Before I proceed apologies to those whose comments were stuck in moderation. I’m travelling and wasn’t able to access the internet yesterday. Haven’t quite gotten into using the mobile for internet 🙂
Now onto some facts I wanted to mention,
In 01-02 – the fantastic double winning team with the likes of Henry, Bergkamp, Adams, and other legends didn’t do particularly well in the Champions League.
Group Stage P6 W3 D 0 L3 F9 A9 – if I’m not mistaken they lost all three away games to the likes of Panathanaikos, Mallorca, and Schalke. In the second round, that was a group phase they finished third with W2 D1 L3 F8 A8. Great players, atheletic, fast, shooting when they get a chance, can dribble, can defend, plenty of leaders, and all that … no output.
In 02-03 with many of those legends in the team we lost 4 straight in october including games against Everton and Blackburn. And again if I’m not mistaken (don’t have the time to check all the facts) we finished with something like 78 points that season, not much different from last season was it?
In 03-04 the invincibles were fantastic in the league. In Europe? Group stages P6 W3 D1 L2 F9 A6 – 10 points – something the present team is on the verge of emulating.Once again the great players, with all the skills that the present squad supposedly lacks, didn’t go too far in the champions league.
People make it sound as if the present squad is useless and the golden bunch never lost anything. I’m not saying those teams were great, just that we need to be sensible while criticizing the players and the manager.
Take a look at these comments made after a team threw away a 2 goal lead at half-time,
Once again, we have thrown a game away,” he complained. “We did that in ********** and we did that against *********** too, and now we have done it again. It is incredible because we had played so dominantly.
“Maybe we lost concentration in the second half, but it is not on that we conceded a goal just four minutes in, after we had a corner. That is not possible”
One could easily be describing Arsenal. Throwing away a lead, conceding on the break from a counter after a corner, conceding early in the second half … all signs are there.
These comments were made by Bayern coach Louis Van Gaal after his team threw away a 2 goal half-time lead against Roma. You can replace Monchengladbach and Leverkusen for the places where I’ve put stars. Bayern were Champions League finalists last season. They beat United on the way to the final. They have plenty of big names in their squad. Right now they are 8th … yes 8th … in the domestic league!
Sh*t happens.
To me the basic problem seems to be that far too many people get stuck in the “no title for five years” web. It’s a painful fact but we cannot truly analyze pertinent issues by generalizations.
To me Arsenal are at a stage where the club needs its fans more than ever before. The fans can really make a positive contribution that can lift the players to a couple of results and they will, I’ve no doubt, carry it from there. Obviously, that also means the fans can drag the club down if the negativity keeps increasing.
I’ll cover that in detail later along with some other issues I’ve in mind but right now I just wanted to type these thoughts out. I don’t want to tell you what to think but you need to ask – is the criticism, negativity, and the general gloom benefiting the club in anyway?
Apologies in advance for any errors in this post as I’ve typed it out mostly from memory. And please bear with me if your comments is held up for moderation. I’ll try to look at the moderation queue as often as possible but it’s difficult to predict.
Desi Gunner 
Top blog, if only there were more like you
Good article, but surely Barca’s record last year to Rubin Kazan and their loss this year to Hercules (the Blackpool of La Liga) should be mentioned as well?
Chelsea lost 4 .
we lost 1 against chelsea and beat ManCity
united yet to play chelsea. Rediculous officating gave them wins against Spurs and Everton
If we also get such officaiting that would allow at Koscielny to stay on the pitch we would have some cohesion at the back. I think we have suffer from bad officials as well
You are a true fan!
Great article, don’t be surprised if you don’t get many people to comment, I`m a big fan of statistics , and for that reason I would say that Denilson is important to us , same for Arshavin. But the majority of people don’t go deep when they analuze a game. Thank you for reminding us some stats , this premier league is gonna tough , we know that , Chelsea lost 3 games in a row , and yet no one sees that , it`s just easy to criticize Arsenal , we always LOSE games in November , except for 2003-2004 (that speacial year), let`s get behind our team and give them a full support , we are not out of anything yet for God`s sake , 2 points behind Chelsea , and still in the CL , so take it easy guys ! Come on you Gunners !!!!
This is why I visit this blog everyday.
Bless you for this refreshing perspective, DG!!
Top blog. Personally, I don’t see the sense in people comparing present teams with those in the past. The game has changed so manage and so have the qualities needed to win. There is no single success formula, why can’t people get that. Yes, we have had some very poor results, but I don’t think that the squad itself is the problem. I maintain that we have one of the strongest squads in the league, what we need is for the individual players to start performing again and rediscover their form. Oh and for Le Boss to get his tactics right of course!
and that ‘much’, not ‘manage’.
