Arsenal-Related News & Developments - 2015/2016 Season

[Waffiman]

Arteta has never played as a DM, he plays a game different to Coquelin in a 4-3-2-1. Wenger tried to make him the pivot in a 4-1-4-1 but the injury he picked up in pre-season last just got worse until they diagnosed the problem in December and he went under the knife to remove the chip bone in his ankle. Arteta is the deep lying playmaker whose specialisation is the distribution from defence, the transition from defence into attack. If Arteta was finished, Wenger will not be giving him another contract.

How can people here just make conclusion on something they do not have a clue about? There is absolutely nothing that backs up their position about Arteta except their bias. What grates is some of the dumbest football people talk as if Arteta has a back catalogue of disaster performances, they need to stop posting this nonsense and try to understand the football they are watching. Let's face it, Wenger has watched and worked with Arteta for 4 year, he made him captain too. What do this moaners know?

Having said that, it seems to me that the same People that don't rate Arteta, are the same people who don't rate Arsene. Same level of knowledge and understanding.? I think so.

Bros, Arteta is past his best days. He is much slower and lacks the physical strength for that level of competition. We all can see the decline. At his peak he was good but, lest you forgot, he was an attacking midfielder. Song's premature and late departure forced AW to convert him. Not his natural free flowing role. Not writing him off bcos he brings some leadership though mainly off the pitch.

Do not judge Arteta on last season's performances when he played with injuries. I want to see how a fit Arteta will play this season and I am sure he will rise up to the occasion.

How old is he?

33.

Arteta can still play a role in the team, especially against the lower teams after a CL game away when we need to rest players. This is where the experience of a player him becomes invaluable.

Arteta at his best an fittest was an average CDM. At everton where he flourished he ws an CAM just playing behind the Aussie kid whatshisname...yeah, Tim Cahill.

Arteta at the height of his skills couldn't even make the Spanish National team......@ 33 Wenger thinks he will take AFC to the next level smh

Wenger knows better than you will ever know in football and if he deems him to be a player we need, you really are not in a position to judge. You can give your opinion for all its worth but judging the man on what he thinks he need to win is where you become a joke.

[Waffiman]

Petit and Grimandi did not play with likes of Gilberto..point is when Petit was sold AW did not say "we'll be fine with just PV4 and Razor". Rather AW added likes of Edu, followed by Gilberto. PL clubs don't win the League stocked with midfield of attack oriented players. PL champs know there is another side to that coin and it requires steel, balance and depth.

yes, and i saw Chelsea did it with mainly Matic supported by Zouma who is a CB by trade and one that is just breaking in. The idea that we can only win the league by signing new players in the CDM position is just not true. We have enough resources to manage a successful EPL campaign. I'm actually more worried about our inability to breakdown some teams that will come to the Emirates and refuse to play. I'm more concerned about Giroud's momentary loss of form and Welbeck's inability to score than all these CDM talk as if our plan is to keep securig 0-0 results. I'm more worried about when we dominate play for 85 minutes but cant find a way to score a goal.

Chelsea in addition to Matic and Zouma, had a Mikel as backup which isn't too shabby despite CE's best efforts at proving otherwise. Not to mention they have a rock solid defense line and dependable goalie(s). None of which we had/have. Mano amano Chelsea's defenders are superior which helps to complement the CDM duties. Ivanovic is a beast, Terry and Cahill combo is practically inpenetrable, and Aspa can hold his own. Then there's the gap in goalie quality which we hopefilly have now bridged.

For Arsenal's part, Bellerin as great as he is in most other aspects, is still a very sloppy defender. Mertz is as slow as Lurch and for someone his size sometimes gets shoved around in the air like a rag doll. The Spaniard left back whose name escapes me though a good tackler, is very bad aerially. Kos is our only reliable defender that is close to the complete package. Fast, pacy, aerially capable and positionally aware. Just needs to bulk up a bit more. Add that to the attack minded midfield and it's no wonder we concede dumb goals. So we need additional reinforcements in the midfield to stave off pressure on the backline.

Why can we not see the goodness in our team, I am really stunned when I read posts like the Yemster, then backed up by TG, who are some of the highly educated folk here on Arsenal and football.

Least we forget, Guys here is the top 4 table last season

Chelsea: Played 38, Won 26, Drew 9, Lost 3, Goals For 73, Goals Against 32.
Manchester City: Played 38, Won 24, Drew 7, Lost 7, GF 83, GA 38.
Arsenal: Played 38, Won 22, Drew 9, Lost 7, GF 71, GA 36.
Manchester United: Played 38, Won 20, Drew 10, Lost 8, GF 62, GA 37.

I know football is a game of emotion and we do get emotional, consequently, logic gets thrown out of the window. But let's look at the cold hard facts.

We are the 2nd best defensive team, but when you read Yemster's writing, you might think we are no good at defending and our defenders individually as described by my bro, are suspect. Defending is not really about the individual, it is more about the unit. When this unit is stable and get to know and compliment each other working for their strengths and covering their individual weakness, you get a very good defensive unit. Without Cech, we already have the 2nd best defensive unit and we were only 4 goals worse off from a Chelski team everyone lauds as very good at defending.

