Written by Mean Lean on Sunday, 02 September 2012 19:34

Arsenal produced a professional, hard working and fighting display at Anfield this afternoon. The type of performance that the title winning sides under Arsene Wenger produced regularly in years gone by. The difference was that those teams lead by Patrick Vieira did that consistently over the course of the season, this was just one 90 minutes, or three if you include the previous two draws against more negative minded opposition.

I had a sneaky pre match suspicion that Abou Diaby would be a key man for us today, in big clashes against top teams where the game is end to end, he seems to stamp his authority on the game and that was certainly the case. He broke up Liverpool attacks, he twisted past the opposition effortlessly time and time again and more often than not found his pass.

The finger often gets pointed his way for taking too long on the ball or misplacing passes but that is usually at a time where he is still trying to get into the rhythm of playing after usually returning from another set back. The Abou Diaby we see today is the player who has had a full pre season and has started every game so far this campaign. He is finding his rhythm as are all the players who have featured since the pre season work outs.

It felt so good to celebrate Podolski's goal, a mistake from Steven Gerrard in the middle of the pitch and a couple of quick passes later saw Santi Cazorla skip to outside of the Liverpool box, his slipped pass into Podolski was perfectly weighted, we have seen Podolski in that position time and time again for Germany and FC Koln on his left foot in the left channel, the finish was never in doubt.

'He scores when he wants, he scores when he wants, Lukas Podolski, he scores when he wants' rang around Anfield from the Arsenal fans who were in superb voice.

The strongest part of our team was clearly the midfield area. Not only Abou Diaby but Mikel Arteta was amazing as the deepest midfielder. While we lose Alex Song's physical presence, we gain Arteta's distribution. He plays the game so simply but so effectively. He is always an option when we have the ball but for me, his winning of the ball was top class. I have read the view that he is wasted as the deepest player, I completely disagree and believe his game is perfect for that role. Barcelona and Spain have proved that you do not have to be strong in physique to be effective in that role. You have to have discipline, awareness and quick passing. Mikel Arteta has the whole package.

Santi Cazorla's use of the ball is magnificent. I found it amazing how often he found a way out of a situation that looked impossible. His short legs lets him have permanent control of the ball and his use of both feet allows him to find the pass on either side. One jink and pass to free Ramsey in the second half left my mouth wide open.

In the second half I was cursing him as he found his way into the box and went for the shot when better players were placed. I didn't see that the ball ended up in the net via another Reina howler. My cursing turned quickly into jubilation.

I still think he needs another creative player to play with to get the best out of him. I am looking forward to Tomas Rosicky getting on the pitch alongside him. It is a shame that Podolski isn't right footed because I would like to see Rosicky replacing Yossi Benayoun on the left cutting inside to link up with the Spaniard and still having the goal threat and width of Podolski.

It does look like the right side of the attack is still up for grabs. Gervinho, Walcott and now Chamberlain have all had the chance out there and none have yet grabbed the opportunity although Chamberlain did work very hard for the team often doubling back to help Jenkinson thwart the very impressive Sterling.

Oliver Giroud missed another good chance and had a tough time against the Liverpool center backs but still made it difficult for them. He needs a goal and hopefully he will get a lift from that. His movement is very good so I expect chances to continue to fall for him.

Carl Jenkinson and Per Mertesacker gave away a few sloppy passes which they corrected as they game went on, our crossing wasn't as accurate as we would have hoped but those were pretty much the only minor complaints that even the most gloomy supporter could find today. All areas that the squad can work on as the weeks tick by.

Defensively the whole team were fantastic and whether that is Bould and Banfield's influence or the new personnel it doesn't matter, it is just fantastic to look hard to beat once again. Three clean sheets in a row is impressive, keeping a clean sheet at Anfield is even better. Especially when you consider the amount of problems they caused Manchester City last week.

Let us hope that we can keep it going, even when the injuries start coming thick and fast.

Bacary Sagna and Jack Wilshere are not very far away from returning to the squad, Tomas Rosicky is also not a long way away. He was arguably our best player in the second part of last season so those are huge pluses. Hopefully we as fans can put the transfer window aside and concentrate on our squad. Perhaps it is not as bad as people think.

We put in a quality performance today but as I said at the start of this, it was just one 90 minutes. 35 more of the same and we should be just fine.

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Comments (78)

• 02-Sep-2012 20:17 | | mo
  

  great write up ML, good point lost on many in that this liverpool team probably should've beaten city last week, so certainly no mugs. I do feel though that it wasn't all plain sailing & at one point we were under a tad too much pressure then i'd have liked. All in all though a fantastic performance, some quality goals & individual performances, just a shame about the int-break now.
  
  onwards & upwards

• 02-Sep-2012 20:52 | | Jolly94  - Review Comment
  

  This is an excellent review mate......
  
  Defensively i reckon it is all Steve Bould haha........seems like a man i wouldnt want to meet in a dark alley in a really angry mood :/
  
  Too keep 2 clean sheets with our 3rd choice goalkeeper between the posts is excellent as well. I rate Vito Mannone highly and look forward to more performances from the young lad until Wojech is fit....shame Fabianski is not if though, he has waited so long :/ his time will come
  
  But yeah, like i said, excellent review and yes i hope we can but in 35 more 90 minute sessions of that kind of performance

• 02-Sep-2012 21:35 | | VALENTINO  - GREAT
  

  GREAT ANALYSIS FROM U,BETTER PERFORMANCE NEXT TIME.UP GUNNNERRSSS.

• 02-Sep-2012 21:44 | | Alaba abiola  - Best yet τ̲̅☺ come
  

  We made the best out ☀̤̣̈̇f what we ♓ανε .its not all about spending big απϑ ΰ get an europa place but getting qualities doing the job for ΰ.thumbs up for Bould.long live arsene long love arsenal.VICTORIA CONCORDI CRESCIT

• 02-Sep-2012 21:45 | | Alaba abiola  - Best yet τ̲̅☺ come
  

  We made the best out ☀̤̣̈̇f what we ♓ανε .its not all about spending big απϑ ΰ get an europa place but getting qualities doing the job for ΰ.thumbs up for Bould.long live arsene long live arsenal.VICTORIA CONCORDIA CRESCIT

• 02-Sep-2012 21:57 | | okonto ifeanyi ph  - best
  

  If arsenal as a team can play like this in more 6 to 8 game, other team will be afraid to play them coodoos for arsenal and wenge management team.

• 02-Sep-2012 22:04 | | davi
  

  " I have read the view that he is wasted as the deepest player, I completely disagree and believe his game is perfect for that role. Barcelona and Spain have proved that you do not have to be strong in physique to be effective in that role. You have to have discipline, awareness and quick passing. Mikel Arteta has the whole package."
  
  I completely agree. What get's me though, is that everyone is surprised by his performances there - he played exactly the same role last season, and was superb! Song is a strong defensive player, but had much more freedom than Arteta, and Diaby has taken over that freer role and has looked good so far. I just hope he can stay fit.

• 02-Sep-2012 22:24 | | Wizbuzz  - Kul write up
  

  Nice analysis....hope we get going lyk dis b4 our key players get back frm d treatment room...am only missing sagna and rosicky at the moment.....wilshere cant be thrown into the team even if he gets fit to play the next game cos his job is been taken care of......jenkinson is still shaky at RB...and we nid rosicky to help cazorla with other crisp final passes....love you all....love arsenal..

• 02-Sep-2012 22:28 | | deme  - The Gunner
  

  Long live with Arsen & Arsenal fc loveeeeeeeeeee

• 02-Sep-2012 22:34 | | Nnamdi Ephraim from nigeria  - i love Arsenal F c
  

  we played as a team.defended well and attacked well.Carzla is a great player,am so happy we got him.thank u mr wenger.up gunnrz..keep d faith.

• 02-Sep-2012 22:38 | | crispen
  

  Hey I watched Song tonight... What was all that nonsense about the bench. He even looked better than Cesc.. Lovely stuff and Diaby is the perfect replacement. Great game Arsenal!!

• 02-Sep-2012 22:53 | | IndiGooner  - In Wenger We trust
  

  As usual well written article ML.
  
