Wenger: I Am Waiting For Christmas!

Arsene Wenger

Ok those were not exactly the words that came out from Mr.Wenger but as they say, actions speak louder than words so it could not me more obvious now could it.

If you are wondering what I am talking about, I am talking about our transfers. Mr.Wenger is waiting for Christmas to  arrive before arriving at his decision to buy a good player. The more worrying thing is that it is more likely not be be this year's Christmas!

As I mentioned in my previous post (link), we continue to be linked with all the players but we have not made a single signing while on the other hand, the teams above and below us continue to sign players. If you want to be the best, you have to buy the best or produce the best. We do neither. In fact, if some player becomes very good at Arsenal, we sell them off!

Some may say we do not need signings at all because of the way we played at the end of  last season. True. We played well to get to top 4 when it looked like we were destined to falter this season at the beginning. But we must realize that we finished way behind the winners and none of our performances in the cups were something to be proud about.

And why does Ivan Gazidis have to come out and say we have enough money to spend on big players when we actually do not spend on such players? Why should he compare our club with other clubs like Bayern and Dortmund when we show no ambition to succeed like they do? Why does he want to play with the fans' minds and make them go crazy?

The sad truth is that Arsenal FC are no longer a football club. It is  purely a business club. It is more like Arsenal BC; B for business. The fans pay the most to watch Arsenal at the Emirates, the club generates one of the highest revenues in the world and most annoyingly, it gives back nothing to the ones that are the essence of the club, the fans.

POLL : Will Wenger Break The Bank?

Arsenal fans need no reminding of the bitter truth that the club manager Arsene Wenger has been very miserly when it comes to spending on good players. Although Arsenal have been linked with moves for many top players in the past and present, in the end, the fans have largely been disappointed. There have been numerous talk of "war-chest" and "large transfer kitty" made available to the manager but fans have never seen funds being fully utilized to take Arsenal to another level.


As the season closes and the transfer window re-opens, the media is full of talks of funds available to Arsene and the list of players linked with moves to Arsenal seems to grow by the day. History suggests this will be another disappointing transfer window for Arsenal fans. But like every year, most fans, if not all, still believe that this will be "the" year when ARSENE WILL BREAK THE BANK.

Do you think this will finally be "the" year?

Will it Be Thumbs Up From Arsene To Break The Bank This Year ?

The Fall From Grace - Part I

Is he to be blamed?

So we are out of the trophy hunt. Yet again.
Our hunt for a trophy(if we are looking for one at all!) continues for yet another year.

I doubt anyone would have expected such a trophy drought when Arsene was sweeping everything before him when he first arrived at Arsenal. The pinnacle of his achievements would unquestionably be the 2004/2005 season when Arsenal won the league without a single loss all season. After the victorious campaign, I still remember what he claimed to the world : "There will be a new power shift from Manchester to London". He could not have got it more wrong.

It would not be wrong to say that Arsenal are no longer a power house.(The talk of "power shift" is out of the window)! They are a good club no doubt. But, we are no longer a force. It was made apparent by our tame defeats against Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United and more recently against Bayern Munich.We were well outclassed in all these matches. Even Arsene admitted it. After the defeat to Bayern, Arsene claimed "Bayern were class". (Of course, that means we are not!). Defeats against League Two side Bradford and Championship side Blackburn suggested we were not even close.

Is it the fault of the Board or Arsene or both? We can blame whoever we want to but the fact remains that Arsenal have become just another average team.

Get Real! Its Mon"REAL" : Who Is Monreal?

Nacho Monreal Completed His Move To Arsenal...Just

In the end, we did come up with a signing. I did not see that one coming to be frank. It looked increasingly like we would not make any signings at all. Fans and the media were expecting so many "big name" signings. They were virtually linking everyone seen playing with a football! Its almost as if Arsene made the signing just to dodge the question "Why didn't you sign anyone in the transfer window?".