Yemster is not the only guilty one here, when I read people talk about our defence, you automatically think we are the worst of the top teams and need to improve vastly to catch up. The facts suggest otherwise. Indeed we are 2nd best despite playing constant changes in that defence due to injuries in the first part of the season.

If we do not suffer like we did in defence last season, we are nailed on to be up there with Chelski as the best defence in the league next season. If we do suffer, we now have Gabriel and Cech. These are huge improvement from this time last season, plus we have Debuchy, who is top class and Chambers, Gibbs etc as experience back up.

IMHO, there is nothing a CDM can offer this team that will improve it, unless he is top quality and can play at least two roles (CM and CDM) in our midfield. What such a signing gives us are: the option to play a defensive game away at places like Chelski. The issue of power which I argue is a quality we need to add in that position in our MF and of course quality cover for Le Coq. Such a player will not win us the league, to win the league we need to score more goals during key and crucial moments in games. This is where Theo signing a new contract is key because he represents more goals in this team.

When I argue we are already contenders without signing an extra player, it is because of the stats above and there is nothing the other teams have done so far that has me changing my mind. I argue, so far we have got stronger than the others and I now see us as better placed to win the league than our rivals for now. Of course, the window is a long way from being shut, so things can change.

With regards to your point on Petit, Edu did not join immediately, Grimandi played along side Vieira until he got in Gilberto and Edu. He also got in Van Bronkhurst. But these players were not signed immediately, we played one season with Grimaldi and Parlour as Partners for Vieira

Exactly my point..Before Edu and Sol arrived Arsenal finished miles behind Man Utd. AW had tremendous pieces in place far superior to this side in Henry, DB 10, Pires, Lauren, Cole, PV4, Kanu, Freddie..yet Man Utd won the PL comfortably finishing 10 points above the Arsenal.

This PL is far more competitive than the one AW encountered 14 years ago. Competition for places should be the priority. No reason Coq should not have to face serious competition for his spot in the starting 11, same goes for every other Gunner bar perhaps Alexis. No one can guarantee winning the PL but there are no more excuses for Arsenal not doing every thing in their power to build a squad that can challenge on all fronts heading into April and May i.e PL, CL and FA Cup

As a great baseball player Josh Donaldson said recently....

"this isn't the 'try' league, this is the 'get it done' league. And you know, eventually they're gonna find people who are going to get it done.

I take it we have agreement on the defence.

There are no teams with the likes of Henry, DB 10, Pires, Lauren, Cole, PV4, Kanu, Freddie in this league, so I will not even bother worrying on that level of talent. If we had those players we would have won the league easily in the last 4 seasons. The league is competitive because there are very few outstanding talents in each teams.

I have not said competition is not needed for Coquelin, I have described exactly what we need and why we need it.

[theYemster]

Chelsea in addition to Matic and Zouma, had a Mikel as backup which isn't too shabby despite CE's best efforts at proving otherwise. Not to mention they have a rock solid defense line and dependable goalie(s). None of which we had/have. Mano amano Chelsea's defenders are superior which helps to complement the CDM duties. Ivanovic is a beast, Terry and Cahill combo is practically inpenetrable, and Aspa can hold his own. Then there's the gap in goalie quality which we hopefilly have now bridged.

For Arsenal's part, Bellerin as great as he is in most other aspects, is still a very sloppy defender. Mertz is as slow as Lurch and for someone his size sometimes gets shoved around in the air like a rag doll. The Spaniard left back whose name escapes me though a good tackler, is very bad aerially. Kos is our only reliable defender that is close to the complete package. Fast, pacy, aerially capable and positionally aware. Just needs to bulk up a bit more. Add that to the attack minded midfield and it's no wonder we concede dumb goals. So we need additional reinforcements in the midfield to stave off pressure on the backline.

Having a beast in the center of the pitch like Matic wouldnt have stopped us from conceding dumb goals if the rest of the team is bad with players not doing their jobs properly. At the early part of last season, we conceded stupid goals because we had make shift defence all over the place, and in some games, we just didnt defend together as a team. We needed more than just Coq to fix that problem in the 2nd half of the season. This time, our defence is much more solid, with Gabriel ready to step in for Per or Kos. Our team has the personnel all over the pitch to be successful this new term.
We dont have to be a chelsea clone to win the EPL. This same Chelsea that some claim to have got it right conceded 4 against Watford and 5 against Tottenham. None of that happened to Arsenal even without a monster DM. I continue to say that the important attached to this role by most gooners is overrated. Coq supported by Arteta are adequate. There will even be games when we can afford to start with none of them, and we should be able to bring in Wilshere, Ramsey, Chambers, Gabriel or even some of our academy players depending on opposition. I dont see why we should spend £20-30m for a backup position. For what?

The difference between me and you is your analysis seems to be based on this past season whule mine is based on this past decade. Mine has rich historical data while yours has a small sample size.

We've gone over a decade without winning the league while Chelsea has won four titles and a UCL with another UCL final loss since then and you say we don't have to be a clone. It shows they have a template that's working while we have one that isn't.

