Theo Walcott has admitted that there have been incidents behind the scenes and says the players need to pull together for the sake of the club and manager Arsene Wenger.
Alexis Sanchez was reported to have been in a training ground bust-up last week, leading to him being dropped for last Saturday’s game against Liverpool.
It was a claim denied by Wenger in the build-up to last night’s 5-1 defeat to Bayern Munich, but post-game Walcott appeared to confirm that there had been some kind of set-to and he urged his teammates to cut it out and to keep things in house.
“Things have happened,” he told Standard Sport. “They need to stay in the dressing room and the players and staff need to sort it out. We are in it together here. We can’t be fighting each other.
“Things get taken out of proportion — we all know this. There are certain things that happen at training grounds.
“I’m sure it happens at every other training ground, most of the time, really.”
The England man denied it had had any effect on the team though, and refuted suggestions the team had given up.
“I don’t really want to go into it but the stuff that has gone on did not affect our first half here. At certain times when things don’t go well, you don’t want to have anything in your head that you are giving up.
“The 5-1 scoreline looks like we have given up but we haven’t. It just looks like that. That’s the disappointing thing because we know as players we don’t give up.”
He also said that the players themselves need to take more responsibility for the current malaise, saying it can’t all fall on Wenger.
“He will take this on himself but us players need to look at ourselves,” he said.
“The manager has been taking a lot of flak in recent weeks and us players have been accepting it, but we can’t.
“We need to take the pressure off the manager and that will happen by performances. Who knows what the manager will do?
“Players just want to play football for this club and do well for the manager.”
Incidents behind the scenes are good if the team comes out fighting.
First half was good, should have been two up. The ref made two bad decisions on the Kos ‘penalty’.
I’m not going to blame the team for chasing the game with 10 men. What else were they supposed to do, defend?
Yes at 10 men at 6-2 down, any competent well coached side would’ve realised that the tie was over, and rather than going all out and risking getting battered again as was the case, they could’ve put two banks of four across pitch and hope to soak up pressure and catch Bayern on the break. Had we drawn 1-1 last night, whilst people would rightly still be pissed off that we went out in such embarrassing circumstances after the first leg, it would at least have been a somewhat credible draw that could’ve been built on. Instead its another loss… Read more »
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t… If we’d ‘shut up shop’ we would’ve been slaughtered for throwing the towel in
The towel was thrown in 2 weeks ago
I disagree. Some years back we were losing 4 – 0 to AC Milan. In the return leg, we won 3-0. We just needed one more goal. It wouldn’t have made any sense to defend. Maybe, we did too much attacking but defending wouldn’t have been good.
We had better players then,
Nah, not nearly to the same extent. Most people recognized tie was over after red card and penalty. Doubt many would criticize any team playing defensive a man down against Bayern. Would much rather that than losing 5-1 again!
after the lethargic performances theyve put in lately?
I was proud of their performance, just not the scoreline!
I don’t think I would have felt any better drawing 1-1. Last night the tie was already over, I was just looking for an attacking performance. I certainly got that for the first hour. In this case alone, the referee was the cause, and 5.1 was the effect. There were plenty of positives to take, so I don’t care about the score.
Defending and losing or attacking and losing. Didn’t matter at that point. At least the team had some fight in them this time. And until the cunt of a ref sent off Kos we were actually winning. Might even have gotten the number of goals we needed to go through. Or maybe not. Due to that grossly incompetent ref and his infantile decisions we’ll never know.
Either way it’s done so fuck it. On to the next game.
Oh, please, fans of this ilk would have criticized our team had we won 3-0 last night. Arsenal can’t win with fans like this, and this won’t change with change. I am utterly shocked that these pages are not filled, 100%, with outrage at that officiating crew and brimming with support for our team (we were excellent for 55 mins, gutsy for another 20 mins or so, and then it really fell apart). Too many fans here love to hate the players and manager, and revel in our demise. Our club has deserved plenty of criticism this year, but they… Read more »
Too many fans are going full Piers Morgan Collins!
Apologies I cannot like any sentence contain that cretins name!
