Arsène Wenger: Same Old Class

[Makingtrax]

People in love with Wenger are having trouble accepting the truth. He was essentially sacked. He has said hundreds of times that he always honors his contracts. Good riddance, long due.

Kudos to Gazidis to finally make it happen. Give the man a hefty pay raise

We'll find in due course exactly what happened. You making up stories now is just wasting bandwidth.

As Dein said, Wenger leaving is like a star falling out of the sky. He's right, but you need to be looking up to see it, not staring at the gutter my friend.

 

[ThlRama]

I agree that it was foolish by Wenger to mention the fans in that fashion. We love the club at least as much as he does - we are Arsenal through and through despite it not being our workplace, not being our employer etc. We are Arsenal through and through without ever having been in London for Lord's sake. We are not this club's problem, not this time.

Everything else he handled with class so far, but that dig at the fans was unnecessary. Thankfully for his reputation it was just a mild one.

 

[bingobob]

You can't still be going on about losing to Forest in the Cup. He played a bunch of youngsters man. He's won it 7 times and was focussing on other stuff.

It's like you never watch football. Wigan knocked Pep out, Bradford knocked Mourinho out at Stamford Bridge and thrashed them with 4 goals. But these managers are sitting 1 and 2 in the league because they are good and have a very high budget.

I despair at times.

I've watched plenty of football. Probably watched to much football. That result was one of the many embarrassing results we've had. And it wasn't a young starting Xi either.

Clubs can lose games. It happens. It shouldn't happen the way it happened that day. Wigan knocked Pep out and responded by walking the league. We responded by losing every league away game this year. Budget has nothing to do with that unless you think Bournemouth, Swansea etc have a bigger budget than us.

 

[Dokaka]

The announcement was surprisingly emotional for me. Even as a "neutral" the man has been such a huge figure in basically my entire life; a constant in my hobby, and synonymous with Arsenal FC. Change was needed, obviously, but the announcement really put everything into context.

The Invincibles and the Henry year in general are so far removed now that it's not what I remember Wenger for, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. To me he will always be the man who managed to stay competitive with a bunch of kids, even flirting with the title several times and giving platforms to so many players that filled us with joy to watch. It's also when I started posting on here, obviously clouding those years with a thick haze of manure for some.

I'm excited to see what's next, but I really hope you guys give him a great sendoff.

 

[Makingtrax]

I've watched plenty of football. Probably watched to much football. That result was one of the many embarrassing results we've had. And it wasn't a young starting Xi either.

Clubs can lose games. It happens. It shouldn't happen the way it happened that day. Wigan knocked Pep out and responded by walking the league. We responded by losing every league away game this year. Budget has nothing to do with that unless you think Bournemouth, Swansea etc have a bigger budget than us.

Budget's got everything to do with it. Starting from Man City and working downwards, the lower the budget the less consistent the team is in general. It happens every year.

The fact that there are still people that think this trend doesn't exist is quite staggering.

 

[field442]

Bunch of youngsters......

 

[Sapient Hawk]

What Andy Gray said a few days ago on BEIN Sports when the news broke still rankles with me.

He was chatting with John Cross via skype & he (Gray) said " Arsène Wenger was Pep Guardiola before Pep Guardiola was".

Arsène Wenger is his own man & has put an indelible mark on Arsenal. Pep Guardiola was a great Barcelona manager but every manager who came after he left either matched his most lauded achievement there ( Luis Enrique) or won the league at a canter ( Tito Villanova).

Arsène's achievements for Arsenal are historic.

A. 2 Doubles (but for a mishit by the ever-reliable Bergkamp it would've been a 3rd as I believe we would've won at Elland Road as a result of being buoyed by the semifinal victory).

B. A title without a single loss.

C. 7 FA cups.

D. The UEFA Cup was down to penalties which are all about luck so I'll concede that, but we were ROBBED in 2006, Eto'o was a lightyear offside, scrap that goal & we'd now have a certain big-eared trophy gracing our cabinet.

