Our midfield defence should be cutting off the runs from midfield but only
Alex Song is prepared to do this job,not Ramsey or Wilshere,so it,s not
the back four who are entirely to blame ,stop the opposition from comi
ng straight through our midfield,it was cruelly exposed vs Trash.United
when will ther coaching staff rectify this glaring problem?

The only 'glimmer of hope' is that it brings the end of the arrogant con artist's reign another step closer. We can all then look forward to a new era for our great club. Hopefully Board and fans will learn their lesson. Don't hang on too long to a manager out of blind loyalty. Wenger's time should have been up four years ago, three at most. Hanging on has just compounded the problems and made it more difficult for the next guy.

I watched the match from kick off till final whistle. Arsenal played a good match and should have won, but didn't because of two own goals and a blind lines-man. If the lines-man saw the off side then the score would have been 3-3 but even then the score should have been 3-1 to arsenal but Song and Koscielny had to score for the wrong side and, eventually, make us lose the match. On a happier note, the first half was a good half and I was pleased about the score. I said to myself 'Arsenal played that half well and, I can tell you now, there gonna score' and BAM!!! they did.

But Final score 4-3 i'm not a happy fan

what next guy? who told you that arsenal needs a next guy? lol ...

why dont you go lay on your sofa and have w@nk and relax hey ....

all u experts think you can talk about football and wenger;s ability as a manager?

lol sit down for crying out loud ......

No offence meant but are you normal? You are starting to strike me as a retard.

How can he be normal MUK, hes an AKB. and a weirdo.

He seems to post comments that have no correlation whatsoever with the article under discussion.

I think the point made about our formation is key. We/ Wenger has stuck to the 433 formation for 3 years now without any change and I agree that other teams being left guessing as to how this Arsenal team are going to approach the game has become a thing of the past. It has all become so predictable. I will not even begin to insinuate that I know more about tactics that Arsene but it seems so clear that Van Persie becomes far 2 isolated for long periods of games, our wide players rarely get close enough to him, and the lack of a real 2nd striker means that there is not enough support for RVP in the central attacking third of the pitch. This means that all of our technical football goes wasted as when the key passes are made in the final third, there are NEVER enough bodies/options in the box.
On the defensive side, as the wide forwards are playing with three central midfielders between them, there seems to be the tendency to lay off defensive duties. Therefore there are many situations where we lose the ball in the opponents half of the pitch and then never recover our defensive shape quick enough to plug big holes that appear in the areas in front and behind our full backs.
As I have said, I am not for a second saying that I am more knowledgeable than Wenger but I am very concerned at his stubbornness and lack of tactical flexibility as a Manager. I feel that a 442 formation would not only help our defensive shape, and the balance of the team in general, now that Fabregas and Nasri have left, I would also say that the players in this present squad are better suited to a 442 formation. I would say that the back 4 picks itself with the exception of a Gibbs/Santos debate. But a central midfield of Song and Wilshere, with Arteta playing as a right sided Midfielder and tucking in when needed, (eg Parlour 9 and Gervino as a flying winger (eg Overmars) would have a better balance to it. Wilshere could then cover for Gervino when he joins the strikers as he is left footed. In exactly the same way that Petit would cover for Overmars. Upfront, RVP in my opinion, is completely wasted as a target man and would be better suited as a second striker(eg Bergkamp) with a quick striker who makes intelligent runs off the ball and can finish well, Theo Walcott. ( eg Anelka,Wright,Henry). I think that Walcott is wasted on the wing in the same way as RVP is wasted as a target man, he doesnt use his best attributes. His pace is generally wasted on the wing as he doesnt have the tricks and technique in that area of the pitch to be productive enough. Theo's pace needs to be used in getting away from defenders and running towards goal, not towards the corner flag!

It is a long standing view that this current Arsenal team, regardless of personnel, do not defend as a team in any where new the same way as the 98/02 and 04 title winning teams and I feel that Wenger has to be held responsible for this issue not being improved on. Sometimes I start to worry that he is incapable of this as a manager and that his past teams where better at it not because of any of his own input, but as the defensive qualities from the George Graham era still existed within the squad and Wenger was blessed with defensive gods in Adams/Keown/Bould/Dixon/ and Winterburn. What our team needed was technical flair to compliment that defensive knowhow. As we all know, Wenger succeeded immeasurably in this regard. Now however, what we have is the opposite, a team full of gifted, technical footballers with a huge lack ability to defend as a team. I feel that it is very clear that , with regards to Wenger, this area of weakness seems much harder for him to address. Its almost like for all the great man's obvious talent and extensive knowledge, there is a file missing somewhere, a mis-laid module of important facts that he just does not seem to be able to recollect or call upon. I used to think that it was a key centre back signing was all that we needed but my view is that u could have 2 of the best C -backs in the world playing for our club and we would still struggle to consistently keep clean sheets.
I feel that there is something drastically wrong on the defensive coaching side at our club, maybe not enough specific training geared to when we don't have the ball? I would maybe suggest that in Wenger's possible slight obsession with technical, possesion football, there is the belief that (If we play our game then we should never lose the ball anyway) and maybe this doesnt allow enough of a possiblity of "what actually do we do when we lose/dont have the ball?' Do we need someone else on the coaching staff?? Is Wenger able to kill some pride and actually seek external help? I must say I am not sure.

