Forget the Invincibles we need Roy of the Rovers!

[martymarts]

What the fark happened? Just when it looked like 'The Dynasty' had unquestionably arrived, ManUre put the boot-in and the Chavs got gobloads of dodgy Russian oil money, to make a mockery of the whole system, and we folded up like a deck chair? Nothing will ever shake my support for the Gunners, but, why didn't we fight harder when the chips were down and why do we continue to show this lack of backbone? Is it impossible to play the beautiful game and stand up and be counted at the same time?

I thought that was the whole point of what was being achieved at Arsenal; to play top quality attractive football and still have the mettle to prevail? Teams don't fear us anymore. Yes, we still win a lot of matches, but, the fear is gone and until we can get that back we will struggle to reach the dizzy heights of previously? This is the reason the Chavs are unlikely to loose the title now. If for no other reason than there efficiency, and financial clout, teams now fear the Chavs and that's like having a 12th player on the pitch before you start the game.

I think we lack a leader on the pitch. PV4 was far from perfect and his lack of form and apparent committment meant that letting him go made sense, but, the search for his successor should've begun as soon as his departure was decided upon? We need a Tony Adams, a Bryan Robson, (I hate to say it) a Roy Keane, who has the kahoonas to stand up to the likes of TH14, DB10 and RP7 and say, "pull your head out of your butt and show us what you're capable of!"

I think we should break the bank to find that person! Yes it would be nice to have a holding, goal scavenging, quick thinking striker and a tackle winning, header scoring, ball providing, strong dribbling anchor, to pull the strings in midfield, but, screw all that if we can find someone who'll command respect and get the best out of the amazing players that we have. Could that person be Michael Ballack and if not who is there out there that the lads will follow into battle like Henry V on St Crispins Day?

[JCGooner]

I agree but not sure Ballack is the answer, we need more of an Essien type player who is more defense oriented than Ballack. Of course we had one - PV4 but sold him this summer... Possible options are Zokora from St Etienne and that guy from Lyon, Diarra I think is his name, seen him a few times, and I'v been very impressed. There are rumors Gattuso is unsettled also, but I think he will join United. Of course if Cole and Thierry leave we will need another defender and striker (though how we can adequately replace Henry I don't know) Some soul searching and big decisions ahead for the gooners.

[yossarian]

I agree but not sure Ballack is the answer, we need more of an Essien type player who is more defense oriented than Ballack. Of course we had one - PV4 but sold him this summer... Possible options are Zokora from St Etienne and that guy from Lyon, Diarra I think is his name, seen him a few times, and I'v been very impressed. There are rumors Gattuso is unsettled also, but I think he will join United. Of course if Cole and Thierry leave we will need another defender and striker (though how we can adequately replace Henry I don't know) Some soul searching and big decisions ahead for the gooners.

I would be thrilled if we bought Diarra but it's doubtful Lyon is selling and if they were, he'd be very expensive and cup-tied.

[martymarts]

I'm not just looking for a great midfielder, I think we need a great leader?

Don't know why these thoughts crystalised in my head this morning, but, a couple of other things went through the old gray matter; when I went to the bathroom after posting it!

1. The year's we've won the title have coincided with season's when DB10 has been on song. When he has been off his game, as good as he is, TH14 has not been able to do enough to get us through. There have been odd games like the 4-2 game against The Pool , but not consistant. DB10 is probably my favorite all time Gooner, but, I'm beginning to strongly suspect that he is actually also the greatest Gooner I've ever seen? Perhaps the evidence for this can be seen in how we've consistantly failed in Europe, deprived of him in the away games?

2. AW has chosen two French captains for the club, so can he be accussed of being a little blinkered in favor of his own countrymen, or at least picking someone who literally speaks his language?

3. When Bill Shankly retired from managing Liverpool, he'd just about been the most successful manager since Herbert Chapman (okay maybe Cloughy was his equal?). I remember thinking, as a mere slip of a lad, well that's the end of those scouse bar stewards at last; and wow was I wrong! Bob Paisley took over and they became the most successful club in English football history? So, here comes my heresy, has Arsene taken the club as far forward as he can? Is it time to find our Bob Paisley who will take the club to the next level; which would be to enter the pantheon of great clubs, the likes of Liverpool, Ajax, Barcelona, Real Madrid and ManUre? Or would it be like letting Don Howe leave at the height of our success in the 70's and then seeing the whole thing go down the pan?

