Özil was a tough one. We had him defending on Jorginho and he restricted him first half. But then he isn’t creative. After Chelsea scored I thought he gave up.

Sorry mate, but I'm right.
Emery and the team did well to reach the final and I'm very disappointed but we were outclassed by simple keep it tight and score the first goal tactics by Chelsea. Didn't see that capitulation coming. Niles was brilliant first half but had a stinker second.
Anyway Özil and Kolasinac have to go.
I think Lacazette may be replacing Griezmann.
The back 5 is pish poor and feckin boring.
Feckin *%^@

The back 5 is only being used because our defenders are either past it, injured and unavailable or rubbish (or Sokratis and trying to do the job of 3). Emery has always used a back 4 prior to this season. When we had Holding and/or Bellerin he played a back 4. He reverted to a back 5 because we had no right back who could both attack and defend in the absence of Bellerin, and because Kos can't run anymore, and because Mustafi is a walking cock-up, and because Monreal can't get up and down at full back any longer and because Kolasinac can't defend properly in more than 1 game out of 3.

If we get a proper centre-half it will be back to the back 4 as our injured first choice lads return.

AMN was ok in the first half because he got a lot more support.

Doubt Lacazette will replace Griezmann. He only wanted to go to Athletico because Greizmann is his best mate.

Agree re Özil and Kolasinac

You can change managers, Allegri, bloody Pep Guardiola, it won't matter. You can bring in whomever and it wont matter. The Arsenal is f*cked for the forseeable future for one reason and one reason only. Management. I'm hard pressed to think of any club that wins DESPITE an owner that doesn't care. How do you do that?

Maybe one of you can find an example of one but it would be a rare exception. Top 4 in a league like the PL requires an interested owner. We don't have one and this won't change for a couple decades at least. It's depressing. We may see a slide into mediocrity. The only way out? Wish the next recession which many respected economists say is practically a certainty by 2020 or 2021, ruins Kroenke enough to sell. Not sure if that is possible. I don't know his finances. He owned a lot of malls for years and malls are now a financial albatross in America, 25 percent expected to close. Maybe he moved his money out.

Anyway, we may have squeezed more out of this season than we were really capable and if that is so, and I suspect it is, Emery deserves the credit. The problem isn't Emery. Just like ultimately it wasn't Wenger either. I don't know for the life of me, we will blame the CEO of Starbucks if something goes wrong in one of the stores he has no idea even exists in that location. But we won't blame the owner of Arsenal. Boggles the mind how some fans will reduce the issues down to a player or players or a manager instead of who put them there. Mind boggling but some fans are simply simplistic.

This may very well be the best season Arsenal will have for some time. We won't spend in this summer or any other summer. You all might as well, look at the LA Rams for comfort. Because our NFL sister is where our owner's hard work and money is going.

Hmm. English is not my first language but I fail to see how my sentence is a clear implication he's going to improve on this season. I'm adopting a wait and see approach. If we can get about 75 points next season, that would show steady progress. Less than 70 points and no cup must be seen as a failure and to be sacked.

Priority is definitely to get in quality defenders - a cb and left back. I suppose we can make do with current midfielders and forwards for another season/transfer window.

Now now Granty Boy ... that isn't the modern way . The days of a Roy Keane , Tony Adams verbal making you aware you aren't cutting the mustard are long gone .
Makes me laugh when an attempted pass that clears the striker's head by twenty metres and lands in Row G of the stands is applauded .

I'd guess Unai is Wenger Mark 2 .

Mind you having said this neither Adams or Keane were great shakes as managers so maybe I'm talking sh**t as per usual .

And there it is. "Arsenal are the first team to concede four in a single half of a Europa League final in any of its incarnations dating back 47 years". I wonder how many of these stinking records Arsenal now hold.

