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1. hastybananas

   Jan 06, 2014, 15:46 #43773

   Wenger Out!

2. Quiet Gooner

   Jan 05, 2014, 23:13 #43745

   IF ONLY Wenger saw Suarez's real value. COYG

3. ClaudeIvan

   Jan 05, 2014, 13:30 #43690

   World class strikers don't change clubs in January. Lusting after Diego Costa is a pipe dream. He is playing in a title chasing team, that also has a decent shot at the Champions League trophy. He cannot play for Arsenal in the Champions League if he changes clubs. Whoever come in needs to adapt right way, which would rule out a foreign league signing. The only solution available to us is an existing premier league solution -- a Demba Ba or a Loic Remy. Neither will happen. The time to buy a striker was the summer. Well done getting Ozil, but we screwed upon signing a striker. Scrambling round on deadline day for Ba on loan was not good management.

4. Westlower

   Jan 05, 2014, 7:09 #43657

   Serge Gnabry is the new Rocky Rocastle? Anyone agree?

5. Peeroo

   Jan 05, 2014, 4:30 #43656

   You can always rely on this website to bring you 'realistic' rants and back to the ground stuff even after winning the north London Derby

6. BADARSE

   Jan 04, 2014, 22:07 #43654

   Tottenham defied physics-they were a shadow of a shadow!

7. Born Gooner

   Jan 04, 2014, 22:05 #43653

   @Finsbury Joe: "Anyone else get a nagging feeling Arsenals trophy chase will in effect be over after this weekend? Looking around I see a lot of understandable fear on arsenal forums" We're enjoying the mashed spuds mate, you get stuck into your humble pie!!

8. Rocky RIP

   Jan 04, 2014, 21:47 #43652

   @Enfield Eric - Not much happening at his club this season(again), so he comes on here and traduces our beloved club with all his best moves. Quite amusing that someone would take the time really. He just plays into our hands and is seen off week after week. It's quite flattering. I'd find a site full of that lot's nasal musings utterly repellent. 'We'll definitely finish above Arsenal this season' 'Is Naser Chadli the final piece in the jigsaw? etc'

9. Enfield Eric

   Jan 04, 2014, 21:30 #43651

   Has Finsbury Joe been sticking his big nose into our affairs again?!

10. Rocky RIP

    Jan 04, 2014, 21:16 #43650

    Does hell hath no fury like a Gooner scorned? I'd say that lot from the cesspit are a far more vile, angry, bitter bunch. Ask Sol Campbell. Ask Theo. Ask Finsbury Joe. Was that you in the flat cap throwing coins FJ? Wenger out, Moyes in.

11. GaryFootscrayAustralia

    Jan 04, 2014, 21:03 #43649

    Dear dear, Finsbury Joe, is this the start of a negative spiral? Absolutely hilarious to hear red - faced spluttering Spurs fans shouting at radio stations about Theo reminding them the score. They should have made a gold coin donation instead to Theo's charity of choice, just like the mugs in the away end did when he was stretchered off.

12. Ron

    Jan 04, 2014, 20:28 #43648

    Westie - Ha ha . Love it mate. Ecstatic to be proved wrong with my forecast here. Thought the spuds wd want it more. What garbage they are. Gnabry - M.O.M. Dread to think what the state of the toilets are like down the away end though!

13. BADARSE

    Jan 04, 2014, 20:27 #43647

    Let me firstly say I thought Theo was superb today. I was genuinely impressed-let's hope his knee ligament is just a tweak, by his behaviour leaving the pitch I think it might be, so only a week or two out? westlower called it right again, Gnabry will get a full cap sometime soon; he is a £15 million man already. My little Mozart again stunned me with his involvement and vision, and I have never seen Santi work so hard! In control from first to last whistle...how often in my life have I heard(and said), 'A class apart!' Well done Arsenal, oh, and lads, Arsene stitched up Sherwood in the tactical stakes, er, a class apart, anyone?

14. Westlower

    Jan 04, 2014, 20:09 #43646

    Serge Gnabry, future German International, another star product from Project Youth. No replay required an added bonus, especially with Man City having to go again. They have to play a minimum 6 more games,7 if they win FA Cup replay in January before they play Chelsea on Feb 1st. AFC have only 4 games to play in Jan before we play Palace at home on Feb 2nd. Great opportunity to go clear in the league. Come on you rip snorting, goal scoring, title chasing, FA Cup chasing, Theo gesturing, Finsbury Joe chasing Gunners!!

15. Peter Wain

    Jan 04, 2014, 19:35 #43645

    dont care who we buy we beat the scum 2-0. They were awful Erickson Soldardo total rubbish Adebayor back to his brilliant worst. And the toad who is their manager showed tactically he has a lot to learn lets hope he doesnt.

16. BADARSE

    Jan 04, 2014, 15:39 #43644

    Hi westlower, seems Man City may also regard Blackburn as a kind of cup nemesis too. One unwanted replay coming up!

17. CT Gooner

    Jan 04, 2014, 14:37 #43643

    Nice one Rocky. We need to strengthen, in my view we need a proper striker, one that could get a game at city! I'm sure no one will argue that ours are no where near that standard. I'd also like to see aQuality wide player. Podolski's return is great, but sticking rosicky or Santi out wide just adds more congestion to the middle of the park.

