On occasions he has been, Haz, but on too many other occasions, he hasn’t.

Keown accused him of hiding tonight.

Wenger has not just been holding us back these past few years he’s been laying the foundations for years in the wilderness

Ultimately we were beaten by the only team bettter than us in the tournament who were among the favourites for the champions league before two freak results demoted them. And on balance we probably should have beaten them. Typical Arsenal of the latter Wenger period, except last years cup final.

Looking ahead we need at least one, possibly 2 centre backs, another goalkeeper, a proper wide player who can cross and a midfielder with althleticism and defensive capacity, unless AMN is ready to step up.

I do think that alongside someone like Kante or Gilberto, Xhaka would be a much better player and less exposed.

Way too early for this type of doomsday scenario, in my opinion. We're in better shape than Liverpool were before Klopp. Just look at their squad from 2014/15, only top class players they had were Coutinho, Sterling and a 43-year old Gerrard.

All depends on whether we get the right guy in of course, but there's a lot of potential in this squad waiting to be released.

I'd absolutely agree that he disappears sometimes, but would disagree strongly with Keown about last night. I think it has become an easy narrative for pundits to talk about how Özil needs to 'step up'. He's a pure playmaker, to a certain extent we need a functional team around him to get the best out of him. He's not an Henry or van Persie who'll just win games out of nothing.

What I would say about Özil last night is I think his final ball was not up to his usual standard. Most of the time when he gets the chance he'll play it perfectly, but last night he had a couple of good opportunities and didn't get it right.

and so what are we left with - a bland, soulless stadium - a cartoon club badge - a bunch of misfits on the pitch - look after the values of the club - you have no *%^@*** idea what they are wenger - I though Özil did alright last night and just when Wilshire was starting to find his touch and passes he was taken off - we were here long before you wenger and we'll be here when you're gone - *%^@ off...

That's the point I was trying to make last night, people are lauding this great Athletico side but I thought over the two legs we should have gone through. We had numerous chances and great situations but failed to capitalise, mainly due to some really poor finishing and some atrocious final balls. Our defending was just as calamitous as always but I thought our quality in the final third was also piss poor.

Even last night we had umpteen opportunities to really test their back four with some quality crosses but failed to do so. Crosses are a percentage thing really, if you can hit the corridor of uncertainty between the 6 yard box and the penalty spot enough times with quality and get bodies in the box then eventually something will fall for you. United did it for years with supreme quality from wide areas from the likes of Beckham and Giggs and players prepared to bust a gut to get in the box. Even Neville was a great crosser from right back.

If Wenger had not been anal with Alexis, he would not have been gunning to leave. Alexis rightfully called out on the lack of attitude in the team. Wenger closed ranks with his softies and Alexis lost heart from there on. I blame Wenger for keeping the culture, thus keeping a team of softies lacking in fight. Özil has not been effective for months already. He had his change of heart too. He stayed on because Wenger gave him the bumper deal. But see what he dishes out?

Xhaka and Özil have a gulf of difference in ability. Xhaka is playing far closer to his talent than Özil is. The sense of urgency for the squad was no where close to what it should be. Attacking players went missing at times. Lacazette was sometimes the only one willing to mix it up around the 6 yard box. Welbeck, a striker, supposed to have that selfish, striker's instinct seemed scared of the responsibility too often.

Of course Özil is going to have the ball and cover ground, he's supposed to be the best talent on the pitch for both sides. Arsenal goes through him for its set up so he's supposed to cover some distance. He was lackadaisical. It wasn't just just Keown, pretty much ever former pro pundit echoed similar thoughts.

Are you in possession of in the know information or being informed by frustration and prejudice? Alexis checked out when he realised we weren't going to challenge for the league, for which I don't blame him. However, he's never stayed anywhere for longer than he did at Arsenal, has never bonded with his team-mates at any club, and with not having had a summer off in about 6 years, looks to have a touch of his acceleration. He's been less productive for Utd than Welbeck has been in his absence.

I see the London borough of Barnet that was expected to go Labour went Tory as the labour vote collapsed because 30% of the electorate there is Jewish.

Shalom!!

What the *%^@ are you doing Corbyn. Another dinosaur that needs to get lost quickly.

So we are a club that is regularly in the top 8 richest clubs in the world, where do we go from here? £50m budget for the summer. When you add up our net spend on transfers alone in the last 10 years it is pitiful. I know we have a big wage bill but we also have the highest ticket prices in the world and oodles of sponsorship and tv money coming in.