  I am happy with the win! We have a strong squad that has started to get along really well! Superb performance by Diaby i wanted him to be sub as i feard for his injury but none the less he played well.
  unsung heros from me were Jenk's and DON Vito!

• 02-Sep-2012 23:15 | | Fred; Kenya  - Carl Jenkinson awesome stuff
  

  Carl Jenkinson was awesome out there . At that age the boy has perfect timing. He killed most of the attacks from the flanks. He is the next rockie. Big up!

• 03-Sep-2012 00:55 | | Ray
  

  Am also savouring on the return of rosicky and a match fit wilshere, players hard to dispossess and adept with small pockets of space,meanwhile creating space for others to run into.rosicky-carzola combo is making me restless only imagining what those can do to any team.

• 03-Sep-2012 01:41 | | Andy  - White Keepers can't jump
  

  Whilst I was pleasantly suprised at VITO's performance some of the high balls around the box were a bit worrying...put our defense under needless pressure. Fingers crossed Abou stays fit, his close control whilst under pressure is quite surreal.

• 03-Sep-2012 03:04 | | Charlie G  - Defense defense defense
  

  The defnsive line and the way they worked for each other was very good, especially during set plays. Thye were prepared to attack the ball and to attck any loose balls in the area.
  Midfield is where we are strongest this season. Wlishire and Rosicky willhave a fight intheir hands to get intothe team.
  The bench have lots of options.
  Only worry is the striker position. I suspect we will see Podolski there when Rosicky and Wilshire are fit.

• 03-Sep-2012 07:00 | | AmericanGunnerFan  - Excellent Analysis--Especially of Arteta and the d
  

  I don't know if it is Bould and Banfield or the players either, but I do want to single out four players for special mention with regard to their defensive play.
  
  First, I believe that there is a reason why Arsenal struggled so badly at the end of last season and that reason was the loss of Mikel Arteta. In a three man midfield, you can't have a traditional "DM" who just sits in front of the back four and offers little threat offensively or the formation is too easy for the opponent to defend--all three midfielders have to be able to go forward and be creative when appropriate and all three have to be aware of the need to rotate back defensively. Arteta has this latter awareness in abundance, which allows Diaby--who got his start playing as a "DM" if you recall--the freedom to go forward while still allowing Arteta to use his passing skills and go forward when the opposition's defense dictates (ie against Stoke, Arteta went forward as much or more than Diaby). Arteta's solid two-way play has been an obvious help to the defense and to keeping possession.
  
  I also think that you are quite right to point out the work that Oxlaide-Chamberlain put in defensively. For a player whose fitness and conditioning were obviously not yet at their peak, "The Ox" may not have been as much of a factor as he perhaps could have been offensively, but he scrapped and got back well defensively. It's hard to imagine that Theo Walcott could have held off opponents or provided as much help to Jenkinson. We may forget how much "The Ox" still has to learn about the game on both ends, but he is already more consistent in putting in the effort and energy defensively than any of the forwards who were on the Arsenal roster last season.
  
  Which leads me to the two forwards who were not on the Arsenal roster last season: Giroud and Podolski. Even if he didn't score a goal, Podolski's contributions defensively were outstanding. He did a better job of dispossessing Liverpool players than Gibbs, who he was forced to cover for on several occasions. Personally, I would have made Podolski co-MOTM with Diaby for the relentless effort and quality defensive play that he added to his goal. And, while I realize that a striker's primary job is to score and Giroud may have missed his chance to score, he had some massive clearances on Liverpool set-pieces in the second half and ran himself ragged trying to pressure the Liverpool keeper and back four to help the Arsenal midfield. He needs to work with his teammates on where to place his knockdowns and flick ons on passes out of the Arsenal backline, but he made several that ended up falling to Liverpool players because there was no Arsenal player near enough to get them. But, that will come with time. Still, he, like Podolski, did a lot of "dirty work" in the match that often goes unnoticed and under-appreciated by fans, but that is essential to winning matches. And, the work that Giroud and Podolski have been putting in defensively should be recognized.
  
  Is this due to the influence of Bould and Banfield? I don't know. Arteta was playing like this last season before he got injured. Podolski is certainly playing the way he played for the German national team in their matches that I have seen. And, Giroud has shown the same kind of effort that I saw in his brief cameos for the French national team. So, perhaps it's a combination of both. But, wherever it has come from, the defensive effort and intensity is a delight to see!

• 03-Sep-2012 09:37 | | arsenal4eva  - Really enjoyed reading that
  

  dope write up, dope game, dope score no complaints from me. more of the same please

• 03-Sep-2012 10:01 | | 'desi'gner gooner  - top class performance....
  

  Nice write up ML although you have been doing so very rarely off late....It isn't great to not have a game preview and 'mean lean's predicted line up' before a league game!!!
  
  On to the team performance - and I have to say it was a very 'professional' performance by the team. So often in the past 3 or 4 seasons we have seen the team switch off after getting hard earned leads only to concede equalizers within the next 10minutes. Yesterday seemed so different in that regard. We looked assured and the team discipline - especially Podolski & Chamberlain's defensive work and tracking back was absolutely top draw.
  
  Diaby made his critics eat their words and how.....He found his rhythm back yesterday and it was a joy to watch him glide past opposition players like he was skiing down a slope - zig-zaging through the flag posts....When he plays like that you don't want him to stop. I have all my fingers crossed for him with the international break.....I just hope he returns fit and fine after that. Arteta is the most reliable player in our entire squad and the vice captain must be the first name on the team sheet every week. Ramsey's work rate was again top class when he came on as sub and he was instrumental in us seeing the game off relatively comfortably. Diaby & Ramsey are two players who have been ravaged by horrendous tackles and the attitude of some of the fans towards both of them despite knowing their history has been really pathetic off late. It was great to see them both shine in the Arsenal shirt yesterday. Great job Wenger in keeping the faith on both young men.
  
  Podolski is EXACTLY the player we have been missing all these years. He runs directly at players, is lethal in front of goal and is never found wanting in his efforts to track back and defend. Arshavin showed signs of becoming that player during his initial days at Arsenal but he somehow lost his discipline and even interest it seemed at times. I still think he could contribute a lot to this team especially since we havent signed another striker but Podolski is the man for the moment. Giroud will score goals as far as I am concerned. His off the ball movement is very good and perhaps he needs a goal to get him going. Gibbs did him no favor by having a real go at him yesterday but I like that kind of spirit in the team.
  Talking of Gibbs - I thought that the two young full backs were top notch yesterday- defensively jenkinson had his best game in an arsenal shirt and gibbs has shown much promise offensively and hasn't been bad at all defensively. With his forward forays he was found out his position a couple of times yesterday but then Arteta was there to clean up everything...
  
  So all in all a great team performance. I get the feeling that we will do well against teams who want to play against us. We might have to find a way against teams like Stoke & Sunderland who will be happy to shut shop against us....
  But yesterday was a really promising display. Have to say that this season really excites me now.....

• 03-Sep-2012 14:47 | | PW  - Can't ask for more
  

  We looked keen, willing to work off the ball, and threatening. Arteta, Diaby, Podolski, Cazorla, Ox - all terrific. This is much better than being regarded as a one man team. In a strange way, RVP leaving could be the turning point for us.

• 03-Sep-2012 15:01 | | Anonymous
  

  Hey I watched Song tonight... What was all that nonsense about the bench. He even looked better than Cesc.. Lovely stuff and Diaby is the perfect replacement. Great game Arsenal!!

• 03-Sep-2012 17:03 | | David  - Better midfield & attack combinations
  

  Nice review. Excellent performance by Arsenal. Really impressed by the defensive solidity in the 3 league games.
  >"I still think he needs another creative player to play with to get the best out of him. I am looking forward to Tomas Rosicky getting on the pitch alongside him."
  Totally agree. Though diaby was very good at anfield, It would be more effective to use one of d following midfield combi's bcoz our passing would be quicker and many more goalscoring chances will be created:
  
  Arteta Arteta Frimpong/Coquelin
  Rosicky/Wilshere OR Ramsey OR Arteta/Ramsey
  Cazorla Cazorla Cazorla
  
  Imo Diaby shud be used as a sub... particularly when we need to defend a lead. Obviously players who r currently injured will enter the fold later on...
  
