Written by Squid Boy on Saturday, 20 November 2010 16:35

I didn’t want to do this, Arsenal. But you’ve made me do it.

So I’ve been sitting on this article for a year now, ever since we threw away a two-goal at Upton Park. On the way back from that game, I sat on the Jubilee Line and tortured myself by going through all the games where we’ve had the lead and then thrown it away – either ending up drawing the game or losing it altogether. That evening, I actually went through the
fixture lists season-by-season and came up with a definitive (I think) number of games where we’ve snatched defeat (or a draw) from the jaws of victory.

There have been occasions since that West Ham game where we’ve done the same, but for some reason or another I’ve refrained from posting this article. But after today, enough is enough. Those who know me – from my articles on here or my musings on Twitter (http://twitter.com/TheSquidBoyLike) – know full well that I’m no negative nelly or a gloryhunter who is only in it for the trophies, so please don’t take the following list as evidence of me hating on Arsene and Project Youth etc etc. These are cold, hard facts, and I’d like you to interpret them in your own way.

And now it gives me no pleasure whatsoever to present to you THE LIST (first scoreline indicates our lead, second indicates the final score):

2005/06:

1.West Brom(a) 1-0, 1-2
2.Porstmouth(a) 1-0, 1-1
3.Barcelona(n) 1-0, 1-2

2006/07:

4.Chelsea(a) 1-0, 1-1
5.Chelsea(n) 1-0, 1-2
6.PSV(h) 1-0, 1-1
7.Spurs(a) 2-1, 2-2
8.Chelsea(h) 1-0, 1-1

2007/08:

9.Blackburn(a) 1-0, 1-1
10.Sevilla(a) 1-0, 1-3
11.Newcastle(a) 1-0, 1-1

12.Birmingham(h) 1-0, 1-1
13.Birmingham(a) 2-1, 2-2
14.Chelsea(a) 1-0, 1-2
15.Liverpool(h) 1-0, 1-1
16.Liverpool(a) 2-2, 2-4*
17.Man Utd(a) 1-0, 1-2

*we didn’t lose the lead per se, but at 2-2 we were going through on away goals

2008/09:

18.Hull(h) 1-0, 1-2
19.Spurs(h) 4-2, 4-4
20.Middlesboro(a) 1-0, 1-1
21.Liverpool(h) 1-0, 1-1
22.Villa(a) 2-0, 2-2
23.Chelsea(n) 1-0, 1-2
24.Liverpool(a) 4-3, 4-4

2009/10:

25.Man Utd(a) 1-0, 1-2
26.Alkmaar(a) 1-0, 1-1
27.West Ham(a) 2-0, 2-2
28.Birmingham(a) 1-0, 1-1
29.Barcelona(a) 1-0, 1-4
30.Wigan(a) 2-0, 2-3
31.Blackburn(a) 1-0, 1-2

2010/11:

32.Sunderland(a) 1-0, 1-1
33.Shakhtar(a) 1-0, 1-2
34.Spurs(h) 2-0, 2-3

I believe this is an accurate and exhaustive list. I concede that through my tears last season when initially compiling it, I may have made a mistake or two. Either way, the gist of it is not good. For any team that claims to have realistic trophy-winning ambitions, to lose a lead more than 30 times over a period of five-and-a-half seasons is unforgivable.

And worse than that, look at the games and the opposition. How many times do our rivals Chelsea, Man Utd, Liverpool and Spurs crop up? And what about big games, like the Champions League final (mitigating circumstances, admittedly), the Carling Cup final, an FA Cup semi-final, two Champions League quarter-finals...

Furthermore, what used to be predominantly a problem away from home has now seeped its way to “Fortress Emirates” (tongue very firmly in cheek).

I’m not saying that no team is immune to losing leads – look at Man Utd this season, for example. But we clearly specialise in it. And that’s why many of our fans (myself included) can no longer relax at 2-0 up. Take Everton away last week – deep down we all knew that the game wasn’t secure because if Everton grabbed one (which they did), there was every chance we could fold and concede a second.

The worst thing? Once we get a reputation for it, mud sticks. From 2-0 up and cruising, we can concede a goal and the confidence drains away from the team. Just like it did today. And the opposition gain in belief. Just like it did today.

And who’s to say we won’t do it again? Not me, that’s for sure. The title of this article is “34 reasons why we’ve gone five years without a trophy”. Unless that first number stops at 34, the second will surely increase beyond five.

Time to man up, Arsenal. But how? The floor is open to suggestions...

Squid Boy

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Comments (100)

• 20-Nov-2010 18:00 | | William  - Complacent gunners
  

  Let every Arsenal player look thru the list and ask for
  
  suggestions on how to eradicate it.
  
  Btw send the to Wenger and stare infront of his desk.
  
  Then perhaps this will be a thing of the past.
  
  Thanks for taking the trouble/time to compile the
  
  list.

• 20-Nov-2010 18:12 | | TH14  - Wenger the Shagger
  

  1 Wenger
  2 Wenger
  3 Wenger
  .
  .
  
  .
  .
  .
  .
  32 Wenger
  33 Wenger
  34 Wenger
  
  
  Its all Wengers fault !

• 20-Nov-2010 18:13 | | Anonymous
  

  Please AW GO!!! You have lost the dressing room. Our beloved club is currently all about you and your ego ....... AW dosen't know! He has bought some fab (pun) players, but also bought gutless wonders (look at 7 of the team on the pitch today). Hang your head, do the honourable thing and let someone else with a belief in UK players who have some guts and pride in their team take the reins.

• 20-Nov-2010 18:16 | | Eagleye
  

  I think a lot of those results have been written in desperation, Barcelona away cannot be a serious 'Throw away' as you would put it.
  
  Yes we have thrown alot away in the past but we've also won games late and had some superb comebacks of our own.
  
  It all comes down to the fear factor. Spuds showed no fear against us, Everton showed no fear last week thats why we almost threw it away then also. If Chelsea had gone 2-0 up against Spurs you could guarantee that Spurs would never come back like they did against us, why? Becuase of the fear factor. Spurs fear Chelsea, they no longer fear us as dont alot of teams because they know we're vulnerable.
  
  We need to show strength and resilience in a way that Mourinho has achieved with his clubs. Its the plan B defensive work of annoying the hell out of the opposition, winding down the clock, kicking it long, wasting time, disrupting their play. Arsenal just keep trying to play lovely football for 90 mins and end up conceding silly free kicks which eventually cost us... 2 free kicks cost us two goals today.
  
  Wenger teaching this to his little fledglings remains to be seen

• 20-Nov-2010 18:28 | | Baldy
  

  Regardless of what happened today, I'd rather be an Arsenal fan tonight than a Chelsea fan.
  
  The point is EVERYONE is dropping points & losing games that they are expected to win. It seems that there is still this "top 4" mentality in fans that dictates that Arsenal, Man Utd, Liverpool & Chelsea have a god given right to win these games. Maybe even the teams themselves think the same way because I've seen some dire performances this season from virtually every team.
  