Where on earth does all this money go? How can nothing teams with no Europe, less sponsorship, gate receipts and tv money regularly out spend us.

This squad is the consequence of years of mismanagement, poor spending and under investment. Can we all remember the summer when wenger decided Čech and Čech alone was all the squad needed.

We went for years all thinking we were 3 players away from really challenging. I’d double that now.

It is a disgrace what has been allowed to happen to our club

Hi Soc

You are drawing comparisons with one of the best teams in English football history. We are miles off that level. Also, that type of game is largely gone because teams now crowd the midfield. Moyes played that way at Man U with a better team than we have and it failed miserably. I wish football could return to that style because it is far more enjoyable than this bloody pressing we have today. Sadly, due to changes in pitches, boots, footballs and fitness levels, it is a thing of the past.

Before Brexit I'd have voted for Corbyn. He's no more anti=semitic than you or I and denying it repeatedly would not change the minds of the disbelievers. Labour are no more anti semitic than the Tories are. I dislike the influence the 'Jews' had on finance in the early days and still have. Does that make me a racist or anti semite?

A frenzied attack against Labour by the media has worked and Corbyn has effectively been sidelined.

The only good thing to come out of the local elections is the possibility that May could call an election which I believe would cement the Brexit vote. More regions voted for than against Brexit so the referendum vote could be carried far easier in a GE than another referendum.

Something has to happen to stop the incessant winging of the remoaners.

So we are a club that is regularly in the top 8 richest clubs in the world, where do we go from here?

and so what are we left with - a bland, soulless stadium - a cartoon club badge - a bunch of misfits on the pitch - look after the values of the club - you have no *%^@*** idea what they are wenger - I though Özil did alright last night and just when Wilshire was starting to find his touch and passes he was taken off - we were here long before you wenger and we'll be here when you're gone - *%^@ off...

I dislike the influence the 'Jews' had on finance in the early days and still have. Does that make me a racist or anti semite?

Something has to happen to stop the incessant winging of the remoaners.

I dislike the influence the 'Jews' had on finance in the early days and still have. Does that make me a racist or anti semite?.

In a word...

Something has to happen to stop the incessant winging of the remoaners.

Tbh mate, it probably does.

Signed.

A.Jew

As for yesterday, well, I enjoyed it a bit more than that time an internal haemorrhoid burst while I was having a poo, and I filled the whole bowl with blood ( and poo ).

Sadly, me and Mrs. Babu only had enough money for one ticket...so I had to go.
Flight was grim, Madrid was grim, getting to the Ground was grim.
The ground looks like every other new big Stadium. Reminded me of Munichs new ground, very nice and incredibly expensive.
Shame that their old grounds...both of them...Calderon and Olympiastadion...were beautiful, individual, something to really go wow, but now they've got a nice new ground.
( i'm guessing a bit like the emirates must look like, and if I remember correctly the old Arsenal ground was quite nice and fairly individual. )

Had a nice, incredibly expensive seat, next to some nice, incredibly rich half-wits ( but that's what you get when you have to get a ticket through a tout - tbf, they were probably not incredibly impressed with me either ) and saw a nice game of football, with a bit of excitement just before half-time, and everyone went home satisfied. A lovely event, captured beautifully on my social media, for everyone I know to look at for a second, click on a "positive", and then forget.

Yay!

All, just read tickets for Sunday are changing hands for 1800 cash. Just wanted to say that if anyone on the forum is willing to pay this please hit me up with a PM.

Promises to be a weird afternoon with everyone singing and paying homage to Arsene but in the back of their minds thinking that the team needs 200milliom squad investment, he's disenfranchised our support and the whole club is in a terrible state.

Too many ex Wenger players from the early years have refused to criticise him. They see him as a father figure who was brilliant. Well he was once but if you’re going to be a pundit you have to call things thruthfully, you don’t have to be rude, any idiot can see that it has been wenger’s refusal to change and address our weaknesses as the biggest reason for our decline.

If you are Jewish and think I am an anti semite I can only think that you have a chip on your shoulder and have obviously been sucked into the 'anti Jew' propoganda in the media.

On occasions he has been, Haz, but on too many other occasions, he hasn’t.

Keown accused him of hiding tonight.