  >First choice should be Gervinho(LW), Walcott(RW) and Podolski(ST). Giroud n Podolski should be rotated by wenger.
  Reason i don't want giroud n podolski both to be in starting 11 is coz they r the only quality strikers we have nd it wouldnt do to have both injured at d same time..

• 03-Sep-2012 17:12 | | David  - Correction :P
  

  *
  ''''''''''''''''''''Arteta''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''Arteta'''' ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''Frimpong/Coquelin'''
  ''''''''''Rosicky/Wilshere''''''''''''Ramsey'''''''''''''''''''''''''' '''''''''''''''Arteta'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
  '''''''''''''''''''''''''''Cazorla'''''''''''''''''''''''''Cazorla'''' ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''Cazorla''''''''''''''''''''''''

• 03-Sep-2012 18:07 | | micky
  

  Taut mertesaker was outstanding first half.. Santos lost. A bit beef.. The arsenal are legends with a capital leg

• 04-Sep-2012 07:46 | | Waterboy
  

  Did anyone else notice the slight variation in formation against Liverpool? Podolski and Ox appeared to position themselves much more centrally (almost as left and right central attacking midfielders as opposed to left and right wingers). I think this slight positional change and the greater technical skills of Podolski and Ox as opposed to Gervinho and Walcott (without losing attacking intent) enabled Arsenal's attacking play to combine much more effectively through Carzola. Cant help but think that Walcott and Gervinho are going to be used in rotation with Giroud in the central striking role, with Ox and Ramsey to rotate in the RCAM role and Podolski and Arshavin rotating in the LCAM role. By the way Giroud's off the ball movement was fantastic and I don't think that gets as much credit as it should.

• 04-Sep-2012 14:15 | | richie  - Balanced review of our balanced team ML
  

  Early days but are Gooners growing in confidence? I´m liking the balanced look of the team. I´m liking 3 clean sheets. Forget RvP he was great for us "Last Year" I´m happy with the "Giropod" for the ageing RvP deal. Like wise the Carzorla for Song deal. After Diaby´s dominence at Anfield there should be a fine few wondering why they were calling for Abou to be sold?
  Personally I wasn´t worried I knew exactly how talented Abou Diaby was, I remembered what a geat player he was before the injuries, now the work begins for the backroom boys to keep him fit, moreover I trust in Arsene! How can you not?

• 06-Sep-2012 00:16 | | bake
  

  i thought jenkinson was brilliant and will get most improved player this year. if walcott starts he should play on the left as he doesnt protect jenkinson well enough

• 06-Sep-2012 16:33 | | Fatso
  

  Speaking of Jenkinson, his "mentor's" contract runs to the end of the 2013-14 season and when asked whether anyone at Arsenal had spoken to him (Sagna) about extending it, he replied: "No, nobody"

• 06-Sep-2012 16:38 | | Fatso  - Sagna about Arsenal transfer policy
  

  "I expected Robin's departure," Sagna, 29, told French newspaper L'Equipe. "But Alex, that was a surprise. He's 24 and had three years on his contract.
  
  "When you see your two best players from last season leave, you ask yourself questions."
  
  Striker Van Persie was sold to Manchester United after saying he would not extend his Gunners contract beyond next summer, while Song left to join Barcelona.
  
  "In the street, supporters sometimes come to see me. I can understand that they're annoyed. I'm like them - I don't understand everything," added Sagna.
  
  Nasri and Clichy joined Manchester City in summer 2011 and went on to help the club win the Premier League title last season.
  
  "In May, I watched Manchester City's parade on television. I watched Samir and Gael lift the trophy. It makes you want that," said the France international.

• 07-Sep-2012 01:56 | | Spectrum
  

  Fatso - "When you see your two best players from last season leave, you ask yourself questions."
  
  Yes, and we had better hope that Sagna doesn't think too hard for too long. Otherwise he could be the next one to vote with his feet. I've said before that players don't live in isolation. They talk amongst themselves in private about the goings on at the club. They form opinions on what they see and hear from various sources. And if they feel as if they're stuck in a dead end job with no future ( read : Arsenal ), then naturally they're going to become restless.
  
  I think from his comment about seeing Manchester City's victory parade, he's already thinking along those lines. Thing is, as more of our players leave, the excuse the A.K.B.'s use of "greedy, money hungry so and so's", wears increasingly thin. Something's wrong at our club, and the players are aware of it too.
  
  "IAWR"

• 07-Sep-2012 02:04 | | Spectrum
  

  Fatso - Sagna is a top player for us. One of the best full backs in the world. So why are we letting him run down his contract like this ? I can understand that happening to the lesser lights, but to our KEY players ? It doesn't make sense. In the absence of a plausible explanation, we can only assume that Wenger and Gazidis are incompetent and / or don't know what they're doing. This bizarre behaviour has become a habit. Then we wonder why they want to leave. If you didn't feel valued and appreciated, wouldn't you ?
  
  "IAWR"

• 07-Sep-2012 02:10 | | Spectrum
  

  Richie has an insider contact at the club. She's the tea lady. So Richie, how about getting the REAL story on Sagna from her ? Looking forward to some startling revelations.
  
  "IAWR"

• 07-Sep-2012 07:12 | | Shogun  - Negetive expert spectrum..
  

  Spectrum you are a real tool! Sagna still has 2 years left on his contracts(2 years!), so nobody has spoken to him yet and you're trying to make it sound as though the club is just negligent due to just this case, we have seen a few players extend their contracts this past months which should tell you that they are very aware of what should be done, and that they must have their reasons in cases where they aren't, and since you and I can only guess and speculate about what those may be -then it's pretty disgusting you always trying to turn it into what you are not sure it is..seeing as you have no proof/evidence to support ur claim.
  Am not surprise though that you pounce on this -how many post in a few hours?, meanwhile we have our 1st win of the season but not much from you. You are like a little demon that trives on negetivity. I always pity you.

• 07-Sep-2012 10:01 | | Spectrum  - Don't get distracted.
  

  Shogun - The main point is not the renewing of his contract. But I'll deal with that first. If you have a KEY player which Sagna clearly is, a prudent manager would want to secure him WELL BEFORE he enters the final year of it. So NOW would be a good time to approach him wouldn't it ? Negotiations can be protracted affairs, so it's not advisable to leave it too late. That's what Sagna was alluding to. It's common practice in football nowdays that a club re-signs their most valued players to new long term deals. Or didn't you know that ?
  
  What I am saying is that we should learn from previous contract issues, and get the deals tied up before players start to become restless, and eventually want out. With our lack of ambition this situation is particularly pertinent. "Ah it's about the money " ! I hear you say.....Doubtful. In 2010, Sagna was considered top 5 RBs in the world (probably still is when healthy). He had offers to leave with wages of over 100k per week. He stayed with Arsenal because of loyalty.
  
  
  And as usual you avoid the MAIN THEME of what he was saying. And that was that he is expressing dissatisfaction with the way the club is being run. Yet another who's speaking out publicly in their frustration * * "In the street, supporters sometimes come to see me. I can understand that they're annoyed. I'm like them - I don't understand everything," added Sagna. ( And ) "When you see your two best players from last season leave, you ask yourself questions."
  
  ( What sort of questions, I wonder. Does that sound like someone who's thinks everything is going just fine ) ?
  
  More from the interview ; "At Arsenal you come back after holidays, you make preparations, and you see two players leave and the season resumes — it has been like that since I have been at the club. I am used to it now." ( Sounds like he's pretty disillusioned to me ).
  
  "Has the club contacted me about an extension? No, no one. Could I be tempted to leave? I just want to play again and be good again with Arsenal so far. Then, we will see. Each person has his own destiny."
  
  ( Reading between the lines, it sounds like he's issuing a warning that he wants things to change ).
  
