Wenger: I will not panic-buy
By Jonathan Chong on Monday, August 25, 2008
Manager Arsčne Wenger has insisted that he will not panic buy after seeing his side lose for the first time this season.
The Gunners always had a good record against Fulham but saw themselves succumb to their first loss against the Cottagers after an inept display.
Despite the 1-0 loss, Wenger is insisting that his squad is as strong as last season, and will not rush to increase the numbers.
The news is not what Arsenal fans would want to hear, especially after defender Philippe Senderos joined AC Milan on a one-year loan deal today, further decreasing the numbers in Wenger's squad.
Wenger said: "When you lose a game the solution is not always to buy. Did we play at our best? I say no and so we have to look at why?
"We had problems to win our first few games last year but we won them. This year we did not win - that is the reality.
"We had 60 minutes to come back on Fulham and we did not do it. Is that down to Fulham' s quality or the fact we were not good enough? Only the future will tell us that.
"Let's not make too much comparison the team is almost the same. The goal on Saturday was conceded from a corner and was not excusable.
"You can accept it sometimes when someone jumps higher than you but not when they scored from the middle of the goal area on the six-yard line. That is where we were guilty."
User Comments
50jp20
Posted on 30 Aug, 2008 at 03:33 PM - Reply
i agree with wenger on all counts except that he needs at least a couple of players with big time experience.then we will have the right mixture
in terms of talent i think we have enough to win anything,but talent alone wins u nothing,its the other things i'm worried abt and the couple of players can make up for it.
49Antony Ooga Aseta.
Posted on 29 Aug, 2008 at 08:47 AM - Reply
There you go again Mr. Wenger, and you got it wrong all over again. A few free lessons for you here sir, when you realize that you need something, you go and buy it right away to fill the vacuum, where is the ''panic'' word coming in here. Try to get it right this time round and buy up and sit back to watch the wins come, or yet still, just ignore buying and sit back and watch more of what you saw at Fulham. Thanks.
48Ahio
Posted on 28 Aug, 2008 at 08:41 PM - Reply
Buy people over 20 wenger..not kids to first team. Do you like kids? time to go to france my friend and work in a kindergarden if you love kids so much, they are not good enoyght for the first team. maybe in 5-6 years if they learn somethimg..
47syd
Posted on 28 Aug, 2008 at 03:14 PM - Reply
Well,the team was out of sorts on saturday and i may have to agree with a lot of comments but not letting wenger go.All we need is to strengthen the middle of the pack but ofcourse the coach kwows who he wants
46ars33van
Posted on 28 Aug, 2008 at 02:36 PM - Reply
Have faith people. Have faith
45Old Gooner
Posted on 28 Aug, 2008 at 11:17 AM - Reply
I can't believe some of the uneducated rubbish posted on this site! There is a big new shiny stadium with a big, big debt behind it. How many of you routinely go out and spend more than you earn, having maxed on your credit cards, extended your mortgage etcetera? If you spend, spend, spend then you go bust or have to sell the family silver to pay off your debts, and you don't have the cash to replace it with more silver, only tinplate. I hope you understand the metaphor. Football is a business and should be looked at in the long term, not for a quick fix. Wenger is probably in the top 5 of world football managers. Be patient - let him build a side for the future. I remember the 50s and 60s when we didn't win a thing for donkey years. What you have today is far better, so stop the whingeing and back the manager to the hilt.
44phader
Posted on 27 Aug, 2008 at 05:18 PM - Reply
at the end of the day arsene....were NOT GOOD ENOUGH
dont bother say were capable of winning titels dis year when deep down u no we aint...
chelsea are buying robinho and luis fabiano
our squad is no were near chelsea's squad....i fear for when we have to play them actually
43elninio
Posted on 27 Aug, 2008 at 05:03 PM - Reply
Why did we buy Diarra last season when we had a pretty capable mid field. Right now we have a less than capable mid filed and we still dont want to strengthen.... ITS NOT PANIC BUYING..ITS VERY VERY NECCESSARY!!!!!!!!!!
