Arsenal Lobby

Goal.com says 'Protecting his Legacy is the Final Challenge for Wenger'


Basically states that Wenger's reign is coming to its end and that what he needs to do is ensure the state of the club is stable enough for the next coach to take over and take Arsenal to the next level. Almost jerked a tear out of me thinking that there may be some truth to it if we really don't win anything or finish top 4. Still think this season can easily be turned around and this debacle forgotten since Wenger always respects his contract anyway and would be here until it expired.

http://www.goal.com/en/news/1717/editorial/2012/12/13/3599277/protecting-his-legacy-is-the-final-challenge-for-wenger-at

I think whatever Wenger does before he ends up parting ways with the club, he's got to shake things up a bit and get the squad to recover their self-respect but also their sense of teamwork. Recently I took a look at the first half of the 2006 CL final again and what struck me is how much better, and more fiercely determined, was the entire team's movement for each other and toward goal. Older Wengerball wasn't just a vertical longball game but it was always clear that the goal was the target. Now, though ... good technique seems subordinated to a fear of losing the ball and a lack of squad-wide chemistry (we only see it in snippets here & there). So high pressure on our possesion + crosses into the box are the embarrassingly easy method for opponents to pick Arsenal's lock. I'll just repeat myself: a few quality signings and the clearing out of "dead wood" are needed, but it's the mentality at the club. Wenger could start by rewarding players with more match time who do well & apply themselves, including the likes of Thomas Eisfeld; and also by benching players who fail to perform. Gervinho missing a couple of sitters wouldn't be so bad if he notched goals more regularly, but he's not even doing that.

Wenger is so stubborn and a control-freak. Driving me mad now.

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Alisher Usmanov: "Thierry Henry should become a coach at Arsenal" - http://bit.ly/TY69eo

Samuelj29060 wrote:Wenger is so stubborn and a control-freak. Driving me mad now.

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Alisher Usmanov: "Thierry Henry should become a coach at Arsenal" - http://bit.ly/TY69eo

Usmanov please save us, get rid of the board and send Satan back hell.

What else this man has to do and say for the fans to take him?

Usmanov feels "a more important" backroom role would aid Arsenal further than playing time on the pitch, and highlighted the impact that Patrick Vieira - another former player held in high regard at the Emirates Stadium - has had at Manchester City.

"I don't have any powers in terms of decisions at the club but there are a few players with whom I am in contact," Usmanov told L'Equipe.

"My favourite is probably Thierry Henry. Thierry should be involved at the club but not as a player. He has another role to play, a more important role. Take the example of Patrick Vieira at Manchester City. He is also a symbol of Arsenal but he is helping another club. We have to avoid that with Thierry."

Henry scored twice in seven appearances for Arsenal in a short-term loan deal last season but, despite this success, Usmanov feels a similar deal will not reap the same rewards.

He continued: "The presence of a champion can radically change the soul of a team. That’s what Thierry showed last year when he came back to Arsenal but I think that comebacks only succeed once. That’s why I think the decision to come back belongs only to Thierry Henry."

EMMANUEL PETIT claims top stars will no longer want to join Arsenal — because the club never wins anything.

“The big worry today is that even if Arsenal have the money who are they going to get to join the club now?

“The idea they have been giving off for seven years is that it’s a club which doesn’t win trophies and at the end of the season their best players will leave.

“The feeling is that Arsenal are creating a generation of players who will leave in the hope of going to another club in order to win something.”

Petit, however, is still backing boss Wenger to get the club out of this mess.

He says the Gunners have been unable to compete in the transfer market as the club funded its move from Highbury to the Emirates in 2006.

And Petit insists now those economic constraints have been loosened boss Wenger can put the club on a more equal footing with its rivals.

He said: “I’m still convinced Wenger’s the man for the job because over the last 15 years he has been a master-builder.

“He hasn’t won anything for seven years because since the club moved to the Emirates they’ve had to tighten their belts and sell their best players all the time.

“They also couldn’t get involved in overbidding in the transfer market.

“But now they have a fairly big surplus and so can compete again.”

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4696799/Emmanuel-Petit-Who-wants-to-join-a-team-of-losers.html#ixzz2EzxrqjSO

Only another five years and we can look forward to Woolwich Arsenal playing London derbies against the likes of Mortlake Rovers and Richmond Eleven

ARSENAL legend Nigel Winterburn has revealed Arsene Wenger will not spend the big bucks — as the club cannot afford it.

“I was with Arsene three or four weeks ago doing a Q&A at Arsenal and he was asked about buying a £30m player.