[Rewinder]

He chose 2 french captains because,
a) There were more french players, so it was statistically most likely
b) They were also the players most suited for the role at the time

We have won all our CL games so far, and have suffered for other reasons in previous campaigns. Aside from our lacklustre attack in previous cl years, our defense has always been a greatest liability. Fix that, then we can work on going forward. If we cant score, but at least they dont score, we walk away with a tie instead of a loss.

[martymarts]

I'm not saying your not right, but, why haven't we figure that out in 10 years?

My hope is that our poorer form in the league, will galvanise hearts for the CL? With a little luck in the draw for the knock out stages we could find ourselves in the final; and then I don't care if we have to do it ugly, as long as we do it!

PS: I never thought Titi to be the man for the job and, as great a player as he is, I think he has been proving me right?

[jwaldman11]

I completely and totally disagree with your assessment, Marty. You can't simply go out and buy a captain or a leader. Tony Adams, maybe the greatest captain and leader Arsenal have ever had, was brought up in the system. When he was made captain of Arsenal at 21, he had already lived and breathed Arsenal football for over seven years. Even Vieira had been at the club for six years before getting the armband. To try and bring in a new leader by buying one is a total slap in the face to the guys who have been at Highbury for years. Leaders are groomed for the job, not bought up.

As far as us not being feared anymore, please show me quotes or polls of opponents saying that we're less feared than Man U or Liverpool or even Chelsea. Sure, we might not have the players we did before, but the sight of Arsenal on the break still probably causes a lot of heart palpitations in opposing managers, maybe moreso than any other club. Chelsea is feared because they have two first teams. Man U isn't nearly as feared as they were before. And Liverpool is feared because Peter Crouch looks like Lurch from "The Addams Family".

As for your other points, I think you're making these more out of panic after a bad performance at Bolton than out of anything really rational. You need to step back and realize that this is a different, younger Arsenal side. Right now, it's moreso about developing their potential than winning league titles. I know it stings to hear it, and maybe you don't have the patience to wait, but we've never been the big-spending, buy-who-we-want clubs that Man U and Chelsea are. We have to develop the talent that we've brought in, and that's going to take some time. Mistakes will be made on all sides, including the managers. But you also have to remember that this is the manager who's had the greatest run at Arsenal since Herbert Chapman. Getting rid of him now in hopes of bringing in someone better would be among the biggest mistakes we could make.

Bottom line is that the Bolton loss, bad as it was, came after a ten-match unbeaten streak in all competitions. We're still fifth in the league, and only four points in back of second, and there's still a damn long way to go. Take a deep breath, stop panicking and let's wait and see what happens before we make any drastic changes that might come back to bite us.

[tmaker]

Bottom line is that the Bolton loss, bad as it was, came after a ten-match unbeaten streak in all competitions. We're still fifth in the league, and only four points in back of second, and there's still a damn long way to go. Take a deep breath, stop panicking and let's wait and see what happens before we make any drastic changes that might come back to bite us.

Time for some good ol' tentmaker doom & gloom.

Fifth place is simply not good enough for Arsenal, even in a rebuilding year. While it's true we came off 10 unbeaten games--BFD. That unbeaten streak now (as in 2003) hid some serious problems that simply came to the fore in the Bolton game, because we always suck against Bolton. It's NOT a mental block: We suck against Bolton because of the flaws in our team that they ruthlessly expose everytime we play them, whether at the Reebok or not. The same flaws were present vs. Rovers and Wigan as well as Thun, and were it not for a little luck we'd have dropped points in all of those games.

1) We still blow chunks on set pieces, both attacking and defending, and this hasn't changed since, well, Tony Adams, really.

2) We have a truly frail and slow-thinking midfield. To say it is not cohesive would be making it sound better than it is.

3) The team is effectively captain-less and lacks the organization that a hard-nosed captain should bring.

4) The Arsenal counterattack of old no longer exists, and therefore neither do the goals it produced. Part of this is the midfield; part is that we've simply slowed down and no one in a redcurrant shirt seems to notice, but everyone else in the Prem certainly does.

5) We ******** around in front of goal instead of shooting or going for simple penetration by lofting a ball, partly because we cannot win a ball in the air.

6) We still have no Plan B. Whatever I can say about Chelski--and man do they suck limp, slimy chimpanzee rods--it's not just that they're rich that makes them formidable, it's that they bother to change approaches when something doesn't work, and they adapt at least a little to the team they play. They dismantled Bayern Munich like Bayern were a Conference North team with simplicity that we could just as easily have applied, had anyone the desire to win greater than his desire to promulgate a system.