Are u on the drink or something , its the fans that pay to see the players play, they play what once a week or twice a week , why should the fans be happy with the action we are seeing ,is not a 50 or 70 min game its a 90 min game.They got to show up the fans do and these games aint cheap, forget the photos and play the game
Yer they played well for the first 55min, but why the fuck aint they putting that kind of effort week in week out in the prem,there’s not one player that got the mental strength of any player of 2004,
Mate I hear you, but then I remember that we lost 10-2.
Ten goals. You just don’t let that happen under any circumstances. It’s ridiculous.
Thank you, Dan. Finally someone with some common sense!
Just because you’re losing doesn’t mean you open yourself up to a complete humiliation. Especially on the back of some really disastrous results. And especially knowing how mentally fragile this side are.
How some people think it’s better to down 5-1 at home rather than try and restore some pride in adversity is absolutely beyond me.
@ Futsboller above,
You have been a shining light (in this shithole) the past few weeks. Your posts stand out.
Frankly I don’t know why you bother, however.
“Shutting up shop” is part of defending. It is not the same as throwing in the towel. Why not soak up all the pressure and then hope for a counter attack or two to reduce the deficit, or even obtain a respectable scoreline?
How will you be a man down, 4 goals behind a team who has clearly been superior and still pursue a gung-ho approach? What did you think will happen?
When you need 4 goals to overturn a massive deficit, ‘shutting up shop’ is throwing in the towel. Our bread and butter is attacking football, and we were winning the game last night (my goodness, didn’t we look like Arsenal again?!), and the players, for once, looked confident that they could get the result by pressing and attacking. They were passing, moving, linking up, pressing, and supporting one another in tricky situations. We were a team again. That they held on to that idea, that belief, for 23 minutes after the red card and 78 minutes of absurd officiating (not… Read more »
you ‘Shut up shop’ to defend a lead. Not chase a game.
shut up shop when the game is lost.. you do not concede 5 goals. there is losing and losing with dignity
Absolutely correct mate! The problem is, if we say ANYTHING about the incompetence of the inexperienced referee, people would jump on us for making “excuses”! At 1-0 + a penalty NOT awarded to us, who knows what would have happened! We would probably still have been knocked out, but the red giving them a dodgy penalty and Kos getting a red card absolutely KILLED the game. Onwards and upwards. ##COYG
I am happy to read of this ‘incident’. I support Sanchez if he had a go at players. Its good to know that someone is as fed up of the gutless displays as the fans. Wenger killed the club with his 4th place is a trophy nonsense, years ago. Champs’ league qualification shouldn’t be an end in itself or a target before the start of the season. Champs’ League qualification should be nothing more than a by-product of a good season where you challenged for the title. Simply targeting 4th place was the end of the club’s ambition. Finishing 4th… Read more »
Sanchez is on the pitch for any loss of the team and seeing his happiness when his team loses, i can’t see how a normal thinking fan can accept it!
We all need to smile sometimes to get through the tough times my friend. Sanchez is no different.
For me someone telling his team-mates they need to be better, is much preferable to sitting on the bench with a sad face, only to then put on the same gutless show match after match.
Don’t no why u got ? to drunk, like you say, can you imagine TONY ADAMS in this team,, he WOULD be giving his team a right going at,, and we would like that cos he’s a leader, and yet people on here moaning about Sanchez kicking off
… given our form in the league this year.. and the fact we still have at least 3 of the top 6 teams still to play.. (semi finals of FA cup might be another top 6 side) i would settle for 4th right now.. and just move on to next season as fast as fucking possible.
Anyone else get the feeling the Players are going Full Leicester and doing Wenger in the back?
We have 1 Premier League winner, 3 champions league winners, and all of the are international players.
It’s nearer the first 3rd of his tenure was successful.
Loosers close shop and park the bus – winners mentality says you go for it at all costs. Yes at all costs – 10-2 are just numbers.
10:2 are not just numbers, it’s speaks volumes, like a 8:2 at Manu U an so on. We need to open up our eyes, I’m afraid. It’s a disaster, it’s unprecedented in the club history in such a short time and has been for years.
