Written by Mean Lean on Tuesday, 24 January 2012 15:05

I had a terrible dream last night, it felt so real that this morning I had to splash water over my face several times and check the date repeatedly. I still have a massive sense of deja vu about it all and for the life of me, I cannot understand why this is. I want to try and explain how I was feeling during this dream, so here goes.

I had travelled back to the 2003/2004 season, I am sure you know of it well. A season where Arsenal did the unthinkable. We had finished runners up to Manchester United the season before and were being called the bridesmaids. Arsene was being criticised for only bringing in a goalkeeper during that summer but not only did we win the league title but we went the entire season undefeated.

This just was not the case in my dream, in fact it was very different.

It is all very blurry and hazy so you will have to bare with me on this one I can remember pre season, our form wasn't fantastic and the feeling amongst the Gooners wasn't great. We are Arsenal, we want to be the best team in the league and not continuously fall short into second.

The term bridesmaid keeps flashing in my head and I am not entirely sure where it has come from. Perhaps it has been fed deep into my subconscious somehow.

Dennis Bergkamp had picked up some sort of ankle problem, we had thought that it wasn't hugely serious to begin with, only to be told that it would pretty much rule him out for most of the new season. Shocking stuff especially considering that Thierry Henry was yet to stay fit for an entire season since joining the club in 1999. Well it is a chance for Sylvan Wiltord to step up and hopefully prove his quality.

Sol Campbell started the season very well but shortly joined Bergkamp on the treatment table. Remarkably it was the same bloody injury that had kept him out for pretty much the whole of last season but just the other leg. Now that the club know exactly what is wrong with him, they say that the problem shouldn't keep him out for too long but we have heard that before.

In the first game of the season we drew against Everton at Highbury, at least I think it was Highbury, It almost looked like a mixture between the Emirates and the old ground. It was a game we should have won and looked the better team but Thierry was massively isolated and Everton parked the bus which made it very difficult for us to break them down. Patrick Vieira got himself sent off for a stupid stamp on Gravesen. It was a stupid thing to do especially considering that we already have Campbell out injured. Our spine will look a little weak without Campbell, Vieira and Bergkamp.

Robert Pires was sent off in what I think was our next match away to Middlesbrough, another frustrating game that we should have won and we were leading 2-1 with 5 minutes to go. With ten men we just could not hold on. At 2-0 up Pires was accused of diving but it looked a stonewall penalty (another saying that I am not sure where it came from), Pires was dragged up from the turf by Teddy Sheringham so Pires slapped him and was dismissed. This is ridiculous. That is now x red cards in x games under Arsene Wenger seems to be the mantra from Sky television.

We should really have 6 points from those last two games yet we have only managed two. The flip side is that we were still undefeated so once we get that first victory then we should kick on. We just need Vieira and Pires back because Henry is already having to do far too much on his own.

I must have spoke too soon because in our next match we were beaten at home by Portsmouth. We really shouldn't be getting beaten by Pompey at home. Twitter seemed to exist in my dream, probably because I was tweeting about what it would be like to have all our players back before I went to bed.

Here are a few that I vaguely remember.

@Gunnerz4trophies wenga needz two wake up.da sqad jus izznt strong enuff

@KoloRollo Don't understand why Arsene only bought a keeper. We need a new striker, its so obvious

@MeganFox ML, I think you are just amazing and.....

Ah, it looks like my dream may have taken a slight turn so let's ignore that for a second.

When I did return to the Arsenal season my smile was quickly taken off my face as it seems as if defeat at Old Trafford a few games later sparked a downwards slump for us. A Ruud van Nistelrooy penalty was the difference against an Arsenal team missing some key players but that was only the tip of the iceberg. Confidence had dropped due to bad results, the fans were getting on the backs of the players.

We had lost three games in a row during January and this is the team that was beaten over the weekend.

Lehmann

Toure Campbell Keown Cygan

Parlour Cesc Vieira Ljungberg

Kanu

Henry

What is quite ridiculous is the fact that we have Lauren and Justin Hoyte out injured at right back and also have both Ashley Cole and Gael Clichy out for the long term on the other side. Cygan is our third or fourth choice center back but is having to play at left back. Kolo Toure has been positionally all over the place at right back and we are massively exposed.

Bergkamp is supposed to be back soon but is not ready to contribute. At least he and Lauren are running and should come back for the run in. It is mid January and we are long out of the title race but the fight is on to stay in the Champions League places which is very important for the club.

Gilberto had missed the last two games with a calf problem while Edu's continued injury problems do not seem to have improved at all. So much so that he is flying around the world in a last ditch attempt solve the problems.

Arsene was brave enough to throw in the young Spaniard, Cesc Fabregas into the team but physically he still needs work and also needs to adjust to the league. The booing of the manager for removing the youngster for Kanu late in the second half was unnecessary and does the team no good whatsoever.

I wrote a blog on Arsenal Vision about the state of our injuries and how this is affecting the team.