18. Westlower

    Jan 04, 2014, 13:48 #43642

    Ron, I agree UK football needs a radical overhaul too many chiefs trying to be big fish in little ponds. The game has moved on beyond their intelligence. Whether we like it or not the big money has been invested in PL & CL. The LC & FA Cup have been consigned to the history waste bin. The media try and convince us the fans love the FA Cup, but have you seen all the empty seats? Where do the victorious passionate fans go after their great day out at Wembley? They certainly don't return for the bread and butter league games. Don't know if you're aware but Hendrix is on Sky Arts channel 129 from 3.05, Uncut Story followed by Live at Isle of Wight at 4.05.

19. Ron

    Jan 04, 2014, 12:42 #43641

    Westie - yes. Sound suggestion re league Cup. Like everything else in this Country though, the organisational division ie the 70 odd Football League and the FA plus the Premier League would all fall out over it. In fact even over giving the CL the option of withdrawal from the CC would cause a gargantuan dog fight lasting years. The FA (especially them) and the FL are just hanging in there for whats left ogf their role in football admin as it is and what they do still have, they guard like demon eyed monsters! The FA and the PL would love for those Clubs to be able to pull out im sure, while the FL would argue against it in support of the smaller Clubs funds prospects and chances of glory of their own.Personally, i feel that the CL is the nub of the problem as UEFA have spawned its expansion, needlessly in my view, to make it the flawed, falsehood that it is now, but the money from it vis the other domestics now makes change there impossible and with no support from the top Clubs for it. CL expansion is as much the creature of the likes of Platini et al wanting to spread their influence, fiefdoms and kingdoms etc as much as any footballing reason but there we have it Westie dont we.

20. Bard

    Jan 04, 2014, 12:40 #43640

    Ron youre analysis of Wenger was excellent. There's a confusion on this site about him to my mind. I dont hate him or dislike him and I respect what he did for the club but he should have gone a while ago as you suggest. He's been no more than a safe pair of hands for years now. If all we aspire to be is an Everton or a Tottenham then let the club be clear about it. My understanding was that the move to the Emirates was so we could compete with the best, ditto the sky high prices. This is why the transfer window is so critical. If we bottle it which I frankly wouldnt bet against then it sends a clear message to us fans that the club have no intention of competing with bigger boys and the limit of our ambition is mediocrity. If thats what you want from the club then Wenger in his current incarnation is your man.

21. Westlower

    Jan 04, 2014, 12:06 #43639

    Ron, I'd make it compulsory that teams playing in the CL are not allowed to play in League Cup. I agree with you that any knock out competition should be decided on the day, replays just nuts up a clubs involvement in other areas. Man City's involvement in all competitions may yet be their achilles heel. Be great if they play their neighbours in LC final and knock nine bells out of each other.

22. Ron

    Jan 04, 2014, 11:37 #43638

    Westie - Lest hope we 'put it in' v the spuds. Nothing worse than a loss to that bloody awful club and even worse supporters is there. Thats a ground breaker then mate ie Pardew saying something that makes sense! Wont make his face any the less punchable though!On the replay front, they could do away with them possibly. its in the spirit of straight knock out to run a 'golden goal 15 min' at end of match or even use pens ie mandatory or at the option of the Clubs do you think? On a more grander scale, theres a case to make the Carling Cup or whatever it is now optionable ie in or out for Clubs in Europe? Compromising that Cup would assist greatly in preserving the integrity of the FAC as i see it.

23. Westlower

    Jan 04, 2014, 10:07 #43637

    Great suggestion by Alan Pardew that there should be a 2/3 week break from the PL games in January when the FA Cup 3rd and 4th rounds + replays should be played. It would also give managers eg. Paul Lambert & co, a chance to rest key players or players carrying injuries can be freshened up in readiness for the resumption of the PL fixtures. It would be a good natural winter break while leaving the popular boxing day & New Years day games in tact. At least AFC have a clear run into today's game but fixture complications occur should the game be drawn. The fixture congestion problem compounds for any PL/CL team playing beyond the FA Cup 4th round. I hope I'm not tempting fate by saying the omens for today are good, as Spurs have only one win from their previous 24 visits to AFC.

24. Chris

    Jan 04, 2014, 9:50 #43636

    Ron - The Citeh game was timed even worse from our perspective! Re OT - I wasn't there but you are talking about a team that had just become the first English team to win at Dortmund with a really good performance. I hardly think they were likely to be suffering from an inferiority complex against a struggling Manure. Yes Utd were very beatable that day - it wouldn't have taken very much for us to get something there despite a massive Utd effort and RVP's very lucky off-the-shoulder goal that the BFG would have prevented. We had an understandable off-day given illness and big efforts against Liverpool and Dortmund and Utd played beyond their means and scraped a victory. How many times have we been able to say something like that in recent years? On another day, we'd probably have had them.

