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Life after Wenger | Ornstein: Arsenal set to appoint Unai Emery

Do you think Emery will get the club back on an upwards trajectory?


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Slartibartfast

CIES Loyalist
We don't have the personnel to play the way Wenger wants us to play. Either we change all the players or we bring in a manager who'll be able to implement a more conservative style. I agree with you when you say that Wenger hasn't suddenly gone to pieces, its not a coincidence that our drop in form occurs in a year which has seen such a lot of upheaval in the first team. If we give him 2 more years then I'm sure he'll get us back playing competitive football, but who would you rather give 2 years to, an aging manager at the end of his managing career or a new manager that can build a team for a longer term. Don't think that the game has passed him by, but Arsenal certainly needs to pass him by.

Well, I think Arsenal needs better players across the back line and in the midfield no matter who the manager is, so I hope that if he does move on they'll give the next guy the resources to bring in his own guys.
 

Slartibartfast

CIES Loyalist
The overall performance of human being will decline with age.

I am sure you have granpa and granma . You will notice the difference between 20 years ago and now.

life nature

Well, I'm in the same decade of life as Arsène Wenger and my grandparents have been dead for about 45 years. So actually I don't notice any difference in them than 20 years ago. They're still planted in the ground in the very same spot (at least as far as I know).

Despite what you may think, most people in their 60s are actually capable of functioning in a perfectly normal manner and thinking critically. In fact, their experience can often be an advantage. It's not like Arsène Wenger is 95 years old and drooling over a bib while somebody feeds him apple sauce with a spoon in an old folks' home.
 

sil007

Active Member
Well, I'm in the same decade of life as Arséne Wenger and my grandparents have been dead for about 45 years. So actually I don't notice any difference in them than 20 years ago. They're still planted in the ground in the very same spot (at least as far as I know).

Despite what you may think, most people in their 60s are actually capable of functioning in a perfectly normal manner and thinking critically. In fact, their experience can often be an advantage. It's not like Arséne Wenger is 95 years old and drooling over a bib while somebody feeds him apple sauce with a spoon in an old folks' home.

Well , Sure I know that.

And some people in their 60's will decline . I am sure you know that too

And I think you also know that in this world , there are many brain anomaly , symtomps and diseases which can happen at any time , not only to older people , but also to younger one , without being detected.

Combine that with stubborness , ambition , continuous job pressure , pride , etc , etc ....

You can make your own conclussion

Since at first you ask wenger why , why , why , I give you possibilities, as simple as that.
 
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Slartibartfast

CIES Loyalist
Well , Sure I know that.

And some people in their 60's will decline . I am sure you know that too

And I think you also know that in this world , there are many brain anomaly , symtomps and diseases which can happen at any time , not only to older people , but also to younger one , without being detected.

Combine that with stubborness , ambition , continuous job pressure , pride , etc , etc ....

You can make your own conclussion

Since at first you ask wenger why , why , why , I give you possibilities, as simple as that.

Sure, some people in their 30s or 40s -- or even in their teens -- will decline if they have some sort of disease. But I think it's an enormous stretch to suggest that Arsène Wenger might be suffering from some sort of age-related dementia or something like that. There's no indication that Wenger's mental capacity is any different than it was 10 or even 20 years ago. He just has different players, finds himself in a different situation and has a lot more competition at the top.
 

sil007

Active Member
Sure, some people in their 30s or 40s -- or even in their teens -- will decline if they have some sort of disease. But I think it's an enormous stretch to suggest that Arséne Wenger might be suffering from some sort of age-related dementia or something like that. There's no indication that Wenger's mental capacity is any different than it was 10 or even 20 years ago. He just has different players, finds himself in a different situation and has a lot more competition at the top.

Prove me he doesnt then. Yes its enormous , but open minded people will realize , that there's always a possibility
 
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sil007

Active Member
Why should he? You made the claim, so the burden of proof is on you. However I doubt you're a doctor, so please stop diagnosing the state of Wenger's mental health from your armchair.

Should I tell you , because this is a forum where counter asking is allowed ?

You can have your own opinion, while i also can.
I ask one more time. Can you prove he doesnt ??


And I said one more time. Possibility. Not Certainty.
As a mod I think you good enough to know the difference between the two.
 
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Jae

Well-Known Member
Don't see the point in arguing over pure speculation to be honest and to be fair, it's not even important.
 