Arteta isn't adequate simply because you say so; neither is he inadequate simply because I saw so. He is inadequate because he has proven to be inadequate time and again. While he may perform against the cellar dwellers and dredges of the league, he cannot handle the big teams as our record against the top 4 teams clearly indicates.

And with regards to your example of Chelsea losing the odd game that you say Arsenal won't lose, it's about winning the war not the battle. Chelsea has despite losing those games you mentioned still gone on to win league titles.

Many times we've always been one or two players shy of being true contenders going all the way back to the season we made the UCL final. Shortsightedness greed and just plain foolishness made us dilly dally on going all out and plugging the little remaining holes instead opting to do patchwork.

At two different times we were one goalie (Almunia) a defender (Senderos); and another time a DM (Denilson/Diaby) and maybe a backup striker (Bendtner) away from being true contenders and yet we did nothing and wasted those promsing teams and had to start all over again.

What Wenger failed to get is while waiting for one or two players to mature or develop into a role. other players already peaked in their prime aren't waiting around static. They're ageing and declining in production. So it becomes an issue of being penny wise, pound foolish.

[Waffiman]

Chelsea in addition to Matic and Zouma, had a Mikel as backup which isn't too shabby despite CE's best efforts at proving otherwise. Not to mention they have a rock solid defense line and dependable goalie(s). None of which we had/have. Mano amano Chelsea's defenders are superior which helps to complement the CDM duties. Ivanovic is a beast, Terry and Cahill combo is practically inpenetrable, and Aspa can hold his own. Then there's the gap in goalie quality which we hopefilly have now bridged.

For Arsenal's part, Bellerin as great as he is in most other aspects, is still a very sloppy defender. Mertz is as slow as Lurch and for someone his size sometimes gets shoved around in the air like a rag doll. The Spaniard left back whose name escapes me though a good tackler, is very bad aerially. Kos is our only reliable defender that is close to the complete package. Fast, pacy, aerially capable and positionally aware. Just needs to bulk up a bit more. Add that to the attack minded midfield and it's no wonder we concede dumb goals. So we need additional reinforcements in the midfield to stave off pressure on the backline.

Having a beast in the center of the pitch like Matic wouldnt have stopped us from conceding dumb goals if the rest of the team is bad with players not doing their jobs properly. At the early part of last season, we conceded stupid goals because we had make shift defence all over the place, and in some games, we just didnt defend together as a team. We needed more than just Coq to fix that problem in the 2nd half of the season. This time, our defence is much more solid, with Gabriel ready to step in for Per or Kos. Our team has the personnel all over the pitch to be successful this new term.
We dont have to be a chelsea clone to win the EPL. This same Chelsea that some claim to have got it right conceded 4 against Watford and 5 against Tottenham. None of that happened to Arsenal even without a monster DM. I continue to say that the important attached to this role by most gooners is overrated. Coq supported by Arteta are adequate. There will even be games when we can afford to start with none of them, and we should be able to bring in Wilshere, Ramsey, Chambers, Gabriel or even some of our academy players depending on opposition. I dont see why we should spend £20-30m for a backup position. For what?

The difference between me and you is your analysis seems to be based on this past season whule mine is based on this past decade. Mine has rich historical data while yours has a small sample size.

We've gone over a decade without winning the league while Chelsea has won four titles and a UCL with another UCL final loss since then and you say we don't have to be a clone. It shows they have a template that's working while we have one that isn't.

Arteta isn't adequate simply because you say so; neither is he inadequate simply because I saw so. He is inadequate because he has proven to be inadequate time and again. While he may perform against the cellar dwellers and dredges of the league, he cannot handle the big teams as our record against the top 4 teams clearly indicates.

And with regards to your example of Chelsea losing the odd game that you say Arsenal won't lose, it's about winning the war not the battle. Chelsea has despite losing those games you mentioned still gone on to win league titles.

Many times we've always been one or two players shy of being true contenders going all the way back to the season we made the UCL final. Shortsightedness greed and just plain foolishness made us dilly dally on going all out and plugging the little remaining holes instead opting to do patchwork.

At two different times we were one goalie (Almunia) a defender (Senderos); and another time a DM (Denilson/Diaby) and maybe a backup striker (Bendtner) away from being true contenders and yet we did nothing and wasted those promsing teams and had to start all over again.

What Wenger failed to get is while waiting for one or two players to mature or develop into a role. other players already peaked in their prime aren't waiting around static. They're ageing and declining in production. So it becomes an issue of being penny wise, pound foolish.

We did not win mainly because of the finance to have a squad with depth to win it. It is no coincidence that since we stopped selling our best players and buying better quality players, we have won 2 major and 1 minor trophy.

Fact is if we had the money, we would have got the players, today we have the money and we now have the best squad of players we have had in 10 years. A good example, we would have stuck with Alumunia because we would not have had the money to Cech, but today, we got Cech and he is not on cheap wages.

