IN ARSENE We ....... ??

Every Arsenal fan is pleased (and/or relieved) that the team has been settling down much better and has earned a successful run of results. This after a disastrous first few weeks which left us near bottom of the league !

We are now getting some rather silly articles, comments and jibes about ... how could you ever have criticised the great man, Arsene ? 

Don’t you doubters feel guilty ?   And should you not apologise for wanting him to be sacked ?

In the first place it was a minority of fans who ever wanted Wenger to leave. There were many disenchanted gooners, there was the Arsenal Supporters Trust and (for what it is worth)  there was me .... NOT wanting Arsene to GO but -  wanting him to CHANGE !!

Well I doubt if he has changed. I think the team had to be changed and the new composition of players has addressed some (but not all) areas of complaint.

What has recently changed ie. improved ?

• We have at last a better mix of naive youth and street wise experience. NOT because AW changed but because the long term youth policy at all costs lies in tatters.  We can’t buy that player in case it hampers the development of this youngster. AW is very loyal but too loyal. The young stars have been leaving and will continue when ready to do so.
• We have at last ceased passing passing passing ... and don’t you dare shoot. NOT because AW has changed but because we can no longer dominate possession. At least we now pass to try to get somewhere.
• We have at last forsaken attack attack attack ... even when we need to close the game out.  NOT because AW has changed but because the experienced players (eg. Arteta) brought in know how to manage a match and calm things down.

And what has seemingly not changed ?

• We still seem to approach transfers like cheapskates. Better a cheap player than a good player. Regarding Mertesecker I recall warnings from those who knew ... like  ... did we realise what we were buying ?   Like Mertesecker has been slow and error prone for some time in the German League.  He isn’t rated any more. I say we should have paid up for Cahill – or Samba. True enough, time will tell.
• AW refuses to buy an outfield player who is 30 plus .. or offer allow a 2 year contract to an existing player.  For an obviously intelligent man this is very silly – and you’ve got it .... obstinate. Pires could have played for a couple more years. Barring injury, Parker will be terrific for Spurs for the next 4 - 5 years. 
• And another thing ... we still don’t do tactics ?   AW decides how we ALWAYS play, why we never change formation ... and which players are 1^st choice.  And that’s it.  Doesn’t matter about the opposition, their strengths and weaknesses.  We don’t change, we let other teams worry about us (!) How arrogant is that. Take it seriously when those who have played under AW declare ... he is a great Manager (I think they mean Director of Football) but NO COACH. Why would they make that up ?
• AW seems to be set on fielding both Walcott and Gervinho. I suggest that can be a mistake and we should be more flexible. It may be claimed we are playing 4/5/1. But against (say) B. Dortmund we were effectively 4/3/3. It is a gamble playing two fast, exciting, erratic wingers who may do damage but often lose the ball and don’t forage back for it.  Result ... our midfield was over run and we arguably won due to a remarkable individual move by Song. It could have gone either way.
• [I would have mortgaged my house on AW leaving it till the 70^th minute before subbing Gervinho (who had a mare on the night)  with Benayoun .... who is both skilful AND hard working.]  

And what can never be changed because it’s too bloody late ?

• Every Arsenal fan in the whole world wanted an experienced goalkeeper pre season 2010/11. We would not pay up for one. Eventually we picked Sczeszny and good luck to the young man. But by then goalkeeping had already lost us a lot of points.
• Every Arsenal fan wanted a big central defender pre season 2010/11. Ok we were unlucky with Vermaelen being injured. But it took a long time to accept that Squillaci and Djourou are not up to it. This again cost us dearly.
• Then there was the cock up in refusing to accept that Fabregas and Nasri were going to leave. So we bought new players in the last 36 hours ... when the season was already 2 weeks old.  No wonder we started so badly - and are unlikely to make up the lost ground. Whose fault that was is hidden in the murky corridors of Arsenal HQ.  If anyone knows ..... please let me in on the secret. 

None of the above means we are anti Arsenal. We are all overjoyed at the turn around ... which we hope and pray bears fruit.  What it does mean is that many of us appreciate Arsene’s shortcomings and are not prepared to pretend they suddenly don’t exist.   

FENTIGER

Comments

[Vishal]

Looks to me, you think you know better than Arsene. Crap !!

[037]

I don't understand why some people think we still needed to buy Parker in the last window??
Spend 10m on a player who is over 30 and only has a year left in the contract. Arteta was a much better fit, and we got him.
Do you want to buy of them? It was hard enough getting Arteta to gel in the Arsenal style of play. Now what would happen if you had 2 new players in the midfield? Plus, who would he replace? Ramsey? We would have 3 defensive-minded midfielders then.

