Arsenal Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2018

omega man

Some of the stuff on social media is complete cringe.

Seriously, get it together. Fans talking about crying, worst day in their life etc.

It’s just football and yes he was a great man, in football terms, but he’s not your fecking grandad and he’s not dead ffs.

GeorgeBailey

gandalf wrote: »

Ah I remember when George Graham was sacked!

Yip. George was my first (managerial) love

Pudders

gandalf wrote: »

P4DDY2K11 wrote: »

I'm not old enough to remember any other manager at Arsenal other than Wenger, gonna be a strange feeling seeing somebody else at the helm of our club. Although he didn't achieve enough with us in the past 10 years the next man to come has big shoes to fill.

Ah I remember when George Graham was sacked!

I was at Highbury the day George got sacked. Forest fans kept singing where's your Georgie gone. Bizarrely George read out the team on the video screen before the match.

Thanks Arsene for all the memories and hopefully a new one with a Europa league title to sign off with.

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

The big question here is will Arsenal fan tv survive when we're successful.

omega man

Reckon a lot of managers will be falling over themselves to get a sniff of the job. Whether they’re the right ones remains to be seen.

I’m optimistic about the future and we’ve still a real chance to finish this season on a high. Not good times, but better.

L'prof

10 leagues and FA Cups in Wenger’s tenure. Previous 10 brings you back to 1938

Ardennes1944

Hopefully now his book will come out soon and we will find out what the **** has been happening at our club for the last 10 years

Alfred Borden

Tough listen

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/43838485

Proper Arsenal man, needed on the board as soon as possible.

emmetlego

Very odd feeling this evening. Me and the gang started talking about it all, there were tears (from me, not the hubby) and the kids were all "but he is Arsenal" but they know no better. It is a sad end we all feel, but right to end. Probably should have been long before now, but the next chapter is a bit scary. Kids in bed, me and the boss spoke and spoke and spoke. It's actually scary when you consider how long he was there. It's the unknown that is most scary, with Arsene there, it was a solid base. It's odd, but I'm happy and sad.

In life you have to remember the happy times, and boy did Arsene give us many of them. I love the man. I always will.

Oh, lastly. Great tributes today, but to hear that Mourinho lad lauding him? Sickened the arse off me. Go away you tool!

Ol' Donie

Well, well, well.

I did not expect this when I woke up this morning.

I love the man, that's not news, but glad he can move on now.

I have severe reservations about the future, but I'm really looking forward to a bit of fresh debate among the fans, the folks here etc.

Thanks Arsene. I really, really mean it.

wandatowell

My sister flew in from London for a family get together this weekend and AW leaving was a topic of discussion over dinner this evening. Nobody in my family outside of my Da and I has ever voiced an opinion on football.

Ol' Donie

Just listening to Wrighty on the Totally Football Show.

My man, Wrighty.

brianregan09

Listen to BP Zone Episode 25 by BP Zone Arsenal #np on #SoundCloud
https://soundcloud.com/brian-oregan-932825069/bp-zone-episode-25

Hey guys sorry about the lateness

SharpshooterTom

The BBC have put up a page asking people to pick Arsenal's greatest XI under Wenger, you can click on the cross and they'll give you a list of options. Now I'm not an Arsenal fan, but nonetheless FWIW, I've gone for:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/37430014

David Seaman

Lauren
Sol Campell
Tony Adams
Ashley Cole

Robert Pires
Patrick Viera
Emmanuel Petit (not sure about this one)
Marc Overmars

Dennis Bergkamp
Thierry Henry

---

Really torn over the midfield, not sure whether to put Ljungberg in there instead of Petit or perhaps go someone a bit more creative. What I'm not doing is picking someone post 2006, I'm not sure how you could?

It feels a bit of shame also to leave out Ian Wright who was once Arsenal's all time top scorer but I feel he's too similar to Henry and Bergkamp provides some creativity and better link up play between midfield and attack.

Like I say I'm not an Arsenal fan (Man Utd one) so I'm just curious to see how close my all time Wenger XI compares to actual Arsenal fans here.

Arne_Saknussem

Question was raised here a short while back, i went for the following:

Arne_Saknussem wrote: »

I'd go with:

Dixon Adams Sol Cole


Best 11:

Seaman, Dixon, Adams, Sol, Cole, Pires, Vieira, Petit, Overmars, Bergkamp, Henry

So i'd agree for the most part, just Dixon in instead of Lauren.

You can make arguments for Gilberto & Fabregas in midfield but that Vieira-Petit combo always shades it against any other 2 for midfield.

Wheeliebin30

Luis Enrique, Brendan Rogers???

