Perfect, right on time. The annual season collapse is bang on time.

At the least the run for fourth place will be exciting?

Did Walcott or Gervinho have a touch in the second half?

Sunderland monkey feels your pain

This thread needs the theme from Midnight Cowboy as it’s official song

Interesting game. Arsenal’s midfield was seriously awful, especially Arteta. He gave the ball away so cheaply to many times. The defence just couldn’t handle being rushed. The possession football that Arsenal are known for was gone after the first half hour. Sessegnon was brilliant along with Larsson who created several chances going forward as well as putting one hell of a shift in in defence. I’m excited for the NLD next Sunday because for the first time (I wasn’t confident last October), I am confident we can get the win. Almost certainely jinxed it now.

Basically, we’re just really shit at the moment… can this season be over already please?

Juan Flo Evra The Cocu’s Nesta - 19 February 2012 02:10 AM

Basically, we’re just really shit at the moment… can this season be over already please?

as a chelsea fan, i agree to the nth degree. i’m so fucking done with this whole season. levy why couldn’t you have just caved and let us have your star player like everyone else does? fuckin chump..

Just seen a ridicolous stat. Apparently over the past half decade, Arsenal have spent almost £50 million less than Sunderland. Surely thats wrong?

Mokeejoe5 - 19 February 2012 11:00 AM

Just seen a ridicolous stat. Apparently over the past half decade, Arsenal have spent almost £50 million less than Sunderland. Surely thats wrong?

Well it depends if we’re talking net spend or actual spend. Taking figures from here http://www.transferleague.co.uk/ Sunderland have a total spend of £135.7mil and a net spend of £57.65mil of the past 5 years and Arsenal have a total spend of £124.4mil and a net spend of -£31.9mil.

Triggs - 19 February 2012 12:54 PM

Mokeejoe5 - 19 February 2012 11:00 AM

Just seen a ridicolous stat. Apparently over the past half decade, Arsenal have spent almost £50 million less than Sunderland. Surely thats wrong?

Well it depends if we’re talking net spend or actual spend. Taking figures from here http://www.transferleague.co.uk/ Sunderland have a total spend of £135.7mil and a net spend of £57.65mil of the past 5 years and Arsenal have a total spend of £124.4mil and a net spend of -£31.9mil.

Transfer League Table 2003 - 2011

Those are the stats everybody, draw your own conclusions & spin to suit your agendas.

Personally, I think it’s a minor miracle & credit to Wenger for keeping us competitive in recent years. But that’s mostly part of the frustration, if investment was made then perhaps we could have pushed on even further. Fans were a little reluctant to let it slide whilst we still were competitive, but they did. However now performances have dropped, the call for investment is louder & stronger… and probably more justified.

Couple this with the fact that are main sponsors (shirt & kit manufacturer) brings in £13m a season, compared to City, Liverpool, United & Tottenham’s £40-£50m a season. Wenger really does deserve a massive amount of respect & credit.

Unfortunatly i was listening to 606 last night, and there was the most moronic Arsenal “supporter” i’ve probably heard. He started off with the typical Wenger Out moan, then descending in to him saying that Arsene inherited 2 Arsenal greats in Bergkamp and Wright… not bad so far. He then started saying that Arsene has an embarrassing record in transfer markets and hasnt signed many good players.

Incredible stupidity and shortsightedness, it wasnt even piers morgan either !

frimpong was having a go at piers morgan on twitter yesterday apparently. top man

i’ve run out of things to say about arsenal at the moment…there seems to be so many little issues with the team it’s getting depressing. the fact that we didnt buy anyone in the transfer window may well be catching up on us, however the pathetic nature of the perfomance in milan and the complete lack of cutting edge yesterday is inexcusable.

i have a feeling 4th place will be beyond us now, however i hope i’m wrong!

I’d just like to remind you all that we have that lot at the Emirates next up. Oh thats gonna be a barrel of laughs isn’t it?

Wank

Where do Sunderland get there money from.. they never fill their stadium, they pay their players too much and they have barely any fans to make money on merchandise?

@leshandy - 19 February 2012 02:09 PM

Where do Sunderland get there money from.. they never fill their stadium, they pay their players too much and they have barely any fans to make money on merchandise?

they’ve got a billionaire owner havent they?