  Wenger said this week that the most consistent team will win the league & he's right because right now nobody is consistent. And based on how inconsistent every team is right now it could be any one of 10 teams lifting the trophy next year. Sure, we all know it's most likely to be one of the usual suspects being crowned champions but there's gonna be a few twists & turns on the way.
  
  As far as today's result goes, let the yids have their 5 minutes of glory. It took them something like 17 years to beat us at home so I'm not going to begrudge them their little moment of joy because today was their Champions League Final. If you don't believe go check out the DVD counter in Asda next week
  
  First half we were sublime, second half ridiculous. But I refuse to jump on the "Wenger Out", "Fabianski is shit", "we have no defence" etc. bandwagon because we got punished for being too complacent. It can & does happen every week. Again, if you don't believe go check out the result of Chelsea's last couple of games. 2 weeks ago they were dead certs for winning the Premier league, right now I fancy my Sunday league team to beat them.
  
  Arsenal will bounce back in style, that I'm sure of. Wenger will have been furious with today's result & I know that once we get out of "Black November" we'll be fine.
  
  Up the Gunners :-)

• 20-Nov-2010 18:29 | | bagwan
  

  awful article.
  
  going 1-0 up against Barca, ManU, Chelsea, infact, going 1-0 up at all does not mean we have won a game, yes we have lost games when we really really shouldnt have, today, west ham, wigan and villa are the only glaringly obvious ones.
  
  34 reasons... this stinks of knee jerk reactions.

• 20-Nov-2010 18:30 | | Dennis  - shaneful loss
  

  The buck stops with the fm.He must learn that football is about winning and not playing beautiful soccer when you are two goals up.As someone asaid,there are toomany creative players. Get some destructive ones like Roy Keane who won't be scared to go where it hurts.To loseafer two goalsup against your fiercest rival is unforgiveable. If defendersare under attack,all they have to do is the simple thing kick the ball far away and not try to pass. This courts danger.
  I am afarid Wenger has lost his vision. The gunners maybe the third richest club but who cares. Fans care who has won trophies.

• 20-Nov-2010 18:31 | | xavier
  

  totally agree with you eagleye, our club is getting worse and we need a new manager. some one like mourinho would be perfect. have you seen his attacking record at madrid? pretty impressive and his never die attitude would definitely give arsenal the edge we need to actually win something. wenger out

• 20-Nov-2010 18:37 | | omomo14
  

  Well said Baldy.
  
  Your comment has lifted my spirit. Nothing more to add.

• 20-Nov-2010 18:39 | | Leon
  

  I just think we have been worked out - we have lost our english spine and replaced them with uninterested foreign garbage - I am sorry but if anyone thinks that those four clowns at the back are an improvement is an idiot - some say koscelny is good but to me he is worse than poor - a shower of shit. I just look at the good old days of Adams, Keown, Campbell, Dixon et al - now I look at the likes of Clichy, Sagna, Koscelny and Squillaci and it gets very depressing indeed - especially when they open their mouths and brag....

• 20-Nov-2010 18:41 | | visionary  - j league nutter
  

  surely we havent lost faith in our world class manager the professor w enger and band of mentally strong girls

• 20-Nov-2010 18:44 | | nikogunners  - We Must Convert Chances
  

  You are so right. We have the guts to play 70 mins and then go to sleep in the rest 20 and get punished for it. we need to keep hustlers on the ground. I believe if we had taken the games we were supposed to take by mercilessly scoring goals we would be about 5-10 points alone and away from the second group
  
  I think Wenger must regroup. It is time we kept Chamak and RvP together in the same field. We may need to revert to 4-4-2. I believe we can vary to play all out left right flanks or kill one side flank or play four central midfielder s, depending on the opposition and the dynamics in play.
  What advantages will we derive from the system? First Walcott and Bendtner may get some more time on the striking role when there is a rotational policy and also as substitutes.
  We will not have non-strikers meddling with opportunities and missing the target every time. Great players in the bench like Eboue, Rosicky and Ramsey (returning soon) among others will get more roles to prove themselves.
  Chamack. He needs to get supported and his confidence on the ball to grow, that can easily be helped by playing alongside a player like RvP
  Arsenal are the kings of goal creation. They are the weakest goal converters from chances created. I believe if the two form a goal hunting duo we can get ourselves the chances converted into more goal. One more goal in Emirate toady would have killed off hotspurs. We are good at tormenting but very poor game killers.

• 20-Nov-2010 18:48 | | Leon
  

  Fucking apologist - take your head out of Wengers back side and look at Arsenal - if you have confidence in this band of foreign mercenaries then you need your eyes tested. It used to be that we suffered three home defeats over the space of two seasons we have no suffered three defeats in less than ten games - wenger has run out of ideas and missed opportunities to address the calamitous defensive situation - I want him gone and some fresh ideas as wenger has run out of them Mr 4-5-1 pass the ball and play fancy football but win fuck all - unambitious French twat will never spend other than to sign another French twat.

• 20-Nov-2010 18:50 | | bob  - 1 reason
  

  wenger !
  
  he cannot take this club any further!!! when you are 2 - 0 up you dont attack you close the shop and play break.
  
  when you are near the box you shoot you dont try and walk the ball into the net
  
  the mans a failure ... get out

• 20-Nov-2010 18:50 | | stephen  - minnows
  

  we have the smallest, shortest, lightest team in the PL, enough said.

• 20-Nov-2010 18:52 | | zama
  

  I rarely post on internet blogs or twitter after a bad result, heck I don't even talk to mates of gooner persuasion for a while. Why? In the emotionally charged moments / hours/ in most cases days after the defeat sound judgment goes out of the window and all we can pour out is the hurt we actually feel inside. So ... although I agree with almost all or most of your reasoning above, I shall stay positive, because thats all I can do, if not I'll probably go mad.

• 20-Nov-2010 18:53 | | nikogunners  - Anybody With a Address That Reaches Wenger
  

  This article and some of the recomendation here should be sent over to AWs and the postman must only return after he has read the last lines...

• 20-Nov-2010 18:55 | | Tom
  

  This team isn't good enough. It's as simple as that. We have made the same mistakes over and over and over again for the last 4 years. They haven't learnt and they never will.
  
  We aren't strong enough defensively either tactically or in terms of personnel. None of our centre backs are in the class of Ferdinand, Vidic, Carvalho or Terry. This has been the case for years and still hasn't been addressed and as soon as we come under pressure we concede. If we aren't under pressure, we make sloppy mistakes. Teams don't have to work hard to score against us and they know it.
  
  We lack an attacking player in the Ronaldo, Henry, Etoo etc mould. A player that wipes the floor with the likes of West Brom and makes the difference when we need it.
  
  We built the new stadium so that we could compete at the top end of the transfer market. It's time to exercise some that financial muscle otherwise we might as well have stayed at Highbury.

• 20-Nov-2010 18:56 | | Milseán  - Calm down
  

  Everyone take a deep breath.
  Arsenal are NO WORSE OFF than they were at the start of the day. Be thankful of that, at least. It's still all to play for. Keep calm. It's Man U away in two weeks to decide who goes top.

