Written by Squid Boy on Sunday, 20 May 2012 23:22

"What I've witnessed tonight has inspired me to try and help both club and country achieve great things" – Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain after Chelsea's Champions League victory

First things first; an introduction. I'm Squid Boy. You may have read some of my stuff on here before. And you may be seeing me around these parts more often. Head honcho Mean Lean is targeting world domination so I shall be plugging the gap for the foreseeable future.

I was going to write about Robin van Persie's contract situation and how he deserves our patience this summer. But then I realised I have MONTHS to talk about that (a bit like Robin has MONTHS to sign on). There is a more pressing issue on my mind after the weekend's events.

You know it. I know it. We all know it.

It is Chelsea's glorious moment where they finally attained the Holy Grail. And my thoughts naturally drift to how it affects Arsenal.

Apart from the inevitable gloating that will ensue, directly it has no effect. Scraping past West Brom meant our Champions League status for next season wasn't in the hands of our West London neighbours. That fate befell our friends from down the road, who will now miss out on dining at Europe's top table. Ouch. I've maintained that Spurs missing out on the CL as a result of Chelsea's efforts in the competition could only ever be scant consolation to us Gooners, but even that didn't seem very sweet on Saturday night whilst watching those despicable beings in blue cavorting with Ol' Big Ears.

And therein lies my problem. I am jealous that they're the first London club to win the European Cup. As I write this on Sunday afternoon, thousands of Chelsea fans are at the trophy parade of their lives. Normally when something goes awry in football, I turn the TV off and do something else. But yesterday I felt compelled to watch them lift the trophy. Why? I don’t know. What I do know is that I want that feeling. We all do.

Saturday night brought about a period of deep introspection. The two main questions were: can we realistically achieve what Chelsea did in Munich? And if so, how?

In answering the first question, my initial reaction was to plumb the depths of despair. Now that the final frontier had been conquered – a financially doped English side winning the Champions League – I saw a bleak future. This consisted of Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United lording it domestically, whilst on the continent that very same trio would be joined by perennial challengers Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Not to mention the likes of Paris Saint Germain who are undergoing their own influx of wealth, plus a multitude of Italian outfits.

What do all of these clubs have in common? They have greater purchasing power than us. They can outgun us in the transfer market and offer wages that would make Peter Hill-Wood's eyes water and Stan Kroenke's 'tache twitch.

For a moment on Saturday night, in my head it seemed we were as far away as ever from realising our dreams. I went to sleep on a downer.

But when I woke up on Sunday morning, I looked at Chelsea again. Whilst their triumph is obviously steeped in Roman's roubles, it was grim determination and a willingness to put their bodies on the line – allied with some very large slices of Lady Luck's pie – that led them to the Promised Land. They aren't necessarily better than us. But mentally they have a strength which we don't yet possess; the courage of their convictions which we seem to lack when the chips are down. They have the desire that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain refers to above. And that's why I applaud what they have achieved as a team, if not as a club.

Then it dawned on me. Not only was I jealous of their success, but equally so of their winning mentality. And yes, of their luck as well. Why can't we stand firm like they do in the toughest of times? Why don't our opponents miss penalties?

So then my mind arrived at the second question. If a dwindling Chelsea outfit had proven that guts and fortune was just as important as monetary aspects, how do we go about emulating them?

Let me be clear. I'm not advocating us to replicate how Chelsea have arrived at this position. I like not being a sugar daddy's plaything. I like the notion of us spending what we earn. I like plurality of ownership and the fans having a say. Maybe these are romantic ideals which carry a decreasing weight in the modern game. But I like them. I like us. I like The Arsenal way.

And I don't think it would be wise to go down that avenue at this moment in time. Lest we forget that Financial Fair Play is due to be enforced in the next few years. Be stupid of us to show prudence in the period leading up to it and then do the opposite when it comes into view.

More pertinently however, on the pitch I think we are closer than we're given credit for. Drastic surgery isn't required; just tweaks here and there. And these can come about without having to spend above our means. We just have to work harder and maximise our own financial and footballistic potential.

The league table doesn't lie. It shows we are better than Chelsea despite their knockout exploits. And it doesn't lie either when it says we're 19 points worse than the two Manchester clubs. If I was to give an honest appraisal of our 1st XI, I’d say we are behind Manchester City, on a par with Manchester United and ahead of Chelsea. If that is the case, how did Manchester United streak ahead of us in the league and how did Chelsea win two trophies?

The answer is a potent mixture of two factors: strength in depth plus that winning mentality which I've already mentioned.

The former can be solved in a somewhat straightforward manner. Prune the squad of underperforming and overpaid members (you know who they are) and replace them with genuine quality that can be relied upon to step up. Oh, and keep RvP. I personally have taken great heart in the acquisition of Lukas Podolski and am equally excited by the rumours surrounding Yann M'Vila. I sense a shift in the Club's recruitment policy over the past twelve-months and I hope my instinct doesn't prove to be a mirage. Signings of the calibre and experience of Arteta, Mertesacker and Podolski give me optimism that change is afoot. A couple more arrivals in this bracket plus tactical flexibility honed on the training pitch alongside greater in-game intelligence, and I honestly believe we'll have a squad primed to launch an assault on silverware at home and abroad.

