Up the Arse! Goons Thread

[Tomnat Tigers]

Our squad players would walk into their teams, hell some of ours are proven international players, same can't be said for quiet a few of theirs. Its far easier to look good in a side when you have the keys to the team and don't have any expectations, case in point Bony who couldn't stop scoring for Swansea yet looks awful for city. Now thats not to say all of players listed above couldn't add to something to our side as some certainly could, especially Mahrez but the majority of players listed above have proven to be failures at clubs as big or bigger than Arsenal or would look completely out of their depth if required to play the way we do.

 

[Latro]

The Corporal is out for the season with a knee injury.

 

[glenferry23]

If Townsend can be sold for £12m, then we should be selling Wilshere for £45m and Ox for £30m and Welbeck for £25m.

**** them all off and get in players who can actually get out on the pitch.

 

[Cruyff14]

We should have gone for Shaqiri.

 

[Genesis67]

RvP mentioned as a possible Chel$ki target.

*Vomit.

 

[PendlePie]

Reports suggest Coquelin could be back in the matchday squad within the next week or two. Some even suggest as soon as this weekend.

That coupled with Elneny's probable start against Burnley (and subsequent inclusion in the XI for games thereafter) should see our midfield look a fair bit more stable.

 

[Benno_900]

inb4 Flamini starts

 

[_DBF_]

Apparently picked up Yarmolenko.

 

[glenferry23]

Apparently picked up Yarmolenko.

Source?

 

[bok_party]

http://m.goal.com/s/en-au/news/4019...-deal?utm_referrer=https://www.google.com.au/

I know it's goal but they are quoting something else. I've seen it pop up elsewhere on Facebook too.

 

[_DBF_]

Yeah that's the link I saw. Seems plausible saying he'll stay put until summer.

 

[Genesis67]

That's out of the blue.

 

[Shoei]

I'll believe it when it's reported by more reputable sources.

Also seems silly to wait until the summer. We need players now.

 

[Cruyff14]

We're not seriously quoting Goal as a serious reference are we?

 

[elhadjihenry]

We're not seriously quoting Goal as a serious reference are we?

Original source was some Ukranian sport paper, the Evening Standard ran with it in the UK.

 

[undefined]

We need players now.

Gooners say this every January, and it never happens. Wenger would've added already if he agreed with you. We don't need any more players, squad fluidity is the priority right now......

 

[Latro]

Gooners say this every January, and it never happens. Wenger would've added already if he agreed with you. We don't need any more players, squad fluidity is the priority right now......

Wenger is wrong every year as well.

 

[bok_party]

We're not seriously quoting Goal as a serious reference are we?

Like I said, I know it was goal but they were quoting another source. There were a few others around too.

 

[undefined]

Wenger is wrong every year as well.

If WOB's had gotten their wish and Wenger left, we'd be a Liverpool/Spurs level club.

 

[Cruyff14]

You cannot say that like it would be fact.

 

[undefined]

We're not a Chelsea/United/City type club with inexhaustible resources and a 'success or you're fired' policy. It's just not Arsenal - bringing in a new manager wouldn't automatically mean an Alistair Clarkson-esque cleanout of deadwood, 5 new world-class signings every summer, a complete halt on injuries & our Chelsea hoodoo, Premier League supremacy and a plethora of outstanding tactics enabling us to get out of any sticky on-field situation. The Wenger mantra will probably live on for years and years; the man himself will be involved with the club to some extent until the day he dies, and will undoubtedly instruct his successor. What I'm trying to say is, Wengerism will always be associated with Arsenal - there's no quick fix to this widely-perceived water treading (which I consider to be progression towards an incredibly healthy, profitable business).

Since supposedly paying off the Emirates Stadium debt in majority, our transfer business has been terrific - we haven't sold a first XI regular since 2012, Wenger has filled gaps when necessary (though hasn't gone overboard in favour of fluidity), AND he convinced Mesut Özil, Alexis Sanchez & a world class GK in Petr Cech to join in successive windows. Our situation is frustrating at the moment given the recent poor form culminating in another loss to those Chelsea bastards - but if you look at the broader picture, we are in great shape and for the first time since 2007/08 are looking capable of being a proper European force. Despite my stubbornness, Football-based opinions can rarely be objective, so I've got to accept that many disagree with my opinion. Hopefully you all can at least understand where my stance is coming from, though.

 

[windyhill]

Arsenal 3 Burnley 1

 

[Shoei]

Gooners say this every January, and it never happens. Wenger would've added already if he agreed with you. We don't need any more players, squad fluidity is the priority right now......

My point being if Wenger is going to sanction a £23 million dollar deal in January I find it highly unlikely he would accept it on the premise that the player is only available at the end of the season. Why do it in January? If Kiev have no intention of letting him go in this window why wouldn't they wait until the end of the season to get something organised?

And i completely disagree, players we have now are not good enough based on the evidence of the past two seasons. Signing new players will show that the club isn't going to accept the crap they have been serving up and either get them to lift or continue to be shit and we can **** them off end of the season.