My bad!
top top post!i love you DG.if only more would think like you.
Absolutely right – the fans must get behind the team. AND the team must acknowledge the fans. It’s the current trend to hug team mates and then thumbs up to friends/family in a box or kiss the wedding ring. I’m really fed up when our cheering is usually ignored. Watch an old DVDs and see how Wrighty, Henry, Rocky etc ran to us, often with other team mates, – along the sides as well as the ends – and showed us, you and me, how pleased and proud they were to have scored. Get that back into games and we’ll chant more and love them more and I firmly believe they’ll be more motivated, get goals, be up for it, win. Emirates sides have in too many cases lost contact with the fans. I’ll always do my best to show how I love Arsenal but I so wish this current squad would do the same. We’re not just spectators when they play, we’re the 12th man! They should do everything to show they realise that. Gooner for life.
Interesting. You’re really spot on there. I remember Henry almost always running around the ground near the fans. Whether he was the one that scored or not. They had arms around each other and chins up at the crowd! There was a real report with the fans not so long ago. Nice insight. And btw RVP still seems to do that whenever he scores
I think you guys have got this backwards. We should be cheering as loud as we can at EVERY game because we want our boys to feel our encouragement however we personally feel about them. You say a player should come to our club and instantly love us, well we haven’t exactly given some of them reason to, have we? We cried Henry’s name and we loved him and he came to love us back, that’s the natural progression.
We support ARSENAL FC first and foremost, then comes what we think of the players. I’m ashamed when I sit in the Emirates and it’s deathly silent or worse people actually boo our players. It’s a 60 thousand seater bowl, teams should shit themselves when they hear our roar! Refs should be thinking extra hard about each decision for fear of going against us and being wrong!
We have a share in the blame for our home performances because it is we who engender a fear of failure into the squad by allowing the negative sections of the audience to be the loudest voices. We need to cheer louder than all the boo-boy fake fans!
Confidence is everything, we know what these players can do when they believe in themselves, so why do we allow idiots who gain their understanding of the game from Football Manager to make our players doubt themselves and their team-mates? They’ve damaged the development of so many players like Song, Fabianski and now they’re turning to Laurent Koscielny. We can’t shut their mouths but we can get behind our players and help them to do it for us.
Agree with IncredibleG. When you think of how the fans booed Bendtner (last season, wasn’t it, or perhaps the season before?) not for a poor performance but while he was still warming up, is it any wonder that the players are wary of the home fans? I’m not a fan of Bendtner and would be happy if he was sold, but he was a young player who probably isn’t as confident as he pretends. And then there was the booing of Eboue, Senderos, Hleb, to mention only a few. Honestly, the performance of the England team, where the players have turned into paralysed limp lettuces, such is their fright at the response of the tabloids and fans, ought to be enough to teach us that destroying a player’s confidence isn’t the best way to get him to perform at his best.
Very nice piece Desi. Its sad to see so many Arsenal supporters doing the very thing they are accusing the players of doing: Crumbling under pressure! Come on you Gooners!
Firstly, the teams that Wenger has built in the past have been more suited to play in the EPL than in CL. The latest generation in the other way round. They are more suited to play in the CL than in EPL. That is a fact. This team doesn’t possess the heart, grit, determination or soul that the “invincibles” were built on. Technically they are much superior to the “invincibles”.
The problem that Arsene Wenger fails to understand is that the current team is so hell bent on the attacking game that they fail to understand that they’ve got to defend too. If Arsene was a tactically astute manager (which he has never been) keeping in mind the recent home form, at the break during the match against Spurs he would have asked the team to consolidate the lead and keep the ball. But Wenger did exactly what a manager who totally lacks a tactical brain. He set out the team in the same way as he had in the first half i.e attack till you tire. This is the philosophy that cost Arsenal the match on Saturday and later on Wednesday he took a bigger gamble by playing Fabregas when it wasn’t needed. A risk that of playing your most influential player when you have string of crucial matches coming up shows that he is so desperate that he failed to see in the long term how it might have an effect. In fact he also had the option to take him off in the HT and play another play but again as stubborn as he is and always has been he paid or rather the club paid the price for his lack of understanding the issue.
More of the same please. Remember what “supporter” means.
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Usama Zafar, EpiKnightz. EpiKnightz said: DesiGunner: Just Some Thoughts And Facts All Gooners Should Consider: Before I proceed apologies to tho… http://bit.ly/h4P3Vv #Arsenal […]
Best Arsenal blog of the lot! Love it!
