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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2011:09:12:22:18:54 by Padre Pio.

Wenger - Why we did not win the title Posted by: karsene16 (IP Logged)
Date: 25 April, 2009 11:37

Arsenal.com

By Richard Clarke

Arsene Wenger fully expected Arsenal to win the Premier League this season.

He believes his side's failure to reach that target is down to team rebuilding and the inevitable hangover after missing out on silverware in the previous campaign.

Arsenal's current Premier League season can be cut into two, very unequal, parts. The first ended on November 22 at Man City when they lost their fifth game of the campaign. They have been unbeaten in the second part, during which time they've all but secured a Champions League spot and, with five games left, remain hopeful of break into the top three.

'I expected to be first,' admitted Wenger at Friday's press conference. 'If you look at our last 18 games, we are not far [away from there]. And if you look at our last six games, we are first. '

'I believe that we had a bad start and something was not right on the psychological side of the team. We lost a little confidence at the start of the season. And if we had beaten Hull at home we would have been top of the League. Maybe we were a bit too complacent. But we learnt because we are a young side and since then we have been remarkably consistent.

'Before the season I knew there would be a hangover from the disappointment of last campaign. We did fight very hard but I believe as well that we had to rebuild the midfield.

'It was not only those psychological reasons. We had to find a balance again because we lost Hleb, Rosicky and Flamini. We lost three or four midfielders, we did not have Arshavin yet and we did not expect not to have Rosicky.'

Wenger - My definition of a successful season
Posted by: karsene16 (IP Logged)
Date: 29 October, 2010 17:46

[www.arsenal.com]

By Chris Harris

Arsène Wenger will be satisfied with this season's work if he feels his players have given every last ounce of energy for Arsenal.

Whether that is enough to deliver trophies remains to be seen but the Frenchman has his eyes on four different prizes and he believes his current crop can emulate their title-winning predecessors if they stay fit and focused.

At his pre-match press conference on Friday, Wenger was asked what would constitute a ‘successful' season.

"To go as far as we can on all fronts," he replied.

"It is very difficult to predict today, but there is a lot more to come out of this team. I feel the ingredients of successful teams that I had before are in there. It is just about how much we can get them out.

"We also of course need to keep all of our players fit. But as long as the attitude is right and at the end of the season when you look back you think ‘this team has given absolutely everything', I will be proud of them. After we will see how far that it."

The first trophy up for grabs is the Carling Cup, a competition Wenger has never won. A Wembley date in February is a major target but the Frenchman is well aware that Arsenal have to maintain their status in Europe's elite too.

"There are some basics which have to be respected," said Wenger. "It is important that priorities are there, for us it is vital to always be at the top level, and the top level is being in the Champions League.

"But if you ask all of our fans, they will want to win every single trophy - they will not rule out the Champions League, nor the championship, and for me they are right, because I am exactly the same.

"That is why I say let's give our best in every single competition and see where we stand at the end of the season."

Good article into our scouting system

Posted by: Gooner_Mike (IP Logged)
Date: 31 August, 2008 13:10

Young guns [url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/aug/31/arsenal][/url]

There is a fork in the road where Barnet Lane intersects with Totteridge Lane in north London. Habitually, the silver Mercedes bears left past the church heading for home a few hundred yards further on. Today, though, the driver takes the slip road on the right and a couple of minutes later pulls into a driveway.

Since he heard the sensational news that April afternoon, he has been turning over in his mind the possible implications. After an affectionate greeting between two old friends, Ars�ne Wenger comes straight to the point: 'Do you want me to resign?' he asks.

David Dein is still reeling from his, in his own words, 'brutal' dismissal earlier in the day - out of the blue he had been handed a letter terminating his directorship at the club he loved after 24 years.

'No,' Dein replies to Wenger's suggestion. 'I don't think that would be in the best interests of Arsenal.'

