Official Arsenal FC Thread - 2016/17

@Nembo_Kid, what would you see in Arsenals future? You’re right about the mediocrity thing, its safe to say Wenger should have moved on a few years ago. However, moving him on at any stage now will require massive upheaval. Wenger is so intrinsically linked and embedded in every aspect of the club, that once he goes, it will start to come apart. People may not agree with his methods, lack of tangible success, but he had a well run club, and an ownership that were happy to indulge him as long as he brought the result thats were within their success “parameters”.

I would be of the impression that while he should go, there’s bad times in Arsenals future, its unavoidable. They’ll have 3 managers over the course of the next 6-8 years and drop out of the top 6 or 8. You cant have someone with that sort of hold over a club just go, and expect things to improve, or even continue as they are on the same path of “mediocrity”. There wouldn’t appear to be any succession plan, and Wenger, like most people left in power for a long time, has nigh on dictator status there at this point, much like Ferguson at United (albeit with actual success).

The owners should go do something completely unexpected and hire Simeone, just for the shits and giggles.

They’re damned if they do, damned if they dont.

All causes shall give way. I am in blood. Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more,. Returning were as tedious as go o’er

They all talk like that fella on Facebook who reviews fried chicken places. The arse season tickets are the most expensive in the league (I think?), would they not be all middle class bluds?

It’s not the lack of success that gets to me, it’s the boredom and predictability. I honestly couldn’t give a shit if they miss out on the Champions League this year, what am I missing? Six shit group games and a round of 16 exit? Same shit for the last 7 years.

Liverpool had a thrilling season in 2013/14, I’d take that over the consistent boredom Arsenal have had for the last 10 years. I watch football for entertainment, not consistency.

I’m a staunchly pro-Wenger and I think he needs to go, for his own sake more than anything. He’s a decent, honourable man who has been let down by his players time and time again. It’s awful seeing him suffer.

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He is an utter cunt of a man, living off past glories. Once the English core of Adams, Keown, Dixon etc. left, he resorted to a succession of French surrender monkeys. Arsenal haven’t had a spine since 2004.

How is he an utter cunt?

The most used Arsenal back 5 in 2003-2004 season was

Lehman
Lauren
Campbell
Touré
Cole

Fuck off with your shite.

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Wenger: “No matter what happens, I will manage next season whether that is here or somewhere else.”

Good English spine to that defence

Is 4th place good enough for any of the top 6 on a regular basis spanning 6 years or more without any genuine title challenge? No, if someone like Wenger has been in that position for 13 or 14 years or whatever it is now then it’s not good enough.

Arsenal should have got rid of him 4 or 5 years back. As a fan, what good is 4th and the last 16 of CL? Time to roll the dice out on an ambitious manager.

Wenger has cited resources as a problem but it doesn’t tally up. He has one of the most expensively assembled squads in Europe, one of the highest wage bills in Europe, he’s one of the highest paid managers in Europe. It’s not an issue, Arsenal consistently have failed over the past 13 years and teams wiry significantly less resources have achieved. Their EPL challenge and CL challenges generally end between Jan-March year on year.

They may finish 10th for the next couple of seasons, they may win a title but I don’t see how 4th and last 16 CL eliminations are much more appeasing than 10th. Title wins or genuine challenges at the minimum are and Wenger is not the man for that. Arsenal just go through the motions every year and Wenger has no gumption in the transfer market. He is a coward who doesn’t want to spend excessively as it heaps pressure on him and he wants excuses to fall back on. The money is definitely there.

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#AlternativeFacts

Yep, thats pretty much it in a nutshell. As Tinnion said above, what they have at the moment is soul destroying, I’d imagine a Sunderland fan gets more enjoyment out of following his side of late.

It’s the excuses that annoy me about Wenger.

Bleating about not being able to afford Kante this summer. He could be afforded, he signed Xhaka instead. He could have afforded the two of them. He could have went out and broke the transfer record for Higuain too. He doesn’t want to roll the dice, he’s not a winner.

I agree with you mainly but how do you know if he has the money available to him?

I always find this chat about Wenger building a club amusing. Its gone into overdrive again last 48 hours. They were historically the third most successful club in England when he took over and that still remains the case. A mere two years before he took over, George Graham was steering them to European silverware, to conclude a haul of two league titles, an FA Cup, two league Cups a Cup Winners Cup in 8 seasons. Not too shabby in an era which straddled the end of Liverpool’s era of dominance and the beginning of Sir Alex’s. The George Graham years which ended a fairly lean 15-16 years stretching back to the double in 1970/71 have largely been airbrushed from history.

The Alsatian’s other great achievement is seemingly changing the culture of the club, getting them out of the pub and eating properly. What they are crying out for at the moment is a Tuesday club - a coterie of battle hardened hard drinking players like Tony Adams, Paul Merson, Ray Parlour, Lee Dixon and Nigel Winterburn. Teammates drinking in the pub together is great for team bonding and instilling fighting spirit.

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Look at their resources. Look at what Wenger himself is paid for failing. If he is happy not to spend while being one of the highest paid managers in the world and presiding over a prolonged series of a failure then the fans should be driving him out.

He wouldn’t have lasted as long at other clubs - that’s for sure.

That’s for sure. He’d have been moved on after two years tops at Spurs. We might be perennial failures but at least we keep moving on our failures and find new ways to fail.

A ruthless people happy to crucify anyone who displeases them.

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He could have made a proper offer for King Luis as well.