ArtetaCognition

Granit Xhaka Enthusiast

Country: Ireland
What do you think Arsenal needs to do differently in its defensive organization? What is it that Wenger, himself, is doing wrong in this area? I keep hearing people say that the game has passed Wenger by and all that. But what's different about organizing a defense in 2018 than in 2008? Is it possible that Wenger has forgotten all the things he has known about the game? Somehow I doubt it. Or might it be that the players Arsenal has in these positions simply aren't as good as the players they used to have? Maybe they have players who are more mistake-prone and don't quite have the mental toughness required.

Of course Arséne Wenger shares at least part of the blame for this. I think it's fair to criticize his loyalty -- to the point of stubbornness -- to young players who just weren't working out. Maybe sometimes he tries to fit a square peg into a round hole. It's also possible that things might just have finally gone stale for him (just as they did for Carlo Ancelotti at Milan in 2009). But "the game has passed him by" is just something that people say and I'm not sure exactly what it's even supposed to mean. I'm pretty sure he still knows the game inside out in a way that none of us ever could.

If you're genuinely interested in hearing my answer, I will offer one. Your questions reads a little bit in a condescending manner. Regardless, I'll try my best.

Have you ever heard of Giovanni Trapattoni? This is a man who won 9 Serie A titles with 3 different clubs and countless European Cups. His accolades in football are too many to list - way more than Wenger. But by the end of his career, the people of Ireland didn't even want him to manage their international team. Capello is a similar one. Over 10 Serie A titles and no longer considered good enough even to manage England. There are certainly more generational examples to list to offer more clarity to this argument - but it's clear, that football can pass managers by. To consider that football is static - and that the same tactics that worked decades (or even one decade) ago - will always work is contrary to the belief of everyone working in the sport - that it is constantly evolving and changing. This is the same for any industry in working life - any profession, any craft, any passion.. it will constantly evolve as the people involved in it continue to find new and innovative ways to better their predecessors. Football is a treadmill that never stops.. and you either learn or you fall off.

What is different in 2018 than 2008? I could list many examples.. but I will refrain because I'd be here all day. Some of the many examples include:

  • evolving of new positions in England, such as the false nine, that were not even common terminology in this country the last time we won a league title.
  • A relentless focus on video review and meticulous coaching amongst the elite in the game, analytical skills and evaluating the opponent on a game by game basis (which a few Arsenal players have said are lacking in the game).
  • A general improvement of fitness/knowledge of this area in football and sport in general.
  • An obsession on space creation within football compared to previous decades. This stems from the aforementioned meticulous coaching which leads to pre-determined attacking sequences and movements.
  • The development of pressing as one of the most important off the ball strategies in the game.
  • A more diverse range of formations than in the previous decade - most of these borne through the aforementioned obsession for space creation (take for example Guardiola playing individuals with on the ball qualities at full back (Zinchenko, Delph) in order to gain an advantage in ball retention/movement in the wide areas.
I'll stop there because I hope you get the point. I'm not claiming to know everything about football.. far from it.. but these are my observations of the general direction of the game. I'm sure Wenger has forgot more about the game than I will ever know - but anyone who follows a sport can comment on it. Do you work a job? If you had a boss in your company that used to be the **** of the walk in the 90s.. but nowadays, he's passed it.. makes obvious mistakes.. and clearly isn't as effective as he once was - are you not allowed to notice that because you have never been at the level he once was in the company?If you consider the contrary, these are our main problems as I see it.
  • An inability to create space for our midfielders if we are pressed, leading to us often turning the ball over or constantly having to go back to our goalkeeper and defenders leading to...
  • A constant cycle of not being able to mount any real sustained possession in games where the opponent tries to stop us from doing so by populating the centre of the pitch - leading us to constantly pass sideways without being able to attack where we really want to - down the middle.
  • Not preparing enough for each game on an opponent-by-opponent basis - instead, simply accepting that we are going to play 'the Arsenal way' and that will be enough.
We, as a unit, offer way too much space. Most teams try to defend narrow and have their wing players defending the wide areas outside the box - allowing their full backs to narrow the defensive space by collapsing closer to the box. On the contrary, we have our full backs run out to the wide players.. our wing players in front (often to little or no defensive effect). This means that once the full backs are bypassed, as they often are, there will be A LOT of space in our box, as there often is. These are basic organisational skills that have been devoid from our team.

I'll stop now - because I've been typing long enough. I fully expect that only you may bother to read such a long post.. but I'll happily continue the discussion if you wish.
 