The implications of that dramatic day are still being felt around the club. Dein's role as Wenger's sidekick in acquiring players - 'We were a duo,' Dein says - has not been adequately filled. The Frenchman's approach to team-building and squad creation has become increasingly idiosyncratic. The group has steadily become less expensive, and less experienced.

The purchasing and retaining of key personnel has been a critical issue throughout Ars�ne Wenger's time at Arsenal. His squad-building technique has always differed from those of his main competitors in the Premier League.

In Wenger's first nine seasons, the haul of titles and FA Cups was accumulated for a deficit of �44m (�136m being the total spend). He was able to attain such value for money due to his knack of realising high return on players whose reputations had been enhanced by his tutelage.

Yet now, with the 'Invincibles' team of 2003-04 having been broken up, Wenger has not been spending to replace the depth of squad he once enjoyed. Instead, the reliance is largely on youth.

This runs contrary to comments made about the optimum age for footballers during the 2003-04 season. 'I'm convinced that up front now you need to be young,' he began. 'A goalkeeper is best between 30 and 35, central defence I would say best age 26 to 34. Midfield between 26 and 32 and a striker between 24 and 30. Those are the top ages.'

When challenged about the fact he appears to break the rules with some of his young players Wenger said: 'Exceptional talent breaks the rules - that means they play early - they make their own rules. I do not say that these players do not play before [these ages], but they are at the top of their potential during those age periods. But before, because they have an exceptional talent they play already.'

With the financial restrictions placed upon him because of the move to the Emirates, Wenger's shopping has to be even smarter, which means procuring less-established players. While it would be inaccurate to claim that Wenger used to sign current stars, it could certainly be argued Arsenal had more success when there was stiffer competition for places, with experienced campaigners often unable to get a start. Is it possible, in reaction to what Wenger has referred to as 'financial doping', that he has decided to build a team in a completely different way, declining to engage in any auction and reluctant to spend his budget by way of proving a point? Not if Dein is to be believed.

The then vice chairman became frustrated when Arsenal missed out on several targets due to lack of funds. In February 2004 it was put to Wenger that Dein had been sent on fool's errands in the past to look at Harry Kewell, Cristiano Ronaldo and Jos� Antonio Reyes when the board knew they had limited funds, and had prioritised the building of a stadium over the team. Diplomatic as ever, Wenger replied: 'I believe that the club was at the moment of history where you have to go a step further if you want to become one of the biggest clubs in the world. I told them we had good youngsters and that we could still compete at the top level.' So you made a virtue out of necessity? 'Yes exactly, because I feel always that the team was still very young and that it could improve.'

In the summer of 2003 Ronaldo joined Manchester United and Kewell joined Liverpool, and, though Reyes subsequently arrived in January 2004, Dein described the situation as 'like being in a boxing ring with one hand tied behind my back'. He would emerge from board meetings 'with my eyeballs rolling' and was in no doubt that Wenger shared his frustration. Dein believes the manager needs 'bags more' cash and quickly. Despite Wenger's claims to the contrary ('I will always stick to the same policy, but if there is a guy who could one day reach out to another level and will cost a fortune, we could nevertheless buy him') his transfer and wages budget have been described by Ken Friar (a long-time servant of the club who is currently helping Wenger in transfer negotiations) as being a case of not so much the manager saying 'I need this much', but more asking: 'How much have I got?'

'What you always have to consider is how you produce a player,' Wenger says. 'If you want to completely develop a player, ideally you take him at the age of five and you bring him right through to the first team. But the reality is that he arrives at your club at 16 or 17. If you look at the top clubs in Europe, Arsenal are producing more young players than any of them. I have tried to build an academy that will recruit young local lads. At present, we have exceptional under-14s and under-16s. Technically they are extraordinary.'

Yet, despite a sterling reputation, Arsenal's academy has achieved very little in terms of producing first-team players. To believe that Wenger's young teams are created from a burgeoning youth policy is not the complete picture, certainly as far as true academy products are concerned.