The game was lost the moment Kos was marched off the pitch so who gives a fuck how we lost it? Go out swinging or stay in the trenches for the odd cheap pop? It was lost either way.
100% Godfrey. If it was a league game, then sure try and salvage something like a decent draw or a very narrow loss… but in a 2 legged tie with the team needing to score 4 the team ahs to try and pull off a miracle. These same fans would be sitting ehre going off at the team if they held on for a 1-1 because they didnt try hard enough, didnt have a go, werent up for the fight etc etc. The simple fact is the team had to score goals, and that meant they were left open at… Read more »
By coming out and saying what he is saying. He is completely undermining what Arsene has already said during the week about there not being a bust up on the training field. Like he is such a dope. I cant believe the PR stuff being leaked about Sanchez either, its so obviously coming directly from the club. Its like, oh yeah, here is Alexis the guy that’s working his nuts off, scoring all of Arsenal’s goals, practically being Arsenal FC on his own… and you’ve got John Cross coming out and saying ‘apparently the other players don’t like him, he… Read more »
Damn it Don, your comment has left me searching for the ‘one thumb up one thumb down’ button.
Over to you Blogs…
At 6-2, the side leading will play keep-ball, so where does counter attacking come into the picture? Imagine the reaction in the stadium too if a side parks the bus at 2-6 down.. The last two months have been shite, last night not entirely so
I am blaming the manager for chasing a lost game when down to ten man and get a even more demoralising result, which can result in a crisis. It shows a complete disorientation with no plan b.
Bottom line, we should not be in this situation. Ever. But the fact is we’re miles away right now. The players flat out aren’t good enough. Compare the two squads from last night’s match. The gap in talent is massive. Furthermore, with our less than stellar squad, we need a master tactician, motivator type manager. Which we haven’t got. Surely a better manager would not have been turned over so easily.
Off topic but is Danny ok?
He was ill, not injured, so hopefully OK
Completely with you on this. The tie is over. They fucked it up in the first leg, the ref fucked it up in the second. Just go for it.
Yes pedant,defend, no chance of winning when they went three one up so park the bus and keep a decent score line, but we don’t no how to do that cos wenger don’t do defending just attacking football, when he joined he was given the best back 5 in the league and Campbell was last that was taught by Adams when Campbell left last of old school and our defence got worse every year
Whatever happens can we stop giving Rio Ferdinand ammunition to gun us down with. Hate that C?Nt!
Hate to be a cynic here. But how often have Arsenal players said that they need to fight for the sake of the club and Wenger, and promptly proceeded to let everyone down?
Let’s hope this is not another false promise.
This team has no fight as the manager has no fight. Every fucking week he talks about mental strength – but beating a team that is worse than you is not mental strength, its higher ability. When is the last time Arsenal beat a team better than them? Chelsea when their were shit? Leicester last year?
I think this is the third week in a row where I’ve read a player say Arsene has been taking all the flak and that the player need to step up and play for him… Why isn’t it happening?
I 10-2 agree with you 🙂
never too soon, eh ?
Haven’t we heard this “We need to come out fighting” before??? Seems like a line of crap to me!
He’s just saying that what needs to happen. Does not necessarily mean that it will happen. More of a hope than a promise.
I love my club, I’m attached to it and I’ll remain loyal to it, always. But I’m bored, just bored of going to Emirates, watching a leaderless team of variously motivated but undoubtably talented players. But mostly bored of Wenger, his excuses, his delusion and the way he is systematically destroying what was once a legendary legacy. Go now, please, with whatever honour you have left.
“Who knows what the manager will do?” … exactly.
Shame…Shame….Shame…Shame…
Theo knows by saying this, he makes Wenger look like a liar.
I suppose if we are being logical, he did lie about it.
What time is it…..it’s 10 past 2, not quit my butt!!
The gag is ’10 to 2′. 10 past 2 is not a score line. If you’re going to repeat this world class joke for the millionth time at least get it right.
I don’t often dislike comments on here, but when I do it’s ones like yours.
Congratulations Harold!