  " Were they ( Clichy and Nasri ) right to leave? Yes. But when they left, we didn’t know. I expected the departure of Robin van Persie. We all expected it. It was 'obvious'. "
  
  He's saying that those two's decision to leave has since been vindicated. And why would he say Robin's departure was "obvious" ? He wouldn't be so disrespectful of his fellow team mate to suggest ( and in public, mind you ) that Robin left for money, would he ? No, he was hinting that it was due to lack of ambition. That's why he "expected it ".
  
  And lastly, there's NO DOUBT about what he thinks with this, is there ? ...... "In May, I watched Manchester City show off. I watched Samir and Gael lifting the trophy. That gave me desire for it ".
  
  ( Robin, and now Sagna. Mere coincidence ) ?
  
  He's putting Arsenal on notice that he expects much more, or......it'll be a case of bon voyage, Mr. Wenger. How would you feel if that happened, Shogun ? But "Arsene knows ", so it probably wouldn't bother you would it ?
  
  "IAWR"
  
  P.S. Like I said before, we don't need to simply lose a match as an excuse for me to have a go at Wenger. He supplies us with plenty of ammunition on an almost daily basis. This is another example.

• 08-Sep-2012 13:41 | | Shogun  - Pity you, spectrum
  

  If Sagna is so bothered by our lack of ambition as you seem to think spectrum, then why would he sound disgruntled -as you try to make out he does? His answer to that question should have been, "oh am not thinking or bothered about my contract situation at the moment", or the usual footballers bullshit line.."i just want to concentrate on getting fully fit at the moment, and getting back to playing football again"..or what do you think?
  Your arogance is truly mind boggling, you don't actually expect the club to report to you on whatever their plans or schedules are regarding the renewal of player contracts, do you spectrum? Who could say if the club aren't going to talk to sagna on contract renewal before the end of this season...?do you know that for sure?
  Sagna doesn't have to understand 'everything' the club does, he's being paid to do a job, when/if he feels it's not working out for him, then he will be given a chance to table what his issues are, then he can stay or leave depending on whatever conclusions were reached.. Until then he's still an arsenal player, and when fit will perform when called upon. And if he leaves, so what? He won't be the first -the arsenal will still be, so you can go hang yourself, spectrum.

• 09-Sep-2012 03:17 | | VinnyP  - Spectrum , We Love You Kid ...
  

  Spectrum , i really enjoy your comments ....... you are obviously a kid being bullied by his mates at school and in your hood ...!!! There is a lot of pent up anger in you , that stems from the fact that you cant physically bully them back nor can you get back at them intellectually [ which is your preferred and obviously strong side ] . ...We might find your comments misdirected and juvenile [ ..well you are juvenile and we have all been there ]...., but we do admire your passion , zeal and ability to stand up to your thoughts and opinions even though they are grossly ill informed...!!....Now , going by your comments i can easily see you obviously not played football at a competitive level ... as you have never acknowledged how a team's results grow , as they play more and more with each other , their individual skill complement the system played and most importantly they get to easily second guess accurately the other players moves ....Also, going by your comments ..we can understand that you haven't yet got any opportunity to take care of household expenses and bills on a permanent basis ...or be an employee or employer on a permanent basis ....AND thats ok ... it will come ... we all have been in kinder garden just like you ...and we understand .....
  There are 2 reasons for my comments ....1.You seem lonely and we Arsenal fans don't want a passionate young Arsenal fan to hurt himself thinking no one understands him ............
  2.If my comments seem to you , that i am just not supposed to pass judgements on Spectrum based on some online reading ...then HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY pass such strong judgements on Arsene and Arsenal Football Club based on some online reading of some reporters who are not Arsenal fans ....

• 09-Sep-2012 03:38 | | VinnyP  - Arsenal Team , on the UP....
  

  I have been so so thrilled by the way Arsenal team has been playing this season ... The meanest defence has always won the EPL Title ... Going by the looks of all teams ... Arsenal is the meanest defence currently even without first team goal keeper or defenders ... Aint that Great ...!!! Arsene's trophy winning teams have always been Graham defensive discipline + Arsene's flair and speed of movement ..... We have largely failed in the last 5-6 years due to lack of consistent games for our First Choice team members over an entire season ... We actually got that Last season ... thats the fundamental reason , why were able to crawl back to third ...from a pitiable position at the start ....That bad start was Team DNA had got massively disrupted due to Samir , Cesc moving ON and the entire team having to reinvent itself ...Team DNA is generally the midfield and the back line ... which is still intact ... + will be complemented by Diaby and wilshire ... attack and goal scorers are less disruptive ...as they generally take 3-4 weeks to get going ... Titi replaced Anelka , Ade replaced Titi , Rvp replaced Ade ...Its a Dennis like number 10 that we have sorely missed ....
  This season , without any long term injury disruptions ... there is a trophy coming ... And i am all excited ...!!!!

• 09-Sep-2012 06:50 | | Spectrum  - A.K.B. brain fog
  

  Vinny P. = another condescending, deluded A.K.B. prick. ( Sorry if that's not "intellectual" enough for you ).
  
  @ Shogun - I'm sure you don't read my posts properly. Still focusing on the contract aspect, eh ? That was secondary, ( and as you say, remains to be resolved later ). I REPEAT ; quoting from my post above ;
  
  ....... " And as usual you avoid the MAIN THEME of what he was saying. And that was that he is expressing dissatisfaction with the way the club is being run. Yet another who's speaking out publicly in their frustration. "
  
  and......
  
  ......." lastly, there's NO DOUBT about what he thinks with this, is there ? ...... "In May, I watched Manchester City show off. I watched Samir and Gael lifting the trophy. That gave me desire for it .
  
  ( Robin, and now Sagna. Mere coincidence ) "?
  
  THOSE were the points I was making, but which have obviously flown over your head. I suggest you stop avoiding the issue, and read my post ( at 10;01) AGAIN. ALL of it.
  
  You say "and if ( Sagna ) leaves, so what " ? "So what "? We COULD be looking at losing YET ANOTHER KEY PLAYER further down the line, and all you can say is "so what "? Apart from the fact that this indicates a worrying undercurrent of frustration and disenchantment amongst the players, how can we expect to win anything, when we allow this situation to flourish, and do little or nothing to discourage it ?
  
  If you can't / won't keep your KEY players happy, ( let alone the other squad members ), why be surprised when they leave, or hint about it, like Robin did, and now Sagna ? Shouldn't we be concerned about the effect this will have on team solidity and morale overall ? Do you think top players like Sagna grow on trees, and that they're easy to replace ?
  
  Other clubs' management wouldn't tolerate this, they'd act to remedy it. Experiencing SUCCESS would do this. But we're content to carry on as we have been, so there's no urgency is there ? And ( from your comment ), certainly none from you.
  
  "IAWR"

• 09-Sep-2012 07:01 | | Shogun  - Well said VinnyP
  

  That's the spirit VinnyP, we are all excited...i mean how can anybody not be? It's the Arsenal+football we're talking about here, some really exciting players to watch, the passion and determination of the young players, the beautiful attacking football of the whole team -and still all some persons see is more reasons to moan and complain, and they claim to be arsenal supporters?..well i guess stranger things have been know to happen.
  COYG!

• 09-Sep-2012 07:54 | | Spectrum  - Observations.
  

  Shogun - It's not a matter of getting excited. I suggest you take a tranquiliser and have a lie down. Because of our belated ( but welcome ) defensive resilience, we can allow ourselves to be cautiously optimistic. And at this EARLY stage, no more than that. Which at least is an improvement on previous seasons. And you, like all A.K.B.'s, have a tendency towards exaggeration and hyperbole - we haven't played "beautiful attacking football", that's still wishful thinking. We've played o.k. so far, but nothing like we did when we used our counterattacking strategy of some years ago. Then we had fast, fluid and incisive football that was truly a joy to watch, and which rightfully won us much acclaim. We DON'T play anything like that now. In fact, we have struggled to break teams down* ( * Sunderland and Stoke ), despite having the lion's share of possession.
  