Runkle - 19 February 2012 02:18 PM

@leshandy - 19 February 2012 02:09 PM

Where do Sunderland get there money from.. they never fill their stadium, they pay their players too much and they have barely any fans to make money on merchandise?

they’ve got a billionaire owner havent they?

Dunno.

I’m sure I heard murmurs this last week that they may be up shit creak financially.. anyone else hear that?

Juan Flo Evra The Cocu’s Nesta - 19 February 2012 01:06 PM

Triggs - 19 February 2012 12:54 PM

Mokeejoe5 - 19 February 2012 11:00 AM

Just seen a ridicolous stat. Apparently over the past half decade, Arsenal have spent almost £50 million less than Sunderland. Surely thats wrong?

Well it depends if we’re talking net spend or actual spend. Taking figures from here http://www.transferleague.co.uk/ Sunderland have a total spend of £135.7mil and a net spend of £57.65mil of the past 5 years and Arsenal have a total spend of £124.4mil and a net spend of -£31.9mil.

Transfer League Table 2003 - 2011

Those are the stats everybody, draw your own conclusions & spin to suit your agendas.

Personally, I think it’s a minor miracle & credit to Wenger for keeping us competitive in recent years. But that’s mostly part of the frustration, if investment was made then perhaps we could have pushed on even further. Fans were a little reluctant to let it slide whilst we still were competitive, but they did. However now performances have dropped, the call for investment is louder & stronger… and probably more justified.

Couple this with the fact that are main sponsors (shirt & kit manufacturer) brings in £13m a season, compared to City, Liverpool, United & Tottenham’s £40-£50m a season. Wenger really does deserve a massive amount of respect & credit.

Of course he does,  yet the curtain calls for everyone in the end and season after season, match after match you begin to realise that it is calling for Wenger now.

Staying in the CL from 4th is fine as the bare minimum but when there is more potential not being realised in the team, repetitive mistakes occurring and not being addressed meaning the club not growing on the pitch, then it’s time to review who is managing all of that.

I’ve loved Wenger as our manager and it will seem surreal not to see him on the bench at the Emirates as the man in charge of the team, really strange, even though I’ve seen Rioch, Howe, Graham, O’Neill etc before him. He’s still a good manager but we need better than that now, better than stagnation.

It’s definitely Broken Cannon® season in the papers. But Swiss Ramble has moved to say that there are some outrageously ill informed & scare mongering pieces on Arsenal’s financial status & the FFP, such as this from the Evening Standard which claims Wenger will have £10m to spend to rebuild the squad.

From his Twitter :

Some spectacularly ill informed articles on Arsenal and FFP out there, eg no mention of around £37m of expenses that can be excluded.

For FFP calculation clubs can exclude interest on stadium loans 15m, depreciation on fixed assets 12m, youth development (around) 10m.

Property development revenue and expenses also excluded under FFP.

Bear this in mind when you see scaremongering pieces on Arsenal and FFP.

He’s considering writing a piece on it due to the interest (which really shows how an Arsenal crisis story sells) & his knowledge of finances in football is beyond anything you will ever see.

I heard a guy on 5live the other day say he had been to the recent shareholders meeting (or some kind of club meeting can’t remember who it was for) and claims the club have around £50m in spare cash which is just sitting being unused at the mopment.

Anyone know if that’s correct?

Sid Lowe’s Caveat - 22 February 2012 08:12 PM

I heard a guy on 5live the other day say he had been to the recent shareholders meeting (or some kind of club meeting can’t remember who it was for) and claims the club have around £50m in spare cash which is just sitting being unused at the mopment.

Anyone know if that’s correct?

Yeah. Basically, it seems Wenger will have £50m to use this summer.

That means contract extensions (RVP, please), contracts for new signings, and transfer fees. So in reality, its really not very much

I think the point also made was that it was being held back to cover the short fall of failing to make the Champions League (roughly ~45m). It was also suggested that failing to do so would make it difficult for us to comply with FFP rules.
Can this season just be over now.

arsenal have scored 9 goals and conceded 2 in their last 2 premier league games. This cannot be the ‘worst’ ever period in Wengers history. Surely at the start of the season they were looking much worse?

rickie lambert for england - 22 February 2012 10:02 PM

arsenal have scored 9 goals and conceded 2 in their last 2 premier league games. This cannot be the ‘worst’ ever period in Wengers history. Surely at the start of the season they were looking much worse?

