Written by Mean Lean on Thursday, 02 February 2012 20:50

The transfer window has closed for another year and the only person to put pen to paper has been a 19 year old prospect from Germany. As expected the booing and hissing has reemerged. Currently we are in seventh position in the league and have a real fight on our hands for that elusive fourth spot. A spot that is very important to our short term future you would imagine.

I can understand the frustration, it would be difficult not to understand the position of fear from our supporters. We are used to the CL place and none of us want that to go elsewhere.

In an ideal world, Arsene would have gone out and signed three quality players who had experience and talent. They could lift the likes of van Persie, Alex Song and Theo Walcott who are yet to secure their long term futures. They would 'send out a message' to other clubs that we 'mean business' etc .

With the form of Chamakh and the seeming lack of trust in Park, at least an additional forward would have made some sense. I started that with an ideal world and not from a position of knowledge as I like many Gooners have no idea of what is happening behind the closed doors of football clubs during the transfer window.

As supporters, we only have our imagination and the imagination of other supporters to play around with. Our views, opinions are just that. A vast majority of us are not in the position to back up our views, well without displaying our collection of trophies gathered on the latest copy of Football manager.

We look at a lack of signings as the club failing to do what we wanted them to. Once again this is our opinion. Someone told me that at least Tottenham had showed ambition by bidding for Loric Remy why didn't we do the same?

Once again this isn't necessarily based on reality just opinion. Clubs fax, phone, email, meet, send letter via pigeon all the time and I would bet that most of the communication is never picked up by the hungry media. I guess part of that reason is because Arsene Wenger doesn't spend half his time leaning out of his range rover talking to Sky Sports News with his dog Rosie in the back.

I am going to give you my guess as to how Arsene does his business. Many of the clubs scouts watch hundreds of players all the time but Arsene has a list of players in each position which he feels are ready, suited and closest to playing for Arsenal. Whether that be, maturity, experience, physicality or talent. If those players are open to joining Arsenal and their club are willing to do reasonable business with us then 'we will do it' as Arsene would say.

If those players are not available due to being priced out, wanting to wait until the summer due to the Euro's, squad restrictions or having another player who can do that job then he won't buy the player. What I imagine Arsene won't do is go and buy an available player purely because he can. I don't think he would take Wayne Bridge on the basis that he was available if he thought he was an awful footballer. I get the feeling that many other managers work in this way, a space needs filling so whatever agent calls them up then they will just take the player after watching a few highlight clips and hope for the best. If Arsene works this way then it is no surprise as to why players like Sagna, Vermaelen, Koscielny, Arteta, Chamberlain, Arshavin and countless more from previous squads managed to hit the ground running.

But like I say, I cannot state this as a fact, this is my opinion. The closest thing to facts though is the result of the transfer window. Have a look around at other clubs and the business they have done. At this point, I imagine a few people saying 'well this is not about them, we are in a position where we need the top four.' My response to that would be that every club has their own aims and goals and that Liverpool and Chelsea have the same aim as we do.

Arsenal are questioned as to why we wait until the end of the window to do our business. Manchester City either chose to wait or had to wait until the end of the window to bring in David Pizarro on loan. Why has a team with so much financial backing only managed to bring in one player on loan when they are going through a drop of form with Toure away at the ACN.

Chelsea who like Manchester City are being backed by a billionaire owner are actually going through a rebuild of their squad. Surely a club with billions behind it should invest heavily in their squad when the transfer window is open. Is Gary Cahill the only first team player that Andre Villas-Boas thinks he needs to make Chelsea, young, talented and vibrant again? I think not, I think not.

Manchester United have been screaming out for a top quality central midfielder and no, I don't mean bringing back the retired Paul Scholes. Yet Fergie 'sat on his hands' Surely he was able to find one quality midfielder in world football better than Michael Carrick.

Liverpool FC, the club that everyone has forgotten hasn't won a trophy in six years and have spent more than most clubs in the league. They have been out of the CL for two years and like us are fighting to get back into the top four. They have had their best forward suspended and yet they failed to bring in another striker. Why?

And lastly our dear neighbours who are addicted to spending large sums of cash. Did you know that apart from the bank rolled clubs, they have spent more net, on transfer fee's than any other club in the league? They have ended up with Louis Saha who has a terrible history of injuries. They have him on loan until the end of the season. They are third in the table and are in their best position to make a title push since the 60's, so why did Arry not invest to give them that final push?

I use those clubs as a reference because we football fans tend to ignore reference on the whole unless it backs up a negative point. Like, Tottenham are a bigger club than us because they have a higher points total. That would ignore our history.

I digress. My opinion which means little but the actions of other clubs means a little more and it tells me that good players at affordable prices were not available during January. You may disregard Arsene's word on that but other managers have said the same. Alex Ferguson said so himself recently at a press conference.

He said, good players are just not available right now or words to that effect. Many other managers have said the same so I am inclined to believe that this is the case.

"What can you get in January? What do you do? Do you take a second-rate player? No, of course you don't." - Alex Ferguson (6th January 2012)

"There is no-one going in or out of the club before the transfer window closes, there is nothing happening here." - Kenny Daglish (30th January 2012)

"“The January window drives you mad. You get phone calls from agents without a clue, offering you useless players" - Harry Redknapp (11th January 2012)

Lukas Podolski is out for months, Eden Hazard has said that he will not be leaving until the summer and Mario Gotze is not for sale. These are a few players that have been linked to us and a few that no other clubs have managed to prize away from their clubs which makes me wonder once more, why on earth not?

As we are not privy to the goings on at Arsenal, we as football fans tend to speculate to justify the situation.

• 'Arsene is an ego driven man who wants to win things with kids'
• 'Arsene treats the money as his own and is too tight to spend'
• 'Arsene cannot handle big name players so he buys kids'

There are indeed many more of these fabricated myths, or is it that all of those responses are fabricated apart from the one that you or I have selected? But given the amount of varied opinion, how can they all be right or wrong?

Jump back in time to 2008/09 when we were in a better position than we currently see ourselves in, only Aston Villa were in our path for a Champions League spot, why did a man who (select fabricated justification) decide to break our transfer record for Andrey Arshavin? At the time a world class creative talent. Why didn't the ego driven, not being able to handle big players who wants to win things with kids not stick with the players he had?