The writing is generally on the wall for an Arsenal prospect if he is sent out on loan. The prospects Wenger has earmarked tend to be kept within the fold and given the odd chance from the bench or in the cups. Those who spend time away for a few months or a season are removed from Arsenal's huge wage bill, but, more pertinently, the playing time and exposure they receive can enhance their value in the transfer market.

A long established member of Wenger's scouting team, Tony Banfield, explains: 'At Arsenal, 15-year-olds are offered a three-year contract. Then at 18, if they are good enough, they are offered a further three years. In that time, if it is felt they might not be good enough, they are sent out on loan to get more first-team football, with the idea that it might improve them. When they return, if they are better they might stay, otherwise the club look to sell them.'

Often the loan is turned into a permanent move, with a sell-on clause built in allowing the club to continue to benefit from their initial commitment. David Bentley, who made the club several million when he moved from Blackburn to Tottenham this summer, is a good example.

Cited as evidence in favour of both the academy and the loan system, Ashley Cole's progress through the ranks must be regarded as atypical. With the club ceasing to field first-choice Brazilian left-back Silvinho for fear of punishment due to his being registered with a dubious Portuguese passport, Cole was pressed into service early in 2001. He had been on loan at Crystal Palace and, just before the Silvinho predicament arose, a fee of �200,000 had been agreed to make the move permanent.

So the sweeping under the carpet of Wenger's first-choice (quietly sold the following summer to Celta Vigo) opened the door to a genuine product of Arsenal's youth academy. The young man took his chance and was soon regarded as a permanent fixture. Academy head Liam Brady expressed pride that two of his former apprentices gained title medals in 2002; the other, goalkeeper Stuart Taylor, despite coach Bob Wilson's recommendation, was never given the opportunity to take over from David Seaman and only reached the required appearance mark due to a final-day substitute selection.

The Arsenal academy has been in existence for 10 years, but in that time still no one has followed in Cole's and Taylor's footsteps. The conclusion that can be drawn from the academy's life is that its function is to provide back-up players for the first-team squad, with the probability that they will eventually be sold on having failed to hold down a starting place. Brady - an Arsenal man through and through - must, at times, ask himself whether much of his time has been well spent, giving the lie to Dein's hyperbolic claim that Brady 'has the most important job at the club'.

The catchment area for targets has increased in size. Brazil was not an unfamiliar source for seasoned players (Silvinho, Edu and Gilberto were purchased over a period of four years), but now the scouting system is working hard to secure teenagers from all of South and Central America, such as Denilson and the Mexican Carlos Vela. There is unquestionably a greater Hispanic influence now and Dein says 'Ars�ne believes the future lies with South American and African players', although Wenger would not admit this publicly. It can be assumed that he holds this belief due to the perceived superior technique of Spanish and South American prospects and greater physicality of African players.

Wenger has built a team of scouts under the direction of Steve Rowley and Dave Holden who traverse the globe. Based in Italy, but with a territorial responsibility that extends beyond the Alps, Banfield explains: 'Scouts are headhunters looking for players who are better than those we have. At the end of each year our aim is to upgrade the playing performance of the team, physically, tactically and technically.' Gilles Grimandi, now scouting in France, succinctly states: 'We are able to attract the most promising prospects because we have a calling card stamped "Ars�ne Wenger". They know they will get the chance to play... it is one of our principal arguments.'

There is a harmonious common purpose throughout the disparate parts of the network. Wenger explains: 'The scouts and myself have regular discussions on how we assess players. We also arrange an annual get-together so the scouts can see how the first team train. We then make sure that they go and see any prospect we are interested in at training so there can be direct comparison. Great importance is attached to what can be learned by observing potential prospects' preparation.' As he joked regarding Reyes: 'We even watched him in training. How did I do that? With a hat and a moustache. We scouted him for two years, every minute of every game.'