“Things have happened,” he told Standard Sport. “They need to stay in the dressing room and the players and staff need to sort it out. ”
Why say it at all then. Sick of players constantly coming out after embarrassing performances like this. Would be a lot better if nothing was said, and they got together and worked hard on the next game. It’s the same stroty after we string a few wins together, Walcott and the likes talking about unity and mental strength. Less of the interviews and social media and disgraceful displays, and more professional performances.
“I don’t really want to go into it…”
You just fucking did. ?
But of course if the players didn’t come out you’d accuse them of hiding behind the manager
I don’t think Theo was not breaking any news with that comment. It has already been widely reported.
They sure do like to talk the talk. Such a shame they cant walk the walk. Well not for 90+mins anyway. Wenger out kroenke out
Anyone else wish the team just give the media a blackout and start responding on the pitch? The loses are fucking annoying but they are made worse by the players coming out saying the same old shit they say when we lose! I really hate the 10-2 jokes doing the rounds
They are required by the league and television contracts to give interviews. That’s why I just don’t understand all of the comments about ‘they should just shut up’ and ‘do your talking on the pitch’ blah blah blah. Do you think Wenger and the players actually are just itching to go talk to television reporters after some of these matches? They’re not going to come out and air their laundry in the media, and that’s nothing they should do. Yup, Wenger told a tall one to stop the questions. Basically these repeated statements are the rules compliant way of doing… Read more »
I’ve worked for several companies over the years and everywhere i work there are incidents that happen and people who don’t agree / like / get on with each other and although yes it can have an affect everyone cracks on with it for the good of the team / company. But there again i’ve never been an over paid prima donna so what do i know?
BTW i can be even more toothless and useless in a football team for 1/2 what thse guys get paid if they want to sign me?
We need to come out fighting the opponents in matches instead of coming out and throwing our hands up each time someone we don’t like doesn’t pass us the ball.
Yesterday I read a stack of comments to say ‘I just want effort etc blah blah. Now what I saw last night (and I’m no expert, just a fan who knows what he’s seen for 28 years on a pitch) was maximum effort, concentration, application, strength and tactics. Be reasonable, that absolute fuckwit behind the goal broke the remaining hope the players had, i can assure you id be drained inside too. They carried on with a hole in the team for no fault of their own and that was heartbreaking as a fan, let alone being on there. If… Read more »
Blogs, I watched the post match press conference and Wenger said a few things which were highly concerning: 1) When asked what needed to change, his reply was “What do you mean by that? The club is good shape.” 2) He also said “we dealt with situation with pride and commitment” When you hear things like this from the manager, it just adds to the already concerning situation. Don’t you feel you should be reporting when things like this are said? And also, please could I be removed from moderation list as I am unable to interact and fully participate… Read more »
Were you not satisfied with how we set up, with our tactics and player support of one another, and how we attacked the game last night? If we think of the team as a boxer, we were winning the bout on points until we got caught with a cheap shot in the 55th minute that did some serious internal damage, and yet we kept up with the same fighting approach despite another beating coming our way from a bruising opponent who we’d otherwise kept neutralized. We took another heavy, unprotected shot in the 68th, and still continued to press, until… Read more »
If we can play like we did for the first hour of that game we can beat anybody. I was shocked to see people complaining about the team not turning up,they most definately did turn up and they fought, against all the odds. I was actually proud of them and I think they should take a lot from that performance, despite the scoreline.
You guys are crap and you’ve been playing crap for a while.
Arsene goes way out of his way to defend you bunch of you spineless hissy throwing prima donnas whom all capitulate at the slightest wobble. There is no fight, no leadership and no spirit!
I hope you all get dropped for our next FA cup game! You can all sit in the naughty corner and reflect upon how crap you guys have been!
In all honesty as a team we played really well up until the penalty and sending off. After that we had no chance, at least they still tried. Sanchez was our worst player last night and if he’s gonna act like a spoilt brat he can go. I’d also like to see Arsene call it a day now before we finish out of the top 4 and below s****
The attitudes of Sanchez are a shame and a scandal! Plus his way to lose balls, miss timing and passes. I’d be a player, i’d be pissed off to take all the critics while this man who spits on his club doesn’t.
