Last night I tuned in to the Basel v Bayern Munich match and wanted to see if the same Basel, which knocked Manchester United out in the group stages of the Champions League, would turn up against one of the most decorated clubs in Europe. I was not let down.
The Basel players ran their socks off and deserved their win in the end and whatever happens in the second leg in Germany I have been very impressed by their performances. The point I’m trying to make here is that Basel do not have the most talented squad, far from it in fact, but due to sheer hard work and commitment they are punching above their weight in Europe. If our players played with at least half the focus and commitment, I have no doubt we would be in a better state than what we are in now. We may sit fourth in the table, but we are extremely lucky to be there due to the turmoil going on at Chelsea.
The AST meeting took place on Monday night and there were two points I want to touch upon.
First is that we have 71 players on our wage bill currently. If this is the situation going on at the club something needs to be done to change this. Players like Carlos Vela, Denilson and Nicklas Bendtner, who all may never play for the club again, are still on our books due to the massive wages we are paying them and this is indirectly hindering our capability to pay higher wages to players who deserve them, like Robin van Persie. This shows absolutely poor management. Arsene Wenger did not buy Xabi Alonso in the summer of 2008 because he did not want to ‘kill’ Denilson. It took Wenger four years to realize what the fans knew in 2008, that Denilson is not good enough to play for Arsenal and due to his huge wages which Arsene gave him, he is unable to shift him out of the club.
The second point is that Wenger decides player value. Well this may explain why we don’t have players like Juan Mata on our books. Wenger is so stubborn that he wants to win with the players he develops. It seems he is on his own personal agenda to prove the world wrong about his squad. So he’d rather run Aaron Ramsey into the ground like he did to Jack Wilshere last year than buy Mata, which would’ve given some competition to Ramsey, which may have resulted in the Welshman improving his game in the process.
After what took place last summer, Wenger and the board have got to be planning for the next summer from now. It is unlikely that Wenger will be sacked in the summer so something drastic needs to be done in terms of the squad and backroom staff regardless if we finish fourth or not.
After seven long years, the fans don’t want to hear the same excuses and be conned by the manager – ‘Judge me in May’, ‘injured players returning will be like new signings’. The fans are simply not going to put up with much more of the same excuses.
Wenger and the board have committed many mistakes over the last seven years, but the faster they admit to it the better it will be for all of us involved.
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What is new in this piece?
It’s the same old drivel written by someone who cannot ferret out new rumours/news.
yes, “something does have to change”, lets have something new please!!!
Nothing will happen.
It’s true that, the club uses alot of money to pay nothing doers in the club instead of buying classic player7. Take a look at Chamack, $ Djourou, do these players really desearve arsenal jersey, even if was to be a coach i doubt wether i wld waste money on search. The problem with wenger, he’s an admirer of players, other clubs buy $ pose threat, take look at mata, Taiwo, $ suarez all he admired but his oppositios came a purchased. Players alone can’t be blamed but even arsene himself and the board are responsicle 4 the club failure.
ken lo, now that is an apt name isn’t it. The article is 100% correct, wenger has now built up a huge mess that will take years to clean up. The sooner we bring in a new manager to right the ship the better.
71 players on the payroll? Small wonder we can’t buy top quality players.
We will not make the champions league places and when that happens we’ll see changes, just hope the board/kornke leaves too.
Agree 100% with your blog!! Well said, and more of it please!! 71 players on the books is ridiculous. It shows poor management, and that Wenger has lost his touch, when trying to find good players. It’s a case of buy everyone and hope a couple of them r good. It’s kind of a false accomony. The amount he spends on wages on these kids, which will never make the first team ever, then he sells a player and everyone thinks that’s another one that Wenger found. But really it’s probably one out of 30 or 40, so it’s not the best management is it??? Another thing, when Wenger was doing well for us and making real history for the club, during that time when he was doing it everyone outside the club was saying things about Wenger that we see now but at the time we seemed blind to his errors, i.e sticking up for players that haven’t played well. And I didn’t see it, when he did, but when something goes against us he has a go at the ref, oh so u did see it then?? His interviews after a match r always then same, we dominated the game bla bla, anyone can have more possession when u pass side ways all day and back to ur goalie. And this system he’s playing is rubbish. 1 up front is so boring, get 2 upfront. Walcott and van persie!! Wenger is destroying Walcott on the wing!! 1 upfront hasn’t done anything for us for the last 6 years. It’s a fact. He changed the system 2005/2006 season to accommodate for fabregas. But we haven’t won anything playing it so why not go back to 442, give it a go!! Anyway, spurs on Sunday, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this will be our 4th or 5th spanking of the season. Hope we win though! Only problem if we do win then Wenger suddenly thinks we r on a winning run and that we have a good team!
What needs to change is the sacking of Wenger. This situation is 100% his fault and a leopard like him isn’t going to change his spots now. Out with the old in with the new. But I doubt it will happen unless we finish 6th or something.
Wenger out. Gazidis out. Kroenke out. We need change. Now.