I don't have the facts, I can only Eden a guess here. Perhaps, Andrey Arshavin was an Arsenal target, perhaps we had watched him several times and Arsene wanted to bring him to our club. Perhaps Arshavin wanted to sign for Arsenal and leave Zenit. Perhaps both Arsenal and Zenit could agree a fee and lastly which could also be firstly, Arshavin agreed our wage offer. Had any of those check boxes remained unchecked then Andrey Arshavin would not have said 'I am Gooner' and absolutely no doubt about it, Arsenal fans would have been screaming.

"Why didn't Arsene buy Arshavin?! He would have been perfect. All this ego driven man wants to do is try and win things with kids"

That of course would be purely opinion, guess work and not fact. But unless one of three parties explained the situation to us, we would be none the wiser. Perhaps we would be wiser if Eden Hazard's agent spoke out about Arsenal and if there were any links to his client and our club. If we are really interested in the player then that would do us no good and the same applies with any other possible target.

Listen, I fully expect to get frothing Gooners really mad at me for not talking about how the world is about to end so let me just clear one thing up.

If Arsene could have signed Mr wide forward who can also play center forward and would hit the ground running and score plenty of goals from now until May without any adaptation period, and he failed to sign that player purely because, erm he didn't want to then. Arsene? You're an idiot. What are you doing? Why are you trying to win things with project youth!! (minus Mertesacker, Koscielny, Sagna, Santos, Arteta, Gervinho, Rosicky, Vermaelen and the rest)

That would be irresponsible and unnecessary but I have trouble believing that a manager who hates losing would purposely not want to make his squad stronger. I have trouble looking at a manager who is visibly getting more and more stressed out would pass up an opportunity to buy another 'January Arshavin' or a world class player.

But I am only speculating. Who knows, maybe that was his plan and he goes home chuckling to himself about our current league position. A manager who built the invincibles got bored of winning and fancies annoying Arsenal supporters by going the other way.

A pet hate of mine is supporters thinking that Arsene has turned this club into a club that doesn't buy big any longer. That he is so obsessed with 'project youth' that a quick fix would be to sack him and go back to buying big.

I need to be corrected here but hasn't this club always been run this way? Well at least as far back as I can remember which is before Arsene Wenger.

George Graham bought a fantastic winning team that won the league in 1989 for the first time since 1970/71

Well minus a few players like Tony Adams, David Rocastle, Paul Merson, Michael Thomas, Perry Groves who were all brought through the youth system. Look further back and it will be mostly the same. We have always been a sensible, self sustaining club. That is not me defending any of the current management, that is our history. Agree with this article or not, that is our history.

This is where we are right now and I am not expecting anyone to be content or joyous about it. In my eyes our current state is a result of our club running within its means against clubs who have not. Teams like Tottenham and Liverpool have had money pumped into the club for transfers and wages. Arsenal have not. Manchester United are the richest club in the world and have continued to spend like it until recently where they quite visibly have had to slam on the financial brakes. Manchester City and Chelsea live outside of reality and even Chelsea have slowed down somewhat.

If Arsene Wenger joined Arsenal today then his environment would be very different from back in 1997. Richer clubs would be all over his targets. Petit, Overmars, Anelka, Henry. Vieira, Pires, Ljungberg etc etc would have Manchester City and Chelsea on the phone to their agents as soon as they had a sniff that Arsene was interested.

The goal posts have clearly been moved and Arsenal FC are not prepared to throw the kitchen sink at chasing glory, That is the reality of the situation.

Another club may well be willing to fork out £20m+ for a top player when he became available and then hope to recoup that money at a later date by selling players. Where as I get the feeling that the Arsenal board would want a CL place tied up and money recouped by offloading x,y,z before allowing Arsene the cash to make that move. The Mata non deal springs to mind.

That could all be gobbledigook, that is just a hunch and not fact.

Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy, Denilson, Nicklas Bendtner, Emmanuel Eboue and so on have been moved on, that group of players did not do what Arsene had hoped. That is clear. We can all speculate as to why that is and it looks as if Arsene is rebuilding once more, probably mainly for his replacement rather than his own benefit.

It is a long process and it could go the way of our previous team or we could turn things around in time. Who knows. I look at our league position and current form and fail to expect that a squad with Szczesny, Sagna, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Santos, Song, Wilshere, Ramsey, Chamberlain, Gervinho, van Persie and others do not have a bright future. A lack of squad strength, an awful summer, injuries to every available full back and poor form reflects where we are in part but we are better than where we are, that I am convinced of.

I am not blind to the short comings of our squad. I know that Squillaci, Almunia, Park (at present) and perhaps a few others either haven't or are currently not working out. That is football, every club has players worse than their best. It's logical but at the same time I don't believe that Arsene has finished rebuilding this team. He has a job on his hands to keep our best, we know who they/he is and to fight off rival competition to get the best from elsewhere.

I do not claim to know the facts, all I know is that we are in this together and there is not much we can do right now. It was easy to support when Pires struck at White Hart Lane to win the league, now we have to face the reality of today. It is still our Arsenal and all we can do is hope we have reached our lowest point. With players coming back and who are already back I do not see why we cannot snap out of this funk and fight for fourth so we can start again properly next season.

In my opinion.

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Comments (70)

• 02-Feb-2012 21:37 | | Joseph  - Mr.Arsenal
  

  Superb article mate.. Really happy that I didn't miss out on this article.. Thanksssssssssss a lottttttttttttt!!!

• 02-Feb-2012 21:45 | | Wrighty7
  

  Brilliant!
  
  Enjoyed every moment of that post.

• 02-Feb-2012 21:53 | | Baller  - Bermuda
  

  These guys messing up my team chase them out gunners fans we need more star players these kids not ready yet wenger

• 02-Feb-2012 22:05 | | pedantic george  - lovely
  

  This is your finest hour Mean Lean.
  I can not begin to tell you how much I appreciate a piece like this.
  I have seen some good stuff on blogs this past year or two.but seriously,This stands with any.
  If I had a cap it would be well ant truly doffed.