• 20-Nov-2010 18:59 | | Leon
  

  Koscelny the most useless piece of crap ever to have put on an Arsenal shirt - ten million quid for that championship quality defender when we could have got Jagielka or Cahill - being French is all you need to play for Arsenal, doesn't matter if you are any good you just have to be french - Silvestre, Gallas, Squillaci, Koscelny, Clichy, Sagna, Kerambeau all French and all fucking useless - they wouldn't know what pride for playing for Arsenal was if bit them on the ass - you only understand the pride for playing for a top English side by being English - the players mentioned above were in it for the money only.....

• 20-Nov-2010 19:00 | | bagwan
  

  ok, wengers gone.
  
  Who would you replace him with?
  
  Who out there in the football world, is better qualified to lead this group of players to success.
  
  Yes we've had a few bad results, we're 2 points off the top bruv. We've shown resilience in the last few games we've played that people would have never expected form this side.
  
  The result today was ridiculous, I agree, but there is nothing we can do about it. It's obvious we are much better equipped to win the premier league this season. The team is improving, and the manager still has a lot to give.
  
  Chill out, stop moaning, a win next week and you wont even remember this result.

• 20-Nov-2010 19:00 | | Hate Arsene  - Pain seems more stronger
  

  There are some redundancies that must happen every season:
  1. Arsene is the coach with unchanged ego
  2.Winning a few games from behind and after that losing 2 consecutive games
  3. Losing and drawing many games, though lead by 2 goals
  4. Goals swallowed during Injury time
  5. Winning goals come around 82 minutes and with this happiness, lose the next game with the same hope, though not come true every time.
  6.Give wrong decisions during substitutions
  7.Throwing water bottles ...
  8. Many insulting home defeats
  9. Accusing bad luck for defeats
  10. Assuring fans to buy many players during every window but actually not buy players
  11. Premere league defeats are tried to overshadow by a big difference win of other leagues
  12.Lose crucial games
  13....
  14....
  ......
  .....
  33.Sticking to some unreproducible players
  34.Not following Mark Twain advice that is, ' If you do the same thing again and again, the result will be the same again and again.'
  Here, the result is trophy less.

• 20-Nov-2010 19:02 | | bagwan
  

  Dude, your living in the past and just spouting the same old shit that has been said for years.
  
  Have you not looked at our youth team?
  
  Can you not see the 3 English youngsters playing in our first team, and for their country?
  
  Change the record..........

• 20-Nov-2010 19:08 | | d levy  - wenger out
  

  we are tottenham super tottenham from the lane we are tottenham super tottenham we are tottenham from the lane........

• 20-Nov-2010 19:12 | | David  - Title will come this season
  

  You will be top of the table for BAD DISCIPLINE.

• 20-Nov-2010 19:20 | | Timon  - Spurs Supporter's Comments
  

  Firstly Ha Ha Ha.
  
  Secondly all you gooner twats calling for AW to get the boot are half-witted cretins who know f-all about football. I love Redknapp but Id swap him for AW in a heartbeat. I'll also say that if I can find someone to give me 11-2 or you Arsenal wankers winning the league then I'll put the mortgage on it

• 20-Nov-2010 19:22 | | Anonymous  - Excellent article
  

  One point that might help you.
  
  "How many times do our rivals Chelsea, Man Utd, Liverpool and Spurs crop up?"
  
  
  Man utd and Chelsea are not our rivals, tottenham are. Our target for the last 6 years has been top 4 that has been our aim. Man u and chelsea are the only teams in the last 6 years that set out to win the league.
  
  STOP thinking utd and chelsea are our rivals, they are not!

• 20-Nov-2010 19:26 | | Leon
  

  Another "in Wenger we trust" retard - I would have any manager who had a CLUE about defending and fuck you and people like you " it doesn't matter if we win because we play such nice football " I could not give a fucking toss if we win next week or the week after or the week after that to lose against the fucking scum at home after being two nil up can never be forgiven.

• 20-Nov-2010 19:29 | | Leon
  

  Dude ? Are you eight years old ? No good having English players in the youth team if they never play is it ? French is the preferred language despite the fact that they are fucking hopeless,

• 20-Nov-2010 19:32 | | bagwan
  

  your jsut some hectic little kid who loves swearing at people he doesnt know over the internet.
  
  But I'll give you a few seconds.
  
  Yes losing against the scum after being two nil up can never be forgiven. But a win against United and i guarantee you will forget it, all will be well, until the next time a game doesn't go the way you want it to, and you start calling for Wengers head, and English players.
  
  Go home.
  Make sure you get your copy of The Sun on your way home.
  And watch a DVD of the Invincibles, hating yourself for still supporting Arsenal.

• 20-Nov-2010 20:07 | | Anonymous
  

  *** COMMENT REMOVED ***
  
  Sorry, won't be having stupid shit like that on here I'm afraid

• 20-Nov-2010 19:41 | | J
  

  Wenger will never sign experienced, world class players because they are not as much fun as young boys lol

• 20-Nov-2010 19:41 | | Trevor  - Wenger has lost it
  

  Wenger is too blame.The buck stops with him he picks the team.He keeps banging on game after game about this team having "Mental Strength" Where was the Mental Strength today?Its now 7 defeats out of out last 19 league games more than a third Three defeats in our last 5 league games

• 20-Nov-2010 19:51 | | Dan  - The end of Wenger
  

  When it comes to defending Wenger just doesnt have a clue.And what does he blame todays defeat on?yes you've guessed it BAD LUCK!!!!!What a fool he is.Time to go at the end of the season as the second half performance today proved he has lost it.Every season that passes by his reputation gets more tarnished.If he see's out his contract it will be 10 years without a trophy

• 20-Nov-2010 19:51 | | joey  - Embarassment
  

  In 2004 Arsenal were the invincibles side that went an entire season undefeated, dominated the premiership, and were up there with the greatest sides ive ever seen. at the end of that season i thought Arsenal were gona go on to dominate the premiership and possibly win the champs lge.
  
  WTF Happened from there.

• 20-Nov-2010 19:56 | | jlh86  - ...
  

  A couple of points:
  
  - Next week we'll win 3-0 and everyone will love Wenger and Arsenal again.
  
  - I'll take one home loss to Spurs every 17 years every day of the week.
  
  - At the start of the season, if someone said that Arsenal will be two points off the lead at this stage of the season, having played the teams we've played (as opposed to who our main rivals have played), I'm sure most supporters would've taken it!
  
  Wenger forever!

• 20-Nov-2010 19:56 | | Bertram  - Right Honourable
  

  Fuckwit

• 20-Nov-2010 19:58 | | Bertram  - Right Honourable
  

  Uneducated cunt.

• 20-Nov-2010 20:00 | | Bertram  - Right Honourable
  

  Xenophobic twat

• 20-Nov-2010 20:01 | | joey  - embarrassment part 2
  

  For me at the end of every season i find myself saying the same fing, that arsenal are 2 maybe 3 players short of being the best team in the country. and its the same this year. If we had signed a world class Gk (stekelenberg or neuer), And a proven CB ( Vertonghen would be perfect, instead of that lump of toss Koscielny) then we could be top of the premiership right now, but its things like that, which make us fall short every season. Every year we have to endure watching players like senderos, Djorou, Almunia, Fabianski, etc. Clowns that should be no where near an arsenal shirt. and im sick of Gutless performances like the second half today, a game we were in complete control of, its ridiculous that we lost that game, and its embarrassing for the club to be humiliated by fucking spurs of all teams at home. also i think arsenal sign to many lightweight players. thats why we have a ridiculous amount of injuries every year. V persie, injured for his whole career so far, hes perfect example. how are u supposed to win anyfing when most of ur first team are out for the majority of the season.

