Alexis Sanchez has given a withering assessment of this Arsenal side in the wake of last night’s 2-1 defeat to Swansea.
While he believes Arsenal have the quality of player to win the title, he says they lack the mental fortitude to take English football’s top prize.
Having come back to win 2-1 against 10 man Leicester, Arsenal have dropped 6 points in the next two games, going down to Man Utd and relegation threatened Swansea, pretty much ensuring that whatever was left of a title challenge is down the pan.
And Alexis says it’s a mental issue, more than a quality one.
“If we go out on to the pitch with hunger to become champions, to win the Premier League or the Champions League, we can achieve it,” he told Directv Sports.
“There are great players here, I train with them daily and they have got the mentality and the desire to win but sometimes, we lack the hunger, the mentality that we are winning 1-0 when we go out on to the pitch.
“Sometimes, we lack this hunger to believe that we can be champions … to go out on to the pitch feeling that we are already winning 1-0.”
“I remember a game against Manchester United last year. The lads looked hungry for silverware as we took to the pitch. We crushed them in the first 20 minutes and went 2-0 up. We were hungry and brimming with confidence that day.”
Sadly that confidence has evaporated, and that performance looks more the exception rather than the rule. What will confidence and belief be like going into Saturday’s derby.
We shudder to think. Form goes out the window in a derby, so they say, let’s hope so.
Too true hombre
The new rhetoric meant to appease our fan base.
“We know we screwed up.”
What can you say other than “Yeah, you’ll did.”
I don’t know. “yeah, you did” would be an upgrade on that.
And I am assuming bears still shit in the woods.
It’s the kind of honesty that get you shown the door with Wenger unfortunately!
At least one of our players is honest enough to mention our short comings. If only the rest and the manager had the self awareness and responsibility. Alexis has struggled, but at least he puts in a shift. Certain players should be made aware that they are playing for their careers now *cough Theo / Ox / etc”
The responsibility of mgmt is to win games. That is generally not helped by the manager going out and calling the squad mentally weak or similar honest statements There are a lot of reasons to criticise Wenger right now, but this isn’t one of them.
So, rather than holding players to account publicly, you think his constant narrative of saying they are world class players, to have faith, and never call out a players work rate, aren’t related to this entire funk we are in? The fact that Flamini / Walcott / Ramsey can repeatedly cost us points and know they won’t be shamed or singled out means they don’t have to try so hard. There are no repurcussions for these players for their shitness. These players are safe, they are never exposed to the true vitriol of fans, and Wenger defends them ad infinitum.… Read more »
You get the stick out behind closed doors. The media and public mobb mentality forum is a shit way to do anything to help the players’ mentalities. 3 million twitheads screaming obscenities, insults, and threats of violence has 0% chance of doing anything good other than locating mentally unbalanced threats to society.
But nobody seems to have the stick
I agree with Mpls, calling them out publically would be unprofessional, and if there’s one thing Wenger isn’t is unprofessional.
You have no idea what is said behind the scenes or during training. .. What is said publicly is a different forum..
nobody is dropped though, have you noticed? You can drop someone and give some kind of public “reason.” But no, Ramsey will play, Campbell will sit, Ox will play (my god his record at Arsenal is BAD!), Sanchez will finally be substituted once, Gibbs will never be sold or taught to make a difficult forward pass, formation will never change, elneny will not play. persisting with mediocrity, hoping your faith alone will make it come good. 7AM made the point the other day that Riyad Mahrez was given time to come good, and that can not happen at a top… Read more »
and please no one tell me Theo was dropped. That’s all he is good for. Keep him around for the period where his contract is expiring, get some good games, then talk him up while playing with 10 men or let him sit there and sell t-shirts.
Useless player, has shown no improvement over time, and now does not even have the conviction to run with the ball. Walcott is actually more annoying than anyone because of his ability to always keep a straight face. Consistent. In patches. Lord.
I disagree. It can help if the manager says: I challenge the team to prove they have the metal toughness to win the title. They are not doing that now. Can also help if he says: Anybody who doesn’t show mental toughness will sit on the bench. I remember Ferguson say after a game where his attack was wasteful: These guys cannot score goals, if Ruud was here, he would have scored three.