[theYemster]

Petit and Grimandi did not play with likes of Gilberto..point is when Petit was sold AW did not say "we'll be fine with just PV4 and Razor". Rather AW added likes of Edu, followed by Gilberto. PL clubs don't win the League stocked with midfield of attack oriented players. PL champs know there is another side to that coin and it requires steel, balance and depth.

yes, and i saw Chelsea did it with mainly Matic supported by Zouma who is a CB by trade and one that is just breaking in. The idea that we can only win the league by signing new players in the CDM position is just not true. We have enough resources to manage a successful EPL campaign. I'm actually more worried about our inability to breakdown some teams that will come to the Emirates and refuse to play. I'm more concerned about Giroud's momentary loss of form and Welbeck's inability to score than all these CDM talk as if our plan is to keep securig 0-0 results. I'm more worried about when we dominate play for 85 minutes but cant find a way to score a goal.

Chelsea in addition to Matic and Zouma, had a Mikel as backup which isn't too shabby despite CE's best efforts at proving otherwise. Not to mention they have a rock solid defense line and dependable goalie(s). None of which we had/have. Mano amano Chelsea's defenders are superior which helps to complement the CDM duties. Ivanovic is a beast, Terry and Cahill combo is practically inpenetrable, and Aspa can hold his own. Then there's the gap in goalie quality which we hopefilly have now bridged.

For Arsenal's part, Bellerin as great as he is in most other aspects, is still a very sloppy defender. Mertz is as slow as Lurch and for someone his size sometimes gets shoved around in the air like a rag doll. The Spaniard left back whose name escapes me though a good tackler, is very bad aerially. Kos is our only reliable defender that is close to the complete package. Fast, pacy, aerially capable and positionally aware. Just needs to bulk up a bit more. Add that to the attack minded midfield and it's no wonder we concede dumb goals. So we need additional reinforcements in the midfield to stave off pressure on the backline.

Why can we not see the goodness in our team, I am really stunned when I read posts like the Yemster, then backed up by TG, who are some of the highly educated folk here on Arsenal and football.

Least we forget, Guys here is the top 4 table last season

Chelsea: Played 38, Won 26, Drew 9, Lost 3, Goals For 73, Goals Against 32.
Manchester City: Played 38, Won 24, Drew 7, Lost 7, GF 83, GA 38.
Arsenal: Played 38, Won 22, Drew 9, Lost 7, GF 71, GA 36.
Manchester United: Played 38, Won 20, Drew 10, Lost 8, GF 62, GA 37.

I know football is a game of emotion and we do get emotional, consequently, logic gets thrown out of the window. But let's look at the cold hard facts.

We are the 2nd best defensive team, but when you read Yemster's writing, you might think we are no good at defending and our defenders individually as described by my bro, are suspect. Defending is not really about the individual, it is more about the unit. When this unit is stable and get to know and compliment each other working for their strengths and covering their individual weakness, you get a very good defensive unit. Without Cech, we already have the 2nd best defensive unit and we were only 4 goals worse off from a Chelski team everyone lauds as very good at defending.

Yemster is not the only guilty one here, when I read people talk about our defence, you automatically think we are the worst of the top teams and need to improve vastly to catch up. The facts suggest otherwise. Indeed we are 2nd best despite playing constant changes in that defence due to injuries in the first part of the season.

If we do not suffer like we did in defence last season, we are nailed on to be up there with Chelski as the best defence in the league next season. If we do suffer, we now have Gabriel and Cech. These are huge improvement from this time last season, plus we have Debuchy, who is top class and Chambers, Gibbs etc as experience back up.

IMHO, there is nothing a CDM can offer this team that will improve it, unless he is top quality and can play at least two roles (CM and CDM) in our midfield. What such a signing gives us are: the option to play a defensive game away at places like Chelski. The issue of power which I argue is a quality we need to add in that position in our MF and of course quality cover for Le Coq. Such a player will not win us the league, to win the league we need to score more goals during key and crucial moments in games. This is where Theo signing a new contract is key because he represents more goals in this team.

When I argue we are already contenders without signing an extra player, it is because of the stats above and there is nothing the other teams have done so far that has me changing my mind. I argue, so far we have got stronger than the others and I now see us as better placed to win the league than our rivals for now. Of course, the window is a long way from being shut, so things can change.

With regards to your point on Petit, Edu did not join immediately, Grimandi played along side Vieira until he got in Gilberto and Edu. He also got in Van Bronkhurst. But these players were not signed immediately, we played one season with Grimaldi and Parlour as Partners for Vieira.

Will you ever understand the fact that we actually see the good in the team hence why we want the team's potential maximzed?

Why not put up the top four standings for the past decade rather than just the past season? It paints a much clearer picture. Enuff with the top four finish. It's title or bust. All those other teams in that standings you posted have all won the league at least twice, a couple of them as far as four times, since Arsenal last won it. That is more telling than a snapshot of one season.