Lauren
Hoyte
Cole
Clichy
Edu
Gilberto
Wiltord
Bergkamp
Bentley

That is just too many injuries for one team to have and still be at the same level. I know it is too much to ask for but what would a team like this achieve?

Lehmann

Lauren Toure Campbell Cole

Ljungberg Vieira Gilberto Pires

Bergkamp

Henry

Would that team even lose a game? I might be going a little overboard but why is it too much to ask for to see our strongest team on the pitch. Every team gets injuries and like I am always told, I shouldn't be making excuses for having injuries.

There are rumours that Jose Reyes is on our radar and we might be looking to make a cheeky bid for the Sevilla wide man. That is just on Twitter so take it with a pinch of salt unless it becomes official.

Confession

I am guessing that most will have already noticed where I am going with this and also that this was never a dream, well all the rest that didn't include Megan Fox.

I sent out an image of what potentially is our current strongest team if everyone is fit based on current form and potential quality.

The response was largely the same. It is a team capable of winning the league, a team that would be challenging, a team that could beat anyone.

So what of the 2003/2004 team that I displayed above. I tried to create a similar injury list to our current situation.

Lauren (Sagna)
Hoyte (Jenkinson)
Cole (Santos)
Clichy (Gibbs)
Edu (Diaby)
Gilberto (Arteta)
Wiltord (Henry)
Bergkamp (Wilshere)
Bentley (Coquelin)

Firstly, let me say that I am not comparing the likes of Dennis Bergkamp to Jack Wilshere, I am simply trying to compare injuries and the positions as closely as possible  for that particular team.

Would a team consisting of Lehmann, Toure, Campbell, Keown, Cygan, Wiltord, Parlour, Cesc (16 yrs), Vieira, Ljungberg, Henry be good enough to have won the league that season? Let alone undefeated. If the injuries that we have had to endure in recent seasons would have happened to our 97/98 or 03/04 teams then we would not have had those great memories you can be sure of that.

In a 38 game season have a look at the following.

Lehmann (38 games)

Lauren (30 games + 2 sub)
Campbell (35)
Toure (36+1)
Cole (32)

Ljungberg (27+3)
Gilberto (29+3)
Vieira (29)
Pires (33+3)

Bergkamp (21+7)
Henry (37)

Many would agree that, that team would be our strongest possible side and they had the chance to play pretty much every week, they had the chance to develop that understanding, that confidence knowing that they couldn't be beaten.

Arsene Wenger has had stick for suggesting that a recent squad was his strongest. Remove the 'first 11' from 2003/04 and this is what we were left with.

Graham Stack     

Pascal Cygan     
Gaël Clichy      
Martin Keown     
Stathis Tavlaridis
Justin Hoyte
Frankie Simek
Olafur-Ingi Skulason

Edu          
Ray Parlour  
David Bentley
Cesc Fabregas
Jerome Thomas (Transferred to Charlton in January 2004)
Ryan Smith 
John Spicer
Gio van Bronckhorst (On Loan to Barcelona)

Sylvain Wiltord      
José Antonio Reyes (Signed January 28th 2004)
Nwankwo Kanu         
Jeremie Aliadière    
Quincy Owusu-Abeyi   
Michal Papadopulos   
Francis Jeffers (On Loan to Everton)

Are you still convinced that we had a better squad back in 2003/2004? I am certainly not. But it did not matter back then because Arsene could carefully rotate individual players

Tottenham Hotspurs are the new media darlings, Harry Redknapp is being praised for building a great squad and competing for the title. There is little doubt that he has done a great job for his club as much as it pains us. But at least Harry gets a goodnight sleep.

Brad Friedel (22)

Walker (21)
Kaboul (20)
King (12) / Gallas (7) / Dawson (4)
Assou-Ekotto (22)

Lennon (8) / Defoe (8)
Parker (18)
Modric (20)
Bale (21)

Rafael Van der Vaart (18)

Adebayor (19)

Tottenham have played 22 league games this season and the only issue they have had is who to partner with Kaboul in central defence.

When you look at what Arsene may have seen as his strongest Arsenal team and the games played then it is not difficult to see where our problems lie.

Szczesny (22)

Sagna (6)
Vermaelen (12)
Koscielny (20)
Santos (7) / Gibbs (5)

Song (18)
Arteta (17) / Diaby (0)
Ramsey (20) / Wilshere (0)

Walcott (19)
van Persie (21)
Gervinho (15)

Our midfield and attack is more than respectable in terms of games played but one glance at our defence and that tells you all you need to know. We have not had a settled defence all season and that is cost us a huge amount of points, especially in recent games. Koscielny has almost played twice as much as the player with the second amount of appearances in our defence. Three haven't even reached ten games.

