trick the day
Even the new signings won’t make much of a difference. Auba’s goals are often tap ins as a result of a high-paced, pressing game that opens teams up. What are the chances we can sideways pass him into a gap? Until we get a new manager, we’ll be tactically rudderless, and all this is assuming he doesn’t play them way out of position. Best we can hope for is we finish the year with a solid squad that a new manager can build on.
Agreed, what we’ve lost in Sanchez was a player who could score a goal out of nothing and pull the team up by its bootstraps despite the fundamental flaws in our game. What we’ve replaced him with are 2 players that need a coherent system to perform in to show their best.
I don’t see how our results are going to improve.
Now that you have super sub Giroud, you can grab some wins in the final 15 minutes.
Didn’t your boys just buy Lucas Moura, that must excite you?
This year, his game was fundamentally flawed. Sanchez out!
He was just a greedy twat !
Isnt it funny how this is usually the point in our season where we gravitate towards 4th spot? Dropping points if we are in with a chance for the title or getting our shit together if we are struggling like in this season. Strange!
Roll on defeat to Everton
At least the lessons learned speech isn’t getting an airing at the moment
You have disticntly strenghtened 2 of our rivals for that CL spot, which can only be a good deal from a financial perspective. That is what your legacy has become AW, Finance First.
well with our defence I think its odds on we will suffer more defeats, and I cant see us making top four anyway
And if it doesnt fly it will be because arsenal fans & people didnt cheer and dance to every word he says, we better step into our stockings asap before we get 2-0 down before the everton game even starts. And no, loving the club and supporting the team doesnt count.
What a fucking miserable bunch !
Difficult by any stretch of the imagination but not impossible. We have to capitalize on any bad result by our rivals by winning ours, starting from this weekend. If we beat Everton, we’ll either 3 points closer to either Liverpool or 5pur2, or 2 points closer to both of them. We can’t afford to miss that opportunity!
COYG!!
you meant 4 behind them if they draw right?
No. We have 2 points more than they do this weekend if they draw. That means we move 2 points closer.
Draws then!
““Personally, for me, there is no difference”
Gah, but there IS a difference.
Just because you PERSONALLY FEEL there isn’t a difference doesn’t change the fact that the evidence clearly shows there is a difference.
What that difference is, is up for debate. But the evidence doesn’t lie.
This is the kind of deep managerial insight that £9m/year buys. Sadly it doesn’t stretch to coaching a team how to defend.
Not going to Wembley either then ?
“Personally, I don’t like the difference between home and away,” reflected.
“I think if you’re a football player it doesn’t matter too much where you play, you play to win the game.”
This is one thing i fully agree with Arsene Wenger on.
“It’s a big gap, but if we’d won at Bournemouth and at Swansea we’d be two points behind. We have to think like that.”
Haha, ffs
You’ve got to love it’s all ifs and buts now
but we didn,t so forget it
Textbook “If your auntie had balls…” stuff there from Wenger.
For us top four ain’t all its cracked up to be.
Wenger reminds me more and more now of Captain EJ Smith as the Titanic is slowly sinking. He’s an irrelevance now: a sad old man who won’t accept that his time is over. There’s nothing that he can do to stop the slide so he’ll keep making bland statements and hope that somebody cares about them.
The people in the boardroom now realise that he’s a busted flush and are planning for the future. If Wenger had any sense he’d go now before he’s push out.
But he won’t.
Ah, disrespectful AND ignorant 2 talents !
Really Arsene? Mastering the difference between playing at home and playing away is one of the toughest things about playing in England. Even at schoolboy level playing for a school in the South West and taking a 2-3 hr coach rides up North to away games – as soon as you arrive your head and body feel different – a little leggy, a little lethargic. That’s where the famous phrase “playing like they’re still on the coach” comes from. The Prem is too tough physically to think we can go and dominate games at grounds all across the country. That’s… Read more »
Which available (next season) managers would improve our performances with this squad ? Serious question