I scanned through all our results this season to try to find a performance or result that surprised me, a result that I wouldn't have predicted before the game. The only positive one I could find was 3-0 at home to Chelsea - most of us would be fearful but hopeful of a win at home to them but couldn't have expected the total domination we had that day.
Other than that I was struggling. Even results like 1-2 v Watford and 0-0 v boro aren't surprising. You wouldn't predict it before the game but you would predict those results at some point each season. And that's it, we have the same performances and same results every year, ok the teams slightly differ but by and large our results are the same. Our record away to the big teams is utterly shameful. The fact that we haven't even put up a decent fight in any of those games is even worse

Keown has huge loyalty to Wenger but it should cloud his judgement as a pundit. Sadly there are still loads of fans with the same view as keown, their loyalty to Wenger for what he once achieved is clouding their judgement over the man.
There was a match where there were organised protests this season and they were drowned out by 'one arsene wenger' chants. My head dropped.
With the board willing to keep him on and the man himself seemingly eager to selfishly continue the only way we can get him to stop is for the majority of fans to vocally let it be known he doesn't have their backing any more. It isn't nice at games when you want to be supporting the team but that is the only platform for their voice

Just watched the Arsenal highlights and pundits' comments on the Sunday morning rerun of last night's MOTD. What Keown actually said was that he was trying to remember a "more tepid" performance by Arsenal than the first half in the last twenty years. Is he taking the mickey? As we both know, there have been absolutely loads of them. I used the word 'countless', you suggested '40 or 50'. Whatever the actual number is, what I do know is that it's far too many to recall them all off hand.

Morning all,

If its true that Allegri wants the job then I think we have to make that decision. I'm not saying its a guarantee that things will improve but he looks the best of a fairly limited bunch of suitable candidates, given his track record and his age.

What is clear is that we cannot go on the way we are without something changing, be it the manager, backroom staff or owners. Or maybe we can because Kroenke appears to have no real ambition for the club in any sporting sense.

I thought Wenger looked haunted yesterday and it saddens me to see but it looks like he's lost the dressing room and the ability to motivate. He's also making increasingly bizarre decisions, with dropping Alexis being the latest and worst in a long line.

The sad thing is, if he announced now that he's going at the end of the season I think that would motivate the players and unite the fans for the rest of the players to ensure we give him the best possible send off.

Wenger hadn't been able to motivate the players for years but it has really struck home this season after the continuous slow starts to matches.

Football evolves but Wenger doesn't notice, we've been through the tika taka phase, football is now about fast paced ruthless counter attacks and a high tempo press. We're still trying to emulate Barca circa 2008.

Hi Sab,

I've been fairly vocal in expressing my disappointment with both Xhaka and Mustafi. I hope its just first season syndrome but Xhaka looks too one paced for the frenetic pace of the PL and Mustafi looks too short and slow. Xhaka is technically excellent with a lovely weight of pass and Mustafi is aggressive and vocal so I'm not saying they don't have positive attributes but at the moment their limitations do not justify the outlay on them.

During the match yesterday, socrates, the thought did cross my mind that the performance was what I'd expect from a team where the manager has lost the dressing room. To be brutally frank, when I saw Chelsea under Mourinho last season leading up to his dismissal, even they seemed to be showing as much heart, desire, or whatever else you want to call it than the Arsenal players. I suppose I have no firm evidence Wenger has lost the dressing room as I don't know for sure what the players are thinking. But performances like yesterday, and they are frighteningly regular, make me think Wenger may well have lost the dressing room.

What people tend to forget about the Guardiola Barca sides is how hard they worked without the ball, that high press was amazing. Teams were panicked into losing possession quickly.

We are a joke without the ball. Infact, we are a bit of a joke with it as well at the moment.

Hi Bernard,

There was a time when players looked upon Wenger as some kind of footballing guru but it seems like now they do not believe in his methods any more. The game has evolved and simplu telling players to go out and express themselves is no longer enough.