The only good thing about yesterday is that people are finally accepting 4-3-3 without Ozil is the only option for our midfield.
Not blaming him for yesterday but just last week anyone who suggested dropping Ozil was negged to Bolivia, with the age old “you have to play your best player” schtick.
Our midfield has only looked 2-3 times in recent months, none of those involving Ozil. Xhaka, Ramsey and Ox provides cohesion, balance and offensive/defensive strength.
Now let’s give Perez a chance up top and go from there.
Think we have to accept that Low’s system of using Ozil wide for Germany is the best way to stay solid in the center if he’s going to stay in the starting line-up.
He can still have freedom to roam inside, but without a solid trio in midfield, the rest of this season could get even worse.
That’s a big if though, who would you drop for him? He’s behind Sanchez, Walcott, Welbeck and Perez on the flanks, and barely ahead of Iwobi. I do think 4-3-3 is the way to go, been saying that since Cazorla’s injury. At least I think it suits the personnel and the way we’d like to play, high press and high line with a fluid front 3. A good template for the rest of the season, and perhaps for a new manager in the summer too
Seems like a no brainer. I suspect that Wenger has been accommodating Ozil in the #10 role as a carrot to sign a new deal. I’d like him to re-sign, but if he doesn’t want to play wide then so be it, he can go.
So after the WC when Ozil was getting put wide left everyone went mental and said “he’s a no.10, play him in the no.10 role” and now that’s the right thing to do and Arsene is wrong again? All the talk of formations and who starts and who plays where is pissing in the wind. More important than any of the stuff that us armchair managers can easily see is the stuff that goes on at the training ground. Things like how to move as a team, what to do when a teammate moves into a particular position, what to… Read more »
Who went mental and said he should play as a no.10? Certainly wasn’t the German media, they wanted him dropped completely, as they considered him a liability even on the left and not as influential. Sure some people have demanded he be no.10, but they’ve been wrong and finally they’re accepting that. In modern football, no top team functions with a dedicated no.10 anymore. Real Madrid sold him because they wanted to transition from a 4-2-3-1 into a 4-3-3. Only Ozil demands to really play as a no.10, and it seems Wenger promised him that. There’s also a sense of… Read more »
Low is being stubborn by keeping Ozil in his XI? Low doesn’t know what he’s doing? Ozil has been part of the last 2 WC cycles for Germany. He is world class talent.
I guess Germany has to overcome the liability of Ozil to win?
We played 4-4-2 at the start of the season with Sanchez and Ozil upfront and it worked just fine. Ozil was the highest player when we defended. It is not the problem with Ozil alone but together with Iwobi. They are the same types of players when it comes to defending. If we have possession we can afford that, if not you can’t play both of them.
It worked up until we were figured out. Commit your midfield to press our DMs and we will struggle, especially without Cazorla. Certainly we won’t use the extra space on the flanks to do any damage on the counter. Luckily 75% of the league aren’t good enough to do that against us anyway for the most part (and Chelsea didn’t actually try when they played us at home, United and Spurs did and both were draws).
Worked against who?
Didn’t work against Liverpool the first time. Only really worked against Chelsea who were clearly in transition.
It may work against the rest of the league, but the top 6-8 teams know that they just have to press ou3 2-man midfield and we’re toast. If you want to ignore all the evidence against that, then suits you.
But recall Wenger himself transitioned away from a 2-man midfield stating that very reason. Up until we got Ozil.
did you even watch the first Liverpool game?
Ozil didn’t even play in that game. You are soo biased. You don’t like Ozil ok we get it.
Couldn’t someone at least have flattened Robben for me at some point during the two games?
There were a few who needed that. Vidal, Lewandowski, Cunty Ref and linesman who gave the red.
I wanted that too, but unfortunately those refs would have found two of our players to send off for one flattening. I don’t know how, but they would.