Desi u are right arsenal fans should just take a chill pill and get behind the team. we did not spend millions like man city and we are in a better position than them with all our injuries.
IN ARSENE &OUR PLAYERS WE TRUST
Thats what we need exactly… Its painful to see people ask for wenger to resign… He’s the one that has taken arsenal to heights that no other could ever had. I even saw someone saying harry is a better coach…are u serious…for god’s sake…spurs are playing good at the moment but bar there two talismans i cant see a player decent enough to ever make to a big club like real or arsenal…they just hav a slice of luck at the moment…n dats what we’ve been missing…that slice of luck is all that we need.. So many shots hit the crossbars,decisions go against us,added times go beyond limits…what do u call all of that…just support the club…we aint no football managers…we r fans…behave like one… Love arsenal forever and ever… We trust u wenger, we trust u arshavin, denilson,nikb,clichy… Just give us the love back wid some silverware…
i agree with the backing of players but its hard to say that while watching nikb,denilson and theo play like they did on wednesday. wenger needs to change his formation if he wants to be successful with this bunch.
Nice post..got a chance 2 rethink bt nid a trophy at d end of d season..
This is the best article I’ve read, sometimes when I read our fans’ comments I get disappointed because of the negativity, we have a very good team, all they need is our support & belief and they will deliver….if Fabiansky has come good then nothing is impossible, he is getting better with every game passing…
I hate having to take s*** from utd n chelsea fans.. But just when i’m on the verge of losing all hope.. this blog makes it seem worth the effort.. I believe we’ll come back stronger with the whole team rallying and playing their hearts out!!!
Watch out !
Good piece & some good responses. Of course there are some ridiculous comments made after every defeat…as if some fans believe the team goes out to lose intentionally.However, the opposite critique free approach, i.e. “Wenger (always) knows best” is equally nausiating.
Forums are about considdered opinions, & heaven help us if no one is ever to suggest a perceived weakness or error without being hounded as being anti-arsenal.
Lack of scrutiny breeds complacency & complacency leads to stagnation. Nobody ever improved anything by
insisting that everything is fine & dandy when clearly the same weaknesses recure on a regular basis.
Well done, Desi. We need articles like this to win silverwaresg. Lets give our support to the players n the vissionary manager to deliverg. Im sure by 2012 upward Arsenal will b the best club in the world if given Los Boss the support needed.
lovely blog, ive always said win, lose, draw, i will love the arsenal till i die, yes i want them to win silverware, we all do, they do, arsene does, but if we dont i am not going to stop supporting the team, because to me they are the best and will always be. so fellow gooners stick by our lads, and prove to the rest of them clubs that arsenal supporters are the best in the world. ARSENAL FOREVER.
That’s the other thing.
Let’s hear some voice at the Emirates. Fans need to get behind the team especially when the chips are down. Too often when we slip a goal, the entire stadium goes quiet.
Here’s to us getting back to winning ways this weekend.
Pls guns, winning, drawing, lossing are all the spices that make the game of football sweet. If a team wins all the time every body in the world will be a fan of that club, then football will lose its sweetness. What matters is how fine your club plays. Arsenal plays the best partern of football hence the name “Arsenal football” in arsenal plays soccer while other clubs play football. Lets support this great club with great players.
Its funny how Arsen was a good tactical manager during the Invincibles regine while he suddenly dont know anything about tactics now.
I am least bothered about not winning anything at this stage because we are right in mix for every available competition. If the players can stay focussed that would be enough. Keep the faith folks and believe me spuds result was a freak one,even they knew it. I fully expect us to win at villa park.
http://blog.emiratesstadium.info/archives/9235
Excellent piece. Thanks for sharing.
Good stuff Desi, You are about the only Blog i respond to. I like your thinking and i feel the flow of Arsernal in your bone marrow. Its same here,ok.
as usual, good article desi. I request your permission to share it on facebook
Please feel free to share in any manner. Thanks.
http://blog.emiratesstadium.info/archives/9235
The above article complements your article 🙂
🙂 I think it does a lot more than that. Very well researched and articulated.
I was waiting for your post.
You cannot say what the problem is with the team, commitment, or anything else.
I think there are, if you look at a few of the games team selection can be pointed to. Players not in form start, Denilson for example. Why not try JET?. Why not use good youth players?
Do you think captaincy is a problem, what is a captain supposed to do in football?
Our captain switches off frequently. He also being our best player, puts us in a lot of trouble.