Luckily back in 2003/2004 the invincibles was real and it was not a nightmare but unfortunately ever since we set foot inside the Emirates we have had continuous nightmares with injury. It keeps us awake at night and you cannot help but fear the worst before you head off to sleep but I cannot help but clutch to the hope that one day we might get the chance to have a season of sweet dreams.

Anyway enough moaning about injuries, check out Hazzaboy's latest article.

Back tomorrow.

• Add New

Comments (56)

• 24-Jan-2012 16:57 | | kronke h8r
  

  fans should stand together root out kronke/hill because they are the underlying problem at arsenal, we should back wenger but he needs to stop acting as the scapegoat for the board and be truthful with the arsenal fans.

• 24-Jan-2012 17:00 | | Iron Man
  

  "I had travelled back to the 2003/2004 season, I am sure you know of it well. A season where Arsenal did the unthinkable. We had finished runners up to Manchester United the season before and were being called the bridesmaids as the last time we won the league title was back in 1997/98."
  
  Are you using artistic license to ignore 01/02?

• 24-Jan-2012 17:03 | | Iron Man
  

  Sorry, also, 4-4-1?
  
  Lehmann
  
  
  Toure Campbell Keown Cygan
  
  
  Parlour Cesc Vieira Ljungberg
  
  
  Henry
  
  Your dream is confusing me

• 24-Jan-2012 17:03 | | Stratty  - Jesus H Christ
  

  Can't be bothered to read all that rubbish. Is this a get rid of Wenger or a keep him article, after all that? Hope you want to keep him, you dopes. Up the Spurs!

• 24-Jan-2012 17:05 | | Anonymous
  

  We won the title only in 97/98 before the 03/04 season? Got your facts wrong mate. We won the title in 01/02 as well.

• 24-Jan-2012 17:05 | | Ghall  - Wrong
  

  We won the league in 2001/02 on 2 years previous you absolute idiot!

• 24-Jan-2012 17:10 | | BnT  - Excuses
  

  Now we are applying injuries retrospectively to former squads FFS.
  
  10 years ago football was less of a squad game, go back another ten years and you will find teams that won the league with only 16 players. If you go back a further ten years you will find league winning teams that played 12 players ALL YEAR.
  
  Comparing us to Spurs and saying theyve been lucky in terms of injury is another massive red herring. We spend £50m more a season on wages than they do.
  
  I can wait for Arsene to go, the loser mentality stinks the Emirates out.

• 24-Jan-2012 17:18 | | MeanLean
  

  Dreams have a terrible habit of missing important stuff out, especially when you don't check your dream first.
  
  Excuse the errors guys and girls.

• 24-Jan-2012 17:32 | | Iron Man
  

  Not a prob mate. Read it all the way and while it presents interesting points that make one wonder, I think it's a little over-ambitious to play the 'what if' game. Every club can do it even if not to the extent of our own problems. Look at the back 5 United sent out on Sunday. How many of them would you consider to be in their first choice XI? As for Spurs, far be it from me to ever defend them but you can't really have a go at them because all their players are fit and healthy, can you?

• 24-Jan-2012 17:46 | | MeanLean
  

  Far from having a go at Spurs, in fact I credited them for being where they are. I was just proving the point that a healthy team usually equals a good team. I don't expect Arsenal to not have injuries I was just pointing out the difference in that department from 03/04 to today.
  
  If that team had a collection of injuries the way this team has and many previous then I doubt we would have won the league.
  
  As for the Mancs, they have a more experienced team than we do and cope better with injury

• 24-Jan-2012 18:13 | | james  - song
  

  Take that greedy git song out of the middle put Ramsey in and swap Ramsey to Arteta's role and vice versa and that is our strongest side.
  
  Song is the problem in the midfield I ask all gooners to watch him in our previous games, don't get me wrong he's a great defender and ball winner but his sharpness on the ball I freightningly poor he's too greedy holds on to the ball for far to long either losing possession or passing it to a player who was free but due to his dilly-dallying is now marked by 2 or 3 opposition players. He loses the ball slows our attacks and make the other attackers lives more difficult and were far easier to defend against

• 24-Jan-2012 18:39 | | N7 Gooner  - Reply to Iron Man
  

  I think he's making the point that the gap between 97-98 and the invincibles year was similar to the gap between now and 2005 when we won the FA cup....but I thought similar to you as I read it! Thank you class of '01-'02!

• 24-Jan-2012 18:58 | | Jekyll
  

  This is desperate stuff, trying to defend the status quo in this way, making tenuous parallels between then and now. It's a different game, the money is different, the advantage Wenger had with his overseas knowledge of players has gone, others have caught up with and overtaken him, he's stayed with the same methods and now they're stale and he's lurching into self-parody - case in point, he's always been dodgy with subs, but Sunday he truly outdid himself.

• 24-Jan-2012 19:01 | | N7 Gooner  - Decent Point Mean Lean
  

  Good point Mean Lean-injuries have hit our ability to gain momentum and our luck has stunk this season!
  
