Well, Chelsea did it as expected. Looking at the form table. Tottenham's goals against is a phenomenal 23. Chelsea 29. I was surprised it was that high frankly. We are an embarrassing 42. I still maintain the focus of any rebuilding should be from the back first. I can't think of many title winning EPL sides who had a goals against over 30 at the time they won the title.

We simply don't play good team defense at times. Opposing clubs who are effective against us, like in the NLD, closed us down all over the pitch. Giving no time on the ball. We need to go back to doing that. We did once.

The defence issue has still not been resolved and I am not going to swept up in the false dawn from a back 3. I don't believe Wenger believes in it and when the new contract is signed he will revert to form. Let us see how it works against Chelsea in the cup final. I think we need an overhaul with Mert now basically gone and some of the others are good but not top quality.

When Fabergas collects his medal he will probably not regret the fact Wenger snubbed him. The interesting thing is that at Chelsea he is a bit player coming in now and then for a run. At Arsenal we do not have players of that quality in those bit part positions. A belief you will win trophies makes them keen to stay. You cannot tell a player to be a bit part player in a team that wants to finish 4th. Why would you stay.

On the Wilshire issue - sell him, along with Walcott and Wellbeck. Wilshire and Wellbeck because neither is at the highest level required to challenge and both are injury prone. Nothing to be gained and replace them with new and keen players.

I think you're getting trapped into the false idea that it matters that much who we buy or sell. I honestly don't think it does. Wilshire and Welbeck are both very good players but even if they were replaced by someone even better, under Wenger's organisation, or lack of it, I still don't think we'd win the league. If Wenger had Chelsea's squad of players this season, I don't think he'd have won the league like they did under Conte.

Should Wenger renew his contract at Arsenal, I'm just going to shrug my shoulders and accept we won't win one of the big two trophies until he finally buggers off. Which as far as I'm concerned, can't come a day too early. We can all suggest we sell players x, y and z while buying players a, b and c. Yawn, it doesn't bloody matter which players Arsenal have until Wenger finally goes. Until then we'll be poor off the ball, badly organised, attack with little urgency, tactically naive and play the same way against Bournemouth or Bayern Munich.

Chelsea's 5th title since we last won it.

All because of Abramovich right?...

Kroenke, Wenger and co you are an embarrassment.

IMHO, Wilshere is attention seeking, so would not stay around Arsenal as a squaddie. I think he will seek a club where regular football is possible. His constant injuries will hamper any top clubs' interest. I think he will end up in a top Championship team next season, Rangers or perrenial strugglers in the EPL.

No championship for more than a decade, Wenger should have been replaced eons ago. But ............

If Wenger coached Chelsea, he will lose the dressing room fairly quickly.

I agree we should sell the 2 of the 3 Ws.

Wilshere will forever be injury prone. This has limited his game time. Instead of growing strength to strength, he is declining. Sad for him, cause he had a really bright future.

Walcott is now shown up as a one-trick pony. His only trademark is pace, and defenders crowd him out. And he has no wizardry to get out of tight spaces. Good games from him are far in between really poor games.

Welbeck should be utilised more on the wing. Let me collect the ball and go for his run at the wings. I think he is more effective in this role.

West Ham united ......

Mate I'd gut the squad like a fish and start again. There's an opportunity to bring some cash in and rebuild. The likely departures

Sanchez 50m
Ox 30million
Jack 20 million?
Debuchy 3
Jenkinson 3
Ospina 5m

.. but I'd also sell the following

Giroud 20m times up!
Xhaka 30m I know he's been decent in the last few games but something about him just screams to me it won't work out and we need a dog baller in midfield.
El Nenny 5m. He's just a bog average player not good enough for us
BFG
THEO !! 20m


Opportunity to boost the transfer fund and get some talent in so they can start the 2 year cycle of working out arsene has lost it and want to leave

I think you're being hopelessly naive. That was Wenger 13 years ago, not the current version. Think of all the transfer rumours. None will make a material difference. Replacing Monreal or Gibbs for the Schalke left back? Meaningless. Selling Wilshere? Meaningless, as we haven't had him this season. Top Gun suggested selling Xhaka. To replace him with who? Whoever it is that's realistic won't make much difference.

While Wenger in his present mode stinks the club out we're stuck at our current level. As I said, all this 'let's sell him and buy him' is pointless.

Nothing that can't be proven in football is 'a given'. But I would expect Mourinho to make us more defensively organised and Klopp would make our style of play less pedestrian. So I'd take the risk. I think Conte is a way better manager than the current Wenger too.

All this talk of mass clear-outs in the summer is a little misguided I think.

When has Wenger ever done mass clear-outs? He brought the players to the club so to jettison them would be a tacit admission that he got it badly wrong and when has he ever admitted he got things badly wrong?.

If rumours are to be believed the board are already running scared after his comments about a Director of Football.

Wenger is a control freak but no one on the board, and certainly not the owner, appears willing to bring him down a peg or do and end this abuse and misuse of power.

Rumor mill Bale open to going to Man Utd. I think Neville said Mourinho has up to 200 million for summer spending.

Anyone that knows Wenger knows he would poo poo a sporting director role above him. There seems to be two versions, the one you intimate that they don't want to challenge him and the other that there are a few members Stan has on the board who are not fans of Wenger and have a take it or leave it (Director of Football) offer to Wenger. Which one is it? Anyone's guess.