With the team he inherited, Emery performed above expectations. He has made some tactical mistakes once in a while but he is in a new league, etc.
We improved from last season. Many clubs such as Man Utd have faltered badly after a coaching change. Furthermore, we are no longer a sought after position. That's done. We could have had Allegri but our owner isn't spending money. I don't think we can attract top, top managers any longer. The only way we get someone top is if there are no other top clubs looking for a manager. I hate to think this but its a slow steady decline for us unless there is a full fledged fan revolt and I don't see that happening.
We are more vulnerable to the clubs below us than we are to catching the ones above. This final has got to be one of the must enjoyable for Chelsea fans to keep us out. I'm just glad I wasn't in the pub back in America to see it alongside Chelsea fans. I credit those Arsenal fans risking a visit there. I tip my hat for putting up with the singing and gloating.

There needs to be 5 new players in that first team. (3 defenders, midf,wing) minimum

That doesn’t account for Özil who as far as I’m concerned should be stuck in the reserves. (A new low when willock came on to replace him)

The team has just not had enough investment anywhere particularly in defence. I’m not a fan of Xhaka but I felt at least he was trying to fight a bit.

I agree with Lomekians comments about the structure of the team and think fans calling for Emery’s head are as thick as mince, it doesn’t change anything. Any manager is struggling with that lot.

Having been to a European final and lost my thoughts are with the fans who spent a fortune and are on there way back

This is plain retarded

Then why did PSG have him and are Barcelona after him,

I’d run a million miles if I was him. Why be involved with our shitshow of a club. Champagne expectations on a poverty budget and inherited a squad with 3 decent players In it and a shocking mentality and culture

Run Unai go to Barca

From what it looks like there was no atmosphere. Was Cesc right? Did anyone on here go to the match? Imagine, a european cup final that is also a derby and its described as a "dull" atmosphere? Shocking.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football ... wQez0xPwyk

Yes this is spot on. He doesn’t believe in 5 defenders because he wants a solid 4 but he has to because of our budget and issues. No manager can fix that, a George in his prime struggles with this team defensively

The sad reality is that when word of the result trickles to Kroenke, he will say something to the effect "what a great season, the club went to a final in Europe. No need to spend, we have the right guy in there."

Hmm..looking at the schedule at the top of this forum, Kroenke is double dipping having us play one of his other sides. I expect us to play in the new LA Rams stadium as well. In the match against his MLS club Colorado Rapids, I really do wonder who he will cheer for and even worse yet, he gives a d*mn.

Same at wolves
Same at liecester
Same away to Liverpool
Same at Everton
Same at Rennes

Towards the end of last season I was trying to think of the last time away from home that we went behind in the game, 1-0, 2-1, and went on to even get a draw from the match?
Obviously Valencia but when was the last time in the prem? It is a huge sign of the lack of character in the team. Adversity is going behind away from home and we simply never recover

So Emery only plays a back 5 because he doesn’t have the players for a back 4. The assumption is that when he gets the players he wants he plays a 4-3-3.
My question is should he have stuck with how he wanted to play from the start and ingrained that style in the players he wanted to keep?
You could argue he has lost a years worth of tactical drilling in to players he wants.

Klopp and Pep played their style from the start. Both struggled with certain aspects. Yes they had money to fix it but the players they kept already knew the system so it was slotting 3-4 new players in rather than teaching the new system to everyone

People were saying he should be sacked after 6 months. He’s had to compromise in order to win football matches.

He needs a left back that he can trust and a centre half. It’s been the defining problem of our season

I would argue we missed 5 players who would make our best 11.
Leno was self inflicted and Čech played well
Bellerin and Ramsey no doubt would be there
Holding definitely starts in a back 3, quite easily does in a back 2
Also if fit all season I think Welbeck would have been in the first 11 by the end. He is the most effective winger in the squad

I heard the comma talkloads about loftus-cheek and Hudson-Odoi missing but the reality is that was Chelsea’s first 11 minus rudiger

Should be a career ending performance from Özil. I would never select him again. FFS he gets paid (I won't say earns) £50,000 per day!

No one will buy him on those wages. Even on a free we will be paying his wages (or most of them) until his contract ends.