So who is Monreal? The 26 year old former Osasuna youth and senior player(127 appearances for senior squad) only moved to Malaga in 2011(42 appearances in total). Here are his stats so far for the 2012-2013 season:
Appearances            : 14
Goals                        : 1
Assists                      : 2
Pass Completion%   : 85.3
Man Of The Match   : 3
Average Rating       : 7.19
 (stats from whoscored.com)
He is not a bad signing by any means. In fact,if you look at how well Spanish imports have been doing in the premier league, he could well turn out to be a very good signing. Many expected big name signings like David Villa or a physical enforcer like Diame to come in but...I guess something is better than nothing! The fact of the matter remains that one player cannot change the way we play, given how poor we have been this season, especially defensively(defense has been our Achilles heels for some years now!). Maybe we needed more signings...quality...signings..but our "ambitions".....(just read THIS. I already have a post about our ambitions). Only time will answer all our queries.
                                                                                      

Arsenal's Ambitions Revealed

Arsenal's Ambitions Questioned Again

 So, the transfer window is about to come to a close and Arsenal have made no signings so far. Did we actually need any signings? We have never broken any transfer records during Arsene's reign before have we? In fact, we have never spent over 16mil pounds on a single player! Yet, we read in the media and from fans about "Arsenal to spend 40mil on this....." "30mil on that...."....."60 mil on pair....". You just have to wonder how people come up with such outrageous claims.

I do not intend to bore you with all this. We all know how we have fared when it comes to transfers. But I want to share something that I came across yesterday.

BBC 5 live broadcasted a short interview with the Galatasaray chief yesterday( I don't remember his name). What he said in the interview took me aback, as much as the interviewer himself. As you all know, Galatasary recently completed the "high profile" signings of Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba. Asked about how far Galatasary wanted to go in the UEFA Champions league, he replied "All the way!". He actually claimed that Galatasary were now well equipped to actually win the tournament.!
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Now many people will say it is a foolish claim. And I agree. Two players won't win you the Champions League. But, what does it say about the club and the people running it? The way I see it ,"AMBITIOUS" is the right word to describe them. They made it to the knockout stage and now they sign two former Champions League winner to boost their chances of going far; how far;we can't answer that. But what is true is that they have at least increased their chances to go all the way.

Back at Arsenal, we sell our players to other clubs every year and buy "unproven" talents every year and the what we hear from our chief and the manager is "We can compete with the best".

Yet Another Loss For Arsenal Fans

Clash Among Arsenal Fans Is Not Good For The Club

 News of clashes between Arsenal fans protesting with "Wenger Out" banners and those against it in the FA cup tie against Brighton is something that is not a complete surprise but certainly not something that you like to hear as an Arsenal fan.

There are many fans who are frustrated with the Club and the manager.They seem less interested in making a good team than making more money. Most of all, they seem to have complete disregard towards the fan. Yet, what is also true is that there are those who think we should stick with the manager and get behind the club. That is not wrong by any means. A coin has too sides to it.

What is wrong is fighting amongst ourselves. It is as if we were not satisfied with a weak team, now we are making the unity of fans more weaker. What it only does is create divisions and make the club weaker. We are entitled to have our opinions. Lets not force our opinions on others, especially on those who support our own club!

Why Arsenal Proved Again They Won't Win Any Trophy For A While

Arsenal's Defense Not Scary Anymore

Arsenal lost against a league two side Bradford.
We were taken all the way by Championship side Brighton Hove & Albion, conceding 2 goals in the process.

I can't remember when we last kept a clean sheet..can you.

Where am I going with this?

Our defense is no longer mean. It seems like ages ago that we had a mean defense and teams would be scared of our defenses. They knew it would be tough to score against Arsenal and more than that, they knew that they would get hassled and kicked throughout the the 90 minutes. Team were genuinely scared of the presence of Martin Keown, Sol Cambell and Patrick Viera. They were the enforcers,leaders,commanders... whatever you want call them. I don't think I need to tell everyone that we won when these players were in our side and when they left, we never won anything....zero....zilch...absolutely nothing at all. You don't need to know rocket science to know that we need such players in the side to win trophies do we?

THE TEAM THAT CONCEDES THE LEAST GOALS WINS IN THE END. This is a golden rule that applies to all winning teams. We need to look no further than last season when Manchester City won the league on goal difference because they conceded less than they scored compared to Manchester United.

