Arsenal Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2016

wonga77

wonga77 wrote: »

This was my take on it about 2 years ago.

But since then, financially doped clubs were winning, so he always had that excuse.

keano_afc wrote: »

This post could realistically apply to any of the last 4 seasons. Apart from the injuries excuse. That is something we have to deal with season after season.

Out of the last 4 seasons, we only stopped being a selling club in 2013-14. The previous season we had sold our world class striker to a rival, and they won the title. Since then, City and Chelsea have won.

He has none of his old excuses to fall back on if/when Leicester or Tottenham win the league.

keano_afc

wawaman wrote: »

Of course he can be blamed. There is absolutely no pressure on wenger from him or the board to succeed. You heard the interview he did, all about money, doesn't care about whether the team wins or loses. As a result wengers vanity project of the last few years has been allowed to go unchecked. At no other club would this malaise have been put up with

Are you saying the lack of pressure on Wenger from Kroenke translates into lack of effort on the pitch? Sorry, not buying that.

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

Basil3 wrote: »

But since then, financially doped clubs were winning, so he always had that excuse.



Out of the last 4 seasons, we only stopped being a selling club in 2013-14. The previous season we had sold our world class striker to a rival, and they won the title. Since then, City and Chelsea have won.

He has none of his old excuses to fall back on if/when Leicester or Tottenham win the league.

Actually just on that matter. Selling RvP to f*cking United for a Beasley 25million and him scoring against us whenever they played us and him winning United the title single handedly. Remember that? I think it's worth remembering anyway. Incompetence of the highest order from Wenger right there.

Quazzie

The Hunky Monster wrote: »

Actually just on that matter. Selling RvP to f*cking United for a Beasley 25million and him scoring against us whenever they played us and him winning United the title single handedly. Remember that? I think it's worth remembering anyway. Incompetence of the highest order from Wenger right there.

We should've let him rot in the reserves, but then there'd be no cash for the dividends.

keano_afc

Basil3 wrote: »

But since then, financially doped clubs were winning, so he always had that excuse.



Out of the last 4 seasons, we only stopped being a selling club in 2013-14. The previous season we had sold our world class striker to a rival, and they won the title. Since then, City and Chelsea have won.

He has none of his old excuses to fall back on if/when Leicester or Tottenham win the league.

We were under no financial constraints when van Persie was sold. We were under no obligation, he should have been kicked into the reserves. Selling him was an appalling misjudgement.

greendom

keano_afc wrote: »

We were under no financial constraints when van Persie was sold. We were under no obligation, he should have been kicked into the reserves. Selling him was an appalling misjudgement.

It was still very much s balancing the books time. Van Persie's sale financed Giroud, Podolski and Cazorla unless my memory fails.

keano_afc

keano_afc wrote: »

We were under no financial constraints when van Persie was sold. We were under no obligation, he should have been kicked into the reserves. Selling him was an appalling misjudgement.

Is this based on fact? From memory, the year we signed Ozil was the first time most of the media were saying we didn't have to worry about the stadium debt.

Regardless, the biggest issue was who he sold to. He should have sold to a team outside the premier league.

keano_afc

Basil3 wrote: »

Is this based on fact? From memory, the year we signed Ozil was the first time most of the media were saying we didn't have to worry about the stadium debt.

Regardless, the biggest issue was who he sold to. He should have sold to a team outside the premier league.

Completely agree. But if no offer was forthcoming from abroad, he should have been dumped in the reserves.

tayto lover

It doesn't matter to me who we sold or who we bought or how much we have in the bank as long as we're playing good slick football and fighting hard to win.
We're not doing that, we're a soft touch now.

The quality of our football has been declining for the last number of years and that's down to Wenger. That's his job and why he gets 7 million per year.

tayto lover

tayto lover wrote: »

It doesn't matter to me who we sold or who we bought or how much we have in the bank as long as we're playing good slick football and fighting hard to win.
We're not doing that, we're a soft touch now.

The quality of our football has been declining for the last number of years and that's down to Wenger. That's his job and why he gets 7 million per year.

It's a weird one. This exact squad has played some great football, just not for the last 4-5 months.