I think it’s more that we can see that we’re going to collapse just like every season…. *sigh* I’m getting tired of this I’m starting to become a memeber of the “Wenger out” camp

Proof that all us Arsenal fans are a bunch of wankers… look at the most popular passwords.

YouPorn User Emails and Passwords Exposed

mashable.com | an hour ago

Thousands of user emails and passwords from pornographic site YouPorn were exposed in a security breach, the Associated Press reports. The security breach was allegedly caused by a third-party chat service, which “failed to take the appropriate precautions…

Looks like Arshavin is going back to Zenit on loan.

I know Arshavin has been pretty poor of late but doesn’t this leave you a bit short of options?

FieldMarshall85 - 24 February 2012 05:48 PM

Looks like Arshavin is going back to Zenit on loan.

I know Arshavin has been pretty poor of late but doesn’t this leave you a bit short of options?

Could be the opening Benayoun needs.

Yep, opens the door for Benayoun who at least seems to want to be at the club. Arshavin checked out a while ago, and with the Euro’s coming up, he wants to be playing week in week out.

Sad to see him go because he is/was a wonderful player, but he’s been dreadful for a while now. He doesn’t want to be here simply.

EDIT : Should also clarify that the whole thing is a fucking mess. Small squad, made even smaller by selling a senior player outside of our own transfer window. There seems to be absolutely no considered transfer policy going on at the club.

EDIT (again) : Signed in February (deadline day delayed to Feb 2nd that year due to snow), left in February. Surely a first since the opening of the transfer window?

I’d have liked to have seen Arshavin played centrally more often though, I think it was The Tuesday Club podcast who were talking about this. He’s not quick enough to be an effective winger in my opinion, and needed the chance in the No.10 role. Quite disappointing how it all turned out, as I was incredibly excited when he signed for us.

I’ve made a mistake in the past in claiming Pique was ‘overrated’.

Do Arsenal fans actually rate Koscielny?

I dont.

Sir Mark Wallace Esq - 24 February 2012 08:54 PM

I’ve made a mistake in the past in claiming Pique was ‘overrated’.

Do Arsenal fans actually rate Koscielny?

I dont.

I know I’m not an Arsenal fan but thought I’d comment anyways.

I thought, around a year ago, that he was utterly terrible.  But a few performances around October-December time showed good signs. However, I’m now starting to think that’s because Arsenal were playing well and therefore covering up the defensive lapses that he clearly has in him. Now Arsenal are not playing well, and he isn’t either. I guess what I’m trying to say is I think they’re best defensive partnership would be Vermalen (despite looking shakey against Sunderland, that is only one game) and Djourou who is a good center-half and has just been labelled as a poor defender recently because he’s been playing in a wing-back position…. and he is not a wing back. I’ll stop rambling on, Koscienly isn’t very good.

You think Koscielny isn’t very good? You think that…

From a fan’s perspective Koscielny has been absolutely superb this season (*cue him making a massive ricket Sunday*). He has been our best player of the season at Robin Van Persie F.C. He’s a lovely clean shorts type of defender, and his timing on a standing tackle &/or interception is without rival, genuinely one of the best I’ve seen from that perspective in recent years. He’s one of very few players that can come out of this Arsenal season with their heads held high & their chests puffed out.

He had the technical game last season, I was very impressed the first time I saw him in the Emirates Cup, thought Wenger had unearthed another gem. But admittedly he struggled to adapt to the physicality of the game. I can still remember him bumping off a Blackburn player in the 2nd match of the season. The physical side seemed to be a real shock, but he has really stepped that up this season. Whilst he doesn’t show a mean & aggressive streak in him, he can certainly handle himself. He’s not a defender who goes hell for leather into challenges, making sure the attacker knows he’s there, he’s a defender that will nick it off your toe without you even realizing, or read the game to stop it before you’ve even realized. That’s genuinely the only reason why I think a lot of people don’t notice his performances. Defending is a subtle art to him…

He’s been massive for us this season, massive. I think you won’t find a single Arsenal fan (or someone who watches them CONSISTENTLY) who will disagree.

He is fantastic at what he does. His passing and defending is magnificent

My Dad loves the man.