The most sickening part of all this is that even after 8 years since the last of our "commanders", Patrick Viera left, there has been not a single player who has come in and claimed to have come close to replicating them. Many compared Diaby to Viera but just because they look alike does not mean they have the same presence. Who would be scared of seeing Diaby in the team sheet?

We keep conceding goals against every side and cannot keep a clean sheet at all. The manager says that as long as we keep scoring more than we concede, he is happy with this team. But until and unless we are capable of keeping clean sheets with the use of some "commanders", 8 years will soon be 16years.

Wenger: We Won't Sign Anyone And Other Teams Should Do The Same!

Arsene At it Again

 These were not the exact words of Wenger but he sure meant it when he said:

 "I think the transfer window should be all completely cut out or limited to two players.It is unfair for the league." 

He also confirmed that the rumors that Arsenal are chasing  Barcelona's David Villa and Dortmund's Mats Hummels are not true.

"We have been linked with David Villa. We are not on the case.I can't imagine Dortmund selling their defenders in the middle of the season anyway and we have not made any approach there."

Here is what he had to say when asked if he would make any transfer dealings at all:

" We have a good squad with two players playing in every position. We will only buy if there are exceptionally good players in the market and if we think they are good enough to play for Arsenal."

The fans who were expecting to see some money being spent, this comes as a major blow, especially after it was claimed by the media that Arsene had been given "significant" amount to spend in this window. Even Arsene himself came out and said we were short in terms of quality in the squad and we needed some strengthening. But this was when we were going through a bad patch. Now, all of a sudden, Arsene has made a U-turn on his own statements. 

What do you think.....is Arsene right if he does not bring in any signings in this window?

Arsenal Slip Further Into Mediocrity

Arsenal 0 Manchester City 2
The scoreline was by no means a major shock. The EPL champions were in town.
You call them a "plastic" team or "money-bags" or whatever you want. They have a good squad and we knew it would be a difficult game. The Arsenal team have not covered themselves in glory by giving very erratic performances all season. On top of that, we had to play with 10 men for most of the game after Koscielny was sent off just 10 minutes into the game.

The most worrying thing for me after the match was that we never had the zeal, the drive to beat or at least compete with the opponents. That was the most disappointing aspect of the match. Yes, Wilshere,Sagna and to some extent,Szczesny had a good match, yet again. But a team consists of 11 players. Where were the others? There were a few sparks here and there but not consistently for the full 90 minutes.

Very few people would say we do not deserve to be mid-table, where we have been for the whole of the season. We are likely to finish mid-table come the end of the season on this form. I am not telling fans to switch teams or start calling for Wenger's head or put pressure on the board for spending lavishly in transfers. We should not react to the situation; we should respond to it. Keep supporting the club and get behind the team and the manger. They desperately need our support. What is true though, is the fact that the fall of Arsenal is truly complete. It really has been a great fall from the top to mid-table mediocrity.

We Won't Sign Anyone of Note In January

Wenger Playing Waiting Game.....Again?

It is already January 11th and although Arsenal have been linked with many players, they have not made a single singing. The manager has conceded that Arsenal need reinforcements and that we will only go for "exceptional" signings.

 However, it is a fact that there are only a few "exceptional" talents available for transfer and only the clubs that are quick to snap them up will get those players. Most "big" clubs are quick to get the players they want. Arsene himself resorted to the prompt signing of Cazorla this season, which would suggest, unlike the previous years when he waited till the last second of the transfer deadline, that he has realized that good players need to be snapped up quick.

It now seems however, that he has resorted to his "age-old" practice once again. Rumors are ripe that he has already missed out on Lewis Holtby, who, as I already mentioned in my previous post, would have been a great signing for us(He is a free transfer too!). I dare say we will miss out on a few more. In the end, even if Arsene does sign an "exceptional" player, it will be at an expense of not singing 5-6 "exceptional" talents. Maybe Arsene has a different way of looking at Mathematics.