If its the latter, a clear out is more likely. If Wenger goes I can definitely see a clear out. If he stays, I think you are right that he will fight any transfers he does not agree with tooth and nail and he will likely because all the present signings are his.

How very dare you! Careful with that, you'll be called 'insane', 'mad' or something similar soon.

Reminds you of Ceaucescu a bit...

Director of football? What would that person do exactly?

Rather than list a load of players from when Wenger was a great manager rather than the past it has-been he is now, why do you think with the modern Wenger that the players matter to any great extent? We've had a consistent turnaround with old players leaving and new players coming in over the years, and what's changed?

If Wenger had Chelsea's squad, I genuinely don't think he'd have won the league with them. That's why I don't think it really matters, within the range of players Arsenal will realistically sign or let go.

Hopefully, piss of Wenger so much that he doesn't renew his contract.

He's basically another person in the stand holding his head in his hands every time we concede a corner.

It's not so much a clear out so much as A realisation

Özil and Sanchez and ox have all realised arsene is useless and will leave

Jack will need to move to get first team football.

That's 4 historically key players going. It's definitely going to be a summer of change regardless of what happens to to Arsene Wenker

Good question that others have asked. It means slightly different things to different clubs. Some clubs they do all the transfers and the manager manages, has no say in who is bought, others they work in tangent with the manager, sort of like Dein/Wenger long ago.

With Arsenal and its only a guess. They have final say over transfers. The scouts identify, Wenger may have input but the final decision goes to the DoF and if the DoF thinks there is a position we need, he may do so without Wenger's consent or agreement. That's my guess.

I would think they want a partnership with Wenger ala Dein but perhaps that would be for the next manager. My guess is the reason one is even being discussed is because they believe Wenger is a. wearing too many hats and/or b. hasn't made good decisions.

Had we had a DoF at the time perhaps van Persie may not have gone and surely we'd have adequately replaced him by now.

The overall meme is Wenger can no longer be trusted...at least in some of the functions he performs like transfers.

And they'll all be replaced by whoever and things won't change much. Until Wenger finally drops dead or eventually pisses off for a more preferable reason, it doesn't really matter all that much who is bought or sold.

Jack and Ox are not historically key. Jack because he is constantly injured and Ox due to a mix of injuries and not ever putting in a run of games where he has played consistently well. If Liverpool want to give us 25/30m for Ox, we should take it.

Sanchez and Ox have reached the same place, Henry, Fabergas and RVP all reached. I will not win anything with Wenger.

Neither Henry or Fabregas left Arsenal because of lack of faith in Wenger. Henry was physically in poor condition and had off-field problems so the move to Barca suited him. With Fabregas, the best team in the world came calling. He was never going to turn down the chance to play for them.

I would have thought transfers was one of the areas the Board trust Arsene the most because over the years he has done well by the club, especially as far as financial stability is concerned. Dein of course was vice-chairman, never a Director of Football. When you have somebody in a club with that title it should mean what it says - directing the football, not finances, marketing, image etc. etc. It is why I remain unsure what the role is.

Chelsea's 6th title to our 13th. Will they catch us? Will they catch us in our lifetimes? Lets say 15 years hence, can they win another 6 or 7 times? How many times will we win it in the next 15 years?
Will Man Utd put more distance between us? Will Liverpool win it at all in that time?

Interested to see how RB Leipzig do in the CL next season. Hoping they will continue to challenge Bayern Munich. The Bundesliga is looking like the SPL when Rangers went down. A bit boring when you only have one club winning it.

Obviously if City or LFC drop points its game on. I want Wenger out but I can't help cheering for The Arsenal.

Only if we beat Stoke..

City now 1-0 up.

A question that has come up in my mind a few times over the years:

What on earth happened in our 2005/6 CL run?.

Didn't we get 11 clean sheets in a row?, what was different there or was it just a fluke?, I think we had Flamini at LB as Cole had just left and Senderos was playing regularly (!), even Eboue may have been involved (!!).

It just seems odd that we were so defensively organised in that competition, I just looked up our league performance which was not especially impressive, our defensive record was okay but not spectacular.

It just seems at odds with Wenger's teams post invincibles where we've typically been defensively frail, am I missing something or maybe it was just a fluke..

Jack has been ruined by injuries but was a good player but I think people won't be aware how much we'll miss ox. He can play in a variety of positions and provides energy in the midfield area. I don't think it's a good move letting him go

Wasn't Martin Keown involved in coaching the defence that year?

Martin keown was briefly involved in coaching the defence and still don't forget we had Sol too. After that season Wenger ditched keown because he was reportedly being to vocal and hands on with the players.

Cole left the pre season after the final as he was injured with pires and the rest is history.

If Bould isn't involved in coaching the squad defensively or training then I can't imagine what his day to day job is. He's basically a version of Gunnersaurus without the green costume and happy movements.

Have you ever watched him and wenger on the bench. There's hardly any dialogue between the 2 what so ever during the game. They literally sit there looking like they are watching the movie Schindlers List instead of their own team.

He can't like Wenger

It's most peculiar, Arsenal are an absolute dictatorship it's just bizarre

End to end match as of this writing, City up 2-1, could end up a draw....crossed fingers.

On another note, why haven't we seen more of Perez? These Wenger purchases where he buys them they show some promise and are hidden in the attic like an unwanted stepchild is bewildering.