  "Passion and determination" ? Not quite. We have shown some extra enthusiasm and a better work ethic, rather than creative flair and goalscoring prowess. Encouragingly a tight defence ( if it keeps up ) does provide THE BASIS of a title winning team. But of course there's a number of OTHER factors that go towards that also. Many of which we lack. Which again, is why we should only be CAUTIOUSLY optimistic. We've had good runs before, and they've ultimately come to nothing. We have to be nineteen points better this season than last, that's a lot of ground to make up. "Exciting players to watch ? " - Cazorla, yes. I'll grant you that. But who else ? Diaby ? After one good game in three ? Wilshere, when he comes back ? Maybe. But will he be the same player after such a long layoff ? Gervinho ? Hardly has set the world on fire, and can't make the team at the moment.
  
  That's not me "moaning and complaining", it's simply how it is.Stripped of all the extraneous embellishments. Or do you disagree ? ( Something tells me you WILL, nevertheless ).
  
  "IAWR"

• 09-Sep-2012 07:56 | | Shogun  - Still pitiful spectrum
  

  Spectrum maybe you need to properly read my previous post too.
  You claim the contract talk is secondary, so why try to make it an issue in your earlier post, spectrum?
  And yes, if sagna does leave, so what? Let me make something clear to you spectrum, sagna to me is the best rb in the prem, and arsenal most consistent player in the past few years, and i still maintain that if he decides not to renew his contract and leaves at the end or is sold before it runs out, then so be it.
  But for now he's contracted to arsenal, and -dissatisfaction or not- will play when called upon to, that my little friend is the short and long of it.
  And whatever you think or say, sagna can be unsatisfied as much as he wants, but airing it out in public, or conveying it through some psychic means to you so you could champion his course for him on the internet still wont change anything with the club. He will get a chance to table his woes about arsenal when he sits with the club for contract talks. Why don't you(spectrum) apply as his(sagna) spokesperson? Seeing as you've conviniently made your issues one and thesame as sagna -in your words- dissatisfactions.
  I still pity you spectrum.

• 09-Sep-2012 08:38 | | Shogun  - Come again spectrum..
  

  07:54; Diaby, so because the 1st two matches a player -who has been plagued by injuries mind you- plays are not satisfying, does it then mean we shouldn't be excited when the same player outplays/out classes every single player on the pitch -a total of 21 other players- in his last/most current game?...cazorla is exciting yes, but so is podolski, giroud, ox, vermaleen, arteta, santos, and yes even gervinho, even wenger(what have you got to say to that)..i can go on and on, but i think you get the idea, but if you dont..thats ok too, i understand thats the way you're built(not complete).
  Passion and determination; now i believe i ended that sentence with something like "the young players"(you want to have a look at it again spectrum?)..in which cases i was refering to jenk, manone, gibbs, ox, now if their performance so far hasn't been passionate and determined so far, then i most certainly have the definations of the words wrong, maybe you can help me out spectrum.
  What's your defination of beautiful football spectrum? Does the scoreline justify beautiful football? Stoke and sunderland, you say? So we didn't score..it was clear the team were still gelling, though we did creat some good chances. And with liverpool we proved that, or are you now claiming stoke and sunderland have a better/stronger team than the current liverpool one?
  Counter attacking football, you say? Please tell me, how was our first goal with liverpool scored?
  I still pity you.

• 09-Sep-2012 08:45 | | paspartu
  

  spectrum "I suggest you take a tranquiliser and have a lie down."
  
  well he could, had you not finished it all last sunday when we beat liverpool...comfortably haha

• 09-Sep-2012 08:49 | | Spectrum
  

  Shogun - The contract part was relevant, so naturally it needed to be discussed and was dealt with in that particular post at 10;01. It should have FINISHED THERE, but you carried on with it at 13;41. The chief reason I brought up the story was because it shows further proof of unsettled and restless players at the club. And when it gets to the stage where individuals speak out publicly, then the questions that are being asked by them, should in turn, also be asked by US. If you care about your club that is ( ? ) "So what?" sounds really reassuring from you.
  
  You STILL haven't addressed the two MAIN points I repeated above, in my 06;50 post. It's not only the WHAT, it's also the WHY. You never concern yourself with the DEEPER issues and questions, do you ? Never showing anything more than a superficial interest in the goings on at the club. See, that's where A.K.B.'s and non- A.K.B.'s are on vastly different wavelengths. We are inquisitive. We WANT to know WHY things aren't being done better. And we make suggestions on HOW they could be done better. Much to the simplistic derision of many of you on here.
  
  In your view, the club should just be kept on auto pilot, and never mind how long it takes to arrive at the intended ( ? ) destination. Just put your trust and welfare in the pilot and navigators, even though their maps and radar are faulty, and we're way off course. The airline is happy to keep taking your bookings ( season tickets ) each year, and is more concerned with saving on fuel than taking the passengers to where they want to go. We're on a "mystery flight " that never ends.
  
  "IAWR"

• 09-Sep-2012 08:51 | | paspartu
  

  spectrum says : Encouragingly a tight defence ( if it keeps up ) does provide THE BASIS of a title winning team. But of course there's a number of OTHER factors that go towards that also. Many of which we lack.
  
  
  ahahahah/...the past 1,258 ( or is 1,257 ?) months or so youve been complaing about our defence as being THE factor of us not winning titles....now you call our defence tight ( after 3 games...lol) and claim we need to work harder in other areas ? puahahaha youre something else...
  
  
  so then , according to your massive title winning experience in football, please give us the most contributing factors .....
  
  cant wait ...

• 09-Sep-2012 09:00 | | paspartu
  

  spectrum your arguements remind me of swiss cheese or a colombian prostitute
  
  ...full of holes ....
  
  you aint cutting im afraid ...
  
  i feel sorry for your keyboard having to put up with your hysteria...poor thing wants to go for recycling , it has lost it will to function while under your control...

• 09-Sep-2012 10:10 | | Spectrum
  

  To the moron Golum - Your reading ability and comprehension is as shaky as Shogun's. I never claimed that defence was the ONLY FACTOR for us not winning titles. That's you being deliberately misleading again, so you can appear to be clever * ( * for that you'd need 1,258 YEARS, not months ). Keeping things in perspective* ( *something you're clearly not capable of doing ), any team that has kept a clean sheet for three matches, DOES have a tight defence, albeit at this EARLY stage ( i.e. after three matches ) and IF it keeps up. Notice the word "IF" ?
  
  So not conceding is a good place to begin.
  
  I said "there are a number of other factors that go to making up a title winning team, many of which we lack ". What are they ?..... what a strange question coming from an A.K.B. Are you that lost in mediocrity that I should I even need to tell you ? As you aren't familiar with winning ( it's been such a long time ), I'd better refresh your memory.
  
  Apart from the obvious - that being an ambitious board who are prepared to allow investment into the club and spending it SENSIBLY ( NOT on a "50 million pound player" as Peter Hill-Wood disingenuously suggested the other day ), and a competent manager, there needs to be a BALANCE between attack and defence. We've not had this, because Wenger doesn't concern himself with defence ( until now perhaps, and from pressure being exerted on him ? ) But no team wins the league without it. Scoring lots of goals, but also leaking lots at the other end, gets you nowhere when it comes to titles. This is what happened with us last season. And the "goals against " column has gotten progressively worse for the LAST FIVE.
  
  And although we ( only just ) scraped into a C.L. spot and third place, that " feat " looked better than it actually was. Nineteen points adrift of the champions is nothing to be happy about, despite Wenger coming out in the media and pronouncing he's "proud" of the season we've just had. The season that HE himself f...ed up. That is a joke, and shows how out of touch he is, and by association the gullible fools like you who follow him.
  
  But back to the other factors. We also need tactical and man management excellence. The ability to motivate, instil a winning mentality, and inspire the team on a CONSISTENT level over an entire season. Not just in short bursts - all covered previously under what we lack.
  
  Keeping your best players, ( and not selling them each year to achieve a profit and balance the books ), so we can maintain continuity. And ( if unavoidable ), replacing the ones who DO leave, with equally good ones, or as near to that ideal as possible. Which we HAVEN'T been doing.
  
  Being willing to listen to other's suggestions and ideas when and where appropriate. And then acting accordingly. Delegate tasks to your assistant * to make things easier and freshen the team up ( * maybe a light bulb's come on here ? ).
  