Then we come to the latter. A lot of people have said that despite the turnover in the squad in recent years, the mentality has remained the same. And they would be right to an extent. However, I'm sure I'm not the only one to have greater faith in this squad's fabled mental strength than that of previous incarnations. The string of comebacks alone proves this.

The question then becomes whether the management team can instil that iron-will in the squad. Can Le Boss motivate the troops into believing they can become contenders and performing accordingly? Can Steve Bould transmit the discipline imbued in him under George Graham's reign?

Many will say no, especially to the first question regarding Arsene. They say he can't change this "bunch of losers" into a team of seasoned winners without spending hundreds of millions; that the gap is too big to breach. To those, I point you in the direction of 2001. That year, we finished the league campaign with 70 points, scraping into the automatic CL positions by the skin of our teeth. We lost too many games, flattered to deceive when it came to the crunch and suffered a crushing defeat at Old Trafford. Does any of this sound familiar?

The following season, something had changed. You could sense it. We had a good summer in the transfer market, adding depth to the squad and a marquee name in the form of Sol Campbell. During the course of the campaign, we shook off the shackles and embarked on a 13-game winning streak which saw us eventually amass 87 points. A staggering 17 more than in the previous season.

Now I'm not saying this kind of transformation will definitely be repeated next season, even if we do make the requisite signings. That would be folly. Nor am I saying it will be easy to do so. If anything, the presence of two teams finishing 19 points clear of us makes it doubly difficult. What I am saying is that the manager does have previous for turning around a team that seemed a level below and converting them into bona fide challengers, nay, winners.

However, he needs the tools to do this. He needs financial freedom from the Board to freshen up the squad. Not only will this add firepower and fortitude, but it will give us belief that we are going for it and not settling for third or fourth place. And it needs to be done sooner rather than later, to avoid the shambolic start to last season that left us adrift before we even had a chance to mount a challenge. By finishing third and qualifying automatically for the CL group stages, we really have given ourselves the best possible foundation to build from. Let's grasp it with both hands.

The Club as a whole needs to fulfil its potential in order to compete for honours. That applies on and off the pitch – a successful summer in the transfer window, a sharp start to the season, a squad strong enough to rotate and keep players fresh, and the mental strength and capacity to see us through when the going gets tough.

Arsene Wenger has worked miracles on limited resources since the stadium move. Just think of the miracles he could work when those resources are maximised? Maybe, just maybe, this time next year we'll be having our own trophy parade.

Squid Boy (https://twitter.com/#!/TheSquidBoyLike)

P.S. don't forget to check out the ArsenalVision end-of-season awards

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Comments (32)

• 21-May-2012 08:12 | | Sam Justice  - Another Coarch
  

  I think we need to get another coarch who is champions league material and someone young with fresh ideas but steve bould is going to dance on the tunes of Arsene who is not shy and sorry to the fans who keep on subscribing to the betterment of the team. don't get me wrong the solution to win a trophy is not buying big but employing good tactics which can win you a game. Mr. Wenger should get to board and they bring Pep or Keown as a coarch.

• 21-May-2012 08:24 | | Gooner80
  

  Yes of course Sam. A new "coarch" would automatically give Arsenal a few extra hundred million out of thin air. Why did I not think of that great suggestion?

• 21-May-2012 08:24 | | SurreyGunner  - Thanks
  

  Thank you for writing this, I think the majority of Arsenal fans had the same feelings directly after the match ie why bother always being the plucky losers, and other introspective thoughts. Can we ever compete with Man City, Chelsea and Man United?
  
  This side can achieve great things, if the team starts to put all their soul and heart into every tackle, header and block, if they can play to the 92 min and make a draw out of a losing position, and a win out of a draw.
  
  Dont know what else to say other than, being Arsenal fan is like one of those classic italian Operas, we had the bad times let start praying for the good times.

• 21-May-2012 08:32 | | KLV  - My views for the future
  

  No, I do not feel despondent, bitter or grief that Chelsea won the CL. In fact, I feel liberated, because Chelsea's win shows why Arsenal will never win. So, in a situation where you could never win something, why not focus and concentrate on other competitions that we can win.
  
  Reasons why Arsenal can never win the CL are:
  
  1) We don't have the squad. We may beat Chelsea in the BPL as often as they can beat us, but when it comes to the CL, we don't have the players to win it. Reality check : we played Chamakh and Park as substitutes when we were chasing the fourth goal vs AC Milan. That said it all. We have no depth, and we don't have a squad to win the CL.
  
  2) Our players play for fun, and pander to the gallery. Chelsea's players play to win the damn thing. They put up a gutsy performance - although not very exciting to watch - but enough to last 300 min and beat Barcelona and Bayern. If it had been Arsenal, we would have matched Bayern, and made it exciting to watch - mindful we will also miss as many goal scoring opps as Bayern did - but we would have folded when Bayern scored. We don't have the experience. Our players are young and virginal. They preferred to cry when they lose and our manager would wipe their tears and give them some soothing words. But by then, the Cup has gone.
  
