When did Wenger lose you?

[El Duderino]

It wasn't completely last season, though I think that was the catalyst for me to trully doubt him for the first time. I was up for this season and we started well enough. He was going into his last year, so I chose to support him.

Recruiting seemed like it was well done, even if we missed on that fabled top-class CF. But as usual, the turn of the year found this team out. Though I love the man and whish he could prove his critcs wrong, we're well past the point of no return.

Still think the amount of hate and revisionism that goes on around him is a bit much, if not overly hyperbolic.

 

[mm76]

Last season Wenger lost me for good, but today shows what folly it io to think other teams won't wise up and overtake you if you don't keep rejuvenating a club - Kroenke doesn't realise and Wenger is shot - tottenshite will win the league and any of you who actually live in the area knows how f*****g SH*T that is

 

[blaise]

I am still a fan of himself as a man but he started losing the grip when he signed Giroud and particulary after the summer of Özil although I think he was forced a bit from the club in that deal.

He still deserves one lucky season without injuries and some serious reinforcements. Think board owes him this. He basically spent some of his best years here while he could have been in clubs with unlimited resources to get that champions league trophy.

 

[fuzzmo]

Been gnawing at me since the summer of 2013 when he didn't sign anyone and then (just IMHO - I know some will see different) the board went all out to sign Özil as a last minute jobbie (Gazidis claiming they were after him for 6 months - BS, he was only told to leave when they finally sorted out Bale and even then he didn't want to go - and it was either him or Di Maria). Özil was never planned for me as we had the wrong team for him and still do.

Anyway got boosted by Sanchez signing but still no number 9. Still supported him until.... 2015 no oufield signings. Ok getting there, then OT 2015/16 - with the worst Utd side I had seen for a long, long time with all their injuries, and we had a full strength team - and we lost. Timidly. We just had no balls. That broke it for me. I was lost. And just to reinforce it the following game of Swansea at home - who rested 9 players and effectively gave up the game in order to face the real battle against their relegation rivals on Saturday... and we lost again! In a way that has now become all too familiar.

He's finished as a top level manager. What gets me is that with a much tighter budget during 2006-2010 he produced teams with an identity and a flow which were exciting to watch and had a chance. they had their flaws but he performed miracles during that time, but was ruined by players leaving and injuries.

Since then the money has been relaxed and the excuses gone... and he doesn't know what to do. He has a patchwork side with no identity and no real way of playing. We are boring to watch, which I wouldn't mind too much if this was latter GG (not 94/95 season ) whereby we had grit and fight and could snatch something. Watching Leicester second half against Atletico brought back fond memories of GG in Europe.

We are a nothing team. It will be the same until he leaves (in two years time maybe...). The team needs so much fixing to get a balance and a way of playing consistently that it will take more than one summer to sort out (again IMHO). AW will go down as a legend in our history, but my friend the time is up....

 

[Aevi]

He gave me strong doubts last season, but I was willing to give him another chance because of who he is. This season was the last straw though, he had the opportunity to build something yet the team has imploded and the same flaws are showing.

 

[Tir Na Nog]

Last season I felt we'd be unlikely to win the league under him again whereas before I felt us being able to spend more than our poverty years might have made the difference. I wouldn't say I've completely lost all faith in him but over the last few weeks I've practically given up on him being able to get us top 4 this season or if he stays then next season either.

 

[Sanchez11]

He lost me years ago but he gave me hope on occasion. Tactically he has completely lost it hes finished plain and simple!

 

[karl]

He still deserves one lucky season without injuries and some serious reinforcements. Think board owes him this. He basically spent some of his best years here while he could have been in clubs with unlimited resources to get that champions league trophy.

I agree he took a hit for quite a few years for the club, but was well recompensed for that financially.

He has had money and been reluctant to spend it though. He has also kept players on that have not benefitted the club and wasted plenty of funds giving players new contracts that don't deserve them.

Just signing Cech last season probably wasted his golden opportunity to win the league, albeit a chance made by other clubs inefficiency.

 

[krackpot]

Selling RVP. I remember Vieira trying a similar stunt but eventually Wenger won.

Bringing back flamini.. Not buying Cesc. Not buying Kante. Not buying Mahrez.

I agree that he deserved a lucky season, but his loyalty to his players has destroyed many seasons

 

[ksarp]

I watch tape of Arsenal games and I left wondering if Wenger goes over games and talks to players to correct. The man is tactically inept. His teams are predictable somehow he manages to kill the dog in his players, reducing them to conforming yes men. He was once the symbol of innovation in this league, now he's a relic that refused to go away.

 

[Vinci]

During the 2013-14 season. Glad we finally won the FA Cup at the end of it, though, was the perfect time to call it quits too.

The transfer-window was a joke with Sanogo and Flamini brought in and waiting until the last day to use the newfound spending power on Özil. Which was great, but the squad was still full of holes as ever.

The 5-1 against Pool and the 6-0 against Chelski a month later hurt like hell and really lost faith in Wenger there. Those days unrepairable damage was done and results like that are simply unforgivable. Not to mention starting with Yaya Sanogo in the CL against Bayern, some injured rookie who scored a few goals in Ligue 2.