  I'm sure there are others, but that's a start. Now Golum, over to you - what factors do YOU think we NEED and currently lack ? Any of the above, by any chance ? Or don't any of them matter ? And if they DO matter, how do you think we'll attain them under the present circumstances ?
  
  Can't wait.....
  
  "IAWR"

• 09-Sep-2012 10:23 | | Spectrum
  

  Golum at 09;00 - Well done. Another mature reply. Keep talking, someday you'll say something intelligent. ( Then again.....)
  
  "IAWR"

• 09-Sep-2012 10:28 | | paspartu
  

  but shogun has been tearing you to shreds mate ...you cant reply to what he puts in front of you ...lol ...
  
  ..youre funny ....sitting there thinking you know what it takes to win a title...pmsl..i guess you won many of them on the pitch as player or manager ..hahaha ...
  
  sit down you silly tw@t ....

• 09-Sep-2012 10:32 | | paspartu
  

  you want a mature reply ? why dont you go tell mommy to break that spot between the legs for you...if you dont act soon it could mess with your brain ..if not already ....
  
  hahaaaa u dumb fucking cretin troll with your anti-wenger hysteriia ...
  
  youll never achieve anything..just wanted to let you know .....thankfully those who own the club know what is good for the club....the golden goose manager ...money in the bank, stadiums, flair football AND TITLES won in style. ..why change a winning recipe ?
  
  hehe
  
  In Arsene We Rely
  
  spot on spectrum!

• 09-Sep-2012 11:25 | | Shogun  - You can do beta spectrum.
  

  I keep asking you spectrum, let me do so again; have you managed even a small organization before? been incharge of more than ten employees before? Have you managed a football club -even a junior/school league before? You know that flight you talked about, do you know why the pilots are the ones siting in the control seats? It's because they are qualified and been entrusted with controlling the plain by the airline company that owns those planes, and the passengers that actually pay a whole lot of money have no choice but to sit quietly and do as instructed no matter how badly they think the pilots are at controlling the aircraft... Now does that clear up that little flight hypothesis of yours?..lol.
  Let me indulge you, lets say for a minute that you mentiond about whats needed to win is so, how would you know if its been done in arsenal or not, how do you know what wenger does or not -or how he does it, or that he hasn't been doing anything to improve things on most if not all the issues you mentioned?.. have you worked with wenger before, or maybe worked for arsenal fc before? Would you mind commenting on those points please..?
  Now whatever points did you say i failed to comment on?
  Why don't you make it more precise, if it would help maybe number them, that way i can return point for point...except you're afraid you wouldn't have an excuse to hide behind anymore when i kick your ass...lol.
  I still pity you spectrum.

• 09-Sep-2012 13:39 | | Spectrum
  

  Golum - from my post about what is needed to win titles ; "I'm sure there are others, but that's a start. Now Golum, over to you - what factors do YOU think we NEED and currently lack ? Any of the above, by any chance ? Or don't any of them matter ? And if they DO matter, how do you think we'll attain them under the present circumstances " ?
  
  I answered your question on this. You haven't answered MINE,as I knew you wouldn't / couldn't. Other than to ramble on about Wenger e.t.c. As you always do, of course. Because you're Wenger's toady, and you've nothing else to fall back on to explain our lack of success. "Money in the bank ", while the team is left short each season ? When we don't even spend the transfer all the ( considerable ) budget we've been given ? After we've lost six captains in seven years ? It's shameful. That's something to celebrate ? Idiot.
  
  Titles won in style ? Yes, but EIGHT years ago ! how is that a "winning recipe" ? If that's a winning recipe, he should get himself a new cookery book, as the one he's been using doesn't have the correct ingredients. But as Shogun nonchalantly said ; "so what ? "
  
  Living in the past, and trading on past glories. As all A.K.B.'s do. A.K.B.'s are the Rip Van Winkel's of football. Asleep for a hundred years, and never wanting to wake up to reality.
  
  "IAWR"

• 09-Sep-2012 13:46 | | VinnyP  - A.K.B , IAWR ..???
  

  What do these abbreviations mean actually .... my guess is AKB = Arsene Knows Better than most and IAWR = In AFC We Rejoice ...

• 09-Sep-2012 15:03 | | Spectrum  - A tale of two halves.
  

  Shogun - Have I ever managed an organisation or football team before, or know what Wenger is doing ? No of course not, have you ? How many of us have ? Does that exclude us from forming our OWN opinions and drawing our OWN conclusions from what we see, hear and read ? That kind of argument is an all encompassing excuse for accepting complacency. We must never question our masters. What are you, a mindless zombie ? Have you always accepted everything that you've been taught ? Sounds like you haven't grown up and become a mature independent thinker. Politicians love people with that kind of reasoning. It guarantees they'll get re-elected no matter how bad they are.
  
  If Wenger HAS tried various things to improve our situation they obviously haven't helped to turn things around have they ? Being generous to him - sometimes " trying your best " just isn't sufficient. Let's break down Wenger's record since he's been here ; Sixteen years so far ( far longer than any other manager of a "big" club in modern day football should be entitled to, which says something about our "ambitious" board, doesn't it ? )
  
  ........ First eight years
  
  League - three titles = 37.5% success rate.
  
  F.A. Cup - three = 37.5% success rate.
  
  League Cup none = 0% success rate.
  
  UEFA Cup none = 0%success rate.
  
  Champion's League none = 0% success rate.
  
  Grand total = six trophies in eight years = 75% success rate.
  
  ........Second eight years
  
  League - no titles = 0% success rate.
  
  F.A. Cup - one - 12.5% success rate.
  
  League Cup - none. = 0% success rate.
  
  UEFA Cup - none = 0% success rate.
  
  Champions League - none = 0% success rate.
  
  Grand total = one trophy in eight years = 12.5% success rate.
  
  Clearly this shows that Wenger's successes came almost EXCLUSIVELY in the FIRST half of his tenure. Yes, we all knew that, but it helps to see the team's decline post 2005 more plainly, when we set it out like this. This only takes into account the success / failure comparison. It doesn't consider his personal decline as a manager, which I believe also coincides with the team's results above.
  
  Of course, it's not a COMPLETE comparison, as very few if any, modern day managers survive or are indulged by their board as long as Wenger has been, and continues to be. So we don't have enough data on other managers.
  
  Seven trophies overall in sixteen years, a 43.7 % strike rate in total. We can see that he was great in his early years, but OVERALL he's now just so-so. How can we justify paying the man 7 million a year to be so-so, and produce so- so results ?
  
  "IAWR"

• 09-Sep-2012 15:16 | | Spectrum
  

  And Shogun - Still waiting on you to answer those two points. Or are you busy devising more distractions to avoid addressing the issues ?
  
  While you're grappling with that, ( if it won't tax your brain too much ), you might ALSO want to answer the question I put to Golum, seeing as how he's unable ( or unwilling ) to come up with a sensible response ; ....."what factors do YOU think we NEED and currently lack ? Any of the above, by any chance ? Or don't any of them matter ? And if they DO matter, how do you think we'll attain them under the present circumstances" ?
  
  Come on now, there MUST be SOME things that we lack, surely ?
  
  "IAWR"

• 09-Sep-2012 15:21 | | Shogun  - Running scared, spectrum?
  

  No response to my post then spectrum? Have you had enough you foolish and negetive container? You keep coming in here to poison other people's happiness and positive energy when all they just want to do is drain away their personal daily fears, worries, and boredom with some light and interesting discussions + reading about a football club they love.
  You do not agree with how the club is run, the owner of this site and most of the writers don't feel so mentally murderous about the way the club is being run -or if they do, they don't try to force it down other's troats, and they have the sense and decency to show some apreciation and respect for the manager and players when things gets done properly, and try to put things in perspective when it isn't. There are a bunch of sites that cater for posters and thinkers like you, still you chose to ignore those sites instead and always come here to read views you stated times without number that you don't agree with, by writers you disrespect by posting total rubish that's in no way related to the write-up on their articles without even acknowledging the writer or the points made.
  If you're really serious about getting answers and bringing changes, why not focus on really trying to get an interview with Wenger? If you try hard enough it can be done, and however long it takes am sure it would be worth it.