• 20-Nov-2010 20:02 | | Bertram  - Right Honourable
  

  Deluded fuckwit

• 20-Nov-2010 20:03 | | Bertram  - Right Honourable
  

  Einstein

• 20-Nov-2010 20:04 | | Reznuk  - Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics
  

  While that may be an accurate list, it's incomplete. It's incomplete because it doesn't show the opposite - the times when we were losing and we came back to draw or win. It doesn't show either the same stats for our main title rivals, or the 5 or 6 teams that often hover just below us.
  
  In other words, there is *no* context. Without context all sorts of conclusions can be draw (and are) - most of them in the comments above are pretty negative and lots of blame is attributed.
  
  But how do other teams compare - and how do Arsenal compare in previous seasons - i.e. the ones where we did win a trophy?
  
  The last time Arsenal lost two home games in the league in succession was the year we last won the double. I'm *not* saying we're going to win the double this year, but unless stats are put into context to enable real conclusions to be drawn (without the grasping at straws and Wenger bashing going on all over the place) then I for one am going to ignore this kind of stat.
  
  General focus is reasonable - concentration obvious. But blaming individuals or even the 'system' is not going to help anyone (though it may make you feel a little better today in getting your anger and frustration out).
  
  I'm not shouting you out SquidBoy and I appreciate where you're coming from - I'm not ignoring form or performance either - but posting this article today (out of frustration) invites the knockers and haters to come out and bear their anger and frustration.

• 20-Nov-2010 20:05 | | MeanLean
  

  It certainly is a scary number Squid Boy, if we want to take the next step and become the best in the league then we have to improve and improve fast.
  
  I like many was absolutely fuming at the final whistle and before. I was so angry I could have cried like the little kids you see in the stadiums when teams lose. I am still seething inside, going two up at home at half time against our neighbours and the losing the game is unforgivable.
  
  But some of the overreaction on here and around the blogs is pretty insane if I am to be honest. 'Sack Wenger, sack Wenger, he is an idiot!' get a bloody grip. If Wenger is to get the sack then Chelsea's manager and Ferguson should go with him.
  
  We are two points off the top of the league. I shall say that again TWO POINTS OFF THE TOP OF THE LEAGUE.
  
  I am not suggesting that everything is fine and dandy, not at all. We have to toughen up mentally and need to start showing some balls in those situations but come on, some perspective is needed.
  
  Now I have calmed down a little, this is how I see it. Wenger has built a team who only know one thing. Our team, our squad, is built, tactically and personnel wise to attack and score goals. When we have to go forward, we do that and do it well. Tottenham were destroyed in the first half and they could not get near us, we should have scored more than two in the first half, had we scored the third, then this wouldn't even be an issue today.
  
  The problem with our team is that at 2-0 we didn't know what to do. We are not built like Chelsea who can sit back and concede possession and look comfortable, players like Arshavin, Nasri, Cesc, Clichy etc are fine tuned to attack and in our position we pulled up that annoying mental handbrake. Tottenham with nothing to lose took the game to us and once Bale scored the mental advantage was well with them.
  
  I said to my mate that if we don't score again we will not win and unfortunately I was proved correct. That is not good enough, the players have to be stronger than that. We will be in many positions where the mental advantage shifts to the opposition and we have to deal with that. We do not have kids in our team anymore, we have experienced internationals who need to step up and show some bottle.
  
  But please don't rubbish our manager and players as if we are bloody Wolves. We are not. We are title contenders. The best teams in this league are inconsistent does that mean they are rubbish also? Before today (not sure if that has changed or not) we had the third best defensive record. We have played arguably the toughest away matches of our competition so far. We are usually strong at home and in the first half that looked like getting back to normal.
  
  I hope Wenger gives the players an earful because that second half was cack but have a look at your feet and your head and get some perspective!

• 20-Nov-2010 20:22 | | Mark
  

  ML
  
  We are relying on other teams to lost to keep us up there.We have lost 3 out of the last 5 home games when was the last time that happened.We have the same problems as we did last season.The CBs with the exception of TV are not good enough, Song does not do his job of protecting the back four and we lack concentration.Nothing has changed from last season.We are a 3rd or 4th place team

• 20-Nov-2010 20:28 | | MeanLean
  

  "We are relying on other teams to lost to keep us up"
  
  But then, isn't that the point? Teams are taking points off each other and that includes Chelsea who have lost back to back games.
  
  I wanted us to have won all of our games and been clear at the top but it is not to be, I am sure our rivals wanted the same.
  
  I believe we have the best squad in this league, we need to sort out some serious mental problems but I will not be persuaded that we are not good enough to win the league.
  
  We shall see come the end of the season if we are the same as last season, I don't believe we are.

• 20-Nov-2010 20:32 | | RedandDread  - Losing leads
  

  I have to agree with you 100%. If the team had any championship winning desires most of those leads would have been turned into 3 pts. We do not know how to control a game when ahead. Simplely, Wenger has concentrated on aesthetics, which when working (a la 1st half today) is great. However, when we needed to buckle down and keep our heads, our lead, we can't do it. Unfortunatley that not only reflects on the players Wenger keeps playing (I like most of them) but more importantly on himself. If we look at the goals conceded today, they are goals of the type we have been conceding for years-These lads whilst technically very good have some awful habits and they keep coming back to bite us in the ass! Wenger has not won a BIG match in 5 years. The last one he won was against MANU in the FA Cup final. His tactics and practices no longer work at the VERY top. His day has come and gone.

• 20-Nov-2010 20:34 | | Matt P  - Why change the backline?
  

  Was I alone in wanting JD to retain his position at centre back? He'd played well against Wolves and Everton, he's our biggest (tallest) CB and therefore an obvious choice against Pavluchenko, Crouch, and Kaboul. And we needed someone to head clear in the 85th minute.......
  Not sure which goal disappointed me more. Why did the CB's not rush back to defend, having gone up for a free-kick at 2-0? Didn't Koz see Bale a few yards in front of him, and realise he was a threat? And what idot jumps with his hand above his head in the penalty box? Two in our case.....
  So pissed off with the second half performance and losing to the Spuds.

• 20-Nov-2010 20:38 | | Andy
  

  Today was an embarassment.To lost at home for the 1st time in 17 years to your biggest rivals is bad enough but to lose after being 2-0 up is criminal.But this wasnt a one off as Wigan and Blackburn last season and WBA and Newcastle proved this.This team unlike the great Wenger teams of the past lacks fight,resilience and toughness.Wenger is too soft on his players he needs to start kicking some arses as some of our players are just strolling through games

• 20-Nov-2010 20:40 | | RedandDread  - Wenger
  

  He has had 5 years to sort us out-he says that this is his most talented squad. Bullshit. If someone is going to keep bullshitting you for 5 years then after a while you are going to say "You know what-Fuck Off I don't want to hear what you have to say anymore".
  