  I think people are just frustrated and looking to vent-but it was totally counter-productive on Sunday. Can you imagine the encouragement that Arsenal fans booing their own manager must have given United?!
  
  Hoping AVB finally loses the Chelsea dressing room and 'Arry gets sent down-then the return of the LANS brigade takes us on a charge to the Barcelona-fixed-to-win-it League places.
  
  Cheering all the way to the Villa game. Come on Arsenal!
  
  P.S. Yennaris was encouraging!

• 24-Jan-2012 19:13 | | Jekyll
  

  Can you imagine the encouragement Man U must have got when our most dangerous player was taken off.

• 24-Jan-2012 20:01 | | Tom
  

  Please stop blaming injuries all the time, Mean.
  
  It undermines an otherwise brilliant blog.
  
  We've been moaning about injuries for years. They happen and its about having a squad to cope.
  
  We suffered a chronic injury situation during the 2001/02 double season, used 3 different goalkeepers, played Lauren at left back and on a number occasions had to play Stepanovs alongside Campbell.
  
  I believe we used over a dozen different players in our backline.
  
  Pires missed the last 15 or so games of the season with ligament damage and we won the league in Manchester without Adams, Vieira, Henry, Bergkamp or Pires.
  
  The difference in those days is that we had a 'squad'. We were organised and had quality.
  
  For the last 6 years, a chronic lack of investment and too much faith in a number of sub standard players have seen us fall down the league.
  
  While Wenger has bought very well, he has also bought some absolute duds who are on huge wages despite not delivering.
  
  Meanwhile, an obsession with 'balancing the books' looks like hitting us in the face when we fail to qualify for the Champions League.
  
  In addition, we show a frankly appalling attitude towards the trophies we have the best chance of winning i.e. Carling and FA Cups.
  
  We put out kids in the former, and have the tendency to 'protect' players in the latter. See our capitulations against Man Utd in 2008, Stoke in 2009 for further details.
  
  If we finish 5th or worse, blaming injuries will simply not wash. Been using that excuse for years and its getting boring.

• 24-Jan-2012 20:30 | | MeanLean
  

  It was simply a mistake. Thank you for pointing it out in such a mature manner. All the power to you.

• 24-Jan-2012 22:38 | | MeanLean
  

  Getting a good old fashioned beating tonight, thanks all. Love you all too.
  
  Firstly, I am not suggesting that we do not have any squad issues or problems apart from injuries. Neither am I suggesting that it is abnormal to get injuries. It is part of the game and I understand that.
  
  Injuries frustrate me because more often than not we end up having one of the worst injury problems in the league.
  
  This means that as an Arsenal supporter, I do not get to see what should be the best of Arsenal.
  
  If I was a Barcelona supporter and the likes of Messi and Xavi were regularly missing out on games then it would get to me because ultimately you want to see good players playing with other good players.
  
  That to me doesn't seem like a point worth arguing. In all the time that Cesc and van Persie were at the club, they never played a full season together due to one of them being injured. Can anyone reading this not feel some sense of regret or frustration about two great players not developing a long term partnership?
  
  There is an argument for having a good squad, of course. It is a very good point but no matter how good your squad is you do not get a duplicate of the injured player. You cannot have a spare van Persie on the bench and while we could have a very good player in his place rather than someone who isn't being given a chance (Park) that very good player isn't the best we have.
  
  The point of this article wasn't to merely excuse our current team it was to point out that the best team in Arsenal history at least current history hardly had any injuries. It was also to show that Tottenham who are doing very well to date currently have a team that are playing most weeks.
  
  I would say that Manchester United have probably been the most impressive this season because they are second yet have had to deal with plenty of injuries. We may have had more but they have dealt with their injuries better.
  
  Talk of investment, tactics, subs etc are a completely separate issue.

• 24-Jan-2012 21:59 | | Shaun Sen  - Positive thoughts
  

  Thank God for Mean Lean!
  
  I always feel down after we lose as we all obviously do but this blog always has a positive outlook and brings me back round
  
  Thanks ML
  
  Come on you Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• 24-Jan-2012 22:37 | | MeanLean
  

  N7 Gooner,
  
  I have been impressed with Yennaris from the Bolton game in the CC until now. I would much rather have his inexperience but natural game than Djourou who looks very uncomfortable in that position.

• 25-Jan-2012 03:19 | | Man United Killer
  

  Desperate stuff indeed! I agree.

• 25-Jan-2012 03:21 | | Man United Killer
  

  Doesn't our luck stink every season?I wonder when we will stop singing this song.

• 25-Jan-2012 03:22 | | Man United Killer
  

  Solid Points Gooner!

• 25-Jan-2012 10:13 | | indian gooner forever....  - Excellent article and that injury frustration.....
  

  That was an excellent read ML....You hit the nail on the bloody head when you mentioned about the fact that ever since we've moved to the new stadium we have had one horrible injury saga after another.
  