• 09-Sep-2012 15:31 | | Spectrum
  

  Vinny P. - I suspect you know full well what they mean, but for you and the uninitiated, I'll give the benefit of the doubt. A.K.B. is a term coined by the "Le Grove" blogsite to distinguish those deluded "supporters" who think the manager is God and can do no wrong ( suits Golum to a T. ) from the free thinking fans. It stands for Arsene Knows Best.
  IAWR = ****************** A play on words that I modestly take credit for, and which describes perfectly the moribund situation that sadly continues to exist at our club.
  
  "IAWR"

• 09-Sep-2012 15:35 | | Spectrum
  

  Whoops ! That naughty censor blanked it out again. Gets upset so easily when you tell the truth. Try this then - In Arsene We - and the last word starts with r and rhymes with dust.
  
  "IAWR"

• 09-Sep-2012 15:39 | | paspartu
  

  oh look at you getting all fired up cause your "questions" aint getting any attention ....haha
  
  
  maybe its because you still owe us this from months ago :
  
  do you know the difference between oenership and management ? you know..employer...employee...those kind of things ?
  
  lol... you dumb effin cretin ...
  
  and then you get all serious writting how wenger cant repeat his early success ignoring that back then he had world cup winners in the squad, (you know, them invincibles graham left behind as heritage for arsene ...puhahahaha ) ....yes it is shocking how 19 year old cesc and the rest of children couldnt emulate players like vieira and henry...what an anomally ??? ....

• 09-Sep-2012 15:58 | | Spectrum
  

  Shogun - If my comments are "rubbish" as you put it, why then, do you read them, and try to discredit them ? You don't have to. Why not just skip / ignore them, and continue to hold hands in ignorant bliss with Mean Lean, Golum, e.t.c. ? This is a forum that is supposed to include ALL views, positive, neutral, or negative. What would life be without alternatives to consider ? Even when you don't agree with them.
  
  Oh, and if you want to get your over optimistic, rose tinted outlook across to others, you know what to do - I've said it before. Accept my invitation / challenge to go on "Arsenal Truth" or "Le Grove". It's a democracy - there's nothing stopping you. Except the fear of being shown to be wrong all this time. If you're so sure of yourself though, you've got nothing to worry about, have you ?
  
  "IAWR"

• 09-Sep-2012 16:05 | | Shogun  - Spectrum does this answer ur questions?
  

  You certainly don't read other's post..you would have seen where i mentioned you should number or mark the points you keep claiming i wouldn't answer, that way i can deal with it directly -seeing as you are eratic in your posting and tend to divert issues when you get beaten fairly.
  Now tell me spectrum, since arsenal was founded as a football club can you tell me what the parcentage of their success rate based on trophies won would be before the arrival of AW?...or would you like me to do that -i can make out time to do that sometime before sunday next week- and maybe give it to you on one of ML's weekend articles...?
  16 years, far longer than any other manager of a 'big' club is entitled to? And that's one of the evidence that the club is not ambitious? Do tell me please, is man u a big club or not? And remind me please, my memory maybe a bit faulty, but how long has SAF been there? And moyes, how long has been in everton...and how many trophies have they won in all those years again?
  And you're right, i haven't managed a major league football club before, which is why i don't go around criticizing AW at every turn, i question a lot of things(sure), but at the end of the day i sit and i think things like; AW is qualified, or else the players wouldn't listen to him, wouldn,t improve or talk so highly of him...so if the owners of this club trust him enough to pay him a lot of money to manage the football side of their business for them, then least i could do is give him the benefit of the doubt that he must be doing a whole lot of things right -atleast until i get a full and clear picture of what really goes on behind the scene, which maybe never, so i do the best left option, i support/back the team a hundred grand.
  Now you ask what the arsenal need to win trophies; honestly? That would be an unlimited fund source, apart from that, i believe AW -and the board to a large extent- is currently doing more than 90% of what it takes to make the club a winning one. And he's right there at the top with the world best managers, you can either accept that or choke on it.

• 09-Sep-2012 16:06 | | Shogun  - Spectrum does this answer ur questions?
  

  You certainly don't read other's post..you would have seen where i mentioned you should number or mark the points you keep claiming i wouldn't answer, that way i can deal with it directly -seeing as you are eratic in your posting and tend to divert issues when you get beaten fairly.
  Now tell me spectrum, since arsenal was founded as a football club can you tell me what the parcentage of their success rate based on trophies won would be before the arrival of AW?...or would you like me to do that -i can make out time to do that sometime before sunday next week- and maybe give it to you on one of ML's weekend articles...?
  16 years, far longer than any other manager of a 'big' club is entitled to? And that's one of the evidence that the club is not ambitious? Do tell me please, is man u a big club or not? And remind me please, my memory maybe a bit faulty, but how long has SAF been there? And moyes, how long has been in everton...and how many trophies have they won in all those years again?
  And you're right, i haven't managed a major league football club before, which is why i don't go around criticizing AW at every turn, i question a lot of things(sure), but at the end of the day i sit and i think things like; AW is qualified, or else the players wouldn't listen to him, wouldn,t improve or talk so highly of him...so if the owners of this club trust him enough to pay him a lot of money to manage the football side of their business for them, then least i could do is give him the benefit of the doubt that he must be doing a whole lot of things right -atleast until i get a full and clear picture of what really goes on behind the scene, which maybe never, so i do the best left option, i support/back the team a hundred grand.
  Now you ask what the arsenal need to win trophies; honestly? That would be an unlimited fund source, apart from that, i believe AW -and the board to a large extent- is currently doing more than 90% of what it takes to make the club a winning one. And he's right there at the top with the world best managers, you can either accept that or choke on it.

• 09-Sep-2012 16:10 | | Spectrum
  

  Golum - I'd challenge you to go on those sites too, but you've ALREADY BEEN binned from "Le Grove" for your obnoxious comments and insults a while back, so I won't. Strange how Mean Lean can't seem to keep track of I.P. addresses to monitor and ban you, but "Le Grove" didn't have the same problem.
  
  "IAWR"

• 09-Sep-2012 16:35 | | Spectrum
  

  Shogun - There you go with the distractions again. We're talking about WENGER, not what happened or didn't happen, before he came here. But having said that, Gambon ( from "Le Grove" ) came up with some interesting stats on George Graham's reign - he's much more successful relatively speaking. And I can't let your mention of SAF pass without comment. You ARE JOKING, right ? This must be another "Chelsea moment " for you. Look up SAF's roll of honour for the same time period as Wenger, and compare them. ( You brought it up, not me ).
  
  The points listing ? No need to. I asked you to answer just those TWO points, that shouldn't be hard to do, should it ? And you STILL haven't !
  
  So according to you, there is ONLY the money that we lack ? What an easy cop out. Not one other thing to explain our bare trophy cabinet ? You're not trying too hard then are you ? You're busy telling us all the many things ( supposedly ) that Wenger has / is doing right , well what do you consider he has / is, doing WRONG ? There must be some, eh ? I'll give you a week to run through that one.
  
  "IAWR"

• 09-Sep-2012 20:21 | | Shogun  - So easy spectrum
  

  Lol..spectrum, you are so predictable, i was expecting you to say exactly that about SAF, so do you need me quote your comments again? Do i need to remind you that the particular comment regarding how 16yrs being "far more than any other manager in a big club is entitled" was in bracket?..as a seperate comment not necessarily related to the trophy issue? Let me repeat it, far more than any other manager in a big club is entitled... So what we are talking about here is what your little bracket is specifically pointing out,which is just about the number of years he's been in arsenal, if this is not so, then please let me know. On a side note, i see you had nothing to say about everton.
  2ndly, you say your point is about Wenger not the club, but the whole issue is about his achievment for the club in the years that he's been in charge, is it not? So how is my bringing up the success rate of thesame club prior to the arrival of the manager you claim has done poorly for the club in terms of success on the pitch a distraction spectrum? Surely to get the real value of AW achievements it has to be measured against the prior achievement of the club as a whole before his arrival, or is that not how it should be done?..Why dont you explain that to me? I can't seem to get my little brain around that.
  I already told you why i won't dwell on what i may not be satisfied with concerning the club, and why i dont attribute any blame to AW -here it's again, none of us know the real story of what goes on behind the scene, so am not going to jump to conclusion that may end up being wrong tomorrow, i wont throw about acusations and insults on someone - thats being payed a lot of money to do a job that he's qualified to and one i have no prior knowledge or experience on -based on supositions and speculations. Now you tell me if you have first hand knowledge of AW being guilty of all you acuse him of...first hand knowledge, spectrum.