The backhanded compliments from the media that he's a great manager but REALLY should've won more are quite irksome.

Every manager should've won more but Arsène will be vindicated as our greatest ever manager long after he's gone. We loved him & will continue to honor his memory here. That's all that matters.

 

[bingobob]

Budget's got everything to do with it. Starting from Man City and working downwards, the lower the budget the less consistent the team is in general. It happens every year.

The fact that there are still people that think this trend doesn't exist is quite staggering.

I look forward to the Psg Man City Cl final. Because big budgets big consistency they will both be there for sure....

As I've told you many times. Money at the very top becomes less important simply because every top club is fighting over the same resources with big bloated budgets. Management, fitness, form, suspensions are the variables that become increasingly important. Management in particular. Isn't that why nearly everyone wants us to appoint a manager with a proven track record as opposed to an Eddie Howe?

 

[A_G]

Bunch of youngsters......

Something like 6 of their starters were under 23, they had more teenagers in the team

 

[celestis]

From what I have seen, I could be wrong, even the fanbase in England are mostly migrants who have migrated to England at a certain period of time, they or their families.

I know a lot of supporters overseas started to follow Arsenal after Wenger came in and won the first title ,especially in Asia and Africa they loved what Wenger stood for and the fact there so many black players .

 

[celestis]

Unfortunately he has made stupid head lines.

"Fans have ruined our image"
"Fans drove me out"
"wounded Wenger Frenchman claims hurtful fans have damaged clubs image"

He could have left quietly. Instead he has chosen to pick a fight. If he is worried about the club's image he should rewatch our humiliation to Bayern and consider what image that portrayed. Or getting pumped out of the FA cup by Forest. How about any other humiliation like not winning away from home this year and losing our best player on a free to a rival.

The next manager will win and lose games. Wenger for a man who understands winning in style he hasnt understood it's also how you lose. Some advice for your next job it's not meekly or without a fight.

Even in his final weeks he completely refuses to acknowledge that he has been a major contributor to the problem that created this environment.

I didn't really see any of this in what he wrote . He basically said he was polarizing the fanbase and it was best he went . Which is true . Things like AFTV was a source of much mirth to rival supporters . Sick of numbnuts coming up to me and saying "see what your mate troops said "

 

[Makingtrax]

As I've told you many times. Money at the very top becomes less important simply because every top club is fighting over the same resources with big bloated budgets.

But bro, we've been over and over it. If that was the case, why haven't Sp**s, Liverpool and Arsenal won the league for years and years. It's not their managers ffs.

 

[Jaila]

We'll find in due course exactly what happened. You making up stories now is just wasting bandwidth.

As Dein said, Wenger leaving is like a star falling out of the sky. He's right, but you need to be looking up to see it, not staring at the gutter my friend.

I just pointed out the most plausible scenario based on what Wenger has been saying up until very recently.

Nevertheless, a fresh start for Arsenal. Fans all across the globe had started to lose interest. Something to look forward to for next season, starting from winning the EL and qualifying for the CL, a stepping stone for greater success for the club.

Maybe people should stop letting their love for Wenger cloud their judgement. The fact is Wenger got us stagnant around 3rd-4th place, and eventually to Europa places.

 

[Mo Britain]

What Andy Gray said a few days ago on BEIN Sports when the news broke still rankles with me.

He was chatting with John Cross via skype & he (Gray) said " Arséne Wenger was Pep Guardiola before Pep Guardiola was".

Arséne Wenger is his own man & has put an indelible mark on Arsenal. Pep Guardiola was a great Barcelona manager but every manager who came after he left either matched his most lauded achievement there ( Luis Enrique) or won the league at a canter ( Tito Villanova).

Arséne's achievements for Arsenal are historic.

A. 2 Doubles (but for a mishit by the ever-reliable Bergkamp it would've been a 3rd as I believe we would've won at Elland Road as a result of being buoyed by the semifinal victory).