• 02-Feb-2012 22:18 | | I'm not sure...  - Good article, but
  

  as your post says in its title, it's opinion (and some fact); others have theirs. And if they feel that it's getting boring to sit back and hope 'things turn round'
  and they justify their feelings with facts and opinions of their own, then hey. There is a tremendous amount of muddiness with AFC, and some people - in my opinion - have been hiding behind it, but lets see what will unfold at the end of this season. It's going to be interesting.

• 02-Feb-2012 22:18 | | ETaner92
  

  But i signed Douglas Costa and Ganso on Football Manager and it only took about 5 minutes. Wenger gets credit for developing young players but Football Manager shows how easy it is. Just buy players that your scouts think are 4 stars or higher. How easy is that?! Wenger Out!
  
  (Disclaimer- hint of sarcasm)

• 02-Feb-2012 22:27 | | gunnnrrr
  

  Brilliant

• 02-Feb-2012 22:30 | | phoenix
  

  Great post lean it made me stop moaning for a while

• 02-Feb-2012 22:40 | | arsene wenger2  - eye opener!!
  

  it gives me joy anytime i read a post like this..it shows that there are still arsenal fans that watch foot with brain not eyes only

• 02-Feb-2012 22:54 | | tom  - rubbish
  

  this is by far the worst piece ive ever read about The Arsenal...utter rubbish...lets be clear..We are only in it for the money..no ambition whatsoever..and Wenger what a disgrace ...he sold us out this summer,sold us out again during the christmas period,and if You still dont understand that the hollywood looker and his henchman nazidis are just ripping us off..c'mon sya it together with me..we move to The Emirates to be able to compete with the Best..hahaha..most expensive tickets in the world,and soon to be hiked even higher...Wenger's promise ..we shall invest the money in the team..what. ??,..no be honest and admit we're no longer in it to win..its all about the money...boring boring Arsenal...was better than this..they gave their all and even wanted to win..now..it seems like not even the players care anymore.and they have learned from the best Wenger himself...ahh sorry we have invested..in a new Carling suite..Great !!
  kroenke and gazidis get the f'eck out..and wenger au revoir !

• 02-Feb-2012 22:55 | | Warzski  - Excellent Article
  

  Really enjoyed thus article and agree on most points. The most frustrating point for me is that we always have a strong core but always tend to lose key players rather than supplement the existing squad with quality additions. This IMO would reduce injuries and allow effective squad rotation.

• 02-Feb-2012 23:06 | | Perspextoe  - Top job
  

  Great points there, shame this piece couldn't be left on gooner seats pre Blackburn , then some mugs might have more perspective on our current situ.....
  
  Now heres hoping for a similar piece to back up the effort I see Rambo putting in .... COYG.....

• 02-Feb-2012 23:08 | | pedantic george
  

  have you considered jumping under a bus?

• 02-Feb-2012 23:17 | | MeanLean
  

  Cheers for the kind responses guys, oh and hello Tom. Would have been nice if you actually addressed the points above but hey, never mind.
  
  What do you all think about Winterburn's comments?

• 02-Feb-2012 23:30 | | pedantic george
  

  I think Nigel has let a cat out of a bag.
  And we will never know the reality.

• 02-Feb-2012 23:37 | | carlos
  

  tl;dr
  
  also, you are using apostrophes wrong, they don't signal plurals, e.g. 'transfer fee's' should be 'transfer fees'

• 02-Feb-2012 23:39 | | Eric  - Well done
  

  One cannot reason with blind bitterness,stupidity
  Great article ... Those with blind illogical conspiracy theories sound like impetuous children with a negative agenda
  
  Nothing is easy and straightforward especially in football and yet you have nincompoops who put out arguments not backed with some amount of logic.no idea of finances and planning and yet they somehow Vituperate / criticise those who have shown passion,astuteness in trying to produce a brand of football that is lauded...success doesn't come easy and only an idiot would think otherwise ...
  
  We are all frustrated with how things have turned, there have been mistakes sure but not because of a lack of ambition
  
  Keep up the good fight mean lean....well constructed article
  
  Just support....people ....just support ...it's our team
  
  "understanding of the current state is not acceptance of mediocrity"

• 02-Feb-2012 23:45 | | Chris66  - We need to look at a longer time frame though
  

  Within the context of the last month this all makes sense, but not so much when you look a little longer term. While all the bile is directed against Wenger I think the problems go much deeper than this and that is what really worries many of us.
  
  We have an owner who clearly sees our club as simply a "portfolio acquisition". There is no passion, no engagement and increasingly no ambition beyond the "sustainable business model" (surely a process not an outcome). The team has been eroding for a number of years as good players get sold (for a variety of reasons) and replaced with the next project and the cycle starts again. Profits are being generated through the player trading account far more than from operations. This is not what was promised to the fans and increasingly it seems like the people who run the club (Kronke, Gazidis and Wenger) exist in a parallel universe from what we witness as fans. It is a very arrogant attitude that tells us that we aren't seeing what we are seeing and to sit quietly and keep coughing up the money like good little boys and girls.
  
  The problem of transfers is not one of last January. Last summer we handled things terribly, unwilling to secure replacements for the clearly leaving players until too late. Points were already dropped and a humiliating defeat suffered, which set the tone for the whole season (recovery/stumble/????). But even last summer was the result of previous inaction in the earlier windows, when the key acquisitions in 2009,2010 were not made. The most obvious of these were at goalkeeper (Schwarzer debacle) and Center Half (it took a too long to replace Kolo) and CF (we waited a year for Chamackh - a dreadful player without the mindset to play at the top level). At each turn we are trying to find the cheap option rather than the right one.
  
  While the economy in Europe is in trouble the fact is that the economy of Arsenal is not. In fact we are constantly being told that it has never been better. As many many people with access to money over the last few years have found, when everyone else in financial straights is the perfect time to start acquiring assets.
  
  All we hear from the club against this is the spin of false equivalency - the "we can't afford to pay $50 million for a player" argument that is routinely trotted out as an excuse for not buying the $20 million player that we can afford and would make a significant difference to our squad, holding on to our better players and ensuring the success of the club.
  