Garrincha

Wilf Zaha Aficionado
Trusted ⭐
You can tell alot about people in difficult times.

Been impressed with these three while others are sulking, ratting on Wenger & blaming others.

A good captain, a gooner & a model pro.


Laurent Koscielny captained the side as we lost 2-1 at Brighton on Sunday, and he says that now is the time for everyone to pull together.

"We know we're in a bad situation, a bad period," he said. "We tried but nothing is with us. We tried to fight [at the Amex Stadium] and play football but you could see the confidence is very down.

"It will come back slowly. It is a bad period but we need everyone at this club – players, staff and fans – to be together and to fight to stay the highest we can.

"It is very difficult but football is like this. Now you focus on the next game, to prepare well. You need to put your head down and work.

"It will be very hard to finish in the top four. We've had a bad period and have not had the results we wanted. We lost our confidence a little bit and on the pitch we didn't have the confidence we need to push ourselves more and to play well with the ball.

"We miss a lot of passes but we need to stay together, to fight together. We need to win to have more freedom on the pitch and we need to stay together. It is important to have everyone behind us."

 

Batman

Head of the Wayne foundation for benching Nketiah

Country: USA

Player:Saliba
In the end, this man's ego is what has done him in. There can be no doubt of his contribution to English football but the pedestal his early innovations put him on as well as the built in excuse of the stadium debt led to stagnation. Alex Ferguson kept winning not just because United had the most money for the bulk of his time there or because of their historic and financial appeal to players. Fergie kept winning because he kept evolving as a manager.

To be sure some things remained the same such as an utter intolerance for a lack of fight, commitment and dissent but he also was humble enough to recognize the areas he needed someone else's input to do the absolute best job for the club. He famously was not particularly hands on in training because he felt there were others better suited to certain forms of instruction.

Now contrast that to Wenger who has surrounded himself with yes people and petulantly rejected the notion that he needs help in spite of the paucity of his achievements relative to someone like Fergie. Absolutely Kroenke deserves blame for letting this continue but nobody makes a person behave the way that Wenger is behaving at this stage. I don't think it's right that a 132 year old institution of English football with a rich history before Wenger ever heard of it should be held hostage to his desire to stay at all costs. He once mentioned that if he had a son who wasn't good enough to be at Arsenal that he wouldn't play. Well the father is not good enough anymore and if he truly loved the club he would go now and let someone better equipped to take it into the next phase begin their work.
 

Slartibartfast

CIES Loyalist
If you're genuinely interested in hearing my answer, I will offer one. Your questions reads a little bit in a condescending manner. Regardless, I'll try my best.

Thanks for your response. If my post sounded condescending, it wasn't meant that way. It's just that I keep hearing this same mantra again and again, but nobody ever takes the time to explain further. I appreciate your efforts, even though I don't totally agree.

What you see as some sort of failure in the defensive spacing plan, I see as simple defensive mistakes and lack of concentration. For one thing, there's a difference between how the defense will be organized in a 3-4 vs. a 4-2, as you know, so it can't be a one-size fits all tactical problem. Arsenal is failing in both formations. What I see is players getting caught out of position, players not properly marking and giveaways in positions that put the defense under stress, largely due to lack of concentration and general lackadaisical play.

Let's take a look at the Manchester City game the other day. On the first goal, Bellerin was caught way out of position (as he often is) and the two center backs weren't able to cover for him. That's why there was so much space. So Sane found Bernardo Silva, who curled the ball into the net.

On the second goal, Bellerin got out of position again. Mustafi had to go out wide to cover Sane and Bellerin ended up where Mustafi was supposed to be. Aguero got the ball at the top of the box and three Arsenal players converged on him. Unfortunately, one was Bellerin, who should have held back. Instead, he allowed David Silva to get behind him for an easy goal. Another mental mistake, not a tactical mistake.

On the third goal, Bellerin just got beat by Sane, who took the pass from Walker after that great through-ball by De Bruyne.

Against Brighton, it was Arsenal's weakness in defending set pieces that was exposed. I won't go into detail, but a lot of people blame that on zonal marking. The thing is, a lot of teams play zonal marking. Whether you're playing zonal or man marking, you still have to mark the man who is in your zone. Too often Arsenal's defenders seem to have lapses in concentration and let the other team have free chances at goal. Of course in this case Cech rightfully put a lot of the blame on himself.