  And while it is true that all teams suffer injuries but more often than not teams that end up winning league titles are often the ones that get a majority of the season through with their core players. The injuries seem to hamper us a lot more than say someone like Manchester United is because:
  a) most of our replacements are rank youngsters(example AOC the other nite) because of our youth heavy policy in terms of the squad.
  
  b)our game is based on passing efficiency and co-ordination rather than a more direct style employed by the likes of Man Utd.
  
  And yeah I had mentioned in one of my posts earlier - and as seen above in your 'current strongest team - if all players are available' - what a mouth watering prospect it would be to have a front three of Gervinho, RVP and AOC. That could be lethal especially with an efficient midfield trio of Arteta, Wilshere and Song......OH well........lets keep our fingers crossed!!!

• 25-Jan-2012 10:53 | | Eric
  

  Good article ..there were some interesting parallels
  What I got from this article wasnt an apologist essay on why we arent doing well...but how teams go through highs and lows, how a step back and closer look at some stats show that there recurring issues which are not necessarily solved by silly comments like 'Sack the manager mid term'etc...injuries are part of the modern game of football and one of our main issues has been squad depth ...
  Overall (aside the visible frustrations of an underperfoming team) I took from it that I would rather support the current crop until at least the end of the season than spend what I consider a wasteful energy berating players during matches...
  We can talk about player investments, tactical subtleties, change in wage structure, changae in backroom stuff,etc. as factors but it is futile until the end of the season...
  coyg

• 25-Jan-2012 14:50 | | Kenyan Gooner  - Squad strength not size
  

  I've seen a comment about United's back four that started not being considered first choice. And I believe that is where Chelsea and MUFC have been better than us for a few years now. When a first choice player is out injured or rested, they can call on a quality player to put in a shift.
  
  At Arsenal, beyond the first XI, there really is nothing much. Evans and Smalling contained RvP pretty well. Jones/Rafael also had our left wing mute. Why can't we have similar players at Arsenal? United have had a similar injury crisis to ours all season and even played a game with Carrick and Valencia in defense yet had a clean sheet!!
  
  When Arteta is out, we suddenly can't keep possession. God forbid what would happen to goals if van Persie gets injured. I saw a table where the number of players we've used is huge. But the contribution is not meaningful. We have a huge squad as Wenger says but not a strong squad. Diaby, Wilshere, Gibbs, Park, Squillaci even Arshavin haven't contributed much for various reasons. But they are on top wages! In my opinion, that is where Arsenal fail.

• 25-Jan-2012 16:37 | | Tim
  

  Pretty big mistake, don't you think?
  
  Makes your silly argument look even sillier. You're probably the biggest apologist on the internet. Your entries are virtually un-readable at this point.
  
  Wouldn't it be much more relevant to compare Arsenal's injuries this season to Manchester United's injuries this season?
  
  Of course not; that would clearly illustrate just what a failure this campaign really is.

• 25-Jan-2012 16:54 | | MeanLean
  

  Timothy,
  
  Nobody is asking you to read my posts for starters. Secondly I find it quite weird how other Arsenal supporters can be so angry at other Arsenal supporters for seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.
  
  What you clearly want me to do is act like a rival fan and slaughter the club, manager and players.
  
  Sorry, not interested. The article above was supposed to state facts about how the 2003/04 team were lucky with injuries with the number of games played by the first team players. That is not being an apologist, it is fact.
  
  It is also fact that our first team have not had a run of 5 games together this season. Fact and nothing to do with being an apologist.
  
  People who have read previous articles of mine will have seen my criticism for the way we have acted during the summer, players used as full backs and my desire this summer to see a Cesc type player brought in.
  
  Just because I am not slamming the club every day, doesn't mean that I do not share certain criticism of the club right now.
  
  If you do not want to read about how many games the invincibles played then go elsewhere and you can join in the slagging off of the team.

• 25-Jan-2012 21:57 | | Colesy
  

  Spot on !

• 25-Jan-2012 22:00 | | Colesy  - Whats the point?
  

  I find it interesting that ML chose to roll out the memories - a tactic to deflect attention from the here and now maybe?
  
  3 defeats in the league on the bounce. 18 points off the leaders. 7 points in our last 7 games. This is what we should be discussing. Why and how did we get here?

• 25-Jan-2012 23:17 | | MeanLean
  

  "a tactic to deflect attention from the here and now maybe?"
  
  Why? I don't work for the club, I am a supporter. Perhaps the fact that you fail to acknowledge the 'facts' shows that perhaps you don't want issues to be corrected at the club.
  
  Do you think that our injury state has had no impact to our recent results? It is obviously not the whole issue but do you not think that four full backs has cost us? Perhaps stuipid Arsene should have bought another two more in the summer. Why didn't he see it ey?