A big complaint with Wenger used to be that he played the same way no matter who the opposition was (ie just beat them through better football), but this year I really feel like he's attempted to adjust tactics based on opposition. Hasn't really helped, though

Ol' Donie

tayto lover wrote: »

It doesn't matter to me who we sold or who we bought or how much we have in the bank as long as we're playing good slick football and fighting hard to win.
We're not doing that, we're a soft touch now.
.

There's no getting away from that, at the minute, sadly.

kronsington

Christ what a messed up couple of weeks.. Everton have a dodgy enough defence and poor enough home record. Think we might scrape a draw. 2-2

tayto lover

kronsington wrote: »

Christ what a messed up couple of weeks.. Everton have a dodgy enough defence and poor enough home record. Think we might scrape a draw. 2-2

Ah have you see ours?

kronsington

tayto lover wrote: »

Ah have you see ours?

sadly I have and I was going to say that in the post. hence why I think we'll concede a couple. im basing this prediction on the fact I cant handle more failure and the bile AW will spew afterwards

mansize

Apple knows...

Bobby Baccala

Don't think we'll get anything out of Everton away, Lukaku is in the form of his life and our defence hasnt looked this bad all season. Coleman also had sanchez in his pocket for most of the last game and I can't see that changing tomorrow.

emmetlego

You know, it's really hard to disagree with many of the posts in here today about the failings of Wenger and Kronke, but most especially this team, since the turn of the year.

The absolutely worst part of it all, for me as a supporter, is the chronic lack of goals. If we had one, JUST F*****G ONE of our forwards went on a scoring streak, we could have got 3 against Barca in each game, 5 against Swansea, 5 against Utd, 5 against Pool and 5 against Watford. We haven't, because ALL our forwards have been pure ****e. You know what, even a modicum of success up front, and we could quite easily be still in the FAC, still right up there, if not top of the BPL and (if I dare to dream, still be in the UCL, or even have had a moral victory over Barca). I know it all boils down to the manager, but if just one of our forward players had the balls to grab something by the scruff, we could be in an alternative universe as to where we are right now.

For a guy like OG to go on such a scoreless streak is bad, but to happen at the same time as Alexis, Theo and our normally contributory midfield? Even Ozil, with his creative best, is scoring less than he used to. The frustration of our luck in front of goal is what kills me... That and the hope. The hope is what kills me.

I swear to holy God, this team has a curse on it. And I'm begining to think it's on Wenger. Or maybe it is Wenger. Either way, I'm mad as hell at this season, and unless some miracle occurs, I do feel that it's time for our beloved Arsene to step down. I'd hate to see him pushed. He is a legend, and I'd like to see him get a respectful departure, becauser let's face it. If Leicester don't win it, we won't either, it will be our closest rivals, and that will gall even more.

Sorry for the lengthy post, I've had 2 weeks of pent up Gunner emotions to get off my chest!

gosplan

I think it's hard to know what exactly Kronke is about.

Wenger practically invented football's version of moneyball.

This was what he was doing before Kronke came to the club. I know the situation obviously suits the owner but it's hard to see what isn't a Wenger decision.

DarraghF197

emmetlego wrote: »

You know, it's really hard to disagree with many of the posts in here today about the failings of Wenger and Kronke, but most especially this team, since the turn of the year.

The absolutely worst part of it all, for me as a supporter, is the chronic lack of goals. If we had one, JUST F*****G ONE of our forwards went on a scoring streak, we could have got 3 against Barca in each game, 5 against Swansea, 5 against Utd, 5 against Pool and 5 against Watford. We haven't, because ALL our forwards have been pure ****e. You know what, even a modicum of success up front, and we could quite easily be still in the FAC, still right up there, if not top of the BPL and (if I dare to dream, still be in the UCL, or even have had a moral victory over Barca). I know it all boils down to the manager, but if just one of our forward players had the balls to grab something by the scruff, we could be in an alternative universe as to where we are right now.