Rigorous preparation, tactical flexibility, organisation and discipline are things that cannot be ignored.

With largely inferior players to the ones Barcelona had, Rich, as well as being in a domestic league where tika taka may have been less likely to work than it did in Spain. I noticed when Danny Murphy was praising Lallana's performance in his punditry slot on MOTD, he said Arsenal played into his hands with 'stupid little balls' in the middle of the pitch.

Wenger's reign is easily divided in to 3 periods, highbury years, paying off the stadium years and then the years where the purse strings seemed to be loosened 'the Özil years'. I also think you could pick a single player who epitomises each period.
Vieira - unknown, cheap, powerful, direct, natural leader, driven
Fabregas - very young, tactically good, short, lightweight, passing supremo
Özil - technically awesome, creative, mentally flakey, expensive, tactically weak, poor without the ball

That isn't a slight at Özil or Fabregas because they are both two of the best players i've seen at the arsenal but wenger has failed to build the right teams, he signs players that are too similar and have the same flaw.

Xhaka sort of sums this up recently as well. Holding central midfielders in vogue at the moment are like fire fighters all over the pitch, strong, fast, box to box, picking pockets, starting counters. Xhaka seems to have a great first touch, great passing and is technically sound - wenger rates these 3 qualities above anything and will allow them to trump other flaws.

I often think if a new manager came in next season which players would be booted out the door - there are plenty of candidates. But then I think what could a new manager do with some of these players. Far too often it seems to me that our players have tonnes of talent but don't do the things that come for free or can be taught on the training pitch.
I immediately think of Ramsey and Ox. I don't think either has ever been properly taught how to play their position, wenger hasn't really even found their best position in the team yet. Is there any reason Ramsey can't be regularly putting in the performances Lallana has this season?

If finishing 5th rather than 4th is the difference between wenger leaving and signing for 2 more years then sign me up for 5th. Yes the short term might not be nice, but the long term future will be better. 2 more years of this will just take us further and further down and make the rebuilding job even more difficult.

Arsenes failings are obvious but I found the sanchez "poor me" routine a little nauseating I have to say.

Agree wholeheartedly

Yes he's simply not good enough.

Yep, I can understand that. If finishing in the top four and winning the FA Cup will guarantee Wenger signing a new contract, for the sake of the longer-term future of the club I can see major advantages in neither happening. With Lincoln at home in the sixth round, I can't see us not getting into the FA Cup semi-final. My guess will be something similar will happen to what did in the game against Sutton. We'll beat Lincoln fairly comfortably, but Lincoln will come out of the game with some credit because we didn't slaughter them. But am I right in thinking the last four is likely to be one of Chelsea or Manchester United as they have each other in the sixth round, Arsenal obviously with Lincoln at home, then Tottenham and City? As things stand I'd expect any of them to beat Arsenal in the semi.

Yep, FA cup semi's are highly likely to be Arsenal, Spurs, City and one of Chelsea/Man U - I'd back Chelsea as Zlatan is likely to be suspended and it is at the bridge.
The semi's are in April but I'm already cringing at the huge confidence and morale boost as well as years of bragging as one of those 3 teams knocks us out in the semis. Our complete inability to stand toe to toe with any of these top teams has me wish we'd just get quietly knocked out the back door of these competitions by an Everton or Southampton type team

I would like (it won't happen) for a new manager to come in next season and buy no one. Just go with the same squad all season and see if he can improve them.

What did he say/do?

I said the same thing recently. In the real world, and if we got a new manager, I would be hoping he will be bringing in new exciting signings, addressing key weaknesses. But one thing I do agree with Wenger on is that new signings do not guarantee the resolution to problems, so many of our problems can be fixed on the training pitch and with a beter attitude.