• 26-Jan-2012 05:27 | | bake  - meanlean
  

  i got your back. alot of niave comments on here

• 26-Jan-2012 05:31 | | bake
  

  bartly and miguel will make good back ups to kosmaelensacker so the future is still bright and the young right back should get the nod next game

• 26-Jan-2012 09:22 | | MeanLean
  

  http://denglischerfussball.tumblr.com/post/9252828120/thomas-daley- mueller-and-wengers-pride
  
  "Named and shamed: the man who dared to defy the Premier League’s recipe for success.
  
  For this – what else? - is the reason for the Wenger hatred. It is not that people are blind to his success, it is that they fail to accept that it is just as remarkable as Manchester United’s stack of Premier League trophies, and far more impressive than the heavily subsidised glory of plastic teams such as Chelsea and Manchester City. Wenger’s idea of success transcends silverware, and extends to dignity and long term prosperity – two things which Arsenal have in abundance and other teams have forgotten the meaning of. The media accept this, but they cannot understand why anyone would accept it over immediate riches and trophies. For instant gratification is the core value of the Premiership, and this long nosed meddling foreigner with his fancy brand of football should not have the audacity to negate it.
  
  But who is the real loser? Is it the public and press, who sneer and jeer at Wenger everytime his team get knocked out of a competition or a player leaves? Is it the Arsenal fans who have been so persuaded by the media witch hunts to abandon reason and turn on the most brilliant manager of their club’s history? Or is it Wenger, who in spite of all the pure hatred and disrespect being thrown daily into his measured face, retains an intelligence, an eloquence and a dignity which is simply nowhere to be seen in most of his contemporaries?
  
  The Premier League really does eat itself, and Wenger is the prime example of this. By Scudamorian logic, Alex Ferguson is held up as the model for all good managers; even when he cuts deals so transparently crooked as the signing of Bebe or behaves in such a disgustingly infantile manner as to refuse to speak to the BBC, the pundits and observers just laugh it off with a knowing chuckle: he’s Fergie, he can do what he likes. When Wenger, a man who refuses to buy into the corruption of the English top flight, even if it costs him silverware, makes the odd mistake, he is portrayed as a madman. Is this the right message? Of course not.
  
  Not that the right conclusion will ever be drawn – when Cesc Fábregas left Arsenal this summer, it was widely accepted to be at least partially a result of the club’s empty trophy cabinet. And yet on his departure, did Fábregas – as considered and mature a professional as any – laud the pace and excitement of the Premier League? Or did he express his deep regret at having to leave a man as admirable as Wenger, to whom he owed so much? The honesty of Fábregas’ emotion was something which no Ferguson and no Mourinho will ever inspire in their players, for all their trophies. Loyalty, yes, but not on this level. The tears of Cesc Fábregas were testimony to the brilliance of Arsene Wenger.
  
  The latest fad is to suggest that the Arsenal manager may be losing his marbles. That his time has come, and he should leave before he goes mad. It is the pettiest and ugliest form of insult. That Wenger will stick to his guns no matter what is said about him is what makes him such an incredible manager and individual. It is part of the reason that his services are still coveted by Real Madrid and it is why, if and when he does leave Arsenal, he will leave with his dignity firmly intact, no matter how many trophies he has won. If that makes him a madman, then send me to the asylum with him. It can’t be any madder than the Premier League."

• 26-Jan-2012 11:48 | | indian gooner forever....  - oh that was awesome!!!
  

  I think that just sums up what a classy guy Wenger is and even the most decorated gaffers won't even come close to him when it comes to professionalism, dignity and elegance.
  
  IN ARSENE WE TRUST!!!!

• 26-Jan-2012 12:51 | | Spectrum
  

  Mean Lean - You "share certain criticism of the club." Then how about some really robust criticism i.e. tough, ( if that word is in your dictionary ). Make an unambiguous statement about the way the club is being run. Instead of gently slapping it with a wet lettuce leaf ? You could start with a critique of Peter Hill - Wood's pathetically weak statement about possibly not qualifying for the CL. ( i.e. "It would be "nice" if we did qualify." )
  
  And I notice you published a piece written against the booing at the ground on Sunday. Even an extract from that other impartial site - ACLFL . In the interest of balance ( which I assume you're all for ? ) I expect we'll be seeing a similar article giving the OTHER perspective ? Looking forward to seeing that on your next blog.
  
  ( Is that a pig flying past my window ? )
  
  " ******************"

• 26-Jan-2012 13:26 | | Eric
  

  Well said...I know there will be others here who will disagree and see it as apologist but I do not believe so...

• 26-Jan-2012 13:28 | | Spectrum
  

  Hi Killer - how are you ? I've been away for a while, but I see that now we've had our little burst of excitement ( our good recent run ), normal service has been resumed. Robin's goals have kept us in an artificially high position, but the fact is the gap has gone from 12 to 15 and now 18 points. ( Not that we were realistically in the hunt ).
  