  3) We don't have a winning mentality. Since our last trophy in 2005, Chelsea has won heaps, while we preferred not to take part in the financial doping of the game, and chose to sulk at the sidelines. Winners play to win, regardless how they got there and how ugly they play, and then they get to take the Cup and the cheerleaders home. At Arsenal, third is a trophy, and we go home and help ourselves to orgasm.
  
  4) Roberto Di Matteo is a better manager than most, including Arsene. This is because Roberto knows this is it. It is a do or die thing. So he rolls the dice and wins, while Arsene would sell us (and himself) his future where this is not the last roll of the dice.
  
  5) As a Arsenal fan for > 40years, I would say despite his success, Arsene is not the manager to bring us up to the next level. He did not have to take those baby steps to success, he won the Double in his first full season, and many others. So he got carried away that we can win the CL. Because of his obsession, we paid the price. He chucked away the FA Cups and League Cups even at semi-final stages because of the CL. And he believed the "squad" we had could do it. See item (1) above. I believed him for many years, but now I see no hope. Better we concentrate on winning domestic titles first as they are the baby steps to greater glory. Just look at Chelsea.
  
  6) Financial fair play is no fair play. In fact the words "fair play" form an oxymoron. Live with it. After Chelsea and Man Utd, we have Man City. Can you imagine the glitter in the eyes of Man City's owners after watching Chelsea's victory? That is not the end. Despite recession, someone will buy up a smaller club, inject in financial steroids and be another Chelsea. Arsene chose to be a saint, a stingy saint, and barked at the obscene spenders, while still thinking he could beat them at the game of football. We paid for his stinginess. He helped prove the theory that money can indeed buy success.
  
  7) We should get a new manager who can stand up to the richer clubs, spend big and put us where we belong - up there amongst the top. Don't forget we were way ahead of Chelsea when Roman came. We are football fans, and we do not need to uphold the moral (or financial) high ground. We need a new manager who understands this. Arsene is not. Thank you Arsene. Time to move on.

• 21-May-2012 08:37 | | Bergyfan
  

  "I like the notion of us spending what we earn. I like plurality of ownership and the fans having a say. Maybe these are romantic ideals which carry a decreasing weight in the modern game".
  Romantic ideals?
  
  Romantic ieals in football are winning wonderful trophies in dramatic football matches. They are about watching players like Dennis Bergkamp, Eden Hazard or Sergio Aguero sign for your club an dreaming of following in his footseps. What I like about football has nothing to do with ownership, nor balance sheets. I never dreamt when I was a kid about breaking even or finishing 3rd. And not, I suspect, did you, Mean Lean or any other Gooner. These are not real achievements. They are excuses for lack of achievement.
  
  As much as a triumph for the Chavs, Saturday was the final inevitable result of London's greatest clubs policy of abject surrender over the last few years. Indeed I would argue it was almost the aim of our policy.Chelsea couldnt have done it if we had not stepped aside and pretty much asked them to assume our mantle. We abdicated our responsibility of competing as London's top club on and off the pitch with a policy which is good for the billionaire owners of the club only. The unnecessary, blinkered, unambitions and COMPLETELY SELF IMPOSED self sufficiency model is the only reason for Arsenals embarssing surrender of a place we held unopposed for 100 years, and for elevating one of our most hated rivals.
  
  I enjoyed your article squid boy, but on this day of all days we cant let this go unsaid. Saturday was a wake up call for all Gooners and it should be for the clubs heriarchy. The truth is, the real truth is, if you and all of us are honest with ourselves, none of us could give a spit how we fund our success. If we get a sugar daddy in the morning, you will be just as excited as I will about where we go from here - you are deluding yourself if you think otherwise. But it doesnt need to come to that - we are already owned by a bloody billionare in case it has escaped anybodys notice.
  
  Its time for Gooner legions to stop the bickering and unite. We cannot continue the travesty of clapping ourselves on the back for not just being mediocre, but for advocating our medicrity as being better than achievement. Get back in the game Arsenal, Christ we have missed yo since you laid down and died. Because make no mistake dear gooners, most of those claps you currently feel on you backs, most of the praise for your defeatist model, are coming not from Arsenal fans, but from Roman Abramovich.

• 21-May-2012 08:42 | | adrian  - Arsenal post RVP
  

  The future of RVP is important but not vital to the club's prospects. If he is going to sign a new contract, get him sold and get a replacement in before pre-season. Strengthen the defence and get a proper defensive midfielder in as well. Chelsea showed what you can do with an ageing squad using the right system. Arsenal need to show more consistency and start to win ugly if need be.