Anyone else thinking we could do with Per back? Yes he’s slow, but he’s not a headless chicken like Mustafi. Relying too much on Kos at the min. 2-1 with him on the pitch, 9-0 without over the 2 legs. Speaks volumes
http://www.skysports.com/football/news/15118/10794349/alexis-sanchez-8217-s-running-and-sprint-stats-hint-at-arsenal-problem
Alexis is hailed by the majority of you guys for running immensely. Arsene was an idiot benching him. What Alexis does is an illusion. He sprints and waves in disgust that others dont press like him. That´s bollocks. The stats show that he runs far less then fellow teammates. One phonecall from China probably in december and we lost him then. Sorry but he´s going and it´s fine by me. No one is bigger then the team.
I have had a feeling something is up those stats don’t look great and i always thought he was our hardest worker and ran the most. I noticed when he came on against liverpool the lack of effort and the general indifference he was displaying, i thought he was sulking cause he got dropped but with those stats and the training bust up , he appears to be on his way out. His attitude has been shite for a while now
A great player and proven winner. We need more of those types not less, but everyone has a role to play and it seems that Alexis believes that he should be able to decide what that role is. If he’s going to continue to pout and point fingers, it’s probably best to get what we can for him this summer.
Since we’ve decided to sell Alexis for not running enough, what happens when we select some other players statistics for similar treatment? Looking at Premier League stats, Giroud and Walcott have only scored 8 goals each this season. Our record signing Ozil has 4 assists (Ox also has 4 and Alexis has 9). Our “midfield generals”, Coquelin and Xhaka, average 2.8 and 2.7 tackles a game, but the best DM’s in the league like Gueye, Henderson and Kante average closer to 4.0. Petr Cech in his first season conceded more goals from outside the box than any other keeper in… Read more »
Sanchez is a very good player. He isn’t a great player. Not in the same league as players like Bergkamp, Henry, Pires, RVP or Wrighty.
Getting a little tired reading comments that suggest what happened after Kos’ sending off was some kind of brave, charge of the Light Brigade. It wasn’t. It was embarrassing. 1-1 with 10 men against Bayern would have been enough to restore what little pride we had left. Instead, some daft substitutions and a total paucity of leadership beyond Kos saw us capitulate humiliatingly. We’re the 5th richest club in the world and yet we’re further than at any point since 2006 of challenging the very best clubs. I wonder if finishing 5th/6th and behind Sp*rs will be what it takes… Read more »
we could be the richest club in the world. it wouldn’t matter if the owner doesn’t want to spend money.
More talk as usual from you Theodore…if you had just squared the ball instead of trying to shoot from a tight angle, it would’ve been 2-0. At 27, your decision making is still so bloody juvenile. People will say I’m overreacting, but his and Oliver decision making cost us 2 goals in the first half. I just want this season to be over with. Season started so brightly and look how shit it’s looking at the moment. All it takes is an injury to a 32 year old Cazorla for our team in unravel. In as much as I’m Wenger… Read more »
Bullshit, there was a clear block on from the defender, he was right to shoot. Or at least he could have cut back on his left but it would have been risky. And yes you really are overreacting. Not sure how Wenger has been let down by his British core when Ox has been our best player lately and Walcott was our best yesterday! Sick of the British players getting all the stick tbh
You simply cannot deny that better choices and execution from Giroud and Walcott should have had us up 3-0 at half-time. Ramsey ran hard as well but his decision-making in the final third was consistently bad.
It’s the Champions League, the standard gets higher every year. If other teams are better than you, you only beat them by getting the details right and we didn’t do that well enough in the first half.
Yes if Giroud and Walcott were sensationally perfect and took all their chances with 100% accuracy, we’d be 3-0 up at half time of every game we play but that’s not how it works, for us or anyone else. You don’t normally score from every chance you get, just ask the Bayern players in the first half. Ramsey should have got an assist for Giroud too after some excellent play (admittedly that was a bad miss from someone who’s meant to be a specialist in the air).
Lame excuse.. go watch the highlights of the game again. He shouldn’t have shot. That was the wrong decision. Angle was too tight. As for Giroud, look at his chance again…Ramsey was clearly open. I don’t know what game you were watching.
Theo bottled it. Simple as that. Little things like these decides games.
