Arsenal 0 - 2 Swansea: Any one else done with this season?

So where are we now in the table? 8th? 9th? I'm too depressed to even open up a new window and check for myself

We will not sign any top players, not top player will want to come to Arsenal.

We are a *bleep* joke, have no ambition, hungry board who will sink Arsenal.

Gervinho is arguably the worst signing of the Wenger era. Cost more than Jeffers, and at least Chamakh (free) & Silvestre (750k) were cheap

Wiltord, Arshavin and Reyes all cost more than Gervinho. That's because they were all twice as good and scored some historic goals.

Lex wrote:So where are we now in the table? 8th? 9th? I'm too depressed to even open up a new window and check for myself

10th for now, we still have a lot of games we can still win the EPL, if we dont get relegated first.

Samuelj29060 wrote:Cost of starting XI's today: Arsenal £75m - Swansea £9.9m

Wenger the master of the transfer market?

this stat sums up what im saying perfectly. AWFUL, wenger is not as good as we think he is, he really isn't. he used to be but not any more.

when i see teams like dortmund, shaktar and others play football. i keep thinking to myself why cant we buy players or develop players like that? or play in such a fantastic, organised, ruthless manner in the way that they do. im sure they dont spend that much more than us

after this match i dont think fans will sit calm and there will be more boo's in comming matches. and yes i dont think we will sign any top player but only average players. we will get henry on loan to calm fans down and thats all.

Wenger has no *bleep* clue what he is doing anymore, he was saved for many years but certain great players we had.

I hope Red Bulls block Henry loan to Arsenal, dont want to see a legend go down with this team.

note to self:

Do not drink while watching Arsenal, waste of beers
Do not smoke while watching Arsenal, waste of F A G (silly American)
Do play darts with you buds while watching Arsenal though, put Stan & Ivan faces on dartboard, you will never miss.

Wenger: "I believe we were not at our best today and Swansea deserved to win."

"We didn't create a lot and our passing wasn't sharp, we didn't create danger."

"The fans had an influence today, but it's down to us to get the fans behind us."

"We looked jaded. We tried very hard, we lacked maturity. At the end of the day, we gave many chances away today."

"It's a big blow. We have to recover for the Olympiacos game on Tuesday. We have to find the quality of our game back."

"I understand the boos, of course. When you lose a game like we did today, I can understand that."

djoe26 wrote:after this match i dont think fans will sit calm and there will be more boo's in comming matches. and yes i dont think we will sign any top player but only average players. we will get henry on loan to calm fans down and thats all.

I thought the same before but after last couple of games, I'm not sure anymore. The problem is much deeper than transfer policy, new players and what not. We have enough quality to at least hold a goaless draw against the mighty Swansea. We're just nothing tactically as off now.

Manchester United on course to go 15 points clear of Arsenal - in December.

Samuelj29060 wrote:Wenger: "I believe we were not at our best today and Swansea deserved to win."

"We didn't create a lot and our passing wasn't sharp, we didn't create danger."

"The fans had an influence today, but it's down to us to get the fans behind us."

"We looked jaded. We tried very hard, we lacked maturity. At the end of the day, we gave many chances away today."

"It's a big blow. We have to recover for the Olympiacos game on Tuesday. We have to find the quality of our game back."

"I understand the boos, of course. When you lose a game like we did today, I can understand that."

Wenger says the same shit every *bleep* game.

We are shit

not even going to bother protecting anyone

Twoism wrote:

djoe26 wrote:after this match i dont think fans will sit calm and there will be more boo's in comming matches. and yes i dont think we will sign any top player but only average players. we will get henry on loan to calm fans down and thats all.

I thought the same before but after last couple of games, I'm not sure anymore. The problem is much deeper than transfer policy, new players and what not. We have enough quality to at least hold a goaless draw against the mighty Swansea. We're just nothing tactically as off now.

well yeah tactically we have been off but u have to look at players aswell. like gervinho, less said about him is better and arteta have been struggling lately. we need a pure DM. im not saying arteta isnt good coz he have been one of our best player this season but there is no one to challenge him for that spot and he gets of course tired too. Wenger needs to wake up and see that u cant win a trophy without pure DM.

Samuelj29060 wrote:Wenger: "I believe we were not at our best today and Swansea deserved to win."

"We didn't create a lot and our passing wasn't sharp, we didn't create danger."