Unlike many clubs which, according to Grimandi, 'have a tendency to pursue many leads in case they miss someone good... we limit our horizon and closely follow only a few. We will start at 16 or 17 and then, if necessary, follow them until they are 20... and perhaps one day they will sign.' This attention to detail is confirmed by Banfield's admission that 'only three youngsters have been signed by the club as a result of my own scouting over 11 years, but the potential returns when you get it right justify the work I do.' As an example, Grimandi was so painstaking that by the time Bacary Sagna arrived from Auxerre last summer, he was an atypical signing, at the end of the accepted age scale. 'It is difficult to envisage taking a player of 23,' Grimandi says. 'It's too late. It's not worth the trouble of extending our quotas [of older players].'

These quotas, together with the club policy that normally sees over 30s offered only one-year contracts, have had the effect of dramatically reducing the age of the squad since Wenger's most successful spell at the club, between 2001-02 and 2004-05, when the club landed five major trophies. Wenger has long had a reputation as a discoverer of exceptional young stars, largely due to the signings of Patrick Vieira and Nicolas Anelka, yet, not until Cesc F�bregas broke through in the autumn of 2004 had any comparable youthful talent emerged.

The way the team performed in the first half of last season appeared a total vindication of Wenger's methods, yet he choose not to spend in the January transfer window, despite a cash balance of �69m at the end of November 2007, of which �25m was available to the manager for spending on new players and their wages

With every passing transfer window since Wenger splashed out on Theo Walcott, Emmanuel Adebayor and Abou Diaby in January 2006, Arsenal supporters have become increasingly frustrated at the small amount of chequebook activity. Not least because with the club on more solid financial ground the only restraint on the manager is his own reluctance to spend.

It is revealing that despite not paying huge sums to bring in players, Arsenal's 2006-07 wage bill was similar in size to that of Manchester United. Wenger has made encouraging noises that he is prepared to deploy more of his budget and pay the price to add quality in key positions, but the evidence is not yet forthcoming. However, he has also stated: 'My priority will always be to keep the players I already have because above all I believe in the virtues of teamwork. And one can only maintain and develop players by communicating a culture, a culture which passes from generation to generation.'

His sense of timing about when to release a star, while not always popular with fans sad to see their heroes go, is usually spot-on. Wenger is ruthless when the welfare of the group is at stake. When he began to break up the 'Invincibles', he anticipated a drop in their contribution. Notably, since leaving, Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry have missed a considerable amount of playing time due to injury.

It seems clear Wenger's approach is almost certainly a result of (financial) necessity being the mother of (youthful) invention, but how many other managers could have produced a team on such meagre resources that sells out a 60,000 stadium on a habitual basis?

To him, the absence of the Champions League trophy is the one gaping hole in his CV that he is determined to fill in before his work at Arsenal is complete. 'I want to win the Champions League, but it's step by step. And to win not once but two or three times, to go into the history of European football.' And if he can do it with his 'third' Arsenal side, it will be the supreme achievement, against all the odds.

Wenger - We are ambitious to be No 1
Posted by: karsene16 (IP Logged)
Date: 03 October, 2010 10:07[www.arsenal.com]

By Chris Harris

Arsène Wenger has defended Arsenal's record over the past five years as he prepares to face Chelsea this weekend.

Since Arsenal's ‘Invincibles' went through the 2003/04 campaign unbeaten the Blues have won three titles, three FA Cups and two Carling Cups.

Over the same period Wenger's side have lifted one FA Cup but the Frenchman called for some perspective ahead of Sunday's clash at Stamford Bridge.

"I am not happy we have not won the Premier League but we have not been completely in the desert," he said.

"We have been in the Champions League Final, we have been close to winning the Premier League. We have not been seventh or eighth. We have always been there.

"You have to acknowledge that Chelsea have been better than us in the last five years. We are in a league where teams win the Champions League - it's difficult.

