Arsenal

[spursfan77]

Not relegated, I want to be beating them every season as they struggle in the bottom half.

Has to be relegation for me. Then they can earn their rightful place in the top division the following season.

 

[ernie78]

Echoing sentiments already raised in this thread, the way in which Arsenal are falling apart is the biggest problem for them.

No desire, no fight, no pride; just happy to coast into mediocrity.

Compare that with the way in which we spectacularly lost the Premier League title at Stamford Bridge a couple of seasons ago. Opposition fans couldn't understand why a lot of Spurs fans were actually quite happy with the performance, as opposed to the result.

It was because for years (possibly decades) Spurs were a soft touch; a team that would lay down and die at the first sign of a contest. They were a team that opposition players thought "Great, we've got Spurs at the weekend".

Well all that ended at Stamford Bridge, where a message was sent out to every opposition player that win, lose or draw, they were doing to be in a contest when playing Spurs in the future and you'd have the bruises to prove it.

There's none of that at Arsenal.

After losing the CC, they should have come out on Thursday evening and kicked City off the park; they should have properly battered them. Even if they had lost the game by 4 or 5, red cards and all, they should have made City doubt their decision to humiliate them in a final. Give the City players a few cuts and bruises, a few aches for the week ahead. Have a brawl at half-time...throw some pizza at full-time (lol). Show the fans there's still some fight in the old-girl!!

Anyway, they'll probably lose at Brighton...

This 100%. I was chatting to an arsenal fan and I said as much. I couldn’t believe they didn’t put a hard tackle in. No self respect. The arsenal fan also asked me if I felt that Pep had purposely made city sit back in the2nd half? He felt that out of respect to wenger Pep didn’t want City to properly pulverise them. Interesting idea but I asked him if that wasn’t more embarrassing? A team deciding not to go for the jugular and just pass between themselves was surely more depressing and humiliating than a 5-0??
As I’ve stated before I’m well happy that they are in decline, I hope it lasts for a long time and would love relegation but I can’t ever see that happening. One can dream though

 

[hellava_tough]

This 100%. I was chatting to an arsenal fan and I said as much. I couldn’t believe they didn’t put a hard tackle in. No self respect. The arsenal fan also asked me if I felt that Pep had purposely made city sit back in the2nd half? He felt that out of respect to wenger Pep didn’t want City to properly pulverise them. Interesting idea but I asked him if that wasn’t more embarrassing? A team deciding not to go for the jugular and just pass between themselves was surely more depressing and humiliating than a 5-0??
As I’ve stated before I’m well happy that they are in decline, I hope it lasts for a long time and would love relegation but I can’t ever see that happening. One can dream though

Despite the fact that City have Chelsea this weekend, this could still be the case

I remember when Germany absolutely battered Brazil in the World Cup, Cannavaro was doing the punditry for ITV (I think)

He said that as a captain, he would have told his team to lay-off the opposition at the 3-0 mark out of respect

Obviously the Germans have other ideas, but it goes to show that this does happen in professional football

 

[beats1]

Come on...they pay the highest priced tickets in the whole entire country, you expect them not to be pissed at what's been happening at their club for the best part of 6-7 years now?

TBF we work out to be more expensive than them

 

[Gb160]

Can’t believe some are feeling sorry for Arsenal fans.

They’re sixth, lost a cup final to possibly the best team in Europe and are still in the EL. Have won several FA Cups in the last 5 years.

I hope they go down even further and Wenger carries on trolling the whiney, self entitled twats until they’re all forced to gain some humility and sense of perspective.

Fuck the lot of them.

There were a few on here that actually wanted them to beat City in the League Cup final...our fanbase is changing I'm afraid.

 

[spursfan77]

You are absolutely right and I have been saying exactly this for the past couple of seasons.

What few Arsenal fans know is that despite their decline on the pitch, off the pitch their profit has gone up again this year. They have a chairman who just doesn't care as long as he's earning money from the club and Wenger isn't likely to go anywhere unless he himself resigns or the profits take a significant hit. Until then Kroenke is content to sit at his ranch taking little interest in the competitiveness of the club. As the old saying goes, the fish rots from the head down and the disinterest of the owner means that the board is not only hamstrung but will feel little motivation to shake it up through fear of harming the profits. Therefore the old structure remains in place. Wenger hasn't moved with the times and so just goes through the same motions season after season and the players themselves know that they are there to do just enough to take home their salaries and keep the profits rolling in. From top to bottom there is no true trophy winning mentality. There is no feeling of progression. There is no desire or drive for anyone in the club to truly push themselves.

