The all new Arsenal thread

[Penk!]

Before Abramovic appeared on the scene Chelsea were of little consequence

Not strictly true. They were definitely ascending from the mid-90s onwards, what with Hoddle, Gullit, Zola, Vialli and Desailly

... playing alongside Jody Morris, Eddie Newton and Frank Sinclair!

[trans-chigley express]

Before Abramovic appeared on the scene Chelsea were of little consequence

Not strictly true. They were definitely ascending from the mid-90s onwards, what with Hoddle, Gullit, Zola, Vialli and Desailly. They would probably be the equivalent of what Spurs are now, but the arrival of Abramovich catapulted them into the big spending zone.

Yeah, I guess I underestimated a bit as they were signs of an ascendency but the arrival of Abramovic certainly catapulted them into serious rivals

[The Modernist]

A massive rebuild of the first team and squad is required. In terms of players who can feasibly be regulars over the next few years I'd say we only have half a dozen - Bellerin, Kolasinac, possibly Mustafi, Wilshere, Ramsey, (possibly) Lacazette and that's it. The rest are either not good enough or are on the way out after being very good (Kolscielny, Monreal, Czech). I'm discounting Ozil and Sanchez as they won't be here next season (Sanchez probably won't be here next week) and not counting some of the youngsters (Nielson, Maitland-Niles) who look promising, but it's too early to make a call on them.
That is a huge rebuild to have to undertake and it needs a new manager to do it.

[The Modernist]

That manager is likely to be Ancelotti, who's not really known as a team builder.

[Penk!]

That manager is likely to be Ancelotti, who's not really known as a team builder.

Will he be there by the end of this week, I wonder?

[Dr Markus]

Wenger giving pep a telling off before the match?

[Diamond Dog]

Wenger giving pep a telling off before the match?

You really think Guardiola would just stand there and say nothing if Wenger was giving him a bollocking? You listen to Martin Tyler and the Sky team too much.

Still, it will be great on "The Debate" later.

[The Modernist]

The type of snow favoured City.

[trans-chigley express]

The type of snow favoured City.

[Penk!]

Jesus Christ. Did you see Brighton's second goal just then? They've given up, haven't they?

[KeithPratt]

Yeah they have. No pressing, defensive woes, no real desire whatsoever.

[Penk!]

Looks like Wenger is so desperate to save his job, he went in and bought the referee at half time. How in the world he can book Stephens five minutes ago for absolutely nothing, then let Kolasinac off scot-free for shoulder-charging someone in the face I do not know. Isn't this the same ref who once gave Reading a goal for shooting into the side-netting?

[Dr Markus]

A friend of mine studied with the current arsenal trainer according to him.He said the arsenal players are lazy as fuck and just wants to play with ball. Also there's cliques by languages.

[The Modernist]

A friend of mine studied with the current arsenal trainer according to him.He said the arsenal players are lazy as fuck and just wants to play with ball. Also there's cliques by languages.

A friend of a friend of a friend..sorry I smell bullshit.

[Dr Markus]

Ok

[The Modernist]

It's the end though, there's no doubt about that. It's a shame it had to come to this, but I guess Wenger was always going to have to be pushed.
I would expect an an announcement on his future to be made before the season is out. Hopefully they will have learned something from last season and not let the speculation drag on all season like last season.

[Diamond Dog]

A friend of mine studied with the current arsenal trainer according to him.He said the arsenal players are lazy as fuck and just wants to play with ball. Also there's cliques by languages.

A friend of a friend of a friend..sorry I smell bullshit.

Someone had to say it.

Who is the "current Arsenal trainer" one wonders (does such a post exist ?!).

[Penk!]

Who is the "current Arsenal trainer" one wonders?

Arsene Wenger.

[Diamond Dog]

Who is the "current Arsenal trainer" one wonders?

Arsene Wenger.

When I took my FA Coaching Badge (about 8 years ago, incredibly) the tutor was a guy called Mark Jones (I believe he's now the youth/U21 manager at Watford). He had a very close link with a couple of the Arsenal players at the time and told us that ,during his time at Arsenal, Wenger had completely flipped on the requirements of the scouting at the club - when he arrived, he was insistent on having technically great youngsters signed up. This had changed completely over the years to recruiting great athletes/physical specimens, even if they weren't great footballers. The thinking was that you can 'coach' great athletes to become great footballers , but if the athlete isn't there in a great footballer, you can't 'coach' that. Which is incredible, but apparently that was the way Arsenal's recruiting had changed.

I think this explains a great deal about Arsenal's recent demise - and runs contrary to the idea that the players are 'lazy as fuck' because you'd think that would be the one thing Wenger would be insistent on (considering the emphasis on fitness etc in scouting).

[The Modernist]

There's rumours going around that the players were unhappy with the coaching drills in preparation for the Man City game which just focused on punishing fitness work, whereas they wanted more tactical and ball work.