Why is Ramsey not on that list? what the eff has he done this season
He originally was, but I think etc catches the rest of the shirkers
Bit unfair on Ox that. Ramsey’s been playing like a cunt since THAT season, and Theo, he doesn’t want to play anything other than a CF who receives every pass perfectly weighted behind the centerback. I wouldn’t put Ox with them. Yeah he screws up in between spots of “where’s that been,” but there doesn’t appear to any pretense like with the other two.
You’re deluded. Ox is one we would all like to like, but in the cold light of day, he is a player who has produced little in his time here. chance after chance. Nothing. And Wenger says he sees Ox in the middle. My word, has he seen the guy’s ball control? his passing ability? his ability to read the game and manage tempo? Sometimes I think Wenger treats the club AND the players as his playthings. “Boss, I really am not a central midfielder. I have pace and some tricks, and I can’t score, so I will be on… Read more »
At least the fans and the players are of one mind.
Looks like his belief has been shot to pieces and he’s not the only one.
We are spineless and gutless. All of which stems from the manager and its hard to take. Enough is enough same problems season after season!!
I agree in part but reading this re Swansea on 7amkickoff made me think:
Rectum_Spectrum
March 3, 2016 at 8:19 am
I suddenly wondered did wenger make the ultimate selfish move in a time of personal crisis, and gamble that we could still get something from the game anyway – but took campbell then alexis off to be fresh for Spurs – in the hope of a win to get the fans back onside? did he look past last night and think – my god, if we lose this weekend its really over, it’s really bad.?
Oh really? I hadn’t noticed.
You must be following a different Arsenal.
On the one hand, it’s nice to see a professional footballer offering something other than bullshit platitudes. On the other hand, it’s kind of like impaling yourself on a fence and someone walking by and saying “oh, that looks like it hurts.” Yeah, we know.
Alexis is right. But that sounds more like an excuse than anything else. They should get their shit together, especially Ramsey and the entire midfield. We are wasting too many opportunities and we lack of leadership.
ALEXIS needs to step up as well and i’m sure he knows it. When was the last time he scored a goal? Yesterday was such a shit show with Ozil being the only world class player on the pitch. Watching that pathetic display by the Gunners gave me nightmares last night of Ozil in a Bayern jersey…. Hopefully Ozil can convince some Germans to come play for Arsenal this summer and not the other way around
If Ozil, or any other player for that matter don’t want to play for arsenal they can f*ck off for all I care. I’m sick and tired of this attitude of clearing off to team x because you didn’t win anything at team y this year. I wouldn’t want him to leave but a bit of loyalty to the badge and the fans would go a long way.
THIS. fucking this. I despise all you guys who are so up the ass of the cult of personality that you start worrying, “Oh, this guy will leave the club if we don’t match his ambition.” that’s one place where I say, fuck off if you don’t want to stay, not worrying about that before. Club over player, every time. Sanchez, you need to probably just forget about hunger and ask the boss if you can play center forward for a game so that there is a chance of some change coming from change. My word the guy has forgotten… Read more »
Before we go too far down this rabbit hole, as far as I am aware there’s been nothing from Ozil or his camp that he’s suggested anything of the sort.
It may be inevitable to fear it, but let’s try to keep in mind the source of the narrative.
Oh I understand your angle absolutely. It just seems to be a common narrative among the fans. “Oh no, we lost a match we shouldn’t have, bye bye Alexis” yadda yadda yadda. It’s a crap frame of mind is my point really. No player is too good for our club.
right on.
Two comments below confirm your point, and such comments are pure crap. We should always keep our heads up, even though our current form is shit, because we are the Arsenal. Fuck the rest.
Even Henry got tired not winning and left for Barcelona. Nobody could question Henry’s dedication to the club, his love for the manager and respect for the badge. But I am with you against the constant rhetoric that Ozil or Alexis would leave. They share a nugget of the blame too.
When two teams are of equal technical quality, tactical quality, and synergy, belief and mental strength is what separates them. Right now we don’t have the pre-requisites so it’s kind of lazy to say it’s all a mental issue (although we have a lot of that). Surely these players believed they could beat Swansea at home, right? Start by playing better and get your tactics/subs right Wenger.
