Tag Archives: Arsenal

Nothing to fear from Wigan

10 Replies

It’s only bloody Wigan.

OK, I might be setting myself up for a fall here, but are we really so worried about playing Wigan? They are a Championship side with Championship players. We are 4th in the Premier League.

Put another way, had we just drawn them in the League Cup, we would be expecting us to put out our reserve side, and still get a victory. So despite us having up to 11 injuries, we should still have the players on the pitch to combat whatever they have to throw at us.

A potential line up of Fabianski, Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Arteta, Ramsey, Kallstrom, Gnabry, Giroud, Cazorla should be more than enough. A side littered with international’s. A side littered with quality. And what do Wigan have? Not much.

Yes, we might be in a spot of poor form, with just 2 wins in 9 games, but Wigan’s form is not much better. 2 wins in 6. They will also have one eye on ensuring a play off place and a return to the Premier League.

Wigan should be no problem. I do not understand the fear that is being generated with Arsenal fans. It’s only Wigan. Yes, if we were playing them at rugby, I would be concerned, but we are not, it’s football. This is our game.

Arsenal fans are deeply scared with the history of cup defeats. This is the fear which is in the fans mind this weekend. From Cardiff to Walsall, Ipswich to West Ham, Luton to Wrexham, Bradford to Blackburn, we are littered with being giant killed.

But this is Wigan. The odds dictate that, in a one off game, we will lose eventually. Before the Blackburn defeat, we had never lost under Arsene Wenger to a team in a league below us. Odds dictated that the run would end eventually, and it did. The odds are now in our favour. Wigan should not be a problem.

Tomorrow, wake up with a smile on your face. Do a few star jumps to get the blood circulating. Get down the boozer of your choice. Have a couple of bevies. Get yourself down Wembley and cheer the team to victory.

Keenos

Time for all fans of The Arsenal to unite behind the team.

5 Replies

Right, firstly my own views on the manager have been damming over the last few years, for that all I can say is I say things how i see them but the other regular writers on here and the guest writers have had other views on Le Leader so hopefully we at Shewore.com have produced blogs which cover everyone’s views.  On speaking with everyone involved in the SheWore Twitter, Facebook and blog there was only one thing to do this week and that was to put the petty bantering we have aside and all just hope and pray we can beat the might of Wigan.  So as such we are asking everyone else to get into the spirit as well including those who love Le Leader, those who hate him, those who hate the current largest shareholder and his puppet CEO and those that erm are related to them or getting the odd freebie (I know who you are) .

Now I know Le Leader has in the past treated the worlds oldest and greatest cup competition as 3rd priority in any season but this season is different, even the most ardent lover of our current boss will admit this year the FACUP means more than ever for his future.  Personally right now I don’t care if he stay’s or goes all I care about is seeing THE ARSENAL win something, it’s been too long, too many people have spent too much money watching us fail over the last few years and it’s time it stopped and those going Saturday can help.

No other London club would be able to sell as many tickets for a game.  We are and always will be the biggest club in London, both trophy wise and supporters wise.  In fact only Man Utd and Liverpool could even come close to getting as many fans to any game but it’s not just about bums on seats we need to raise the roof Saturday, drown out all 10 of the Wigan fans (did you come by minibus) and let the players privileged enough to wear the famous Red n White know that we are behind them.

Yes I’m aware some of the players in the current squad are not firing on all cylinders, some are not the most gifted and of course we are missing some with injury but that doesn’t matter. George Graham’s side won the CWC final in 1994 which set out with a bit of bite and not to concede.  That team had a passion and discipline we can’t rely on recently so again it’s down to us to back, support and encourage the players. I’m never pissed off when we lose as long as the players put everything into the game, let them feel our passion in the hope it rubs off on them.

Now I know I might not have the most positive reputation, mainly due to thinking the club can do better for us fans and have a better manager/owner/CEO and spend more on players etc but let me assure everyone I LOVE THE FACUP.  My earliest memories as child were watching the 78/79/80 finals in the front room with my Grandad.  When it came to naming this blog, which has been running since 2007 there was only one choice, our Wembley song.  My first Semi-final was in 1991 as a young 18yr old and this Saturday I will be sharing the journey there and back again with my mate who I met at work that year.  The love for The Arsenal will always keep us in contact even if our lives take us in different directions.