I've already gone on about Wenger's shortcomings, and I won't repeat them here. The thing that bothers me is that at Arsenal success is its own worst enemy. We outplay a team like Everton and figure that the same tactic will work against Man City, and it just doesn't. We look at our laurels and say, "Wenger's a genius, look at all the silverware." At the same time, look how much more silverware we'd have if he'd just figure out that Reyes could send long, beautiful passes right onto Robin Van Persie's noggin that would add even more to his goal total, for instance.

I don't think anyone's saying that we suck. Well, maybe some jealous bastards are, but not here. I think the point is that everyone but Wenger seems to be able to see how much better we could be with just simple, non-dramatic changes. It's hard not to be disappointed when the team we love seems too satisfied with itself.

[martymarts]

J! While many of the points you make are cogent, can you please stop accusing me of panicing, I am sick to my stomach of this label being tossed out at anyone who criticises current form, or suggests the league title is now beyond us this year? AW himself has admitted today that our away form in the prem is the worst since he's been managing the club and accepts that it is a crisis; and admits that we have a surplus of technique over power. I think that makes game set and match to me, quite frankly!!!!!!!!!

In an ideal world you groom captains, but, we are in the rarefied atmosphere of aspiring to be one of the greatest teams in the world, if that gives you a nosebleed support someone else! Seriously though, we have no one in the squad and little sign in the reserves that we are carrying anyone with the mettle to do a Tony Adams for the club. That means you buy someone with the credentials and groom them for the job over a couple of years!

Truth is, if you we find the right man he'll assert himself way before that anyway. Tony's assault on the captaincy was incredibly precoscious and George Graham gave him the job because he couldn't stop him doing it! I don't care if it's someone from Romford or Rhongovia, we are clearly hugely lacking in 'the roll your sleeves up and get stuck in dept' and IMHO it is the first and most fundamental requirement of getting our team into a position where they can prevail on a consistant basis, which at the end of the day is want we all want!

There may be separation anxiety at the prospect of AW no longer being in charge, but, like it or not, that day will come. I don't have a crystal ball, but, I'd be very suprised if his appetite for the job extends beyond his current contract, which expires 2008. We've seen alot of talk lately about the lack of a plan B, alot of comments about Arsene's loyalty to players who are getting past there best, about tactical shortcomings and stubborness. In the midst of all those comments asking the question, 'is now the time for change', is timely, not a matter of panic, and worthy of serious consideration rather than knee-jerk response and dismissal.

As for being patient and waiting for the 'young uns' to come through, well, apart from the fact that the likelyhood is that less than half of em will ever fulfill the promise we're salivating over, and accepting that several are currently transitioning to the first team quite nicely, we still have a deep hole in midfield, a less than cast iron back four and no medium term prospect of that frailty being stopped from impacting on how consistantly we finish top of the table?

Under AW we've played the best football in living memory in England, won every domestic trophy going and gone an entire season undefeated. Two things are left; the CL and staying power, we've never won back to back titles and without those we can't truly claim our rightful place alongside The Pool and ManUre. For no rational reason, and without deserving it, I've got a sneaking feeling that we might steel the CL this year. So are back to back titles going to come from the extra moolar generated from AG or by replacing AW?

[martymarts]

T-maker, I think thou shalt be repped!

[jwaldman11]

Fine. Then post this when we win. If you are so convinced that we have all these problems, do it in the middle of a ten-match winning streak, not after our worst loss of the season, because right now, this totally reeks of panic. WE'RE IN FIFTH IN EARLY DECEMBER, NOT MID-MARCH. I'm really tired of having to deal with all of these "sky is falling" threads after every loss. If you're that serious about us having so many problems and needing these drastic moves, THEN POST IT WHEN WE WIN AS WELL. Otherwise, you just sound like a spoiled glory hunter who can't handle the bad times as well as the good. As for what Wenger said, it works for you if you totally twist his words. Show me the exact quote where he says we're in a crisis. Yeah, I know he said we need to get more physical, but he also said things with the players right now are fine.