For a guy like OG to go on such a scoreless streak is bad, but to happen at the same time as Alexis, Theo and our normally contributory midfield? Even Ozil, with his creative best, is scoring less than he used to. The frustration of our luck in front of goal is what kills me... That and the hope. The hope is what kills me.

I swear to holy God, this team has a curse on it. And I'm begining to think it's on Wenger. Or maybe it is Wenger. Either way, I'm mad as hell at this season, and unless some miracle occurs, I do feel that it's time for our beloved Arsene to step down. I'd hate to see him pushed. He is a legend, and I'd like to see him get a respectful departure, becauser let's face it. If Leicester don't win it, we won't either, it will be our closest rivals, and that will gall even more.

Sorry for the lengthy post, I've had 2 weeks of pent up Gunner emotions to get off my chest!

If we lose out to bringing in Ibrahimovic because Man United or Chelsea were willing to pay an extra two million in wages, I'll be furious. We can't let these top class players keep slipping away and going to rival teams. It's absolute bonkers. I 100% agree our inefficiency in front of goal has been our primary problem in the last handful of weeks. We can't expect to win a league without a major striker at the club.

DarraghF197

DarraghF197 wrote: »

If we lose out to bringing in Ibrahimovic because Man United or Chelsea were willing to pay an extra two million in wages, I'll be furious. We can't let these top class players keep slipping away and going to rival teams. It's absolute bonkers. I 100% agree our inefficiency in front of goal has been our primary problem in the last handful of weeks. We can't expect to win a league without a major striker at the club.

Not just the last handful of weeks. It's pretty much the whole season. I'm pretty sure stats would say we have created more chances than any other team this season, but our goals scored is seriously low.

gosplan

emmetlego wrote: »

You know, it's really hard to disagree with many of the posts in here today about the failings of Wenger and Kronke, but most especially this team, since the turn of the year.

The absolutely worst part of it all, for me as a supporter, is the chronic lack of goals. If we had one, JUST F*****G ONE of our forwards went on a scoring streak, we could have got 3 against Barca in each game, 5 against Swansea, 5 against Utd, 5 against Pool and 5 against Watford. We haven't, because ALL our forwards have been pure ****e. You know what, even a modicum of success up front, and we could quite easily be still in the FAC, still right up there, if not top of the BPL and (if I dare to dream, still be in the UCL, or even have had a moral victory over Barca). I know it all boils down to the manager, but if just one of our forward players had the balls to grab something by the scruff, we could be in an alternative universe as to where we are right now.

For a guy like OG to go on such a scoreless streak is bad, but to happen at the same time as Alexis, Theo and our normally contributory midfield? Even Ozil, with his creative best, is scoring less than he used to. The frustration of our luck in front of goal is what kills me... That and the hope. The hope is what kills me.

I swear to holy God, this team has a curse on it. And I'm begining to think it's on Wenger. Or maybe it is Wenger. Either way, I'm mad as hell at this season, and unless some miracle occurs, I do feel that it's time for our beloved Arsene to step down. I'd hate to see him pushed. He is a legend, and I'd like to see him get a respectful departure, becauser let's face it. If Leicester don't win it, we won't either, it will be our closest rivals, and that will gall even more.

Sorry for the lengthy post, I've had 2 weeks of pent up Gunner emotions to get off my chest!

No, it's a really good point.

I don't think Wenger ever thought Giroud was 'it' when it came to forwards.

But every window since Giroud, he has chosen not to buy any striking talent.

Six transfer windows have come and gone since Giroud joined in the summer 2012.

Six times I believe Wenger has left himself with striking options he knows aren't quite good enough.

And that's all the trouble this year. We're not conceding more than we do historically but we can't score.

extra gravy

The excuse won't be wages, it'll be that he's too old. I'd rather him leading the line at 34 than any of the other strikers we have.

tayto lover

gosplan wrote: »

No, it's a really good point.

I don't think Wenger ever thought Giroud was 'it' when it came to forwards.

But every window since Giroud, he has chosen not to buy any striking talent.

Six transfer windows have come and gone since Giroud joined in the summer 2012.

Six times I believe Wenger has left himself with striking options he knows aren't quite good enough.

And that's all the trouble this year. We're not conceding more than we do historically but we can't score.