• 21-May-2012 08:45 | | ak47
  

  madness, not once did you say anything about the corrupt refs that have been the cause of the assaults to important players at important times of the season. how many times have we seen song booked in the first ten minutes to give us a disadvantage from the off? how many tackles result in cards or free kicks, but when the opposition do the same or worse, nothing.
  only manure can get away with fly kicking sagna in the chest and not even get a free kick even tho his shirt was clearly ripped by studs.
  do i need to mention all the soft freekicks and penalties manure get? really!?
  or the extra time? or being ref'd by a manc more than 5 times in a season when mathematically it should be no more than 3? im looking at you webb.
  or how we get the same ref(dean) 6 times who has a record of not liking us?
  or how about despite being an attacking team we do not get even one penalty on home ground!! or how about the two manc teams getting more penalties combined than ALL of the london teams.
  if it wasnt for arsenal i very much doubt id watch this complete shambles of a league.
  this team is like the black kid in a all white private school
  
  we gotta work twice as hard just to get a whiff of the same level.

• 21-May-2012 10:04 | | MeanLean
  

  Lovely balanced and uplifting piece of writing Squid Boy, thoroughly enjoyed it. My concerns are a little different to the not matching our rivals in the transfer market. I have a lot of faith in Arsene Wenger's ability to find players for good value and then develop them into top quality players, he has been doing this for years now. What my issue is with is keeping hold of our important players for long enough to build a team capable of competing.
  
  Since we won the FA Cup in 2005, we have never been able to keep our teams long enough to win, we get very close and then clubs with large pockets whisk our players away. Look at the 2007/08 team. It would be hard to argue that the table did not lie in the end, we were top for so long and played the best football until it all caved in.
  
  If we were able to hold onto Flamini, Hleb and Adebayor then build on that further then I am sure they would have won trophies. Last season we were in a good position until a quite remarkable collapse but had we kept hold of Nasri and Cesc and then added players then we would be up there.
  
  I agree with you that this current squad are made of sterner stuff and I really like this group but once again we have questions about the futures of key players, especially the captain.
  
  If they all commit their future and Arsene is able to bring in the players he wants to then I see no reason why we cannot bridge that gap if all the players are hungry and determined as you say. Having to lose (even for a healthy fee) RVP, Theo etc and then bring in new players to once again have to adapt to our club perhaps even country once again sets us back.
  
  I think Arsene's approach to buying in Gooners is a deliberate ploy and it makes sense but even that doesn't always work.
  
  I have seen enough of this team (plus a few purchases and departures) to feel confident that we can make the step up but please, let us keep this bunch of players together and not continue to chase our tail.

• 21-May-2012 11:41 | | benhan  - balanced view
  

  Too much emphasis on the Manager having to spend big while we don't know much about how much "war-chest" he did have.
  
  It's not coincidence that Manchester City bought our players (Na$ri, Clichy, Toure, Adebayor) and then eventually won the title.
  It means our players aren't half good and don't have the winning mentality to win the title. Just like Mean Lean said, every time we built a team good enough to win the title (Arsenal 2007/2008 and 2010/2011), then rich clubs disrupted it and bought our players.
  The problem is we can't match the wages offered by the like of Chelsea and City because they're the only two clubs (maybe three including PSG) willing to pay player wages far above market price since they're basically the "new" clubs trying to be the big club. So they could spend whatever insane amount just to be there, helped by the injection of sugar daddy who treats the club as his new toy.
  
  Even Ferguson admitted that City paid insane wages and United (owned by billionaire too) wouldn't compete with it. And why should we?
  
  But as someone have highlighted here too, I would also say there are problems in Wenger approach with the squad. Not enough depth and Wenger is too kind towards some underachieved player. We have big squad but unreliable players on loan and at the bench.
  
  We could see what a difference Arteta could do to the performance compared to Denilson or even Ramsey of nowadays. Imagine Arteta playing besides Fabregas instead of Denilson few seasons ago.
  
  Wenger is not ruthless enough towards the players like Bendtner, Denilson, Vela, and Arshavin. Instead of letting them rot to the bench so they'd request a transfer list, he still think about their career. He loaned Arshavin to Zenith to afford him Euro performance FGS.
  He is too kind towards them and somehow are exploited by these players. But I guess he has changed this season.
  
  The ruthless treatment of Chamakh, Park and Squilacci highlighted this change. In previous seasons, he would use them sparingly in the FA Cup or Champions League or winnable EPL fixtures. Now after the disastrous start of the season, he knew he can't gamble thus he only used the first XI and reliable players. He didn't even think about Park and Chamakh match fitness and chance in the national team (ended up both axed by their national team). I'm sure in this transfer window we would sell Bendtner, Denilson, Vela, Squilacci and even Djourou. We have seen it with so many young players this season being sold than patiently groomed like previous years.
  And we would do it quickly before we buy new players in. Wenger has hinted it. I hope the "personal pressure" he had this season which let him see the unpleasant side of his own self (he admitted in one interview) would change him. I love the man for what he did for Arsenal and I want him to be successful at the end of his career. It's painful to watch Arsenal lost because I know he suffered more than us, more than the players and the boards.
  
  We would see how the club treat RVP saga. I would like to see the club match his ambition and if he's really tempted by City high wages, then just sell him at Na$ri price and buy new striker. But do it quickly so we have proper preparation for the next season.