Im sure that many of points and questions raised in this piece are thoughts that many of my fellow gooners are having but personally, I had to get them out on paper as I feel that in this hugely difficult and frustrating time for our club, there are very important issues within the club that have to be addressed.

MUK, at least with Richie, despite the frustrations you could have a debate. With this Pika character it is not even worth the bother. I have read some of your recent postings and I found myself agreeing with you as usual. I actually think the squad is better than it has been for some time, but all the familiar failings are still there. The conclusion is obvious, and even some of the more supportive blogs such as Arseblog are saying it now. ML, do you still believe that Wenger is the man, or could you countenance a change?

Clearly not all is well right now, the results speak for themselves. Arsene, the board and the players all have to take their share of blame for this. When you take into account our run since the Carling cup final then obviously this is not good enough.

As I said, I think blame has to be passed around to many and not just the manager. I truly believe that he has not been able to assemble the players that he has wanted and I do not buy the argument that he personally was sitting on his hands wanting to wait until the end of the window to do last minute shopping.

I have so much respect for Arsene and CHG, I totally disagree with you that he is arrogant, quite the opposite in fact but I believe that this will be his last contract with us. The last thing I would want is for Arsene to leave the club at such a low depending on what happens from now until the day he leaves the club.

We all have to wake up to the fact that Arsene will not be Arsenal manager forever, some are pleased with that and many do not want that to happen. Defensively he has not managed to solve that issue consistently but minus yesterday I thought we were actually looking rather good in that area but that is not the point.

My point is this.

It is all well and good saying that it is time for a change, time to buy big, time to invest world class into the squad etc but some people are forgetting what our current manager is working with. There is no use highlighting his flaws and not balancing that with his strengths. Let us not forget that his strengths are massive.

This is not excuse making or defending the manager. I am trying to balance out the argument.

Sack Arsene or Arsene moves on and then manager x comes in. Who know's who manager x will be but this is what new manager has to work with.

* Manchester United - Biggest club in the world, much bigger transfer kitty and far larger wage bill
* Manchester City - Billionaire owners, massive bill
* Chelsea - Billionaire owners, massive bill
* Liverpool - Big club who are far more gung-ho in the transfer market

So let us say that manager x comes in and is an expert defence driller (whatever that means) and we become fantastic at set pieces and keeping clean sheets. Great.

Does this manager also have the ability to find top quality players that the competition are not trying to buy for fees and wages that the CLUB want to pay. I insert capitals to avoid confusion with the manager.

Does this new manager also manage to combine this new wonderful defending with attacking, exciting football?

Does this new manager also have the ability to develop and improve the massive amount of young talent we have coming through, especially at under 18 right now. Because we have plenty.

I love Arsene Wenger but if you can find a manager who can do all of the above and work within the structure of the club then I am open to that. But if you think sacking Arsene Wenger and then rolling the dice to get a new manager in will fix everything then I just do not agree with you.

Watched the whole of the blackburn game on saturday and being an arsenal fan at the moment is so frustrating !!. we played how we usually play in the first half kept the ball created chances and scored 2 great goals could of been 4!! but yet again same old arsenal dont close the game off and let blackburn back in to the game and give them momentum our centre backs are shocking in my opinion djorou worst ever player to wear an arsenal shirt koscielny unreliable, squilaci clumsy we rely on vermaelan he is our only solid centre back which isnt always around. This has been our problem for almost 5 years now !!! and we still have not amended it. Does wenger go ? mabey we do need a change.

My feelings entirely.

look any "crisis" we have now can be solved by spending 400 million in the transfer window like City, United and Liverpool have done, and Chelsea. Spending 400 million is Plan B. Not sure what Plan A is, but lets give plan A some more time.

Its a competitive league, Liverpool lost, City tied, even Stoke City got slaughtered...

