I'm gonna pimp this opinion piece on Arsenal by Gab Marcotti because it concisely states my feelings on the club's current state better than I can. http://www.espnfc.com/club/arsenal/359/blog/post/2639607/arsenal-suffer-champions-league-loss-owe-fans-answers It's not a knee-jerk reaction to the Champions League defeats against Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos. On a different day, Arsenal could have won both games and we wouldn't be having this conversation. Or, rather, we wouldn't be having this conversation now. We'd simply be having it after they finish second in the group -- after all, Bayern are the top seed -- and then get stuck facing either a juggernaut like Barcelona or Real Madrid or self-destructing against a lesser light (as they've done in recent years against Monaco or Milan) in the knockouts.
Wenger is Kroenke's meal ticket. He's a guy who keeps the club ticking over and remotely competitive, plays attractive football, generates annual profits and doesn't harass the owner into spending huge amounts of money for that last mile, the one that actually leads to big trophies like the Premier League and Champions League.
That's why Wenger is still there. He's an exceptional manager who achieves very good results, just maybe not to the degree that fans expect but enough to keep them renewing their season tickets.
Maybe we are viewing Arsenal, Kroenke and Wenger in the "simplest terms" and "most convenient definitions." But that doesn't make it wrong.
And, if that's the case, isn't it up to Kroenke to come up with some answers? What does he think Arsenal are? And what does he want them to be?
The above is why some of us weren't shocked when we didn't buy an outfield player this summer. It is up to the board, and mainly Stan, to drive the agenda.
Also, the tweet from Miguel Delaney that Gab references in his article is bloody brilliant. @MiguelDelaney Amazing how, despite seasons that virtually always end up the exact same, Arsenal waver between such extremes during it.
http://www.espnfc.com/club/arsenal/359/blog/post/2639607/arsenal-suffer-champions-league-loss-owe-fans-answers
It's not a knee-jerk reaction to the Champions League defeats against Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos. On a different day, Arsenal could have won both games and we wouldn't be having this conversation. Or, rather, we wouldn't be having this conversation now. We'd simply be having it after they finish second in the group -- after all, Bayern are the top seed -- and then get stuck facing either a juggernaut like Barcelona or Real Madrid or self-destructing against a lesser light (as they've done in recent years against Monaco or Milan) in the knockouts.
Wenger is Kroenke's meal ticket. He's a guy who keeps the club ticking over and remotely competitive, plays attractive football, generates annual profits and doesn't harass the owner into spending huge amounts of money for that last mile, the one that actually leads to big trophies like the Premier League and Champions League.
That's why Wenger is still there. He's an exceptional manager who achieves very good results, just maybe not to the degree that fans expect but enough to keep them renewing their season tickets.
Maybe we are viewing Arsenal, Kroenke and Wenger in the "simplest terms" and "most convenient definitions." But that doesn't make it wrong.
And, if that's the case, isn't it up to Kroenke to come up with some answers? What does he think Arsenal are? And what does he want them to be?
The above is why some of us weren't shocked when we didn't buy an outfield player this summer. It is up to the board, and mainly Stan, to drive the agenda.
Also, the tweet from Miguel Delaney that Gab references in his article is bloody brilliant.
@MiguelDelaney
Amazing how, despite seasons that virtually always end up the exact same, Arsenal waver between such extremes during it.
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