“He was saying ‘We can’t afford to do that’. That surprised me a little bit.

“He was saying ‘£30m in transfer fees, with wages you’re probably looking at another £25-30m. We could not compete on that level’.”

But Winterburn, who played 584 Arsenal games between 1987 and 2000, is convinced no top players want to join now anyway.

He said: “If you are talking about a £30m player — Manchester City would also be going for him, maybe Manchester United and maybe Chelsea.

“Right now he’s not coming to Arsenal.”

Former England defender Winterburn is convinced that Robin van Persie’s decision to join Manchester United in the summer sent out a warning.

He said: “Why are the players saying ‘You know what? I’m going to wait until my contract runs out and see what happens?’

“Arsene Wenger would tell you they are not trying to sign those players too late and that negotiations start with two years to go.

“But maybe they need to start even earlier.”

Winterburn also warned the Arsenal board they were sitting on a powder-keg — and the fuse has been burning for a while.

He said: “The frustration is not just about this season but from the last two or three seasons.

“The vision that they were sold when they moved to the Emirates was that they had to move there to compete with the top teams.

“A lot of the supporters are feeling that we are now slipping even further behind those teams.

“Why are the top players leaving? Is it because those top players believe we are not moving in the right direction?

“Is it because the people at the top are not able to secure the services of the very top players?

“It is becoming so frustrating for those supporters. And more than a few are starting to feel that Arsene Wenger will not change his ways and maybe it is Arsene Wenger.

“They have quality players and they have to stand up and be counted as they are starting to be questioned as much as Wenger — and the board as well.

“Arsenal have not won anything for seven years now — and they really are under pressure.”

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4696829/Nigel-Winterburn-We-cant-afford-to-buy.html#ixzz2F00ATSLl

Yes ofcourse.

When things are not rosy, ever Tom, Dick and effing sonnabitch Harry has an opinion of whats wrong and whats to be done.

Opinions are like arseholes anyway - everyones got one.

To know what Wenger thinks, read my signature.

Arsenal's record this season up until October's interlull: W6 D3 L1. Arsenal's record since October's interlull: W5 D4 L6.
meaningless internationals

we will turn it around
and make media and haters look like clowns
just stick together and get behind the team

With you 200% Sina

Will have preview up tonight or tomorrow afternoon time.

Meantime, Arsène Wenger's pre-Reading Press conference - http://bit.ly/Y1Ug9N

srigooner wrote:Yes ofcourse.

When things are not rosy, ever Tom, Dick and effing sonnabitch Harry has an opinion of whats wrong and whats to be done.

Opinions are like arseholes anyway - everyones got one.

They all stink, and for whatever reason people love to show them off on the internet.

Wenger quotes pre-Reading:

on reports of a bust-up with Bould: "I can not control the lies that are written in the newspapers."

on if exiting the league cup will affect Walcott negotiations: "Why would going out of the Capital One cup affect that?"

on if he is the right man for the job still: "I've answered this question already. Let's not become 'parrotic'."

on Walcott links with other clubs: "At least it keeps the papers busy."

Wenger: "I take all the flack? I'm here for that, and you (media) do that very well."

"I love football, I love this club & I'll give my best for this club. All the talk doesn't interfere with my thinking AT ALL."

"We have gone through difficult periods before. We know how to turn it around."

Speaking on Absolute Radio Ian Wright has slammed fans who still believe in Wenger, labeling them 'deluded'.

Here's Arsene Wenger's full transcript from his newspaper press conference on Friday.

Q: You are getting all the criticism, especially after Bradford. At what stage do you have to start looking at the players?

AW: "I believe I do my job the way I have to do it."

Q: So, you're happy taking all the criticism?

AW: "Happy? Maybe you go a bit overboard. It is my job so I do it. I would prefer it if everyone says I am fantastic. I cannot say we were fantastic when we lost on penalties at Bradford."

Q: But you're happy to take it on your broad shoulders rather than blaming the players? Why? Do you feel it inhibits their performances?

AW: "I am responsible for the results."

Q: You fielded a good team the other night, full of experience. At what point do the players have to say: 'hang on, we're responsible.' When do they have to look at themselves?

AW: "They do, don't worry. You think they don't care and they go home and think they had a fantastic game? They do care."

Q: When do you see their response? Does it translate in training?

AW: "Of course. We prepare for games seriously. You have to give them credit. It was a Cup game on an English December night in Bradford. You have to give Bradford credit. Unfortunately we paid the price.

"They kicked Wigan out as well. That shows they have something that they are difficult to beat.

