Closing games: The secret of Arsenal's failure

"In other words, this Arsenal team is looking very mediocre?" Correct me if I am wrong, but this isnt what you were trying to say is it? That's a ridiculous statement, the article was ok apart from that

It is very strange that Arsenal cannot win anything with such a great team.

Sure there are weaknesses in the side in terms of the squad and in some ways Wenger needs to re-think his over-optimistic belief in their ability. Lack of cover in key defensive positions has cost us dearly this season. so we have Clichy and Sagna as first choice full-backs but where's the cover in those positions? Traore is nowhere near good enough to cover for Gael, and Hoyte? is never going to be good enough to step in when Sagna gets injured. At centre back the situation is equally poor - Senderos was at fault for both of Liverpool's goals last night. had Toure been played in his best position and Eboue at right back we might have gone through. There is no dominating figure in our defense although Gallas and Toure *should* be as good as any central pairing they have been vulnerable all season. It would be vey easy to fix that - sell Senderos and buy a player like Vincent Kompany who can challenge both Gallas and Toure for a first team place. Wenger has to bring in more defenders with experience to solidify the back line so we can close out games which we have surely failed to do this season. The perception that the side is mediocre is woefully wide of the mark. CL quarter finalists having dispatched AC Milan with a scintillating display of footballing skills, and deserving of a semi-final place given the appalling refereeing decisions that went against us, still challenging for the PL title, even if it is a long shot, is a good season in my book - 99% of PL sides would love to have reached that level of achievement. The side is a work in progress and any silverware this season would be an amazing result for a team so young and still developing. We have already over-achieved so how can you describe them as mediocre? Naive? inexperienced? Yes! but that experience is coming in spades - next season will be the first realistic hope that the team can win the PL, and I'll certainly be betting on them taking it down next time. We need to add a little strength in defense, a bit of pace and with in midfield and that's it.

The season failed because wenger did not buy experience. Full stop

Alot of the points make sense and I would agree with them but on top of all of this, Wenger cannot compare Henry, Freddie, Pires, Viera and Bergkamp. I mean I dont see the current crop being that good. Wenger has to bloody buy players and get a good strong defensive unit. Players like Toure who has been pathetic this year and Sanderos who I would love to kill if I see him has cost them many matches. Man United has good strong, tall centrebacks thats what Arsenal needs. Its a pity that he wont buy good players and let the kids play! Arsenal has become an academy for young kids. If he doesnt spend this summer, I'd suggest Fabregas, Gallas and others to leave, they are wasting their time here. Its not like they have decades of career left! A big experienced squad is essential!!

AW doesn't just understand what and how things are going on in all the competitions. He should also see what the rest of clubs are doing. If he couldn't he is either a stupid or He knows he can't manage a big squad team where players may have complaigns to play many games as much as they can. Infact AW has demonstrated this incapability many times. Adebayor was playing the whole year because not only Arsenal had no substitutes but also AW was comfortabale with no complaints from competent striler that doesn't exist in Arsenal. the other poiunt I want to raise is that like Morinho said AW is not under any pressure to make any improvement in the team or win asingle trophy. He is only decryiong year aftert yaear that his greedy and stupid(living only in his shell) is working, which no body realizes. It seems the club management is very comfortable with mere participation in champions league maintaining 3rd or 4th in premier league. They(management) don't understand that the money which they think AW is making is far insignificant compared to what Man U and other teams are making because of their championships. Actually wha Arsenal needs is not expensive palyers but competitive good palyers who can do their job whenever needed. No player ever can cover the job the whole year, without any break in such tough competitoins. If they ahve to, they face long time injury problems. Look at Rosisky, RVP. In fact we could have seen the current decline in the team long long ago if the injuries were to Fabregas or Filamini. Players like fabregas, Filamini, Hleb should leave if they want to celebrate winning any trophy. Remember Henry, he tried to convince AW of the need of good, substitute players at all positions but AW never changes. Believe me on this. FINALLY, I BEG YOU WENGER. PlLEASE CHANGE OR LEAVE.

I agree that closing games is important. Liverpool had Torres and Gerrard and they are finished articles rather than a work in progress. Senderos is a bad piece of Wenger development and he is not of the standard of a top four team. He was the difference against Liverpool, Sagna and his injury against Chelsea is were it all changed, it showed a lack of depth in the squad. Diarra should not have been sold. Wenger should have managed these pionts better. The league should have been won already. We miss a world class player of Henry's class, if he was on the pitch last night against Liverpool the game would have been 4-1 at half-time. This Arsenal lacks that class player who can turn a game and remove pressure off young shoulders. That is the difference. It is apparent more so now.

it is a shame that arsenal are NOT the great MANCHESTER UNITED .. wenger is no sir alex .. fabregas is no ronaldo .. adebayor is no rooney .. its as simple as that folks

Really, all these criticisms are eminently laughable and completely without merit. Shoulda coulda, the loser's chant. Too bad you fans cannot support the team unless it meets unrealistic expectations of yours. Let me see -- didn't buy good players? What do you call Sagna and Eduardo? Or, the previous year, Adebayor, Gallas and Rosicky? Absurd. Do you really think that any of your complaints would have changed the refs' bad decisions in recent games? Would they have stopped Taylor's tackle? Diarra being a cancer in the lockerroom? This team needs to acquire new talent in the summer, that's for sure, but like most armchair generals, you lot are busy fighting the last war. I am comfortable that Arsene is fighting the next one.

