I don't think anybody doubts his love and dedication for the club but it's not about that. It's about how well he can do the job. Him saying I always do my best and work harder than ever isn't the issue. Quite frankly his best isn't good enough anymore. If anything, he is trying too hard and can't see the wood for the tress. The more that things go wrong, he digs his heels in even more and it ends up being counter productive. It's as if he won't trust anybody to help out. Oh I am sick to death of hearing be careful what you wish for or who else is there? The fact is Wenger will not go on forever, he's 67 in October. As things stand we will need a new manager at the end of next season.

Koeman and Howe. Two viable potentially exciting young managers... There will always be a gamble and whoever Arsenal go for, they may not be the right man, but these two look good on paper to begin a new era for Arsenal... If you want vast European experience and trophies, then Howe obviously doesn't give that, but take a plunge!

Wenger's comments yesterday saying how he "built the club".

Never heard that one before from him. Can't see him leaving before the end of his contract as he is getting more delusional and arrogant by the day.

https://twitter.com/darrenarsenal1/s...27299152101376

Yeah, there's uproar about that particular line.

He won't go - so looks like we are stuck for the foreseeable.

I'd like to see Simeone at Arsenal myself.

My personal prederence has to be De Boer, who's been winning the Eredivisie quite a few times now (with Bergkamp as part of the team). I'd also try and get Henry involved and keep Bould. That would give us an experienced bunch of 'winners' and I feel that this would rub off on defense and up front.

With a couple of signings like Bazoer (Viera like, imo), a quality striker (Morata, Higuain, or Benzema will do nicely) and quality defender, we should be more competitive at the very least. Get rid of Arteta, Flamini and Rosicky at the very least.

Not against Koeman, but would prefer de Boer. Howe would be too big a gamble, I feel.

In any case, ODL will probably be in charge next year too so we'll be in for another frustrating season. I'd like nothing more than to be proved wrong though...

"The manager is thankful for the unquestioning support of the owner. The owner is thankful for a manager who understands economics and whose work suits his ideal of “real business”. The stasis goes on."

http://www.theguardian.com/football/...-arsene-wenger

Good article summing up Kroenke and Wenger's relationship at Arsenal.

The one thing agaisnt De Boer is his lack of Prem experience, saying that it didnt do Poch any harm!

My preference would be Koeman with maybe Bergkamp in as assistant? It's a bit too soon for Howe I feel.

Simeone? A young, hungry, tactically astute manager who has done exceptionally well domestically and in Europe on a tiny budget??

Don't be so silly, there are no need for tactics, just play the same way every game an coast through the season.

Seeing what Koeman has done at Southampton in the face of losing players and injuries in the early part of the season was proof enough that he would be a great replacement for Wenger. However what he has done more to persuade me was his two recent appearances on BT and especially on Monday Night on Sky where his tactical analysis was brilliant, how he deploys a different system based on the opposition and how he looks at how a player will fit into his system of 4-2-3-1.

Based on Arsenal's record of frugal spending I would bring in Osame Dembele from Rennes, Kante from Leicester and Hummels from Dortmund. Walcott has had ten years and has failed to deliver in games that matter and Chamberlain looks at he is going the same way.

My first choice for next season would be Koeman as manager and a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Czech

Bellerin
Hummels
Kosceilny
Monreal

Kante
Coquelin

Ozil
Carzola
Sanchez

Dembele.

I think Bellerin and Monreal are one of the three best fullback partnerships in the league with Fuchs and Simpson at Leicester and even though it is Spurs, you cannot ignore their rotation of their 4 fullbacks. Not sure what Arsenal have in reserve as back up at fullback but Chambers can be used with Gibbs in rotation for a number of games keeping them reasonably fresh all season. Fullbacks these days are workhorses and I think Spurs have it right in their rotation.

