The Most Important Summer Signing Is........

Whatever moves are made this summer, this is the most important, the trainer Arsene Wenger must be kept at the club. The Board have let him down, and this is impacting on his prestige globally as a trophy man, his rivals Ferguson and Mourinho all bagged league triumphs this year, a rookie trainer Guardiola has won a league title playing football the way Arsene Wenger does, so it comes as no surprise he may want to enter into a deal with the devil to win what he deserves.

We all know that Wenger plays mind games all the time, but to say something of this magnitude on a prestigious TV show indicates there may be some truth in Perez wanting him. For years Wenger has had to convince his players not to leave, this time it must be the board who must convince Wenger to stay, a tough ask indeed. Lets not forget that this season was thrown away by the board by sacking keys cogs in the structure, and just like the team, never replaced them, leaving Wenger having to multi task in recruiting, managing contracts,and coaching. We have seen the results on the pitch this season.

The Board needs to sort it out now, get stability in the boardroom, be it selling up to Uzmanov or most likely Kroenke, or getting rid of both of them, and then to quit playing hard ball with money, what kind of football team gets involved in property gambling and has no reaction to the quality of the squad falling every year? This Board is too concerned with being noble and reaping profits, whilst other boards are concerned with winning trophies. They need to release big money for new players, we are already at the bottom of the class of the 'Top 4', we are clinging onto that spot, we are closer to 5th than 3rd. Now they risk losing their biggest asset, the trainer who ensured Arsenal moved to a new stadium.

Some Pride Kept Intact

A respectable 0-0 against worthy multi Champions Man Utd, but at least the season doesn't end with another hammering or hard defeat. We lined up in a rough 4-5-1, and whilst it gave us a lot of balance and control in midfield, we lacked the objective of the game, an ability to score. It is solutions like this that we must find asap before the season kicks off in 3 months time. Another aspect that i did not get it constantly throwing in crosses when there is no one in the box? Also the picking on Evra was childish, and no club like Arsenal should be involved in such negative actions.

Ratings

Fabianski 6: Good performance, then again United never tested him, good charge out vs Tevez.

Sagna 6: Solid as nails as a defender, needs to show more in his crossing, don't cross if there is no one in the box.

Gibbs 6: Not much work, handled Ronaldo well.

Toure 6: Close to back what we expect from him, got forward as well.

Song 7: Good showing, made tactical fouls as well.

Denilson 7: Doesn't funnel the opposition into blind alleys, but a good micro link man.

Diaby 6: We need to see more, he is not an average player, he can really scale the heights if he pushes himself more.

Fabregas 6: Where has his passing gone?

Nasri 7: We need to find a place for him in central midfield asap, very mobile and can spot the moving pass.

Arshavin 5: Invisible.

Van Persie 6: Up against tough defenders, could not get anything from them.

*Little noises about Adebayor who never travelled after a very revealing interview on BBC Football Focus, his future is in the air.*

At Least We Won't Have To Do This Tomorrow.

Transfers That Will Not Happen.

Some fans really amaze me, a) by how stupid they are and b) how much football do they really watch? This applies not only to the fans, but some well known pundits, many who have worn the Arsenal shirt.

YaYa Toure
Who in their right mind thinks Toure will switch a 98 000 capacity stadium, a team coached by one of the best exponents of the position in the last 20 years for a team that is so much smaller? This is lazy transfer wishing, just because we have his brother Kolo, is this why he is constantly linked? Let us not kid ourselves, YaYa is the holding player because he has Iniesta and Xavi in his positions, it's like Petit who had to play in midfield because he had Blanc-Desailly-Lizarazu in his natural positions. Look at YaYa for the Ivory Coast, he plays with Zokora and is the creative hub of the team, at Monaco he was the same, so why would he play Fabregas' second fiddle when he is just as good in that role? Enough of the YaYa talk, IT WILL NOT HAPPEN.