I'm not saying we don't have problems. I know we do. So does Man U, Liverpool and Sp*rs, the teams ahead of us. Do you guys honestly believe that any of those teams, and even Chelsea, are going to maintain form all the way until the end of the year? Let's get a little realistic here. All of them will struggle at some point and all of them will drop points. It's one thing to say that Cygan's sucked or that we need to bolster depth in midfield, but you want to go out and break the bank in order to "groom" a captain and get rid of the manager that's only won us enough silverware to fill a large trophy room. What club goes and buys a guy to make him a captain later? Even Chelski, the team that buys everyone, has a home-grown captain.

Bottom line is that we have to rely on the young talent. We don't go out and buy star players like Chelsea does or drop everything on one guy that MIGHT be the future captain. Buying for the sake of buying is a sign of panic, and we're not exactly in a panicked position right now. As for Wenger, let's not kick him out the door before we know if he's ready to go or not. We're not even a year-and-a-half removed from an unbeaten season. Maybe that did mask shortcomings, but we're still one of the top teams in the best league in the world. If you can't handle a loss every now and then and aren't patient enough to wait for Cesc, RvP and the others to develop in order to give you you're dynasty team, maybe you're the one who should support a new club. I hear Chelski's looking again.

[Cannon]

jwaldman11,

To be fair many of us have been pointing out the numerous problems in the Arsenal play all through the recent good run of results so its really not fair to call somebody a gloryhunter when they point to these longstanding problems after a really bad loss and a simply pathetic performance by most of the team.

I hate every Arsenal loss but some are worse than others. If we play well but lose because of a dodgy ref call, a fluky goal, or just face a better team than I think you'll see less of a negative reaction hitting these boards. Sure, people will be angry at the result but they'll still know that the team is in good shape.

However, what happened over the weekend served to highlight problems that have existed for a long time with little hope of being fixed anytime soon. It isn't like this is the first time that our set piece play has been obviously crap. It isn't the first poor display by Cygan, Gilberto, or Pires. It isn't the first time that Wenger completely screwed up his selection, tactics, and substitutions and we all know that our side has lost some of its physical prowess and willingness to get stuck.

If it was obvious that Wenger saw these problems and had an answer for them then we'd be less upset. Can you truly say that you think a solution for most of them is coming soon? Most of us aren't calling for Wenger's head (although some are asking questions about whether Wenger can take us further than we've gone before) but clearly something needs to change. There is a word for somebody that does the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result.

[Miles Brasher]

I think there are a few people on here who need to go out, get their coaching badge and apply for the Arsenal job and take us to a new pinnacle of success winning quadruples every year for the next 10 years. :rolleyes:

[Miles Brasher]

Fine. Then post this when we win. If you are so convinced that we have all these problems, do it in the middle of a ten-match winning streak, not after our worst loss of the season, because right now, this totally reeks of panic. WE'RE IN FIFTH IN EARLY DECEMBER, NOT MID-MARCH. I'm really tired of having to deal with all of these "sky is falling" threads after every loss. If you're that serious about us having so many problems and needing these drastic moves, THEN POST IT WHEN WE WIN AS WELL. Otherwise, you just sound like a spoiled glory hunter who can't handle the bad times as well as the good. As for what Wenger said, it works for you if you totally twist his words. Show me the exact quote where he says we're in a crisis. Yeah, I know he said we need to get more physical, but he also said things with the players right now are fine.

I'm not saying we don't have problems. I know we do. So does Man U, Liverpool and Sp*rs, the teams ahead of us. Do you guys honestly believe that any of those teams, and even Chelsea, are going to maintain form all the way until the end of the year? Let's get a little realistic here. All of them will struggle at some point and all of them will drop points. It's one thing to say that Cygan's sucked or that we need to bolster depth in midfield, but you want to go out and break the bank in order to "groom" a captain and get rid of the manager that's only won us enough silverware to fill a large trophy room. What club goes and buys a guy to make him a captain later? Even Chelski, the team that buys everyone, has a home-grown captain.

Bottom line is that we have to rely on the young talent. We don't go out and buy star players like Chelsea does or drop everything on one guy that MIGHT be the future captain. Buying for the sake of buying is a sign of panic, and we're not exactly in a panicked position right now. As for Wenger, let's not kick him out the door before we know if he's ready to go or not. We're not even a year-and-a-half removed from an unbeaten season. Maybe that did mask shortcomings, but we're still one of the top teams in the best league in the world. If you can't handle a loss every now and then and aren't patient enough to wait for Cesc, RvP and the others to develop in order to give you you're dynasty team, maybe you're the one who should support a new club. I hear Chelski's looking again.