Get rid asap.

Get in three new defenders and a wide forward (maybe from the lower divisions) and bring in the youth. That is the very best we can hope for.

We are *%^@**. This will be a very long rebuild that will require excellent wheeling and dealing. Not sure we have that sort of skill set in our management set up.

It is really hard to see too many positives from either the team or the manager this season.

If feels like we snatched defeat from the jaws of victory with our end of season capitulation.

Yes, we finished 7 points ahead of last season's total but it was starting from a very low base and frankly we should have been closer to 20 points better off given the run-in we had.

I'd give Emery a 6 out of 10 this season, not terrible but no great shakes either. Our end of season was relegation form and that has to reflect badly on the manager as well as the players.

Guendouzi was a positive, AMN was promising, Leno improved and might be the answer, Lacazette and Aubameyang carried us at times. Torriera started well but tailed off.

Have we sold anyone yet. For a bit of cost cutting we should have left the players to find their own way home.

feeble

It is shocking how the club was allowed to continuously get worse and worse year on year, whilst actually spending more and more money.
If you wanted the perfect storm of who to ruin a football club you had it with Arsenal:
Owner who doesn't care and doesn't invest
Manager (Wenger) who blindly does the same thing that made us fail before
Spending huge sums of money on sub-par players
Paying sub-par players huge wages that then can't be shifted
Paying awful players far too good money so even they can't be shifted
Selling players for dirt cheap money
letting players run down their contracts and lose them for nothing
Assemble a playing staff with no character, leadership or backbone

In the last 5 years I can count on one hand the number of good decisions Arsenal have made. A few signings here and there, the new adidas deal is good as it puts us up alongside clubs who are far better than us, finally sacking wenger - but thats about it

After the game a couple of things were finalised in my mind that were in abeyance at the end of the EPL. Kos must go - he’s had it and I wouldn’t have him even around for cup games. Injuries and his lack of mobility are a problem. Only keep Xhaka if we get no buyers. He is slow and cannot defend despite being a defensive player. Monreal same as Kos. Would give N-M 6 months next year but he makes too many critical errors. If it continues he should go. I accept that young players will make mistakes but his seem to be major errors and he seems to panic as in when he gave away the penalty - just showed a lack of any composure.

Many of the other decisions the club should make, but I suspect they will not involve players who are msjor disappointments and must be moved on - Mustafi, Özil etc.

The way Emery talked at the press conference there will be an expectation that some players from the youth will step up. Unfortunately I have not seen one player to match either Fabergas or Bellerins ability from the youths set up.

This is the sort of nonsense that bedevils modern football. Klopp finished 6th in his first season and I remember his team get right hidings like being beaten 6-0 by Stoke. You've got to give him a chance. If there is a silver lining it is that he and the entire coaching staff at the club cannot but see the limitations in the squad and are now forced to act. Sticking kids in is not the answer. As I have said at best 1/2 every so often come through. Most don't make it as this level. Nekhetia, Smith-Rowe have shown little to suggest they can make it as this level. Willock; jury is out. I hope I am wrong by the way. Even with sales + 40 million a decent manager could get some seasoned pros to improve the squad. The English league is the biggest in the world so players will want to come and play here.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/bl ... ry-chelsea

Good summary.

'Arsenal messed up the end of the season twice over...

...they have lost their past four European finals, a time span encompassing teams from 1995, 2000, 2006 and 2019.'

Specialists in failure.

Jenkinson, Mustafi, Kos, Monreal, Kolasinac, Elneny, Xhaka, Mkhitaryan, Özil. That is lot of deadwood to shift in one window. Actually Kos and Monreal aren't deadwood, just way past their best.

One thong saying get rid but who is going to buy them?

Kevin Whitcher calling for Emery’s head.

https://www.onlinegooner.com/articles/view/4783

Normally I really enjoy his writing but I’ve never read such bollocks. It must have been written in a moment of anger.