 

[blaise]

Wenger is not tactically inept, he just doesnt care much about the opposition. His mistake is he didnt surround himself with some good analysts of opponents. But if we had someone in a club who knows anything about football,he could have forced Wenger into that long ago. Gazidis is a clown and a joke and he is 2nd person in clubs structure.

 

[DanDare]

Wenger is not tactically inept, he just doesnt care much about the opposition. His mistake is he didnt surround himself with some good analysts of opponents. But if we had someone in a club who knows anything about football,he could have forced Wenger into that long ago. Gazidis is a clown and a joke and he is 2nd person in clubs structure.

I don't think Wenger would listen to someone. Doesn't strike me as someone who takes counsel. Could be totally wrong

 

[Arsenalfaced]

In the summer of 2009, I knew the gig was up. We were outclassed in the league and then we were totally outclassed in the CL. I saw the gap in quality between us and United and knew we had lost quality at the club and needed to do something in the summer to regain it. Destroyed at Old Trafford and lucky to escape 1-0 down. In to the 2nd leg and we got destroyed at home by United. Worst yet Wenger's tactical flaws were more evident to me than they had ever been before. I saw a man unable to manage the gap in quality, he just looked tactically inept in the wake of Fergie's master class.

Fast track to the summer and who did we buy? No one, not a single soul by time transfer window shut. To top it off the moment I said enough is enough, when Wenger came out and said 'we can still win the title'. How? who are you trying to kid? Tactically he was pants the season 08/09 and we seemed to lack the top quality. He from there on has always come across as deluded to me and a blatant liar towards fans.

Each season since then of his frustrating tenure has only served purpose to me as further confirmation of what I already knew then, and that is that Wenger is no longer the man. He irritates me, comes across as a fraud and I actually don't like him. He facilitates the milking of naive or overly positive fans whilst hiding behind his legacy in the face modern day mediocracy with excuses.

I want him gone and have done since 09, he has eroded my passion for Arsenal, but I manage to regain that passion once again every time that 1st whistle kicks off and we are playing, because then I realise I still love Arsenal football club and I really only want Wenger gone. I'm an Arsenal fan, but I'm clear that i'm a football fan firstly and I won't let Wenger's lies blindly allow me to betray my values and beliefs in the sport I so passionately love. We should be competitive at least and that means in our challenging for top spot, which we have so consistently failed to do. Not this slow car crash I've witnessed for the last 8 years, top 4 success has only been a moving of the standards bar.

 

[dillonh]

The minute mourinho arrived spelt the end for him, I remember the charity shield in 05? Drogba scored against us and can just remember the power and fear factor of AFC drifting gradually from that point really

I doubted him even through the years where we changed stadium when many gave him more leeway due to financial restrictions etc..It was the fact his sides never changed as the seasons passed and simply failing in the same ways time after time after time

The main problem with wenger teams since the stadium switch is the complete and utter failure to turn up in any kind of pressure games excluding our OK record against Sp**s and Liverpool in that period. This has gradually got worse to the point now that even trying to imagine a way in which Arsenal could go away to somewhere like SB/OT/WHL and put in a competent, tactically sound performance in pressured environment is extremely difficult as we look a team beaten before we get off the bus

What we are seeing this season however is a new low in terms of team cohesion, morale and spirit and something I didn't foresee happening to this extent ever under AW. One too many humiliating hammerings seems to have completely broken the players and you do have to wander how as a manager or player you can comeback from for example 10-2 defeat.

Just seems like a club that doesn't know what it wants to be anymore as there is never anything done about high profile and completely unacceptable failure which has become the norm.

 

[SuperGoon]

I remember the exact moment with much clarity.


Hyping a big fixture as Theo Walcott's 10 year game. Against Chelsea. Mertesacker makes a stupid red card challenge against Costa and we go to ten men. Giroud who was scoring for ****ing fun at that time gets benched while Captain Walcott stays on and does exactly nothing for the entire 90 minutes.

I should have known a lot earlier in hindsight, but my heart was blind.

 

[tap-in]

I was having doubts earlier than 2014 to 2015 due to him always leaving us short in vital areas despite us supposedly having money to spend. It was that season when I finally lost all faith in Wenger. DM was an obvious weakness for us having never really replaced Gilberto. Then we had things like not replacing TV5 and the constant lack of a serious captain, this is something he still under values. Add all the strange substitutions, loyalty to players who don't deserve it and lack of tactics leading to us losing key games. How could any fan keep faith with a manager who manages like this.

 

[OSBK]

Selling rvp was the start. I think had we kept rvp one more season we would have won the league.

I lost faith in him when he did not get cesc back. He said we had Özil but that season cesc joins chelsea and plays cm and was brilliant as they won the league. I always had hoped cesc would have come back and replaced santi.

 

[ArtetaCognition]

In my head, I lost faith in him around 4 years ago but I always made excuses for him - the players arent up to scratch, he needs money to put the squad together etc.

In my heart, I lost faith completely last season. Chelsea as champions in total freefall, Pellegrini already announced as leaving City with months to go in the season and United very average with a manager who never had the full backing of the fans to begin with. The circumstances could not have been written better and we still managed to find a way to mess it up through the same defensive frailties we have had for years - losing out to a plucky Leicester side because of our tactical ineptitude, defensive naivety and lack of fight that epitomises modern Arsenal under Wenger.

 

[Rimaal]

2012 with the infamous 4th place trophy.