Is Anyone Else Getting That Sinking Feeling?
You can’t help being optimistic over the summer.
There’s no football being played, and you believe the hype. Wenger will always talk about being title challengers and will never admit we’re just fighting for a Champions League place.
That’s not the way to sell Arsenal the brand.
You can always sell the future because the future never comes.
And before we sold Toure, I was optimistic as the next Arsenal fan.
We brought it Vermaelen which was great because defensively we would be stronger. But the problem is that we forgot that Arsene has a strange policy on first team players who don’t start. Wenger doesn’t like upsetting his stars, so if he can’t guarantee them a starting place week in week out then he’ll sell them, even if they’re still good enough to play for the club.
That’s why we don’t have strength in depth in the squad, and not enough to win the league.
Alex Ferguson, Rafa Benitez and even Jose Mourinho aren’t bothered about this dilemma. In midfield, Manchester United alone have Carrick, Anderson, Scholes, Giggs, Nani, Valencia, Park, Fletcher and Hargreaves to pick from every week. That’s 9 midfield options, and that’s not including youth players like Gibson and Welbeck who make appearances now and then or even new signing Obertan. Ferguson has no problem rotating players and they all seem happy enough.
How often have you heard Wenger say he couldn’t guarantee players first team football anymore?
Players who have left recently and in my opinion would still have been excellent squad members were Gilberto, Diarra, Senderos, Lauren, Freddie, Edu and Pires. Yes, some of them are getting on a bit but what’s wrong with keeping players around to fill in and help the young players along? I don’t want them to play every week, but United have proved with Giggs and Scholes that they still have a positive purpose. Just look at Wenger’s current prodigy. Cesc Fabregas is undoubtedly Arsene’s best achievement in the current squad but who was he training and playing alongside? He played with players quite rightly regarded as Arsenal legends. He grew up alongside Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires - the invincibles squad in fact.
I realise that players like Toure, Adebayor, Hleb and Diarra wanted to leave but I find it ridiculous when Wenger comes out and said there’s nothing he can do to make them stay. Of course players have more power than ever these days but you rarely see this kind of thing happen at Manchester United. They even managed to keep Ronaldo a couple of more seasons longer than he wanted and even then when he did leave it was for a world record breaking £80 million.
Of course, the fact we have to sell ever year is why this happens every summer.
But this summer, we’ve sold Adebayor and Toure, and Senderos is on his way to Everton. Traore is believe to be wanted by Birmingham and Nasri is injured. In response, we’ve brought in Vermaelen.
Last year, it was the same story. We lost Lehmann, Gilberto, Hleb, Flamini, Diarra, Hoyte and Senderos (again). And in response, we brought in Nasri, Silvestre, Bischoff and Aaron Ramsey.
No wonder why we’re all so excited about Jack Wiltshire.
They boy undoubtedly has fantastic potential, and even I was caught up in the euphoria after watching The Emirates Cup at the weekend. Arsenal fans have been going crazy about him, although Arsene has come out and warned us we shouldn’t put too much pressure on him or expect too much.
But ironically, Wenger’s the reason why there is so much pressure.
Partly it’s because of his obvious talent, but it’s also because we want him to play now. We look at the current Arsenal squad, and think his boy should be starting. Yes, it’s a testament to his ability but it is also down to strength of the current squad.
We also want him to start because we believe we need him.
August 5th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
No, There’s no sinking feeling here.
August 5th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
All floating good to me. Either way im Arsenal for life, win or lose i support them and will never question Arsene Wenger and nether should anyone else who has done what he’s don. At the end of the day he’s the professional, not us!
August 5th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
No sinking feeling here, either. Quiet confidence, actually.
August 5th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
It’s too early to pass judgement. If it’s a replay of 07-08,don’t be surprised.Arsenal were within touching distance ot the title only to be undone by injuries and a defence.
If there is no more defenders coming in and the defenders continue to go awol,AW is to be blamed. He may be bullish but I won’t buy it until a couple of experienced players are signrd for the problem areas.
August 5th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
no sinking feeling here either!! you should be a little more optimistic, there is no doubting that we need 2 new signings and well know where those new signings should play but on the other hand i still think that with the squad we have we can play any team off the park on our day as we’ve proven in the past. i think the word for the season, the key word for the season should be CONSISTENCY. lets not forget we are priviladged to be fans of The Arsenal and things could be worse. we could be owned and run by muppets, all be on doll and wear burberry caps and our team could be called tottenham! so cheer up!! watch a youtube video of Dennis Bergkamp, that always cheers me up!
August 5th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
nice one arnold n james,there sure aint no sinking feeling!i believe in the team n its manager.so shud all of us
August 5th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
I have a floating feeling!