He did it often enough with the defence too.
As i said in an earlier post "failing to fill obvious gaps".

Soups123

Can't see anything other than an Everton win, I even gave Paddy the money today I'm that certain

Gringo180

Why are people blaming Kronke? Is it another way to deflect criticism on a manager who refuses to spend the funds that are available to him? The money is there to spend its just Wenger keeps his faith in very average players instead of bringing in real quality. He must see something on the training field that we certainly dont see on match day.

tayto lover

Gringo180 wrote: »

Why are people blaming Kronke? Is it another way to deflect criticism on a manager who refuses to spend the funds that are available to him? The money is there to spend its just Wenger keeps his faith in very average players instead of bringing in real quality. He must see something on the training field that we certainly dont see on match day.

Remember the famous 70 Million?

Gringo180

tayto lover wrote: »

He did it often enough with the defence too.
As i said in an earlier post "failing to fill obvious gaps".

How many times was he happy to deploy his full backs as emergency cover in the centre back position? Sagna, Monreal and Debuchy over the years had to fill in there. No harm in that but when the transfer window opens and we still refuse to strengthen and rather play players out of position thats when you have a problem.

Sure even remember Andre Santos asking RvP for his jersey at half time when we were getting beaten at Old Trafford :pac: a complete laughing stock we are at times.

Soups123

Gringo180 wrote: »

Why are people blaming Kronke? Is it another way to deflect criticism on a manager who refuses to spend the funds that are available to him? The money is there to spend its just Wenger keeps his faith in very average players instead of bringing in real quality. He must see something on the training field that we certainly dont see on match day.

I blame Kronke, he owns the club he should have decided before now that Wengers onfield performance wasn't good enough but he was happy to rake in the profit and accept average

That said i don't use it as a cover for Arsene I'd like both gone

If I had to pick the most in need of sacking it would be Arsene

wonga77

Everton have lost 5 of their last 7 home games.They have also only kept 2 clean sheets from 15 home games, They have been much better away from Goodison where they have only lost the one game(at the emirates)
As piss poor as we have been I wouldnt be backing Everton at home either, ive gone for over 2.5 goals anyway, think it'll be 1-2 or 2-2 or something like that.

Gringo180

tayto lover wrote: »

Remember the famous 70 Million?

If Kronke was anyway tight with the purse strings there wouldnt of been a hope in hell that we signed Ozil or Sanchez. Im sick of some on here defending the indefensible, look at the quality of attackers that we let slip through our hands and instead we kept faith in injury riddled players like Walcott, Oxlade Chamberlain, Rosicky, etc.

Higuain, Lukaku, Mario Gomez, Shaquiri, Griezmann, Llorente, Mandzuckic, Morata, Draxler etc. These players were all within our financial range and would of had no problem signing.

tayto lover

Gringo180 wrote: »

If Kronke was anyway tight with the purse strings there wouldnt of been a hope in hell that we signed Ozil or Sanchez. Im sick of some on here defending the indefensible, look at the quality of attackers that we let slip through our hands and instead we kept faith in injury riddled players like Walcott, Oxlade Chamberlain, Rosicky, etc.

Higuain, Lukaku, Mario Gomez, Shaquiri, Griezmann, Llorente, Mandzuckic, Morata, Draxler etc. These players were all within our financial range and would of had no problem signing.

I think we could have got Suarez if we really wanted to as well.

Gringo180

Soups123 wrote: »

I blame Kronke, he owns the club he should have decided before now that Wengers onfield performance wasn't good enough but he was happy to rake in the profit and accept average

That said i don't use it as a cover for Arsene I'd like both gone

If I had to pick the most in need of sacking it would be Arsene

Remember Arsene has a very powerful influence at board level so its not just as easy as you sack him. It woukd cause huge uproar among some board members who are close to the manager. Kronke isnt my cup of tea but to blame him on the managers ineptness is outrageous.

Gringo180

tayto lover wrote: »

I think we could have got Suarez if we really wanted to as well.

