Robin van Persie

No one should read into this too much. Evidently he was annoyed at the sub and frustrated, but I don't think it's anything more than that.

If he were doing that every week, I'd be more concerned. But this is the first time he's ever shown outright dissent to one of Wenger's decisions, and it was probably more heat of the moment than some sort of deep-rooted issue he has with the way Wenger does things.

It's actually quite unprofessional for the club captain. He can be frustrated all he wants but what are the players going to think seeing that? It's not a great example to set. He should've kept quiet and encouraged Arshavin, who got none from the crowd when he entered the game.

If RVP leaves, the media will inevitably look back at this moment, along with the fact we haven't won a trophy in however many years.

Here is the incident (substitution) again for those who need to see it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eedFlvSaSXM

If anybody thought I was serious, just shoot yourself right now.

Of course I was being sarcastic. I was mocking the way of thinking that others have regarding other players. Oh well

Also, whoever that person is who says "Wenger groupie" bla bla bla....Seriously? By being sarcastic regarding RVP, I'm being a Wenger groupie? fascinating..

Samuelj29060 wrote:Here is the incident (substitution) again for those who need to see it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eedFlvSaSXM

Did he say fk off?

Of course I was being sarcastic. I was mocking the way of thinking that others have regarding other players. Oh well

Out of curisoity, did you think van Persie's actions were justified and acceptable as club captain?

I think they were booing Wenger not Arshivan and I do feel sorry for him, Wenger is the one who brought him on and Arshivan had nothing to do with that.

Who wants to bet Arshivan will start next game?

GoonerJay29 wrote:

Of course I was being sarcastic. I was mocking the way of thinking that others have regarding other players. Oh well

Out of curisoity, did you think van Persie's actions were justified and acceptable as club captain?

Honestly? No.
RVP has been a fantastic captain. He has brought a lot of unity to the team, on and off the pitch. Him and his wife have arranged outings with other players so that everyone would bond, and they've done a great job at it. Everyone in the squad is talking about the mentality and atmosphere in the dressing room, and that is largely down to RVP being captain (as well as the support he gets from players such as Vermaelen and Mertesacker).

I think he has been a great captain, but that doesn't really justify his reactions yesterday. I understand that he wanted to win so badly, so he got caught up in the moment, but should the club captain react that way towards the manager AND one of his fellow players? I don't think so. Other than the fact that he should be the one rallying the players under all circumstances, and that it was still 1-1 with the game there to be won, he should not have shown such discontent at a player going off OR a player coming on.

RVP leads by example...so could his reactions have affected the rest of the team? Along with the unnecessary boo-ing, definitely.

I won't hold it against RVP because he has hardly done anything wrong before yesterday's match, and his reaction was sorta understandable, but I expected better from him.

Raptorgunner wrote:

Samuelj29060 wrote:Here is the incident (substitution) again for those who need to see it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eedFlvSaSXM

Did he say fk off?

Not sure.

GoonerJay29 wrote:

Of course I was being sarcastic. I was mocking the way of thinking that others have regarding other players. Oh well

Out of curisoity, did you think van Persie's actions were justified and acceptable as club captain?

No. But Van Persie is becoming frustrated. He is a captain, yes. He wears a special armband, yes. But he is human.

GoonerJay29 wrote:

Of course I was being sarcastic. I was mocking the way of thinking that others have regarding other players. Oh well

Out of curisoity, did you think van Persie's actions were justified and acceptable as club captain?

I've seen something similar happen in the past where a player has came off and another player wasn't too pleased. In hindsight, maybe RVP is thinking that he should've been more discreet, because it seems as though he's undermining Wenger a bit.

But at the same time, Wenger pulled a bitch move by not taking of Walcott- or in fact not making the substitution at all. I'm still convinced that Wenger didn't want all the credit to fall on AOC by taking of Walcott.

Raptorgunner wrote:I think they were booing Wenger not Arshivan and I do feel sorry for him, Wenger is the one who brought him on and Arshivan had nothing to do with that.

Regardless of who they were booing...was that really the right time? The team had momentum, and we were starting to be in control...wouldn't a cheer have been more appropriate? You always get behind the players, AT LEAST during the matches. What's the point of throwing sticks and stones at them during the match? It hardly helped and it greatly contributed to the loss imho.

Now, the fans' boos were very clear. They gave a cheer when Ox's name was mentioned to come off and when Arshavin's was, they boo-ed him. They didn't whistle, they boo-ed our own player. With 10 minutes to go, the fans then decided to chant "Spend some f*** money Arsene"....was that REALLY the best time? The team is losing by a goal and trying to score...and all you can think about is chanting so that we'd buy a player? Shouldn't you be focusing on the match? It was shameful

Support the team, then after the match you can chat about anything you want. The fans at the emirates contributed to our loss...of that, I have no doubt

But you need to get your point across in the game, Fady.

