Arsenal FC a very promising story

[The Baron]

I wonder if the Ozil signing was just to appease tbh. We the amount of money in our Cash reserves, I have to doubt that he has serious intention, or he would have spent some.

For about the hundredth time, as a footballing genius you cant look at a front line strike force of Giroud and/or Bendtner and not think you are seriously going to maintain a season long challenge for titles and cups, can you?

As for exceed expectation. Who's expectation, and with what?

My expectation is that if he doesn't spend we cant progress. This team of youngsters he has been grooming for years, and the "reason" he hasn't needed to spend are all now mid twenties and we are still no nearer to winning anything.

Ozil will undoubtedly be a good signing. Should it have gone on a striker? Yes. He tried for Suarez first. Hardly Wenger's fault it didn't happen.

Expectation of the masses is what I was obviously referring to. One Arsenal fan's expectation is somewhat irrelevant. No one (broadly speaking) figured Arsenal for a title challenge this year. They're challenging and therefore above expectations. IMO they can win it. After Liverpool I hope you do.

I agree as a general principle that you do have to spend to progress. Arsenal's problem has been their stadium. It's not a problem any more. Wenger can and in my opinion will spend. He's shown willing.

I think there's a lot of post Bayern knee jerk happening. But I didn't expect Arsenal to go through anyway so I don't understand it.

[BigAdz]

Ah, I see.

you will see if you read more, this isn't knee jerk from me, but a long held view/standpoint

[nirvana]

Baron, as always, speaks a lot of sense

Both Arsenal and Liverpool have made great progress this season - I'm happy enjoying that for the moment and hopefully we get some movement in the summer that helps us progress on again next year.

I can honestly say, I'd love to win something but I don't actually care if we do or not

[BigAdz]

Don't get me wrong, i am loving it that we are up there and challenging.

The baffling thing that irks so much is that with probably one decent purchase we could have sealed the league and we have/had the money to do it.

We may yet pull off a miracle, but I will still hold out the same opinion.

[horseplayer]

Arturo Lupoli, who, when 17, scored 2 for Arsenal v. Everton in the League Cup. He's just signed for Honved

That seems a lot longer ago than it actually was, remember Henry saying he was the best finisher he had ever seen

[Karabiner]

Don't get me wrong, i am loving it that we are up there and challenging.

The baffling thing that irks so much is that with probably one decent purchase we could have sealed the league and we have/had the money to do it.

We may yet pull off a miracle, but I will still hold out the same opinion.

I'll bite although I'm very reluctant to respond to dogma.

Which purchase?

Who do you suggest we should have bought and when?

If you are suggesting January I think you're in fantasyland as there were no top quality strikers available that I know of, and if you're suggesting during the summer I believe that we made a couple of well-documented attempts to sign world-class strikers that didn't work out for reasons beyond Arsene's control but possibly not yours.

Sometimes I wonder Adz if you really are a gooner or an agent of a sinister N.London neighbour on a mission to twist our melons.

[BigAdz]

Bloody hell Ralph.

Just because no one was available or on the market, when you have the cash reserves we do does that really matter?

I seem to recall most of the good players we have sold in the past weren't "on the market" but we sold them.

What you do is open your wallet and money talks.

I maybe in Fantasyland but you must be stuck in Victorian Principles Land!!

[david3103]

Bloody hell Ralph.

Just because no one was available or on the market, when you have the cash reserves we do does that really matter?

I seem to recall most of the good players we have sold in the past weren't "on the market" but we sold them.

What you do is open your wallet and money talks.

I maybe in Fantasyland but you must be stuck in Victorian Principles Land!!

Could be worse places to be stuck

[BigAdz]

So Mr Wenger is about to celebrate his 1000th game in charge at Arsenal.

A noteworthy achievement indeed. To my mind about 500 too many, about the time he started to sell our talent, and not buy any, but so be it.

Now we look to have secured his coveted 4th spot when looking threatening all year, I am sure he will be sat in his comfy chair, thinking, a job well done, and another £7m safely banked on the back of another year of underachievement.