  There is this line that Arsenal build superstars not buy them, which is revisionist bullshit. We bought Malcolm McDonald, Charlie Nicholas, David Seaman and even Denis Bergkamp. Thierry Henry, Mark Overmars, Robert Pires and many others were established international players before they joined us, even if they flourished at Arsenal.
  
  The Arsenal way is to mix youth and experience, always has been. When the stadium was being built we all effectively signed off on Project Youth, not only because it was a financial necessity, but because there was a genuine excitement about players such as Fabregas, Nasri, Clichy, Djourou, Emmanuel-Thomas, Carlos Vela, Fran Merida and even Bendtner and Denilson (hard to believe but true). It failed, that can happen, the better ones got fed up waiting for the club to move forward and the others now clog up the wage bill, lower leagues or sit as loans to other clubs - not one of which is actually increasing in value.
  
  Most Arsenal fans want something to believe in - but what is it? Are we to hope that Theo learns basic ball skills, or RVP will put club loyalty over the evidence in front of his face, or is it the miraculous recovery of Diaby? I'm not being facetious, I really don't know what it is. In the pit of my stomach it just looks like the last stages of the Wenger era when everyone is clinging on but we are not sure what to.
  
  I hope I'm wrong.

• 03-Feb-2012 00:21 | | gerry
  

  Total, absolute shit his article.. how much are you paid by the board to write this?

• 03-Feb-2012 00:23 | | Double Dapper
  

  Oi prick, why not try and respond to ml's points raised or is that too difficult for u?
  
  'yeah but, erm, hang on, errr this article is shit!'
  
  grow up you cock

• 03-Feb-2012 00:36 | | Daniel Wong  - Wenger
  

  Wenger has lost it tactically.His one dimensional style is easy to counter and easy to stifle and yet the gunners still persist passing merrily in front of packed defences.Haven't we said that before?
  He is too arrogant and still thinks he will be right in the end. The problem is his policies aint working and yet he shows no signs of change. Hence
  the gunner s will continue to lose games
  Why is the red faced still going strong?H e will change his plans and players when they aint working.Of course money wise he has alot better but its results that count.I I do not share Wenger's optimism the gunners can finsh 4th.I am afarid the gunners could even miss out on the Europa league so dramatic has the gunners fall from grace the last few years and it's due to one man and his arrogance.

• 03-Feb-2012 00:57 | | Cupsui  - Superb Post
  

  I tip my hat to you...it was epic, truth. A lot of people can't see past their own nose that the premier league is HUGEly unsustainable at the moment thanks mainly to $ity and the chav$, i think we'll be very close to 4th and hope we get there, chelsea ain't that impressive. We were frightfully unlucky not to get the win at Bolton, but things need to be turned around very fast. Starting with Blackburn. Its a must win and we should smash them, they play dirty, ugly, long ball football and i think they are in for a lesson come saturday!
  thanks for the post, got to see a few others still exist in reality

• 03-Feb-2012 01:01 | | Cupsui  - open your eyes
  

  If you really analysed the game you would realise arsenal are creating a HUGE number of chances lately, finishing is a big issue right now, not tactics, walcott needs to start scoring more and given an inch or tow of luck RvP would have had 2 against bolton. Ramsey needs to score goals, he is getting chances but not finish and i see goals coming for the OX...but if chances keep coming we will score and we will win, especially since our defence is starting to get back to normal, Sagna, Merte, Koz (the king), Verminator is a very solid unit

• 03-Feb-2012 01:02 | | aperson  - shite
  

  shite article. we are shite. nuff said.

• 03-Feb-2012 01:03 | | aperson  - aye
  

  aye a shite article. tl and poor gammar.

• 03-Feb-2012 01:09 | | s j little  - Oh yeah!
  

  Obviously these pro Wenger fans don't remember real football. All they see now is Diving,Cheating,Refereeing errors,lack of professional forwards lack of defencive defenders,ping pong midfielders,and disloyal players paid scandalous money. I never remember any Arsenal team over the 60 years I was watching them that had forwards who would miss the percentage of chances now squandered.
  Indeed if even the most famous forwards missed two chances running they could expect some reaction from their fans! Wenger counts missed chances as an excuse for failure. He does not see it as a failure to be put right. He insults us aLL EVERY TIME HE OPENS HIS MOUTH

• 03-Feb-2012 01:34 | | K  - Thanks
  

  That is a fantastic article!

• 03-Feb-2012 02:08 | | Jekyll
  

  Three cheers for this response. Worthy of an article in itself. Well said, I agree with every word and now don't have to try and express it myself!

• 03-Feb-2012 02:47 | | kc  - YES!!!!
  

  Finally, a blog that makes sense.
  Agreed that buying players is a big risk. But, the footballing fratenity is fed on a diet of SSS....spending spending spending. This is prevalent from the players to pundits and fans. Its the money that come so easily to them that they spend like there is no tomorrow. When they become pundits or fans, they only think that spending is the only way thruough a crisis. Like Shopping.
  I think in the current financial situation there are two models. Barca or Real. Barca went through a tough period when they were developing their youth system. I don't how long they went thru without winning anything. Or Real, just buy and get their debts "writtenOff" thru state govt's assistance.
  The way the Arab Government linked corporation and individuals are buying clubs, to me contravenes the rule on multiple ownership or clubs. Anyway,give it a few more years, as the Arab Spring Rising prevades thru the other Despotic nation, these clubs will get major wakeup call.
  Anyway, I have been a supporter for more than forty years, thru thick and thin. I will continue to support whoever is the manager and whatever the results. Period.

• 03-Feb-2012 03:25 | | The BearMan  - The best fans can think up is utter rubbish!
  

  Firstly, I must say this has been an enjoyable and factual read. One action I would like the board to insist, is that Wenger addresses the issue of an adequate assistant immediately.
  
  But my main point is: Hearing the rubbish foolish fans are considering. Imagine they want to make a point and gain some attention to their Wenger Out Brigade. But how are they about to achieve this, by punishing the lowest paid workers in a football club. Cleaners!
  
  The idiot that came up with this ridiculous idea should him/herself jump in a bin-liner tie it and roll out to the nearest rubbish dump. Imagine being remembered for thinking up utter rubbish! This person is encouraging children to litter their environment.
  