42TRUE Arsenal fan
Posted on 27 Aug, 2008 at 03:18 PM - Reply
theres one thing i gotta say most of the poeple who are saying wenger has 2 go are glory hunters, look at poor derby they got relagated first yet the fans were supporting the fans were supporting derby, SO STOP UR WINGEING and support wenger cuz he can do it (win the premier leaugue) he has done it before and cna do it again.
Look at chelsea they had to SPEND ALOT OF MONEY to win the premier leaugue wat did arsenal have wen they won the premier leaugue GOOD PLAYERS and TRU SUPPORTING FANS
41Matthew Gregory
Posted on 27 Aug, 2008 at 11:50 AM - Reply
I sorry to say this but I have lost all faith in WENGER. He needs to buy he did not buy in Jan and lets be honest it cost us the LGE. He has not brought any midfield player to replace Flamine.
Sorry WENGER it is time you went because we are going to have another season with not any Silverware.
So please WENGER just go and leave us now. Arsenal get in Slaven Bilic.
40BLOWING UP LIKE NITRO
Posted on 27 Aug, 2008 at 11:11 AM - Reply
the reason why everyone is getting upset is we lost to fulham and we had no midfield no strike force and no leadership. the team is not looking good and the passing moveement that we are known for has gone.wenger needs to get alonso from liverpool to help cesc to bolster the midfield and martins from newcastle to score goals, show adebayor the door his strike rate is one goal in forty chances, for a team that is trying to win some silver ware this season thats not good enough.As for gallas he should lose the arm ban until he can prove he is the man to lead us on four fronts in a season. ALSO why dont wenger take his head out of the sand and listern to what the fans want. SUCCESS
39RevreX
Posted on 27 Aug, 2008 at 07:58 AM - Reply
I have to agree with alot of the comments here, but just bare in mind, spending massive amounts of money on named players does not always make a good team, look at the money chelsea lost with Shevchenko. I for one and going to sit on the fence and wait to see what happens. 10 Games should be enough to see if the team gels or not
38kwickfit
Posted on 27 Aug, 2008 at 01:21 AM - Reply
i cant wait to see the back of wenger, senderos and eboue iam sure arsenal will be better of without them. i had enough with his doggy statment
37dublin gun
Posted on 27 Aug, 2008 at 01:11 AM - Reply
cmmnt 31 ! we have been waitin patiently for past few seasons , we just want sumtin instead of the great footi gimic, we hav been developing too much ,got us nowhere and now we lost alot of players were worst of than we were last seaon.
36kevin
Posted on 27 Aug, 2008 at 12:11 AM - Reply
i agree with you there
35josh gunner
Posted on 26 Aug, 2008 at 09:48 PM - Reply
Well well well!!! knew one day we were going to lose to fulham since wegner loves his pocketbooks more than his dear wife mr.wegner the fans don't want you to buy the world of players or PANIC BUY,but add a littla debt to the squad for that extra push to the end of the season . come you can't expect fabregas to control the entire midfield when he comes back . p.s should of sold adebayor and his damn wasteful ass instead of keeping him to bring shame to the arsenal jersey give vela chance
34cutefamuchie
Posted on 26 Aug, 2008 at 09:23 PM - Reply
I think we need to unstop this mediocrity about wenger, can someone remnid how much the economist has spent this summer? what's his problem with Arshavin+Alonso to reinforce the team,25m should do the trick...he needs to wake up from his sweet talk about winning the league n CL, 'cos i remember him saying something like winning the carling cup and finishing 12th on the table, well i see him in that position if he doesn't buy now
33Dubby
Posted on 26 Aug, 2008 at 06:41 PM - Reply
No one is saying ''panic'' buy. all we are saying is buy right, and quickly too. Arsene we are tired of being as developing team!!! Good things dont come cheap!!!!!
