Thanks For Everything Arsene, But It’s Time For You To Leave

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I wrote only yesterday that Arsene Wenger needed to learn his lesson from the other away games against the big sides. We were humiliated against Manchester City, annihilated at Anfield and lost at Manchester United. The result at Old Trafford was only 1-0, but this was against the worst Manchester United side in the last 20 years.

I also said that a draw would keep us in the race, a win would give us the belief we can win the Premier League and a defeat would mean we’re out of the running.

As it turned out, Arsene got his approach against a big team completely wrong again, and just like at Anfield, the game was effectively over as a contest after 17 minutes.

Regular readers will know that I have a hatred for Olivier Giroud. He is a second rate striker and concentrates more on his “poses” after missing a goalscoring opportunity. But the biggest reason I can’t stand him is because he is not good enough for Arsenal. And once again, he contributed to our downfall.

After only 4 minutes into the game, Giroud was beautifully put through by Tomas Rosicky but somehow managed to execute another lame shot which was easily saved by Cech. About 30 seconds late, Chelsea attacked and Samuel Eto’o scored a goal which Giroud could only dream of. Even though Eto’o is now 33 years old, the fact was he used to be a world class striker – and the chances he and Giroud had showed. Eto’o was composed, clinical and deadly when his chance came while Giroud, well know all about him and his poor finishing.

Against Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United away we were in a healthy position in the league. So why not play for a draw? Or at least setup so you’re difficult to beat. We’ve show we can do it against Borussia Dortmund so why the f*ck can’t we do it against Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United or Chelsea?

If I can f*cking see it, then why can’t Arsene Wenger?

He’s just had a new contract worth £7.5 million a year and why the hell can’t he see that he plays far too open against the top sides?

Honestly, can someone answer that question?

We were 5 points clear at the top of the table in November and now we sit 7 points off the top. We haven’t dropped points against the “lesser sides” but we’ve literally thrown away points, and in dramatic fashion, against the top clubs.

We know today was Arsene Wenger’s 1,000th game for the club and we all know he has been amazing for the club but today was an utter shambles. It was a disgraceful, pathetic performance with no tactical intelligence.

Is Arsene hell bent on giving the other title challengers massive confidence boosts? 6-3 at City, 5-1 at Liverpool and then this joke at Chelsea. I cannot understand for the life of me why Arsene plays such an open game. You could forgive him if he made this mistake once, but he’s done it 4 times now.

This season we have done amazingly well but unfortunately, Arsene has shown he has take the club as far as he can. If you collapse so badly against your main title rivals, then you have no chance.

Arsene Needs To Learn His Lesson And Not Make The Same Mistake Against Chelsea

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Arsenal find themselves 4 points off the top of the Premier League table with a game in hand. A win against Chelsea tomorrow would put us in a truly fantastic position but a defeat would do the opposite – it would virtually put us out of the race.

With only 10 games of the season left, the very tight battle at the top means the next couple of weeks will be vital as we go into the final stretch. Dropping points at this stage will mean an uphill battle – with 4 teams with a real chance of winning the league, the team that will end up triumphant will be the one who gets through the next fortnight without losing the most points.

So Arsene Wenger needs to learn his lesson from this season.

Against Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United away we’ve been embarrassed. In those games, considering our position in the league during those times, draws would have been good results. But instead we got our approach completely wrong and lost 6-3, 5-1 and 1-0. The United result may not have been disastrous, but considering it was against the worst Manchester United side in the last 20 years, then it wasn’t great.

Draws are underrated and in those situations would have kept us in a strong position in the league and kept our rivals away from us in terms of points.

So it’s important we’re not too reckless against Chelsea and lose because we tried to go for a win. A draw keeps us in the race, a win gives us belief that we can go on to win the Premier League but a defeat would leave us in a position where we’d be out of it in my opinion.

Our record against the top teams is poor and we need to address that against Chelsea and Manchester City. The reason why we’d be out of the running if we lose against Chelsea and City is because they would get a massive boost from beating a title rival and the fact that they’d win a 6 pointer.

So will Arsene learn his lesson? I guess we’ll find out tomorrow!

#COYG

Sagna’s Wage Demands? Giroud Back To France?

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We all know that Bacary Sagna’s contract ends this summer and for the last few years, he’s been hesitating to sign a new deal. He’s 31 years old and I suppose, he sees this as his final chance to make a big money move or get an improved contract from Arsenal.

I’ve said over the last few seasons that it was obvious he was leaving this summer because he would have signed ages ago. Players like Robin van Persie, Samir Nasri and even Theo Walcott all know that refusing (or “delaying”) the chance to sign a new deal forces Arsenal’s hand. We either let them go or give them a mega deal to stay.

Regular readers of this blog will know that I didn’t even think Sagna would be staying beyond this season for this reason – if he wanted to stay then we would have secured a new deal 2 or 3 years ago. Now if you believe the latest reports, Bacary is after a new deal worth £90,000 per week and a £6 million “signing on fee”.

