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Arsenal, Pt. X: Boom-Xhaka-Laca!


Dr LBC

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3 hours ago, BaltimoreTerp said:

Can't even get the team motivated or prepared for a cup final it's incredible to think anyone still sees Wenger as the leader this club needs.

Not that I expected a win today but that performance was so incredibly meek and pathetic.

You know sitting back in a 5-4-1 will get you torn apart. The least you can do is try and press them high up the pitch. Liverpool forced them into some errors and that's basically the only way to beat them. You can't bunker against them for 90 minutes and try and hit on one counter or one set piece.

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Getting sadder and sadder to watch. The end is near and everyone knows it except Wenger. Even Europa looks bleak now especially with the run Milan are currently on. 

Really think the best course of action is to announce now that Wenger is gone at the end of the season. Could maybe inspire a change in form for the players who look just completely checked out, but even if it doesn't, at least it would maybe encourage a less toxic atmosphere between the fans and manager. Wenger deserves a proper sendoff but the more he tries to hold on when it's clearly not working anymore the more we're all gonna suffer through the toxicity. 

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It's just not even worth watching right now. Just move on already. I'd be completely fine if they just sacked him at this point. This team needs Europa League and he clearly isn't going to help you get there. You can't let the past 20 years influence the next five.

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Some pretty remarkable and revealing quotes being leaked from the players-only meeting that was convened after the Carabao Cup defeat last Sunday:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/mar/02/arsenal-players-arsene-wenger-meeting?CMP=share_btn_tw

Quote

 

The speech was delivered by one of the senior players in the Arsenal dressing room but he did not finish it. He was too choked up as he reflected on how such a talented squad had come to resemble a bunch of drifters. He said his children were asking him why Arsenal were so bad. That was the moment when the tears welled in his eyes.

Another Arsenal player stepped in. “We are a big club,” he said, tapping into the rallying cry theme. “But we need more help from the coaches.” That was when the damning judgment was articulated. It had actually been the motivation for the players to gather in the first place – without Arsène Wenger. “It’s not going to happen,” one of them said. “We need to find the answers ourselves.”

 

It's becoming a dereliction of duty at this point. Wenger and the coaching staff are failing to support and prepare these players. Many of them have played at big clubs, they play for big international teams and talk amongst themselves with their friends on other teams. Surely they know now that compared to the prep, intensity, and attention the Man City players are getting from Guardiola or the Spurs players are getting from Pochettino is lightyears ahead of the hands-off, 'express yourself' advice from Wenger they're getting, and it must be driving them mad.

He just has to go. I'm fine with it coming at the end of the season but there's also an argument to be made that the best way to position ourselves for Europa may be to provide a shock to the system by sacking him before the Milan game. He's lost the dressing room. 

Edited by BaltimoreTerp
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  • 2 weeks later...
On 3/2/2018 at 11:55 AM, BaltimoreTerp said:

Some pretty remarkable and revealing quotes being leaked from the players-only meeting that was convened after the Carabao Cup defeat last Sunday:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/mar/02/arsenal-players-arsene-wenger-meeting?CMP=share_btn_tw

It's becoming a dereliction of duty at this point. Wenger and the coaching staff are failing to support and prepare these players. Many of them have played at big clubs, they play for big international teams and talk amongst themselves with their friends on other teams. Surely they know now that compared to the prep, intensity, and attention the Man City players are getting from Guardiola or the Spurs players are getting from Pochettino is lightyears ahead of the hands-off, 'express yourself' advice from Wenger they're getting, and it must be driving them mad.

He just has to go. I'm fine with it coming at the end of the season but there's also an argument to be made that the best way to position ourselves for Europa may be to provide a shock to the system by sacking him before the Milan game. He's lost the dressing room. 

I'm curious, considering how well they're doing in Europa, if they by chance keep up their level of play and win a champions league birth, you think Wenger buys himself more time? Or is he already a dead man walking. 

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4 hours ago, NickButera said:

I'm curious, considering how well they're doing in Europa, if they by chance keep up their level of play and win a champions league birth, you think Wenger buys himself more time? Or is he already a dead man walking. 

I get the sense there's a contingent on the board and Gazidis for sure that want him gone no matter what, but ultimately it's Kroenke's decision to make. If we do win the Europa League, I honestly think it's going to be a situation like Di Matteo at Chelsea in that Champions League run where the players took it upon themselves to carry the burden on all sides rather than the manager actually playing much of a role. But given how little he cares about the actual dynamics at the club, if he sees that we're in the Champions League next year he'll stay the course with Wenger another season. The only hope would be Wenger having the good sense to step down if we do win Europa giving himself a last chance to go out on a high.

Edited by BaltimoreTerp
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4 hours ago, BaltimoreTerp said:

Rumors coming out of Germany today about Tuchel possibly coming to Arsenal in the summer... Would absolutely love for it to be true, but especially with the Mislintat stuff it feels somewhat unlikely. 

I still think it's unlikely, but I would also absolutely love it.

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Wenger has confirmed talks with Ramsey are underway and he's optimistic a deal will be reached

This is great news. Aaron has finally returned to his 13-14 form, when he was truly elite at times.

It's been so refreshing to see him play well, even though we've had a pretty bad season. His game is finally on full display again.

Edited by TheChancellor
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We'll face Atletico Madrid in the semis.

Our good run of lucky draws had to end at some point, but I would have preferred to only have to play them one game in the final (if we both got there, obviously) rather than over two legs.

I don't know if we can beat them over the course of two games.

Mkhi is also out for at least two more weeks, so we most likely won't be seeing him in the first match.

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5 hours ago, kempus said:

Both Atletico and Arsenal have to be hateing that draw. Whoever makes it into the final will be a massive favourite, though.

The final before the final that neither team wanted.

Silver lining for any team that losses is that it's probably better to lose the semis rather than the final. Saves you a bit of heartbreak, at least.

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