You guys are quick to forget the same team beat us home and away last year, so why are we fooling ourselves?
Beliveing Wenger has improved
goodbye Alexis, goodbye Mesut
why would they stay? to win what exactly? Does Mesut deserve to be on this team, the way he’s played this year? He’s one of europes finest players.
Confidence got lost with the erratic managers behavior, replacing player game after game, son no one knows which is the very first team.
I know its more far-fetched than me marrying Emma Watson, but game against Spurs can be the game these lads need to gain confidence.
3 points to the house of Arsenal
There is always hope. You have to go out there and think that Emma Watson can be yours. Mental fortitude.
If you really, really believe and work really hard, anything is possible. *
*except the Emma Watson thing, probably. I should be a motivational speaker.
Leave my girlfriend out of this, please.
For me it’s the tactics we go out with. Ramsey can’t play that position, he isnt aware enough of the threats around him. He literally got bypassed all night and then when getting forward just got into ozils space. We need someone there who can just keep the game ticking over not lose the ball and more importantly put a tackle in when the other team get it.
Too right………..wonder why he gets a pass all the time?
Because he scored a few goals 2 seasons ago??
Because for better or worse he has the stones to show for it when many others don’t.
But I do wonder if he’s cramping Ozil’s style and spaces when he’s in the middle. Ozil doesn’t float as much laterally with Ramsey pushing around up there all of the time and ends up spending much more time off the striker.
Ramsey is a loose cannon and until he quits midfield the team won’t click. He gets in Ozil’s way plus he doesn’t have the spacial awareness nor the technical skills for CM…
Move him Wenger. For me he IS the crux of the problem.
Called it like it is sir. We have struggled ever since he went into the middle. He is way out of his depth. The myth is crumbling.
The only surprising aspect of this all is that people are surprised we are choking at this stage of the season…its been so for the last 12yrs!..
I’d have to check the stats but are we not normally on our post choke run for third / fourth by now?
We’re consistent then.
Ha! Yes, that should be thumbed down. It was a poor joke.
A phoenix couldn’t rise from these sorry ashes. Embarrassing.
When are Santi and Jack back?? Lacking desire and mental fortitude is not something that could be said of those two.
We have far too many players out of form at the same time. Theo, Alexis, Ramsey, Nacho all of them look shot. Ozil is frustrated but he isn’t grabbing games by the scruff of the neck like he should be.
Gibbs should get a chance as he offers much more going forward than Nacho and we are lacking drive and penetration and he offers that.
Ozil has created most of our clear cut chances, they just arent getting put away by the likes of Giroud, walcott sanchez and ramsey. Theres an article on sky sports app right now which is worth a read. Other than newcastle and swansea, we have missed the most clear cut in the league. Combine that with our other issues atm, and you have only one conclusion. Poor results. I dont see it changing anytime soon.
I totally agree with him. Its all in our hands or we’ll fail yet again in the dying moments…..
reason for lack of mental fortitude lies squarely with the manager & his mentality. Has never been able to instill combativeness into players who aren’t naturally inclined to be aggressive. Hence mourinho’s teams always shaft us
respect all that wenger has done but seriously is time for him to go end of season, hopefully with Simeone in to give the club mentality a kick up the arse
How can you turn pu55ies into combative players, Walcott/Bellrin/Cazola/Ozil even Ramsey/Gabriel can never be combative, it is the managers fault signing these midgets/jellies.
It’s one thing for this to be true (and it so very clearly is), but when the only Arsenal affiliated person to speak up on it (publicly) is Alexis, not the manager (who simply said he’s not in the mood to discuss the title), the stand in captain (who said we are over reacting) or any of the other players who have been at the club longer than 2 years (walcott the 10 year veteran for example), it says a lot. What a fucking sorry state of affairs that Alexis, the most dynamic, all action genuinely positive player I’ve seen… Read more »
Id be more inclined to call it hibernation than a slumber.who knows maybe now spring is here theyll wake and suprise us all.
Honestly the most frustrating thing is that we are still very much in contention for the title despite being awful for so long. One big result (praying for this weekend) could still turn things around.
At least if we were miles behind we could just give up hope of a title and enjoy the ride..