32belfastgooner
Posted on 26 Aug, 2008 at 05:02 PM - Reply
what we have all failed to mention is in some case's you can't blame the players over the years mr wenger has been selling and expecting others to fill the wrong posistions...
kolo-pos-midfielder-plays right/center back
gallas-pos-left back-plays center back
theo-pos-striker-plays right/left midfield
eboue-pos-right back-plays center midfield
song-pos-midfielder-plays center back
so whats next? cesc in goal and almunia up front with adebayor
31TRUE Arsenal fan
Posted on 26 Aug, 2008 at 04:53 PM - Reply
COME ON PEOPLE!! we only lost one match, look at man u last season they drew and lost the first couple of match but u did'nt c the man u fan screaming F*** FERGOUSON dey waited patiantly as we should now cuz we can win the premier leaugue and we need to help the arsenal team with encourgement (form the fans) instead of giving up hope after losing only one match
30HH
Posted on 26 Aug, 2008 at 04:53 PM - Reply
I simply do not understand why is there still no talks of sacking Wenger?? Why is Wenger untouchable?
I don't care anymore what he had achieved over the years with us but he has lost it...he needs to go.
29gunner des
Posted on 26 Aug, 2008 at 04:37 PM - Reply
i think we have a real problem at arsenal which is arsene the sooner we get rid of him the better.arsenal is being run by this men and all the pple up stairs have been subdued by this man and no one can stand up to him anymore.reflect back to the year before when they all got rid of david dean the man who wanted to bring that dream to arsenal success and silverware.that to me was a clear sign that we are on the slide.listen to him talking today i am not panic buying.cant continue too upset
28Gooner till i die
Posted on 26 Aug, 2008 at 04:00 PM - Reply
You people make me sick. Call yourself Arsenal Fans Arsene is the heart and soul of this club. He will bring back the glory days and he damn sure knows alot more about football than most of u cretins.
We dont have the money to sign the KaKas robinhos of the football world. We are still in debt for the stadium. Have some faith in what the squad can do. We all know they have quality. Ok we shud not have let Flamini go but he was another cashley.
We dont buy big names we make them and don't u lot forget it. Who knows Silvestre could be a blessing in disguise for us. Who nos he could be played as a centre half and Djourou as a DM.
27johnny crooger
Posted on 26 Aug, 2008 at 03:34 PM - Reply
are we really the top four club?or just a high school football team?how high is our ambition?do wenger expect we to believe that we can win the title with this squad?last week performance was nothing more than rubbish.we deserve to lose.can we bounce back?hurm.....trying hard to believe we can win anything this season.wenger expect too much from the kids.
26Mat S
Posted on 26 Aug, 2008 at 12:18 PM - Reply
So, to paraphrase this, it means 'I don't care that we lost, we still are not going to buy anyone'. I don't know about anyone else but I for one am getting fed up of Wenger having to constantly come before the increasingly frsutrated fans with excuses as to why we can't bring in any real quality. And when I say real quality I mean a world class midfielder which is clearly what we need given teh listless performance at Fulham. The midfield were like headless chickens, Denilson hasn't got the maturity or composure, and if Eboue is a central midfield player then I'm a chinaman. I'm sorry, but pretending everything will be ok when Fabregas comes back is kidding ourselves, we need a marshall in the centre of that midfield who is going to boss the kids and provide some leadership, because lets face it, Gallas doesn't appear to be up to the job. Enough of this paupers act please Arsenal, let the fans see that you're taking positive action and bring in an established, tried and tested midfield player and give us some faith that we can challenge this season.
25Justin
Posted on 26 Aug, 2008 at 11:58 AM - Reply
Dropping Djourou for Toure, who produce an insipid display not even worth replay, was a mistake. Much like not replacing the players who have left.
24Jack
Posted on 26 Aug, 2008 at 11:56 AM - Reply
No-one is suggesting that we 'panic buy' and it doesn't appear that Arsene used this particular phrase but the current situation has been ongoing for three years now and I think it only fair that the fans should be entitled to an honest explanation. Look at the players that we haven't suitably replaced in that time: Vieira, Bergkamp, Pires, Henry. Look at the huge increase in the cost of watching and supporting the team in that same period. The team needs experienced international- quality reinforcements and hopefully they will arrive before the deadline. The club needs to remember its debt to its supporters and start to show them some respect again. This may take a lot longer.