If you sack him you have to pay his 7 million salary off plus probably another 3 million laying off his staff. This probably comes out of our transfer pot and then you know what the next guy still has a *%^@ squad and less money to spend.

Athletico have apparently bid 71 million for Chilwell at Leicester, our budget is half of that. What manager on the planet can work with these restrictions.

It’s literally like the Tories replacing their leader, fine and well but what are you going to do now to fix this issue.

But also how much money would you get and would it be enough to replace them.

You can sit them down and tell them they are unlikely to be part of the plans for next year.

Ozils situation needs a pragmatic conversation between the manager, the MD plus Özil and his agent otherwise he’s liable to start getting booed next season. He’s been appalling this year

Probably over priced but he’s a very good player.

I really don’t know why they haven’t been biting our hand off for Monreal or Kolasinac.

Unfortunately, with a budget of £40m we need a genius for a manager and the mother of all scouting networks and negotiating teams, none of which we appear to have.

Maybe it sounds stronger than I mean, but it is what I mean, you haven’t said it, that’s why it’s an implication. Whilst I would also keep Emery for next season, I can’t see us doing anything but worse than the 5th we finished this season and nothing in Europe. Not because he’s necessarily terrible but that he’d have to thread the eye of a needle several times over to even get us in the top 4. And when push came to shove we blew a really really good chance to close that out and *%^@ the bed in the showpiece.

Precisely, we’d have to do exceptionally in several different areas, and we can’t really even do above average in one. I’m trying, and failing, to see any other reality than that one result has basically has sunk us for 5 years minimum. Unless something dramatically changes investment wise. I’m not being doom and gloom, genuinely that’s the situation and I’m coming to terms with that. We’ve been reduced to north London Everton. We have no edge like City(financial), no will or capacity to invest(City, Liverpool), no strong first 11 (Tottenham) no really good players in their prime who are just underperforming/being mismanaged (Utd, Chelsea) Nothing to draw on. It only equals us sliding further and you can buck the trend for a while but eventually reality bites.

Without knowing the terms of Özil contract it is difficult to know whether we could put him out on loan. If possible and the lawyers think we can do it I would probably ring A small club in the Scottish second division and see if they will take him and we pay his wages. Best if it is nowhere near a large city and very difficult to get to from London. Failure to train and play would likely result in a fundamental breach of his contract. Make the lawyers rich but their bill will never amount to 50k per day. It is amazing how you can make a person see a different perspective in life if they are playing on a bog hole in mid winter and having the shite kicked out of you.

This letter on Football365 is a pretty depressing read, albeit one I agree with.

This is on Kroenke and Wenger
Things do not look good at Arsenal.

A squad carried by 2 strikers who probably both want out.

Two number 10s on combined wages of over £500k a week who will be frightfully hard to sell given they’d both be turned down by any top 8 club due to their inconsistency.

A midfield “lynchpin” that cost more than £30m and cannot offer any meaningful form of defensive cover.

A defence with maybe 2-3 players that would be wanted by a top 8 club, including a £30m+ singing that appears to be worth less than £10-15m just 3 years after signing him.

They’re losing their only top quality, star midfielder (and third top goal scorer) on a free.

They’re losing their back-up striker and back-up goalkeeper on frees / retirement.

They’re probably losing 3 full-backs on free transfers.

They’re probably losing their third choice, international goalkeeper for next to nothing.

Arsenal appear to be 7-8 successful new signings and 3-4 successful academy promotions away from having a squad that could compete for a top 4 spot or a Europa League Final win… and that’s if their recruitment and talent management is up to scratch and their star strikers don’t push for a move away. Given that:

1) The clubs around them have a lot of money to spend on improving their squads;
2) They let their “Diamond Eye” head of recruitment leave without a replacement; and
3) The club claim to have just £40m plus sales proceeds to spend in the summer window…things do look pretty bad.

With Wolves and Leicester showing ambition, Arsenal appear to have a much better chance of falling into the top 8 category than they do of breaking back into the top 4.