Kosceilny and Hummels would be a brilliant partnership making up one of the best back fours and with Czech probably th strongest defence. If Hummels isn't available then the Zenit centreback Garay would be a great buy. I have absolutely no confidence in Gabriel, he is reckless and is an accident waiting to happen and doesn't have the discipline of Mertesaker. A lot of talk has been about Stones but he is a couple of years away from maturing into someone who can defend as well as show his skills.

Coquelin has improved so dramatically over the last two seasons and is showing he is still improving having him alongside Kante would be the best partnership mimmicking what Kante and Drinkwater have done at Leicester protecting the defence, braking up attacks and playing "simple" balls to the creative players to start attacks.

Sanchez has had non stop football for nearly three years and his injury hasn't helped. I'm pretty certain with a proper rest and a good pre-season he could get back to his best. Carzola proved in the first half of the season that there were few better linking play, creating chances and falling back to help Coquelin when under pressure. Had he stayed fit, Arsenal would be level with Leicester now. Ozil is Ozil. he is class when he has everyone working alongside him.

I have watched a lot of Ligue One in France this season and watch the European football show and Osame Dembele has been the find of the season and a genuine Arsenal player. He is a brilliant finisher, links well and works well as a lone striker or in partnership and can be fuild.

There is no use wishing for £150 million to be spent, it won't happen and in any case Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar, Suarez aren't available at any price. Lewendowski has stated he would only favour Spain or France. Muller and Rues have extended contracts at Bayern and Dortmund and have said they do not want to move. Abaumayang from Dortmund will only be sold for £60 million and Greizman likely to be around £50. Will Arsenal spend that much ? NO! Should they? YES on Aubaumanyang but Dembele probably available at £30 million would be great value his fee will double next year.

Even if City spend big, United and Chelsea follow and Spurs strengthen, I would put the above first eleven against any of the teams next season with one crucial addition, Koeman as manager and I love Wenger but it is time.

Kante would fit in very well at Arsenal. Get ready to part with some serious cash if you want him though!

They have the cash and is the perfect balance in a holding two alongside Coquelin who cost nothing and will give plenty of cover for the creative three in front Carzola, Ozil and Sanchez with Dembele putting the chances away. If money is required I would sell Walcott and Chamberlain. Walcott has had ten years and delivered little and I am sorry to say Chamberlain is going the same way. Next season despite Guardiola at City is a great chance if they buy well.

Czech is better than Hart, both fullbacks are better than whichever combination City play, Kompany is a class apart but he is now suffering injury upon injury and we have all seen how poor any other combination are. Silva hasn't shone for a long time and De Broyne is the only one in midfield on a par with Carzola or Ozil. I'm yet to be conviced with Sterling and yes Augero is the best forward and up there with the best but he can't make the difference on his own and also suffers his fair share of injuries.

United are so disjointed and Rooney is past his best, Depay and Martial are really not at the top level and Rashford despite his start will take time to mature. Shaw is a brilliant fullback, Smalling a brilliant centreback but they lack any dynamism in midfield.

Chelsea have real problems, they have to replace Terry and probably Hazard. Yes they can spend a fortune but without Champions League even they may find it difficult to satisfy players with cash alone.

Although Liverpool will improve under Klopp they need major surgery and that leaves the other North London crowd Spurs. I have to admit if they added Dembele instead of Arsenal picking him up then I think they would be fairly strong but pipped if Arsenal have Hummels, Kante and Dembele (Rennes) not Fulham.

Bazoer over at Ajax is turning into a fine player as well and wouldn't cost as much. Much taller and a more 'box to box' player, chips in with goals too. As always, question is how he would adapt to the Premier League, but Kante didn't play too much top flight footy before he arrived here either and was at a different type of club than Ajax.

Agreed. We could do with more height in the side with Mertesacker not getting as many games next season.

Get Simeone in. Not because he's a winner, but he would freshen the team up.


That's the thing..........spotting players who work well for one club, and assuming they'd fit in at Arsenal. Just look at Schneiderlin. His arrival hasn't exactly worked out at United because the system doesn't get the best out of him.

Maybe the reason Kanté has looked good is because he plays in a team which has designated roles...........at Arsenal he'd be running around like a headless chicken.