That’s the thing isn’t it. City are 4 points behind us in 4th place with a game in hand. Spurs are three points ahead but they have goal difference in their favour. The reason everyone is freaking out (Rrightly so) is because each game can change the scenario in the top 4. We beat Spurs, great, we’ll be equal with them but 3rd on GD. We lose to them and we are looking at 4th place once again, heck I’d say we are looking at 5th place with ManU getting close as well. Hammers did us a favor, and so… Read more »
This season is done if we lose to Totts tomorrow. We can then focus on the FA Cup to salvage some respect. We are chocking big time. A lot of players seem to be running on empty. No confidence, no cohesion. The Ramsey-Coq partnership is putting huge pressure on the back line. And boy with no Cech for the NLD, I am not cnfident at all.
And whose job is it to instil said belief?
It has to come from Arsene because we don’t have any players with that old school, no nonsense mentality. I don’t need to name them because we all remember the glory days (plus it’ll made me all sad in my nostalgia).
Without confidence we lack so much conviction, it’s incredibly disheartening. The fans end up looking dejected like the players, the only difference is they’re paid much more handsomely than we are.
And to think things are probably about to get infinitely worse than where we’re at now…
Stick a fucking fork in me.
“We need to step out onto the pitch as if we’re already 1-0 up”. Well seeing as we can’t seem to hild actual leads, Alexis…
“We need to step out onto the pitch as if we’re already 1-0 up”. Well seeing as we can’t seem to hold actual leads, Alexis…
Master Dog agrees
It’s atrocious that there is over 100m in the bank. How about this: I would do this if I were the manager; and we would win the league without a smidgeon of a doubt doing so. December; Buy William Carvalho; a player that would sit in the first team instead of Flamini. He wouldn’t have conceded to Messi; and he could’ve played while Coq wasn’t back. He would definitely have contributed to less goals being scored, fresh legs in the middle of the field. I would’ve brought in a striker; how can Ronald Koeman find a player like Graziano Pelle;… Read more »
Bank Schmank. This is shit performance from a squad that should do much better.
My issue with Wenger is he has no shame….I said it 5yrs ago when I gave up my seasons ticket that Wenger is a con man and a spin doctor…he used to be a football coach…who stumbled on a winning formula just like Ranieri but when the formula has gone stale he remains clueless.. The only people who are desperate to win the league are the fans…Kroenke made a deal with Wenger make the club profitable (i.e CL money) and you have a job for life….you can keep your £8m every year…with the Board sell me your shares and I… Read more »
Right on the money.
For me i think he believed his own hype after the unbeaten season, he wanted to raise a team like Barca., in England, which cant work, the league is too pysical, if he goes back to his winning formular of at least 7-8 tall/quick/skillful and robust players in his first 11 he couls do it again, all the shrt azz Messi like midgets wont win anything. Etame Lauren/Adams/Sol/Vierra/Keown/Edu/Parlour/Bergkamp/Henry/Pirez/Kanu, were ALL at least 6+” so they could rumble when it gets physical, and height helped them at set pieces, now our deluded manager prefers majority short azzes!
Horse shit. Why is it that when we see someone getting paid 8mill a year we automatically assume that they don’t give a shit anymore and they must just be in it for the money. Wenger wants nothing more than to win, but I think he is obsessed with the idea of “winning clean” – success without the financial doping. And if you think about it would make a lot of sense. He is pretty much free to spend as much as he wants, when he wants, on whatever player he wants – as long as the funds are there… Read more »
What you’re saying is that his ego is so big he can’t use the resources available to him because he doesn’t want to be seen to be wrong or selling out.
That’s pretty much saying he’s getting paid £8m a year and doesn’t give a shit any more whether he wins or not.
I don’t post here very often, and I’m as pissed off as everybody else, but there’s more than a quarter of the season left. If you want to pretend that it’s all over, that’s fine, but quite frankly 6 point swings happen over the course of 10 games all the time. As frustrating as the squad has been the last couple of months, it’s hard to deny that Wenger Arsenal squads usually clean-up from the January/February collapse to put together a pretty good run in and this is the best position we’ve been in in years. The attitude of forfeit… Read more »
Confidence got lost with the erratic managers behaviour, replacing players game after game, so no one knows which is the very first team.