25. Ron

    Jan 04, 2014, 9:37 #43635

    Morning Westie - True. There is a case for saying that Wengers greatest achievement has been to do whats been done since the groundshift. It doesn't however make the case for saying that his tenure should be extended. To do so would be for a hard nosed Board to do exactly what youre saying that they never do. As big corporations grow, they frequently outgrow their Chairmen and Cheif Execs and also recognise the need for fresh impetus and new momentum which is why the shelf life of men at the top isnt very long and moreover such men who are displaced are still top performers when theyre shunted aside. Wenger isnt such a performer now and the next level at Arsenal wont be found with him at the helm. Hes actually been kept at Arsenal by sentiment already in my view for a period of 2.5 years ie since the 8-2 mauling at OT, so your assertion that it doesn't happen is arguable. AW will go down as a very good coach and manager but its not spite that informs the view of many that hes well past his sell by date. Its time, things change and new horizons are drawn. Importantly im sure AW accepts and appreciates it too. Hes been good for Arsenal but believe me, Arsenal has been more than good for him. Hes had 7-8 years extra that wouldnt have occured at the real juggernaut clubs.

26. Ron

    Jan 04, 2014, 9:08 #43634

    Gaz - Morning. You've just described the symptoms of mismanagement. The striker malaise Wenger has now is incurable, unless he he gets an enormous dollop of luck and something falls into his lap. Giroud - they say hes tired, but i would suggest that his goals and general performances have dried up as the opposition has improved since November (see our debate earlier about the fixture fall) Yes, hes a willing horse. Well, willing horses play for Blackburn and Burnley and shdt be near to Arsenal. He deserves credit though for trying to pull Wengers nuts out of the fire. As far as forward players are concerned, the Club hasnt been so badly served since the days of Hawley Hankin and Chapman (its ironic theres a thread about Hawley on here right now). In years to come the thread will be there again but with Giroud as the subject. Hindsight is with 20/20 vision and the Summer has gone, but a Wally plus cash swap for Suarez might have painted a different picture to the one we ve got now. All academic though now. Im sure its over to Wally and Pod now to ease those Wenger nuts away from that furnace that OGL stoked up to fry himself by.

27. Westlower

    Jan 04, 2014, 9:05 #43633

    Rocky the King, Despite our differing opinions on all things AFC we are all agreed we want to win the league. Where we disagree is how we perceive Wengers performance over the years. Do you seriously believe Wenger would still be in a job if he had failed as badly as you suggest. The hard nosed boards of football clubs don't employ managers for sentimental reasons. Tim Sherwood is Spurs 10th manager in Wenger's tenure and they still can't get to be top dog in North London. Chelsea have posted yet another big financial loss, this time £49m. Time will tell that AFC have come a very long way in the past 17 years. As a football club we have never been stronger or had a greater world wide supporter base in my lifetime and I was born in 1947. It's not that long ago that Fergie predicted Arsenal weren't a big enough club to fill the Emirates outside of the big games. Even with the highest ticket prices we continue to be sold out on a regular basis. Should we ever fall out of the top 4 after Wengers departure he may be appreciated more for keeping us competitive during the protracted period of financial restraint against mega rich clubs. Come on you title chasing Gunners - how sweet is that statement!

28. Gaz

    Jan 04, 2014, 8:01 #43632

    I absolutely hate saying this again but I can't help feeling any long term abscence for Bendtner might just be a real blessing in disguise. For a start has he really been that great? Sure he's scored a couple of goals but they weren't exactly worldies simply a case of him being in the right place at the right time. And please don't tell me 'he's putting a lot of effort in' because that old bollox simply doiesn't wash with me! He's paid an absolute fortune to do what we'd all do for free for goodness sake so excuse me for not lauding him simply because he's been 'trying'. Personally I still can't get THAT miss versus Barca nor the many lazy 'can't be arsed because I'm far toooooo good' performances out of my head. Quite frankly the praise he's been getting has been so far out of proportion to what he's done I'm expecting calls for Almunia and Denilson to return!!! Ok, I'm being ever so slightly flippant but here are the facts about our current striker situation. Firstly we still have the same five players (considered for the striker role) that we had last summer-a summer in which Wenger tried-and failed-to bring in another world class striker. Whats changed since then? Well-and credit to him for this-Giroud has upped his game. He's gone well off the boil recently though which could be tiredness or perhaps a return to his true form? I doubt its the latter and he does deserve tremendous credit for his link up play, determination and will to win. Sadly his goalscoring has suffered of late which at the sharp end of a season could/will be a problem. Secondly theres Sonogo a player who is untried, always injured, and will offer nothing this season. To hear Wenger speak about him yesterday was a return to the bad old days of project youth. Thirdly theres Bendtner. As I said he's not been half as good as made out and he could be out for two months anyway. Then theres Walcott and Podolski. Wenger simply doesn't trust either of them in the striker role or he'd have played them there far more often. And lets be blunt, for all Walcotts pace and good recent form he's no main striker and will never hold the ball up as well as....well as good as Bendtner (and thats saying something!!!). So, apart from Girouds early improvement NOTHING has changed since the summer. Yet here we are-just about to enter the most important 5 months in many a year-and Wengers suggesting he'll only buy another striker IF Bendtner and Sanogo (a joke surely?) are fit. Please please please Arsene buy another striker REGARDLESS because if you don't I think we could suffer for it in May. We are-once again-so close to winning something and if you thought we had a striker problem in the summer that problem still exsists. Of course the problem we have is that buying in jan is difficult but thats Wengers fault for not dealing with it in the summer. So I hope Wenger deals with this-somehow-as it really could make all the difference...