Giorgio Chiellini
A player who is playing for the most supported team in the world, has ambitions of emulating the achievements of other great defenders, spent an entire season in Serie B just to come to a foreign team when he has his whole career ahead of him? Wake up, this will not happen, the Juventus fans will kill the directors of Juventus, then kill Chiellini then come to London and target our top brass in the board. Enough of the Chiellini talk, IT WILL NOT HAPPEN.

David Villa
He looks like he will move, but why come to Arsenal, when he has Barcelona and Real Madrid both battling to sign him up. Both clubs have bigger stadiums, bigger exposure, bigger finances, and have a better chance of winning trophies every season, something our 5 year drought proves. Forget it, this is a guy who is among the Top 3 strikers in the last 5 years in Spain with Forlan and Eto'o, why pack that up and come to Arsenal? Enough of the Villa talk, IT WILL NOT HAPPEN.

The sooner we realise we cannot attract such players, the quicker we can realise just who we can.

Big changes, or we will fail again.

During pre-season this year, many Arsenal fans could see it was not shaping out well, and we all hoped it would change around miraculously and we would find our feet. Unfortunately, what we saw at Barnet, Stuttgart, was a pre-cursor to all we have seen this season. Too many changes, teams built on the younger players like Denilson, teams already being shuffled like Eboue in central midfield, and a disorganized defence were all apparent and not rectified in time, even today we can see the results of it.

Last season, the pre-season was very sharp, the team was united, we won the Emirates Cup and Amsterdam Tournament, and we went on to fight in 3 out of 4 tournaments with conviction. This season, we had a half baked pre-season, and we have had a half baked season, we were lucky in the draw for the Champions League until we met the Champions who taught us a big lesson, we had a lucky draw in the FA Cup until Chelsea beat us, the kids were not good enough for the Carling Cup, and we lost too many games before Christmas to eliminate us from a title tilt very early.

Next season, i have big worries, the full pre-season schedule has not been announced, but we have very little time indeed to get things right if we are to win a big trophy next season. Our first game is Barnet on July 18, thus most of the squad have just over a month off, the African players like Toure-Eboue-Adebayor-Song will have a match on June 20, so they will not make the Barnet game as they will need an extra week or two off. Fabregas will be at the Confederations Cup until the end of June, so he will only be back in training towards the end of July, and we are built around him. Theo Walcott will also be at the European U-21 Championships and will be back late as well.

The Emirates Cup is on August 1-2, and the league starts on August 15, before we have to play a Champions League qualifier on August 18. This is a punishing schedule indeed, and it gives us 1 month exactly to find all our tactical solutions and integrate any potential new signings into our style. This also means any signings MUST be made before Barnet so they can have a full pre-season with us. This is where we have to get it right, we need to take this period seriously, prepare well and you perform well.

This is a taste of a team that was at ease, yet ready to perform, we need to see this kind of attitude this summer.

This is no TEAM, it's 11 EMPLOYEE'S who are contracted for 90mins.

Gosh, that was a true horror show today. Despite some good moments, even those in a Sunday League game know the basic rules, if you concede, ensure you can outscore the opposition. Thus you either need an awesome striker up front, or numbers that break forwards...Arsenal have neither and decide to only have 1 striker and 4 on the bench.

Arsenal have no defence, those up the pitch don't want to do it, those paid to do it at the back look like it's a foreign job to them. The common denominator when Arsenal have caught a bashing has been Silvestre (4-4 Spurs, 3-0 City, 4-4 Liverpool, 4-1 Chelsea), but the others offer no help. Fabianski needs to calm down or get out.

Wenger yet again is the primary fault though. How many times has his trick of Diaby on the left worked? How many times has his 4-5-1/-4-2-3-1/whatever new formation he employs worked? Until this is sorted out, we may see more results like this.

Ratings:

Fabianski 2: Not good enough, caught starring for the first, bad movement for the second, went walk about for the third, too slow to react for the fourth.