There was an interview with Conte recently where he described tactics as being the thing that helped the less talented player, because that player then knows where he should be at all times, where his team mates will be, what his job is etc - all this means he can put his whole concentration in to his touch, his passing - possibly areas he is weaker at. It alleviates the pressure on that player because the thinking has been done for him.

http://www.football365.com/news/arsenal ... were-ready

How many more times can we keep saying we weren't ready for the game before we do something about it? We had 11 or 12 days to prepare for the game, wenger even blamed our slow start on the fact we had too long without a game.

I'd like to ask wenger how long he does want between games to ensure he can make the team start sharply, any idiot could have told you liverpool would start like a house on fire and try to score early. Wenger says we lose our sharpness when we play wed then sat, he says we lose our sharpness when we don't play for 2 weeks. He just needs to admit he is unable to motivate this team any more.

Also wenger seems to be brainwashing the players with the same excuses. Bellerin saying 'it doesn't matter about the other team' and basically saying if we play how we want to, how we know we can then we have nothing else to worry about. It is arrogant and down right stupid. It is this kind of blind faith that has led to wengers downfall

I also find the quote "We got one goal back and had a chance to make it 2-2 but sometimes it’s too late.” because after it went 2-1 we didn't have a single shot on target for the rest of the game.

Arsenal these days are giving off the same sort of vibes as a jellyfish.

f%$*ng Arsenal...... they could have at least kicked somebody up in the air to show they cared

First, I'm numb to the losses. We almost got out of jail with a draw. Actually, the rest of the season is a bit exciting. Will we make top 4? Okay, its not as exciting as will we win the title but its exciting to see if we don't make it and there is every reason to believe its 50/50. What is the Ladbrokes odds on us making top 4? The other big question that is a bit exciting but in a bad way is will Tottenham finally finish above Wenger?

The 2nd biggest moan in London (Trump's visit being the first) will be if Wenger stays. I have to think Tottenham fans and Chelsea fans are hoping he stays. If they are, that should tell you how far we have fallen. Or rather how far Wenger has fallen in esteem.

This is going to sound crazy but I won't be pulling my hair out if we are out of the top 4. I want us to be top 4 desperately and to finish above Man Utd and Sperz. If we finish outside the top 4, perhaps a season of no CL football will make us refocus. We may even be able to get to the Europa final and with some luck win the thing.

But a season outside the top 4, money and embarrassment aside, may leave us more time to concentrate on the league and fight a bit harder so it won't happen again. The Europa league could hamper that but the knock to the ego and prestige of being out will tell us about this squad.

But lets not think too negatively, we WILL finish top 4 and ahead of sperz. (fingers crossed)

Wikipedia jumping the gun again. This is their page on Allegri, and read the first sentence as it currently stands. I'm sure it'll be changed soon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massimiliano_Allegri

These are the lines I like in his biog....
"Allegri has been praised for his tactical intelligence"
"Allegri has also been lauded for his versatility, which he demonstrated by adopting and switching between several different formations during his first season with Juventus"
"Juventus defend low with a 5–4–1, they press with a 4–4–2 and they attack with a 4–2–3–1."

All sounds great to me!

For a team that has been abject in the middle of the park, it's a travesty that Jack is out on loan. I know some people want to see the back of him but in my opinion, he definitely deserves at least one more season.

Kane puts Spurs 1-0 up, just hits one hard from 30 yards, not in the corner, gk error but he gives himself a chance of the mistake by actually having a go.

I miss the days of just having players who do the basics well in their position. A classic centre forward, a bit selfish, makes classic strikers runs etc. Same for all the positions on the pitch. Wenger seems intent on building a team of utopian footballers who aren't restricted by a position because they are technically and intelligently good enough to be all aware and brilliant. Give me a specialist any day

If he wasn't out on loan I'm certain he'd be starting for us at the moment.

No energy or distribution in the centre of the park currently

I know where your coming from. Ox in particular, you won't convince me he's a bad player but clearly he needs some direction. Bellerin likewise

Don't rate Ramsey though, extremely limited

Forget technical ability for a moment, this Spurs team man for man look fitter, sharper, stronger, quicker, hungrier than Arsenal. The ferocity of the first half has been better than 95% of anything we've done this season.
Once again, those attributes above can be taught, coached and improved on the training ground by a motivated coach.