The galling thing for Arsenal fans though is that the club had the opportunity to cement themselves in the top 4 but chose not to take it. Kroenke and Wenger refused to invest in building a strong squad – they allowed it to rot for an unknown and inconceivable reason but it wasn’t due to lack of resources as they once proclaimed.

Comparing Arsenal with how Liverpool and Spurs have acted over the past 11 financial years illustrates this best.

In the 6 year period 2008-2013, after Arsenal had moved into the Emirates but in the run-up to FFP being implemented, Profit before Interest and Tax (a sound approximation for measuring FFP) was on average each year:
– Positive £48m at Arsenal (total of £289m over the 6 years).
– Positive £9m at Spurs (total of £54m over the 6 years).
– Negative £19m at Liverpool (total of negative £114m over the 6 years).

This was the period where supposedly Arsenal could not invest in its squad and fans had to be patient because eventually, the new stadium would allow them to compete. With hindsight access to the accounts, these statements appear to be false. Falsehoods told to fans to keep them spending big money on tickets whilst the shareholders effectively pocketed it all by building up the accounts for a sale.

Even if you accept that they couldn’t raise equity instead of debt (which they definitely could have) the average Profit Before Tax (what Arsenal had free to spend after paying off any debt) was £31m per year over that period. £185m over 6 years that could have been spent on the squad at a time when that would have had a huge impact.

Whilst Liverpool and Spurs were investing as best they could, Fiszman et al. plumped the club up for an eventual sale, at the expense of supporters funding everything.

Whilst Liverpool and Spurs were trying to invest and compete, Arsenal rested on their laurels and allowed the club to rot.

Now, let’s look at how that’s paid off for the club. Over the past 5 years of published financial data (2014-2018), average PBIT has been:
– Positive £42m at Arsenal (total of £210m over the 6 years)
– Positive £75m at Spurs (total of £373m over the 6 years)
– Positive £47m at Liverpool (total of £236m over the 6 years).

At first, Arsenal appears to be doing well but consider three things:

1) Liverpool and Spurs show growth into positive profitability in an FFP world, whereas Arsenal shows erosion. Despite the huge increases in TV money and Commercial deals, their profitability is declining.
2) Liverpool’s and Spurs’ squads (the clubs’ true value) are both probably worth double what Arsenal’s is worth.
3) In the most recent financial year, 2018: Arsenal yielded PBIT of £79m, with an expectation this could crash to below zero in 2019, whereas Spurs recorded PBIT of £157m and Liverpool £133m.

Spurs’ and Liverpool’s investment at a time when they could do so, before FFP fully kicked in, has paid off. Arsenal’s refusal to even invest their own resources, let alone that of their shareholders, has resulted in a hole which they cannot dig out of. They’re stuck now and I don’t see any leadership at the club, from the owner or the “management”, which suggests they are able to remedy this.

I’m not a “football man” as Arsene Wenger would put it but I have been involved in the finances and strategy for some of the top organisations around the world and my take is this – barring a miracle of good fortune in recruitment such as finding the next 1-2 Messi’s, Ronaldo’s or Neymar’s; Arsenal is finished as a top 4 club.

It can’t ever again compete for the Premier League or Champions League – it has allowed itself to fall too far behind at a time when it could easily have pushed onto great things. Like I said, galling for fans and supporters but also truly bizarre acts from a supposedly smart businessman. The value of the club is plummeting and Kroenke appears to have no interest in correcting this. It would be a sad fizzling out for what was once a great club of the English game and Premier League.

painful reading but the reality

I've always liked Giroud and felt he was put into an impossible situation since he was RvP's replacement. Fans asked of him things that were simply not in his locker. I thought he played to the fullest extent of what he was capable of. He left against his will. No hard feelings whatsoever towards him.

Disagree with the article Darren posted. No, this is on Kroenke. Again, ad nauseum. Wenger could only do what he was allowed to. If a CEO hires someone and that person continues to under perform, and is rarely if ever questioned about it, whose fault ultimately is it?