It’s the repetitiveness that kills you. It’s the repetitiveness that kills you. It’s the repetitiveness that kills you.
As sure as Everton will endure a mid-season lull and Wigan Athletic will finish the season with a record breaking run of six successive 6-0 victories (or something), Arsenal will look like title winners elect in the early months before dancing themselves all the way to a last ditch fourth-placed finish.
In 2008, it lasted all the way until William Gallas sat down on the pitch at Birmingham and the Gunners never got back up again, but this year all hope has been lost before December.
Against Aston Villa and Swansea, Wenger’s side was appalling. The triumvirate of Cazorla, Podolski and Giroud brings to mind a fairground ‘Whac-A-Mole game – once one sticks his head out and goes on a bit of a run, the other two disappear.
The Theo Walcott contract situation should not have bled into this season and his emergence as a goalscorer of note has done as much to damage Wenger as aid him. Balancing the books is well and good but a bit of carefree spending – especially on the players you already know and trust – is the only route to trophies.
Much like Liverpool, Arsenal are a team perennially one season away from glory. It’s looking increasingly like a new figurehead is the only way to break that cycle.
Advertisement
Chelsea need time
To even have to suggest that Rafael Benitez needs time at Chelsea seems like a ridiculous thing and proof, like it was needed, of both the kneejerk nature of the press and the utter disdain with which Roman Abramovich treats the notion of patience.
Things are bad at Stamford Bridge and they will get worse before they get better. Progression to the Champions League knockout phase is unlikely, worse still the probability of Europa League football for the European Cup holders, but beat Sunderland in the Premier League before a break for the World Club Championship and things will look less odious.
Too much has been written about Fernando Torres and, frankly, who the hell knows what’s going on there?
What is certain is that Benitez performed well in the face of adversity early in his Liverpool career, and he has the character to turn things at Stamford Bridge around before the club’s owner moves on to his next plaything.
Well, that was mad
I’m fairly certain I put the hex on the entertainment at the Madejski on Saturday when I tweeted after 35 minutes: “Just the seven goals so far. Nothing to see here…” or words to that effect.
Never mind the fact that the action stalled in the wake of Robin van Persie’s early winner, it was still a great advertisement for how enticingly mental the Premier League can be.
It’s been well documented since that United have picked up 21 points from losing positions this season and Alex Ferguson clearly does not know his best defensive combination. Jonny Evans plays his best football with a consistent partner, and loses his way when Fergie struggles to solve the Smalling/Ferdinand/Jones debate.
The Northern Irishman has been United’s best defender in the last season and a half, and the imminent return of Nemanja Vidic should settle United’s nerves, as well as the future of spent servant Ferdinand.
As for Reading, they’ll probably go down, and that’s sad when you compare Brian McDermott’s cavalier approach with that of the staid but solid Stoke.
Darron Gibson. “Like a new signing, Jeff.”
Few realised how much Everton missed Darron Gibson until he was gone. The Irish international has been out injured for the majority of the season and, while Everton have mostly thrived in his absence, he was arguably the Toffees’ best player in the draw against Manchester City.
The 25-year-old’s drive and energy means he picks himself for David Moyes’s side, while those who put him down as a mere long range specialist at Manchester United would do well to track down the footage of his Zidane-esque display of keep ball against Messrs Dzeko, Nasri, Barry and Touré.
A word of warning – Irish fans will hope he doesn’t become too good, too soon.
The louder the calls for Trap to mend the bridges that were broken when Gibson opted out of the Kazakhstan game, the more the stubborn Italian is sure to ignore them.
Pilkington stakes another claim
Giovanni Trapattoni and the Ireland backroom team are in the process of enticing Anthony Pilkington to make himself available for a call-up and the Norwich City winger showed some of the goalscoring threat he could bring to the national squad with the winner against Sunderland at Carrow Road this afternoon.
Trap has been to watch him and Wes Hoolahan twice in recent months and there is no doubt that Pilkington would be a welcome addition.
Meanwhile, James McClean was recalled the Sunderland starting line-up for the first time in three weeks. It’s been a difficult second season in the Premier League for the former Derry City man and while he looked off-the-boil somewhat again today, there were encouraging signs that he is working hard to regain the form he showed earlier this year.
Arsneal are a spent force and wegner is not helping, I don’t belive for one second that if he had the money he would not spend it something is not right about the boardroom and stan kronke is the problem In my opinion
I agree with most of your comments except I wouldn’t write off Arsenal just yet. Though they have flattered to deceive in recent years they still have some quality players and a proven manager. I also question who really holds the purse strings at the Emirates. Benitez was mad to take the job at Chelsea, it will and does look foolish to take on a job where to get it to the chairmans liking will take patience and time. He wants a Barcelona style set up yet most of their players are from their academy, something that took years to achieve, he needs a settled manager and give them time. I was always a fan of Gibson when at United but he did in missing in games, but as he matures he could get better and better.
Thanks for the response Cathal. On the one hand I don’t want to be kneejerk in suggesting Wenger should go, but it’s hard to see how this cycle can be broken after do many years of gallant failure.
They’ll probably win the league now after all that!
Arsenal have to make a good executive decision and get rid of Wenger. Living in the shadow of the Emirates and knowing many Arsenal fans, the feeling among supporters is that he can’t seem to take them any further as a manager. They were atrocious on Saturday.
'My short game has been very good' - McIlroy ready to tackle Augusta again
7 hrs ago
0
FreePremier League
Newcastle step up Champions League chase with Leicester win
7 hrs ago
2
whistlers
Referees appointed for Leinster and Munster's Champions Cup quarter-final ties
13 hrs ago
36
Sign in or create a free account
To continue reading create a free account
Or sign into an existing account
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 164 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.Privacy Policy
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 111 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 146 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 116 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 85 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 85 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 39 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 35 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 136 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 61 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 76 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 84 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 37 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 47 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 27 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 93 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 100 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 73 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 55 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 91 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 69 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
Arsneal are a spent force and wegner is not helping, I don’t belive for one second that if he had the money he would not spend it something is not right about the boardroom and stan kronke is the problem In my opinion
I agree with most of your comments except I wouldn’t write off Arsenal just yet. Though they have flattered to deceive in recent years they still have some quality players and a proven manager. I also question who really holds the purse strings at the Emirates. Benitez was mad to take the job at Chelsea, it will and does look foolish to take on a job where to get it to the chairmans liking will take patience and time. He wants a Barcelona style set up yet most of their players are from their academy, something that took years to achieve, he needs a settled manager and give them time. I was always a fan of Gibson when at United but he did in missing in games, but as he matures he could get better and better.
Thanks for the response Cathal. On the one hand I don’t want to be kneejerk in suggesting Wenger should go, but it’s hard to see how this cycle can be broken after do many years of gallant failure.
They’ll probably win the league now after all that!
*so many years
Arsenal have to make a good executive decision and get rid of Wenger. Living in the shadow of the Emirates and knowing many Arsenal fans, the feeling among supporters is that he can’t seem to take them any further as a manager. They were atrocious on Saturday.