Jesus lads this better not be our new era and way forward.

wonga77

Allegri possibly?

https://twitter.com/bbcsport_david/status/987609706507198465

Mr_Roger_Bongos

Any thoughts on the team today?
Lacazette - Might be rested for Europa?
Aub - Can't play Europa
Wellbeck - Is he in contention for either?
With Ramsey and potentially Ozil coming back in, it could be good to get the midfield/forward line playing together before they face Athletico....

emmetlego

Game is tomorrow.

Econ_

I think Arsenal should appoint Brendan Rodgers.

I can’t quite put my finger on why he’s not thought of higher. Maybe it’s his tendency to engage in utopian hyperbole and the dislike that it generates but if you look objectively at what he’s achieved, it’s fairly impressive given his age.

When he has good players he’s shown he can fit them together and leverage their talents to the max - something that isn’t as easy to do as it might sound. He would be ideal to get the best out of Auba, Mkhi, Ozil etc.

The fact he’s British probably works against him too. Thomas Tuchel for instance would have a much better reputation but when you look at things objectively - you can’t say he’s achieved a hell of s lot more than Rodgers. Both have had bad spells in their career and both have had some very exciting periods.

Ol' Donie

Econ_ wrote: »

I think Arsenal should appoint Brendan Rodgers.

I can’t quite put my finger on why he’s not thought of higher. Maybe it’s his tendency to engage in utopian hyperbole and the dislike that it generates but if you look objectively at what he’s achieved, it’s fairly impressive given his age.

When he has good players he’s shown he can fit them together and leverage their talents to the max - something that isn’t as easy to do as it might sound. He would be ideal to get the best out of Auba, Mkhi, Ozil etc.

The fact he’s British probably works against him too. Thomas Tuchel for instance would have a much better reputation but when you look at things objectively - you can’t say he’s achieved a hell of s lot more than Rodgers. Both have had bad spells in their career and both have had some very exciting periods.

When he was in charge of Liverpool, as far as I can see he faced Arsene Wenger 8 times.

He won one of those games, the 5-1 at Anfield.

He can f*ck off.

Royale with Cheese

I think a safe pair of hands for a couple of years before trying to find the next Klopp/Pochettino would be the way to go. If you look at how much of a disaster Moyes was, you can get managers who are very successful at a certain level but just can't step up to a club that's trying to compete for titles (however long ago that was at Arsenal).

By all means try and get the likes of Allegri, but if you can't get someone of that calibre then you could do worse than bringing somebody like Benitez in. I think that's definitely preferable to some of the names being thrown around like Vieira or Arteta. Maybe it'd be worth rolling the dice like that in a few seasons but not directly after Wenger imo.

Wheeliebin30

Royale with Cheese wrote: »

I think a safe pair of hands for a couple of years before trying to find the next Klopp/Pochettino would be the way to go. If you look at how much of a disaster Moyes was, you can get managers who are very successful at a certain level but just can't step up to a club that's trying to compete for titles (however long ago that was at Arsenal).

By all means try and get the likes of Allegri, but if you can't get someone of that calibre then you could do worse than bringing somebody like Benitez in. I think that's definitely preferable to some of the names being thrown around like Vieira or Arteta. Maybe it'd be worth rolling the dice like that in a few seasons but not directly after Wenger imo.

Agreed that’s why this talk of Rogers is madness.

Moyes 2.

Econ_

Ol' Donie wrote: »

When he was in charge of Liverpool, as far as I can see he faced Arsene Wenger 8 times.

He won one of those games, the 5-1 at Anfield.

He can f*ck off.

Screening potential future managers on the basis of his results vs. a specific club doesn’t seem to be the most forensic method to use when determining who’s qualified for the job and who isn’t.

Ol' Donie

Econ_ wrote: »

Screening potential future managers on the basis of his results vs. a specific club doesn’t seem to be the most forensic method to use when determining who’s qualified for the job and who isn’t.

It is, yeah.

In this case, you bet your ass it is.

Econ_

Wheeliebin30 wrote: »

Agreed that’s why this talk of Rogers is madness.

Moyes 2.

Moyes is an old school manager with traditional principles and a rigid playing style.

Rodgers, whether you like him or not, is a modern and progressive manager.

The experienced managers with proven track records don’t always turn out to be the safe pair of hands that they’re brought in to be. See Benitez at Inter and Real, or even Ancelotti at Bayern didn’t do great.

Econ_

Ol' Donie wrote: »

It is, yeah.

In this case, you bet your ass it is.

Is that supposed to be a rebuttal?

Ol' Donie

Econ_ wrote: »

Moyes is an old school manager with traditional principles and a rigid playing style.

Rodgers, whether you like him or not, is a modern and progressive manager.

Sadly, Brendan is busy cleaning up with Celtic.