29. Tom

    Jan 03, 2014, 23:46 #43631

    I expect a comfortable win tomorrow against the cherished history changers. Watching them limp to victory against a s-h-i-t-e Manure team in a library atmosphere just showed me how pointless and c-rap the Spuds are,5-2 for me with a fire drill exorcise in the clock end in the 68th minute.

30. Ron

    Jan 03, 2014, 21:52 #43630

    Hi Westie - Possibly mate but i doubt it. City will have a few sticky moments as you say as all teams do. They've such a lot of quality in that squad though and for me, they can only lose that title themselves. Our best hope is perhaps that Man City traditionally for many decades are always a Club who can find a way to screw things up even where a way doesnt seem to exist. Their history is choc full of it. I lived up there in the early 70s. The team of Lee Bell and Summerbee et al. They cd out football the best of the other teams. Stick on title winners till they went and bought a clown. Rodney Marsh. He came in and their team blew up. A bit of a calamity Club arent they traditionally. Nowadays under Pellegrini (who is very impressive in my view) i don't see them being quite so flaky. Very good side City.CHRIS - i agree that the manure game was ill timed for us, though the performance was so poor. I went to that, as you may have done, but they looked like a team who had ' we never win here' imprinted own their collective psyche. Illness or not manure were very beatable that day, by most teams who might have given it a go. Its days like that where you need your Coach to step up and for me Wenger cant do it and hasn't done so for many years.In fact ive never considered him a motivator.A team reflects its Coach and good Coach as hes been in many, many ways, his demeanour so often for so long has been suspicious and fidgety in big games and our players have looked like it too. OT in Nov was another for the back catalogue.

31. Rocky the King

    Jan 03, 2014, 21:32 #43629

    Apologies for the minor inaccuracies in my blog, the recollections in my head combined with checking the league tables led me astray. The underlying trend of Arsene Wenger is not in doubt. When we win, instead of strengthening and ensure that we have opponents fearing us, we become complacent and claim that there is no one good enough to displace the likes of Denilson...lol I want Arsenal to win the league with all my heart, and I will not destroy the good feeling that we have now, but if we don't show ambition and get the players that we need, then look forward to another eight years of disappointment. I am convinced that we will NEVER win the Champions League under Wenger, you AKB's may be happy with this, I am not. Wenger has had his time, and he must now deliver or go. This is a results business and we Gooners pay top dollar for top four frustrations.

32. Chris

    Jan 03, 2014, 21:09 #43628

    Hi Ron - I'm not arguing that we didn't have a run of very winnable fixtures early in the season. I agree they were, in fact so much so that however they had fallen they probably would have been won. The CL qualifiers did more than enough to repair and slight damage that Villa may have caused to confidence etc, so I'm not sure they were really that important in terms of momentum building, esp given the context of a successful 2013 so far. I'm arguing that in my opinion, if many of the matches that we did drop points in had fallen at different precise points of the season (ie Citeh and Manure had not been after weeks where we had difficult CL away games midweek preceded by hard PL games late in the previous weekend) we may well have dropped less than we have. Of course I don't know what would have happened but really, the Citeh game esp and the Utd game esp considering the illness factor, couldn't have come at worse times. It's not unreasonable to think that if that hadn't happened, we'd have done better... Over all, I believe scheduling has more hindered than helped us so far this season.

33. Westlower

    Jan 03, 2014, 20:33 #43627

    It's worrying that should we draw tomorrow the replay will be squeezed between Villa(A)on Monday, Spurs(A)on Wednesday & Fulham(H)on Saturday. Not good! Ron, you're thinking will be turned on it's head should we beat Man City at home. They still have some tricky away games to come and will likely drop points at home at some stage.

34. Amos

    Jan 03, 2014, 20:01 #43626

    @Ron. The relevance of the improvement last season (which can be seen either side of the defeat to spurs which was the only defeat in a 15 game run) is that it was part of a pattern of improvement. After all the 49 game unbeaten run didn't start and end with the invincible season. I think you can fairly say that the improvement in players like Kos, Mertesacker, Ramsey, Walcott, Gibbs and others was rooted in the improvement in our play last season. I don't entirely disagree that fixtures have helped us build up some momentum but that confidence building is just one of those variable factors that go into any success. ManU won the title a few seasons back having won only one game and losing three against the teams that made up the other sides in the top 4 so we needn't be too precious about where we pick up the points as long as we do so.

35. Ron

    Jan 03, 2014, 19:46 #43625

    MG - The Utd thing is a vexed question. To be honest, im not sure Moyes has the personality to succeed there and there are maybe certain people in the dressing room there plotting against him. They ll either get in or knock on the door of top 4 though as you say. They ll be back. Too big a juggernaut nowadays not to be, but i suspect not under the bulged eyed one. As for the striker issue matey, i think that horse bolted last Summer. As you say, Costa, the closest we ll get to that is a cappucino!