The British core is a flop in general. Ox is only starting to play well. Ramsey has been injured and not too great when he played, Jack has been ok, Gibbs useless, Jenko useless, Walcott average.
Teams have won this competition without playing spectacular football (thinking of the Italian teams as well as CFC). But they took the important chances.
Mad but some of us believed in a comeback during that first half. Really felt like they could do it. That’s why our poor execution in attack was so disappointing.
And honestly if we weren’t a civilised fanbase, that incompetent ref and his goal-line assistant should never have left the stadium with their limbs intact.
cunts the lot of them
Is this TW speaking following approval from above?
Rhetoric,Rhetoric,Rhetoric.How about Action,Action,Action.
Anhilitate Lincoln and don’t be soft about it.We did soft against Sutton.
Then play the rest of the season as we did in the first half last night and we may all believe that you want AW to stay and win something.
Yes it does seem strange but there were positives in that game – must watch it again … being from Poland makes it uncomfortable as i do think Lewandowski dived and got out poor Kos … it reminded me of that Kolo Toure incident against L’pool in CL years ago …
Alexis’ strops are tiresome. We’ve seen better players with better attitudes.
That said, if the rest of the squad had any self respect and respect for a manager they all owe a lot to they’d all pull their fucking finger out.
Kroenke is the biggest ingrate and underperformer of the lot.
For all Wenger’s many failings he has been massively let down time and again.
We can easily divert the heat towards the players – and yes, the team is mentally fragile and isn’t too well balanced, But god damn it – Only one person was in charge of building that squad.
Saying that they dissapoint him is not all their fault – some of them are just not good enough.
We need to pull our socks up and do our talking on the pitch. If we don’t, at this rate we’ll get knocked out by non-league Lincoln City in the FA Cup. Scary thought but that’s the truth.
I can’t see that happening mate, eventhough we are shit against Munchen, we still decent against non league club like lincoln, it’ll be an easy game like Sutton.
We shouldn’t be over-confident as our team’s psyche is utterly fragile right now.
#wenger_out
Why do people hashtag on places that aren’t twitter?
Wenger out
Last night is not the issue… Lots of teams get beaten by the German giants; the manner in which we were utterly gobsmacked is a sign of where we are as a club currently but this rot set in WAAAAAAYYY ago… Dropping points at home to ‘Boro is the issue… Losing to Watford at home is the issue… Getting bullied by Liverpool TWICE is the issue… Mentally slipping against Everton in the 86th minute is the issue… Playing like muppets and losing to City is the issue… Getting utterly dismantled by Chelsea is the issue… I could go on bit… Read more »
do you know if Kante was available at the time Xhaka was acquired? I think Xhaka came in at 30m while Kante was above that. Do you really think if Chelsea wanted him that they wouldn’t have outbid us for him anyways.
Arsenal oh Arsenal, journalist said there was a bust up between players, then Wenger and Pires said nothing happened, and now Walcott come out and says something happened at dressing room. After last night hummiliation, Boards, Manager, Coaching stuff, and Players needs to sort things out. we can’t keep continue like this, at least finish top 4 this season so the new successor can build his team this summer easier.
Stfu Theo and stop being incosistent in patches!
Dont worry guys about competing. Remember the club made profit!
Walcott: Things have happened on the training ground.
Do those things include learning defensive discipline?
Walcott’s broken ranks and exposed Wenger as a liar.
It looks like the players have give up on him now, and hopefully help push Wenger out the door once and for all.
Yeah, why should they be professional when they can be vindictive and force their manager out the door? Maybe the board should take ownership of the footballing affairs of the club and act themselves instead of letting everyone else make the decision for them.
I absolutely agree, but for Walcott to public undermine the manager and expose him as a liar is not a positive sign. Why would he come out with that statement if not to embarrass and undermine him? Only 2 days ago Wenger said that absolutely nothing happened.
Wenger should have been sacked last night if not the latest this morning, but if the board aren’t going to make the decision then the fans and players are the only one’s who can force the issue.
Maybe he would admit this to implicate Sanchez, whom I would assume is losing the dressing room faster than Wenger?