Going by one school of thought, many optimists (*cough cough* you included) will say the team has made progresss since last season so lets cut them some slack and give them credit. However many realists will point out that Arsenal has been in this "nearly" position a few times in the past and yet bungled things by not doing the little things needed to get us over the hump i.e. re-signing Anelka, replacing Almunia (with Buffon), Cutting Senderos, Diaby, Bendtner, Denilson early enough. So what makes us believe they won't muck things up again with this team and waste away the talents that are already at their peak. Alexis, Ozil, Santi, Kos, etc. won't play at the level they currently are forever you know? That's even if they don't get frustrated at not winning the big trophies.

[theYemster]

We did not win mainly because of the finance to have a squad with depth to win it. It is no coincidence that since we stopped selling our best players and buying better quality players, we have won 2 major and 1 minor trophy.

Fact is if we had the money, we would have got the players, today we have the money and we now have the best squad of players we have had in 10 years. A good example, we would have stuck with Alumunia because we would not have had the money to Cech, but today, we got Cech and he is not on cheap wages.

Psst, buddy:

Major trophies: EPL, UCL
Minor trophies: FA Cup, CO Cup, C Shield, Euro Super Cup.
Rubbish trophy: Emirates Cup

Save the money excuse, Emirates Stadium is almost a deacde old.

[Waffiman]

We did not win mainly because of the finance to have a squad with depth to win it. It is no coincidence that since we stopped selling our best players and buying better quality players, we have won 2 major and 1 minor trophy.

Fact is if we had the money, we would have got the players, today we have the money and we now have the best squad of players we have had in 10 years. A good example, we would have stuck with Alumunia because we would not have had the money to Cech, but today, we got Cech and he is not on cheap wages.

Psst, buddy:

Major trophies: EPL, UCL
Minor trophies: FA Cup, CO Cup, C Shield, Euro Super Cup.
Rubbish trophy: Emirates Cup

Save the money excuse, Emirates Stadium is almost a deacde old.

Emirates Cup is no trophy, how can you even consider that. Westin you don smoke?

Absolute rubbish. In England, the 2 major trophies are the league and the FA cup. In Europe, it is the CL. Have you ever heard of the domestic Double, In England, it means winning the League and FA Cup. I do not know how you guys see it in the States, but I go to games here meet football people and when we talk, we know what the major trophies are and what we are glad to win. You do not hold bus parade for winning minor honours, not at Arsenal.

When Wenger wins it becomes a minor trophy. When Jose wins it and the League Cup it becomes a major trophy.

The Emirates is almost a decade old, but we are still paying for it, it takes £35m each year from revenue. £ 25m to pay the mortgage and £10m to build up the reserve.

As for your claim of winning the league or bust, it really reflects how delusional most of you have become. You just cannot demand silverware, when you have experience of what it takes to win the league, then you appreciate what it takes to do it, when you appreciate because you understand, then you are grateful to even compete and be up there when it matters come May.

We are not entitled to nothing as fans, no fan has an entitlement, the fact that crazy spending of City and Chelski has built a certain air of entitlement because they can buy it, does not mean we are the same. You guys should get real and live in the real world. Arsenal fans who should be painfully aware and grateful we have a team in charge that win trophies with the least budget and they have put us in a position to CHALLENGE. We have a £30m plus financial disadvantage, yet you demand silverware like an entitlement. You really should wake up and start living in the real world.

[Waffiman]

Petit and Grimandi did not play with likes of Gilberto..point is when Petit was sold AW did not say "we'll be fine with just PV4 and Razor". Rather AW added likes of Edu, followed by Gilberto. PL clubs don't win the League stocked with midfield of attack oriented players. PL champs know there is another side to that coin and it requires steel, balance and depth.

yes, and i saw Chelsea did it with mainly Matic supported by Zouma who is a CB by trade and one that is just breaking in. The idea that we can only win the league by signing new players in the CDM position is just not true. We have enough resources to manage a successful EPL campaign. I'm actually more worried about our inability to breakdown some teams that will come to the Emirates and refuse to play. I'm more concerned about Giroud's momentary loss of form and Welbeck's inability to score than all these CDM talk as if our plan is to keep securig 0-0 results. I'm more worried about when we dominate play for 85 minutes but cant find a way to score a goal.

Chelsea in addition to Matic and Zouma, had a Mikel as backup which isn't too shabby despite CE's best efforts at proving otherwise. Not to mention they have a rock solid defense line and dependable goalie(s). None of which we had/have. Mano amano Chelsea's defenders are superior which helps to complement the CDM duties. Ivanovic is a beast, Terry and Cahill combo is practically inpenetrable, and Aspa can hold his own. Then there's the gap in goalie quality which we hopefilly have now bridged.

For Arsenal's part, Bellerin as great as he is in most other aspects, is still a very sloppy defender. Mertz is as slow as Lurch and for someone his size sometimes gets shoved around in the air like a rag doll. The Spaniard left back whose name escapes me though a good tackler, is very bad aerially. Kos is our only reliable defender that is close to the complete package. Fast, pacy, aerially capable and positionally aware. Just needs to bulk up a bit more. Add that to the attack minded midfield and it's no wonder we concede dumb goals. So we need additional reinforcements in the midfield to stave off pressure on the backline.

Why can we not see the goodness in our team, I am really stunned when I read posts like the Yemster, then backed up by TG, who are some of the highly educated folk here on Arsenal and football.