23kingsley omadudu
Posted on 26 Aug, 2008 at 11:21 AM - Reply
WENGER IS THE PROBLEM OF ARSENAL, BECAUSE HE HAS FAILED TO BUY PLAYERS INTO POSITIONS WHERE WE HAVE PROBLEMS RATHER HE IS BUSY SELLING AND LOANING SOME AND BUYING WARN-OUT PLAYERS LIKE SYLVESTRI. HOW CAN ARSENAL COMPETE FOR THE LEAGUE WITH THESE KIND OF PROBLEM......I THINK ITS TIME FOR WENGER TO GO AND BRING IN SOMEBODY WHO CAN BUY PLAYERS.
22Olaniyan Kayode
Posted on 26 Aug, 2008 at 10:08 AM - Reply
we should all allow arsene,lets see wat happen in our next games.it is better happening early which is good for early correction.
21michael first nigerian gunner
Posted on 26 Aug, 2008 at 08:55 AM - Reply
i am not happy with wengers policy.How on earth can he be living in a fools paradise.We lost Flamini and Wenger expects Diaby to fill up that role?How come did he not send Diara on loan to portsmouth?How does he expect Fabregas to play well without a good ball marker?The truth is that sometimes we do give credit to whom it is not due.What happened when Flamini was injured in the second leg of Champions league with Liverpool?Was Fabregas not there?Against Ac Milan,was it not Flaminin that held kaka from causing dangers?In the build up to Champions league final with Fc barca,it was Flamini who played left back for us,how on Earth will Wenger not allow this player to be paid what is due to him when he wenger is one of the best paid coaches in the world,he should have been collecting peanuts.How on earth can u just be dismemnering a team all the time.What has Fabregas won since the exit of Viera?Why was Fabregas unable to unseat the duo of Senna and Xavi from the midfield.Experience counts in football.Wenger needs to buy experienced players.Even with Abou coming back,the problems will still persists,again what wins cups is the bench players,they should be as good as the first team players.Who are in the arsenal bench?Are they quality players that can bring us glory?
Food for thought Mr wenger or better still learn from the Sir Fergie.
I rest my case.
20Patrick Spooner
Posted on 26 Aug, 2008 at 08:44 AM - Reply
I think we need to buy Robinho just to piss chelsea off!
19atbin
Posted on 26 Aug, 2008 at 04:03 AM - Reply
what is wrong with you man..... Our squad is smaller and younger and worse than last year, we are not a small local team, we need big names, we are fading away due to not playing well and by losing to weaker teams we are showing that we are not untouchable anymore..... Like other gunners I've got so much to say but can't express them well
18kwickfit
Posted on 26 Aug, 2008 at 02:31 AM - Reply
I can’t see the arsenal philosophy spin doctors now days. They bombarded us with wengers vision and policy articles every week, where they are now? Maybe they lost in translation. They remind me of 1997 tony Blair logo campaign of NEW LABOUR NEW BRITIAN. ARSENAL CLUB IS RUN BY POLITICAL SPIN DOCTORS AND THE CHEER LEADER IS WENGER WITH HIS WHITE WASH POLICY AND TUNNEL VISION AMBITIONS. WHAT MAKES ME ANGRY IS HOW SPIN DOCTORS TRY TO PLAY WITH ARSENAL FANS FEELING AND EMOTION WEEK IN WEEK OUT PAY POSTING ARTICALES ABOUT WENGERS TUNNEL VISION.