Anyone have Gordon Strachan's number?

L'prof

What has Rodgers done to deserve a crack at Arsenal? The only club he's won anything with had won the league 5 times in a row before he arrived there. Almost winning the premier league with Liverpool doesn't do anything for me. Wenger has almost won the premier league, champions league, uefa cup, fa cup and carling cup on numerous occasions and Arsenal are getting rid of him.

To my mind Rodgers is as big a risk as Vieira, Howe & Dyche. I'm hoping the next man at the helm will be there for more than a couple of seasons. That's something that I can't envisage for any of those 4. I get that an experienced manager might not be the right fit either but I'd still be hoping for someone with more pedigree than Brodge

Royale with Cheese

It is nice to actually be having this conversation for real though, it's not a hypothetical anymore

Econ_

L'prof wrote: »

What has Rodgers done to deserve a crack at Arsenal? The only club he's won anything with had won the league 5 times in a row before he arrived there. Almost winning the premier league with Liverpool doesn't do anything for me. Wenger has almost won the premier league, champions league, uefa cup, fa cup and carling cup on numerous occasions and Arsenal are getting rid of him.

To my mind Rodgers is as big a risk as Vieira, Howe & Dyche. I'm hoping the next man at the helm will be there for more than a couple of seasons. That's something that I can't envisage for any of those 4. I get that an experienced manager might not be the right fit either but I'd still be hoping for someone with more pedigree than Brodge

The difference between Rodgers and the others that you mentioned is that he competed at the top end of the PL with a team who hadn’t won it in 20+ years. So he has shown to some extent at least that he can compete at the top, the others you mentioned are complete unknowns in that regard. Rodgers has all that experience in the bank.

What he has done at Celtic is more than just win trophies. As you say, anybody would have done that. It’s the manner in which he is doing it is what’s most impressive. Exciting football and young players being brought through - any Celtic fan will tell you that he has done an exceptional job that has gone far beyond the minimum expectations of winning titles in Scotland.

Ulysses Gaze

People want Tuchel but dismiss Luis Enrique?

Apart from a German Cup win with Dortmund, what else would qualify him ahead of Enrique?

Ulysses Gaze

Econ_ wrote: »

The difference between Rodgers and the others that you mentioned is that he competed at the top end of the PL with a team who hadn’t won it in 20+ years. So he has shown to some extent at least that he can compete at the top, the others you mentioned are complete unknowns in that regard. Rodgers has all that experience in the bank.

What he has done at Celtic is more than just win trophies. As you say, anybody would have done that. It’s the manner in which he is doing it is what’s most impressive. Exciting football and young players being brought through - any Celtic fan will tell you that he has done an exceptional job that has gone far beyond the minimum expectations of winning titles in Scotland.

Why not Benitez ahead of Rodgers? Did a better job at Anfield and had them competing against an exceptional United team for 3 years straight.

I am a Liverpool fan. Rodgers got lucky in that Suarez had an incredible season, Daniel Sturridge stayed (relatively) injury free and Sterling had an incredible season. The stars aligned for Rodgers that season.

The next season, they tanked.

Ol' Donie

I'd take Rafa over Rodgers every single day.

In fact of all the candidates being talked about, Rafa is one of the most appealing.

Econ_

Ulysses Gaze wrote: »

Why not Benitez ahead of Rodgers? Did a better job at Anfield and had them competing against an exceptional United team for 3 years straight.

I am a Liverpool fan. Rodgers got lucky in that Suarez had an incredible season, Daniel Sturridge stayed (relatively) injury free and Sterling had an incredible season. The stars aligned for Rodgers that season.

The next season, they tanked.

You might be a Liverpool fan but that doesn’t necessarily make your perception of Rodgers any more valid than anyone else’s. I know a lot of Liverpool fans always secretly had it in for Rodgers largely because he had taken over the throne from the sacred cow King Kenny who was ruthlessly sacked. Not saying you were in that category but I know many were.

Also, a bad season doesn’t make a bad manager. Klopp’s Dortmund team ‘tanked’ in his last season. It happens.

I don’t think Benitez is a fit for Arsenal’s culture in the remotest sense. That, in combination with the fact that a large portion of the fan base would oppose the appointment from the start, should make that suggestion a non-runner. It’s be a recipe for disaster.

brianregan09

Rafa and Ancellotti would be bottom of my list for sure , Wouldn't want Rodgers serving beers at the club let alone manage the team a massive bluffer

Was lucky at Liverpool to have a Steven Gerard in his prime , a fully fit Daniel Sturridge and one of the best players in the world Luis Suarez having the season of his life and yet they still bottled a 9 point lead with a couple of games to go , he was hardly impressive in the CL either going out in the group stages and also leading them to 7th and 8th place finish's

Neil Lennon has won the SPL , Gordan Strachan , Martin O Neill , all modestly decent managers but none would ever get a top job so why should Rodgers given he failed last time he got one

wandatowell

Never been too impressed with Luis Enrique. Didn't do well at Roma and I think he left Barcelona with the players disgruntled with him. He strikes me as the poor man's Guardiola.