• 21-May-2012 11:41 | | Anonymous
  

  Mean Lean, do you not see the intrinsic flaw and lack of logic in your position?
  
  There is simply no basis for suggesting that we have a defined policy of developing great players for the purpose of them leading Arsenal to success. To follow that course, we would inevitably realise that we had to pay them their market value in the current environment. I need not list the examples that proves this is manifestly not the policy of the club. There is no policy whatsoever of developing great players for the club, or we would have dealt with this issue by now (God knows we have had plenty of warnings).. The policy is of developing players and the policy ends just there - there is nothing beyond that . The more cruel of us would add that the policy is to create players for other big clubs to plilfer, but I wont go that far. We simply have no policy whatsoever of creating a team. All we do is stick our heads in the sand and pretend that the football landscape never changed with the coming of the oligarchs. It has. And it is to the eternal disgrace of the current regime that they have not reacted to it. And the culmination of that disgrace was Saturday. And we see more of it in the stories about Song RVP and Walcott. Headless, cluess and no policy of sustainable team-building in sight.
  
  The real truth, and you may find this uncomfortable reading, is that a deliberate policy of developing players for our own club has far more in common with the big clubs policy of always buying ready-made stars than it does our approach, as both policies depend on eventually paying these players what they are worth when it comes to tieing up contracts. Arsenal has no realistic policy whatsoever for building a team. This is an undeniable , and the humiliating player drain of the past few years allows no argument in this respect.
  
  If you are happy with the way the club is currently run, if you are interested and enthusiastic about book balancing, thats fine. Nobody has a right to tell you how to support your team. But please do not delude yourself that this is somehow a romantic or idealist alternative route to glory. It is demonstrably nothing of the sort. As I have shown, despite words to the contray, it is simply a means to allow day to day survival, and the sustained share price of the club. There is no plan, no dream and no future to it, other than hand to mouth living for a formerly great club.

• 21-May-2012 11:48 | | Danish Gooner  - Wenger and his none use of tactics.g
  

  You forget that Wenger dont do tactics,he is probably the worst Top manager in history on tactics.When Monaco lost to Werder Bremen in the cup winners cup int he mid eighties everyone and his dog warned Arsene not to play expansive football against werder but of course he did and Monaco were made to look like a pub side and lost 2-0 which totally flattered them.

• 21-May-2012 12:03 | | Anonymous
  

  lol at danish butter ...wenger dont do tactics ?
  
  26-12-00
  perfected the 4-1-4-1 and 4-4-1-1 system for arsenal
  perfected the lone all around striker role for henry
  best defensive record in champins league
  the only manager to have beaten barcelona in open game with high defensive line
  turned pires from cm to left wing playmaker
  made players like ljunberg and laurent win massive titles with freddie ljunberg acting even as shaddow striker ...lol..and youre gonna tell him about tactics ? haahah
  
  a manager with a team that has had an average age of 23-26 has been gettign positions 3-4 in the premiership and 1-8 in europe against more expensive and more experienced teams and youre gonna talk about his tactics ? pmsl ......
  
  did you see the master in psychology mourinho ON HIS KNEES not knowing what to tell his players in the e.t and penalty shoot out? haha
  
  how about the tactical genius pep who run away when he saw mou had got their number ?
  
  shall we talk about fergusons tactics of having giggs and carrick as def midfielders and rooney as second left back ?
  
  maybe you were impressed by dimatteo;s tactics too ? LOL....

• 21-May-2012 12:06 | | benhan  - to anonymous
  

  Anon, there's no market price in term of Na$ri wages and transfer fee and RVP speculated City wages offering.
  When it is market price, two or three clubs are willing to offer the same price.
  City pay players above market price. Full stop.
  Even United pulled out of Na$ri transfer when City entered the bidding.
  Let's see if there are other clubs willing to match City offer for RVP. I would say none.
  
  Wenger did develop great players. Fabregas was a player he bought for free and sold for 35 millions. Why did he have to sold Fabregas? Believe it or not, it's never about money. It's about Wenger being too kind towards his players.
  That top players won us nothing is a different issue.
  
  Your REAL TRUTH is just your biased way to see the truth.

• 21-May-2012 12:28 | | benhan  - to the 2nd anon
  

  Brilliant response to the myth of Wenger knows no tactics.
  
  FA Cup won over Manure without proper striker?
  5-3 against Chelsea, 5-2 against Sp*rs and 1-0 against City.
  3-0 at home against Milan.
  
  No tactics, so the players just figured out by themselves how to beat those teams... Well said.
  
  Just because the players got complacent at times against smaller clubs doesn't mean Wenger didn't have tactics.

• 21-May-2012 12:33 | | Anonymous
  

  Benhan, you clearly did not read my comment. I have clearly stated that Arsenal have developed players. It is the point of the whole comment. The problem is we develop them but have no clue whatseover what to do then.
  