We could sign Messi, a clone of Vieira and play five at the back......................this team would still look average, always a player short of greatness.

And that's where the manager comes in. No progression as far as the team's system and style of play. Yes, the players are mentally fragile and duck responsibility. But Wenger bigs them up all the time, and they always let him and everyone else down. He's not ruthless enough, so how dare he criticise those who ruthlessly scrutinise him.

OK, the squad is good enough to win the league, but we see no desire or hunger. There's always a mistake in the defence, be it Gabriel or Mertesacker. Always a stupid tackle from Flamini or Coquelin. Always a miss from Giroud. Not good enough. The only performers this season have been Cech, Koscielny, Bellerin, Monreal, Ozil, Campbell and Sanchez. I'd even exempt Welbeck from criticism because he hasn't put a foot wrong since returning and actually runs at defences!! Would anyone cry if the rest were sold?

I guess it doesn't help that fans heighten expectations of players. I don't like the criticism of Walcott, because he's a fine player if you play to his strengths. But Wenger doesn't!! Giroud is a liability at times.......sad to think he was RVP's replacement.

I think Wenger banked on Welbeck/Wilshere to return and for there to be no more injuries, hence the quiet transfer windows. Arsenal has almost become a vanity project to him. He wants to prove everyone wrong that you can win the title with a pretty donkey up front. Or by making one signing. The funny thing is he's not proving you can win the title spending little..............Ranieri is. And Leicester are showing that you don't win titles in December, you play every game like it's your last.

Arsenal cannot continue speculating, Kante is proven in the Premier League and is exactly what Arsenal need. They need two strong holding midfielders to balance Ozil, Carzola and Sanchez and allow the fullbacks to continue attacking on the flanks. You can no longer allow fullbacks to attack without having two forceful holding midfielders to cover. The days of having a Viera or Keane are no longer even Toure probably one of the last strong powerful central midfielders cannot fulfill that role alone. Just look across North London at Spurs Dier and Ali work in tandem, Ali could not bomb forward and do both jobs on his own, Dier has made such a difference to that position. Two holding midfielders isn't a defensive move these days it actually frees the fullbacks and allows the likes of an Ali, or in Arsenal's case a Carzola to be much freer to operate.

Anyone who hasn't seen the Monday night special on SKY should try and see how Koeman covered this.

Don't think you'd get Kante anyway. They only signed him last summer and will fight tooth and nail to keep him.

If there are teams paying over the odds for any of their players, they'll sell without a shadow of a doubt. They can afford to take a chance on 'unproven players' like Kante. They'll get others in from Spain, France and Holland and will be able to offer them a good deal and probably CL Footy. If they're lucky and play their cards right, they can repeat the same thing for a good few seasons.

What's the score tonight?
I am going for a 2-1 home win.

I would definitely be in favour of signing Kanté, he'd be perfect alongside Coquelin and provide extra cover for our CBs. An improvement on Gabriel/Mertesacker is certainly needed, it's annoying that Spurs got Alderweireld as he looked ideal for us at the time and indeed has shown at Spurs that he's top quality.

As for tonight I think it'll be 3-1 to Barça; the problem with them is they won't stop even when they're winning easily, they'll score as many goals as they can. We'll be lucky to score a goal and hold off that front three.

Don't get me wrong, I think they'll sell eventually. This summer might be a season too soon though. He's presumably on a fairly lengthy contract.

I'm going for 3-1.

[quote=NightHawk123;81838191]"The manager is thankful for the unquestioning support of the owner. The owner is thankful for a manager who understands economics and whose work suits his ideal of “real business”. The stasis goes on."

http://www.theguardian.com/football/...-arsene-wenger

Good article summing up Kroenke and Wenger's relationship at

They cannot ignore a collapse in season ticket renewals.

For Arsenal! Goals by Giroud, koscielny and ozil.

Welcome Grim! I wonder how much Arsenal or mufc would be asked to pay for Lukaku?