Yes I think so too. 70 million and he was ours and we would be most likely of been crowned Prem Lge champions for the 2nd time in a row this season. For that extra 30 million in spend your getting back in for winning titles and expanding your fan base and bringing in extra revenues.

Gringo180

On a more positive note I think Elneny looks a fantastic signing, he already looks a cut above any of our central midfielders bar Santi who we miss dreadfully. You can see he has a bit of steel to him too which is a huge positive.

wonga77

Gringo180 wrote: »

Yes I think so too. 70 million and he was ours and we would be most likely of been crowned Prem Lge champions for the 2nd time in a row this season. For that extra 30 million in spend your getting back in for winning titles and expanding your fan base and bringing in extra revenues.

I dont even think we would have had to go to 70 million, the 40+1 was just taking the piss and ruined our chances. If we had started with 45 million at least and they would probably have settled for 50 or 55 after. We would have plenty more silverware at this stage anyway

wawaman

Gringo180 wrote: »

Why are people blaming Kronke? Is it another way to deflect criticism on a manager who refuses to spend the funds that are available to him? The money is there to spend its just Wenger keeps his faith in very average players instead of bringing in real quality. He must see something on the training field that we certainly dont see on match day.

Why are people NOT blaming kroenke? There is a mindset at the club that 2nd (or 4th in our case) is good enough. I don't doubt wenger wants to win the league but a) it isn't a win at all costs mentality like other clubs and b) he wants to do it "his" way. This attitude has been festering for years and it hasn't been challenged and it's coming home to roost now

Soups123

Gringo180 wrote: »

Remember Arsene has a very powerful influence at board level so its not just as easy as you sack him. It woukd cause huge uproar among some board members who are close to the manager. Kronke isnt my cup of tea but to blame him on the managers ineptness is outrageous.

That's a fair point on the board.

I wouldnt blame him for Arsenes ineptness but at every other club in the league the under performing manager has been let go. If he had to unsettle the board to push for Arsene out then that's what he should do.

Wenger was way to much control he practically reports to himself on the org chart

Drexel

Cannot see us beating Everton today.

At the moment I cant see us beating anyone with any guts

Never been so downbeat as an Arsenal fan

wonga77

Drexel wrote: »

Cannot see us beating Everton today.

At the moment I cant see us beating anyone with any guts

Never been so downbeat as an Arsenal fan

I agree, but wouldnt it be very Arsenal-like for us to put in a smashing performance today, completely out of nowhere when we're not expected to

@Arsenal

@Arsenal: Here's how @Arsenal line up for #EFCvAFC pic.twitter.com/fb6EEYz1iS

https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/711156711948738561

Same team as barca apart from Coq for Flamini?

Pretty surprised Campbell not in for Iwobi

tayto lover

Even if we did manage a great run over the last 8 games and finished second you'd still have posters saying that they can't wait for next year as we played great at the end. Wenger would be happy with that too as he'd say we didn't need much improvement or new players to mount a challenge for next season.

Happens nearly every year.

wandatowell

2-2

Both teams weak at defending so plenty of goals.

Dunno who to score for Arsenal

Mr Blobby

2-0 Arsenal.
Sanchez x2

Alfred Borden

Charlie is spot on

https://twitter.com/SoccerSaturday/status/711164001397288960

FixitFelix

Jesus Lukaku isn't half full of himself

Alfred Borden

haha

https://twitter.com/SoccerSaturday/status/711165816914333697

mansize

He's had a bottle of wine or two

G1032

FixitFelix wrote: »

Jesus Lukaku isn't half full of himself

I wouldn't say no to Arsenal signing him.

G1032

Basil3 wrote: »

@Arsenal: Here's how @Arsenal line up for #EFCvAFC pic.twitter.com/fb6EEYz1iS

https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/711156711948738561

Same team as barca apart from Coq for Flamini?

Pretty surprised Campbell not in for Iwobi

Ya. What did Campbell ever do on Wenger? He should be playing much more often.

FixitFelix

G1032 wrote: »

I wouldn't say no to Arsenal signing him.

I wouldn't take him id rather be aiming higher, wouod only be another reason for fans to moan when he hits a bad patch saying we should have signed Messi instead