From John Leake : Wenger on signings
The Spin Doctor says, with a straight face, to the club’s official website:
“We are in a situation like Manchester United, like Chelsea, where everybody expects signings and at the moment not a lot has happened.”
Not quite, Arsene.
The “situation” of Manchester United and Chelsea is that they have squads that won trophies last year and the season before, replete with players that used to win trophies for you.
From Darryl : OK Arsene, now you can ruin the rest of my year
Back from holiday, 8 kilos lighter than on May 15 and the most enjoyable summer I’ve ever had as an adult, I now contemplate the start of the season and already I can feel the blood pressure starting to rise.
Unlike many here, my frustration is founded on the fact that I think there is nearly enough talent at the club right now to found a title challenge on.
Szczesny (with a proper coach)
Sagna (with his head straight)
Jenkinson (better back up than all, better first choice than most)
Gibbs (if he stays fit)
Monreal
Koscielny (best CB in the Prem since Jan 1)
Arteta
Cazorla
Wilshere (more goals please)
Walcott (has a 30 goal season in him for me)
Podolski
Giroud
Oxlade-Chamberlain
Take out Van Persie and they are no less talented than their counterparts at Old Trafford. However their attitide is all wrong. It stems from having a manager who tells them 4th place is enough. As long as that is the case they’ll never win a thing.
If Arsene had his head in the right place, he’d have brought in 5 players to help the squad. I would not demand so-called ‘world class talent’, but smart players who are good fits for Arsenal. And would have negated the need for this celebrity charade of “trying” to sigh Luis Suarez.
A bad tempered, ill-mannered idiot with no sense of gratitude after people lost their jobs at Anfield supporting him after racially abusing Patrice Evra. Is that really what Arsenal want?
Have people forgotten that he’s banned for the first 6 games anyway?
Forget the superior spending power of Man City and Chelsea. It means squat all.
If you are a innovative, a good coach and man-manager you can overcome.
If you are an egotist and a coward, your team has no chance.
If he was managing Inter, they may have set his house on fire by now.
From Andy Hill : a letter to GNR
Dear Myles.
Sorry to hear that you are not a Gary Numan fan, although he\’s not everybody\’s cup of tea.
He happens to be the first rock/pop artist whose music I got into it, at the impressionable age of 11. But that was my sound, and to an extent still is: Tubeway Army, Ultravox, Depeche Mode, Japan. To this day, David Sylvian remains my favourite recording artist, although his music has come a long way since his sixth-form, art-pop days.
But that\’s not why I\’m writing – you don\’t have to like Gary Numan to read this site, unless it becomes the GNR. But then again, based on the mails you\’ve been posting all summer, it seems you don\’t really have to like Arsenal that much either.
Although I am a regular ANR reader, I\’ve been trying to avoid getting dragged down by it all. It\’s a bit samey. And I think most of us feel the same way. There is frustration and disillusionment. And, in my case, some nervousness.
I\’m nervous ahead of this season, Myles. More nervous than usual.
I remember a time of being excited, come mid-August. Even expectant. In a way I\’m happy that we have offloaded some of the excess baggage of the past few seasons, and I am also quite pleased that we have not bought – and seem unlikely to buy – Suarez.
Sure, we could use a 30-goal-a-season player, and he would get the crowd back on its feet, as you suggested. But he\’s not a Goona. He\’s not a player I want my kids to cheer. The same goes for Rooney.
But a few decent new players would be a statement of intent.
Fellaini or Higuain would have sent a good message to the fans, but we can now see that neither was ever likely. So what is the message to the fans?
And this is why I am nervous. Not from the predictable battle with our local rivals for 4th spot. Not the will we or won\’t we get through the last 16 of the Champions League? Not even the uncertainty that comes with being drawn against a lower-league side in the latter stages of the League Cup.
I\’m nervous about what the Arsenal experience is becoming.
Watching a weakened squad struggle against mid-table teams, knowing that there is money in the coffers. Spotting patches of empty seats around the stadium, despite the second-half announcement that it\’s yet another sell-out. Listening to my fellow supporters boo and jeer our team, or sing derogatory songs targeted at our own manager and board. All the time, wondering what my season ticket is actually funding.
You probably won\’t know this, Myles, but Gary Numan\’s first big hit was a double-A side.
The record company thought that Are Friends Electric was too long for radio, so they released it with the shorter, catchier Me, I Disconnect From You.
If Arsenal choose to adopt a Gary Numan song to blare out on their excruciatingly annoying PA system this season, I cannot think of a more appropriate song than Me, I Disconnect From You.
From Jeffrey :correction
Regarding “From Robin : Wenger’s Champions League record” Juventus has been to three finals with one win and Borussia Dortmund has been to 2 finals with one win.
The problem with Arsenal, as I see it, is that somebody is lying somewhere.
It is clear that Wenger has been telling us lies. What about the Board?
Is the Board and the majority owner so weak that they are afraid of Wenger. Something is amiss, but know one knows because no one is talking.
The fact of the mater as one of your reader posted recently is that Wenger has failed to realized that the game has moved ahead of him. Gone are the days when you can get good players on the cheap. Wenger is cheap and so is Silent Stan.
Today, even average players start at 20 million, much less quality ones. And because Wenger does not want to spend money he has to buy 3rd and 4th tier players hoping that he can turn them into gold.
But that will not win you any trophy because the rich clubs are buying the best players.
So because we have 4th tier players we are going to always come fourth in the EPl and get to the quarter final stages in he champions league and then get knockout.
The main point is that the club is broken, but the Board and the owners lacking ambition do not seem to care.
Thanks for your insight Myles. I have disagreed with you in the past, but I have come to see the wisdom of your words that Wenger is a developmental manager and thus he needs to be demoted to the youth set-up.