  You mention Nasri - I purposely didnt mention individuals because fans tend to get their knickers in a twist about specific players that have left. The general point is that proper clubs only rarely have to worry about the player haemmoraging that is, to put it bluntly, the single most characteristic aspect of modern Arsenal. And they avoid this by having simple sensible plans for player payment - to monitor players progress and give them deserved pay rises as they go. Doen largely in private with no fuss. NOT wait until summer the year before the player is due to leave. And not creating some kind of laughable collective where garbage players get nearly as much as star players. . And would we offer as much as City? No. But then the top players at other clubs do not get exactly as much as citys players. But they are looked after with appropriate wages which, even if not as much as City's, are enough to keep them happy, and enough to stop their agents falling over themselves to get them the hell out of their clubs. I simply cannot believe that I have to point this out as a major flaw to another Arsenal supporter!!!!
  
  RVP is a good example. The reported 130,000 a week is, in current market terms even outside City, an utter insult. A disgrace. If he was offered something closer to 200,000 week (and given that we have the 5th highest overall wagebill in Europe this is the very least he should be offered), not only would he stay, we would never have been exposed to our annual humiliation of stories suggesting he would leave in the first place.
  
  As to your accusation of bias? Bias towards or against what??Seems you are one of those who wants to see themselves in some kind of childish camp or faction within the greater Arsenal fandom. Fine. I hope you enjoy dividing our fanbaase. My bias is towards Arsenal. I don't give a damn about Kroenke, Wenger, Gazidis or anyone else as individuals. Arsenal is a non-competitive also ran as things stand. This is a lamentable sitatuation bought about by the refusal of the club to engage with the competition. Change it boys and change it now. Or if you refuse to, piss off and let someone in who will.

• 21-May-2012 12:35 | | Chelseablue  - I know we are hated
  

  Interesting balanced article Squid Boy without the usual inter club thoughtless nonsense. I am a Chelsea fan so hope you don't mind me posting. Usual guff watched Chelsea nearly get relegated to the old 2nd divi blah blah blah. As a Nth London boy I have always admired Arsenal, frequent visitor to Highbury with my bro when small and I continue to laugh at your Nth London neighbours. Wenger is no doubt genius but you are right about winning mentality and you had that in spades with Adams, Bould, Vierra, Bergkamp - thats what you havent replaced and why my team of aging passed it washed up players achieved a remarkable victory in not just one game but a series of them. Look at any team in England and they have that core in the dressing room and on the pitch. Not sure where we will go now because I think that was our core's last hurrah and somehow we need to replace them. By the way - can anyone explain how any team can compete with ManU, Barcelona et al without a billionaire owner in these days of supposed financial fair play?
  Anyway I enjoyed your article - feel free to post this or not as you wish

• 21-May-2012 12:45 | | Gee  - Mental Strength
  

  The mental strength you say we have only works in one direction. When we are losing. When we have been down to Liverpool, Villa, West Brom etc we have some how clawed our way back into the game and taken the points.
  
  However the same can't be said when we are winning and need to close a game out. Fulham, Blackburn and norwich spring to mind. We have had a lead and let it slip because as a unit we just don't seem to be able to close out a tough game unless we actually score the winner in added time, giving the opposition no time to come back.
  
  This is probably because we are a more offensive team so we can pour forward looking for an equaliser/winner, but when we need to close ranks and hold temas at bat for any length of time we panic and worry.
  
  This is what is costing us titles and cups. Chelsea closed barca out for an age and never looked to worried, yes they had luck with penalty misses, but their defending as a unit was superb.
  
  Unfortunately wenger loves the beautiful game so will keep letting vermaelen run 80 yards leaving the door wide open and thus costing us more points

• 21-May-2012 12:48 | | Squid Boy
  

  Yep agreed ML, it is vital we keep our current players. Or else, like you say, we're always starting from square one and never able to build.
  
  I guess when I say that the Board need to give AW the financial freedom, I also mean in terms of keeping Robin and Theo. But there are many vultures out their waiting to swoop with double the wages we can offer. It requires a certain leap of faith from the likes of Robin and Theo to shun those offers and stick with us. You'd like to think they are of the character which would stick with us (unlike a Nasri or Hleb, for instance).

• 21-May-2012 12:59 | | Squid Boy
  

  Thank you for kind (and respectful!) comments, Chelseablue. I'm super-jealous of the feeling you have right now.
  
  I think any Gooner would be lying if they said they didn't envy your spine of Cech, Terry, Lampard and Drogba. Like you've alluded to, we used to have similar in Seaman/Jens, Adams/Sol, Vieira and Henry.
  
  I feel Arsenal have been the victims of timing - the stadium move (meaning that we had to embark on Project Youth) allied with the influx of money into the game (yourselves and now Man City). Had it been one or the other, Arsenal may have been able challenge for honours consistently. But both factors combined became a step too far.
  
  How to compete with the likes of Barca and Man Utd without a billionaire owner? It takes a long-term plan involving building a team of youngsters who grow together. Which Arsene has tried to do. But every year, it seems we lose one of those crown jewels. Massively important that we don't suffer the same fate this year.
  
  Be interesting to see where Chelsea go from here. Do you reckon now that Roman has achieved his major aim, he'll take a backseat financially and allow the next manager (whomever it is) to build a long-term plan that involves phasing out the old guard and replacing with youngsters? Or will he try to add more ready-made stars to the mix?