Holtby="Exceptional Talent"

Lewis Holtby is Undoubtedly an "Exceptional Talent"

Lewis Holtby has recently claimed that he will be leaving Shalke after he confirmed that he will not sign a new contract with the club. Now, there is no doubt about the talent instilled in this particular player. He has proven time and again how good he is through his exploits on the fields. He has not yet reached the heights of Mario Gotze, who has arguably become a world-class player and is a Bundesliga hot property at the moment. But the good thing is that most people admit that Holtby is next in line to "greatness". I still remember a few seasons ago when he was so influential in getting Mainz, a team that had just been promoted to the Bundesliga that season, to the top of the league for half the season beating almost all of the heavy-weights of the Bundesliga on their way. Holtby took the Bundesliga by storm that season. His performances even got him a place in the German senior side. He was all over the news that season and although he does not make the front page as often now a days, very few can question his performances and talents.

The news that he will not be extending his contract would have alerted a lot of clubs, ofcourse. Le Prof would also be looking at this as an opportunity, to strengthen our beleaguered squad as well as to add an "exceptional" talent, as he puts it. It will be difficult, but if he pulls this one off, it will be one of his major coup during his reign. 

El Shaarawy to Arsneal?,Wenger Wanted In Real And Neville Defends Wenger

EL Shaarawy To Arsenal? Too Good To Be True

Mourinho Out, Wenger In?

The English Daily "Metro" has revealed that Arsene is looking at El Shaaarawy, the top scorer in Serie A with 13 goals, as a potential signing in January(yes it is ridiculous). Do you think we have a chance?

It has also emerged that  the hierarchy at Real Madrid want Arsene Wenger to replace Jose Mourinho at the Bernabeu if Mourinho leaves at the end of the season. It is not the first time Wenger has been linked to the Real Madrid post. However, many critics and fans would wonder if Wenger is someone to replace a coach like Jose Mourinho, especially after a disappointing, trophy-less  7 seasons at Arsenal.

In other news, former Manchester United  player turned football pundit, Gary Neville has hit out at critics of Arsene Wenger, especially former Arsenal manager George Graham for his comments that Arsenal would never win a trophy. Gary argued that Chelsea and Manchester City had to invest a lofty 2bn pounds before they landed trophies while Arsene has done an excellent work at Arsenal given the shoe-string budget that he has had to work with.

Fell free to share your thoughts on these stories.

Dives and Lenient Refereeing: Just What Arsenal Need To Win

You Know You Faked It Santi!

A dive for the first goal and a foul, that was not given, before the penalty.
So now we need such decisions from the referee to win games?
Not being too critical here, and I know these kinds of decisions sometimes go for you and sometimes go against you. But it never pleases me when any team wins with goals literally "awarded" to them. Yes, Arsenal were in deep crisis. We desperately needed the 3 points. But not like the way we did.

We could have done little regarding the decisions  though. The right to make the final decision rests on the referee. It is the referee who decides what is a foul and what is not. He saw it his way and made his decision, right or wrong. The apology from Wenger regarding the dive from Santi was a real welcome. It seems his "I didn't see it" line is going out of fashion!

We created numerous opportunities in the game but it never looked like we would score with the players on the pitch. Arsenal need to be concerned. They won't get things their way in every game, will they?

WINTERBURN:ARSENE STILL THE MAN FOR ARSENAL

IS WENGER STILL GOOD ENOUGH FOR ARSENAL?

Arsenal FC legend Nigel Winterburn has come out in defense of Arsene Wenger. He said:

  "I think Arsene Wenger is the right man for the football club and I'm sure he can get Arsenal Football Club back to where they were several seasons ago if he was allowed to bring in some real top-quality players."


He further said:

"I love the style of football that Arsenal have played over the years under him"

Do you agree with Nigel? Should Arsene be given a chance based solely on his past credentials? If so, for how long?

In other news, Arsene has named a second-string squad for the trip to Olympiacos with  some completely new faces in Akpom,Ansah and Monterio in the first team squad(click to view complete squad list). It is quite clear that Arsene is happy with 2nd place in the group. I don't blame him for that. We can keep our regular players fresh for the weekend.