Other sources say we’ve made an improved offer on his current £60,000 a week deal, and put £75,000 a week on the table.

There is no doubt about the quality of the player, he’s been one of our most consistent players over the last 5 seasons. But should we give in to his demands? Only Arsene will really know the answer as there are many things to factor in.

Does he think Carl Jenkinson is ready to step up next season? Is Sagna’s versatility and ability to play in central defence invaluable to the team? Does Arsene think Sagna still has a good 3/4 seasons left in him? Only the boss can answer those questions.

Personally, I think his departure was on the cards a long time ago and unless something drastic happens then I can’t see him in an Arsenal shirt next season. With his demands he’s essentially asking us to compete financially with teams like PSG who are after his signature, and we just can’t do that.

Meanwhile, fellow Frenchman Olivier Giroud is “apparently” considering a move back to France on the wishes of his wife Jennifer.

No idea if this is complete hearsay but I did hear rumours that he was off in the summer last week and I suppose if the price is right then I don’t think there will be many Arsenal fans that would miss him terribly.

Giroud splits Arsenal fans; some think he’s utterly useless and isn’t good enough for Arsenal, while others think he gives 110% and gives us that extra dimension.

I think it’s certain to say though that if Arsene sold Olivier Giroud and replaced him with a top quality striker, that he wouldn’t be missed by many.

[Vote Here] Has Tomas Rosicky Fired Arsenal Back Into The Title Race?

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With Tomas Rosicky’s wonder strike after 2 minutes of the North London Derby, Arsenal managed to take home all 3 points from their nearest rivals.

After the goal, we defended well, kept together and kept ourselves in the title race.

Or did we?

We still have Premier League games against Manchester City and Chelsea, so after we’ve played those matches I suppose we’ll have a better idea of whether we’re really in the race.

So did Tomas Rosicky fire Arsenal back into the title race? Cast your vote below:

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Great Effort From Arsenal, But The Damage Was Done In The First Leg

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Tonight we faced Bayern Munich, the reigning European Champions, in their own back yard and gave them a game. This season we’ve been guilty of under-performing and putting in displays that have been subpar, but tonight was not one of those nights. I was proud of the effort the boys put in today.

Our game-plan was excellent, and in that regard Arsene couldn’t have done better with the resources he had. About 5 minutes into the game, I tweeted that Theo would have been perfect for a match like this. Bayern who already held a comfortable lead, would predictably try and dominate possession, especially at home, and stifle any threat from Arsenal. That happened but with that there was a lot of space in behind as they pushed high up the pitch. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain apart, we had no real pace to scare the Bayern back line.

Without Ramsey or Theo, it would always be an uphill challenge and it was hard not to think back to the first leg when Mesut Özil stepped up to take that penalty. I have no doubt whatsoever that if he smashed the ball into the net and scored in that moment, the tie would have been completely different.

But back to tonight, and most of the players put in a real shift. Fabianksi was excellent, saving a penalty from Thomas Müller and making a smart save from a Götze half volley. He didn’t have a chance for the Schweinsteiger goal. Mertesacker, Koscielny, Sagna and Vermaelen were excellent, and I was particularly impressed with the captains performance considering he’s been out for a long time both injured and on the bench. With Gibbs being injured during parts of the season, I would seriously consider using Vermaelen in that position on a more regular basis. He is part more secure than Monreal and always gives 110%. Maybe that’s how Vermaelen can get himself back into more regular first team action.

Mikel Arteta and Santi Cazorla were deployed to anchor the midfield which was a slightly surprising selection choice as most people thought Mathieu Flamini would start. But it signalled Arsene Wenger’s intent having more attacking midfielders on the pitch. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mesut Özil and Lukas Podolski made up the midfield while Olivier Giroud spearheaded the attack. Podolski was also a surprise selection choice, but I guess Arsene felt he had nothing to lose.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was excellent and full of running, while Santi Cazorla and Mikel Arteta were the same. Mesut Özil was poor in the first 45 minutes and was duly taken off for Rosicky at half time. Reports suggested that Özil had a hamstring tweak, while more cynical Gooners felt Arsene was being brave. I prefer to think it was the latter.

Lukas Podolski had a quiet game as well but popped up with a goal which gave us all some hope with half an hour left, and a goal we deserved on the night. Unfortunately, it was clear we had ran out of legs and we couldn’t muster the energy to force that last push to try and score the two more goals we needed.

We had a few half chances in the closing minutes of the game but in the end, it was one hell of a gutsy performance from an Arsenal side that had a virtually impossible task. The damage was done in the first leg, but Arsenal gave a performance every Arsenal fan can be proud of.

Arsene pointed out before the game that referees had conspired against Arsenal, pointing to the sending off of Jens Lehmann in the final and Van Persie at the Nou Camp. It’s hard not to agree with the sentiment as the Szczesny red card was also harsh in my eyes.

Another season where we’ve been knocked out of the Champions League at the first knockout stage and it’s not hard to think with a bit more luck, we would have progressed further in the last few seasons.