Least we forget, Guys here is the top 4 table last season

Chelsea: Played 38, Won 26, Drew 9, Lost 3, Goals For 73, Goals Against 32.
Manchester City: Played 38, Won 24, Drew 7, Lost 7, GF 83, GA 38.
Arsenal: Played 38, Won 22, Drew 9, Lost 7, GF 71, GA 36.
Manchester United: Played 38, Won 20, Drew 10, Lost 8, GF 62, GA 37.

I know football is a game of emotion and we do get emotional, consequently, logic gets thrown out of the window. But let's look at the cold hard facts.

We are the 2nd best defensive team, but when you read Yemster's writing, you might think we are no good at defending and our defenders individually as described by my bro, are suspect. Defending is not really about the individual, it is more about the unit. When this unit is stable and get to know and compliment each other working for their strengths and covering their individual weakness, you get a very good defensive unit. Without Cech, we already have the 2nd best defensive unit and we were only 4 goals worse off from a Chelski team everyone lauds as very good at defending.

Yemster is not the only guilty one here, when I read people talk about our defence, you automatically think we are the worst of the top teams and need to improve vastly to catch up. The facts suggest otherwise. Indeed we are 2nd best despite playing constant changes in that defence due to injuries in the first part of the season.

If we do not suffer like we did in defence last season, we are nailed on to be up there with Chelski as the best defence in the league next season. If we do suffer, we now have Gabriel and Cech. These are huge improvement from this time last season, plus we have Debuchy, who is top class and Chambers, Gibbs etc as experience back up.

IMHO, there is nothing a CDM can offer this team that will improve it, unless he is top quality and can play at least two roles (CM and CDM) in our midfield. What such a signing gives us are: the option to play a defensive game away at places like Chelski. The issue of power which I argue is a quality we need to add in that position in our MF and of course quality cover for Le Coq. Such a player will not win us the league, to win the league we need to score more goals during key and crucial moments in games. This is where Theo signing a new contract is key because he represents more goals in this team.

When I argue we are already contenders without signing an extra player, it is because of the stats above and there is nothing the other teams have done so far that has me changing my mind. I argue, so far we have got stronger than the others and I now see us as better placed to win the league than our rivals for now. Of course, the window is a long way from being shut, so things can change.

With regards to your point on Petit, Edu did not join immediately, Grimandi played along side Vieira until he got in Gilberto and Edu. He also got in Van Bronkhurst. But these players were not signed immediately, we played one season with Grimaldi and Parlour as Partners for Vieira.

Will you ever understand the fact that we actually see the good in the team hence why we want the team's potential maximzed?

Why not put up the top four standings for the past decade rather than just the past season? It paints a much clearer picture. Enuff with the top four finish. It's title or bust. All those other teams in that standings you posted have all won the league at least twice, a couple of them as far as four times, since Arsenal last won it. That is more telling than a snapshot of one season.

Going by one school of thought, many optimists (*cough cough* you included) will say the team has made progresss since last season so lets cut them some slack and give them credit. However many realists will point out that Arsenal has been in this "nearly" position a few times in the past and yet bungled things by not doing the little things needed to get us over the hump i.e. re-signing Anelka, replacing Almunia (with Buffon), Cutting Senderos, Diaby, Bendtner, Denilson early enough. So what makes us believe they won't muck things up again with this team and waste away the talents that are already at their peak. Alexis, Ozil, Santi, Kos, etc. won't play at the level they currently are forever you know? That's even if they don't get frustrated at not winning the big trophies.

If you saw the good in the team, you will not write that crap about our defenders and defence. The facts do not back up your claim. That is my point and it remains. You obviously cannot counter this, so you are desperately trying to mention a time that is of no relevance to next season. I bet you are surprised at the defence stat for you never expected we were that close to Chelski defensively.

What happened in the last 10 years do not count for now. What counts is the previous season and how you can get better. Since we turned the corner financially, we stopped selling our best players, we also started buying better to the highest quality players. So it is no coincidence we are winners again.

Whatever position we have been in the past has no bearing on next season, we do not have the players we had then now, a lot of things have changed at the club, what counts most is your players and the finances you have to keep them happy. The other factors then follow.

[PapaK]

Yemster:
I see that Waffiman has done a good rebuttal job on your claim being based over the events of the past 10 years. I will just add that my point is specifically about the need for another CDM today. Someone to deputize for Coquline, or to compete with him or to play beside him. Some of you insist that we need to buy that player in order to win the league this season. A player that will cost £20-30m. My point is that we have enough resources as is to win the league. I will also go on to say, buying the said CDM today will not guaranty that we will win the league. If you guys had been crying for an upgrade on Giroud or Welbeck now, I might understand. And with Walcott coming back into the team, I actually think we can win the league without a new striker.

In summary, what I'm saying is that, if we buy another world class player in any part of the pitch, I will be happy. If we cant find a player that represent value for money, I wont declare that we have already lost the chance to win the league because we didnt sign that mythical DM.