August 5th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
No sinking feeling here either. In fact, I’m quietly confident about our prospects this year.
August 5th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
get a grip m8,i understand toure was a good defender but he’s alredy said that the deal was as good as done in january but he stayed for wenger.the guy wanted away and as far as im concerned once sum1 does thers no point in keeping them,wenger already had decided 2 play gallas and vermealon anyway,and 16million 4 a 28 yr old who might not play that much is gd buisness in my eyes.i really think arsenal are in good shape,i think manu and liverpool have lost alot more important players than us.maybe e few more signings are neededbut we’r looking alot stronger than last season.so put a sock in it!!!!!!!!!!!
August 5th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Flipping heck, no there is no sinking feeling nor should any Arsenal fan feel that way.
The 22 game unbeaten run was attained without:
Eduardo, Rosicky,Walcott, Fabregas, others missed quite a few games - Van persie, Clichy, Gallas and dont forget Arshavin only come in after about half of them games. Dont get me wrong we could do with 2 more, that would complete the squad and we would then dominate.
We will finish no lower than 3rd - inujuries and suspensions is what we need to avoid.
August 5th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Yeayh! Even a bunch of doomladen bulls*t won’t bring us down! Role on Everton and we can start showing you naysayers how it really is
August 5th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
The reference to Utd’s 9 midfield options is a bit misleading. Fletcher, Carrick, Scholes, Hargreaves and Anderson compete for 2, sometimes even 3 midfield spots with Giggs sometimes slotting in there also. In wide positions Giggs, Nani, Park and Valencia will duke it out. Hargreaves has also played on the right and Anderson has played on the left. Its hardly as if our options are wildly disimiliar, with Cesc, Song, Denilson and Diaby (eyeroll) competing for the central spots, where Rosicky and Nasri can also play, and in a midfiled three one of those almost definitely will. With the latter two competing with Arshavin, Walcott and sometimes even Vela who will play in wide positions. The only numerical disparity I see is that Vela is naturally a striker.
Besides we, and most others, have never had the strength in depth that Utd have. More that we have had strength in depth due to the versatitly of most of our players.
Carrick, Anderson, Scholes, Giggs, Nani, Valencia, Park, Fletcher and Hargreaves
August 5th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
Arsenal are never going to sink ever!! Period!! Game in game out, stand your ground and we will float above most of the Premier league!
August 5th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
get a grip, mug!
August 5th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Sinking feeling even before a ball has been officially kicked in the new season? Fucking tool. Where is your faith.
August 5th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
When do the school holidays end?
August 5th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
W R O N G
August 5th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Couldn’t DISAGREE more with your comments. I am extremely confirdent about the season. I have nbever been more excited about selling a player as I have been about Adebarndoor! You can already see in pre-season what a difference him going has made to the spirit in the camp - it’s so obvious. Toure was my favourite Arsenal player but hey he has been well below par for the last 18 months so very pleased we were able to get £15million for him - amazing in fact. AA23 will set the Premier League on fire this year, Eduardo is ready to be scoring week in week out and I think NB26 is also gonna have a stormer. Add to that TR7 being back and I really think something magical is gonna happen this year… honestly! I could not believe the headline of this article. I am SO EXCITED ABOUT THE NEW SEASON and we will do very very well. We already look 25% better than last season. We will start with a bang as we did couple seasons ago but with more experience now in the squad we will win honours this year. Also we have tremendous depth to the squad, all those youngsters who have been playing CArling Cup for the past couple of seasons are nopw ready to step up should they be required. Players like JW19 and AR16 will play bit parts this season and they will do well. Trust me, trust Arsene. This season gonna be a top top one for THE ARSENAL!
August 5th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Sinking feeling my arsenal!!!!!
Did you watch our victories over Atletico Madrid and Rangers in the Emirates Cup at the weekend?
If you are still feeling like sinking you deserve to it. We are much better than you think. We have a team and a good one for that.
August 5th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
gud i hope Arsene hear this @least to proven mature players to compliment the lads they really nid this 2develope else no more CL spot
August 5th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
what planet do you live on? Sinking? we are gunners!
August 5th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
good god son - hold it together!!!!
we may not win the league (I think we’ve got an outside shot), but we don’t have the money to compete with man utd/chelsea etc. what we do have now (and as opposed to last season) is a very LIKEABLE and HARDWORKING group of players that should prove easy to get behind. On top of that we have the most exciting prospect in english football coming through the system.
things could be a lot lot worse . . . . .
August 5th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
I am feeling floaty light……..