  Blaming injuries. Not so long ago it was the media conspiracy ( funny how that subject never comes up anymore ) . Wenger must have been frustrated he couldn't use the tried and trusted bad refereeing excuse last Sunday. But didn't The Senile One not long ago tell us we had a "big squad" ? What he didn't mention was that we are big on numbers, but not on QUALITY. Did you see our subs. bench ? Embarassing ! And United also had injuries too, a weakened side, with Rooney having an off day, but we couldn't take advantage.
  
  And Jekyl - you're right - I read somewhere that some of the United players said they were lifted by the Ox's substitution. So just how much did we shoot ourselves in the foot ?
  
  " ******************"

• 26-Jan-2012 13:28 | | Colesy
  

  I acknowledge injuries do play a part. Tactics and buying decisions (OR LACK OF) also contribute too. AW has assembled the squad (over many seasons and numerous decisions) to the "state" it's in now and look where it has got us. It would be foolish to simply put our performances and league position entirely down to injuries. Wait, now of course, it's the ref's fault as well (as Wenger would have us believe).

• 27-Jan-2012 11:05 | | Spectrum
  

  More revealing information about our finances from the very SAME SOURCE that Mean Lean linked to on a previous blog. Key points ;
  
  We're not unique in being self sustaining. Many other clubs are too.
  
  We have low net debt, and are the fifth richest club on Deloitte's rich list.
  
  We've been accumulating transfer cash EVERY year since 2007, which has NOT been spent on strengthening the team. ( So where HAS it been going then ? ). ( quote ) ; " but let’s not be under any illusions here. There is money available and always has been since 2007 and we have failed to adequately invest it. " ( This ties in with the board repeatedly stating that the cash is available to Wenger IF he needs / wants it. It's estimated that we have 75 million to spend NOW. Yet here we are four days from the close of the transfer window, and who have we bought in - the invisible man ! )
  
  Our wages to turnover ratio is comfortable. ( Imagine how much better again it would be, if we unloaded the deadwood as well ! )
  
  ( Now the damning part ); ( quote ) ; " A decline in player investment has mirrored a decline in on-field performance. It’s not as if we are an Everton and can’t afford to invest more. " ( So as you see, there's a direct link between not spending and underachieving on the pitch. Sound familiar ? )
  
  I read that we are the lowest net transfer spenders in the Premier League. Something to be proud of you think ( ? ).....( quote ) ; " I can confidently predict that not only would our Wages vs Turnover ratio be lower than everyone other than Man United, but that our Footballing Investment vs Turnover would absolutely blow everyone else away including Man Utd. It is unbelievable that we are investing so much less than our competitors. "
  
  We could, if the board were bolder and more adventurous, use our overdraft facility to invest more cash in the team with little extra risk involved. The possible outcome ?...... ( quote ) ; " and who knows what positive consequences that would have afforded? Not only success-wise, but quite possibly we’d have hung on to players we have lost, attracted others, and not been in the position we find ourselves now with potential loss of Champions League qualification. "
  
  To sum up then, lack of ambition and vision, hoarding of cash, and refusing to spend the money that IS available. Ladies and gentlemen - I present you with Arsenal F.C. 2007 - 2012. ( Shameful. )
  
  
  Full article here ; ( copy and paste ) : http://angryofislington.com/2012/01/22/cashing-in-arsenals-ever- growing-cash-balances/
  
  " ******************"
  
  
  
  
  
  .

• 27-Jan-2012 11:41 | | pika
  

  We've been accumulating transfer cash EVERY year since 2007, which has NOT been spent on strengthening the team.
  
  
  lol why should it be spent on strengthening the team when the priority is to repay the stadium , and when you have already planned for your first squad and have chosen to bring up youngsters ?
  
  lack of ambition? ahahahahha ..arsenal and wneger plan 10 and 20 years ahead and you..a cretinous spiteful little englander wants to pass judgement on financial macroplans ?
  
  ahahah it gets better and better ...will the real openminded english people please stand up ?..or are you all as cretinous as these little engladers here colesy and rectum ? ...

• 27-Jan-2012 11:44 | | pika
  

  rectum tell us mate ...is it the financial plans of them people with the masters degree you are doubting or wenger;s football credentials ?
  
  or both ?
  
  so ,,,, i take it you know better than the financial analysts of arsenal and in football terms you know better than arsene wenger?
  
  is that right?

• 27-Jan-2012 11:51 | | pika
  

  mean lean.....lol are you blind man? cant you see all these little cretins are rivals coming to pull your leg..ban them...what are you waiting for?
  
  will you apologise to them for supporting the team and manager too ?
  
  tell them to fuck off back where they came from......

• 27-Jan-2012 11:54 | | pika
  

  buying decissions? lol so you have a problem with that too ? lol...
  
  is there anyting in whichever department within arsenal where you feel we are going the right way ? ...ahahhaa ...just one .....
  
  fuck me mate if i hadnt paid attention to arsenal all these years i would have thought you were talking about liverpool or tottenham...pmsl...