[Coach]

For those talking mortgage arrears, the prize money for a league title, domestic or Champions is how much? And then there's little old Atletico, Mr Nobody's by comparison...but needless to say, Simeone defaulted on rent payments for the whole season. Nonsense, the money has nowt to do with it, when City were on the slide and 2nd looked Beloved's, none mentioned the money.

[Blukyt]

Yemster:
I see that Waffiman has done a good rebuttal job on your claim being based over the events of the past 10 years. I will just add that my point is specifically about the need for another CDM today. Someone to deputize for Coquline, or to compete with him or to play beside him. Some of you insist that we need to buy that player in order to win the league this season. A player that will cost £20-30m. My point is that we have enough resources as is to win the league. I will also go on to say, buying the said CDM today will not guaranty that we will win the league. If you guys had been crying for an upgrade on Giroud or Welbeck now, I might understand. And with Walcott coming back into the team, I actually think we can win the league without a new striker.

In summary, what I'm saying is that, if we buy another world class player in any part of the pitch, I will be happy. If we cant find a player that represent value for money, I wont declare that we have already lost the chance to win the league because we didnt sign that mythical DM.

Not sure anyone is saying "sign XYZ and we will win the league". I don't where you are pulling that one from. We don't have a right to win anything. The least we are expecting is to challenge for everything, especially the league title. We are not saying we have to spend £20-£30M. We just need a quality addition in the DM department. IMO Schneiderlin is worth £25M. If Wenger thinks that's not reasonable especially when wages are factored in, there is Grzegorz Krychowiak from Sevilla. He won't cost that much. Someone mentioned Nzonzi (not for me but there's another alternative). Rushing the Polish kid into the squad for me is not showing enough ambition. If I were AW I will definitely shift Flamini out for a new DM. Arteta can stay for whatever Capt. role he plays. I'm in agreement with Skylolo in terms of Theo. If we are not gonna sign another ST I will be clinging on to the fact at least Ozil has a mobile ST to put through.

[Gooner1]

I don't know why you guys are wasting your time with all these wengerists.........
They will argue for Arsene even if AFC were relegated next season......abeg, leave am

[anikulapo]

Cheiiii Nzonzi now on his way to Sevilla for seven million Wenger

[Blukyt]

Cheiiii Nzonzi now on his way to Sevilla for seven million Wenger

Krychowiak must be on his way out then.

[PapaK]

Yemster:
I see that Waffiman has done a good rebuttal job on your claim being based over the events of the past 10 years. I will just add that my point is specifically about the need for another CDM today. Someone to deputize for Coquline, or to compete with him or to play beside him. Some of you insist that we need to buy that player in order to win the league this season. A player that will cost £20-30m. My point is that we have enough resources as is to win the league. I will also go on to say, buying the said CDM today will not guaranty that we will win the league. If you guys had been crying for an upgrade on Giroud or Welbeck now, I might understand. And with Walcott coming back into the team, I actually think we can win the league without a new striker.

In summary, what I'm saying is that, if we buy another world class player in any part of the pitch, I will be happy. If we cant find a player that represent value for money, I wont declare that we have already lost the chance to win the league because we didnt sign that mythical DM.

Not sure anyone is saying "sign XYZ and we will win the league". I don't where you are pulling that one from. We don't have a right to win anything. The least we are expecting is to challenge for everything, especially the league title. We are not saying we have to spend £20-£30M. We just need a quality addition in the DM department. IMO Schneiderlin is worth £25M. If Wenger thinks that's not reasonable especially when wages are factored in, there is Grzegorz Krychowiak from Sevilla. He won't cost that much. Someone mentioned Nzonzi (not for me but there's another alternative). Rushing the Polish kid into the squad for me is not showing enough ambition. If I were AW I will definitely shift Flamini out for a new DM. Arteta can stay for whatever Capt. role he plays. I'm in agreement with Skylolo in terms of Theo. If we are not gonna sign another ST I will be clinging on to the fact at least Ozil has a mobile ST to put through.

I dont know who Krychowiak is, but I really dont see what Nzozi is going to give us in that midfield that is better than what Arteta/Wilshere/Chambers will give if they find themselves playing CDM in place of Coqueline. As per Bielik, I remember mentioning Coqueline as a midfield option at about this time last season and the buy buy brigade said such suggestion can only be because I want Arsenal to persist in mediocrity. Asking the club to buy a cheap option just because of a perceived need in a particular position is the real mediocrity. We dont need more of that. We used to have players that take up squad place but could never play because they just werent good enough (e.g. Park Chu Young, Squilachi) We dont need to do that again. In my opinion, if we are not buying someone better than what we already have, then, we shouldnt buy. If the aim is to buy for the sake of depth, then, I say we are deep enough all over the place. Let us make maximum use of the players in the team. I still cant figure out how we will accommodate all the players listed as midfielders.

[Oba]

We did not win mainly because of the finance to have a squad with depth to win it. It is no coincidence that since we stopped selling our best players and buying better quality players, we have won 2 major and 1 minor trophy.