  Groundhog day has come to describe our recent defeats and if our manager cannot remedy our weaknesses which are nothing new, then who the hell can.
  
  I am a AKB fan but I now believe that he is not the man to lead us to glory. He is too stubborn and either has stuck with players that are not good enough or been tactically inept in the big games. Arsenal make teh same mistakes over and over and over. this team will never learn as long as he keeps coaching them. It horrifys me to say that but I firmly believe it now. The facts are there-all 34 of them

• 20-Nov-2010 20:57 | | rice and wenger out
  

  wenger is too naive in the transfer window and tatically and rice is too far up wengers a**** to tell him to start changing things around. anyone who gives me any crap about the invincibles or the double winning teams can f*** off. its time to start living in the present. thank you wenger and thank you rice youve done great jobs for arsenal but its time to go.

• 20-Nov-2010 20:58 | | fakorede olamoyegun  - awareness
  

  Arsene wenger is a good manager but poor boss un4giving questions do wenger has an advicer or not?or he rescind there advice poor wenger,if you fail to take any silver ths season you wil never be4giving you like to stail a good sleepnight,poor wenger i dnt knw what else4u to do to convince me poor you

• 20-Nov-2010 21:05 | | MeanLean
  

  "rice is too far up wengers a**** to tell him to start changing things around."
  
  Explain that one please

• 20-Nov-2010 21:13 | | rice and wenger out
  

  well meanlean my freind the point i am trying to make is the only thing pat rice does with his job now is lay out the cones during the warm up. during the game when things go wrong he just look at wenger complaining probably about why the goal should not have counted or some crap like that

• 20-Nov-2010 21:19 | | MeanLean
  

  I have heard this so many times but the truth is nobody apart from the coaching staff, players and Wenger fully understand what Pat Rice's job actually is. We do not know what Rice says to Wenger on the bench, we do not know how much advice Wenger takes on from Rice. You are making your own conclusions based on nothing at all.
  
  The truth is, if we had taken one more of our chances in the first half we would be top of the league. We fucked it up big time in the second half and now Wenger and Rice should go. We are not two points off the bottom, we are two points off the top.
  
  I know you are disappointed and angry but doesn't that sit wrong with you somehow?

• 20-Nov-2010 21:27 | | MH
  

  the problem with this team is that most of them have been babied into the first team, they need a good kick up the backside, but Wenger seems unwilling to provide it and that why we will continue to have results like this one and the West Brom and Newcastle fiasco. Look at the tone of Wengers post match compared to Ferguson's post Everton. Wenger pointing out us showing good qualties etc etc, while Ferguson was absolutly murderous that they threw away a 2 goal lead. No prizes for guessing which approach works.

• 20-Nov-2010 21:41 | | afo
  

  enough is enough, we re often so quick to rubbish this team. I think the fan too has to look at themselves. Once we went behind at home, the mood change. We go cold, psychologically we dont seems to be helping the team. They need us to cheer them on. If we re going to be cheerin them up only if they win or when we re in a lead.... then we had better all stay at home and let the team play an indoor games..

• 20-Nov-2010 21:59 | | moe  - big statement
  

  i think that the biggest statement that wenger could make is to buy a naughty defender and i mean a very big one. Look at Campbell last year
  the guy was a monster in defence.we need such a defender even if we have to pay big money for him. We need nasty defenders that will push the team forwards and blow the braveheart spirit in them

• 20-Nov-2010 22:23 | | @meanlean
  

  i see what u mean but if rice has been givin wenger advice then its obviously wrong cause we aint been winning anything for the last 5 years

• 20-Nov-2010 23:26 | | DF  - don't be silly
  

  Mourinho won't come to the Arsenal without a war chest of 100M...don't be silly!
  And don't be 'racist'--Spuds afford the comeback not because they have the right kind of Englishman--who is English in this Spuds team? Who saved them--Bale & VdV...are they English?

• 20-Nov-2010 23:31 | | DF  - Brace yourself
  

  If the statistics of the Squid boy indicates a tendency, we must brace ourselves for 5 more heartbreaks. Don't you see that in the past two seasons, we have lost the lead 7 times each season? This season we have two until now--the Sunderland and the Spuds game--so there will be 5 more.
  
  I hold Wenger responsible because in the past two seasons these reversals happen 7 times in each season and his team still fail to learn. "
  I wont talk about complacency, because complacency can only cost you 1 goal. When the other team come back, we simply disintegrate--we fail to keep the ball, we commit silly fouls, we simply lose shape and confidence. How can that happen so often? How can we fail to learn?

• 20-Nov-2010 23:43 | | DF  - Arshavin Squillaci
  

  Dont talk nonsense--who is arshavin but an experienced, world class player? Squillaci may not be a Carvalho, but he had been in the French XI indeed!

• 20-Nov-2010 23:48 | | DF  - What about Thomas Vermaelen?
  

  If we are gutless, then the whole team are gutless, and signing one or two players won't heal this. We have the 35 yr old Campbell by the end of last season--he is not gutless, but we lost to Wigan at 2-0 up and 15 min left. So is TV4 lightweighted? But he is injured for 1/3 of a season now...dont just repeat all those unsound and not based on fact accusations like a parrot. Dont you guys have a brain?

• 20-Nov-2010 23:49 | | Jan  - 34 reasons
  

  1. Arsene Wenger is getting old
  2. Arsene Wenger is stubborn
  3. Arsene Wenger is a tight-ass
  4. Arsene Wenger is profit-obsessed
  5. Arsene Wenger believes in his own delusion
  6. Arsene Wenger refuses to admit he's wrong
  7. Arsene Wenger's youth project
  8. Arsene Wenger's lack of ambition beyond a CL spot
  9. Arsene Wenger is incapable of winning
  10. Arsene Wenger doesn't give a hoot about Arsenal fans
  11. Arsene Wenger rules Arsenal
  12. Arsene Wenger cannot be sacked
  13. Arsene Wenger is a perpetual underperformer
  14. Arsene Wenger doesn't coach defence
  15. Arsene Wenger tolerates mediocre players
  16. Arsene Wenger lost the plot
  17. Arsene Wenger is scared of spending
  18. Arsene Wenger doesn't like established players. They upset his rule
  19. Arsene Wenger should have retired 5 years ago
  20. Arsene Wenger disbanded the Invincibles
  21. Arsene Wenger's 1 year contracts for players > 30 years old
  
  (I'm tired of typing)
  
  34. Arsene Wenger will never win anything for Arsenal until he retires

• 21-Nov-2010 00:00 | | DF  - We self destruct
  

  I am sorry I have to disagree--"Tottenham with nothing to lose took the game to us and once Bale scored the mental advantage was well with them. "
  Are we watching the same game ?Spurs did not overwhelm us in the second half. They did not create that many chances at all. We still have more possession, we still have chances to score, but we fail to take them. Spurs take most of their chances.
  WE self-destruct, we disintegrate.
  