B. A title without a single loss.

C. 7 FA cups.

D. The UEFA Cup was down to penalties which are all about luck so I'll concede that, but we were ROBBED in 2006, Eto'o was a lightyear offside, scrap that goal & we'd now have a certain big-eared trophy gracing our cabinet.

The backhanded compliments from the media that he's a great manager but REALLY should've won more are quite irksome.

Every manager should've won more but Arséne will be vindicated as our greatest ever manager long after he's gone. We loved him & will continue to honor his memory here. That's all that matters.

Actually I believe he should have won more trophies. This is far from scientific but, apart from his mistakes and faults, I think Wenger was often an UNLUCKY manager. I know you largely make your own luck but:

1) Henry and Ljungberg both failing to put away good chances to win us the CL.
2) Abramovich buying Chelsea (he was interested in Arsenal first) just when we had to start tightening our belts
3) Bergkamp missing the injury time penalty to deny Manu the treble
4) Referee fails to see TWO goal-denying handballs in Cup Final to Liverpool which we go on to lose 2-1
5) The bizarre goal which loses us the League Cup against Birmingham
6) Kronke taking over when he was originally a pariah for the old guard on the board
7) Ramsey's broken leg precipitates the collapse which costs us a league title
8) Winterburn and Keown own goals pretty much cost us two other league titles

And on and on and on. Some will argue that luck evens out but there's no scientific basis for that either. What I have is a hunch. 3 or 4 things go our way which didn't and we would be saying goodbye to a guy who'd won us the CL, 5/6 league titles and 9/10 Fa Cups. But that is in an alternative universe.

 

[say yes]

Those are stupid comments from Arsène tbh. Even if you think they’ve been spun by the media, he’s experienced enough to know how these things play out.

The fans haven’t done anything to damage the image of this club. Whatever you think of them, Arsenal Fan TV and the like are still incredibly niche in the bigger picture.

The shocking results in Europe and poor league performances will have been broadcast around the world however. Even comments like these have made the backpage of every newspaper - more exposure than those ****** on AFTV have ever got.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

The fans of the club have been joke for more than year now. I started telling people on here that the fans are ****. How did I notice. Well every time I watched the game with my friends who mostly support Liverpool or United they couldn't stop making fun of the Emirates stadium and how empty it is... Disgrace. Then there is AFTV... The amount of AFTV videos I get posted on my wall after losing games from other fans is emberassing. We are laughing stock all over my country and probably all the countries in the world because of our fans.

The club is going nowhere in next few years with fans like this we have now.

 

[BobP]

But bro, we've been over and over it. If that was the case, why haven't Sp**s, Liverpool and Arsenal won the league for years and years. It's not their managers ffs.

Where has @bingobob said anything about winning the league?

Typical straw man argument on your part.

 

[Mark Tobias]

You can't still be going on about losing to Forest in the Cup. He played a bunch of youngsters man.

Really?

Debuchy
Per
Walcott
Welbeck
Elneny
Ospina
Holding

Wet behind the ears that lot!

 

[BobP]

Those are stupid comments from Arséne tbh. Even if you think they’ve been spun by the media, he’s experienced enough to know how these things play out.

The fans haven’t done anything to damage the image of this club. Whatever you think of them, Arsenal Fan TV and the like are still incredibly niche in the bigger picture.

The shocking results in Europe and poor league performances will have been broadcast around the world however. Even comments like these have made the backpage of every newspaper - more exposure than those ****** on AFTV have ever got.

AKB brigade are flaying about, blaming everything and anyone for Wenger's 'downfall' and the clubs current predicament except of course the individual mentioned above.

 

[Mark Tobias]

Something like 6 of their starters were under 23, they had more teenagers in the team

Yes but squad cost bro

We can;t spend as much as City and therefore we are bound to lose to Forrest, Bournemouth, Swansea yada yada yada