And you still want Samba and Cahill instead of Per?? Samba is just as slow. Per reads the game better than the 2 defenders.
We should not be deluded by seeing defenders play decently in mediocre sides. You were probably criticizing the decision to buy Koz as well last season. If Koz played in Wolves, you'd probably say he's the best defender in the world!!

Just admit that Wenger got things right this time.

[d]

I just think our fans didn't give Wenger the backing he deserves. Yes the team had been performing poorly and yes wenger seemmingly didnt address the obvious short comings of the team that appeared obvious. For me its because he knew he had the personnel to step in if not immediately then very soon. As a strong manager you must always stick to what you beleive in and not be swayed by disenchanted fans or media hype who often suggest things without much specialist thought or perception and in any event I think Wenger would be best placed to manage the club as he has done for many years. The fact that he is frugal and not frivulous with spending money on signings for me should be worshiped and celebrated - not frowned upon as most Wenger critics seem to do. Anyway thank god Wenger views Arsenal the club of his life because many other great managers would have walked by now..... In Wenger I trust.

[Spencer]

Dear Desk Top Manager

On hind sight, you ideas sound perfect. So can you comment on what happen to MU, Chelsea and Man City??? Plenty to funds to pruchase, bought early etc of what you mentioned above. So what really happened?

[Barton]

I doubted Wenger in pre and early season but I disagree with your report;

''NOT because AW has changed but because the experienced players (eg. Arteta) brought in know how to manage a match and calm things down.'' - Wenger spoke about adding this to our game prior to signing Arteta.

''Like Mertesecker has been slow and error prone for some time in the German League. He isn’t rated any more. I say we should have paid up for Cahill – or Samba.'' Mertesecker is slow, you can't deny that however I this he is settling well and adds a calming influence to our defence, he is also good at defending high balls from both the wing and from central positions. Cahill & Samba are now both playing in teams in the bottom 3 teams to which they are contributing.

I think Sczeszny and more so Walcott have been fantastic so far this season, Walcott has covered his wing and contributed to RVP's goalscoring, in Sczeszny we have a marshal between the sticks, sooner him than De Geh or Cech on current form.

AW is dammed if he does, dammed if he doesn't as this article confirms.

[Jenky]

What a ridiculous post!! You sir don't have a clue.

[Freddie]

I'm a huge believer that Wenger knows best; but i'm not going to talk about that.
How can you be so quick to judge a player like Mertesacker? CB, especially for someone who isn't blessed with pace, is a very hard position to settle into in the PL. Koscielny struggled at first but look at him now. An extremely versatile player who is doing an excellent job at Right Back in the absence of Jenko and Sagna, who has become solid in defence and a real fighter. All the players have come out and said how much Mertesacker has helped them become more organised. Find me a player who hasn't made mistakes: Messi, Ronaldo, Henry, Bergkamp...They've ALL cocked up from time to time. Stop being so ignorant towards players. Things take time: use our revival as an example. In Wenger we trust.

[Mash]

Crap of an article .... taken from the 2010 / 2011 edition of all the good Arsenal blogs and a conclusion is added in last 2 lines ... full of trash .....

[mlck]

Arrogant twaddle from a self centrered know it all, you just cannot get out of the habit of constantly picking holes. You have to take the good with the bad in football managers, as in life. You either support Arsene and the team or you don't and you patently don't.

[Phoenix]

AW most definitely has turned the tides around with his latest summer signings. Though Fab and Nasri could have been sold earlier, the deadline day signings have been splendid in getting arsenals season back on track so far this season.Its obviously evident in the Champions League where Arsenal are the only English team performing strongly in quite a tricky group.Arteta has added invaluable experience in the centre of the park.Mertesacker and andre santos have been performing well for their first season in arguably the most most difficult league.The one thing that AW could change a bit though would be the formation. It is true that Arsenal play the similar formation consistently.Last season AW stuck with a solid 4-2-3-1 formation which worked excellently for 90% of the games.However, there has been instances where the formation could be changed depending on the quality of the opposition.The most appreciable thing about AW has been his courage in sticking with the policy of not spending heavily.Major clubs like Chelsea,Manchester City have invested millions into their squad to bring them to the top.Arsenal have always stuck to their philosophy and have developed world class players time and time again rather than investing heavily.Despite being criticized often for not spending enough, the fact that Arsenal have never once failed to qualify for the Champions League speaks volumes about Arsene Wengers quality as a manager and his ability to spot and develop talent.All in all, AW has been massive to the club and they can ill afford to lose one of the greatest managers in the history of the game any time soon.