• 27-Jan-2012 11:56 | | pika
  

  thats the one ....a german with a higher education and higher intellect ...
  
  compare that to the little engladers outbursts ....lol
  
  day and night
  
  
  civility over neanderthal;s any day !!

• 27-Jan-2012 11:58 | | pika
  

  lol...i love it when two little englanders agree...it shows arsenal is on the right track !

• 27-Jan-2012 12:02 | | pika
  

  song is the problem at midfield ?
  
  thank you for proving how clueless you are about football........
  
  why do you think he is amrked by two or three oppposition players then?
  
  is it because they know song can hurt them , even if he is considered the defensive anchor ?

• 27-Jan-2012 12:52 | | Spectrum
  

  pika - Read it again, moron. We have a surplus of cash, even AFTER the stadium payments e.t.c. are taken into account. That's why it's called "net ". The stadium payments and interest are well under control. So paying it off isn't / doesn't need to be, a priority. And given the lack of on field success in recent years, and with us likely to miss out on Europe, wouldn't it make sense to invest this extra money we have, in the team NOW ?
  
  ( quote ) : " I’m pretty sure Arsenal have not been on top of many aspects of their business model going right back to 2007. There have been distractions in the boardroom of course, but now a lot of the mistakes made are coming home to roost. "
  
  What he's suggesting is we have had our priorities wrong all this time, and now we are seeing the results of it. Wenger's obsession with Project Youth all these years, underlines this. He could have spent, but CHOSE not to.
  
  " ****************** "

• 27-Jan-2012 13:02 | | pika
  

  first of all dont adress me with your father;s name .
  
  secondly whatever surplus we create is given back to repay the banks.
  
  wenger has to generate 25m surplus per year
  
  when arsenal released its financial results for the year 09-10, they showed a debt on stadium of 295m brought down to 135m. essentially thats 295-135 = 160m ...divide that by the last 6 years you arrive at the figure of 26,6m ..... do you still want to complain about surplus you effing git little englader ?
  
  our priorities wrong ? christ what a fuckin mug you are...when you owe money your first priority is to pay that money back ....not buy essien and ronaldinho to please some idiot customers with their nenaderthal way of thinking.

• 27-Jan-2012 13:05 | | Colesy  - buying decsions
  

  yes I have a problem with some of AW's buying decisions; denilson, diaby, walcott, arshavin, eboue, almunia. Do you want more? Oh no, I forgot you love AW and every decision he's made so you'd think every player he has signed is best for the club.

• 27-Jan-2012 13:06 | | pika
  

  Quincy Owusu-Abeyi
  
  
  hahahaha mean lean ...you know where he is now ? playing under zesualdo ferreira at panathinaikos f.c . tremendous athletic skills and ability , terrible discipline.
  
  we gave gilberto silva to them a few years ago..we should have got that amc they got this wonderkid ninis in exchange..now parma and lazio are on to him...big hit for the future this lad.

• 27-Jan-2012 13:07 | | Colesy
  

  ha ha, you tell em. Pika is good value for making a fool of himself.

• 27-Jan-2012 13:12 | | pika
  

  ah so you have a problem with 1m denislosn 1.5m diabby 5m walcott ..eboue aint playing at us you know...lol...almunia..wow he must have cost like 25 million didnt he ?
  
  sit down you pathetic peasant little englader who is gonna sit at yoru keybiard and exercise critique on football;s numero uno manager at recognising talent and value.
  
  all them players he bought...their values have trippled ....IDIOT ...pmsl...
  
  
  i know why he has signed young cheap players ....to develop them .....only you want them to win trophies off united and chelsea as early as 20 21 22 23 years of age ...
  
  lol
  
  you are just another clueless little englader who is way to small in the mind to comprehend what Arsene Wenger has and still does for Arsenal.
  
  you are myopic pathetic coward and weak little englader who has lost the plot whe it comes to comparing teams with 15m budgets and teams with 250m budgets.
  
  have you read kit holden's post? .... i doubt you can understand it you little englader scum.

• 27-Jan-2012 13:14 | | pika
  

  just ripping two little englanders and wenger haters to shreds ...do you mind ?
  
  the day when tw@ts from england who dont know their arse form their elbow in football critisise arsene wenger has not arrived yet...go win a few world cups first ......

• 27-Jan-2012 17:39 | | Eric
  

  lol...calm/tranquille Mr pika...
  
  not so nice tarring all of us with the same brush...
  
  ' there are many ways to skin a fish' ...

• 27-Jan-2012 18:41 | | Colesy
  

  Wot a plonker!
  
  It's not how much they cost (nor their perceived value)- how many clubs are lining up to buy Almunia, Denilson, Diaby etc. Oh yes, none. It's the fact AW bought these players who we "full of potential" but never made the grade and 5,6 or 7 years later, remain in the squad.
  
  oh, and for the record. I'm aware of what Wenger achieved but unlike you, I can see what he's failed to do since his glory days. Numpty.

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