Also, if you are at the Emirates, I think it would be easier to get involved in the booing, because it catches on, like many other things in life.

I would have booed, I must admit. I was very angry at my tv, when AOC was replaced.

Wenger's face after the substitution is made confirms he knows he made the wrong decision. Sad really.

When are you meant to chant, if you don't chant in the game?

No one listens to emails or twitter lol.

Wenger needs to hear the truth - spend money.

Fans see transfers like Shaqiri to Galatasaray (imminent), and ask why not us?

Or like Papiss Cisse to Newcastle and ask, why not us?

And then he says something like we have Park or chamakh, which further increases the frustrations.

Signing Henry on loan will probably stop us signing the top class striker we badly need. Sadly.

I've been saying this a lot recently, but there's a time and place for these things.

During the game, with ten minutes to go, with your team just scoring and about to try and get the winner is not the time to chant "spend some *bleep* money", is it? It's irrelevant to the match situation.

After the game, the fans can chant and protest. There are plenty of examples of groups of fans staying behind after games as a form of protest (and before games, too).

I have to side with Jay on this one, Sam. If your boo-ing is only meant at the Board, or at Wenger so that he would buy players, then chanting and boo-ing before or after the match is much better. Why? Because it doesn't affect the players as much. It doesn't affect their performances and it means that the supporters will spend the 90 minutes doing what they're supposed to do - support.

I can see the need to spend, but I also understand where Wenger is coming from. If we spend, I think we might be better off, but I won't be horribly disappointed if we don't spend, and I won't stop supporting Wenger or the club. Will I be frustrated? Maybe a little bit, but I wouldn't boo the team that is playing or the player that is coming on.

I mean, if we're still unsure of whether the boos were aimed at Arshavin or Wenger (with some people claiming that there were fans definitely booing Arshavin), then how can you expect the players out there to know who was getting booed or why? Horrible for the morale

Iceman wrote:

Raptorgunner wrote:I think they were booing Wenger not Arshivan and I do feel sorry for him, Wenger is the one who brought him on and Arshivan had nothing to do with that.

Regardless of who they were booing...was that really the right time? The team had momentum, and we were starting to be in control...wouldn't a cheer have been more appropriate? You always get behind the players, AT LEAST during the matches. What's the point of throwing sticks and stones at them during the match? It hardly helped and it greatly contributed to the loss imho.

Now, the fans' boos were very clear. They gave a cheer when Ox's name was mentioned to come off and when Arshavin's was, they boo-ed him. They didn't whistle, they boo-ed our own player. With 10 minutes to go, the fans then decided to chant "Spend some f*** money Arsene"....was that REALLY the best time? The team is losing by a goal and trying to score...and all you can think about is chanting so that we'd buy a player? Shouldn't you be focusing on the match? It was shameful

Support the team, then after the match you can chat about anything you want. The fans at the emirates contributed to our loss...of that, I have no doubt

I was shocked at first, I thought RVP was mad at Nani and then I found out it was due the sub. I dont agree with what the fans did and it was very shameful but the boo was not just for the sub or that game it has been coming for weeks.

We have no full backs and Johan Djourou has been getting run down game after game and our manager has done nothing, we need a RB even when Sagna comes back.

As a fan its really frustrating nothing is being done and what happen was in the heat of the moment and I really do feel bad for Arshivan.

We had united when we wanted to be and could have won the game and the sub just killed everything.

GoonerJay29 wrote:I've been saying this a lot recently, but there's a time and place for these things.

During the game, with ten minutes to go, with your team just scoring and about to try and get the winner is not the time to chant "spend some *bleep* money", is it? It's irrelevant to the match situation.

After the game, the fans can chant and protest. There are plenty of examples of groups of fans staying behind after games as a form of protest (and before games, too).

But after the game, Wenger is not on the touchline, I think will be the response from the booing fans.

And, of course, it's not the time to boo, at all, (if there is ever a time to boo), but it's the build-up of frustration, I think. Consecutive defeats in the league, 10 points behind fierce rivals Spurs, 18 points off the top, level on points with Newcastle. Fan's aren't happy. And haven't been for quite some years now.

But I honestly believe most fans are between a rock and a hard place - You can't criticise him because of what he has achieved (more so at Highbury), but they're not happy because of the averageness of the current squad and results/lack of trophies.

It's tough.

The best solution is keeping Arsene in charge, but with him spending more on top-class ready players (maybe something he won't do without Dein by his side).

Wenger doesn't have to be on the touchline to hear the chants from the fans. One way or another he and the board will know what the fans are doing.

GoonerJay29 wrote:Wenger doesn't have to be on the touchline to hear the chants from the fans. One way or another he and the board will know what the fans are doing.

Not judging by the last few years though..

