This has nothing to do with fandom. Arsenal fans, myself included, probably criticize Wenger and our team more than anyone. This is about intellectual honesty. The quote I responded to didn't discuss the team. It said "their squad is piss poor for a CL qualified side." Arsenal fans are aware of how our team is performing. Within the Arsenal community, people lose their minds after every loss. That, or just abject apathy. It's actually really sad, because we all feel it. It's hard to argue that we're doing well
The Stan Kroenke problem and why it will probably get worse - Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog Sums it up.
Calling Arsenal's squad "piss poor" is dishonest. We can discuss Arsenal's shortcomings, of which there are many, but the squad itself cannot be defined as "piss poor."
I love Arsenal, they're so funny. Wenger forever! Basically Arsenal formed a strategy many moons ago, a strategy that was supposed to give them a financial advantage down the road. That sounded good on paper, but sadly for them, it was all built on sand. Wenger failed to predict rich owners buying clubs and pumping in billions. Wenger failed to predict TV monies that now means the team finishing bottom of the league earns more than CL winners get from the competition, and as we move forward will flatten out the quality disparities that exist. Wenger failed to predict transfer fee's would climb and climb and climb. As such, their strategy, and Wenger himself, looks hopelessly out of touch. Arsenal fans are still left waiting for the day this financial windfall will come, and earn them an advantage (HINT: It's NEVER coming). Arsenal are no longer the number 1 choice of players wanting to come play in London (let alone the PL). Arsenal's history of "developing youth" looks silly and inadequate. And finally - Wenger has turned into stone, a dinosaur that the club doesn't seem to know what to do with (HINT: If Arsenal want success on the field they need to get rid). Finishing in the top four, but not top, is meaningless in every way except financially. Getting into the CL and never winning it, and rarely truly even getting far in the knock-out phase, is a crazy waste of resource when you're basically doing nothing much in the league. Being 5 points off the top after two games might seem nit-picking and crazy to worry about now - but come season end we'll see it matters quite a lot, actually. Arsenal's injury record with key players is horrendous. Why? Arsenal are priceless, they really are. Long may it continue.
Kroenke is unambitious, but the biggest problem I have with directly blaming him is Wenger defends him and the board's decisions anyway, I can't see any other reason than that he's satstified/happy with the conditions he got as manager of this football club (Get's a nice pay for that too), maybe Wenger is a gentleman in principle but why would be loyal to a group who've done nothing for him? His loyalty should be to the people he owes his current career too, Dein (Who bought him here) and the fans (Who backed him, and despite all this shite about entitlement, I'm confident every other big club would of sacked him, something Wenger doesn't mention when he goes on about Madrid). If Wenger came out saying the board is holding him back I have no doubt in my mind fans despite his faults would 100% back him and focus their discontent at the board.
I dont recall calling Arsenals squad piss poor, ever. I said I thought Wenger had done a good job over the years and that some were jealous of there PL involvement every year. Thats why the derogatory remarks.
Wrong. He predicted a future, and got it wildly wrong. He imagined, along with the club, that decisions they were making were building toward an advantage that was never going to happen. Hence, by the time this predicted advantage should have arrived, it's nothing but hot air. As far as modeling the future goes, Wenger has basically never gotten it right. So Arsenal sit in mediocrity - which for a team with pretensions to win the PL and a CL besides, is sitting in the same place, and suggesting things will be better next season when it never is. Here's a recent quote to illustrate: Now, some might think he's spot on. But he isn't, as usual he's sitting in an ivory tower getting everything backward. Man U will out-perform Arsenal because they have not whined about the market, they've gotten on with it. Same with City (my prediction is that Man U will win the PL, City second). Instead, this quote is a statement from a sea captain standing on the sea wall watching bigger and better boats go out before him because they invested in engines while Wenger stuck with oars because the price of oil was going up. In the mean time, no players will get stuck because of high wages (don't believe me? Time will tell). And yes, big stars want more wages. What world, exactly, is Wenger living in? And what are Arsenal fans paying more for? Ho hum - for a non-Arsenal fan, it's all good news.
I'd completely agree with you if you'd criticised his inability to adapt to the changing environment of football but you're digging someone out for not predicting the future properly. I didn't realise Arsene Wenger was supposed to look into the future.
So youre picking out 7 players, one of which is injured (the arsenal injured squad excuse meme) and i dont know why you mentioned Bellerin.... There are players there like Oxlade-Chamberlin and Walcott who probably wouldnt even get into Liverpool's xi yet goons seem to think theyre brilliant. Giroud is a lump. You always end up with a seasonal collapse and its always "muh injuries" or "le market is against us". Your defense is STILL weak, you haven't got a decent established RW and this is Xhaka's first prem season. I honestly dont know what youd do when your annual injuries kick in and have to play a midfield two of ox and cazorla or whatever daft idea Wenger has.
The Arsenal defence isn't weak....A super keeper, one of the best CBs in the prem and 2 good options to partner him in Mertesacker and Mustafi. Paulista to back them up and Holding looking like a good player. Bellerin is now one of the best right backs in England. Silly post really
With only 72 points it was a poor league last season. In this season where most teams have strengthened, 72 points would probably get you 4th or 5th. We didn't seriously compete for the title, we were top a few times but kept dropping points to small teams.