• 09-Sep-2012 20:24 | | Shogun  - So easy spectrum
  

  Lol..spectrum, you are so predictable, i was expecting you to say exactly that about SAF, so do you need me quote your comments again? Do i need to remind you that the particular comment regarding how 16yrs being "far more than any other manager in a big club is entitled" was in bracket?..as a seperate comment not necessarily related to the trophy issue? Let me repeat it, far more than any other manager in a big club is entitled... So what we are talking about here is what your little bracket is specifically pointing out,which is just about the number of years he's been in arsenal, if this is not so, then please let me know. On a side note, i see you had nothing to say about everton.
  2ndly, you say your point is about Wenger not the club, but the whole issue is about his achievment for the club in the years that he's been in charge, is it not? So how is my bringing up the success rate of thesame club prior to the arrival of the manager you claim has done poorly for the club in terms of success on the pitch a distraction spectrum? Surely to get the real value of AW achievements it has to be measured against the prior achievement of the club as a whole before his arrival, or is that not how it should be done?..Why dont you explain that to me? I can't seem to get my little brain around that.
  I already told you why i won't dwell on what i may not be satisfied with concerning the club, and why i dont attribute any blame to AW -here it's again, none of us know the real story of what goes on behind the scene, so am not going to jump to conclusion that may end up being wrong tomorrow, i wont throw about acusations and insults on someone - thats being payed a lot of money to do a job that he's qualified to and one i have no prior knowledge or experience on -based on supositions and speculations. Now you tell me if you have first hand knowledge of AW being guilty of all you acuse him of...first hand knowledge, spectrum.

• 09-Sep-2012 21:46 | | paspartu
  

  those sites ? lol...its pure garbage/..morons like you who aint got a clue about football, finance or employee/employer relationships, objectives, budgets etc etc ..pontificating to others and trying to formulate public opinion ...
  
  besides they dont print the posts they dotn like ..lol.... cause they cant handle me ...hehe ...i guess they dont like it up em /just like them pussies in uk pundirty and media who always complain when we kick back a bit ....
  
  now remind me againof them world cup winners wenger inheritted from graham in order to launch his invincible success ....

• 09-Sep-2012 22:50 | | paspartu
  

  lol at arsenal fans like spectrum, le grove and arsethru .....wenger;s invincible success of 2004 was because george who left in 1995 ...lol 9 years back....had already tuned the squad...wenger didnt have anything to do....arsenal could have done those records even without his management, tactics and motivation ....
  
  you lot make me laugh ...

• 09-Sep-2012 23:24 | | paspartu
  

  shogun please dont scare him away
  
  his thoughts illuminate this place so much i go blind at times

• 09-Sep-2012 23:42 | | paspartu
  

  spectrum youre on a roll tonight arent ya ... gem after gem ....dont spoil us please...we arent used to this.....
  
  "No of course not, have you ? How many of us have ? Does that exclude us from forming our OWN opinions and drawing our OWN conclusions from what we see, hear and read ?"
  
  pretty much yeah ...for if you want your opinion to have validity it should be a conclusion drawn from your real and actual knowledge and experience on the subject and not your imagination or misguided perceptions.
  
  if you just want to release your frustration and misunderstanding of the game and what arsenal are doing feel free to embarass yourself like youve been doing to our amusement the last few years...ha
  
  its like me calling ross braun and michael shummacher crap and useless..they aint winning any titles are they ? ...lol... and i dont know anything about f1 design or engine or pit stop strategy...i do like watching it sometimes though...its just that i dont feel entitled to have a more valid opinion than them on how to run a formula team or how to drive a formula one car on a formula one track....
  
  you though? lol....you are the one who goes round saying how ross and michael have "lost it".....and that they "dont know anymore" and getting angry at how they cant beat red bull ferrari mclaren who are on bigger budgets etc ...lol..thats who you are....THE IDIOT WHO DOESNT UNDERSTAND SHIT YET WANTS TO HAVE AN OPINION LIKE AN ARSEHOLE
  
  

• 10-Sep-2012 03:36 | | Shogun  - Spectrum is future spuds manager...
  

  Lol..Paspartu, don't hurt the kid now, all he needs is a little cuddling and someone to show him a little love -he didn't get enough at birth..lol, besides you don't want to discount spectrum, i heard from a most reliable source that he's going to be the future best spuds manager, he's going to lead them to lots of trophies and success, it would be three trophies every year for him and the spuds, 'cause obviously achieving anything but lifting the trophies don't count..lol.

• 10-Sep-2012 12:18 | | Anonymous
  

  hehe shogun ..ive got lots of love to give ...especially to spectrum
  
  you reckon he is fond of george cause he coached the spuds after us ???...hahahaha

• 10-Sep-2012 12:18 | | paspartu
  

  that was me obviously ,,,bloody computer not keeping names and stuff

• 10-Sep-2012 13:41 | | Sydney Gooner
  

  The thing with Man Ure that you have to understand Spectrum is that they have always had the foundations in place to be a big club that could go on to win things (largest stadium, biggest fan base in England's second city etc) and they had Martin Edwards' money in the late 80's early 90s. Spending millions on Mark Hughes, Ince, Neill Webb, Phelan, Bruce, Pallister, Wallace, Paul Parker etc. at a time when United never managed a pre-tax profit greater than £3 Million.

• 10-Sep-2012 13:56 | | Sydney Gooner
  

  Therefore you can see for yourself why SAF always had an advantage over Wenger which can be seen in the amount of trophies Ferguson has won compared to Wenger.

• 10-Sep-2012 14:24 | | Sydney Gooner
  

  Interesting to see our trophy haul compared to Man Ure's before the Premier League era in '92.
  
  Arsenal: 10 League Titles, 5 FA Cups, 1 League Cup
  
  Man Ure: 7 League Titles, 7 FA Cups, 1 League Cup, 1 European Cup
  
  I think its safe to say that we were definitely as big as Man Ure if not bigger (arguable though if 3 League titles are better than their 1968 European Cup triumph and two FA Cups) before Fergie's dynasty began with the help of Edwards' money.

• 10-Sep-2012 15:31 | | paspartu
  

  now sydney ....now youre falling for a trap mate
  
  wait for him to come and tell you how wenger brought the club backwards and that manure has surpassed us in title count.
  
  a more accurate reflection of the difference is in the frequency of these titles . with the esception of chapman;s era ..if we add all arsenal champions titles and divide by the year the club exists we get roughly a title per decade.
  
  united may not have had the number of titles we had pre epl era but then again they had won the european cup..they had george best ..the babes chartlon etc etc ...manchester united was a sleeping giant and it took ferguson 6 whole years to win his first one. ever since then the owners have backed him up with whatever expenditure he deemed necessary in order to keep the reigns in england at least. i also have a personal idea that since the england national team was and still is utterly crap, the establishment will use united as their front vehicle...they will get favours. if united werent allowed to be as succesful, english football wouldnt have anythign to show to the rest of europe and the world whether its national or club level...
  
  so if you want to shut that muppet up the best way of saying it is that united has had a jumpstart of a decade and a half in comparison to what arsenal are doing.
  also manchester united has a brittish manager who in the past used to play with many english and brittish and as such they will be presented in a better way than those duchebag cheating diving foreigners that the french enemy is collecting in OUR GODAMN CAPITAL....lol...
  
  the only person in arsenal;s history so far that can make arsenal look like they belong in the elite of european clubs is wenger ...and he hast won shit the last 7 years...hehehe
  
  wenger = arsenal = iso quality

• 10-Sep-2012 19:53 | | craig  - the dark tunnel
  

  Diaby=easily our most consistent player. Consistently injured !!
  
  IAWR

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