How ironic that the flat track bully(a racing term, loosely meaning he can beat those teams worse than him, but capitulates easily when facing tougher opposition) meets someone that seems to completely have his measure in this milestone fixture.

No doubt the Wenger sycophants will ignore his startlingly poor record against the top teams when celebrating his achievement, and hark on about who would we replace him with, rather than acknowledge his obvious weaknesses. Again, so be it.

The sad thing is, I instinctively know if he had spent money, not Ozil money, but Suarez money, or Ibrahimovic money, we would have the title wrapped up by now. And, yes, before anyone says it, WE CAN AFFORD TO BUY THEM.

Anyway, as ever come the match time, I shall be sat intently cheering my team on, and I do so dearly hope to have egg on my face at around 2.30 tomorrow, but I fear it will be the end of another title challenge as Wenger heads over to Jose and reluctantly shakes his hand and moans that the ref made a whole host of errors that stopped us winning the game, and heads to the tunnel shaking his head(hardly Nostradamuss in that prediction, am I?).

But if it is, can the Wenger lovers please have a good think about what they want from their team in the next 5 years, because for me its getting very frustrating, and I would rather go through a Man U type season, thinking that the new man is at least trying something different to achieve our objectives, than just do the same old thing thinking 4th is a job well done.

Up the Arse

[TightEnd]

How ironic that the flat track bully(a racing term, loosely meaning he can beat those teams worse than him, but capitulates easily when facing tougher opposition) meets someone that seems to completely have his measure in this milestone fixture.

Originally a cricket term, reference Graeme Hick most notably


Well done to Mr Wenger. turned down Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and England, stayed loyal and has his reward. good job done

[BigAdz]

How ironic that the flat track bully(a racing term, loosely meaning he can beat those teams worse than him, but capitulates easily when facing tougher opposition) meets someone that seems to completely have his measure in this milestone fixture.

Originally a cricket term, reference Graeme Hick most notably


Well done to Mr Wenger. turned down Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and England, stayed loyal and has his reward. good job done

So says a Leicester fan.....?

[TightEnd]

How ironic that the flat track bully(a racing term, loosely meaning he can beat those teams worse than him, but capitulates easily when facing tougher opposition) meets someone that seems to completely have his measure in this milestone fixture.

Originally a cricket term, reference Graeme Hick most notably


Well done to Mr Wenger. turned down Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and England, stayed loyal and has his reward. good job done

So says a Leicester fan.....?

Yes. I'm allowed an opinion!

[arbboy]

How ironic that the flat track bully(a racing term, loosely meaning he can beat those teams worse than him, but capitulates easily when facing tougher opposition) meets someone that seems to completely have his measure in this milestone fixture.

Originally a cricket term, reference Graeme Hick most notably


Well done to Mr Wenger. turned down Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and England, stayed loyal and has his reward. good job done

So says a Leicester fan.....?

Yes. I'm allowed an opinion!

Don't Arsenal pretty much finish every year exactly where they should in the league? Over the past ten years all of these statements are true imo. They are not the biggest spending club in the EPL by far on salaries and/or transfer fees, they don't have the biggest fan base globally in the EPL, they don't have the biggest ground in the EPL, they don't have the richest owners in the EPL.  Given the club has successfully paid off a huge stadium project in the past 10 years or so i think Wenger has done an amazing job of securing Champions League football (a major revenue source) each and every year during this period.  Given it's an era dominated by two hugely wealthy owners at Chelski and Man City massively overspending and the dominance at Manure of the greatest manager of all time i struggle to see what Arsenal fans think should have happened realistically in the last 10 years?  Alongside my local club Stoke City i think Arsenal are a great example of how to run an EPL football club for the long term future of its owner's and fan's.

[BigAdz]

All valid points. Shame we have £175m plus in our cash reserves we cant/won't "compete with the big three" with.........

[horseplayer]

The guardian article with the Brentford Boss i have just posted in tft makes some excellent points.

At some stage likely sooner rather than later when everyone else is collapsing the years of financial prudence will pay