  Does winning a piece of metal warrant this amount of CRAP!

• 03-Feb-2012 07:27 | | brdgunner
  

  We need players. Simple as that. We have to much deadwood. It's not so much a question of quality it's desire. This is arsenal 125 years old. Who is andrey to play like that? It's a liberty. Come on the gunners

• 03-Feb-2012 07:38 | | Zama
  

  A little late to the party but here goes... First of all, before I begin my rant I have to say a great post coming straight from the heart.
  I understand where you are coming from when you say other teams haven’t done much business this transfer window & I’d understand if someone said this is about us not them, too.
  
  We have issues, we had those issues before the season began in earnest, we had them at the start & we still have those issues. RvP’s form and the influence of Song+Arteta in midfield have got us by so far. Needless to say, when any of these three are missing/off-colour we tend to struggle. We’ve been esp. let down by our wide forwards, namely Theo, Gerv & Arsh.
  Add to that the fact that we had a wretched start to the season and we are in a real fight for CL qualification. Considering all this, wasn’t it critical to be decisive in the transfer market? After all we are paying the price for not doing so in the previous one.
  
  Not qualifying for CL would be disastrous, no matter what the Board or Gazidis say. It gives our players an excuse to agitate for a move & other clubs an opportunity to poach them, as it is we don’t compete with them vis-à-vis wages.
  
  Sorry for the insufferably long post, but to end I’ll say this, we have a choice either to back the team or create an atmosphere of discontent in the stadium, outside or online. I am too emotionally invested in The Arsenal to do anything other than back the boys to the very end, no matter what. COYG

• 03-Feb-2012 08:35 | | Scott Chegg  - More questions
  

  Good article mate
  
  It's a sad state that the IQ of some of our supporters have resulted in you spelling this out to them!
  
  The reality is we dont live in a place where big money is generally splashed about any more. I say generally with obvious exclusions.
  
  People forget about the global financial crisis and how that has impacted the man on the street. Running a sustainable business is top of the agenda for clubs that are not owned by mega-rich individuals, so we have disparity among club philosophies more than ever before.
  
  Without selling our souls and becomming a new 'Chelsea' or 'Man City', the real issues IMO are:
  
  - what can AW do to nurture and improve the capabilities of the current squad and youth coming through to start competing again (proven track record and I have faith we can start doing better and get top 4 again)
  
  - who can we buy to add to squad weaknesses (clearly not much avaliable within strategy, as you point out)
  
  - what is the Board and AW's actual strategy to compete with the big spenders knowing it aint going away in the near future. Are they content to carry on aiming for top 4 and a cup if we're lucky? (I believe this is the case for now, all things considered)
  
  - how can we prevent our best players from leaving (huge problem that is dependent on the above points)
  
  - how can AFC adjust fans expectations given it is highly unlikely we will or can win the league (Arsenal fans are starting to sound like England fans!!)
  
  I dont know the answers to these questions, that's what the Club execs get paid for, but I dont believe a new manager would make us better in any way.
  
  It would take a big change of direction with big money in the pot to give us a realistic chance.

• 03-Feb-2012 08:37 | | MeanLean
  

  Thank you for the response Chris66,
  
  You raise many good and interesting questions. Firstly it is nice to hear someone with a counter argument actually express themselves in a coherent and non aggressive way. I thank you for that. A few others could really take a leaf from your book.
  
  I am with you in regards to wanting to know what the plan is from our owner. He hasn't actually given the fans much in the way of communication but I guess if his plan is to have a low risk profitable business then he isn't likely to come out and say that.
  
  As for the summer I kind of touched on what I believe is our approach in the article. That is only guess work but judging by Winterburn's comments, it appears to be the case.
  
  As Arsenal fans we would have wanted the manager to have x amount to spend from the very first opening of the window and if we needed to sell Cesc and Nasri after that then so be it, all within the restrictions of the squad though.
  
  It strikes me that the Arsenal board will not work this way and this is why it took us so long to act to bring players in. I suspect that had we finished third last season meaning that CL football was guaranteed from the beginning then we may have seen our transfer business moved forward and not post Udinese. This is nothing but conjecture on my part though.
  
  As for buying superstars, you name a few examples but I think they are the exception to the rule. We have rarely bought the best of the best even if we have had the cash to do so. Many many clubs had spent more than us on a single player way before Arsene came to the club.
  
  Will this change in future, with or without Arsene? Who knows.

• 03-Feb-2012 08:45 | | MeanLean
  

  Hey Zama,
  
  Personally I believe this season's failure originates from the summer window and not so much January. We were in for the likes of Gotze & Hazard, according to agents, clubs etc but it was all too late.
  
  I believe and will continue to do so until told otherwise that Arsene wanted to strengthen his squad way before he did. I believe that he wanted the players as early as possible but his hands were tied until the board released the money.
  
  Arsene would know more than most where his squad needs additions but what Arsene wants and indeed the fans isn't necessarily what the board would want if it doesn't fit into the way we run the club.
  
  Example if Eden Hazard was offered to us for £30m in June but the CL qualification was not met would Arsene be given the cash to spend before we qualified? Who knows but I have my doubts.

• 03-Feb-2012 10:07 | | Hate the board  - Stop making them rich
  

  Look u can say what u like about our history but the fact is we built a bigger ground so that we could buy the best is it not which has not happened there taking the piss out of us and sorry to say its idiots like your self that keep backing that lets them get away with ripping us of I mean don't we pay more than any club to watch football now sick and tied of hearing that we have money eg 30 to 50 million every season which aw has never spent in fact over the past 6 years the board have not had to use any of there money I think they made some thing like 7 million from selling players the thing is it clear from lack of investment in the team we are where we are now I'm not sure this is down aw as I don't think he has become an idiot over night unless he is on some bonus which he gets more money if he makes the board money but im sure not it's the board for sure but he should just come out and say it like Martin oneil did things have to change stop giving them money and they will soon change As that is all they care about