In Arsenal's system the fullbacks need to get forward. So there's a lot of pressure on Bellerin and whoever is playing on the other side to make sure they get back, especially playing in the 4-2. This is where not having a dedicated holding midfielder makes it difficult. Liverpool has basically had the exact same problem, but they've improved by finding better players. They still could really use a dedicated defensive midfielder though and they're still pretty shaky, but I don't think the game has passed Jurgen Klopp by. So if there's a tactical problem here, it's the decision not to play with a true defensive midfielder, not a question of spacing, per se. The spaces come from players getting out of position and others having to cover for them.

Of course the 4-2-3-1 formation is one that naturally creates a hole in the midfield. There are basically three ways to overcome this. One is for one of the two midfielders to play as a bridge. Arteta was very good at this in his early days at Arsenal. You can also play a double pivot. Arteta and Song used to do this, allowing Song to get forward a good bit. The third is to play very high line, compressing the midfield. In this case the flat two need to be maintained in order to screen the back four. The players Arsenal has in these positions have some great attacking and passing qualities, but none of them are particularly good at the jobs that need to be done in order to pull this off. That's why sometimes Arsenal looks better with Elneny in the squad.

Of course it should be noted that Arsène Wenger has never coached the defense at Arsenal. Certainly he's ultimately responsible, but it's hard to pin the label of being "past it" on a function of the game that he basically has never been his bailiwick. Just ask Lee Dixon or Tony Adams. Steve Bould coaches the defense. I don't think he's coaching it any different than he was five or six years ago, but the results are worse because the players just aren't as good. They had better players across the back line and midfielders who were more willing to do the defensive work. Also, it's not like there haven't been games in which they were tremendously organized using the same system in recent years. Just about every game against Chelsea recently. Manchester City in the FA Cup semifinal last year. Hell, they had a clean sheet against Sp**s in November. So Arsenal is perfectly capable of being organized. The problems are more mental than a problem in how the spacing is laid out.

Interesting you should mention Trapattoni. As you surely know, he was a disciple of Nereo Rocco and thus a devoted proponent of catenaccio. So you couldn't possibly have picked anyone more the polar opposite of Arsène Wenger.

You see Trapattoni as failed old manager who was "past it" because, as your "proof," fans of Ireland didn't want him managing the team. That's like saying that because fans ***** about Wenger it's proof that he's past it. What I see when I look at Il Trap in relation to his time in charge of Ireland is a guy in his 70s who qualified the country for the Euros for the first time in almost a quarter of a century and who came within The Hand of Thierry of getting them into the 2010 World Cup. Before he was hired, Ireland was regularly finishing 3rd or 4th in their qualifying groups for both competitions, so even the controversial loss to France in the World Cup qualifying playoff was an accomplishment in itself. Oh, and he led Ireland to the championship of the Nations Cup too.

So, yeah, fans were *****ing, largely because of Trapattoni's conservative style. But at the same time he was drawing praise from the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson and other top managers of the game for his brilliance as Ireland manager. So forgive me if I don't agree that Trapattoni had lost the plot because of his age.
 

Brown Gooner

DoN'T ceNsOR maH FreE SpEecH
I am not totally against the idea of having an ex player like Henry, Arteta or Sol as Arsenal manager in the future. However, if that is to happen I would like to see them first manage one of our youth teams (Liverpool have made Gerrard the coach of the U-19 side and they recently won 2-0 against Manchester United in the UEFA Youth League) or if they can go to some other mid table club in any of the Top five leagues and manage to make that club compete for European/Top five spots.
 

DanDare

Emoji Merchant and Believer-In-Chief
Trusted ⭐

Player:Saliba
It’s impossible to know what training is like at Arsenal but there are a few accounts (including from Wenger) that rigorous instruction is not the mainstay.

I don’t think strictly drilling players only is the answer but it seems like we could do with some of that.

 

dashsnow17

Doesn’t Rate Any Of Our Attackers
Trusted ⭐
It’s impossible to know what training is like at Arsenal but there are a few accounts (including from Wenger) that rigorous instruction is not the mainstay.

I don’t think strictly drilling players only is the answer but it seems like we could do with some of that.


This is why i'm slightly baffled by some of the criticism our players get, not in terms of effort because in that sense a lot of them are open to criticism. But in terms of tactical discipline etc, take a player like Ramsey, Wilshere or Bellerin, they get castigated sometimes for not developing but who's been coaching them? Their entire professional careers have been coached by one man.

