Official Gooners Thread - A New Hope

[quit yo jibbajabba]

Mesut knows his stuff...


Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil: Samuel L. Jackson: he doesn't only know a lot about good movies, but he also supports the best football team!

You sure that's not the other one, fishburne

[tyroneman]

Half a Dortmund team have 15 shots, 4 on target, 7 corners and 1 goal......in the first half. 

Arsenal... 2 shots.... That's it.

No DMF presence. No defensive nous. No threat up front.

But sure ..... Wenger knows what he's doing.....and we aren't allowed to be upset, or criticise him, just accept the same aul sh!te every year.

[tyroneman]

Hopefully he reads this and sorts it out at HT....

[sensethetone]

Hopefully he reads this and sorts it out at HT....

like

[ONeill]

Dung

[tyroneman]

Ok. At which point does Arsenal cut their losses with Wenger.

They won't win the EPL and they won't win the CL this year again.

It's clear to everyone they needed a world class striker, not Wellbeck.

They needed world class defenders, not Chambers.

They needed a world class DFM, not Sanchez.

Chelsea needed a striker....they bought Costa. They needed creativity in midfield. They bought Fabregas.

Chalk and cheese.

[ONeill]

What bugs me is the blind spot in defence or defensive mid.

[mrdeeds]

Lads the DM or defence is not the problem. Away from home or against the big teams Wenger never changes his tactics. Full backs should be more cautious in these games. It's the system that's the problem. Only so much our centre halves and defensive midfielders can do when they only one at home when the counter is on. When we in opposition half both full backs advanced regardless of what side of the pitch the ball is. The system is terrible and Wenger never takes the opposition into account. Too stubborn. Arteta not top class but to level all blame at him is harsh.

[tyroneman]

I agree - Wenger is tactically inept when playing big teams and has been for years.

He has no idea how to sit tight when away from home or playing a technically superior side. Neither does he possess a plan b.

He seems to have been obsessed by recreating the pretty 1 touch passing of Pep's Barca, but has missed the fact that they actually work their b*llocks of to regain possession, not jog around the pitch at half speed (Souness was spot on when he said Wilshire actually runs faster with the ball than without, as he seems to have little to no work ethic when not in possession and going forward)

However it's crazy to think the lack of defence and DMF is not an issue. Not the ONLY issue , granted but certainly a huge factor.

Issues that could have been fixed at any stage over the past 5 years.

The maddening thing is he once upon a time seemed to 'get' it - solid defenders (albeit mainly inherited) 2 x 6 ft DMF players, speedy DIRECT wingers and strikers who could take chances. All with a serious work ethic.

[laoislad]

Those Arsenal jerseys are ridiculous.

[ONeill]

I agree - Wenger is tactically inept when playing big teams and has been for years.

He has no idea how to sit tight when away from home or playing a technically superior side. Neither does he possess a plan b.

He seems to have been obsessed by recreating the pretty 1 touch passing of Pep's Barca, but has missed the fact that they actually work their b*llocks of to regain possession, not jog around the pitch at half speed (Souness was spot on when he said Wilshire actually runs faster with the ball than without, as he seems to have little to no work ethic when not in possession and going forward)

However it's crazy to think the lack of defence and DMF is not an issue. Not the ONLY issue , granted but certainly a huge factor.

Issues that could have been fixed at any stage over the past 5 years.

The maddening thing is he once upon a time seemed to 'get' it - solid defenders (albeit mainly inherited) 2 x 6 ft DMF players, speedy DIRECT wingers and strikers who could take chances. All with a serious work ethic.

The 04 side was his. Lehmann - Cole, Campbell, Toure and Lauren. Then Vieira and Gilberto. They were aggressive ball winners.

Since then a litany of shite mostly has replaced it. The amount of unforced errors per game is killing Arsenal. It seems that if Ozil or Wilshere lose the ball it's a goal chance at the other end. They rarely atone for their errors by tracking back. Arsenal on the back foot are bottom half of the league standard.

[mrdeeds]

Joseph Yobo and others being linked now. Panic stations already. Debuchey potentially needs operation.

[mrdeeds]

Quick question. Anyone here ever watch game in Mercantile with Arsenal supporters club?

[ONeill]

That was a nice way to recover from the Dortmund mauling - playing a team riddled with sickness.

The second half was a training session.

[Gaffer]

Any silver members from the wee North on this thread?