• 03-Feb-2012 10:37 | | pika
  

  sorry mate ........mean lean and those who support the club dont come out with their opinions like gossip housewives reading hallo magazines demanding changes here, and there and telling wenger how to run a football club .... it is the scum who have a sense of entitlement, the lot who views the purchase of a ticket as an investment instead of a genuine gesture of love and support to the club/team they are supposed follow..its the same lot that has never worked a single effing day in whatever department in sports let alone football. the ones who have opinions on arsenal are those who have not grasped what wenger meant " time and patience" back in 06.
  
  i hear mad people saying " we moved to emirates to buy big players didnt we?" ..no you dumb@ss ..they moved stadiums to set the foundations for another century of existence.
  
  the only mudiness that exists is between dein and current board...they are the ones at war.. then dont forget that the board stays as is for 12 months, after that can kronke gets his guys in.
  
  in 7 years they have sliced their debt to 135m. something which would have taken them 20 years plus to pay back they are able to repay it way quicker...and cretins keep coming out asking where is the kolo/ade/cesc/nasri money ?
  
  well it dont take a genius to understand that when you build stadiums and owe 450million ....everything you make you keep it to pay back your lenders.
  
  if i can clear my debts in 7 or 8 years instead of 20 why not do it? what will i lose ? a few titles ? lol...so what...ill be here for another 100 years competing for them....what about the rest .....?
  
  arsenal fans it pains me to say it...but you are utter mugs...youhave perhaps the finest manager in the epl, a amanger who can deliver with budgets close to peanuts and only loses from the teams which have gone to great lengths to avoid losing and getting embarassed by wenger;s youth.
  
  instead of looking at chelsea needing to spend 55 on torres and 25 on drogba and 35 on essien to marginally beat wenger...
  instead of looking at ferguson placing his clubs assets as collateral in order to beat wenger;s eboues and almunias
  instead of looking at city totnh and liverpool spending gazillions to do what wenger has been delivering constantly the last 15 years running...
  
  you complain about titles to a team and manager whose first emphasis after the stadium move was financial stability and concepts such as breaking even and perseverence.
  
  the club will keep doing what is right for its stability and not what the fan wants... the fan always wnats success... the fan wants to escape his daily routine and views football as an escape... the fans psychology is reliant on results...thus their opinions DO NOT COUNT

• 03-Feb-2012 10:42 | | pika
  

  RIPPING YOU OFF ? lol dont make me laugh ....this is a free country and last time ai checked its a free market ..
  
  if someone from arsenal f.c came and stuck a rifle at you and forced yout o buy a ticket then fair enough ...but i doubt that ever happened.

• 03-Feb-2012 10:49 | | pika
  

  long term projects start paying dividends after the first decade usually.
  
  the first crop got burnt from the expectations of fans and media anti-arsenal campaigns and the butchers in the english fields who made sure arsenal received the " they dont like it up em" mentality.
  
  the generation of cesc had to reach a combined average age of 26+ before accusing them of anything ....and you ...the fans who were supposed to support them started bithcning ever since they were 21 and 22.......
  
  now youre doing same to the next generation...yeah you keep listening to media and rivals ..they want whats best for you after all...not wenger...
  
  wenger brought the kind of success to this club that thic club had never ever expereinced...and the fans thought that would be the norm from now....... when they see a 22 y.o walcott not being able to win titles for them they complain ...yet they forget that henry was rotting in the juve bench till he was 24-25.....
  
  now the villain is ramsey ....a kid who 18 months ago didnt know if he was gonna play again.....
  
  the worst thing about arsenal are the home fans... they have been a massive failure in supporting and providing a shield of protection to their team manager and players.

• 03-Feb-2012 11:28 | | Alex  - Arshaving
  

  Like with a few players, Arsene has got the worst out of Arshavin and then persisted with him. The guy was excellent before he signed for us but he now as lost motivation.
  
  I blame the four four with Liverpool. The guy bangs home four and we draw. How motivating for an attacker is it when you do your best but you're not backed up by the management team investing in other parts of the team.
  
  Its overall poor management

• 03-Feb-2012 11:29 | | Eric
  

  Why has it got to be whether you are a pro/anti Wenger...? that s just silly...
  
  If we are disappointed in the team's performance...dont you think those in the club/squad would be too? Would you rather he comes out on TV and castigates all his players ...woudl that make you feel better? WOuldnt you want your Mgr to encourage his players publicly and whatever is said in the dressing room stays there?
  If you are watching a match and you see what you think is injust decision ...wouldnt you want to comment on it? dos that take away from the poor performance ? No
  
  It would be worse if we were not creating chances..but yes it is very very frustrating to see our forwards not taking their chances (as Arteta said ..it is in the small details) ...

• 03-Feb-2012 11:30 | | Eric
  

  Well said sir !!

• 03-Feb-2012 12:08 | | Eric
  

  good set of points sir...nicely done...

• 03-Feb-2012 12:41 | | Anonymous
  

  Love the comment that because we didn't buy there were no players available!! That's funnier than the comments made by our increasingly away with the fairies boss. After Bolton 'it was a good result because we'd lost 3 in a row before that' Hilarious!
  
  Cahill wasn't available then?
  Saha wasn't available then?
  
  It's an idiotic comment on two levels:
  
  i) Players did move (see above)
  and
  ii) You don't know what players are 'available' until they've moved by that logic. There is such a thing as making a bid. All palyers are 'available' at the right price.
  
  I'm beyond caring now. This shameful, pathetic decline into mediocrity with a bunch of shysters at the helm will just have to reach it's own logical and all too predictable conclusion. The Board are clueless and know nothing about football, which is why the egomaiac, useless tactician, and lying hypocrite we have as a manager is still in charge. He knows they know nothing about football so knows they are too weak to challenge and too scared to get rid of him.
  
  By the way ML, at the beginning of the season i told you we would finish in 6-8th. no plaudits for that, I was stating the bleedin obvious, but I think it just demonstrates who the realists are and where the deluded are in the whole debate (is it still a debate even?) over M Wenger.

• 03-Feb-2012 12:42 | | CHGooner
  

  Apologies, that last 'anonymous' comment was from me.

