Ibime:

Arsenals refusal to progress has nothing to do with spending cash or returning cash to the board. Its simply that Wenger is too smart for his own good. You see this boy Yaya Toure dominating midfield for Citeh. . .do you know how many consecutive summers this boy and his brother begged Arsene to sign him? I first saw him playing for Panathinaikos and it was evident he was brilliant but no, Mr Wenger was fixated with a certain kind of player - the small tika taka type of player and instead invested in the Denilsons and co. The same could be seen of his treatment of Gilberto Silva, one of the ruggedest "thou shalt not pass" DMs that played in the prem, but no, he was not intricate enough for Arsene.

Once again, its not about cash. Its about Wengers stubborness. How much would the likes of Jose Enrique and Carlos Cuellar cost? Players who would instantly fix Arsenals defensive problems.

Leroy Fer, Nedum Onuoha, Dedryck Boyata, Cuellar, take your pick - they would all improve Wengers defence, but they cannot pass high up the pitch unlike Koscielny and Squillaci.

slimshay:

Ibime haven't you heard. We don't have defensive issues again. Its attack that's the problem now. Which kain analyst be your own. Guy update yourself :p

Ibime:


Once again, its not about cash. Its about Wengers stubborness. How much would the likes of Jose Enrique and Carlos Cuellar cost? Players who would instantly fix Arsenals defensive problems.

    WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF WE FAIL TO BEAT UDINESE


Ok this is my nightmare – if Arsenal fail to make the Champions League, lose £25 million revenue and drop into the Europa League, then, to put it bluntly, our chances of staying in the top four are made increasingly worse, as the high quality players who would have come to Arsenal with the lure of Champions League Football will look elsewhere.
So when Ivan Gazidis and Arsene Wenger get on the plane to Italy next Tuesday, they will be sweating slightly and hoping that Udinese are held to a draw. It just goes to show how error prone Wenger has been in this transfer window, because as a result of Koscielny’s back spasm against Liverpool, we are down to ONE fit senior centre-back in the Premier League. If I were the CEO of Arsenal, I would not be sleeping well for the next three nights. Yet, he will be unable to buy a single high class player before the end of Wednesday night as I shall explain.
There were performances to be proud of yesterday at the Emirates, mainly because of the pressure that was being placed upon those young shoulders. Wenger has gambled now once too often. Losing key players like Jack Wilshere to injury could not have been foreseen. However, not having recruited a long awaited centre-back and a Cesc Fabregas replacement could have been. The long-term future of the club now rests upon one match. Wenger is right to say that it is not all doom and gloom in football terms, but morally Arsenal Football Club is staring over the precipice. Armageddon awaits and what will happen to the fan base? your guess is as good as mine. It is clear that Wenger is awaiting the outcome of that fixture before making final purchases. The agents of those target players will also want to wait and see if Arsenal qualify for the group stages. The only players who would sign before Wednesday will do so only for financial reasons in contractual terms, and are those the kind of players we really need? It will be a real crisis for the first time, bred and born in Islington.
Yet it need not have been this precarious, given sensible planning, a forthright determination to acquire targets instead of arrogantly trying to save the shareholders money.
If Udinese beat the Arsenal, I predict that the Arsenal share price will fall by at least 10%. Internecine rivalry will lead to protests at the ground, Wenger will find that the only friendly place will be the boardroom, and may for the first time in his career consider breaking a contract before it has expired.
Ivan Gazidis will wring his hands and claim that Arsenal will be able to withstand the loss financially and look to blame everyone else except himself. Yet these two very powerful men, Ivan Gazidis and Arsene Wenger, will both have conspired without intention to seriously weaken confidence in the institution and heritage that is Arsenal Football Club, something that two world wars failed to do. What an amazing claim to fame to have. Let the countdown begin. Three days to Salvation or Doom? I think Salvation, but not by design…

debosky:

Wenger is 'one of the richest' - but is that the reason players are not being signed?