August 5th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
fuking twats!!!!any1 who slags off our team or manager needs 2 go support sum1 else!we hav a great team,manager,stadium,club,fans but sum people cant be pleased.instead of negative statments try and support the team.i happen to think we hav a gr8 chance this season.ur out of order slagging wenger off,ther isnt another manager in the world could keep arsenal in the top 4 with the limited cash he has or chalenge in th chaps league 4 that matter.who do u think u r?
August 5th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Im quite confident this season actually
August 5th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
No !……. I here Prozac is good for people like you !
August 5th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
This is the most stupid article I’ve ever read.
August 5th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Sinking? no way - I think we have a #1 shot but if there is a team who is way over rated and should be worried it is ManU - lost Ronaldo and Tevez - they are left with the likes of gigs, scholes, berbitov, owen. I think its them with the major problems. If you want a surprise I think ManU will struggle for the top 4 this season.
August 5th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
clearly you are another blogger that thinks they can manage the team far better than arsene wenger. hold the thought of that sinking feeling, and drown yourself!
August 5th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
i’m feeling rather bullish about the season. would like one or two signings tho; even if le boss decides against it, we still have a quality squad.
van der sar out until mid-september….we play utd 29/8….see? the gods are already smiling upon us
August 5th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
really confident actually…
excited by having a nearly fit squad which is full of talented players. Can see the benefits of having sold the players we have and look forward to seeing the change in formation…
August 5th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
I know what you mean, but sinking feeling is putting it a bit too strongly. The Emirates Cup showed us what a talented squad we still have, but that we also still possess a leaky defence that will give away silly goals unless something drastic is done.
I cannot understand when everyone is aware of this problem, with apparantly the exception of Arsene Wenger, why nothing appears to be on the go to fix this problem, especially with £40m in the bank from Man City.
It also seems that everyone is aware that Hangeland from Fulham would go a long way to plugging the hole, would not cost a fortune and appears willing to come. This would kill so many birds with one stone, especially the mounting frustration of the fans which is not good for morale.
Sign a couple of good experienced defenders/midfield and the Premier League is there for the taking this coming season
August 5th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Hmmmm not sure about strength in depth i would argue that the man u midfiedl is not better than ours on paper, infact i would say our is actually superior by quite some distance, they dont not have the quality of Arshavin, Cesc and Rosicky like we do, i mean their star midfielder is whio exactly? they are all just good ours are top notch. The only thing Man u have over is us vidic and rio, gallas is easily capable of being one of the best defender in the prem and we will have to see about vermaelen. I am very optimistic. Man u have lost thier X-Factor (ronaldo) Liverpool have a massive creative gap in centre mid. who are they gonna play next to mascha? the only thing is maybe stevie G but then they are lacking a forward. Chelsea are one year older and not improving as a team. i think we have a lot to be optimistic of. i think if we can get off to a good start the confidence will come and this is the most important thing in football, our slow start dented our confidence last season and took a long time to recover.
August 5th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
We do need one DM, CB and maybe a striker.But we have to buyplayers that will add quality to the team and not just buy for buying sake. I believe that if the manager sees a quality player that is reasonably valued he will buy but he won’t pay over the odd for an average players just like Man City. Moreover, we don’t have that sort of money.
When you tell a player that he won’t be playing as often as he would have wanted, its left for him to either accept the situation or move on. If he decides to move on the coach can’t doanything about it. Scholes, Giggs and co have no intention of leaving Man U so they have accepted their role in the team. Nicky Butt, Phil Nevile left because they want to play regularly.
This Arsenal team will suprise many people the season. We need luck with injuries and something special will happen. As Obama says “YES WE CAN”
August 5th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Hey man,
each team has their frailties, Look at Utd - killer striker & creative midfielder. Why is Wenger so calm about not having the DM, well having watched the way we lined up at the Emirates Cup in the midfield with a pairing of Denilson/Song/Merida/Ramsey supporting Cesc. Add to that an option of Diaby and I cannot see that we need more/better cover for our defense!
Lets just start trusting the players that we have, and trusting in our manager. Listen to what RVP, Cesc, Rosicky, Arshavin, etc are saying to us if you do not believe/trust Arsene. They are all saying that we are ready, and now all that is left is to execute!!!
August 5th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Look I, for one, am going to be right behind this squad whatever happens between now and the end of the transfer window.
What’s more, given a bit more luck than we had during the last two seasons with injury, then this side can win both the EPL and CL on pure merit.
In terms of ‘extra’ players … we’ll see how the Carling squad perform. Botelho, Bartley, Coquelin, Merida, and Barazite are all capable of stepping up, just as Gibbs, Ramsey and Wilshere have all done.