I guess the point of this blog is simple, we all love The Arsenal and we all want us to win.  We all have mates that we only ever see at games and we have all met people from many different walks of life that has improved us as people, The Arsenal does a lot for our lives.  The banter and debate that happens across all social media should be just that, the bad feeling that seems to split us on so many levels is only because we all love the same thing.  So let’s put an end to it for Saturday and hopefully the rest of this season.  Have a great day everyone going, nod at the many yellow ribbons you will see, shout and scream your heads off and can we all please go FORWARDS,  VICTORIA CONCORDIA CRESCIT.

What did she wear ???

GC.

YELLOWRIBBONPicture from www.thecannonisheavy.com

 

 

Arsene Wenger to leave this summer

22 Replies

I write this with a heavy heart this morning. Having been at the 3-0 defeat away to Everton, on the back of a draw against Swansea, and a thrashing by Chelsea, it is time, time for Arsene Wenger to go.

A little over a year ago, Andre Villas Boas famously said: “they are in a negative spiral in terms of results, to [get] out of that negative spiral is extremely difficult.”. How we all mocked him as Arsenal shot down the ten Tottenham points in the gap.

This year, however, we are in a negative spiral. In our last 11 games, we have won 3, drawn 4 and lost 4. DWLDWLWLDDL. The Premier League form guide for the last 6 games does not make pretty reading:Form GuideThe team is falling apart. And the buck has to stop with Wenger. When I look at the team that started yesterday, it contained 9 players who are regularly picked in the squad of their international side, and a total of 510 caps. It was not like we had a bunch of untried kids out there.

If the players are as good as they are, and we are unable to compete against Everton, let alone get a point, the buck must stop with the manager. Our capitulation against Everton, against Chelsea, against Manchester City, against Liverpool, is simply not acceptable. I often back Wenger by saying ‘name someone who can do a better job’. But surely there is someone out there who can do a better job then 0 points away against the top 5, conceding 20 goals.

Our results against the top 7 this year have been shambolic:

Liverpool: 2-1 / 1-5
Chelsea: 0-0 / 0-6
Manchester City: 1-1 / 3-6
Everton: 1-1 / 0-3
Tottenham: 1-0 / 1-0
Manchester United: 0-0 / 0-1

Played 12, Won 3, Drawn 4, Lost 5, F 10 A 24, Points 13.

13 points out of 36. Those games make up nearly a third of our season. How we can expect to compete for the league, let alone win the league, with that return. And it is a double edged sword. Not only did we only take 5 points from our title rivals, they took 11 from us. It is not good enough. Wenger is not good enough.

The side is lacking confidence, it is lacking quality. Yes, after 22 games, we were top. In a 3 horse race for the title. Now we risk coming 5th. That has to come down to the manager. OK, you could point to injuries, but how many years have we done that?

All the injuries expose is a) our medical process and b) our lack of squad depth. Whilst Manchester City have had a choice of Dzeko, Negrado & Jovetic. If Giroud get’s an injury or loses form, we have the choice of Bendtner or Sanogo.

As for our captain, Thomas Vermaelen, a lot of the talk has been ‘if he leaves we need to replace him’. After another inept display, it should not be down to him, he should be sold and replaced. He looks disinterested and is not the committed player he was during his first season for us. He should be shipped out. And the vice-captain is no better.

I am not being reactionary. Did I expect us to go and spank Everton? No I did not, they are a very good side, the 5th best in the Premier League. But it was our lack of fight. Our lack of chances. The way we played. When we went 1-0 down, I turn to my mate and said “that’s that then”. We just do not look like scoring.

The fact is, we are not good enough. We have £100m sitting in the bank. I know this has not been there a long time, but it is negligible that more was not spent in the summer, or in January.

Do I still think Wenger is the best man for the job? Perhaps. Yes. But that is based on the fact that he must spend. He must give his 10 transfer targets to the board, and let them sign the players he wants. He must not be let to dither over an extra couple of million. Hand the targets over, let the board, Dick Law, Ivan Gazidas, whoever, sign the players. Likewise, if we need a bit of extra cash to complete a spending spree, the board should release it. The money is in the club.

If he tells the board he is happy with the squad, that he only wants 1 or 2 new players, then that is it, ship him out. Get the new man in. A man willing to spend big. A man who will motivate the players. Yes, he might not win away to Chelsea, Manchester City or Liverpool next year, but a new man would certainly get the team putting up a better performance. Not accept capitulation. Not accept mediocrity.

Is it time for Wenger to go? My heart says no, my head says yes.

Keenos

Final Note: Let today be a day of negativity. Get it out of your system. Then tomorrow wake up. Be positive. We have an FA Cup semi final to win on Saturday.