Corey Kenny
There are very few moments in my life that I get as frustrated as I do when watching Arsenal. Watching them on a blurry stream against Norwich, one thing was crystal clear - we just aren't good enough. As harsh and abrupt as it sounds, any team that concedes three goals at home to Norwich at the most critical part of a Premier League campaign deserves nothing less than a hammering. Arsène Wenger needs to tell them that their performance was unacceptable. FYI, Arsène throwing a water bottle at the ground does not qualify as a telling off.
The question I'm asking you is, would you take fifth place this year and get third place along with the F.A Cup next year? It's an interesting proposal. Obviously, some would ask why can't we take third now and get it next year with the Cup? My answer to that question is that we've been attempting to do that for seven years now, and the latter has constantly failed to deliver. So would we trade our reputation as the team who always reaches the Champions League just so we can finally put that hoodoo to bed? Finally acquiring a cup would be great to put in the E******s trophy cabinet, and would at long last shut the scum up about their heroic Carling Cup win, when they triumphed against all the odds to add to their illustrious history.
The game against Norwich was a series of defensive calamities. Tony Adams would be cringing at that back four every time he watches. Contradictorily, I am a big admirer of Koscielny and Vermaelen, so I don't have a problem in that area (that is, when they're both fit). I don't know what went wrong against Norwich. However, one thing I do know is that it's only the second time Norwich have scored more than two goals away from home, in all competitions this year.
Arsenal need to start standing up and helping themselves. Any team that does what Arsenal did today doesn't deserve anything given to them. There is no point droning on and on about how we need a CB or LB or whatever you individually think we need, because Wenger will do what he wants in the transfer-window, not what needs to be done. I am in full support of Wenger, but there must be a change transfer-wise. Podolski is arguably one of the best signings he has made; a fully-fledged international and a goal-ratio anybody would be proud of make £10 million a snip.
That solves our reliability on the van Persie problem - that is, if we blindly assume that RVP will dedicate himself to a side that lets his hard work go to complete waste time and time again. But we are in desperate need of another commanding centre-half and midfield powerhouse, and if Newcastle don't make the Champions League, we have got to go for Tiote. I rate him as the best holding midfielder in the Premier League right now. No, I don't include Yaya Toure as a holding midfielder.
We need a centre-back simply because Djourou is shocking and Mertesacker is the nicest 6ft 6 bloke in the world. With these two additions, we can really challenge for things next year and finally put an end to the trophy drought that has put us on par with Spurs.