 

[undefined]

And i completely disagree, players we have now are not good enough based on the evidence of the past two seasons. Signing new players will show that the club isn't going to accept the crap they have been serving up and either get them to lift or continue to be shit and we can **** them off end of the season.

The club aren't suddenly going to change tact & get rid of the talented, contracted players you regularly mention aren't Arsenal quality due to bad form/injury struggles. It would be a complete madness for Wenger to buy numerous 20m+ players midseason to fix what, in actuality, are slight squad issues. We were short in midfield, and were quick to add Elneny for that reason. Coquelin/Welbeck are coming back at a time we need further depth most, and the positive squad morale is well documented. Santi/Jack should be back for the business end of the season.

I respect that Theo isn't living up to his potential, the Ox is completely void of confidence and form, Flamini is an idiot, etc etc. But overall our squad is in good health - if Wenger wants to, he can field this XI vs Soton at home: Cech; Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal; Ramsey, Elneny; Joel, Ozil, Alexis; Giroud. A 4-5 star team that is, capable of beating anyone bar the obvious European powerhouses.

* correct me if i'm wrong re squad availability, i've not read a whole lot this week.

If I were in charge I'd be looking at summer acquisitions to strengthen the squad for 16/17 - but for now we're okay, it'll do. Buying new expensive toys right now could potentially do more harm than good. There are 45 points still to play for. 12 wins out of 15 and we finish on 80 points. A tough ask? Maybe when you consider the away trips still ahead. Achievable? I certainly think so. 12/15, win 80% of our remaining matches and we finish on 80 points - Good luck denying us the championship with that total this season.

 

[PendlePie]

And i completely disagree, players we have now are not good enough based on the evidence of the past two seasons. Signing new players will show that the club isn't going to accept the crap they have been serving up and either get them to lift or continue to be shit and we can **** them off end of the season.

The club aren't suddenly going to change tact & get rid of the talented, contracted players you regularly mention aren't Arsenal quality due to bad form/injury struggles. It would be a complete madness for Wenger to buy numerous 20m+ players midseason to fix what, in actuality, are slight squad issues. We were short in midfield, and were quick to add Elneny for that reason. Coquelin/Welbeck are coming back at a time we need further depth most, and the positive squad morale is well documented. Santi/Jack should be back for the business end of the season.

Knowledgeable supporters are well aware of Arsene's good work in diligently adding world class players to the squad. We also know full well that large transfer fees and wages had, up until 3 seasons ago, been difficult for the club to manage.

The thing that riles most in-the-know supporters is Arsene's reluctance to make the hard calls and/or failing to do the little basics right. The little 2-3% that should be blatantly obvious to those with responsibility at the club. Adding Ozil, Sanchez and Cech is ******* outstanding, but Wenger's stubborn attitude when it comes to addressing certain areas of need (in a way that doesn't even require an exorbitant outlay in fees or wages, mind you), and moving on players that just aren't up to standard, somewhat offsets those large investments made in world class players. None of us know how good Elneny is, but it's reasonable to suggest that had he (or a similar player) been signed in summer instead (when it seemed a blatant necessity), it would almost certainly have saved or won us points at some point since Coq's injury.

The fact we have world class talent, a decently healthy squad, yet are still forced to field passengers each and every week is of concern, and frankly it's unacceptable. We could well blow a premier league title because of it. I'm not talking about Wilshere or Welbeck - players with obvious talent and upside but who have been unlucky with injuries - I'm talking about Arteta and Flamini types who, despite whatever stubborn resistance from Wenger and the like, are clearly not up to starting games in this league.

These slight squad issues have been present for a fair amount of time, and I'd argue we haven't addressed the obvious one until this January. Coquelin was an absolute fluke rather than an astute managerial decision, and Elneny is the only real evidence of Wenger seeing such an issue and addressing it with the appropriate urgency. It would be mad to buy numerous 20mil mid-season fixes now. But what Wenger has done - blatantly and almost systematically failing to address the "slight squad issues" of the side (some of which being present for years now) - is something that has rightly drawn criticism in the past.

We can only hope the imminent departures of Flamini, Arteta and Rosicky shock Wenger into really sorting out our DM/CM issues. But history suggests he will continue to avoid it.

I respect that Theo isn't living up to his potential, the Ox is completely void of confidence and form, Flamini is an idiot, etc etc. But overall our squad is in good health - if Wenger wants to, he can field this XI vs Soton at home: Cech; Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal; Ramsey, Elneny; Joel, Ozil, Alexis; Giroud. A 4-5 star team that is, capable of beating anyone bar the obvious European powerhouses.

Theo is fine as a squad player. Ox has been gash for over a year now and has given nothing to this team - has literally cost us more points this season than he's helped earn. Flamini tries but should've retired or been moved on over a season ago.

That XI you named has Elneny in it. He hasn't even played a game yet. The fact we are relying on him to come in and be some sort of remedy to our woes further illustrates the issue.