• 21-May-2012 13:15 | | Squid Boy
  

  Agree with you Gee that "mental strength" works both ways. I guess I've just called the inability to hold onto a lead as a lack of in-game intelligence.
  
  Verma running 80yards isn't because he's not a determined fella. He's probably too determined. We need to rein that kinda thing in and use our brains more. Mental capacity, rather than mental strength

• 21-May-2012 17:11 | | Chelseablue  - Where next
  

  Squid Boy said "Be interesting to see where Chelsea go from here. Do you reckon now that Roman has achieved his major aim, he'll take a backseat financially and allow the next manager (whomever it is) to build a long-term plan that involves phasing out the old guard and replacing with youngsters? Or will he try to add more ready-made stars to the mix?"
  
  I've given up second guessing Roman. As much as his hiring and firing is criticised we have a remarkable trophy haul but perhaps that was down to the JM squad and foundations. Until someone comes up with genuine financial fair play (Barcelona not negotiating their own TV rights, Real Madrid not getting tax and other state aid and smaller clubs NOT being restricted to only spending their income IF they have no debts ie a rich owner) then I fear that the youngsters model will never really work and it will need to be a mix of the two
  
  Let me ask you - do you think the Wenger model will work - surely the problem in losing your best players is that it simply takes too long to get the match winning team together when you are having to swim in the same murky waters as the clubs already mentioned

• 21-May-2012 17:48 | | 2 cents
  

  in the end all roads lead to money. if we dont change the transfer/wages policy we will not win the big trophies. the sad thing this season is that all the major domestic trophies and the european cup were won by the big spenders. personally i was gutted chelsea won on saturday night - and no they didnt deserve it. lady luck unfortunately had other ideas and their name on the cards. wonder how much abramovich paid her...

• 22-May-2012 03:20 | | benhan
  

  @Anon
  It's a biased view that Arsenal have no clue what to do with those developed players.
  You HAVE to give examples so we would know either YOUR REAL TRUTH is fact or just your perception based on one-two samples.
  
  Your perception is Arsenal couldn't have their players sign extension to the final year and finally forced to sell them. The players chose to leave because Arsenal can't match the market price for their wages.
  
  So let's make a list to check how many TOP Players LEFT Arsenal at their final year of the contract? And how many left due to money offered by other clubs.
  Let's break down the list into each year starting from the last time we won a trophy:
  
  2005:
  1. Vieira: after FA Cup triumph, Arsenal sold him to Juventus. Prone to injury and I think he was basically sold by Wenger against the player's wish. The other reason is the emerging of Fabregas.
  NOT at his final year and NOT about money.
  
  2006:
  1. Pires: end of the season didn't sign his one year extension, broke down after UCL final disappointment (being subbed). Also affected by Vieira departure. Free transfer.
  AT the end of his final year and NOT about money.
  
  2. Ashley Cole: the less said about him, the better. Tapped up and greedy.
  NOT at his final year and it's all about money
  
  2007
  1. Henry: we extended his contract at his final year before. Finally sold him to Barcelona the year after. Money wasn't the problem for both club and player. Ambition was.
  NOT at his final year and NOT about money.
  
  2. Reyes: homesick. 2006 loaned to Madrid and finally left at 2007.
  NOT at his final year and NOT about money.
  
  2008:
  1. Hleb: tapped up by Inter at his final year of the contract due to Mourinho move to Inter, ended up at Barcelona.
  AT his final year and probably it's about money.
  
  2. Flamini: rejected contract extension. The official statement from his is his disappointment being neglected by Arsenal the year before. No one saw his surprise development coming the year before, even the fans.
  Verbally agreed to sign a contract but finally didn't.
  AT his final year and probably it's about money.
  
  3. Gilberto: ousted by Flamini extraordinary development and due to late joining pre-season. An irony that when Arsenal chose Flamini over Gilberto and ended up losing both that year.
  AT his final year and NOT about money.
  
  2009:
  1. Adebayor: became too big for his boots. Unmanageable and Wenger chose to make money from his sale and Kolo's.
  NOT at his final year and it's all about money.
  
  2. Toure: declining and can't cope with Gallas antics. Wenger chose Gallas over him.
  NOT at his final year and NOT about money.
  
  2010:
  1. Gallas: broke down after a shamble in captaincy the year before. Arsenal refused to offer two years contract extension for players above 30. Free transfer.
  AT his final year and NOT about money.
  
  2. Eduardo: never coming back to his best after the horror injury. "Released by Arsenal".
  NOT at his final year and NOT about money.
  
  2011:
  1. Nasri: tempted by money offered by City. Refused to sign contract extension.
  AT his final year and it's all about money.
  
  2. Fabregas: homesick and can't resist his DNA urge.
  NOT at his final year and NOT about money.
  
  3. Clichy: on his final year and finally sold by Arsenal. Made a couple of costly errors during his final season. I think Arsenal didn't want to offer him contract extension that matched what being offered by Liverpool and City and probably didn't intend to keep him.
  AT his final year and it's about money.
  
