You know when you have tooth-ache, you know when you suck on the tooth that it will ache but you still do it to check whether it still aches. Why am I saying this? Well, that experience is not too dissimilar from being an Arsenal fan at the moment; you don’t want to watch because it is painful to see them lose. But you still watch in the hope that things might click miraculously and they end up tonking some team. Unfortunately, things rarely happen that way, if ever.
The present day malaise has been blamed on many things, World cup hangover, moving to a new stadium, loss of some key players, over physicality of the other teams, fixture congestions among other things. Chelsea had a lot of players in the World cup so did ManU that dint stop them this season has it? The fixture list hasn’t been kind to any of the teams, when has it ever? It was always a reason to have a good moan about but never an excuse.
To be fair to Arsene, he has had his fair share of injuries. Henry has been practically out for the entire season. Robin Van Persie’s season has been stop start. So has been Gallas’. Our (Arsenal fans) argument has been if ManU had Rooney, Ronaldo and Vidic out for same amount of time would they have been the same team? The answer is probably is No. But are you in effect, admitting the rest of the squad is not good enough to overcome the likes of West Ham (twice!), Sheffield United, Everton and Bolton? After all they still have the best record against the so called “Big Four”.
Out of the cups in a cruel fashion, for the first time in a long time we don’t have anything to look forward to, we have always had a cup final, or a title race to look forward to. There is visible lack of motivation in the players in the last few games. You are waiting for a player to take the game by the scruff of the neck and that almost invariably never happens. If the players assume that they are going to finish 4th then this season is in very real danger of falling apart. Bolton and Everton are breathing down our necks, even Sp*rs can mount a late charge. 7th place for Arsenal, anyone?
Finishing in a champions league spot is paramount to the clubs fortunes, not only in the literal sense but also in terms of being to attract top talent to the club. How many top class players would want to come to a club who is not going to play in the Champions league? Not many I would think.
More worryingly for the fans is that Wenger seems to think that present squad is good enough to compete for the league and that he is not likely to add to the squad in the summer. It scares the living daylights out of me, seriously. Freddie seems to have lost it, I don’t even remember the last time he scored in the league. Hleb for all his close control and ball-skill is never likely to get you 10 goals a season. Baptista looks as though he was born yesterday, new born giraffe at that. I think it’s time we showed these 3 players the door. That leaves us with a couple of 19 year olds, a 17 year old and no wide player to speak of, hardly a mid-field that would leave the opposition quaking in their boots. Defence too needs some work but that will be a rant for another day, Up front this over reliance on Thierry Henry has all too readily been exposed this season. We must dread the day that we have to replace this demigod.
I’m sorry if I sound so negative in the post, I can’t feel anything but that. I am typing as I watch the Newcastle game, one of the most insipid performances I have seen from an Arsenal team in all these years of following them.
Among all the doom and gloom do we still have reason to be cheerful about, straws that we can clutch on to, to save our faces this season? Yes, we never have to seen Alexander Song in an Arsenal shirt again.Kidding, one bright spark has been the kids and their wonderfully fearless performance in the Carling cup, notably Liverpool, Everton and Sp*rs and the first half hour against Chelsea in the final. It augurs well for the future but most fans can be notoriously fickle and instant gratification is on top of every fan’s list. The “punctual trophy” can be hard to achieve, ask Fergie, he’ll let you know.Next season can’t surely be as bad, can it? Until then I’ ll be praying. *Enters meditative state again*
Vignesh
Vignesh is an avid Arsenal fan and loves an argument. So now would be a good time for all those Man U, Liverpool and Chelsea fans to rub it in.
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Tags: Football
After 4 losses in a row, time to switch over to the bright side mate. Become a Man U supporter and the world will seem like a much better place to live. :>
Like how a friend of mine put it, Wenger tends to shop for an armani at KMart…
I really think he is scared to put money into the transfer market for fear of getting his hands burnt. His outlay on the stadium has meant that the board has zero tolerance for another reyes.
What is the point really of grooming youngsters? When their stock reaches their peak, the do a cole. In the modern footballing scene, winning with kids, wenger’s underlying philosophy, is never going to materialise.
I dont think thats quite the case, infact he was to spend another 10 million pounds on another reyes he can quite easily do it.And i dont think anyone will question him on that.
And i dont quite agree with you on the “kids doing a cole”, infact a lot of them didnt, Thierry Henry didnt, Patrick Vieira didnt,Kolo is as loyal as ever, Fabregas has signed a 8 year old contract. By and large Arsenal players have been plenty loyal to Wenger.Most of the big names he chose them to let them go, Sol Campbell, Patrick Vieira, Pires, Edu, Anelka,Lauren etc..
I firmly believe that the kids are not to be solely blamed for the this season, after this is basically the same team which reached the CLE final last year. This years problems have stemmed due to different reasons.
Well agreer to the fact that the kids usually don’t leave the arsenal setup, but is this gonna work in the near future?? with all the big 4 investing heavily on poaching( rather developing ) young talent across the globe. Arsene still has a few bright prodigies under his belt, merida , vela, the new left-back etc and might actually merit from not buying anyone on a inflated market next year with Liverpool and other trophy clubs competing for players
i guess it is time for the simpsonique headed, obnoxious, vain, petty, cheap, arrogant, diving Frenchman to leave the club
To say PV4 didn’t is a lie. he has shamelessly tried to engineer a move every year, only to be stopped from doing so by some twist of fate. and Henry wasn’t really a kid when he moved to Arsenal. Kolo hasn’t attracted the prying eyes of the BIG clubs and Fabregas is 19.
@Chuchi..
My point is, Arsenal are a vastly different proposition now. Its not the same Arsenal that Arsene took over 10 years ago. People now expect it to succeed, they are no longer percieved as a club who is punching above their weight in Europe now.
Mid year results reveal that for the half year they have highest earnings for any club in Europe. Dont be too surprised if Arsenal are the richest club next year. So if u are fan at one of the richest clubs in the world, and seeing ur nearest rivals spend their way to trophies, do u still have the patience to see the kids develop into world beaters?
Some say, its a much more rewarding experience,some say follow the middle path. I say trust Arsene, after all he has done it before. Surely, a man of that intellect can see where things are going wrong.
And calling for Thierry Henry’s head is bit premature i feel. He has given a lot for the club. Not only his goals but also his loyalty.Injuries not withstanding,he is having a bad season for the first time, yet he is second highest scorer. Does he not deserve the loyalty of the fans to whom he has given so much joy?
I think so. I for one will be cheering him on the next time he steps on the pitch in an arsenal shirt
wenger seems to have forgotten the present in his quest for building a team for the future…something ferguson was guilty of until he got it right this season
well do agree to the point that this is the first bad season the frenchman is having, but the bad feeling is the way in which he was off the pitch , and with ugly rumors floating about fake injuries, it does not augur well for either the club or the player.
even if they were to be the richest club in the world, they still have a huge debt which will curb spending, but how long is the team gonna depend on henry??, he is 30 odd, and 2 years would be old stock on the market,and honestly adebayeour, hleb , even the talented czech have been a letdown this season ,
on a personal note , do hate arsenal and hope they play the way they did this season next season also, but of course there is no fun left:((
maybe leaving highbury was not that great an idea