Catching up after being away for the weekend and not sure if it has been mentioned but was that Elneny's best performance in an Arsenal shirt?

The lack of investment was more an historical point and an important one, I'm sure we would be in a different place now if the Club had backed him more a decade ago. Agree of late he has amassed an inordinate amount of dross. My gripe was more with the nonsense about his earlier incarnation, remember AW was the one that converted Lauren into a very effective full back; promoted Cole to the first team; persuaded Campbell to make the leap of faith; turned Toure into a cb and capped it off with the fruit loop between the sticks. I would say that was quite a demonstration of how to build a defence.

3 up at home to Watford in a league season that's dead anyway seems like a no brainer.

He didn't have super bucks but I recall he waited 2 years to sign chamakh on a free who was dogshit and gave him a 60k a week contract and also turned down alonso from Liverpool because he deemed him not worth the extra 500k they wanted.

He signed Lauren to play right midfield it was fortuitous he adapted.

He wanted to sell Cole to palace till Bergkamp told him it was a mistake in doing so

Dein signed Campbell not Wenger. Read Campbell's book

Toure was a great buy whose lack of competency in defence was made up by his speed, effort and heart and the fact he had 2 world class defenders stood next to him.

Cheers

I'm not sure I agree that it's only recently he transformed into a increasingly dysfunctional manager, I think he's always been the same guy but the formula that worked to bring such huge success in the early years didn't later on because time had changed and he didn't change style.

The point I'm making isnt so much to deride his achievements which in the early years were significant and fantastic but to simply say that he's always been the same manager, same person with the same stubborn attitude and it just isn't working anymore.

McGuane plays in a variety of positions, but particularly defensive midfield. We are very average in this position at first team level and presumably it was the likes of Coquelin and Elneny keeping him from progressing a bit quicker. I can't really see the wisdom in that.
Nelson has had some chances this season to play, and I don't like petulant reactions from the bench,
BUT
What's the point of a youth system if you let the best prospects walk? How can a player like McGuane come out and say that he never had as much as a conversation with Wenger in many years at the club? This is a player good enough to attract Barcelona btw, not some jumped up no mark. Nelson has the potential to be a top quality wide attacker, something we're crying out for - so get him on the pitch as often as you can, I say.
3 up at home to Watford in a league season that's dead anyway seems like a no brainer.

He didn't have super bucks but I recall he waited 2 years to sign chamakh on a free who was dogshit and gave him a 60k a week contract and also turned down alonso from Liverpool because he deemed him not worth the extra 500k they wanted.

Catching up after being away for the weekend and not sure if it has been mentioned but was that Elneny's best performance in an Arsenal shirt?

I don't think it's a question of lack of the club backing

Don't forget Arsene was "walking on water " back then , if he'd asked for funds even when the stadium was being built I'm sure the club would have responded .

Spending big money wasn't / isn't his style ; he's an Op Shop rummager , loves a bargain [ his grey jersey is testamant to that ]

There is less kudos in buying several semi trailers of the most expensive talent Man City style ; than picking up a disillusioned Thierry Henry on the cheap , changing his position and turning him into the world's best .

Plus I've said it before and we can all be wise after the fact ...... but our reserves with Bendtner and Co were wiping out Premier League teams in the League Cup , this led him to believe they could be seemlessly integrated into the first team and not have to spend the Big Bucks .

Currently showing at Cinema Emirates ... "Turgid Football" ..... been on for some time ; to rubbish reviews but no sign of change .

This looking down at the peasants from his ivory tower with that supercilious smirk ..." what do they know " attitude will be his downfall .

This looking down at the peasants from his ivory tower with that supercilious smirk ..." what do they know " attitude will be his downfall -

If they are good enough, they will get the chance. Like Bellerin, Holding and Iwobi.

http://metro.co.uk/2018/03/12/arsenal-board-put-massimiliano-allegri-at-top-of-wish-list-to-replace-arsene-wenger-after-tottenham-defeat-7382407/

I don't see any reason Allegri would leave the 'Old Lady' and come to us. Other than money. Or as a stepping stone to a top EPL job.

If they are good enough, and they all looked it at first, is their deterioration since just a difficult but temporary period many young players experience? Or have they been Wengerised in a longer-term, meaning for as long as Mr Arse-hole - sorry, predictive text is playing up - Mr Arsene is around?