Remember on the final day at Fulham last year, the chants were intense, right infront of his face.

Yes, he went out and spent £50m last summer. But not one his signings was world-class, which is needed to replace Cesc + Nasri.

Instead of a Mata and a Cazorla, he signed a Benayoun and an Arteta. (not in the same class) - (Arteta actually a better signing than Cazorla in hindsight though I must say).

The Mata one was the big frustration. As Spanish reports confirmed, everything was in place to complete the £18m signing of the play maker.

He doesn't listen, and he needed to be told to spend some money.

It wasn't the right time, agree on that, but he had to be told.

Will he act? Is there even a player out there available, who could strengthen us greatly? We will see soon.

I'm not arguing about whether the boos were justified or not, just the timing of them. Whether they work or not, after the game is the time to do it, not during.

I've read several times that Mata took a signing on fee of 7 million from Chelsea, so it was as if we were effectively paying 25 million for him and you know that that's too much for Wenger to pay.

In all cases, fans should be and are allowed to express their emotions and frustration. After all, they paid to be there and watch the team...but why boo when the team is playing? If you're paying all that money, then at least support the team, not boo or chant against the board or Wenger.

The timing couldn't have been worse really, that's all I'm saying.
Still not as bad as the fans that wanted us to lose on purpose though

Iceman wrote:I've read several times that Mata took a signing on fee of 7 million from Chelsea, so it was as if we were effectively paying 25 million for him and you know that that's too much for Wenger to pay.

In all cases, fans should be and are allowed to express their emotions and frustration. After all, they paid to be there and watch the team...but why boo when the team is playing? If you're paying all that money, then at least support the team, not boo or chant against the board or Wenger.

The timing couldn't have been worse really, that's all I'm saying.
Still not as bad as the fans that wanted us to lose on purpose though

Nasri was sold for 25 million the same money we could have bought Mata, why is he so cheap?

Mata>>>>>>Nasri.

He was not planing to buy any more players only the beating at the hand of United forced him to panic buy, even Artea said it himself.

The Arsenal board and Wenger have not been truthful and have not repay the fans for paying high ticket prices.I know wishing for a team to lose is wrong but what would have happened if we only lost to united by a goal or 2?

We would have been struggling and competing Wigan for the worst team.The fans are turning against everyday and Wenger is at fault.

Iceman wrote:I've read several times that Mata took a signing on fee of 7 million from Chelsea, so it was as if we were effectively paying 25 million for him and you know that that's too much for Wenger to pay.

In all cases, fans should be and are allowed to express their emotions and frustration. After all, they paid to be there and watch the team...but why boo when the team is playing? If you're paying all that money, then at least support the team, not boo or chant against the board or Wenger.

The timing couldn't have been worse really, that's all I'm saying.
Still not as bad as the fans that wanted us to lose on purpose though

My Question is WHY to the part in red. I do not support spending crazy money but you have to replace your players no matter what even if you have to spend more than u like.

If I love the club, and leave early from my job, risking getting fired, and watching the game. The only bright light in that match was AOC but Mr. Wenger switched it off and replaced it with Arshavin. What do you expect from me to do after seeing that?? I just thank god that the players atleast showed some heart in the second half otherwise I would have committed suicide.

Regarding the booing between a match I think that was a cumulative effect of whats happening at the club for last 4-5 years. Fans are humans you cannot expect them to have godly patience.

mani88 wrote:

My Question is WHY to the part in red. I do not support spending crazy money but you have to replace your players no matter what even if you have to spend more than u like.

If I love the club, and leave early from my job, risking getting fired, and watching the game. The only bright light in that match was AOC but Mr. Wenger switched it off and replaced it with Arshavin. What do you expect from me to do after seeing that?? I just thank god that the players atleast showed some heart in the second half otherwise I would have committed suicide.

Regarding the booing between a match I think that was a cumulative effect of whats happening at the club for last 4-5 years. Fans are humans you cannot expect them to have godly patience.

Yes exactly, the boo was not just for that one game it has been coming for years. Fans pay good prices to go and watch Arsenal and all Wenger does brings in rejects from other clubs.

Just how good we would have been with Mata, I am still sick to my stomach Arsenal let him go because Wenger was stubborn to spend Nasri money on him.

How can players like Walcott and Ramsey improve when they know they will start games no matter how bad they play. No pressure at all, they think they are superstars.

frediville says: When did we stop being a title contending team to a team struggling to secure d fourth slot for champions league playoff. Pls note dt if AW isn’t buying world class players, it isn’t bcos he hasn’t been given money…it is bcos he believes he can prove d whole world wrong. Funny enough, no one in d Arsenal board is saying anything. What a shame

from another site.

I agree with this guy, and I think Wengers problem is that he wants to show the world they are wrong and he is right. As long as he keeps making money for the board they dont care what Wenger does.