Fact is if we had the money, we would have got the players, today we have the money and we now have the best squad of players we have had in 10 years. A good example, we would have stuck with Alumunia because we would not have had the money to Cech, but today, we got Cech and he is not on cheap wages.

Psst, buddy:

Major trophies: EPL, UCL
Minor trophies: FA Cup, CO Cup, C Shield, Euro Super Cup.
Rubbish trophy: Emirates Cup

Save the money excuse, Emirates Stadium is almost a deacde old.

Emirates Cup is no trophy, how can you even consider that. Westin you don smoke?

Absolute rubbish. In England, the 2 major trophies are the league and the FA cup. In Europe, it is the CL. Have you ever heard of the domestic Double, In England, it means winning the League and FA Cup. I do not know how you guys see it in the States, but I go to games here meet football people and when we talk, we know what the major trophies are and what we are glad to win. You do not hold bus parade for winning minor honours, not at Arsenal.

When Wenger wins it becomes a minor trophy. When Jose wins it and the League Cup it becomes a major trophy.

The Emirates is almost a decade old, but we are still paying for it, it takes £35m each year from revenue. £ 25m to pay the mortgage and £10m to build up the reserve.

As for your claim of winning the league or bust, it really reflects how delusional most of you have become. You just cannot demand silverware, when you have experience of what it takes to win the league, then you appreciate what it takes to do it, when you appreciate because you understand, then you are grateful to even compete and be up there when it matters come May.

We are not entitled to nothing as fans, no fan has an entitlement, the fact that crazy spending of City and Chelski has built a certain air of entitlement because they can buy it, does not mean we are the same. You guys should get real and live in the real world. Arsenal fans who should be painfully aware and grateful we have a team in charge that win trophies with the least budget and they have put us in a position to CHALLENGE. We have a £30m plus financial disadvantage, yet you demand silverware like an entitlement. You really should wake up and start living in the real world.

Why did you waste your time scripting this response? He clearly was just trying to rile up Gooners. Anyone who knows English football, knows the FA Cup is a major trophy. No point lecturing because it's not like he came here to learn.

[anikulapo]

Agent saying that Arsenal are the verge of the Signing of the Season .... Hmmmm

[Waffiman]

Agent saying that Arsenal are the verge of the Signing of the Season .... Hmmmm

Don't listen to all these rumours.

[anikulapo]

Agent saying that Arsenal are the verge of the Signing of the Season .... Hmmmm

Don't listen to all these rumours.

We are tired of your endless fables and need better sources like dis wan

http://metro.co.uk/2015/07/08/arsenal-a ... n-5286330/

It's metro but the content has a verifiable source ..

[Waffiman]

Agent saying that Arsenal are the verge of the Signing of the Season .... Hmmmm

Don't listen to all these rumours.

We are tired of your endless fables and need better sources like dis wan

http://metro.co.uk/2015/07/08/arsenal-a ... n-5286330/

It's metro but the content has a verifiable source ..

[Waffiman]

Agent saying that Arsenal are the verge of the Signing of the Season .... Hmmmm

Don't listen to all these rumours.

We are tired of your endless fables and need better sources like dis wan

http://metro.co.uk/2015/07/08/arsenal-a ... n-5286330/

It's metro but the content has a verifiable source ..

Seriously, When Agents talk like that it is more than 80% it will happen. The problem is, Agents also use stories like this to promote themselves so they get noticed. Muzzi Ozcan works for Mondial Sport Management & Consulting, so he does not need to get noticed. They handle a lot of players like Cavani, Giroud, Coutinho, Varane etc. etc. etc. So when he talks you listen. I do not expect him to spill the beans on a client they represent for obvious reasons but he does for other Agencies when he has permission to do so.

This summer he has form, he was the one who first told us about Alderweireld to Spurs, and apparently a few others firsts this summer. Also, there has been a lot of talk about Arsenal signing a big player from Spain or Germany all summer. Many have assumed it is Benzema, but recently it is moving to Germany as we now have talk of Reus. But the rumour mill says Real Madrid are after him too. For me, my guess will be Reus because he fit the typical Wenger profile player. This guy knows his stuff and if it is Germany, there is a good chance it will happen.

But na Agent and wayoman so he cannot be trusted. However, I keep my fingers crossed because we have Wenger and he has that something that makes almost all top players want to play for him. Players just love Wenger and now he can pay them top money, he has the chance to sign them if they are willing to ignore the extra bits they can get from clubs like PSG, Shitty etc.

Finally, this has been so quiet, its been whispers all summer, if Arsenal are really after a top player and it has been kept this quiet, then you know Wenger has the player and his Agent on side. You also know the selling club is happy with the deal so they are not interested in involving other clubs. This type of stealth, if true has all the hall marks of an Arsenal transfer. My guess is Reus if there is actually such a deal in the pipeline.

I do like to post these rumours here just to wind up, upset and make a few laugh. Its all good.

[kajifu]

@Waffiman What makes you choose Reus to be the guy?
Is Wenger just going for big name player or what Arsenal really need?
How come Flamini is still our player,we need get him out of our books.

[Thunder]

According to my source KajiCousin, the Signing Of The Season is none other than Messi.