The start of a new era?

With RVP leaving in addition to last years Cesc/Nasri and the countless others in recent seasons, is anyone else feeling this is the final piece in moving away from the failed post Invincibles youth experiment? Our squad has a more experienced look now, and I hope to see more of it on the pitch.

Yes, I think we are moving away from a squad that played great football but lacked the ability to beat lesser opponents, and that may well be down to lack of experience. I look forward to a more experienced squad that can hopefully win things.

The end of an era? I hope so ...

The end of an era? I hope so ...

It's Diaby Time now.

Diaby will break Robins leg when we play them in November, but also break his own in the same challenge.

I hope we mark the end of the era by erasing all marks of past shame. As dictators statues are brought crushing down, some of you guys need to find ways with the administrators of the forum, and plead for help with their user names. Ban the man, Can the man, Manu the man, whatever. Cesc remnants are welcome to join the appeal.

You guys are like old people with tattoos that seemed like a good idea way back when

I hope we mark the end of the era by erasing all marks of past shame. As dictators statues are brought crushing down, some of you guys need to find ways with the administrators of the forum, and plead for help with their user names. Ban the man, Can the man, Manu the man, whatever. Cesc remnants are welcome to join the appeal.

You guys are like old people with tattoos that seemed like a good idea way back when

Heh, prog, well played. But we can handle that one I reckon.

To return to the OP in more earnest, yes, I too think we are raising the experience core and putting together a more hardened squad. I would add, however, that I do not deem the 'youth experiment' to have been a total failure or waste of time. For starters it has provided us with some damned good players, e.g. Jack, Sneezy, Song, even Gibbs and Ramsey. But, yeah, I think things are settling down in a good way, despite today's news.

Diaby will break Robins leg when we play them in November, but also break his own in the same challenge.

worth it

or Wilshire and Frimpong will double team and go in from different directions

have Ray Parlour come out of retirement with one mission!

It does feel like the end of an era, and if Song goes it will be even more so. But it was hardly a great era results-wise. Some great football but nothing to show for it really.

Lets see what the new one brings.

I definitely can't wait for the Arsenal - Man Utd matches this season.

#fireinmybelly

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Heh, prog, well played. But we can handle that one I reckon.

To return to the OP in more earnest, yes, I too think we are raising the experience core and putting together a more hardened squad. I would add, however, that I do not deem the 'youth experiment' to have been a total failure or waste of time. For starters it has provided us with some damned good players, e.g. Jack, Sneezy, Song, even Gibbs and Ramsey. But, yeah, I think things are settling down in a good way, despite today's news.

Heh, prog, well played. But we can handle that one I reckon.

To return to the OP in more earnest, yes, I too think we are raising the experience core and putting together a more hardened squad. I would add, however, that I do not deem the 'youth experiment' to have been a total failure or waste of time. For starters it has provided us with some damned good players, e.g. Jack, Sneezy, Song, even Gibbs and Ramsey. But, yeah, I think things are settling down in a good way, despite today's news.

The problem with that is that Gibbs and Ramsey are quite average right now (Ramsey reminds me of Denilson from 08/09, he had some supporters but the more he played the more it became obvious that he is not ready, and it killed his confidence and belief, while Gibbs reminds me of an awfully rigid project that we want to push through regardless of the obvious failings).

Song might leave to Barca, and Wilshere-Szcz would have come through regardless of the youth policy.


Apart from that I agree that Wenger has rightly switched to the more experienced players, and hopefully it will be successful (he needs to buy another world class player from the received money, though).

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Finally lost the last star player of the bunch that never achieved anything. I like the look of the squad now. We have a spine now of players that aren't 20, but a hard working, humble squad who will give 100%, are proud to wear the shirt and, most importantly, we won't have to wait 3-4 years for them to mature.

Also, can we change the heading to "the start of a new era"?

I think this post is optimism at its finest. I'll buy it though and go along with the idea that we just sold our best player to one of our biggest competitors so we can win things and build our team around guys who have just arrived from foreign shores.

For me the biggest thing to come out of tonight is that anyone is available for any price. We should remember that before we start telling ourselves that Wilshere will be the saviour.

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pm'd.

@prog I don't really disagree with you on Gibbs and Ramsey, not broadly speaking anyway, while as for Song, I just don't know, but you can't have Jack and Sneezy as 'would have come through anyway' as that's the whole point - we let or tried to let players come through instead of buying established 'star' players. A rousing success? No. A total failure? No. Somewhere in between for me. The key is to retain them and add pieces, like you said at the end.

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@prog I don't really disagree with you on Gibbs and Ramsey, not broadly speaking anyway, while as for Song, I just don't know, but you can't have Jack and Sneezy as 'would have come through anyway' as that's the whole point - we let or tried to let players come through instead of buying established 'star' players. A rousing success? No. A total failure? No. Somewhere in between for me. The key is to retain them and add pieces, like you said at the end.

Was there a youth project at Madrid when Raul came through?

I certainly hope this is the end of the era that started in 05. Only a couple seasons of decent football, no trophies, reliance on backstabbing mercenary one-season wonders, many heartbreaks and countless bottle jobs? Yeah, I could do without that.

I'd love a fresh start and I think we have a promising enough core of young players who may or may not be as talented as their predecessors but they are homegrown, mentally stronger, brought up the Arsenal way and have actual ties to the club and their teammates. If we can regularly add a couple of players in the mould of Podolski, Cazorla and Vermaelen, we will be able to field proper teams in the next couple of seasons.

I don't know, prog. I follow Arsenal and there was a 'youth project' when Cesc and Jack and Sneezy (once Al had done his bit) and others came through (some seedlings, some fruit). Our 'youth project' is also not done, which is part of my argument for the above points. The overhaul to that side of things has been phenomenal and if we can add a quality player, just one, every few years or so it will be a massive success.

Again, though, it's good to see this now being balanced with experienced talent.

Ant: World class talents tend to come through at every club, regardless of whether they are giving chance to 10 more Denilsons and Bendtners. That was my point.

Righty-o, prog. Your point, as usual, is (depressingly) clear.

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Are you by any chance a Van Morrison fan

Great post i totally agree we have shipped out the last of the brat pack. The football at times was good but if we are being honest it was mostly frustrating and alot of the time just downright boring,.

I love the new set up, i love the attitude i see within the team, we now have alot of players that can produce the class, but more important they can roll the sleeves up and get stuck in. I am not just saying this, but i have not been as excited about watching us play in years, i can see this team go on to great things. Bring on the new season

Great post i totally agree we have shipped out the last of the brat pack.

1. What about Song, will people hate him as well?
2. What if Theo doesn't sign a new contract?
3. How do we want to keep an ambitious player in the future with the 'we alreafy replaced Robin with Giroud and Podolski' mentality?


Sorry for the realism.

Hopefully this is the end of our scattergun approach to signing youth and more focused buying ie the Ox. A look at Ryo and Frimpong leaning them out early allow them to learn and make mistakes elsewhere if they are good enough bring them home. I do feel as if it is a new era Podolski, Arteta y, Mertesacker even Benayoun its a good change. This is also the first time we haven't signed a promising young player which signals a change(edit in a long time as I can recall)