36. Amos

    Jan 03, 2014, 19:45 #43624

    @Joe Bloggs. Of course all I'd defend any fans right to criticise just as much as, as I'm sure you share, I would any other fans right to criticise those criticism. We didn't 'allow' ManU to take 25 out of 27 points to take the title in 2003. They did that all by themselves. Indeed all managers make mistakes but so do fans though they have the benefit that our musings can never be disproved. All we need to do to 'bring home the bacon' is sign 2 new players. Is it that simple or are there really many other variables to contemplate over 18 league matches? It's not hard to imagine them if you wish to put your mind to it - and most you will find are indeed real enough.

37. maguiresbridge gooner

    Jan 03, 2014, 19:31 #43623

    Ron, i hear what your saying mate maybe i did buy into this now fergies gone and man u are in transition, and city have changed managers and it's going to take them time again, and maureen coming back going to take him time hullabaloo from certain quarters that it's going to give us some kind of an advantage or something, obviously not the case where the blue mancs are concerned and indeed the chavs i'm not sure what to make of the red mancs yet although i can't see them being that way for to long although certainly won't win it could make a late surge up the table doing damage to others. It's still a hard league and there will be no favors given but we do find ourselves in a position now and yes thanks to some kindly fixtures that we haven't found ourselves in for quite a while, a chance to win the league. And for the manager to not now give us any kind of advantage ie proper strikers for a start, to go on and try to achieve this will be a clear dereliction of duty and if he doesn't and we scrape third or fourth again he'll have to walk immediately. And when we're on the subject Ron as far as i'm concerned for a club like Arsenal to go into an important game like a North London derby FA Cup tie with no decent recognised strikers IS a dereliction of duty.

38. Ron

    Jan 03, 2014, 19:05 #43622

    Bard - Very true mate. If an equivalent Saurez ie one playing for Arsenal like he is at Liverpool was scoring with the ease he is now, it wd indeed be a different landscape, though i wd still say the CL was a goner, even with Saurez. We need more than a top calibre striker to win that and a different Coach in my view. Im not sure that we havent hit top form though. I think we ve seen the best theyve got to offer to be honest and it isnt a smoothly oiled Arsenal side. Theres a lot more endeavour than we re used to so its all a bit scrappy. Youre right on Citys defence too. The thing is theve got so many hit men, the scoring is always likely to counterbalance the defensive frailty there. As for Chelsea, theres not much between them and us, but theyve a better Coach so to swing it their way when push comes to shove. I think we re a stick on for 3rd. Out of the CL and i m pained to say it, but think the Spuds will tip us out of the Cup. Wengers attitude towards it will see to that.

39. Joe Bloggs

    Jan 03, 2014, 19:00 #43621

    Amos- If we had only allowed Utd to make up a mere 5 points on us (presuming they won their game in hand) in the last 9 games instead of the 10 point turnaround that it became, then goal difference would have obviously been very important. All managers make mistakes, and I would hope you defend any fans right to criticise, but the 'many variables' you speak of, whether their influence is real or imagined, will always be available to provide an excuse for failure for those who are looking for such.

40. Ron

    Jan 03, 2014, 18:53 #43620

    Amos - There is a marked improvement as you say. Its also right to suggest that the NLD loss last March marked a change in tack at Arsenal. The results from the NLD to May however are totally academic in that theyve no influence on whats occurred this season. Moreover the results in the last 6-7 games of 2012/13 could be argued to have come v teams who werent as at it as they might have been earlier on in that season due to their respective positions. To conflate the form this season as being akin to part of last season, apart from the small matter of 3 months off from early May to August is a bit of Wenger speak to be honest. Last Season was like the previous mundane 8 and stand alone in any analysis of where we are now.

41. Bard

    Jan 03, 2014, 18:49 #43619

    Im with MG on this one although we can argue about the semantics of 'its there for the taking'. I dont think Chelsea or Man City are in anyway invincible. Although we're top we've not really hit top form yet. We've hung in there in a lot of the games. What we've lacked is that deadly accuracy in front of goal. The CL wont detain us for too long so we wont have that as a distraction. Lets put the question another way if we had a striker like Suarez would Ron and co still feel gloomy about our chances. A top striker would give the whole squad a massive life. I agree we're an outside bet but Chelsea have their own striking problems and City are weak at the back.

42. Amos

    Jan 03, 2014, 18:36 #43618

    The run we're on now started way back in February of last season. Over the last 45% of last season we gathered more points than any of our rivals so to attribute too much to the impact of summer transfers or the fall of this season's fixtures doesn't recognise the improvement in a number of our players. We are a stronger team with a stronger squad now. Having said that to claim that the title is there for us to take with half a season still to play is unrealistic. If it is there for us to take then it is also there for at least 6 others to take too. If it were easy for us to recruit better players (it isn't of course) then it would be just as easy for others to do so. Whatever we can achieve this year will be done with the players we already have.

43. Ron

    Jan 03, 2014, 18:15 #43616

    Chris - Hi. Its quite simple really. From the Seasons start - Villa to mid November when we went to Utd, all fixtures could be deemed to have seen a forecasted Arsenal win.I inc the Sept NLD in that too as well as Liverpool in early Nov on the basis that their record for 10-15 years has been pretty lousy in North London. Until Utd we have had a great opportunity to accumulate points and we have. Credit due. The view is further underpinned in that since Mid Nov we've lost to City, drew with Everton and drawn with Chelsea. Youre only speculating on what might have happened on a different day. The results on different days v Utd and City may even have been worse day. The fixtures are all there to see. Take a look. They're factual. How can you argue that the fall of the fixtures until Utd havent been kind?