"But we are in the top eight in Europe, we have never been higher than now in the whole history of the Club. You can't say we aren't ambitious to be No 1.

"Do you think I work 24 hours a day to wait for another season? Of course I want this to be the season and I will give absolutely everything for it to be the season. I want to win the game on Sunday and I'm convinced we will win the game on Sunday."

Wenger - I'll never speak out on ownership
Posted by: karsene16 (IP Logged)
Date: 17 September, 2010 20:41
[www.arsenal.com]

By Chris Harris

Arsène Wenger will never voice an opinion on ownership issues at Arsenal because he doesn't believe it's his place to do so.

In the past year Stan Kroenke has increase his leading stake in the Club to just shy of 30 per cent, while Red and White Holdings own 26.8 per cent of the shares. The other two major shareholders in Arsenal are Club Director Danny Fiszman (16.1 per cent) and Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith (15.9 per cent).

The launch of Arsenal Fanshare in August gave supporters a chance to buy their own slice of the Club, encouraging plurality of ownership in a way no other Premier League club does.

Wenger has kept his own counsel on the ownership issue throughout recent developments and he explained why at a Shareholders' Q&A on Thursday night.

"I always say to my staff that at a good football club everybody gives their best for what they are paid for and a bad football club is when everybody wants an opinion about the job of the next person," he said.

"I consider myself here as an employee that has to give absolutely everything to do well for this Club. I am not to have an opinion about who owns the Club or who are the shareholders. My job is to do well and to keep these people happy and that’s why I will never have an opinion on who should own the Club.

"It is important that I always remember that my job is to do well for the Club and the shareholders, but not to have an input on who is the owner of the Club - as long as I can work with the freedom I want."

Arsène Wenger signs contract extension
August 20, 2010

Arsenal Football Club is today delighted to announce that its most successful manager, Arsène Wenger, has signed a three year extension to his current contract, taking his tenure at the Club to June 2014.

Wenger, the longest-serving manager in the Club’s history, is as committed as ever to leading the team in the challenge for trophies at the highest level, as well as continuing to produce the sumptuous football for which Arsenal has become synonymous with during his 14 year reign.

Arsène Wenger said: “My heart belongs to Arsenal and my desire is to see this team win silverware.

“My commitment and drive are as strong and fresh as ever. Signing a new deal means that I can see this talented group of players reach their potential. Trust me, they are ready to deliver.

“With my staff and players we are in front of an exciting challenge and we are looking forward to achieving much success.”

Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood stated: “We are thrilled that Arsène has signed an extension to his contract. He has masterfully transformed this football club over the last 14 years and the exciting and compelling football we play under his stewardship is admired the world over.

“Arsène is a very talented man and we believe the young, exciting team he has nurtured over the past five years will reward his and the fans’ patience with silverware.”

During his time with the Gunners, Wenger has revolutionised the Club not only through the brand of successful football the team plays but also through his detailed and insightful input into the design of the state-of-the-art training centre at London Colney and the layout of the players’ and technical staff areas at Emirates Stadium.

Wenger has steered Arsenal to seven major trophies over the last 14 years, including the 2003/2004 Premier League title without losing a single game. In each of his 13 full seasons at Arsenal, the Club has qualified for the UEFA Champions League - Europe’s premier club competition- an achievement matched only by Manchester United and Real Madrid.

[www.arsenal.com]

wenger finally admits what everyone else has known for 5 years!!!
Posted by: Bring back stepanovs! (IP Logged)
Date: 07 April, 2010 13:40

Arsene Wenger has admitted he will need to strengthen his side if they want to challenge for honours.

The Arsenal boss saw his young side taken apart by a Lionel Messi inspired Barcelona on Tuesday.

The Gunners went ahead at Camp Nou as Nicklas Bendtdner made it 3-2 on aggregate and gave the English giants some hope of making it into the last four of the UEFA Champions League.