Lee Dixon very simply gives the method for playing against the high press, and lots of shot passes in your own half is suicide, going longer to a pacey forward is the way to go.

Liverpool struggle against a deep defence and fast striker. They also struggle when up against a high press themselves. We do neither even having been given the template.

And that is what a high press can do. Spurs absolutely swamp them, 3 of them all over them and Kane has an easy finish.

To be fair, Rich, it was rubbish from.Everton. And Ali's goal was as bad. Shocking stuff.

Agreed the defending left a lot to be desired but look at all 3 goals and think would we score them - would we force those mistakes from everton.
1, long range shot hit hard and on target. rarely if ever see this from Arsenal
2. high press pouncing on a poor decision from the gk to play out from the back - we tend to let most defences have the ball with no pressure
3. quick free kick with a midfielder forcing the pass by making the run in to the box.

I bemoan that Arsenal rarely score lucky or scruffy goals or goals from horrendous defensive mistakes. Well how much pressure do we put on a defence to make those mistakes, how often do we give ourselves the chance to benefit from a deflection, a gk error.

Not a fan of aftv but this geezer nails a few topics on their head

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=you ... bks04RZ6Yw

I wasn't looking at it in terms of how Arsenal play. Everton's defending was shambolic. They gifted another to Kane who finished poorly.

For us Sanchez does force mistakes. The midfielders never do though.

To put it simply we are in the bracket with Liverpool and Spurs. The wealth of chelsea, city, man u means they can have a poor season and buy their way back in to contention. Man U have being trying to buy their way back for 3 years and are still 6th, I expect another £150m from them in the summer.

Liverpool and Spurs have picked themselves up from the days of 7th place finishes and Tim Sherwood by firstly getting a forward thinking energetic young ish manage. They then cut the deadwood in the squad and extracting absolute maximum value from them to invest back in the squad. Jordan Ibe £15m, Bentaleb £16m, Paulinho £17m, £13m Ryan Mason, even £49m for Sterling. This along with their normal budget has been invested back in the squad. It doesn't have to be £40m+ players, they don't need to whinge about not being able to compete with the 3 rich clubs, they have obviously had some misses as well as hits but some of the hits have been right in front of everyone's face. Mané £30m, Wanyama £12m. Finally the managers have gone in and worked with and massively improved great swathes of players. I'm thinking of players like Rose, Walker, Lallana, Firminho. The final step for both of those clubs is to retain the players they have and build the squad. Both are weak beyond their starting 11 and this is where some of the poorer buys come in Janssen, Sissoko, or lack of players like Klopp not getting a left back or CB cover.

I think my point is that we are facing a rebuilding process at Arsenal, a huge one, we have more money than both Liverpool and Spurs so have the advantage that we can buy some ready made players but we also have to be savvy. Wenger has lost his touch in the market as well, whereas once he was at the front of the french market now everyone is level with him, he has no edge. I would much rather a new manager with a deep knowledge of another league come in and use his knowledge of that league to bring some top players with him that other prem clubs may not know as well. Allegri bringing some of the top italian players, Tuchel with his knowledge of germany, Simeone with Spain. Hell - just someone different with a different approach signing a different type of player and re-coaching the current players.

I am completely unexcited by Arsenal, but a new manager suddenly gets me excited about the possibilities.

Wenger is nothing but loads of invented excuses nowadays. Sad to see him stoop so low. His credibilty as a coach went much earlier, but now he is putting his credibility as a person on the line as well. He should just pack it in. Salvage whatever is left for people to admire, of him.

Sadly I have to agree. Despite being able to come out punching in the odd press conference, Wenger certainly looks like more of a dead man walking than at any time before, and the 'unbelievable belief' cited by Merse all those years ago is nowhere to be seen.