At this point, I think he is a much better player than the kid who broke into the team.

http://metro.co.uk/2018/03/12/arsenal-board-put-massimiliano-allegri-at-top-of-wish-list-to-replace-arsene-wenger-after-tottenham-defeat-7382407/

I don't see any reason Allegri would leave the 'Old Lady' and come to us. Other than money. Or as a stepping stone to a top EPL job.

Worthwhile observations. I too think Wenger has changed. He tried to tactically get ahead of the game, but has backed the wrong horse on that one. He didn't seem to realise that to imitate Barcelona but with elements of the old Arsenal style, you need really really really excellent footballers, and even Cesc, for his precocious genius, is not a Iniesta, Messi or Xavi. Subsequently in recent years he's tried to re-jig the team, but instead has given us a lack of any discernible identity or pattern to our play.

I also think he has lost some of his mojo as a person. There is a reason we have a retirement age. No matter how sharp the mind, how much one has learnt, there are certain qualities, such as physical energy and an ability to really connect with young people that do in general diminish over time, and it is much easier to see that from the outside.

Most of us have had a parent age and struggle to adjust to the fact that certain things that were almost second nature get slightly more difficult, long before any significant physical decline. There are certain things I can't do quite as well as I did when I joined SGF 18 years ago, for all the knowledge and wisdom and expertise I may have gained. In the same time, it is inevitable that Wenger has gained in some areas and lost in others.

Wenger sold Vieira and tried to redesign the team around Cesc. It didn't quite work. Why not? Because Cesc wasn't quite good enough? Was Cesc really not as good as Xavi? Or because we had horrible luck with injuries in that period? We look back and try to find reasons, but I think a lot of what happen in sport is luck. More specifically, bad luck.

As for your second point: I completely agree. A lot of the old zest and zing had gone and I don't even miss it. If I had anything like Wenger's money I would retire immediately and fade away gracefully. Evidently Wenger is more a 'Rage, rage against the dying of the light', rather than a "bring the sundowners and turn down the sheets" sort of bloke.

Afternoon dec. I'm surprised you wrote that about any of the three, including Bellerin. At last week's Q&A Lee Dixon, who I suggest would know far more about what it takes to be a full back than any of us, said words to the effect that Bellerin has gone downhill from the player he was when he first came into the side. From memory one thing he said was that Bellerin now does his 'head in'.

Dixon put it down to below par training, not him being crap. Lee even said he would be willing to train Arsenal's full backs on a part-time basis himself. In short, he thinks they need it. Poor training, at least on the face of it, may contribute to what I've been calling Wengerisation, as well as things like a lack of organisation.

However, I believe Bellerin has tons of potential and I'd hate to see Barcelona get him, if they do still want him. Also, despite what I see as his decline, I would still want him to be picked for important games. The most important games we have left this season are in my view those in the Europa League, albeit I think it would take a balls up of such huge proportions to get knocked out against Milan, Thursday's game doesn't strike me as that crucial. So if he's fit and available I want him to be picked for Europa League games after Thursday.

Regarding the others, has Holding been as good as he looked last season? I wasn't totally convinced by him last season but I think he's been worse this one. I also think Iowbi looks worse than he did when he first came into the team.

If I had anything like Wenger's money I would retire immediately and fade away gracefully. Evidently Wenger is more a 'Rage, rage against the dying of the light', rather than a "bring the sundowners and turn down the sheets" sort of bloke.

Man U need 2 goals in 15 mins or they're out.
As I write Sevilla get their second. Looks all over now.
Mourinho's negative tactics haven't worked.

Sanchez out of Europe..................

Mkhi still in till the day after tomorrow at least.

More important Mourinho's days at Utd will start counting down. The board will soon be asking questions. He has spent a fairly large amount of money and his tactics ofdefence defence defence find him out. I am not sure it is what the fans want at Utd in relation to attacking football.

As for Alexis I let it go along time ago.

His press conference will be enough for a large number of the fans to turn on Mourinho.

"I've sat in this chair twice before, with Porto - Man Utd out, with Real Madrid - Man Utd out, so this is nothing new for this football club."

He really doesn't give a *%^@.

Even Bernard's stance on Ljungberg has softened!

Sánchez signed a 4½ year contract with United to June 2022 that is worth around £600,000 a week once a £20 million signing on fee, bonuses and image rights are factored in. It makes him comfortably the highest paid player in Premier League history. Total contract value £140m.