But within minutes Messi had equalised and he helped himself to another three as the match ended in a rout.

And Wenger, a huge fan of cultivating his own talent, concedes he will need to invest in the future if the Gunners are to progress.

"We have to add something, for sure, but we have some time to think about that," admitted Wenger.

"We are at a stage where we're developing players.

"[Theo] Walcott is 22; [Nicklas] Bendtner is 22; [Samir] Nasri, [Abou] Diaby and Denilson are 22 or 23. They've shown some great qualities and they'll get stronger every year.

"We were very young and what we did was very positive. We had six or seven players under 23 in the team and we had plenty of opportunities. We showed we lacked maturity in the weight of the final ball."

Priority
Wenger refused to be drawn on immediate targets, instead looking ahead to their Premier League clash with arch-rivals Tottenham next week.

"The priority now is to recover from the game," he said.

"We have played quite well, with a lot of character as ever, but we made a few too many mistakes.

"The match forces you straight away to focus because you know it's going to be a derby.

"Yes, of course, you worry about the team's needing lifting. We have to recover quickly because we cannot drop any more points to have a chance to fight for the Premier League. That's why we have to recover and focus completely on the Premier League now."

PlayStation
Wenger admits his side were almost helpless to prevent Messi from torturing his young guns.

"He is like a PlayStation player," Wenger said.

"He can take advantage of every mistake you make. He can make a difference at any moment.

"The defeat is difficult to handle because when you go out of the Champions League, the next day you are in front of a very empty future.

"Our dreams are involved in that but you have to address the disappointment and make sure you're ready for the next game.

"It's difficult to know how much we missed [the injured captain] Cesc Fabregas. We missed seven or eight players but I'd love to have had Fabregas."

_____________________________________________________

Well, teh consolation is that on August 31, 2011, he finally did somethign by bringing in five experienced players.

who let Merlion out.


Merl, for a person who enjoys the past, you didn't write enough about the first Wenger teams.

you wrote 1998-2004 French spine invincibles, that could suggest the team went 5 seasons unbeaten with no obstacles.

All wenger stages have a pattern of a good season then a bad one.

Theodore roosevelt - In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.

kind of reminds me of the rise & fall of Idi Amin..

excellent..took your time to expalin each transition in wengers rebuilding.

2005-2011: i believe this was destroyed with the depature of flamini & helb way before we got to the departure of cesc & nasri not with the departure of henry.

i believe loosing to liverpool was not the 1st loss at the cursed emirate..

i can undestand what wenger wanted to achieve by his transfer activities,,perhaps he failed to land his top targets & bought stop gaps that won't obstruct the growth of his babies..the big problem is that 2 of the experienced players he bought are injury prone & spent majority of their last season on treatment tables.

wenger is still very much obsessed with buying youth & developing them.. if he can get the likes of hazard..young & talented, he may achieve that..but he must make effort to clear out players that are no good like he tried to do this time around. no mater what, we need to buy older matured players to help the mentality of the young players.

i have to agree that had wenger towed the line of feggie who gradually eased in young players while gradually letting go of the matured veteran, we would not have had these trophy droughts.. he was mad to do a mass clear out..wonder how he has managed to prevent a stroke or heart attack

Can We Now Trust The Process 🤔🤷🏿‍♀️ or Should We Still Remain Cautious 🙇🏿‍♀️

I do not belive 98-04 and 05-11 was all one team

It should be 98-01; still had quite an inherited english back four. Players such a sovermars+petit. Older players beginning to retire/lose place/lose form one by one. stale 3 years of no trophies lost. By far the 2nd best team in england but still some way off man utd

01-04 - slowly built a new back four with additions of cole, lauren, campbell, toure in 02. New midfield with the dynamism of ljungberg and pires on the wings. Bergkamp new role of in behind striker. Henrys best years of his career. Our best period under wenger

05-08 - moving to emirates. Decline of the greats of 01-4, players sold. New younger talent brought through. Team given time to adjust to new stadium and player personell. Inconsistent team with inconsistent perfomances. Still played good football but with a changed style. More slower due to the decline of our wingplay. Congestion in the middle started to be apparent. Team having stand out performances in each season with players improving every year. After 07/08 the team had enough quality to go back to the days of 01-04....