Replacing Wenger is a band aid. It may help the club in the short term in terms of results, but how long before the institutional mentality interferes with the new stewardship? How long before a new manager walks if that manager wants to win things?

In my opinion Arsenal are doomed for as long as Kroenke stays around and fails to take an interest in competitiveness. Arsenal fans can bitch and whine all they want about the manager, the players, the board, but until Kroenke decides to sell up I think they're fucked. Good for us, but at the same time it is sad to see such a big and historic club shamelessly run into the ground by an owner who just doesn't give a shit. One thing is for sure though, the new generation of Arsenal fans, those loathsome ones with an over inflated sense of entitlement, would do well to perform a reality check and realise it's likely to either stagnate or get worse before it gets better. We'll see how many of the plastics on Arse Fan TV stick around through the dark times.

No it’s not, it’s fabulous.

I agree with your first two paragraphs but it’s delightful that they are looking to be heading this way.

 

[Timbo Tottenham]

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/mar/02/arsenal-players-arsene-wenger-meeting

Wow.....things are pretty bad:

"The speech was delivered by one of the senior players in the Arsenal dressing room but he did not finish it. He was too choked up as he reflected on how such a talented squad had come to resemble a bunch of drifters. He said his children were asking him why Arsenal were so bad. That was the moment when the tears welled in his eyes".

I found this bit astonishing, there is something seriously wrong with their set up if this is true:

“Another Arsenal player stepped in. “We are a big club,” he said, tapping into the rallying cry theme. “But we need more help from the coaches.” That was when the damning judgment was articulated. It had actually been the motivation for the players to gather in the first place – without Arsène Wenger. “It’s not going to happen,” one of them said. “We need to find the answers ourselves.”

 

[Cornpattbuck]

Despite the fact that City have Chelsea this weekend, this could still be the case

I remember when Germany absolutely battered Brazil in the World Cup, Cannavaro was doing the punditry for ITV (I think)

He said that as a captain, he would have told his team to lay-off the opposition at the 3-0 mark out of respect

Obviously the Germans have other ideas, but it goes to show that this does happen in professional football

Fair enough, but I don't kmow why you would. At the top level if you concede a fluke goal against the run of play, 3-1 can change into 3-3 very quickly however dominant you've been...

I think City were just chilling out with Chelsea in mind. Focussed but in second gear.

 

[Krule]

I think City were just chilling out with Chelsea in mind. Focussed but in second gear.[/QUOTE]

Totally agree and that's what made it so humiliating for Arsenal...it was like Pep saying City could totally destroy them if they wanted to but it was far more fun just sitting on the 3-0 and watching them die slowly over the next 45 minutes....loved it

 

[Shadydan]

Apparently the played that was crying was Koscielney

 

[rossdapep]

True. But this league is unremitting and unforgiving. City, United and Chelsea can outspend them. We will be closing the financial gap with them penny by penny, once our stadium if finished, at which point we will have managerial and boardroom stability, a great young manager, a great young team, a better youth set-up, state-of-the-art training facilities and a bigger and better in every way stadium. Even the Mickeys have a better team than them. But they are geared up for CL qualification. That is five teams they have to try to hunt down, with only four CL places, and a squad that, for a number of reasons, is virtually moribund. They are going to have to hope that their managerial appointments are pretty flawless, that the huge influx of new players they will have to buy all stick, and that they can overhaul at least two of their rivals, all in a fairly short time. That is nothing to do with fan expectations, and everything to do with a club and stadium built for CL football. United have more money and have spent more, and it took them three managerial appointments and even now is not certain to succeed - and at the expense of alienating large swathes of their fan-base due to the attritional nature of the football. Schadenfreude aside, it will be really interesting viewing seeing where they go in the next five/ten years.

If say, and I'm being a little generous here, they bring in a new manager and it takes them a couple of years to fight their way back in, the likes of Aubemeyang, Mkhitaryan and Ozil will all be well over 30, which highlights the humongous rebuilding job they need to do in that time as these three are the only ones who would play for the other big 5, although that's questionable with their current attitude and lack of influence.