• 03-Feb-2012 12:55 | | Niger
  

  Our main problem is wenger,if a player is not performing week in week out, there is no need to praise him,they should be on the bench..Players like Theo,Johan,Abu,Rombo,they should be on the bench.Player like Charmak,Arshavin,should be given more playing time,If u check their first starting,they perform very well.If they are to be sitting on the bench,how do u expect them to perform? They will not perform well as we the supporters expected,they are starting players for their country,and they are doing very well.The other thing is that,there is no competition in the field of play,take a look at song,theo,van p,sagna,santors,there is no stiff competition on these areas.Wenger needs to learn from Jose( Real Madrid) coach,if a player is not performing the next match u will see that player on the bench no praises 4 that player,he has to work hard 4 his space.If u take a look at theo all our three Epl matches we have lost,theo was not performing well has expected,reason been that ,even if his not at his best, he,knows that his a starting player.So there is no competition on our side,we have great squad that can take on the mighty three big clubs that are head of we the likes of Barca,real and man u,u c this clubs we can beat then with this squad trust me,Secz in goal,defence line,vaminator,koschleny,Sagna,Santos,midfilders,Song,jack,arteta,atta ckers,Gervinho,Alex, Rvp.This line should have been our first eleven,injuries and other players lost form,we can still dream of this team 4 the Champions league home time against AC Milan,with this squad trust me we can knock MILAN OUT.Are u in or out 4 this first eleven 4 our beloved Arsenal,4 life.sub manoni
  theo,park,arshavin,metersacker,rosicky,rombo( manage as a sub) all the rest should leave,they are no longer useful for the club.pls wenger let them leave,not the academy boys,

• 03-Feb-2012 13:09 | | Niger
  

  my apology,i love Arsenal,this are not going well has we are expected,no matter what happen am still a true gunner supporter,we just need to be patient. 15 epl games is a long way to go.We have to believe in the players we us to play Cl,if u can remember in 2006 our better rival almost take our place thanks to westham utd 4 defeating spurs by 2 goals to 1,and we beat wigan by 4 goals to2 only the last games decide our Cl place alive.Let us keep the faith,we can do it.Luv u all gunners supporters,forget about the board.

• 03-Feb-2012 13:28 | | redboy
  

  pika This is ARSENAL F.C. not some f**king middle of the road team .But guees what thats now what we have become get your head out of your ass and wake up.Ask any arsenal fan do they what money in the bank or a trophy.May be wenger should give is 7 mill a year and put that back in to the team but no cant see that happening arsenal plc is a joke give us back arsenal f.c now

• 03-Feb-2012 13:43 | | pika
  

  lol go pop some pills youngboy ..arsenal fc was nowhere to be seen prior to arsene wenger...just some alcoholics disgracing the badge
  
  arsenal fans want whats best for their club...and the fan who cannot see that this manager is perhaps the best thing that has ever happened to this club is not worth talking to.
  
  now shut up cause back in 94 and 95 i had to deal with a toothles merson and stefan schwarz at midfield and was watching dave seaman getting lobbed from 60 meters in the 94th minute of a final and lee dixon getting owned by paok fc....the ones who beat tottneham for the europe...lol...

• 03-Feb-2012 13:50 | | pika
  

  He knows they know nothing about football so knows they are too weak to challenge and too scared to get rid of him.
  
  excellent comment and my point all long ....this club was CLUELESS at how to run itself and define itself in modern football ...and wenger showed the way.
  
  if arsenal FANS mange to get rid of wenger its back to chaos....
  
  because managers who can run football clubs as well as arsene does, DO NOT EXIST

• 03-Feb-2012 14:24 | | CHGooner
  

  Pika,
  
  Are you actually Arsene Wenger? Sinon, je crois que tu est son fils d'amour...

• 03-Feb-2012 14:54 | | Zama
  

  Whatever it was, I think it was the most trying summer for Arsene, having been let down by his players in the closing stages of previous season, seeing greed both on part of Nasri & the Board in that sad saga. Cesc leaving .. I feel for Arsene. But here we are .. all those things are beyond our control. What we have is our emotion for Arsenal & that should in my opinion dictate how we approach these "dark days". After all it is our heart that lead us to Arsenal, atleast in my case.

• 03-Feb-2012 21:59 | | Goonerjon  - Sound sense....
  

  A top piece...let's all remember it when the new wave of fans who have only been coming since Arsenal's great run began start screaming and howling at Wenger, the players and board tomorrow when the slightest thing goes wrong. The bigger stadium didn't bring us financial security it brought us a different type of fan, thousands of whom do not understand what our great club is about...it isn't about Wenger it is about 125 years of history and some of them should look back at the pre Premiership days to realise we have not always been in the top four and we do not have a God given right to be there. We have a bad season , we don't qualify for the champions league it is not the end of the world....I remember Billy Wright as manager...go check, see how bad things were then.

• 04-Feb-2012 03:10 | | CHGooner
  

  The problem is Goonerjohn, most longstanding AFC fans are sick to the eyeteeth of Wenger and his lies and contempt of 'longstanding' fans. It is the Johnny come lately's who cannot see the damage he is doing. I don't recall Billy Wright drawing £7m a year. He is finished, good riddance. I want my Arsenal back.

• 04-Feb-2012 06:20 | | Santori
  

  Great article.
  
  One ting though. I can understand the reluctance to move for a LB on loan with the fulbacks so close to returning (and the quality available)
  
  I can understand the reluctance in bidding for a HAzard who in any case is himself awaiting the summer to make his move.
  
  I did not know Podolski is now carrying a knock.
  
  But I think it foolish for us not to move for a striker now.
  
  Here's why :
  
  1) We are in possible danger of beingunqualfied for CL come the summer. If we do fall out of Top 4, our chances of signing someone of true quality without 'breaking the bank' to convince them, are frankly slim.
  
  2) RVP. He will be out of contract in the summer. Bearing in mind the above and the fact that we will have to replace Chamakh if he mantains (very likely) current trajectory, we are setting oursleves up for one of those summers not unlike the last.
  
  3) I fully understand the time it takes to bed in a player. BUT isn't that why the fortnight remaining (itself an issue) where we have Henry's service to depend on, would make a reasonable transition period for the new bloke? We would have had more than a fortnight had we moved early of course.
  
  4) Contrary to what Wenger is fond of saying withr egards player's motivation in the Jan window, there are players out there of quality who are willing to move and are not doing so because they are having a torrid season or poor form at their respective club.
  
