Arsenal...lose it again

[readingbedding]

Is their lack of trophy winning experience (aside from Fabregas with Spain) contributing to a team who are not destined to be champions for as far as I can see?

Wenger has plenty of potential, he now should scour Europe for more experience.

Pointless exercise next year if not.

[sandman]

I notice Wenger and Fabregas have been complaining about Wilshere possibly being burnt out if he plays for the U21's in the summer.

Shirley the opportunity to gain the experience of winning a trophy with England would benefit Arsenal in the long run considering they haven't won a trophy for 6 years.

[frimmers3]

perhaps the powers that be at the library should consider whether wenger is past his sell by date.

[cmonurz]

Their problem isn't so much lack of experience.
It's being weak in key areas.

IMHO they lack a strong striker, Bendtner just isn't good enough. If you can't score against Norway, you have no business playing for Arsenal.
They lack a good goalkeeper, their goalkeepers are all disastrous.

They could sign Federici and Long and it would improve their team drasticly. (I'm serious!!!)

This.

Same problem as Liverpool, who at least addressed one problem (one dimensional in attack) by signing Suarez and Carroll. They do now need to buy two wingers in the summer though, to complete the jigsaw, as well as a left-back, or they will fall short again.

Bendtner is a woeful player, who shouldn't be anywhere near a Premier League start, nevermind for Arsenal. And they need two strikers really, as Van Persie is injury prone, and Chamakh isn't consistent enough yet. Very talented midfield, wasted by no attacking options since Adebayor left.

[TBM]

Kevin Doyle is an ideal player Arsenal need - someone who can work the channels and help support Van Persie

[Schards#2]

perhaps the powers that be at the library should consider whether wenger is past his sell by date.

Surely the only point of getting shot of a manager is to improve things. With the possible exception of Morinhio (who wouldn't go to Arsenal) I'm struggling to think of a single manager on the planet who, on balance, is likely to do better than Wenger.

[TBM]

perhaps the powers that be at the library should consider whether wenger is past his sell by date.

Surely the only point of getting shot of a manager is to improve things. With the possible exception of Morinhio (who wouldn't go to Arsenal) I'm struggling to think of a single manager on the planet who, on balance, is likely to do better than Wenger.

Pep Guardiola

Has hinted that he may not stay on as Barca manager when his contract expires in 2012

[cmonurz]

Don't get me wrong - Guardiola is obviously talented, 'the next Mourinho', but I think it's too early to assume he's one of the world's best just because he took the best squad of players in the world to a season full of trophies.

[Royal Rother]

If Arsenal had had the best goalkeeper in the world, whoever he might be, they would have won trophies in the last few years.

The confidence he would have given to the team cannot be quantified - and once the 1st trophy had come, confidence would have surged through the team and more would have followed.

Wenger is a fantastic manager but not getting a great 'keeper has been an absolutely massive cock up.

[Royal With Cheese]

I can't make a valid decision until Spacey's well considered and neutral thoughts are aired on the subject.

[TBM]

Don't get me wrong - Guardiola is obviously talented, 'the next Mourinho', but I think it's too early to assume he's one of the world's best just because he took the best squad of players in the world to a season full of trophies.

but the way Barca play, he'll settle in well with Arsenal - taking over a good young squad who play a similar way.

[TBM]

If Arsenal had had the best goalkeeper in the world, whoever he might be, they would have won trophies in the last few years.

The confidence he would have given to the team cannot be quantified - and once the 1st trophy had come, confidence would have surged through the team and more would have followed.

Wenger is a fantastic manager but not getting a great 'keeper has been an absolutely massive cock up.

I think Wenger is obsessed with saving money - the board has given him the backing to go out and buy, yet they failed with schwarzer cos they wouldn't match the reported £4m fee

Buffon or Reina is who they should go for in the summer.

[Hoop Blah]

perhaps the powers that be at the library should consider whether wenger is past his sell by date.

Surely the only point of getting shot of a manager is to improve things. With the possible exception of Morinhio (who wouldn't go to Arsenal) I'm struggling to think of a single manager on the planet who, on balance, is likely to do better than Wenger.

Perhaps he's just run his course at Arsenal now? He keeps making the same mistake over and over again and that's why they've not won anything for so long.

Is that the work of a manager who no other manager on the planet could better?

Since Campbells legs went he hasn't address the centre back or goalkeeper positions. The defence win leagues and he hasn't fixed the problems they've had there almost since the back four he inherited (or at least their influence) moved on.

He still lacks a little bit of grit and consistency in midfield to give their flair players some freedom to attack.

They play some lovelly football at times, but it doesn't win them enough games and they're miles away from having the mental strength that United have which will again carry them to another season of winning silverwear.

A new manager might well solve those problems quicker than Wenger because he hasn't got entrenched in Wengers dream of winning with players of a certain type or price.

[Royal Rother]

A great goalkeeper helps make centre backs look better than they really are. You say he hasn't addressed the CB problem , but Wenger has been a bit unlucky with Vermaelen's injuries. If he had stayed fit (and yes I know Ferdinand has been a crock for the last couple of years) they would probably have won a trophy or 2 this year.

[TBM]

Flip side to sacking Wenger is that Arsenal could then do a Liverpool and slip out of the top 5

[Hoop Blah]

A great goalkeeper helps make centre backs look better than they really are. You say he hasn't addressed the CB problem , but Wenger has been a bit unlucky with Vermaelen's injuries. If he had stayed fit (and yes I know Ferdinand has been a crock for the last couple of years) they would probably have won a trophy or 2 this year.

Totally agree on the effect of a quality keeper, and how they've missed Vermaelen, but the impact of both of these are still down to Wenger not having sufficient quality defenders in his squad.

He seems obsessed with a type of defender which leaves then vunerable. Combined with his failure to sign a top draw keeper it just seems like a massive blind spot.

TBM, agree with the risk associated to Wenger moving on. It's a balancing act between giving him time to fix the issues and how ambitious you are to actually win trophies.

As it stands, I can't see Arsenal winning the league under Wenger if he continues to overlook the galring weaknesses in his squad.

[TBM]

I think this is why its important Arsenal don't win the league this year - if they do, then Wenger wont "fix" anything......if they win it, he'll stick with what he has cos they are "league champions". They shouldn't have got rid of Gallas tbh

[Royal Rother]

Tbf, if they were to win the league (which they won't) then he wouldn't really need to fix anything.

[Hoop Blah]

I think that's a little debatable RR.

It's still a weakness and is an area they really need to improve if they have ambitions to challenge over the next few years (see how they fell short in the other competitions when the going got tough). Just because they could still get lucky because others throw away points (as they seem to have done so far, although to be fair Utd have got more points than they probably should) doesn't mean they're the finished article.

[Mike Hunt]

perhaps the powers that be at the library should consider whether wenger is past his sell by date.

Surely the only point of getting shot of a manager is to improve things. With the possible exception of Morinhio (who wouldn't go to Arsenal) I'm struggling to think of a single manager on the planet who, on balance, is likely to do better than Wenger.

Pep Guardiola

Has hinted that he may not stay on as Barca manager when his contract expires in 2012

Seriously, I could coach Barca and get the same results... look at the team...