WELCOME TO INCREDIAN OF ANOTHER YEAR OF HEADACHE
DOES ARSENAL HAVE SOLID CENTRAL DEFENDERS? NO
DOES ARSENAL HAVE SOLID MIDFIELDERS? NO
DOES ARSENAL HAVE WENGRS WITH PACE AND VISION? NO
DOES ARSNEAL HAVE MOST CLINICAL STRICKERS? NOI THINK MOST OF ARSENAL FANS CAN SEE MY TUNNEL VISION
17-wengerhasdementia-
Posted on 26 Aug, 2008 at 02:06 AM - Reply
Ok fair enough Arsene, Denilson can definitely play better than he did and so can probably all of the rest of the squad who played like disadvantaged children against fulham, but lets get down to the 2 MAJOR problems we have which are:
1)Gallas: To me he represents the abusive father always shouting at his kids for things that are usually his fault.
2) Eboue: Moaning wife.
In general the club is full of Moaners!
16Femi
Posted on 25 Aug, 2008 at 11:36 PM - Reply
Do what you like.
15cama
Posted on 25 Aug, 2008 at 09:14 PM - Reply
what do you mean not panic buy? the club made record profits last year,wengers had all summer to buy 3-4 good international players,but yet again he relies on his repution as an god in turning unknowns in to spectacular players,when is his ego going to deminish enough so we can compete with chelea man.u and liverpool.look at the stats wenger,pend no doe joe and we have know go-go,comprende.
14kilitime
Posted on 25 Aug, 2008 at 08:34 PM - Reply
i am a fan of arsenal for almost a decade now and for my point of view this is the weakest team for the last ten years and other teams are getting stong and more better than before.we used to be big two,then big four this year if we gonna be luck with this squard we will be between 8 to 15.im getting tied of so many excuses from our manager,is time to spend.u got money from the champions league,and u sold few players,how come a team like totenham each year they spend more than us and they dont play champions league?im not gonna waste ma money and time to buy a ticket to go watch Ebue and Denelson playing as midfielders.mr AW watch we are tied with ur politics on spending.this time u need to bring one good player to cover the gap of Flamin,not this boy from ivory cost.u better spent 15m and make 20m at the champions league.but with this team i dont think u gonna make top four.
13emanuel brady
Posted on 25 Aug, 2008 at 08:29 PM - Reply
WE are the only club in the top flight who can sell players and dont need to buy any new ones.I love wenger but this is an absolutly mental thing to say.look at the team,look at the bench,look at the injury list.do something before its to late arsene.
12delboy
Posted on 25 Aug, 2008 at 07:12 PM - Reply
Is there anyone else out there who thinks arsene has lost it. He said after the twente fc first leg that he'd definitly have a midfielder in by the 2nd leg. That not going to happen. He's signed a 31 yr old defender from utd on a two year deal contrary to all he states and now he's gone and loaned out senderos and troare for the season as well as selling hoyte. What the f*** is going on.
11Wong
Posted on 25 Aug, 2008 at 06:15 PM - Reply
And whose fault was it for that goal???? None other than the great captain Gallas!!!!! Besides, we played long ball most of the time while Fulham played more passing game. I can't stand it any more if we continue to play like this - even if we win. Where is our beutiful passing game? Do our current players have the quality and the fitness to play the swift passing game that terrorised EPL and Europe last season??
10pay-per-view
Posted on 25 Aug, 2008 at 05:56 PM - Reply
Wenger, bring in a new midfielder now, prepare to be sacked. Wasteman. (we need a creative natural left-footed winger). All Wenger goes on about is “bla bla you have to remember that we have injuries”… Well that doesnt EVER seem to change, so the smart idea would be to BUY COVER and stop trying to prove a point to every. Honestly, i dont know why Wenger does the opposite of what everyone tells him, its getting VERY annoying and if we dont win any silverware this season or get a top 3 finish i will be hoping that the board see enough sense to replace this tight b*stard. And i really dont give a *** about your little statements “wenger knows” and… “in wenger we trust” *** everyone can see the errors and what needs to be done, yet consistently HE DOESN’T DO IT. We have fallen short far too many times for my liking. I support ARSENAL FC and not WENGER FC, just because he is the manager doesnt mean everyone who supports the club has to support him, nobody is bigger than the club. I hope you all remember that. PS. Eboue wouldn't have started on the Fulham team. Not sure he'll start in Totenham or Hull's team. - why on earth is he an Arsenal starter?