You must spread some blah blah blah....

[martymarts]

You must spread some blah blah blah....
What does this mean Miles?

To say that we need to rethink how we play, based upon the fact that lots of teams seem to strugle less against us, and to suggest that there is room for improvement in various areas, is not the same as suggesting that one could do a better job. To put that forward as an argument is churlish. It looks like all you are attempting to kill the discussion, but, without offering a truly constructive reason to support your position? Seems to me that that is in fact "Blah, Blah, Blah"?

I throw up the point that maybe AW's shortcomings, mean that we might struggle to attain more than the substantial success that we've already enjoyed, which incidently doesn't actually mean that I am in favour of getting rid of the man, in order to garner views, and consistantly there is a group of contributors that don't seem to really take in the points being made and just shout "traitor, disloyal, panicker"?

Is it really panicing to say that we are one piece away from having the jigsaw puzzle complete? If you had read what I'd written in the "Where will we finish" thread you would have seen that, subject to sorting out our away form and having a little more luck with injuries, I still think we are capable of 2nd and have a better than decent chance in the CL, now please tell how that can be construed as panicing?

[Bluto11]

What does this mean Miles?

To say that we need to rethink how we play, based upon the fact that lots of teams seem to strugle less against us, and to suggest that there is room for improvement in various areas, is not the same as suggesting that one could do a better job. To put that forward as an argument is churlish. It looks like all you are attempting to kill the discussion, but, without offering a truly constructive reason to support your position? Seems to me that that is in fact "Blah, Blah, Blah"?

I throw up the point that maybe AW's shortcomings, mean that we might struggle to attain more than the substantial success that we've already enjoyed, which incidently doesn't actually mean that I am in favour of getting rid of the man, in order to garner views, and consistantly there is a group of contributors that don't seem to really take in the points being made and just shout "traitor, disloyal, panicker"?

Is it really panicing to say that we are one piece away from having the jigsaw puzzle complete? If you had read what I'd written in the "Where will we finish" thread you would have seen that, subject to sorting out our away form and having a little more luck with injuries, I still think we are capable of 2nd and have a better than decent chance in the CL, now please tell how that can be construed as panicing?
he wanted to spread some rep, but the system told him that"

"You must spread some rep around before giving some more to jwaldman11"

so instead of typing that he typed "you must spread some blah blah blah"

i think he agrees with jwald!

[Cannon]

I think there are a few people on here who need to go out, get their coaching badge and apply for the Arsenal job and take us to a new pinnacle of success winning quadruples every year for the next 10 years. :rolleyes:

Yes clearly only a world class coaching genius can tell that Cygan is crap. I guess only Wenger can criticize Wenger. :rolleyes:

[jwaldman11]

jwaldman11,

To be fair many of us have been pointing out the numerous problems in the Arsenal play all through the recent good run of results so its really not fair to call somebody a gloryhunter when they point to these longstanding problems after a really bad loss and a simply pathetic performance by most of the team.

I hate every Arsenal loss but some are worse than others. If we play well but lose because of a dodgy ref call, a fluky goal, or just face a better team than I think you'll see less of a negative reaction hitting these boards. Sure, people will be angry at the result but they'll still know that the team is in good shape.

However, what happened over the weekend served to highlight problems that have existed for a long time with little hope of being fixed anytime soon. It isn't like this is the first time that our set piece play has been obviously crap. It isn't the first poor display by Cygan, Gilberto, or Pires. It isn't the first time that Wenger completely screwed up his selection, tactics, and substitutions and we all know that our side has lost some of its physical prowess and willingness to get stuck.

If it was obvious that Wenger saw these problems and had an answer for them then we'd be less upset. Can you truly say that you think a solution for most of them is coming soon? Most of us aren't calling for Wenger's head (although some are asking questions about whether Wenger can take us further than we've gone before) but clearly something needs to change. There is a word for somebody that does the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result.
Fair enough, but I look at the way that people have been posting after every loss or draw this season, and you'd think we were near the drop zone. I understand people are frustrated because of the success we've had, but this is a transition year for us. We're running more and more young players out there to see where we're headed (which is what a lot of people were calling for before), we have a new captain and some of the older players who had been keys to our success in the past either have reduced roles (Bergkamp) or have been in poor form (Pires). We've also had to deal with a lot of injuries so far. I'm not making excuses and not saying that mistakes haven't been made, but it doesn't all come down to Wenger.