Ramsey especially. He's constantly criticised for being ill-disciplined tactically and always bombing forward, but he's been coached solely by Wenger for 10 years. People criticise Wenger's coaching methods but then also criticise the players for not knowing stuff. It can't be both, surely.
 

dashsnow17

Doesn’t Rate Any Of Our Attackers
Trusted ⭐
Reports that some of the squad don't want Arteta because they think he's arrogant. Obviously could be BS, but firstly: who do they think they are? Some of them need a slap. Secondly, you can kinda see why appointing Arteta now would cause issues. It's not that long since he played, is it healthy to have a coach who was a teammate not so long ago? Henry or Vieira would be different, but I do see how Arteta's authority would be undermined if he was coaching players he used to play with.

Obviously none of those three are even ready for the job, but just a useful point to make. The squad could use a younger coach than Wenger but maybe not so much younger that the squad don't take them seriously. They need whipping into shape after all.
 

Keplaz

Well-Known Member
Posted this in the Wenger Thread, again, it's the Sun and Neil Custis so pinch of salt stuff but no smoke without fire:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/foot...sut-Özil-henrikh-mkhitaryan-shkodran-mustafi/
 

Ceballinhos

Cheating on Santi
Thanks for your response. If my post sounded condescending, it wasn't meant that way. It's just that I keep hearing this same mantra again and again, but nobody ever takes the time to explain further. I appreciate your efforts, even though I don't totally agree.

What you see as some sort of failure in the defensive spacing plan, I see as simple defensive mistakes and lack of concentration. For one thing, there's a difference between how the defense will be organized in a 3-4 vs. a 4-2, as you know, so it can't be a one-size fits all tactical problem. Arsenal is failing in both formations. What I see is players getting caught out of position, players not properly marking and giveaways in positions that put the defense under stress, largely due to lack of concentration and general lackadaisical play.

Let's take a look at the Manchester City game the other day. On the first goal, Bellerin was caught way out of position (as he often is) and the two center backs weren't able to cover for him. That's why there was so much space. So Sane found Bernardo Silva, who curled the ball into the net.

On the second goal, Bellerin got out of position again. Mustafi had to go out wide to cover Sane and Bellerin ended up where Mustafi was supposed to be. Aguero got the ball at the top of the box and three Arsenal players converged on him. Unfortunately, one was Bellerin, who should have held back. Instead, he allowed David Silva to get behind him for an easy goal. Another mental mistake, not a tactical mistake.

On the third goal, Bellerin just got beat by Sane, who took the pass from Walker after that great through-ball by De Bruyne.

Against Brighton, it was Arsenal's weakness in defending set pieces that was exposed. I won't go into detail, but a lot of people blame that on zonal marking. The thing is, a lot of teams play zonal marking. Whether you're playing zonal or man marking, you still have to mark the man who is in your zone. Too often Arsenal's defenders seem to have lapses in concentration and let the other team have free chances at goal. Of course in this case Cech rightfully put a lot of the blame on himself.

In Arsenal's system the fullbacks need to get forward. So there's a lot of pressure on Bellerin and whoever is playing on the other side to make sure they get back, especially playing in the 4-2. This is where not having a dedicated holding midfielder makes it difficult. Liverpool has basically had the exact same problem, but they've improved by finding better players. They still could really use a dedicated defensive midfielder though and they're still pretty shaky, but I don't think the game has passed Jurgen Klopp by. So if there's a tactical problem here, it's the decision not to play with a true defensive midfielder, not a question of spacing, per se. The spaces come from players getting out of position and others having to cover for them.

Of course the 4-2-3-1 formation is one that naturally creates a hole in the midfield. There are basically three ways to overcome this. One is for one of the two midfielders to play as a bridge. Arteta was very good at this in his early days at Arsenal. You can also play a double pivot. Arteta and Song used to do this, allowing Song to get forward a good bit. The third is to play very high line, compressing the midfield. In this case the flat two need to be maintained in order to screen the back four. The players Arsenal has in these positions have some great attacking and passing qualities, but none of them are particularly good at the jobs that need to be done in order to pull this off. That's why sometimes Arsenal looks better with Elneny in the squad.