Sagna 3: Bad crosses, outnumbered on the overlap, got an assist though.

Toure 2: Never takes responsibility, had an own goal and argued with Drogba, we need a defensive leader, not a player just who plays.

Silvestre 3: Bad marking, but cleared and cleaned up better than Toure. Bad summer buy.

Gibbs 4: Not outplayed, but with the team so far behind, we needed a converted winger to rampage more to get us back in the game.

Walcott 2: No brain, no left foot, and a new contract! Too predictable, just as Gallas warned him, needs to step up to justify his starting spot and £60 000 contract.

Song 5: Not mobile, but physical and clean passing, a delicious lob to spot Walcott as well. One of the better players unfortunately.

Fabregas 2: Early card and the goal came from his foul, from there, his head dropped, no inventive passing, resign as captain if the job is too big.

Nasri 5: Has not found his role in the team, lots of technical brilliance and knows how to use it, but not finding the route to goal for himself or other team mates.

Diaby 1: How many chances does he want, although on the flank, it should allow him more space to express himself. Bad decision making, a loan spell or a transfer, he is a passenger we do not need unless he lives up to his talent.

Van Persie 3: Not a lone striker, not in the box enough, not a match winner today.

Denilson 4: Not much impact.

Adebayor 3: is he a striker or a link man? Strikers must pass and get into the box, not hang around trying to find a pass. Two shouts for a penalty, looks lazy at times.

Bendtner 6: Scored a good goal, a very direct player, lots of energy, and tries his best. If everyone tried like him, we may be somewhere not losing like this.

How To Succed By Not Trying

Arsenal is truly fantastic, it is the place to be to get rewarded for not winning. Johan Djourou who has played half the teams games gets rewarded, Theo Walcott is in the same boat, less than half our games and he is rewarded. Clichy and Sagna have shown the ideal reaction, a new contract and money means you can now drop your performance levels. The biggest example of this is Adebayor who has shown just what a new contract means.

There is no other profession in the world apart banking where this happens, do employees get rewarded for not scaling the heights, and when they do get rewarded, they slip even further. The board has to answer some serious questions, they say the Club has no cash, yet it rewards mediocre standards, and when they do reward good performance, they slip even more, lets not forget the trainer also signed a new deal and we have seen what he has done this season.

Now we know where all the money is going, it's like a Ponzi scheme if there ever was one in a football club. The Board are a disgrace.

Birds of a Feather Flock Together.

Two teams with big ambitions are now contemplating another 10 months wasted, at least Chelsea beat the other bird to get a Final in a few weeks for the FA Cup.

The match on Sunday will see two teams with nothing left to play for sparring in front of a lifeless crowd. One team was dismantled, the other paid the ultimate price for being too pragmatic.....both are losers in the grand scheme of things.

At least Chelsea now know Hiddink can't achieve the things they want and he will be sent back to Siberia in 3 weeks time, Arsenal are contemplating extending the stay of the trainer who has not won for 4 years now, incredible!

But it is fine Gooners, 4th spot is a good achievement, lets just remember we have a lovely stadium and we can all watch the Invincible DVD to keep us happy, who cares if you have spent over 3 000 minutes this season watching your team with no reward, the players are young and are improving.

The Inquest Begins.

As the case is, to find out what Le Boss really says, do not catch it on the BBC or SkySports, instead turn to the French Media. Speaking to French Media, the Arsenal chief confessed "This is my biggest disappointment. Fans were expecting a great evening ... And to disappoint them like that, it's a huge disappointment. "....."I have to take a step back and review the situation. In recent months we were making good progress. But we are failing to win the matches that really matter. This calls for reflection. "

Upon speaking to one Arsenal squad member who also played, he opined ,"I was very surprised that the leaders of the team gave up so easily, we have 60 000 fans who have come to see Arsenal fight for 90mins, and if we are to lose, let us lose with them in mind."