08-11: Wengers worst managerial years. Star players who improved during 05-08 left the team due to greed and not seeing clear development. All started with flamini/hleb then adebayor the year after. The 05-08 planning had a major flaw, these players did not have the love for the club which does in 01-04 did. Many were greedy and thought of their own careers. Badly advised by agents, shown by a few of those departures current form. Injuries worsened. Poor poor poor tactics from wenger in big games. Began to be tactically outmuscled by the heavyweights of the game. Barring one/two players, poor transfer dealings, both ins and outs. E.g selling eduardo and bringing in chamakh who seeems more ineffective. Nasri and cesc situation of this summer. Selling more proven players without bringing them in. The board changing. No dein, more shareholders selling. Usmanov and kroenke increasing shares. Those who had a vested interest in the club losing out shares. Club in the hands of strangers who could do anything to the club at anytime. Not being able to capitalise from the decline of the top teams within these years by failing to add to the team at important times. E.g January not buying a defender. Not being able to compete with the wages of the top clubs. Another flaw of the 05-08 planning; paying our youngsters too much money and not leaving for much of an increase.

Now we are in 2011 and we are going to see a different shift, but it seems it will be as worse, if not more, than 08-11.


---- I know I didn't go into that much detail of the early periods-----

Reminds me of the fall of Mubarak, he wouldnt listen to anyone either

"When we had to suffer the team is a lion because they suffer together." 4 July 2020 at Wolverhampton Wanderers
Arteta on his team's first away victory at a club above them in the Premiership since September 2015 at Leicester.

Quote:

Padre Pio
Reminds me of the fall of Mubarak, he wouldnt listen to anyone either

more like it.. amazing how easily A GREAT MANAGER CAN TURN INTO AN INEPT OBSESSED MANAGER CLEARLY DELUSIONAL

Can We Now Trust The Process 🤔🤷🏿‍♀️ or Should We Still Remain Cautious 🙇🏿‍♀️

Yes Aj, the clearout was bad, but i don't agree it was all down to Wenger's doing as most of them he wanted to keep. The wage structure of the club was a big factor in that. Flamini, hleb, nasri, cole, pires wouldve all stayed if wenger had alot of money to flex with. But the situation at the club ensured that wenger didnt have any option but let go any player he knew would earn much while playing far less such as campbell, pires, kanu etc. If wenger could bring in silvestre, squillaci and kept db10 till 37yrs then its wrong to assume he hates older players, it's more likely that he only keep the ones he can afford to and unfortunately for him most of the invincibles were too expensive for the club to keep. Do you thing fergie would still have kept giggs, scholes etc if it was a choice btw them and the likes of Nani, fletcher etc? Ferguson has alot of money to flex with and build his team however he wants. Its very unfair to compare him and wenger in the past six years.

Quote:

De Times
Yes Aj, the clearout was bad, but i don't agree it was all down to Wenger's doing as most of them he wanted to keep. The wage structure of the club was a big factor in that. Flamini, hleb, nasri, cole, pires wouldve all stayed if wenger had alot of money to flex with.

There are many other reasons to why those players left, some relationship breakdowns.

Hleb - wanted a better contract, Wenger give players up to the age a 30 due to decline and Hleb wanted more security. We had the money to do it just not the policy.

Flamini - Milan is supposedly Flamini's Dad's team and Flamini asked for a contract he year before but was refused as he had to prove himself as a CM. Right or wrong Wenger took him from France so he should have had some idea of how good he can be.

Nasri - Wanted more money yes, but it's a wage only City/Chelsea are willing to give, not even SAF would give him that cash i feel, I wouldn't blame low funds to why we lost him, just a greedy player.