  Besides, I query the philosophy of building a team that must attack 60-70 minutes of a match to win a match. No team can do it ALL the TIME. Maybe one game or two; maybe 5-10 games. But not 38 games. It is silly to build such a team. Not even Barca attacks all the time. They keep possession; pass the ball around, and wait for the right chance to bite. Not us. When we are pulled back, we cannot even keep possession or pass well.
  
  In one word, the problem is we are not strong enough mentally
  to lose a lead.

• 21-Nov-2010 00:09 | | Ray
  

  WBA home Spurs home 6 goals conceded.Whose job is it to coach the defence at the club? Rice or Wenger?.The Policy of we will score more than you and forget defending wont work.We need a defensive coach brought in to teach our back four how to defend.Today was shocking but not totally unexpected

• 21-Nov-2010 00:47 | | gk  - Mourinho...never
  

  Mourinho was second choice at Real Madrid for a very good reason, his teams play to win but never thrill the way Wenger's Arsenal do. Arsene is an idealist, committed to beautiful football. Mourinho, in addition to having an ego the size of Siberia, cares only about winning, playing pragmatic, ugly football and alienating people along the way. Wenger is not perfect but he is vastly preferable to Mourinho.

• 21-Nov-2010 00:52 | | gk  - racist twat
  

  Your beloved, primitive English football was undressed in the England / French friendly the other night, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, at Arsenal and elsewhere.

• 21-Nov-2010 02:12 | | waulie
  

  wenger out! now!!!

• 21-Nov-2010 02:13 | | Matt  - Matty023@hotmail.com
  

  Bertram - wow what a truly enlightened and educated chap!! Must be another AKB!
  
  Not much needs to be said that hasn't been said a thousand times before. It's simple Wenger has built a cheap average side that will achieve one thing... that is to get into the top 4. He has no concept of tactics, and has no real idea of how to build/coach a defence and it's no coincidence that in what should be the biggest most passionet game at home of the season his side collapse against a team who have not won against a top side for almost 2 decades.
  
  No he has now had 6½ years to get it right and has used every excuse there is, when it has gone wrong..... it should now be realised that he no longer has what it takes and retires/resigns!

• 21-Nov-2010 02:53 | | Sobin the gooner
  

  Losing to fucking spuds is dissappointing. But keep faith guys.Arsene is the right man for Arsenal.Next week we may be top of the league.But I also admit that we the fans have to create incredible atmosphere.IN ARSENE WE (I) TRUST

• 21-Nov-2010 03:11 | | goonergerry
  

  Wenger has to say its luck- he cant admit what we all know that hes filled the team with players who are strong offensively and who are for the most part are weak defenders.
  Given the change in personnel- it has to be Wenger himself that is the cause of this problem.
  People are either very pro or very anti Wenger-yet he seems to be a combination of both- reflected by his team- but what cant be argued is that Spurs are now a better team than Arsenal having won the last 2 games that matter.
  Arsenal need to invest in several top level experienced international defenders and midfield players and a top goalkeeper- but we are talking pie in the sky because it wont happen.

• 21-Nov-2010 05:08 | | dotwuzhia  - mr
  

  Every gr8 team is built on defence and its not so in our case. Once you can't conceed then there's much chance you can win. Having just 2/3 defensive minded players on the pitch is only asking for trouble. That's just the difference now compared to the 'Invincibles'. Who coaches our players on defence?

• 21-Nov-2010 07:27 | | kelly
  

  for the record the highly decorated arsene wenger has not signed a top centre back in 14years at arsenal (that's a tall two footed strong in the air commanding and fast centre back) the best he got was sol cambell but then sol chose arsenal. the defeat proves another point that arsenal can't beat a top four team as they are right now. a radical surgery is required HERE AND NOW. A DEFENSIVE COACH is required. song,diaby denlson, squilaci and koscienly are not FIRST TEAM quality for a TOP FOUR TEAM. ARSENAL need a FLETCHER in midfield and a tall centre back with a strong left foot. if KOSCIENLY is so good why aren't POLAND even interested in him. he couldn't even make it to the squad for a friendly. his left foot doesn't exist!

• 21-Nov-2010 08:08 | | Bertram  - Right Honourable
  

  AKB? Sorry old fruit, not with you.

• 21-Nov-2010 09:02 | | Tommy  - Its about Defence stupid
  

  In the late 80's and throgh the whole of the 90's we had the greatest back 4 ever in history.Not the greatest player's individually but as a 4 man unit brilliant.Why? because every training session George Graham TRAINED and DRILLED them in the art of defending.Who at the club trains the defence?.Watching them every week the answer has to be no one.Do our back 4 defend as a unit?can they defend set pieces?Just look at Sagna and Clichy bombing forward and getting caught upfield they are defenders not wingers.Wenger seems to have given up completley about defence.The two CB's signed in the summer are not up to it.Defending is an art but not in Wengers book

• 21-Nov-2010 09:05 | | john  - whats next?
  

  AW,its time to go.5 yrs and nothing to show for it.

• 21-Nov-2010 10:40 | | Evonna  - Spot on
  

  Thank you for your comment, it was refreshing to read something that is actually true, not dismal, negative and unsupportive. We are supposed to support our team through thick and thin, not like the glory hunting Chavs. Having said all that, i am gutted that we lost at home to Spuds, that is lowest of the low.

• 21-Nov-2010 11:04 | | noname  - The lucky is Chelsea 's loss
  

  It's very very upset in this game. The manager should index to him about his tactic and knowhow that are too old in the modern football especially about his vision. In modern football, the gameplan (tactic) when the team lead 2-0 is easy counter attack style (Theo is useful for this tactic not Nasri) to kill them as Newcastle done in Villa and Birmingham games to show how the professional football done no kindness to the opposit by holding football and passing again and again not thinking to scores. Every players are the parts of team that manager has right to use in tactic that he wants but Wenger has one style and one tempo not accept to change style and tempo that make this team die in3 home matches because every teams know what tactic (style and tempo) the Arsenal plays. He should change his tactic in numberous tempo(Fast and slow,direct and passing,counter attack and procession and finally effective setplays) and style(4-2-3-1 ,4-3-3,4-2-1-3(one pole striker with double support attackers and playmaker and4-4-2(double pole strikers) in the Entertainment and beautiful football that his high quality squad he has. I think the manager has too old knowhow not update or up to date and don't think to new knowhow. Finally,he should be brave enough to say the truth face to face to his player that how is good and the best thing to his players not only faith to his players' quality and let them played in the pitch without his top quality and form such as RVP that should go to the reserve game until jan 2011 to gain his confident and magic play by play in numberous games not in important EPL or Champion league game or caring cup match that he not makes any different and magic because he lacks of tempo and confident to play the difficult playshot. Wenger has a lot of multiple style attacker to use but he can't bring the best form them and limit them to play in one passing and make the killer passing to score that make Theo ,Double AA ,Big Bend ,Vela and RVP dropped their form.

• 21-Nov-2010 11:24 | | Dom
  

  clearly a well thought responce to an articulate argument.