9belfastgooner
Posted on 25 Aug, 2008 at 05:31 PM - Reply
AGREE! no need to panic buy-but do we need to buy and have we needed to buy from last summer?-YES i would like to praise adebayor for the match against fulham the many times i saw him run back to our half to win back the ball was amazing.but he was the only one trying.kolo and gallas proved last year they do not work together dennilson and eboue are average at their best when cesc comes back he won't be able to carry 2 or more deadwieghts all season.song could be what we need in the middle of the park but he(mr wenger) is trying to make him into a center back.nasri can't be blamed he needs time.wallcot should play through the middle then we might see him at his best.almunia is half decent but is always let down by the 2 in front of him.clychy and sagna by far the best in the leauge then our bench apart from vela! average.SO YES MR WENGER WE NEED TO BUY
8jj
Posted on 25 Aug, 2008 at 05:13 PM - Reply
The truth is we were outplayed by fulham.There was something wrong on saturday..I have seen our team surrendering possesion like we did on sat.IT was unbelieable.But we have to move on,the season is stil young but we canot afford to draw or lose another game.Thas the fact.I belive this is team to give vela some chance here,if he can play against real madrid in la liga and also in the emirates why not newcastle??
7Linval goddard
Posted on 25 Aug, 2008 at 05:13 PM - Reply
somebody pls sell eboue he is crap,soft and a diver, cant shoot cant pass either!!! theo is not going to cut it with the big boys! ade is made to look better than he is coz of players around him! we need players that can win games by them selves when the chips are down players such as henry pires bergkamp class players not average. will we ever find another ian wright pure class n loyal football first money after???
6Jesper
Posted on 25 Aug, 2008 at 05:11 PM - Reply
Come on Wenger must be joking the squad is as strong as last year because 1 excellent player left - flamini -, 1 good player left -hleb- and only youngsters came in. Of which nobody knows how good they are at this level. Maybe in time the team is as strong as.., but not now so Wenger buy Alonso and stop gambling with youngsters who will not get better this way.
100% behind Wenger but if Arsenal had another throphy-less season and Cesc leaves, I think Wenger should go too.
5David
Posted on 25 Aug, 2008 at 05:11 PM - Reply
Stubborn and stupid as usual. It's GAME OVER for him!
4Donaldson
Posted on 25 Aug, 2008 at 05:01 PM - Reply
How about we just go and buy MIGUEL VELOSO from Sporting Lisbon. He a Flamini plus Cesc.
If we have him, we can play 4-1-3-2 or 4-2-3-1 formation which will siute the kind of players we currently have.
3Ben Wilson
Posted on 25 Aug, 2008 at 04:58 PM - Reply
We were 100% poor.
Fulham game simply showed us that without Cesc, we cannot beat any team that has the Energy and Spark of football.
I say WENGER has lost it. It was clear that our midfield is not connecting with the forwards. Instead he took out a midfielder (Theo) replace him with a striker, then took out a Defender replaced him with a Defence midfielder (Song).
Its 100% clear that Song is a DCM not a full back, WENGER please get that into your head.
2Prabu
Posted on 25 Aug, 2008 at 04:43 PM - Reply
Are you saying,the solution is to sell or loan out, AW?
You are very lazy.Do you think you surprised us with Silvestre? It was a lazy option.How do you brush aside selling Flamini and Hleb when they were the fulcrum last year.You did not allow THE YOUNG TEAM to mature to the next level ie to be champs.Instead you nipped it.You are losing focus and becoming lazy in your action.Nothing wrong with that.Just bring Tony Adams as Asst and take the back seat for a while to recharge your batteries.
1Gunner Steve
Posted on 25 Aug, 2008 at 04:37 PM - Reply
When are we going to wake up and realise that faith is not always the solution either. We have had three years of faith and won nothing. We need to strengthen the midfield now, not wait until the transfer window closes. Alonso / Inlar / Veloso / Johnson, one minimum is a must if we want to compete, regardless of cost.
Quote
When you lose a game the solution is not always to buy.
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