Of course it should be noted that Arséne Wenger has never coached the defense at Arsenal. Certainly he's ultimately responsible, but it's hard to pin the label of being "past it" on a function of the game that he basically has never been his bailiwick. Just ask Lee Dixon or Tony Adams. Steve Bould coaches the defense. I don't think he's coaching it any different than he was five or six years ago, but the results are worse because the players just aren't as good. They had better players across the back line and midfielders who were more willing to do the defensive work. Also, it's not like there haven't been games in which they were tremendously organized using the same system in recent years. Just about every game against Chelsea recently. Manchester City in the FA Cup semifinal last year. Hell, they had a clean sheet against Sp**s in November. So Arsenal is perfectly capable of being organized. The problems are more mental than a problem in how the spacing is laid out.

Interesting you should mention Trapattoni. As you surely know, he was a disciple of Nereo Rocco and thus a devoted proponent of catenaccio. So you couldn't possibly have picked anyone more the polar opposite of Arséne Wenger.

You see Trapattoni as failed old manager who was "past it" because, as your "proof," fans of Ireland didn't want him managing the team. That's like saying that because fans ***** about Wenger it's proof that he's past it. What I see when I look at Il Trap in relation to his time in charge of Ireland is a guy in his 70s who qualified the country for the Euros for the first time in almost a quarter of a century and who came within The Hand of Thierry of getting them into the 2010 World Cup. Before he was hired, Ireland was regularly finishing 3rd or 4th in their qualifying groups for both competitions, so even the controversial loss to France in the World Cup qualifying playoff was an accomplishment in itself. Oh, and he led Ireland to the championship of the Nations Cup too.

So, yeah, fans were *****ing, largely because of Trapattoni's conservative style. But at the same time he was drawing praise from the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson and other top managers of the game for his brilliance as Ireland manager. So forgive me if I don't agree that Trapattoni had lost the plot because of his age.

I don't really agree with the narrative that we have lesser players than we used to have.

We were better as a team when we were playing the likes of Gibbs, Jenkinson, Gervinho, Podolski, Denilson, Walcott, Giroud.

Look at this team who almost knocked out the best Bayern team in years (who has won the CL the same year)
DhZhAaK.png


Except Rosicky Cazorla and Arteta, I wouldn't pick anybody else ahead of the current squad we have right now.
And these players except Arteta aren't known to be great at defensive duties.

We went to the CL final in 2006 playing a back 4 made of Flamini as LB (out of position) Eboué as a RB, Senderos and Touré as CB.
From this back 4 I genuinely think only Touré was a better defender than what we have right now.

What you call "lack of concentration" is in my opinion just players developing very bad habits because of the lack of individual coaching. And this isn't just an assumption from a fan like me but this is from our older players who have played under Wenger.
AND
Because of the confort zone they're in from far too long.
Bellerin doesn't have any genuine competition in the squad. Walcott has spent 10 years at the club mostly as a passenger while being one of our biggest earner. We gave a massive contract to Özil who hasn't been consistent enough to deserve that kind of money. It's not a coincidence if he hasn't attracted any serious interest from other big clubs like Sanchez did (City, Bayern, United were all seriously chasing him).
Xhaka & Cech have been so poor and keep starting every single game.
And now Ramsey who has been ok but not great is now asking for a 200kpw contract according to reports even though he's injury prone and has been really inconsistent during the last couple of season.

So what has changed between the current Wenger and the one from 10 years ago?
1) Most of the clubs have caught up and even got better than we are at spotting hidden gems, especially the ones from France NT and la Ligue 1. Nowadays a team like Leicester has the structure to spot talents like Kanté and Mahrez before anybody else. We've missed so much talent that we could afford before they got bought by other clubs: Dembélé, Griezmann, Varane, Kanté, Mendy, Lloris...
It wasn't the case 10/15 years ago.

2) We've lost our winning culture, our ambition, our hunger from top to bottom.
We've slowly accepted playing the second fiddle role in the premiership and in Europe just because there were a few clubs who had much more ressources than we had as long as we stay a profitable business.

Of courses ressources makes a huge difference. But we've used this same excuse even though we could do better. We could improve.
We didn't need oil money to find a better striker than Sanogo and Welbeck to help Giroud and the team scoring goals.
We don't need oil money to sign a proper DM who would bring some balance to our midfield our a solid RB as a backup.

3) Behind every great team in Europe, there is an owner or board doing a great job. There is a strong structure to support the coach.
We don't.
It's like Wenger is almost running this club by himself.
Back in the days Dein was his close friend and was much more active than any current member of our board.
It can't be anymore a one man's job.
Nobody from the board wants to be involved and take responsabilities.
 
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