• 21-Nov-2010 11:26 | | Dom
  

  You're just a serial idiot judging by your fabulously conceived comments

• 21-Nov-2010 11:32 | | Dom
  

  The story behind us not being able to hold a lead is Arsene Wenger.
  
  We dont change tactics from being 0-0 to 2-0. This is a romantic notion, but a very naive one.
  
  When leading, keep players back, let the other team push players forward in order to hit them on the break. Our players like Walcott are built for counter-attack.
  
  By going for goal 3 or 4 it leaves us wide open at the back.
  
  Also, why oh why was Clichy again out of position in centre midfield going for a long ball header giving Bale a clear run in from 30 yards??
  
  Clichy has got to go. Arsene has got to wise up.

• 21-Nov-2010 12:41 | | Steve
  

  An interesting post to say the least. I don't know how much faith I would have in future trends based on these statistics, but it is at least useful in showing what has happened over the last few years (I wonder if it would look any different going back another 10-15 years).
  
  I know a loss is going to hurt, and a loss to Spurs is going to hurt more, but the question should be less about the nationality of the players (would you have given Henry the boot because he was French?) and more about what the side is actually doing this season in matches. Arsenal is a different squad than it was even two years ago. The past cannot be changed, only the present and future.
  
  Have our problems this season been related to a bad run of luck when it comes to injuries, or have the players on the pitch not had time to adjust properly and get in sync? I mean if we look at the back, Squillaci and Koscielny are both new tot he club this season and haven't had a whole lot of time to "fit" yet. I think Squillaci is doing well and is more consistent than Koscielny. The latter seems to be struggling and shows less comfort/consistency. That said, the defense hasn't been too bad so far this season.
  
  I think the games where we perform best seem to those in which our passing game and the fluidity of exchange between the players is natural and smooth and this was lacking in the second half of the Spurs game. I wonder how much a factor Cesc is in all this. He's in a bit of a slump now and fewer of his passes have been getting through with some of his through balls be completely off the mark. Clichy has moments of inconsistency as well, being off his mark and straying out of position. This has caused us defensive nightmares at times as well.
  
  Anyway, I'm less likely to have Wenger's head and more likely to suggest that consistency is key to the team winning matches. We show moments of incredible insight and others where the whole thing breaks down. We're great at making scoring opportunities, but we also make a lot of mistakes allowing others to do the same.

• 21-Nov-2010 13:23 | | MM  - Wenger out?
  

  Those that want Wenger out who do you want to replace him exactly?

• 21-Nov-2010 13:27 | | Mike  - Pet Hate
  

  Dom, you've got that wrong. It wasn't down to Clichy being out of position it was because we only had two players back (Clichy and Sagna) against Defoe when we had a free kick. There was so much space between them and the next Arsenal player it was just asking for trouble. We always leave ourselves too exposed to the counter attack from our own corners and free-kicks.
  
  Similarly, and this is my real pet hate, we always defend corners and free-kicks with every player in the box. Why we do this I'll never understand as whenever the ball gets cleared the opposition are able to gain possession far too easily and then deliver another ball back into our box. This is also why we rarely score goals on the break at home anymore. When we do gain possession there is never anybody upfield to pass the damn thing to and get at the opposition quickly. By the time we have passed the ball out of defence the opposition are all back in their defensive positions. We have players who we should never ask to defend corners, e.g. Arshavin and Walcott. If we stick one of them up the field it will either speed up our counter-attacks or slow down the opposition in returning the ball into our box.
  
  As for yesterday it just looked like they believed the game was over at half-time. This is not a new problem, it's been a failing of Arsenal for many seasons now and this is down to the players themselves. It doesn't matter what is said to them, if they think the job is done it is very difficult to change that way of thinking. Once you are in that frame of mind it's very difficult to maintain the same level of concentration and effort that got you into the winning position in the first place.
  
  AW and PR have some responsibility here but it's not all down to them as the players need to keep themselved motivated.

• 21-Nov-2010 13:37 | | mr wenger is scabby
  

  its time for mr wenger to go, scabby little rat. hes not a manager hes a football coach, same shit , year in year out, his standards hav dropped, go back to basics, things that won arsenal titles big paddy , martin keown, adams, not no unproven rat from france why didnt jd start yesterday. same shit nasri, fabregas,arshavin,wilshere,rosicky,even song now same sort of player where is the balance in the squad, .get it right mr wenger. u useless stubborn cunt. go back to 442 play it better then anyone else not dis stupid 451 shit stupid wenger sign a keeper aswell . tight bastard,

• 21-Nov-2010 13:52 | | MeanLean
  

  Out of interest where were all these Wenger out comments last weekend?
  
  Serious question

• 21-Nov-2010 14:03 | | jimmy  - Defence
  

  i have said it before and will say it again. arsenal were lucky to win the double in 1998 and 2002 coz when wenger came in he had the likes tony adams, martin keown, steve bould, lee dixon and nigel winterburn to soldier the defence. we need defender like this. he did great when he bought sol campbell. now we have thomas vermaelen. but tell me, how many defenders especially centre half did make it to the crap list? remember igor? cygan? senderos? and those crap defenders were abel to survive coz we had viera at that time. and now kochielny and squillaci? and there are no good defencive midfielder. again defence.
  
  come on. no matter how great we play with that silky passing movement, defence is just everything. history shows that arsenal were a great defensive team. history doesnt lie. go out and buy great centre half. not just decent. then we wont be giving up goals for charity.

• 21-Nov-2010 14:24 | | Anonymous
  

  please wenger , why not you leave the arsenal unless you buy 01 exprienced goal keeper, 01 defencer , 02 good stricker , if not you do this you should leave it

• 21-Nov-2010 17:52 | | gun1970s  - ARSENE WENGER, BE A MAN ADMIT YOUR FAULTS AND LEAV
  

  ....Wenger, just leave ... instead of trying to use this club for your personal ambition of CL glory. You are trying to be better than Herbert Chapman but your stubbornness will never win after all these years.. And too proud to admit it.
  
  You have built a beautiful stadium but the trophy cabinet is rotting with old trophies.. You cant see what wrong with the defense for years!!! ... except that you must buy cheaply....sylvestre, remember?

• 21-Nov-2010 17:59 | | iniestar  - What's Pat Rice's role?
  

  Pat Rice, what's his role anyway? After 5 years without trophies, he still sits there without any influence on wenger to do something better..? Oh, he's another AKB..

• 21-Nov-2010 21:02 | | 2 nil and you f*cked it up..  - Listen Guys
  

  look I am a spurs fan and want to be honest with you all, for years you lot have been the envy of the league, you had the Hill-woods and David Dein at the helm, you had Thomas, Merson, Rocastle, Davis, Adams, Wright, Parlour, etc etc..a really good core and Wenger came in and was succesful with the remains of an english core, when he recognised Adams was over the hill , he took our Tony Adams and kept you strong in the right areas...
  Now it is you guys with foreigners at the top ,Russians and Greeks fighting for control of a once proud club, and us who have an owner like the Hill-woods who keeps out of sight and lets Levy (our david dein) do his work, we now have dawson, lennon, huddlestone, jenas, defoe, crouch, king, woodgate, etc etc who care about the local derby and the club..you are a bit lost at the moment and rather than slag wenger accept he lost the biggest ally he had in Dein..he is such an honourable man that he continues where most would have walked...however do i think his time is up ? yes it is..he now finds himself unable to discipline wilshire for pumping birds in his work time as he is doing it to and as a manager in any walk of life you cannot have your staff having that over you ..