I could see us really go for it on Saturday and end up losing like we did at Chelsea and Liverpool a few years ago.
I think we’ve become too predictable in our attack in the last 10-or-so matches. Arsenal has been famous for unpredictable movements and goals, but all I see these days is Bellerin and Monreal hopelessly crossing from both wings. Or our other attacking option is getting a long free kick and Ozil trying to loop it for our players. Both these attacks are easily kept out by taller defenders of the opposition. Through balls are getting fewer and fewer. Even if Ozil plays one Giroud is not making the runs to receive it. With the recent form of our players, Wenger… Read more »
Am on a media blackout. I don’t even want to imagine what ia being written and said in the mainstream media. Atleast there is arseblog where we get to console ourselves with
We are the worst thing since unsliced bread
Ah, unsliced bread, a wonderful Lady Macbeth.
Looking at things from positively, if we miraculously beat sp*rs this Saturday, the only remaining hard game is away at City in 2nd last matchday; remaining games are “winnable”. That will keep us within 6 points with Leicester who will play United, Everton and Chelsea in their last 3 games.
I hate the way we play this year, but there is still hope
Adrian, “winnable”? What like Man U reserves away and relegation threatened Swansea at home? So West Ham, Everton away are winnable? We couldn’t even beat hull city at home!
Adrian is right. You’ve got to believe until there’s nothing left to believe in. And then then there’s always next season…
Isn’t that what being a football fan is, right? Yeah, we like to moan a bit. Or a lot. But the bottom line is, Arsenal till I die. I still love ’em, even when they don’t deserve it.
And then, there’s always Fatgooner, I guess…
At least it makes a change from the usual “We will learn from this/bounce back/focus on the next game” bullshit we have to tolerate each and every season.
Downside is the media will beat us with this, once they’ve stopped pissing themselves over our predictable crumble in the latter stages of a season.
The frightening reality is that players like Sanchez and Ozil will probably start to look around soon. Neither would be short of suitors. I remember seeing quotes from Sanchez after the most recent FA cup win, demanding that we challenge properly for the title. There are still 10 games remaining but it’s tough to see us doing that, so where does that leave him? He’s entering the peak of his career, as is Ozil, and with uncertainty over the future of our management, as well as uncertainty over our ability to recruit, you could understand them wondering whether this club… Read more »
In a little early with this, but as against all the odds there’s still a (VERY) small chance of a big result at the lane that will improve our confidence, and the chance to kick on for a final push, thoughts on this line-up for Saturday? Ospina Bellerin, Mertesacker, Gabriel (would have most reservations over this inclusion tbh), Monreal Coq, Elneny Campbell, Ozil, Alexis Welbeck Know we’ve not seen much of Elneny and I do have my doubts over him as a ball winner, but from the little we have seen, surely he can’t offer any worse than the complete… Read more »
I would love us to start that line up.
But I have absolutely no hope in hell that we will.
I am 99% sure we will line up with Ramsey/coq(or Flam if wenger has his way. Walcott/Alexis on the flanks and Giroud up front.
I am not going to hope for change only to be angry with the lineup again. Enough is enough.
“the lane”
Yuck.
Please choose from the following list of appropriate monickers for that decay-infested pus volcano in future:
1. shite-hart lane
2. that shithole
3. the home of cockball
Thanks!
Will someone Pls tell all the players to shut the f… up…
People easily run to put the blame on AW…but I say the players are at fault this time…they have been well paid by the club, well supported by fans and well protected by the manager…and yet when the club,the fans and the managers needed them the most they didn’t turn up….what a shame…
As Wenger said let’s not be emotional when reacting to this result, it’s a knockdown but we can get back up and win this league, were only a few points off the top and I can see Leicester dropping points during the run in so are only real competition of note is the scum and we’ve pipped them year in year. Cmon guys be real fans and support the team through thick AND thin. Sometimes you just you just have off days, we can make this right at the lane.
So our team with Copa America and World Cup Winners lack the belief needed to win the Premiership, but Leicester’s assortment of unheralded jorneymen who almost got relegated last year don’t? I like Alexis and his work ethic, but surely this has gotta be nonsense. And if it isn’t there’s something seriously wrong at the club.