44. Chris

    Jan 03, 2014, 17:21 #43613

    Ron - I'd totally agree with you that the PL is not obviously there for the taking, Chelski and Citeh being very serious rivals indeed. But how can you seriously argue Arsenal are only where they are due to the kindly fall of first half of season fixtures? Possibly the two hardest games we've had on paper (the two Manchesters away) couldn't have fallen at any worse moments from an Arsenal perspective and I'd argue that had they fallen at neutral moments, we may not have lost either (I certainly feel we'd have beaten Manure). We've now played each team once, and there's no obvious bias in the teams we've played home or away. So what would be the basis of that argument..?

45. Ron

    Jan 03, 2014, 16:54 #43612

    MG - I keep seeing this stuff about the PL being 'there for the taking'. It doesnt really add up to me. Is it just because Utd arent at the races or something? In my view, what Arsenal are up against is a Cheslea that has found its mean solidity again ie defending like Mourinhos teams do and a Man C side thats arguably the best side (certainly from a attacking point of view) the PL has seen since the invincibles. Its really a harder league now than it has been sice Ronado ad Tevez were in Utd colours from which point of them leaving their decline has followed as i see them.How is it there for 'their for the taking' for a team like Arsenal, thats arguably only where it is due to the kindly fall of the first half of the seasons fixtures and now saddled with no recognised strikers?

46. We will bottle it

    Jan 03, 2014, 16:49 #43610

    In 2003 we had an 8pt lead on March 1st we lost the league by 5 pts.In 2008 on the 23rd February we had a 6 pts lead and lost the title by 4 pts

47. Bard

    Jan 03, 2014, 16:03 #43608

    Good and passionate post Rocky. I completely agree that if he doesnt win anything this year he has to go. He's between a rock and a hard place this window. In years gone by he's been able to trot out all the usual stuff about paying for the new stadium bla bla bla but its nearly a decade since he won anything and in that time there have been a good number of humiliating capitulations. We're not Villa we dont need a safe pair of hands we need to be able to mix it with the top sides. We are led to believe that the money is there now.This side needs an addition or two and we're in with a chance albeit a small one. It would be grossly negligent for him not to invest this window whatever it costs. I completely agree with you Rocky, if he lets the opportunity slip away he will have effectively signed his own P45. Yes he may sign another contract but by not investing he is telling us fans that Arsenal under Wenger will no longer meaningfully compete for trophies. I dont think the fans will stomach that.

48. Amos

    Jan 03, 2014, 15:45 #43607

    @Joe Bloggs. We still had a superior goal difference at the end of that season - but it didn't matter then either. So Wenger has been a superior manager to all those spurs have been able to attract but inferior to those commenting on football blogs who can see what he has done wrong in avoiding spurs transfer spending excesses? Probably in each of those summer transfer windows I guess the popular opinion would have been that spurs had strengthened while we hadn't. It's all a little less straightforward than 'two signings in this winter transfer window and bring home the bacon'. There are many more variables in a season (or even half/quarter of a season) that can confound expectations or aspirations as we have seen.

49. Spaced

    Jan 03, 2014, 15:11 #43606

    With regard to the January window, I would love to see us sign a quality striker. I think this is actually all we are lacking. The defence is looking good - Vermaelen seems to be satisfied as back-up, which satisfies me, and with Gibbs & Jenks as cover in full back we're looking okay there. Midfield is strong, especially with Walcott and Podolski back. I feel quite confident, let's just get that extra striker!

50. Spaced

    Jan 03, 2014, 14:58 #43605

    Black Hei, does this contribution really warrant a reply from the other end of the spectrum? I have submitted pieces on here before which support Wenger, but I don't feel the need to at the moment. What's the point? --- When people get to the stage that their blind hatred for our manager leads them to this comment... "I still wish to see the back of Arsene Wenger even if we win the league." Then you know the argument is pointless.

51. maguiresbridge gooner

    Jan 03, 2014, 14:30 #43604

    The injuries to our so called strikers have come at a bad time for OGL as he had no intention of splashing out, or buying anyone of note anyway, we would have been running with what we had. Now he's found himself in a position due to incompetence where he must splash the cash, the spin machine is hard at work already letting us know who we're going to break the bank for and who's release clause we're going to trigger this time for £30million plus or whatever, even after the Suarez fiasco they still take us for mugs, but as usual some are at the trough lapping it up. Costa? now he's been mentioned and bandied about the closest we'll get is to drink a cup. Who we'll see is anybody's guess, Canada put a few quid on a couple of cheapies, but would anybody be surprised due to his arrogance at not being told what to do if nobody came in, especially if we do the spuds tomorrow in style by two or three. Your right Rocky the King there can be no more excuses the prem is there for the taking and we might never have/get another chance like it and if he blows it now by leaving us short or for whatever reason he'll never be forgiven.