Any player who has that 'Sanchez' attitude, who is a winner and wants to fight for things will not choose le Arse over the other teams at the top, which means they need to strike it lucky with the players that they do obtain.

I remember every preseason during the 90s and 00s in which we brought in players who we believed to be the signing that would propel us into the elite only for these players to either flop or be out the door two season later because they realised the club wasn't going to match their ambitions as we meandered in mid-table going from one crisis to another.

A rebuilding job is not as easy as some of their fans seem to think. We had to change an entire mentality within the squad, which took Poch a couple of seasons. Get it wrong and they could fall further behind.

I hope they have a 20-year period where they can't get the managerial appointment right, their fans continue to become alienated, any good players they have demand to leave and the rest of the players they have continue to be gutless losers.

 

[Yid-ol]

Apparently the played that was crying was Koscielney

Probably thinks if Wenger goes, he wont get a game anymore.

 

[spursfan77]

Apparently the played that was crying was Koscielney

Makes sense.

 

[rossdapep]

The good news for Arsenal fans is that they have got what they wanted and really are in a league of their own.

Trouble is its meandering in mid table with them being 5 points ahead of Burnley and 12 points off 4th.

Pahhhh

 

[thelak]

This 100%. I was chatting to an arsenal fan and I said as much. I couldn’t believe they didn’t put a hard tackle in. No self respect. The arsenal fan also asked me if I felt that Pep had purposely made city sit back in the2nd half? He felt that out of respect to wenger Pep didn’t want City to properly pulverise them. Interesting idea but I asked him if that wasn’t more embarrassing? A team deciding not to go for the jugular and just pass between themselves was surely more depressing and humiliating than a 5-0??
As I’ve stated before I’m well happy that they are in decline, I hope it lasts for a long time and would love relegation but I can’t ever see that happening. One can dream though

So true - I still remember that post match interview with Dier a couple of years ago about wanting to change the perception that we are a soft touch. Lots of guys that play with pride now. Mason was talking about it today too about the culture when Poch joined.

Arsenal taken on that culture but the weird thing is it is under the same man that created the blueprint of toughness and flair and in pitch leaders his early sides that seems to have thrown it out of the window - when he did have winners like Sanchez he pandered to the softies in the team

That said for them this has been coming for a long time starting when players regularly were running contracts down and then moving to win things like Van Persie, all the guys that went to City etc. Weakened the culture of what it meant to play for the club.a lot

 

[thelak]

If say, and I'm being a little generous here, they bring in a new manager and it takes them a couple of years to fight their way back in, the likes of Aubemeyang, Mkhitaryan and Ozil will all be well over 30, which highlights the humongous rebuilding job they need to do in that time as these three are the only ones who would play for the other big 5, although that's questionable with their current attitude and lack of influence.

Any player who has that 'Sanchez' attitude, who is a winner and wants to fight for things will not choose le Arse over the other teams at the top, which means they need to strike it lucky with the players that they do obtain.

I remember every preseason during the 90s and 00s in which we brought in players who we believed to be the signing that would propel us into the elite only for these players to either flop or be out the door two season later because they realised the club wasn't going to match their ambitions as we meandered in mid-table going from one crisis to another.

A rebuilding job is not as easy as some of their fans seem to think. We had to change an entire mentality within the squad, which took Poch a couple of seasons. Get it wrong and they could fall further behind.

I hope they have a 20-year period where they can't get the managerial appointment right, their fans continue to become alienated, any good players they have demand to leave and the rest of the players they have continue to be gutless losers.

Plus they have no one bar Wilshire perhaps that has a real affinity to the club - that can instill the meaning and culture of the club they are playing for - without that they just become a side full of expensively assembled players unless they get a truly inspirational manager that brings it all together or are willing to sacrifice attacking football for organisation and discipline under a Benitez type of character

 

[jezz]

Who cares? there shit and I like it☺

 

[BehindEnemyLines]

Who cares? there shit and I like it☺

*They're

 

[Dougal]

*They're

Maybe he has located a turd that he likes, communicating it to us in a Tarzan like manner?

 

[riggi]

Apparently the played that was crying was Koscielney

His son asked him why they are no good.