Official Gooners Thread - A New Hope

[tyroneman]

Arsenal displaying plenty of their famed 'character' and mental strength again tonight.

Could Wenger have lost the dressing room as they look clueless?

[The Stallion]

Getting beat would be the best possible result for Arsenal. The FA Cup is a complete irrelevance. They'd be better off concentrating on Europe and the League.

[tyroneman]

Getting beat would be the best possible result for Arsenal. The FA Cup is a complete irrelevance. They'd be better off concentrating on Europe and the League.

Not even if they could pick their own fixtures, times and locations to give them maximum rest and recuperation will Arsenal win the CL under Wenger.

Giroud papers over this weeks cracks.

[Syferus]

Wenger has never really been Arsenal's problem. It's a pity he's the lazyman's way of criticising Arsenal. Keeping Sanchez and Ozil is much more important to Arsenal right now than winning the title, CL or buying a striker.

[tyroneman]

Wenger has never really been Arsenal's problem. It's a pity he's the lazyman's way of criticising Arsenal. Keeping Sanchez and Ozil is much more important to Arsenal right now than winning the title, CL or buying a striker.

Wenger decides who, when and if Arsenal buy players, when to let them go, when to give them second, third, fourth and fifth chances. He coaches them each week, decides on a style of play and tactics for each match, is supposed to motivate them and is, crucially, responsible for in game tactical adjustments and substitutions.

He has been regularly out-thought for years by the top 4 teams in any given season and has reached 1 CL final out of 20 attempts. No other manager of a team Arsenals size and (alleged) ambition would go 5 years with no league/CL never mind over a decade without being sacked

Keeping Ozil (maybe) and Sanchez (highly unlikely) will mean nothing if he continues to surround them with mediocrity like Ramsey, Ox, Iwobi, Giroud, Elneny, Gabriel, Coquelin, Walcott etc etc

On the evidence so far Xhaka and Perez are not in the required class either, although a second season judgement would be fairer.

So I'm curious......how is Wenger not Arsenals main problem when he has almost total control of the footballing side of the club?

[mrdeeds]

Perez actually looks quality when gets a chance. Can't understand his treatment of Joel Campbell plus not having a recall option on Jack.

[ONeill]

Quality might be a strong word. He definitely has a brain, unlike the English contingent, which makes him stand out a bit. Somewhat like Podolski - smart but late in the career.

A plus I suppose is the return of Welbeck.

[Puckoon]

Hard to tell what to make of Sanchez at the minute. Body language has been rotten for the last half dozen games. Even when we're winning and he's scored. Noticed there wasn't a rush of players to congratulate his goal today (fair enough it was #4), but his reaction to being subbed to make way for his team mate who needs game time when the game is already in the bag doesn't sit well. He could be starting to polarize the team.

Take the money and run?

[tiempo]

Hard to tell what to make of Sanchez at the minute. Body language has been rotten for the last half dozen games. Even when we're winning and he's scored. Noticed there wasn't a rush of players to congratulate his goal today (fair enough it was #4), but his reaction to being subbed to make way for his team mate who needs game time when the game is already in the bag doesn't sit well. He could be starting to polarize the team.

Take the money and run?

Out
Wenger
Ozil
Sanchez

In
Simeone
Gotze
Griezmann

[ONeill]

Hard to tell what to make of Sanchez at the minute. Body language has been rotten for the last half dozen games. Even when we're winning and he's scored. Noticed there wasn't a rush of players to congratulate his goal today (fair enough it was #4), but his reaction to being subbed to make way for his team mate who needs game time when the game is already in the bag doesn't sit well. He could be starting to polarize the team.

Take the money and run?

Weird one that. I like players who hate being subbed. But a freezing day in Wales when 4-0 up? Really odd reaction I thought.

[Puckoon]

He's been at it for a while now. Every stray pass, every time another player doesn't play him
The ball (even low probability balls) but finds another Arsenal
Player the hands and arms are waving around like a petulant child.

[Main Street]

Strange that it hasn't been mentioned here  but congratulation to Ozil who won the best German player of the year yet again, 5th time in 6 years. That's a truly remarkable achievement considering the competition.

[Syferus]

Ozil seems very keen on Wenger. Will probably want Wenger to commit to a new contract himself before making his call. Arsenal should just STFU and pay Sanchez and Ozil what they're worth.

[Main Street]

The financial worth of a player is a flexible concept these day and Arsenal hold steadfast to higher values
Arsenal use to be almost perennial crap achievers before Wenger came and raised the bar consistently to previously unknown dizzy heights.
I think Brady and Stapleton only have one FA cup medal to show for all their best years there before they both had to move on to bigger clubs. Brady's unworldly superb performance in the away leg of the European CWC sf v Juve 1980 was his ticket out of the bare Arsenal dungeons.

[mrdeeds]

Graham did deliver two leagues. One with one defeat all season. Also a European competition and a domestic cup double so there was success before Wenger. There was a period of average results before Graham all right.