Defensive problems are serious, Djourou is the best center back at the moment, according to me. Squillaci hasn’t settled yet. And hope he becomes a bit aggressive, he is too cool.
Hope we play well.
I often ask myself why am I still interested in following the Gunners? Well, it`s not because of their history any more, or my memories of Highbury back in 1947/48, no, no, it`s nothing like that at all, it`s that at 75 years of age and living in the Australian bush there`s stuff all else to do. If I didn`t have a bad back I think I`d take up bowls instead (God forbid)
cant agree more
glad more n more Indians recognize the beauty of this game now i have more friends i can talk football about.its about time really….. for the last 4 or 5 years i only had my brother to talk to about Arsenal its changing now but still u don’t find many arsenal fans here in Bangalore 😦
my special regards to a Desi gunner never thought i could read one!!!!! keep the good work going!!!
This is the reason why I visit Desi Gunner every day – this was by far the most inspiring article I’ve read since our recent slump. I also agree that the negativity of some of Arsenal’s fans is weighing this club down.
Gr8 Blog…….. Really Hope giving. In my opinion, Arsenal need to improve a little in defense. And specially “set pieces”, for or against, both. Defending in set pieces is a little bit tricky for arsenal rite now. They have to work a little bit Harder when ball is in the air. Also I hardly remember a goal on set piece for arsenal, Corner, Free Kicks, and spot kicks 2 :)……… Have to work a little bit harder. And Fans also need to improve their performance off and on the pitch…… Rest is that…. ARSENAL ROXXX.
Desi – thank you for your kind comment about the “If we are so bad” article on Untold. I’m trying to expand the debate a little, and of course in doing that sometimes I get it wrong and don’t help matters at all. But occasionally a fan comes along and writes in such a way that we all have to sit and take notice.
Really kind of you and your readers to mention this particular piece – much appreciated.
DG dont you see the problem with your comparison??
i agree the ‘les invincible’ are given godlike status by us gooners…..you have drawn similarities between them and the present team.We should realize that twas 01/02 or 02/03 then….its 10/11 now….should we be improving year on year??
“shouldnt we be improving”sorry for the error….
Well Done… Things well placed in perspective!
Where have u been hiding? i will be back!
Is anyone else a bit worried that Ramsey is to spend six weeks in the land of the leg-breaking tackle and the potato-field pitch? Yes, he needs fitness and match practice; yes, there aren’t enough reserve games scheduled for this period – but, hell, they don’t exactly play gentle passing football in the Championship. If he comes through it, great, but it’s a big risk and also a big U-turn on what Wenger was saying about him needing to take it slowly, and just be around the first team, only last week.
On the Invincibles, the thing that interests and mystifies me is why, despite the extraordinary talent of players like Henry, Bergkamp, Pires, Vieira, etc., that side were so strangely unsuccessful in Europe, never getting beyond the quarters and once, I think, even going out in the group stage. These were World Cup and Euro-winning players of immense experience and ability and yet they often failed to defeat some pretty poor sides.
Why the Invincibles were failures in Europe – relative to their talent, that is – is something it might be useful to think about. They were brilliant in the Premiership, of course, for obvious reasons, the French model that’s based on size, power, pace and athleticism, not to mention 4-4-2, being what suits the English league, whereas the smaller, slicker 4-3-3 Spanish style would perhaps be better suited to Europe. (Well, that was Man United’s experience: there came a point when Fergie realised that his old-style big and bullying 4-4-2 just wasn’t cutting it often enough in the CL, so he took advice, changing his assistants as well as his style.)
Tactics, adaptability, coaching again. It’s hard to escape the conclusion that simply being very talented isn’t enough. You need the ability to harness the talent on the specifics of the task – how to beat Real, how to beat Stoke. I don’t think we’ve ever had the inclination or ability to change formations and style, both from game to game and sometimes within a single game, to the degree that is needed. These days we play vaguely like Barca, but sadly we are not Barca – we have many more injuries and much smaller budget – and equaly sadly the Premiership isn’t La Liga.
I think that you have to remember that Bergkamp never flew with the team. He always had a phobia of flying and rarely traveled long distances and we all kno how much of a genius and an integral part of the team he was. Without him pulling the strings we became slightly more predictable. Therefore the away games we always found tougher because even if bergkamp made the trip, he had to travel by train or drive there; that takes a toll on your body and directly influences your performance on the pitch
some of our fans dont realise that arsene wenger created a completely new squad with unknown players and it was because of wenger we managed to build a magnificent stadium and despite all this our club is in profit every year and yet playing in the champions league n competing for title every year