  Leandro Damiao at Internacional for one has good quality in the air (a Chamakh replacement), sufficient physical strength and speed, excellent technique to render us good service in the closing stage of the campaign.
  
  Spurs were targeting him and yes he was slightly overpriced but the point is we should cross one box now whilst we have sufficient goodwill in the market and when we are still seen as contenders, as a hedge against a possible fall out from our failure to qualify for top 4 in the summer.
  
  4)Bearing in mind our other replacement needs over the horizon, I would have to say that the gaffer for the most part has done well with his panic buys (bar maybe Park). We have a reasonable team foundation to build upon even if we go through a 'disaster season' come end of campaign.
  
  I would think our most pressing need come summer would be a quality player in the wide position and someone with superb technical skills to replace a possible Arsharvin departure and compliment our more direct wide men in Walcott, Ox and Gervinho.
  
  Again bearing in mind the possible need to 'convince' our top asset to remain at the club as captain, I would Hazard to guess someone in the Eden quality would be fitting after our frugal exercise last summer.
  
  What Wenger, Gazidis (the board) must realise is that the market has changed with the likes of PSG, Anzhi joining in the moneywhore clubs in City and Chelsea.
  
  And whilst we are correct in sticking to our principles, we cannot keep maximum threshold @15m quid indefinate. There may be cause for us to go a little above the normal max for us to attract the odd exception that will show us as relevant to the cause following 7 seasons of unsuccessful cup pursuit.
  
  I say this not as an advocate for 'spend and make well' but in that we need to understand that the exception may not prove the rule but that we need flexibility because these are interesting times so to speak at the club and that we must above all exhibit the ability to continue to attract some top talent to the club (which in recent times have been affected by a more equitable playing field in the market thanks to the influx of big money)
  
  Therefore bearing in mind the possible need to compete with the rich in the summer for a gifted wideman, I would think it wise for us to sew up the alternate striker position now in January.
  
  I fear we have missed a window of opportunity, hope that we do qualify for top 4 in the end but worry that if we don't that it will make it doubly hard for us to attract the right quality at the price we want this summer.
  
  
  
  In particular @22, he offeers us a good bridge between the RVP generation and the up coming Campbell/Bunjaku one.

• 04-Feb-2012 06:21 | | Santori
  

  Woops, that last line belongs to just below the line on Leandro Damiao.

• 04-Feb-2012 06:24 | | Santori
  

  BTW, had we gotten a striker this Jan window, we could have at very least farmed out Park to Lille for the rest of the season, build up aa bit of good will (rectifying the horrid after taste we left with their chairman in nipping him from under their noses end last summer) and set ourselevs with at least a sliver of a chance in bidding for Hazard come this summer.;)

• 04-Feb-2012 09:57 | | Mercy  - You love the Arsenal, or Arsenal with trophy only?
  

  The title is for the so call anti-Arsenal fans.
  
  Is there any guaranteed that expensive players will hit the ground running and bring instant success? If not, it's no good. For those whingers want trophies immediately so that they can brag.
  
  It never ceases to amaze me that those glory hunters profess to love the club , but could not wait to sully it's good name.

• 04-Feb-2012 10:40 | | rastapastamasta  - Salary legacy
  

  Spot on with your article - totally agree.
  Worth remembering that whilst Bendtner and Denilson are out on the loan they have not necessarily been 'moved on'. Until Arsenal no longer have any contractual responsibility for these players they may well be influencing Arsene's options for acquiring new players.

• 04-Feb-2012 20:25 | | MARK  - well done!
  

  totally agree!!!!

• 05-Feb-2012 10:14 | | Spectrum
  

  gerry - How much is he paid ?.... I guess we'll never really find out - " as " who knows what goes on behind the scenes at Arsenal " ?
  
  " ******************"

• 05-Feb-2012 10:23 | | Spectrum
  

  " If he had the money why wouldn't he spend it " ? Because he in his stubborn arrogant pride, is determined to prove to himself and everyone else, that he can build a title winning team with kids, or on the cheap with bargain basement buys. The last seven years has shown him that he can' t, yet his giant ego makes him continue gambling with the future success of the club. He's on a vain ego trip, and the board are happy to indulge him at the fans' expense. The whole system's rotten, and only a fan revolt will restore our club to what it should be.
  
  " ******************"

• 05-Feb-2012 10:42 | | pika
  

  lol...........rectum you have the intelligence of a rock.
  
  the owner outlines the company;s policy, direction , aims and objectives....not the employees ...
  
  if you think that the owners of any business have no say in what the employees do to their business and that employees take decissions on their own without the approval of the owners then you must be really thick mate.....

• 05-Feb-2012 10:47 | | Spectrum
  

  Daniel Wong - True, so true. And now John Hartson has joined the ever growing list of former players and managers who are critical of Wenger ; “Arsenal fans watching every single week must be feeling very despondent at the lack of money spent,”
  
  Article here ; http://www.talksport.co.uk/sports-news/football/premier-league/1519/ 53/exclusive-%E2%80%93-hartson-%E2%80%98arsenal-should-be- strengthening-every-opportunity%E2%80%99
  
  ( Yes, it's from Talksport. But it's WHAT he says, not where he said it. )
  
  " ******************"

• 05-Feb-2012 10:51 | | Spectrum
  

  Anonymous - And talking of the deluded, here's one now.......hello pika....
  
  " ******************"

• 05-Feb-2012 11:01 | | Spectrum
  

  " We will only bring in players who are better than what we have." Wow. On that basis, perhaps Chamakh has been underestimated ?
  
  " ******************"

• 05-Feb-2012 11:06 | | pika
  

  hallo black bin bag collector ....just do us a favouur and beat kenny tommorow
  
  thanks

• 05-Feb-2012 11:07 | | pika
  

  no i actually remember what the club was like before him, unlike you ...

• 05-Feb-2012 13:35 | | finsbury  - Top, top article
  

  The 'Cobra' nickname for Koscielny is right up there too!

• 05-Feb-2012 19:09 | | Streetboy177
  

  Absoultly brillant article...Thank god for people with common sense!

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