Not rocket science is it, not enough depth in squad, not enough cash to buy quality..still believe the lies about being the richest club, nice big property crash on way...oh happy days

The Emirates loans are fixed rate.....Liverpool and Man U 's debts are not crash away!!!!.. Here we have a tuppenny bit writer telling the second most successful manager (multi millionaire) in premiership history where he has gone wrong.... Time will tell!

As soon as eduardo is injured we start to fall apart we need him. the best finisher!!!

arsenal are close to buying DIEGO!!! how is that for talent

the thing arsenal are missing is the fans. When teams go to liverpool they know the crowd will give them a hard time and arsenal fans need to be more like them be more passionate for THE ARSENAL!!!

I think your comments are right on, but in my opinion, the decisive factor in Arsenal's melt down is the lack of depth in their squad, which is something Mourinho pointed out when he took over Chelsea. If you remember the game with Chelsea, they had Anelka in the bench. Fabregas, Adebayor are exhausted and you need world class players in the bench to relieve the A team. It's very simple, but Wenger is unable to see this.

These comments are not done by armchair generals, they are simple facts that can be observed by anyone and when you see a team or coach insisting on the same path year after year and failing year after year, perhaps someone should suggest a change of course.

To cut the story short, ARSENE WENGER is a gift and a curse to ARSENAL.

Arsenal wasn't supposed to even qualify for the Champions League - yes those "mighty" Spurs were going to take the spot... yet we had the earliest St. Totteringham's Day probably ever. Arsenal bottled the season, I admit, but last night, they we're robbed.

The problems we had were because of injuries a lack of luck, shit refs and then possibly a lack of squad depth. How would manchester united have gone this season with rooney out? he has only missed 10 games, and MU were only satisfactory in 1 of those games. We only had Van Persie, our trump striker, for 12 games this season, we lost our back up Eduardo when he was in good form to the most gruesome injury this year, this left Adebayor all by himself for large chunks of the season. The key to United is Rooney, once he is injured or rested even Derby have a chance, how would Tevez have fared by himself for 15+ games. Oh and we have had no luck with penalties this year, Birmngham last minute - non existent, Clichy got the ball. The Babel brush? the irony is that Kuyt said his tackle on Hleb wouldn't not have been given in the premiership, what does that say about Babel's penalty then?

Sorry Arsenal fans, but there's something you need to listen to. I like your team, I really do. I admire the way you try to play football. I like Hleb, great little player. But you're not champions. You lack bottle, you lack heart and you lack passion. I dont mean to make this an 'England is the greatest' thing, but thats where I see the problem. Liverpool have Gerrard and Carragher, who'd lay their careers on the line for their team. Arsenal have no-one like that. They dont care for Arsenal anymore than they'll care for Real or Barca when they move their once they outgrow Arsenal. The reason every Arsenal fan under the sun is blaming the referee is because they're too scared to accept the truth, which is they lost to the better team. I can see why you're upset about that decision, I would be if it was the other way round. But decided the tie?? What decided the tie was, once again, Arsenals inability to convert pretty football into goals. Adebayor missing a sitter, Bendtner clearing his own team-mates shot off the line. And a total lack of defensive discipline. The referee had a decision to make, it was debatable and he made it. Its swings and roundabouts in football. In the week before the Man United game, Ashley Cole went into a foul mouthed tirade at a referee, and was merely booked. After a week of everyone chastising him, we saw Mascherano become the victim of the new crack-down. That was annoying for us. Wenger has been moaning for a week that it was a penalty for Hleb, it wasnt given. The referee for the 2nd game was ALWAYS going to give a penalty to either side in similar circumstances. Like I say, luck evens itself out. Sorry Arsenal, the better side won. The prettier side, the less effective side, the less disciplined side, the less passonate side, lost. Sorry. Maybe next year, but I doubt that too.

we can't spend 15 million pounds in the summer transfer window on a striker who will be on the bench half the time, we bought diarra for squad depth, he wanted to start, i.e. replace flamini, or leave, so what could Wenger do? Maybe you would like him to spend 4 million pounds on someone like park ji sung