Cole - felt disrespected so asked for the extra 5 grand, said the club were throwing money at Thierry and wined and dined him, so decided to get what he could out of the club.

Pires - another that felt disrespected, CL final being subbed when we lost a player, didn't want to play for Wenger after that.

Theodore roosevelt - In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.

Boooooooooooooooring internaitonal week.

What is the verdict on the "Possible rise of Wenger" that we still can retain Top-4 Status this season?

Put it this way, like 2010/11 seaosn, there will be no dominant team with title and Top-4 status going down to the wire till May 2012.

We still cna do it. But are our senior players have the guts, fully committed and dig deep in for a ferocious abttle right to the wire?

Or will they behave like SOng last season, walked off smiling after a defeat with senior players walking nonchalantly off the pitch and like Bendtner caught partying away the night afetr an awful defeat?

Menaing... are those seniro players fully committed to fight for teh badge instead of with half their mind on bailing out like rats looking for offers in January Transfer Window?

Arsenal’s predicament following their move to Ashburton grove has left the manager with very little option but to plough his efforts into harnessing the talent of the youth team.

As a club, the Gunners simply cannot compete with Abramovich’s money-flushed Chelsea.

The sight of Manchester United pledging to spend up to £50-million on 3 players – the youngsters Nani and Anderson and Owen Hargreaves – in the summer of 2007, just weeks after claiming the title, was a reminder that Arsenal must aim to progress by other means.

In that respect, Wenger had needed what older heads he could muster for the awkward 2006-07 campaign to steer his younger players through, so the loss of the likes of Henry and in particular William Gallas was devastating.

Without Gallas. Wenger had seen his plans seriously spoiled by defensive problems – he had lost confidence in Jens Lehmann in 2004-05, and used 26 different defensive combinations the following year – for a 3rd successive season.

In the end, his only option was to hope that, long-term, the testing induction could eventually prove to be the making of his young defence.

They will be better for the experience and their achievements. Certainly, with the more seasoned campaigners fit and even in Henry’s absence, Arsenal remain impressive.

‘If you look at the number of players who were not available at the end of the 2006-07 season and the quality of our performances over much of the campaign, we still have the right to be optimistic,’ argued Wenger.

‘I feel there can be focus still on developing the team we already have here. The team is grwoign well, and if we have everybody fit then we can challenge. After all, we have played some football of such quality that nobody else has matched.

What I am more proud of than anything is that the club was very solid when we were hit very hard with our elimination from the CL Cup at the beginning of March. Most of the other clubs in Europe would have exploded. But we will talk over the summer, work hard in pre-season and come back strong.’

That encapsulates the spirit of Wenger’s Arsenal.

“Arsene Wenger The Biography” Xavier Rivoire (2007)
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2011/12 is deja vu of 2006/07 season?

Again, our Defence loses its leadership when Vermaelen wa sout injured.

Like losing confidence in Mad Jens, it is now losing confidence in Djourou and Squillaci?

No matter how many "worldclass" youngsters you have in yoru sides, the shocking lack of senior playes and leadership on the pitch is very telling for our dreadful start, and present low morale and so much dispirited displays for the 12 competeitve games we played so far.

Had Wenger learned the lessons of 2006/07 and 2007/08 seasons?

We will surely know for the next 12 games as it will define our season as to whetehr we are up for teh fight for Top-4 status or just hovering above the relegation zone as a mediocre mid-table team with nothing to fight for as early as February - out ofo CL Cup, out of FA Cup, out of Carling Cup, out of Top-4 race with perhaps only Europa Cup to look forward to.

Certainly, this season we will see another aspect of Wenger. Can he rise to the occasion and managed "failure" when everything blew up in his face and really rebuild this 4th team from youngsters, plus a few excellent buys, like he did for the 2006/07 and 2007/08 teams.