• 21-Nov-2010 21:56 | | eduardo1967  - keep the faith
  

  For the entire first half the stadium was rocking! Five minutes into the second half we knew what was possible and we did not help the players by showing it. As we all knew it could/would happen all we did was stand there biting our nails. As a consequence you could tell the players felt it as well. So the players and fans all knew it so we/they panicked. Fans stopped singing and the players totally stopped playing. I think that the only person who "did not see it" was Wenger. Twitchy Redknapp played a blinder at half time. By going 4-4-2 he knew we would crumble. Our defense can cope with "one up top" but not two. Wenger had three options after the break. 1) keep as is. 2) match twitch like for like (4-4-2) or 3) Tell Song to be the 3rd CB and ask Clichy and Sagna to defend. As we know due to his stubborness he chose 1). This played into their hands and the rest is history.

• 21-Nov-2010 22:46 | | aboudiaby
  

   you're a disgrace - tell me one man who could have better managed Arsenal's financial situation post new stadium and still consistently produced good results (and attractive football) and kept us in the top four? During a 4 year period in which the beloved Martin O'Niell had a net transfer outlay of £90m at Villa and couldn't break into the Champions League spots, Wenger made a profit and helped dramatically reduce the large debt while (with the exception of one year) comfortably keeping us top 4 and occasionally challenging for the title (against teams with far larger budgets).  In a time of general financial irresponsibility he's put us on an extremely sound footing for the future (in contrast to most other big clubs, including Barcelona btw who are in serious debt). I'm not saying Wenger's not made mistakes, and there can be no more excuses for not winning now, but he's a hero for what he's done so far.
  
  As for your tactical analysis - maybe Arsenal should also get some big guys in the middle of the park, put Wilshere on the wing, and quickly get the ball up to some big lads up front? Because yes that's the model that's winning everything worldwide. And if you're talking about Mourinho's model at Inter last year, to he honest I'd rather emulate Barca than his approach of winning at all cost.
  
  This whole tired, empty and thoughtless concept of 'Arsenal try to walk the ball into the net so they screw up' is pathetic. It seems to work ok for Barcelona and Spain. They're just better at it, and have more confidence, composure, focus and determination.
  
  We lost against Spurs because our defence couldn't handle simple long-balls and we didn't have the mental strength and composure to fight on and score more after conceding, instead making stupid errors. That kind of confidence comes through winning things, which might seem like a catch-22, but really all Arsenal need to do is get better at what they do now, and nurture young players in their style, not change the way they play. Then trophies will come.

• 22-Nov-2010 09:08 | | Anonymous
  

  people dismiss the reign of george graham....using the boring arsenal tag...but he built a solid defense which was the envy of europe. That defense saw wenger through his first few years at the club. look at the apalling state of it now!!!....useless!.....15million spent on lightweight muppets......i wish i had placed some money on the emirates defeats....there were some huge odds offered!

• 22-Nov-2010 12:00 | | fizagooner  - something must change..
  

  Someone has to change something if we want a different result...Agree some, not agree some, the problem with our team is that we don't have Plan B, we only stick to one type of playing, one type of attacking and one type of defending for the whole of 90mins playing. We got stuck if the opposite team change formation after 1st half break. Everybody knows our tactics and everybody knows how to defeat us.
  
  Guys, Remember how many chances our defence allowed Wolves, Everton, and half decent team punished us and it cost us...i know we have suffered terrible loss than this and we have bounce back but 3 defeats at home-Wenger must change something...
  
  I don't want to criticize much because this is my team and i don't want to let all the players down with all negative comments..we criticize the team just to show how much we love them.. I don't want to support Chelsea or MU or City.. i know if we want to secure a win and afraid to lose, we can choose not to support Arsenal. but this is what we are, our faith and believe, we put our heart and soul in this team.
  
  To Gunners, please please wake up and do something, change something...you decide what you want to change and we want to see the result..Come On Gunners..
  
  Gunners for life...
  
  p/s: don't spoil my Sunday...

• 22-Nov-2010 14:20 | | Paxton Upper !..  - the derby
  

  hell now we have demonstrated we are better than you and judging by some of these comments you have enough to be getting on with , I may even drop our rivalry with Chelsea and invite you lot back as our rivals, it would appear you do care after all..
  YID ARMY !..
  
  and now on to a Villa side likely to test your weak midfield in the tackle and your weak in the air defenders ..LOVE IT !

• 22-Nov-2010 14:23 | | MeanLean
  

  Remind me of your league position compared to ours again? And while your at it, remind me of your last league title?
  
  I am not sure as I wasn't born.

• 22-Nov-2010 15:01 | | Paxton Upper !..
  

  early days for league position lets judge that in May..
  
  You went donkeys years without a league title and football is cyles so now it is your turn to do nothing ..good aint it !..
  
  love it when gooners resort to history proves they are shit !

• 22-Nov-2010 18:29 | | Simone Perrota  - More of the same
  

  I thoroughly agree.
  
  I'll always passionately love this club, because we play sublime football and make the PL entertaining...
  
  But the bottom line is - we've been trophyless for 5 years and we keep either losing or drawing games for the same reasons each year.
  
  Lack of clinicity, defensive naivety, over-reliance on passing triangles (which just doesn't work when teams defend deep) lack of depth, dodgy goalkeeping
  
  Wenger needs to start buying established players. Because the more senior players leave (either because of age or lack of silverware), the more random, unproven players he's going to bring in.
  
  We lost Diarra (Wenger fucked up big time by underplaying him), G. Silva and Flamini after 07/08. OK G. Silva was past it, but Diarra and Flamini (why we stalled on giving him a contract is beyond me). 2 competent midfielders gone...
  
  Instead of replacing (M. Veloso and Jean Makoun were readily available, Wenger decides to be too clever and in typical minimalist fashion plucks song out of CB and solidifies Eboue as a RWB...
  
  Then he has the nerve to go on about statistics and injuries...
  
  5 years and it's always 1 step forward 2 steps backwards...
  Man U and Chelsea are declining forces, this season was an opportunity to make a point, so far Wenger's new recruits have fallen flat (Chamakh's been moderately good) and we lack at least 1 finished article in every position.
  How are those statistics Wenger?!
  
  We lost to Tottenham because we played with more fear than confidence. Now if bringing in experienced and mentally strong players isn't going to solve what's been a problem for the last 2/3 years especially, what the fuck will?!
  
  The future is Arsenal and we have far too many great prospects to not challenge for trophies in future years, but we just seem to keep stalling at the moment and Wenger keeps putting faith in a squad that is threadbare every time we lose 1 key player... the future won't be the future for ever - if that makes sense!
  
  If we don't bring in a quality, defensive-minded player in January - we ain't winning shit. That's realism - fuck the thumbs down.

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