"The fans had an influence today, but it's down to us to get the fans behind us."

"We looked jaded. We tried very hard, we lacked maturity. At the end of the day, we gave many chances away today."

"It's a big blow. We have to recover for the Olympiacos game on Tuesday. We have to find the quality of our game back."

"I understand the boos, of course. When you lose a game like we did today, I can understand that."

wenger needs to come up with new excuses coz they are not good enough anymore.

I wouldn't say we need 5-6 new players, and I wouldn't say a new AM unless they're sensational because honestly Rosicky and Cazorla are as good a pair as any team in the EPL have competing for one position, but it is so clear how much worse off we are without a true DM since Song has left and Diaby has been injured. I remember Wenger saying earlier this season that the age of the pure DM is over, and obviously CMs are getting more attacking these days, but to not have one at all has proven a tactical nightmare for us all season. We need a guy like Fellaini if we're going to play in the EPL, without a doubt. Maybe the game is advancing, but you can't tell me that a system that worked for teams for over a decade is prehistoric and is irrelevant today. A striker and LB would be nice too.

I really want to see the following team against Olympiacos:

I'm a bit torn because in some sense I think that Arsenal would probably be much worse off over the past few (Emirates) years, with Champions League consistency a thing of the past, with almost any other manager. So it pains me to see bitter abuse hurled at Wenger. His loyalty to the club and his achievements should be respected, and that includes the less glamorous achievement of staying consistently in the top 4 even in these barren years.

At the same time I think that the biggest problems at Arsenal club don't necessary come down to the squad personnel. (I'm not saying we can't criticize the fact that the club aren't aiming a little higher in terms of transfers, I'm just saying that this is already a good squad that on paper should be a lock for 4th at least ... but it's underperforming drastically.) I think the culture & mentality are lacking and that blame has to be laid at Wenger's feet. I've got no insight into what it is on the training ground or in the dressing room but he just doesn't seem able to motivate his squad consistently any more.

A so-called "pretty football" team that can no longer keep possession well, that tends to cross into the box a lot & poorly, that neither consistently presses opponents on the pitch nor reliably defends with disciplined banks of four. On top of all that, there's a crazy high amount of defensive errors. It's easier to take lack of trophies if the team are playing with a style and conviction that makes you proud to watch them, that makes you want to watch them. But currently Arsenal offer neither results nor exciting play.

It's just depressing. I believe in the majority of this squad. I want to see younger players like Wilshere, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ramsey, Gibbs, Jenkinson, etc., achieve their full potential for the club. I want to see the likes of Sagna, Arteta, and Rosicky play great veteran football as they gradually approach retirement.

But it just doesn't seem like anything's coming off.

We need a guy like Fellaini

At last.

furiouswindbottom wrote:

We need a guy like Fellaini

At last.

He wants to play CL, best bet is to stay at Everton or go to top club.

Wenger:
on spending money in January…
It’s difficult to answer that straight away after a game like that. I cannot say no, but I believe the support from the board is there to spend the money if we find the players.

there are alot of top players out there mr wenger u just have to spend. and please not again on average players.

The quality of our game was just not there'
on explaining the defeat...
We were not creative, nor sharp. Swansea were more creative and more sharp. They had a lot of possession, but without going anywhere. We tried to change things and took a lot of risks. In the end it turned against us. Maybe we should have made a 0-0 and in the end we were not cautious enough to play the 0-0. The quality of our game was not there. It was a bit frustrating because we lacked a bit of decisiveness and creativity.

on whether Swansea deserved to win...
Yes. It is very frustrating, but it is the truth.

on whether they surprised him...
No, I knew they could play well. I knew the question before the game could be that we could be a bit jaded because we had many players on the edge who had played a lot of hard games recently. We had just come back from two very difficult away games physically and it was a bit like that today. We are guilty of losing a game at the moment when we should not have lost it.

on the booing at the end…
My response is I can understand that.

on it being a challenging period…
We are in this job to turn things around, and I am confident we will [because of] the quality of the players and the spirit we have in the team. It is a good moment to stick together.

on turning things around…
At the moment it looks like, away from home, we are quite consistent and our results are positive. But at home we have not produced the performances since the beginning of the season that you would expect from us, and that is where we have to find the solution.

on slipping down to 10th spot…
Of course [it is painful]. I am not so much worried about places, even if that is not the place you want to be, but I believe what is important is we get the quality of our game back. Then the places change.