Without give the idea too much thought I think Rafa could be the one. Does he have the energy to spend a couple of years rebuilding Arsenal and mount a challenge for Europe or is he just a cheap version of Mourinho? He did build a great team at Liverpool.

farna_boy

Econ_ wrote: »

That, in combination with the fact that a large portion of the fan base would oppose the appointment from the start, should make that suggestion a non-runner. It’s be a recipe for disaster.

I think you just lost your own argument there. That statement is far more applicable to Rodgers than Rafa I'd say.

JenovaProject

Would Brendan Rogers get a job at City,United,Liverpool(again),Chelsea or Spurs if they were managerless at the end of the season?
Not a hope he would....keep him the fcuk away from Arsenal we've suffered long enough.

L'prof

I'd just be worried that Rafa would crumble under the pressure and expectation like he did at Liverpool

Econ_

farna_boy wrote: »

I think you just lost your own argument there. That statement is far more applicable to Rodgers than Rafa I'd say.

You ignored the significance I was placing on ‘in combination’

Arne_Saknussem

Gazidis made a point yesterday of saying they need to be 'bold' in the search for a new manager.

I wonder if that means they might go for someone like Jardim or Sarri?

Don't want Luis Enrique or ****ing Brendan Rodgers.

tayto lover

I wonder will the movement keep going?
It has to be Kronke next.

Ulysses Gaze

L'prof wrote: »

I'd just be worried that Rafa would crumble under the pressure and expectation like he did at Liverpool

In Rafa's defence, there was a civil war going on in the boardroom and no cash to spend. The club was in financial meltdown.

Against Rafa would be the fact that he tends to fall out with the owners in most clubs he manages. And his handling of the Xabi Alonso situation at the time was very poor.

Ulysses Gaze

Econ_ wrote: »

You might be a Liverpool fan but that doesn’t necessarily make your perception of Rodgers any more valid than anyone else’s. I know a lot of Liverpool fans always secretly had it in for Rodgers largely because he had taken over the throne from the sacred cow King Kenny who was ruthlessly sacked. Not saying you were in that category but I know many were.

Also, a bad season doesn’t make a bad manager. Klopp’s Dortmund team ‘tanked’ in his last season. It happens.

I don’t think Benitez is a fit for Arsenal’s culture in the remotest sense. That, in combination with the fact that a large portion of the fan base would oppose the appointment from the start, should make that suggestion a non-runner. It’s be a recipe for disaster.

The difference is Klopp won two league titles and got Dortmund to a Champions League final.

Rodgers had one great season and two poor ones.

Ol' Donie

Ulysses Gaze wrote: »

The difference is Klopp won two league titles and got Dortmund to a Champions League final.

Rodgers had one great season and two poor ones.

Rodgers had one good season and played his reserves away to Madrid.

tayto lover

Ulysses Gaze wrote: »

The difference is Klopp won two league titles and got Dortmund to a Champions League final.

Rodgers had one great season and two poor ones.

Rogers had Suarez who was scoring for fun.
Klopp has Salah who is scoring for fun.

How would either do without their top men?

Ulysses Gaze

tayto lover wrote: »

Rogers had Suarez who was scoring for fun.
Klopp has Salah who is scoring for fun.

How would either do without their top men?

Last season Klopp got Liverpool top 4 without Salah.

He also managed to get to two cup finals in his time at the club.

Without Salah.

sonic85

Maybe I'm not remembering right but didn't Benitez spend a fortune on players at Liverpool and a lot of them were pure sh1te? I'd have to go back and look but I'm pretty sure his transfer dealings were less than impressive. I would not be convinced by him as a replacement for Wenger to be honest even though he's done a good job at Newcastle

Econ_

Ulysses Gaze wrote: »

The difference is Klopp won two league titles and got Dortmund to a Champions League final.

Rodgers had one great season and two poor ones.

So a manager that has won stuff is allowed a pass on a bad season but a manager that hasn't won stuff isn't allowed a pass?


I wasn't arguing that Rodgers was as successful or as qualified as Klopp, I was simply illustrating that any manager can have a bad season and that bad season shouldn't necessarily be held up as a glaring reason why he shouldn't get a particular job in the future.

Dortmund hiring Klopp despite having a recent relegation on his CV would be a good example of this. Allegri didn't pull up many trees before Juve hired him either btw.