52. Cameron

    Jan 03, 2014, 14:03 #43601

    Surely anyone who would want want to get rid of a league winning manager, ie, a winner, regardless of who they are, would seem to acre more about a vendetta against said manager than the success of the club going forward. The past is the past, and at our poorest time (cup defeats to B&B) rightly or wrongly, he wasnt sacked. To even consider getting rid of our manager given the performances of the last twelve months (best form in the Country) is ridiculous, let alone getting rid of him AFTER he's besten Ci t and Chelsea to the PL trophy. Mind boggling!

53. jeff wright

    Jan 03, 2014, 14:01 #43600

    Joe, your spuds may have won 2 consecutive league games at OT but you had to wait 50 years to do it,same with winning the league . In fact we have won more at the lane than you have ! Same at Old Trafford , our title win there beats your two league wins by the proverbial and then some. I think you may be getting a bit carried away over your prospects for Saturday nights tete a tete.HfeB Cheers.

54. goonerD

    Jan 03, 2014, 13:41 #43599

    No doubt Arsenal need to spend on a very expensive and certain to score centre forward. We may have had the results but don't look as good as Citeh, who are still favorites. Arsenal and the Chavs are equal 2nd favourites.

55. jeff wright

    Jan 03, 2014, 13:38 #43598

    Westie, leaving aside the bookies odds having changed markedly against us, the fact is that we have yet to play our ,on paper, hardest looking run of fixtures. These arrive starting with spuds away on 15th march - a traditionally hard fixture ,followed by Chelsea a another ball-breaker with Wenger having a greater phobia with Mourinho than Dracula does with crosses, ; City h ; Everton a. Prior to these we have a double whammy of Liverpool a and United at home in February . The run of games at xmas starting with Everton and ending with Cardiff were the hardest run of games so far. We won 11 points from a poss 18 in that run. City won 16 points from their same run - 3 of those points were off us . They had the best of the argument over xmas and will hardly be panicking over now being a point behind us. That's why they are now faves to win the Prem, that doesn't mean that they will of course but that are the most likely to do so... It's still all to play for but we need re-enforcements if we are to seriously go head to head with City and Chelsea . Maureen will also be happy with his xmas presents,not least with the one that Arsene gave him .

56. Born Gooner

    Jan 03, 2014, 13:11 #43596

    @Finsbury Joe - Yes, good win for the spuds at OT, but you always do well with a Gooner as manager! When George Graham got the spuds to the League Cup final, he drove the team bus to Wembley. Nobody else at the club knew the way...

57. Westlower

    Jan 03, 2014, 12:56 #43595

    Jeff, Our 'easy' early season fixtures have just kicked in again as we enter the back straight. Our last five games of the season are also relatively 'easy'. That may be a big factor during the charge to the finishing line. We've played every team in the league and nobody has won more games than AFC. Will Man City continue to win every home game, that must be doubtful. We just need to avoid FA Cup replays as that would over stretch us.

58. Joe Bloggs

    Jan 03, 2014, 12:37 #43593

    Amos- And you could have revealed the full reality by mentioning that our goal difference was 15 superior to that of Utd, but I agree that the manager's frugality wasn't a factor during 02/03 in the way that it has been in more recent years. I would say that we are consistently above Spurs because Wenger has been a better manager than all those that Spurs have managed to attract. Apologies if that sounds like faint praise.

59. Website Editor

    Jan 03, 2014, 12:24 #43592

    @seepyaitch - now corrected.

60. John Gooner

    Jan 03, 2014, 12:15 #43591

    I agree with you Rocky, just not necessarily how it was all framed. I think that Wenger has to say he isn't desperate to avoid having his pants pulled down over any striker we go for, it's just good practice. Only February 1st will tell whether he's stupid/arrogant enough to truly believe that this squad can win the title.

61. Finsbury Joe

    Jan 03, 2014, 12:10 #43590

    Anyone else get a nagging feeling Arsenals trophy chase will in effect be over after this weekend? Looking around I see a lot of understandable fear on arsenal forums. Looks like wenger may risk a sixteen year old against a team who have just won at OT twice in succession, something Arsenal never will do. Looks like the lack of squad will do Arsenal again, along with wengers ineptitude. Still...the end of the line for wenger?

62. jeff wright

    Jan 03, 2014, 12:10 #43589

    The reality is that first place is changing now from game to game at the top of the league table. Liverpool recently made a giant leap from 5th place 7 points behind us ,to go top at Xmas. City have also briefly been top dogs , our early season momentum, due mainly to an easy fixtures, has enabled us to reclaim first place by one point. Our squad looks stretched now and injuries are kicking-in with players going down like they have been shot by a sniper . Big dense Bendy the car vandal being the latest, he managed to damage his own ankle after scoring the late winner against Cardiff . With Giroud not being a prolific goal scorer it seems to most folk that another striker is required to help out for the rest of the season. There are however other issues involved as others have said, regarding Wenger not winning any trophies for donkeys years. It’s not always been just a case of him not having enough top players. He certainly had them against Brum in the League Cup final ,but still lost . That happens in football it’s the magic of the cup . That magic was at work again last season with Arsene losing with a first team out against mighty Bradford in the LC and getting turned over by a Rovers side full of journeymen players at home in the FAC . A glance at the league table shows that our defence is around about the same as some other sides such as Chelsea and Everton with just the odd goal against giving us at present the bragging rights, this though now changes like first place in the league from game to game depending on results. City don’t appear to be too concerned with defending and have scored a massive 57 goals so far with us having netted 39 . As with our away wins we have scored more goals away than at home. We need to show a bit more nous at home when faced with teams coming to try and nick a point A striker with different skills to the ones we currently have might help in achieving this when we are struggling as against Chelsea and Cardiff . We did take the lead against Everton but would you Adam and Eve it our defence was unable to defend it for a few minutes.