on spending money in January…
It’s difficult to answer that straight away after a game like that. I cannot say no, but I believe the support from the board is there to spend the money if we find the players.

on how the result affects upcoming games…
It affects the thinking for Olympiacos. There are many players who need a rest, because they are on the verge of getting injured. Some played with knocks today. We’ll see tomorrow. We hope that we get a good performance at Olympiacos. It’s important for us. Away from home, I’m not too concerned. We look like we play a little bit with the handbrake at home. It’s not fluent. There might be a psychological component in there as well.

djoe26 wrote:Wenger:
on spending money in January…
It’s difficult to answer that straight away after a game like that. I cannot say no, but I believe the support from the board is there to spend the money if we find the players.

there are alot of top players out there mr wenger u just have to spend. and please not again on average players.

What he is trying to say is that he will not sign any players, we have a big squad and players are coming back.

We would not be here talking about this loss if Donkey face Ivan Gazidis did not sell Song so he can get himself a 24% annual raise.

The situation is made more frustrating by the fact that it's self-engineered. Our questionable transfer policy has led to weaker and smaller squads and our weaker and smaller squads are getting poor results.

But then you look at West Brom, West Ham, Everton and Swansea and realise that even if their squads are smaller and not as good as the likes Chelsea, Spurs and ourselves, they can still compete because they have a way of getting the most out of what they have and being smart enough in the transfer market.

Take Swansea for example. They lost Joe Allen, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Scott Sinclair and were lacking in defensive depth and a goalscorer. So what do they do? They sign De Guzmann, Ki Seung Young, Michu, Chico Flores and Pablo Hanandez. All players that improve on what they have, adequately replace the quality they lost in the summer and fit the style they want to play.

Compare that to Arsenal, who replace their goalscorer with Giroud who, while a good player, isn't the sort of striker that suits the way Arsenal always want to play. Likewise with Podolski. The season before, they replace Nasri with a completely different play in Gervinho. They don't replace Cesc. And you can go back a couple more years where Arsenal don't sign players that are good enough or suitable enough.

When I look at it this way, the problem seems to be that we've simply lost our identity. A passing side shouldn't sign a big target man centre forwards or wingers that can't seem to either pass or cross the ball. I look at the squad and think that we should be playing another way, but we're still clinging on to this ideal of playing free-flowing passing football.

Perhaps, then, the best solution would be to change the way we're playing, then compliment that with a couple of quality additions in January. But I really don't have the faith that Wenger will change that, because he's stubborn.

Chumlum wrote:I'm a bit torn because in some sense I think that Arsenal would probably be much worse off over the past few (Emirates) years, with Champions League consistency a thing of the past, with almost any other manager. So it pains me to see bitter abuse hurled at Wenger. His loyalty to the club and his achievements should be respected, and that includes the less glamorous achievement of staying consistently in the top 4 even in these barren years.

At the same time I think that the biggest problems at Arsenal club don't necessary come down to the squad personnel. (I'm not saying we can't criticize the fact that the club aren't aiming a little higher in terms of transfers, I'm just saying that this is already a good squad that on paper should be a lock for 4th at least ... but it's underperforming drastically.) I think the culture & mentality are lacking and that blame has to be laid at Wenger's feet. I've got no insight into what it is on the training ground or in the dressing room but he just doesn't seem able to motivate his squad consistently any more.

A so-called "pretty football" team that can no longer keep possession well, that tends to cross into the box a lot & poorly, that neither consistently presses opponents on the pitch nor reliably defends with disciplined banks of four. On top of all that, there's a crazy high amount of defensive errors. It's easier to take lack of trophies if the team are playing with a style and conviction that makes you proud to watch them, that makes you want to watch them. But currently Arsenal offer neither results nor exciting play.

It's just depressing. I believe in the majority of this squad. I want to see younger players like Wilshere, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ramsey, Gibbs, Jenkinson, etc., achieve their full potential for the club. I want to see the likes of Sagna, Arteta, and Rosicky play great veteran football as they gradually approach retirement.

But it just doesn't seem like anything's coming off.

Kind of disagree, If you replace world class players with mid-table players you become a mid-table team. We are currently now what our transfers have made us. An average team. The bad part is not only are we an average team. We are an average team that every player in the club knows has no ambition to win anything. 4th place is not a trophy for any other club or player in the world but it is the extent to what we have tried to achieve for too long.