Wenger was quoted saying now 4th place is a "trophy". If he really said that, he should know better, as this is insulting. An achievement it is, but a trophy? Never, for a club which won the league 13 times.
Silent Stan's jetting in this week. Something needs to be done real quick and we have to work with what we have until summer. If we get the "trophy" 4th place, Wenger gets to stay and we play CL qualifiers. And with that prospect the board and manager will have to act FAST. Show real intent from the start of the transfer window and make sure RVP stays, offering him a decent new contract - his current one is 70k a week? I saw bebo posting something like this? Is this true? I refuse to believe he's on the same money as a chump like Diaby!!
Until we the next window, we have to work with what we have and I think the main target is to recover our best players. I really think honestly Arshavin should be given a go at 2nd striker role behind RVP. Then we change to 4-4-2. Our wingers and "passing mentality are innocuous and predictable" (Bergkamp, D. 2012)
I agree with the Dutchman on most of the things he pointed out in his interview. Our players are too similar indeed. We need more diversity. But then again, this is to be sorted next summer.
What can be done before summer is bringing in some specialist defensive coach, or something. As individuals, the defenders aren't bad at all, but as a team, the whole thing is a mess! The organisation and attitude of the back four has to improve, especially now we won't have Mertesacker (our most intelligent defender) for the rest of the season.
If the defence needs more cover, then all the more reason to switch to a 4-4-2!
The shortcomings of this 4-3-3 system are much more obvious than its positives.
Also, for now we should be using the Ox more and more, giving him at least 45 minutes each game. He's too young, green and rough, I know, but he already has more attitude than Walcott, Rosicky and Chamakh put together.
Cocquelin should be used more often when he recovers too. He has the right attitude.
This team is crying for Wilshere to come back, which I hope he does soon. Then Ramsey can be used more sparingly and do his thing - he can't be counted on to contribute 90mins week in, week out, but he still provides us with something important now and then (his goal against Sunderland springs to mind).
I think we need to get rid of a lot of people like Rosicky, Diaby, Squilla, Fabianski, Almunia...
Bendtner, Denilson, Lansbury and Vela are all out on loan and should be sold on permanent deals this summer. Those guys can't get near this club again, that would be a mistake.
And Chamakh and Park: if they're behind even Walcott in the pecking order for a CF spot, then that says a lot!! If what they show in training isn't good enough, then just ship them out.
Even if we loose money in the process, we have to cut our losses anyway.
You guys see, we have a lot of dead wood to shift. It can't be all done in one summer , but the revolution has to start ASAP!
Like Emmanuel Petit said in an interview, send out strong signals, send these guys who aren't good enough straight away, Out the door!
Even though Petit mentioned Arshavin in his interview - and I think this week has shown us Arshavin is the least of our problems, it hardly boils down to him. When he didn't play in those last 2 matches, we had our worst performances anyway. And his latest appearance saw him giving a vital assist.
All in all, I think Arshavin is one of the few guys in our squad who "has it in him" and just needs to be recovered. It's better to do so still this season, and if he doens't respond, we can sell him this summer, get some of the investment back, but at least in the knowledge that we tried to recover one good player.
The rest of the season now is all about finishing 4th. But more than that, this team has to show something very special indeed in the process. It's time to show what they're made of: the players and Wenger.
Most of us agreed this season was "make or break" for Wenger. So unless Arsenal pick themselves up and show something very special and convince fans with committed performances, culminating in a 4th place, that should be it for Wenger. If he fails to grab 4th, and we see Arsenal making the same mistakes over and over again... I think AW will have to go.