  So from above high profile departures, we can conclude the players who left Arsenal at his final year while Arsenal wanted to keep them but couldn't compete with the money offered by others are:
  1. Hleb
  2. Flamini
  3. Nasri
  4. Clichy
  
  From the four players above I guess Arsenal handled Flamini and Nasri transfer poorly. Wenger believed what his players promise (to sign an extension) and ended up losing them without enough preparation for replacement. For Hleb and Clichy, Arsenal brought adequate replacements.
  
  For the other transfers, I think Arsenal handled it the right way despite Wenger affection for his players and wanted to see them having nice, good pay after Arsenal sometimes didn't benefit us. But you can't keep unmotivated players at the club so selling them is necessary for progress.
  Maybe the problem is the strict rule over handling old players one year extension but Wenger has broke the rule this season by offering Rosicky two years extension. So he did realize this problem.
  
  And for your suggestion that why other clubs can handle it better, keeping their best player to the end of their playing year, there are several factors:
  1. English and home grown players are more reluctant to move abroad. Transfers between big clubs seldom happened before the arrival of sugar daddies.
  2. They're more willing to pay over the odds for old players and their experience and loyalty sometimes do benefit the dressing room and on the pitch.
  
  About RVP, no way we're going to offer him 200,000 a week four years contract for a 29 years old player. You can get maximum 2 years benefit of him thus the 130,000 is a fair offer added with 5 millions signing on fee. It makes his weekly wage around 155,000.
  Maybe we can increase it to 150,000 + 5 millions signing on fee.
  
  I'm sure no other club than City that would offer him wages more than that. And put in mind they have to pay the transfer fee that Arsenal would expect up to 20 millions. We managed to sell Nasri for a handsome 24 millions to them, so their benchmark have been set.
  
  And to offer 200,000 a week 4 years contract + 20 millions transfer fee for a 29 years old striker with prone injury history is way above market price. Even City would think twice about it. They would rather go for Giroud, or Falcao for that price. Or why not pursue Goetze, or Hazard? They have how many strikers, FFS? City interest I'm sure is the game played by RVP agent.
  
  Or maybe Anzhi would try to sign him. But if he decides to go to Anzhi, then we're wrong about RVP football ambition.
  
  It's about brinkmanship game for Arsenal. Arsenal won't budge by the agent engineered valuation of RVP. But we should have preparation if City buy our game. Don't let it go to the final day of the transfer window.

• 23-May-2012 04:52 | | BAKE  - KLV YOU DICK
  

  ARSENE DOES SELL OUR BEST PLAYERS OR CHOOSE NOT TO SPEND BIG. AFC DOES. HE DOES WHAT HIS BOSS TELLS HIM TO DO WHICH IS GET THE STADIUM PAIDED OFF

• 23-May-2012 12:09 | | Craig
  

  Forget about competing in any competition under Wenger. RVP will go this summer I suspect. He's been with us for 8 years and seen the decline first hand. No winning mentality in the squad. IAWR !!!

• 23-May-2012 17:15 | | paspartu
  

  ah why didnt you say youre another doomer mug craig ?
  
  now i understand where youre coming from ....

• 24-May-2012 10:58 | | Spectrum
  

  “The Gunners are also seeking buyers for Marouane Chamakh, Denilson and Johan Djourou.
  It is also understood the club will try to negotiate a contract settlement with Sebastien Squillaci, who has a year left to run on his deal.”
  
  Well well. In a moment of rare lucidity, the Senile One has finally become aware of what the rest of us have known about for seasons now. He's belatedly woken up to the fact that HIS wages policy has contributed to our inability to compete in the transfer market. It's a start. But the question is what will he REPLACE the deadwood with ?
  
  Going by the news he's typically combing through the bargain basement and youth players, I suspect it'll be with more of the same.
  
  ( copy and paste ) ; http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2148376/Nicklas- Bendtner-wanted-Dortmund.html

• 24-May-2012 12:16 | | paspartu
  

  yes spectrum , arsene was waiting for you to tell him what to do
  
  

• 25-May-2012 18:06 | | FOYS
  

  Spectrum, spot on with your last post.

• 28-May-2012 08:33 | | Zayed
  

  any1 else seriously pissed at RVP? No other manager wouldve stuck by him... if the reports in the news are true (which is of course highly doubtful given the credibility of media) sell him to a Russian club.
  
  I don't think the reports are true, that he is demanding arsenal show ambition. Two years ago showing ambition would be selling his ass and buying a non "injury prone" striker.

• 04-Jun-2012 12:11 | | FOYS
  

  Zayed, no I'm not pissed off with him. At least RvP wants what us REAL ARSENAL SUPPORTERS want...... players that will help us challange for the top honours.

• 03-Aug-2012 07:13 | | Roller Derby  - Roller Derby
  

  . Thanks very nice share ... I follow your site constantly ... important issues ... Congratulations ... I entered this site by chance, but I found very interesting.
  
  Regards:
  
  Roller Derby

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