How is it nonsense? He’s probably talking about other players in the squad lacking belief and therefore he himself begins feeling it as well since this is a team sport.
And maybe this is the kick up the backside which most fans blame Wenger doesn’t provide. Sometime the truth is what is needed to open the eyes of the blinded. Maybe now the players will see that their teammate doesn’t see them as players with top quality attitude.
I think he’s alluding to the players lacking faith in the manager
Same old same old
If the players lack the belief to be champions, the fans lack the stomach to watch the North London Derby.
After Barcelona: bitter disappointment
After ManUtd: anger and frustration
After Swansea: unabated sadness
After Sp*rs: ?????
…renewed hope.
Maybe Alexis knows more than we do about the inner-feelings of the players in this team but he himself can not plead innocence either. It is becoming clearer now why Pep did not regard Alexis as a permanent starter for Barca, but rather used him sparingly as a sub. and therein may also be the answer as to why Barca let Alexis go so easily.
If you need something to pick you up a bit, on this day in 2013 Sp*rs went 7 points clear of Arsenal.
Nice.
New direction needed asap. This has gone on for 12 years. Wenger hid behind Chelsea, United and later, City’s financial power to justify our annual failings. I bought into it until Pochetino and Ranieri came along.
Arsene lost it long ago.
Sir Alex fought Chelsea and City to a stand-still; Arsene just gave up. Talk about mentality. How can players like Alexis, Ozil, Welbeck and Cech – proven winners – suddenly develop weak mentality if they were not infected by the manager?
Wenger out!
The manager should instill such belief in the players. That is what great manager do, instead of petting, fearing and allowing the players to make the decisions. Wenger is too lukewarm and relaxed for my liking. He finds it difficult to get up from the bench to shout to the players to do the right thing. If he needs to hair dry the players to get the message across, he should do that but he seem to not have the balls to do so.
It’s the lack of a midfield that is killing us. We can’t retain possession and build pressure up the pitch, and without the ball we’re all over the shop. It would make sense that the players lack belief when this non-system we’re playing at the moment is bypassed by every team we’ve played against. United’s third string, a seriously weakened relegation-battling Swansea, it’s all the same. A Coquelin / Ramsey midfield pairing is doomed to fail on Saturday as it has pretty much every single time they’ve played together. We will get picked off if they’re field together. And we… Read more »
If ram is listed as CM tomorrow, I shall scream and not watch the game. I cannot watch Ramsey’s impression of A HEADLESS COCK anymore. Why Wenger cannot see that the Ram is useless at CM, simply, he is without the required technique or crucial spatial and team awareness, never mind the finesse. I give up, I cannot bear it.. If it is soooo frustrating for me to watch I cringe to imagine how the skillful, proactive team members feel when they know what they have to contend with. I believe that playing Ramsey in CM is worse that playing… Read more »
No,no,no.no,no,no,no,no,no,no.no,no,no,no,no,no,no.no,no,no,no,no,no,no.no,no,no,no,no
We can’t keep having this debate, even Alexis is spouting this nonsense.
We know that already mate. What is he going to do about it? There are all these comments on the Arsrnal website saying they have to win and then they come out with a complete shambles of a performance. You can start by getting a hat-trick this Saturday!
Damn straight. I know they are asked questions and all, but we’re/I’m sick of it. Get out there, bust your butts, believe, whatever, just get it done. For now, zip it. Media blackout
Far too much arm waving and groaning on display vs Swansea, which was very worrying to see.
Hei…Wenger, The Liar, yes, it is YOU.I am calling you! I wrote this to you to express how my frustration was. The result on Swansea once again proved you are hypocrite & a true lair. You never learnt from the past & keep fooling the Fans. You just responsible to the Board, your tenure, the money, not the feeling & expectation of the Fans who are YOUR actual boss, without us, you, Wenger is a NUTS! If you cannot motive the team to flight, you QUIT! You gave your trust on Giroud as CF, this statement either naïve or you… Read more »
A blog within the blog?
Did anyone read all this..?
No, but I gave him a thumbs up for encouragement nevertheless.
Its start from the top. Are the gazidis and the wenger strong enough mentally? For me Wenger is way pass it… Need to go, for himself and for the club sake