The point is, you’re premature with your grumblings and disquiet. You want stuff now. Players you have absolutely no idea about handed to you on a plate by the media. You don’t build a team by reading the Mail and the Sun and watching ropey stuff on YouTube. There are enough mistakes to be made when all the research has been completed properly. New players have to match profiles. They can’t be loose cannons. They have to be capable of integration. And above all they must be intelligent. (Can you imagine Rooney at Arsenal?) There’s stuff out there we simply don’t see.
So, be patient. Wait until the squad is finalized. Wait until we’re tested by those first four EPL matches. Wait until we qualify for Europe. And wait until we see how well the Carling boys perform.
If you’re still not satisfied, then you can demand your money back and say ‘I told you so.’
August 5th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Be real, course we support, but the team as is cannot win trophies. We should have no problems with a top four spot, might even do second place, but we’re still short of quality in vital areas. The long season will tell all. I’ve no sinking feeling at all, but i know what this squad has done, and preseason friendlies are hardly a good indicator of standings at the end of the season. I think the author is just trying to say something about overall squad strength versus the others, no need for pessimism but i see his point.
August 5th, 2009 at 6:17 pm
No sinking feeling here…i have a pair of testicles.
August 5th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
It will be so fun to look at all the mopy IDIOTS when we win a trophy this year. What will you do then? Take back all the ills you said about Wengers way of leading? Claiming oh oh we didnt really doubt. ” we cant win this year” “wenger is shit” whine whine whine! im so tired of listenint to you guys!. We are short in areas and we need this and that. Wenger wont buy overprised players. And i agree with him. He will buy what he sees fit to the squad or he wont buy at all. there is no point signing an average player just to fill a gap the supporters feel is missing. There is no point signing and using money on someone thats wont be good enough for this level just to sing someone. IF we sing the player has to be a VAST improvement of what we got. Or els it cant be justified to use so much money on them. IT seems like you all forget that….
August 5th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
blue interesting name, we won a trophy already, the emirates trophy. You have a good supporters attitude but sounds like you wouldn’t know a football if it hit you in the head.
August 6th, 2009 at 12:20 am
Ah, you poor Arsenal fans.
Arsene Wenger is the greatest spin doctor in the game. He sell us the future, and even with 4 seasons without a trophy you still believe we can win the league.
Just think about it logically for a moment here.
Ever since we’ve moved from Highbury we’ve been a selling club. The clubs future is put before the present and right now we’re still in transition. Otherwise we would be spending big money. The whole point of moving to The Emirates was to have more funds and become one of the biggest clubs in Europe - to increase revenue and raise bigger funds.
But now isn’t our time. This is a long-term plan and it will be a good 3/4 seasons before we can truly compete again. This isn’t a criticism of Arsene - he is the best manager we’ve ever had - but until we can compete with the big boys then we will be second best (or should that be 4th best?)
The point is, we will need a miracle to win the league this season.
Put everything in perspective. Arsene might have you believe that we don’t need to spend to win things but that theory is hugely flawed. Why do Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, AC Milan, Inter Milan and even Bayern Munich spend big money? It isn’t rocket science, you play top prices for a reason - because they are the best players and the best players win titles.
I’m not saying we should bankrupt the club to win things but to expect success with this current model is incredibly naive. It’s never worked and it’s never worked for a reason.
We will win things, but not until our time.
August 6th, 2009 at 12:23 am
I forgot, consider the other top managers in the game at the top clubs. They believe that spending big (or at least, buying the best players) is essential to success. Why would they spend so much in the first place? Because they are desperate for success.
You cannot say that some of the most respected names in the game (Red Nose, Mourinho, Benitez, et al) are all wrong in their philosophies.
Arsene simply knows we can’t compete (yet) so is biding our time until we can.
August 6th, 2009 at 6:27 am
Two seasons ago we won the Emirates cup and started the season well. Last season we didn’t win it and Arsenal didn’t start well. This season the players are enthused about the return of Rosicky, Eduardo starting the season and the back up in Wilshere. The spirit is the right one, so why dent it with your doomsday blog? Asene knows and will not openly talk about his targets. We will get a defender before the season starts. Go support Tottenham if you think money solves all problem. Team spirit and hunger to win will get us a trophy rather than spending. Watch Arsenal win more than 2 trophies this season
August 6th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
I HAVE THE SINKING FEELING AND AGREE WITH YOU COMPLETELY afc4life!!!
August 14th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
I have just ordered a dvd The Gooner Review, on the Arsenal 2008- 2009 season. The website is; http://www.thegoonerreview.com/index.php?page=buy
My mate gave me a tip, if you type “ONE” in promo code you get £3 off.
GO GOONERS!
August 15th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
still got that sinking feeling? lol