I'll ignore a lot of this 'fluff' (mostly unrelated to my post) and ask a simple question - have the opponents outspent Arsenal or not?

Answers on a postcard please.

edoyad:

Now you're being outright ludicrous, Utd, City and "Birmingham" outspent us last season hence our trophilessness . But guess what ? You, ARSENAL FC outspent the 100 clubs in the in the lower leagues of English Football, that's why you're still in the premiership. You outspent 15 other teams in the premiership that's why you're even in contention for a UCL spot.

Let's all be rational in this issue please. You want to operate on a West brom budget and get United output ? Come on ! emiership. You outspent 15 other teams in the premiership that's why you're even in contention for a UCL spot.

Let's all be rational in this issue please. You want to operate on a West brom budget and get United output ? Come on !

slimshay:

Edoyad, sure Wenger is a rich man. He didn't get that way by 'lying and being hypocritical', he got that way by doing his job and being successful. People all over the world that will stammer and stutter if they were ever to stand in his presence now think its open season on him. Supporters should do their jobs and support. Criticise by all means but respect the persons of the members of your own team.

This is not to you but its a general thing I tell people, there are people who spit so much venom at Wenger who have never and I repeat never come first at anything in their lives. On what pedestal exactly to they stand to insult him?

slimshay:

At this point surely AW knows, he has to buy. Not even to satisfy fans or what not. Simply put, there are not enough fit players to carry on.

Muki haba, you wey you suppose dey untop mat dey recite fatia untop our matter so we can buy Mata.

Hold the line soldier, the calvary is coming.

slimshay:

Yet again another misquote. AW never said we can't bring in quality. What he has often said is that it is difficult to compete for quality in a distorted market. As a matter of fact he actually says he's looking to bring in quality, but that is a whole different matter for analysis.

slimshay:

Yet again another misquote. AW never said we can't bring in quality. What he has often said is that it is difficult to compete for quality in a distorted market[b]. As a matter of fact he actually says he's looking to bring in quality, but that is a whole different matter for analysis.
[/b]

slimshay:

To be pedantic though, a fan that pays for a jersey or a game is actually getting a product in return, is he not? So it is not your money. Have you ever heard anybody say they made Hov rich? Didn't they pay their $16 for his CD. Abi does anyone dictate to Shakira how to dance after paying for her concert?

slimshay:

The difference here however is emotional investment which has no real financial value as such. And its generally accepted that emotional decisions aren't really the best ones. See, that's why AW is paid those millions to remove emotions from his decision making. Whether or not he is making the right ones however is the main bone of contention .

slimshay:

As far as fans are concerned as long as Arsenal doesn't win any trophy then AW has lost it reh reh reh. But that's just emotions, the picture is a whole lot bigger. As someone once asked, what if AW does everything exactly the way the fans want it (actually this is not possible but let's task our imagination) but Arsenal still end up trophyless. . . .what then?

kay_pumpin:

Plus he's always said,"we are looking for qualities that are better than what we have".That statement though,there is something shocking about it.

Yet again another misquote.
AW never said we can't bring
in quality. What he has often
said is that it is difficult to
compete for quality in a
distorted market. As a matter of fact he actually says he's
looking to bring in quality,
but that is a whole different
matter for analysis.

slimshay:

@A-40 you will find that the ones with the kidney failure are the ones baying for blood. Positive fans still find a way to enjoy their Arsenal.

Haha, trophies made you think AW had it? Literally the headline of the papers the day he was unveiled as Arsenal boss was 'ARSENE WHO?'

Funny how people think if you decide to entertain some perspective then you are so-and-so apologist. AW is Arsenal manager, my strong arm belongs to the red and white, do the maths.

slimshay:

Ha patriotism, real fan, fake fans. . . .bollocks in my books.

slimshay:

I've used words like positive, perspective etc etc. Never said anything about being patriotic or not. I repeat some finds ways to continue to enjoy their Arsenal in all these armaggedon times. If you guys are enjoying Arsenal, you have very funny ways of showing it brov!