Pika - As it currently stands, most people know more about football than Le Senile. Certainly enough to know you shouldn't play a high defensive line in EVERY match, regardless of the strength of the opposition. We did against Man Utd. though didn't we ? Insanity. But Arsene knows, right ?
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Good accurate assessment, Parlour. How come we can see things, simple things, but he can't ? Even worse, if he does, but sticks to his OWN WAY of doing things. His way hasn't and isn't, working. Yet he evidently refuses to budge.
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Mean Lean - So in essence you're saying we should stick with the devil we know, because the alternatives can't / may not, be any better ? So what happens if Wenger falls under a bus, retires ( whenever that is ) or shows signs of senility ( as appears to be happening ) ? He HAS to be replaced sometime. He himself said "The cemeteries are full of irreplaceable people".
Fear of change is what underlies this argument. If we're too frightened of change, well never know how much better we could be. The incumbent has lost the plot. Your points mainly applied to the past. Where all A.K.B.'s love to live. Hello - this is six years on. We haven't got the same Wenger NOW that we had THEN.
"Exciting, attacking football" we only see sporadically. Last season it was tippy tappy, no end result, remember ?
You think that Wenger is the only manager who can develop talent ? And isn't "Project Youth " a proven failure after six years of trying ? Isn't too many kids and not enough EXPERIENCE, the cause of many of our disappointments ?
You talk of "working within the structure". Well that structure is wrong. The wage policy is wrong. The self sustaining model is good for profits, but leaves us trophyless, without ambition.
Find me a manager who can inspire and motivate his players, knows and applies tactics and is adaptable with them, fixes defensive issues and doesn't neglect them continually, who's not allergic to spending when needed, and is flexible with his thinking, e.t.c. Shouldn't be too hard. Most managers are capable of that. But clearly not ours. So Wenger OUT ! Simple as that.
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Pika - You are blind faith personified. Now go into your bedroom and wank over your Wenger poster.
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yes little things like not buying a quality goalkeeper or centreback pairing about 3 season ago.....so instaed of quality we kept faith with senderos djourou bought in gallas silvestre squilachi konscielny almunia fabianski and the current mug..5 games in and has not thrown the ball in his net, bonus.when it was known jens would not be first choice it was clear that almunia was never the answer.should have bougth a quality prem keeper,likewise when campbell was going we should have bought quality but we didnt we went cheap...now the pigeons have well and truly shit on wenger...17th place you are joking.wenger is a mug!no goalkeeper purchased in the summer what happens when the current idiot between the sticks is out?yep one of ther other idiots,who we know will do a bang up job.......wenger gone by christmas.just to think i used to tremble at the thought of wenger going...now bring it on..maritin oneil anybody?

"Does this manager also have the ability to find top quality players that the competition are not trying to buy for fees and wages that the CLUB want to pay. I insert capitals to avoid confusion with the manager.

Does this new manager also manage to combine this new wonderful defending with attacking, exciting football?"

I would like to take you to task on these particular points, as I believe they are very relevant to why AW should be on his way now.

First point, what top quality players have been brought in? We have been screaming for a top quality centre half for 3-4 years, and we got one on the last day of the window, purely because of the 8-2 result. AW continually speaks as though it is HIS money the club is spending. His remit should be to identify the players he wants, then let the board deal with the financial details. He seems to have no time to drill the team (not just the defence), to be able to defend, but can find time to get involved with every tiny detail around the club.

Second point, attacking exciting football? When? I attended most home games last year (I gave up my season ticket this year, as the increase pushed the ticket beyond MY "self sustainability), and I can tell you that very rarely did I see that particular style of football.

AW has been magnificent for us, but he has become TOO powerful. Nobody within the club seems able to talk to him, and tell him he could be wrong. I dislike the purple nosed one up the M6, but he regularly changes his number 2 to avoid stagnation. Pat Rice has been a loyal employee at the club for 40 years, but would he get a job at any other top club?

As for what manager could come in and do the same job? Well, personally I dont want someone to do the same job, I want someone to not show blind loyalty to players (Almunia, Eboue, Denilson etc), or continually play people out of position (Bendtner on the wing, Song at centre half, and who can forget Arshavin's stint at centre forward?). I want someone like Owen Coyle, who will come in and light a fire under some arses. His sides play good football, and he has never had too much money to spend, so there wouldnt be much of an adjustment there.

When do we finally admit that AW has had his time, has become stubborn to a fault, and is quite rude if anyone disagrees with him? Do we wait until we do not qualify for the champions league, and lose the money that we are so desperate to gather? Do we wait until after the next transfer window, when once again we have been told that we have substantial funds available, only for him to tell us he has faith in his squad? I for one believe his time is up, now.