Theo can’t help himself, he’s honest and open and has to share the news, like the secret meeting that’s oops not secret anymore, remember. Theo doesn’t do malicious gossip, he just lets things slip because he can’t keep secrets and wants to share.
Theo is highly press trained and not as stupid as he pretends. He could have said nothing but didn’t, it’s not a mistake, the players are smelling blood.
One of the best things that could come from this year will hopefully be a thinning of the fan base. If we could lose some of the ranting idiots who see every defeat as an existential crisis, the opportunists looking to monetize their ‘fandom’ through websites and podcasts and TV shows, and the ex-players who will happily stick the knife into the club for a few quid, it would be a substantial improvement. It was a lot more fun to be an Arsenal fan in 1985 even though we were hopeless. To quote Dennis Bergkamp: “Do you really love Arsenal,… Read more »
Hopefully a lot of the Arsene fan’s will go along with him don’t you mean?
Hopefully that means you go lie down in a box.
We as Arsenal fans have to ask ourselves how many times do we want to get humiliated again. There is no team in top football in Europe that has been humiliated so many times in the last 5 years. Just ask yourself why this could be. Complete restructuring is necessary for next year. That includes a new manager and several players to be replaced.
whats top football? I don’t think Arsenal is top 8 in Europe. to me that is tier 1 then there is tier 2 thats where Arsenal sadly belongs. Until Kroenke changes or sells which neither looks likely we will forever be stuck in tier 2 hopefully not lower.
Sanchez is over rated, why do you think Barca got rid of him.
The bust up was from a bad tackle in training by Kos, so Alexis being a little woman that he is at the moment ran off to the dressing room crying.
Not sure that sexist comments are prohibited on the block, read the comment policy.
You can’t fault Alexis because he tries so hard.
Its fair for him to question the attitude of the others but Wenger must (and is trying to) not make Alexis think he is more important than everyone-else.
This is a team game.
As the gaffer has pointed out, there have been games where Alexis has been largely ineffective.
Pleased Theo has come out in support of the manager, reiterating that we need to pull together. The performance last night was decent, and we looked frighteningly good at times in the first half. The referee completely killed the tie, was intent on he and his staff imposing themselves on the game. Regardless of the first leg, we showed character and I was impressed not only by Theo, but by Chamberlain, Bellerin and Ramsey also. All showed that if in fact Ozil and Sanchez leave, there will be others to take their place. So credit to them. The red card… Read more »
Don’t know how you can criticise Giroud. None of the three were clear cut chances. He did well for Theo’s goal, causing a distraction. Apart from that I give your post a thumbs up!
On Giroud: heads over when it was easier to head it down, hits the base of the post far too often.
It’s not the first time, it won’t be the last. But he is the least of my worries tbh, least he generally plays like he cares.
Thank you for the thumbs up anyway, I fully expect my continued backing of Wenger will get many a thumb down. I don’t really care about that tbh!
Damage was all done first leg. Whether we won the second leg 2-nil, lost it by a goal or got trashed again was moot particularly since Ref sending Koscielny off for a 50-50 effectively killed the competition. Giroud tried but the ball was going behind him and he could not get the angle. Personally thought it was a good thing we played GIroud because he held the ball and brought players like Walcott in and we had the added threat of him heading from crosses. Alexis I felt did not do half as much as Giroud during the game. He… Read more »
I think we have to be a bit lucid without the rage with regards our competitiveness in the CL. 1) We have never been a powerhouse in Europe even before Wenger 2) That said, the money we have sunk in, it is right for the fans to expect more than just qualifying every season and going out limply in the knock out stage. 3)We have been reasonably decent this season topping the table just ahead of PSG. 4) We are as always unfortunate to draw one of the TOP 3 in the world (Barca and RM being the others) 5)… Read more »
Koscielny won 2-1 on agg.
maybe the club and the fans has indulged him and his flaws for too long. if players fail him is because he has allowed them too. if they they are not responding to him then thats failure on his part. if the players are not executing his plans and strategies then indicative of is failure to convince. point is the man is on the highest paid in the world, more than Ancelotti and yet, yet…