Two conclusions from this, the Arsenal manager has realised that this is the last straw, and the frustations of the fans will be intensified more next season unless significant changes are made. He also realises that this team has shown it is not equipped to win trophies, in the big matches, the team constantly loses, think of the title run in last year where his side threw the matches against Chelsea and Man Utd, and also threw away the match against Liverpool in the Champions League.

The second is one player has realised he has to break ranks and take leadership in this side, such a defeat will increase this players stock with the fans, whilst some other senior members must take a good long look at themselves in the role of this crushing defeat.

Dismantled.

Well we have become used to this, losing big matches, this time in embarrassing fashion. The fact is, we are NO LONGER CHAMPIONS at anything, all it's taken is a new stadium for us to LOSE THE REALITY of what we are here to do, WIN. This result was not determined just today, it's been coming all season, our experimenting at Old Trafford threw half the game away, today we finished the job off.

How often do you see Evra having to make a clearance from a cross right in front of his goalkeeper? How often have we seen Ronaldo shoot from ridiculous distances? How often have our defenders been split apart on a simple passing move? But it's fine, the manager will tell us we have belief, we have quality, we were unlucky, the future is bright. The board will tell us the structure is good, the model is correct, we are self sustaining etc. If David Dein was still around, Arsenal would be back in business already.

Arsenal is now a DEVELOPMENT team and not a WINNING team, the future lies on the edge of a knife, ONCE YOU LOSE THE WINNING MENTALITY, IT'S HARD TO GET IT BACK, just when will we start WINNING again?

We were dismantled, and this is a prelude to what we must endure in two weeks, we will be one of two teams to give Man Utd a 'Guard of Honour' when they retain their third title. Congratulations to United, they have shown us what is required to operate at this level, no more talk of Arsenal having 'World Class' players, the only thing of World Class merit is when the team plays well.

Ratings.

Almunia 5: You shipped three, over 180mins you kept us in it though. You deserve a pay rise.

Sagna 4: How many completed crosses has he had this season, also a second late into challenges he won last season.

Gibbs 3: Fatal slip, the question is why is a 'Big Club' using an inexperienced 19 year old in a game, or stretch of the season at this magnitude?

Toure 3: Does not communicate, is not a defensive master, should not be our best defender.

Djourou 3: Same as Toure, our defence is rubbish, no 'Big Club' should have such a defence.

Nasri 5: Got on the ball, and showed he is a playmaker. If you can't work as a unit, it's all in vain.

Song 5: Among our better players, although if you don't work as a unit, it's all in vain.

Fabregas 3: No passing, his head went down quickly.

Walcott 1: No control, still has not been able to get the better of a top class full back.

Van Persie 2: Never came to get the ball.

Adebayor 1: He should thank his midfielders for this, they never gave him anything.

Do or Die Time yet again.

As we have become used, Arsenal's season comes down to one game to define a season, this time we must beat the reigning European CHAMPIONS, World CHAMPIONS, English CHAMPIONS, League Cup CHAMPIONS....get the drift? Manchester United have not lost for 24 games in Europe, and taught Arsenal a lesson at Old Trafford, thank God we have Almunia.

I hope the manager Wenger does not mess around with fancy formations or deployments, we need to be simple, play to our strengths, take the game to the opponents, and crucially WIN. This means no 4-2-3-1, no 4-5-1, it means 4-4-2, and if Van Persie cannot start, Bendtner can, after all he has scored 14 goals, 2 less than Adebayor and 3 less than Van Persie, he can score so play him.

It also means stop the Diaby project immediately, he was supposed to offer physical battling vs Chelsea and Man Utd and did not, he was supposed to get forward and try score and did not, it's like playing with 10 men, only that he takes up space. Play Song or Denilson and lets get on with it.

For the sake of all Arsenal fans, lets stop playing attractive football and lets start playing WINNING FOOTBALL. This starts tomorrow Wenger, the players and fans need to get that WINNING MENTALITY back now.