Some people on these boards just don't seem to get the fact that we're not going to win doubles and trebles every year, and that we don't have the bottomless pit of cash that Chelsea does to fix every weakness we have. When you support a club like Arsenal, which has been punching above its weight since Wenger came in, you understand that there's a risk that, eventually, the thrifty spending and the need to find a "diamond in the rough" might catch up with you, particularly when you're in constant competition with a Russian billionaire for players.

There are no easy solutions to any of our problems, and there never will be unless we're bought by a billionaire. Wenger's solutions in the past have come from the most unlikely of places, whether it's an underachieving winger from Juve (Henry), an insane keeper from Germany (Lehmann) or selling a disgruntled star (Anelka). None of these were obvious solutions, and they seemed to have worked out OK. I'm not saying Wenger hasn't had mistakes along the way (Jeffers comes to mind), and I'm not saying you can't question his current moves (Cygan), but I am saying that, if you start viewing every loss as being symbolic of Arsenal as a club, you'll drive yourself mad.

We might not blow other clubs off the pitch anymore, but I know that we're a better club than what we showed against Bolton. It was a lousy game, and the players know that as well. I expect a much better effort against Newcastle on Saturday, and I think we'll get one. Besides, it could be worse.

Unlike some teams, we're still alive in the Champions' League. :cool:

[KevTheGooner]

Wenger...and most importantly, the board...are managing with the long term in mind. That means blooding some of the superbly scouted young players in the stable. IIRC, these boards were replete with people throwing rocks at Wenger for not giving kids a chance. Well, there they are getting their chance....how's it look? Messy, right? Yep...but if we don't get these kids their sea legs out there, we're gonna look pretty foolish when Bergkamp drives off into the sunset, Pires is allowed to leave, Cole is tapped up and out of here and Campbell starts to age....and we have no new blood.

Does anyone here seriously think that going out and buying our way to the top is a wise financial move right now? Kenyon and his henchmen at Chelsea are hoping to God that we make some plays for well known players so they can either drive up the price, or just buy the player to wave under our nose next time we play at the Bridge. No, the best solution to the current financial situation is to groom our young talent, buy obscure talent from obscure places to fill specific roles on the pitch (Got Fullback?).

And if you think that we're going to get another fire and brimstone captain like El Tone, you haven't been paying attention lately (since 1996). All of those types of players that were here when Wenger took over are gone, and he hasn't brought in one single player to replace them. I don't think Wenger particularly finds that a necessary trait in a player. Size, strength, toughness? Sure...but I can't imagine that Wenger would make it a priority to find a player who's inclined to cuff his mates in the head when they slack off. Is that a failing? I don't think so. There may be times when we think that a Roy Keane would be handy to bruise the likes of Blackburn when they come to town, but in the bigger picture, Wenger's system requires pace, quickness, vision, and absolute top-shelf technical ability. So there's a trade off- we lose a little bite in the midfield in exchange for posession.

Hey I get frustrated as hell sometimes that we almost NEVER score off a corner and that we concede goals off of free kicks with alarming regularity. And don't even get me started about Cygan. But I purr with satisfaction when we have the ball at our feet...we almost always look a side that know what to do with it. So I accept the downside and enjoy the upside. :cool:

[Cannon]

Fair enough, but I look at the way that people have been posting after every loss or draw this season, and you'd think we were near the drop zone. I understand people are frustrated because of the success we've had, but this is a transition year for us. We're running more and more young players out there to see where we're headed (which is what a lot of people were calling for before), we have a new captain and some of the older players who had been keys to our success in the past either have reduced roles (Bergkamp) or have been in poor form (Pires). We've also had to deal with a lot of injuries so far. I'm not making excuses and not saying that mistakes haven't been made, but it doesn't all come down to Wenger.I agree that there has been a little too much panic (especially after the Boro loss) around here but many of the issues we're discussing have nothing to do with the reasons/excuses that you corretly identify as the major cause of our less convincing play in the Prem. I'm talking of problems like our set piece troubles that have nothing to do with the age of our players, injuries, or our inability to compete with Chelski's cash. These are problem that Wenger could correct at no cost and with almost any type of player in the squad.

When I saw our transfer activity over the last few windows, I figured we might be facing a transitional season so I'm not worried that our current form reflects a poor long term trend but I am worried that Wenger doesn't seem to either correctly identify or know how to resolve certain long standing problems with our play.