63. seepyaitch

    Jan 03, 2014, 12:00 #43588

    What I wanna know is-Who are Bolton City?

64. N4

    Jan 03, 2014, 11:08 #43584

    Totally spot on! But hey why worry we have the best striker in the world!

65. Richard

    Jan 03, 2014, 10:38 #43582

    The only place we are short is attack and maybe defence. However, we are where we are with this threadbare squad with injuries to key players already. Punching above our weight we have international players in every position and on subs bench you are not a true gooner if your moaning already we have had a great season yes we need to win something and preferably the league but we have been most consistent team over last season and a half. If we keep that up this half then we hit 80 plus points and whether that is enough to win the title we will see come may or sooner, utd are out of title race just leaving city Chelsea and Liverpool, however the favourites because of spending power and squad depth have to be city and Chelsea but we have next four games to build momentum going into utd and Liverpool games getting points from those two will be huge 2 point would be fine 4 better 6 amazing. The other contenders are likely to drop points at some point over next 18 games it's is important when they draw or lose we win and we draw or win when we play against them. Wenger will never discuss plans to media or anyone, he conducts our business as privately as he can he knows where we need strengthening. Where do you find a better fit than giroud is premier league ready and not ucl tied. Costa would be nice but he Is ucl tied and will take time to adapt to premier league. Lastly spending big does not guarantee success otherwise city and Chelsea would have won every title over last few years. He needs to spend wisely and bring quality in. I believe we will win title this year because we have gained the ability to keep things tight at back and then win by the odd goal or two.

66. Amos

    Jan 03, 2014, 10:31 #43581

    @Joe Bloggs. That's true but the further reality is that it was only an 8 point lead having played a game more and also that we didn't blow that lead because we failed to 'strengthen' the team having gained it with the squad we had. The argument, such as it is, is that the more you spend in the transfer market the stronger the team in which case why aren't Spurs above us?

67. Joe Bloggs

    Jan 03, 2014, 10:24 #43580

    Amos- You're correct we didn't hold an 8 point lead at Xmas, but we did in March. There's your reality.

68. will

    Jan 03, 2014, 10:20 #43579

    Seems to me you are following wrong club true supporters are there with the ups and down and arsenal downs have been top four some so called supporters only understanding of football is that they win a cup your seem to be that and more from the I want it and I want it now generation

69. Guvnor

    Jan 03, 2014, 10:18 #43578

    100% agreed. We really must just splurge that wonga we are hording on Costa (and maybe the $2m on Beba just as an extra precautionary measure in case Costa bombs) and it's game over for everyone else. I personally don't think the $2m (+ wages of course)are anything to worry about considering the amount of monies we've spent of guys Diaby, Sanogo, Park, Miyaichi etc.. Costa's buyout (as reported by the media) is certainly fair given his return for Athletico so far this year. This will most certainly sort out our conversion issues in the attacking third because we keep romancing these teams and not SCORING which doesn't help us.

70. Ron

    Jan 03, 2014, 10:16 #43577

    A sense of reality needed matey. Arsenal wont be blowing fortunes this month. AW, agree with him or not is happy with his squad. I wd take issue with the oft stated view that we ve missed title wins in the last decade due to 'not strengthening'. The reason we ve not won it has been simply due to the other Clubs being and proving themselves to be far better than Arsenal. Only in 2007/08 have we been realistically close and that year at Xmas and in January we were still firing on all cylinders. The Eduardo thing, Adenayor running out of steam (or even loss of interest maybe with hindsight of what he became) and RVP's perennial injuries meant that season blew up from the end of Feb 2008. There have been no other genuine title tilts save for that year since we last won it.

71. Amos

    Jan 03, 2014, 10:01 #43575

    @AJ14, Neither did we have an 8 point lead at Xmas in 2002/2003. It was a 2 point lead prior to Xmas day and a 4 point lead after the boxing day game. That's the problem with fury - it tends to distort reality.

72. Black Hei

    Jan 03, 2014, 9:58 #43574

    Online Gooner loves to bring in "contributors" from the end of the spectrum. The next article will be given to an AKB as a counterweight to this scorned King.

73. AJ14

    Jan 03, 2014, 9:51 #43573

    You are incorrect. In the 2002/2003 you mention, we finished 2nd, not 3rd. Sharpen up..

74. Amos

    Jan 03, 2014, 9:51 #43572

    The PL was and would still be pretty much a two horse race pre-Abramovich/Mansour. Times change and can confound fairly held opinions expressed in the past - certainly those made 10 years ago. Those made recently specifically about our midfield after the Newcastle game seem pretty rational observations. More rational perhaps than - we will NEVER have a better chance to finish above Chelsea and ManU? Really? I wonder what the chances of that proving to be nonsense in time might be?