"We put ourselves in a more difficult situation than when we were 1-0. We got off the hook with 1-1 and we should have made the difference with 30 minutes to play."

Q: Can you understand the concerns of the supporters generally at the moment?

AW: "Of course."

Q: Have you see a reaction from the players since Tuesday?

AW: "I have had groups who had fantastic results who were less serious than these players, believe me. Players who were less focused than this team."

Q: And they won trophies?

AW: "Yes."

Q: So are those players hurting if they're under performing?

AW: "Of course these players are hurting."

Q: If these players are much better are you disappointed with some of the players you've bought over the last three or four years?

AW: "Names?"

Q: Well, you don't want to name names do you?

AW: "You name them."

Q: Well, Gervinho, then.

Q: Gervinho, Chamakh, Santos, Park, Squillaci?

Q: Some of those players were big buys. What's happened to Park? It's an extraordinary situation.

AW: "Who are the big buys?"

Q: Well, Gervinho?

AW: "How much?"

Q: £11m.

AW: "He was £8m."

Q: Well, do you feel he is fulfilling his potential at the moment?

AW: "Gervinho?"

Q: Yes.

AW: "Gervinho is a good player, yes."

Q: Is he at the top of his form?

AW: "I don't want to go into individual assessments."

Q: But generally are you disappointed with the level of signings? Generally?

AW: "Generally, what?

Q: These players are nowhere near as good, are they?

AW: "Chamakh was a big buy? He was free. Squillaci nearly free. You cannot say that we have a squad of no quality. They are international players."

Q: I could miss from two yards, but Gervinho is not supposed to?

AW: "You can and everybody can."

Q: What's the difference now between this team and other teams which have won trophies?

AW: "The difference is that we have created a new team. I believe that some players have come in, some players have come back from injuries and we have to show now until the end of the season that we have the quality that I think we have."

Q: Generally are things getting better or worse?

AW: "Look, it depends on how you judge."

Q: Are you improving?

AW: "We finished third last year, OK?"

Q: You haven't kicked on though?

AW: "We have not kicked on, that's true. But we have rebuilt a team this year and we'll see where we finish.

"At the moment, we have qualified for the Champions League (knock out stages) for 13 years on the trot out of the last 16. When I listen to you, it must be a mistake there: why is this team in this spot? It sounds like we should be in a Championship spot.

"At the moment, you have to take a little bit of distance as well before making a definite judgement on what we are capable of doing.

"No other team has done that in the Champions League. This season at the moment we are not happy with what we have produced. But we will turn it around before the end of the season."

Q: You have the fourth highest wage bill in the Premier League, behind Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea. Leaving aside however much they cost, Gervinho and Chamakh are earning big money. Are the players offering value for money?

AW: "Yes. First of all, you don't know their wages. Secondly, you accuse us of not paying the wages the players want and on the other hand you accuse of giving them the money they want.

"If you are in that situation then it's because we are in the Champions League and we can produce the money. And secondly we are under pressure from Man City, Man United and Chelsea pay three times more the highest wages than us to pay the players these wages.

"We live in a competitive world. If they want to sign here - then they can say: 'I can get three times more there.'"

Q: Can you and will you buy big in January?

AW: "We will buy Lionel Messi in January and we will surprise you."

Q: With Usmanov's money or Kroenke's money?

AW: "What do you call big?"

Q: Would you like some of Usmanov's money?

AW: "Look, I've always said the same which is that we want to produce the money from our own resources."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/arsene-wenger-qa-read-the-full-1489566

p.s John Cross is a c*nt.

Wenger

John Cross

AW you Legend

4th highest wage but 15th in net spend

Wenger was basically trolling the guy the whole time and he didn't even notice. What a tricky customer he is.

LOL @ at that table, we're practically spending 1m/season

Dang lol i read that entire interview. I loved AW's responses

But seriously some of the questions asked....
I mean he asks "Do you think Gervinho is at the top of his form?" - When Gervinho has hit a new low.........seriously....

Preview will be online tonight.

A weekend which Arsenal aren't playing nowadays seems peaceful rather than boring as it used to be.

Wilshere reveals he will sign a new contract with Arsenal in the next two weeks - http://es.pn/SYO9yo

GET INNNNNNNNN

David Ornstein ‏@bbcsport_david

Wilshere close to new Arsenal deal, Ramsey & Jenkinson done & likely to be announced with Ox & Gibbs as #afc build British core

Ahhhh yes. Dat British core committing their futures to the cannon.

That British core doesn't include Walcott, it seems.

Well, not like that's totally surprisingly.