[quote author=“Dylstar” date=“1330113735Vermalen (despite looking shakey against Sunderland, that is only one game)

What about the AC Milan game just a few days earlier, does your memory not stretch far enough?

StMirrenBarca - 24 February 2012 09:57 PM

[quote author=“Dylstar” date=“1330113735Vermalen (despite looking shakey against Sunderland, that is only one game)

What about the AC Milan game just a few days earlier, does your memory not stretch far enough?

They were all horrendous in that game. It would be harsh to single him out in that game. Arsenal wern’t that bad against Sunderland but got beat because of dfensive lapses. There were lapses all over the pitch against Milan.

That’s not the point though.

Against AC Milan Koscielny was the best player in yellow until he went off injured. Got Vermaelen out of jail a fair few times.

Dylstar - 24 February 2012 10:05 PM

StMirrenBarca - 24 February 2012 09:57 PM

[quote author=“Dylstar” date=“1330113735Vermalen (despite looking shakey against Sunderland, that is only one game)

What about the AC Milan game just a few days earlier, does your memory not stretch far enough?

They were all horrendous in that game. It would be harsh to single him out in that game. Arsenal wern’t that bad against Sunderland but got beat because of dfensive lapses. There were lapses all over the pitch against Milan.

That’s not the point though.

1st and 3rd goal were undeniable Vermaelen’s fault though.

StMirrenBarca - 24 February 2012 10:21 PM

Dylstar - 24 February 2012 10:05 PM

StMirrenBarca - 24 February 2012 09:57 PM

[quote author=“Dylstar” date=“1330113735Vermalen (despite looking shakey against Sunderland, that is only one game)

What about the AC Milan game just a few days earlier, does your memory not stretch far enough?

They were all horrendous in that game. It would be harsh to single him out in that game. Arsenal wern’t that bad against Sunderland but got beat because of dfensive lapses. There were lapses all over the pitch against Milan.

That’s not the point though.

1st and 3rd goal were undeniable Vermaelen’s fault though.

The 3rd was a slip. That’s extremely harsh. He didn’t have a good game. But neither did 8-9 of the Arsenal players.

Dylstar - 24 February 2012 10:24 PM

StMirrenBarca - 24 February 2012 10:21 PM

Dylstar - 24 February 2012 10:05 PM

StMirrenBarca - 24 February 2012 09:57 PM

[quote author=“Dylstar” date=“1330113735Vermalen (despite looking shakey against Sunderland, that is only one game)

What about the AC Milan game just a few days earlier, does your memory not stretch far enough?

They were all horrendous in that game. It would be harsh to single him out in that game. Arsenal wern’t that bad against Sunderland but got beat because of dfensive lapses. There were lapses all over the pitch against Milan.

That’s not the point though.

1st and 3rd goal were undeniable Vermaelen’s fault though.

The 3rd was a slip. That’s extremely harsh. He didn’t have a good game. But neither did 8-9 of the Arsenal players.

I suppose but come on, you still have to blame him.

StMirrenBarca - 24 February 2012 10:29 PM

Dylstar - 24 February 2012 10:24 PM

StMirrenBarca - 24 February 2012 10:21 PM

Dylstar - 24 February 2012 10:05 PM

StMirrenBarca - 24 February 2012 09:57 PM

[quote author=“Dylstar” date=“1330113735Vermalen (despite looking shakey against Sunderland, that is only one game)

What about the AC Milan game just a few days earlier, does your memory not stretch far enough?

They were all horrendous in that game. It would be harsh to single him out in that game. Arsenal wern’t that bad against Sunderland but got beat because of dfensive lapses. There were lapses all over the pitch against Milan.

That’s not the point though.

1st and 3rd goal were undeniable Vermaelen’s fault though.

The 3rd was a slip. That’s extremely harsh. He didn’t have a good game. But neither did 8-9 of the Arsenal players.

I suppose but come on, you still have to blame him.

Fair enough. Tbh, when I think Koscienly, I think the Carling Cup final. I know that’s really harsh but it’s the truth.

Well dylstar you can’t have your opinion on centre half’s taken seriously now, you have lost all credibility in that department by saying Djorou is a good centre half.
Sorry but that is it for you (you watch now, he’ll have the game of his life against spurs now)